The Lowell Newsmagazine December 2017

Lowell The

December 2017

GENDER: redefined

Lowell D The

ecember

2017

INSIDE

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“It’s like having a tattoo but you hate it.”

thelowell.org WATCH: Let’s have a converesation

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“I think he had a sense of confidence and swagger that I don’t normally see in my father during the present days.”

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Students who have had quality arts education in high school are more likely to participate in society at large.

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Lowell was this huge new school, where everyone was twice my height.

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“I don’t know if oversized pants are a trend but that’s my religion.”

ESTHER POSILLICO

VALENTIN NGUYEN

Brand-new biology curriculum focuses on more relevant big p problems JENNIFER CHEUNG

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“I never want to go back to the ways I was before learning to meditate.”

COVER: Cover illustration by Hannah Cosselmon

Lowell hosts first-ever San Fran Model United Nations conferen

picture

ncisco nce

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES CIARA KOSAI

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will: Shakespeare meets the Summer of Love Vars football ends season with victory against the Pumas 30–12

SUSAN WONG

Lowell The

Editors-in-Chief

ella murdock gardner zahra rothschild

News Editors

zahra rothschild tammie tam

Sports Editors

yolanda feng giping huang

Opinion Editor Multimedia & Photo Editors

ella murdock gardner tobi kawanami ciara kosai

Art Manager Illustrators

hannah cosselmon hannah cosselmon naomi hawksley valentin nguyen

Reporters

kaya brown allison dummel kate green michelle kim olivia moss emily sobelman olivia sohn susan wong sofia woo jocelyn xie raine yingru hu

Photographers

jennifer cheung

EDITORIAL Sashays are the new sprints: Why dance should count for PE

S

ophomore Lucy Webb finishes playing hockey in PE and heads to the dance studio for her seventh block advanced dance class. She warms up with plies, tendus and Rond de Jambes and learns a new dance combination. Class ends at 2:25 p.m., but Webb stays in the studio for another three hours of practice with Dance Company. Her daily schedule is comprised of eight classes, her Tuesday workout beginning at 12:30 p.m. and continuing through 5:30 p.m. “I come out of Company dripping with sweat,” she said.

“It’s a huge workout. I’m not given a break.”

However, despite the rigor of her two dance classes, neither count toward Physical Education credit.

While not all sophomores in dance have schedules quite as challenging as Webb’s, taking dance in conjunction with PE can

gymnastics and tumbling, individual and dual sports, mechanics of body movement, rhythm and dance, and team sports.

One major reason behind dance not currently qualifying for PE is that it only covers the “dance” high school PE requirement, according to PE department head Michael Prutz. Prutz explained that if the state was to check dancers’ transcripts it would seem as though they were lacking in the other physical categories such as weight training, which are covered in traditional PE classes.

However, in recent years, Prutz has been working on gradually incorporating more compartmentalized classes into the curriculum for second-year PE students, enabling sophomores to substitute general PE with specific activities they are passionate about.

As of this year, the school offers former elec-

shyla duong christina johnson ethan lei anita liu esther posillico

Business Managers

sherissa go aaron liang jacquline ruan

Head of Research Web Designer

maximilian tiao alyssa young ashlyn jew

Adviser

Awards

Like dance, none of these compartmentalized cla criteria, yet they count toward PE credit while

eric gustafson

2014 nspa online pacemaker 2012 nspa print pacemaker 2011 nspa all-american

2011 nspa online pacemaker 2009 nspa first class honors 2007 nspa all-american

2007 nspa web pacemaker 2007 cspa gold crown

present scheduling challenges. According to Lowell dance teacher Wendy Jones, students are often interested in taking intermediate dance as sophomores in order to dive deeper with faster, more intense classes. Unfortunately, many aren’t able to find time in their schedules to pursue dance. “They’re taking PE so it’s like they are doubling up in movement studies,” Jones said.

Four levels of dance are currently taught at Lowell, and while each offers rigorous exercise, none count as the PE credits required to graduate. The dance classes fulfill the California Physical Education standards and can easily be supplemented with independent study PE. Therefore, the district should allow dance to count as PE for intermediate courses and higher.

In order to meet California high school PE standards, courses must align with eight primary requirements provided by the California Board of Education: aquatics, combative, effects on physical activity on dynamic health,

tives, such as racket sports, yoga and soccer as PE courses to sophomores during Arena, and Prutz is considering the addition of a semester-long combatives class. Like dance, none of these compartmentalized classes fulfill the eight criteria, yet they count toward PE credit while dance does not.

Another reason that dance doesn’t count as a PE course is that it counts as a Visual and Performing Art. The PE Department is wary that students would take advantage of the dual credit provided by dance class in an attempt to cut PE just to make space in their schedules, according to Prutz.

To address this concern, only counting the intermediate class and higher levels of dance as PE would effectively dissuade students from attempting to take the “easy” way out of PE. This rule would require students to go beyond the VPA Dance 1 requirement and work on more challenging exercises in the upper-level classes. “In beginning dance, you’re just learning coordination,” said Company co-

The Lowell is published by the journalism classes of Lowell High School w All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes w All rights reserved w The Lowell strives to inform the public and to use its opinion sections as open forums for debate w All unsigned editorials are opinions of the staff w The Lowell welcomes comments on school-related issues from students, faculty and community members w Send letters to the editors to thelowellnews@ gmail.com w Names will be withheld upon request w We reserve the right to edit letters before publication w The Lowell is a student-run publication distributed to thousands of readers including students, parents, teachers and alumni w All advertisement profits fund our newsmagazine issues w To advertise online or in print, email thelowellads@yahoo.com w Contact us w Lowell High School Attn: The Lowell journalism classes w 1101 Eucalyptus Drive w San Francisco, CA 94132 w 415-759-2730 w thelowellnews@gmail.com

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FROM THE EDITOR The Lowell October 2017

captain and senior, Nicolina Arellano. “But in intermediate, advanced and Company, you’re using that technique to build up strength.

