The Union - Milpitas High School - December 2019

horseshoes: why does it exist? (2)

U NI N Mo makes money on depop (5)

frozen 2 receives a chilly response (6)

delving into the history of eggnog (8)

THE

NOVEMBER 2019 VOLUME XXXI ISSUE III

which streaming platform is the best? (10)

MHSTHEUNION.COM For The Latest Updates

Student Voice of Milpitas High School

The Aftermath: Ethnic studies classes considered for MHS Blackface incident polarizes;

By Joshanne Chiang

An ethnic studies class will be offered at MHS by 2021, Principal Francis Rojas said. This class will help students understand diversity as part of colleges and workplaces, he said.

Currently, there is one multicultural literature class in development for the next school year, Rojas said. One approach to ethnic studies could be multicultural classes in many subjects, such as English, geography, art, and math, he said.

“A neighborhood here, Sunnyhills, is the first planned integrated community in the United States,” Rojas said. “Having history like that and seeing diverse faces on campus, whether it be staff or students, makes you wonder why we don’t learn about [diversity] because it is powerful to learn about.”

Milpitas has acquired a grant partnership with Facing History and Ourselves along with KLA-Tencor, one of the capital equipment corporations in Mil-

pitas, Rojas said. The grant is to fund teacher training and a taskforce, he said. He hopes to have an initial meeting with interested teachers before the end of the semester, he said.

“I do know we have a couple teachers here with a background in ethnic studies,” Rojas said. “I hope they’ll join us on the taskforce and we can come up with more ideas for specific courses.”

Teacher Tonichi Lorenzana, who will be teaching the multicultural literature class next school year, said his class would cover literature and the historical context around different ethnic groups in America. Literature is always tied to the world in which it was written, he said.

“We would talk about the effect of colonization, in a sense, and how it has affected different groups of people, how the immigrant experience is similar and different for different groups of people, and also the modern sense of what it means to be a hyphenated American,” Lorenzana said.

The literature taught at MHS and at most high schools tends to not be very inclusive in spite of efforts to increase diversity in authors, Lorenzana said. His class would be different from a normal English class in that it will focus on diverse authors from various different backgrounds, he said.

“English classes tend to be focused on the classics, for good reason. I get it, but [my class] would allow students to have the opportunity to read literature written by authors that maybe they would not be exposed to in their regular English class,” Lorenzana said. “It would also be different in the sense of the conversations that we have about the literature. The conversation shifts away from the technique of the literature, and it’s more about the meaning of the storytelling.”

Lorenzana presented the idea of a multicultural literature class to administration after a California bill mandating ethnic studies classes as a high school graduation requirement stalled, he said.

SEAN NGUYEN | THE UNION

Junior Diya Soneji shuffles through a large pile of expired cans that were donated to the Jack Emery drive.

Annual Jack Emery food drive returns

By Rajvee Patel

The Jack Emery can drive coordinated by the Associated Student Body (ASB) started on the week of Nov. 17 at MHS, ASB Advisor Jerell Maneja said. The ultimate goal is to collect donations to benefit the Milpitas Food Pantry, Maneja added.

ASB is working with all of the staff and teachers to collect cans for people in need during the holiday season, Site Coordinator Tanya Saharan said. The minor goal this year is 20,000 cans and the major goal is 22,000 cans, Saharan said.

“As a former activities director who ran food drives myself, I’m amazed at how great the generosity is at our school,” Principal Francis Rojas said. “It’s something we should be proud of because it does help our community.”

This year, there is a lot more initiative and interest among the student government and on campus, according to Maneja. The pace has been a success because within one week of collection, twenty five percent of the goal had been reached, Maneja added.

“Last year our goals were higher. Our minor goal was 23,000 and our major goal was 25,000 cans,” Saharan said. “I lowered it because last year, we barely made it in the end.”

Last year, a total of 23,964 cans were donated in total and as of Nov. 26 this year, 5,000 cans have been collected, Maneja said. The entire student government is in charge of collecting cans during SSR, Maneja added.

“In the beginning of November, ASB and Leadership invited representatives from all the schools in the district and community to have a brunch and go over the his-

tory of [Jack Emery],” Rojas said.

“It kicks off the event and then becomes a school and class competition.”

There are class incentives, Saharan stated. Ten cans per student earns full-sized donuts and 15 cans per student earns a pizza party for the class, Saharan said.

There are also incentives for teachers where they can get gift cards and stationary items, she added.

“Competitions have been successful and so we are trying to push that. At the same time, I think what our school needs right now is more unification,” Maneja said. “I’m trying to promote the need to gear together as a campus for an important cause, especially this time of year as well as making sure everyone realizes that this is to make a difference in our community.”

staff member placed on leave

By Genelle Gogue

The incident in which a staff member wore blackface that occurred on the MHS campus is still being investigated, School Board President Chris Norwood said. The video that had been posted went viral and since then, concerns have raised from all different parties of the Milpitas community, he added.

The community’s concerns range from what is happening next to how the district is going to handle the situation, Norwood said. Due to the staff member’s actions on Halloween, parents are disappointed and concerned for their children’s well-being, he added.

“I can tell you that it’s still under investigation, and I can tell you that the video that went around the world, that there is interest in other parts of Milpitas, not just the high school,” Norwood said. “Parents, teachers, and students at other schools are interested in the entire situation. As I listened, I learn a lot of different things about how many different cultures and histories and stories that people in Milpitas have, and how they’re all surprised and shocked.”

Several weeks ago, students were given a lesson on the history of blackface, but some teachers did not feel comfortable giving the lesson on such a short notice, Principal Francis Rojas said. The next move is to see how to follow up because it was not just going to be a one-day thing. It requires taking a deeper look at students and staff to see where we stand from here, Rojas said.

“What I’m hearing is that it’s been a long time coming that we’ve needed to have this discussion because we have newer, younger staff and the student demographics have changed over the last couple of years, so we have to reassess ourselves and

reevaluate where we stand as a community and make some commitments around that,” Rojas said.

From this incident, it is hoped that students will have more of their own voice, Rojas said. There was a meeting after the incident where students were able to speak in front of staff members to talk about how the incident made them feel and what should be done from here, he added.

“Although what happened on Halloween was a very negative experience for our community, there’s something positive that will come out of it, and I think it’ll make our community stronger and strengthen our resolve on where we stand on cultural diversity as a community,” Rojas said.

From the incident, the school board had to think about how this situation aligned with our five strategic goals of the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD), Norwood said. It is about building a culture of “we” with sports culture, science culture, and more beyond just ethnicity, he said.

The culture of “we” also extends out to teachers because there are many different viewpoints among them, he added.

The five strategic goals of MUSD are to “build a culture of “we” that engages parents, staff, community partners in supporting students’ success,” Norwood said. “[Other goals are to] improve communications systems for better outreach to parents, students, and staff, develop educational pathways that allow students to apply their passions and learning for their future careers, focus services on support systems to ensure all students are engaged in their learning and are making social, emotional, and academic gains, identify creative student focused strategies to accommodate enrollment growth and ensure healthy learning environments.”

Eye on Campus:

Pieing faces for Jack Emery

GENELLE GOGUE | THE UNION

Senior Julian Abair receives a pie in his face. Students paid to smack pie into volunteers’ face to help raise money for the Jack Emery Drive.

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The Union

PRO

Rallies offer valuable relief to students in need of spirit an integral part of the rally and a Whether we love them or hate lot of coordination is needed to cothem, school rallies help embody the status quo of an American high hesively execute the games and the decorations. Students will spend school. Something specifically tailored to high schools in America extensive hours after school laboring on props and banners. is an odd amount of school spirit.

Rallies encapsulate spirIt’s an internal stigma within the culture on it and allocate room in a normal school routine campus to offset the rally as a waste of time. Stuto take a break from acdents would rather see ademic schoolwork and the rally be an optional encourage pride within the campus. event to attend, but there The rallies at Milpitas are multiple issues that High follow the same could arise. If rallies became optional, it would course. It starts with obstruct student particithe escalation of energy pation and most teachers in the auditorium with sean would dismiss the rally roll call and continues nguyen and prioritize the attenwith a showcase of student performances. This dance of their class. Furshowcase is fundamental because thermore, students could lie about it highlights the activities on camattending the rally and disperse pus with enthusiasm and provides off-campus, causing multiple acsupport to the performers. It’s a countability and safety issues for the administration. manifestation of student talent that people on campus may not be Overall, rallies should be taken exposed to. The energy at rallies with a grain of salt. The purpose is eccentric; for some students, it of rallies isn’t to distract students could come off as loud and brash. If from academics, but to reward a student gets bored in the stands, and uphold students for their why not be a part of the rally? Stuhard work that they accomplish at dents at MHS are encouraged to MHS. An hour of your life wasted break their comfort zones, from sitting in the bleachers watching participating in competitive relays a dance routine is not going to to singing the national anthem. obstruct your Grade Point Average. In the span of your lifetime, a Students can participate by helping set up for the rally as well, since hour spent is miniscule, especially when it comes with the reward the decorations that stage the rally of school spirit. Life shouldn’t be require heaps of hard work.

Typically, the Associated Stuspent dwelling on the obstacles to dent Body (ASB) is responsible for give us grey hairs. We can all take conducting three rallies that occur a moment to step back from our every year. The planning precedtextbooks and support one another. School isn’t a prison if you don’t ing the rally can stretch as far as make it a prison. three months back. The theme is

CON

Dragging students to rallies will not make us enjoy them Forcing students to attend ralThey’re a minority, but what is the lies in their current state is absurd. point in forcing them to attend an There are students who, despite event they don’t want to be a part having school spirit, would rather of? If rally organizers are worried hide somewhere on campus or skip that their efforts will go unappreciated, the solution isn’t to force school outright instead of attendstudents to sit down and ing an MHS rally. While the efforts of the Associwatch performances ated Student Body (ASB) they don’t want to watch. and the student perSchedules are usually formers are admirable, warped to fit with the mandatory rallies makes time demands of two them hard to enjoy as rallies in a single school students are not there day, and teachers often have to bend their lesson out of their own free will.

The purpose of rallies plans around these dates to compensate. Rallies is to liven school atmosphere by encouraging could be changed to be kyle students to participate in a single optional event nguyen activities meant to instill that occurs from near a sense of unity and exthe beginning of lunch to citement among the student body. the end of Silent Sustained ReadTaking power away from students ing, taking up almost an hour and by making their attendance invol- leaving the schedule intact. If pubuntary dampens the effectiveness licity is a concern, an announceof rallies, as their tone changes ment could easily be made over from thrilling to obligatory. the intercom to communicate the The reality is that not everyone beginning of a school rally across will enjoy school rallies. However, campus. dragging students by their heels Even if changes to the schedule won’t make them enjoy the rally cannot be made and the current experience. Some people just don’t system works best, letting students like the loud music, or the packed stay inside of their classes if they groups of people, or watching stu- choose to do so seems like it would dents play games. There are lots of yield several positive outcomes. subjective reasons why students Removing the students attending wouldn’t enjoy rallies, and none against their will would leave more of them are inherently the fault space for the willing student body, of ASB or the rallies themselves. making rallies feel less crowded Nothing needs to change within and less constrictive. It would also the actual rally experience. allow rallies to be more populated Yet, people are bored during ral- by students that actively want to lies. This is a fact the rally admin- embrace their school spirit, giving istrators cannot deny. You can see said students a proper platform to them at every rally, sitting with do so without imposing over an untheir phones or doing homework. willing minority.

OPINIONS

december 2019

One like does not, in fact, equal one prayer Gen Z— comprised of those ages sition to discredit him, and action seven to 22 in 2019— has been was not taken. In the US, where characterized as an emerging gen- most of the tweets with the hashtag eration of changemakers, one that were posted, President Barack is more accepting of diversity and Obama sent some 80 personnel to more responsive in the support the safe return face of inequity. We are of the schoolgirls, but also the generation that they failed to follow up, grew up with the internet and little is known of at our fingertips and the the result. ones who now use social In the aftermath of media as a platform to the movement, the terpromote justice. rorists actually fought One movement that to keep it alive; by increasing the girls’ meattracted international dia visibility, they were attention online in 2014 able to gain more conwas the hashtag #Bringrachel BackOurGirls calling for cessions from the Nigewu the rescue of 276 Nigeririan government in exan girls kidnapped by the change for the girls. It’s terrorist organization no surprise that anothBoko Haram. Millions of people er schoolgirl kidnapping happened and even high profile figures like in 2018, most likely to extract conMichelle Obama posted pictures cessions from the government just with the hashtag. It seemed like so like the group did in 2014. In the much awareness was being raised end, even more girls were harmed for the issue that some solution and kidnapped as leverage, and the was bound to appear. The problem incident is still largely forgotten by must be too big to ignore, right? the international community. The However, years later, 219 of the 276 reality of these viral campaigns is girls are still missing. that they don’t really drive meanIt would be wrong of me to claim ingful engagement with the cause that the social media campaign did at hand because they are shortnothing; it brought protestors out lived, and new issues are constantonto the streets of Nigeria, a coun- ly emerging. try where mass public demonstraI admit that social media activism tions are a rarity. Unfortunate- does spread awareness on a global ly, the Nigerian president at the scale, and it has raised millions of time criminalized the movement, dollars for charitable causes in the claiming it was fuelled by the oppo- aftermaths of natural disasters

and the like. However, we must be careful with our participation in this form of activism; participating in a small way—through spreading a hashtag, for example— may satisfy our motivations to take action but not result in an actual impact.

