A view into awe-inspiring experiences Investigating the effects of wonder on attitudes, mindsets, and perspectives
BY SADHANA SARMA AND AURELIA YANG
SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY-EPIC
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tanding next to a grandiose waterfall, even the tallest human in the world will be inclined to feel a sense of overwhelmingness, an emotion that is a prime example of awe. Awe can be conceptualized as the experience of encountering something so vast in size, beauty or intensity that the brain struggles to fully comprehend it. It is a quality capable of inspiring and adjusting one’s perception of the world, changing the way people perceive mundane objects and tasks by stimulating a confounded reaction. Awe itself can stem from a variety of intense experiences. Up until 1757, when Irish philosopher Edmund Burke began a revolution in our understanding of awe, the sensation was limited to religious experiences. In the present day, events such as witnessing childbirth and hiking to a nice view are most often associated with such a feeling. It can, however, be found in all environments and situations. Seeing repetitive patterns of light and dark, listening to moving mu-
sic and travelling can be experienced daily and are capable of stimulating feelings of amazement. Despite the wide range of stimuli that qualify as awe-inspiring, they all share a capability to inspire the same level of the feeling. Economics and Government teacher David Pugh has experienced awe through his many travels. As someone who has been to places such as New Zealand, the South Paci�ic, and the Swiss Alps, Pugh has had to opportunity to experience different perspectives of nature. “I think the experience of travel has been the most awe inspiring because it has really opened me and my mind up,” said Pugh. “You realize how small you are and you appreciate other cultures, and you realize that people are pretty much the same around the world.” The prototypical awe experience, at least in Western cultures, usually involves encounters with natural phenom-
ena that are immense in size, scope or complexity. On a week long backpacking trip up Mount Phillips in New Mexico, where the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Plains, sophomore Sakin Kirti felt awe through one of these archetypal experiences. “The mountain hike went up to 11,000 feet,” said Kirti. “When you see a view like that and you see the spread of great plains on one side and rocky mountains on the other side, you can see just how vast everything is compared to you as you’re standing there.” According to the study “Awe, Uncertainty, and Agency Detection” by Valdesolo and Graham, even something as simple as watching nature videos can evoke feelings of awe; such items reduce one’s tolerance for uncertainty, leading to an increase in spiritual beliefs. Though awe is often still believed to only come about from religious experiences, it has proven to be equally palpable for the religious and nonreligious
Lynbrook mock trial team places at states BY WILLIAM GUO
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n Mar. 24, Lynbrook’s mock trial team headed to the University of California, Riverside to compete in the statewide mock trial competition, where they placed 16th out of 34 teams. The team won the Santa Clara County Mock Trial Tournament on Feb. 23 with a record of 3-1, in order to qualify for the competition, the �irst time the Lynbrook mock trial team has made it to the state level competition in the past seven years. At the state competition, the team bowed out with a 2-2 record after winning against Scripps Ranch and Aptos High Schools and after losing to Elk Grove and Centennial High Schools. Mock trial tests participants on one case the entire year; this year, the case was People v. Awbrey, which centered around human traf�icking and false imprisonment. While the team was successful at the county tournament, the season was not without its challenges. They had a rough start, as the majority of the team is made up of underclassmen, and many were new to mock trial. “At the beginning we were really struggling because we lacked a lot of the necessary skills, which our coaches Mr. Pugh and [Attorney-coach] Mark [Shem] can attest to,”
said junior co-captain Alina Wan. “One of my concerns during the beginning of the year was the fact that we didn’t have a lot of experienced members. Previously, the team was very senior-driven.” The lack of experience caused a few problems during the beginning of the season. “During the beginning of the year they were awful,” said Shem. “They weren’t cohesive, and they didn’t make sense. They just did not have the proper courtroom procedure. We had to sit down and tell them that that wasn’t acceptable for a Lynbrook mock trial team.” In an effort to improve the team, the coaches brought in Justin Bernstein, a notable mock trial coach, to give members pointers. Shem noticed the team’s improvement in their arguments after the session, as well as in the following invitationals and scrimmages. Their progress materialized during their title run at counties. “We really had to teach the new members the ropes, and we’ve really been able to recognize the true essence of mock trial,” said senior co-captain Kathleen Cui. “Over time we’ve been able to smooth out any problems that we’ve had.” The underclassmen were quick to learn
and pick up on mock trial strategies, even though they had to adapt to a new environment. “This year was my �irst year, and it’s de�initely been a very steep learning curve,” said sophomore Ben Shapiro. “Prior to this I was an average public speaker, but I found that it was far from what I needed to perform well in mock trial. I’ve learned a lot about the law in general, and I improved a lot in my speaking skills.” The members have substantially improved since the �irst days, and the team has been able demonstrate their skills through their various matches. Members must be prepared for not only their own case but also for their opponents’ cases. “Mock trial isn’t just set pieces, [because] you have to react to the other side’s case,” said Shem. In our �inal round going to states, our team was really reacting to our Prospect’s arguments. We demonstrated that we were able to react instead of giving a set speech. The team was able to critically analyze facts on the �ly, and respond to them.” The Lynbrook mock trial team hopes to learn and grow from the progress they’ve made this year, and they look forward to competing in the next season.
alike, as awe is evoked by anything that takes one out of their usual mindset and allows him or her to make a connection with something greater. For the non-religious, awe often inspires individuals to believe in evolution as a process that is orderly rather than one that is r a n - dom. Experiencing vastness �irsthand can also expand one’s worldview. It essentially changes the way individuals perceive t h e m selves and the world around them by shrinking their ego and thus humbling their personalities. Senior Kevin Huang experiences awe through being an astrophotographer and often witnesses majestic moments in see AWE-INSPIRING page 11
POWDERPUFF// pg. 14
Panel holds discussion for student mental wellness BY NOELA BAE
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n Mar. 20, the FUHSD and El Camino Hospital partnered up to present a panel discussion at Fremont High School as a means of educating and promoting mental wellness to students of the community. Attended by students and parents from
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY NEWS SECTION
throughout the district, the event focused on managing stress and �inding a healthy balance between school and life. The panel discussion, which has been in planning since June of 2016, was developed utilizing the �indings from a survey that was administered to students, parents and staff by the district’s Community Wellness Taskforce in September of 2016. Such key �indings included that a majority of respondents favor a later start time for school, that students only receive around six hours of sleep every night and that less than half of the student re s p o n d e n t s report being generally content with life. “I would say that mental wellness is one of the biggest issues for students at FUHSD,” said FUHSD student advocate Leila Lurie. “Students may struggle with relationship issues, family discord, social issues, socio-economic challenges, etc. that of- ten interfere with their ability to maximize their learning at school. Students feeling empowered to actualize school-life
balance, feeling like they have coping strategies to get through dif�icult moments, and knowing when to seek help are big ‘issues’ for students…and therefore, goals of FUHSD.” During the panel discussion, mental wellness professionals from El Camino Hostpital, Tony Masri, and Glenn Teeter, explained how mental wellness is often associated with the amount of sleep received. Both underscored the importance in averaging around nine hours of sleep, and how skimping on sleep induces adverse effects. “What we know is that when we sleep less, we tend to have higher rates of depression and suicide rates, and we tend to have poorer attention and concentration,” said Masri during the panel discussion. “This [is a] full spectrum, from being able to perform a task better to being more attentive, from being [susceptible] to being depressed with suicidal thoughts.” The professionals further clari�ied the misconception about sleeping more on weekends, for doing so does not actually compensate for the lack of sleep accumulated throughout the week. Sleeping in on weekends will instead throw off one’s sleep cycle, similar to how jet lag works, and will only prove bene�icial in the short term. Masri and Teeter also compared sleep deprivation to not eating enough food, claiming how one cannot skimp on food and decide to binge eat all of it in one day to make up for the dearth of food; rather, it is necessary that one consumes a healthy amount of food on a daily basis. The rest of the panel discussion consist-
ed of a wide range of topics, from discussing Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, a sleep disorder in which a person’s sleep cycle is fairly inconsistent with the typical day and night cycle, to deliberating on the importance of avoiding electronics at least 30 minutes prior to sleeping, in order to “wind down” the brain and sleep soundly at night. Among these various topics, the idea of pushing school start times was also brought up collectively, as they stated how doing so has been proven to induce positive results: growth in academic performances, higher attendance rates and reduced student accidents by around 40 percent. “I like the idea of later start times for school,” said TONY MASRI sophomore Mohini AdPSYCHOLOGIST kar. “I once read that your brain only wakes up at about 9 or 10 a.m., so this means that if we were to have later school times, it would help people be more productive. When I experience sleep deprivation, I’m really tired in class and, I’m pretty much ready to fall asleep by the end of the day. I also end up having no motivations to do anything, so later school times would really help with this.” By organizing this panel discussion, the FUHSD and El Camino Hospital hope to bring more light to the challenges teenagers often face, speci�ically in regards to mental wellness. As they have been working on hosting a panel discussion at each site in the district, both the FUHSD and El Camino Hospital are looking forward to planning more panel discussions and bringing awareness to the community on key mental health topics in the future.
BY KELSEY LU
“Our keynote speakers are women who have had experiences in the STEM �ield so we not only cover their backgrounds and what they do but also as a woman how they were accepted or how they got use to the work environment,” said Overney. Keynote speakers will talk about their personal experience with the STEM workplace and how they got to where they are now and attendees will be able to ask panel speakers questions that they may have. The keynote speakers will speak in the morning and the panel speakers will be answering questions toward the end of the exposition. “I did science fair last year, and I think that BARE is a good opportunity to see things from other people’s point of views,” said junior Saba Sharfuddin. “I’m also interested to hear about keynote and panel speakers’ experiences in a STEM �ield as well as the advancements currently happening such as technological advancements.” Subway sandwiches will be provided for lunch and attendees will be able to eat at the Google headquarters. A gallery walk will also be held for competitors to showcase their projects. Judges and attendees will be able to walk around and see competition team’s ideas on a tri-fold poster board spread around the room. “We’re trying to create a stepping stone to future science fairs, since not everyone is comfortable with the atmosphere. We hope that we can help BARE attendees build both hard and soft skills, like research skills and con�idence, so that they will feel better-equipped after BARE,” said senior co-president Marilyn Zhang. Amazon gift cards and certi�icates will be awarded to the
top three winners of the competition. Also, students going to this exposition can expand their network by meeting STEM professionals in the Bay Area. At an exposition dedicated entirely to STEM, one can feel comfortable surrounded by others who share the same interests. “This event is useful for everyone, regardless of experience, because those who want to compete can do so, and those who do not want to compete can still listen to speakers and look at everyone else’s projects. There is something for everyone,” said Zhang.
