My name is Pete Constant and I

am the Councilmember for Dis-

trict 1, which covers all of West

San José. Community involve-

ment has always played an impor-

tant role in my life. I began my

career with the City of San José as

a Police Officer for the San José

Police Department in 1989. I re-

tired from the department in 1997

after being severely injured in the

line of duty after an undercover

drug enforcement arrest. I have

always looked for opportunities

to serve the public. As one of the

founders of the Lynhaven

Neighborhood Association, I was

able to make direct improve-

ments and changes to benefit the

Lynhaven neighborhood. I began

serving at the city level when I

was appointed to the City of San

Jose Appeals Hearing Board. I was

elected to the San José City Coun-

cil in June 2006 and assumed

office in January 2007. I am also

active in several non-profit organi-

zations such as the Police Athletic

League and Rotary Club of San

José North. Today, I represent

almost 100,000 constituents in

West San José and make policy

decisions that impact the entire

City of San José. One area that I

am passionate about is civic en-

gagement. I think that it is impor-

tant for the youth of San Jose to

be active in their communities.

With the encouragement and

enthusiasm from parents,

teachers, neighborhood lead-

ers and peers, you can partici-

pate in a collaborative effort

to improve the quality of life

in San José. By getting in-

volved, you can create an

environment that promotes

self-awareness and leader-

ship. Training and leadership

opportunities are available by

participating in District 1 neighbor-

hood associations and volunteer-

ing at community events. My

office is always open to students

who are interested in local gov-

ernment and community rela-

tions. I host student interns year-

long and sponsor community

events throughout District 1.

Please don’t hesitate to contact

my office if you have any ques-

tions or need additional informa-

tion. I look forward to supporting

and working with all of you.

Message from Councilmember Pete Constant

Message from Youth Commissioner Kavya Shankar

My name is Kavya Shankar and I

am the District 1 Youth Commis-

sioner and Youth Commission

Chair! This year, one of the goals

of the Youth Advisory Council

(YAC) of District 1 is to increase

the voice of the youth of our

district in city-level decision mak-

ing, so our YAC is extremely ex-

cited about the start of our quar-

terly newsletter, 1 Voice. We hope

to produce this in order to con-

nect the youth and adults of San

Jose District 1 as well as to inform

them about opportunities to get

involved and positively impact our

community. Be sure to browse

around our newsletter to learn

more about your neighborhoods

and how our Youth Advisory

Council participates in civic leader-

ship. And of course, we want to

hear from you too, so don’t hesi-

tate to email me at

kavya.shankar@sjdistrict1.com if

you want to write for us or if you

have any comments you want to

share. Also, feel free to stop by

our YAC meetings, which are held

the first Friday of the month at

the Starbird Youth Center from

5pm-6pm. Thank you for caring

about our community!

Councilmember Pete Constant and District 1

Youth Commissioner Kavya Shankar

1 Voice Fall Edition

Volume 1, Issue 1

Roundtable with

Councilmember

Constant

2

Operation

Cooperation

2

T3XT 4 1NFO 3

Cutting the Excess

Leaves Pension Plans

in Shambles

3

Feature Organization 4

San Jose’s Green

Print

4

Single-use Plastic

and Paper Bag Ban

5

Opinion Article: The

Bag Ban

5

Poetry, Artwork,

Photography

6

Feature Youth 7

Job, Internship, &

Volunteer

Opportunities

8

Inside this issue:

Youth Advisory

Council of

District 1

neighborhood group, the Blackford NAC.

YAC tackled major projects with the

neighborhood associations in the past and

constantly takes on new projects. We

worked with Blackford

NAC's National Night Out,

an annual event in 2008 and

2009 where YAC organized

the games for the festival to

keep the young entertained.

To fade age related stereo-

types the Council is cur-

rently working with the

Cypress Senior Advisory

Council to plan a game night

for the senior citizens.

We believe that a strong relationship be-

tween neighborhood groups and the

youth is very important. For an open and

effective means of communication is key

to make discussion accessible when issues

arise.

To increase YAC's integration into the

community we have been working with

the neighborhood associations and

neighborhood action committees of San

Jose District 1. Out of 18 of these groups in

District 1 we, the YAC, serve on all 18. Our

primary resources, however, are focused

on the Blackford Neighborhood Action

Committee, the Rainbow, West, Murdock,

and Miller Neighborhood Associations.

