Vol. LVII, No. 7

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

VOL. 57, NO. 7

March 25, 2022

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

FUSD Funding Updates

By Rohan Bhagat, Shelley Li & Angela Xiong Staff Writers Since the fall of 2021, FUSD has been engaged in a series of discussions with the Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA) about changes in salaries, COVID-19 funds toward schools, and the overall usage of FUSD funds.

The Smoke Signal interviewed the FUDTA, MSJ teachers, and FUSD staff to gain insight into FUSD’s budgeting and funding plans for the 2021-24 school years.

Teacher Salary Negotiations In September 2021, FUDTA and FUSD began contract negotiations on topics such as teacher salaries. They discussed the percentages of the Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA), an ongoing increased revenue determined by CA based on inflation, and one-time payments that would be provided for teachers for the next three years.

At the February 25 negotiation, FUDTA claimed that the latest FUSD proposal offered less money than the previous one with a decrease in one-time payment from 2% to 1% for the 2023-24 year. The most recent proposal from FUSD offered an overall 14.44% wage increase for the next three years, while FUDTA asked for an 18.56% wage increase.

After the February 25 negotiation, FUDTA independently declared an impasse, which halted all negotiations until March 9, when FUSD announced that the CA Public Employment Relations Board had ruled that the “appointment of a mediator is not appropriate at this time.” FUDTA and FUSD will return to the negotiation table soon, although a concrete date has yet to be finalized.

In this year’s negotiations, FUDTA members hoped to obtain a higher raise to compensate for difficulties transitioning back to in-person learning. In addition, teachers hadn’t received a sufficient raise in a long time. According to FUDTA President Brannin Dorsey, the teachers only got a 0.56% raise last year during the pandemic. “[The lack of raises] indicates a trend of FUSD for their unwillingness to listen to its teachers and employees,” FUDTA Representative and English Teacher Chelbert Dai said.

However, according to FUSD Superintendent CJ Cammack, increased utility and operational costs have impacted the district’s budget, preventing them from increasing wages for FUSD employees. “We also have to utilize those dollars to pay for increasing costs in Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), in gas, in goods and services,” Cammack said.

Both FUSD and FUDTA state that at the moment, there is no risk of a strike or work-to-rule protests as both sides seek a quick resolution.

declining enrollment Beginning in 2018-19, enrollment in FUSD has been on the decline, mainly due to the increased cost of living in the Bay Area. According to FUSD’s 2021-22 Second Interim Budget Report, the projected enrollment in the next year will drop from 1,971 students to 1,832 students at MSJ, and 33,471 students to 33,174 students in FUSD. Although this year, the decreased student enrollment didn’t impact the number of sections offered in FUSD schools, in 2022-23, FUSD will reevaluate the sections (class periods of approximately 30 students) per school based on enrollment.

Currently, for MSJ, 40 sections will be cut next year. With fewer sections, less courses will be offered, meaning zero and seventh period classes will likely be removed. Of all the existing zero and seventh period classes, only the Marching Band class is guaranteed to be preserved for the next school year. “You can’t have kids taking seven periods a day because that’s more classes that you have to offer and [that we don’t have], so you have to shrink back on those things and put them in the day,” Principal Jeff Evans said.

Most Recent FUDTA-FUSD Negotiation

Total Federal COVID-19 FUNDs FUSD RecEIved Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA)

30 Million total federal COVID-19 relief funding (value does not include do not include any state emergency funding) Data Credit NBC Bay Area

Projected Enrollment Decrease for the 2022-2023 School Year MSJ

FUSD

1,971 Students 33,471 Students 1,832 Students 33,174 Students

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2021-2022: COLA + 1% for appendices A-C and E + $2500 one-time lump sum 2022-2023: COLA + 1% lump sum IF FUSD reserves in unaudited actuals exceeds 10% 2023-2024: COLA

42238.05(a)(1), which provides funding based on the greater of either the current year’s ADA or the prior year’s ADA, and a recent model proposed by CA Gov. Gavin Newsom that computes average ADA based on the prior three years’ ADA. Both solutions seek to provide school districts with more funding in the face of declining attendance.

Although uncertain about the state’s decision, FUSD and FUDTA agree on the need for a different funding system. “There are legitimate reasons why kids don’t show up — COVID-19, mental health, so many different reasons,” Dorsey said. “[The] kid shouldn’t be penalized, [and] FUSD should not be penalized [as a result].”

FUSD offer 2021-2022: 3% ongoing salary increase + additional one-time payment equal to 3% of annual salary 2022-2023: COLA - 1.75% + onetime payment equal to 2% of annual salary 2023-2024: COLA - 1.75% + if FUSD reserves in estimated actuals exceeds 10%, receive additional one-time payment equal to 1% of annual salary

COVID-19 Funds According to NBC Bay Area, FUSD received more than $30,500,000 in federal relief payments during the pandemic. This aid came from several different sources, including funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). One of FUSD’s largest expenses was the creation and expansion of the virtual academy programs, fully-accredited online schools that give students alternatives to in-person learning during the pandemic. Currently, two academies exist: Elementary Virtual Academy for grades K-6 and Vista Alternative School for grades 7-12. According to Cammack, FUSD hired an additional 50 teachers to run these virtual academies.

With the transition back to in-person school, the extra money also went toward sanitizing supplies and counseling services for students. According to FUSD Board of Education President Dianne Jones, many elementary schools that only had half-time counselors before were able to obtain full-time counselors and more intervention teachers to work one-on-one with individual students to assist with learning loss. Furthermore, FUSD invested additional funds into mental health programs, such as social emotional learning (SEL) curriculums and staff training for Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) practices. According to Cammack, FUSD also provided additional sections to each secondary school, allowing for smaller class sizes and more personalized teaching to facilitate the transition back to in-person instruction.

Impact:

Attendance As part of the calculation of the amount of state funding a school district receives per student, Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is determined by dividing the total days of student attendance in school with the total number of days of instruction. The rate of attendance across FUSD is projected to decline in the upcoming years due to the lingering effects of the pandemic that have kept students at home. Compared to previous years, the ADA percentage is down about 1.5%, according to Cammack, causing a significant decline in state funding.

CA’s two solutions to the issue include the proposal outlined in Education Code Section

FUDTA offer

Student & Staff

A lack of adequate budgeting negatively impacts teachers, courses, classroom environment and safety, and ultimately, students. Adapting to virtual learning and then transitioning back to in-person instruction has left both students and teachers feeling stressed and exhausted.

“The contract between the teachers and FUSD affects everyone — not just the teachers, it’s [also] all the support that the teachers are getting from counselors and outside resources inside and outside the classroom,” FUDTA Representative and US History Teacher Tony Bellotti said. “That affects individual learning, class sizes, and the quality that teachers can bring to the classroom.”

According to Dorsey, there is a large ratio of more than 30 students to 1 teacher in a classroom. This impacts teachers and their ability to effectively perform their job, eventually hurting students’ learning experience.

In addition, budget restrictions and decreased enrollment have limited course selections, preventing students from exploring their many interests.

SPRING FLING VIDEO COVERAGE

FOG HOLI RECAP

Wishing you could go back to the night beneath the lights? Catch up with the Smoke Signal ’s Spring Fling video!

Did the gloomy weather rain on your plans for Holi, the Indian festival of colors? Check out the FOG Holi at MSJ Recap Video on the Smoke Signal ’s YouTube account!

FOR MORE COVERAGE, VISIT www.THESMOKESIGNAL.ORG

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Friday, March 25, 2022

Immersion Programs Unify at Lila Bringhurst and Blacow Elementary Schools in 2022-23 school year At the start of the 2022-23 school year, the Mandarin Immersion Program and Spanish Dual Immersion Program will join at individual elementary schools.

By Chloe Gao, Amy Luo & Nessa Tong Staff Writers

On February 23, the FUSD Board of Education unanimously approved the unification of the Mandarin Immersion Program (MIP) at Lila Bringhurst Elementary School and the Spanish Dual Immersion (SDI) proThe unification will be implemented by the start of the 2022-23 school year.

Currently, the SDI program is spread across Blacow, Grimmer, and Vallejo Mill Elementary schools, with only one strand, or

“The teacher experience [will be] much better because they can collaborate and share resources, lesson plans, and have a truly team teaching approach to each grade level.”

— CHINESE IMMERSION PARENTS’ COUNCIL FREMONT (CIPCF) TRUSTEE AND MIP/ SDI TASK FORCE PARENT REPRESENTATIVE KEITH KOO

OF

group of K-6 immersion classes, each and small class sizes. Meanwhile, the MIP has two strands of K-6 classes at Azevada Elementary School, while Blacow Elementary School hosts only two strands of kindergarten classes and two of first grade classes that were implemented this year.

With the programs being unevenly dis-

tributed and spread apart, the MIP/SDI Task Force began working on Sept. 14, 2020 in hopes of conceiving a long term solution for growth and increased enrollment of the MIP and SDI programs. The task force currently consists of members of the FUSD Facilities Advisory Committee, FUSD Board of Education, FUSD staff, as well as representatives from both immersion programs’ administrative staff, parents, and community members and the Fremont Unified District Teachers Association. After reviewing current class capacity and demographic reports, enrollment projections, site layouts, and community input, the task force proposed the unification of both programs into two designated sites on Feb. 9, 2021 to the FUSD Board of Education, who ultimately approved the initiative on February 23. Centralization of the programs would involve combining all strands of MIP and SDI students across FUSD into Lila Bringhurst and Blacow Elementary schools, respectively.

Supporters of unification advocate that the centralization allows for streamlined communication and coordinated resources between immersion program teachers, as well as decreased displacement of students living near the unification sights. “The teacher experience [will be] much better because they can collaborate and share resources, les-

The Mandarin Immersion Program will unify at Lila Bringhurst Elementary School (bottom left) and the Spanish Dual Immersion Program will unify at Blacow Elementary School (top right).

son plans, and have a truly team teaching ap- FUSD Board meeting on February 23. proach to each grade level,” Chinese ImmerWith the unification going into effect imsion Parents’ Council of Fremont (CIPCF) Trustee and MIP/SDI Task Force Parent “To have [teachers] at one campus and to be able to share [expeRepresentative Keith Koo said.

riences] together ... will be a huge about the new commute to the relocated lo- benefit.” cation and the limited student diversity if immersion students became the majority of the

PHOTO COURTESY CIPCF.ORG

Students part of the Mandarin Immersion Program celebrate traditional customs of Lunar New Year.

whose home schools were at Azevada and Blacow Elementary, were previously prioritized by the MIP, but they now have to drive to Lila Bringhurst Elementary School, located in South Fremont’s Warm Springs. “My wife and I both need to work ... so definitely [the] commute is a big thing for us; we don’t want to spend tons of time [to] commute to South [Fremont],” an MIP parent said at the

— CIPCF PRESIDENT JULIE FAN

mediately next year, many have high hopes for the change. “To have [teachers] at one campus and to be able to share in their experiences together and bring those back to their classrooms in the most easy, efficient, and quickest way will be a huge benefit,” that this is the plan for the long term really

GRAPHIC BY NEWS EDITOR ALINA ZENG

NEWS IN BRIEF Compiled by Shaily Desai, Christy Huang & Darshan Thirumala Staff Writers

corrections for the FEB. 25, 2022 issue News Pg. 2: CLEEN stands for Climate Literacy and Environmental Education Network.

News Pg. 2: Ishaara performed 4th.

News Pg. 3: Photo Courtesy Priyal Sinha Opinion Pg. 5: John Dearie is the former Acting CEO of the Financial Services Forum.

Opinion Pg. 7: SAT was formerly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Opinion Pg. 7: $1 billion is not just from the SAT. Feature Pg. 8: Michaels should be spelled as such.

Feature Pg. 9: Bellis perennis is the scientific name for daisies.

Feature Pg. 9: Daisies are native to Europe.

Centerspread Pg. 11: Loftie should be spelled as such.

Centerspread Pg. 11: Hypnic jerk can also happen to other muscles.

A&E Pg. 15: hmdb.org should be spelled as such for credits.

Sports Pg. 17: Co-Captain Junior Nikolaos Kalekos should be spelled as such.

Sports Pg. 17: Girls Basketball Win-Loss should be 18-9.