“WHEN WE SLEEP LESS, WE TEND TO HAVE HIGHER RATES OF DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE.”
Letter from the Editors Dear readers, We hope you are getting excited for spring break! Check out the news section for stories about a recent panel discussion regarding the mental wellness of students (pg. 2), as well Lynbrook students who are featured in an exhibit in Los Gatos New Museum (pg. 3). Be sure to read opinionated stories on the controversy of the openly gay character in Beauty and the Beast (pg. 4), the effects of Uber’s poor working conditions on its reputation (pg. 5) and the minimal impacts pre-college summer programs have on college applications (pg. 6). Flip to the features section to read articles about the Epic’s cooking challenge (pg. 7), the new social justice club on campus (pg. 8), and a movie review of Kong: Skull Island (pg. 8). In the in-depth section, read about student experiences with religion (pg. 11), and the psychology behind minimalism, the art of simplicity (pg. 10). Keep up with Lynbrook athletics in the sports section with a recap of powderpuff games and dances (pg. 14), and feature of Lynbrook’s winterguard team (pg. 14). This issue spans a multitude of interests, so you’re sure to �ind something you like, whether it be student features or stories on different aspects of our school. Warm regards, Shreyas Iyer and Jessica Luo
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n Apr. 1, the 2017 Women in STEM— science, technology, engineering and technology—(WiSTEM) Bay Area Research Exposition (BARE) will take place at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View. BARE will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and tickets are $6; this annual event is organized by WiSTEM clubs at Lynbrook, Monta Vista and Saratoga high schools. Students will be able to listen to keynote speakers and speaker panels by STEM professionals, participate in team competitions and have the opportunity to win awards. At this exposition, participants will not only learn about the way STEM is used in the workplace, but they will also be able to attend competitions where they can work with other attendees to create STEM solutions to improve speci�ic issues in the school community. They will put their idea onto a large poster board, presenting it to the judge’s near the end of the event. Competitors will be able to do research before attending the event and will be able to use psychological studies for their presentation. High school students who are interested in competing in this event will be required to get parental consent if they are under the age of 18. “BARE is a chance for students to compete in competitions and this year’s prompt is [to] come up with something that will help your school community or environment,” said senior co-president Cassandra Overney. “There are also speaker events where participants will be able to hear from STEM professionals and learn about different women in STEM and their experiences.” Some of the keynote and panel speakers include Dr. Anne Kopf-Sill, a head of technology licensing at Stanford University, Dr. Janet Stemwedel, a philosophy and ethics professor at San Jose State University, Bonnie King, a breast cancer biologist who currently works at Stanford University School of Medicine and Elisabeth Mills, who will be speaking about physics and astronomy.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY DIVYA NELAKONDA
WiSTEM club organizes Bay Area Research Exposition
Los Gatos Museum features students’ art BY PATRICIA WEI
FUHSD Foundation Crab Feed The FUHSD Foundation is hosting a crab feed on Mar. 31, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the De Anza College Gym. The fundraising event will include music, a silent auction, and all-you-can eat Asian Fusion food. Ticket cost varies, but be sure to get yours before they sell out. ASB Spring Formal The ASB Spring Formal is being held on Saturday, Apr. 22 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the Lynbrook gym. Dance the night away with your friends or signi�icant other! PTSA HSA Awards The PTSA Honorary Service Awards are on Thursday, March 20 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Staff Lounge. Be sure to attend and appreciate all the community members that have played an active role in making Lynbrook a better place.
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he Art Now exhibition, which opened on Mar. 23 at New Museum Los Gatos, featured artwork from high school students over the county, including those of four Lynbrook artists: sophomore Peyton Chiang, senior Irene Han, senior Chanina Katz and senior Claire Sheih. 60 pieces were chosen out of the one thousand submitted for the exhibit titled “Choices.” “The theme of choices is so broad that you can do just about anything with it,” said Matthew Reynolds, who teaches Art 2, Art 3 and Studio Art. “All of these artists are really engaged and are always looking for ways to make their work personal.” Chiang, a student in Reynolds’ Art 2 class, used drypoint, a printing process that involves carving and inking a plate. His work, The Hands of Nature, portrays the choice that humans can either be delicate or destructive to nature. “The environment isn’t something we care too much about as teens,” said Chiang. “We live around it, but few people make a conscious effort to help it.” This project marked Chiang’s �irst time working with drypoint. “Peyton did a great job with this project
in particular,” s a i d Reynolds. “He really took on this idea of combining different visual elements and putting them together to create an image that addresses the exhibition’s theme.” Han, a writer and artist, made an accordion book titled Erasure. It was inspired by the poetic technique of erasure, where a writer takes a page from a book and erases words to make a poem. “I like the idea of positive and negative space,” said Han. “I wanted to explore the choice to create out of nothingness and �ind beauty in something that’s destroyed.” She has found art to be her favorite form of self-expression because it allows her to explore and tackle conceptual ideas. “It’s the truest way to describe something in its most nuanced form,” said Han. Katz’s project, a series of three linoleum prints, is titled Subjective Realities. Each of her three prints represents a different person’s perspectives. “I thought about how the choices people make can lead to their perspective on the world,” said Katz. Katz has been involved in art since a
young age, starting with drawing and accompanying them with stories. In the fall, she plans to attend art school and learn to create animated stories. “I like how art is a different way to use your ideas,” said Katz. “You can actually make something in the world instead of going by rules.” Sheih’s project, a video titled Transience, shows Sheih wearing a sculpture made of around 200 forks. “I wanted to make a sculpture where light would create a sense of impermanence,” said Sheih. “I tried to create a form that was both ethereal and sharp.” Displaying their art in an exhibit is an unique experience for these artists, as it allows them to communicate their ideas with viewers and gain more con�idence in their art. The exhibit is open until Apr. 16.
ALL PHOTOS BY PATRICIA WEI
International Day On Apr. 21, the PTSA will host Lynbrook’s annual International Day. Come out to the quad at lunch to experience some of the many diverse cultures Lynbrook exhibits through food, interactive experiences, beautiful displays and more.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MEHEK KAPUR
News in Brief
by Mehek Kapur
Pictured from left to right: “Subjective Realities”* by Chanina Katz, “Erasure”* by Irene Han, “Transience”* by Claire Shieh and “The Hands of Nature” by Peyton Chiang. *All art not pictured.
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Disney tells a tale as progressive as time Controversy over subtle gay character LeFou in Beauty and the Beast is overblown BY MICHELLE LUM
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eleased on March 17 in 4,000 theaters nationwide, Disney’s new live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast has stirred up controversy with its portrayal of LeFou, the villain Gaston’s sidekick, as a gay character. By depicting its �irst openly gay character in �ilm, Disney, despite receiving some backlash, makes great strides in terms of social progression for LGBT rights. According to openly gay director Bill Condon, actor Josh Gad plays LeFou, who is just realizing that he is gay. Howard Ashman, the lyricist for the original �ilm who died of complications from AIDS just before its release, believed that the Beast’s isolation was a metaphor for AIDS because of the Beast’s curse and his chance to be cured through a miracle. LeFou’s portrayal as a gay character is a tribute to Ashman. Throughout the �ilm, LeFou harbors a crush on Gaston, but LeFou later turns against Gaston after realizing his wrongdoings. There is a three-second-long scene at the end of the �ilm where LeFou switches dance partners in a ballroom and �inds himself dancing with another man. The gay subplot of the new �ilm is not emphasized, as many critics suggest, and it can be easily missed by those not watching carefully. Some, however, have still found fault with the new �ilm’s reimagination of LeFou as a gay character. The �ilm’s controversy has also expanded across the globe. Russia has decided to give the �ilm a 16+ rating so that children under 16 years of age can only see it in theaters if they were accompanied by someone over the age of 16. Screenings of the �ilm in Malaysia have been postponed because of the country’s Film Censorship Board’s refusal to show the �ilm in the country unless less than �ive minutes of scenes showing LeFou as a gay character are cut.
AURELIA YANG//IN MY OPINION
Lynbrook’s parking lot hierarchy
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hen I �irst heard the term “senior parking” in the beginning of the school year, shortly after I had gotten my license in the summer of 2016, I easily brushed the term aside as insigni�icant.
Since the gay subplot of the �ilm does not affect its overall storyline, the controversy over the �ilm is extremely overin�lated. If the main characters of the �ilm, Belle or the Beast, had been made gay instead of the minor character of LeFou, the conservative opinion on the gay character would have had a point, but LeFou’s role is so small that the backlash over his portrayal is needlessly overblown. “It is mildly amusing that people are getting s o
upset over such a minor element of the movie. From what I’ve seen, there’s barely any screen time of this element of the movie at all,” said senior Kate Sanders, president of Lynbrook’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA). “It shows that there are still parts of the U.S. and the world that are not as progressive as the majority of people in more progressive areas like the Bay Area. It is while depressing, not completely unexpected.”
