THE TAM NEWS May 2020
Generation Parkland Page 11
CONTENTS May 2020
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News 04 Board approves $1.4 million in programming cuts 05 District reinstates assistant superintendent position 06 Taupier announces new grading system for distance learning Lifestyles 08 Review: Tiger King 09 How to spend your time during quarantine 10 My DNS dependency Features 11 Generation Parkland Opinion 19 The truth about coffee 19 The trouble with TikTok dances 20 How the coronavirus has impacted Asian Americans 22 Editorial: “Breach of contract and gross negligence� Sports 23 Senior sendoff
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Dear Reader, Where to begin?? This magazine will be the last issue of The Tam News published this year. It may also be the last issue for some time after that. Last month, the Tam district board voted to slash funding for journalism programs, leaving the future of our print publication in doubt. And it remains unclear in what form, if any, students will return to campus in the fall. So it should come as no surprise that most of this month’s coverage deals with the allconsuming fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic: Logan Little on the district’s new distance learning guidelines, Daisy Wanger on ways to spend time during quarantine, and Jessica Bukowski on the proliferation of anti-Asian racism, to name a few. Our editorial, “Breach of contract and gross negligence,” examines the College Board’s missteps in administering remote AP tests through the broader lens of educational inequity. And in “Generation Parkland,” Skye Schoenhoeft explores the lasting trauma that repeated, high-profile school shootings have inflicted on American students. Where to end? Our adviser, Jonah Steinhart, has said he will step down in June after 17 years in the position. He will (presumably) retire to a cruise ship in the Bahamas. We wish him well. And we wish all of you well, and it seems disingenuous to try to wrap this up more cleanly than that, and it’s been an exhausting year. But we do have this cool magazine.
Editors in Chief Leah Fullerton • Kara Kneafsey Skye Schoenhoeft • Josie Spiegelman Benjy Wall-Feng News Jessica Bukowski • Logan Little Johanna Meezan Lifestyles Tahlia Amanson • Chloe Gammon Zev Grossman • Marco Steineke Natalia Whitaker Features Claire Conger • Claire Finch Emily Stull • Mikyla Williams Opinion Paige Anderson • Sam Jefferson Sophia Martin • Tenaya Tremp Sports Eli Blum • Jordan Cushner Luke Ferris • Stephania Glass Samantha Nichols TBN Saranyu Nel Website Benjy Wall-Feng Design Niulan Wright Social Media Grace Gustafson • Quinn Rothwell Business Team Samantha Nichols • Oona O’Neill Cover Isabella Faillace Editorial Board Claire Conger • Leah Fullerton Chloe Gammon • Stephania Glass Sam Jefferson • Kara Kneafsey Elan Levine • Logan Little Skye Schoenhoeft • Josie Spiegelman Emily Stull • Benjy Wall-Feng Niulan Wright
Volume XIV, No. VIII May 2020 A publication of Tamalpais High School Established 1919 Tamalpais High School 700 Miller Avenue Mill Valley, CA 94941 www.thetamnews.org The Tam News, a student-run newspaper publication, distributed monthly, is an open, public forum for student expression and encourages letters and article contributions. The Tam News reserves the right to edit submissions for length and content. All content decisions are made by student editors. The Tam News is published monthly, though dates may vary. The Tam News is nonprofit and any proceeds and contributions are used in the production of the newspaper publication and for journalism education. Additional information concerning contributions or advertising can be obtained by writing to the address provided above or through our website. Copyright © 2020 by The Tam News. All rights reserved. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent.
Adviser Jonah Steinhart Printer WIGT Printing Reporters (continued) Benjamin St. John • Catherine Stauffer Lukas Stoker • Pablo Stuart Steven Taitusi • Jessica Tempero Lauren Terry • Aleksander Teplitsky Tristan Tober • Ella Tollefson Aidan Toole • Iris Treharne-Jones Noel Urick • Mey Uysaloglu • Kaveh Vafaie Santiago Vera-Buoncristiani Daisy Wanger • Katya Wasserman Lassen Waugh • Lily Wieland Beckett Williams • Isabella Williams Carlos Wiltsee • Isabelle Winstead Niulan Wright • Hayden Yearout • Yasha Zink
Reporters Charles Abe • Cooper Alley Ava Amanson • Ruby Rose Amezcua Charlotte Anderson • Mobeen Angalia Arkin Balain • James Ballschmider Dara Baradaran • Kaya Beasley Colin Bender • Saad Bham Benjamin Bogas • Dylan Boon Kayla Boon • Charles Boyle Alyssa Broad • Jamese Brown Jenna Bui • Nicole Caldwell Kimorion Calloway • Nyiera Campbell Federico Caruso • Daniel Casillas Carlos Castro Vonk • McKayla Cates Myles Cence • Hayden Chamberlain Reggie Chen • Andrew Cherner Jacob Cohen • Alana Concannon Edward Cooper • Joseph Cooper Gina Criollo • Rory Cronander Lawrence Dahms • Richard Damico Isis Delorenzo • Zetana Demmerle Gabriella Diecks • Daniel DiPierro Kavi Dolasia • Alanna Donaldson Ian Duncanson • Avery Emison Kennedy Enlowsmith • Isabella Faillace Jack Fierstein • Jack Finn • Eloise Flad Tessa Flynn • Max Franck Sebastian Ghosh • David Gilmore Benjamin Ginnebaugh • Samantha Glocker Joseph Glynn • Talina Gonzalez-Alvarado Olivia Gould • Sebastian Graham Ronan Grele • Cesar Guedez Oberto Grace Gustafson • Riley Hardiman Serena Hariri • Sophia Harkins Taylor Hill • Colin Ingoldsby Kyle Johnson • Eva Jossart Quesada Keenan Karcs • Liza Lachter Isabella Larson • Maja Layden Phoebe Leisek • Lexa Lemberg Felicie Lemee • Naomi Lenchner Elan Levine • Ezra Levy • Chadson Lui Daniel Lund • Lily Lunn Zaahirah Majid • Francesca Malek Joshua Markowitz-Meeker Mariana Marquez Carrillo Akira Martha • Zelie Martin Sofia Matarrita • Marin Mattesi Amaari McCoy • Ezra McKinley Maya Meckley • Jake Mclaughlin Emily Mercy • Christine Moreno Max Moreno • Gabriella Mormorunni Christopher Newell • Aeneas Nicholas Barrett Nichols • Oona O’Neill Isabella Oldenburg • Athos Oliveira Katharine Owen • Bradley Page-Harris Sydney Parks • Kobie Pearson Cal Petersen • Luca Petrella Anna Plante • Jack Polakis Preston Radcliffe • Luke Rasake TaNaejah Reed • Tristan Regenold Nathan Robinson • Chloe Rodriguez Ethan Rosegard • Paul Rosenthal Dillan Ross • Quinn Rothwell Cassandra Ruark • Meya Saenz Zagar Dayanna Salas • Amelia Sandgren Kendall Scanlan • Emily Schauer William Schreiber • Tessa Schumacher Camille Shakirova • Carmen Shavers Foxy Shazam • Marcis Shelton Samuel Sheykhet • Caroline Shinner Nicholas Silva • Garnett Silver-Hall Cade Slijepcevich • Hugo Slothower Taylor Smith • Aryan Solanki Summer Solomon • Jackson Sperling
NEWS
Board approves $1.4 million in programming cuts By Samantha Nichols PHOTO BY ETHAN SWOPE
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he Tamalpais Union High School District board of trustees voted four to one on April 28 in favor of adopting budget cuts outlined by a fiscal advisory committee in March. The cuts include a one-year suspension of the Team program, a continuation of the indefinite suspension of the teacher leader program, and removal of district-wide release periods, including those for leadership, global studies, and journalism. The approved budget reductions, introduced after the failure of parcel tax Measure B in March, are part of an effort to maintain fiscal solvency in the district and sustain a reserve of at least 17 percent of the budget. Without the budget cuts the district estimated that it would face a $1.3 million deficit in the 2020-21 fiscal year, not including increases in staff compensation and assuming the renewal of current parcel tax measures. The combined cuts are estimated to save the district about $1.16 million in
