The Oracle (Oct. 2006)

Superstitious? Find out the origins of Halloween superstitions and traditions PAGES 8-9

Musical talents at Gunn The Oracle highlights the folk music, opera and orchestra on campus PAGE 7

Volume 43

Monday, October 9, 2006

Issue 2

tudent Executive Council (SEC) members are ready to kick off an improved and much anticipated Homecoming week.

From new games and activities to the “sportsmanship” points category, the revamped competition hopes to inspire students to have a spirited Homecoming week.

State funding leads to new budget plan Nina Nielepko Business Manager

Gunn will receive over $100,000 in state funding over the course of the school year. The money comes as a result of the state budget plan for the 2006-2007 school year.

The new budget plan, according to a Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) update, provides for a 5.92 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for continuing as well as new categorical programs.

The grant can be used to fund school programs.

“The grant provides Gunn with $56 per student,” Principal Noreen Likins said. “This means we get over $103,264.”

However, there are restrictions as to how the money can be used. “There is a process set up,” Likins said. “Anything we want to spend the money BUDGET—p. 2

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Permit #44 Palo Alto, Calif.

http://gunn.pausd.org/oracle 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Fi Kazi

Centerfold & News Editors

Each year, the SEC and Student Activities Director Lisa Hall review Homecoming games and decide whether or not to replace them. “We had some games that seemed fun on paper but did not work during the event,” Hall said. Changes to the games included a new relay pool game, 10-line pass and Tug-of War with new rules.

“We hope that the new games will be more fun than some of the old ones from last year,” junior Publicity Commissioner Freddy Chen said. “If the games are more interesting, then more people will want to participate.”

SEC has also changed the Jar Wars activity, a competition between classes to raise money for charities. “We changed Jar Wars so that it’s worth more to help promote the community service aspect of Homecoming,” Hall said.

Other changes include additional time for float stuffing and an earlier time for the Homecoming CHANGES—p. 2

Stéphanie Keller-Busque

U.S. Postage

Reporter

Thomas Bao & Alex Lee

Junior Alana Alfrey works on her class’ float. This year, Homecoming changes will give classes extra time to stuff floats.

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Action week aims to raise awareness

Homecoming changes create new challenges S

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

Action Week is a new addition to the school calendar designed to stimulate social awareness and focus on upcoming elections as well as other international, political and social problems.

Junior Leah Rosengaus is in charge of the activities, which will be held during the week of Oct. 23, and plans to achieve her goal by having an assembly, holding mock elections and using the support of various clubs. “I noticed how a lot of students are uninformed about issues,” she said. “My main goal was to raise awareness.”

Many students agree with Rosengaus. “[Students] are aware of issues on the surface,” junior Brian Hand said. “They’re not aware of the stuff in depth. It’s going to make people think about politics.”

Present at the assembly will be Steve Westly, current State Controller of California. His job includes the tasks of Chief Financial Officer and chairing the Board of Equalization. Rosengaus plans to use Westly’s knowledge and influence to inspire people to get involved and inspire them to educate themselves. “The vast majority of students just don’t know what’s going on,” Rosengaus said.

“My goal is to have every single student know which issues are on the ballot, to care about who is running and to do what they can to help the world.”

Rosengaus plans to have students vote for the mock elections in their social studies classes. On the ballot will be a variety of topics. “There will be candidates and bills to vote on that either affect students or would be of interest to them,” Rosengaus said.

There is a general consensus among students when it comes to the impact Action Week will make on the student community. They believe that Action Week will help inspire students to participate in political events. “There are people out there who would be willing to help if they knew how to do it,” senior James Baldwin-Brown said. “The majority of students have an idea but they don’t do much about it.”

Clubs are also going to be an active part of Action Week. Rosengaus wants clubs to come forward with ideas and issues they feel passionately about and bring those into the spotlight to educate.

Stands for several of Gunn’s community service and humanitarian clubs will be present to publicize issues they care about.

Action Week will give students the opportunity to get involved in world issues. “The whole point of Action Week is get students to start thinking not just at the Gunn level, but at the county, state, national, and global level,” Rosengaus said.

Guest speaker talks of flaws in American legal system Alex Rasgon Associate Entertainment Editor

On Sept. 22, Patricia Bruegger’s Law 1 class welcomed guest speaker Rick Walker to talk of the flaws in America’s legal system. Walker claimed that he was a victim of this system when he was falsely convicted of murder 15 years ago.

Walker came to Gunn hoping to pass on one message to students. “I wanted to teach students not to judge people prematurely,” Walker said. “Our country has a saying, ‘Innocent until proven guilty’, and it is the one principle that keeps our justice system fair. I was tried in the media, but I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.

If students only walked away with that, then it was a great day to be me.”

Bruegger was excited to have Walker come speak and give such an opportunity for her students. “I wanted to hear his

story, and I didn’t want to judge him before For the next 12 years, Walker was I heard his story,” Bruegger said. transferred through some of California’s Junior Chris Quinn thought Walker’s toughest and most violent prisons. presentation was interesting. “ He let us In 1999, corporate lawyer Alison Tuchsee the other side of prison that you don’t er began to investigate Walker’s case, and get to see on TV,” Quinn said. found Walker was innocent in 2003.

Wa l k e r w a s convicted of the murder of his exgirlfriend. Walker’s co-defendant had his fingerprints at the crime scene, but made a deal with the prosecution to testify against Walker. Although Walker’s alibi was supported by tesPhoto courtesy of Patricia Bruegger timony, the jury Students participate in Patricia Bruegger’s Law 1 sentenced him to as guest speaker Rick Walker talks of legal system.

25 years of prison.

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News

The Oracle

Pink Ribbon Club enters Race for a Cure Gunn students support effort to cure breast cancer

Board meeting produces no result The Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) School Board met behind closed doors Tuesday evening to address the issues the PAUSD Management Team—which consists of principals, assistant principals, deans and coordinators—raised concerning Superintendent Mary Frances Callan’s leadership. The public may not access specific information on closed sessions.

Tuesday’s meeting was the culmination of events triggered by the Sept. 6 submission of a confidential one-page memo entitled “PAUSD Management Team Priorities” by the Management Team to Callan. Drafted by a small group within the Management Team, the memo—which was later leaked to the press—noted that “[there is a lack of trust and productive communication” between the Management Team and the superintendent. It went on to state that the Management Team was “investigating the need to organize a formal association or union.”

On Sept. 25, the Management Team agreed to form an association and move away from the memo’s harsh tone. “There are definitely people who agree with the tone of the letter, and there are definitely people who don’t,” Assistant Principal Kim Cowell said.

At a meeting later that week, there was a movement to make a press release to reflect the Management Team’s earlier consensus to soften its tone. In the end, no document was released.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow evening.

Gunn implements Honor Code Although the Student Handbook has always had an honor code, it was always loosely enforced, rarely read and hardly mentioned.

Starting with this year, however, the administration has revamped the honor code and is placing far greater emphasis on its importance.

The Honor Code is being emphasized because of a recent spike in cheating and amoral behavior that Principal Noreen Likins attributed to the ease with which students can cheat. The Honor Code was instituted to stop unscrupulous students from making the environment unfair for their peers. Particular violations of the honor code are cheating, disrespecting others, giving or receiving help in a manner that is not allowed, working together when not allowed to do so, plagiarizing, sharing test information with students who have not taken the test yet, ignoring another’s violation of the honor code and using electronic devices when they are prohibited.

Penalties for violation include parent conferences, failed assignments and talks with the student. Multiple violations result in lowering the student’s overall grade in the class or the failing of the student outright, as well as possibly suspending the culprit.

Pope to speak at stress assemblies

This year, Gunn will be taking several measures to help its students deal with stress, including hosting a guest speaker—Denise Clark Pope.

Pope, a professor at Stanford University’s School of Education, has worked closely with many parents and students over the years and has written Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students.

Three years ago, Stressed-Out Students (SOS), a Stanford University conference, invited Gunn to participate as part of a private survey and ultimately become affiliated with future Stanford antistress programs. “Now, our focus is homework,” economics teacher and SOS member Dawna Linsdell said. “We’re examining its role and purpose and coming up with strategies to help kids with it.”

Pope will speak at two assemblies this year: Wednesday, Oct..

25 (7 to 9 p.m.—$5 admission) for parents, and Tuesday, Nov. 14, for students.

Chartwells café raises lunch prices At the start of this school year, the price of a meal at the Chartwells café went up from $3 to $3.50.

This decision has had an effect on many students, who were surprised by the new pricing. Sophomore Kevin Zhu feels the increase in prices is unfair to students. “I like the old price better, because we’re still getting the same food,” Zhu said.

For students who rarely eat Gunn lunches to begin with, the new price is an even greater deterrent. “Now, it’s not even a consideration,” said senior Kamran Munshi. “Why pay $3.50 when I can get a 99 cent value meal eating out?”

The Gunn administration had nothing to do with the new pricing, and doesn’t benefit from the money coming in either. “We don’t get a cent,” Principal Noreen Likins said. According to Likins, Chartwells is actually losing money on the lunches and is trying to lower its losses, $400,000 a year at Gunn alone.

—Compiled by Gea Kang, Boris Burkov and Yana Galperin

Libby Craig Associate Sports Editor

Thirteen members of Gunn’s Pink Ribbon Club were among the thousands of participants running or walking in the San Francisco Komen Race for the Cure on Sept. 24.

The Pink Ribbon Club actively supports the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an organization that raises funds for breast cancer awareness and research in the Bay Area.

However, this is the first year they participated in the annual Race for the Cure as a group.

“I think that everyone felt pretty proud because we actually actively participated on this walk for breast cancer, whereas usually we just raise money and donate it,” club co-president senior Jennifer Lien said.

With the help of family, friends and even Gunn teachers, the participating members worked to raise money. “We raised about $550 dollars from donations which all went towards the race,” club co-president senior Katie Yip said.

The 5k race started at 8 a.m. at the Ferry building in San Francisco

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Lien

Pink Ribbon Club members pose after participating in the 2006 Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Race for a Cure.

(SF), where participants performed a “cha-cha” warm up and then embarked on a course which stretched along the Embarcadero.

Many encouraging volunteers worked in booths on the sidelines of the race handing out little things like granola bars, pink mirrors and scarves. There were also drummers at the midway point of the race to rally the runners.

The event attracted a large, diverse group of participants. “There were about 5,000 walkers or runners in the race not including the volunteers, so the turnout was pretty

big,” Lien said. “There were people in wheelchairs, people with pets, young children and a lot more men than I had expected.”

