Issuu

Volume VII Issue II May 30, 2018

Aquila

University Preparatory Academy

Kick off summer with a refreshing boba drink! See page 11 for details.

Editor-in-Chief Emily Hung Managing Editor Nicole Rendler Social Media Manager Bianca Lang Eagle Life Editor Kristian Crowther In-depth Editor Ruchika Singla Staff Writers Aixa Quintero Cameron Wallace Natalia Alvarez Page Designers Adam Lawson Amy Chattaway Annelise Kamm Annie Zhang Aparna Prabhakar Janessa Ulug Paj Thao Graphic Artist Annie Tong Annie He Adviser Laura Gordon Reska Aquila is a student-produced, student-edited high school newsmagazine. It serves as a designated public forum for student expression. We aim to reflect the diversity of our community and build unity through true and accurate reporting, in hopes that each of our readers will find an article they can connect with.

from the editor

eturning from the National High School Journalism Convention every year always enlightens me. It has given me a profound understanding of my role as a student journalist in our world today. It has opened me to the struggles and successes of other journalists from around the nation. With those stories, I reflect on our own publication, and in reflecting with the journalism staff, incorporate skills and ideas we take away from other schools into our coverage. The fervor accumulated from the April convention is reflected in the types of stories we have decided to include in both this second issue and in our online coverage. Since attending convention workshops, I have noticed a recurring theme of our role as storytellers. As journalists, we are responsible for making people pay attention to what is happening around them, whether it be other people’s lives or events that could affect the reader’s life. We find the real story and tell it, and we question the world around us and keep readers informed of what we discover. We do not pick between the good news or the bad news. We simply report the news. On page eight, we explore the issue of the freedom of expression during promotion and graduation. This issue came to light during pitch day, a time when we brainstorm article ideas to include in the magazine. The simple question we all had was: Why are such strict dress codes enforced during promotion and graduation? After a long discussion, we came to the conclusion that it was something worth covering and that two people with different experiences should write about it. Freshman Adam Lawson, who promoted from middle school last year, and senior Ruchika Singla, who is just about to graduate, decided to investigate. With their distinct perspectives and experiences, they co-wrote the article from both ends of the spectrum: promotion and graduation. The article not only includes the reactions of students—the ones directly affected by the dress code—but it also takes into account the reasons why it is imposed by staff. With topics like this, it is easy—from the standpoint of a student—to complain without taking the time to consider why such rules exist. Because of this, it is essential for us as journalists to stay away from this potential bias. With this article, we hope that readers gain a greater understanding of why the issue exists, knowing that the foundation for change comes in being conscious of reasons people are not usually aware of.

Emily Hung Editor-in-Chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

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EAGLE LIFE IN-DEPTH ARTS & CULTURE PERSPECTIVES

EAGLE LIFE

The Times They Are a-Changin’ By Nicole Rendler The 2017-2018 school year was a time of firsts for UPA’s community, and as the year comes to a close, students and staff can reflect and be inspired by the accomplishments of this year. These new additions to the school year included the new courses of AP Capstone and Multimedia Arts, a new block schedule and new management in the after school theater program. AP Capstone This year, 73 students and one dedicated teacher took on the task of pioneering a new course, AP Capstone: Seminar. Taught during periods one and four by Sandra Trotch, the class revolved around research papers with themes of “Perception” and “Identity” as well as presentations. Trotch explained the class was implemented as a way to reduce the stress of the senior project. The goal was also to help students improve their academic writing skills in preparation for senior year and college. While students were able to receive feedback on the practice essays, Trotch was unable to read, edit or discuss the final essays students planned to submit to College Board, although some students felt they needed it. About two-thirds of the current Capstone students have signed up to take the second half of the course, AP Capstone: Research, which will launch in the 2018-2019 school year.

Multimedia Arts During periods one, two and four, Zachery James taught students how to film and edit video while learning Premiere Pro, Photoshop and other programs. Often times, students in the class take their learning outside where they film videos or take pictures; students in the upstairs Horton might have seen the multimedia students walk by on their way outside. The class was implemented because students wanted to learn more about graphic design, video production and photography, James said. Despite being a new class, James was “blown away by the level of talent UPA has to offer.” Illustration by Annie Tong

Drama Management UPA welcomed Class of 2014 alumna Cayleigh Coester back onto its campus as the director of the after school theatre program. Coester, who also serves as a campus supervisor, works directly under Catherine Dietrich, the head of the Performing Arts Department. “Everything I do reflects on her,” Coester said regarding Dietrich, whose leadership was used to conduct auditions, cast roles, and plan and direct shows. The theatre program was proud to produce four shows this year, including “Subtext,” a play in the first semester, “Café Murder,” an interactive fundraiser also in first semester; “Emma!” the musical in the second semester and finally, Broadway Night, an interactive fundraiser held for the first time this year.

