Vol. LVII, No. 5

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. 57, NO. 5

January 28, 2022

41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539 41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

By the Numbers: Student Perspectives on COVID-19

By Jacob Han, Amy Luo, Angela Xiong Staff Writers

Survey Overview As the Omicron coronavirus variant spurs a resurgence of coronavirus cases across the Bay Area, FUSD has updated its COVID-19 protocol, distributing at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits to families over Winter Break and revising contact tracing procedures. However, concerns regarding possible virus transmission during in-person instruction have resurfaced amongst the MSJ community. In light of these recent updates, the Smoke Signal conducted an online survey from January 13-19 with 150 total responses to gauge student input and concerns on the current pandemic status.

In light of the current status of COVID-19, which method of learning would be the most suitable for you?

1

On a scale of 1-5...

Views on FUSD Covid-19 Protocol

2

3

4

5

How comfortable are you attending school in-person in terms of COVID-19 safety?

Based on 150 survey responses, 81.3% of MSJ students expressed anxiety regarding the potential transmission of the virus to people they are in close contact with, with 64% citing concerns with in-person instruction. 83.9% of students would prefer a distance or hybrid model of instruction instead, though support of in-person learning is also present.

“In-person school is better for my mental health overall,” one anonymous respondent said. In regards to MSJ students’ assessment of FUSD COVID-19 protocol, 49.7% of those surveyed rated the accessibility of testing resources at MSJ and in FUSD favorably, and 50% are likely to utilize these resources.

16.1%

How concerned are you about the potential transmission of the virus to people you are in close contact with?

Rate the accessibility of COVID-19 testing resources at MSJ and in FUSD. How likely are you to take advantage of COVID-19 testing resources?

49%

In-Person Learning Hybrid Learning Online Learning

34.9%

Updates on FUSD COVID-19 Protocol

From January 5-8, FUSD distributed more than 25,000 at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits at three distribution locations across Fremont in order to mitigate positive coronavirus cases amongst students and staff prior to the reopening of schools on January 10. According to the FUSD Superintendent CJ Cammack’s January 14 Newsletter, FUSD is also in the process of implementing more targeted positive coronavirus case notifications to parents, guardians, and staff; in addition to those designated as close contacts, who are individuals that were within 6 feet from an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all students and staff in the same classroom as an individual who tested positive will also be notified. “Exposure notifications will be more timely, but also more broad,” Cammack said.

For more coverage and additional information regarding FUSD’s COVID-19 response, visit thesmokesignal.org.

Students were asked to select the ways in which COVID-19 has impacted them over the past year: Improved Mental Health Worsened Mental Health Increased Social Stress Increased Emotional Stress Academically Beneficial Academically Detrimental Better Sleep

17.3%

Worse Sleep

64% 57.6% 48.9% 23% 49.6% 24.5% 42.4%

Feeling Disconnected Changes in apetite, energy, and activity levels

61.9% 51.8%

Impact of COVID-19 In response to the current COVID-19 status, Cammack stated that FUSD will not be returning to distance learning at this time, but temporary, targetted closures specific to any class or site level outbreaks are possible with consultation the Alameda County Public Health Department. “FUSD, along with all other school districts in [CA], does not have a mechanism to independently move all students to distance learning under current state regulations,” Cammack said.

Regardless of the type of instruction received, 64% of the 150 student survey responses express that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health. Additionally, 61.9% of students report feeling disconnected, and 57.6% of students report experiencing social stress as a result of the pandemic. Students also state that COVID-19 had an impact on their physical health, with 51.8% of students citing that COVID-19 has caused changes in appetite, energy, and activity levels. “[COVID-19 has] led to a lot of instability and constant fluctuation in my mental, emotional, and physical health,” one anonymous respondent said.

Science Bowl and Science Olympiad triumph at Davidson and Aggie Invitationals Science Bowl secures first place at the Davidson Invitational and Science Olympiad Teams place 2nd and 3rd at the Aggie Invitational.

By Chahak Gupta & Annie Xu Staff Writers

On January 16, Science Bowl Team A won first place at the Davidson Academy SciBowl Online National Invitational (DASONI). The day prior, MSJ Science Olympiad Team Lime placed 2nd at the Aggie Invitational, and Team Marigold placed 3rd.

Having participated in no scrimmages or invitationals so far this school year, the MSJ Science Bowl Team A was initially worried about their skills relative to those of other schools at the DASONI. However, they gradually built up their confidence throughout the day.

After triumphing in all of their rounds in their round-robin division, a competition format where competitors were split into groups of four, and each team played the other three teams once, the MSJ team advanced to the double-elimination as the third-place team. From there, they progressed to finals where they faced the Dulles Team A. Despite an initial 42-98 loss in the

ONLINE

THIS MONTH

www.thesmokesignal.org

first round, the team redeemed themselves with a 70-42 win in the subsequent round, securing first place at the competition. “After we started doing pretty well during the round-robin, I felt pretty good about our chances for the invitational and essentially it

Despite an initial 42-98 loss in the first roung, the team redeemed themselves with a 70-42 win in the subsequent round, securing first place at the competition. helped affirm that the time we spent studying and at practice had tangible, positive effects,” Academic Challenge President and Science Bowl Captain Senior Titus Tsai said.

Science Olympiad saw similarly positive results from their online invitational from the day before, with MSJ Science Olympiad Team Lime winning second place out of 46 teams by a one-point margin, scoring in the top five for 10 out of the 21 events, and first place in three. MSJ Team Marigold also

performed exceptionally well, placing third overall and scoring first in four events.

Initially planned to be in-person at UC Davis, the Aggie Invitational was moved online after recent rises in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Although the captains had originally chosen to attend Aggie to give the team in-person experience with hands-on events, the team adapted well to the change. “I personally think going online does not truly impact the team performance as the partners still take their tests on Scilympiad, merely from different locations. Our team members adapted quickly to the new format; the biggest challenge was doing builds, [events where competitors submit physical contraptions] online and submitting videos of them,” Academic Challenge Vice President and Science Olympiad Captain Inimai Subramanian.

Considering the team’s commendable performance in past invitationals this year, Academic Challenge Activities Coordinator and Science Olympiad Captain Junior

SMOKIE PODCAST: MINDSET

FUSD COVID-19 UPDATE

With a new semester afoot, many of us are striving to change our mindsets and live up to lofty New Year’s Resolutions. Don’t miss this episode of the Smokie Podcast on all things mindset.

Amidst the rapidly-changing state of the pandemic, MSJ and FUSD are doubling down on safety measures. For more information, visit our FUSD COVID-19 update.

Ayushi Kashyap had expected positive results from the Aggies Invitational Awards Ceremony on January 22 streamed live on Youtube. “I thought we did a great job at the invitational ... especially with our consistent performance in past invitationals, doing well against teams from all across the nation,” Kashyap said.

After performing well at both invitationals, Academic Challenge has high expecta-

“I thought we did a great job at the invitational ... especially with our consistent performance in past invitationals, doing well against teams from all across the nation.”

—Science Olympiad Captain Junior Ayushi Kashyap

tions for their performance at regionals this year. “These invitationals have definitely helped with team mindset, being able to compete with teams that have made it to na-

FOR MORE COVERAGE, VISIT www.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

2 News

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

The Smoke Signal

Friday, January 28, 2022

City of Fremont unveils new I-680 Modernization Project State Sen. Bob Wieckowski and State Assemblymember Bill Quirk presented Fremont city councilmembers with $7.2 million for the project.

By Chloe Gao & Vedesh Kodnani Staff Writers

On Dec. 7, 2021, the City of Fremont received $7.2 million from the CA State Senate to plan the I-680 Interchange Modernization Project, which plans to improve inefficient, frequently jammed freeway junctions. Fremont city officials, including Fremont Mayor Lily Mei and Fremont City Councilmembers, received the ceremonial check from State Sen. Bob Wieckowski and State Assemblymember Dr. Bill Quirk.

The project is a part of the CA State Senate’s “Build Back Boldly” budget proposal, designed to create a post-pandemic economy that benefits Californians and addresses the state’s most urgent needs. The proposal works to improve conditions for citizens by equitably distributing resources for issues, such as investing in wildfire prevention and addressing housing issues. The funds set aside for Fremont are dedicated to updating transportation infrastructure. “The Senate’s ‘Build Back Boldly’ budget gives us a once-in-a-generation chance to make trans-

ed bike lanes. These new installments follow Fremont’s recent emphasis on streamlining alternate modes of travel which will benefit students who bike, for instance. “We have already witnessed at least five overtuned trucks at the offramp of the I-680 Mission Boulevard interchange within the last few years ... that caused the shutdown of local streets and caused a lot of trouble, ... so if this project is done, then certainly it will greatly prevent that from happening again,” Fremont Councilmember Yang Shao said to the Smoke Signal.

Construction will begin after the planPHOTO COURTESY RAJ SALWAN ning phase and will likely take a few years.

Fremont Mayor Lily Mei recieves a check funding the I-680 Modernization Project.

Frequent commuters and local residents can formational change in California,” CA State Parkway. The interchanges are determined expect inconveniences in terms of access as Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. At- to have outdated traffic congestion man- well as noise and dust control, but the city kins said in a press release. agement; offramp and traffic signals will be government will try to keep the impacts City of Fremont Senior Civil Engineer improved and transportation alternatives, minimal. With these improvements, the city Anne Quasarano will be heading the proj- like upgraded bus bays, will be provided hopes to “come up with a plan to either mitect, which focuses on modernizing I-680 for congestion relief. Current outdated ac- igate all the hazards or dangers or improve freeway interchanges on streets common- commodations for pedestrians and bikers the road conditions so that more and more ly driven by MSJ students: Mission Boule- at these locations will be solved by adding students feel comfortable and safe to go to vard, Washington Boulevard, and Auto Mall multimodal access to accommodate elevat-

The ordinance aims to increase affordable housing within the city.

By Daphne He & Kaylee Wei Staff Writers

To address Fremont’s changing housing needs, the Fremont City Council finalized a new Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO) on Nov. 2, 2021. The ordinance, which went into effect on January 2, requires housing developers to reserve home units for low to moderate income residents or pay a fee to the city. Developers can also comply with hybrid options, such as paying a partial fee and reserving fewer housing units, or contribute in other ways to affordable housing, such as through land donations.

The AHO is part of Fremont’s Housing Element plan, which is updated every eight years to include new action plans and reports on progress of prior goals, in accordance with CA state law. The city’s current Housing Element runs from 2015-23 and aims to provide high-quality, accessible, and sustainable housing units by conducting studies on infrastructure needs and funding projects as needed.

