The Mark Winter 2019 Vol. XI Issue I

THE MARK

ISSUE NO. 1 | WINTER 2020

POLICY

e Mark, a feature magazine published by the students in Menlo-Atherton’s journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. e Mark is distributed to its readers and the students at no cost. e sta 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 re ect the opinions of all M-A students or the sta of the Mark. Send all submissions to submittothemark@gmail.com

ABOUT THE COVER

is edition of the Mark may look di erent than previous issues. We wanted to create a much longer edition, focusing on student voices in representation. is issue is divided into three sections: past, present, and future. We hope that this magazine sparks meaningful discussion about who we are and who we were will shape who we become.

STAFF

Sarah Marks

Ellie Shepard

Nate Viotti

Nat Gerhard

Toni Shindler-Ruberg

Brianna Aguayo Villalon

Marlene Arroyo Rosas

Brynn Baker

Nate Baxter

Triana Devaux

Lucy Gundel

Alana Hartsell

Chloe Hsy

Izzy Leake

Callista Mille

Antonia Mortensen

Sathvik Nori

Joanna Parks

Zoe Schinko

Isabelle Stid

Karina Takayama

Violet Taylor

Cole Trigg

Maddie Weeks

Katherine Welander

Jane White

Amelia Wu

John McBlair

Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

Managing Editor Journalism Advisor

3

M-A Back in the Day

Our Teachers as Seniors

Menlo-Atherton’s Race Riots

e Architectural History of M-A

Student Protests rough Time

M-A’s Cultural Club Recipes

Faces of M-A

Bears at Work

Opinion: Serving or Spending?

Gender Neutral Bathrooms: Students Express Cautious Optimism

A Cultural Club for Everyone

Editorial: What Student Representation Is and Isn’t

Opinion: Toxic Masculinity

Broken Promise Land: Students Share Perspectives on Israel

Student Submissions

Verses Issue I: Ghost

Who is Our Rival?

Opinion: End the Stigma. Period.

Weekend Wayfarer

Test-Optional Colleges

You Can Lie on Your College Application... and Get Away With It.

Opinion: College or Culture?

Student Submissions

TAPP: a Program for Teen Parents

More an Traditional College: Students Discuss Post-High School Opportunities

e Future of Public Art in Menlo Park

Faces of M-A

Winter Comics

I

past

illustrated by Karina Takayama

M-A Back in the Day

M-A has changed a lot since it rst opened its doors in 1951. Alumni and teacher interviews detail what M-A was like back in the day.

Mark Baker

Class of 1987, Baker planned the 20 year anniversary for the class of 1987. He has a daughter at M-A as well as a son who recently graduated. He also currently coaches the M-A girls golf team.

“One of the memories that has always been really special about M-A is the spirit. ere were really cool school spirit weeks where each class made parade oats and they cruised them around the track. I was also really lucky to be at M-A with Coach Parks. Every year for his birthday, he would run a mile for each year old he was, and when I was there he was like 60 years old. He would start at 2 a.m. and a lot of people would come out to do it with him. He would use this opportunity to raise money for charity. Towards the end of senior year, there were Powderpu games, where the cheerleaders would play football and they would wear all the football gear. Before the Stanford games, there were BBQ tailgates put on by students with a lot of community spirit. We didn’t have night games because there were no lights; it adds such a cool dynamic to have games with parents and students to come out to play.

“Each class made parade oats and they cruised them around the track.”

Rick Longyear was one of my favorite teachers. He taught biology and was my swim coach. He was passionate about teaching and encouraging students to do the best that we could do whether it be in the pool or in the classroom. Ms. Wimberly was my PE teacher freshman year and she was terri c. Just like today, she was all re, and she doesn’t seem to have changed. My AP Euro teacher, Mr. Baer, was amazing and would take a group of kids to Europe. He was really passionate about sharing his experiences and

life in general with his students. Teachers were passionate about sharing interesting things and expanding the knowledge that they were able to give to kids.

In the early 1980s, when I was at M-A, M-A had gone through some radical changes. In the 70s, and in the early 80s, there were racial riots. At the time there was a much larger African-American population because EPA had a larger African-American population than today. Coach Parks worked hard to unite the African-American and white students at a time when there was a lot of division. I remember an article in the Almanac with Coach Parks walking arm in arm with all the kids, black and white, on the football team as a show of solidarity and unity. It showed that we didn’t really care what goes on outside of school. M-A has always been a really diverse school, we have families from di erent socioeconomic statuses. I think we’ve done a good job understanding people from di erent economic and social backgrounds. Challenge day has taken that a step further. It does a great job breaking down the barriers of the di erences of the groups. I am really proud to say that Menlo-Atherton was a leader as far as high schools go, for a movement towards better equality and less of a divide.

M-A hasn’t changed a lot and I have a lot of respect for the current administration and the work that they do.”

Carlos Aguilar

Class of 1973 and tennis coach at M-A for about 20 years.

“ e overall atmosphere was ne on campus with a bunch of kids from di erent middle schools thrown together for the rst time. e biggest issue at the time was the racial tension. ere was a riot the year before I arrived and one to two more later on and certain bathrooms one didn’t go into for fear of getting beat up. ere were also random attacks in what’s now Pride Hall.

M-A, from when I went there to when I started coaching the boys tennis team in 2001, was the same. A typical public high

school with every type of kid from the area: great students to juvenile delinquents, and everything in between. e biggest di erence between then and now is that now a majority of kids are very serious about their studies. In 2001, the kids on the tennis team would use any excuse to get out of class early. In the last 15 years, kids on my team would do anything not to miss class.

“Certain bathrooms one didn’t go into for fear of getting beat up.”

I just nished 19.5 years of coaching the tennis teams. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I met and worked with some amazing young men and women. We had our share of success with the boys winning 15 straight league titles and the girls winning the last six league titles. e kids are what I’ll miss the most.

When I went to M-A, our football and water polo teams were very good and my friends and I enjoyed going to their games.”

Liane Strub

Strub has been at M-A since 1995 and has taught every level of English except for English IV.

“ e one thing I think kind of makes me sad is that I feel like there was a more creative element at M-A back in the day. For example, we had an improv group, which doesn’t exist anymore. We had people who were a lot more artistically inclined, and now everybody’s math and science. So that’s kind of sad because there aren’t as many free spirits.

“Seniors camped out on the green the night before graduation breakfast.”

ere have been lots of really good senior pranks over the years that I really liked. One of my students started the idea where seniors camped out on the Green the night before graduation breakfast. It was so fun. All these little tents across the green. ey had to let the administration know, because they had to go to the janitorial sta and make sure that the sprinklers were turned o . ere was another time they covered the green with pink amingos. A senior prank that is not destructive, but is amusing, is a very cool thing and there hasn’t been one for a long time.

We had a student start something called the Two Pie Club. He was in Safeway late at night and he’s like, ‘I’m so hungry I could eat two pies’ and then he thought, ‘could anyone ever eat two pies?’ We started this contest on Friday afternoons or Friday lunchtime. He would get four pies from Safeway, and you’d have contestants. It got very messy. A couple of times it was like they eat the two pies and then they threw up in the garbage can right after.”

written

by Triana Devaux and Violet Taylor designed by Izzy Leake

Photos from 1966, 1968, 1980, and 1987 M-A yearbooks

G. Back in 1968, a student dresses up with a ri e for the Sadie Hawkins Hoe Down. A C D F E G B

A. Two water polo players from 1980.

B. ese friends smile for the camera in 1987.

C. e M-A Bear had a di erent look in 1966.

D. A track and eld athelete prepares to throw the shot put in 1968.

E. A Pom Pom Girl strikes a pose in 1966.

F. A group of friends walks down the hallway in 1980.

OUR TEACHERS

1. Mr. Giambruno 2. Mrs. Shepard 3. Mr. Simon 4. Mr. Duarte 5. Mr. Tillson 6. Ms. Keigher 7. Mr. Nelson 8. Mr. Harris 9. Mr. Shen

AS SENIORS

designed by Nate Baxter

Menlo-Atherton’s

RACE RIOTS

Physical education teacher Pamela Wimberly began her teaching career here 52 years ago.

“I was outside with my rst class, on my rst day at Menlo-Atherton, and all of a sudden I saw a garbage can go through the window of what is now the E-wing, the very last classroom. I didn’t know what was going on. It was frightening. I can’t remember how many windows were busted in on campus, but there were a lot of them, rows and rows. e next thing we knew, people were spilling out of the classrooms. Some kids were getting hit and hurt. en, the National Guard had been called in. ere were helicopters above us. And boy, that was like re and fury; it was crazy. But that rst day of school was, I think, very tragic and very surprising to me.”

The racial tensions that led to the series of riots at M-A in the late sixties were a long time brewing. In the decades prior, district lines were redrawn multiple times, pushing black students in and out of Ravenswood, the East Palo Alto (EPA) public high school established in 1958. In the lead

up to the 1966-67 school year, redistricting again divied up Ravenswood students and sent them to various Sequoia Union High School District schools.

The goal of redistricting was to amend funding at Ravenswood. e initial hope was that by bussing minority students out of Ravenswood, schools would, in turn, bus students from their respective, predominantly white, public schools. e problem was that white students never ended up at Ravenswood in any signi cant number. Parents of white children fought to keep their kids in the wealthier public schools, and won. As a result, many of the students at Ravenswood were dispersed to other District schools but not the other way around.

Many EPA parents had initially advocated for this policy, arguing that the problem with keeping kids at Ravenswood was that its funding was inadequate and had an education quality to match.

Russel Rickford documents this in his book, We are an African People: Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical

Imagination . He invokes the account of Gertrude Wilks, who moved to EPA in 1952 and sent her eldest son, Otis, to Ravenswood. “It soon grew evident that her eldest son was falling by the wayside. Otis was not bringing home homework or showing academic progress. When Wilks shared her concerns with the largely white sta of local schools, she was complimented on her son’s pleasant disposition and cautioned against tutoring him at home; doing so, she was told, would only undermine the e orts of professionals. Conscious of her own rudimentary schooling and ‘crude’ speech and loath to be seen as a meddling, overbearing mother, especially given contemporary concerns about domineering African-American ‘matriarchs’, Wilks relented. ‘You didn’t feel you was qualified,’ she later said, explaining her reluctance to challenge white teachers. en one day during his junior or senior year, Otis made an alarming confession: though he was on track to graduate, he was woefully unprepared for college. Semiliterate at best, he struggled even to complete applications

from entry-level jobs. ‘I am lost,’ he told his mother. ‘I don’t know nothing.’”

Rickford goes on to lament the Ravenswood district as a whole. “East Palo Alto schools had deteriorated signi cantly during the 1950s and ‘60s. As white residents ed, unimpeded by racial discrimination in housing and labor markets, they eased the pressure on educators—most of whom lived outside the community—to uphold academic standards. East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood High, a predominantly black school by the late 1960s, shifted to a vocational emphasis as its course o erings and overall rigor declined. The Ravenswood district itself became a symbol of failure.”

Wilks, outraged by her son’s education, went on to form the Mothers for Equal Education with a small number of community leaders. In 1965, they petitioned for the closure of Ravenswood, on the premise that EPA students would be sent to majority-white schools and attain a better education. While Ravenswood High School wouldn’t o cially close until 1976, the mothers’ demonstrations led partially to the redistricting of black students that resulted in, as put by Louis Knowles of the Stanford Daily, their being “sent against their will” and “su ering for over a year in the oppressive atmosphere of white-dominated halls and classrooms.”

According to some teachers, this is when the trouble started. e rising black population at M-A was increasingly ostracized from their white peers. “Forced to suddenly confront the alien world of rich whites,” Knowles wrote, “they had not become an integral part of the student body, but had remained outsiders to the vast majority of white classmates.”

By the summer of 1967, M-A’s black population had risen to around 350 of 2,050, almost 20% of the student body. In spite of these dimensions, 1966-67 school year didn’t have a single black educator.

Ms. Wimberly, who came to M-A shortly after, remembered the environment. “At that time, you were told what kind of curriculum you were going to take. A lot of minority kids felt like they weren’t being directed towards academics, and they wanted to be able to choose. People overlooked giving everyone a fair chance to do what they wanted to do in the classroom, what courses they needed and wanted to take. M-A didn’t have the o erings they [students] wanted. Students felt that they were not being fairly treated, and so they wanted change.”

e Palo Alto Times documented the following racial tensions through unnamed students.

“I have walked up to white students and smiled and said hello. And they turned around and walked away.”

“ ey don’t like us or the way we talk or our music or anything about us.”

“White students act as if they own the place and are just letting us use it as a favor.”

“ ey [African American students] move in and take over somethinglike a rest room- and it is not safe for a white person to go in there.”

“Some of the teachers don’t like Negro students, but it is not their fault. It is because of the way they were raised.”

“Some of the white students don’t treat us as if we are people. ey look at us as if we were animals.”

e tipping point was a new bussing policy, e ectively excluding the vast majority of black students living on the other side of Bayshore Highway. After the failure of bond proposals, the District Board of Trustees voted to provide bus transportation only to those students living more than two miles from campus. e Board claimed the new policy would save the district a sum of $65,000 annually. Many white students had their own transport, with multiple pages of the yearbook devoted to an annual car show. Lou Ann Bradford, head of the Menlo Park chapter of the African-American Committee for Education, expressed a shared concern. “We need buses for our children. With the rainy season coming on, they’ll get sick. e people up on the hill don’t need them. ey have cars. e poor blacks and poor whites are all su ering.”

e Friday before the rst day of

school, September 15th, 1967, the M-A Black Student Union organized around the bus lot, documented by the Stanford Daily. at afternoon, they successfully stopped one bus loaded with white students leaving from orientation on the grounds by linking arms and surrounding it. e faculty arranged car transportation for the stranded students, and the black students returned to EPA, but not before a police blockade had treated them all as criminal suspects by stopping and searching them “without cause.” Two students, 14 and 16, were arrested. Principal Douglas Murray, on his rst year on the job, asked police to leave, and requested the assistance of parents, a minister, and EPA’s volunteer “Cool-It Squads” to help maintain order.

