The Union - Milpitas High School - December 2017

UNION T HE

DECEMBER 2017 Volume XXXI Issue III

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STUDENT VOICE OF MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL

PLPs used in MUSD classes

BY KELLY LUE JERALD MENDOZA

The Summit Personalized Learning Platform (PLP) which prompted a visit from Betsy DeVos on Oct. 12 has been implemented at Pomeroy and a number of other MUSD schools, said Sixth Grade Teacher Sarah Thomsen.

PLP is an online program that allows students to set their own goals and work at their own pace, Thomsen said.

The former principal of Pomeroy, Dr. Sheila Murphy, looked for an improvement on blended learning, Thomsen said. She wanted to see how technology could be better used to personalize learning, she explained. “[Murphy] came across this Summit PLP platform, and I think, as far as I know, that that was kind of her reasoning behind doing that,” Thomsen said. “She had myself and the other sixth grade teachers go and see what it would be like to incorporate this into our classrooms.”

Though PLP strives to make students more independent, the program does not entirely replace the traditional classroom, said Sixth Grade Teacher Hannah Cho. Within Pomeroy, working with PLP only takes about half an hour out of the school day, Cho continued.

“This is going to be different from high school or middle school environments because we are general ed classes,” Cho said. “In other words, even though we are doing PLP, we are

also teaching other things, like social studies and math, on our own with the California curriculum.”

The independence factor is a huge advantage that comes with using PLP, said Thomsen. Students are engaged and motivated in ways that she had never seen in a traditional classroom setting, Thomsen continued.

“I think one of the biggest advantages of PLP is that my students are goal-setting in ways that I was never asked to do in school. I never had as much choice as my students have,” Thomsen said. “They’re looking at the PLP platform in history, math, science, and english and saying, ‘What do I need to be working on?’”

PLP is meant to give you more flexibility in class, but that is not always the case, 7th Grader Kaitlyn Hsu said.

Everything is more self-taught, with less teacher support, Hsu continued.

“Often we cannot work on our own time due to the certain line that tells you whether or not you are on track,” Hsu said. “I guess it’s pretty helpful to bring the lesson plan with you, but traditional classroom settings may be better so it’s not just the computer teaching us.”

The program gives freedom for students to learn what they want, 6th Grader Aditi Gupta said. It gives students resources go further than curriculum in traditional classes, Gupta continued.

“I used to be very bored in class sometimes, but in PLP there are actually a bunch of things I learn, wbe-

Winter Ball prices increased

BY JONATHAN TRAN

Increased Winter Ball ticket prices this year raised questions, according to 2020 Class President Valerie Lam. The Class of 2020 is responsible for organizing the entire dance as this year’s sophomores, Lam said.

Blowout prices started at $25, according to ASB’s publicity video from last year. This year, in comparison, has prices starting at $40, as shown

by ASB’s flyer. Each person accounts for $30 of the food price, not including the cost of renting the venue itself and other costs such as the DJ, Lam explained.

“In previous years classes didn’t have to pay a minimum price for food

packages,” Lam said. “This year, we have to pay $10,000 minimum just for food.”

“They still have to make a profit because the money made from Winter Ball this year goes to planning Prom next year,” Lam said. “Without this, there’s no Prom next year,” Lam said.

“We didn’t really try looking at other venues because it’s always been at the Corinthian Grand Ballroom, and we didn’t want that to change.”

Increasing prices of dances are unfavorable, according to Senior Sonal Mehta. “I think dances are already pretty pricey, especially since you have to pay for a dress, transportation, and other things, so I don’t really like how it’s gotten more expensive,” Mehta said.

Eye on Campus: Hydrant Explosion

courtesy of kristy le

A fire hydrant exploded in front of the F-building before school on Nov. 27, causing the school’s plumbing system to shutdown for approximately an hour.

Vivian Tsang | THE UNION

Mrs. Tseng (standing) passes out the Math II Final Exam to students who need to fulfill their Geometry requirement. The exam was administered on Nov. 28 before the UC Application deadline. Students pictured include juniors and seniors.

Students take test to fulfill A-G college requirements

BY LOAN-ANH PHAM VIVIAN TSANG

To fulfill the UC and CSU geometry requirements, a Math II Final Exam was offered to students affected by the requirement on Tuesday, Nov. 28, according to Assistant Principal Amanda Gross. Administration and staff wanted to create an easier pathway for these students to gain the credits quickly, Gross added.

Students who skipped Math II or Geometry are missing the Geometry requirement and will be flagged during their application process, Principal Francis Rojas said. There are rules about Geometry since it is a very different math, Rojas noted.

“I had the counselors, administration and the math department start looking at do we have some students that skip Math II?” Rojas said. “We’re lucky we identified this to see what alternative we can give.”

Originally, 31 juniors and seniors were missing Geometry on their transcripts, yet almost all of the students had already taken Geometry in middle school or through Math Enrich-

ment, Gross said. While some seniors were able to self report their scores on their UC or CSU applications, it was better to have the course listed on their transcript, Gross continued.

“All of a sudden we moved over to Common Core Math and somehow in the change over, [the students] were not exposed to geometry,” Gross explained.

Junior Jason Li was one of the 31 students missing the requirement, he said. Once Li confirmed the issue through email with the UC system, he alerted his counselor, he continued.

“I just needed to take the test and be over with it,” Li commented. “It’s more time convenient.”

The exam was divided into two parts, one part consisting of 50 multiple choice questions and the second part consisting of free response questions, according to Math Department Lead Mei-Hsiang Tseng. All 13 students that took the final passed, with the majority receiving A’s, Tseng said.

“I cannot show you, but all of them did very very [well],” Tseng said. “I [was] kind of surprised.”

Junior Lisa Yan thought the test

was not as hard as she expected it to be, she said. She studied by doing the packets early, Yan added.

