The Lowell April 2013

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Q Art or vandalism? A

reporter interviews local street artists in the Bay Area — their inspirations and rationales.

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dreamed of on April 1? Enjoy a few laughs and debate the thin line that separates “backpage” from front.

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In the news

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NLIKE A middle-aged parent, our 50-year-old campus still knows how to have fun! Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a plethora of celebratory activities for participants to enjoy for the 50th anniversary of Lowell’s Eucalyptus campus. Alumni are encouraged to bring friends and family along for the party.

The festivities, sponsored by the Alumni Association, will include performances by Lowell Advanced Choir, Dance Company, Jazz Band and Advanced Orchestra. In addition, there will be student poetry readings and the unveiling of new additions to the alumni Wall of Tradition portrait display.

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Q Graduating high school seniors may not have local community college option Q Student government has $1,000 stolen from their room, no leads for incident but activities will not be limited

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Q Homerun-hitting varsity baseball team aims to make it to the finals this year

9"&:&#:111112*'-01;34;; Q Student advocates for elimination of race factor in college admissions process

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Q Senior battles connection with cyberspace over success and sleep, longing for a life

CATE STERN

Students gather at a memorial site on March 4 at Sloat Boulevard and Vale Avenue, where junior Hanren Chang was fatally hit by a car two days earlier.

Cars frequently disregard the speed limit on Sloat (top). Students and staff signed a poster on the catwalk to share memories of Chang (upper right).

Friends adorn the off-campus memorial with photos and flowers (middle right). Track members wear green ribbons in Chang’s memory (lower right).

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By Ashley Louie

cons and widened sidewalks to some of the other T WAS IMPOSSIBLE to feel bad around most dangerous intersections on Sloat.” However, her because her bright and peppy at- the estimated time of completion is between titude always made you feel like you 2015 and 2016, according to the San Francisco could conquer anything,” sophomore Marcella Country Transportation Agency’s February 2013 DePunzio said of her friend Hanren, who died Prop K/Prop AAA Group Allocation Requests.

According to District 4 legislative aide Camrecently.

On the night of March 2, 17-year-old junior my Blackstone, the timing of the improvements Hanren Chang was struck by a car near Sloat and the accident is coincidental. “Under SuperviBoulevard and Vale Avenue, and passed away sor Carmen Chu and now with Supervisor Katy Tang, we have long been shortly after on March advocating for pedestrian 3. Her death prompted measures on Sloat an outpouring of grief Three days after the acci- safety Boulevard,” Blackstone as well as a community dent, the San Francisco said. She stated Sloat is movement to advocate the jurisdiction for more stringent safety Board of Supervisors under of the state because it measures on Sloat.

In response to the acapproved funding for a becomes Highway 35, so the supervisors needed cident, junior and close project to improve pe- to request these improvefamily friend of Chang Anyan Cheng created a destrian safety on Sloat ments to the state. “We were all struck with how petition on change.org adBoulevard. horrific this accident was, vocating for “a stop light and it was a horrible coor traffic light installed incidence that this legon Vale and Sloat Blvd.”

As of April 4, the petition has received 3,502 islation came through right at the same time,” signatures from all across the world, including Blackstone said. Although the petition did not people from places such as New York, Colombia, directly affect the proposed safety measures on France, Australia and more. “Busy intersections, Sloat, Blackstone “hopes that the petition will especially ones that were previously shown to help in the future to increase pedestrian safety.”

According to Blackstone, there was another cause physical harm to pedestrians, should have proper stop signs or traffic signals,” New Yorker accident on Sloat that helped politicians realize how dangerous the street is. “Several years ago Dean Anderson commented on the petition.

On March 5, three days after the accident, the we had another pedestrian fatality on Sloat, so San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved Supervisor Chu had requested that Caltrans funding for a project to improve pedestrian take a look at Sloat Boulevard and see what sort safety on Sloat Boulevard, according to a KQED of improvements they could make to improve article on March 6 (www.kqed.org). One of the pedestrian safety,” Blackstone said. “They came improvements will involve the intersection of the up with the idea of putting in bike lanes, reducing See ACCIDENT on Page 5 accident, and “will bring flashing crossing bea-

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!"#"$"%"&"'"("#")"% Library hosts Facebook raffle The library’s Facebook raffle was intended to get more students involved so the library can better distribute its services to the students. “At the beginning of the year, Ms. Shepard and I met with members of the Library Board, a group of Lowell students, to look for ways to publicize and promote the library’s services,” librarian Brad Williston said. “We thought if we could get students to like us on Facebook, we could get them to communicate with us so we can provide what they need.”

Recent posts on the page range from shout-outs to clubs to persuasive essay topics and current events.

The library purchases many books, magazines, DVDs and online databases for both students and teachers; the Facebook page posts images from the library’s archives to generate student interest in the materials that might otherwise go unnoticed.

The librarians thought Facebook would be a n e ff e c t i v e w a y t o re a c h s t u d e n t s . “ T h e Board said if we offer students prizes, they would be more likely to follow the page.” he prizes included gift cards and movie tickets.The three winners — seniors Julia Krevets and Kitty Kwan and sophomore Neil Ryan — were selected by using a random number generator on March 15.

— Sheyda Zebarjadian

Renovations deter summer school Summer school classes will not be offered at Lowell this summer due to earthquake-related safety renovations.

The school campus will be shut down over summer break while construction occurs. Students that require summer school will have the opportunity to take standard courses such as math, science and English at Galileo, Balboa and Burton High Schools.

College and Career and Healthwill not be offered.

However, these courses will be offered during the regular school year. Summer classes will also be offered for City College’s College for Teens program (www.ccsf.edu). Registration began on April 3.

The earthquake safety-related renovations will take place from June 4 through Aug. 15, focusing on the western portion of the school. The areas affected by construction this summer include the music room, stage, cafeteria, main lobby, gymnasium and the courtyard. District workers will replace the flooring system in these locations to make the school less susceptible to earthquake damage. According to assistant principal of administration Margaret Peterson, work in the gymnasium and locker rooms is planned to be finished by July 18 to allow the rooms to be used by school sports throughout the summer.

The Earthquake Retrofit Bond, a proposition that passed in November 2010 is funding the project.

— Antonio Carmona and Noreen Shaikh

Washington’s choir sings in D.C. A local high school choir program croon on the East Coast to commemorate a milestone in Civil Rights history.

The George Washington High School Advanced Choir program will travel to Washington D.C. to perform at a festival April 18-21 celebrating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The students will perform equalityinspired pieces on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial — such as “I Dream a World,” a composition based on Langston Hughes poetry, according to choir teacher Anna Karney. “These are the very steps Dr. King stood during his historic speech,” she said. “The tangible relevance to our collective U.S. history just resonated with me.”

The group received an invite to the event through a touring company that reaches out to high school music programs, according to Karney. Due to the distance to D.C., George Washington will be the only high school representing the West Coast at the festival.

The program is raising funds through donations, grants and ticketed choir concerts. They are also researching historical, social and artistic aspects of the Civil Rights movement. “I’ve never had students work as hard as this great group,” Karney said. “I hope we can all get inspired to keep the Civil Rights movement alive in our collective conscience.”

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knowing somebody knew where we kept our money,” 2014 WO MONEY BOXES were stolen from student govern- treasurer junior Mica Jarmel-Schneider said.

One of the boxes belonged to the junior board, but contained ment in early March.

On March 2, at around 3:00 pm, Student Body money the senior board raised from Senior Mystery Night and Council events coordinator senior Hiromi Fujita discovered other senior events. The second pilfered package included the money was missing from Room 80A, where SBC and student money SBC accumulated from Social Awareness Week, which government meet. In all, the stolen money totaled about advocated for humane care of livestock. Each box had roughly $500 inside. While a considerable $1,000. Student government members amount of money was stolen, Fujita typically store their money in a closet students will not suffer. No event before depositing it into the bank, but It’s pretty harrowing that says will be cancelled or affected, but both Fujita found the closet door open, and green marker smeared across the a member of the Lowell SBC and the senior board are attempting to replace the money. “SBC door. Besides the missing boxes, the community would steal is trying to find a way to still donate room was left untouched. to Social Awareness,” Fujita said. “If Fujita was the last to exit Room money going back to the we had any real suspicion of a student 80A; he left and locked the door at doing it, the administration might about 11:00 p.m. on March 1. When students.” have threatened to take something Fujita returned the following day, he away, like prom.”

MICA JARMEL-SCHNEIDER, found the door to the room unlocked Student boards and SBC are careand opened. All SBC and board mem2014 treasurer ful to prevent another theft. Fujita bers have access to the room and to says funds will no longer be kept in the combinations that open the two missing boxes.

There were three boxes in the closet that held money, but the closet, and steps are being taken to make the area safer. only two were taken. “The chains and locks that close the door “We keep strict rules that we enforce even more now about were gone,” Fujita said. “But the one box with a key lock was left.” who comes in to the room,” he said.

Student government members are still in shock over the The incident was reported to the dean and later the police, but no suspects have been identified. As of now, there are no incident. “It’s pretty harrowing that a member of the Lowell leads and no one has stepped forward to aid the investigation, community would steal money going back to the students,” and without any proposed perpetrators or clues to the culprit, Jarmel-Schneider said. “Our board got lucky. We had deposited the money is likely to stay missing. “It was really unsettling our money the day before.”

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Physical education exemptions will be offered to some students

By Tyler Perkins HE SAN FRANCISCO Board of Education has recently passed legislation allowing certain students to receive exemptions from Physical Education.

Athletes at many schools can now be excused from P.E. class by filling out a form, and students who fail the Physical Fitness Test can obtain an exemption from additional years of P.E. At Lowell, the exemptions for athletes will start next semester.

Athletes at some schools now have the choice of opting out of P.E. for any semester in which they participate in school sports, according to Public Relations Coordinator Heidi Anderson.

To receive an exemption, an athlete must remain on the team for the full season and fill out a form requesting an exemption. Athletes who receive exemptions may find they have room in their schedules to take another class that they are interested in.

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The athletic exemptions at Lowell will be different from those at other schools when they take effect. “At Lowell, athletes will be excused from attending P.E. class only during the actual season, and must rejoin a class after it ends,” principal Andrew Ishibashi said.

“This way they can still receive credit for taking the class.”

The new rules will not lead to layoffs of P.E. teachers at Lowell, according to Ishibashi. “With athletes joining a P.E. class when their sport is not in season, there will be enough jobs open so that nobody has to be laid off,” he said. “Also, we will still need someone to keep track of the records of all the athletes who receive exemptions.”

Other schools will handle athletic records similarly. “Management of records is a part of the overall operations of the school that is carried out by the staff,” Anderson stated in an email.

In addition to the exemptions granted for athletes, students 16 years and

older who fail the Physical Fitness Test do not need to take additional years of P.E. if they apply for an exemption, according to the Board of Education Regulation Number 6105.6, regarding physical fitness exemptions.

At Lowell, Fitness For Life will be replaced with a new program. “We are looking to offer a similar P.E. class in the future, but it will be optional,” Ishibashi said. “It is not official yet and we don’t know exactly what kind of class it will be. We will try to make it interesting and encourage students to join.”

Thes e changes are common throughout the state, according to Anderson. “The district’s new policy around P.E. credit earning options and exemptions is standard practice across the state of California,” Anderson stated in the email. “Until this policy, our practices were out of date. All options in the policy are outlined in California Education Code.”

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A solitary student exits the girls’ locker room. Beginning next year, athletes and students over 16 can receive PE exemptions.

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Club rallies to end misuse of hurtful word

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ARTNERING WITH over 100 other chapters in state schools and colleges, Lowell Best Buddies is working to eliminate one word from your vocabulary.

Best Buddies is a worldwide nonprofit organization with the goal of creating oneon-one friendships for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “Everyone needs a friend, so what better way to do that than with a club?” co-president sophomore Rebecca Halm said.

Best Buddies presented a four-minute video for the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign on March 19 during Mods 11-12 and 19-20. It was Best Buddies Month, so the club interviewed students, parents and teachers about the misuse of the word “retarded.”

Participants also held up hand-written signs with “I am a person” to get their point across.

“I think it’s important because people don’t really see how hurtful it is when they say the word ‘retarded’ and how it can be offensive,” co-public relations officer sophomore Samudra Randazzo said. “Mostly younger generations with immature vocabularies use it.

Even if they don’t mean to offend anyone, they need to understand that whether they intend to or not, they are.”

The word has a negative connotation, even though some only refer to an action as stupid when using it. “If you are telling someone that they are or did something ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb’ when you use the word ‘retarded,’ you are implying that people with disabilities are ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb,’” Randazzo said. “You may

never know if there is someone around you who knows someone with disabilities and takes offense by it, like me.”

Special education teacher Denise Soler is Best Buddies’s sponsor. “She helps us communicate with what the buddies need,” Halm said. “We don’t see them eight hours a day like she does, so if there’s a situation, she’s there and knows how to best handle it.”

With about 20 students and 20 buddies, the club tries to promote unique and meaningful friendships. “My buddy Jonathan graduated this past winter, and his graduation was so beautiful that it made me cry,” Randazzo said. “Other special ed students sang to him and performed different acts like comedy. It’s harder to see him now that he doesn’t go to Lowell anymore but he is still in Best Buddies so he can still see all of his friends.”

Buddy Jonathan Yu said that he and Randazzo “usually like to hang out, email or text message” to keep in touch. As for hanging out with the entire Best Buddies club, he likes eating at Stonestown.

Other get-togethers and events the club participates in outside of school include walks, runs and recently, bowling. “I hadn’t bowled in so long that one of the buddies, Michael, had to help me learn to bowl again because he — and a lot of other buddies — were so good at it,” Randazzo said. “It was really nice to meet their families as well.”

Best Buddies encourages students to consider carefully before joining the club. “If you want to join Best Buddies, start at very beginning of the year and make sure you’re passionate about it,” Halm said. “It’s a long

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Student Michael Look speaks about his experience with being bullied and the r-word at a Best Buddies assembly on March 19 that focused on the negative impact of stereotypes.

commitment, not just a once-a-month club.

It takes up time outside of school and you have to do most of the work — the meetings are the easy part. It requires patience. We’re not just a club; we create friendships and

develop social skills. Joining for the wrong reasons, like college applications, is not the way to go because it will affect their view on friendship if you don’t show up and they will put walls up on new friendships.”

JROTC program implements new tech in classes

By Joseph Kim

In addition to the curriculum managers, JROTC received two new Dukane carts about two months ago. Holding a projector and DVD player with cables for a laptop, everything is set up, organized and ready to present in one lockable cart.

“These carts make presenting and preparing the material much simpler and quicker since we don’t have to fumble around with cables,” Bullard said.

Before its recent tune up, the initial set of curriculum managers were glitchy and inconvenient for classroom use. However, after its update by the Cadet Command, all of the lessons have been made readily available on a hard drive, complete with presentations, text and assessments. “The interface on Windows is now much smoother,” Bullard said. “Together with the new Dukane multimedia carts that we received from the PTSA, presenting the material is easier than ever.” Additionally, the Cadet Command updates the information every month, ensuring that it is accurate and current.

The curriculum managers can also be used together with the Classroom Performance System, a tool that pushes for student interaction. Using a handheld response pad, students can answer questions right off of the presentation screen. “It can be used for tests, quizzes or just student involvement,” Bullard said. “It is also extremely helpful in giving us instant feedback on how well the students are taking in the information.”

The Curriculum Managers also open up a new method of learning. As part of the program’s building of responsible youth, the teachers occasionally give a student an opportunity to teach the class. “JROTC is a student citizenship and leadership development program,” Bullard said. “Giving students these opportunities help in establishing self-confidence, teaching and leadership skills.”

One of the students found the database very helpful in teaching. “It highlights all of the essential points, with interactive questions,” senior Marcello Peray-Genovese said. “It makes everything much simpler and easier.”

The class would be facilitated by the student leader, and the JROTC teacher would ensure that all the learning objectives are fulfilled. The curriculum managers work as a resource of information for the leaders to teach. The JROTC curriculum follows a four-step lesson plan established by Dr. Steve Dunn, author of Brain Compatible Learning for the Block: inquire, gather, process and supply.

