THE MARK SPECIAL EDITION: Jesse Jackson Visits M-A

The Mark Menlo-Atherton High School 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton, CA SPECIAL EDITION February 21, 2014

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You are not our future.

You are our right now.

Coverage

of the inspirational visit from

Reverend Jesse Jackson

STAFF EDITORIALBOARD

TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume IV, ISSUE II December 2013

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Gabe Cohen Megan Kilduff

CREATIVEEDITOR JOANNECHO

MANAGINGEDITORS LINDY LAPLANTE CAYLA STILLMAN

SPORTSEDITOR BRETTMORIARTY

EXECUTIVEEDITOR FRANCESCAGILLES

SUBMISSIONSEDITOR SARA SOLOMON

WRITINGSTAFF Sami Andrew Alex Argente Sofia Bergmann Sarah Dairiki Matt DeTrempe LisSette EspinoZa Tara Fahimi Marta Fatica Alexa Finn Eliza Fitz Elena Fox Nina Fox Jonah Guenther-Schmidt Amir Heidari Ben Hickman Molly Kearnan Amirteymour Moazami Ivana Petani Nico Plume Sarah Reichow Ian Robinson-Lambert Liz Sommer Sabina Vitale Kristen Walsh Katie Webb Katie Weiner Photography by Adviser Betsy Snow

On the cover The MArk staff was NEWS 5 Editorial 10 Double fortunate to Agent be Fundamentally Flawed 6 11 What Makes You Unique CTE Arts 7 30-31 Under seethe Influence HIGH MARKinvited LOW MARK 15 to Can We Keep Up with Rev. Jesse Jackson Ourselves?

34-35 Columns 38 Is the SAT an Accurate speak A & E during Measure of Intelligence?

Food Myths 8 39 31,536,000 Seconds 6thPizzaperiod in the Polls 9 Fly Through Finals Week 12 Performing Arts Winter Time 16-17 Drinking or Driving 20 Sports onDown The Best ofCenter the Worst 42 Bear Christmas Gifts 21 43 Physical Education for the February 20, 2014.

Exceptional Celebrity Stalking 101 24 Physically How Much Do YOU Know 25 44 College Bound This special edition Thanksgivukkah 28 How Do You Celebrate Your isHolidays? available in 29 SUBMISSIONS Argente’s Corner 33 2-3 introduction digital format 13 HOLIDAY WELCOME 14 THE ART OF JUNIOR YEAR only.

Opinion 22-23 Black and White Caught in the Act 26 40-41 color collage Expect the issue Bathrooms 27 next 46-47 closing Are Women Good Writers? 30 of the MArk this March.

Cover Art Cappadochia Hot Air Balloons Eli Goodman, 9th

“Dr. King would like to be here now.”

Photographs by Betsy Snow

by Molly Kearnan

“Dr. King would like to be here now,” remarked civil rights leader Jesse Jackson as he looked out at the multiracial audience filling Menlo-Atherton’s Performing Arts Center. Sporting an M-A hoodie and pumping his fist, Jackson entered the stage to an overwhelming sound of clapping and whistling.

Instead of delivering a monotonous speech on teenage responsibility that would be expected of an older figure speaking at a high school, Jackson rallied the students with an effective ‘call and response’ method that had the audience on their feet.

Rev. Jackson summed up the main theme of his speech by saying that “we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters and not die apart as fools.” As the surprisingly si-

lent student audience listened attentively, he advised them to accomplish this by reaching across the divisions that society had long ago put in place.

Whether these divisions are language, race, or economic standing, he made it clear that one should be constantly striving to transcend them.

Although he acknowledged the drastic decrease on the limitations that had been placed upon minorities during the days he and Martin Luther King, Jr. were fighting for their rights, Jackson emphasized that the fight is not over yet.

The reverend mentioned that with the recent passing of the Super Bowl, it is important to remember that it would not be possible had it not been for the civil rights movement.

Without it, “blacks and whites could not have played togeth-

er and they could not have sat together in the stands.” These strategic anecdotes helped the audience relate to the significance of accepting others.

Jackson’s background as an orator was evident in his unique ability to connect with an auditorium full of teenagers. He reached out to the students again, stating that teenagers are, “too old to be a kid, too young to be an adult.”

Succinctly put, it is a “twilight zone.”

He wrapped up his speech by shaking the hands of every student in the front row and then silently raising his fist as the audience gave him a standing ovation. The students then filed out of the building with the words of the reverend fresh on their minds, “you are not our future, you are our right now.”

SABINA VITALE Though I am proud and impressed by the reform my country has undergone in the past 50 years, I recognize that there is still work to be done. As Jesse Jackson said, our generation is not only the future, we are the “right now” as well. We must all recognize our individual potential but also “we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters and not die apart as fools.”