You’re able to do a lot more, you’re a lot stronger, your stamina builds up and you’re able to dance more.”

PE classes must also meet California Physical Education Standards. These multifaceted guidelines include the ability to combine and apply movement patterns, participating in challenging physical fitness activities using the principles of exercise to meet individual needs and interests, and participating in physical activities for personal enjoyment, according to the California State Board of Education.

Lowell’s dance courses are congruent with these standards. Classes push dancers each day with extensive warm-ups, including abdominal centric pilates and yoga, technique-based skill development, aerobic drills comprised of turning, kicking and jumping across the floor, and the memorization of dances called combinations. Webb attested

asses fulfill the eight dance does not.

Dear The Lowell readers, This issue’s cover story is about transgender and nonbinary students at Lowell and in SFUSD. You might think to yourself, “There seem to be so few trans and nonbinary students at Lowell. Why does this matter?”

While Lowell excels in many aspects, one way we’ve fallen short is through the lack of education and discussion about modern concepts of gender. Our curriculum does not include literature or history focusing on trans or nonbinary rights. Nor does it include a modern overview of what gender and sex really are, and how to approach these topics with sensitivity and respect. Because of this, some transgender and nonbinary students don’t feel represented in the curriculum, and don’t feel comfortable coming out to their classmates knowing they might be met with ignorance.

A few days ago, the gender-neutral bathroom was moved from its location at the far east end of the math wing to the first floor near the nurse’s office. This is a good start for making sure everyone has access to a convenient bathroom they feel comfortable using, but there’s more to be done in the way of educating students.

As Gender-Sexuality Alliance president Grace Barmore-Pooley puts it, “It’s not the responsibility of trans people to educate you.” As a school and a community, we have to make a collective effort to educate ourselves about these topics so we can be more informed and respectful toward each other.

Editors-in-Chief, Ella Murdock Gardner and Zahra Rothschild

Senior year hoists hefty price tag

CARTOON

TO THE EDITORS

to the classes’ physically rigorous nature. “It’s definitely cardio,” she said. “Plies work all of your leg muscles and sometimes it’s like I didn’t even know I had a muscle there, and it hurts the next day. I can already see I’m getting a lot stronger even after just a couple of months in advanced and Company.”

The idea of dance as PE is not unheard of. According to George Washington High School dance teacher Nina Mayer, who has been teaching there for 20 years, sophomores at Washington used to be able to take dance for PE credit. Although the State of California issues the overarching PE requirements, the San Francisco Board of Education has the power to make exceptions as to which courses it considers PE. During 2012 and 2013, the school board reversed the program, once again allowing only traditional PE classes and the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) to count for PE credits. “I think it is ridiculous to make some exceptions (JROTC) but not include

See EDITORIAL on pg. 28

ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH COSSELMON

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GENDER redefined

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What it’s like to be transgender or nonbinary at Lowell

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COVER STORY

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eing misgendered has haunted Alex, a sophomore who identifies as nonbinary and whose name has been changed for privacy reasons. “It’s like having a tattoo but you hate it,” said Alex. “You didn’t ask for the tattoo and it’s an awful tattoo but everyone identifies you by that.”

Having a clear idea about one’s identity is important, but self-acceptance and gaining respect from others is difficult.

Although progress has been made over the past few decades to establish equal rights for transgender and genderqueer people, they still face difficulties today— even in a relatively progressive environment like Lowell.

VINCENT IS A transgender sophomore student at Lowell. Vincent’s real name has been changed for the purposes of this article as he is “going stealth” — a term that the transgender community uses meaning that the person is not publicly out. Vincent came out to his friends and family as transgender for the first time in 2015. Before coming out, Vincent felt confused, about both his feelings and identity. “It was sort of confusing at first,” he said. “I was very stressed for a long time and I didn’t know why. Once I figured out [I was transgender] I was extremely frustrated because I was being misgendered all the time and I couldn’t really tell people because in their minds they were correct.”

Alex also struggled with finding the confidence to come out. Alex, who was born a female, came out to their friends late in their freshman year. They weren’t even aware of the concept of being gender non-conforming until seventh grade and they never considered themself to be nonbinary until the summer between eighth and ninth grade.

Before coming out, Alex wasn’t comfortable in their skin, and identifying as a male or female did not feel right.

Alex received a lot of support when they first came out to their best friend, who quickly adjusted to Alex’s pronoun preferences. However, Alex still feels uncomfortable opening up to certain people. “I

“It’s not the responsibility of trans people to educate you” don’t come out to people directly if I know I’m going to get backlash because I don’t want to have that conversation,” Alex said.

“That’s why I haven’t had that conversation with my parents because I know that my mom won’t get it and I don’t want to deal with that.”

Vincent faced a different experience when coming out to friends and family. In freshman year, he began his social transition. As he explained, social transitions vary between each individual, whether it may be wearing different types of clothing, changing one’s hairstyle, or going out in public as one’s gender. “For me it’s been introducing myself as the name I’ve chosen for myself and the pronouns I’m comfortable with,” Vincent said.

Vincent had a very fortunate situation.

His family and friends were supportive, and is transition has also been easier by the initiatives that Lowell and SFUSD take to make transgender students feel more welcome and accepted. “When we told the administration, we had a meeting with the vice principal and they asked me if there were any accommodations I needed,” Vincent said.

The administration asked him about locker rooms, bathrooms and name changes. “The Wellness Center [also] called me and asked me if I needed anything,” he said.

According to SFUSD’s non-discrimination policy, the district is required to change a student’s official records if a student changes their name or gender if it aligns with California’s legal requirements to change their name and gender. As part of the require-

ments, public schools are required to allow students the right to dress in accordance with their gender identity.