Photo courtesy of Cayleigh Coester Coester makes a curtain speech to the crowd at the third production of “Emma!” Block Schedule Staff, students and parents had the whole year to get adjusted to the new block schedule. It changed from last year’s schedule with two block days a week to four block days a week held Tuesday through Friday. Some students and teachers, including science teacher Loren Schwinge, have expressed their frustrations with the fact that the period 2 block comes before the period 1 block in the weekly schedule. Seventh grader Sarah Cayabyab said “the periods are long enough to focus” as each class block is 90 minutes. Cayabyab does share one complaint with most other students: that it can be overwhelming to have homework assigned on Monday that is due on Tuesday block day.

COME TO YOUR SENSES

A Guide to Maximizing Productivity While Studying

By Adam Lawson

We have all had that one experience: The day before a big test, how a student personally studies best. when you finally get to studying and you end up reading and re-read“High school’s a really good time to practice all [learning styles] ing the same page of notes, trying to absorb as much information as and figuring out what works for them,” Ryan said. possible before calling it a night. Although most have a dominant learning style that works best for Despite your best efforts, when you get your test back, the score them, with time and effort secondary learning types can be adapted. is far lower than deserved given how much you studied. “I think [students] will be more productive in life and in their Not knowing your learning type, and therefore studying in a way academic career if they can become really good at more than one,” that is not most efficient for you, can greatly increase the time it math teacher Stuart Hamilton said. takes to retain the information. It’s helpful to have more than one learning type, but starting with Knowing and applying strategies for a specific learning type that one learning type eventually working towards adapting others is a works best for you can save both time and energy. easier way to apply learning types to everyday life. “I think if [students] don’t know their learning type, “I would take a learning styles test and then learn from the teacher they won’t be as successful as the can be, and they might of my weakest subject how to apply [that learning style] be more frustrated,” mental health counselor Emily to that subject,” English and AVID teacher Claire Ballard Ryan said. said. Ryan recommends using high school as a time to understand Visual learning refers to a preference for seeing learning material, Through sound which can include color coding and music, aural learners notes and using graphs, pictures, learn best with informational diagrams and other forms of imagery songs, videos and audible as a way to take in and recall repetition of concepts. information. Being a Logical verbal learner learners use refers to those who reasoning through use spoken and written numbers, analysis of words as a way to absorb materials, puzzles and information. They learn best critical thinking issues. through rhymes, reading, writing, and using speaking, written materials and lectures.

Working alone is the main characteristic of solitary learners, as working alone improves concentration when learning concepts.

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Physical learners use their sense of touch to retain information through Social physical activities, hands-on projects and learners thrive movement while working. in group-based settings, such as study groups, group projects and one-on-one engagements with other learners.

prom

THE BOY BEHIND

By Natalia Alvarez With the help of senior Harry Haessner, visions of the sub-committees that came together to plan this year’s prom —decoration, DJ, bid and fundraising–– have become reality. Haessner, head of the Prom Committee, has been on the committee for two years and is very passionate about making the dance successful and learning the different aspects of making it fun for all those attending. “Last year I made the bid, and that was completely me,” Haessner said. “No one else had the ability to use Photoshop as I did. It felt really empowering when people said, ‘I really like this. I like the colors and the fonts.’” Senior Cynthia Jackson, who joined the committee this school year, commented on how she’s seen Haessner work and grow as a leader for the Committee. “When he gets into something, he’s very passionate about it,” Jackson said. “He likes to see it all the way through.” Prom Committee adviser Ariana Rodriguez had a set decision in 2016 of who was going to lead this year’s committee. “He came to pretty much all the meetings,” Rodriguez said, “but being one of the few juniors involved in Prom Committee, I asked him [if] he could take more of a leadership role.” Alumna Tamera Panjalingam (‘17) was the Committee’s leader in the 2016 to 2017 school year who passed down the torch to Haessner for his senior year. Harry Haessner (12) smiles for a photo in front of the green hills of the Coyote Creek Country Club, where junior-senior prom has been held for the past several years. Photo by Natalia Alvarez

