Volume LVIII, No. 7

WEBSITE BANS AT MSJ AND FUSD GUIDE TO GIRL SCOUTS

GUIDE TO LOCAL FLORISTS

SMOKE SIGNAL THE

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

March 24, 2023

Leadership 2 hosts frst ever Sadie Hawkins Spring Fling Dance

By Waylon Li & Annie Xu Staff Writers

On March 16 from 6-9 p.m., Leadership 2 (L2) hosted its second ever Spring Fling. Themed “Night in Paris,” the event was MSJ’s first Sadie Hawkins dance in more than ten years, and featured activities such as table tennis and photobooths, performances from student groups, and amenities like food trucks and a student-run DJ.

Vines of fairy lights streamed across the field to a midnight-blue banner on the amphitheater, the words “Night in Paris” lit up by party stage lights that lined the front of the amphitheater.

As students trickled in, they were greeted with a variety of activity booths throughout campus.

From the wide selection of refreshments from food trucks and fundraisers to a Super Smash Bros. Brawl competition hosted by MSJ eSports, attendees had no shortage of events to engage in.

As the sun set, students

flocked to the stage to watch Senior Brian Loh’s opening performance, to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” His enthusiastic vocals set the tone for MSJ COR Dance’s complex routine of elaborate formations and skillful body pops and locks. Their infectious energy carried over into L2 Boys’ dance, where their erratic and enthusiastic dance moves drew energetic cheers and reactions from the crowd. Finally, the student-run DJ formed a raging mosh pit that engulfed the front of the amphitheater, with students bouncing up and down to artists such as Playboi Carti, Baby Keem, Travis Scott, and more. “We haven’t had a student-run DJ in a while; we spent a lot of money on DJs in the past so I’m glad we are able to play music we want,” Senior Class Vice Presi- dent Adyant Patnaik said.

After- wards, the Michael Jackson Reboot came onstage to Michael

Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal - 2012 Remaster,” becoming an instant crowd favorite. Students burst into cheers as the performers hit the iconic lean, clapping along to the music’s beat. Sophomore Avin Kakare, who led the dance cover, returned moments later for an electrifying rendition of “Billy Jean,” passionately mouthing the song’s lyrics as he recreated Jackson’s moonwalk, ending the show on a high note. “Performing onstage was a blast ... We put in a lot of hard work to make this an overall success, and we’ll definitely come back with even better performances in the future,” Katare said. In the future, L2 hopes to increase the magnitude and reach of Spring Fling through publicizing and planning further in advance. “Even with a lot of pressure and stressful incidents, we carried on really well ... A lot of people did enjoy the amenities that we had, the activities that we brought; we were able to use the positives from [Homecoming Extravaganza] and build upon those,” Senior Class Secretary Andrew Liang said. ▪

DECA SCDC: 41 qualify to Internationals

By Keerti Koya & Praamesh Siva Staff Writers

From March 2-6, MSJ DECA participated in the State Career Development Conference (SCDC) in Anaheim, CA. SCDC is the largest DECA competition in CA, with more than 2,000 attendees this year from across the state. The club sent 93 members to the conference, and 41 members qualifed for the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in April.

DECA is a global organization that helps the development of real-world skills for careers in marketing, fnance, hospitality, and management through hands-on experience. In addition to regional competitions, community service projects, leadership development programs, and networking opporDECA annual

brings together thousands of DECA members from across CA to compete in a variety of business and marketing events. If they place top fve in their roleplay event, an impromptu case study, or top four in their written event, the presentation of a pre-prepared written report, participants will have the opportunity to compete at ICDC against DECA members from across the world.

“We had Wednesday workshops every week. Also, the ofcers tried [their] best to meet with each of the members individually, to grade their presentations and help them with their roleplays.”

-Director of Mentorship Junior Aum Narkar

Preparation for SCDC began August 2022 and increased in the weeks prior to the conference. Members spent hours of their own time getting ready and attending the club’s weekly workshops.

“We had Wednesday workshops every week. Also, the offcers tried [their] best to meet with each of the members individually, to grade their presentations and help them with their roleplays,” MSJ DECA Director of Mentorship Junior Aum Narkar said. Winning at this year’s conference proved to be challenging, with many events seeing nearly double the number of competitors compared to last year. Even so, notable Junior Allison Wang and Sophomore Drishti Sethia overcame the competition and placed frst statewide in their event, the only MSJ DECA members to do so. “I

studied a lot for the 2022 ICDC last year, which defnitely carried over to help me place this year,” Wang said.

Beyond competing at the conference, MSJ DECA members also spent time creating connections with other DECA students, attending guest speaker lectures to expand their business knowledge, and having fun. With the conference location being a walkable distance from Downtown Disney District, Disneyland Park, and countless other unique attractions, many members spent their time off enjoying the lively city. “My experience at SCDC was nothing short of amazing. The people I met and the experience I gained are something I will never forget,” Freshman Nishka Iyer said.

This year, MSJ DECA performed spectacularly, with six more members qualifying for ICDC than last year. Many frst-year members did exceeding ly well as they received mentorship from offcers and experienced second-year students. Those that won were rewarded with DECA glass, the highest award offered in the competi tion. “This year had the most ICDC qualifers and glass won than I have seen in my 5 years as MSJ DECA’s adviser,” MSJ DECA Adviser Bellamy Liu said. MSJ DECA

will close the year with ICDC on April 22-25 and an end-of-the-year banquet for graduating seniors and congratulate members for their work. Sophomore Anson Lam, Junior Megha Hegde, and Senior Mehul Maurya, three ICDC qualifers, said they were greatly looking forward to ICDC and going to Orlando, both of which will be new experiences for them.

The offcers, Liu, and Entrepreneurship Teacher Valerie Carattini also have high hopes for the future of MSJ DECA. “I hope members will go on to win at ICDC. It won’t be easy but I see great talent in the members who made it that far already,” MSJ DECA President-Elect Junior Allison Huang said. “I also do see a bright future for MSJ DECA and am ex

NEWS IN BRIEF

Compiled by Angelina Chen, Shuhan Jin & Ashley Pang Staff Writers

MSJ Sophomores named CA State Winners of the Samsung “Solve for Tomorrow” Competition

The team will be competing in a pool of 50 teams to become a national finalist

By Sarah Hu & Amy Luo Sta Writers

On February 15, MSJ Sophomores Vedatman Duhoon, Siddharth Holtcamp, and Andrew Luo were named the CA State Winners of the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition, winning $12,000 in Samsung technology and classroom supplies for MSJ and entering into the national phase of the contest. There, the team will be competing in a pool of 50 competitive teams representing each state in the US to claim the title of national fnalist.

Silicon Valley Bank collapses

On March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced its collapse, marking the second largest bank failure in US history since the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis. With locations scattered around the Bay Area, SVB caters to tech frms and venture capitalists. The SVB’s collapse was largely the result of investment in the long-dated US Federal Reserve bonds. Following the infationary period, SVB began to lose cash from the falling bond values. As such, they announced an alarming need for a $1.75 billion capital raising. Fearing the bank’s internal fnancial problems, consumers began rapidly withdrawing money from their accounts. Two days later, the $209 billion bank giant announced its shutdown, sending stocks of other major banks plummeting as well. The Federal Reserve System, the US Department of the Treasury, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation later made the decision to guarantee all deposits beyond the $250,000 insured deposits.

Solve for Tomorrow is a STEM sustainability competition for 6th-12th grade students centered on helping people in the communities and creating a positive impact through various STEM applications. Encouraging students to individually research, design, and propose an engineering-based solution to address real-word community problems, the nationwide competition receives thousands of projects each year.

Duhoon, Holtcamp, and Luo’s project is named Aerodynamic and Viable Intercity Op-

erational Navigation-Drone (Avion), a novel unmanned aerial vehicle that provides emergency medication delivery to metropolitan areas facing frequent road congestion. While brainstorming ideas for their project, the team prioritized problems that were relevant and applicable to the local community. “Traffc congestion is an issue rampant throughout Fremont, the Bay Area, and other local metropolitan areas, and in emergency medical situations this can limit access to essential care,” Holtcamp said. “By delivering medical supplies with a drone, not only can we limit waste emissions made by ambulances, but we can also make healthcare more effcient.”

Because the competition focuses more on the teams’ proposal and marketing pitch for their potential solution, the project prioritizes theoretical aspects of the product rather than a physical model. Regardless, the MSJ team built upon existing studies to incorporate several engineering design strategies within their project. “We [researched] how birds can become more energy-effcient by morphing the center of mass upon their wings and mimicked this natural phenomenon within our design,” Luo said.

of traditional academic boundaries, step out of the classroom, and solve real world problems. “[This competition] has a very strong application to real life; it can make students feel empowered when they can see a problem and actually start doing something about it,” Kuei said.

The competition also offers valuable funding for the MSJ Science Department. According to Kuei, with last year’s winnings, the Science Department was able to purchase a brain -computer interface for students to use in their science fair projects. “With $12,000 [from this year’s winnings,] we can probably get a gas chromatograph, and I mean, how many high schools have that?” Kuei said.

TikTok if the app is not sold from its Chinese parent company.

Biden administration demands TikTok be sold from parent company

The Biden administration recently demanded that TikTok be sold after backing a bill that could ban TikTok entirely due to concerns of the Chinese government accessing data of millions of Americans. Previously, the Trump administration had tried to ban TikTok, but a federal judge blocked the ban, arguing that it violated the principle of free speech. In turn, Tiktok has worked with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) to create Project Texas, which relies on US data supervision companies and independent monitors to enact a stronger frewall. The deal was ultimately not approved, and CFIUS now demands that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sell the app.

US drone falls into Black Sea after collision with Russian jets

On March 14, a US drone came into contact with two Russian jets, forcing the US drone to crash into the Black Sea after 30-40 minutes of contact. It is said that the MQ-9 Reaper drone and two Russian Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft were fying over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally dumped fuel on the US drone, leading to its crash. This crash has been considered the most signifcant publicly acknowledged US-Russia confrontation to date. Whether it was an accident or not, this incident caused much commotion between both countries. “Based on the actions of the Russian pilots, it’s clear that it was unsafe,” Pentagon Press Secretary and Air Force Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder said.