On Monday morning, September 18th, at 8 a.m., school administrators met with EPA citizens at the school to discuss the lack of transportation. Several black students were invited to attend the conference but then were not allowed to speak. e administration at the meeting denied that the students were ever invited and the students, not allowed to participate, stormed out of the meeting at 9 a.m. to hold what Atherton Police Chief Leroy Hubbard called a black power rally in the football eld bleachers.

Directly after the rally, officials reported the rst set of altercations in the halls during 10:15 a.m. brunch, reportedly sparked by both black and white groups. About 20 black students ran through the hallways, attacking and ghting with white students, according to Chief Hubbard. e police were hastily called in by the administration. eir presence added to the tension, but when the police left before lunch at 1 p.m., ghting broke out again.

e Redwood City Tribune reported that as classes were to resume following the lunch hour, there was a confrontation in the parking lot in which a white student harassed a group of black students. It was broken up by a teacher, but many black students did not return to class. Around 150 walked through the halls in groups, and began to damage the campus.

“ ey came over the loudspeaker and told us to lock ourselves in. We’d never had a lockdown drill. We didn’t even know what that was. But we did have a speaker in the locker rooms, and so they told us we were to hold in silence,” said Wimberly.

e National Guard was called in in full riot gear, and martial law was declared on campus. Classes were dissolved and the Guard evacuated students, escorting them to their

respective homes. Two students, a 15-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl, were arrested. Six students would ultimately be expelled.

e school nurse recorded treating 50 students before she stopped taking names.

Four were for head injuries. ere were 23 more students who were cut on the head and 20 cut or bruised in other places. One boy was taken to the nursing o ce after several of his teeth were kicked in by a crowd of black students. However, Chief Hubbard said that only 15 were reported as injured. ere were no weapons used, he said, “nothing but sts.”

Wimberly said, “At the time, there were the afros that were going on, so they had what were called ‘cape cones.’ So the combs at that time, they were spiked at the end, and so some people were hit in the head with those and hurt.”

One of the students arrested at M-A Monday, 17-year-old Karen Owens, was charged with “helping four other Negro girls beat a 15-year-old Caucasion boy. ey are said to have stomped his prone body with high heels.” She was held at Hillcrest

Juvenile Hall for two weeks before San Mateo County Juvenile Court Judge Melvin Cohn announced “some consideration” of her release. He publicly stated that she was being held until things “cooled o .” James Haugabook, vice president of the South San Mateo County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said Cohn was using the girl as a “political hostage” in refusing to release her until conditions were quiet at M-A.

Dave Weber, a white M-A student, was hit on the head with one of the psychedelically painted 50 gallon barrels that served as trash containers.

According to the Tribune, he had cuts on his head, but none of the bitterness you’d expect. “I just happened to be in the way. I can understand why it happened. e Negro students have been on the recieving end so long it had to happen. I’m just surprised it didn’t come sooner.”

Weber’s attitude towards the riots wasn’t re ected across the campus. e word on campus was that some football players wanted to “get” black students after Monday’s violence. According to the M-A Black Student Union,

“50 white boys came over the Willow Road overpass Wednesday morning, armed with baseball bats and bottles and looking for trouble.”

District Superintendent, George P. Cha ey, called a public meeting with the Board of Trustees that Wednesday night. e intended purpose was to rule on the district bussing policy in light of the riots. A proposal to provide bus transportation to students more than 1.5 miles from campus was introduced, which would e ectively permit busing for the East-ofBayshore area. The meeting was scheduled in the Sequoia High School

Auditorium, which had a capacity of 900 people. e eventual audience amassed 1,200, and was largely diverse.

Doug Allen, Black Student Union leader, was recorded by the Tribune as announcing, “ e trouble at M-A started when the Black people of East Menlo Park were singled out to not get buses. The Black Student Union has called for all black students to boycott Menlo-Atherton High until: school administrators have guts enough to handle their problems without the police; the girl arrested for assault during the riot, who is held as a hostage, is released, invasions of our community by whites are stopped [in reference to white students cruising East Menlo Park with baseball bats earlier that day]; and the bus service is restored.” e M-A BSU announced a total of ten demands for ending the boycott, including the abolishment of martial law at M-A, more African American teachers, and hot lunches, which were also cut that year for economic reasons.

e student senate and grievance board of M-A endorsed three of the demands of the BSU and said they would favor a boycott if the Sequoia trustees refused to change the bus boundaries.

Josh Cooney, a white, San Mateo County resident, who was out of jail on bail after being arrested for trespassing at M-A on Monday, denounced Allen, saying that “that speaker is un-American.”

Gertrude Wilks of EPA Mothers for Equal Education stood with the BSU. “We wholeheartedly support all the demands of the Black Student Union. I want to make it very clear we are afraid no longer. I want to be free from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. You’ve de-educated our kids for nine years and now you take away their buses. We will stand together in East Menlo Park and East Palo Alto.” Mothers for Equal Education went on to announce plans for a rally in sympathy with black students at M-A and a demonstration at the San Mateo County Courthouse Monday morning.

Sammy Sawyer, an EPA resident, echoed Wilks’ concerns. “We came here to speak for the mothers whose children have to walk to school in the rain and snow.”

P.E. teacher Pamela Wimberly on her rst day of teaching in the 1960s.

Poster circulated by M-A students in 1967.

“We don’t want no bloodshed in Menlo Park. e only thing we want is an education for Black girls and boys.”

Another EPA resident, Josephine Becks, said that

“We so-called responsible people have no choice but to support the demands of the BSU. You white people have the police and the power to exterminate us, just remember these young people will take a few of you with them.”

Student Frank Merril was against the policy. “Maybe the Negroes need buses, but I don’t see how they can expect to get them when they run down the hall beating whites. ere was a wild mob of Negroes beating whites. I don’t see how the superintendent and principal could watch people getting beaten up and not have called police earlier.”

Several Atherton parents expressed similar sentiments.

“Our children are taught not to ght. Our girls in particular cannot ght. As a consequence you can have 300 Negroes running over 1700 whites.”

“My daughter hasn’t been able to use the bathrooms at M-A for two years because kids get beaten up there.”

“I’m not from the South. I’m a native Californian. I don’t owe them anything. I’ve never done anything to them. Why should we have to subject our children to this kind of thing? We shouldn’t have to teach them to defend themselves in this manner.”

“ is terror has got to be stopped. It didn’t start with the buses, and it won’t end with them.”

Board of Trustees Chairman Dean Watkins announced support of a common concern about reinstating the bussing policy following Monday’s violence. “I have a feeling that even if there had been no change in the bussing policy, the problem at M-A would have arisen. My recommendation is that since I’m not sure the transportation policy is at the heart of the problem, the two-mile limit should remain in e ect.”

Municipal Judge Roy W. Seagraves of Redwood City said that “the tone and timing of these [BSU] demands, and the conditions immediately preceding their presentation render it inappropriate that they be acceded to at this time.”

White students begin to use the buses again a er riots.

M-A’s interracial club early 1970’s.

In direct opposition to his statement was Paul Clarkson, an M-A teacher, who said,

“When the board receives pressure from the white community, you call it the American politics at work. When it comes from the Black community, you call it coercion. If the demands had been submitted to you peacefully, the board would not have granted them.”

Ultimately, the Board of Trustees voted in favor of the new bussing policy. Students would get their buses.

Additional legislation resulted from faculty meetings all day Tuesday and Wednesday, in which teachers and the administration voted against the proposal that police not carry guns on campus. Faculty also ruled the elimination of hall passes and of brunch altogether. e Redwood City Tribune reported that faculty members released the contents of a resolution Wednesday “in which they went on record as recognizing that ‘many student concerns are legitimate’” and “a substantial portion of the faculty was in favor of a stronger resolution, endorsing the majority of the BSU’s demands.”

“We had very exuberant teachers, teachers who were very interested in making sure the students got what they needed, and who listened to students. e community [of the administration and teachers] worked and worked with both communities to try and make things better, to try and improve things within the school,” said Wimberly.

M-A reopened Thursday with sixty uniformed San Mateo County sheri ’s deputies, riot helmeted with guns on their hips and marching onto campus 15 minutes before the start of class. Students who arrived late were escorted to class, and not allowed to speak to any reporters. About half of the 2,038 students were present, but only 150 of the school’s 350 black students showed. 50 black students met at a local park for a boycott meeting, where speeches were held. e Tribune reported that “white students are also staying away, some through fear of violence and some in sympathy of Negro demands. One white student did not attend school ursday because he thought ‘it was important that white students support the Negro boycott.’”

James Haugabook, vice president of the South San Mateo County branch of the

NAACP, said that “conditions at the school would remain incendiary as long as martial law is in e ect.”

District Superintendent George P. Cha ey said the police guard will remain “as long as it is considered necessary for the safety of the students.” One M-A teacher remarked on the police presence, “It is time somebody did something to protect the innocent kids here who get hurt. Some of the things that happened on Monday should not have been tolerated. ere was nothing that teachers could do.” An attending student said, “Hell, it was quiet today, wait until the cops leave and the Negroes come back.”

Wimberly said,“We had an uprising again, maybe a year or so later. But I feel very strongly that the community at MenloAtherton was trying to, not make peace, but make things better. at year, we had nine African American teachers teaching at M-A. To me, that was the most African American teachers that have been here, ever. I think that we have to believe that the majority of people in this country can change, nonviolently. I think that we have to persevere, and get people to believe in themselves, to believe in others.

e model that Martin Luther King had, he was not a violent man, he was not a violent leader. e opposition, though, turned the hoses and the dogs on people. But I don’t think that violence solves things. And he said he had a dream that we would all be free, and that is true, because I lived through the time where I couldn’t go into a restaurant and eat, when I got on a bus and was bullied and called all kinds of names. But

we persevered, we overcame, and freedom came about.

We’ve come a long ways. I see more people mingling with others. e diversity is really sticking out now at M-A, and people beginning to interact with others who are from di erent race groups or ethnicities. People are reaching out to others, and understanding cultural di erences. I think that’s important.

We have a long ways to go, a long ways. e problem a lot of times is that when students come in, especially students from the Ravenswood or Redwood City school district, they might not be totally prepared to go into those classes. I do think that our students of color come in handicapped, a lot of students.

I know my parents, though, when they grew up, they couldn’t go anywhere. My dad was nearly killed in Georgia, because they thought he had brought a white lady with him. So, I see change has come about, but it’s taken time. Lots of time. And, as each generation leaves this earth, the next generation doesn’t remember those things that are behind us, that got us to the point where we were free or where we made change, and all the hardships aren’t known and aren’t remembered.

But what I remember is the locker room. It was scary. We quieted down the girls, everybody was quiet, and we could hear nothing except the helicopters that were ying over, that was it. But everything else was quiet.”

written by Alana Hartsell designed by Ellie Shepard

As the second oldest school in the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD), M-A has a long architectural history that spans all the way back to 1951 when the school was founded. rough 68 years of the school’s existence, M-A has gone through many renovations that have shaped it into the school it is today.

e original project was run by general contractor, Peter Sorenson, which included the A, B, C, D, E, S, and J wings, and aside from the S and J wings, all ve of the other wings still stand as original buildings today with some minor renovations through the years. e overall cost of the school was $1.8 million. According to SUHSD Chief Facilities O cer, Matthew Zito, “people were horri ed that it cost that much at the time, compared to the partial renovation of the locker rooms last year, which cost 4 million dollars.”

Aside from the addition of Ayer’s Gym, locker rooms, and a pool in 1955 and some minor renovations throughout the years, M-A went about 40 years without any further renovations to the school. e school was in poor condition after years of little maintenance. e reason for this insu cient maintenance was the fact that SUHSD had four huge schools totaling 5,800 students, and the money that M-A needed simply went to other schools in the district. But ever since 1996, M-A has undergone multiple renovations that transformed M-A’s poor condition to its current campus.

e biggest project has been the G wing renovation, which was completed in 2017. e design includes 21 new classrooms, a new learning center, new food service, new student and sta bathrooms on both oors, a new covered lunch area, and a new courtyard. e building is highlighted by its suspended

bridge, which is held up by a steel frame skeleton, and allows students to walk through the G wing instead of walking around it. According to Zito, “we just took out the bottom classrooms and you walk through it. One of the things that was expensive was actually the suspended bridge because the state over-engineers everything to make sure no one gets hurt in an earthquake, so we have these enormous pillars to suspend that bridge and make sure the G wing is very strong.” All in all, the project cost around $24,670,000, and is part of M-A’s expansion plan to support 2600 students by the year 2020. Instead of creating a double schedule where students start and end at di erent times, the decision was made to add onto the campus in an e ort to be able to support more students.

Another massive re-design of M-A’s campus also came in 2017, the S wing renovation. Before the project, the S wing

was a very small wing that looked a lot like the current M wing. Now it has six new lab rooms, a new food service building, a new courtyard, and new bathrooms. All together, the S wing renovation came in around $17,600,000. e new buildings are very helpful for teachers and students. According to Maria Caryotakis, a chemistry teacher at M-A, “it’s great we have more space because we have had to be on top of each other in classrooms, and the classrooms are more modern and clean.”

Although the S and G wings were the biggest projects, M-A has had plenty of other substantial renovations over the years to keep the campus modern. In 2001, M-A installed a massive pool and turf eld, both of which are still routinely used. ree years later, the new gym was built, and ve years after that, the Performing Arts Center was built, costing around $29 million. Last year,

new locker rooms were installed with the addition of a turf soccer eld instead of the previous grass eld. Finally, also constructed to support the student expansion plan for M-A, there were ve classrooms added to the F wing in 2014.