During the meetings YAC reports its activi-

ties and ideas to the neighborhood groups

and in turn they notify us of any possible

collaboration opportunities that are possi-

ble with them. Our persistent work has

paid off as the Youth Commissioner of

District 1, Kavya Shankar, was elected to

the executive board of the largest

Establishing a strong working relationship

with Councilmember Constant is para-

mount to our YAC, since we share a com-

mon goal: to promote youth empower-

ment in the district. So the YAC has sought

to connect and work in tandem with our

district’s councilmember, Pete Constant.

On October 2nd, we had the opportunity to

meet with him during an hour-long Round-

table hosted at the Starbird Youth Center.

The meeting commenced with a presenta-

tion of YAC’s desired outcomes for the

roundtable. Both YAC and the Council-

member hoped to increase communica-

tion, learn about each other’s goals re-

garding the youth in the community, and

increase YAC partnership in youth related

activities.

YAC’s accomplishments and upcoming

plans were then related to Councilmem-

ber Constant. Standout aspects of our

informal workplan included this very same

newsletter, as well as our work with

Neighborhood Group Liaisons and our

opinions on the plastic bag ban.

Most important, however, was the con-

joining discussion with Councilmember

Pete Constant. Opening a dialogue was a

vital first step in maintaining the strength

of our relationship. He shared with us his

view on the youth voice of District 1, pro-

fessing the children and adolescents in our

area to be a significant force capable of

change. In fact, the Councilmember has

already sought to reach out through Face-

book and texting. His standpoint on policy

issues is that everybody must be heard,

even though he may not be able to please

every constituent. We asked how the YAC

specifically might better express the is-

sues important to us and learned that

contacting as many Councilmembers and

committees as possible would be ex-

tremely helpful.

Councilmember Constant also gave us

some insight into a facet of his involve-

ment with schools. He is fairly unique

among the council as he maintains regular

contact with superintendents and princi-

pals of District 1’s thirty or so schools.

Such a personal relationship benefits the

students, as open lanes of communication

help ease the way to Councilmember’s

help.

In summation, the Roundtable was vital to

understanding how Councilmember Con-

stant thought of youth issues in District 1

and the ways in which the YAC could ame-

liorate those issues. It is our hope that our

relationship only grows stronger in future.

Operation Cooperation by Peter Tang

Roundtable with Councilmember Constant by Olivia Zhu

1 V o i c e

Page 2

In 4th grade, 90% of girls believe that anyone can do well in math if they tried. By 12th grade, only 36% believe this is true.

V o l u m e 1 , Is s u e 1

Whenever the Pension fund loses money,

a general fund that is allocated yearly is

used to make up the difference. So what

does that mean for those of yet not re-

tired? It means

there is less

money for City

Services and

emergency

funding. Be-

cause this is a

delicate issue

the City hired a

Canadian company called Cortex to deter-

mine the necessity of certain programs,

the return value for these programs, and

to document the ways one can change the

retirement funds for government officials.

Over the last 4 years, reform has been

attempted numerous times but they al-

ways end with a government cut to the

retirement funds of our civil servants.

This effort to restructure the pension plan

is not the as heinous as it may be por-

trayed. The City of San Jose has estimated

that these pension plans for policemen

and firefighters will cost as much as 61% of

pay in five years. City officials confided

that the effort to restructure governance

of the program came with hopes that they

wouldn’t have to cut pension plans. The

jury still hasn’t come in on this decision

but it seems fraught with peril because

both sides to lose. Whether it be the men

and women who keep our streets safe or

those of us sitting at home we won’t im-

mediately know. Maybe this governance

plan can restructure our failing pension

plans before it is too late.

The City of San Jose faces an unprece-

dented budget crisis with millions of dol-

lars needing to be “found” and what is a

better way to find it than to cut programs.

One of the first places to

meet the chopping block

were pension plans for

retired government

officials; namely the

police and fire depart-

ments along with those

with a federated pension

plan. For those not famil-

iar with the process the federated pension

plan takes around five percent of one's

current income and is matched by the

government when withdrawing when one

retires. In 2008 San Jose saw cuts of up to

5% in these areas with more seeming to

come this year.