Taking part in the race was a positive accomplishment for the Pink Ribbon Club. “Being able to see so [breast cancer survivors] in pink shirts walking and running together really brings the whole experience clearly in focus,” Yip said.

Club advisor Deborah Sanderson thinks fondly of the club members.

“The girls have never disappointed me,” she said.

Administration plans ways to spend extra state funding n BUDGET, from page 1 on, the Site Council has to approve. It then goes on to the Board of Education for further approval.”

Likins has worked with the Instructional Supervisors and determined that about half of the money will be used for technology. The site council has already approved this, but first it needs to go to the Board of Education for approval in the fall. A portion of the remaining money will be used for staff development, and the remainder will be spent throughout the next two to three years.

The state is also giving PAUSD roughly $67 to $80 per student annually. With this money, Likins plans to hire another counselor, bringing the student to counselor ratio at Gunn from 361 to one to 300 to one.

The idea has been well received. “It’s hard for counselors to have more time during individual meetings with students, as well as meet with them more often,” Assistant Principal Kim Cowell said.

Other staff members agree. “It’s not so much that students are unprepared for college, but they could be more aware while here [at Gunn] as to what is in their best interest,” Social Studies Instructional Supervisor John Fredrich said. “Meeting with a counselor more often could help students give this more thought.”

Other areas of the school will also benefit from the increase of funds. The school plans to use some of the one-time money Gunn will receive to purchase equipment, materials and instruments for the art, music and

SEC creates solution for multiple Homecoming problems

n CHANGES, from page 1 dance. The Homecoming float parade will now take place at night instead of the afternoon, allowing an additional Friday afternoon for float stuffing. The dance will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. to comply with new state driving laws.

“Teens who have had their license for less than a year have to be off the road by 11 pm,” Hall said. “It was decided that for all school events to end earlier to comply with the new law.”

The night rally will continue to be held in the gym, but to do so the SEC plans to charge an entrance fee.

Adults and students pay $5 and $2, respectively, to watch the event. The SEC hopes that this will help limit the amount of people attending the rally. “Due to the popularity of the night rally event, we have exceeded the capacity of the gym beyond safe levels,” Hall said. “The SEC voted to keep the rally in the gym for this year and to sell tickets for a low fee to both keep track of the number attending and to ensure we do not pack the gym beyond a safe level.”

Monday Brunch Lunch

Tuesday

Other options include setting up a screen in the Spangenberg. “We are currently looking into simulcasting the event that evening and the Media Center will be coming out to do a site survey to see if it is possible,” Hall said. “If they can set us up we hope to have the rally simulcast in Spangenberg Theater, but at this point the only option for viewing the night rally is by purchasing a ticket before we sell out.”

The main change to Homecoming, however, is the addition of the “sportsmanship” rule. Every team starts with a set number of points and these are deducted throughout homecoming week for poor sportsmanship.

The sportsmanship points were added after previous tension between classes. “Given the problems we had last year with the different classes adding this was a good idea,” Hall said. “We need to remind the student body that we are all one school and not separate classes.”

Most students agree with Hall. “We need something in the rules to encourage people to work together instead of fighting each other,” sophomore Wesley Koo said.

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Stuff-A-Bench (Quad)

10-Line Pass (Quad)

Jamba Chug (Quad)

Scavenger Hunt (Quad)

Pie the Homecoming Court (Quad)

Tug-of-War (Football Field)

Obstacle Course (Football Field)

Pool Game (Pool)

HC Queen and King voting (Bat Cave)

Sumo Wrestling/ Yell Competition (Gym)

News

Monday, October 9, 2006

The Oracle’s guide to alternative

Military provides alternate pathway for success

Thomas Bao & Alex Lee

Centerfold & News Editors

options Boris Burkov

F

Reporter

or students who want to get an enlightening liberal arts or science education in a small, intimate environment, liberal arts colleges are a great choice.

Mixing small class sizes and the ability to have a social life with outstanding academic reputations, these colleges are a perfect match for many students.

Swarthmore At Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, you get an Ivy League education without the competitiveness and total devotion to working.

Though quite selective—only a quarter of students who apply are Sasha Guttentag

I

Associate Centerfold Editor

n an aggressive educational area like Palo Alto, community colleges are frequently overlooked However, beneath all the competition for prestigious universities lie some fantastic community colleges with lots of potential to provide solid educations for many young people.

Foothill College Most well known is Foothill College, with a main college located in Los Altos Hills, and a second campus located on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. Foothill offers a variety

admitted—the low admission rate is a product of its relatively small size of 1,466 students rather than a cutthroat environment.

Wesleyan At Wesleyan University in Connecticut, the diversity of education and students is critical. Larger than other liberal arts colleges, it still accentuates academic excellence with cooperation instead of competition. Wesleyan offers a huge diversity of studies, including rarer topics such as East Asian Studies.

The student to teacher ratio is nine to one, so students maintain the intimate relationships with professors. Acceptance rate is around 28 percent. of courses ranging f r o m C u r r e nt Event Analysis to Java for Programming. It also offe r s c o m m o n classes for different levels of mathematics, science, English, physical fitness and social studies. International students have found a niche in Foothill as well.

Fi Kazi

F

W

hile most schools have frequent military recruiting visits, Gunn allows only a maximum of two per year, hampering their ability to recruit students. “We get more people to join from other high schools because they allow us to come more times,” U.S. Military Sergeant Jason Taylor said. “If it were up to the faculty, they would allow us a few times more per year.”

Assistant Principal Kimberly Cowell disagrees. “I’m sure they have heard from parents who philosophically oppose the military,” Cowell said. “We are in a war right now and parents fear their children being shipped off. However, there are also parents who are very supportive of the military. It’s not the parents, it’s an equity issue.”

Cowell believes that the military is another post-high school option that should be weighed in just as much as colleges and other options. “We want students to see the military as one possible career option,” Cowell said. “We don’t want to put extra pressure on students to join the military by allowing for more visits, just as we don’t want to put extra pressure on students to go to a certain college by allowing that college to come more than two times per year.”

However, unlike colleges, the military is a part of the federal government, which provides a large amount of public school funds. “A college doesn’t provide monetary assistance to this school,” U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Alex Marshall said. “The federal

West Valley College West Valley is another college that excels in educating young individuals. Just like Foothill, this college offers a gamut of courses and has more athletic teams including cross-country and diving.

Reporter

or those students who have indeed been inspired by art and are interested in pursuing it in further, both Rhode Island School of Design and Parsons College are excellent options.

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) RISD is a private art school located in Providence, Rhode Island. Students who wish to explore art in detail and focus on their artistic talents should apply here. An extremely selective and

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government, on the other hand, does. For this particular reason, we are permitted to ‘canvass’ for potential applicants. This is made possible by the ‘No Child Left Behind Act.’” What it really boils down to is personal choice. “I think it is the responsibility of students to make that choice, not the school,” Cowell said. “My feeling is that the military is an important option for students to know about.”

However, some people fear that military recruiters may not paint an accurate picture of actual military life and that this may influence students in the wrong direction.

Junior Gaurav Shirole, who has spoken to military recruiters, has a mixed perspective.

“When I asked a pointed question about how ‘scary’ life was and whether it was worth the risk, they were totally honest,” Shirole said. “But they seemed to over-glorify some of the stuff.”

Regardless of the negative aspects, the military does have its advantages. The military offers varying degrees of financial assistance based on military commitment without significantly interfering with college classes.

“While you’re in the reserve you can still go to college, and still be part of the Marine Corps Reserve,” Marshall said. “It’s not faster than if you did it out of the military but it does let you do both things at the same time. It’s very cost effective. We help you pay for part of your tuition. Whether you’re in the reserve or you’re a civilian, it will take you the same time to get a degree.”

While the military may not be for everyone, it is an important viable option that provides an alternative to one’s goals.

College Fair

When: Oct. 16, 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Where: Gunn Gym

highly competitive school, RISD’s strongest areas are in design and illustration. It also offers strong networking sources and cross registration with Brown.

However, Brown runs on a semester schedule and RISD runs on a semester schedule. RISD also has an international exchange program in place.

Parsons College Parsons, a private school in New York, is appropriate for those interested in fashion design.

Parsons works with Columbia University’s Business School. Students at Parsons take part in many events, including fashion shows and museum exhibits. High School students can attend the Parsons Pre-College Academy, which offers classes ranging from drawing to interior design.

Graphics by Lucy Li

4 SEC in need of drastic reforms Members should increase communication with fellow students

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s delegates of the people, members of the Student Executive Council (SEC) retain the privilege of operating as the voice of Gunn’s 1,852 students in correspondence with the administrative team and to the Palo Alto Unified School District School Board.

Besides representing the view of students, the SEC acts as the ruling body over student activities. Yet, the performances of the SEC in previous years have elicited much criticism. Although students praise the SEC for working hard to plan events such as Homecoming, which requires hours of preparation and facilitation, concerns regarding other aspects of the SEC’s work have pervaded Gunn’s student population.

The lack of communication between SEC members and other students is a common complaint of many students. Although highly visible during events such as Homecoming and Prom, the SEC holds little presence throughout the remainder of the school cycle.

Admittedly, Homecoming and Prom play distinct roles in a student’s recollection of a school year, but they do not constitute the entire school experience. Just as government cannot operate hidden from public eye on all days but national holidays, the SEC cannot perform its duties only during designated school-spirit events. The SEC acts as the go-between for students and administration, but without knowledge of the students’ beliefs, how can it ensure that its actions are in the best interest of the people it is supposed to represent?

The SEC is also one of the few major school organizations that does not present convenient opportunities for communication online. While methods to contact members of other school organizations are highly publicized on their websites, an e-mail link for reaching SEC members remains conspicuously absent from the SEC website, which is linked from the Student Activities Center website.

At the SEC website, students can only view the most basic information, such as the names of the SEC officers, but no other student-related information.

Although SEC members have taken the initiative to open some forms of communica-

Lucy Li & Dezmon Hunter

tion with their peers, like past meet the SEC days, the effect of their actions remains minimal. Few members of the school are aware of the presence of the SEC e-mail address and

While the current SEC has been sufficiently entrenched with Homecoming preparations and been unable to properly publicize its initiatives, many members of the current SEC have voiced their commitment to the student body. Some suggestions to address the communication rift between the SEC and the student body include broadcasting the SEC’s actions methods such as weekly posts on InClass about its agenda or messages through the Early Morning Update. Other improvements include providing officer contact information on the SEC website, such as an e-mail or AOL Instant Messenger screen name, for student convenience.