Beginning their project in late September, the team worked under the mentorship of Chemistry of the Earth Systems Honors Teacher Katy Kuei, who led the previous year’s MSJ team to become State Winners as well. Kuei hoped her students could break the limitations

For the national phase of the competition, the MSJ team is working to produce a video pitch explaining Avion to a panel of judges at Samsung. If selected as a national fnalist on April 15, Avion will have the opportunity to participate in national voting, in which any US resident over the age of 13 will be able to vote for the project on social media. “We’re hoping to improve our project and hone in on the achievability of our design. We’ve been able to gain invaluable skills through this experience, and we’re excited for what’s to come,” Duhoon said. ▪

Winter Guard, Drum Majors, and Winter Percussion compete at Armijo Winter Review

The participants overcame weather conditions to perform spectacularly

By Vidyuth Sridhar Staff Writer

On Saturday, March 4 at Armijo High School, MSJ’s Winter Guard, Drum Majors, and Winter Percussion competed in the Northern California Band Association (NCBA) Armijo Winter Review in Fairfeld, CA, entertaining spectators with musical numbers and intricately choreographed routines.

At 1:35 p.m., after performances from 20 previous groups, Winter Guard kicked off MSJ’s contributions during the event with “The Night Circus.” Its array of synchronized visual movements coupled with dazzling fag and rife tosses left a lasting impression, propelling the group to a third place fnish in the Regional AA Division. “I think we executed the rife work pretty well. It’s most people’s frst time [handling the] rifes, and we were still able to pull it off, ” Winter Guard Co-Captain Senior Rucha Kulkarni said.

Separate from the Winter Guard’s competition, MSJ’s Drum Majors also competed throughout the afternoon in the Field Conducting and the L-Pattern Mace categories. Sophomore Pheona Ma and Junior Evan Pang both scored a school-high sixth place in the Field Conducting and L-Pattern Mace respectivly. “This was the biggest NCBA competition I’ve been to, and it was really cool seeing people’s styles of performance,” Ma said.

Performing at 5:35 p.m., MSJ’s Winter Percussion sought to mimic the sounds and imagery of the monotonous work cycle with their production, “The Grind.” Featuring both melodic and rhythmic elements as well as visual backdrops and acting contributions from Sophomore Srithan Meeniga and Senior Kimberly Jeung, the unit was also awarded third place out of nine groups in their respective Regional AA Division.

In the process of preparing for the Winter Review, MSJ’s performers faced several setbacks, such as inclement rain and windy conditions, making it harder to execute various movements whilst practicing before the event. “We had to get to Mission at 6:15 a.m. [on the day of the event], and it started pouring rain … we didn’t [get to] prepare as much as we would’ve wanted to,” Winter Guard Freshman Gita Dintakurthi said.

All the groups had to spend signifcant time training and familiarizing a large infux of new members. There were also differences in opinion over creative contributions to the performance, as each member had their own ideas to add. “You’re trying to tell a story, and you somehow have to create that through more than just music,” Winter Percussion Drum Captain Senior Alton Gu said.

However, the positive response from the audience and NCBA judges left students and teachers optimistic. “My favorite part of the shows is watching the students fnally put it all together. There’s all this chaos before, but just watching them perform and have a good time with it…I think that’s really cool,” Percussion Instructor Stephen Slater said.

MSJ’s Winter Guard, Drum Majors, and Winter Percussion will compete next at the NCBA Foothill Winter Review on March 25 at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, CA, before ending their seasons at the NCBA Winter Championships from April 1-2 at Rodriguez High School in Fairfeld, CA. “Whether it’s syncing up music, fnishing our drill, or setting the atmosphere of a bustling city, I’m looking forward to [continuing] creating a performance that everyone … can be proud of,” Gu said. ▪

A US drone was knocked into sea by two Russian jets.

The Biden administration has threatened a ban on

A notice posted outside a closed Silicon Valley Bank office following the bank’s failure.

United States European Command/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin / GC Images via Getty Images

“By delivering medical supplies with a drone, not only can we limit waste emissions made by ambulances, but we can also make healthcare more efficient.”

- Sophomore Vedatman Duhoon

PHOTO COURTESY OF TERRY WANG AND BY STAFF WRITER SARAH HU

THE SMOKE SIGN AL

Mission San Jose High School

Est. 1964

Vol. 58, No. 7 | March 24, 2023

www.thesmokesignal.org

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539

510-657-3600, ext. 37088

MISSION

SCHOOL POPULATION 1877 students

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Helen Tian, Jerry Yuan

NEWS Rohan Bhagat, Shelley Li

OPINION Esther Lau, Annika Singh

FEATURE Julia Peng, Elton Yu

CENTERSPREAD Christy Huang, Angela Xiong

A&E Sanah Bhardwaj, Joanne Park

SPORTS Karina Han, Kaitlyn Wang

GRAPHICS Sarina Li, Hannah Shen

WEB Jennie Wang, Bryan Xiong

TECH Chahak Gupta, Jason Tang

BUSINESS Chloe Gao, Sahas Goli

CIRCULATION Elaheh Khazi, Amy Luo

ADVERTISING Annie Xu, Aaron Zhou

EVENTS Andria Luo, Nessa Tong

WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

Goonja Basu, Angelina Chen, Novak Chen, Ruhani Chhabra, Tanvi Deshmukh, Tushara Devapatla, Anandita Devata, Jiyun Guo, Jacob Han, Sally Han, Sarah Hu, Shuhan Jin, Ayushi Kashyap, Vedesh Kodnani, Keerti Koya, Abha Kulkarni, Waylon Li, Kaylee Liu, Maryam Naseer, Ashley Pang, Daphne Senecal, Priyanka Shah, Vidyuth Sridhar, Praamesh Siva, Aaryan Suri, Katie Tang, Anushka Vasudev, Amelie Wu, Lucy Yao, Callie Yuan

ADVISER Sandra Cohen

Send letters to the editor to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

Letters under 300 words may be considered for publication and must include a full name and school affiliation. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit for clarity and length.

To advertise in the Smoke Signal, email ads@thesmokesignal.org. Advertising that is included on the pages of, or carried within, the Smoke Signal, is paid advertising, and as such is independent of the news and feature content.

The Smoke Signal’s right to freedom of speech and press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

To stay updated with our online content, see our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/msjsmokesignal

All policies on distribution, corrections, and bylines can be found at www.thesmokesignal.org/about

In 2012, model Karlie Kloss walked down the runway of a Victoria’s Secret fashion show in a Native Americaninspired headdress, resulting in harsh backlash from the Native American community. Traditionally, headdresses are a symbol of bravery and honor — feathers are earned for significant achievements or contributions to the tribe. Unfortunately, according to Brown University Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies and Cherokee Nation Citizen Adrienne Keene, the headdress “has been ‘borrowed’ so many times and in so many ways that its original power and sacred meaning have been all but lost to the non-native public.” is incident is one of many labeled as cultural appropriation, fueling the hotly contested debate about where the line between cultural appropriation and appreciation should be drawn. What’s often forgotten, however, is that there are many layers to the complicated question of who is “allowed” to represent or participate in a culture. Perspectives on this issue will differ from person to person, especially for diaspora and people living in the native country of their ethnicity.

e US is an amalgamation of different cultures, consisting of nativeborn residents and immigrants from a variety of countries. Immersed in a completely unfamiliar country and culture, some immigrants long for a familiar community — a result of them leaving their homes in pursuit of a better life. Others, especially second-generation immigrants, feel disconnected from their heritage and family due to their assimilation into American culture. As a result, members of diasporas participate and take pride in their cultures as a way of

Breaking stereotypes in dance

By Annika Singh Opinion Editor

I’ve been dancing since before I could walk. My parents’ old cameras are filled with videos of me twirling and jumping to random songs. After my first dance class in elementary school, my heart was set on pursuing the sport for the rest of my life. Dance allows me to express myself in a variety of styles, explore my creativity, and meet new people. But in the last few years, the enjoyment I originally found in choreographing and learning new routines has evolved into insecurity and frustration. Society’s expectations of a dancer’s appearance, which often involve sharp facial features and dainty bodies, pressured me to fit their standards.

ough I still love to dance and participate in school events such as Homecoming and Multicultural Week, I often find myself downplaying my efforts and skills in order to conform with society’s image of the ideal dancer, overshadowing my passion for the sport.

Growing up, I was surrounded by films and shows that only displayed the stories of young white ballet dancers, furthering misconceptions about beauty and physique. As a result, many assume that individuals who don’t look like dancers — tall, skinny, and white — portrayed in the media have less capability. is hurtful narrative can a ffect people’s self-esteem and reduce their value as a dancer — an issue exacerbated by the lack of diverse representation of di fferent

body types in the industry. By dismantling unrealistic standards and encouraging a shift in perspective, we can make the dance community a safer space for individuals.

e first step towards promoting body positivity and acceptance in the dance industry is by celebrating influencers such as Lizzy Howell and Colleen Werner, who are erasing the stereotypes behind “a dancers’ body” through encouraging videos and open discussions about body issues in the dance community. Despite having incredible technique, mesmerizing stage presence, and powerful expressions, these dancers are often criticized for their appearance and ability via comments on TikTok and Instagram. Instead of being overly judgemental about someone’s body, we should understand that a dancer’s talent extends beyond physical appearance. is mindset is crucial in promoting an inclusive environment that allows individuals to freely explore their passion and express themselves. Without enabling this change, the industry is depriving itself of talented artists who have meaningful stories to share.

By engaging in movements dedicated to inclusivity in the dance industry, celebrating diversity, and understanding that all dancers’ skills are valuable regardless of their appearance, we can create a more representative environment for future generations of artists.

Cultural appropriation or appreciation: an issue of nuance

reconnecting to their heritage. is pride can manifest in the form of traditions and objects of cultural significance, such as ethnic wear, arts, and customs.

ese traditions are often misrepresented by individuals who are unaware of the cultural significance they bear, leading to the devaluation of one’s heritage. Marginalized communities have a long history of exploitation and discrimination in the US; for example, violence against minorities has recently been on the rise, including an increase of police brutality against African Americans and many incidents of anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic. us, when someone wears a garment that diaspora have historically been harassed and “othered” for wearing, members of the same community may feel the need to defend their cultures and assume cultural appropriation as an immediate reaction. Social media’s nature of quick clicks and direct messaging also makes it easy to latch onto others’ opinions, initiating a wave of backlash from not only members of that community, but individuals outside of it as well.