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY CATHERINE HUANG AND WILLIAM GUO
I saw the concept as nothing more than a lighthearted senior privilege, meant to convenience seniors who could drive on the basis of seniority. However, as the school year progressed, I began hearing stories about my fellow junior drivers receiving threats of getting their car keyed or tires slashed for parking in the senior parking slots (the �irst two rows of parking allotted in Lynbrook’s parking lot). I was sure that they were exaggerating about the extremity of their experiences, but the stigma began to affect me as I saw more and more underclassmen stray away from parking in senior parking out of fear of facing the wrath of these “merciless” senior drivers. When I asked a few friends about where the concept originated, they told me that a few years back, several seniors graf�itied the pillars in the parking lot with the words “senior parking” in bold white lettering. The
concept of “senior parking” was never actually enforced by the school administration, but the students themselves chose to follow the prank and turned it into a school tradition since then. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against senior parking and am actually really excited to inherit this privilege next year as a senior. Hearing all of these stories and seeing the momentary fear in my junior friends’ eyes whenever someone challenges them to park in the �irst two rows in the parking lot, however, made me realize that “senior parking” is a concept taken a lot more seriously than it should be. “Senior parking” itself is a completely �ine concept, and I actually see it as a fun and quirky way of having underclassmen respect the seniority of seniors. However, it becomes a problem when seniors begin to verbally threaten underclassmen who violate the
Disney’s inclusion is a step forward for the rights of the LGBT community by showing same-sex relationships. At a time when LGBT rights are beginning to enter the forefront of the national consciousness, it is important for Hollywood to re�lect social progression in order to accurately portray members of society that are often marginalized and to encourage acceptance. “It’s nice to see people portrayed in gay marriages on TV [and such media] to make people aware that there is a spectrum in our society when it comes to gender,” said Denise Stuart, the club adviser of GSA. “To have gay or transgender characters in younger media, like cartoons or Disney, is af�irming. Any LGBTQ character is very welcomed.” Those who worked on the �ilm have supported the decision to include LeFou as a gay character. Condon has defended this depiction by remarking that the controversy over the �ilm is “overblown” in an interview with ScreenCrush. Likewise, Gad has stated that he is “really proud” to play LeFou in a “�ilm…of inclusiveness” in interviews with USA Today and People. Other actors in the �ilm, such as Sir Ian McKellen, have spoken out in support of the �ilm, and many believe the controversy to be over-exaggerated. “[The controversy] is a little ridiculous. We need exposure, we need representation of different groups, like in race and sexuality,” said sophomore Jessabelle Ramos. “There’s been an increase of people discovering themselves as part of the LGBT community because it’s becoming more accepted, and being represented more would help with the acceptance, and then encourage more people to come out.” Although LeFou himself plays a small role in the �ilm, Disney’s decision to depict a gay character in �ilm pioneers the acceptance of those who identify themselves as part of the LGBT community, setting a precedent for other �ilmmakers to follow when considering character roles, plots and casting decisions in their future �ilms. Beauty and the Beast has demonstrated full inclusion of all people in a society that can be very unaccepting, taking a step forward by embracing everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. unof�icial rule. These cases are pretty rare, but it’s still important for drivers to be more aware of them. The privilege also creates a larger breach between the junior and senior classes, promoting a kind of parking lot “hierarchy” that fosters tension between the two. I, personally, experience this tension every morning when I am trying to �ind a space to park. There are often several vacant spaces in senior parking, but I always refrain from occupying those spots and resort to third or fourth row parking because of the unfriendly stigma that surrounds the concept. Moral of the story: underclassmen drivers should abide by the senior parking rule for the most part, and seniors should show more mercy to the underclassmen who park a little bit closer than usual because they woke up late and can’t afford to get anymore tardy slips (aka me).
Uber employees unjustly tied to company’s reputation BY ERIC WU
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he ride-hosting company Uber has recently come under �ire after various news sources have exposed Uber’s poor upper management and hostile workplace. These articles have had a such a large impact on Uber’s reputation, so much so that former Uber employees have had dif�iculties looking for jobs as they now have to prove to companies that they neither condone nor re�lect Uber’s workplace culture. Companies, however, should not think less of prospective employees just because they have worked at Uber before. Not only is this unfair and discriminatory, employees are not a re�lection of their work environment, as failures in Uber’s workplace are largely in�luenced by those in upper management who dictate the culture, the decisions and the public image of the company as a whole. On Feb. 19, former Uber employee Susan Fowler posted an article on her personal blog titled “Re�lecting On One Very,
Very Strange Year At Uber,” though its content revealed a workplace environment that is far more controversial than just “strange.” Fowler exposed Uber as a company where managers got away with sexual harassment and Human Resources did next to nothing when she reported such behavior. The blog post went viral, and over the next two weeks, news stories further exposing the depth of Uber’s disorganized, brash and corrupt workplace were published daily. From a report by The New York Times revealing drug usage and groping of women by a manager at a retreat RAHUL KHARE company to a video of CEO JUNIOR Travis Kalanick involved in a heated argument with an Uber driver over falling fares, Uber’s name as a reputable company was destroyed. As Uber’s future spirals downward, however, it is dragging former employees down with it. Various employees who left the company in search of better workplaces have faced uphill battles trying to prove their morals are not in line with those at Uber. “Just because someone has immense success at Uber [does not mean that] they hold the same values as the corrupt upper management,” said sophomore Rhea Chowdhury.
“IF AN EMPLOYEE BELONGS TO AN ORGANIZATION WHERE THE LEADERSHIP FAILS, IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT THE EMPLOYEE’S VALUES AND WORK POTENTIAL HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED.”
“Although they may have bene�ited from the immoral environment, it isn’t fair to assume that they have the same unethical mindset as their leaders.” Additionally, those who are skilled at their job do well regardless of the work environment and their colleagues, making success an inaccurate measure of moral values. Fowler, though she was dealt various incredulous situations during her time at Uber, admits she made signi�icant progress at the company. After Kalanick’s incident with the Uber driver, he later issued an apology and said that he would “seek leadership help.” His lack of leadership is the reason why Uber is failing in so many areas and employees are searching for other jobs. “If the leadership fails, the primary fundamental source of power fails,” said Khare. “It’s like a car; if the car is running but the engine, which makes the decisions and planning, fails, the entire car fails. Conversely, if you have a perfect wheel on that car but the engine fails, the wheel is still in perfect condition. In parallel, if an employee belongs to an organization where the leadership fails, it doesn’t mean the employee’s values and work potential have been corrupted.” Simply put, when a company sees that a prospective candidate has Uber listed as a past job, they should not immediately portray them as the arrogant, crude image created by Uber itself. A standard interview inquiring about past work experiences not just at Uber, education and personal quali�ications should be more than enough of a screening process.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MICHYLA LIN
CHELSEA LI//IN MY OPINION
Represent Asian cultures in American Girl
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young girl, dressed in frilly lace and shiny leather shoes, smiled from the cover: Meet Samantha. I picked up the book and �lipped through it, suddenly remembering the details of Samantha’s life in America’s Victorianism era of 1904, details that I eagerly devoured years ago. American Girl released its �irst male doll on Feb. 16, after two decades of producing only female dolls and toys. The doll, named Logan, is a supporting character in a new series, and like the other dolls, comes with his own accessories and games. Parents responded delightedly, exclaiming that their boys would �inally feel included too. I, on the other hand, felt disappointed. American Girl products made up a large part of my childhood. I was immediately captivated when I �irst discovered their historical �iction series. Each girl represented an important era in American history, and through the simple text and illustrations, I was able to connect with them. As I grew older, I began to notice things that were a bit off. After I grew out of simple chapter books and dolls, I continued to follow up on new products American Girl had released. Each year another girl appeared, however, I never saw a trace of East Asian features on their covers. I know that the company strives to be inclusive; they feature girls from a variety of different cultures, such as Hawaiian, Native American and African American, to name a few. I had never seen an American girl character who was similar to me, except in one series that featured Ivy Ling, a Chinese girl living in San Francisco in the 1970s, and a supporting character in another series. While reading the books, however, the truly unique parts of traditional Chinese culture were whitewashed. For example, the author used names such as “Happy Panda” for Ivy’s grandparents’ restaurant, and “Jasmine and Wonton” for Ivy’s cats. Aside from Ivy, American Girl has not published books or manufactured products representing any other Asian countries, such as Japan, Korea and India. I had known about their products for years and years, yet I never experienced a moment when I recognized my own culture re�lected in the pages. So, when the company introduced its �irst male addition, I was confused. Gender equality is very important in today’s society, but was this latest attempt at further inclusiveness truly the right direction the company wanted to advance? American Girl is unique because of their focus on females. If they wished to include more diversity, shouldn’t they be focusing on expanding in their current mission: to provide girls in the nation a sense of hope and strength? The lack of Asian representation in their products shows that an entire continent on the other side of the world is being neglected, a continent �illed with rich culture and powerful messages. I longed to see a charismatic female protagonist that strongly represented my culture, beyond the fortune cookies and steamed white rice and red envelopes. Asian Americans have de�initely helped shape American history, years ago and today; they are more than deserving of being recognized by a such a company. I can only hope that American Girl will come out with more products that represent Asian cultures so that in the future, an Asian American girl like myself can pick up an American Girl book and read it proudly, knowing that other young women across the nation can �inally take a good look into her culture.