Students also find that the curriculum managers are very beneficial in learning. “It is very interactive and encourages student involvement,” senior Jordan Wong said. JROTC plans to continue the use of the database in the future.

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HE SCHOOL’S Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps classes are moving away from their dusty textbooks and towards increasing their use of technology in the classroom.

With their newly updated curriculum managers and Dukane media carts, learning will be taken to a more interactive level.

Although this technology is not brand new, it has recently been incorporated into more classes, and has reached Room 4, the JROTC enclave.

The U.S. Army Cadet Command donated the curriculum managers three years ago, but the lessons were not smoothly accessible until a recent update, so the teachers only began to utilize them consistently as of last semester. “The curriculum manager is a data base of all lesson plans and lesson resources compiled in one place with easy access,” JROTC advisor and retired Lieutenant Colonel Doug Bullard said. “From leadership to first aid, you can be prepared to teach about anything in the JROTC curriculum in about fifteen minutes.”

The JROTC curriculum covers a wide variety of different subjects, such as government, citizenship and first aid. In total, there are 181 different core curriculum classes. “JROTC is much more that just marching,” Bullard said. “We teach students a variety of life skills to help them become better citizens.”

Students place in written and spoken poetry contests

By Michelle Wong

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hythm and blues, rap and spoken word performers have one thing in common — great poetry.

Senior Vivian Liu was awarded second place in the National Poetry Out Loud oral recitation competition in the San Francisco County section this year.

Four freshmen were also awarded prizes in the River of Words International Environmental Poetry Contest amongst thousands of art and poetry submissions from students around the world.

Vivian Liu, National Poetry Out Loud Liu participated in a city-wide spoken word poetry contest, Poetry Out Loud, sponsored

by California Arts Council and California Poets in the Schools, along with several other students from San Francisco, ultimately winning second place in the county competition.

“We compete with all the other public schools, but there are only about six or seven other competitors from San Francisco,” she said.

Susan Terrence, poet teacher from Cali-

fornia Poets in the Schools, a program that has provided schools across the state with poetry curriculum for nearly 50 years now, introduced the competition to Lowell and this is the fourth year that she has encouraged students to compete. “It gives students confidence in speaking in a group,” she said.

“The memorization is a great discipline and like a sport, you keep working and working until the goal is achieved.”

With a passion for poetry, Liu began her competition in spoken word her sophomore year and ever since has improved her public speaking skills.

“I used to have slight tremors and wasn’t able to say anything,” she said, “but now I can speak and my mind can focus on the task and it’s only physical tremors!”

Terrence has known Liu since her fall semester ninth grade English class and praises her for her hard work and strong stage presence at the competition. “She took great command of the work, was very composed and just worked so hard in memorizing and

understanding the poem,” Terrence said. “Her strongest performance yet was at the competition itself.”

Liu’s two poems were “Give All to Love”

by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “Blind Curse”

by Simon J. Ortiz, which she performed on her last Poetry Out Loud competition in high school. “I chose ‘Give All to Love’ because I kind of like someone who I suspect to never like me back and since the poem speaks of unrequited love, it kind of put my feelings into words. “‘First vague shadow of surmise, flits across her bosom young, of a joy apart from thee.

Free be she, fancy free,” she said. “I chose ‘Blind Curse’ because it’s about how nature sometimes confuses us, and sometimes amazes us,” she said. “It first caught my eye because you’re in your own world and everything kind of just disappears. ‘You could drive blind, for those two seconds, and they would be forever.’”

Liu’s message to aspiring poets is to embrace poetry for its spiritual experience. “People have to stop thinking

poems are just rhymes; they are more deep than that and definitely lets you understand yourself more,” she said.

River of Words, Ella Boyd-Wong, Adriaan Denbroeder, Alexander Carey, Riki Eijima Among thousands of entries worldwide, freshman Ella Boyd-Wong was the grand prize winner in Category III in this year’s River Of Words International Poetry Contest.

Freshman Adriaan Denbroeder also was a Shasta Bioregion Prize winner and freshmen Alexandra Carey and Riki Eijima also won honorable mentions.

According to Terrence, ROW is curated by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, who served from 1995 to 1997. A Poet Laureate is a poet that is hired by the Library of Congress to spark greater appreciation for poetry during their term.

A ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. at the San Francisco Public Main Library’s Koret Auditorium in Civic Center to honor the winners.

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By Natalia Arguello-Inglis and Ian James

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IGH SCHOOL STUDENTS are among the many San Francisco residents whose educational goals and plans may be thrown off track if City College of San Francisco loses its accreditation this year.

If the college loses its accreditation, the school will stop receiving federal aid and grants and will be in serious danger of closing. Students will lose the ability to access their student financial aid funds and the school’s classes will no longer be credited or transferable to other institutions.

The college’s troubles began in 2006 when an evaluation team submitted a report for Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) that highlighted eight areas where the college needed improvement. When another team came for a second evaluation in 2012 they found that not only had the college failed to resolve the eight suggested areas of improvement from the previous report, but also that the number of areas had grown to 14. Two areas where the college particularly struggles are Prudent Budget Planning and Program and Student Review. CCSF has been in debt each of the last three years and failed to pass a budget until four months into this fiscal year, according to Inside Higher Ed (www.insidehighered.com). “The biggest problem is fiscal,” City College Italian teacher Carole Cadoppi said.

“The college drained all its resources and its reserves fell dangerously low.”

The school was given the Show Cause label to its accreditation status in July 2012. According to the college’s website, because the ACCJC found the institution to be “in substantial non-compliance with its eligibility requirements, standards or policies, or not responding to the imposed conditions,” it gave them the Show Cause label, which requires an institution to show why its accreditation should not be taken away by the end of an allotted period of time.

The school was given the deadline of March 15 to submit its Show Cause Report.

The school will then meet with the ACCJC on June 10. If they fail to show they have corrected the issues originally highlighted by the ACCJC in the report they turned in on March 15, the school will lose its accreditation.

In addition to the Show Cause Report, CCSF submitted a

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Closure Report on March 15 detailing the plan the school has in case they do in fact lose their accreditation. The school has already agreed to help students pursuing college credit find new programs at other schools, but currently there is no plan to help students who take non-credit classes if the school closes.

CCSF’s open door policy is partly responsible for the school’s monetary troubles. The school is known for accepting as many students as possible.

The college had roughly 1,800 faculty members and over 100,000 students in 2012, but only employs 39 administrators, a policy that makes room for more students yet can often make the school’s administrative processes inefficient, according to Inside Higher Ed’s website (www.insidehighered. com.org).

The administration has already adopted an eight-year plan for more fiscal stability and taken steps to make CCSF more responsive to students. “One big buzz word we’ve all been hearing is accountability,” Cadoppi said. “We’ve been working on the student learning outcomes in our d e p ar t me nt and throughout the college. You have to figure out what the student should be learning and assess whether or not they are in fact learning it.”

CAROLE CADOPPI The school has also made some Spanish teacher major cuts this semester. Fifty faculty members and 30 staff have been laid off, while more than 160 in total have retired or left without being replaced. In addition, there are plans to close three of 11 campuses: the Castro, Presidio and Fort Mason campuses, according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian (www.sfbg.com).

Overall employees have taken an 8.8 percent pay cut across the board already and more cuts are expected.

On March 14, the day before the college turned in its Show Cause Report, teachers, students and activists staged a major protest to demand that City Hall support the ailing college.

The protestors want Mayor Ed Lee and the city supervisors to have the Department of Education stop the accreditation

are 90,000 stu“ There dents at City College;

one in seven people in San Francisco is currently enrolled.”

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committee from imposing economic sanctions on CCSF and also to have the city offer financial aid. In addition, they are afraid that money given to the school from Proposition A will not be used to protect faculty positions, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfgate.com).

The fact that the new tax money is going towards shoring up financial reserves rather than saving teachers is causing major friction at the school. “You can’t just threaten to close the college and take away all the teachers’ benefits and cut their salaries dramatically,” Cadoppi said. “Though we are better paid than other junior college teachers, none of us are rich.”

Even if the school can survive this crisis, it will be a shadow of its former self, according to Cadoppi, who teaches three Italian classes at City College as well as three Spanish classes at Lowell. “There won’t be as much of a selection of courses for future students; they will have to take classes that will get them into a fouryear institute and will not be able to take lots of classes just for fun,” she said. “And depending on how many they cut, it could be very hard to get JOHN RAYA into a class they need.”

Lowell French teacher and CCSF French teacher Playwriting student John Raya believes that the teachers will actually be the key to the college keeping its accreditation. “I don’t think the college will lose its accreditation because it has some of the best teachers I’ve ever seen,” he said. “The language department here is also much more sophisticated than when I studied Italian at NYU.” The recent protest has shown that students and teachers will not let the educational haven go down without a fight.

“If it was closing I would band together with others to lobby Sacramento to keep it open, especially now that college is so expensive there are many students who can’t afford a four-year university,” Raya said. “The kids who start at the community college never had a lot opportunities and those are the kids who will lose out if this happens.”

As the fight for the college’s survival continues, its supporters have shown confidence that they will succeed. “There are 90,000 students at City College; one in seven people in San Francisco is currently enrolled,” Cadoppi said. “It’s such an institution in this city; I can’t see how it would just go away.”

kids who start at “ The the community college never had a lot of opportunities and those are the kids who will lose out if this happens.”

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Tragedy spurs collaboration on safety issues Q !!!"#$%&'#(!)*+*',&!#-&./!0/.&1!2.#-!#-3$0-#1$+!2*4(!#3!-3'3/!5$'.3/!6*'/&'!7-*'08(!+.1&9!.',+$%.'0!(:&*;.'0!*#!*!7.#4!6*++!<&&#=

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The safety activism is a key action spurred by the death of a teenager. But the immediate after shock included memorial displays by friends and the school community. These events revealed special memories. “Hanren was one of the bubbliest, happiest people I have ever met,” junior Priscilla Tai said. “She always made me laugh and squeezed me so hard when she hugged me.”

According to English te acher L or na Galang, who taught Chang for 10th Grade English Honors, Chang was a bright individual.

“She was such a wonderful student — lively, funny, intellectually curious and incredibly sharp,” Galang said. “She was an awesome writer, too.”

Especially poignant, Chang was hit by the car on her birthday. But according to friends, Chang had celebrated the day to the fullest.

“We had so much fun doing the Color Run, shopping and thrifting. I remember she said, ‘I can’t decide which part of the day was better — both halves were so good!’” Tai said.

Chang had a distinct sense of style. “She was the only girl I knew that could rock sock flip-flops,” junior Kimberly Yee said.

Chang was a foodie. Tai emailed one of

Chang’s favorite restaurants, Hot Sauce and Panko, and requested that they name a menu item after Chang. Tai shared anecdotes about Hanren’s visits to the shop and told the workers about how Hanren loved their KFC wings and waffle. “She cried after the Ghost Pepper, so the workers gave her chocolate to ease the pain,” according to a post on Hot Sauce and Panko’s website (hotsauceandpanko.com).

The shop created a Miso with Mango wing called “Hanren’s Wing,” and began serving it on March 9.

In a March 5 letter addressed to the student body and parents informing them of the accident, principal Andrew Ishibashi said that her family requested that anyone interested in making donations PHOTO COURTESY OF SOPHIA LI in Chang’s name contribute to the Lowell cross country and track and field teams.

Right before the team’s first meet on March 7, head track and field coach Andy Leong asked everyone at the meet to observe a moment of silence in Chang’s memory. In remembrance of Chang, track and field athletes wore green — her favorite color — ribbons on the left side of their uniforms at that meet, and will continue to do so for the rest of the season.

Some veteran track and field athletes continue to wear black ribbons — now in addition to the green ones — in remembrance

CATE STERN

Camera crews for a local TV station film students mourning at the memorial site on March 4.

of another fallen athlete, Lowell class of 2011 alumnus Nelson Ho. Ho passed away from leukemia in 2012.

Prior to the accident, Leong had planned the annual track and field overnight in southern California for March 15-17, but because Chang’s memorial was planned for that same weekend, the trip was postponed to April 4-6.

On April 4, Chang’s family addressed a letter to the Lowell faculty and student body expressing their appreciation for the support they have received. “The profound sympathy and tremendous support given to us by the Lowell community have replenished us with hope and strength to recover from this devastating event,” the letter stated. “We appreciate all of Hanren’s friends for filling her life with joy, laughter, fun and love. Thanks to the Lowell teaching staff and faculty for enriching Hanren’s life and filling her mind with knowledge

and encouragement.”

That same day, three of Chang’s close friends, junior Sophia Li, Cheng and DePunzio spoke at a City Hall hearing with District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee regarding pedestrian safety. In her speech, Li said, “The thing is, every student who crosses Sloat is someone’s best friend, someone’s sister or brother, someone’s daughter or son.”

According to English teacher Jennifer Moffitt, who taught Chang in Literature and Philosophy: Ethics of Eating, Chang’s spirit still lies with us. “I know that she formed real and true friendships, not just because of the profound sense of loss that I feel in my classrooms since she left us, but also because of what her friends have clearly not lost — that joyful Hanren spirit,” Moffitt said. “The stories that they tell of her are a legacy that remains in our school.”

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Blossoming actress places in drama contest

By Eric Ye

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STUDENT PLACED second in a regional round of a national Shakespeare competition this year.

On March 2, senior Quinn Francis competed against 19 high school students throughout Northern California in a regional round of the annual English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition at Archbishop Riordan High School, winning second place and a $200 cash prize.

To qualify for the regional round, Francis won a preliminary competition at Lowell, which also served as a final exam for Advanced Drama students at Lowell. “The Shakespeare competition drives the curriculum of the first semester of advanced drama,” drama teacher Teresa Bookwalter said. “The students work on classical scenes and monologues so they can compete in this event. For the first round at Lowell, three outside theater actors come to judge and chose Quinn to be Lowell’s repre-

and self-assurance that she was going to win sentative at regional.”

Francis had tied second place at Lowell for the war because she saw the vision of Virgin the past two years and won this year, allowing Mary that God was on her side.”

During the weeks before the competition, her to advance to the competition at Riordan.

Francis rehearsed daily “Even though it was a rewith Bookwalter. “Workquired part of my grade, I ing with Ms. Bookwalter wanted to do well since it was incredibly helpful,” was my last year,” she said. she said. “Every time I For her performancrehearsed I had something es, Francis selected two new about the monologue contrasting Shakespeare or sonnet to think about pieces: a Joan of Arc and factor into my performonologue from Henry mance, which is a mark of VI and Sonnet 29. “The a good monologue and a monologue was so strong, good director.” powerful and exhilaratWhen she practiced ing,” she said. “I liked the on her own, Francis used imagery that Shakespeare techniques from English used to describe Joan’s viPHOTO COURTESY OF QUINN FRANCIS class to interpret the text sion, and the sort of power she has as an all-knowing being, that she’s un- but emphasized the sounds of words to help derestimated. I tried to tap into her confidence her performance.

Bookwalter said she enjoyed working with Francis and remarked on her strengths as an actor. “What characterizes Quinn’s performance and her relationship to her monologue is that she is utterly believable,” Bookwalter said. “She has a clarity and understanding of her character that really shines from the stage.”

At the regional competition, Francis competed in the first round and was selected to join four other competitors in the semi-final round. “I was definitely more nervous the first time around, but I was confident,” Francis said. “I felt good about the first round, but the semi-final round was probably the strongest I had ever done it.”

Francis was grateful for the opportunity to compete and found the experience rewarding.

“The competition has made me more confident in my abilities since I am not a very good judge of how well I perform, so the validation of getting such good results was exciting,” Francis said.

Well-used school puts its best foot forward again

By Joseph Kim and Brian Nguyen

T

HE SCHOOL RECENTLY received a makeover as it prepared for the arrival of the California Distinguished School Validation Team.

The Department of Education sent a delegation of school district members to the school on March 8 to determine if it qualifies as a California Distinguished School. During the two weeks preceding the visit, workers from the Buildings and Grounds Department of the San Francisco Unified School District came to make repairs to the school.

They improved areas all around the school by repairing tiles, waxing floors, painting the walls and washing windows.

The parking lots were also resurfaced and treated to cleanly painted parking stripes.

