October 2015

The Oracle staffers try vegan, vegetarian diets.

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Palo Alto Unified School District Henry M. Gunn High School 780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306

Athletes slash gender roles in sports.

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Thursday, October 8, 2015 Volume 53, Issue 2

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INCONSISTENCY The Oracle investigates inconsistent late work, absence policies Policies Opinion—p.5 El iz ab et h Zu

this [and] it’s added to all of their stress loads and made school harder for them,” Greene said.

“They’re all really good students, and they never skip class, and if they miss class it’s for a [legitimate] reason.

This extra thing doesn’t do anything other than add to their stress.”

Aiming for consistency

Shagun Khare and Katie Russell Sports and Forum Editors

Senior Mara Greene was absent from school due to Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday, on Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 of this year to practice her faith. According to the California Education Code (Ed Code), the absence should have been excused and Greene should have been able to complete the work she missed without having her grade penalized. Greene would already have to take on the workload from her two excused absences. But if she received three or more absences, excused or unexcused, before the end of the semester, she would have to take on even more work—a five-paragraph essay as dictated by the late-work policy in one of her classes. “I end up losing sleep a lot and I can’t focus as much in other classes, because it adds to my stress. ” Greene said. “We already have school that day, which is hard because I’m missing classes, but then I get doubl[y] punished for missing it.”

There is currently no consistent late-work policy across all departments at Gunn, despite basic guidelines set by the Ed Code and the district’s expressed wish to improve alignment.

The lack of a consistent late-work policy on campus, though a seemingly minute issue, is one that plays a substantial role in students’ academic progress and personal lives.

Late work is defined as any assignment that is turned in by a student after a deadline as determined by a teacher due to a student’s absence. At present, only the English department enforces a uniform department-wide late-work policy,

while the math department determines late work policy based on subject, with a consistent policy for each course. The science and social studies departments do not have departmentwide policies but rather oversee the policies of each teacher within the department. While steps toward consistency have been made, discrepancies between departments and noncompliance with the Ed Code continue to pervade Gunn’s classrooms.

Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) Superintendent Dr. Max McGee acknowledged the need for better alignment in policies in order to improve student wellness.

“Our survey data have shown us that there are inconsistencies in grading practices and homework practices,” he said.

“I would like to see more consistency both within each high school and among schools, because what we hear from the students in surveys and classroom visits is that inconsistencies are a significant source of stress, and I agree.”

Prioritizing student concerns

Inconsistent late-work policies can significantly contribute to student stress, Greene says, because they induce anxiety due to differences between courses. “I’m less effective, a lot less efficient overall, because I’m stressed out with extra work,” Greene said.

In addition, while several Instructional Supervisors (IS) do not consider their department to enforce noncompliance or unethical policies, students such as Greene have noticed the opposite: teachers are not only enforcing unfair policies, but also enforcing policies that are not explicitly printed in teachers’ syllabi. Greene has been impacted by these policies and has noticed other students struggle because of their impacts as well. “I know all my friends who have talked about

The English department instituted a department-wide late-work policy, the first of its kind, at the beginning of the current school year. This policy applies to all English classes regardless of lane, curriculum or teacher. “We wanted to align our policies to make sure that students had an expectation of what English class policy was—regardless of whose English class you are in, regardless of whether you switched at the semester, you have a baseline of expectation,” English IS Kristy Blackburn said.

According to Blackburn, the process for creating this set , which occurred over the summer, focused on aligning policies to create baseline expectations across the department.

Alignment with Ed Code was determined by consulting with the administration, which advised the department on language and specific details. After conducting a series of surveys within English classes last year, the department used student input accordingly. “We were focused on students’ concerns about having different teachers and different expectations,” Blackburn said. “People were generally having an easy time switching from class to class, but they struggled with expectations being shifted, so we were trying to address that piece of keeping expectations similar across our courses.”

McGee commended the department for its consistency in policy and hopes to see other departments follow its example. “The first step is to have the faculty work within their departments and that’s the most important one,” McGee said. “And then the next step is, to the extent that we can, have consistency and alignment across the departments.”

Social studies IS Lynne Navarro believes that as Common Core begins to take effect, a consistent late-work policy could be beneficial with new state encouragement for alignment across classes. “It’ll be an interesting process to move through, as I believe that every teacher, whatever their LATE POLICIES—p.3

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MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS: FALL CLUB DAY & MAZE RUNNER CONTEST “There was an awesome math dance going on [during Club Day] and I was part of it; it was a lot of fun.”

—Mary Sapigao (10)

“I thought the variety of clubs was pretty well-balanced because there was a little bit of everything.”

—Heather Chang (11) “Everyone was interested and finding out new information; overall I think it was a success.”

—Amy Wu (10)

“I think it’s great because it’s the first game with freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, and freshmen get to know what events we do and what bonding is.”

—Serra Jung (11)

“You don’t usually have mazes; it’s usually rallies and whoever wants to participate, participates alone, but here everyone participates together.”

—Sakshi Satpathy (9) Alexandra Ting

Josh Spain

—Compiled by Evalyn Li

Homecoming Court decision brings reforms, new rules for nomination Elinor Aspegren News Editor

designed to reflect the desired candidate mold. “[The form was changed] so that there would be more consideration on how the person best represents Gunn, through leadership and experience, and not so much about who is the most popular,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall said.

According to Park, Homecoming Court was originally created in the 1950s for the purpose of recognizing seniors who were role models for the school. SEC decided to return to that format in order to recognize other role models—not just more well-known ones—present at Gunn.

Additionally, there will no longer be a homecoming king or queen. Gender and Sexuality Alliance President senior Rachel Gates thinks this is a good idea that advocates for inclusion.

“We’re not separating two individuals out of the group that got

The Student Executive Council (SEC) announced changes to the Homecoming Court on Sept. 24, which include a new nomination process, the abolishment of king and queen and the exclusion of SEC members from nomination.

According to Student Body President senior Isabelle Blanchard, the debate on changing court started with a discussion on more inclusion—namely, making court gender-neutral.

“We thought that it was really important that everyone feel safe and that they could identify with whoever they wanted to be,” she said.

School Board Representative senior Grace Park added that teachers approached SEC with this in mind. “[Homecoming Court has] created issues in the past because we have people at Gunn who don’t conform to the dichotomy of gender,” she said.

After SEC began discussing the issue of gender neutrality in Homecoming Court, discussions turned into a debate over whether or not to keep homecoming court at all. To settle the debate, SEC sent a survey to each class, asking whether or not to keep homecoming court and what changes should be made.

Park said the survey was important because all voices, not just those of SEC, were involved in the Homecoming Court process. “We didn’t trust just SEC to make this decision,” she said. “That’s why we decided to survey the student body about this issue.”

In the end, students and SEC members voted to keep the court because of the tradition and school spirit involved. With this decision, of 133 senior however, came a new wave of reforms. respondents voted to The first appeared in the nomination process. keep Homecoming Court This year, SEC added several questions to the submission form for nominating a candidate—all

more votes, because everyone who ends up being on the court deserves it a lot,” she said. “It’s the question of separating: we don’t need to be separating people, and we don’t need a king and queen because we don’t need to gender that.”

Besides being gender neutral, Homecoming Court now also excludes SEC members from candidacy. According to Blanchard, this decision was made mainly to recognize that there were other people in the Gunn community who serve as role models. “By not allowing us to be on court, we allow more of the Gunn student body to be recognized for their achievements,” she said.

Gates, however, thinks that this idea defeats the purpose of the other reforms. “The idea of excluding people while being inclusive is sort of confusing to me,” she said.

Nonetheless, Park is proud of the decisions that SEC made.

“Homecoming Court, in previous years, has been something that I personally don’t believe reflects what Gunn is about and exemplifies Gunn’s role models,” she said. “This year SEC did change a lot, and I’m looking forward to seeing the effects of these changes.”

Gates believes that these homecoming changes will serve to prove that Gunn is progressive in ideas of gender. “I’m hoping that people will see this as a jumping-off point for discussions about gender, and that hopefully, other schools in the area will follow that lead,” she said.

These changes, Blanchard anticipates, will allow students to truly appreciate court for what it represents, but she also is open to more discussion. “If court ever starts to have a largely negative effect, then I think that this decision is something to reopen and discuss,” she said. “I don’t think it’s something permanent—I think it’s what is best for the community at the time.” of 88 senior respondents Another voting survey will come out next week, Voted to MAKE Homecoming where people can vote for their top ten nominees. SEC Court gender neutral is still deciding whether winners will be announced at the halftime show or earlier in the week.

Results compiled from the Homecoming Court Survey; Graphic by Jackie Lou

The Oracle examines cheating culture Email us at oraclegunn@ gmail.com

The 2015 Challenge Success survey examined a variety of aspects of Gunn experiences and revealed that only 13 percent of students had not cheated in any way in the past year.

Various forms of violation of academic integrity included copying someone’s homework, collaborative work without permission and passing on test questions from someone who had already taken the test. The results also gave data on students’ own cheating habits, such as using cheat sheets, plagiarizing and using someone else’s work as their own.

In Gunn’s academically rigorous environment, people who reported cheating also reported a number of factors such as increased academic worry, physical stress symptoms, less support, less sleep and lack of enjoyment in their schoolwork.

In the upcoming months, The Oracle will analyze and investigate the cheating culture on campus. Student experiences, as well as teacher, administrative and professional opinions, will give diverse perspectives to the prevalent problem. The Oracle wants to focus on explaining cheating motives, impact of cheating, academic honesty policies and goals to resolve the situation. If you are a Gunn student who has been involved in cheating and would be open to speak about it, please contact us at oraclegunn@gmail.com. Terms of anonymity may be discussed case by case.

—Janet Wang

News THEORACLE 780 Arastradero Rd. Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 354-8238 www.gunnoracle.com

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Shawna Chen Managing Editors Arjun Sahdev Kathleen Xue News Elinor Aspegren Matthew Hamilton Ariel Pan Forum Kush Dubey Ryeri Lim Katie Russell Features Lisa Hao Prachi Kale Yuki Klotz-Burwell Centerfold Stina Chang Michael Chen Sports Shagun Khare Hayley Krolik Lena Ye Lifestyle Jenna Marvet Naina Murthy Barret Zhang Photo Editor Alexandra Ting Graphics Editor Elizabeth Zu

Staff Business/Circulation Tim Sun Assistant Business/Circulation Helen Nguyen Copy Emma Chiao Deiana Hristov Janet Wang

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Late work policies contradict education code LATE POLICIES

The Oracle strongly encourages and prints signed Letters to the Editor and Comments. Comments are generally shorter responses, while Letters are longer pieces of writing.

Please include your name, grade and contact information should you choose to write one.

Letters and Comments may be edited to meet space requirements and the writer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Letters to the Editor and Comments and ideas for coverage may be sent to oraclegunn@gmail.com or posted on our Facebook page.

These letters need not be from current students.

I really like when there are two articles next to each other with students that have different points of view on the same subject.

—Carolyn Kuimelis, 10

Photographers Josh Spain Mei-Yun Tang

I liked the map for the new teachers although I thought it was the same thing as the first day of school issue.

—Gloria Pan, 12

Graphics Artists Cheryl Kao Joanne Lee Jackie Lou

Adviser Kristy Blackburn

would you know if you are violating it?”