The updated AHO requires developers to make a percentage of their buildings available to different income groups. With for-sale buildings, 5% of total units must be reserved for moderate-income residents and 10% for low-income residents. With rental buildings, only 10% of units have to be kept solely for low-income residents. Buildings with both for-sale and rental units have to make 7.5% of units available for very low-income residents and another 7.5% for low-income residents.

Otherwise, developers would have to pay $44 per square foot after a three-step phasein process with the full fee taking effect in January 2024, or they can reserve a smaller percentage of units for affordable housing and pay a smaller fee.

Residents are eligible for affordable housing units based on the percentile of their income value for their area’s median income.

To qualify for extremely low-income units, residents must have an annual household income 30% or below the area median income. To learn when units become available,

residents can sign up for interest lists on the city’s website.

Currently, according to Affordable Housing Online, Fremont has about 1,909 low-income apartment units, almost 200 units short of the 2,096 needed for low-income residents throughout the city, as determined by the Association of Bay Area Governments. Across very low-income, low-income, moderate-income, and above moderate-income groups, Fremont is speculated to need a total of 12,897 new housing units to accommodate rising housing costs and growing population.

For 2023-2031, the Bay Area as a whole must plan for 441,176 new housing units—a predicted 135% increase from the 187,990 units. Under the association’s Regional Needs Housing Allocation plan, local governments are required to cohesively plan for their predicted 2023-31 housing needs, such as by increasing housing project investments.

The City of Fremont also offers additional programs and resources to provide

affordable housing to its residents, including an Assisted Housing Directory, a First Time Homebuyer Program, and an Affordable Housing Interest List Sign Up. Fremont’s affordable housing plan seeks to benefit low-to-moderate income families, providing eligible households with the opportunity to purchase Below Market Price homes. Currently, there are new affordable housing developments under construction in Fremont, including the Granite Ridge Apartments, Doug Ford Community Apart-

Fremont’s

affordable

housing erate income families, providing eligible households with the opportunity to purchase ments, Fremont Islander, and Fremont Family Apartments, all of which plan to open to the public this year or by 2023 and provide

NEWS IN BRIEF

Compiled by Charlize Chiu, Andria Luo & Bryan Xiong Staff Writers

corrections for the DEC. 17, 2021 issue News Pg. 1: L2 Community Member Kevin Chen is misspelled.

News Pg. 2: Digital Photography 1 and Digital Imaging 1 are misspelled.

News Pg. 3: Aghilan Nachiappan is misspelled.

News Pg. 3: chess24 is misspelled.

News Pg. 3: PRC is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 5: Louise Batta is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 5: Warren Buffett is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 7: Foreign Policy is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 7: KakaoTalk is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 7: UCSB Design Review Committee is misspelled.

Opinion Pg. 7: MSJ has a 93% Asian American student body.

Centerspread Pg. 11: mindful.org is misspelled.

A&E Pg. 12: “MONTERO” was released March 26.

A&E Pg. 12: Britney Spears was in a conservatorship.

A&E Pg. 12: Chloé Zhao is misspelled.

A&E Pg. 12: Britney’s infamous breakdown was 14 years ago.

A&E Pg. 13: Poppy Playtime was developed by MOB Games.

A&E Pg. 13: Adele’s album has 12 tracks.

A&E Pg. 15: EBPC is misspelled.

A&E Pg. 15: Ofer dal Lal is misspelled.

Sports Pg. 17: LeBron James is misspelled.

Sports Pg. 19: Kevin Tan became 3-time national champion in 2005-2007.

Local

National motel6.com

INTERNATIONAL cnbc.com

pbs.org

Shown above, this local Fremont Motel 6 has been serving Fremont for decades.

With almost a million COVID-19 cases being reported in the US a day, Biden hopes this effort will curb the spread.

Tsunami waves from the underwater volcano washed onto the West Coast.

City of Fremont to convert hotel to shelter for homeless individuals.

At their regularly scheduled meeting on January 18, the Fremont City Council decided to apply for a $40.2 million grant from the state to convert the Motel 6 at 46101 Research Ave. in South Fremont to 156 units of permanent affordable housing. City staff suggested that the city enter an agreement with Shangri-La Industries, an affordable housing developer, to be in charge of this project. “We do have a homeless[ness] epidemic, and an affordable housing crisis...

So this is one of the most important things we can do as city leaders, is to provide solutions for this issue,” Vice Mayor Raj Salwan said during the council meeting.

Biden administration plans effort to distribute free N95 masks.

With a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, the Biden Administration plans to mitigate the public health crisis by distributing free non-surgical N95 masks. 400 million masks will be distributed nationwide throughout retail pharmacies and health centers by early February. These masks come from the Strategic National Stockpile, and there will be a limit of three masks per person. The news comes after the launch of the covidtests.gov site, where people can order up to four at-home COVID-19 tests online. The Biden Administration hopes that these efforts will help combat the surge in coronavirus cases.

Severe destruction amidst volcanic eruption near Tonga.

On January 15, underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai erupted near the Patsunami wave to hit the nation’s capital and triggering numerous tsunami warnings across nearby coastal areas. The volcano showed little activity before the eruption, with one eruption in 2014 and and one on January 14. The Tonga capital, Nuku’alofa, was covered in volcanic dust. Tongan authorities found 100 homes damaged and 50 destroyed on the country’s main island according to CNN. While communication from Tonga is severely limited, New Zealand and Australia have offered the country aid to assist with recovery.

Friday, January 28, 2022 The Smoke Signal

THE SMOKE SIGNAL Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 57, No. 5 | January 28, 2022 www.thesmokesignal.org 41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 510-657-3600, ext. 37088 MISSION STATEMENT The Smoke Signal’s mission is to represent the voices of the MSJ community and serve the public by providing accurate, meaningful, and engaging information presented through print and digital mediums.

SCHOOL POPULATION 1968 students EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Megh Basu, Amanda Pang NEWS Larry Shi, Alina Zeng OPINION Isabella He, Sakshi Umrotkar FEATURE Lily Oh, Nithika Valluri CENTERSPREAD Naveed Shakoor, Jackie Wong A&E Joanne Park, Helen Tian SPORTS Anvi Kalucha, Jerry Yuan GRAPHICS Mingxin Wang WEB Tanisha Srivatsa, Jessica Yu TECH Bryan Xiong BUSINESS Jennie Wang CIRCULATION Angela Xiong ADVERTISING Rohan Bhagat, Steffi Zhou EVENTS Esther Lau WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Sanah Bhardwaj Pratham Bhashyakarla Ruhani Chhabra Charlize Chiu Shaily Desai Anandita Devata Chloe Gao Sahas Goli Jiyun Guo Chahak Gupta Jacob Han Karina Han Daphne He Christy Huang Selina Kao Ayushi Kashyap Elaheh Khazi Vedesh Kodnani Sarina Li Shelley Li Waylon Li Amy Luo Andria Luo Maryam Naseer Aditya Patil Julia Peng Esha Potharaju Daphne Senecal Priyanka Shah Hannah Shen Annika Singh Aaryan Suri Jason Tang Darshan Thirumala Nessa Tong Kaitlyn Wang Kaylee Wei Amelie Wu Annie Xu Elton Yu Aaron Zhou 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.

For a chance for your artwork to be featured in The Smoke Signal, send graphic opinions to the editor to opinion@thesmokesignal.org. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to modify graphics for publication.

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.

CORRECTIONS POLICY When factual and spelling mistakes are found or brought to the attention of the staff, corrections will be printed in the next issue’s corrections box.

See the example below for styling.

Centerspread Pg. 10: The California Youth Crisis Line should be the Crisis Text Line.

DISTRIBUTION POLICY The Smoke Signal is distributed to all students during Read period on the publication date for no cost. Subscriptions are $30 for 9 issues (US). To subscribe, email circulation@thesmokesignal.org.

BYLINE POLICY All writers who contributed to the article will be listed in the byline in alphabetical order. All photographers or artists will be credited in the text below the photograph or spread.

www.thesmokesignal.org

Isabella's InterpretatIons

Opinion 3

sakshI's solIloquy

Bursting through networks of familiarity

Tackling precaution vs. pessimism

By Isabella He Opinion Editor

By Sakshi Umrotkar Opinion Editor

Wake up, go to school, head off to wrestling practice, finish homework, cruise through the New York Times, watch my favorite TV shows, repeat. From the Bay Area bubble to an information bubble surrounding the network of sources I gravitate towards, there are bubbles limiting my perspectives in countless areas of my life. I love pushing myself out of my comfort zones — I’ve found myself experiencing the greatest personal growth when I venture beyond my intellectual, extracurricular, recreational, and cultural bubbles.

When announcements of opportunities show up on my feed or course registration opens up, I actively think about pushing myself to try new things. Yet bubbles come in all forms beyond extracurriculars and courses; I find that it’s the daily acts of pursuing new sources of information that I find myself inadvertently neglecting. Whether it’s hesitation to read articles from sources with political views that differ from my own or it’s talking to the same people on a daily basis, bubbles come from restricting my flow of information to my network of familiarity.

I learn not just from the courses I enroll in and the extracurriculars I engage in — I learn from the podcasts I listen to, the shows I watch, the accounts I follow, the people I ask questions to, and so much more.

Remembering that there are always more

bubbles to burst pushed me to widen my scope of information outlets as I sought out sources like “The Argument” podcast that fearlessly hosts open-minded debates, introducing strongly-held opinions from both sides of the conversation. It pushed me to click on the “World” section of BBC News and read about events occurring in nations outside my typical search history.

Furthermore, reflecting upon the bubbles that constrict my viewpoints, I remembered a concept I learned in psychology last year: metacognition — thinking about one's thinking. To burst the bubbles that cloud my ability to gain new perspectives on the world around me, I need to spend time learning about how I learn. It’s about constantly acquiring information through different methods, everything from visiting new bookstores and reading books from unfamiliar genres to listening to everyday conversations around me.

Working towards bursting your bubbles doesn’t have to mean a drastic change in your academic schedule or daily routine. It can be as simple as shifting the style of music you listen to every once in a while or learning about a culture different from your own. By exercising metacognition and being mindful of the ways we learn, we can gain deeper levels of understanding of the world we live in.

With almost two years of pandemic fatigue, the ever-rising threat of climate change, and even claims of a looming American civil war, panic is at an all-time high. And the overwhelming nature of the worries that plague us today has created a specific subsection of activists that has grown massively in the past two years: alarmists.

I typically catch myself exaggerating tidbits of my life in everyday interactions; seemingly endless queues, freezing weather in the mornings, and days flying by during break are just a few examples of how hyperbolic my friends and I often are in casual conversations. But when this degree of hyperbolic speech addresses pandemics, policy issues, and our world’s fate, widespread panic often trumps rationality, causing a feedback loop of stress and exaggeration. I’ve recently seen countless posts, pages, and accounts dedicated solely to scaring viewers into agreement and preaching about exaggerated doom — whether it be relating to the coronavirus pandemic or accelerated climate change.

