the MARK
Middlefield Road, Atherton, CA
Menlo-Atherton High School
Welcome to the mark
Hello again readers! The Mark is back faster than ever! This is a new 32-page format. In as long as it took us to write this letter, we have put together a new magazine. Setting precedents and stealing hearts, The Mark is back with vengeance.
Enjoy!
Gabe, Francesca, and Sara
Photography Michelle Tu
staff
Editors-in-Chief
Gabe Cohen, Francesca gilles, and sara solomon
Copy Editor
katie webb
art editor
Nina fox
op-ed editor
molly kearnan
staff
writers
Caraline albro
sami andrew
Sofia bergmann
ryan cole
kristin cwirla
sarah dairiki
tara fahimi
eliza fitz
kate flanagan
katie moffitt
ian robinson-lambert
theresa siri
sabina vitale
joanna vollrath
Katrina Wijaya
adviser: Betsy Snow
letter TO the editors
Dear Editors of The Mark,
We’re deeply offended by your poor and utter tasteless decision to place an image of a knife next to the moving, emotionally appealing poem regarding depression. We believe mental health and depression should be taken much more seriously. The image of the knife particularly reveals the insensitivity the editorial staff has to serious problems such as depression that affects many in the student body. We hope that in the future, you refrain from making such distasteful decisions when regarding serious matters in the future.
[Anonymous]
letter from the editors
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for your letter. We, too, take mental health very seriously. We are sorry for our insensitive oversight, and we will work to ensure that our package placements are thoughtful and sensitive.
The Mark Editorial Board
about the cover
Lauren Bruce’s submission, “Birds,” sets the tone for our fear issue. She says, “I submitted the photo becaue I loved the panicked way in which the birds escaped from the tree right after a loud noise. Immediately after the shot, they rejoined and flew uniformly to the next tree, reminding us that fear is often temporary.”
MEdia Awareness editorial
The harsh reality of today is that the news of another mass shooting would not come as a shock to the average American citizen. What may be surprising to him or her, however, would be the fact that it occurred in Canada. On Wednesday morning of Oct. 22, Canadian Parliament was forced into lockdown after a gunman shot a soldier at a war memorial and then ran into the Parliament buildings, firing several more shots. The first gunman was shot down but the police spent the rest of the day searching for the other suspect, while Parliament,
Ottawa University, and other nearby buildings remained in lockdown. For an event so devastating and frightening to the nation of Canada, it was remarkable to see how little of MenloAtherton’s student body was aware of it. Whether this ignorance was due to a general disinterest in the news or a specific disinterest in Canada would be hard to say, but it seems that an event such as this should not go so entirely unnoticed by a large population. With Canada neighboring the U.S. along the length of its northern border, it could only benefit Americans to be
aware of Canadian news. Of course, Americans should not strive to know only local news but global news as well. American teenagers are famously known for their social media obsession, yet most seem incapable of taking advantage of this easy access to the world, checking in with each other rather than with global news. Although remedying this issue may take generations, an easy stepping stone to awareness would be to download the free app of any reliable news publication and read it frequently.
by The Mark Editorial Board
high mark//low mark
COLLEGE APPS DUE
COLLEGE & CAREER DAY fear of ebola
Photography Sally Stevens
Spreading The Word
The Celebrate My Drive and Fight For Hunger campaigns were recently introduced to MenloAtherton, spreading the need to become informed about driving safety and global hunger to the student body. In addition to the large banners hanging in Pride Hall promoting the campaigns, teachers, leadership class members, and the leadership advisers are encouraging their students to go online and vote to support M-A. The leadership class is also dedicating large amounts of their time to spreading the campaigns to the students, creating Facebook pages and mentioning them on M-A Today’s video broadcasts.
Celebrate My Drive intends to promote safe driving by having students pledge via Facebook to drive carefully. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, teenage drivers age 16 to 19 have the highest percentage of car accident involvements, and their first year of driving is always the most dangerous. Despite this unfortunate statistic, Celebrate My Drive’s goal is to celebrate the freedoms that come with the ability to drive in addition to promoting safe driving. According to Mike Amoroso, one of the leadership
advisers, many students are aware of the dangers of texting or talking while driving, but having “more awareness is better than turning a blind eye.” Senior Amara Trabosh concurs, saying that the campaign is all about “reach[ing] out to enough of the student body to make some sort of difference in their driving practices.”
Celebrate My Drive is not the only campaign that leadership has endorsed this year. The Fight For Hunger campaign was also developed to educate teens, but about the hunger crisis instead of driving practices.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 805 million people were undernourished from 2012 to 2014; today, malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause more than 50 percent of deaths worldwide. With this specific campaign, student volunteers raise money through different fundraising activities while thousands of meals are delivered to hungry children and adults in more than 40 different countries. Although this is the first year M-A has introduced Fight For Hunger to the student body, the campaign correlates well with the annual Canned Food Drive. “By
by Sarah Dairiki
participating in the Fight Against Hunger, we as a school have impacted the lives of people right here in our local community,” stated Amoroso. This is true, as hunger is a timeless concern in the United States, even within our own community. However, with the introduction of this specific campaign, a greater awareness of the hunger crisis will stretch to the students, and by voting, a child or adult in need will benefit greatly.
The debut of these two campaigns stresses the concept of increasing student awareness of topical issues. M-A is known for its great involvement in a variety of fundraisers and campaigns, and by embracing the Celebrate My Drive and Fight For Hunger campaigns, not only will the student body become more aware of what is happening in the world, but it will be helping those in need. The purpose of these campaigns is to become more involved, whether through voting or spreading the word of the campaigns. By becoming a part of them, the student body is, in the words of Trabosh, embracing the fact that “these [campaigns] are about helping people.”
