The Oracle December 2023

IN-DEPTH

FORUM

“The school knows I need this support”: Diving into Gunn’s Special Education programs

Centering on historical context versus modern standards when evaluating historical figures

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

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Friday, December 8, 2023 Volume 61, Issue 3

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A-B CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES

Chinyoung Shao

Below: An owl flew into the construction site outside of construction hours and was discovered the next day at the top of the newly framed interior walls.

Animal Control was called, and construction stopped for an hour. The owl was safely evacuated.

Photo courtesy of Mohammed Sedqi

Charlotte Qian

Above: Construction workers build the foundation of the A-building.

They will later add piping, electrical wiring and gas lines.

Right: The metal floor tracks and vertical beams outline the offices of the administrative team. Walls will be installed later.

Chinyoung Shao Charlotte Qian

Above: Construction on the A- and B-buildings is projected to finish in December 2024.

Construction—p.2

PAUSD to host Middle College and College Now! programs, expand dual-enrollment offerings for 2024-25 school year Sylvie Nguyen Reporter On Oct. 24, the PAUSD Board of Education approved a proposal allowing the district to host its own Middle College and College Now! programs beginning next school year. Gunn will also offer a new English dualenrollment course for seniors, pending approval from Foothill Community College.

Currently, the Middle College and College Now! programs — in which juniors and seniors take classes at Foothill — are outsourced to the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District.

Since the 2019-20 school year, Middle College has enabled students to attend high school English and history classes taught by certified MVLA teachers at Foothill College. Students attend classes in one of two 50-student cohorts during the two-year program.

They can take up to 11 credits of college classes per quarter, pursuing in-person or asynchronous Foothill courses that fulfill their remaining MVLA graduation requirements and suit their interests, according to Lead Counselor David Leftwich.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new program, current Middle College juniors will remain with MVLA

for their senior year, according to Leftwich. PAUSD’s Middle College program will enroll only juniors next year and expand to include seniors in the 2025-26 school year. Sophomores may also be included in the near future.

PAUSD Middle College senior Isaac Wang appreciates Middle College’s capacity to facilitate genuine connections and unique opportunities.

“It opens your horizons because it exposes you to a lot of different people from different places and of different ages,” Wang said. “I think where Foothill shines more compared to a high school is (in) its ability to connect you with your professors and a lot of real-world opportunities and referrals, like internships.”

Created in 2018, College Now! immerses students who may have “outgrown” high school in college-level work at Foothill, allowing participants to accrue 15 college credits each quarter.

The program, which will be renamed to Foothill Now! to reflect the new in-house program, is ideal for independent and self-driven students, according to PAUSD College Now! junior Sophia Howell.

“There is some independence required to succeed, because a lot of the steps that you’re taking in terms of applying for the program is very self-driven,” she

said. “There’s not a lot of guidance, apart from that of (College Now! advisor Gary) McHenry. His involvement is intentionally less hands-on than it would be with the Middle College program. Ultimately, as long as you possess those qualities, or you’re looking to develop those qualities, the program is suitable for pretty much anyone that would like to apply.”

According to Leftwich, the new model, in which PAUSD hosts both programs under PAUSD graduation requirements, will allow the district to better address individual students’ needs.

“Through our model and our planning, we can offer more direct and robust services than are currently available to PAUSD students in the MVLA model,” he said. These services include guidance and mental health resources.

Principal Wendy Stratton explained that PAUSD’s Middle College and Foothill Now! programs align with the district’s initiatives to give students alternative paths to college. “(These programs can serve) as a pathway for students who may not fit the bill for a comprehensive high school experience,” she said. “It was kind of a nobrainer to bring it here, especially when we’re trying to Foothill programs—p.3

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News

THEORACLE

Construction team shifts from demolition to framing, flooring for new A- and B-buildings Charlotte Qian News Editor This November marked the end of the demolition phase of the A- and B-building modernization project and the beginning of the construction of the new buildings’ metal frameworks. The A- and B-building construction is scheduled to be completed by August 2024, and the buildings will be furnished and ready for use by December 2024.

Over the past three months, workers have installed slabs on the floors of both buildings to cover underground utilities and conduits, and have begun constructing the metal deck for the roof. According to the November Facilities and Construction Newsletter, the steel deck for roof installation will be welded next.

The construction team is working on developing the plumbing, electrical-wiring and fire-protection systems. They will continue to work on the frame, including wood framing, light-gauge framing, metal-stud framing, welding and steel frameworking, according to Senior Construction Manager Mohammed Sedqi. The contruction crews will also install insulation in the walls and on the roof.

Currently, the construction project is on time, with crews caught up on last winter’s lost progress.

The assembly of the building’s metal framework, which requires welding and the use of a crane, presented noticeable changes. Though welding can emit concentrations of hazardous airborne contaminants, according to the Department of Industrial Relations, around 80% of welding is completed off campus, and any welding on campus is done at a safe distance from students.

“As long as we are welding (higher) up, it should not be a concern and is not in close proximity to the students,” Sedqi said.

Though there has been progress on the framework and flooring, construction has had to adapt to student needs.

The pavement in front of the C- and E-buildings, fenced off during the second semester of the 2022-23 school year, was reopened with stairs and a ramp to provide

Chinyoung Shao

Interior framing for walls has been installed on the B-building, and will be fitted with insulation and drywall after the walls and roofing are complete on the A-building. students space to walk to classes.

This change, however, gave construction workers less room to work with. The opened area blocks the path of the crane, meaning that the crane needs to be wheeled between the A- and B-buildings to access the B-building construction.

“It was a tough decision (to open up the area to students) because it had a negative impact on the construction,” Sedqi said.

According to Associated Student Body President Nathan Levy, the Student Executive Council has not communicated with students about the construction. Levy said that the administrative team’s monthly newsletter will be the main source of construction updates.

Both students and administrative staff find the construction inconvenient. Although the administrative team has adapted to the current C- and E-building setup, the noise and dust from the contruction present

complications, according to Secretary Carole Main.

“It really is a problem when they use certain machines that vibrate or when they have machines that create a lot of dust,” she said.

Senior Alexander Lafler-Austern explained that the noise and location of the construction makes navigating the school day more difficult.

“It’s frustrating because sometimes I have to go out of my way (to avoid) the construction because I have a higher-than-average noise sensitivity,” he said. “The construction noises are literally painful when I am near it.”

However, Main is excited for the new building to be completed: It will have a central location on campus with modern amenities where visitors can come.

“The old offices were built in 1964, and we didn’t have air conditioning and we had rats, so it is nice to have (a building) that really represents Gunn,” Main said.

Fire alarm system to be replaced following multiple false alarms Nicholas Weng Business Manager On Oct. 24, the PAUSD Board of Education approved a $1.59 million contract to Aram Electric for installing a new Gunn fire alarm system.

The decision comes after several false alarms in the past year, caused by the current sensors’ susceptibility to hot weather. According to Assistant Principal of Safety Dr. Mycal Hixon, the new fire alarm system is expected to be installed by August 2024.

“

We’ll make sure that we communicate (with students) because we’re updating and testing (the alarms), and we want to minimize the negative impact of this project on Gunn students.

—Assistant Principal Dr. Mycal Hixon

”

Though it will need to be modified on a site-by-site basis, the new system will serve as the district-wide standard across all campuses, according to PAUSD Director of Facilities and Construction Eric Holm. With the current fire alarm system, the loss of power in a single building can prevent other buildings’ fire alarms from working.

“Most fire alarms are wired in series, building by building, so when you do work on a building, everything downstream of that building goes offline,” Holm said.

“The new system works on building a node model so each building communicates

directly with the main control panel. That way, if any building goes offline, all the other buildings can stay online.”

The new alarms will have a greater tolerance for high temperatures. According to Holm, Gunn’s heat and smoke sensors are in buildings’ warm attic spaces, so on hot days, the current sensors have falsely detected fire. The new sensors will have a higher heat index, so these false alarms will occur less frequently.

According to Hixon, the installation will primarily take place on the weekends and after school to minimize disruption of classroom time.

“We’ll make sure that we communicate (with students) because we’re updating and testing (the alarms), and we want to minimize the negative impact of this project on Gunn students,” he said.

$2.29 million was approved as the budget for the Fire Alarmreplacement project Source: PAUSD Board of Education

News

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

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Amann Mahajan Managing Editors Chris Lee Irene Tsen News Victor Dang Michelle Koo Charlotte Qian Forum Anne Dong Annabel Honigstein Jeffrey Kang Features Diya Bose-Malakar Kaylee Cheng Safina Syed Centerfold Maddie Cheung Lise Desveaux In-Depth Dan Honigstein Becca Wu Sports Katie LaWer Vivian Studdert Kelvin Xu Lifestyle Kaitlyn Chen Vivien Chen Bryan Xiao Online Yueun Hong Sophia Hwangbo Fiona Xiong Social Media Zoe Leontis Ya-An Xue Ellie Yuan Photos Editor Chinyoung Shao Graphics Editor Irene Hong

Staff Business/Circulation Nicholas Weng Bryan Xiao Oracle-SEC Liaison Safina Syed Graphics Artists Vin Bhat Elise Hu Aarushi Kumar Natalie Lam Karis Lau Chaewon Lee Jesse Li Aeron Man Sophie Rong Sarah Xie Photographers Vin Bhat Evelyn Chow Grace Gao Sophia Hwangbo Victor Peng Benjamin Qian Naomi Wang Chloe Wu Reporters Claire Jittipun Eanam Maor Sylvie Nguyen Eliot O’Connell Violet Tivol Fenton Zarlengo Adviser Kristy Blackburn

Friday, December 8, 2023

PAUSD to host Foothill programs next school year

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Foothill programs—p.1

support that pathway to college here in our district.”

Along with Foothill’s fully staffed tutoring center, students will have access to six new PAUSD classrooms on Foothill’s campus, according to Superintendent Don Austin.

Citing other students’ support for the program, Howell called on its potential to expand educational prospects for Gunn students.

“I would love to see more Gunn students at Foothill because I always give people a wave if I recognize them,” she said. “If it means getting more PAUSD students, opportunities, and involvement in the College Now! and Middle College programs, I think it’s a great move.”

In addition to these two programs, Gunn has proposed launching an English dual-enrollment program for seniors who are interested in taking English for college credit. According to English Instructional Lead Kate Weymouth, the current plan is to merge Gunn’s Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum class and Foothill’s English 1A and English 1B courses into one class at Gunn next year, taken during a normal class period. The class will be included in this spring’s course catalog.

“We have had ERWC for many years, but we’ve never run it as a dual-enrollment class with Foothill before,” Weymouth said.

“This is the first time you will be able to take the class and get credit with Foothill, so students will receive weighted grades and college credit for their coursework.”

Weymouth also emphasized dualenrollment programs’ inclusive approach to higher-level learning.

“Not all students are Advanced Placement students, but that doesn’t mean not all students want rigor and exposure to college-level work,” she said. “So, we offer college-level work to a broader range of students with different interests or learning styles.”

According to English teacher Dr. Jennifer Cassel, who researched dual enrollment and taught dual-enrollment courses at San Joaquin Delta College before coming to Gunn, the program provides an opportunity for students to try out a college English class in the safety of a high school environment.

“Early college opportunities can be transformative experiences for students who are looking for a chance to try out college and gain important exposure to college-level academic experiences,” she said.

El Camino Real under repair, with potholes to be repaved and bike lanes added by spring 2025 Evelyn Chow

Potholes and cracks on El Camino Real are being repaved with new asphalt concrete.

Vivien Chen Lifestyle Editor Starting in fall 2023, the California Department of Transportation is improving El Camino Real’s road conditions. Caltrans, which owns El Camino, is repairing potholes and cracks, adding new bike lanes, and upgrading crosswalks to improve ride quality and pedestrian safety.

The project spans from El Camino’s Sand Hill Road intersection in Palo Alto to the Grant Road intersection in Mountain View.

The main construction and paving will begin in spring 2024 and is scheduled to finish in spring 2025.

During the week of Nov. 27, nightly construction put temporary concrete on deep potholes on the Maybell Avenue and El Camino intersection, a street many students cross to get to school.