LOWELL HAS BEEN trying to better accommodate for transgender and nonbinary students. In 2015, the Gender-Sexuality Alliance Club achieved its goal of having the school create a gender-neutral bathroom, which was located at the far east end of the second floor. However, before the installation of the new gender-neutral restroom on the first floor, the second floor bathroom had many problems. “It’s very inaccessible as it’s the farthest away,” GSA president Gracelyn Barmore-Pooley said. “Not a lot of people know that it exists. It’s so far away that it’s not usually used as a bathroom.” At times it is used as a storage closet for cleaning supplies, according to Barmore-Pooley.

Having more accessible gender-neutral bathrooms let’s those like Alex feel more comfortable at school. Alex did not know that a gender-neutral restroom even existed at the school until the end of their freshman year. However, the bathroom was almost unusable. “It’s dirty,” they said. “There’s a box in one of the stalls and it looks like it’s haunted. The lights flicker and the stalls come up to your chin. I’ve heard not so nice rumors about that place.”

With these problems in mind, GSA is working to improve the current situation.

On October 25, Lowell Union Building Committee (UBC) and the administration met to discuss school-related topics. One of the issues brought up concerned genderneutral student bathrooms. Ishibashi had plans to create a new one in addition to the existing one, and relayed his plans to the PTSA and Student Advocacy Committee (SAC).

On Nov. 2, GSA, Feminist Club and the SAC met together to dis-

“It’s like having a tattoo but you hate it.”

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cuss the recent bathroom plans that Principal Ishibashi had brought up during the meeting in October. Ishibashi’s plan was to convert the third floor bathroom to a girls’ bathroom and remove the current genderneutral bathroom while converting the single-stalled girl’s bathroom by the nurse’s office into a gender-neutral bathroom. During the meeting, Barmore-Pooley pointed out that according to Assembly Bill 1732 enacted in March 2017, all single-stall restrooms in government buildings are required to be gender-neutral. This raised the idea of possibly converting staff bathrooms into gender-neutral bathrooms. However, it is difficult to carry out this proposal as it affects the number of staff bathrooms required by the UBC. As of December 13, the current gender neutral bathroom has been moved to the single-stalled bathroom near the nurse’s office. The old second floor gender-neutral bathroom is being renovated and will be converted into a women’s staff bathroom.

As a result of the old gender-neutral bathroom being not conveniently accessible, Alex had to use the girl’s bathroom, which makes them feel uncomfortable.

Alex recalls several instances in which they have felt unwelcome being in the girl’s bathroom, such as being stared at or getting shocked looks from people.

Recently, controversies over gendered bathrooms have also erupted in several states. In February, Trump lifted protection given by the Obama administration that let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms that corresponded with the gender they identified with.

Issues with gendered restrooms are not only isolated to the United States. Alex recalls a situation during a vacation to England when they had to pay to use the restroom and the woman running the stand misgendered Alex. “As I walked into the girl’s bathroom she yelled at me, ‘Young man! You can’t go in there, what are you doing!’” Alex kept trying to tell the woman that they were not a man, but the woman kept insisting, making the situation uncomfortable for them.

These reactions are not only limited to bathrooms. Locker rooms are especially uncomfortable for Alex, who has to deal

with people staring at them as they change.

“Having people there side-eye you and then having them stare at you when you change...They have this look of shock. It’s uncomfortable,” Alex said.

These feelings of being seen as an outsider are all too well known for Alex, and they hope to see changes in gendered facilities, as well as more acceptance from their peers.

THERE ARE STILL misconceptions about transgender people. “There’s a lot of ignorance amongst the students around gender issues,” Vincent said. “They don’t know what it means to be transgender, they don’t know the difference between sex and gender and the different kinds of pronouns.”

Due to misinformation about transgender people, he only comes out to those he knows will accept him. “I have the feeling that if I were to come out to some people there would be more negative reactions or I would be treated differently, which is part of the reason why I don’t,” he said.

Alex says that one of the biggest problems faced by the non-binary community is that many refuse to believe in it, and think of being genderqueer as a modern fad, which is untrue. “The ancient Greeks had androgynous genders,” Alex said. “Many Native American tribes had androgynous genders. It’s just because no one’s taught about it it just never comes up. Because it falls out of people’s line of expertise they blow it off as something that’s not true.”

Jamil Moises, who is a program coordinator at an LGBTQ center called Lyric, works closely with SFUSD middle and high schools. Moises, along with the entire organization, tries to create safer spaces and to provide resources to help LGBTQ youth.

Many trans youth come to Lyric so that they can express themselves without being judged or discriminated against. Moises explained that part of the struggle that LGBTQ youth are facing is the fact that they are simply not being represented at school or in media. “My middle schoolers don’t see themselves reflected, not just in their history books but also in the people around them,” Moises said. “If you’re not reflected in just those basic units [of life], how are people going to know what services you

ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH COSSELMON

The Lowell December 2017

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COVER STORY ILLUSTRATION BY VALENTIN NGUYEN need?”

By working with mainly SFUSD middle schoolers—some who already identify as agender, non-binary, and are even drag queens—who cannot express their identity because they will be bullied at school, Moises sees and understands the struggles many of these LGBTQ youth go through. “‘Trans’ is this umbrella word that is easily palatable to mainstream media, but within the trans experience—like with the cis experience— there’s so many ways to be trans,” Moises said. “Being in a space that recognizes who you are and doesn’t judge you for who you are is why a lot of youth I have worked with come here.”

One of the most effective and easiest ways to support the transgender community is educate yourself, according to Barmore-Pooley.

“Transphobia comes from a place of ignorance, so educating yourself and others and bringing awareness allows for a more open and welcome community,” he said “It’s not the responsibility of trans people to educate you. There’s homophobia and rampant transphobia on a national scale from the government so it’s really important for me to bring awareness and education surrounding those issues.”

Listening to what types of support people need and putting those requests forward is one of the most important aspects. “It’s not just policies, it really goes back to the people and what are our values as humans and how are we showing that and respecting people who are different from us,” Moises said.