Relaxation Sensation
by Eliza Fitz
Multi-tasking comes hand-inhand with the high school experience. Students are expected to manage six different subjects, then devote themselves to sports or band practice or play rehearsals or a job or all of the above. After this, they go home and have to dive into schoolwork, all while maintaining a relationship with their family.
It can seem impossible to find time to pursue activities of your own. Seemingly endless chores of some form or another suck away the time you would spend doing the things that make you happy. While you can’t make your homework load any lighter, nor your family life any simpler, you can fit in five or ten minutes every
now and then to devote to your own happiness and well-being. It doesn’t have to be as momentous as taking up a new hobby, but a short break in your hectic student-athlete-musician-artist-son-daughter-sibling life, if well spent, can make you a happier person.
Easy enough, right? However, in order for it to work, you have to unplug, put the flash cards down, and dedicate some downtime to relaxation. In the words of Yoda, “do or do not…There is no try.” Keep these words in mind when ‘trying’ to make time for a de-stressing break; it is important, so promise yourself to devote five minutes here and there solely to maintaining your own happiness.
Photography Connor Woods
Students are finding that their extracurriculars and other activities are chipping away at their lunch period. At Menlo-Atherton, students are given a 30 to 40 minute lunch period, depending on whether it’s a regular or block day. Especially for those with more demanding class schedules and social agendas, people have discovered that their lunch period simply isn’t sufficient to both eat lunch and achieve all they need to do. If they aren’t finishing the homework due fifth or sixth period, students have make-up work or tests and quizzes to take. Many participate in at least one club meeting every week. Some of the most prevalent lunch-time consumers are the bathroom or Speedway lines. “I am always busy at lunch because I spend the beginning of it in line for the bathroom then I have to talk to a teacher or finish some homework,” senior Misato Muraoka shares. For those who go to the bathroom every lunch, the period of time they have to eat lunch is almost always shorter than most others’. As a result, there is a growing trend of students using the lunch period as a time to accomplish other tasks and activities instead of a time to eat lunch.
by Katrina Wijaya
OFF-CAMPUS LUNCH
Mouthwatering panini from Cafe Borrone, perfectly toasted bagels from Posh, and delicious froyo from Miyo are all less than a mile away from our campus; therefore, students who work hard to be respectful, intelligent adults when they graduate from MenloAtherton deserve enjoyable privileges like off-campus lunch. Unfortunately, leaving campus to indulge in off-campus lunch is not permitted for the M-A student body. The disallowance of this privilege confuses the M-A student body. Freshman Johnny Eisenstat responded to the administration’s rationale behind the closed campus: “I don’t know. I think it’s pretty stupid though. We should definitely have off-campus lunch.” This attitude reflects that of the majority of the student body: upset and uninformed.
While M-A students were afforded the option to go off campus for lunch in the 1990s, this privilege has since been revoked. M-A principal Matthew Zito offered three concrete reasons against its reinstatement. Firstly, a problem arose where students would return from an off-campus lunch with more than just a food baby. Oftentimes, students would take the opportunity to imbibe illicit drugs or alcohol in an attempt to ride the afternoon in a haze. Other students bypassed the middleman and simply did not return to class at all, creating attendance issues. Finally, if M-A was
by Theresa Siri
to reinstate off-campus lunch, students at other schools in the district would likely protest their right to off-campus lunch, and M-A would be culpable for inciting rebellion. Additionally, Zito shared that former M-A students who dined off-campus before the policy change in the 90s exhibited “exuberant behavior in restaurants that caused the merchants to urge the school to monitor
“There was [...] an issue with students coming back late from lunch and merchants that would complain about exuberant teenage behavior.”
said students, despite wishing to retain the business M-A students generated.” The concern and liability of allowing students to leave campus for an hour lunch break is reasonable. Regardless of students’ counterarguments, the administration sees off-campus lunch as an unnecessary risk. Students could leave and come back intoxicated, or not come back at all. While valid, do these concerns apply to the entire student population?
Considering that M-A currently, with the closed campus policy, sees instances of students coming to classes intoxicated or simply not showing up to class, it is predicted that introducing an open campus would exacerbate the issue. However, these specific students cut class regardless of the time of day or the ease with which they can ditch school. Students find ways to get what they want no matter how efficiently the administration patrols. They choose to cut class without care for their attendance record, but the kids who do genuinely care about learning and take advantage of their free education stay at school and show up to their classes; the same kids would come back to class after their off-campus lunch. Kids may misuse this privilege in many ways usually not anticipated, but again, if they need to be punished, odds are authority already punishes them now and will continue to punish them for the rest of their lives. Let them have their privileges taken away because that’s how we should punish those who usually ruin it for everyone else. The selfish acts of a few students should not remove the privileges of everyone else, including the one to offcampus lunch. Therefore, the school should consider allowing the students who do put effort into their schoolwork to have fun privileges like off-campus lunch.
