[News] Students re-
member teacher George Flath pg. 3
[Centerfold]
[Sports] The Sixth
Looking back at romance through the ages pg. 12-13
[Entertainment] The Oracle predicts Oscar award winners pg. 23
Man Club adds some spirit to Gunn athletics pg. 18
Henry M.M. Gunn High School Henry Gunn High School 780780 Arastradero Road Arastradero Road Palo Alto, CACA 94306 Palo Alto, 94306 Palo Alto Unified School District Palo Alto Unified School District
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Senior reaches final stage of Intel competition
Gunn seniors pursue science research, find success in national competition Kimbe
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Synthesizing fullerenes (3-D carbon structures)
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Out of a candidate pool of 300 semifinalists, senior Andrew Liu was named one of the top 40 finalists in the nationwide Intel Science Talent Search (ISTS). In early March, he will attend the final round of competition in Washington D.C. to compete for the first-place prize of $100,000 and to meet with Nobel Prize-winning judges, professors of various fields and even the President of the United States. This year, roughly 1,700 seniors entered the ISTS with their own original science projects. As one of the most prestigious high school science competitions in the United States, the ISTS focuses on promoting math, science and engineering. “The Intel Science Talent Search allows students to research what they’re passionate about,” Principal Katya Villalobos said. “It’s pure research for the sake of discovery and inquiry.” Research topics drew upon several fields of science. In his project, Liu combined computer science with biology, inventing a new algorithm that can be used to predict which pathways in a person’s body are causing a certain disease. He then applied this method to transplant rejection. After identifying the biological pathways that caused rejection, Liu set up a laboratory experiment which will test whether his method will decrease transplant rejection rates. “Transplant rejection is becoming a larger issue,” Liu said. “There are more than 28,000 transplants in the United States every year, many of which end in rejection. If the drug treatment is successful, it could impact many lives.”
Advanced Placement courses to be redesigned Lydia Zhang
Features Editor
CollegeBoard has announced that major changes will be made in the curriculum of certain Advanced Placement (AP) classes and their corresponding AP tests in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years. Next year, AP French Language and AP German Language will be revised and AP Biology, AP Latin and AP Spanish Literature revisions will follow in the next school year after. Revisions for the AP U.S. History course have not yet been finalized, but are expected to be added in the 2013-2014 school year.
In classes like AP Biology, changes will be geared towards ensuring that students really learn the class material, and do not simply memorize information for the AP tests. “The AP Biology test is going to emphasize critical thinking and deemphasize the focus on facts,” AP Biology teacher Katherine Moser said. The material covered in each class will be condensed and cut down, encouraging teachers to go more in-depth with their lessons. “The dilemma with biology is that over the years, the field has grown dramatically, especially with advances in biotechnology,” Moser said. “A whole knowledge base has been added in,
so students have to learn so much content that it can’t be covered adequately.” She has already begun seeing what areas she can omit from her teaching curriculum, and believes that these changes will help her students better understand the topics and be able apply higher order thinking to more complex test questions. “I think it will make the class more interesting and more fun for students who take the class seriously,” Moser said. “The test is going to be harder, but we’re already moving in the right direction.” The AP language classes’ curriculums are also being revamped in the coming school REDESIGN—p.2
Need help choosing course electives? Course Spotlights to the rescue! Find more in-depth descriptions of course catalog electives starting Wednesday: www.gunn3.pausd.org/oracle
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Partner in Education tours Gunn
Academic Center policy changes discussed, implemented
NEWS BITES The Academic Center (AC) hosted meetings for a Student Advisory Group on Jan. 26 and Feb. 1 to discuss possible changes to the AC. “The reason why I wanted to have a student advisory group was because I don’t really have a history here,” AC coordinators Pam Steward said. “I don’t know what students want and I’m hoping that I can get student reactions about possible changes.” Some of the issues the students discussed with Steward and the other AC Coordinator, Hansen Sekona, were gaming, printing, food and improving the tutoring service. One of the issues that was brought up during the group meeting was the use of computers for playing Halo. Because Halo is a M-rated (17 years and older) game, it has been banned from the AC. “Most of the students here aren’t that age, and it’s indefensible for the school and Palo Alto Unified School District to allow it,” Steward said. Some computers have been moved to the SAC for playing games and it is still undetermined whether other computer games will be banned from the AC. While the issue of printing was discussed at the meeting, AC coordinators recently addressed this issue by moving the printers closer so that they could control the use of paper and minimize waste. Another problem discussed by the Student Advisory Group was the issue of having food in the AC. Previous problems with students not cleaning up their trash and having food near the computers led to food being banned near the computers to ensure cleanliness and protect computers. In terms of selling food, the administration is currently looking into implementing vending machines to sell food to students. “We recognize the need for student athletes to have food after school,” Assistant Principal Kimberley Cowell said. The AC also wants to increase the efficiency of the tutoring service because currently, some students are not receiving the tutors they need. Steward plans to improve this system. “These changes won’t be implemented all at once,” Steward said. In general, student reaction to the changes in the study environment in the AC have been positive. “I think the policy changes to the AC make it easier for me to do academic work,” junior Hope Wu said. During the week of Jan. 9, Gunn hosted tours for Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE), a non-profit organization that donates money to the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). PiE strives toward fulfilling academic goals set by the community. They see themselves as partners of the parents and the district by raising funds and supporting students on their path to excellence. During these tours, Dean of Students James Lubbe showed the donors the many facilities and classes offered at Gunn. “The tours are basically to show the donors where their money’s going and what the school offers to their kids,” Lubbe said. “The district is fortunate to be part of a community with wonderful parents that contribute to PiE, and wonderful students that are very involved with academics.” According to Lubbe, the parent reaction was extremely positive and Lubbe is hoping for the same support Gunn receives every year. PiE donated an estimated $2.9 million through their annual “Big Gift” grant to PAUSD, in which Gunn received around $350,000 including $65,000 in teacher grants. According to PiE member Kathy Schroeder this money helps foster innovation and creativity in PAUSD schools while ensuring that PAUSD has enough facilities and materials for all its students. —Compiled by Utkash Dubey and Yilin Liang
SEC SCOOP Upcoming events: Valentine Grams (week of 2/14) Sadies Dance (2/25) Service Day (3/3) International Potluck (3/25) Watch out for: Love Matches in the SAC More 6th man shirts/rally rags in the SAC Yearbook senior boxes/post secrets (submissions go to Mark Gleason’s box) Finals survey on Infinite Campus If you have any suggestions or questions, please contact us! Email: sec.gunn@gmail.com Facebook: “Updates from Gunn SEC” Or ask us a question at www.formspring.me/GunnSEC
Melissa Sun
Seniors (left to right) Audrey Ho, Andrew Liu, Brian Zhang and Youyang Gu pose for photos with their $1000 checks during the Intel Science Talent Search semi-finalist award ceremony in January.
Seniors win awards at Intel contest n INTEL from pg. 1
According to Liu, the benefits of entering the ISTS extend far beyond the potential awards and press attention. “The ISTS is a great opportunity to share the research I’ve done with other scientists, other finalists, professors in the field and also the general public,” he said. Liu also believes that the standards of the ISTS allow students to acquire highlevel communication and research skills. “When you write a research paper, you need to be able to organize all the research you did into a coherent story about why your research is important and what the impact of your findings is to other people,” he said. Three other Gunn students were also recognized as semi-finalists, each receiving $1000 in scholarship money. Senior Audrey Ho looked into the synthesizing of fullerenes, or 3-D carbon nanostructures, which can be used in superconductors, pharmaceuticals and optic materials. Senior Youyang Gu researched an innovative way of oral chemotherapy drug delivery using pollen encapsulation. Senior Brian Zhang used laser traps to investigate the crystal structures that form when polar molecules are cooled. Liu recognized Gunn’s unique academic environment as a factor in encouraging his interest in science. “The faculty is very supportive of independent exploration,” he said. “Early on, Mr. Dunbar encouraged me to present, in class, computer science research I did on how Netflix recommends movies to you and that got me into communicating my research.” Liu notes that participating in debate has allowed him to gain confidence in presenting to an audience. “Many researchers have a hard time communicating their ideas and many debaters don’t have the scientific knowledge for research. So if you have both, you can contribute to your field and then you can tell the public about what you did and get them excited about that impact, which is the real end goal.” According to Zhang, his entry into the ISTS helped him realize that every step of his education is useful in some way. “[My research] was a chance to
apply knowledge I had gained to work on a current problem,” Zhang said. “Besides physics, I was using skills I had learned from courses such as calculus, computer science and chemistry. Without any one of those classes, I would have lacked a piece of information that ultimately helped me solve the problem.” In addition to the individual student’s scholarships, Gunn received four $1000 awards, one for each Gunn semi-finalist, in recognition of excellent teaching and continued school support of student research. “The money will be divided amongst the math, science and technology departments because they’re encouraging and inspiring these students day-to-day, so it’s only right that they receive the funds,” Villalobos said. Physics teacher Bill Dunbar suggests using the money to further enrichment opportunities for students. “If we have other students who are interested in starting their own research projects, we could use that money to help them get started,” he said. Throughout the research process, students received aid from professors in notable universities, mostly through contacts they had developed through summer internships. For students who want to start a research project of their own, Liu suggests three things: “You need to be involved with science projects, find good guidance through mentors, and also have a passion,” Liu said. “I started doing science fair projects in seventh grade. At first, I made a simple computer game, but then as I got more involved with research, the projects built up on each other. You’ll find that if you go through the whole process of research and then produce a paper summarizing what you did, you learn several valuable skills from that alone.” Zhang recommended that students contact professors at nearby universities for potential research opportunities. “Research opportunities in high school help answer the question of why learning is important,” Zhang said. “It can be a lot of work on top of school, but projects like Intel STS teach much more than any class.”
CollegeBoard modifies AP curriculum n REDESIGN from pg. 1
years. According to AP French teacher and World Language Instructional Supervisor Anne Jensen, students in AP French will be taught a course centered around six themes, so classes will be more thematically-based. The themes will include topics like environment and technology. There will also be a strong emphasis on French culture and helping students use the language in real-life scenarios to better prepare them for language classes in college or for interactions with native speakers. “CollegeBoard is really trying to authenticate what each language is really like,” Jensen said. Much like in AP Biology, the curriculum in AP language courses are changing in order to test what students really understand, and not what they have memorized.
“CollegeBoard felt that students were preparing for a test which didn’t necessarily prove their proficiency in the language,” Jensen said. “Students in some schools learn a way to regurgitate information. They’re taught that it’s the tests that matter and not the curriculum. CollegeBoard is trying to fix that, but the issue is how to create a test that really shows proficiency in a language.” The new tests will have the same multiple-choice format, but the free response will change. Fill-ins will be eliminated, and oral testing and writing will ask for much more opinion-based answers. The oral testing and writing will also mix skills, like reading comprehension along with writing capability, and listening comprehension with speaking ability, rather than like before, when students answer speak-
ing questions by looking at pictures. “By mixing the skills, the test is going to be harder,” Jensen said. “It’ll be a different format to get used to.” Though the proposed tests are designed to test students differently from current AP tests, neither Jensen nor Moser are worried about teaching the new curriculum. “For me, it’s not going to be drastically different from what I do now,” Jensen said. “It’ll be difficult for those who teach straight from the book, but I don’t think I will have to shift my syllabus much.” Though Moser is planning on cutting some content from her syllabus, she says that she doesn’t think it will affect students when they take the harder AP tests. “We have such good students at Gunn and we’re already at the level that CollegeBoard wants us to be at.” she said. “We’ll do great.”
News
Monday, February 14, 2011
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Courtesy of Tara Golshan
Top: Hoover Elementary School teacher George Flath’s fifth grade class reciting an original poem at his memorial on Feb. 5 in mourning for his passing on Sunday, Jan. 31.
