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ASB decides on San Francisco Design Center as Prom venue
Friday, February 24, 2012
ADMINISTRATION HALTS SALE OF PARKING PASSES By Lauren Wong Editor in Chief
ment in a certain subject or elective. For example, if a student chooses to take Physics Honors, the standard will be that he or she cannot switch down to regular physics. According to Laurence, the school will still continue to look at each student’s situation separately, but cannot guarantee a spot in the student’s desired class. “If somebody needs to change lanes because they are not being successful where
Students and staff alike are noting the decline in parking availability since the beginning of the semester, resulting in the administration's decision to stop issuing parking permits. "I'm going to stop selling them right away," Auditor Julia Sing said. "I'm getting permission from [Assistant Principal Jerry] Berkson and also getting an okay from the [Student] Activities Director [Matt Hall]. [Berkson] said he noticed last week it was tough to find parking on [the Churchill] end." Berkson said he thinks the decision would be absolute — in other words, they would not be evaluating on a case-by-case basis whether or not a student could buy a parking permit. Their ultimate goal is to have more spaces than permits issued, partially to accommodate guests who come and go throughout the day. "I don't think it would be right to issue and sell permits if there were not spaces available," Berkson said. The administration plans to count the number of spaces this week. According to several Palo Alto High School students who have owned parking permits at least since first semester, the Churchill lot has shown the greatest change in space availability. The most popular explanation, which The Campanile decided to investigate, is that a recent influx of licensed sophomores is responsible. Sophomore Andrew Sternfield, who has owned a Paly parking permit since Oct. 27, said he noticed that the Churchill lot was filling more quickly than usual. "As [2012] progressed it got worse because more and more sophomores are getting licensed, and the lots are getting more crowded," Sternfield said. "Right now it's just overflowing. All the new drivers usually go to [the] Churchill [lot]." However, according to Auditor records, only nine sophomores purchased their permits during third quarter. An additional five cars would not cause an entire lot to fill up more quickly than usual; thus, the rapid decline in parking availability is probably attributable to other additional factors.
Palo Alto High School and Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin just led his team, the New York Knicks, to victory in seven games in a row, including one win against the number one ranked Dallas Mavericks. Averaging over 20 points a game, Lin has taken the world by storm, creating a global phenomenon. Lin is the first ever Paly graduate to sign with a National Basketball Association (NBA) team and the first Harvard graduate to do so in 57 years. In 2006, Lin helped his Paly varsity squad win the Division One State Championship, defeating the extremely-favored Mater Dei High School. Paly has followed and supported Lin since he started his NBA career with the Warriors. With his recent rise to stardom, The Campanile decided to talk to several people from Lin’s past and present, putting a local spin on all of the ‘Linsanity’ that has taken over the press.
See SCHEDULE, page A3
See PARKING, page A3
See SPOTLIGHT, page A6
Courtesy of SF Design Center
By Annabel Snow Editor in Chief
The Palo Alto High School Associated Student Body (ASB) decided to hold this year’s Prom at the San Francisco Design Center. Following the theme of ‘Midnight in Paris,’ this year’s Prom will be held on Sat., April 28 from 8 p.m. to midnight and according to Senior Class President Sam Blake, ASB is hopeful that the dance will exceed expectations from last year.
ASB representatives Blake, Cheer Representative and Spirit Commissioner Sophie Parker, Sports Representative Sasha Robinson and Treasurer Tremaine Kirkman decided on the Design Center over their other possible options, including the Treasure Island Administrative Building and the Regency Ballroom. According to ASB Advisor Matt Hall, the students attending prom this year are in good hands with liaison Vanessa Dionisio, who is
See PROM, page A3
Schedule change policy to be enforced Stricter process will be enacted next school year By Marie Ezran and Jensen Hsiao Staff Writers
Palo Alto High School will adjust the schedule change policy for the upcoming school year due to the growing student body and a tight budget, according to Assistant Principal Kathie Laurence and Principal Phil Winston. The Palo Alto Unified School District Education Council and the administration made a collective decision to enforce the already existing
policy for the 2012-2013 school year that will, in general, not allow students to switch out of the classes they selected in the spring. According to Laurence, changes to students’ schedules can still be made if there are mistakes made by the administration. “Errors we can correct, but the wish list has gone away,” Laurence said. With the newly enforced policy, students will not be able to change their place-
ALL I DO IS
LIN
NY POST/creative commons
Science Olympiad wins Regional contest Graduating class to redo Aided by new freshmen, team cinches first place
courtesy of norcal science olympiad
The 2011 Paly Scioly Team and Mr. Leonard pose with their trophies from a northern California competition.
By Wesley Shiau Staff Writer
The Palo Alto High School Science Olympiad Green Scioly Team placed first out of 23 schools in the Bay Area Regional Scioly competition on Feb. 18 and is advancing to the Northern California State Competition due to take place on April 14. The competition had five categories: life, personal and social science, air and space science, technology and engineering and inquiry in the nature of science. The competition contained written tests and engineering exams where teams had to present a machine. Paly took first place in the subcategories of Dynamic Planet, Forensics, Remote Sensing, Rocks and Minerals, Thermodynamics and Technical Problem Events and won second and third in many others. Paly’s second
INSIDE News...................................A1-A3 Sports.................................A5, A8 - A9 Spotlight...................................A6-A7 Opinion..............................A10-A12 Lifestyles...................................B1 Features.............................B2-B7 A&E...............................B8-B10
team, the White Team, placed second in Anatomy and Physiology and placed third in Fermi Questions and Helicopters. “I’m part of the Science Bowl team and even though we did not do that well in this year’s competitions, I have high hopes for our Scioly team,” senior captain Daniel Shan said. “Mission San Jose High School usually gets second but they did not [go] this year so that made the competition easier.” Lynbrook High School placed second, followed by Milpitas High School and Henry M. Gunn High School, who placed third and fourth respectively. Thus, these four schools will be going to states alongside Paly. The team’s key members are seniors Benson Chen and Karine Hsu and juniors Jacqueline Woo and Jeffrey Yan. Captains senior Mark Nishimura and junior Jeffrey Ling along with Shan have directed the team thus far in preparation for Regionals, which was the first official Scioly competition this year. Paly got second in the state competition last year, and third place the year before that, but after a strong performance at Regionals, Shan hopes to reach first place at states this year. “I’m feeling pretty good about states this year,” Shan said. “We might qualify for Nationals but we would have to get first at States. Our biggest competition right now would [be] Mira Loma High School as they’ve qualified for Nationals eight years in a row.” The Scioly team was less successful in the engineering event, as construction of the project began late. Shan estimates they will place sixth or seventh although official scoring for Regionals has yet to be released. Most of the team’s success comes from their myriad new members, who include freshmen standouts Gary Chen and
See SCIOLY, page A3
senior deck for class gift By Ben Hawthorne Staff Writer
The Palo Alto High School Associated Student Body (ASB) voted to make the senior class gift a renovation of the senior deck. “The administration is for it, ASB has approved it and we are working on it now,” senior Spirit Commissioner Scotty McComas said. McComas is running the project with senior class president Sam Blake. The plan for the project is to destroy the existing senior deck and build a new one. “The plan is to tear [the deck] out, put in a new concrete foundation, resurface the deck with a wood substitute like plastic, increase the amount of seating and put up a canopy to deal with rain and heat,” Blake said. According to Hall, funding for the project was approved, but no money will be spent until every detail is finalized. “[ASB has] already voted for an allocation of money if the money is needed,” Hall said.
Now, the administration has to take the proposal to the school district for approval. The project has to get approval from the school board because it will be a change to the Paly campus. “[Vice-principal Jerry] Berkson and [Principal Phil] Winston are taking this [proposal] to the district for approval,” McComas said. “Once the school board has approved the project, we can start building.” McComas and Blake stressed that the project remains a mere possibility at the moment, since it is contingent upon the approval of the school board. McComas plans to get approval from the school board by the end of this school year. However, McComas and Blake mentioned that though they have not told the senior class yet, they plan to after the project is finalized. “My hope is that [the new deck] will be done by the year’s end, and I don’t think it will take long,” Winston said.
SPORTS
WRESTLING UP A VICTORY After placing first in a duel meet against Gunn and fourth in SCVALS this year, the wrestling team is looking forward to its first day of CCS. The team has been preparing all season for today’s competition. courtesy of usa table tennis
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Yael palmon/Campanile
ALEX LIN/CAMPANILE
emily tran/campanile
SPORTS
LIFESTYLES
PARTY WITH TREES
ADO OR NOT TO DO
The cheer and dance teams attend Nationals in Las Vegas.
Paly students take advantage of many Stanford facilities.
Theater prepares for the play, “Much Ado About Nothing.”
BRING IT ON, VEGAS PAGE A8
PAGE B1
FEATURES
PAGE B2
NEWS
A2 • February 24, 2012
Women 2.0 hosts pitch conference
ASB Update By Chrissie Cheng Staff Writer
ASB officers are planning multiple events for the last months of the school year which include Club Day 2, new student body elections and a spin-off of America’s Got Talent for Palo Alto High School: Viking Variety. On Feb. 24, Club Day 2 will be held at the quad during lunch. Unlike last semester, however, there will be no extended lunch. Many returning clubs will be attending the event among new clubs that have been started for the second semester. “We have had about 10 new clubs sign up plus some older clubs that will be joining,” Student Activities Director Matt Hall said. “We’ll probably have about 40 tables out there filling the quad.” Student body elections will also be held during the week of March 26-30. Those who want to run will be able to pick up applications on March 1, while those who want to apply for appointed jobs will be interviewed the week after March 26. The Viking Variety event will be coming back to the Paly campus after a four-year hiatus. Students interested in joining the talent competition will showcase their skills April 20 in the Haymarket theater. “ASB will be MCing the event and we will also have the Paly choir perform,” Mr.Hall said. The Viking Variety will include a performance portion where those who want to only participate will perform during the event, while those who are more serious can participate in the talent portion to win prizes. “It’s going to be one night of fun and adventure, and a great fundraiser for choir,” Hall said.
School Board Update By Ben Krasnow Features Editor
At the Palo Alto Unified School District’s board meeting on Feb. 14, some of the measures discussed included renaming the current science courses and adding three new classes: Conceptual Physics, Sports Nutrition and Introduction to the Automobile. The renaming of the science courses intends to distinguish the honors classes from non-honors, as well as make the system simpler and standardized. For example, Biology 1A would change to Biology, and Biology AC would change to Biology H. This process would also be done for the Chemistry and Physics lanes. Chemistry 1A would become Chemistry, while Chemistry H would stay the same. Physic classes would go from Physics 1 and Physics 1A to Physics and Physics H, respectively. Conceptual Physics would be similar to an introductory class. The rationale for the introduction of the class, according to the online agenda from the meeting, states that Paly’s Science Department “has created this course to better address the needs of students in completing the A-G eligibility requirements for the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) system.” Sports Nutrition is intended to be a new elective to give students a better grasp of nutrition and supplement Paly’s existing sports electives, such as Sports Medicine. Introduction to the Automobile would be a new class for freshmen that leads into advanced auto courses. All of these courses were discussed, but have yet to be passed. The vote will take place on Feb. 28.
UpcomingEvents March 1: Spring Play
Attend an adaptation of the Shakespearean classic Much Ado About Nothing, with music composed by junior Julian Hornik.
March 2: Pops Concert
Listen to the Paly band play popular music while enjoying a feast.
March 26: Career Speaker Series Enjoy a free lunch while hearing about various career experiences.
NewsBriefs DEBATE TEAM TOURNAMENTS LEAD TO SUCCESS The Palo Alto High School debate team has had a string of successes at the Santa Clara University (SCU), College Preparatory School (CPS), Victory Briefs, Coast Forensics League (CFL) and Stanford University tournaments. At the SCU tournament, held on the weekend of Dec. 9, Paly debate did very well. The tournament featured debaters from Northern California only. The judges at this tournament were relatively experienced, and some of them lacked proficiency in English. Competitors debated the topic of whether animals deserved rights. There, junior Meha Bakshi reached semifinals and took eighth place. In addition, sophomore Addie McNamara and sophomore Austin Zheng reached the octafinal round, or the elimination round before quarterfinals. “I had a bunch of rounds before in previous tournaments, so I was pretty ready going into this tournament because I had a lot of practice debating this topic,” sophomore Anish Haris said. This tournament was not as difficult as the debate team’s previous one, but it was a helpful practice and experience for the debaters. On the weekend of Jan. 1, a tournament was held at the College Preparatory School, located in Oakland. Debaters from
The Campanile
Product innovation leaders inspire entrepreneurs By Gracie Fang Technology Editor
The fifth annual Pitch Conference and Competition hosted by Women 2.0, an organization which aims to support women in the workforce, was held on Feb. 14 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Women leaders in technology and innovation shared their successes as well as their hardships aimed to inspire female entrepreneurs around the country. Female and male entrepreneurs, journalists and photographers attended the conference to recall tips and advice to help drive their startups forward, as well as to network with other entrepreneurs and develop new business connections. “Our goal is to raise productivity and wealth, as well as raise connectivity,” CEO and co-founder of Women 2.0 Shaherose Charania said. More than 1,000 registers attendees filled the auditorium to learn from product innovation leaders who helped create Flickr, Facebook, Zipcar, TaskRabbit and other major start-ups. They discussed fundraising and development strategies and obstacles they had to encounter while trying to make their company successful. “I’m an optimist, I believe in possibility, and that to me is one of the most important things in terms of being an entrepreneur,” co-founder of Flickr Caterina Fake said. Fake, one of the opening presenters, stressed the importance of passion in creating products. She believes that a combination of technology and great products can lead to a better society. “I really believe that the Internet is built on a culture of generosity – you can just put stuff up there and contribute,” Fake said. “The best thing about being an entrepreneur is making products that people love.” Other presenters who spoke about their entrepreneurial experiecnes included Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase, 500 Start-ups founder partner Dave McClure and Lark founder and CEO Julia Hu. Many companies all over the country applied to “pitch” their ideas or give a quick summary about their start-up idea in the competition. Out of over 170 companies, only nine were selected to present their pitches in the PITCH Competition, which were eval-
GRACIE FANG/campanile
Pitch conference judges discuss product innovation and marketing strategies. Out of over 170 companies, nine were selected to pitch ideas at the conference. uated by a panel of judges who are currently successful entrepreneurs. Companies that pitched include Buyosphere, Kismet, TinyReview and Hotseat. “[So far] I like the pitches I’m hearing,” senior Caroline Ebinger said. “I think it’s good to get an idea of how to pitch, but it is also interesting to see both women and men pitching at these conferences.” In addition to the pitches in the competition, small start-up companies pitched their ideas in the exhibit hall during breaks. Pitching companies included MySocialCloud, LeafMedium and Kidzmet. MySocialCloud was founded by New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development freshman Stacey Ferreira, who is currently studying computer science. She hopes that it will become a more convenient way for users to navigate all their social networking sites in one. “Our goal is to combine all the social networking sites into one, so you won’t forget all your passwords,” Ferreira said. “With MySocialCloud, you really only have to remember one password.” Ferreira’s Steinhardt classmate Julianna Garreffa is also helping to promote MySocialCloud and they both hope that it will become a globally recognized web application in the near future. Similarly, co-fouders of LeafMedium Vivian Chien and Will Tran hope to create a user-friendly web-design
interface for people to create personal and corporate web pages. According to Chien and Tran, the site will launch on March 1. “Right now we have a lot of startups and small businesses that like to use our products,” Tran said. “We’re trying make people’s websites look pretty, and the better they look the more customers we have.” Tran has been developing websites since high school, which helped him develop a larger range of clients over the years. “I’ve been developing websites since 1998,” LeafMedium Co-founder Will Tran said. “In high school, I already had clients and I was selling computers door to door. Soon, the PTSA [Parent Student Teacher Association] came to me, the school came to me, my neighbors came to me — I had around 50 clients in high school, and they are still my clients to this day.” Tran is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and is currently doing research on his own on artificial intelligence. Many entrepreneurs all over the country, all passionate about their new products, have gathered at the conference to meet new people and to share their ideas. Just like what Fake said, passion is the key element to becoming a successful entrepreneur. “Walt Disney once said that ‘I don’t make movies to make money, I make money to make movies,’ and that’s the kind of mindset entrepreneurs should have,” Fake said.
Students participate in Linguistics Olympiad
NACLO challenges students on computational linguistics problems By Eric Wang Staff Writer
Several Palo Alto High School students participated in the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NACLO) on Feb. 2. The competition was held at Stanford University, where about 30 students worked on computational linguistics problems. The competition focuses on problems that deal with the concept of language and how it functions. Attendees from all grade levels took
all over the nation come to compete at this advanced tournament which is known for its abundance in fast-talking, articulate speakers. The competitors battled it out on the topic of whether or not it is justified for victims of repeated domestic violence to use deadly force to defend themselves. Here, Haris made it to the quarterfinals. In addition, sophomore Travis Chen and junior Allen Zheng reached octafinals. “I could have been more clear in rebuttals,” Chen said. Overall, by competing in such a difficult tournament, Palo Alto High School demonstrated that they have what it takes to debate at higher levels. Paly was also successful at the Victory Briefs Tournament, a highly technical competition held at University of California Los Angeles on Jan. 22 and 23. There, sophomore Travis Chen reached the partial octafinals (two rounds before quarter finals) and ended up placing 23rd. “I enjoyed the tournament and it was a good learning experience,” Chen said. “I could have explained argument interaction better [however].” The CFL tournament, which only featured competitors from the San Francisco Peninsula, was held on two days: Jan. 28 for the speech competition and Jan. 29 for the debate competition. At the speech tournament, sophomore Rebecca Krieger reached semifinals in Original Prose and Poetry (an event in which competitors write speeches and present them) and junior Evelyn Wang got to finals in dramatic interpretation (an event in which competitors read from a published work. “The biggest factor [in my success] was probably just letting loose,” Wang said. “Once I stopped caring about what people
part in the contest, including Paly junior Jeffrey Ling. “Basically, you solve questions on words in different questions and it is a lot like solving puzzles,” Ling said. “An example question would be figuring out the translations of some words from a foreign, sometimes invented, language.” Paly junior Christine Chang, who also attended the competition, says that part of the inspiration to take part in the Olympiad came from the experiences of previous attendees.
“In 2010, Ben Sklaroff, a senior at Paly at that time, did very well in NACLO and eventually represented the United States as part of a group attending the International Linguistics Olympiad (ILO) at Stockholm, Sweden. He eventually won a gold award at the ILO,” Chang said. “I noticed this competition with the Paly Voice article about Ben Sklaroff, so I started to participate in 2011.” Chang does also find the problems offered in the NACLO interesting.
thought about my piece I did a lot better than [I did at the] last tournament.” In the CFL debate tournament on Jan. 29, senior Alex Carter went undefeated in varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate, and freshmen Jaisel Sandhu and Coby Parker went undefeated in junior varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate. “I was surprised that I won,” Parker said. “I had a few practice rounds before I went [to CFL] and they helped me to find evidence. [Coach] Jennie Savage was very helpful in explaining how debate works.” The team performed well at the Stanford tournament, a highly technical national tournament held on the weekend of Feb. 10. The junior varsity debaters performed particularly extraordinarily. Freshman Jack Brook placed in the top eight junior varsity debaters, while sophomores Addie McNamara and Curtis Wu reached semifinals. “This has been our junior varsity debaters and our [speech competitors] time to step out of the shadow of varsity LincolnDouglas and shine,” Savage said. “One half of all speech competitors and junior varsity debaters reached elimination rounds.” In the varsity Lincoln Douglas debate, Chen reached octafinals and was ranked as the fourth best speaker, and Junior Allen Zheng made it to partial triples (the elimination round two rounds before octafinals). “My success was a combination of hard work before the tournament and me having a good day,” Chen said. “Jennie [Savage] was really supportive throughout the tournament, she watched my rounds and gave me commentary.” In the speech competition at Stanford, Wang reached the quarterfinals; she has
“Some problems are quite creative,” Chang said. “Because of the fun involved in solving the puzzles, the competition is more like a fun mental exercise. The NACLO is an competition designed to teach students the diversity and consistency of language while implementing logic skills. Questions are produced by professionals in linguistics, computational linguistics and language studies using dozens of languages to create unique ancd innovative problems for students.
reached elimination rounds in each tournament she participated in this year. — Ben Hawthorne and Ben Cook
Staff Writers
TWIG SCULPTURE AT MAIN LIBRARY TO BE REMOVED There are three main structures in front of the Palo Alto Main Library and Art Center and ever since the Art Center has undergone construction there has been some skepticism as to which structures are going to stay, if any. There are two structures that are made out of metal called “The Albuquerque” created by Gale Wagner and “The Homage To Silence” constructed by Jerome Kirk. Both of those structures are going to stay throughout construction. In addition, the third structure named “Double Take” made by Patrick Dougherty, a world famous natural sculptor who has made over 225 natural sculptures around the world, is going to be taken down. Double Take has been showcased for a little over a year but because it is made out of twigs, those twigs; are starting to die and ware down so the city of Palo Alto is going to have to take down the structure. According to Main Librarian Jennifer Tobey, the city is going to deframe the structure on March 31. — Kyle Stewart
Staff Writer
NEWS
The Campanile
February 24, 2012 • A3
Tava Indian Kitchen to open at Town & Country Village
Local food business focuses on easy design-your-own meal for customers By Gina Scarpino Staff Writer
The first branch of Tava Indian Kitchen, a new restaurant, will open at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto on Feb. 27. Tava offers a fast, easy menu that helps customers design their own meals using fresh, healthy and familiar Indian cuisine options and flavors. The restaurant is owned by three best friends — Vijay, Hasnain and Jason — who went to Duke University together. Palo Alto High School senior Judy Saunders is one of the first employees at the new restaurant and is also the only Paly student employee. At Tava, one can order a rice or salad bowl or a burroti. A burroti is like a burrito, but instead of being wrapped in a tortilla, a customer’s choices of fillings is
wrapped in roti, which is a type of South Asian bread. Saunders is what is considered a “team member” — along with cooking food, she also wraps burrotis. “A burroti is your choice ofrice, lamb, chicken or a vegetarian option,” Saunders said. “There are these three sauces that you can put [in the burroti’s] that [are] mild, medium or hot. Then, there are vegetables you can put in it too. You can also get it in a bowl instead of getting it wrapped.” Tava Indian Kitchen also offers a special drink called a Mango Lassi. Saunders says it is like a mango smoothie, but much healthier. In addition, Tava Indian Kitchen is planning on having a special lunch menu with deals for students at Paly. “They’re going to have a special deal where [students] at Paly
can get a combo meal, like a burroti [with] a drink for free,” Saunders said. “Then they have combos where you can get a drink with naan chips.” Saunders said that the three owners of the restaurant have been working on the Tava restaurant project for the past 13 months. The owners chose to bring Tava Indian Kitchen to the Palo Alto area because they like the pleasant atmosphere of the town. According to Saunders, the restaurant has a kind and enjoyable mood. With Stanford University and Paly across the street, Tava Indian Kitchen is in a prime spot for business. “[Tava Kitchen] has a modern atmosphere — all the people that work there are really young so its like a good atmosphere,” Saunders said.