Although a majority of people might think prom planning is a female-led activity, Haessner believes his gender is not relevant in defining his abilities. “It’s just a coincidence that I’m a male. It’s just the qualities that I have and the vision that I see,” he said. Haessner’s previous experiences with planning prom led him and his fellow committee members to carry out a successful event that involved the ideas of the participants. Senior Emily Butler, a close friend of

Haessner and first-year committee member, commented about the benefits of having both female and male students on the Prom Committee. “The more people who are involved and with different backgrounds, the more creative [prom] can be,” Butler said. Haessner encourages others to join the Prom Committee, as it would benefit them in having a better prom experience. The committee began working on the production of prom—which happened on April 21—back in September 2017.

“I can’t give you the number of hours I worked my butt off,” Haessner said. “Every week we had a fundraiser and that would be an hour, for decorating we’d plan for at least another hour, and a meeting was 40 minutes every week. The night before prom I didn’t sleep at all because I was finalizing decorations.” As a lot of determination and time was put into prom, Haessner and the Prom Committee were happy and satisfied with the results when it went they way they envisioned.

Seniors Jacob Cayabyab (right) and Ejike Nwosu take a selfie using the special prom Snapchat filter designed by Harry Haessner. Photo courtesy of Jacob Cayabyab

Top left: Harry Haessner poses with his pride flag at prom before dinner. Top right: Seniors Emily Butler, Harry Haessner, and Jessica Ponce take a fun picture in front of the venue before prom begins. Bottom: The dining hall’s coordinating white-and-pink decorations included handwritten place cards, flower petals and forest-themed centerpieces, all prepared by the Prom Decorations Subcommittee to make the night memorable. Photos by Aixa Quintero and Natalia Alvarez

Get Ready! Get Set! Interview!

By Cameron Wallace

The prime time for applying and being interviewed for a summer job is in the Spring. Here are some interview tips from students and teachers who have experience applying and being hired. Their advice might help you stand out and make a difference when being compared to other applicants. Before even setting up your interview, make sure that you truly want to work where you’re applying and that you will enjoy working there. You should also look for places where you might have an advantage over other applicants. “First, explore all your options to see if you have any friends, family members or connections to help you get the job,” junior Andy Barde said. “Pick the places where you spend the most time in, like the grocery store, and places you like. Be confident and do your research.” During the interview it’s a good idea to be prepared when you arrive so that it’s clear to your interviewer that you are serious about getting the job. “I would say definitely practice; practice the interview. It’s always important to build up and know your strengths,” P.E. teacher Jesus Del Real said.

During the interview they aren’t just interviewing you—you are also interviewing them. Make sure you will like the business you are applying for and ask them questions. “You should also interview them, so ask them really important questions that might be of value to you in your job place,” Spanish teacher Aimee Verapinto said. First impressions are important so you should be sure that the interviewer remembers you when deciding whom they should give the job to. “Present yourself well. Go in dressed nicely, and make sure you know something about the company or the organization you want to work for, and speak intelligent -ly,” math teacher Jaz Dhillon said. And it doesn’t stop there. Even after the inter view, you should send a follow-up email, call your interviewer or visit the place where you applied to make sure they re member you. “Be persistent,” fresh man Matias Edwards said. “If I didn’t go in day after day and ask when [the decision if he got the job] was going to be, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the job because they can be forgetful, and they didn’t remember they interviewed me until later.”

Illustration by Annie He

Pets Give Support On Ruff Days

By Aixa Quintero Stress is a part of our daily life due to the different circumstances that can happen around us. One way that people have been coping with stress across the nation is through therapy pets. Owning any type of pet can be stress relieving, but in particular, dogs have been used specifically for medical services. For example, schools in the United States have been presenting pet therapy programs with certified therapy dogs to help relieve students from school related stress. On May 1, 15 therapy dogs visited campus in order to help students cope with stress from school-related work. Therapy dogs from a California located non-profit volunteer organization— Furry Friends—devoted their time to help our community. “[Pets] truly reduce our stress and lower our blood pressure… just from petting a dog that is soothing, I know for myself when I pet my dog, I feel more calm and peaceful,” Captain of Furry Friends Alice Bittner said. Studies have shown that petting an animal lowers the stress in your body, and pet owners with high blood pressure could maintain a lower blood pressure with a pet.