Community mourns death of district teacher Tara Golshan & Elaine Liu
Copy Editor & Business Manager
For 17 years, Hoover Elementary School teacher George Flath used his classroom as a stage and made every lesson into a performance. He demonstrated his wisdom through his theatrical lessons and impacted everyone he met. On Saturday, Jan. 30, Flath was admitted to the hospital with a high fever and stomach pains. He died on Sunday, Jan 31. due to meningococcal disease. His passing was a shock to all who knew him and greatly affected his students, many of whom attended his memorial on Feb. 5. “Mr. Flath was the funniest and most approachable teacher I have ever had,” senior Dekel Sherman wrote in an e-mail. “It was amazing how his students were able to be his friends and still have the utmost respect for him.” Sherman is one of many Gunn students who attended Flath’s memorial. The memorial took place on the Hoover Elementary field, overlooking Flath’s classroom, Rm. 19. After an opening statement from Hoover principal Susanne Scott, teachers, friends and students were given the opportunity to share stories and reflections. “We all shared some of our memorable stories from Rm. 19,” Sherman wrote. “Sorrow for his passing was met with laughter and joy in remembrance of the great teacher he was. Mr. Flath passed away having left each of
us with unforgettable memories.” Third grade teacher Polly Wingfield, a colleague of Flath’s, found that the service stayed true to Flath’s charismatic personality. “The memorial was such a tribute to George Flath,” she said. “So many people respected and loved him, and I know he would want us to pack that joy of living into our lives.” She believes it was a testament to Flath’s impact that students from all grade levels returned to pay their respects. “The hundreds of people who showed up to Mr. Flath’s memorial speaks volumes as to the impact he had on all of his former students and peers,” Sherman agreed in an e-mail. In many ways, the memory and sudden passing of Flath serves as a reminder to Gunn students. “The service was a celebration of life and not just a memorial for his death,” freshman Ming-Ming Liu wrote in an e-mail. “Seeing and hearing what others had to say made me cry, but also touched me at the same time. I’m still so frustrated with myself because I never visited him. I realize that no matter how tough things can be, you should always remember your old friends.” Junior Eamon Barkhordarian felt that the death of his old teacher left him with a similar message. “You never know when the things you love will go away,” he said. Sherman added that the tragic loss brought to mind all the relationships he holds today. “The loss of Mr. Flath has really illuminat-
CollegeBoard discusses slight changes for Advanced Placement Physics B Ashley Ngu
News Editor
The CollegeBoard is currently considering modifying the current Advanced Placement (AP) Physics B curriculum into a two-year long course. According to physics teacher Allison Frykman, the CollegeBoard has been receiving feedback for several years saying that the AP Physics B curriculum covers too much material for one year. Thus, the organization is looking at the possibility of creating two AP Physics B tests, one for each year of study. Currently, students enrolled in AP Physics B cover five major topics: mechanics, fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, waves and optics and atomic and nuclear physics. “Students have to do a certain amount of labs and hands-on activities each year to be considered an AP course by colleges,” Frykman said. “Labs take up a lot of time so there really isn’t enough time in one school year to teach all of the material and do all of the labs that they want you to do.” According to Frykman, who first heard the idea at an AP workshop two summers ago, the unofficial proposal is that the first year will cover all of the content but without very much depth and the second year will build on top of the first, covering the same topics but in greater detail. If CollegeBoard
decides to approve the change, the Science Department will have to decide whether to offer the course as one two-year long course or two one-year long courses and whether students will prepare for one or both of the AP Physics B exams. Universities will also have to determine how much college credit will be given out for each AP Physics B test taken. Many AP Physics B students feel that the pace of the class is quick, but still possible to keep up with. “I feel that it’s all right,” junior Alec Huang said. “The course load is a lot, and the past few units of the first semester have been a week long but there really isn’t too much.” Junior Jane Li agreed. “I think that as long as you put time and effort into the class, the class is certainly doable in one year,” she said. “I don’t think splitting the class just to go more in depth would be necessary because I believe a lot people, like me, only want to learn the basic and general overview of physics.” In addition, a twoyear-long AP Physics B course would likely interfere with students’ coursework plans. “I personally plan on taking AP Chemistry next year and if AP Physics B was two years long, I definitely wouldn’t have considered taking it,” Huang said. If the proposal is approved, a two-year long AP Physics B course could be implemented within three years for the 2013-14 school year.
ed the value in all dear friendships I have now,” Sherman wrote. “His passing was so unexpected and that makes me appreciate the time I have with my friends and family.” For former Hoover students, the shock and loss has not fully passed. “When you think about past teachers you never think something like this is going to happen,” senior Cody Schuffelen said. “He was a role model, someone who people should aspire to be like.” Students continue to reminisce about the memories, and the impact that Flath had on their lives. “He was a great friend inside and outside of school, his carefree goofy personality made my life so much better every day I saw him and could make anyone feel better on a bad day,” Liu wrote. “I loved how he made me like going to school. I love and miss everything about him. I’ll always remember that one exciting, indescribable, incredible year that I was able to spend with the unforgettable Mr. Flath.”
Courtesy of Palo Alto Online
Hoover School teacher George Flath smiling at a fifth grade picnic in 2008.
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Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Linda Yu Managing Editors Annie Shuey Sarah-Jean Zubair News Ashley Ngu Divya Shiv Emily Zheng Forum Regina Ahn Eugenah Chou Sam Hayward
National Eating Disorders Week raises awareness Regina Ahn
Forum Editor
“Food is fuel, it shouldn’t be feared,” school nurse Lisa Rodgers said, addressing one of the central problems of an eating disorder. Rodgers is raising awareness for this year’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAW), which is scheduled for Feb. 20 through 26. With this year’s theme set as “It’s Time to Talk about It,” NEDAW will engage Gunn in the national effort to prompt open
Features Kevin Gao Nicola Park Lydia Zhang Centerfold Sophia Jiang Yilin Liang Entertainment Samantha Donat Tiffany Hu Hannah Plank-Schwartz
communication about eating disorders. Main topics of discussion include what a community can do about eating disorders and encouraging those who need professional help or treatment to seek it immediately. “I think it’s a really important issue that’s not often recognized or understood,” Rodgers said. “Eating disorders are serious illnesses that people tend not to talk about. [An eating disorder] is an illness, not a choice.” During NEDAW, Rodgers plans to distribute additional information about healthy eating habits by setting up posters around campus and setting up a table at the quad during lunch. In addition to educating the school about the seriousness of unhealthy eating habits, Rodgers puts
Sports Krishan Allen Monica Cai Copy Editors Sweta Bhattacharya Tara Golshan Mia Howard Eden Lauffer Photo Victor Kwok Henry Liu Graphics/Web Kimberly Han Tech Colin Chen Webmaster Charles Chen
Staff Reporters Boot Bullwinkle, Colin Chen, Elsa Chu, Utkash Dubey, Melia Dunbar, Josephine Jen, Jesse Klein, Elise Lee, Joseph Lin, Charles Liu, Amrita Moitra, Lucy Oyer, Song Park, Eileen Qian, Anna Qin, Jennie Robinson, Rani Shiao, Leon Sung, Felix Tran, Jean Wang, Zoe Weisner, May Wu, Steve Yang, Emily Yao, Kevin Zhang, Kyle Zhu Business/Circulation Managers Elaine Liu Annie Tran Photographers Alan Phan Wendy Qiu Melissa Sun Jonathan Yong Graphics Artists George Hwang, Andrew Lee Lisa Wu, Alvina Yau Adviser Kristy Blackburn The Oracle is published by and for the students of Henry M. Gunn Senior High School. The unsigned editorials that appear in this publication represent the majority opinion of the editorial staff and The Oracle's commitment to promoting students' rights. The Oracle strongly encourages and prints signed Letters to the Editor. Please include your name, grade and contact information should you choose to write one. Letters may be edited to meet space requirements and the writer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the content. Letters to the editor and ideas for coverage may be sent to gunnoracle@yahoo.com. These letters and ideas need not be from current students. The Oracle publishes 9 issues annually. Subscriptions are $42/year.
George Hwang
a special empha sis on prevention of such diseases. “Early intervention and prevention is key, and recovery is possible with the help of
trained professionals,” she said. saw posts about how people have “I encourage anyone who is inter- dealt with or are struggling with ested in learning more [or] looking an eating disorder and associated for additional resources or referral personal issues. “I guess before we information to come to the Health watched the video, even though Office.” I never re According a l ly wou ld to the National be mean to Eating Disorsomeone “I think it’s a really ders Associaa b o u t it, I important issue that’s tion (NEDA), wondered nearly 10 milwhy people not often recognized lion females just couldn’t or understood,” Rogand 1 million eat,” she ers said. “An eating males str ugwrote in an gle with eate-mail. “Like disorder is an illness, ing disorders, with anorexnot a choice.“ not including ia. It took the cases that go —School Nurse Lisa Rodgers v i d e o a n d unreported. the website But beto make me cause eating disorders can develop realize it’s a lot harder than it from a complex combination of sounds. I guess I can relate it to debiological, psychological and other pression. Asking someone, ‘Why factors, the issue may not always can’t you just eat?’ would be the be about weight and appearance. same as asking someone who is “You can’t always perceive that depressed, ‘Why can’t you just be someone has an eating disorder happy?’ It’s easier said than done.” just by looking at them,” Rodgers These mental illnesses are also said. “Although eating disorders commonly thought to only affect may begin with a fixation on food girls and women, but eating disorand weight, they are most often ders can affect anyone. “They are about much more than food. Eat- not age, gender or race specific,” ing disorders are usually hiding Rodgers said. “Eating disorders some deeper fear or emotion.” such as anorexia, bulimia, and Although she has never had an binge eating disorder involve iseating disorder herself, senior The- sues, attitudes, emotions and beresa Nguyen became more aware haviors around body image, food and concerned about the issue and interpersonal relationships.” after watching a video about mental illnesses Eating Disorder Resources i n Adva nced Placement PsyThe NEDA website provides resources as chology and well as more information on National Eating visiting sixbilDisorder Awareness Week. lionsecrets.com, a website where Visit: www.nationaleatingdisorders.org i nter net users post confessions NEDA toll-free hotline Mon.-Fri. anonymously. Call: 1-800-931-2237 There she
School implements online registration process Utkash Dubey Reporter
Starting next academic year, registration will take place completely online, meaning that schedule requests will no longer be turned in as a hard copy. Instead the school will use Infinite Campus, the new information hub used by the district that was adopted this year to collect and store student data. According to Assistant Principal of Guidance Kimberley Cowell, schedule registration for the 2011-2012 school year will begin in late February. The purpose of this is to allow for a significant window of time during which students can talk to their counselors before making their final decisions. According to Cowell, the change to online registration will help generate statistics, such as class sizes, much sooner. It also allows for the master schedule, which is driven by student choices, to be made earlier, and makes sure that there are fewer errors as well. “We are hoping that Infinite Campus cuts down errors, cuts down work and doesn’t take all summer to organize like the old system,” Cowell said. “Before we our data processor enter in all the requests into the system manually, and it took a lot of time to get done.” According to Cowell, Infinite Campus is easy for students to use and it also encour-
ages student-parent conversations about what classes are offered and which to take due to the fact that Infinite Campus can be accessed by both students and their parents. Technology coordinator Lettie Weinmann took part in setting up the schedule system on Infinite Campus. “This has been something the district has been looking to do for a long time, and now we finally have the tools that will allow us to do it,” Weinmann said. The district tech department has been working since early December to set up the online registration system, and has been training teachers to successfully operate Infinite Campus. Weinmann, having experience with schedule registration, feels Infinite Campus wlil be significantly more efficient than the previous, more laborious method. “It’s a huge time saver. Just a few clicks and we were able to enroll 400 freshmen in their required courses, Physical Education and World History.” Online registration will open later this month and is currently close due to students registering for classes earlier than allowed by the district. The deadline for online schedule registration is March 14 at 7 a.m.
Steps for online registration:
1. Log on to Infinite Campus with your student ID number and password. There is a link to Infinite Campus at the bottom of the Gunn website. 2. Click on “Registration: 11-12 Henry M. Gunn High School” from the menu on the left. 3. Click on the “course search” tab. In the entry field labeled “Course Name,” type in keywords from the course name and click “Go.” 4. Click on the desired course from the list that appears on the right. Click on “Request this Course” or “Request as an Alternate.” 5. Repeat process for each course.