Texts. Americans send over a 1 trillion a

year. Teens send them late at night, in

restaurants, in classes, in trouble, in

doubt and even when walking along busy

streets. Adults are found driving with their

thumbs clicking away at the numbers. It’s

a fascinating activity that has everyone

around the globe enthralled.

“Spurred by the unlimited texting plans

offered by carriers like AT&T Mobility and

Verizon Wireless, American teenagers sent

and received an average of 2,272 text

messages per month in the fourth quarter

of 2008, according to the Nielsen Com-

pany — almost 80 messages a day, more

than double the average of a year earlier.”

To take advantage of the recent text

craze, on August 19th the San Jose Public

Library system launched its new program,

Text 4 Info, to provide better services to

San Jose communities. This new

initiative lets people receive answers

free of charge to simple questions

with a press of a few buttons. To

start, simply send a question to the

number 66746 starting with the

phrase “AskSJ,” and a librarians will

respond. Although the librarians will

only answer between 1 and 6 pm, on

Monday through Friday basis, ques-

tions may be sent at anytime.

By adding Text 4 Info to San Jose, youth

are now provided with a great resource of

reference help. “We’re anticipating that

there will be situations where this method

of query represents the best option avail-

able,” says Sarah Houghton-Jan, digital

futures librarian for the San José Public

Library. “For example, the customer may

be in an environment where use of cell

phones for calling is not permitted. And

for those age 25 and under, it may very

well be their

preferred

method of con-

tacting the li-

brary.”

Implementing

this new pro-

gram is the Dr.

Martin Luther

King Jr. Library. The Library Reference co-

manager Joan Bowlby says that “trying

new ways of providing services that peo-

ple want is what keeps our staff fresh and

engaged.” One step at a time, our com-

munity is making lasting and progressive

changes for youth.

So next time you’re pondering a question,

the answer might just be a text message

away.

Cutting the Excess Leaves Pension Plans in Shambles By Pavan Upadhyayula

T3XT 4 1NFO by Nina Kamath

Page 3

“What does that mean for those

of us not retired? It means we

have less money for City Services

and emergency funding.”

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.

as well as regular maintenance. The plan

includes bonds, parcel taxes which will be

voted upon by San Jose residents. It also

widens the utility of the money by incorpo-

rating bank loans as opposed to merely

relying on restrictive and too specific bond

money. At the moment one of the sources

of income for parks comes from convey-

ance tax and taxes on construction and if

passed, the plan will double the tax. Aside

from funding, the upgrade addresses key

issues like resource allocation. It plans to

subsidize smaller park events as golf while

increasing their efficiency through costs that

closely resemble actual cost and making the

most popular programs, like trails, free.

The City of San Jose released an upgraded

plan in August that will attend to the growing

need for additional funding to the 180 plus

San Jose parks. The upgrade is central to the

idea of being realistic; providing only what is

possible and not promising less or more.

Green print calls for money that will provide

for additional land for new parks and facilities

The Harker School National Honor Society

(NHS) is an organization of students who

strive to embody four basic pillars: Scholar-

ship, Leadership, Character, and Service.

They play an active role both in their

school and larger community by regularly

volunteering, raising awareness about

different issues, and fostering an apprecia-

tion for the four pillars.

In past years Harker NHS has focused on

annual themes including autism, homeless-

ness, cancer awareness, and education.

Some memorable activities include collect-

ing bins of canned foods for a local food

bank, building thousands of paper cranes

for young cancer patients, selling kites to

fundraise for cancer research, and donating

supplies to local schools through the na-

tional Adopt-A-Classroom program.

This year, NHS is taking a more holistic

stance that better embodies its four pillars.

It is transitioning from a primarily service-

based entity to one that also has a promi-

nent presence at school and in the commu-

nity by promoting scholarship, leadership,

and good character. Here are some of their

newest initiatives.

Plans are in the works to host a quiz bowl

tournament for local elementary and mid-

dle school students in early April. The event

would create a fun and competitive learn-

ing environment for the students while

providing an opportunity to meet new

children their own age.

A biannual club newsletter showcasing in-

stances of the four pillars in members’ daily

lives will be distributed at Harker, libraries,

and other community hubs. Submissions

would include personal anecdotes, cartoons,

photography, op-ed articles, etc.