Many students, such as senior Jacob Olshen, were glad about the repaved roads after problems biking over deep potholes.

“It made me nervous to cross every single time,” he said. “Once my bike lock fell off my bike … so it’s nice not having to shake up and down every time and worry about my bike lock. I no longer instinctively check my bike lock every time I cross.”

Caltrans will also install new bike lanes in Mountain View and Los Altos beginning in January 2024, according to Caltrans Public Information Officer Victor Gauthier. Lanes may also be added in Palo Alto, pending discussions between Caltrans and the City.

For sophomore Holden Seidel, additional bike lanes may make El Camino more accessible. Currently, the road is difficult to

navigate for pedestrians and bikers.

“El Camino doesn’t have bike lanes, so bikes either have to bike on the sidewalk or next to the cars,” Seidel said. “(Pedestrians) have to walk next to and cross three lanes of high-speed traffic. There’s also really tight sidewalks, which are not enjoyable to walk along.”

For pedestrian safety and accessibility, curb ramps will be upgraded according to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. Crosswalk pavement markings will be repainted to improve visibility.

To aid people with visual impairments, signal buttons will be upgraded to Accessible Pedestrian Signals, which translate crossing instructions to audio and sensory formats, such as voice and vibrotactile cues.

According to Gauthier, the majority of the construction will take place overnight to reduce traffic. At least one lane on the road will remain open at all times, and detours will be in place when intersections are repaved.

To restore pavement, Caltrans will use “cold planing,” or the controlled removal and restoration of the pavement surface.

Localized failed concrete will be repaired by saw-cutting cracks and uneven areas, and pouring in new concrete panels. Potholes will be filled with new asphalt concrete, visible as darker patches on the road.

Junior Thomas Mount, who bikes to school, has noticed marked improvement in road condition.

“I felt kind of unsafe going over (El Camino) because I would feel my bike bump and go, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s not good,’” he said. “But they recently got redone and it’s very nice. It’s smooth as butter.”

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

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

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

Letters to the Editor, Comments and ideas for coverage may be sent to oraclegunn@gmail.com. These letters do not need to be from current students.

“I like articles about teachers. I would love to learn more fun things about teachers.”

—Heidi Chen, 12

Fill out our feedback form at tinyurl.com/OracleDec2023

“I like the one about Ms. Gee (Gunn’s athletic trainer) because she is awesome and it’s nice that she is being recognized.”

—Sophia Turean, 12 “I would like more coverage on the school’s college counseling services and how late they start them.”

—Caitlin Ginn, 12 “I always enjoy segments on students’ lives in different countries.

I find it very interesting to see what students have been up to.”

—Lia O’Donovan, 11

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‘Cuffing season’ pressure makes remaining single more difficult

Diya Bose-Malakar Features Editor Following a hot girl summer filled with healing and self-reflection, I’m back — still single and hotter than ever. After enjoying the blissful solace of independence, I’ve decided that entering a relationship is the last thing I want to do, especially as I’m nearing the end of my high school journey. Although I’ve set this healthy boundary for myself, there is still one looming issue: cuffing season. As the colder weather and upcoming holidays create pressure to find a partner to enjoy the festivities with, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to avoid getting into a relationship.

Cuffing season generally starts after Halloween and extends until midFebruary, conveniently encompassing gift-giving holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Yet this increased yearning for companionship stems from more than wanting a plus-one for holiday events. As temperatures drop, so do serotonin levels, causing people to seek out romantic partners to bring warmth to a lonely void.

Even if I did want to be in a relationship, it might be a challenge to find a partner willing to match my commitment level. With the prevalence of hookup culture, many people prefer having casual flings over exclusive relationships. Consequently, people feel inadequate when prospective partners want varying levels of commitment.

Despite my conscious decision to remain single, I’ve still felt the pressures of cuffing season. Navigating hallways full of hand-holding, starryeyed couples can be discouraging, especially when most of my close friends are in happy relationships.

When surrounded by these couples, I must constantly remind myself how empowering it can be to choose independence. After investing significant time and effort into selfimprovement, I don’t want to stunt my personal growth by forcing myself into a half-baked, surface-level relationship for the sake of being cuffed. With such high pressures to couple up, it can be hard to distinguish wanting to be in a relationship based on meaningful connections versus simply out of envy.

While there is novelty in the high school dating experience, this is also a critical period to explore new passions. Without the distraction of a relationship, I have more opportunities to prioritize personal goals without simultaneously concentrating on someone else’s happiness.

Being alone isn’t a curse, and I’ve managed to turn it into a blessing by spending my free time with intentionality. I can still enjoy upcoming winter festivities with my friends and invest my extra time in long-lasting friendships. Though I’ll occasionally suffer from a bout of loneliness, I find comfort in knowing that there is no mandatory timeline for finding a partner, and my worth is not determined by my winter relationship status.

FORUM

REBOOTS OF MOVIES, TV SHOWS STIFLE CREATIVITY, CURB DIVERSITY Safina Syed Features Editor From “Ghostbusters” to the upcoming “Snow White,” reboots — encompassing remakes, revamped series and franchise films — have become increasingly frequent in recent years. While reviving iconic films first gained traction in the early 2000s, the frequency and breadth of this trend have increased exponentially, illustrating an overreliance on existing stories. Instead of exploring novel concepts, studios often opt to rehash familiar narratives, relying on the allure of nostalgia to draw audiences. To produce creative, inclusive films, the film industry should explore new stories that highlight typically underrepresented groups, rather than adding more modern and diverse casts to previously profitable movies.

The industry’s reliance on reboots risks creative stagnation when original storytelling takes a backseat to reviving old content. Though certain remakes, including the “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and Marvel franchises, have been successful in building new cinematic universes and fan bases, other films, such as “Men in Black: International” and “Ocean’s 8,” have not: They are simply telling the same story with an updated cast. Even in Marvel and “Star Wars” films, the intention to maintain accuracy and continuity in established franchises often prevents the boldness necessary for genuine innovation. The industry’s dependence on established stories is often a risk-averse strategy aimed at securing box-office success: Reboots — which capture an original film’s existing audience and have built-in marketing potential — provide a level of economic security. Originality and artistic merit are sacrificed for financial predictability, limiting the industry’s creative evolution.

Reboots have, at times, allowed for more diverse casts.

However, studios’ diversity considerations are rarely entirely genuine: The industry’s willingness to embrace diversity fluctuates based on perceived profitability and acceptance by audiences, as demonstrated by Disney. One of its most recent remakes, “The Little Mermaid,” was meant to combat stereotypes and allow for younger audiences to connect with the characters they saw on their screens. Disney’s good intentions, however, are undercut by its unwillingness to pursue new narratives. Their tendency to swap people of color into white narratives can often lead to tokenism. As Disney continues its trend of recreating its princess films with women of color with its upcoming “Snow White,” its failure to explore new stories means that these reboots fail to meaningfully showcase underrepresented groups.

Even as the industry attempts to incorporate diversity, films frequently cast light-skinned actors merely to check a box rather than authentically represent the diversity inherent in TV shows’ real-life settings. Take, for instance, the original “Gossip Girl.” The four main characters and the majority of the cast are all white, failing to mirror the diversity of New York. In contrast, the recent reboot made strides by introducing a more varied cast with dynamic characters across different races, genders and sexual orientations.

However, lacking sufficient representation of darker-skinned individuals, it still falls short of encapsulating the diversity of these communities. Many producers often adhere to colorist standards while striving to appear diverse, missing the mark on genuine inclusivity.

The impact that this wave of reboots has had on the film industry is multifaceted, highlighting the constant interplay between creative freedom, economic interests and societal progression in revisiting cherished stories. The future of Hollywood is quickly changing and often unpredictable: Reboots may just be a phase that dies out or a staple of works to come. Regardless, the industry’s current reliance on them precludes it from producing authentic stories centering around historically underrepresented communities.

Aeron Man

Forum

Friday, December 8, 2023

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How should we evaluate and celebrate historical figures?

Focusing on today’s moral standards

Focusing on the context of their times

Violet Tivol Reporter

Annabel Honigstein Forum Editor

For centuries, Christopher Columbus was lauded as a great adventurer. He did what few had done before and braved the tempestuous Atlantic Ocean to claim glory and riches. Yet, in recent years, his legacy has come under scrutiny: He displaced, enslaved, dehumanized and killed many of the native people he encountered — setting the stage for centuries of European exploitation and colonization in the process.

To judge a historical figure based solely on their era’s standards is to ignore centuries’ worth of social development.

Although it is impossible to expect historical figures to have lived according to our societal norms, excusing horrific actions such as Columbus’ because they were “appropriate for their time” is disingenuous to ourselves today. It is necessary to evaluate historical figures based on our current standards to develop a more accurate understanding of traditional “heroes” while creating room for new narratives in the historical pantheon.

In 2017, the PAUSD Board of Education unanimously voted to rename Jordan and Terman Middle Schools because their original namesakes, David Starr Jordan and Lewis Madison Terman, were leaders of the eugenics movement, a pseudoscientific cause rooted in white supremacy and ableism. Their movement may have been popular — though still disputed — in its time, but that doesn’t justify their discriminatory beliefs.

Honoring these men as figureheads of our middle schools brings their values into the present. Judging them by current moral guidelines is necessary because even though they are figures of the past, celebrating them occurs in the present.

Thus, our expectations for them must be based on contemporary values.

The word “judging” often implies stark criticisms and blanket statements. Judgment, however, doesn’t need to be black and white. Thomas Jefferson, for example, supported individual freedoms while enslaving people. If we only evaluate a historical figure like Jefferson by the societal norms of his time, we assess him by the norms set by those in power in the 1800s — people who, at the time, condoned slavery. By reevaluating him using our current standards, we can create a fuller judgment relevant to our time that includes both deserved praise and necessary critique.

While removing a historical figure’s statue or name can cause backlash, it creates space for recognizing historical figures who better reflect our values.

Applying current judgment to historical figures isn’t erasing history but expanding it to include people who would not have received the same recognition in their own time. Figures such as Sacagawea, who was never credited in her own time but is now the face of the gold dollar coin, can serve as inspirations to students who feel underrepresented in history classes.

Judging historical figures by modern standards is also essential in teaching. As products of our current

time, we have inherent biases that are impossible to separate from our history education. Understanding these biases can help us contextualize our learning instead of trying to escape it. If we are to learn from history, we must teach it for the present.

By focusing on historical context and standards, we dismiss our responsibility to the betterment of our standards — and the countless people who have always condemned wrongdoing, even in the past. In assessing these figures through a contemporary lens, we can reevaluate how and which historical figures we celebrate and why. We can hold ourselves accountable and strive to build ourselves into better moral models for our current society and generations to come.

On June 19, 2020, protesters toppled and defaced statues of historical figures in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Among the fallen bronze was President Ulysses Grant, who led the Union armies in the Civil War. Grant’s legacy, like that of many leaders, is complex: He was instrumental in defeating the Confederacy and enacted laws to dismantle the Ku Klux Klan, yet his family kept an enslaved servant even after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Grant’s legacy highlights the reckoning that traditional historical “heroes” now face.

Changes in social norms prompt us to reevaluate historical figures through the lens of contemporary values — but this shift, realistically, cannot be done. It is crucial to understand these figures in the con-

Soph

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text of their times for a balanced perspective that recognizes their positive impacts as well as their shortcomings, while understanding that the society they experienced was notably different from ours.

“Canceling” these figures — including removing statues and renaming buildings — erases history, inhibiting our ability to understand them as complex individuals. “Canceling” a historical figure means perceiving them as unworthy of commemoration, often labeling them as wholly evil or irrelevant. Conversely, choosing not to cancel a figure entails emphasizing the importance of continued learning and commemoration despite their imperfections. Instead of removing and replacing, we should add and revise curricula to provide a more comprehensive perspective. Vandalizing or tearing down statues isn’t helpful; it disrupts dialogue and erases a piece of history. Similarly, excising books or outdated perspectives from curricula entirely can be counterproductive, as it limits our ability to confront and understand the past in its entirety.

History cannot be rewritten because its lessons are invaluable in shaping our future. Instead of erasing these figures from history, it is far more constructive to learn from their actions, recognizing both their positive contributions and failings. For instance, Thomas Jefferson, despite being an author of the Declaration of Independence and an advocate for democracy and individual rights, enslaved people.