When confronted about their exaggerations, most people have an easy excuse: “Better safe than sorry.” But they often tread the fine line between caution and alarmism, with most of their words purposefully inciting enough despair and pessimism to push people to break-

downs and disorderly behavior, similar to posts that created panic during the early months of the pandemic. As our generation works towards a more reformative approach to the world’s problems, it is important for us to stay educated on the impact that alarmism can have on larger audiences.

In a story for the Washington Post Magazine, environmental and political journalist Jason Plautz found that youth today are incredibly burdened by concern for their future partly due to online media and interactions that instill a deep sense of alarm in them. Alarmists online often blur the lines between extreme scenarios and objective facts or predictive science. And most importantly, by framing issues through the perspective of despair and hopelessness, alarmists also discourage level-headed approaches that aim to tackle problems rather than making people worry about them passively.

To some extent, mainstream media perpetuates such alarmism as well, publishing sensational headlines and content that will scare people into coming back for more, increasing website traffic.

But as young students, we must take on the responsibility of fostering a more solution-oriented culture by rejecting hysteria. By approaching problems with hope and determination to find answers, we can carve out a less worrying future for ourselves.

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

There's no shame in getting COVID-19 You wake up to a sore throat, slight fever, and mild cough; something just doesn’t feel right. So, you get tested for COVID-19 and anxiously quarantine in your bedroom. The results come back: positive. At this point, a wave of emotions hits you: shock, dread, guilt, but most of all, shame. You wonder, “What did I do wrong?”

For the past few weeks, this feeling has become especially common due to the recent surge of COVID-19’s Omicron variant. Unlike previous variants, there have been more breakthrough infections and higher transmissibility related to Omicron, giving rise to an average of nearly one million cases in the US per day.

Even with proper precautions in place — mask wearing, hand washing, and appropriate vaccinations —, most of us cannot fully limit our exposure to the virus.

From students who must attend in-person school to essential workers at grocery stores and hospitals, people going about their day-to-day life are at higher risk of contracting the virus and may fall sick, with many counties, school districts, and businesses staying open without restrictions.

Vaccination and masking does not guarantee immunity, but rather, a lower chance of contracting the virus. So, while it’s imperative to take safety recommendations seriously and be responsible with coronavirus precautions, with the high transmissibility of the new variant, we must be understanding of those who take the utmost care to protect themselves and still fall sick.

There is no shame in getting an illness that, according to Nature, had infected nearly one-third of the American population by the end of 2020. Rather than playing a game of moral superiority and passing judgment on the lifestyles of those who fell sick, we should encourage others to be transparent about their diagnoses. In doing so, we can ensure that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 disclose their condition to people they were in contact with, allowing for contact tracing and isolation to

minimize transmission of the virus.

Right now, the most important thing that we can do after taking all the necessary health precautions is support those who do fall victim to COVID-19. Help out classmates who miss school, buy groceries for neighbors who are quarantining, and most importantly, create an environment where individuals can fight the illness without judgment. By creating support structures for those who do test positive, we can encourage people to prioritize their health by self-isolating and staying home without worrying about having to choose between getting an education or staying safe from COVID-19.

And for those who do receive a positive COVID-19 test, don’t view it as a moral failure. If you’ve been following all the social distancing, hand-washing, masking, and vaccination public health guidelines, you should know that you’ve already done your best to keep everyone safe.

Instead of scrutinizing the things you “did wrong” to get COVID-19 in the first place, focus on doing what you still can to protect others from getting sick. As FUSD has reiterated, if you tested positive and have been in close contact with other individuals recently, be transparent and let them and the district know, so they can test and isolate appropriately.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends a fiveday quarantine period for individuals with COVID-19, consider staying home if you continue to exhibit symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and others listed by FUSD’s COVID-19 Overview.

So the next time you or someone you know tests positive for COVID-19, realize that we must all do our part to bring an end to this pandemic.

By Kaitlyn Wang & Angela Xiong Staff Writers

STAFF WRITER KAITLYN WANG

STAFF WRITER ANGELA XIONG

4 Advertisement www.thesmokesignal.org

The Smoke Signal

Friday, January 28, 2022

Friday, January 28, 2022 The Smoke Signal

www.thesmokesignal.org

Opinion 5

Gatekeepers to the American Dream lock out underprivileged students

By Selina Kao, Esther Lau & Priyanka Shah Staff Writers On Monday, January 10, a lawsuit filed in federal court accused 16 of the nation’s private leading universities of allegedly conspiring to reduce the financial aid they award to students through a price-fixing cartel system. Five former undergraduate students filed the lawsuit in Chicago, IL in a fight against the decades-old antitrust exemption granted to these universities for financial aid decisions. Coined as the “gatekeepers to the American Dream,” the University of Chicago, Columbia, Brown, Duke, Emory, Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgetown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Rice, California Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt, and Yale were accused of showing privilege to the wealthy and disadvantaging the financially needy.

Founded in 1998, the 568 Presidents Group was originally intended to be a consortium of colleges given permission to create financial aid packages together only if they followed need-blind admission practices and refrained from discriminating against low-income students. The group’s name comes from Section 568 in the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 which allowed antitrust exemptions under select conditions. However, the universities allegedly violated these conditions, reportedly conspiring together to decide on a method for awarding financial aid, which raises net tuition prices based on considerations of the applicants and their families’ wealth.

Instead of using Section 568 for its intended purpose, these universities are reportedly using the exemption to artificially inflate the cost of tuition by lowering competition among financial aid packages.

In the 1990s, the US Department of Justice charged several elite colleges with price-fixing, where the schools communicated and provided the same financial aid package to students admitted to multiple universities in an attempt to reduce the amount of financial aid given. In 1994, they reached a settlement which bound the universities under Section 568.

The section ensures universities cannot unfairly factor in financial capabilities, which is why the defendant schools should be heavily penalized for effectively forming a monopoly by limiting competition.

With education already being heavily commodified

in the US, financial aid packages often open up avenues for students to find social mobility and rise beyond their existing circumstances. By exploiting legal loopholes to save money, these universities are depriving students of their rights to financial aid and bringing them financial detriment by forcing them to take out loans for their education that keep them indebted for decades after their graduation. As this exploitation mounts, it leaves massive problems in its wake, one of which is the $131.10 billion that students owe to American private universities. If any change is to be made in accessibility to higher education, prohibiting antitrust exemptions would be the first step to the process.

Although the exemption prohibits “favoring wealthy applicants to minimize how much money they gave away in scholarships,” universities do seem to consider wealth in some circumstances. For example, some schools favor the children of past donors, and others consider an ability to pay for students on a waiting list. Therefore, even though universities may not consider traditional indicators of financial status in admissions, they still provide preferential treatment to students with donor connections and other informal indicators of wealth. As such, CNBC reports that the suit claims more than 170,000 financial aid recipients have been “overcharged hundreds of millions of dollars” for tuition over the course of nearly two decades.

Without adequate financial aid, students are heavily burdened by worries of financing their education. According to the US Department of Education, financial aid helps more than 13 million students receive a college education each year — the effects of students not having access to this tool would be far too grim. Indeed, receiving a college education is crucial, as the employment rate for college graduates is 17% higher than that for high school graduates.

A study by the National Center for Postsecondary Research corroborates that the enrollment of lowincome students would decrease by as much as 40% without grant aid.

This comes at a particularly concerning time, as according to the Hechinger Report, the socio-economic divide in higher education is the highest it has ever been. Furthermore, with state funding decreasing, the recipients of financial aid are shifting from lowerincome students to higher-income students, as institutions must try to minimize the money awarded.

In turn, this allows institutions to “spend the least on those who need the most help and the most on those who arguably need the least,” Hechinger Report Author Jon Marcus said.

Unfortunately, universities’ collusion only exacerbates the overwhelming presence of racial and socioeconomic inequality at elite institutions. A study from Georgetown University found that more than 30% of African American and Hispanic students with GPAs higher than 3.5 matriculate to community colleges, while that percentage is only 22% for white students with the same grades. Although extracurricular activities cause variation in admission, this distinction largely overlaps with wealth, as wealthy students with average scores have generally been found to attend more highly ranked universities than less wealthy students with higher test scores.

Coupled with disparities in generational wealth due to the nation’s deep history of racial oppression, this places marginalized communities in an even deeper pool of inequity.

According to the Center of American Progress, by relying on student loans, one in three low-income borrowers at public, four-year institutions drop out; this rate is 10% higher than that of non-low-income borrowers. Frequently, the same students are forced to work jobs while juggling their studies at the same time. At times, after graduation, this results in difficulties seeking jobs, as those more financially needy must balance both paying off their tuition and finding the right job with sufficient wage offers, leaving students drowning in a pool of student debt that is challenging to pay off.

On the other hand, those in favor of the 568 Group may argue that the act of collaboration on financial aid formulas is not in violation of federal law.

While this is correct, applicants’ financial capacities seem to be factors in certain universities’ admissions decisions, making their collusion illegal and a direct violation of Section 568. For example, Former Penn Admissions Officer Karen Crowley told Forbes in 2017 that factoring financial need into admissions from the waitlist was “not an official practice ... but admissions officers are human.” However “human” the practice is, it only perpetuates the inequities within the financial aid system.

As inaccessibility and elitism are widely present in elite institutions and higher education, a large question presents itself: how can reforms be made?

The exemption only serves as a burden; thus, the first steps to reforming this system would be for lawmakers to dissolve the exemption and criminalize further loopholes exploiting antitrust exemptions.

Currently, the Need-Based Educational Act of 2015, the Congressional bill that allows this exemption, is set to expire this fall, meaning that further extension of the bill can be prevented by a Congressional majority vote.

To further address the inequality, schools who have a discrepancy in “need-blind claims” must correct their claims to increase transparency. More gener-

$

ally, admissions processes should truly be need-blind to all students, not just students who are applying for financial aid, to eliminate wealth-based bias in the process.

Finally, students must put pressure on individual institutions to reform their admissions processes and financial aid grant systems. Although impacting the 568 Group as a whole is challenging on an individual level, advocating for equity by sending letters to specific school administrators or drawing attention to the ongoing lawsuit can influence institutions to implement changes. At the same time, students must push for change at the federal level, where court decisions have implications for the entirety of the 568 Group.

In the modern political climate, public pressure is highly effective at the federal level, and will be key to eliminating inequities in higher education. Thus, it is crucial for everyone to build this pressure by spreading awareness about the lawsuit via their social networks and social media platforms. At the end of the day, the devastating and disproportionate impacts of the 568 Group have made two things overwhelmingly clear: these universities must be punished for exploiting antitrust exemptions and universities must not continue to consider wealth in the admissions process.

