carlmont highlander october 2015

DEAR FAT PEOPLE…

The medical costs for people who are obese were

$1,429 higher than those of normal weight

Somatotypes are used in a system of classiÞcation of human physiques in terms of three extreme body types developed by U.S.

psychologist W.H. Sheldon.

EctomorphMesomorphEndomorph

In 2008, South Los Angeles passed an ordinance that restricted the opening or

expansion of new fast food restaurants, in hopes

of making residents healthier.

Obesity was the third leading cause of death in 2009, after high blood pressure and smoking.

The mayor of Oklahoma Citychallenged his citizens to collectivelylose one million poundsafter the city was named one of America’s most overweight cities.

In 2013 the United States was the second most obese industrialized nation with 31.8% of Americans falling into the obese category.

31.8%

Sources: http://www.hufÞngtonpost.com, http://www.cdc.gov, http://time.com, http://www.jabfm.org

A recent YouTube video by Nicole Arbour has sparked a discussion about the reality of obesity in America.

THEHIGHLANDER

The downsides of being smartIvy Nguyen

Some students are able to ace tests without studying. They breeze through homework and even spend time learning extra material. Many think that these privileged people go on to be rich, successful, and happy, but that’s not always the case.

There's a dark side to having high intelligence.

Though there are no studies that claim that there is causation between generic depression and intelligence, psychologist James Webb noted that highly intelligent people are more likely to suffer from “existential depression,” which entails struggles with issues of existence, including mortality, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness.

Undoubtedly, there can be long-term benefits of being intelligent. Book-smart people often excel at school, get high-paying jobs, and even change the world for the better.

However, if ignorance is bliss, then some might say that a high IQ is misery.

Although there are nine different types of intelligence, including interpersonal intelligence and spatial intelligence, people most often associate the word "smart" with logical intelligence.

Senior Alice Li said, “I think that there can be an association [between logical intelligence and social ineptness] in some cases. For me, it's generally difficult for me to speak up in more public situations since I get anxious easily.”

A study led by Dr. James MacCabe, a senior lecturer and researcher at King's College London, suggests that there is an association between scholastic achievement in childhood and hospital admission for psychosis in adulthood.

People naturally stereotype others, and the stereotype of the tortured genius includes being socially awkward or even arrogant. This stereotype is common in media like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Good Will Hunting (1997).”

People have found other adverse effects of intelligence,

“Happiness in intelligent people is the

rarest thing I know.” Ernest Hemingway

“The Garden of Eden”

including thinking instead of feeling and understanding the failings of humans on Earth. Intelligent people are also sometimes perceived as braggarts or expected to always be top performers.

Dr. Richard Weiss, a psychologist who has been in practice in Burlingame for over 25 years, said, “Somebody can be book smart and get a lot of rewards and reinforcement for that, so they will put effort into becoming more and more book smart and may not put effort into developing social and emotional competence. They might isolate themselves from or feel ostracized by people with better social intelligence.”

“On the other hand, if somebody is socially or emotionally competent, then they get reinforced and rewarded for that, so they continue to develop their interpersonal intelligence. In terms of people who are solely logically intelligent or socially intelligent, the initial differences grow even larger as these people grow up.”

However, some argue the opposite.Junior Lexi Posey said, “I would say that

there is no association between being book smart and being socially awkward because social intelligence is a skill that is different from academic intelligence. It’s part of the nature vs. nurture debate, and I think that social intelligence has more to do with how a child is raised rather than how much logical intelligence a child was born with.”

People value many types of intelligence in a person, and Weiss argues that people can strive to develop logical as well as social

intelligence.“There’s a saying that goes, ‘How many therapists does

it take to change a lightbulb?’ ‘Just one, but the light bulb has got to want to change.’ If somebody is able to see their shortcomings or social challenges and if they are really motivated to make changes, then they can by trying to meet challenges head on and providing themselves with learning opportunities rather than disengaging in those situations,” said Weiss.

With deadlines approaching, seniors rush to finish college applications

We are at odds with one another. The competition is real, the stakes are high, with your future on the line.

This do-or-die frenzy is upon us, taking form as the college application process.

Mail boxes are flooding with bright col-ored pamphlets, boasting lush scenery and smiling students; high schoolers are plan-ning and deciding the “right” extracurricu-lars to participate in.

Deadlines for college applications are fast approaching, and getting accepted is more competitive than it’s ever been.

Carlmont guidance counselor Ross Yo-komura explained how landing a spot at a top university is more cutthroat than ever. “It really has changed; getting into college has gotten a lot more competitive. Students now have to do a lot more to be consid-ered for admittance. It’s not just about the grades anymore,” he said.

Elena Mateus Senior Cailan Cummings is currently tackling the daunting application process. The highly motivated ASB supervisor said,“The fact is that more kids are apply-ing now, and college is becoming an option for more and more students.”

And she’s right. Ac-cording to the National Center for E du c at i on S t a t i s t i c s , b e t w e e n 1980 and 2012, the overall col-lege enroll-ment rates i n c r e a s e d from 26 per-

Carlmont High School — Belmont, California www.scotscoop.com twitter: @scotscoopnewsOctober 2015 Vol VII Issue II

Continued on page 8

MINH-HAN VU AND IVY NGUYEN

cent to 41 percent. In general, there are more college-aged

students as a result of the baby boom era. The population of 18 to 24-year-olds rose 13 percent between 2000 to 2010, accord-

ing to U.S. News. The greatest in-crease of any age group was the aging baby boom-ers -- 31.5 percent for ages 45 to 65 -- who are the parents of these now college-aged students.

This surge in students and applica-

tions continues to drag acceptance rates to an all-time low.. In 1988, the acceptance rate for Columbia University in New York was 65 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges edition that year. In their most recent guide, 33,531 ap-plied to Columbia and 2,311 were accept-ed. That’s less than 7 percent.

Senior Alexis Morrow noted a chang-ing, increasingly difficult process of get-ting into college over the past few decades. She said, “Chances are, if my dad applied to the same college he went to 30 years ago now with the same grades and scores, he wouldn’t get in. The standards now are just so much higher.”

Because of many changing factors over the past few decades, children of baby boomers were born into a society that holds a college degree to a different standard.

Senior Jacob Segal said, “Back in the

Get the facts on El Niño2

Each year colleges send out thousands of bro-chures to students in the hopes of getting them to attend their school.

