Viewpoint Summer 2019

The Skyline View Magazine

VIEWPOINT Vol. 5 — Summer 2019

The Psychology Behind Peer Pressure pg. 6

Contents 3. Letter From the Editors 4. Meet the Staff 6. The Psychology Behind Peer Pressure 9. Big Wheels Bring Big Fun 12. How to Have the Best Travel Experience 16. The Timeless Themes of Shakespeare 19.This Little War of Mine 22. Local Sounds 25. From the Ground Up

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A Letter From the Editors Dear Reader,

First of all, welcome to Vol. 5 of Viewpoint. The team at The Skyline View has been working so hard this past semester to inform and enlighten our readers, and it’s honestly a treat writing for this community. We cannot think of a better way to end the semester and school year than with Viewpoint.

We decided not to follow a theme this time around when making the magazine to allow our staff freedom to write about things they felt passionate about. Still, both of us are always impressed with what our staff has to offer.

Of course, this process wasn’t easy. But overall, this experience was worth the sleepless, caffeine-driven nights, the days of rewrites and editing, and overall effort to let our readers know more about our little community college and our larger community in general. And we really couldn’t do what we do without our readers and supporters.

Our goal here at The Skyline View is primarily to inform our community on events both on and off campus and bigger issues that affect our lives.

But it’s also no secret that another one of our goals is to have fun and bring our readers along with us to share that joy. Since this is our last semester on the newspaper, we wish the incoming staff luck and thank our current staff for all their hard work.

With all that said, we ask you this: Are you ready to share these stories with us, one last time?

Best regards from your Co-Editors-in-Chief, Olivia Bowman Mark David Magat

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Meet the Staff In the 1980s, newspaper editors held the same celebrity status that TV news anchors do today. Allen & Ginter, a cigarette manufacturer, marketed “American Editors” collecting cards, with one card in each cigarette package. This is The Skyline View’s ode to “American Editors”, featuring the staff that produced this magazine.

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Psychology Behind Peer Pressure

By Patricia Laude WRITER @patriciaanlaude

Parties are a prime setting for peer pressure.

Joey Chu/The Skyline View

It’s midnight and you’re at a house party. You’re surrounded by acquaintances and strangers, who you hold no personal attachments to. You get up to take a swig of Kombucha and then you see them. From across the room, the crack of the bathroom door is open, and you see your childhood friend snorting a line of a white, powdery substance.

Or, imagine it’s 3 a.m., and you’re driving with your friends and you would like to go home, but you don’t want to disappoint them. They insist that you stay out a little more; you feel the disappointment as you try to turn them down.

Or imagine your boyfriend belittling you for not being into BDSM and trying to pressure you to “stop being so vanilla.”

Peer pressure is rooted in psychological factors.

Neuroticism — one of the five personality traits related to anxiety, self-doubt, depression and shyness — heavily impacts social influence during adolescence and even through adulthood. Someone who experiences intense feelings of doubt, anxiety and jealousy will be more easily influenced than someone who displaces confidence and awareness.

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Beverly Muse, a licensed marriage and family therapist and adjunct psych services counselor, spoke about the psychological damages that arise from peer pressure. “(Psychological factors) depend on what those damages are,” Muse said. “The more we can accept ourselves, including some of the things about ourselves that we might want to change or we’re not so proud of, the more grounded we can be.”

Muse also expressed how people can overcome peer pressure.

“To recognize most people are putting us down so they can feel taller — and that doesn’t really make them taller — we don’t have to do what everybody else wants, we can be our own individual self,” Muse said.

Peer pressure occurs through developing and impressionable young people. During adolescence, people start looking to their peers for approval or praise. This can lead to direct influence in the choices they make and the actions they take.

Muse said that someone’s vulnerability to peer pressure can depend on their support system and the level of acceptance they have for themselves.

“You’re wired during adolescence — adolescence is that period of time from like 11 to 22 years old — where we are designed to connect with others,” Muse said.

Muse believes in the importance of boundaries and selfdiscovery.

“Setting boundaries can be really good,” Muse said. “If this is appropriate for me to go do, it doesn’t mean I’m being selfish. It can be self-care. It doesn’t mean I’m not liking you but this is where I have to go.”

Muse compared life experiences and freedom of choice to choosing food at a buffet. She said that, in young adulthood, people are given the chance to “test the world”, but they might only get one chance to try something.

“You might have to only do it once,” Muse said. “What does this person want to do? What is their support level?

What are they wanting to try and do they feel like it’s okay to do some of the things, or is it not?”

Heather Wiley/The Skyline View

Muse believes people fall victim to peer pressure because of their desire to be accepted.

“It’s kind of individual for each person, but it’s about belonging, wanting to belong and being accepted,” Muse said. “Nobody wants to be rejected or shunned or banned because we’re not wired that way. We’re wired as an interdependent species, so it gets complicated.”

Psychological Services Counselor Perry Chen believes anyone can be susceptible to peer pressure.

“We are all influenced by those around us, and while it’s nice to have our self-esteem come from within, we are

certainly influenced by those around us, whether it’s our family, our friends, our classmates,” Chen said. “So I really think everybody, to varying levels, is susceptible to peer pressure.”

Chen does not believe that people who pressure others are aware of or care about the psychological damages that it can cause.

“I think most times people are not aware and they’re more pushing their agenda,” Chen said. “It’s sort of a more selfish driven thing rather than what is it doing for the other person. I think a lot of times, people aren’t necessarily

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Emily Wong lighting a cigarette.

Photo by Joey Chu/The Skyline View Edit by Heather Wiley/The Skyline View

thoughtful of the other person when they’re pressuring somebody to do something. It varies. I mean, there are certain people who understand that there is damage being caused, but I think, for the most part, my guess is that they’re not aware.”

