The Broadview and Broadview.SacredSF.org
SACRED HEART
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
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A picture’s worth a thousand bites As the popularity of social media sites grow, so do the Instagram accounts dedicated to food.
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Camilla Bykhovsky Senior Reporter
aking pictures of artfully presented restaurant dishes has become socially acceptable in many social circles, which may account for the rise of Instagram posts dedicated to food. “I love food and food photography, so I just mixed the two,” Lily Kaplin, food photographer and blogger, said. “I was always going out to nice restaurants, and I was never really documenting it, so I decided I wanted to share it with people.” Kaplin, who attended CSH for three years, has almost 4000 followers on her Instagram where she posts photos from wherever she eats. “The restaurant gets a lot more publicity based on the fact that I post pictures and influence people to eat at these places,” Kaplin said. “I don’t have a lot of followers in the grand scheme of things,
but I have been asked for opinions on where good places to eat are.” The popularity of Instagram and the attention it receives leads some of the social media users to start separate accounts for food photography to keep from overposting. “I made ‘cheeeezin’ when I was in New York my sophomore year,” junior Caroline Lo said. “I was taking so many pictures of food, and I didn’t want to post them all to my main Instagram, so I made a new one.” Due to the popularity of Kaplins’ ‘eatingthroughsf,’ she put the link on her resumé while searching for a job. “I am a social media intern at this juicery in New York,” Kaplin said. “I got the job because I sent them my blog, which showed that I was already part of the social media world.” Some restaurants are relying on the social network for advertising. “It was my boss’ idea, who is al-
ready super into Instagram,” Gabriela Ortiz, a shift lead at Cream in Berkeley said. “When we get new items and new products, my boss will definitely put that there, Instagramming probably once or twice a week.” Using Instagram for promotions, some restaurants give social media bloggers, who post a picture and review a meal, a discount or a free meal on the next visit. “We did a contest, Cal vs. Stanford,” Ortiz said. “If you posted a picture in your Cal or Stanford gear and a picture of your sandwich, then you could win a free sandwich.” Personal food Instagrams also sometimes provide benefits to the poster. “I think in San Francisco, a lot of the time when people say what influenced them to try a specific restaurant, they say that they saw it on ‘eatingthroughsf,’” Kaplin said, “or they comment other people’s names on a specific picture to spread the word.”
Camilla Bykhovsky/The Broadview
FOODGRAM Junior Caro-
line Lo takes a picture of a Bun Mee sandwich for her fooddedicated Instagram account, ‘cheeeezin,’ during lunchtime at the Fillmore Street restaurant (above). The picture of the Vietnamese sandwich was uploaded immediately, gaining 183 likes (left).
Building bonds overnight Changes in the format of class retreats aim to create a more supportive environment and cohesive class.
S Madison Riehle /The Broadview
Liana Lum/The Broadview
REFLECTIONS Juniors sit
Ashley Latham/The Broadview
together, engaging in conversation and playing cards, while classmates held a kickball tournament on the second day of the retreat (top, clockwise). Sophomores Madison Stetter and Gwynie Dunlevy participate in a self-reflection after taking a hike around the scenic Marin Headlands. Senior Jewelia Nemy ties a dream flag, where she wrote her wishes for the future, among the flags of previous classes.
Ashley Latham Senior Reporter
eniors hiked to their dorm rooms in silence after a day of self-reflection and class activities during one of the class retreats on March 20, which had students staying the night either at school or at a conference center. Faculty restructured spring retreats to allow for classes to bond while encouraging self-reflection in a technology-free environment. “We are going to be integrating a lot of silent time and a lot of community time,” retreat leader Julia Arce said before the seniors left for Bishop’s Ranch in Healdsburg. “We are also asking all students to leave their electronics at home.” Students noticed a change in class dynamics with the absence of phones and iPads. “It was a very unique experience,” senior Lauren Baum said. “I was able to say things to people that I wouldn’t be able to say in another setting.” The Senior Class participated in a gratitude circle, where each student spoke words of appreciation about each of her classmates. “I thought that it helped all of us get closer together,” senior Clare Pardini said. “I think we all became closer friends, and people I didn’t feel I knew, I now feel comfortable talking to.” After spending the day at Stu-
art Hall High School for an Ethics and Action Seminar in which junior boys and girls watched the movie “Her” and listened to David Kopf, founder of Remind101, and John Starr, manager of Twitter’s Minors and Content Team, who talked about identity on social media, CSH students went to the Union for Reform Judaism Camp Newman retreat center in Santa Rosa.
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I was able to say things to people that I wouldn’t be able to say in another setting.
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Juniors also had free time and some structured activities like writing mock Oscar acceptance speeches thanking loved ones, according to junior Christina Braa. “I really enjoyed all the free time we had,” Braa said. “It allowed for us to spend time together as well as bond and use our ‘wise freedom.’” Sophomores and juniors have traditionally participated in ropes courses during retreats. As part of the revamp, student council leaders in each grade collaborated with the faculty to plan retreats, according to Lead Student Conduct Advisor Jeanne Asdourian.
Sophomores left campus during their CORE period for the Marin Headlands. “We had a lot of free time to spend just hanging out with one another,” sophomore Stella Smith-Warner said. “I really loved having dinner family-style with our entire class. It allowed us to sit down and take a moment to be with each other.” Instead of serving at the Celebrate Spring Luncheon and visiting retired Religious of the Sacred Heart at Oakwood in Atherton, freshmen had a class sleepover and participated in team building activities at school. All the Sacred Heart student groups have been asked to refrain from visiting Oakwood due to the health concerns for elderly nuns. “These changes were made because — besides the conversations with the retired RSCJs — there was nothing really ‘retreat-like’ about past retreats since there wasn’t a lot of time for classes to spend with one another,” Asdourian said. Charis Denison, a consultant for the Durango Institute for CoCurricular Education, worked with the class. In addition to other exercises, Denison lead a sharing circle where students were able to speak freely with one another. “It was a really eye-opening experience,” freshman Julia Gutman said. “I thought it was great because we all learned something new and different about people.”