FCC UPHOLDS NET NEUTRALITY

the University of Florida and Daniel Cable of the University of North Carolina analyzed data from four longitudinal studies in Amer-ica and Europe which followed more than 8,500 participants from childhood to adult-hood, recording their careers, salaries and personalities. They found that with gender, weight, and age controlled, someone who is six feet tall earns on average $5,525 more than someone who is five feet, five inches tall.

An explanation for the salary discrepancy is that being taller builds self-confidence as well as social esteem, which makes taller people appear more authoritative and domi-nant.

“Being taller than average is generally,

In the last century, no U.S. president has been shorter than the current average American male height of five feet, nine

inches. According to a survey by the Weekly Financial Review, the average height of the top 50 company CEOs is slightly over 6 feet. Not only do the great majority of “success-ful” people seem to possess an overwhelm-ingly tall stature, but studies show that taller people are better compensated compared to their shorter colleagues. Above-average height is linked to larger paychecks, greater self-esteem and more leadership potential.

In 2004, psychologists Timothy Judge of

BY JULIA PARK

see HEIGHT page 9

BY CLAIRE SHEIH

The impact of height on success

On Feb. 26, the Federal Communica-tions Commission (FCC) ruled to up-hold net neutrality.

Net neutrality is when all data is treated equally, regardless of who creates it. To un-derstand the impact of the ruling, think of the internet as a highway with most fast lanes taken by sites favored by internet service providers (ISPs). Net neutrality excludes these fast lanes, meaning that certain content no longer receives preferential treatment and cable companies cannot charge sites for faster internet traffic. All of us, from students study-ingwat home to small family businesses, will

be granted equal access to the fastest parts of the internet.

The FCC’s decision classifies broadband providers as “common

carriers” under Title II of the Tele-communications Act. This puts

the internet under the same category as other govern-

ment controlled utilities, effectively allowing it to im-plement these new rules.

“The internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be making the rules,” said Tom Wheeler, chair-man of the FCC.

Indeed, internet pro-viders have been known to slow down the traf-fic of certain websites. In 2008, Comcast was

sanctioned by the FCC for secretly slowing down

internet sites that Com-cast decided were threats.

Last year during negotiations with Netflix, Verizon and Com-

cast deliberately slowed down Netflix’s streaming traffic.

“The fact that Verizon and Com-cast deliberately slowed down Netf-

lix makes me feel like they’re abusing their power,” said sophomore Horace

Chen. “They’re basically bullying and intimidating Netflix.”

With the FCC’s new ruling, ISPs like Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast,

will no longer be allowed to slow inter-net traffic and block access to competitors. The new ruling benefits sites such as Netflix,

Amazon and Facebook, but hurts cable com-panies such as Comcast and Verizon.

Critics claim that net neutrality is a gov-ernment overreach and violates the concept of free market. Because the FCC’s 317-page order has not been released to the public, they believe that the FCC’s lack of transpar-ency means it has something to hide. Not surpisingly, more than 24 providers, includ-ing Comcast, AT&T and Verizon, are against net neutrality.

“The government regulating the internet doesn’t sound too great,” said junior Aditi Lahiri. “It could potentially be a huge mess as the internet is so vast and will have to be regulated by a body of nearly 2,000 people.”

Supporters of net neutrality, includ-ing content providers such as Amazon and Google, say that it embodies the basic prin-ciple on which the internet was built. It en-sures the internet stays fast, fair and prevents the web from becoming a place for profit.

“I personally think the ruling is good be-cause net neutrality allows everyone who has access to the internet to use it equally,” said Chen. “There’s no reason for bigger companies to need priority.”

The FCC’s decision has an overarching ef-fect on everyone who uses the internet, Lyn-brook students included.

“This ruling affects me because I play games and use streaming websites and com-panies that aren’t as big,” said Chen. “If net neutrality wasn’t passed, it could easily mean that larger companies would receive priority over things I did use, and the things I did use would be slowed down considerably.”

The upholding of net neutrality ensures that the internet is a level playing field for all, meaning small businesses and startups are able to compete with larger companies.

With this ruling, internet users will not have to pay additional fees for faster internet access, ensuring internet users of a universal internet speed for all data.

“I remember a few months ago when websites like Wikipedia and Tumblr dis-played pages full of loading symbols to raise awareness for net neutrality,” said Lahiri. “I can’t imagine a future where all my webpag-es were actually that slow.”

In the next few years, a slew of legal chal-lenges over these new rules is expected as ISPs will fight to maintain their control over the internet.

Investigating recent ver-dicts on net neutrality and following consequences

NEWS//

INDEPTH//

in our culture, desirable because we tend to judge taller people unconsciously as look-ing more confident or capable or successful,” said school psychologist Brittany Stevens.

Furthermore, a taller person must look down and a shorter person must look up in order to make proper eye contact, and that unequal gaze is connected to the association of greater height with greater power.

“The process of literally ‘looking down on others’ may cause one to be more confident,” said Judge in the study. “Similarly, having oth-ers ‘look up to us’ may instill in tall people more self-confidence.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KATHLEEN CUI

The Feb. 3 FUHSD Board of Trust-ees meeting was no ordinary one. About 150 people, versus the usual

few, showed up because of one particular-ly contentious item on the night’s agenda--whether to approve Verizon’s request to install cellular equipment at Lynbrook.

Verizon first contacted FUHSD last spring with the proposal to install an an-tenna on the roof of the gym as well as a generator on the side of the building. Both parties cited the benefits that improved signals would provide. Additionally, the 15-year renewable contract provides for a $2,200 monthly payment to the district.

According to Board of Trustees mem-ber Bill Wilson, the funds would go “...di-rectly to the school to support programs… based on the principal’s discretion.”

At around the same time that Verizon presented its proposal, information about the plan was mailed to local residents. The request was subsequently reviewed and approved by the City of San Jose in a public meeting on June 25, 2014.

At the February meeting, many par-ents who spoke were concerned about the cell tower, in particular potential health problems it could pose for students. The “No Cell Towers in Schools” group, which

Dear Readers,

For our second issue of 2015, we chose to look beyond the boundaries of Lynbrook and explore issues affecting our greater commu-nities. Our front page story on net neutrality, our news story on vaccinations (pg. 3), and our rape education opinion story (pg. 4) re-flect this dedication to hunt for stories wher-ever they are.

For other reading, check out our features story on a high-school knife-maker (pg. 9) and our in-depth story on middle college (pg. 11). In sports, be sure to check out our look into athlete burnout (pg. 13). Investigate why readers are drawn to books with sad endings (pg. 12).

Happy reading,James Wilhelmi and Khaya Bhatia

Letter from the Editors

Tension rises over cell tower proposalis composed of many concerned Lynbrook and Cupertino High community members, pointed to various studies by groups like the Scientific Institute of Public Health in Bel-gium that have linked the radio frequency energy from cell towers to serious health problems, including increased risk of cancer in children.

Wilson, however, says that “impartial groups such as the World Health Organiza-

tion and the American Cancer Society have clearly stated that they do not believe such facilities represent a health risk” and that the “FCC set limits on emissions from cell sites based on extensive study by experts, and the proposed sites would be well under those

limits.” A study of the proposed site at Lyn-brook by Hammett & Edison, Inc., a consult-ing group hired by Verizon, concluded that the proposed installation “can comply with the prevailing standards for limiting public exposure to radio frequency energy.”

Another point of conflict is the fact that Lynbrook already has three cell towers from T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel and AT&T, which are all located on the roof of the gym and were installed in 2001, 2004 and 2011.

In the end, the Board elected to defer Verizon’s request while FUHSD staff mem-bers and Verizon work together to search for alternative cell tower sites and confirm whether the proposed sites at Lynbrook and Cupertino High are the best options to sup-ply reliable cell phone coverage to the area. There are plans in place to hold another meeting on the matter, though no date has been announced as of this writing.

Verizon might have its cell tower soon. In the meantime, the opposition rages on. Quoting a Canadian school district that vot-ed against cell towers, the “No Cell Towers in Schools” group says that “...when it comes to protecting children, you take as few chances as possible. We won’t stop until the schools give up the plan to put up new towers.”

BY IRIS ZHAO

BY RENUKA BELWALKAR

Khare started working on her project in June 2014 after emailing Stanford professor KC Huang. Her project studied a protein in bacteria as it transitions

from different growth phases to better understand what causes the organisms to develop antibiotic resistance.

“By studying mutants of the structural protein, I can analyze how new antibiotics can be developed to target sections of bacteria that current antibiotics are ineffective in targeting,” said Khare.

Because of her previous experience with microbiology, she wanted to do an experiment where computational work could be combined with bacteria cultures. Khare wanted to be able to see her experiment through both computational and biology perspectives.

She conducted her research under the guidance of Huang and received support from science teacher Jason Lee as well as former Lynbrook teacher Amanda Alonzo.

“It was amazing to be able to have a one-on-one interac-tion with my professor more than twice a week because it gave me the feeling that my research was not only important to me, but it was important to my professor, my lab and the scientific community,” said Khare.

Huang sent her a lot of articles to read, which helped with a project ideas after doing some research.

“It was actually really fun because it’s coming from an AP Biology class where we learned the fundamental level of biol-ogy, and it’s really interesting to see how much more specific the details can get of biology in general,” said Khare.

After developing a project plan, she got her professor’s approval. Khare was already familiar with most of the lab equipment and liked the environment because it allowed her to conduct experiments to learn for her own enjoyment.

“I never had the intention of going to Washington D.C for ISTS. I was super excited when I found out I was a finalist. It’s a huge step for me and I feel so honored to represent Lyn-brook in D.C,” said Khare.