MINH-HAN VU

Homecoming raises school spirit Page 6 Page 11

A response to ‘Dear Fat People’

October 2015The Highlander

SPORTSMental preparation: getting in the zoneKian Karamdashti

Former wrestler John Passaro said, “When the zone calls, you must listen. You never know how long being in the zone lasts. It is a cardinal rule -- you must take advan-tage of every second that you are in the zone.”

For many athletes all over the world, mental prepara-tion is just as important as physical preparation. Setting the time aside to “get in the zone” and focus on the event at hand has become as routine before a sporting event as hydrating and stretching.

“A few guys on the team actually make fun of me for it,” said senior and varsity football player Shanil Patel. “I always listen to my music before every game and allow myself to really get into it. I’m usually the last one out of the locker room because of it, but it allows me get into the zone. Without it, I’m not sure I could get myself focused enough for the game.”

In 2010, British researcher Dr. Costas Karageorghis found that music can improve athletic performance by 20 percent.

According to Karageorghis, “Music is like is a legal drug for athletes. It can reduce the perception of effort signifi-cantly and increase endurance.”

Studies have shown that music distracts the mind from discomfort or difficulty while supporting the heart and

muscles. This revelation has led some to believe the ner-vous system syncs with the music and beat before the mind even has a chance to “get jiggy with it.”

However, mental preparation for sports does not solely rely on music. A simple routine can represent an advantage for many.

“I have to use the same routine whenever I go up to take a free throw,” said junior basketball player Ryan Geronimo.

“I’m sure I would be okay without it but it helps me calm down and puts me into a rhythm so I can focus on making the shot.”

Mental preparation is not just seen in sports, it can also be related to classroom performance as well.

“It started as an inside joke with friends, but I have actu-ally done it before the last few tests now,” said junior Nour Zabaneh. “It’s a funny picture that makes me smile, so I always make it my wallpaper before a big test. It helps relax me and remind me that everything’s going to be alright.”

“It’s all about the psychological advantage,” said George Gmelch, a professor of anthropology at the University of San Francisco. “What they’re really doing is giving them-selves confidence. If I do these little rituals, then I’m gonna feel confident going into this activity, and I can succeed and do well.”

Whatever the method, Carlmont athletes and students can agree that mental preparation has a significant role in the success of any activity they pursue

“For some, it’s music. For others, it’s a habit. And some-times even a quick moment to evaluate the task at hand is all that’s needed,” said Geronimo. “Everyone has their own little personal thing they’ve got to do to get ready. In the competitive environment we live in today, any advantage is taken.”

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Lack of snow may prove challenging for winter athletesBijan Khalili

As the sun starts to disappear, and win-ter is just around the corner, students are getting ready for fun activities in the snow.

“I always look forward to winter time because I love the snow and going skiing and sledding with my family,” said senior Brent Jang.

But, there is just one problem- there has not been enough snow in the past years.

According to The San Jose Mercury News, the water content of the Sierra Ne-vada has been less than normal since 2013 due to the lack of snow.

“Not only have we not had enough snow,” said senior Payton Smith, “but that has contributed to the drought that we have in California.”

Along with being flustered with the low

Senior football player Shanil Patel prepares for his homecoming game against Mills High School by listening to music and getting in the zone.

ALYSSA FAGEL

amount of snow in neighboring cities such as Lake Tahoe, Carlmont students express their dismay with the lack of rain in general during the winter season.

“I’m a winter person,” said freshman Dylan Ramos, “so I miss those rainy days in the winter time. They have not come so often lately and I hope that changes this winter.”

From the casual sledder and snowman maker, to the experienced skiers and snow-boarders, everyone is affected by the lack of snow.

For all the skiers and snowboarders, they become frustrated with having to end their season early because there isn’t enough powder to shred.

Some of the bigger ski lifts at ski resorts are shut down due to the lack of snow, making the more experienced skiers and

snowboarders have to settle for the less challenging ski runs.

“I’m a pretty good skier, so it gets kind of boring after a while only being allowed to go on the blue diamonds because there is not enough snow to go on to other routes,” said Jang.

Ski resorts have used a man-made snow making machine to cover up some bald spots on the mountains, but there are just too many rough patches to cover.

Those same ski resorts have lost a lot of money being forced to shut down their re-sorts earlier than usual.

Along with the resorts being affected by the lack of snow, their employees are forced to have no jobs for the rest of the winter season.

“It can get frustrating,” said snowboard

instructor Miles Harper. “These past couple of seasons haven’t been too friendly to us and we had to close our ski schools early, leaving me stuck with no job.”

Although the past couple of winter sea-sons haven’t been favorable for snow, there are high hopes for the upcoming 2016 win-ter season.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Tahoe and the Pacific area are forecast to have a strong winter season with a lot of rainfall and snow.

During three of the last five El Nino events, Lake Tahoe received significantly larger than average snowfall.

“I’m optimistic for this skiing season. I know it’s not very likely but I hope there is enough snow to ski and snowboard until April,” said Jang.

HOMECOMING

Football battle or rally of spirit?Hannah Young

Neon posters decorated the halls. Stu-dents painted their faces blue and white to match their outfits for the football game. The score didn’t matter. Screamin’ Scots cheered all night long and continued the celebration into the next night’s dance.

Marked by the traditional homecom-ing dance, themed spirit days, and foot-ball game, Carlmont High School has had homecoming week since the school opened in 1952.

ASB adviser Jim Kelly recalls the evolu-tion of homecoming week in his 19 years at Carlmont.

“When I started here we had a dirt and grass football field and a tradition of homecoming floats at halftime of the foot-ball game. It was on a Friday afternoon be-cause we didn’t have lights and it wasn’t as much of a spectacle as it is now. About 12 years ago we got the new track and vehicles weren’t allowed on it so we had to do away with the floats until some ASB students

went to the district [and got the home-coming floats back],” said Kelly.

While Carlmont has celebrated most of the homecoming tra-ditions such as spirit days before a football game and homecom-ing dance for decades, other traditions were implemented more re-cently.

In 2005, an ASB president made the decision to bring the then popular powder-puff game to Carlmont as well. Another year, the homecoming dance was held in the beginning of the week to spread school spiritearly, rather than at the end like it is today.

According to Kelly, the homecoming dance has always been “casual, easy going,

and easy to come to.”Kelly said, “We al-

ways wanted to have at least one dance that wasn’t expensive so that everybody could afford to come. The whole focus of school spirit is something a lot of people appreci-ate.”

In the traditional spirit of homecom-ing week, Carlmont ASB has always tried to maximize school spirit and extend it to all students, which

studies have begun to suggest might even improve academic success.