Sports Pg. 17: Senior Azra Tasneem also qualified for NCS Girls Wrestling.

Graphics Pg. 20: An estimated 30,000 Afghan individuals live in Fremont.

Local nbcnews.com

National

foxnews.com

INTERNATIONAL

rferl.org

Christopher Liang, shown above, was driving to Irvine when he mysteriously disappeared.

Biden, shown in this picture, addresses the nation in his address, calling for unity in a time of difficulty.

Those executed include 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis, and one Syrian.

USFCA student found dead in Fresno County On the evening of March 5, the body of 21-year-old University of San Francisco (USFCA) student Christopher Liang was found in an overturned 2020 Tesla Model 3 just outside of Los Banos, CA. Liang had been taking an impul-

Pelosi supports social programs to decrease

Saudi Arabia executed 81 on terrorismrelated charges On March 12, the Saudi Arabian government administered capital punishment to 81 people, making it the largest mass execution in the country’s history. The crimes of those executed ranged from being part of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda to being facilitators for rebels from Yemen. “The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies,” the Saudi Press Agency said.

Responses from world leaders were mixed, with

driving since getting his license last March. Soon after, friends lost contact with him, he missed his car return date, and his phone and car went tagram post calling for assistance in locating his brother, which gained widespread media attention amongst Instagram users. Local law enforcement has now deemed this case to be closed.

Conference on March 11, Speaker of the US increased government spending on domestic social programs helps to decrease national debt the Build Back Better Act, which targets to make new investments in education and workforce development to eventually lower prices. In her argument, Pelosi touched on the rising gas prices in the US, attributing this to the Russia-Ukraine war and focusing on Biden’s plan in both the short-term and long-term national agenda.

and obstruction of justice. While some executed were members of Al-Qaeda, many were only convicted of small misdemeanors.

Friday, March 25, 2022

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MSJ’s Sound System Updated After years without renovations, the school’s sound system received a needed makeover.

By Jiyun Guo, Chahak Gupta & Bryan Xiong Staff Writers in and out. “[The new mics] are in a lot better shape than before. Events that we’ve held [since] include the ASB debate, the recent Black different presentations that have happened in C-120. We can clearly see a huge improvement with the audio. It’s a lot clearer,” L2 du said.

At the Student Store, L2 installed new portable speakers to replace the original wired sound system, which was inconvenient to transport to the BTQ and created tripping hazards for those walking by. Prior to the new installation, L2 stored the Bell Tower Quad’s sound system, a cart full of speakers,

ASB Activities Coordinator Senior Warren Chang with MSJ’s new mixer board in N7.

To address the technical difficulties that occurred during this year’s assemblies, tivities Coordinator Senior Warren Chang, Leadership 2 (L2) Tech Committee, IT ministration, and FUSD technicians finished installing updated sound systems around campus worth approximately $7000 in February.

After receiving numerous complaints coming skits and performances in October, Chang and the L2 Tech Committee were and FUSD to supplement the sound system at the amphitheater. They added four sets of new microphones and a new mixer board to fix crackling, feedback, and lack of clarity. “[During] my four years here, people have always complained about the speak-

ers, and this year was when it got especial-

wires and no hassle,” Activities Director and L2 Adviser Ben Breazeale said. by phone, streamlining the process of playing music or hosting activities in the BTQ. “The new BTQ sound system brings more energy into the quad, and makes it more vibrant in general. It’s a great addition to our campus and helps liven up the school especially during lunch,” L2 Student Store Comtion plan to loan out the new sound systems for club events and use them to improve Multicultural Week. According to Chang,

students’ talents] and know that people will be happy to see that their voices are being

the COVID-19 transition, people definitely expected a lot better, and they weren’t used

the BTQ for weekly Friday activities. “[We] decided to put [a sound system] in the Student Store so that we could play music and have activities and everything with no

was when we got the majority of the complaints,” Chang said.

At Spring Fling on March 17, a new event in replacement of Winterball this year, technical difficulties emerged with the updated sound system. Although these issues are not entirely resolved, L2 is continually working to fine-tune the audio quality. vamped the sound system in C-120 with new microphones and adjusted mixer board settings after receiving concerns about the technical difficulties that arose during Dr. Po-Shen Loh’s speaker event in December.

The modifications aim to improve clarity and resolve the issue of the sound dropping

Next to the Student Store, the new speakers will benefit future activities and events for years to come.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS JIYUN GUO AND BRYAN XIONG

14 Fremont Teams Compete at FTC Regional Championships While the teams did not place, they gained invaluable experiences to prepare for future competitions.

By Jason Tang & Annie Xu Staff Writers On March 12-13, 14 Fremont teams competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC)

Championship, but this number was capped at three this year in order to limit the size of the competition. “It’s definitely a lot

none advanced to the 2022 FIRST Championship, the annual world championship competition in April, they are optimistic about their future projects.

FTC is a robotics competition for junior high and high school students, in which students design, program, and build robots to compete against each other. Teams are assigned to either the red or blue alliance, each consisting of two teams, and during the matches, the team’s drivers are required to complete tasks which award them points.

Originally, eight teams from the FTC Cal-

the most competitive region, so reducing the number of teams that get to go to [the world championship] just adds to that a lot,” Team

would be allowed to proceed to FIRST

said. Still, competitors arrived at the competition with high hopes, confident in their efforts.

The process of building a robot often takes months, requiring team members to devote a large portion of their time to perfecting their robot. “Recently, I’ve been going up to 14 to 15 hours a week, and before that, it’s just a steady commitment, around eight hours a week,” Team 11099 Tacobots Member Sophomore Akhil Vemuri said. Be-

Robots from Team Tacobots and Team GatorBots compete in the same arena.

The FTC California-NorCal Regional Championship is one of the first in-person robotics competitions held after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

sides making sure their robot is functionally sound and precise, students also work to create an inventive and unique design. “Since our team is called Tacobots, our robot has a custom 3D designed and printed outer shell that’s yellow, so it looks like a taco,” Vemuri said.

Despite the large time commitment, teams often find the work to be rewarding.

“We’ve really been practicing with both our drivers, and we’ve been making sure that all of our values are correct. I’m really proud of how far we’ve come, especially since this is my first year at FTC,” Team 16535 LegitBots At the tournament, teams faced unexpected obstacles with the shift from testing at home to the competition field, leading to last minute adjustments. “The competition environment is very different compared to

what we are used to practicing in the garage.

The lighting is different, which affects our sensors, and the walls are made of different materials with different frictions which we had to adapt to in our program,” Team 14318 BioBots Member Sophomore Varish Venkatesh said. At its conclusion, Team 11099 Tacobots, Team 13356 RoboForce, teams that managed to make it to the elimination rounds, but were unable to advance past the semifinals.

After their performances at this regionhave high hopes for their futures and hope to continue to improve with practice. “We didn’t get the results we wanted at this tournament, but we still have the opportunity to iterate and improve for [the Maryland Tech

PHOTO COURTESY FIRST

4 Opinion www.thesmokesignal.org

THE SMOKE SIGNAL Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 57, No. 7 | March 25, 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.

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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.

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The Smoke Signal

Isabella's InterpretatIons

Friday, March 25, 2022

sakshI's solIloquy

Vigilance against misinformation in media

Shedding racist exceptionalism

By Isabella He Opinion Editor

By Sakshi Umrotkar Opinion Editor

Whether it’s about COVID-19, politics, the Olympics, or the Russia-Ukraine conflict, misinformation is no stranger in the news, particularly in social media. With flashy infographics and clickbait headlines filling our feeds, it becomes all too easy to fall into the trap of devouring information about sensitive issues through unreliable sources. Even for those who know of the dangers of misinformation and try to obtain information from credible sources, remaining vigilant in consumption of news is critical.

Recently, flashes of blue and yellow accompanied by blazing headlines of “STOP WAR IN UKRAINE, DONATE NOW” infiltrated my Instagram feed — since the posts came from Ukraine charities and many included heartbreaking stories of people in need, I didn’t stop to question their validity. However, when I came across a post warning people against donating to such organizations, I felt a jolt. The post called out that though many charities or individuals were asking for PayPal donations, the option to receive PayPal payments is not even available in Ukraine; it reminded me of the sinkholes in social media that make it so easy to fall victim to scams and misinformation. Under the guise of seemingly credible charity names and site addresses, such scams appealing to well-intended donors can be tragically difficult to spot.

With an endless stream of news at our fin-

... the increased availability of news through the Internet only makes vigilance in media consumption all the more important. gertips, the bombardment of information can feel overwhelming and make it hard to stop and think about the credibility of the blur of headlines flowing across our social media.

However, the donation scams in the RussiaUkraine conflict serve as a warning and a reminder that the increased availability of news through the Internet only makes vigilance in media consumption all the more important.

To circumvent the detrimental effects of polarization, turn to multiple news sources to obtain information from different perspectives before shaping your own opinions.

Whether you’re wishing to donate money to Ukrainian relief or hoping to find information on the latest COVID-19 updates, make sure your information is from ethical and legitimate organizations such as the American Red Cross, United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Health Organization. By staying in tune with accurate information about tragedies, natural disasters, wars, discoveries, and more, we can defend ourselves and others against the spread of misinformation.

“[Ukraine] isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades … This is a relatively civilized, relatively European — I have to choose those words carefully, too — city where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it’s going to happen.” Charlie D’Agata, a CBS News Foreign Correspondent, made this comparison on the second day of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine as he reported live from Kyiv.

After facing immediate backlash for his reporting — namely accusations of him being biased towards European nations — D’Agata issued a public apology, stating that he intended to convey that Ukraine hadn’t seen such levels of violence in decades. But sadly, the evident bias in his statement pales in comparison to that of other French and British reporters covering the crisis this month. By bemoaning how war is hurting people who “seem so much like [them],” and that war is no longer the bane of only “impoverished and remote populations,” foreign relations and political commentators have unveiled the stereotypical bias that controls western media today.

Over the past four years, I’ve learned about the center-periphery model — a metaphor defining the structural relationship between advanced metropolitan regions and less developed regions — through textbooks and discussions in English and social studies classes, but this thinly-veiled shock at how death and destruction have struck such “Eu-

ropean” cities demonstrated to me how this model functions in real time. By perpetuating stereotypical narratives, countries considered the “center” tend to push the moral burden of war onto the "periphery."

It’s important to realize that othering the idea of destructive war while simultaneously entering destructive wars overseas is incredibly hypocritical.

With help from French and British forces, America’s futile search for weapons of mass destruction created an acute humanitarian crisis for Iraqi civilian populations that added to the chaos brought on by internal politics. Yet, war is perceived as a foreign concept that is almost inherent to these regions.

By perpetuating this, America and European nations are essentially dissolving their accountability, which is evident in how western media initially approached the Russo-Ukrainian crisis as a “surprising” turn of events that was uncharacteristic of European nations.

This culture of exceptionalism that breeds rampantly in both journalistic and academic settings is hardly ever acknowledged, save for when reporters slip up during breaking news coverage and uncover the stereotypical narratives circulating their industry.

As we witness such major historical events unfold, it’s vital for us to think critically about how we contextualize current events. Rather than accepting discourse that’s pushed by media outlets, it’s important that we, as consumers of western media, diversify our news sources and reevaluate our preconceived notions to account for longstanding biases.

The Opinion of the Smoke Signal Editorial Board

School-wide issues call for school-wide student feedback As the bell rings, marking the end to a particularly draining day in class, you immediately get up in search of your friend sitting across the room. Only after you’ve ushered them outside do you begin expressing your complaints about your teacher. For many students, these discussions with friends and peers are the extent to which we voice our feedback on issues at school.

Unfortunately, current feedback systems often sideline students’ concerns. Recently, FUSD sent out a survey to parents in order to inform the writing of FUSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) — a three-year strategic plan that aims to support positive student outcomes. While districtwide feedback is important, the LCAP’s survey fails to call for student opinions, missing a major stakeholder in our school district, and many of the current feedback options fail to address schoolwide issues that require more detailed input from students.