THERE ARE SEVERAL resources at Lowell for transgender and non-gender conforming students. The Wellness Center a is safe space for them. Marcus Christmas, a Wellness Center counselor, said that Wellness addresses

each student’s individual needs and supports trans and nonbinary students by making sure that the preferred pronoun and name is being respected within the school system and informing them of their rights, such as accessing the restroom that corresponds with

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their gender identity. “It’s important that the needs of our students are specific to their experience,” Christmas said. “They may need support beyond their gender identity.”

GSA is also very active in promoting equity for the LGBTQ community. This year, Barmore-Pooley wants to address issues regarding locker rooms and bathrooms, and to educate others about topics relating to the community. She wants to make GSA a safe and inclusive space for those who want to talk about their experiences as being part of the LGBTQ community. “In our meetings we say our pronouns when we introduce ourselves. It’s a very different space than most of the world,” she said.

Another basis of support for Vincent has been the teachers who he’s chosen to come out to. “Last year [all of my teachers knew] because the school district forgot to change my picture on Schoolloop,” Vincent said.

“But this year only a few of them know.” Vincent said that he would tell teachers that he was transgender if, for example, there was a project in which groups were to be assigned by gender.

Although he does not feel a stronger connection to the teachers he has come out to, Vincent does value the support he gets. “I had a teacher last year who asked me my preferred pronouns and that was nice but they don’t talk about [the fact that I’m transgender] much, which is fine,” Vincent said.

Some teachers have made strides to educate the student body about issues of gender and sexuality. This year’s new drama teacher, Annemarie Ullman, has used drama and theater as a way to advocate for social justice.

This year’s fall play, “Twelfth Night,” focused on the concept of love and gender. Ullman chose Twelfth Night in order to change the way one might think about notions of love and gender. “I hope that by watching plays like this, people leave differently from the way they came in,” she said. “If someone can watch the play and leave with having their

“‘Trans’ is this umbrella word that is easily palatable to mainstream media, but within the trans experience—like with the cis experience— there’s so many ways to be trans.”

mind opened a little bit about the importance of gender, hopefully that will help them progress with their thought process.”

Modern World History and American Democracy teacher Lauretta Komlos advocates for teaching gay rights, transgender and nonbinary topics even if they are not in the curriculum. “Part of it is that it hasn’t been seen traditionally as a historic movement and it has come into civil rights in the very recent past,” Komlos said. “Social studies has to keep up with the times.” Komlos believes that transgender and nonbinary history should be taught as part of American civil rights, as teaching these subjects would

make transgender and genderqueer students feel more empowered and would also hopefully open more students to the subject. Beyond Lowell, the Bay Area has numerous LGBTQ centers and conferences that support and educate the public about the community.

Vincent has met many other transgender teens through conferences. This summer, he attended the Gender Spectrum Conference which was held in Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. The conference is held for transgender and nonbinary youth to learn about others’ experiences and connect with others.

The convention held a myriad of seminars discussing transgender topics such as activism and coming out, and hosted panels of transgender adults and teenagers who talked about their experiences.

Last year, Barmore-Pooley was part of the Berkeley-based Gender Spectrum Youth Council, which focused on trans and non-binary issues.

Another local resource is Lyric, which has internships for LGBTQ and undocumented immigrants. Several Lowell students have been interns at the organization. Lyric provides support and oneon-one guidance for youth ranging from SFUSD students to those who are homeless and some youth from different parts of the Bay Area. Their work includes promoting transgender to LGBTQ people of color’s rights. The organization also holds support groups which are run by their youth advocates. These groups focus on topics relating to setting boundaries, navigating conflicts, and they even do art projects and set up events.

HANNAH COSSELMON

FOR THOSE WHO are struggling, there are ways to make life better. Vincent said that even just coming out to a few friends makes life much more positive. “Life does get easier when you come out because you can start to affirm yourself or your gender even if it’s just a few friends who call you by the proper name and pronouns,” he said.

Alex believes that accepting yourself first is the most important. “You are who you are and you can’t change that so you shouldn’t hate yourself for it,” they said. “If you’re not ready to tell other people or not even sure, that’s okay. Validation doesn’t come from other people. Validation comes from you being yourself and that’s what’s really important.”v

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NEWS

LOWELL ALUMNA, FIRST CHINESEAMERICAN PLAYWRIGHT TO WIN KESSELRING PRIZE

By Jocelyn Xie LAUREN YEE LOWELL CLASS OF ‘03 AWARDS

Individual: • 2017 winner of the ATCA/Francesca Primus Prize • 2016 winner of Will Glickman Playwright Award • The Kilroys List Top 50, 2015 Plays: • Ching Chong Chinaman selected as City Pages Top 10 play of 2009 • In a Word selected as the NY Times Critic’s Pick Photo courtesy of Lauren Yee

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he National Arts Club, founded in 1898 by linguist Charles De Kay and a group of patrons in New York City, serves as a gathering place for artists. Recently, the National Arts Club announced Lowell’s Class of 2003 alumna Lauren Yee as the recipient of the 2017 Kesselring Prize. Yee is the first ChineseAmerican playwright to receive this honor. She received $25,000 in addition to a two-week residency at the club on Nov. 5.

The Kesselring Prize was established in 1980 to honor and support young playwrights who are yet to be nationally recognized.

Yee and her winning play, The Great Leap, were nominated by the Atlantic Theatre Company, an Off-Broadway non-profit theater located in New York City.

The Great Leap tells the story of an American college basketball team traveling to China for an exhibition game in 1989. The tension on the court accompanied with the political sensitivity of that period intensifies the story’s plotline and redefines the story with a more complex meaning than a simple sports story. While the play 12 v The Lowell December 2017 v The Lowell February 2017

is a piece of fictional work, many parts of it are, in fact, inspired by Yee’s father who was an amateur basketball player back in his earlier days. In 1981, Yee’s father even gained an opportunity to play an expedition game in China for two weeks. This is, however, only one of the many stories her father told her while she was growing up.