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the 2020-21 school year and $1.4 million each year after that. Of that, suspension of the teacher leader program will save $724,000 each year of suspension, according to district data. The Team program is a one-year alternative learning opportunity at Tamiscal for juniors in the district. In addition to core academics, it includes several backpacking trips, wilderness medicine classes, leadership training, volunteering opportunities, and internships for 24 students in the district. Team costs the district an estimated $230,000 per year. During the meeting, many current and former Team students spoke of the value of the program. “I was very unhappy and felt like I had no community. Team allowed me to have that community and helped me grow as a person,” Tamiscal student Dylan Wiley, who was in Team last year, said. “We’re talking about small numbers here. We’re
talking about tolerating a slight deficit during a pandemic, which is why you have a reserve,” board member Dan Oppenheim said at the meeting, noting that Team accounts for 0.2 percent of the district’s budget. Oppenheim was the only board member to vote against adopting the proposed budget reductions. Release periods are an extended class period outside normal school hours during which teachers are paid to facilitate additional learning. They are utilized by several classes and programs in the district, including leadership, global studies, and journalism. According to district calculations, eliminating all release periods will save $210,000 in the 2020-21 school year and up to $450,000 per year after that. Over the last several months, members of the journalism programs at Drake, Redwood, and Tam have advocated for keeping the release periods, arguing
that it would be extremely difficult to produce a print publication and maintain the same quality of reporting without the time provided by release periods. “The Jolly Roger does not see print as a possibility for next year,” Drake junior Emily Cartwell, a reporter for the Jolly Roger, said. The Redwood Bark plans to continue producing a print newspaper, although Bark adviser Erin Schneider said the frequency of issues will likely decrease. During the meeting, Oppenheim made a motion to continue with reductions to release periods and the teacher leader program, but not the Team program. However, the motion was not seconded and the board voted four to one to follow through with all of the proposed cuts. “This is the least enjoyable part of this responsibility but it’s a responsibility I take seriously ... there are painful decisions we have to make,” board member Kevin Saavedra said.♦
NEWS
District reinstates assistant superintendent position By Ronan Grele
PHOTO COURTESY OF KIMBERLEE ARMSTRONG
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he Tamalpais Unified High School District board of trustees approved a three-year contract for the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services position at a meeting on March 10. The position will be filled by Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong, previously the Head of Equity and Public Relations for the Edmonds School District in Northern Washington. According to the Tam Union website, Armstrong will be responsible for “all aspects of curriculum and instruction, including student learning outcomes, assessments, graduation requirements, and honors and advanced placement classes.” “My immediate goals are to learn the strengths, needs, and successes of students/families, staff, and the communities served,”
Armstrong said in an email. “And of course, to support our community through the transition from distance education to site-based instruction.” The position calls for a $190,000 salary and has been vacant for two years due to budget cuts. Taupier assumed the responsibilities of the assistant superintendent when the position was eliminated. “I feel it is vitally important to have someone whose full-time job is oversight of teaching and learning. I retained my previous job responsibilities [as an assistant superintendent] when I became superintendent but that meant no one was overseeing educational services in a full-time capacity,” Taupier said in an email. The decision came soon after the failure of the Measure B parcel tax. At the
same March 10 meeting, district CFO Corbett Elsen announced that because Measure B did not pass, the district would face $1.4 million in programming cuts [see page 4]. The board now warns of additional budget reductions in the coming years. One board member, Dan Oppenheim, objected to the reintroduction of the position as a result. “We need to think about this in light of the other cuts that we’re making,” Oppenheim said at the meeting. “In a time like this, the goal is to focus the spending in the classroom, and so if there are cuts that impact the classroom, I am then unlikely to be in favor of putting more money into the administrative side.” Other board members, including president Leslie Harlander, argued that Taupier is overworked.
“We can’t forget how much effort there is in day-to-day management in overseeing an organization. Dr. Taupier has been functioning in two full job positions,” Harlander said “What is always a concern [with] the best employees [is] you burn them out because they keep saying yes and they keep rising to the occasion.” “The district office is designed to create agency so that site-staff can provide effective practices to engage students and families. That work takes a team,” Armstrong said in an email. “Superintendent Taupier has shouldered much of that work and that is not a sustainable model for any superintendent and I appreciate that the board recognized that.” Armstrong will assume her position on July 1.♦
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NEWS
Taupier announces new grading system for distance learning By Logan Little
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he Tamalpais Union High School District introduced a “Universal Pass” grading system on April 20 for the remainder of the second semester. All students who are considered in “good standing” in their academic courses will receive an A (100 percent) in their R5 a n d R 6
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courses. These will be averaged with their R4 grades to determine their final semester grades, according to an email from the district on April 20. The new system was created to adjust academic standards to the distance learning environment. “Our primary goal with distance learning was to maintain some level of learning while caring for the whole child. We do not feel we can accurately assess student learning in the distance format, yet we wish to keep those who are able, engaged in learning for the remainder of the s e m e s t e r,” district superinten-
dent Tara Taupier wrote in the email. “A student is considered in ‘good standing’ by participating in distance learning, to the best of their abilities given their individual circumstances, through the end of the semester,” Taupier wrote. “Any student who is deemed not in good standing may be issued an Incomplete for the semester.” Several teachers expressed support for the new grading policy. “Distance learning creates a huge equity issue that must be taken into account every second while this is happening. I’ve also noticed that my students with anxiety and executive functioning deficits are feeling those things tenfold,“ special education teacher Cristine Costello said. “There was no clean-cut decision to be made, but the Universal A policy takes into account students that need more support and consideration at this time.”