accruing college and career knowledge
Providing a host of events to prepare students for life beyond high school, Menlo-Atherton hosted its first College and Career Day. Unlike typical school days, the morning of Oct. 15 was not filled with the frenzy of students rushing to class, cramming for tests, and pushing through Pride Hall to get to first period on time. Rather, the halls were eerily quiet and peaceful. School started at varying times for different grades: freshmen toured local colleges, sophomores and juniors took the PSAT, and seniors listened to career panels. While the sophomores, juniors, and seniors stayed on campus, the freshmen loaded onto big yellow buses to tour colleges such as Santa Clara University, San Jose State University, and San Francisco State University, among others. Although the day was intended to inform students about possible colleges, the schools toured did not appeal to all students. Some freshmen appreciated their tours, but others did not. One particular freshman was unsatisfied with the acceptance requirements of Cal State East Bay, the college he toured. He disliked how the school would admit an applicant for his or her grades, with little regard to other factors, such as involvement in illegal activity. However, with such a broad range of students and abilities at M-A, finding a college that pleases everyone would be nearly impossible. Therefore, this day was not meant for students to find a ‘dream school’; rather, it was meant to educate the class on the opportunities available to them after high school. With the freshmen scattered
by Kate Flanagan
around the Bay Area, the sophomores and juniors stayed on campus to take the PSAT. As this is the first year that M-A administered it during school hours, all sophomores and juniors took the test. While in past years the PSAT has been optional and held on a Saturday morning, this year, every student took part in the test, yielding a variety of opinions. Sophomore Naomi Lee admits that if the PSAT was administered on a Saturday, she would “probably not” have taken it. Later, Lee states that having the test during school “made it feel more like a test rather than [...] something [...] extra.” Along with Lee, other sophomores affirmed that taking the PSAT during school changed it from “something that’s [...] on the side” to a school wide requirement. Overall though, Lee was pleased with the administration of the test during school. She concludes by saying, “It was fabulous [...] I really liked it.”
This year’s class of juniors has had the opportunity to take the PSAT both on a Saturday and during school hours, giving these students the chance to evaluate both options. Although using a school day to administer the test takes away from teachers’ limited class time, it allows more students to participate. “Last year I didn’t have time to take the PSAT at school, so I took it at a tutoring place called C2 Education in Menlo Park,” explains junior Elton Rosicki. In the past, many students were unable to take the test because of issues regarding sports, transportation, and motivation. Now, with these complications dealt with through the administration of the PSAT during school,
nearly all tenth and eleventh grade students took the test, which in itself has been proven to boost SAT scores. With graduation quickly approaching, the seniors spent the day attending three career presentations intended to educate them on possible job opportunities for after high school. Prior to attending College and Career Day, seniors filled out a questionnaire to determine which panels he or she would attend. Students regarded the day with mixed opinions, but most maintained that it was a success. “I really enjoyed it [...] it was helpful because you got to see the daily tasks that they did [...] and since I didn’t know much about business [...] and [...] psychology that was helpful,” explains Sally Stevens. Her classmate, Healey Montague-Alamin, voiced a similar opinion, saying, “I loved it. I want to fill out the survey but I haven’t yet.” However, not all seniors expressed the same enthusiasm as Stevens and Montague-Alamin. “I ditched [...] I was behind on my early apps, and it was the only day I could miss school to work on them without having to make up work for my classes,” admits one senior who decided not to attend College and Career Day. M-A’s first College and Career Day, though experimental, provided a variety of experiences for students. Guidance counselors Laura Duran and Lara Sandora agree that, “without the support and participation from everyone on campus, it would not have been as successful. We learned a lot from this year and can’t wait to improve for the future.” 11
CANDY ACORNS
Nutter Butter Bites
Mini chocolate chips
Hershey’s kisses, regular (optional) extra chocolate chips to melt
1. Pull apart the two sides of one Nutter Butter Bite.
2. Place the side of the Nutter Butter with the peanut butter on the flat side of the Hershey’s kiss, using the Nutter Butter filling to make them stick.
3. Take a single mini chocolate chip, put a small amount of the Nutter Butter filling on its flat side and stick it on the top of the Nutter Butter.
4. You can also use melted chocolate to make the different pieces stick together if the peanut butter does not suffice.
5. Make as many candy acorns as you want!
How to make the m t Autumn out of
PUMPKIN PEEPS
Marshmallows Orange sprinkles
Bowl of water Skewer Paper towel Spoon Green Frosting
1. Cut one marshmallow in half.
2. Stick a skewer through it, and quickly dunk it in the bowl of water.
3. Keeping the marshmallow on the skewer, use the spoon to cover the marshmallow with orange sprinkles.
4. Place a small dot of green frosting on the top of the pumpkin, creating a stem.
5. Make as many as you wish and enjoy!
by Joanna Vollrath
Marathoning of a Different Kind
by Molly Kearnan
It’s 8:30 on a Friday night and it’s time to stretch your muscles. Your friends invited you to a party but you turned them down, telling them you had to train for the upcoming state competition. You run tirelessly up and down the stairs, grabbing bowls of chips, grapes, and popcorn along with 16 glasses of water as you prepare yourself for the long weekend ahead. You double check that you’ve turned off your phone; you can’t afford any distractions. You do a last minute downward dog and a quick hamstring stretch and it’s time.
Carefully sitting down amongst your pillows, you flawlessly follow the routine you’ve practiced hundreds of times: you open your computer, type in the address, and press play. You have now officially begun your Netflix marathon, an effort that can only be accomplished with superhuman endurance and determination.
For the next 48 hours, the only breaks you take are those of pure necessity and you refrain from any communication with the outside world in order to insure the most effective training. Practice makes perfect, after all. At the end of the weekend you emerge triumphant, with five seasons and two movies under your belt. You immediately care for the wounds you suffered from your hard work, icing your finger-splints and rolling out your wrists. You’re still going to have to step up your game if you want to make it to State, but after this successful weekend, you know you’re on the right track.
Photography Isabella Lopez
Photography Jackie Lopez
Theonlything fear is wefearitself haveto
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke this profound truth with just 10 simple words. For many, fear is more than a simple emotion: it is a complex array of physical and mental responses to certain triggers, a bodily answer to a mental stimulant. Fear is the ice in your veins when you are trapped in a too-small space, the knives behind your eyes when you catch sight of a spider. But how does this carnal reaction translate into our society? The answer unfortunately presents itself through a plethora of venues, each with its own set of implications.
