Little Girl
Poetry Conrad Yu
My dear miss, you say you’ve lost your love. I say you’ve forgotten the fact that you’re too good for here; You’re from above.
Your eyes are diamonds which are like tigers’. They collect sunlight in the day and glow golden in the night.
Your skin equates to the light of heaven, I can feel the warmth from a sensitive touch and a nurturing sight.
Your voice,
Forged by angels, Sings to me Rhythmically.
So what’s a pretty girl like you crying about?
It’s too bad that you’re sad,
You’re such a cutie.
But ahhh, I see what it is.
You lack the beauty.
You’re not beautiful, Only the heart determines that. In fact, strip away your flesh,
And you’ll look like a rat.
Sad to say, your eyes are a waste.
No matter how pretty your skin is,
Your soul still lacks taste.
Your golden pipes? They mock and they cry. Instead of hearing them again, I think I’d rather die.
But do not fret, There is yet still hope.
You’re just a little girl;
You’re still just a joke.
Art Dakota Snow
The MArk Contributors:IeJ
Editors in chief:
Adam Zuckerman
Regina Mullen
Kate Reardon
Production Editor
Rachel Fox
Staff:
Michael Abramson
Trent Bastian
Rachel Fox
Taylor Gananian
Russell Gurman
Sofia Gutierrez-Dewar
Wes Hagman
Blair Johnson
Anna Luke
Haley McCabe
Alexander Most
Evan Peairs
Ian Proulx
Hannah Rosenfeld
Stephanie Sabatini
Jed Springer
Conrad Yu
Lindsey Sepulveda
Creative Writing and Visual Arts Committees:
Addie Brian
Ali Candlin
Sofia Gutierrez-Dewar
Maddie Holtzman
Fiona Kirby
Sydney LeFebvre
Lily Ning
Laurin Noguchi
Allison Silverman
Cover Art
Erika Rasmussen
Laurin Noguchi
Juan Carlos Contreras
The MArk, a feature magazine published by the students in MenloAtherton High School’s Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. The MArk is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to
Photos by Nicole Barnes and Prescott Foland
Photo by J.P. Nash
Ferris Wheel
or
series Gears of War series Left 4 Dead series Mass Effect series Splinter Cell series Crackdown Fable Series Alan Wake able to play most original xbox games *WINNER*
*WINNER* harder to access friends does not come with mic and requires bluetooth headset so not as many players have mics less user friendly and hard to navigate through internet access but not integrated with facebook
$250 free online play Blu-ray player worth around $150
easier to access friends system comes with microphone so most players have mics very user friendly and easy to navigate connects to facebook
$200 xbox live $50 per year DVD player
*WINNER* Controller fits hand perfectly triggers comfortable and resemble a gun vibrates no motion control rechargeable or replaceable battery
*WINNER* small and awkward feeling to hold buttons instead of triggers vibrates motion control is a pointless gimic rechargeable battery only
*WINNER* fairly easy to navigate not organized as well no avatar or arcade room
Dashboard very easy to navigate well-organized avatar and arcade room are fun
THE VERDICT:
Both PS3 and Xbox 360 have a good variety of strong exclusive games, but the Halo and Gears of War series push Xbox ever so slightly ahead. In addition, Xbox Live, as well as the Xbox dashboard and controller, is much more user friendly, easier to navigate with, and easier to meet up with friends. In terms of price, though the Xbox is cheaper, the PS3 is in actuality a much better deal. It comes with a built in Blu-ray player (worth around $150) and it has free online play (Xbox Live is $50 per year). Though I still recommend buying both if you can afford it, unless you absolutely need a Blu-ray player, I would go with Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Though the race is close, Xbox 360 continues to be the platform of choice.
At the end of 2006, I was wondering whether I had wasted a spot on my Christmas list by asking for a PS3 since I already had an Xbox 360. My desire for the PS3 started with Sony's exclusive shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man. Unfortunately there were no other PS3 games that I was interested in at the time, that were not also available on Xbox. So, I essentially ended up getting a PS3 to play only one game. At the time, a PS3 cost $650—pretty expensive for one game. By the end of Christmas break, I had already beaten the game and spent hours online, and I was just about ready to sell my PS3 and go back to Xbox exclusively. I'm glad I didn't. Fast forward four years: the PS3 is finally giving the Xbox a run for its money. There are now an equal number of great games on both platforms, but each has its own unique advantages. So, which one should you buy?