Art major Ariana Ball knows the importance of friendship when it comes to combating peer pressure.

“I sometimes do feel like I am a lot easier to target just because of the fact that I am very passive,” Ball said.

“Something I do is that I realize that I have friends to surround me and friends that do really care about me and then I am not really as vulnerable as I think and that I shouldn’t let other people walk all over me.”

In my experience, it’s been hard to resist peer pressure, especially when you’re struggling to fit in. As Muse said, it happens during adolescence. I fell victim to peer pressure during middle school. As someone who just moved to a new school and was desperate to make friends, I was constantly saying “yes” to everything. I just wanted to be liked. I wanted everyone I met to like me, and for anyone I didn’t know yet, it 8

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was my mission to make them like me.

This made me the target of bullying, which I was reluctant to admit. In high school, I flourished and developed a sense of purpose and belonging within myself, while in middle school, I prioritized my social life above everything else.

Even as an adult, reaching the end of adolescence, I still fall to peer pressure in my everyday life. When I’m at work, I feel pressured to work more hours and accept a promotion I didn’t want because I don’t want to disappoint anyone. When I’m with my friends and I feel pressured to stay out, even if I want to go home.

Peer pressure does not have to be just regarding substance abuse. It can be forcing people to experience instances that they feel uncomfortable with or would otherwise like to avoid. It can lead to internal damages that cannot easily be mended. Be mindful of other people’s limits and allow them to maintain their boundaries.

Layout by Heather Wiley

A rider careens down the curvy street.

Attendees ride their big wheels down the crowded streets.

BIG WHEELS BRING BIG FUN

By Daniel Archuleta

Writer

@hbkdaniel

@daniel_a9810

San Francisco 49ers mascot Sourdough Sam makes an appearance.

Spectators squeeze together on the hill & along the route.

Forget the Easter Bunny and the traditional egg hunt. San Francisco has its own Easter tradition unlike any other.

Bring Your Own Big Wheel, or BYOBW, turns adults into kids every Easter Sunday as they navigate through a crooked street on the classic kid’s toy.

The entire tradition started in 2000 when Jon Brumit went down Lombard Street in a big wheel toy along with several of his friends. After years of it being a small, friendly gathering, the event grew in popularity in 2006 when more than 30 people rolled down Lombard Street with their own big wheels, giving tourists and bystanders an added twist to the crooked street.

Unfortunately, due to this outstanding turnout, the residents of Lombard Street decided that it can’t continue due to larger than normal crowds and wreckage of the

Photos by Daniel Archuleta

plant life.

Luckily the city of San Francisco has two curvy streets.

Now, most people would think that Lombard Street is the only curvy street that San Francisco has but that is not true. At the intersection of 20th and Vermont streets in Potrero Hill, a six-turn curved street is situated near many trees and houses that aren’t as recognized compared to Lombard. This not-so-famed crooked street has been the “race track” for BYOBW since 2007.

Since then, the event has grown with hundreds coming out every Easter Sunday, many even attending in costume as if they are running the Bay to Breakers race. Unicorns, minions and animals of all kinds made the 2019 edition of BYOBW, a show of itself to see who or what might tip over or spin out while making a turn.

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This toy bed turned makeshift vehicle is one example of creative ways to come down the crooked street.

Ian Frader had one of the best rides coming down 20th & Vermont.

Other participants of BYOBW look to get creative with their choice of ride, spanning from tricycles, toy cars and homemade inventions.

“This is one of the coolest things about San Francisco is the big wheel race,” said Laura Gilchrist, who along with her friend, turned two wagons into a Golden Gate Bridge vehicle. “There’s nothing like it in the country so we wanted something to represent the craziness of San Francisco.”

Oakland native Ian Frader rolled down in his self-made hay bale vehicle.

“I thought it was just hilarious because the hay bails align the area, so I thought, ‘why not do a road hay bale?’”

Frader said.

For many to come out and enjoy this spectacle, a timeintensive effort is put in by the BYOBW team who have a to-do list that stretches the budget more every year.

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Two costumed attendees turn a corner on their big wheels.

About six months before the actual event they must apply for a street closure permit with the city and also with San Francisco Parks and Recreation.

Once the two permits are settled, they meet with the neighborhood officials along with dealing with the overall costs for hay bales, portable toilets, no parking signs and various other fees.

Per San Francisco regulations, BYOBW must have four officers patrolling, two from Parks and Recreation and two police officers. They have to pay for the officers to be onsite for the event and it should be noted that the costs for the officers’s services continue to rise each year.

A grand total of $9,400 was needed to put on BYOBW 2019.

BYOBW has always been a free event, yet with the rising costs per year, donations from participants are almost needed in order to keep it going or to not have a lack of

A man dressed as an astronaut races down the street.

A close-up look of stickers passed out by the BYOBW staff.

BRING YOUR Own Big Wheel A person dressed as Donkey Kong navigates the streets.

Laura Gilchrist smiles as her ride made it down in one piece.

additional resources. At the same time, BYOBW is still able to keep a low profile, with no publicity coming from local news, just its own website.

What’s most fascinating about BYOBW is that they don’t talk to press before the event. They don’t like the local news giving them a lot of air time leading up to Easter Sunday because they really like the crowd to be just people that know about it. They understand that this approach is what made it such a popular event to begin with.

And their small market tactic still brings people out from all across the Bay Area.

“I’m from out of town and I wanted to experience it firsthand,” said Gunner Son, a Sausalito resident, who was riding on his nephew’s Spider-Man big wheel.

The uniqueness of BYOBW is what brings many out for the experience.

Riders wait at the starting line.

“It was amazing, exhilarating, I’ve been waiting ten years for this,” said Dan Orino, who has had his tricycle ready for the past four years. “It’s like riding in your backyard.”