Although previous years have not reflected well on the SEC, this year’s council may very well break the trend. By taking proactive measures to increase communication between the SEC and the student boy, SEC will be able to fulfill its responsibilities to the Gunn student body.

The Opinion of The Oracle

rarely leave messages in the SEC boxes. The process for communication between the SEC and students requires much time and effort, especially on the part of the student.

However, as the 2006-2007 school year has just begun, it is also fairly probable that the new SEC will redeem the neglect inflicted on the student body by its predecessors.

Racial camps of ‘Survivor’ not discriminatory New twist faces unnecessary criticism from ethnic organizations

Alex Rasgon As TV ratings become more and more important for a show’s survival, many are taking extreme measures to stay on air. A prime example of this is CBS’s hit reality show, “Survivor.”

When “Survivor”’s ratings hit an all-time low last season, television executives scrambled to think up new ways to keep the show alive. They came up with one of the most radical twists in television history by dividing the survivor camps into four racially separate and competing teams: Asians, African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics.

This new twist has brought unneeded criticism by many ethnic organizations complaining that it might create racial stereotypes and divide television viewers.

However, the odds of this happening are slim, as reality television is rarely regarded as real—reality shows like “The Amazing Race” have had contestants admit to being told how to act by the show’s producers. Also the common sense of the average television viewer exceeds the expectations of such ethnic organizations.

Of course, “Survivor” protocol ensures that after a few episodes, the castaways must switch over to different tribes, which is the network executives’ back door to any possible criticism it may receive.

After only two or so episodes, there was no racial separation, leaving critics in the dust, and the network executives to get away while being one stop ahead.

However, the fact the show at least

started to add something creative is enough to spark other networks to action. Already we are seeing new and original shows, such as “The Nine,” that are creative and that viewers respond to. It will also open the minds of the writers for “Survivor,” so that they may come up with even more creative twists that cater to the audiences most basic needs: excitement and originality.

Whether or not the viewers respond to this twist will determine the future of the show, and it will open new options in current TV shows, keeping television interesting and unique. The purpose of television is to entertain. Thus, the purpose of “Survivor” is not to racially discriminate, but to give the people at home something new to watch, which I, for one, have sorely missed. With hundreds of channels, one would think that there would be something worthwhile and original

being aired; however, we see the same formula used over and over again with network executives trying to play it safe. Fox alone cancelled dozens of shows in the small time period between 2002 and 2004, proving that the old formulas are no longer working and that the television industry must adapt to our ever-changing society.

One drawback of “Survivor”’s latest twist is that many shows will most certainly imitate it, and it will lose its originality quickly.

It will be entertaining for a short while though, and like all television, the studio executives will think of something new for us to feast our eyes on. But for now, let’s keep an open mind.

—Rasgon, a junior, is an associate Entertainment editor.

Ending cutting on Arastradero Kudos, first of all, to the Gunn High School administration for taking the first step in solving the morning traffic problem. The project has produced noticeable results. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

I was not aware of how much more valuable other Gunn students and their parents’ times were than my own. Why else would they drive in the left hand (and significantly faster) lane until the last moment at which they cut me off and swerve into the passing lane?

Cutting in line was deemed unfair in kindergarten. I see no reason for high school students and their parents to ignore the age-old “no cuts, no buts, no coconuts” rule. In kindergarten I was able to enforce this rule myself because of my body, which, at the time, was horrendously overgrown compared to my classmates’.

My cowboy policing can no longer enforce traffic line “violations.”

Therefore I would like to suggest the following (first temporary, then permanent) solutions: Firstly, if somebody cuts you off in the traffic line, scream! That’s right, scream. Roll down your window, flip some birds, yell profanities, and honk your horn. Make sure you let the arrogant self-righteous lawbreaker who just cut you off that they are guilty of mistreatment. Not only mistreatment of you, but of everyone behind you, as well.

Then, appeal to the city to have a solid white line painted on Arastradero from the entrance of Gunn high school to Hubbartt Drive and station police officers on foot every morning. This makes cutting in line a moving violation and a ticket-able offense. Hit these pompous parents where it hurts.

—Senior Stephan Campbell

issue Corrections: September Vol. 43, issue 1 n In “New theater teacher graces campus” (p. 11), the new Theater Production Director’s name Ej Taylor was misstated as E.T. Minor, who is actually a senior. n The error was made in the third quarter, not “error” as stated in “Football under new lights” (p. 16).

The Oracle regrets past errors and invites readers to correct any in the future by contacting a staff member of by sending an e-mail to gunnoracle@ yahoo.com.

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Write us with your thoughts on The Oracle’s coverage or any other issues you care about. We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at gunnoracle@yahoo.com.

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780 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 354-8238 http://charlotte.pausd.org/oracle

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Gea Kang

Senior Managing

Lauren Krensky, Dan Li

PRO

News

Stéphanie Keller-Busque, Alex Lee,Vivien Tsao (associate)

Forum

Caroline Hodge, Shiv Kachru, Andrea Yung (associate)

Features

Nathaniel Eisen, Michelle Fang, Jonathan Gu (associate)

Centerfold

Thomas Bao, Sasha Guttentag (associate)

Entertainment

Ana Kostioukova, Stephen Salazar, Alex Rasgon (associate)

Sports

Eric Johnston, Adrienne Nguyen, Libby Craig (associate)

Photography

Jennifer Lim, Christopher Wu

Graphics

Julius Tarng

Technical

Alex Lee, Dan Li Staff

Business

Nina Nielepko

Circulation

Meilin Luh, Alex Tom

Reporters

Boris Burkov, Yana Galperin, Dezmon Hunter, Fi Kazi, Moses Lai

Graphics Artists

Dezmon Hunter, Lucy Li, Brian Phan

Photographer Brian Phan

Adviser

Kristy Garcia 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 10 issues annually. Subscriptions are $40/year.

Alex Lee

D

espite what you might think, your parents love you. They need to be informed about your activities because they do, after all, care about you. Technology has finally given parents the tools they need to protect their children.

Clearly, parents should not only be entitled to use this new technology, but they should be encouraged to use it.

The wold is a dangerous place, especially for children. Sexual predators lurk in the dark recesses of the Internet. Despite federal, state and local attempts to curb the activities of these child molesters, they still manage to entice young children into illicit r el a t io n ships. Often, they manage to kidnap or even kill the unfortunate victim. There is an easy solution to this problem—parents could simply give their children a cellphone with a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) tracking system built in. They would then be able to monitor their children’s movements, allowing them to keep an eye on their children’s activities and thus keeping the child safe.

As long as parents are still responsible for their children, they must behave and conform with standards that their parents set. Maybe you haven’t stopped to consider this, but parents are completely accountable for their children. I’m not talking just talking about keeping their child safe, or something as simple as that—if a child commits a crime, gets into an accident or damages property, it is the parent who is held accountable.

One of the major arguments that critics make is invasion of privacy—GPS phones “prevent kids from doing what they want to do, when they want to do it.”

That simply is not true. Sprint, a major cellphone producer, has tried to build in measures to stop parents from being too aggres-

Constantly monitoring children forces them to think before they act and make wise decisions. sive in their snooping: Kids must authorize tracking by entering a password on their own phones, and the phone will also buzz or beep every time its location is checked. The trackees can always know exactly how they are being followed and can react accordingly.

Although having moms or dads know where their children are at all times might seem to strain parent-child relationships, it merely forces the child to think before he acts. Children

Watching kids’ every move strains parentchild relations and induces a false sense of security

W

ith the proliferation of computer technology, everything is literally a click away.

With a click of a button, parents can track their child’s car or view their private e-mails, instant messages and visited web sites, often without the child’s knowledge or consent. These tracking devices and computer programs are becoming increasingly accessible to parents.

However, this invasion of

pr ivacy is not a suitable substitute for proper parenting.

who know that they can be tracked will probably think t wice before doing something wrong.

Keeping an electronic eye on children should not even be an issue. Parents have a moral obligation to their children—it is their responsibi l it y to keep their children sa fe. I f GPS tracking helps them achieve that goal, then they cannot afford to waste their children’s lives in a meaningless debate.

—Lee, a junior, is a News editor.

For many parents, these new technological devices are a godsend, allowing them to watch thei r children from a distance.

However, this in itself is a problem that parents feel they can be proper parents without actually spending time with their children.

In fact, according to studies by the Pew Research C ent er, a nonpa r t isan “fact tank,” parents who h e av i l y monitor kids with Li s o f t w a r e cy a n d f i l t e r s u L are less likely to spend time with their children. Will spyware and GPS tracking devices help to build a sense of trust among parents and

CON Thomas Bao their children, or help children do their homework or provide emotional support? No. This new technology is merely adding to the already increasing problem of busy parents and neglected children.

No matter how many monitoring devices parents possess, there is no way to prevent children from circumventing this technology.

Teens are resourceful, and it isn’t hard to find free software and online tutorials designed for “tricking” these devices. This n ew t e ch nolog y is a mere continuance of the age-old struggle for control between parents and children. But unlike before, these new monitoring devices can be exploited to give parents a false sense of security.

Modern child psychology advocates developing a relationship of trust between parents and kids.

However, usage of this technology clearly contradicts this notion.

Rather than teaching their children integrity and trusting them to act upon it, parents are attempting to control their kids to a ridiculous degree.

Humans learn through mistakes and sometimes there can be no worse repercussion than the pang of guilt accompanying a misdeed unpunished. But with this new technology, children are incapable of experiencing this and learning from their mistakes. Without these life lessons, what will happen to these children when they are free to make their own decisions?

These devices are also a blatant invasion of privacy. Just as adults are not allowed to spy on their neighbors, parents should not be allowed to spy on their children.

Such actions create a prison, not a home.

With tracking devices and spyware readily available, parents are gaining a false sense of security that not only discourages them from spending time with their children, but also hinders child development.

No child is perfect and everybody makes mistakes, but no technology is perfect, either. There is simply no substitute for the time and care it takes to be a proper parent.

—Bao, a junior, is a Centerfold editor.

6

The Oracle

Facebook morphs into another MySpace

Forum

Deteriorating exclusivity, privacy unfair to original users As a junior, I am extremely busy and do not always have time to complete all my assignments. Consequently, I have reverted to using an online site my teacher suggested to get notes for my AP U.S. History class instead of reading the textbook and taking notes myself. Is there anything wrong with doing this?