Video Game Violence
Desperately avoiding the bullets flying downrange, Private First Class Kessler sprints behind his squad leader. A rocket- propelled grenade narrowly misses him and flies past, striking a tank ball of flame. Kessler takes refuge behind a con crete wall, and pulls out a weathered photograph from his shirt pocket. He thinks of his family, his Maria and his two kids, and, with a renewed sense of determination, chances a peek from behind his shelter. A fifty-caliber screams through the back of his skull. Blood and bits of skulls fly everywhere. Fifteen seconds later, Kessler re- spawns.
This is a common occurrence on TV screens and computer monitors, and the witnesses are none other than video game players, both young and mature. The question, which the Supreme Court has decided to address, is whether or not to ban the sale or rental of video games deemed excessively violent, which “lack literary, artistic, political or scientific value,” to minors.
Though Governor Schwarzenegger signed such a bill into law in 2005, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck it down, ruling that the law went against our of freedom of expression. Now, the Federal Supreme Court will rule whether or not such a ban does indeed violate the First Amendment. However, the proposed ban law is too broad to prove effective even it were constiutional: based on the current criteria, the ban would include nearly all successful first person shooters and real time strategy franchises.
The bill’s definition of a violent video game is one which depicts “killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being.” When one examines the situation and the characteristics of video games, the vast majority of contemporary best sellers are those that depict violence. Halo, Gears of War, Half-Life, and Battlefield games, to name a few, all include blood-splatters and violent depictions of war. To most players, war is a prodigious thrill which is best experienced vicariously from the comfort of their couch.
Like prepubescent girls with romance films, gamers play to experience secondhand what they cannot do firsthand.
By Conrad Yu
If the purpose of video games, like movies, is to entertain, then shouldn’t lawmakers and judges treat the two equally? In some cases, movie scenes are much more generous with gore and guts than video games. We all remember that D-Day scene from Saving Private Ryan and the soldier who so horrifyingly lay on the beach with his intestines strewn about the sands of Normandy. But according to ban advocators, laws should judge violence in interactive entertainment with increased strictness. Proponents of the bill argue that the government should hold “excessively” violent video games to the same standards as they hold sexually explicit adult films. That’s comparing apples to oranges. The argument would make sense if it were advocating the ban of sexually explicit material in video games, such as in the Grand Theft Auto games, but what they are advocating now is much more severe.
Another flaw in the conditions of the ban is the ambiguity of its definition. While the bill would prohibit violent actions to images of humans, it does not state that violent actions to images of non-humans, such as mutants or aliens, are unacceptable. In Halo, players kill enemy soldiers part of a coalition of alien races; in Gears of War, players chainsaw alien creatures in half. And what of zombies? Increasingly popular are games which include zombies. Zombies were once human; they even look like humans, but they’re just not humans. Does that mean we’re allowed to decapitate them in some creative way (potato cannon that launches chainsaws perhaps)? The proposed law in itself is ineffectively defined.
In the end, even if the law were to pass, it would only hinder the acquiring of violent video games by minors. The law states that games deemed too violent would have to have an “18” sticker. Because of the law’s ambiguity, game publishers, developers and players will inevitably find loopholes to climb through. And before another law can be passed, “violence” will have soaked through the bill like water through a sponge. Lawmakers need to revise the bill if they want to design an effective ban.
Photo Credit:
Absence Policy not Present
by Adam Zuckerman
Many of you, especially second semester seniors, have probably asked someone how many classes you can miss before you are in danger of not getting credit for a class. But the details of our absence policy are oddly elusive. After asking several teachers, the attendance clerk, and two vice-principal secretaries, I, a senior, resident badass, and avid 7th period ceramicist, was still unclear about the fine print of the rule.
I was able to establish that after 18 absences in a single class the office asks a teacher whether the student should still be given credit or whether he or she should receive the dreaded NA (no credit). Still, nobody was able to tell me with conviction what kind of absences (cut, excused, school activity, etc.) counted toward this 18.
activities” do not count toward this ominous 18.
Unfortunately, this contradicts our student handbook, our only source of written rules, which states in bold “A teacher may not change an NA to a passing grade if the student has more than three unexcused absences or cuts.” So I returned to Aubrey Orcutt who remarked, “I don’t know why it says that.” Kids with 18 abscences and 3 or more cuts can still receive credit with the support of the teacher. She also confirmed that school activities do not count toward your permitted 18 absences even though that goes unmentioned in the school handbook.