Analyzing Jefferson’s legacy in its entirety allows for a more profound understanding of history. This approach acknowledges the complexities of not only history but also human beings.

Moreover, renaming buildings or institutions creates further issues: Determining whose legacies are tainted and whose aren’t is a difficult distinction to make. The American Ornithological Society’s plan to rename all bird species named after people is a case in point. Unable to determine which birds’ namesakes were problematic, the organization took on the timeconsuming task of renaming all species.

These sweeping measures risk unwarranted changes in cases where the historical figures in question may not be as controversial.

Evaluating historical figures as a product of their times isn’t about endorsing wrongful actions, but about recognizing the complexities of their impact and learning from it. “Cancel culture” often leads to a hasty erasure of controversial aspects of history and fails to provide comprehensive learning.

Instead, we should aim for an informed engagement with history by embracing a balanced view that acknowledges both figures’ achievements and failings.

Then, we can draw meaningful lessons from the past to inform a more ethical and nuanced understanding of the present and future.

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Friday, December 8, 2023

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Volunteering opportunities bring Campus clubs offer ways to contribute fulfillment, joy to students’ lives Junior Sophia Bian

A little girl, shy at first, stands with her head down and her arms behind her back. As the dance workshop begins, however, she brightens, laughing and skipping. Junior Sophia Bian, who walks around the room giving comments and praise to her students, pauses to smile at the girl enjoying her dance adventures.

Bian is the director of performing arts at BravaArte Foundation, an organization that aims to provide accessible arts education. As director, she recruits students from other school districts, coordinates performer and instructor schedules, and supervises dance lessons.

Bian began volunteering to make arts education more affordable. Music classes are often expensive, and Bian recalls that her own parents had initially been reluctant about paying for flute lessons. So, when Charlotte Qian — who is also a news editor on The Oracle — mentioned BravaArte, a program she founded in December 2022, Bian asked for information about it.

“It sounded like a great opportunity to help spread the arts, and I have been working in BravaArte since,” she said.

Through BravaArte’s free programs, including private music lessons, Bian hopes to ease the financial pressures of pursuing the arts and encourage creative discovery.

“Making the arts more accessible in general will get rid of this barrier and help others discover the joy of art,” she said.

Since May, Bian has helped plan several events and classes, including an “Intro to Dance” workshop every Sunday. This workshop, aiming to give young children a broad introduction to dance, provides instruction in ballet, jazz, lyrical, character and other dance styles.

Bian’s BravaArte participation has improved her coordinating and planning skills.

“I’m more comfortable with management, and with the officer team’s help, I have mustered up the courage to learn how to recruit, cold-call and do other tasks that I wouldn’t

Source: Self-selected survey sent out to Gunn students by The Oracle from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4 with 131 responses

have been able to do without them,” she said.

Most recently, Bian and the BravaArte team hosted a UNICEF Benefit Concert on Nov. 26 at the Mitchell Park Community Center. With 11 performers — including Bian herself — they raised funds for UNICEF and hosted a meetand-greet with student instructors and performers.

“It was a ton of planning and took up a lot of the officer team’s Thanksgiving break, but thinking of where the funds we raised are going to go makes me feel extremely happy,” Bian said.

Bian plans to continue working with BravaArte and will teach a student privately next semester.

“It feels so rewarding to participate in community service that speaks to you,” she said. “For me, that’s spreading the love of music.”

—Written by Michelle Koo

Dream Volunteers Club meets on Mondays at lunch in Room H-5. Their goal is to help make education resources more accessible to underprivileged communities. They offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities, such as writing to clients of Meals on Wheels — an organization working to reduce senior hunger and isolation — and traveling overseas to build infrastructure. Last year, a group of volunteers went to Guatemala and dug trenches to construct a school. Club members plan to travel to Costa Rica this spring for another school project.

Key Club

Photo courtesy of Kayla Yao

Junior Sophia Bian plays Franz Doppler’s “Duettino Americain Op. 37” on the flute at BravaArte’s UNICEF Benefit Concert.

23.7%

of students surveyed volunteer more than four times a month

Key Club meets on Fridays during lunch in Room G-1. The club connects students to a community of volunteers through service events such as food distribution and toy donations. Each year, club members write thoughtful letters to the veterans at the Palo Alto Veterans Affair hospitals. Recently, club members organized a Charity for Miles event. Students either ran or walked for donations that went to UNICEF, an organization that gives medical support and education to children worldwide.

Red Cross Club Sarah Xie

Senior Lizzy jackson When senior Lizzy Jackson first stepped onto Gunn’s campus, she wasn’t quite sure where she belonged. “(It) sounds so existential, (but) I felt empty,” she said.

“I wasn’t doing sports, I wasn’t doing any extracurricular activities. I (thought), ‘What can I do to feel like I’ve done something?’”

She found her answer in a volunteering opportunities slide deck on Schoology. The slides advertised an opening at Dreamcatchers, an organization that allows Gunn students to help middle schoolers with homework. According to Jackson, getting to know the middle schoolers was even more fulfilling than teaching them.

“There’s so many community-based activities that you can do to really form a bond with the middle schoolers,” she said.

In her position, Jackson served as both academic help and confidante for her assigned students. Dreamcatchers also helped her get involved in other service opportunities.

“I cannot stress enough (how) Dreamcatchers changed my high school experience,” she said. “It’s probably the thing that I am thankful for the most for doing in my high school experience.”

While Dreamcatchers became Jackson’s primary service activity in high school, it wasn’t her first. Jackson and her family travel to Utah for a week each year to volunteer at Best Friends Animal Society, the largest no-kill shelter in the U.S. “That was really kind of how I got into the routine — because my family had just been doing it,” she said. “So, I thought, ‘What can I do at home?’ because I really liked the feeling of volunteering. It’s so community-based because everybody wants to be there — there’s nothing forced, there’s no reward from it like with a job. So that’s why I continue to do it.”

Jackson also volunteers at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Los Altos, a charity-based thrift store.

“Everybody that’s going into the thrift stores is really nice,”

Dream Volunteers Club

she said. “I think I only got one customer that yelled at me.

It’s a great place to start because there’s a lot of other high schoolers there.”

Although juggling multiple positions is difficult, Jackson’s sense of responsibility keeps her motivated.

“Having a feeling of people relying on you is probably the thing that sticks with you after volunteering, and it’s a really valuable feeling to have,” she said. “You can get it from anything, but volunteering is where you’ll get it directly.”

For students who would like to get involved but aren’t sure where to start, Jackson encourages testing the waters with any opportunities they see.

“The least you can do is try one meeting, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to go again,” she said. “There’s no shame in saying, ‘Sorry, this isn’t a good fit.’ That’s what’s great about volunteering.”

Red Cross Club, which meets on Friday at lunch in room L-1, spreads health and safety awareness. During meetings, club members learn about medical issues and ways to prepare themselves for disasters such as earthquakes or fires. The club holds drives in which students can donate blood or items for unhoused people such as toothbrushes, shampoo, lotion and socks. The club also offers opportunities for students to become CPR-certified and write cards to veterans or hospitalized children.

YCS Club

—Written by Jeffrey Kang Meeting Mondays at lunch in Room N-115, Youth Community Service Club helps students build empathy, establish healthy relationships and make responsible decisions. The club organizes events like Trunk-or-Treat, in which volunteers decorate car trunks for Halloween and pass out treats, and Service Day, in which students participate in service activities off campus.

YCS also honors students through service awards, such as the YCS Youth Connect Leadership Award.

Photo courtesy of Lizzy Jackson

Senior Lizzy Jackson mentors middle schoolers in algebra.

—Compiled by Yueun Hong Logo graphics by Michelle Koo

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Features

THEORACLE

dAncers BreAk dOwn Junior

L A W R A G G a Ben

Unlike some of his peers in Gunn’s Hip-Hop Club, junior Tanush Aggarwal didn’t begin his dancing journey with hip-hop. After exploring many dance types, however, he settled on hip-hop as his favorite.

“In the past I’ve done a lot of things, such as Bollywood, semi-classical Indian dance and contemporary, with some jazz in there as well,” he said.

Aggarwal’s diverse dancing background has allowed him to develop a distinct hip-hop style.

“The fact that I started with those and then moved into hip-hop definitely changed my technique around hip-hop,” he said. “A lot of the time hip-hop is kind of just ‘feel the music’ — there’s generally less technicality and teachers are generally less focused on cleanliness. Starting with those other forms allowed me to bring that cleanliness with my dancing into hip-hop.”

Hip-hop is a fusion dance genre, without a single defined dance style. Thus, Aggarwal believes that the individuality of each member of Hip-Hop Club at Gunn is valuable.

jam

ian in Q

“For example, there’s Dylan, who is more of a freestyler, and there’s me and a couple of others who focus more on choreography, and within that everyone has their own different styles,” he said.

“For me, it’s more of like grooving and a little bit of popping in there as well. Grooving is kind of just like feeling the music and vibing, more of those chill low-key moves, and popping is where you hit a beat, when you accentuate your movement and make it a sharp hit on that beat.”

Aggarwal’s dancing journey has been relatively hurdle-free so far, with the only setback being a scarcity of fellow dancers.

“It was a pretty big struggle last year for me as a club officer, and Stella and Dylan, to find dancers for the HipHop Club,” he said.

While Aggarwal does not plan to pursue dancing professionally, he will continue dancing on the side in the future. His next goal is to pick up breakdancing.

“What I hope to do, especially in college, is to find a bigger, more advanced group and a bigger community to do it with,” he said. “(I hope) to increase the frequency of my performances, and also just continue to dance throughout my life with people I enjoy doing it with.”

For Aggarwal, dancing has always been more of a lifestyle than an activity.

“Dancing has always been a part of who I am,” he said. “It shaped my personality in terms of the people I surround myself with and how I listen to music and how I go around my days.”

Junior Yayoi Tomaszewski fell in love with hip-hop dancing at first sight.

Eight years old at her first lesson, she watched the advanced dancers in awe, hoping that one day, she’d be able to dance like them. Little did she know that she would be honing her hip-hop skills for the next eight years of her life, learning new techniques and gaining confidence.

Tomaszewski joined her first hip-hop dance crew at Dance Connection when she was 11 and participated in her first hip-hop competition with them. Although it seemed daunting at first, competing proved to be enjoyable.

“I had so much adrenaline,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep because I was experiencing so many new things. (But) we had a really good time, and I built friendships with people who were much older than me. Some of those friendships still last to today.”

Attending these competitions helped Tomaszewski improve both her hip-hop and communication skills.

“I was able to get out of my comfort zone in dance, but that would also apply to meeting and talking to new people,” she said. “It just broke me out of my shell and made me less shy.”

However, it has not been easy for her to master the dance style.

Tomaszewski initially struggled with moving fluidly during quieter, slower parts of songs.

“Even though people think (hip-hop) is very carefree, chill and easy, there’s still a lot of technique that comes with it,” she said.

“It took me a long time to be natural with it, and there would be a lot of internal frustration.”

To Tomaszewski, one of the unique advantages of hiphop is that it allows dancers to express themselves freely.

“You’re able to express yourself in a way where, if you want to have a chill vibe or calmer energy, you’re still able to execute a hip-hop dance through that, but you can also be really hyped with it,” she said. “It gives me a much broader spectrum to be able to express myself in different ways.”

As Tomaszewski stopped dancing competitive hip-hop at Dance Connection, she

—Written by Victor Dang

Junior Tomaszewski

joined other studios, where she refined her hip-hop personality.

“I’m very creative and energetic,” she said. “Most of the dances I want to learn or perform have a lot of energy in them. I (also) try to incorporate improv a lot in dance too, so that’s where the o creativity comes in.” gb an w Tomaszewski draws comfort and ia H ph inspiration from the authentic, likeSo minded peers she has found in the hiphop community.

“The way a lot of hip-hop dancers interact with each other and other people is that they’re genuine with their kindness and compassion,” she said. “They’re super, super supportive, no matter what, even if you’re not at the best level of hip-hop. I don’t feel like I’ll ever be truly judged by a hip-hop dancer.”