—Anonymous

Julius Tarng

F

acebook is heading for disaster. The online social network originally exclusive to college students with a .edu e-mail address has come under criticism from users outraged at every change that made Facebook less exclusive and less safe for its members.

The original users bashed Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, when he opened the site to high school students last September.

The anger passed, but resurged last month when Zuckerberg released the News Feed, which displays members’ every action to their friends. Zuckerberg lost even more members when he proceeded with his plans to open Facebook to the public, a change delayed due to the News Feed backlash. This unprecedented reduction in exclusivity means users will be susceptible not only to parental monitoring, but also sexual predators.

From the entrepreneur’s standpoint, this act is an excellent money-making opportunity, but from the users’ point of view, it is a horrendous mistake. Making Facebook available to everybody goes against the one reason there are over nine million registered members: the site’s exclusivity.

In fact, the exclusivity is why many chose Facebook over MySpace.com, a more popular social network open to anyone. Unlike

www.facebook.com

MySpace.com, Facebook used to be open to only certain members.

Unlike MySpace.com, Facebook allows only your friends to view your profile. Unlike MySpace.com, Facebook has kept students safe from sexual predators.

Opening Facebook to the public has greatly jeopardized users’ privacy. Users have formed a plethora of groups and petitions on Facebook itself in rebellion against the act. One of the most popular groups (with 8,000 members and counting), appropriately named “Don’t Let My Parents onto Facebook!” reveals many students’ chief complaint about the change: they do not want their parents on Facebook monitoring their every move. Of course, as Zuckerberg and his crew

repeatedly state, there are privacy features, but to many users, Facebook is like a secret club they are in with their friends. Letting parents into the club, no matter how much they can or cannot see about their children is—there is no other word for it—uncool.

Another group, which makes a stronger statement, is named “All good things must end: I’m deleting my facebook if facebook goes public” (sic). At its height, the group drew over 6,000 members. Now that Facebook has gone public, only 58 members remain in the group (at the time of publication). Although it is a bit extreme, the group has made a statement by facilitating a mass deletion of accounts.

All that said, the number one

reason for the outburst against this change is the fear that Facebook will become like MySpace and attract sexual predators. Many students agree—Facebook was a much safer place than it is now.

While many users will keep their Facebook accounts active despite the decreased exclusivity of the site, this change will affect the way members use Facebook. Users should be prepared for an influx of friend requests from people they have never met and wall posts from strangers they have never talked to.

Stay tuned; Facebook might make the six o’clock news—“Second MySpace provides flocking ground for sexual miscreants.”

—Tarng, a senior, is the Graphics editor.

Early admissions at universities deserve to stay Eliminating policies will not attract wider applicant pool or decrease stress

Andrea Yung For those hoping to apply early to Harvard next year, such an option will not exist. Beginning in fall 2007, Harvard will no longer accept early applicants in an effort to downplay the pressure inflicted by college admissions process and to give low-income applicants who do not have the resources to learn about “early action” processes and need to browse through financial aid packages an equal shot at admission. More changes are needed, however, if Harvard and other prestigious universities hope to attract more low-income applicants. Furthermore, eliminating the early admissions policy will hurt students who already know their first-choice school and want to avoid the stress of regular admissions.

Eliminating early admission will change nothing about prestigious universities’ applicant pools. Even though they might not know about early admissions, low-income applicants still apply during the regular application period—and

if they really are qualified, even when compared other applicants, he should be granted admiswith the rest of the normal applicants, they will sion through regardless of his economic status no doubt be admitted. or when he applies.

There are two main types of early admisIn addition, if a student is admitted through sion policies. The first is “early decision,” in “early action,” then he will not be stressed about which students can apply early his admission status for four to only one school and are months after he turns in his bound by contract to attend if application. With a relaxed admitted. The second method Eliminating early attitude, the student can then is “early action,” in which focus better on learning and students can apply early to one admission will preparing for college instead school—there are exceptions change nothing of nervously flipping through to this rule—but can choose the mail every day and being whether or not they want to about prestigious distracted from his academic enter the school if they are career. universities’ appliadmitted. Stanford and Yale Soon after Harvard anemploy this policy; Harvard cant pools.” nounced its decision to elimipreviously did. nate its “early action” policy, For “early action,” though, Princeton University followed because a student is not required to enter the suit and announced its plan to drop its “early school once he is admitted, he is still able to decision” program. It is very possible that other choose between financial aid offered by other universities will drop their early admissions schools when applying according to regular policies as well. deadlines—if a student from a low-income famThis trend of ending early admission proily still chooses to enter after being admitted grams will do nothing to help universities ecoearly, though, then he himself made the choice nomically diversify their classrooms. Instead, to miss possible opportunities for potentially students will be hurt by the new polices, which better scholarships from other schools they do will inflict unnecessary stress on them while not apply to regularly. Not only that, but if it is they wait for admission results. an issue of admission, if low-income student —Yung, a junior, is the associate Forum were to meet all requirements and outshine editor.

When your teacher suggested an online site to his students, he undoubtedly intended for them to use the site as a supplement to the textbook. However, it is ethical for you to use this site as your sole source of notes, as long as you do not plagiarize them and turn them in as your own.

The preamble to the Gunn Honor Code, put into place early this year, states, “[The code] is designed to prevent some students from taking unfair advantage of their peers.” Clearly, you are not violating this policy, as your decision to learn the material alternatively will not affect the grades your peers receive.

While you are not harming your peers by neglecting to read the textbook, you are cheating yourself. First of all, you will undoubtedly miss nuances that are only retrievable by reading the textbook.

More importantly, as tempting as it be may be to rely on streamlined notes instead of slogging through a textbook, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to learn how to extract information from dense material, one of the purposes of an AP class.

Taking the shortcut may save you time now, but you will be at a disadvantage if you take a similar course in college where there may not be such resources available.

Furthermore, you are cheating yourself of the chance to improve your essay-writing skills that naturally develop as a result of exposure to high-quality writing.

On a broader note, why not replace all your readings with simplified, summarized versions of the text? Spark Notes and Cliffs Notes are available for most English For AP classes, review guides are available that highlight pertinent information. While these resources are valuable supplements, they are best used not in place of but in addition to required readings.

Send your queries and comments to campusquandaries@gmail.com.

—Hodge, a junior, is a Forum editor.

Features

Monday, October 9, 2006

7

The NEDO Band plays folk music for fun, not fortune Stéphanie Keller-Busque News Editor

When it comes to folk music, juniors Dorothy Wood and Neva Hauser know what they are talking about. The twosome form The NEDO Band and have performed and recorded their music over the past years.

Wood and Hauser’s band began when Wood combined her talents and started to write songs. “When I started playing guitar three years ago, I saw you get more into the music zone if you’re singing,” Wood said.

“It’s really weird. I never appreciated music very much when I was younger. In ninth grade I started putting some of my poetry to my guitar and it just flowed.”

Since then, Wood has been writing songs about her life and passions. She decided to ask Hauser, who has been playing the double bass for eight years, if she was interested in practicing some songs with her. “Dorothy

asked me if I wanted to play some songs that she wrote,” Hauser said. “So we tried it out and continued because it was so fun.”

Hauser and Wood formed The NEDO Band, a title that came from a combination of their first names. Junior Alexandra Codina said she likes the character of the music. “It’s an eclectic mix of folk style music,” Codina said. “It’s not something you hear a lot.”

Wood and Hauser have already produced one CD, “Notice Eternity, Deny Observation,” and hope to finish their second one, “Psychedelic Aptitudes of a Sarcastic Revolution,” in a few months. “We recorded with a couple of different people,” Hauser said. “My mom is a drummer, so she has a lot of musical connections who helped us. We ended up taking the recording that was more amateur because it sounded more natural.”

The NEDO Band’s first big performance was at the Art in the Redwoods Festival in Gualala on the northern coast of California

this past summer. “What we did was we sent a CD of a few of our songs and they wanted us to come play,’’ Wood said. “On the first day we were background music for people appreciating the art that was on display, and on the second day we were on the main stage, the amphitheater, in the middle of the redwood forest.”

Hauser thinks that out of all of their performances, the one in Gualala has been the most enjoyable. “That has been our biggest performance but we’ve played in coffee shops, too, “ Hauser said. “We go to the Open Mic Nights as well.”

Outside of performing, Wood says that writing music has brought her much pleasure. “We have a good time making up songs,” she said. “I don’t want to consider music as a career. Music is just my way of being.” Hauser has different aspirations. “I think it would be pretty cool to be a professional musician,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Dorothy Wood

Juniors Dorothy Wood and Neva Hauser strum their instruments. The two have played in festivals, open mics and coffee shops.

Orchestra’s large size helps it garner awards Alex Rasgon Associate Entertainment Editor

Yana Galperin Reporter

You may have discovered that a Milky Way bar was among the “bribes” you took on club day. If so, the Opera Club, started by juniors Stephanie Hoffman and Alexandra Codina, wanted you as a member.

The club was founded last year, and its members have attended operas such as “The Crucible” and “La Boheme”—a luxury many high school students could never dream of affording. “Alexandra and I created the club because we both really like opera,” Hoffman said.

“But it’s hard to go see because it’s so expensive.”

Hoffman and Codina work with theaters to get student discounts and free tickets. In return, the club helps spread the word to students and encourages more young people to take an interest in the opera.

“We promote operas by attending them and convincing people to come with us,” Hoffman said. Club advisor Angela Dellaporta sings the club’s praises. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to see the beautiful productions that are performed in this area,” she said.

The club will meet in L-15 every other Tuesday, starting October 26. Members discuss opera plots and their significance in order for members to understand what they have or will be seeing.

Prior to the founding of the Opera Club, few current members knew much about the opera. “Before we established our club, a lot of people in our club had never seen or had truly heard an opera,” Hoffman said. Now, upcoming attractions include classics such as “The Barber of Seville” on Oct. 28 in San Francisco (tickets are $7—contact Alexandra Codina: tanjerinerosez@sbcglobal.net).

The sign-up deadline is Oct. 27, but, “the sooner the better,” according to Hoffman.

Lucy Li

With their violins, cellos and other string instruments in tow, The Gunn Orchestra prepares for its first concert on Oct. 19. Even more interesting than the music that the orchestra plays is how they prepare for their performances.

Every day during F period, the orchestra practices, starting with scales, and working their way up to the songs, many of which they have never played before (in which case they are “sight reading”). “The sight reading pieces range from all styles of music, and every year, they get harder, but we play them better,” senior Katherine He said. None of this would be possible without Director Sandra Lewis.

