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. XCV, No. 6
50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301 • www.palycampanile.org
Metreon set as prom venue Prom will be held at the Metreon on the City View roof terrace, located on 4th and Mission Street in San Francisco. Tickets begin at $100 with an ASB sticker and are $110 without one.
Kate apostolou editor-in-chief
editor-in-chief
A
P
aly’s Associated Student Body (ASB) revealed today that Paly’s 2013 prom dance will be held in the City View event space at the Metreon in San Francisco on Saturday, April 25. The theme will be “When The Lights Go Down In the City,” in reference to the Journey song “Lights” about San Francisco. The space where prom will be held is on the fourth floor of the Metreon and has a long balcony from which students will be able to enjoy the view of the surrounding city. According to ASB President senior Jessica Tam, this year’s prom venue will have a very different feel from last year’s, which was held at the San Francisco Design Center. “The venue itself is really different from last year,” Tam said. “The whole shape of the building and everything [are different], so [prom is] going to have a very different feel as you go in and it’s probably going to be a different atmosphere. But we’re going to have the same DJ as last year because a lot of people really liked him.” Tickets will be $100 with an ASB card and $110 without an ASB card. The expensive tickets are largely due to the district wide mandate that all students take buses to prom according to Tam.
Parent considers historic donation for sports facilities A major donation in combination with $5.5 million in district funds could help finance renovation of school athletic structures.
nira krasnow
Josh bancroft/Creative Commons
The event will be held on the top floor of the Metreon. The terrace provides a large outdoors area in addition to indoor seating.
“Our proms are especially expensive because we have to pay for buses,” Tam said. “That’s an additional 15 dollars on our prom tickets and that’s something that we can’t negotiate around. We tried but it’s set, everyone has to pay for that bus fee. Other parts of the prom ticket price are add ons like the photo booth from last year and the card table. [Additional costs include] paying for the DJ, the rental fees and security.”
Tam and senior class president Michael Wang began planning prom last May when they reserved this year’s venue. Tam and Wang received the help of a professional prom planner to assist in the planning process. “We use a company that helps us find the venue and the caterers,” Tam said. “It’s all kind of a package deal so we get our DJ through the prom planner; he does a lot of their events.”
Friday, February 19, 2013
n anonymous Paly parent is considering making the “largest single donation” in Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) history to improve Paly’s indoor athletic facilities for the 20152016 school year, according to a memo from Bond Program Manager Bob Golton. The current plan under discussion involves combining this “major” donation with $5.47 million in district funds previously allocated to a new Paly fitness center. The proposal includes two gyms, a wrestling room, weight room, dance room, classrooms, lockers and offices. According to Golton, the disparity between Paly’s athletic facilities and those of surrounding high schools, including Gunn High School, led the board to set aside funds to transform Paly’s current structures. “[Paly]’s indoor physical education and athletic facilities are some of the least adequate facilities in the Peninsula,” Golton said.
Currently, a second gym at Gunn is under construction and once completed, Gunn will have two gyms superior to both of Paly’s.However, the plan for Paly’s new fitness center outlines a space with comparable seating capacity and square footage to Gunn’s facility. “[The new athletic facility] is a historical opportunity for the whole community and for this whole part of town,” Principal Phil Winston said. “When you look at the facilities differences between both high schools, we had some catching up to do.” The donor would work closely with an architect and Vance Brown Builders and would consider “architectural consistency” when designing the building’s structure. After approval from the state Division of the State Architect, “the district would enter into a leaseleaseback arrangement whereby the building would be constructed and then conveyed back to the district.” District officials and Paly leadership members predict possible challenges such as integrating the Paly Aquatic Center into the new facility. The fate of the large gym is also under discussion, although the general consensus is to demolish and rebuild the small gym and incorporate it into the new structure.
See GYM, A3
Administration suspends InFocus broadcasts
Baccalaureate confusion upsets families
Changes in the scheduling of the Baccalaureate celebration cause controversy amongst the families of graduating seniors. charlie dulik editor-in-chief
A
fter being finalized twice, the date, time and location of this year’s Baccalaureate ceremonies are up in the air, according to Principal Phil Winston. Possible locations include the Flint Center in Cupertino and Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.