However, it’s important to acknowledge that the experiences of people living in their home countries differ from those of immigrants. Native people are usually the majority and do not experience the cultural discrimination that members of the same ethnicity in other countries face. For natives who have been exposed to and participated in their culture all their lives, there isn’t as much of a fierce attachment to certain traditions because they are constantly immersed in their cultures. For example, although kimonos are traditional Japanese gar-

“Don’t be afraid to take up space.” A few weeks ago, I was in a meeting with a legislative office when the conversation between the sta ffer and I segued to some of our personal experiences. Despite our di fference in age, we connected deeply over our shared identities as low-income, Asian American women navigating the political world. Weeks later, her candid reflections on the importance of “taking up space,” or in other words, feeling unapologetically confident in your presence and leadership, haven’t left my mind.

Whether it’s leading a coalition of professional adults as a high schooler, rarely seeing other Asian Americans in the political sphere, or being one of the only low-income students in the room, I’m no stranger to working in environments where I’m the minority. As a first-generation, low-income immigrant and student advocate, this is no surprise — the statistics point against me. Since this past conversation, I’ve been reflecting on how my self-assurance has changed over the past few years as it didn’t always come very easily to me.

When I started my advocacy journey from ground zero, I felt perpetually lost amidst the large systems designed to be inaccessible to marginalized communities. Seeing that politics was dominated and ultimately controlled by

Taking up space

By Esther Lau Opinion Editor

wealthy, white folks, I was doubtful of my capabilities and potential to create change. More than anything, I constantly questioned whether I should be in those spaces at all. But, I was lucky enough to meet experienced individuals who not only provided me with invaluable guidance and encouragement, but also showed me how taking up space can impact representation and help our voices be heard.

Over the years, I gained a greater understanding of the uniqueness of my lived experiences and the value my perspectives could bring to the table. rough taking up space, I’ve been able to confidently lead by example, breaking the barriers to inaccessible systems and changemaking in policy.

Beyond my own experiences in politics, this approach can extend into all aspects of daily life. From group discussions to interpersonal relationships, recognizing the value you can bring to a situation and being confident in your presence is key to making a lasting impact wherever you are. Seek mentorship from those with more experience, and look towards them for valuable support. Most importantly, when we see ourselves as capable individuals and agents of change, we’re able to unleash our potential. As we continue to grow in our pursuits, let’s remember to be unafraid of taking up space. ▪

By Hannah Shen & Lucy Yao

ments, most young Japanese people today do not know how to properly wear a kimono without professional help. us, when confronted with the issue of cultural appropriation, native individuals often view it positively and even encourage foreigners’ interest in their culture. After all, people around the world regularly celebrate holidays from other cultures, experience others’ traditional foods and customs, and learn from each other’s practices. Multiculturalism benefits all people, allowing individuals to better connect with those who possess different worldviews.

ere will inevitably be differing opinions on what is considered appropriation or appreciation. We must recognize that there is nuance to every situation and that people of one culture are not a monolith. Rather than immediately taking offense to individuals participating in cultures other than their own, we should strive to promote and appreciate the cultural diversity in our society. Beyond research and education, we can participate in cultural organizations and events and respectfully experience the food, media, and customs of other cultures. On campus, students can join a diverse selection of culture clubs; MSJ Korean Club and MSJ Spanish Honors Society are just a couple that serve to introduce people to their unique cultures. By taking the time to learn about aspects of cultures we are unfamiliar with, we can cultivate a more accepting environment for people of all backgrounds. ▪

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

Graphics Editor & Staff Writer

GRAPHICS EDITOR HANNAH SHEN

Website bans at Msj and fusd: how school wi-fi affects learning

By Angelina Chen, Anandita Devata, Sahas Goli & Anushka Vasudev Staff Writers

From Google Classroom to educatonal Crash Course videos, modern educaton has quickly evolved to merge paths with technology, enhancing student learning. However, this increase in technology use has also boosted security breaches and access to inappropriate or distractng online content during school hours. As a result, FUSD blocked a range of internatonal, gaming, and governmental websites from being accessed on school Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, this has afected teachers’ lesson plans, as they are unable to access online tools, consequently impacting students’ educaton. While it is important that schools try to limit the platorms that can interfere with students’ educaton, it is equally essental that they take acton when their censorship conficts with productve teaching in classrooms.

With the rise of technology in educaton during the early 2000s, the federal government implemented legislaton to protect students from explicit content and cybersecurity threats. One such law is The Children's Internet Protecton Act (CIPA), which mandates that schools and libraries that receive federal funding for Internet connecton must adopt a "Internet safety policy" that flters out certain types of objectonable online content.

However, the act does not elaborate on what platforms qualify as “inappropriate mater” or “harmful content,” leaving it up to school districts to regulate online content. For example, media platorms like Instagram, Facebook, and Discord are considered as disruptons to student learning, but they are crucial for on-campus organizatons that regularly share informaton with the student body. Even worse, according to an artcle by Resilient Educator, counselors have also struggled to access online materials to address sensitve topics such as suicide or mental health due to the search flters in many schools. Additonally, these bans ofen encompass websites

that discuss policies and culture in foreign countries. Many students refer to these sites for research and to gain a beter understanding of other cultures, especially for language courses, making these bans harmful.

Moreover, content fltering widens the gap between students who have access to technology at home and those who rely on school devices and WiFi. According to a 2020 study from Common Sense Media, Boston Consultng Group, and the Southern Educaton Foundaton, there are about “12 million students in [the US] who stll lack any internet access at all.” Diferences in income and socioeconomic status prevent these students from enjoying the educatonal benefts and opportunites that at-home Internet access provides. According to a survey from the Pew Research Internet Project, nearly three tmes as many "teachers of the lowest income students say that a lack of resources among students to access digital technologies is a 'major challenge' to incorporatng more digital tools into their teaching." Instead of fltering out supposedly harmful content, these online restrictons flter out equality in the educatonal system, hurtng marginalized students the most.

Stll, some people argue that blocking certain websites and apps is benefcial because it ensures that students stay on task during school hours. To schools, preventng access to specifc websites provides parents and educators with reassurance that their children are focused in school and are paying atenton, but this level of surveillance can only go so far. Moreover, students can easily fnd loopholes to this, such as using their mobile data or hotspot. As these bans are relatvely easy for students to circumvent, more harm than good is created. At the end of the day, it is the student’s responsibility to prioritze their educaton, and schools should not sacrifce providing an efectve learning environment in order to provide parents and teachers superfcial comfort. "We shouldn't be creatng a situaton in our desire for security that forces students to go of district Wi-Fi in order to do their academic work," Irvington High School Library Media Teacher Allyson McAuley said.

Before banning new websites, school districts should seek the opinion and input of the staf and student body, as they lie at the heart of these issues, being the ones that are forced to quickly adapt to

MSJ VOICES

new policies that ofen have not been thoroughly reviewed or tested. For example, school ofcials and students have opportunites to discuss these new policies during the regular SURFBoardE meetngs that student representatves hold to discuss topics such as home-to-school transportaton and course oferings, but no efectve acton was taken from either side to review relevant issues, such as website bans. FUSD should also maintain an informed student and staf body, rather than leaving students and staf in the dark for almost a month prior to offcial communicaton. Ultmately, districts contnue to implement their own ideas at the expense of effectve student learning.

However, these opportunites to learn from mistakes and feedback are not limited to school districts. By encouraging transparency and communicaton, staf can work with one another to unblock sites and fnd new resources. Currently, staf can “submit sites to Google Form or fll out a support tcket and [district IT staf] will whitelist sites individually… but individual whitelistng is not the most efcient way to tackle this issue,” McAuley said. Students, too, can play an integral role in advocatng for internet access by informing their teachers when they encounter a blocked site so it can be whitelisted by the district. Additonally, students should seek opportunites to voice their concerns to the district and spread awareness to their peers through joining local youth-led organizatons such as SURFBoardE and the Fremont Youth Advisory Commission.

As students and teachers become more dependent on online resources in educatonal setngs, it is essental that we address unnecessary censorship while maintaining accountability in schools to improve overall student learning. ▪

Have you used school wi-fi and been restricted from websites? If so, what were you looking for? what did you do?

“I've been blocked from viewing schoolappropriate websites while on school Wi-Fi. For example, when I was completing my AP Spanish project, I needed to watch a slam poetry piece by an Afro-Latina author about her struggles regarding racism on youtube, but the school Wi-Fi/account restricted the video.” — Shivi Narang, 11

“I started to see that something was a little off in February when I was looking for a site about a French project, and so I started looking at the week before, which was February 8. I couldn’t load some sites, but I really needed it. I tried my computer and my phone, but it got worse and worse. The week after we started talking about a project that was very hard to explain to students, so I wanted to show them a website, but it was blocked. I emailed someone from the curriculum committee and they replied to me that all the international sites are blocked. I also emailed the Chief of Technology, and he hasn’t replied to me.” — French Teacher Herveline Sartori

do you think schools should block certain websites on their devices and the internet?

“Often teachers want to show a video in class that relates to their unit of study, but they can't because it’s restricted to FUSD accounts.” — Shivi Narang, 11

“Obviously there are websites that are bad, but I don't think they should block international sites. I was kind of shocked, because my AP students were looking at recycling in France, and the French government website was blocked. However, there was information on Facebook. I would say that they shouldn’t block websites that are very useful.” — French Teacher Herveline Sartori

How would students benefit or be harmed by the blocking of websites?