Tseng volunteered to prepare review packets for the chapters covered in the final, she said. The packets were part of the credit earned to force students to study and do well, she explained. “[The packets] were actually kind of helpful,” Senior Albert Thai said.

“I knew a good portion of it; I’d say I knew half of it before taking the packets.”

Junior Alexander Tu said he had already learned Geometry, and that it was just a matter of obtaining the requirements.

“I think the administration should tell us that taking the test to skip a class freshman year doesn’t count for credits.” Tu noted.

“I hope that we are not going to have these things happen again,” Tseng said. “Kids need to have their requirements; they need to know what should you do, and what should you follow, not jump around. When you jump, you know you are going to have a problem.”

Crowded tables posed safety issue; reorganized on campus

BY KATHERINE HUBENY MORGAN LEI

Lunch tables were redistributed and reorganized due to the safety issues they posed, Principal Francis Rojas said. Major incidents resulting in the rearrangement included the fire drills, the lockdown, and the fight, Rojas added.

Students would come to school after hours to move tables around, damaging them in the process, Assistant Principal Jennifer Hutchison said. Students would group and chain their tables together, blocking walkways, Hutchison continued.

“In the history of Milpitas there’s been a territorial kind of positional power people have had,” Hutchison said. “They have locked up tables and have not allowed other people, typically underclassmen, to go sit at tables, which caused some bullying.”

The senior area was especially overcrowded, while the area near the cafeteria had only a few tables, Rojas said.

The table situation was a bit of a safety hazard because it was easy for people to topple over, History Teach-

er Danielo Escobar mentioned.

During the fight, it was very hectic as people got pushed, he added.

“We couldn’t intervene and get in to stop people from going back, and then people were climbing over the tables,” Escobar explained.

The school has added around 40 new tables in the past five years, Rojas said. It is difficult to bring in extra seating though, as each table costs from $800 to $1,000, he explained.

“I’m looking at ways to get some more tables, but there’s no school around that’s going to have enough seating for all students,” Rojas said. “I mean people will sit on planters.”

Administration has definitely seen fewer problems in the three weeks that the tables have been arranged this way, Hutchison said. People should realize that safety is the primary concern, she added.

“I think that people really do see that they can walk around much easier, and with that comes a feeling of security,” Hutchison explained. “Then I also think change can be hard, but I think people are resilient enough to get through that quickly.”

This abrupt change in the middle of the year would not work, according to Senior Anna Te. The timing was not ideal, and it resurfaced occurrences of table wars, which were initially resolved after the first few weeks of school, she explained.

“This was poor planning on the administrative part,” Te said. “If this was the goal of the new admin, then it should have been implemented in the beginning of the year. One, it caused unnecessary chaos since there are already table wars during the beginning of the year; two, they already took out tables; and then three, they rearranged it again.”

The new table arrangement was not a positive change at Milpitas High, according to Senior Christopher Than.

Although the new arrangement is very organized, it has limited the high school experience on campus, he explained.

“This new table arrangement has seized the high school right for us to associate with everybody around us,” Than said. “It prevents us from socializing in this overhang that belongs to the subculture of the Senior Class.”

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THE UNION

PRO Gift cards practical and convenient; still show appreciation and thought With the holiday season quick­ There are more benefits to giv­ ly approaching, also comes the ing gift cards as gifts. When you tradition of gift­g iving. Gift­g iving go grocery shopping, gift cards is seen as a way of showing appre­ are easily accessible. In fact, they ciation, but it is a very stressful are conveniently located near the process. When picking out a gift checkout station. In addition, for someone, you have to take if the gift card given is not the into careful consideration what store the recipient wants to buy the recipient wants and whether things from, he or she can always it is an appropriate gift. But what exchange the gift card for cash if if you choose a bad gift? How do the remaining value is less than you find the perfect gift then? $10. Thus, the recipient can still Skip the stress and buy a gift benefit from the gift card and use card. W hen you give it in whatever way he or someone a gift card, she deems fit. that person has the Furthermore, if you freedom to choose what are gifting a Visa or he or she wants without MasterCard gift card you guessing what the for those who may be perfect gift is. Further­ living on a tight bud­ more, you avoid the risk get, the gift cards can of disappointing the re­ be used like cash to cipient. purchase necessities.

As a bonus, you get to There are also a great skip the hassle of shop­ variety of store gift ASHLEY ping during the holiday cards to choose from, CHEN season. For example, ranging from grocery think about the crazi­ stores to online shop­ ness of Black Friday shopping. It ping sites. is definitely not worth your time If you believe that gift cards and effort to fight people for good are thoughtless and do not re­ deals on gifts when different gift flect the giver’s feelings, there is cards are available for purchase. a solution. Pair the gift card with Shopping for gifts is a very a handwritten card. This way, laborious task. A survey by on­ you can avoid the stress of buy­ line retailer Rakuten reveals ing gifts and make the gift card that during the holiday season, personal.

Americans spend an average of The holiday season is for giving, 14 hours buying gifts. That is and gift cards are not excluded. almost two full shifts of work!

Gift cards exist for a reason, and Do not forget about the time you that is to make your life easier,as have to spend wrapping the gifts well as to please others. Thus, too. The sad thing is that you when you go holidayshopping for might end up wasting your time family and friends, opt to buy a if the recipient does not appreci­ gift card. After all, gift cards are ate the gift. here to stay for the holidays.