Orino also revealed how he navigated his way down the curvy street.

“Until the last run, I figured out that I gotta break before the corner and then it’s a much smoother turn versus trying to drift into everything,” Orino said.

The event also coincides with kids doing Easter activities at McKinley Square, a park that is right next to the street.

For adults, the party atmosphere brings nothing but positive energy, and at the end of the day.

To donate: Visit Bringyourownbigwheel.com

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How to Have the Best Travel Experience

By Larissa Barreto Cavalcante WRITER @

First of all, if you are traveling, you are probably on vacation, which is already something good. Taking a break from the chaotic world and all its responsibilities is something everyone should do. ​There are all kind of travelers. There are people who like to plan every single thing ahead of time and there are others who like to go with the flow. ​For starters, you should think about money. Let’s be honest, we all want to enjoy traveling, but not all of us have enough money not to worry about it. ​So, even if you are someone who does not like planning too much, I would say: plan. ​Danni Redding Lapuz, dean of Social Science/Creative Arts, believes in planning too. ​“When traveling domestically or abroad my advice is to plan well, be open and patient, and build room for flexibility in your schedule,” Redding Lapuz said through an interview via email.

​​Do some research about the place ​Even if you know a lot about the place, or if you are going because you want to see a specific landmark, by doing some research you can always find more things to see in the city you will stay in. You may be able to enjoy local food. By getting to know the place’s culture, you learn and get a deeper experience once you are there.

Monica Malamud, a Spanish professor at Cañada College, advised through an interview via email.

“Be open-minded. Expect the unexpected. Appreciate what’s new and different for you,” Malamud said, sharing the thought she had while on a train from Barcelona to France. “Interact with local people and try to understand their context and points of view by putting yourself in their shoes.”

​First things first: Choose a place ​You want to travel, leave all the craziness behind and enjoy yourself for a couple of days. Where do you want to do it? Do you want a warm place? Do you enjoy being in a cold weather? This is very important. ​Choose a place and check the weather. Depending on when you are going and the season, it may be hot or cold.

Once you have that settled, you can move forward. ​If there is a language you are learning, you could get in touch with it by traveling. If there is a landmark you always wanted to see up close, traveling could make that happen.

​​Decide if you are going by yourself or not ​Sometimes it is hard to adjust you schedule to fit with your friends or family and there is no one to travel with you. That is okay. Traveling by yourself can be an amazing experience. You get to decide what you will do, when you will do it and you do not hear any complaints about it. ​Of course traveling with someone may be cheaper if you are splitting a hostel, renting a car or using ride-booking apps, but you can also try to go to hostels with other people and end up making friends. You can try to use public transportation so it is not so expensive. You can make it work and you will figure it out.

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Joey Chu/The Skyline View

Traffic at night of the busy streets of Hong Kong on Jan. 4.

Joey Chu/The Skyline View

Hong Kong drowns in neon lights as soon as night time arrives on Jan. 4.

​Franciele de Novais Gomes, who is 26 years old, recommended learning a few words and sentences in the native language if the language is not the one you speak.

I could not agree more. Sometimes you will find people who speak your language, but the locals usually appreciate when you try to speak their language.

​​Decide how you are going to get there ​If you are traveling further away, you may want to go by plane. It is good to buy tickets ahead of time so they are not so expensive. Some people say the tickets get cheaper on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. If you have enough time, you can keep checking and comparing until you see a good deal. Sometimes there are buses or trains that can go to the same place and the tickets may be cheaper, you will just take longer to get there. ​If you are going by car, it is good to see which route is the best. Maybe you can stop on the way and get to see more things than you expected.

​​Decide where you are staying and how you are going to get around ​The place where you will stay is an important decision, first of all, because of location. If you are in a city that has all the things you want to see downtown, you may want to try to get a hostel in downtown. You can always check how the

The density of Hong Kong on Jan. 4.

Joey Chu/The Skyline View

public transportation works in that place. Sometimes when you are farther away from the city center, it might be harder to get around. Some cities have passes where you can ride the buses and trains for days in a row. You should consider all of that if you are on a budget. ​You can stay in shared rooms, which are usually cheaper, and end up getting to know amazing people that may even go sightseeing with you, that may even become your friends for life. If you are with friends, you may choose to get a private room, since you will all share the cost. ​Sometimes, if you are in a group and you get a hostel or hotel that is a little bit further away from the places you want to go, you could rent a car. If there are enough people, it may not get expensive. That way you can all be a little bit more comfortable. ​If you drove to this place, then you just need to worry about where you are staying. And also about parking. It can be hard parking in so many places, so it is good to do some research on public parking places nearby where you are staying and also near the places you want to visit. ​​Download some apps ​You can check flight prices through apps like Kayak and Skyscanner. You can even use them to book your flights, but some people say it is cheaper if you book through the airlines website or apps. You can always keep track of prices through all the options and see what is better when you decide to actually buy the ticket.

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For trains, you could use Amtrak. For buses, you could use Wanderu, that even shows options with trains too. ​When looking for hostels, you can download Booking or Hostelworld. ​Once you are there, wherever you are, you can always use Yelp to help you find places that are near you; you can even order a delivery from the app. ​It is a good idea to check and download the app from the public transportation so that you can see at what time the buses are coming, for example. ​It never hurts to have Google Maps. In fact, you can even get all the places you want to go and add on Google Maps, so it can show you the route; you can move the order around to be able to put the closest places near each other.

You can also plan your trip on Roadtrippers, you can put up to 7 points with the free version. With Roadtrippers you can also check accommodations near the points you chose, among other really interesting and helpful things. ​If you are driving, you could use Waze.