Pandya worked on her project for about a year, through a job at NASA Ames Research Center in the Center for Nan-otechnology. The one centimeter device she developed, with the funding of NASA, detects certain protein concen-trations in a the bloodstream which can indicate the risk for cardiac arrest using only one drop.

“A device like this could be used daily for chronic mea-surement or for acute protein detection,” said Pandya.

After developing a water filter during her sophomore year, Pandya realized the power of nanotechnology and wanted to pursue this interest. She received support from her family and former Lynbrook Biology teacher Amanda Alonzo, and conducted her research under the guidance of her mentor from NASA.

As of now, she wishes to continue working on her proj-ect by fine-tuning the prototype and making it consumer-savvy.

In the same internship as Tam, the Stanford Institute of Medical Research, Navaratna studied the genome of a hybrid yeast species to determine its origins and identify rearrange-ments that may have occurred in response to varied geo-graphical and environmental conditions. She started work-ing on her project in June 2014, with previous experience of genomics and bioinformatics through her AP Biology class and an internship during the summer of 2012.

Navaratna conducted her research under the guidance of her mentor, Dr. Gavin Sherlock. Navaratna’s older brother, a former Intel semifinalist himself, inspired her to become in-terested in scientific research.

Navaratna hopes to sequence other organisms like antibi-otics and become a researcher one day.

“I feel like there’s always something more to explore in science so it will never get old--there’s an endless opportu-nity to learn more,” said Navaratna.

Through the Stanford Institute of Medical Research internship, Tam started working on her project in June 2014. She developed an algorithm that normalizes stains in digital pathology images, which helps optimize cancer modeling applications that diagnose tumors and predict survival time.

Tam worked on her project in Stanford’s lab with the guidance of her mentor, Jocelyn Barker, and the professor she worked with, Dr. Daniel Rubin.

“I really loved my mentor, she was always there for me. She was very inspiring for me and she always made a point to teach me everything about research.” said Tam.

Tam’s algorithm is being integrated into the Stanford lab by other researchers. This will be used to study cancer microenvironments and to predict if the cancer will me-tastasize. She is in the process of publishing the write-up and hopes other scientists will use her algorithm.

On Jan. 7, 300 high school seniors were selected as semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search 2015 (ISTS). Seniors Somya Khare, Allison Tam, Nidhi Navaratna and Ruchi Pandya were semifi-nalists from Lynbrook High while Khare was one of the 40 students selected as a finalist.

STEPHANIE LU--EPICSTEPHANIE LU--THE EPIC SHEFALI VIJAY--EPIC

SHEFALI VIJAY--EPIC

For more information on this topic, go to lhsepic.com

Black Light RallyThe Black Light Rally will take place on Friday, March 6 in the gym with the theme “Outer Space.” Each class will be presenting a dance performance and winter sports will also be recognized at the rally.

Color DanceLynbrook’s first Color Dance will be held on Friday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in the quad. The dance was introduced as a cheaper and more popular alternative to Sadies. Tick-ets will be sold at the door for $5 with an ASB card and $7 without.The concept of the dance is similar to that of a Color Run, with attendees throwing packets of color.

Blood DriveLynbrook Red Cross will be holding its an-nual blood drive on March 30 in the cove, in partnership with the American Red Cross. Staff, parents, and students at least 16 years old can donate and receive a coupon for a free pint of Baskin-Robbins ice cream. The American Red Cross will donate the blood for local hospitals to use.

Spring PlayStudio 74 will be hosting its spring play “The Terezin Promise” beginning on March 28 at 7:30 p.m. The play follows the story of a teacher in a concentration camp, and her struggles to keep her class’s children free and fearless.

By Urmila Venkataramani

News in Brief

Measles disease causes vaccine bill to proceed

Due to a recent measles outbreak stemming from Disneyland, con-troversy over whether or not to let

parents decline to vaccinate their children has hit California, with parents, students and politicians debating the intricacies of a supposed bill to make notable changes to California’s vaccine policies.

On Jan. 7, state officials informed the public that seven confirmed measles cases in California might have been spread by

Disneyland tourists. Ten days later that number was up to 50, and a month afterwards that number was around 100. Many of the patients

were unvaccinated, lead-ing a few schools, including Hunting-ton Beach High School in southern California, to tell unvaccinated stu-dents to stay home. These outbreaks have caused two state senators, Dr. Richard Pan and Ben Allen, to pro-pose a new bill to change California vaccination law.

These changes are expected to overturn a previous law that currently allows parents to make the choice to vaccinate their children due to personal, ethical or religious reasons or not. This aspect

BY SHREYAS IYER of the vaccination process, called a “Personal Belief Exemption,” has long been criticized by politicians and parents alike for leaving children at risk of contracting contagious diseases. Unless one has a medical concern, he or she must be vaccinated in order to en-roll in a school, according to the new bill.

Like the aforementioned politicians and parents, sophomore Sean Jergensen and freshman Marcus Pearce take issue with the personal exemption rule.

“There haven’t been enough studies to justify any kind of argument that any [anti-vaccination] parents are making,” said Jer-

gensen. “You can’t expect your kids to not get immunizations simply because there is one kid with an onset of autism. In a sample size of a million kids, to have only a few reported cases, it doesn’t warrant that kind of a re-sponse.”

Pearce agrees with Jergensen, citing the possibilities of long-dormant diseases re-turning to plague the state.

“Diseases have more possible hosts, so, [without vaccinations], it would be harder for them to be eradicated,” said Pearce.

The lack of vaccinations for students might turn out to be a dangerous problem.

The disease, al-though unlikely to mutate, is con-sidered very con-tagious. Studies have shown that around 95 per-cent of people in a given area must be vaccinated to stop spreading. An outbreak may occur, however if, say, a family that practices a certain religion refuses to vaccinate children beliefs.

Los Gatos pe-diatrician Lewis A. Osofsky explains his protocol for working with non-vaccinated stu-dent-patients.

“I only take care of vaccinated patients because I don’t want to put my other patients at risk,” said Osofsky. “I have several patients who are immune-depressed or have cancer, and if they get some of these conditions [due to not vaccinating] it could be life-threatening for them.”

The support for Pan and Allen’s bill has grown all around California, with many ma-jor political figures, including Senators Di-anne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer as well as Governor Jerry Brown voicing their assent. Many important notions, however, including what ought to be considered a valid exemp-tion from vaccination, are not yet specified in the bill.

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On Feb. 3, Harper Lee announced the upcoming publication of her second novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” to much

fanfare. It has since been billed as the long-awaited sequel to the classic “To Kill A Mock-ingbird,” a book that has endured throughout the years in no small part due to its relevance to the events of today, especially regarding its

examination of race and the courts of crimi-nal justice. Other parts of the book, however, have proven to become more and more an-tiquated as the years go on- after all, even Bob Ewell didn’t try insisting on the 1930s version of Fox News that “we don’t have rac-ism in America anymore”, and Tom Robinson made it to the trial without a scratch from police brutality, unlike many today.

As such, an update was sorely needed, so once the acquisition of the sequel was an-nounced, the Internet rejoiced in the likes of which I have not seen since it was reported that there was a chance that Justin Bieber might actually get deported back to Canada. Such was the level of happiness that many in their deluded optimism also held out in vain for the hope that E.L. James would never write another book again.

Naturally, such infectious happiness, a horrible, rotting disease to the pitch-black depths of my soul, caused me to assume that

something had to be wrong.Unnaturally, in all my conspiracy-theo-

rist-tinfoil-hat wearing glory, was actually right for once. (Though my fear was more that “Go Set a Watchman” would be a para-normal romance cash cow ghostwritten by Stephenie Meyer alternatively titled “The Werewolf Hunter--Atticus Strikes Back” than a cash cow that Lee was potentially manipu-lated into selling. But potato, potahto.)

Considering that the announcement of the publication of “Go Set a Watchman” came three months after the death of Lee’s sister, Alice Lee, the timing seems suspicious and potentially exploitative--especially when you take into account the fact that Alice doubled as Harper’s protector from the press and publishers seeking to take advantage of Harper’s frail condition prior to her passing. After all, according to Business Insider, Lee has been documented in court filings against her agent for “robbing” her of the copyright

of “To Kill a Mockingbird” as having some serious physical and mental disabilities now in her old age that make reading documents difficult and therefore leave her vulnerable to financial exploitation.

Making the timing of her announcement in the wake of her sister’s death doubly sus-picious is the fact that Lee has stated many times in the past that she never intended to publish a novel again. But less than three months after the Sheriff Tate to her Boo Rad-ley passes, so to say, she is “pleased” that her book is being published--or at least accord-ing to the statement passed on by her lawyer and publishers--clearly the most unbiased sources, as they most definitely have zero fi-nancial incentive in the publishing of “Go Set a Watchman.”

Given the circumstances, to paraphrase Marcellus in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”--some-thing is rotten in the state of Alabama. But this time, it’s not King Hamlet’s ghost.

A sequel for profitIRIS ZHAO//AS I SEE IT

On March 17, 2013, the nation’s atten-tion was trained on a courthouse lo-cated in Steubenville, Ohio. The trial

that had unfolded during the previous week shed light on the prominence of high school rape and relationship violence. By the end of the day, assailants Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, had been found guilty of rape of a minor. Both were given minimum prison sentences and their names were added to the sex offenders registry.

Rape incidents in high schools and col-leges all over the nation, similar to the one in Steubenville, have brought media attention to the matter. To ensure that students under-stand the severity of rape and the indicators of unsafe dating behavior, rape education should be included in the school curriculum.