Elite summer programs are not worth hefty price tag summer program to be convinced that you are committed to attending. “Students should really engage in activities that they truly very year, high school students spend hours on essay prompts and parents shell out thousands of dol- enjoy. Attending a summer program because you think it will lars hoping that putting Harvard Summer at the top help you get into a college is not a good reason to attend,” said of college applications will boost the chances of the stu- College and Career Adviser Katherine Tang. “Attending or not dent getting into a highly ranked college. There are many attending a summer program will not be the single factor that activities and extracurriculars that can wow the admis- determines whether a student gets into a particular school.” Attending one of these summer programs could potensions of�ice, but spending inordinate amounts of money tially even be harmful to put on one’s resume. Attending the and time in a summer program is not worthwhile. Many students set their sights on a few universities summer program of the school one is applying to for college early on in high school, then decide that the �irst thing to may come off as ingenuous and cliche to the admissions of�icers. They likely seek a student who do in order to earn admission is to is interested in pursuing a passion beattend the university’s pre-college yond courses directed by a university. program, if available. By participatThey want students to show that they ing in the program, students are led are capable of having a genuine interto believe that they are now a comest in the subject by educating thempetitive candidate for the school. selves on it on their own terms. “Students want to attend sum“An admissions of�icer would be mer programs for college,” said more impressed with a student who sophomore Meghana Kumar. “I decided to explore a particular discithink students believe that if they pline or take a course and found a way attend a summer program it will to do it that was free,” said Morgan. give them an advantage in their colKATHERINE TANG “Self directed work is much more imlege application, and that colleges COLLEGE AND CAREER ADVISER pressive to an admissions of�icer.” will view it favorably.” There are plenty of activities for Most programs cost at least students to participate in during the four thousand dollars for ten days to two weeks. For example, the Harvard Pre-College Pro- summer that re�lect well on resumes. Volunteering is an opgram is $4500, Columbia’s 3 week immersion program’s tion that students ought to consider year-round; it is philresidential fee is almost $11,000 and Cornell’s Summer anthropic and can center around an issue the student feels College program fee ranges from $4000 to $12,000. Al- passionate about. Students can volunteer locally at athletic though students do gain certain life skills such as learning charity events, at animal shelters, or in local historical orgato live alone in a dorm and are given the opportunity to at- nizations as a docent. Another summer option for students is tend educational lectures, spending thousands on dollars working, for example in local businesses or tutoring. Not only for these experiences is not justi�iable. Acceptance into an can students gain real world work experience, but they also expensive summer program is often largely a re�lection may make money, as long as the work being done is not frivoof the parent’s economic success. While most summer lous. Finding an internship in a �ield that you want to later programs offer scholarships, qualifying for these are even pursue a career in shows genuine interest in a subject and the more dif�icult, and are therefore not a viable solution to ability to �ind a job. “Some alternatives would be to do community service, the high cost of their programs. As the costs of the summer program go up, they tend to simply be a safeguard for maybe work for a nonpro�it that would be happy to take an intern, pursuing an internship or doing research with a more privileged students. “The reality of these programs is that they’re oppor- professor. Students can contact local colleges and ask if they tunities for families who can afford them,” said Elizabeth would be willing to take in a high school student to help do Morgan, director of external relations at the National research and learn about that �ield. They could get a summer College Access Network. “They’re not going to magically job,” said Tang. “They could take initiative and start their own project. A lot of students are into programming, perhaps they make sure you get into an Ivy League college.” Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, these pro- could develop an application. Anything that shows that you grams are not the deciding factor for college admissions. have a genuine interest in something. You don’t necessarily The summer programs are only a reality for wealthier stu- have to attend a summer program to get the same level of dents that do not often offer insight to the passion that enrichment.” It is tempting to want to decorate your application with colleges look for. The summer program is simply an insight into college life, not a golden ticket to the school in big brand name schools, but before you break the bank, conthe future. Colleges do not need students to attend their sider your other summer options. BY DIVYA NELAKONDA
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GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA LI AND HSIN YEN HUANG
“ATTENDING A SUMMER PROGRAM BECAUSE YOU THINK IT WILL HELP YOU GET INTO A COLLEGE IS NOT A GOOD REASON TO ATTEND.”
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MICHYLA LIN
Social media usage gives popular candidates an unfair advantage
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s campaign season rolls around, students’ Facebook timelines start to over�low with new pro�ile pictures and long, persuasive messages in support of candidates running for ASB or class of�icer positions. The focus of ASB and class of�icer campaigns has shifted from on-campus to online campaigning, and a strong social media campaign is now essential for success. Although online campaigning gives candidates a platform to detail their plans and ideas, it can also give an unfair advantage to certain candidates who have more followers on social media, resulting in campaigns focused more on popularity rather than quali�ications and ideas. The current system of unregulated online campaigning should be limited to solely a more equitable platform, such as the lhscampaign website, that allows candidates to detail their plans and students to ask questions. “I don’t think social media is too essential in a campaign, although it can be a very useful tool, because we do a lot of campaigning at school,” said sophomore ASB secretaryelect Emily Zhang. “We make posters, have speeches and Q&A sessions, and I think that without social media, candidates might be more inclined to actually campaign in person and at school.” Lynbrook’s current election system regulates the extent to which a candidate can promote their campaign on campus, but fails to do so online. No regulations are placed on online campaigns because of their nature and how hard they are to enforce.
Staff Editorial The Voice of the Epic “I think there are opportunities for us to review the current process and improve it,” said Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics Anne Butterworth. “My concern is we don’t make rules we can’t enforce.” Online, social media followers play a large role in the success of a candidate. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have algorithms that �ilter what is seen by users based on several factors, including how active the user is and who they interact with most on the site. These algorithms can result in less exposure for candidates who are not as active. Additionally, while sites like Facebook present many appealing methods f o r
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC WU
promotion such as pro�ile photos, events and groups, those same features make online campaigning unfair. The current system puts too much of an emphasis on connections and less on actual ideas and policies, which is not what ASB and class of�icer campaigns should be about. “I think [social media] does give an unfair advantage, because if you have more friends on Facebook or have been on Instagram for several years, and then you post something regarding your campaign, you tend to get more likes and more traf�ic,” said junior ASB IDC Representative-elect Anushka Srivastava. Online cam-
paigning takes away from the true purpose of campaigns, which should be focused on which candidate can make a greater impact on the school and has the ideas and leadership qualities it takes to be a successful ASB or class of�icer. By taking away the social media aspect, candidates can further advance their campaigns by proving their willingness to get to know students and listen to student input. Additionally, in-person campaigns give voters the opportunity to get the most genuine sense of what a candidate is like. “Actual campaigning should be talking to people and getting to meet people, rather than just making posts on Facebook, even though that can also be helpful,” said Zhang. “Social media doesn’t really give you the same learning experience as talking to people in person.” Similar to the regulations placed on campaigns at school, stricter guidelines should be enforced in regards to online campaigns. The sole online aspect should be an impartial website such as lhscampaign, which would still allow candidates to share their detailed platforms and describe their ideas and plans. This site would allow students to ask candidates questions regarding their plans, giving them a chance to address concerns from the student body. Although social media campaigns undoubtedly offer several advantages, an equitable online platform is necessary to ensure that the campaigning process becomes less of a popularity contest and that no candidates receive an unfair advantage. *the Epic staff voted 26-2 in favor of the stance
Senior Claire Chiang: Before the challenge even began, I knew our team was going to win. Were three boys really going to beat three girls who actually knew how to cook? I gathered supplies and ingredients and got super excited about this challenge... only to be snaked for the entire evening. Jessica, Divya and I were super on top of it and managed our time ef�iciently. Even though our food processor was stolen from us while we were making our ferrero rocher cheesecake, we used that time to move on to the next step and multitask. Harsh thought he was clever by hiding the vanilla extract from us, but little did he know that we actually had two vanilla extracts! (snake snake snake) We let our cheesecake chill in the refrigerator while we moved on to the next item, a creamy mushroom fettuccine. The three of us girls, again, effectively chopped everything up while the pasta was cooking in order to create a seamless, easy transfer from cooked pasta to creamy mushroom sauce. Unsurprisingly, our plan worked, and we �inished both of our dishes before the boys had even �inished their cheesecake. We presented our fettuccine to the judges, who agreed that our dish was amazing. We were able to unanimously agree, however, that both of our cheesecakes
were complete trash after taking a bite out of the mushy slop of what is called “no-bake cheesecake.”
Senior Jessica Luo: There was one thing I was looking forward to the most prior to this challenge: the Ferrero Rocher nobake cheesecake. Layers of velvety cream cheese, smooth chocolate ganache and crunchy crust—I was so ready. What unfolded during the making of the cheesecake was a brilliant display of resourcefulness on our part: the �illing called for a third cup of sugar, but there was only one ⅓ measuring cup and it was already �illed with sugar. Seeing that the boys were still squabbling about how to make the crust, we quickly grabbed “their” sugar and dumped it into our mixture. Not sabotage, just pure
resourcefulness. The boys might think otherwise. After shoving the cheesecake into the fridge, we sailed smoothly into the creamy mushroom fettuccini while the boys were still �iguring out how to use the food processor. Claire, Divya and I quickly chopped the vegetables and cooked the pasta, and within 30 minutes, whipped up a delicious pasta dish. By this point, I was beyond excited to check on our beloved cheesecake, which had been set to cool in the fridge. We took the cheesecake out, cut it and admired its gorgeously chocolatey layers as the knife sliced smoothly into it. Anticipating absolute perfection, I lifted my fork to my mouth, and...tasted the nastiest crap I have ever had in my life. It was disgusting. The crust was bitter, the �illing was salty and the chocolate was sour? Safe to say that I will never be making no-bake cheesecake ever again in my lifetime. Sophomore Divya Nelakonda: W h e n the other group
arrives late, you already know you are going to win. Beginning with the Ferrero Rocher cheesecake, Claire, Jessica and I were incredibly ef�icient. The other group, moving at a glacial pace, spent minutes trying to gather the ingredients. As they putzed around the kitchen, struggling to �ind ingredients laid out right in front of them, our team completed our cheesecake in record time. Not to say we didn’t face our fair share of obstacles, including being accused by the other team of having allegedly stolen their sugar. We moved on to the mushroom fettucine, once again exemplifying our core fundamental of teamwork. The three of us chopped up the vegetables quickly. Then we simultaneously cooked the pasta perfectly (it was not undercooked, it’s called al dente) and whipped up the sauce. We seamlessly combined the elements of the dish and added sprigs of parsley to garnish. The judges were impressed with our impeccable presentation and timeliness. As for the cheesecake, we once again trumped the other team on presentation and timeliness, as their cheesecake practically exploded when removed from the pan. The taste on the other hand was the most miserable failure of the evening on both sides. It was bitter and sour and even a little salty; the thought of it still repulses me to my core. Though the cheesecake was disappointing, I am glad to say that I enjoyed the sweetest taste of victory.
Clash of chefs: Epic staffers cook up a storm Junior Eric Wu: Right from the beginning, the other team began taking deliberate actions to sabotage our operation. The food processor was stolen from us not once, but twice, as was our carefully measured sugar. We were set back a considerable amount of time but managed to beat the odds and pull through. When we �inally �inished the cake we began to cook our pasta dish, the main course for the night. Harsh expertly took to cooking the pasta while Shiva professionally observed and I began cutting onion. Admittedly, it was a lot more dif�icult than I had imagined since it was my �irst time doing so. The onion was thick and dif�icult to properly grasp, but I managed by cutting the whole thing into a selection of variably sized slices, heaping them into one large pile. I dumped all of it into the pan where Harsh had gotten started with the mushrooms and garlic. In no time at all, he �inished cooking the dish and was ready to plate. The moment the judges tasted our steaming fettuccine glazed in a creamy alfredo sauce, we knew we had made it. No amount of bias or prejudice could deny its heavenly taste. The other team boisterously attempted to downplay our moment by claiming that their
cake. And...nothing has changed, that cheesecake was absolute garbage. Although, apparently our cheesecake was a little less garbage than the other team so I guess we took the win on that???
pasta had a harder texture because we had made them “wait for too long,” and being t h e nice guys we are, we humored their fragile egos. As for the cheesecakes, everyone unanimously agreed that both teams’ cakes tasted disgusting and they were unceremoniously dumped.