After a busy couple years of renovation, M-A does not have any immediate, substantial projects in the coming years. However, the room, C-2, is going to be converted from a physics room into a chemistry room this upcoming summer. Steve Bowers and Usha Narayan, of Spencer Associates Architecture, will be running the project. Bowers and Narayan were also the architects that constructed the F wing renovation, and according to Narayan, they were happy to come back to run the C-2 renovation because “both the MAHS and SUHSD sta have been phenomenally cooperative during the design process in

The Architectural History Of M-A

order for us to complete projects that the user is extremely satis ed with.” In addition to the C-2 renovation, Zito is also intrigued with the idea of possibly constructing a brand new building where the grass and secondary parking lot behind the football bleachers are. e building would include a second locker room, a student study center, and more classrooms.

written by Cole Trigg designed by Maddie Weeks

Student Protests Through Time

Menlo-Atherton has seen a recent increase of walkouts in the past few years. M-A students walked ve miles in protest against the Trump Presidency, most making it to University Avenue and a few even reached the 101 highway before returning to M-A (an additional four miles). Ignited by the Trump walkout, Bay Area students have protested against complacency with climate change, gun control, and women’s rights. However, these are not the rst protestors that University Avenue has seen. In the 1970s, students from Stanford University protested against the Vietnam War multiple times. Student protestors provide a vision of idealism to political chaos. While in the past college campuses typically have been agents for change, in recent years, high schoolers have begun to join the charge.

Palo Alto’s Vietnam War protests.

In 2017, M-A students walked out of school as part of the March for Our Lives movement. Students walked down El Camino Real to El Camino Park, meeting with students from other schools.

written and designed by Ellie Shepard photos by Lena Kalotihos and Palo Alto Historical Association

M-A’s Cultural Club Recipes

JEWISH CULTURE CLUB - POTATO LATKES

INGREDIENTS

- 6 large potatoes

- 2 onions, peeled and chopped

- 3 eggs, seperated

- 1 cup matzo meal

- salt, pepper, garlic powder

- 1 teaspoon paprika

- 1 tablespoon baking powder

- 2 cups of oil

Preparing Time 10 MINUTES

Cooking Time 30 MINUTES

Serves 12

DIRECTIONS

Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible. In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, matzo meal and salt together. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Once brown on one side, turn and brown the other. Let the latkes drain on paper towels.

FRENCH CLUB - CRÊPES

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS

- 1.5 cups of flour

- 3 eggs

- 3 spoons of sugar

- 2 big spoonfuls of olive oil

- 60 ml of milk

- 5 ml of rum

- 50 grams of melted butter

Place the our in a bowl and then mix it with the eggs, sugar, oil and butter. As you mix it, progressively add the milk. Place the rum progressively in the mixture to perfume it. Cook the crêpes placing a little bit of butter on your frypan under a soft re (from the gas under, around 30% of the way up). Preparing

POLY CLUB - MANGO OTAI

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS

- 8 medium ripe mangoes (5 cups cut fruit)

- 1 carton of mocha mix

- 2 pineapple

- 1 ¼ cups coconut cream

- ¼ cup sugar

- 1 ¼ cups crushed ice

PREPARING TIME 10 MINUTES

COOKING TIME 30 MINUTES

SERVES 12

Peel and shred mangos into a large container or bowl add mangos as many mangos needed, mocha mix use as much of the mix that’s needed for the drink that’s being made in the container, pineapple as many that’s needed for your delicious beverage, coconut chunks from the nearest paci c shops, sugar and crushed ice. Mix with a large spoon to blend ingredients and dissolve sugar.

refrigerate or serve immediately.

*drink must be stirred before serving if it is held in the refrigerator

POLY CLUB - PANI POPO

DIRECTIONS

INGREDIENTS

- 20 frozen dinner rolls depending on size

- 10 oz. coconut milk (1 can)

- 1 cup sugar

PREPARING TIME 10 MINUTES

COOKING TIME 30 MINUTES

SERVES

2O ROLLS

Coat a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray and arrange rolls evenly to thaw (if doing homemade rolls, roll dough into golf-ball size balls and arrange the same way). Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray (to keep dough from sticking to the plastic wrap). Allow to rise until doubled in size. is can take 4-5 hours. If you need the rolls to thaw quicker, follow the quick-rise instructions on the frozen roll packaging. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a bowl, combine coconut milk and sugar and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour about 2/3 of the coconut mixture over the rolls and bake for 20-30 minutes (or according to package/dough recipe instructions) or until golden brown and dough is baked through.Remove from oven and pour remaining coconut mixture evenly over the top of the rolls. e rolls should be sticky and gooey on the bottom. Can be served upside down or right-side up.

written and designed by Sathvik Nori

FACES FACES OF FACES OF

M-A M-A M-A

II

present

illustrated by Karina Takayama

Bears at Work

Jennifer Garnica

Job: Stanford Dining Hall

“I decided to work mainly so that my parents don’t have to worry as much. I try to be independent, and not always depend on them. I balance work and school by picking a good amount of hours and days so I’m not too busy or tired to do my work at school.”

Katia Calderon

Job: Alice’s Restaurant

“Working has a ected me by making me more time e cient. I’ve learned to manage my time between work and school by doing homework during breaks and not letting my school work build up.”

Abel Valencia

Job: Paris Baguette

“I decided to work because I wanted to learn how to be independent and to be responsible. is has also helped me get on the path of adulthood.”

Alvaro Pena

Job: Stanford Dining Hall

“I decided to work because I wanted money that comes from hard work. Work a ects me in a positive way, and it is a good distraction from home. I do my homework in zero and rst period, when I don’t have any classes, to balance school and work.”

“Working has helped me to handle stressful situations, not take things personally, and learn to be more independent overall.”

— Juliette Dignum

Job:

May eld Bakery

“I try to not overthink [my schedule] that much because I’m doing this for my family, and I go to school for myself.”

— Violeta Alvarado

Shake Shack

written by Chloe Hsy and Violet Taylor designed by Chloe Hsy

Job:

Opinion: Serving or Spending?

Every year numerous M-A students participate in service trips to di erent countries. From building schools in Africa, to helping rural villages in Tonga, there is no shortage of opportunities for students to serve across the world. While these trips undoubtedly do some good, both in materially bettering conditions in these countries and giving students perspective on the poverty present in the world, some wonder whether these trips are the most e ective way to spend time and money.

Service trips are a multi-billion dollar industry in America, with numerous for-pro t and nonpro t organizations running trips that encourage people to pay money to travel across the world and give back to those who are less fortunate. Many M-A clubs are solely built around these trips, such as Bears Without Borders and buildOn.

However, for some students, doing service in the local community seems like a more effective use of time and money. Junior Indie Berkes said, “I have been on multiple service trips since 8th grade, and while it is a really good experience, it’s always better to do service in your community, especially when there are places that need help literally a mile away.”

Junior, and founder of Curieus, a club that teaches STEM to underprivileged youth, Rachel Park said, “I feel like a lot of people focus on service overseas when there is so much to be done locally.”

Another concern is that these trips can come off as paternalistic, reinforcing problematic conceptions of western superiority. “With the amount of money it takes to y to another country, it seems like a more e cient use of resources to hire workers in the region who are more skilled,” said junior Andrew Fahey.

Junior Ainsley Gentile said, “I feel like [the cost of the trip] weeds out kids who want to experience this deeper connection with other people around the

Bears

Without Borders is one of the many service organizations at M-A.

world, but don’t get the opportunity because of socio-economic status. It really isn’t fair.”

Nevertheless, almost all students who participate in one of these trips say that the experience was well worth it. Junior Gavin Plume said, “I think

on the outside world. Enabling genuine connections with people elevates the service to a personal level, something that oneday volunteering opportunities often lack.” e many service trips o ered at M-A do have a tangible impact on communities.

“I feel like a lot of people focus on service overseas even though there is so much to be done locally.”

-Rachel Park

[service trips] are so bene cial because they provide aid to communities in need and give M-A students valuable perspective

“It’s really valuable to see where the money you raise is going,” said senior and co-president of buildOn Nayna Siddarth.

“By going to the country, you get attached to the community, and are genuinely interested in seeing the nal result of whatever you are helping with. You can also see the long lasting impact of it on the community... you’re showing them that you genuinely care about helping.”

Fellow co-president Shreya Arora explained, “We’re not just going there and spending money; we’re leaving a community with something that will transform them and leave a lasting impact.”

Siddarth and Arora have traveled to Senegal and Haiti with buildOn. “We helped dig the foundation and put in the rst layers [of the building],” said senior Emily Zurcher, who has been on two buildOn trips. “Half

of our time was spent digging three foot trenches that would later be lled with stones, bricks, and concrete, while the other half was spent mixing said concrete, molding bricks, carrying rocks, and forming rebar chains.” Zurcher also explained that her trip “only started the process. e whole thing takes a few months to a year to build after we leave.” buildOn also does service in the local community first before going overseas. According to Arora, “Throughout the year, we do local service. To do work on a globalscale, rst you need to get to know your community, and help people around you.”

Senior Angela Chan, who travelled to the Kingdom of Tonga with Bears Without

Borders, said that the organization “has a long term vision for Tonga in order to build a strong and genuinely supportive relationship with the community; the [service trip] was an act of spending intentional time with the community of Talafo’ou, in addition to providing resources that would go beyond the two weeks that we were there. Being immersed in a culture and place so di erent than where we live gave us all intentional time to step back and challenge the barriers that stood between each of us.”

written by Sathvik Nori and Sarah Marks

designed by Sathvik Nori

buildOn recently went on a service trip to Haiti to build a school.

Gender Neutral Bathrooms: Students Express Cautious Optimism

e new gender neutral bathrooms in the G-wing are an attempt to provide a safe space for students of all gender identities at M-A. At the beginning of the year, the M-A Chronicle reported frustration among the student body over what some saw as poor implementation by Administration. At the beginning of the year, videos went viral of students peeing on boarded-up urinals. While there is less vandalism now, many students refrain from using the restrooms altogether.

“ e posters were just all torn down within a day,” said Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) members about the day after the launch of their gender-neutral restroom poster campaign.

Junior Austen Dollente, GSA member, said some of the “original

hostility that a lot of students exhibited [has] died down a little bit,” but because of the original impact, “many of us who would actually benefit from the [gender-neutral bathroom] are afraid to use it.”

“Especially at the start of the year, there were a lot of people standing outside the bathroom watching people go in and out,” said Kai Doran, a junior GSA member. “A lot

cautious optimism as the bathrooms became normalized.

“A lot of people have told me that they’re [still] afraid of being harassed or teased because someone noticed them using it.”

At the beginning of the year, Doran said, “[ e Adminsitration] has not been very involved in the educational campaign, but that’s to be expected with the back-to-school chaos. I wouldn’t say they’ve been entirely passive, but they’ve hardly been active either.” Now, Administration “has mentioned the

possibility of getting district funding to add more stalls to it,” said Doran.

Principal Simone Rick-Kennel said, “We have an all-gender single stall student restroom in the gym lobby that was built when we remodeled the locker rooms last year. If we get more money for new construction, then we will build more all-gender restrooms for student use into the plans. New construction will allow us to build them by design versus having to reconfigure already existing restrooms.”

Administrative Vice Principal Stephen Emmi is working directly with the Gender-Sexuality Alliance on the issues surrounding the restrooms and commented that the club is promoting the use of the restrooms. “Some of the students from GSA are doing a poster campaign and they are planning on doing a segment on M-A Today! too,” said Emmi.

“Administration has made it clear that they support us producing posters and videos,” added Doran.

gender restrooms is a pilot, not whether or not we keep them. We de nitely want to have centrally located all-gender restrooms (based on student input) so we’ll evaluate the pilot location and determine whether we make changes to location.”

GSA member Serena Peters said, “Originally, when [other GSA members] and I went to talk to Emmi, the original agreement was to do the bathrooms in the upstairs G-Wing and convert both of them. at didn’t happen, and we don’t know why.”

Peters continued, “Move it

“The original agreement was to do the bathrooms in the upstairs G-Wing and convert both of them.”

Dollente concluded, “I think really, at the end of the day, M-A as a community needs to step up, but I don’t know how you do that. How do you change people’s beliefs about this stu ?”

Doran added, “I think that the bathrooms started a discussion about the rights of trans students and such, but we’re not done yet. It is de nitely a show of acceptance, and means a lot to trans students because a gender-neutral bathroom is just a way to say that we’re welcome here.”

“M-A as a community needs to step up.”

The restrooms continue to have problems and issues that make their usage limited. For instance, a stall lock does not work, the urinals are boarded up, and the restrooms lack disposal for feminine hygiene products, so students who are menstruating cannot use the restroom at all.

“I hear fewer derogatory and hurtful jokes now. But that doesn’t mean the impact from those initial comments and reaction is any less severe.”

Dollente said, “I hear fewer derogatory and hurtful jokes now. But that doesn’t mean the impact from those initial comments and reaction is any less severe.”

Kennel added, “It's hard to know how the whole student body has received the all-gender restroom pilot. I do see students of all genders using them; however, I think students still view it as a male restroom and more male students use them.”

Doran agreed. “Most students seem to still regard it as a male bathroom.”

Senior Nicole Knox said, “I tend to use the girl’s bathroom out of habit. I’ve been using it for four years so it’s more instinctual. I know [the other bathroom] is the gender neutral bathroom, but it still kind of seems like a male bathroom, with more male usage.”

At the beginning of the year, Kennel explained on M-A Today!, “You will nd we have an all-gender pilot. A pilot means we’re trying something new. We’re going to see how it goes.”