English teacher Austin Bah, who described the new policy as “fine to me,” believes students may gain more from a low-pressure environment. “In some ways, we are freer to learn if we don’t have to worry about grades too much. The new system seems pretty generous, but why not be?” Bah said. “I worry most for the inequity we cause elsewhere where students are being held to really high standards, and are expected to sit for hours, to stay visually logged in and on-screen so their teachers can see them for the whole time.” Students have a variety of opinions about the new system. “I think it’s one of the best decisions that the administration has made toward the whole pandemic,” sophomore Adrien Gontheir said. “It truly helps students out a lot and gives them the opportunity to go from not passing a class to exceeding drastically.” Junior Cassandra Peterson said, “It’s equitable for those unable to give 100 percent effort at this time, but it also allows students, specifically juniors, to maintain a solid grade point average.” Some are worried the policy will hurt them academically.
NEWS “It feels a little more unfair just because it’s almost as if it didn’t matter that we had been working really hard because people putting no effort in got the same grade,” sophomore Nina Lawson said. Additionally, several juniors raised concerns about the Universal Pass policy for the college admissions process in 2021. “It will cause students who would otherwise academically stand out to colleges not be able to,” junior Zachary Wienfield said. “Obviously an A won’t
look as good with this system, but it is also the school policy for the semester,” junior Abigail Albert said. “If a college admissions officer is going to discredit a semester of work due to a school policy caused by a pandemic, then that might be a sign of a school I wouldn’t be too happy at anyway.” On April 1, the University of California suspended the requirement for SAT or ACT scores from freshman applicants until fall 2024, and the requirement for letter grades in “a” through “g” courses completed in the
winter, spring, and summer of 2020. The UC system maintains the admission process will be just as competitive as prior years. “This does not lower the bar for admission, but accommodates the real barriers students have faced as tests have been canceled and classes have moved to Pass/No Pass grading,” the UC system said in a press release. Several colleges including all Oregon public universities and schools such as Boston, Pepperdine, and
Washington University have announced they will not require the SAT or ACT for fall 2021 admissions. District leaders argue that ensuring student equity during distance learning takes priority over potential academic consequences. “There is no perfect answer to the conundrum we are facing. I know some of you would not choose this option, but for many, the circumstances in which they find themselves at this moment in time is not a choice,” Taupier wrote in an email to the district.♦
GRAPHIC BY TENAYA TREMP PHOTO BY LOGAN LITTLE
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LIFESTYLES
By Logan Little
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ometimes — particularly when you’re not legally allowed to leave your own home because of a global pandemic — you need to turn your brain off and consume something for pure entertainment value. In late March, Netflix delivered exactly this. Gleefully rubbernecking the questionable fashion choices, missing limbs, and attempted/ successful murders, I, along with another 34 million Americans, devoured the seven-part docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. While I wouldn’t trade a minute of that experience for anything, the Tiger King phenomenon is reflective of some unsavory aspects of American culture. The series follows the exotic cat trade throughout the U.S. — specifically, three big cat owners: Joe Exotic, Carol Baskin, and “Dr.” Bhagavan Antle — and their interpersonal world of backstabbing rivialies and possibly illegal antics. As it turns out, you have to be a little crazy to raise and profit off a couple dozen lions, tigers, and other large predatory felines. Even crazier when you’ve got competitors who are just as daring as you. It’s easy to point a finger at this niche sub-culture and laugh. It’s cathartic, even. My first
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thought after completing the series was, “Well, at least I’m doing better than that.” In a world where everyone is striving to be the most attractive, smartest, coolest version of themselves, it’s thrilling to see a group of individuals who are seemingly unaware of these standards (or are at least failing miserably at achieving them). However, it’d be disingenuous to say a lot of public ridicule (and obsession) surrounding Tiger King didn’t stem from a subjective moral high ground, one that belittles rural and “lower class” culture and idolizes white-collar urban life. Some, including Matthew Hays, a writer for POV Magazine, have even criticized the series as “poverty porn”: a genre of media which depicts those of a low socioeconomic status as unintelligent heathens through an upper-middle-class point of view. Think Honey Boo Boo, but with tigers. Everywhere you turn in Tiger King there are shirtless inebriated “rednecks” cursing and free-wielding weapons. Workers at Exotic’s zoo are frequently interviewed in front of their dilapidated trailers and, in one case, even while taking a bath. While this isn’t an inaccurate depiction of these people’s lives, it’s not a holistic one, and it perpetuates the “white trash”
“You have to be a little crazy to raise and profit off a couple dozen lions, tigers, and other large predatory felines. Even crazier when you’ve got competitors who are just as daring as you.” stereotype to make good TV. Unfortunately this means the serious societal issues present in the documentary (drug abuse, suicide, animal cruelty, and many, many others) are at best sidelined by viewers and at worst twisted into jokes. Admittedly, I wasn’t super worried about where Exotic’s workers were going to get their next meal making less than $100 a week (off an expired meat truck as it turns out) while gawking at Exotic’s country music videos. As a result, just watching this series felt like punching down at an already victimized margin of American society. I’m by no means saying that all those featured in Tiger King are good people who don’t deserve criticism. In fact, one episode explores how Antle possibly runs a small cult/harem out of his animal facility with several virgin wives and a god complex to match. He should probably be investigated for that. However, given we live in the age of celebrities like R. Kelly, who can seemingly get away with everything by virtue of wealth and appearances, I’m confident that if the docuseries interviewees put on a more cleaned-up front, they wouldn’t provoke
such an outraged response. With all the attention going towards the quirky cast of criminals, it feels like the big cats have been forgotten (just look how long it took for me to mention them in this piece). Whether or not you think Exotic was framed in a murder-for-hire plot, his tigers, seperated from their mothers mere hours after birth only to be cooped up in tiny cages and sustained on expired Walmart meat, are suffering. Exotic was actually charged on nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act for killing five tigers and for selling several across state lines — a point which many viewers missed, judging by the dozens of petitions and calls to #FreeJoeExotic. Of course, the animal abuse doesn’t make nearly as compelling TV as Tiger King’s mullets and murder mysteries. And it’s clearly not fueling the same superiority complex in its audience. But maybe it should be. After all, if we’re going to pat ourselves on the back for watching a trashy “documentary,” let’s award brownie points to every non–animal abuser rather than based on who’s sporting a lower back tattoo.♦ GRAPHICS BY TAHLIA AMANSON
LIFESTYLES
How How To To Spend Spend Your Time During During Quarantine Quarantine By Daisy Wanger
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o one predicted that most of the nation would be quarantined in their homes for months on end. It is important for the youth to not only refrain from going outside, but to respect that the government is attempting to avert a crisis that has been modelled in other places such as Italy and China. In the meantime, with all of this stir-crazy energy from being stuck inside, here are some activities to keep you busy.♌ GRAPHICS BY TAHLIA AMANSON
Assist Seniors Consider reaching out to seniors via a Nextdoor post or directly, to see how they are handling the outbreak and if there is anything that you can do to make staying at home possible for them. This could be doing grocery runs, helping with technology, setting up FaceTime or Zoom meetings with their friends, picking up medicine, etc.
try At-Home Workouts YouTube has an endless stream of workout videos that can be done with just a mat at home. There are also many live workout classes offered through Zoom.