Senior Shivateja Vemireddy: Alright so this was rigged, our team won, our pasta was delicious! I claim that the judges were biased we demand a rematch. Just kidding, I guess I am really salty...like their pasta. Alright, I am done now. I walked in around thirty minutes late with Harsh because I was trying to listen to the new Drake album (it’s really bad by the way don’t listen to it). In addition to being late, I forgot that I had signed up to bring mushrooms and in-
stead brought sugar and a pan that no one wanted to use. I called my mother to ask for the mushrooms but all she said was “Whoops,” as she took a bite of her mushroom curry. So, I rushed over to Safeway to buy a ton of mushrooms while my team was waiting to use the food processor. It took about 15 minutes to get to Ssafeway, buy the mushrooms and drive back, but when I got back my team just got the food processor to use. S A B O TA G E ! Also, the girls stole our sugar so we win by default and because our food tasted better. By the time we all tasted each other’s pasta, I had completely forgotten about the cheesecake. And believe me, I was really excited for this cheesecake. I love cheesecake and it has been months since I have had a good slice cheese-
Senior Harsh Jain: So just to preface this whole thing— there are snakes in this garden. Basically from the beginning of the challenge, it was clear that the opposing team was afraid that they were going lose to us. When we began to make the cheesecake, the girls team took all of the good equipment, and left us with all the bad stuff. On top of that, when we were using the blender, in the middle of everything, they stole it from us and forced us to wait till they were done with it. While the girls needed to sabotage us to win, we decided to have a clean comeptition. This, however, did made all of our food a bit more exposed to the air, and made it taste worse, which is exactly what the girls wanted. On top of that they stole all our carefully measured ingredients. In the end the results speak for themselves. Despite all the setbacks and unfair judging, we were able to create an overall better dish that was more appealing and tasted a lot better than what the other team had made.
King Kong climbs up the charts BY JOCY HE
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n uncharted island. Mysterious creatures. A team of soldiers and intellectuals. “Kong: Skull Island” is an actionpacked movie that follows a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers to Skull Island, an uncharted Paci�ic island �illed with wild creatures that is also the original home of the infamous King Kong, a giant gorilla. The movie starts off with the parachute landing of two pilots on Kong Skull island during World War II. The two engage in combat but are stopped by the appearance of Kong. Fast forward 29 years later: William “Bill” Randa, played by John Goodman, and Houston Brooks, played by Corey Hawkins, recruit former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad, played by Tom Hiddleston, and a team of Vietnam War soldiers. Together, they set out to Skull Island to collect new biological data, but they are attacked by Kong after dropping bombs on the island. The adventure begins when their helicopters crashes and the group is split into two. Conrad leads the �irst group, which consists of photojournalist Mason Weaver, Brooks and several soldiers and scientists. Conrad is portrayed as a mysterious man who truly understands morality while �ighting a war. Weaver, played by Brie Larson, is a courageous photographer who shares personal moments with the island’s creatures that the rest of the team are unable to experience, allowing her to gain a faster
Telegu films
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ndia is the world’s leading producer of movies, and, with such a massive population, it doesn’t seem that hard to believe. Like Hollywood, India has its own large hubs of cinema creation. First, we have Bollywood, probably the most well known out of them. Bollywood is North Indian, however, and I am South Indian; so, I watch Telugu-language Tollywood movies instead. The difference between the two is that Tollywood produces movies like daily vlogs, so you can kind of assume the quality of most of these movies. My cousin is a new actor in Tollywood and my uncle is a movie producer; both agree that every single movie is exactly the same. After watching one movie, you can basically predict every other one. Every once in awhile, a decently good movie comes out and breaks records, but when we aren’t waiting 15 years for a decently good one to come out, we are stuck seeing the same plot. The movies start off with a male protagonist who has a group of “friends” who are shorter and fatter than him to make him look cool. And I put friends in quotation because they are present only for the �irst scene and never appear again after that. After you are introduced to the male protagonist, you meet the love interest through a dance routine. Legit, you see a scene of a girl walking by as the dude stares at her and the movie cuts to the two dancing and singing through a montage of random locations. The woman plays hard to get, but then the man impresses her by �ighting off a gang of goons. These �ight scenes have made Tollywood movies a meme with notable scenes such as �licking a guy and sending him through a wall or sliding a horse under a moving truck like it was a motorcycle in “The Fast and The Furious.” Now here is where it starts to get interesting. Basically the heroine somehow always has a rich father who is the gang leader of the goons that the protagonist fought off earlier. The father yells at his daughter and disapproves of her relationship with the protagonist. The two decide to run away so the father sends his goons to go and �ind them. Eventually the goons �ind the runaways and �ight them. Despite being as strong as the Hulk, the protagonist somehow gets taken down by the goons and the heroine gets taken back to her father. Cut to the father’s house and you see the henchmen arriving in a line of black or white TATA cars. A few seconds later, the recently beaten up dude who was hundreds of miles away shows up with a little scratch on his face; how he travelled at the same rate as a car and recovered from being beaten up beats me. But apparently, our super-powered Indian man felt he was ready to take on the base of goonies and the gang leader. This long �ight scene is like a boss battle of a video game; there’s a couple of henchmen, a mini-boss who is like some stronger goonie, and the big bad boss. The protagonist �ights his way through all the henchmen until he gets to the father, who suddenly sees how strong the man is and has a change of heart. Everyone becomes best of friends and the man and his love interest get married. The end. This is the staple plot for every Tollywood movie. The only things that vary in the story are the main character’s background story and job. I dare you to try and sit through the three-hour long movies and see if you can guess the plot. But, if you thought this was bad, don’t even get me started on the TV shows.
understanding of the island and Kong. The group learns at the native village that Kong is not the true enemy; the Skullcrawlers, creatures with a resemblance to reptiles, are the island’s true villains who terrorize the island. The other group includes Randa and a group of soldiers, who are trying to hunt down Kong and �ind the missing soldiers and helicopters. This group is led by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard, played by Samuel L. Jackson, a headstrong leader focused on getting revenge for the men he lost from the initial encounter with Kong. He is also very loyal to �inding his right hand man, Jack Chapman, played by Toby Kebbell, who tugs the audience’s hearts with his letters to his son and plays a touching role in the movie. Overall, the movie is more focused on the action rather than character growth, especially since there are too many people to pay particular attention to one speci�ic role. The plot of the movie itself is average; the storyline is predictable and simple. It includes several climaxes, but all are expected and not noteworthy. Nevertheless, “Skull Island’s” cinematography and designs are extremely elaborate and exciting. The �ilming was very unique, as some of the island is portrayed through Weaver’s camera. Many of the action shots were �ilmed with close attention to detail, especially the scenes containing the creatures and gore. Overall, “Kong: Skull Island” is a solid movie and a good bet for �ilmgoers who love action and adventure. While the plot and characters leave more to be desired, the cinematography and special effects are highly advanced and entertaining. The movie is a fun watch, but nothing to run to the theatres for. ART ILLUSTRATION BY MICHYLA LIN
Intersections raises awareness
BY JUSTINE CHEN
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unior Amber Lee has struggled with anorexia, a binge-eating disorder and selfharm since she was a seventh grader. In hopes of stopping similar experiences from occurring to other students, she founded Intersections, a new club on campus. Although designed as a club to discuss social justice issues, Intersections is �irst and foremost a safe, supportive space for all Lynbrook students. As the �irst social justice club at Lynbrook, the club’s mission is to “thoughtfully engage students in social issues, promote tolerance and acceptance and foster activism.” Through activitybased, interactive meetings, Intersections educates students and spreads awareness of various social issues, in addition to creating an environment for students to re�lect on their individuality. With speaker events and nonpro�it volunteering opportunities, the club’s goal is for students to walk away with new insights and perspectives on the world they live in. “It’s a way to make people aware of issues that might not be affe c t i n g t h e m personally but affect people around
the world,” said club of�icer and sophomore Dianna Shen. “Lynbrook isn’t ignorant but there are many things that we don’t cover and it’s important that we make the student population more aware of these issues.” Lee was inspired to start the club since her freshman year. The club of�icer team,
including herself, freshman Sarah Sotoudeh, Shen and junior Anya Poplavska, struggled for seven months to form and pass the club. “There were some problems the �irst time when we were one vote off and that delayed us by a few months,” said Poplavksa. “It has de�initely been a process.” Highly discussion-based, the club allows students to analyze issues like feminism, homelessness and mental health as well as talk about different modes of thoughts and facts regarding society. Every month, the club’s meetings focus on speci�ic topics; the themes for March and April are identity and privilege. Although the new club has just begun to hold its �irst few meetings, the club of�icers hope it’ll spread and educate all Lynbrook students. Meetings are held every Monday at lunch in room 75. “I hope it will continue as an impactful club even after all the of�icers graduate,” said Lee. “Hopefully, some people take away from it things that they can utilize in their future. The of�icer team hopes to involve a lot of clubs that are not typically seen as social justice orientated involved. Intersections is just really unique and special in the sense that all Ly n b r o o k students of any int e re s t s a n d a n y backgrounds can join. WILLIAM GUO—EPIC
How to avoid being pranked on April 1 BY SADHANA SARMA
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he sound of a whoopie cushion, the taste of toothpaste in your “oreo” or the sight of a room stringed with toilet paper—these are a few of the horrors that come along with the celebration of April Fool’s Day. The long-awaited day caters to those who �ind joy in causing disturbances and making jokes, often causing embarrassment and anger in others along the way. For those who prefer to avoid pranks at all costs, follow these tips to a tee and you will successfully survive April Fool’s Day. 1. Assume everyone is the enemy The best way to avoid pranks is to trust nothing and no one. The second you let your guard down is precisely when you will get attacked. Avoiding common objects upon which tricks are placed is crucial. No chair is safe to sit on. No door handle is free of
glue. No meal is free of undesired modi�ications. That vanilla pudding that you love so dearly is probably mayonnaise. For the entirety of April Fool’s you are nobody’s friend and nobody is your friend. Don’t fret over hurting people’s feelings. After all, this is the one day a year when following the saying “every man for himself” becomes imperative. If your friends and family do not understand simply explain to them that it was nothing personal, but do so on April 2. 2. Don’t get excited Pranks are not just limited to physical tricks; they can also be mind tricks. Heard some good news from your teacher? Did that test get cancelled? Are your parents �inally getting you that car you’ve been asking for? That’s great! however, before getting too excited. One of the easiest ways to prank someone is to simply lie about something, and then say it was an April Fool’s joke the next day. Although this may not even be con-
sidered a real prank, it is one that can hurt the most, so, again, apply the �irst tip and trust no one. 3. Ooze swagger The greatest motivation for pranking is seeing the reaction from the victim. If you, at least for 24 hours, become the epitome of cool—the supreme swag master—nobody will want to prank you. There is no fun in pranking someone who won’t react excessively. Display the aura that, should you get pranked, you would not even be phased. This can be accomplished through a series of wellplaced statements about how pointless pranks are in a conversation with the people you suspect want to prank you. 4. Master the art of reading people You do not have to take a course to be capable of reading people. Simply being more observant will allow you to better assess if a person is preparing to pull a prank on you. There are, however, some
speci�ic things you can do to secure your success. First, knowing how a person normally behaves when hiding something. With that in mind, look for some telltale signs that the person is lying or hiding something. This includes, but is not limited to, touching the face, avoiding eye contact, �idgeting, blinking and pursed lips. If you can read people, then you will stay ahead of the game, stopping pranks dead in their tracks.