Some students were initially confused by her classifying the bathrooms as a pilot, thinking they could be removed at a later point, but in December Kennel clari ed. She said, “ e location for the all-

upstairs. Please move it upstairs. ey put the bathrooms in the most popular place in the school. By putting them there, we’re inconveniencing people and basically shoving it in their faces without any information. Now people are associating the inconvenience of the gender neutral bathrooms with the GSA and the people who use the bathrooms. If it’s upstairs, it’s like ‘Hey, that’s cool, these people have their space. is isn’t really impacting me. ey’re living their lives. ey’re people.’”

“We got a lot of input as to location preferences from GSA members and, also visited the Carlmont all-gender restrooms to get an idea of what we could do, and then gured out where on the M-A campus we could pilot one,” said Kennel.

written

and designed by Antonia Mortensen photographed by Brynn Baker illustrated by Karina Takayama Boarded up urinals in G-wing gender neutral bathroom.

A Cultural Club for Everyone

Dream Club

e Dream Club meets every Wednesday after school in B-20, and welcomes all students from di erent backgrounds and legal statuses. According to advisor Gonzalo Chavez, the Dream Club was created to “empower students from di erent ethnic backgrounds as well as legal statuses in the United States to further their education and career goals post high school graduation.”

e current presidents are senior Elder Lopez and junior Carlos Monterrosa, who have been part of the club since freshman year. e club focuses on community building, looking at political issues, improving public speaking skills, learning about colleges, and promoting cultural events.

BSU

e BSU (Black Student Union) club is run by senior Tuesday Burns. It aims to “connect with other BSU clubs within the Sequoia Union High School District to talk about things we want to change and things we notice around campus.” ey hold events to raise awareness for topics like vaping and nicotine addiction. Moreover, they hold fundraisers and festivities to celebrate holidays such as MLK Day. According to Burns, the club is not just for black students but “a safe community for all.”

POLY Club

e POLY Club is run by president James Pongi. is year the club wants to make sure they embrace Polynesian culture through activities, including “fundraising events, cultural days, and community events.” is year they have participated in club rush, performed at a rally and a senior night, gone canning, and contributed to Trick Or Treat Street. Pongi described the club as a “family.” e club also focuses on making sure each member is on top of their schoolwork.

Mandarin Club

e Mandarin Club meets every other Tuesday in E-13 during lunch. ey plan to celebrate events such as Lunar New Year and educate M-A students about Chinese culture. e club sells a variety of foods such as chow mein and fried rice every year for Chinese New Year and international week. Additionally they run booths with activities like calligraphy. e current leaders of the club are Michaela Fong and Ryan Jiang. e club welcomes any new members who are interested in learning more about the Chinese culture or Mandarin.

Bridge Club

Bridge Club president Lelani Tajimaroa stated that “Bridge Club aims to close cultural and ethnic gaps in the community with English Language Development (ELD) students, through making them feel more included in school and community events.” Bridge Club also plans events for ELD students and other club members, such as a celebration for anksgiving, a potential trip to the Cantor Art Museum, and an ice skating trip.

Jewish Culture Club

e Jewish Culture Club meets Wednesdays at lunch in D-21. Club President Ben Witeck said, “we plan to provide a space in which Jews and non-Jews may celebrate and learn about Jewish heritage in ways that respond to modern times and practices.” e M-A Jewish Culture Club is not a religious organization. Instead, it focuses on learning about Jewish culture, having engaged discussions, and participating in community service. is year the club hopes to plan a day trip to the Jewish Contemporary Museum in San Francisco.

Asian Culture Club

e Asian Culture Club meets on Mondays at lunch in Ms. Choe’s room, G-5. According to president Ben Chang, “Our club talks about politics, pop culture, holidays, food, stereotypes, discrimination, and more. We hold kahoot and jeopardy games discussing the topics.” e club also occasionally sells boba tea at lunch. Anyone is welcome to join the club.

LUMA Club

e LUMA club meets every ursday at lunch in F-18. According to president Paulina Gutierez, the club “hopes to create an environment where Latino students can come together to celebrate our diverse culture through di erent events and activities.” During their meetings they discuss di erent traditions and cultures in Latin America.

Intercambio

Intercambio meets every Wednesday at lunch in D-15. President Valentina Rivera states, “we focus on holidays, traditions and other celebrations and do activities we could do based these topics.” eir goal is to provide a collaboration space for native English speakers and native Spanish speakers to improve their English and Spanish skills. Anyone is welcome to participate in the club at any time, and many teachers encourage their students to join.

French Club

e French Club meets every other Monday in E-15, Ms. Tubiana’s room. President Anttoine Saquet states, “Our club’s purpose is for students to experience French culture during our meetings with lots of French food for everyone to try. We also watch movies together in French.” Any person is welcome to join the club.

written by Marlene Arroyo and Briana Aguayo designed by

Violet Taylor

Un club cultural para todos

Dream club

El Dream Club reúne cada miércoles después de la escuela en B-20, y le da la bienvenida a todos los estudiantes de diferentes origens e estatus legal. Gonzalo Chavez, el maestro consejero del club, dijo que el club fue creado para “empoderar a los estudiantes de diferentes orígenes étnicos así como los estatus legales en los Estados Unidos para continuar realizando sus metas de educación y carrera después de la graduación de la escuela secundaria.” Los presidentes del club este año son Elder Lopez y Carlos Monterrosa, quienes han sido parte del club desde que empezaron la secundaria. El club se enfoca en desarrollando una comunidad, discutiendo asuntos políticos, mejorando las habilidades de hablar en público, aprendendiendo sobre colegios, y promoviendo eventos culturales.

BSU

El BSU (Unión Estudiantil Afroamericana) club es dirigido por Tuesday Burns, una estudiante del grado 12. El club aspira a “conectarse con otros BSU organizaciones dentro del Distrito Escolar de Sequoia y discutir las cosas que quieren cambiar y lo que observan alrededor de la escuela.” Planean eventos enfocados en despertar conciencia sobre temas alrededor del fumando electrónico y la adicción a la nicotina. También organizan recaudaciones de fondos y festividades para celebrar eventos como el Día de MLK. Según Burns, el club no solamente es para estudiantes afroamericanas pero “una comunidad segura para todos.”

Club POLY

El club POLY, o polinesio, es dirigido por James Pongi. Este año quieren asegurarse de mostrar la cultura polinesia con actividades como “recaudaciones de fondos, días culturales, y eventos comunitarios.” Este año han participado en club rush, una noche de seniors, han colectado latas, y contribuido al Trick Or Treat Street. Pongi describe al club como una “familia.” El club también se asegura de que cada miembro ponga su mejor esfuerzo con respeto a los académicos.

Club de mandarín

El club de mandarín se junta en E-13 durante almuerzo el martes cada mes. Planean celebrar eventos como el Año Nuevo Lunar y educar a los estudiantes de M-A sobre la cultura China. Durante Año Nuevo Lunar, el club vende una variedad de comida, como chow mein. También, el club ofrece varias mesas con actividades como la caligrafía. Ryan Jiang y Michaela Fong son los líderes del club. El club espera dar las bienvenidas a miembros nuevos interesados en aprender sobre la cultura china o el idioma mandarín.

Club de cultura judía

El club de Cultura Judía reúne los miércoles en el salón D-21. Según Ben Witeck, presidente del club, “planeamos establecer un espacio para que estudiantes Judíos o no Judíos puedan celebrar y aprender sobre la herencia Judía de una manera que responda a tiempos modernos.” No es un club de religión Judío, sino de la cultura Judía, y el enfoque del club es educación, discusión, y servicio comunitario. Este año escolar, el club desea planear un paseo al Museo Judío Contemporáneo en San Francisco.

Bridge club

La líder del Bridge Club, Lelani Tajimaroa, explica que el “Bridge Club intenta cerrar brechas culturales y étnicos en la comunidad con estudiantes ELD, para hacerlos sentir incluídos en los eventos de la escuela y comunidad.” Bridge Club también planea eventos para estudiantes ELD y los miembros del club como una celebración del Día de Acción de Gracias, un paseo posible al Museo Cantor, y un paseo para patinar en hielo.

Club de cultura asiática

El club de Cultura Asiática reúne los lunes durante el almuerzo en el salón de Ms. Choe, G-5. Según presidente Ben Chang, “Nuestro club habla sobre la política, temas culturales, días festivos, la comida, estereotipos, discriminación y más. Organizamos juegos de Kahoot y Jeopardy sobre nuestros temas.” De vez en cuando, el club también vende té de boba durante el almuerzo. Todos son

bienvenidos al club.

Club LUMA

El club LUMA tiene reuniones todos los jueves durante el almuerzo en el salón F-18. Según la presidenta, Paulina Gutiérrez, el club “espera crear un lugar donde estudiantes latinos puedan juntarse para celebrar nuestra cultura diversa a través de diferentes actividades y eventos.” Durante sus reuniones tienen discusiones sobre las diferentes tradiciones y culturas de Latinoamérica.

Intercambio

Intercambio reúne cada miércoles durante almuerzo en el salón D-15. Presidenta Valentina Rivera explica, “enfocamos en días festivos, tradiciones y otras celebraciones, y creamos actividades que podemos hacer basados en ellos.” La meta del club es aportar un espacio de colaboración para que hablantes nativos del inglés e hispanohablantes mejoren sus habilidades de inglés y español. Todos son bienvenidos a unirse al club en el tiempo que sea, y muchos maestros animan a sus estudiantes a unirse.

Club francés

El club francés reúne cada otro lunes en E-15, el salón de Ms. Tubiana. Presidente Anttoine Saquet describe que “el propósito de nuestro club es que estudiantes experimentan la cultura francesa durante nuestros reuniones con mucha comida francesa para que todos prueben. También miramos películas francesas.” Cualquiera persona es bienvenida a ser parte del club.

por Marlene Arroyo and Briana Aguayo diseño por Violet Taylor

Editorial:

REPRESENTATION STUDENT WHAT IS &

ISN’T

By fth period on November 15th, M-A had reached a boiling point. Over two hundred students left class to protest the proposal to end the policy of teachers handing out graduation diplomas, leaving some classrooms nearly empty. e lunch period before the sit-in, administration held an open forum in the library for students to voice their concerns. e subsequent protest on the Green revealed a build-up of student anger toward the administration stemming from a feeling of being voiceless.

e Mark sta believes that to remedy the crisis of misunderstanding between students and sta , administration should enact consistent and accessible channels of communication; students must use and respect these channels instead of resorting to protest and personal attacks; and we —student journalists —must inform the student body in a timely manner of proposed changes to encourage informed action.

Currently, the Shared DecisionMaking Site Council (SDMSC) is M-A’s formal channel for student representation. According to the M-A website, the SDMSC holds monthly meetings to make “policy decisions for the school” and is where the proposal to end the graduation diploma tradition originated. While any student can attend meetings, only students vetted through leadership, such as class advisors and presidents, are allowed a vote in the council. In total, the student body is allowed four votes.

Of the students interviewed by the Mark sta , few were aware of SDMSC meetings and none have ever been to one. Senior Elonjanae Wilson Banks said, “I’ve heard of meetings where students can go, but I don’t know much about it.”

Among students eligible to vote on the council, two are regular attendees: junior Annika Abdella and senior Angela Chan. None of the students the Mark interviewed seemed to know who their representatives on SDMSC are. Senior Amy Parada said, “I didn’t know about [the SDMSC]. I don’t even know who our class presidents are.”

Clearly, we have a communication de cit. While the SDMSC serves as a decision-making body where students can express their voices, most are woefully unaware of its existence and the topics addressed. Who should students reach out to for their opinions to be considered by representatives in the SDMSC? ere are currently no student names or contact information listed in the representative slots on the SDMSC page of the M-A website. In order to represent the will of the student body, then, voting representatives must resort to guesswork.

Another issue is the assumption that the views held by the student representatives are re ective of those of the entire student body. Chan said that the student representatives are drawn from the Associated Student Body (ASB) advisory board, a group that —apart from each grade’s President and Vice President —is not elected by the student body.

As the M-A Chronicle reported in September, Leadership will discontinue the class president position going forward over concerns of election foul play, meaning there will be no elected student representation under the new model. Last year, a Mark investigation revealed that the lack of security in the voting process allowed for votes from non-M-A students to be included in the nal tally–only 57% of the votes were valid. Additionally, confusion around when the ballot would close resulted in a victory that some suspected was part of a conspiracy.

Last year, Leadership invested in new voting software, but the disrespectful behavior of students plagued the campaign. Amoroso said, “I was thoroughly embarrassed to be the advisor who runs the elections, due to the students slandering their own classmates’ names, starting rumors like people are able to buy their votes, and probably the most disgusting and embarrassing moment —when [a yer with a picture of] two candidates was urinated on in a toilet.”

It’s easy to peg the discontinuation of the class presidency as an attack on student

“Students were

‘upset about being left in the dark and passionate about being heard.’

Read Related Stories:

Who Really Won the Class President Election?

New Election Software Will Ensure Voting Security

Ending the Class Presidency

Students Walk Out in Protest of Graudation Changes

Another Side of the Diploma Controversy

voices, but until the student body can learn to respect the process of democracy, do we deserve to have this voice? Amoroso is not the rst activities director to eliminate class elections. In fact, he revealed that every activities director in recent memory has ridden the school of class elections at some point in their time at M-A.

Student behavior and rhetoric at both the open forum and the sit-in got ugly. e main takeaway of many students’ speeches was “f--- admin” and one student was seen blaming the principal for her suspension while brandishing her middle ngers; a gesture intended for principal Simone RickKennel. In the case of the graduation diploma controversy, Chan said tensions ran high at the open forum during lunch with members of the administration because “it was the rst

Tensions between students and members of the administration ran high at the open forum.

formal opportunity for students to speak directly with sta .” Chan continued, “If

people during the sit-in were mad at admin. I don’t think that admin even knew that so many students wanted to [keep the diploma tradition]. I think they just thought students didn’t really care.” Mimeles explained that a sit-in was the easiest way to organize masses of students to share their opinions. She addressed how at times the sit-in got out of hand, but said it was ultimately a success because in January, the SDMSC voted to keep the tradition.