CON Gift cards are subpar and unthoughtful; friends and family are worth more effort It is officially the holiday sea­ figure out, which has problems son, and with that comes all of of its own. the different gift­ g iving tradi­ Another issue with gift cards tions that we associate with it. is how they force the recipient No matter what you celebrate, we into making a trip to a store. could all agree that a mainstay of This means that the card re­ the holidays is the sense of giv­ cipient is going to have to deal ing and care that ac­ with the time it takes companies these times. to drive to a store and However, a gift card as later browse for an a present only serves to item. Adding on to this reduce everything that issue is how a gift card makes gift­g iving a spe­ will rarely be enough cial and personal expe­ to cover the cost of an rience. item someone wants at The first problem most stores. This could with gift cards is that lead to the recipient they are essentially a needing to spend more limited form of cash. than the gift card had ISHRAK Cash is already an im­ allotted, causing ad­ RAMZAN personal gift, but it ditional nuisances for comes with the bene­ them. At the same time, fits of being able to be used at the opposite issue could happen any store or location. A gift card if they get a gift card that’s ill­ restricts the recipient into need­ suited for the recipient. The gift ing to go to a single vendor to card and the money on it could go make a purchase. This is also a unused forever, in which case the problem as one of the principles only people that gained anything of gift giving is that the recip­ is the franchise from which the ient shouldn’t know how much gift card came from. Plus, in the the gift costs. In contrast, hand­ event that the gift card does go ing someone a gift card with its unused by the recipient, it could monetary value emblazoned on end up being repurposed and sent the front does the exact opposite off to another person, creating a and leaves this exposed for the vicious cycle of gift cards being world to see. passed around.

At the same time, gift cards The holiday season is supposed are a poor choice of a present to be filled with emotion and from an emotional standpoint. care, and nothing exemplifies By giving a gift card, you are es­ this more than the tradition of sentially showing that you were gift­g iving. Giving a gift card sim­ unable to figure out what type ply shows the lack of throught ofgift the person would want to u put into what someone would have. Sending a gift card essen­ like. Don’t give in to the ease of tially says that you gave up on giving a gift card this holiday finding something for them and season, and spend some time that you’re leaving the decision thinking about what the people of picking a gift up to them to you care about would want.

OPINIONS

NOVEMBER 2017

Security Cameras are watching our every move Probing eyes are watching. In the guise of seemingly harmless modest black domes, they are re­ cording your every move. Your privacy no longer exists; your freedom to act and do as you please is slowly being taken away.

MHS is Watching You. Surveillance cameras are ubiq­ uitous around the school campus, and it seems as though, wherever turn, you will always see a cam­ era. Security and administration now have the ability to watch and track almost every move of any student. And as many cameras as we have already, there are plans to install more.

Most students did not consent to be watched continuously; if there was such an agreement, the section has been intentionally buried deep within school regu­ lation paperwork so that nobody would notice it. In fact, there is no mention of surveillance cam­ eras in the MHS 2017­2 018 par­ ent/student handbook. Beyond that, the administration has not disclosed the extentof their cam­ era usage to the student body.

Students know not where the

data is going and how it is being in concern that any misstep may used. It is, therefore, entirely up become cause for a trip to the of­ for speculation. fice.

Advocates cite school surveil­ Moreover, watching and re­ lance as a method to deter petty cording students throughout the crime and make students more school day seems more like a pun­ conscientious of their actions. ishment than a method of securi­ However, this benefit ty. Most students follow will only suffice in the the rules, so why should short term. For a time, they be subject to treat­ assuming there is reg­ ment like prisoners? ulation, oversight will The power to survey ev­ scrutinize surveillance ery person on campus, systems, yet through when unchecked, will many years of usage, lead to abuse. Cameras the super vision may may be used to monitor become lax; this, in students as a means to gather sensitive data turn, would leave open opportunities for the about them; these re­ ANDREW administration to over­ cordings may fall into HA step their boundaries. the hands of police even The relative danger, as when those in the video considered in the long term, is have done nothing wrong. Inno­ the overwhelming power that cent people would lose their pri­ the administration has not, only vacy and right to act freely. to crackdown on crime, but also Surveillance cameras do have to be privy to the private lives of some merits, but too many be­ each student. With an abundance comes obstructive to the lives of of cameras, the school will pro­ every student and faculty mem­ mote a culture of fear and self­ ber. Be wary of those little cam­ censorship, for students will be eras, for they may become a det­ too afraid to express themselves riment to your privacy.

Trojan Access Cards can relieve congestion Crossing MHS’ borders is a fa­ are losing that hope. As years go by vorite Trojan past time. Students Trojan Access cards will only be a come to fifth period with copious begin to be a passing memory, and amounts of Little Caesar’s Pizza the promises of old administrations and milk tea. While some students will be forgotten. If the new admin­ are not on campus, the campus is istration chooses to uphold past less congested. Fights arising from promises and follow through with the lack of seating and the ques­ the cards, hard working students tion of who will sit at what table are can be rewarded. lessened when fewer stu­ This appealing offer dents are around to quar­ provides a greater in­ rel. MHS was declared a centive for students to closed campus, and the succeed in their stan­ rule has since been flip­ dardized tests, and subse­ pantly followed. quently, succeed in their In the past, students classes. This success on who received high stan­ testing will reflect well dardized test scores were on Milpitas High, with granted Trojan Access our students obtaining a Cards, which gave them higher test average. This the opportunity to leave incentive to study and campus during lunch and score higher is important, KATHERINE return by fifth period. The considering the school’s HUBENY discontinuation of STAR past performance in math Testing ended the Trojan tests.

Access Cards and the legal ability In other schools that do have for students to go off campus. Pri­ open campus, it fosters a sense of or administrations from previous independence in the students. It years had made promises to rees­ also shows that students can be re­ tablish the Trojan Access Cards sponsible enough to come back for with the addition of the SBAC, but their classes. To go a step further, if no such effort has been made. enough students can show they are It should be in the interest of this responsible enough to be off cam­ year’s administration to bring back pus, the school might even consider the Trojan Access Card. Students opening the campus to every stu­ have been under the impression dent. that these cards would be reintro­ If students are responsible duced for multiple years, and most enough to prepare for and do well on

the exams, they should be entrusted with the opportunity to go off cam­ pus for lunch. The consequences of withdrawing Trojan Access Cards are clear: too many students wait in long lines for food, sometimes not eating lunch at all to avoid the wait, sitting at crowded tables, or not hav­ ing a place to sit at all.