On a school level, certain teachers periodically gather student input for their class individually through Google Forms, and various organizations across campus seek opinions regarding campus issues such as mental health, student safety, and school facilities. However, MSJ would benefit immensely from a standardized student feedback system. For example, an extensive end-of-the-year evaluation form for students to share constructive feedback on their learning experiences would allow students to feel heard and provide teachers with an opportunity to improve their classes for the upcoming school year. And while the administration does take student experiences into account by using surveys such as the Challenge SuccessStanford Survey of School Experiences, which has influenced the implementation of late start Wednesdays and advisories, students should be given direct votes in topics which affect them. This includes past votes on COVID-19-related school closings and reopenings, hybrid learning versus in person or online school, and the upcoming voting on Block Schedule. An added student opinion to the vote on Block Schedule would provide valuable insight into personal student experiences on how their attention spans hold during longer periods and how their workload is impacted, ultimately allowing for a more informed decision

attuned to students.

Many US universities have some sort of course evaluation system, which according to education service Creatrix Campus, improves course quality and teaching excellence. Currently, dual enrollment courses offered at MSJ, such as Multivariable Calculus and Introduction to Computer Programming Using C++, implement similar surveys. While this is a step in the right direction, implementing these feedback surveys across all MSJ courses would promote a more constructive environment between students and teachers. When schools create opportunities for students to share their feedback, it shows students that they value their opinions while modeling how to respond to feedback positively and productively.

Another issue arises in the nature of the responses — whether the forms should be optional or compulsory. While optional feedback may result in low response rates and data unrepresentative of the collective student body, compulsory responses run the risk of garnering insubstantial data. Our main priority should be giving all students a direct platform where they feel they can make their voices heard. Rather than ignoring student voices entirely, offering the option for those who do have thoughtful feedback to share will still ultimately lead MSJ in the right direction towards meaningful change.

Facilitating channels of feedback between stakeholders at all levels of FUSD — students, parents, faculty, administration — creates an environment where everyone feels that their voice is heard and considered in decision-making processes. It’s important that teachers understand their students’ learning styles and keep an open mind toward change, just as it is important for students to realize that constructively evaluating our classroom experiences will only make our high school career more comfortable. A standardized feedback system would help all stakeholders — students and teachers — be more receptive and actionable towards change.

By Chahak Gupta & Elaheh Khazi Staff Writers

STAFF WRITER CHAHAK GUPTA

STAFF WRITER ELAHEH KHAZI

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Opinion 5

EPA Must Hold Companies Accountable for Greenwashing and Environmental Violations

By Daphne He, Waylon Li, Aditya Patil & Elton Yu Staff Writers With the rise of both the climate change awareness movement and consumer expectations of climate neutrality, it has become in the best interest of companies to promote ecofriendly products. Unfortunately, this trend has also led to the greenwashing phenomenon, in which companies manipulate their public image to give off the impression that they are environmentally friendly. From making generous donations to fight climate change to publicly criticizing Bitcoin for “insane” energy usage, the automaker giant Tesla is one of these companies that utilize the greenwashing marketing gimmick to attract environmentally conscious

However, behind the “zero-emission” facade, Tesla Fremont Factory has violated the Clean Air Act, a set of laws and regulations that keep hazardous pollutants from being disposed of or released dangerously. consumers.

Tesla, the most valuable automaker in the world — with a 2021 revenue of $53.8 billion — owes a huge portion of its success to its electric vehicles and clean energy reputation. However, behind the “zero-emission” facade, Tesla Fremont Factory has violated the Clean Air Act, a set of laws and regulations that keep hazardous pollutants from being disposed of or released dangerously.

On February 22, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) let Tesla off the hook with a minor fine of $275,000, a negligible portion of its estimated $828 billion market value, due to irresponsible disposal practices of chemicals, such as formaldehyde and ethylbenzene, and failure to calculate and collect all monthly records relating to the vehicle coating process. This is the second time Tesla Fremont Factory has violated an EPA regulation, with the first time being in 2019 when Tesla paid a $31,000 penalty for failure to comply with emission and hazardous waste regulations. The repeated violations reveal that the status quo is ineffective in deterring large corporations from polluting beyond legal limits.

Thus, the EPA is failing to accomplish its goal of regulating emissions and protecting the environment.

The EPA’s incompetence communicates the faulty message that companies can pro-

mote their environmentally-friendly practices while hiding their harmful ones. According to WIRED, rare metals, a major part of Tesla’s vehicles, are dug up from massive mines with yields of only 0.2%. The rest of the unused 99.8% of toxic contaminated materials are dumped back into the environment. With millions of customers taking pride in the clean energy image Tesla exhibits, the company’s environmental violations and lack of transparency are hypocritical and misleading to its consumers. Consumers supporting and buying products from Tesla are led to believe they are saving the planet when in reality, they are victims to greenwashing, unintentionally funding unsustainable practices happening behind the scenes.

Prioritizing public image over environmentally-friendly practices, corporations complicit in greenwashing tend to seek maximum output and profit, blatantly disregarding the health and safety of the communities around them. One quintessential example of the severe consequences of unregulated pollution and repeated environmental violations is the case of Michigan’s Flint Water Crisis. Despite the Flint River being a major water source to the nearby communities, it became a common dumping ground for corporations like General Motors because it was an inexpensive and convenient way to dispose of production waste products. After decades of pollution and contamination, the accumulation led to high bacteria concentration which caused diseases like hepatitis and Legionnaires disease. The Flint Water Crisis immediately ties back to Tesla Fremont Factory's violations, which have left many workers exposed to toxic chemicals rated by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) as unsafe for people with weaker immune systems. Since the Tesla Fremont Factory is one of the company’s most productive factories, residents of Fremont are at the highest risk of experiencing firsthand the effects of the 5.3 million-square-foot factory’s toxic emissions.

Their careless actions, which are focused on maximizing stock value and investments, align with the stereotypical mega-corporation stan-

The repeated violations reveal that ring large corporations from polluting beyond legal limits. Thus, the EPA is failing to accomplish its goal of regulating emissions and protecting the environment.

dard of completely disregarding the safety and wellbeing of the surrounding communities. To combat this, reforms must be made within the EPA. Several flaws in the EPA's inspection and retribution process contribute to its inefficacy.

The EPA’s meager fine signals to other companies that violating emission regulations merely results in insubstantial fines. As a result, it is imperative that the EPA implements reforms like greater fines, tighter inspections, and enhanced emission data transparency to prevent companies from continuing harmful practices and misleading consumers without significant consequences. In many cases, emissions data available to the public is severely outdated, with the latest emission updates being from 2019. This in turn leads to a delay in settlements from the EPA and retaliation from public environmental advocacy groups. According to Forbes, a study conducted

by Arabesque in 2021 ranked Tesla as "among the 15% of the world’s largest companies, across 14 indices, that do not disclose their overall greenhouse-gas emissions.” This lack of transparency indicates that several large companies are not being held accountable for their damage to the environment. Therefore, the EPA should require companies to report on their emissions annually for more immediate and veritable cooperation with the EPA and public.

Prioritizing public image over environmentally-friendly practices, corporations complicit in greenwashing tend to seek maximum output and health and safety of the communities around them.

Furthermore, large corporations should be required to demonstrate a genuine effort to reduce emissions. According to Tesla’s 2020 Impact Report, Tesla is working on reducing its energy consumption and installing solar panels to cover its Fremont Factory rooftop. Despite their efforts, the current layout of the Fremont Factory is still largely energy inefficient, with excessive transportation via robots and vehicles throughout the factory’s assembly process.

Unfortunately, Tesla claims in the report that it is “not possible to fundamentally change the layout of [the Fremont Factory]” and will instead focus its efforts on building new factories that are more sustainable and efficient. Considering that Tesla Fremont Factory was

By doing our part to advocate against dishonest and environmentally damaging practices of large companies like Tesla, we can rally for progressive change to fortify a more sustainable world for future generations to come. recognized as the “most productive auto factory in America'' by Bloomberg in January, producing an average of 8,550 cars per week last year, the quantity of emissions is likeley to continue to skyrocket. If Tesla wants to continue manufacturing at this rate, it should look for ways to mitigate or eliminate such high emissions. Yet, the Fremont Factory has a history of settling to pay meager fines instead of actually taking transformative measures to prevent the excessive pollution in the first place. Tesla should start by working towards achieving their own goals for reducing their carbon footprint; for instance, the company presented plans for a new dry electrode process that would reduce energy consumption in the overall cell manufacturing phase by at least 70%. Implementing new changes like these should be a top priority for Tesla to carry out its zero-emissions goal.

With the Tesla Fremont Factory right in our backyard and the company’s environmental violations directly affecting students and families in Fremont, it is crucial for the local community to advocate for stricter environmental regulations and inspections to ensure such damaging operations cease to fly under the radar without opposition from governmental agencies. The EPA needs to be pressured to implement proper reforms to prevent future violations. Students should take advantage of resources such as the EPA website and the TRI National Analysis, which provide information about local hazardous or toxic chemicals being released, to educate themselves on regulation standards and the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals. It is the community's responsibility to monitor the activities of large corporations and reach out to advocacy organizations to put bottom-up pressure on companies and prevent future environmental violations. By doing our part to advocate against dishonest and environmentally damaging practices of large companies like Tesla, we can rally for progressive change to fortify a more sustainable world for future generations to come.

GRAPHIC BY STAFF WRITER JIYUN GUO.

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Friday, March 25, 2022

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Opinion 7

The Issue with Dark Humor on the Internet

By Sarina Li, Andria Luo, Maryam Naseer & Priyanka Shah Staff Writers In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people have taken to social media platforms such as Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram to shed light upon the war through political commentary and posts containing photos or videos of the war. However, while raising awareness is important, a quick glance at the comments under awareness posts reveals that this is often not what is happening. Despite the use of “dark humor,” which promotes making light of serious or sensitive matters, it has flooded social media with insensitive and ignorant jokes about topics that require a delicate approach. During such perilous times, the abundance of jokes and memes about the Russia-Ukraine war can lead to harmful and potentially dangerous consequences.

To understand why finding humor in this issue is problematic, it is important to grasp the historical context behind this conflict. After the Soviet Union dissolved on December 26, 1991, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began its expansion into Eastern Europe. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Estonia all joined NATO and in 2008, NATO announced a plan for Ukraine to join the organization. Political scientists and officials speculate that Russian President Vladimir Putin considered this a threat. On February 24, Putin declared the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, leading to the invasion and bombing of Kyiv and other major Ukranian cities. Prior to the invasion, Russia had been placing military pressure on the Ukrainian border for months. Since the beginning of this war, more than three million Ukrainians have fled the country. As of March 14, the United Nations has reported more than 1,800 civilian casualties.

As the majority of the world witnesses this crisis from a safe distance, social media users often fail to comprehend that joking about

war — particularly without having experienced it firsthand — could come across as trivializing the gravity of war. In some situations, people use dark humor to cope with trauma or strong emotions that are difficult to articulate. Watching live footage of crimes against humanity can instill a deep sense of panic and emotional tumult in people, but

nectivity. Due to how dangerous warzones are for reporters, journalistic coverage of the war is already unclear at times, and the added burden of false or exaggerated narratives through memes makes it even more difficult to get accurate information, preventing the public from developing a thorough understanding of the situation. Furthermore, multiple images of the crisis that are currently being shared As the majority of the world wit- across online platforms have proven to be misnesses this crisis from a safe dis- labeled photos from past incidents. Accordtance, social media users often fail to ing to USA Today, an image that went viral comprehend that joking about war on Facebook claimed to show the explosion — particularly without having expe- of a Russian attack on Ukraine. In reality, the explosion depicted was an Israeli air strike on across as trivializing the gravity of the Gaza Strip from May 2021. war.

Beyond spreading misinformation and being inconsiderate towards others' sufferthis does not give them the right to make light ing, insensitive jokes promote desensitization of this situation as complete outsiders. Espe- towards dark and traumatic subjects. Jokes cially for those living in countries protected made by those using humor to “cope” with by alliances such as NATO and the European Union who will likely not have to experience Rather than searching for witty ways war in the upcoming years, disregarding the to relate to overseas crises, people severity of the Russia-Ukraine war by pulling watching this unfold should strive the “dark humor” card is incredibly inconsid- to spread compassionate narratives erate of the people living through the war’s that align with the reality of those horrid consequences.