Charlotte Barry/Campanile
Tava Indian Kitchen opens Feb. 27. Featuring healthy, flavorful food selections, the restaurant gives off a modern and young atmosphere.
Students taking online classes struggle on standardized tests
Alternative methods of learning not as rigorous as regular schooling methods By Anna McGarrigle Staff Writer
According to an article in The New York Times, students in online classes are faring much worse in standardized testing than students in public or charter schools. A study performed by the National Education Policy Center, a research center at the University of Colorado, says that enrollment in Internet schools is up 43 percent from the 2009-2010 school year. Over 100,000 students were educated in 93 schools whose content is either fully online or mostly online. Online courses have become a popular alternative to the traditional classroom for many Palo Alto High School students. Having the ability to explore interests without committing to a schedule that requires students to spend a large amount of time at school makes online schooling appealing.
tional high school academic classroom environment. “The online class has a pretty good amount of writing and work and stuff, but I feel like it’s not as challenging as in class and it’s not graded as rigorously as a real class would be,” Knowles said. Additionally, an online class lacks peer discussion and support. “The lack of discussion with other classmates makes it harder to learn junior because you’re relying on reading “It’s a lot harder to learn text,” Knowles said. Absence of contact with teachers when you’re not with teachcan also be a downside to taking an oner and other class mates line class. All of the interaction is imthat you can share with.” personal because teachers cannot observe how a class is responding. “It’s a lot harder to learn when you’re option than fitting another class in senior not with a teacher and other class mates year,” junior Shelby Knowles said. However, Knowles believes that her on- that you can share with,” Knowles said. line class is not quite as fruitful as a tradi- “Not being able to interact with other peoThe freedom and flexibility that comes with learning at the student’s own pace is also a draw. Students have dropped Film Composition and Literature due to its lack of NCAA English credit, as online English classes have become a popular alternative. “I decided an online class is an easier
Shelby Knowles
ple makes it harder to get as much out of it.” Transitioning from a full-time online school schedule to a four-year college setting is also a downside. Although few high school students in Palo Alto have a school schedule that is online in its entirety, the distinct atmosphere and dynamic of classroom learning could be hard to adapt to. “It would be a lot harder to transition from high school to college because you’re not in a classroom setting,” junior Lindsay Sapigao said. “If you have a balance of in class and online, it’s fine.” Sapigao likes the Mastery Program offered through the Palo Alto Unified School District, which offers a type of math course in which students pre-test for each unit. “I’m not doing repetitive work on something that I already know,” Sapigao said. This routine has allowed her to learn at an appropriate pace for herself.
Choir holds Pops concert Prom location announced by ASB PROM, continued from A1
Riki RAttner/Campanile
Students sang on Feb. 13 and 14 at the annual Pops concert. The Paly Choir is also getting ready for its trip to Italy this upcoming spring.
By Anna McGarrigle and Kelly Stern Staff Writers
On Feb. 13 and 14, the Palo Alto High School Choir held its annual Pops concert at 7 p.m. in the Haymarket Theatre. The choir sang songs from wellknown musicals such as Mamma Mia, Spiderman, Rent and more. Last year they performed an “80’s-style singing and dancing” to both new pop songs and old favorites. The concert’s theme this year was rock musical. “People sang in solos and duets and trios in lots of musicals ranging from Queen to Abba,” junior Helen Cane said. This year’s Pops concert took a completely new direction from years past. “It was different this year because we had more a capella groups,” senior Jake Vertin said. “Last year we sang a lot more pops songs from the 80s.” The Madrigal Choir debuted an original composition written by junior Julian Hornik. “It was the first time that Julian had ever heard it in a choral arrangement,” Cane said. “Seeing a piece done by him was amazing. I was really proud of him.” Other choir members were in consensus.
“I think it was great because someone from our school wrote it, and it was also a really great song,” Vertin, also a member of the Madrigal Choir, said. Despite the change in direction for this year’s concert, choir members were pleased with their overall performance. “I’ve been in choir for three years, and this year was definitely my favorite,” Cane said. “People were skeptical of the rock musical genre effort, but they came on to it. It was really upbeat and everyone was appreciate of each other, the vibe was really special.” Upcoming choir events include a concert in Napa Valley on March 21 and 22, followed by the Spring Concert on May 4. “The springtime is always busy with competitions and things,” Cane said. “It’s always nerve wracking, but you get to meet really awesome musicians and show off a little bit.” The Spring Concert will feature songs that the choir will be singing during their trip to Italy, so these events will require a large amount of preparation. “I’m very excited, I’m also kind of nervous because we’re singing some harder pieces than the musicals,” Vertin said. “It’ll be a huge change of pace, but we’re ready.”
Paly Science Olympiad team succeeds SCIOLY, continued from A1 Jason Liu. With only 30 spaces available, this year’s captains have had to cut 15 people from the team. Chen won the Dynamic Planet and Rocks and Minerals events, while Liu and Shan won second place in both Forestry and Water Quality. Shan also placed second in Disease Detectives. “The additions to the Green Team definitely helped us get first,” junior Jacqueline Woo said. “Gary Chen got first place in both of his events and everyone on the team placed in at least one of their events. The new members have a lot of potential and I’m sure that in the next few years, they’ll continue to do well and keep the standards for Paly’s Scioly team high.”
part of the event coordination company ‘The Event Group.’ The French theme planned by Dionisio will mainly influence the food and decor, both of which Blake assumes will be much more popular than those of former dances. “I think some of the big downsides last year were the food and theme,” Blake said. “‘A Night in San Francisco’ wasn’t much of a theme. I think our food’s going to be much better and we’re going to have a good DJ.” Though the different locations had some appeal, Hall praised the structure of the design center building, which contains four open floors with balconies on each, allowing students the freedom to visit different parts of the building while simultaneously being able to see one another. “In terms of being able to see the large number of people but in a cohesive fashion, [people are not going to be] shunted down different aisles and hallways; they’re all in one spot,” Hall said. “Everybody can view everybody, we’ve got a multi-tiered approach, [the] design center is several floors whereas Treasure Island and the [Regency Ballroom] were one floor essentially.” The center also serves as a superior option to the others due to a heat factor, according to Hall, which
is prevalent at buildings such as the Regency Ballroom which contains an underground floor. The building is also considered a better choice because the design and different floors allows the varied activities to be well facilitated throughout the building, providing students with plenty of options throughout the night. “If people get tired of dancing and they’ve eaten their fill of food, which will be delicious, [we’ll have] caricature artists [and] photo booths [which] should make for an easy three, four hours of fun,” Hall said. “[We are also] going to have casino style, quasi gambling going on. I emphasize the quasi — there will be no money exchange.” This year, tickets can be purchased online — $90 with an ASB card and $100 without — by all students except guests from other schools who must buy them at the auditors office in addition to filling out guest forms. They will be sold from March 5 through April 22, and absolutely no tickets will be sold from April 22 until Prom. Table sign ups will also be available exclusively online and will begin after ticket purchases around April 16 according to Hall. An information sheet with frequently asked questions will also be distributed in the auditors office and to each publication in order to satisfy students and allow them to ask questions anyone may have.
Auditor stops selling parking permits PARKING, continued from A1
Sing, who initially raised concerns to Berkson about parking issues at the beginning of the year, reiterated that the majority is juniors and seniors. “The immediate thing we can do is to not sell any more [permits], so at least the ones who bought them can find parking spots,” Sing said. Berkson said he does not know how many spots the construction takes up. Although Berkson also said that no teachers had voiced concerns about staff parking, mathematics teacher David Baker said he has seen less available parking due to the construction. “I can usually find a staff parking place, but occasionally I have to park in student parking,” Baker said.
Senior Grace Barry said park- ally remains mostly traffic-free. “Embarcadero is [for] people ing availability in the El Camino lot has remained constant, but she going to work and school, and evpointed out that people are reluc- eryone’s parents drop them off there so it gets really crowded,” tant to change where they park. “I think people have just kind Tse said. “If you take Alma the of determined their designated only bad traffic you can hit is the turf,” Barry said. “For most of traffic out of Castilleja [School] or the cross the year, I traffic.” parked in the “The immediate thing we can do A l t h o u g h same area.” the answer And ever- is to not sell any more [permits], may seem f l u c t u a t i n g so at least the ones who bought simple, factraffic means tors from it is often them can find parking spots.” traffic to the easier said than done. Auditor “I’ll get the last spot” Senior Victomentality ria Tse cites morning backup on Embarcadero will have greater weight than Avenue, which often spans three “common sense” about whether to four blocks by 8 a.m. Converse- or not students will have to circle ly, Alma Street, the most common the Churchill lot for that last elufeeder into the Churchill lot, usu- sive space.
Julia Sing
Administration adjusts class transfer policy SCHEDULE, continued from A1 they are, we can make that work,” Laurence said. “But what we want more than anything else is for people to choose wisely to start with.” According to Winston, schedule changes worked well when the school had less students, but with nearly 2,000 students enrolled
for next year, the administration has become less flexible regarding individual preferential changes. “We need to put some protective measures in place to make sure that the students get the classes they need,” Winston said. Each year the administration creates the appropriate number of classes needed based on
what students originally signed up to take in the spring and compile it in a master schedule. “We start the school year with balanced classes and then when students transfer for a variety of reasons, that makes classrooms have a huge imbalance which is not fair to the teacher and certainly not fair to the students,” Winston said.
With this new policy, the administration ultimately aims to make students more conscience of the classes they are signing up for in the spring and how their academic life will affect their personal schedule overall. “We want students to make good choices up front about the class they are taking,” Winston said.
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THE ASB POST
The Official Newsletter of the Palo Alto High School Associated Student Body This month, we’re highlighting some of the events that we’ve hosted or helped host so far this year and previewing some of the events that are coming up soon. We hope to see you at the upcoming Club Day, ASB Elections or Freshman Car Wash! — Your ASB officers and representatives
UPCOMING EVENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR
Club Day 2
Today at lunch marks the first ever Club Day of second semester. ASB decided to try this new idea in hopes of chartering new clubs for the second semester, as well as helping existing clubs to recruit new members for the rest of the year. Around campus, it’s common knowledge that clubs generally tend to lose steam by the time third quarter rolls around. The goal of Club Day 2 is to help them get back on track and re-inspire them to achieve all their goals and make a difference on campus. We are optimistic that this event will bring only good results, but feel free to email me (maddiekuppe@gmail.com) or Junior Class VP Soo Song (soozoh@gmail.com) with any constructive feedback you want to share regarding the event. Thank you!
Elections
This year, we have decided to move all dates for the 2012 ASB Elections forward. Traditionally, elections have occurred in May, just before finals. We felt that most students would benefit from switching the whole event to March, allowing all students to focus on studying for finals when May comes around rather than stressing about getting forms in, campaigning, etc. The deadline for submitting application packets (for any position) is MARCH 13 at 3:30 p.m. Starting on March 1, these application packets will be available in the SAO, so swing by to grab one if you are interested in applying or want more information!
Car Wash
Hi Freshmen and Sophomores! We (your underclassman officers) have been hard at work planning our Spring fundraiser, the car wash and bake sale you’ve chosen. In hopes of warm weather, attracting PALY parents as well as the lunch crowd coming in and out of Town and Country Village, we have tentatively planned this event for Saturday, April 21, from 12 p.m. to about 3:30 p.m. We will soon release information regarding sign ups for car wash and providing baked goods for sale, and the more participation, the better, as we are raising money for our two grades. Get excited for delicious baked goods, warm weather, and car cleaning!
In the past few months, ASB helped organize a number of events including the StudentStaff Basketball Game (left), Homecoming Dance (middle right), Volleyball State Championship t-shirts (bottom right) and snacks in the library during finals (top right).
The ASB Post Edition Four February 2012
Editor-in-Chief: Uma Veerappan Cabinet Editor: Jared Swezey-Gleason Class/Committee Editor: Soo Song Comm./Rep Editor: Charlie Dulik Design: Brian Benton
SPORTS
The Campanile
Wrestling team sends nine to CCS finals
February 24, 2012
CampaniLin’
Vikings place fourth in SCVALs, win championship meet By Alvin Kim and Kelly Stern Staff Writers
The boys’ varsity wrestling team placed fourth overall at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic Leagues (SCVAL) final tournament and will send nine wrestlers to the Central Coast Section Tournament (CCS). The team won the De Anza league dual meet championships in a tiebreaker over Henry M. Gunn High School who had an identical league record of 5-1. Seniors Kalen Gans, Nick Ortiz, Joey Christopherson, Ryan Oshima and Tanner Marshall qualified for CCS along with juniors Erik Anderson, Alex Taussig and Trent Marshall and sophomore Andrew Frick by placing in the top six at the SCVAL tournament. Gary Hohbach and James Giaccia placed seventh at the SCVAL tournament, receiving an alternate seed in the process. The team won first place in the league for dual matches, ending with a 5-1 league record. They lost to Los Gatos High School 33-27 on Feb. 2, but beat Los Altos High School 5313 on Feb. 9. Coach David Duran was disappointed that they lost to Los Gatos, who the team expected to beat, but he was happy that they won the De Anza Division Dual Championships. “Last year we were second in duals,” Duran said. “Before usually Los Gatos or Fremont won.” Despite having the same dual record as Gunn, Palo Alto High School defeated Gunn in a previous head-to-head dual match and therefore won the tie breaker and the league. The team went to the Mission San Jose Tournament that started on Feb. 3. Duran said that the purpose of the tournament was to give wrestlers an experience of the high level of competition that they might face at CCS and states. “It’s not the biggest tournament, with only a 32 man bracket,” Duran said. “But everybody that comes to that tourney brings their good kids.”
Kalen Gans finished fourth at the Mission San Jose tournament to Adrian Salas who is ranked second in California, while Nick Ortiz closely lost a match that would have put him into the placement matches. Palo Alto High School failed to defend their title as the SCVAL tournament champions as they finished fourth with 148.50 points. Gunn placed first at SCVALs with 195.50 points, Los Gatos High School placed second with 182.50 points and Monta Vista placed third with 165.50 points. Senior Ryan Oshima was disappointed with this year’s performance at the SCVAL tournament after the team won first place at last year’s tournament. “We were definitely disappointed with our finish at SCVALs,” Oshima said. “We took fourth and were looking for first. For a lot of our guys, it was just a bad day. We are definitely happy about winning the dual league championships though.” Nick Ortiz won as an individual champion in the 132 pound section at the SCVAL tournament, Kalen Gans won at 162 pounds
and Erik Anderson won at 182 pounds. Ortiz and Gans are both defending champions, having won first place at the SCVAL tournament last year. Now the team is focusing on the CCS tournament which takes place on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 at Independence High School. Duran said that this year the team aims to place second at CCS. “Last year we placed seventh,” Duran said. “This year we’re hoping for second. Everyone is chasing Gilroy.” The top three wrestlers in each weight class at CCS go on to the state tournament. Erik Anderson’s main goal for CCS is to do well enough to continue at states. “My goal is to place in the top six and hopefully even get third so I can continue and wrestle at state,” Anderson said. Kalen Gans is the only current wrestler that went last year, placing third at CCS. Ryan Oshima, Joey Christopherson and Nick Ortiz look to return as section placers. They hope to go on to states after placing fifth, sixth and fifth respectively at last year’s event.
Brian benton/campanile
Senior Nick Ortiz wrestles against a competitor from Wilcox High School. The Vikings won the De Anza League and finished in fourth place at the Santa Clara Valley Athletic Leagues.
Boys’ basketball moves on Girls’ team heads to CCS to CCS after strong season Basketball ends regular season well By Brandon Byer Staff Writer
The Palo Alto High School varsity basketball team finished out the year winning three straight games to win the De Anza League Championship. Palo Alto has been placed behind Mountain View for the CCS playoffs since that Mountain View High School defeated Paly twice the year in league. The two losses in their last five games ended up propelling the green and white to a strong finish at the end of the year. With those three wins at the end of the year Paly was able to clinch the De Anza League Title in back to back seasons. “I think we were able to forget about the previous losses and it motivated us to finish strong,” junior guard Mathias Schmutz said. “It showed that when we really focus on our opponent and don’t take anybody lightly, we can be a very good team.” Junior forward E.J. Floreal may have had the most impressive season of all the Vikings as he averaged 13.8 points per game, and 7.7 rebounds per game. As well, his 63 percent field goal percentage led the team. Another junior small forward Aubrey Dawkins had a solid inaugural campaign as a Viking, averaging 12.4 points per game,
and 5.5 rebounds per game. Dawkins also shot well from beyond the arc connecting on 34 percent of his threes. Senior forward Israel Hakim saved his best season for last as he not only contributed to the team with his great numbers, but also contributed in a leadership role as one of the four seniors on the team this year. Hakim averaged 13.2 points per game, while grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game as well. Hakim was third on team with his field goal percentage shooting 51 percent from the field. Senior Alec Wong played like a floor general the whole year leading team with 3.8 assists per game and taking the role as team leader on and off the court. Juniors Mathias Schmutz, Aldis Petriceks and Kenny Jones pitched in off the bench and gave the team solid depth throughout the year. Seniors Tory Prati and Michael Augustine came in off the bench and helped to rebound the basketball and maintain Paly’s solid defense for the second unit throughout the season. “One thing I learned is to focus on every game because anybody can beat on any given night in this league. This has been a really fun season and I’ve enjoyed playing with this team,” Schmutz said. Overall, Paly’s regular season was a positive one, as they finished 20-4 overall. They won the De Anza league back to back years and the program looks to be headed on the upswing for the next few seasons. The season is not over though, as Central Coast Sectional (CCS) playoffs are starting with Palo Alto hosting South San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 23 for their first round match up.
