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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. CVII, No. 1
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
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Jonathan Gu & Leilani Chen
Managing Editor & News & Opinion Editor
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of the academic and social repercussions,” Levav said. “Imagine that: You, against the teacher who has to write your child’s college recommendation. What are the chances you'll say anything that suggests you oppose part of that teacher's curriculum? You feel there's too much at stake.” Editors' note: SJP Cohort 10 and 11 teachers Caitlin Drewes, Marc Tolentino and Erin Angell declined interview requests for this story, citing district policy preventing them from talking about an ongoing lawsuit. Principal Brent Kline also said he could not comment for this story.
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group of local community members "led a lawsuit on Aug. 7 against the Palo Alto Uni"ed School District and Palo Alto High School Principal Brent Kline, alleging Palo Alto High School’s Social Justice Pathway practiced “sponsorship and facilitation of religious activity and elevation of Islam vis-à-vis other faiths during a school-sponsored "eld trip.” #e lawsuit is based on events that occurred during a "eld trip to the Santa Clara Muslim Community Association, and the mosque inside it, taken by students in Cohorts 10 and 11 of the Social Justice Pathway in the fall of the 2025-2026 school year. SJP teachers say the trip was meant to complement the religion unit in the SJP Humanities course, led by SJP teachers Caitlin Drewes, Marc Tolentino and Erin Angell. According to a statement on behalf of Palo Alto Uni"ed School District Superintendent Jason Glass, PAUSD Public Information Officer Lynette White said instruction about religion in the district is required to be academic and educational and should not be devotional. “No faith may be promoted, and no faith may be denigrated,” White wrote in an email to #e Campanile. “Every family in this district is entitled to expect that standard, and (the board) will review our practice against it.” Senior and "eld trip attendee Chase Wong said while the "eld trip promoted greater education about Islam, students still learned about world religions equally in class. “We went there, and we learned about it,” Wong said. “It wasn't like they're trying to convert anybody. #ey told us we could wear speci"c things tied to the religion to be respectful to it, not trying to make us become Muslim.” David Rosenberg-Wohl, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said his clients "led the lawsuit because PAUSD permitted the SJP cohort to put weight behind one particular faith. “We understand that there have been (other trips) to the mosque presented in a way which was not a study of religion objectively, not a comparative religion approach, but instead encouraged people to appreciate and participate in devotional practice,” Rosenberg-Wohl said. “Both of those issues that I'm identifying are squarely against the Constitution, which requires "rm separation of church and state.” Stanford marketing professor Jonathan Levav, who is a the parent of a Paly alumni and the spouse of one of the plaintiffs, Linor Levav, said separation between church and state is a cornerstone of American governance. Levav said the lawsuit seeks to make sure PAUSD abides by this. “Like my wife, I'm strongly committed to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the separation of church and state,” Levav said. “I believe that it's fundamental to upholding liberal values. #e lawsuit doesn't seek any kind of "nancial indemni"cation. #e only thing it seeks is to make sure that PAUSD upholds this basic core of public education.” Paly alumni Duncan Sego, who graduated in 2026, was a member of SJP Cohort 10 and attended the "eld trip in 2025. Sego said he had not been to a mosque prior to the trip and didn’t think anyone was trying to convert him to Islam. “It didn't feel imposing at all, and also just felt comfortable that they were giving
us this really cool tour,” Sego said. “It was Aside from Billoo’s speech, there are two “It is also blatantly false,” Levav said. “It also a very active space, and it "t in line well further key controversies of the "eld trip makes it nearly impossible for any young with our (curriculum). We spent about a central to the lawsuit: the alleged distribuperson who supports the lawsuit to express quarter or a third of that semester, talking tion of Qurans and the encouragement of that publicly.” about religion, and (SJP) offered different students to wear hijabs. Bailey said students Levav said this is a product of the socireligion projects, and so the goal of this was were not handed Qurans but were given the etal backlash young people may face when to get students active in the community by option to take one. expressing unpopular opinions. sponsoring these types of events.” “#ere was the option to take a Quran or "In the social environment in which Additionally, senior Brennan Bailey, who other related resources off the table,” Bailey young people operate at Paly, they don't went on the "eld trip, said he didn’t feel any said. “#ey just weren’t handed out.” want to be seen as the bad person," Levav underpinnings of conversion or religious Additionally, Bailey said students were said. "If I'm a young person that feels unpromotion during the trip. encouraged to wear hijabs or headcoverings comfortable with what went on in that "eld “I don’t really think that they were trying because doing so is a gesture of respect. trip, I might avoid publicly expressing this to convert us — I certainly didn’t feel that “It's a respect thing,” Bailey said. “We're discomfort for fear of being ostracized by way at all,” Bailey said. “I don’t think any of visiting other groups' religious sites. We my peers because opponents of the lawsuit (the guides), from what I heard, were trying wanted to be as respectful as we could in a have marketed it as motivated by some form to sell us or convert us either.” space where we were visitors.” of prejudice." Beyond this, one major controversy of Senior Valu Mataele attended the SJP Levav also said many parents and the "eld trip is Zahra trip and said she selfstudents don’t feel comfortable speakBilloo, who made a elected to wear a hijab, ing out about the trip because of perspeech at the event to as did many other female ceived possible consequences. !"#$%&'()*+,%-.$)/0,% the SJP students. Bilstudents on the trip. “I know of multiple parents loo, who is the Ex“#ey were very clear that have told me that )$$1%'/2%1+/-%.3%4/'/5+'&% ecutive Director of the that we didn't have to,” they don't want to say +/-$6/+45',+./7%"#$%./&2% Council on AmericanMataele said. “A lot of us anything, because Islamic Relations in just wanted to do it out of they still have ,#+/8%+,%)$$1)%+)%,.%6'1$%)*9$% respect for the place we the San Francisco kids in the Bay Area, has faced were in.” system and ,#',%:;<=>%*?#.&-)%,#+)%@')+5% controversy for public However, Rosenbergthey're afraid statements regarding Wohl said pressure may 5.9$%.3%?*@&+5%$-*5',+./7! Hamas-Israeli conflicts have driven students to and defending Hamas’s participate in activities !"#$%&$#'()*$* "ring of rockets at they weren’t comfortable Israel. Rosenberg-Wohl with. said he thinks choosing Billoo to speak on “It's legally incorrect, as I've seen in case the topic reflects the school district’s law, to simply focus on whether someone is motives. forced to do something physically,” Rosen“Choosing a speaker such as Ms. Billoo, berg-Wohl said. “Peer pressure is a very real who is a political advocate, a lawyer and thing. Teacher pressure is a very real thing. executive director of a political advocacy Kids like to do what their friends are doing, organization in the context of a presumand kids like to look up to their teachers.” ably religiously motivated trip, says that it's And Levav said the framing of the ennot just that the school district thinks that couragement of students to wear hijabs put Islam is particularly worthy of attention as pressure on students to do so. the social justice faith, but her particular “Women were encouraged to wear a hiversion of Islam,” Rosenberg-Wohl said. jab and were told that it's a sign of respect,” When asked for an interview request, Levav said. “But what that means is that if I Billoo instead refered #e Campanile to elect not to wear a hijab, then I'm showing an open forum article published in the disrespect. You can't afford to put students San Francisco Chronicle where she said in that kind of situation.” she spoke to students during the "eld trip Levav also said the lawsuit has been strictly about Islam, civil rights and minormisunderstood, particularly regarding acity discrimination. cusations that the plaintiffs are motivated “I was invited to speak about social by Islamophobia. justice and my civil rights work,” Billoo “#e most important misunderstandwrote in #e Chronicle. “I gave a talk about ing is that it is motivated by some form of Islamophobia and protecting and empower- deep-seated Islamophobia,” Levav said. “As ing American Muslims, particularly in the a marketing professor, what I can say is that current political climate.” it would be an excellent marketing tactic Sego said Billoo was respectful and to call it Islamophobia if your goal was to talked about the mosque's role in the discredit the lawsuit and its plaintiffs.” community. Levav said this portrayal limits the ca“#ere was nothing about politics or inpacity for people to express their opinions. ternational relations whatsoever,” Sego said. “I gained an understanding of a completely different cultural experience. I believe most of the students were part of that group SSEN SMU (of people who had not been to a mosque A RA ANY Y B ART before), and so I just think we were really lucky and fortunate to have that opportunity to view this culture "rsthand, especially because of how much disgust and points and misconceptions are reiterated time and time again in the real world, in school, in all places.”
The Santa Clara Muslim Community Association, where Palo Alto High School’s Social Justice Pathway visited during a fall 2025 field trip. The visit is now the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the school district promoted Islamic religious practices during the school-sponsored trip. “I gained an understanding of a completely different cultural experience,” senior Duncan Sego said.
The Campanile
2
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
News
Three Vie for Two Seats
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hree candidates, Linda Henigin, Avery Wang and John Craig, are vying for two open seats on the Palo Alto Unified School District’s Board of Education in the upcoming Nov. 3 election. Current school board president Shounak Dharap and trustee Shana Segal’s terms are expiring, leaving two spots to be filled. Masha Fisch, a Palo Alto resident and mother of three children in PAUSD, said she hopes the new school board members will come with balanced points of view. “I’m looking for someone who is really trying to understand both what the community is asking them to do, but then also what feels right from a policy perspective,” Fisch said. Paly’s School Board Student Representative junior Helen Li said she would like to see a candidate who prioritizes students’ needs and allows for their inputs to be heard. “I hope that students’ voices will continue being the priority, but in the future perhaps even (more than they have been),” Li said. “I would also hope that, especially with our current budget cuts and fund deficiencies, the district will do their best to not take away from student programs and teachers, and instead cut from the top as much as possible.” The five-member elected board is responsible for overseeing educational and operational policies for schools in the district. They typically meet monthly in public to do such things as review and approve the district’s budget and vote on major decisions concerning faculty, materials, budgets and students’ well-being.
Avery Wang Wang is a father of three PAUSD alumni and is the co-founder of the music recognition app Shazam. Wang said encouraging educational achievement is a large part of his campaign, given his disagreement with the district’s de-laning policies and its decisions to remove some advanced courses from high schools. “I’ve had meetings with several teachers recently, and they all say that (de-laning) is not working because the range of knowledge is so wide,” Wang said. “The teachers are saying they can’t teach to that dynamic range.” Wang said another key part of his platform is to implement an idea he calls evidence-based policy,
DASHEL CHUN/THE CAMPANILE
analyzing statistics and data to identify the root causes behind the district’s challenges, including its financial problems and student mental health struggles, in order to address them more effectively. “(We need to be) looking at the data, looking at the best practices and especially where it impacts people the most,” Wang said. “Looking at what we spend money on – is it going to be effective, or is it just nice to have?” Highlighting the importance of understanding the underlying reasons behind student mental health struggles in Palo Alto, Wang said he has ideas for how the district can better support struggling students. “We need to examine root causes of things like depression or feelings of being unwelcome,” Wang said. “(We should be) doing surveys and doing it in a way that it seems like the adults are listening … One of the themes I’ve heard when talking to students is that they don’t feel heard.”
Linda Henigin Linda Henigin has lived in Palo Alto for over 15 years and has two kids who have both gone through the district’s public school system. Henigin has been a math teacher and classroom aide at Duveneck Elementary and has received multiple honorary service awards for Parent Teacher Association service in Palo Alto. Henigin said her experience in education in Palo Alto differentiates her from other candidates in the race. “I have knowledge of what it is like to be in our classrooms as a teacher, and I have spent time with students, so I really understand the impact that the board’s decisions have on real classrooms and teachers and students,” Henigin said. Henigin was a supporter of Measure B, which would have renewed the expiring parcel tax at a reduced rate of $800 annually. Despite it being defeated in June 2026, if elected, Henigin said she would propose another parcel tax that she hopes would gain broader support by having better leadership from the board and clearer messaging. “We need to communicate a lot more clearly to the community what the tax is for and why we need it,” Henigin said. “We want an excellent level of education in our schools, and that costs more than what our current property taxes can afford.” Henigin said she also hopes to incorporate student voices in school board decisions. “We could have some more student-focused initiatives where student voices are being elevated through
different programs,” Henigin said. “There must be something we can do to really get more youth voices into deciding what certain solutions should be.”
John Craig Craig is a Palo Alto resident and parent of a current PAUSD student and has a multinational background in engineering, technology and management consulting. Craig said he was motivated to run for a board position because of his daughter’s experiences in PAUSD and concerns he has about the district’s handling of student technology use, leading him to want to push for greater accountability and transparency from the board. “They are elected o$cials – they should be responding directly and not hiding behind the superintendent,” Craig said. Craig said his platform is built around trust and transparency, and he said the board needs to rebuild the trust that it might have lost in the past, through action and accountability. Craig said his management and leadership experiences make him a good fit for the board in order to rebuild this lost trust. “You have to be able to recognize that there are different groups, different interests and find the best way to work together in a very transparent way,” Craig said. Like Wang, Craig also advocates for a balanced education system that fosters higher-level academic curriculum as well as keeping services that provide fundamental support for all students. “I think the potential of this community is amazing, and by establishing good finances and good controls, (we can) build trust back up in the community,” Craig said. “I want parents to (say) I want to send my kids to the Palo Alto public schools. This is the best possible option for them.”
Eve Dixon Staff Writer
DASHEL CHUN/THE CAMPANILE
JOHN CRAIG/USED WITH PERMISSION
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Social Media Manager Dr. Jason Glass joined the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education as superintendent after being approved in a unanimous school board vote on July 1. Glass’ hiring follows months of tumultuous change in the district. Following former superintendent Don Austin’s resignation in February, two interim superintendents – Trent Bahadursingh and Herb Espiritu – stepped into the role within the last three months of the 2025-2026 school year. But rather than arriving with a fixed agenda to help steady the district, Glass said he will develop his vision for PAUSD through listening to the community. “I don’t come in and impose my vision on the place,” Glass said. “That happens (through) listening to the community and trying to surface what the aspirations that parents and the larger community have for their school, their children. And then we build it from there.” Glass separated from the Laguna Beach Unified School District in May after serving as superintendent for one year. Former PAUSD superintendent Don Austin filled this role in July. Before coming to PAUSD, Glass spent a combined eight years in superintendent positions at Laguna Beach as well as at Eagle County School District and Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado. Glass also worked at the university level as associate vice president at Western Michigan University, was a teacher early in his career and worked at the state level in education for Iowa, Colorado and Kentucky. Glass earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in education, political science and public policy from the University of Kentucky, and he received his doctorate of education in educational leadership from Seton Hall University. Palo Alto Educators Association President Tom Culbertson said he knows families in the district have felt alienated in recent years and said Glass will need time to rebuild trust.
“District management was not super popular last year, and the school board also was under quite a bit of pressure as well,” Culbertson said. “I think he knows that it’s a long journey to bring back the community and the stuff that makes this district really strong.” With Austin’s sudden separation with the district last year, the school board was left with a shortened timeline for the hiring process. Board member Josh Salcman said the process had to be accelerated to have access to as many applicants as possible within the small window of time for the superintendent hiring season. “If you miss that window of opportunity, then that actually affects the pool of candidates you have available,” Salcman said. “So one of the big benefits that we got by somewhat accelerating the timeline was that we got access to a really fantastic pool of candidates.” And Salcman said he appreciates the expertise Glass brings to the position. “He has just an incredible breadth of experience and expertise, not just in running school districts, (but) in particular school districts in communities that have high expectations around the quality of education they want for students,” Salcman said. Salcman also said Glass’ commitment to students is admirable as is his experience at different educational levels. “Having an understanding of how the education system is structured, not just in school districts, but also at the macro level, is important,” Salcman said. “He just has such a commitment to education.” PAUSD School Board Vice President Rowena Chiu said she thinks Glass’ empathy will serve the district well. “I think it will help him heal the district and bring people together because before he came in, there was a lot of controversy where different groups felt
disenfranchised, whether it was parents, students or teachers,” Chiu said. “I think that’s part of the cultural reset, is that we as a community are able to come together and work together.” Glass said he was drawn to PAUSD not only for its quality of education, but because he also felt the position fit his talents. “It was a community that I felt like I had a set of skills and experiences that would fit well with what the district needed,” Glass said. “There was a desire for someone who could establish relationships with the staff and the community, and that’s always been an area where I’ve put a lot of effort into.” In order to start establishing these relationships, Glass launched a broad outreach initiative to reach PAUSD parents and students shortly after his arrival, inviting parents, students and community members to give suggestions on what they want from the district. “We’re asking the community very simple and open-ended questions about what they’re proud of about the district and what things that they think we need to work on, and what their aspirations are for the district five years from now,” Glass said. Glass has two kids in the district, one in high school and the other in middle school, and he said because of this, student feedback reaches him quickly. “I have real accountability when I make a decision that my kids don’t like – they let me know right away,” Glass said. For Culbertson, moving forward with a more collaborative relationship between PAUSD administration and teachers is a priority. “I’ve spoken with Superintendent Glass (about) involving teachers more and becoming much better partners, rather than adversaries,” Culbertson said. “(That) is what everyone wants, especially teachers.”