I was then directed to AVP Secretary Aubrey Orcutt, who seemed knowledgeable about this policy. She was able to give me the details: At 18 absences, with 3 or more cuts, a student is declared ineligible for credit; however, with under 3 cuts, the student is given credit regardless of excused classes missed. I was also informed that absences declared as “school
So why does nobody seem to know the fine print of this rule, and how can people be expected to follow guidelines that are nowhere to be found? In short, they should not. The administration does not tell the students at the assembly at the beginning of the year that an absence due to a school activity (missing class for a sport, field trip, etc.) does not count toward our 18. Nor does it say anything in the student handbook. The handbook also states a policy in bold that is either false or regularly ignored. So, I am left thinking, how many other rules in our handbook are either left out or blatantly untrue…
“Arabian” Nights...? senior prank: “fish tank” on
p.e.requirement:AMajorHurdle byReginaMullen
Fulfilling graduation requirements is no easy task – students already struggle with meeting English, math, history, foreign language, and arts requirements. However, for the increasing number of intense club athletes, the physical education requirement is becoming the most burdensome of any. Club sports, which usually involve extensive hours of practice, individual workouts, games, and traveling tournaments, are an incredible demand on time and energy, especially when coupled with normal schoolwork. The simple truth is that most club athletes do not have the time to take a period of P.E, or enroll in summer P.E., or complete enough seasons of M-A sports in order to complete the requirement. Yet somehow, year after year this system is perpetuated and it is M-A’s most physically fit that continue to struggle with the requirement.
On occasion, M-A has granted exceptions to athletes in specific individual sports, such as tennis, horseback
riding, and even squash. These individual sport athletes are given a supplement packet, which requires them to fill out a weekly log of the number of hours spent playing complete with a coach’s signature. This policy, however, offers no aid to club athletes playing team sports.
According to state regulations, despite the dedication and sheer demand on time required by club sport participation, P.E. classes still offer indispensable physical, nutritional, and health education that clubs do not offer. Administrative Vice Principal Steve Lippi comments that “the P.E. people determined that physical education with the schools is different than a student getting in shape playing sports, because [P.E.] has an educational component. There are things that we have to do in order to meet the requirements of the state that goes over and above a student getting in shape to play soccer.” In fact, M-A apparently already bends the state requirements by allowing students to substitute M-A athletics for P.E. credit and permitting individual sport athletes to log their practice hours in the supplement packet instead of taking P.E.
While the effort is appreciated, the fact remains that club team athletes are left to struggle through a suffocating mass of practice, travel, games, recruiting, workouts, homework, classes, and the addition of the P.E. requirement. The main argument for not permitting team sport athletes to complete the P.E. supplement packet is that being on a team does not guarantee you playing time like an individual sport does. M-A junior Nicola White has experienced firsthand that even proof of your physical activity will not suffice in gaining the
30
High Marks
Adventures in the Night
by Kate Reardon
Let’s face it. Even though most teenagers are angels, there are some who choose to forsake the beaten path of righteousness and pursue activities with a little more risk. We’ve documented the best, sketchiest, and downright stupidest tales of late-night escapades for the amusement (and most likely indignation!) of the rest of us. Because we would never do something like this… right?
Oh, Holey Night
It was a dark and stormy Saturday night, and Menlo student Horace* had successfully left his home in search of an M-A friend, who will be known here as Sally*. Horace evaded his parents’ notice and reached Sally’s house without mishap. However, in a trite attempt to feign badassery, and in full knowledge of the fact that several people were inside the house, awake, and available to let him in, Horace decided that the best idea would be to 007 his way over the iron gate that protected Sally’s house. Though he was faced with an imposing gate and burdened with an object that will remain nameless in one hand, Horace was undaunted. Cunningly, quietly, and one-handedly, Horace heaved himself towards the gate—and impaled himself on the waiting iron spikes. For poor Horace, what could have been an evening of totally legal fun was quite literally punctured, and he has the bill from the hospital to prove it.
Sneakout Strikeout
M-A Junior Helga* has no fond memories of wild nights, largely because she has had no success in actually leaving her home. Helga’s father, who reportedly uses sonar to detect his daughter’s movements, has caught her in the act of leaving no less than eight times, much to Helga’s frustration and his amusement. Luckily, Helga has a veritable library of plausible excuses for being halfway out the back door. Our personal favorite: “I was looking for the cat.”
