2 0 1 3

pIECES wholeOFA

ESTOQUEelpage 7French teacher Lise Gabet retires

page 39A tutorial on hanging ten

page 15Audrey to Africa

Monta Vista High SchoolIssue 8, Volume XLIIIelestoque.orgMay 22, 2013

EL ESTOQUE2

CONTENTSnews

7 Gabet retires

4 Weight woesDieting students balance health and self image

As French teacher Lise Gabet retires, students reflect on her unique educational legacy

OPInIOn

STAFF EDITORIALStudents should use personal failures as opportunities for growth

11

ARTs & enTeRTAInMenT

Senior Audrey Wendschlag takes her love for service to Africa

sPecIAl RePORT

A holistic overview of seniors’ perspectives on life beyond high school

sPORTs34 Year in Review

A recap of 13 varsity sports teams throughout the year

9 COLUMN: Little Lessons

COLUMN: The Deep End14

elESTOQUE

39 Surf the turf Junior Celine Mol takes it one wave at a time in a step-by-step surfing lesson

Underrated seniorsSeniors Navya Cherukuru, Ryan Wang and Larry Xu each leave behind their own unseen legacy

27

In light of the STAR test breach, students must use social media responsibly

12 pULse

California should join other states in counting computer science classes toward graduation credit Dieting can be justifiable if done to improve health 15 Saving Soles

BOTTOM LINe12

17

19

COLUMN: 17 going on 71

Senior survey 24

Out with the old, in with the newThe outgoing senior class of 2013 responds to questions from the incoming freshman class of 2017

32

High school sweethearts Along with changes in scene, senior couples will have to deal with long distance relationhips

31

COLUMN: Family Matters

18 Foreign entertainment

Defining moments Seniors remember their favorite moments on and off campus

22

Despite our cultural diversity, we share cross-cultural preferences when it comes to entertainment

we’re really confessing is a desire to fill our lives with experiences that are unique and meaningful, a desire to break out of the everyday grind. This doesn’t necessitate overnight flights or even six-hour-long drives in the minivan — just a change in scenery and a change in mindset. The Class of 2013 will find themselves no matter where they look, whether it’s across the street at De Anza College or across the ocean at Hong Kong University of Science

and Technology. I still have

the globe. It’s sitting right now on my coffee table, next to three Rubik’s Cubes and half a year’s worth of Time Magazines. Its paint is peeling, and it’s

cracking slightly at the equator. My brother will graduate from college in June

(he was MVHS Class of 2009); he plans to spend the summer attending a cousin’s wedding in India and then backpacking through eastern Europe. When he returns to the United States, he’ll stay in Cupertino for a couple of weeks and then head north to Seattle, where he’s going to be working.

For him, plans made on that cardboard globe translated in a very tangible way onto the rock and grass and water one. It might not work out the same way for the rest of us. But, either way, I know we’ll find ourselves just fine.

MAY 22, 2013

Editor-in-Chief: Amrutha DoraiManaging Editors: Karen Feng, Jennifer Lee, Athira Penghat, Yashashree PisolkarPhoto Editor: Catherine LockwoodNews Editors: Joyce Varma, Varsha VenkatSports Editors: Nathan Desai, Mihir JoshiEntertainment Editors: Anjali Bhat, Neesha VenkatesanOpinion Editors: Daniel Fernandez, Eva SpitzenSpecial Report Editor:Yuna LeeGraphics Editor:Shuyi QiBusiness Editor: Robert Sulgit

Staff Writers: Rachel Beyda, Shriya Bhindwale, Anupama Cemballi, Carissa Chan, Simran Devidasani, Ashley Ding, Atharva Fulay, Smitha Gundavajhala, Yimeng Han, Gisella Joma, Soumya Kurnool, Forest Liao, Steven Lim, Margaret Lin, Shannon Lin, Alaina Lui, Cynthia Mao, Anushka Patil, Mihir Patil, Alexandria Poh, Namrata Ramani, Ruba Shaik, Morahd Shawki, Christopher Song, AlexaThea Suarez, Ankita Tejwani, Angela Wang, Bryan Wang, Patrick Xie, Amelia Yang

Adviser: Michelle Balmeo

CreditsSome images in this publication were taken from the stock photography website sxc.hu.

Mission StatementEl Estoque is an open forum created for and by students of Monta Vista High School. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the journalism staff and not of Monta Vista High School or the Fremont Union High School District. The staff seeks to recognize individuals, events, and ideas and bring news to the MVHS community in a manner that is professional, unbiased, and thorough in order to effectively serve our readers. We strive to report accurately, and we will correct any significant error. If you believe such an error has been made, please contact us. Letters of any length should be submitted via email or mail. They may be edited for length or accuracy. Letters cannot be returned and will be published at El Estoque’s discretion. We also reserve the right to reject advertising due to space limitations or decision of the Editorial Board that content of the advertisement conflicts with the mission of the publication.

21840 McClellan RoadCupertino, CA 95014mv.el.estoque@gmail.com

el ESTOQUE

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

a.dorai@elestoque.org

AmruthaDORAI

In my younger and more vulnerable years, my brother and I would sit on the carpeted floor of our living room and play a game. All we had was

a cardboard globe. And that was all we needed. We would take turns closing our eyes and giving

the globe a spin, trailing our index fingers along its smooth surface until it slowed to a stop. Then, we’d open our eyes and examine where we’d landed. Ohio, Kyrgyzstan, the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We’ll go there someday, we promised ourselves.

Needless to say, we never did. But I still haven’t outgrown my desire to traverse the globe.

Senior Audrey Wendschlag hasn’t grown out of her wanderlust either — she’ll be travelling to Africa this summer to distribute shoes and medication for TOMS, a trip which juniors Anjali Bhat and Catherine Lockwood further explore on page 15. Neither has French teacher Lise Gabet, who, as juniors Namrata Ramani and Ruba Shaik report, is retiring after teaching for over 20 years in a country 6,000 miles away from the one where she was born.

Too often, we confuse physical distance with richness of experience. We conclude that we can never truly “find ourselves” unless we — much like Julia Roberts in “Eat Pray Love” — search in some exotic location. Travel is the romanticized solution to all of our emotional problems.

But when we profess our wanderlust, what

3

EVERYDAYbreaking our

ROUTINES

PHOTOS ON PAGE 21 Row 1: Seniors, Welcome Back Rally; Ardavan Farahvash, Rally Court; Lydia Wu, Club Promo Day; Brendan Duffy, Water Polo Game; Baris Demirlioglu, Highlighter Rally; Peter Stern, Adam Zoubeidi, Football game; Jacqueline Yee, Football game; Max Dygert, Wrestling Senior Night; Eva Chatterjee, The Would-Be Gentlemen. Row 2: Derrick Chiu, Powderpuff; Lyan Cogan, USA Dance Competition; Serena Chew, volleyball; Alok Singh, fashion spread; Tommer Schwarz, Basketball Senior Night; 2013 Powderpuff Poster; Rohan Yelsangikar, rally; Kevin Su, IDC fantastics; Ryan Lo, football field. Row 3: Thomas Barber, Homecoming Court; Alex Soong, powderpuff; Katie Byrne, field hockey game; Varchita Alishetti, Girls Basketball Senior Night; Aneesh Prasad, Blue Pearl Dance; Hadar Sachs, sign in rally court; Rheanna Ganapathy, Dance Winter Showcase; Andrew Hu, auditorium. Row 4: Matt Merkhofer, Wrestling Senior Night; Sagaree Jain, Abishek Nair, Blue Pearl Dance; Athlete Huddle, IDC Rally; IDC Rally; Nelson Jung, Bomb Threat; Kevin Singh, Grant Menon, Auditorium; Matthew Lem, Club Day. Row 5: Sudev Chaluvadi, rally court; Ruben poster, rally court; Mimi Akaogi, powderpuff; Sanjeev Ranga, Krystal Ng, IDC Fantastics; Bryan Zhao, Singing Valentines; Derek Li, Homecoming Rally. Row 6: Vivian Duong, Girls Volleyball Senior Night; Sai Mucharla, Homecoming Rally; Mark Sinks, Field Hockey Senior Night; Seniors powderpuff; Srisruthi Ramesh, Blue Pearl. Row 7: Omer Yosef, Water Polo Game; IDC trophy; Seniors, Homecoming Rally; Ashton Krajnovich, Football Game. Row 8: Brandon Townsend, MMA fighter spread; Sadies asking, academic court; Sherry Roohi, rally. Row 9: Nassim Moallem, Girls Basketball Game; Kathy Chu, fashion spread. Row 9: Emily Wong, Blue Pearl.

EL ESTOQUE44

5MAY 22, 2013

Taking MeasuresProm season brings shame for both dieting and weight

by Joyce Varma and Varsha Venkat

Every morning at 7 a.m. after brushing her teeth, senior Elizabeth Zhang stands on her scale. She looks down at the number on the small screen, gets off the scale and eats breakfast. Instead of eating a bagel slathered with cream cheese on both sides as she used to, Zhang says that she now cuts back on her portions, putting cream cheese on only one side of the bagel. This routine has been a part of Zhang’s mornings for the past two months, since the beginning of her diet in preparation for senior prom.