Legislation introduced by Senators Claire McCaskill and Tim Kaine dubbed “The Teach Safe Relationships Act of 2015” will mandate health education in public schools to include guidance on safe relationship behavior.

“One thing we’ve learned in our work to curb sexual violence on campuses is that many young people partake in sexual rela-tionships before they turn 18, so they need to learn how to conduct themselves in a man-ner that is safe for themselves and others,” said Senator McCaskill in a public statement.

Little guidance is currently provided con-cerning relationship behavior and unsafe dating behavior, and this silence hurts stu-dents. The majority of the curriculum cov-ers abstinence, a practice that not all high schoolers follow.

“If students are having sex in high school, the current Human Growth and Develop-ment curriculum probably would not change their decision on having sex,” said junior Ishi-ta Dubey. “Teaching them about dealing with unsafe situations would be more helpful for them both now and in the future.”

If the legislation passes, Lynbrook stu-dents will find relationship guidance includ-ed in the freshman biology Human Growth and Development (HG&D) curriculum, serv-ing as a necessary basis of discussion sur-rounding rape and dating safety.

Rape education should be a requirement because students need to learn how to take necessary precautions and understand po-

tential consequences. The parameters of consent are best learned from a teacher or respected adult so that the matter is taken seriously. The ambiguity of consent has long sparked debate, leading California to pass the “Yes Means Yes” law. The legisla-tion defines consent as “...an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision.” This definition should be clearly taught to students so that they understand the ne-cessity of its implementation and that “no” is not a “yes,” just as silence is not either.

While students should know how to behave in a respectful manner, it would be beneficial for them to have prior under-standing of what consent is and how they should handle it before they leave for col-lege. With the lack of consent education, students run the risk of committing ac-tions that they don’t know are unsafe for themselves or others because they had no formal instruction on the matter.

The severe lack of understanding of rape has given rise to “rape culture,” which includes jokes and imagery that normalize rape. Within rape culture, the heinous ac-tions committed are believed to be justi-fied by the victim’s actions rather than finding fault in the rapists themselves.

The majority of victims do not report their cases. In fact, the U.S. Justice Depart-ment’s figures show that only 37% of sex-ual assaults are reported.

Students need to be taught about the severity of rape in order to understand the need to take necessary action. If the victim does not tell a person of authority about the rape and take preventive measures, they run the risk of recurrence.

While some may argue that teachers are not capable of speaking to rape-relat-ed issues, the new curriculum can be im-plemented like any other. Teachers can be taught the new material by taking sensi-tivity courses concerning consent, dating safety and rape prevention to help them get ready for the change in standards.

Given the gravity of the current situa-tion concerning rape on college and high school campuses, the addition of rape education to the high school biology cur-riculum is a necessary step to ensure the understanding and safety of students na-tionwide.

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Fresh Off the Boat,” the new ABC sitcom based on chef Eddie Huang’s memoir, details the Huangs move from D.C.’s

Chinatown to predominantly white Orlando for the sake of a cowboy restaurant. Besides being an amazing, subversive sitcom in its own right, “Fresh Off the Boat” (“FOB”) shat-ters the idea that Asian characters can only be kung fu masters, nerdy kids, or exotic arm candy.

While a most of its humor stems from the cultural differences that the Huangs face in predominantly white Orlando, it is based more on alienation than race. More to the point, “FOB” is no different from an average American sitcom, except that it has more ma-terial. Most family sitcoms draw their humor from slightly dysfunctional family; “FOB” has that, as well as a stronger connection with Asian-American viewers, and, most impor-tantly, the potential to explore racial issues.

Despite feeling that the show was un-eventful, junior Ivan Wu acknowledged the deftness with which “FOB” turns racial ten-sions into comedic gems. “I rarely see ste-reotype-driven jokes in TV shows, because they’re not accepted,” said Wu. “But [“FOB”]

Students and staff, it is my unfortunate duty to inform you of the outbreak of a deadly disease that has been sweeping

the nation: the pro-vaccine movement. Yes, it is back. How naive of us to think we eradi-cated an illness founded on scientific fact, the one thing that spreads faster than measles and the flu.

Parents, I am a wholehearted proponent of your highly justified cause. I mean, notable actress Jenny McCarthy did claim that vac-cinations caused her son’s autism. I guess that must mean the thousands of case stud-ies conducted by the CDC and several health organizations disputing the relationship be-tween vaccines and autism are clearly mis-taken. Bravo to those parents taking a stand against science and logical reasoning and not giving into the government propaganda that is vaccines. There’s nothing that embodies freedom more than sending your unvacci-nated child to school.

Honestly, what does the government think it’s doing, going around and spreading science like its job is to protect the people? It’s not like the American government was designed to serve the people to the best of its ability. So how dare it try to infringe upon our freedom to spread potentially fatal diseases.

Luckily, one brave member of Congress swimming against the tide and fighting the government’s scientifically backed, ulterior agenda. I want to take this moment to com-mend Congressman Bill Posey. Posey had done an admirable job of fighting the pro-vaccine movement, calling out the “incestu-ous relationship between the public health community and the vaccine makers and pub-lic officials.” He even has the mental fortitude to propose investigating the CDC for doc-toring vaccine research results. If that’s not bravery, I don’t know what is. I mean, he does call himself “Mr. Accountability,” and there’s nothing that demonstrates accountability better than challenging the health organi-zation tasked with protecting our country. I wish my local congressman had the gump-tion of Congressman Posey and a nickname as inspirational as his.

As terrible as the pro-vaccine trend is, I haven’t even gotten to the worst part yet. If this movement continues, there will likely be significant strides in medical research and innovation. I don’t understand why the gov-ernment could condone this trend if it will lead to a society that gives into factual truths.

The prospect of having to see more in-nocent citizens be injected with life saving drugs both frightens and infuriates me. If we want a nation that is mentally strong and ca-pable of resisting science, we must not give in to the pro-vaccine movement. Jenny Mc-Carthy and Congressman Posey cannot lead the anti-scientific revolution alone.

It could not be more clear than it is now. We, the people of the United States, must fight tooth and nail to reverse this movement. It’s a direct affront to our livelihood, individual-ism and freedom. Moreover, vaccines directly contradict our unalienable rights to life, lib-erty and the pursuit of ravaging diseases. Just think about it. The needles used to vaccinate us are plunged into our bodies threaten our lives, the vaccines injected into us are drugs that violate our liberty and the ensuing pain from that gigantic poke destroy our pursuit of infectious diseases. Our founding fathers would roll over in their graves if they knew just how harsh the oppression that the gov-ernment has imposed to keep its citizens healthy is.

The pro-vaccine movement has gone on long enough. It is vital to unite behind a dis-trust of science and truth to reverse this hei-nous trend. And the first step in doing so is to take the initiative to not get vaccinated.

Vaccines: A deadly weapon

managed to pull them off.”Despite their status as being part of a

“model minority,” Asians in the media have traditionally been emasculated if male, and sexualized or made submissive if female. Jes-sica Huang (played by an absolutely on point Constance Wu) openly flouts the latter ste-reotype; Louis Huang fits the role of the af-fable Asian man, but even then he shows an undeniably canny side to him that ultimately crushes any stereotypes as well. He under-stands how to twist racial prejudices to his own benefit: White people might not want to buy cowboy food from an Asian man, but surely they’d buy it from a white man.

The show also addresses the discrimina-tion that Asian-Americans face. “I know [the first cafeteria scene],” where Eddie Huang’s younger onscreen counterpart is ridiculed for his Chinese lunch, “happens to people--Indian people especially, because their food can smell pretty pungent. People do talk about them behind their backs,” said junior Ji-In Moon, who attended a white-majority high school before moving to Lynbrook this year. Moon also commended the pinnacle of the episode, in which Eddie is shoved and called a racial slur. “It’s good for [viewers to see that] this is a problem in some places,

and that Asian people do also receive neg-ative treatment,” she said, referencing the Asian stereotypes her former classmates would subject her to.

“FOB” does incorporate stereotypes; for example, Eddie Huang’s on-screen mother Jessica Huang is a tiger mom, something the real Eddie Huang lamp-shades in a voice-over. For her, Eddie’s perfect grades are cause for suspicion, not pride; she even creates an at-home ver-sion of Kumon for her sons because she believes school is too easy.

If that overachieving academic obses-sion was the entirety of her character, something would have to be said about the way “FOB” treats its characters, but as the rest of the show impresses upon its viewers, Jessica Huang isn’t contained within a narrow stereotype; she might force her kids to do math problems out-side of school, but she also stands up for them when they’re called into the princi-pal’s office. She deals with worries of her own, like making friends in an all-white neighborhood. Her characterization de-fies the previously defined boundaries that previous onscreen Asians have had to abide by.

DHIRAJ NALLAPOTHULA//IN MY OPINION

BY STEPHANIE LU

All aboard a new family comedy Fresh Off The Boat anchors its cultural values in American media

STEPHANIE LU - EPIC

The 87th annual Academy Awards was rife with dis-course surrounding political issues, including immi-gration, gender, sexual, and racial equality; though

seemingly unusual, politics have been intertwined with the Oscars for decades. Though many do not appreciate this phenomena, it is important for attendees to discuss social issues because of the potential to reach out to a larger audi-ence. The Academy itself should also rely on current social issues when making decisions based on nominees.

While it can be argued that Academy Award attendees have the ability to voice these opinions elsewhere, the Os-cars are truly the time and the place for these discussions. Many of the nominated movies have political themes; it makes sense for those involved with the movies to discuss those themes. The Oscars are also the only event when at-tendees have a large audience to express their views, be-cause many attendees do not usually have a platform on which to express political and social opinions -- people are only interested in hearing about their personal lives.