This app is also a good idea to check the gas price, in case you are driving. It shows how far the gas station is and how much the gas costs. ​You have different choices when you want to see what direction you are going, but the good thing is you can also search for the nearest public restroom.

​​Have a budget ​If you are traveling, you should consider how much you are going to spend. Think about it, do some research on the things you want to do, so you know if you need to pay for any of them. Check the prices for food in the city, decide if you want to cook something at your hostel or if you want to go out to eat something. Deciding if you are renting a car or using the public transportation also adds to the budget. It is good to have an idea so you do not spend all your money on the first two days. You can also bring some extra money for any emergency. Even though almost everyone uses their credit or debit cards, always bring cash. You never know if you are going to a place that is only accepting cash.

You are supposed to have a good time while traveling and that is why you do not want run out of money. Plan this ahead and just enjoy later.

​​Pack.

Joey Chu/The Skyline View

Police patrols through Chinatown San Francisco on Feb. 16.

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​You already decided where to go, how you are going, where you are staying and how you are going to get around

the city. Now you just need to pack. If you are flying to your destination and you do not want to spend any money on checked bags, you can always try to fit everything in a carry-on and a personal item. You do not need to bring your entire wardrobe with you. Check the weather again and see what you will need and what you will actually wear.

Save some time to pack so you do not get desperate on the day before you are going to leave because you have not packed yet.

​​Go!

​ nce you have everything done, you should not worry O too much. You already booked everything, you have your bag packed, you just need to go. Even if you do not see all those places you researched about and even if you do not eat every local food, the most important thing is: relax and have some fun. ​You may probably think that this is too much. Too much worrying in order to travel, but that is the thing: once you are traveling, you do not need to worry about anything, because you planned ahead. You can choose when you are at your destination if you want to do all those things, or if you just want lay in a park and read a book. It is totally up to you. But in case you decide to do everything, you already know the easiest way. ​Anyhow, it is important to take some time for yourself.

You should get to explore the city and also get some rest. Traveling is also about renewing your energy before returning to your routine.

“Do not let the fear of the unknown stop you from getting to know new, uncertain and passionate things,” said Stella Rodrigues da Paixao Almeida, who is 25 years old.

Joey Chu/The Skyline View

Look at San Francisco with a different perspective on June 5.

Do not forget to connect with people and enjoy the most once you are there! ​“I have lived, studied, traveled, and worked abroad in over 45 countries and my most memorable experiences have been with people,” Redding Lapuz said. ​She points out how the landmarks and the sightseeing is incredible, but how the most remarkable moments are the ones she got to experience with local people. ​“Sharing a home-cooked meal with friends in Morocco, celebrating New Year’s with coworkers in a pub in London, or sitting with a group of mothers after the birth of a child in Bunaken – these are the memories that stay with you and change you,” she said. “I travel to learn and we can all learn by sharing our lives with others.”

Layout by Mark David Magat and Raymond Rapada

Joey Chu/The Skyline View

A glimpse into the daily lives of Macao residences on Jan. 10.

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The Timeless Themes of Shakespeare

Creative Commons

By Ry Bevington WRITER

Sexism. Racism. Anti-Semitism.

Power. Despite being written over 400 years ago the vast works of William Shakespeare still see praise among scholars and worldwide reproduction, and it’s because we still encounter many of the themes in his plays today.

Shakespeare’s themes have not vanished as the world progressed past his time, and while the characters depicted provide a reflection of the people, prejudices and struggles that we deal with in our lives or witness others dealing with. This relatability is partly why Shakespeare’s plays are so special. They transport us into unique worlds unlike our own and yet, we view these plays through the lens of characters and emotions that are familiar to us.

English professor Nina Floro explained the appeal of Shakespeare 16 SUMMER 2019

to students.

“The beauty of literature is that you can look at it from so many different angles,” Floro said. “If someone’s a history major, they can look at the historical aspects of a play, and how it represents the times then, and how it parallels the times now.”

‘Othello’ Racism is the most prominent theme in “Othello,” and Floro said she likes going back to “Othello” because of the issues presented that are still relevant today: interracial marriage, gender issues, and gender dynamics.

For those who are not at all familiar with “Othello” here is a description of the relationships that drive the play: “Othello” is about the relationship between a powerful Venetian general of African ethnicity the title character, and his dedicated and loyal Venetian

wife Desdemona. The villain is Iago, a man who Othello believes to be his best friend but who actually seeks to destroy him.

As the play progresses, Othello is tricked by Iago into believing that Desdemona is unfaithful to him and must be killed. In the finale of the play, Othello brutally kills his wife and then kills himself after learning the truth of the situation.

“I think we could relate to Othello as a black man in a white society, who is operating in a world in which he is misperceived,” Floro said.

This struggle isn’t unique to “Othello”. the struggle of having to function in a world that is so unlike what we know is something we may have dealt with. Moving to a new country or a new state or even as simple as getting a new job, that feeling of isolation is relatable to us as we read the play or watch an adaptation.

“Othello also knows that he is a minority in a white world,” Floro said. “He knows he has all these characteristics, but yet he knows he’s different, and Iago uses that to destroy Othello as well; it causes him to doubt his strengths.”

Professor Katharine Harer, an English professor at Skyline also said this on the topic: “I think the reason why Iago is so successful in convincing Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful and deserves to be killed, is because on some level Othello is not secure about himself. And I think it has to do with the fact that he is in this culture, that’s not his culture,” Harer said.

This self-doubt present in “Othello” is likely also present among some minorities today who may feel reservations about their strengths because of the way society or the people they know treat them.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be due to her being a woman, as the other candidates in that election were not conventionally addressed by their first name.

“It was that, and then this connection to George Soros, where he is like this boogeyman to the far right,” Lachmayr said. “When you look at how the right depicts him, it’s Shylock, and by dint of him being Jewish, every trope comes up.”