“Students benefit from the blocked websites because it’d probably let them stay on track if they’re trying to access these blocked websites during class time. However, students can be harmed by these blocked websites if it’s directly related to something school related. Say when you want to look up a specific answer to a question and you find a website that had the answers but was blocked for access. You would probably get frustrated due to their inability to look for something schoolrelated, all caused by the school itself.” — Tara Roy, 10

“During Mission Anime meetings, all of the anime watching websites are blocked, so we have to use alternative sites. It’s also happened for sites we need to use for school.” — Anna

Zhu, 12

“It honestly depends, because a lot of the times when I’m researching something that is educational, it doesn’t make sense to block that. For any dangerous sites, yes, they should block them.” —

Arushi Subramanyam, 9

“Some really educational websites might be blocked. However, blocking websites can also protect our learning environment at school, allowing students to excel and removing distractions.” — Anna Zhu, 12

Teacher Herveline Sartori

“It really impacted my kids last week. Every February we do a Black History Month project, and students need to do a presentation. Students had a really hard time. They ended up looking at English websites to translate. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a French class if students have to go to American or English sites to do schoolwork.” — French

“If they block student websites, it doesn’t let us do as much work as we can and limits our resources. I do see where they are coming from.” — Arushi Subramanyam, 9

How Gonzalez v. Google LLC may reshape the Internet

By Novak Chen, Tushara Devapatla & Keerti Koya Staff Writers

On February 21, the Supreme Court heard arguments for Gonzalez v. Google, a case revolving around the liabilities that companies can accrue from their hosted content. e case stems from a series of several attacks on Nov. 13-14, 2015 by Islamic State gunmen from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which left 130 people dead in Paris, France. Among the victims was 23 year-old Nohemi Gonzalez, a student at California State University Long Beach. Seven months later, Gonzalez’s father, Reynaldo Gonzalez, filed a lawsuit against Google, Twitter, and Facebook. According to e Oyez Project, he claimed that Google, YouTube’s parent company, contributed to international terrorism by permitting ISIS to use its platform “to recruit members, plan terrorist attacks, issue terrorist threats, instill fear, and intimidate civilian populations.” More specifically, the lawsuit reasoned that Google helped ISIS in spreading its recruitment videos by using algorithms that suggest content to users based on their past viewing history. If companies continue having the power to influence the public on a mass scale, the impacts can be detrimental to society. e results of this case can change the course of the future of the media. To prevent the recurrence of such cases, technology companies must increase their limitations on the types of content they host. At the same time, the general public must also be wary of radical content shown in their media recommendations.

After hearing both arguments, the district court granted Google’s motion to dismiss the claim. e US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed — agreeing that recommending ISIS’s content falls under the purview of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, meaning that Google is not liable for any actions that result from its content recommendations. Credited with creating the base guidelines for the Internet, the Telecom-

The Willow Project

munications Act of 1996 also protects websites from most legal liabilities by distinguishing its services from traditional publishers; for example, if YouTube had libelous content on its website, it could not be sued for it, while a traditional publisher like e New York Times could be sued for libelous content on its platforms. In addition, any provider or user of an interactive web service cannot be held liable for moderating the content, whether or not it is constitutionally protected. YouTube’s algorithm recommends videos based on metrics such as the user’s search history, viewing time, relevant topics with the highest retention rate, and their channel subscriptions. Beyond the coding of the algorithm itself and the occasional change to account for trends and software updates, there is no human involvement in the content recommendation algorithm.

Some may argue that technology companies are not liable for the content that they host because the content is made by the users on the platform, not by the creators of the platform or the platform itself. Rather than a video’s content, recommendation algorithms focus on its thumbnail and the corresponding clip determined by YouTube, meaning this personalized feed is not officially associated with the promotion of harmful content. Based on such standards, the plaintiff argues that personalized feeds should not be associated with the promotion of harmful content. us, it is claimed that because YouTube determines the thumbnail and the snippet that influence recommendation algorithms, the resulting liabilities are not covered by Section 230. Even if thumbnails or snippets are not covered in Section 230, companies have the responsibility to make their platform friendly for all users and should take accountability for any type of harmful media shown on their site. In order to prevent the spread of extremist content, anything that draws the audience toward said content should be carefully moderated.

Moreover, others may argue that further restrictions of Section 230 would only allow major technology corporations to take on the

risks of content moderation, shutting down many smaller technology companies and limiting innovation in the field. But these restrictions would not limit innovation; in fact, they would likely increase innovation because they would demand new technology for content moderation and updated algorithms, similar to how patents encourage research and development of new technolo gies. According to the Harvard Business Review, “individuals, teams, and organizations alike benefit from a healthy dose of constraints.” e main points of the updated Section 230 would not hurt smaller companies, only enforce guidelines that the media conglomerates and Internet corporations should have been following, to begin with.

Even if technology companies are not creating content that supports violent ideas, they are still responsible for their algorithms that suggest such content. Section 230 only prevents liabilities from content that they host, but anything that the company creates of its own volition is not protected. us, companies should reevaluate their current algorithms in order to find what is promoting these ideas, and change the algorithms to be more critical towards harmful or improper content that can motivate their audience to engage in similar poor behavior. Along with this, companies need to understand that even after making changes to ban injurious content, some might still seep through algorithms. In such cases, they must instill harsh guidelines on the content while urging viewers to both be cautious when consuming that content and to avoid it.

To prevent further harm, the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) must consider how the verdict will impact the spread of extremist content online. If Gonzalez loses the case, large tech companies will go on to exponentially increase the control their algorithms have on the public. Additionally, the US Con-

gress can amend the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act to include giving terrorist organizations a digital platform as part of aiding and abetting terrorism. Individual tech companies need to create non-hostile and harmful environments for their users by being the first to update their algorithm to stop recommending users radical content. ey could also use occasional official posts while scrolling, urging users to not engage in negative content if they do come across it. Ultimately, however, while Gonzalez v. Google is an extreme scenario of a lack of media regulation, the case comes down to how the media largely influences individuals’ every action.

As consumers of the media, MSJ students should be more aware of their content recommendations and know when to restrict themselves from further exposure to harmful content. When shown information that is inappropriate or harmful, students should take action to report such media to prevent algorithms from continuously showing it to other users. Students can also take a stand to emphasize the detrimental influence media has on their decisions by lobbying legislators to push for stricter restrictions. For example, the Kids Online Safety Act would require platforms to "provide a minor (or a parent) with certain safeguards, such as settings that restrict access to a minor's personal data; and parents with tools to supervise the minor's use of a platform, such as control of privacy and account settings." As students grow to incorporate the Internet into their lives, their status as the second largest Internet demographic can be used to lobby for a difference.

If SCOTUS, Congress, companies, and the general public push for change, society can move toward a safer future online. e Gonzalez v. Google LLC case may allow for an impactful shift in content regulations, changing media as the world knows it today. ▪

GRAPHICS BY OPINION EDITOR ANNIKA SINGH

"In mid-March, the Biden Administraton was tasked with making the decision for approval of ConocoPhillips' Willow Project, which will produce around 1.5% of the current total US oil producton and generate around 9.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year for 30 years. Despite signifcant public pushback, the project was approved. This fercely opposes Biden’s plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, raising questons about environmental actvism and its te with politcal acton. What’s your perspectve on politcians stcking to their commitments, and what do you think the Biden Administraton should have done?"

“When people are told to recycle and reuse to protect the planet but their government is passing legislaton that does the opposite, it decreases the public's morale for mitgatng global warming. The Willow Project's benefts (energy source, jobs) are important, but it's about tme to put our planet's environmental health frst. The Biden Administraton should have only approved the Willow Project on a small scale in order to meet our climate goals.”

"I think the Biden Administraton should've discontnued Project Willow because petroleum, oil, and other non-redeemable fossil fuels are growing increasingly frowned upon. Ripping minerals from Earth and releasing their toxic emissions into the atmosphere not only damages the ecosystem and air quality, but also increases temperatures and quickens global warming. Project Willow will only add to the fuel. Right now, we should focus on more innovatve, efcient and sustainable ways of producing energy instead of drilling the next best oilfeld."

"No mater what economic or politcal benefts such a project could provide, politcians should prioritze the environment above everything else. While there are many ways to bring about politcal or economic success, we only have one planet, and it should not be jeopardized for anything."

“Politcians get voted into ofce based on their promises to their consttuents, so they should stck to their campaign commitments. The Willow Project's environmental cost is drastc, and America should have followed the morally correct over the fnancially benefcial strategy. The U.S. stll has the highest GDP of any country by a large margin, so losing out on 1.5% of our country's oil producton isn't too harmful. The Biden Administraton shouldn't have approved the project and instead should have upheld the principles that enabled its electon to the presidency.”

"The Biden Administraton shouldn't have allowed Project Willow to go through. Considering that the Biden Administraton is pushing for a greener America, this project doesn't have any benefts for our economy. Also, the United States already drills a lot of oil, so the consequence of 9.2 million tons of carbon emissions directly contradicts Biden's plan to cut emissions down by 2030. This makes him look like a hypocritcal politcian who is harming America. It seems as if money plays a large role in decision making, which is why the Biden administraton should not have allowed Project Willow to pass."

Throughout my long life of 16 years, I’ve never set my hands on floral design even once. In fact, my favorite flower attribute has always been the fact that most flowers make a healthy and tasty meal with a touch of olive oil and salt. Regardless — from pet carrots to mooncakes —- my blooming creativity in the Smoke Signal’s DieHard TryHards competitions never brings disappointing results to fruition. Alas, get ready, because Aaron’s got a flowery business waiting to captivate all eyes within the vicinity.

Aaron

DieHard TryHards: Corsages

By Chloe Gao, Sally Han, Katie Tang & Aaron Zhou Staff Writers

Aside from being an essential aspect of floral crafts, corsages and boutonnieres are a fashionable springtime accessory originating in the 1700s. In this DieHard TryHards, Smokies compete to design the flashiest corsage and boutonnière to welcome the upcoming springtime and prom.

Third

I’ll be honest – earning such a shriveled outcome soils from justified roots. After three failed attempts of nurturing the corsage and boutonnière with flowers from my backyard and the bottom of Mission Peak, plain indolence dehydrated my motivation to complete the task with my own hands. Though I relied on local florists this time around, I remain aware deep down: Running away from the mission is a hinder. But I won’t run again, or I’ll end up as a cinder.

It looks like it’s time for my green thumb to shine. I have spent years carefully cultivating a garden, and it is now my time. My endless plant knowledge will surely enhance my corsage and boutonnière’s choice of flowers, and while I don’t have any experience making them, I’m sure to be able to succeed with my amazing craft skills. With my experience in crafting dating back to kindergarten and my knowledge in plants, I will surely create a cor sage and boutonnière that will wow the judges.

I’ve received many flowers in my day — from dance recitals, not from pursuing lovers. Despite my limited experience in choosing and arranging flowers, I am confident that my creativity will pull through. The other Smokies won’t even know what hit them. Daisies, roses, tulips — I know my corsage and boutonnière will be iris-istible. If all goes well (which I’m sure it will), my creations could be featured on the wrists and suits of some lucky prom attendees in the near future.

Saly Katie

After making a bouquet out of a bundle of flowers — technically weeds — stolen from my neighbor’s front yard, I believe my flower arranging skills will take first place once and flor-all. With years of experience analyzing — and eating — flowers on top of my exquisite craftsmanship, which blossomed through countless art projects in elementary school, I’m sure every-bud-y can agree my creations will be the diamond of the (prom) season!