In order to create a comfortable forum for

Harker students to share opinions about

school, personal, and broader issues, the club

recently started a school blog

(harkernhs.blogspot.com). It is available for

Harker students to post on and for the public

to give feedback via comments.

Lastly, and most importantly, Harker NHS

continues to actively serve our community by

supporting a variety of local nonprofit organi-

zations. Members tutor students at KIPP

Heartwood Academy in math and English

every other Saturday, volunteer at RAFT and

Sunday Friends, participate in walk-a-thons

and relays representing different causes, and

so much more.

Feature Organization: Harker National Honor Society By Anjali Menon

1 V o i c e

Page 4

San Jose’s Green Print by Gene Burinsky

In one U.S. National survey, women feared being fat more than dying.

V o l u m e 1 , Is s u e 1

used every year, it’s no wonder people

have been complaining. Between stuffing

landfills and choking wildlife, they’re just

too much of a threat to the natural world.

That’s why San Jose’s move is made in

wise judgment. The ban calls for free bag

distribution in stores to be halted, forcing

consumers to turn to alternatives health-

ier for the environment, like fabric or ny-

lon bags. The inconvenience factor of

switching to reusable products really bor-

ders on zero; you may look like a grand-

mother carrying around a fabric duffel,

but that’s about as inconvenient as it gets.

Some oppose the ban. According to an

article from the Mercury News, American

Chemistry Council spokesman Tim Shestek

favors the recycling of plastic bags to a

complete ban on them. Shestek believes

that because San Jose has not attempted

to strongly promote recycling, they have

yet to know whether it actually works.

But why wait on such a trivial compromise?

It’s already clear that making the switch is

easy, so why risk the possibility of people

continuing to waste plastic bags in spite of

an initiative? The ban has been one small

step for environmental progress, and set-

tling for anything less just seems regression

at this point.

So in light of the ban, let’s be thankful this

city’s government is a forward-thinking

one. Fellow citizens of San Jose, let’s run

with open arms to embrace what is finally a

brilliant piece of legislation.

In a society that constantly harasses its

members about saving the environment,

San Jose’s ban on plastic bag is a long

awaited fruit. And while the city isn’t as

green-oriented as, say, Portland, Oregon,

it is leading the charge in making eco-

friendly decisions like this one – a choice

that can only culminate in a brighter fu-

ture for generations to come.

Campaigns against plastic bags are not

new. While the danger of being suffo-

cated by one is slim (about 15 children die

every year from plastic bag-related inci-

dents according to encyclopedia.com),

scientists have been wagging their fingers

at these devil bags for decades for other

reasons. It’s now well known that they

take up to 1000 years to decompose, and

when approximately 1 trillion of them are

Did you know that Californians consume

over 600 plastic bags every second, but

less than 4 percent of all plastic bags are

actually recycled? This means that the

other 667,675,134,100,000,000 bags we

don’t recycle are trashed in rivers or left as

litter on sidewalks, greatly impacting the

beauty and cleanliness of our environ-

ment. To cope with this demanding issue,

the San Jose City Council created a pro-

posal on September 22, 2009 to ban plas-

tic and paper bags in San Jose.

As with most issues there are pros and

cons to this ban. On the plus side, less

than 4% of all plastic bags are recycled,

and the rest end up in land dumps where

the plastic takes centuries to decompose.

The city spends around $1 million a year to

repair machinery used to recycle plastic

bags, and it’s an expensive process cost-

ing around $1,240 per ton. The enforce-

ment of this ban would be much cheaper,

requiring minimal effort. However, once

this law comes into effect, people must

find other

alterna-

tives to

using

plastic

bags such

as utilizing

cloth bags

or paying

a $0.25 fee

to use a

store-

provided

disposable bag. On the positive side, this

fee can support the city in areas like public

outreach and litter clean-up costs to bene-

fit our community.

The following are the major components

included in the ordinance proposed on

September 22, 2009 that involves the ban

on plastic and paper bags.

1. Applies to all retailers but excludes

restaurants.

2. Exempts non-profit and social service

organizations.

3. Exempts the use of

“green” paper bags,

containing at least 40%

recycled content.