George Soros is a Hungarian-born philanthropist and investor who has donated vast sums of money to various causes, and has supported

democratic politicians. His Jewish heritage has caused him to be the target of many kinds of attacks in the right-wing media, from racist remarks to an attempt on his life.

“George Soros is supposed to be Jewish, but you wouldn’t know it from the damage he’s inflicted on Israel and the fact that he turned on fellow Jews and helped take the property that they owned,” said U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert, in an anti-semitic criticism of George Soros during an interview.

Attacks like this are not uncommon for Soros. On the more violent side

‘The Merchant of Venice’ “The Merchant of Venice” is another glaring example of blatant prejudice as a theme. However, it is unclear with this play how much of the racism presented was a commentary by Shakespeare, and how much of it was a reflection of his own beliefs.

In the play, Shylock is a money lender and the villain, who seeks to claim a pound of flesh from Antonio, a wealthy nobleman and noted Christian who is in debt to Shylock. Shylock is also Jewish, and this is where a lot of the resentment toward him is derived from. Jewish hatred still exists today as well, just last month a synagogue was attacked in Poway, California. The attacker shot and killed one person, and injured three more. The mayor of Poway labeled the attack as a hate crime.

English professor Lucia Lachmayr had this to say about the disrespect that is given to one’s identity: “Look at our last presidential election,” Lachmayr said. “They wouldn’t call her ‘candidate Clinton’, it was Hillary.” Lachmayr claims that calling her by her first name was less respectful than the titles given to other candidates.

This unaddressed disrespect towards former Presidential candidate and

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of attacks, an explosive device was sent to his house in 2018; this also happened to other democratic politicians.

A lot of this repeated resentment comes down to how easy it is to attach negative stigma or stereotypes to a simple part of one’s identity and how often people buy into these stereotypes.

While Shylock may not have been the target of mail bombs in “The Merchant of Venice”, verbal attacks like the ones George Soros receives are scattered throughout the play, and an example of this is in Act 1, Scene 3 where Antonio calls Shylock a “misbeliever,” and Shylock recalls how Antonio spat on his “Jewish gaberdine”. Antonio then responds by saying he would do it again, which accurately demonstrates the disrespect that Antonio feels towards Shylock throughout the play.

Additionally, Shylock’s own daughter Jessica says this about her heritage in Act 2, Scene 3: “Alack, what heinous sin is it in me To be ashamed to be my father’s child!

But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners. O Lorenzo, If thou keep promise, I shall end this strife, Become a Christian and thy loving wife.”

In this quote, Jessica clearly states her resentment of her Jewish heritage.

In the first part, she essentially says, “I may be Jewish, but I am not like my father” to imply that there is something innately undesirable about Jewish people. In the second line, she states that converting to Christianity would end the strife of being Jewish, implying that being a Christian is superior or more desirable than being a Jew. An example of this attitude of Christian superiority was in 2017, where Vice President Mike Pence made the claim that Christians are the most persecuted religious people in the world despite the evidence against that claim.

“Throughout the world, no people of faith today face greater hostility 18

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or hatred, than followers of Christ,” Pence said.

In his speech, Pence attempted to victimize Christianity, portraying it as though we should be sympathetic to its followers and their struggles.

He claimed that the Christian faith is under siege, and while Pence is correct that anti-Christian morale is present in certain parts of the world and we should acknowledge that fact, he placed the struggle of modern Christians on a pedestal,

thus indirectly leeching attention from other modern religious groups that are under attack.

Reading Shakespeare may seem like a daunting task, with an unfamiliar language and characters that seem so distant, but in reality, those characters’ experiences are often not too far from our own. For those who like reading, it is definitely worth picking up a copy of one of his plays

Layout by Raymond Rapada

Images coutresy of 11 Bit Studios

This Little War of Mine

By Mark David Magat Co-Editor-in-Chief @MarkDavidMagat1 Video games have unwittingly taught consumers that repetition and resetting a difficult spot is most often the solution to most problems. But some games, like 11 Bit Studios’ This War of Mine, make us reevaluate that. Instead of outsmarting or outmaneuvering an obstacle, we have to take life and war as it comes and just deal with it head-on. It’s a reminder that the world doesn’t work the way we were taught and conditioned the way gamers thought before. War doesn’t work that way.

This War of Mine is a beautiful yet cruel reminder on how life can change for the worst at the snap of a finger or a blink of an eye. The game is set in a fictional besieged city and you take control of a set of civilians and your job is to survive, nothing more, nothing less.

Echoes From The Past Of course, this game has real-world inspirations from modern history’s longest lasting siege. In the 1990s during the Bosnian War, there was a siege on the city of Sarajevo which lasted 1,425 days.

A lot like the game, normal everyday people were caught in the crossfire. 5,434 civilians were killed, and many more were left traumatized by the events that took place. But among standard education, the Bosnian War and the siege of Sarajevo has taken a backseat to other historical events.

With all the lives this war has impacted, we don’t really have the excuse to say it wasn’t massive enough to get attention. And the folks at 11 Bit Studios agreed with me, and the way they pay tribute is by showing the world the real horrors and cost of war.

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This War of Mine As you try to guide your group of civilians, the game keeps you on edge and reminds you of how unpredictable the tides of war can turn. One moment you could have all the resources you need and a decently healthy party, the next you find yourself scrounging and stealing for scraps to fight sickness or hunger.

The game, at its core, is a resource management and stealth game. During the day, you do chores around your house, build equipment, cook and eat food, and do general stuff to keep your house above water. At night, the game turns into a very tense stealth game with you guiding one party member through uncharted territory, looking for supplies.