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Palo Alto Middle College senior and Student Board Representative Anaya Rana has already been impressed by Glass. “He’s already been doing so much of that amazing work by hosting events for certain groups and going to the schools and visiting people,” Rana said. “It’s really meaningful when a superintendent is someone you can recognize and someone you can talk to, as opposed to just someone who sits in their o$ce.” Principal Brent Kline said he hopes the community has compassion as Glass navigates his new role. “I hope that there’s patience involved from everyone else that’s watching and listening to what our superintendent does,” Kline said. “I believe that he has the knowledge, background and understanding (of ) what his role is to ensure that Palo Alto Unified School District is successful and supported throughout whatever happens.” Junior and Student Board Representative Helen Li also said Glass has been receptive to feedback from school board representatives. “He actually gives us actionable next steps that we could take, because sometimes, we don’t have our own ideas how we should move forward,” Li said. “I just really hope that he finds the support of the entire Palo Alto community because I personally really believe in him, and I think he can do a lot of good in our district.” Culbertson said he also hopes future board meetings are calmer. “I want to bring back boring school board meetings again, where it’s just the usual 10 people, and not 200 people,” Culbertson said. “What that means is, people, for the most part, are happy. And they feel like they’ve been heard when they have an objection or a problem. We can just go about the business of doing education, that’s our main focus. That’s everybody’s focus here.” In the future, Salcman said he hopes Glass continues to collaborate with teachers, parents and students. “In order to be successful, he is going to need to develop really collaborative relationships with all those different groups, and I think he’s more than capable of doing that,” Salcman said. “I feel very optimistic about this time for the district, and I think that Dr. Glass is really an ideal leader for us right now.”
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The Campanile
3
News
Slashing of the passing
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his school year, the Palo Alto and Gunn High School administration teams implemented a new bell schedule that shortens passing periods from 10 to seven minutes. The change has faced criticism from students and parents, with many expressing concerns that a seven-minute passing period doesn’t give students enough time to talk to teachers and friends and makes it more difficult to get across campus without being tardy. Despite the complaints, Principal Brent Kline said the change to go from a 10-minute passing period to a seven-minute one is in line with the regional norms of other schools. “Both Gunn and Paly were the only two schools that had that long a passing period,” Kline said. “Everyone else had either five, six or seven minutes, and so we thought adjusting it down to seven would be a middleof-the-road kind of thing.” Kline also said the shift gets people out of school earlier, and he also hopes it cuts down on wasted time during passing periods. “For some people, ending at 3:59 is way better than 4:10, and so that was part of it,” Kline said. “Another piece to it is that with a 10-minute passing period, I think in your mind you feel like you have a lot of time, and so we had students that wouldn’t get to class on time because they were doing other things or hanging out with a friend, talking, not leaving, or even going across the street to Town and Country. Taking it (the passing period) down a little bit has lessened that situation tremendously.” For students, the di$erence from previous years’ schedule is already noticeable. Junior ASB Secretary Yasseen Fakhry said it has been difficult to adapt to a new rhythm. “Making the passing period shorter only made (people) three minutes later than they would have been,” Fakhry said. “I’m always used to the time on a 10-minute grace period, so I’m ready for class at 1:00, and (the bell) actually rings at 12:57. Then I’m always three minutes late without even intending to be, just because I think I can use the bathroom, and I’m trying to budget my time that way.” Shorter passing periods have also prompted changes for faculty. Physical education teacher Sheri Mulroe said although she has seen neither a rise nor a decrease in tardiness, the
shortened passing period has impacted how she assists students. “As teachers, usually we do not have time to ourselves during a passing period,” Mulroe said. “We’re helping students. We help fewer students in seven minutes than in 10 minutes.” But Kline said he believes students will adjust to the new bell schedule after a few weeks. “I would say that the biggest pushback is that people are having difficulty remembering the times,” Kline said. “My advice to you is that you soon will remember the time that classes get out after you give it a month or so.” Fakhry said he was aware of the district considering the schedule change last school year and that he and other members of ASB attempted to push back against it. “I know that myself and some more vocal members like Leilani (Chen) actually made petitions and steps to try to remove it because they were not happy with the change,” Fakhry said. “They thought that those three minutes were really necessary, whether for bathroom breaks, staying late to get help from a teacher or just dayto-day tasks like needing to pick up something from your locker.” The backlash against shorter passing periods did lead to a petition, started by senior Leilani Chen, which asked the high schools to switch back to a 10-minute passing period . But despite the petition gathering over 1,000 signatures , district officials have not shown any intention to reverse the policy. For now, Kline said the administration teams at both PAUSD high schools will continue monitoring attendance and tardiness data and are open to feedback. “Both Principal Eric Olah at Gunn and myself at Paly said that we will be looking into it, reviewing it,” Kline said. “We’ll continue to look at what the data shows us, and be open to opinions and suggestions, but it seems to be going well right now.” Editors’ note: Leilani Chen is one of The Campanile’s news and opinion editors, and therefore was not interviewed for this story.
Medha Muppidi
Art Director
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Students walk across campus during a seven-minute passing period. Principal Brent Kline said the shorter passing period makes the day move faster. “When you consider that the passing period is not a significant part of our day, I think it gives us more efficiency,” Kline said.
District grapples with potential $33 million deficit
At an August school board meeting, Chief Business Officer Charen Yu recommended the board of education cut $33 million in from its spending by the 2027-28 school year. Yu said if this potential deficit is not dealt with, the Santa Clara County Office of Education could get involved and take over control of the district’s budget. Superintendent Jason Glass, though, said the $33 million amount is an early estimate that could change. Currently, Glass said PAUSD is paradoxically in both a surplus and deficit. A surplus and a deficit can coexist because they measure two di$erent things. “Fund balance is like money in a savings account, the accumulated
total at a point in time,” Glass wrote in an email to The Campanile. “An operating deficit is a %ow, the amount by which one year’s expenditures exceed that year’s revenues.” Glass said the district was financially healthy until this past summer when two changes struck within months of each other. “PAUSD was not slowly mismanaged into this,” Glass wrote. “The general fund balance was healthy and growing through 2025-26 … Two things changed within a few months: the settled compensation agreements and the expiration of Measure O (the parcel tax). Together, they turned a manageable position into a structural gap.” Glass said the parcel tax, which helps fund academic programs and reduce class sizes, could bring in roughly $15 million if passed by voters next
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spring. The last attempt to pass a parcel tax in the district failed in June even though 61% of voters approved it. A parcel tax needs a two-thirds vote to pass. The compensation agreements, ratified by the district and its unions over the summer, gave sta$ a 5% salary increase retroactive to 2025-26 along with a onetime $5000 bonus, and a 5.4% salary increase this school year in addition to another $5000 bonus. Math teacher and PAEA union negotiator Daniel Nguyen said the new contracts were needed for teachers to stay with PAUSD. “We lost educators to districts that pay a lot more,” Nguyen said. “We had a 20-plus-year veteran leave for Fremont Union. Sometimes when people weigh staying for about the same pay versus cutting their commute by five hours a week, they choose the shorter commute.” To help with the deficit, Glass said the district does not plan to cut any sta$ this year. “We’re achieving this entirely through when people resign or retire or move on,” Glass said “We are not replacing some positions.” For next year, however, he said, “A reduction of this size cannot be achieved without a$ecting positions,” Glass wrote. “I am not going to pretend otherwise.” With about 86% of the general fund going to salaries and benefits, reducing spending by $33 million amounts to somewhere between 150 and 200 positions, Glass said. But he said the district plans to start with cuts from the top down. “We always want to start as far from the classroom, the experiences of students, as we possibly can,” Glass said. Glass also said despite attempts to mitigate the cuts’ impact on students, they may still be negatively a$ected. “Class sizes that they’ve been used to enjoying, that have been quite low, may creep up,” Glass said.
“Positions like bus drivers, custodians, hourly workers in offices, aides, the people who support teachers, all have to be considered.” Paly’s school board representative junior Helen Li said she thinks there are still many administrative structures the district could cut from. “For example, we did not need five assistant superintendents,” Li said. “There’s so many places where we could become more efficient and keep the impact away from the people it a$ects the most — the teachers and the students.” And Nguyen said in the past, the district’s projections have often overestimated deficits. “Over the past five years, their predictions were o$ by about $20 million per year,” Nguyen said. “If that happens again, that’s already half of this $33 million figure gone.” Nguyen said in some years, similar deficits were predicted, but were inaccurate and led to leftover sums of money. “They’ve said we had a structural deficit for the last few years, and yet in those same years, when the actuals came in, they’ve had surpluses,” Nguyen said. “So I take that declaration with a grain of salt.” Even so, Glass said the projection is meant to show what happens if the district does nothing, not to predict the final outcome. “A multi-year projection … answers a specific question: what happens if we take no corrective action,” Glass wrote. “It is deliberately built without assumed savings, because its purpose is to size the problem, not to hide it.”
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Asaf Milman
Newsletter Editor
The Campanile
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
4
News
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n an August back-to-school email from principal Brent Kline to parents and students, Palo Alto High School administration announced an update to the parking permit policy for students. Due to construction on Churchill Ave, administrators have lowered the number of student parking spaces this semester, giving seniors priority while juniors must potentially enter a lottery to get a spot. Administrators say the policy aims to minimize congestion in the parking lot. But senior Lise Concolato said parking will become more difficult for students who arrive later in the morning. “Some of my friends will come to school a little later than expected — not late, but by then it’s already 8:50, and the parking lot is already full,” Concolato said. “They’ll either circle around the parking (lot), hoping someone will leave, or they go into the Southgate neighborhood and park there.” Concolato said limited parking will also cause students to park in unpermitted areas. “The biggest issue with the parking policy would be that juniors can’t park and will end up parking illegally in other places,” Concolato said. Some juniors, like April Yuan, initially planned to drive to school this year but may now need to find other forms of transportation. This is disappointing to Yuan who said she has been looking forward to driving to school since middle school. “I was rushing to get my license because I wanted to be able to drive to school,” Yuan said. “(Brent Kline) sent the email just a few days before school started, so my plans changed pretty abruptly.” Yuan said she understands the reasoning behind the new policy but also said the school could fairly distribute parking permits using a di$erent method. “Because of how big seniority is at Paly, it’s pretty fair to be giving priority to seniors,” Yuan said. “It wouldn’t be that unfair to … have it be a first-come, first-served system instead of not allowing juniors to drive at all.” But senior Eliana Miao, who had a parking permit as a junior, said having a permit can make parking more convenient and predictable. “The permit system is helpful because it guarantees that you will be able to hopefully get a spot,” Miao said. But to some students, a parking permit priced at $120, or $100 with an ASB card, is too expensive, especially compared to a parking ticket that ranges from $40 to $90. “And the parking doesn’t get checked as often, so a lot of students will just park without a parking permit hoping to not get caught,” Concolato said. But even with a permit, some students say the system doesn’t stop students from parking anyway.
ASAF MILMAN/THE CAMPANILE
Senior cars fill the student spaces in the El Camino/Embarcadero parking lot. A new parking policy that prioritizes seniors has created problems for some students. Junior drivers were told their might be a lottery system for any leftover spaces, but Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said that is not certain. “We already have a wait list for seniors,” Berkson said. “So we’ll probably still prioritize them first.” “There’s no punishment other than the fine… and a lot of the Palo Alto kids can pay for the fine, and so it’s less of a problem to them,” Concolato said. Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said the school had to prioritize seniors to maintain order. “If I open it up to everyone and said, ‘Write me an essay on why you need a spot,’ everyone has something important in their lives where they think they need a spot,” Berkson said. “More seniors drive than anyone. Obviously, you’ve got to prioritize someone, and these kids have been waiting their whole lives.”
Berkson said school officials will decide whether to hold a junior lottery depending on how many spaces become available after senior parking. “First, we have to figure out how many spots we gain back,” Berkson said. “Then, we’ll probably say, ‘Sign up, and then we’ll have a lottery.’” Although the limited parking leaves some juniors frustrated, Yuan hopes the school will create opportunities for junior parking as soon as possible. “There’s not much they can do right now except to finish the construction as fast as possible,” Yuan said.
“So it’s just annoying that it’s disrupting a lot of people’s plans.” For now, the parking policy will remain as the school observes how parking patterns change throughout the semester. Berkson said, “Until we see 30 open spots every day, then we can open up to more students.”
Judy Liang Guest Writer
!"#$%&'()$&*&*+%(,+#(-$''(&$./%+-+01(*%(&/$(.-"''#++2 7'//"&%-&$*$06*%+-*)#)%)0%)4-*0)8$*%"*&-.'(-*.)$%&0(%)"#$*0$*%+-*.)$%&)(%*9-)3+$*)%$*:-#-;%$1*.&09:0(<$ As technology becomes more prevalent things happen, like kids starting to think in schools, Palo Alto parents are petitionthat they’re better at something than they ing the district to remove technology from are. They cannot distinguish between what classrooms, voicing their concerns at the their global ability is versus what they can Aug. 18 PAUSD board meeting. do when they’re AI augmented.” The movement was spearheaded by two While SBS supports teaching students PAUSD parents, Candice Wei and Leor about healthy technology and AI use, Wei Melamedov, who founded the local chapsaid educational technology like videos, ter of School Beyond Screens, a national ChatGPT and iReady should not be used organization that advocates for healthier in daily classroom instruction. technology policies in schools. “The only solution is just to take away all “We are asking PAUSD’s School Board the laptops,” Wei said. “The technology has to adopt healthier, safer to be removed, because and more balanced there’s just way too technology policies ways for it to be 34$("#$("'5*%0(!6789:'(8./++-( many that protect childhood, abused right now.” support real learning As SBS advocates ;+"#<(&+("<+)&(/$"-&/*$#=('",$#( for a strict removal of and prioritize students over screens,” their screens, the PAUSD "%<(2+#$(>"-"%.$<(&$./%+-+01( board and Superintenwebsite said. As of Sep. 7, their dent Jason Glass are petition has 286 )+-*.*$'(&/"&()#+&$.&(./*-</++<=( engaging with SBS signatures. It calls and have started a for PAUSD to adopt technology committee '?))+#&(#$"-(-$"#%*%0("%<( a policy similar to of PAUSD repreLos Angeles Uniincluding )#*+#*&*@$('&?<$%&'(+A$#('.#$$%'BC sentatives, fied School District’s, students, parents, which includes baneducators, sta$ and ning technology-use community members, during breaks and to consider all perspeclunch, blocking nontives on this issue. educational content on “We’ve gotten redevices and only assigning paper-and-pencil ally aggressive on the use of technology in homework. education, and we may have gone too far “If using this technology at a young age on some things,” Glass said. “We’re trying is so important, how come prominent tech to find out now how we can create reasonexecutives often restrict their kids’ tech use able, thoughtful limits where we can take and are so cautious about it?” Wei said. “It’s advantage of the productivity advantages because they know that (kids) need to build that technology and screens provide, but foundational skills like reading, writing and also mitigate or reduce some of the harm thinking before (they’re) allowed to access that it can cause.” these technologies.” Board member Rowena Chiu said while As a private college admissions counlimiting exposure to screens in elementary selor, Wei said the problem goes beyond school is beneficial, high school should serve academic dependence. as a transition period for students to under“I actually have high schoolers who stand how to use technology responsibly. struggle to write one coherent paragraph “If we don’t equip this generation of without ChatGPT as a crutch,” Wei said. PAUSD students with knowledge of tech“On top of that, I’m seeing even creepier nology, to learn not to be afraid of technol-
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ogy, but to learn how to use technology moderately and responsibly, we do them a disservice in terms of preparing them for the world beyond K-12, college and the workplace,” Chiu said. “We can’t entirely eradicate technology because this generation of students is growing up in a very di$erent world from the world that I went into as a college student.” Glass agrees and said technology should be monitored di$erently in elementary, middle and high school because all three groups have di$erent developmental and academic needs. For instance, elementary schools and some middle school grade levels use a Chromebook cart system instead of being given computers to take home. “There are advantages to using the cart method,” Glass said. “There are also advantages to issuing devices and putting some limits on the ways those can be used. So this balance is what we’re trying to find.” Melamedov said there are viable alternatives to unrestricted tech-use in high school, like adding a course to teach students how to use it responsibly. “If we had the will, we would find a way to make sure that our kids, by the time they’re getting ready for college, will be more prepared,” Melamedov said. In her experiences, English teacher Kari Snell said she has seen reducing screen time in class as having a visible, positive outcome. “Not only did it eliminate AI uses, it’s helping students learn to focus on one idea at a time,” Snell said. “Students think they’re really good at multitasking, but it’s just a really distracting experience. … (When writing on paper), students produced writing that was the same, if not better, than online writing. Many of them also finished in less time.” Students have mixed feelings. Senior Alice Zhan said the current amount of technology used in classrooms is just right, because she said computers are useful to have when studying and accessing resources but distracting when they pull people’s focus to social media and texting. She did
DALIA SAAL/THE CAMPANILE
District classrooms are filled with technology like thse iMacs in MAC 204, but a recent parent-lead initialve aims to change some of that. Superintendent Jason Glass, though, said technology prepares students for the advancing workplace. “You don’t typically put these technologies back in the bottle,” Glass said. “The genie doesn’t go back in the bottle once it’s out.” say, though, that she pays more attention in classes that prohibit computers. “In AP Physics and Economics, we completely don’t use computers in class,” Zhan said. “My notes look better when I take them in a notebook compared to a computer.” Following the recent shift towards Chromebook carts for middle schools, Melamedov said she’s hoping to make sure the district has accurate information about what is actually happening in classrooms and continue discussing their concerns with the entire community. “Change starts through willingness to see there is a problem and do something real about it,” Melamedov said.