Instead, administration is expected to let faculty know if there are ever noncompliance issues.

“There are sometimes changes to Ed Code, and to expect every staff member to keep up with everything is probably not realistic,” Navarro said.

INBOX

Oracle/SEC Liaison Shannon Yang

Tech Editors Sabrina Chen Grace Ding

level of instruction. “There isn’t really a lot of [time] to discuss whether we would want a department-consistent late policy,” Pennington said. “I haven’t received any complaints, from students or teachers, about science not having a consistent policy.”

Teachers in the social studies department also have the flexibility to create their own late-work policies. According to Navarro, one teacher’s preference should not take priority over another’s.

“Students at Gunn are fiercely independent and traditionally, teachers at Gunn are also pretty independent,” Navarro said. “I guess it’s always just been that everyone’s trusted to come up with their

whatever their policy, has good reasons,” Navarro said.

Though the math department does not enforce the same late policy in all classes, it emphasizes consistency within courses, with adjustments for different lanes. “Our department philosophy is that an Algebra 1 class with freshmen is going Possibilities for progress to have a different late policy than a BC Calculus With a push for consistency in all facets of the class with juniors and seniors because they are district, PAUSD and Gunn administration are working with a different curriculum and different hoping to create a district-wide and school-wide maturity,” Hawes said. late-work policy for teachers to follow in the near According to Hawes, late policies for specific future. Greene believes that this will be beneficial courses originate in teacher meetings at the beto students’ success and wellness. “To make it ginning of the school year. “The fair, I think all teachers should keep it teachers get together and they consistent,” Greene said. say, ‘Okay, let’s talk about the “ A pupil absent from school under this section shall be allowed After hearing of the English desyllabus.’ That’s the first thing,” to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence partment’s decision, the social studies Hawes said. “And part of that that can be reasonably provided and, upon satisfactory compledepartment is now also considering a discussion is, are we going to take tion within a reasonable period of time, shall be given full credit. possible change in late-work policy. a penalty for late homework?

The teacher of the class from which a pupil is absent shall deter“We have discussed the potential for What kind of late homework?” a unified policy in our department,” mine which tests and assignments shall be reasonably equivalent While science teachers have a Navarro said. “But we didn’t discuss to, but not necessarily identical to, the tests and assignments that certain amount of independence that until the start of the school year the pupil missed during the absence. ” to determine their own policies, and by then it [was] too late, so we — California State Educational Code Section 48205 hope that this is something that we science department IS Laurie Pennington maintains that will work on over the year.” teachers should be completely transparent when it own policy and it hasn’t really been questioned.”

According to Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann, Hawes also noted that late policies between changes in written policies or in policy implemencomes to changes in class policies or curriculum. departments often vary because of the different tations should be brought to the administration’s “If a teacher posted a policy in their course guide nature of assignments.

“It’s one thing if [a typical attention by every department to avoid violation [and] then chose to change it, they would need assignment] is an essay or a big project,” Hawes of Ed Code. “Attendance and grades and all of to let me know, let the students know and let the said.

“That’s very different than when it’s every those things are key components of Ed Code,” parents know, because course policy changes day you have a math assignment, and that should Herrmann said. “Do I expect a teacher to know all should be communicated to all those affected by be reflected in the policy.” the policies,” Pennington said. of this? Absolutely not. But do I expect a teacher Navarro reviews all the course guidelines, to check with an administrator? Yes, absolutely.”

One unique aspect of the science department’s policy is the late pass, which students can use to including late-work and absence policies, at the McGee said that the district will be creating turn in assignments after the due date. Although beginning of the year, and if anything is found a committee specifically to look at consistency not used in all classes, most lower-lane classes out of compliance with the California Education within and across schools in the district, includin subjects such as biology and chemistry allow Code, she speaks with the teacher, though she said ing consistency in late-work policies. He plans to students to use these passes. “We’ve been trying it has never been necessary in the past. “I haven’t include student and faculty voices in the commitas a department to work really hard on flexibility, seen anything that seems out of the ordinary or tee, which is set to be formed by the next school but we also want to teach responsibility,” Pen- outside of traditional Gunn practices,” Navarro year. However, he maintained that it would be nington said. “The late pass allows students to said. best for school departments to take initiative Though teachers are mandated by law to follow themselves. “I think that having the departments make those choices.” the rules laid down in the Ed Code, according to develop these [consistent] policies themselves will Pennington, they are not required to go through be much more effective and implemented with Addressing inconsistencies According to Pennington, consistency in any program detailing these rules. “We didn’t more fidelity than anything we could impose at late-work policies is not seen as a major issue have to take a course that made you learn Ed the district level,” McGee said. “I have great faith within the science department, as policies are Code,” Pennington said. “If you, as a teacher, in our faculty and school administration to do determined on the basis of subject matter and don’t know specifics about the Ed Code, how this, but we need to get started.”

Oracle/TBN Liaison Anyi Cheng

Reporter Alex Dersh, Paulo Frank, Evalyn Li, Kaya van der Horst, Mikaela Wayne

3

It was really interesting and useful for the freshmen. I also got to know the administration.

—Kevin Ji, 11

September 11, 2015 I liked the new issue because it was very informational.

—Evelina Bergstrom, 12

It was nice how there were many different articles about different topics so that readers wouldn’t get bored easily.

—Clarisse Lee, 10

I really like this month’s Oracle. I think there are a lot of diverse articles on many different topics. There’s something interesting for everyone.

—Caroline Ro, 9

I particularly liked the Sports and New Teacher profile pages. They were well designed and nicely conveyed each persons’ personality through their bios.

—Simon Bukin, 12

I think it would be cool to see more photographs.

—Chloe Chang Sørensen, 11 There was lots of interesting content. The layouts were cool.

—Aaditya Divekar, 12 I would like to see more interviews with students because they are often interesting.

They can help us understand our peers better. Also more surveys they are fun to read.

—Heather Chang, 11

The Oracle is a 2014 NSPA Pacemaker Award finalist.

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Strict nutritional regulations affect food fundraisers Anyi Cheng

Oracle-TBN Liason

A series of regulations on foods for sale and giveaway on Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) campuses has been slowly taking effect. Most recently, Student Executive Council (SEC) faced issues from PAUSD Food Services over the Aug. 26 Donut Feed, where SEC members handed out free donuts to students on the quad.

“The District Board Policy states that student organizations cannot even give away food of minimal nutritional value, which includes donuts according to this ruling,” Student Activities Supervisor Lisa Hall said.

According to California’s Project Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition (LEAN), snacks distributed in schools must follow specific nutritional requirements. Qualifying snacks must not have “more than 35 percent of total calories from fat,” as the Project LEAN Quick Fact Sheet in the Student Activities Center states. Lunch entrees are limited to 400 calories, with “no more than 4 grams of fat per 100 calories.”

“They’ve been rolling out tighter restrictions pretty much every year,” Hall said. “It used to be that we were allowed to give away food, and restrictions were only on the food that was sold.”

According to Gunn’s Nutritional Services Director Alva Spence, some recently implemented legislation on the state and federal level includes the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which makes receiving fruit and vegetable portions mandatory for students who buy lunch. The Smart Snack rules

are another regulation on what kinds of snacks, beverages and entrees can be served throughout the school day. “The regulations have changed every year for a while now, and I would expect that that process will continue as we see the overall impact on childhood obesity,” Spence said.

Last year, food fundraisers and other school-wide “feeds” similar to the Donut Feed often took place on campus. This year, however, more food services officials are on campus to monitor student food activity because of the additional district rules regarding food.

The officials are required to report violations of food regulations to the district’s Food Services department.

Spence works with these officials to make sure the school complies with regulations. “As we see things on campus that are out of compliance, we bring them up to the school site administration and review the regulations and school board policies covering these areas,” Spence said.

The state and district food restrictions apply to clubs as well, which is why Club Day booths this year had no cookies or candy to offer students and club-run food fundraisers have ceased. “They’re not happy about it, but they’re also not interested in f louting the law,” Hall said. “I try to help them figure out ways they can do food fundraisers and what kinds of foods they can sell or give away.” She advises clubs to base foods sold off the snacks in the vending machines, all of which are supposed to meet nutritional guidelines.

Spence believes the nutritional regulations are necessary. “It is our job as educators to help educate students to make good, healthy choices in all facets, and food is a really important one,” she said. “I think the regulations are a step in the right direction.”

Student Body President senior Isabelle Blanchard thinks the food regulations have good purpose but are restrictive. “I understand where they are coming from and the intention for us to be healthier, but I do think sometimes it’s unfortunate that we can’t keep up with certain traditions,” she said.

Blanchard remains optimistic and believes that despite the food regulations, food sales and other food traditions can still take place. “There are some ways to work around [the rules],” Blanchard said.

“They just allow us to look into new options and Jackie Lou get more creative with what we give out and when.”

Fire alarm review Flashing incidents rise in Palo Alto scheduled for break Helen Nguyen

Asst. Business Manager

Kush Dubey

Forum Editor

The Gunn administration and Palo Alto Unified School District Office (PAUSD) have scheduled inspections and modifications of fire alarm sensors over winter break after being notified that the school could face fines from the Palo Alto Fire Department (PAFD) due to the school’s high frequency of false fire alarms.

According to Principal Dr. Denise Herrmann, the school violated the PAFD’s general quota of allowing two false alarms per week when four false alarms occurred in one week last school year.

The reason for Gunn’s numerous false alarms can be traced to the high sensitivity of fire alarm sensors in buildings that underwent construction. “Most of these false alarms come from the K and L buildings which were remodeled this past year,” Herrmann said. “Firemen think that the construction process left behind dust and other loose particles which could have triggered the highly sensitive fire detectors if they came in contact with each other.”

A thorough inspection, recalibration, reinstallation and major cleaning of fire alarm sensors in the K and L buildings are included as possible solutions in the district’s plans for winter break.

PAUSD Maintenance Supervisor Luis Zepeda believes that the chances of getting ticketed are low, since the PAFD is more willing to cooperate with the school instead of exacting penalties.

“It’s highly unlikely that the school will get fined. While this has been an issue in the past, neither the schools nor the district have ever been fined,” he said. “Generally speaking, the PAFD is sympathetic towards our public schools, and they are more interested in working with us in making sure our fire alarm systems are functioning properly.”

The exact cost of a potential fine due to the school’s continual use of the PAFD’s public services remains unclear. Herrmann, however, believes the cost will be nominal if the school is ticketed.

To junior Eric Wang, a financial punishment for the school is not warranted. “I don’t think Gunn should be fined,” he said.

“Many of the alarms are caused by accidents.”

Herrmann adds that the importance of addressing the problem is not solely a financial issue but also an academic one. “A big concern with these fire alarms is that they disrupt student learning because [false alarms] take out crucial class time to walk to the field and walk back,” she said. “The last thing we want to do is interrupt the students’ time to learn, take tests or write in-class essays because of a fire drill.”

Nevertheless, Herrmann believes that this level of responsiveness is crucial to preserve the school’s safety. “In a way it’s good that [fire alarm sensors] are so sensitive because we know that if there really is a fire or emergency then there will be an alarm.”

Palo Alto has experienced 22 cases of indecent exposure in the last year, the most in 10 years. The most recent incident occurred on Sept. 4, when a man exposed himself to two 10-year-old girls walking in a Palo Alto neighborhood.