Within the United States, 70 percent of the population share a home with a pet, with school age students being a major part of that population. Students face varying waves of emotions due to the stress and pressure from homework or testing. “During finals week, Charlie would come into my room and I realized that you know that there is a being that loves you back,” dog owner freshman Annalisa Kim said. “Dogs are very loyal and he shows a lot of affection and it mentally it helps to know that something loves you unconditionally.” There have also been instances where pets have helped students outside of a school environment. “Arguments between family members [causes stress], but what makes my day is seeing my dog jump up at me, and it’s pleasant to see my dog try to encourage me,” sophomore Marty Marinda said.

Photos by Marty Marinda and Annelise Kamm

IN-DEPTH

Focus on the Future By Kristian Crowther

UPA is not perfect. That is a phrase a lot of people would agree with, both staff and students alike. However, students in particular have been discontent about administrative policies that have been implemented over the years. Removal of free dress days, too strict of a dress code, a closed campus, and a lack of printers, electives and transparency with students are a few issues that have sparked disappointment among students. This year, focus groups were created to provide opportunities for student voices to be heard. Staff members met with students from all grades to discuss changes students would want to see enacted at school. “I think student voices are valued highly,” said junior Christina Dimacali, who attended the focus groups in the fall. “The reason most [students] don’t realize this is the resources needed to respond to these requests are unavailable or out of the school’s reach.” After the Board of Trustees and other UPA stakeholders received what they felt were disappointing statistics from the surveys taken Illustration by Kristian Crowther

in the fall where students rated the school on a scale from 1-10, the administration hoped to gain a variety of student opinions in order to improve. “You take the amount of promoters [people who voted 9-10 on the surveys], minus the detractors [people who voted 0-6], and you get a score. UPA had a score of -11.5,” Executive Director Daniel Ordaz said. “We didn’t like that score, and we wanted to figure out why students didn’t like the school. We know they don’t like the school, but we wanted to know ‘why.’” So instead of keeping a negative score, Director of Student Services Andrew Yau and other members of the administration met with students to discuss what policies students wanted at the school. Various ideas were thrown around in those discussions, with some ideas being implemented this year and others to be put into action for the 2018-2019 school year. Changes such as allowing black pants, adding more student events, placing more printers throughout school, and providing more seating outside are just a small glimpse of what is planned to come next fall. “I was able to see that they are listening to us; it’s not just like we’re shouting into the woods ‘fix this’ and ‘screw you’: don’t do that,” said sophomore Justina Vystavilova, who attended the focus group. “They are willing to try and improve things at our school.” There is good news for returning students, but that news has yet to be announced. The intended plan was for the people from the focus groups to share with the other people in their Seminar classes what happened. However, this was not the case. “The idea was to get the students [who] participated to go back to their seminar classes and share what they talked about. I don’t think that ever happened,” Yau said. “I think what might be good is that we throw something up on Schoology and say what we’re doing and what we’re implementing next year.” With the implementation of the focus groups, student voices have been amplified more than ever to help make the school a better place. But as the 2017-2018 school year concludes and plans for the next year begin, students are left to wait for those promises to be kept. “UPA has been around for [11] years, and that’s a really long time,” Yau said. “But when you look at public schools that have been around for 60-70 years, there is still a lot [for us] to grow.”

Balancing expression and tradition By Adam Lawson and Ruchika Singla As the culmination of four years of hard work, graduation is an occasion to celebrate the individual academic journeys of students juxtaposed to the unity of the class. Striking a balance between allowing artistic expression and upholding tradition can be difficult for those involved in the process, but in previous years, the positive intentions behind presenting a uniform class outweighed students’ desire to decorate their graduation caps and wear garlands unrelated to academics. For seniors, decorating graduation caps with the names, mascots, and logos of the universities they plan on attending is a way to reflect their pride and hard work invested through the past four years. The class of 2018 recently became the second class that received approval to decorate their caps with college-related art, the first being the class of 2016. “I’m really excited to be able to represent my school and show that off to the audience and to my family and friends that are coming to support me at graduation. I’m also excited to see everyone be proud of where they’re going,” senior Zoe Sprintz said. Previously, students might have interpreted organizers’ efforts to portray a united class as depriving students of an opportunity to express themselves; however, college counselor Sandra Trotch and founder Jackie Guevara — two people who play a significant role in organizing the annual event — explained that rather than promoting divisions caused by students’ various post-graduation plans, they want to celebrate the fact that each student on stage was able to reach the same milestone despite their differences. “I don’t think of [decorating the caps] more as artistic,” Trotch said. “I think of it more as a separation of what we perceive as a great university and what we perceive as an OK university and what we perceive as a not OK university. I don’t want that thought at all.” The desire to present each student as an equal member of the graduating class bleeds into guidelines for the behavior of audience members as well. “We don’t clap for the kids because some get lots of claps,” Guevara said. “We ask audience members to not bring