While a high school is not a proper democracy, the student perspective is a necessary component to a harmonious campus, and open discussion encourages young people to learn self-advocacy skills for the future. In practice, though, democracy is tedious. Few students are willing to endure long meetings discussing budgeting details with administrators, and several students from leadership, though not elected representatives of the student body, have been commendable for their willingness to undergo boredom for the sake of being heard. In fact, M-A’s lack of student-administrator conversation originates from students’ disinterest over time. During the 2017-2018 school year, Kennel and the administration o ered regular open forums called Bear Chats. e forums were discontinued after student interest waned; according to Kennel, “Few students came, and if they did, it was more speci c to their situation that could be addressed via another

performative, and teens can be counted on to go to extremes to make their friends laugh. Here there is an important distinction: at the sit-in, some students

The most effective thing to do is to provide regular avenues for student expression.

took the chance to poke fun at and roast administration, while others took the chance to bring up unrelated issues and concerns because it felt like their one opportunity to be heard. As always, the excitement for student representation should be for the right reasons, not for the thrill of cutting class or to meet up with one’s friends during fth period on a Friday. e sit-in was an important catalyst for the decision to uphold the diploma tradition, but ultimately the most e ective thing to do is to provide regular avenues for student expression.

If the SDMSC is to be accepted as the primary means for student representation in policy decisions, the administration should publicize (a) how the body operates

“The excitement for student representation should be for the right reasons, not for the thrill of cutting class or to meet up with one’s friends during fifth period on a Friday.

anything, I think the open forum revealed the urge that students feel to be heard by the administration and the lack of attention they felt that they had received up to that point.”

Senior Isabelle Mimeles, who helped organize the sit-in, said, “A lot of

channel.”

Surely the enthusiasm for the sitin, though partly from genuine concern over continuing tradition, also arises from the glamour of protest. In any demonstration like the one on the Green, participation becomes

with regards to policy-making and student representation and (b) the topics and proposals on M-A Today!, Canvas, or via emails so that students remain informed. According to Chan, in the case of the graduation diploma proposal, students were “upset about being

left in the dark and passionate about being heard.” Had the administration involved students more in the decision-making process by sending out a school-wide announcement asking for input, perhaps students wouldn’t have felt blindsided and been driven to protest.

e contact information of students who serve on the SDMSC should be published on the SDMSC website, so a variety of students may inform their representatives of their needs. Originally, the student SDMSC representatives were not posted because of a lack of consistent attendance. Students like Abdella and Chan, who have committed to being consistent student voices at the SDMSC this year, should be an example for future representatives.

Moving forward, the journalism sta of both the Chronicle and e Mark commits to having at least one journalist in attendance at future SDMSC meetings. As journalists, we have a responsibility to

inform students on any proposed or enacted changes to their community, which requires more thorough reporting on the SDMSC. We too can do better. Many students rst found out about the proposed changes to the diploma tradition by way of a social media post promoting the protest. With journalistic representation at SDMSC meetings, students will be able to access credible, fact-checked information without worrying they have been kept out of the loop.

is semester, the administration has proposed monthly student town halls led by SDMSC representatives. Kennel described that the meetings will take place during ex time in the PAC “to update students on issues that come up through the SDMSC.” ese town halls are a step in the right direction; their time and place will be accessible to all interested students, and the format of open discussion will promote transparency between parties.

Chan said, “Being one of the few

student reps in SDMSC, there are only so many people we can talk to and things we can say to try to in uence these school-wide decisions.” When the administration expands the open forums to town hall meetings, students should speak up if they are bothered by a policy or a lack thereof. at said, students should also be willing to respect and listen to the concerns of administrators. Chan said students should “understand that the administration is reaching out to them for feedback” in these forums and not “jump to conclusions.”

A democratic system only works when there is a frequented platform for constituents to make their voices heard. Both students and administrators must approach these conversations with empathy and a willingness to compromise; at M-A, a healthy system of representation cannot exist without either.

written by The Editorial Board designed by Toni Shindler-Ruberg

Students sit out during lunch, November 15th. | Credit: Erik Hansen

MASCULINITY TOXIC

a set of behaviors and beliefs that include the following: - Suppressing emotions or masking distress - Maintaining an appearance of hardness

- Violence as an indicator of power

“ at’s so gay.” “Don’t be a pussy.” ese are words that are often thrown around at high school campuses, including M-A. While seemingly harmless, these words have an impact; our society often forces men to act domineering and emotionless, and objectify women. Although recent movements have emphasized how toxic masculinity harms women, what is often left out of the discussion is the e ects toxic masculinity has on men themselves. In a country where men have a suicide rate 3.5 times higher than women– a trend caused by increasing levels of loneliness among teen and middle-aged men – toxic masculinity is quickly becoming a serious issue.

From a young age, boys crave friendship and closeness with other boys. In almost all psychological studies, adolescents between the ages of seven and twelve talk about how much they love and care for those they describe as their “best friends.” However, when these same boys are interviewed as teens something completely di erent happens. When asked, the same kids are hesitant to talk about their male friends and they are distant and isolated from them. Junior Lars Osterberg said “I think a lot of guys are scared to have close friends. Especially when they get to high school,

the culture can be pretty homophobic...even if it’s not by choice, a lot of guys just automatically hide their emotions. For me personally, I feel like I do it naturally because of past experiences I have had.”

An anonymous male senior agreed, saying, “I feel like there is a culture that forces guys to suppress their emotions in front of their male friends. I know that not every male is super emotional, but for those who are, it can often seem hopeless and depressing.”

In our culture, boys are often told to “man-up,” believing that they shouldn’t be sad and that showing emotions is a sign of weakness. According to Mills, “While some guys can handle these pressures without any struggle, others simply can’t.” Unfortunately, this culture causes many men to isolate their feelings making them internally depressed. Ultimately, this can have grave consequences later in life. At the same time when teen boys start to view intimate relationships as “gay” and isolate themselves more, their suicide rate peaks to four times that of girls. In the long run, this emotional isolation leads to serious mental and physical issues, ranging from chronic depression to anxiety and hopelessness. e pressure on boys to act stoic

I know that not every male is super emotional, but for those who are, it can often seem hopeless and depressing. - Anonymous

often leads to impossible expectations that destroy mental well-being and severely harm boys’ psychological development. e problem is further fueled when boys feel pressure to “act di erently,” because they “see others doing it,” according to senior Matthew Bergan. e culture of hyper-masculinity has taken basic traits of humanity, such as displaying emotions, and assigned them as female characteristics even though all humans have emotions. Boys enter a culture that asks them to pretend as if their emotions do not exist and disconnect from the very thing they need the most to help them

the winter

thrive: emotional connection. In the end, boys reveal that from a young age, they have a great emotional capacity to be connected to their feelings. However, it is up to society to ensure that they do not lose this ability due to outdated notions of masculinity which permanently scar many young men for life. “It’s scary to think of how many boys are in [a bad place mentally], and how many don’t have an outlet for their emotions,” said junior Bianca Johnston. “It’s important for guys to form strong emotional friendships with other guys, but if that doesn’t work they should nd someone, whether that be a girl, parent, or teacher to talk closely to and be honest with.” guys afraid to appear gay.”

American culture stresses a strong sense of independence and machismo in boys. Bizarre expectations like these as they grow older see boys being forced to disconnect from their innate emotional acuity. Junior Paul Mills said, “even if it’s not by choice, a lot of guys just automatically hide their emotions. For me personally, I feel like I do it naturally because of past experiences I have had.”

In the end, boys reveal that from a young age, they have a great emotional capacity to be connected to their feelings. However, it is up to society to ensure that they do not lose this

ability due to outdated notions of masculinity which permanently scar many young men for life. “It’s scary to think of how many boys are in [a bad place mentally], and how many don’t have an outlet for their emotions,” said Johnston. “It’s important for guys to form strong emotional friendships with other guys, but if that doesn’t work they should nd someone, whether that be a girl, parent, or teacher to talk closely to and be honest with.”

“While some guys can handle these pressures without any struggle, others simply can’t.”

- Paul Mills

In

of 2018, Gillette® released an ad addressing toxic masculinity present in US culture. Though controversial, the ad sparked discususion about what could be done to address the issue.

written by Sathvik Nori and Nate Baxter designed by Sathvik Nori

Broken Promise Land: Students Share Perspectives on Israel

Driving down the streets of the Gaza Strip, junior Ethan Marcus was surprised to see Palestinian children lining the sides of the narrow road up ahead. As his armored car approached them, the kids began pelting the car with rocks and fruit with razor blades embedded inside of them. “The whole experience was kind of shocking,” said Marcus, “not because I necessarily feared for my safety, but because I wondered how those kids could develop such a strong hatred of Israel.”

“I wondered how those kids could develop such a strong hatred of Israel.”

Marcus noted that this was a common occurrence in Palestine, alleging children were “brain-washed” from a young age to hate Jews and everything associated with Israel. “While I see similar anti-Palestine propaganda in Israel, I think that this is a bigger issue in Palestine, where groups such as Hamas have convinced people to blindly hate Israel.” Hamas is a Sunni-Islamist fundamentalist militant organization and the de-facto governing organization of the Gaza Strip since 2007.

“ e trip I took to Israel really helped shape my views on this issue. I think a lot of people in our community approach this issue without complete information as to what is going on,” said Marcus. “Many of the criticisms I see about Israel are strongly rooted in antiSemitism and a hatred of having a Jewish state.” However, not everyone in the M-A community agrees with the sentiment that Palestine is mainly to blame for the con ict. Miranda Mueller ‘19, who is also Jewish, said, “Fundamentally, I believe that Israel is a settler-colonial nation. Much of con ict Israel is embroiled in is a result of oppressive Israeli policies that show blatant disregard for the lives of the people who lived in Palestine before Israel was recognized by the United Nations (UN) in 1949.”

In contrast to Marcus, Mueller believes that the dominant discourse of western media often confuses legitimate critiques of Israel as anti-Semitic. “I think it is very problematic that a country that purports to be the Jewish homeland oppresses non-Jews. In my opinion, that runs counter to Jewish principles.”

e issue of Israel being a Jewish nation-state is controversial at M-A. President

of the Jewish Culture Club and junior Ben Witeck said, “I think it’s fair for the Israeli government to preserve a majority Jewish population. Just like the US has its laws based o of mainly Judeo-Christian values, Israel is entitled to base its values on the moral and ethical arguments made in the Torah.”

However, not everyone agrees with this sentiment. Freshman Karim Nasr, who is half-Lebanese, said, “while I’m de nitely sympathetic to the plight of Israel, I know that many people in Lebanon—especially Palestenian refugees—feel irked by the fact that

“They were forced off their land to form a nation that they believe they cannot even partake in.”

they were forced o their land to form a nation that they believe they cannot even partake in.”

Sophomore Jacob Siegel also said, “I think both sides need to be willing to negotiate and compromise, which does not seem likely to happen.”

Another source of disagreement is Birthright, which is an organization funded by the Israeli government and American Jewish

e Dead Sea

organizations that subsidizes trips for Jews aged 18 to 32 to y to Israel and learn more about the country. For Marcus, these trips are important to reinforce the Jewish culture and allow Jewish people a better understanding of their heritage. He said, “I know that one of the places [the organization] makes sure to take kids is Yad Vashem, which is the Israeli Holocaust memorial museum. I think this is really important for all people to see as it truly puts in perspective the importance of having a Jewish homeland.”

However, Mueller fundamentally

“I think this is really important for all people to see as it truly puts in perspective the importance of having a Jewish homeland.”

disagrees with the premise of the trip, viewing it as propaganda designed to push the narrative of the Israeli government. “If you look at the mission statement for these groups, many of them explicitly say that they are trying to strengthen the connection between Jewish communities and Israel. I think this is incredibly problematic because Jewish identity

“Jewish identity has existed for literally thousands of years without a non-secular Jewish nation-state.”

has existed for literally thousands of years without a non-secular Jewish nation-state, and the notion of trying to tie the abstract idea of what it means to be Jewish with the existence of Israel, which claims to protect Jewish interests while claiming to righteously battle the original inhabitants of Palestine, is false and extremely problematic. Meanwhile, American Jewish organizations regularly push this narrative, and continue to indoctrinate millions of young Jews every year in synagogue, Sunday school, and summer camp while ignoring the su ering of millions of Palestinians.”

Some students also expressed concerns about biases expressed by teachers. According to Marcus, “For some teachers, it is pretty clear that they are explicitly pro-Palestine, and they don’t take the Israeli perspective at all.”

However, sophomore Jacob Siegel said, “I think the bias reflects both side’s perspectives on the issue. At M-A, I think you get a little bit of both.”

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is mostly taught freshman year in world studies. World studies teacher Samuel Harris said, “One of my favorite parts of the unit is when we show the kids the movie Promises; I think for many kids it really puts a human perspective on the con ict.”

“Our curriculum is designed to stimulate discussion.”

Harris added, “although I try to remain completely neutral, our curriculum is designed to stimulate discussion amongst students and have them come up with their own views on the issue. Last year, I had an Israeli kid and a Palestinian kid, both of whom had strong views on the issues. Although they disagreed strongly on certain issues, the conversation was really civil.”

written by Sathvik Nori photos by Ben Witeck designed by Antonia Mortensen

View of Jersualem

-\ America isn’t the Same /-

written by Enrique Magana Martinez

Is it all worth it ?

Risking stu for a better future ?

Dying of thirst in the day and being cold at night

19 days in a desert with no food or water

Not being able to take breaks

Walking and hoping to be able to make it

Nightmare of falling behind

Leaving the group and losing yourself .

I’m that kid who knows who crosses and for what reasons.