Especially during war, fabricating information can be fatal due to the disorientation it drafts are the same people who will never be creates. Memes often exaggerate reality to get drafted as they live in countries under promore clicks for greater engagement, which so- tective defensive organizations. Social media cial media platforms’ algorithms are designed has contributed greatly to the desensitization to promote. Artificial intelligence has seen to such violence because of the dark humor minimal success in reviewing and evaluating trends that are rapidly gaining popularity. Bethe intentions of certain posts, as it can not cause these situations are treated as jokes and understand more nuanced concepts like satire trivialized, they often do not receive the attenor irony that are often used in memes. With- tion or support they need. out reliable ways to counter these posts, overAdditionally, Teen Vogue performed a simplified jokes and memes can perpetuate study on the use of “dark humor” as a coping dangerous falsehoods about current events. mechanism, discovering that “given the severRegardless of its intention, humor regard- ity of the crisis in Ukraine, social media users ing such grave issues often creates a breeding appear divided as to whether memes about ground for misinformation. being ‘drafted’ into World War III are insenMisinformation plays a significant role in sitive to those who are fighting for their lives war in today’s age of high speed digital con- day in, day out.” This apparent divisiveness

shows how using dark humor often diminishes the severity of war. Joking about being drafted into the military without being under the actual risk of conscription, which, during times of conflict, means having to fight in the war and endure life-threatening situations, is extremely inconsiderate, especially when thousands of Ukrainians are fighting for their lives every day.

In order to prevent the spread of misinformation or the creation of unwelcome environments online, people should be mindful of their language when discussing sensitive topics on the Internet. Staying updated with events as they happen by reading from reliable news sources is crucial to preventing misinformation. As of now, it is of the utmost importance to spotlight Ukrainian voices on social media platforms as they are the stakeholders at risk whose perspectives hold the most weight.

Rather than searching for witty ways to relate to overseas crises, people watching this unfold should strive to spread compassionate narratives that align with the reality of those caught in this conflict.

GRAPHIC BY OPINION EDITOR ISABELLA HE.

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The Smoke Signal gathered these voices from March 5-10, before FUSD's mask mandate removal went into effect.

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DieHard TryHards: Charlize Chiu, Vedesh Kodnani, Esha Potharaju & Aaron Zhou Staff Writers

before

Feature 9

One color, one mission: monochromatic outfits. This month, the Smoke Signal’s DieHard TryHards competed to earn the coveted title of best monochromatic outfits. Who will be the one to emerge victorious in this peculiar ordeal?

after

Charlize: 1st Place Not to toot my own horn, but I think fashion is my forte.

After intensely studying my muses Tyler, the Creator and NYC-based fashion influencer Ashley (@best.dressed), I feel confident in saying that I have primed and prepped my wardrobe for this challenge. Some say I dress like a funky grandma, while others say I look like a little schoolboy — but for these monochromatic outfits, I’m sticking to my tried and true basics. Fashion police, remain on standby.

I’m bringing out all the big boys: shoes, jewelry, hats. My competition can either fit in or fit out!

After three days of endlessly mixing and matching clothing pieces, I can confidently say that the deep sea of clothes in my room is worth the taste of this satisfying victory. I’ll admit, I wasn’t too confident after seeing my fellow Smokies’ outfits on the first day or after hearing my mom describe my brown outfit as a rich undertone of feces.

However, I’m glad my perseverance paid off. I feel so honored to receive this title as the monochromatically best-dressed and to follow the footsteps of my fashion icons, Ashley (@best.dressed) and Megh Basu.

Aaron: 2nd Place As ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu once wrote, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” With four years of experience dressing monochromatically, choosing the most brilliant colors to merge with my outfits will be a complete breeze. Whether it be black or white, my strategy lays in dressing with boldness. Possessing a literal collection of weapons waiting to be deployed from my wardrobe, is there any way I am incapable of obliterating the competition?

Second place I will gladly take. I have to admit, finding matching colorful clothing was a bit more challenging than I originally anticipated, but making the effort to assemble the best outfits definitely paid off in the long run. In terms of creativity, it’s safe to say that I aced the test on day one, with my bright orange ski pants and carrot plushie garnering the oohs and aahs of those around me. When asked to deliver, I did not disappoint — next time I get called up for a fashion contest, I’ll be sure to brandish even flashier designs.

Esha: 3rd Place I’m not exactly known for my sense of fashion — in fact, my friends call it questionable. I call it a work of artful passion, one you’d likely find lying somewhere in a dark corner of the Museum of Modern Art. Who else can switch from looking like a senior citizen to a raging fratboy within a day? That’s my key strategy. Sure, my competitors are well versed in the scriptures of Sun Tzu, but I am a disciple of Alpha Sigma Phi. My style’s strength manifests in its unorthodox variety. I don’t need a fluttering mosaic of colors to establish my prime, monochromatic virtuosity amongst my competitors.

Third place ... Alas, I have been demoted to the status of Delta Sigma Phi. In hindsight, I should have known that the number of monochromatic pieces in my wardrobe were limited. I had to resort to picking whatever was available, with no room to prioritize the overall cohesiveness of my outfits. While the challenge proved to be a defeat, I experienced two major revelations: that raiding my parents’ closet isn’t as clever of a battle tactic as I originally envisioned, and that wearing sweaters with leggings may be a worse clash than plaid and stripes — the judges certainly thought so, I say with the least disdain possible.

Vedesh: 4th Place Though some describe my fashion sense as nonexistent, I happen to think that it does, in fact, exist.

Now, my barren wardrobe may not be the best suited for this challenge, but I’m hoping to piece together a few wearable outfits, equipped with layers, accessories, and more. While I may not end up with a feature in Vogue, I’ll give my fellow Smokies a run for their money as I attempt to channel my inner Frank Ocean. Color me intimidated — I’m hoping for the best.

Fourth place ... well, that’s unfortunate. I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but in retrospect, some of my outfits may not have been the most monochromatic (black is just a shade of gray, trust me). Regardless, this competition provided me with an excuse to “borrow” clothes from my siblings’ closets — clothes they will never get back — and expand my wardrobe. While this loss certainly isn’t the end of my fashion endeavors, it still stings. Looks like I’m not receiving that Vogue feature anytime soon — color me embarrassed.

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head to www.thesmokesign

PHOTO BY FEATURE EDITOR NITHIKA VALLURI. GRAPHICS BY FEATURE EDITOR LILY OH

10 Centerspread

Marsha P. Johnson One of the most recognized faces of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 was Marsha P. Johnson. She was a Black transgender activist who participated in the series of protests that lasted six days after New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village. After noticing other LGBTQ+ foundations disregarded transgender youth’s needs, Johnson and her friend Sylvia Rivera founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970 to support them. STAR opened shelters and social spaces called STAR Houses, which were the first LGBTQ+ youth shelters in North America.

Friday, March 25, 2022

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Rachel L. Levine is an American pediatrician who became the first openly transgender four-star officer in the US’s eight uniformed services, which consists of six armed forces, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She has been the US Assistant Secretary for Health since March 26, 2021 and was also a professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. As the acting Assistant Secretary for Health for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Levine is the primary advisor on matters that involve the nation’s public health and provides policy direction.

Art Art is used as a vessel for storytelling that represents transgender individuals and shares significant historic moments in their history.

Becoming by Yishay Garbasz uses 32 pictures to document Garbasz’s medical transition before and after their gender affirmation surgery. “Becoming is a straightforward look at gender affirmation ... being unapologetic about my naked womanhood is a big part of the message,” Garbasz said.

“Captain Wright,” a painting by non-binary transgender artist Ria Brodell, is based on the story of Captain Wright, which was published in a London newspaper in 1834. For five years Mr. and Mrs. Wright lived as husband and wife, but the newspaper recounts that when Wright died, the body was found to be female with a “beard only excepted.”

Laurence Michael Dillon

March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day dedicated to the celebration of transgender and gender non-conforming people all around the world.

To help create a more trans-inclusive environment here at MSJ, the Smoke Signal has created a spread dedicated to spotlighting transgender history, culture, and accomplishments.

Gender

TERMINOLOGY

Christine Jorgensen was the first American trans woman to undergo a sex reassignment surgery.

She went to Denmark to undergo the operation in 1952, with her story making US headlines.

1952

VI

By Sanah Bhardwaj, Shaily Desai, Sarina Li, Daphne Senecal & Amelie Wu

Centerspread 11

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r e d n e g s r n e a d r T n e g s n Y Tra T I L I Y B T I I L I VIS SIB

Rachel Levine

Laurence Michael Dillon was the first transgender man to medically transition through hormone therapy and phalloplasty, a form of gender reassignment surgery. In 1943, Dillon met Harold Gillies, a plastic surgeon who performed Dillon’s sex-reassignment surgeries between 1946 and 1949. Despite Dillon’s successful surgery and an edited birth certificate that listed him as male, a reporter from the Daily Express discovered his gender at birth in 1958. The Daily Express contacted Dillon asking whether Dillon planned on claiming the baronetcy from his brother Sir Robert Dillon. Dillon responded that he had been born with a birth abnormality in hopes of avoiding the public’s attention. Unsatisfied, the Sunday Express published an article that exposed Dillon’s surgery, forcing him to flee to India.

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Books Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters made a historic impact when it became the first book written by a transgender woman to appear on the Women’s Prize for Fiction list. It explores the the stories of three individuals — transgender, cisgender, and detransitioned — who face complicated relationships and navigate parenthood. Peters highlights internal thoughts and feelings of the individuals as well as the external pressures that they face as a result of society’s gender expectations. Additionally, My Life in Transition by comic author Julia Kaye details her life as a transgender woman, with equally comedic and tear-jerking narratives. The novel provides readers with an honest insight into her everyday experiences post-transition, showcasing that one can live a normal, successful life as a transgender individual, even in today’s political and social climate.

1966

A group of doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital opened the first sex reassignment surgery clinic in the country. The medical professionals at the practice wished to keep the operations a secret to see if they could successfully perform the operation. News of the operations broke months later, making headlines of prominent newspapers such as The New York Times.

1969

Guide to Gender Inclusivity

Being gender inclusive is an easy thing to incorporate in our lives and can be accomplished through steps such as sharing our preferred pronouns. Sharing pronouns with others can help normalize using peoples’ correct pronouns. By making our pronouns transparent, we no longer have to assume how someone wants to be referred to. Second, it's imperative to ask others what their pronouns are apart from sharing our own. We should refer to people whose pronouns we don’t know with they/them pronouns before learning them. Even if someone doesn’t share their pronouns, it’s important to make sure that we are referring to them correctly so they feel comfortable and seen. Finally, we must be mindful of using gender neutral pronouns when referring to large groups of people or if we don’t know someone’s pronouns. For example, instead of saying “hey guys,” “hey everyone” is a great gender neutral alternative.

Deadnaming

Changing names can be an empowering action for transgender people. However, this power is overshadowed when people’s identities are disregarded. “Deadnaming'' is when people use a transgender person’s old name instead of their real name. Whether this is done by accident or on purpose, this practice is harmful toward transgender individuals and undermines their identity. Additionally, deadnaming can reveal trans folks as being transgender, which is a violation of their privacy. No one has the right to disclose details about another person’s identity except the person whose identity it is, and recognizing this is imperative to engaging in transgender inclusivity.

Gendered Dress Codes

Traditional gender norms presuppose a set code for how each gender should present themselves. An important part of accepting transgender and gender non-conforming individuals is destigmatizing outdated dressing norms. We can do this by reminding ourselves and others that gender is not static and that we shouldn’t expect certain genders to present themselves a particular way. Rejecting antiquated standards, like only female-presenting people wearing skirts and only male-presenting people having short hair, is the first step to accepting a gender neutral dressing convention.

Chris Mosier The first transgender man to compete in the Olympic Trials as the gender they identified with was Chris Mosier, an American transgender advocate and Hall of Fame triathlete.

Previously, Mosier was uncertain of his eligibility to compete in the June 2016 Duathlon Age-Group World Championship Race in Spain due to a prior International Olympic Committee (IOC) policy regarding the participation of transgender athletes. The policy required transgender athletes to have completed gender reassignment surgery, two years of hormone therapy, and receive legal recognition of their assigned gender. Mosier advocated for the IOC to update its transgender policy by calling for the removal of the prerequisite of gender reassignment surgery. On Nov. 12, 2021, the IOC Executive Board approved the IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations. In this updated policy, the IOC removed the requirements of hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery.