The ban will be effec-

tive no earlier than

December 31, 2010.

This fall, the Council is

planning to hold a

public meeting

through which an ex-

act proposal will be established. By early

2010, a draft of the Environmental Impact

Report for this piece of legislation will

need to be completed, along with a final

vote on the ordinance next spring.

All of the above information and more on

this issue can be found on the San Jose

website at http://www.sjrecycles.org/

bags/default.asp.

Opinion Article: The Bag Ban By Matthew Tsai

Single-use Plastic and Paper Bag Ban By Kayoung Lee

Page 5

It takes 500,000 trees to produce the Sunday papers printed in the U.S.

My dark-eyed heart stands at crossroads of past and present, watching a resurrection of silhouettes and briefly shunning the horizon. Wistful dreams of impossibilities— yearning for the road to permit a return to previous avenues, we clutch at fleeting desires to live backwards and diverge from tangled mazes of Fate. But—we are bound to destinations ahead for the paths already traveled will dissipate behind us and the cobblestones of Time shall ever be free to banish, display, and bring forth, marking our staggered passage through the boundaries of memory.

she's sitting in the cracked brace of a tree, her eyes quiet like crescent moons. and she looks like she has the voice of an ocean, but she only wishes she had that much courage— to put herself (back) together and yell until she has galaxies and stars pinned up against her lips. her father used to hold her in his arms and tell her that wearing half-hearts was a sin, that her soul could break diamonds and still be whole. and she wore his poetry on her skin like little jewels that made her feel beautiful, until he chose the heavens and undid her stitches, leaving her with lungs that burned like autumn leaves, november pale in comparison.

November By Roopa Shankar

Artist: Bill Lee

1 V o i c e

Page 6

Lanes of Time By Frances Guo

Photographer: Roopa Shankar

Photographer: Danielle Lerner

Nearly 1,500,000 people in the United States are forced to file for bankruptcy every year.

V o l u m e 1 , Is s u e 1

As a French horn player in Lynbrook High

School’s wind ensemble, a player on the

school’s tennis team, a 12th place honor-

able mention in the USA Mathematical

Olympiad, a semi-finalist in the USA Phys-

ics Olympiad, an alternate for the USA

International Mathematics Olympiad, the

vice-president of Lynbrook’s Junior Engi-

neering Technology Society (JETS), co-

president of Lynbrook’s math club, and a

successful Starcraft player, Timothy Chu, a

senior, is anything but a typical teenager.

Beside his astonishing ability to sleep

before 11 pm almost every night, he holds

a true interest in contributing back to the

society that has nourished his accomplish-

ments.

Chu recalls his first dive into the math and

science community when he first attended

the after school math club held at Hyde

Middle School in sixth grade. Though

initially he lacked a interest at the time,

Chu rapidly became an eager participant in

mathematics and science after attending

Mathcounts, a national math competition

for seventh grade students.

As a result he spent eight to ten hours a

week practicing various math problems

during his middle school years, sometimes

focusing seven hours on a single problem.

Contrary to the stereotypical impatient

teenagers, Chu never lost his persistence

following his favorite motto, “Failing to-

day will only make me stronger tomor-

row.”

However, upon entering Lynbrook High

School, Chu felt his motivation die off.

Now, he spends no more than three hours

a month on math. As apathy became a

habit, fear that he would resume working

hard but would not do well

impeded his progress until the

summer after freshman year

when Chu attended a math

camp.

“I met an old friend at a math

camp in my 9th grade summer.

Bluntly, he told me to get my life

in order.” says Chu. Those words

were his wake-up call. During his

junior year, he began logging in

five to eight hours of math a

week, and even eight to twelve

hours during winter and spring

break. His work paid off when at

the end of the school year he

managed to place amongst the

top high school students in na-

tional and international competi-

tions.

To share his experiences and

diffuse his love, Chu teaches younger

students with enthusiasm that is rarely

seen in teenagers. He tutored middle

school students in competitive math at

Ivymax for a year. This past summer, he

was also an academic instructor at Awe-

somemath, a 3-week long camp that was

geared towards students like Chu. Chu

says, “The best part about Awesomemath

was when the students discover an appre-

ciation for math. I found it really enjoyable

to help others, especially when it was

about a topic that I am genuinely inter-

ested in. I love to talk about math in a

conversational tone with the students.”