Even though Tomaszewski has taken a break from competitive hip-hop this year to focus on school, she continues to take classes occasionally to maintain her technique. In the future, however, she wants to join a dance team again to re-immerse herself in the community she knows and loves.

“I’m hoping to be surrounded by that same kind of community, because I do miss making a lot of friends and meeting new people,” she said. “So, wherever I end up going to college, I hope I can find a local dance team that competes to have a good time.”

—Written by Anne Dong

Features

Friday, December 8, 2023

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Their love of Hip Hop senior

When senior Stella Manning stepped onstage at Gunn’s TEDx conference last February, she was nervous.

As Baby Keem’s “family ties” began playing, she quickly slipped into rhythm, shifting focus onto the beat instead of the crowd.

Manning started taking hip-hop classes in middle school at the Menlo Park Academy of Dance. Inspired by her older brother’s performance at TEDx, she joined Hip-Hop Club as a freshman, and has been the club’s co-president since sophomore year. Over the past few years, she has choreographed routines, mentored new dancers and elevated her freestyling skills.

Manning was first introduced to dance through ballet in elementary school. Today, hip-hop dance represents a kinesthetic freedom to Manning, enabling her to create her own rules.

“I really liked the contrast between ballet and hip-hop,” she said. “Ballet was very strict and rule-oriented. Hip-hop felt like sort of breaking those rules.”

Informed by her ballet background, Manning prefers moving slowly and focusing on individual body movements, instead of freestyling or breakdancing.

“I try to pick certain isolated movements to perfect and then link them together,” she said.

Working on performances for the Hip-Hop Club has taught Manning how to choreograph a routine.

Victo

r Pen

g

Man n ing

“It definitely can be challenging,” she said. “It’s easier to take inspiration from other pieces of choreography and sort of incorporate it into your own, but it’s difficult starting from a clean slate. It can be difficult to make the next move. It’s easy for things to get static.’’

For the TEDxGunnHighSchool conference in Februrary 2022, Manning and other members of the club worked to choreograph a routine to “family ties.” For this performance, Manning tried freestyling for the first time and appreciated its versatility.

“We started by freestyling to the song,” she said. “Once we ran through it a few times, that’s when we started to decide what moves we wanted to use (in the performance).”

Through working together on routines and learning new skills with club members, Manning has found a supportive community of friends to create and dance with.

Besides continuing to take classes in the Bay Area, Manning also workshopped her hip-hop skills and met other talented young dancers at a hip-hop intensive program in New York in 2018.

“New York had a very different vibe,” she said. “It’s fun to reflect back on. There are certain songs that remind me of the program. I remember ‘Nice For What,’ by Drake, was the song that we choreographed a dance to.”

Aside from joining Hip-Hop Club, Manning suggests that those interested in learning hip-hop use online resources to learn more.

“I would recommend starting by just watching other people dance,’’ she said. “Watching choreo or freestyle is a good first step, and then even starting to dance on your own in your house or your room is valuable.”

—Written by Katie LaWer

senior With booming hip-hop bass emanating from a speaker behind him, senior Dylan Qu maneuvers smoothly through a series of breakdancing moves, contorting his body to match the rhythm of the drumline. Despite already having practiced for two hours, he pushes through the fatigue, driven by a passion for his craft.

Qu began breaking in his freshman year, when his initial interest drove him to join Gunn’s Hip-Hop Club. Through the club, he met experienced dancer freshman Trevor Kovacs, who helped him hone his skills through hosting workshops in his garage. Even early in his journey, Qu could tell his passion for breaking ran deep.

“One of the things that was strange about it was, I could never understand why you wouldn’t want to break,” he said. “I remember Trevor was teaching some other people, and I couldn’t understand why they weren’t interested.

And when (my brother) started breaking as well, I just couldn’t understand why he quit. I didn’t get why you wouldn’t want to break.”

Qu would spend countless hours browsing breaking videos on YouTube, mesmerized by the professional tricks and sequences captured on screen.

“The motivation (to break) started out extrinsic,” he said. “I just wanted to do windmills. And then it kind of spiraled into learning everything. It’s like, if I learn windmills, I might as well learn how to do a six step. So that’s how it started. And now it’s more intrinsic: I do it because I love it.”

Though video tutorials are a readily available and helpful resource, learning the technique to execute moves doesn’t translate to understanding the complex history and ideas behind them. This shortcoming is why Qu emphasizes finding your own community to learn from: Human connection is the key to breaking.

Competitions, or battles, are a vital component of breaking, where dancers showcase their individual style and skills against others in front of a crowd and judges. Despite Qu’s enthusiasm for breaking, he hasn’t yet traveled long distances to attend competitions — Los Angeles is the farthest he has ever gone. But Qu is hoping that by taking a gap year next year, he will be able to get more involved with this aspect of breaking.

“Being good at battling is very different from being good,” he said.

“Someone that has really good personality and character will always lose to

QU

someone that just checks all the boxes. And I’m not trying to just check all the boxes — I’m trying to be my own person.”

In fact, individuality is one of the things Qu values most in breaking. From music that encapsulates his personality to his dynamic dance style of hardto-categorize moves, breaking has helped him come out of his shell and become comfortable with living in his own world.

“Nobody dances like me, eng or P and it’s very much a privilege Vict to be able to have tangible individuality,” he said.

Ultimately, Qu wants to remind people that breaking is an art, not an easy or unsophisticated form of expression.

“I am an artist, not just a guy that does tricks,” he said. “I’m part of the community and part of the culture. I’m more than just a guy that spins. I’m more than just a Beyblade.”

—Written by Kaylee Cheng. Reporting by Bryan Xiao

Graffiti name graphics by Elise Hu, brick graphics by Sarah Xie

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Cente

THEORACLE

Native American heritage Prompts more inclusive cu Each November, the U.S. celebrates Aarushi the diverse cultures Kumar and traditions of Native American communities during Native American Heritage Month. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Tribal Sovereignty and Identity,” according to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s website.

The federal government first recognized Native American Heritage Month in 1990. Since 1994, presidents have issued proclamations each November to recognize the month.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a resolution establishing the day after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day. According to history teacher Chris Johnson, in the 26 years he has been teaching, minority representation has always been on the state’s social studies standards. In practice, however, it varies from teacher to teacher.

“It was often at the discretion of the teacher as to how much material they brought in regarding minority groups,” he said. “I always try to include as many different ethnic groups as possible within the amount of time we have to

cover everything.”

Johnson, who has taken multiple Native American studies classes at Foothill College, believes that through investigating U.S. policy regarding indigenous people, the destruction of their cultures and the influence of these communities on colonists and the modern world, students gain a better understanding of American history.

“I think that what a lot of white people don’t often realize is that even what’s considered to be American culture has been so heavily influenced by all the different types of people who have been here — that not everything is just based upon Anglo culture,” Johnson said.

Last year, history teacher David Bisbee introduced Native American Heritage Month projects to both his World History and U.S. Government classes. Each student is tasked with researching and presenting about the history of and an important figure from a federally recognized indigenous community. Bisbee hopes that these projects will increase students’ awareness and appreciation of other cultures.

“The U.S. puts out a number of heritage months, and some will get more attention than others,” he said. “That’s why I believe it’s important to look at what the state says is

being recognized, and communities are being Still, Gunn alumnus weakness in a 2021 A indigenous representa these flaws were a la history and the use of on disparity rather tha of Native Americans.

To improve the c ongoing Native Ameri of indigenous heritag underrepresented grou “We don’t have to we can make an effort more balanced represe

Gunn community reflects on Native America Senior Danny Cox Born in Guatemala, senior Danny Cox moved to the U.S. at the age of 1 after being adopted. Since Cox remembers little of his time in Guatemala, he has had to work to stay connected to his Central American heritage.

“My cultural identity has been relatively impactful on my life,” Cox said. “Because I live in the U.S., I feel as though it’s not as prominent as if I were living in a region (where it has) more influence.”

Cox is of Mayan descent. The Maya, an ethnic group made up of the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, live principally in Southern Mexico, as well as parts of El Salvador, Belize and Guatemala. Following the end of the Guatemalan Civil War in 1996, many Mayan refugees migrated to the U.S., settling in areas along the Sun Belt such as California and Florida.

However, the U.S. did not — and still does not — officially recognize the Maya as a tribe. Cox thus has trouble identifying with the term “Native American.”

“It felt improper to consider myself Native American without being a part of a federally recognized tribe,” he said. “I am glad that I am able to talk about it because I’m sure I am not the only one who feels as though they are in the gray area.”

But Cox keeps reminders of his heritage in his home, including woven

Social Studies Instructiona

artifacts such as tapestries, to preserve tradition.

“Community and family are incredibly important within the culture and are often expressed as such in artwork,” Cox said.

“Even though many, including myself, have had a disconnection with the deep-rooted traditional culture, there are still artifacts that remain and are so predominant.”

Cox is most interested in reconnecting with Mayan history. While visiting Ecuador this past summer, he was struck by the vibrant cultural connection and traditional practices of the area’s indigenous people, who speak a Quechuan dialect called Kichwa.

“One thing that I am fascinated by is how tribes generally work,” Cox said. “You’re part of a family, you learn your ancestral connections and there’s so much diversity among the tribes.”

Cox believes in the importance of embracing Native American voices both within and outside of tribes.

“Everybody’s experiences are different,” he said. “Nobody can say what the predetermined Native American is, so I think that people should just ask to learn about different experiences.” ­­—­Written by Maddie Cheung

Maddie Cheung

Every summer, Social Studies Instructional Lead Jeff Patrick and his family spend a few days in Alaska, where he and his wife grew up. They visit a small fishing village near Juneau, Alaska’s capital, where Patrick used to live and where his family still resides. These trips are a way for him to connect to his culture and for his kids to discover their heritage.

Patrick grew up in a mixed household: His mom was half-native Alaskan, and his dad was white. Growing up, he wasn’t connected to his native Alaskan side, but he acknowledges that his respect for nature stems from growing up around native Alaskan culture.

“Growing up in a partially native household really shows that kind of direct connection between people and the land,” Patrick said.

Patrick’s grandmother, who grew up in the 1930s, lived on the Aleutian Islands­— a chain of 50 islands off Alaska’s coast.

During World War II, fearing its citizens would fraternize with the Russian and Japanese governments, the U.S. government moved Patrick’s grandmother to Alaska’s mainland.

According to Patrick, his family lost much of his grandmother’s culture after the move.

“My of the preser said. “ more f Alaska such.”

As herita his cul “Th would we wo Pat schola organi resear more and tr The

Li

erfold

Friday, December 8, 2023

e month urriculum

d I’m doing my part to make sure these g recognized in class.” s Thomas Li noted areas of instructional Advanced Authentic Research paper on ation in PAUSD K-12 curricula. Among ack of contemporary Native American f narratives that exclusively emphasize an celebrate the resilience and strength

curriculum, Li proposed highlighting ican events, bringing in guest speakers ge and engaging in conversation about ups in the district. single these students out, but I think t to promote their stories and provide a entation,” Li said.

Weaving the threads of time: A look back at Native American history from the 1900s onward July 1, 1910 Indian Office Special Agent C.E. Kelsey designs a map identifying all of the California Native American rancherias (small Native American settlements) under federal jurisdiction that are available as homesite purchases. It shows the combined Niles, Sunol, Pleasanton, Livermore and Mission San Jose ancestral Muwekma communities (all original American Native American tribes in the San Francisco Bay Area).

­­—­Written by Ya-An Xue

Nov. 20, 1969

an heritage

al Lead Jeff Patrick

y grandmother, because she was one e only Aleutians in this area, didn’t rve much of that culture,” Patrick “So, growing up, (our family) was familiar with what was going on (in a), especially in terms of foods and ” Patrick’s children discovered their age, he began to connect further with lture. hey would ask some questions, and I dn’t actually know,” he said. “So then, ould reach out (to organizations).” trick’s children applied for college arships through some of these izations, requiring Patrick to rch them. As a result, he learned about local native Alaskan history raditions. ese organizations also hold activities for families. Patrick has done weaving and moccasin-making projects with his daughter.

Patrick has rekindled his familiarity with his culture through these family experiences.