However, Glass said PAUSD is still trying to find the right balance between acknowledging parents’ concerns and hearing other perspectives. “I’m always resistant to any one group coming in and imposing and saying, ‘This is the only way to do it, and we demand this, and you need to impose this on everyone else,’” Glass said. “I much prefer to slow down, see if we can find common-sense, consensus answers and move forward together.”
Casey Zhang Guest Writer
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The Campanile
5
Lifestyle
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very school day morning, junior Kyle Chen rides his custommade electric bike across town to Paly. Like many other students, Chen lives far from campus. To get there, he finds e-bikes the most convenient and efficient mode of transportation. “I live more than two miles away from school, and so with a regular bike, it would take around more than 15 minutes to get to school every single day,” Chen said. “I was getting a lot of tardies, so I got an e-bike that goes a lot faster.” As the popularity of E-bikes rises among students as a primary mode of transportation to get to and from school, Karen Gauss, Palo Alto’s Safe Routes to School transportation planner, said police have seen a corresponding increase in accidents. “The police department in Palo Alto (is) seeing e-bike crashes, and they didn’t see those several years ago,” Gauss said. Lieutenant Nicolas Martinez, who oversees administrative services for the Palo Alto Police Department, said e-bike crashes are more common not only locally but throughout the state. “We see kids of all ages riding e-bikes around town,” Martinez wrote in an email to The Campanile. “As seen in communities across the Bay Area and state, e-bikes have become very popular. When any person riding an e-bike is involved in a collision, the injuries tend to be more serious and severe than those riding conventional pedal bicycles.” California classifies e-bikes into three categories: Class One, Class Two and Class Three. Class One e-bikes provide motor assistance only while the rider is peddling and stop assisting at 20 mph. Class Two e-bikes also stop assisting at 20 mph but include a throttle that can propel the bike without peddling. Class Three e-bikes provide pedal assistance up to 28 mph and do not have a throttle. According to the city of Palo Alto website, Class Two and Three e-bikes are banned on campus starting this fall while Class One e-bikes will be banned starting in the fall 2027. Chen is among the riders who disagree with this ban. “There’s really no reason to set all these rules on how kids can choose their way to school because it’s not affecting their school,” Chen said. “I just live so far away, and I can’t get a parking permit, so it’s my only way to get to school efficiently.” Chen does say, though, that some e-bike riders don’t follow the rules. “The really fast ones are just illegal by themselves, and I see a lot of them just running stop signs, running red lights. They don’t have signals, and they don’t have helmets,” Chen said. Martinez said police have observed similar unsafe behavior. He noted students riding too fast without helmets, riding with one or more passengers and erratic movements lead to the most accidents. “(The police have seen students) riding too fast and in an unsafe manner, riding without a proper helmet, riding with one or more passengers on an e-bike,” Martinez wrote. “Erratic movements around other vehicles, unsafe turning movements, and inexperience (lead to the most accidents)”. Martinez said police cannot issue citations or warnings specific to e-bikes, and he declined to comment further on police enforcement of e-bike rules. Regardless of how the police handle the situation, Gauss said she does not recommend e-bikes for children and hopes future laws restrict e-bike use. “We are saying that e-bikes are for adults, and we’re also recommending not purchasing motorized devices for children,” Gauss said. “I realize the state law is lagging behind the city’s recommendation. I don’t have a law that I can cite, but I would say under 18, no motorized device; I’m going to include e-bikes, e-scooters and e-motorcycles.” CHRISTOPHER LEE/THE CAMPANILE
Junior Ori Gur-Ari is one of many students who rides an electronic bike to school. Recently Palo Alto Unified School District issued new rules surrounding the use of ebikes on campus that will ban all varieties by the 2027-28 school year. “There’s really no reason to set all these rules on how kids can choose their way to school because it’s not affecting their school,” junior Kyle Chen said.
Christopher Lee Sports & Web Editor
Teens shift the idea of concerts away from music 5-#)&/(4%+)&6(7$)%"+'(&$%('0)7,)"8(,0%(7-#*'(-7(#-"#%$,'(7$-4(,0%(&$,)',(,-('0&$%+(%93%$)%"#%'6('-#)&/(#-""%#,)-"6(:;<; Senior Lorelei Kardwell stands in a crowd at a concert, phone in hand as she records videos to post on her Instagram story later. The music booms around her, but for Kardwell and her friends, the performer on stage isn’t the most important thing. “Now it’s a little more about the aspect of going to a concert, not the actual concert,” Kardwell said. “A lot of times I catch myself trying to make memories with friends and talking to them a lot.” Kardwell’s experience is not unique. According to a 2025
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TicketSwap study, 50% of Gen Z respondents only buy concert tickets after their friends confirm they are going. Even then, most Gen Zers choose events that offer more than just music, emphasizing experience, community and inclusivity.
With these changing views on concerts comes a
changing atmosphere that junior Okiki Asogba said he views negatively. “If only a certain (number) of people are there for the music, and there are other people just hanging out and not even enjoying the music, they’re just talking and on their phones, it brings down the energy a lot,” Asogba said. But it’s the fear of missing out, or FOMO, that seems to
in%uence many young people in these Whether people are attending concerts situations. A 2025 study from the National for social media or for their friends, LittleLibrary of Medicine found that younger field said more people attending live music people can feel anxious events is not necessarily a about experiences that bad thing for the industry. aren’t documented, making “For the artists, either !"#$%&#'($')$'*'+$,+#-)')$' way, they are getting money recordings at concerts feel necessary as proof of of it,” Littlefield said. “If )*.#'*'%/+)0-#'*,1'%$2)'$,' off attending. anything, they are making Sophomore Fabiana )3#/-'2)$-4'2$')3#4'+*,'5)'/,' more money because Littlefield said she has more people are going to 6/)3'#7#-4$,#'#&2#89 noticed a similar trend of concerts.” people prioritizing social Junior Anisha Shetty media over the music. said she agrees, although !"#"#$%&'()* “I don’t think it’s about she said it could be dethe music anymore,” moralizing for performers Littlefield said. “I know so many despite the financial benefits. people that go to concerts that “In a way it’s kind of sad for the people they don’t even know just for the who are performing at the concerts because experience and to post on social the people that are showing up, especially in media.” the younger generations, aren’t really going And Asogba said social to listen to their music,” Shetty said. media has shifted the Littlefield also said artists may feel unapintentions of many preciated. concert-goers. “It’s really sad because a lot of these art“People go to a ists spend a lot of time and effort into these concert to take a songs just for them to get TikTok-ified,” picture and post on Littlefield said. their story so Despite these concerns, concerts allow they can fit in people to come together and make memowith everybody ries. Kardwell said this socialization is rare else,” Asogba today, making concerts a unique space. said. “I feel “Music brings together community,” social media Kardwell said. “With what’s happening has definitely in the world right now, there are very few played a big part things that people can connect on.” in changing people’s perspective on what to Maia Wadhwani do at a concert.” Staff Writer
The Campanile
6
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Lifestyle
GOING BEHIND
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hen people think of Hollywood, they picture red carpets and movie stars. In reality, the success of films and TV shows rests on many real people working in front of and behind the camera. This series of profiles features some of these roles and their stories, showing that no two paths are the same and that there’s a place for everyone in the film industry.
Bryan McCoy, with $800 and a dream For stunt coordinator and performer Bryan McCoy, life is full of making tough decisions, especially when there isn’t a safety net to catch him. One of those decisions was to leave everything, including his family’s ranch in New Mexico, behind. “As soon as I graduated high school, I had 800 bucks in my pocket and my Mustang GT, and I took o# to LA,” McCoy said. “I didn’t know anybody there, and I slept in a Ralphs parking lot for three weeks until I could find somewhere to live.” It all started for McCoy when he was young, watching action movies and dressing as characters in those movies, which sparked his interest in becoming a stunt coordinator and performer in films. Then, when an opportunity came his way, he realized it could be a potential career. “I was about 15, 16, and a movie came through my hometown,” McCoy said. “I applied to be in the movie, and I didn’t get to be in it. But I was like, that’s a job. I can actually do that. So I was like, ‘I got to figure out how I can get into the movies.’” This interest is what drove McCoy to start a new life in Los Angeles. “It was really difficult to navigate,” McCoy said. “LA is a lot more expensive than where I grew up.” Eventually, McCoy found his first job as a background actor. “I was so green,” McCoy said. “I had no idea what was going on.” As McCoy took on this first
opportunity, he quickly understood that Hollywood was not as glamorous as he had imagined it. “They shuttled us out to the desert … I was freezing cold,” McCoy said. “I was just like, ‘Oh my God, is this Hollywood? There’s no way.’ As soon as I got back from that job, I called my mom, and I was like, ‘I think I made a really bad decision.’” Despite the rocky start, McCoy persevered. As he gained experience, he landed jobs in larger productions such as “Outer Banks,” “The Matrix Resurrections” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” “The Matrix is probably one of my favorite movies,” McCoy said. “It was wild. They had helicopters flying in between the buildings. They had cars flipping. We had 60-plus stunt performers. Hundreds of extras running down the street – we’re flipping cars; we’re rigging. If you could put every stunt into a movie, that movie had it all.” McCoy said he ensures he takes care of his body in order to do his best work. “We’re always in the gym,” McCoy said. “We’re always trying to eat super clean, we’re always going to the chiropractor. We train super hard so that when we get into these positions, our body can actually handle it.”
three times before,” Barrett said. “I somehow ended up in a position where I was supervising animation and in a position that ended up on that Oscars ticket. I will never lose sight of the fact that I’m incredibly lucky to represent the team.” In addition to animation, Barrett’s job involves syncing an actor’s live-action performance with a computer-generated character. “The joy for me is doing everything that’s required with the tools, the puppets and everything that we have to bring those performances through,” Barrett said. Barrett said working closely with the director of the films – James Cameron, also known for directing “Titanic,” was an eye-opening experience. “He wants to empower everybody around him to do all the stu# that he doesn’t have the time to do,” Barrett said. “He’s the filmmaking genius. I’ve always said he’s probably a better animator than me, if he had the time to do it. He’s good at all aspects of filmmaking, but he can’t do it all, so he arms his team with the knowledge and the skills and the understanding of the way that he makes films.” Barrett’s first major experience as an animation supervisor was on the “Planet of the Apes” film series, which he said taught him valuable lessons. However, Barrett said his job comes with intense pressure to deliver on time, which means everyone on the team has responsibilities. “Those calls that you make where you take a shot o# an animator because they’re too overloaded, or perhaps they’re having difficulty on it, and you know they could get there, but it’s going to take them two weeks, and they’ve got two days — that would definitely be the hardest part of my job,” Barrett said. Barrett said high schoolers interested in the field of animation need to have determination. “Don’t take a di#erent job in a di#erent role,” Barrett said. “Stick with that idea that you want to be an animator and just animate and animate as much as you possibly can.”
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Daniel Barrett, making waves at the Oscars While McCoy built his career one stunt at a time, two-time Oscar-winning visual e#ects artist Daniel Barrett built his career one frame at a time, starting as a messy oil painter in his bedroom. “I drew all the time,” Barrett said. “I was going to go to art school. I was going to be a painter. That was my plan.” After attending college in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture, he worked for Neil Dawson, an artist famous for his large-scale civic structures displayed around the world. “I was about 27,” Barrett said. “I’d been with him a few years, and I decided I needed a new career. I knew I needed to make money because working as a sculptor was never a great idea.” So, Barrett returned to school where he learned graphic design and became fascinated with 2D and 3D animation. “You don’t mess around when you’re 27,” Barrett said. “I ended up going in halfway through the course, but by the end of the course — six months in — I had enough of a showreel to get a job.” Since 2006, Barrett has been a part of W&tā FX, a premier visual e#ects company known for doing work on films like Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise. Barrett was a lead animator for “Avatar” and won two Oscars for Best Achievement in Visual E#ects as senior animation supervisor of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” “The first win on ‘The Way of Water’ was amazing because I’d been nominated
Mackenzie Lawrence on making sets safer In 2018, HBO formally established a role that had previously existed only in the margins. When Mackenzie Lawrence graduated from Canada’s Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Polytechnic with a diploma in film and video production, she had no idea her career would lead her to being one of the few intimacy coordinators working in the film industry. But she didn’t start there. “My first film set was ‘Heartland,’” Lawrence said. “I was a locations production assistant. I was slinging garbage, doing road lockup, standing in the middle of a field making sure people weren’t in the shots.” Lawrence grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and in high school developed an interest in acting and behind-the-scenes work. After college, she worked as an assistant director on films like Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and the series “Dark Matter.” When intimacy coordination emerged as Hollywood’s response to the viral nature of the #MeToo movement in 2017, Lawrence was on one of the first sets in Toronto to have such a position. “I witnessed the role on set when it was still new,” Lawrence said. “I saw what it was supposed to be — advocating for performers, making the process easier, making everyone feel more confident and causing less harm.” With that, Lawrence knew she had to pursue the career. “I was like, ‘That is what I’m meant to do,’” Lawrence said. Lawrence trained for two years with Alicia Rodis, one of the pioneers of the intimacy coordinator role. She said she wanted to gather as much training as she could, in person and virtually, to make sure she was ready to step into the role. As an intimacy coordinator, Lawrence choreographs and blocks arrangements for all sorts of scenes, from kissing to simulated sex. “It’s always a collaboration between myself, the director and the performers to decide on the choreography,” Lawrence said. “I help give tips and implement things I think will enhance the scene to make it look realistic and tell the story, while also hiding modesty garments from the camera if needed.” Like other professionals in the film industry, Lawrence said she faces daily challenges, from physical demands to workplace difficulties. “It’s hard on your body — standing for 12 hours a day,” Lawrence said. “There is still a good amount of misogyny in the film industry. We’re battling it, and it’s improved greatly, but it’s still there … That has been one of my hardest battles — being able to use a firm voice and state my opinion without people being o#ended by it.” Lawrence has worked on more than 40 productions as an intimacy coordinator, including “Cross,” “Slip,” “Ginny & Georgia” and “Black Phone 2.” “You meet amazing people and form lifelong friendships and colleagues,” Lawrence said. “You work with them on a show for five months, then go to a new show with completely new people, and hopefully see the previous people down the road on a di#erent show.” After over 14 years in the film industry, Lawrence said she is even more passionate and motivated about her role. Lawrence said, “I love the film industry because every day is something completely new.”