GRAPHIC BY OPINION EDITOR ISABELLA HE.

"5= <(

&&&&;("5" 9&

"+&,>

Return to distance learning

started as a two week closure ended and everyone's top priority. If we are

)*+&,, &'(

and happy at school, then I think closing for

learn more in-person compared to online school. However, Omicron is more contagious than the other variants. Many students like myself would rather stay home and stay safe. Ideally, I would like to go online if we could receive the same

*+&3

"Schools should resume in-person as of down as of the last few days, even

detrimental to students' mental and physical health, and I am sure most students would not like a second "Given that MSJ saw an increase in cases last week, we should return to distance learning temporarily. However, I don't

&&&&&&&&&-.("

/

3& 12+& )&0

&&&&&&&4"*5 "&

+&,7&&

from the risk of the new variant. Returning to

&'(

6"

"Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases as a result [of] the Omicron variant, I think that schools should return to distance learning. Even though

8"95 )$:

!"##" $%

Given rising COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant, do you think schools should return to distance learning or stay in-person?

Omicron variant. I think that we should have delayed the return to school for a week and taken classes online

of Omicron in our community and guarantee greater safety to students and their families."

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS CHARLIZE CHIU, ESTHER LAU & JENNIE WANG.

6 Feature

The Smoke Signal

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

Dear Diary: Nian

By Kaitlyn Wang Staff Writer The Beginning What beginning? I was practically born without a purpose. This empty forest has caged me for what seems like eternity. I know there’s an outside world ... but why can’t I bring myself to get out? The flickering lights of the faraway city below the mountain are ever so captivating, yet a sense of dread tugs at my mind. There are only two things seared into my memory: My name is Nian. I am a monster. That is all I know.

The Lights are Dying Breaking news: I’m leaving the forest. This is my last chance to escape this isolation. You see, this year’s winter is especially cruel.

Every plant here has withered, and the clouds have cast a bleak, gray hue on this mountain. Worst of all, the city’s lights are losing their usual radiant glow — the sole reminders that I’m not alone in this world are fading. The icy wind must have killed the humans’ crops, forcing them to starve in their own homes. I must get them food before it’s too late!

Encounter Ahh, I’ve finally reached the city! But, the streets are deserted. Not a single soul.

Anyway, the sea of houses around me is quite mind-boggling ... and inconvenient — my tail won’t stop sweeping roofs off these flimsy huts! Besides, why is no one here? This must be my cue to evacuate ... What's that in front of me? Oh god, it’s a little boy — i-i-it’s a HUMAN. His Eyes Saying that my mind shut down would be an understatement. What does he want? What

Friday, January 28, 2022

On February 1, numerous countries from around the world will gather to celebrate Chinese New Year, which commemorates the start of a new year on the traditional lunar calendar. According to Chinese folklore, a mythical creature named Nian (meaning “year”) would come down its mountain and break into bustling towns every New Year’s Eve, attacking everything in its path.

However, his crippling fear of red, loud noises, and bright lights was soon discovered by the villagers, thus sparking the long-cherished traditions of wearing red, hanging red banners, lighting lanterns, and setting off firecrackers. Today, the legend of Nian still persists as the origin story behind Lunar New Year. With monstrous features said to resemble those of lions, dragons, and oxes, Nian is often illustrated as a murderous beast. However, what if he is just a hapless creature misunderstood by us?

on earth do I do? Still, the sparkles that escape his innocent eyes seem to melt me — they didn’t last long, though. My reflection appeared in the tears welling up in his eyes, revealing my razor-sharp teeth, shaggy green fur, and murderous eyes. I’m a monster. How did I forget that?

Victim Thousands of other humans stepped out of their homes to take a look at me. Oh my, their stomachs cave inwards, and their cheeks sink into their faces. I need to find them food right now! Though, their faces are stricken with fear — not that I can blame them. Wait, they’re attacking me! Why? Their tiny knives won't stand a chance ... that's what I thought until an apple hit my head. For some reason, seeing the bright red color felt like getting my eyes gouged out.

AHJKSFD MY EYESJKDL! Someone hollered, “RED!” Red? No. I can’t stand red — AH, STOP. Everything around me is blinding red: lanterns, banners, clothes — I can’t see anymore. The POWs and BOOMs of the humans setting off firecrackers and playing drums are sending needles through my ears. No, I must escape.

crumble from their onslaughts and succumb to this torturous loop. However, things have become peculiar — the humans have changed. Despite it being the coldest time of the year, the townspeople gather every winter to reunite and carry on a tradition of wearing red, hanging red banners, lighting red lanterns, and setting off those darned

firecrackers ... They look happy! They look happy doing the things that were started because of me. Perhaps, that is enough for me.

I Will Be Back I’ve returned to my desolate forest. When the first snowflake drifts down to announce the arrival of winter again, when the crops all die, the townspeople will need me ... and I will return to help. Next year will be fine.

They Look Happy Hundreds of years have passed since my first encounter with the humans. Every winter since then, I have returned to help ... only to GRAPHICS BY FEATURE EDITOR LILY OH

Student Spotlight: Joshua Shi

By Rohan Bhagat & Jason Tang Staff Writers When Senior Joshua Shi made his first video in 2018, he didn’t expect much of it. He had no prior experience in filmmaking and relied on YouTube for information on editing. Today, he has more than 200 YouTube subscribers, and his most-viewed YouTube video, “MSJHS Multicultural Assembly 2018-2019,” has more than 85,000 views at the time of writing.

Shi first became interested in filmmaking when he was an 8th grader at William Hopkins Junior High School. During his time there, the school hosted the Hopkins’ 2018 Film Festival, which prompted Shi to create his first film, a documentary on former Director of Instrumental Music at Hopkins Junior High School Gregory Conway. “‘Mr. Conway’ - A Short Documentary” is a compilation of moments and memories the orchestra and jazz band

classes had together, with snippets from both rehearsals and performances. This documentary won the Best Student Award in the eighth annual MoziMotion|iPhone Film Festival. He received a lot of thanks from his classmates for preserving their memories and chose to continue pursuing this hobby.

Shi hopes to save the events so students can find and cherish them later on. “It’s like the adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, except now you’re doing a video, so there are 24 pictures per second. So it’s even more.” Shi said.

Shi also hopes to help people understand MSJ more through his videos. His video, “MSJHS Campus Walk,” helped many new Homecoming and Multicultural Week helped students get acquainted with MSJ follow- prepare this year’s airbands and performers for ing distance learning, and his videos about Homecoming, by giving them an example of the performances. “I wanted to just continue keeping an archive of the memories of different events that will happen here,” he said.

Outside of MSJ event recordings, Shi likes to challenge himself with his own creative endeavors. His personal favorite project he has made has been “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt | Virtual Reality Activity,” where he experimented with a 360-degree camera for the first time.

In this “bear hunt,” he created a game where Teddy the bear has to find 11 of his animal friends in the Mission Creek area. He made this to be a fun virtual activity for kids during the pandemic. Everything in this video, from music to artwork, was created by Shi himself.

In the future, he would like to continue to cover school events and plans to produce another short film about MSJ during the summer. With college coming up, Shi’s coverage of MSJ may

be coming to an end, although he has not ruled out returning to MSJ to cover future events.

For other aspiring videographers, Shi advises making a video, regardless of skill level or equipment. “I wasn’t professional when I started, I didn’t have any experience ... if you’re interested in making films, just go for it, shoot a few videos.”

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER ROHAN BHAGAT, COURTESY JOSHUA SHI. GRAPHICS BY FEATURE EDITOR LILY OH

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Smoke Signal

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

Feature 7

DieHard TryHards:

Pe t Cos t ume Conte s t

By Charlize Chiu, Sarina Li, Nessa Tong & Elton Yu Staff Writers

Dressing up pets: it’s wholesome and fun for the whole family (except for the unfortunate model).

This month, the Smoke Signal’s DieHard TryHards competed to crown their pets with the title of Best Dressed Pet. Bark off Tyra, and make space on the runway for the next Kim Klawdashian.

b e f o r e

Charlize Paired with his bountiful closet and polished modeling capabilities, I’m con-

Nessa

Elton

When it comes to this competition, I am sticking with the tried-and-true “more is

My pet corgi, Kobe, is sure to steal this

Sarina

ture shall draw all the eyes to him in all his squishy glory. His one-off exclusive preme’s leather bomber jacket is something that any dog can only dream of owning. With the perfect amount of classiness and casualness, Kobe’s style is

ensembles. However, I plan to bring

will strut this runway quadruped style, fur-xedo glimmering underneath the stage’s blinding lights. Kitty is modeling one of Japan’s newest pieces, sourced straight from its gachapon machines.

-

decked out in their own wacky ensembles — products of all the Halloweens spent torturing, I mean, having fun with them. Most of my pets, being around

with his hat game. The versatility of his wardrobe allows him to adapt into

monochromatic tones. The synergy of the hat’s honey yellow petals along

a more avant garde approach. Instead

Who knows what he’ll be? (Hopefully the winner of this competition!)

bring some of spring’s much-needed warmth into the winter of our souls.

look for some stylish human garments that will outshine the competition.

lays eyes on him will be too stunned to speak and only have one thought in their mind: he's absolutely corgi-eous.

3rd place

4th place

2nd place

1st place

hearts of the judges. I’m admittedly a bit intimidated that he’ll have to face off

a I’ll admit, I might’ve been a tiny bit petition. I’m honestly not surprised that

f

e

r

In hindsight, I should have anticipated -

I admit I underestimated my cats’ sixth sense for danger. I unfortunately

hat when the rest of my competition

the couch while I chased the other cats around. To prevent any other escapes, I locked everyone into the shower, resulting in a less than satisfying group photo. However, while the background

entry, I began to wonder if we should’ve white bear hat was quite tame in hindsight; perhaps we should’ve gone with our backup — the banana costume.

Regardless of the outcome, my bunny

t

doubts crept up right after I submitted my photo to the judging panel. It sudactually was. However, I came to terms with my performance after seeing Kitty happily prance around the house with her newfound hat-turned-collar, bearing its bright yellow petals with pride.

In the end, my struggle of trying to keep Kobe in his costume by giving him way too many treats paid off. The judges

to the competition. His bunny sweater edge above the other stunning pets. Better watch out for Kobe: This may be his

and I managed to win second place. make a reappearance next Halloween.

PHOTOS BY GRAPHICS EDITOR MINGXIN WANG, STAFF WRITERS CHARLIZE CHIU, SARINA LI, NESSA TONG & ELTON YU, GRAPHICS BY FEATURE EDITOR NITHIKA VALLURI.