Lewis has been teaching in the music department at Gunn for five years, and has helped bring the orchestra to the top of the California Association for Music Education (CMEA), making it one of the best school orchestras in the state. The musicians have been invited to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City, but were not able to accept.

“I believe that when I teach, I need to give them enough of a challenge to keep them playing, but not too much of a challenge to slow them down,” Lewis said. The increase in challenge has won the orchestra the highest honors for five consecutive years from the CMEA. “Every year we play more challenging pieces, with more ease, which shows that our orchestra is getting better every year, with new members adding diversity, and with returning members using years of experience to tackle these new songs in their own way,” Lewis said.

This year, with over 80 members, the orchestra is the largest in Gunn’s history, as well as one of the largest in the county. “There’s more noise than in a smaller orchestra, so you have to pay more attention to stay together,” freshman Varun Nagarajan said.

One of the orchestra’s greatest strengths is its members’ dedication to playing music. “It gives me an opportunity to play during school and a way to de-stress. Orchestra is like a family,” He said.

The orchestra exemplifies the old saying, “From diversity comes strength,” with each musician bringing his own playing style into the mix while collaborating with over 80 other members to create the sound of gorgeous music. “My orchestra’s biggest strength is their ability to take direction and their commitment to the music,” Lewis said. “All of my players try to put their own touch into their music, and this year they will outperform even their own expectations.”

8

Cente

The Oracle

Look but don’t drop The crash of a mirror as it shatters onto the floor is frequently followed by the exclamation “Seven years of bad luck!” This superstition has haunted people of all ages across the globe for over 2,000 years.

The superstition started with the Romans who believed that the reflections seen in mirrors represented that person’s soul. When a mirror broke, they thought it was a sign of misfortune because it meant that the soul was leaving the body, and for this reason the person who broke the mirror was condemned to seven years of bad

i

f you’re like most people, you occasionally participate in superstitious thinking or behavior, often without even realizing you’re doing it.

When was the last time you knocked on wood, walked within the lines, avoided a black cat, or read your daily horoscope? These are all examples of superstitions.

More than half of Americans admitted to being at least a little superstitious, according to a recent Gallup poll. Additionally, beliefs in witches, ghosts and haunted house —all popular Halloween symbols—have increased over the past decade. But just what is the psychology behind our magical thinking, and is it hurting or helping us?

To understand superstitions, we must start by defining them. After all, not all rituals or beliefs are superstitions. For example, if an athlete develops a ritual before a game, it may help to calm and focus him or her like repeating a mantra. This is not an example of superstitious behavior. On the other hand, if you think

luck. The duration of this curse comes from the Roman belief that every man’s or woman’s body was physically rejuvenated every seven years, after which he or she became a new person.

To counteract the spell’s bad luck, wait seven hours (one for each year of bad luck) before picking up the shattered pieces and proceed to go bury them in the ground under the moonlight.

If you choose to disregard these precautions, don’t be surprised if you are unlucky for the next seven years.

—Stéphanie Keller-Busque

tapping the ball a certain number of times makes you win the game, you are in fact thinking superstitiously.

Wanting more control or certainty is the driving force behind most superstitions. We tend to look for some kind of a rule or explanation for why things happen. Job interviews, testing and other situations where we want things to go well—regardless of our own preparation or performance— spur superstitious thoughts.

No matter how confident or prepared you are for an event things can still be beyond your control. Superstitions provide people with the sense that they’ve done one more thing to try to ensure the outcome will be what they are looking for.

A sense of security and confidence is perhaps the greatest benefit we get emotionally from superstitious thinking or behavior—like carrying an object or wearing an item of clothing that you deem to be lucky. There is a positive placebo effect—if you think something will help you, it may do just that. Humans place a tremendous amount of power in belief. When your performance is a key factor in

54% 35% 11%

of Gunn studen trick or treatin

of Gunn studen going trick or

of Gunn stude breaking a mi

Other superstitions b opening umbrellas in graveyards and jinxes.

an outcome, superstitious thinking might give you an extra boost.

It’s not news that expectations can be extremely powerful and suggestive. Studies regularly point to placebo effects (both positive and negative) which are entirely caused by the power of expectations or preconceptions. Yet superstitions can also play a negative role in our lives, especially when combined with a bad habit such as gambling. If you’re a compulsive gambler who believes that you can get lucky, then that belief may contribute to your problem.

Intelligence seems to have little to do with whether or not we subscribe to superstitions. At Harvard —where one would assume there are a lot of intelligent people—students frequently rub the foot of the John Harvard statue for good luck. In a sense, a superstition, like other rituals, can become part of a campus, community or culture, and can help bring people together.

Most of the superstitions people engage in are perfectly fine, and are not pathological. That’s good news, and it’s just in time for Halloween.

—Compiled by Shiv Kachru and Alex Lee

Black cats mis udge d j Before developing their unlucky reputations black cats were a symbol of luck and rebirth.

In Egypt, the black cat was thought to be a symbol of the goddess Bast—the supposed divine mother and protectress of the lands—and those who dared to kill cats were punished severely. Likewise, in Britain and Europe, having a black cat cross your path was actually considered good luck.

The change came with the rise of Christianity. The relationship between a witch and her cat was likely established during preChristian Europe, when witches were considered part of a pagan (rustic) religion and not yet associated with evil forces. During the Middle Ages, it was the church that portrayed witches as unholy and worshippers of Satan.

The church disseminated this belief, leading

many to think that cats, witches’ familiars, crossing their paths were actually witches in disguise. This idea spread to America during the witch hunts, where entire populations thought witches to be a sign of bad luck; as a result, the black cats associated with them became labeled as well.

At the same time, Europeans, with the support of the church, began associating black cats (independent of the witches) with darker beings as well. Being nocturnal animals, they were also believed to be witches’ servants.

Combined with their slick movements and bright eyes, the people thought they possessed evil powers. Oftentimes, when one who had coincidentally been near a black cat at a time became ill, the blame was thrown onto the black cat.

—Andrea Yung

Su

erfold

Monday, October 9, 2006

9

Halloween’s history

nts are going ng in costume

nts are not treating

ents think that irror is super scary

believed at Gunn: ndoors, walking by ­—209 students surveyed

Freaky Friday Friday the 13th of any month has always been considered to be a day of bad luck. Both the Greeks and Spaniards also share the same belief that Tuesday the 13th is a day of bad omens.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia, the irrational fear of the number 13, is widespread throughout many cultures in the world.

The superstition is believed to have a religious origin back from the 13 disciples at The Last Supper of Jesus, who was crucified on Good Friday. Coincidentally, in 1307, King Philip IV of France tortured and killed hundreds of the Knights Templar, the Christian order of monks

Halloween is a dream come true for many youths, due to the abundance of candy, costumes, parties and jack-o’-lanterns. These things are all a major part of Halloween, which includes many traditions that are often practiced without much thought to why. As enjoyable and sometimes juvenile as these traditions may seem, there is a much deeper and historical root to activities that fill Halloween.

The name “Halloween” came from the phrase “Hallow’s Eve.” The root meaning for the word “Hallows” means saints, therefore “Hallow’s Eve” is the day before “All Saints Day.” This holiday was founded by Pope Boniface IV to replace the original Roman pagan holiday “Ferelia.” This holiday was the previous day of celebration for pagans to worship there respective patrons and idols.

Though the modern celebration of Halloween is influenced by religious background, it also adopts influences from Pre-Christian eras as well. The Druidic holiday known as “Samhain” (sow wen) was essentially a “Feast of the Dead.” It was celebrated during the end of harvesting crops and preparing for winter.

The origin of Trick-or-Treating is derived mostly from a ninth century European tradition known to take place on Nov. 2. The tradition would involve Christians traveling from village to village begging for “soul cakes.” In return for the cake, the Christians and soldiers, on Friday the 13th. would pray for the well being of the deceased and livAlthough unlikely, there has been ing relatives of whomever gave them the cake. The research and evidence that may sugcarving of a jack-o’-lantern also has a European gest this day is ill-fated. Many psybackground. Instead of a pumpkin, a hollowed chology and research centers have noted that higher levels of stress and turnip was used to emit the candle light. anxiety have led to the high numbers With the conception of a jack-o’-lantern, of accidents on Friday the 13th. or trick-or-treating, it’s sometimes hard to According to the British Medical – Compiled

by Andrea Yung believe that these practices originated

Journal, the chance of being hospitalized on this day may increase up to 52 percent. Those believing in superstitions and who are easily stressed will have much higher risks involved in some sort of accident or unfortunate incident this coming Friday, so watch out!

—Adriennve Ngyuen

, s n o i t i t s r e p u Old

from a very serious background. Religion, work and family are major components of these traditions, and the value of these influences should not be undermined during Halloween or any other holiday with a deep and historical background.

Sometimes the origins of a popular tradition or holiday like Halloween can seem vague or irrelevant to people’s modern understanding —Stephen Salazar

traditions Oh My! graphic and layout by julius tarng

10 Student conquers sky at sixteen The Oracle

As other teenagers drive cars, Jacob Savage pilots airplane as hobby

Features Harvest Moon attracts runners

Eric Johnston

Moses Lai

Sports Editor

Reporter

While most high school students are practicing parallel parking, junior Jacob Savage is practicing landing at Palo Alto Municipal Airport.

Despite the stress of school, Savage goes to the airport almost every weekend, and he enjoys spending entire weekends hanging out around the runway. “It’s a lot more fun in the airways instead of the highways,” Savage said. “On a highway, all you get to do is go in a straight line. However, in the air, you don’t have to stick to a specific route, and there aren’t cops flying around to enforce the rules. I feel that driving is a chore, but flying is a privilege.”

Despite the increased reponsabilities of flying, age requirements for flying are similiar to those for driving. Savage woke up early on his sixteenth birthday to take his driving test but failed it. Later that day he went to the airport to pass his flying test. “I passed that, and I was a lot happier that I passed it, too,” Savage said.

“I love flying because it gives you freedom,” he said. “It also gives you a whole new perspective on things. Looking down at Palo Alto from an altitude of 3,000 feet is really exciting. I can point out Stanford University and Gunn.

Sometimes I can get lucky and I can find my house.”

While Savage has been fascinated by flight since an early age, he did not start flying until two years ago. His father, Sam Savage, was certified to fly gliders, and when Savage was old enough to fly gliders, he received certification as well. The similarities between

On Oct. 6, many students participated in the annual Palo Alto Moonlight Run. Each runner is charged $20 for the 5K walk and $25 for either the 5K or 10K run, which starts from the City of Palo Alto Baylands Athletic Center. The walk begins at 7:30 p.m, the 10K run starts at 8:15 p.m. and the 5K run 30 minutes later. The top three finishers from each division will receive a prize.