Numerous walls in the school were repainted, mainly to cover up graffiti. “It disappoints me to know that we have this going on around our school,” assistant principal of administration Margaret Peterson said. “What’s worse is that somebody did it again right after the wall had been freshly painted.”

Most of the painting was focused on the stairwells and the first floor hallway.

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Some classes also received new equipment. “Because of “However, since we were being evaluated for the California the California Distinguished School Distinguished School Award, we were visit, we were able to expedite the able to get a small boost in priority,” installation of previously purchased Peterson said. projector screens and white boards,” The California Distinguished Peterson said.

School award is given to schools The students thought that the tunethat are most exemplary and sucup was very noticeable. “They really ceed in narrowing the achievement cleaned up the whole school,” senior gap, which pushes good students to Lorna Tu’ufuli said. “The validation do well and those who are not to do team also commented on how the even better. school looked well put together.”

“In our school, we are lucky enough However, these fixes did not come to have great academic programs to easily to the school. “Due to the severe MARGARET PETERSON, help those students who are having budget cuts that we are all facing, assistant principal trouble,” Peterson said. “We have Buildings and Grounds is extremely programs such as CSF, peer mentoring understaffed,” Peterson said. “That is the reason it takes so long and summer school.” for many work requests to be fulfilled.”

In the past, the school has received the award seven times, Due to this, all the demands for fixing dangerous and according to the school’s profile. threatening issues gain first priority, while others are pushed The results of the inspection will be announced in the toward the back of the line. spring of 2013.

and Grounds “ Buildings is extremely under-

staffed. That is the reason it takes so long for many work requests to be fulfilled.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICHARD SHAPIRO

(Left) Senior Kelly Sio, physics teacher Richard Shapiro, and seniors Kegan Kawamura, Caitlin Lienkaemper, Ellande Tang and Mingyi Chen smile for the camera after a day of assisting the San Francisco Police Department with a murder investigation. (Right) The physics students take measurements at the firing range.

Student scientists visit firing range, calculate and assist with SFPD murder investigation

By Whitney C. Lim

F

IVE PHYSICS STUDENTS and their teacher recorded measurements at a San Francisco Police Department firing range on March 18 to help the SFPD investigate a March 2 murder.

They determined where a Daly City police officer was standing when he shot and killed a person after a car chase from Daly City into San Francisco’s Bayview district, according to physics teacher Richard Shapiro.

The officer in charge of the case, a Lowell parent, told Shapiro about the case involving a shooting. The police wanted to verify their facts using calculations on bullet trajectories.

“Using a laser to trace the bullet path, the police found that the shooter would have been 10 feet tall,” senior physics student Ellande Tang said. “We were trying to find out why they got this figure.”

The students took measurements of the shell casing distribution on an X-Y axis, comparing their data to the crime scene’s casing distribution. “First, an officer fired the original gun nine rounds and repeated it so the students could get data,” Shapiro said. “Then, the officer’s gun was put in a vise and fired. It was 148 feet to the actual plywood fence and another 75 feet from a wall, representing the house wall a bullet was found in on the crime scene.”

Along with these calculations, the students utilized technology in the experiment. “We used a high-speed camera from the television show MythBusters to measure the velocity of the bullet going into and out of the plywood, and also to look for dramatic changes in the angle,” senior physics student Caitlin Lienkaemper said.

The students arrived at school before six a.m. to participate in the investigation. “The police gave us donuts for breakfast at the firing range, we waited around because a policeman had to finish his firearms certification, and finally got to do some work,” Shapiro said. “We were there for over three hours.”

Shapiro picked Lienkaemper, Tang and three other students from his fourth block Advanced Placement Physics C class to participate in the investigation after many volunteered. “Shapiro asked us if we were interested in helping and chose students at random,” Lienkaemper said.

Opportunities like this are not common, but Tang said he would do it again. “It was interesting to see the bullet go through the material on the high-speed camera and how the material reacted to the impact,” Tang said. “Almost always, the bullet would split the wood.”

As of April 5, Shapiro does not know the results of their work or to what extent they were useful to the police.

the crossword Across 1. Wal-Mart’s Walton 4. Foot protector 8. The Explorer 12. Sea Urchin Sushi 13. A cry for online reviews 14. Destroy 15. Hills for short 16. Nat’l Lubricating Grease Institute, for short 17. Within 18. Digestive Agent 21. Barked 23. Agreeable 24. Neuron Arm 25. Up to, for short 28. Isolationist 1932 law 34. Wheel connector 35. Solo-voice opera

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Crossword courtesy of Grant Paul and Bryan Tsai Bollywood actor 30. Knitting thread 31. Rocket 32. Baseball’s Reds’ hometown, for short 33. ___ Kwan Do 36. Home 37. MTV animated high-school show, 1997-2002 38. Writer Wilde 39. Non-imaginary numbers 40. Airplane Driver 42. Resting on 43. Lion and Horse feature 44. Olive centers 48. Japanese carp 49. Scrambled or Fried

From paint to pups: feel the love On Friday April 5, Peer Resources held its seventh annual Stress Free Fair. The fair ran from Mods 6-20 and included a plethora of activities for students and teachers to participate in. Some popular spots included a bouncy house, face-painting booth, zumba and a booth with dogs by the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (Left) Junior Cheyenne Yen watches as junior Ruby Chen paints a blue arrow, inspired by that of master airbenders in the television show Avatar: The Last Airbender, onto junior Elizabeth Yee’s forehead at the fair.

(Right) One of the dogs from the SPCA booth.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNA FIORELLO

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Social Awareness Week focuses on animal cruelty

By Patricia Nguy

when a metal rod is about to be shot through their head, they REPRESENTATIVE FROM the San Francisco Society are scared. It’s instinctive. When you eat meat, I feel like you’re for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spoke to a eating that fear. That’s one reason why I’m a vegetarian.”

Every year, the SBC dedicates one week to spreading inforstudent audience on March 1 during mods 11-12 about mation about a social issue that affects the hidden abuse on factory farms. SF the global community. “We have a SPCA corporate counsel and director different topic every year and all the of advocacy Brandy Kuentzel informed proceeds go to the cause,” SBC club teens how factory farm animals are coordinator Shelley Tan said. mistreated and how students can make After considering other options like a difference as consumers. “We need to deforestation and gun control, the SBC vote with money, like buying products took a vote and livestock cruelty came that are animal cruelty free,” Student out on top. “In the past three years, the Body Council President senior David topics have been related to humanity Liu said. “It’s a little thing, but we need and abuse towards us as people,” SBC to let them know that we are not okay with them treating animals like that.”

FLORENCE WONG, Community Liaison senior Florence Wong said in an email on March 13.

During the presentation, Kuentzel SBC community liason “This year, we wanted to go in a whole used a powerpoint presentation to different direction and give some love show how factory farm animals are treated. Factory farms are profit-oriented, so animals must live to other organisms as well.”

In addition to the flyers featuring livestock cruelty that were in cramped environments, heavy with the smell of ammonia.

The animals are fed antibiotics in their feed to resist disease and posted around the school, the SBC sold T-shirts on the catwalk growth hormones to stimulate production. Layer hens are ex- from Feb. 25 to March 1 to spread the word about animal cruelty. SBC members informed students pected to produce 200 more eggs than that stopped by their table. “Animal they do in the wild, and dairy cows are cruelty is not only bad for animals but given rBGH to increase milk producalso for people,” Wong said. tion by 15 percent. Male chickens and The money raised from Social livestock are often killed, because they Awareness Week will go to the SF do not produce eggs and dairy like the SPCA, a local animal welfare organifemales of their species. zation that advocates for the welfare Kuentzel mentioned that because of animals. “Whether shaping public pigs are more intelligent than most anipolicy through the legislative process, mals, factory farm life was the worst for citizen initiatives and consumer educathem. Pigs realize what they are going tion campaigns, or saving the lives of through, so their consciousness hurts DAVID HEREFORD, animals through hand-on care, the SF more than helps them on factory farms.

English teacher SPCA and our citizen advocate part“Fear cannot be measured — like how ners dedicatedly work to help protect much this bottle of water weighs,” English teacher David Hereford said. “But we know what fear feels animals and ensure their well being in a variety of ways,” Kuelike — everyone does. Even though cows can’t do ‘Cow-culus,’ ntzel said in an email on March 22.

A

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year, we wanted “ This to go in a whole different direction and give some love to other organisms as well.”

Kuentzel said that our practice of meat eating is one of the most important contributors we can make to climate change.

“Factory farms are unhealthy and cruel for the animals, and they are also bad for the environment,” Kuentzel said. “Deforestation and pollution through large pools of fecal matter that release of large amounts of methane gas are just some examples of the negative effects of factory farming. But I don’t think you have to be entirely vegan or vegetarian to help with the cause.”

The SBC has leftover T-shirts for sale at the cave for students who missed the T-shirt sale on the catwalk.

E

though cows “ Even can’t do ‘Cow-culus,’ when a metal rod is about to be shot through their head, they are scared.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELEANOR CHEN

The three T-shirt designs sold by the SBC as part of Social Awareness Week promote conscienceness of humanitarian issues facing livestock. Proceeds will be donated to the San Francisco SPCA.

Lockdown drill delayed, but practice successful

By Tyler Perkins

T

HE SCHOOL had a lockdown drill on The school had a lockdown drill on Monday, March 18, to prepare for the possibility of a dangerous intruder, in light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The drill was originally scheduled for March 4, but rescheduled to show respect for Hanren Chang, who was tragically lost two days earlier, according to assistant principal of administration, Margaret Peterson.

During Block 5, Peterson announced the drill on the intercom and the school went into lockdown mode. A piercing alarm then went off and continued throughout the drill.

Students in the building were expected to go into the nearest room and stay away from windows and keep quiet. Students in the athletic fields went to the football field and students in front of the school and in the courtyard were directed to the gym. Anyone off campus was expected to stay away from the school until

the alarm stopped. “The alarm was really annoying,” sophomore Sarah Chou said. “It was awkward because I have lunch block 5 and had to wait in a classroom with a bunch of freshmen.”

When everyone was in a room, teachers put either a green card, to let the rescuers know everyone was okay, or a red card signifying there were injuries, in the classroom window.

“Police went through the building and made sure all the doors were locked and students out of sight,” Peterson said.

In the event of an actual lockdown, the process will be different, according to Peterson.

“Security guards and administration were walking around to monitor the drill, but if a shooter came onto the campus, they would be hiding with the students,” Peterson said. “Also, students on the athletic fields will be escorted to the parking lot near Lake Merced, which is a designated safe spot for parent pickup. In an actual lockdown we wouldn’t want the students

out in the open where they would be easy targets. Since this was just a drill, the police and administration made the decision to keep it simple and not risk having the students cross the street in large numbers.”

Lockdown drills have become a routine practice around the district, according to Peterson. “We are supposed to have one every year and after the Newtown tragedy, it has become more of a concern,” Peterson said.

“Many schools have already had drills this year and Washington has had multiple ones.

Lockdowns are especially important at Lowell, according to Peterson. “One of the officers assisting with the drill informed us that the intense academic pressure at Lowell makes it one of the highest risk schools for an incident.”

Lowell did have an actual lockdown last year when there was a suspected gas leak and the school was locked down while the fire marshal conducted a search. It turned out to

be a false alarm, but the fire marshal needed to confirm that everything was okay, according to Peterson.

The drill was organized by the Lowell Emergency Response Team (LERT), which is unofficially named after the fire department’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT), according to Peterson. Peterson organizes LERT and they are dedicated to keeping the school safe. The police presence also had to be scheduled. “A lot of preparation goes into having a lockdown drill,” Peterson said.

“LERT met with the police multiple times in the weeks before the drill and they gave advice.

We sent a letter to the parents via School Loop and also met with the reg teachers to prepare them for the drill.”

Overall the drill was a success according to Peterson. The officers were pleased with the students’ hustle, but they did discover a few teachers who had their lights on and were still teaching.

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an adult male who was inappropriately dressed, very close to the school and watching students around Rolph Nicol Park,â&#x20AC;?

Cordoba said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The man was only wearing underwear and I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see his face because he had a red shirt wrapped around his head,â&#x20AC;? security guard Pam Davis said.

Security guards reported to the scene and made requests for backup after sighting the suspect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After security personnel made calls, Ms. Peterson and I jumped into the school golf cart and requested that the security guards stay in front of him, so I could head him off if he tried to run,â&#x20AC;? Ishibashi said. The police came within minutes and immediately stopped the suspect and questioned him, according to Ishibashi.

After the police took the man away, students made reports to security staff concerning a brown bag the man had left behind. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Security drove me back to the parking lot to retrieve the brown bag and then I carefully carried the bag to the police,â&#x20AC;? Ishibashi said. The man had been recently released from a hospital. He has not reappeared at school, according to Ishibashi.

In response to these recent threats to school safety, members of the school security staff have been advised to remain vigilant, according to Cordoba. In addition to the increased efforts of the

school staff, Cordoba encourages students to remain calm if they feel threatened, to report the incident to school staff as soon as possible and to use their camera phones to capture license plate information if it seems safe to do so. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Remember to use your smart phones the smart way,â&#x20AC;?

Cordoba said.

KIMBERLY LI

N ANNOUNCEMENT concerning student safety was broadcast to all Lowell students over the intercom on March 4. During registry, principal Andrew Ishibashi notified students and staff of a student who reported being followed by a stranger near Lowell after school on Thursday, Feb. 25.

A report filed to the San Francisco Unified School District office describes the suspect as a young Caucasian male driving a red car with a broken right rear window, according to Ishibashi.

Security guard Ted Louie added that the car was identified as a Ford Expedition.

The suspect has not been caught, partly because there is no accurate license plate information, according to dean Ray Cordoba. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When students become afraid, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t respond timely to procedures they should be taking during the incident,â&#x20AC;?

Cordoba said.

There have been a number of incidents involving suspicious behavior around the campus since the start of the semester, according to Ishibashi. On Feb. 26, security guards responded to reports made by students concerning a man behaving erratically near the staff parking lot. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was notified by the principal that

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JT iCPUUMF OFDLJOH w PS USBÄ?D KBNT DBVTFE CZ PWFSDSPXEFE TUVEFOUT IBWJOH UP TRVFF[F UISPVHI OBSSPX EPPSXBZT BOE TUBJSXBZT PO UIF TFDPOE BOE UIJSE Ä&#x2DC;PPST i0VS QMBO JT OPU QFSGFDU CVU we want to make sure everybody of the school community is safe in event of an emergency,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are constantly refining the evacuation maps.â&#x20AC;? Arrows indicating exit routes have been recently added around the school to direct students to the newly refined exit routes to avoid bottlenecking. t -PXFMM TUVEFOUT BOE GBDVMUZ BSF FWBDVBUFE PVU PG CVJMEJOH TFWFSBM UJNFT B ZFBS GPS TBGFUZ drills. Three main spots they are evacuated to are: basketball courts, soccer fields and Rolph Nicols Park.â&#x20AC;&#x153;When the real emergency happens, you could rehearse the drill many times, but you could not always be prepared for every possible situation,â&#x20AC;? Credito said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Teachers have to ensure that they follow the exact routes put by the committee. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always safety first, safety always.â&#x20AC;? t &WFS XPOEFS IPX ZPVS QBSFOUT XJMM QJDL ZPV VQ JG UIFSF JT B NBKPS FBSUIRVBLF Ä&#x2021;F VQQFS Lake Merced parking lot at Sunset Circle, located .8 miles away from the campus, is the designated gathering point for students in the event of a real emergency, such as a fire, earthquake or lockdown. It is where parents should go to pick up students and where students who might have left the campus can go as a safe alternative location. t Ä&#x2021;F TDIPPM XJMM VOEFSHP FBSUIRVBLF TBGFUZ JNQSPWFNFOUT UIJT TVNNFS UIF Ä&#x2022;STU JO ZFBST TFF i3FOPWBUJPOT EFUFS TVNNFS TDIPPM w The Lowell "QSJM

t %P ZPV SFNFNCFS UIF 4BO #SVOP HBT MFBL UIBU MFE UP BO FYQMPTJPO UIBU LJMMFE GPVS QFPQMF BOE EFTUSPZFE IPNFT 8IFO UIF TDIPPM IBE B TVTQFDUFE HBT MFBL FWBDVBUJPO BMNPTU UXP ZFBST BHP 4FF BSUJDMF i(BT TNFMM QSPNQUT TDIPPM FWBDVBUJPO w The Lowell 0DU TPNF QFPQMF worried that a gas main might explode under us at Lowell. However, there are no worries beDBVTF UIF OFBSFTU HBT NBJOT SVO EPXO UI "WFOVF BOE 4VOTFU #PVMFWBSE CPUI GBJSMZ EJTUBOU

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t "MM +305$ TUVEFOUT BSF USBJOFE JO Ä&#x2022;STU BJE TVDI BT QFSGPSNJOH $13 BOE USFBUJOH CVSOT hot or cold injuries and insect bites t 3PVHIMZ UIJSUZ TUVEFOUT BOE GBDVMUZ NFNCFST QBSUJDJQBUFE JO B UXP EBZ $13 FWFOU BENJOJTUFSFE CZ 4FOJPS "SNZ *OTUSVDUPS $PMPOFM #VMMBSE BOE $SFEJUP BOE UBVHIU CZ B +305$ TQFDJBM unit, the Raiders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If anything bad happens, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to regret not knowing what to do, so first aid is good to know,â&#x20AC;? senior Kegan Kawamura said, who is on the Raiders team. t *O B MPDLEPXO UFBDIFST QMBDF B MBNJOBUFE DBSE JO UIF EPPS XJOEPX UP JOEJDBUF TBGF DMBTTSPPN HSFFO PS JOKVSFE QFSTPO JO DMBTTSPPN SFE

t :FMMPX FNFSHFODZ TVQQMZ MPDLFST UISPVHIPVU UIF TDIPPM DPOUBJO TVQQMJFT MJLF IBSE IBUT XBUFS BOE CBDLQBDLT UIBU IBWF HBV[F FMBTUJD CBOEBHFT CBOE BJET BOE PUIFS Ä&#x2022;STU BJE TVQQMJFT t 1PMJDF OBUJPOXJEF BSF SFFWBMVBUJOH UIFJS QBTU MPDLEPXO QSBDUJDF PO TIPPUFS SFTQPOTF UBDUJDT according to a New York Times article. The administration is looking into the new approach.