Illustrations by Annie Tong

noisemakers because then the next kid’s name can’t be heard. I want each child to be a star.” Part of the effort to manage students’ attire at graduation stems from the location: a church. In order to respect the sanctity of the setting, students are asked to dress in more modest outfits. “It’s in a church setting, [so dressing in revealing outfits] just doesn’t seem appropriate,” Guevara said. “I just want to try and be as respectful as I can. That’s the reason why I [create attire guidelines].” Even years before graduation, at promotion, students face similar restrictions to their artistic expression due to similar reasons. “For the promotion, it’s a whole different story because they don’t have gowns to cover up,” Guevara said. During graduation, robes are worn over students’ dress clothes, but during promotion, students’clothing choices are apparent, resulting in stricter formal dress guidelines. The promotion guidelines have led some students to feel that the dress code is too strict. “I felt like [the dress code] was strict because we couldn’t wear halter tops or spaghetti straps, and the dress had to be a specific length, and we weren’t allowed to wear tight dresses,” freshman Nevaeh Vicencio said. Dress lengths weren’t the only issue that students faced during promotion. Some felt as though the dress code was pointless and arbitrary. “[The dress code] kind of made me disappointed,” freshman Olga Illyashova said. “How come I can’t wear a long dress? Like, why? What if I know how to walk in it?” Though expression is relatively limited for both ceremonies, past years’ organizers believed that the traditional aspects of the ceremonies better matched the reverence of the occasions. “I’m torn between expression and tradition, but within the realm of school we have to accept boundaries,” art teacher Karen Crump said.

ARTS & CULTURE

Her Story: Yasaman Baher

By Cameron Wallace

After living the first nine years of her life in Iran, junior Yasaman Baher moved to the United States in Oct. 2009 without any experience speaking English. It took her almost two years to get a grasp on the language. Baher’s family came to California to be closer to other relatives, such as her uncle, but they also came to get a fresh start. “My dad wanted to start new, especially with his job, and start this new journey,” Baher said. After arriving in America, Baher began noticing that life in the U.S. was different compared to her life in Iran. “I was definitely exposed to a lot of new things,” she said. “[At] the school I went to, I was the only Muslim there.” Coming from Iran, a country with a large population of Muslims, being the only Muslim at her school was a new experience, especially with how quickly she started. For her to start the school year on time, Baher began fourth grade the day after she arrived in America. It was challenging for Baher and her teachers to communicate with each other since she could only speak Farsi. “The only words I knew when I came to America were ‘hello’ and ‘dad,’” she said. School was not the only thing that was new for her; the American culture and people were not the same compared to Iran. It took time for her and her family to integrate and adjust to life in America while still holding onto her culture from Iran. “We celebrate our New Year’s and a lot of traditions that we did in Iran,” Baher said. “We still do them here.” The way people behave in America was also different. “A lot of people in America are really separated, specifically from their family,” she said, “but in Iran, everyone is together. They are al-

ways interacting with their family.” Nine years later, she not only speaks English, but is also currently enrolled in AP Literature and Composition. “Last year, I wrote a lot of essays and my teacher told me that I was able to word it really well,” Baher said. Her current AP Literature and Composition teacher, Kristin Moore, said that Baher is doing wonderfully in her class and has improved greatly. “She always tries really hard,” Moore said. “She comes to me if she makes a grammar mistake or a vocabulary mistake and always comes to me to get help for that or to correct it.” Baher’s friends have also helped her with her English, including Fatemeh Eslami, a friend she has known for six years. “I am an English freak when it comes to writing and will edit any paper with mistakes,” Eslami said. “Yasaman used to have many mistakes in her writing, but when I read her recent papers, I was very surprised at how well she’s been writing.” Since Baher first came to America, she has travelled back to Iran many times, even visiting with Eslami last summer. “I go there every year and it’s always nice to go back to where I came from,” Baher said. “To our luck, last summer, we ended up going to Iran together and it was the best time ever.”