Some attendees bring up political issues unrelated to their movies; however, these people are given the oppor-tunity to speak, either through an acceptance speech or on the red carpet, and should be allowed to say voice their opinions on any issue. Besides, attendees are usually well-educated and informed, and some are even activists in their own right, like Mark Ruffalo and Angelina Jolie. By bringing attention to issues, attendees could increase international support for an issue, and potentially lead to solutions.

Politics should not be present only within the show, but also in the Academy’s nomination decisions. The Academy Awards may have merely begun as a way to recognize out-standing achievement in film, but now, the Awards are more than that; they are an event broadcasted to over 200 coun-tries, whose nominees are brought much fame and atten-tion. While the initial goal of the Academy has, and should always, continue, the Academy has the added pressure of picking nominees that represent causes that deserve inter-national acclaim. It should be a priority, therefore, to bring attention to movies related to important issues. The Selma snub was largely criticized because of the state of race rela-tions today--more nominations for the movie would have shown solidarity for minorities and their endeavors.

The Academy Awards are no longer simply a ceremony celebrating movie making; they play an important role in emphasizing important political and social issues.

BY YONI ZEMYLAK

In the spring of 2014, Verizon contacted the FUHSD to propose the addition of cell equipment at Lynbrook High School. The

Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement De-partment of the City of San Jose approved this request during a meeting on June 25, 2014.

At the Feb. 3 Board of Trustees meeting, however, parents in the community voiced their concerns about the health risks of an additional cell tower, prompting the Board to defer Verizon’s request.

Principal John Dwyer said, “The adminis-tration was notified in advance, but this was the 4th installation, we have MCI, AT&T, and T-mobile [cell towers], so we didn’t feel it was necessary to notify the community because we already had these installations.”

Despite the precedent supposedly estab-lished by those contracts, the lack of written communication reveals a lack of transparency on the administration’s part that has affected the latest proceedings.

According to a statement issued by FUHSD District Communications Coordinator Sue Larson, a notification was posted at Lynbrook on May 21 of last year in the form of a single sign on the fence by the swimming pool, facing out toward Johnson Avenue and a notification was mailed by the City of San Jose on May 29 of last year to 399 homes within 500 feet of

The politics of the Oscars

Sending a signal of transparency to Lynbrook

the prospective site.The fact that both the district and the

school believe that a single sign on the swimming pool fence in a non-visible loca-tion is considered full transparency warrants parents’ frustration to-ward Lynbrook and the FUHSD.

Sujuan Cai, a Lyn-brook parent who is part of the “No Cell Towers in School” group, did not get a no-tice about the Cell Tow-er contract--her family heard about it for the first time on Jan. 30 by word of mouth.

“Initially, I was shocked when I found out. It felt wrong,” said Cai. “I went to mul-tiple houses to talk about the issue, and the reaction I got from most families was con-fusion.”

Furthermore, because the administra-tion did not send its own notice of the pro-posal, only residents within 500 feet of

Lynbrook--a fraction of the attendance area of the school--as well as those who happened to see the sign, could have been aware of the proposal before it was initially approved at the June 25 meeting.

“They should have been sending it to every parent, not just telling us what was happening, but also asking us for our opinions,” said Cai.

When asked about why the administra-tion chose not to send their own notice about the pending proposal, Dwyer said that “...there was a lot of community input when we went through this process with the first in-stallation back in 2001, and the board made

Two staff members offer their opinions on whether or not celebrities should speak about political issues during the Oscars.

BY MEERA KRISHNAMOORTHY

Staff EditorialThe Voice of the Epic

its decision as a result of that input. I think the belief is that we already had one cell tow-er, and so there wasn’t much concern about installing any more due to the reasoning and research established with the community at the time.”

The administration should have included the community in the decision-making pro-cess to a greater degree after the proposal of the cell tower.

“Things definitely would have gone dif-ferently if the district was more transpar-ent with their actions,” said Cai. “If they let parents know earlier, this level of commu-nity shock and outrage would not have hap-pened.”

Instead of posting a single notice, the ad-ministration should have announced the pro-posal during morning announcements or via email to all parents of students that attend the school.

That is not to say that the administra-tion actively excluded the community from its deliberation regarding the proposal--if anything, the decision to defer the proposal in the Feb. 3 meeting demonstrates the dis-trict’s responsiveness to its community.

This responsiveness, however, must exist on a larger scale that provides ample oppor-tunity for community involvement.

The Oscars are America’s most prestigious celebra-tion of cinematic art. In recent years, however, they’ve become a platform for the film community

to express their political leanings.When the Academy awards films simply off political

or social causes they promote, it implies that films lack-ing political statements - specifically ones that the Acad-emy agrees with - stand no chance. If the Academy is set on acknowledging political statements, perhaps they should introduce a Best Political category, but basing decisions on current political and social issues taints the Oscars’ reputation.

In addition, individuals who receive awards should take care to ensure that any political or social cause rhet-oric they entertain during their acceptance speeches is clearly relevant to the film. Graham Moore, for example, who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screen-play for “The Imitation Game”, was justified in bringing light to the issue of suicide - his spiel was relevant to the film, as its protagonist Alan Turing committed suicide at 41. But too often, individuals use their speeches as av-enues to recklessly proselytize a cause that is completely unrelated to the film. At this year’s Oscars, Best Actress winner Patricia Arquette went out of her way to voice her support for granting women equal pay. Although the wage gap remains a problem, Arquette’s timing - paint-ing all women as underpaid while she was receiving the most prestigious award in an industry known for over-the-top glamor - and the fact that her movie “Boyhood” never addressed the issue, made her assertions seem out of place. To make things worse, Arquette is a millionaire who never suffered from being underpaid; her choice advocate for a cause not directly affecting her is respect-able, but the ostensible elitism added layers of hypocrisy and selfishness to her good intent.

While the Academy Awards are indeed a good plat-form to promote a cause due to the sheer number of viewers, most of the ceremony’s attendees are constant-ly in the spotlight. They have more than enough power to build impactful organizations that promote their cause, or at least lend their name to one - and they often do. But at the Oscars, their rhetoric should center around art and gratitude to those who helped them along the way - po-litical and social causes, both in their speeches and in the Academy’s decisions, should take a backseat.

GRAPHIC BY CLAIRE SHEIH

So let’s not waste any time and get on with the subject at hand: Spoons.

Some of you underclassmen may have no-ticed that a good quarter of the student body has started to bring these plastic spoons to school, clutching them as if they are ritualis-tic totems. Some of you may have seen them wearing ridiculous costumes on certain days of the week. Some of you may be confused as to why any sane person would do such a thing, and that’s understandable: I definitely was (and still am, frankly).

It’s the game of Spoons, once called ‘Assas-sins’ in happier times, in which the normally peaceful members of the senior class are pit-ted against one another in a competition that escalates into a life or death struggle (I mean this quite literally--my cousin Shin, bless his soul, exploded after being eliminated from the top 10).

And since I don’t want most of you to ex-plode, I’ve put together a foolproof list of tips that will help you survive this horrific game.

1: Never leave the houseThis one’s obvious. If nobody at school

knows you even exist, there’s no way you’re

going to get tagged. However, this method does come with

some unavoidable, albeit small, drawbacks, consisting of but not limited to the loss of one’s social life, dramatic drops in grade point average, vitamin D deficiency, and/or disownment.

You’ll find that these negative effects are largely inconsequential in the context of get-ting that first place prize. Just be wary when the truancy officers come knocking at your door, as they are more likely than not in co-horts with your killer.

2: Trust no oneAnd I really do mean it. Not your friends, your parents, the

spokespeople in commercials, even your teachers when they give you homework as-signments. Especially not teachers when they give you homework assignments. The moon landing was a lie.

Let’s face it: the reason you signed up for this game in the first place was so you could knock off years of your life from stress and paranoia, right?

3: Stop posting about your life every five minutes on Instagram

What better way is there to broadcast your location to everybowdy than using so-cial media? It’s like begging your killer to come get you. But in all seriousness, even if you aren’t playing Spoons, this tip still ap-plies. It’s a general rule of life. And if you are one of those people who find themselves physically unable to eat a meal before first taking a photo of it, surviving in Spoons is least of your worries. You can trust me on this one, it’s been proven that making too many social media posts about yourself will, in fact, ruin the world.

4. Bring a fork to schoolFrankly speaking, forks are the most ver-

satile and useful among kitchenware and cutlery instruments. The utilitarian design of forks allow them to be used as a tool of self defense against your potential killers, and can also be used to eat a sandwich, if neces-sary. In fact, I myself make it a point to bring a fork with me for any circumstance. Besides, its not like anyone’s going to notice the fork in your hand is not a spoon.

On my experienceswith spoons

It’s hopeless: the horse has followed me to the new semester, despite the best efforts of all the editors to remove it from my col-

umn photos. It seems that the horse is here to stay, and I have no doubt in my mind that it will find a way to sneak into this issue’s col-umn photo as well.

BY AMANDA CHANG

From a young age, junior and Simple Wardrobe founder Linda Yao was interested in fashion, style and business. In October, Yao found a way to pursue

all of these passions while helping the less fortunate. “I always dreamed of having my own store, but I never

really acted upon it,” said Yao. Last summer, Yao attended a camp that worked with

a poor village in Ningxia, China to practice microfinance. The camp loaned money to farmers to help them buy their own crops for their businesses, and the farmers agreed to return the money in later years.

“After seeing the hardships the villagers were going through, the camp really inspired me to put my dreams into action and to add the aspect of microfinance so that I could help others in need,” said Yao.