Second

To be fair, I greatly underestimated the difficulty of floral arrangement and that led to my second place. Though I had meticulously chosen flowers and created my definitely original floral design beforehand, it was much harder than I had planned when it actually came time to do it. It definitely could have been made better had I prepared myself more — more finger flower work training in the near future, for sure. As they say, it’s not about the result, but the experience and lessons you gain along the way.

Third

Okay, well this was disappointing, but I can’t say it wasn’t expected. After three phone calls with local florists, corsage and boutonnière creation seemed so out of reach. I decided to go the environmentally friendly route and reuse some dance costume accessories — clearly that didn’t work very well. Unlike my dance competitions, this DieHard TryHards has thoroughly humbled me; I still have much to learn about flora, fauna, and what it takes to tend to a perfect bouquet. Next time I will prevail!

First

What can I say? Despite my lack of a prom date, my inner florist truly rose to the occasion to steal the judges’ hearts — and first place. The intense scouring of Trader Joe’s for the perfect flowers, careful crafting of award-winning pieces, and final tear-inducing passing of my flowers all paid off. After multiple accounts of being stabbed (by rose thorns) and attempted murder (by my dog trying to eat the flowers), my masterpieces and I made it through the tumultuous journey.

Girl Scouts organization’s birthday is March 12, 1912. On this day, founder Juliette Gordon-Low officially registered 18 members to the Girl Guides of America, which would be renamed to the Girl Scouts of the United States of America a year later. Gordon-Low was inspired to fund the organization after she met Boy Scouts Founder Lieutenant Robert Baden-Powell and saw an opportunity to challenge stereotypes about women, as well as teach them how to be independent and resourceful. By the 1920s, Girl Scouts had already expanded to China, Syria, and Mexico.

Girl Scouts

By Goonja Basu, Chahak Gupta & Amelie Wu Staff Writers

With March rolling around, the highly-anticipated Girl Scout Cookie season has begun. But Girl Scouts is more than just a cookie-selling army — the organization has deep historical roots and a worldwide impact. To explore more about the organization and their contributions to our community, the Smoke Signal interviewed Girl Scouts at MSJ and researched the program’s history.

NorCal

The Girl Scouts of the United States is divided into subsections called Girl Scout councils, with the Bay Area under the jurisdiction of the Girl Scouts of Northern California. The council is made of over 50,000 girls and 31,000 adult volunteers in 19 counties, with the Mission Peak Service Unit serving the cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City. Beyond cookies and crafts, the organization offers pro grams focused on outdoors activities, STEM education, entrepre neurship, and community service. The organization’s Adventure Club program encourages girls toThe organization’s Adventure Club encourages girls to spend time outdoors through activi ties like backpacking and climbing, and they also offer STEM Activities for girls to explore science, technology, engineering, and math with a hands-on approach. “A major part of my troop is inspiring women in STEM, [for instance, by] pushing for women in STEM scholarships and selling extra boxes of cookies [to fund them],” Mission Peak District’s Troop 62618 Girl Scout Freshman Sanjana Srivatsa said. These programs help girls develop age-appropriate skills and knowledge, while having fun and making new friends.

Cookies

Girl Scouts Cookie season is typically from January to April, with different timings based on location. While prices of cookies may vary from each of the 111 Girl Scout regional councils, every cent is used by local Girl Scouts troops to host meetings and allow Girl Scouts opportunities to earn badges. “Selling cookies teaches [my troop] how to make money, manage an actual inventory, and run a business in a real-life sense that I appreciate and that would be hard for a school club or class to provide,” Srivatsa said. Not only are Girl Scouts able to practice budgeting, managing inventory, and marketing, but they’re also able to fundraise for more Girl Scout activities like camping. This year, the Girl Scouts of Northern California marks March 8 as the beginning of Girl Scouts Cookie season, selling each box at $6. Students can purchase boxes from any Girl Scout or dedicated booth. Customers who don’t know how to find a nearby Girl Scouts troop can use the Cookie Finder, a website created by the Girl Scouts organization to help locate nearby troops and cookie booths.

Projects

In April 2021, Girl Scouts launched their national Girl Scout Tree Prom ise program, an environmental initia tive in which Girl Scouts aim to plant five million trees in five years. To support the cause, the cities of Palo Alto and San Jose are holding their Girl Scouts Adventure Days on April 23 and 29 respectively, where Girl Scouts will participate in games and activities to learn about their traditions. The organization also hosts events like s’mores nights to demonstrate the spirit of the club, and each Girl Scout also takes part in selling merchandise and cookies to contribute. Ad ditionally, older Girl Scouts participate in projects such as the Sow What? Project in order to achieve a Gold Award, which signifies a Girl Scout’s accomplishments and impact on the world. “Girl Scouts always talk about how we need to give back to the community so we’re always trying to help out businesses in [our] area,” Girl Scout Senior Sophomore Kaylee Nishita said.

Future Plans

As most Girl Scouts are now getting ready for their upcoming cookie season, delayed slightly this year due to supply chain issues, they aren’t halting their other plans. One troop based in San Jose has a rafting trip in Sacramento coming up. Individu ally, older Girl Scouts Ambassadors are working on earning their Gold Awards as senior members of Girl Scouts. Other members are preparing to become mentors to younger Girl Scouts. “Most of our events are helping to teach younger girls what being a Girl Scout means, how to give back to the community, [and] to appreciate everything and not take [it] for granted,” Nishita said. Additionally, the organization is partnering up with Hasbro for the second year to sponsor a limited edition My Little Pony patch, achieved by completing the Make Your Mark challenge, an activity aimed to make friends and help the community in the process.

Values

As the largest leadership organization for girls in the world, Girl Scouts have been able to spread their values far and wide. Highlighted in the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law, Girl Scouts regularly pledge to being a role model for their community. Other integral values of a Girl Scout include honesty, responsibility, and strength. “I think a big part of Girl Scouts would also be hard work and effort. It could be like the smallest contribution, but anything can still be a contribution,” Girl Scout Ambassador Senior Devanshi Wasson said.

Girl Scout Camp

The Smoke Signal

Percentages are based on student responses on tinyurl.com/msjoscarpredictions2023.

Arts & Entertainment Editors Senior Joanne Park and Junior Sanah Bhardwaj predicted Everything Ev erywhere All At Once.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Top Gun: Maverick

Avatar: The Way of Water

All on the Western Front

TAR

The Banshees of Inisherin

Triangle of Sadness

The Fabelmans

Everything Everywhere All At Once won Best Picture.

Park predicted Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin, and Bhardwaj predicted Austin Bulter in Elvis.

Austin Butler ---- Elvis

Brendan Fraser ---- The Whale

Colin Farrell ---- The Banshees of Inisherin

Paul Mescal ---- Aftersun

Bill Nighy ---- Living

Brendan Fraser in The Whale won Best Actor in Leading Role.

Park and Bhardwaj predicted Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Michelle Yeoh ---- Everything Everywhere

All At Once

Cate Blanchett ---- TAR

Ana de Armas ---- Blonde

Andrea Riseborough ---- To Leslie

Michelle Williams ---- The Fabelmans

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once won Best Actress in Leading Role.

Club Spotlight: MSJ Red

By Shuhan Jin Staff Writer

On February 1, MSJ Red was approved as an offcial MSJ club, marking the beginning of their journey to enlighten students on women’s health issues and fght for quality female products at MSJ. After noticing a consistent shortage of quality menstrual products provided on campus, MSJ Red Co-Presidents Seniors Ashley Buk and Ashley Kim decided to form MSJ Red in order to put an end to this problem. “We noticed how there was a lot of period taboo in the school and within our global society, and we hope to change that one step at a time by having this club at our school,” Ashley Buk said.

After expressing their concerns to some other students at MSJ who felt the same way about this overarching issue, they formed the club’s current offcer team, made up of Ashley Buk and Kim, Vice President Sophomore Sabrina Buk, Secretary Sophomore Kaelin Tsang, Treasurer Sophomore Sophia Saqlain, Publicity Coordinator Sophomore Kayla Zhang, and Activities Coordinator Sophomore Kavya Kantamneni.

Aside from the student body, the offcers of MSJ Red have also recognized a lack of resources for females outside of MSJ, such as in public restrooms and homeless shelters. Therefore, while their main goal is to emphasize on supplying MSJ students with quality menstrual products that are accessible across campus, they also aim to support women around the community. “Our purpose is to fundraise for better menstrual products at school and also use that money to help buy products for local women in homeless shelters,” Tsang said. In order to do this, the offcers plan to host regular boba and food fundraisers to raise money for these products. They also intend to host events in the near future, such as an upcoming event to create care packages containing feminine products that will be donated to local shelters.

Following the founding of the club, MSJ Red had its very frst club meeting on February 28, in which they introduced the club offcers, goals, and future events. Club meetings are held in C9 and are advised by Health and Science Teacher Lauren Ware-Hartbeck. The offcers plan to hold bi-monthly informational meetings throughout the school year, with each meeting centered around a specifc topic related to women’s health, including prominent female fgures who advocated for rights, women’s health issues, period poverty, and fundraising to provide better menstrual products.

Even though MSJ Red is a relatively new club, membership is steadily growing due to the vast number of students who agree with the club’s mission. At the frst meeting, the turnout was around 20 students. With more meetings, fundraisers, and events, the offcers are hopeful that they will be able to spread even more awareness of this subject among the student body. “In the future, I hope that we will continue [spreading awareness] and partner with other schools in the district to try to provide better quality products in the entire district other than just our school,” Ashley Buk said. ▪

By Goonja Basu & Tushara Devapatla Staff Writers

As blue uorescent lighting dims, the crowd starts growing louder, shifting excitedly and cheering at the thought of a singer arriving on stage. At that moment, Joshua Bassett bursts onto stage as the crowd explodes into cheers. It’s March 7 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, and pop artist Joshua Bassett is playing the opening night of his The Complicated Tour.

People had lined up around the block for hours before the doors to the venue opened, eager for the show to begin at 8 p.m.. Indie singer Lindsey Lomis performed as the opener, creating a casual environment as she got the crowd more anticipated for what was to come. Despite an unfamiliar audience, she captured the crowd’s attention with two unreleased songs. To close her set, Lomis taught the audience the chorus of her song “save your breath,” and had them sing as loudly as possible. Overall, Lomis performed exceedingly well as a new artist, even if the audience wasn’t very receptive.