NEWS

In fact, changing one’s body size has become a global obsession. An article written for the journal Pediatrics for Parents by Dr. Gail McVey and Dr. Manuela Ferrari suggests that teens face pressure from a number of sources, mostly stemming from their family, friends and most significantly, the media.

Prejudice based on weightWhen Michael Jeffries, Chief

Executive Officer of clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, was recently asked about the company’s marketing strategy, his answer was simple.

“We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends,” Jeffries said during an interview with Salon reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis. “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong.”

Jeffries’ comment characterizes the prejudice against those who do not fit into the clothing sold at Abercrombie & Fitch, where the largest women’s size is

a 10. Thus, the company alienates a large market of consumers and discriminates against the average American woman, who wears a size 14.

The statement sparked global controversy and prompted a national petition for the company to make clothes for “plus-size” people. Some have written letters to Jeffries addressing the issue and demanding reforms.

MVHS class of 2009 alumna Brittany Hopkins is one of many angered by Jeffries’ comment. She posted a letter on her blog, Recovery is Everyday, discussing how Jeffries propagates negative image and weight issues. The matter is of a personal nature for Hopkins, who once battled eating disorders and has since learned to follow a healthy lifestyle.

Hopkins now records her recovery

progress on the blog, where she and her friend Becca write about their experiences and make a general commentary on society’s view of weight loss. As Hopkins discusses in one of her blog posts, the idea of dieting is ridiculed despite the negative societal connotations of being plus-size.

Society has not only criticized weight, but has also developed another stigma: one against dieting.

“People should be happy with the way that they are and learn to just accept themselves,” junior Elena Huang said.

Such concerns with one’s outward appearances are perceived as synonymous with vanity and shallowness, causing many people who diet to feel ashamed of their

Percent of respondents who ranked their appearance as very important

Percent of boys who have dieted

Percent of girls who have dieted

*455 students responded to an online survey

continued on page 6

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NEWSactions. According to Zhang, the shame associated with openly dieting becomes more evident around prom season.

“It seems kind of superficial to only improve your health to look good at a dance. People don’t really [talk about it], so you have to ask them, and they might not be comfortable saying it,” Zhang said. “It’s not a bad thing, going on diets. It might be embarrassing because you’re ashamed of your weight.”

Making healthy choicesAlthough popular criticism

of dieting is based on the drastic measures involved in “binge” dieting, not all diets are unhealthy. Senior Catalina Huang, Elena’s sister, started a wheat-free diet last August after reading that too much wheat can irritate the digestive tract. Although she has made lifestyle changes in preparation for prom — like going to

the gym more often — Catalina doesn’t diet for the reason of losing weight but rather to be and feel healthier.

“I don’t look at the scale,” Catalina said. “I don’t weigh myself because it is a negative motivation because then you’ll feel like, ‘Oh, I’m not losing any weight.’ Change is really gradual, so when [some people] start out things

they feel like it’s not working because they don’t see an immediate change, [but] you have to keep working at it.”

Dr. Nirmala Gopalan, a physician at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, believes there are two main motives to dieting: maintaining health and altering physique. In an interview with El Estoque, Gopalan said that although it is more common among teens to diet in order to lose weight and become “skinny,” they can still maintain a healthy lifestyle if they choose to follow a balanced diet.

“It’s something to help me take care of my body,” Catalina said. “I don’t want to lose weight, because that’s not my goal. I just feel like it helps me feel better.”

j.varma@elestoque.org | v.venkat@elestoque.org

It’s not a bad thing, going on diets. It might be embarrassing because you’re ashamed of your weight.

senior Elizabeth Zhang

7

I will miss everything about them, their faces, their smiles, their intelligent remarks, their stupid remarks. Everything.

French teacher Lise Gabet

by Namrata Ramani and Ruba Shaik

Au Revoir,Madame

French teacher Lise Gabet retires, leaving a legacy of French authenticity

“Tu parles francais comme une vache espagnole.” For those of you unfamiliar with

French, that roughly translates to “you speak French like a Spanish cow.” In Lise Gabets’s French classes expressions as forthright as this one are hardly out of the ordinary; onomatopoeias like “who-hoo” and “tweet-tweet”or the distinct sound of her horn calling the class to attention are also common occurrences in her class. For former students of Gabet’s, these are a few of the many recognizable quirks of Gabet’s teaching style. However, after more than 20 years of teaching, Gabet — with much thought and careful consideration — has decided to say “au revoir.” And her horn will not be the only thing missed. Gabet, originally from France, has not always had a teaching profession. After getting a business degree in France at the encouragement of her father, Gabet worked

for tech company IBM. She hated it.“I [asked myself], ‘what am I doing in this

big corporation’?’”When she and her

family relocated to the Silicon Valley during the 1970s, Gabet went back to school at Notre Dame De Namur University, quickly earning both a degree in French literature and her teaching credentials. In 1989, Gabet landed a job at MVHS and has been here ever since.

For the past two years Gabet partially began her retirement plan, spending first semester in France and teaching French the second. During her absence, first semester French students were taught by substitute teacher

Melanie Lhomme. This year brings her retirement plan to a close, meaning Gabet

will not return next year. This following year, Lhomme will replace Gabet, leaving the department with only two full-time teachers but no teacher of French origin in the department. According to senior Rohan Prakash, who had Gabet for French 1 and 3, believes that while this certainly won’t inhibit French education at MVHS, French students will be losing some of the insights of the culture that Gabet brought.

For students like Prakash, Gabet’s firsthand knowledge

of French culture changed his learning experience of the French language. Prakash recalls a moment from his freshman year

MAY 22, 2013

Joyce Varma | El Estoque

Margaret Lin | El Estoque

continued on page 8

NEVER FORGOTTEN French teacher Lise Gabet has collected memories throughout her 22 years at MVHS.

Joyce Varma | El Estoque

Joyce Varma | El Estoque

EL ESTOQUE8

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continued from page 7when, during a culture lesson about a famous French bridge, Gabet spontaneously launched into a childhood rhyme, Sur le pont d’Avignon, about the bridge. In minutes, the entire class was singing and dancing.

French teacher Sarah Finck, who has been working with Gabet since she started teaching at MVHS four years ago, hopes to maintain the connection between culture and language that Gabet brought.

“We are as familiar as we can be as Americans of French culture,” Finck said. “We will continue to only use authentic materials — reading newspaper articles, listening to the French radio, watching French movies, sharing our photos.”

Finck, who has lived in France, and Lhomme, who has family in France, both have experience with French culture.

“All of the French teachers have a direct tie to France as well; they just don’t happen to be born there,” junior Ambika Dubey, who had Gabet for French 3 said. “There definitely still will be that authenticity. What we’ll miss about Gabet are the quirks.”

Prakash, who aspires to be a teacher himself, aims to emulate Gabet’s ability to balance strictness and humor. Gabet n.ramani@elestoque.org | r.shaik@elestoque.org

has a distinct teaching style, a style that Finck believes is attributed to her French background. Students are known to get zeroes on her infamous orals, but she always gives them a chance to make them up.

G a b e t ’ s legacy doesn’t end with her unique classroom dynamic. Finck a t t r i b u t e s the student’s i m p r e s s i o n of the French d e p a r t m e n t to Gabet’s c o n t i n u a l cont r ibut ions over the years, and commends herwillingness to adapt and incorporate new technologies in the classroom.

Gabet has learned just as much from her own students. When asked what legacy she’ll leave behind, she did not speak of quirks or

strictness or even experience. Instead, she brought up the one thing that students have taught her over the years.

“Even though we have different accents, different races, different colors, we are all the same,” she said. “That is what I’m going to leave behind. They know that I am not American, that I am French. But when we talk and exchange, we learn that we are the same.”

In Gabet’s eyes, it’s that very cultural difference that has made her enjoy her time at MVHS.

“I will miss everything about them, their faces,

their smile, their intelligent remarks, their stupid remarks,” Gabet said. “Everything.”

ORIGINALITY Gabet directs her French 1 class before they take an exam. According to her students, Gabet’s teaching stlye blends strictness with humor.

Joyce Varma | El Estoque

I just hope that one day we reach a point when a player coming out isn’t news anymore.

9MAY 22, 2013

LITTLE LESSONS Nathan Desai

As Boston and Jason Collins undergo change, a columnist tries to withstand it all

Change is scary. It’s the reason why the school has to deal with construction for the next year and a half, 600

students are about to move on from MVHS and “The Office” went on for two seasons too long.

But change is also good. Change is the reason why a state of the art cafeteria is coming in 2014, 600 MVHS students are taking the next step toward a brighter future and Christian Bale is my current perception of Batman (George Clooney still gives me nightmares).

Things can change in an instant. On April 15, 2013, the streets of Boston went from a joyous foot race toward the finish line to a mad dash for survival in a matter of seconds. For 100 hours, the nation was on edge. Plenty of information was released — quite a bit of it false.