“If you have a high level of school spir-it that means that students are involved in something other than their studies. It means they’re involved,” said Kelly.

Senior Laura Bajurin added, “High

school is where you grow as a person and if you have school spirit, well that just makes you a more well-rounded person.”

After Carlmont won the homecoming game on Oct. 23, 2015, local teens took to tweeting about their desire to go to a school like Carlmont, where school spirit was clearly high.

“I’ve never seen Screamin’ Scots as wild as it was on that Friday night. Plus, word of our spirit got around to other high school students in the Bay Area, as shown in a handful of tweets wishing they were Carl-mont students because of the level of spirit we had.” said junior class president Liam Jocson.

According to students and staff, this year’s homecoming spirit set a new stan-dard. Cheers were never so loud, bleachers were never so crowded, and Carlmont stu-dents were never so proud to be a Scot.

“Closing out our senior year like that was so powerful. It’s been two years since we won a homecoming game and the en-ergy is through the roof!” said Bajurin.

Senior Sam Levy waves the Carlmont flag in the air as Carlmont varsity football defeated Mills High School in front of a packed homecoming crowd.


On Friday, Oct. 23, Carlmont students showed their school pride as they participated in the lunchtime parade and continued their celebration at the varsity football game, where Carlmont defeated Mills 28-6. At halftime, class pride was shown by an array of decorated floats made by students in each grade.

MINH-HAN VU

After the homecoming game, some Bay Area students expressed their admiration of Carlmont spirit by making posts on social media.

PHOTOS BY IZZY MITCHELL AND MINH-HAN VU

October 2015CAMPUSThe Highlander

A woman walks down the street with her breasts completely exposed. Many would react with shock, some with disdain, and very few with pride.

Yet if a man were to do the same, no one would cast even a second glance.

This kind of reaction would not have been the same for men during the 1900’s. Until 1936, it was illegal for men to go topless. Four men protested in Coney Is-land, by walking around shirtless. Doing so, they brought public at-tention to the issue.

Now in 2015, women are fighting for the same right to go topless.

The Free the Nipple move-

Holly Chen

Feminists go topless for equalityment relates heavily to a group of activists called the TopFreedom Supporters. These people believe that any right a man has, a woman should have too.

Junior Ashley Wen, co-pres-ident of the Feminist club, said, “I am a supporter of the Free the Nipple movement. We all need to work together in order to pursue equality. Equality is important. Girls are often viewed as weaker, but if they were given the same opportunities, that would get rid of the gender discrepancies.”

Lina Esco, a film director, cre-ated her own documentary called “Free the Nipple.” She and several other feminists walked topless in New York. These women used the First Amendment to justify such a protest, as they were trying to call

attention to the social inequali-ties that exist between men and women.

Esco wrote on Time’s website in 2015, “I came up with ‘Free the Nipple’ because it’s engaging and funny—and the fuel we needed to start a serious dialogue about gender equality. The shaming of the female nipple is a direct reflec-tion of how unevolved this puri-tanical country is.”

Senior Marion Demailly goes braless every Friday to show her support for the movement.

Demailly said,“It’s just some-thing I do casually, but I like it because it helps me feel com-fortable with my body and it is very empowering. The important thing to keep in mind about this movement is that it isn’t just about

nipples. It’s about the overall need for the desexualization of the fe-male body, respect for women, equal treatment of women, and the need for women to be seen as people, not objects.”

When a group of New Hamp-shire mothers walked topless on Hampton beach to show their support for the movement, lo-cals were not welcoming to this. NECN reported that some re-sponded with, “There’s too many kids running around, here,” and “In my mind it is not okay, [to walk topless in front of children.]”

This issue of nudity comes from the moral of decency. To exercise this protest at the right place and time is a concern.

Junior Evelyn Lawrence, co-president of the Carlmont Femi-

nist Club, said, “I think that appro-priateness is an important issue. Guys don’t walk around without a shirt on at school or work, so the same should go for the women. This isn’t a situation of sexism, but more an issue of respect.”

The Free the Nipple movement serves to change conventional views of the female body.

Demailly said, “Free the Nip-ple, in my opinion, is a very pow-erful movement that I feel person-ally invested in. To me, it gives women the power and inspiration to feel in control of their bodies and know that they’re worth more than other people’s view of their bodies.”

October 2015CAMPUSThe Highlander

An enthralling gossamer trail of smoke encompasses his head, enshrouding him in a mysterious film of white va-por. Effortlessly sensual, easily accessible, encompassing recal-citrance. Even though they are illegal for minors, e-cigarettes have swiftly taken hold of the population.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC), 13 percent of high school students use vape pens. But new studies indicate that they may have dire conse-quences.

E-cigarettes are nicotine-filled devices that make a fla-vored smoke-like vapor. These "faux" cigarettes were origi-nally invented to provide a less dangerous alternative to "real" cigarettes. The more recent in-vention of vaporizers, the non-nicotine counterparts to e-cigs,

E-cigarette smoke is filling the roomSophie Haddad

Talk BackWhat is something unique about you?

Angry feminist punk dance music makes me very happy.

Jody HumesEnglish teacher

I volunteer at a German Shepard rescue, where we help dogs that don’t have a home.

Roberta ScottSpanish teacher

I’m a member of a polar bear club where people go swimming on frozen lakes.

Gregory SchoensteinHistory teacher

ADRIANA RAMIREZ

I’ve been to more than 15 countries.

Carly GatzertSpanish teacher

1090 Alameda de las PulgasBelmont 650.486.1530

monday - sunday10:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.









has made the practice of smok-ing trendy again.

“Some people like it because of the flavor. Some people like it because it’s a substitute for smoking. Some people like it because of the nicotine rush,” said senior Mattias Carrenca.

While inhaling a flavored vapor may seem intriguing and less harmful, health regulators are beginning to find veritable risks.

"Flavors are not made to be inhaled," said John Hallagan, the senior adviser of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers As-sociation, which evaluates the safety of flavors and foods. "In the absence of safety informa-tion, what we're saying is we really need to pay attention to this from a safety perspective."

Many people think that e-cigs are harmless because they are food-based, but there is a difference between eating something and inhaling it.

Diacetyl, a chemical natu-rally found in butter and other foods, is found in 74 percent of e-cigs. Though ingesting it does not cause problems, inhaling it may not be safe.