“I try connecting my own children with their heritage, but Alaska has also been a learning experience for me,” he said. ­­—­Written by Lise Desveaux

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The Indians of All Tribes — a group comprising Native American students from the University of California, among other universities — occupies Alcatraz Island as an act of protest. The activists occupy the island for 19 months to pressure the U.S. government to give unused federal land back to Native Americans, according to the terms of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Nov. 16, 1990

June 2, 1924 The U.S. Congress enacts the Indian Citizenship Act, which grants citizenship for Native Americans born in the U.S. This policy increases employment opportunities for indigenous people, including positions in government and public services. However, state laws still govern suffrage — as such, all Native Americans don’t gain the right to vote until 1975.

Jan. 4, 1975 The U.S. Congress passes the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act, terminating policies that relocated Native Americans from reservations and disbanded tribes. This act formally recognizes many tribes and makes them eligible for government grants and contracts.

President George W. Bush signs the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act into law, mandating that federal organizations and museums receiving federal funds restitute Native American cultural items to their tribes.

Dec. 4, 1991 March 15, 2021 Former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland is confirmed as secretary of the interior, making her the first Native American person in history to lead a Cabinet agency. Her work focuses on environmental justice, climate change, drought crisis mitigation and helping to maintain Native American land.

President George W. Bush and Congress sign a joint resolution that designates November as Native American Heritage Month, a month dedicated to honoring Native American culture and history. ­­—­Compiled by Maddie Cheung and Lise Desveaux

Timeline graphics by Karis Lau

This border pattern was inspired by indigeneous-owned brand Orenda Tribe, which uses traditional Native American patterns for repurposed clothing

ise Desveaux

Graphics by Aarushi Kumar

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In-Depth

THEORACLE

‘The school knows I need this support’: Gunn Special Education department balances inclusivity with meeting students’ needs Students, parents, aides highlight successes, limitations of program goals

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Kaitlyn Chen and Fenton Zarlengo Lifestyle Editor and Reporter

s of 2021, 1,069 PAUSD students — one in 10 — had physical or cognitive disabilities. Most of these students were part of PAUSD’s Special Education program (also known as SpEd), according to the website Disability Almanac.

To ensure students with disabilities receive equitable instruction, all U.S. schools are subject to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which guarantees funding for schools that fulfill a set of requirements around SpEd. An effective SpEd program must consider the level of integration with General Education classes, staff training and the needs of individual students.

BACKGROUND SpEd at PAUSD and Gunn comprises multiple programs, which can be adapted to support the differing needs of all students with disabilities. At PAUSD, students enter the SpEd program when a parent or staff member submits a verbal or written referral to the district. The referred student’s parents then work with district staff to decide the student’s eligibility for an individualized education program, taking into account the student’s academic history, along with a reading and math assessment administered by PAUSD. According to Gunn Special Education Coordinator Teri Lee, students can enter the SpEd program if they have a disability that impacts their learning and need accommodations. Students with mild to moderate disabilities sometimes struggle with speech or attention span and don’t usually require an in-class aide. Students with moderate to severe disabilities, however, often require the assistance of a specialized aide or teacher throughout the school day.

Outside of the entry process, SpEd plans differ greatly from student to student. For students with mild learning difficulties, IEPs focus on making their in-class experiences easier, including accommodations such as extra time on tests, the option to take exams in quiet

settings, frequent teacher check-ins and movement breaks. These accommodations aim to help students participate in GenEd classes alongside their peers.

The Futures program, least integrated with GenEd classes, serves students with moderate to severe learning differences. Although daily schedules and activities vary from student to student, most Futures students spend three periods in GenEd classes and four periods in a specialized classroom where they receive additional support.

“

Sticking a kid like mine in an algebra class when he’s doing secondgrade-level (math) doesn’t really have much meaning for him.

”

—Parent Yael Naveh

INTEGRATION

One of IDEA’s major goals is to keep all students in the same classroom “to the maximum extent appropriate to the education needs of the students with disabilities.”

However, “maximum extent appropriate” varies from student to student, and opinions sometimes differ on what the correct measure is.

According to Lee, Gunn incorporates students into GenEd as much as possible, providing accommodations and separate classes if necessary.

“We always want to start in General Education, and then based on the student’s needs, work our way back from there,” she said.

Some schools are built around a philosophy of maximum inclusion, such as Hope Technology School, a private school in Palo Alto. HTS follows the Universal Design for Learning model, putting students in the same classroom as much as possible and accommodating all

learners’ needs and abilities. HTS classrooms ensure that students are all able to participate in class by adding occasional breaks and flexible amounts of classwork.

Although the UDL model might help some students with disabilities, having all students in the same classroom for more challenging classes can frustrate SpEd and GenEd students alike. Yael Naveh, a parent of a Futures student, said that putting her child in GenEd classes when he isn’t at the same level as the rest of the class inhibits his learning.

“Sticking a kid like mine in an algebra class when he’s doing second-grade-level (math) doesn’t really have much meaning for him,” she said. “And it’s not necessarily constructive to him learning, because all that will happen will be that he will have to work on something completely different.”

Momoyo Yanagihara, a parent of a Futures student, pointed out that SpEd has to focus both on inclusion and educational level.

“I just want my son to be in an appropriate environment for him, and that may mean (being) excluded sometimes,” Yanagihara said.“If he’s in a regular PE class, he might have fun, but sometimes it might not be the right level for him.”

Parent Tina Chow, however, whose son freshman Nikolaos Chow uses a letter board to communicate, believes more coordination and creativity with UDL approaches is needed in order to make the GenEd curriculum more inclusive. “(Other students) are talking back and forth, and who’s going to wait for Nikolaos to spell out his answer?” she said. “So what would be a UDL way to approach that? Maybe everybody has to provide written answers, instead of just blurting them out, so then he has time to write something.” Unlike Gunn, HTS’ smaller class sizes make focusing on individual needs significantly easier and the UDL model more feasible. HTS’ model, however, requires significant time and attention that many Gunn teachers and aides cannot afford.

Freshman Caroline Wu Freshman Caroline Wu could not be happier to be starting high school: She loves participating in new activities, learning on a new campus and meeting new people. In her first semester of freshman year, she has already shown her school spirit by attending events like the homecoming rallies and the Halloween parade. Wu’s frequent jokes and pranks, as well as her participation around campus, have helped her make plenty of new friends.

“I am already a freshman, (and) I can’t believe (that) I am almost 15,” she said.

Wu is often described as social and friendly, and very fun to be around. These qualities and her overall extroverted personality have helped make her a positive presence on campus.

Wu is especially passionate about the arts — she loves watching musicals like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The

Wizard of Oz.” Her favorite subject in school is Art Spectrum, in which she enjoys creating art in various styles and expressing herself in any way she can. “(I like) just being creative, also painting and sewing things,” she said.

Outside of school, Wu enjoys swimming and ice skating, as well as traveling, which allow her to explore new places and see new things. No matter where she is, Wu is actively making new friends and leaving a positive impact on those around her.

—Written by Eanam Maor

Grace Gao

In-Depth

Friday, December 8, 2023

Senior Soichiro Yanagihara Senior Soichiro Yanagihara, better known as So, has an infectious smile. It’s there as he makes his way to school on his bike, and persists as he participates in school activities such as Best Buddies Club and “Coffeeology.” Coffeeology is one of Yanagihara’s favorite activities at school, in which he, alongside other Futures students, buys ingredients, bakes pastries and sells coffee to faculty every Thursday to build social and living skills as well as raise money for the Futures program.

“We sell cookies and lattes, and make banana bread, chocolate chip cookie(s), dog biscuits, (and) overnight oats,” he said.

Yanagihara also enjoys cheering on friends and classmates while playing pickleball and soccer in his favorite class, Unity PE. During breaks and Study Hall, he also pursues a bit of

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entertainment.

“I love watching garbage truck videos,” he said.

At home, Yanagihara likes reading, listening to songs like Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” and “sitting on the couch, turning on the TV and eating chips” — he’s a fan of the Food Network.

In his free time, Yanagihara loves to go to the Hiller Aviation Museum with his family.

Yanagihara also works at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center for about four hours a week, where he breaks down boxes, throws out trash and helps clean. A kind, supportive problem solver, Yanagihara loves his job and school activities because they allow him to work with and help others daily.

—Written by Eanam Maor

Chloe Wu

That being said, Gunn’s Unity PE is a powerful tool for inclusion. Unity PE puts GenEd students in the same class as SpEd students, enabling students to help and form friendships with one another. Naveh and Yanagihara have praised Unity PE for providing their students with social interactions and friendships that extend outside of school.

Gunn also offers co-taught classes, which are instructed by two teachers and occasionally an aide, as another way to keep students in one classroom. Co-taught classes include students with and without learning challenges, allowing those with moderate learning differences to remain in a classroom with their peers not in SpEd. Social studies teacher Patrick Rode, who co-teaches two classes, noted how the format is also helpful for teachers.

“

The school knows that I need this support, and they are providing training to the aides, but it is not enough.

— Freshman Nikolaos Chow

”

“It almost forces you to be more creative and provide more opportunities or different learning strategies for all of the learners in the classroom,” he said.

Rode also mentioned that co-taught classes benefit GenEd students by exposing them to alternative learning styles.

“I love having the students work together because you get multiple perspectives,” Rode said. “And that’s a life skill. ... Starting at the high school level for the students is really beneficial.”

STAFFING SHORTAGES Staffing district SpEd programs proves a challenge nationwide, according to Gunn SpEd Instructional Lead Briana Gonzalez.

“There’s such an incredible shortage when it comes to not only instructional aides for SpEd but also qualified educational specialists,” she said. “This shortage can absolutely lead to challenges, such as providing individualized support and attention for students with IEPs.” For Nikolaos Chow, this shortage of aides has made participation in GenEd classes like Algebra II/Trigonometry Honors difficult.

“It takes me a long time to write my responses, and the aide needs to have specialized training to know how to support me with the letter board,” he spelled out on the letter board. “The school knows that I need this support, and they are providing training to the aides, but it is not enough. It is almost December and we have explained the need for training to the school many times, but there have been so many delays. This basically means that I cannot

participate in class by sharing my opinions or thoughts, and so it is easy to get super frustrated because I am not able to really be included.”

Tina Chow emphasized the need for specialized training in order for aides to become familiar with the student and their learning method. As aides come and go, however, familiarity with individual students is often jeopardized, and existing aides must take on additional responsibilities.

Instructional aide Keanna Martinez explains that this creates much more stress and pressure.

“Having one-on-ones is definitely a lot easier because each kid needs that certain attention, and when we have (shortages), we’re not able to fully commit ourselves to one student and give our day our all because we’re running around going from Point A to Point B,” she said. “If another aide gets sick or has to go somewhere, we have to move one aide to another aide’s spot, and it’s like a domino effect of problem after problem if we don’t get that necessary support.”

Gunn is working to hire and train more aides to support a diverse array of students, according to Gonzalez. For instance, instructional aides were invited to participate in teacher development days and meet with the teachers that they’re supporting this year.

“They sat with those teachers and together reviewed instructional accommodations, and also which strategies (they’ve) observed that are working or not working,” she said.

“It’s something I hope we can continue to do because this is really how we make sure that instructional aides are part of the conversation.”

FOSTERING INCLUSIVITY With Gunn’s broad range of SpEd programs, Gonzalez said an inclusive environment is especially important because of the stigma that exists surrounding SpEd. “Students may hold stereotypes or lack in understanding of the diverse abilities that exist among all our Gunn High School students,” she said.

She noted that daily language, which shapes our perception of the world, plays a major role in enforcing or dismantling the stigma around SpEd and disability.

“If we can change our own language here at Gunn so it’s more inclusive, that’s encouraging respective communication, which builds toward creating a respective, positive, inclusive atmosphere,” she said.

For example, she proposes changing the “handicapped spot” in the parking lot to “accessible parking,” de-emphasizing the presence of a disability.

According to SpEd Specialist Sandra Conklin, GenEd students can also create an inclusive environment, by being open to learning from SpEd students, who are just like other teenagers.