Photo by Amy Chattaway

More About Iran By Emily Hung About Iran ● As an Islamic Republic since 1979, Iran is located in the By Emily Hung Middle East. • As an Islamic Republic since 1979, Iran is located ● The dominant religion in Iran is Islam. in the Middle East, according to Britannica. ● Muslim women are required to begin wearing a headscarf, • The dominant religion in Iran is Islam. known as a hijab, at the age of nine. • wear Muslim ● Hair is a religious symbol of beauty, and women thewomen are required to begin wearing a headscarf, known as a hijab, at the age of nine. hijab to protect their modesty. • Religiously, hair is a symbol of beauty and women ● Islam itself means peace in Arabic. wear ● Ramadan is a holy period where every year from May 15the to hijab to protect themselves. • Muslims June 14, Muslims do not eat from sunrise until sundown as a are loving people and they encourage peace, in fact Islam itself means peace in Arabic. way to sympathize with the poor. • Ramadan is a religious tradition where every year from May 15 to June 14, Muslims do not eat from sunrise until sundown as a way to sympathize with the poor.

Information derived from an interview with junior Yasaman Baher.

Bobalicious Places to Visit By Natalia Alvarez

Tired of drinking the same Starbucks or Jamba Juice order? Branch out of your comfort zone by exploring boba tea. Boba tea, or bubble tea, is a fruit or coffee-flavored tea with edible, chewy balls known as tapioca, pearls or boba, which originated from Taiwan in the 1980s.With growing popularity around the world, and especially in the United States, stores and franchises have put their own spins on these drinks. Due to the diverse culture and cuisine in San Jose, boba stores are not difficult to find. Some local places to try bubble tea are Pekoe, Gong Cha, Bubbly and Happy Lemon.

Pekoe

Gong Cha Bubbly Happy Lemon 11

Pekoe is known for its popular drinks, such as Pretty in Pink, which consists of strawberry milk tea, boba and heart jelly. However, due to its popularity, visitors should expect long lines and wait times as seating is limited and the space might get crowded quickly. For first-time customers, anticipate a loud environment, long lines and a crowded space—but the drinks are worth it.

The shop named Gong Cha, located in the heart of downtown San Jose, has its own perks. Gong Cha provides its customers with the opportunity to make modifications, where they can choose between 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100 percent ice or sweetener in their drinks. Even though its flavors are simple—Thai, taro, jasmine and original—they come in decorated cups tailored to the current holiday or event. If you prefer a drink besides milk tea, Gong Cha also offers hot and cold teas that can be customized with flavors and toppings. Wait times, availability in seating and prices are not problems in this shop.

Bubbly is known for its eye-catching decorations and drinks, as every drink has a twist and may come in a glass bottle with designs based on popular Disney characters or characters in children’s shows. Similar to Pekoe, they have unique popular milk teas, like “Sweet Hulk,” which is a honeydew milk tea, or “Princess Peach,” which is a jasmine green tea with peach. Since this shop seems to be hidden by the other stores around it, there usually are not a lot of people there at a given time.

Happy Lemon is known for its most popular drink, cheese drinks, which are made of milk tea topped with puff cream. Although adding cheese to a drink might not sound appealing to some, customers generally enjoy it when they give it a try. There are also little lemon-head characters next to the drinks that their customers seem to like the most or that are most recommended to newbies, such as black tea with salted cheese; cocoa and Oreo cookies with rock salt and cheese; fresh-squeezed lemon black tea; grapefruit lemon slushy; and mango matcha latte. If one of these drinks entices you, there is a now a new store nearby in the San Jose Market Center on Coleman Avenue.