This chemical is tied to bronchiolitis obliterans, an ir-reversible condition of the lungs. "In some people this will result in a gradual abatement of symptoms if the process was diagnosed early enough. In others, however, the disease can progress and may even require lung transplantation," said George Schiffman, M.D., who founded the Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Education Program.

In 2002, five workers in a popcorn plant in Missouri died of respiratory causes after contracting this disease, which some call "popcorn lung."

Given these unanticipated consequences, some believe that the government should be

regulating e-cigarettes.As of now, there are no la-

beling or testing requirements or age constraints on e-ciga-rettes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's policy is, "Only e-cigarettes that are mar-keted for therapeutic purposes are currently regulated by the FDA Center for Drug Evalua-tion and Research (CDER)."

Carlmont alumna Becca Garner, who vapes, is con-cerned about the chemicals in them. She said, “Because the industry is unregulated, I am concerned that vaping is not much better [than regular ciga-rettes].”

Since vape pens hit the market, they have appealed to younger consumers for their various flavors, including cin-namon bun, cotton candy, and even “grammy’s pumpkin pie.”

Considering that people are starting to smoke vaporizers at a young age, some argue they

will be more likely to move on to traditional cigarettes. Tradi-tional cigarettes contain higher levels of diacetyl than vaporiz-ers, but the risk is still present.

“I think the ones that are sold for kids my age that don’t have tobacco or anything were a stupid invention, because it’s saying that it’s okay for kids to smoke. It’s making it easier for them to go on to smoking oth-er things,” said freshman Nata-lie Saadeh. “It’s a way to waste your money,” she said.

Still, vaping has played a role in kicking the habit of smoking.

Carrenca said, “It is also true that a lot of people, thousands actually, have quit cigarettes and started vaping.”

Whatever the reason for vaping, smokers may face risks. Considering that there are vague regulations, information is missing regarding the poten-tial harm of these ubiquitous devices.

“They’re not aiming to es-tablish a tradition that ties communities together by

widespread observance but rather to provide a focused catalyst for discussion and

cognizance”

Ashley WenJunior


...but should we?Miscellaneous plastic bones tangled with spider webs.

Mass-produced costumes based off of the latest blockbust-er movie. Pounds and pounds of chocolates and lollipops prepared to be the source of a spike in cavities.

With Halloween filling the aisles of every store as soon as back-to-school supplies leave the shelves, it becomes obvious that the local supermarket can only address one major holiday at a time.

However, other month-long holidays sit on the back burner during October.

Lesser known holidays such as National Roller Skating Month, Na-tional Sarcastic Awareness Month, and National Popcorn Poppin’ Month lack the public awareness brought by the contrarily serious-subjected holidays of October.

However, they are still estab-lished, observed holidays just as Halloween.

“More quirky observances like these seem like they’re trying to ful-fill a similar purpose: to give people an excuse to celebrate the things they’re interested in and to organize them so they do it alongside every-body else,” said junior Kaizen Betts-LaCroix.

Dedicating a month to less serious topics has given rise

to skepticism among individuals as to whether these holi-days are valid.

“I don’t think people have really heard of most of these holidays, and I doubt many parties are going on right now in recognition of National Roller Skating Month, so call-ing those holidays slightly dilutes the importance of the word. Holidays gain their power from their specialness; they’re specific days set aside to be different from all the rest, and diluting that specialness with too many ‘holidays’

undercuts their power,” said Betts-LaCroix.

Serious-subjected observations such as National Domestic Vio-lence Awareness Month aim to promote community-wide aware-ness, however smaller observa-tions like Popcorn Poppin’ Month look to simply celebrate this food in everyday life.

“I think that these kinds of holi-days serve a purpose, but I think we should recognize that that pur-pose is different from traditional holidays. They’re not aiming to establish a tradition that ties com-

munities together by widespread observance but rather to provide a focused catalyst for discussion and cognizance,” said Betts-LaCroix.

OCTOBEROBSERVANCES

“I know that a lot of people associate roller skating with a ‘my-embarrassing-dad-still-likes-disco’ vibe, but I think

it should be celebrated”

Ashley WenJunior

Miscellaneous plastic bones tangled with spider webs. Mass-produced costumes based off of the latest blockbust-er movie. Pounds and pounds of chocolates and lollipops prepared to be the source of a spike in cavities.

With Halloween filling the aisles of every store as soon as back-to-school supplies leave the shelves, it becomes obvious that the local supermarket can only address one major holiday at a time.

But what about the numerous smaller holidays through the month of October that go unobserved by casual gro-cery store goers?

While many picture a wonderland blurred with dif-ferent shades of orange at the thought of October, pink and purple are also prominent colors associated with this month.

Support toward significant issues prevail through Oc-tober as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, whose main colors are pink and purple respectively.

“I think it’s really effective when [a holiday] brings more awareness, especially if it involves topics that are a little more sheltered and don’t get a lot of recognition. It’s good to give them time where we recognize that,” said Joanne Tabacek, a senior.

Communities can observe aware-ness for these issues through various ways from pink jerseys the National Football League players wear every October to organized walks to raise money for cures and support.

However, communities can also appreciate the less serious obser-vances like National Roller Skating Month by participating in these activities during October.

“I love zipping around corners and down sidewalks, and it’s awesome to me to see [roller skating] being appreci-ated, especially in a month-long holiday. I know that a lot of people associate roller skating with a ‘my-embarrassing-dad-still-likes-disco’ vibe, but I think it should be celebrat-ed,” said junior Ashley Wen.

Demonstrated by Wen’s passion toward roller skating, people do not have to celebrate the widespread holiday of Halloween in order to enjoy other themes in October.

We can celebrate Avery Adams

Whether someone plans their Halloween costume months before the night of trick-or-treating or shuts down all the lights and eats the candy in the solitary confines of their home, October offers a variety of holidays for every-one to participate in.

“I think it is great to have holidays that are different and unique because it gives everyone at least one thing to be excited about. It is not fun to have to wait months for the next big holiday, so it is awesome that there are others to celebrate,” said Tori Miranda, a junior.

Although some holidays bring less support than larger holidays such as AIDS Awareness Month or Breast Cancer Awareness Month, each observance has its own purpose established by their founding organizations.

Some, such as National Roller Skating Month, Nation-al Reading Group Month, and Eat Better, Eat Together Month, all of which take place the month of October, en-courage activities for healthy lifestyles.

And still more holidays during October such as Na-tional Pickled Pepper Month and National Popcorn Poppin’ Month simply celebrate in order to acknowledge their presence in people’s daily lives.