By Matt Morton and Kate Apostolou Staff Writers
The Palo Alto High School girls’ varsity basketball team finished their regular season on a high note, with 10 victories and only two losses. With their positive momentum, they now look forward to competing in the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs. The girls began an impressive winning streak after their unexpected loss to Henry M. Gunn High School (52-42), going on to defeat Wilcox High School in a close game (47-46), Los Gatos High School (39-27), Milpitas High School (64-41) and Lynbrook High School (47-44). Senior shooting guard Lindsay Black was disappointed by the girls’ loss to Gunn, whom they defeated (65-49) earlier in the season. She noted her team’s poor performance throughout the course of the game. “I’m not proud that we lost to Gunn, but I truly believe we beat ourselves,” Black said. “They scored the same amount of points in the second game as the first; we just scored less. We didn’t finish shots that we should have. Gunn did not stand out.” The girls lacked the power and chemistry that had secured their previous victory against Gunn. Junior point guard Stephanie Allen cites this attribute as the main reason for the upsetting loss. “I’m not very happy about the loss we had against Gunn, but you can’t win every game,” Allen
said. “What was different from the first game to the second was that in the first game we had more energy. The second game we just didn’t have the same momentum. Gunn stood out because they beat Paly, and that hasn’t happened in a while.” The girls recovered well from the Gunn game and showed resilience and determination in the following games. On the whole, Allen is proud of the girls’ performance and their growth over the season. “Looking at [everyone], I believe that we have definitely improved as individuals and as a team,” Allen said. “My biggest surprise is that we are just as good as last year, but [I’m disappointed] that we are losing a lot of seniors this year.” Seniors Black, Makaela Cooper, Emilee Osagiede, Jennifer Valdez, Sam Borsos and Paige Borsos will be leaving the team this year; however, not before their team has given their best shot at another title as CCS champions. The next game will be at the CCS quarter finals on Feb. 25, at Hartnell College.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL Recent Scores vs. Milpitas W 64-41 vs. Lynbrook W 47-44
Upcoming Game TBA
Senior Emilee Osagiede protects the ball while dribbling down court against Gunn. The Lady Vikes lost the game 52-42. However, the team won their final four games and finished with a record of 10-2.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL Recent Scores
vs. Homestead W 74-51 vs. South San Francisco W 70-52 Brian Benton/campanile
Junior E.J. Floreal wins the tip off to begin the Gunn game.
Upcoming Game TBA
Brian Benton/campanile
loganmendenhall kylestewart News Flash: Jeremy Lin is the real deal. He single-handedly brought back the National Basketball Association (NBA) and put the New York Knicks back on the map. False comparisons of Lin and Tebow are springing up. He is causing race and performance based debate while putting up 38 points against Kobe Bryant. Those who say Lin can’t handle himself in the NBA and that he is just riding a hot streak are simply wrong. Lin has proven himself time and time again on the court and off. Lin has dropped more points than any other player in history in his first five starts since the American Basketball Association (ABA)/ NBA merger in 1976. The great thing about the Linsane Jeremy Lin story is that the man is the only Asian-American basketball player in the NBA right now. He has risen out of nowhere and has proven to the world that he can succeed in a league that is dominated by mostly African-American players. The kind of stats Lin is throwing down are Linsane. The kid keeps hitting baskets like it’s his last time playing. What makes Jeremy Lin stand out from the rest of the NBA is that he puts in 110 percent effort every time he steps on the court. This is great for the NBA because the NBA is one of those leagues where most of the star players lollygag on defense and don’t put in their all, day in and day out. Yet Jeremy Lin is setting a great example for the kids around the world and for the NBA. He is showing everyone that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it. Three weeks ago Jeremy Lin didn’t even know he would have a job in the NBA and he was thinking to himself that this was maybe the end of the road for him. But Lin has always had this extreme confidence level and always believed in himself under all circumstances. So when Jeremy Lin was given an opportunity to start for the New York Knicks, he took that opportunity and made the best of it. J-Lin threw down 25 points in his first game against the New Jersey Nets in a 99-92 win for the Knicks and there has been no turning back since. From the beginning, Mr. Lin has exploded onto the center stage of American media. And J-Lin is lighting up the world in one of the most hypocritical sports cities in America: the Big Apple. In New York they either praise you for your play or boo you out of the stadium because you are not living up to fans’ expectations. So far Lin has coped very well with handling the scene in the Big Apple. He knows he’s hanging by a limb every night while playing in the Big Apple. Yet due to him believing in himself and his teammates, he keeps performing day after day like it’s his last day to play in the NBA. On top of all of this, the great thing about performing well in the Big Apple is that if you’re performing well, the whole city rides on your back and you become the talk of the town and that is exactly what is happening to Jeremy Lin. J-Lin is so big that number one Knicks fan and famous movie producer Spike Lee wore Jeremy’s Paly number four jersey one of the games. This is awesome because the Big Apple and America as a whole really respect this Linderella story because these kind of situations do not come around too often in the sports world. What Jeremy Lin is, is Lincredible. The world needs to understand that things like this just do not happen every day. But to conclude the Linsanity, what makes Jeremy Lin so Linsane is that he has something that you can’t teach and that is having a heart bigger than life itself. Jeremy Lin has that mind set where he thinks to himself that he’s going to play harder than his opponents under all circumstances and that’s what gives him a Linsane edge against his NBA counterparts.
A6•Februrary 24, 2012
SPOTLIGHT
The Campanile
LINSTANT CLASSIC Compiled by Brian Benton, Hannah Totte & Emily Rosenthal Design by Madeline Berger, Caroline Martignetti & Anna McGarrigle
Perseverance. Strength. Belief. Tenacity. Linsanity. Many people at Paly know the story of Jeremy Lin's high school basketball season. How he was captain of the varsity team in his senior year. How he led them to a 32-1 season and earned an unexpected victory against Mater Dei High School, winning the state championship for Paly. You might even know he was named All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year. After being guaranteed a position on only Brown and Harvard's basketball teams and receiving no athletic scholarships — most schools hoped he would simply walk on — Lin chose to attend Harvard. He graduated from Harvard in 2010 but went undrafted in the NBA. He was later picked up by the Bay Area's own Golden State Warriors, playing with them for a
year before he was waived, both by the Warriors and later the Houston Rockets. Lin was then signed by the New York Knicks and quickly rose to prominence in the NBA, sparking the current "Linsanity." Successful people across all lines of work characteristically tell stories of being pushed down, of hearing that they cannot make it, that the Xfactor the world is looking for just is not there. Lin proved that the biggest body could not match the strength of belief. He has the X-factor the Knicks, and the public, needed. His story is unforgettable. His time is now. In honor of Lin’s shots at fame and those in the game, The Campanile decided to capitalize on his recent success, capturing a perspective of Lin derived from his hometown.
Then and Now
Jeremy’s former teammates, coaches and friends reflect on his journey from the Paly big gym to Madison Square Garden.
Kevin Trimble 2006 state championship team forward
>> “I can’t describe how lucky I feel to have played with Jeremy for so many years. Needless to say, it was not easy trying to beat him day in and day out in practice since sixth grade. In fact, it was really frustrating at times but I was just thankful he was on my team. He made us all get better on and off the court.” >>
“Like [Jeremy] often says, ‘what’s happening is more than just one person.’ It is really fun to watch the Knicks because they have such good team chemistry. It honestly reminds me, in
some ways, of our high school team.”
>> “The scary part is that he will keep getting better and better every year. He’s not really the type of person that will get distracted by Kim Kardashian or the club scene in New York City!”
Peter Diepenbrock 2006 state championship team coach
>> “He has it in him [to be one of the best point guards] because he has an incredible faith in religion that allows a confidence [that is] unmatched.”
>> “He’ s going to lead the Knicks to championships and earn a ridiculous amount of money and give it to his foundation for those less fortunate.”
Max Schmarzo Class of 2011 varsity basketball player, was in 8th grade when JLin won state championship
>> “Jeremy was well known amongst the younger kids. He was considered to be the face of Palo Alto basketball. Being the leader of a state basketball team, most of the kids saw him and that team as the gold standard of Paly basketball.” >> “At that time you couldn’t mention Paly basketball with out bringing up Jeremy Lin. He was the leader of the team that put Paly on the map. He made winning state seem possible for all the up and coming basketball players.”
>> “Jeremy wasn’t just a good basketball player on the court, he was a great person off the court.”
Cover to Cover
From the front page of The Campanile to back-to-back covers of Sports Illustrated, Jeremy Lin has taken print media by storm.
The Campanile
What Paly is Saying
SPOTLIGHT
Februrary 24, 2012 • A7
In the past month, 0.3 percent of all posts on social networks were about Jeremy Lin. That is more than Kobe Bryant and Lebron James combined.
Brad Lehman 2006 state championship team guard
>> “Playing with Jeremy at Paly was special because of the way he led our team. He was a floor general in every sense of the phrase. He made the game so much easier for us, all we had to do was move around and we knew he would find where the best shot was and make sure the ball got there.”
>> “Never has been one to get caught up in his success, always defers his success to the concept of the team. That’s what coach Diepenbrock preached to us in high school.”
>>
“Watching him play at the Garden was surreal. It’s the Mecca of basketball and my friend was playing on National TV. Leaves you speechless to see it in person. Add that he played one of the best games of his life, I was getting teary eyed up in the nose-
bleeds. “
Brian Baskauskas 2006 state championship team forward
>> “Watching Jeremy play at MSG last weekend was amazing. It’s one thing to see him on TV, but seeing it live and feeling the energy of the fans was truly awesome. The buzz around MSG is pretty special and it’s crazy to think that Jeremy is the catalyst. “
>> “I’ve spoken to Jeremy a decent amount over the past couple weeks...he is handling everything extremely well. He hasn’t changed at all; he has remained humble and grounded and has managed to block out a lot of the hysteria.” creative commons
Arne Lim Advisor of Christian Club when Jeremy was its president
>> “In the Christian Club, he was a leader. He wasn’t the most outspoken but as he matured as a young man, he was able to vocalize why he believed what he did. And that’s part of growing up, and that’s not always easy to do, especially when it comes to spiritual measures.”
>> “It’s memorable seeing him play with kids. When he returns to Paly now, he’s not a kid anymore. He’s a man, I can honestly say that. And the reason I can say that is because of the way he interacts with people who are younger than he is, whether he’s working with Diepenbrock’s camp, which he still does, or if he’s just hanging out with other people just walking around.”
>> “That’s who I think of when I think of Jeremy: a young man, who has worked with the talent he’s been given in a favorable light without drawing attention to himself.”
SPORTS Dance, cheer teams prepare for Nationals A8 • February 24, 2012
The Campanile
New additions to routines keep girls hopeful for upcoming competitions DANCE
Three seniors, two juniors and one freshman came together two years ago to form the Palo Alto High School dance team after the team’s sevenyear hiatus. As the dance team prepares for the national competition in Las Vegas on Feb. 24, the practices get more intense as hard work and focus increases. The dance team is competing in four different categories at Nationals: pom, jazz, lyrical and hip-hop.
CHEER The cheer team is returning to Nationals this year with a brand new routine. After housing for many years a strong and developed cheer program, Palo Alto High School is ready to show its talent again in Las Vegas. The cheer competition team, which consists of a small group of varsity cheerleaders, will incorporate dancing, tumbling passes and stunts into their routine. The team hopes its dedication will pay off on stage.
DANCE
CHEER
By Sophie Parker
By Kate Apostolou
Week 1
Week 1
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The dance team was enthusiastic as they practiced for their many competition routines. At practice on Tuesday the team focused its energy on rehearsing both the jazz routine, choreographed to an upbeat song, and the pom routine, which is similar to jazz but includes pom poms. For pom, the dancers reviewed the entire routine because they had not practiced it since the last competition. The team decided to change minor details at the end of the routine to make it more easily achievable and visually pleasing. They also focused on sharpness and hitting their positions. Pom routines need to be really sharp, with each dancer in her correct spot. “I have noticed at practices, we are a much stronger team now,” senior Isabel Obrien said. “Last year we did not know what we were doing because it was the first year of dance team. Now we have a set time where we can all rehearse and improve the technique of our dances to be sure they are a lot cleaner than they were before.” The dancers are not used to sharp movements as much so they need to concentrate on their moves and arm placement. For the jazz routine, robotic movements are combined with funk moves as they dance to the song “Distortion” by David Guetta. “We are a lot more focused at practice especially with basketball season ending and we have a goal especially after doing multiple competitions this year,” senior Natalie Brock said. “It has brought our team closer. We are very excited because this will be our first trip together.” The dancers are looking forward to their first competitive trip together, trying to get out as much as possible from the experience. They also decided to compete four times because the team is determined to do the best they can and get feedback from judges. The feedback from the judges is crucial in helping the team continue to grow and learn how to improve. “It is our first time going somewhere to dance when it’s only for us,” Obrien said. “We went to states last year but that was more for football. This is just for dance and about us trying to do the best we can.” Performing a hip hop routine was a sudden decision by McDaniel because she realized it would not cost more to add another routine to compete with. She convinced the dancers to try to add another routine to increase their chances for success at the quickly approaching nationals. They have only had three hiphop practices, the first one on Feb. 16 from 2:45-5:00 p.m. “We learned our hip hop routine in two hours; one week before we have to compete so that was stressful,” Obrien said.
The cheerleaders kicked off the week with a productive Sunday night practice. They began by working on stunts and then moved through the routine, first without stunts and then with stunts. Coach Hilary McDaniel took advantage of the availability of the small gym because of the convenience of its size. “One of the most specific things we worked on was formations, especially because in the dance studio it is not the size of a true competition floor, it’s much smaller,” McDaniel said. “That is why we had a practice in the small gym and rolled out all nine mats, which is the actual size of a competition floor, so the girls could practice in a space that is large enough.” After running through the entire routine three times, the girls could identify places in which to improve such as falling stunts and shaky tumbling passes. Still, McDaniel showed faith in the team when she gave a teary-eyed speech at the end of practice. “Even though I yell at you guys sometimes, I really do love you all and I am so proud of all the work you have been doing,” McDaniel said. “This is the reason I decided to coach you guys because I know you can do it.” Throughout the week, the cheerleaders continued with after-school practices in the dance studio, focusing on improving week areas of the routine. At the end of the week, cheerleaders such as senior Sophie Jorasch reflected positively upon the week’s progress. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress this week,” Jorasch said. “[The routine] was feeling a little rocky before, but now I think that we will definitely be ready. We ran through the whole routine over and over, which we hadn’t really done yet, so it made us more comfortable with it and [allowed us to] build up the energy to do the whole [routine] because its pretty tiring.” McDaniel believes the girls still need to focus on their stamina in order to keep their movements sharp and crisp for the duration of the piece. Consistent success with each aspect of the performance will be difficult, but necessary for the team to do well. “They definitely can hit each component of the routine perfectly, but when there’s two and a half minutes of hitting each component perfectly, that’s where it gets really challenging,” McDaniel said. “But I know they can do it. I’ve seen them do it. It’s just a matter of them doing it consistently.” Overall, McDaniel believes the team will be successful when the competition rolls around. She feels that their hard work and preparation bode well for the team’s performance at Nationals. “This week they are preparing really hard, so I think they are going to do well,” McDaniel said.
Week 2
Week 2
McDaniel pushes both the cheer team and the dance team to do the best they can. At the second hip-hop practice on Tuesday, McDaniel cleaned up the newly created hip hop routine and shared her theory of “if there is an opportunity, why not embrace it?” “I think [the hip hop routine] is really creative,” McDaniel said. “I think it is different from all the other routines that are going to be at Nationals. A lot of the cheer teams enter into the hip hop category, so it will be interesting to see the difference between cheerleaders doing hip hop and dancers doing hip hop. I think that the judges could find it really refreshing. Learning the routine and performing it in a week and a half is challenging. We just wanted to have some fun with it and not take it too seriously but still do the best that we can.” Hip hop choreographer and dancer Olivia Maggi was inspired to create a fun and stress-free hip hop routine because there is not sufficient time to practice it before nationals. “Hip hop was kind of last minute, so I thought, let’s have a party on stage,” Maggi said. “The song was really exciting and fun, so I just went out and choreographed it.” Chloe Koseff, a senior on the Paly dance team, has seen a major improvement after analyzing the last practice on Wednesday and over the last two weeks. She hopes for the best at Nationals, and that all their hard work pays off. “We have focused a lot more on the little details by getting the expressions down and making sure we are moving in a uniform style,” Koseff said. The dancers look for more than success in Las Vegas. They strive to do the best they can, while also enjoying themselves and bonding as a team. “We have not been to Nationals before and it is more like a bonding thing for the dance team,” Brock said. “Of course we are going to dance and hopefully do well but it is more about being together as a team and having a good time.” The girls practiced for a final time on Wednesday night in the dance studio. They reviewed all four of their pieces including the hip-hop piece which they practiced with the incorporated cheerleaders. The dance team used most of their practice time to focus on execution and performance including strong, sharp and clean movements along with expressive facials.
The girls began the final push before Nationals with a practice on Presidents’ Day in the small gym. They mostly focused on hitting their stunts which has proved to be one of the most challenging parts of their routine. Cheer captain senior Lindsay Beisheim noticed improvements during the practice even though she considers this routine to be “one of the most challenging they’ve ever done.” “It’s definitely been interesting trying to get our routine together,” Beisheim said. “The last week before Nationals is always super stressful but I think we are going to pull it together. And despite some hardships and injuries on the team, I think we’re just doing our best to get everything together and hit it sharp.” The team continued practice on Tuesday, still focusing on stunts. According to junior cheerleader Tia Rabinovitz the girls had less practice with stunts than with the dance portion of the routine because of absences during practices. Still, Rabinovitz expressed positivity towards the team’s progress and excitement for the competition. “I’m stoked,” Rabinovitz said. “I think everyone’s really pumped and ready to go because we’ve been practicing for a while and we know the routine, so this last week is all we really need to push it out and do well.” Cheer coach Danielle Hypolite stressed “working on the routine as a whole” during Tuesday’s practice. “We’re making sure that they’re hitting all their tumbling, all their stunting and that they just feel confident in doing it, so that when they go and perform, it’s just a lot easier for them,” Hypolite said. The following practice on Wednesday focused on building confidence and getting the girls in the mindset to compete. “I think the last day is just really about the girls morale and getting the team united so when they go out to Vegas, they’re representing Palo Alto,” Hypolite said. Overall Hypolite has high hopes for the cheerleaders and believes they will provide tough competition for other cheer teams. “We have a really, really good chance to go home and take the championship and so does the dance team,” Hypolite said. “It just all boils down to all of the hard work that they’ve been putting in since October. They took their first championship in October, and we’re taking that win and bringing it to Nationals and are really ready to win.”
Yael Palmon/campanile
(Top) Flyer Caroline Kim is lifted by her fellow cheerleaders. (Second from top) Dancer Natalie Brock practices for nationals in the Paly dance studio. (Second from bottom) Cheerleader Sophie Jorasch works on stunts. (Bottom) Olivia Maggi leads the dancers through her routine to prepare for the upcoming competition.
SPORTS
The Campanile
Spring Sports
February 24, 2012 • A9
As the spring sports begin their seasons, players look forward to starting anew with the loss of key senior teammates and the addition of new varsity members.
Playoffs, Please
josharfin
Clockwise from left: Lauren Wong/campanile, Alex Lin/campanile, Andrea More/campanile, Alex Lin/campanile
Boys’ Lacrosse
This year, the Palo Alto High School’s boys’ varsity lacrosse team looks forward to the season to come. Coming back from last year’s drama, in which star senior Kris Hoglund broke his leg and incidents involving drinking and drugs were rampant, the boys’ varsity lacrosse team members are out to prove themselves this year. This year the team will be led by senior captains Kris Hoglund and Gabe Landa and junior captains Walker Mees and Jonny Glazier. However, Glazier mentioned that the team expects solid performances from several of the underclassmen this year as well. “We also have a strong foundation of underclassmen,” Glazier said. “We have sophomore Will Hare who came from Princeton, [New Jersey], and we have sophomore James Harrison on the defense. In terms of goal production, you should see a lot from Kris Hoglund, myself and Matt Lam.” Last year, the boys had to deal with rumors of alcohol and drug consumption by their fellow teammates and this year the Head Coach Craig Conover will be taking a rigid no-drugs policy. “If a rumor gets out of any of us drinking or even smoking cigarettes, we may be kicked off the team on the spot, and if any of us test positive for illegal substances, it results in immediate expulsion from [Palo Alto] lacrosse,” Glazier said.
— Julia Poppy and Caroline Martignetti Staff Writers
Girls’ Lacrosse
The girls’ varsity lacrosse team is hoping to dominate in league and bring home the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) championship this upcoming season, according to returning varsity player junior Nina Kelty. The team will look to new players such as junior Julia Farino, as well as returning seniors Emy Kelty and Kimmie Flather to lead the team. “I think Julia Farino, who transferred from Menlo-Atherton [High School] at the semester, will be a big threat in the defensive end and midfield this season,” Nina Kelty said. “As for returning players we will look to Emy Kelty to lead the defense and win many draw controls and Kimmie Flather to score goals and lead our attack. They are the two seniors planning on playing collegiate lacrosse, Emy at Amherst College and Kimmie at San Diego State.” Returning junior Emma Beckstrom is optimistic about the upcoming season, despite the fact that a large portion of the team is underclassmen. “We have a pretty young team this year, so it’s hard to tell so soon [how the team will do],” Beckstrom said. “The new girls have promising potential and we hope to have another successful season.” The biggest matches for the team will be when the girls take on Menlo School and Saint Ignatius High School. “It would be a stellar season if we could beat the two strongest teams we play out of league which are Menlo School and Saint Ignatius,” Kelty said. “We lost to Menlo in 2010 in double overtime and last year by one goal and were crushed by Saint Ignatius last year but we beat them in 2010 which was great.”