The night sections are where the meat of the game thrives. The situations and scenarios you find yourself make you wonder how much survival means to your group. Will you steal a helpless, elderly couple’s medications for your group, or will you let them be and suffer yourself for not having enough supplies? Do you let a drunk soldier assault a young woman to distract him from finding your group member, or do risk the life of your party member to save her?

There is no right or wrong answer, but these choices you make have massive consequences on your party as a whole; do something morally questionable, and your group will have to face the idea that they might be turning into monsters just to survive.

The best part of this game is that your controlling everyday people who didn’t sign up to make the hard choices. They care about how they survive and the people they hurt as much as they want to survive. And with a lot of these characters, there’s a line they don’t really want to cross, but over the course of the game, have to.

Alongside the standard survival game tropes such as hunger, health and rest, morality is a massive standout in terms of how

the game plays and how the game can emotionally rip you to shreds. Like I said before, your morally questionable choices have a massive effect on your party, so do enough of these and one of your party members will become emotionally broken, doing nothing but cry into their hands and eventually taking their own life.

So you can have all the supplies you need from stealing and killing, but at a point, your party won’t even have the emotional strength to eat or take medication. They’ll just give up due to all the emotional weight they have to carry after doing so many morally bad acts.

But that doesn’t mean you won’t have to worry about eating and medicating; these items are so hard to come by that you’ll have to make a hard choice of taking the moral low road to get necessary supplies.

This game isn’t a walk in the park, but the hardships in the gameplay offer a lot to the tone and message the game and developers want to tell.

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Don’t Shoot The Messanger Games are often seen as time wasters and eye candy, but games such as This War of Mine have shown the world that they can introduce deep and mind-changing ideas to a very different audience.

At one point, movies were only considered time wasters and eye candy, but they soon introduced these same ideas and are now considered art. Of course, there are some movies that are only eye candy, but most have profound statements to tell. So, why can’t video games?

Video games can have a more powerful impact on delivering messages due to the consumer being responsible for the events going on in the game.

Making ourselves responsible for another person, virtual or otherwise, carries weight and is something that everyone should learn. The basic concept of press a button and something happens is a great analogy for life: making any decision, no matter how big or small, has consequences.

There will be people who say video games aren’t the place to say these things and to present these ideas, but that’s wrong. Games are the next step of mass media, before it movies and before that radio and books. We can and have to use games to deliver bigger ideas and having consequences that have a direct effect on the consumer is a powerful teacher because of that.

Power To The People

“I think video games do deliver deep messages, depending on the game and who the developers are and if it’s in a saga or just an independent game,” said Holden Fernandes, a Skyline student, after being asked if games can deliver deep messages. “I definitely think video games and movies are very closely related to where their put into production and a large group of people working on them and the stories are very thought out and it’s not really a last minute thing.”

As Fernandes said, games with enough effort with their stories can deliver messages that can be mind changing. There’s a stigma with game developers being only money hungry that don’t really care about the consumers. But given enough time and passion, a game can go from a basic idea of killing someone or capture this point to a powerful force of information and sympathy.

“I believe not society as a whole necessarily because these types of games would not get much traction in mainstream appeal because of its really dour, down tone where it’s very bleak and very few good things happen that make you feel good and happy,” said Evert Chamorro, a Skyline student, when asked if games like this War of Mine can impact society. “But it can impact the people playing them very much because it makes them think about various situations in a different light because a lot of video games involve fighting, combat, things like that, but This War of Mine, from what I’ve seen, focuses on just the really down and dirty type of combat that normal gamers wouldn’t see otherwise unless they seek out games much like this.”

Chamorro said it best: Games like these don’t get the attention from mass media due to its unpleasant imagery and ideas but that real world isn’t always going to be happy or joyous. A lot of moments in life are composed of so many different, conflicting emotions that not all of them will feel good. But introducing them in a controlled environment, such as a video game, can somewhat prepare you for life.

And like Chamorro said, this game can impact those who seek it out and play it with the hard truth of war. War’s bleak and dour and shouldn’t really be a celebrated thing, and gamers and the general public need to learn this.

A Final Plea Games like This War of Mine have shown to many that games have moved on from being toys for little kids and matured alongside people who grew up with Mario or Sonic, showing ideas that wouldn’t have been on our radars in the first place.

Video games have shown us that making mistakes is OK and that learning is a powerful tool and has tied us to these learning experiences through first-hand exposure.

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Local Sound Maria Isabel Del Castillo Schmidhuber / The Skylline View

By Maria Isabel Del Castillo Schmidhuber Writer @mariaschmidh

in high school.

They drifted apart after high school, Sign Hill, a South San Francisbut collaborated with each other on a co-based band is just at the beginning small school project for Victor Ramirez of their musical journey after 10 years which reconnected them after he of friendship and a year of preparing finished his studies at College of San to take the risk of becoming full-time Mateo. musicians.

They reconnected but didn’t have Sign Hill is composed by lead singer any plans on forming a band together.

Nelson Ramirez, drummer Victor It wasn’t until Christmas of 2017 when Ramirez, and bass player Edwin they thought to play together while Ramirez who are all brothers and are they were at Joey’s house playing also joined by their two guitar players Courtesy of Ana Cristina Del Castillo Rock Band. They were all very active in and good friends, Joey Chow and Schmidhuber music throughout high school so they Jamil Khoury.