Our actions are often unwillingly dictated through feelings
of fear. Social media presents ample opportunity for the exposure of our private thoughts and feelings: when Snapchats are saved and Facebook posts are published for all to see and judge, our private internet lives give way to embarrassment and overexposure. Fear mongering in politics has torn our already partisan country into two; the government whose duty it is to serve and protect its people does so through terrorizing its own population. The longtime Ebola epidemic in Africa has embedded itself into the fabric of the United States, causing an eruption of panic among hypochondriacs and paranoids alike. Without the comfort of an ocean’s divide between
byFrancescaGilles
them and the epidemic, Americans face their own mortality up close, rather than from afar. These combined stressors make for rampant social tension, as well as set the precedent that a society driven by fear is acceptable.
In the cover package of this edition, The Mark explores different aspects of fear, from social media to Ebola, to the true psychology behind our fear of the dark. Each article attempts to uncover the inherent issues behind our society’s dependence upon fear. Through the following pages, we hope to instill both knowledge about the origins and manifestations of fear, as well as a call to action: can we disabuse fear of its power to control us?
What is Fear?
by Tara Fahimi
Whether its spiders, the dark, heights, motion, or public speaking, everyone has something that makes him or her tremble. What is fear? What are its psychological and physical properties? Fear acts as a chain reaction in the brain. It starts with a stimulus, what you are scared of, and ends with the release of chemicals. These chemicals cause a racing heart, fast breathing, and tightened muscles. It also causes you to feel anxious and insecure. We have all felt these symptoms, whether we are terrified, or just a little nervous. A fear can be real or imaginary; sometimes you experience it due to your misperception of the situation. Fear imposes limitations upon your abilities and can prevent you from carrying out your usual activities. Despite its negative aspects, fear can be good for you. Dr. Maryam Noroozian, an Associate Professor of Neurology and the head of the Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, says, “Fear is necessary for humans to survive. It helps us respond quickly to threats and dangers by sending sensory neurons to your brain; which then instructs your body in what to do.” According to Noroozian, fear is essential to the way humans function. However, she recommends that people try and reduce the severity of their fear, as “being petrified of something is not going to help you. That will paralyze you and lead to a state of severe anxiety and stress. I advise that one should try and limit the extent of their fears to a healthy level and not let it overtake you.” Noroozian advises to take a deep breath in order to restrict fear from taking over your thoughts and actions too much, while maintaining a small amount in order spark your instincts.
Agoraphobia: fear of crowds
Arachnophobia: fear of spiders
Acrophobia: fear of heights
Achluophobia: Fear of darkness.
Pteromerhanophobia: fear of flying
Astraphobia: fear of thunder
What is your biggest fear?
“Earthquakes.” - Karly Gorman, 11
“Spiders.” - Marissa Shepard, 10
“Public speaking.” - Isabella Lopez, 12
“Clowns.” - Ryan Jacquemet, 12
“Wrecking my car.” - Bert Perez, 12
“Dying.” - Julian Zucker, 11
“Birds.” - Katie Moffitt, 10
Your Digital Footprint
by Katie Moffitt
Oblivious of possible consequences, you carelessly send a mortifying Snapchat of your many chins to your best friend, but is he or she the only person seeing it? Social media, now a focal point in most everyone’s lives, has transformed from a new method of self-expression to a strategy of hurting others. Would you be shocked to discover how reliant you have become on these devices, only to have this trust broken? Social media comes with both positive and negative consequences. For one, it can be a powerful tool for reaching the general public on a large scale and can be the motivation one needs to do something remarkable. Then again, social media can be daunting and even hurtful. As if bullying was not big enough of a problem already, social media has made it possible for bullies to hide behind a screen. Without bystanders threatening to step in and save the victim, cyberbullying has turned into a new beast, one even harder to tackle. Why are we setting ourselves up for failure? Why do we take photos that could threaten to present an awkward, embarrassing, or potentially harmful situation? Is it to prove that we exist? Or is it merely for the fun and excitement of it? What is missing in our lives that drives us to put so much trust in these apps? Why do we, then, test the trust we have put into these apps? Is that our excuse for taking damaging photos or putting information that we know is not secure out into the world? Do we want this delicate trust to be broken?
Snapchat, one of the most popular social media outlets among teens, operates under the principle that your
private photos only exist for up to 10 seconds. Snapchat’s main platform and purpose was to provide a place where users could communicate with others and with ultimate privacy, as all photos were “deleted,” or so the company claimed. As soon as the recipient viewed the message, it was supposed to “self-destruct.” Despite this noble intention, the recent interception of almost 200,000 Snapchat photos has proved that claim wrong. Users have figured out a way to evade the system by taking screenshots, defeating the purpose of the app. It has also been noted that photos taken and sent on the app are saved in the system, rather than destroyed. And, to make matters worse, Snapchat is a widely used social media platform for young adults, sparking the assumption that many of the photos released on Oct. 12 were nudes, which constitutes as child pornography.
This is just one issue of many that has shone light on the fact that we have little control over our digital content. What is assumed to be safe and private is most likely available to anyone with the means or the drive. Whether the means is SnapSave, an app that allows Snapchat users to save snaps, or iCloud, there is always a loophole when it comes to security. The Terms of Use consumers blindly agree to have recently proved to be everything but trustworthy. Yet few actually take the time to read this form which outlines the procedures taken to ensure the safety of their content on the app.