Based on this familial influence, Yee started drafting The Great Leap and “imagined what the experience must have been like,” she said.

The writing process wasn’t smooth. The first challenge Yee encountered was her unfamiliarity with basketball. To overcome this, she would watch many games on the Internet just to immerse herself in the world of this sport. What complicated the process more was the visualization of the setting. This is a common issue she faces in writing each new play, but The Great Leap is especially demonstrative. “The play was set in Beijing in the ’80s, where it is a space in time that I don’t know and cannot picture very well,” Yee said. During the research process, she not only had to study the background from a “historical point of view” but also from “an

average person.” After all, this is a life story, not a documentary, according to Yee. In the beginning of writing the play, Yee spent most of her time creating dialogues to establish relationships between the characters. To nurture her script with more realistic elements, Yee collected first-hand accounts by interviewing her father. “It was amazing to hear him to talk about that part of his life,” Yee said. “When he talked about that time, I think he had a sense of confidence and swagger that I don’t normally see in my father during the present days.”

After graduating from Yale in 2007 with a degree in English and theater studies, Yee went on to earn her M.F.A. in playwriting from UC San Diego. Her first professionally produced play, Ching Chong Chinaman, depicts a story between an assimilated ChineseAmerican family and an indentured servant they obtained from China. The New York Times remarks Yee’s insights into the assimilated family life as “astute” and “well explored.”

The Amercanized Wong family and their Chinese indentured servant Jinqiang in Yee’s play Ching Chong Chinaman. Photo courtesy of City Lights Theater

“There is this sense of distance between where we started and where we are today which I think is something that every American family goes through.”

Although Ching Chong Chinaman is only “the first step” in her “rock climbing” journey of playwriting, as she describes in an interview with Yale Daily News, the play has proved to be more than a step forward. The play has received a total of eight awards and selected to be published in the 2011 Asian American Plays for a New Generation anthology.

Yee’s experience of growing up in San Francisco has been a driving source of her inspirations. A few years after the production of Ching Chong Chinaman, Yee wrote another play called King of the Yees. This play is a reflection of her relationship with her father and San Francisco’s Chinatown, Yee said. While King of the Yees might be viewed as a culturally specific piece, Yee said it “does not necessarily give you a window into the culture in China.” Instead, the story focuses on examining the connection between the current generation of Asian-Americans and their past. “There is this sense of distance between where we started and where we are today,” Yee said, “which I think is something that every American family goes through.”

For future productions, Yee looks forward to incorporating new elements such as music into her plays. Recently, she has started a collaboration with a Los Angeles-based rock band on one of her new pieces. “I find that’s thrilling because I think [the music] really elevates the work and in a way gives people a new feeling,” Yee said.

“So that’s something I’d love to explore more.” v

A scene from King of the Yees: The stand-alone descendant of family encircled by her distant generation. Photo courtesy of ACT Theatre

The family’s servant breaks through the chain of cultural barrier and finds his happy ending in America. Photo courtesy of City Lights Theater

The Lowell December 2017

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OPINION

JENNIFER CHEUNG

WHY ARE THE

ARTS

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owell High School is known throughout the district and the country to be an academically focused, competitive and stressinducing school. Every year, over a thousand Lowell students take multiple Advanced Placement courses and continually strive to produce high GPAs in order to keep up with increasing pressure from colleges, even if it means compromising their health and wellbeing. Although the school has delivered academically successful results that can be seen in test scores and college attendance percentages, many students put non-academic courses—particularly the Visual and Performing Arts—on the backburner. However, VPAs are actually very important for students

UNDERRATED?

because of the many benefits and skills that can be gained through creating art, including self-expression, stress-relief, and learning to collaborate with others.

Students and the district need to stop viewing VPAs as throwaway classes. By appreciating and advocating for the arts and extending the VPA requirement, it will benefit students and society as a whole.

Lowell currently offers 10 types of arts courses: drama, choir, studio art, dance, technical theater, architecture, photography, ceramics, band and orchestra. Students are only required to take one year of art in order to graduate, according to San Francisco Unified School District’s graduation requirements. This has led to many

By Sofia Woo

devaluing the arts or viewing VPAs as just another requirement rather than important classes.

One might ask, “Why are VPAs so important?” Although many Lowell students may not think about art on a daily basis, the process of creating art is incredibly valuable and should be more integrated into students’ lives. According to a recent study

by Education Week, creating art develops critical thinking, and promotes creativity, empathy and tolerance.

Additionally, VPAs contribute to academic success and societal involvement.

According to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts, youth living in low socioeconomic conditions who had received a more in-depth arts education tended to have better academic outcomes compared to those who had not received a quality arts education. High-arts, low socioeconomic status students were also more likely to partake in school extracurriculars such as sports teams, academic honor societies and school publications. Overall, not only does having a good arts education impact academics, students who have had quality arts education in high school are more likely to participate in society at large, whether through volunteer work, voting or being engaged in school and local politics.

Junior Abby Falk, who is in AP Studio Art: 3-D Design, has been creating art ever since she can remember. For her, art has been a way to express herself and interpret the world. Before coming to Lowell, Falk was homeschooled, and the transition to attending public school was a jarring experience. As a Lowell student, she uses her craft as a way to feel grounded. “It was an anchor point in my life as it could help me interpret the change,” she said. “Having a space to express myself and let my feelings out every day is super great.”

Having the opportunity to take art at Lowell for several years has benefitted not only Falk but also her peers. The art room is a happy place where students can go to express themselves, make friends and relieve stress, according to Falk. “It really does better people’s lives, and seeing people interact in that environment you can see that a weight has been taken off their shoulders,” she said.