Gunn’s SpEd programs at a glance CO-TAUGHT CLASSES Led by two teachers and occasionally an aide, and include both GenEd and SpEd students

FUTURES Serves students with moderate to severe disabilities, teaching life skills through work opportunities and guided lessons

INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLAN (IEP) A set of goals and classes for a Special Education student, put together by parents, teachers and the student

INTENSIVE INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM An additional small class that provides personalized lessons, sometimes accompanied by online lessons, at Cubberley Community Center

INTENSIVE THERAPEUTIC SERVICES Designed to address behavioral and emotional issues through activities such as therapy and behavior management

“Everyone is different; we all have gifts and we have something to offer the community,” she said. “They’re teenagers. They want to have friends — they have crushes. They happen to have a couple more challenges, but they also have some gifts that other people don’t have.”

Many opportunities exist for GenEd students to interact with SpEd students, both inside and outside the classroom. Conklin encourages students to join Unity PE and the Best Buddies Club, which meets on Thursdays in Room F-2 and brings students together through activities like board games, cooking and sports. She adds that even the simplest gestures can make a difference in SpEd students’ experiences at Gunn.

“

They happen to have a couple more challenges, but they also have some gifts that other people don’t have.

—SpEd Specialist Sandra Conklin

”

“If you’re walking around a campus and you see a Special Ed student sitting by themselves, ask them to join you,” she said. “Volunteer to take some kids to assemblies (and) reach out to include the kids in what you would normally do in a high school day because these are often kids who don’t have that group that they go to assemblies and dances with.”

Gonzalez believes that this kind of inclusivity should be a goal of not only students but educators as well.

“For teachers, regardless of subject — whether it’s a co-taught course or an honors course or AP — we should always be thinking and implementing changes in our teaching style and curriculum to support all students,” she said. “Each generation we have a new group of learners. Technology has changed, curriculum has grown, information has changed. I think we ourselves also have to.”

1 in 10

PAUSD students have physical or cognitive disabilities Source: Disability Almanac, 2021

14

THEORACLE

SPORTS

Photo courtesy of Reed Flinchbaugh

Seniors Reed Flinchbaugh and Shree Sandilya pose with their opponents after a match at Mitchell Park.

Photo courtesy of Sam Little

Vivian Studdert

Junior Sam Little stands proudly after a victorious match with senior Pablo Schettino.

Senior Reed Flinchbaugh jumps out to hit the ball while playing a match against senior Shree Sandilya.

Pickleball Passions: Students connect with older generation According to NPR, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., a title it has held for the last five years.

Palo Alto’s pickleball community is growing alongside others worldwide, with round-robin tournaments and hit-arounds at local parks and country clubs.

Senior Reed Flinchbaugh, an avid “pickler,” plays pickleball up to five times a week.

“My parents played (pickleball) a lot, and at the beginning of junior year I just went out with (my friend) and hit the ball around,” he said. “After that, we decided to go every weekend.”

Flinchbaugh’s love for and commitment to the sport quickly grew, and he began to play at the Mitchell Park courts in his spare time.

“They’re the best courts in Palo Alto, and people come from all over (the Bay) to play there,” he said.

Junior Sam Little also plays at the Mitchell Park courts, as well as at the Foothills Tennis and Swimming Club. He starting playing in 2021 while in Lake Tahoe.

“On the weekends, it’s always packed,” Little said, regarding the Mitchell Park courts. “You have to figure out how to share the courts and play with other people.”

Little acknowledges that, though he enjoys playing with friends, playing against someone new is also a rewarding experience.

“There have been times where I’ve gone (to play) alone, and some random stranger will come and play with me,” he said.

Freshman Jeronimo Garcia Gutierrez only started playing earlier this year, but has also felt the positive presence of pickleball strangers.

“They’re not strangers for long,” he said. “It’s usually just older people and me and my friends, and they’re always offering help and encouragement.”

Pickleball is often dubbed a “senior sport” since a large proportion of players are over 60 years old, but as a young pickler, Little views this dynamic positively.

“

With all the different people I meet at the courts, I see them around town sometimes and can say like, ‘Oh hey, what’s up?’ and suddenly I have a friend who’s 80 years old.

—Senior Reed Flinchbaugh

”

“I think it’s really great for the community that older people are able to come out to the courts — not just to stay active but to do something they enjoy, like a hobby,” Little said.

Flinchbaugh expressed similar thoughts about pickleball’s unique demographic, noting that he enjoys his time with the age-diverse group of people.

“I don’t really have any connection to people above

the age of 30 aside from my parents,” he said. “But with all the different people I meet at the courts, I see them around town sometimes and can say like, ‘Oh hey, what’s up?’ and suddenly I have a friend who’s 80 years old.”

At Gunn, the Pickleball Club meets every Friday at lunch at the outdoor basketball courts. Little said he attended once, but hasn’t been back due to the time it takes to set up the nets.

“I was really only able to get into one, or maybe half (of) a game,” he said. “I didn’t think it was worth my lunch to play that short of an amount.”

Though pickleball has taken Palo Alto by storm, Little wishes the pickle scene were more developed elsewhere.

“There have been times when I was traveling where I’ve really wanted to play, but there have been no courts near me,” he said. “I wish more cities and towns would invest in the sport because I think it will bring a lot of people out and they’ll really get into it.”

Little and Flinchbaugh both praised the inclusivity and welcoming spirit of the pickleball community, encouraging others to join.

“If you can, hop on the wave early,” Flinchbaugh said. “It’s fast-growing, but you can have a head start on everyone else, and (even) better, join our community.”

—Written by Vivian Studdert

—Written by Becca Wu

de

Some team member, however, have mixed feelings and concerns about whether they will be able to maintain their technical skill or perform well against other teams in SCVAL’s upper division. Teams who place low in their divisions may be moved down, and the possibility of that happening worries some wrestlers. Others are concerned that the current coaching staff isn’t large enough to handle the number of new members on top of continuing to help older members improve.

Barajas is not concerned about the technical skill level of the wrestling team.

“We have a lot of varsity (members) from last year who are really helping out the new team, and a good amount of new members that are willing to put in the effort to be good at wrestling,” he said. “I’m confident in our team that we have the ability to wrestle against those teams (in the upper division). Our talent level is right up to par, if not better than, some of those schools.”

Barajas also stressed the importance of being not just a coach but a mentor, and how those two roles may clash at times.

“You want to be able to be the leader for them, but also for them to have an outlet where they feel comfortable talking about things that might be happening in their lives — not just wrestling,” he said.

ud

This winter season, the wrestling team will train under a new head coach, Jorge Barajas, after former coach Braumon Creighton’s contract was not renewed for the 2023-24 season. The team will be competing in the upper division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League after an undefeated season last year. Amid these changes, however, Barajas is a friendly face: He was assistant coach for a short period of last year’s season, and many of the upperclassmen are already familiar with his coaching style and presence in the wrestling room.

That being said, the team does expect some changes.

Co-captain senior Mihlaan Selvaretnam noted that the differences in Barajas’ and Creighton’s training styles may impact the integration of newer wrestlers onto the team.

“With Jorge, we drill a lot more instead of just learning the technical skill,” Selveretnam said. “(This season) is going to be a little different, and (the captains) might need to help out a little bit more. But besides that, I think it’ll all be okay.”

Fellow co-captain senior Myles Stoltz echoed that, despite differences, he’s not worried about Barajas’ coaching — and believes that some of the differences might actually prove to be improvements.

“I think the main differences we’ve seen are that he’s quite a bit younger, and in some ways, that helps,” he said.

“He can relate to you a lot more and give more advice, even (advice) not about wrestling.”

rt

New wrestling coach Jorge Barajas prepares for 2023-24 season

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an ivi

St

Three fun facts about coach Jorge Barajas 1. He comes from a family of wrestlers.

2. He won the wrestling state championships when he was a senior in high school.

3. His brother currently wrestles at Saint Francis High School.

Sports

Friday, December 8, 2023

15

KELVIN BEATS THE BUZZER IN BOYS BASKETBALL Kelvin Xu Sports Editor Enthusiastic for a page dedicated to myself and the clever headline “Kelvin takes a shot at basketball,” I was in high spirits... until I found out Social Media Editor senior Ellie Yuan had already taken a “shot” at water polo in September. Ellie carefully documented her time in water polo, recording each practice and summarizing her experience in The Oracle’s September issue. Furious at having the perfect headline for my story snatched away, I promised myself to come up with one that would put hers to shame — and also write an article or something, whatever that’s all about.

The Gunn boys basketball team is divided into three groups — freshman, junior varsity and varsity — each with their own coaches and athletes of all skill levels. The freshman team, as its name suggests, is a team for freshmen. The JV team’s roster mainly consists of sophomores, and the varsity team comprises predominantly upperclassmen.

However, depending on skill level, students can be moved by coaches: For instance, there are freshmen on the JV team and sophomores on the varsity team.

Although I am a junior, and as such should have joined the varsity team, I decided to join the freshman team first and make my debut bullying the ninth graders. Luckily for them, a friend recommended I would have more to write about by focusing on the JV team instead, before moving on to varsity. My original plan was to go from the bottom up, so this revised plan actually sped up my schedule.

Still contemplating a suitable headline for my story, I forgot to send an email in advance asking the coaches if I could show up to exert dominance over the sophomores.

Fortunately, they welcomed me with open arms, and I happily skipped onto Titan Gym’s basketball court.

The first thing that greeted me was the color orange.

Let me clarify: A basketball was hurtling straight toward my face at supersonic speed, and I saw my days of basketball glamor end before I even took my first dribble.

I instinctively used my reflexes from my days of fighting crime in Gotham and narrowly avoided a career-ending injury. Unfazed, I walked toward what I assumed were my teammates for the day with a confident smile. My smile widened into a full grin as the basketball I narrowly avoided tripped a freshman behind me. As you can probably tell, I’m a very virtuous person.

“

I pleasantly spent the first 30 minutes of the day contemplating my life choices and making pitiful attempts at coming up with headlines.

”

I joined the JV team in their stretches and made small talk as the coaches prepared for practice to start.

After some dynamic stretching and casual dribbling, I was already exhausted and ready to head home. A shrill whistle marked the start of practice, and everyone started warming up as I struggled to catch my breath. The warmups consisted of five ball-dribbling drills followed by “Suicides,” an exercise in which one runs back and forth across the court. Then came shooting drills, in which I proceeded to prove Newton’s first law of motion — objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by a net force — with none of my shots coming remotely close to the hoop.

The team’s contagiously energetic mood, however, encouraged me to keep going. Even with my limited time on the team, I could tell that all of the players respected one another and would not hesitate to lend a hand if anyone were struggling. The competitive yet supportive atmosphere truly showed me the athletes’ team spirit and what it meant to be a member of the basketball team. It felt like a family — only, I was that creepy uncle who fails miserably trying to fit in.

Blinded by nausea and on the verge of collapsing, I finally found a moment of respite when the coach yelled, “fast break!” in the middle of a play. I hurried off the court to find a water fountain that could quench my sorrows, only to look around and see my teammates’ dumbfounded

stares. Apparently “fast break” is a basketball term for when a player quickly takes the ball and drives to score a point, not a signal for timeout. Recovering briskly, I resumed my position and explained myself to an opponent.

“Stay on your toes,” I said. “I bet you guys won’t know where I’ll pop up next — it’s my secret play.”

I proceeded to almost get sent to the hospital by a nasty misdirection crossover, but hey, at least it looked natural (I think).

Halfway through the practice, I found an opening to escape and hurriedly whipped out a notebook — specially stored in an easily accessible location for times like these — and got to writing. I made up my mind to slam the article instead of a basketball, and walked over to the coaches to catch my breath.

I was assaulted with a battalion of sores and bruises when I woke up the next morning. I pleasantly spent the first 30 minutes of the day contemplating my life choices and making pitiful attempts at coming up with headlines.

Right on cue, a message from my planner reminded me of the varsity practice I still had to attend. With the deadline for my article coming up, I begrudgingly limped my way to Titan Gym. After all, never giving up is my strong suit.