I have learned about a lot of undercovered social and political issues through social media, and I’m proud of the openness of my generation to talk about topics previously regarded as too “uncomfortable” even if it’s just by writing a post online. I largely attribute the culture of discourse and activism I enjoy to the work social media has done to normalize civic engagement.

That’s why I actually don’t condemn social media activism; it’s one of the reasons I engaged in activism in the first place. We should simply reform it. When we repost a hashtag or an awareness video, we should keep that same energy when it’s time for us to take action in any way we can in real life. Thankfully, I’ve also seen a growing number of social media posts reminding us to take our activism to the real world to enact real change. I hope that our activism online can shift from focusing on just spreading awareness to sharing ways we can help make a tangible impact. Remember that social media is not the work— it is just a tool for the work.

And yes, one like does not actually equal one prayer, contrary to what that Instagram post may tell you.

Horseshoes does not ring well with students Among the sports that the Phys- Manchester University, one of the ical Education (PE) department first schools to accept horseshoes of MHS has, there is an oddball as a school athletic event. Howevthat doesn’t fit quite as well as er, these are not legitimate grounds the others— horseshoes. The idea for a sport to stand on by itself. The of a freshman-only course where ability to assess previous experiences and learn from the only benefits of them is seen in every “physical education” sport. Why should horseare clearly outshone shoes be deemed special by other sports is completely absurd. It is a because of it? There is universally known fact little motor functioning that horshoes is one of in horseshoes, and any the least favorite sports movement is only speof anyone who takes cific to one’s dominant the unit, and it does not arm. The willingness to demonstrate the core participate is completely on students, so there is ideals the PE departAdarsh ment attempts to give nothing unique to learn bulera its students. from horseshoes.

The PE department All athletics in a physical education setting as it stands is in a reasonable spot with many athletic have to include some sort of develactivities for students to try, prac- opment in at least one of the foltice, and learn from. However, lowing areas according to the Calhorseshoes does feel out of place ifornia Department of Education: among the others. For one, softball effects of physical activity upon dyand badminton practice almost the namic health, mechanics of body same muscle areas as horseshoes, movements, aquatics, gymnastics but they do so in a much more ef- and tumbling, individual and dual fective manner. The goal of horse- sports, rhythms and dance, team shoes is to “assess previous experi- sports, or combatives. Disregardence [abilities], fitness level, motor ing school aquatics, horseshoes, functioning, attitude toward [an unsurprisingly, does not fall into athlete’s] disability, and willing- any of these categories. This, in ness to participate,” according to addition to freshmen not even

having the choice to play the sport, makes the horseshoes unit feel like a placeholder sport for students to do while other sports are taking place. If that’s the case, the school should not implore students to do a sport just for the sake of wasting their time. Most PE teachers even admit that it is a slow sport, and there really isn’t much to learn.

Horseshoes tries too hard to be a unit when it clearly should not be.

It’s disliked by a majority of students, teachers, and parents alike.

The “sport” also presents certain safety concerns. Is handing a 2.5 pound chunk of metal to students and expecting them to throw it close to other students necessarily safe? It’s extremely weather reliant as even the smallest amounts of rain cancel the event for the entire day since it is centered in a sand pit. Also, horseshoes is wildly unpredictable. Students are given roughly six weeks to hone their skills to be landing ringers and leaners alike, but that is an absurd expectation seeing as most of the abilities are based on luck. While PE grades do not necessarily matter, a sport reliant more on luck than skill compared to other sports should not be integrated into the curriculum.

Removal of public Instagram likes is healthy Instagram, Snapchat, and The Chief Executive Officer of InFacebook are only some of the stagram, Adam Mosseri, said that many social platforms out there. the idea behind this is to “depressurize Instagram” and They provide users with make it a space that’s a way to express themselves, whether through more focused on connections, conversations and aesthetic photos from community, especially travelling around the for young people. world or a look into According to Jean someone’s stylish wardrobe.

Twenge, a professor at Instagram, which has San Diego State University, technology has had over 1 billion users, has an impact on the lives recently taken a positive step toward making of young people because the platform a safer and of the growth of smartRajvee Patel phones and digital memore inclusive space. dia. Due to social media, As of November, users in the United States will many teens feel they arno longer be able to see the number en’t good enough because they don’t of likes a post gets. These likes will have as many likes, comments, or be made private so only the person followers as others. This leads to posting the picture can see them. people feeling left out and in many

cases, has led to depression. Life on social media has created this toxic mindset that you are defined by the number of likes you get, and that is definitely unacceptable.

Social media is supposed to be a place where you can freely share your thoughts and ideas through photos. Instead, it has become an environment where a person is forced to rate themselves based on other people’s opinions. It has transformed into a place where someone may not feel comfortable sharing something they care about because they feel like they might be judged. I strongly believe that Instagram made the right decision by removing likes because this will force people to look at the content being shared instead of the superficial value of likes.

december 2019

Editor i a l : The Opinion of The Union

Response to blackface incident subpar The video of an MHS teacher wearing blackface prompted backlash from students and staff alike, and even made national headlines. Though the teacher was never named by the district, Teacher David Carter gave an interivew with NBC Bay Area to discuss the incident. Carter was placed on administrative leave, and it is not clear whether he will return. The administration also implemented a mandatory lesson about blackface for students to learn from the incident. However, the response seemed rushed and disorganized. The administration made several errors in responding to initial student complaints and could have handled the situation better.

According to many students, Carter was not immediately removed from the school after it was reported that he was wearing blackface. In fact, he was allowed to teach for the rest of the school day, but with his face paint off. Students and staff had been complaining to the office since early in the school day, and Carter had been contacted and asked to remove the face paint after third period, according to several students. Even though school authorities knew what was happening, they did not give the teacher any consequences until MHS received negative attention. In fact, Carter was not put on leave until two days after the incident when a video of him in blackface had already gained traction and caused widespread outrage. Instead of allowing him to teach for the rest of the day, the school should have

sent him home immediately in order to prevent further backlash. His continued presence at the school made it seem as though the administration wanted to cover up what happened and move on. Given the fact that MHS is so racially diverse, school authorities should have understood the effect that his costume would have on students and responded far earlier.

Although the administration took steps to educate students about blackface, these measures were difficult to carry out. The “mandatory” lesson on blackface and its significance was not taught by all teachers, which could have been due in part to the rushed nature of the lesson. Since teachers were notified of the lesson plan less than a week before they were supposed to teach it, it might have thrown off other plans they had for their classes. This was especially difficult for teachers of subjects such as math and science, who could not easily link the lesson to any of the material being taught in their classes and might have had more trouble teaching it due to their lack of experience with the topic.

Fortunately, the administration combatted this issue by allowing teachers to postpone the lesson or send their students to the theater. However, the abruptness still caused a disruption to many teachers’ plans.

The lesson itself was only vaguely linked to the incident.

Although it somewhat covered the effects of blackface on African Americans, it presented the lesson in the context of a

Virginia governor who was found to have worn blackface at a college party. Aside from the public outrage, the governor’s case and the blackface incident at MHS shared few similarities. The lesson should have focused more on the history of blackface and used a more relevant example in order to better relate itself to the MHS incident. Unfortunately, the lesson’s failure to address these issues made it come off as somewhat pointless, making the administration’s response seem more rushed and chaotic.

The lunchtime open discussion where students were allowed to express frustration with the situation was a good response. However, the school could have incorporated it into the mandatory lesson to allow more students to talk about their thoughts on the matter.

With such a large group at the lunchtime discussion, it was easy for any one student to take the stage and give a long speech while others just listened. Smaller classroom discussion groups would have allowed people to give their input in a more personal and accepting environment.

The administration was slow to respond to the incident itself but too rushed in trying to minimize the damage. The effort to turn the situation into a learning experience came off as an attempt to clean up MHS’s reputation rather than properly educate the students.

The administration should have been quicker to remove Carter from school and more organized in recovering from the backlash.

Editor i a l : The Opinion of The Union

Limiting AP classes counterproductive The current policy of only allowing students to take three Advanced Placement (AP) classes per year unfairly punishes those who are trying to be challenged by their classes.

This limit is justified with arguments that students are only taking more than three APs to look more accomplished on college applications or to cave in to pressure from parents. However, students who are only taking AP classes to boost their college resume are easily getting around this limit by taking classes online and at community colleges. Parents who might persuade their children to take more advanced classes than they can handle are persuading their children to take these online and community college classes as well.

This means that the only students deterred from taking advanced classes are people who truly want to learn more.

The three AP classes limit is counterproductive because the purpose of MHS and its policies should be to foster intellectual curiosity, not to confine it. Allowing students to take more AP classes will also produce more well-rounded students. When limited to three AP classes, students are more likely to pursue only what they know they will excel at. Lifting this restriction will incentivize students to reach beyond what they are most comfortable with and take new classes in new areas of study.

Everyone has a different workload tolerance, so it should not be up to the school

to set a limit on AP classes.

Enrolling in an AP class is a tedious process where students are reminded again and again about the extra work that they are signing up for. There is even a mandatory time management schedule that students must fill out. This means that students who take more than three AP classes will know the commitment and time investment that they are expected to contribute. A three AP classes limit might make sense for sophomores who are only beginning to understand what AP classes are, but juniors and seniors that are more experienced with AP classes can gauge what they are capable of.

If they are aware that they can handle the work and the pressure, students should be free to make their own decisions regarding the number of AP classes they take. Managing their own workload will also help prepare students for college and the workplace.

It is great that the school is considering the mental health of students. However, imposing a mandatory three AP classes limit is not the way to do so. Rather, the school should focus on limiting the amount of online and community college courses that students take. Removing the three AP classes limit will actually contribute toward limiting these courses because students will be more incentivized to take classes at MHS. It is important to take classes at MHS because high school classes will dive deeper into their topics than

The Union

editorial

online or community college courses. High school classes meet everyday, whereas online or community college courses might meet once a week or be condensed into just a few weeks. This is ultimately detrimental because students using online or community college courses will only learn exactly what the curriculum says they need to, instead of delving into the nuances of complex topics.

Comprehension of the material will be sacrificed for speed.

In 2018, Susan Dynarski wrote in a New York Times article that although the pass rates for online classes are higher than traditional classes, their students perform worse than their peers on standardized tests. Dynarski concludes that online classes are especially bad for struggling students.

Having a teacher does make a significant difference. The inflated pass rates that Dynarski cites suggests that the classes are too easy and only serve to overestimate the student’s skill in the subject. Students need to be challenged, or else they will never learn. As for community colleges, many professors will likely not be given enough time to properly cover all the material of the course, especially during the summer, and will be largely unable to help struggling students. Ultimately, advanced classes on campus offer students the rigor and challenge they need. Lifting the limit on the number of AP classes is the first step to promoting more academic achievement.

U NION The

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THE UNION

DECEMBER 2019

FEATURES

APES gets a green visit from representatives

By Sarah Khan

The Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) classes were visited by two representatives of Congressional Representative Ro Khanna’s staff on Nov. 8, APES Teacher Glen Barrett said. The representatives discussed the Green New Deal, how a law gets passed, and why bills get proposed, he continued.

The two representatives were Galen Boggs, an old student of Barrett’s, and Lakeisha Bryant, his environmental advisor, Barret said. Organizing the visit all started when he ran into Boggs at an Environmental Club clean up for the City of Milpitas. Barrett told Boggs that he would love for him talk to his APES class about the Green New Deal and the government’s role in the environment, he added.

“APES is not just a natural science class, but also a social science class that includes how to get involved with the legal, ethical, and economic side of issues,” Barrett said. “Local politics and the Green New Deal is a great way

to understand a lot of environmental matters and laws, which are also big on the AP exam.”

There was a lot to learn during the visit, Junior Emily Than said.

For instance, a bill can die at any moment but can be brought up again. As of now, there are many good ideas on how to implement the Green New Deal, but they don’t have a solid plan. The Khanna team wants to make an electric grid so if the power goes out, power can be taken from another city or state, she continued.

“I asked the representatives a lot of questions about Ro Khanna, and a little known fact is that he doesn’t own a car because he is very environmentally clean,” Than said. “When Mr. Barrett first told us about the visit, I was ecstatic, because I am the only Ro Khanna fan account in existence.

Follow my twitter account @krazy4khanna. Here’s a haiku that I made for Ro Khanna: Ro Khanna he is/ the most gorgeous man ever/ the light of my life.”