The idea of the internet is that information and news will be accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. This means despite how difficult it may be to find what one has put on the network, it is available to anyone who knows how to access it. To put this into perspective, one’s digital “footprint,” so to speak, does not remain on the
network of a certain area; rather, it is available to anyone, regardless of his or her location. For example, C. Y. Leung’s (a Hong Kong leader) daugher, Chai Yan Leung, showed the world the damage social media can do. Within minutes of posting a scathing and condescending comment on Facebook, her words went viral and immediately became an international topic of discussion. Her post harmed her father, a public figure, and his campaign, along with enraging not only the residents of Hong Kong to whom her post was addressed, but also people around the world.
Monica Lewinsky’s recent speech about cyber bullying also exemplifies the impact and power of social media. After her affair with President Bill Clinton between 1995 and 1996, Lewinsky was under constant public scrutiny. During that time, Lewinsky experienced what she calls “the first moment of truly ‘social media,’” while being the “first person to have her reputation completely destroyed” on the internet. The influence of social media is shown in this example through the limited ways that information could travel such as news, gossip, and entertainment websites. Years ago there was no Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. There were tabloids and gossip columns, which most knew which to trust and which to avoid for true and unbiased information. But now, with the internet, it is much less obvious what information is believable and what is not.
The increasing trend of unsafe media, a trend that all should be aware of, is either ignored or seen as a challenge. Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media users have a specific reason for using such applications: to prove to themselves and to others that they exist and that they have meaning, or to contradict a common wariness of social media and its safety. Time will tell how those two paths will turn out. There may be a complete backlash and new reservations regarding digital safety or life will go on and slowly, social standards will change and soon everyone will have unsafe and damaging digital content as a history. Which future appeals to you?
Irrational Fear of
When examining fear mongering tendencies of modern-day Americans, the most pressing event is the Ebola epidemic. After a recent outbreak in West Africa, the Ebola virus slowly spread to other countries, including the United States. Thus far, the United States has diagnosed a total of four cases, resulting in the death of one. However, despite this miniscule number, the American public has reacted in what can best be described as a frenzied terror.
The virus itself is greatly misunderstood. Ebola is not spread via air or water, but instead, only by the contact of bodily fluids. This misconception has led many Americans to fear that Ebola will spread through the air in a science-fictionesque manner, which has distorted the situation, blowing it far out of proportion. If handled properly, the virus should be containable and marginally safe. However, after the Center for Disease Control (CDC) poorly handled the initial outbreak in the United States, this point has proved difficult to get across to much of the public.
Doctors diagnosed the first case of Ebola in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 30. The victim, Thomas Duncan, was treated at a Texas hospital, spreading the illness to two nurses before his passing on Oct. 8. Many blame the CDC’s loose policies and seemingly cavalier and unprepared attitude for the spread. Director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden, has come under fire, recently acknowledging that the CDC should have implemented a “more robust management
team and been more hands-on from day one.” Unsure of the trustworthiness of the government-backed handling of the situation, many Americans feel little comfort as to the possibility of eradication of the illness within U.S. borders. With little knowledge, proven poor leadership, and over dramatized news coverage, the fear of the American public over the Ebola virus has skyrocketed. Although the facts regarding the virus are now readily available, the seed has been planted. As some want to cut travel access to West Africa completely, it is clear that the fear is spreading. As people have convinced themselves of the eminent danger looming outside their door, the proven difficulty in contracting the illness and the now almost over-secure means of containment and treatment are meaningless. When comparing the Ebola virus to Influenza, also referred to as the flu, the now four cases and one death in the United States are dwarfed by the CDC reports saying that the flu sends upwards of 200,000 to the hospital each year, killing around 49,000. Vaccination for the flu is highly effective and widely available, yet, many choose to not get vaccinated, instead ignoring the evident risk, making themselves and those around them far more susceptible. Not to say that the Ebola virus is not a seriously dangerous threat, but the panicked reaction of the American public is misdirected, as they default to fear of the new, permitting the preventable common flu to hospitalize hundreds of thousands each year. Moreover, this panic in the
United States over a handful of cases of Ebola highlights an evident belief of Western supremacy. While the World Health Organization reports that the West African outbreak has infected upwards of 7,200, killing nearly 3,500, Americans appear to only care about curing the illness within their own borders. Had the disease not spread to the United States, a frighteningly large percentage of Americans would likely not even know such an epidemic was occurring in another less developed region of the world. Frantically searching for a cure only after an American caught the disease, much of the world is looking towards the U.S. in disappointment, as it appears that we are out to only help ourselves and other developed nations. Unfortunately, this fear-reaction revealing underlying racism and more general prejudices is not a first, but a trend. In connection to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, American’s frenzy in the face of new disease uncovered severe homophobic tendencies, despite scientific research explaining otherwise. Collectively, the perception and handling of the Ebola epidemic in the United States fits perfectly into the reactionary, fear-driven mold of many Americans. Fearful of the new and ignorant of the old, it is clear that when faced with an issue such as this, the general public defaults to drastic measures instead of logically evaluating a situation, embarrassing themselves on the international stage.
by Gabe Cohen
Photography
Connor Woods
Photography
Evan Reed
M-A Exchange Students
by Sabina Vitale
Felix Carlsson
Felix is from Stockholm, Sweden. Felix wanted to experience American life from an insider’s perspective rather than from a tourist’s perspective. In addition, Felix comments that he wanted to “try something new” as he “was tired of Sweden.” The most prominent difference between M-A and his old high school is that M-A has a lot more diversity. Felix expected a “calm” experience at M-A with a lighter homework load.