I gave up halfway through varsity practice. Although I should’ve expected it, varsity was every bit as strenuous as JV practice. I sat out the warm-ups but joined in on the shooting drills, which I deemed would provide the least strain on my aching body. Everything was going as expected. My partner nailed three-point shot after threepoint shot. I missed it again and again. I blinked the sweat out of my eyes. My vision blurred. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground with a ball-shaped bruise on my face.

As my partner knelt down next to me and asked if I was all right, one thought was on my mind: “Kelvin beats the buzzer in boys basketball.” What a perfect headline.

Vivian Studdert

Kelvin’s Basketball Highlights 1. Getting congratulated by the entire team after making a layup during a scrimmage 2. The Junior Varsity Assistant Coach offering to write me an article on famous Palo Alto basketball players in the past 40 years 3. Swishing a contested three-pointer during a drill

FACES IN THE CROWD: How Well did kelvin Play on the team?

“Even though varsity was hard, he pushed through it. He made it through the day. We did a lot of running and pushups, but he just never gave up.”

“When Kelvin was confused, he still pushed through. When he was not satisfied with how he was playing, he figured out how to change the things he did. He never gave up and tried to step out of his comfort zone.”

“Kelvin did a lot better than I thought he would while playing with us. He didn’t get tired that easily and was able to integrate with the team pretty well. He made a lot of shots that I didn’t think he would make.”

“Although his time on the team was short-lived, he performed very well.

We did our three-man-weave drill and he successfully completed one, and the energy was really fun.”

—Keiondre Warfield, 10

—Advaith Krishnan, 11

—Matthew Tsien, 11

—Ethan Fu, 12 —Compiled by Kelvin Xu

Sports 16 Super Fans: Sports supporters showcase Team loyalty THEORACLE

Senior Eleanor Stern: The Los Angeles Dodgers

Photo illustration by Sophia Hwangbo and Karis Lau

Senior Eleanor Stern’s favorite baseball memory is a disappointing one for many other fans: the 2020 World Series, when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4 to 2.

“I was really excited and overjoyed,” she said. “It was also a really special moment to watch the final with my dad.”

Stern became interested in baseball at a young age through her dad, eventually becoming a Dodgers fan.

“Growing up, (my dad) would take me and my sister to baseball games,” she said. “As I got older, I started getting more into the actual sport (through) watching it.”

This tradition with her dad has continued, and Stern usually goes to two or four games during the year. Most recently, she watched the Dodgers play the San Francisco Giants in April. Despite having a soft spot for the Giants, Stern has remained a steadfast Dodgers fan because of her dad.

“My dad’s from LA, and he grew up watching (the

Dodgers) and going into their games, so he’s always loved them,” she said. “That made me like them too.

Also, I was born in D.C., so if anything, I wouldn’t be a Giants fan — I would be a (Washington) Nationals fan.”

Stern keeps up with her favorite teams through social media and watches games and checks scores through ESPN. To show support, she buys merchandise, collecting Dodgers bobbleheads and baseball cards from various teams. Stern also wears her Dodgers apparel as part of her everyday outfits.

Unconventionally, Stern does not have a favorite player.

“I always say that I have really bad luck with my favorite players,” she said. “Whenever I choose a favorite player, they either get injured, start to suck or go to a different team. I can’t really have a favorite player, or it’s not going to work out for me.”

—Written by Sophia Hwangbo

Sophomore Liam Wong: The Golden State Warriors Sophomore Liam Wong remains an avid fan of the Golden State Warriors, showing support by tracking games and following their social media accounts. Wong also goes the extra mile by directly sponsoring the team, purchasing merchandise that he wears proudly.

“I have a Golden State Warriors hat and pants,” Wong said. “I (also) have patches from the Finals to put in my backpack or basketball bag.”

Wong grew up watching NBA games with his grandfather.

“When I was little, he just had the TV on, watching different teams,” he said. “Whenever he put on Golden State Warriors games, I would really enjoy that team.”

As a tradition, Wong wears his Warriors hat during important games, such as the Finals or playoffs. His favorite memory is watching the Warriors defeat the Boston Celtics 103 to 90 during the 2022 NBA Finals while wearing the hat.

Wong’s love for basketball also extends to videography. Since eighth grade, Wong has been taking videography classes at school, and he currently films the Stanford University mens and womens basketball

teams for fun.

“I really like the stories I could tell (through the camera),” he said. “It’s been a really fun experience.

I wish I could film the Warriors, so if I film Stanford (games), I can work myself up (to that).”

Wong’s enthusiasm for the Warriors isn’t just for the team as a whole. It extends to individual players: Shooting guard Gary Payton II has a special place in his heart. He attributes his fondness for Payton to their similar playing styles on the court.

“He’s more of a defensive player, which is the type of player I am,” he said. “He basically guards one through five (which means he guards all positions) and doesn’t back down if there’s a challenge.”

Draymond Green, a power forward of the Warriors, has influenced Wong’s leadership on the Gunn boys basketball team.

“On the junior varsity team, I try to talk a lot on defense, be a team player and be a leader for the team as well,” he said.

—Written by Sophia Hwangbo

Photo illustration by Karis Lau and Naomi Wang

Is High school Football worth the risk of play?

Football is arguably the U.S.’ most beloved sport.

Deeply ingrained in the entertainment and sports industries, it has served as a source of identity and history for rural towns and large cities alike. The sport has grown massively since its creation in the 19th century, with widespread participation and commercialization at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

According to the National Federation of High School Associations, nearly 1 million male high school students played football during the 2021-22 school year. Yet increasing medical research and knowledge caused concern over the sport’s physicality.

This, perhaps, should come with little surprise: Players are constantly colliding with one another at high speeds and with significant force, either “blocking” or “tackling” to obstruct their opponents’ movement. Although players are required to wear protective gear, such as helmets and shoulder, leg and knee pads, injuries are frequent and can be dangerous.

Former junior varsity football player senior Ethan Fu cited these risks as his reason for quitting the sport.

“Given the frequency and sometimes severity of injuries, I didn’t want to get hurt and jeopardize my participation in basketball, my main sport,” he said.

“When my JV team would train against varsity, I saw how much more aggressive they played, and I thought the risk was just too great.”

According to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, players are most likely to injure ligaments and muscles. Ankle, hamstring, wrist and knee sprains are fairly routine, though severe tears and breaks may also occur.

According to varsity football player senior Josh Kim, the team saw two torn anterior cruciate ligaments and a broken collarbone this past season — both injuries requiring surgery and long-term rest.

In recent years, however, medical professionals, parents and ex-players have looked beyond the purely physical repercussions of injuries. According to the NFHS, high school football players suffer an average of 11.2 concussions per 10,000 athletic exposures, defined as each individual time they play or practice football.

In the past, concussions were seen as standalone events and were treated as immediate concerns with short-term impacts. However, new research shows that concussions, especially when accumulated over time, can increase the risk of early-onset dementia, brain disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Since the human brain undergoes significant development during the teenage years, playing high school football is a direct threat to proper brain development.

Still, these brain injuries do not increase the

Irene Hong and Karis Lau

likelihood of depression, as shown by a 2021 study published in the Frontiers in Neurology journal.

Kim also highlighted the relatively low occurrence of significant injuries compared to minor ones.

“When a massive injury takes place, for example, when Damar Hamlin (of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills) went into cardiac arrest, those (injuries) are far less frequent than smaller sprains and tweaks,” he said. “And that’s why those injuries garner such media attention.”

While football has become safer in recent years — due to more emphasis on safe tackling techniques and more widespread use of protective gear — the inherently aggressive mechanisms of the game continue to cause injuries. In fact, even the use of protective gear may have unintended consequences: According to the Peltzman effect, individuals are more likely to make dangerous choices with new safety measures, since their risk perception decreases.

Though Fu stopped playing football, he is hesitant to describe the sport as “too physical” for high schoolers to play.

“I think, given the brain-development timeline, that tackle football should definitely not be played before high school,” he said. “For high schoolers, though, we are probably mentally developed enough to risk the physical and mental injuries.”

Though protective measures have come a long way, participating in football can result in both significant bodily injuries and development-hindering brain injuries. Such an assertion, however, doesn’t change much. To strap on shoulder pads under the Friday-night floodlights is, ultimately, the choice of an individual athlete and their family. The aforementioned NFHS numbers say it all — high school football saw nearly 1 million players in 2021-22, even in light of these growing concerns.

“Even after my collarbone injury, I don’t regret playing football or see the sport any different now,” Kim said. “It gave me a lot as a person, and, for me, that sort of outweighs everything else.”

—Written by Dan Honigstein

LIFESTYLE

Friday, December 8, 2023

17

A little goes a long way: Community reflects on benefits, experiences of simple acts of kindness Kindness encompasses many qualities, such as generosity, selflessness and empathy. The most important aspect of kindness, however, is giving — whether it’s material gifts or good deeds — without expecting anything in return.

According to AP Psychology teacher Warren Collier, kindness has physical benefits: People who are kinder tend to live longer and have better health, whereas people who are more adversarial and competitive tend to suffer from health problems and have shorter lifespans. He noted that even small displays of kindness toward others go a long way.

“This is one of the most consistent findings in all of psychology, which is that when we make a person feel good or better about themselves, they are much more likely to do good things for others,” Collier said. “It’s a two-way street, so when a person does good things for someone else, that also makes them feel better and happier.”

Although many choose to show their kindness through material gifts, these items do not provide people with longterm happiness.

Collier confirmed that people are excited when they get something new, as they are not yet used to owning the item.

Eventually, though, the new purchase becomes normal and uninteresting, which tempts the receiver to buy something new to feel the earlier excitement again.

In order to avoid this vicious cycle, Collier suggests gifting experiences.

Whether it’s going on a vacation, attending a concert or simply going out to eat with loved ones, the experience itself will be more valuable than a material good.

Another way to practice kindness is through gratitude.

Expressing gratitude toward others is a simple, yet effective, way to spread positivity. English teacher Paul Dunlap encourages gratitude through a short activity in which students write down three things they are grateful for at the beginning of each class. Then, he has his students think about each one for 15 seconds.

Over a decade ago, Dunlap decided to start practicing gratitude every day and see how it impacted his life. He realized that the more he took time to appreciate small things, the happier and kinder he was. To Li e ss Je spread this knowledge to those around him,

Dunlap introduced the Sources of Strength Thankfulness Challenge to his students.

“I found that the more I stopped to say what I was thankful for, I took things for granted less,” he said. “I have so many things that I can be thankful for, and that adds resilience.

When I find myself thinking negatively, I force myself to say, ‘But I have a house, I have a family, I have friends,’ and it just changes your thinking. Other people respond positively to that too. If they see that I’m willing to be thankful for something, it seems like other people say, ‘Maybe I should too.’”

While the holiday season may encourage generosity, it is important to remember that kindness should be something people take part in year-round.

“Homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other similar places see a gigantic spike in donations during the holidays, but at the same time, that also means people don’t give nearly as much during the other times of the year,” Collier said. “If only we could balance it out.”

—Written by Zoe Leontis

quiz: Which holiday movie character are you?

Irene Hong and Aeron Man

1. What is your favorite holiday activity?

A) Throwing a party B) Refusing to put up decorations C) Going on an adventure to snowy slopes

2. What would you most like to receive as a gift?

A) Something no one else has that’s customized just for you B) Nothing, because holiday festivities are not your cup of non-peppermint tea C) Anything! It’s the thought that counts

3. Your favorite tea is…

A) Something sweet — caramel apple, perhaps B) Black coffee — tea is a beverage for people who can’t truly handle caffeine C) Peppermint — it reminds you of candy canes

4. What is your opinion on snow?

A) It’s pretty; every snowflake is unique!

B) There’s no snow in Palo Alto, so why should I care?

C) It’s all right, but not very practical in terms of getting to places

5. Your plans for winter break consist of…

A) Hanging out with friends and family B) Nothing; taking advantage of the extra time to read Edgar Allan Poe’s “Raven” C) Skiing, snowboarding or ice skating

6. The holiday season is…

A) Something you look forward to; decorations are up as soon as it turns midnight on Nov. 30 B) Something you dread; every time December rolls around, you are extra grouchy C) A lot of work, but it’s worth it

Mostly A’s: If your answer choices are filled with A’s, you’re Clara from “Nutcracker.” You think that the holiday season is the best opportunity to spend time with family and friends, hold lavish parties and let your imagination run wild. Perhaps you may even dream about growing Christmas trees and dancing sugar plums…

Mostly B’s: If you answered mostly B’s, you’re Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” You hate the holiday season and view it as a frivolous waste of time and resources. As you walk around town with a storm cloud hanging over your head, the pumpkins and pine trees start to wilt in your presence. But no worries, the holiday season will (hopefully) grow on you eventually.