It didn’t take long for the FBI to ask for the citizens’ help to identify the suspects. Unfortunately, by that point, we had lost them. Three college students were arrested for allegedly being associated with the attacks because they called one of the suspects and joked that he looked like the person in the picture being shown on TV. Rather than reporting this information to the FBI, they told the terrorist that people were looking for him. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the FBI wanted us to tell them if we knew the guys they were looking for, not tell the guys in the pictures that the FBI was

looking for them.Nevertheless, after three days of silence

and a city-wide lockdown, a nearby 7-Eleven was robbed. The two suspects, who turned out to be the same suspects in the bombing case, stole a car and told the driver they were the Boston Bombers. (I know Slurpees are delicious, but they are pretty cheap.) If not for this, we might still have two terrorists roaming the streets of Boston. I was actually shocked they were still in the city. I was even more shocked they revealed their identity.

That’s like cheating on a test, and then boasting about how cool you are in class the next day.

The events then escalated even more when one of the suspects killed the other by backing into him in an SUV during a standoff with the police.

From that point on, he was alone on the run. After a day of scanning the Boston suburb of Watertown for the runaway fugitive, the police found him hidden in a boat in someone’s backyard — he was promptly arrested. (A day spent running ends in misery. Doesn’t that sound familiar?)

In a 100-hour span, just another Tax Day turned into one of the most intensive manhunts in our nation’s history. Things can change in an instant, and I wasn’t the only one to realize this.

On April 29, NBA free agent Jason Collins came out as gay in a story he wrote for Sports Illustrated. Despite dating women and at one point even being engaged to one,

Collins realized that he wasn’t the person he previously thought he was.

At one point in the story he says that most NBA players claim never to have played alongside a gay player. However, Collins has played on so many teams that there is even a locker room game called The Three Degrees of Jason Collins in which players try to see how many acquaintance links Collins is apart from them. With his latest reveal, that assertion is no longer true.

Luckily for Collins, many people accepted him with open arms. President Barack Obama, former president Bill Clinton, future basketball Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant and even global icon Oprah Winfrey all supported Collins’ decision to come out.

I just hope that one day we reach a point when a player coming out isn’t news anymore. As a society, I hope we can get to a point when someone coming out doesn’t even turn heads; it’s just a regular occurrence. This was just the starting gun on our race toward universal acceptance. But it’s going to take some time to reach that point. And to reach it, a lot is going to have to change.

Speaking of change, Collins cites in the story that even though he has been pondering this decision for over a year, the Boston Marathon bombings are the reason he chose to come out now. After all, he says, “things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?”

We can only hope that they change for the better.

n.desai@elestoque.org

THINGSCAN CHANGEin an instant

ADVERTISEMENT

concept of a “growth mindset,” in which students are able to grow and mature as a result of hard work and effort. One such teacher is English teacher Christy Utter. Every year, Utter dedicates one day to teaching students about the merits of a growth mindset in the hopes that students will learn to accept their shortcomings with optimism. Rather than accept their “failures,” students should try to learn and improve from failure and create a foundation on which further knowledge can be built. “Moving on,” or promising to do better, ultimately fails students because they do not seriously consider what was causing their setbacks in the first place.

The manner in which classes are run can also have a significant impact on fostering a growth mindset in students. In classes such as AP Economics, students

get few opportunities to review tests they’ve taken and are unaware of their class grade until it appears on their report card at the end of the s e m e s t e r. This kind of

environment is obstructive to

learning from failure — when students have no opportunity to see how they’re progressing, there is no way to learn from initial shortcomings. Instead of increasing their own ability to absorb and internalize material, students become fixated on one final grade with no data to understand it. In this manner, classes that don’t allow periodic checkups on progress — like returning tests and posting

11MAY 22, 2013

STAFFEDITORIAL

OPINION OF THE EL ESTOQUE EDITORIAL BOARD

Cultural fixation on failure hinders students ability to learn from mistakes

fail once OPINION

In 2010, students proposed a “rejection wall” on which they could post college rejection letters. The proposal garnered

popular support; however, according to Assistant Principal Brad Metheany, administration rejected it on the grounds that it would create negative energy and foster a “mob mentality” among students. Career Center Liaison Miriam Taba felt differently. She designated an area of the whiteboard in the Career Center for both college acceptances and denials, in the hopes that seniors will be able to deal with rejection by seeing that they are a part of a greater community undergoing similar struggles (see elestoque.org for full story). Taba’s substitution provides students with an avenue to deal with something that they often spend all four years of high school evading: failure.

Too often, MVHS students define academic shortcomings as failures rather than opportunities to grow. Concepts such as the “Asian Fail,” which views any feat short of perfect as a failure, are without a doubt often internalized by students. Instances such as s t u d e n t s b e c o m i n g e x t r e m e l y d i s t r e s s e d after one bad test illustrate that students are i l l -e quipp e d to deal with failure. Rather than using a setback such as a failed test or a bad grade as an opportunity to learn and grow, students wallow in their failure and obsess about their shortcomings. Oftentimes parents don’t help. The intense academic pressure levied upon students by parents can foster an environment in which failure is not acceptable, hindering any opportunity for growth.

Many teachers on campus promote the

grades on School Loop — hinder

the ability of students to learn from their m i s t a k e s ,

as they aren’t aware of the

mistakes they are making.Students’ ability to

thrive is reliant upon their ability to adapt to the world around them. Faculty members should

allow students to utilize platforms such as the

rejection board as a means of learning to deal with failure. By addressing shortcomings, and

oppor tunit ies for reflection

such as the r e j e c t i o n

board, students will be able to find success in the long

run. While academic knowledge can be

forgotten over time, critical thinking skills gained from a growth mindset will not. Students’ ability to advance in the academic and professional world hinges upon their ability to adapt, something high school is not teaching enough of.

fail better

Athira Penghat and Shuyi QiEl Estoque Photo Illustration

18%25% 15% 13%

12% 9% 8%the bottom lineby Athira Penghat

When it comes to prom, girls should reserve the right to diet

PULSE extends the conversation from El Estoque to you, the student body, concerning the current issues of the day.

EL ESTOQUE12 APRIL , 2013

a.penghat@elestoque.org a.ding@elestoque.org

OPINION

Computer science should count for math or science graduation requirementsby Ashley Ding

Washington State Legislature recently voted 95-3 to pass HB 1472, a new bill that will allow computer science classes to count as a math or science requirement toward high school graduation. This change is not groundbreaking, though; nine other states have passed similar legislation in the past. Unfortunately, California is not one of them.

By not accepting computer science courses as anything other than elective credit, the California Department of Education forgoes the opportunities computer programming

skills provide to students, particularly in the current job market.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2012 the unemployment rate for recent college graduates was 17.7 percent. We should ensure that this number decreases by utilizing computer programming jobs.

If credits earned are used to fulfill graduation requirements, it is likely that more students will be interested in signing up for computer science classes. In comparison to the curriculum of a traditional math class,

Like Regina George from “Mean Girls”, many girls are self-conscious about their body image when it comes to prom. While that includes choosing the right dress, nowadays, it also includes another aspect: dieting. Regina wasn’t able to fit into her prom dress — a complete catastrophe — which most girls want to avoid. Although not all the girls who attend prom do this, some do in moderation. Negative connotations come with the word “diet,” but we should try to avoid judgement and respect others’ decisions. It’s not our

place to criticize.Not everyone is confident with their body

image, and dieting can be done in a healthy manner. For example, The 17-day Diet sold over a million copies in its first year, and provides a diversity of food to stimulate metabolism and 17 minutes of exercise each day.

In a larger picture, there is a misperception that girls who participate in this activity focus solely on looks and other superficial matters. Dieting does not automatically make one vain or shallow; people do it for

health and fitness among other reasons. Not all dieting is unhealthy and by criticizing these girls who do it, we prevent them from achieving a potentially healthier lifestyle. It is our mentality that pushes girls down to make them feel ashamed for something that could positively impact them in the long run.

Prom dieting is not harmful and helps give girls the confidence they need. If all goes well, they will be able to fit into their dress on their big night — unlike Regina.

13

by Shriya Bhindwale, Alaina Lui and Christopher Song

students might view computer programming as a skill that may come of some use to them in the “real world.”

The National Science Foundation estimates that in 2020, there will be 1.4 million computer jobs but only 400,000 students with computer science degrees. If California doesn’t follow Washington, our students will be missing out on nearly one million jobs, all due to the lack of interest in the increasingly stable and reliable field that is computer science.

MAY 22, 2013EL ESTOQUE

s.bhindwale@elestoque.orga.lui@elestoque.org

c.song@elestoqueorg

Rumors about students abusing technology privileges during STAR testing sparked conversation about the appropriate usage of social media. El Estoque surveyed students to elaborate on the impact of social media on their lives.

E= mc2b -4ac2

Entertainmen T

Connect with Friends

S0cial Conformity

To Gain Recognition

Reference Resource

Why Do you post on social media sites?11%

28%

9%

11%

34%

Which of the following do you feel is the most inappropriate to post on social media?

“It was a stupid decision made on a desperate desire to get attention.” “It’s

a joke, get over it.” “More of a mistake than a huge error.”