From people hiding in cactus

To dogs barking searching for people

Risking a lot knowing how dangerous it is

But all for a better life

I’m from here hearing people getting fake social to work

To lying about where they are from

Because they’re afraid to be caught

From running from the migra

And being paranoid

Hiding everywhere they go .

Running back and forth

NOT BEING ABLE TO CALL A PLACE HOME

photographed by

Jamie Durden

photographed by Emma Dougherty

painted by Emma Dougherty

photographed by Elinor Kry

illustrated by Ti any Camillo

illustrated by Ti any Camillo

illustrated by Athena Xue

designed by Jane White

Verses Issue I: Ghost

M-A Student Creates her own Magazine

Seven years after her initial fourth grade attempt, junior Kari Trail has successfully published 100 pages of experimental art, writing, and photography. Her entirely self-published magazine Verses showcases original artwork centered around a particular theme that varies by issue. Her rst issue titled ‘Ghost’ is centered around “how people feel detached.”

Trail’s interpretation of the theme is articulated in one of the pieces she wrote titled ‘Alienation.’ Trail said that “I think this piece was the most meaningful. It’s about the process of feeling alienated from a creative path because you feel so in uenced by other people’s work. It is something I feel has played a big role in my life, always feeling like my work is never really genuine because I’m always so in uenced by other people. It was putting that struggle into words that meant a lot to me.” is rst issue of Verses has international reach, receiving several submissions from various artists overseas. “I got a lot from Australia, some from Canada, and the UK too.” Trail said. “It was

really cool, seeing such international submissions.” Trail also mentioned that she has gotten orders from just as many countries. “I’ve been shipping [the magazines] out of the guest bedroom in my house. ere’s a whole setup of boxes, stickers, and pins. And while the shipping is insanely expensive, I really wanted to make it available internationally.”

Trail said that she is so grateful for

photo by Katie Clayton

the positive reception of Verses. Trail stated that “the response has been really good. I think people have liked it and responded to it. And some people have said ‘Wow, I really get what you’re trying to do.’ And that means a lot to me.”

M-A junior Maya Kennedy said that, “it is not like anything I have ever seen before. Kari was able to connect artists and compile pieces into one work that is really unique. I think the mix of many di erent art forms together around one theme and

“Not just a magazine about art, poetry or entertainment, it was a venue for expression about emotional disconnection.”

message was a very unique and nice artistic touch.”

Trail revealed that the name of her magazine was a tribute to her younger self, saying that “When I was younger, I thought of this name, Soul Verses. e magazine name is kind of a little tribute to my younger self who rst wanted to make a magazine. I guess my thought was, ‘If I’m gonna have a magazine, then I’m going to call it Soul Verses’ but I decided to tone down the cliche, [and simplify it to Verses].”

Trail remarked that although she had wanted to publish a magazine since fourth grade, she had never thought it would be an achievable dream. “I always saw the idea as something unattainable, something I couldn’t really do,” Trail re ected. “I just thought I’d make little handmade things throughout my life. But then I found out about this company called Blurb where you could self-publish a magazine. It was making that shift between, ‘that’s just a big goal and idealistic’ and becoming, ‘maybe this could actually happen.’”

Kari explained that the inspiration for ‘Ghost’ happened on a family vacation, saying that “I had been trying for so long to think of a theme that I liked, felt universal, but was also something creatively applicable. I just liked the word ghost, and thought it

would be a fun idea for a magazine. So I started brainstorming.”

Ghost was the rst issue Trail produce, and she has already published Verses Issue 2, ‘Piece of Cake,’ that explores the question of “What layers make up who you are?” and “What’s the cherry on top?”

Trail is working alone on this second issue, and ‘Ghost’ was also entirely self-published. However because of the large workload, Trail mentioned that she will eventually look into getting help with her magazine.

“I actually kept it from my parents and my family because I wanted it to be a surprise,’’ said Trail, “I don’t even know why, I just thought it would be kind of funny if I surprised them with a magazine. It was a really good feeling when I said, ‘close your eyes’ to my family, and then seeing their reaction to the nished product.

“I was struck by the subject matter,” revealed Mark Trail, Kari’s father. “ is was not just a magazine about art, poetry or entertainment, it was a venue for expression about emotional disconnection. By creating this magazine, Kari found a way to articulate, create and communicate on a subject that she and many others experience.”

Junior Eliza Jasper, the Australia based artist who drew the back cover illustration for ‘Ghost’, expressed how “from the second I opened issue one of Verses magazine, I was blown away by the creativity of the content. It’s a really special feeling to be part of a magazine lled with

“It’s a really special feeling to be part of a magazine filled with inspiring words and imagery from so many like-minded individuals.”

inspiring words and imagery from so many like-minded individuals. After exploring what makes me feel detached, I felt more in touch with myself.”

She is also extremely grateful for the people who submitted their work for her to publish. Trail said that “I really loved receiving submissions from people and just reading them over. Everyone was so kind, and they’re so talented.”

“I had never thought it’d be possible to publish a magazine; it was

“Finding resources and looking for things that are attainable in your life and then applying that to the dream is a really crucial step to making it come true.”

just some huge goal for the future,” Trail concluded. “I think nding resources and really looking for things that are attainable in your life and then applying that to the dream is a really crucial step to making it come true. at’s how it happened for me; it was such a big ambitious goal that I didn’t think would happen, but I think just looking for the resources really helped make it happen.”

Trail published “Piece of Cake” on December 10th 2019, and is now accepting submissions for Issue 3: Looking Glass through February 15. For more information go to the Verses Instagram @versesmag. If you are looking to purchase a copy of Issue I: Ghost, or Issue 2: Piece of Cake this [https:// verses.bigcartel.com/products] is the link, or you can scan the QR code at the bottom of the page. e link to the website can also be found in the Verses Instagram bio.

written and designed by Chloe Hsy

Scan to purchase an issue of Verses.

Copies of Verses Issue I: Ghost.

Trail buried under a pile of her magazines.

e Emperor and e Empress by Tillman James.

Senior Justin Anderson evades a defender.

Who is our rival? It’s hard to say. ere are four schools that usually come to mind: Sacred Heart Prep (SHP), Menlo School, Woodside High School, and Sequoia High School.

An obvious candidate for M-A’s biggest rival is SHP. Over the years, the SHP-M-A rivalry has become much more intense, mainly because of the privatepublic school dynamic. According to Kevin

“Imagine paying $40K a year to be that bad at football.”

Shvodian, a junior at M-A, “It’s the fact that we are a public school and they are a private school that makes beating them enjoyable.” Shvodian added, “imagine paying $40K a year to be that bad at football.” SHP’s athletes are an equal match for M-A’s across most sports, which adds to that feeling of competition. For example, in the recent Homecoming Game, M-A narrowly defeated SHP 26-20. As the score of the game stayed close late into the fourth quarter, fans only got more excited. Close, intense games like the recent homecoming game fuel the rivalry because more students come to the games if there is consistent competition between the two schools.

In a recent Instagram poll on the M-A Chronicle Instagram, people voted on which school is M-A’s biggest rival. In the

“It’s the fact that we are a public school and they are a private school that makes beating them enjoyable.”

two preliminary rounds, Woodside defeated Sequoia 62 votes to 31, and SHP defeated Menlo 73 votes to 24. e winners of the preliminary rounds faced o in a nal round, where SHP defeated Woodside 77 votes to 21.

However, a substantial problem in

Who Is Our Rival?

“I think Menlo is our biggest rival just because it has been that way for a long time.”

this rivalry is that SHP does not consider M-A as their biggest rival. After interviewing multiple SHP students, every single one said that Menlo School is SHP’s biggest rival. Wilson Weisel, a senior at SHP, said, “I think Menlo is our biggest rival just because it has been that way for a long time.” Maddie Levey, a SHP junior, said, “Menlo is de nitely our biggest rival, but M-A seems to consider SHP as their biggest rival.” SHP juniors, Teddy Purcell and Harrison Carrington also both agreed with their classmates that Menlo is SHP’s biggest rival. When interviewed, M-A students did not consider Menlo as important a rival as SHP because Menlo athletics gives M-A less competition in general. While SHP only lost to M-A 26-20 in football this season, Menlo lost to M-A 42-3 last season. Less competition in athletics makes a rivalry less tense because the games are less interesting to go to. However, being a cross-town rival and a private school, Menlo is still considered a rivalry game in any sport when M-A plays them.

Like SHP, Menlo students consistently agree that SHP is their biggest rival. Christian Corcoran, a Menlo junior, claims, “I de nitely want to win when we play M-A, but I think SHP is a bigger rival because we are on the same street.” Another junior at Menlo, Marisa Castagna agrees with Corcoran that games with M-A are “always a popular and competitive game, but Menlo’s biggest rival is de nitely SHP.”

Another school that has to be in the debate over M-A’s biggest rival is Woodside High School. Woodside is a classic, cross town rival of M-A and is in our school district. e two schools have faced o in every sport since Woodside was created in 1958, making it a long lasting rivalry. However, the actual level of competition varies from sport to sport. In volleyball, Woodside senior, Lena McDonough, says, “Woodside and M-A have been in the same league for volleyball the last three years and the games have gotten

very heated.” In contrast to football, where Woodside graduate and former football player Scott Morimoto, says, “there was never any real competition because Woodside always knew they were going to lose when they played M-A.”

e nal contender is Sequoia High School, mainly for the same reasons as Woodside, a long time, cross town, public school rival. Yet, like the SHP-Menlo rivalry, most Woodside and Sequoia students consider the other school as their biggest rival over M-A. is means that once again, two of M-A’s main rivals actually have a bigger rivalry with each other over M-A.

Kyle Knudson, Woodside junior, and Luke Buddie, Woodside sophomore, both consider Sequoia to be Woodside’s biggest rival. On the Sequoia side, Hugo Greenhill, Sequoia senior, says, “M-A and Sequoia are de nitely

“M-A and Sequoia are definitely big rivals, but there is more hype for the games in all sports against Woodside, so I would consider Woodside as Sequoia’s biggest rivals.”

big rivals, but there is more hype for the games in all sports against Woodside, so I would consider Woodside as Sequoia’s biggest rivals.”

Considering that the four schools that are in the running for M-A’s biggest rival all have separate larger rivalries with another school in the group of four, the debate over M-A’s biggest rival has to look past the fact that M-A might not be these schools biggest rival. Despite this news, given the Instagram poll and the palpable sense of excitement in the crowds due to the highly competitive games, SHP is M-A’s biggest rival.

written by Cole Trigg designed by Amelia Wu photos by Bob Dahlberg

Opinion: End the Stigma. Period.

You realize you’ve gotten your period and make sure to subtly slide a tampon up your sleeve so no one sees. At school, you mention your period to your friend, but you make sure to speak quietly so that none of the guys hear you. You’re having a rough day and are impatient with your friend. She asks you, “Are you on your period?” when you’re not. Though the stigma around menstruation has greatly decreased, especially in the more liberal Bay Area, it still a ects many students at Menlo-Atherton. In order to lessen this stigma, education surrounding menstruation should be more thorough; therefore misconceptions around periods will become less prevalent and it will no longer become such a touchy subject.

“If there was a su cient amount of education it would be much simpler to talk about it and normalize it.”

Some M-A students, such as sophomore Cate Whittaker, are embarrassed to have anyone see their menstrual products. She said, “I hide my menstrual products when going to the bathroom because I have grown used to thinking it is ‘bad’ for other people to know I am on my period.”

Various female students also feel uncomfortable talking to their male classmates about menstruation. According to senior Fiona Ralston, “ ere have been times when guys have had unpleasant reactions to me showing menstrual products in class and before I go to the restroom...Like making a face of disgust or saying ‘Ew.’”

In contrast, students such as sophomore Savannah Prasad, said “I don’t care who sees my menstrual products.” Senior boy Petelo Vatuvei said, “I don’t think it’s weird to talk about periods.”

Many students feel as if the source of this stigma is the lack of education in schools. Menlo-Atherton’s health aide,

Tonya Edgington, said, “Usually, education on periods comes down to the girl and her mother or guardian.” She explained how this system of education mostly excludes boys, leaving them dependant on school and peers for menstrual knowledge. She continued to express how this is detrimental considering the fact that boys usually don’t discuss menstruation with their parents, and are more likely to form misconceptions about periods. ough Life Skills seems like the most appropriate class to teach students about menstruation, Adriana Stone, a World Studies and Life Skills teacher said, “We do not cover menstruation in Life Skills, that is up to the biology classes.” However, Dr. Martha Richards, an M-A biology teacher said, “We don’t really talk about periods, except for whether a form of birth control would a ect it. We don’t go very far into that aspect because we expect that it has been touched in middle school or by a student’s parents.”

A male student interviewed, a senior at M-A, did not even know what the word “menstruation” meant, and another sophomore boy continuously pronounced the word as “men-sur-ation,” pointing to the lack of e ective education.

“Periods aren’t something that anyone can control and is just as natural as sneezing or coughing.”

As a result of improvements made in education, communication around menstruation can become much easier. e limitation of popular misconceptions would make conversation around it as something normal. Whittaker said, “ ere are so many misconceptions about periods and menstruation especially among men. If there was a su cient amount of education it would be much simpler to talk about it and normalize it.”

Ralston expanded on this: “[We

Sam McDonald

1. Muir Woods

3. Devil’s Slide

Bedwell Bayfront

7. Castle Rock

2. Sutro Baths

5. Skyline Ridge

designed by Nat Gerhard

(A hiking column, primarily).

III

future

illustrated by Karina Takayama

Test-Optional Colleges

e University of California (UC) has recently come under re for allegedly discriminating against students under civil rights laws by requiring that all applicants submit SAT or ACT scores, since many under-priviledged families cannot a ord expensive test-preparation tools and tutors for the SAT and ACT. e Compton Uni ed School District has threatened to sue the UCs to “immediately stop this discriminatory process,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“ e Compton Uni ed School District has threatened to sue the UCs to ‘immediately stop this discriminatory process.’”