8 Centerspread Finder

File

The Smoke Signal

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG Edit

View

Go

Window

Friday, January 28, 2022

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Smoke Signal

Fri

Help

The Rise of Modern Technology Jiyun Guo, Karina Han, Christy Huang, Waylon Li, Aditya Patil & Hannah Shen

unfortunately, as a teacher, I see all the negatives, but there a lot of good things like autopilot that are going to make driving a lot easier. A lot of big companies can utilize AI within their own companies to make processes faster and Computer Science Teacher Michael Jan

With the current trajectory of developments in technology, it’s clear that the future will be inseparable from these advancements. From cryptocurrencies to artificial intelligence, the Smoke Signal has highlighted some key innovations and controversies surrounding them to shed light on modern technology.

Centerspread 9

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

Fri Jan 24 10:00 AM

Current and Future Roles of Technology Current In the past few decades, technology has evolved rapidly, and current technology aims to improve quality of life.

For example, Google’s search engine has led to the Information Age, an era when information is readily available.

Cell phones and social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have allowed people to better communicate across long distances. Technology incorporated into medicine has resulted in new heart attack treatments and computer modeling for tracking COVID-19.

Future

Technologies Cryptocurrency Cryptocurrencies are a type of digital currency based on blockchains, or digital records that store data and transactions. Because most cryptocurrencies use public blockchains with publicly verifiable transactions, they are difficult to hack. The most popular cryptocurrencies today are Bitcoin and Ethereum, although others like Polygon and Dogecoin are gaining traction. Although cryptocurrencies can be invested in, their value usually relies on public interest and fluctuates greatly. In the future, as cryptocurrencies stabilize and develop, they may become a universal option for payment.

What do you think are the current and future impacts of technology on society?

“Currently, machine learning and AI have a huge impact on everyday life. Google uses machine learning for its Google Home product to analyze voice commands, Amazon uses it to analyze purchasing patterns and improve search results, and Tesla uses machine learning to make self-driving cars. The possibilites are endless.” — Nicholas Zhang, 10

As breakthroughs in technology continue, people should expect their lives to change with them. Robots, AI, and machine-to-machine communication have already drastically improved businesses and their efficiency.

As they become smarter and perform more complex procedures, dangerous jobs such as mining, welding, and other physically demanding tasks can be performed by robots for time efficiency and injury prevention.

Outside of the workplace, new technology can play major roles in transportation from zero-emission smart cars to space tourism. As more leaps in technology are made, scientific predictions like flying cars are quickly being made reality.

Controversies and Issues

NFTs A non-fungible token (NFT) is a non-replicable token that establishes ownership of an original piece of digital media, such as drawings, songs, video clips, memes, etc. Each NFT includes a proof of ownership and certificate of authenticity; however, they do not grant intellectual property rights, such as commercial usage of digital content, unless stated in a seller’s contract. Famous NFTs include Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5000 Days,” which sold for $69 million, a $590,000 Nyan Cat GIF, and Jack Dorsey’s first tweet, an NFT worth $3 million. While they’re mostly used for art investment, NFTs can also be used as digital membership cards or tickets. In the future, NFTs may create a decentralized market for content creators, meaning they won’t have to rely on established platforms for transactions.

Phishing

Personalized Ad...

Environmental Im...

Location Tracking

AI Bias

Ethical Dilemmas...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning Artificial intelligence (AI) is technology’s display of intelligence possessed by humans. The methods to solving real-world applicable problems by AI are not confined to the biological possibilities limited in human problem-solving. Instead, AI is often used by researchers and scientists to solve open, experimental problems in an efficient manner because of its incorporation of machine learning, a branch of AI that uses data and algorithms to mimic how humans learn. These algorithms are trained to make predictions based on data and are most notably seen in Netflix’s recommendation system or self-driving cars.

Deepfakes Deepfakes are generated through the process of replicating an individual's likeness through a photo, video, or other digital media. Also known as “synthetic media,” deepfakes are generated by two algorithms: one algorithm maps an original media’s features onto another, while the other algorithm detects flaws in the AI-generated media and corrects them. Deepfakes today have been used to spread false information about public figures, such as the Mark Zuckerberg deepfake, which showed Zuckerberg giving an ominous speech about Facebook’s power. This ultimately creates concerns about fake news and propaganda, especially regarding its effectiveness against politicians and influencers. Going forward, deepfakes will only grow more advanced, making it nearly impossible to distinguish the accuracy of digital media.

Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) uses computer technology to create an immersive simulated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real. A user can use a VR headset to explore this environment in 360 degrees by looking, moving around, and interacting with virtual features or items. VR is most commonly used in entertainment applications such as video games (Beat Saber), social virtual worlds (VRChat), and 3D cinema (YouTube VR).

However, more recently, VR exposure therapy (VRET) has been gaining popularity as a method to enhance treatment of anxiety disorders such as PTSD by exposing patients to their triggers in a safe environment. As the world becomes increasingly digital, technologies like VR have the potential to drive the future of entertainment, medicine, education, and more.

Phishing is a cybercrime in which scammers pose as a legitimate institution and contact targets through email, telephone, or text message to lure individuals into providing personal information such as credit card numbers, passwords, and login information. The stolen information is then used to access important financial accounts and can result in identity theft and financial loss. According to the 2021 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, phishing accounted for approximately 35% of all breaches. Phishing has become increasingly common because it is easy to conduct and results in profitable rewards, but leaves devastating consequences for the target.

Personalized advertisement is a marketing technique many companies use to make advertising messages uniquely tailored towards each customer by collecting their personal information. It can provide customers with a more pleasant online experience and allow brands to cultivate a dedicated audience. However, this practice can easily become an invasion of privacy. Many customers are concerned about internet privacy and oppose personalized advertisement, claiming that it is unethical to collect user data and use it to create targeted advertising. Because of this, companies now have opt-out options for consumers who don’t want targeted advertisements.

Most cryptocurrencies are “mined,” or generated, through a process known as proof of work. To obtain cryptocurrency tokens, miners use high-tech computers to solve complex math problems, and the first to solve the problem receives the tokens. The process then repeats with another problem, making it a constant race between miners to solve problems first. These computers use a lot of nonrenewable energy such as fossil fuels in the process, and consumption increases over time because the problems get harder as more cryptocurrency is mined. To solve this issue, some cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are looking into less energy-intensive methods, such as proof of stake, in which users invest their own cryptocurrency for a chance to earn more instead of mining.

Phishing

Personal Advertisements

Environmental Impact of Cryptocurrencies

Google Maps, the Weather app, COVID-19 contact tracers, and Pokémon GO all have one thing in common: they track the location of the user to enhance user experience. These mobile apps document precise locations of their users at any given point in time and store the data for several months. While location tracking makes the user experience more convenient, it can become a major breach of privacy. For example, home addresses and workplaces can be used to identify an individual, potentially turning location tracking into a surveillance system; many worry that this data can be abused if obtained by malicious parties. To relieve this concern, mobile apps often offer the option to turn off location tracking and delete location history. However, this may render some apps — Google Maps, Find My iPhone, and the Weather app, for example — unusable.

Since AI is built by inherently biased humans, the technology inherits the bias of its programmers and datasets it was trained upon. A single person’s prejudices can be reflected in a global app. In September 2020, users discovered bias in Twitter’s image-cropping algorithm, in which the image preview had the tendency to show certain races and genders more than others. In addition, Google Translate had previously been found to perpetuate gender stereotypes when translating from a language without gendered pronouns into one that does.

The Turkish phrase “He/she is a doctor” had historically been translated into the masculine form. However, companies have been working to reduce AI bias, and Google Translate now includes gender-specific translations for such phrases.

An autonomous vehicle (AV) is able to sense its environment and move safely without the intervention of a human driver. However, these self-driving cars raise many ethical paradoxes, such as a 2016 survey published in Science in which respondents said they would want an AV to protect pedestrians even if it meant sacrificing its passengers, but also that they wouldn’t buy vehicles programmed to act this way. Another common ethical question surrounding AVs is who is legally and morally responsible for when an AV crashes and kills a pedestrian — the passenger or the manufacturer? Since these ethical issues involve life and death scenarios, the resulting moral gray areas make it difficult to find an effective solution.

Location Tracking

AI Bias

Ethical Dilemmas of Autonomous AI

3D Printing 3D printing is a technique in which objects are constructed layer by layer using molten metal or plastic that later hardens into the desired shape. The design is first created digitally using software such as computer-aided design or computer-aided manufacturing programs. Currently, 3D printing is utilized in several industries ranging from healthcare to automobiles, allowing complex machines that would have taken weeks to assemble to be printed at once. As 3D printers become advanced, developments such as being able to print electronics and use multiple materials at once can lead to major advancements in the space and medicine industries.

“So the most promising I think would be cryptocurrency, obviously because of the promise of decentralization and the power given back to the people is what cryptocurrency promises which I think is pretty cool. And cryptocurrency you know, it's not just cryptocurrency, just crypto in general, like NFTs, smart contracts, and Ethereum. I think the next generation of applications and just applications in general will be built on top of Web3, which is crypto, so that's because it puts the servers out of business.

I think that's pretty cool.” — Aditya Prerepa, 12

“I think it would be machine learning. We collect so much quantifiable information just by living our everyday lives that there's a lot of power in being able to make sense of all that data. Many tech companies are just collecting and using this data and it even outperforms humans on certain tasks just through sheer computing power. [Machine people working on it, leading to more innovations.”

— Vivian Han, 12

In your opinion, what is the most promising modern digital technology & why?

JAN

28 GRAPHICS BY CENTERSPREAD EDITORS NAVEED SHAKOOR & JACKIE WONG.

10 Arts & Entertainment

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

The Smoke Signal

THE CRÈME DE LA CRÈME TOUR

Friday, January 28, 2022

REVIEW

by Ayushi Kashyap & Esha Potharaju Staff Writers The stage lights dim into warm red, washing over the crowd before ribbons of mist waft into the air. At the stage’s center stands a small, two-story cafe whose overhang sports the words “Crème de la Crème.” The cafe’s windows also function as screens displaying airy clouds. Out hurdles Jack Harlow, a beat suddenly breaking out on the speakers. The floor vibrates with the fast-shooting booms of his song, and he takes over the stage with his jaunty grace.

Harlow is a Grammy-nominated artist signed to DJ Drama’s Generation Now label in conjunction with Atlantic Records. His single “WHATS POPPIN” rose to fame as a popular audio on TikTok, with over 250,000 videos using the sound, paving Harlow’s way to widespread fame outside the hip hop community. His music is acclaimed for its playful rhythm and lyricism, exploring themes such as partying and sexuality. He occasionally touches on deeper topics such as his privilege as a white rapper, as well as reflections on his fame.