The rearrangement of the tables left many students in disarray with a question of where they can go for lunch. If MHS is going to remain a closed campus, the administration should consider the use of the Tro­ jan Access Card. This would allevi­ ate the congested campus at lunch and provide students with more outlets for food. Along with a lack of seating at lunch, many students have trouble finishing their meal before the bell rings, as the wait takes so much time.

Students have already turned to breaking rules and going off cam­ pus for a wider range of meals and a calmer lunch environment, and with the campus’ wide borders and too few security guards to enforce the closed campus policy, the stu­ dents succeed. The students that go off campus typically come back on time and refreshed, and this privilege should be extended to the other MHS students. This objective can be accomplished through the reinstatement of the Trojan Access Card.

The holidays are not an obligation to be happy Days are shorter and the weather is colder which means: holiday season is here. “The most wonderful time of the year,” the months of November to January, are usually filled with joyous cel­ ebrations, massive dinners, and spending time with family.

Celebrating different occa­ sions all so close together is like a never ending party; everyone seems jollier with the oncoming breaks, cheerier with the gift of giving, and an all around holiday spirit. However, the same reason for one’s holiday happiness can be the same reason for someone else’s distress. It’s important to keep this in mind before getting on someone’s case for not being in the holiday spirit.

For some, being around a large group of distant family doesn’t sound so inviting. Having to dress up and mentally prepare yourself for the upcoming inter­ rogations; what college you want to go to, how school is going, per­ sonal things we’d rather not be

answered, can be draining. season also presents the oppor­ There is also the stress of gift tunity for people to feel more giving. There is often an obliga­ alone. Seeing peers surrounded tion to buy people gifts or find by their groups of friends and the perfect gift for someone who family can be saddening for them really deserves it, all if they don’t have that during retail’s busiest familiar sense of close­ time of the year. ness with others.

On a more serious lev­ A lso, holiday feast el, mental health should can be a nightmare for not be overlooked just people with eating dis­ because of the jolly orders. The focus on season. If anything, it food has people pre­ should be given a more occupied, and it can attention and under­ cause alarm in people’s standing. This time of minds. The website, na­ year holds a lot of pres­ tionaleatingdisorders.

KRYSTAL sure for people with org, has tips on how to QUIOCHO mental or eating disor­ help and cope with this ders. situation.

There can be great anxiety over Taking these factors into ac­ having to be surrounded by so count, we should remember not many people during parties and to forcibly place a happy facade get togethers, it becomes over­ onto anyone. As people, it’s al­ whelming, so there should not be ways nice to be concerned and added pressure on being expect­ offer help, but just keep in mind ed to socialize with everyone that trying to “Get into the hol­ there is. iday spirit!” isn’t always as easy On the other hand, the holiday as it seems.

NOVEMBER 2017

EDITOR I A L : The Opinion of The Union

Cultural rally does not do cultures justice MHS prides itself in the diversity of its student body. We celebrate our differences and share our unique cultures in a multitude of ways, one of which is holding cultural shows. Usually, cultural clubs such as the Vietnamese Student Association and the Chinese Club present a set of performances during the school day to showcase aspects of their culture. These shows contribute to the cultural education of the students at MHS and provide an opportunity for students–some of whom would otherwise be too busy or lack the money to attend a night show–to experience other cultures. However, this year, instead of separate cultural day shows, the school intends to have a single cultural rally for all cultural clubs. It is the opinion of The Union that to do every culture justice, putting all of the clubs together in one show is insufficient.

There is not enough time to fully represent each culture, especially considering that there are eight clubs planning to participate in the rally this year. The details of each culture would be difficult to fit into the span of approximately an hour. To condense an entire history into roughly a class period’s worth of acts is a daunting challenge on its own–to limit each club to a an even smaller time frame essentially trivializes each culture. If a club wants to showcase a cultural performance, it comes at the ex-

pense of the audience potentially missing out on other significant aspects of the club’s culture.

Furthermore, when presented back-­t o-­b ack, individual cultural traditions could prove to be confusing or incomprehensible.

Concurrent performances run the risk of distracting from the unique aspects of each culture and is unlikely to do any single culture justice.

In addition, the large gym, where the rally will be held, is not large enough to accommodate many students in a way that is comfortable. The populous student body would also prove detrimental to the coherency of the show, given the general rowdiness that occurs in every rally.

The noise could blur the focus of the rally, and therefore minimize the importance of each culture featured. Also, given that students tend to skip more rallies than cultural shows, due to the crowded, rambunctious nature of rallies, a cultural rally in place of day shows in the theatre could have the opposite effect of what cultural shows intend to do. Instead of educating students on other cultures, it could create negative associations regarding displays of culture.

However, while there are obvious issues with holding a cultural rally rather than multiple day shows over the course of the school year, it is important to note that there are benefits as well. Because the cultural day

shows are during class periods, the teachers decide whether the students will attend, and so many students miss out on learning about other cultures. With a cultural rally, attendance would be mandatory–even if a handful of students skipped it, the amount of students exposed to the cultural show would be greater overall. But even though a rally would reach a broader audience, the impact on students would be shallower. The time spent taking every student to have an inadequate cultural experience is not as worthwhile as having a few students gaining a greater appreciation for other cultures.

Ultimately, the goal should be to further people’s understanding of other cultures. With the current cultural divide, it’s important now more than ever that students deepen their knowledge of other cultures and learn to relate to people they don’t necessarily understand. With this in mind, limiting the cultural shows’ in this way seems like a step down, rather than an improvement. In order to progress as a society and promote cultural acceptance for all, it is imperative that we take enough time to learn from other cultures in order for students to properlyunderstand and be educated on other cultures. To do otherwise, to take cultures and boil them all down to a variety show, simply doesn’t do anyone justice.