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ALL PHOTOS BY HUIMIN ZHANG

Seniors Winson Quan (left) and Mingyi Chen (right) to construct components to assemble this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s robotics teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation â&#x20AC;&#x153;Long Shotâ&#x20AC;? after school on April 8.

Robotics club moves from basketball to frisbees

By Antonio Carmona

T

HE SCHOOLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ROBOTICS team, CardinalBotics, recently entered and competed in their first competition for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition season.

50 members of the robotics team attended the competition, which took place from March 1-3 at Madera South High School in Madera. In the end, the team placed 3rd overall.

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competition was called Ultimate Ascent. It involves robots shooting frisbees into goals a little bit over eight feet above the ground.

The robots competing are four and a half to five feet tall, and must have internal systems that allow them to pick up and launch frisbees.

The competition also involves robots using a climbing mechanism to scale a pyramid shaped structure constructed of metal pipes at the end of each match.

CardinalBoticsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; robot is named â&#x20AC;&#x153;Long Shot.â&#x20AC;? It is five feet

T

tall, 30 inches by 26 inches wide, and is built to shoot frisbees a long distance across the playing field.

It can hold up to three frisbees at a time in its loader, and has a mechanism similar to that of a street sweeper that it uses to pick up frisbees. Long Shot took several weeks to assemble, with several dozen people working on it.

The competition build season lasts six weeks, and the robot being used for the current yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competition must be completed within the timeframe. Dedicated members of the team remained at school working until nine or ten oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock at night.

The robotics club is sponsored by physics teacher Bryan Cooley, and was founded in the fall of 2012 by the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current public relations vice president junior Ofri Harlev (See â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robotics Club assembles bot, aims to score high,â&#x20AC;? The Lowell, Jan. 2012).

The schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team is named CardinalBotics, and is officially known as FRC Team 4159 (www.team4159.org). The team is

composed of 74 students from grades 9 through 12, and its sponsors include Samsung, Bot & Dolly, the Lowell Alumni Association, the Parent Teacher Student Association, JCPenny, Pearl.com, the Brin Wojcicki Foundation and Bechtel.

Last year, CardinalBotics competed in a competition called Rebound Rumble using a basketball-shooting robot known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ball-E.â&#x20AC;? During the last FRC season, Team 4159 won the Rookie All-Star Award and went to the international FIRST competition in St. Louis, Missouri (See â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robotics awarded regional rookie distinction, earn spot in internationals,â&#x20AC;? The Lowell, March 2012).

CardinalBotics held a spaghetti dinner run by members of the team on March 15 and is also planning to hold a car wash on April 20 this month as a fundraiser. The next competition that they attended was the Silicon Valley Regional, which took place from April 4-6 at San Jose State University, San Jose. They received a Wild Card slot to move to the 2013 FIRST Championships in St. Louis.

Robotics will be a class offered from Arena at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, for students interested in engineering and working with robots (See â&#x20AC;&#x153;Science clubs, now official classes receive recognition and credits,â&#x20AC;? The Lowell, Feb. 2013).

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competition was called Ultimate Ascent. It involves robots shooting frisbees in goals a little bit over eight feet above the ground.

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YOUTH STORM CITY HALL Four Lowellites take part on the SF Youth Commission, a committee of 17 young people responsible for advising the Board of Supervisors on laws and bills that affect SF youth

By Elena Bernick

A

Brian Chu

By Samantha Wilcox

T

REKKING ACROSS the city in an overcrowded bus is never fun. However, once the hour-long adventure ends at the bottom of the City Hall steps, a feeling of awe can make it all worthwhile. Sophomore Ariel Yu, member of the prestigious San Francisco Youth Committee, is flexing her political voice one bill at a time.

Yu’s decision stemmed from a desire to give back. “I joined the Youth Commission because I wanted to do something productive with my time and help my community,” Yu said. “I didn’t want to sit in front of the TV all day.”

Yu’s passion for helping other students fueled her decision to join the education committee. “I went to Catholic school for nine years, so I am new to the fact that public school kids have to cross their fingers and hope that their education isn’t compromised by the latest set of budget cuts,” Yu said. “No student should have to deal with this, and the education committee tries to minimize cuts to San Fran-

cisco schools as much as we can.”

Yu’s chronic perfectionism can impact the agenda a bit. “When we are submitting our ideas to the Board, I am often poring over the final draft making last-minute changes,” Yu said. “It’s really embarrassing, but I do it so that other people my age can be represented in a way that they’re proud of.”

Although the meetings are important, they can sometimes be hard to fit in. “Our meetings are during the week, and they can make it hard to navigate Lowell’s huge amount of homework, extracurriculars and a social life at the same time,” Yu said. “It’s been a real test of my time management skills.”

Despite juggling homework, meetings and other extracurriculars, Yu regularly volunteers outside of the SFYC. “I serve at homeless shelters around the city, and I also volunteer at the library,” Yu said. “If I am going to represent the youth of San Francisco, I need to get to know all of them, not just those who are similar to myself.”

Although she is getting a “behind the scenes” look at what goes into the world of city issues and law, Yu doesn’t necessarily see herself following this path to a political career. “I am not sure if I want to go into politics after I graduate,” Yu said. “One thing I know for sure is that I want to go into a field of work where I can help people and make a difference.”

Ariel Yu

S OF NOW, if a student is under 18, they cannot vote. However, junior Brian Chu has found a different way to have his political opinions heard.

Chu is a commissioner on the Youth Commission Board. Chu heard about the position through his friend Mia Shackelford, a fellow Youth Commissioner, and was accepted at the beginning of his junior year. Chu applied for a spot on the commission because of his passion for education, and was admitted after being interviewed by former District 4 supervisor Katie Tang.

Akin to our system of checks and balances, the Board of Supervisors will ask the commissioners for approval on laws dealing with youth.

“We’ve worked on several pieces of legislation,” Chu said.

“If a bill deals with youth, it must pass through the Youth Commission.”

Chu’s job also comes with impressive perks. Besides the customized business cards all commissioners receive, the position also allows participants to see behind the curtain of our city government. “We get to work so closely with the city, we actually work in City Hall,” Chu said. “The floor below us is where

FOR THE COMPLETE VERSION OF THESE STORIES PLEASE VISIT THELOWELL.ORG

they make the laws.”

The Youth Commission has addressed many issues that, if solved, would improve the conditions of youth living in the city.

These have included employment opportunities for youth, juvenile justice and rights for LGBTQ youth. “Our job is to find the unmet needs,” Chu said. “We find what the city government hasn’t dealt with.”

For Chu, credit recovery is one of the most important issues. Credit recovery refers to the ability students have to make up classes — and graduation credits — they have missed or not earned during their high school career, giving those students a chance to graduate.

Chu considers education as an essential building block to a successful life, and he would like to see all high school students graduate. “A lot of students aren’t on track to graduate,” he said. “Despite the high rate of those who won’t graduate, the school district has heavily cut money for credit recovery. We worked on a piece to urge the Board of Supervisors and Board of Education to take credit recovery programs seriously.”

ILLUSTRATION BY KIMBERLY LI

By Amber Ly and Luming Yuan

A

TYPICAL LOWELL HIGH School student devotes her time to homework, sports, clubs and sleep. However, senior Christine Huynh spends a portion of her time pondering over political issues at City Hall.

Huynh learned about the Youth Commission through participating in her community. “I had been part of the Vietnamese Youth Development Center for about three years,” Huynh said. “A staff member approached me and told me about the Youth Commission. I didn’t even know what it was, but I have a passion for youth advocacy and I thought I’d give it a try.”

As each member of the Youth Commission represents a different district, it seems logical to represent the district you live in.

However, this passionate advocate harkened back to her first years in the city. Despite the fact that year or so ago she moved to a

different neighborhood, she is representing District 6, located in central San Francisco.

“I grew up in the Tenderloin community,” Huynh said. “It’s such a diverse and cultured place where everyone is more than friendly.”

Huynh chose to be the chair of the Employment Committee in her first term. She expressed that she does not particularly enjoy the more politicized issues, but youth employment is just as important as some issues that are more associated with politics. “I want to develop myself through my experiences and give a voice to youth who feel like they don’t have a say,” Huynh said.

Huynh and Jane Kim, the supervisor who appointed her, have a close bond. “We have a good relationship of checking in,” she said. “ I am always invited to her office whenever. I feel – and am introduced by Jane – as a part of her office.”

Over the duration of her term, Huynh hopes that she has broadened adults’ minds on the abilities of youth. “Youth are often looked down upon,” she said. “Yes. I get that we can be immature, but we still have a voice that should be heard.”

Christine Huynh

By Nicholas Weisenburger

W

HO KNEW THAT here, in the hallways of Lowell, you might be walking next to the teenager who represents the 64,158 of San Francisco youth — number according to (www.unitedstatescensus.gov) — in local government? Whether she is walking to math class or City Hall, senior Mia Shackelford advocates for youth participation in local government.

Shackelford is the Chairwoman of the Youth Commission, Board of Supervisors.

She has held the position for a year, but has been an active member since 10th grade. “I love politics and having real debates that have an impact the Youth Commission brought the things I love together,” Shackelford said. “Youth are the best source for youth needs.”

Shackelford mediates discussions between the other 16 members of the commission. They present a topic and come up with a resolution, and Shackelford presents the resolution — or resolutions — to the Board of Supervisors. “It’s so much fun because I enjoy public speaking and I love sharing what we came up with as a group,” Shackelford said.

Shackelford has only had the experience of working with the chairwoman before her, but she understands that all chairs have their own management styles. “I’ve been told that I move the meetings quicker and that I’m louder and more deliberate,” Shackelford said. “A meeting can be very confusing if it lags on. I try to get through the meeting as efficiently as possible and also make sure everyone actually has a chance to speak.”

As chairwoman, Shackelford must balance leadership and politics. “I’m not forbidden from offering an opinion. If I do, I try to do it last so that everyone gets a chance to jump in; sometimes I don’t get the chance to because we have to keep the discussions moving,” Shackelford said. “I’m very liberal from the country’s point of view, but compared to some of the other members, I’m really not.”

Shackelford prefers local government to federal. “Because the ‘closer to home’ governments are more democratic, there are more opportunities to progressively influence people that are governing you,” she said.

Mia Shackelford

By Natalia Arguello-Inglis

R

OME MAY BOAST the centuries-old fresco of the Sistine Chapel, but here in the San Francisco Bay Area we have a reputation for the ever-changing murals and colorful graffiti that grace our city streets. While Diego Rivera and Banksy may be the more well-known artists to create art on our urban walls, local artists continually prove that their passion for paint — and not publicity — drives them to decorate dark alleys and cover otherwise naked walls. The Lowell spoke with three local street artists in hopes of understanding the mind behind the spray can.

Oakland native and professional artist Eddie Colla graduated from California College of Arts in 1991 with a BFA in photography/interdisciplinary fine arts. Colla, who began his artistic career as a professional photographer, began creating public pieces in the early 90’s and “re-purposing public spaces” about six years ago. Colla is nationally recognized for both his street art and fine art. His stencils and wheat pastes (see glossary below) can be found in cities across the United States from the Bay Area to Miami.

What do you think the definition of a “street artist” is? What sets them apart from other types of artists?

There is no definition, which is sort of what I like about it. It can be whatever you make it. The only thing that separates us from other artists is location and perhaps a few vandalism laws.

What do you think is the difference between vandalism and street art?

The whole “art or vandalism” question is misguided. One attempts to quantify merit, the other aims to establish lawfulness. The two have little or no effect on each other. Take, for example, a Burger King billboard — is it art or vandalism?

Neither. It sure as f*** isn’t art and it’s not vandalism because Burger King paid a fee to make your city ugly. Vandalism is the act of defacing or damaging private or public property. Whether or not that is done with talent or in an artful manner is really beside the point. I think a lot of “vandalism” is art.

Some vandalism is just vandalism. Outdoor advertising is vandalism with a preemptive fee structure.

ART COURTESY OF EDDIE COLLA

What inspires your work?

That’s a tough question. I mean it seems vague to say “life,” but at the end of the day inspiration comes from all over the place.

Something you read in the paper, or heard on NPR, a conversation you had 10 years ago.

Somehow all the little stupid fleeting things in your life circulate until they find a way to fit in somewhere and be relevant. That may not make much sense, but that’s kinda the way it is with me.

Colla is currently working on a large group exhibit in Oakland, where he and more than thirty other artists will design their own room in an empty office building.To check out Colla’s past and current work, visit his website (www.eddiecolla. com) or his blog (www.eddiecolla. tumblr.com).

WRITER: Someone who creates graffiti TAG: An artist or writer’s personalized signature, simplest form of graffiti HIT/HIT UP: To tag on any surface PIECE: Derived from “masterpiece”, graffiti painting of writer’s tag, usually consisting of three or more colors BOMBING: To go out with purpose of writing/tagging as much as possible in desirable locations TOY: Inexperienced, substandard writer; could also refer to the work itself BUFF: When graffiti is painted over or removed from a surface, usually by city government SLAPS: Form of tagging; postal or “Hello my name is” stickers prepared beforehand with writer’s name, miniature pieces, drawings of characters, etc. They are placed on buses, mailboxes, etc. Wheat pastes: Posters stuck to buildings or public walls with wheat paste, a type of adhesive composed of wheat flour and water.

THROWIE (THROWUP): Simple piece usually consisting of only one to two colors, can be as little as one letter or a whole word UP: Term used to describe a writer whose work is abundant around city (Note: writers must be active and dedicated to achieve) GOING OVER/HACKING OUT: When one writer crosses out or covers up another’s work, considered a personal disrespect

ART COURTESY OF EDDIE COLLA

THE LOWELL SPOTLIGHT APRIL 12, 2013

PHOTO COURTESY OF LADY LIGHT ONE

Tafe – pronounced Tâ-fee – is a 17-year-old San Francisco high school student with a love for the arts. Though trained in the fine arts, he is never without a spray can, marker or a pile of slaps in his back pocket.

What are some of your experiences with the law and graffiti?