Held at the San Jose Civic as part of Harlow’s “The Crème de la Crème Tour” on January 13, the concert opened with Harlow’s fellow Louisville, Kentucky natives, The Homies. The indie rap group is part of a creative crew named Private Garden that they, Harlow, and a few other musical artists, established in their senior year of high school. The band of artists built local fame, even headlining a show in Louisville.

The Homies kicked their performance off by singing Drake’s track “Laugh Now Cry Later (feat.

Lil Durk)” over the chorus of the crowd’s cheers. However, only a few audience members chanted the lyrics to the group’s lesser-known songs, resulting in a weak start despite the substantial crowd, an audience that ranged in ages but mostly settled at people in their early 20s. The Homies were quick to turn that around with pivotal engagement tactics. The rappers called at the audience, raising enough playful banter to get them dancing and singing along with cues.

The momentum picked up as The Homies bounced across the stage, punctuating songs like “White Lies” with crowing ad-libs. The group’s ability to pull their set together was commendable.

Despite the energy The Homies had stirred up, it quickly died down with over an hour-long wait between The Homies’ set and Harlow’s set. Many concertgoers were restless and, understandably, left instead of waiting for Harlow’s appearance. The staff played common radio songs and some throwbacks to engage the crowd while waiting, but most opted to mingle amongst themselves.

Suddenly a tall structure draped in black at the stage center was uncloaked, revealing the gorgeous cafe stage set. Harlow’s entrance shocked the audience into stillness, and before long the beats of the song “Tyler Herro” flooded the room. Stage lights corresponded with the quick booms, turning on and off to create a jarringly kaleidoscopic effect. Harlow sported stylish black sunglasses and a breezy black and pink button-up that complemented his immediate confident aura on the stage.

Popular tracks such as “WARSAW (feat. 2forwOyNE)” and “21C/Delta” subsequently followed, and the audience yelled the lyrics passionately as a collective force. Midway through the concert, the crowd died down when presented with nostalgic throwbacks from Harlow’s older albums, such as “Route 66 (feat. EST Gee),” with only a few die-hard fans opting to sing along. The audience swayed back and forth to another one of Harlow’s tracks, “Same Guy (feat. Adam Levine),” a slower, and more soulful piece compared to his previously performed tracks. Just when the audience was getting tired, the openings of Harlow’s upbeat songs like “GHOST” and “INDUSTRY BABY (feat. Jack Harlow) whipped the audience’s energy up to the maximum. These tracks were undoubtedly big hits among the audience, with a spectacular synced light show that reinvigorated concertgoers as they sang along.

While the concert did not feature a full house, the audience was extremely packed. Surges within the crowd were rife, and at times concertgoers were directly pressed onto one another. Before Harlow’s set had even begun, a concertgoer had already fainted. Harlow paused the show multiple times, asking the audience to take multiple steps back. He even went as far as to poll the audience with hand signals, making sure everyone was okay. Additionally, the concert had limited safety protocols in place during a time when the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is quickly spreading. While showing proof of vaccination was required to enter the venue, the crowd was incredibly unregulated, and most opted to take their masks off.

Harlow’s engaging voice coupled with his audience interaction made for a captivating show. Unfortunately, the microphone and audio system were not sharp or loud enough, at times making it hard to hear even from the middle of the crowd. Harlow’s vocals were often smothered by the loudness of the beat in the background, muddling his words.

Still, the entire setlist flowed smoothly, with ample transition time to get the audience hyped up in time for the next track. Starting off with some nostalgic takes, Harlow built up the suspense to some of his largest collaboration tracks, such as “INDUSTRY BABY (feat. Jack Harlow)” and “SUVs (Black on Black)” and finally ended on his most popular single, “WHATS POPPIN.” In spite of the concert’s slow and weak start, Jack Harlow took over with impressive stage presence and playful vocals. But the overall fuzziness in sound quality and unsafe crowd management made for a show that didn’t live up to the full potential it had originally promised.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER AYUSHI KASHYAP, GETTYIMAGES.COM & WIREIMAGE.COM. GRAPHICS BY A&E EDITOR HELEN TIAN.

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Smoke Signal

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

Arts & Entertainment 11

C R I T I C S’ C O R N E R

Hotel Transylvania: transformania: The Franchise fi nishes with Familiar Family Fun

There and back AgaIN: A heartfelt journey of romance

By Pratham Bhashyakarla

By Aaron Zhou

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania ends the series quartet with familiar fun, featuring the uproarious “Drac Pack” in a movie full of bright and colorful animations, jokes, and lessons learned. Al-

On January 7, Atlanta-born singer and 2016 GQ Korea Man of the Year Eric Nam released his second English album, There And Back Again. The album consists of seven tracks, and as Nam proclaims, was born out of an entire year’s worth of tedious mixing and experimentation. Produced in collaboration with Grammy-nominated pro-

new ideas, it stays true to the previous three movies’ roots of digestible morals and slapstick comedy. As Transformania progresses through its plotline, it becomes apparent that many story elements are reused from the franchise, decreasing its appeal to its fanbase; however, it entertains new viewers well with its hilarity and alluring animations.

Transformania introduces the made by mad scientist Van Helshumans into monsters and vice monster friends are all subsequently turned into humans, and the exuberant human Jonathan (Andy The story follows Dracula and Jonathan as they race around the globe which is mirrored by their journey to form a closer bond between father and son-in-law.

Transformania is animated by Sony Pictures Animation, and it shines in its unique character deand shape, making them both easiDrac Pack’s newfound bodies, contrasting the transformed versions of them from their old ones. For example, Dracula is a middle-aged vampire with a perfectly sculpted body, smooth skin, and a head of slicked-back hair — because vampires are immortal. But after the

under the radar TEEN BLUSH

The bulk of Transformania’s comedy lies in the characters’ stellar facial animations. Like in previous movies, characters feature hyper-articulative limbs, mouths, and expressions. Simple lines feigning ignorance or indicating sarcasm are expressions. The comedy is, for the most part, family-friendly, but it still manages to appeal to even the most stoic viewer. The creativity of the animation in totality makes for a visually engaging movie.

However, Transformania features many of the same lessons, not

dull repetition is slightly redeemed by the new elements of transformation, but the plot remains predictable at its core. As more mature viewers start to foresee Transformania’s obvious cliches, the overall character of the movie is tarnished.

Despite its shortcomings, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is still an enjoyable movie. Instances where the storyline might feel unoriginal are quickly swept up by the movie’s rib-tickling humor and expressive characters. Sony Pictures Animation creates an engaging movie, sure to satisfy both seasoned viewers and the new audience with its animation and wit.

Acting: 8/10 Animation: 10/10 Plot: 7/10 Setting: 9/10 Overall: 8.5/10

MOVIE: Encanto TV SHOW: The Owl House — Luca Chen, 11 ALBUM: Legends Never Die BOOK: Atomic Habits by James Clear — Tannvi Banerjee, 12 GAME: Identity V — Stella Wang, 10

Indie music is undoubtedly one of the most popular genres for teenagers and young adults today. What’s not to love about relatable lyrics and comforting melodies? And 20-yearold Kenneth Foss — also known as TEEN BLUSH — delivers quality musical projects perfect for the soundtrack of an epic coming-of-age “I try to capture a unique feeling of nostalgia in my music, and a soft notion of teen angst, thus the name TEEN BLUSH,” the artist said in an interview with blogger kid with a vinyl in 2019. Upon listening to his diately true — his debut EP Honey Stars features his velvety voice and dream-like instrumentals, similar to those of Mac DeMarco and Declan McKenna.

While his slow-paced debut captures the intimate passage of heartbreak, Between My Teeth, his second EP released in 2020, showcases versatility with intimate surf-rock anthems reminiscent of Wallows and TV Girl. “My past three songs have been relatively slow, and that’s cool, but I’m trying to make … music that makes people feel good and energetic,” he revealed to blogger Kool Rock Radio in 2020.

There’s no doubt TEEN BLUSH is an expert at what he does — just not as well-known. He has mastered the quintessential indie wistfulness, especially in his songs “Graveyard Girl” and “Felt Like Home.” Howev“Turning” — scheduled to come out on January 26 on streaming services Apple Music and Spotify — TEEN BLUSH might break into mainstream territory held by artists like Tame Impala, who he described as “his dream collaboration.” There’s no doubt that with his talent and skill, he can make it to that legendary status.

JACKED JANUARY

formations by adding a realistic element to each one. As a human, Dracula experiences real fatigue, sweats, and even produces a killer body odor. Most importantly, he’s immune to the sun’s light now that he isn’t a vampire. The characters experiencing the same toils as a human allows viewers to connect to

completely engaging veteran audiences to the franchise. The entire movie could be resolved if characters followed the simple rule of being honest, a lesson that was also the center of the storyline of past Hotel Transylvania movies. Instead of providing viewers with fresh morals, Transformania recycles old ones. It is frustrating to see characters stumble over the same mistakes

January 2022 Student Faves

By Ruhani Chhabra

SMOKIE PLAYLIST:

turns into his human counterpart with a potbelly, balding head, and sunken eyes. Many other characmations at least as high quality as Dracula’s. Each monster also has his or her own reaction to change, some even altering their personali-

IMDB.COM

exceeds the standards of quality music from an independent artist.

“When it comes to writing, I’m always trying to beat [my] other songs,” Nam said to Bandwagon. Taking listeners on a voyage of a relationship, the breakup, and its reflection, the lyricism, vocals, and production of There And Back Again prove to be a step up from Nam’s previous works.

The starting track, “Lost On Me,” kicks off strongly by confidently introducing Nam’s take on perpetual, unshakeable love. The song sets an upbeat yet wistful atmosphere, opening with a dynamic bass line paired with a soft kick drum and clap. Nam accompanies these melancholy emotions of inevitable separation with captivating metaphorical wordplay, as he longingly sings, “Everything about you now is bittersweet / Last song in the symphony.” However, all hope and love is not lost — Nam follows up with, “Though the show might be over / You should know that your love wasn’t lost on me.”

Nam also asserts his accomplished vocal versatility with intriguing lines in “Any Other Way.” In the chorus, he shows off consistent yet soothing falsetto notes, singing “Because I / Wouldn’t have it any other way,” demonstrating a softer voice suitable for the song’s message of staying true and committed. On the contrary, “Wildfire” offers a powerful flipside to Nam’s vocal prowess. His authoritative and near desperate tone bellowing the chorus’s “In a wildfire” beautifully highlights the unbearable agony of a scorched relationship’s breakup. The song also features sharp EDM-style vocals coupled with an energetic synth

ERICNAM.COM

melody in the background, which fittingly compliments Nam’s fiery attitude.

Similar to its lyricism and vocals, There and Back Again’s production does not fall any shorter in brilliance.