Coming back from the camp, Yao wanted to create her own online shop and donate the profits to people who needed money to start their own companies. She founded Simple Wardrobe in October in partnership with Kiva, a microfinance company. Every time Simple Wardrobe sells an item, the profit is loaned through Kiva to other families, who then use the money for their own businesses.

“After reading families’ stories, we pick the ones that we believe will use the money effectively and wisely,” said Yao.

After creating her webiste, Yao decided to select items from a manufacturer in China. After receiving the items, Yao finds models and sophomore Yinan Su takes the pictures. Af-ter the photoshoots, Yao selects pictures for the website and writes descriptions to make everything presentable.

Yao estimates that she works on Simple Wardrobe for around two to three hours a day. When new clothes arrive, she edits and uploads pictures, which can take an entire weekend. Yao, however, enjoys working on Simple Wardrobe.

“Because I’m so passionate about Simple Wardrobe, time flies when I’m working on it,” said Yao. “I think all the time I spent on it is worth it because of the people that I help. Work-ing on Simple Wardrobe is like a prize.”

Beyond models and photographers, many other people have helped with Simple Wardrobe. Her sister has been sup-portive with every aspect, her DECA team helps her with numbers and promotions, Monta Vista junior Vanessa King gives her marketing ideas and Lucas Yan, an acquaintance through Yao’s sister, manages the website.

“Linda used to model all her clothes, and I suggested us-ing other models because it would show more diversity,” said sophomore Joyce Wang, a member of Yao’s DECA team.

Since its creation three months ago, Simple Wardrobe has generated sales through marketing campaigns, word of mouth and social media. The two main forms of adver-tising utilized are Facebook and Instagram. Through In-stagram, Simple Wardrobe sends clothes to established Instagram users who then model and post their clothing so that their followers see Simple Wardrobe’s collection.

The overall response has been positive. Simple Ward-robe receives around three to five purchases a week.

“Simple Wardrobe is a really good non-profit site,” said sophomore Maggie Pan, who has modeled for Simple Wardrobe. “I definitely plan to buy clothes from her soon.”

Looking to the future, Yao has many hopes and goals. “I am ambitious, but I’m also practical,” said Yao. “Ev-

eryone defines success differently. For me, Simple Ward-robe will be a success when I can help families. Every time someone purchases clothes, and I know that the money will go toward a family that will use the money wisely, I know that I have accomplished something.”

Although Simple Wardrobe allows Yao to pursue her passions, the most important part for her is to help others.

“It’s a cycle of kindness,” said Yao. “Every time I give money, I know the family will use it to establish them-selves and then help others in need.”

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FEATURES SECTION

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GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FEATURES SECTION

ceive drawing requests, and ever since then she has been commissioning art for others.

Phoebe usually receives requests to draw specific anime characters- however, people have also asked her to draw themselves or just anything she wants to draw. Eleanor, too, receives requests from people who want her to draw them-selves, as well as more complicated requests such as fan art or event flyers.

“There was one person who wanted a new icon for her Tumblr,” said Eleanor. “But it’s kind of vague when you ask for something like that.”

When faced with multiple commissions, Eleanor usually starts with the ones that seem the most urgent or interesting. She feels satisfied when she creates something beautiful, and commissioning for others increases her contentment.

“Drawing for others makes it so much more enjoyable, and it pushes me to work a lot harder,” she said.

Intrinsic motivation and inspiration are Phoebe’s main motivations to complete requests. The rate at which she fin-ishes commissions depends on the complexity of the request, as well as how much free time she has. No matter how long it may take for Phoebe to finish a commission, however, she al-ways feels rewarded when she presents it to her clients, who are usually delighted.

“Drawing something or someone for someone is different from giving them food,” said Phoebe. “Even when years pass, they will still remember you when they dig up your art, or see it on their wall.”

Through the ups and downs of high school, artists like Phoebe and Eleanor find meaning and happiness in art com-missioning.

“I am proud to call myself an artist,” said Phoebe.

Art is often a solitary activity, providing recreation mainly for the artist. Many student artists keep their art to themselves, while others share their work with

others. Some, however, go further--a few student artists at Lynbrook commission their art for others to enjoy.

Although she has never taken formal art lessons, sopho-more Eleanor Wang liked art for several years. She currently works mostly with light, two-dimensional media such as pen and watercolor.

“I enjoy doing art because it’s therapeutic,” said Eleanor. “You can easily lose track of time and forget about what’s happening around you.”

Eleanor recently began commissioning to increase the amount of time she spent doing art, since last semester she convinced herself that she did not have the time to draw. As a fledgling commissioner, Eleanor does her work for free and has no due dates.

Sophomore Phoebe Wang is another student art commis-sioner and has enjoyed drawing since kindergarten. While she prefers to work with watercolor and copics, she also does color pencil, ink, pencil and occasionally acrylic. She

is frequently inspired by her surroundings and other artists’ styles.

For Phoebe, art is a method of self-expression, a realm in which she can make anything happen.

“[Art] is my way of putting out my emotions and ideas on paper,” said Phoebe. “Since I am the creator, I can do whatever I want, and show the world my ideas, characters, and stories.”

Around seventh grade, Phoebe began to re-

How to get your license

4: Utilize Social Media Congratulations! You have passed your test (hopefully with few obstacles) and are on your way toward inde-pendence. But first, make sure to post on every form of social media. Instagram a picture at the DMV, tweet a picture of you sitting on your car, and remind people on facebook to “stay off the roads” with an unoriginal status update.

3. Aggression Prevention“Practice makes perfect,” but not if your thirty minute driving session culminates in tears and profanity. When you begin to practice, make sure to chose the most stoic and calm family member. You will inevitably get a little bit of mom arm and passenger seat driving, but that is certainly better than having someone yell into your ear every time you go one mile above the speed limit. In fact, to avoid major freak outs, try to sched-ule your first instructed driving lesson before you drive with your parents to-

2. Know your testing routeIf your testing center is not too far away and your par-ents are willing to make the trip with you, drive in your testing area before your test. Each center is different and will have between three to five different routes that are consistently utilized. Each area is different and you do not want any surprises. From random speed limits to one way streets to “sketchy” neighborhoods, its comfort-ing to know what your test will look like.

BY ISABELLA KIPNIS 1. Study for your permit testAs with any test in school, cramming for your permit test the night before is not the most reliable way to pass the test. Instead, spend the week before your exam reviewing your friends’ recent permit tests. You will find that if you are looking at relatively current versions of the exam, many of the ques-tions will repeat themselves. Online practice tests are also effective, but the wording of the questions is often different and may confuse you on your testing day.

BY ALLISON YUAN

You may think that getting your drivers license is a lot of work. And based off of my experience, you are right. But as you read this, consider the fact that this not only a guide to getting your

drivers license, but a step toward independence. It is an opportunity to expand your world beyond the three mile radius that your bike permits and a chance to not rely on other people for transportation.

5. Maintaining your sanityYour friends will be thrilled that you got your license because either a.) they will not have to chauffeur you around anymore or b.) you can drive them around. If it happens to be the latter, set some ground rules. While MOD piz-za and Pinkberry outings may be fun, driving people home every day can get tedious and expensive. If you end up driving them a lot, do not be afraid to ask them to chip in for gas.

Now hiring: Lynbrook artists

ART ILLUSTRATION BY ELEANOR WANG AND PHOEBE WANG

To be specific, Nguyen puts more focus on the handle-mak-ing process than the blade-making process. Since last year, however, Nguyen began working on creating a complete knife.

“When I started looking at the really expensive knives which can run anywhere from $800 to $2000, I was like ‘well I’m never going to have that kind of money to buy those knives so I’ll just make them myself,’” said Nguyen. “I’ve always kind of doodled around with knives and made designs so I took those and adapted them to workable, physically possible designs.”

Working with G10 fi- berglass, titanium, stainless steel and carbon fiber materi- als, Nguyen crafts his scales and blades in his garage with a variety of tools. Scattered around his ga- rage, their size and unique purpose speak to expertise in the field: 6-inch and 8-inch wheel grinders, a benchgrinder for rough cuts, a 6-inch drill press, a set of files and a pile of sandpaper.

Nguyen recently begun craft-ing his scales with carbon fiber, a strong, durable material for the blades, which never- the-less poses unique chal-lenges. Grinding carbon fiber produces a fine fiber dust that sticks to open skin and should not be inhaled. To protect himself, Nguyen wears a respirator that filters out the dust.

“To get the dust off, I need to take ex-tremely cold showers after, to make sure my pores don’t open further and let the dust in,” said Nguyen. “It’s not fun, but it’s pretty cool stuff.”

Looking to the future, Nguyen has no plans on stopping knife-making any time soon.

“I plan on going into materials and design engineering in college, and hopefully I can become a part-time knife maker,” said Nguyen.

As for now, Nguyen continues to craft his new knife and has the following advice for people interested in getting into the art.

“There’s definitely a factor of dedication which has to be there, because not a lot of people want to wake up on a Sunday morning at 8 or 9, go out to the garage, work in the sun for the next 5 to 6 hours and possibly not create anything that they can use yet,” said Nguyen. “You just have to really want to do it.”

The bitter smell of metal hangs in the air. Stacks of steel sheets line the table, next to imposing wheels and pointed tools. Ziploc bags of spare parts and

sketches, half-disassembled blades and model knives cover the workbench. A soft, whirring purr emanates from the grinders. Most students would not enjoy such a garage, but junior Long Nguyen has spent countless hours here, honing his skill of knife-making.

Nguyen traces his fascination with knives back to a serendipitous gift of a Spyderco Ladybug knife, about three inches long, from his cousin three years ago.