EDITOR I A L : The Opinion of The Union

Net neutrality allows access to information Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites, according to the Oxford Dictionary. What that means, is that ISP’s such as Comcast and AT&T can not discriminate websites depending on content or how much money that particular website is paying them. We, The Union, believe that net neutrality is essential to the age of the internet and the generations yet to come.

Net neutrality has meant that a significant amount of information has been free to use to a large population. It has meant that one can read an article about abortion as well as an article advocating against it, and both are free to use in the same capacity, regardless of whether the ISP being used disagrees with either stance. This creates a culture of openness and allows the country to look at any and all sides of arguments. If an ISP decides to block all content that advocates for abortion, then so much valuable content will be lost.

The student population would especially be affected by the repeal of net neutrality, as many websites we use are educational websites that could potentially talk about controversial topics.

In order to have sufficient information that then compels us to take a stance on issues, we need to see all sides of any argument.

A blocking of websites based on their content threatens a cornerstone of democracy: freedom of information. If a portion of the population is essentially forced into only reading one side of arguments and issues, they essentially become indoctrinated by their ISP. This results in a populace unable to understand one another, because of their inability to understand someone else’s point of view.

A repeal of net neutrality could also mean that if a particular website, such as Netflix, is paying more money to Comcast, and Hulu is not paying as much, then Comcast could slow down the connection to Hulu and speed it up for Netflix. Then, Comcast could potentially charge extra if consumers want to use Hulu at a higher connection speed. The

THE UNION

EDITORIAL

same scenario is true for any other website. This could very well increase the amount of money we spend on the Internet, and thereby make it very difficult to use for those who cannot afford to spend the money. It becomes especially problematic when those with lower income don’t have much opportunity to have access to a resource that gives so much useful information.

The amount of inf luence of big businesses in our own lives will be extremely large if ISP’s are able to control the speed of specific websites, depending on which company or website is paying them more money. It will lead to a monopoly over our lives with us having little control over which website we want to go to.

In essence, it does come down to money and the right we have to information. ISP’s should not have the ability to charge us extra for a resource that is quintessential to living in the 21st century. For students, net neutrality means an ability to freely look at any source of information, regardless of its content. For the country, a loss of net neutrality is a dent in our democracy.

U NION The

S T U D E N T V O I C E O F M I L P I TA S H I G H

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S TA F F Editors-in-Chief

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FOR MORE STORIES, VISIT US AT MHSTHEUNION.COM Jerald mendoza | THE UNION

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THE UNION

FEATURES

DECEMBER 2017

Biking: the vicious cycle around MHS biking accidents cause concern for safety

BY ERIC DE GUZMAN

COURTESY OF TONY TRAN

Jackie Tran poses among trees and bushes for a photoshoot that he used for his acting resume. The photo was taken on Nov. 21, 2015, by Tran’s father.

Tran pursues acting dream

BY CLARA MARISOL DELA CRUZ

Senior Jackie Tran opens up about his experience as an actor.

Tran recalls how his acting career began. He also talks about future plans regarding his acting.

Q: When did you start acting?

A: I never really looked into acting. I started acting when I was at the age of fourteen or thirteen.

And during that time, I only got into acting because my friend needed someone to fill in a role, and we were practicing martial arts. And luckily, ‘cause I had a lot of friends in the industry.

Q: Do you have a certain person who inspires you to act?

A: Yeah, Jackie Chan, for sure.

That’s how I got my name. So I’ve always wanted to do acting, but I never looked into it until my friend helped me out. ...My parents, they were big fans of Jackie as well. So when I was born, they named me after him.... I have the same name as him, and I practice martial arts, and I love acting.

We’re both similar, and it’s funny. And yeah, I’m trying to chase after Jackie. I’m trying to pursue the same route that he did when he was a little kid.

Q: What films have you been part of? Or projects?

A: I’ve done short films, I’ve done web series. One of the most notable ones that I did back then when I first started out my acting career was “Love Hurts.” That was my very first short film, and it was a really good experience. And then after, I went onto web series like “¼ Mermaid” and stuff like

that.

Q: How is it like balancing school with acting?

A: It’s hard. It’s difficult. I would say if you’re not good at time management, doing acting and school at the same time, it’s not good. As an actor, you definitely do have to know how to time­-manage. It’s a hard thing. It’s very difficult. But it’s not impossible.

Q: What’s your favorite part about acting?

A: Exploring different characters. The thing about acting is that you’re very vulnerable. As an actor, you have to be vulnerable to everything. You have to open yourself up. And luckily for me, ever since I was a little kid, I was always energetic, I was always open to people, so it wasn’t hard for me. Just exploring characters, that’s the fun part of acting. Just exploring and bonding every aspect and every kind of character trait that you could possibly portray.

Q: How do you plan to pursue acting in the future?

A: Well, I got signed with my manager. Luckily, I found a manager when I was at the age of fourteen, and he runs an Asian American company. He runs in any company that showcases Asian American talent. And I think after high school, my goal and my plan is to move down to L.A., because staying in the Bay Area, it’s difficult for me, because I’m not progressing as much. And you know how in the L.A. area, there’s a lot of acting and stuff? I figured once I’m done graduating, I can head down there, and my manager and I can do stuff.

Imagine yourself Monday morning, biking down the street, free as can be, the wind rushing against your person. Now imagine turning on to Escuela Parkway and finding yourself in a metaphorical minefield if there ever was one: cars, trucks, and minivans in a queue as if they were in line for a roller coaster, at Disneyland.

Common sense tells you to take the bike lane, and so you do. But imagine the frustration you feel when automobile after automobile slides into and out of the bike lane­without signaling, no less­forcing you either into the cramped, pedestrian filled sidewalk or the hellish obstacle course of the main lane.