Photos by Natalia Alvarez

PERSPECTIVES

‘Autism Speaks’ Needs to Do Much Better By Bianca Lang

Illustration by Annie Zhang

Autism Speaks is the largest charitable organization dedicated to autism in the world; according to its 2017 annual report, it has a $96.8 million revenue. The organization does research, promotes awareness, conducts family services and advocates for people with autism. It has contributed to increased autism awareness, such as branding April as “Autism Awareness Month” and creating the Light It Up Blue movement, when on April 2 buildings are lit with blue light and when people post selfies of themselves wearing blue with the hashtag #LightItUpBlue in order to raise awareness. However, Autism Speaks is considered controversial because it works to “cure” autism and portrays children with autism as burdens. For example, Autism Speaks released a video called “I Am Autism” in 2009, which contains phrases such as: “I work very quickly. I work faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined,” and “If you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails.” Portraying the people the charity was designed to help as burdens, as objects of fear, is despicable. Comparing autism, a nonlethal developmental disorder with a wide spectrum, to actual diseases like AIDS, cancer and diabetes that kill children is despicable. In recent years, Autism Speaks has tried to move past its controversies. In 2016, they removed the word “cure” from their mission statement, saying to better reach the needs of people with autism, they “remain committed to discovering and accel-

erating progress toward personalized treatments as well as understanding the causes of autism.” Today, Autism Speaks has two autistic members on its board of directors: Stephen Shore, Ed.D, and Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D. It is fantastic that Autism Speaks is moving in the right direction—that they have changed their mission statement, and elected these board members. But it is still not enough. Many autistic children—such as five-year-old Joe Clyde Daniels—die at the hands of abusive parents who view them as burdens, as defective. As the largest charitable organization dedicated to autism, Autism Speaks has a duty to do more than say it is no longer looking for a cure. It must work to undo the damage it has caused by perpetuating the stereotype of autistic children as burdens to their families, and autism itself as something to be feared. Other than Shore and Paradiz, no other member on Autism Speaks’ board of directors has autism. Instead, almost every member has an autistic child. Electing more members with autism and running ads that portray autism in a more positive light would be a first step. In the meantime, if someone wants to help people with autism, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network is a nonprofit organization that is run “by and for autistic people.”

Interested in learning more? Follow the Autistic Self Advocacy Network on Twitter at @selfadvocacy.

Because their grades are at stake.

Students are now so focused on high personal rankings that they often lack the curiosity required to genuinely learn. 13

By Annie Zhang As the school year comes to a close, the dreaded AP and final exam season arrives, driving stress levels off the charts as teachers try to cram in remaining lessons. High schoolers arrive at school early, spend hours on tests and classwork, attend after-school activities, and still have to complete all their homework and studying.

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Students, more often than not, mechanically memorize the needed information before quickly forgetting it afterward.

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But rest assured, all this is to prepare for college. “There is way too much stress on students,” freshman and sophomore counselor Dot Westerhoff said. “The competition for colleges has become so intense in the last 15 years. There are so many well-prepared students that the bar is way up here, but there are so many students that even if they meet that bar, they may or may not get into their dream schools.” The high expectations and competition are not the only factors, as in 2017 Abby Jackson reported in Business Insider on a study about college admissions to Ivy League schools. “The academic credentials of students are also becoming more impressive, in part due to the increase in international students who have begun to flood U.S. colleges and universities,” Jackson reported. Students are now so focused on high personal rankings that they often lack the curiosity required to genuinely learn and disregard the importance of the information in order to achieve a desired grade. “It really depends on the subject and test,” sophomore Kathy Ngo said. “For me,

tests are more like reviews, but in general I feel like they’re more for grades and to see how much you have memorized.” Students, more often than not, mechanically memorize the needed information before quickly forgetting it afterward. This rapid rate of forgetting becomes problematic, as they then must relearn the material, often causing more unnecessary stress. “I’d come to school the next day with all my study material and skim the pages during other classes and before the test,” senior Jessica Ponce said. The California school system—more generally the American school system— tends to prize quantity over quality, unintentionally emphasizing who can remember the most and prioritizing focus on who can pass rather than who understands. It is impossible to remember everything, as shown in a brain study done by Allen Snyder, director of the Centre for the Mind at the University of Sydney, and Paul Reber, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University. Snyder and Reber explained how the brain is ever expanding, and it is theoretically never full of information. However, the modern world is constantly changing, especially in school where students are expected to learn new concepts nearly every day. “Teachers say that time management is important, but it’s a hard skill to learn when we are assigned two to three assignments from different classes, all due on the same day,” Ponce said. Academic standards are being raised every year; if a high school has an extremely high graduation rate, the standards are often thought of as too easy. In reality, these high graduation rates might be a result of the school producing highly-qualified students. Alfie Kohn, an American author and lecturer on areas of education, parenting and human behavior, realized how increasing expectations have negatively impacted students. “Some of the same people who love to talk about ‘rigor’ and ‘raising the bar’ have created schools that are all about succeeding, performing, and achieving rather than learning, and that very focus leads students to do whatever is easiest,” Kohn said. It is no difficult decision for students when choosing between a harder or easier project or class, as they often stick to what is easiest even if the harder project or class