— Nira Krasnow and Olivia Cole
Staff Writers
Boys’ Tennis
With a few new players from junior varsity and some improved varsity players, the boys’ varsity tennis team is practicing to prepare for the season. This season, the team lost four seniors, but gained five new players from last year’s junior varsity team such as junior Thomas Kao and Will Kershner. “I don’t really know how Will and Thomas play, but [sophomore] George He will probably be a good addition to our singles lineup because he played junior varsity one singles last year,” senior Justin Wang said. “Jack Paladin is great at doubles [also] and will be a great addition to the team.” Sophomore Austin Leung also mentioned how some of the new players will affect the team. “We have [senior] Nicky Hu who is a nationally ranked player and he is one of the best in California, so that is a great addition,” Leung said. “We have sophomores and juniors who can really contribute early.” Leung believes that the team will play better this year than last but does not expect to go far in Central Coast Section (CCS).
— Elizabeth Bowman and Alex Taussig
Staff Writers
Track
Track and field long distance runners will be working with new coach Paul Jones, Joe Ginanni’s replacement.Ginanni, the former distance coach, will be taking time off to raise his new son. Due to the new coach, junior long distance runner Justin Zhang expects rapid changes to take place in the new season. “It’s going to be lot different with the new coach change for long distance track,” Zhang said. “He’s got experience from coaching cross country at Evergreen High School, so I think we should be okay.” Many other long-distance runners seem to share the same sentiment. The track and field team is expecting a promising season, sporting stalwarts such as senior long distance runner Nikolai Solgaard, senior shot-put thrower Tory Prati and junior sprinters E.J. Floreal and Tremaine Kirkman.
— Gavin Chan and Michael Wang
Gymnastics
As the warm weather approaches, so do spring sports, including the newly founded gymnastics team. Gymnastic meets do not begin until April, however the preseason has begun and the team is training, hoping for success. “We just started practicing a month ago, it is going good, we are starting to work on our routines and getting our skills nailed down for when competition starts,” Co-captain Sophie Jorasch said. Although there are not many members on varsity, captains Sophie Jorasch and Sarah Miller strive to support the junior varsity team as much as possible. “There will be either three or four members on varsity and junior varsity has around 15 girls.” Jorasch said. “We are also helping JV members and pushing as many members as possible to compete in all around, meaning they compete in all events: vault, bars, beam, and floor.” The gymnastics team is hard at work to prepare for upcoming meets and get settled into the sport before the true season begins.
— Sophie Parker Staff Writer
Golf
Palo Alto High School’s varsity golf team is looking forward to a promising season under the leadership of junior Grant Raffel. Made up of underclassmen, this season Paly golf will be working on developing the team as a whole rather than a few key players. “We are a young team; we have two juniors, and the rest are freshmen or sophomores,” Raffel said. “We have a lot of talent and depth to our team” The team will aim to win local tournaments with the hope of building from there to the NorCal tournament. “Our ultimate goal is to make our way to the State Championship. To get there we’ll need to win the League Tournament in order to secure our sport in the NorCal tournament, which are more realistic goals,” Raffel added. According to Raffel, Paly might face some challenges in the Sectional Tournament. “It is very difficult to keep advancing deep into the golf ‘playoffs,’ as the entire team needs to string together a few excellent rounds,” Raffel said.
— Sidhanth Venkatasubramaniam Staff Writer
Staff Writers
Badminton
Diving
Members of the varsity diving team are starting off their preseason with hopes of getting their numerous new team members comfortable with the sport in order to win Central Coast Section (CCS) for the third year in a row. “I’m really happy with the recruiting we’ve done this year,” junior Alex Francis said. “We have around 30 divers which is an astronomical number considering that a lot of out league competitors have only one or two.” Other important members of the diving team include senior captain Emma Miller and junior Cole Plambeck, who’s experience in the sport makes them valuable leaders to the team both socially and competitively. “We have a great captain, Emma Miller,” Francis said. “We have a ton of talent with Cole Plambeck, who has National and Olympics Trials caliber, and other divers.”
The varsity badminton team is off to a promising new start. A current Stanford student and former junior national champion, Charles Yang, the team’s new coach has introduced the team to a whole new level of training. According to Wang, Yang makes the team condition harder than last year’s coach. The players go through a regime of frog jumps, pushups and sprints. “Mr. Yang is quite competent. I strongly believe that we are totally going to win leagues if we continue to train like this,” junior Oliver Wang said. Yang has given the team new hope, since they had a mediocre performance last year, placing third in the lower league. “I think the team has potential, but that potential has not yet been unlocked,” Wang said. “I expect the beginners to improve rapidly this year.”
Staff Writers
Staff Writers
— Beth Yan and Chrissie Cheng
— Isabel Benatar and Rose Fitzgerald
The week after the Super Bowl, I saw TV analysts and sports writers asking the question “Is Eli better than his brother?” And while a majority sided with Peyton, far too many answered Eli. The primary reasons cited for Eli are his superior playoff record of 8-3 compared to Peyton’s 9-10 and his two Super Bowls, compared to Peyton’s one. While postseason games are important and winning in the post season is difficult, it does not define the better player. This is not just the case in football. For example in baseball, Albert Pujols, who was on two championship teams, is often called the best player in recent history despite being significantly worse then Barry Bonds and as good as Alex Rodriguez. Kobe’s five championship rings are enough to call him the best player in the NBA even though he has been worse than Lebron for four or five years. All we do is obsess about how many championships a star can win and we over emphasize the post season. While Peyton is only 9-10 in the postseason, he made the post season 11 times in 13 years with a roster that ranged from maybe average to downright dreadful. Eli on the other hand has only been to the playoffs five times in eight years with a roster that ranged from very good in 2007 and 2008 to average in 2005 and 2011. Peyton Manning has a league record four MVP awards and for some reason people forget that fact and only look at a 19 game sample in a 227 game career. Peyton’s four season MVP awards are overshadowed by Eli’s two Super Bowl MVPs. Think about that: Peyton was the best player in football for four different years and Eli was the best for two games. The fundamental problem with looking at championships to determine the best player is that players do not win championships; teams do. For example, the year before Lebron went to the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers won 17 games. In his first year with the team, before he could legally drink beer, he improved their win total by 18 games. Two years after that he led them to the playoffs without another allstar on the team. In seven years in Cleveland, he went to the playoffs five times with a team so bad that their win total the year before him plus the year after him, would have been the second lowest win total of his career. Yet despite all that, he was considered worse then Kobe because he never won a championship. In seven years, he had one teammate make an All-Star team. That was Mo Williams, who has not made an All-Star team since. In baseball, John Lackey was considered a star pitcher because he won game seven of the 2002 World Series. In his year prior to free agency, he had a 3.83 era, which is good but not star quality. Despite his mediocre season, he signed with Boston Red Sox for over eighty million dollars. His performance nine years earlier in one game increased his value from an average pitcher to a star level pitcher. On the flip side, Jered Weaver, his former teammate, is a top ten pitcher in baseball in the prime of his career and only signed for $85 million because he never won a World Series game. Another example in baseball is Derek Jeter. Jeter is undeniably a great player, but he is not nearly the player that other recent stars have been. He has not been nearly as good as Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or lesser stars like Jeff Bagwell and Chipper Jones. Those four players have one championship and therefore do not receive much credit. Bonds and Rodriguez have been far better then Jeter, yet thay are considered similar level players. Few would list Bagwell or Chipper in the same conversation as Jeter because they never had postseason success. In modern sports, we overemphasize playoff games. While a post season game is more important then a regular season game, we cannot just look at these games when evaluating players. What players do in the regular season has to matter. Great players are underapreciated because their teams did not win.
OPINION
February 24, 2012
The Campanile
Editorials
Electives should be better distributed throughout master schedule
Year after year, during the first week of school, hundreds of Palo Alto high school students squeeze into the guidance office to figure out problems in their schedules. Most of the problems are fixed, but a few cannot be, simply because of how Paly’s 500 plus class master schedule is made. These students are the ones that want to take certain high level or unique classes, but cannot. They are the ones that end up in classes that do not interest them or with preps they would rather have a class during. These unlucky students are unable to take the classes they want, because once the master schedule is final, nothing can be done. It is a simple predicament — a student would like to take an elective that is only offered one or sometimes two periods but cannot because their schedule is constructed in a way where during the period that class is offered, they have to take a required course like English or history. When next year’s master schedule is made, The Campanile hopes more of an effort can be put into avoiding this issue. We analyzed the master schedule, and found a few things that could be paid attention to in order the ensure that more students can take the classes they want. One issue seems to be that many classes, especially high-level language classes and uncommon electives, are offered heavily during the same periods. Sociology, Foreign Policy, Advanced Java, American Sign Language 1, Sports Medicine and AP Art History, for example, were all only offered during second period this year. AP Music Theory, Viking, advanced photo, and many high-level language classes were only offered fifth period. Avoiding this could mean that even if a student could not take their first choice class, their second might be available, instead of it being offered the same period as their top choice. There is bound to be a way to avoid this. One possibility might simply be to make a list of classes that only will be offered one period and balance them throughout the day. If instead of having six one-period-only classes during second period, they were split out throughout the day, students would be better able to take more of the classes they desire. To make this even more effective, semester long classes could switch periods at the middle of the year. A student obliged to AP Stats second period could still take foreign policy if instead of being offered second period the entire year, was moved to a different time slot for second semester. These problems could also be avoided by trying two teachers from teaching the same class during the same period. Although this can alleviate over-crowding in classes, it also means that students have less options of when to take a class. Just like trying to spread out electives as much as possible would help, spreading out classes that are offered many periods could, too. We understand that planning a master schedule with over 100 teachers and over 500 classes cannot be an easy task, but attempting to reduce this simple problem could be.
Guest speakers enrich curriculum Desean Jackson: athlete. Harry Edwards: activist. David Kennedy: intellectual. Somali Mam and Carl Wilkins: humanitarians. All are notable names in their respective fields, demonstrating the power of hard work and perseverance. The paths they took to get to where they are distinct, but a commonality they share is that the students of Palo Alto High School have been lucky enough to hear about their pasts, presents and futures in person. Guest speakers contribute unmatched benefits to an educational environment, such as that of Paly. The Campanile appreciates all of the guest speakers that have visited the school so far over the years. However, what with the many connections teachers, students and their parents have and the school’s location, The Campanile feels that these characteristics of our student body and our school are not being taken advantage of. Paly should begin hosting monthly guest speakers during tutorial to give students opportunities to enrich their education. Guest speakers have the ability to inspire students, peaking interest that may have been sparked in class and applying it to real-world situations. Exposure to current issues can introduce students to possibilities for their future, perhaps encouraging further motivation to fuel their education. When students get to meet their role models, asking questions and networking can help students become more familiar with a certain subject or field of work. Students at Paly will be more than willing to take advantage of such opportunities. When UC Berkeley sociology professor Harry Edwards came to speak to students earlier this week in a history classroom, students had to sit on the floor because of a lack of space. Teachers and administrators may have underestimated the popularity of this specific speaker, but for most notable people, a significant amount of the student population would be enthusiastic about meeting incredible people. Oftentimes, teachers will invite speakers that correspond with their class’ current curriculum. For example, David Kennedy, author of the AP U.S. History textbook, came to talk to APUSH students last year. Dr. David Spain, head of the trauma surgery department at Stanford Hospital, spoke to juniors in a Humanities class last year as well. Although these speakers directly relate to students, only giving certain classes the opportunity to hear those speakers leaves out a larger interested audience. When Carl Wilkins, the only American to remain in Rwanda after the genocide began, came to speak to students in 2010, many history teachers found ways to link his talk to their classes. Because the speaker was open to the whole student body, though, more students were able to take advantage of his coming to Paly. This was a unique experience, one that could be modeled after with other speakers. Tutorial would be a convenient time--if scheduling allows--to host guest speakers because students can have a built-in time to listen. Being able to voluntarily choose to go also gives students a sense of intellectual freedom and ambition. The Campanile also suggests that teachers try to connect their lessons to speakers and emphasize the benefits of listening to guest speakers. From what we’ve observed, though, students would not need much persuading.
Students should be allowed to switch class lanes next year Although the Palo Alto High School administration must deal with a growing student body and an admittedly impossibly high level of schedule change requests, The Campanile thinks the new policy to be enforced starting in the 2012-2013 school year has the potential to be more harmful than helpful. The policy is good in that guidance counselors will not be swamped, attempting to accommodate hundreds of students in a short period of time. In addition, it will get rid of superficial requests from those who are attempting to switch out of a certain teacher’s class based on rumor — whether or not they think the teacher is “easier” or “harder” to get an A from. But that is where the benefits end. Students may want to lane down for several reasons, whether they signed up for a more advanced class thinking they could handle the class rigor but were ultimately overwhelmed, whether they were unable to manage the course load or whether they are simply struggling to keep up with the pace. However, any of these reasons are valid reasons for switching classes. Assistant Principal Kathie Laurence said they decided to initiate the policy to encourage students to choose their classes more wisely. In one of the most esteemed and highly ranked schools in the nation, it makes no sense for administrators to deny students the education they choose. For example, juniors who initially do not do well with Advanced Placement U.S. History cannot drop down to U.S. History, and thus will not have a history class. Students should be able to have the freedom to choose which classes they want to take whether the administration likes it or not. It is understandable that it can be overwhelming for the administration when students need to make schedule changes, but the administration cannot expect students to make such a mature and definite decision without even experiencing the class first. Reading a mere paragraph-length course description in the course catalog cannot compare with actually experiencing the class, the teacher and policies, and for the administration to limit students to make their decision based on such a vague description is neither fair to the student nor to Paly’s environment. The administration should put the student’s needs before their amount of work to ensure that students can make the most out of their Paly education.
Letter to the Editors
Guidance working hard to improve T.A. system
On behalf of the Paly Guidance program, I’d like to take a minute to respond to the recent story written by Abha Sharma in The Campanile regarding her feedback on the Teacher Advisor system. First off, we hear you. Since our 2008-2009 WASC review, the Teacher Advisor program has been reflecting on ways we can improve our system to better meet the needs of our students and to promote greater student connectedness on our campus. Specifically, we are in the process of making some refinements to our overall scope and sequence, which includes improving our lessons plans and dedicating time within the advisory period for individual student conferences. Since last summer, a small group of Teacher Advisors, Counselors and Guidance staff have been hard at work making adjustments which we will be fully implementing in the 2012-2013 school year. We’ve looked at ways to “trim the fat” in our curriculum and based the decisions around how to achieve this by reviewing student feedback gathered from listening to our students, in our Guidance evaluation surveys and/or stories such as this one. For instance, we’re adjusting the sequence of some of our lessons so the timeliness of the information, as Abha points out, is more effective. And in some cases, we are dropping lessons altogether that have run their course or are no longer the best use of our time in meeting our schoolwide goals. By abandoning these lessons, we will recapture time within the advisory period for Teacher Advisors to meet individually with their students. Starting next year, students will notice dedicated time for student conferences with their Teacher Advisor throughout the year. We agree that this one-on-one
time will enable our teacher advisors to get to know their students better and help them in the advising process by offering greater individual attention. Another way to offer greater individual attention, which the administration has supported for the past five years, is to lower the Teacher Advisor to Student ratio. This hasn’t been easy to achieve, given the tough financial times, but it remains a priority for our school and is something we will continue to strive for. And in an ideal world, it would be great if every student could have their Teacher Advisor as a classroom teacher. The Guidance counselors spend many hours over the summer trying to match students into classes with their TA’s as much as possible. But in some cases, with a master schedule as complicated as Paly’s, it’s just not possible despite our best efforts. That said, we strongly believe students can still form a lasting and positive connection with their Teacher Advisor by attending advisory regularly. In any given year, a student has over 10 advisory classes at 45 minutes apiece, as Abha reminds us. That’s 450 minutes to get to know someone. By the beginning of senior year, you will have spent 900 minutes or 15 hours with your Teacher Advisor. As Abha points out, compared to other public high schools, we should be thankful we have this program in place. The Teacher Advisors at Paly are a hand-selected group who are committed to connecting with students, academically advising them throughout their high school experience, and helping them to prepare for life beyond our doors. Like all teachers in our school, they are a passionate bunch who cares greatly for our students. And I am extremely proud of their work. With that, we will continue to reflect on our practices and ask ourselves “how can we get better” at the work we do. We welcome your suggestions or feedback at palyguidance@gmail.com.
-Kim Diorio, Assistant Principal
“Meanwhile, at the Franco household...”
Brian Benton
The Campanile Editors in Chief Michael Abrams • Brian Benton • Kirah Ingram Annabel Snow • Hannah Totte • Lauren Wong News Editor Layla Memar
Opinion Editor Meghan Byrd
Spotlight Editor Madeline Berger
Lifestyles Editor Nikki Whitson
Sports Editors Michael Augustine Mayssen Labidi
A&E Editor Clara Chang
Features Editors Bailey Cassidy Ben Krasnow
Advertising Managers Hannah Park Tanvi Varma
Tech Editors Gracie Fang Elena Pinsker
Photography Editors Alex Lin Riki Rattner
Staff Writers Kate Apostolou Joshua Arfin Charlotte Barry Isabel Benatar Elizabeth Bowman Josie Butler Brandon Byer Jillian Chacon Gavin Chan Chrissie Cheng Olivia Cole Benjamin Cook Olivia Cornfield Laura Cui
Chayla Cummings Ryan Deslauriers Samuel Dodson Charles Dulik Marie Ezran Rose Fitzgerald James Foug Yasna Haghdoost Ben Hawthorne Jensen Hsiao Grace Keller Colin Kelly Jake Kerman William Kershner
Alvin Kim Nira Krasnow Caroline Martignetti Anna McGarrigle Logan Mendenhall Matthew Morton Anna Norimoto Sophie Parker Perri Pond Julia Poppy Weston Preising Emily Rosenthal Gina Scarpino Abha Sharma
Wesley Shiau Ashley Shin Jordan Smith Kelly Stern Kyle Stewart Alex Taussig Emily Tran Sidhanth Venkat Michael Wang Eric Wang Rachel Wilson Beth Yan Jacob Zenger Jonathan Ziegler
Photographers Charlotte Barry Chrissie Cheng Samuel Dodson
Adam Mansour Anna McGarrigle Logan Mendenhall
Yael Palmon Gina Scarpino Emily Tran
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The Campanile
OPINION
February 24, 2012 • A11
Student body finds process of Teen males should care for changing advisors problematic women’s equality in society Transparency in selection process, ability to change advisor would benefit students
How often do because the system strongly discourages high school stu- it. “A handful of students a year at best dents get to choose their own teachers? [switch advisors] because we really discourage it,” Deggelman said. “In a school Almost never. That is why Pa- this size, it would be really difficult to lo Alto High School have students changing all the time.” Although the flaws in the system are students are lucky to have the oppor- apparent to most at first glance, Ann Degtunity to choose gelman, co-coordinator of the Teacher Adtheir Teacher Ad- visor Program, explained the reasoning sophieparker visors (TA) during behind the strictness of the Teacher Adin my opinion the spring of fresh- visor system. “At the end of ninth grade, students get man year. But this process has yet to reach its full potential as students choose blind- a ballot, they get to review the list of TAs ly based on friends’ and family members’ and rank them one to seven, then I try past experiences and even rumors. Because my best to put them into their top choice,” of this, students may end up with advisors Deggelman said. “You stick with the TA that they do not connect with and miss out who follows you through 10th, 11th and on the supportive environment and person- 12th grade, so you’ve got that continuity al relationship that another TA could pro- and you get to know your Teacher Advisor.” vide. Deggelman works with students who Creating such an environment and developing the relationship takes time and ef- want to switch their advisors. She claims fort from both the student and the Teacher many students advocate to change their Advisor. However, if this relationship does advisor for the “wrong reasons” such as not develop successfully, students should not being with friends, concern about have the ability to change their advisors so not getting the TA as a teacher or strugthey are matched with a more appropriate gling to get to know the TA. Students who want to change their TA for invalid reaadvisor. Unfortunately, the current system does sons should reconsider as it is a very difnot make it easy for students to do so. Ma- ficult process for the administration and ny students who request a change in advi- makes it harder for students who wish to sor are denied the opportunity to make the change their advisors for legitimate reasons to do so. change. “Sophomores are asked to stay with Teacher Advisors play a large role in a student’s academic success, which is why it their TA through first semester and afis imperative that the administration en- ter if they feel there is a valid reason for sures that every student is matched with them to change, they come back to talk the best TA possible. Teacher Advisors are to me,” Deggelman said. “Nine out of ten greatly involved in each students’ college- times the students find out they really application process, which is the culmina- like that TA and don’t change. If there is tion of their high school career. For every a valid reason, obviously a switch could be student, each TA must write a Letter of made. If a student and TA are clashing Recommendation, which is required by the then of course, that wouldn’t be beneficial for anyone, however this only happens in Secondary School Report. The Teacher Advisor’s connection with rare cases.” Many students would like to switch the student needs to be strong in order for the letter, a major component of the appli- their advisors, but do not realize how to cation, to be a successful reflection of the make it happen and they feel stuck with their initial choice of TA. stud. “I should have picked a different teachThis is where Paly’s advisory system falls short: the student to advisor relation- er, who knew more about my interests, ship is sometimes not adequately devel- but I didn’t know at the time that it was an important process,” sophomore Paul oped by the time the letter is needed. Bienaime said. Many students Choosing an do not think that advisor that is a changing advisors good fit is imperais even a plausijunior tive for students, ble option, as a result many choose “I think I just looked which is why the administration to stay with their at [all of the] picshould place an current advisor tures to choose my emphasis on the even when they advisor.” importance of doare dissatisfied. ing so for fresh“I wish I could men. But until switch advisors because I didn’t really know who I was every student is satisfied with their TA, signing up for,” junior Tesha Salon said. Paly should make it easier for students “I feel like I could be more compatible and to switch their advisors in order enhance feel more comfortable with someone else. and overall improve the program. There I think I just looked at their pictures to are other options that would make the initial choice easier for incoming sophomores choose my advisor.” Students who are dissatisfied with their such as an upperclassman advisory panel. Shalon suggested that each advisor current TAs often hope for a better opportunity to get to know their TA in order to could come in person to talk to classes optimize the Letter of Recommendation about themselves so students could hear them in person and learn about their perprocess. “A teacher writes about that student in sonality. The steps that can be taken towards that class and what they got to know about the student particularly,” Ann Deggelman creating a more effective selection sysco-coordinator of the Teacher Advisor Pro- tem are endless. Students simply need to gram said. “Before a TA writes the letter learn more about each advisor option befor you, there are a bunch of surveys that fore choosing. The TA selection process needs to be you feel out so the TA can get to know you revised to accommodate these needs of a little better.” Although this system works for most the student body so the advisory program students, there are still many who do not will be more helpful and successful in the feel that they have developed enough of a future. If students were able to change relationship with their advisor for them to advisors easily, it would help them to be able to adequately depict the student in form more meaningful bonds with their advisors, ultimately making the TA’s job a Letter of Recommendation. Unfortunately, it is not easy for students much easier when writing their advisees’ to change their advisors if this is the case, Letters of Recommendation.