The visit went really well because the representatives were very detailed with their informa-

tion about the Green New Deal and all of their policies, Junior Rosalyn Phan said. This visit taught students about how they can help the environment by supporting specific laws and bills, she added.

“From this visit, I feel like there is hope that the government can help us protect the environment, despite the fact that it is often the government destroying the environment,” Phan said. “It’s relieving to know there are people trying to prevent environmental disasters.”

Barrett plans to have more visits like this in the future, he said.

Future visits can be even more engaging and exciting with elected officials, he added.

“The representatives deal with the constituents and spend a lot of time in Washington D.C. voting and dealing on the national scale,” Barrett said. “I want my students to see that there are local representatives that are not just representing Milpitas as a town, but literally an MHS graduate himself, and their voices can be listened to on a national level.”

STEMgirls partners with tech giants

By Neval Mulaomerovic

STEMgirls participated in tours of Revolution Medicine and Johnson & Johnson Vision on Oct. 14 and Nov. 1, respectively.

The tours helped club members learn more about potential career paths and the behind-the-scenes aspects of companies, President Mahika More said.

At Revolution Medicine, STEMgirls members listened to a panel of five women talk about their work experiences, More said. Students also toured the lab facilities to learn about the production of cancer medication, she added.

“It was really interesting to learn about the process of testing when it comes to making medicine,” More said. “Talking to each employee helped me understand new aspects of science. There was

this one employee who wanted to do veterinary science, like me, but now she’s in biotech. Knowing that I can make that type of switch in college if I want to is really reassuring.”

Interacting with real people from the career paths you are interested in is really important, Club Member Ashley Pang said.

They also provided useful information for students applying to college, she said.

“I learned more about potential career paths and how different educational paths can take a lot of people to the same career,” Pang said. “A lot of the employees gave advice about finding what career we want to go into and what we should do in college.”

STEMgirls also attended a tour of Johnson & Johnson Vision on Nov. 1, More said. Attendees got

to attend a panel and have lunch with employees, she said.

“We got to see the manufacturing facility where they produce Lasic eye surgery equipment,” More said. “We also got a product demo where we got to see how the equipment would be used by a doctor.”

Students also learned about how the manufacturing floor works and the small details that go into product design, Pang said.

“In the lab, it was interesting to see the advanced technology they use compared to what we use in school,” Pang said.

STEMgirls plans to continue these tours with other companies such as Google, More said. Club members also plan to work with these organizations to shadow workers and learn more about their fields, she said.

COURTESY OF ANNIE HUANG AND DEENA TOOFAN

At the Dove Gallery art contest, Senior Annie Huang used oil paint for her first place koi fish piece (left).

Senior Deena Toofan won second place; her piece was an image of a sunflower edited on Photoshop (right).

Two artists take home first and second place

By Ginnie Lo

Two students participated in the Dove Gallery art contest at Park Victoria Church on Nov. 10.

Senior Annie Huang won first place for her oil painting and Senior Deena Toofan won second place for her photography piece in the 15 to 17-year-old division.

Huang had won first place in the 2018 competition and decided to test out her abilities again this year. Her winning piece for the 2019 competition was of a koi fish pond on a 16x20 inch stretched canvas, she said.

“It took me approximately five hours to finish my painting,” Huang said. “I wanted to paint

koi fish because I liked the idea of how freely fish are able to roam around, which was expressed through my brush strokes on the canvas.”

Huang enjoys painting with prominent brush strokes because it shows her emotions and makes her work feel more personal. She finds painting to be her stress reliever, Huang added.

“I wanted to do something more colorful and expressive compared to a typical serene landscape,” Huang said. “I chose oil paint because it comes naturally to me. I’ll just put on some music and let my hand do the work.”

Toofan decided to enter the competition after her photogra-

phy teacher told her about it. She prepared her photograph of a sunflower for a day, she added.

“I was inspired by a picture of a sunflower I saw online,” Toofan said. “I also wanted to do a simple and clean piece.”

Toofan finds photography to be her favorite medium that reflects her interest in art. She often finds herself spending hours practicing with different type of cameras and lenses, she continued.

“Photography amazes me with its ability to take someone back to memories that feel impossible to recreate,” Toofan said. “With one click of a button, you can freeze a moment in time forever.”

SEAN NGUYEN | THE UNION

Glee Club hosts concert, warms hearts of many

By Evelyn Fu

MHS Glee Club held their winter concert on Dec. 6 at the theater, Glee Club Co-leader Anne Mai said. The Glee Club winter concert has more Christmas themed songs compared to the end of the year concert, where their group songs are more diverse.

There are either one or two concerts each year, one during Christmas and one at the end of the year, Mai said. Earlier this year, however, the club also performed for the MHS fiftieth Anniversary. At the winter concert, 30 people came to watch their performance, she added.

“Preparations for the winter concert started in September every Tuesday and Thursday after school,” Mai said. “It was very stressful. However, it was exciting and worth it in the end.”

Freshman Marianne Antiporta said that she joined the club because of her deep passion for music and singing. She added that she enjoyed meeting new people.

“I hope to gain stronger bonds with the other performers and walk away with fun, enjoyable

memories,” Antiporta said. “Putting a concert together requires teamwork skills and responsibility, and I feel that this event will help me to develop and grow as a person.”

Antiporta added that the club has been practicing for a month or two. She said she enjoys the adrenaline and confidence when performing on stage.

“What makes the Glee Club Winter Concert special is the solos in the group songs,” Antiporta said. “For example, in ‘No Tears Left to Cry,’ we have a bass soloist while everyone else is singing background vocals.”

Manager Samantha Tu said that she did all the work behind the scenes, including paperwork, finding teachers, finding volunteers, and ordering sheet music.

She added that there was a problem in the scheduling, so the concert ended before the arranged time.

“I know the members love singing and they are always ready to perform at their best,” Tu said.

Tu respects the attempt and effort that the members put into their performances, she said.

DECEMBER 2019

THE UNION

FEATURES

5

Band students explore sounds of Portugal

By Sean Nguyen

Several MHS band students performed at the 16th Annual Portuguese Bands of California Festival in Tulare on Nov. 9. The students were invited to perform

by MHS Band Director Moises Fagundes, who conducts for the Portuguese Band of San Jose outside of the classroom.

The Portuguese Band of San Jose is one of the 14 Portuguese bands across California. Fagundes, who has been participating in Portuguese band since he was seven, enjoyed having familiar students in the band, but mentioned that it was difficult to convince his students to join.

“It was tough to initially get people to go at first, because they didn’t know what it really was like,” Fagundes said. “They think if they’re not Portuguese, they will be an outcast.”

The festival is hosted by a different band every year in order to make travels and expenses easier financially, according to Fagundes.

“You make friends from bands over the years and then you get to hear other bands perform,” Fagundes explained.

The popularity of Portuguese band began with just five students attending a trip to Portugal over the summer, Fagundes said.

After the trip, other band students heard about how fun it was through word-of-mouth and social media and joined, he added.

“All it takes is the first rehearsal for students to become intrigued and to invite their friends to join,” Fagundes said.

The Portuguese Band of San Jose performs different genres of music, including classical Portuguese marches, concert music, and bullfight music. This variety

of repertoire is what appealed to Senior Basia Borghetti, who also performed with the Portuguese Band in Tulare, Borghetti said.

“I’ve never played that type of music before,” Borghetti said. “I like the energy that comes from the music because it feels like the audience is getting in touch with their roots and their family.

There’s this song that we played called ‘Ave Maria Para Nossa Mãe.’ It was the best we’ve ever played it because there was so much emotion in the room. Mr. Fagundes looked like he was going to cry. It was beautiful.”

For Senior Kashvi Pandya, it was a new and unique outlet for self-expression.

“I love playing, honestly, because I have all my friends there,” Pandya said. “It’s like an escape from your real life and you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

LLS nominees raise funds for cancer treatment

By Evelyn Fu

Juniors Ashley Huerta and Karen Guerra are the 2019 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Students of the Year candidates for the Silicon Valley Monterey chapter, Senior Campaign Manager Jenna Yee said. The students’ goal is to raise funds for the LLS, she continued.

The goal of the LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, Yee said.

Candidates for the Student of the Year award program participate in a six-week fundraising competition to benefit the lives of blood cancer patients, she added.

“Everyone works and thinks a little differently, but the one thing in common that [Huerta and Guera] have is that they are extremely hard workers and want

to make a difference in peoples’ lives,” Yee said.

MHS Sweethearts, Huerta’s and Guerra’s LLS Student of the Year fundraising team, has a goal of raising 25,000 dollars, Huerta said. She added that she was able to get this opportunity by writing a series of essays about her previous community service work.

“MHS Sweethearts offers community service and invites guest speakers,” Huerta said. “We had Yee come and talk about the program so all our members have a chance to apply and be part of the campaign.”

Huerta non-profit organization’s goal is to make treatments more accessible, humane, and effective. Her team plans to raise money by reaching out through emails, events, and engaging with the community, Huerta added.

“For me, it’s not much about the award. It’s about helping people,” Huerta said. “However, it does feel nice to win the award as a reminder of my effort.”

Team Member Jessica Liu said that she is going to do her best to raise money. She adds that the extra funds will help those that are suffering from all kinds of blood cancer.

“I think that the Student of the Year program promotes a good cause,” Liu said. “The reason I joined MHS Sweethearts was to support my peers and raise money.”

Liu said that teamwork is essential to take action and contact donors and sponsors. She added that as long as the team is dedicated to reaching out and brainstorming ideas, winning the award is a possibility.

COURTESY OF JESSICA MO

Mo’s pearl collection includes (left to right) rhombus-shaped Rhea Earrings, Bunny Clip On Earrings, shell Mae Earrings, and a gryta necklace.

Mo creates online store, makes Mo’money off Depop

By Ginnie Lo

With 3,493 followers on Depop, Senior Jessica Mo sells jewelry and has made over 40 pieces to express her interest in fashion.

Mo began her business in her freshman year. She wanted to sell her handmade jewelry and saw Depop as the perfect platform due to its appeal to a younger audience and freedom, she added.

“I get my inspiration [to make jewelry] from a lot of things around me,” Mo said. “For example, I was inspired by beautiful flowers that I saw on my walks, so I made a pendant of dried flowers and resin. I wanted to preserve the flowers and make it into a fashion piece.”

Most of Mo’s jewelry start out with a sketch and are sent to a manufacturer to be 3D printed in resin. After receiving the sample, she decides whether she likes it enough to sell, Mo continued.

“I wear most of my jewelry on a daily basis,” Mo said. “Some of my pieces celebrate my [Chinese] culture and reflect my personality. My favorite item is my selflove necklace with ‘I love myself’ engraved in Chinese.”

The money she makes goes toward buying clothes and reinvesting into more jewelry, Mo said. She hopes to continue her business in the future and make more high quality designs from stainless steel and gold-filled jewelry, Mo added.

“You have to spend money to earn money,” Mo said. “I have to save up to buy a lot of things and it takes more money to buy those high quality materials.”

Mo also sells second-hand jewelry that catches her eye from from thrift stores, eBay, or garage sales on her Depop platform.

Although she has sold clothes before, Mo mainly sticks to selling jewelry because it is easier to handle and requires less effort, she added.

“I have made over 1,400 sales on Depop,” Mo said. “I have a few buyers from school. I’m really open to anyone buying my pieces.

It’s free delivery cost because I’ll deliver it to you at school.”

Mo makes a majority of her sales from advertising on her Depop, @Jessica_Mo. She also has a website where she posts her jewelry-making process at jminmo. com/process.

Students intern at Stanford, gain experience in kitchens

By Genelle Gogue Tosha Sambhus

COURTESY OF ISABELLA KELLAS

At the Milpitas Senior Center, Aaron Nguyen (far left), Lauren Young (far back), and several senior citizens proudly show off their handmade christmas cards, which will be sent to veterans, with bright smiles.

Helping Hands lends a hand to seniors

By Kathleen Hyunh

Helping Hands works to provide companionship and mental aid to senior citizens who struggle to find happiness in convalescent homes, Vice President Christopher Chung said. Club members visit senior centers and participate in fun activities with the senior citizens, Chung continued.

According to Treasurer Thomas Chen, senior citizens are often forgotten and neglected. He has personally witnessed this within his own family, Chen added.

“I have experience with family members who get injured and need mental help to recover from it,” Chen said. “We thought it was important that we help convalescent homes where people are re-

covering from surgery.”

Volunteering at the senior center and having the ability to converse with senior citizens has taught club members important life lessons, President Isabella Kellas said.

“From the club, I’ve learned that we’re all people,” Kellas said.

“Just because you’re old doesn’t mean that you don’t want to have fun or talk to anyone. Everyone wants companionship and everyone wants to spend time with someone.”

Secretary Aaron Nguyen agreed with Kellas and chimed in with what he has learned and gained from the club.

“There was this one patient that I talked to during the card making event,” Nguyen recalled. “It was really nice how we were able

to interact because my grandma is suffering from Alzhiemer’s and it was a really good experience to fill that void with someone that I can actually talk to.”