“Have some class please. Grow up.” “The state of California is too uptight.” “I just think it was plain idiotic.” “There was no cheating.”

how do you feel about the posts on social media displaying star test material?

55%of students

post personal information on

facebook

69%Students believe that

posting pictures relating to the star test material

was wrong , despite no testing materials being

posted

EL ESTOQUE14

THE DEEP END Forest Liao

Off the deep endColumn raises questions about nothing

f.liao@elestoque.org

So I read my previous column. It was about a guy who thought he was cool because he made fun of books he liked

and had inane ideas. All his jokes fell f lat and he had a lot of issues. And, oh yeah, the first half of the column was accidentally cut out.

Whoops.But in a way, I’m glad it was cut. It gives

me an opportunity to write about nothing and fill up space. Because guess what? I really have nothing to write about. I’ve been thinking about it for two months, and I have nothing substantial to say.

I don’t think I’ve learned a single useful thing in my time here, and I’m not railing against the public education system. I’m talking about life lessons. Every single one I’ve learned has been garbage.

What matters are real lessons, not life lessons, but real lessons. A life lesson is something inane like “Do unto others as you would have them do.”

But a real lesson? A real lesson is something that gets you through life. It’s not some stupid universal truth; it’s something that is your light at the end of the tunnel, every day, over and over again. For example, “It doesn’t matter if my boss chews me out, my kids are brats, and my wife doesn’t love me. I have Monday Night Football.”

It’s something that helps you survive. It can be something as simple as “Whatever happens, I’m my own person in this crazy world.” Or even the most common one, the one millions of people utilize without even consciously thinking about it, the one that goes “Crap doesn’t matter.”

You see, something like those past two truths would be great, could be great for me, but they don’t stick. So you know what that means? I don’t completely learn them. I haven’t learned crap. About five billion different “life lessons” have gotten me through life, but they’ve each done so individually for about five seconds.

Here’s what I mean. I have bipolar disorder as well as generalized anxiety disorder, and I’ve been hospitalized twice. I’ve been fighting an uphill battle not against

anything noble like cancer or family tragedy, but against my own stupid mind. I’m not saying my thoughts and emotions are all bad (I can channel them into writing, for example), but boy do mental illness and teenage angst make for a powerful combination. And all those life lessons adults have been trying to shove down my throat? All those lessons I’ve been trying like hell to swallow like a little— They ain’t working.

Even the conclusions I come to on my own lack substance. I’ve learned that epiphanies — to me, another form of life lessons — don’t matter. It’s what you do with them that does, and almost no one ever brings a single one to the finish line. In my experience, there has only been one epiphany that has meant anything. I don’t think it’s a real truth or even close to the finish line, but it’s the best I

have. It’s the epiphany that’s given rise to all the rest of the useless epiphanies in my life. It all started in the shower.

It was freshman year. I was scrubbing my nether regions, and suddenly a thought came to me: Nothing matters. Now some people take that negatively, but to me, what that meant was that objectively, all my problems meant nothing, especially on a universal scale. Every single realization I’ve had in life has branched off of that in some way. But like I said, all the epiphanies I have, even the ones after the fictional conversations I have with my brother, never really stick.

But life lessons, even in the form of cliches, do exist for a reason. They’re not there to teach you, they’re there to remind you. To integrate what they say into your life and not just believe them, but to live them. That’s why I believe people shouldn’t complain about them. If they were ever lived, we wouldn’t need them. From a holier-than-thou perspective that I have no right to, I believe you should live life by learning the real truths but also opening yourself to the life lessons that may not be so real to you in the moment, but that can become real.

There’s one truth I particularly like, mostly because it doesn’t have to be a real truth you live and breathe every day to take effect: It’s that the more you survive, the

better you’ll become at surviving. All this truth asks of you is to live. It doesn’t ask you to actively seek these real truths. The longer you survive, the more they’ll seek you. What doesn’t kill you may not make you stronger, but it can give you the opportunity to learn.

And even though I haven’t learned anything these past four years, no real truths, I have at least some hope that I will in the future. And maybe, just maybe, this column isn’t about nothing after all.

And that, folks, is the closest you’ll get to a heartfelt ending.

A real lesson is something that gets you through life. It’s not some stupid universal truth.

Nothing to see here. Move along now.

15MAY 22, 2013

Senior Audrey Wendschlag serves abroad with TOMS

Mzungu.

The Swahili word for a white person, a Westerner. Senior Audrey Wendschlag can be seen as one. She sits facing a

row of the school’s Apple computers with an iPhone in her hand. The blouse that she’s wearing matches her blue-green eyes, and she has dainty sandals on her feet.

To the children of Tanzania in East Africa, Audrey Wendschlag will be a surprise. Not only is her pale complexion a contrast to their rich, brown skin, and her clothes far from hand-me-downs, but her shoes are a luxury that many of them are not fortunate enough to have. According to Audrey, many of the children walk to school and play soccer completely barefoot. Without shoes, they get cuts on their feet, and they can contract infections or obtain parasites such as worms. The World Health Organization, a special agency of the United Nations, has estimated that over 280 million children in Africa require treatment for worms, with 16.8 million of them living in Tanzania.

For two weeks this summer, Audrey will travel to several schools in the village of Kariakoo in Tanzania to provide deworming medication for children and give several of them a special surprise.

“We’re going to schools and fitting all the children with a new pair of shoes,” Audrey said. “Basically, we’re going to give them all the love we can because they don’t have a lot. We’re spending about two weeks distributing the shoes.”

Mission to serveThis year, Audrey and her fellow travelers

will partner with TOMS, a company famous for its One for One campaign that provides shoes, education and effective emergency care to instill a sense of confidence and health in children around the world.

Abundant Life Church in Cupertino –– where participants on the trip are members –– is connected with missionaries worldwide. The missionary stationed in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, secured the church’s partnership with TOMS in the summer of 2012. By the end of that year, TOMS distributed over

one million shoes to children living in 40 different countries. According to Audrey’s father, Greg Wendschlag, they hope to distribute around 10,000 by the end of their trip. Every child in the schools will be given individual attention.

Greg is the senior pastor at Abundant Life church and has taken several international service trips over the past 10 years. In June, he will lead nine participants, including Audrey, on the missions trip to Tanzania. He has always advocated a life of service.

“In Cupertino, everything is nice and comfortable, where we have our houses and our cars, [but] the world isn’t really like that,” Greg said. “I wanted [my children] to know early on that it’s different, and [service] teaches them a heart of compassion.”

Audrey was given her choice of destination for a senior trip. She could have picked any place in the world –– but according to her, her heart was drawn to Africa. She previously visited East Africa at the age of 11, when she helped build a school and create art projects with local students. Her memories of the trip inspired her to return with her father this summer.

by Anjali Bhat and Catherine Lockwood

saving soles A&E

REMINISCE Senior Audrey Wendschlag’s memories of her last trip to Africa inspired her to return for her senior trip.

A GRASSROOTS CHANGE In 2006, at the age of 11, senior Audrey Wendschlag traveled to Africa to help build a school. Today, Audrey hopes that her service will help impoverished children in small Tanzanian villages.

Anjali Bhat | El Estoque

Used with permission of Greg Wendschlag

Used with permission of Greg Wendschlag

16MAY 22, 2013

Steps to climb The prospect of visiting a

foreign country is, in her words, exciting but also challenging. She acknowledges that visiting a developing country may be emotionally difficult, considering that she leads a privileged life back in the United States. Greg hopes that the trip will also allow Audrey see the world in a different light now that she is old enough to appreciate an alternate perspective.

“This isn’t like a survival weekend where they are going to rough it for a week and go back to their comfortable deal,” Greg said. “This is it. That’s why I go back.”

Along with emotional hardship, Audrey may also face a great deal of culture shock. Many previous participants were surprised to see that in Tanzania public displays of affection are not considered appropriate, food must be consumed with extreme precaution and certain signs –– such as the hitchhiker’s signal in the United States –– are offensive. Over a period of six months, Greg leads preparatory sessions, which include basic language training, to help all participants transition smoothly into the radically different society. He believes that Audrey will gradually adjust to the unfamiliar culture of the Tanzanian people.

According to Audrey herself, she is not nervous at all and is ready to take on Africa. She anticipates her work with the people –– the children especially –– with enthusiasm. She looks forward to both providing children with the shoes and medical provisions they need as well as simply interacting with them by playing games, singing songs and making crafts.

“They’re just so grateful. It seems like having us there is a whole new world to them,” Audrey said. “They’re excited and happy, and their excitement is just so contagious. But most of all they just want to be with us. They’re filled with love. they’re really generous people but really thankful people at the same time. Their joy over the littlest thing is just unbelievable.”

Service with a smileAudrey and her father are aware that their

help in Tanzania cannot benefit the entirety of Africa, but they are conscious that every step that is made during their trip will in some way alleviate poverty. Once home, they will initiate service projects within the church and work to bring the spirit of service to fix problems in their hometown by helping the less fortunate and addressing the

issues that they believe affect developed communities like ours –– loneliness, insecurity and depression.