5. Stay home If, for some reason, none of these tips seem like they will work for you, there’s one fail-safe way to avoid all possible pranks. Stay home. Hopefully, your family doesn’t consist of master pranksters planning to get you while you hide in what you consider a safe haven. Lock your doors, close your blinds and bundle up for a nice day in. No one can prank you if they don’t see you.
ALEX XU—EPIC
Ways to enjoy more with less in life BY HARSH JAIN AND KELSEY LU
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e�ined as the art of simplicity, minimalism sets one free from the unnecessary objects in life. In today’s society, many view abundance as a means to happiness, but minimalism challenges this popular belief. Rather than emphasizing grandness, minimalism focuses on the concept that less is more. Many misunderstand the term minimalism and believe that it is solely concerned with having a wardrobe of black, gray and white, because those colors are predominantly used for aesthetic purposes in art and fashion. In reality, minimalism is the art of less. With fewer details and fewer objects in the artwork itself, the meaning of the work is enhanced as a whole; thus, a minimalist lifestyle entails only the bare minimum. For example, instead of owning 20 shirts, a minimalist would only have eight; one for each day of the week plus one extra. The point of having limited options is to keep only what will be used and to remove all excess. Many consumers tend to have more than needed, and minimalism preaches removing what is unnecessary. The minimalist lifestyle was founded by Joshua Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who had both previously lived cluttered lives but later discovered the bene�its of a more minimalist lifestyle. Once they acquired jobs in large businesses, Milburn and Nicodemus became overstressed and swamped with super�icial aspects of their lives, but through minimalist life choices, they were able to rid themselves of excess items and declutter their lives. Due to the ambiguous nature of the practice, minimalists can come in many forms. Followers of these beliefs, for example, may engage in environmentalistic minimalism, which focuses on cutting down on car transportation, waste and other potentially environmentally- harmful actions, or in a more money-based minimalism, in which practitioners avoid spending large sums on material items and instead buy only the bare minimum, among others.
“Living a minimalist lifestyle could be very interesting to try,” said senior Ryan Sun. “It could be a good way to declutter and to really get organized before going to college.” Studies have shown that Americans possess thousands of objects, not all of which may be necessary; according to the LA Times, an average American household consists of 30 thousand objects ranging from paper clips to decor pillows. In a study conducted by Cornell University, professors of psychology Travis J. Carter and Thomas Gilovich that analyzed the correlation between spending, possession and happiness, results showed that people received happiness from spending money and purchasing goods, not in possessing them. This illustrates that many household items are often byproducts of urges to buy objects, regardless of a purpose. “Disorganization constantly bombards one’s brain with stimuli, informing it that something is not �inished,” said Dellie Lillard, the founder of Space to Spare, a professional organization service that helps clients �ind order by working to help free themselves from the clutter in their life. There are also many other bene�its that come with living a simple lifestyle. In addition to improved concentration, individuals also experience a decrease in stress levels, since owning fewer items means that there is less to worry about. “When someone fully commits to a minimalist lifestyle, which I hope to obtain, I think it strengthens the relationships in someone’s life as well as strengthens other mental aspects,” said sophomore Riti Mital. Many believe that materialistic goods symbolize a certain level of happiness or success. Though buying more and more may bring momentary happiness, it typically lasts for a brief period of time. According to a study conducted in the 1970’s by Philip Brickman, a professor at Northwestern University, those who had won the lottery were no more happier than those who were only able to meet their basic �inancial needs. Minimalism is a lifestyle meant to declutter and free an individual from aspects of the materialistic world. By ridding oneself of unecessary objects, people may see the bene�its of minimalism.
MICHYLA LIN — EPIC
An exploration of the simplicity in the minimalistic lifestyle
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY INDEPTH SECTION
Spiritual influence in the modern world An investigation behind the origins of religious decline BY JESSICA LI AND ESHANI MEHTA
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hether it develops an individual’s core values or initiates wars, religion has always had an enduring in�luence on people’s lives. In today’s society, religion represents hope and guidance for some and an expression of antiquated beliefs for others. In America and other European countries, however, religious importance has been declining over the years, with secularism rising rapidly. This decline can be attributed to several factors, from the comfort of being unaf�iliated with a certain religion to outdated religious beliefs to scandals within religions. According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Study in 2014, Americans who identify as religiously unaf�iliated has increased by 19 million since 2007, while adults who identify as Christian have declined by 5 million. “Now there’s also a sort of culture that has risen about liberty and freedom, doing your own thing,” said senior Grace Chu, who is Christian. “I think it’s more popular now to not have any religion and to just be atheist, while before some people who weren’t as devoted [to religion] just gave themselves the label of Christian.” Pastor Yuji Ogura of the Home of Christ 5 Church believes that this decline may also b e a result of the comfort that Americans have with not needing to decide what they believe in right now. “There’s not a huge need to make up your mind on what you fully believe,” said Ogura. “It is okay to be undecided, and [one’s decision] wouldn’t really affect the way someone treated [them].” The outdated beliefs and values of some religions are another reason behind the rise in secularism. The pervasiveness of scienti�ic thinking and modern technological advances have resulted in more people questioning arbitrary religious practices. A 2016 Pew Research Center study found that 49 percent of current religious “nones” indicate that a lack of belief
led them to move away from religion. This includes many respondents who mention “science,” “common sense” or “logic” as the reason they do not believe in religious teachings. “I know some beliefs in my religion, [Islam], don’t correlate with the modern advancements in science and the meaning of the universe, so that’s why I think people have shifted beliefs away from [Islam],” said freshman Zainab Nasir. Scandals and other negative perceptions of certain aspects of a religion
and spirituality. “Scandals within many traditions, like clergy abuse among the Catholics, have made an impact such that many people move away from traditions that have been embarrassed or seem more irrelevant.” Religious decline is most prominent among younger groups. According to a study published in the scienti�ic journal PlosOne in 2015, twice as many high school seniors and three times as many college students described
furt h e r contribute to a decrease in membership to traditional religions. Stories about Catholic sexual abuse scandals, as depicted in the Academy Award winning movie “Spotlight;” Islamic radicalism; and Jewish-Palestinian con�licts have become ubiquitous, which can emphasize beliefs that religious groups may be intolerant, judgmental or cruel. “Much of this [religious decline] has to do with challenges from the main religious traditions not really adapting to current times,” said Dr. Thomas Plante, director of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University and author of over 13 books on religion
their religion to be “none” in 2014 as compared to 1980. “One of the tasks of adolescent development is to formulate your own thinking about things,” said student advocate Dawn Bridges. “It’s a time of gaining lots of information, gaining a wider perspective and hearing different views. Adolescents now have the ability to be much more critical and analytical, and it is a time of questioning things that they had previously just accepted at face value.” Many teenagers and young adults also stray from the religion they were raised with as they start to form their own be-
liefs and moral values. According to the 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, 42 percent of American adults currently have a religious identity different from the one in which they were raised. “What I think is going through some students when they are growing up in their home is that either they don’t see them in action in their parents’ lives, or they don’t see them in action in their own life,” said Ogura. “They don’t see how these ideas are applicable, either in their parents or in themselves.” While it is apparent that the popularity of religion, in the traditional sense, is in decline, people are becoming more spiritual in other ways. According to the 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, about 60 percent of adults now say they feel a deep sense of spiritual peace at least once a week, up seven percent since 2007. This stark contrast between the changing popularity of religion and spirituality can be explained by the evolving choices that people make. “What many people seem to be embracing is the individualistic and “do-ityourself” style of spirituality while avoiding much that i s dogmatic or rule-based that comes from the traditional religious traditions,” said Plante. “Many people seem to have begun seeking out transcendence, connection with the eternal and spirituality.” In order to combat this religious decline in recent years, religious organizations are beginning to adapt to modern cultures. Many Christian and Jewish churches, for instance, have expanded their beliefs to become more tolerating and accepting toward various groups such as women and the LGBTQ community. Nevertheless, with secularism gaining popularity in the West, more people are turning from the teachings and values of religion, and are instead relying on science and concrete facts for guidance. As old traditions are broken and new identities are formed, it may be dif�icult to predict the overall state of religion that will exist in the United States over the next few decades.