Active political leaders desig-nated some holidays to October in order to bring awareness to serious matters like breast cancer and AIDS, while others were cre-ated to simply encourage people to join smaller organizations in celebration.

Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman officially passed Na-

tional Popcorn Poppin’ Month in 1999. The Popcorn As-sociation chose October as this is the time of year when popcorn is in harvest. For 16 years, people have been en-couraged to simply pop some popcorn and celebrate the harvest that fall brings.

Whether looking to celebrate a hobby, raise funds for a cure, or promote a particular style of living, the diverse month-long holidays throughout October cover a variety of categories and topics to which anyone, no matter their interests, can participate.

The month-long observances during October offer something for everyone to

celebrate. But with so many celebrations, it is easy for the important observances to go

unnoticed throughout the month.

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October 2015

OCTOBEROBSERVANCESThe Highlander

The month-long observances during October offer something for everyone to

celebrate. But with so many celebrations, it is easy for the important observances to go

unnoticed throughout the month.

October 2015LIFESTYLEThe Highlander

“Text neck” plagues a generationKiera Pendleton-White

Your thumbs are being harmed from the constant repetitive motion of reaching across the electronic keyboard.

Texting is a key feature in phones today, and is used constantly by teens.

A Kaiser Family Foundation study showed that 46 percent of kids and teens from age 8-18 reported sending text mes-sages, and those that did sent around 118 text messages per day. It also showed that 7th to 12th graders spend an average of 1 hour and 35 minutes texting.

Texting is a repetitive motion that uses a variety of muscles in the hand and arm. Especially with smartphones, the larger keyboards cause a reaching movement that strains the thumb.

Thumbs are meant to be used as an op-

posite movement to the other fingers to help with gripping things, not the three-dimensional movements used in typing. Repeating these three-dimensional move-ments excessively can cause some health problems such as tenosynovitis and tendi-nitis.

According to the Mayo Clinic, tendinitis is a condition where a tendon is inflamed. For texting, it is the tendons that run through the carpal tunnels, which cause se-vere discomfort in the thumbs.

"I personally don't have any pain in my thumbs from texting, but I do get head-aches from the bright screen," said sopho-more Téa Pusey.

Headaches are a common occurrence from too much phone usage. According to a report by the Vision Council, the tiny text on the screen causes strain on the eyes

which can lead to headaches with extensive use. The screen can also cause dry eyes because people tend to blink less when looking at a bright screen. To focus on the smaller letters, the eyes have to focus in a way that they are not accustomed to, so people tend to squint and hold phones too close to their faces.

Texting can also lead to back and neck problems. In a report by the Informate Mo-bile Intelligence, Americans spend an aver-age of 4.7 hours on their phones per day. Much of that time is spent with a hunched back and neck tilted down to look at the screen.

The average human head weighs around 10 to 12 pounds, but in research published by Surgery Technology International, physics dictates that the amount of strain put on the neck when texting is based on

the degree at which the head is tilted. If the head is tilted at a 60 degree angle, there is 60 pounds of strain on the neck. Spinal prob-lems that arise from the use of smartphones are referred to as “Text Neck” by medical professionals.

"When I use my phone I have to keep switching how I sit every 30 minutes be-cause my neck hurts," said sophomore Viv-ian Yip.

Symptoms of Text Neck are chronic headaches, and pain in the upper back, neck or shoulders.

"I have neck and back pains, I try to cor-rect myself when I can but I just fall back into the bad posture," said Pusey.

All of these health problems come as a result of too much texting, so to avoid these problems, the Vision Council recommends only an hour of cell phone use a day.

College applicationsContinued from page 1

day, having a college degree was seen as an accomplish-ment, but now it’s pretty much expected.”

Yokomura sees a change in the perception of a college education as well. “Part of why it is so competitive now is because of the mindset,” he said. “Now, it’s that both stu-dents and families feel like success is defined only by going to a ‘name’ university, an Ivy League or the best college that’s out there.”

While attending an Ivy League university may be a gateway to a successful future, there’s no saying that suc-cess is unattainable from other institutions. Junior Hannah

Wright said, “There is always talk about the same top big schools; it’s like people forget that there are other colleges out there.”

Yokomura always encourages his students to do thor-ough research on various options for college. “I remind my kids that you don’t have have to get an education from a Stanford or an ivy league school. You can get the same great education at a smaller school, like Willamette.”

While the progression of time has brought about more competition for college admittance, it has also introduced new technology that makes taking Yokomura’s advice eas-ier than ever. Hundreds upon thousands of websites rich with information about colleges are now at the fingertips of students to use at their disposal.

Still, this viewpoint can be hard to swallow for students

who have been drilled to fight for the select number of spots at top universities. “It’s hard because I want to do ev-erything I can now to ensure that I will have a secure, suc-cessful future, and the way I’ve been taught to do that is by aiming for the big, competitive schools,” said Cummings.

According to Yokomura, the best advice for choosing which schools to apply to is finding a good fit. “What’s im-portant is knowing why you want to go to a certain school, knowing what you’re looking for in a school and not letting it be just because of the title,” he said.

While the stress is on for seniors currently undergoing the application process, it’s worth remembering that the effort expended is an influential step into the real world. “When it’s all said and done, you are the one who has your degree. Not your friends, or family. In the end, it’s just you and your life, so plan accordingly,” said Wright.

October 2015LIFESTYLEThe Highlander

#Politicians gain attention on social mediaAnya Meredith

Politicians are always trying to get their message across to the American people and this year they’re doing this more and more through their social media.

Sometimes they succeed, and some-times they fail.

For example, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush may have won and lost some Ameri-cans’ votes through their Twitter fight.

On Aug.10, 2015, Hillary Clinton tweet-ed, “Cost won't be a barrier to an educa-tion. Debt won't hold you back. Read Hill-ary's plan.” Then she inputted a link to her plan. Then, Bush and Clinton went back and forth with a series of edited campaign posters bashing each other’s respective parties.

Another politician famous for convinc-ing Americans to vote for them is Don-ald Trump. On Twitter, Trump used the hashtag #AskTrump to answer questions live in New York City on Sept. 21, 2015.

His hashtag backfired on him as many people asked him questions like,

“Have you ever tried chapstick? It’s re-

ally moisturizing.” (a gluestick is pictured) -@imanoluvsart

“Do you remember the time I inter-viewed you?” (a microphone held up to a garbage can) -@SPACENERDEVANS

Trump has also been criticized for tweets like,

“@paulfincher2 Keep the faith. Elect @realDonaldTrump and there will be no more sanctuary cities. and very few ille-gals."