Andrea GAINI
Andrea is from Florence, Italy. After coming to America last year with his water polo team, Andrea decided he wanted to experience American life firsthand. “I really wanted to improve my English,” Andrea commented, and winning a scholarship from his old school made foreign exchange a possibility. Andrea observed that the most notable difference between M-A and his old high school is the size. “M-A is very very big compared to [his] Italian school,” which had a population of just 300 students. Andrea expected M-A to be more academically rigorous as it is less challenging than a typical Italian high school.
Claudia Marie Sanchez-Beato Johnson
Claudia is from Madrid, Spain. Her mother is originally from Virginia and Claudia had always wanted to “get out of home and meet new people” and see new places. Her Spanish school was very different from M-A, particularly in size. In contrast to her old environment of a 200-person school where everybody knows everybody, Claudia loves the fact that at M-A “you can meet a new person every single day.” Claudia really enjoys the diverse student body that we have at M-A and so far has adapted very well because of her openness to meeting new people.
Matheus Santos
Matheus is from São Paulo, Brazil. Inspired by his two uncles who came to the U.S. for college, Matheus wanted to complete his education in America. M-A is very different from his previous school. In Brazil, Matheus had half days, from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., and barely any homework. Matheus happily commented that he has easily made friends and is enjoying his time here.
POLITICS
Many people do not vote for issues based on pure logic. This isn’t a judgement of the American people, it’s simply a hard fact. Many people do not tend to vote merely based on the rationale of an issue. They make decisions based on their feelings, their emotions, their personal connection, if any. Similarly, politicians do not campaign for office based on a logical approach to issues. Virtually no politicians have been elected simply because they present a fair, unbiased view of issues they plan on approaching in office. Most politicians base their campaigns on the feelings and emotions of the people who are likely to vote for them. More often than not, politicians bank on the fear of their voters, to convince them of the terrors that await the United States if they are not elected.
“Many people do not vote for issues based on pure logic.
A classic example of fear-targeting is Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Daisy” attack ad towards Barry Goldwater in 1964, which depicts an innocent girl caught in a nuclear strike as she is counting the petals on flowers. “We must either love each other, or we must die,” Johnson’s voice booms, followed
by a grave statement: “The stakes are too high for you to stay home.” Johnson was able to effectively prey on the American people’s crippling fear of the atomic bomb in the midst of the Cold War in order to increase his own popularity. Johnson won the election against Goldwater in a landslide, which can probably be attributed to his extremely savvy use of fear in the eyes of the American people. Today, not much has changed -- Democrat or Republican, there is no doubt that a large majority of political figures can attribute their success to their skill at fear-mongering. Our fears have shifted from Russia and the atomic bomb to Ebola and ISIS, and politicians of any party are quick to target this. Ebola is, naturally, an issue of enormous weight in popular culture right now -- “sexy Ebola nurse” Halloween costumes were all the rage this past month, and there have even been talks of an Ebola television show à la Contagion -- despite scientists em-
“Irrational fear arising from viral outbreaks is nothing new.
phatically stating that the virus has very little actual threat to everyday life. Todd Kincannon, the former director of the South Carolina Republican Party, stirred up controversy when he tweeted that anyone with Ebola should be “humanely put down immediately,” followed by a number of alarmingly racist remarks about West Africans who contracted the virus. Tactless and insensitive as his comments may have been, Kincannon attempted to use people’s intense fear of Ebola to boost his own popularity. Whether or not his misguided words were successful isn’t particularly important. It doesn’t matter that eight out of the nine American people infected with Ebola are alive, or that the virus can’t actually be transferred through air or water -- politicians of both sides are jumping on every possible opportunity to blame the outbreak on the other side and assert how they will work much harder than the opposition at eradicating the virus. And, to be brutally honest, irrational fear arising from viral outbreaks is nothing new. Ebola is simply the lat-
& FEAR
by Ian Robinson-Lambert
est panic.
Politics and fear are interrelated on a local level as well -- look no further than Menlo Park’s Measure M for evidence. The highly controversial measure concerns the development of abandoned space along El Camino Real and in downtown Menlo Park, and has created a deep divide between the citizens of Menlo Park. These two types of people -- those who insist Menlo Park must retain its apparent “small town” charm, and those who argue that the abandoned car lots are eyesores that must be developed -- have not built their individual campaigns based solely on factual points. If you were to walk down a typical Menlo Park street over the past few weeks, you wouldn’t see posters advocating statistics or logic; you would see brightly-colored signs screaming about family, children, gridlock, and blight. There is nothing right or wrong about this -- it’s simply politics. Those in favor of Measure M are targeting people’s fear of Menlo Park turning into a gridlocked metropolis nightmare, and
those against the measure are targeting people’s fear of an endless procession of weed-infested abandoned lots clogging up prime real estate. Of course, the media is only adding fuel to the fire, with many news sources dubbing Measure M “the Battle for Menlo Park.”
“many news sources have dubbed measure M “The Battle for Menlo Park.”
Our fears have shifted from Russia and the atomic bomb to ebola and isis.
”The media is crucial in spreading fear, whether directly or indirectly. After the first case of Ebola broke out in the U.S., news networks screamed about “Ebola in America!” and immediately began inviting doctors on their shows to validate their fears -- which of course they did not, instead patiently telling everyone that the virus was not the apocalyptic threat they thought it was. ISIS has been another intense target of media fearmongering, and, despite being much more of a legitimate threat than Ebola, is still being blown wildly out of proportion. Even the most unbiased newspapers and news networks are running stories about “Mass murders!” and “Terrorist threats growing every day!” while liberal and conservative news out-
lets are going to even further extremes. Nowadays, it seems nothing is important unless it’s branded a ‘war on’ this or a ‘fight for’ that -- after all, if Measure M can be transformed into “the Battle for Menlo Park,” imagine how dramatic bigger issues such as gay rights and abortions can become. Our 24hour news cycle paired with the growing popularity of news via social networking sites has made it all too easy for politicians to spread fear about current issues through the media.