Support local businesses While the dine-in experience is not available, small businesses are really struggling. Most restaurants offer no-contact delivery and are still open for to-go orders. Places like World Wrapps, Juice Girl, and Stefano’s are still operating with their regular hours, and allow customers to pick up or have their services delivered.
Pamper yourself Use this time to do a hair mask, take a bubble bath, or do whatever form of self care makes you feel better. It can be fun to make your own face masks with materials that can be found around your kitchen and bathroom. A simple one that I do often is an exfoliating honey and oatmeal mask. All that you have to do is mix one tablespoon of raw honey and one tablespoon of uncooked oatmeal (grind in a blender to a powder rather than use whole oats for a gentler application). Apply to your face and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse it off with a warm cloth.
Improve Your Cooking Skills With all this free time, now is perfect to learn or get better at this life skill. Try cooking a different cuisine every night. YouTube is a great source to find recipes with a step-by-step visual process and entertaining personalities at the same time.
Make some money Sell clothes you do not wear anymore and make some extra cash to spend, save, or invest in these times. Sellers on Depop, Poshmark, and Grailed are posting all the time.
Explore Nature Go on hikes near your home. It is important to get fresh air and some exercise.
Start A Project Do some crafts: Tie-dying old t-shirts and hoodies is a way to get creative and alter your closet. Painting and drawing are great ways to interior decorate spaces that were previously empty. Try giving your room a makeover by rearranging furniture, repainting the walls, or repurposing furniture.
Foster Or Adopt An Animal Shelters around the Bay Area are doing their best to keep a low staff at their facilities, while taking an influx of homeless pets, meaning that hundreds or thousands of animals are in search of homes. Foster homes and adoptions are very much appreciated.
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LIFESTYLES
My DNS dependency: An addiction to decongestent nasal sprays
GRAPHICS BY TAHLIA AMANSON
By Natalia Whitaker
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hen I was 10 years old, I developed an addiction to over-the-counter nasal decongestant sprays (DNS). It wasn’t until two months ago, over eight years later, that I overcame my addiction. Now, you may tilt your head in confusion over what may seem like a rather odd substance to be addicted to. But it is actually “pretty common,” Dr. Neil Bhattcharyya, associate professor of otology and laryngology at Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a New York Times article. In fact, he recalled that one out of every seven patients with sinus and nasal obstruction have abused nasal sprays, which can lead to compulsory cycles of overuse and dependence. Granted, there is some debate over whether or not “addiction” is the correct word to use. It is important to understand that people who say they are addicted to DNSs do not feel the same kinds of psychological cravings that are a key characteristic of addictions. However, people who abuse DNSs often experience a physical drug dependence, need higher doses with every use, suffer withdrawal symptoms, and believe they cannot live without it. This was exactly my experience. It all started in the fourth grade when I got a severe sinus infection. Not only did I feel extreme pressure in my sinuses, but I could hardly breathe through my nose, especially when lying down. This might seem trivial, but with time became beyond
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frustrating. After weeks of complaining about not being able to breathe, my father came home with a little bottle of Zicam Extreme Congestion Relief, and wow, did it work wonders. With just two sprays in each nostril I swear I could breathe better than ever before. It was a miracle. One thing I neglected to pay attention to was the warning informing me that I was not to use it for more than three days. What was supposed to be three days quickly became four years. You might ask why my parents didn’t intervene. The truth of the matter was that they did; I was just beyond stubborn and very irritable. If I didn’t have Zicam, not only would I refuse to go to bed because I believed there was no way I could sleep without it, but I would throw violent tantrums, screaming and crying and flailing about. I threatened my parents that if I wasn’t sleeping, neither were they. And considering how high-pitched and annoying my voice was as a 10-yearold, it makes perfect sense to me why my dad would so often run to Safeway right before closing to buy me another bottle. DNSs work by rapidly shrinking the blood vessels in your nose, clearing the passageway so that you can breathe better. In fact, DNSs are one of the fastest-acting drugs. What many people, like myself at
the time, don’t know is that after those three days, they do the contrary by causing your blood vessels to swell even more. This is how one’s tolerance increases. But how bad could overusing DNSs really be? The answer is really bad. In the summer before my freshman year, I started seeing an allergist because I had been suffering from severe nosebleeds for about four or five months. It turned out that my nose had been so damaged by the abuse of Zicam that I needed to get surgery. In preparation, I had to abruptly quit using Zicam, which you might imagine didn’t work out well. It is fair to say that I didn’t really sleep during that summer. And as I mentioned previously, it wasn’t that I was suffering from cravings, but, oh man, the things I would have done during that summer to get my hands on Zicam! After the procedure, it was a little easier to breathe and I hadn’t been using Zicam for roughly three months. Yet still, every night, I would lie awake thinking about how much easier it was to breathe, how much fresher the air was when I was using Zicam. It wasn’t until long that I began using Flonase, another DNS, though they claimed their products did not cause dependencies. So, it seemed like the perfect solution. Even my allergist said it would be okay. But soon my dependence on Zicam shifted to Flonase and another three years of
abuse. Flonase was definitely better for me though. The nosebleeds stopped and if for whatever reason I didn’t have Flonase, I didn’t throw the same tantrums or suffer the same anxiety that I did when I was using Zicam. Two months ago I came home from a trip and remembered I needed to pick up some more Flonase before I went to bed. I had just finished a bottle and was going to put it in a designated drawer that I used for empty Flonase bottles — please understand that the only reason I didn’t throw them away was because there were no recycling or disposal instructions and I figured that I would eventually solve it when the time came. Anyways, I saw then that the drawer was overflowing. I took all the bottles out and counted 91. Each bottle costs roughly $25. Before me I saw three years and $2,275 worth of abuse. I made the decision that this cycle had to end. Just like that I stopped. And by “just like that” I mean countless sleepless nights, a few anxiety attacks, and a bunch of regret. It’s only now, after two months, that I don’t think about Flonase most nights. My “nasal spray addiction” has always been kind of a joking matter whenever I discussed it. And I don’t want to paint myself as any kind of victim or compare myself to people suffering with severe drug addictions. But please be wary when you go to the store to buy a decongestant. And read the warning label!♦
FEATURES
G E N E R A T I O N PA R K L A N D By Skye Schoenhoeft February 14, 2018. Parkland, Florida. Fourteen students and three staff members were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. December 14, 2012. Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty students were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The victims of that shooting would have been freshmen in high school this year. During seventh period on January 27, our school went on lockdown due to reports of an armed, masked man headed toward the campus. Tam sheltered in place for two hours, and most students had little to no knowledge of what was really happening.