I’ve n e ve r b e e n caught, but many of ART COURTESY OF TAFE my friends have. I learn from their mistakes and try my best to follow my instincts and not get caught. As for getting taken down, works get buffed all the time so it’s not a surprise to see things get covered within even a day. Whenever I’m out in the city I scope out spots and walls that have the least chance of getting repainted before I do a piece or a throwie.

How have vandalism laws affected your own personal work?

Vandalism laws force me to keep it low key with my graff instead of just tagging everywhere and anywhere with no restraint.

I try to respect people’s private property and avoid hitting up on places unless there are tags on them already.

What do you think about the conception of tagging/writing as blatant vandalism with no purpose?

Some people do write without real purpose, but I think the best graffiti artists put in real work and thought into their tags.

Ta g g i n g allows artists to advertise their work and get their name out there at no real cost, besides the risk of getting caught.

Why do you think the younger generation is attracted to street art?

The sort of fame a person can get from graffiti as well as the style of the art form itself probably appeals to younger people. Just seeing so many of the same tags up around the city and liking the style made me want to get into street art myself. Personally I think graffiti makes the city beautiful and interesting.

Nineteen-year-old Lady Light One’s interest in art was sparked in her elementary school days, when her mother would buy her 64-packs of crayons and other art supply sets. By the age of twelve, she began to create graffiti and continues to do so seven years later.

What is it like being a female street artist in a male-dominated art field?

Being a girl and being a writer to me is just a beautiful thing. I love doing things that go against my gender role in society. My gender has nothing to do with my talent and ability. At first, it bugged me because many guys would call me a “toy” and say they were better than me or that I couldn’t go bombing with them because I wouldn’t be able to keep up while running away from cops. Some would say that I should just give up on graff because it’s dangerous for a girl to be out on the street at three in the morning. I didn’t let that get to me and I know for a fact that I am a way better graff writer than many boys out there.

What do you think about the many laws and efforts to stop “vandalism” in San Francisco?

I don’t think I’m a bad person because I tag on things. It’s not my fault graffiti is illegal. It’s always been around — just look at cave paintings. Art is a form of expression, we, as human beings, should be able to exercise our freedom of speech and express ourselves however we so choose as long as we’re not hurting ourselves or people around us.

Why do you think street art appeals to young people?

Young folks just want to express themselves. At our age, we have a desire to be rebellious and do what we want. That is graffiti, it’s expression and it’s illegal when done without permission. Luckily many of us are now getting awesome opportunities to paint murals because many people in the community appreciate our talent and want to support us. If one day I could get paid for painting walls or making designs for T-shirts all day, I’d be a very happy person.

What does street art mean to you?

Street art is life. Street art is creativity and freedom. Street art is rebellion and revolution. We go against the regulations and put our stamp on things we don’t own. We make them ours. Q !"#$%&'$!())$*'#+,"-$"!$%&,+$.#%,/)'0$1)'.+'$*,+,%$!!!"#$%&'!%&&"'()"

Source: San Francisco Department of Public Works

1. Graffiti damage up to $400 is punishable by up to one year in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both.

2. Graffiti damage exceeding $400 can be punished as a felony (even if the vandal is a minor) by up to three years in state prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

3. Graffiti vandals may be suspendART COURTESY OF TAFE

ed or expelled from San Francisco Unified School District schools.

4. Parents or guardians of minors who commit graffiti may be prosecuted for failing to supervise their children and sentenced to one year in jail and/or $2,500.

5. Those convicted of graffiti vandalism will lose their driver’s license for one year. If the vandal does not own a license, issuance will be delayed for one year after eligibility or until they reach 21 years old, whichever comes first.

160 athletes strong, track aims for a championship sweep

Lowell High School April 12, 2013

Page 13

HUIIMIN ZHANG

First base coach Michael Serra waves sophomore outfielder Markus Min around first in the Cardinal’s 17-7 victory over the Washington Eagles. Lowell lead their division with a 5-0 record.

FS baseball dominating under new coach

New fencing team facing new season

By Madelyn Chen and Emily Fong

come together to fill that void,” fencing coach Scott Cunningham OILS AND ÉPÉES are drawn said. “The team is used to having forward, as the Lowell fenc- him to rely on, now they have to ing team is en garde, ready step up.”

The loss of key players has led to lunge at a new season, hoping to changes in to take the crown strategy. “This and remain Allyear we’re relyCity champions. ing less on one Returning My goal is to or two anchors upperclassmen distributing are hoping to fill take home the and the load more the spaces left overall trophy among the other vacant by last of our year’s graduates, for the fifth members te am,” s enior including Alex C h e ng , Jay n e year in a row.” boys’ captain Ellande Tang said.

Stewart and RaSC OTT CUNNINGHA M “However, we chael Ferguson. coach have some stiff Cheng was the competition, first fencer in However, deAcademic Athletic Association history to win four spite the changes in lineup, the consecutive individual champion team is still optimistic about its titles, leading the Cardinals to their chances of success.

“This season, we may have lost fourth straight boys’ team title.

Ferguson was the 2011-12 varsity some of our best fencers, but we do girls champion, and Stewart ranked have some new additions with pothird in the All-City individual tential,” junior girls’ captain Jackie competition. “Since Alex gradu- Woo said.

See FENCING on Page 18 ated, the guys will really need to

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Athlete of the Month:

.393 with 24 hits, 20 runs batted in and 31 runs as of April 5. Oh, and did we mention he also has stolen eight bases this year? The triple threat of great defense, strong hitting and fantastic speed on the base paths makes Saunders a top player in the Academic Athletic Association.

Saunders has the trophies to back that claim up. “I was all city honorable mention freshman year,” Saunders said over Facebook. “And first team the last two years, most promising freshman year and co-MVP with the boy Nick Tam last year.”

Saunders is a selfless ballplayer. “I just try to be whatever the team needs from me, if it’s pitching, driving in a run or getting on base and scoring,” he said.

As a senior and veteran ball player, Saunders is looked up to as a leader and he tries to fill this job as well as he can.

“I’d rather lead by example and hope that my play does the talking but if I feel something needs to be said I’ll say it,” he said.

According to Donohue, having Saunders as a player is “outstanding” and a recent event on the diamond proves that point in a recent game against June Jordan.

“Another player forgot his jersey [and] Elijah offered his,” Donohue said. As a team player, Saunders is the full package.

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By Sam Tick-Raker

Senior Elijah Saunders has played his heart out for the baseball team the last four years and his strong work ethic has made him one of the top players on the varsity baseball team this year.

Saunders plays two of the most important positions on the field: shortstop and pitcher.

He is one of the team’s best starters, according to head coach John Donohue. “He is definitely one of our better pitchers,” senior catcher, infielder, and outfielder Jake Simons said over Facebook. “If we need to win a big game, he is one of the pitchers we can count on to give it all he has.” His stats reflect this — as of April 5 he has a 1.07 earned run average and 3 wins. His strong arm not only makes him a great player on the mound but also in the infield. “He works hard,” Donohue said. “He makes not only the routine plays but the difficult plays on defense.”

In addition to his remarkable play on the defensive side of the ball Saunders is excellent at the plate, hitting second in the batting order. “He is capable of extra base hits, a lot of doubles,” Donohue said. In fact, in his first game back this year after finishing the basketball season, Saunders went three for four at the plate. This season he is hitting

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NEW COACH FOR Frosh/Soph baseball is hoping to lead the team to their second consecutive league championship victory with a varsity level of play.

The new head coach, James Burke has been one of the varsity assistant coaches for the past two years. He was also a player on the Lowell 2007 championship-winning team, before going on to play in college and eventually making it to a proscout league in Tucson, Arizona. As a former varsity coach, Burke brings a high level of intensity and seriousness to the team, though his personality is very inviting. “He’s great to be around and wants the whole team to improve,” sophomore pitcher and co-captain Luis Hernandez said.

These experiences of coaching, playing with and being

taught by high-level athletes and coaches have proven useful the championship 5-3. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they make it for Burke. “I learned how to develop and teach fundamental to the championship again this year,” Hernandez said. “They’re skills to beginning and advanced well coached and fundamentally players,” Burke said. “This served me sound, which are things that help well because it helped me become a go far.”

I want to make sure that our youAccording good coach with a lot of information to Burke, he is tryto pass on to young players.” players’ baseball IQ is at a ing to amp up the team’s knowlLast season, the Cardinals lost edge of the essentials of the game. varsity level.” their first two games but only lost “My job is to make sure I develop one other league game from then on.

JA MES BURKE, these players so they can play at the “We started off pretty shaky, but we varsity level,” Burke said. “Drills head coach pulled together and played the rest will be more advanced to really of the season well,” Hernandez said. practice the fundamental and specialized skills of baseball.”

The Cards ended up beating Washington, their main rival, in See FS BASEBALL on Page 17

AN RY

By Andrew Pearce

“Together, City’s Best,

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Varsity junior pole vaulter Ella Roth releases her pole as she arcs over the bar against Balboa on April 3.

Vaulting trains to defeat Lincoln The vaulting squad is coming off a season in which four vaulters placed at All-City.

Senior Jesse Hannawalt finished fourth for the varsity boys, junior Noah Penick finished third for frosh-soph boys, and juniors Ella Roth and Fana Aregawie took first and fourth respectively for the varsity girls’ division. This year the team is working to send more vaulters to the medal stand.

Experience is critical in pole vaulting. “If you start in freshman year, you have more time to pick up on how to do it,” Penick said.

“It’s a steep learning curve.” Though starting later in your high school career can be challenging, sophomores Michelle Wong and Zach Toy are new vaulters that, according to Penick, are holding their own.

Learning to run fast before a vault and being aggressive are obstacles that the new vaulters are facing. “We need to work on the

non glamorous side of vaulting,” Penick said, referring to working out and lifting.

The simple difficulty of the sport can be another obstacle. “We need to work on being more consistent,” Roth said. “We need to work on becoming more confident. Vaulting can be scary.”

Two brothers from Lincoln who vault at 11 feet, 6 inches make the competition strong. “The biggest challenge is to break them up and beat them,” Penick said. Last year Hannawalt reached this same height, while Penick got 10 feet, 6 inches and Roth reached 9 feet. The Mustang vaulters have an advantage however, because the only vaulting pit in the city is at Lincoln, which makes it harder for the Cardinals to send vaulters there, according to Penick.

With district coach Alan Eggman, the team is ready to take more medals.

Throwers strive to beat Mustangs

All Track & Field coverage by Sam Tick-Raker

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ince the 1988 season, head coach Andy Leong and the Lowell track and field team have dominated the AAA league. When Leong began, Galileo, McAteer and Washington offered the Cardinals competition. Then the team consisted of only about 100 athletes; now the team boasts 160.

One thing, however, has not changed: success. “[The girls finished] first or second since 1978,” Leong said. “Some years we totally dominated. Some years we outscored the entire city. A couple years we have done well at state.” In the 1997 state championship, Lowell had a third place finisher in the 1600 meter, 10th place in the 3200 meter and 11th place in the 300 meter hurdles.

The boys have not been too shabby either. “We ran off about 12 or 13 championships,” Leong said. “My first year we tied. We have always been second or third [with the] exception of one year. [We] started the streak in 1997. [And we have] done well until Lincoln started pushing us. We have a chance this year.” The Cardinals hope to continue their historic success in all the core events: distance, sprinting and hurdling, throwing, vaulting and jumping.

After a fairly successful season last year, the throwing team hopes to i mprove on their results at the 2012 AllCity championships. “[We] have a good amount of returning throwers which is great,” coach Miguel Mallorca said.

“Right now we are just getting back into things, starting with basics, lifting wise and technique wise.”

Junior Raymond Phelps, senior Brandon Evangelista and junior Elazar Chertow will be leading the throwers this season for the boys, along with senior Maya Valardez guiding the girls. “It looks pretty promising,” Phelps said. “If we keep doing the workouts, staying dedicated and going to practice, we should do well.”

Chertow and Phelps will be the strongest throwers participating in shot put, while Evangelista will lead the squad in discus. Valardez is a

double threat, throwing well in both of the events. Freshman Esther Lam is one of the top young throwers in the league and will be one of the best girls on the team. She has the fourth best throw for discus among all girls (varsity and frosh-soph) in the entire league with 82-5 feet, and the third best throw for shot put with 27-4 feet.

Though the team has many positives its small size is a con. “The down side would be our size, which hopefully we can overcome as we get to May,” Mallorca said.

With these veterans, the Cardinals hope they can compete with their main rival.

“Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln,” Phelps said.

“They always have good throwers.”

Mallorca, who has been around the sport for a while now, agrees. “They have had a strong background in the shot and disc for many years now.”

And though it may be a challenge, the team knows what they have to do in order to win. “Our keys to success will be our time spent doing drill[s] and getting our technique to its finest,” Mallorca said. “Strength and speed will come with time later on. The more focused we are on technique, the better we will be.”

Sprint team aims to build on larger numbers, excel at shorter distances

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Sophomore sprinter Kristi Jou pushes forward at the K-Bell Invitational at Los Gatos High.

The sprinting team will head into this year coming off an injury-plagued 2012 season. Last year, the varsity boys’ sprinters had five or six injuries according to assistant sprinting coach Michael Speech, which contributed to their disappointing performance at All-City finals. “Staying healthy is key,” Speech said. Lincoln claimed the boys’ title again, but the Lowell girls reclaimed their championship title.

Many key senior runners graduated, such as Samantha Woo and nationallyranked Melanie Speech, Michael Speech’s sister. “We can’t dwell on the past,” Michael Speech said. “[The seniors’] shoes can be filled but we want [the current runners] to make their own shoes.”

The group’s size and style has changed since last season, hinting that the runners may be able to replace Woo and Melanie Speech. “Our team is a lot bigger and there is a lot more work to be done,” Michael Speech said. “Our methods are changing.

We are going to the old ways of just running hard.”

Working hard will be key to all the sections of sprinting, especially hurdling. “It [hurdling] takes a lot of practice, because there are many components that you have to work on, like your flexibility, strength, and form going over the hurdles, but the most important part of it really is courage and determination,” junior hurdler Stephanie Lee said over Facebook.

The team hopes to improve on some of their weaker events, such as short sprints, which include the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Another weak spot for the team is the small hurdling group. “I think our biggest problem then [last year] (and now too) is our lack of a strong group of hurdlers from our newer runners, because hurdling can be really intimidating,” Lee said.

The team takes pride in its long sprints.

According to Michael Speech, the 400 meter dash and up are the team’s strengths,

as well as the “four by four,” an event that Lowell swept at All-City finals last year.

Things are looking good for both the men and women sprinters. “Our boys’ varsity sprinters are a strong core,” senior Preston Leung said. “Our girls’ varsity sprinters are very talented and will prove to be exceptional.”

But Speech also wants to teach the runners about the sport itself. “My main goal is to teach the basics of track,” he said. “I want them to love the sport.” And he himself loves the sport as he ran track for the Lowell team until he graduated in 2004. At All-City finals he won the frosh-soph 100 meter dash his sophomore year and the 200 meter dash his senior year. His 100 meter personal record was 10.99 seconds and his 200 meter PR was 22.6 seconds.

This season the team will be competing against Lincoln on the boys’ side and Washington on the girls’ side, whom Speech called a “dangerous team” this year.

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Senior distance runner Max Niehaus charges ahead in the 800 meter at the K-Bell Invitational at Los Gatos High on March 9, followed closely by junior distance runner John Hogan. Niehaus finished first overall with 1:57 in his heat. Hogan took second overall right behind Niehaus with 1:58. Both runners are now ranked in the top twenty 800 meter runners in the state.

Jumping team aims high with experienced squad The jumping team, like the other track and field events, had an excellent year and is excited to have another successful season. But in addition to the annual loss of seniors, the jumping squad lost legendary captain Renny Ng. “His hard work and dedication motivated all of us to work harder and push longer every practice,” junior jumper Kenny Okagaki said over Facebook. “All the veterans are trying to find their inner Renny this year.”

A new season has also led to a new coach. Last season, Thomas Tran, a Lowell alum, advised the jumpers as the team’s coach. “We’ll miss his guidance a lot,” Okagaki said. “Coach Charles Hatch is stepping up to the plate, which we’re all looking forward to.” Though this is Hatch’s first year as the triple and long jump coach, he has had experience in the past as the team’s high jump and head sprinting coach. Hatch took the gold in the high jump at the 1974 state championship as a student at Wilson High School, Burton High School’s former name.