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Monday, February 14, 2011
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EDITORIAL: The Opinion of The Oracle
Gunn community appreciates Villalobos’ qualities
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s is with any new experience, it is difficult to get a sense of the entire picture in only a few months. Of course, adjustments have to be made and people learn to adapt, but learning curves are inevitable at any new position. Being principal at an academically competitive school with over 1900 students is no easy task. Every day problems arise that must be taken care of; from class scheduling to administration needs, the work of the principal is demanding. These challenges call for a charismatic leader who can follow this school’s established curriculum and high standards while ensuring the well-being of the staff and students.
new construction sites, which includes a second gym, a new building in the Village and a possible remodel of the quad. She has set forth ideas for the school and is constantly meeting and assigning deadlines. Planning for the future is always key in any school setting. Villalobos demonstrates her keen sense of the rapidly growing technology age with her support of iPads in classrooms. Owning an iPad herself, she teaches the valuable tools that the product offers to others. Over the semester she has been working toward her vision of teachers using iPads in their everyday classroom environments. After the success of the SMART Board in many math classes, this is Katya Villalobos has desirable qualities as a prin- a fantastic proposal. She also supports the library’s cipal and presides over the school with precision and idea of lending iPads to students, which would allow care. After spending three years as a teacher here students to use certain apps to help them with their and having held a previous position in administra- school work. tion at different high schools, she has the experience Villalobos reflects her own morals in the way she and tools to ensure a brighter future for the school. leads the school. To be good is not enough. A good According to staff members, she has garnered tre- work ethic, followed by dedication and planning, mendous respect as a leader with remarkable listen- is the only way to make dreams a reality. She puts ing abilities and a charming personality. Already, in the extra effort to help students foster their intelVillalobos has worked her magic and made solid lectual curiosity. As principal, she has continued to relationships with the staff. Yet, Villalobos’ strongest be active in the Model United Nations Club. After asset to this school is her unwavering vision and Gunn students won the Intel Contest prize, Villaloperseverance to see the goals of the school be carried bos orchestrated a proper ceremony to recognize the out thoroughly and efficiently. students’ astounding achievements. True to any balanced individual in this world, If any improvements are to be made it will be there is always a constant effort to organize priorities. in communication throughout school, as Villalobos Villalobos has set many priorities for the school, all mentioned herself. The spread of information and of which are carried out in a timely fashion. She is knowledge is the foundation of education. Keeping the director of the construction team for the school, students informed about the progress and fallbacks working with architects and engineers to plan for the of the school is vital in order to maintain a healthy
student body. Gunn has a variety of programs that not all students are aware of and many enriching classes that have not been fully utilized. Stressing the pertinence of communication between staff and students about all topics is a great goal. With so many students, it can be easy for students and information to get lost in the mix. Set in the heart of the renowned Silicon Valley, Gunn is a school with a rich legacy, but a recent history filled with grief and emotion. Despite this tumultuous period, the principal serves as a beacon of light, supplying trust and a security that the students can count on. In many private schools, the principal reigns with total authority. In public schools there is more dependence on the state for funding, curriculum, and graduation requirements, but what is truly unique about public schools is that everyone is accepted. It would be incredibly unrealistic and unfair to expect Villalobos to fix every complex issue at this school in 100 short days. Yet, having high expectations for a leader is always a necessity for a community to flourish. In order to improve, evaluation and suggestions must be a constant. At the same time, asking her to contribute her best effort to the school requires that everyone at the school to be sure that they are doing the same. A leader is a representative of the very people she looks after. —Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the staff (assenting: 22; dissenting: 4) Alvina Yau
Media outlets bias news Inflated salaries detract from game Utkash Dubey As the years have progressed, politics has become an ugly battlefield. Many news stations use their influence to create public images that support their own view without much consideration for the facts. News outlets should not express personal views for political gain or fabricate positive images in order to endorse an idea or a political candidate, because hiding under the name of news is misleading and gives the incorrect impression that every bit of information is purely factual. Most of the news industry is funded, owned or written by liberals or people affiliated with the Democrat Party. A study conducted by researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Missouri found that news outlets such as National Public Radio (NPR), The Washington Post, and the Columbia Broadcasting Service (CBS) Morning Show all have similar liberal biases. The Washington Post was owned by Democrat Katharine Graham until her death in 2001, and has always been under ownership of a liberal. In addition, New York Times editor Bill Keller is a registered Democrat and has been since 1998. In 2007 a Rasmussen poll revealed 40 percent of Americans feel the newspaper has a liberal bias. In 2001, former CBS reporter Bernard Goldberg published a book
titled Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distorts the News. Goldberg, a CBS reporter for 28 years, accused CBS of being a very liberal media station. Fox News Channel is accused of having conservative bias, due to the presence of conservative anchormen such as Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. The anchormen express openly conservative views, and serve as talk show hosts, tending to give bigoted and think-tank arguments. Because viewers are respectively exposed to different political mediums, the more powerful and influential news outlets can have a bigger impact on who is elected. This means misrepresented news may give viewers the wrong reasons to vote for certain political candidates. The most important things about voting are knowing what candidates stand for, their histories, and having factual reports rather than skewed information. It is ethically unjust to mask opinion under a neutral label, especially since these opinions reflect corporation views and can sway a significant amount of voters left or right. Free speech is widespread and highly cherished within this nation; companies have every right to express political opinions. However, they should discontinue using the shelter of news to give false impressions and be obligated to specify the presence of opinion and instead of under the allocation of news and factual information. –Dubey, a sophomore, is a reporter.
Kevin Zhang Athletes are indeed overpaid and with these large salaries, young athletes lose valuable opportunities to gain practical skills and are motivated by flawed reasons. Sports aficionados have thought long and hard about this issue. They love sports, they love watching, playing, breathing, eating, sleeping, being and living sports. However, there is a serious issue in professional athletics with bloated salaries. When an adolescent athlete hears of professional athletes signing nine figure contracts and rookies earning ever-growing base salaries, there is no doubt that going pro is an attractive option. Because of the incredible time commitment and belief that sports can be a way of life, many young athletes are forced to compromise their academics. This has been shown time and time again with cases in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) clearinghouse where talented high school athletes earn grades that are below the minimum requirements: 2.0 grade point average (GPA) in 11 core courses. Interestingly enough, many of these blue chip prospects are able to make it through in questionable methods according to a recent ESPN magazine. One
basketball player who is currently playing for Memphis submitted 2,000 pag- es of homework to be clea red. A nother athlete had straight D’s a n d F’s his first two years in high school and then took English II, III and IV together his last semester of high school to raise his grades. These cases demonstrate that the temptation of wealth often causes talented prospects to gamble away their academic careers for a risky chance in the sports world. When high school basketball and football players make it to the next level, only two percent of them are able to go pro. For them, the numbers clearly do not bode well for young athletes trying to make a living with sports. The appeal of playing professionally is just too great to pass up. This dangerous attraction can be reduced significantly if sports salaries are decreased to a reasonable size. Because athletics have become so money-driven, athletes are dehumanized and turned into money-making machines. This is demonstrated by the plethora of cases involving agents and their illegal bribery of National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) prospects. The concept of partnership between agent and player is lost in this world of corruption, and
Kimberly Han
playing the game becomes all about making lucrative contracts. Athletes who are motivated primarily by money often lose sight of the real purpose of athletics— playing for the love of the game. An anonymous ESPN journal by an NFL star cited the increasing number of athletes who do not care about winning, just about the contract. Athletes have incredible influence on their fans. These superstars must understand that all this attention warrants a certain degree of responsibility. While there is no question that many athletes are motivated for the right reasons, ultimately, money often trumps genuine personal pride. When salaries are inflated to preposterous levels too many young athletes become motivated for the wrong reasons that compromise their education and morals. –Zhang, a senior, is a reporter.
Forum
Monday, February 14, 2011
‘Tiger mom’ poses parenting question
Regina Ahn “Tiger Mom” Amy Chua’s claim that stereotypically Asian parenting is superior has left some people growling in indignance. Chances are, many students and parents alike have heard of Yale law professor Chua’s controversial article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” posted on the Wall Street Journal website. In it she provides her personal parenting anecdotes, such as forcing her daughter Lulu to practice piano for hours without food or bathroom breaks, until, after hours of stubborn tears and physical resistance, Lulu is able to play “Little White Donkey” flawlessly. People can choose to argue until the cows come home about whether the “Western” or “Asian” type of parenting is “better,” but that leads to no solutions. Maybe this controversy enthralls and shocks many because in reality, it touches a plethora of social issues such as ethnocentricism, the belief that one’s own culture is superior to others’. Nearly everyone is ethnocentric to at least some degree, otherwise cultural loyalty would be lost. It is reasonable to conjecture that such “East-Asian” parenting’s focus on discipline and hard work is partly responsible for China’s booming economy and higher math test scores. However, immediately villainizing Chua’s strict methods based solely on account of her article neglects a few facts. Firstly, she is a law professor. She gets paid to use anecdotes to appeal to an audience’s pathos, and strike a discordant chord to prove her point. She knows how to stir up controversy, and with style. Secondly, her 18-year old daughter’s response column, “In Defense of my Strict Chinese Mother” shows gratitude instead of resentment, reminiscing how her mom snuggled with her daughters in blankets and watched movies together. It is not likely that such an independent, outspoken child would be this grateful if she were too traumatized. On the other hand, helicopter parents can choose to endlessly search for the answers on how to approach their kids
within parenting books and advice columns like Chua’s and constantly buzz with concern about their child’s psychological health (especially during adolescence). Yes, they’re teens, confusing and full of angst. But hovering parents should stop trying to “solve” them all the time. It’s dehumanizing. They’re not Rubix Cubes, and those advice articles can only go so far trying to align children into a “proper order.” It takes quite another kind of parent who knows his or her own child personally, even if he or she seldom expressses this intuition, and gauges his or her parenting style accordingly. This kind of parent also seeks to understand, but from the source itself: the child. They will command, beseech, compromise, trespass, teach and provide for their offspring. Chua is this kind of parent, in spite of the criticism claiming her children have been turned into “A” student, childhood social life deprived, classically-musically-trained automatons. What makes her different from all the other helicopter parents is that she teaches her children to become resilient and self-reliant. In her article, she says, “Western parents worry a lot about their children’s self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child’s self-esteem is to let them give up.” Parenting is a huge investment to make, yet even finding a middle ground between strict and laidback is only optimal for some. Instead of simplifying the parenting process for everyone, Chua’s essay’s controversy shows how complicated it truly is. Tiger moms can roar and purr, and tiger kittens can scratch and mewl in turn, but there will never be a universally correct apLisa Wu proach to the intimate exchanges between them. Only a parent and child can figure that out for themselves. —Ahn, a senior, is a Forum Editor.
Society should address mental illnesses
Hannah Plank-Schwartz In the United States, 106,000 people are shot every year. Of these, 30,000 die. If anything could be done to prevent even a fraction of all those who are shot, it should be done. Given recent shootings, concern has grown regarding how our society addresses and diagnoses mental illness. An outpour of concern arose just after Senator Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Tucson, AZ, along with nineteen other people. Recent evidence indicates that the shooter, Jared Loughner, exhibited innumerable signs of paranoid schizophrenia. Studies show those with untreated paranoid psychosis are two to three times more likely to physically harm others than those without disorders. It is imperative that steps be taken to help people get help and prevent those with dangerous intentions from carrying them out. Contrary to popular belief, those who know these mass-killing shooters are often unsurprised at their actions. The deficiency in the system instead lies in how people have responded to the mentally ill. The recent shooting in Tucson was one of many such examples. “It wasn’t a case of ‘Gee, no one saw this coming,’” Randy Borum, an expert on threat assessment at the University of South Florida, said in
The New York Times. “People saw it. But the question was what do you do about it? Who do you call? The whole thing speaks to the need for some coordinated way to detect such threats.” The majority of those who are mentally ill are not dangerous, but care for many mental illnesses is often hard to obtain, decreasing the chances of identifying those with more violent or dangerous tendencies. Also, according to The New York Times, experts say that institutions and employers are seldom prepared to handle potential threats even when the warning signs are obvious. Additionally, teachers and students do not have the authority to force someone into treatment without his consent for more than 72 hours unless he has been proven a threat to himself or others. However, institutions, families and legislators need to provide ways to facilitate treatment to prevent violence. One essential step to take is getting the person a psychiatric evaluation. Another key to preventing shootings is advocating against cuts on mental health funds that are up for election in the House and the Senate. After what happened in Tucson, in addition to shootings at Columbine and other schools, the public needs to realize the importance of these mental health programs. Regions of California are currently pushing to transfer the cost of many services from the state to county governments, requiring them to provide all mental health services for the poor. County officials, however, are skeptical of whether the state will provide enough money for them to do so. Vot-
ers must support this bill and also make certain that the state allots funds that are sufficient to provide care for those who need it. It is an area that society cannot afford to skimp on. Access to weapons is another paramount point in the occurrence of shootings. Assault weapons are made for the sole purpose of killing humans, not animals, in mass numbers. Therefore, they should be completely prohibited. Between 1994 and 2004, it was illegal to manufacture or import the extended clips as part of the ban on assault weapons. However, because of intense opposition from the National Rifle Association, the ban was never renewed. Loughner purchased his gun at a sporting goods store that followed the bareminimum federal background check, which only flags felons, people found to be a danger to themselves or others and those under a restraining order. In conjunction with this ban, society must, at the very least, institute a required psychiatric evaluation and background check before selling any other dangerous weapon to a buyer. It is preposterous that someone could just walk into a sporting goods store to buy such a weapon, especially without being subjected to any test of sanity. Without access to weapons, people with dangerous intentions will have no means to fuel the fire. While it is no doubt a complex issue, whatever preventative steps exist should be taken to save other precious lives. —Plank-Schwartz, a senior, is an Entertainment Editor.