The needs in Tanzania are vastly different, and represent a way of life that is different from Audrey’s own. But this particular trip is a symbol of her commitment to her faith

and the people of the world. She is grateful for the chance to travel with TOMS. Her opportunity to provide shoes to children in need makes her believe that her work stands for a bigger purpose than her personal gain.

“It’s not even about me,” Audrey said. “It’s not. It’s about them, and representing who my God is. I’m just the vessel for that.”

10,000 TOMS to be distributed in Tanzania this year

40countries visited by TOMS

280 millionchildren in Africa require treatment for worms

16.8 millionTanzanian children require treatment for wormsIt seems like

having us there is a whole new world to them.senior Audrey Wendschlag

a.bhat@elestoque.orgc.lockwood@elestoque.org

2weeks to be spent in Africa

WARM WELCOME Senior Audrey Wendschlag, her siblings Laura and Erik and their parents Greg and Sandra felt welcomed by the contagious joy of the African people.

According to the World Health Organization

According to the World Health Organization

According to TOMS

According to Greg Wendschlag

According to Audrey Wendschlag

17May 22, 2013

Partying is not in my dictionary. While all the movies of teenagers have at least one mandatory party scene

with blaring music, obscene dancing, lots of making out, illicit substances and reckless debauchery, I can’t think of a single instance in which I have attended a party in high school. The last party I went to was probably a wedding reception for a family friend when I was eight years old. Apart from me, not a kid was in sight.

With that in mind, I find it a case of supreme irony that I will be hosting a large-scale graduation party in July.

Insert five seconds of gaggingIt’s okay. That’s exactly how I felt when

my parents told me that I would be throwing a party. My friends suffered the same trauma — in fact, one of my friends kept turning the thought over in his mind and simply could not come to terms with the fact that although he is very Indian, the only large-scale Indian party he will have attended in high school would be mine.

Perhaps it is time for me to define what a large-scale Indian party is for those who, like me, have not attended one.

1) There are over 200 people present — all in formal, scratchy Indian attire.

2) Adults outnumber kids by at least 2:1, creating nice, awkward situations.

3) The setting is a hall that unfortunately comes with dance floor and a disco ball.

4) The food is not home-cooked, and therefore is horribly greasy.

To me, the prospect of hosting such a party was horrific. I thought they were only the stuff of Bollywood movies — cheesy, overrated and totally unrealistic. If anyone had asked my opinion, I would have been more than happy to

have a “Graduation Get-together” (Note: NOT a party) at Golfland.

Alas, no one asked for my opinion, so I am stuck hosting a graduation party. Well, to be honest, my parents are doing the grunt work, and I am spending my free time moping around about the injustice of it all. What in the world is wrong with Golfland in the first place!?

Seven hours of philosophizingMy parents are so excited about this party

that they have already finalized the venue, hired a caterer and even contacted a DJ — “DJ BHANGRA PLANET,” in case you’re interested. His melodramatic business card and the fact that he claims to be “EQUIPPED WITH BEATS” told me straight off the bat that he wasn’t exactly my type.

I’ve had such ridiculous party planning experiences so far that I have had to switch the severity of my euphemisms from the classic “Good grief” to the crabbier “For the love of Pete!”

Another such experience was getting a

Shuyi Qi | El Estoque Illustration

straight perm (I naturally have a psuedo ‘fro) in the name of improving my appearance for this party two months down the road. As a result, I was glued to a chair for seven hours during which my hair was burned at 400°F to break and then reform the disulfide bridges in my hair’s protein. I couldn’t study for the AP Physics B test because my beautiful, yet gargantuan Physics notebook would get smothered in chemicals, so I decided to nod off for an hour and a half. The rest of the time (beside the time spent wincing at the heat so close to burning my scalp) was spent pondering the meaning of my life because obviously, that is the only thing left to ponder when there is no physics to do.

My epiphanySitting in that salon chair, I realized how

strange it is that I can write and publish these anachronistic thoughts in public and not be ostracized. In fact, when I was flying around the country for college interviews, whenever I brought up my column, people would start looking at me funny. I guess if you come from a place as remote and desolate as Montana, teenage grandmas are far from being your average Joe.

Meeting teens from around the country has really put my situation into perspective, though—if I am struggling with the idea of throwing the tamest of parties here in Cupertino, how in the world am I going to survive in college?

I guess for that reason, I’ve got to say that I should change my senior quote in the yearbook —”MVHS is No Country for Old Women.” Honestly, I think I took MVHS for granted, to an extent. I ran through the halls these past four years professing my grannydom, and in turn, found fellow grannies quite easily. I think I might have to turn the clock backward a few decades to fit in at college this fall, but I sure hope I can find the old’uns there, too.

But if all else fails, by the time September rolls around, I should at least know how to party, albeit grandma style.

Partying grandma styleWhat happens when life gives me parents who force me to party

s.kurnool@elestoque.org

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD WOMENSoumya Kurnool

18EL ESTOQUE

THE OTHER MAINSTREAMDespite our cultural diversity, our tastes in entertainment run mainstream

Ricky Gervais, an English comedian, actor, director and creator of the hit TV show “The Office,” has a modest

fan base in the U.S., that is disproportionate to his massive fame in the U.K.

Senior Abhishek Nair is a member of that modest U.S. fan base.

“[The British] really employ the use of sarcasm and just being awkward to drive their jokes forward,” Nair said.

And that is why Nair, like other American fans, loves British entertainment. The British brand of humor and general style of entertainment is unlike that of the U.S. The U.K. style of entertainment captures non-British viewers’ attention and diverts them away from their own entertainment comfort zone. For Nair, this distinct aspect about British humor is the reason why he likes it.

K-pop is really upbeat and catchy. You can still hear the emotion even if you don’t know what they’re saying. So I don’t think language is important in loving music. — junior Zemei Zeng

“When I was five I saw my first Bollywood film and the music and the colors and how everybody is happy and dancing just really intrigued me.” — sophomore Scarlett Perry

“The kinds of things they joke about are a little different from American entertainment,” explains Nair. “A lot of their comedy instead of being situational would be verbal. So instead of something happening to the character, it’s just how the character reacts to a situation.”

The goal of any TV and movie producer is to provide fresh content for the viewers to enjoy. And that’s part of the reason why foreign entertainment like British humor can be such an attention-grabber for those who find themselves submerged in the American mainstream.

Nevertheless, it is still difficult for foreign entertainment to sell in the American entertainment market.

“[British entertainment is] less convenient to find [in America],” said Nair. “Like when

you turn on the television, you’re probably not going to find something like ‘The Inbetweeners’ or ‘Doctor Who.’”

While American mainstream entertainment is able to dominate any market (including a 78 percent Asian student population) and Hollywood still stands as the creme de la creme of showbiz, foreign entertainment can still manage to trickle through the metro overcrowded Internet by the likes of Youtube and other social networking websites to bring amusement to the (modest-sized) masses in the US.

It’s new, it’s different and it’s foreign. Whatever it is, it’s working on the focus group sized U.S. fans, including Nair.

44% Yes, I am not of European descent14% Yes, I am of European descent42% No

21% Yes, I am not of Korean descent5% Yes, I am of Korean descent73% No

Story, photos and art by Shuyi Qi

s.qi@elestoque.org

uk entertainment fan?

Korean entertainment Fan?

*455 responded to an online survey Bollywood Fan?7% Yes, I am not of Asian Indian descent25% Yes, I am of Asian Indian descent67% No

Probably my favorite part about British entertainment is their humor. It’s a lot more sarcastic.— senior Abhishek Nair

18

19MAY 22, 2013

The end of an eraFAMILY MATTERS

Carissa Chan

Over the next several weeks, the final decision eventually came down to two: Berkeley and UCLA. My sister, however, strongly disapproved of both. In her mind, enrolling at Cal would make me a burger-hating, hallucinogen-smoking tree sitter while UCLA would entail me becoming a hardened criminal. My father was slightly more open-minded.

“I don’t want to tell you which school to choose,” he informed me. “I don’t believe in parents saying their children should go to a certain college.”

“Thanks,” I replied, impressed by his reasonableness.“Berkeley is closer to home,” he said. “Berkeley is good.”

“I thought you were going to let me choose.”“I am,” he said. “I’m just being helpful. Berkeley. You get to decide, of course.

Berkeley.”The next few days consisted of

him saying the word “Berkeley” as often as possible to plant the idea

into my mind. I suppose it didn’t work, though, because I eventually decided on UCLA. My father, mother and brother all accepted this choice

quite readily; only my sullen sister remained

unsatisfied. As a remedy to this, I allowed her to compile a list of celebrities who live in Los

Angeles and promised to look for them. She came up with

not only names but also instructions for me. This included:

• BradPitt(sellautograph)• ArnoldSchwarzenegger(seeifhandshakebreaksbones)• Shakira(imitateaccent)

Now for a confession: No one in my family knows I’ve been writing about them for the past seven issues. They’re completely unaware that their antics have been broadcast to the entire school, and they’re probably wondering why parents of MVHS students often congratulate them for being the quirky, entertaining stars of some sort of newspaper article.