Bassett, originally a Disney star, gained prominence from rumors of being the subject of Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR. With multiple EPs and many singles such as “Smoke Slow,” and “Secret,” Bassett’s music leans heavily into pop, changing to a slower indie taste after he delved into his newfound interest in religion.

After a customary thirty-minute intermission, fans shifted closer to the barricade, anxiously awaiting Bassett’s arrival on stage. At last, as his band started his 2021 single, “Feel Something,” Bassett entered under the cover of darkness that faded into red spotlights focused on him. Immediately, the crowd was entranced with Bassett’s undeniable stage presence that never faltered throughout the show. He had boundless energy as he ran from side to side onstage and jumped on top of the piano, hopping backwards with his guitar and tripping as he climbed over the barricade. His interactions with the crowd are frequent, taking BeReals or putting a tiara from a fan on his head. As soon as the rst track was over, the crowd went wild and started barking at Bassett, who laughed and indicated it was a tradition at his shows.

Between almost every song, Bassett talked about his life in the past couple of years, including working on and writing music for his Disney+ show, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. He used this to introduce his song, “Finally Free,” written for the third season of the show. Bassett often offered advice or talks about what’s going through his head at that very moment, which resulted in an impromptu decision to perform an unreleased song called “Sinking Ships,” which, despite never being of cially released, the crowd still animatedly sang along to. Bassett sang through the rest of his set, including the title track of his most recent EP, Sad Songs In A Hotel Room, with the audience never missing a beat until he got to his debut single “Common Sense.” He asked the crowd to form an open path from the stage to the middle of the audience, who shifted in anticipation as Bassett made his way to the center. With help from the crowd, Bassett performed a heartfelt rendition of his rst-ever song as he played his guitar and the audience swayed in turn.

Bassett continued to talk to the crowd between almost every song, laughing with them and creating a personal environment, as if he and the crowd were friends and it were just a normal conversation. At one point, as he alluded vaguely to his religious experiences, the crowd took the reins and yelled “Amen.”

Bassett then launched into “Beautiful City,” from the musical Godspell, which aligns with his recent evangelical development. He closed off his set with a cathartic performance of his own song, “Set Me Free,” the song where the crowd was the loudest all night. The crowd chanted for an encore and one more song, but when “SHE SAID HE SAID SHE SAID” started playing, Bassett was nowhere to be found on stage. Instead, he was up the balcony and made his way down to the stage, while the audience began to dance more energetically than they had all night. Bassett waved goodnight to the crowd one last time, and the opening night for The Complicated Tour was of cially over.

As the night came to a close, the audience trudged down the stairs, slow to move away from the stage after the exciting performance. With a lively and interactive show, Joshua Bassett starts his tour on a high note, pulling the audience along on an emotional ride, from dancing on his upbeat songs to swaying and singing on his softer ones. ▪

Red Moon in Venus: Kali uchis’ personal planet of love

By Jiyun Guo Staf Writer

Known for her mellow tributes to self-love and female empowerment, Colombian American singer Karly-Marina Loaiza, professionally known as Kali Uchis, released her dreamy third studio album, Red Moon In Venus, on March 3. A velvety mashup of lo- , R&B, and experimental pop, the album stays true to Uchis’ signature style while channeling love in all its forms.

roughout the 15 tracks of Red Moon In Venus, Uchis sings with a breathy, languid voice, creating an overarching tone of lighthearted love. In “Endlessly,” Uchis teases a potential love interest with smug, self-congratulatory lyrics: “I’m the rst girl that got you gettin’ romantic / ‘Cause once you had this, always gotta have it.” She knows she has her lover in the palm of her hand, crooning to laid-back R&B that “it’s not too late to admit you love me” in “Not Too Late (interlude).” Once the album enters the honeymoon phase with “All Mine,” Uchis saturates her songs with soft lo- chords and electronic warbles to convey a sense of giddy immersion in her new relationship.

Yet Red Moon In Venus explores all aspects of love — the album wouldn’t be complete without its progression through heartbreak and regeneration. On top of the album’s strong harmonic cohesion, Uchis develops a multifaceted outlook with nuances in lyrics and production. Just three tracks after “Endlessly,” Uchis mourns an ex with “Blue,”

BOOKBYTES

By Jacob Han Staf Writer

Student Recommendation

Title: Project Hail Mary

Author: Andy Weir

Suggested Reading Level: Grade 10

Genre: Apocalyptic Science Fiction

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor of a spaceship, light-years away from the next human being. Slowly regaining his memories, the clock ticks as Ryland is tasked with conquering an extinction-level threat.

“The way the main character fgured out how to communicate with an alien species was very entertaining. Though the two were aliens to each other, they started caring for one another, risking their lives in the process. It really made me root for their bond.”

— Michael Liu, 9

Staf Recommendation

Title: The Peripheral

Author: William Gibson

Suggested Reading Level: Grade 12

Genre: Cyberpunk Dystopia

Flynne Fisher is an online combat scout for hire in shooter games. Wilf Netherton works as a high-powered publicist and celebrity-minder 70 years in the future. With time travel, their worlds collide.

“The novel thematically deals with the relationship between the 99% and 1% through the lens of time travel theory. The high level of technology of the future allows it to quantumly play with its past as a Greek god plays with mortals to assuage the guilt from the choices that led to its present.” — English Teacher Brian Rath

Smokie Recommendation

Title: Dark Matter

Author: Blake Crouch

Suggested Reading Level: Grade 11

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Jason wakes up as a celebrated genius rather than an ordinary professor, with his wife and son no longer in his life. Which world is the dream, and how can he regain his lost family?

“I was pleasantly blown away with the depth of research that he put into the novel. It made me question reality multiple times, especially accompanied by the questions it posed about multiverses.” — Ayushi Kashyap, 12

SMOKIE PLAYLIST:

a sorrowful take on her now splintering relationship. Frequent harmonic modulations parallel Uchis’ uncertainty as she contends with the possibility of a breakup, and a saxophone solo simulates her moody inner dialogue. Similarly, “Como Te Quiero Yo” opens with eerie Psycho-like strings as Uchis reaches out to her former lover, resolving into a soothing major chord when she asks to bridge their quarrel. In the moststreamed track of the album, “I Wish you Roses,” Uchis speaks to universal rejection as she grapples with the pain of breaking o a relationship. Rather than hold onto bitterness and resentment, Uchis releases with love — she wishes someone no longer in her life “roses and roses and roses and roses.

Despite Uchis’ wide range of themes, the album’s mellow tone can come o as repetitive. In “Moonlight,” she sings the same few verses six times, and in “Deserve Me (with

BOOK:

Summer Walker),” her relaxed R&B feels at odds with the song’s vengeful lyrics. However, Uchis’ collaborations with Omar Apollo, Don Toliver, and Summer Walker tend to make up for the album’s sonic conformity, as each artist brings a distinctive spin to their featured tracks. For example, in “Deserve Me (with Summer Walker),” Walker’s pulsing chord undertones bring needed rhythmic variety, and Don Toliver’s rich tenor provides a refreshing contrast to Uchis’ higher register in “Fantasy (feat. Don Toliver).”

Red Moon In Venus channels Uchis’ classic laid-back con dence as she navigates a love life riddled with obstacles. No matter what comes in her way, Uchis knows she holds the power to craft a ful lling relationship; in the end, she’ll be the one to “take the stars out the sky / Make them all align just for us.”

Grade: A-

March 2023 MSJ Faves

GAME:

Not in love with don toliver’s love sick

By Ayushi Kashyap Staf Writer

Skyrocketing to fame with his unique vocals, singer and rapper Caleb Zackery Toliver, popularly known as Don Toliver, released his third album Love Sick on February 24 following two past stellar albums, Life of a DON and Heaven or Hell. e work was touted as a futuristic R&B and soul work with multiple big-name features including partner Kali Uchis, Future, and Justin Bieber. While Toliver carries out the futuristic R&B feeling throughout the album, most tracks feature forgettable and synthetic sounds accompanied by equally forgettable and surface-level lyrics. With mid-highs and low-lows, Toliver fails to capitalize on his growing momentum in the music industry.

Toliver opens strongly with the album’s title track “LoveSickness,” a mumbling amalgamation of the pitfalls of a girl being in love with a boy that she doesn’t really know. Lyrics such as “Falling in love / Is the one fall you don’t get up from / Guess we’re love sick” wrap up the song and are perhaps some of the most profound lyrics in the entire album, setting a whimsical and unimaginative tone for future tracks.

Following the album’s strong opener, James Blake sings on the next track “Let Her Go (feat. James Blake).” With heavier drums to start out the song and lighthearted nature, the track is one of the highlights of the album as a whole. Blake’s crooning vocals mesh surprisingly well with Toliver’s sharper insertions creating an immersive feeling with several layered tracks.

However, Toliver delivers a disappointing performance on one of his most anticipated tracks of the album, collaborating with partner Kali Uchis. Despite his obvious synergy with

Uchis on “4 Me (feat. Kali Uchis),” the track takes repetitive lyrics and combines them with a piece that does not challenge their potential together at all. Uchis belts out “If I could be your girl” a little more than 5 times throughout the track, while Toliver responds with “You’re the only girl for me” over and over again backed up by soft instrumentals that only highlight how monotonous the resounding experience is.

Toliver’s lackluster lyrics barely communicate anything past supercial wording showcasing his infamous broken heart, on-brand with his past projects. His rich voice has so much more promise to go further with his projects, especially considering the large backing he has with singer and songwriter Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack Records record label. However, with his current projects, he struggles to step out of the shadow of his past projects and move forward.

As an easily digestible listen, Love Sick’s redeeming quality is Toliver’s unique vocals, but they are ultimately ruined by the over-addition of synthesizers and autotune. His voice steals the show with its uniqueness, but past that, his music is bland and forgettable.

Grade: C+

Cocaine bear’s highs are few and far between

By Vedesh Kodnani Staf Writer

A social media phenomenon, Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear was met with substantial anticipation based on its trailers and title. Although the lm undoubtedly delivers on its promise of drug-fueled violence, a cluttered plot and lack of real depth leave it feeling spread thin throughout repetitive, albeit funny, sequences. Very loosely based on the true story of a bear ingesting cocaine in the 1980s, Cocaine Bear is an interpretation of what screenwriter Jimmy Warden “wish[es] actually happened after the bear did all that cocaine,” according to Variety. In reality, after consuming 75 pounds of the drug, the bear overdosed and died. But the lm intentionally

chooses to not take itself seriously, with each character’s death more ridiculous than the last.