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Deferrals’ teases displeases Elaine Liu We all dread the college process come senior year. There are semester grades, recommendation letters and a ridiculous number of online forms that never seem to end. Sometimes it feels like applying to colleges is just as hard as chasing after a perfect guy. We all have our secret daydreams about the ideal actor or celebrity, like blue-eyed Neal Caffrey, romantic McDreamy or angsty Tom Felton. Applying early action or early decision to a college is like walking up to that guy you have had a crush on for years and telling him exactly how you feel. It is taking the first step, before any other girl can, to let that boy know that you have picked him. You cross your fingers for an acceptance and pray against a rejection. For me, that guy was the University of Pennsylvania. The days leading up to the release of the early decision results were filled with imaginings of the different outcomes. I played out what would happen if I got in (lots of screaming and tears) and what would happen if I did not (lots of tears minus the screaming). Either way, I figured I had myself prepared for whatever they threw at me. But then, I got this e-mail: “The Admissions Selection Committee has chosen to defer our decision on your Early Decision application to the University of Pennsylvania. After careful consideration, the committee has decided to wait until the Regular Decision notification date of March 30, 2011, to make a final decision. We realize that you may be disappointed with this delay, but please know that your commitment to join Penn’s community will be thoughtfully evaluated during the Regular Decision committee process.” We realize you may be disappointed? “Perhaps just a little,” I thought sarcastically when I walked back into my APC Physics classroom. Immediately, I was besieged by my classmates. “Did you get in?” “It’s totally okay to be rejected.” “Dude, why aren’t you crying?” At that last comment, I could not help but laugh at their expressions. My whole class had been waiting for me to come bursting in with tears of happiness or sorrow. Instead, I had walked in with a bemused and relatively puzzled expression. Really, the feeling was exasperating. I had prepared for either an acceptance or a rejection, but Penn had done neither and my love confession was left hanging awkwardly in the air. The whole point of applying early is to tell the college that yes, you are my top choice, and yes, I want to know right now whether or not you want me. We are putting ourselves out there as both students and individuals to tell a school that it is the place we can see ourselves spending the next four years. It is not an easy thing to do. When I chose to apply early to Penn, I knew that regardless of the decision, it would be a relief to just know the outcome and come to peace with it. There is no doubt in my mind that I am grateful for still having a chance. At the same time, I feel shortchanged. Applying early was supposed to help give me an answer and somehow I feel even more left in the dark. What I’m asking for is the college’s recognition. We spend hours researching their statistics, learning what makes them unique, and trying our hardest to show them just how much we care. Conversely, admissions committees pore over every single application. It’s a two-way relationship. Colleges have a responsibility to be more frank with their applicants. Deferral is only a cat’s game. –Liu, a senior, is a Business Manager.
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Forum
THEORACLE
Seniors, beware of senioritis epidemic
May Wu
Sitting up late, my eyes not even drooping yet, I type furiously on my computer at 1:10 a.m., hoping to complete this article before sleep hits me. Wait, what? How is it this late already? Ugh—senioritis. It’s a commonly known affliction that usually preys on second semester seniors, but can make its appearance even earlier on in high school life. Earlier symptoms are also coined as “junioritis.” For me, every day is a battle against senioritis. As much as it would be nice to wave it away as nothing more than an urban myth, senioritis does exist and its meaning has become a socially acceptable form of “procrastinating.” I mentioned junioritis earlier, and I remember it being a terrible experience of late assignments and ensuing disappointment in one horrific cycle. I got caught into a torturous routine of waking up as early as 2 or 3 a.m. to finish procrastinated homework and never being able to complete my snowballing assignments. The inability to stay on top of things worried me and the whole process has made me close to allergic to senioritis. Senioritis is used as an excuse, a pass to not complete work. Why wasn’t homework finished? Senioritis. It’s the largest target of blame of stressed out students and it’s used as a euphemism for shirking work and lacking the self-motivation to get started on work. But the students only have themselves and their decisions blame for all their accumulated problems. The promise of the second semester of senior year should be a reminder that high school is almost over, but it doesn’t mean that it actually is. The activities students with senioritis are engaged in are a riskier form of the relaxation after a school year has ended since the year has not been completed and there should be no time to spare. The satisfaction of summer break is so great because it is something hard-earned after a year of school and senioritis is only a way of abusing that. Basically, we don’t deserve senioritis. We haven’t earned the right to slack off—actually, should slacking off ever be permitted? My answer is no. Senioritis only worsens situations. If a senior argues that he or she doesn’t need to work harder anymore since all his hard work has theoretically paid off by being accepted into college, they are wrong. A college accepts its students on the basis that those students have worked hard and will strive to work harder. By giving in to our desires to be a the typical second-semester senior, we negate everything they believed we were when they accepted us, and they have a point. College is, in so many aspects, much more challenging than high school and spending the semester before college slacking off doesn’t help prepare us for the challenges or tasks that await us in college. As a social trend, senioritis is contagious. It doesn’t just affect those who participate in it, but also those around them. Students who care less about school and fully feel senioritis’ influence their friends who would prefer to work hard. It’s even harder to ignore the temptation of putting aside work when your friends are all ready to hang out. Senioritis, however, is curabl. Because it is a social trend and a certain living style, it can be eradicated. If senioritis were not glorified and if students stepped out against it more, the belief that it is acceptable to give in to senioritis would be dissolved and its temptation lessened, if not extinguished. —Wu, a senior, is a reporter.
Sticky situation forces reparation costs
The expense of repairing the books and fur niture is detrimental to the school. The money comes directly from the School Facility Felix Tran Budget, which is used to keep the carpets and furniture clean Ever wonder how many people touched around campus. More the same piece of gum under the table as money spent on replacyou did? It is likely that at least five oth- ing books and cleaning ers have touched it that same day. This messes will result in an disgusting encounter could have been overall drop in classavoided easily if the vandal took the ten room cleanliness. seconds needed to throw the gum away. Recently, the ban on Unwanted food and gum are constantly food has been lifted in being left in the Gunn Library, creating the library. Although it strong odors and attracting ants. Trash has not been publicly anshould not be left around in the library nounced yet, Omainsky has because it defaces property and makes it allowed eating food in the an unpleasant environment to be in, which library during lunch as long hinders other students. as people use the trash and recycle Avoiding such sticky and foul en- bins. However, the lack of appreciation counters is a distraction when relaxing for the newly approved freedom has or quietly working. This not only creates created a major issue. a major inconvenience for those who are The forsaken treats trying to get work or quiet reading done, attract ants that ruin but the trash left by students also ruins the condition of the books and spoils the library environment. books provided for It isn’t safe to put one’s hands anywhere student use. Since when one knows that freshly chewed gum the rule has been could be lurking. abolished, any inGum is a gargantuan problem in the crease in trash around library. According to school librarian the library will result in the Meg Omainsky, janitors do not clean up need for more janitors. gum. There is not enough time for the To combat these major issues, janitors to scour such a large space for campaigns similar to Omainsky’s can infinitesimally small pieces of chewing encourage students to help each other gum. The only way the gum gets cleaned maintain the library in a spick-and-span up is if the Mrs. Omainsky herself spots order. She has advocated keeping our it, and even then, it is out of her own time. library “RecyClean” (trash free and Many books have had to be replaced due recycled). To accomplish this, students to gum damage as well. The library alone need to help monitor their peers to ensure cannot cover these costs and as a result, a clean library. Trash should not be clanstudents are impacted the most. destinely placed in the depths of the li
George Hwang
brary, especially in the Acorn Lounge, which Omainsky has personally renovated herself. Students should show their appreciation by helping to keep the Gunn Library as clean as it should be. —Tran, a senior, is a reporter.
Twain censorship is literary vandalism
As Twain wrote the book in the 1880s, segregation and the civil rights movement. he aimed to bring light to the plight of the Today it is widely known to be a derogaslave with the relevant vernacular of the tory racial slur. time. This included Gribben explains very frequent use of that he is taking acthe n-word, which tion because people Jennie Robinson appears over 220 are offended by the times. The book is a word’s use in the historically accurate novel. But removMark Twain’s The Adventures of Huck- representation of the ing the word from leberry Finn is by any standard, a classic speech used in late the book is simply of American literature. It has been called a 19th century Mistaking it too far. It masterpiece by T.S. Elliot and the “source sissippi. brings to mind the of all modern American literature,” by ErIt should also be question have we renest Hemingway. Yet again and again, the noted that the word ally come to the point book has disappeared from grade school that will replace the nthat school children curriculum, been placed on optional word, “slave,” doesn’t cannot move past the reading lists and even banned outright. have the equivalent use of a single word It is the second most commonly banned c o n n o t a t i o n a n d without being scarred book in the United States. Twain scholar, doesn’t always apply by its use? We canAlan Gribben, has pinned the reason to a to a situation where a not attempt to shelter single issue, the n-word, and has set out character uses the nthe minds of children George Hwang to eliminate its use completely. Banning word. The story follows from something so the word essentially affects the book’s Jim, after he has escaped infinitesimal, especially if entire original credibility; something that from slavery and he is trying to make his we are wasting our time and money prois without a doubt it is an act of wrongful way to Ohio to fully buy his freedom. It is tecting them from something that they censorship. not correct to have Huck referring to Jim will hear, read and learn about elsewhere While The Adventures of Huckleberry as “slave,” because during the novel he is during their lives. Finn has always been controversial, it has never actually a slave. The concept of eradicating the word not been because of the n-word. Since The word also provides a chance to from history is ridiculous, especially the novel’s premiere in 1884, critics have teach school age children about its impli- because one work of fiction in no way targeted the themes of public morality and cations and connotations. While reading encompasses the history and vocabulary profanity (not the word in question). Moth- the book in school, my teacher explained of an entire period. Gribben’s actions ers through the end of the 1800’s into the the history and the significance of the should be looked upon as what they really 1900’s disapproved of their children read- word and its modern effects. The word are; pointless and ridiculous censorship. ing about Huck telling a lie in a time of was originally used in a neutral context deciding and that he’d rather “go to hell” to refer to people of African descent. —Robinson, a senior, is a reporter. than betray Jim and have him returned as It is derived from the Spanish noun a slave to his previous owner. Not once negro, meaning “black”. The meaning did the n-word come up in those debates. has changed drastically, especially after
Features
Monday, February 14, 2011
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Three social studies teachers become proud papas Dashiell Lyons
Mabel and Reyn Johnson
Eli Habib
Courtesy of Ronen Habib, Phil Lyons and Chris Johnson
Top: Social studies teacher Phil Lyons watches as his new son, Dashiell, gives a large yawn. Middle: Social studies teacher Chris Johnson smiles with his three children, including newborn twins Mabel (bottom left) and Reyn (bottom right). Bottom: Eli, social studies teacher Ronan Habib’s newborn son, smiles for the camera.
On Jan. 17, social studies teacher Phil Lyons joined the wave of teachers with newborn babies when his son, Dashiell, was born. With the new baby, Lyons admits that his life has completely changed. “My priorities have been rearranged. I don’t go out anymore. Now, I’m completely focused on raising my child,” Lyons said. Although being a parent can be taxing, he says that it’s worth the hard work and effort bringing up Dashiell. “It’s liberating to be living for someone else,” Lyons said. Even though his life has been turned upside down in the last few weeks, Lyons is able to manage being a teacher while supporting a family simultaneously. He also believes that his considerable amount of experience with his job definitely helps. “I’ve been teaching for about 13 years and I have most of the content down,” Lyons said. “If I were a new teacher, I don’t think I would be able to handle both [a child and work] at the same time. Having a job and a baby can be very consuming.”
Dashiell Lyons
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Social studies teacher y Christopher Johnsb c i h son’s twins Mabel Jo ap Gr and Reyn Thomas Johnson were born October 4, 2010. Their names are steeped in family tradition. Mabel Jo is named after her mother’s great-grandmother, Mabel, and her middle name Jo is derived from various relatives. Reyn Thomas’s first name comes from his mother’s maiden name Reynolds and his middle name comes from his mother’s father’s name, Thomas. Unlike raising just one child at once as with Johnson’s first child Axel, with twins, “both my wife and I have a baby to take care of. For example, at nighttime my wife is responsible for Mabel, and I’m responsible for Reyn.”
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The first time social studies teacher Ronen Habib laid eyes upon his newborn child, he was filled with a feeling of excitement and nervousness, as well as a sense of relief to see that his child was healthy. Eli Nissim Shotwell-Habib was born Aug. 7, 2010. Habib decided on this name from its Hebrew origins. Eli means “God’s help,” Nissim means “wonders or wonderful things” and Habib means “a sweet person.” Eli’s personality has begun to mature, and Habib says that Eli is always excited to interact with others. “It’s a really genuine interest in people and love for those who care about him,” Habib said. “He smiles whenever he sees you. It’s not fake; he’s very mellow. When he’s awake, he acts very well. He’s generally a happy kid.” Habib considers Eli to be “more in tune and connected with those around him” than other children. Despite the hardships of both parenting and teaching, Habib enjoys being a father. “The ideal [day] would be to take [Eli] to a zoo, so he can really observe all the animals and just be his cute self,” Habib said.
According to Johnson, Axel, his four-year-old son, is eager to help take care of the babies. Although he is not allowed to carry or feed his younger siblings, he can entertain them. Johnson has already noticed his twins’ divergent personalities, though they are only a little over four months old. “Up until about a month ago I don’t think Mabel liked me,” Johnson said. “She used to cry, but now she’s just happy and giggling.” On the other hand, “Reyn was from the beginning Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky; he smiles from ear-to-ear,” he said. “He has a much more outgoing personality, whereas Mabel really needs to get to know somebody before she opens up.” With young children to take care of, Johnson has minimal time set aside for himself and his hobbies. “I can’t do schoolwork at home anymore,” he said. “As soon as I get home it’s daddy-time. The most challenging thing for me is realizing that I don’t have enough
Eli Habib
Reyn and Mabel Johnson
met i m e anymore.” Despite this, raising children has given Johnson more perspectives on his priorities. “My life is my family,” he said. “It’s family first, family second, family third, and then my other responsibilities.” According to Johnson, “[raising kids] really grounds you, and helps you focus on your priorities.”