Tesha Shalon
Women’s rights affect everyone, not just women To some men, the idea that women’s issues affect them seems absurd. Why, boys ask, should I care about women and their rights? To many, the plight of women is too remote benhawthorne for them to care; in my opinion women’s issues are seen as applying to women only, and thus men refuse to care. However, even when one overlooks important issues like justice and liberty that make paying attention to women’s issues imperative for men, it is still important for men to care about the issues women face because of economic and social reasons. First, this is supported by economics. Since women make up roughly half of the population, discouraging women from taking up jobs halves the workforce, thereby hurting the economy. Not only that, but it lowers the chances of a brilliant female inventor producing a gizmo that solves one of the many problems of our world. In a 2009 paper entitled “Women’s Liberation: What’s in It for Men?,” University California Los Angeles researchers Matthias Doepkey and Michele Tertlit demonstrate that from a economic perspective, granting women greater freedom is beneficial for the economic welfare of men. “Women’s rights are closely related to economic development,” Doepkey and Tertlit wrote. “This is true both across countries, where women have most rights in the richest countries, and in time series data: women have slowly improved their legal position in parallel with fast improvements in the standard of living.” Thus granting more power and independence leads to more wealth. Greater independence for women economically can reverberate in the home, creating benefits there as well. Working mothers are positive role models for children because they exhibit not only a strong work ethic seen in few other people, but an ability to be both strong and compassionate. In addition, the fact that women represent 54 percent of the population means that extending rights and freedoms to women could double the possible output of society in any number of ways. Allowing women to serve on the front lines in warfare, for example, would open the doors for some highly talented female soldiers to enter our army, thereby increasing the strength of our military. Even boys who are well-off have a stake in the empowerment of women. By perpetuating a male-female dichotomy (the idea that men and women are completely divorced from each other and thus at odds), those who perpetuate sexism end up hurting themselves. By trying to raise themselves above women, men create for themselves the idea of the “macho man” to distinguish themselves from women. By pinning this label to themselves in order to raise themselves above women, the sexist invites his own set of stereotypes: the stereotype of the brutish, beer-swilling, impervious to emotion and almost sub-human man exemplified by characters like Homer Simpson. Unfortunately, these negative stereotypes are applied to men in general, thus hurting themselves. Sexists can then use this as a justification for discrimination against women, perpetuating the ugly cycle of sexism and intolerance. This macho mind set invented by men to justify oppression of women comes with its own host of problems, almost all of them borne by men. Macho ideas of vio-
How do you think males characterize women in today’s society? “[It depends] based on their testosterone levels.” Saar Dolev sophomore
“Men see women as wonderful.” Kimmy Whitson senior
“The media stereotype is if [women] are strong they’re not feminine and if they’re feminine they’re weak.” Max Siegelman senior
lence being the way to settle problems lead to violence that is borne almost entirely by men, and the accompanying higher prison rates for men that come with higher violence rates. The idea of male toughness manifests itself in the belief that men should be emotionless, which can cause emotions to boil up inside a person, finally causing them to be overwhelmed and possibly cause them to lash out. All these arguments, of course, just address the impact of women’s rights on men. By their very definition, women’s rights campaigns further the causes of equality and liberty for all persons. All people deserve rights, so any morally upright man ought to recognize that denying women equal rights is akin to denying blacks or Native Americans rights. No one who calls themselves a decent person can ignore the plight of women, which is arguably the biggest issue facing the world today. For example, the violent, macho mind set of male dominance fuels war because it perpetuates the belief that combat is an acceptable solution to problems. In addition, denying women the ability to work or succeed in business removes more than half of the potential innovators and laborers from the economy. The positive effects of women’s empowerment can be felt at the high school level as well. Many girls are intimidated by the aggressive nature of class discussions, which causes valid and important opinions to be left out of discussions. Unfortunately, men cannot instantly become ardent feminists, even after reading this article. To achieve such a radical change in men’s mind set, constant reminders of the necessity of recognizing women’s rights issues are needed. The school happens to be the perfect environment for this. Even a minuscule fraction of the time spent by students in class, if used effectively, could help bring about an acceptance of women’s rights concerns amongst the male population of Palo Alto High School. Ideally, these lectures about women’s issues would be done in freshman world history, or sophomore contemporary world history, since sexism is a global problem. If more men can start realizing that women’s rights issues affect everyone, their mind sets might start to shift. Even if the only change that comes out of women’s rights being preached in history class is that some students are more polite to women, that will be a victory for humans of both genders across the globe.
Lectures should not be primary teaching technique in high school The debate over how a teacher should effectively engage students so that they learn the material to full extent has been a hotly contested one. Traditionally, teachers have used lectures as a primary source to transfer information to students. However, lecture is not an effective way to teach. A student who experiences lecture is often a passive one who acquires only a samdodson very small amount of knowledge. in my opinion Lecture is the conventional way of transmitting information to large numbers of people. It is intended to promote thought and critical thinking among students, which in effect helps one learn and understand a subject in an efficient way. Thus, lecture could theoretically be an efficient way to instruct students. In reality, even the most diligent note takers often forget a significant amount of the material covered after a short period of time. At the university level, where general education classes often exceed 200 pupils, lecture has become very common and is usually the only way a professor utilizes class time. Some professors recognize this, including Eric Mazur, a physics professor at Harvard University, who conducted a study, came up with data that suggests that students do not obtain information very well through the lecture method, and that the role of an instructor needs to change their methods, according to npr.org.
At the high school level, teachers have much smaller classroom sizes to deal with, thus more flexibility regarding the way they instruct students. At Palo Alto High School, most teachers work hard to create a more interactive classroom environment, although there are still many occasions where students sit passively at their desks listening to the voice of the teacher. Those who choose not to take notes may easily become distracted, uninterested and soporific in an inactive classroom. Hence, teachers must work hard to use lecture as little as possible to create a more interactive, engaging classroom to promote interest and critical thinking. Before the 2010-2011 school year, the administration changed the daily schedule so that four out of the five days in the week consist of “block” periods, or classes that are 90 minutes long, as opposed to three 50-minute period days per week. In effect, many instructors look for other teaching methods to engage the students for the full period. The block schedule could exacerbate the effect of lecture or it could have just the opposite effect, depending on the teacher. For some, the 90-minute period allows for more flexibility regarding teaching methods. For example, the class activities could take up more time, something that would not be very efficient during a fifty minute period. “Ideally, especially in a block period, a teacher would be engaging students to check for understanding, English teacher Lucy Filppu said.“Lecture would not be a big part of the lesson plan. Sometimes, you have to set up with lecture; it’s a necessary part of giving a point of view in a les-
son and there are still ways to check for participation in a lecture, but all the research says active participation [is most effective in a classroom].” The solution does not necessarily have to abolish lecture from the classroom. Instead, teachers should combine instruction methods to create a more interactive classroom, with small periods of lecture to expose the students to new ideas. For example, a typical science classroom may consist of a brief period of lecture followed by an interactive activity such as lab and/or individual practice worksheets under the teacher’s guidance, and a typical math period may consist of brief lecture at the beginning followed by practice worksheets. That said, the Paly community has a lot to be proud of and to no extent is this article condemning Paly teachers. I appreciate the assiduous efforts of the entire community to create the best teaching environment it possibly can; this is simply a reminder that teachers should incorporate the lecture into the daily agenda as little as possible.
The block schedule could exacerbate the effect of lecture or it could have just the opposite effect, depending on the teacher. For some, the 90-minute period allows for more flexibility regarding teaching methods. For example, the class activities could take up more time, something that would not be very efficient during a 50-minute period.
A12 • February 24, 2012
OPINION
The Campanile
AP testing requirement sparks student controversy It is a well-known fact among Palo Alto High School students that they must sign a contract before taking any Advanced Placement classes, committing to taking the respective AP standardized exams the following May. While binding students to take AP tests may seem like a logical extension of class material, adjusting and preparing for the standardized format may put pressure on students averse to test-taking. At the same time, having students take AP tests are an effective way to get college credit and prove a students mastery of the subject. The Campanile’s Editor in Chief Mikey Abrams and Opinion Editor Meghan Byrd explore the pros and cons of this issue.
PRO
meghanbyrd in my opinion
The Advanced Placement tests that many seniors, juniors and even some sophomores take in May are a prime way to showcase what the students have learned throughout the academic year. Some students criticize taking the tests because they feel that it is not an adequate use of their time. However, this is not the case. AP tests provide the student with an accurate measure of their knowledge of the subject, while giving them a sense of what a university class in that field expects of students. Some students feel that it is unfair that teachers “grade” whether they are taking the AP test for their respective class. For example, AP English Literature teacher Ellen Austin makes participation in the AP examination in the spring worth 5 percent of the students’ grades. Although some students may look at this as unfair, it is an advantageous incentive to study for a test
that a student should be taking anyway. Instead of looking at it as a requirement, students should be vie it as an opportunity to gain points in a class that might even make a difference in their final grade, which ultimately has to be submitted to colleges. Furthermore, many students taking the AP do not yet know where or if they will be attending college. It would be a missed opportunity to choose not to take the AP test if a student’s college of choice offers credit or exemption of a class for a minimum of a certain score (usually a 4 or a 5 for most tests, sometimes a 3 for languages). Paly graduate of 2011 Quinn Walker
chose to take the AP Spanish Literature test last year even though Stanford University would not offer her any credit. “I figured since I had spent all year taking the class, I might as well take the test,” Walker said. “I was curious to see how much I had learned and how good my mastery of the subject was.” It is the responsibility of an AP student to follow through with their commitment to doing college level work in high school by registering for and taking the AP examination. Getting the extra “AP” in front of a class is an honor and should be earned. In addition to all the other benefits it provides, taking the AP test for a class shows one’s mastery of a subject and proves to colleges and that they can handle their expectations.
There is a period of three weeks during each academic year when many juniors at Palo Alto High School see only bubbles. During the end of April and beginning of May, juniors taking Advanced Placement tests must complete a grueling schedule, balancing their classwork and extracurriculars with mandatory AP tests, Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests and SAT tests lasting from two to fours hours in length. But these students are not spending upwards of 10 to 20 hours circling bubbles and writing essays by choice: they are compelled to take these tests. According to the Paly 2011-2012 student handbook, students taking an AP class are required to take the AP test associated with the class. In addition, any junior or sophomore taking an AP class
CON signs a contract provided by the school administration stating that they will also take the STAR test in the beginning of May. Finally, although the Paly administration does not officially require students to take SAT Subject Tests the first week of May, many Paly teachers who instruct AP classes encourage their students to complete the test that week so that they will be tested when they know the information best. Because a growing number of universities now require one or more SAT Subject Test scores, many students now feel compelled to remain competitive by taking an additional test during the first week of May. In addition, many colleges now accept SAT Subject Test scores for college credit and lane placement, ruling AP tests for some subjects even more unnecessary. Beyond the stress of multiple tests during the first weeks of May, the strain of lingering AP tests creates an environment in many AP classes geared not toward learning but toward testing. Aware that they are teaching to a class of future test-takers, teachers often shift their lesson plans to encompass preparing for the AP test over learning material more in depth or learning material not covered on the test. In some
mikeyabrams in my opinion
AP classes, for example, the teacher is so focused on covering all the material before the test that some material is inevitably brushed over. Although it is encouraging that the administration values students’ academic success by making testing a priority, there are other ways students could be encouraged to participate in testing that could avoid the negative consequences of making testing mandatory. Teachers and administrators could focus on educating students about the benefits of taking the AP test but should work with teacher advisors to eventually help students make an informed decision about May testing. Teacher advisors could work with students to make sure they get the college credit they deserve for their hard work in an AP class with the least amount of superfluous testing, whether that be through AP tests, SAT Subject Tests or some combination of these tests.
Advanced journalism should be eligible for English elective credit Palo Alto High School’s journalism program is nationally recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association and almost unparalleled in its variety of publications, standard of performance in the school. Few high schools in the nation have the opportunity to create so many different quality publications, as it requires ample funds, time and dedication from not only students but also supervisors. It is an opportunity relatively restricted to a few schools. Indeed, the idea of production week sapping hours from students’ hectic schedules of homework and extracurriculars can be daunting but those who enjoy the program usually manage to make time for it. With each production cycle requiring hours of drafting, writing and editing, one would think that journalism classbethyan es would qualify for credit as English elective courses. in my opinion However, this is not the case, as the classes only fulfill the Career Technical Education credits required for graduation by the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) and the ‘G’ elective requirement for California State University-University of California (CSU-UC) admission. Advanced Journalism should join the ranks of English electives like Humanities, Sports Literature and Film Composition, as the students in the journalism program spend just as much time writing, if not more, as those enrolled in other English courses and elective classes. In general, English elective classes branch off from the required English core courses, as they take the basic writing and comprehension skills previously learned and apply
them in a more creative way. Some elective courses also allow students to focus on and appreciate a particular genre of writing. On the other hand, other elective courses use literature as a lens to better understand broader topics such as sports or personal beliefs and values. If English electives are an opportunity for students to use writing and comprehension to better appreciate and analyze a larger range of ideas, journalism should qualify. Using such a large variety of writing styles in news coverage not only allows students to familiarize themselves with different writing techniques but also lets them use their journalism skills to better understand their surrounding community environment, which is an important aspect of student learning. Parallels can already be seen as many aspects encompassed by our journalism program show similarities to some English elective courses. Another reason to include journalism as an English elective would be to allow students to receive English credit. Junior and senior journalism students that currently take year long courses in their respective publications as well as a semester of a required English core class and a semester of an English elective. Since the requirements for graduation and CSU-UC admissions include 40 English credits, the extra semester of an English elective course is compulsory. Allowing Advanced Journalism to qualify as an English elective would relieve journalism students from taking the additional semester course. This would positively impact juniors and seniors on publications by lessening the work load comprised of rigorous classes and continual publication cycles. Giving journalism English credit would eliminate the burden of taking on an additional semester elective, thus allowing journalism students to devote more time to maintaining the high quality of the program.
Changing breathalyzer policies could increase dance attendance Student involvement in events decrease after implemention of policy
141. That is how many tickets were sold at the Sadie Hawkins Dance on Feb. 10. The number of students that legitimately remained at the dance for more than five minutes was even lower. About $1,420. That’s how much money was spent on 0.07 percent of the Palo Alto High School population. Over the year, dances have grossed $2,127 and cost $5,328 (although it is important to note that the second dance of the charliedulik in my opinion year was free). Overall, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has lost $3,201 on dances this year. ASB may have a surplus but that money usage is utterly wasteful. Any student can state the clear cause of this runaway statistic — breathalyzers. For school dances to once again be successful in terms of both popularity and financial viability, the breathalyzer policy must be altered. Four years ago, after students were caught consuming alcohol before the 2008 Prom, former Principal Jacqueline McEvoy put in place the policy of breathalyzing every student wishing to enter dances. Ever since, ticket sales and dance attendance have plummeted. In 2008, the last dance without breathalyzers was attended by 157 more people than the first dance with breathalyzers. In the last year without breathalyzers, dance attendance before the policy was implemented was 469, 747, 735 and 329. This past year, attendance has been 292, 559, N/A (because of no Winter Formal) and 141. None of the students who committed the transgression that brought about breathalyzers attend Paly anymore. Students
of the class of 2012 were mere freshmen when this incident occurred and all other classes at Paly at the time have since graduated. The current Paly student body did not commit the crimebut is still paying the price. It is time for the administration to do something that the Principal McEvoy administration struggled to do — trust the students. Each student, upon entering the dance, would draw a playing card from a group of four. If a certain card were selected, that student would be breathalyzed. In addition, administrators could breathalyze any student that appeared to be exhibiting signs of alcohol consumption. The reason that students leave dances five minutes after entering is because of the lack of students. Therein lies the paradox. Students stay if “everyone” is at the dance, but leave if “nobody” is at the dance. But by leaving because “nobody” is attends, “everyone” can never really be there. If more students showed up because of relaxed policy, more students would stay and dance. However, the administration’s effectiveness at combating drinking would not be compromised. Most students drink in groups, and with breathalyzers being administered to one in four kids, at least one student from each drinking group would be caught, and as such, their group of friends would also be compromised. As for singular drinkers, which includes a very small percentage of the Paly population, the administration could still breathalyze any student that appears to have consumed alcohol. In addition to changing policy, the administration must also change their type of breathalyzers. 865 cases of DUIs in Palo Alto and San Jose are now being reviewed due to faulty breathalyzers. The Paly administration carries the same company’s breathalyzers. Students can no longer trust these possibly fraudulent machines. Breathalyzers should be randomized, which would give students increased feelings of freedom and trust and create dances with increased attendance, all without compromis-
Lifest yles The Campanile
Sincerely Disappointed
Features • A&E • People
Stanford t o h Spots By Ashley Shin Senior Staff Writer
brandonbyer This year the Superbowl was underwhelming, unexciting and boring. Some of that blame does go to the actual game’s lack of excitement and lack of big plays. On the other hand, major blame needs to be placed on the companies who produced sub par, disappointing and unamusing commercials that bored Americans across the nation. Next year, these major multi-billion dollar companies, who seem to have lost their knack for producing creative commercials, need to make a conscious effort not to fall short again next year. In spite of the cumulative lack of good commercials overall, there were a few that stood out. First the M&Ms’ “It is That Kind of Party” was a nice way to start the first round of commercials. It was a bit childish, but it did a good job setting the tone for the other advertisements you thought would’ve been better. Shockingly, The Dictator, a movie preview, may have been one of the best of the entire night. The track scene when the main character shot everyone within his sights and having the finish line moved up for him to win was hilarious, and this was from a movie preview. Finally, Doritos’ “Man’s Best Friend,” involving the dog and the missing cat was a creative and funny ad that made me laugh while I watched it. Yet, it was not nearly as funny as last years Doritos’ headline commercial “Keep Your Hands of my Mama,” which may have been one of the best Superbowl advertisements of all time. These three commercials did their job, but compiled with the other multiple ads it was a disappointing evening. Now we get to the disappointing companies who in the past had produced, but this year fell way short of their expectations. The company that may have just fell flat on their face was Coca-Cola and their three ads involving the two polar bears. These three ads were not funny at all and lulled me to sleep. Coca-Cola had three time slots where they could have stolen the show and ran with it. Instead they blew it all three times and made themselves remembered for failing despicably. This company was perhaps the biggest disappointment of this years Superbowl commercials. In addition, the beer companies produced flops all night long. Bud Light and Budweiser had multiple ads throughout the night and I do not remember one single commercial either of the two companies produced. In the past years both of these organizations produced funny commercials. I remember liking last years Bud Light “landscapers” ad or Budweiser’s cowboy commercial, both of which were much more amusing compared to this year’s crop of ads. Compared to Coca-Cola they performed eerily similar with an abundance of time given to them granted by FOX, and yet they were unable to produce anything memorable with the ample time which they were given to impress America. These three companies did not do their job as billion dollar business moneymakers, which is what amazes me. How can huge companies like Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light (which did not have one ad in the Superbowl) miss these opportunities to increase business and make a statement? All of these large companies fell short of making an impact in the commercialized society that this generation has become known for. The commercials these companies produced were provided for an underwhelming night for all who had to watch. On the grandest stage of them all for the football players, it was also the grandest stage for commercials, as it is every year. However, Americans across the nation who sat down with friends and family were unfortunately disappointed. The numerous Americans who participated in watching the biggest event of the year, will remember it as one of the worst collection of ads in Superbowl history that this country has ever witnessed.
