F RI DAY, O C TO B ER 26, 2012
Food, chefs, and the art of cooking
Scars of long nights OPINIONS pages 4 & 5
Bay Club review
FEATURES pages 6 & 7
VOLUME 54 NO. 2
The Prospector
CHSPROSPECTOR.ORG
Student Newspaper of Cupertino High School
College visitations affect senior decisions ASHLEY LIU features assistant
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ELIGIBLE SENI
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25% are not U.S. Citizens
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10100 FINCH AVENUE, CUPERTINO, CA 95014
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ILITY OF SENI B I OR LIG
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TOTAL POLLED: 98
FLIP SIDE pages 12
SPORTS pages 10 & 11
ILLUSTRATION BY KEELY ZHANG & CHRIS CAI
12% of students are older than 18
Q&A with Mr. Klokow, the “Up” substitute
67% will vote on Nov 6th ILLUSTRATION BY NIKHIL KANTHI
8% will not vote
COMPILED BY DIANA KRUZMAN
Polls are in: students get ready to vote DIANA KRUZMAN news assistant
With the upcoming presidential election to be held on Nov. 6, politics is a topic frequently brought up in history classes and on the daily news. With encouragement from their teachers and fellow students, many of the school’s legal adults are planning to exercise their constitutional right to vote come November, for reasons that vary from patriotism to a desire to make a change. Within the context of the upcoming election, a surprising fact has come to light; a majority of the student body, the senior class in particular, shows interest in politics. Students are eager to vote, and if it were not for the barrier of age, many would do so. Voting is encouraged by many government and history teachers at school, mostly stemming from the idea that it is any legal adult’s constitutional right, and it is their duty to stand up for what they believe in. “Democracy is supposed to reflect what the country wants, and it’s hard to know that if [no one votes],” economics teacher Wes Morse said. Teachers promote informed voting, which includes reading up on the candidates beforehand and weighing their merits before deciding on the most rational and informed candidate possible. “Even if [students] don’t have the right to vote, they should talk to their parents [and] try to understand the issues,” social studies teacher Jay Lawson said. “The more they know about the political system and what they want for themselves and for our country, the better citizens they’re going to be.” With this advice and support in mind, a majority of students
who have turned 18 prior to November are registering to vote. Students’ reasons vary widely, from a general desire to change America to specific issues the student is passionate about. Said senior Bryed “Trey” Billerbeck, “I’m voting because I want to show the world my opinion. I know that [my opinion] does matter, no matter who I vote for. It does make a change, and I want to be part of that change.” Billerbeck’s other motivation is to “prove that I can, that I’m not just a kid anymore.” Senior Hannah Fraser has different reasons. “I’m voting because I care what happens to the country, and I know there are a lot of things at stake, [such as] women’s reproductive rights and gay marriage,” she said. Many of the school’s legal adults will be voting in the upcoming election; two out of every five 18-year-old seniors polled expressed plans to exercise their right to vote for the nation’s president. For the most part, though, the senior class is composed of underage students — those that are too young to vote, many of whom one would expect to lack interest in politics because they know that they cannot vote anyway. However, a staggering 61% of underage seniors said that they would vote if old enough, showing that despite lacking the ability to vote, many students are nevertheless very politically minded. Of course, some legal adults on campus do not plan to vote come November, for reasons that vary from a laziness to a lack of interest in politics. However, when the voting booths open on Nov. 6, one can expect to see a large part of the school’s of-age seniors there, expressing their desires to control their own society and make a change in the way the government is run.
This fall, students have had the opportunity to meet their top prospective colleges, including the UCs, Claremont Colleges, and Ivy Leagues, here at school, through informational sessions that offer information and personal contact with the admissions officers. These sessions allow colleges to make their marketing presentations and help students gain knowledge as to what types programs are being offered and what the applications entail. The admissions officers in charge of this school’s area and student population are first people to read the applications from this school, and they typically begin to make presentations as early as mid-September. At any given session, the number of attending students can range from three to 50, depending on the popularity and size of the applicant pool of each college. Student attendees are always documented, as they are able to submit contact information to this institutions, allowing not only for students to maintain contact with the college of their interest, but it also for colleges to gauge how interested students are in their campus. At each information session, students have the opportunity to ask specific questions about the school that the college representative can answer. In addition, the representative provides their contact information, which proves valuable for students who want to ask further questions or simply want their applications to be well remembered. These sessions typically take place during first and second periods, requiring students to miss class time in order to attend. Some students thought that it was not worth missing a class for the information, as they could have found the presented information just as easily online. Said senior David Hong, who attended the USC information session, “Personal information was important, but if [the USC representative] had just given out a business card and walked away that would have been fine too.” On the other hand, other students thought that the chance to talk to the admissions officer was worth the potential academic backslide. “You can always make up Physics by talking to the teacher after school and [doing] your homework, but you only have one chance to talk to an admissions officer [who is] reading your application,” senior Chris Ying said. Xuan Cao, the College and Career Center counselor, recommended thinking about college prior to senior year. For sophomores, juniors or even freshmen, gaining a sense for the feel of a specific college is important for making big decisions by the time senior year arrives.