According to Thomas Plante, a professor of psycholog y at Santa Clara Universit y a nd a n adju nct clinica l professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, flashing is an impulse control disorder, a psychiatric condition, where one is sexually aroused by exposing themselves to others. Flashers typically also have comorbidity, the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient, or another psychiatric condition, including anxiety, depression, personality disorder or substance problems, which may contribute to their behavior.

The reaction a f lasher expects depends on the person but typically, they are aroused and excited by the reaction of the victim.

Plante says that it’s important to get away from them and report the incident to law enforcement; if feeling threatened, scream or call for help to scare them away. “Typically, these folks are harmless,” Plante said, “but since you never know, it is best to be safe than sorry and to let law enforcement know about it too.”

Pr i ncipa l Dr. Den ise Her r ma n n ac k now le d ge s t hat hav i ng a n op en campus makes the idea of having a safe boundary challenging. Some general safety practices at Gunn include ensuring that campus supervisors and administrators are out and about before school, at lunch and after school, where students enter and exit the campus. “I think we try to have a presence,” Herrmann said. Titan 101 counselors educate freshmen on Internet and other kinds of safety. Physical education

teachers also teach a self-defense unit. “I think some of the proactive things we could teach students we try to insert in an appropriate way, and then some of the more proactive ways are having adults present,” Herrmann said.

Herrmann also pointed out that behavior has a role in the chances of becoming a victim.

“Flashers look for timid, withdrawn kinds of people, and that’s an easier victim,” she said.

“Even if you are scared, pretend like you’re confident.”

Plante has various theories about the recent increase in indecent incidents. “The local area has more people living and working around here than in the past and with an increase in population you’ll have an increase of all sorts of behavior,” Plante said. “All it takes is one pretty obsessed person to have multiple incidents to make it appear that it is more common now.” Plante said the public is also now much more aware that they should report incidents to law enforcement than in the past as well, which may also give off the impression of increasing incidents.

Plante explained that victims’ reactions vary; people can experience the exact same event and have very different responses.

“People who are vulnerable for various reasons [such as previous trauma victims, premorbid anxiety or depression] may have a much harder time coping,” Plante said.

To avoid t h i s sit u at ion, one should be aware of surroundings, walk with friends or in Elizabeth Zu pairs and stay on main roads.

“It is ideally best for students to walk or bike in groups or pairs and stay on main streets to minimize the odds that this might happen to them,” Plante said. “Yet there are no way to avoid these situations completely when people are just going about their daily lives in public places.”

Forum district duty to diversity: Thursday, October 8, 2015

5

PRO

CON

Should PAUSD set aside more days off for religious holidays?

Katie Russell

Hayley Krolik Although federal law separates church and state, public schools cannot blatantly ignore over half of their student bodies: according to Gallup polling, 60 percent of Americans find religion to be very important in their lives while another 26 percent find it fairly important. This year, Palo Alto students noticed that their religious priorities were shelved when a holiday was not designated for Yom Kippur. Schools should make accommodations for major religions in order to create a positive learning environment where students feel supported and can keep up with coursework while maintaining full spiritual lives.

This is a matter of courtesy and consideration for diversity.

According to a 2011 PAUSD Search Institute survey, around 36.5 percent of middle and high school students are religiously active. It is respectful to designate religious days as local holidays, especially if there is a ceremony making students unable to participate in the school day. Yom Kippur, one of the holy Jewish holidays, involves a fast during which participants cannot drink or eat dawn to dusk. The important Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, involves prayer rituals throughout the day. If school is in session during these holidays, participants may feel obligated to double-up commitments. Students who are fasting would lack the nutrients to fully perform in class, while Muslim students would not have time to participate in prayers without disrupting their learning, forcing them to perhaps forgo religious observance in order to participate in school.

PAUSD should reserve more days off for a greater variety of religious holidays, allocating one local holiday per major religion. One solution would be to reserve a couple local holidays for religious ones. This school year, PAUSD has designated three days labeled as “local holidays” for Thanksgiving as well as two weeks for winter break. In order to accommodate religious holidays, Thanksgiving break could start on Thursday, the actual holiday, instead of Wednesday, and school could close for winter break on a Thursday and resume two Mondays later. This would only require basic adjustment of the calendar, preserve the three-day finals week schedule and provide a simple solution that could serve two purposes. Students who observe certain religious holidays would not miss more school while students who do would not have to make up an exorbitant amount of schoolwork.

Allowing days off for religious holidays requires determining which ones receive designated days off. Some say that there will be issues of fairness in choosing holidays, while creating a logistical nightmare for the school. Although taking school off for religious holidays will require reorganization of the calendar, adding these holidays is a more respectful solution, regardless of which religions are chosen.

A committee could be a smart way to determine these local holidays. The committee, comprising of students, parents and teachers, would use surveys to determine students’ religious demographics, then assign days to the major groups.

This data collection could be combined with a discussion to ensure that holidays are designated to practices unobservable during school.

Because of the large number of religiously observant Palo Alto students, it is respectful for the district to institute one local holiday per major religion.

Some practices of religious holidays cannot be observed while in school. A viable solution is to reorganize the calendar to shift local holidays from Thanksgiving break and winter break to religious holidays. After all, the school has experienced enough changes lately that one more alteration would not be such an issue.

—Krolik, a senior, is a Sports Editor.

Religion is a sensitive subject for many reasons; the establishment of separation of church and state requires that the public education system not support or promote any religion. At the same time, it is necessary for Gunn to respect the religious practices of any of its students. Many religions have holidays which include extensive traditions or ceremonies. These often require students who observe that religion to miss school. Some students have undergone an unnecessary amount of stress and worry due to having to miss school for their religion, and it is important for the administration and the community to recognize this flaw in the system. However, adding more school holidays is an ineffective and impractical solution. Religions and their practices should be honored, but it is not wise or even feasible to take an increased number of days off of school for religious purposes.

A major issue with the idea of creating additional religious holidays would be the process taken to decide which holidays should be added. Where do we draw the line? The three largest world religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, celebrate a total of 34 major holidays per year. Obviously, it is impossible for us to take every holiday off for every religion observed by Gunn students—and no one is asking for this.

This in turn creates another issue. If the administration were to add more school holidays, they would have to pick and choose which ones. It is simply not the school’s place to determine whether or not a religion “deserves” to be taken off school for all students. No religion is objectively better or more important than another, and it is impossible for the administration to draw a line between what holiday is worth a day off school. If even one student at Gunn observes a certain religious holiday, they have an equal right to their religious practices, and it is unfair to favor one religion over another just because one may have more followers at Gunn.

Creating more school holidays is not the correct way to alleviate stress caused by missing school for religion. This stress is a product of ineffective absence policies and a perceived lack of cooperation on the part of teachers.

Teachers and students should work with Gunn attendance and administration to form a more thorough protocol for absences due to religious reasons, in which no student is penalized for their religious beliefs.

As it stands, an absence from school for a religious holiday is considered excused. According to the California Education Code, a student with an excused absence is entitled to the opportunity to make up any work that he or she missed. Inconsistencies and anomalies in policies are detrimental and unfair to students. One such inconsistency is that though teachers are prohibited from grading on attendance alone, in some courses participation grades are linked to attendance. Progress has been made in the area of consistency by the English department, which instituted a late-work policy across the department, and hopefully progress will continue to be made as more departments adopt policies of their own.

With a consistent absence policy recognized and observed across all departments as well as cooperation from both teachers and administration, students should be able to make up any work that they have missed without worrying that their religious beliefs or decisions have affected them adversely in terms of their performance in school.

—Russell, a senior, is a Forum Editor.

Graphics by Elizabeth Zu

Number of major annual holidays Featuring the five largest world religions:

Christianity

Islam

Hinduism

Chinese Folk

Buddhism

10

2

6

8

16 Graphics by Cheryl Kao

Statistics from InterfaithCalendar.org

6

FORUM

Graphics by Elizabeth Zu

Inconsistencies in late-work policy harm student learning

DEPARTMENT POLICIES ENGLISH • Late assignments lose 10 percent credit per class day.

• Late assignments are marked as incomplete; after two weeks, any late assignment that is still missing will automatically become a failing grade.

• Students may not make up assignments due to an unexcused absence/cut.

• Students will have the same number of class days of absence to complete the assignments given.

MATH • Late-work policies vary by course, but are consistent within specific courses.

• Online homework includes preset deadlines.

• Textbook homework is due the day after it is assigned.

• Exceptions are allowed on a caseby-case basis.

SOCIAL STUDIES • Each teacher has the freedom to determine their own late-work policy.

• Policies vary by teacher but are generally similar across courses.

• Syllabi are submitted to the Instructional Supervisor for review.

SCIENCE • Policies vary by teacher.

• Rules are generally similar within the three disciplines (biolog y, chemistry and physics).

• Many classes offer late passes, which adjust the deadline to a later date.

• Department emphasizes both flexibility and responsibility in policy.

— Compiled by Katie Russell Graphics by Elizabeth Zu

could increase cheating because students experience a lot of pressure, as one moment can determine their grade. According to the Challenge Success survey administered last spring, only 13 percent of Gunn students reported that they had not cheated in the last year. On a time crunch and fearing a bad grade, Shannon Yang high-achieving students in particular tend to “inappropriately collaborate.” Once the good grade is set, these students can plan to make up their actual The California Education Code and the district’s learning afterward. school board have established policies to ensure that These inconsistent late work and absence policies students who are legitimately absent still have an are also harmful for consistency across courses. equal opportunity to catch up on any missed work Last year’s Hanover Research study found a lot of without major penalties. However, several teach- variation across course syllabi, especially in the ers have put into place policies on late work and English and social studies departments. It’s easier attendance that are inconsistent with the overall for students to hold themselves to consistent policies. board policy.

Having to follow multiple different policies at school Even when policies do comply with the law, teach- is confusing and hard to keep up with. Inconsisteners may still take advantage of loopholes and create cies contradict the expectations students have about policies harmful to students. When teachers take consistency across the school. Students register for too many liberties with late homework and absence a class knowing what to expect: exactly how much policies, the only result is harm to students be- homework there will be, what the policies will be like cause students learn less and their grade is unfairly and what will be learned. Then they go into the class impacted. For example, some teachers only allow expecting that the teacher will not grade based on a certain number of tardies and absences before random criteria and will be like their other classes threatening an extra assignment or loss of points, fail and classes they’ve taken before. to recognize the excused status of absences or don’t But teachers taking liberofficially write their policies in the course syllabus. ties with these policies In its worst cases, these discrepancies can ruin the calibration have negative effects on student well-being, of the class across “Inconsistencies course consistency and success. When stuthe school or the dents think of late work and absence polidistrict, and the contradict cies, the value they should have in mind is cou rs e c at a log expectations learning. But policies like these turn out to becomes just a student have be punitive and don’t allow kids to bounce useless packet of about consistency back and keep learning. In fact, students are paper. across the generally stressed out even more. People have To combat this legitimate reasons to miss school. Many of us problem, instrucschool.” go through family turbulence or chronic mental t iona l super v isors or physical illness at some point, and inconsistent a nd a d m i n i s t r at or s policies cause stress from missing school on top of should hold teachers more existing struggles. accountable and make sure that The trut h is t hat most Gunn students don’t policies are consistent with other classes, compliant scream, “Yay, I get to miss class!” in excitement, but with the Ed Code and board policy and consistent rather think, “I can’t afford this blow to my grades,” with what is stated on the course syllabus. or “I have to make up more work now.”