David Rowden, the man behind “The Rookie” stunts
Pictured from top left to bottom right: Officer John Nolan from “The Rookie” (Nathan Fillion), Ren-Horng Wang, Mackenzie Lawrence, Bryan McCoy, Eddy Okba, Neytiri from “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (Zoe Saldaña). Photos by Ren-Horng Wang, Mackenzie Lawrence, Bryan McCoy, Eddy Okba, used with permission. detpress.com/Fair Use, avatar.com/Fair Use
While Lawrence handles the safety of actors during intimate scenes, David Rowden ensures actors survive car crashes, explosions and fight scenes. Rowden is now an award-winning stunt
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The Campanile
Lifestyle
THE SCENES
7
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coordinator with nearly four decades of experience on films like “Men in Black,” “Iron Man,” “Back to the Future Part II” and “The Rookie,” but like many others, he started as an extra. “Being young and not that smart decision-wise, I decided to quit college my junior year,” Rowden said. “I was just floating around and not doing much. Somebody said, ‘Hey, would you like to try background work?’ I was like, ‘Well, what’s background work?’ They were like, ‘You just be an extra, and you’ll get paid and be part of a crowd scene or whatever.’ So that’s how I got my foot in the door.” Being on set allowed Rowden to explore different roles, and, as a sports lover, he was soon drawn to the physicality and movement of stunts. So, he started working in that direction. “Every show I would get on, I’d introduce myself and say, ‘I’d love to train,’” Rowden said. “Some people said yes. A lot of people said no, and it just slowly started morphing into a stunt career.” In 2001, he was hired as a stunt performer on the film “Minority Report,” starring Tom Cruise. “He was on my back, we had wires, and we were bouncing off every wall, the ground and went through a ceiling,” Rowden said. “We did so much stuff on that show that it earned the team a World Stunt Award.” As he aged, Rowden realized he could only do stunts for so long, and soon stepped into stunt coordination. “Hitting the ground or doubling a young guy, the window of opportunity is closing,” Rowden said. “So I need to move on because I can only do that so long.” Since 2019, he has been the lead stunt coordinator on the TV show “The Rookie,” which has been nominated five times for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Drama Programming. “When I bring people in to work, we’re a team — there’s no I in team,” Rowden said. “When we’re putting together something like the Emmy nomination reel, we put up a big fight, so everybody’s ideas come in … That’s what helps us succeed. We’re just grateful to be doing something we love — that’s the biggest payoff.” Choreographing dangerous stunts sometimes means drawing the fine line between serious injuries and a successful take. As an example, Rowden cites an episode of “The Rookie” where actor Chad Guerrero had to undergo a full burn scene. “We had a tailwind that day at LA Center Studios, so he’s running, and it’s pushing the flames on top of him,” Rowden said. “That’s a really dangerous stunt. But luckily Chad only had a tiny little blister on his cheek and one blister on his hand from rubbing his hand on the ground.” For high school students who want to enter the film industry, Rowden said they need on-set experience. He recommends applying to do extra work on Central Casting, a free online website. “Get on set and find out what the lingo is and where to go,” Rowden said. “Get all your set etiquette down. You may see something on set that you like and go, ‘I want to do that instead.’” Looking back on his career, Rowden said he feels thankful. “I never had that dream, but I found my calling in life,” Rowden said. “I wasn’t looking this direction, but lo and behold, here I am 38 years later. I’m very blessed, very grateful for what I got.”
said. “‘You’re going to be where your family is. After you graduate from college, you can do whatever you want.’” Despite her parents’ wishes, Coney decided to pursue her dreams, earning a degree in journalism and a minor in dramatic arts in college. She got opportunities to model and act in commercials, and soon after, she booked her first network credit in 2005 for “One Tree Hill.” Coney continued to act in several films, including “Love” and “The Righteous Gemstones.” “‘The Righteous Gemstones’ was amazing because that was one of the first shows where we got to improv a lot,” Coney said. “You never knew what was going to show up.” Coney said opportunities may come when you least expect them to. “I recently did a movie called ‘Love’, where I got to play a struggling mom who was also a drug addict,” Coney said. “I got thrown into the part last minute with some actors that had already been a part of it. Their actress had to decline at the last minute, and someone knew me and threw me in. That was so fun. Such a struggle, the most challenging role I’d had at that point.” She has also been acting as a recurring character, Nurse Lisa, on “The Rookie” ever since one spontaneous day when Nathan Fillion, who plays John Nolan, decided to give her a few of his lines. “I ended up working two days, and from there they just kept bringing me back,” Coney said. Even with the sincerity of cast members, Coney said the industry has its tough moments. “The hardest part is almost booking a series regular and being a part of the main cast, and then finding out they went another direction,” Coney said. “You have to just get over that. The ‘no’s’ aren’t ‘no’s’ — they’re just ‘not right now’s.’ What’s for you is for you, and when it’s yours, it’s going to be yours.” Coney said being prepared to jump on opportunities is key. “I have a couple of agents and then a manager,” Coney said. “Between the three or four of them, they work hard and get me things. I also work with friends on projects, and if someone asks me to, I almost never say no.” Despite her success, Coney said she’s always working to improve herself. “I’m always in class,” Coney said. “I’m always auditioning. You really have to understand that the job we have is: as long as you’re acting, you’re an actor. So you stay in class, you stay busy, you work with friends on projects. There’s never a time when I’m not doing anything regarding acting.”
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“A lot of this is still learning for me,” Wang said. “I didn’t grow up in an entertainment family, so I’ve had to figure it out.” Rather than following a traditional career ladder of starting in entrylevel positions and gradually moving into larger productions, Wang began by making short films and sending them to film festivals or uploading them to YouTube. His short film “325 Sycamore Lane” gained about 76,000 views on YouTube, and his most recent film, “We Never Sleep,” premiered at the Cleveland International Film Festival, one of the top 10 regional film festivals in the States. “Someone makes a short film, sends it to film festivals, and if it gets recognition, people from big companies like Paramount or Warner Brothers will come and say, ‘Hey, we can help distribute it or take your idea and build it into a feature,’” Wang said. Wang always found happiness writing short stories in his early middle school and high school years. As he became more interested in the film industry, he started taking screenwriting classes in college. To gain more extensive experience, Wang studied abroad for a semester at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts, considered by many to be one of the most prestigious film schools in the world. “That’s how I learned stuff like location scouting and how things actually work on set,” Wang said. Even while balancing filmmaking with being a senior college counselor and essay editor, Wang continues to work on independent projects. “Make your own way,” Wang said. “Don’t rely on companies, film festivals or platforms to give you something. If you have an idea, make it and show it to other people.” Whether as a stunt coordinator, visual effects supervisor, animator, actress or filmmaker, each of these individuals found their own way into the film industry. Each story shows that success doesn’t always come from a straight path or perfect background, and persistence can open unexpected doors to new opportunities. “No dream is too big,” McCoy said. “You just got to follow your dreams and you really have to believe in yourself, because if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else is going to believe in you.”
Cindy Liang & Judy Liang Editor-in-Chief & Guest Writer
Ren-Horng Wang on forging his own path Producer and screenwriter Ren-Horng Wang has carved his path by creating his own opportunities, navigating through challenges and independent filmmaking.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CIND Y LIA
Eddy Okba, a senior animator at Pixar Animation Studios, found his calling in life, in the film industry too. His journey is one of persistence and the power of never giving up. Growing up in Paris, Okba was surrounded by museums and a strong arts culture. While he found his love for art in Paris, he said becoming an animator wasn’t his original intention. “I went to art school in France, originally wanting to do illustrations or comic books,” Okba said. “But there were so many classes: anatomy, figure drawing, animation. I fell in love with animation. Seeing my drawings move was magical.” After art school, Okba landed his first job at Illumination Entertainment, where he worked on “The Lorax,” “Despicable Me 2,” “Minions,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Despicable Me 3.” He later worked at Sony in Vancouver on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Two years later, he joined Pixar. “Pixar was always my dream — it was like a dream you’re afraid of saying out loud,” Okba said. “I applied there every year since I started for internships and jobs. One day, they said, ‘We might have a spot. Are you interested?’” On a typical film, Okba said about 60 animators work alongside 300 to 400 total crew members across departments like storyboards, design, modeling, rigging, FX, lighting and compositing. “I talk with the director about what’s going on in the scene,” Okba said. “Woody is worried about a friend — he’s asking but doesn’t want to seem too aggressive. We study movies, take acting classes, draw. We show the director and team, get feedback: ‘No, too shy, too aggressive.’ We go version by version until the director approves.” Okba said the “Toy Story” films created a full-circle moment for him. “Working on ‘Toy Story 5’ with Woody and Buzz was literally tears in the eyes,” Okba said. “I was 8 when I watched the first ‘Toy Story’. Now my daughter is two, and she peeks into my office and recognizes Woody and Buzz. It’s insane. That one is very personal and emotional for me.” Okba ended with a piece of advice for all students and aspiring artists. “Try to get the best of every person because others will help you with their experience and skills,” Okba said. “Don’t be on your island saying, ‘I’ll show when I’m ready.’ You can’t just appear and say you’re better than Steph Curry. You have to be trained, coached, and part of a team. Keep showing your work to others and keep going. That advice applies to every path, not just animation.”
NG
Dreams really do come true: Eddy Okba’s journey from Paris to Pixar
Crystal Coney: An actress who stays ready Like Okba, actress Crystal Coney keeps going even when success doesn’t happen immediately. Growing up in a military family, she said she moved frequently and had parents who were initially unsupportive of her dreams to enter the entertainment industry after high school. “My parents — because I wanted to go to school in Los Angeles — were like, ‘absolutely not happening,’” Coney
Pictured from top left to bottom right: David Rowden and his wife Leslie Hughes, Daniel Barrett, Crystal Coney. Photos by David Rowden, Daniel Barrett and Crystal Coney, used with permission.
The Campanile
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
8
Spotlight
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I
n 1992, long-time Palo Alto resident Judith was gifted a sewing machine by her husband, who bought it from a store on University Avenue. Judith, who asked that The Campanile not use her last name because she prefers less visibility as a clinician, remembers being told she could always return to the store and get it repaired. Judith said she remembers not only that story but also the florist, art stores and bookstores that once lined University Ave in downtown Palo Alto. But many of those places no longer exist. For over 40 years, she has watched Palo Alto transform. “There’s a real shift in what it feels like to live here,” Judith said. For much of its history, Palo Alto has been a center of change. As the heart of Silicon Valley, the city has been a birthplace of technology, people and products that have changed society. But over the past two decades, Palo Alto has evolved internally, too. Stores and shopping districts have changed, while shifts in the population have influenced the city’s culture. As Palo Alto continues to evolve economically and culturally, both residents and experts are considering how the city can preserve a cohesive community while also adapting to changing demographics.
Immigration follows the tech-boom Palo Alto historian Steve Staiger said understanding the city’s evolving population begins with its relationship to Stanford University. “Palo Alto was established to be a college town,” Staiger said. “The town was there just to be the commercial side of a university, and that’s what Palo Alto was at the beginning. There wasn’t really anything else here other than this brand-new university.” Staiger said the growth of companies associated with Stanford gradually drew people to Palo Alto for careers independent of the university. As the region’s technology industry expanded, Stanford remained influential but no longer defined every resident’s connection to Palo Alto. “The people who came to work for (these companies), many of them didn’t have any direct connection to Stanford,” Staiger said. “They were here for other things, and so that’s when the town really began to change more and more.” This growth has also brought workers from around the world. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 37% of Palo Alto residents were born outside of the United States. In comparison, 14.8% of the United States population was born outside of the country. Ron Gonzales, a former San Jose mayor and the CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, said successive waves of technological development have sustained the region’s demand for highly-educated workers. But Gonzales said employers have not done enough to prepare those already living here for changing workforce demands. “I don’t think that the industry … and all of those segments of STEM have done a very good job of helping the local community transition through these processes,” Gonzales said. Gonzales said that gap in local engagement has shaped recruitment and the region’s population. “Unfortunately, that’s led to their need to recruit people from outside of the region, outside of the state, outside of the country,” Gonzales said. “But that’s also led to the incredible amount of diversity that we have now, and we’ve always been a diverse region.” Gonzales said immigrants from India and other parts of Asia have been particularly influential in recent years. “Most recently … it’s (been) Indo-Americans, people who have immigrated here or have been recruited here from India and other countries in that part of the world,” Gonzales said. “Before that, it was folks from the traditional Asian countries of Japan, Taiwan, Korea and mainland China. And of course, other cultures have been here for hundreds of years.” While immigration has diversified the region, some long-time residents said it has changed the way the community is built. Jill Passalacqua, a Paly parent and Palo Alto resident of 22 years, said she grew up in the Bay Area and said people who live in Palo Alto for only a short amount of time can affect the city’s sense of community. “When people come and go, they don’t really have much interest in building community,” Passalacqua said. “It has really damaged the character
of Palo Alto. We have become too expensive for people who have grown up here or live here to be able to afford to stay.” Gonzales said there are also other appealing aspects about the community and its environment. “The natural beauty is a natural drawing card, and the variety of things to do,” Gonzales said. “The quality of life is very strong here — cultural activities, entertainment. I think it’s an incredible place to be able to call home, if you can afford to live here.” Immigration to Palo Alto can also be attributed to broader economic factors, said Stanford professor of Education Jonathan Rosa, whose research examines language and racial inequality. Rosa said immigration is affected by contextual factors like economics or social inequality. “I would pay very careful attention to political and economic factors,” Rosa said. “How does inequality often play a profound role in shaping immigration?” Alicia Sheares, a Stanford professor of Management Science who focuses on professionals of color in Silicon Valley, said this socioeconomic disparity can be seen when comparing the a%uent wave of new immigrants to disenfranchised groups already living in the Bay Area. “We see that there are a lot of resources poured into immigrants when they are moving to someplace else,” Sheares said. Sheares said in contrast, the African-American community hasn’t had the same opportunities. “The history of the United States is very complicated towards people of color, and particularly Black people, and so they haven’t had those same levers that they can access in order to better their positioning and better their situation,” Sheares said. “We know that racial segregation, both in terms of neighborhoods and in terms of occupation, is still incredibly stark.” Gonzales agreed and said the African-American community is in danger of further marginalization. “It’s not a big community to begin with, and I say this only because I speak with a lot of leaders in the African American community,” Gonzales said. “They feel very endangered here. They don’t feel appreciated, and they don’t get a sense of community.” Sheares said differences in access to public goods reinforce these inequalities. “If you live in a better neighborhood, you have greater access to public services,” Sheares said. “So schools, hospitals, parks, all of these sorts of different opportunities that people can leverage. When people are wondering, ‘Is racial segregation still happening?’ Unless something has happened to remedy the inequalities of the past, we can think of these as more structural challenges that people face.”