The real reason I never revealed this column to them? My family is, without a doubt, at its best when completely uninhibited. Self-consciousness would do nothing but suppress them. And yes, I have to admit that their insanity is strangely endearing.

c.chan@elestoque.org

Like any senior’s, my past year has been filled with a lot of college-related things: Applications, acceptances, rejections, visits. I thought my family would make the process much more

chaotic. Turns out, it was kind of nice having a few nutjobs around while I wrote and crossed out and rewrote and crossed out again. I didn’t have to worry about being judged, since people who wear crew socks with sandals really don’t have the right to judge anyone.

Only recently have I realized how helpful my family, strange as it is, has been. It takes a certain amount of self-confidence to be seen in public with people who parade around singing “We are the Champions” while wearing fluorescent orange Snuggies. Call it whatever you want — dignity, pride, a massive ego — but spending time with my family has instilled a sense of I-don’t-care-if-I-look-like-an-idiot within me.

Consider, for example, conversations I held with other seniors in the fall.Senior: I’m worried aboutnot getting into a goodcollege.Me: You’ll do finewherever yougo.Myparentsbothwenttostatecolleges and now have me as achild,sotheyobviouslysucceededinlife.Senior: What the — wait, that actuallymakes sense. You’re also verynarcissistic,bytheway.Me: If you scramble the letters in“narcissistic,” it sort of becomes“Carissa.”

Anyway, after the application frenzy, we embarked on various college road trips in the spring. One of these colleges was UC San Diego, where we decided to visit my older brother. Apparently, he’s much more embarrassed by our family than I am. When we arrived on campus and marched up to his dorm room, there wasn’t a single person in sight.

“Where is everyone?” my sister demanded. “Where are all your friends? Where’d they go?”

My brother explained that he had hidden all of them. They weren’t to step foot outside, he said, until he sent out an all-clear text confirming that his destructive, unpredictable family was well out of the vicinity.

Now, most people would probably be offended by this, but my family found it entirely hilarious. With free run of the nearly empty school, we spent the next few hours inspecting the solar-powered recycling bins, searching for talking eucalyptus trees and leaping over railings in front of Geisel Library.

Carissa Chan and Shuyi Qi | El Estoque Photo Illustration

In which my family visits colleges and comes to terms with me moving away

ADVERTISEMENT

2013There’s no single event that brands our class; nothing that can encom-

pass everything high school has meant to each of us. We won count-less individual awards for classical musical talent and attended the

February Swedish House Mafia concert in hordes. We showed our spirit in our own ways — some decorated the Academic Quad tree for Christmas on their own; others pushed to win our junior year Homecoming and sweep all categories our senior year. 2013 can’t be captured in one snapshot — it’s the accumulation of our photos and moments together that defines us.

pieces of the puzzle

snapshotby Simran Devidasani and Smitha Gundavajhala

2013 over the years, as remembered by students and told through photos.

britni

danielbaeg

ahmitdhingra

jaipalmatoo

chon

DANIEL BAEG

asking Pam

He to Junior

Prom: ”I guess it was a moment of

nervous breakdown, but

deal now that I look back.”

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JAIPAL MATOO : “The coach gave us an inspiring speech

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ERIN DOWD winning Japan Bowl: “We watched the score go up point for point. We were tied going into the last question, and when

the other school got second place we flipped out and cheered.”

AHMIT DHINGRA breaking through the banner at the Homecoming rally

senior year: “Breaking through the banner was pretty exciting. My senior year, I was really involved in spirit stuff, and I was especially just ready to

win that rally.”

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66 percent of seniors will go to college in california

62 percent of seniors did not get into their first choice school

29 percent of seniors will go to a private college

43 percent of seniors have a part-time job

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50 percent of seniors have attended a party or kick-back

SPECIAL REPORT

24

Top 51 computer science2 business3 biology4 economics4 psychology

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an analysis of the graduating class

62 percent of seniors did not get into their first choice school

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38 percent of seniors have been in 1-2 relationships

48 percent of seniors have not been in a relationship

11 percent of seniors have been in 3-5 relationships

3percent of seniors have been in 6+ relationships

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17 percent of seniors have a driver’s permit

443 seniors responded to this survey*

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u n d e r r at e d

Over the past four years, senior Navya Cherukuru has created a collection of over 40 pieces of clothing. An aspiring fashion designer attending The Fashion Institute of Technology in the fall, Cherukuru says that she can find inspiration even in the mundane.

“I have learned to see beauty in absolutely anything,” Cherukuru said. “I can take something — like an eclipse or even a paperclip — and let it inspire me to make a whole line. This is about so much more than just looking good. It’s about creating something extraordinary from what is ordinary.”

Cherukuru taught herself the skill set needed through browsing books and online tutorials. From a young age, she was inspired by those around her — her grandmother, for example, made her own sari blouses, as Cherukuru sat by and watched her sew.

She made her first garment through Fashion Club. Throughout the years, she has taken on more responsibilities in the club, such as planning the annual fashion show and inspiring and teaching others joining the club. These responsibilities have led her to become vice president.

“I’m glad that I have the courage to take that risk and really follow my passion instead of going straight into something ‘normal’ just because it’s safe,” she said. “I know this is a really big risk, and there is a lot on the line but right now in this moment, there is nothing I would rather do than take this risk.”

As a freshman, senior Ryan Wang had difficulty connecting with his peers because he came from Hyde Middle School as opposed to local feeder schools. But that didn’t stop him from showing his school spirit throughout his four years.

Wang always admired the Leadership students for their work but didn’t make it into the class until his senior year. However, reflecting back to his freshman year and his feeling of isolation, Wang embraces Leadership as a place of meeting new people. Wang wouldn’t describe himself as the “social butterfly,” but rather, the student who had a secret passion for his school and class.

“Leadership allows me to be involved in events and what’s important to me is getting to know people,” Wang said. “It gave me a different perspective on school.”

According to Wang, the best events at MVHS are the rallies. He is not afraid to take on work in order to enhance these experiences not only for himself but for other students as well. He partakes in all rally set-ups and enjoys working long hours on the floats during the Homecoming season.

“During my first rally, because I didn’t do much, I didn’t really feel anything,” Wang said. “But, when you make posters, help with the cheers and help with rally set up, you’re putting your time into it. Then the moment when the rally happens, it’s a relief, and it’s a burst of emotion —and you just get really excited.”

During his sophomore year, senior Larry Xu participated in an FBLA competition called E-business that required him to cre-ate an online website for school events. “That competition was actually my first introduction into website design,” Xu said. “I gradually became interested in all the different kind of possibilities through learning the skills and techniques.”

Xu then joined the Website Development Club and redesigned its branding, including its logo and the site itself. He has also personally taught students the skills he has acquired over time.

Xu created an online portfolio of all his work over time so that prospective employers could look at his effort and contact him. Toward the end of February, the manager of Learn to be Foundation, a nonprofit targeted toward giving online tutoring for impoverished children, contacted Xu and asked him to recreate their homepage after seeing his portfolio.

“Despite not being paid, I believe it’s a good cause and a chance to make a large impact on their users,” Xu said.

The second business offer came in early April from 2010’ alumnus and current Emory University student Panos Kanellakopoulos, who knew Xu from FBLA and therefore was aware of his talent in website design. Xu was asked to help create a website for a fraternity Kanellakopoulos started at Emory.

“It’s about being creative and being able to reach a lot of people with the work that I’m doing,” Xu said.

These three unsung seniors have been busy chasing their dreams, not chasing the spotlight.

by Gisella Joma with additional reporting by Ankita Tejwani

Web master fashionista Matamore

EL ESTOQUE28

The most exciting aspect of senior year is witnessing fellow classmates sever ties with their “friends” as they slowly realize:

Oh. I’m done now.All of a sudden, “friendships” established out of necessity or for

convenience lose all of their meaning. You don’t have to pretend to be interested in your teammates’ personal lives, or just how tired

Four seniors reflect on learning, leaving and the high school experience

lastwords

your lab partner is anymore. It’s now when you realize who your friends really are. The ones

you’re actually going to bother to keep in touch with with after high school. The ones that actually better you as a person. The ones who keep you safe, and happy, and rightfully expect the same in return.

It isn’t the actual destruction of friendships that I enjoy the most

me and get to know me; those people that actually know me love me for the slacker I am.

You, too, will change, but it won’t happen right away. Just do your thing and be yourself, and like a ninja, change will find you.

Lie #2You will become a snarky, coffee-

drinking Facebook addict.I tried so hard to like coffee. It

still hasn’t caught on; I am learning to tolerate it. I haven’t had as much success with Facebook— my wall is deader than a fly on a windshield.

As with Facebook and coffee, high school is what you make of it. I liked biology, so I went through high school thinking I’d make a career of it, only to change my mind to law at the very end. Had I admitted to myself sooner that I wanted to study law, I could have had a fuller, richer experience. More importantly, I probably wouldn’t have

given my dear parents such a shock.

Lie #3You will be a wise know-it-all by the

time you emerge from high school.The biggest lesson to learn was that

I don’t know. I also learned that I don’t need to know. I’ve been scrubbing away at my know-it-all reputation with reality soap. Now I learn what I want to learn and don’t have to pretend to know the things I don’t need to know.