Though the English department has created a Absences are punishment enough department-wide late work policy to solve in the first place: by missing this problem, other departments still have school, students miss matea lot of work to do. While not perfect, rial that is taught during the English department’s new policlass and have to study cies as a whole grant a new consisindependently without tency to the department that will teacher guidance while ease student expectations while making up homework sti l l upholding indiv idua l reand tests on their own sponsibility. However, the limits time. Explicit ly ta kon f lexibility should be less clear ing off points for an cut. Rather than an automatic excused absence as a zero on an assignment after two pu nit ive measu re just weeks, things should be looked at compounds the problem. on a case-by-case basis—just because Teachers should reward the the deadline has passed doesn’t mean responsibility of making up it should be too late to fix damage. The work, not pu nish absences same logic holds for extensions: in some which may not be in a student’s control. cases, 24 hours is too much to ask, and sometimes it Teachers with these inconsistent policies further is unreasonable for students to get a parent to email detract from a positive academic culture at our a teacher during an emergency. school by creating a lack of f lexibility when it comes The whole school should be held more accountable to late work. As Gunn continues its partnership with for consistent—and legal—late work policies. The soChallenge Success, the school is looking for ways to cial studies department plans to assess the potential shift focus off grades and more onto learning. This of a policy similar to that of the English department, year, AP Environmental Science and AP Calculus and other departments should follow their example.

AB have changed their policies to allow late work Furthermore, departments and the administration and retakes—because why should students be graded should take more action to audit teachers’ policies on their performance on a test on one specific day and make sure they don’t differ from promises on when they could be rewarded for learning it at their the syllabus or break the Ed Code. This would create own pace? Cramming for a test or rushing through less stress and a more relaxing school climate, with homework may be good for getting a good grade, less cheating and a larger focus on learning. but it’s not good for learning in the long term. In —Yang, a junior, is the Oracle-SEC Liaison. addition, a lack of f lexibility in late work policies

“Teachers should reward responsibility, not punish absences."

FORUM

Thursday, October 8, 2015

7

The Fight Is NOT Over Current progress for LGTBQ+ rights insufficient Alex Dersh Odds are you know a LGBTQ+ person in school or in other areas of your life. According to the 2013-2014 California Health Kids Survey, around 8 percent of Palo Alto students identify as LGBTQ+, meaning that 17 years ago at least one out of 12 of your classmates had fewer rights than others.

Back in 1998, they couldn’t legally have sex in 17 states, and it was legal to fire them in 38 states for sexual orientation and 49 states for gender identity. Nowhere could they get married, adopt children or serve openly in the military, closing off opportunities afforded to everyone else. Bullying and harassment against LGBTQ+ youth at school because of their gender identity and sexual orientation was widespread, and they could still be forced into harmful conversion therapy.

As demonstrated by the summer’s Supreme Court decision, much progress has been made since 1998. Marriage equality is the law of the land, and dozens of states now follow California’s lead, which boasts some of the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ protections in the country. However, the United States has room for improvement. For example, only 20 states ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The anti-bullying website,

NoBullying.com, has described an epidemic and gender. Similar efforts have been made in of anti-LGBTQ+ harassment among youth, states, most recently with California granting while the Human Rights Campaign called protections to transgender students in 2014, anti-transgender violence a “national crisis.” yet there is so much for California and the We must ensure that the progress achieved rest of the country to do to ensure that reaches all under the LGBTQ+ umour LGBTQ+ youth feel safe brella, especially transgender and and accepted. genderqueer Americans.

No LGBTQ+ group We are very fortunate to faces more violence, have a LGBTQ+ friendly rejection and dis82 percent of campus made possicrimination than transgender youth ble by groups like the transgender and report feeling Gender & Sexuality genderqueer Alliance, Adolescent people. Our unsafe at school.

Counseling Service’s country needs —2011 National Outlet and Not In Our to make a conSchool Climate Schools (NIOS) Week. scious effort to But this isn’t the case evgrant them equal Survey erywhere, as many sexual protection and treatand gender identities nament under our laws tionwide are still mistreated. and in our schools.

According to a nationwide 2011 study, 82 According to a nationwide 2011 percent of LGBTQ+ youth report problems study, 82 percent of transgender youth rewith bullying due to sexual orientation, fac- ported feeling unsafe at school, 44 percent ing three times higher instances of cyberbul- report being physically abused and 67 percent lying than non-LGBTQ+ peers. LGBTQ+ faced online bullying. youth are two to three times more likely to This has resulted in transgender youth attempt suicide, and rejection from family being six times more likely to feel depressed, increases this likelihood by eight times. eight times more likely to attempt suicide and Anti-bullying and harassment protections three times more likely to abuse illegal drugs. for these youth are lacking in many parts of the country. Federal legislation has been proposed to grant anti-discrimination and bullying protections to LGBTQ+ youth currently afforded based on race

More than half skip school on a regular basis due to bullying, and, of such bullies, only half are reported to the school. One transgender youth’s story from NoBullying.com describes being thrown into the trash. “If I have to go through this in order to live happy, I just didn’t want to be alive,” they said.

Something must change, as the realities for transgender youth are unacceptable.

Many states have passed laws adding protections for LGBTQ+ youth, yet only 18 states ban discrimination and bullying against students based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Addressing the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth and ensuring full equality are imperatives for the nation going forward.

Despite the great progress made in such short time, our country has a lot of catching up to do. The realities on the ground for the lesbian, gay, transgender and queer children of America have yet to be fully rectified, and while California is thankfully a bastion of progress, there are still too many students who face bullying and discrimination in our state. As we think of the LGBTQ+ people you know in your life, we should all vow to ensure that they’re treated well everywhere just as they are in Palo Alto.

—Dersh, a senior, is a reporter.

Elizabeth Zu

Complacency in Palo Alto masks racism issues

around—and no one gives them a second thought. Phrases like “that’s so gay” or “that’s so retarded” are still commonly used despite the numerous pro-diversity activities held at Gunn. So it is not that we are ignorant of what we are saying, it is that we have Naina Murthy created an environment in which we don’t think before we speak and persist in believing that a problem doesn’t exist. Even if our Palo Alto prides itself on being progres- words are not hurting someone directly, we sive, but when it comes to diversity, it are still adding to a monster of ignorance has hit a wall. To some extent, and disrespect. In a terrible cycle, the wealth and good weather we think we are above polichave created a bubble that ing what we say because surrounds and hides no one has actually gone “We insist on our city from the social out of their way to tell remaining issues of the world. us to stop. unable to see We have built up a In a competitive blindness in Pa lo env i ron ment l i ke the persistence Alto—we believe we Gunn, it’s hard not of prejudice and have already reached to feel like you aren’t discrimination.” the limit of diversity performing up to par and no longer need to with other students. keep working. It is clear, Sadly, on many occasions however, that Palo Alto is not I have heard people say a ceryet where it should be. tain person only got a good grade Every now and then as I walk down the because he or she was a certain race. It is halls, I hear racial slurs getting thrown unbelievable that some people would make

these comments without hesitation. It’s clear to me that people get good grades because they work their butts off to be where they are—they deserve to be rewarded for that, not discredited because of their race.

Some of my own experiences with racial discrimination have also taken place at school. In my freshman year of high school, I decided to take Bio 1A, which was the middle lane. A few people questioned my decision. They asked me why I hadn’t decided to take Bio 1AC. When I responded that Bio 1AC was not the right class for me, they responded with, “But you’re Indian.” It didn’t really hurt my feelings; I’d heard remarks like that quite a few times already. Everyone knows the stereotype that Asian parents are super high-strung and expect nothing but the best, but that is the problem. It might not have hurt me on the surface, but these kinds of comments enforce pressure for us to “succeed” because they perpetuate a belief that the classes we take and the grades we receive ultimately define how hard we work. Gunn is taking the right steps to combat problems with events like Not In Our Schools (NIOS) Week, but the week does not address the issue completely.

Over the last four years, the number of NIOS Week classroom lessons has drastically decreased. This year, only one of my classes actually took time out of the period to talk about sexism, which is just one of many relevant social problems today. When NIOS week ends, we also tend to push aside what we have learned and continue with how we were before the one-week conversation started. Sadly, NIOS has also turned into the punchline of an inside joke, a response to someone who says something rude or politically incorrect. Our week set aside to celebrate diversity is barely relevant to us; I think that very fact shows a lot.

I truly believe that just the conscious knowledge of what we say and the effect it has on others can help us go a long way.

We gladly accept that we are progressive because Palo Alto’s success and liberalism blinds us from the racial problems around us. We insist on remaining unable to see the persistence of prejudice and discrimination, yet the truth of the matter is, we are far from where we think we are. If we continue to think we are perfect, we will never change.

—Murthy, a senior, is a Lifestyle Editor.

8

Features

Teachers share their funny Halloween adventures

Mr. Dunbar

Physics teacher Bill Dunbar likes to set up new competitions for his students every Halloween to encourage creativity in students and adaptability in the future engineers.

Dunbar sets up these challenges because he believes that high school students have surpassed the time for cute childish antics during Halloween. “Most high school students should not be trick-or-treating,” Dunbar said.

“They are too old and they are too scary.”

During his time as the Gunn Robotics Team (GRT) advisor, Dunbar challenged his robotic teams to build mechanical haunted houses every year. “It’s a tradition that lasted for years and year,” Dunbar said.

These haunted houses would generally include moving structures powered by machines to make them seem lifelike.

It was designed in hopes that pedestrians would be amazed by the hard work put into the creation of the houses.

One year, Dunbar’s students built a two-story haunted house. “It was really tall and skinny and there were characters that would pop out of the doors and windows,” Dunbar said.

All would have worked well, however, the mechanisms that should have caused the house to move did not function properly. The complex figures that should have popped out

Mr. Saunders History teacher Chris Saunders humorously remembers his eighth grade Halloween as “more of a trick than treat.”

Saunders and two other school friends decided to pull a prank on a neighborhood rival. “He didn’t actually go to my school, but he lived nearby,” Saunders recalled. “We just didn’t get along well. We bickered and I think we liked the same girl at one point in time too so I know that didn’t help.”

The plan was simple: to toilet paper the house and run. But before the boys had a chance to carry out the plan, word spread throughout their school. “I went to a really small school,” Saunders said. “We were up to no good and told people about it.”

Without their knowledge, a teacher overheard. “He went ahead and contacted my parents but school was already over and we were already out,” Saunders said.

Thinking the boys were going to get into trouble, the concerned parents frantically searched for Saunders and his friends throughout the streets of his hometown San Francisco. “It just caused this huge mess of hysteria with teachers,

—Written by Barrett Zhang

parents, [and] friends,” Saunders said. “Everyone assumed the worst things happened. It snowballed out of control.”

Since none of the boys had cell phones, it was difficult for their parents to contact them. “Getting in contact when you were out was a lot harder,” he said. “We had no idea that anyone even knew what we were up to.”

However, Saunders and his friends decided not to follow through with their Halloween trick, but instead continued with their treats. “We ended up not doing it because we figured it’s a bad idea,” he said.

“We didn’t do anything bad but the threat of it was enough to get attention from my parents.”