“When I first got the Ladybug, I was fascinated be-cause I just wanted to see how everything worked,” said Nguyen. “Its mechanics and geometry [mesmerized me].”

Beginning with his cousin’s gift, Nguyen explored the field of knife-making in earnest. He started researching online, signed up for sweepstakes from knife companies and eventually bought his first knife, the Cold Steel Tokyo Spike for about $25.

He quickly amassed cheaper $20 to $100 knives, but he yearned for better quality knives, which of course sold for higher prices prohibitive to an unemployed high school student. His parents also were a sticking point for him, in his early days. Nguyen’s passion for knife-making, however, eventually convinced them.

“I saved up money, stood up a lot of friends for food, and made odd things on the side [to sell] like keychains and necklaces,” said Nguyen. “I’ve also worn the same set of clothes for a long time now.”

Of the two major categories of every-day carry knives--traditionals and tacticals--Nguyen prefers the latter, which “...have a more mechanical aspect and fit [his] style better.” Traditional knives and tactical knives emerged from different time periods in knife history and existed for different purposes that influenced their design.

In the early period of his hobby, Nguyen began cus-tomizing his knives by creating new scales, the handles on a knife that cover the blade, for them. In making knives, scales are the easiest parts to make and require the least effort and materials.

“I normally make the scales by taking a production knife that I’ve bought, taking off the scales and replicating them in another material I’ve bought,” said Nguyen.

BY PRASANN RANADE

STEPHANIE LU-EPIC

BY KATHLEEN CUI

Everyone knows somebody whose voice goes up at the end of the sentence like this? That individual who al-ways sounds like they are asking a question, even

though they’re really saying a statement? While on the surface the orator may simply seem unsure

or hesitant to express his or her opinion, the phenomenon in which one’s intonation and pitch rises at the end of the sentence has become so widespread in Generation Z, modern teenagers and youth, that it is labeled “high rising terminal”, or in short, “upspeak.”

While upspeak is suspected to originate from New Zea-land, it gained popularity when numerous actors on popular, teenage Australian soap operas used it frequently. As a result, modern upspeak is most popular in Australia, though it later spread to the United States.

In a study of 300 contestants on Jeopardy, Thomas Linneman, a sociology professor at the College of William & Mary, noted that 37 percent of answers were said using upspeak. Popular explanations about the prominency of up-speak revolve around its positive function in conversations, since a question-like tone that may encourage the addressee to contribute to the discussion. In conjunction with its fa-cilitative function, upspeak has been noted to establish the speaker’s unfinished status, possibly deterring others from interrupting.

Digging deeper into the demographics of upspeakers, Linneman discovered that successful women were much more likely to use upspeak than less successful women. By contrast, the opposite was true for males, with unsuccessful men more likely to use upspeak than successful men.

“In my study of 300 contestants on “Jeopardy”, highly suc-cessful and intelligent women who got farther in the compe-

tition used upspeak much more often than women who did not get as far,” Linneman said.

When asked why this was the case, he based his explana-tion on the deeply ingrained gender stigmas in society.

“Women are generally expected to be more gentle and compassionate,” Linneman noted. “When a successful female contestant realizes that she’s beating the pants off of her fel-low male contestants, who are stereotypically supposed to be assertive and confident, she’ll use upspeak to sound less overbearing--even if she knows she’s answering correctly.”

In addition to disparities in gender, Linneman also discov-ered that while it was clear that grown women used upspeak much more than grown men, teenagers of both genders used upspeak in equal amounts.

“The trend is that in high school, girls and boys tend to use upspeak in the same amounts,” Linneman continued. “Yet as they enter college and gender stigmas become more press-ing, the gap grows--the older the woman, the more she uses upspeak, while the older the man, the less he uses upspeak.”

These inverse trends indicate that while men generally develop confidence with age, equally skilled women further adhere to societal stigmas, better fitting their expected im-age. Hence while feminism and other movements popularize the progress made so far, the subtle linguistic phenomenons indicate an untouched layer of stigma.

In addition to the gender stigmas emphasized by Linneman, feminine nature has also played a distinct role in the uptalk debate as a possible explanation for more frequent uptalk.

“For a lot of young women, they want to be well-liked. If they’re too aggressive, or too pushy, or too declarative, they won’t be well-liked,” New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told The Atlantic. “[Uptalk] is a part of our nature. It’s not a bad part of our nature. [But] it’s a choice every young woman

is going to have to make about how she wants to be and how she wants to be received.”

While chronic upspeak may appear harmless, the consid-erable consequences are shown in a survey conducted by UK publisher Pearson that interviewed 700 people in manage-rial, executive and ownership roles in the workplace. Of these 700 people, 85 percent believe that upspeak is a clear indica-tor of a person’s insecurity and emotional weakness, and 57 percent confirmed that uptalk has the potential to damage a person’s professional credibility. In regard to applicants who used upspeak, only 16 percent said they would be will-ing to gloss over upspeak and focus purely on an applicant’s strengths and aptitude.

Such viewpoints are found not only in authority figures from the workplace, but also in general acquaintances.

“It’s widely recognized that upspeak causes others to view the person as uncertain and unknowledgable about the topic they are discussing. While that may not be the cause, it’s the impression that upspeak gives off,” Linneman said.

The Lynbrook campus holds similar opinions; DECA Club’s co-president senior Sam Khan agrees that the usage of upspeak is to the detriment of the speaker and his or her image.

“Especially when I’m talking professionally around peo-ple, I generally avoid upspeak because it conveys uncertainty and sounds odd, more teenage-like,” Khan said. “I find that people who use upspeak come off as nervous and unconfi-dent. When I listen to someone who uses a lot of upspeak, it’s uncomfortable for me to be around them and they come off as awkward. It makes someone sound really unsure of them-selves.”

Given Linneman’s research, resolving the issue of upspeak starts in high school, before the college years when people discover their identities and are encounter influential soci-etal stigmas.

To remedy chronic upspeak, The College Prepster rec-ommends people to first recognize the moments in which they use upspeak, either through recording their voice, hav-ing others point it out, or simply being extra aware of their pitch. After developing the habit of recognizing moments of upspeak, they should then visualize every statement ending in a literal period, and if by accident their pitch goes up, say the next utterance in a lower pitch.

While a higher pitch may not be a significant prob-lem in casual conversations with friends, toning down the upspeak is especially important during that big college inter-view or keynote presentation. While it may not make one au-tomatically more intelligent, it certainly improves the chanc-es of appearing confident, knowledgeable and ultimately competent. So during the next major presentation, keep the pitch stable for an unforgettable impact and lasting, positive impression.

Studies find standing tall pays offDiscovering the correlation between height and salary, self-esteem, and leadership

harder time convincing employers and co-workers of his leadership potential.

Nicola Persico, a professor of manage-rial economics at Northwestern University, said, “Those who were relatively short when young were less likely to participate in social activities associated with the accumulation of productive skills and attributes.”

Judge explains that the reason for the link between height and leadership is rooted in our evolutionary decision making regarding who is most powerful.

“When humans evolved as a species and still lived in the jungles or on the plain, they ascribed leader-like qualities to tall peo-ple because they thought they would be bet-

ter able to protect them,” said Judge. “Although that was thousands of years ago, those old pat-terns still operate in our perceptions today.”

Stevens hypoth-esizes that a possible reason humans associ-ate height with power is from our childhood ex-perience of being under our parents’ dominance.

“When you’re a little child, you’re physi-cally smaller than your parents and your par-ents have a height advantage over you,” said Stevens. “So early on you begin to adopt this mindset that taller people have authority.”

A study from Oxford University showed that being shorter may result in decrease in self-confidence. In the study, 60 women wore headsets as they participated in two 3D virtual reality trips in which they were able to move around and interact with other vir-tual passengers on the subway. The two trips were identical except that in the second ride, the avatar of the participant was 25 centime-ters shorter than the other.

Participants reported that they felt more vulnerable, more negative about themselves, and had a greater sense of paranoia when they were “shorter.” They often recall think-ing people were being more hostile towards them or trying to isolate them in the second trip.

The lead researcher and clinical psy-chologist, Daniel Freeman, said in the study, “Height seems to affect our sense of social status. The participants’ social esteems plummeted in the trip in which they were ap-proximately a head shorter than usual. The

The biggest correlation between height and salary was evident in occupations in which customer perception had a major impact on success. These jobs include sales, management, service and technical careers, all of which require high levels of social inter-action and face-to-face contact.

“When you engage with someone one-on-one, a taller person has a more com-manding presence and you could feel a little smaller in front of them. Being taller gives you more authority and this could be useful in certain jobs,” said senior Jessica Zheng.

The trend of taller people being more successful seems to hold true at Lynbrook. Because high school-ers don’t typically have full-time jobs, finan-cial success was deter-mined by possession of a president position in a major club or publica-tion. These clubs include Speech and Debate, FBLA, DECA, Science Club, Math Honor Soci-ety, Key Club, Yearbook, Epic and more. The average heights 10 male presidents and 10 female presidents were five feet 9.69 inches and five feet 4.56 inches for males and fe-males, respectively. Taking into account that Lynbrook students are between the ages of 13-18, the average heights of club presidents are significantly higher than the average height of the Lynbrook population.

“In most of the clubs I’ve been to, the presidents are somewhat tall. It’s not

a pattern found in every club, but frequently, the presi-dents are taller than the vast majority of the club’s members, likely because presidents tend to be up-perclassmen,” said senior Kevin Chen.