On the other hand, parental involvement is not always a deterrent for potential sneakers. Another M-A student, Theodorus*, was caught by his mother mid-tiptoe. But this silver-tongued rascal just confessed that he was sneaking out, looked into her eyes and said “Please?” Well, mom relented, and Theodorus enjoyed an evening of parental-approved fun. Note to self: Please and thank you
Trashy Encounter
Norman*, another M-A student, fondly recounts an evening so memorable that he can barely remember any of it. According to his extremely limited recollections, Norman returned to his home after successfully evading capture and enjoying an evening of tomfoolery, went inside, removed his pants, and returned outside for reasons unknown even to himself. The next thing he knew, he was looking up into the anxious faces of his parents, who had discovered their son in the recycling bin, stripped to his shirt and boxers, and not at all sure how he ended
up there. Now, whenever Norman tries to leave at any time of day, his concerned parents ask: “Are we going to find you in the recycling again?”
Ficcas Fiasco
Even teachers, those paragons of saintly virtue, had cause to leave home at some suspicious hours of the night. English teacher John McBlair claims that he stealthily zip-lined out of his window at 2 am as a young lad, but only to get a Christmas present for his mother. Since he had been told by his friend’s father, the owner of a nursery, that he and his comrades could visit at any time and take what they wished, young McBlair and the rest of his companions took the liberty of visiting in the middle of the night to procure potted plants for gifts. Unfortunately, just as the triumphant group left the nursery with their prospective Christmas gifts, the police swerved onto the scene with guns pointed directly at the would-be thieves and arrested them on the spot. Many phone calls and a trip to jail later, it was discovered that his friend’s father, Mr. Brown, had a brother (also named Mr. Brown) who ran a rival nursery, named Brown’s Nursery, on the same street. As it turned out, McBlair had visited his friend’s uncle’s nursery, and because of familial tension all the family name-dropping in the world did not gain said uncle’s sympathy. Fortunately, the mix-up was identified, the culprits released, and the uncle convinced that the boys sincerely thought they were stealing from his brother, not him. Still, McBlair says he learned his lesson about slipping out of his window at night…
Photo Nicole Barnes
Photo Prescott Foland
Nothing POETRY ERIC MYLES
What am I? Who am I? A human being? Am I am animal, or perhaps an empty, soulless shell of a being? Searching for my purpose in this meaningless world. Does anything matter in this harsh reality? This decaying crater of a planet has been sucked into the dark nothingness I call my heart. A black hole that engulfs everything into its bottomless pit. Everything is nothing. I am nothing.
Photography Jonathan Nash
Art Rafael Rios
Art Roxana Davalos
Pound Pets
by Anna Luke
Thinking of getting a new pet?
What better place to get one than an animal shelter. At the City of Palo Alto Animal Services the adoption process is designed to benefit both you and the animals that are up for adoption. Prior to adoption each animal must go through a medical check-up and behavioral tests. Before one can adopt a pet, a volunteer helps the animal and the possible adoptive family spend time together to see how they respond to one another. Ideally every member of the potential adoptive family meets the animal and everyone must come to agreement that the animal is just the right one for the household. An animal services specialist checks to make sure the living arrangements are appropriate for the potential pet adoption. If all of these steps are successful then the shelter will approve the adoption and after paying a moderate fee the family and their new pet are able to spend a long and happy life together. If you are unable to have a pet, but love animals you may want to become a volunteer at the City of Palo Alto Animal Services. Volunteers can
do many jobs from foster parenting to socializing and taking the animals for exercises however these jobs do require some training. Volunteers have to be 16 years of age or older and must be able to make a regular commitment of time.
In addition to adoption, the City of Palo Alto Animal Services offers a number of other animal services such as low cost vaccinations, a spay and neutering clinic, micro chipping so your pet can be identified if lost, lost and found services, licensing and registration, and they also sell pet supplies. Another important service offered is a “drop off” where pet owners can surrender a pet anonymously if they are unable to continue to care for a pet for any reason. For more information contact:
The Palo Alto Humane Society 3281 E. Bayshore Rd. Palo Alto 650-496-5971
Animals from dogs, cats, rodents, reptiles and birds are found at the pound.
Perspective
A rapid inhale of oxygen expelled into overwhelming darkness.
Neon green digits from the future. A clock.
2:00 A.M.
Eyelids tightly sealed because vision is not necessary.
I explore the world with the mind’s eye.
The penetrating purple iris, searching for life after life, the meaning within meaning, diving deeper into the sea to uncover the leviathan that dwells underneath.
With my eyes closed
I see more than I have ever seen before.
The sky. White paint hovering on blue canvas.
A leaf.
The edges curled in like hands, cupped, containing a silver lake. The wind.
Trapped in nothing, it howls and screams at everything.