When you finally find yourself in the secure, car­less confines of Milpitas High, you let out a sigh of relief and thanksgiving to your god for allowing you to survive this early ordeal. But immediately afterwards another thought comes to you, and you turn to your god again to ask for his protection once more, knowing you will have to traverse Escuela again at the end of school.

You imagine this, but the struggles I had described are very real to many at this school. Students and teachers alike biking to school risk the structure of their bones two times a day, five days a week, every week of school, biking on roads that should be safe.

Among the brave souls risking their legs in the bike lanes is Spanish Teacher Carolyne Levin,

who has been teaching for three years. “I like that it’s good for the environment, and it’s very economical as well,” Levin said.

“And it’s also good exercise,” Levin added.

It takes her twenty minutes to bike to the school, Levin said.

However, there was one instance where she had run into trouble.

“So last year, I was riding my bike home,” Levin said, “and I was biking on Jacklin. I was crossing the intersection past the freeway exit.”

It had been her right of way as Levin was crossing on her bike, when a car hit her bike, Levin said. The driver wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and didn’t see Levin crossing, Levin added.

“Luckily, I was fine,” Levin said, “it was just the bike that was basically totaled and I had to get a new one. And [the driver] felt badly, but at that point I was just really frustrated at the fact that she wasn’t watching where she was going, and I could’ve been hurt. Badly hurt.”

“There’s certain areas where I bike on the sidewalk because I don’t feel comfortable biking on the road,” Levin said. “You really have to have your wits about you when you’re not in a car.”

Many student bikers share Levin’s negative experiences with biking, Sophomore Adarsh Burela being one of them. He has been biking to school for four years, Burela said. Biking to school is fast and convenient, Burela explained. But he too encountered some problems on the bike lanes.

“It’s really dangerous, [automobiles] take up the road, and I have to go on the street,” Burela said.

“Well I can understand, people need to park, but it’s annoying for all of us,” Burela added.

Biking accidents happen once or twice a week, Burela said. A few people break their arms, but most leave the accident with scratches and bruises. “I’ve gotten hit two times,” Burela said.

Another student having issues with biking safety is Junior Sage Caddenhead, who said people driving don’t pay attention, cut him off, and don’t stop. Drivers also speed to get in front of bikers and don’t use their turn signals, Caddenhead added.

A police presence near campus helps to ensure laws are followed, Police Officer John Muok said, who has been stationed at MHS for four years.

“When I’m out there [motorists] don’t do it because they don’t want a ticket,” Muok said. “It’s about sharing the road,” Muok added. “Follow the rules and everything should be fine.”

To better enforce rules, Levin said, there could be notices to let drivers know to be careful of bikers or pedestrians. Levin added that she’s not crazy about drivers around here in general, noting that drivers in Canada, where she used to live, had followed driving regulations more closely than the ones here.

“This is my honest, very, very brutally honest opinion,” Levin said, “but I think that the driver’s test to get your driver’s license should be a lot more difficult than it is.”

Students work Black Friday

BY ROSHNI SHETH

Black Friday is a day full of excessive shopping, stampedes, and behavioral issues from different customers. However, luckily, we have some MHS students who saved the day by working with their stamina and beat their own way through the chaos of Black Friday.

Senior Israel Medina has been working at Levi’s for the past five months. This was Medina’s first time, and he was very stressed from all the tough work and all the different responsibilities he had.

“This was my first time working on Black Friday and regularly I organize clothes, help customers find whatever they’re looking for, or ring them up at the register,” Medina said. “As time went on, we started to run out of sizes for things and the customers often could not get what they were looking for,” Medina added.

One particular customer got frustrated when he did not get his size and by the end of our inter-

action he was being quite rude, Medina said. Other than that, people were pretty cooperative and nice, Medina added.

Senior John Umali worked at Chipotle during Black Friday for a four-hour shift. Even though it was only four hours, there was still a crowd of people who herded around Chipotle, Umali stated.

“It was just super busy, like there was one point where there was a line going out the door for almost an hour,” Umali stated. “[A memorable moment] would be watching as the line started to form, because it started as just a little bit of people and just slowly and slowly grew longer,” Umali continued.

Senior Selena Tran worked at the new Jamba Juice at the Great Mall during Black Friday with a four-hour shift, and this was her first shift, which made it even more difficult.

“I thought I was going to pass out,” Tran stated. “[Black Friday] was pretty hectic and we did not talk much, it was just work, work, and work.” Tran continued.

GRACE CHANG | THE UNION

Chang, Prabala, and Roca pose together with their wacky socks on Wednesday. Each week, the group of friends break out their unique and funny socks on campus. Their socks often feature characters, animals, and colorful patterns.

Friends create a wacky socks Wednesday Wednesday.”

According to Roca, Wacky Sock Wednesday started last year beWednesday can be that day of cause she wanted to look and the week when the week is halffeel different. “I had found these way over, yet the weekend feels so floating cow socks and thought far away. Even though the school they were so funny and decided to day ends an hour earlier than the wear them on a typical Wednesusual day, somehow Wednesday day,” she said. “I got some fun still feels like the longest day of comments about my socks and the week. However, Senior Aira then I decided to make an alliterRoca and some of her friends ation with my socks and came up found out a way to spice up their with ‘Wacky Sock Wednesday.’”

Wednesdays with a little wackiSeniors Isaac Chang and Pratiness: wacky socks! ma Prabala also expressed their Dubbed “Wacky Sock Wednesoverwhelming excitement for day,” the tradition that Roca and Wacky Sock Wednesday, havher friends started fills their ing been part of Roca’s group of Wednesdays with fuzzy pom-­ friends that was first introduced pom penguin socks and crazy to the idea. “When you wear colored stripes. Roca describes wacky socks, you won’t get wacky it as a day for you to “wear your socked,” Chang and Prabala said. wackiest sock on a very ordinary Roca did not originally plan

BY GRACE CHANG HOPE DO

for other people to show interest in Wacky Sock Wednesday. Her purpose in creating this tradition was originally for her to be herself around others. “Eventually, my friends caught on with the idea and are now wearing it! We sort of just scream out ‘WACKY SOCK WEDNESDAY,’” Roca said.