Again, this year, like the previous one, the team will consist of many veterans. Senior Preston Leung was awarded the bronze in the varsity long jump at All-City last year and 2012 JV Field Athlete of the Year Okagaki won bronze in the froshsoph long and triple jump at All-City. Other key experienced jumpers include Wen Liu, Bruno Haesbert, Alvin Ha, Bradley Monterola and Jordan Leung. On the girls’ side the top jumpers will be Robin Yee, Kim Yee, Stephanie Wong, Ella Roth, Jenna Leung and Adrianne Pan. The jumpers this year will be a force to be reckoned with.

“We should be very solid in the JV boys, JV girls need to get

the fundamentals down,” Okagaki said. “Vars girls should be strong, but vars boys will need to really push and work hard, for the projected marks for the league’s LJ and TJ are way more competitive than usual.”

The sheer size of the team will also be an advantage, allowing for injury and more options.

There will be struggles too, however, as many of the team’s competitors will be physically stronger than the Cardinals, forcing the team to work on the small things. “We get them with the technique and fundamentals,” Okagaki said.

The skills involved in the event are not as simple as some may think. “A good jump takes [a] tremendous amount of speed, power, and explosiveness,” senior jumper Jordan Leung said over Facebook. “You need to be explosive to get up high in the air. And you need speed and power to go far in the jump.”

These techniques are not easily mastered. “However, jumping takes years to master; long jump and triple jump are two events that require a lot of understanding of your body to control your speed,” Leung said.

Jumping is already an exciting event this year, and the team’s main rival, Lincoln, will make it all the more interesting. The Lowell jumpers are hungry for more medals and hope to contribute many points to the entire team this year. “Although jumping isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of track, it is a huge part of the sport and a key to Lowell’s success,” senior jumper Will Frankel said. “We have a strong group of veteran jumpers and are looking to make a big impact this season.”

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Senior varsity jumper Preston Leung crashes into the sand pit during the K-Bell Invitational at Los Gatos High.

Distance team loses legend, but emerges stronger and deeper The distance team, coming off a great season, is ready to continue their success in the AAA league. Last year the distance team finished in the top three in every distance event at All-City finals. And this year the team is still strong.

“We [varsity boys] are looking very competitive,” senior runner Max Niehaus said.

The girls are also looking like they will be at the top of the standings. “This year, the girls are getting even stronger,” senior runner Emma Keenan-Grice said. “Lots of new girls have joined and the returnees are stepping up.”

Despite losing a few seniors, almost all of last season’s top runners are still on the team. “Last year we had a relatively young team and this year we have a more experienced team that should be able to handle the ups and downs of a long season,” Keenan-Grice said.

That experience is exemplified in several of the girls’ times. “I have three girls in the 5:30s which didn’t happen until late last year,” head coach Andy Leong said.

The distance team, however, did lose class of 2012 alumnus William Chen, who had a remarkable season.

“We are not going to replace him,” Leong said. “He made history. He won all three distance events.” Though this is something that has only been done twice before him, the Cardinals feel that they can do well without him. “Will offered a faster pace in practice,” Niehaus said. “But in response a few of us have stepped up.” Two of those runners that are stepping up are Niehaus himself and junior John Hogan, both of whom have proved their speed with sub-two-minute 800 meter times.

In addition, new runners are helping fill Chen’s shoes, especially freshman Abhay Negi, according to Niehaus. “He is a standout runner — he trains with ankle weights,” Niehaus said. “He is our flagship freshman boy.” Last season’s girls’ varsity cross-country champion freshman Kristen Leung will also add to the girls’ team.

Hopefully a good work ethic will help the team improve on their main weakness — the 3200 meter (two mile) run.

Leong believes that the team will be able to dominate within the city, but knows that the distance runners will need to work on their 3200 times to compete at the state level. He hopes the girls’ times will hover around 12:10 and the boys’ times to be close to 10:20.

There are some teams that will give the Cardinals some competition, namely Lincoln who has taken the varsity boys’ title the last two years and the varsity girls’ championship in 2011. “We want to take back the city championship and take as many guys to state as possible,” Niehaus said.

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Varsity baseball focuses on AT&T dreams

By Dylan Anderson and Pasha Stone

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XPECTATIONS FOR the varsity baseball team are sky high this year. Last season, the Cardinals continued to compete as one of the top teams in the Academic Athletic Association, but their 13-1 season came to a disappointing end with a semifinal loss to the Balboa Buccaneers. Much of the talent from 2012 has been retained however; the 2013 Cardinals feature a veteran roster with ten seniors on the squad.

As of April 5, Lowell has been dominant from both the mound and the plate on their way to a 13-1 overall record. Lowell currently ranks second in the nation with 200 runs scored, and has stifled opponents’ bats with a 1.47 earned run average according to MaxPreps (www.maxpreps.com). The Cardinals are 6-0 in league play after opening the AAA season with a 30 run pummeling of the John O’Connell Boilermakers.

In the AAA, games such as these are not uncommon for varsity teams in a league that frequently features both undefeated and winless teams. Even in blowout wins, it is key for players to keep a steady focus. “The coaches have also stressed that as a team we have to avoid playing down to the level of our competition,” senior pitcher Jasper Scherer said, “In certain games, we will win by more than twenty runs, but it is important to keep playing as if the game is still tied.” Keeping this mindset in lopsided games will aid the Cardinals come playoff time when they battle more accomplished opponents.

As usual, the Cardinals have high hopes for taking home the league crown, “With ten seniors on the team — none of whom have experienced what it is like to win a championship — we are

more focused than ever on making it to AT&T Park,” Scherer three years have been tough pills to swallow, but I think that said, “We have been working for that all year.” it provides us this year with great motivation,” senior captain However, every Cardinal team begins the season with Josh Vaughan said. “This year we are focusing on taking it one the hopes of digging their cleats into the same dirt as their game at a time and playing as a team and so far it’s paying off.” major league idols. “We can’t just assume that we’ll make it This year’s team will also be working with a slightly altered there, as we have tended to do in the coaching staff. Former assistant past,” Scherer said, “Our main change coach James Burke has become needs to be taking our season one the head coach of the junior With ten seniors on varsity team. The team has added game at a time.” The Cardinals will attempt to approach the season on a and infield instructor Bob the team — none of hitting game-by-game basis, rather than lookBell, and hitting and first base ing too far down the road. With this whom have experi- coach Joey Bien-Kahn, a class of new mindset in place, the team will ‘07 alum. enced what it is like to try to avoid another early playoff exit.

In order to secure a champiOver the past three years, Lowell has onship, Lowell will undoubtedly win a championship gone a combined 38-4 in AAA regular have to compete with Balboa and — we are more focused their archrival Washington Eagles, season games, yet one thing still eludes these seniors: a playoff victory. All three two-time defending league than ever on making it the years, the class of 2013 has watched champions. their varsity team receive a first round They will also continue to to AT&T Park.” bye and fall the very next round — one battle the injury bug, which has JASPER SCHERER, bitten four players already, includwin away from a trip to AT&T Park. senior pitcher ing star pitcher Craig Colen. With But this year, a very determined veteran squad will aim to finally break the a busy schedule that sometimes trend and make it to AT&T Park for the championship game holds as many as five games a week, the Cardinals take precauand AAA title. tions to avoid injuries. “At the beginning of every practice and The Cardinals are trying to move on from their frustrating game, we stretch, jog, and throw to get loose and ready to play,” playoff losses, and learn from their mistakes. “The previous sophomore pitcher Noah Gould said.

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The Cardinals easily overpowered the Lincoln Mustangs 12-2 on March 14. Clockwise From Top: junior Max Read winds up for a pitch (Top); senior Jasper Scherer faces down a Lincoln pitcher (Bottom Right); senior Jake Simons goes full stretch to beat the throw (Bottom Left).

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Senior Andre Bododea slices a backhand shot in the Cardinals 5-2 victory over the Washington Eagles on March 21. The Cardinals lead the standings with a 5-0 record, as of March 5.

Boys’ tennis looks to rebuild after championship

By Amber Ly and Brian Nguyen

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FTER RECLAIMING THE league championship in doubles last season, the boys’ tennis team is pumped and more prepared than ever to slice through this year’s competition.

Despite losing many experienced seniors, including last year’s doubles champion, Calvin Chung, the Cardinals remain confident. This is because of the changes made to the season’s schedule. According to head coach Bryan Lee, the team was able to spend an entire month training together before the start of this year’s season. “The coaches are having us work harder than ever and we are having a lot more fun,” senior Anderson Huang said. According to Huang, much of the month was used to improve every player’s technical skills through practice drills.

In addition, three sophomores — Eli Rudman, Jacob Ganz, and Sam Tick-Raker — have joined the team, contributing their energy and enthusiasm. “I like team sports and am looking forward to playing doubles because I have someone watching my

back and I got theirs too,” Rudman said. “Many of the players able to play better in the more difficult non-league matches, come out to practice earlier than required on some days,” Lee when they were scheduled later in the season. “I hope to get said. “We have been focusing a lot out of playing the three nonon playing a lot smarter this league matches against Saint Ignatius, year by being more aggressive Sacred Heart and Lick Wilmerding,” We have been focusing Lee said. and playing closer to the net.”

Veterans use strategy meetings Although three new players have on playing a lot smarter swelled to share their experience with the ranks, the team did not the younger players and they this year by being more recruit any freshmen to the tryouts practice with the newer playlast semester, which may prove to be a aggressive and playing problem in the coming years. Despite ers in one-on-one matches. “I think this year, the team is a lot this, the team feels confident with the closer to the net.” deeper,” Lee said. extra reinforcements. “Even though BRYAN LEE, Changes have also been we lost a lot of seniors and don’t have coach freshmen, we have a really strong made to the order of matches so, that now, the non-league team now,” Huang said. matches will be played in between regular season matches Come cheer on the Cardinals for their next home game at instead of as preseason games. According to Lee, the team was 3:30 p.m. on April 16 against Balboa.

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Frosh soph baseball team playing at varsity level From FS BASEBALL on Page 13 “I want to make sure that our players’ baseball IQ is at a varsity level,” Burke said.

Burke will be adding more conditioning into practices so that the team can play at the top of their physical and mental game. “I will push for 100 percent effort at all times and I think this conditioned, physically and mentally-ready team will become a solid team that will win the JV Championship,” he said.

Overall, the team has to tighten up the loose ends of their game. “We have to work on our mental approach and make fewer errors,” Burke said.

Sophomore catcher and co-captain Cookie Imperial is playing catcher this season, replacing last year’s co-captain Justin Talbot. “I haven’t caught before this season, so I have to learn the basics,” Imperial said. “It’s going to be really hard filling in [Talbot’s] shoes.”

The team misses Talbot and his fellow captains of the 2011-2012 team, outfielders Mica Jarmel-Schneide and Jeffrey Liu. “Sophomores last year left a big hole, but this year’s team is filling in the gaps,” Imperial said. “We have to step in and live up to what they were able to do.”

According to Hernandez and Imperial, the team is all good friends. “Some teams have sophomores and freshmen separated at times, but we’re all united,” Hernandez said. “The team really meshes together,” Imperial added.

Burke holds faith that this team will rise to the top of the league and be successful well into the future. “The players all give each other advice to get better,” he said. “Our team has all the makings to become the best team in the league by far.”

HUIMIN ZHANG

Sophomore outfielder Jack Billings surveys the field before his at bat during the Cardinal’s 17-7 demolition of the Washington Eagles

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Fencing lunges toward championship run

LUCIANO CHAN

Junior Ofri Harlev thrashes towards an opponent during the Cardinals’ 6-3 varsity boys’ and 8-1 varsity girls’ victory over Urban on April 2.

From FENCING on Page 13 “Many of the guy starters are returning, and with their experience, I know they will succeed.”

Many players from last year are returning, including juniors Monica Lee, who ranked second in the All-City individual competition, and Ofri Harlev, who ranked third. Adding to the team are sophomores Vincent Lee, James Wen, and Joanne Fong, as well as freshmen Emma Green and Iris Buschelman.

The girls’ team remains solid despite the changes, according to Woo.“We have our A-ranked fencer Stefani Kahookele and me to lead the team with our experience,” she said.

Kahookele won a bronze medal in Division II Nationals in 2010.

Cunningham agrees, admitting that while the boys will be a wild card, the girls’ team will be dominant. “Little has changed for the girls’ team,” he said. “It’s still the strongest in the league.”

This season, although the Cardinals were unable to replicate last year’s undefeated season, they are still looking to win the All-City championship.

“This year is very unpredictable in some ways,” Cunningham said. “We’ll just have to see. My goal is to take home the overall trophy for the fifth year in a row, something Lowell has never done. It’s possible but we’ll have to fight hard to do it.”

Boys’ golf set for championship with new coach

By Joseph Wang and Lucy Wu

H

AVING CLAIMED the championship title for three years in a row, the boys’ golf team is driving straight for the goal again this year. Behind the ambition there is the leadership of a new head coach — former assistant coach and current physical education teacher Juan Lopez.

Lopez takes a different strategy in this sport, stressing the importance of physical strength and overall fitness in addition to improving their technique.

The team has trained with three coaches in the past two seasons. Coach Mitchell Wagner had been a part of the team for four years, but left due to personal reasons. “He had a very hands-on approach,” senior co-captain Scott Bang said. “He focused more on the technical side.”

After parting with Wagner last season, Lopez and athletic director Robert Ray collaborated as new coaches. “The challenge was not really having a coach to point out what we did wrong,” Bang said.

As a result, the players depended on each other for corrections and advice. “We went through it as a team,” Bang said. “On the championship, when it actually mattered, we broke 400 strokes. It was a big accomplishment for us.” Before the championship, the team set a goal to get under 400 strokes — the added result from the five lowest scores.

This season, Lopez has taken the role as head coach. “[Now that] coach Lopez is more experienced with the team, he knows what we should be focusing on,” sophomore co-captain Sam Miller said.

Transitioning from being a soccer coach to a golf coach, Lopez was pleased to find a similar-

ity between the two sports. “You can think of the club as your leg,” he said. “It’s the same principle of swinging and making contact with the object.”

Based on what happened last year at regional playoffs, coach Lopez felt that the team needed more time to practice. “Competitions in Nor-Cal outdrove us,” Lopez said. “I feel that in the long run, we need to build our strength to have further distance in our drive.”

In order to reach their highest potential, the team schedules Mondays and Wednesdays for golf training at Harding Park. They alternate with weight training in the weight room on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “It’s worth it, we feel like all this practice will get us to the championship [this year],” Bang said. “Even though golf is an individual sport, having a strong coach like that makes a big difference.”

Lopez wants the golfers to work on their short game — standing 10 to 40 yards off the green — where the shots require more finesse. He also wants them to work on their putting — positioning on the green — and sinking the ball into the cup, according to Bang. “That’s when you have to minimize your strokes,” Bang said. “It is arguably the most important part of golf.”

Ten golfers are forming a solid team this season, three of whom are new to the team, including two experienced freshmen golfers — Aidan Ferrer and Brendan Lin — and junior Harrison Lee, who is stepping into the starting lineup this season. “The challenge of last year was having a lot of players, and not as much practice,” Miller said. However, with four fewer members than last year, Miller believes that “the team is more focused.”

HUIMIN ZHANG

Sophomore Sam Miller follows through on his drive during the Cardinals’ victory over Washington and Lincoln on April 1. Lowell won 214 to 245 (Wash) and 290 (Lincoln).

The Lowell

April 12, 2013

By Ashley Louie

By Jenna Rose Fiorello

A

S A SAN FRANCISCAN, I’ve been an adventurous eater since I was in the womb.

When I was eight years old, my mom decided it was time for my brother and me to try Quickly for the first time. I never had boba milk tea before, and, being eight years old, thought eating the black pearls was just as fun as shooting them out of my straw (for children younger than eight, be careful, as boba is a choking hazard). Nowadays, however, I am a lot more critical of this international bubble tea giant. I’ve been to nearly every Quickly in the city (I’ve also visited their Daly City, Burlingame and San Mateo locations), and I believe my expertise in such matters makes me the self-proclaimed boba queen.