My eyes are closed, but I am not blind.
by Yuki Nakayama
The purple iris envelops everything and develops images into answers.
I open my eyes and lie awake, moonlight draped over me like a blanket.
I reach for my pen and my notebook.
I push the tip of the ballpoint pen against the paper, but nothing happens. There is ink in the pen, but the ink in my mind has dried up.
The mind’s eye is shut and betrays nothing.
I push it for answers but it will not reveal the secrets it has uncovered, the knowledge it has excavated.
The pen slips from my hands. The paper still lies blank.
2:30 A.M.
I close my eyes. Somewhere in my head, something stirs. It is purple.
Photography Eric Evans
Mouth Full of Crackers
When a person is not in love, they have a mouth full of crackers. No other food has a least-loving texture. The way it breaks apart, a salty break.
Leaving your taste buds bursting out of pure need, pure depravity of water. The salty lick of your tongue out of your mouth into the dry air rubbing across the loose skin of your lips makes you wonder if you can hurry up and chew through this uncomfortable stage.
The state you are in always gets the better of you the more you eat. The more you eat you feel you can reach that heightened sense.
Poetry Deonte McCall
Remembering
Every summer M-A students and teachers travel in a small group to Guatemala for a service-learning trip during which students build a school, participate in reforesta tion or work in a hospital. M-A students and teachers have been traveling to Guatemala since the founding of Global Visionaries by former M-A teacher, Joe Fontana, in 1997. Participants of this trip form long-lasting relationships with one anoth er and with their Guatemalan counterparts; the profound impact of the jour ney remains with the particpants well beyond the return to their daily lives.
Here, M-A Ceramics teacher, Deb Gutof, shares a version of her recent journal entry reflecting on the loss of an enduring friendship formed over the years in Guatemala...
When I first saw him, it was his eyes that drew me to him. “Why is he here?” I thought. He seems so normal, healthy almost. And as he wheeled away I knew I’d see him again.
Marco Antonio Yanes was shot in Guatemala City in 1992 for 50 quetzales (the equivalent of 5 US dollars) and his cheap watch. He was 32 years old, married with a young daughter.
In Hospital Hermano Pedro in Antigua, Guatemala, time stands still. Each year I return to the same patients, in the same wards, cared for by the same nurses. Each year, upon entry to Hospital Hermano Pedro, I take a deep breath and prepare for the wave of emotions that consume me so deeply. Each year once I spot Marco Antonio Yanes, my breath relaxes and my strength returns. As I embrace him, I take in the familiar smells of the medicine, the sweat of the men and the odd food odor. “I’m ready”, I think to myself-ready and excited to volunteer and mentor my students through this intense process.
This year I wonder where I’ll find my strength. How will I relax? What will happen to our group since Marco Antonio Yanes will not be there?
I’m in grief, worried… lost.
Marco Antonio was the lifeline of Hermano Pedro. All patients, no matter how severe their condition, depended on his presence to calm them. He was sharp, witty and compassionate.
I still picture his deep blue eyes now. Always observing, then giving by way of quiet leadership and endurance. He didn’t feel the need to leave the hospital as so many do upon entering. He felt it was his place and embraced it.
The summer we first met, I taught him to paint with watercolors. His claw-like hand desperately shaking while clenching the brush stirs feelings and memories of his determination and desire to impress me.
My mind swells with memories, my heart fills with tears and my eyes pour hope.
I’m sorry I wasn’t by your side while you were in pain.
I’m sorry I couldn’t embrace your family while they were suffering silently. I wish I could see you one last time.
To my hero, Marco Antonio Yanes, December 28, 1960- March 17th, 2010
Unfixable
Take away my hair and you’ll find pink strings. My eyes create neon olives. Rainstorms of tangerine flowers balance my arms. These are my imperfections—they’re unfixable.
Alison Malathong
Artwork
Josh Hubert
PhotoDominicSabatini
by Stephanie Sabatini
Anyone who sat within earshot of the driver’s seat could tell you that Chuck, former driver of the route 85 SamTrans bus to and from M-A, has an adorable granddaughter named Lucy— he didn’t hesitate to share her picture with us all. Chuck knew the majority of students’ names who rode his bus and we all knew a little bit about him. In an interview with Chuck I got to learn a little bit more.
Chuck started driving school routes twenty years ago and said that “the students from M-A have been the best to deal with by far.”