This willingness to teach new concepts

and his outstanding math credentials

substantiate his position as a popular

volunteer teacher at the club.

Outside of mathematics Chu is a Life

Scout, the second highest rank in Boy

Scouts, and participates in numerous

philanthropic volunteering activities.

“It was really eye-opening to see third-

world poverty just 20 minutes away from

my own house. There were children with-

out toys who were living in run-down

houses. They had no experience with

technology at all.”

Chu wishes to use his own knowledge and

abilities to educate them with hopes that

this will provide them with the opportu-

nity to lead a better life.

“My plans for the future include doing

something orientated around helping

those who need assistance.”

Feature Youth: Timothy Chu, the multi-faceted teenager By Vicky Ro

Page 7

By the time you finish reading this sentence, you'll be 25 miles closer to the planet Mars.

The Youth Advisory Council of District 1 (YAC) is an active group of youth, 14-20 years of age who dedicate their time, talent and ideas to promote positive change in their community. YAC members identify and tackle youth issues, host special events, participate in volunteer activities and address the needs of their district residents. In the past, the District 1 YAC has hosted dances, movie nights, and barbe-ques. YAC empowers youth to make change in their communities.

YAC meetings are held the first Friday of the month from 5pm-6pm at the Starbird Youth Center, located on Boynton Avenue. The Starbird Youth Center provides a safe and positive environment for youth to do their homework, use computers, play games, and participate in activities.

For more information, please contact District 1 Youth Commissioner Kavya Shankar at kavya.shankar@sjdistrict1.com.

JOBS

Conversational English Instructors

Tom Tang & Vicki Young

Send Resume: ttang@ikain.com or

vicki.young@ikain.com

Call: 408-828-5547 or 408-504-7177

Description: Provide direct instruction on the

English language to students in China through

internet/webcam

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Bookshare

Bookshare is a company that increases the

availability of literature to those with print

disabilities. This non-profit turns print books

into audio files and creates a network for book

lovers, not just those who are visually impaired.

Volunteers can help Bookshare by proofread-

ing scans of literary works or writing summa-

ries while reading books they really enjoy!

Those 15 and older can volunteer at http://

www.bookshare.org/about/volunteerOverview

INTERNSHIPS

KICU TV 36/San Jose

Roy Avila

2102 Commerce Drive

San Jose, CA 95131

408-95406177

roy.avila@kicu.com

Internship: Studio and Field Production,

Sports, Community Affairs, Advertising Sales,

Promotions

Compensation/Work Schedule: College credit,

8-16 hours/week

KNTV News Channel 11

Judy Betro

2450 N. First Street

San Jose, CA 95131

408-432-4580

judy.betro@nbcuni.com

Internship: News, sports, programming, pro-

motions, production, public affairs/

community, sales

Compensation/Work Schedule: Internships

renew by quarter/semester

Parents Helping Parents

Parents Helping Parents is an organization

intended to help families that have children

with special needs. On Saturday, December

5th, they will have their Annual Holiday Party to

help those families enjoy a visit with Santa as

well as crafts and snacks.

Contact: Joanna Jaeger (jaegs@comcast.net)

Website: www.php.com

San Jose Public Library

Volunteer at any San Jose Public Library

Branch by helping tutor at the homework

center, providing technology assistance, and

performing clerical assignments.

Those 15 and older can volunteer at http://

www.sjlibrary.org/about/sjpl/volunteers/

Job, Internship, & Volunteer Opportunities

Kavya Shankar,

District 1 Youth Commissioner

Email: kavya.shankar@sjdistrict1.com

Uniting to create an empowered voice

for youth

Y o u t h A d v i s o r y C o u n c i l

We’re on the web:

yac.sjdistrict1.com

Executive Board Chair: Kavya Shankar

Vice-Chair: Catherine Kong Secretary: Belinda Tang

Members Gene Burinsky, Mihir Deo, Frances Guo, Cindy

Huang, Nina Kamath, Kayoung Lee, Megan Lee, Sandeep Peddada, Anup Sonti , Peter Tang, Pavan

Upadhyayula, Kevin Xie, Sherry Xu, Olivia Zhu

Youth Advisory Council of

District 1