There’s a lot I haven’t experienced, but I’m fine with that. What’s important is that I’ve unlearned things about life I thought I knew before, and learned in the process. It’s the best un-education anyone can hope for.

TruthNext year, I’ll start unlearning all

over again in college. And so it begins.

SMITHA Gundavajhala

MURAHD SHAWKI

Three lies and a truthTHe best education, as high school has taught me, is in the things that I’ve unlearned. I pass on three of these in the hopes that you will spare yourselves from having to unlearn them firsthand:

BURNING BRIDGESBurning bridges is a wonderful thing. Some people will say that seeing their friends get into their dream schools is the most exciting aspect of senior year. Some will suggest that it’s senior events such as Senior Ball or All-Night Party. They all mean well, but they’re wrong.

Lie #1High school is a brand new start!Oh, how I deceived myself.The summer before eighth grade, I was determined to shed my

reputation as an overachieving geek. Unfortunately, the

same people who had known

me to be an overachiever

were the ones I encountered in

high school. So for me, high school has been a slow

and painful process of struggling to peel off this incredibly sticky label. To me, it was important for people to look past the two-dimensional geek figure to who I was.

It took years of strategic underachievement to convince my peers that I was not the type-A-straight-A student they thought I was. More importantly, they had to meet s.gundavajhala@elestoque.org

29MAY 22, 2013

ANUSHKA PATIL

We were spending an unsupervised weekend at a friend’s cousin’s apartment in Oakland, and our plans somehow contained nary a night of illicit fun. Instead, there was group yoga in Golden Gate Park, rollerblading in downtown San Francisco, and yes, Disco Night.

We missed it because our screening of “Casablanca” ran late. (I kid you not. We’re talking the ‘40s film starring my handsome, childhood love Humphrey Bogart, in case you thought we might choose something from this century.)

This sort of thing has been common for my friends for years. If it’s not “Cranium” night, we’ll really switch it up and play “Taboo.” If we’re not dressed up for dinner in Sunnyvale, someone will host a dinner party complete with strung up lights and ornaments in the trees. It’s a lot of fun; I wouldn’t want it any other way. And yet I’m painfully aware that to many people, we’re weird for a group of kids who are 17 (add ten years and maybe some bottled wine to

those dinner parties and I think we’d be in the clear.) I’ve spent a lot of time feeling that though I love my friends and though the things we do make me happy, I didn’t do high school right.

The worrying has been exacerbated by the impending arrival of Senior Ball. I keep getting told that it is supposed to be the epitome, this emotional culmination of the past four years. That since high school is supposed to be the best four years of your life, prom is supposed to be The. Best. Night.

On one hand, I wonder if not feeling the hype means I somehow didn’t get the full high school experience. On the other hand, I find thinking of prom as the end-all-be-all extraordinarily sad. The. Best. Night. is a hell of a lot of weight for one nine-hour span to carry. And if this one night of wearing uncomfortable heels in a dense, sweaty crowd is really supposed to be the best night of my life, then I’d rather quit while I’m ahead, thanks.

If I worry I got the high school experience wrong, it implies there

is a way to get it right. And if I evidently didn’t do so, then doesn’t that undermine everything else I’ve done? It undermines the relationships I’ve built, the teachers who have become friends and the beloved friends who have become family. It undermines the time I’ve spent dedicated to this magazine, three full years, countless hours afterschool, and God knows how many skipped lunches. It undermines the fact that I’ve grown to accept myself enough to not really care that I have the social life of a 50-year-old.

My point, I guess, is that I’ve realized my past four years have not been quintessentially “high school,” but valuable either way. To put it simply: I feel okay about skipping junior prom. I really regret missing Disco Night.

(though it is a close second). It’s the pure, unbridled honesty that results from knowing that the first chapter of your life is about to end. In those moments after your college choices are finalized, and it dawns on you that you are no longer shackled by your GPA, you really start to learn where your priorities lie.

Over the last four years, I watched myself become someone I never expected to be. I’ve always been a social butterfly, with friends in many groups. I always worried about who I would be seen with, not out of embarrassment, but just to assure myself that I belonged. That worry has nearly vanished since the end of first semester, and I’m thankful every day that it has.

This is a rare moment in our lives. One of complete truth and perspective that we will likely only experience a handful of times in our lives. Knowing that you are about to exit the only environment you’ve ever known is an experience we’ll never be able to recreate.

GETTING IT RIGHTI feel I’ve missed two big nights DURING my four years in high school. One was my junior prom. The other was Disco Night at AN old-people restaurant in Berkeley.

And we should savor it, because I’ll be damned if we don’t fall back into at least some of our old habits as we begin our college careers. With another four or more years of school to face, how many of our old pitfalls will we fall into? How many more poisonous relationships will we maintain out of fear or for personal gain?

Relish it while you can. This summer has the potential to be one of the most memorable. Spend your final days with your real friends.

m.shawki@elestoque.org

a.patil@elestoque.org

I don’t know what I was thinking back then, but you know how teenagers without responsibilities tend to get angsty. All I know is that if I had the chance to meet my former self, I wouldn’t.

I don’t think slacking off is beneficial in any situation, but being an idiot helped me enter junior year with a valuable mentality: Try to improve myself, not my academic record. By that time, I had grown up a little and I wanted to actually do something with my life. But I had never worried about grades in school before, so I didn’t know how to.

I started working as a swim instructor and a tutor. I discovered my interest in writing through Mythology and Folklore, which led me to join Journalism. My experience in the AP Biology Product Development Project landed

me a biology lab internship in the summer. My exposure to calculus led me down a long path that eventually convinced me to major in math in college. I sunk myself into these activities because I wasn’t thinking about what my parents expected of me, or how good my grades needed to be in order to succeed at life, or what other people were doing. That probably would have ruined it for me.

So after junior year, I was confident about senior year. I thought to myself, “I did pretty well last year without paying much attention to my grades. So if I care about my grades this year, I’ll do even better.”

And I did do better. In school, at least. For the first time in my high school career, I felt what it was like to get straight A’s. It didn’t feel as exciting as I thought it would. I wondered if it was worth it. On one

hand, it might have had a significant effect on my college admittances, possibly altering the course of my life. On the other hand, I felt what it was like to lose control of my life. To feel hazy and tired all the time, to the point where I’d be up at 12 and have no idea where my time went. To be so beaten that I looked at an assignment and I said to myself, “I don’t want to do anything i n t e r e s t i ng with this. I just want to finish so I can be unconscious sooner.”

I don’t know if it was worth it. Although I want to succeed in life, I don’t want to give up my life to do it.

Bryan wang

The price of lifeFor the first two years of high school, I was an angry slacker, shaking my small fist at the school system. Every assignment that I forgot to turn in was a symbolic gesture that screamed, “Your points have no power over me!” It was all very silly.

b.wang@elestoque.org

www.shareworld.org(408)446-1956

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College Kick-O�College Kick-O�

For Private Schools:Sun. 6/30, 7/14, 21, 28 10:30am -12pm

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Seniors Jacob Feit and Elissa Danese have been together since April 30, 2012. After graduation, they will be 802 miles apart.

Feit and Danese became friends in their Japanese class freshman year when Feit helped Danese with the class, and she later helped him with ceramics. They went to the Sadie Hawkin’s dance and junior prom in 2012, and began dating soon after. Feit will be attending New York University, and Danese will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.

However, they say that their schools are decently close, and that they can take the train when they want to meet. Danese’s parents are supportive of a long distance relationship, but Feit says his are harder

long distance

by Shannon Lin and Amelia Yang

s.lin@elestoque.org | a.yang@elestoque.org

to read. He says his father often jokes that he will reconsider a long-distance relationship after not seeing Danese for several months, but Feit is confident that this will not happen.

But because of the distance, they worry about what will happen if they argue.

“We never really [fight] too much, or at all,” Feit said. “I’d be afraid if we had a fight, but I think that could be taken care of [because] we’re pretty close to each other, and we’re in the

same time zone.” Feit and Danese also believe that a long-distance

relationship will cause them to be unable to attend events together. Danese’s school has a Harry

Potter-themed Yule Ball, and Feit says that he’s afraid he would not be able to go if he had

finals during that time. “We feel that we won’t have more than a

month without seeing each other, tops,” Feit said. “For the first year, anyway.”

Feit and Danese often use Skype to see each other on days that they cannot meet in person, and they plan to continue doing so next year.

“Her thirteen-year-old computer needs to be updated,” said Feit, “if we [want to] Skype.”

sweetheartsAs seniors prepare to graduate, one couple prepares for separation

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Watch Feit, Danese and three other couples play the Newlywed Game to win a free date at elestoque.org/newlywed

32MAY 22, 2013

Through the grapevine

Chandrika KumarBalance work and play. It’s important to work hard, but it’s also important to take a break and experience your youth.

Chris WuI don’t think that is the case at all. I know people who are involved in a variety of extracurriculars that they put a lot of effort into, that they really enjoy. There will be plenty of opportunities to engage in what you want to do.

