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News
The Prospector
S TA F F
The Prospector
October 26, 2012
JASON CHEN
2012-2013
Cupertino High School Established 1958 Vol LIV, No. I | 2012 editors-in-chief azadeh rongere jesse zhou news editor chris s. yoon opinions editor nikhil kanthi features editor laura kao lifestyles editor natasha sharma sports editor abhishek zaveri flip side editor michelle cheung copy editors alya omar anand hemmady katie martin victoria duan photo editor jason chen business manager kevin chu
news assistants
diana kruzman vinitra swamy michael li
opinions assistants
trinia bhattarai chris cai
features assistants
ashley liu keely zhang kevin chu
lifestyles assistants
thu dam youseph pavlovic
sports assistants
nirmit shah tanay tandon
flip side assistant
jessica shin
photo crew
nirmit shah thu dam jessica shin adviser ann peck
Editorial Policy “The Prospector” is an open forum of expression for student editors to inform and educate their readers. It will not be reviewed by or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution. Advisors may and should coach and discuss content during the writing process. The staff of “The Prospector” seeks to recognize individuals, events and ideas and bring news to the Cupertino community in an accurate, professional and unbiased manner. “The Prospector” will not avoid publishing a story solely on the basis of possible dissent or controversy. If you believe an error has been made or wish to have your opinion expressed in “The Prospector,” please contact us via mail or email. Letters sent become the sole property of “The Prospector” and can be edited for length, clarity or accuracy. “The Prospector” editorial board reserves the right to accept or reject any ad in accordance with its advertising policy. Contact Us The Prospector 10100 Finch Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 prospector.chs@gmail.com
The “main” attraction: Cupertino’s new downtown KEELY ZHANG features assistant
A Cupertino resident who wants to spend Saturday shopping in an upscale plaza would have to drive to Santana Row. If one wants a downtown dining experience, one would have to go to Los Altos. If one wants to end the night with a visit to the park, one would have to drive once more. Main Street Cupertino will be a panacea for these problems. Conveniently located on the Stevens Creek and Finch intersection, it will provide citizens with a one-stop location for shopping, dining and relaxing. Said Mayor Mark Santoro, “I have a lot of hope for it. I think it’s [Cupertino’s] best shot.” The Main Street project is an ambitious endeavor. The city has set aside 78,700 square feet of its total 18 acres for retail space. Expensive boutiques and snack shops alike will clamor for this spot as it is easily accessible to Cupertino residents. Since restaurants typically attract customers who dine for long periods of time, the project has increased parking space to accommodate more restaurants. These retailers and restaurants will provide students with additional lunch and socializing locations, as Main Street is right outside the school. “I think that it’ll be really nice because we can go [there] during lunch. The main street will attract a lot of people and it will be very fun,” junior Colleen Chan said. In addition to these commercial venues, Main Street will also have a town square and a park, which will be 0.75 acres and 0.8 acres respectively. The town square will be a hub for large gatherings such as plays and performances. The park will provide citizens with a place to relax and enjoy nature. Beyond the project itself, Main Street may even rejuvenate the once popular Vallco Shopping Center. “[Main Street Cupertino] will make a connection where you can walk around town square, you can get a bite to eat, you can walk to Vallco, go bowling or watch a movie, but afterwards you can walk
COURTESY OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO
back past the shops and get something else to eat,” Santoro said. Despite these optimistic visions, there have been and may continue to be problems. Instead of helping Vallco, the new stores may find themselves competing with it. The recent recession has already pushed back the project for three years. A senior housing complex in previous concept designs was replaced by retailer space, a decision made because planners were afraid the housing complex would dissuade consumers. Due to complaints by residents who own property near Main Street, the designers have had to compromise by adding a 20foot buffer zone between the residential area and the parking lot. Nonetheless, the project is due for completion COURTESY OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO in three to four years. Although the exact blueprint for the square is still being finalized, Main Street MAIN STREET CUPERTINO | The finalized design, Cupertino will ultimately become Cupertino’s first complete with a town square and park downtown.
Teachers use Google Drive to share their works In order to help better share test results and lesson plans, many teachers in the History and English departments are now collaborating through Google Drive, a web-based application that allows users to edit work documents through an electronic cloud. The web-based application was formed in mid2006, but has since then been thoroughly developed to include features like real-time editing and organized file folders. Google has encouraged use of Google Drive by both teachers and students for school projects and assignments though its “Educator” portion. The idea was implemented by history teacher Kelly Bavor, whose husband works on developing the application at Google. Said Bavor, “We used to put everything on attachments to emails, but attaching all of those things to emails isn’t really the way the world works anymore. I just thought Google Drive seemed like a way to streamline and organize all our work into one place.” The application allows teachers to upload and edit information like project requirements in real-time, which to some, can be a big time-
PHOTO BY THU DAM
DRIVING EDUCATION | Teachers use Google Drive to share important documents and information
saver. “It’s absolutely handy because instead of going to each individual teacher, it’s all there for me [on Google Drive],” Guided Studies teacher Wendy Amick said. Amick finds convenience in the application for her class because it allows her to check in on students who need extra help or who misplace their assignment sheets. Other teachers, especially those in the history department, use Google Drive to share test and quiz scores with each other for certain teaching units. Sharing scores in an electronic cloud allows the teachers to compare and contrast how well a certain lesson plan seems to be affecting students of a particular period, and if edits to a certain lesson plan need to be made for the following year. However, the Google Drive system is still early in development. “Like all things that are new, it’s important for us at the end of this year to take a step back and see if the benefits outweigh the drawbacks,” Bavor said. “But so far, I would have to say that the experience has been positive.” JESSE ZHOU