Chuck began his career in San Francisco driving executives through the Tenderloin to the Financial District and maneuvering his way through Chinatown. He was working the day the Loma Prieta earthquake struck, the same day the San Francisco Giants were going to play the Oakland A’s. He was responsible for taking people home from the game and his route took mainly out-of-town folks back to their hotels around the Peninsula. The drive, in total darkness thanks to the massive power outages, was not completed without a little appreciation from the passengers. Upon arrival at the final hotel, Chuck was greeted with a round of applause from everyone on the bus.
Looking back on days driving to and from M-A, Chuck said the following:
“Sarah Mitchell’s singing was definitely a fun part of the bus ride home from M-A… How about Colin [Sutton] and his orange hat? He always boarded the bus with a big smile and friendly “Hi Chuck!” The color of his hat reflected his up-beat personality. Sharing travel stories with Bailey [Scott] was always interesting… There was never a dull moment with tales from Haley [McCabe], Madeline [Drace], Briana [Fortnam], and Kendra [Wiley]. Listening to Matt [Giordano] and Connor [Sweetnam] terrorize each other up Alpine Road made for free entertainment. Then there’s Alex [Ballinger] and Spencer [Fussy] making the trip to Starbucks for my afternoon coffee, thanks to you both.”
When asked whether or not Chuck would make the risky decision to drive high school students again, he answered, “Sure I’d do it as long as they had the courtesy and civility you and your friends have shown.”
Dreary Night
Poetry Tommy Chen
Gaze out of the window and notice
The drifting clouds that dazzle the looming light
And the sweet cool air that blows the rusty leaves
As the sun begins to depart and darkness settles
Perhaps still contemplating from the previous night
How can I continue, when I no longer believe?
If I don’t recognize the dreary stars that remained since the previous night?
I wouldn’t trade your laughter for a moment of rest
Where I dream of flying the night sky
Starry city lights may shimmer beneath my eye
But still leave me nowhere from where I started
Here I am, come ride with me into the cold woods
And believe our future only holds laughter and joy
But you weren’t there, my eyes deceiving me again
I still take the empty, abandoned seat beside me
That I kept so dearly
So tell me: what’s the point, if you aren’t here?
Wasn’t life just supposed to be a dream?
I stroll through the trees, so lonely
And pass away my time in this overcast home
Until the sun lastly disappears and leaves me unguided,
In this dark mystery of confusion
Forever
Digital Illustration Greg Schulman
Photography
Laurin Noguchi
do it yourself how to make a talk box
A talk box works by replacing your vocal chords to make sound. Normally, your vocal chords vibrate to create tones that you then shape in your mouth. The talk box simply plays the sounds your instrument makes in the place of your vocal chords, letting you shape the sound and make notes much like you would by talking normally.
Footnotes:
1
Ever wished you could speak through your instrument? Probably not, but still it’s a tempting idea. A talk box takes the sound of your electric instrument of choice and warps it to the sound of your voice. It’s a weird cross between a wah-wah pedal and an auto-tune machine. Despite its off-the- charts awesome factor, it’s fairly easy to build at home and won’t cost too much.
you will need
Old set of computer speakers (powered)
Few feet 1/2 inch outside diameter vinyl tubing
Plumbing cap that fits your speaker cone
DUCT TAPE
Drill with 1/2 inch drill bit
Plastic storage box OR plunger head
Screwdrivers, tools to open your speaker
Electric musical instrument
Open up your speakers. Be sure not to cut any wires. Separate the speaker cone from the body.
2 Drill a hole in the top of the plumbing cap and insert the tubing. Duct tape it in place, making sure that the tubing doesn’t reach very far into the cap.
3
4
Place the speaker cone in the plumbing cap, making sure not to rip out its wires. Duct tape the wires to the speaker if you’re concerned for their safety.
Place the cap in your container.
A. If you’re using a plunger head, push the cap into place so it fits snugly. Make sure the seal is tight, then duct tape it until it’s airtight as possible.
B. If you’re using a plastic box, place the speaker body and cap in the box, then duct tape the cap into place. Make sure it’s airtight. Drill a slightly larger hole in the side of the box and run the tube and any wires through it, then seal it with duct tape. If you want to be able to turn the speaker on and off and adjust its volume, leave the top unsealed.
5
Cover up your talk box. Use blankets or pillows, whatever dampens its sound the best. Make sure most of the sound coming out of the talk box comes through the vinyl tube.
Make sure your plumbing cap (and plunger if you use one) fits your speaker before you buy it; the one in the pictures is too large and thus isn’t loud enough. Turn your instrument up as loud as possible, as well as the speaker amp. If there’s a problem, duct tape is the solution.