The Moonlight Run was founded 22 years ago by Tom Osborne, who thought it would be nice for people to run under the Harvest Moon. It keeps runners engaged by providing a glimpse into some beautiful and rarely seen parts of Palo Alto.

“The course goes around and offers a good view of the lights across the bay,” senior Brecon Welton said. “You can’t really see much but that adds a very exciting element to it.”

The proceeds go to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund which usually raises $250,000 every year. The Holiday Fund will then distribute the money among local charities and organizations. Any donation made to the Holiday Fund will be matched by local foundations.

Some of last year’s 36 recipients included Adolescent Counseling Service, YMCA and Youth Community Service.

The run is one of the biggest events of the year. “We have over 150 volunteers,” Palo Alto’s Promotion Director, Amy Renalds said.

Photos courtesy of Jacob Savage

Above: Junior Jacob Savage concentrates on his path as he flies over the Bay Area.

Left: Savage poses in front of a glider. He first trained with gliders before flying in airplanes. tion and the controls is crucial in the air. Few people find the time to get a pilot’s license, but at the same time those who have one find enjoyment during every takeoff.

“I enjoy it so much, and I never stop learning and getting better,” Savage said.

The array of responsibilities put on a pilot is a lot for a 16-yearold, but Savage’s parents are not

Sudoku

a glider and engine powered plane led him to receive a Visual Flying Rules (VFR) license. “I was really nervous before my first solo flight,” Savage said. “I thought it would be my last, but once I started flying, I got too busy to be nervous anymore and I just flew the plane.”

Flying airplanes requires more training than driving. A knowledge of weather, aerodynamics, naviga-

nervous when he flies. “I trust him in the air, but I can’t always trust him when he isn’t,” Daryl, his mother said.

Savage’s dad always encouraged him to fly. “Since he started flying he has become a lot more responsible and disciplined,” he said. In the future, Savage hopes to join the Air Force as a pilot or fly commercially.

Every row, column and 3x3 region must each be filled with the numbers one through nine without any repeats.

Puzzle courtesy of Sudoku.com

Features

Monday, October 9, 2006

11

Hearing-impaired strive for normal lives Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing program bridges gaps for Gunn students Program, which provides oral/aural (focusing on speech-reading rather Forum & Features Editors than sign languag) education for hearing-impaired students from Junior Helen Guo’s classes preschool through high school. include Chemistry H, Alg2/Trig Students come from five different H, Spanish 2, Classic Mythology, counties to participate.

AP U.S. History, Fiber Arts and According to Sharon Yost, the Study Skills. On Saturdays, she coordinator and teacher of core curvolunteers at a Chinese library and riculum, the main goal of the proplays badminton with her friends gram is to “help students who are at the YMCA. The only thing that hard of hearing learn to function in sets Guo apart from any other Gunn a hearing world.” The program asstudent is that she wears a hearing sists students in learning to speechaid in each ear and is accompanied read, produce intelligible speech by a note-taking aid to five of her and develop language fluency. classes.

Most students in the program Guo is part of the Deaf and take mainstream classes, although Hard of Hearing (DHH) program they have the option of taking Engat Gunn, which accommodates lish, Social Studies, Algebra and 11 students who have a range of Study Skills within the program. hearing abilities. The program is a Aides accompany most students facet of the Jackson Hearing Center to their mainstream classes to help them with note taking and comprehension.

While hearing-impaired students can communicate, it isn’t always easy. Most of the students in the program have deafness that cannot be corrected permanently because it Jennifer Lim involves nerve damage, DHH student Helen Guo smiles as she making communication a challenge. turns the pages of her math book.

Until recently, the Caroline Hodge & Nathaniel Eisen

only device available to improve communication was a hearing aid.

A new device called a cochlear implant, which is typically implanted at some time between infancy and adolescence works much better, but costs up to $10,000.

Despite their disabilities, students in the program engage in a range of extracurricular activities.

Sophomore Michael Rowland attends an after school program called Project Insight, where he learns sign language and assists blind students. Junior Chelsea Flamm is part of the Motion All Stars, a competitive cheerleading team in Santa Clara. Sophomore Michelle Shean has a talent for graphic design and drawing cartoon animals.

Students in the program feel somewhat isolated from their hearing peers at Gunn. “I feel like [mainstream students] are afraid of what their friends think if they talk to us,” Flamm said. Freshman Aubrie Lee wishes mainstream students were less discriminatory towards students with hearing disabilities.

“I think everybody should just keep an open mind,” she said.

Sarah Dowlin, a note-taking aide, observes that some students in the program still feel embarrassed in their mainstream classes. “They don’t like to participate,” she said.

Airbands hype hits canpus high Dezmon Hunter Reporter

Photos by Brian Phan

Top: Freshmen discuss their next move.

Above: Sophomores throw their hands in the air. Below: Seniors form a caterpillar.

Christopher Wu

“Some don’t like to do anything that they’re not required to because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves.”

Some students also feel singled out by teachers. “Sometimes [the teachers] will repeat everything just to you in front of the whole class,” Flamm said.

However, the students appreciate teachers’ efforts to help them overcome their obstacles. “They give you the accommodations that you need,” Guo said.

Yost herself advocates constantly for her students, particularly in the social realm. “One concern that I have always had has been finding a means to ensure that our students become socially as well as academically integrated,” she said. In an attempt to help students in the program integrate into the mainstream, Yost formed the Birthday Bash Club last year, which recognized teachers on their birthdays. The first meeting consisted of about 18 mainstreamed students and 11 DHH students. However, at the next meeting, while all the DHH students returned, only one mainstream student showed up.

Yost guessed that one factor in the steep decline in attendance might have been mainstream students’ uncertainty about their ability to have a conversation with a

Jennifer Lim

DHH program coordinator and teacher Sharon Yost helps sophomore Michael Rowland with classwork. hearing-impaired student. “I think for hearing students, there’s apprehension about initiating social contact,” she said. “That probably derives from their worry that they might not be able to communicate successfully,” she said. “It’s not that there is intentional exclusion.”

While students in the program are well academically integrated, they remain fairly isolated from their hearing peers. Yost wishes she could change this. “I know that there are many Gunn students out there who I think would enjoy knowing these guys,” Yost said.

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Entertainment

The Oracle

topten most embarassing moments at Gunn

10. Breaking another thermometer in science class.

9. Receiving a B on an AB Calculus test.

8. Farting loudly in a quiet classroom.

7. Being reprimanded by Mr. Jacoubowsky and his megaphone for “freaking” at a dance.

6. Walking into F period late wielding a Big Mac and a large helping of fries.

5. Tripping in front of freshmen and dropping papers all over the place.

4. Having a teacher answer your cell phone for you.

3. Having your pants stolen as you change out of your P.E. clothes.

2. Getting rejected by a potential Homecoming date (no pressure).

1. Calling a teacher mom or dad.

—Jonathan Gu

Bridge School concert for charitable cause Michelle Fang

features editor

The twentieth annual Bridge School Benefit Concert will take place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Saturday, Oct. 21 and Sunday, Oct. 22. The concert will feature a lineup of old and new artists such as Neil Young, Foo Fighters, Dave Mathews Band, Pearl Jam and Death Cab. The Bridge School Benefit Concert was created to raise money for Bridge School, an educational program targeted toward helping children with acute speech and physical impairments. The concert will also help spread awareness of disabled children and reach out toward individuals who can contribute to It was a great experience to the educational program. watch all the famous music “It was a great experience to watch all the famous music artists interacting with the artists interacting with the disabled children.” disabled children,” junior —Junior Kim Saloner Kim Saloner said.

The primar y goal of Bridge School is to ensure that children with speech and physical disabilities can still fully participate in their local communities. Bridge School started in 1986. The educational program, has grown to receive international recognition for its beneficial events like the upcoming concert. The concert has been held annually each year since 1986 and has featured famous artists and bands such as Billy Idol, Metallica, Marilyn Manson and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Many Gunn students enjoyed the concert in past years. “The Bridge School concert is a very refreshing concert that exists for a good cause,” sophomore Molly Barns said.

Many Gunn students go to the charity concert to enjoy both the performance and the atmosphere. The concert takes place in the Shoreline Amphitheatre with the stage set at the bottom of a prodigious hill where concertgoers stake out their sorts with blankets, sleeping bags and chairs.

“We enjoyed the whole atmosphere at the concert,” junior Aja Mathews said. “The music sounds even better on grass.”

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster and at Tower Records stores.

Jennifer Lim

Paly alumnus films movie in hometown

Movie inspired by real life events Libby Craig Associate Sports Editor

P

alo Alto High School alumnus Tony Vallone has been an avid filmmaker ever since he was featured in Gunn’s Gunndance Film Festival in 2002.

As a freshman at UCLA, Vallone started writing a short 20-page screenplay about changes he had seen in his high school friends since leaving for college. Now, two years later, with the help of two other young Palo Alto natives—Director Brad Leong and Producer Daniel Engelhardt—Vallone’s screenplay has morphed into the anticipated independent film “Palo Alto”.

“Palo Alto” follows four Paly graduates on their first visit back from college during Thanksgiving break. On their last night home, the boys discover that their small hometown, Palo Alto, may not be as uneventful, barren or uninteresting as they had once thought and realize how quickly their lives are changing.

Vallone’s personal high school and college memories helped spark the idea for the movie’s plot. “The inspiration for the film was from my own an experience returning home from college and visiting my high school friends,” Vallone said.

“I noticed that in a short while a lot of them had started to change and how it almost snuck up on some people.”

Raised in Palo Alto, Vallone thought it would be a good place to set the movie due to budget constraints and the atmosphere of the town. “I knew from the beginning we’d end up filming in Palo Alto

anyway because it is cheaper than L.A.,” Vallone said. “The characters are all people you might meet in Palo Alto, but other than that the town isn’t part of the story lines.

As a setting it is brilliant, though, because the streets and the homes convey a certain tone that is very important for the film.”

However, although the movie is set in his own hometown, it does not directly portray Vallone in his teenage years. “The story is not really autobiographical except for some of the little anecdotes and dialogue,” Vallone said. “And no, we didn’t film a scene at Happy Donuts at 2 a.m, although I really thought we should have written one in.”