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rauma “is ancient Greek for ‘wound’ or ‘injury.’ One way to think about it is it’s an adverse reaction where an injury [is] caused by an upsetting experience,” child psychiatrist Steven Berkowitz said. Berkowitz spent 15 years as Director of Child Community Services and Deputy Director of the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence at Yale, and then spent 10 years as Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. Now he works at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
“Dreams are in some ways a reflection, for lack of a better term, of what information we’re trying to process from our days,” Berkowitz said. “Traumatic nightmares are a very common response to the experience of a really upsetting event.” With years of growing fear, students have become accustomed to and internalized the preparation to a fatal event. “The first [lockdown drill] I remember doing was in fourth grade,” senior Isabel Williams, the co-president of the Students Demand Action Club, said. “I
Graphics by Isabella Faillace
A third of Tam students dream about gun violence. Why? Generational trauma.
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features don’t think I had any grasp of the situation at all. I didn’t even know that gun violence was an option. That happened in movies — I had no idea that it was happening to kids.” Like most students at our school, Williams has been practicing lockdown drills for years. On March 11, The Tam News surveyed 171 students on their experience with guns and lockdowns. Eighty-one percent of students surveyed reported practicing their first school lockdown drill in elementary school. Williams attended Strawberry Point Elementary School, which, along with all schools in the Mill Valley School District, began practicing lockdown drills about nine years ago, when Williams was in third grade. Around a year after Williams participated in her first lockdown drill, the Sandy Hook shooting happened. “At Strawberry Point, I think right after Sandy Hook happened, they put up a chain-link fence around ... and it didn’t seem like an accident,” Williams said. Her perspective on lockdown drills was forever changed. “I just remember being in a lockdown and being like, there’s no way out. My parents won’t be here. I just remember thinking, ‘That’s not gonna stop a gunman because it’s a waist-high chain-link fence.’ That’s the
feeling that I had in January when we had that lockdown again [at Tam],” she said, adding, “It was the exact same feeling.” This lockdown was the first official shelter-in-place in Tam’s recent history. “It was awful. We had a sub and she had no idea what to do, and didn’t know how to lock the door,” soph-
omore Sydney Boyd said. “People in my class were not helping because they were spreading rumors. Someone said the shooter was on Gomez [Way], right by our classroom, and I was by the window but not underneath because there weren’t enough spaces.” As terrifying as the event was, students report
that most weren’t caught completely off guard. “Before we had any idea what was going on, when all we knew was that there was somebody who’s seen somebody with a rifle coming to campus, it hit me that I knew exactly what to do: get my parents on the phone, get away from open doors, get away from sight lines
During the time that our current seniors have been in school 42 high school students have been fatally shot while at school. 12
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FEATURES
Our generation has grown up with our peers being killed, from elementary school through high school. and try and make yourself as small as possible. And I just did it,” Williams said. Others acted instinctively as well. “I wasn’t expecting it or anything, but I felt like I knew what to do,” freshman Jack Knowles said. “I knew not to talk. I knew what the drill was. I knew that we were gonna turn off the lights, close the door, shut the windows. I knew all that stuff. So I guess I felt prepared. I mean, I don’t really know how to prepare for that.” Knowles remembers his first lockdown drill happening in kindergarten at Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito, likely practicing at least once each year fol-
lowing. Williams estimates she has practiced 12 drills in her lifetime; senior Caitlin Naqvi assumes around the same. “Seems like every couple months there’s a new drill,” Naqvi said. “It seems like it’s happened so much that it’s become normal.” “Chronic or cumulative experience[s] are very important,” Berkowitz said, and lockdown drills have “the potential for the message to be ‘You’re doing this because you’re always in danger, you should be worried’ ... If you’re constantly feeling worried or concerned, it has negative impacts on your brain devel-
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opment.” And students do feel concerned. “When I enter a classroom, that is the first thing I think about: What’s my escape route, if something were to happen,” Boyd said. “Every single one of the classrooms I’ve entered I think about it — where would I hide, what would I grab, what would I do if someone were to come in, what’s my exit strategy,” Naqvi said. Students expressed that over time, their grasp on the purpose of lockdowns became increasingly tangible. “I think there’s this constant fear that that bubbles up in a lot of ways for kids. Right now like you can be sitting near the door and look at the door and realize, ‘Oh s**t, I might be the first to die,’” Williams said. In time, students began to internalize this fear. One of the ways anxiety manifests is through dreams. Boyd reports having dreams about gun violence somewhat regularly, around five to 10 times in her lifetime. “I remember some dreams happen when it’s back on my mind, like during a lockdown or after watching a video of something. When I hear something in the news about another school it goes in the front of my mind and I think that’s where it comes from,” Boyd said. Her dreams aren’t always triggered by a large event: “It wouldn’t be like after a major shooting, it’s even after a dumb meme.” 35.3 percent of the Tam students surveyed have dreamt about gun violence. Of those respondents, 37.7 percent have this type of dream semi-annually, and 14.8 percent have them monthly. Naqvi also said she had experienced recurrent gun
FEATURES violence nightmares. “I remember the dreams with guns have happened for a while. It must have been since high school, maybe three years,” Naqvi said. “I remember just being so scared. When I woke up, my heart was beating because right before I was being shot at. It was just really scary. I don’t remember any other feelings or anything else, we were just scared and trying to run.” Berkowitz said, “Nightmares are very, very typical of kids, in particular preschoolers to about six or seven. Kids, particularly [in] those early age groups, are dealing with a lot of things and trying to do with things like imagination ... Children really rely on adults to mediate experience and particularly upsetting experience.” He noted, “We’re not always so good at helping.” Berkowitz discussed the difference between adolescent and adult nightmares. “There is no evidence that people your age are any more prone to nightmares than adults,” he said, adding, “The whole idea of nightmares
This last month was the first March without a school shooting since 2002.
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FEATURES
most of the time is that they really are driven by your anxieties and worries. If you have an event that’s really upsetting and scary, it’s much more likely you’re going to have a nightmare.” Our generation has grown up with our peers being killed, from elementary school through high school, and parents have had to learn to react to this traumatic generational marker. Williams recalls the time after Sandy Hook — she was trying to understand what had happened, and she turned to her mom to comprehend the situation. “I think I might have heard about [the shooting] from other kids. And then I remember coming home and asking my mom about it. My mom just remembers being like, ‘The f**k do I tell her?’ You can’t say you’re safe because that’s a lie.”