—Compiled by Joseph Lin, Nicola Park and Zoe Weisner
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Features
THEORACLE
First 100 Days of Victor Kwok
The Oracle staff reports on principal’s first 100 days of office
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Victor Kwok
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Victor Kwok
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Victor Kwok
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Courtesy of Palo Alto Online
1. A typical day in the principal’s office: Villalobos plans out her day while sitting in her office. 2. Classes proceed in the displaced portables near the parking lot, which were moved to make room for the construction of the new Village. 3. Construction on Arastradero Road continues as the city discusses whether or not the street should be made entirely one-laned. 4. Four seniors become Intel competition semifinalists, and are each given a $1,000 check for his or her work. Monica Cai & Annie Shuey Sports Editor and Managing Editor
The State of the School:
More than one hundred school days have passed since Katya Villalobos took the reins as principal. The Oracle examines the significant decisions and events that took place on campus during the past six months.
Winter Dance
Students have long complained about the lack of a winter dance and the overly long time period between the Homecoming dance and Sadie’s. In October, the Student Executive Council (SEC) began discussing the option of adding a dance in December or January, and, after hundreds of students voiced their approval, officers began to write the proposal covering the logistics of the dance. After receiving approval from the administration, SEC went to work and on Jan. 7 held Gunn’s first winter dance in five years. “We just wanted to help out the kids,” Villalobos said. “It wasn’t a really large dance, but they had a good time.” Villalobos and several other teachers chaperoned the casual winter-themed dance, which a few hundred students attended. “It gave us the opportunity to try out new things,” Student Activities Director Lisa Hall said. “We’d like to make it an annual thing, as a senior fundraiser for Grad Night.”
iPads
As a school in Silicon Valley, it comes as no surprise that the trend of advanced technology has hit Gunn. This year the administration was equipped with the new iPad, something that may soon become a tool for students to use as well. “At first I thought it was a toy,” Villalobos said. “It’s really a tool for efficiency, and we all love using it.” The tablet computer is
a portable gadget with numerous applications that help make daily life easier for the administration. “I can check my email, set up meetings, take notes during meetings [and] check Infinite Campus anytime and anywhere,” Villalobos said. Due to its success, the staff has been looking into using the iPad as a teaching tool, and decided to pilot it with Small Learning Communities, a group of freshmen who share the same four core teachers. “There is one class set of iPads, plus six for those teachers involved in the project,” Technology Coordinator Lettie Weinmann said. “We’re interested in seeing what students can do with the iPad.” The school has been discussing with textbook publishers the possibility of obtaining electronic copies of the books so that students could do their reading on the iPad. “In the long run, the district would save money if they could purchase electronic versions of textbooks instead of buying paper copies,” Weinmann said. Teachers have also been exploring applications to eventually agree on an organizational system for the iPads so that all students will be using the same apps. According to Weinmann, the goal is to get going full speed in the fall, with a pilot group of students taking the iPads home with them.
Infinite Campus
This school year, Gunn adopted a new online system, Infinite Campus, which immediately brought up many issues with its implementation. “It’s been a huge challenge,” Weinmann said. “Tasks I used to do that were so easy I now have to learn; it’s been a big learning year for us.” The new system made schedule organization particularly difficult this year, as counselors were learning the tricks of the new system while dealing with schedule errors. “It’s definitely a slowdown,” Villalobos said. “We don’t know the tricks yet, and it’s not intuitive. With anything new, the beginning is difficult.” Meanwhile, InClass still remains a resource for
teachers and students to use, as document uploads and other functions aren’t possible on Infinite Campus. According to Villalobos, the school is looking into other options, but InClass won’t be going away any time soon. Infinite Campus still has many benefits, as the system is faster and has unique utilities the previous system didn’t have. The introduction of online class registration also stems from Infinite Campus, which will allow the school to start putting together master schedules earlier and help facilitate the process.
Quad Lunch with Teachers/Rainy Day Shelters
Every Staff Development Day, teachers divide into different focus groups. This year, the community building group came up with the idea of teachers eating lunch on the Quad with students. “The goal is to connect outside of the classroom with students,” community building facilitator Stephanie Werbe said. Organized by Werbe and math teacher Daniel Hahn, Villalobos and other teachers go out on the Quad for lunch the last Friday of every month. The first event took place on Sep. 24. According to Villalobos, teachers get to know the students better and each other as well. Hahn and Werbe also organized Rainy Day Shelters, classrooms students can eat lunch in on rainy days. “We saw students getting wet out there sitting under the overhangs,” Werbe said. “Now they can go into a room and eat their food, watch TV or play games.” Unfortunately, because it hasn’t rained since the creation of Rainy Day Shelters, Werbe and Hahn are unable to judge their success.
Small Learning Communities
Gunn’s student population has grown larger and larger every year, and teachers often worry about the amount of personal teaching each student receives. This year, the Small
Features
Monday, February 14, 2011
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Courtesy of Sara Ameri
Henry Liu
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Victor Kwok
Victor Kwok
5. Villalobos remains active in the school’s Model United Nations club, shown here at the Stanford MUN conference. 6. Infinite Campus was implemented as a student resource before the 2010-2011 school year began. 7. Villalobos holds up her iPad, one of many from the school’s plan to implement technology that may change the way students are taught. 8. The Partners in Education raised $347,376 during the summer of last year as a way to counteract a $1.1 million budget cut. Learning Communities (SLC) program, created by English teacher Tarn Wilson and social studies teacher Dawna Linsdell, was introduced. The program consists of a group of 25 freshmen who stay together as a class, sharing the same four core teachers. It is designed to help students with the transition from eighth grade to ninth grade. Similar to Palo Alto High School’s Together Everyone Achieves More program, the students get to know each other and their teachers better and are also given the opportunity to take several field trips. The class has already gone on a camping trip to Yosemite. According to English teacher Kristen Owen, the pilot program has already proven to be successful with students. “They’re like a family,” Owen said. “They all know each other very well which makes everyone more willing to take risks in class because they feel really comfortable with each other.”
Construction/Passing Period
On the first day of school, students arrived to find that the Village portables, formerly located adjacent to the Amphitheater, were moved to the parking lot over the summer. “The Village move went great, save for a few small bumps,” Villalobos said. “The only complaint I hear now is the walk.” In an effort to accommodate the distance between the Village and the rest of the campus, the passing period was extended from five minutes to nine minutes this year. “Anecdotally, I’ve heard that it slows the day down for people,” Assistant Principal of Facilities Tom Jacoubowsky said. “It makes things less rushed.” Villalobos said that the plans to build a two-story Village building next to the Amphitheater are progressing, meaning that the construction will likely be approved in March, and that construction will hopefully begin over summer break. “Our current freshmen will have classes in that building,” she said.
Arastradero
Arastradero Road, much of which was narrowed from two lanes in each direction to one lane over the summer, is still undergoing repairs. The city of Palo Alto has considered narrowing the remainder of Arastradero so it is entirely one lane, which Villalobos and the rest of the administration is concerned about. “We have described [to the city officials] why it wouldn’t be a good idea,” she said. Villalobos, who sees unsafe drivers merging onto the road, is primarily concerned for student safety. She encourages the Gunn community to direct any comments or concerns they may have to City Hall. Jacoubowsky, who once drove down Arastradero Road from Wilkie Street to see what traffic is like for students coming from that direction, described the route as “a grind.” “I’m sure glad I come the other way,” he said. He is, however, encouraged that the city is considering increasing the distance where the two lanes merge into one.
Intel Science Awards
On Jan. 12, in a surprise ceremony at lunch, Intel presented awards to seniors Andrew Liu, Audrey Ho, Brian Zhang and Youyang Gu, who were named semifinalists in Intel’s Science Talent Search. The students were joined by their families, mentors and the press when they received their $1,000 checks for being named semifinalists. Villalobos takes pride in the fact that out of 300 semifinalists nationwide and 26 in the Bay Area, four are from Gunn. “A lot of kids receive awards for sports and activities like that, but I’m glad to see these kids recognized for what they’re passionate about,” she said. Liu, who was later named one of 40 finalists nationwide, suspected that he was about to be honored when he received a call slip at the same time as another person who he knew entered the competition. “It was exciting,” he said. “It was
also humbling. It’s pretty cool because there were so many interesting projects.”
Model UN
Villalobos, who served as the advisor to the Model United Nations (MUN) club last year, has made efforts to remain tied to the club. “I’m sad that I’m not as involved this year as previous years,” she said. “As a person who loves politics and international relations, it’s perfect. It was fun to help out with.” She attended the Stanford MUN conference, held at Stanford from Nov. 12 to Nov. 14. “It’s great to see students in a capacity like that,” she said. “I saw a couple kids in council, and they’re talking about stuff that’s happening today.” Villalobos plans to attend the Berkeley MUN conference, which will be held March 4 to March 6. Senior MUN president Max Lipscomb said that Villalobos’ continued involvement with the club this year has been beneficial. “She’s remained in the club as sort of an advisor emeritus,” he said. “It’s helpful for us that she’s staying connected to the organization.”
Budget
New Governor Jerry Brown released his budget proposal on Jan. 10, and with it, relieved much of the administration’s anxiety about the school’s financial situation. “The new governor wants to leave K-12 education alone and cut higher education,” Villalobos said. For the past few years, the school’s and district’s budgets have been conservative due to the state’s uncertain finances. “Right now, we are doing all right,” Villalobos said. “We plan out what we want to do, allocate money where it helps students the most and weight any spending.” She added that the Gunn community has been “extremely generous” through Partners in Education and PTSA fundraising.
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Cente
THEORACLE
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Monday, February 14, 2011
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Graphic by Kimberly Han
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Features
THEORACLE
Academic Center welcomes new staff Hansen Sekona
Morning shift Academic Center (AC) coordinator Hansen Sekona searched for a job that would require working with youth and found his opportunity at Gunn. “It’s only been my fourth week here, but it’s been great,� he said. “I want to try and get more acquainted with the students and ultimately know the people who frequently come into the AC.� A San Mateo Junior College football coach and former Kansas State inside linebacker, Sekona was hired after former AC Coordinator Alexander Lira resigned. “I like him [even though] at first I was intimidated by him cause he’s a big guy,� freshman Sally Yilma said. Standing at 5 feet 11 inches, Sekona played for Kansas State on a football scholarship before returning to the Bay Area for personal family reasons. “My heart told me to go home,� he said. “I wanted to come back to support my sister’s family.� After returning from Kansas, Sekona said
the biggest differences was not only the urban life, but also the food. “I’m a big eater,� he said. “Here in the Bay, you have a variety of food such as sushi, Mexican, and Chinese food,� he said. “I missed those things. Over there, you can only find the typical burger.� For high school, Sekona attended Aragon High School in San Mateo and played Gunn during his sophomore year. “The only thing I remember is that we lost to Gunn in football back in 2003,� he said. “It’s a stingy memory, but now I’m trying to learn more about the school.� In a sense, Sekona is not much different from some students when it comes to his sleeping schedule. Aside from his job at the AC, he also works the graveyard shift at United Parcel Service, meaning Sekona sleeps for an average of four hours a night. He spends most of his spare time with his nephews and nieces, and coaches football during the season at San Mateo Junior College. “Many of my conversations with students start with sports,� he said. “I’ve talked to a couple football players, but students are always more than welcome to ask me about the game.� Although he is only working a four-hour morning shift, Sekona hopes to connect with students and learn more about the school. “I’m a kid at heart,� he said. “I may come off intimidating, but I’m really a nice guy–don’t let looks fool you. I’m actually pretty down to earth and like meeting new people.�
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Pam Steward
Academic Center (AC) coordinator Pam Steward is now in charge during the afternoon. Steward originally worked for Apple Computer in corporate marketing for 10 years. While she loved the job, the pace was too frantic, and the AC allows her to enjoy a more pleasant and balanced life. “It’s more than a job,� Steward said of her current position. “It’s a lifestyle.� In the mornings, Steward works with kindergarteners at Juana Briones as an Instructional Aid, and says she gets a lot of knee hugs and gets to help five-year-olds with lots of cutting and gluing, writing and tag on the playground. A few hours later, Steward can be found in the AC working with a completely different age group. “I am inspired by these teenagers discussing physics and the periodic table, coefficients, foreign languages and world politics,� she said. “I love watching them get all fired up about a chess game. I love to see them being friends in good times and bad.�
Her new schedule even allows time for jogging several times a week. “I get off of work in the evening and spend quality time with my family,� Steward said. After first arriving, Steward admits to being overwhelmed by the AC, but she really appreciates the students’ politeness and those who made an effort to say hello. “I know that’s my job, and I’m ready to be the greeter now,� Steward said. “I’m slowly getting better.� Now, more accustomed to the inner workings of the AC, Steward encourages students who have an opinion to participate in the newly formed AC Student Advisory Group. During the first meeting on Jan. 25 at lunch, students explained how the AC had been handled in the past, compared differences between the SAC and AC and discussed the changes that were to be put into effect such as printing usage, textbook checkouts, tutoring and food. The attendance was “regrettably small,� Steward said. “I hope more students will join and gain a voice in the Academic Center policies and atmosphere.� Students who wish to particpate in the next AC Student Advisory Group meeting should join the Gunn AC Facebook page. Steward has also taken on the task of bettering the disorganized tutoring system, as many student demographics are not being served. —Josephine Jen Like the Gunn AC Facebook page for updates about the AC Student Advisory Group.