The cast is composed of diverse actors, ranging from Ben Savage of “Boy Meets World” and Autumn Reeser of “The O.C.” to lesser known, up-and-coming performers such as Aaron Ashemore and Rosalee Ward. Much of the cast and crew stayed in a rental house on Cowper Street near downtown Palo Alto during the two-month filming period.

Palo Alto teenagers played the part of extras in the film. “The process was pretty fun,” Paly sophomore Jeremy Kim said. “Each scene takes a lot of time and we had to re-do a bunch of shots about seven to 15 times each. My friends and I also got to do a small scene with Ben Savage.”

Another unique aspect of the movie is that the crew is composed mostly of high school students between the ages of 15 and 18. “They come from high schools with very advanced film programs and are extremely talented,” Vallone said.

“You’d never believe they were

that young.”

Additionally, Vallone hopes that the cast and crew combined, who are mostly just at the brink of their careers, will add to the youthful feel of the film. “No one as young as us that I can think of has pursued this ambitious of a project,” Vallone said. “I would not complain if our film got attention just for being the product of young filmmakers because honestly everyone involved deserves that attention.”

“Palo Alto” is currently nearing the end of the editing process, and the filmmakers are rushing to make the submission deadline of the Sundance Film Festival which will take place mid-January. They are hoping that their film will be viewed by the movers and shakers that flock to the world famous festival. The film is aimed to premiere in Palo Alto between the months of January and March 2007 in a small theater, such as The Aquarius downtown or perhaps even Gunn’s own Spangenberg Theater.

Many students await the film’s debut with enthusiasm. “I’ll definitely see the movie,” junior Molly Kawahata said. “I’m curious to see how Palo Alto is portrayed.”

Sophomore Cosmo Sung agrees.

“It’s going to be weird watching a movie filmed in my own town, but I want to see it because I make short videos for fun, and it’s cool that these writers started out the same way,” Sung said.

With its young cast and crew and familiar setting, “Palo Alto” will appeal to many Gunn students.

Moreover, the coming of age story should speak universally to adults and youth alike, regardless of where they live.

Entertainment

Monday, October 9, 2006

13

A refreshing take on H omecoming dining

Pizza Chicago

Peninsula Creamery

Sumo Sushi

Buca di Beppo

Graphics by Brian Phan

• Location: 4115 El Camino Real Palo Alto, CA 94306 • Menu: Pizza, large drinks (free refills) • Price Range: About $15 for a medium pizza • Atmosphere/Service: Homey atmosphere, pretty fast service • Tips: Convenient Location

• Location: 355 State Street Los Altos, CA 94022 • Menu: Traditional Japanese food, “meal plans,” teriyaki, sushi boats • Price Range: $7-$13 • Atmosphere/Service: formal, not too crowded, fast service • Tips: Fast service.

• Location: 900 High St, Palo Alto, CA (or at Stanford Shopping Center next to Bloomingdales) • Menu: Diner style • Price Range: $8-$15 • Atmosphere/Service: Fast service, casual atmosphere • Tips: Employees are very friendly, jukebox available.

• Location: 643 Emerson Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 • Menu: Italian food, large appetizers • Price Range: Appetizers: $6-$12. Entrees: $9-$20 (per person) • Atmosphere/Service: Noisy, crowded, fun atmosphere, not too casual but not too formal • Tips: Food is meant to be shared, make reservations.

—Compiled by Sasha Guttentag Photos by Christopher Wu

Wong Fu film productions travel to Monta Vista Vivien Tsao

Associate News Editor

“Oh my gosh! I got a picture of his back! I almost got a shot of his head!”

Such comments and more filled the air as UCSD Class of 2006 graduates Philip Wang, Wesley Chan and Ted Fu, who together constitute Wong Fu Productions, welcomed students and adults alike to a viewing of their new only-seenon-tour movie, “A Moment with You,” on Sept. 22 in the Monta Vista High School auditorium.

Former Media majors at UCSD, Wang, Chan and Fu began Wong Fu Productions in June 2003 after a music video Wang made with a few friends garnered much online attention—it receives thousands of hits daily—from all over the United

States and other countries such as Taiwan, Canada, Great Britain and even South Africa. Today, the team has produced a plethora of short films, music videos and the like, although “Yellow Fever,” a short, comedic film that delves into the question of race in relationships remains most popular. However, most of the current effort has been utilized in promoting Wong Fu Production’s newest movie, “A Moment with You,” through a trans-United States and Canada tour.

The first feature-length movie created by Wong Fu Productions, “A Moment with You” chronicles the lives of two college students, Arthur and Dustin, as they struggle to make sense of their romantic relationships. “We young people tend to be very dramatic about relationships,” Wang said. “We just wanted

to tell people to don’t be sad, and if you count your blessings, you’ll see that things aren’t so bad.”

Created as a senior project, the under-$2000 film tested the team’s perseverance in creativity and filming skills. “This movie is kind of different from our former work,” Wang said. “It’s more serious to watch and just explores the reality of relationships unlike typical Hollywood movies that can’t really relate to anyone.”

Although the Wong Fu Production members enjoyed the challenges the filming provided, time was in short supply throughout the entire process. “If we weren’t in class, we were working on this film,” Chan said. “Actually, we didn’t go to class.” However, all of Wong Fu Productions’ hard work seems to have paid off so far.

Enthusiastic applause from the sold-out Monta Vista audience (roughly a crowd of 200 ) greeted Wong Fu Productions after the showing and allayed the production team’s initial concerns. “Monta Vista was our first high school showing, so we were really worried about audience response,” Fu said.

Wong Fu Productions premiered at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, and as part of their “A Moment with You” tour, will travel to the East Coast and Canada later this year. They have also entered the movie in a number of film festivals and have so far received confirmation from the 2006 San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Unfortunately for fans, the movie will not be released online as many film festivals place strict rules on distribution before the

competition. For those willing to wait, however, Wong Fu Productions will be selling DVDs next spring after the conclusion of the tour and film festivals.

To those who fear that Wong Fu Productions’ creations will end with the graduation of Wang, Chan and Fu, the team has some news to pass on. “Although we won’t be producing something this big for a while, we do have some movies and shorts planned,” Fu said.

Those who missed the Monta Vista showing of “A Moment with You” can still watch the movie before Wong Fu Productions proceed on their tour to other parts of the United States. Although dates have not yet been confirmed, the team will present their production at two other northern California stops: San Jose State and UC Berkeley.

14

Sports

The Oracle

Titan teachers share athletic passions

Photo courtesy of Daisy Renazco

Photo courtesy of Dawna Linsdell

Math teacher Daisy Renazco dashes toward the opponent’s goal. She has played soccer all her life, including four years at St. Mary’s College.

Social studies teacher Dawna Linsdell smiles as she finishes her race. She has participated in numerous triathlons including the Ironman Australia.

Daisy Renazco

Dawna Linsdell

Sports have always been a fundamental part of math teacher Daisy Renazco’s life.

“Over the years, I’ve played three sports: soccer, softball and lacrosse,” she said.

“Soccer has always been my one and true love, though.”

Renazco has played soccer since she was five years old and continues to play over the summer on an adult soccer league in San Jose. “I think sports have really kept me mentally focused on my health and on the importance of being a team player,” Renazco said. “It’s always been a self-motivating experience.”

Coaching has also been a key part of Renazco’s participation in sports. “I coached

lacrosse for two years, soccer at a few places and I also coached Gunn soccer for two years,” she said. This is the first year that she has not coached soccer at Gunn.

Renazco likes being active because it keeps her fit. She is currently training for her first half marathon. “I was always running for my own fitness,” she said. “I figured, ‘Why not?’ because it would help me train for something and keep me motivated.” Whether it be for soccer, lacrosse or softball, the most important aspect for Renazco about being an athlete is to work as a team. “The biggest thing for any sport is the strength of the team bond because you should go out and play for others and not just for yourself,” she said.

—Stéphanie Keller-Busque

Aside from teaching economics and being a coordinator for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and staff development, Dawna Linsdell keeps active.

Linsdell, an avid triathlon participant, initially got involved in the sport through the non-profit organization “Team in Training,” which raises money for children diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. Not only does the organization provide coaching, but it also encourages the athletes to raise money.

Linsdell has raised thousands of dollars by participating.

Linsdell does not stick to a strict training schedule and instead prepares by doing

anything she can outside of the house. “I choose to go for the swim, for the bike, for the run, for the strength training or whatever it is, even if I don’t want to that day,” Linsdell said.

One of her biggest accomplishments is competing in and finishing the Ironman Australia, after which she could not refrain from smiling. “You can see every single tooth in my finisher’s photo because I was smiling so big,” she said.

It seems difficult for one to balance work and triathlons, but Linsdell has it all figured out. “It requires planning, organization and lots of discipline,” Linsdell said. “It also means making hard choices sometimes.”

—Sasha Guttentag

Brian Phan

Sophomore Jason Chu has control of the ball during the Sept. 27 match against the Vikings. However, due to tough defense on Gunn’s key players, Palo Alto took the win.

Boys’ water polo falls to Paly Titans disappointed with 13-6 loss to archrival Moses Lai Reporter

Gunn started off strong but lost momentum in the second half of the Sept. 27 water polo game against Paly.

The first quarter started off with Paly making the first goal, but senior Will Agramonte quickly tied the score. Afterwards, Agramonte was double-teamed and senior Chris Preston was pressed for the whole game. Paly scored one more goal as half time ended with a close score of 6-4.

In the third quarter Paly scored two goals ending the quarter with a score of 8-4. Hoping for an offensive push, sophomore goalie Aaron

Johnson was placed in an offensive position. Gunn had a difficult time keeping out goals afterwards.

Nevertheless, immediately into the fourth quarter Gunn scored due to a penalty.

Paly rapidly widened the gap again with four consecutive goals.

Both teams scored one more point near the end of the game, ending with a score of 13-6.

In the end, Agramonte made three goals, while Preston, sophomore Jason Chu, and junior Andrew Post each made one. “We also had a difficult time making goals because of their goalie who is the best in the league.” Agramonte said.

From the start, Head Coach Mark Hernandez had known that

the game would be very competitive but he thinks they should have done better. “I was disappointed,” Hernandez said. “Both the coaches and players made a lot of mistakes.

The scores were not indicative of our effort. I think we could have done better.”

The players were also disappointed. “We were not playing well because we depended too much on individuals while Paly had great team play,” Agramonte said.

The team lost many of its starting players due to the graduation of Eric Stewart, Kyle Gertridge, Matt Johnson and Brandon Johnson.

The team plans to focus on gaining a tough mentality and responding better in game situations.