The boys ended the night safely and arrived at home, only to be greeted by fuming parents. “I’ll never forget the scolding that was given to me afterwards,” Saunders said.

“It certainly caused more trouble than it would have ever been worth.”

What could have ended disastrously turned into a learning experience as “smarter minds prevailed.” Although now amusing, Saunders will never forget the lessons he learned.

“Always think twice before doing anything,” he advised “The juice isn’t always worth the squeeze.”

—Written by Kaya van der Horst

Mr. Hernandez

Graphics by Elizabeth Zu

and make the house come alive ended up not moving.

The situation was worse than those of other Halloweens, as someone paid GRT to work the haunted house on their front lawn for the entire Halloween night. Having already accepted the job, the team decided to have a student inside the house to manually work the machinery in order to avoid being discovered. “It was actually more like a puppet haunted house instead of a robotic one,” said Dunbar.

The students set up at 6 p.m., popping the characters in patterns in order to maintain the reputation of the team. He stayed within the phonebooth-shaped decoration and was not allowed to come out for fresh air, for the bathroom, or for food.

After six hours of working, the student found an opening where nobody would notice him and crawled out from inside the contraption. Dunbar was most surprised by the fact that nobody realized that the mechanized house was broken. “[The student] was able to sneak out so that nobody knew he was in there and nobody knew that the robotic haunted house was a sham,” Dunbar said.

For Dunbar, this will always be a special memory. “I can still envision the student attempting to sneak in and out without anyone else noticing that he was within the house,” Dunbar laughed.

It was October 31 of English teacher Mark Hernandez’s senior year of high school and he and his friends did not know what they wanted to do. They did not want to do the typical thing and go to a party, however. They wanted to go out with a bang. “We decided to finish our time in our neighborhood in a positive way so we decided to be those jackass high school seniors who went out trick-ortreating,” Hernandez said.

They were so excited by their idea that they forgot one of the most essential parts of Halloween — costumes. They scrambled to the last minute for costume ideas and eventually decided they had no time to be creative. “We decided to just wear whatever we had in the car. So, one of us was crazy shoeon-the-head man, I was crazy sleeping-bag man, and one of my friends was crazy baseball-glove man,” Hernandez said.

They threw on their costumes and headed out the door. He

and his group of friends then went around trick-or-treating in their neighborhood as if it was not strange for people their age to be running around in normal clothes asking for candy.

However, their attempt at a fun night was not as amusing to others as it was to them. “We would ring the doorbell and then be glared at by these parents who were like ‘get out,’ some people gave begrudgingly and one person just said ‘no,’” Hernandez said.

Their trick-or-treating rejections were not the last of the chaotic events that unfolded that night. In the midst of everything that was going on and last-minute planning, Hernandez and his friends forgot that they had told their mutual friend Jeff that they were not going to do anything for Halloween. However, as he and his friends approached the door of a house, they immediately realized they had made a mistake. Before they could run, a familiar face opened their door to the mortified faces of Hernandez and his crew. “We accidentally trick-or-treated at [Jeff’s] house, and he was the one who opened the door,” Hernandez said. “He sees us acting like total jackasses [and] looks at us like we were total jerks. It was just so dumb and stupid.”

—Written by Mikaela Wayne

Features

Thursday, October 8, 2015

9

Junior Brendan Creemer raises awareness for Usher syndrome

draisers and events. “For this current school year, our goal is to host at least two large fundraising events per semester,” Cao said. “As for the rest of the year and beyond, we defiThis year, a new organization is on the rise on Gunn cam- nitely want to instill a greater sense of awareness and action pus: one dedicated to fundraising for scientific research. in the Palo Alto community about the Usher syndrome.”

Science for Sight, an organization started by junior BrenAccording to Creemer, the organization made signifidan Creemer, is a nonprofit, student-run group working to cant progress in fundraising over the last year. “Last April, raise money for Usher syndrome research. we had an open mic and bake sale fundUsher syndrome is a genetic disease raiser which raised 790 dollars for research,” that results in the loss of both hearing Creemer said. “Right now, we are holding a a nd eyesig ht over a person’s l i fet i me. movie night and expect to raise about 200 According to the American Speech and dollars.” The event, which will take place Language Association, it is the most comtonight at 8 p.m. in the Mitchell Park Common cause of deaf-blindness in humans. munity Center, will consist of a screening of Creemer, who was born with Usher synTim Burton’s “Coraline” as well as a Q&A drome, says he started the organization session with one of the movie’s producers. to help others like him. “I started Science The National Health Institute estimates Brendan Creemer for Sight because I am one of the many that four out of every 100,000 babies are people affected by this disease, and even born w it h Usher sy nd rome. A lt houg h if isn’t bad now, it will be eventually,” Creemer said. hearing loss is usually identified at an early age using Last year, with help from Gunn specia l education new methods of screening, the official diagnosis typically teacher Laila Adle, who works with visually impaired lags behind by several years. The genetic condition that students, Creemer was able to utilize community re- causes visual impairment in Usher syndrome, known as sources and eventually create retinitis pigmentosa, manifests S c ience for Sig ht . “Brend a n gradua lly and causes patients and I were looking for a way with the disease to lose periphUsher syndrome is a genetic for him to do something about eral vision before losing central disease that results in the loss Usher—to make a contribution, vision. The lack of effective early to help make a change,” Adle diagnoses can present problems of both hearing and eyesight said. “Through some research, to indiv idua ls a nd parents of over a person’s lifetime... It is we found the Bryant Street Gat hose a f f l ic ted w it h t he d israge Fund, which helped Brenease; they need to make decithe most common cause of dan create Science for Sight.” sions regarding education and deaf-blindness in humans.

Science for Sight’s objective intervention without knowledge is to hold events to raise money of their child’s eventual blindness. for those struggling with Usher syndrome and to gain a Creemer recognizes t he cha llenges a head, but resense of understanding within the community. According ma i ns opt i m i st ic ab out S c ienc e for Sig ht . “I w a nt to senior Emily Cao, an active member of Science for Sight, to help ot her people w it h t h is d isea se a nd protec t the organization has already started making plans for fun- t hem f rom a f u t u r e o f b l i n d n e s s ,” C r e e m e r s a i d .

Michael Chen

Centerfold Editor

Courtesy of Brendan Creemer

Alexandra Ting

Above: Science for Sight’s logo depicts an eye to signify its focus on the effect of Usher syndrome and the research undergone to help those affected.

Below: The poster advertises its movie night fundraiser, where it will screen “Coraline” and host a Q&A.

10

A Week Ea With Staffers

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-------------Yuki - Day 1 1. Protein bar for breakfast 2. PB&J and fruits & veggies for lunch 3. Cheese & avocado quesadillas for dinner

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Before I started my vegetarian diet, I was apprehensive but eager. I usually get a fair amount of meat in my diet, so I wanted to see how altering my meals would affect me. Throughout the week, I was surprised to find that I definitely did feel some changes due to my diet. I felt much hungrier than I do usually and found myself craving snacks almost every hour—even right after I had a meal. Additionally, I had headaches that lasted for long periods of time.

On day 3, I went to Jack-in-the-Box to get a snack after tutoring and ordered chicken nuggets before remembering that I could not eat them. I started to realize that my regular snacks, such as beef jerky and salami, were off-limits. I also realized that these snacks are high in protein, and I needed to find other ways to get those necessary nutrients into my body.

Overall, although going on a vegetarian diet can have positive environmental and health impacts, I noticed negative changes in my appetite and overall physical feeling. Lara Stephenson of Palo Alto Nutrition agreed with my views and pointed out that while abstaining from eating meat can be one option for supporting animals, there are other ways to do so while staying healthy. While vegetarianism might not be for me, I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting to try it to maintain a solid diet that includes necessary amounts of protein.

Tim - Day 2 1. Porridge & apricots for breakfast 2. Tomato & lettuce sandwiches for lunch 3. Noodles with cucumbers & sauce for dinner

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Yuki Klotz-Burwell

Yuki Klot

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a Vegeta

rian

As

CENTER

Courtesy Photos: Yuki and Tim

Yuki - D 1. Protein b breakfas 2. PB&J for 3. Asian Box (caramel tofu, let peanuts, sprouts, juice) for ner

—Klotz-Burwell, a senior, is a Features Editor.

Arugula Salad w/ Avocado-Citrus Dressing Ingredients: - 2.5 cups fresh arugula leaves - 2 ounces kalamata olives, pitted and halved - 2 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved - 2 tablespoons freshly shaved raw parmesan cheese (optional) Dressing: - 1 whole avocado Recipe and photo courtesy of Lara Stephenson Mugs by Elizabeth Zu

- 0.25 cups chopped red onion - 2 ta blespo o ns fresh squeezed grapefruit juice - 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar - 1 pinch black pepper - 1 pinch sea salt - 1 tablespoon raw organic honey or maple syrup - 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro - 1 tablespoons fresh mint - 1 tablespoons fresh basil

Directions: 1. Toss arugula, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese in bowl.

2. Blend avocado, red onion, lime juice, grapefruit juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper in a food processor 3. While blending, add olive oil, honey or maple syrup, cilantro, mint and basil leaves 4. Pour dressing over salad and enjoy!

Healt

11

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ating Green

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Thursday, October 8th, 2015

tz-Burwell & Tim Sun Tim Sun

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Day 3 bar for st r lunch x l egg, ttuce, , bean , lime r din-

Timi - Day 4 1. Porridge for breakfast 2. lettuce, tomato & pesto sandwiches for lunch 3. Rice with tofu & leek for dinner

Yuki - Day 5 1. Cereal & fruit for breakfast 2. Cheese bagel with butter for lunch 3. Salad with cucumbers, avocado, dressing & bread with olive oil for dinner

thy & Easy Recipes

Heading into my vegan week, I felt surprisingly optimistic about the experience. I often ate rice and vegetables for dinner, so I felt that the vegan diet would not be a problem.

My expectation was far from the reality of not consuming meat or dairy for five days.

Throughout the week, I was tired from the lack of substantial food in my body. Lettuce and tomato sandwiches did not provide enough energy for me to function efficiently and more than anything, I craved a nice Chipotle chicken burrito. I became hungry very often, and I felt starved less than an hour after a meal. Even when

I did eventually eat, I could not eat as much as I was accustomed to eating.

My week turned out to be a rough ordeal rather than the cake walk I thought it would be. My diet changes were draining, both mentally and physically. Although I understand the views of vegans and vegetarians, I agree with the opinion of my nutritionist, Lara Stephenson, that eating products of animals that are not cruelly treated is a way to support humane animal treatment while maintaining a healthy and balanced diet.

Veganism: 1/10, would not try again or recommend. —Sun, a junior, is a Business

Manager.

Acai Smoothie Ingredients: - 2 ounces unsweetened frozen acai berry puree (Sambazon) - 2 cups unsweetened coconut or almond milk - 0.5 tablespoons raw cacao - 0.5 avocado, peeled and pitted - 2 tablespoons sprouted stone-ground chia seed - 5 drops stevia extract or other sweetener (optional)

Directions: 1. Blend acai berries and almond milk at low speed until you have broken down the frozen acai berries.

2. Move to a higher speed. Once it is smooth, add the cacao and the stevia.

(Add avocado for thicker consistency.)