might benefit them for the future. Why? Because their grades are at stake, hindering their natural curiosity and dampening their desire to take risks. Across the globe in Finland, risk-taking is highly emphasized, making it one of the top education systems in the world. Finland has been producing the highest global scores with minimal homework and happy students, unlike most American students who dread attending school, are overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed and are nowhere close to the students learning under Finland’s education system. “I think Finns are able to balance out their social and school life,” Ngo said. “When life gets more balanced, they are able to retain more knowledge because they are overall healthier mentally and physically.” U.S. schools are not far behind, though, as they strive to equip students with the education to succeed in life. However, if the U.S. took some of Finland’s methods— such as manageable workloads and a lighter emphasis on grades—it could greatly lower the competition between classmates and improve students’ mental health. This is not to say homework or assessments should not exist; they are essential for teachers and students to mark progress and understanding.

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Spacing the work out evenly would better allow students to fully grasp the material.

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But spacing the work out evenly would better allow students to fully grasp the material. “There are people working very hard to improve the system,” Westerhoff said. “It’s a good system, but it has a lot of holes that need to be fixed.”

Crystal Sapphire “I titled my oil painting ‘Crystal Sapphire’ because of how the sharp, vibrant highlights in this piece outline the subject like a piece of glass,” freshman Kaitlin White said. “I used bright, neon paint against dark blacks and greens so that it would appear synthetic and almost digital. I then used a dark green background to accentuate the red and oranges in the subject's face. I also used lime-green to form a reverse shadow with a feathering effect to add more depth and interest to my painting. I am very proud of this piece, as it took me 14 hours to complete, and the colors appear to be as vibrant as a digital photo.”

Ballet Shoes “As an acclaimed art form, dance requires more than just flexibility and stamina,” senior Adrienne Lee said. “Though many people appreciate dance, they do not realize how important a dancer's feet are in their routine. As a dancer myself, I always appreciated the look of pointed toes [and] knowing how much work goes in to making a routine look effortlessly graceful. The key behind every dance routine is proper footwork because without it, dance would not be dance.”

Each issue, Aquila dedicates one page to student artwork submissions. Artists who want to submit their original artwork for this Perspectives page should contact Editor-in-Chief Emily Hung at ehung@upatoday.com.

Dear Juniors, it’s OK if… By Nicole Rendler

People say junior year of high school is the hardest one, as it is the time to make college decisions and the year when grades are weighted heavier and impact college decisions. As my junior year comes to a close and I complete this part of my high school journey, I have a few reminders for the upcoming class of 2020. Hopefully this can ease their minds as they enter what may be their most difficult year, too.

You forget to do your homework one time, or even three or four times. It happens to everyone. You stumble over your words during your presentations or forget a sentence or two. No one will notice. You accidentally embarrass yourself in front of teachers. They deal with young people everyday; it’s nothing new for them. You don’t wear makeup everyday or forget to brush your hair every once in a while. No one notices, and if they do, they’ll forget about it in a few days. You bomb one test. You’re still a good person and you will still make it to the college that’s right for you. You stop talking to the people you used to share everything with. Relationships drift away; they probably don’t suddenly hate you; people just change. You would rather stay in bed all day than interact with people, in or out of school. Everyone needs a break once in a while; your feelings are valid. You stop attending dances or after-school activities like the Talent Show or movie nights. You should always listen to your heart and just do what you feel up to in the moment. Just remember to make the most of the time you have with people who care about you. You have no idea whatsoever what you want to do with your life. Some of your classmates might feel the same way; don’t think everyone else has it figured out before you. You are scared. Junior year is scary, college is scary, decisions are scary, but if I can get through the hardest year of high school, I promise you can, too.

Illustration by Amy Chattaway

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