As the original tapioca franchise in San Francisco, Quickly will forever remain the classic boba spot.

However, no two locations are

By Jenna Rose Fiorello

T

EAWAY’S SELF-SERVE business model made a big splash when it first opened as Quickly’s main competitor in 2010. With its “Bubble tea, my way” approach, Teaway allows customers to fill up their cups with the tapioca, pudding and/or fruit jelly of their choice before adding any of their wide variety of teas. Though I felt empowered the first time I walked up to the rows of translucent green jelly and silky pearls waiting for me, I have to admit that my other visits there have been less than ideal. At one point, its workers enforced a “fill to the line” rule when they realized the demand for their tapioca was larger than their supply. One time I purpose-

equal in quality or price. Their most popular menu item, bubble milk tea, ranges from 99 cents to $2.99, depending on the location, with boba not included. In my experience, the best and only place one should get Quickly is on Irving Street, one of their first sites in the city. I have been frequenting this store since the sixth grade, and it’s been rather consistent in its flavor, sweetness, boba chewiness and milk-to-tea ratio. Due to the fact that this Quickly competes with five other boba stores in four blocks alone, its prices are the lowest in San Francisco. For $2.14 you can get a “chubby cup” — that’s 24 ounces of milk tea — with your choice of small or large tapioca. If the line to T-Pumps is incredibly long, or if you just need a quick-and-dirty caffeine fix — then this is the place for you.

Recommendation: Basic milk tea, or any one of its slushies or blended drinks (note that these are more expensive in price and their icy temperature tends to harden your tapioca pearls).

fully filled my cup past the Sharpiedrawn line marking where to stop, simply because I wanted to burst their bubble. To my surprise, the cashier forced me to go back in line and pay 25 cents because I exceeded my boba limit. Outraged by this absurd policy, I was about to ask if I could simply pour the boba back into the container to ensure that the customers behind me would get their share.

In addition, when Teaway first opened, its filling options were not labeled, a problem for those who can’t identify the difference between lychee and grass jelly. One time a “friend” told me to add a couple scoops of this yellow gelatin into my drink, assuring me it was mango pudding. It turns out it was egg custard, and I was so traumatized by the experience that I haven’t returned to Teaway ever since.

I

F YOU WERE WONDERING where the crowd of Asian teenagers outside of Teaway and Quickly has disappeared to, head down to Irving Street to the newly opened Tpumps.

If you have not participated in the Tpumps craze and are unfamiliar with the renowned shop, it is a beverage hot spot that serves drinks ranging from coconut black milk tea to fresh watermelon juice to peach smoothies.

Tpumps gives off a homey, Starbuckslike vibe with workers writing orders and names on cups. Ordering a drink is like making a Build-a-Bear: you choose the sweetness, type of tea (green, black and milk or regular tea), the amount of boba or other topping and flavor of your drink.

Unlike most shops that make their “milk teas” out of powder sent from god knows where, a majority of Tpumps’ drinks are made with real tea and simple syrups. The powder in the taro milk tea is combined with fresh taro chunks and red beans — one of the few taro milk teas in the Bay Area served with real taro.

By Jenna Rose Fiorello

P

URPLE KOW LITERALLY has the worst service ever, yet I still find myself coming here to buy their overpriced drinks — the tea is that tasty.

There’s almost always a line outside of this unique and tiny shop, so I wouldn’t recommend coming here at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night, unless you’re willing to wait and don’t plan on sleeping that night — their tea is so strong in caffeine.

Purple Kow prides itself in making each drink to order, meaning that your milk tea is mixed in front of you rather than coming from a large pot sitting in a refrigerator.

Unfortunately, this adds at least 10 minutes to your order, so waiting in line to order is just half the struggle.

One time I was inside the store for

FEATURE

One of the most distinguishable characteristics of Tpumps drinks is the delectable boba, which are chewy black pearls made with tapioca flour, a starch extracted from cassava. When simply soaked in diluted sugar water, boba often tastes plain, dependent upon the sweetness of the surrounding tea. However, Tpumps discovered a way to avoid the plain, unpleasant taste of diluted sugar water boba by soaking theirs in honey.

In addition to their amazing boba, on a hot and sunny day — something unfamiliar to many San Franciscans — a Tpumps tea drink is the perfect yummy thirst-quencher. Their lychee green tea combines both a hint of the juicy Asian fruit and the nuttiness of green tea. For ice cream fans with an extra sweet tooth, the coconut black milk tea has the creaminess and sweetness of ice cream — without the heavy cream but with the caffeine.

The main downside of Tpumps is a result of their deliciousness; lines of sugarhungry adolescents hover outside the shop.

On a Saturday night at around 8 o’clock, I waited about 45 minutes for my drink — not bad compared to the 2 1/2 hours on opening day. The drinks may only cost $2.25-$4.75, but they sure cost a lot of time. Time is moolah, but boba is boba.

45 minutes before I got my two hands around my humungous cup (editor’s note: the cups won’t fit in your car cup holder). However, once I took a sip of my drink and a bite of their boba, I decided the wait was worth it. This is how Purple Kow keeps their customers coming. Some, however, are not impressed

by Purple Kow’s tactics and may not return. True converts might find themselves stopping at their new location in Berkeley whenever visiting the East Bay. I advise my friends to try this place at least once so that they can decide for themselves if it is worth the wait.

For those who would rather not drink 24 ounces of caffeinated sugar, their iced milk drinks are a delicious choice for a heavier dessert (or, in my experience, for lunch, because they’re really filling). The milk is frothy, cold and sweet, and reminds me of a vanilla milkshake, yet is less thick and more refreshing. I recommend this drink with boba and caramel as toppings.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY KIMBERLY LI

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The district needs to release Internet restrictions

By Samantha Wilcox

W

E LIVE IN a world where, within the palm of your hand 3/4 of a smartphone is nestled there. We can instantly find videos of adventurers climbing Mount Everest, the president addressing the nation and even the occasional cat playing the piano. We know first hand that online video sites such as YouTube and Facebook can help connect us to information and people from around the world with only an internet connection, a common interest and a single click. However, the San Francisco Unified School District administration believes that this access to information is a distraction to — not an enhancement of — our learning. They fear that we will seek out some of Facebook and YouTube’s silly or inappropriate content; therefore, they have blocked such websites on all student-access computers.

YouTube boasts one of the largest video selections on the internet; you can find a video about virtually anything on the site. YouTube is the third most popular website in the world, according to internet statistics company Alexa (www.alexa.com), with a reach of approximately 30 percent of global internet users on a daily basis, and over 200,000 videos uploaded onto their site per day. Users regularly upload videos that help both teachers and students explain and understand educational concepts in an interactive and easy-to-understand way. “I regularly assign videos en lieu of textbook reading,” chemistry teacher Michelle Trimble said. “Most students think it is easier to understand a concept if they see an ‘expert’ explain it, and they learn easier that way.” However, students cannot easily take advantage of many of these resources while at school because the website is blocked.

Every student learns differently. According to the Visual

Teaching Alliance’s website (www.visualteachingalliance.com), 65 percent of all students learn visually. Teachers regularly use videos to help them explain a concept in class, enhancing all students’ interest while catering to students who learn better in this way.

Also according to the VTA, the use of a visual aid in a classroom increases learning by up to 400 percent. YouTube users who are skilled in a certain theory of math can post videos where an equation is solved for students, and viewing the equation be worked out with a simultaneous explanation in voice-over often helps strengthen understanding. Whether you are struggling with stoichiometry in chemistry or defining the difference between an indirect and direct object in English, students can easily find a video where concepts are explained clearly and quickly.

Students can use videos and other media as tools to prepare for classes and study for tests, as well as to hone and reinforce key material.

If students do not have access to this learning tool while at school, then their grades might suffer. Moreover, an educational opportunity will be missed which could have generated enthusiasm for learning.

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter also allow students to ask questions and receive answers from their peers in real time. With Facebook being the second mostvisited site in the world, most students have an account. Although this site is thought of as a social site used to connect friends, it is quickly becoming a study tool for students. Facebook has been used to cover news in real time from a variety of perspectives, as during the Arab Spring of 2011 when it connected many revolts in the streets and squares of Cairo.

Many classes at Lowell have formed Facebook groups where students can ask HOI LEUNG questions about assignments and get a quick answer from their classmates. With Facebook being blocked at school, students cannot use Facebook Groups or Messaging to ask peers questions about tricky math problems or vaguely covered theorems, making their free mods less effective study time. Besides the positive content available, the administration’s attempt to shield students from potentially harmful or distracting video content online is a fruitless cause, as the majority of students have access to smartphones while at school. The administration cannot control what students view on their private devices, and by making YouTube readily available within classrooms and computer labs, they will greatly increase learning quality and speed for all at Lowell.

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video can be worth a million.

Racial discrimination evident in the college process

By Sheyda Zebarjadian

for admission to local high schools, including EYOND THE ESSAYS, supplements, Lowell, from 1983 to 2005 by law. The San test scores, GPAs and extra-curricular Francisco Unified School District aimed to activities of every college application, ensure racial desegregation though a racelies the infamous census and demographic based admission policy, better known as the section. Despite all the academic and financial Consent Decree. To better distribute racial information included on college applications, groups, the quota claimed that no more some colleges also require students to than 45 percent of any racial group could include their race. As a result, these schools be admitted to a district school. However, may make decisions considering the ethnic in 2005, The United States District Court background of the applicant. This might for the Northern District of California not be an issue if all other achievements are Consent Decree denied an extension to the equal; however, why is it needed? To better Consent Decree, claiming it “has proven ensure the equality of applicants during the to be ineffective, if not counterproductive, college application process, the race and in achieving diversity in San Francisco public schools by ethnicity factor making schools should be entirely more racially eliminated from the application.

Giving minorities a step segregated.” As a result, some schools President up can help better them, ended up having a John F. Kennedy number of a signed off on but focusing on the socio- large particular ethnic the idea of “A f f i r m a t i v e economic status is more group; in 2011, Lowell had 48 Action” in 1961 important than race.” percent Chinese in order to students, which is compensate for RYAN WERTH, only three percent dis cr iminat ion senior more than the against minority quotas limited groups in the students to. past.

Whether Affirmative action is unfair simply it is for school admission or job hiring, affirmative action has been beneficial in its because it decreases chances for students with goal to give opportunities to groups of people strong grades and test scores to get admitted that were held behind in society due to to desired but overfilled schools. It may take discrimination. But after decades of fighting away opportunities from students of nonfor racial equality, we now live in a society minority groups with similar — or higher where people of different races can go to the — merit qualifications to the supported same schools, share the same bathrooms, and groups. “A lot of colleges say that race is one factor out of many, however that’s really not work in the same places.

However, by handing certain minority concrete, ” Galicer said. “If it contributes to groups more weight than non-minority a decision, then it is a big factor because I’ve groups, schools are in fact further learned that when applying to colleges, every discriminating against subgroups. Worse, little thing makes a huge difference.”

In addition, affirmative action may be it may insult minorities, making it seem as if the protected students are incapable of in place for students that are already strong getting admitted without the alleged benefits candidates to get into schools on their own of affirmative action. “I think that we are and therefore do not need it. Some minority reaching the time in our society where we do students whose grades and test scores are have equal opportunity for a lot of students, equal to those of a nonminority student may and that affirmative action is a type of reverse receive a superfluous boost. “I think some people may benefit from the system that racism at times,” senior Mari Galicer said.

Besides colleges, race has been considered don’t necessarily need the help,” senior Ryan Werth said. If the race and ethnicity factor

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were eliminated, all students would have a fair chance.

Adding race into the equation complicates admission process, because it allows room for people to blame their college rejection on their race. In 2009, Fisher vs. University of Texas touched on these issues when a Caucasian female, Abigail Fisher, sued the university for allegedly denying her because of her race. While the court ruled in favor of the University of Texas, this case shows that students are willing to blame their rejection on the fact that a school considers race as a factor for their decision, while also costing the schools money for the lawsuits.

Most prospective college students agree that racial diversity is an important factor that goes hand-in-hand with the richness of the overall college experience as it brings different perspectives and cultures to a campus. As an Iranian born in San Francisco, I value racial diversity, as well as racial equality. However, even though I am MiddleEastern, the census considers me “white.” While some schools ask to specify the kind of “white,” other schools could easily assume I am European. As a result, I, a minority, am grouped with the predominant race of the United States, which may affect a school’s decision. I believe racial diversity is important in bringing new cultures and lifestyles to schools, but applying it to a college admission can be both misleading and unfair.

Rather than factoring race into any decisions, college institutions should admit students based only upon their grades, participation in their community, personal essays and job experiences to get an all-around sense of who they are as a

person. Eliminating race to boost people up will enable schools to better focus on student’s economic needs. “Giving minorities a step up can help better them, but I think focusing on the socioeconomic status is more important than race.” Werth said. “I think your financial situation affects the chances and opportunities you have as a child growing up rather than race.”

Race alone does not define a person, nor does it ensure that they are a better or worse student; students should be admitted based on what they have to offer to the school. People come from all over the world to go to school in the United States, adding to diversity to universities more and more each year.

Eliminating race from college applications will at least assure students that the fate of their college experience is based on what is written on the application, not the tint of the hand that writes it.

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EDITORIAL Joking about sexual assault only trivializes the subject of rape

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TEPPING OUT FROM A HISTORY EXAM, one may hear the phrases “That test was so easy, I totally raped it!” or “Ugh, I just got raped by that test, it was so difficult!” floating through the hallways.

A colloquial or more lighthearted usage of the word rape is common among adolescents nowadays, using it as a synonym for “owning” — slang for dominating in an activity. However, the definition of rape is “unlawful and/or unwanted sexual activity carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will of a person who is beneath a certain age or is unwilling to/incapable of giving valid consent,” as cited in definitions from Wikipedia (&&&. &(0('#1(-.%2+) and Merriam-Webster (&&&.,#22(-,3&#45!#2. /%,). It is a violent, often traumatic, crime.

Although both the slang definition and the actual definition of “rape” relate to dominance, they should not be used interchangeably. Joking about a serious topic like rape may appear to make it less scary, but the non-serious usage not only trivializes the word, but leads to the desensitizing of this traumatic crime.

Recently, the nation followed the lives of a rape victim — a 16-year-old girl — and two high school football players found guilty in a Steubenville, Ohio rape case. Much of the evidence used against the males comprised of text messages, cell phone pictures and even video from the accused and their peers.

During the trial, a video was anonymously leaked of said peers joking about the rape. The 12-minute video is disturbing, to say the least. Throughout the video, a young male identified to be a friend of the accused can be heard making horrific jokes about the alleged rape.

They include, “she was deader than a doorknob” and “she was so raped.” This language reflects the male’s unserious attitude toward rape and sexual assault, LAUREN REYES and that attitude Community Outreach Worker contributed to the lack of assistance given to the girl by anyone at the criminal activity.

At the collegiate level, many women have taken action after their schools inadequately handled sexual assault cases. Notably, a former Amherst College student, Angie Epifano, wrote an article about her experience with sexual assault and how afterwards, the college treated her poorly.

The article drew international attention and helped spur an overhaul of Amherst’s handling of sexual assault, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 29 (www.sfgate. com).Now, activists at various colleges across the nation have banded together in groups across online social networks to work together, raising awareness of college campus rapes and other cases of sexual assault, according to The Chronicle. A main goal of their efforts is to have their schools take the issue seriously, which means education of the community.

Wellness Center Community Outreach Worker Lauren Reyes weighs in. “Rape and other forms of abuse come from lack of respect to other people and oneself,” she said. “Any joke like that at its core is an act of hatred and I don’t think that belongs anywhere, especially where people are learning, growing and are really impressionable.”

We all need to learn, understand and empathize. Joking about rape only trivializes the crime: do not do it.

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Any joke like that at its core is an act of hatred.”