Recipe and photo courtesy of Lara Stephenson Background and tree branch graphics by Cheryl Kao

12

Life after Gunn: Organizations branch out to connect TitanUp: Program to support students Deiana Hristov

linked to Gunn, who love Gunn, who want to help Gunn students,” English teacher Diane Ichikawa said. “[Scott Baer] is one of three alumni who have come to High school. Four years of your life filled with me in the past month who have ideas about what they friends, tests, stress, pride, cheering at football games can do to help out Gunn.” and hanging out with your friends instead of doing A Gunn teacher of 17 years, Ichikawa has seen homework. As it comes to a close, many students can former students try to reach out to Gunn. “I’ve had be left stranded, not knowing what to expect of life alumni come back and talk to students, guest lecturing after Gunn. To help these students, alumni who re- in a class or something of that nature,” Ichikawa said. member this time of uncertainty have started to reach “But trying to find a way so that former Gunn students out and extend a guiding hand. can come back and talk to current Gunn students in Scott Baer is one of those alumni. A 2010 gradu- meaningful ways and form personal relationships is ate and 2014 University of Oregon graduate, he was something that’s different.” recently inspired to set up a program to give current As Baer’s main focus on the program is figuring out students one-on-one mentor-mentee sessions with what kind of support Gunn kids need, he has several alumni, where students could discuss their interests or students with whom he is collaborating. Senior Wilfuture plans with alumni and recieve advice. “When I lie Barnett, a childhood friend of Baer, was instantly was in college, I was involved in a club drawn to the program. “If I were staying where we paired upperclassmen and at Gunn, I would sign up for it because underclassmen, and it was a really cool it would reduce my stress [and] I would way to connect,” Baer said. “It broke be able to ask my mentor any questions down the barrier where underclassmen I want,” Barnett said. “I would be able felt intimidated by upperclassmen in a to see him whenever I want, talk to him club.” whenever I want, and he would be very The idea to sta r t a progra m, to helpful just [as] a good source for quesconnect students and alumni, howtion.” ever, didn’t click until Baer returned Barnett says that the program can to Gunn. “Last fall, Gunn had done help relieve student anxiety about colScott Baer ‘Night in Everytown,’ and they asked lege and the years beyond. “[The alumni] a lu m n i to come back,” Baer sa id . know that there is a lot of stress when “I returned and I was blown away by what a great event you start to get into you higher years at Gunn,” Barnett it was. I just noticed through conversations that there said. “Scott says he knows there is a lot of stress and he was a lot of pressure students were putting on them- knows that he will be able to help and all his friends selves due to the expectations of what they should do and fellow alumni know that as well: they know what after high school.” to say, they know what's going on because they've gone At the event and through talking to students, Baer through it, and they feel they would be able to help.” realized that many of the students had no idea what The program is currently in its first phase. “We just to expect of the years to come, and decided that hav- got the name out [and] we’re working on our mission ing alumni come back to talk would ease some of the statement,” Barnett explained. “We’re going to start fears. “I hope that there is the connection [between with 50 kids and 50 alumni as a testing phase.” the student and alumni] of ‘I’ve been there, I’ve been According to Baer, the most important part at the in your shoes,’” Baer said. moment is making sure students are informed that Baer began to talk to other alumni and students who this program exists. “We’re looking to get the word he thought would be interested in his program. “We’re out to students to gauge their interests and tailor the working on getting the idea out there and gathering program to their interests,” he said. input about how to make this valuable for current After much pondering and consideration, Baer students,” he said. and his group have decided on an official name for It’s no surprise that students see their teachers as the program: TitanUp. “We’re trying to ‘tighten up’ mentors. So when alumni try to reconnect, they turn the gap between students and alumni,” Barnett said. to their teachers first.

Students can email gunn.titanup@gmail.com to “There are so many alumni that we have who are find out more information on the program.

Copy Editor

Photos courtesy of Project Safety Net

High school alumni and Palo Alto community members discuss definitions of success and ways to better mental health in Palo Alto at the “Success and Wellness: Life After PAUSD” dialogue in August.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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students with alumni, aid transition from high school Alumni hold panels to normalize struggles Deiana Hristov Copy Editor

On a sunny Monday afternoon, 2011 graduates Cat Volpe and Mingming Caressi sit down to talk about their program, designed to offer current students support from Gunn alumni.

The program, name still undecided, holds panels where alumni discuss their experiences in high school and college to help alleviate student fears and premonitions of life after high school. “There’s a huge gap between alumni and students and we want to fill it,” Volpe said.

The program wants to emphasize that the problems and struggles in high school are not permanent. “One thing is to realize that all things pass, both in a good way and in a bad way,” Volpe said. “Now when some really hard thing happens, I have the awareness that that will pass and I’ll be okay, and six months

Cat Volpe

Mingming Caressi

from now I won’t be in that place at all.”

For Caressi, the program is a way to communicate to students that having a hard time in high school is not something to be ashamed of. “I wanted to normalize struggle in life: it’s not just success, it’s not just triumph, there’s also struggle, there’s failure, and it’s all part of the human condition,” she said. “I hope that by talking about [the struggles of high school] more often we can normalize and accept that this is just a part of life.”

For interested students, a Facebook group has been created, called Gunn and Paly Alumni For Current Students. The program plans to hold an open forum in November that will include a Q&A with alumni to discuss life after Gunn. Volpe hopes to hold multiple other forums throughout the school year and beyond.

“There are so many options and opportunities, and when one thing passes or dies or fails, all that means is that a hundred other doors have been opened,” Volpe said.

Alum creates program to destigmatize depression Shannon Yang

got his first taste of “teaching” at a basketball coaching job with elementary school kids. “It was at that time that I realized that I really have a love for teaching,” he said.

When Brian Yu was a student at Gunn, he went through “Because I feel like people can influence other people on a lot of difficulties, which prompted him to take action. “I a very personal level through the education system.” was really depressed [and] I went through a lot of therapy,” Right now, Yu is combining his passions in mental Yu said. “It’s Gunn kids, they kind of just go through a lot health and education by conducting research and working of different things. Part of it is academic stress, part of it on a project that would destigmatize depression at Gunn. is pressure from parents, pressure from peers, and I feel He plans to pitch his project to Gunn administration after like I was the ‘norm’ when it came to that.” winter break.

One of Yu’s biggest stressors was the Yu hopes his program will help with the pressure from his engineer parents to sucbiggest problem at Gunn, which he believes ceed in science, technology, engineering to be the fact that adults are constantly telland math (STEM) subjects. However, Yu ing the students what is wrong with them. realized that math and science were not The program aims to combat this by allowclicking with him. “I just decided to go with ing students to support each other rather my interests,” he said. than having teachers or counselors dictate Now a senior at University of California their problems. “Instead of adults telling Santa Barbara (UCSB), Yu went through them, ‘Oh, you should do that, you should his early college years in community coldo this,’ it’s kind of just like peer-to-peer Brian Yu lege, which, he said, is abnormal for Gunn interaction, which transmits the message a students. He stressed that one of the biggest little better,” Yu said. problems at Gunn is the expectation to get into a great He was motivated, in part, by a program at UCSB called college straight out of high school.

“Health and Wellness.” “It’s a student-run organization “Most of the parents want their kids to go to amaz- where students put on events, do outreach, do workshops ing schools, but [college is] not all about how great the [and] reach out towards the entire community of UC Santa school is,” Yu said. “It’s just about being there, discovering Barbara,” he said. yourself, working really hard [and] just being comfortYu hopes that his project will help people going through able where you are. When I was in community college, tough times like he once did. “I had a really low self-esteem it took a little bit of time for me to get adjusted to it, but and I felt like none of my friends were there for me, so I eventually I did get used to it and made the most out of kind of was like in a really deep like depression,” Yu said. it, and now I’m here at UC Santa Barbara and things are “When I got out of it, I really just felt like I wanted to help working out now.” other people who were in the same situation as me. You’re Yu, a psychology major with a minor in education, never as lonely as you think you are.”

Oracle-SEC Liason

Graphic by Cheryl Kao

Sports

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Sports

TWO SIDES OF THE STORY: ATHLETES CHALLENGE GENDER

Q&A with senior cheerleader Jarrod Hsu The Oracle: Why did you first join the cheer team?

Jarrod Hsu: My freshman year, I was thinking about it because in middle school I was on the dance team. On the first day of school I heard on TBN that they were having cheer tryouts after school and I thought about trying out, but my mom told me to not do it because I’d have to go to all the football games. So I decided against it. Later, on the day of the Night Rally, I met Sara Zhang, who was on the cheer team. When I told her that I had been thinking about joining the cheer team, she offered to introduce me to the coaches, who encouraged me to join because they really wanted more guys on the team.

Zu

—Compiled

by Anyi Cheng

th

TO: What would you tell somebody who wants to join a gendered sport?

JH: Ultimately it’s your life and you should be the one deciding what you do with it. Don’t let stereotypes stop you from doing what you love.

Senior Sara Zhang is the only girl on Gunn’s varsity football team. Up until her injury regarding her foot ligaments, she was the starting kicker and punter.

Zhang decided to do football this year because she believed it was a once in a lifetime chance. “I’m a senior this year and one of my goals this year is to take on new opportunities and challenges,” Zhang said. “I probably won’t be playing college football or joining the National Football League anytime soon and I knew this would be one of the last chances I would get to play football.” Many of Zhang’s friends inspired her to try out, and her experience from soccer made her feel athletic enough to participate.

After showing herself as a serious player to the coach and her team, Zhang still had to prove to herself that she could do it. “Being on the football team has forced me to push my limits both mentally and physically,” Zhang said. “It wasn’t an immediate change but my self-esteem and confidence gradually grew and after summer practice and a few weeks into school, I felt like a changed person.” As the only girl on the team, Zhang felt like there were some instances when she doubted her abilities. “In general I felt inferior and unfeminine when I worked hard,” Zhang said. Football has helped her realize that the stereotypes that society imposed on her didn’t matter. “I learned that from being the only girl, there is a pressure and a certain social stigma in which I have to be more assertive, more serious and more fo c u s e d

than all the other boys to gain a fraction of the respect that they are handed on day one for showing up,” Zhang said.

Since Zhang began her football career for the year, many

be

TO: Have you faced any challenges as a guy in a mostly-girls sport?

JH: My family hasn’t been super supportive of me. My mom has never liked me spending my time on cheer, but I think over time she’s become a little less resistant. It’s my life; I’ll do what I want. As far as people on the team, we’re really tight. But sometimes if I tell people I’m on the cheer team, they’re like “Wait, a guy can do cheerleading?” Sometimes people make fun of me for it, but I think most of the time they’re joking, and if they’re not I just brush it off.

TO: Do you ever feel awkward or uncomfortable as the only guy on the cheer team?

JH: Actually, I would say it’s the opposite for me. Cheer is where I can be myself and do what I want without the people around me judging me. Sometimes when I wear my uniform, I do feel insecure and worry that people might be judging me, but in general I try to stay above it.

Helen Nguyen

Asst. Business Manager

iza

TO: What would you tell other guys who want to join the cheer team?

JH: Do it! When I was on the team in my freshman year they had three guys, but for the last few years, I’ve been the only one. I would feel pretty bad if I left and there were no more guys. For one, having guys makes a team a lot more diverse and helps clear out the clouds of estrogen that can sometimes form in the dance room. But it also helps a lot in competition. When you’re competing coed, you want as many guys as possible. I think that most guys are a lot more talented than they know and could be really good cheerleaders.