While being of greater stature can make one present oneself in a fa-vorable way, being short may lower confidence and lead to weak self-esteem. Consequently, a person who lacks con-

fidence may have a

Middle College: A source of alternative educationBY SHIVATEJA VEMIREDDY AND JJ IGNATESCU

Most people grow up thinking that after they get out of elementary school, they go to middle school for three years, then high school for another four before

they finally leave for college. A few students, however, choose to attend De Anza College during their junior or senior year through a program called Middle College.

Middle College offers students the opportunity to satisfy their high school graduation requirements through a college curriculum. Juniors and seniors still take the literature and social studies classes required at Lynbrook, including US His-tory, American Literature, Economics and US Government. In addition to the required classes, there is a variety of courses to chose from, like Psychology, Pottery, or Yoga.

“I signed up for Middle College because I wanted to di-versify my education so that I wouldn’t have to follow a cer-tain pathway,” said sophomore Shaiva Patel. “I wanted to take classes that I would personally enjoy instead of following a set requirement.”

Junior Jamie Shim, a student currently enrolled in Middle College, explains another reason for participating.

“I found out about Middle College through my older brother David. He seemed to really enjoy it and did a lot bet-ter in a college environment,” said Shim. “That really opened my eyes and I wanted to try it out.”

To junior Gayatri Dandu, Middle College provided a sense of direction that Lynbrook wasn’t able to. “I can meet differ-ent people who want to do the same career path as me, so I

know what I can do with my life,” she said.In Middle College, learning style changes alongside the

scenery. Students enjoy more flexibility in creating schedules replete with a variety of electives and different time slots to choose from. The day and time of the class are also mostly up to the student. This gives the high school students more re-sponsibility and freedom than they would have at Lynbrook.

“I think being in college is more personalized, like I felt I was more comfortable trying to talk to my teachers,” said Shim. “All students focus on here is their education and get-ting things right.”

Getting used to a college campus and people can prove

useful for when they actually go to college. Shim claims that she has grown used to seeing significantly older people in her classrooms.

Middle College tends to have some drawbacks which stu-dents at Lynbrook don’t normally have to face. Students have to pay for their own class textbooks, for example. Financial aid can be provided to some students but it isn’t for every-body and still doesn’t cover the full cost of the textbooks.

In the end, it is up to the individual whether or not they think Middle College would be right for them. “I would rec-ommend it for other people,” said Shim. “You need to be really independent and make sure that you can study on your own.”

implication is that greater height can make you more confident in social situations.”

Although there is a strong correlation be-tween height and success, height is definitely not the only factor that plays into determin-ing one’s financial success, self-esteem and leadership potential. Traits such as dedica-tion and work ethic are more significant in-dicators of prospective success. However, the link between height and success is present. Taller people seemingly hold a higher view of themselves and are perceived by others as more powerful or having more authoritative say. Ultimately, the success disparity found in the studies is the result of the intrinsic psy-chological bias for taller people.

continued from HEIGHT page 1

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY JULIA PARK

BY SANA SHARFUDDIN AND CLAIRE CHIANG

From proposed reading lists to the popu-lar fiction books that high school stu-dents enjoy, unhappy endings are more

commonly seen in literature today than ever before. For a society that is constantly relay-ing the message of “be and live happy,” there are an unusual amount of books without happy endings. These popular books include “Things Fall Apart,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “The Giver,” and “The Great Gatsby,” just to name a few.

To some readers, it seems as if the un-happy ending of the book is what brings the novel, author and reader closer together.

“You can connect to the book so much more with all the emotion that is there,” said junior Nikita Seth. “Happiness is just one uniform emotion, while there are so many degrees of sadness.”

Whether a book has an happy ending or not can greatly change the reader’s perspec-tive. Some people religiously avoid happy endings, but others enjoy reading both hap-py and unhappy books and coming to a con-clusion about whether or not the ending was fitting later.

“I straight up avoid books with fluff end-ings because I really enjoy the tragic ending of a book,” said Seth. “It’s more interesting and intense than a fluffy ending.”

Sophomore Katherine Xiao enjoys read-ing all sorts of books, independent of the type of ending. To her, however, the impression a book leaves on her depends on more than just the ending. It also depends on how the ending is structured into the book and how well it continues and develops the story line.

“I can’t really choose between unhappy or happy endings, but endings will always

change my perspective of the book,” said Xiao. “The way the book is written and if the ending is well written and impactful and how the characters tie in are all factors of whether the ending is fitting or not.”

Tragedy can also more easily convey an author’s message for the book and give him or her a chance to allow room for interpreta-tion in the reader’s mind. It can evoke mul-tiple feelings of emotion from the reader, al-lowing him or her to realize different views of the world.

“The perfect story I could ever dream of writing would elicit tears from my audience,” said literature teacher Andrew Seike. “This ideal story would also have the capability of enriching their lives, changing their percep-tion, and broadening their understanding of

the human condition.”Unhappy endings give readers a chance to

go back and make sense of the novel, seeing what led to this ending and what hints the author might have dropped.

“I think authors tend to write unhappy endings because it gives them a chance to develop the characters better,” said Seth. “It also leaves the reader with a deeper impres-sion of the book and for me, some endings make me go back and reread the whole en-tire novel to notice the little details that the author put in leading up to the ending.”

Death is one of the most common forms of unhappy endings that authors write about, along with disappearing characters and heartbreaking goodbyes. Authors consis-tently try out different ways to create a tragic

ending, but death is always the classic un-happy ending that makes an unhappy book good enough to compensate for the tragedy.

“I personally feel that Lynbrook students would experience the most growth through the reading of tragedies” said Seike. “The majority of the student body, many which are affluent, have been afforded a safe and unobstructed environment free of the more common misfortunes that plague our nation, which is a wonderful blessing and curse that may also inhibit their sensitivity and under-standing of the outside world. By reading these tragic novels in all their raw splendor, our students may be able experience a frac-tion of the unpleasantness that makes some-one want to change, grow, and most of all ap-preciate the things they have in their lives.”

The story behind the “Unhappily ever after”Discovering why many of the best selling books tend to have tragic endings

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ART ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY ZHENG

In the ultimate quest for athletic perfection, something has to give.

Three years ago, junior Justin Robison wanted to quit his sport after his calves gave out during a cross country practice. Two years ago, junior Rupa Ganesh wanted to give up tennis after an intense and competitive season. And at an early age, sophomore Amber Masse grew to dislike swimming and eventually caved to the external and internal pressure. What all these athletes share is the love of their sport, and the proximity to quit-ting it. In essence, they experienced a common phenom-enon in athletics known as burnout.

“Burnout is when an athlete is unable to perform a sport to the full extent, when they don’t enjoy the sport anymore, when they’re chronically injured and when they’re having difficulty staying healthy,” said Lynbrook athletic trainer Alex Viveiros.

Naturally, burnout is far more prevalent in college and professional sports because of the higher competi-tion level, but there are a considerable amount of cases in high school sports as well. In each level of competition, however, the root of burnout is usually the same: over-trained and overworked athletes.

“Because of overtraining, athletes can develop a slump which can in turn disturb their emotional well-being and lower their self-worth,” said Viveiros. “They tie their self-worth with their athletic performance, so when they start performing badly, their self-worth, in their mind, goes down. Tying those two factors together is really one of the big causes of burnout.”

Since burnout symptoms differ from person to per-son, it is necessary to identify an athlete’s individual problem at the base level in order to better cope with the consequences.

“For me, my body gives out before my mind does,” said Robison. “Obviously [burnout] is a difficult phase to go through, but knowing my body helps me eliminate the scared factor that every athlete feels when they start to struggle in performances.”

In addition to this initial “scared factor” that athletes may feel during the onset of a burnout phase, stress tends to build up as athletes struggle in competitive envi-ronments. The competition and stress is almost directly

a result of the internal pressures and expectations of an athlete.

“An aspect of my burnout was definitely parental pressure along with pressure to be recruited in college, but I think the main cause was that I was pushing myself so hard and that I kept on expecting myself to do bet-ter,” said Ganesh. “Ultimately, it was my own expectations that broke me because I’d see myself fall short of what I thought I had to reach.”

While it is common for a burnout to begin in later years when there is an increased amount of competition, some athletes may experience this phase soon after they learn a new sport.

“Ever since I was little, my dad wanted me to swim and I started hating it when I was about ten years old, and started having a burnout since I was twelve,” said Masse. “I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

Athletes’ recoveries from burnout can vary depending on the severity of the burnout itself and the emotional level of the athlete. Just like any other illness, the sooner burnout is diagnosed in an athlete, the easier it is to treat and, more often than not, the easier it is to recover from. In most cases, the journey to recovery begins with seri-ous self-reflection and thought.

“By the end of the season, my body starts to hurt and I question why I run,” said junior Shawn Silverman, who participates on the cross-country team. “I’m thinking, ‘Should I do this next year? Should I tell coach I’m hurt-ing, or will he think I’m just making up an excuse? I can’t do this anymore, I’ve got to rest.’”

The concept of resting the body and taking time off of

sports is crucial for an athlete to fully recuperate from a burnout. Not enough rest stunts the recovery stage, usually leading to a more serious and prolonged phase in which athletes may face drastic consequences.

“During a burnout, because an athlete is not perform-ing to the extent of what they believe defines them, they can definitely start taking hits in other areas of their lives,” said Viveiros. “If they are training every day of the week and they don’t have time to eat or sleep enough or stay healthy, it’s hard to keep up their grades and even harder to spend time with their family and friends.”

Perhaps the most dangerous effect of burnout is neither the academic nor the athletic ramifications--instead, the most difficult recovery may be that of the mental state.