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICIA WEI
AWE-INSPIRING| Life-changing experiences continued from AWE-INSPIRING page 1 nature, such as the sight of fog giving away to sunrise. “So many times before have I woken up, looked up at the gloomy overcast weather, and felt unmotivated to go to class,” said Huang. “That morning I learned that all this time there was a heavenly scene waiting if only you got above the fog, and it has changed my perception on the obstacles and hardships we face in life. Daily frustrations, negative emotions, and unhappiness feel so minute and distant [when one experiences awe]. The quality of vastness awes us and gives us clarity on what is really important.” For example, standing in a tall grove of trees may increase generosity and raise awareness of surroundings, as doing so promotes “feelings of a small self” in individuals, according to several studies conducted by “Awe, the Small Self and Prosocial Behavior” by Paul K. Piff, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. Awe is also capable of shaping one’s sense of time. One series of studies conducted by Melanie Rudd, a Stanford
University professor, found that awe’s ability to shape a per- cytokine levels and positive emotions, �inding that the only son’s sense of time increases overall satisfaction and inspires emotion that predicted results of lowering cytokine levels preferences in individuals for experiences over materialistic was awe. Though not yet concrete, the study has shown that awe can be physically advantageous on products. The studies, composed of a setop of its already proven psychological ries of three experiments, also revealed emotional bene�its. that feeling awe signi�icantly altered “DAILY FRUSTRATIONS, NEGA- andAwe-evoking experiences serve as people’s mental schemas, or framework, allowing them to perceive time in a more TIVE EMOTIONS, AND UNHAP- a means of inspiring people to expand PINESS FEEL SO MINUTE AND themselves spiritually, often pushing ef�icient manner. On top of all the emotional bene�its of SITANT WHEN ONE EXPERIENC- them to search for more awe, and of experiencing awe, new studies show that ES AWE. IT GIVES CLARITY ON humbling themselves through the expeThose who surround themselves it may also be bene�icial to human health. WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT.” rience. with such situations experience dramatCytokines are de�ined as proteins produced as a signal that the immune system KEVIN HUANG ic improvements in both mental wellneeds to work harder and aid cell moveSENIOR ness and health. Going on a hike through the vast scope of the Grand Canyon or ment to sites of in�lammation and trauma. simply observing the radiant night sky These proteins are important for killing pathogens and healing wounds, but, when hyperactive, they from a balcony have the potential to change an individual’s render an individual easily susceptible to disease. Jennifer entire worldview, inspiring them to perceive and act with Stellar of the Berkeley Lab tested the relationship between positive motives and humbled mindsets.
A look at the psychology of organization BY MEHEK KAPUR AND JESSICA LUO
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rom the tidiness of a desk to the placement of day-to-day objects, organization is an integral part of many lifestyles, impacting the quality of one’s work and overall performance. Different methods of organization can produce vastly different effects on a person’s life, from mental health to academic performance. Psychologically, one’s level of tidiness can affect stress level; a study conducted by the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin concluded that women who described their living environment as “cluttered” had a tendency to be more depressed, fatigued and reported having higher levels of stress compared to women who described their living environments as “restful” or “restorative.” Having a number of objects strewn in a messy environment limits the brain’s ability to focus. While clutter may not be the focus of an individual’s attention while working, the items are detectable through peripheral vision and are liable to severely wear down mental resources. Researchers from the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute discovered that objects in the visual �ield compete for neural attention, forcing the individual to constantly and consciously refocus on the task at hand with great effort, cutting down productivity. “I personally can’t stay focused in a messy environment because I get distracted by objects out of place or random things,“ said freshman Larry Peng. “I believe that the less organized you are, the more stressed you’ll be because it leaves you more unsure of how you’ll spend your time doing tasks and more unsure of what you’re doing.” According to a survey from the Huf�ington Post in 2013, 84 percent of Americans who labeled themselves as “recently stressed” say they worry that their home is not clean enough, and of those, 54 percent say it was a source of recent stress. Additionally, research from the National Sleep Foundation indicates that individuals who make their beds and keep clean and tidy sheets are more likely to report having a better night’s sleep. The human brain subconsciously associates messiness with the task of having to clean, and automatically releases stress-inducing hormones such as cortisol upon acknowledging clutter. “When I see a messy room I feel lazy, so it makes me want to slack off,” said senior Megan Deng. “Because there’s so much stuff around [me], it clutters my mind too.” Other studies have shown inconsistencies regarding the effects of organization--some claim that keeping a work area neat tends to lead to productivity, but keeping a work area slightly messy can lead to higher levels of creativity. The Association for Psychological Science performed an experiment in which
they placed participants in one of two rooms-a messy one or a clean one--and asked them to identify new uses for ping pong balls. Overall, the same number of ideas were generated from both rooms, but when ranked by judges, the ideas produced from the messier room were shown to be more creative. Later, participants in the study were given a choice between using a well-established product to complete a task, or an unknown product. The participants in the messy room were proven far more likely to prefer the newer product, showing that the disorderly environment may have inspired choosing the less conventional route. “When you see [objects] in your environment that are organized and so on, it primes you to think in a linear or organized way,” said Dr. Gregory Feist, a creativity researcher and psychology professor at San Jose State University. “When your environment is a little bit out of order, that primes you to think a little bit differently about things and not so linearly.” Companies such as Google pride themselves on fostering creativity, provided through highly customizable and interactive workspaces. Each Google location is stocked with creative outlets; for example, some locations have giant building blocks, stackable lights and walls of Etch a Sketch’s. Employees are encouraged to personalize their of�ices, and the mindset behind this environment is that by being creative with their surroundings, they will be innovative with their work. By placing objects that would not be commonly associated together, the brain begins to think of unusual combinations of ideas that in turn spur creativity. In 2016, Google was ranked the second most innovative company in the world; additionally, according to Glassdoor, a job research site, Google was rated as the top company in America for employee satisfaction in 2014. Whether or not a more cluttered environment stimulates creativity depends on the individual. Those who are generally predisposed to unorthodox thinking are more likely to �ind disorganization helpful in generating new ideas, but those who have careers in �ields that call for more repetition are likely to �ind the same disorganization distracting instead. Productivity and creativity are not mutually exclusive, but often limit each other in a messy environment. “There’s a �ine line between creative clutter and disorganized distraction,” said Dr. Feist. “I do think that highly creative people are more prone to having a lot of disorder and �inding their own order in that disorder.”
MICHYLA LIN — EPIC
Arnav Virmani skis into college BY ALEX XU
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nitely stepped up his training regimen this year. Ron Bonneau, the head coach of the College of Idaho’s skiing team, has given Virmani several workout goals to meet, including a squat weight, a box jump target, a mile time and a standing long jump distance. Arnav has surpassed the last two set goals of 6:30 and 6 feet, respectively, but is currently working on reaching the �inal two. In addition to working toward these goals, Virmani also works every weekend with a separate skiing team to receive constructive criticism and improve himself. He is a new addition to this team, which has been working together for 11 years, and their collegiate-level experience has helped Virmani further improved whenever he visits them to train. The recruitment process for Virmani was an ordeal on its own. It is dif�icult to reach colleges in competitive skiing. In comparison to sports that draw larger crowds, like basketball and football, skiing offers little exposure. After committing to skiing, Virmani has had to go out of his way to contact the coaches of many colleges. “As the recruiting trail started to heat up I had to reach out to them myself to show that I was interested,” said Virmani. “I settled on the College of Idaho. I visited the campus and after meeting the coach and the team I thought it was a great �it.” As Virmani’s senior year comes to a close, he hopes to be prepared to compete and dominate on the slopes in college. “I’d like to go as far as I can in college with skiing,” said Virmani. “Skiing is fun and it’s something I love to do, but it’s still a grind to make sure that when I do get to ski I’m in tip-top shape and that I’m a better athlete than other skiers.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARNAV VIRMANI
t the Northstar California Resort near Lake Tahoe, senior Arnav Virmani prepares himself before skiing down the run. After pushing off, he skillfully glides down the course, taking turn after turn, before sliding to a stop. Recruited by the College of Idaho for ski racing, Virmani continually pushes himself to stay in shape, even if he cannot ski every day due to the long commute between the Bay Area and areas with snow. Virmani’s passion for skiing began at an early age, thanks to his parents’ interests in casual skiing. “They ski with me whenever I’m free skiing and are pretty talented themselves,” said Virmani. “When I was two, I couldn’t ski with them so they would put me in a class and they would ski by themselves.” While the classes helped Virmani improve his own skiing ability,
he quickly surpassed their limits. In middle school, he decided to take skiing one step further by trying ski racing, a sport that emphasizes quick, controlled descents down steep racing routes. “I was introduced to the world of ski racing around 6th or 7th grade, and I really fell in love with skiing then,” said Virmani. “I surpassed the level of classes offered by the big ski schools, so under their recommendations I went to ski under a private coach.” Virmani, who placed 4th in his �irst giant slalom skiing competition, has not been able to participate in many ski racing competitions; these races, which often take place during weekdays, con�lict directly with school and other extracurricular activities, as Virmani would have to go back and forth between California and the slopes around Lake Tahoe. Under the guidance of one of his private coaches, MJ Hunter, Virmani quickly realized that he was skilled enough to pursue skiing at the collegiate level as long as he continued to practice. During the winter, he skis as often as he can and tries to go to resorts around Lake Tahoe, such as Northstar, at least once a week. Virmani stays in shape during the warmer months by playing on the Lynbrook varsity football team and getting in workouts outside of football season. Doing so has allowed him to train for skiing even if he did not always have an opportunity to be skiing or competing. “During football season �inding time to ski wasn’t really a problem because there was no snow for skiing and the resorts weren’t open,” said Virmani. “Instead, football season was about me staying in shape so that when I resumed skiing I’d be ready. Obviously, I don’t live near snow, so for me the trick was to make sure I got in a good workout every day.” Virmani has de�i-
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE SPORTS SECTION
CATHERINE HUANG//IN MY OPINION
Stand respectfully during the anthem
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hile browsing through Twitter for new updates on my favorite celebrities and sport teams, I came across the news that U.S. Soccer had just adopted a new policy in response to mid�ielder Megan Rapinoe’s kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 season: U.S. Soccer players must now “stand respectfully” during the national anthem if they wish to avoid unstated consequences. Despite being a controversial topic, National Football
League free agent Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem in the 2016 season still received lots of positive comments and support; naturally, this new policy was not well received by the general public. I, however, was pleasantly surprised with the new addition. Kaepernick, along with several other professional athletes including San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid, Denver Broncos Brandon Marshall and Rapinoe, protested because he thought it was unreasonable “to show pride in a �lag for a country that oppresses people of color,” adding that “it would be sel�ish to look the other way.” In response to their actions, the NFL released a statement, stating that players were “encouraged, but not required to stand during the playing of the national anthem.” Even so, it makes sense for U.S. Soccer to incorporate the policy into its rulebook. The rule eliminates unnecessary political controversy from sporting events, and provides a steadier source of sponsors for individual players as well as the national team. Both athletes and coaches should not use nationally broadcasted sporting events as a platform to promote controversial standpoints -- after
all, basketball games are held so viewers can enjoy an exciting (or not, if you’re currently a Warriors fan) game, not for athletes to raise issues about presidential candidates or even social oppression. Had this policy been effective in the NFL in Sept. 2016, linebacker Brandon Marshall, who reasoned that he had not broken any rules or breached any contracts through his solidarity with Rapinoe and Colin Kaepernick, would have kept his sponsorships with the Air Academy Federal Credit Union and CenturyLink. With players unable to publicize certain political stands during the anthem, the new policy does place limits on their freedom. They, however, still have the freedom to express their views through other outlets such as post-game conferences and interviews or on social media, where their stances on social oppression and other issues can be heard. The policy doesn’t completely take away an athlete’s political in�luence; instead, it takes away the most distracting and offensive action an athlete can perform, so that matches can run smoothly. Regardless, playing on a national team is both an honor and a privilege, as you are representing your nation. This entails re-
specting one’s home country and everything it stands for; in this case, standing while the national anthem is playing and paying respects to the personal liberties granted in the U.S. is an action that all sports teams should expect of all their players. Looking back at Kaepernick’s actions in 2016, the start of the kneeling phenomenon that Rapinoe and Marshall have joined, it was unreasonable-even hypocritical-- of him to kneel during the anthem. He refuses to show pride in a country that oppresses people of color, yet the liberties promised by this same country are the reasons why he was allowed to exercise his right of protesting. The new policy would separate a lot of ongoing political controversy from the actual sporting event, effectively placing more emphasis on what should be the main focus of the event: the game itself. Playing for the national team is an opportunity for players to represent their country, and an action as simple as standing up during the pledge of allegiance shows unity between a nation’s athletes. The U.S. Soccer policy is both justi�ied and essential for unity, setting a positive precedent for other sports leagues to follow.