“One Way Lover,” the ending track, serves as a final treat, including some of the finest track mixing offered in the album. Starting off with tranquil piano chords, the song transitions into a fervent string countermelody in the chorus. Here, Nam sings, “You’re a one way lover / Now it makes me wonder / Why I’d ever wanna miss you at all,” introducing a more hesitant side of his approach towards love. The different attitude shown in “One Way Lover” fulfills the name of There And Back Again with clever ordering of tracks in a way that modifies a romantic journey going from the ups back again to the downs of a relationship.

Overall, There and Back Again takes the listener on an emotional rollercoaster, with production appropriately complimenting the mood of each track. Living up to Nam’s goal to take listeners on a journey, the album masterfully delivers different perspectives of love by presenting angelic vocals and fine lyrical production. With his world tour tickets in California completely sold out within days of the album’s release, There And Back Again is truly a surreal journey worth exploring.

Vocals: 10/10 Lyrics: 10/10 Production: 10/10 Overall: 10/10

Don’t Look up doesn’t Look far enough

By Sanah Bhardwaj Don’t Look Up falls far from being the intelligent social commentary piece director Adam McKay wanted it to be. Featuring Hollywood icons Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and many more, Don’t Look Up’s star-studded cast does its best to bring their characters to life but often falls short, Though humorous and relatable at times, the movie’s plot and execution are banal at best, leaving the auroll.

Plotwise, Don’t Look Up is a classic disaster movie and nothing more.

When anxious astronomy Ph.D. student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawstraight toward earth, she and her wide media tour to bring awareness to the problem. Unfortunately, the

tour doesn’t go as planned; President lieve them, and people go on with their lives. However, as the comet nears, mass panic envelops the pubhow the comet should be dealt with.

The ignorant public opens up comparing opposing groups in the movie to those in the real world. For example, in response to the comet, “comet deniers” create the “Don’t Look Up” movement, urging followers to deny the inevitable prospect of the comet hitting earth. Comet deniers are portrayed as rural bumpkin conspiracy theorists, while those who believe in the comet are the uppity, liberal suburbanite and elite.

While this may seem like profound satire on “vaxxers vs. anti vaxxers,” and “climate change believers vs. harmful political stereotypes in the US today. Good satire either helps the viewer laugh about a complex situation or invokes a call to action;

IMDB.COM

“Just Look Up,” which they sing live viewer feel guilty about the state of during the movie. While some lyrics world and eternally pessimistic. elicit a full-body cringe (“Listen to As possibly Don’t Look Up’s bigBon Iver’s original “Second Nature” throughout. Dibiasky and Mindy credits scene with a soft, optimistive, or reasons behind their actions.

For example, when Mindy becomes a bystanding corporate sellout mere weeks into his social media tour meant to call the public to action, the viewer sits confused wondering what happened to the dedicated Dr. Mindy from 20 minutes prior. Nothing explains how these characters have changed and why they make the decisions they do. This disconnect is Don’t Look Up faults, Emmy award-winning composer Nicholas Britell excels with a hopeful, mysterious soundtrack that swells and falls in all the right places.

Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi collaborate for the movie’s title track,

a lot to be desired, the sanguine soundtrack fully immerses the viewlike they’ve experienced its journey alongside the characters.

Overall, Don’t Look Up is a good idea executed horribly. The cast is a bandaid over the bullet-wound that is the script, the satire is shallow and unfunny, and the plot is average at best. While the soundtrack matches far in saving its fate. Unfortunately, Don’t Look Up takes its own advice and doesn’t look far enough.

Acting: 4/10 Cinematography: 6/10 Plot: 3/10 Soundtrack: 10/10 Overall: 5.8/10

| AMANDA: “Sweet but Psycho” by Ava Max | ALINA: “Shut up” by takayan | ISABELLA: “Girlfriend” by 404vincent | SAKSHI: “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift | LILY: “Breathless” by | NITHIKA: “Never Forget You” by Zara Larsson | | | HELEN: “Salt”

by Ava Max | JOANNE: “Legend” by The Score | ANVI: “Naked” by Doja Cat | | MINGXIN: “Formula” by Labrinth JESSICA: “Missed Calls” by Mac Miller | TANISHA: “This Can’t Be Healthy” by Anarbor |

12 Advertisement

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

The Smoke Signal

Friday, January 28, 2022

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Smoke Signal

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

Sports 13

Boys Soccer Triumph Over Washington Huskies 4-1

By Elaheh Khazi & Aaryan Suri Staff Writers stood out to me today was] Damario. He’s a freshman, and he’s banging in goals and bodying players,” Kapoor said. Finally, in the last Sophomore Noel Cabrales-Estrada stole the goal of the game, allowing the Warriors to pull further ahead at 3-1.

Refreshed after halftime, the players stepped tinued with strong offense and defense from both sides. “We controlled the game … they barely even had the ball in the second half,” Kapoor said. With the help of one of their best players, Cabrales-Estrada, the Warriors managed to control the game and bring out a Goalkeeper Co-Captain Senior Ameya Chandra blocks a goal.

On January 14, Boys Soccer went head to head against the Washington High School Huskies. In a fast-paced match with excellent passes, kicks, and steals from both teams, the Warriors were in control of the game from the start, outscoring the Huskies in both halves. In the end, the Warriors took the game in a 4-1 blowout.

As the game began, the Warriors were quick to gain an early lead, as Co-Captain Senior Kanishk Kapoor scored an early goal within after many back and forth plays between both teams, the Huskies broke through the Warriors’ tightly-knit defense and traded back the blow, tying the game 1-1. With the score tied, both teams rallied in an attempt to score for nearly 20 minutes of action-packed gameplay. However, Goalkeeper Co-Captain Senior Ameya Chandra’s exceptional defense prevented the Huskies from scoring any points.

Putting the game in the Warriors’ favor, Left

Winger Freshman Damario McIntosh kicked the ball into the goal. “[One of the players that

attempted shots; however, the Warriors’ goalie, Junior Jayden Gravett, managed to continue blocking all goal attempts from the Huskies.

MSJ Boys Soccer sprint across the field to score.

fense against the Huskies ensured the Huskies’ defeat. Before the conclusion of the match, Cabrales-Estrada scored yet another timely ways have individuals who stick out. Our underclassmen front three: Noel [Cabrales-Estrada], Damario [McIntosh], and Farzad [Aftab]. tain Senior Aditya Aneja said. captains were proud and appreciative of their lot of good work together, and that’s how we won,” Chandra said.

For the rest of the season, “I have high standards for the team, and hope to coach on an individual level, and also show that I care about each individual reaching their full poten-

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS ELAHEH KHAZI & AARYAN SURI

Beijing 2022: China’s Hidden Human Rights Record Tarnishes the Olympics

By Annika Singh & Steffi Zhou Staff Writers day after Khashoggi was murdered, which, according to speculations by Sports Illustrated journalist Stanley Kay, served to distract citizens from Khashoggi’s death. Instances like these demonstrate how athletes are used by countries for their own propaganda. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and China have not stopped violating human rights just because they are hosting a big sports tournament like the Olympics. Instead, the countries are taking part in

on February 4 in Beijing, China. With the return of this major sports event comes the issue of sportswashing — a term used when an individual, group, corporation, or nation-state uses sports to improve its reputation and public image. Currently, China is attempting to refashion its image as a glamorous sports host and erase its severe human rights record, taking advantage of the Olympics’ audience of more than three billion people worldwide. ing Muslim minority, live in Xinjiang, China. In the summer of 2018, the United Nations revealed that they had received reports detailing the detainment of innocent Uyghurs in China, with additional research done by the Uy-

themselves with the respect these athletes have accumulated to make themselves look better. and fans is that sports are politically neutral, and that once global competitions like the Olympic Games start, they should not be tarnished by

has imprisoned at least 630 imams and other tional education and training centers,” a term the Chinese government uses to describe the internment camps, do not violate Uyghurs’ rights. Instead, they believe that the crackdown is needed to prevent terrorism and Islamic extremism. Uyghurs who are not detained face strict crackdown measures in the form of surveillance, mass detentions, police checkpoints,

Activists rally for a boycott of the Olympics at the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles.

with Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s campaign to promote Han nationalism and suppress any ethnic or cultural groups that may oppose the Chinese Communist Party.

With the Beijing Olympics approaching, multiple countries have announced a diplomatic boycott of the competition over the widespread allegations of Chinese atrocities

have expressed their support for the athletes and the Olympic Games multiple times in recent months — most recently in the United Nations resolution titled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal.” It “calls upon all Member States to cooperate with the IOC ... in their efforts to use sport as a tool to promote peace ... in areas

Olympics to boost their public image in light of their human rights violations against the Uyghurs. It is important for fans of the Olympic Winter Games to keep this in mind: while it is exciting to support a particular athlete or country, it is also important to remember the context in which the games are happening.

Unfortunately, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that in addition to countries, athletes also have a role in creating the growing sportswashing culture. For example, in October 2018, a journalist from The Washington Post named Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Arabian consulate by a team of Sau-

that the US, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and other countries have

As the host of such a celebrated and widespread event, China is no doubt using the

Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, announced plans to play an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia the

purely political decision for each nation, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

sports fans are also complicit in sportswashing.

Everyone plays a role in sportswashing: countries, athletes, and fans.

In light of recent events, it is evident that ence diplomatic, social, and political relations. highlights an important need for both athletes and fans alike to speak out against the atrocities happening in the Xinjiang province of resources and links via popular social media On its website, the Uyghur Human Rights Project also provides a variety of ways to increase social impact, such as signing petitions, donating, and contacting members of Congress. Ultimately, it is vital for people to recognize sportswashing as a tactic for disreputable regimes to improve their reputations by taking part in sporting events that bring pleasure to PHOTOS BY GPB.ORG

14 Advertisement

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

The Smoke Signal

Friday, January 28, 2022

Online & In-Person Programs for Students in Grades 5–12

Test Preparation

Tutoring + GPA Boost

Courses For Credit

Academic Enrichment

Unique Extracurriculars

College Consulting

Elite Prep Fremont www.eliteprep.com

Everything you need to get into the college of your dreams • Learn more at eliteprep.com

Friday, January 28, 2022

The Smoke Signal

Sports 15

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will officially begin on February 4 with the opening ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium and end with the closing ceremony on February 20.

General Information

The upcoming Olympics will be taking place inside of a 120 square mile figurative bubble that will cover all stadiums, hotels, transports, and catering. The Winter Games will begin to be televised live on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) at 6:30 a.m. EST. At 8-11 p.m. EST, NBC will also feature a special presentation of the opening ceremony that will include coverage of Team USA. The event will also be live streamed through networks such as Peacock, fuboTV, and nbcolympics.com. Peacock and nbcolympics.com are both free streaming services owned by NBC while fuboTV offers an online subscription of $64.99 a month after a seven-day free trial.