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Familiar places have changed
For social studies teacher and Paly alumnus Corbin Dodd, the city’s transformation is most visible in places he can no longer visit. Dodd said he remembers getting sandwiches at Village Cheese House at Town & Country and going to Taxi’s, a downtown diner. “The things that I’ve noticed the most when I think about change in Palo Alto are mostly businesses or restaurants that no longer exist,” Dodd said. “A lot of my favorite places as a kid aren’t really around anymore.” Dodd said business could have closed for many reasons. “A lot of it probably has to do with either changing preferences among the people in this area, or maybe it has to do with the extremely high cost of living,” Dodd said. “In some cases, it might just be that the owners of the businesses decide to do something new.” But Dodd said he is also cautious about treating these losses as evidence of a change unique to Palo Alto. “I don’t know that it feels more different than other places do,” Dodd said. “It might just be that this is what happens as time passes.” Judith, though, said downtown Palo Alto has changed in its shift toward meeting the desires of people working downtown. “I don’t go downtown to shop because it doesn’t have what I want,” Judith said. “I don’t need tchotchkes. There’s a uniformity to the new restaurants that are coming in that look to me like maybe they’re for people at lunchtime.” In addition to downtown, longtime residents say Stanford Shopping Center has also changed by catering more to the higher-end shopper. Irena Smith, a Palo Alto resident who was raised in Sunnyvale, said this trans-
formation reflects the wealth accumulating around it. “It did not feel like it was this insanely extravagant place,” Smith said. “It feels like more and more that has become the case.” Tim Thomas, the director of University of California, Berkeley’s Eviction Research Network, said businesses’ decisions regarding location and consumer wealth can reinforce one another. “The shops tend to follow where the money’s landing,” Thomas said. “But those shops also attract certain people to those spaces, too.” Passalacqua said the inaccessibility and lack of variety in downtown businesses may eventually drive longtime residents out of Palo Alto. “It would be really nice to have some variety, different types of food, but not everything has to be expensive,” Passalacqua said. “Not everything has to be catered to the wealthy. It’s going to make it a more challenging and undesirable place to come for people who used to really enjoy Palo Alto.” Passalacqua said assessments should be done about what already exists and what new things a business could bring to the city. “Before letting a new establishment go in, look at what else is there,” Passalacqua said. “There’s going to be a new coffee shop, let’s say. What is this coffee shop offering that is different, unique? How many do we need in one block?”
The tech effect As wealth has increased across the Peninsula, affordability has declined, raising concerns about what rising costs could mean to the city. For long-time Palo Alto resident Jack Woodson, housing costs have made it harder to maintain a stable sense of community. “We’ve had friends make a job change and move to the Midwest,” Woodson said. “For example, my neighbor. And then he couldn’t afford to move back.” Woodson said he attributes the displacement of lower-income populations to the rise of technological industries in Silicon Valley. “As industry developed, more and more engineers — more highly paid than plumbers and electricians — wanted to live here because … it’s a beautiful community,” Woodson said. “That attracted a lot of people, and then whatever homes in Palo Alto might have been occupied by blue collar workers became too expensive for them. So those folks ended up in Redwood City and to the south. And then we’ve seen those communities rise in value and gentrification take place there as well.” Smith agrees and said the technology boom’s influence has priced housing out of reach for many people. “Things were accelerating really quickly in terms of tech,” Smith said. “Netflix was getting started. PayPal and eBay were getting started. Google was just getting going. We started to notice that houses were becoming much more expensive really quickly, in a panic-inducing kind of way.” For Judith the increase in tech’s influence on the city has come at the expense of its liveliness. “My experience is that people seem very caught up in their little bubble — it’s often groups of folks that I presume are coworkers,” Judith said. “The energy feels different. It was a little slower (in the past).”
What is Palo Alto today? Every town has demographics it serves best, as well as those it leaves behind, and those groups are changing as Palo Alto evolves. Smith said Palo Alto today does have its benefits. “There are a lot of really positive things — there’s a great library system. There’s a really good art center, community center and theater program,” Smith said. “Palo Alto serves a pretty good cross-section of the population.” Many residents, like Coupa Cafe owner Nancy Coupal, say they were drawn to the city by its liveliness. “When I first got here, one of the reasons I opened (Coupa Cafe) is because I was so impressed by the vibrancy in Palo Alto,” Coupal said. “People were out. Places were packed, and you couldn’t get a reservation. I was very impressed. I love that feeling — the vibrancy and everybody out in the street.” Still, Woodson said the service workers who make these vibrant places possible are being left behind.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The Campanile
9
Spotlight “Somebody who comes to your home to help out, somebody who works in a restaurant, people who work in the hotels, they’re struggling having two-hour commutes,” Woodson said. “It’s just heartbreaking to me to think of people spending half a day driving to and from work.”
Preserving the past as Palo Alto continues to evolve While Palo Alto has changed significantly since he grew up, Dodd said he doesn’t expect the city to stop evolving. “I don’t see any signs that Stanford is going to disappear or the tech industry is going to go away,” Dodd said. “I see those as two of the major driving forces behind the culture in Palo Alto.” Dodd did say, though, he hopes the city will continue to preserve the positive aspects of the community that draw people in. “I hope we’ll be able to maximize the good of Palo Alto,” Dodd said. “There’s so many things that are wonderful about the community, and so many things that we’re incredibly fortunate to have.”
For Smith, preserving that spirit will depend on whether people external to these booming industries can continue to live nearby. “I really hope that Palo Alto keeps some of its character,” Smith said. “Some of the things that we’re already seeing that are really sad is that people who are not in tech are not able to live here or anywhere around here.” To help with this issue, Passalacqua said accessibility should be prioritized for those who have long called it home. “We have become too expensive for people who have grown up here or live here to be able to afford to stay,” Passalacqua said. Woodson said one element of Palo Alto he hopes remains is the diversity of backgrounds. “I like the multiculturalism we have,” Woodson said. “From my earliest exposure to Palo Alto when I was a student, it’s always been a melting pot.” Coupal echoed that sentiment of trying to preserve what makes Palo Alto special, and said she hopes younger residents can preserve the city’s vibrancy by focusing on shared activities and spaces. “Come downtown and party,” Coupal said. “Go out, even if it’s just to walk around.” Coupal said the city should also think about how to remain attractive to younger generations, who will ultimately make up the community’s future. “We need to provide things for younger people to enjoy,” Coupal said. “I’m always trying to think of the future and hoping that our city will reorient to make it a place where people want to go.”
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STORY BY BROOKE BRESSLER, EDEN (LISELLE) YOO AND YIHAN ZHAO ART BY EDEN (LISELLE) YOO
The Campanile
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
10
Lifestyle
Test prep goes tutorless !"#$"%&'()$"*#"+,-'&#./#)0+1'"0)#0+&"#0.#2'-)$0')#0.#3&'3(&'#/.&#)0("1(&1$4'1#0')0$"*
Matthew Hong Staff Writer
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hen junior Helen Li’s SAT practice test score came back lower than she expected, she knew she needed help studying. But she did not call a tutor. Instead, she opened her laptop and began working through an extensive online question bank. As for the cost of the hundreds of questions, Li didn’t pay a single cent. “Two of the main reasons I chose to go tutor-free were cost and pride,” Li said. “I’m not willing to pay for a tutor when I believe I can succeed on my own with online resources.” Li is one of many Paly students who are choosing from the growing number of online tutor-free test prep resources rather than hiring an in-person tutor to prepare for standardized testing. Online programs and AI tools allow students to practice at their own pace, receive immediate feedback and focus on the areas where they need the most help without the pressure or cost of traditional tutoring. Aaron Andrikopoulos, the co-founder of AJ Tutoring, a Bay Area tutoring agency said the use of tutorless websites has expanded in the past few years and can work well for certain students. “If a student is motivated, organized
and good at learning from their mistakes, there are excellent resources available now,” Andrikopoulos said. So far, Li said her tutorless learning has paid o$. “My tutor-free approach has been very e$ective,” Li said. “My practice scores have gone up by a noticeable margin, and I believe that I’ve prepared as well as I could for the September SAT.” Li also said being able to access the tutorless programs at all times is a major benefit. “The biggest advantage of going tutorfree was the flexibility I had,” Li said. “I was able to practice whenever and as much as I wanted to.” After a friend recommended it, senior Asher Wong also chose to go tutor-free. “I’ve picked up ways to answer questions faster and spot patterns quicker, which helped me be more consistent,” Wong said. “That’s how I increased my raw score by 60 points. The gap between my highest and lowest section scores also narrowed, from more than 100 points to about 60.” Still, tutorless test prep has downsides. Wong said the lack of structure and the
time commitment are among his primary issues. “I’m happy with what I’ve done, but if I could do it again, I would have started earlier,” Wong said. “Self-studying is timeconsuming, especially without structured lessons.” Likewise, Andrikopoulos said the hardest part of test prep is not the di%culty of the material but the motivation to prepare. “Tutors help with the part that is often hardest for teenagers: staying consistent, maintaining confidence and continuing to work when progress is uneven,” Andrikopoulos said. “That’s where I think the human relationship really matters.” Wong said he has seen this in his own experience as well. “One big drawback is the lack of structure,” Wong said. “It is self-guided, so you have to stay on track. Combined with long days of school, that’s hard to do without some structured learning from a tutor.” But Andrikopoulos said he thinks these tutor-free websites will keep improving, closing the gap between them and inperson tutors.
“I expect these resources to keep getting better, especially at providing practice questions, explanations, and immediate feedback,” Andrikopoulos said. While many students have chosen to try tutorless prep, a number of students still prefer having an in-person tutor. Junior Amber Li chose an in-person tutor because of her learning style. “I chose an in-person tutor because inperson tutoring is more engaging and lets me focus more,” Amber said. “Being able to ask follow-up questions easily helps me stay on task.” In addition to staying on task, Amber said she has built a personal relationship with her tutor that allows her to get the most personalized test prep possible. “I’m really happy with my choice because I have a really good connection with my tutor, and she knows how to teach me material I can digest easily,” Amber said. Andrikopoulos said this type of connection is where online resources fall short. “Where a tutor adds something di$erent is that test prep is not just
about having access to questions and explanations,” Andrikopoulos said. “A student may know they missed 10 math questions, but they may not know whether the real issue is a content gap, rushing, anxiety or an ine%cient approach. A good tutor gets to know the student well enough to make those judgments.” Additionally, Andrikopoulos said tutors serve a higher purpose than just teaching test material. “They know the student’s goals, they know what motivates them, and they know when to push and when to encourage,” Andrikopoulos said. “That kind of relationship can make a big di$erence in whether a student actually sticks with the work over several months.” But Amber said a drawback of having an in-person tutor is availability. “Sometimes my tutor isn’t available right before a test, and since my schedule is busy too, it can conflict,” Amber said. “This can cause some anxiety when I need lastminute help or advice.” But Andrikopoulos said while tutorless test prep programs are constantly improving, they still can fill some of the gaps that a person can. “As technology gets better at delivering content and practice, I think those human parts of teaching become more important, not less,” Andrikopoulos said. “The best tutors are not just explaining material. They are coaching, motivating, mentoring and helping students become more confident learners.”
ART BY HUDSON PRESS
Gen Z is headed back to the movies Junior Andrew Knapp sits down and shares a bucket of popcorn with his friends, excited to watch “SpiderMan: Brand New Day.” Right before the movie starts, laughter erupts in the front row — another group of Gen Z kids is also at the movies, mirroring a nationwide trend of more Gen Z moviegoers than ever before. According to a Fandango Study, around 87% of Gen Z have gone to see a movie this year, with each person watching seven movies on average. This increase in movie attendance among the younger generation can be attributed to many things, but for Palo Alto Middle College junior Amir Gibson, it’s because movies have changed ever since the pandemic. “During COVID-19, there were all the bummy movies released, other than ‘Tenet,’” Gibson said. “Then of course this year you got ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ and ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘Doomsday’ later this year.” Gibson said movies like “Obsession” and “Backrooms” were surprisingly appealing to a Gen Z audience. “If you look at ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ … it’s these niche movies … ,” Gibson said. “But somehow ‘Backrooms’ made a ton of money. It was like a $10 million budget.” Junior Claire Huang said improvement in format and content quality have increased in films, making them more appealing to a younger crowd. “The filming experience has definitely gotten better: film quality, techniques, etc.,” Huang said. “I also think the writing and acting of these films has definitely also gotten a lot better.” Another reason people go to the movies is to relive childhood feelings. Knapp said he often feels like a kid again when he goes to a movie.
“(I go) mainly for cinematic value and how much it feels nostalgic without me having to be a kid that was born a long time ago,” Knapp said. “It’s like grabbing a part of the past that wasn’t quite a part of me.” With the surge of Gen Z moviegoers, Knapp said the theater environment is also one aspect that draws him back to movies. “It’s not always about the movie,” Knapp said. “It’s about the experience and the people you go with.” And Gibson said increasing use of quality formats like IMAX, along with social media, make movie theaters a rapidly growing hangout place. “I think it’s also because the premium formats – everyone’s competing to get the iMAX tickets, which is also happening with ‘Dune,’” Gibson said. “Dune tickets crashed AMC, so I think it has to do with this trend of prestige formats and all these social mediaesque movies, like ‘Obsession’ that made its way onto social media because the director did skits that I didn’t know people even knew about. I thought they were pretty niche.” “The Odyssey” was one of the more popular movies released this summer. As the first Hollywood movie to be shot entirely on IMAX, “The Odyssey” was released in 70mm IMAX — one of the highest quality formats provided by movie theaters. However, according to the IMax website, there are only around 25, 70mm theaters around the globe. Gibson said the quality of iMAX is already good, but with the addition of the 70mm format makes it even better. “I think the thing with iMAX is that because the picture, the resolution is insane, the colors pop out. It’s a much bigger image,” Gibson said. “It takes 70 millimeter film and flips it horizontally. So then it looks like
PHILIP SHEN/THE CAMPANILE
Cars pass Stanford Theater in downtown Palo Alto. Junior Andrew Knapp said he likes going to movie theaters because it’s a reminder of how things used to be. “(I go) mainly for cinematic value and how much it feels nostalgic,” Knapp said.
this big square instead of a wide rectangle. And you get to see more of the image, but like the story’s still the same. Knapp, though, isn’t so sure. He said IMAX is expensive, but he would watch it if he knew the movie was worth the premium. “I’d say it depends on the film,” Knapp said. “Just to see it in a 70 millimeter IMAX is a lot of money. And I
feel like it’s kind of a risk because you don’t really know what kind of movie you’re going into, so you have to make the best call.”
Philip Shen
Sports & Photo Editor
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
!e Campanile
Sports
Measuring Up?
11
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Sports & Photo Editor
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s junior football player Brandon Leung catches the ball for the last play of the game, he realizes he’s five yards away from the endzone. His team is down three, and there are two defensive linesmen standing in his way. Behind him, another is closing in, about to tackle him. If he doesn’t act,he knows he’s going to be tackled, and his team will lose the game. So using his agility, he quickly spins around the defense and his team wins the game. Athletes come in all different sizes, but does being smaller put them at a disadvantage? Leung said in his sport, it can make a difference. “In football, you need size to break tackles and to tackle people,” Leung said. Despite this, Leung said his short stature can have advantages. “I get to run naturally without being worried about getting hit extra hard because I’m lower,” Leung said. “I can take tackles a lot better.” Girls varsity volleyball head coach Chris Crader said a good athlete is not purely based on height. He said height is only one of four major characteristics that make a good volleyball player. !e others are explosiveness, having a good arm and skill. “You still have to develop your skills,” Crader said. “You have to have some athletic ability and volleyball IQ … simply being tall doesn’t automatically make you great.” In volleyball the libero is a position that is more defensive, usually reserved for more skilled players, who maybe cannot play at the net. And junior Genevieve Lee, a varsity volleyball libero, said coaches respect her because of her skill, not her height. “I just started playing this position ever since I started playing,” Lee said, “But coaches have always seen more in me and seen my athletic ability and allowed me to play even more positions where people are really tall.” And boys varsity basketball head coach Jeff LaMere said being short can be beneficial for early development in basketball “If you are smaller early and you stick with the game, you often pass guys as you grow because your game has had to develop against the bigger players,” LaMere said. In fact, LaMere said taller players may fall behind if they rely on their height to perform well. “Sometimes a guy who grows early and he’s already 6’ 3” as a freshman in high school, he doesn’t get much better,” LaMere said. “A lot of times he’s been really good because he’s just bigger than everybody, not because he’s more skilled. Whereas a smaller guy, he’s having to survive on skill in order to keep playing.”
PHILIP SHEN/THE CAMPANILE
Junior Genevieve Lee, who said she plays libero because of her height, dives for a save in a match against Menlo-Atherton. Lee said her skill has helped her overshadow her what some would say is a height disadvantage. “Coaches have always seen more in me and saw my athletic ability and allowed me to play even more positions where people are really tall,” Lee said.