“I started getting discouraged in general and I stopped putting in as much effort in academics because I felt like I had reached a mental state where I didn’t believe I could do well in school anyway,” said Ganesh, “The biggest thing my burnout affected was just how I felt about my-self. I withdrew from the social crowd; I just felt so dis-couraged about my own abilities and this feeling spilled into every aspect of my life. “

For Ganesh, this experience signified a low point in her athletic career, but her later successes only prove that in her case and every other athlete’s case of burnout, there lies a silver lining.

“Definitely, not being able to run is hard because it’s all I know,” said Robison. “But what I always say is when you can’t do what you love, that’s when you appreciate it the most.”

To be honest, I’m surprised that I even play a sport. I mean, I’m so clumsy that I have to consciously put one foot in

front of the other when walking to keep from falling. After I skinned my knee, sprained my ankle and twisted my wrist all in less than six months, the doctor referred me to a physical therapy center that would “teach me how to move.”

I play golf. Yes, I know, the sport for old rich men, the sport for the fat and lazy and the sport that’s “not really a sport.” But what many don’t know is that golf is actually pret-ty vigorous, not to mention dangerous--espe-cially for uncoordinated people like me.

I like to think that my body knows when I need a break, but the truth is that I just hap-pen to get hurt at the worst possible times. Two months ago, I skinned my knee and hand walking to school. And no, I didn’t trip or get pushed, I was simply walking on flat ground

and fell. Coincidentally, that same week I had the girls’ golf league qualifier, and because, of course, golf comes first and health comes second, I played and ended up tearing the semi-healed cut on my hand. I wasn’t able to practice for about a week after that, which meant that although I was supposed to play in CCS, I had to withdraw.

About a month before I was scheduled to play in this national tournament in Arizona last December, I arranged a doctor visit for the stinging pain in my wrist. One thing led to another, and before I could understand what was happening they were ordering x-rays, and when those came back inconclusive, MRIs. I was facing no less than a month in a cast, maybe a three or four month break, and at the very worst, surgery. I was appalled. No practice for a month? Right before a major tournament?

“If you don’t rest your wrist properly, you may never play again,” warned one doctor.

I guess my family doesn’t really take ad-

vice all that seriously, because the next day I was strapped into the car and back at the golf course hitting balls. We all pushed the conse-quences into the back of our minds.

“We can deal with it after you come back from Arizona,” was my dad’s response every time I asked him what we were going to do.

So I ended up going to the tournament, and nothing “big” happened. I didn’t fall to the ground in some life-threatening seizure, nor did I experience any “bone grinding” (as the doctor so tactfully described), so I made it through okay. When we came back, our doctor was on vacation and we didn’t really feel like telling her we’d actually gone to Ari-zona. She still doesn’t know.

But the worst injury by far is probably one that happened a few weeks ago: I was run-ning (a bad sign already) and tripped over a brick, resulting in a severe ankle sprain. And, yes, as fate would have it, I had a tournament coming up in about three weeks, one of those big, important, once-in-a-lifetime-opportu-

On my experiences as an injured athleteBY JESSICA LUO

The impact of athlete burnoutBY KRISTEN WONG & RENUKA BELWALKAR

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nity tournaments. In Florida. We went to the doctor (a different one, the

wrist doctor wouldn’t have been too pleased) and she informed me that the sprain would take six to eight weeks to heal. Six to eight weeks? When I had to leave in three? This was the third time an important tournament would be affected because of my “inability to move.”

My parents and I were kind of in denial. I had an ice pack strapped to my ankle every minute it was deemed socially appropriate, and we did all sorts of weird Chinese treat-ments like rubbing hot oil on it and whatnot. It was a lost cause, as we knew going in, but hey, at least we can say we tried.

I never did go to Florida, and I’m still re-covering from that ankle sprain. Moral of the story: if you play a sport and are anything like me, lock yourself in the house starting a month before your next tournament. And also, don’t expect to see me moving faster than a slow trudge anytime soon.

BY FRINA REDOLOZA

Swim team hopes to qualify for CCS

Boys’ volleyball team set up for success

With the return of coach Patrick Ellington from his year-long break and a revamped training program, Lynbrook’s varsity swim team is hoping to win

the El Camino division and make the CCS meet at the end of the season. Several obstacles, however, are threatening the team’s chance for victory.

During the 2013 swim season, Lynbrook swept league championships with both the girls’ and boys’ teams winning first place. During the 2014 season, however, the girls’ team fell short and lost a hard-fought battle to Cupertino High School.

“This year, we’re still going to struggle because we don’t have the depth we’ve had in the past years,” said Ellington. “Swimmers don’t have to win first place, but they have to be in the top four to get more points. To win championships, you need terrific swimmers but you also need depth.”

In order to address this potential shortcoming, Ellington plans on creating a more intense workout for the first third of the season. Among other changes, Ellington is having the team swim about 5,000 yards a day, integrating a dry-land program that includes strength training and having the

sprinters undergo an almost completely separate workout that focuses on short bursts of speed instead of raw distance.

Additionally, Ellington has decided to split the teams by stroke and distance during practices instead of by gender as it had been in previous years.

“I think it’ll help improve each of our individual strokes and we’ll bond with other swimmates because we’re sup-posed to be a co-ed swim team after all,” said junior Angela Sun, a three-year varsity swimmer.

“I’m kind of nervous because we lost a lot of seniors who I had hoped were going to swim aren’t swimming this year,” said senior Chris Sanborn, a third-year varsity swimmer. “There’s actually only four of us left, and that makes me ner-vous because we lost a lot of really fast freestylers, and that’s a lot of points that I’m not sure if we can make.”

Although seniors Steven Zhang, Jin Heo, Patrick Lee, and Sanborn are the last of their year’s swimmers remaining, Sanborn observes that several gifted underclassmen will make up for the lack of veteran swimmers in not only this year but for the long run.

Several swimmers also plan on using this year as a second chance at the league championship.

“Last year at leagues, everybody won except for varsity

BY MICHELLE SU

On Friday, Feb. 27, the varsity boys’ volleyball team started their season off with a 3-2 win against Los Altos High School. Although the

game was close, with the boys winning the last set 15-12, it helped set the tone for a season with high expectations.

Having ended last season with a loss to Archbish-op Mitty High School in the CCS playoffs, the team is more motivated to perform better this year. One of their main goals is to win the league title and reach the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California Playoffs.

Since they have more experienced players in their starting lineup this year, the boys are optimistic about reaching their lofty expectations.

“Compared to a lot of the other teams in the league who lost some of their best players after they graduated last year, we still have a strong set of play-ers who have continued to improve,” said co-captain senior Aaron Huang.

Huang, as well as other players, credit this to the fact that more team members played club vol-leyball this year, giving them more opportunities for improvement. Since the boys’ volleyball coach

Peter Kim also coaches for Aloha Volleyball Club, he encouraged the team members who previously only played for Lynbrook to practice more through his club. Currently, almost the entire starting lineup has had experience playing club volleyball.

Some players also note that the team dynamics have continued to improve, especially with the guid-ance of older players.

“Our captains [seniors Aaron Huang, Numair Bas-eer and Ali Khan] have taken more leadership roles to help the team play better together,” said junior Kevin Chu. “For example, [Baseer] gets everyone pumped up before games, and [Huang] and [Khan] keep us disciplined and focused.”

After last Friday’s game, the team is looking to improve more on their communication and overall game strategy.

“We went a little rougher than we expected and had a couple communication errors, but we always have a couple rough patches at the beginning of the season,” said Huang. “Either way, we’re still confident for the rest of the season.”

The boys volleyball team also won their second game on March 3, easily beating Prospect 3-0. Their first league game is scheduled for Friday, March 13 at home against Los Gatos.

girls,” said senior Zoe Lie, another fourth-year varsity swim-mer. “We’re hoping to make a huge comeback from that.”

Ellington also hopes to acquaint the developmental team with a new coach, Carla Sutton.

“I used to coach swimming and diving when I was in col-lege but was unable to coach afterwards because of my job as an Air Force-registered nurse,” said Sutton. “But I’m retired now, so this is my first time coaching high school, and the kids here at Lynbrook are amazing.”

Teaching only the basics as a developmental coach, Sut-ton’s expectations for the swimmers is for them to work hard and have fun.

“If they find it boring then it gets frustrating for the kids and for the coaches,” said Sutton.

While the practices aim to tackle the team’s technical problems, the individual members deal with their own stum-bling blocks. The measuring stick, however, carries over from previous seasons.

“As a team, our goal, like every year, is to win our league championship and get swimmers into CCS,” said Sanborn.

Ellington concurs, saying that they “expect a variety of swimmer to qualify for CCS, and that is a terrific goal for them to achieve.”

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All of us will at some point look back on our high school days. Whether it be cring-ing at the awkward friend pictures or

reminiscing on the magical night that was Senior Prom, high school is a part of our lives that we can never forget.

High school memories run the gamut from stress, tests, group projects where the rest of your group didn’t do anything; to the spirit weeks, dances and first kisses behind the library. The only physical remannts of those memories remain in our photos. Years after graduation, our we are reminded of high school memories by re-unions and yearbook perusals.

In this issue’s photoessay, we celebrate the importance of photograph in the context of memory. For some of us, high school doesn’t end for another three years; for these teachers, however, high school was decades ago.

Take a look at these pictures and try and guess who these teachers were. If you really can’t guess which teacher each high school pho-to belongs to, check on the bottom of this page.

Back to the glory daysBY STEPHANIE LU

Clockwise from top left: Librarian Roz Davis, Social Studies teacher David Pugh, Social Stud-ies teacher Kyle Howden and Math teacher Sar-ah Kraemer.

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