But what can be done about this? Politics and fear have been intertwined for too long and too intensely to be separated, that much is clear. Politicians will continue targeting people’s fears, from the most rational to the most irrational, and the media will continue to help. But what can change is the way people see these issues, which is why it is imperative that people see beyond the bias and consider the core of current events. It is all too easy to make a quick decision based on emotion or fear of the opposite, but it is crucial to consider all the hard facts.
Viewpoint
The Why parents need to stay out of college applications
With seniors in the midst of college applications, it has grown glaringly obvious that people are on unfair footing, not just because of differing amounts of test preparation or special college counselors, but because of varying levels of parental involvement. While there is nothing wrong with parents supporting their children’s efforts to get into college, it feels unfair for them to be involved with the applications themselves. Despite the fact that parents who finance higher education want more input in their child’s applications, their desire to have more control over this process is ultimately a flawed view for several key reasons.
First and foremost, a college application in which a parent has provided excessive aid does not accurately represent a student. Rather, it reflects a parent’s view of his or her child, which though based on facts, can’t help but exaggerate. Furthermore, a college creates an application expecting a 17-year-old to fill it out. According to Menlo-Atherton college counselor Alice Kleeman, “When you’re talking about the process of filling out and submitting the applications, that’s the student’s job. They’re not being asked to do something they’re incapable of doing.” Therefore, the college application process should belong first and foremost to the students applying, as their voices are the ones admissions officers are looking for. Admissions officers are not seeking to admit a group of 50-something-year-old parents, rather, they are looking for young people who genuinely want to be on their campuses,
by Kristin Cwirla and Katie Webb
and are capable of keeping up with the workload in both quantity and quality. As a result, it is in students’ best interests to complete college applications mostly by themselves, as it best represents who they are and what they are capable of for admissions counselors. Having a parent extremely involved in the process also prevents students from learning how to take responsibility -- in less than a year, the student will be halfway across the country, fending for him or herself. This applies to
more than just filling out the application itself; rather, it extends to submitting materials on time and setting up interviews. “Students who habitually resist taking initiative and responsibility for this process may simply not be ready, [and] may need an alternative,” shares Kleeman. These alternatives include community college or a gap year. These alternatives are certainly respectable, as they can help students who may not be entirely ready for four-year universities to mature and evolve as students
and as individuals. College applications are in many ways the first step to adulthood for many students. It is a time in which students have the opportunity to represent themselves as an individual, independent of their parents. Applications are often the first time a student gets to deal with the joys of tedious paperwork, which, though certainly tiring, is a part of adult life. It is therefore not helpful for parents to construct their child’s application. By taking the lead on applications, parents prevent their children from a valuable learning experience.
Finally, it is unfair. Regardless of how much a student wants to go to college, some families have a stronger college-going attitude, thus making parent involvement an equity issue. Some students gain an even further advantage over others, as they are from a college-going environment and therefore are provided with countless forms of encouragement. Those who are in a less college-going environment are therefore at a disadvantage, regardless of the level of their desire to attend college. While we are not saying that parents should be entirely removed from the college application process, their role should be limited to ensure that students learn responsibility and to make the application process as fair as possible. Parents should definitely be consulted and their opinions voiced, as a student’s choice of college does have a large impact on a family, but not at the expense of a student’s ability to learn and grow on his or her own.
Dana Collins:
by Caraline Albro custodian of kindness
Walking through the halls at 5:30 on a sleepy Tuesday evening, the school is practically silent. Occasionally, the sound of custodians sweeping classrooms and graciously restoring the functionality of the school can be heard; among these, Dana Collins, who greets students with a huge smile. A night custodian five days a week, she chooses to interact with students cheerfully. Despite her tough job, Collins maintains a glasshalf-full kind of attitude, uplifting students who trudge past classrooms after sports practices and long days. The Mark’s Caraline Albro sat down with Collins to find out what inspires her positive presence.
The Mark: How did you decide to work at M-A?
Dana Collins: I liked the students. The staff is really nice. So it’s a pretty decent atmosphere to work in.
TM: When do you work?
DC: Five days a week and I work from 3 to 11 p.m.
TM: You have such a great attitude and always say hello to students. How do you maintain this awesome outlook everyday?
DC: I think I’m always like this, even outside of work. If you were to meet [my] family or friends they [will] always tell you that my personality is bubbly [...] I like to get to know the students, say hello, see how their day is going, how their classes are going, and keep them motivated and positive. I always tell students if someone does something nice for you, what do you do? And [the student says], “[I] say thank you!” And I say, “well, what else do you do?” [The student says], “I don’t know!” I say,
“pass the kindness on.” And I say that it never has to be money. I say it can be helping your classmate with homework, just smil[ing] at somebody, [or] hold[ing] a door for someone. Sometimes you may smile at somebody and you don’t realize that it just makes their day. You never know what someone is going through. I like to keep a positive attitude.
TM: How do students react to your kindness?
DC: Oh, they’re happy! At first, some students were surprised, I guess, because I’m an adult. And then they just get used to it and they see me and it’s a group of students and they all say, “Hi Dana!” I think that’s totally cool. I just want them to know that any adult they see is [kind] and [to not] think anything bad about it. Hopefully, it’s nothing negative. They should be able to be in school and see other staff and say “hello” and “how are you doing?” and feel comfortable about it.
TM: Is there anything you would like
the students at M-A to know?