Q&A with
Artist of the Month: Tony Bianchini
The Oracle: How did you become interested in doing art? Tony Bianchini: In middle school I took one art class. [Ceramics teacher Erik] Bowman allowed me to join his class despite having not taken Art Spectrum. I dropped in, and I knew I wasn’t a drawing/painting type of artist.
TO: Is there a particular style of art that you prefer? TB: I love using clay and Raku. Raku gives the artwork a white coat as well as giving unique cracks. Right after the heating process I place the sculpture in a bin with shredded newspaper to give the white texture the dark cracks. I also love to mold things. I usually cast things in parts and then piece it together. TO: Why do you think art is important? TB: Art is one of the few things that does not have rules. You do not have to succumb to a standard. If I have something on my mind I just go with it. It is like my own niche and space, and, in a way, I get to feel like a little kid again. TO: What types of sculptures do you create? TB: I typically make skulls and wax pendants as rough drafts often with an imperfect touch. For example, I have created a skull that is a combination of a bull, goat and deer skull. I have also casted body parts, like a sculpture of a cracked chest with a hole in the chest where the heart should be. Initially when I tried to make it, the heart cracked into pieces, and I decided to try and see what I could do from there. I also have two ceramic “Raku-edâ€? arms from molds that are painted with oxides, and a bit of a face.Â
TO: How do you think this will affect your future? TB: I will be coming back to it as I tend to circulate things like music and art in my life. I get interested in art and music, but I tend to lose interest after a bit, only to come back to it later in my life. However, when I return to it I will return to it at a different spectrum and level. TO: How has art affected you? TB: I have taken on the mindset of being committed to my work. I tend to have a completed picture in my head, but, in reality, my artwork strays far away from it. Every day I think of ways to improve my artwork, and the end product is always something completely different. However, I have also learned to stray from my perfectionist point of view. In art I get to relax a bit, and let it all come out. —Colin Chen
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Features
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentine’s day deprecation David Oyer Well, it’s Valentine’s Day season again. Most people like to pretend that this is a big deal, but let’s be honest here. Any “holiday” on which we go to school is not a holiday. It’s a date that may happen to have a special name, but not one that I care about. For instance, Martin Luther King Day is a holiday, but Groundhog Day is not. Staff Work Day is a holiday, but Hanukkah is not. The list goes on. But my contempt of Valentine’s Day stretches beyond that. Do you remember back in elementary school when they used to literally force you to write every kid in the class a valentine, even the snotty one who couldn’t spell his name in, like, third grade? That was a real nightmare. I was about eight years old, and I already realized it was a giant waste of my time. Anyway, what you would have to do was sit down at your table with a huge stack of “girly-colored” markers and then write a “valentine” to every kid in your class. I think that some kids, mostly girls, spent a lot of time on this because apparently their greatest aspiration in life was to be a creative assistant at Hallmark. I don’t remember much about my cards, except that they were all exactly the same, and may as well have said “I don’t care enough about your valentine to spend more than two minutes on it” somewhere along the top. That’s where my hatred of Valentine’s Day started. But as I got older, I realized the real purpose of Valentine’s Day: to make people who are not in relationships feel extremely inferior and add insult to injury by subjecting them to gross displays of public affection by happy Valentine’s couples, who will go, like, 100 yards out of their way just to kiss closer to you on their special day. The other 364 days of the year, one of them is glaring at the other because they took two extra minutes to respond to a text the night before, but on Valentine’s Day, it’s like all their problems have been magically solved and they glued their mouths together in celebration. Come on. But that’s not all. If you ever want to go out to eat on Valentine’s Day, forget it. It’s even worse than Christmas because at least then you have some quality Chinese food options. On Valentine’s Day, you can’t even go to McDonald’s without getting stuck at a table with candles, flowers and heart-shaped cakes and the like. Can’t we draw the line somewhere? If you’re going to McDonald’s for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner, I don’t feel great about your chances. And people are always trying to slip pink sparkles into everything. “Oh, here’s your milkshake, sir, the pink sparkles are on the house. Happy Valentine’s Day!” A lot of people are big fans of Valentine’s Day, and that’s cool too. In fact, if you’re going to get really into it, feel free to drop me a valentine. I know a few people who I could pass it on to who would really appreciate the inspiration for their careers at Hallmark. –David Oyer, a junior, is a guest columnist. He shares his thoughts and experiences on his blog, “The Optimist.” Become a follower at http://quitetheoptimist.blogspot.com
Victor Kwok
What would you do if you could do anything on Valentine’s Day?
The Couples Game
Senior couple Alice Yu and Neil Sood test just how well they know each other
Andre Payman (9) “I’d streak across the football field.”
What are your favorite foods? Alice Yu
I like Italian and he likes chocolate.
Neil Sood Spencer Miner (10) “I would go skydiving and make a heart-formation.”
Hers is Italian/Korean. Mine is chocolate. What are your favorite colors? Easy, mine is pink and his is green.
AY
NS
Pink. Of course. Duh. Mine is green.
Where is the weirdest place you’ve kissed? NS Fitting room. AY
What are your biggest pet peeves? I hate when people start saying something and then say “never mind.” He hates when people don’t follow through with plans.
AY
Alyn Shen (11) “I would watch Sixteen Candles while eating a large batch of cookies, drinking coffee and soaking in my own happiness.”
Macy’s fitting room.
NS
Alice hates waiting and I can’t stand slow drivers.
What’s the biggest inside joke between you two? He calls me a “moonpie” because of a grandma in Big Bang Theory. AY
NS
We get a lot of inside jokes from shows like Modern Family and Big Bang Theory. This is weird. I call her “moonpie.”
—Compiled by Kevin Gao
Helen Sol (12) “I’d go to my church where the youth boys are cooking dinner for us and singing a song for the girls.” –Compiled by Kevin Gao
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THEORACLE
By the Numbers
4.8
Sports
Winter sports head toward the finish
assists per game from senior guard Taylor Perricone of the boys’ basketball team
12.9
points per game from junior center Cat Perez of the girls’ basketball team
7
Jonathan Yong
seniors on the boys’ soccer team
Freshman forward Sarah Robinson dribbles the ball en route to goal. Coming off a big win against crosstown rival Paly, the girls’ soccer team has a current standing of fourth in the league and a good chance of making it to Central Coast Section (CCS). The team’s current overall record is 3-6-5 and league record is 3-5-4. The team’s last game is on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Los Gatos at 3:30 p.m.
0
losses i n leag ue for t he wrestling team
1-0
win for the girls’ soccer team over Palo Alto High School on Feb. 4
3.4
blocks per game from senior center Matt Redfield of the boys’ basketball team
Henry Liu
Sophomore forward Emily Redfield concentrates on her free throw shot. With a league record of 8-2 and an overall record of 16-4, the girls’ basketball team is looking to go far in CCS. According to junior captain Julia Maggioncalda, the team started off strong but has been lacking in its usual rhythm in the past few games. The team is focusing on offensive rebounds and defensive energy, and hopes to see its hard work pay off in their last few league games. The final game of the season is on Feb. 18 at Los Gatos at 6:15 p.m.
12
goals from senior forward Daniel Tirosh of the boys’ soccer team
5
pins this season from senior wrestler Stefan Weidemann
–Compiled by Song Park
Henry Liu
The boys’ basketball team gathers around Coach Chris Redfield as they focus in on the game plan. According to junior guard Nicholas Kao, the team is looking to make it far in CCS this year and will most likely get a good seeding for the tournament due to its non-league play and strong league finish. The team has been doing well so far, but according to Kao, has the potential to do even better. The team has an overall record of 14-8 and a league record of 6-4, with its last game on Feb. 18 at Los Gatos at 7:45 p.m.
Jonathan Yong
Senior Stefan Weidemann (right) and junior Chris Jin (left) are hard at work in practice. The Titan wrestlers have an undefeated league record of 6-0 and an overall record of 8-1. The team has already produced one CCS champion, freshman Cadence Lee. For boys’ wrestling, the top six from Saturday’s Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) Varsity Championship qualify for CCS. Senior Stefan Weidemann is currently ranked 1st in CCS and 4th in state.
Jonathan Yong
Junior midfielder Andriy Krustalyov passes the ball to a teammate. The boys’ soccer team currently holds an overall record of 3-10-6 and a league record of 2-6-3. According to senior captain Yotam Kasznik, the team’s chance at CCS is already gone, but the team has competed well. Its last game is on Feb. 16 at home against Los Gatos at 6:00 p.m. –Compiled by Monica Cai
17
Sports
Monday, February 14, 2011
1
Picture the dunk. You really need to figure out if you can go for it before trying. It’s not good to go and miss.
2
Get up high–the higher, the better. You need a lot of lift.
3
Gather speed before making the attempt. It takes an explosion to reach the basket.
4
Hold on to the ball securely. Finish well, as in complete the dunk and score.