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“We need to have a national conversation about what's happening to our kids.”
The first mass school shooting in our lifetime was at Red Lake High School in 2005 — the year many freshmen were born. Since then, there have been 12 mass school shootings, where four or more victims have been killed, according to a Tam News analysis. During the time that our current seniors have been in school, 42 high school students have been fatally shot on campus. “Parents can’t look at their kids and say, ‘You’re safe. That won’t happen here’ because resoundingly, what we hear from kids every time there’s a shooting is ‘We didn’t think it would happen here’ or — even scarier — ‘We felt it inevitable,’” Williams said. On March 13 our school closed for the duration of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was soon
to be the global course of action. This last month was the first March without a school shooting since 2002. “We need to have a national conversation about what’s happening to our kids,” Williams said. “But if that’s not coupled with action that is going to actually reassure us that we are safe in this country, then what’s the point?” After each deadly school shooting, has sparked conversation of gun reform, though the movement after the Parkland shooting was larger than ever before. Started by kids at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the movement March For Our Lives drove students from across the nation to the streets, demanding increased protection of their lives through gun regulation. “We had one school pro-
test that I started and ran,” Boyd, who was an eighth grader at the time, said. “On the anniversary of Parkland, we all stood outside the school, holding hands. And people said, ‘This is not enough,’ and a ton of kids ran outside of school and held their own protests.” Even with national outrage, very little has changed in regards to gun reform in our country. Since Parkland, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a universal background checks bill, and several states, including California, have passed their own “red flag” laws, which permit police or family members to petition a state court order for the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may endanger others or themsevles. But this is where the change seems to halt. “There’s so much we
need to do,” Williams said. “It starts with a gun sense regulation. It starts with universal background checks, funding the CDC so that they can study gun violence. Red flag laws [everywhere] so that if people are afraid that somebody is a danger to themselves or others, they can petition the judge to have their guns taken away. We need these common sense measures, and we need it to be bipartisan.” Williams hopes for the future, but paused when addressing the issues that we currently face. “I don’t think that we can begin to look at the trauma of our generation,” she said, “until we ensure that our younger siblings, our kids, and the generations that come after us are safe.” We are Generation Parkland.
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We are
generation Parkland
The truth about coffee
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et’s all just be honest with ourselves … coffee doesn’t taste good. When you hear someone say, “it’s an acquired taste,” what they really mean is, “I convince myself to like it to reap the benefits.” Things that are truly delicious are never categorized as that. When was the last time you heard someone call cake an “acquired taste”? That deceitful phrase is reserved for the likes of anchovies, cilantro, and, yes ... coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty as well. This is why I feel qualified to reveal the secrets of caffeine addicts like myself and say … it tastes like crap. The taste of coffee is something you really just have to painfully endure. But the
way I can most accurately explain it is through a story of my childhood. In first grade, I was playing on the playground at my school. For some reason, instead of wood chips or sand, like schools run by normal people have, my school used shredded-up tires. Yes, like the rubber tires from your grandpa’s old pickup truck. And staying on-brand as the clumsy mess I am, I tripped over my velcro shoe strap and fell face-first into the pit of mangled Goodyears. I went home that day with black stains on my face. Believe me when I say that was my first introduction to the taste of coffee. Now you may ask, “So-
OPINION By Sophia Martin
phia, if you don’t like the taste, why do you drink it?” This is a valid question I often ask myself, but entering my senior year of high school I’m simply in too deep to turn back now. I’m sorry, but green tea just doesn’t do it for me. I envy the girls who can survive off of a Starbucks refresher that’s 90 percent water, ice, and sugar. If there is not at least 100 mg of caffeine in my system at any time, please, for your own sake, refrain from talking to me. You will receive a response far from comprehensible, as I will be half asleep. This is why coffee places are so popular; they have discovered if you dump
enough sugar and milk into coffee, you can make it almost tolerable. That’s why my kitchen currently contains five bottles of cold brew coffee, two gallons of almond milk, and enough packets of sugar to stock an IHOP for a month. The first time I drank coffee was to prove to my family that I was cool and finally grown up. I hated it. Three years later, I still hate it. So to all of the people who drink black coffee, I applaud you. And to all the people who don’t feel the need for their heart to constantly be at an accelerated rate, please teach me your ways.♦
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By Tenaya Tre
“Y
ou may not continue dancing at the dinner table!” my mother roared. My sister, sitting next to her, was caught in the middle of her enthusiastic rendition of “Renegade.” This, unfortunately, has become a regular event at my house. My 12-year-old sister has been a TikTok fanatic for the last year or so, driving everybody in my house crazy with her constant hand movements, hip swivels, and humming of the classic songs. And during quarantine, when we are together all day, my parents and I get no respite from her habits. But I’ll admit, my hate of TikTok has slowly been
dissolving. It started when I would get bored and watch Snapchat stories from Cosmopolitan and Seventeen covering all the TikTok drama. I became very up to date with all the stars of the app, from Loren Grey’s history with bullying to Charli D’Amelio and Lil Huddy’s possible relationship, then actual relationship, and then breakup (!!). I knew it was stupid and a complete waste of brain cells, but it was surprisingly entertaining. And then came quarantine, leaving me with days, weeks, and now months with nothing to fill the time. And like most teenagers, I turned to my phone for entertainment, spending many
of those empty hours mindlessly scrolling through my Instagram explore page. By then I had to admit that TikToks were becoming more entertaining. And one night not too long ago, I was standing in front of the mirror brushing my teeth when I noticed that I’d begun to do the Box Challenge without even meaning to. I had been sucked into the app, without even downloading it! My Instagram explore page was polluting me! I was reminded of one of my sister’s friends, who’d come over for dinner and whose hands hadn’t stopped moving throughout the entire meal. When my parents had asked her about it, she’d explained that she was sim-
ply practicing the dance for “Cannibal.” “My mom wanted to take me to therapy because she thought I had a tick,” the girl explained. “It’s not a tick though, I just love it so much I never want to stop!” “Am I destined to become just like my sister and her friend,” I wondered, “unable to stop moving, until I am sucked once and for all into the world of TikTok dances?” It was a scary notion, but even scarier was how even I, a stoic anti-TikToker just a few months ago, had fallen into the world of the app with barely a struggle. I guess I’ll have to wait and see. But, meanwhile, I’ll be busy learning “Renegade.”♦
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OPINION
How the coronavirus has impacted Asian Americans By Jessica Bukowski
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ccording to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a “person of color” is defined as “any non-European non-white person.” Being half Japanese, I technically fit the bill. However, I have always felt uncomfortable bearing that title. In fact, I have even felt unworthy of it. This is because I have associated the term “person of color” with the implication of experienced racism. Personally, I did not feel as though people such as myself carried that burden of racism. That is, until recently. The pandemic that is COVID-19 has exposed a number of our country’s flaws. And yes, I mean the United States of America. It has exposed our inability to efficiently handle such a crisis. It has exposed weaknesses within our stock market. But, most eye-opening of all, it has exposed even more our country’s racism towards Asian people. My grandpa sometimes tells stories of the time he spent in Topaz, a former internment camp in Utah, when he was a little boy. I have heard of the oppression many Japanese Americans endured back then, from being called racial slurs to being forced into internment camps and killed for walking too close to camp walls, trying to collect sea shells. However, I have always been able to separate this part of America’s history from the one I have come to know. Then COVID-19 struck, and everything changed.