Mostly C’s: If you see a sea of C’s, you’re Olaf from Disney’s “Frozen”! You love to go on adventures, solve problems and bring happiness to others. While you are obsessed with the festivities of the holiday season, you still prefer all things related to summer. You radiate naivete and happiness, especially when there are purple hydrangeas in sight.

—Compiled by Charlotte Qian Jesse Li

18

Lifestyle

THEORACLE

Sleigh bells ring and voices sing: festive music creates lasting holiday memories When the final scraps of turkey and stuffing leftovers are eaten, a new season commences: the holiday season.

As many begin preparing for the winter holidays, an array of holiday hits and timeless classics plays on car radios and in malls as people go about their holiday shopping.

“

(Holiday music) puts me in the holiday spirit and (gets me) ready for Christmas. It has warm and cozy feelings — like emotions attached to an exact memory of good moments in time.

”

—Junior Leilani Griffin

Music Therapy Professor Ronald Borczon explained that famous holiday melodies, often connected with happy moments, are ingrained in people’s memories.

Sophomore Matteo Carbone’s experience reflects this phenomenon.

“I was in first grade, and my brother was in kindergarten,” he said. “We (played) music on a speaker, and we were dancing around the house (during) most of Christmas,” he said.

Similarly, nostalgic holiday hits such as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe” help junior Leilani Griffin transition into the holiday season. “(Holiday music) puts me in the holiday spirit and

At Gunn, holiday pieces are a staple in the music department. In addition to preparing for the annual winter concert in December, the Gunn choir puts on holidaythemed community performances. Their holiday setlist consists of traditional carols alongside newer commissioned pieces such as “Home for Hanukkah” by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, which was written specifically for the Gunn choir.

Choir teacher Angelina Fitzhugh emphasizes the importance of being conscious and inclusive of different cultures in the music community.

“We make sure that there’s always going to be Hanukkah representation and (that we perform) music not just from the Western (world),” she said.

Fitzhugh also believes that performing holiday music brings a sense of continuity and comfort to her choir students.

“It’s only a tiny portion of what we do, but most students really enjoy singing and performing those holiday tunes, especially the ones that we’ve done year after year,” she said.

In her school choir, Fitzhugh sang for people in retirement homes, a memorable experience that united different generations. “(For me,) it was an interesting piece as a teenager to see people I considered super old to have (a similar positive) experience I was having and to enjoy the music in the same way I was enjoying it,” she said.

Holiday music also reminds people of joyful times. In a 2020 news article, Biola University

li Nata

(gets me) ready for Christmas,” she said. “(It) has warm and cozy feelings — like emotions attached to an exact memory of good moments in time. It makes me think of memories with my family and friends, which makes me happy (and want to) build a snowman or make snow angels.”

“

There’s so many memories attached to holiday music (we hear throughout our) whole life.

Sharing those memories and having that shared experience with others brings (us) together.

”

— Choir teacher Angelina Fitzhugh Carbone, too, appreciates the uplifting feel of holiday music while hearing it in public areas, though he doesn’t proactively listen to it.

“I celebrate Christmas, so (hearing holiday music) is nice,” he said. “(Some songs are) very relaxing and others are very joyful overall, and (it puts) me in a happier mood.”

Some say that holiday music is overplayed and near-impossible to escape during the winter. The key to maximum enjoyment of holiday music, therefore, is a tailored approach. Fitzhugh, who worked in retail as a teenager, recalled the frustrating experience of repeatedly listening to the same 10 songs every day.

“I was done with it,” she said. “I can imagine (how it) still affects people who are forced to listen to it because of where they work. There are certain songs that really trigger people, and they’re like, ‘If I have to hear that song again, I’m going to lose it.’ (It’s) true for any song if it’s overplayed, but this particular set of music is only played in this time frame of the year, so it’s amplified.”

Still, as an integral element of the holiday season, holiday music is a powerful way to cherish the past, celebrate diverse cultures and improve overall well-being.

“There’s so many memories attached to holiday music (we hear throughout our) whole life,” Fitzhugh said. “Sharing those memories and having that shared experience with others brings (us) together.” m

a eL

—Written by Ellie Yuan

FACES IN THE CROWD: what is your favorite holiday song?

Have Yourself A Merry Little...

Frank Sinatra

Jingle Bell Rock Bobby Helms

All I Want for Christmas Is You Mariah Carey

A Marshmallow World Dean Martin

“My favorite song is probably ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’ I like the way it sounds, and it makes me feel calmer and gives me that cozy winter feeling.”

“‘Jingle Bell Rock.’ It makes me feel a little nostalgic. My dad used to play it in the car all the time, and I remember it very fondly.”

“‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’ … It always starts playing way before the holiday starts. So by the time it gets to December and it’s playing on the radio, I’m really happy about it — the holidays are starting and it makes me excited.”

“‘A Marshmallow World’ is probably my favorite holiday song this year. I just feel warm and happy. It’s a very comfortable feeling. It kind of takes away all my stress and comforts me.”

—Lia Arditi, 9

—Reece Giresi, 10

—Christina Assimes, 11

—Tyler Featherman, 12

Irene Hong

—Compiled by Nicholas Weng

Lifestyle

Friday, December 8, 2023

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(THE ORACLE SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE) ACROSS 1. Dull pain 5. Kids around 10. “Let’s Make a Deal” choice 14. Armstrong landing site 15. Talk show host DeGeneres 16. Sea eagle, or pickleball technique involving jump 17. Walking aid, or type of sugar 18. League of Legends Grand Duelist 19. Keep _ and carry on 20. Fancy pitcher 22. Teaspoon or TeAmo order 24. Tribe native to Palo Alto featured on p. 10-11 25. Chicken _ _ king 26. Acorn-producing tree 27. Sacramento newspaper, or pollinating insect 28. “How to _ Your Dragon” 31. Slice, as a turkey for Thanksgiving 33. Conceptual spark 35. Texting format that shows up green for iPhone users 36. Groups of lines in a song 37. This type of puzzle 40. Get spotted 43. Web address 44. Cry of frustration 48. On one’s toes 49. Excite 51. Canada Dry Ginger _ 52. Yang’s counterpart 53. Regret, or Katniss’ friend in “The Hunger Games” 55. Palo Alto winter weather feature in p. 17 quiz, question 4 57. Underwater pink salamander 59. Hip-hop dancer Manning featured on p. 9 60. “Umbrella” singer’s nickname 61. Dodge

63. Quaker _ 65. Taylor Swift’s tour, or historical time periods 66. Dentist’s request 67. A way up, or dance move 68. Tchr. helper 69. “The Fault _ _ Stars” 70. Queen of Greek gods

DOWN 1. Qualifier for AIME 2. Led a sports team 3. Home of Puff the Magic Dragon 4. First month of 62-Down 5. Slave-owning president discussed on p. 5 6. Nobel Laureate and “Night” author Wiesel 7. Cal Poly site 8. Fletcher, formerly, on p. 5 9. Spongebob’s Gary, for example 10. To hit, or a thing to hit 11 Public speakers 12. Temporarily absent at work 13. 2023’s “The Little Mermaid” and 2024’s “Snow White,” for example, on p. 4 21. Tiny colonist 23. Shoe-tier 24. _-Wan Kenobi 29. Morning hrs.

30. This puzzle is based off of the current one 32. Gunn Pickleball Club President Turgut, featured in The Oracle Nov. 14 Instagram post 34. Brand of school-provided Chromebooks 36. Freely partake in community service, as featured on p. 7 38. Throwback style 39. Sardonic

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40. Palo Alto’s region 41. Black and purple magic fluids in Clash of Clans 42. Married mujeres 45. Went past time 46. Cocky winner 47. Cut down with an ax 49. The Oracle staffer who tried basketball, featured on p. 15 50. Edgar Allan _ 54. Wombs 56. Trudge through a puddle

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58. Shopper’s aid 59. SoCal college home to the Aztecs 62. Year, in Spain 64. Place to relax

—Compiled by Violet Tivol Check out @gunnoracle on Instagram for crossword tips!

Finished? Bring the puzzle to P-115 during lunch or 5th period next week for a candy prize!

Forum 20 Redefining art today: Contemporary creations challenge traditional views THEORACLE

A

Kaylee Cheng Features Editor

5-by-4-foot solid white painting, with three diagonal white lines running across the middle, is the centerpiece of Yasmina Reza’s 1994 play “Art.” This play seeks to answer whether contemporary art, a new and controversial form of expression following the modern art period of the 20th century, should still be considered art, laying the groundwork for decades of discussions. Although some may argue that its deviance from order and reason warrants its dismissal, contemporary art is still real art, as it encapsulates the mindset of the 21st century and evokes emotion, thought and conversation.

Art serves as a testimony to its era, capturing challenges, sociocultural influences and political climates.

In the 1800s, Romanticism — focusing on imagination, nature and emotion — mirrored disillusionment with Enlightenment rationality, which emphasized knowledge and reason. Early 1920s Dadaism, through satirical and illogical art, provoked the middle class through challenging war and materialism post-World War I. Like Romanticism and Dadaism, contemporary art — works by artists living today — marks the feelings and priorities of this era. Its experimental style reflects today’s drive for creativity. While past artists focused on religion and mythology with realism and skill, today’s artists highlight

individualism, the body, technology and globalization.

Contemporary art is significant because it transforms today’s conflicts and questions into artwork.

Critics argue that contemporary art’s inclination toward minimalism or use of unusual mediums and materials diminishes its artistic value. If anyone can replicate the simplistic strokes of a contemporary painting, it is not respectable, fine art. Moreover, according to art critic Avelina Lésper, contemporary art operates on a flawed belief: that simply classifying something dull and orthodox as art can transform it into such.

These arguments, however, overlook the fact that art evolves with society, bringing new perspectives and ideas.

Thus, strict definitions of art, reminiscent of those from medieval and Neoclassical eras, are outdated. In fact, this continual metamorphosis of expression is precisely what keeps art exciting and unexpected.

These changes in value systems don’t make creating art — or rather, recognizable, “good” art — easier. Creating art today poses an entirely different challenge, not one of skill or observation, but rather of originality and memorability.

For contemporary artists, the struggle is to either do something nobody ever has before or do it better than everyone who has. If museum artworks were easily replaceable, they wouldn’t be exhibited.

Those artworks reside on those walls of fame because

If museum artworks were easily replaceable, they wouldn’t be exhibited.

Anne Dong

they are sentimental, powerful and beautiful in a way other pieces cannot replicate.

Though there are extreme examples of this “out of the box” approach — such as Salvatore Garau’s “Lo Sono,” an invisible sculpture that sold for $18,000, or Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian,” which consists of a fresh banana duct taped to the wall — these extremes are not representative of contemporary art as a whole.

Furthermore, the integration of unremarkable everyday objects isn’t a lazy attempt at art but an effort to bridge the gap between audience and artist: to make the audience search for resonance and connection with their personal life. To judge art by the barometer of time spent, medium and style employed, and materials used is a futile task that misrepresents artists’ intentions.

The debate surrounding contemporary art attests to its authenticity. Art challenges and provokes thought.

Our preference for predictability means shifts in art’s definition evoke concern, criticism and curiosity.

Historically, reactions to new art forms tend to be negative, like the initial dismissal of Impressionism’s bold colors and strokes as “sloppy.” Over time, however, these movements gain recognition as influential styles.

While it is important to focus on the present and to participate in discussion, it is equally important to take the overwhelming criticism of contemporary art in the media with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, each person experiences art differently. Thus, contemporary art cannot simply be written off: It should be digested piece by piece because there will always be good art and bad art in every era. It is up to an individual to choose which pieces they will enjoy.

It is up to an individual to choose which pieces they will enjoy.

Irene Hong and Chinyoung Shao