5
When you come down, land on two feet. Make sure you don’t hurt yourself. –Compiled by Jennie Robinson Info provided by senior Matt Redfield Henry Liu
18
Sports
THEORACLE
Sixth Man Club thrives with new members
main writer of Gunn’s basketball blog, found at http://gunnbasketball.wordpress.com, in addition to his own personal basketball blog. “I blog so the world knows what a great With the start of the basketball season comes the rebirth person I am,” Leung said. The blog updates students on basof Gunn’s Sixth Man Club. This year’s club brings great ketball games and has received praise for its humor. “I think school spirit and a group of loud, energetic students that can [the blog is] brilliant,” Zwerling said. “It has a very unique be found in the stands at almost every game cheering for the taste to it, which takes a little time to get used to, but it’s quite teams. “The Sixth Man Club is more eloquent hilarious.” According to Leung, the than Piers Morgan, sexier than Brooklyn blog includes statistics (sometimes Decker, classier than the Gunn Gentlemen’s exaggerated), memorable quotes “The Sixth Man Club Club, and more free-spirited than Howard and the Jacoubowsky Player of the Stern,” senior Sports Commissioner Kevin Game. “The Jacoubowsky Player is more eloquent than Zhang said. of the Game is for the Sixth Man Piers Morgan, sexier “It’s nice that there is an opportunity to Club Member who made the greatthan Brooklyn Decker, cheer with friends in unique and ridiculous est contribution that game,” Leung ways,” junior Jesse Zwerling said. “It’s one said. His blog has also sparked classier than the Gunn of the few times during the year that you can the Let Redfield Dunk (LRD) Gentlemen’s Club, and have some fun with classmates who normally movement which has 117 fans on are too busy.” Facebook and is a popular cheer more free-spirited than Ac c o r d at the games. According to Leung, Howard Stern.” ing to senior LRD started out as joke intended —senior Sports for a friend but spread beyond his O r i He rCommissioner Kevin Zhang control. schmann, the club had LRD is one of the many cheers been losing followers since Gunn’s Sixth Man Club chants to support its players. Somethe class of 2009 and this times, however, the club can get a little too rowdy, though year’s class has been bring- Assistant Principal Tom Jacoubowsky is always there to ing it back up. “We know tone things down. “The last couple of years I really haven’t how much a crowd can in- had issues with the club,” Jacouboswky said. “If they go fluence a team, and it’s fun overboard, I give them the nonverbal eye, and they know. cheering them on,” Her- The key thing is no personal insults.” Although Jacoubowsky schmann said. The Sixth is not there every game, he assures students that the crowd Man Club also dons their will always be watched. “I can’t disclose who, but we have own t-shirts at games with special people,” he said. “We have our ways.” a design created by senior While Sixth Man Club has made a triumphant return this Jordan Leung and tweaked year, members are unsure of how well it will be continued by junior Spirit Commis- next year. “We’d really like to see more underclassmen step sioner Cat Perez. up because at the end of the year we’ll be graduating,” HerPhotos by Victor Kwok Leung is also an avid schmann said. “We want to see underclassmen take on the Top: Members of the Sixth Man Club rally in support for the varsity boys’ basketball, basketball fan, and in ad- club.” Zwerling couldn’t agree more. “Everyone is welcome,” raising their arms in the hopes that their fellow Titan can sink the free throw. Bottom: dition to attending most of Zwerling said. “We’ll lose a lot of culture with the class of Senior Ori Herschmann and his fellow club members energize their fellow classmates. the games, Leung is also the 2011, but hopefully we can re-establish it next year.” Monica Cai
Sports Editor
New cheer coach raises the bar for Gunn’s spirit squad Josephine Jen Reporter
Along with a new school year comes Dan Callanta, a man credited with reinventing the cheer team. “He is definitely one of our most experienced coaches ever, as well as the first male coach I can remember,” senior Vanessa Xia said. “An obvious difference is that male coaches can provide more support when it comes to stunting and tumbling because of their strength.” Prior to beginning his job at Gunn, Callanta trained various other high school athletes to help
them make their college teams in Division I, drawing on his extensive experience in fitness. Besides coaching Gunn cheer, Callanta is also a Master Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor at 24 Hour Fitness in Mountain View SuperSport as well as a Fitness Manager. “I specialize in training athletes and special populations such as post rehab, pre- and postnatal, [and] elderly,” Callanta said. “Youth fitness is my passion [though].” Former Gunn cheerleader and 2009 graduate Alix Farhat approached Callanta to help her transition from Gunn to Stanford
University cheer the summer after her senior year. Farhat then went on to recommend Callanta as a coach. “I met the team during practice and saw potential and the need for leadership and experience,” Callanta said, “so I decided to pursue the position.” The youngest of three sons, Callanta wished to establish his own identity when he was a student at Fremont High School. “My brother was a jock in football, wrestling and track,” he said. “I was expected to follow his footsteps, but decided not to. So, I decided to do leadership and spirit.” On his high school cheer team, he was captain of the junior varsity (JV) team his sophomore year and made varsity captain senior year. At United Spirit Association (USA) Cheer Camp, he was selected as an All-Star cheerleader and won the Individual Title at USA Nationals to become the USA National Individual Champion. Callanta was offered a scholarship for cheer and decided to attend San Diego State University, whose team is currently the National Champions. “I strongly believe that in life we take things, but later we give back,” he said. “I learned a lot about leadership and positivity during those years and they have continued through my life. I decided it was time to give back, and that’s why I’m at Gunn. Life should be about helping others and building self-esteem.” Xia believes Callanta has made many important improvements to the team. “The way we appear as
a team has become a huge priority, continue bettering the cheer squad and I’m not talking just about our by raisng the confidence of the hair and makeup. We make an ef- entire team. “The team was gofort to stay together as a team,” Xia ing through growing pains,” he said. “[We] support both the JV and said. “They had talent, but they varsity teams, and cheer together as did not have strong confidence. we walk from place to place.” The That changes weekly as we build team has also increased the stunts our team stronger and stronger done at rallies and other events. and have more organization and “I think that we’ve always had leadership.” the potential to do great stunts, we just were never able to reach it,” Xia said. “This season, the girls and guys seem a lot more enthusiastic and excited to cheer and bring spirit to the school than last season. I think this positive change in morale is really obvious in the way the team performs as well.” Ca lla nt a a lso has faith in the success of the team. “Their strength is deter m ination— the will to succeed and the strive to do it in style,” he said. “Having the confidence and the strong belief system will take any individual to where they want to go and Henry Liu who they want to Above: Cheer coach Dan Callanta hoists become.” sophomore varsity cheerleader Eileen Xu onto Callanta plans to his shoulder to practice for stunts and tosses.
19
Sports
Monday, February 14, 2011
Junior dedicates time to pursue dancing passion Tara Golshan
Copy Editor
One trip to the Western Ballet at age two was enough to convince junior Tina Hidai to start dancing. “I fell in love,� Hidai said. Throughout her career as a dancer Hidai has participated in jazz, tap, hip-hop, ballet and contemporary dance. “Tina has always excelled in all of her dance classes, and she has a natural ability,� Hidai’s dance educator Cindy Ginanni said. However, Hidai considers contemporary dance to be her favorite. “It is such a broad style that is currently popular,� she said. “It is not defined so you can express yourself however you want.� Inspired by this modern style of dance, Hidai says that workshops with instructors like Desiree Robbins, Keri LaGrand and Matt Tseng help motivate her dancing. “They basically took me under their wing,� Hidai said. “I’ve been assisting them and they’ve helped me get exposed to the industry and just become a better dancer.� These instructors give her the opportunity to think about the future. According to Ginanni, dancers today have more opportunities to perform and improve than before. “I know a number of professional performers and choreographers who began their dance training as teens or young adults and now they are extremely successful in their trade,� Ginanni said. “It’s never too late to pursue a dream, and Tina has a huge head start.� Hidai hopes to continue dancing as she gets older. “I want to keep dancing as long as possible,� Hidai said. “By college I want [dance] to be a priority as well as academics.� Hidai already balances both demands today, sometimes skipping one for the other. “I believe academic success and success in dance are both important and need to be prioritized case by case,� Hidai’s mother, Mitsu Fujii, said. “I trust Tina’s judgment to identify what’s more important and choose the most appropriate action.� Although dancing professionally may not be one of her goals, Hidai does want to audition in Los Angeles for productions, and eventually teach and choreograph as well. Today, Hidai is a member of the Tremaine Dance Team, a national performing company. The company was founded by the internationally known choreographer Joe Tremaine and offers a series of conventions and competitions across
approximately 24 states. By travelling on weekends, Hidai performs throughout the country and competes at several levels of competition. “I’ve been going to many conventions and have received numerous scholarships,� Hidai said. She was even given the opportunity to dance at America’s premier ballet company in Chicago, the Joffrey Ballet. In competition, Hidai placed third at nationals. Ginanni feels that, with time, Hidai has potential in this field. “Maturity brings new awareness in every dancer,� Ginnani said. “When the talent and desire are there, a dancer develops physical strength with their training over time as well as the mental strength and emotional expression that takes their dancing to new heights.� With the support of friends, teammates and family, Hidai continues to mature in dance. “She is very lucky to find something she enjoys and is good at,� Fujii said. “Dance is her life.�
Photos by Wendy Qiu
Top: Junior Tina Hidai leaps across the room with grace and dignity. Bottom left: Hidai performs the arabesque. Bottom right: Hidai lifts her leg to practice the grand battement.
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20
Sports
THEORACLE
The Oracle examines the backgrounds of four prominent athletic brands Adidas Brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were once part of the same German athletic footwear company, but their constant arguing forced them to separate. In 1948 Adolf Dassler moved across the river in their small town to set up a rival shoe company, Adidas. Rudolf Dassler renamed the original company Puma. Adidas, while second to its rival Nike in America, has had great
success in Europe as a soccer-based company. Adidas was made the official sponsor of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup and supplier of the official Jabulani World Cup 2010 soccer ball. The current slogan for Adidas is “Impossible is nothing.” The company employs star athletes including David Beckham, Reggie Bush, Dwight Howard and Lionel Messi as faces of the brand.
As a company with a reputation for high quality soccer gear, most of Adidas’ products revolve around cleats, soccer balls, referee kits and shin guards. Cleats can range from $30 to $200 while shin guards and balls are about $20. Running shoes range from $30 to $150 and apparel from $10 to $60 are also big sellers. Like many large companies, Adidas has branched out into lacrosse, rugby, football, basketball and gymnastics
and even other consumer products like eyewear and sandals. While Adidas is second to Nike in the United States in terms of revenue, ads and brand recognition, it is still a company for sports fanatics of all levels, ages and price ranges as long as they live by the old saying, “All Day I Dream About Sports” (A. D. I. D. A. S.) —Jesse Klein
Under Armour In 1996, University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank designed moisturewicking shirts made of the same material as compression shorts to wear under football jerseys. Plank’s idea began the company now known as Under Armour, of which he is the founder and CEO. Since then, Under Armour has become hugely
recently focused its efforts on footwear. Last year, the new line of Under Armour basketball shoes signaled an attempt to take a bite out of competitors’ market sha re,
successful and, according to Wikinvest, recorded $984.98 million in revenue for 2010. While specializing in moisturewicking performance shirts, the Baltimorebased company has expanded its product range to include apparel, football cleats and basketball shoes. Under Armour has garnered a reputation for quality sportswear. The company has
especially Nike and Adidas. The prices of their basketba ll shoes range from $9 0 t o $110 while their compres- sio n sh o r t s a n d shirts run from $30 to $60 a piece. Under Armour has gained further prominence through sponsorship of various sports teams and athletes. The brand provides uniforms for the Auburn Tigers, Boston College Eagles and Temple Owls and also sponsors athletes including NFL players Ray Lewis and Tom Brady and NBA player Brandon Jennings. —Krishan Allen
Puma The German brand Puma is often associated with svelte sneakers and wellshod soccer players. Since the c o m p a n y ’s fou nd i ng i n 1948, Puma has been designing
by a fashion-conscious sleekness as well the company’s signature “Formstripe.” Attempts to promote versatile, practical stylishness are particularly emphasized in the company’s collaborations with fashion designers. Buyers should not mistake Puma’s aesthetic focus and physical lightness for flimsiness. In purchasing Puma products, one can be sure of firm quality that will last for years. Besides manufacturing products that unite at h let ic style and shoes for professional athletes. practicalHowever, it was not until 1952 ity, Puma is that company founder Rudolf Dassler on an ongoing invented the world’s first screw-in stud campaign for cleat, the “Super Atom,” an innovation that, sustainability. according to Puma.com, officially marked P u m aV i sion, the compaPuma’s professional relationship with soccer ny’s “green” initiative has as a sport. Today, Puma sponsors a myriad be en ad apting improveof soccer clubs, associations and individual ments for ecoconscious players. Although Puma is primarily affiliated manufacturing, export and with soccer, the company has firm footholds sales. This has met sucin other areas of the sports world as well, cess, as this past Dec. Puma was including track and field, rugby and cricket. number one in its sector in the With such a diverse body of customers to Dow Jones Sustainability Inwhom to cater, Puma manufactures products dex. Whether one seeks to support ranging everywhere from professional racing sustainable businesses, clothe a suits to baseball cleats. For the everyday buy- sports team or simply purchase a new pair er, Puma compromises on neither quality nor of casual shoes, one cannot err in buying affordability. All of Puma’s moderate to high from Puma. priced shoes, bags and apparel are defined —Sarah-Jean Zubair Nike Originally founded in 1964, Nike Inc. has become the worldwide leader in sports apparel. It first started as Blue Ribbon Sports, founded by a track athlete and his coach, Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight respectively. It later changed to the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, in 1978. The company has reaped in the successes of its high-quality products, as its website reports of more than $18.6 billion dollars in revenue in the 2008 fiscal year. Making everything from apparel to equipment and shoes, Nike creates the finest products in the sports business. They even make a specialized umbrella, for the element s! Howeve r, w i t h high quality comes a high p r ic e, a nd si mply having that distinguished swoosh on one part of the product can add $50 in itself. N i k e’s s p o n s o r s have a high reputation of suc-
cess, which has been a large part of t h e i r marketing technique. Starting in 2012, Nike will sponsor all National Football League teams. It already sponsors Kobe Bryant, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five National Basketball Association titles, t he Brazilian, American and Holland national soccer teams. Nike’s commercials are so acclaimed that they have won two Emmy’s Best Commercial awards. It’s impressive that the company went from selling shoes out of its van to airing commercials during the New York Marathon in 1982 and becoming the largest company in athletic shoes and apparel. Nike is a good brand for quality equipment. Although the apparel will come at a steep price, the company’s reputation of excellence in performance is well worth it. —Boot Bullwinkle Graphics by Andrew Lee
Faces in the Crowd: Which sports brand do you like most?
“Nike, because it’s comfortable “Nike clothing is good quality and very easy to find.” and comfortable to wear.” Olivia Chang (9) Kirsten Baird (10)
“Adidas, because their cleats fit well.” Jeremy Neff (11)
“Under Armour, because their tight fit doesn’t get in the way.” Nick Talbott (12) —Compiled by Leon Sung
Entertainment
21
Fairytales around the world Of all the different fairytales in the world, the ones we hear most often are from Europe. Most people are familiar with the tale of Cinderella. There are, however, many versions of Cinderella due to the centuries that this fairy tale has survived. The best known version was written by French author Charles Perrault in 1697. The basics of this fairy tale are always the same. Cinderella is beautiful and kind, but hated by her jealous stepmother and sisters. A Prince Charming throws a ball and falls in love with Cinderella, who runs away at midnight, only to be found by Prince Charming later on. They then ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Though the framework for all versions is similar, the differences are in details. In an older version, Cinderella, instead of wearing glass slippers, wore mukluks, an Ugg-like shoe, in which case it would have never slipped off. In another version, Prince Charming attempts to stop Cinderella from leaving by pouring honey and tar on the palace steps. In the German Brothers Grimm version, the Fairy Godmother is missing and Cinderella instead finds help from a magical bird that instructs her to crack open a nut from a magical tree to get her coach, dress and slippers. In that same version, the stepsisters attempt to trick Prince Charming into marriage by slicing off a few toes and a bit of their heels in order for their over-sized feet to fit into Cinderella’s petite slipper. Cinderella’s “happily ever after” with Prince Charming is soiled by the stepmother’s gruesome fate. As punishment for mistreating Cinderella, she is forced
to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she dies. Perrault’s version encompasses the glamour from previous versions of Cinderella by forgoing the gorier aspects of the originals, creating PG-rated versions of the classic fairy tale. It is simple to follow, and free of sliced-off appendages and bloody slippers. Instead, Perrault introduces a fairy godmother that can do anything with the wave of a wand. T h e simplicity and optimism of Perrault’s Cinderella allowed it to be the most widespread and preferable version.