Helping Hands hopes to eliminate the assumption that seniors have an older mindset and cannot interact with the newer generation, Chen said. Eager to break barriers, Chen offered his plan to bring high school students and senior citizens together, he added.

“We just need to introduce our club members and the rest of the school to elderly people,” Chen said. “If they can see that elderly people enjoy activities that are modern or more active, people will relate to them and it’ll be easier for them to feel empathy for [senior citizens].”

Silicon Valley Career Technical Education’s (SVCTE) culinary course gives students opportunities at amazing internships, Senior Michelle Hamilton said.

Hamilton started her internship at Stanford for culinary work on Nov. 27, and it will be replacing her SVCTE class, she added.

The internship is in the same time frame as her SVCTE class and is paid, Hamilton said. She will be working at various kitchens that Stanford has to offer. In the beginning, it will be mostly observing, but as the internship goes on, she will be able to add on to her skills with real life experiences.

“Most of it will be preparation with knife skills, but I will move up as I’m there,” Hamilton said.

“It’ll probably start off with a lot of watching and learning, but all of it is just learning toward actually working there. Stanford’s goal is to make sure people actually get jobs placed there.”

Hamilton was offered the internship by her culinary teacher since she knew what she was doing in the kitchen, Hamilton said. She not only took charge in the kitchen, but she stood out as a student overall. Hamilton has a background in working in kitchens, so this experience was an extra help to guide her through the

class. “[SVCTE] was kind of a good start,” Hamilton said. “I worked in big kitchens before that, but for someone who has never worked and kind of wants to get ahead in the culinary lifestyle, it’s good to start at SVCTE because [the culinary teacher] puts you right where you want to be.”

Senior Kaila Leong also joined the internship through the culinary arts SVCTE program. She will be starting her internship in mid-December, Leong added.

“I’ll be cooking at one of the restaurants on the Stanford campus,” Leong said. “I look forward to cooking with experienced chefs in a fast paced environment.

I want to build up my skills to be prepared to work in restaurants that demand perfection.”

The internship was offered to her by the culinary arts teacher at SVCTE, Leong said. The executive chef did a group interview with other students in the culinary arts program and selected potential candidates to join the Stanford kitchens. The internship will pay $18 an hour, Leong added.

“I’d like to go culinary school in the future,” Leong said. “My dad really likes cooking, so to me, a meal has always been a sign of affection. In an artistic sense, it’s also a way to express individuality in a form that everyone can enjoy.”

6

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2019

ENTERTAINMENT

Season 3 of ‘Atypical’ is all but typical her hold over her son. She is often overbearing, but that characterization shows the reality of what life as a parent of a child on the

By Sarah Khan autism spectrum can be. On the other hand, Sam’s father, Doug, The third season of the Netflix begins to open up and connect Original series “Atypical” was re- more with his son, all while enleased on Nov 1. The ten-episode couraging him to pursue indepenseason lives up to the expectations dence. Doug has major character set from the past two seasons, development this season as he continuing to raise awareness on helps teach people how to better handle situations when various important matters interacting with an individsuch as life for individuals ual on the spectrum. This on the autism spectrum, brings light to a much-needfamily, friendships, relationships, and self-discovery. TV-SERIES ed discussion about how The coming-of-age show REVIEW to be more considerate of those with disabilities. follows the daily lives of Sam The season expands more Gardner (Keir Gilchrist), an 18-year-old on the autism spec- on Doug and Elsa’s strained retrum, his 16-year-old sister Ca- lationship, and allows viewsey (Brigette Lundy-Paine), and ers to sympathize with both of his parents Elsa (Jennifer Jason their perspectives. Expectedly, Leigh) and Doug (Michael Rapa- there is a constant tension beport) as they try to navigate the tween them, which makes for an hurdles of their own personal uncomfortable home environlives as well as manage the ten- ment within the Gardner family.

This strain in the family espesions within their family. Season three begins with Sam’s embark cially takes a mental toll on Cainto college, which is a major sey, who struggles to handle all transition in anyone’s life, but is the stress she faces, whether it especially difficult for Sam. He be from her parents, her goal of ventures through challenges like getting a track scholarship, or making new friends and living her confusing feelings for her in a brand new place without his best friend while she is already family for the first time in his life. in a relationship. Casey basicalAs Sam leaves for college and ly epitomizes teen angst, and decides he wants to be as inde- it shows through her constant pendent as possible, his mother, sarcastic remarks and humor, Elsa, struggles with letting go of which makes her arguably the RATING: 5 out of 5



most relatable character. This season further explores Casey’s relationships with her boyfriend, Evan, and her best friend, Izzie.

This leads to growing romantic tension between Izzie and Casey.

Continuing on the theme of relationships, Sam’s relationship with his girlfriend, Paige (Jenna Boyd), continues to blossom.

Their relationship is pivotal because Paige is one of the few people outside of Sam’s family who sees him for who he is as a person, rather than just for his diagnosis on the spectrum. Paige’s optimistic and enthusiastic attitude is a perfect match for Sam’s lovable persona. This season shows more of Paige’s personal struggles, giving her character more depth.

Besides romantic relationships, Sam and his best friend, Zahid (Nik Dodani), go through a rough patch in their seemingly rock-solid friendship. Due to this, Sam is faced with multiple ethical dilemmas, though he handles them in a way that reflects his growing emotional maturity. Sam and Zahid continue to be the most dynamic duo in the series, and their friendship is full of support and wholesome interactions. The third season succeeds at being even more heartwarming and comedic than its predecessors, having the perfect balance between humor and emotional complexity. Once again, the show leaves viewers wanting to laugh and cry at the same time.

RATING KEY HOME ALONE ELf LOVE ACTUALLY THE GRINCH hallmark

‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ is an insanely good production Garfinkel, and Swetha Nair, are each uniquely brilliant as well.

The set is nicely built and decorated. It makes perfect sense that

By Joshanne Chiang Countess Aurelia’s house is cluttered with strange objects. AddiThe fall play, “The Madwoman tionally, the reuse of props from of Chaillot,” is insane. It’s sup- previous theater productions is a posed to be. The amusing play sweet tribute to MHS’ fiftieth ancenters around the Madwoman of niversary. The art on the front covChaillot’s scheme to get rid of the er of the program and on the postcorrupt businessmen and pros- ers, drawn by cast member Adrian pectors in Paris. A lot of the play Liang, was very nicely done as well.

However, the setting of is barely organized chaos, the play is baffling, and not which is much of its charm. in a good way. The program Activity in the background of states that the play is set in a scene is often as interesting PLAY 2025 in order to make the to watch as the central action. The play uses well-doREVIEW audience relate the play to their current situation. Howne physical comedy as well ever, aside from being menas hilarious dialogue to make it truly entertaining to watch. tioned a few times in the program, The highlight of the play is Me- there are no indications of this gan Hutchinson’s performance time as the setting. The currency, as Countess Aurelia, the titular Francs, and the Victorian-esque Madwoman of Chaillot. She im- dress donned by the Countess as bues whimsy into the character well as other costumes indicate that makes her reminiscent of a clearly twentieth-century setMary Poppins. The small de- ting. Changing the setting of the tails, like the expression on her play to the future does not realface as she listens to the busi- ly add to the understanding of nessnessmen’s plot, make all the political message of the play the difference in gaining the au- either. Aside from a few details, dience’s sympathy for her and the play was delightful, and reher cause. The other madwom- ally showcased the talent of all en, played by Jenny Ho, Aleema students behind the production.

RATING: 4 out of 5



Music Reviews

COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY PICTURES

Main characters (left to right) Elsa (Indina Menzel), Anna (Kristen Bell), and Kristoff (Johnathan Groff) peer over a cliff as they continue to explore the history of Arendelle and as Elsa uncovers her powers’ origins.

‘Frozen 2’ melts the hearts of viewers; they do not let go of their high ratings Anna, Kristoff, Sven the reindeer, and the loveable Olaf, complete with some beautifully orchestrated Disney songs for good measure.

By Adarsh Burela Plot is where the movie suffers most. The story of “Frozen 2” is “Frozen 2” follows the story of typical of Disney with predictable Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna (Kris- “surprises” and an overall theme ten Bell), and Kristoff (Jonathan similar to that of “Avatar: The Last Groff ) as they explore the past Airbender.” Subplots are rarely of Arendelle and its history with focused on, and all characters bethe Northaldren people and the sides Anna or Elsa may as well disfour elements: air, fire, water, appear given the screen time they have. During the entire film, and earth. The film, which Kristoff is struggling to tell premiered on Nov. 22, ofAnna how he feels and wants fers an expansion on the to propose to her, only to be lovable characters of “Froby some event zen,” all while introducMOVIE interrupted or another; after a while, ing an elegantly composed REVIEW this charade grows tiresome. soundtrack and animatAll that being said, the ed design. While the plot was not necessarily better than music in the film is absolutethat of its predecessor, “Frozen ly show-stoppingly incredible.

2” delves into the backgrounds Though some are hit-or-miss, and personalities of the protag- such as Kristoff’s “Lost in the onists more than the original. Woods” that feels more like a 70’s The movie starts in the kingdom boy band love song than a Disney of Arendelle, a beautiful place that ballad, it is a welcome change and has recently become accepting of certainly got a few giggles out of their new queen, Elsa. Elsa has ac- me. “Into the Unknown” by Elsa cepted her new powers, but finds was phenomenal in vocals, muthem growing stronger by every sic, and accompanying animapassing moment until she hears tion. Overall, music alone is a reaa voice calling to her from the son enough to watch this movie.

“Frozen 2” is another Disney unknown. Urged by the call to explore the origins of her powers, she movie with the stereotypical travels to the magical woods with overabundance of songs, starting RATING: 3.5 out of 5



off with “All is Found,” by Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood).

“All is Found” is a lullaby sung

by Queen Iduna to foreshadow what happens later in the movie.

Queen Elsa then sings “Into the Unknown” (Idina Menzel ft.

AURORA) in response to a voice that calls out to her. As her power continues to grow, Elsa desires to go into the unknown and to find where she was meant to be.

The song “Into the Unknown” will also, without a doubt, be the successor to Frozen’s “Let It Go.” Before the post credit scene was an endless amount of credits and a repeat of a couple songs from the movie, but by different singers that put their own take on the songs. Though the movie’s songs were good, the end credit’s music, especially Panic! At the Disco’s “Into the Unknown” was fantastic.

Living up to the cultural phenomenon of the original is impossible, but “Frozen 2” does its best. Despite the predictable plot and immense amount of foreshadowing, “Frozen 2” is still a great movie that is able to appeal to those of all ages. It is definitely worth watching if you enjoy sensational soundtracks, detailed animation, and the remarkable new scenes of Elsa’s journey.

HEARTLESS

by The Weeknd

COME SEE ME

by AOA

MEAN IT

by Lauv and LANY

“This release is nothing special for The Weeknd, getting repetitive quickly and offering the same sound as always.”

“AOA does not disappoint with this absolute bop which becomes more addicting after every play.”

“A well-anticipated collab, this song is an upbeat piece that touches on not properly expressing feelings.”

-Neval Mulaomerovic

-Celine Nghiem

-Maliyah Fick

WATERMELON SUGAR

by Harry Styles

YOU KNOW WASSUP

by Kehlani

DON’T LET IT BREAK YOUR HEART

by Louis Tomlinson

“Harry Styles releases a catchy song with a groovy beat to let listeners reminisce about summer time.”

“Kehlani’s signature smooth voice pairs well with the chill beat of the track, giving the song a relaxing feel.”

“This comeback is great for those nostalgic for 2010 pop, but boring for anyone looking for something new.”

-Genelle Gogue

-Alexanderr Phan

-Neval Mulaomerovic

DECEMBER 2019

ENTERTAINMENT

THE UNION

7

No mystery why ‘Parasite’ is a box-office hit latest masterpiece, as it shows his arc in directing and storytelling.

The film carries multiple stylistic attributes from his previous films

By Sean Nguyen such as “Snowpiercer,” “Okja,” and “The Host” which shape and Day and night, yin and yang, tailor Bong Joon-Ho’s notable poor and rich. Two different signature. Bong is known for his worlds interact when a poor fami- dark comedy, dramatic mood ly living in a semi-basement climb shifts, and social commentary. the social ladders in the pursuit of “Parasite” is a catch-all movie greater wealth, hiding the truth that embodies all of these qualbehind an innocuous white lie. ities. It makes multiple remarks on capitalism, casting a In Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parlight of truth on the wealthy asite,” we see this white lie and their ignorant lifestyle culminate into a tragedy, that adversely affects those evoking the inner demons MOVIE beneath them. Bong Joonof poverty. “Parasite” was released in October of this REVIEW Ho uses the motif of stairs to note mobility in wealth, year and has been awarded the Palme D’Or at the Cannes shoving the powerless underFilm Festival. The movie has been neath in the basement while the labeled the “film of the decade” wealthy waltz on top in the beamby critics, receiving a 99% rating ing sunlight. In the film, sunlight on Rotten Tomatoes. “Parasite” is perceived as a privilege, almost tracks an impoverished family like a commodity. For example, and their fraudulent scheme to Bong uses the windows to meainvade the home of a filthy rich sure hope and success; the poor family by working as their tutors family lives in a semi-basement and personal assistants through with a window that peeks right a series of job recommendations, above the concrete in juxtaposigiving the rich family the benefit tion to the rich family’s window of the doubt. This film is Bong’s that extends from the floor to the RATING: 5 out of 5



ceiling. Joon Ho also comments on the environmental turmoil caused by the elite, arguing that climate change is rooted in capitalism. In its true essence, “Parasite” is a conglomerate of social issues packed into the movie like a can of sardines. Through symbolism and intelligent screenplay, Bong Joon-Ho presents a movie that aches with social justice.