“Now we’re back at the drawing board we’re talking to Flint we’re talking to Shoreline, because those are really the only facilities big enough to accommodate this year’s senior class,” Winston said. Controversy has plagued the selection of a location. On Dec. 17, senior class parents received an email from Rebecca Fox, a senior class parent representative, stating “definitive” dates and times for senior class events such as Baccalaureate, which was listed as occurring on May 27. These messages were “according to [Student Activities Director] Matt Hall.” Two months later, on Feb. 7, senior class parents received an email from Winston, stating “it gives me
great pleasure to inform you that we have finalized the date, time, and location for this year’s Baccalaureate.” The email further listed the date and time as Sunday, May 19, over a week from the previously announced date. In addition, the email announced that only two tickets would be provided for each family. The email made no mention of any change of date. This upset many families of graduating seniors. Those who had already made plans to fly in relatives would have had to change flight plans, and those whose more extended families wished to come to the event would no longer have been able to, due to
See BACCALAUREATE, A3
adam mansour/the campanile
Senior Alexia Garcia operates a camera for a recent InFocus broadcast.
The administration hopes broadcasts over the intercom will improve communication. Maya kitayama staff writer
F
or the first time since its inception, Paly’s broadcast publication InFocus has been cut from the air and announcements are
now delivered via school intercom. The choice to eliminate InFocus was instigated by the administration, who argue that InFocus’s communication element was experiencing serious issues. “Nobody’s cutting InFocus’s airtime, there were substantial technical issues and we weren’t being able to communicate with our student body on a daily basis,” Principal Phil Winston said.
See INFOCUS, A3
Science Bowl team heads to nationals after big regional victory Five students will continue to sharpen their skills for the next round of competition.
Claire liu staff writer
A
fter winning the regional Science Bowl competition at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Paly’s Science Bowl team prepares for the national tournament coming up in the spring. This annual event will be held in Washington, DC, from April 25 to 29. Science Bowl is a buzzer competition in which two schools face one
INSIDE
News.....................................A1-A4 ASB Post......................................A5 Spotlight.................................A6-A7 Opinion............................A8-A12 Lifestyle....................................B1 Student Life.................................B2 Community.................................B3 Music..........................................B4 Entertainment..........................B5 Food......................................B6-B7 Dating....................................B8 Sports...................................C1-C8
another, each striving to correctly answer the reader’s question before the other school. There are six categories for questions: physics, chemistry, biology, math, earth/space science and energy. The reader’s scientific trivia questions get increasingly difficult as the game goes on. All teams are limited to five members. This year’s group is made up of Science Olympiad Club members who demonstrated a strong understanding of scientific concepts in a test written for Sci-Bowl tryouts. The students who received the highest test scores, who consequently become members of this year’s
Spotlight
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Sci-Bowl team, are senior Jeffrey Ling, juniors Jared Filseth and Grace Lin and sophomores Gary Chen and Jasen Liu. The five Paly students train approximately two hours a week, reviewing past competition questions and sharpening their understanding of specific topics. The students also practice by simulating testing conditions by splitting into groups and assigning one member to act as the designated question reader. “I would accredit our success to many things but would have to say the greatest factor would be our weekly practices,” Liu said.
Filseth recognizes Ling as a strong leader who helped the team achieve their regional victory. “[Ling] answered at least 60 percent of the toss up questions we got right,” Filseth said. Ling believes the team’s “specialized approach to the competition” gives them an extra edge. He focuses on chemistry, physics and math, whereas Liu and Chen concentrate on biology and earth science. This strategy allows members to develop a deep understanding of their own topic and create a strong dynamic. Until the competition in April, team members plan to continue
studying independently, as well as meeting weekly to train. Ling, Filseth and Liu all see the competing teams at nationals as extremely advanced and the competition as fierce. “To do well in DC, we need to increase our buzzing speed in addition to practicing,” Liu said. “This will help us put up a fight against the crazy good schools at nationals.” Ling expresses the feelings of fulfillment that come with the Sci-Bowl team’s hard earned success. “I’ve been dreaming about making it to nationals this whole year,” Ling said. “It’s amazing that everything is happening.”
Sports
News
Best sports cities across the country
New, different classes at Paly and Gunn
The Campanile ranks the top
Controversy rises over
ten sports cities in the nation.
providing students at the two
The Campanile conducted
high schools with unequal
a survey asking Paly
opportunity.
students what they want
C4-5
A2