Europe
Monday, February 14, 2011
The most cliché fairytale theme is that of a damsel in distress who is saved by a prince and lives happily ever after. Asian folk tales are no different, but are modified to fit the culture of the region. In China, a tale about a girl named Yehhsie parallels that of Cinderella. Yeh-hsie is treated poorly by her stepmother a n d
escapes to the festival. She has a magical fish whose bones turn into beautiful clothing and a golden slipper. Yehhsien attends the festival and loses her golden slipper. After finding the golden slipper and searching for the owner, the king finds her and they get married. Despite the similarities to the story of Cinderella, there are many cultural differences. In Asia, happy endings aren’t omnipresent. The tale, “The Herder and the Weaver,” tells the story of two lovers named Kyonu and Chiknyo. Kyonu is a prince who worked as a herder while Chiknyo is a princess who is a weaver. Subject to an arranged marriage, they begin to neglect their work. The king is angered by their laziness and forces them to separate, on opposite ends of the sky, allowing them to meet once a year. When the day arrives, the two lovers find that there is no bridge to cross the sky that separated them. Their tears flood the earth. The animals of the woods decided to make a bridge out of magpies so the lovers can meet. From this story, people believe that rain is the symbol of the two weeping lovers. Asian folktales have been spread orally through generations and are deeply woven into their respective cultures.
Asia
Once upon a time... African h i s t o r y has been preserved through oral tradition. Folklore, poems and songs spread by word of mouth preserve memories of centuries ago. In earlier times, storytelling was a form of spoken performance. The storyteller, or griot, transformed his stories into an art paired with music and dance. Each story was crafted to immediately capture the attention of his audience. During the late 1800s European colonists begin transcribing their stories. But for over a millennium, the griots have served as walking, talking, singing and dancing history books. The griot spun his stories from his surroundings, creating memorable characters by personifying animals to explain different
Africa
South America
phenomena. African folktales serve as guidelines for everyday life and give comfortable explanations of the world’s otherwise perplexing phenomena, such as death. For example, observations of moon phases led to the story of the “Hare and the Moon;” a story that explains the origins of death. The Moon tried to convey the message to Men that they would be able to live forever, and phase back into life as she did. She enlisted the help of the Hare to bring the message, but the foolish Hare told the people his own words, saying that they were fated to die. To this day, many African tribes associate hares with death. In olden times, griots were historians, entertainers and advisors to royalty. Today, griots carry on their traditions worldwide.
“The Armadillo’s Song” is a Bolivian fairytale of despair. It begins with an armadillo that loved music. He would spend his days listening to the green frogs in the lake croak tunes about life on the water or the orchestra of crickets with their
Alvina Yau
captivating nightly performances. One day, he sees a cage full of canaries by a window. He hears the birds’ beautiful medley, a sound that he cannot describe. The armadillo desires to learn how to sing like the canaries. He arrives at a wizard’s house and asks him for help. The wizard offers him the chance to sing, but he must give his life in order to be able to do so. Without hesitation, the armadillo lays down his life in order to sing. The wizard makes an instrument from the armadillo’s shell and gives it to a musician in the town to play. The armadillo learns to sing at last, but only after he has given up his life in return. This Bolivian folk tale imparts a valuable lesson that many people should learn from. —Compiled by Eugenah Chou, Sam Hayward, Josephine Jen and Elise Lee
22
Entertainment
THEORACLE
Photos by Melissa Sun
In a tale of epic proportions, the hero Braveheart, played by math teacher Dave Deggeller (bottom left), battles against the oppressive King Edward the Longshanks, played by junior Blake Vesey (top). Other characters include junior Robin Oyung (middle) as the Princess and various other student and staff members, including Principal Katya Villalobos (bottom right).
Spotlight shines on staff, student performers
Mel Gibson’s Braveheart gets a Motown twist in choir-staff musical Mia Howard Copy Editor
Every year the staff and students work together to put on a musical that leaves viewers clamoring for more. This year choir teacher Bill Liberatore has decided to center the musical around Britain’s tyrannical rule over Scotland in Braveheart and Soul, which ran Feb. 9 and 10. Liberatore and two volunteers worked together to create the show, which features Motown songs. Gay Richards, a volunteer, has been choreographing the musicals for years. “She had two daughters that went through Gunn and she does the choreography,” Liberatore said. “She does all the dance stuff around here.” Nancy Hersage wrote the script and according to Liberatore, the lines are quite funny and will guarantee a good night of laughs. In the musical, Scotland is ruled by the evil British king and his condescending son. The Scottish plan a rebellion to achieve independence. The leader of the Scottish, Braveheart, begins his mission to avenge the death of his true love who was
murdered by a British leader. “It’s a little take-off on the Braveheart story, the Mel Gibson movie where he’s a wild crazy Scottish man trying to rebel against the King of England,” Liberatore said. Students and staff tried out for approximately a week and a half, and almost everyone who tried out for a part got one he desired. Each student prepared a Motown song to audition with and was placed into roles that fit his personality and voice. “Unlike most musicals, this year, it’s mostly guy leads,” senior Matteo Lieb said. “Traditionally the choir show has been girl leads.” Both students and staff participate in the musicals every year. All participants practice for several hours a week. “We practice every day in class, for a month, and the lead characters practice during lunches and several times a week at night,” senior Julie Scrivner said. “We go on a choir retreat and practice for two days straight.” According to senior Ori Herschmann, rehearsals are fun and productive. “Preparing for a show is a lot of fun but requires a lot of
patience to wait for it to all come together,” Herschmann said. “It’s great to see everything come together and be so much fun.” The turnout to musicals is always large and tickets usually sell out. “We rarely sell tickets at the door,” senior Matteo Lieb said. The choir musicals always get a good turnout because there are so many students in the choir and a lot of staff who sing and dance. “We’ve been doing it a long time, so the community pays attention and the show has a lot of fans that come even though their kids don’t go here anymore,” Liberatore said. “They really enjoy seeing the kids and teachers perform together.” According to Herschmann, all the money from the show helps pay for the choir trip and the scholarships that the choir offers. “The money goes to our Booster Fund which offers scholarships to people who can’t afford the trip to Rome where we will be singing and doing a bunch of performances,” Lieb said. “It’s an expensive trip, and our choir likes to make sure that our trips are for everyone.” Nathan Toung
Entertainment
Monday, February 14, 2011
23
The Oracle’s 2011 Oscar forecast Divya Shiv
News Editor
It’s that time of year again; the time when we all huddle in front of the television to see which movie, actress or director will be the winner of the Oscar. This year, 10 films have been nominated for the Best Picture category of the Oscars: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter’s Bone. Although I’m sure that each of these movies is unique and deserving of their nomination, when I first looked at this list I was clueless about many of their plot lines. I had no idea that True Grit was about a young girl and a U.S. Marshall who attempt to capture the killer of the girl’s father, or that Winter’s Bone tells the story of a girl who tries to discover the reason behind her father’s disappearance. In addition, I had never heard about the movie 127 Hours until I looked at the nominations for Best Picture and discovered the tale of a hiker who tries to survive
over the course of 127 hours after a boulder crushes his arm and traps him in a canyon, leaving him isolated and unsure of his survival. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not completely out of the loop. I did know that The Kids Are All Right deals with two children who want to find out who their real father is, and how the search affects the lives of their lesbian mothers, and that The King’s Speech is about King George VI trying to overcome his speech impediment.
Best Picture
Best Actress Yilin Liang
Centerfold Editor
With a Golden Globe already under her belt for her role as Nina in Black Swan, Natalie Portman is my choice for the winner of the Oscar for Best Actress. In preparation for her role in Black Swan, Portman spent months learning ballet and her dedication shows in her role, which is arguably the best of her career. When her character succumbs to insanity, her depiction is so life-like that it drags the viewer with her through psychological struggles. Portman transitions from the epitome of innocence to psychological darkness so flawlessly that the audience hardly knows what to make of it. In The Kids Are All Right, Annette Bening does a wonderful job in playing a quirky, modern parent and it must be noted that she plays the role without making it look dull. However, while her performance is realistic and well-done, it is certainly nothing out of the ordinary. In Rabbit Hole, Nicole Kidman depicts emotions of grief realistically. However, at times she is slightly melodramatic. Portman, however, seems to be aware of the fine line between melodramatic and dramatic acting.
From this collection of movies, there are only a few that I can automatically eliminate from my Best Picture prediction: Toy Story 3, The Kids Are All Right and True Grit. Even though I loved the third installment of the story of Woody and Buzz, I know that animated movies have a history of not winning the Best Picture award, regardless of their box office results. Comedies also have a history of not winning the Best Picture award, and because The Kids Are All Right is a comedic drama, its chances are hindered. Of the movies that are left, the top contenders, in my opinion, are The King’s Speech, Black Swan and The Social Network. All of these movies are unique, extremely interest-
In Blue Valentine, Michelle Williams portrays her misery well, but it is not completely realistic. She makes it difficult for audiences to feel sympathetic towards her. Portman, as a crazy ballerina, plays a much less common role, but still manages to evoke sympathy from the audience. Her depiction of the struggles she goes through helps audiences to relate to her. At first glance, it is obvious that Jennifer Lawrence is talented. In Winter’s Bone, the most vivid emotion she can evoke from the audience is that of concern for her predicament. Portman, on the other hand, can both draw the audience in as well as cause them to shy away from her character at the same time. However, that is not to say that we should dismiss Lawrence entirely. She is talented and with more experience, she can expect an Oscar in the near future.
ing and have won countless other awards. At the end of the day, I think The King’s Speech will pull through and win Best Picture. The King’s Speech is an exquisite movie that is completely different from all of the other movies out there, while also not trying to force its profundity on its viewers like Inception or 127 Hours. Although some may write The King’s Speech off because it is not a drama or a tearjerker, I actually found its lack of intense drama refreshing. I found myself aching every time King George VI tried so valiantly to get his point across and I let out a small squeal of contentment when he successfully talked without stuttering, which just goes to show how phenomenal the acting was. In addition, The King’s Speech was humorous in all of the right places, and the movie was so subtly sweet that, I couldn’t help but applaud at the end.
Best Actor Sarah Zubair
Managing Editor
Throughout his career, British actor Colin Firth has awed audiences with his impressive screen presence and dramatic range. His role as King George VI (also known as “Bertie”) in this year’s Oscar-nominated The King’s Speech is perhaps the largest of the crowning jewels in his long list of film acting accomplishments. Of the five nominees for Best Actor this year, Firth outstrips all by far with his brilliant performance as a king troubled by a speech impediment. The King’s Speech itself is the quintessential film masterpiece. It captivates as only a period piece can with its early mid-twentieth century sets, costumes and royal characters. But while it is an Anglophile’s delight, it is not in the least detached or over-lofty in a manner that might put off the average Ameri-
Nathan Toung
can filmgoer. Rather, it tells the story of a real human being. Bertie’s struggles are so genuine and his frustrations so raw in expression that he seems like an everyman who merely happens to belong to the royal family. Yet even with his very human flaws and his speech impediment, Firth’s conduct convinces the audience from the beginning that he is every inch the commanding monarch his station commands of him. Firth’s acting in this capacity is masterful. He embodies the character of not only a king, but also a real human being. Rather than hiding behind a façade of pompousness and regal repression, Firth endows his character with such genuineness and human qualities that one feels connected to the character rather than admiring him from a safe distance, cowed by his rank and imperiousness. Apart from the subtle beauty in acting the part of a king facing his personal demons is the foremost part of Firth’s role—speaking with a stutter. If it is possible for one to stutter beautifully, Firth certainly does so. His speech is punctuated with utmost realism, and his angry mortification is palpable in each unfinished syllable.
Faces in the Crowd
What are you most looking forward to for the Oscars?
“Seeing the dresses of the celebrities on the red carpet.” Stephanie Kim (9)
“Mostly the performances by the celebrities, rather than the awards themselves.” Ishan Sharma (10)
“Seeing The Social Network win the Oscar for Best Picture.” Hovhannes Avagyan (11)
“The wardrobe malfunctions.” Jonas Pinnau (12)
—Compiled by Sweta Bhattacharya
24
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