“Maybe others will be interested in joining the trend to be as wacky as their socks on a boring little Wednesday.”

Wacky Sock Wednesday is a fun and exciting trend anyone can enjoy. If you ever find yourself lacking a little spirit on a boring, slow Wednesday, pull out your wackiest socks and join the Wacky Sock Wednesday trend. You may be able to see other wacky socks and kindred souls wandering around the campus during the school day!

DECEMBER 2017

THE UNION

FEATURES

5

Students do interesting things over break

BY ARIANA KHATEEB

MHS students embrace the holiday spirit in their own interesting ways during Thanksgiving and Christmas break.

Some students had a heavily family oriented Thanksgiving where they spent quality time with their extended families.

Junior Marel Vazquez describes the Vazquez family gathering on Thanksgiving.

“My family doesn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, but we definitely take advantage of the time we have off,” Vazquez said.

“We ate turkey, which is pretty Thanksgiving and had pie at the end, which is also very Thanksgiving. After that, we cleared the table and watched a movie that would not seem to end at all.”

Senior Ramis Abdo celebrates Thanksgiving with his family’s

twist to the traditional dishes eaten that day. His family includes an Egyptian twist to the feast by adding plates of rice and other Egyptian food, Abdo said.

Thanksgiving break includes working for some of the employed students, especially on Black Friday. Senior Megan Lam worked at Icicles, a shop specializing in rolled up ice cream, on Black Friday and recalls the torture caused by consumerism.

“During Thanksgiving break I worked at Icicles over at Newark from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.,” Lam said.

“We were nearby Newpark Mall and it was very crowded. We only had four workers there so I kind of died in the inside.”

Senior Brianna Martinez worked concessions at the Cinemark Movie Theater on Black Friday. Customers have a tendency to become impatient and restless after shopping at the Great

Mall, Martinez said.

“I was working concessions serving popcorn and engaging with customers and asking how their day went,” Martinez said.

“Later on in the day a woman was upset about her popcorn and decided to flick the [popcorn] bucket at me.”

With Christmas break approaching soon, some students have already made plans to travel. Senior Lillian Huynh said she plans to spend time with her family at Disneyland and to relax.

Winter break allows the students to celebrate their birthdays in unique ways. Besides training for wrestling, Lam will celebrate her birthday on Dec. 29.

“I plan on eating a banana,” Lam described. “During my birthday, for the past three years I’ve taken a banana, stuck a candle in it, lit it, and sung happy birthday to myself.”

SHREEYA ARANAKE | THE UNION

ASB’s Deck the Halls posters and decorations on Sophomore Lane create a lively and upbeat atmosphere on campus as the Christmas season approaches. MHS CLOGs partake in Deck the Halls by coming together to make the decorations.

ASB’s Deck the Halls encourages togetherness

BY MAANSI MASKAI VIVIAN TSANG

It’s that time of year again when students are eagerly preparing for the imminent holiday season. While some students choose to purchase gifts for their family, other students celebrate by complementing their outfit with bright colors. To add to the festive atmosphere of the holiday, many CLOGs participated in Deck the Halls, an ASB event that strives to lighten the mood before finals by giving CLOGs a chance to decorate Sophomore Lane.

The event that was held on Dec. 7, was created by CLOG Commissioner Maggie Ly. ASB wanted to create an additional event between Homecoming and Trojan Olympics that involved decorating the campus, according to Ly. This is the second year that the event has been held on campus, Ly said.

ASB developed a list of holiday themes that CLOGs can choose from. These included Frozen, the

Grinch, Gingerbread House, the North Pole, and Winter Wonderland. CLOGs were also given the option to create their own theme as long as it has been approved by ASB. Additionally, ASB facilitates Deck the Halls by providing CLOGs with techniques to protect their decorations from the weather, explained Ly. We have experience with decorating the campus from Trojan Olympics and Homecoming, Ly continued.

The most memorable moment of Deck the Halls last year was when all the decorations were completed, according to Ly. “I just saw all the CLOGs walk from the beginning of Sophomore Lane to the end, and they were just admiring everyone’s decorations,” Ly said. “It was really nice.”

Some clubs look forward to Deck the Halls as a means to strengthen relationships between officers and club members.

“It’s a really fun way to bond with the rest of the officers and you get to decorate a part of the Sophomore Lane to make the school

a little more Christmas-y,” Acts of Random Kindness President Elaine Tran said. “Our theme is winter animals, but we’ll incorporate some other things to spread a message of kindness, positivity, and holiday spirit.”

Deck the Halls has numerous benefits for CLOGs that come in the form of increasing their membership and awareness on campus, Activities Director Joanna Butcher said.

“It [is] encouraging to see CLOG involvement with the overall spirit and well­ -being of the student body in general,” according to Butcher. “Clubs do a great job of being visible in their community, but not being visible on campus,” Butcher added.

The CLOGs that participated in Deck the Halls will be awarded certificates for participation, Butcher said. Each club’s participation will contribute to their overall point total toward their chances of winning a spirit and service Involvement trophy at the end of the year CLOG Awards, Butcher added.

Student fuels her passion for cats by volunteering

BY ROSHNI SHETH

Students from MHS do tons of eccentric and interesting activities but have you ever met a someone who has stayed after school just to find cats? Senior Jana Suico volunteers at the Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) where she mentors education programs, vaccinates kittens, does generally cleaning, and most importantly, brings the kittens she finds to a safe home.

The first time Suico caught a kitten was when she got back from Band Day which was around the end of September. Her friend noticed that a couple of people were trying to catch their kittens and asked her for help.