“As someone who considers themselves to be politically involved — I work on congressional campaigns — I think that this field is my passion. So I think it's really important, especially when you're fighting for social justice and against bigotry. I think it's important to educate yourself, not only on what the LGBTQ+ community is about, but also the history of the LGBTQ+ community and what you can do as a citizen — what you can vote for, and the measures you can take to support the community. So I think that's something important that everyone should know about, read about, and support.” — Adyant Patnaik, 11 (he/him)

2017

“Especially when it comes to transgender and nonbinary issues, there's not a lot of visibility and people often trip up on understanding the reasoning behind pronouns. I use exclusively they/them pronouns, and that can be hard for folks who are used to assigning gender to people whenever they see them, or they're not used to using nonbinary pronouns in general. So I think there can be greater awareness. Like one of the things that people don't know, for example, both 1984 and The Great Gatsby, which are on our district core list, use they/them pronouns within those books. If they're good enough for George Orwell and F. Scott Fitzgerald, they should be good enough for everyone.” — English Teacher Yu Cong Colin Low

2020

Films &

The Stonewall Riots began when the New York City Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club.

The incident sparked six days of protests and violence with law enforcement and served as an important catalyst for the gay rights movement.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 179 into CA legislation, which recognized nonbinary as a third gender option. Starting Sept. 1, 2018, state citizens would be able to change their birth certificates to either male, female, or nonbinary.

Californians would also be able to do the same to their driver’s licenses in 2019.

The US Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected members of the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination based on sex.

The decision came after Gerald Bostock, Donald Zarda, and Aimee Stephens brough three cases to the court. All three individuals had been fired for identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

TELEVISION

Transgender representation in TV has allowed for pivotal progress for the community.

RuPaul’s Drag Race, first aired in 2009, is a competition-based show seen as crucial in bringing LGBTQ+ issues to light for a global audience. The drag queens — typically male performers who dress and imitate an exaggerated female character — discuss topics such as living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and religion and homosexuality, providing viewers with the chance to meet and listen to their stories. Similarly, Pose, produced partly by transgender activist Janet Mock, is a TV series that focuses on “Drag Ball” culture in 1980s New York, which is characterized by competitive performances by queens from different houses, or “drag families,” typically headed by more experienced “drag parents.”

“For the most part, I do feel that a lot of people in MSJ are pretty supportive. There are a couple According the 2018-19 “Where We Are on TV” report, Pose has increased the number of groups and a couple people here and there. Maybe you'll walk around during lunch and hear a transgender characters and doubled the number of HIV positive characters across all very derogatory word thrown around. It gets pretty troublesome sometimes, but I definitely feel platforms, setting the precedent for more representation and increased awareness for the there's a pretty good population of people who are very supportive. I know at many GSA LGBTQ+ community on TV. meetings we not only have members of the community but a lot of allies. So just by joining meetings and asking questions and being very engaged in our meetings I can see that a lot of people really do support the community and even in classes when topics about the LGBTQ+ community come up. People are very supportive, and they have more progressive ideas that I really feel uplifted by.” — GSA Secretary Riya Bhattacharjee, 12 (she/her)

Whether fiction or nonfiction, there has been a rise in movies that either tell a story of a transgender individual or depict a transgender character. Paris Is Burning, released in 1990, focuses on New York City’s drag queens and their “Drag Ball” culture, highlighting the resilience of Black and Latinx queer people. According to Criterion, the documentary helped bring about the rise of LGBTQ+ balls in Paris, London, Tokyo, and more, as well as inspire the drama series Pose.

Another 1990s queer classic, Boys Don’t Cry, released in 1999, was the first mainstream film to focus on a transgender male. In the film, transgender male Brandon Teena’s identity is unknown, so when his friends and girlfriend discover his secret, his life is torn apart.

PHOTOS COURTESY CHRIS MOSIER, DR. RACHEL LEVINE, NETFLIX, GETTY IMAGES, MICHAEL MURTAUGH. GRAPHICS BY CENTERSPREAD EDITORS NAVEED SHAKOOR & JACKIE WONG

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 25, 2022

Ethnic Dances of the World

By Shaily Desai, Annika Singh & Angela Xiong Staff Writers

Dance allows people to connect to their culture and heritage. As MSJ’s Multicultural Week approaches,

Originating in Punjab, Bhangra is a

Chinese Classical dance is presented using technical movements to depict Chinese

People would also dance Bhangra at

-

peared in the 1800s when missionaries ancient times, this dance was regarded as

-

martial arts and Chinese opera. “Chinese

emerged in the 1800s and combined Western and Hawaiian culture. Prior to 1894, -

ghungroos, or musical anklets, to accendrum called a dhol. Common props used people with the rigor, intense training, -

which are accordion-like wooden instruments, khundas, which are sticks with a hooked end, and kato, which are wooden instruments that resemble a squirrel when -

include mainstream Chinese dances and or describe places through elevated arm -

to the social stigma associated with the considered to be a devotional and re-

Bhangra

ered gourd rattles), and i’is (hand tassels) to complement their movements and add

Chinese Classical Hula

-

Kathak

Bollywood

Persian Dance

Haka

Tinikling

dance which involves vigorous ing stamping, chest slapping, and

costumes, upbeat music, and ening and tragic incidents, Persian

-

dance which originated during the -

estimated to be parallel with the are said to be the earliest known

Bharatanatyam

dance was to restore vigor and

Considered to be the oldest

such as hip-hop and jazz, began

the bird’s movements including its strut through grass and how it -

the dance lineage disappeared due to political disturbances and

Hine-raumati, who represents the icated to Hine-raumati and re-enacting the quavering appearance

peace-making, the Haka is a prevwearing a dress known as balinwho then added the sacred dance wear

untucked

embroidered

in celebrations and ceremonies

Carnatic classical music, distin-

genres: Folk Dance, Social Dance,

We thought that it was important

-

-

-

“From upbeat Bandari to slower classical pieces, the music con-

-

do something that represents our

Sophomore Varsha Sathish said.

coming and Multicultural Week.

mational speech at the beginning

Senior Annemarie Garcia said.

GRAPHICS BY FEATURE EDITOR NITHIKA VALLURI.

Friday, March 25, 2022

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Feature & Arts & Entertainment 13

Dear Diary: Daylight Savings

By Darshan Thirumala Staff Writer March 12, 9:43 a.m. PST The time has finally arrived! Tomorrow is the day I make my 104th annual appearance.

The past few months of hibernation haven’t been too bad, but I hear that students have been bad-mouthing me again. They suggested disabling their alarms so that they can ignore my arrival. Talk about rude! For the past few days, I’ve been making the sun rise a bit earlier and keeping it up a bit later as well. If these students are going to ignore me by oversleeping, I’m going to make them regret it. Then, they’ll be forced to respect me.

WiFi does not work and his phone is out of juice; he can’t even share pictures of his stupid haircut on social media. On the bright side, it looks like his family is already having dinner and talking about going to bed early since there’s not much they can do without electricity. It’s a double win for me! Not only did I teach the student a lesson, but he’s also going to bed early. Maybe I should do this every year.

March 12, 8:06 p.m. PST I thought all the craziness for the day was over, but guess what I just stumbled upon. A late night pool party! Wait, I see a giant pot of iced coffee being brewed. Do these lunatics plan to stay up all night? Time for this party to end. There, I knocked the container of coffee into the pool and dropped the pool temperature to freezing levels. Watching the students run out of the pool and pile thick blankets upon themselves is so fun. Coziness turns to drowsiness, the perfect medicine for falling asleep.

March 12, 12:56 p.m. PST I just finished watching the news. It included a live interview of an MSJ student on his thoughts regarding daylight savings. Not going to lie, he looks pretty weird, having shaved the left half of his head and painted “End Daylight Savings” on it. He said, “I think we should move past it,” with a touch of arrogance. Did you catch that? He wants to get rid of me!

Well, don’t be surprised if I make the power go out in his house at 6 p.m. today. He will miss March 13, 1:59 a.m. PST the outside light brought by my longer days Ready or not, HERE I COME! Daylight once his house blacks out. savings time is now officially in session! I see this student gaming on her laptop. She thinks March 12, 5:34 p.m. PST it is 2 a.m., so she takes a screenshot of the time This is probably a good time for everyone and proceeds to share it on social media. Oh to start changing their wall clocks. After all, what is this? Something seems to catch her eye.

I’m the one soon to be in control, and I act on It appears that she just slammed the laptop shut what I think is best for everyone. They could hard. Did I hear something crack? It sounded a just prepare for me ahead of time, you know, lot like a laptop screen. Looks like she realized to make it easier for everyone. It seems that it is 3 a.m. and she only has a handful of hours only the people who rightfully appreciate me left to sleep now before her 8 a.m. coding class. changed their wall clocks so far. Is it just a co- Well, so much for the laptop ... incidence that these are the same students who never complain about being sleep deprived?

March 13, 6:54 a.m. PST PDT A lot of people are still asleep. Normally, March 12, 7:19 p.m. PST they’d start waking up around now to go on It has been fun watching the student from their devices for a couple of hours before actuthe interview suffer without electricity. His ally getting up. However, it’s still dark outside

GRAPHICS BY FEATURE EDITOR LILY OH

since I made time spring forward an hour. I just have to wait another hour or two, and I’ll get to see everyone wake up and realize how late it is! Well, everyone except those who acknowledged me and pushed their clocks ahead yesterday. Know the perks.

March 14, 8:46 a.m. PDT PST The nerve of these humans! They disregarded me and went about their day yesterday,

albeit an hour behind normal. Well, it was a weekend, I guess, so timeliness didn’t matter.

Today, it backfired on them. They waited till it was brighter outside to get up. One look at the time and their adrenaline started flowing.

758 students tardy to their first period class!

Next year, I should appear on a Monday to troll them harder.

This Is What It Feels Like to see a Gracie Abrams concert

By Christy Huang, Esther Lau & Amy Luo

On March 7, blossoming bedroom pop artist Gracie Abrams performed to a soldout crowd at San Francisco’s August Hall for the North American leg of her international This Is What It Feels Like tour.

Known for her introspective, narrative-driven songwriting, the Los Angeles native performed a series of tracks from her debut EP minor and full-length EP This Is What It Feels Like, the latter of which was released in late 2021. With a warm, endearing disposition and breathtaking musical performance, Abrams cements herself as a magnetic singer-songwriter with burgeoning artistic potential.

Although the show commenced at 8 p.m., fans began to arrive outside August Hall early in the morning. Those first in line were lucky enough to meet Abrams, who personally greeted and took pictures with fans as she walked out from her tour bus. Many attendees chatted earnestly with one another before entering the venue, bonding over their shared love of Abrams’ music. The welcoming environment eased the often daunting atmosphere of general admissions concert lines.

The show’s opening act, 20-year-old indie artist Alix Page, captured the audience with her pensive musicality and delicate, crystal-clear voice. In addition to songs from her newly-released EP Old News, Page also performed “Pulling Teeth,” an unre-

leased acoustic track, as well as a cover of “Teenage Dirtbag” by American rock band Wheatus. Although the majority of the audience was not familiar with Page prior

lighting illuminated the intimate concert hall, adding a magical ambience to the show. While Abrams’ setlist traversed from a gentle, acoustic piano rendition of “Pain-

SHOP.GRACIEABRAMS.COM

to the concert, her emotive performance left the room in deafening cheers and applause.

Entering the stage to a background of a percussive instrumental arrangement of the album’s eponymous single “Feels Like,” Abrams immediately gripped the audience with her infectious energy. As smoke billowed from a fog machine, the theatrical

killers” to the lively theatricality of “For Real This Time,” her vividly genuine lyricism and magnetic vocals sustained throughout. The audience held up handwritten signs professing their admiration for Abrams and belted in harmony to every song, the entire crowd singing along

like old friends.

Throughout her performance, Abrams squeezed front-row fans’ hands with warmth as they reached towards her and often waved to fans watching from the balcony while singing, forming a personal connection with the crowd. Some people brought gifts for Abrams, ranging from handwritten cards to flower bouquets, which the rest of the audience helped pass up to her. Midway through the concert, one fan even gifted Abrams a Taylor Swift candle, which she promptly lit up with a box of matches tossed onstage by an audience member. Afterwards, when fans chanted for Abrams to sing Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault),” she immediately sat down at the piano and began a four-minute impromptu performance, marking her first time deviating from the planned setlist in any of her concerts on tour.