The dialogue in “Parasite” is comically dark in the beginning of the movie, reflecting the lightheartedness of the plot. We are meant to chuckle and shrug off the severity of the characters’ consequences, which inevitably haunts us toward the end of the movie. This dramatic shift in mood is nothing unexpected of Bong Joon-Ho’s work, who is masterful at toying with the audience’s emotions through visual storytelling and a gorgeous soundtrack.

“Parasite” is nothing short of genius and is his greatest masterpiece to date. Despite being a foreign film, it exceeds all limitations and has been recognized globally as an astounding film. “Parasite” is currently screening in select theatres.

COURTESY OF SEAN NGUYEN

‘The End of the F***ing World’ is definitely out of this world on a pedestal. In reality, the series satirizes its own premise. It makes a point out of the unreasonable cruel-heartedness and

By Neval Mulaomerovic apathy of its two lead characters and pokes fun at the romantic “The End of the F***ing World” comedy tropes that might domiis a British dark comedy-dra- nate a lesser show. It doesn’t take ma series whose second season itself too seriously and makes it was made available on Netflix clear from the start that it won’t on Nov. 5. It is based on a graph- provide an accurate portrayal of ic novel of the same name by the life of an average teenager.

The biggest reason why “The Charles Forsman. After its first season received widespread ac- End of the F***ing World” is a claim, it was renewed for an- success is because it grounds its other eight-episode season. unrealistically over-the-top stoThroughout its first season, ryline with very human charac“The End of the F***ing World” ters. The second season shines follows James (Alex Lawther), a in its exploration of loaded perteenager who believes he is a psy- sonal and touchy subjects such as Alyssa’s post-traumatic chopath, and Alyssa (Jesstress disorder and James’s sica Barden), a rebellious vague emotional instability. classmate who wishes to Barden’s minimalist porrun away from her unpleasant home life. The two steal TV-SERIES trayal of Alyssa is a standa car to begin their journey REVIEW out performance, perfectly embodying her trauma and, unbeknownst to Alyssa, with dazed expressions and James plans to murder her while on their trip. After a series empty gazes. She and Lawther of petty crimes, James ends up complement each other excelkilling Alyssa’s attempted assault- lently and create a deep dynamer and realizes that based on his ic that draws the audience in.

One of the most recognizable guilt, he is definitely not a psychopath. Most of the season deals features of the season and series with them running from the law as a whole is its unique aesthetic. while growing closer to each other, When season one played Brenending on a cliffhanger of whether da Lee’s 1960 pop-country hit or not James was shot dead while “I’m Sorry” in the background of running away from the police. the scene in which James comThe new season deals with the mits a graphic murder, you knew fall-out of these events when the you were in for something diftwo leads reunite after two years ferent. The same trend carries apart. When they meet again, over into the second season, with James has recovered from his nearly the whole soundtrack beinjury and narrowly avoided jail ing composed of 1940s to 1960s time while Alyssa is still coping pop. This, coupled with simpliswith her trauma. Much of the con- tic directorial choices and freflict of the season revolves around quent voiceovers, creates an enBonnie (Naomi Ackie), the ex-lov- tirely distinct feel to the series.

The second season is only er of the man James murdered in the previous season, tracking the eight episodes long, each with two of them to enact her revenge. a 20 minute run time. Though “The End of the F***ing World” short, the season carries just the is worthy of praise for its unique right pace with a fitting ending. premise. At first glance, it seems If you can set aside three hours, like a drama that idealizes two “The End of the F***ing World” unrealistically angsty teenagers is definitely a worthwhile binge. and places adolescent rebellion RATING: 5 out of 5

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COURTESY OFWALT DISNEY PICTURES

Disney Channel’s newest show focuses on students putting on a production of “High School Musical.” Main character Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) channels her inner Gabriella Montez as opening night is slowly approaching.

‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ definitely bops to the top

level of romance, and they tackle more mature and current topics while still having amazing songs.

Most Disney shows incorporate

By Genelle Gogue music in any way they can, but for the musical, songs are a must.

On Nov. 8, Disney Channel pre- As of episode four, the series has viewed their new show, “High produced six original songs and School Musical: The Musical: they are all enjoyable. My perThe Series,” but the first episode sonal favorites are “Wondering,” officially came out on Nov. 12. “I Think I Kinda, You Know,” and The new series features Olivia “All I Want.” An interesting part Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Sofia of the songs that are being put out Wylie, and Disney Channel through the show is that some newcomer Matt Cornett of the characters wrote them.

The new show is not a Main character, Nini, played “High School Musical”

by Olivia Rodrigo, wrote (HSM) reboot and all in- TV-SERIES the song “All I Want,” and it volved in the new producREVIEW is truly a touching song. Of tion want to make sure course, since it is a show that viewers are aware. The seinvolves HSM, they release ries does take place at East High, their own renditions of the Diswhich is the high school where the ney classics and it is refreshing. first and final HSMs were filmed, Besides the great music and but it is a completely new show. dancing, the show is amazing in The series focuses on students at another way. They have charEast High, Nini (Olivia Rodrigo), acters that are open about their Ricky (Joshua Bassett), Gina (So- sexuality and are not afraid to be fia Wylie), and EJ (Matt Cornett), with the current times. Nini has who are putting on a play produc- two parents, and they are both tion of “High School Musical” at women. Sharpay in the original their school, and their lives as high movies was played by Ashley Tisschoolers. The show highlights dale and in the series, they allow topics of relationships, trust, a boy to step into the role. They and most importantly, drama. have two characters, that viewers Many expected the show to be know of, that are gay. It is a big a big miss since no series could deal that Disney is still continucome close to being as iconic as the ing with this awareness since the HSM franchise. However, to the cancellation of their show “Andi dismay of many, the show came Mack,” where there was the first to be a hit. It is unlike any Dis- openly gay character on Disney. ney show out now. It has a higher In pretty much all shows, draRATING: 5 out of 5

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ma is to be expected and drama can definitely be found in this series. There is constant drama between the two love interests of Nini: Ricky and EJ. There is also a constant battle going on between Gina and Nini since Nini received the lead role of Gabriella and that is what Gina had her eyes set on.

No spoilers were said since the show sets out new drama every episode, so don’t be alarmed.

Aside from the plot of the series, the actors are incredible. With the oldest actor on the show being 39 and the youngest actor being 15, the acting range is remarkable. Viewers are able to experience all the feelings the actors are conveying which is why it is so easy to fall in love with every character. Some of the actors have been on previous Disney shows, but a majority of them are new to the franchise and it is a breath of fresh air to see new faces.

I can say that I was one of the many doubters of the show. When it first came out, I didn’t think it was going to be any good because nothing could top the original HSM series. Yet I watched the first episode in the beginning of my day and had already rewatched it by the end of my day. New episodes come out every Friday and currently four are out in the 10-episode series.

I highly recommend watching this show because you will definitely fall in love, if not with the characters, with the show itself.

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THE UNION

DECEMBER 2019

SPREAD

Eggnog: more than your

By Rajvee Patel

KYLE NGUYEN | THE UNION

Cracking the case of making eggnog, no yolking matter

By Max Jones

Talking about the history behind Eggnog and recognizing its status as the king of holiday beverages is all well and good, but what is the actual process behind making the egg based drink? Since Eggnog’s debut in the 13th century its basic ingredients have largely stayed the same despite the many different cultural influences on the beverage.

Typical Eggnog Ingredients: - 2 Cups of Milk - 1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon - 1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg - 6 Large Egg Yolks - 1/2 Cups of Granulated Sugar - 1 Cup of Heavy Cream

Cooking Directions: 1. Use a small saucepan over low heat and mix together your milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Then bring the mixture to a simmer.

2. While the milk mixture is brought up to a simmer, put your egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk together while adding sugar until mixture is pale in color. Make sure to add the sugar bit by bit, mixing it thoroughly with the egg yolks.

3. When the milk mixture is hot, slowly pour it into the large bowl of egg yolk mixture. Make sure to add the milk mixture into the large bowl in batches to avoid curdling the eggs.

You’ve seen it in Christmas movies and it’s a staple for holiday dinners.

Eggnog is a common beverage drunk around this time of year, but really, what is eggnog? Who made it? And most importantly, why do people drink it? It’s time to get to the bottom of these questions.

Eggnog is a smooth, frothy drink traditionally made with a balance of flavor and spice. Some of the various recipes include using a cooked egg for the drink and some favor using an uncooked one- it all comes down to preference. Traditional ingredients include eggs (separate yolks and whites), sugar, whole milk, heavy cream, brandy or bourbon, dark rum, freshly ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and lastly, kosher salt. Of course, there are non-alcoholic and vegan options for those who favor it. Vegan versions use coconut milk, cashews, maple syrup, and water instead.

Non-alcoholic recipes just take out the alcohol from the original recipe.

You might be wondering, who created eggnog? While historians debate its origins, many agree that eggnog came from the earlymedieval British drink named “posset”, which is a warm ale punch

4. Return the combined mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat. Check with a spoon by coating the back of it to see if the thickness is suitable for consumption. Let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes.

If you want the nog thicker, you can simmer it for longer.

5. Remove mixture from the saucepan and pour it into a large bowl, stirring with heavy cream.

6. Refrigerate until chilled.

7. When ready to serve, pour the nog over ice and add any extra flavoring. I used ground cinnamon and whipped cream, but you can make your nog special.

MAX JONES | THE UNION

Eggnog continues to be a holiday treat outside of America, with each country adopting their own way of serving and creating nog in a way that is unique to their culture. Around the world, the holiday season’s various egg drink mixtures bring families together for a celebration of Christmas and other events. Cuba, The Netherlands, the United Arab Emerates, and Japan are just some of the countries that have their own version of eggnog, with different origins and executions.

DECEMBER 2019

SPREAD

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9

r average holiday drink with eggs and figs. During that time, milk and eggs were known to be foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often found in rich homes and was used in toasts to prosperity and good health. When eggnog was brought to the New World, people added their own ingredients such as cheap rum.

This is how the alcoholic version of eggnog originated and became popular among people of all classes.

Lastly, why do people drink eggnog specifically during the holiday season? The only answer really points back to its origins. In the medieval times, people drank eggnog during Christmas time because of its warm temperature and flavorful spices which embody the winter season.

Today, eggnog is not only a drink but also a flavor. From Starbucks eggnog lattes to eggnog marshmallows, this drink has influenced many foods.

Some of the most unusual eggnog flavored foods include candy corn, waffles, and rice pudding. As if that wasn’t enough, there are many forms of flavored eggnog available too.

Some of the many eggnog flavors include pumpkin, sugar cookie, caramel, light, and golden. These are just to name a few but truly, the possibilities are endless.

KYLE NGUYEN | THE UNION 100 students and staff members were asked the question “How do you like your eggnog?” and were allowed to answer the question however they desired.

The egg-citingly controversial history of Eggnog

By Rachel Wu

The origin of the word ‘eggnog,’ as one would expect, is probably as controversial as the drink itself. “Nog” was a strong beer brewed in East England in the early Middle Ages, but “nog” could also stem from “noggin,” a Middle English term for a mug used to contain alcohol. Some dictionaries note that the word eggnog was first used in 1775 when a Maryland clergyman wrote a poem about the drink.

Little is known about the word’s true origin.

Many culinary historians agree that eggnog probably began as an early medieval

drink from Britain called posset, made with hot milk that was curdled with ale or wine, often sweetened or spiced and consumed in the winter. By the 13th century, monks were known to have thrown eggs and figs into their possets. Posset became more popular among the aristocrats because of the high price of spices and liquor at the time.

Eggnog arrived to America in the 18th century and quickly gained popularity in the colonies; inexpensive rum and plentiful milk and dairy products made it an accessible beverage. In the 1800s, the drink remained a favorite of America, but naturally, due

to eggnog’s alcohol content, many old newspaper articles may be found detailing fights and stabbings involving people who drank too much eggnog.

In the 1940s, nonalcoholic eggnog began to show up in supermarkets, albeit rather rarely, and it was not until the 1960s that cold, nonalcoholic eggnog went mainstream.

Today, Americans drink 130 million gallons of the stuff during the holiday season.