Similar to real-life events, the movie opens with drug smuggler Andrew ornton (Matthew Rhys) dropping a shipment of cocaine over the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Georgia before falling to his death. Meanwhile, a 500-pound black bear consumes some of the cocaine and begins its rampage. roughout the lm, hikers, environmentalists, and rangers are gruesomely attacked all while Sari (Keri Russell) looks for her missing daughter Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince) in the forest.

In Cocaine Bear, horror and comedy complement one another e ectively. is is not only due to the absurdity of the lm’s premise, but also because every person on screen

is wholly dedicated to the joke.

ere is an overt sense that the cast was having an absolute blast while lming in scenes like the stando between Detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.). From conceited and inexperienced Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) to sleazy drug kingpin grandfather Sid (Ray Liotta), characters and costumes are exaggerated, playing into common tropes.

Unfortunately, because characters are reduced to a good laugh or scare, viewers have no reason to feel attached to them. e somewhat humorous and creative ways characters are killed underline that they are not meant to be complex. Particular segments such as the car chase involving paramedics are thrilling in their own right, but the surrounding storylines are dull and

do nothing to drive the plot forward. While attempting to weave many di erent subplots together as more characters like European hikers Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra) and Olaf (Kristofer Hivju) cross paths with delinquent teens, the movie becomes increasingly convoluted. Its punchline, a bear on cocaine, is monotonously drawn out over the 95-minute runtime, making a boring and repetitive lm.

Cocaine Bear does not pretend to be an Oscar-contender or even based in reality. If it has one thing going for it, the lm is initially entertaining, playing a delicate balancing act between humor and horror. Still, the lack of substance and repetition leave much to be desired from its amusing premise.

Grade: C-

KALIUCHIS COM

MOVIE: Triangle of Sadness — Ashley Lin, 11

TV SHOW: The Last of Us — Bhavana Bandla, 12 ALBUM: Harry’s House by Harry Styles — Nyshita Chalasani, 10

Game Change by Mark Halperin, John Heilemann — Vikram Mahajan, 9

Just Dance

| KARINA: “Grow” by Sion | ROHAN: “Moon Song” by Phoebe Bridgers | SANAH: “Green Eyes” by Erykah Badu SARINA: “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode | SHELLEY: “River Flows In You” by Yiruma | MRS. COHEN: “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Croft

Streaming platforms’ restrictions alienate viewers

By Priyanka Shah & Amelie Wu Staff Writers

With the increasing popularity of TV shows on platforms like Netfix and Hulu, the phenomenon of show cancellations have become more apparent than ever, leaving fans yearning for more entertainment. On top of current consumers being left unsatisfed because of an unfnished narrative, Netfix and other streaming services have also begun implementing anti-password sharing policies in certain countries, making shows increasingly harder to access. The trend of frequent series cancellations and more restrictive means of access make subscribers increasingly alienated from the very content these platforms are trying to promote.

As shows face unexpected cancellations, fans have begun to notice a pattern. Many shows canceled thus far have similar demographics: minority groups. Shows prominently featuring LGBTQ+ storylines or characters of color seem to be canceled at a larger proportion, though the reasons are typically stated as low ratings and decreased

viewership. Along with First Kill, the cancellation of Warrior Nun, another show with LGBTQ+ storylines, sparked major controversy. Many fans began to protest online with hashtags like #SaveWarriorNun. Time remarks on this phenomenon, noting how “the show joins a whole host of recent shows scrapped by Netfix, many of which involved LGBTQ+ characters, relationships, or storylines: 1899, First Kill, Fate: The Winx Saga, Q-Force, Uncoupled, GLOW … despite positive reviews and devoted fans.” Similarly, shows with primarily Black casts including Raising Dion and Astronomy Club have also been canceled, much to their avid viewers’ dismay.

With more and more competition within the ever-burgeoning streaming service industry, each company is in a constant struggle to gain viewers’ attention and favor. To best achieve this, streaming services mass-produce content for a wide variety of audiences, valuing quantity over quality. By mass-producing content, streaming platforms severely limit the number of shows they can actually renew, spending their budget flming shows that they will be unable to fnish.

Many canceled shows are Netfix origi -

nals, leaving little chance of other networks picking up the series for season renewals. Although Netfix has never made an offcial statement on the exact reason for their show cancellations, Forbes discusses how based on third party measurement services, “Netfix often directly ties which shows get cancelled and renewed to completion rate.” Completion rate refers to the percentage of subscribers who start and fnish a show. For example, although the show Heartstopper had fewer hours viewed than First Kill, the latter was not renewed for a second season. This is because First Kill had a 44% completion rate compared to Heartstopper ’s 73%. Despite the statistics, the cancellations leave fans around the world disappointed at the lack of follow-through on the plot of a show they have invested their time into.

In addition to producing content that their viewers do not enjoy, Netfix has also placed new anti-password sharing policies in countries like Canada, New Zealand, and Spain that include increasing the cost for people who are using the streaming service outside of their residency, though they know that many users share accounts. Following in Net-

fix’s stride, other services have implemented similar features or are considering doing so. Platforms like Hulu may allow only two devices to stream simultaneously, while Disney+ has released surveys to gauge reactions to anti-password sharing policies. This makes entertainment less accessible for people, and it particularly boxes out people who can’t afford streaming services. As a result, the entertainment industry and those who consume their content become an increasingly homogenous group, often white and high-income.

Although Netfix has already upset many fans around the world when it comes to the cancellation of TV shows, there are ways that Netfix and other streaming services alike can prevent things like this from occurring as frequently. Because the primary goal is for Netfix to increase the amount of subscribers they have, canceling many beloved shows seems counterintuitive. Therefore, Netfix should be more conscientious of the shows that they are accepting onto their platform, so that there are not as many reasons for them to cancel them. If streaming services make their viewers a priority, there could be more opportunities for representation within the flm industry.

Restricting media access through anti-password-sharing policies and canceling shows without regard to public reception is a form of alienating viewers, and shows how many streaming platforms make decisions on a more proft-based and money-hungry stance, rather than the intended purposes of telling diverse stories and entertaining its viewers. Media is a big form of representation, and the cancellation of certain shows makes viewers feel like their identity is not being spoken for on the big screens. When people spend time and energy into a show, they expect a satisfying ending, and when streaming services decide to take this away from viewers, it is highly disappointing and frustrating for fans all around the world.

Athlete Spotlight: Sophie Menon

By Anushka Vasudev & Lucy Yao Staf Writers

Junior Sophie Menon is a tri-sport athlete, balancing nationally competitive gymnastics, MSJ Varsity Cross Country, and pole-vaulting in MSJ’s Track and Field team. Since she was young, Menon has experimented with all felds of sports, always keeping an open mind to pursue new athletic opportunities. At the age of six, Menon began gymnastics, quickly falling in love with the sport. She has grown to compete at its highest level, placing third in Nationals last June, even forming her own Excel Diamond Team — the most prestigious team of a club — at the gym she trains, Bay Aerials Gymnastics.

Upon entering high school, Menon carried over her open-mindness and ended up joining cross-country and track and feld in her sophomore year. Like many other cross country athletes, Menon found the transition to joining track and feld fairly seamless. However, she specifcally chose the pole vaulting event after her mom said that Menon’s experience in gymnastics could help her achieve the high jumps and leaps in air required for this sport. “[It was] a chance to see how I could push my body in ways that I never had gotten the chance to before and I kind of fell in love with it,” Menon said. In pole vaulting, Menon was last year’s MVP in feld events and was one of

the only two sophomores who made it to the CIF North Coast Section Meet of Champions. Despite simultaneously playing three different sports, Menon fnds that the unique characteristics of each complement one another and ultimately help her become a better athlete. Cross country has helped Menon improve her endurance, a skill which has proved useful across all her physical activities. At the same time, doing gymnastics built up her physical strength and increased her aerial awareness, which are also crucial aspects of pole vaulting.

Besides the physical abilities, each sport has also pushed Menon mentally. Gymnastics, in particular, has challenged Menon in her discipline as an athlete. Not only were there mental hurdles such as gaining her own self-confdence, but she also had to face some of her favorite coaches leaving after having been with them for nearly a decade. “Having to battle [that] out on top of coming out of COVID, taught me a lot of perseverance and how to stay strong when everything feels like it’s go-

ing wrong, when you feel like you’re losing the sport you love,” Menon said.

It was also this very same perseverance and discipline that ended up pushing Menon all the way to Nationals. Last June, after Menon won frst in the All-Around category at both the regional and state level, she felt prepared but still spent the break between the two competitions in the gym, perfecting the little techniques and skills that would enhance her overall performance. However, during her frst event, Menon did not do that well, and she did not score as high as she had hoped. Menon realized that she needed to perform much better in her following three events, so she focused on picking herself back up, despite the unexpected fallback. In the end, these struggles were what made Menon into a better gymnast and competitor, ultimately culminating in her third place victory in Nationals.

On a daily scale, balancing three sports along with her schoolwork has defnitely been another struggle, but to Menon, it’s entirely worth it for both the achievements and personal growth. Daily practice for Menon can sometimes go until 9:30 p.m., along with occasional multiple-tournament weekends. Although

track and cross country are seasonal sports, she still does gymnastics year round, with most competitions occurring in the Spring, requiring her to be effcient about her other work during the limited time she has between and after daily practices. “It helps me get less distracted from the other things in life like social media ... I know it’s different for everybody but it motivates me to speed up my work in other areas because I only have so much time to fnish it,” Menon said.

With such an intense schedule, it is easy to get lost in the rigorous training needed to achieve consistency in a sport. However, Menon realized that while consistency is necessary, it’s equally important to take breaks so that she can come back better and stronger. Thanks to this growth mindset, Menon is able to maintain a healthy time balance to continue her passions. Every practice is seen as a way to improve and keep pushing herself — and the human body — to new heights. There are stressful times, but nonetheless, Menon fnds a valuable outlet and sense of community in all three sports. “It’s not a chore. It’s not something that I’m forcing myself to do. I genuinely love to do it,” Menon said. �

Menon runs down the infamous “eliminator hill” at

Menon wins first All Around in the 2022 NGA Regional Championships.