To use your talk box, plug it into your musical instrument output, usually an amp or keyboard. Stick the vinyl tube in your mouth, gripping it with your molars, and play your instrument as you normally would. Shape your mouth into different vowel or consonant shapes as if you were actually talking. Don’t expect to be able to make understandable noises at first, but vowels and wah-wah sounds will be easy. Exaggerate your consonants to be undestood better. Once you get over the silliness, you'll see how much fun a talk box can really be.
by AlexAnder Most
11:05 Alarms go off, classes notice the all too familiar disturbance
11:07 Teacher makes bad joke about the alarms
11:09 Students decide that the alarm has been going on a little too long
11:11 A student looks out the door and sees a screaming freshmen running by engulfed in flames. The student remarks he hasn’t seen such a pained face since leadership grouped Europe and Asia together at international day.
WHATWOULD REALLY HAPPEN INAN M-A EMERGENCY:
11:13 Zito comes on loudspeaker to announce emergency
11:17 Zito finishes his intro and begins to get to the point
11:25 Zito finishes his speech about how wonderful M-A is 11:28 Zito finishes his threats for any misbehavior at sports games
11:32 Zito announces emergency
11:33 Students gather their iPods and cell phones, leaving their homework for the flames
11:34 PAC collapses in an awesome way, justifying its existence. Screams of children onstage heard perfectly in every corner of the room.
11:34-11:52 Students make their way to the field, becoming clogged in Pride Hall when security sends students with out passes back.
11:53 New Gym collapses, a lone tear wells in Wimberly’s eye.
11:55 Surviving students realize that the period is over, and head off to lunch
Beatrice: Man’s Best Friend
by Haley McCabe
Anyone who has a class in the E-wing has seen Beatrice bathing in the sun with a good chew toy outside of E-25. Beatrice, in case you didn’t realize already, is a dog— but not just an ordinary pet—she is a companion dog to M-A sophomore Jake Wilkins, who has cerebral palsy. With this disease, Wilkins has very limited control of the muscles in his body, making it difficult for him to communicate and do some necessary daily tasks.
Beatrice was bred especially for Jake. His father Kirby Wilkins, a retired English Teacher at Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, did not know how to help Jake, who wanted to be independent but was unable to because of his condition. Kirby Wilkins was inspired by one of his students, Andrew, who is paralyzed from the waist down but lives a full productive life thanks to his companion dog. As a result, Kirby decided to get Jake a dog too.
Kirby wanted Jake to have a dog that was very athletic, but also gentle, resulting in the Labrador and Golden Retriever mix. Beatrice was born in the California Companions for Independence (CCI) facility and was trained there for 2 years.
Before Beatrice, Wilkins did not have a dog, or any sort of companion, so it was hard for
him to feel comfortable and independent on his own. His main goal is to be more self-sufficient, so Beatrice has many special skills to help him do this. Frank Cornejo, the one-on-one aid to Wilkins, explains some of the tasks that Beatrice performs. “Beatrice can open doors as long as there is a handle or something, like a rag, she can pull on. She can grab anything out of the fridge for Jake. If Jake drops something, Beatrice is there to pick it up and hand it to him.”
Beatrice and Wilkins share a very special relationship. Beatrice is 9 ½ years old and still serving as a companion dog, even though most dogs retire around 7 years old. Now, Beatrice is partially retired, so she does not respond to all 27 of her commands anymore. Beatrice is extremely protective of Wilkins. Earlier this year, Wilkins and the rest of his class went kayaking while Beatrice swam by his side the entire time. She understood that Jake could not carry his weight on his own in the water, and was extremely worried about his drowning. If there was ever an emergency and Jake was at risk, Beatrice would know what to do. She has the ability to dial 911 and the call the operator to get some help if he needs it. Beatrice and Jake are best friends. They spend all day, everyday together—Beatrice lives with Jake and goes with him nearly everywhere. In Jake’s case, Beatrice truly is man’s best friend.
Photography Anna Luke
supplement packet. White, a club soccer player for PSV Union 93, trains year round with practices three times a week and extra sessions once or twice a week. White was recently denied the P.E. supplement packet, despite offering reference letters from her coaches and extensive hours of practice logged. Their main argument against her case, she says, was that “because there is a soccer team at M-A, I can’t get out of P.E. credits.” Since this summer, her club team has gone to the semi-finals of the Nomads Tournament, was undefeated when traveling to England to play clubs from Liverpool and Chelsea, and went to the finals in the North v. South tournament. But apparently this is not enough for the state to deem her physically fit, and White is yet to determine how she will find the time to fulfill the P.E. requirement.