“Carly Fiorina did such a horrible job at Lucent and HP, virtually destroying both companies, that she never got another CEO job offer! Pres.”

Even though many people are respond-ing negatively to Trump’s tweets, that doesn’t stop them from wanting to follow him.

According to the New York Post, “Trump also tore it up on Twitter, gaining 100,000 new followers compared to Clinton’s new 45,000 in one week, according to Twitter.”

“A major part of Donald Trump’s cam-paign is his Twitter and his constant in-volvement with media tabloids and news-papers. This has helped him lead in the popular vote,” said junior Nour Zabaneh.

However, not all politicians have been criticized for their use of social media.

Many are in support of Ben Carson’s participation in the #IAmChristian cam-paign after the shooting at Umpqua Com-munity College in Oregon.

Carson said, “Millions of people are posting pictures of themselves declaring they are Christians in support of the vic-tims and their families. I did so on Face-book this afternoon...Email me your pic-tures and I will put them on the website...It is times like these when We the People must be United!”

Carson used social media to show his stance on mental health and gain voters’ affection -- and it worked. According to the website Breitbart, “Carson’s Facebook page has more than 4 million followers, and both photographs are already going viral. The candidate’s brilliant use of social media—among many other things—has helped propel him to the top tier of the 2016 GOP pack.”

Another politician using his social me-dia well is Bernie Sanders.

According to Forbes, Sanders gained 35,163 new followers during the Demo-

cratic debate. Meanwhile, the other four Democrats gained a total of just 23,219 new followers — combined — led by Hill-ary Clinton, who added 13,252 new Twitter followers by herself.”

But do politicians’ social media really reach out to all people or just people that are already interested in them?

“I am pretty skeptical about the effec-tiveness of social media for reaching and persuading undecided voters,” said history teacher Gregory Schoenstein.

History teacher Karen Ramroth added, “I think social media can affect how people see politicians; however, most politicians have become savvy to the need for using it so they have social media teams that re-lease very polished posts/tweets/etc. that don't necessarily allow us to interact with the ‘real’ politician. In the end it just be-comes another advertisement, photo-op, interview, or press release.”

Whether they use their social media well or poorly, the 2016 election candidates are reaching out to Americans to get them to “follow” x

Editor-in-ChiefZoe Wildman

Managing EditorAlyssa Fagel

Art DirectorMinh-Han Vu

The Highlander

The Highlander is a newspaper dedicated to providing Carlmont student, staff, and the community with high-quality news, features, and opinion articles. We want to keep our readers informed on important issues ranging from Carlmont to international news, and want to engage them with unique stories and images.

Scot Scoop Editor-in-ChiefSarah Schisla

Faculty AdvisorJustin Raisner

EditorsMegan TaoKelly SongAvery AdamsKimiko Okumura

Staff WritersHolly ChenAria FrangosSophie HaddadKaren GaoKian KaramdashtiBijan KhaliliAnya Meredith

Elena MateusIvy NguyenTaran SunAdriana Ramirez Kiera Pendleton-WhiteConnie YiHannah Young

The Rise of Fall Foods

PUMPKIN SPICEMILANO

PUMPKIN SPICE OREO

PUMPKIN SPICE

POPCORN

CANDY CORN

POPCORN

GreatIt has a creamy

consistency.

BadIt’s not as good as

regular Oreos.

OkayIt tastes like

spices more than pumpkin.

GreatIt tastes very

sweet.

October 2015OPINIONThe Highlander

The Tao of Megan Megan Tao

“The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”-Finley Peter Dunne

Netflix and killThe clock reads 1:24 a.m.Your eyes are glued to the screen as you shovel popcorn

into your mouth. The judge is about to declare whether the defendant is guilty or not. Viola Davis’s face turns into a smirk as her client did in fact get away with murder.

In shock, you put another bag of popcorn into the mi-crowave and wait for the next episode to load as the sound of kernels intermittently explode into popcorn nearby.

The clock reads 1:30 a.m. Your homework remains untouched, but the only un-

solved questions you are worried about are who the killer is and if they will really get away with murder?

Overcome by anticipation and the insatiable need to get answers, you begin to watch another episode, and another and another.

Being addicted to a television show, though not as det-rimental as other addictions, still has a negative effect on our lives.

According to Reader’s Digest, binge watching can be-come an addiction that can lead to neglecting responsibili-ties and becoming antisocial.

Also, since binge watching consists of sitting down for long periods of time without exercising or stretching, it can actually lead to major health problems, such as diabetes.

Just like all addictions, binge watching starts with just watching a couple of episodes until you’re absolutely con-sumed by the show and even though you tell yourself you can stop, the “next episode” button tells you otherwise.

Binge watching can easily eat up precious time that would be much more appropriately spent doing homework or other responsibilities.

It comes to the point where watching television is pri-oritized over homework and activities that may not be as pleasurable, but are more imperative in the long run.

The show becomes the center of your life and nothing else matters but finding out more about these fictional characters’ lives and their world.

According to Huffington Post, television shows are structured to end each episode with a cliffhanger to lure us into tuning into the next premiere a week later.

However, streaming sites like Netflix conveniently allow its users to watch episodes back to back, making it all too easy to suck us in.

The mini cliffhangers at the end of each episode, and the epic one at the end of each season tests our patience.

According to a poll conducted by the Daily News, 80 percent of Americans regularly binge-watch their favorite show.

One of the reasons why it’s not only easy to marathon television shows, but hard to stop is that humans are in-nately impatient.

We can’t wait, and if we have easy access to what we want, then why wait? Why wait when answers are within our grasp?

Television networks actually encourage binge watching and use it as a way to market their shows.

For every season premiere of MTV’s “Teen Wolf,” they show every episode from the previous season along with little facts about the show during commercials to encour-age viewers to marathon the previous season in order to “get ready” for the start of the new season.

Before each season premiere of “Game of Thrones,” HBO markets that the previous season is available on On Demand, allowing their viewers easy access to binge watch before the premiere.

Binge watching has found its way into our daily lives and although not harmful at first glance, neither was watching that one more episode, or was it two? Or was it all nine seasons of “The Office?”

Addiction limits our ability to control ourselves because it consumes us, it inhabits us, and it too easily becomes the dictator of our actions in life.

Voting is taken for granted Kelly Song

Red, white, and oh wait. That’s it. The spirit of America is cut short.