Abrams’ triumphant performance in San Francisco is a testament to her dreamy vulnerability and passion towards her craft.

An upcoming opener for Olivia Rodrigo’s sold-out SOUR tour, her captivating charm is sure to spark an even stronger fanbase and flourishing commercial success in the near future. If this is what it feels like to see Gracie Abrams on tour now, we can’t wait for what’s to come.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS CHRISTY HUANG, AMY LUO & GRACIEABRAMS.COM.

14 Arts & Entertainment

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, March 25, 2022

C R I T I C S’ C O R N E R

THe batman: Vengeance Avenged

Why we Should care about WHO CARES?

By Ayushi Kashyap A highly-anticipated reboot to the widely-acclaimed Batman film franchise, The Batman was released on March 4, paving its way in the superhero world with brilliant cinematography and an introspective plotline.

The film follows Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) as Batman as he delves into Gotham City’s underworld to investigate clues left behind by The Riddler (Paul Dano), a sadistic killer who brutally murders and exposes the corruption of Gotham City’s most influential political figures. Accompanied by Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) as Catwoman and Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), Wayne uncovers the truth behind Gotham politics while grappling with his own personal demons.

After tumultuous pre-production riddled with script changes, director switches, and pushed-back release dates, Director Matt Reeves’ masterpiece has come to fruition by taking the angle of a more naive and investigative Bruce Wayne and exploring what vengeance means through the role of anonymity in heroism.

Reeves paints a picture of a much younger Bruce Wayne, which distances the character away from his identity as an aloof playboy billionaire from previous films. The youthfulness of a troubled Bruce Wayne, who has been a crime-fighter for only two years, presented in this film is only amplified by his internal struggle of coming to terms with his parents’ death. While writing the script, Reeves paid homage to the Batman films in the 1970s and 1980s by focusing more on Batman’s role as a detective rather than a superhero.

Moreover, Reeves skillfully explores the depths of the main characters of the film, highlighting their strengths, such as Kyle’s loyalty to her friends.

Reeves additionally manages to capture intricate and emotional scenes between Wayne and two of his closest

By Sanah Bhardwaj

IMDB.COM

compatriots in the film, Alfred (Andy Serikis), his butler and closest correspondent, and Kyle. Their internal conflicts are explored through intricate storylines, such as Wayne coming to terms with his parents’ death through taking on an identity as vengeance and Kyle exploring what retribution means when she tries to kill her father.

Through the course of the film, both characters learn that the act of making people pay for their past misdeeds in a push of vengeance is not fulfilling.

Prior to the movie’s release, Pattinson’s casting was met with backlash, with fans asking Warner Bros Pictures. to reconsider his casting. While this was not entirely well-deserved, it did have its merits. In the movie, Pattinson’s expressions felt static and underwhelming, lacking variability from Bruce Wayne’s signature furrow while unmasked. Even though Batman is known to be a stoic and tormented character, Pattinson displays a drawn-out note of misery consistently throughout the film, boring the viewer. In contrast, Kravitz’s expressions were powerful and dynamic, reflecting the scene’s emotions well. Similarly, Wright’s acting as Lt. Gordon also felt powerful and troubled, a feeling his character was entirely too familiar

with, elevating the scenes that featured him.

As one of the many things that the film did right, The Batman featured amazing cinematography done by Greig Fraser, an award-winning cinematographer who has worked on films such as Dune and Lion. The scenes overflowed with breathtaking effects, especially ones on top of the tower where the Bat-Signal is displayed, and ones at the Iceberg Lounge that featured on-point lighting choices reflecting the mood.

The downside of all the spectacular visuals was the runtime. Running for a whopping two hours and 56 minutes, the film is a bit longer than most superhero films and is dragged out before arriving at the climax.

However, despite the long runtime, The Batman was a visionary masterpiece that has met the mark in all other areas set by its award-winning predecessors with mind-melting visuals and deep introspection into all the characters.

Acting: 8/10 Cinematography: 10/10 Plot: 9/10 Setting: 9/10 Overall: 9/10

March 2022 Student Faves

GAMEBYTES

MOVIE:

By Hannah Shen

ALBUM: BOOK:

Developed by Bad Viking and published by Iceberg Interactive, is an occult puzzle game released on January 21. With well-built puzzles without any time limits and just enough horror for a spook, this game is sure to satisfy any horror fan. Paired with a tasteful backing track that adds to the creepy ambiance, it’s no wonder that this game has been so well-received.

On the f irst day in-game, the player is introduced to the titular plant shop inherited after their uncle’s death. The storyline slowly unravels as customers are welcomed to the store with the ring of a bell. Each customer reveals mysteries about Undermere, the town they live in, and the surrounding woods. Some customers mention a monster in the woods, and others try to convince you to join a cult.

Although the core mechanics of the puzzles in this game are simple, they are combined in a way that makes for a tricky challenge. Some puzzles involve f inding specific places on a map using obscure clues, while others include identifying plants based on a vague picture and description. The puzzles get progressively more diff icult, with new puzzle mechanics and later puzzles that build on previous solutions.

The plot might be twisted and diff icult to follow at times because everything comes from interactions with customers, but the diff iculty of the puzzles and unsettling ambiance of the shop were spot on.

With a runtime ranging anywhere from three to seven hours depending on the player’s choices, is available on Steam for just $14.99 and is sure to satisfy any mystery game enthusiast.

TV SHOW: GAME:

— Sathvik Karuturi, 11 — Carolyn Kuo, 11

by Lizzy McAlpine — Anika Zhou, 9

by Paul Kalanithi — Ragalina Palaka, 12

Beloved bedroom pop artist Alex O’Connor, better known as Rex Orange County, released his upbeat and optimistic fourth studio album on March 11, a masterfully curated collection of summer anthems. Filled to the brim with bubbly melodies, sparkling instrumentals, and childlike rhythm, the project is an exuberant manifestation of falling in love and O’Connor’s growth as an artist and person.

The album’s title is fully present in its mood: Alex O’Connor no longer cares what other people think of him. From the first track to the very last, O’Connor establishes a footloose, carefree character within his project. In the opening track, “KEEP IT UP,” he sings, “Keep it up and go on / You’re only holding out for what you want / You no longer owe the strangers.” The song is the first of many reassuring examples of self-growth in ; on his 2019 album, Pony, he croons, “They wanna go for dinner on your name / I let them take control and take me for a fool / It’s such a shame.” Three years later, O’Connor does not let people take him for a ride. He doesn’t “owe the strangers [anything],” whether they’re his haters or his fans.

Apart from chronicling O’Connor’s growth, is an easygoing ode to adolescent love.

In “THE SHADE” and “ONE IN A MILLION,” O’Connor sings, “I would love just to be stuck to your side / Not with anybody else” and “I’ve fallen for you, I’m dazed and confused / It’s crazy what you mean to me.”

Following these heartfelt lyrics, the listener can’t help but feel like they’re accompanying O’Connor on his intimate journey. O’Connor has always incorporated love songs into his projects, and the glittering tracks in beautifully exhibit bits and pieces of the old him while transporting the listener into their own love story.

Outside of as a

REXORANGECOUNTY.COM

comprehensive project, one track takes the cake: “OPEN A WINDOW” featuring hip-hop artist Tyler, The Creator. The pair has a history of working together; Tyler discovered him in 2017 following the release of O’Connor’s debut album , and he featured O’Connor on two tracks in , Tyler’s fifth album. “OPEN A WINDOW” is reminiscent of the pair’s previous collaborations, featuring the same cheerful, airy tone. Tyler’s distinct rapping style flows seamlessly with the song, and as the only feature on the album, Tyler does a fantastic job staying true to the mood O’Connor wants to create.

Though masters the summer vibe, some tracks do start to blend into each other due to the lack of variation in production. While the bright beats are certainly refreshing, the songs become hard to differentiate and a bit forgettable. This shortcoming is somewhat overshadowed by the overall enjoyability of the project but seems to persist throughout the album.

The album’s title track, “WHO CARES?,” says it best: “There’s really no point living in fear / Who cares?”

11 tracks later, Alex O’Connor controls his own musical destiny, and he’s no longer tied down by what others think of him. is a proud declaration of O’Connor’s love for making music, the world, and most importantly, himself.

Vocals: 9/10 Lyrics: 8/10 Production: 8/10 Overall: 8.3/10

Turning Red: accept i ng your t rue colors

By Kaylee Wei Released exclusively on Disney+ on March 11, Pixar’s coming-of-age film beautifully portrays the familiar chaos of adolescence while drawing on Chinese culture and traditions. Following her Academy Award-winning short film “Bao” and becoming the first woman of color to direct a Pixar feature film, director Domee Shi leads a powerful, heartfelt story that speaks to everyone, but especially Asian immigrant communities, about accepting and staying true to all parts of oneself.

Set in Toronto in 2002, when modern technology and social media hadn’t yet come into play, the movie centers around a generationally passed-down ability to temporarily turn into a giant red panda upon excitement. Inspired

by Shi’s relationship with her own mother, Meilin “Mei” Lee (Rosalie Chiang) and her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) share a heartwarmingly close-knit relationship — but

with strains from generational and cultural gaps as a Chinese Canadian family. At 13 years old, and especially after she awakens as a giant red panda one morning, Mei continuously struggles between pursuing her developing desires and staying under her mother’s tigerish protection and high expectations.

Despite Ming’s best wishes and attempts to help Mei, the dynamic between mother and daughter and also between daughter and self inevitably begins to shift. Noting that the red panda serves as a metaphor to puberty, scenes where Mei cries at night, curled up into a big ball in her panda form after overhearing her parents’ worries for her, are especially heartfelt — everyone has gone through the poignantly familiar insecurities of feeling too much like a source of worry and feeling incapable of living up to others’ expectations. All of these emotions are only intensified by puberty’s strange bodily changes, from hair to body odor to growth spurts, that Panda Mei experiences and confronts as well.

Still, the movie is filled with humor and laughter from Mei’s natu-

IMDB.COM

rally exuberant personality and diverse squad of friends who support Mei throughout her entire ordeal.

The audience gets to witness Mei and her squad act as typical preteens and teenagers as they converse in slang and sing along to songs from the movie’s fictional boy band 4*Town, which was inspired by actual groups like the Backstreet Boys. Although slightly underwhelming from the movie’s large buildup of the band’s concert and discography, Mei’s favorite 4*Town songs, written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, are overall catchy and poppy, heightening the film’s plentiful fun atmospheres.

Pixar’s signature expressive animation and the film’s backdrops are stunning as well, filled with details and nuanced cultural references.

Viewers get to see the sparkling Toronto skyline and an overview of the family temple that becomes the centerpiece of the entire movie — Chinese characters outline the doorways, lanterns and statues decorate the courtyards, and delicate portraits embellish the shrines. The character designs show additional personality and Chinese culture,

with Ming donning a proud blazer over her traditional qipao and Mei sporting bright and colorful outfits reminiscent of those from many viewers’ childhoods. The voice acting then completes the picture, with Oh’s voice perfectly fitting Ming’s personality and her dilemma between keeping her daughter under her protection and giving her daughter more freedom. Chiang also expertly portrays Mei’s charming dorkiness and maturity as she grows to confront traditions to accept her true self.

Filled with red fur and Chinese culture, is a turning point for Pixar’s deep storylines and minority representation. The film masterfully turns the complex topic of puberty, parental expectations, and generational conflicts into one of hope, understanding, and self-acceptance, a message that speaks to all audiences, adolescent or Asian or not.