Eggnog also seems to have pervaded every food product; there are now a million flavors of eggnog and a million eggnogflavored things. My favorite would probably be the eggnogflavored protein powder.

The survey to the right was conducted randomly around the MHS campus. All students who were surveyed were asked to try out samples of two types of store-bought eggnog. The options were Original flavor and Pumpkin Spice flavor, both of which were purchased from Target. Responses ranged from the positive to negative to confusing.

ALEXANDER PHAN | THE UNION

10

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2019

LIFESTYLE

Which is the best streaming platform?

By Genelle Gogue

Recently, Disney+ was launched and has taken the top spot over other streaming platforms. Since the launch on Nov. 12, other platforms have faced significant losses of revenue. There are three main streaming platforms: Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. As someone who has all three, there are obvious differences among the programs.

Netflix: $8.99 to $15.99 per month Netflix offers a variety of TV shows and movies. Although Disney took off most of their titles, some are still on the platform and Nickelodeon has just added some of their titles as well. Netflix’s main advantage over the other programs would be their originals. Netflix’s most popular award-winning originals are “Stranger Things” and “Orange Is The New Black.” For the most part, you can get a majority of

their shows and movies on the other platforms. Netflix is good for those who want a wide range of different movies and shows and even some interesting originals you can’t get anywhere else.

Hulu: $5.99 to $44.99 per month Hulu offers more recent and up to date movies and TV shows that make their program more appealing to certain subscribers. Some may be attracted to their wide availability of old-time favorites.

One pro for Hulu is that they also have originals such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Act.” Both shows have received several awards and much praise. Another pro for Hulu is that if subscribers opt for the $44.99 plan a month, called Hulu Live, they get all of the regular Hulu benefits on top of cable TV shows and movies.

Hulu Live is a great option for those looking to cut their television bills down and don’t mind

paying a hefty subscription fee.

Disney+: $6.99 per month Disney+ offers all things Disney.

It ranges from the Disney classics from the 60s to current movies released this year. Their movie options range from “Remember The Titans” to “The Last Song” and go as far back as “Cinderella.” For the shows, they have old classics such as “Boy Meets World” and new favorites like “Andi Mack.”

Unfortunately, there are some popular Disney movies and shows that aren’t on the platform, but there are still many great options.

Disney+ is a great option for Disney fanatics and it is the cheapest option out of all three platforms.

There are many pros and cons to each streaming platform.

One option is the Hulu and Disney+ combination for just $12.99 per month. That way you can get the best of both worlds.

Think twice about Juul before you think it’s cool

By Vibha Sastry

As of Nov. 2019, 2,290 cases of e-cigarette and vaping associated lung injury have been reported, 47 of which were fatal. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified vitamin E acetate, an additive in e-cigarettes, as the chemical of concern among people with lung injury caused by e-cigarette use or vaping. The CDC recommends that people not use THC-containing e-cigarettes or vaping products, especially from informal sources like friends and in-person or online dealers.

Most e-cigarettes contain nic-

otine, a highly addictive drug, though some labels will not disclose this. Nicotine harms parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, future addiction, and impulse control.

E-cigarettes do not contain harmless water vapor. The aerosol which e-cigarettes produce can contain ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Flavorings such as diacetyl (a chemical linked to a serious lung disease), volatile organic compounds, cancer-causing chemicals, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead are also present. E-cigarette us-

ers inhaling this aerosol expose themselves and bystanders to these harmful substances. Scientists are still working to find out exactly what other harmful chemicals are in e-cigarettes.

The dangers of e-cigarettes are still being explored. So far, there have been cases of defective e-cigarettes that explode or malfunction, causing serious injuries. There have been cases of adults and children being poisoned by swallowing, breathing, or absorbing e-cigarette liquid through their skin or eyes.

Before trying these products, be aware of the inherent risks.

Lucky Tea’s drinks were of unlucky quali-tea

By Ginnie Lo

Lucky Tea is a new milk tea place that opened on Sept. 19 in Westfield Valley Fair. Lucky Tea offers a variety of drinks like milk foam creama teas, slushies, sodas, brewed teas, and milk teas.

The super cute, minimalist boba shop is located on the second floor across Ramen Nagi and SomiSomi. I ordered their popular drinks: Strawberry Milk Tea with crystal boba, Roasted Oolong Milk Tea with honey boba, Four Seasons Milk Tea with popping boba, and Earl Grey Milk Tea with lychee jelly.

The standard sweetness is 50%, so I decided to get 25% sweetness for the Strawberry Milk Tea. Surprisingly, the drink was still extremely sweet. The crystal boba was also sweet and had a crunchy texture. I thought that the drink was cute because of its pastel pink color and strawberry chunks at the bottom, but the flavor was underwhelming.

It tasted like plain strawberry

milk. I paid $4.98 for the large and was not able to finish since it was too sweet for me to handle. Overall, I would rate it a 5/10.

I ordered the Roasted Oolong Tea with honey boba and regular sweetness. The drink came out warm. It tasted like coffee and was bitter, but the honey boba was flavorful and sweet. Although the drink was pretty and had some brown sugar drizzles inside the cup, it was underwhelming. The oolong was not noticeable at all in the drink. The only part I liked was the honey boba. This drink cost me $4.98 for the large, and it was not worth it. I would rate it a 3/10.

The Four Seasons Milk Tea with regular sweetness was not anything special. Although it was supposed to be a mixture of green teas with fruits, flowers, and spices, the drink tasted like typical jasmine milk tea. It was not overwhelmingly sweet. However, I would not recommend adding in popping boba. The drink and topping did not mix well because the popping boba was an entire-

ly new, strong flavor of passion fruit and was very juicy. I think the drink was not anything special or cool like its name would suggest. It costed $4.49 for the medium. I would rate it a 6/10 since it tasted the most average compared to the other drinks.

Originally, I hated the Earl Grey Milk Tea with regular sweetness. It tasted like I was drinking a bitter flower. However, as the ice melted, the drink had a nice, floral taste. The lychee jelly was a nice addition and complemented the drink well.

Sadly, I could not taste any earl grey tea. For $4.49 for a regular, I would rate it a 4.5/10 since it tasted better once the ice melted.

I was expecting a lot from Lucky Tea, especially because the lines were always packed. The toppings were flavorful and good, but the drinks were either too sweet or did not taste like their names.

Unless you want to buy a drink for its aesthetics, I would recommend that you save your money and go to a better milk tea place.

GINNIE LO | THE UNION

Pictured above (left to right) are the Earl Grey, Roasted Oolong, Strawberry, and Four Seasons milk teas.

GINNIE LO | THE UNION

Above is the Avo Everything Toast (top), Butter Toast (middle left), Banana Honey Almond Toast (middle right), and Matcha Latte (bottom).

Overpriced avocado toast not deserving of the boast

By Neval Mulaomerovic

Gente Cafe is a new cafe which opened in downtown San Jose at 17 N 2nd St. It is a typical brunch place but is quite cramped, so it isn’t a great option for sitting or studying for a long period of time.

I tried the Avo Everything Toast, Banana Honey Almond Toast, Butter Toast, and Matcha Latte.

For the toasts, the bread slices were less toasted than one would expect. It was still a good-quality baguette-style bread. The Avo Everything Toast was topped with avocado, microgreens, and way too much olive oil. The avocado makes or breaks the avocado toast and I can confidently say that the avocado itself was great.

It was the perfect level of ripeness and it was half-mashed to offer a nice variety. The microgreens didn’t add any flavor but they are a nice addition texturally to what would be an otherwise plain item.

I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.

As its name suggests, the Banana Honey Almond Toast includes banana slices, a honey drizzle, and a layer of almond butter. This ended up being the Banana Honey Peanut Toast since the cafe was out of almond butter. The peanut butter layer was quite thick to the point where it became overwhelming, but the flavor itself was good.

More banana or honey to balance out the saltiness of the pea-

nut butter could have helped, but overall it was entirely acceptable.

I would rate it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Butter Toast was the plainest item that I ordered, and probably the plainest item on the menu. There was a nice butter to honey ratio, and the honey tasted better than that of most cafes.

It added a nice level of sweetness amid an otherwise bland item.

With only butter and honey, there is not much to like or dislike. I would rate it a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Matcha Latte came with a nice piece of latte art in the form of an ambiguous swirl. It could have used a bit more matcha flavor because it seemed like it had too much whole milk. The latte ended up tasting more like milk from a cup that might have had matcha in it right before. I would rate it a 2 out of 5 stars.

These ratings are entirely based on flavor without taking into account the price. The Avo Everything Toast was $10.25, the Banana Honey Almond Toast was $8.50, the Butter Toast was $3.25, and the Matcha Latte was $5.00. Paying over ten dollars for a piece of bread with avocado or three dollars for buttered toast is outrageous. For an overarching rating that takes into account the unreasonably high price, subtract 1.5 stars from each item.

You can easily just toast some bread at home for much cheaper.

Holiday dessert and gift ideas

By Maliyah Fick

For those who celebrate December holidays, this time of year can be hectic, from gift finding to figuring out holiday dishes and desserts. Hopefully, this quick recipe and a list of small, affordable gift ideas can help make this month less hectic for you.

Peppermint Bark Cookie Cups INGREDIENTS -1 cup of butter, melted -1 cup of brown sugar & 2/3 cup of white sugar -1 large egg -1 teaspoon of vanilla extract -1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour - 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder - A pinch of salt - 1 cup of peppermint bark chocolate, broken/chopped - Baking spray & a cupcake pan DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray down the pan with baking spray.

2. Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well combined 3. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.

4. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.

5. Place scoops of cookie dough into the cupcake pan, pressing down the middle so it is hollow and in a cup-form.

6. Drop peppermint bark pieces into the hollow of the dough.

7. Let it bake for about 12 minutes.

Small gift ideas Scented Candles: They cost between $3 and $20, and are available at most retail stores.

Tree Ornament Figurines: Stores like Target sell figurine ornaments for under $10. This way, your friends can hang your gift on their tree for years to come and think about who it came from and the thought that was put into it.

Holiday socks: Socks with holiday patterns are sure to brighten people’s days, and you can go for the fuzzy ones, too! A pair of socks can also cost under $10.

While these are only a few potential gift ideas, there are still countless more. These suggestions could be used as single gifts, or even put together in a set to make a small basket.

DECEMBER 2019

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THE UNION

11

diREcT liNE SURVEY QUESTION OF THE MONTH

We arE

Superintendent Cheryl Jordan

Board Trustee Chris Norwood

What are your ideas and thoughts about how we can increase cultural sensitivity in MUSD? Superintendent Cheryl Jordan and the Board of Education are interested in what you think about various topics as they come up throughout the year. We need student perspectives to help guide the District and better the educational experience for everyone. We believe that young people like yourselves are an essential ingredient in a recipe for success. We hope you will take a few minutes to share your insights and experiences when it comes to important issues that impact us all in different ways. Each edition, we will pose a survey question to students through an advertisement in The Union newspaper, with a QR Code, to bring you to this survey. All responses will be kept confidential.

PLEASE SCAN THIS QR CODE TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US!!

Board Trustee Hon Lien

Dear Students and Families,

Board Trustee Kelly Yip-Chuan

Board Trustee Michael Tsai

With all Best Wishes for a Joyous Season and a very Happy New Year!

P.S. Good luck on your mid-term exams!

Sincerely yours, District Leadership team

12

THE UNION

SPORTS

DECEMBER 2019

MHS wrestles with future at Rancho Middle School campus

By Kathleen Huynh

Several male MHS wrestlers are expected to place in the California Interscholastic Federation Central Coastal Section (CIF-CCS) this season, Head Coach Jake Tanenbaum said. MHS has not had a boy place in CCS in the last 10 years so it will be a big deal for the boys wrestling program, he added.

In addition to the prospect of placing at CCS, excitement for this year’s wrestling season also comes from the re-establishment of a wrestling team at Rancho Milpitas Middle School, Tanenbaum said. For the first time in over 10 years, there will be a middle school wrestling team in the district, he said. “[MHS] is actually an anomaly,” Senior Vivek Chotai said. “A lot of other school districts have wrestling teams during middle school so when [wrestlers] enter high school, they already have one or two years of experience.

Those one or two years of experience makes a huge difference.”

Several parents have dedicated a lot of time into getting the wrestling program at Rancho up and running, Chotai said. Gao Zamora, a firefighter,

father, and wrestling coach at MHS, is the head coach of the Rancho wrestling team, he said.

“Jake and Gao took care of the paperwork and legal stuff to make the Rancho team,” Chotai said. “I would give the credit to Gao Zamora because he’s the head coach there. His son, Gavin Zamora, Elijah Nguyen, Jake , and I also go over to help coach.

Mainly it’s just me, Mrs. Zamora, Lavonne Zamora, and Gao there.”

“I think my athletic goals tend to be more towards the community rather than personal achievement,” Chotai said. “Instead of forcing pressure on our wrestlers and [telling] them that ‘you have to win’ or ‘you have to place at these specific tournaments,’ I think we more importantly, especially at the Rancho level right now, are just trying to make sure that everyone enjoys what they’re doing while keeping winning in mind.”