Mei-Yun Tan g

TO: What has stood out to you personally as the only guy on the cheer team?

JH: Mostly, I do what everyone else does. I think that I probably have to do less, though. For example, for games [the girls] have to put their hair up and do their makeup and stuff, but for me I just show up like, “Hey, I’m here”.

And at nationals I got my own room, which was nice.

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ste reotypes, pursue uN conv entional POSITIONS Senior kicker Sara Zhang flourishes in male-dominated sport

El

TO: What’s your favorite part about cheer?

JH: I’d say the thing that I like to do most for cheer is competitions. Competing is really exciting and when you win, it feels really good.

I also just like going to practice and spending time with my friends learning new skills and routines.

TO: Why aren’t more guys on the cheer team?

JH: I definitely think there’s a stigma against guys doing cheer, and I think that society in general puts a lot of restrictions on the activities guys are expected or allowed to do. I also think that a lot of guys don’t really understand what we do in cheer and dismiss it without even realizing that they might actually be really good at it, so guys should definitely go for it.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

classmates, peers and teachers have shown her tremendous support. Although there have been some negative remarks about her abilities from a few teammates, the feedback Zhang has received has been mostly positive. “No matter what others have to say about my kicking, I know that I show up every day with a good attitude and I work hard,” she said.

Gunn’s varsity football coach Coach Hirano thought that Zhang coming to try out was a positive step. “She laid out what she wanted to do, and I thought it was a great plan,” Hirano said. “She came out all summer like she said she

would—she lifted, worked out with us, and for her it paid off and I think the dedication was there.” According to Hirano, Zhang brings a different kind of leadership to the team that the team has really embraced.

Hirano thinks that if more girls play, then there can be a serious conversation about girls playing football. “I think it needs to start that girls need to come out and play first and if that starts to happen, it might be a different conversation five, 10, 15 years from now,” Hirano said.

Hirano does not intend to try to recruit a specific gender, but said it has always been an open door. “As long as they do what’s expected like everybody else, I think it’s fine,” he said. “My biggest thing is that I hope people don’t give girls a bad time for being on a football team–I just hope that the student body embraces it.”

Hirano encourages girls to come out and play football.

“There’s a lot of girls that could do the same thing guys do, and it’s just a matter of doing it,” Hirano said.

Senior varsity teammate Jonathan Abraham pointed out that Zhang inspired other girls at Gunn to play. Abraham noticed that Zhang brings several things to the team. “She is a good role model to some of the underclassmen—she is very committed to the team and comes to every practice on time with a positive attitude,” Abraham said.

Senior varsity teammate Michael Werer also believes Zhang brings a lot of passion, commitment and encouragement to the team. He notes there is a change in the atmosphere but not because she is a girl. “The change comes from her attitude and feelings about the team,” Werer said. “She is very passionate about the team’s success and is always encouraging us when things are going bad or good–it has made the atmosphere more positive. She brings a unique level of commitment and encouragement to the team that I think would be hard to find someplace else.”

Zhang encourages other girls and boys to do what makes them happy. “If you have an inkling that you want to try out for football or wrestling or whatever the sport may be, go for it,” she said. “The only person who truly dictates your life is you, and if you really want something you will find a way to achieve it.”

Athletics are progressive, but can improve Sabrina Chen Tech Editor

Gender roles in sports have been a prevalent issue in the Gunn community for several years. Recently, students have been challenging these boundaries, but a gender gap, where a sport is either predominantly male or female, still remains due to stereotypes and stigmas.

Sports psychologist Dr. Jim Taylor believes that childhood influences have affected gender roles. “The messages that boys recieve from their parents, peers and our society discourage their participation in dance and volleyball,” Taylor said. “Peers also probably don’t encourage crossing gender lines. Such attempts may be punished by associating participation in different sports as fitting into gender orientation stereotypes such as boys being gay if they dance.”

Besides the stereotypes and peer pressure, however, some gender roles exist because of the physical difference between sexes. “There may be some physical contributors as well given that some sports such as football require size and strength which girls tend to have less of and that are also not encouraged by our culture as being feminine,” Taylor said.

Wrestling, for instance, is a male-dominated sport. Junior Ruby Robinson, however, placed fourth in Central Coast Section wrestling last year. She credits her ability in wrestling to her childhood experiences. “I’ve never been scared of wrestling boys,” Robinson said. “But I’ve also been doing different kinds of martial arts since I was six.”

Robinson believes there is a stigma that women are bad at wrestling because they are expected to be fragile and weak. “I think it’s a shame more women aren’t involved in wrestling,” Robinson said. “I think a solution would be to destroy the stigma around women’s wrestling and when women actually do come to wrestle, [to] take them seriously.”

Sports psychologist Dr. Michelle Cleere says the media has contributed to gender differences. “Women are not seen as athletic competitors,” Cleere said. “Commentators focused more on the physical appearance of women than

[on] their performance. The images portrayed reflect and shape attitudes about the women performing and those of us watching. ” According to wrestling coach Chris Horpel, the effects of gender roles in wrestling can affect boys negatively as well.“I think it is a no-win situation for a male wrestler[s]” Horpel said. “If he wins, he ‘beat a girl!’ If he loses, he ‘lost to a girl!’

Either scenario is difficult for the male wrestler.”

According to Horpel, there isn’t an easy solution to the

“Until there are enough girls and women wrestling, there will always be a gender division. It will be interesting to see what happens in 50 years. There may be enough girls to have their own team.”

—wrestling coach Chris Horpel gender gap. “Until there are enough girls and women wrestling, there will always be a gender division,” Horpel said.

An unequal gender distribution is also evident in dance.

“There is the stereotype that all male dancers are gay, or that dance is a sport for girls only, which discourages a lot of boys from pursuing dance as a sport,” junior dance team member Miranda Lin said.

Male dancers tend to perform more strength-associated moves rather than the elegance-associated moves that girls perform. “Guys tend to be the base more often partly because they are naturally stronger,” Lin said. “Girl-girl or guy-guy partners are very rare.”

Even in Physical Education classes, students have noted the presence of gender roles. “One of the P.E. teachers just made [both of]the team captains guys during softball,” sophomore Jojo Qi said.

The selection process for team captains is usually male-

favored.

“Usually, when there are team capta i ns t he g i rls generally get picked last,” junior Bythe Weng said.

Gunn only has a girls’ volleyball team. However, according to volleyball coach Craig Bankowski, the difference is not because of a stigma, but because of the lack of opportunities. “If you go outside of high school area, there are more men who play adult volleyball than women,” Bankowski said. “For younger boys, there just haven’t been enough opportunities.”

The lack of a boys’ volleyball team is the result of having badminton and boys’ volleyball in one season. “What [the district administration] said was to either have a spring sport for boys, or a coed sport for boys and girls to use the gym space, so they chose to put badminton in place of boys volleyball.” Bankowski said. “They will have to wait on the Paly gym construction to consider adding boys’ volleyball.”

Although these gender gaps in sports are slowly closing, there is not a quick and easy solution. “The solution is to have parents, peers and culture change the messages they send to boys and girls,” Taylor said.

Alexandra Ting

Courtesy of Sara Zhang

Left: Senior Sara Zhang gets ready to punt the football during a game. Right: Zhang gets in proper form to make a throw.

Be sure to check out gunnoracle.com next week for a web-exclusive, first-hand account on what it’s like to experience gender stereotypes.

Sneak peek of: The Oracle staffer joins The Titanettes This was the first time I felt uncomfortable in my brokendown Nike Free Runs. As I cruised around the faded red track, the slap of cold air that was normally refreshing felt surprisingly different. The smell of turf that normally wafted through the air was gone. Instead, all I could focus on was the pitter patter of shoes repeatedly striking the track and the laughter that echoed in the background. But as the rhythmic scuffling grew louder and closer, the laughter died down. I continued my warm-up jog, but I was not focused on the path ahead. Side whispers and shifty eyes lasered in on me. It was difficult resisting the urge to be self conscious, when I was amongst 30 girl cheerleaders and seven girl dancers. This was my introduction as the first boy member on the dance team.

—Arjun Sahdev

Alexandra Ting

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Sports

QUARTERBACK Tyrod Taylor is a great pickup for any Cam Newton owner to replace him during his bye week. Taylor is tied with Carson Palmer as the fifth best fantasy quarterback, yet he is only owned in 73.6 percent of Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) fantasy leagues. Taylor is facing a favorable matchup against the Tennessee Titans’ defense. Tennessee has allowed opposing quarterbacks 20 points per game on average. Taylor will be the fastest quarterback they will face, so expect a big week.

WIDE RECEIVER A.J. Green has been inconsistent so far this year. Despite his 34-point outburst against Baltimore, he should be a flex in one receiver leagues and a second wide receiver on two receiver leagues. A first wide receiver would be too risky considering his matchup with the Seattle Seahawks’ Legion of Boom. The return of Kam Chancellor proved fatal for Calvin Johnson and will have the same effect on Green. Do not expect another monster game from Green.

RUNNING BACK At the running back position, expect Ronnie Hillman to have a breakout game against the Raiders. He should be taking over the starting running back position from C.J. Anderson after having more yards than Anderson on fewer attempts in the first three weeks. He also has more fantasy points than Anderson. Despite his superiority to Anderson, he is only owned in 47.4 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues and would make a great Week 5 waiver wire addition.

WIDE RECEIVER James Jones had a touchdown in the first three games and is usually a reliable option in the high-powered Green Bay Packers’ offense, but the St. Louis Rams’ defense, which yields the third fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers, will likely end this streak. Instead of going with Jones in the flex position, look for a player with an easier matchup. Jones’ weak performance against the 49ers will most likely continue this week. Keep Jones on the bench this week and look for someone with a better matchup.

WIDE RECEIVER

RUNNING BACK Another running back looking at a good matchup is Matt Jones of the Washington Redskins. The Redskins have a run-heavy offense because of their weak quarterbacks. Jones is also going against the Atlanta Falcon’s defense which has yielded the most points to opposing running backs than any other team in the National Football League. Morris is owned in only 67.2 percent of ESPN leagues and could potentially repeat his 24-point performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Finally, on the wide receiver front, Travis Benjamin this week against the Baltimore Ravens defense almost guarantees a touchdown for Benjamin. Benjamin has caught a touchdown in every single one of his games so far, and this trend will most likely continue against the Ravens, who have allowed the second most points to opposing receivers. Benjamin is only owned in 72.3 percent of ESPN leagues and would be a good start at the flex position.

Graphics by Jackie Lou

CREATIVE NAMES FOR YOUR TEAM 1. Tom Brady’s Ball Boys 2. The Golden Tate Warriors 3. Keeping Up With the Carrdashians 4. Amari Coopa Troopa 5. Antonio Brown’s Barber Graphics by Cheryl Kao

Matthew Hamilton has had a fantasy football team since 2010. His current team (Manziel In Distress) is 1-3 but is definitely going to peak later in the season.

Tim Sun has been a fantasy football manager since 2011. After a lackluster 2-13 season in 2014, Tim has decided to take a year off from fantasy football and re-evalutate his life.

Lifestyle

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Spooky legends told from around the world Mongolian Death Worm

As its name indicates, the Mongolian Death Worm is typically found in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. Though its exact length is unknown, it is approximately two to five feet in width.