Friday, February 24, 2012
tanford University, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in S the world, is just a short walk away from
Palo Alto High School. Stanford is known for its top facilities in all categories: athletic, academic and recreational. While many of the facilities are restricted to those who have Stanford affiliations, some are open to the public as well. The libraries at Stanford are especially good resources for high school students. Meyer Library is open to the public and includes a quiet 24 hour study room area, often full of Paly students. The 24 hour study room is ideal for students looking for a quiet environment considering the Paly library has fairly limited hours. There is even an outdoor Coupa Cafe located next to Meyer with the full Coupa menu. Other Stanford libraries are also open to the public, they have certain restrictions. A three-time pass can be obtained for entry by the public. There is also a large variety of cafes and restaurants located on Stanford Campus that the Palo Alto community can take advantage of. There is Tresidder which in-
The Oval is a popular location on suncludes a Panda Express, Jamba Juice, the Treehouse, Coho, Peet’s Coffee and Teas, ny days to throw around a frisbee or picnic Subway, Fraiche and more. There is also at. Many people also enjoy tanning out on usually a Chinese food truck that parks grassy patches throughout the campus. Another fun activity to do on a hot sumnear the Treehouse during lunch. Then there are the hidden jewels such as Ike’s mer day is fountain hopping. There are sandwiches, located in the Huang Build- several fountains scattered throughout the ing and the Thai Cafe in Jordan Hall. All Stanford campus and it is popular to cool of these dining options are available to the off by either sticking a foot into the fountains or by completely submerging underpublic and accept cash. water. The Stanford track There are a variety is an open alternative to the Paly track for With so many great Stanford of fountains and some those looking to work resources, the public should have interesting showout. There are also take advantage of the ones ers that are fun to play in. sand volleyball courts they have access to. Although the publocated throughout the lic does not have access to Arillaga Center campus that are available to the public. The highest quality courts are behind which includes numerous recreational fathe tennis courts and in front of Arrillaga cilities, guest passes can be obtained with Center for Sports and Recreation. These a Stanford affiliation. There are many other free Stanford facourts are set up with deep high quality sand and men’s volleyball nets. However, cilities that the public can enjoy on a daily Stanford intramural teams regularly have basis. The only restriction to the ones listpriority over these courts on weekday eve- ed in this article is that they generally tend to be closed on Stanford holidays. With so nings. The public can also take advantage of many great Stanford resources, the pubthe many open fields and spaces at Stan- lic should take advantage of the ones they have access to. ford.
Ike’s Sandwiches
Thai Café
Meyer Library Coupa Café TresIdder The Arrillaga Oval Center Cobb Track and Angell Field A&E
FEATURES
FEATURES
F E AT U R E S
The Campanile
February 24, 2012
Shakespearian language makes time consuming challenge for spring play By Rachel Wilson Staff Writer
From the moment the lights go down and the curtain is opened, audiences at the Paly theater department’s plays are treated to a high-caliber performance. Clearly, a lot of time is invested into preparation for the productions and many people, from actors to those working on technical aspects of the play, have devoted hours of hard work to make the show a success. For some people involved in the spring play, however, this idea of ‘free time” is a bit of a luxury. Senior Grace Barry will play the character Leonata in the upcoming play this spring, a modern day adaptation of ‘Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing” and has recently been devoting much of her free time to ensure that she is prepared for the upcoming show, both at home and at the theater. “I spend pretty much all of my time in the theater,” Barry said. “The time I spend [there] is mostly used for blocking and working with the director and other actors, and then we’re expected to learn our lines on our own time.” However, while everyone involved puts in large amounts of time, this spring play has been especially tough on the actors in terms of the amount of preparation necessary. Its unique Shakespearean language has proved difficult to master. Because actors need to understand what their characters are saying, they need to research modern-day translations of Shakespeare’s comedy in order to fully understand references in the text. Another challenge of performing Shakespeare is also tied to the language. “The language is very specific because lots of it relies on rhythm, so there’s the added difficulty of remembering the exact lines and order of words,” Barry said. In a play written in modern English, for instance, actors can substitute phrases with identical meanings, however in Shakespearean writing, substitutions could throw off the rhythm of your lines while on stage. On top of that, there is always a chance that the audience might know the play and catch a mistake. Along with the line difficulties, actors need to
I Hate Flying
jakekerman Over the five day break, I ventured to the east coast for college visits. Because of the long distance, this meant that driving to SFO and getting on a plane was unavoidable. My experiences with aviation are generally not spectacular, but this recent extravaganza was beyond miserable. My travel day went as follows: 4:05 A.M. — My mother gently wakes me up for the early morning flight. I quietly cuss her out as I stumble to the bathroom to take a quick shower. 4:30 A.M. — We drive to the airport on the pitch black freeway. I fall asleep on the way and get woken up again when we pull up in front of the terminal. Cussing resumes. 5:15 A.M. — Even this early, the line for checking bags is almost out the door. Thankfully, we get there three hours early so missing the flight doesn’t seem likely. After an hour in line, the attendant prints the wrong ticket so an extra 15 minutes gets tagged on. I give her the death stare, which she returns. I
Emily Tran/Campanile
Cast members rehearse for an upcoming production in Paly’s Haymarket Theatre. Performers and techs who work behind-the-scenes each spend many hours after school in the theater preparing for their performance.
understand their character and his or her relationships with other characters. “It’s important to have a clear idea of what your character’s background and relationships to other characters are so you know exactly how to behave onstage,” Barry said. While all of the actors put in hour after hour of work, there are also other people laboring behind the scenes to make sure that the play is a success. Junior Ethan Cohen is the student technical director and he oversees that all of the technical aspects of the play run smoothly. Behind any play, the technical work can be broken down into several categories: lights, sound, scenery, costumes and makeup, props and stage management. Each category has their own responsibilities. According to Cohen, the light group is responsible for choosing where lights should go and what they should look like dur-
ing each scene. They also are in charge of executing the design, a process involving heavy lifting and ladders. The sound group handles sound effects and microphones. They usually put the sounds into a computer program that allows easy playback during the actual show. Scenery and prop groups assemble all the scenery for the play and find all of the various props that actors need to use. Stage management is in charge of organizing the show. According to Cohen, the stage manager tells the other groups when to do a scene change or when to change the lights or run a sound effect. Students involved in the theater program, whether the technical, behind-the-scenes work or taking center stage as an actor put in many hours working on producing their performances and there are a large variety of jobs and people involved in these productions.
guess that we’re all kind of suf- 5 percent of all passengers use it? Would it really kill the airfering. 6:30 A.M. — Ah, securi- line to improve a passenger’s ty. It’s another long line, and day and let them watch a movie the I.D. checker seems to have for free? Worst of all, the odor marked me as trouble already. of my aisle compatriot is really Do I look like a terrorist? We starting to waft now. 9:30 A.M — It is remarkable reach the desk and I must have been imagining things, as she how uncomfortable flying can smiles and gives the OK. Plus be for those who are relatively tall. one for Jake. 10:15 A.M — Without my The man running the scanner is a whole other ordeal, un- Kindle, I flip through Skyfortunately. He administers a Mall for some reading materipat-down that is much too thor- al. Wow, that 12 foot sculpture ough; evidently, the underwear would look great in the front bomber from a few years back is yard. Or maybe I should consider this $250 authentic Ron fresh in his mind. 7:00 A.M. — Finally through Weasley unicorn hair wand? This publication has some security, my mom and I venof the dumbture towards our est products evgate. It’s on the er conceived by other side of the “Ah, security. It’s mankind. terminal, so I get another long line, and 11:00 A.M. through some earthe I.D. checker seems — At long last, ly morning cardio. the drink cart Finally sitting to have marked me as comes by. I ask down, I’m look- trouble already. Do I for Coke, and ing forward to look like a terrorist?” the flight atreading my Kintendant asks if dle until I realize it didn’t get charged last night. Pepsi is okay. No, it’s not okay Not the airline’s fault, but still. in the slightest. I’m reduced to 7:45 A.M. — The call for drinking apple juice. 4:00 P.M. — I somehow boarding is issued, and I reach my seat. My mom and I are in managed to fall asleep and different aisles, so I’m hoping wake up for our final descent for a kind soul to sit next to me. into Atlanta. The plane reaches the gate, It turns out the woman is plenty friendly, but she is also over and the race to get bags from 200 pounds and without de- the overhead compartments begins. Still woozy from my slumodorant. 8:15 A.M — The plane lifts ber, I get a late start and end off the runway, and flight 1151 up waiting 20 minutes before fibound for Atlanta is on its way. nally deboarding. We get our checked bags and I’m thrilled to discover each passenger has their own head- walk to the shuttle for the rentrest monitor, packed with var- al car terminal. The stale feel ious forms of entertainment. of the cabin along with the lack I can’t get the screen to turn of moisture in the air has left on until I realize it requires me woozy and dehydrated. As a swipe of the credit card and we merged onto the freeway, it costs $8. I’m sorry, what’s the dawned on me how much I hate point of installing the system if flying.
F E AT U R E S Apoorva Ram dances into adulthood
February 24, 2012 • B3
The Campanile
Courtesy of Nirmal Saxena
Courtesy of Suri Narayanan
Courtesy of Brian Chu
Varnam
Swagatham Krishna
Pushpanjali
A still shot of the nritta, or pure dance; part of the Varnam piece.
Apoorva looks down at baby Krishna in a pose from Swagatham Krishna.
Here, she dances the opening piece called the pushpanjali, a joyous offering of flowers.
The Arangetram is a traditional Indian coming of age performance to celebrate the completion of one’s training in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. By Kate Apostolou Staff Writer
Children of different cultures await the moment that heralds their transformation into adulthood, whether this be the day of their bar mitzvah or that of their quinceañera. Palo Alto High School senior Apoorva Ram’s coming of age moment meant dancing on stage by herself for two hours in front of all of her family and friends. Apoorva has studied the Indian classical dance form called Bharatanatyam for 11 years and recently completed her advanced training in the art form. As is typical of this accomplishment, Apoorva celebrated with what is called an Arangetram. Apoorva’s Arangetram consisted of multiple solo pieces, each of which told the story of a specific Hindu god or goddess. Apoorva particularly enjoyed performing a pieced entitled “Devi Neyee Tunai,” which tells the story of the goddess Devi. “Devi is the goddess who was born out of a fire because her parents couldn’t have any children,” Apoorva said. “When she grows up she learns sword fighting and archery. Then she basically takes over the kingdom, and she’s a woman, so that’s just awesome by itself. And then she meets another god, and they fall in love, and they get married.” Although Apoorva is not deeply involved in Hinduism, she still finds personal value in dancing spiritual pieces. “A lot of the themes in the dances are applicable to normal life,” Apoorva said. “For example, love is something that’s not just for the gods. Humans understand love too. And if you think about the people as just characters in the story rather than gods, [the dances] relate to real world situations.” Bharatanatyam dancers typically express these religious stories through what they consider the two different types of dance. “There’s nritta, and that’s just pure dance,”Apoorva said. “So that’d be like the different movements you’ve been taught since you were little. And then there’s nritya, and that’s the part where you tell the story and have all the ex-
pression on your face. So all the pieces are made up of a combination of the two.” Apoorva reflects positively upon her performance and notes that the outcome of the event exceeded her expectations. “I was concerned about how it was only going to be me on the stage, and everyone was going to be looking at me,” Apoorva said. “But when I was on stage, it didn’t feel like that at all. It just felt really fun.” Her sister Megha Ram, now a junior at University of California, San Diego, also completed her Arangetram during her final year of high school. She considers her experience similar to Apoorva’s but wishes she could have helped her younger sister more as Apoorva prepared for her Arangetram. “We both had a great support group and great friends in the dance community help us through the process,” Megha said. “I think I was a little luckier because I had Apoorva. She would watch me practice and was very supportive. I wish I could have been there for her in the same way, but I was either abroad or in college in the months leading up to her Arangetram.” Megha spoke at the beginning of the Arangetram, reflecting upon Apoorva’s character and history with dance. “When I was writing the introductory speech, I realized how proud of her I am,” Megha said. “I am so proud of her for completing her Arangetram, but also for the way she completed it — with grace, self-confidence, strength and hard work.” Throughout the performance, Megha felt a powerful connection to Apoorva’s dancing, not only because of their strong relationship but also because of their expertise in Bharatanatyam. “It was wonderful watching Apoorva dance,” Megha said. “I had a huge smile plastered across my face during the entire Arangetram. And because we are so close, I feel as if I took on some of her emotions. For example, I was nervous and gripping my seat when she missed a step, and I felt like cheering every time she completed a particularly difficult part flawlessly.”
Senior Zach Freier-Harrison spent time with Apoorva leading up to the show and observed her mixed emotions after the performance. “Going into the performance, what I gathered was that she was a bit nervous, but not much,” Freier-Harrison said. “She knew she had prepared well and didn’t need to over think it. Afterwards, she was relieved, sad, exhausted and hyper all at the same time. It was kind of funny.” Freier-Harrison watched Apoorva perform with a sense of awe. “I was thoroughly impressed,” Freier-Harrison said. “Intimidated, almost. She sort of became a different person up there. It was quite something. The amount of physical strength that [her dancing] took was incredible, and I was really impressed by how expressive she was.” Senior Natalie Brock also observed Apoorva throughout the process of preparing for her Arangetram. After attending the Arangetram, Brock was very impressed. “Apoorva has been prepping for her Arangetram for months,” Brock said. “Over the summer, she’d be like, ‘Oh I can’t hang out. I have to practice dance.’ It really showed her dedication. This final product was absolutely amazing. Just watching it, I was so proud of her. She has improved immensely over the years.” Freshman Ellis Obrien watched Apoorva’s performance as well and recognizes her development beyond dance. “I think it showed a huge step in maturity and is a huge rite of passage,” Obrien said. “I couldn’t be more proud [watching her]. It was a huge deal to me and really showed how much she had grown as a person.” Although the Arangetram represented the end of Apoorva’s advanced training in Bharatanatyam and in a sense the end of her childhood, the performance was merely the beginning of her journey into adulthood and into the dance world. “The day after your Arangetram, you go to one dance class with your teacher and you do the first piece you ever learned for the teacher again,” Apoorva said. “It symbolizes that you haven’t stopped dancing and that your Arangetram isn’t the end of your dancing career.”
Robotics team prepares for upcoming competition in March Team 8 creates machine that will be able to shoot balls into hoops, perform other complicated tasks By Elena Pinsker Technology Editor
Now that Palo Alto High School’s robotics team, Team 8, has begun the building cycle for this year’s robot, they can start preparing for the competition ahead. With small bugs to work around, the members are looking forward to the competition and are confident they can do better this year than they did at the previous competition. The process has not been perfect: there have been bugs and kinks in the design, but the team is confident and ready to do well at the event. This year’s challenge is to build a robot that can, sometimes independently, shoot balls into hoops placed at different heights. The team will be scored based on how many baskets the robot can make in the different hoops, as well as on other tasks the robot will have to perform on its own. With enough time to work on the programming and test-run their machine, the team has already built the basic framework for the robot and the design has only recently been finalized. The team has built a preliminary model of the robot already,
and they are working towards making the what other people have done to fix similar final product. problems, using that collective knowledge “We’ve built a complete working proto- to make the robot work effectively. type robot and have managed to make a According to the team’s captain, senior very good turret prototype,” the team’s pro- Max Najork, the team must ship their ingramming captain Matthew Plant said. complete robot to the site competition on “There have been plenty of challenges, but Tuesday, Feb. 21. However, they will still thankfully most of them are bordering on be able to work on the robot until the actusimply being annoyal date of the ing bugs. None of competition, them would really from March pose a big issue dur29-31. junior ing the competition. “We [still] There have been plenty We’ve been rather have to build lucky for having our of challenges, but thank- e v e r y t h i n g , work being unusubut a lot of fully most of them are ally copacetic.” that we can [just] annoying bugs. While Plant has do after we done the programship what we ming work, he says have done so that he has yet to physically touch the ro- far,” Najork said. “We’re allowed to bring bot, as his position works with the techno- in [around] 30 pounds of extra stuff to the logical and computer-based aspects of the competition, so we’ll be able to use some of machine. His job consists of finding solu- that weight to help cover the stuff we didn’t tions to the programming problems that finish.” arise with the robots. He researches soluEach of the members has a different job tions to the problems as well as looking at to do regarding either the designing, build-
Matthew plant
ing or programming of the machine. However, the team makes sure to meet regularly in order to discuss the robot’s progress, competition information and general team updates. “We [the team] tend to go over updates with the robot, give important announcements of travel, and just generally make sure that everyone is on the same page,” Plant said. However, with the deadline approaching quickly, the team is more focused on completing the robot. “Right now we’re trying to cut down a lot of the extra time in team meetings that we spend talking about administrative stuff and focus more on what we’re getting done and what we still need to do,” Najork said. The team will be hard at work until early March, finalizing and perfecting their robot. The team hopes to improve over last year’s performance. “It would be really bad if we lose as poorly as we did last year,” Plant said. “I don’t mind if we lose, after all we’re going to three competitions, but I want to do damned well.”
F E AT U R E S
B4 • February 24, 2012
The Campanile
Teen Arts Council hosts Open Mic Night at Lucie Stern Monthly event allows students to exhibit a wide variety of talents By Anna McGarrigle Staff Writer
For many shy or closet musicians, performing on a grand stage in front of their peers may seem like the last thing they would do. In spite of this, the Teen Arts Council’s Open Mic Nights provide a welcoming environment in which musicians, comedians and poets alike can perform in front of a friendly audience on the stage of the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre. The Teen Arts Council, a teen leadership group which aims to give teens a voice in the arts community, first started the open mics as a way to promote and showcase student performers. “Given the incredible school pressure most high school students face in this area, we believe it’s important to create a place where teens can express themselves creatively and escape from the stress that comes with being the age we are,” event coordinator and Palo Alto High School junior Leah Bleich said. The executive board of the Teen Arts Council sought to expand opportunities for students this year, deciding that an Open Mic would be an auspicious solution. “We all agreed that an Open Mic where performers can test new material and make mistakes without judgment fit exAnna Mcgarrigle/Campanile actly under our mission statement, and (Clockwise starting from bottom right) Teen Arts Council members Juniors Leah Bleich and Spencer Carlson perform a duet; Paly Junior also had potential to become very successAndrew Solway sings with acoustic guitar acompaniment; Junior Margaux Furter performs her standup comedy at the Open Mic Night. ful,” Bleich said. The attendance of the open mics began Teen Arts Council has one more Open “I think the open mics at the chilJunior Margaux Furter used Open Mic with about 20 people in November, but to launch her standup comedy routine in dren’s theatre are amazing because they Mic scheduled this school year, on April the popularity is increasing. give high schoolers a chance to showcase 20 at the Children’s Theatre, but the “This last [Open Mic] had anywhere front of the familiar audience. “ T h e their talent, which is something not a lot growing success of the event may require from 75 to first Open of teenagers have the [guts] to do these a change of venue to handle the increas100 people Mic was ac- days,” Furter said. “Without TAC, I don’t ing number of performers and audience in and out tually the think I would have ever been able to ful- members. throughout “We have discussed moving the locafirst time I fill my life-long dream of being a standup the night,” tion of the event, although I’m a little got to per- comedian.” Bleich said. Open Mic Night also attracts seasoned nervous that it’s going to change the atform stand H o w up comedy Paly performers. The setting was a re- mosphere,” Bleich said. ever, the Open Mic Nights are open to anyone which was freshing change for certain performers open mics who wish to perform and are free to atthe greatest who typically perform at formal events. have ac“I do a lot of theatre at Paly, and it’s al- tend. experience complished “It’s a great chance for anyone who of my life,” ways a big production,” sophomore Sarah more than Furter said. Ohlson said. “But [Open Mic] turned out loves music or loves any sort of art to just just a suc“I think it’s cool that we get to perform to be really [relaxed] and everyone was re- play and be heard,” Solway said. “Most cessful turnout. people are rarely afforded that opportu“Beyond the statistics, I think our in front of other high schoolers because ally supportive of everyone else.” Junior Andrew Solway performed an nity and so it is nice to hear what speaks biggest success has been the perform- it’s nice to know that your peers support ers themselves,” Bleich said. “Several of you and appreciate what you’re doing on original song for the first time at Open to different people.” Teen Arts Council meets Mondays from Mic. our performers had never performed in stage.” “I really liked how intimate it was,” 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Children’s Theatre. The small-scale event is also an opporfront of an audience before, but at Open Mic they felt comfortable enough to share tune place to encourage otherwise timid Solway said. “I felt really close with the All are welcome. Email openmictac@ gmail.com to perform at Open Mic. audience when I was performing.” performers to exhibit their talents. their material.”