LaMere pointed to basketball legend Stephen Curry as an example. LaMere said when Curry attended a basketball camp at Duke University where LaMere used to coach, he was beating older kids while only being in fourth grade. “We put him in the sixth grade group, and he’s torching them,” LaMere said. “He ends up in the eighth grade group. … He was the littlest guy out there. When I watched him develop throughout high school, he was always a savvy player. He had to be good because he was small.”
LaMere also said size has become less important for high school basketball. Teams are relying on smaller players, while sometimes only using one center. !is shift allows smaller players to shine even more. Varsity football head coach Edward Tonga said whether or not size is an advantage or disadvantage depends on how an athlete uses it. “You can either, one, benefit from it or two, it could be definitely a struggle,” Tonga said. “But if you are a person that has been trained to use their size to their advantage, it really doesn’t matter.”
Tonga said a more important key to success is the passion an athlete holds. “Most important is the person himself,” Tonga said. “He’s got to really believe in himself and in his craft.” Similarly, Crader said while athleticism and height may be ideal, success will depend on qualities beyond physical traits. . Crader said, “!ere’s so much to being great: effort and desire, and it’s just pure force of will.”
Competition with teammates can help drive success if used the proper way Evan Chevsky Staff Writer
“Noah, out. Now!” It was not the first time sophomore basketball player Noah Bush had heard those words. In fact, this was a common occurrence during his freshman season. Bush wanted to be the one on the court all the time, but a teammate always seemed to stand in the way of his success. !roughout the season, Bush competed with this teammate for playing time. He said when he played hard, his coaches put him on the court, but when he was outcompeted, he found himself on the other side of things: the bench. Getting benched, Bush said, felt like the time he had put into basketball wasn’t paying off. As one of many student-athletes who have experienced internal competition on their team, Bush said such competition initially bothered him. “It felt sad in the moment,” Bush said. “I was very disappointed because all the hard work that I put into that sport wasn’t showing.” Bush’s sadness and frustration were also complicated by the fact that his teammate was his friend, but he said their relationship wasn’t ultimately affected by the competition because they were so close. “!ere were actually a couple of instances where this happened. Luckily we were such good friends that it didn’t affect our relationship,” Bush said. Friendship prevented competition from becoming personal, and Bush also said the competition changed the way he played. “When I came onto the court, I was a different person,” Bush said. “I really had to fight for those minutes.”
Sophomore flag football and soccer player Rama Zoabi had a different experience. She said competition with a teammate didn’t bring them together; it split them apart. “It created conflict because we both wanted to show who was better, but it destroyed friendships because we were fighting directly against each other,” Zoabi said. Because of this, Zoabi said she views competition as unhealthy for teams. “I think it is bad because it creates competition, and it ruins friendships between team members,” Zoabi said. For Bush, one thing stopped healthy competition from becoming personal: friendship. “We were very chill about (getting subbed out for each other) because we would go on and off, either of us would switch, and there were really just no hard feelings,” Bush said. !rough his experience, Bush said, despite the issues he faced, he ultimately thinks competition within teams is a net positive. “I think it is very healthy to push players to be better versions of themselves,” Bush said. “Always having someone to keep you accountable is a very good thing to have in sports.” Boys varsity basketball head coach Jeff LaMere said the difference in the two experiences of Bush and Zoabi stems from the athletes. “Generally, I think it is very healthy because you have to compete on the court against opponents,” LaMere said. “However, I think there are certain players that thrive in competitive environments and certain players that have setbacks in competitive environments.” LaMere served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Duke University from 1997-2002. He said competition was
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viewed positively there and used as a way to attract recruits. “Duke University, we had really good players, and so when we were recruiting a kid, we’d say, ‘Come to Duke because you’re going to compete every day against the best players at practice,’” LaMere said. But LaMere said not all athletes responded to this competitive atmosphere in a positive way. “!ere’s some players that we would get, and they would wash out because it was just too much competition,” LaMere said. Sophomore wrestler DJ Cativo said he doesn’t let competition wash him out. He said he views it as a chance for selfimprovement. “I think overall, it is beneficial because it makes everybody strive to be better,” Cativo said. “Every time you want to be better than someone, you become better yourself.” Cativo said he appreciates competing hard with teammates every day because it allows him to see his growth. “Wrestling is one of the hardest sports,” Cativo said. “It really shows who you are as a person and how you overcome. It shows you how you grow as a person overall.” Cativo also said he is able to keep calm through the competition by focusing on himself. “I feel like the one enemy I have is myself,” Cativo said. “I hold myself back.” Athletic Director Scott Davis said there is a fine line between competition that improves teams and competition that breaks them. When talking about the difference, Davis pointed to one key thing: respect. “Respect the person you’re competing against, whether it’s your teammate in a drill or your opponents in a game,” Davis said. “And understand that you’re both trying to work hard to get better at something.” But Davis also acknowledged the unhealthy side of competition and said there are situations in which coaches should intervene. “If it turns personal, then that’s when coaches need to step in and control the environment a little bit,” Davis said. To avoid these situations, Davis said coaches should prioritize instruction and improvement. “Use it as a teaching tool and give them specific things to work on so they are not
PHILIP SHEN/THE CAMPANILE
Girls varsity tennis players sophomore Sasha Kumar and sophomore Ella Miikkulainen-Katila pick up balls at practice. Sophomore flag football player Rama Zoabi said teammates need chemistry but are also constantly at competition with each other. “(Competition) created conflict because we both wanted to show who was better, but it destroyed friendships because we were fighting directly against each other,” Zoabi said.
necessarily focused on winning that competition against opponents or teammates,” Davis said. “It’s: ‘Were you successful in what you were trying to achieve?’” LaMere agrees and said communication and honesty between coaches and players are also crucial in fostering healthy competition. “As a competitor, when you’re being told the truth, and we are communicating to you, it helps, because otherwise you (could be wondering), ‘Why am I not playing? I think I’m better than that,’” LaMere said. While competition within teams is present at all levels, Davis said in high school,
players competing within their own teams are often more than just another name on a chart. “At the high school level, hopefully that person you’re competing against is also your classmate, your friend and somebody you grew up with,” Davis said. “So that camaraderie helps you work through that and get better.” !rough the intensity of high school sports, Davis said camaraderie is a leading factor for healthy competition. Davis said, “When you knock someone down, you should be the first one to help them up.”
The Campanile
12
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Sports
Still in the game
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he final bell rings and physical education and automotive technology teacher Doyle Knight glances up at the clock. It’s a Friday, and Knight watches as students stream out of their classrooms, all headed in different directions and ready for the weekend. Knight can’t wait either. Unbeknownst to many students, Knight is planning to spend his weekend playing golf, a sport he’s enjoyed for 20 years. “When you like something, you’ll make time to do it,” Knight said. “I coach the boys and the girls golf team, so I get to play around with them, and then on weekends my buddies and I go out and play, and then I’ll sign up for tournaments every couple months.” Similarly, social studies teacher Christopher Farina, who played a variety of sports growing up, said he was introduced to competitive ultimate Frisbee his senior year of high school. Farina said he played through college and has been on competitive teams since then. “After (college), I played for a club team out of Boston, and over the first couple years, just tried to be really competitive, practice a lot, get a coach, change our team and recruit better players, and I’ve just been getting more competitive since then,” Farina said. Farina said he was recruited to join the semi-pro leagues after its West Coast expansion. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to keep playing at higher levels and now I have a bunch of friends that I’ve made,” Farina said. “We’ve been playing for a really long time, and it’s really fun to see how well we can still play at this age … I’m two age divisions up at this point, but still playing competitively.” In contrast, biology teacher Leah Thomas took up cycling after college, eventually leading her to become a professional road cyclist from 2016 to 2022. “I’ve always enjoyed sports, and I’ve enjoyed endurance sports, but it wasn’t like it was my plan to become a professional cyclist,” Thomas said. “I just started racing, and it never got hard until I became really good, and then it got really hard. But it was easy, and it was really fun, and it was an avenue I really wanted to pursue and see what my body was capable of.” As Thomas improved, she said she began participating more competitively. “Racing in the US when I started was still decently big but (not) really like the full-on racing scenes in Europe,” Thomas said. “So I spent most of those seasons over in Europe and there I competed for some top world tour teams, including Movistar and Trek, and then I also represented the United States World Championships where I finished fifth two times in the time trial, and then I also went to the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.” Thomas said she found the nature of cycling invigorating. “I really like pushing myself and pushing my body and trying to figure out what is the limit of what I’m capable of, so that was a big draw to it,” Thomas said. “It’s also really special when you’re in the middle of the race: It’s the only time I’ve experienced the rest of the world totally fades away.” Thomas said she reaches a state of hyper-focus when she is cycling. “Those flow states where you are living in the moment that people talk about really exist when you are in the middle of this classic race with tiny roads and cobbles and crashes and weather and all these different factors,” Thomas said. “All you’re focusing on is what you need to do in the next 10 seconds and being under that level of presence is really unique and something that once you’re exposed to it, you kind of crave again and again.”
For Farina, the benefits playing sports bring are a big part of why he stays active. “Obviously, there’s a lot of research that shows that playing sports is really good for physical and mental health,” Farina said. “If a couple days go by where I haven’t exercised, I definitely notice that. So exercising, just in general, and then to also (get) better at my sport definitely helps me mentally stay sharp.” Thomas also said playing sports has taught her valuable life lessons. “It teaches you about who you are, how you handle adversity, how you bounce back, how you motivate yourself to keep going, how you figure out when you need to back off,” Thomas said. “It’s really taught me to reflect. It’s taught me gratitude. It’s taught me to be more patient and more trusting that this process I’m in will work out, and it’s really just fun.” And Farina said he tries to prioritize consistency even when he faces struggles such as time constraints and difficult days. “I know that there are days when I do a workout or play a game, and it’s absolutely terrible and you get super frustrated, and I’ve kind of grown to the point where I know that it’s just about having patience and that with repetition things are going to keep progressing and I’ll keep getting better,” Farina said. “I think that’s like a nice carryover for life too. There are things that are going to be really hard at first and if you just stick with them consistently and keep working on them, you will get better, and they will get easier.” For Knight, staying active in sports has taught him to appreciate the virtue of hard work. “The first thing that comes to mind is the discipline you need for the sport that you’re playing or practicing,” Knight said. “When I teach auto shop, I try to read stuff that is relevant for today, like the new information coming out for electric cars. To be good at something you need practice, or, for auto, it’s making sure you’re staying up on your technology. It’s not so much the skill itself, but just what you have to do to get to that level.” Farina said he also values how sports can help bring people together. “Playing the sport too is like a built-in friend network,” Farina said. “Many of my wife’s closest friends here in the Bay are Frisbee players, either current or former, so it’s still an opportunity to get together and hang out with friends.” Besides that, Knight said playing sports helps him stay positive. “If you’re kind of good at what you do, or you think you’re at a good point, it just gives you some confidence, too,” Knight said. “I’m not the best golfer. I know it, but I like the idea of trying to get better and doing better, and if I feel like I am, then I feel good about myself.” Farina said playing sports has also allowed him to better empathize with his students. “I think having them know that I play sports is one point of contact where I can share what it was like for me and what it is like for them to be a student-athlete and try to balance that schedule, knowing that I’m a person who does more than just teach,” Farina said. “I have a full life and that’s one of my hobbies that I still try and really push for and have my own goals around.”
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Dashel Chun
News & Opinion Editor
Biology Teacher Leah Thomas races in the 2021 La Course by Le Tour de France representing team Movistar, where she placed 11th. “I really like pushing myself and pushing my body and trying to figure out what is the limit of what I’m capable of, so that was a big draw to it,” Thomas said. “It’s also really special when you’re in the middle of the race. It’s the only time I’ve experienced the rest of the world totally fades away.”
Many inspirations exist when choosing a jersey number TB AR
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Before every game, student athletes like senior Miles Joing take the field wearing a number stitched to the back of their jersey. For many, those numbers are not random. Each carries a unique story. Joing said he wears a different number for both sports he plays, lacrosse and hockey. As a goalie in both sports, Joing said he has chosen numbers that reflect different parts of his athletic experience. For lacrosse, Joing said he chose his number for its connection to his position and personality. “I wear the number one for lacrosse because it’s the first odd number, and I think you have to be pretty odd to play goalie,” Joing said. However, Joing wears a different jersey number for hockey as a tribute to a professional hockey player he idolizes, Linus Ullmark. “I wear the number 35 for hockey,” Joing said. “My favorite goalie in the NHL wears 35, and he’s a big inspiration for me. I want to carry on his legacy by wearing the number and being a good goalie.” While Joing chose his jersey numbers based on his personality and role models, others’ numbers hold
a deeper meaning in the connection to their family. Junior Maeve Johnson, a soccer player, said she wears her jersey number to honor her mother. “I’m number 21, and I picked it because (it) was my mom’s collegiate number at Stanford,” Johnson said. “I always strive to be more like her, so I picked her number so that I could feel more connected.” Sophomore and lacrosse player Kostas Pashalidis said it was an easy choice when it came to picking his jersey number. “My birthday is May 4, so four has always been my number,” Pashalidis said. “Changing it would feel weird.” Senior soccer player Ellie Knott said athletes often stick with their numbers. “I think jersey numbers are really important because it’s something that’s always with a player, and usually they try to pick the same jersey number every season because it just reminds them of something lucky to them or something meaningful,” Knott said. Jersey numbers can also influence how an athlete is perceived, according to a recent study by Mathew S. Isaac, a marketing professor and consumer-behavior researcher at Seattle University. Isaac’s study found the magnitude of an athlete’s jersey number can
influence how people judge them. The study found people perceived the same athlete as larger when they wore a higher jersey number compared to when they wore a lower one.The study suggests this may be because people often associate larger numbers with greater physical size. Some athletes view their jersey number as a reflection of themselves. Instead of focusing on how a number might appear to others, these athletes form their own relationship with the number they choose to wear. Senior football player Justin Fung said he has worn the same jersey number for several years. “I got my jersey number, two, because it’s always been a number I liked and felt connected to,” Fung said. “I’ve worn it for a while, so it’s become a part of my identity as an athlete.” Ultimately, Fung said the number represents the hard work he has put into his sport. He said, “It’s meaningful to me because every time I put on the jersey, I know I’m representing myself, my team and all the work I’ve put in to get here.”
Kane Do Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The Campanile
13
Science & Tech
College Board phishes out new course !"#$%&"'()&"%*%'"%$()&(+&,)&%('-.%"/0(1+"%&")-,(2-*%%*'("-3%('24++,5'(67(+8%*)&9
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Managing Editor
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“When this course came up, this was also a really interesting topic, especially during the times we live in, where there’s lots of cyber breaches and cyber attacks all the time.” Like her teacher, Million said she decided to take the course after she took AP Computer Science Principles because of her interest in the subject. “It’s just a good skill to know, especially as the world is transitioning into more of an online space and using online communication to talk about things,” Million said.“Scams are becoming more prevalent, and it’s very important to know what is a scam and what is not a scam. ” Additionally, Mi said recent news of cyberattacks on water systems around the US piqued her interest in the class.
ART BY HUDSON PRESS
“Since cybersecurity is such a prominent thing in our lives, seeing as the water place got hacked,” Mi said. “I saw in the news, and I (thought that) this class would be a great representation of what goes on behind the scenes and really understanding how to prevent attacks like that.” With this recent news on cyberattacks, Bell said he is excited to teach a course connecting students’ knowledge to current events. “We’re just really excited to be learning something that is so topical and necessary in the news,” Bell said. “There were talks just the other week about AI agents breaking free and having cyber attacks on other places. This is extremely topical. This is what we deal with in this area, and it’s cool that kids get to experience a college-level class for cybersecurity in high school.”