Sign Hill’s logo in their studio in South San had the skills and knowledge to play Their story starts at El Camino High Francisco on May 4. real instruments with each other. school in South San Francisco 10 This lead them to invest in Edyears ago. Chow, Nelson Ramirez “It was like two different groups that win Ramirez’s first bass and Nelson came together and formed one band, Ramirez’s first guitar and they decided it was more like me [Jamil] to learn to and Joey meet the Ramirez play these brothers,” said Khoury. instruments Jamil and Joey were with the “best buds” at the time help of and they even had their Chow and own band called IkoloKhoury who polous. The friendship had more Nelson Ramirez laughing during thier between the Ramirez experienced evening practice songs on May 4. brothers and Chow started with them. and Khoury met during their freshto grow when they col“It was man year and a year later, Joey met laborated with each other formed Edwin during their Spanish class. Even for musical projects like Joey Chow and Edwin Ramirez playing then, unspothough they met and knew each other, symphonic band, red man their instruments during practice on May ken, then it they weren’t friends yet. group, as well as drumline 4. just became 22 SUMMER 2019

a thing, then we started to acknowledging it after a while,” said Khoury.

The decision to form a band together had been an unspoken agreement From left to right : Nelson Ramirez, Neil Swanson between and Victor Ramirez laughing during evening practhem due tice on May 4. to their natural chemistry with music and personality. But in January of 2018, while they were playing together one day, they stopped to realize how their styles and music clicked between them so smoothly that it felt and sounded like a band.

“It became officially formed at some point when we finally picked the f****** name, which took so long,” said Nelson Ramirez.

The name took about six months to pick according to From left to right: Victor Ramirez, Joey Chow Sign Hill memand Edwin Ramirez during evening practice on bers. Sign HIll May 4. is an actual hill that looks over South San Francisco. This hill was created in the 1920s and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, but for Edwin Ramirez, Nelson Ramirez, Victor Ramirez, Chow, and Khoury, this hill represents something much more.

“I liked the idea that we can all see all of our homes from the top of Sign Hill,” said Edwin Ramirez. “I figured it was a nice literal sense of saying that this is where we all met. This is our home.”

There is also a creative side to the name. Edwin Ramirez said that Sign Hill would be this Guitar player Jamil Khoury rocking it out imaginary place during evening practice on May 4. that they would

write songs about. Where this hill looks over a fake world and they play these fake stories of things that happen in it.

Sign Hill has officially been a band for a year. They are young but they are certain that creating music is something they want to experience together and make a living off of. This first year as a band has been about creating a good foundation musically and financially for a good start.

For starters, Lead singer Nelson Ramirez singing during they decided evening practice on May 4. that they wanted to have their own studio so they can be more independent and don’t have to rely on label companies to record high-quality music. They started building their studio in July 21, 2018 and ended at the end of September of that same year. This was all done with the help of friends and family who have been very supportive of their passion for music.

In this studio, they record songs and Drummer Victor Ramirez playing the drums during covers evening practice on May 4. with the help of friend Neil Swanson who is co-audio engineer for the band. Swanson met Victor in 2015 at CSM while they both were studying to get their associate degrees in electronic music. He would later meet the rest of the band in 2017.

Music has been a part of their lives for a long time and they have all been inspired by different bands and genres SUMMER 2019 23

like Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rise Against, The Faceless, punk rock, heavy metal and many more.

“We want Joey Chow smiling to the camera during evening to take practice on May 4. something from the respective genres that we all listen to and somehow merge them together,” said Edwin Ramirez.

This has been a plan of theirs: to mix everything they like together which has lead them to have an original sound.

Edwin Ramirez confessed that creating original content was frustrating, yet intriguing to them because they couldn’t find anything that was similar but this gave them the motivation to keep digging into their creativity because it was new and different. They are looking to incorporate electronic background to their music with the collaboration of their Nelson Ramirez, playing piano keyfriend Neil Swanson board for a song during their evening who knows more practice on May 4. about that genre.

Music isn’t the only thing they do. They have other priorities that they have to attend to on a daily basis like school or work. Edwin Ramirez is in grad school studying artificial intelligence and statistics, Chow is an electrician in the city of San Francisco, Khoury is in undergrad school at San Fran-

cisco State University studying astrophysics, Nelson is a software engineer and is working at a tech start up and Victor Ramirez is From left to right: Nelson Ramirez, Jamil Khoury, in under- and Victor Ramirez playing during their evening grad schoolpractice on May 4. at SFSU studying music and he got an associate degree from CSM in electronic music.

“Us going to school is the backup plan, that is how we want to fund the band,” said Edwin Ramirez. “We want to pull our money together and save up. We know that with the jobs we have, we will be able to get enough substantial amount to do this for a while or to take the risk to do it.”

The thing about life is that no one can prepare you for it, one can only be as prepared as possible. Sign Hill has their education to rely on as well as each others’s backs.

“We have all shared similar experiences, whether it was that either you had to go through and figure who your real friends were to the point that we all experienced at the same time that ended up converging us all at once, like ‘Hey, we don’t want any of this bullshit we just want transparency and an actual friend to be there.’ We are in this together,” said Nelson Ramirez.

Their friendship is essential for this band and being honest with each other when it comes to band issues and personal issues is important for them to share. Victor Ramirez stated that they have a simple system where they express and share any feelings or disagreements that they may have with each other. They have made it a safe space to be honest with each other in a respectful manner without hurting each other because that is not their intention as friends and as family.

“It’s very versatile. It’s good that they are all into different styles because it brings a lot of elements into the writing process,” said Jenyce Garay, who is Khoury’s longtime girlfriend.

Friends and family are excited for Sign Hill’s future and are looking forward to what they will achieve together. For the summer, the band is planning to make some videos and book some gigs in the city that they will announce on their instagram page: @signhillofficial.

From left to right: Band members Victor Ramirez, Nelson Ramirez, Jamil Khoury, Joey Chow and Edwin Rammirez, laughing during interview.

Layout by Maria Isabel Del Castillo Schmidhuber

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From the Ground Up A look into coastal farming

By Olivia Bowman editor @olivia_bowman1

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Less than an hour from Silicon Valley, nestled along the coast of Northern California, lies several farms where a more traditional lifestyle takes over.