KATIE WEBB

Jackson also encouraged the students attending the speech to push themselves academically and realize their dreams. He emphasized to the crowd that “every day matters, every homework assignment matters, every test matters,” as everyone must work their hardest.

Later in his speech, he again had the crowd chant, with everyone stating that they would “graduate, go to college, [and] realize their dreams” despite the hardships standing in the way. Near the end of the speech, Jackson stated that “all of us matter” regardless of our background, condensing the purpose of his visit to East Palo Alto and M-A into a single sentence.

Race, language, money, and more are merely divisions that people draw amongst themselves, and are divisions that people must overcome as we “cannot survive apart.”

SOFIA BERGMANN Menlo-Atherton, a school that focuses the strength provided by its diversity, Jackson’s speech was a perfect fit for the young and varied audience. His message hoped to spark desire to continue to fight the racial divides still found in our communities. After his merited standing ovation, Jesse Jackson undeniably left a strong impact as the prominent leader walked off stage wearing an M-A sweatshirt and a big smile on his face. His emphasis on the importance of working together to enforce human rights left the crowd cheering. The legacy of himself and his contemporaries, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in civil rights movements have shaped our communities, and still continue to inspire young students to strengthen diversity and to enforce equal human rights.

“I must embrace more than one language, more

SAMANTHA ANDREW

Rev. Jesse Jackson, a prominent Civil Rights public speaker, introduced himself saying, “I must embrace more than one language, more than one race. We all matter, everyday matters” to engage the audience of over 400 adults and students in the Menlo-Atherton Per-

forming Arts Center on Wednesday son that electrified the atmosphere afternoon. Jackson spoke to M-A of the building. about the importance of inter-racial Students of all ages felt in interaction and “NO ONE HAS THE aw of just being in the fact that we are his presence. “It was RIGHT TO DO LESS all equals regardcool to able to see less of our race, someone who was THAN THEIR BEST” the language we an important Civspeak, or the amount of money we il Rights Activist” stated freshman have. The speech ended with a well Grace Tully as she walked outside deserving standing ovation for Jack- of the building.

than one race. We all matter, every day matters.”

The fact that Menlo-Atherton is such a diverse school made up of people from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds is all the more reason that Jackson’s message of inter-racial equality is perfect for our school. His hard work with the Civil Rights movement and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition over the last six decades has created the opportunity for students from East

Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, and other cities to go to school together.

Although not all M-A students at the assembly may have understood the magnitude of Jackson’s visit today, the majority were excited to have the opportunity to listen to a prominent leader share a part of history. Senior Spiro Papadakis stated that, “It was very inspirational to

see someone so famous come to our school and speak to us.”

The general consensus after the speech was that it is truly awe-inspiring for such an important public figure to take the time to speak to a group of M-A students about his important message of equality and his belief that “no one has the right to do less than their best.”

KATIE WEINER Emphasizing education as a pathway to equality, Jackson shared his insight about the diverse world we live in and the importance of acceptance with his call-and-response style and anecdotal stories. His message rings true at Menlo-Atherton, a school that emphasizes its diversity as a source of strength.

While M-A is certainly on the right track, we still have a long way to go. As a community, we must keep in Jackson’s message and constantly try to decrease the racial divide. We must take advantage of the diversity in our area and use this opportunity to further the movement of Jackson, King, and other activists who have worked for greater equality in our nation and elsewhere.

We have at our disposal everything needed to inspire change, and as a school defined by its diversity we ought to take advantage of this in order to move further in the direction of equality. Reverend Jackson’s visit to M-A should not be seen as a “mission accomplished” speech but instead should remind us of the importance of the civil rights movement and the need to further pursue justice in our community and across the globe. We must keep in mind Jackson’s words: “Whether you are red, black, brown or white, we are brothers and sisters.”

AMIR HEIDARI Toward the end of his speech, Jackson discussed the importance of hard work and good decision making in life. He remarked that, “no one has the right to do less than their best”encouraging us, students, to strive for excellence with hard work as our minimum expectation. With that attitude, Jackson stressed the inevitability of success, “do your best and God will take care of the rest.”

JOANNE CHO The way in which Jackson expressed his sentiments so passionately and genuinely immediately grasped the attention of the audience from the beginning to the end of his speech.

By engaging with the audience and sharing personal anecdotes, Jackson truly touched the students that were fortunate enough to be granted the grand opportunity to hear him speak.

NICO PLUME

Rev. Jackson hopes to pass the baton to the youth of America and inspire them to expand their education so that they, too, can fight for equality.

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