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F E AT U R E S
The Campanile
By Clara Chang and Yasna Haghdoost A&E Editor and Staff Writer
Senior year is the time for students to break out of the graduation requirements that may have held them back during previous course selections at Palo Alto High School. For current juniors who have spent the last three years fulfilling requirements, senior year offers the opportunity to pursue one’s interests by enrolling in enjoyable classes. This is especially beneficial during second semester, when “Senioritis” plagues much of the senior class and the
desire to begin a new journey in college may lower a student’s interest in a high school classroom. However, students will inevitably feel pressured by the colleges they are applying to, many of whom take into consideration a student’s first semester senior courses and grades. When juniors select classes, however, the two questions they need to consider are: 1) What are my interests and my strengths? and 2) How can I take difficult classes that will appeal to colleges while meeting graduation requirements?
Advanced Journalism
Prior to taking Advanced Journalism, students must take Beginning Journalism. Students who like to write and have not yet had the experience of being apart of a Paly publication: you still have time! Being a part of a publication of your choice is truly a fun experience that is worth having in high school. Paly’s journalism programs are cutting edge, with several award-winning publications. The Campanile, Verde, Viking, INFocus and Voice, are all student led publications that our peers come together to create. Being a part of this effort is very rewarding and an opportunity everyone should take advantage of, especially when the resources offered are so great. But, besides the perks of being a proud member of a Paly publication, hanging out with your friends during class and production cycles is always a good time. Taking part in a journalism class becomes a time for students to share their ideas and work with their friends to create something innovative. Responsibilities come with every class, so expect to be homework-heavy and intense. However, publications provide a fun and creative class for students that want to go further in depth in journalism.
U.S. Foreign Policy honors Foreign Policy is back from its one-year hiatus as an exciting semester elective that fulfills History/Social Science credit. Oftentimes, students see history as difficult to relate to since they find themselves bogged down with facts and dates from eras that seemingly to do not relate to their lives. However, Foreign Policy, taught this year by history teacher Adam Yonkers, offers students a way to relate more recent history to current foreign relations. This class will allow students to find an engaging platform to discuss foreign policy in an atmosphere that includes varying perspectives from their peers. Through projects and class activities, awareness
about current global events, something that is often neglected in our education, is raised. This is especially important since we live in a country whose dynamic role in world affairs is constantly changing and being questioned, and as such students ought to consider this class as a way to broaden their minds. As an added side-note, The Campanile would like to point out that the male-female ratio in this semester’s foreign policy classroom is five to one. This fact will hopefully encourage more of Paly’s ladies to consider this class in order bring their perspectives into the U.S. Foreign Policy classroom.
Physics Summer School Perhaps you need a prep period. Perhaps you do not like physics. Perhaps you need to take physics in order to fulfill a prerequisite. One lesser-known option for souls in such dire straits is to take physics over the summer at institutions such as St. Francis, School for Independent Learners, Foothill College or De Anza College. Foothill and De Anza colleges in particular serve as affordable and convenient options, so students should speak with their advisor and visit the registrar to fill out the necessary paperwork. The signatures of your parents, your advisor and the head of the science department (Michelle Steingart) is necessary. You will also need to apply separately to the schools offering the class and provide them with your transcript and other crucial information. However, be warned that taking physics over the summer only qualifies as Physics 1 credit, which may not be ideal for students who absolutely need to take Physics 1A (either because that’s what thrums their heartstrings, or because they are planning to take AP Physics senior year, which requires 1A credit).
February 24, 2012 • B5
In other words, passions should be approached pragmatically by choosing appealing and relatively low-stress classes while keeping in mind that come college application season, junior year course selection is an exceptionally significant factor. So, The Campanile has compiled several enjoyable, yet stimulating courses for students to consider taking in the next academic year. They will be sure to keep colleges happy, and students interested for the entire year — or at least most of it.
Film COmp For those who think they can cruise through Film Composition and Literature, they are wrong. And for those who think this makes the class not worth taking, they are also wrong. Although reflective writing is a large component of this class, Film Comp is a course worth selecting for seniors who like to watch movies, even if writing is not their forte. This is a course where a student’s ability to sit quietly, watch a movie and then form an opinion about the movie, is much more important than their ability to analyze a passage or write an intensive five-page essay. Film Comp is an interesting course that involves learning about the history of film, watching several movies within a semester and discussing and grading each movie afterwards. For seniors, this course can quickly become a highlight of the day, with 50 to 90 minutes for students to sit back, relax and just enjoy numerous films. Class discussions led by the teacher are never boring and assignments are very manageable. For students who have tired of the typical English class throughout the years, Film Comp is undoubtedly the perfect alternative.
AP Environmental Science
Students who are not fans of science may have wondered at one point in their high school career how Advanced Placement Chemistry, Physics or Biology may ever play an role in their everyday lives. Students with this mind set but still want or need to take a science course may be more open to AP Environmental Science (APES), where everything learned is now as applicable as ever. In a world that is currently facing intense environmental problems, it is incredibly important for students to be knowledgeable about the issues plaguing our planet. With an emphasis on current events, APES gives students relevant information about key environmental concepts and the troubles we are facing, as well as ways to prevent them. The knowledge gained in this course is beneficial and advantageous to have.
Science Research Projects Honors For those students interested in taking a class with applications to the outside world, Science Research Projects is an excellent option. In this class, you must find a mentor, or someone willing to take you as an intern, under whose guidance you will conduct a research experiment that you will present at the end of the year. The studies that students conduct cover areas ranging from computer technology, astrophysics, biology and psychology, to name but a few. As such, the options are suited for students with a variety of different interests who want exposure to the scientific community and the research process. Perhaps the most challenging part about this program is getting started; you as a student are responsible Yael palmon/Campanile for finding a mentor, and while the program instructor, Sean Leonard, can provide you with contacts, ultimately, you must seek out a professional willing to take you in. Therefore, if a student chooses to sign up for this class, it is highly advisable that they seek out a mentor as early as possible in order to start their research project as soon as they can when the school year starts. This class offers one unit of credit for every 10 hours of work done on the site of their research, and so the amount of work that students choose to dedicate to their project is entirely up to them. Science Research projects is a good choice for students who wish to learn independently and gain real world exposure to the material they learn in the classroom.
Palo Alto High School juniors sew custom headbands Elani Gitterman and Elisa Rerolle design fashionable accessories By Beth Yan Staff Writer
While walking downtown, two Palo Alto High School students enter a popular store and browse the various articles of clothing, nail polish and jewelry. At one counter they spot a jar of chic hair accessories. However, upon inspection, the satiny headbands are priced impractically high though the construction is simple. The solution seemed obvious, and Bendy Wits was created. Juniors Elani Gitterman and Elisa Rerolle originally started Bendy Wits as a cheaper, but equally fashionable alternative to costly hair ornaments. “We stopped in American Apparel and we were just looking around when we saw these really cute twisty headbands,” Rerolle said. “They were expensive so we started thinking about how we could make our own and have them made out of whatever material we wanted.” When purchasing the two necessary materials, wire and fabric, the two discovered that cloth is sold solely by the yard. They decided to make a few extras to sell for ten dollars, in order to cover costs. The plan that started as a simple do-it-yourself project evolved into a small, informal business as friends started purchasing the accessories. “They are made from different patterned fabrics and they have a wire sewn inside so that you can bend them into different shapes,” Gitterman said. “There are currently around fifteen different colors and styles.” The market shifted toward Paly students due to word of mouth and via their Bendy Wits Facebook page. Paly junior Shina Avalos purchased a headband last summer and has found it to be an attractive, affordable accessory. “I got the Estelle, which is black and has gold snowflakes and stars,” Avalos said. “I am very happy with it. I think the product is well-made and the pricing was very fair.” Junior Julia Lee agrees and has been very pleased with her Bendy Wit. “I got a dark blue color,” Lee said. “I liked the fact that they came in different colors and pat-
Adam Mansour/Campanile
Bendy Wits takes custom orders for their headbands, which come in different colors, textures and patterns. terns and that I could choose the one that suited my hair color the best. I’ve seen them on some other people and the headbands look really cute on all of them. I think ten dollars was a pretty reasonable price.” Rerolle and Gitterman are pleased with the way business has been operating among their friends at school. “I think Paly is a great market,” Rerolle said. “We mostly used Facebook to advertise and mostly stayed within our close friends, but teenagers are generally attracted to cute articles of clothing and accessories that they can get for cheaper.”
B6 • February 24, 2012
F E AT U R E S
The Campanile
Science projects help interns pursue their passions
Students conduct research outside of school to earn class credit By Bailey Cassidy Features Editor
For the average high school student, experience with experiments does not extend beyond simple science fair projects presented on tri-fold poster boards in elementary school. However, Palo Alto High School offers students the opportunity to receive credit for conducting independent science research projects. Many students who are passionate about science and excel in science classes have taken advantage of this rather unique opportunity. Senior Uma Veerappan is currently conducting a research project about how health care preferences are influenced by emotions and how they differ across cultures. “I am a research assistant at the Culture and Emotion Lab in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University,” Veerappan said. “We are analyzing how emotions influence health care preferences for both Chinese and European Americans. We have been collecting data to understand preferred emotions through surveys and we are analyzing their effects on health care preferences via a virtual health care website.” Veerappan decided to pursue this specific science research project because she felt it would tie in nicely with another subject she is interested in and is studying this year. “I have always been interested in human psychology, and thought that taking the Science Research Projects class would be perfect in parallel with my AP Psychology course this year,” Veerappan said. Veerappan dedicates a considerable amount of time to research.
Although at times this requires her to sacrifice hours that could be spent on other things in her life, she finds every minute of it to be worthwhile and rewarding. “This project requires a significant amount of time spent after school,” Veerappan said. “I treat my role as a research assistant at the lab as another extracurricular activity and give it all of my attention. Of course, the internship takes away homework time, but it is completely worth it to me.” Veerappan adds that the relationships she has formed as a result of her science research experiment have been extremely rewarding.
recruit participants in the area, screen participants, help conduct literature searches for professors and PhD students and much more. Most importantly, this research internship is what drives my desire to continue being a part of research in college.” Senior Benson Chen has been very interested in science throughout his school years. When he learned about the science research project class he was inspired to conduct his own research and apply things he has learned in a practical way. “I’ve always really enjoyed science and I thought it would be a great way for me to apply the knowledge I’ve learned to real-life applications,” Chen said. Chen’s objective with his research project this year is to gain a better understanding of the immune system. “My research project involves the calcium response system in the context of one’s imSenior mune system,” Chen “This research internship has re- said. “We are exploring store-operated calally allowed me to understand entry pathways all of the hard work that goes in- cium and calcium releaseto any research study.” activated calcium channel proteins [to] gain a better “The most rewarding part understanding of the imabout being a part of the team is mune system. This is doforming relationships with pro- ne through in vitro exfessors [and] PhD students, as periments with various well as undergraduate students,” cells.” Veerappan said. Although Chen enVeerappan’s experience with joys working on his her science research project has project, some aspects allowed her to appreciate all the of conducting an indefiner details that go into scientific pendent research projresearch. ect can be difficult. NevHer experience has also moti- ertheless, overall he finds vated her to continue participat- his science research projing in research after graduating ect to be very rewarding defrom Paly. spite its difficulties. “This research internship has “I think the most difficult really allowed me to understand part has been learning all the new all of the hard work that goes in- techniques that are used in laboto any research study,” Veerap- ratories and following all the specpan said. “I have been given the ified protocols for experiments,” opportunity to attend lab meet- Chen said. “However, I really ings during which I have listened learned a lot of new information to undergraduates’ presentations regarding biology and biotechnolon advantaged research concepts, ogy.
Uma veerappan
Yael palmon/campanile
Senior Uma Veerappan distributes surveys for her science research project, examining influences of culture and emotion on health care. The hands-on research experience has also been very rewarding.” Any student interested in getting credit for his or her science research project must enroll in the Science Re-
search Project honors class at Paly. However, according to Chen, the class does not meet very often. The time that is spent on the project is therefore the student’s own responsibility to incorporate
time into his or her own schedule. Thus, anyone executing this research project must be a highly motivated individual who can manage his or her time wisely and work independently. “I work on it every day after school,” Chen said. “I usually spend anywhere from one to three hours, though there are times when I don’t have much to do. The class only [meets] during lunch on Fridays, and it is mostly independent work, so people who do it have to really like science research projects and [be motivated].” Chen encourages any student to participate because it presents opportunities for scientific exploration that students would not otherwise experience through their science classes at school. Chen has found conducting his own scientific research to be an extremely valuable experience. “I think that anyone who is interested in science should look for research opportunities,” Chen said. “The experience is really valuable and it has really opened up all the different possibilities for science to me.
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F E AT U R E S
The Campanile
February 24, 2012 • B7
Five easy steps to make your college visit meaningful A guide to making the most of visits and tours of college campuses
By Layla Memar
What is one piece of advice for students planning college visits?
News Editor
For about a quarter of Palo Alto High School’s population, the much-awaited time has come — the time for college visits. Without proper planning, though, these visits have the potential to be worthless. Here are some helpful tips for planning a successful college visit.
“Be sure to visit the bulletin boards; they provide insight into college life. ”
Step 1: Pick your schools
This first step seems pretty obvious — selecting which schools to visit, however, is the most important part of the planning process. If you know exactly where you want to go, then this step is easy. If you have no idea what schools you might be interested in, visit a range of schools that vary in both size and location. Visit a school in the city as well as one in the suburbs, and see which scene better suits you. Try going to some small schools with class sizes no greater than 20, as well as some large schools where a class of over 100 students is typical. When figuring out which schools to visit, though, be geographically smart about it, especially if time is an issue. It is not very wise to drive down south to visit California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, then fly across the country to tour Wesleyan University, then spontaneously decide to check out the University of Oregon. Rather, it would be better to pick a couple schools that are within, say, a 500-mile radius. Minimizing time spent traveling will help maximize time spent touring.
Step 2: Do your research
Once you have selected the schools you wish to visit, look up key facts about that school, such as population demographics, degrees, majors and extracurricular opportunities. This will help you get a sense of what the school is like and what it has to offer.
Greg Dunn senior
“Make sure you don’t wear other colleges’ T-shirts. ” Jean Yang senior
Step 3: Schedule a tour
Do not just show up at a college and expect someone to grab you by the arm and show you around everywhere. While some schools have multiple tours every day that you can just show up to and participate in, many schools require you to sign up for a tour in advance. Generally, it is easy to find a tour that fits your schedule, so this step should not be an issue. College tours usually consist of two parts: an information session and a guided tour. While the information sessions can be very helpful and are a great time to ask questions, after about three or four of them, they begin to sound the same. If you feel like you have done adequate research on the school and know all the facts and figures, it is probably okay to skip the info session. The guided tour, though, gives you an opportunity to get a thorough look at the entire school and experience the environment first-hand. This is one of the most essential components of a college visit.
Step 4: Interviews
This is a step that some people bypass or forget to think about when visiting colleges. If the school you are touring offers on-campus interviews, it is highly recommended that you take advantage of this and schedule an appointment for one sometime during your visit. On-campus interviews are often given more weight than those conducted with local alumni, giving you a potential advantage. Some schools only offer interviews oncampus, so if you don’t know your facts before visiting the school, you may miss out on a rare opportunity to get to know the college more in-depth. Though they seem intimidating, college interviews are really nothing to stress about. Most of the time they are like having a conversation, but you must be prepared to talk about yourself. Unless something goes terribly wrong, they will not be counted against you.
“You want to do it because you are truly interested in doing it. ” Arne Lim teacher
Step 5: Ask around
Do not be afraid to ask your tour guides questions. When visiting a school, talk to people on campus and get a feel for what life is like there. Ask them some basic questions, like “How’s the food on campus?” and “What do you do on a typical Tuesday night?” This will help you understand what student life is like, directly from the source. These people will potentially be the people you are going to be living with for the next four years, so it makes sense to get to know them. The more you know, the better you can gauge whether or not the college is right for you.
Paly graduate founds company Naturopathic medicine provides to help businesses with pricing treatment for different illnesses By Nira Krasnow
By Sidhanth Venkatasubramaniam
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
The massive internet and media response to Jeremy Lin’s astounding run for the New York Knicks in the current National Basketball Association season is supercharging the stereotype that Palo Alto High School’s excellence is limited to the realm of sports and athletics. However, hidden from the collective topics for Paly gossip are a number of alumni excelling in a number of different fields, such as Paly alumnus of 2007 Marty Hu. After graduating with a degree in computer science from Stanford University, Hu found himself bombarded by interview requests and job offers from Silicon Valley titans such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook. “At this point, I’ve sort of taken it [the interest from tech firms] for granted,” Hu said in an interview with CNN. Rather than accepting what some might consider a dream job, Hu decided to get a taste for the start-up experience by starting his own company, Predictive Edge. Predictive Edge is one of many startups founded in the nurturing environment of Silicon Valley, and even more specifically, Stanford. Through its incubator StartX labs (formerly known as SEE), Stanford hosts competitions where students come in groups to pitch their product to various members of the faculty who double as angel investors in their free time. StartX then gives startup grants to the companies that are deemed to have a high likelihood of success. Predictive Edge won one such award, the Lightspeed Summer Fellowship, which provided office space to the fledgling company along with $35,000. According to the Predictive Edge website, their product falls into the fastgrowing realm of e-commerce. By using high-end mathematical algorithms to strategically price online products, Hu’s company offers business solutions that give online retailers an edge over their competitors in the online market.
PhenomList
Predictive Edge
Former Paly student Marty Hu has recently cofounded Predictive Edge, a company that processes online costs. “One way to understand what we do is to think of Amazon,” Hu said. “A lot of Amazon’s profit is derived from its ability to intelligently price its products. The prices of a majority of its products change just about every day. An item’s price may change even while the item is in your shopping cart.” Hu founded Predictive Edge as part of a class at Stanford called Entrepreneurial Communications, where he met co-founder Steven Wu and “spent that summer emailing about how much they hated their internships at Cisco and Amazon,” Hu said in an interview with PhenomList. After bringing Kevin Liu, one of Wu’s high school friends, on board, the three decided to start a company that would rectify the flaws in the e-commerce industry. Wu had previously spent time working at pricing firms for a number of years and thus brought experience in the industry to the company. Hu says his interest in programming first started with a high school internship, but the algorithmic and mathematical nature
of the company came from his college education. “I got my first real programming job when I was 16, at Lockheed Martin’s Solar Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto,” Hu said. “During this time, based on knowledge gleaned from a linear algebra class I was taking at Stanford, I was able to write software that is now in use by astrophysics labs worldwide. My attitude changed significantly from gaining a formal CS education. Somehow over these four years of study, I realized that I actually like math, and I like proofs. Nowadays, I will always work out a tough algorithm on paper before writing any code.” Hu’s prowess has not gone unnoticed; he was ranked as one of the top five graduating students in his major by PhenomList, an organization that seeks to identify top students in various disciplines at colleges around the country. In a time of surging Viking pride for Jeremy Lin, who is making a global impression, it might be prudent to pay some attention to other distinguished alumni experiencing success in different professions.