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Class, ball, test, note Things you can pass
s part of its AP Career Kickstart program which focuses on applied learning of career and technical education, the College Board released a new set of AP courses this year, including AP Cybersecurity. According to a statement to The Campanile from The College Board, they have received input from higher education faculty and K-12 educators. Industry leaders have also provided guidance in the development of AP Cybersecurity to ensure that the course covers the essential skills students will need for a cybersecurity profession, as well as other parts of life. “No matter what career path students choose, cybersecurity skills are essential digital literacy skills and are central to modern life,” the statement said. “Everyone needs to be able to protect vital information and data, whether it’s data on your own personal device or client data on a work device. AP Cybersecurity teaches students the key technical and durable skills they need to be productive citizens who understand data security.” Paly adopted the course with a prerequisite of either AP Computer Science Principles or Functional and Object-Oriented Programming. With increasing AI use, computer science instructional lead and AP Cybersecurity teacher Christopher Bell said this is the first course to incorporate it into the curriculum. “College Board usually (says) no to AI everything,” Bell said. “For this one they’re like, ‘Yes, we need to know AI for this,’ so it’s actually throughout all units, like AI coursework or how to use it, how to defend with it. It’s interesting. Students in this class will definitely be using AI throughout the year.” Junior Marisa Million said she wants to use the skills she learns from the class to help others stay safe online. “My grandparents are not the most educated on being safe online, so I would definitely try and use my cybersecurity knowledge to help them out,” Million said. “But also I might be potentially interested in a career in cybersecurity, so (I) could go that way too.” Senior Audrey Mi said she would recommend the course to those already interested in computer science, because it adds to their foundational knowledge. “It’s a great segue, especially for someone who’s interested in CS,” Mi said. “You can think of it as fundamental — it really covers the basic ideas of coding and the concepts behind it that are really relevant in our lives today, especially with the rise of AI. ” Bell said the class was added because of its attraction to students and parent intrigue. “We’ve had some students that have been really interested in the topic,” Bell said. “We have parents in the area that are actually working in that field, so they’re interested in that topic, too. ” Bell also said current online security issues, along with his background in computer science, piqued his interest in teaching the course. “I’ve actually taught a number of CS classes, some that I’ve created myself, so I like to not teach the same thing over and over forever,” Bell said.
!e Campanile
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
14
Opinion !"#$%&'()#$!*+#
@+(7$*AB-)C&-&#$*.& /.*,#&#-)3()3& -*.1)7&<.* Editors’ note: This review contains spoilers.
ART BY REINA LIM
Student-athletes struggle with schedules Alana Chun
Lifestyle & Sci/Tech Editor
A
t the start of junior year, I faced a difficult decision: Sticking with field hockey, a sport I had loved since freshman year, or being able to consistently attend my classes. Because Paly’s bell schedule dismisses students later than most other schools, many students on Paly sports teams have faced the same struggles I have. In freshman year, I was lucky enough to have P.E. during seventh period, which I didn’t need to attend during my season. !is meant that I only missed my free period or PRIME when I had to leave early for field hockey, which was convenient for me because I didn’t have any work to catch up on. But during spring softball season, when games were on Tuesdays and !ursdays, I was forced to miss 30 minutes of third period math class and the whole fourth period of art to get to games on time. I decided to quit softball my sophomore year, a sport I really enjoyed, because the time commitment and stress that came from missing class outweighed its benefits. However, I continued to play field hockey. Sophomore year, field hockey games were on Tuesdays and !ursdays, meaning I would miss my fourth period twice a week. When I tried to switch my P.E. period to fourth period, there was no room left in the class. !is meant for two days a week, I was missing the entire history class, with lectures, quizzes and discussions. By the time junior year came around, I was taking seven classes, with no free period, and my seventh period (which was when field hockey games were that year) was a class I didn’t want to miss. As a result, I made the tough choice to quit field hockey, and thus to no longer participate in school sports. Students shouldn’t have to choose between taking the classes they want and playing the sports they love, and the district needs to work
harder to ensure student-athletes have greater priority in organizing schedules in order to ensure they have free periods, P.E. or classes later in the day that are easier to miss and/or make up. !e National Institutes of Health found that exercise significantly improves teenagers’ mental and physical health, as well as raises their self-esteem. If Paly truly values student mental and physical health, they should work to make sure students have the ability to play sports without more stress that could be avoided with organized and considerate schedules. Whether a student is missing a physics lab, a math lesson or an English class discussion, missing an hour and a half of instruction two times a week will cause even the most diligent student’s grades to drop and relationships with their teachers to suffer. Why should students go through this much struggle when the problem can simply be fixed by prioritizing student-athletes in the scheduling process? While this all sounds ideal in theory, there are some obvious limitations. Some juniors and seniors, like me, sign up for seven classes. For them, there is no free period. While I acknowledge this and know some teachers can get upset if you weigh their classes’ difficulty or prestige against others, I simultaneously think everyone can agree missing AP Physics C is a lot more challenging for a student to make up than missing many other classes. Additionally, some people may argue student-athletes shouldn’t get special privileges to be prioritized for classes over others, and I agree. If giving a soccer player fourth-period P.E. means a non-athlete won’t be able to take French 3H, the only period it is offered, then the French student’s scheduling needs should be put first. Regardless, the studentathlete should not have to take their hardest class during fourth period. I strongly encourage the administrative and guidance team to helpPaly students to continue play the sports they love and support them by prioritizing their class scheduling so they can effectively balance athletic and academic commitments.
Tan lines vs. social lines
!"#$%&#$'()$%%&*)(+(%+*('%",'(-$&*)(+-".%(%/$('.*0('%+1%'(-$&*)(+-".%('%+%.' Stepping outside into the UV-10, the first thing I hear from almost every Californian is, “I need to get my tan on.” But why do we care so much about the tan lines on our skin? !ese bold stripes that outline bikinis are not just about aesthetics but about belonging. Every “You look so healthy!” comment at the start of the fall semester on a post displaying the newly sharpened tan lines of the summer isn’t about sun exposure, but about social exposure. In California, where outdoor life is active, having a tan signals belonging. But let’s face it: these lines represent a shallow, unspoken ranking system, baked into the Cali culture. And the fact that we are more anxious about bikini strap lines than our health says everything about what we truly value. Behind every tanning product that makes us want to chase the sun-kissed glow those girls we see on Instagram have is a company looking to profit. But the real problem isn’t their business model — it’s that we buy into it almost every single time. !at tan isn’t a trophy; it’s cellular damage. !e fact that over one-fifth of young adults say they prioritize gaining a tan over protecting their skin is a serious cause for concern.
UV radiation breaks down DNA, accelerates wrinkles, and in the worst cases, results in melanoma. Tanning beds, which are still disturbingly popular among teenagers, are classified as Group 1 carcinogens, right alongside smoking cigarettes. And yet we slather on tanning oil and bake our skin when the UV is high, knowingly ignoring the dangers. Here’s the irony: we have a social pressure to look “healthy” by tanning, but by doing so, we end up compromising our health in the long run. !e other downside to tanning that isn’t discussed is the financial cost of obtaining those tan lines: beach trips, vacations, sports camps, pool access, sunscreen, tanning beds, tanning oil. !e list goes on. For most Californians, these are not guaranteed luxuries. Not everyone can afford a quick trip to the Bahamas or a membership at the nearby country club — yet this social expectation remains. !e reality is that you show up in August with tan lines or you risk being silently categorized as someone who didn’t do anything worthwhile over the summer. As such, tan lines have become less about aesthetics and more about a visible marker of social class. !e
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process and the resources it took to get the tan almost becomes more important than the tan itself. We are not judging each other’s skin, we are judging each other’s bank accounts. And just having tan lines is not enough. You have to be seen with them. Summer represents a show on social media where users, especially influencers, post in their bikinis at the beach, taking mirror selfies or staging before and after tanning photos. We don’t want these lines for our own personal fulfillment — we want to be seen with them. Without realizing it, social media users are curating their feed to consist of content creators promoting this trend, which makes teens subconsciously strive to achieve this status. !is performative cycle turns into a threemonth battle among users where everyone has the same goal: to get the perfect tan. At the same time, the pressure to produce enticing summer content often means teens aren’t enjoying the summer sun for themselves but rather for social validation through likes and comments. Each carefully curated post answers the silent question: “So, what did you do this summer?” So as we slather on birthday cake-scented jojoba tanning oil, schedule an appointment for a tanning bed or book a vacation at Cabo, it’s worth asking ourselves: Why are we chasing harmful tan lines? And should they even matter at all?
Emily Chan Staff Writer
Coming off the heels of the high bar of Tom Holland’s first three “Spider-Man” films, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” had the tough job of progressing Peter Parker’s story without seeming repetitive. Luckily, it succeeded. !e film provided sufficient context for newcomers or forgetful fans without boring the rest of us. It took us through a new, more mature and introspective chapter of Parker’s life while still delivering the creative action and visual effects fans look forward to. One of our favorite parts of the film was the complex and lengthy character development. In the previous films, Parker acted impulsively after getting his Spider suit, but in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” he is noticeably more mature. !e film explores Parker’s loneliness following the loss of his aunt, exacerbated by the weight of being a hidden superhero after Doctor Strange cast a spell that removed him from everyone’s memory. !e film also follows his attempt at reconnection with his friends MJ, (Zendaya), and Ned, ( Jacob Batalon), in two different ways. MJ’s arc leans into Parker’s pain of loving someone who is physically right in front of him yet emotionally unreachable, creating a sense of tension caused by wanting to protect loved ones but also wanting them to know the truth of his parallel lives. Ned’s arc is about rekindling a strong friendship that disappeared in an instant. Ned recognizing Parker with their duo handshake at the end of the movie was wholesome because they found their way back to each other, reminding us of the power of friendship and connection. We also enjoyed how many other Marvel characters were introduced. Jean Grey, (Sadie Sink), is one of the most talked-about additions to the movie. Both she and Parker are different in ways that isolate them from the people around them. Although their circumstances parallel each other in that respect, the way they confront those challenges reveal significant differences in their characters. Looking at both of them side-by-side, the film makes a point that you don’t have to know someone forever to understand or empathize with them. Sometimes, people will show up in your life right when you need them, just as Grey saved Parker’s life using her telepathic powers after he was struck by a bullet. !at said, her character isn’t fully fleshed out and instead feels like a setup for future movies, leaving us wanting more. Apart from knowing her and her sister Sara Grey, played by Olivia Booth-Ford, as supposed villains with special abilities who were neglected by their parents, we don’t know much about the Grey sisters’ intentions and motivations. Lastly, we loved the introduction of character Frank Castle, played by Jon Bernthal who is a former U.S. Marine Corps veteran and elite sniper known as “!e Punisher,” whose bickering with Parker provided comic relief throughout the film. Zooming out, the film presented many motifs relating to personal health and societal development throughout the film. First, Parker’s struggles with headaches and mental challenges in his hybrid humanspider form emphasize the importance of listening to and prioritizing yourself, as Detective Jean DeWolff, played by Liza Colón-Zayas, from the New York City Police Department repeatedly tells Parker. Additionally, Parker’s lack of a support system before he rekindles his relationship with MJ and Ned leads to a steady stream of obstacles, because he lacks a community and strong friendships. In the same spirit, the film explores the difficulty of maintaining a work-life balance, as Parker slowly discovers the importance of allocating time for enjoying life and spending time with those he loves. !e movie also dives into the theme of societal advancement as Parker and the professor Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk who is played by Mark Ruffalo, discuss how the development of scientific technology can be used to corrupt and harm people and the city and how city officials handle these developments. Given how quickly our society is advancing in fields ranging from AI to autonomous vehicles, we noticed how the film had us question these advancements and recognize their potential harm. !e editing and production of the film was also unique, especially in regard to the visual portrayal of telepathy and telekinesis. !e depiction of Grey’s force fields spreading throughout New York City — freezing the city with one huge force dispersing radially — truly reflected the extent of Grey’s powers. Similarly, the depiction of Grey’s mind possession as it jumped from person to person was visually exemplified by the characters’ twitching and thrashing movements, leading us to see the ripple of Grey’s consciousness moving through them. !is visualization of the mental effects was a perfect way to “see” what was going on in the brains of those possessed and how Grey’s powers dispersed throughout the city. While the action scenes were extensive, we were particularly wowed by the numerous creative ways Parker was able to use his simple spiderweb tech to his advantage. For instance, Parker wrapped his webs around the Department of Damage Control facilities building to trap Hulk. In terms of production and editing, we thought the soundtrack with its extensive use of songs from popular artists matched the mood well, emphasizing the emotions conveyed by the characters. For example, “Loser” by Tame Impala played when Peter tried to break out of his isolation and attend a college party at MJ and Ned’s apartment, highlighting his status as an outsider looking in. We also loved the surprise of finding out that V-MAX, the supposed high-power weapon which Parker and others were fighting over, was ultimately discovered to be the peeling letters of VENT-MAX in the room that Grey was locked inside at the Department of Damage Control facilities. !is interesting twist, which was only revealed to both the characters and us in the final moments of the movie, emphasized the struggles and heartbreak between the Grey sisters. !e lighting and color grading in the film also added a layer of sophistication and emotion to the film, where emotional scenes encapsulating friendship were warm-toned and warmly lit, and fight scenes or scenes in which Parker felt lonely were cool-toned. !e inclusion of Hulk as a side character in the movie was unnecessary, though, as it didn’t add significance or any more depth to the film. While his inclusion created another fight for Parker, there wasn’t sufficient context and background to delve into this new connection between superheroes. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” was an engaging watch, taking the franchise to places we’ve never been before, while presenting themes relevant and relatable to today’s world. !e character development, special effects and production raised the film to the next level, and we highly recommend watching it.
Cindy Liang Editor-in-Chief
Dalia Saal
Editor-in-Chief
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The Campanile
15
Opinion
Photography: A new life skill?
5#-6+/(%"/21&$+''2#-'&7+//",&/##& Two students, an athlete and a musician, wake up just as their morning alarm sounds. The world is quiet. Not even the sun has woken yet. The athlete warms up — so does the musician. Both practice with the same intensity. Both grit their teeth in the same frustration. Both aim for success. But while playing a sport builds character, equal practice in non-athletic activities is commonly ignored or interpreted as excessive. Why? Character is cultivated through overcoming hardship, which is usually most prominent during the learning process. However, character doesn’t only come from playing a sport. Playing sports can develop discipline and dedication, but so can other activities. Anyone can put effort and time into something they want to succeed in, but not everyone is judged the same for doing so. Athletes are praised even for their imperfections, while imperfection is criticized in other activities. For instance, basketball legend Michael Jordan famously credited failures for his success, having missed over 9,000 shots and lost many games, and Nike made the “Failure” commercial about this. However, a wrong note in a recital receives winces, and stutters in public speaking cost points. Practice in non-athletic activities often gets little attention — it’s usually only the result. Kobe Bryant’s legendary morning workout routine started at 4 a.m. He would shoot hundreds of shots before other players even woke up. His devotion to his passion was so severe that it seemed almost extreme, but nobody asked how his mental health was. Instead, the public admired him for his grit, resilience and commitment. For non-athletes like a student passionate about art, music or academics, people would likely begin worrying about them and asking if that student was OK. Why do most people dismiss anything non-athletic as just homework? I would know, as someone who has a relatively niche, non-athletic hobby: I have an obsession with ancient Chinese philosophy, and I make YouTube videos dissecting the Analects of Confucius. I spend hours researching commentaries and history, filming myself over and over until I can say a few sentences without stuttering and editing until what I am saying is somewhat coherent. My most loyal viewer is my mom, followed by my dad. Aside from them, barely anyone is cheering for me, despite the hours I spend on my imperfections, just like athletes. Even YouTubers or streamers who have rather “nerdy” and usually non-athletic niches have likely been producing unseen videos for years, and only the popular products get seen. In America, sports are highly visible everywhere — on television or the internet — and they’re also monetized. Talking about professional sports is a common small-talk topic: disputes about which team is better are welcome and normal, and watching those games can win you a ticket into the conversation. Additionally, sports are a part of everyday life, as students across the nation are highly encouraged to participate in sports either at school or in clubs. In other countries, this is not the case. In China, although public schools have a mandatory Physical Education course to prevent the rise of health issues, schools traditionally prioritize intense academic study over participating in sports. China administered academic examinations to recruit public officials for roughly 1,300 years, so its culture has traditionally approved of the dedicated academic much like America approves of the dedicated athlete. Moreover, we often reward those who do things we see — the sweat, the panting, the violent drinking of water. Non-athletic activities may not require as much cardiovascular work, but they are still physically or mentally demanding. In sports, visible effort is perceived as a sign of dedication, but in nonathletic activities, the same effort can come across as something different. We often perceive being smart as having the ability to effortlessly and naturally comprehend new material without having to go through the usual frustrating learning process. Therefore, “effort” has two different meanings, and visible struggle outside sports can be seen as a sign of weakness, which can cause an individual to feel ashamed and others to doubt their abilities. A 2011 study by Chia-Jung Tsay and Mahzarin Banaji, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, had both professional musicians and non-musicians evaluate two clips from the same performer, who they thought were two separate pianists. One pianist was described as a “natural” with effortless talent, the other as a “striver” with high motivation and perseverance. Both audiences consistently rated the “natural” pianist higher, despite claiming they valued effort over natural talent. Although our society may seem like it values hard work — and in athletics it does, since it’s what we expect and idealize — the bias of “talent over effort” has a measurable existence outside of sports. Yet, nobody can master anything without effort, so favoring the “effortless” punishes what success naturally requires. I am not saying athletes don’t deserve the praise they receive. I am also not asking for hordes of people to cheer for me or deliver praise to those refining non-athletic skills. All of us make up the audience. As Confucius says in the Analects, we should help others realize what is good in them. An audience that only cheers for one kind of effort leaves everyone else’s good incomplete. At the same time, we are also players. Whatever you are passionate about, whatever you are dedicated to, put your full effort into it. Whether or not there’s an audience cheering for you on the bleachers, you should find joy in doing hard work and in persevering through hardship. That is character.