Powderpuff: a week of school unity BY MEERA BALAJI
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opportunity to take our time and gel as a team mentally and physically,” said sophomore Katie Patton, a powderpuff football player. The powderpuff experience allows students to bond as a class and try out activities that they normally would not participate in. “It was really fun dancing, getting cheers and making people laugh,” said junior Andrew Chen, who both danced and helped choreograph the juniors’ dance this year. The seniors approached their last year with a nostalgic outlook on their football games and performance. Their �inal powderpuff was energetic and exciting, resulting in a �irst place �inish. “I really liked that it wasn’t as competitive as homecoming so cheering against the guys of the other team was playful banter,” said senior Trevor Aquino. “I’m glad that the students came out to watch both the games and performances and I felt like our entire school came together throughout the week.”
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE SPORTS SECTION
ollowing an intense competition between the seniors and the juniors, senior Tuhina Dasgupta kicked the winning �ield goal through the uprights in overtime to win the Powderpuff championship on Mar. 16. A day later, the boys amazed with their dance moves during lunch as the annual event drew to a close after long months of tireless preparation. Powderpuff is an event that reverses traditional gender roles within sports, where girls dominate the football �ield and guys cheer to support the girls. Each class competes for the honor of being the champion, and the process behind the games encourages the friendly competition. The matches took place during lunch, from Mar. 13 to Mar. 16. During the semi�inals, the seniors took down the freshmen, 18-0, with three touchdowns from Dasgupta. The following day, the juniors defeated the sophomores by the score of 12-6 after touchdowns from juniors Rachel Tatley and Jennifer Sun. Following the championship
game on Wednesday, the freshmen upset the sophomores, 3-0, on a nail-biting �ield goal by freshman Amy Tse to win third place. The �inal event of the week consisted of the guys from each class dancing in the quad on Friday. This year, powderpuff was delayed by one month due to the prolonged rainy weather; the reason for the longer length of the delay, though, can be attributed to other school wide events that also occurred between February and March, such as Hearts Week and ASB elections. The extension may have led to a decrease in participation this year compared to previous years. “The one month extension was nice at �irst, but I felt that it kind of took away the focus from our dance,” said freshman Akhil Aggarwal, a dancer. “We were all really hyped for the week that we thought powderpuff would be on, but the extension threw us off a little.” Despite this decrease in excitement, the additional month did provide time for more practice. “We had many issues with getting members to practice on weekdays and weekends, but the extra month gave us the
ALL PHOTOS BY MICHYLA LIN
Winterguard soars through a rewarding season BY HSINYEN HUANG
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ressed in eye-catching costumes, members of Lynbrook’s winterguard perform impressive feats with �lags and ri�les, tossing and catching them while keeping to the music. Their performance earned them second place at the Lynbrook’s Winter Invitational on March 11. Winterguard is derived from colorguard, an outdoor sport that adds a visual aspect to the music of marching band. Winterguard, however, performs indoors and is accompanied by a piece of pre-recorded music. Performers don costumes, makeup and spin �lags, sabres and ri�les to create a visually appealing presentation. Various types of dances are incorporated into routines as well. “Winterguard is unique because it combines dance with a foreign object,” said junior Annika Javier. “Since every person in guard performs at the same time, it means that everyone is important. No one is sitting out on a bench; everyone always contributes to the performance at all times.” Other than the Lynbrook Invitational, the winterguard team has participated in the Logan High School Winter Invitational, the Independence High School Winter Invitational, the Oak Grove Winter Invitational and the Fremont High School Winter Guard/Percussion Show. Lynbrook placed fourth at Logan and Independence, third at Oak Grove and �irst at Fremont. “We’ve been constantly improving this season, which is something we’re all very proud
about,” said Javier. “We’ve made it a point to not plateau and to always strive for improving until the season ends.” A typical day at practice starts in the cafeteria, where members devote one hour to the dance portion of the routine. They then move into the �ield house to run through the entire show before working with instructors to focus on speci�ic sections. “Some goals this year are to learn how to retain details and corrections we get from instructors so that we can keep improving,” said Javier. “It’s dif�icult to teach people how to do this, because they have to choose to focus and remember the details.” A change that was introduced
this year was the hour in the cafeteria, which lengthened practices This adjustment improve the team’s movement scores, a category of the scoring system that analyzes the mastery of different moves in a performance. “It’s de�initely contributed to us being able to �inish our show faster than usual this year,” said senior Jenny Wu. “It also gives us time speci�ically allocated towards dance, which is part of the reason why we’ve been doing better in movement this year as well.” As a small team, members need more time to set up and put away props, which takes away from rehearsal time. Fortunately, the experience that the team gained from being in colorguard together this year helps practices run ef�iciently. “We have less people than usual so moving equipment was a struggle,” said freshman Emily Wei. “But this year, everyone was in color guard from fall season so we already knew the basics.” As the season draws to a close, the team is re�ining their performance by working hard during practice to ensure their show’s perfection. “The main goal right now is to just get as clean as possible which will mean a lot of emphasis on the little details, especially on equipment,” said Wu. The team hopes to end their season on a high note at the California Color Guard Circuit Championships on April 1 at Independence High School. “I really love performing but I love the people involved with guard even more,” said Wu. “I’ve found some of the best friends and mentors through this sport.”
PATRICIA WEI – EPIC
Dividing and conquering in the war of Spoons BY MICHYLA LIN
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or Lynbrook seniors, second semester brings a bounty of excitement, especially with the annual game of Spoons. Spoons is a traditional game for Lynbrook seniors, where for a span of eight weeks, they set out to eliminate their target from the game by catching them when they are not holding a plastic spoon. Since Feb. 7, seniors have been holding spoons wherever they go, following their fellow classmates to eliminate them and participating in bi-weekly immunities that often involve wearing Left: Senior Julia Catolico sports a bright yellow jacket, an orange and an apple for moderation appreciation day: the challenge in which spoons players had to wear three items of clothing in the color of the moderators choice, and hold the item that represented their moderators’ interests. Faction S members had to carry an issue of the Epic newspaper, while members of Faction D had to carry soccer balls. If players were holding any other items in their hand, they were susceptible to being tagged out. Initially, players were required to wear masks of their moderators but removed them due to school policy.
Right: Senior Joshua Soong, member of Faction S, strikes the triangle yoga pose for the yoga mat challenge. During this challenge, spooners had to carry a yoga mat or beach towel with them throughout the day. If they stepped outside of a safe zone such as the library or an open classroom, they had to hold a yoga pose on their mat or beach towel in order to be considered safe. After the bell rang, signaling the beginning of brunch or lunch, there was a one minute buffer period of time in which no one could be killed. Many of the players utilized this time to run to a safe zone during this time period.
outrageous articles of clothing or bringing speci�ic items to school. When Spoons ends on Apr. 5, the �inal remaining senior will be awarded two bids to Senior Prom and a Senior Prom photo package and the senior with the most kills will be given a Senior Picnic ticket as well as the aforementioned photo package. For the week of Mar. 20, the moderators, senior class of�icers Shivateja Vemireddy, Morgan Wu and David Lee, divided the remaining 90 players into factions, Faction S, Faction M and Faction D. Each moderator led their respective faction to get the most points, which
could be obtained by killing members of the other factions and by performing better than the others in challenges during the week, as the two losing factions would be eliminated from the game and the two losing moderators would receive a punishment at the winning faction’s discretion. During Factions Week, each faction participated in two challenges and two immunities: a cooking challenge, a video-making contest, a color challenge and a yoga activity. Here are some photos from the chaos and fun of last week. Left: Senior Carolyn Zhong, member of Faction D, arranges rice balls in a bear shape for the omelet cooking challenge. Carolyn was a member of Faction D, who’s omelet consisted of three rice bears tucked inside an omelet blanket, topped with ketchup spelling out the initials of all three moderators. The faction included a rhyming note along with their omelet —which may have helped power them to victory. The featured omelet received �irst in presentation, second in taste and last in creativity. The other omelets were also impressive, featuring another bear by faction M, and three ketchup caricatures of the moderators faces created by faction S. While they might not have won the challenge, they won second and �irst in creativity.
Above: Seniors Shivateja Vemireddy, David Lee and Morgan Wu served as this years moderators and factions leaders. As a part of the cooking challenge, the three leaders inspect the creativity, design, and taste of the three factions’ omeletes, ranking each one on these categories and ascribing three, two, or one points according to the final rank. Eventually, the judges awarded the victory to Faction D.