DC: Well, I would like to say, you know… Go M-A! And I would like all the students to stay positive because we all have those hard days. Sometimes you take a test and you don’t get the grade that you want. But, you know, you study harder, you get a better grade. And just keep at it, don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. We’re all going to have those bad days where you think you won’t get over it, but you do. One day you wake up and you’re like, “Oh, I feel fine!” and [you] just keep moving on. So as hard as they think it is, [I] just tell them to keep moving on and have a smile and a good outlook on life.
TM: Is there anything you would like to see at M-A in the future?
DC: No, because with my experience working here, being around the teaching staff, I think they really care about the students and [...] about the student’s learning and their well-being.
football culture
Football culture is strong throughout the entire country, yet by comparison to other states the Bay Area’s involvement in high school football is negligible. For example, Van, Texas postponed Halloween until Saturday night because of a football game 30 miles away in Wills Point on Friday night, Oct. 31. The mayor proclaimed that with over 2,600 planned attendees, there was no point in having Halloween on Friday. A holiday being postponed a day for a football game seems extreme, but the motives behind it are inspiring. The dedication to football by this Texas town comes as a shock to many MenloAtherton students, including 12th Man captain Whittaker Jellins. “I wish M-A had that same culture too,” Jellins commented. “I have always been a big fan of the show ‘Friday Night Lights’ and having the social structure surrounded by sports is super cool.”
Events such as the one in Van prove that people around the country take their high school football seriously. While Texas is a state that one would expect to have this level of dedication, New Jersey’s football culture does not
have the same reputation. Despite usually flying under the radar, a crisis emerged in Sayreville, New Jersey when the football season had to be canceled at Sayreville War Memorial High School at the end of September due to allegations of hazing by upperclassmen against freshmen football players. The scandal has raised alarms to players whose collegiate prospects rested upon their success this season. To put this into perspective, this is comparable to the East Bay powerhouse De La Salle High School cancelling their football season. De La Salle has produced countless collegiate players and even NFL players, including running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Needless to say, the cancellation of an entire season of high school football is a major disappointment for the players and the fans. The events in both Texas and in New Jersey demonstrate the widespread fan base for high school football; these teams are truly the heart and soul of some towns, even gateways to the NFL.
The tradition of having a strong football team and producing elite players is not unheard of at M-A. Some
M-A alumni have gone on to successful college careers such as T.C. Ostrander, who played quarterback at Stanford, and Greg Camarillo, who played wide receiver at Stanford and then went on to a seven-year NFL career. These athletes pave the way for others to join them in their football success, but players all agree that having support from fans helps motivate them to play their best. Varsity quarterback Robby Beardsley agrees that “it is much more special to be a part of a culture that stands behind one single thing together and therefore unites the community.”
Football games at M-A are a fun social event for students, teachers, and neighborhood families. Jellins and the 12th Man are trying to promote the sport as seen through special football bear wear and increased publicity. “It is often hard when there are so many high schools within a small area to have the same town pride and support for one team, but within the school it would be nice to see an increase in support for all sports teams.”
by Sami Andrew
Photography Annie Harrier
The names behind the signs
by Ryan Cole
Every day students pour past signs dedicating sports facilities with little knowledge of or concern for the people behind the names on those signs. While some students have heard the background behind Coach Parks Field, few know the stories of Ayers Gym, Bettencourt Field, and Spieker Pool. Interestingly enough, they are all woven together with years of MenloAtherton sports lore.
Robert Ayers taught P.E. and coached basketball and track during his 25 years at M-A, from 1951 to 1976. During his tenure, he coached track athletes to five individual and one collective CCS title. Although he passed away in 2006, his name survives on the sign under the scoreboard in Ayers Gym.
An involved figure in M-A athletics, Ayers became familiar with a number of student athletes. One of these was a standout swimmer named Tod
Spieker. During his junior and senior years, Spieker earned High School AllAmerican honors in multiple events. After graduating in 1967, he went on to swim for University of California, Los Angeles on a scholarship. He would later donate an aquatic center at each of his alma maters: Spieker Aquatic Center still stands on the UCLA campus, while Spieker Pool has hosted M-A aquatics since 2001.
Coach Ben Parks arrived at M-A in 1968, just after Spieker graduated. Parks, who was a classmate of Spieker’s swimming coach at University of the Pacific, instantly became a M-A legend. During an era of racial rioting, Parks calmed tensions and attempted to befriend every student, not just the football and wrestling athletes he coached. In 2005, M-A dedicated the football field, and, after his death in 2011, the field lights, to Parks to commemorate his generosity
of spirit and kindness.
During the time that Parks preached commitment and a strong work ethic, the baseball team produced many successful athletes. From 1976 to 1979, catcher Bob Melvin led M-A’s baseball team under coach Frank Bettencourt. Melvin, who went on to play baseball at University of California, Berkeley and in the MLB, is now the manager of the Oakland Athletics. He led the movement in 2006 to raise money to dedicate the baseball diamond at M-A to his high school coach, naming it Bettencourt Field. “[Bettencourt] had a huge influence on all of us back then,” said Melvin. “He was a great teacher [of the game], one of the best I’ve been around.”
Surely, the same is true of all these legendary figures in M-A sports history. Now, walking past the school’s fields, remember the stories behind the names.
RUNSF
bridge,Sometimesatripacrossthe nomatterhowslow,reGoldeninforcesoursenseofspace.The GateBridge remindsusof reinforceshowsmallweare,andajourneyacross howourexperiencesshapeus.
The Mark, a feature magazine published by the students in Menlo-Atherton 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. Submissions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of all M-A students or the staff of The Mark. Send all submissions to submittothemark@gmail.com.
Photography Nina Fox
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