In his four years of wrestling, Chotai said that he has seen many wrestlers come and go.

According to Chotai, wrestling is already a grueling sport on the body so there is an increasing importance on making sure that it stays fun for the kids.

Football team dominates at D4 CCS championship game

By Genelle Gogue

On Sat. Nov. 30, the Varsity Football team brought back the Central Coast Section (CCS) Division IV Championship title to MHS, Middle Linebacker Aneterea Lealao said. MHS has gone to the CCS Championship game several times in the last few years, but unfortunately fell short, he added. This new title has been in the making for the last six years, Lealao said.

The team had gone through the season with a 1-6 record and by staying motivated and not giving up, the team was able to push through and improve their record to become the first seed in their division, Lealao said.

“I let everybody know because after that [Wilcox] game, we had to come back and just having that mentality of working and doing better as a team. It’s about just collaborating as a team more than by yourself,” Lealao said.

The team was able to finally work as a unit and secure the win, Running Back Josue Torres said. The team seized their opportunity and all their hard work has paid off, he added.

“It was 1 and 6, and everyone was doubting us, and we really used that as motivation and we

came out on Saturday, and we got the [win]. We just fought to the end and we never gave up.

I’m really proud of the team and the outcome of the game,” Torres said. “We just all had to work as one unit, and we just started to stay focused, stay disciplined.

I don’t know how, but something just sparked in us,” he added.

The game was constantly at neck-and-neck, Kicker Nate Miskella said. He had the opportunity to win it for the team, but besides that, it was a win that happened for the team as a whole, he said.

“There were all the doubters.

No one believed in us. We were 1 and 6 with all those losses in a row, and we just stayed together and we grinded, and we stayed on it,” Miskella said. “We took each game game-by-game and we came out on top. I think that shows our true colors about this team and our brotherhood.”

The team isn’t done yet, however. After winning CCS and NorCal, there is still State, Miskella said.

“To all those people that supported us even from the very beginning, thank you. To all of the people that doubted us from the beginning, thank you,” Miskella added.

GENELLE GOGUE | THE UNION

The MHS Varsity Football team celebrates a victory against Branham High School at independence High School. The winning score was 27-26.

MAX JONES | THE UNION

Varsity Boys Soccer Player, Cesar Gonzalez, starts warming up for practice by juggling the soccer ball on the field. Gonzalez has been playing soccer since he was a child in Mexico and joined the team as a freshman.

Student athlete of the month: Cesar Gonzalez

By Devika Kumar

Senior Cesar Gonzales is a soccer player at MHS. After winning first place in the league last year, he continues to play for the school team and encourages newcomers to this sport. Gonzalez spoke about his experience in soccer at school for the past three years and how to deal with the intensity of the sport.

Q. When and why did you start soccer?

A. I started soccer when I was four years old. I started soccer here because it has always been a big sport in Mexico, and I had just moved from Mexico a few years ago when my parents signed me up for soccer.

Q. What do you enjoy most about soccer?

A. I enjoy hanging out with my friends and just having fun.

Q. How do you prepare for a game and what is your mindset before a game?

A. I prepare by eating right and making sure I don’t eat anything too heavy. I usually try to get a good warm-up in and I just get in the zone by playing mu-

sic or just focusing on the game.

Q. What advice would you give to a new soccer player or someone who wants to be on the varsity team?

A. My advice would be to constantly work hard. Even if you are just starting and you don’t play too good, just have the mindset that you know you are going to get better and use it as motivation to work harder.

Q. How do you deal with the intensity of your practices?

A. When it gets hard, I know that it is good for me, and the intensity is what I want because it is never good to have an easy practice. I just think of it as a positive thing.

Q. How do you motivate yourself during a game if things are not going so well for you?

A. I just try to think about helping the team and staying positive.

When things aren’t going too well, I know that it will get better just as long as we keep working harder.

Q. Why do you like soccer?

A. I like soccer because it is something that has always been around me. My uncles in Mexico played soccer, and I guess I just inherited the love for soccer in my family.

Q. How do you feel when you win compared to when you lose?

A. When I win, I get that good sense of knowing that my hard work is paying off. It is just a feeling of joy. When I lose, I just think about what caused the loss and how I can improve for the next game. If I lose a game, I use it as motivation to do better in the next game.

Q. What is the worst thing about being a soccer player?

A. The worst thing would be the training we have to do. You don’t really have time to do other things. I barely have time to do my homework and once I am done with homework, I have to focus on soccer and just keep training to get to the best of my ability.

I have to know how to balance my schoolwork as well as soccer, which can be difficult at times.

Q. What do you think about when you are playing soccer?

A. I just tell myself to do the best I can and score goals by trying to look for open spaces. I know that is obvious, but I always try to be aware of my surroundings in soccer.

MHS Students kick high for Taekwando

By Faria Moiz

Some MHS students have been doing taekwondo as an extracurricular sport, Junior Sahaana Sudharsan said. They compete either recreationally or competitively as an avid part of their schedule, Sudharsan added.

Sudharsan said she and many other students at school practice taekwondo on a weekly basis to get themselves prepared before tournaments. Milpitas is home to quite a few training halls where students come and hone their martial arts skills, she added. A lot of them have earned recognition for their achievements at a local or higher level, she added.

“I’ve been doing taekwondo for a little over five years,” Sudharsan said. “I am a first degree black belt and I’m testing for my second. I’ve been to local tournaments, state championships, and nationals. I’ve also competed in the President’s Cup last year.”

Sudharsan expressed her views on taekwondo’s world recognition and how that could play in at MHS. The sport is already recognized and included in the Olympics, she continued.

“I think taekwondo should be included as a school sport,” Sudharsan reflected. “Not only does it teach you basic self defense skills, it also promotes discipline and overall sportsmanship, which

can help people create peace with themselves and each other.”

Senior Marissa Clarke comments on her personal accomplishments, including her victory at the 2016 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Taekwondo Nationals. She says that taekwondo helped her gain courage and confidence which have seeped into her daily and school life.

“I do feel accomplished because of what I’ve done in the sport,” Clarke said. “I feel I’ve done well with adapting to the different fighting styles of the opponents. I hope to improve on my confidence in myself when going into the ring to start fighting because my lack of confidence held me back in fights sometimes. I initially joined taekwondo as a way to learn self-defense, but it became much more than that when I started competing.”

Preparation before tournaments is essential, as with any other sport, Clarke said. She said she analyzes her opponent’s fighting style, then formulates strategies to defeat her opponent, Clarke said.

“Before a tournament, I prepare myself mentally by going through certain sparring situations in my head, and how I would approach them,” Clarke said. “This way, I can score a point and my opponent doesn’t.”

Freshman Paige Kheylik presents an opposing attitude to-

ward taekwondo. She spoke out against the detrimental effects the sport has placed on her psyche, Kheylik said.

“I personally hated taekwondo over the years,” Kheylik said. “It has made me insecure about my weight and body.

At tournaments, I will fight these girls that are my weight but way taller.” Kheylik said.

Kheylik does not support the proposition of taekwondo being included as an MHS sport, she said. According to Kheyllik, it would generate more issues than it is worth, such as the cost. She doesn’t like the idea of doing something at school similar to what she does after school, she said.

“I think they should not include taekwondo as a school sport because it includes a lot of gear, which cost lots of money, so it isn’t really affordable for most families,” Kheylik said. “Taekwondo is also a dangerous sport.”

However, Kheylik believes there are both ups and downs to participating in Taekwando, she said. According to Kheylik, she does appreciate the bonds she has made along her journey.

Along the ten years she has been practicing, she has met many supportive friends she would not have otherwise, she added.

“My favorite part of the sport is my teammates who I get to spend time with,” Kheylik said.

DECEMBER 2019

SPORTS

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Students see other side as referees and coaches

By Devika Kumar

MHS students recently began working as coaches and referees at different leagues, Senior Mahika More said. Students love working as referees or coaches because it is a great way to stay connected with the sport they love the most, More said.

According to More, she loves being able to meet new people within her community, whether it be other referees or soccer players. Since she doesn’t play soccer anymore, she wanted to find a way to stay connected with soccer, she said.

“My favorite part would have to be working with my co-refs,” More said. “I think it is a great opportunity to stay connected with

soccer. It’s just a fun thing to do on Saturdays.”

Some students also become a referee or a coach to get paid, Senior Melodie Stice said. According to Stice, having a job that pays and has a lot of flexibility for her schedule is the best for her.

“My favorite thing about being a referee is the flexible hours,” Stice said. “I have another job and that is not flexible. You can pick and chose which weekends you show up and how long you work for, so that really works well for somebody that has a busy schedule. I also am a referee because I like the money that comes with it. I get paid 20 dollars per game.”

Many people love to coach or be a referee because you can get volunteer hours for it, Senior Saumya

Mutatkar said. Being a coach is also better because you get to have more control over what is done on the court.

“I was a basketball player before I was a coach,” Mutatkar said.

“When I got a little older, I got asked by the same place I played at if I was interested in becoming a coach for the basketball team and I thought it was a great idea to become a coach.”

Many high school students are a coach or a referee because they are able to enjoy the sport with other people, Mutatkar said. Looking at basketball as a coach instead of a player makes her analyze things a lot more and makes it is easier for her to understand why her coach was hard on her sometimes, she said.

Kang’s ballet experience is en pointe

By Joshanne Chiang

Senior Chloe Kang has been a ballet dancer since the age of three, Kang said. Dance has been her passion for fourteen years, she added.

Kang started dancing because her mother had dreamed of dancing when she was younger but never got the opportunity, Kang said. She hated the activity at first, but eventually grew to love it, she said.

Kang volunteers to help other young children with ballet, she said. “It’s really cool seeing from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, through each level, how they get just a little bit better and better, and it adds up over time.”

Last year, Kang attended the New Ballet in San Jose for five days a week, she said. For senior year, she is taking a break and now attends the Jensen School for the Performing Arts in Milpitas two

days a week, Kang said. Now that she is only dancing two days a week, her schedule is a lot more open, Kang said.

Kang loves to dance because of the escape it offers, she said.

“When I am dancing, it’s like nothing else outside matters. It’s a little closed off space for me where I’m not really thinking about anything and not really stressing about anything.”

Kang usually choreographs for the MHS intermediate dance class’s showcase at the end of the year, she said. She likes that there are many types of dancing covered in the class, and that each person has their strengths in different units, Kang said.

Besides just choreography, Kang enjoys the creativity in dancing, she said. “Dance is open to interpretation. For a certain move, each person does it a little bit differently. I think it’s really cool that you can kind of put your own twist on the things that you

do in dance.”

In the future, Kang does want to work with dancers, she said. However, she probably won’t be dancing herself, she said.

“I was diagnosed with scoliosis at nine years old,” Kang said. “At the time, I was at the San Francisco Ballet and I was really serious about my ballet training because I thought I could make a career out of it. Being diagnosed with scoliosis kind of ended that dream, but it opened up a different dream,” Kang said.

Since she understands the struggles dancers go through and how much work and time goes into it, she wants to work with dancers who also have scoliosis and other physical health problems, Kang said. She wants to be a chiropractor or physical therapist in the future, and hopefully use her experience to help other people who go through similar injuries as she did, she said.

DEVIKA KUMAR | THE UNION

Varsity Boys Basketball shoot for strong season

By Genelle Gogue

The MHS Boys Varsity Basketball team is a work in progress, Coach Clarence Wrencher said.

The current seniors are trying to replicate the senior leadership from last year, and it is a challenge, he said. On top of that, there are several things the team needs to work on, including role definition, he added.

Senior players from last year were superior at being leaders and leading by example, Wrencher said. With those players, it was more of a natural ability and with

the current players, they need to work harder towards it, he said.

“Last year, seniors were really good at leading by example and just consistently doing the right things every day in practice and that translated to really good game play. This year, we’re trying to replicate that and it is a challenge,” Wrencher said. “They would say something to teammates before I had to say something and this is starting to happen now with this group,” he added.

As far as what the players think, they are just getting their chemistry together, Captain Lee Rid-

GENELLE GOGUE | THE UNION

Varsity Boys Basketball Captain Lee Riddley (right) attempts to make a mid-air shot. The MHS team goes up against Saint Francis High School.

dley said. Their teamwork is a lot stronger; it is just about putting it all together, he said. They can go a lot farther this year than they have before, he added.

“We’re doing good so far. Right now we’re just getting our chemistry together, but I have a feeling that we should have a good season,” Riddley said. “I feel like we’re going to come back a lot stronger and I feel like our chemistry is a lot stronger this year and I feel like we can go a lot farther.”

One thing the players are doing really well is working on bringing more of their energy and intensity, Junior James La said.

Starting from the first string and all the way down to third, you get the same energy and momentum from every player, he said. He agrees that their chemistry isn’t where they would like it to be, but it will get better eventually.