Menon makes her opening bar at the 2022 CIF North Coast Section Meet of Champions state qualifiers.

IMDB COM

Netflix cancels Warrior Nun after two seasons, sparking hashtags like #SaveWarriorNun.

GRAPHICS BY A&E EDITOR JOANNE PARK

Girls Track & Field

Spring Freshmen Varsity Athletes

By Nessa Tong Staff Writer

With the spring sports season now underway, the Smoke Signal would like to congratulate the freshmen who made the varsity teams. To showcase MSJ’s budding athletic talent, the Smoke Signal spotlights the 31 freshmen varsity athletes who will represent MSJ in the spring edition of the Freshmen Varsity Spotlight series. Sports featured include Boys Tennis, Softball, Baseball, Boys Volleyball, Boys and Girls Swimming, Girls Track and Field, and Co-ed Badminton.

Boys Volleyball

BoysTennis

Vihaan Chawla

Dylan Reagan Roshan Markar

Aarav Khandelwhal

Stephanie Yu Shaina Arora Krithi Tandyala

Michael Liu Landen Chu

Dylan Ho

Bret Chen

Ryan Kumar

Riley Ta

Muyang Li Fiona Yang

Oscar Meng

Vittesh Maganti

Kevin Liu

Elaina Xu Saanvi Katariya

Mysha Faneeband

George Shen Layton Wen Vaishnavi Tirumalai

Neha Okhade

Krisa Desai

Julissa Ramirez

Angelica Sanchez

Jennifer Xu Alavya Patnaik

Natalie Lim

sports trivia

By Elaheh Khazi & Callie Yuan Staff Writers

physiology

1. What muscle groups do squats use?

a. buttocks

b. calves

c. quadriceps

d. all of the above

2. What muscle groups are used when doing a plank?

a. trapezius

b. rhomboid muscles

c. both a and b

d. none of the above

3. True or false? Exercise physiology does not exist.

4. True or false?

Anatomy and biomechanics of muscles and bones work together.

5. True or false? The physiological element in sports only consists of sweat rate and breathing rate.

terminology

Free throw: Also called a foul shot, this action occurs in basketball when one is fouled and shoots without any defense from behind the free throw line.

Penalty: In soccer, this is a single shot at a defended goal due to a foul in the penalty area.

Spike: This occurs in volleyball when the offensive team’s player hits the ball with their palm over the net into the opposing court, making it hard for the other team to get the ball.

Home run: A hit in baseball that allows for the batter to run through all the bases and get a score of 1.

Travel: This occurs in basketball when a player moves more than two steps with the ball without dribbling.

Strike: Occurring in both softball and baseball, this is when a batter fails to hit the ball when swinging.

fun facts

1. Who has won the most awards for Most Valuable Player (MVP) in NBA history?

a. Michael Jordan

b. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

c. Giannis Antetokounmpo

d. Stephen Curry

2. How many of the fastest female 1500m freestyle times does swimmer Katie LeDecky hold?

a. 3 out of 20

b. 8 out of 20

c. 12 out of 20

d. 18 out of 20

3. What is the world’s most-watched sport?

a. American football

b. basketball

c. football (soccer)

d. cricket

4. Fill in the blank: The American football team _____ holds the record for the most Super Bowl appearances.

5. Fill in the blank: The country of _____ has been able to play at every World Cup thus far.

basic rules

Fill in the blank: Penalty kicks in soccer are taken _____ yards from the goal.

In volleyball, all players may switch positions after the serve.

Fill in the blank: An average high school basketball game’s quarter is _____ minutes long. In a game of badminton, when the score is tied at 20, the player/pair that first gains a 2-point lead wins the game.

Fill in the blank: Grabbing the _____ markers while swimming will result in disqualification at a race.

Fill in the blank: If a tennis ball bounces on the boundary line, it is considered

7. True or false? The batting order in baseball can be changed for the rest of the game after it is picked.

New England Patriots, Brazil; Basic rules: 12, true, 8, true, lane, in/playable, false

MSJ Swim race to 1st seed at Encinal Invitational

By Abha Kulkarni & Daphne Senecal Staff Writers

On March 4, MSJ Swim competed in a varsity relay meet at Encinal Junior & Senior High against fve other teams. Despite the obstacles, the team came frst in the majority of their events, resulting in an overall frst place win at the meet with a total of 416 points.

Although it was a varsity event, many of the members of the junior varsity team were chosen to compete due to a shortage of varsity swimmers. Despite this, athletes performed well in most races. Athletes also had to compete in the heavy rain and hail, making it diffcult to stay warm and in shape for each event. Some more unique and uncommon events were also introduced in the Encinal swim meet, such as the Mixed 500 Yard Freestyle Relay and co-ed relays. “[Most events] are separated by boys and girls but for this meet we had co-ed relays which is cool because we never get to do that,” Varsity Co-Captain

Senior Jasper Zhang said. The competition ended with a wild card relay, where the yardage and the stroke was chosen at random. For this specifc meet, the random event ended up being a Mixed 200 Yard Medley Relay, where the MSJ Swim team came in second.

As the races began, the Warriors started off strong, winning frst place with Sophomore Michelle Chen and Junior Audrey Lim winning the Girls 2x50 Yard Freestyle Relay by fve seconds.

In the Boys 2x50 Yard Backstroke Relay Freshman Riley Ta and Junior Justin Ho won the event by three seconds. In the following Boys 2x100 Yard Freestyle Relay, Mixed 2x100 Yard Freestyle Relay, and Boys 2x100 Yard Backstroke Relay, the Warriors placed second, but quickly returned to frst seed.

One of the team’s most dominating races came during the Girls 2x100 Yard Medley Relay with Sophomore Amy Sun and Junior Lucina Tonoyan winning by a margin of 14.68 seconds. Meanwhile, MSJ’s closest match ended in a loss to Encinal by only a second, putting them

Boys Golf fnish fourth at Aiello Invitational

By Karina Han Sports Editor

On March 13, Boys Golf played at the Aiello Invitational golf tournament, fnishing fourth place out of 22 teams. Junior Matthew Almajano scored 72 points, placing him third out of 110 players. ▪

in second place. The team’s performance was strong consistently throughout the entirety of the event, allowing them to win many events in a row while occasionally placing second or third.

The majority of the issues the team faced were due to the inexperience of the younger swimmers. Many of the newer team members also lacked the required training and experience needed to make them successful at competitions and meets. Still, the team managed to exceed expectations despite the troubles that they faced. “Although some of them didn’t get in their best times, overall, they still performed really well,” Varsity Swim Coach Felice Tran said.

Tran hopes more of her swimmers will qualify for NCS and aims to restore the MSJ Swim team to their 2010s undefeated champion status. “[The goal] is getting faster times and getting back on track. If I look back at how the program has progressed over the years … we’ve gotten slower, so I’d like to get them back on track and faster than they were before,” Tran said. ▪

courtesy terry dalziel

visit www.thesmokesignal.org

Junior Lucina Tonoyan swims in the Girls 2x50 Yard Breaststroke Relay.

MSJ Swim Assistant Varsity Coach Justin Lam and Varsity Coach Felice Tran hold up the team’s trophies together.

Juniors Arnold He and Matthew Almajano and Sophomores Aditya Sujay and Brandon Yeh pose for a photo. photo

Also

By Andria Luo Staff Writer

known as the Festival of Colors, Holi is one of the most important and widely celebrated Hindu holidays. On March 4, the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) hosted their annual Holi celebration at Irvington High School, complete with food trucks and festive celebrations.

Known as the Bay Area’s Largest Color Party, the festival took place from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Attendance was high as attendees gathered from all across Fremont. Par ticipants purchased color powders, called gulal, to toss on each other. Many also wore white or light colored clothes as per the holiday’s tradition. With music blasting through speakers and echoing across the venue, the energy was infectious. Most elected to join the fun by dancing on top of or underneath the small stage. Children ran around throwing colors at each other and parents stood to the side talking and laughing. People ended up colored in vibrant shades of red, green, blue, yellow, and purple, and the occasional puff of powder would explode over a group and oat away in the breeze. “I like the concept of the celebration of spring and [how] we’re representing it with these kinds of colors,” Volunteer Freshman Trinabh Suraj said. In addition to the colorful powders, attendees could also purchase Indian street food, such as pav bhaji, samosas, and dosa, from the Curry Up Now and Ampuli food trucks parked right outside the venue if they got tired or hungry during the celebrations. Overall, this festival was an opportunity for Fremont community members to come together and spend a day celebrating Holi. ▪

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER ANDRIA LUO GRAPHICS BY GRAPHICS EDITOR HANNAH SHEN

“Flowers symbolize life but also death. They can symbolize new beginnings and in some cultures death is a new beginning into another world. That’s why they use owers at funerals.”

— Nandika Nambiar, 12

“Flowers are supposed to be pretty and so we give people [them] so that they can remember us and remember how much we love them.”

— Jocelyn Wang, 10

“At the end of the day, what’s more important is not just the owers themselves, but the context and who’s giving them to you and why they’re giving them to you.”

— Arusha Roy, 12

“Brian and I do musical theatre together and whenever we do a show, I’ll usually surprise him with owers on one of the performance nights to congratulate him for the hard work he always puts in.” — Ella Lym, 12

“Flowers are a celebration of life, marriage, death, love, and accomplishments. By gifting owers, others acknowledge you and your feelings.”

— Russell Lym, 10

“Flowers show acknowledgement, recognition, thought, and effort.” — Samhita Bathina, 10

“Flowers are a staple of showing how you care for someone through life or death. It doesn’t have to be a romantic relationship, it can be a platonic, [or just] some sort of relationship with someone anywhere. —

Tommy Josh Baria, 9

“Flowers smell nice and are a beautiful thing to visualize. When you see the owers it reminds you of the person that gifted it to them.”

— Jiaheng Huang, 10

Different owers mean different things. Different colors mean different things too. It’s just like a little moment of happiness that you can give someone.”

— Vanya Jain, 11

“[Flowers] show that person cares for them, and that person is going to be there for them whatever happens ... I feel like it’s a very cute concept.” — Gitali Teckchandani, 11

“Flowers are a universal form of natural beauty and life and people appreciate that forever.” — Brian Loh, 12

“To me, owers are symbols of dedication. My idea of a bouquet is a batch of handgrown, garden owers that took time and attention to raise.”

— Reynold Liu, 11