The Mongolian Death Worm spits out a stream of venom to attack its victims and is able to electrocute them from a distance. It travels underground, frequently coming aboveground to consume camels.

According to legend, anything touching any part of the worm will cause instant death or immense pain.

The Kraken According to Scandinavian mythology, the Kraken is a monster typically found off the coast of Norway and Greenland. Though it has never been seen up close, it is estimated to be about 40 to 50 feet long and looks like a giant squid. The creature is known to lie at the bottom of the sea and surfaces when disturbed by a ship or in search of food. The Kraken attacks ships by wrapping its tentacles around the hull of the ship and capsizing it. The crew is eaten by the Kraken after drowning.

Spring-Heeled Jack

The Wendigo The Wendigo originated as a Native American myth from the Algonquin tribe; the legend states that a human can turn into a Wendigo by either possessing or consuming human flesh. It is larger than a human, approximately 15 feet tall, but appears humanoid. It has fangs, yellow skin and bones visible through flesh. Fire and silver weaponry are the two known ways to kill a Wendigo.

The Spring-Heeled Jack is commonly found in England but can also be spotted in certain North American regions. The SpringHeeled Jack has been described as an evil, masked phantom with fiery eyes, flaming breath and clawed hands. Many groups formed in the 19th-century to apprehend Jack, but he was too quick and could easily leap over walls. The creature frequently attacked pedestrians and coaches in 19th-century England but has slowly disappeared over the past 200 years.

—Compiled by Prachi Kale Graphics by Elizabeth Zu

Broadway Workshops refine acting style Stina Chang

tion, the Broadway Workshop focuses on how the characters deliver. “We [rely] on eye contact, tone, and pace,” Lo said.

Gunn Theatre presents its annual BroadIn contrast, the “Our Town” production way Workshop performance on Thursday, focuses on character development and memOct. 15 and Friday, Oct. 16. Theatre teacher orization. “They are creating a whole world Kristen Lo helped direct this performance on stage,” Lo said. and offered students an experience different Rehearsal begins with acting the scene, from the typical acting environment. listening to notes taken by the director and The Broadway Workshop has been part running the scene again. “We don’t do any of Gunn Theatre for six years. This year, extensive warm up,” Berger said. “It’s a it showcases scenes from plays that have simple process.” During each rehearsal, Lo been featured on ensures scenes are and off Broadway, not stagnant. “There including “Of Good is a reason why the Stock,” “Bad Jews,” scene is in the play,” “Heidi Chronicles” Lo said. “So we need and “Curious Incito find out where it is dent of the Dog in going and how to get the Nighttime.” there.”

“We are showThe actors have casing what is hot been working to in New York right remove their eyes now,” Lo said. from the script, Lo Alexandra Ting says. Even though The actors rehearse once a week Senior Grace Berger and sophomore Zoe scripts are accessible for four weeks. McKeown recite lines from music stands. on stage, it should be Freshman Aman there for reference Roy, who plays Peter in the “Heidi Chron- only. “They need to be comfortable enough to icles,” said teamwork is an important aspect get their eyes away from the script in order of the production. “We only get four weeks to be interacting with the people who are to work and [then] you’re off performing,” talking to them,” Lo said.

Roy said.

Some of the English classes are currently According to senior Grace Berger, who reading the book “Curious Incident of the stars as Heidi in the “Heidi Chronicles,” the Dog in the Nighttime,” which coincides team works cohesively. “We all have such with the Broadway Workshop performance. good chemistry because we have a lot of fun This connection can offer an interesting vi[together],” Berger said. sual perspective to the novel’s words. “It’ll Lo said this workshop has more flexibil- be fun for those people to come and see it,” ity than that of regular Gunn plays. “It’s not Lo said. Audiences can also expect perforas stressful and not as much [of] a time com- mances from English teacher Paul Dunlap, mitment,” Lo said. On stage, the actors are Theatre teacher Jim Shelby, retired English not expected to memorize their lines; they teacher Tim Farrell and Lo herself. Perforare allowed to read lines from music stands. mances will be in the Studio Theater at 7:30 Unlike the fall play “Our Town” produc- p.m.

Centerfold Editor

Lifestyle 18 New outdoor spots to visit in Palo Alto THEORACLE

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1) Baylands Nature Preserve

Grace Ding Have you ever sat at home on a weekend, bored because you don’t know where to hang out with your friends? Located on the east end of Embarcadero Road, the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve is a great destination. The calming views of the Bay provides a source of stress relief at the end of a busy week at school.

You can call up a few friends and decide whether to walk, run or bike at the preserve; its 15 miles of different length, but mostly flat, trails gives you plenty of choices. While there, you can do exercise and it is casual enough for you to enjoy the experience, especially if you are also spending time with friends.

Baylands, one of the largest marshlands in the Bay Area, provides a hangout environment that is close to nature. It is commonly known as a great birdwatching spot, and tidal and freshwater habitats combine to make the area beautiful and scenic.

Overall, Baylands is a fun and accessible choice for students searching for an alternative hangout spot. Students should definitely consider going there to catch up with friends or family, while at the same time getting some exercise and enjoying the nature.

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The Baylands hosts 1,940 acres of land and 15 miles of trails.

2) Elizabeth F. Gamble Gardens

Sabrina Chen The long-awaited homecoming dance is only two weeks away. Do you have a date but no idea of where to take photos? The Elizabeth F. Gamble Gardens, which boast herb gardens, rose gardens, a carriage house, a tearoom and a historic home, provides a place for students to take homecoming, prom and senior photos. Located at 1431 Waverley Street in Palo Alto, the gardens are within a 15-minute drive from Gunn.

The garden is open every day during daylight hours, while the house and office are open only on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but tours of the garden and buildings are available for groups of eight to 50 people for $10 per person. The facilities are available for rent for wedding ceremonies, receptions, business retreats or any other special events.

The Gamble Gardens features a variety of picturesque spots to relax.

3) Magical Bridge Playground

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Lisa Hao For the longest time, I could never think of anything fun to do in Palo Alto other than get food with friends. Luckily, right around when my wallet started to feel a little too thin, the Magical Bridge Playground opened behind Mitchell Park. Not only is the Magical Bridge Playground nationally renowned for being the most innovative and inclusive playground in the nation, but it is also a great place to hang out with friends.

The Magical Bridge Playground contains classic slides and swings that invoke nostalgic childhood feels as well as unique, new structures that stimulate different senses. One can play music by walking along the laser harp or relax on one of the hammock-like swings. One can spin with the jungle gym or slide down different types of slides.

There is no end to the different things one can do. Personally, I like to lay down by the tuft slide and just talk with friends.

It is nice to finally have a place where I can hang out with friends without worrying about the cost. For me, the Magical Bridge Playground is truly magic.

The Magical Bridge Playground opened in April this year for kids and teens of all abilities.

Photos by Alexandra Ting Graphics by Cheryl Kao

LIFESTYLE

Thursday, October 8, 2015

19

Staffers explore cheap ways to dress up for Homecoming Juniors: Aladdin

Seniors: Army

Although we refrain from speaking to the kids from “the school that shall not be named” during most of the year, your cheapest option is a swap with a friend at Palo Alto High School (Paly) for this year’s Homecoming Week. Paly’s senior firstday theme is always camouflage attire, so take advantage of their pricey costumes for little to no cost. Outside of school, you can easily stop by the local Goodwill or Walmart to see if anything is available. It’s easy to complete the soldier look without the full military garb as well. Just grab an outfit combo that includes dark green, brown and black, and add combat boots and green face paint. A pair of aviators or one of the popular camouflage bucket hats will complete the look.

—Written by Hayley Krolik

Sophomores: Goofball Island

For sophomores, Wednesday is a day full of opportunities costume-wise. Essentially anything can be done for this day, but a basic goofball outfit is very quick to put together. All you need to do is dig through your closet and find clashing patterned clothes to wear, preferably brightly colored, and acquire just a few accessories like the classic Groucho glasses. These are easy to find, and cheap at just around two to five dollars. A neon-colored, feathery boas and some sort of wacky headwear are also good additions. Students should be creative and have fun with their goofy outfits.

—Written by Paulo Frank

To recreate the puffy pants worn by the characters in “Aladdin,” any sort of baggy pants, like sweat pants and cargo pants, will work with an optional scarf as a belt. Depending on which look you want to go for, (Aladdin or Prince Ali), wear a vest or a white jacket to complete the look.

DIY: Don’t have a vest? Make your own vest out of an old shirt; you only need a pair of scissors and the shirt. Simply cut a three-inch strip of fabric from the center of the front of the shirt and then cut off the sleeves. If needed, trim the neckline to the shape you desire.

Genie: Have you ever had a friend like Genie? Wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt should have you twinning in no time. Accessorize with a red belt or scarf around the waist. Feel free to add touches from other countries to show off Genie’s travels after Aladdin freed him.

—Written by Ariel Pan

Freshmen: Finding Nemo

For a creative way to dress up for “Finding Nemo,” grab a purple sweater, a white button-down and a plaid skirt. Fill a bag up halfway with water, put a plastic goldfish inside and tie it off. Then make a fake mouthguard out of tin foil, attach it with an elastic band to your mouth and you are Darla.

To continue the ocean and beach theme, wear a Hawaiian shirt with a pair of swim trunks. Wear a pair of goggles or snorkeling gear for added effect.

Throw on a pair of flip-flops to finish it off.

—Written by Mikaela Wayne Photos from Polyvore.com

Homecoming Memories from 2014:

Photos by Alexandra Ting

Left: Class of 2016 members Lydia Sun, Lucas Hu, Jacqueline Woo and William Eltherington make their class sign. Top Middle: Class of 2017 member Josh Radin competes in the obstacle course’s wet clothes challenge. Bottom Middle: Class of 2018 competes in tug-of-war. Right: Class of 2015 members Caroline Chou and Aitan Grossman charge ahead in the third part of the obstacle course.

20 Search

EXPLORE

#THEORACLEOUTDOORS Courtesy of Mara Greene

@dbustos_ The Alliance Redwoods Conference Grounds offers a swimming pool as well as an expanse of hiking and biking paths, gyms and courts.

@rarryri Garden of Eden in Santa Cruz provides beautiful views and sparkling water for a dip. Pack sunscreen, a towel and a bathing suit to enjoy the water after the hike.

@gianniners Muir Woods is a beautiful, condensed redwood forest. There is no cellphone reception, so it is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life.

@katierrussell Butano State Park is a quiet canyon full of towering redwood trees and creeks. There are also campsites available for spending the night.

@bbananamilkk Cypress Meadows serves not only as a hiking area but also as a venue for private events. It offers breathtaking views and isolated trails.

@linlinliu Windy Hill Open Space Preserve can be a difficult but rewarding place to hike or bike. It is great for watching the sunrise or sunset and flying kites.

@anushkajoshi The Hidden Villa Farm hosts eight miles of hiking trails. For more experienced hikers, some of the trails connect to the longer Rancho San Antonio trail system.

@lisuhwang Mission Peak offers a mostly uphill and downhill six-mile hiking and biking trail with breathtaking views of the Bay Area. Bring lots of water.

@janisiou Foothills Park boasts 15 miles of hiking trails and is a great option for casual to intense hikers.

—Compiled by Jenna Marvet