Falk has been fortunate to have been encouraged by her parents, friends and teachers to pursue art. However, others are not so lucky. “In sophomore and freshman year, I would talk to people a lot about my art classes, and they would say how they

were interested in that but they were never encouraged in their homes and it was something they never had the confidence to do,” Falk said.

This lack of encouragement for the arts is also the fault of the district, which values academic classes over VPAs. As a result, students who may be more artistically inclined feel as though their interests are less valued in their education. “Every year students are pressured by the district to take more math and science classes,” Falk said.

“It’s a societal issue because often we don’t

Plan—which outlines a plan to integrate the arts into students’ daily curriculum—77 percent of principals said that time and/ or money were the “most significant obstacle(s) to comprehensive and sequential arts education.” The principals surveyed stated that their school budget allocates less than one percent to arts education. As the budget is tight, some musical instruments at schools have not been repaired or replaced since the 1970s.

It is not just school faculty members who want to see more arts education being

“Every meeting I go to, [the district] always tells us how important the arts are — how it infuses life in every kid — but it is never acted on.” see artistic expression as a form of success.”

In order to get more students involved in the arts, AP Studio Art teacher Kirsten Janssen has been fighting for increasing the VPA requirement for years. When Janssen began teaching at McAteer High School in 1993, the VPA requirement was two years.

The district later cut the VPA requirement to just one year, due to lack of funding.

Although Janssen has been advocating for more emphasis on VPAs, her efforts have been largely disregarded by the district.

“Every meeting I go to, [the district] always tells us how important the arts are—how it infuses life in every kid—but it is never acted on,” she said.

Janssen has even gone as far as to talk to University of California Regents about the VPA requirement. “The best thing to happen for the arts would be for the UC Regents to recommend two years of arts,” she said. “I’ve tried, I went to a dinner and talked with them and I chummed it up. They wouldn’t take the bait.”

VPAs have also suffered through obstacles such as time and money constraints.

According to a survey published by the Visual and Performing Arts’ (VAPA) Master

embraced. Parents who were surveyed said they were “disappointed with the lack of dance and drama classes, wished every school had musical instruments, wanted more music and visual arts instruction, and called for elective art classes in high school.”

However, there are solutions to this issue.

VAPA’s Master Plan encourages partnerships between teachers, artists and those involved in the art community to collaboratively plan curriculum. Another viable solution is to make the arts programs at schools more visible. Currently, Ms. Janssen’s AP art classes host an annual arts fair along the catwalk.

Students showcase and sell their work to students, teachers and faculty. The fair not only raises more funds for the arts programs but also exposes the school community to the talent of their peers. Other exhibitions at the school include dance performances, plays, musicals and concerts, all of which contribute financially to keeping VPAs programs at Lowell running.

By promoting VPAs through increased visibility and further emphasizing the importance of art with longer requirements, we could integrate art into students’ lives more. v

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COLUMN

FINDING MY PASSIONS

By Kaya Brown

TOBI KAWANAMI

O

n one of the first few days of school, freshman year, my peer mentor asked me what extracurriculars I was thinking of doing. The first time she asked, I told her I didn’t know. The next week, I threw out a few that I’d heard of, like mock trial and the fall play. The third week, I told her that I’d forgotten to audition for both of them, and figured that it was too late to join anything. I told myself that I just got the timing wrong, and would definitely put myself out there the next year.

Looking back on it now, I was lying to myself. I was a complete chicken shit my freshman year, too scared to join any clubs, sports, or do any extracurriculars. Lowell was this huge new school, where everyone was twice my height (Well, everyone is still twice my height, but I’ve gotten used to it; it was more intimidating then), and I thought everyone at Lowell was amazing at everything.

I was too scared to try out for anything in fear of getting rejected. In middle school, I had always loved acting, but I was too scared to audition for the play. I had played the violin for nine years, but thought I wasn’t good enough to be in Lowell’s orchestra. I had played soccer for most of my life, along with doing softball and track in middle school, and had always loved sports, but didn’t think I could make any teams at Lowell.

Joining clubs and other activities is an important part of high school. All my friends 16

v The Lowell December 2017

were in crew, or debate, or ceramics, or the musical, and I wasn’t in anything. They were meeting new people, and finding ways to express themselves. I wanted something like that, too, but I kept finding ways to put it off — by telling myself that I wasn’t good enough, or that it was too late to join anything.

Sophomore year I started to get my act

I only joined extracurriculars because I felt they would look good to colleges. together. I joined a ton of teams and clubs, but I didn’t join anything that interested me.

I only joined them because I felt that they would look good to colleges. (Well, I didn’t necessarily think that, but that’s what people were telling me, so I listened). None of them stuck. I tried robotics, debate and fencing, and I quitted all of them before the year was over. These activities didn’t motivate me because they weren’t things that I was excited about doing, but things that I felt I should do.

I chose fencing because I thought I should have a sport, and fencing accepted everyone so I knew I wouldn’t get rejected. Like I said, chicken shit.

The only club that ended up sticking, was something I joined without the mindset of “I’m joining this for college,” or “I’m joining this because it makes me sound smart.” In fact, it was a club I didn’t know existed. One Monday after school, since I didn’t have any clubs of my own to go to, I followed some of my friends to their poetry club. In middle school, I loved writing poetry but I never thought of pursuing it as an extracurricular.

This club stuck. I never left.

Then this fall I tried out for the school play and got a role. It was an amazing experience, and I got to meet new people and spend everyday doing something I love after school, instead of wasting away binge-watching How I Met Your Mother, eating entire bags of marshmallows, or procrastinating doing my homework.

For underclassmen out there, don’t make the same mistakes I did. If the extracurriculars you do don’t interest you, they won’t last. You need to be doing something you are passionate about. You might not know what that is yet, and you don’t need to. Most of the time, the things we end up loving the most are things that we had to discover. So don’t be like me during my freshman year. Get a backbone and try something new. v

FALL LOOKBOOK

BY JENNIFER CHEUNG, TOBI KAWANAMI, CIARA KOSAI, ETHAN LEI

JUNIOR EMMA CANDLAND

“I just want gendered clothing to go away. It would just be so much better for everyone.”