We asked Kennedy Middle School eighth graders what questions they had about MVHS, and the class of 2013 responded to dispel the rumors.by Margaret Lin and Yimeng Han

Pooja KaleThere will be times when you don’t do well on tests, but if you take that as your ultimate failure in life, and you follow that and just say, “Yes, I’m done,” then yes, of course you’ll fail. If you look past that one B and keep going, then you’ll be fine.

RUMOR Cassandra HEARDEveryone does poorly in extracurricular activities because they are too busy studying.

QUESTION Angela ASKEDWhat is the best way to have the best memories throughout your high school life?

RUMOR Shreenidhi HEARDIf you get a B or lower on any test, you won’t get into a good college.

KMS Eighth Grader

MVHS Senior

KMS Eighth Grader

KMS Eighth Grader

MVHS Senior

MVHS Senior

m.lin@elestoque.org | y.han@elestoque.org

Visit elestoque.org/grapevine for a continuation of this story.

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EL ESTOQUE34

SPORTS

EL ESTOQUE

SPORTSFLASHYear in Review Edition

Sophomore Lucas Han swims the breaststroke during a meet at MVHS on March 28. With the addition of several freshmen, both the boys and girls teams cruised through the regular season towards their CCS berths. The girls team swept their competition at CCS as they won first place. In addition, the boys won third place overall in the tournament.

From volleyball CCS appearances to football’s debut season on the new field, El Estoque has covered the Matadors all year long. This is how ten MVHS sports teams performed this year.

Junior Sarah Im dribbles up the field to deliver a pass during a game against St. Ignatius High School on Oct. 5. After a sluggish preseason, the team failed to improve its performance for much of the first half of the season, with losses to opponents including Cupertino, Lynbrook and Leigh High School. In the second half of the season the Matadors improved significantly, as they racked up key wins against Del Mar, St. Ignatius and Live Oak High School. They won a riveting senior night game 2-1 against Prospect High School, with two back-to-back goals, in a contest that went down to the wire. However, they did not earn enough points through their late season push to qualify for CCS, and finished the season with a 9-10-1 record.

fieldhockey

swimming &diving

by Nathan Desai and Steven Lim

Neesha Venkatesan | El Estoque

Mihir Joshi | El Estoque

n.desai@elestoque.org | s.lim@elestoque.org

MAY 22, 2013 35

SPORTS

Sophomore Tamanna Ahluwalia winds up for a pitch in a home game against Los Gatos High School on May 9. The Matadors got off to a slow start for the season, losing their first seven games. Senior Kalani Seaver and freshman Marissa Lee led the team in runs with 14 and 11 respectively. After going on a three game win streak, the Matadors lost their senior night game 1-4 in the game pictured above, and failed to qualify for CCS. They ended the season 5-13 overall.

softballKaren Feng | El Estoque

Senior Derrick Chiu attempts a kill during the’ CCS match against Homestead High School on May 9. Led by Chiu and junior Ryan Manley, the Matadors ended the season with a 27-6 record overall and 9-3 in league games, qualifying for the fourth seed in CCS Division I. In the match pictured, MVHS lost to Homestead High School, eliminating the Matadors from the CCS playoffs.

bOYS volleyball

Mihir Joshi | El Estoque

track &field

Junior Bridget Gottlieb comes off the turn onto the straightaway at a home meet against Los Gatos High School on April 2. Members of the track and field team were excited to start their season off with a new rubber track and renovated facilities. Despite a loss in the first home meet to Cupertino, the team had strong showings at invitationals such as the Stanford Invitational, and the St. Francis Invitational where junior Kirsten Chuc threw 90 feet in the discus, setting a personal record. The team also performed well at the Stanford Invitational in which freshman Brent Mogensen achieved a personal record of 10:26 in the 3200 meter. The team also placed six competitors in CCS, the highest total in three years. Alexa Thea Suarez | El Estoque

EL ESTOQUE36

SPORTS

EL ESTOQUE

Junior Justin Cena runs through the hole made by the offensive line in MVHS’ senior game against Gunn High School on Nov. 2. Despite losing the final home game by a point, the Matadors had a successful first season on the new field, finishing 7-3, including a vital win against rival Lynbrook High School during the Homecoming Game on Oct. 12. Seniors Peter Stern and Nathan Facciola led the team in rushing, finishing third and fourth in the league, with 913 and 827 yards respectively.

football

Senior Adi Iyer launches himself above the water to pass the ball in a match against Homestead High School on Oct. 2. Under new head coach Ben Vierra, the Matadors qualified for CCS, where they lost in the first round to rival Lynbrook High School in overtime with a score of 15-14. Led by seniors Brendan Duffy and Omer Yosef, the Matadors finished the season with a 15-10 record overall.

boys water polo

Junior Stephanie Jennings dribbles the ball up the court in a loss against Mountain View High School on Jan. 25. The Matadors followed the loss with a five-game winning streak, sending the girls to the CCS Playoffs. However, the Matadors suffered a four point loss in the second round of the tournament to San Benito High School. MVHS finished the season 13-12 overall and 6-6 in league play.

GirlsBasketball

Margaret Lin | El Estoque

Margaret Lin | El Estoque

MAY 22, 2013 37

Senior Emily Liu serves the ball in a home match against Wilcox High School on Sept. 5. The win against WHS marked the fourth of five consecutive wins the girls had at the beginning of the month. The girls struggled the rest of the way, finishing 3-11 in league matches, but still qualified for CCS. In the CCS Division I tournament, they defeated Santa Teresa High School 3-1 in the first round but lost to Salinas High School 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

GirlsSenior Baris Dermirlioglu races a Fremont High School defender to the ball in a match on Jan. 25. Fellow senior Bobak Ohadi, was the team’s leading scorer with 17 goals and his brother, sophomore Brad Ohadi, led the team in assists with 12. The Matadors finished with a 11-7-1 overall record, finishing second in the league, but not qualifying for CCS.

boys soccervolleyball

Neesha Venkatesan | El Estoque

Margaret Lin | El Estoque Margaret Lin | El Estoque

boysbasketball

EL ESTOQUE38

SPORTS

Senior Wendi Kong throws the ball in the air in preparation for a serve at a home game against Los Altos High School on Oct. 5. The Matadors blew through the competition with victories like their convincing 6-1 defeat of LAHS in the senior game pictured above and capped off the regular season undefeated at 17-0. The Matadors entered the California Classics tournament as the No. 1 seed, swept the other teams on the way to a victory over St. Francis High School — one of the highest-ranking teams in the NorCal League — and earned the title of CCS champions for the second year in a row.

Girls

Co-captain senior Tommer Schwarz dribbles the ball into the front court in the senior game against Fremont High School on Feb. 8. MVHS struggled to establish consistent play throughout much of the season. The regular season ended with a three game winning streak followed by a three game losing streak, including a 53-37 loss in the game pictured. The team finished 11-13 and did not qualify for CCS.

Margaret Lin | El Estoque

Varsha Venkat | El Estoque

tennis

baseballSenior Spencer Rodrigues throws a pitch in the team’s final game of the season against Los Gatos High School on May 9. The Matadors had an inconsistent season, amassing an 8-7 league record and an 11-13 record overall, enough to qualify for the CCS tournament. Despite their effort, however, MVHS lost 2-0 in the first round against St. Francis High School, in which St. Francis threw a perfect game in only 66 pitches.

Alexa Thea Suarez | El Estoque

Visit elestoque.org for a recap of the other eight MVHS sports as well as coverage of all

Matador athletics

39MAY 22, 2013

SPORTS

Surfingby Alexa Thea Suarez with illustrations by Bryan Wang

WAVE KNOWLEDGE“First thing you have to do is learn how to recognize what a good wave looks like.”

To analyze a wave, consider wind speed, wind duration and fetch length (the size of the area over which the wind is blowing).

Junior Celine Mol shares her knowledge of surfing technique and culture

EQUIPMENT“You have more control over bigger boards. Use a smaller, lighter board if you’re more advanced.”

Surfboards ranging from 6’2’’ to 7’2’’ are called shortboards, while longboards are made up to 8’2’’.

Although surfing is supposedly an essential component of the Californian lifestyle, most MVHS students have never even set foot on a surfboard. Junior Celine Mol talks about her “gnarly” experiences on the shore and teaches us some basic surfer skills.

SURFING CULTURE“In every picture that you take, you gotta throw in a ‘hangloose’ sign. [Surfers] are just more chill and laid back.”

SURFER LINGOANKLE SNAPPER: Tiny waves, not worth ridingNOAHS: SharksMAHALO: Thank youAKAW: Shouted when a large, perfect wave is spotted

SURFING SPOTS NEAR YOUCowell’s Beach, Santa Cruz (Beginner)HMB Jetty, Half Moon Bay (Beginner/Intermediate) Lind Mar Beach, Pacifica (Beginner/Intermediate)Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz (Advanced)

TECHNIQUE AND STANCE“Stand how you would on a skateboard, one foot in front and one in back. Use your core muscles to keep you up.”

When you first stand on a surfboard, test out which foot feels more natural to place in front. Keeping your right foot in front is called “regular foot,“ while keeping your left in front is called “goofy foot.“

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