COVID--19 Protocols Upon arrival in Beijing, the athletes will be escorted by security personnel in police-escorted buses to their designated hotels. Competing athletes who are fully vaccinated will enter the closed-loop management system, a bubble that caters to all Olympians’ needs. Once within the bubble, overseas Olympians will remain within the bubble until exiting the country. Those who are not fully vaccinated will have been in quarantine for 21 days after landing in Beijing. As the Games begin, all those residing within the bubble will be required to test daily for COVID-19.

Athletes, Olympic personnel, as well as staff who test positive for the virus will be taken to the hospital; otherwise, they will be required to stay at an isolation facility. Symptomatic patients will be discharged once symptoms have subsided, and they have presented two negative COVID-19 tests. Due to coronavirus restrictions, only fans residing in mainland China will be able to purchase tickets and attend the events.

New Sports Additions

Statistics& and Numbers This year’s Winter Games will have 109 events running across seven different sports. Athletes from the approximately 90 National Olympic Committees have an estimated 3,000 athletes competing in the games. The events will be hosted across 13 venues located in the cities of Beijing, Zhangjiakou, and Yanqing over 17 days. The US will have approximately 200 athletes representing Team USA across 15 different disciplines.

The Beijing Games will be hosting seven new events, which will aim to make the games more gender-neutral. This was done through the addition of new mixed-gender team events and female disciplines for pre-existing events, including bobsledding (women’s monobob), freestyle skiing (men’s big air, women’s big air, and mixed team aerials), short-track speed skating (mixed team relay), ski jumping (mixed team event), and snowboarding (mixed team snowboard cross).

GG uiudidee ttoo Beijigng22 2 2 0 Beijin 022

By Sah iong Bryan XW u

By Sahasas Goli, Maryam Naseer, Daphne Senecal, Amelie Wu & Goli, Maryam Naseer, Daphne Senecal, Bryan Xiong & Amelie ters StSaftaf ffWW riterirs

Chloe Kim

California Olympians

Olympic Champion 36-year-old Kaillie Humphries is the most awarded Canadian bobsledder in Olympic history, with two back-to-back gold medals from the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Winter Games and a bronze medal from the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Although she was born in Calgary, Alberta she now trains in San Diego, due to facing verbal and mental abuse from her former coach on the Canadian bobsled team. In December 2021, Humphries became a US citizen and earned the right to compete for Team USA in Beijing. Aside from bobsledding, Humphries devotes her time to “Right to Play,” an organization dedicated to giving underprivileged children the chance to play sports, and the Special Olympics.

Bri

S ta

As the first woman to ever land a 1080 in a competition halfpipe run, Brita Sigourney, raised in Carmel, is an accomplished freestyle skier.

She has been a part of the Freeski Pro Halfpipe team for 12 years during which she has won many competitions. In 2014, she represented the US in the 2014 Winter Olympics, placing 6th in halfpipe.

Brita came back strong and won the bronze medal in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games for Halfpipe. Later the next year, she received bronze in the 2019 World Championships. Adding to her accomplishments Brita has earned five Grand Prix victories and is a four-time X Games medalist. This year will be Brita’s third Olympic appearance as she has secured her place on the US Freeski Pro Halfpipe Olympic Team.

igo ur

ney

Alys a

At the young age of 16, Alysa Liu is a figure skater who is making headlines as one of the world’s best and is someone to keep an eye out for in Beijing. Born in Clovis and raised in Richmond, Liu began skating at the age of five before climbing through the ranks and becoming the youngest US women’s figure skating champion at the 2019 US Championships. In her 2019 international debut at the International Skating Union Junior Grand Prix, she won the silver medal and became the first US woman to land an ISU-sanctioned quadruple Lutz in competition.

On January 7, Liu was forced to withdraw from the 2022 US Championships after testing positive for COVID-19. However, this proved not to be a deterrent; she’ll be representing the US at the Olympics in women’s single skating.

Having first stepped onto the ice at four years old, Fremont-born Karen Chen fell in love with figure skating and started her professional competitive career at the young age of six.

Since then, she’s suffered injuries and placed at major competitions, becoming the 2017 US National Champion and representing the US at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea. However, she placed 11th in Pyeongchang and did not make it to the final round.

Disappointed, Chen said in the media conference after her free skate, “I [told] myself, ‘You’ve got to go for another four years. This was not your dream.’” Keeping that promise to herself, Chen took silver at the 2022 Toyota US Figure Skating Championships and is looking for redemption at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

hen

l

Ka I

B o r n and raised in San Francisco, Nina O’Brien is a 24-year-old American World Cup ski racer who specializes in giant slalom in alpine skiing. Alpine skiing is downhill skiing in which skiers race down a mountain and navigate through a series of red and blue flags. As a 17-year-old, she shocked the crowd when she won the national title in the US Alpine Championships in Maine, and later placed in the top 10 in giant slalom at the World Championships 2021. She has been part of the Alpine A team for seven years since 2016, which consists of the best athletes in alpine skiing and won eight nationals titles. She currently attends Dartmouth College as an economics major and is involved with Voice in Sport, an organization which elevates women’s voices in sport.

The eight-time national champion will be representing the US in Women’s Alpine Skiing.

umphries H Veteran lie

Liu

ien' r o’B

Born in San Jose and hailing from Palo Alto, Vincent Zhou is a 21-year old figure skater, who began figure skating at the age of five. He took the first-place champion position in the 2013 US Figure Skating Championships junior division and again at the 2017 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where he became the record holder for the junior-level men’s free program. At the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, he became the first person to successfully land a quadruple Lutz jump.

Following his first-place finish at the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy, he secured the third spot for Team USA in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

nC

One of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018, Chloe Kim is a 21year old figure skater born in Long Beach and raised in Torrance, Switzerland. Starting her training at the age of four, she briefly moved to Switzerland before returning to CA. She is the first woman to win two gold medals for snowboarding at the Winter Youth Olympic Games and is a six-time X Games gold medalist. At 17, she became the youngest woman to win a gold medal in snowboarding at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. She will be defending her halfpipe title this year at the Winter Olympics.

Nin a

Vincent Zhou

re a K

PHOTOS BY TEAMUSA.ORG, THECANADIANPRESS.COM, USFIGURESKATINGFANZONE.COM, USSKIANDSNOWBOARD.ORG. GRAPHICS BY SPORTS EDITOR JERRY YUAN & STAFF WRITER KAITLYN WANG, BEIJING2022.CN

16 Photo

The Smoke Signal

WWW.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

Friday, January 28, 2022

Installations

By Anandita Devata, Shelley Li & Andria Luo Staff Writers

Since its approval by the City Council in 1987, Fremont’s “Art in Public Places Policy’’ has provided the funding for more than 40 local public art projects. Weaving history into familiar installations, The !"#$%&!'()*+!hopes to shine a new light on Fremont’s public art works.

Fi re Stati o n

#6

Unifie d Will

Designed by Michael Clapper, the Unified Will sculpture is an 8-foot Indiana limestone disk located at the Fremont Fire Station #6. The disk’s 75 segments represent 75 years that the station has been supported by volunteer firefighters. The segments meet in the center of the piece, representing gallant individuals coming together as a single noble unit. The empty space in the center is an abstracted Maltese cross, which is the badge of honor worn by firefighters. “My work, created mostly from carved stone and fabricated steel, tells its story through a visual language ... minimal styling and use of natural materials can evoke a sense of timelessness,” Clapper said on the City of Fremont website.

Fre mo nt BA RT B e n c h e s

Dedicated to the city on July 23, 2014 as part of the Warm Springs Extension Project, the Fremont BART benches are constructed from 855 square feet of hand-cut glass tiles. The tiles are arranged in a mosaic to decorate the walls, columns, and roofs of two benches in front of the entrance to the BART station. The artist, Joe Kievitt, was inspired by local indigenous tribes’ woven works, using leafy greens and coral pinks to reflect natural elements such as berries and grass that the tribes used in their crafts. Under different lighting conditions, the colorful tiles form a grand entrance to the station, providing a place for weary passengers to relax after their journey and welcoming them into Fremont.

UNITY

Installed in 2015, the UNITY sculpture is located at the corner of Paseo Padre Parkway and Stevenson Boulevard near the Fremont Main Library.

Created by Bruce Beasley, an abstract expressionist sculptor living in Oakland, the work is composed of six intersecting stainless steel rings, weighing a total of 3,700 pounds. Each ring represents a different sector of life in Fremont, from the city’s residents and businesses to elected government and city staff. It depicts the merging of these into one unit, eponymously representing the unity and harmony of the city.

Painted on the walls of the three pump houses along the Alameda Creek Regional Trail in Niles, the Alameda County Water District (ACWD) Alameda Creek Murals are based on posters submitted by local students in the 2013 ACWD Water Conservation Poster and Slogan Contest.

Selected by a visual artist, Laura Ramie, and painted by volunteers of Excelitas Technologies® Corp, the ten murals resemble a colorful wall of cartoons with pictures of water droplets, piggy banks, and slogans such as “Save water, live better.” As part of the 2013 Community Cleanup Partnership event, the murals promote the reduction of graffiti and water conservation. “It is our hope that the murals will reduce graffiti and instill a sense of pride in those who use the [water in the] area,” ACWD General Manager Walt Wadlow said in an interview with !"#$%&

In Niles Town Plaza, along the black base of a fountain rise six mushroom-like structures, each supporting a spinning wheel of images. Clambering onto the base, children eagerly turn the wheels, watching the series of images become a silent film. This fountain, named the Niles Zoetrope Fountain, was built through a collaboration effort between RRM Design group, Ann Baker Landscape Architecture, and Scientific Art Studio. It features one of the earliest forms of movies: “moving pictures.” Containing images of Niles' film icons Charlie Chaplin, Broncho Billy Anderson, and Bernard “Ben” Turpin as well as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad, the Niles Zoetrope Fountain honors the area’s vibrant history.

The Flame of Inspiration, a sculpture more than 22 feet tall made of stainless steel and cast glass, is located in the Inspiration Plaza at Embark Apartments and was designed by Amie J. Jacobsen. Jacobsen, a designer and sculptor based in Independence, Missouri, was chosen for this project through a process of open calls and selection. The piece represents a spark of inspiration and “was designed under the premise that Fremont, as part of the San Francisco Bay Area, is an area well known as the present day epicenter of technological innovation,” Jacobsen said on her website. The structure of the artwork and colored glass panels replicate the effect of cathedrals in the 15th century, creating a beautiful place people can visit to unwind and think. “It is a piece that represents the beginnings of all great ideas and the motives that fuel them as a society,” Jacobsen said.

PHOTOS BY GRAPHICS EDITOR MINGXIN WANG. STAFF WRITERS ANANDITA DEVATA, SHELLEY LI & ANDRIA LUO