Sports

Monday, October 9, 2006

15

Student livens fans at sports games

Felch fulfills dreams of announcing athletic events

Christopher Wu

Caroline Hodge Forum Editor

Senior Trevor Felch has known since he was a child that he wanted to be a sports announcer. Beginning at age six, he would sit in front of the TV and imitate the professionals as they announced a game.

Now he is well on his way to achieving his goal. Felch, the first student in Gunn’s history to announce at school sporting events, has announced Gunn football and basketball games for the past four years.

Felch’s career as an announcer began in the eighth grade when he auditioned for the KJLS video announcements at JLS Middle School. “There were two reasons I started getting into it,” Felch said.

“One was that I started realizing I wasn’t going to be a Major League

Photos courtesy of Trevor Felch

baseball player. The second was that sports commentary melded sports and performance into one.

As an announcer, you have to know a lot about sports and know a lot about entertainment.”

At JLS, Felch met Mel Froli, the co-coordinator of the KJLS program and a former announcer for Stanford volleyball, gymnastics, basketball and baseball. Froli took an interest in Felch soon after he found out about his aspirations.

Froli introduced Felch to Rich Scherer, the assistant Gunn athletic director at the time, who agreed to let Felch announce at the JV home football games. After two games, Scherer asked him to announce the varsity games.

That winter, Felch began announcing at Gunn boys’ basketball games. He continued his career when he entered Gunn as a fresh-

man and has been announcing ever since. Froli explained that Felch is highly dedicated to his work.

“Some of the things he does are very impressive for a high school guy,” Froli said.

Froli also highlighted Felch’s resourcefulness. “The thing that amazes me most about Trevor is that he acts quickly on his feet,” he said. “He can handle most everything unforeseen that comes up be it a problem with the sound system, crowd control, missing rosters or neighbors’ complaints. Trevor does not become flustered.”

After four years of practice, Felch still feels that his performance is far from perfect. “You improve each and every time,” he said.

With Froli’s help, Felch has developed relationships with a few professionals in the industry. Froli

introduced him to Ted Robinson, who currently announces Stanford football, NBC Olympics and tennis.

Felch has visited Robinson numerous times at his press box at the Stanford stadium. Robinson, like Froli, thinks highly of Felch’s broadcasting abilities. “He has a natural understanding of what communication over radio or TV is about,” Robinson said.

Felch interned last summer at AT&T Park with Dave Flemming, an announcer for the San Francisco Giants. Felch observed Flemming for the first two games and recorded his own play-by-play account during the third game.

Felch explained how the experience helped to advance his professional development. “I now know how to better pace myself, how to tell information without going over-

board with statistics and stories, how to better prepare myself before each game,” Felch said.

The next step in Felch’s career will be college, where he plans to pursue broadcasting as an extracurricular activity. “I’m not going to pursue it in an academic way,” he said. “I’m not going to major in Communications, because this is not the type of thing you can learn in a classroom.”

Felch has ambitious career aspirations. “Eventually I want to announce at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium,” he said.

Robinson is confident that Felch will have no trouble achieving his goals. “He is going to be far ahead of all his peers because he has been so dedicated about pursuing this during his high school years,” he said. “I have no doubt that Trevor is going to be quite successful.”

Cross country team goes out of state to compete

Runners prepare to race this week at the Manhattan Invitational in New York Adrienne Nguyen Sports Editor

This year, the cross country team will leave for five days to participate in one of its first outof-state invitationals in New York.

From Oct. 11 to 15, 24 members of the team will attend the Manhattan High School Cross Country Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City.

Head Coach Ernie Lee and assistant coach Matt Tompkins will be accompanying the team. Out of the 101 runners, the leading 24 athletes were chosen to leave for Manhattan. “Returning varsity runners automatically received spots on the trip,” Lee said. “For the remaining 12 spots, we ran a time trial during the second week of school.”

The event hosts high school teams from all over the nation, especially those within New York and the Northeast. Although Gunn will be the only participating school

from the Bay Area, other schools from California include Centennial High School in Bakersfield and Clovis High School.

Being unfamiliar with the opponent and the course has not intimidated the participating athletes.

“The race is just another meet for me, and I’m not anticipating much,” senior Daniela Mehech said. “We want to enjoy ourselves and do the best we can.”

Junior Arlie Krigel agrees. “We approach our races positively,” Krigel said. “These races are more of a recreational activity. This race is no different from the other meets we’ve attended.”

The training for the trip has not changed dramatically. “Most of the top kids have been running consistently since the beginning of the summer,” Lee said.

Two-hour practices are held daily with occasional weekend practices. “Our training has slowly been increased to farther distances

in shorter time intervals,” junior Greg Freehling said.

This will not be the first out-ofstate competition for some runners.

Since Lee began coaching the team in 1994, he and the team have traveled out of state to Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii, and Portland, Oregon, in 2002 and 2004, respectively.

Van Cortlandt Park is one of the most well known cross country facilities in the nation. Situated in the outskirts of New York City, it hosts a multitude of cross country meets for national and statewide high school meets and universities such as NYU and Fordham.

Lee wants the team to attend more meets the rest of the season.

“If runners should qualify for the State Meet, they will be traveling to Fresno at the end of the season,” Lee said.

Afterwards, the team will go to Los Angeles for a post-season meet at the Footlocker Western Regional.

Adrienne Nguyen

Cross country runners stretch after practice in the rain. The top 24 athletes are traveling to New York this Wednesday.

16

Sports

The Oracle

Many options open to athletes As college application deadlines near, students are beginning to think about which colleges they plan to go to. For most Gunn students, choosing which colleges to apply to is simple; students usually want to go to colleges that have been highly ranked for their academics. Students interested in sports, however, choosing which college to apply to is a far different task.

Students interested in playing sports for college teams have an entirely separate recruitment process that includes a written profile and a videotape of highlights.

Senior varsity volleyball player Samantha Rohman, who played school and club volleyball since her freshman year, has had experience with the recruitment process.

“Junior year is when you put together a video of skills sessions and highlights and mail that with a letter about your GPA, personality and academic strong points,” Rohman said. “Eventually you enter

a correspondence with the coaches until it gets to a point where the coach wants you to play with them and you want to play for that school and you mail that school a letter of intent to play.”

This extra work pays off, as many schools offer scholarships for student athletes. “Ivy League schools don’t offer any athletic scholarships but Division I and Division II schools offer a certain number of athletic scholarships per sport. Division III schools don’t offer any scholarships,” cross country and track assistant coach Matt Tompkins said. “The difference between Division I and Division II schools is that Division I schools offer heftier scholarships than division II.” For any student-athletes interested in being recruited, Rohman offered this bit of advice. “You have to be diligent and you have to be proactive,” Rohman said.

Fellow varsity volleyball player junior Tiffany Stone agrees. Al-

though only a junior, Stone has already begun to prepare for the difficult process. “For your profile, you introduce yourselves, your positions, club teams you’ve played, and video clip highlights of you playing,” Stone said. “Coaches are a really big involvement in this, and you want your coach to help you make your profiles.”

Colleges also offer options for students who are not dedicated to sports, but are still interested in playing. Intramural teams are informal, and matches are conducted with members of the same school.

“I like playing badminton, but I don’t really want to get on a college team,” varsity badminton player junior Kevin Yao said. “It takes too much time, and requires serious commitment.”

College recruitment a useful resource

–Thomas Bao and Alex Lee

29% of students intend to play a sport in college.

39% of students will not participate in athletics.

32% of students are undecided on college sports.

—241 students surveyed

Maile Krauss Gunn graduate Maile Krauss has played volleyball for six years. As a sophomore at Gunn, she was already receiving letters from colleges trying to interest her in playing for their school, and by her junior year the recruiting process started in full swing.

During the fall of her senior year,

Krauss went on official visits to five different colleges. “The school pays to fly you to their campus, they feed you, house you, show you around and you get to stay in dorms with the team,” Krauss said. “Official visits take place during volleyball season, making it hard because of school volleyball, but I signed on early commitment in November.”

Krauss chose to go to American University in Washington, D.C., a Division I school. “I decided on American because of the combination of location, academics and athletic reputation,” Krauss said. “They make the NCAA tournament every year which is a big honor.”

According to Krauss, there was a big transition to make from high school volleyball to collegiate level.

During pre-season, Krauss attended practice for nine hours every day for three weeks. “College volleyball is very time consuming and physically and mentally demanding,” Krauss

said. “Practices are longer, harder and a lot more intense.”

Balancing schoolwork and sports may also be a challenge that athletes face in college. “My class schedule was designed around my practice schedule making it hard to get into certain classes,” Krauss said. “Luckily, as an athlete you have priority registration so it puts you ahead of everyone else, but you miss half of your classes a week due to travel so its easy to get behind.”

Athletes are required to have eight hours of study hall per week and often meet with an Athletic Academic Advisor.

Despite the hard work, Krauss is dedicated and happy with playing volleyball in college. “Playing college volleyball, especially Division I, is a huge time commitment and like anything, there are tradeoffs you must make,” Krauss said.

–Libby Craig

Stephen Salazar For a student-athlete, the idea of playing a sport at a collegiate level requires the athlete to seriously ponder his or her priorities. For some, it is simply a choice or interest to continue with a sport after high school, but for others, there is almost no choice.

Urban and inner city high school athletes, among others, may see college athletics as their only opportunity to have a fulfilling future. College recruiting motivates students to pursue a constructive activity outside of school, and may be the best experience in the world for some.

Recruitment for college sports is a necessary tool not only for coaches, but also to give athletes the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Some might object to the immediate attention and request for commitment from colleges or think scouts and coaches are being too hasty with their recruitment decision. Yet, this attention is not meant to pressure the athlete but enlighten them of their potential and offer the opportunity to take their interest in athletics to a whole different level. Also, it is still completely the athlete’s decision whether they are making themselves open for recruitment or not.

The other side of the spectrum of college recruitment has athletes that want to be recruited but may not have the adequate talent and ability to play at a collegiate level. For these athletes, it can be very disappointing to not receive the attention that other athletes in a sport enjoy, but there is not a lost opportunity if that individual wants to play a sport in college. Hundreds of athletes every year are walk-ons on numerous Division IA, IAA, II and III teams across the nation. A high school athlete has a plethora of opportunities to play a sport in college, even if recruitment is not an option.

The gifted high school athletes of our community, and across the country, should appreciate what college scouts are trying to do for them. Recruitment should not add fear or pressure to the morale of an individual, but rather a sense of optimism and motivation in their given field.

—Salazar, a junior, is an Entertainment editor.