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Yes, the virus did start in China, but as we have seen in the news, once it got to the U.S., anyone could contract it. As common sense suggests, disease is not partial towards certain races. Despite this, it has somehow become ingrained in some people’s minds that all Chinese people are infected. But, as many often cannot tell East Asian ethnicities apart, this has resulted in simply growing wary of all East Asian–appearing people. At first I tried to dismiss this apparent racism,
public to “go back to China.” A few days later, a news alert popped up on my phone. The subject of the article was how President Trump called coronavirus the “Chinese virus.” I know this should not surprise me, as the president does not have a pristine track record in terms of racism, but I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. And this is not just a slip-up. Trump has used “Chinese Virus” in tweets, press conferences, you name it. Upon being questioned about the
“Although I have, up until this point, been immune to the racism faced by the Asian community, it has always been there.” but it soon became harder and harder. While having Sunday dinner at my grandpa’s house in February, my cousin, who is a teacher in the Bay Area, told me that her coworker said that he may have COVID-19 because he had eaten Chinese food the previous night. I was shocked. How could someone be so uneducated? How could he be so quick to make assumptions? Soon after, another cousin received a text on a group chat from one of her friends who didn’t know she was on it. That person texted how they “hate all Asians” and planned on yelling at any Asian-appearing person they saw in
racial connotations of the term, Trump denied reporters’ allegations of racism. He justified his use of the phrase by saying, “It comes from China, that’s why.” I do not believe I am being irrational when I say that this alarms me. The president must know that there are already stereotypes linking Asian Americans to COVID-19. Asian Americans have reported physical and verbal abuse they have experienced by xenophobic individuals. However, the president has gone out of his way to change the name of a disease that has killed thousands, to a name that puts a target on the backs of defenseless, innocent
people. Trump has since stopped using the term “Chinese Virus,” but the damage has undoubtedly already been done. On March 20, I received an email from the Japanese American Citizens League. The title read “Asian People Are Not a Disease.” The email spoke of an Asian woman in a New York subway station who was chased and beaten by a man. Another Asian woman just across the bay in San Francisco was yelled at and spit on by another man. What really got to me though was this statement: “The negative and in some cases violent reactions Asians have been experiencing serve as a reminder that we are seen as the perpetual foreigner. It doesn’t matter how many generations our families have been here or if we have just recently immigrated, we are continually labeled as ‘other.’” Although I have, up until this point, been immune to the racism faced by the Asian community, it has always been there. Asian Americans have always, or at least as long as I can remember, been called the “model minority.” This means that we are typically thought of as respectful, rule-following, disciplined people, which all immigrants “should” strive to be. Still not following? Surely you’ve heard of “tiger moms’’ who enact harsh consequences for their children if they get anything other than straight A’s. Ring a bell? Yeah, I thought so. While I spent
OPINION
my life accepting this narrative (and even supporting it) I was unknowingly perpetuating racism towards Asian Americans. I was so blinded by the compliment I perceived the stereotype to be that I failed to recognize the underlying racism. The “model minority” myth strips all Asian Americans of their individuality, labels them as outsiders, and locks in countless other misconceptions that many have accepted as fact. It also creates the illusion that the U.S. has always welcomed Asians with open arms. If you disagree with that last statement, reference the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which blamed Chinese people for economic misfortune in order to maintain a white “racial purity.” Or research one of the 10 Japanese internment camps that many of my relatives were forced into during the Second World War, many of whom were mere children. Looking back and dissecting certain moments in my life, it’s much easier to spot racism-charged moments than before I thought. I can’t tell you how many times people have assumed that I must be a math whiz because of my race. Some people who know me have even attributed my good grades to my Asian heritage. I’m sure they would be shocked
to see me hunched over my math binder at 12 a.m., studying for a precalc test. There are also more nuanced memories I have of racism. One in particular sticks out. I was probably 12 at the time, and I was at a volleyball tournament with my dad, who is white. I don’t remember
ates Asian stereotypes as well. Asian representation is slim in the media, and when represented, it is typically done so in a stereotypical way. Asian characters have even been played by white actors, such as Emma Stone’s appearance in the movie Aloha as Allison Ng, a woman of Chi-
what the exact circumstances were, but a stranger asked my dad if I was adopted. Instead of thinking that it was likely I had parents of different races, she jumped to the conclusion that I must be adopted because I appeared to be mixed-race. Once again, Asians were seen as outsiders. Pop culture perpetu-
nese-Hawaiian-Swe ish descent. Underrepresentation of Asians in Hollywood is cemented by the fact that since the Academy Awards’ inception in 1929, only three Asian actors have won awards. There is some hope, however. Crazy Rich Asians, the 2018 movie starring an all-Asian cast, was wildly successful, earning $238.5
million at the box office. The South Korean–made 2019 film Parasite won four Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. Although the film earned a standing ovation and deafening applause from the audience, the president had a different reaction, saying, “What the hell was that all about?” and “We’ve got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them best movie of the year. Was it good? I don’t know.” Regardless of what Trump may say, progress is progress, and I call this a step in the right direction. In terms of Hollywood, Asian representation seems to be making progress, but there is still a long journey ahead, not just in Hollywood, but in the entire country. Recently, my family has been attempting to make light of the Asian-centered COVID-19 related bigotry through humor. My mom will say things like “if people see us together, they’ll call the police.” Or my uncle will say, “we’re gonna see a post on Nextdoor that says: ‘spotted: three Asians huddled together.’” I still laugh, even though it’s no longer as funny as it used to be. I may have wide eyes and Western ideals, but I can’t help but feel like an outsider.♦
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“Any student testing between May 18 and 22 who can’t successfully upload their response through the exam platform or send it immediately ...will need to take a makeup exam.
Editorial: “Breach of contract and gross negligence”
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tudents and teachers have struggled to adjust to the coronavirus pandemic. The latest blow came on May 11, when some students taking AP exams online were unable to submit their answers. That the errors happened at all is troubling. More troubling was the response of the College Board, which oversees AP testing as well as the SAT. Its attempts to shift responsibility to students, and its offer of a makeup test in June, came off as defensive and inadequate. In fact, on May 19, the College Board was sued on behalf of the students who encountered problems for “breach of contract, gross negligence, misrepresentation and violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act,” according to the Washington Post.