Surgeries, pills, pain drugs, radiation. Many things come to mind when thinking of modern medicine, but botanicals, body manipulations and herbal supplements are not some of the most recognizable remedies. There are other types of medicine that offer a more holistic approach for treating the body, such as naturopathic medicine, an alternative method of medical treatment that has been used for hundreds of years. Joelle Fox, a student at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, was intrigued by the alternative treatments that naturopathic medicine provides. Fox was attracted by the idea that the practice promotes finding the root cause of a disease, and treating this as opposed to masking symptoms. “I went into naturopathic medicine because I didn’t want to just prescribe pills, I wanted to help heal patients with other methods,” Fox said. “Sometimes MDs have used all their tools and they don’t know what else to do for the patient.” There are many natural treatments that traditional medicine does not recognize. According to Fox, pills, surgeries and other invasive treatments are not always necessary. “We don’t usually prescribe drugs versus MDs,” Fox said. “We do more alternative medicine so we do acupuncture, we do homeopathy, we can use physical manipulations and we can use botanicals and herbs to treat patients. We try to find the root cause of the disease and we try to treat the whole person.” Naturopathy also provides treatments for everyday illness. According to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, naturopaths follow the belief that the human body has an inherent instinct for self-healing so naturopaths strive to nurture this instinct through natural remedies. “If you have a fever and you’re chilly, you want to induce the chills so the fever is fought naturally,” Fox said. “[Other treatments include] high doses of vitamin C, and one remedy for a cold is called Cold Wet Socks. Cold Wet Socks is where you take cotton socks, you get them wet and you stick them in the freezer for a while to make them really cold. Then right before bed you stick your feet in hot water for five minutes and you put the cold socks on and then you put wool socks on top of them and then you go to bed. It’s supposed to stimulate your immune system.” Another type of medicine that many people are not aware of is called osteopathic medicine. Like naturopathic doctors, osteopaths take a holistic approach regarding how to treat the body and utilize their hands to promote good health. Despite these similarities, naturopathic and osteopathic medicine are very different forms of medicine. While naturopathic doctors avoid using drugs and surgeries as remedies for disease, modern day osteopaths have incorporated all of these traditional medical treatments into the practice.
According to Jennifer Morales, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the osteopathic approach is much more comparable to that of a Doctor of Medicine (MD). “Hundreds of years ago osteopathic medicine and allopathic medicine were really different,” Morales said. “Allopathic medicine is the traditional MD approach. Back then osteopaths were only dealing with what is called osteopathic manipulation which is working with your muscular and skeletal system to try to cure diseases which is completely different with what it is now. Osteopaths have incorporated more traditional medicine.” The main difference between osteopaths and MDs is the fact that Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine are trained in the practice of osteopathic manipulation. Morales describes osteopathic manipulation as using various techniques on certain pressure points on the body. Aside from this practice, both types of doctors endure the same training. “The school is called osteopathic medical school but I went through all the same classes that a traditional MD would go through,” Morales said. “In addition to those classes I also took classes in osteopathic manipulation where we learned about various methods to use the nervous system to help the body help itself. It’s just a different approach.” According to Morales, the American Medical Association recognized how similar normal MDs and DOs are when they suggested to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) that osteopaths and traditional doctors all be called “MDs,” but the AOA declined the offer. “The AOA recognized that there is something unique about osteopathic manipulation,” Morales said. “We’re not MDs, we’re DOs. And while we did not want to be called [MDs], we appreciated the recognition that [osteopaths and MDs] are very much the same even though there are some unique [qualities of DOs].”
Riki Rattner/Campanile
Naturopathic medicines use natural ingredients as alternatives to modern remedies.
A&E
February 24, 2012
BEST ACTRESS
BEST ACTOR BRAD PITT
ROONEY MARA
MONEYBALL
Staff Writers
To generate Palo Alto High School students’ predictions for the winners of the 2012 Academy Awards, The Campanile conducted an anonymous survey that was distributed to 100 students. One class from each grade was randomly chosen by raffle and the students in the chosen classes were given a survey listing various categories with their respective nominees. According to the survey, The Help is predicted to win the award for Best Picture. War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg, came in a close second place as it received 18 percent of the vote. Despite the survey results for the award for Best Picture, Film Composition and Literature teacher, Kevin Sharp believes that the silent film The Artist and its leading actor will win the Academy Award for their nominated categories.
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Best Picture
37% By Emily Tran and Wesley Shiau
The Campanile
35%
29% “I think The Artist will win for Best Picture because it’s nostalgic and paints the movie business in a good light and makes Hollywood feel good about itself,” Sharp said. “Jean Dujardin will win for Best Actor for the same reason as why The Artist should win because he is beloved.” For the award for Best Leading Actor, 37 percent of students predicted that Brad Pitt in Moneyball will win the Academy Award. The star of The Descendants, George Clooney, followed in a close second as he polled a 25 percent in the survey. Former Film Composition and Literature student junior Joshua Oh expects Brad Pitt to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Moneyball, a movie loosely based on the story of Oakland Athletic’s general Manager Billie Beane. “I strongly believe in Brad Pitt [from] Moneyball,” Oh said. “He was able to break away from his usual role in action movies and move
33%
BEST DIRECTOR
WOODY ALLEN MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
JONAH HILL
into a more composed, and sophisticated one.” An overwhelming number of students predicted Jonah Hill from Moneyball and Melissa McCarthy from the comedy Bridesmaids to win the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively. The survey results favored Hill to win with 66 percent of the vote and McCarthy with 40 percent. “Best Supporting Actress should be Melissa McCarthy because comedy isn’t usually nominated for an Academy Award,” junior Emma Ketchum said. As for the award for Best Director, the students predict Woody Allen to win for his direction of Midnight in Paris, a film starring Owen Wilson who travels back in time to Paris in the 1920’s. The Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 26 and will be broadcasted on television on ABC at 8 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MELISSA MCCARTHY
MONEYBALL
BRIDESMAIDS
66%
40%
Quora provides reliable answers as online question forum By Elena Pinsker Technology Editor
When one’s own knowledge fails to provide sufficient answers to a question, the best and easiest option is usually to turn to the Internet. But with so many sites full of uncorroborated information, it is easy to be misled, and consulting a professional is often too time-consuming to be beneficial, which would once lead users with no other option. Quora attempts to remedy that problem. Launched in mid 2010, Quora is a question and answer website that connects curious people with those who have the answers to provide an interesting and unique information-sharing tool. The website differs from others of its kind like Yahoo! Answers because Quora focuses on the quality of the questions and answers. “Quora connects you to everything you want to know about,” according to the website, www. quora.com. “When you want to know more about something, Quora delivers you answers.” However, it is not the website itself that delivers the answers — it is the users. The website is almost entirely user-based; everything from questions to the answers is created, shared and consumed by its members. But while most websites stop there, Quora takes the experience one level deeper by ensuring quality, reliable answers. Quora does this by making sure every user uses his or her real name. With a face, a name and some sort of
qualification tagged with every answer, users can evaluate the legitimacy of the answers they are given. This “real name” policy is what sets Quora apart from other websites. The best answers are “upvoted” by users and promoted to the top of the question’s page, and the worst are “downvoted” and eventually hidden from view. It is through this system that Quora can weed out the inappropriate, unsupported and sometimes factually incorrect answers and users can find quality responses to any question they may have.
What was Lake Lagunita like when it was filled with water? What does it feel like to work directly for the President of the United States? What should you do if someone holds a gun to your head? Questions like these that cannot be answered well by simply using Google or another search engine can be found on Quora, with answers posted by everyone from Stanford graduates and White House aides with firsthand experiences to share to former police officers who know what to do when everyone else’s first instinct is to freak out.
Local users can also find useful information about Palo Alto, from Bay Area natives’ favorite restaurants to the best ways to spend a Friday night downtown. Questions about the website itself are often found on the site as well. Everything from general site usage questions to more in-depth programming curiosities are answered by none other than the founders of Quora themselves, Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever. In order to ensure quick answers from those who are experienced enough to respond to a
user’s question, every question is tagged with different topics. Quora features topics about anything from medical conditions to book series. Should a user find that his or her desired topic has not yet been created, he or she can instantly add the topic to the website itself. Users can then follow their favorite topics to be updated whenever a related question or answer is posted. Members of the site can also follow other Quora users if they are interested in what that user asks, answers and follows. Everything is organized into a user’s “feed” in a manner similar to Facebook’s, and a user’s feed is updated in real-time. Unlike Facebook, however, there is no chat system between users but members of the site can send direct messages to one another through the website. Quora also uses its own form of currency, called “credits,” to give users an even quicker and more reliable way of obtaining the answers they need. The cost to ask someone to answer a question varies depending on the user’s track record; the more popular a user’s answers are, the more it costs to ask him or her to answer a question. Prices to “ask to answer” range from free, in cases where a user chooses to answer questions without “pay,” to as high as thousands of credits for an answer. While it is sometimes hard to afford some professional answers, the rewards pay for themselves, and uphold one of the site’s basic tenets: the best sources provide the best information.
A&E
The Campanile
February 24, 2012 • B9
Palo Alto’s availability of gluten-free meals increasing People with celiac disease, healthy diets given varied food options By Elizabeth Bowman Staff Writer
Imagine life without pizza, donuts, croissants or all those other delicious baked goods. Rewind ten years and this is what life was like for those intolerant or allergic to gluten (an inner part of the wheat plant). Being intolerant to gluten means that eating even a Krispy Kreme Donut may cause stomach aches, tiredness or even headaches. A few years ago, the only gluten-free foods available were breads like rocks and other stiff, rice-based baked goods. If one walked in a restaurant asking for gluten-free foods five or so years ago, the most probable common response would be “What? Gluten free?” Over the past decade, the gluten-free diet has become more mainstream, with more restaurants featuring gluten-free foods, more “gluten-free” labels on foods, better baked-goods choices that taste more like the wheat versions, and even an increase in customers going gluten-free whether or not they are gluten intolerant. Young people today are five times more likely to have celiac disease (gluten intolerance) than they did in 2009, according to Joseph Murray, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist. There has been an increase in people who are intolerant to gluten in the past decade both in the United States and in other places, such as Mexico and India, according to the New York Times. The rise in diagnoses can be attributed to an increase in intolerant people as well as others who have decided to go on the diet simply for health. Many athletes, for example, have gone on a gluten-free diet because some claim that it gives them more energy, although there is no solid proof that this is true. According to an article in Hive Health Media, “basing your diet off of the glutenfree phenomenon can be genuinely healthy and may benefit your cholesterol levels, digestion, and energy level.” A gluten-free diet is a healthy way to eat because it helps one avoid junk foods (most of which contain gluten) and focus on eating more fresh foods. Although some may assume that something is gluten free because the word “gluten” or “wheat” does not appear on the label, this is not true at all. Gluten can be found in many ingredients such as wheat, barley, rye and malt as well as sometimes in an ingredient with the name “natural
ELENA PINSKER/CAMPANILE
Jonathan Ziegler/Campanile
Town and Country offers a number of gluten-free options, ranging from prepared lunches to sweet desserts. Gluten-free diets and gluten-free restaurants are becoming much more common.
flavors” found in many candies as an artificial flavoring. This may seem counter-intuitive, but unless the term is being specific as to what kind of flavoring, such as natural strawberry flavoring, the flavoring may contain gluten. To check, one should call the company to find out specifically what kind of “natural flavorings” they use. Because gluten is prevalent in many products, some individuals choose to be strict with their diet whereas others don’t mind eating items with small amounts of gluten (such as in flavorings) because it will have a minimal affect. Some may eat items with “traces of wheat” as stated in the label because there is no actual wheat in the product ingredients, whereas others may be severely allergic, and eating something that may even have a minimal amount of gluten may be detrimental to them. For those who decide to eat gluten free, whether for dietary or health reasons, there are many delicious options available at supermarkets, restaurants and even Town and Country Village.
Almost every supermarket (especially specialty ones) has a gluten free section or some gluten free options. The best glutenfree brands for breads and baked goods are Udi’s, Bob’s Red Mill, Kinnikinnik, General Mills and Glutino. At Sprout Cafe, one has the option of ordering gluten-free Udi’s bread instead of wheat bread, along with a salad. Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flours can be found at many supermarkets and are great substitutes for wheat flower used in many home cooked recipes. Kinnikinnik offers some of the best gluten free breads — they are delicious but not crumbly (like most rice based breads). In addition, Kinnikinnik is famous for its gluten free donuts which are very delicious with chocolate glaze, although so far no cook has come up with gluten free donuts (or croissants) that are truly fluffy. The Betty Crocker bake-mix brand previously only made glutenous mixed, but now they offer gluten-free options. Among all brownie mixes, the Betty Crocker brownie mix when baked turns out almost exactly like real brownies — they are soft,
warm and delicious yet they stick very well together. At Town and Country Village, almost every restaurant and store offers something gluten free. On the Trader Joe’s website there is a helpful list online with a list of every gluten-free item that they offer. In addition, as stated on the Trader Joe’s website, “ingredients listed as ‘natural flavors’ or ‘spices’ do not contain gluten or gluten derivatives.” At Trader Joe’s you can find many gluten free items — from gluten-free bagels, french rolls and homestyle pancakes to dark chocolate mint cremes, Coffee Rios and dark chocolate covered powerberries. Kara’s cupcakes offers gluten free versions of several of their cupcakes including coconut, vanilla and chocolate velvet cupcakes. Although Kara’s gluten-free cupcakes are sometimes dry, their frosting tastes the same on both the gluten and gluten-free cupcakes. Sprinkles, although not located in Town and Country Village, also offers gluten-free cupcakes. In comparison, the Sprinkles gluten-free cupcakes are moister than Kara’s, although their frosting may give some a stomach ache after eating large quantities because it is almost overly sweet whereas Kara’s frosting is just right. Many restaurants at Town and Country offer delicious gluten-free food options. There are many great gluten-free breakfast options at Hobee’s such as oatmeal and omelettes and for lunch or dinner, Lulu’s offers quality gluten-free Mexican foods such as nachos, tacos or enchiladas although with steep prices. Lulu’s has a separate gluten-free menu available online or at the store with many options. The Village Cheese House offers two gluten-free cookie options including fudge indulgence and pumpkin delight, although so far they have no gluten-free sandwich offerings. Whether a customer has a medical need to eat gluten-free foods or simply wants to cleanse his or her body through a healthy, all-natural diet, eating gluten-free food is easier than ever before. Many stores and restaurants now offer a wide variety of gluten-free foods and any questions a customer has can easily be answered by visiting an establishment’s website or contacting a manager. With access to so many different options, anyone can switch to a gluten-free diet with no trouble.
Scott W. Kaloust, D.D.S, M.S 1300 University Dr. Suite 2 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Phone: (650) 326-0250 Fax: (650) 326-0507
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A&E Exotic Dining Experiences in San Francisco
B10 • February 24, 2012
By Isabel Benatar, Rose Fitzgerald and Caroline Martignetti
FRJTZ FRENCH FRIES
ASIA SF
Frjtz is a casual restaurant that specializes in french fries. After choosing either regular, garlic or spicy fries, customers choose types of dips from a selection of 22 dips varying from bacon mayonnaise to white truffle artichoke ketchup. Although having fries and dip is always an interesting experience in itself, Frjtz also serves breakfast and lunch options like pancakes, eggs, crepes, salads, sandwiches and burgers. Frjtz has two locations in San Francisco (590 Valencia St. and 581 Hayes St.) and reservations are not required. If one is looking to shake things up in a cool and relaxed environment while keeping the bill to a minimum, Frjtz is the place to go.
Asia SF in San Francisco provides a different way to eat Cal-Asian Food. The restaurant, located at 201 Ninth St., surrounds diners with color morphing screen walls, where they can delight in performances on the “Chinese red runway bar” by “gender illusionist” waitresses. The restaurant also has facilities to host events such as birthday parties as well as night club and DJ events (for those 18 and up). The restaurant is also known for its critically acclaimed menu, in addition to its fun and provocative dinner theater. Guests can choose a Gold, Silver or Diamond meal, ranging from $35 to $69 depending on the night of the week and the package. These meals can include a three-course menu to a family style serving package, also depending on the price. Those dining are sure to have a good time whether they choose the restaurant or nightclub options.
2
The Campanile
in
1950
This edition featuring
Colette and Genevieve Lucas-Conwell with The Campanile’s own
Isabel Benatar and Weston Preising
courtesy of Frjtzfries.com
courtesy of asiasf.com
THE STINKING ROSE The Stinking Rose on 325 Columbus Ave. in San Francisco’s North Beach district has been open for 20 years and hosts a menu consisting of everything garlic. From garlic beef to garlic ice cream, this place has it all. Despite spectacular-sounding dishes, the best food at the restaurant is the complimentary raw garlic spread at the beginning of the meal. The service is quick and efficient, despite some select unfriendly waiters. The complimentary bread and spread makes the experience so a normal person would no longer distinguish between a piece of bread or a piece of tar, which may be a blessing in disguise because the bread was mediocre considering its location in North Beach, the Italian food district of San Francisco. Despite the damage to one’s taste buds, the experience is overall interesting and fun. However, the food was much too expensive (about $40 per person) and considering the prices, there are other restaurants in the area that use garlic and are reasonably priced and much better. In the end, The Stinking Rose is a tourist trap that could prove to be too much garlic for diners’ stomachs to handle, proving that, in fact, you can have too much of a good thing. Rose Fitzgerald/Campanile
OPAQUE: DINING IN THE DARK
courtesy of sf.darkdining.com
Providing a truly unique dining experience, Opaque on 689 McAllister St. in San Francisco has become one of the few places designed specifically for dining in the dark. Upon arriving, guests’ coats and bags are checked in with the hostess. Customers are then forced to rely upon their four remaining senses: touch, taste, smell and hearing. The staff is made up of specially trained visually impaired or blind waitresses. They help guide guests to their respective tables and then through their meal. This assistance is necessary, as one’s eyes barely adjust to the pitch black setting and putting fork to mouth becomes a difficult exercise. With the unique dining experience comes a unique price: appetizers, an entrée and a dessert cost a flat rate of $99.00. The food is impeccable, however, and it tastes even better when not visible to the eye. Opaque is a dining experience that will cause one to make their next reservation while walking out.
Paly Entertains By Riki Rattner Photography Editor During the week of Feb. 13, the Palo Alto High School Choir performed a variety of songs including solos, a capella and group acts. Each performance displayed each individual’s personality, skill and passion. Now, Paly Theater is working to premiere their performance of Much Ado About Nothing, which will premier on March 1. Both Paly Choir and Theater are made up of many talented individuals who put in great amounts of time to put on performances that are entertaining and exciting. Every Paly student should take advantage of their peers’ outstanding productions.
The Campanile (TC): What’s it like being a twin? Colette Lucas-Conwell (CLC): Horrible, haha just kidding. Genevieve Lucas-Conwell (GLC): I mean it has its benefits, but it usually just sucks. CLC: You have somebody with you at all times, which is nice. GLC: Especially at summer campCLC: - and family events. GLC: Uhhh, and you can share clothes, but birthdays suck. TC: Are you guys competitive? GLC: Yes. CLC: Yes, extremely. TC: In what way? GLC: Athletically. CLC: Educationally mostly. TC: You guys were born on the same day? GLC: No. CLC: Yes. GLC: We’re twins, but we weren’t born on the same day. TC: Who’s older? CLC: Me. TC: By how much? CLC: Eight minutes. TC: When you guys were sophomores didn’t you try to throw a party at your new house that you hadn’t moved into yet and it got shut down? CLC: Ohhh, yeah. GLC: The only thing that was there was a toilet in the living room… you’re not going to put this in The Campanile are you? TC: Do you both have your licenses? CLC: I’m the only one who has it. GLC: I got my permit two days after she got her license. TC: Wait, Genevieve why don’t you have your driver’s license? GLC: Because, okay, I failed the first permit test and it took me awhile to take it again. TC: Do you like driving Genevieve around? GLC: Yes. CLC: No, because she always asks me for rides to her “events” on weekends... GLC: Hehe. CLC: ...which is kind of annoying because I have places I want to go, too, but I have to drive her. TC: How’s your car? GLC: Hahaha. CLC: Right now the radiator is broken actually. TC: Oh really? GLC: So many things are wrong. CLC: If you look at it it’s just... GLC: Yeah, it’s bad. TC: What’s your dog’s name? GLC: Princess TC: How did it get that name? GLC: I had an imaginary dog named Princess. CLC: She came up with it when she was like, five. GLC: Four. TC: You have a parrot, right? CLC: Yeah, his name is Pablo. GLC: Hehehe. TC: Can he talk? CLC: Yeah, he can talk in three different languages if you force him. TC: What languages? CLC: Spanish, French and English. GLC: He can sing as well. TC: What can he sing? GLC: He can sing three words of On a Clear Day, and those are the words. TC: Do you typically celebrate Mardi Gras? GLC: Yes. I mean, yeah we do. CLC: It depends on the year, like last night we ate Indian food and we didn’t eat crepes. GLC: We usually eat crepes. But we did not this year because we kind of forgot about it. TC: So what else do you do besides eat crepes? GLC: That’s pretty much it. CLC: We eat crepes, but sometimes King’s Cake at a Mardi Gras party. TC: What do you do at the Mardi Gras party? GLC: Whoever has the baby in the King Cake has to throw the next block party. TC: Have you guys ever had to throw the Mardi Gras party? CLC: Yeah, we did last year. It was interesting, to say the least. TC: Any concluding statements? GLC: DYNAMIC DUO.