ACT and College Board argue that their tests only re ect the inequities within school districts and access to good education, and that the exams are not discriminatory. M-A senior Emily Carlson agreed, “Standardized testing is a good way to compare applicants because certain schools have grade in ation; it’s the only universal way to compare di erent applicants.” While M-A o ers an optional test-prep class to students,

other schools don’t have the funding to pay teachers overtime to teach SAT prep. Colleges that have implemented test-optional policies have seen a drastic increase in diversity between socio-economic backgrounds and race. According to U.S. News, the University of Chicago, which recently made test scores optional, “saw a 20% rise in low-income and rst-generation students for its latest admitted class.” SAT test prep books often cost around $50 and test prep classes, like the ones o ered at AJ Tutoring, cost more than $2000, about $160 per hour. M-A college counselor Heather Lowe said, “ ere are a variety of factors that make test taking more di cult. ere is something else called stereotype threat where if a student thinks that they or their group of people isn’t great at something, they are more likely to perform poorer. Standardized testing is one of those things that minorities have just felt that they aren’t good at and haven’t done well on. And they still haven’t had enough support with it.”

“My test scores just don’t re ect me as a student.”

If the UCs do decide to become test-optional, their application process must change completely. Most test-optional

schools will consider SAT and ACT scores if students submit them, but focus more on other factors they believe are stronger predictors of a student’s potential to succeed in college. Mai Lien Nguyen clari ed, “For schools that are already test-optional, they have a holistic review of the student. Not one part of the application has more weight than another. But, if the UCs go test-optional then they will require letters of recommendation, they will have more essays, and they will have interviews. But [test optional] schools typically have much fewer applicants than the UCs so they already can take more time to look at each application, whereas UCs don’t.” James Nondorf, vice president for enrollment and student development at the University of Chicago, told U.S. News, “Testing is one piece. It’s not the only piece that determines your admission.” However, when colleges remove the test requirement, there is no longer a universal tool to compare

all applicants. Grade in ation and de ation poses an issue. M-A college counselor Nguyen explained, “ e UCs do a holistic review. ough ACT and SAT are required, they see it in the context of the student. ey look at your grades, and they look at your extracurriculars. ere isn’t one thing that has a speci c weight compared to another.”

“Testing is one piece. It’s not the only piece that determines your admission.”

e College Board has attempted to correct the disparities between test scores among di erent socio-economic groups. ey “came out with something called the landscape index, an attempt to account for the di erences in test scores [based on geographics]. It’s pretty new, but it’s 2019 [and they have] just now come out with

something to address it more precisely,” Lowe said. However, the more pressing concern among counselors, Lowe said, is “the test that is going to replace [the SAT and ACT]. Let’s say the UCs decided not to use the SAT or ACT for admissions or they go test-optional. It worries me that in the vacuum of space, what will become the next test?”

written by Ellie Shepard designed by Violet Taylor

You can lie on your college application ... and get away with it*.

In March of 2019, a nationwide scandal exposed the fragility of the college admissions process. It raised the question: how could so many false applications fall through the cracks of a supposedly rigorous admissions system? Obviously, money and bribery encouraged admissions o ces to turn a blind eye, but what lies can the average applicant get away with?

Since SAT and ACT test scores can be authenticated through the College Board, e Mark focused its investigation on the student-reported extracurricular and award sections.

We contacted over 50 M-A sports coaches and club advisors. Not a single coach or club advisor was asked to verify information on a student’s college application —for example, no college attempted to verify whether a student was really a captain of a sports team. However, a few coaches were contacted as part of the athletic recruiting process.

We reached out to about 60 colleges, with 18 of these colleges giving statements. We also spoke with representatives from the entire UC system and several of its campuses. 11 of the colleges interviewed said they do not fact check applications whatsoever. e remaining seven claimed to verify applicant statistics (i.e. grades and test scores), but will only call counselors to verify student-reported sections (i.e. extracurriculars and awards) if something seems o with the application. Many colleges, if they nd something off about an application, will contact counselors rst to get more information on a student. Chapman University admissions o cer Tracy Rostello said, “If something seems awry we’ll reach out to the high school counselor for clarity.” Still, many schools do not fact check applications as a routine. Despite these claims, the majority of

M-A counselors have not been contacted by a college to con rm extracurriculars. Francine Andrade, who has been a counselor for 21 years, and Silvia Torres Garza, a counselor of 16 years, have both never had a single college contact them regarding extracurriculars on a student’s application. Similarly, counselor Leticia Gutierrez said, “I’ve been here for almost two years now and not one college has checked with me.”

Two of the counselors declined to comment on the matter.

Guidance counselor Karina EscobarWeaver, the only counselor out of eight to get calls from colleges, said that “there are some years where I get multiple phone calls and there are years that I don’t hear at all.”

However, college counselor Heather Lowe has had to reach out to students to verify information, instead of colleges possibly contacting Lowe later in the process. “I was the one who actually caught the two students that claimed they were presidents of the same club.” e lack of communication between admissions o ces and high school counselors can be attributed to colleges only reaching out when something seems out of the ordinary, but that is exactly the issue with the application system. e smaller, more believable lies and embellishments are able to y under the radar and become standard, broadening the chasm between what is expected from high school students and what is realistic. is only further incentivizes students to lie.

Four of the 60 colleges that we contacted (Dartmouth, Kenyon College, Chapman College and Whitman College) con rmed that they are able to con rm student application details through counselor letters of recommendation.

Counselors vouch for students by writing a letter of recommendation for

students applying to private or out-of-state schools in the fall of their senior year, but that is based on a student-created resume.

Counselor Leticia Gutierrez said, “I believe what you’re telling me. I have no idea if it’s true or not. I’m writing based on your packet, but I don’t know. We don’t verify. We don’t call. We don’t.” College counselor Heather Lowe noted that, this year, M-A added an honor pledge to the recommendation packet students submit to counselors. Now, students must sign a statement saying, “I certify that the information provided to M-A sta (counselors, college advisors, teachers,

“We don’t verify. We don’t call. We don’t.

coaches, etc.) are (sic) my own work, factually true, and honestly presented.” While honor pledges such as this one can often encourage honesty, this format does not actually force applicants to tell the truth. Gutierrez added, “I can’t check with ve clubs that they’re joining. Like, how can I check?”

Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school, claims that they verify all suspicious applications through recommendation letters and test scores. However, Todd Denning, Assistant Admissions Director, admitted later in the call that Dartmouth doesn’t fact check their applications due to the “volume of applicants we receive.” Denning concluded the call stressing the importance of the honor code, saying, “If we [the admissions team] feel there is a need [to contact the school or

*(probably)

counselor], then we would, but for the most part, we just have good faith in the student.”

Student-reported sections, or parts of the application where students are able to show schools their personality and interests, are the easiest place to lie about accomplishments. ese “student-reported sections” consist of basic background information (such as age, gender, and race), extracurricular activities (sports, jobs and volunteering), and awards. O cial high school transcripts and test scores must be sent out to colleges, so these are not considered part of the student-reported section. In cases where colleges allow for initial self-reporting of test scores for the admission process, students must generally send an o cial report once admitted.

Even though each University of California (UC) campus has a di erent way of reviewing applications, the admissions system acts as a single unit. Because of this, every UC has access to all applications for any UC school and has the ability to rescind them. ey’re able to share information from student applications with each other. With private universities, however, even if applicants are caught lying, it is against federal antitrust laws to share this information with other universities.

Even if applicants are caught lying, it is against federal antitrust laws to share this information with other universities.

In an email, Sarah McBride of the UC system said, “the Systemwide Undergraduate Admissions office selects a random sampling of applications for verification and provides a foundation for ensuring that those who have falsely reported application information can be detected.” When verifying applications, the UC board asks students “to provide documentation verifying the item selected in their application.” Only 1% (about 2,000 out of 217,650) applications are fact checked. If they nd that a student has lied on their application, their admissions to all

UCs will be revoked. According to the UC system statement, “as a result of verifying achievements, the University typically cancels nearly 100 applications per year due to nonresponse, versus fewer than half a dozen per year due to admitted falsi cation.” College counselor Mai Lien Nguyen has had M-A students that have been audited by the UC schools, and described, “the school would need to provide proof: for instance, a letter from a coach saying that they were on the team.” e issue with not fact-checking the other 99% of applications is that within that 99%, there are likely many more students who lied on their application.

e recent focus on the deep-seated corruption concerning college admissions has inspired Brown to investigate their recruited athletes. e university released an announcement just after the scandal in April stating that “in March, the university completed a case-by-case review of every recruited varsity athlete who enrolled at Brown over the last four years, and found no concerns. is internal investigation is being followed by a broader assessment to gauge any exposure to risk from falsi ed admissions materials.” Escobar-Weaver con rmed that Brown is one of the schools that has contacted her in the past.

The March 2019 Varsity Blues scandal hit close to home because several local parents—including two with students at M-A—pled guilty to falsifying portions of their children’s college applications. e news de nitively proved that M-A and local students are willing to go to great—even illegal—lengths to get into college. In an area as competitive as Silicon Valley, such pressures to achieve, or rather fabricate achievement, are exceedingly high.

e Mark’s interviews with college admissions o cers nationwide revealed that students are often able to get away with embellishments and even full-blown lies, given that many colleges don’t verify studentreported achievements. Even if a college discovers lies on a student’s application, they are unable to alert other universities, allowing further lies to go undetected.

This comes as disheartening news to many M-A students. Senior Alex Roginski said, “ e fact that colleges place students who work diligently to develop their extracurriculars on the same level as those who lie and exaggerate their activities without punishment is a great injustice in our education system.”

Junior Anika Bjerknes said, “I feel somewhat discouraged because I worked hard all four years to set myself up for success and someone could just lie their way into any school they wanted.”

“ I feel somewhat discouraged because I worked hard all four years to set myself up for success and someone could just lie their way into any school they wanted.

-Anika Bjerknes

written by Amelia Wu, Izzy Leake, Lucy Gundel, Nate Viotti, and Triana Devaux designed by Nate Viotti

YES / SOMETIMES

Do you verify student-reported portions of applications?

NO 61%

Colleges Interviewed:

• Boston University

• Brigham Young University (BYU)

• Cal Poly

• Chapman University

• Dartmouth College

• Harvey Mudd College

• Kenyon College

• Northern Arizona University

• Oregon State University

• Pomona College

• Southern Oregon University

• Tuskegee University

• University of California (UC)

• Berkeley

• Irvine

• Los Angeles

• University of Michigan

• University of Portland

• University of Seattle

• University of Texas at Austin

• Whitman College

OPINION: College or Culture?

How College Admissions Devalues my Identity

Like many of my peers, I started senior year by lling out the Common Application. Name, birthday, email, and high school were lled in with ease, but I froze as soon as I reached the demographics section. With my mouse hovering over the “Asian” box, I made a choice. I left it blank and continued scrolling. As an Asian American, I saw myself as a less valuable applicant, a less valuable student, a less valuable individual.

Instead of starting the college application process with excitement and hope for the next four years, I was lled with nothing but fear. Not about getting rejected from my dream school or accidentally misspelling the name of a program in an essay, but a fearful resignation towards what I saw as inevitable disadvantage and cultural tension because of my race.

As a Chinese adoptee, I already

struggle with my racial identity, torn between identifying with the majority caucasianbased culture of my town and school, and my biological ethnic background. Entering college admissions season made me even less willing to embrace my Asian-ness because the moment I did, I knew admissions committees

As an Asian American, I saw myself as a less valuable applicant... a less valuable individual.

would begin scrutinizing every aspect of my application, searching for everything that demoted me from the idealized vision of Asian success.

Asian Americans have faced a slew of derogatory, discriminatory stereotypes throughout history. Following World War II, America began idealizing Asians as a “model minority,” implying that each “ruleabiding,” “industrious” individual adheres to a standardized level of high achievement and success.

Asian Americans are stereotypically seen as high academic performers, sacri cing their social lives and social skills to achieve 6.0 GPAs and become prodigious classical musicians. ese stereotypes force us to face additional pressure to achieve perfect test scores and grades.

Some within the Asian American community fear of self-identifying as Asian, partially because of this high standard and seemingly universal high level of achievement. My appearance separates me

from the white applicant pool, but my goodbut-not-good-enough test scores and weak cultural a liations push me out of the Asian applicant pool.

Too Asian. Not Asian enough. Colleges, as they should, celebrate and encourage diversity. But at the same time, the admissions process seems to tell me that if I apply as a student of color, I have to be especially… colorful. And the more I embrace my cultural identity, I have to simultaneously be exponentially better by whatever standard of achievement the college uses.

e “model minority” stereotype pits Asian Americans against one another, creating a racial wedge among Asians and against other minorities. Against my will, I began viewing my Asian peers as my adversaries, as my competition, instead of my allies —Asian students with higher test scores or GPAs or more cultural connections were “better” than me.

Menlo-Atherton alumna Tara Ellingson, who is half Chinese, applied to colleges as a white applicant. “At the time, I felt like checking o [Asian] would hurt me. I felt that colleges compared people within a race, so I would not be as competitive an applicant if I was competing against other Asians,” Ellingson said.

And Ellingson isn’t wrong: A recent Supreme Court case, led by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), alleged that Harvard University’s application process intentionally discriminated against Asian American applicants. In comparison to other ethnic groups, based on the proportion of quali ed Asian American applicants to Harvard

“I felt like checking off [Asian] would hurt me. I [felt] I would not be as competitive an applicant.”

-Tara Ellingson

University and the percent of Asian applicants actually accepted, there is an arti cial de cit of Asian American students. O cial rulings cleared Harvard, whose admissions process was seen to have upheld Constitutional antidiscrimination mandates.