Political indifference is a major issue in America. The American population seems to be more excited about the next “House of Cards” episode than the upcoming presi-dential election, and what is left of the American political system is simply the skeleton of an elephant and a runaway donkey. Unless we’re lying to ourselves, that’s a huge prob-lem. Like bigger than Uncle Sam’s finger huge.

Because the last time I checked, this nation wasn’t sup-posed to be 99 percent couch potatoes, too lazy to vacuum the cat hair off the floor and even more unwilling to punch in a couple buttons at a voting booth. There’s an elephant in the room, and no, it isn’t the Republican elephant. It is the plain, face-smacking truth that the American people care more about cell phones, corgis, khaki pants; basically anything, more than the fate of their nation.

Voter turnout isn’t just at an all-time low for presiden-tial elections. This bad case of “voter measles” has spread to midterm and local elections, hitting the voter popula-tion harder than ever. According to the Washington Post, the voter turnout for the 2014 midterm elections was the lowest it has been since World War II. Only 36.4 percent of the eligible voting population actually participated in 2014, meaning over half of the 18-and-above portion of the na-tion is choosing to opt-out of voting.

The marvelous thing is that voting is not difficult. What most people don’t know is there is no incredibly tedious process. Registering to vote is as simple as checking a box when renewing a driver’s license. Or following the more traditional route, voters can pick up a voter registration ap-

plication at a local post office or library and mailing it back to a county elections office.

Without people voting, this nation is left in the hands of a tiny, powerful minority. The principles of equal op-portunity that the United States stands on holds no ground unless every single person upholds that value.

No one is obligated to vote and no one is forced to be politically active. But that’s the beauty of this country; the freedom and spirit of this nation is free-flowing and driven by individuality. And unless we exercise this freedom, then there is no point to democracy at all.

There is a mindset of political disengagement and the belief that an individual vote for a candidate or party will be of little meaning compared to the masses.

Every vote is meaningful, from the ballot to the individ-ual casting the vote. To give every person the right to vote required sacrifices and hardship throughout history, and while we may not feel them now, they do not diminish in value over time. The founding fathers did not rebel against their government to draft a 1,478-word document just so America could sit in their pajamas all day.

Past Americans made incredible sacrifices so genera-tions after them could vote and you could have the honor of creating a society that will shape history. The ability to vote is a powerful thing. Unless each person starts treating it as so, it will always remain simply what it appears to be: a couple buttons on a voting machine. But behind the cur-tains of voting booths and within the hushed voices of elec-tors, there lies a history. A history of hardship and freedom and belief in liberty. And to vote is to uphold that history.

As a civil rights activist once said, “If you don’t vote, you don’t count.” Well, I believe it is simpler than that. If you don’t vote, you don’t care.

Public nudity does not promote equality

Yes, female oppression is wrong. Yes, females should be empowered to feel that their in-

dependence, equality, and capabilities are not decided by their gender.

No, allowing toplessness for all is not the way to achieve these admittedly admirable aims of the Free the Nipple Campaign.

A female’s nipples don’t really differ from a male’s nip-ples. Does that mean they should both be “free?”

Liberalism is not an evil thing, and equal rights are clearly a valuable goal for society. The fight for equality “for all” has been going strong for hundreds of years, and society has certainly been bettered by it.

In the fight for gender equality, the Free the Nipple cam-paign seems superficial. While comfort in one’s body is important, securing the right to expose body parts doesn’t compare to the importance of fighting for equality in so-cietal, political and economic matters relating to people’s intellect and worth as humans.

Focusing on the female body over other arguably more important rights, even in a fight for equality, is a step back-ward from the ideals feminists should be striving toward.

One contradiction of the campaign is that it’s not re-ally socially acceptable for men to walk around shirtless in public either, even if it is legal.

Unless they’re at the beach, people generally wear clothes in public.

The fact of the matter could possibly be that female top-lessness is not horribly immoral, and that this generation is just not able to accept it. After all, it was only 1936 was when men won the right to go topless at the beach, before

which all men had to wear “decent” swimsuits that covered their nipples.

That was less than a century ago, and today it would be weird to see male swimsuits that cover the nipples. That could be a cue that such a turnaround could also be pos-sible for female toplessness, and that beginning to imple-ment it now could mean acceptance in later generations.

The Free the Nipple campaign says “NOW TAKE A STAND FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND JOIN OUR COALITION TO END THESE DRACONIAN LAWS FOREVER! [sic]” on their online signup page. When peo-ple start using words like “draconian” to describe the oppo-sition to their cause, it starts pointing toward exaggeration.

Laws that punish breast exposure with arrest and jail time are admittedly pretty severe. The penalties for bodily exposure shouldn’t include punishments that land an indi-vidual in prison. However, there doesn’t really seem to be any reason why anyone, male or female, should be topless in public in the first place.

The only good reason for Free the Nipple seems to lie in its stance on the issue of whether or not breastfeeding is acceptable public behavior. Breastfeeding is not a sex-ual act; it is simply a mother feeding her child. Nurturing one’s children should not be a shameful act that garners responses of censure and scandal.

While breastfeeding should be allowed, unleashing nip-ples galore on the public is still not a good idea.

There is also a significant source of possible danger in allowing women to go topless. Perverts are a reality, and it’s naive to say we should focus on punishing them instead of “inhibiting” others. There’s no conceivable way to effec-tively round up every creepy person and make them stop being creepy. If female toplessness were to be legalized, there should certainly be an age limit to protect minors.

It might be acceptable behavior for women to go topless at some point in the future, but putting so much energy into fighting for the right to bodily exposure seems like a waste of resources that could be put toward the fight for equality of women in the workplace, in society, and across the globe.

In essence, it’s the same idea as the old, “hey, eyes up here!” Focus first on the mind, not on the body.

The editorial article expresses the views and opin-ions of The Highlander as a whole. This month’s edi-torial was written by Aria Frangos.

IVY NGUYENFree the Nipple movement misprioritizes issues of equality.

EDITORIAL

October 2015NEWSThe Highlander

The dangers of defunding Planned ParenthoodTaran Sun

DEAR FAT PEOPLE…

The medical costs for people who are obese were

$1,429 higher than those of normal weight

Somatotypes are used in a system of classiÞcation of human physiques in terms of three extreme body types developed by U.S.

psychologist W.H. Sheldon.

EctomorphMesomorphEndomorph

In 2008, South Los Angeles passed an ordinance that restricted the opening or

expansion of new fast food restaurants, in hopes

of making residents healthier.