Judy Mao
Guest Writer
KIRA TZENG/THE CAMPANILE
Senior Maya Angela Cheng positions herself to take a photo of her friend. Campanile managing editor Kira Tzeng argues that with social media having a prominent role in many of our lives, we all should learn more about how to take better photographs.
S
tanding on the grass under the burning sun at the Pitbull concert, my friend and I scan the Shoreline Amphitheatre lawn for someone to take our picture and preserve the memory. Finally, we spot someone taking their own photos nearby and my friend runs over. After snapping a few photos for us, the stranger hands the phone back and leaves. We eagerly check the photos, hoping for a few to be Instagramworthy. Instead, our blurry faces stare back at us. Our hair is blowing all over our faces, and I’m mid-blink. Now, I’m not claiming to be an amazing photographer, but surely people should learn how to take decent photos as a life skill. Honestly, with social media having a prominent role in many of our lives, the people around us are bound to ask for their photo to be taken, so it’s better to just be prepared. Unfortunately, we’re not born with the ability to take pictures for National Geographic — I would know. I’ve been mocked by my family for being a horrible photographer since I was in elementary school. Whenever my parents wanted photos, they’d go straight to my older sister. When strangers asked for help with taking their photo, my sister was the one who took it. The only time my parents would ask me to take a photo was when the photo was of the three of them. When I was 9, my parents passed down an old digital camera so I could practice. Wanting my photos to turn out as well as my sister’s, I started mimicking her. But when I tried to recreate her creative angles, my photos turned out blurry and with odd cutoffs. I couldn’t figure out how to make them work. Thus, I abandoned the creative angles and reverted to straight-on photography. Still, whenever I took a family picture, there were always critiques: legs were cut off or people were positioned awkwardly to the side of the frame. With all of this negative feedback, I was disheartened from a young age. I thought my photos would never measure up to the ones my family took, so I took a break from photography in late elementary school. That is, until it was time to pick my freshman-year classes. Scrolling through the course catalogue, I came across Photo 1. Not only did it fulfill my Visual and Performing Arts credit, it was also a class my
sister had taken and it improved her photography skills. This class reignited my passion for photography by teaching me basic photography skills, and I even took some photos that I am proud of to this day. One such skill was the rule of thirds, where key elements are lined up with a grid that divides the picture. Using such composition techniques can frame the subject in a more dynamic and interesting way. I’m not saying that everyone has to take an in-depth photography class, but learning the basics should be a fundamental life skill. In fact, there are reels on Instagram and videos on other platforms that provide helpful photography tips. Whether it is for photography class or just for Instagram and memories, I have found that taking good photos not only helps me, it also helps others. In knowing the best ways to frame a person in a photo, I have been able to take better photos for others, as well as instruct others on how I want my photos to be taken. Because many of us live in a social-media-dominated life, people are always searching for the perfect picture to post, whether it’s for sports, trips or hanging out with friends. Thus, I understand the importance of having the perfect picture that presents you in the best fashion. With that, my advice is, if you agree to take someone’s photo, pretend to be the best photographer you can think of — chances are, your subjects will be more likely to listen to your suggestions. This could mean repositioning your subjects, having them fix their hair, taking multiple pictures, removing background distractions, making the picture level, having good lighting and, most importantly, ensuring everything is in focus. I encourage you to take charge of your photography and use this as a sign to learn a life skill. Even if it is only used to help your friends make the best Instagram posts, they will appreciate it. And next time you ask someone to take your photo, you could go the extra mile and educate them, so they learn to take better photos, too.
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Kira Tzeng
Managing Editor
You can’t be good at everything – and that’s OK
ART BY ELLEN WANG
At the beginning of my sophomore year, I wanted to qualify for the USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad. But I never did, and I never will. Not because I stopped caring about math, but because I am now too old. It’s not that I didn’t put in the work — I filled several notebooks to the brim with practice problems. The issue was that I had another goal that year: to qualify for Speedo Sectionals, a swimming time standard. I woke up at 5 a.m. and trained nine times a week, sometimes more. Somewhere between the number theory problems and the chlorine, I convinced myself that I could do both. I couldn’t. I missed the USAJMO qualification by two questions, and I missed the Sectionals qualifying time by one second. In hindsight, the most frustrating part was knowing that if I devoted a little more time to either one, I likely would have succeeded. I tried to keep every door open, but I couldn’t walk through both at once. At Paly, students are encouraged to be well-rounded: take hard classes, play a sport, start a passion project, be
a leader and, ideally, be passionate about all of it. As the quote goes, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often better than a master of one.” The first half warns against spreading yourself too thin; the second reminds us that breadth has value and to not be a one-trick pony. I think both are true. But depth can be difficult to develop when we are constantly encouraged to go wider, especially in college admissions. Whether true or not, many students have internalized the idea that more activities make them more impressive. This leads students to treat activities like Pokemon cards. Another club, another leadership position, another summer program, all for a couple of extra lines on the application. There is nothing wrong with joining a club just because it sounds interesting, but there is something hollow about joining one just because you think you need another line on your college application. Trying different activities is a good way to discover what you love most. The issue arises when exploration turns into obligation and every new interest becomes another skill that must be mastered.
I am not encouraging you to choose one pursuit and sacrifice everything else. But there are only so many hours in a day, and every hour spent getting better at one thing is an hour that wasn’t spent becoming extraordinary at another. History shows that curiosity and depth can coexist. Leonardo Da Vinci studied engineering, architecture and nature. Albert Einstein was a pioneer in math and physics who played the violin. What separates them from somebody who is just “kind of good” at everything is they found a pursuit worth taking seriously and delved deep enough to leave a mark. The goal is not to master one discipline and ignore everything else. It is to find an interest that keeps pulling you back so that you can go beyond the surface and discover how deep it really goes. We only have so much time on this planet, which is why we should not spend it maximizing our resume. If you want to learn how to backflip, learn how to backflip. If you want to join the school newspaper, join it. If you discover that you love something that you did not expect, pursue it. But that does not mean saying yes to everything is sustainable. I still wonder what would have hap-
pened had I chosen differently. A couple more hours of math each week might have been enough to qualify for USAJMO; a few extra hours in the pool might have been enough for Sectionals. But I don’t regret swimming, and I don’t regret math. The people I met, the lessons I learned and the person I became through these experiences are worth infinitely more to me than whatever qualification I could have gotten. What I do regret is not recognizing that balance does not mean giving everything equal attention. It means deciding what deserves your time. In a world with more opportunities than any of us could ever pursue, doing everything is impossible. You can open as many doors as you want. You can even walk through a few of them before deciding they aren’t for you. But eventually, you have to decide which doors are worth walking through — and which ones are better left open.
Anthony Zhou Staff Writer
The Campanile
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
16
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ART BY HUDSON PRESS
Shortened passing periods have limited benefits, countless drawbacks A
passing period shouldn’t just give students enough time to get to class, it should allow them to take care of basic needs like going to the bathroom, serve as a mental break from long classes, and be an opportunity to get quick help from teachers after class. In response to the new seven-minute passing periods for the 2026-2027 school year, The Campanile believes Paly should reinstate the 10-minute passing period for all school days. Administrators say the change to seven-minute passing periods – which was also implemented at Gunn High School this year – has two main goals: reducing tardiness by deterring students from wandering around between classes and shortening the school day. It remains to be seen whether the policy will be effective long-term at reducing tardies, and whether ending the school day six to 11 minutes earlier will have any measurable benefit. But, a seven-minute passing period doesn’t give students a full seven minutes to get to class, if you consider the time it takes students to pack up — which in some classes can’t begin until the bell rings — crowd around the phone pockets, shuffle through a cramped doorway, speed-walk five minutes from one end of campus to the other, line up behind the sign-in kiosk and type in their student IDs. And even if tardies do drop, students will have sacrificed essential components of their well-being. For one, students might not have time to take care of basic needs like going to the restroom or picking up supplies from their locker. Ironically, teachers and administrators often encourage students to take bathroom trips during passing periods instead of during class time. The administration is likely aware students often abuse
hall passes to take extended breaks, but a shorter passing period now gives students a greater excuse to do so. It’s important to remember the duration and intensity of instruction vary between classes, subjects and teachers. Some students have ample independent work time in class; others sit through instruction and activities for the full 90 minutes. Some classes take scheduled five-minute breaks; others have students sitting in their seats bell-tobell. In a perfect world, students would have adequate rest both between and during block periods, but teachers should have flexibility in how they plan their class agenda. This is a broader issue within education that cannot be solved overnight, but shortening passing periods diminishes one of students’ few respites from long, tiring classes and back-to-back exams. Students also lose time to connect with friends and teachers in a shorter passing period. This may seem trivial, but connection plays a crucial role in students’ well-being and allows them to recharge between long classes. And some students need mental breaks between long classes to destress and improve focus for the following class. Beyond mental well-being, students who are used to looking to their teacher for support after class may now find themselves unable to get clarification on assignments and difficult concepts. Depending on the teacher and class, students may not have independent work time to get the individual attention of their teacher during class. Especially in more advanced or rigorous lanes, students often wait in line at the end of class to get their teacher’s help. But with shortened passing time, that’s not much of any option anymore. What about PRIME? This period, which is omitted at least once a month due to late-starts,
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only allows students to get help for one of their seven classes, nevermind the possibility a student is pulled into a different teacher’s PRIME than the one they truly need help on. And because PRIME is scheduled for the middle of the week, if a student needs help understanding something on Monday, they can’t receive that help until half the week has already passed. By then, the help might be too late to be useful for any classes, quizzes or assignments that occur in the first three days of the week. What about getting teacher help before or after school? Whether it’s a student’s after-school practice schedule or a teacher’s hour-long commute home, this idea neglects to consider teachers and students have lives and responsibilities outside of school. Many teachers, out of kindness, do stay after school or meet with students during lunch, but we shouldn’t be relying on teachers to sacrifice unpaid time to prop up a broken system. In shortening passing periods, administrators also neglected to consult teachers, students and other community members who deserve a say in a change with such widespread impact. As such, administrators shouldn’t be surprised when students loudly object. Ultimately, students find themselves having to choose between taking care of their physical, mental and educational needs, or being tardy. And as administration has promised a stricter, more punishment-based attendance system this year, students are being squeezed in from two directions with nowhere to run. If an attendance policy is meant to promote learning and growth, then a seven-minute passing period is a policy mistake. While The Campanile understands administrators are not likely to change back to a 10-minute passing period, at least for the first semester, we urge them to take into consideration the needs of students when making other wide-reaching decisions. Without transparency and genuine consideration of student voices, PAUSD and Paly leadership fail to achieve their fundamental purpose: to serve students so they may learn, connect and respect.
5AB'7).=0,'?,1/'(2$4'.+)01/'+"#,';,,%',C,*0(,/'/$D,2,%(13 A group of local community members filed a lawsuit on Aug. 7 against the Palo Alto Unified School District and Palo Alto High School Principal Brent Kline, alleging Paly’s Social Justice Pathway supported religious activity and promoted Islam over other religions during a field trip to the Santa Clara Muslim Community Association and the mosque inside. While The Campanile thinks the sole intention of this field trip was to educate students about Islam as part of a broader unit on various religions in a Humanities course, in light of what occurred during the trip, we think the religious education should have been carried out differently. One major area of contention in the lawsuit regards a guest speaker at the mosque, Zahra Billoo, who gave a speech to students during the field trip. Billoo is the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the Bay Area and has a history of controversial statements regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. Billoo, in an open forum article in the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote that during the SJP field trip she spoke about “Islamophobia and protecting and empowering American Muslims, particularly in the current political climate.” Previously, Billoo has made controversial public statements about Israel and Zionism, and about America, posting, “Blaming Hamas for firing rockets at [Apartheid] Israel is like blaming a woman for punching her rapist” and “There is no amount of cancer treatment that can protect President Joe Biden from the prayers of the oppressed and ultimately God’s wrath.” As such,
she should not have been allowed to speak at the field trip. According to the lawsuit, there was no “adequate district vetting, safeguards, or balancing presentation” before Billoo spoke to students. The Campanile thinks that all speakers in educational settings should be properly vetted by the school and district beforehand. While the planning and handling of the field trip should have been executed differently, it was well intentioned in educating students on world religions. In a world where viewpoints are becoming increasingly polarized and empathy increasingly important, we applaud SJP teachers’ efforts to educate students about religions and cultures they may not know much about. In the future, though, The Campanile urges SJP teachers and anyone else organizing similar district field trips to limit visits to religious community associations rather than religious places of worship. Many places of worship request adherence to religious practices, whether in attire or etiquette, and students should not be placed in environments where they may feel pressured to comply. Religious community associations allow for students to get an equally comprehensive religious education without those risks. Ultimately, The Campanile thinks, regardless of whether or not students felt pressured by peers, teachers, or the mosque or if they participated voluntarily in the religious practices, future field trips involving religion should focus solely on education and awareness.
The Campanile Editors-in-Chief Ethan Chan • Lucas Lai • Cindy Liang Mirai Matsuzawa • Dalia Saal Managing Editors Jonathan Gu Kira Tzeng
News & Opinion Editors Leilani Chen Dashel Chun
Lifestyle & Sci/Tech Editors Alana Chun Yihan Zhao
Sports Editors Christopher Lee Philip Shen
Photo Editor Philip Shen
Art Director Medha Muppidi
Business Manager Eden (Liselle) Yoo
Social Media Manager Brooke Bressler
Newsletter Editor Asaf Milman
Web Editor Christopher Lee
Evan Chevsky Emily Chan
Reina Lim Hudson Press
Writers
Eve Dixon Kane Do Matthew Hong Artists Anya Rasmussen Ellen Wang
Maia Wadhwani Anthony Zhou
Eden (Liselle) Yoo Angel Zhang
Adviser Rodney Satterthwaite Letters to the Editors: Email all letters to editors to palycampanile@gmail.com. The Campanile prints letters on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit submissions. The Campanile only prints signed letters. Advertisements: Advertisements with The Campanile are printed with signed contracts. For more information regarding advertisements or sponsors in The Campanile and their size options and prices, please contact The Campanile Business Manager by email at ly39150@pausd.us, Note: It is the policy of The Campanile to refrain from printing articles that misrepresent or alienate specific individuals within the Palo Alto community. The Campanile would like to thank the PTSA for supporting the mailing of our newspaper. Our Vision Statement:
The Campanile has upheld the highest standard of student journalism for the last century by engaging the community through various mediums of storytelling. Our coverage of news, culture and athletics aims to represent the diverse perspectives of our student body.