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The College Board has said that only one percent of students who took an AP exam encountered technical difficulties. Even if they are right, that proportion is misleading: One percent of 2.2 million is still 22,000 students. At $94 per exam, the College Board has received roughly $2 million in exchange for ... a makeup test in June. The problems with AP testing are not novel or unprecedented. Rather, they have laid bare disparities that already exist. Students with spotty internet access or with additional learning needs have been the worst affected by distance learning; it stands to reason that those students may have also had the most problems with AP testing. Taking the makeup exam next month will be harder for kids who are working or who have fewer educational resources
available to them. The College Board’s near-monopoly on standardized testing has served to inoculate it against criticism, but that may change. One common thread of the pandemic is that some integral parts of American institutions, from working in offices to watching movies in theaters, have been shown to be anything but. The same potential exists in the way we treat education. For example, the University of California has already waived the SAT or ACT standardized testing requirement for fall applicants. On May 21, the Board of Regents unanimously approved president Janet Napolitano’s recommendation to phase out the requirement by 2025. If the University of California has not developed its own standardized test by then, the requirement will stay
dropped. The board’s decision has been met with some pushback. Critics claim that Napolitano’s reasons for dropping the SAT, primarily that Black and Latinx students tend to score lower, are misguided, since any measurement of student achievement — like essays, GPAs, or a new standardized test — will be skewed by the same pre-existing racial disparities. This is a reasonable point. So is the argument that we should invest more resources into mitigating inequity at its source, starting with primary education. But students should not have to navigate a broken system solely because officials believe that any alternative will be equally broken. In that context, and in the context of the pandemic, any movement toward big, structural change is a laudable first step.♦
GRAPHICS BY SAMUEL JEFFERSON AND SOPHIA MARTIN
“...we’re unable to accept submissions from students who tested May 11–15...the backup email submission option will be in place for them during their makeup exam.”
OPINION
Senior sendoff By Eli Blum, Kara Kneafsey, and Samantha Nichols
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enior year is supposed to be a culmination of the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that athletes put in during their high school careers. However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, high school seniors around the world had their final spring seasons cut short. These athletes were unable to celebrate their accomplishments. Although nothing can substitute for an actual senior day and final season, the following spreads are meant to honor the work of students as they share their favorite memories, advice for younger athletes, and what losing their senior season meant to them. PHOTO COURTESY OF TAM HIGH SCHOOL
SPORTS
Softball “It was disappointing not to be able to finish out our season and of course we all hoped it would end differently ... We were all very excited to play on the field with one another but I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.” —Senior Sofia Piombo
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SOFIA PIOMBO
Baseball
“I would do anything to get [our season] back so that I can enjoy the home stretch of high school with my brothers. It was a pleasure to put on the Tam uniform and play the sports I love!” —Senior Tyler Reed
Boys’ tennis “My favorite memory was when we won MCALs two years ago against Redwood. When we won, the whole team stormed the court and celebrated.” —Senior Jack Chai
Senior Tyler Reed steps up to bat. LEFT:
GRAPHIC BY TENAYA TREMP PHOTOS COURTESY OF JACKSON HUKARI
Senior Mason Marks prepares for a forehand shot during practice. PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK
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SPORTS
Diving
Track and field
“If you can push yourself outside your comfort zone to learn new things, then there’s no limit to how much you can excel.” —Senior Max Hasen GRAPHIC BY TENAYA TREMP PHOTO COURTESY OF DYLAN JUAREZ
Girls’ lacrosse “I am so proud to have helped build the program over the past four years and I am bummed that I won’t get to see it through.” —Senior Lily Bowman “Be grateful and take advantage of every chance you get to play.” —Senior Amelia Muir
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL LAW
“Not having a senior season for me is very disappointing but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve had an amazing three years with Tam track that has created so many great memories.” —Senior Paul Law RIGHT: Seniors
Carina Kelly and Siena Blair with track coach Bob Wagner. PHOTO COURTESY OF SIENA BLAIR
Boys’ lacrosse
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHNNEL PETERSON
FROM LEFT: Seniors Kylie Frame, Charlie Osborn, Lily Bowman, Katharine Owen, Amelia Muir, and Sofia King.
“My favorite memory was probably the triple overtime win junior year. That was really cool.” —Senior Crewe Hutson
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LILY BOWMAN
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PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK
Boys’ golf
FROM LEFT: Seniors
Noah Whitaker, Sam Jefferson, Dylan Layden, Luke Marshall, and Aidan Newell.
SPORTS
Mountain biking
“Not being able to compete for Tam in my last season is a bummer because I get to miss out on being able to race with my closest friends that have been with me since the beginning ... Keep grinding. The big hill isn’t a challenge, it’s an FROM LEFT: Seniors Sam Shern, opportunity for success.” Henri Bot, Justin Rebsamen, —Senior Henri Bot and Ben St. John.
“Enjoy your time on the team and make the most of it.” —Senior Duncan Labeeuw-Anderson PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANNE ELISCO-LEMME
Swimming “I’m sad we never got to finish the season we started but I’m grateful that I still was able to have the past three seasons to look back on.” —Senior Madison Gruender
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DORTE BOT
Boys’ volleyball “It’s a real bummer that the final year of a sport I dedicated all four years of high school to was cut down before we could even really begin ... It’s no one’s fault, nothing could be done differently, so I try not to dwell on it.” —Senior Devin Guinney
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CANDACE MURPHY
LEFT:
Senior Devin Guinney serves during a game. PHOTO COURTESY OF YEARBOOK
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THE TAM NEWS THANKS ITS PATRONS: Platinum
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GUESS THE GRADUATING ADVANCED JOURNALISM SENIOR! GRAPHICS BY SKYE SCHOENHOEFT
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Answers 1. John Overton 2. Ian Duncanson 3. Beckett Williams 4. Kavi Dolasia 5. Summer Solomon 6. Sam Jefferson 7. Benjy Wall-Feng 8. Leah Fullerton 9. Niulan Wright 10. Zev Grossman 11. Daisy Wanger 12. Marco Steineke 13. Skye Schoenhoeft 14. Meya Saenz Zagar 15. Chloe Gammon 16. Isabella Faillace 17. Katya Wasserman 18. Kara Kneafsey 19. Eli Blum 20. Josie Spiegelman 21. Johanna Meezan 22. Natalia Whitaker 23. Camille Shakirova 24. Tessa Flynn 25. Tenaya Tremp 26. Elan Levine 27. Ethan Swope 28. Isabelle Winstead 29. Katharine Owen
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