Paige Keating, a tennis player and M-A junior, is one of the few to qualify for the supplement packet. Keating too, however, acknowledges the absurdity of the team sport versus individual sport debacle, saying, “The supplement packet has too many restrictions for who can qualify. I think it should be based on the individual’s effort in their sport, and not on which sport they play.” Keating continues, “Just because I play tennis doesn’t mean that I am more of an athlete than [M-A students] Gillian Collom or Tess Cain who play on like three soccer teams, or Sofie Madden who rows crew every day at like 4 am. It doesn’t make sense,” she says, “that they get denied just because those are team sports.”
to tell me that sh*t doesn’t deserve the credits for a sport at M-A.” Mathon, who also plays on the M-A varsity basketball team, comments further, saying, “I’ll probably have to take a P.E. class next year, which is ridiculous because I’m ten times more fit than any person I know who actually does take P.E.”
Senior Molly Gould, a vaulter, also found herself unable to obtain P.E. credits for her outside-of-school athletics, despite the fact that she does gymnastics on an actual horse on a weekly basis. “Well,” says Gould, “I do gymnastics on horseback and compete at the national and international level, and M-A still feels the need to make me learn somersaults in P.E. Like I haven’t been tumbling my whole life.”
Sophia Titterton, another M-A senior, was equally unlucky in evading P.E. Although playing for a national level hockey team which more often than not travels out of state for games, Titterton says that, when she tried to get out of the requirement, the administration was inflexible. “They have this list of certain sports that can be used for P.E. credits, and hockey isn’t one of them,” says Titterton, “So even though I play for a traveling ice hockey team, I still had to do two quarters of zero period P.E. and two seasons of track, which totally messed up my knees in the process.” When it comes to athletes like Titterton, who are regularly pushed to their physical limit, more exercise can actually be significantly damaging to their bodies or performance.
“I’ll probably have to take a P.E. class next year, which is ridiculous because I’m ten times more fit than any person I know who actually does take P.E.”
-McKinley Mathon
McKinley Mathon, an M-A junior, recently discovered that he is no exception to the P.E. rule. “I play AAU (club) basketball where I spend over half of my weekends during the spring and summer playing basketball and driving from tournament to hotel to home and so on,” describes Mathon, “I also have two and a half hour practices twice a week – try
On a daily basis, most club athletes work not only with their teammates and coaches, but also with trainers and nutritionists. In fact, many, if not most club programs cover the aforementioned educational component by providing trainers and nutritionists. This allows for the same physical and health education on a far more personalized, individual basis. By principle, club sports ingrain healthy lifestyles and demand physical fitness. While the California State requirements, the administration, and M-A P.E. teachers may disagree, P.E. classes for club sport athletes are unnecessary, tedious, and even harmful to students who have little time to spare for a physical education they already have.
Dear
Menlo-Atherton,
After four years of hard work at Menlo-Atherton, I am now finished. I will be journeying across the country for college next fall. But as I look back on the last four years, several things come to mind: school, soccer, and Journalism.
I enrolled in Journalism my sophomore year because I wanted to beef up my college application. Always during sixth period, and known as a class that requires little work, Journalism was supposed to be an easy class that I would spend little time or effort on that would also be a plus on my college applications.
Senior year, that all changed. With new advisors, and an almost entirely new staff, we stopped printing the measly 8 page monthly newspaper and transformed it into an online newspaper that posts new stories everyday in addition to the first ever Menlo-Atherton Magazine (The MArk).
Over four years at M-A, I have encountered teachers that have helped me grow, teachers that make me want to drop out of school, classes that make me excited to wake up in the morning, and classes that make me hope I’ll never wake up in the morning. I have had my ups and downs at M-A like any student, but the best decision I ever made at M-A was taking Journalism.
Not only did the title of editor-in-chief help me get into college, but it also truly was a rewarding experience. I have learned more in this class, which was truly enjoyable, than I have in any other class.
I encourage everyone to take Journalism. The opportunities the class offers are endless. You don’t have to be an exceptional writer, you don’t have to be an award-winning photographer; if you take Journalism, you will grow and you will learn, and you will be a part of a team that is the start of a legacy. The program is small now, but with new advisors, renewed student excitement, and the support of the administration, we are destined for great things.
Whether you are joining because your life-long dream is to be a sports-writer for Sports Illustrated, or because you are just looking for another extracurricular to beef up the app, if you commit to Journalism at M-A, you won’t be disappointed. The experience will be what you make of it.
The MArk