Candland wears: thrifted Boy Scouts shirt Converse high tops Dickies 874 pants

CIARA KOSAI

JULIANNA

TOBI KAWANAMI

ENG

JUNIOR

“I really like Asia’s fashion sense.

It’s kind of like workplace but streetwear at the same time ”

Eng wears: Urban Outfitters top and pants Forever 21 camisole Sock Shop socks Uniqlo cardigan Ecco boots

LUIS ZARAGOZA SENIOR

ETHAN LEI

“Artists express themselves by painting or drawing. I like to express myself in outfits.”

Zaragoza wears: Rick Owens Ramones high tops Bianca Chandon top Acne Studios jeans Supreme jacket Undercover jacket

JENNIFER CHEUNG Fung wears: Barneys New York x Adidas sneakers Thom Browne sweatshirt Rag and Bone jeans Celine sunglasses Taylor Made hat Moncler scarf

“Sunglasses are meant to be worn indoors”

NICK FUNG JUNIOR

MIA DENO JUNIOR

“I don’t know if oversized pants are a trend but that’s my religion”

Deno wears: Brandy Melville bodysuit thrifted varsity jacket Starkiki jean culottes boutique jewelry Amazon fishnets gifted boots

CIARA KOSAI

NEWS The Lowell surveyed 350 students to gauge student stress. Here are their responses:

“Expectations are so high from parents, they’re difficult to meet sometimes.”

ADDRESS Infographics by Maximilian Tiao

LEONARD CAOILI

“If students aren’t looking for help to decrease their stress, then it doesn’t really matter how the administration is trying to help us.

It can’t be a one-sided relationship where one side is trying to help but the other is not accepting it.”

22

v The Lowell December 2017

Most Lowell students receive 5-7 hours of sleep per night.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, high school students should receive 8-10 hours of sleep. Only 5% of Lowell students recieve hours of sleep in that margin. The Foundation also found that teenagers who got more sleep were better able to manage stress.

“I hope that teachers can be more considerate towards how stressed their students are.

And based on that, adjust the assignment amount.”

ING STRESS “We need a later school start.”

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18

NEWS

Relax your mind in the new meditation lounge

by Raine Hu

JENNIFER CHEUNG

N

ext to the beanery, near the courtyard, there is a newly decorated room filled with several couches and curtains with tree patterns. Dim lights come from the lamps and reflect on the cadet blue wall. This is Lowell’s new meditation lounge, where the Thursday group meditation sessions take place.

Inside the room, assistant principal Margaret Peterson’s voice softly rises. “Now close your eyes and breathe,” she says. Here, participants are leading the way of practicing meditation at Lowell.

Since 2012, students and teachers have requested hosting meditation sessions at Lowell. “It was brought to me by some teachers and students who had been already meditating and were interested in doing it,” Peterson said. Later, the idea for creating a school meditation lounge was launched by students of the Lowell

The Lowell December February 2017 2017 v 24ThevLowell

Health Committee. Students had also shown interest in meditation in a 2017 survey conducted by Peterson, in which the majority of Lowell students surveyed said they would like to have meditation training.

The meditation room was finally finished this fall semester with the help of donations from several Lowell teachers and staff members.

In the spring semester of 2018, the Quiet Time program, a private stress reduction program for middle and high schools, will be introduced to Lowell students. This will be a pilot project conducted by Peterson and assistant principal Orlando Beltran, examining transcendental meditation, a specific form of silent mantra meditation; and mindfulness-based meditation.

Participants will include students in yoga classes, academic literacy for English learners, peer mentoring and leadership.

In addition to the Quiet Time program, Lowell will provide the opportunity for students and faculty to utilize the meditation room during their free time at school starting this year. The meditation room will be open from block 5 to after school. Teachers have volunteered to staff the meditation lounge during their prep periods.

One of the major inspirations for establishing the mediation

am with others,” he said. “It is kind of a group energy that many of us can feel.” Likewise, English teacher Anne Guina has very good feedback on the meditation sessions. “It is a quiet time to decompress, especially towards the end of the week,” she said.

So why do so many teachers praise meditation? There are numerous benefits to meditation. It can reduce stress, anxiety, anger, fatigue, insomnia and depression, and at the same time increase calmness, energy, motivation, focus, happiness,

“I find the meditation really helps me to deal with stress, and I finally get even more out of it when I am with others” JENNIFER CHEUNG

program and lounge is that stress and anxiety are very common phenomena at Lowell. “What I have seen is such a dramatic increase coming through my office of students who have felt an extreme amount of stress, anxiety and pressure and have had a really tough time,” Peterson said. “It’s not just the workload, there is home life, school life.” Stress and anxiety can be very harmful to people, causing headaches, sleep problems and muscle pain, according to Jeff Rice, the director of the San Francisco Quiet Time program.

Many teachers who are doing meditation themselves said they would continue to meditate and recommend it to students. They all reported that they feel more calm after meditation. “It is absolutely a part of my life now,” English teacher David Yuan said. “I look forward to it and it is not something that I am making myself do anymore.” Retired

self-esteem and self-confidence, according to Rice.

Five minutes of meditation can achieve two to three times deeper rest than sleep, according to a study by Scientific American. The study found reductions in the breathing rate and oxygen consumption of meditators, allowing the body to remove stress and fatigue that is too deep for sleep to address.

Meditation can also grow intelligence and develop new brain cells. As reported by Human Physiology, when you meditate, there is an increase in response that is more widely distributed across the cortex, indicating a greater participation of the whole

“It is a quiet time to decompress, especially towards the end of the week” JENNIFER CHEUNG

Lowell teacher Michelle Winter pointed out, “People at Lowell are very conscientious, I think they are extremely vulnerable to stress. So meditation could be super valuable to them.”