Acting: 9.5/10 Animation: 10/10 Plot: 9/10 Soundtrack: 9.5/10 Overall: 9.5/10

SMOKIE PLAYLIST: MEGH: “Rockland” by Gracie Abrams | AMANDA: “Remember That Night?” by Sara Kays | LARRY: “If you’re meant to come back” by Justin Jesso | ALINA:

MOPEY MARCH

“Strawberries & Cigarettes” by Troye Sivan | ISABELLA: “traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo | SAKSHI: “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse | LILY: “Ending Scene” by IU NITHIKA: “Be Alright” by Dean Lewis | JACKIE: “Broken Clocks” by SZA | NAVEED: “Forgive Me” by Chloe x Halle | HELEN: “Play Pretend” by Alex Sampson JOANNE: “A Pearl” by Mitski | ANVI: “Back to Friends” by Lauren Spencer-Smith | JERRY: “Peter Pan - Chinese Version” by EXO | MINGXIN: “Superhero” by Lauv | JESSICA: “Doppelgänger” by Joshua Bassett | TANISHA: “happier” by Olivia Rodrigo | MRS. COHEN: “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon

Friday, March 25, 2022

The Smoke Signal

Arts & Entertainment 15

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Student Spotlight: Music Producer Malhar Sarvasiddhi

By Steffi Zhou

Sophomore Malhar Sarvasiddhi’s interest in music sparked in 2018 when he started playing tabla, a type of Indian classical percussion instrument. After watching YouTube videos on breakdowns of popular rap songs during the start of the pandemic, he was inspired to begin producing music to keep himself busy throughout the isolation of quarantine.

Sarvasiddhi used a software called FL Studio to produce his music and began experimenting with a variety of other genres, including EDM and lofi, despite initially starting out with rap music. While exploring his newfound passion for music production, he found inspiration from big produc-

ers like Skrillex, who releases EDM — a genre that features synthesizers, drum machines, and rhythmic percussion and is commonly played at music festivals.

In 2021, Sarvasiddhi — known as the verified account Sykedelik on Spotify — released his first single, titled “3 am” as a reference to his latenight burst of inspiration. It currently has over 13,000 streams and falls under the genre of lo-fi, which refers to an instrumental music form with intentional imperfections such as environmental noise. “I’d only been producing for six months when I released it,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to get anywhere near as successful as it did.” Additionally, Spotify allows artists to see the top countries of where their listeners are from. “I’ve seen people from all over the world listening to it. It’s pretty cool … just to think that it made their day a little better,” he added.

That same year, Sarvasiddhi also collaborated with Sophomore Saranya Singh — known as Sara on Spotify — on another single, “from above.” During March 2021, Singh had reached out to Sarvasiddhi because she was looking for a producer for her band. Sarvasiddhi and Singh were then able to successfully collaborate through quarantine: “She gave me some ideas with vocals and I just built on top of that,” Sarvasiddhi said. The final product features both lo-fi beats and vocals and can also be found on both Singh’s

SARVASIDDHI CREATING HIT FIRST SINGLE, “3 AM,” WHICH RECIEVED 13,000 STREAMS.

and Sarvasiddhi’s Spotify accounts.

In 2022, after working on it for a year, Sarvasiddhi released an EP with six tracks titled ENIGMA. He sees the release of ENIGMA as his biggest accomplishment thus far and an experiment with the genre of EDM. Sarvasiddhi currently finds much of his inspiration from popular TV shows and movies: for example, his inspiration for “ghost,” the third track in the EP, came from the TV show Stranger Things. After producing music for the past few years, Sarvasiddhi now listens to music from a different perspective.

“When you’re a producer … you start to notice the way people mix things and the way they produce [songs].

I find myself paying attention to the small details,” he said.

As an artist in the music industry, Sarvasiddhi identifies his most valuable skill as public outreach because he is able to bond with other artists, rang-

ing from students at MSJ to strangers online, through a mutual passion for music. However, Sarvasiddhi recognizes that being an independent artist is difficult. “You have to build [everything] from the ground up because you don’t have a record label to fall back on,” he said.

In the future, Sarvasiddhi hopes to collaborate with other artists in MSJ and explore new genres like emo rock.

He’s also interested in pitching his music to major record labels like Spinnin’ Records, STMPD RCRDS, and OWSLA. For students who are interested in music production, Sarvasiddhi’s story is a source of inspiration. “I myself don’t know too much about music theory and I just picked it up as I went along,” he said. His unique journey with music proves that one does not have to have a musical background to start producing — a passion in itself is enough.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER STEFFI ZHOU, COURTESY MALHAR SARVASIDDHI.

Euphoria’s message is not euphoric

By Rohan Bhagat, Selina Kao & Julia Peng

As the popular HBO TV show Euphoria gained even more traction this year, many were shocked by the graphic depictions of drug use, toxic relationships, and mental health disorders. Euphoria features a group of high schoolers, each who struggles with various problems, including drug addictions, alcoholism, and violence, which lead them to make questionable choices. While the show received praise for raising awareness of these issues, it also received criticism for the explicit scenes and its glorification of sensitive issues, causing it to be a show with some of the most polarized receptions in 2022. But fictional media should always be looked at with a critical eye: looking at both sides of the audience’s response is important. No individual should necessarily attempt to emulate characters’ personalities or situations, but people should not dismiss a piece of media’s value solely for the coverage of sensitive topics, as those very topics could be prominent issues in other people’s lives.

By bringing more light to these issues, audiences may feel as if they are not alone in the challenges they are facing. The media’s primary purpose is as a method of storytelling and should not be a gospel to live by.

Although the show’s portrayal of the harsh realities of drug usage has been said by some to be accurate, Euphoria has also received criticism for glorifying this usage with its attractive visuals and catchy music. Because Euphoria’s primary audience is teenagers, many see these aesthetics as glorifying the dark themes the show portrays. Since teens tend to be more impressionable than adults, they may see the unhealthy themes of Euphoria as

EUPHORIA CHARACTERS JULES VAUGHN AND NATE JACOBS TEXTING EACH OTHER THROUGH GRINDR, A DATING APP FOR GAY MEN.

an ideal, rather than a cautionary tale.

While the media can often be a mirror of our society, it is important to remember that at its core, it prioritizes storytelling over accuracy. “Euphoria chooses to misguidedly glorify and erroneously depict high school student drug use, addiction, anonymous sex, violence, and other destructive behaviors as common and widespread in today’s world,” the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program said in a statement to TMZ. While the show was controversial, it was also able to help people going through difficult times by representing their struggles. In Euphoria, one of the biggest praises was how it didn’t hide anything and showed the raw imagery that the teens

IMDB.COM

were facing. Lead actress and executive producer Zendaya’s portrayal of a recovering drug addict is something that was not too frequently seen in a positive light before, causing more people to see themselves represented in media. Despite this representation, it’s also important to not mistake the show’s message at face value.

While the show’s representation was able to help many people, it also glorified the themes the characters were facing and made it seem commonplace. Instead of seeing characters’ actions as something to imitate, viewers should think about the messages the show is presenting with a critical eye to gain a more nuanced point of view on the topic. “Our show is in no way a moral tale to teach people how to

live their life or what they should be doing.

If anything, the feeling behind Euphoria, or whatever we have always been trying to do with it, is to hopefully help people feel a little bit less alone in their experience and their pain,” Zendaya said.

Viewers should consider the authorial intent behind the show as well. Authorial intent plays a massive role in understanding the media since if viewers cannot understand the author’s meaning, they might not be able to see the important points the media depicts. Without a proper understanding of the authorial intent, viewers may misinterpret the true meaning of the show, and engage with it in a non-meaningful way. For example, Euphoria is based on creator Sam Levinson’s past with drug abuse and addiction in his teens. Drawing from his memories, Levinson aimed to create characters that navigated through the world with the heightened emotions that drugs provide, similar to what he experienced in his youth. “I think those feelings and memories [are] still extremely accessible to me ... I just write myself and what I was feeling and what I was going through when I was younger and I was dealing with addiction,” Levinson said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

Fiction is never something to live by, and viewers need to make that distinction as they continue to consume media and engage with it in a way that is meaningful to them. While media can help people through its representation, it can also glorify sensitive topics and influence people to emulate these actions. Viewers should think critically about the show’s value, taking the intent and context into consideration, and remain aware of the subconscious biases used in the media.

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Sports 17

MSJ Swim Win First Meet of the Season Against Vikings

By Elaheh Khazi & Vedesh Kodnani Staff Writer On March 4, the MSJ Warriors went headto-head against the Irvington Vikings in their

-

degree weather, the Warriors performed impressively, defeating the Vikings with an overall

With high morale, Varsity Boys unfortunately

Because of the distance the pandemic created as well as restrictions on sports, MSJ Boys and Girls Swimming has been trying to recruit new members and build team chemis-

the same events, Varsity Boys won by a margin -

level, the team has been a bit divided between out in the medley events, having brought bonding,” Varsity Girls Co-Captain Senior KaVarsity captains, excelling in the freestyle and Towards the start of the meet, Junior Varsity Girls gave the team an early lead, taking both

member despite being a sophomore,” Varsity

Senior Ryan Wong places third during the 100-yard breaststroke.

as a team,” Varsity Girls Co-Captain Senior ular, Junior Varsity Boys suffered losses in the divisions but were able to come out ahead in stroke events, winning by 13 points and 12 Despite these few setbacks, the Warriors teams won every race in the division, a demonstration of their unity, something the team has worked on over the past several months

Both Varsity Boys and Girls aim to qualify

and improve ourselves,” Varsity Boys Co-CapConsidering the landslide victory for both Varsity and Junior Varsity Boys and Girls, the team is hopeful that they can continue a winning streak throughout the season and qualify tles back is one of my priorities,” Varsity Swim

Junior Varsity Girls dive into the freestyle relay race.

PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER ELAHEH KHAZI

Athlete Spotlight: Catherine Zheng

By Jennie Wang Staff Writer Wrestling Co-Captain Senior Catherine Zheng recently concluded her last season wrestling for MSJ since she began the sport in freshman year, after qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Wrestling Championships and placing third at NCS. In her interview with the Smoke Signal, she shares her take on being a wrestler and plans for the future.

The Smoke Signal pression of wrestling, and how were you introduced to the sport?

Catherine Zheng: [wrestling] was that it was a very scary sport, but I wanted to join something after quitting

tics before [wrestling], and I think the sports helped me with wrestling because it helped me with my discipline and workout [routine]

technical aspects to it, like with the moves that

choose what you want to do in the moment, a set of skills and a set routine that you have

SS: What qualities do you think are most important for a wrestler to have? These can be

SS: What are some of your favorite parts about being a wrestler? Your least favorite parts?

CZ: I think the sport itself is pretty fun —

CZ: I think some good qualities are being able to persevere and try your hardest no matter going to meet a lot of opponents who are go-

with my team [and] eating food after the tourtry your best during those six minutes, even sometimes practices can be really tiring and

SS: Before your wrestling career, did you participate in any other sports? If so, how do you think your experiences in these sports helped you as a wrestler?

CZ: -

SS: What is something about being a wrestler

SS: What advice would you give to girls who are interested in wrestling, but are unsure of how to start?

CZ:

CZ: I think people think that wrestling is just

SS: What are the most valuable lessons that being a wrestler has taught you?

CZ: I think wrestling taught me that if I put in the right amount of work, I can see results if I work hard enough and, in general, just to

[Insert Courtesy Photo or Graphic]

toughing it out through those six minute

just my dream to be able to place high enough to place on the wall, and even since I was a

SS: CZ: SS: What are your wrestling plans for the fu-

SS: What is one of your favorite memories as a wrestler?

CZ: I would say getting third at NCS [is my

college?

CZ: thinking of joining wrestling in college, but for

that I would be able to place at that tournaPHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER JENNIE WANG, COURTESY CATHERINE ZHENG. GRAPHICS BY CLIPARTKEY.COM.

18 Sports

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Friday, March 25, 2022

All Athletes Must Be Held Accountable for Their Actions

By Anandita Devata & Esther Lau Staff Writers va tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned visionally suspended Valieva, but the organireasons for this was that Valieva, as a minor, ti-Doping Code, suggesting her possible lack of authority regarding decisions about mediquestions surrounding the integrity of the Olympics and set a dangerous precedent that This precedent follows the banning of -

potential, as they would only see their capabilities through the lens of performance-altering their competitors may never experience podium moments they could have had in a fair

Some believe that Valieva and others like her may have been pressured by her coaching should not be punished; instead, those who were responsible for her in her training should a history of creating drug cocktails for her

-

Valieva performs her free skate program at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in the aftermath of her drug scandal.