During his college applications,

senior Andrew Wong hesitated identifying as Asian. He said, “I felt like my application could be totally discredited or undervalued, based entirely on the presumptions of Asian American stereotypes.” An anonymous Chinese senior said, “ ere’s always the fear that mentioning too much of my heritage is going to put me at a disadvantage with selective colleges, so I have to shy away from

“I shy away from questions about identity and culture.”

-anonymous Chinese senior

questions about identity and culture.”

My experience is not entirely

unique, nor is it entirely universal. As an Asian American, I share the concerns of many of my peers. But these issues of cultural identi cation are intensi ed by being a Chinese adoptee oating between two cultures. Any cultural pride I feel is being challenged by cutthroat competition within the Asian community.

I de-emphasized my Chinese ethnicity in my essays, only mentioning it brie y, if at all. I glossed over the fact that I’m Asian, and tried to focus on my extracurricular activities and development outside of ethnicity.

I worried that providing my race in a checkbox or writing about it would too easily remind the admissions committee of all my academic shortcomings, according to ingrained implicit bias of the “model” Asian stereotype. In my mind, each time a pair of eyes would skim over the word “Asian,” they

would glance back at my GPA and discard my application.

However, at the same time, I recognized that identifying more closely with the typical pro le of a white, middle-class applicant most likely wouldn’t help me either.

An anonymous Korean alumna from Gunn High School struggled going into the college application process and said, “I know colleges have plenty of Asian American applicants with great stats and limit the

It’s absurd to shun our cultural identities in hopes of creating a more “marketable” persona.

number of applicants with Asian heritage that they accept [to maximize diversity].”

For many schools, reporting applicants’ ethnic demographics is intended to help admissions committee create as diverse a freshman class as possible. A rmative action in college admissions upholds policies that support members of previously disadvantaged or discriminated groups.

Some Asian Americans (and people in general) are anti-a rmative action, believing that the process puts race as the dominant admission factor and destroys the concept of a meritocratic society.

I am not trying to demean or devalue the positive e ects of a rmative action throughout history and in education, or suggest an alternative. I simply hope to voice my and my peers’ perspectives on the absurdity of shunning our cultural identities in hopes of creating a more “marketable” persona.

“I’m sure colleges see me as ‘just another Asian student,’ but I want to think that personal quali cations speak louder than ethnic background,” said senior Kylie Wong. Instead of continuing through the college admissions process more con dent about myself and my cultural identity, I am venturing even further into a grey area. Students like myself are hesitant to identify with their own race. But cultural identity should not be synonymous with fear.

Cultural identity should never devalue your sense of worth.

written and designed by Toni Shindler-Ruberg illustrated by Karina Takayama

Photographed by Emma Dougherty

Photographed by Jamie Durden

Illustrated by Chi Zhang

Photographed by Jamie Durden

Illustrated by Lara Smarandoiu

Illustrated by Emery Goldberg

Photographed by Emma Dougherty

designed by Jane White

a Program for Teen Parents TAPP:

The Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Program (TAPP), which is located at Redwood High School, has long been known as the school where pregnant students are swept into, never to be heard from again. In reality, TAPP is a program within Redwood High School that o ers education about pregnancy and childcare on top of normal classes, connects students with community resources, and o ers free in-house child care. Since the program is at Redwood High School, it has the bene t of their shorter grading periods, which allows for students behind in credits to make them up quicker.

According to students and adults involved in the program, TAPP is needed because the stress and emotional challenges of high school are hard enough before having a child. Heidi Flaig, who runs the program, said “ ere are a lot more obstacles to getting a high school degree when parenting. We do provide the child care here, but even transportation is an issue. Just imagine having to take care of another human being on top of everything else, especially when the varying support of the teen’s parents or what support they have at home is just so widespread and di erent.” e teens in the program added that the additional support TAPP gives is needed. One mother explained that since having her son, “it’s no longer like, ‘do I want to go to school?’ I need to go to school.”

One mother felt that without support from the program and a newfound gratitude for what she has, her life would be a lot di erent. “I appreciate my life a lot more

“My baby and this program, they’ve changed how I look at the world and forced me to make better choices.”

now; if I hadn’t had my baby, I would probably be in jail by now. My baby and this program, they’ve changed how I look at the world and forced me to make better choices.”

Mothers come to the program for different reasons. One mother originally came to Redwood to make up credits before getting pregnant and then joined TAPP. About the faster quarter system, another mother explained that in her case it was helpful

because “I had a rough pregnancy, so the faster quarters helped because when I had to miss a lot of school days, it was easier to make up credits later.”

Flaig went on to talk about how the program has a unique ability to handle these speci c challenges. “Whether or not coming to Redwood is the right choice depends on where they’re at in their academics and what year they’re in. If they have any conditions or health complications that are going on with

nurse, and we would talk about the baby. I saw her for about a year, the entire time I was pregnant.”

Flaig continued by saying that the reason that TAPP is so important is that it helps students get the support they may not be able to get at their home school or from their parents. “We help them sign up for WIC and CalFresh [which o er free and reduced food] and they get diapers and wipes for going to support groups and are eligible for a free car seat. We also give them baskets of newborn things.” ese food programs can be especially helpful because according to the U.S. Census Bureau, teen mothers are more than twice as likely as older mothers to live in poverty. One

“It just made more sense for her to finish out the semester here because she could get more credits in a shorter amount of time.” “It’s really good to see them be motivated and want to finish [high school] and do it for themselves and their kids.”

the pregnancy, then they have to miss a lot more school, even if they were on track.” Some students on track to graduate still switch to Redwood due to issues relating to their pregnancy. “I did have a girl who was due days before graduation; she was on track to graduate but it just made more sense for her to nish out the semester here because she could get more credits in a shorter amount of time just in case she didn’t make it to graduation,” Flaig said.

e program also o ers free child care for not only parents in the program but also all teen parents in the district. According to the moms, the kids love the on-site daycare, which adds support to moms who may feel anxious about their children being far away during the day. One mom said, “I did bring him [her son] to the daycare. ere were other kids who he loved to play with.”

TAPP helps students with both emotional needs and parenting necessities. e program aims to build a community for the parents in addition to just tangible support of material goods. One mother currently enrolled in the program said, “We would make scrapbooks and stu when I was pregnant. It was fun, and there were a lot of moms here when I was a junior.” e connections to social services, caseworkers, and county nurses can be invaluable for students. Another mother commented that she felt supported by TAPP because of her county nurse. “When I was pregnant they got me in touch with this

mom in the program said “[ e program] gave me a lot of free stu , there was one time a lady was o ering me a free crib; it was brand new.” Although Redwood may allow for more freedom in getting credits for pregnant students and has connections in the community to help parents, the stigma surrounding the school is damaging its image and how the students are perceived. Flaig thinks much of the stigma comes from rumors. “I think it [the negative image] just has a lot to do with the perception of Redwood High School in general. A lot of people think that this is where the ‘behavior kids’ go, or kids that are in trouble.” However, in the last two years, Redwood High School has gone through several renovations, from new A.V.P.’s to a new building.

Flaig also brought up how her sometimes di cult job a ects her. She said, “Seeing that, especially for the teen moms and teen parents, they just have it so much harder, being able to be a support system for them is just rewarding. It’s really good to see them be motivated and want to nish [high school] and do it for themselves and their kids.”

written and designed by Isabelle Stid illustrated by Karina Takayama

Enlisting

More Than Traditional College:

Students Discuss Post-High School Opportunities

Community College

M-A students have a variety of options to choose from when considering post-high school education, some of which di er from traditional four year colleges. Last year, about ve percent of the graduating class planned to work right after completing high school, with some attending community college at the same time. About one percent enlisted in the military, and less than one percent went into speci c vocational programs, which provide students with technical skills for a speci c career.

There are many viable post-high school options besides the traditional college route that allow students achieve their academic or career goals. College and Career counselor Mai Lien Nguyen said that, for students who choose career or military paths, it simply seems more practical. She continued, “At this point in their lives, they would rather focus more on preparing for jobs that require either less training than other jobs, or a di erent kind of training that a four-year degree cannot provide.”

Some students, such as Zack Wilhite, simply choose to begin working immediately after high school, and sometimes choose to go to community college simultaneously. Wilhite graduated M-A last year and is now attending Foothill College, a community college in Los Altos. He said he chose Foothill because “I didn’t do too well in high school. I didn’t really care a ton about being a good student. Foothill was cheap and I could transfer to a four year college from attending classes at Foothill.”

I’m not being pessimistic or anything, but I don’t see them as becoming my career; it’s just some fun to be had.” He concluded that he just hopes to succeed in the future, whether it is “academically or musically, so currently I am deciding and trying to gure that stu out.” Others choose to take a gap year after high school to either work or travel. A gap year can vary from traveling to a foreign country to staying home and working at your local supermarket. After their gap year, students are able to attend college or to go directly into the workforce.

Dylan Fallon, a former M-A student who graduated last year, is currently taking a gap year and working at In-N-Out. He is also using this break from school as a time to work on 3-D modeling as well as music projects. Later this year he plans to go to Washington D.C. for an internship, but he said that his work will “depend on what organization I’m partnered with.” Fallon explained that he decided to take a gap year because “I just wanted to expand my skill set, like you know, life skills, and just take that time to grow.” After his gap year, Fallon said that he plans to study aeronautical engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Arizona.

“At this point in their lives, they would rather focus more on preparing for jobs that require either less training than other jobs, or a di erent kind of training that a fouryear degree cannot provide.”

As well as attending Foothill, Wilhite also works at Mountain Mikes, the local pizzeria on El Camino Real, and is a part of a few bands. He explained, “I plan on studying music when I get into another college, but I’m just taking general education courses at the moment.” He also said that he simply views his bands “as projects.

Health to major in the Marine Corps.” She also explained that, in the future, her goal is “to build a house for my parents in the islands and to be a Marine Corps Sergeant Major.”

“It has always been a dream of mine. Even though my sister stole my dream to be the rst in my family to join the military, I still want to do it.”

Another current M-A student, senior Petelo Vatuvei, is planning on joining the US Marines after he finishes his senior year. According to Vatuvei, the fact that his sister joined the military reinforced his decision to join. Vatuvei explained “It has always been a dream of mine.” He continued, “Even though my sister stole my dream to be the rst in my family to join the military, I still want to do it.” After the military, Vatuvei predicts that he might pursue an education in college. Though his current plans are to join the military, Vatuvei is also hopeful that he will be o ered a contract to play rugby in Ireland.

Another career path for students is vocational school, which allows students to earn a certi cate in a certain occupational area, such as auto technology, electronics technology, or radiologic technology. One speci c example of a vocational program is Job Corps in San Jose, which, according to their mission statement, is “a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.”

Some students also decide to enlist in the military once they nish their high school education. This can help with career training and can also help pay for college. After serving, veterans bene ts can pay for medical services and can also provide priority hiring for some jobs. Current junior Helen Fahoko is hoping to enlist in the Marine Corps after graduating from M-A. According to Fahoko, she plans to “study in the eld of

When applying for and looking at opportunities for college, Nguyen said that she encourages all students to look at their options. She emphasized that there are a variety of choices that students have when considering post-high school education and that “college is just one pathway, and even within that area, it can vary quite a bit.”

written by Katherine Welander and Zoe Schinko designed

by Katherine Welander illustrated by Karina Takayama

The Future of Public Art in Menlo Park

After disputes over how public art projects should be funded, the Menlo Park public arts commission dissolved in 2004; at the time, the city required 1% of the estimated valuation of commercial construction to be paid into the public arts fund, or to be spent on an art installation somewhere on site. e ordinance was unpopular among small business owners, citing that it was an additional expense and that the art which came from it was frequently “disappointing.”

“When I started [Art Ventures], I wanted to not only get art pieces into the gallery, but into the community,” said Katharina Powers, of Menlo Park’s Art Ventures Gallery, which she rst established in 2017. “At the time, Menlo Park seemingly didn’t have any public art. I think the problem was that no one had an understanding of what they had to do to reintroduce any initiatives to the city.”

Powers was rst approached earlier this year by mayor Ray Mueller, who was interested in starting a public art nonpro t, which would function similarly to a public art council, but not be directly connected to city government.

Such a shift was not unprecedented: Atherton has had a similar independent public arts program since the 1990s. Accordingly, Powers took a leading role, and is now the CEO of Menlo Park Public Art (MPPA), the nonpro t which manages Menlo Park’s public art projects.

“As a nonprofit, we often work together with the city planner, but on a di erent level than a conventional arts commission,” said Powers. “We don’t have to run everything for approval by council, as we are funded independently, which gives us greater mobility in what types of art we can bring to the community.”

“ e nonpro t excites me,” said Oleg Lobykin, East Palo Alto based sculptor. Lobykin’s work is on display in a range of locations, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to Stanford, and he has been working closely with MPPA since its inception. “ ey have been proactive in looking for art and for potential locations for projects, and I really respect Katharina [Powers’] zeal behind it.”

Lobykin has an upcoming project in Fremont Park through MPPA, but said that he doesn’t want to give too much away about the piece yet.

“What I really like about the nonpro t model is that all that we do needs to serve some sort of greater purpose,” said Powers. “Starting a conversation, bringing awareness, or any number of other things can be accomplished through art, which will certainly be to the bene t to all of us in Menlo Park.”

According to Lobykin, “Art has this unique property of being universally understandable; regardless of what age or what language you speak, people are able to appreciate art on an emotional, or at least an aesthetic level. And, in this understanding, is the value of public art–it fosters community.”

To learn more about MPPA, and of upcoming art installations in Menlo Park, visit their website using this QR code.

written and designed by Nat Gerhard

Talking Heads by Oleg Lobykin courtesy of the artist

FACES

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Student written, student managed, student designed, student voices.