A trip south down Highway 1 will give you gorgeous views of the ocean and cliffs on your right and more often than not, many local farms on your right. People drive by every day, and while the weather along the coast stays pretty much the same, the stages of the crops in the area lets you know what season you’re in.

John Gross, the ranch manager for Cabrillo Farms in Moss Beach, has worked there for three years.

Gross’ day starts at 6:45 a.m. and ends around 5 p.m. During that time, he is responsible for “keeping the guys working”. His day-to-day routine is always different depending on the season. Some of his responsibilities include hoeing, planting, packing, walking the fields every day and looking for pests, harvesting and scheduling irrigation/spraying.

Gross’s favorite part about the job is that “everyday is different”.

“It’s a fun job,” Gross said. “You never know what you’re gonna do everyday.”

Gross’s job’s proximity to the ocean also allows him access to other favorite pastimes.

“I like that I can still surf and fish after work,” Gross said.

A Half Moon Bay native, Gross attributes his love of the outdoors to growing up along the coast.

But while Gross has A tractor makes its way to the fields at Cabrillo Farms on always liked being May 4. outside, he wasn’t quite restaurants in San Francisco, Dallas, sure where his passions lied when he and Chicago,” Gross said. was considering what type of job he Gross estimates that about 25% of wanted. But he did know one thing: the Brussels sprout crops go to San “I knew I didn’t want to work Francisco and Oakland markets, with indoors,” Gross said. some of the crops going to local Previously, Gross worked for another eateries like Pasta Moon. local farm, Giusti Farms in Half Moon Along the coast, Brussels sprouts are Bay where he started when he was king, especially since California is the 16. He went to college at Cal Poly only state to grow them in the country.

Pomona and graduated with a degree The cool temperatures and foggy in plant science. After graduation, weather are perfect for the vegetable. he came back to the Bay Area where At this time of year, Cabrillo he got a job with Cabrillo Farms. So Farms is starting to plant and doing working on a farm is something that groundwork such as plowing and Gross cares deeply about. fumigation since there is no crop “I’m hoping to buy into this farm rotation due to the small area of land. eventually,” Gross said.

Another local farm that is getting The owner of Cabrillo Farms, Dave ready for planting is Greenhearts Lea, has two daughters, who love the farm and would love to see it continue Family Farm CSA (communitybut they aren’t interested in running it. supported agriculture) located off of Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay. “They fully support Dave and his “Farmer Paul” as he introduced venture here,” Gross said. “They love himself, is Paul Hamilton, the owner of it and want their grandfather and Greenhearts Family Farm. They sell a father’s business to keep going.” little bit of everything from artichokes, The 295-acre farm has been farmed lettuce, onions and strawberries to by the Lea family for about 100 cauliflower, carrots, and Half Moon years. The area consists of about Bay’s famous pumpkins.

150 acres of Brussels sprouts, 10 Hamilton runs the business with his acres of pumpkins, 10 acres of peas, partner, Aurora Wilson. On a farm and 5 acres of artichokes. This is a in New Zealand, they fully realized big change since the farms in the their love of taking care of the land. area used to sell artichokes almost That love of the land has informed exclusively. Nowadays, artichokes are how they run their business today. grown in areas like Castroville, and Sustainability and buying local is really Brussels sprouts are the coast’s main important to them, as can be seen in crop since they have higher yields and their locally-grown and personallyartichokes are considered a “finicky picked produce subscription boxes. crop”.

The subscription boxes may contain Gross attributes the change in fruits, veggies, eggs, chicken, beef, demand for certain veggies to lamb, honey, kombucha and flowers. people’s healthier lifestyles.

Cabrillo Farms looks out on the Half Moon A weekly box of the goods is $39 and “We used to sell to freezers for Bay Airport on May 4. everything in it is environmentally- and frozen foods, but now we sell to seasonally-conscious. high-end customers who will re-sell to Photos by Olivia Bowman 26

SUMMER 2019

Hamilton has owned the farm business for 14 years and takes the responsibility very seriously. Farming is hard work as Hamilton well knows.

“It uses up your body,” Hamilton said.

But he’s moving forward with it.

He echoed a sentiment that is felt from a lot of farmers: “I don’t know how to do anything else.” While the community and farm workers rely on the farm, there are a lot of pressures associated with running one. Some of the biggest issues that farms face are finding labor and staying afloat financially. Many farmers are no stranger to this.

“I’m in debt,” Hamilton said. “But what am I going to do? Let all the people down?”

John Giusti,

owner of Giusti Farms in Half Moon Bay, has faced some of the same problems.

“It’s stressful,” said Giusti in a phone interview. “You have to make sure the money is there, do the payroll every two weeks, when something breaks down you have to make alternate plans ... you have to deal with people and their personalities.”

With so much working against local farmers, what makes them keep going?

“Every year is a clean slate,” Giusti said. “You have a ranch of empty fields and you have to make decisions and turn those to growing fields, have to get those marketable and at the end, you reap the benefits. Hopefully, there’s enough in the bank

to keep going for another year.”

Giusti knows a little bit about farming. He has worked on the farm since he was a kid but didn’t realize his interest in farming until he went to college.

“I figured out by sitting in the classroom all day that I didn’t want to stay in an office,” Giusti said. “I knew I wasn’t going to be happy behind a desk.”

At the end of the day, Giusti said the work is “really rewarding”. As we were about to end the conversation, Giusti added, “I’m in the fields right now. ...

There’s not much here right now but in two months, there’ll be green in the fields.”

Layout by Olivia Bowman

John Gross leans against his truck at Cabrillo Farms on May 4.

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