Obesity was the third leading cause of death in 2009, after high blood pressure and smoking.

The mayor of Oklahoma Citychallenged his citizens to collectivelylose one million poundsafter the city was named one of America’s most overweight cities.

In 2013 the United States was the second most obese industrialized nation with 31.8% of Americans falling into the obese category.

31.8%

Sources: http://www.hufÞngtonpost.com, http://www.cdc.gov, http://time.com, http://www.jabfm.org

A recent YouTube video by Nicole Arbour has sparked a discussion about the reality of obesity in America.

Planned Parenthood, a provider of morning after pills, birth control, abortions, and STD-related care, recently was thrown into the national spotlight.

Videos were released revealing a Planned Parenthood official talking in a casual manner about selling fetal body tissue, putting the organization under fire.

Presidential candidate Jeb Bush tweeted, “This is a shocking and horrific reminder that we must do so much more to foster a culture of life in America.”

Junior Ryan Geronimo said, “I think that people should be able to make their own decisions and have the option of getting an abortion. At the same time, the people at Planned Parenthood have to do their jobs because they are helping people, not because they are trying to sell things and make money.”

Public and political responses to these videos have brought into question whether or not Planned Parenthood should receive federal funding.

Planned Parenthood is one of the most influential non-profit organizations to provide reproductive health care services in the United States. If federal funding is cut, it will lose the majority of money that it has operated on for over 40 years.

Sophomore Tyrese Lopez said, “I think that Planned

Parenthood should continue being funded by the govern-ment, because if not, the services that Planned Parenthood provides may not be available anymore to people who can’t afford it otherwise.”

Many prominent political figures, especially GOP members, have argued for the defunding of Planned Par-enthood.

Senator Rand Paul said, “The time has come to have a full-throated debate about this, and the time has come to end all taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.”

The loss of programs that would result from the lack of federal funding could be detrimental to the mission of the organization as a whole.

Junior Millan Kanaya said, “I think that Planned Par-enthood is meant to help people who find themselves in difficult situations. I don’t think it should be defunded, because people who find themselves in these situations should be allowed to choose, and Planned Parenthood could potentially give them that choice.”

Planned Parenthood has weathered assaults from vari-ous parties calling for its defunding, most of which take issue with its abortion services. This is primarily due to the Pro-Life movement, as well as religious beliefs. A writer for online website Susan B. Anthony List said, “More taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood equals more abortions, fewer adoption referrals.”

Senior Cameron Kuo said, “I feel that this is something that is related to the separation of church and state. The religious beliefs of one group shouldn’t be used to justify the defunding of Planned Parenthood.”

The organization does not, in fact, use all of its govern-ment funds on abortion services, or even the majority of said funds.

According to The Washington Post, abortion services comprise only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services last year, as opposed to STD and STI care, which com-prised 42 percent.

Using federal funding for abortion is in fact illegal in the United States, unless the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or when the woman’s life is endangered due to a physical disorder, illness, or injury. Defunding Planned Parenthood would barely touch their abortion program, but could potentially cripple their STD and STI services.

Sophomore Jade Sebti said, “[Planned Parenthood] needs to be funded because it helps allow people to have safe sex. People should be able to be protected and have access to Planned Parenthood’s help.”

The repercussions of defunding could be far reaching, limiting access to people across the country who are in need of the myriad of services Planned Parenthood pro-vides.

INFOGRAPHIC BY ZOE WILDMAN

Typical Pattern El Niño Pattern

What happens?Trade winds blowing east across the Pacific Ocean weaken or sometimes reverse directions.

Surface water in the eastern Pa-cific Ocean increases while it decreases in the western coast.

Eastern Pacific tropical hurri-canes increase due to the warm water and less wind shear.

More sea creatures are present in the San Francisco Bay, escaping the warming southern waters in search of cooler waters north.

El Niño threatens to drench California

Peruvian fishermen off the west coast of South America were the first to no-tice the unusually warm waters that occur at the year’s end.

El Niño is Spanish for “the little boy.” It was named after the Baby Jesus due to its occurrence through Christmas time.

A strong El Niño can last a year or more before conditions are back to normal. However, each El Niño will differ from the next in magnitude.

An El Niño will typically occur every 3-7 years, but they are all different and can take place irregularly. The largest El Niño before 2015 occurred in 1997.

El Niño and La Niña are two different weather phenomenons. La Niña in-cludes abnormally cold temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific as opposed to El Niño’s warmer waters.

According to NASA Hydrolo-gist Jay Famiglietti, the Pacific Ocean temperatures are so warm that California will get rain, but not the snow it desperately needs.

Due to California’s severe drought, the scorched land cannot absorb water. The torrential down-pour will likely cause mudslides from the dry land breaking apart and traveling with the flooding water.

1997

2015

October:

At peak:

Forecasted high:

October:

During typical weather conditions, trade winds blow westward across the Pacific Ocean, carrying the warmer surface water toward Asia and pulling up the deeper, colder water to the surface in the Eastern Pacific Ocean along the coast of the Americas. However during El Niño, the trade winds weaken and sometimes even reverse direction, leaving the warmer surface water in the east near the Americas. The warm air above the warmer water condenses into rain clouds, causing a greater chance of rainfall along the coasts of the Americas as opposed to the typical heavy rain in Asia.

What is it?

The risk of downpours and mudslides in southern Califor-nia may significantly increase.

AVERY ADAMS

Los Angeles

Lake Oroville

Lake Shasta

Sacramento

San Francisco

Potential of above normal precipitation

Large Cities

Reservoirs

Asia AsiaThe Americas

The Americas

How does it compare to the largest El Niño to

date?

An in depth overview of the weather phenomenon

+36.32 ˚F

Why is it important?Eighty percent of California’s

water supply comes from ground-water, which needs snow to re-plenish.

Snow would also provide a store of frozen water ready to thaw into rain next spring, however the expected rain would evaporate quickly, leaving the reservoirs low and dry.

Additionally, California’s larg-est reservoirs are in Northern Cal-

ifornia where El Niño storms are much less likely to hit.

Despite the lack of snow, Accu-Weather Forecaster Paul Pastelok predicts that the upcoming El Niño could yield triple the amount of snow produced in the central and northern mountains through-out the winter of 2015-2016 com-pared to last year’s snowfall.

+34.70 ˚F

+36.14 ˚F+35.06 ˚F

carlmont highlander october 2015

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