CNBC.COM

no matter how captivating the competition this, doping continues, as seen in the cases of rower Nikita Morgachyov, swimmer Veronika

-

punishments for illegal actions are taken lightly and minimal consequences are held against the athletes, rules are only manipulated to create

banned meldonium, an endurance-enhancing

The decision to allow Valieva to compete discredits her peers who have been competing cleanly, but also is a direct contradiction of the

responsible for the incident, Valieva and her entire entourage, including her other coaches ting them off the hook with no punishment encourages others to follow in their footsteps and engage in these harmful and unfair activi-

Critically, the immediate sensationalization -

important for individuals to not stream events

-

addition, individuals can advocate for fairness in sports through spreading awareness in their

that 73% of its revenue is generated from broadcasting rights, making boycotting viewership one of the only ways the general public

amplifying discourse among the general public, the sports world can be brought one step closer to fairness, integrity, and a level playing

Coach Pete Vaz Receives the NCS 2022 Boys Basketball Honor Coach Award

Kamila Valieva

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By Kaitlyn Wang Staff Writer

-

!33#4 5"

she is intelligent enough to know

1" &67

2 +& , 8

doping tests, the age of the athlete has not mattered, so Kamila being letes should be held to the same standard and the fact other skaters knowingly competed against a skater !"#$$%&

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ation from the Olympic Games in Tokyo where the track athlete was banned from competing after testing positive for the use of marijuana, also a drug banned from using

-

-

!.%

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person barred from competing and the other not? I believe that the differ"2+&,&01 % /

way through sports, athletes involved in doping take away scholarships, sponsorships, and other athletic opportunities from hard-working athletes who actually dedicate their time improving mind myself that no one ever knows fully what another person is going family, coaches, or even yourself can PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS ANANDITA DEVATA & ESTHER LAU

respective leagues and selected by a committee composed of members from the Sports acknowledges winners for their professional conduct, service to interscholastic athletics, as well as additional contributions to the school

you ever overcome them — you just adjust to them … The problem with athletics and the world changing [is that] that sports [is getting] less important and other activities take away the team building and time people would put Vaz also gave his own take on qualities bepends on what the standards are and what on wins and losses, then only one team has a

-

to meet their standards and what they set as

orable moments in his time with MSJ Boys Basketball, Vaz praised the camaraderie, teamwork, and sportsmanship of the team through-

encourages athletes to place more value into only team that has a good year is the one that

PHOTOS COURTESY CIF-NORTH COAST SECTION

Friday, March 25, 2022

The Smoke Signal

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Sports 19

The 2022 Paralympic Winter Games

By Pratham Bhashyakarla, Ruhani Chhabra & Jacob Han Staff Writers

FUSD Special Olympics

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in

eRu s

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Co nf li c tE

and Russia has sent waves throughout the world, including in the area of sports.

Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes were initially allowed to compete, but the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) reversed its decision one day before the opening ceremony, claiming tensions would be high in the athletes’ village. During the opening ceremony, Andrew Parsons, the president of the IPC, called for peace and unity amid the international strife. “As the leader of an organization with inclusion at its core, where diversity is celebrated and differences embraced, I am horrified at what is taking place in the world right now,” Parsons said.

Team USA Triathlete, Biathlete, and Cross-Country Skier Kendall Gretsch won a gold medal in biathlon — women’s 10 kilometers sitting.

Her victory came after she received a bronze medal in biathlon — women’s 6 kilometers sitting. Gretsch was born with spina bifida, an incomplete closing of the spine and membranes during pregnancy, but this did not limit Gretsch from being deeply involved in sports throughout her life. She made her Paralympic debut in the 2018 Winter Paralympics and won gold medals in biathlon and cross-country skiing. In addition to athletics, Gretsch received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

ng i n e Op

ffe cts

Te a m USA took part in the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games which were from March 4 to March 13, attaining six gold medals, 11 silver medals, and three bronze medals. The event featured more than 550 athletes from around the world, with 138 of the participants being women.

Three federations — Israel, Azerbaijan, and Puerto Rico — made their Paralympic debut. During the games, athletes competed in 78 events across six sports — alpine skiing, para ice hockey, biathlon, cross-country skiing, wheelchair curling, and snowboarding.

Team USA Multi-Sport Paralympic Athlete Oksana Masters won a gold medal in biathlon — women’s 6 kilometers sitting.

She finished the course in 20 minutes and 51.2 seconds with 100% accuracy and shared the podium with fellow Team USA Paralympic Athlete Kendall Gretsch. This win marks her 11th Paralympic medal and fifth gold medal. Masters, who was born in Khmelnytskyi, Ukrainian SSR, dedicated the victory to her homeland.

She was born in 1989, three years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which caused birth defects such as webbed fingers and no thumbs.

She moved to the US after being adopted at the age of seven and settled in Louisville, KY, with her family five years later. On her win, Masters said, “[The victory] is as much for Team USA as is for Ukraine. I’m so proud to be Ukrainian, to be American and represent both and that’s the power of sports that you can represent so much more than just one thing.”

Oksana Masters Kendall Gretsch

Team USA finished in fifth place out of 46 countries at the games, attaining gold medals in biathlon, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and para ice hockey. The gold medalists include Kendall Gretsch, Oksana Masters, Brenna Huckaby, and the 17 men in the US men’s national sledge hockey team.

The top four winning countries were Teams China, Ukraine, Canada, and France, who won 18, 11, 8, and 7 gold medals respectively. In the closing ceremony, IPC President Andrew Parsons ended with a unified message. “Differences here did not divide us … Through this unity, we have hope. Hopes for inclusion, hopes for harmony and importantly hopes for peace. Humankind hopes The to live in a world where opendialogue prevails,” ing cerParsons said. emony for

r e C

e

FUSD Special Olympics provides members of the MSJ community the opportunity to participate in the sports they’re passionate about in an inter-school tournament. FUSD schools compete with neighboring districts in a fun and inclusive manner. This healthy competition helps students with movement and coordination and challenges them physically and mentally. This year the event will occur virtually due to the pandemic, and usually features basketball, football, and soccer. However, the events for this year are not finalized. On the subject of athletic inclusivity, Special Education Teacher Sujata Singh commended the games. “[The] Paralympics gives [special education students] a spirit of freedom, expression, and team play to put out the best self-worth,” Special Education Teacher Sujata Singh said. “[The] Paralympics also instills a sense … of responsibility, and that [Special Education stuThe dents] don’t feel like war b e … [they] cannot projtween ect [themselves] Ukraine to society.”

Final Results

m

y n o

the 2022 Winter Paralympics took place in the Beijing National Stadium with the theme “Blossoming of Life,” which calls for unity between all countries.

After starting the ceremony with a traditional torch relay, visually-impaired members from the Yangfan Wind Band of Chongqing Special Education Center performed the anthem. In addition, students from the China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe used sign language to accompany the performance. The inclusive performances were a beautiful beginning to the eventful games.

Team USA Para Alpine Skier Jesse Keefe is the youngest US athlete to participate in the 2022 Paralympics at age 17. Keefe, a high school senior from Sun Valley, ID, was one of the three Team USA racers to finish in the top 15 at the men’s standing para alpine super combined on March 7. The athlete was born without an ankle bone in his right leg and had to get his foot amputated at 11 months. At age two, Keefe was inspired by his family, who are active skiers, and began to participate in the sport himself.

He started racing at the age of six. Since then, he has trained with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and the National Ability Center, emerging as a strong competitor. On the games and his performance, Keefe said, “Just being [at the games] is awesome … For my progression it was a great day, especially from world championships to now I’ve gotten way more comfortable with my skiing.”

Jesse Keefe

Notable Team USA Athletes

Team USA Cross-Country Skier and Biathlete Jake Adicoff retired from competitive Nordic skiing at the Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang four years ago, though that did not last. With a successful return to the sport, Adicoff secured his second Paralympic silver medal in cross-country skiing. Adicoff was born in San Jose. He incurred chickenpox in utero and was legally blind since birth, but that hasn’t stopped him from setting his sights high — the 26-year-old began skiing in second grade. He won the 2011 US Ski and Snowboard Dave Quinn award, which honors athletes who have a strong passion for the sport and who have overcome the many trials and tribulations associated with it. “We’re really happy to be on the podium today,” Adicoff said. “It was a really hard race and we had to work pretty hard for this one.”

Jake Adicoff

PHOTOS BY MOVEUNITEDSPORT.ORG, PARALYMPIC.ORG. GRAPHICS BY SPORTS EDITOR JERRY YUAN & STAFF WRITER KAITLYN WANG.

20 Photo

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Friday, March 25, 2022

Visual Storytelli nG:

School Mask Mandates

By Sanah Bhardwaj & Karina Han Staff Writers

On February 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that mask mandates at K-12 schools would be lifted by March 12. The FUSD Board of Education soon followed suit, voting 4-1 on March 9 to “strongly recommend” masks. The change comes after nearly two years of mask mandates, which began in CA on June 18, 2020 to reduce the spread of COVID-19. To shed light on MSJ opinions about the mandates, the Smoke Signal interviewed students and teachers about the new mask policies.

I support masks because they stop the spread of COVID-19. Honestly, I think Gov. Newsom’s decision to lift the mask mandate is fine though because vaccination rates are pretty high right now. I’m definitely going to continue wearing my mask though — I don’t think everyone is comfortable with taking their masks off until there’s real proof that everything is dying down. Even though masks are important, I really miss seeing people’s faces and facial expressions; under their masks, you can’t really tell how they’re feeling. People’s voices are also always muffled in their masks and you can’t really hear what they’re saying. I’m looking forward to life going back to normal after COVID-19, like people not having to be six feet apart and secluded from everyone else. Hopefully, it’ll start to feel like old times again.

An mol Prabhakar, 9 I support the mask mandate because I don’t want to get COVID-19. I feel like every time the mandate is lifted, things just seem to get worse. That’s why I think Gov. Newsom’s decision to lift the mask mandate is pretty bad — masks have been there since the beginning of COVID-19 and removing them now will continue to cause problems. They reduce the risk of COVID-19, and removing the mask is a risk I’m not willing to take, so I’m going to wear my mask after the mandate is lifted because I don’t want to get COVID-19 from school.

Even though masks are important, I do miss seeing people’s faces though. I also miss being able to go to concerts and being able to breathe. Concerts with masks are so stuffy.

N i kita Kamath, 10 I support the mask mandate because it’s for the betterment of everybody. Why should we put everyone at risk? Why should we put our safety at risk? Every time the state opens up, cases have spiked. It’s going to happen again. New variants are going to keep coming anyway, and there are ways we can prevent that, but by removing the mask mandate, we’re not taking those measures to prevent the spread. I’m definitely going to continue wearing my mask after the mandate is lifted because I have grandparents at home and I want them to be safe. However, I do miss life without masks because my mask is always humid and my glasses fog up. It’s hard getting my glasses at that one angle where they don’t fog. I guess a good thing is that people don’t realize how bad my acne is under the mask.

Si rtaj Bansal, 11 I honestly don’t think lifting the mask mandate is a good idea because it’s better to just keep safe until the whole thing goes away. I’ve already gotten accustomed to wearing a mask, but I don’t judge anyone for not wanting to wear their mask because it can be uncomfortable for some people. I still hang out with my friends regularly, and we still go to places to eat and the mask doesn’t affect me that much. I’m really looking forward to the public amusement places opening, like Great America. Also, since my parents used the pandemic as an excuse for me not to go out for the whole entire pandemic experience, now I get to go out a lot with my friends, and they’re fine with it.

Alison Bai, 12 I think lifting the mask mandates is a good decision. There needs to be a time where we can live without masks because you can’t wear masks forever, and we’re at a point where it’s low enough that I feel like it’s okay. For me, I think getting rid of the mask fully is a process, so it’ll take me a while to fully get rid of the mask, but I look forward to starting that process and seeing people, like getting to see my friends, coworkers, students, and just not having to worry about being so cautious around people in general. It’s weird when I see my students without masks. I almost don’t recognize them a lot of the time with their masks off. People just look completely different without masks.

M ichael Jan MATH Teach er

The Smoke Signal surveyed MSJ students through a Google Form from March 7-12, gathering 64 responses about the student body’s perspectives on lifting the school mask mandate. To read about our survey results, visit thesmokesignal.org.

GRAPHICS BY GRAPHICS EDITOR MINGXIN WANG, PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS SANAH BHARDWAJ & KARINA HAN.