“Definitely you see our chemistry isn’t where we’d like it to be yet, but that only takes time so I’m not too worried about that,” La said. “With Coach Wrencher and Coach Willinsky, probably two of the best coaches in our area, we can learn from them and they know how to lead us in the right direction coming to the regular season and being able to make playoffs.”

This year, varsity boys were able to get bumped up in a division, La said. From this, it is going to be harder for the team, but they are ready for it, he said. There are big shoes to fill from last year, and this year’s team has a lot of talent that they are starting to bring together, La said.

“Just be ready for us this season.

All the teams should be on the lookout for Milpitas,” La said.

COURTESY OF MARISSA CLARKE

The MHS Color Guard team warm up by practicing their tosses before their finals for the Western Band Association at Buchanan High School.

Color Guard completes season with flying colors

By Faria Moiz

Color Guard finished their season at the end of November, according to Color Guard Member Kohaku Sumida. The team performed successfully despite setbacks at MHS, Sumida said.

Color Guard’s season ran from Apr. 15 to Nov. 24, Sumida said. They participate alongside marching band at football games.

Marching Band focuses on musical entertainment while Color Guard’s role is a more acrobatic one, he said. The team advanced to the Western Band Association leagues, Sumida said.

“I genuinely think that we did pretty all right this season. With our performances, I couldn’t have asked for more,” Sumida said. “We all performed our hearts out—out enough to make it into the Western Band Association finals and grand championships.”

Junior Ethan To is a first time Color Guard athlete this season,

he said. There was a lot of preparation involved before every performance, both individually and with their equipment, he said.

“For a performance, we just warm up our bodies with stretches and then warm up with each of our pieces of equipment, like flags, rifles, and sabres. Then, we do a run-through of our show,” To said.

“This process takes around two hours before each performance.

To actually learn our performance, we spent the time between August and November learning our performance and cleaning up [the performance].”

Band Director Moises Fagundes Fagundes said that he would like to see more participation from the students in the future. This was another issue the team had to tackle, but they managed to overcome it despite their limited number, he said “I’m hoping that the guard program can grow and increase in size,” he said.

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Student led clubs host blood drive at MHS

By Faria Moiz

MHS held their fall blood drive, hosted by the National Honor Society (NHS) and the California Scholarship Federation (CSF), said NHS President Mansi Agrawal. Students donated blood to patients in surrounding hospitals last month at the library, Agrawal said.

Students 16 years old or older could come anytime during their first to fifth period to donate, said Agrawal. The blood drive was a collaboration between CLOGs (Clubs and Organizations) as well as external medical centers, she said. CSF and NHS cooperated with the Stanford Blood Center to send blood for patients around the Bay Area, Agrawal added.

“We had a representative from Stanford come in our meetings to talk about the blood drive and hand out supplies and goodies to our members. ” Agrawal said. “We set up work days where all the officers would input the donor’s information to a spreadsheet, schedule them for a donation time, write passes to be excused from class, assigning volunteering roles, and so on.”

Word of the blood drive was spread through various outlets to the students, Agrawal said.

The promotional aspect of the campaign was largely successful, she said. Many students were able to access information with ease, she said.

“We promoted the blood drive by putting up posters around

campus, recruiting donors, through the morning announcements, and posting on social media,” Agrawal said. “For the first time, we decided to have a table set up during lunch and advertise for the blood drive by spreading the word and giving food and goodies to interested students.”

CSF President Samuel Wang also coordinated in managing the blood drive. He said that both clubs had to put in efforts to make the drive possible, Wang said.

“The blood drives we hold are coordinated by a joint effort between CSF and NHS. What I love about organizing these blood drives is how club boundaries melt away and both clubs commit all of their respective resources - whether it be social media platforms, member volunteers, or time - toward making this possible,” Wang said. “Both CSF and NHS members were tasked with recruiting donors by their own creative means by asking their friends, classmates, and using their own social media platforms.

It’s nice to work as a team.”

The blood drive is important for people worldwide, Wang stated.

The impact donating a few pints of blood can have can be critical for saving someone’s life, he said.

“People often do not realize the need for blood donors,” Wang said. “On average, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion every two seconds (according to statistics released

by SBC). It’s not everyday that we get to save a life (or three).”

Sophomore Bushra Naveed, a member of both CSF and NHS, discussed the significance of donating blood. The Stanford Blood Center very much relies on MHS’ donations as well as other high schools, she said.

“I think it was necessary because they’ve gotten [some of] the most blood from our high school.” Naveed said, “That’s why they plan to host it again at our school.”

The clubs were on top of their schedules by the time the drive rolled around, Naveed said. They had started preparations well in advance, she added.

“They [NHS and CSF] were very well-prepared. They started planning the event a few months before,” Naveed said.

The history of Stanford’s association with the MHS runs deep in the past according to NHS Advisor Kaila Schwartz. MHS’ donations to the Blood Center are immense, she said.

“The Stanford Blood Center has been hosting blood drives at our school for well over 15 years.

I’m not sure how it all got started because I believe it was already in place when I took over as adviser for NHS 18 years ago,” Schwartz said. “We have two drives - one in the fall and one in the spring, each set six months apart from the other.”

The results were huge and largely gratifying, Schwartz said.

Many students showed up and donated to the cause, Schwartz said.

ASB creates new attendance system for clubs

By Rachel Wu

CLOGs (Clubs and Organizations) on campus will now be asked to meet a minimum meeting attendance of 12 non-officer members, Activities Director Jerell Maneja said. However, clubs and organizations will not be punished if they do not meet the minimum, he added. “[Having 12 non-officer members] would imply that the club was working for recruitment and that the club is still meeting the needs of the campus,” Maneja said. “If there are any organizations that do not meet this, that becomes a red flag for us and tells us that we should check in and support them better, either by helping them advertise or finding out why they may be struggling to maintain those numbers.”

Among a campus of 3000 students, it was rationalized that 12 would be a nice number that also shows that there is a higher ratio of members to officers, Maneja said. It would be preferred that the officers don’t have all the control in the club, Maneja said.

“We are also looking into publicizing the work of clubs even more,” Maneja said. “We are now sending out a newsletter to all of the parents in the district so they’re aware of what the students are doing on this campus, such as the voter registration drive done by the Advocate, blood drive, or Trunk-or-Treat.”

The hope is that the clubs’ publicity is boosted so that they can ultimately get more members, Maneja said. The ultimate goal is to create a bridge between the general public and these clubs,

Maneja continued.

Secretary of Asian American Association Dennis To believes this step will promote club activity on campus, he said. Although submitting attendance information will be more work, it is not too inconvenient, he added.

“The efforts to promote club publicity and participation are admirable,” To said. “It’s only a small inconvenience for me.”

Speech & Debate Advisor Charles Schletzbaum said that the new attendance policy is a great idea, but it initially seemed like there would be punishments for not meeting the requirement.

It would be helpful if they made it more clear to everyone that there will be no punishments for clubs regardless of their attendance, he added.

Student athletes suspended for substance use

By Neval Mulaomerovic

Several athletes and two cheerleaders have been suspended from their teams after being caught drinking or doing drugs, Cheer Captain Elizabeth Heydon said. For drinking, two cheerleaders had to meet with administrators and were put out of two months worth of games, she said.

Athletes and cheerleaders are held to particularly high standards, which they are made aware of at the start of the season, Heydon said. If found posting pictures with alcohol or drugs on social media, the student can expect to be out for several games in the season, Heydon said.

“I’ve heard of [athletes] doing drugs or being caught while high,” she said. “You’ll definitely be out for a couple of months.”

Athletes caught vaping, drinking, or doing drugs are subject to additional consequences by their coaches and the Athletics Department on top of the consequences by the administration, Butcher said. As a baseline, an

athlete would have to miss 25% of their games for the first of such violations, she said. “[A coach] is not allowed to lessen [the punishment] at all,” Butcher said. “It’s up to the coach if they decide on an additional [punishment]. Anything that comes from the school and the Athletics Department is a minimum.”

Players get kicked off the football team if they are found violating the honor code, Su’a said. In at least one case, however, a player has been caught drinking or doing drugs yet remained on the team, he said. “[Football players] stand out more and we represent the school we go to,” Su’a said. “It’s a lot easier to catch us than it is other students. [If you were caught], you would want to quit. They make you do all this stuff.”

Aside from the school’s disciplinary action, punishments depend on the coach’s discretion, Shivam Saraiya said. Some teams’ coaches are more strict than others with discipline, he said.

“Honestly, it depends on the coach,” Saraiya said. “Some coaches are more lenient towards this type of stuff. For our coach, I think if we got involved in one little thing and he found out, we’re probably off the team or suspended.”

Student athletes are aware of these potential consequences at the beginning of the season, but it would be better to have consistent standards across different teams, Saraiya said.

“I think [discipline] should be the same for all teams,” Saraiya said. “Even though they’re different teams, if you play for the same school you represent who you’re playing for. Having a player on one team do the same thing as a player on another team, but they have different punishments, you think why it is like that and it should be the same. It’s just how it is.”for not meeting the requirement, he said. It would be helpful if they tried to make it more clear to everyone that there will be no punishments, he added.

december 2019

In Memoriam:

Librarian McCready

STAFF PHOTO | THE UNION

Longtime MHS Teacher-Librarian LeighAnn McCready passed away on Nov. 21, 2019. McCready had passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was a librarian who was ‘pasionate’ about her work and dedicated her 12 years at MHS to assisting students and staff alike.

Administration considers action against usage of bluetooth speakers

By Celine Nghiem

Measures against bluetooth speakers on campus are being considered by teachers and the administration, Teacher Liza Gable-Ferguson said. The discussions were caused in part by disputes between students and teachers, and are ongoing as of Dec. 4, Gable-Ferguson continued.

At an instructor-led training session, a no-boombox policy was discussed, Gable-Ferguson said. This proposed policy would be more straightforward than leaving the issue of boomboxes to teachers’ discretion and would give students a defined boundary, she added.

“We can’t just say, ‘Oh, only if it’s loud or only if the lyrics are inappropriate in our opinion,’” Gable-Ferguson said. “Everybody seems to have personal listening devices. We really don’t need to have a boombox playing people’s music. People can listen to their own music on their own headsets.”

Junior De Marco Ojeda had a dispute with Teacher Paul Harrison concerning Ojeda’s boombox in mid-September, Ojeda said.

Harrison, who declined to be interviewed, had been concerned about the volume of the music being played, he added.

Harrison had asked Ojeda to turn down and then turn off the speaker, but the situation escalated once he asked him to give up his speaker, he continued.

“I told him, ‘You know, I don’t feel comfortable with you taking it and I’ll give it to my teacher that you do know well and you talk to,’” Ojeda said. “And he said, ‘Well no, that’s not gonna work.

You have to come in to the office.’

And I said, ‘You know what, I’m cool. I don’t feel like going to the office, and I’ll leave it in the teacher’s classroom.’”

The exchange quickly developed into an argument, Ojeda said. Harrison asked to take a picture of Ojeda’s identification, to which he declined and attempted to walk away, he said. Ojeda did not face any consequences following the incident, he added.

“I told him, ‘Please,’ my exact words, ‘You know what, you don’t have to trip because I will leave it in my teacher’s classroom and it’ll be in there and you can even ask him,’” Ojeda said.

The issue with students’ bluetooth speakers isn’t the volume, but the content of the music they

are playing, Principal Francis Rojas said. The conversations he had concerning students’ music had always been respectful, he added. However, he had heard from other staff that students only listened when he was involved, he said.

“I’m personally okay with boomboxes. I’m happy when students are at school and enjoying themselves. However, I am concerned about what is played,” Rojas said. “If it’s inappropriate or if it has racist terms, discriminatory terms, or things of a sexual nature, I have concerns with that.”

Teacher Gregory Ducote agreed with Rojas’s statements. The main issue most of the teachers on campus seem to have is the fact that students are playing inappropriate music in a public setting, he said.

“The reality is that students are walking around with boomboxes or loud speakers and the music is not in their ears. It’s being broadcasted,” Ducote said.

“This is the issue that [Harrison and Gable-Ferguson] had and I think other teachers such as myself have had. It’s that we can hear lyrics where there are obscenities and there are words that we shouldn’t be using on campus.”

The current approach of leaving students’ music up to teachers’ discretion does not combat the problem, Ducote said. Although asking students to turn off their music is a temporary solution, it does not tackle the root of the issue, he continued.

“It’s logical that if we have a no electronics policy, then people obviously bring their phones to school, but they’re not using them in a fashion that’s going to offend anybody else,” Ducote said. “If they’re playing music, they’re playing it in their ears.”

Rojas and the rest of the school’s administration are reconsidering their stance on speakers, Rojas said. He is against students being verbally aggressive with teachers, he added.

“I really have to discern what is the lesson we want to learn and what is the behavior we want to teach from this,” Rojas said. “I think the administration and departments need to come up with and explore what types of responses we would want. I think any teacher or adult that experiences disrespect should have [the student] sent to the office and have a conversation. That’s not acceptable.”