KIMBERLY LI

!"##"$%#&%#'"%"()#&$ Dear Editor, In response to the recent conflict between Washington High and Lowell High, I, Wilton Woo, the creator of the meme that created this situation, will say my own response. The meme in itself was created only for the purpose and intent of entertaining my fellow Lowell students, not for those of other schools. Had I known that this would have created such uproar I would’ve deleted my post immediately. I apologize to those who feel offended by the meme and hope that you take it with a grain of salt and realize that this meme for all intents and purpose was a joke. I acknowledge the fact that Washington is a high school and that the brilliant minds at Washington should not be disrespected.

We as equals should see ourselves as not having a competition of who can insult who the best, but a friendly competition so that we may continue to strive towards our ultimate goal of education.

Thank you.

- Wilton Woo, Reg. 1415

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Published every four weeks by the journalism classes of Lowell High School, Room S108, 1101 Eucalyptus Drive, San Francisco, CA 94132 Phone: (415) 759-2730 Internet: thelowellads@yahoo.com; http://www.thelowell. org. All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes. All rights reserved.

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Letters must be signed. Names will be withheld upon request. We reserve the right to edit letters before publication.

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OPINION

When students come to school with symptoms, everyone, not just themselves, bear the burden

By Kai Matsumoto-Hines

A

LOWELL STUDENT’S worst nightmare is waking up in the morning thinking about that day’s English essay, AP U.S. history WWII project, and PreCalculus tests, yet feeling feverish or stuffy. The temptation of staying in bed is overrun by the consequences of missing school. Some students force themselves to come to school, knowing how much work they will have to catch up on the following day. Many Lowell students go to his or her classes regardless of how much snot is draining into their Kleenex, not realizing or simply ignoring the fact that their sickness is contagious.

Lowell’s competitive atmosphere pressures students into attending classes every day, making them feel that they cannot miss out on the important information being taught on a daily basis. However they need to realize that it is not worth the risk of getting many people ill just so one student can go to school.

The sickness cycle never stops because those students that get

infected also go to school, causing a domino effect spreading germs to more and more people. Students should remember that it is not the end of the world if they miss 45-60 minutes of a lecture, as they can certainly get the information from a peer or teacher the following day.

Furthermore, some students do want to do right by their health, take care of themselves, and get better. But the school’s attendance system discourages students from staying home when sick. On the back of every Re-Admit slip, there is a warning, “It has been our experience that more than five days of absence of any reason in an eighteen-week semester results in poor grades.” This doomsday note neglects student health; students should be allowed to take as many days as necessary off for them to fully recover. Students are not able to pay attention or even function to their fullest ability while they are fighting a fever. It is in the best interest of everybody if students stay home while sick, so the administration should remove this negative message on the Re-Admit because it only encourages ill students to go to school.

Similarly, some teachers have a class policy that makes it even more stressful if students miss school. Some teachers have warned students that they will give a harder version of tests they miss. To give a different version of the test is understandable, but to give a harder version is simply not fair to those who are simply trying to recover. Teachers should also take it easy on sick students by not making classes so stressful when they get back because students already have so much work to catch up on and stress weakens the immune system.

By getting the administration and teachers to humanize the policies against students who are under the weather, the school will become a much healthier place. Teachers also do not want to breath in the same air as students that are coughing up a storm, and nobody wants to sit at a germ-ridden table.

Hand sanitizers — especially empt\y dispensers — and signs advising students to wash their hands is not enough to keep the school germ-free. So if you wake up with a fire in your throat, grab chicken noodle soup instead of your backpack, and get well.

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Internet queen questions her quirky obsession

By Jenna Fiorello

ing “likes” on Facebook, Instagram or Tumblr only boosts our HAT THE HELL DID people do before the egos (whether consciously or not) and acts as our main motivaInternet?” I asked my friend one night as we tion to stay online just for “just a few minutes” longer. When sat on my bed, both scrolling through our I first started using Facebook regularly, I found it invigorating smartphones. I really couldn’t imagine how it was possible for whenever I received a significant amount of likes on a funny humans to socialize 20 years ago. How did they listen to music Facebook status (not to mention my “record-breaking” 63 likes before YouTube? How did they feed themselves if www.dominos. on that one profile picture of mine back in 2011). I would stay com didn’t exist? How were they able to kill awkward silences up just to see if my crush liked my status, or if someone commented “LOL,” the ultimate indication that my humor was without tapping their Instagram newsfeed open?

These questions continue to baffle me, partly because I am acknowledged among my peers. Though today I’ve become genuinely curious, yet mostly because I think it is pathetic indifferent to how many notifications I receive, I must admit how much my generation relies on the Internet. Don’t get me it’s still satisfying to see a little red notification pop up on the wrong — I too have fallen victim to the ever-growing machine corner of my Facebook profile.

In an effort to avoid the competitive, status-obsessed we call the World Wide Web. For one, I was voted “Facebook Addict” in this year’s senior pop polls, an honor I am neither nature of the Internet (it definitely didn’t help with my depression, I’ll tell you that), I’ve tried different surprised nor exactly proud of earning. I strategies to give up my Web-surfing ways, but scored a shockingly high score of 82 on Net to no avail. I’ve forced friends to change my Addiction’s diagnostic test, meaning that I Twitter password to prevent me from logging should “evaluate the impact of the Internet on on multiple occasions (I survived for about four [my] life and address the problems directly days before I “forgot my password” and reset it). caused by [my] Internet usage” (www.netadA couple of years ago my parents and I discussed diction.com). if I could swap my app-filled Android cell phone One issue I have with my Internet adfor a simple Nokia from the early 2000s — my diction is the fact that I think I’m funny. My idea, not theirs. Ironically, however, switching to second problem is that I have no shame. I a pre-historic phone would not have saved my don’t think twice before asking the world dad any money with our family data plan, so “do i own an onesie because i am single, or I was stuck with playing Temple Run in class am i single because i own a onesie?” (actual rather than Snake. Last month I even relucFacebook status of mine from Feb. 11), nor PHOTOCOURTESY OF JENNA ROSE FIORELLO tantly agreed to forfeit my laptop and phone will I hesitate to publicly curse the man who to my parents at 10 p.m. each night, weekends drove by me while masturbating with his car windows wide open (Feb. 26). I personally think my life is included — their idea, not mine — but after a week or so I ridiculous, and I use websites such as Facebook and Twitter to convinced them that I had enough self-control to sleep in the same room as my laptop. Things have been going pretty well document its absurdity.

The main contributor to my Internet addiction, however, is until a couple of nights ago, when my mom found that I had the fact my behavior is encouraged. My classmates, my family, fallen asleep with my laptop in bed with me. That scandal this random Japanese guy who follows my blog — all contrib- prompted the cycle all over again, but now I have to forfeit ute to the constant updating, liking and sharing that goes on my electronics at 9 p.m. instead.

Despite these creative efforts to end my Internet abuse, I wherever there is WiFi. Worse yet, there are people, who, like me, can stand up and say “I am an addict”— except they don’t do realize that this is the 21st century and that technology plan to do anything about it. For example, everyone on Tumblr will remain in my life—but hopefully not rule it — forever. It understands that they have a problem with procrastination, amazes me that my generation is the last to grow up spending which in turn allows its 96 million users to mutually feel less our kindergarten play dates without any knowledge of www. guilty about procrastinating, which in turn encourages them to neopets.com or www.barbie.com, but at least now I have tall tales stay online and watch animated gifs of funny cat videos instead for my grandchildren. Hopefully in the future I can also tell them how their grandmother was a real addict — of the Web of studying or, better yet, getting some sleep.

In addition, I believe the constant cycle of giving and receiv- — in her day, but that she recovered and went into the world.

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Gamer struggles between priorities and preferences

By Rayming Liang

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HE 90’S HAD AOL, the turn of the millennium had MySpace, and my generation focuses on Facebook and SparkNotes, with Big Brother ads, live-streams, and somewhat boring (but for some reason capturing) high-definition video games. I also happen to be a follower, going online to watch movies, share documents and lose myself in the world of ones and zeroes. And yet, the

computer’s insidious attraction holds me a little too strong — an addiction.

Every day, I go home, rest up, diligently take out my homework, but in the end push the “on” button to my computer. My dad often walks by, first asking, and then yelling at me not to play on the computer before finishing my math, my mom sometimes pleads. But even with their voices in the background, I surf on, looking for something other than English to do. And I sometimes ask myself after playing Team Fortress 2 past midnight, “How did this begin?”

The first time I held a video game console, I was three years old. I had just received a Gameboy Advance as a present. My attention was swiftly caught by the quick moving pixels of the Mario Nintendo game — for hours. My family was happy just to see me enjoy the gift.

However, they later regretted even introducing the screen to me.

In the beginning, I had some self-control, and barely any video games to play, which led me to indulge myself in books. Then my parents and cousins introduced me to other gaming consoles on my birthdays, including the Playstation 2, the Nintendo DS Lite and the iPod Touch.

I soon searched out

new discoveries and my love of games grew stronger. By the age of six or seven, I began to lose control, and would spend an entire night playing on the computer. I was drawn to the screen, no matter what time it was.

As the years went by, new sites found their way into my life, some more social, like YouTube and Facebook, and some more competitive, like Mofunzone. com, an online gaming site, Minecraft multiplayer and League of Legends. Ever since middle school and even today, whenever I go home, I go straight to YouTube to watch videos of TobyGames and Antvenom or log onto Facebook to look at posts. I waste time.

Recently, I’ve found that my addiction has slowly seeped into other aspects of life: I lost two or three hours of sleep each night, have one-sided arguments with my parents over my need to finish the Let’s Play video by the YouTube channel RoosterTeeth, sometimes ignore the Modern World readings, and dropped my grades in Biology.

Although I have lost the privilege of using the computer several times from overuse all these years, I still haven’t learned that the downside of being online costs me my mental and physical strength, my memory, even my happiness.

But I’m trying. I’ve attempted to ignore the

computer, though I confess I still leave it on.

I joined dragon boat in hopes it would force me to finish my homework due to the practice schedule, although I still squeeze time to go online. Once when my dad threatened to throw my iPod Touch against the wall, he was surprised that I agreed with the idea. I’m still not too sure why my father didn’t think the plan was that great after I complied.

And while the computer can be addicting, I’ve found some good uses on the net. As do most other people, I use emails to answer the online invites to dragon boat practices and complete pages of Chinese conversations due the following morning. Using the search bar and chatting on Facebook has also supplied me with information and has somewhat saved my life on certain projects.

At a STARTALK summer program, which encouraged middle and high school students to study a foreign language for around six weeks over the summer, I used Skype to make international calls and speak with a tutor about Chinese lessons.

Overall, the Internet and electronics have made a huge, if not significant, impact on my life. And while I try to reign supreme over the binary codes of yes’s and no’s, I can’t see myself ever purging it from my life. And well…

YOLO. XD JK.

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Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop drooling? Do you sleep walkâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re conscious? Do most normal foods suddenly appear unappetizing, while you crave human brains? If you are experiencing such symptoms, come to the auditorium Mods 11-12 for a seminar on how to prevent zombification! Hosted by Dr. Brainy Ater, learn how to counter the metamorphosis until after finals.

If you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bitten yet, a seminar for potential zombie victims will help you keep your head on (literally) in Room 471 after school. If you fear it may be too late, enjoy the bounty of Kermesse and savor the time that you still appreciate human food.

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By Pasha StoneÂ

F TASTELESSLY POOR PHOTO ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF EVA MORGENSTEIN

A fire spread over the temporary buildings as part of Beautification Day, in a final effort to improve the aesthetics of the school. Being Saturday, a few teachers and students were still working, but were evacuated safely. However, the skunk is presumed dead.

OR T HE 3 0T H consecutive year the SFUSD budget has been cut back due to lack of funding. This will result in a school-wide scramble to fill the budget gap. Â Â Â The first place the school is looking to for money is the students. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are starting a pay-for-ditch program, where kids can skip class and, for the price of $5, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll write a re-admit, no questions asked,â&#x20AC;? Lowellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head of fundraising Patricia Brokeville said. There are also plans to make donations to the PTSA a homework assignment, and to replace P.E. by sending kids to work in a factory for the period, while the SFUSD collects the pay. Â Â Â The PTSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next move was to see what places they could cut costs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A big way weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to save money See BROKE on page 69 FOR A FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.THELOWELL.ORG

Parent suffers Schoolloop heart attack

By Dylan Anderson

seven or eight times a day,â&#x20AC;? freshman Starpupilla LOWELL PARENT was rushed to the Wong said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It seems like a lot, but I want to be emergency room after cardiac arrest, accepted at a top university, so I understand her according to authorities. The parent is concern.â&#x20AC;?

According to Wong, her mother was particurecovering and now has a limited range of motion, larly shocked by a recent which she uses to scroll change to her Geometry through the US News and â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had done a lot World Report (www.usMy mother typical- grade. of extra credit in the class, news.com) college rankings on her iPad. ly logs on to School so when I got a 97 on the last test, my class average According to authoriLoop about seven or fell from 103 percent to ties, the heart attack oc101 percent,â&#x20AC;? Wong said. curred shortly after the eight times a day.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;When my mom noticed parent logged on to School Loop (www.schoolloop.

STARPUPILLA WONG the change, she shrieked com) to check her childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freshman and fell to the floor.â&#x20AC;?

Since the incident, the grades. School Loop is a administration has sent website designed to enable communications between parents, teachers and home a survey to the parents of Lowell. Accordstudents regarding curriculum and grades. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My ing to the results of the survey, 93 percent of the mother typically logs in to School Loop about respondents replied yes to the question: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Does

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looking at your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grades on School Loop cause you severe stress?â&#x20AC;? The parents also elaborated, writing that the stress was responsible for an increase in gray hairs, back pain, shouting fits, and nightmares, among other issues.

Because of the survey response, the administration is considering opening up a second branch of the Wellness Center that will cater solely to parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We really need to keep our parents alive and well,â&#x20AC;? principal Andrew â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bridgestoneâ&#x20AC;?

Teriyaki said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many of the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amenities, particularly our fantastic journalism department, are dependent on donations from parents.â&#x20AC;?

The proposed addition to the Wellness Center, to be named Anal-retentive-parents Anonymous (AA) will be a place for parents to drink tea, do yoga and take boxing lessons while punching cutouts of college admission counselors to relieve anxiety and tension. In addition, the district will recommend introducing SAT prep curriculum to second graders.

School prohibits movement at dances

By Ian James

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UTURE school dances will have a different flair now that the school administration has banned all forms of dancing or selfexpression at any on-campus event.

The new policy is being implemented largely because of growing concerns of sexual interactions at high school dances. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know that students love to get down at dances; however, we must draw the line somewhere, as they seemingly donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how to,â&#x20AC;? senior administrator Joseph Stalin said.

Overall there has been an unfavorable reaction from the student body to the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new policy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been practicing my robot since I was a small child,â&#x20AC;? junior Ann Nomynous said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve finally gotten to high school where I can show it off and the school pulls the dance floor right from underneath my shoes!â&#x20AC;?

The student government is particularly concerned with these new

regulations, believing that they might have a negative effect on ticket sales. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At least 70 percent of the students who come to school dances come to get groovy,â&#x20AC;? sophomore class president Not Actually said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now we will have to get all of our ticket sales from the kids who think the ice cream is free even though they have to pay to get in.â&#x20AC;?

There are some students who appreciate the new rules, however. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will feel much more comfortable going to dances now,â&#x20AC;? freshman Killian Joy said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have great memories of my middle school dances where all the boys played PokĂŠmon in the corner and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m hoping to kick start something like that at Lowell dances now that the electric slide is out of the way.â&#x20AC;?

The school believes it is on strong grounds to defend it legally. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The school is allowed to ban things that take away from the educational environment,â&#x20AC;? Stalin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What people fail to realize is how truly

distracting dancing can be. A samba rhythm will stay with students for days.â&#x20AC;?

As controversial as this issue is there are signs that a compromise could be reached. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe a system where students study for half an hour between each 10 minute funk session could work for both

parties. The administration would still be able to crack down on any enjoyment fairly easily,â&#x20AC;? junior prom board member Dan allitle said.

However, the final decision would be up to the school because, as everyone knows, it takes two to tango.â&#x20AC;?

FOR A FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT WWW.THELOWELL.ORG

PHOTO COURTESY OF EVA MORGENSTEIN

Students practice a forbidden dance, known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Robot.â&#x20AC;? The dance, as well as all other dances ever, has been banned at all school functions.