Yuan, who has been attending the Thursday meditation sessions since they began at the beginning of this semester, believes group meditation can have advantages that individual meditation does not have. “I find the meditation really helps me to deal with stress, and I finally get even more out of it when I

brain in response to a stimulus. According to the International Journal of Neuroscience, brainwave coherence increases, indicating greater communication between different parts of the brain. Communication between the prefrontal and anterior lobes is associated with improved decision making and behavior.

See MEDITATION on pg. 28

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SPORTS

SUSAN WONG

STRIVING FO

SUSAN WONG

TOBI KAWANAMI

ESTHER POSILLICO

Top to bottom, left to right: FOOTBALL: The Cardinal defense lines up against the Lincoln Mustangs on Oct. 21.

VOLLEYBALL: Junior setter Sinead Beaupain (left) sets the ball for sophomore middle blocker Mariko Tanaka (right) to spike during the championship game against the Lincoln Mustangs on Nov. 9.

CROSS COUNTRY: The cross country team competes with several other high schools for the title of All-City Champion on Nov. 15.

GOLF: Freshman Katrina Wu puts during match against the Lincoln Mustangs on Oct. 11.

TENNIS: Junior Dephny Duan returns the ball against the Wallenberg Bulldogs on Sept. 27.

OR SUCCESS CHRISTINA JOHNSON

The Lowell February 2017

v 25

From EDITORIAL on pg. 2 dance as an option,” Mayer said in an email. “Dance covers much of the curricular content covered in 10th grade PE classes.”

According to Mayer, the program ended because GWHS, Lowell and SOTA are the only high schools in the city offering multiple levels of dance, and SFUSD wants to keep the PE curriculum consistent. But according to the SFUSD PE Department´s website, several specialized courses—including racket sports, soccer and yoga—are offered only at Lowell, so clearly exceptions to the curriculum can be made.

One exception to the curriculum is JROTC, a program run in cooperation with the Army focused on character education and leadership. It was accepted throughout SFUSD as independent study PE in 2009 and 2010 without replacing any PE teachers, according to JROTC manager Doug Bullard.

Independent study PE involves students recording the time they’ve spent doing

From MEDITATION on pg. 25 In addition to the physical transformations meditation can lead to, meditation also helps improve mental health. Winter said that after meditation, she feels emotionally stable and happier. “Now my happiness is deep, it reaches deep into me,” she said. Meditation has become an indispensable part of Winter’s life. “I never want to go back to the ways I was before learning to meditate,” she said. “I will meditate twice a day for the rest of my life.”

Meditation can also serve as a reflection both physically and mentally. Spanish teacher Carole Cadoppi, who sees meditation as a way to reflect 28

v The Lowell December 2017

“I think that people that dance seriously or know a lot about dance don’t hesitate to consider it as a sport, or as difficult as a sport.”

various exercises which meet the eight standards and going over their logs with an adviser.

This approach provides more flexibility for JROTC cadets, who have demanding training and school schedules. “You know some freshmen, they want to take a language, they want to take a VPA, they take PE, and are doubling up in math,” Bullard said. “Where do they fit all this stuff in? This program gives students the option of taking an elective they may want to take and opens up that block.”

The issue of dance not meeting all of the high school standards can be overcome by instating an independent study program similar to that of JROTC. Dancers could work on fitness logs, incorporating the other seven requirements outside of class, as proof of the depth of their physical education. However, it is worth noting that students enrolled in other specialized PE classes like yoga and soccer are not required to complete independent study, even though they don’t meet all the standards either.

The stigma surrounding dance as a serious form of exercise is also hindering its acceptance as a PE class. “I think that people that dance seriously or know a lot about dance don’t hesitate to consider it as a sport, or as difficult as a sport,” said junior Company member Bel Mehaffy. “You have to push your bodies to do things that are very hard and you have to make it look good while you’re doing it.” Despite this, according to Webb, people often dismiss dance as a less serious sport and deem it ineligible for its own PE class when compared to options like swimming and soccer. “Obviously, it’s a different kind of exercise from wrestling or something like that, but I couldn’t do what wrestlers do, and wrestlers couldn’t do what we do,” she said. Although dance is often underestimated as exercise, intermediate and higher classes meet the same standards as the specialized PE courses. These classes should count towards PE credit, so sophomores like Webb are not left with extra strenuous schedules. v

on her tiredness. She believes that meditation allows her to listen to her body by getting physical evidence. “It’s almost like having another person that you trust is looking and telling you.” In the mental aspect, Guina points out meditation helps her with self-reflection.

“It kind of helped me with what I need to do for myself and my class, it was a reflective time,” she said.

There is evidence that meditation has improved other schools in SFUSD. Visitacion Valley middle school is an example. It is located in an area where, according to SF Gate, “gunfire is as common as birdsong.” But in the recent decade, it has had a

significant transformation, becoming the happiest school in San Francisco according to California Healthy Kids Survey. This increase in happiness coincided with the start of a new meditation regimen. The students started meditation twice a day after the school adopted the Quiet Time program in 2007. According to The Guardian, in 2009-10, the number of student suspensions was among the lowest in the city and daily attendance rates rose to 98 percent. Remarkably, average GPA improved and about 20 percent of graduates were admitted to Lowell High School, which was a rarity before.

Every student at Visitacion

Valley participates in the meditation program, as it is mandatory. At Lowell, almost no students are attending the Thursday meditation sessions.

So far, getting people— especially time-stressed students—to “do nothing” for 20 minutes has been a challenge, despite the proven benefits of meditation. Defying the stigmas of meditation, meditators expressed their opinions. “You might think at first it is a waste of time, because it is like twenty minutes of doing nothing,” Spanish teacher Marie Martinez said. “But if we are doing many things when we are not focusing, that really wastes a lot of time.” v

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