“I ran around the school for an hour in the dark crawling under bushes trying to catch them,”

Suico stated. “Once I brought the kitten back to the people, they told me it wasn’t theirs and I didn’t feel comfortable giving the kitten to them so I took it home and brought it to the shelter where I ended up volunteering at a couple of days later,” Suico said.

After this incident, Suico started saving more kittens including two more kittens that were living around the school. She was told there were six kittens in total and is looking for the other three kittens at MHS. “I just love animals and I want to help them,” Suico said. “I kind of just save any and every animal I see that needs help. Mostly, I just save bugs from drowning or from being killed by people. I always offer to take bugs outside rather than kill them if people find them in classes,” Suico added.

There is not really a goal to saving these cats but Suico wants to keep helping animals until she can’t help them anymore. Her aspiration is to be a vet so she hopes that she will help thousands and create her own legacy.

“I started volunteering when I was twelve. The staff made me a special student volunteer when I was sixteen, which basically means I have the same responsibilities as an adult volunteer,” Suico stated. “We’re always looking for more volunteers. You have to be eighteen to be ‘official,’ but we have programs for students which is how I started. All the information is on the shelter’s website: hssv.org,” Suico continued.

According to Suico, the shelter has $20 adoptions until January 7th for our “Home for the Holidays” promotion.

COURTESY OF ROBERTO ALVELAIS

Alvelais kicks towards his opponent in one of his matches. He has earned numerous medals and owns a fifth degree black belt for his karate style shito.

Alvelais kicking it in the past; he succeeded in martial arts

BY DEVYN NGUYEN LUKE REN

Before Teacher Roberto Alvelais taught chemistry at MHS, he fought professionally as a world-renowned martial artist. We asked Alvelais about his background as a karate “shihan,” or instructor, and his journey towards becoming a teacher.

Q: How were you introduced to martial arts?

A: There was this very non­ pc cartoon that was on T.V. It was Dick Tracy, and the character was a guy named Joe Jitsu...

Joe Jitsu was this terrible Asian character of a guy. Right now it’s really shocking, but in the 60’s they did stuff like that... just stuff that by today’s standards was absolutely intolerable... I was a little boy, I didn’t know anything about that stuff, but what I did know was [that] bad guys would come get him and he would grab [them] and bash them on their heads saying, ‘so sorry, excuse please, pardon me,’ and then he would swing them about his head and throw them in the back of a waiting paddy wagon and then go off. All that stuff is cool... That stuff just peaked my interest, and I thought that was pretty cool.

Then I saw Bruce Lee as Kaito in ‘The Green Hornet’, that was it.

I was hooked, I gotta do that. So that’s what got me interested.

Q: How long did you do martial arts for?

A: Since ‘71, that’s 46 years, still counting. I am quite knowledgeable. There are very few things that I know as well as karate, and I know karate very well.

Q: What achievements do you have in martial arts?

A: Well, of course my medals. I have a fifth degree black belt in shito, that is my main style, and that’s one of the four main styles of Japanese karate. I am into the Japanese Arts a lot; I just happen to like them, it’s a flavor...I have got a fourth degree black belt in shotokan. I have a 1st degree black belt in American eclectic style black belt (botukan) [and] the first degree in eido which is sword and muso jikiden. I have a first degree black belt in

okinawan style weapons, the staff [and] the nunchaku. I have studied tai chi since I was a junior in high school, actually yong style tai chi, and I studied shinichwan with Wong Jack Man. He is the guy that fought Bruce [Lee].

Q: Did you decide to start your own dojo?

A: “Yeah, I did...I started teaching and teaching in the dojo...is just like teaching here, you backwards plan your curriculum. I want my black belts to be able to do this, this, and this, so I would have had to [teach] them all this stuff and make a sense of it all the way to white belt, just like you’re supposed to do... But once I had kids, I found that I just did not have the time to do all the stuff I needed to do to keep a business up and running so I changed it to a program that was offered in a health club. Right now, [I] just have a few students that I do a couple nights a week. We make enough to pay the rent on the place and that’s it and that’s okay… I don’t have to worry about anything…When the girls got old enough to where they were in school all day, I figured I needed a job [where] I’m off when they’re off so I figured, what’s a common theme in my life? Teaching. Alright might as well give into it. So I went in and got the into the credential program at Santa Clara University and got placed here.

[I’ve] been here and happy ever since.

Q: What was your greatest challenge doing martial arts?

A: One was fighting internationally. I fought the world’s champion Dudley Josepha in Curacao. He was like Shaq, he should have been playing basketball but because he was born in Curacao, he did karate instead. He was the current world champion and there would be like billboards withhim out there... So I had to fight him and they were like ‘Good luck, you’ll need it.’ They were like ‘Old fart is going to get killed,’ and I did lose but I lost two and a half to two; Josepha knew he was in a fight. It was a good match but taking that to him and doing that well in his backyard, that was a challenge.

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LIFESTYLE

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2017

Treat yourself with these seasonal treats

BY ANANYA DONAPATI

Holiday Sweaters Jana Suico Senior

Sweater from Kohl’s

BY KRYSTAL QUIOCHO

will find it as a more pleasant experience.

Peet’s Coffee: Holiday Spice Latte Peet’s Coffee’s Holiday Spice Latte is a spin­off of the company’s vanilla latte. The traditional beverage receives a seasonal kick through common holiday spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Though the aroma of the spices is subtle, the taste is the exact opposite. The strong essence of theholiday spice is evident enough to emit warmth and comfort through drinking the latte, without being overly sweet. Initially, the holiday spice latte tastes like liquid gingerbread but leaves a pumpkin­esque undertone at the back of the throat. Because of the strong and complex flavor, I do not reccomend it for people with more of a sweet tooth. The coffee lovers and those who appreciate the deep layers of flavor, on the other hand,

Starbucks: Cranberry Bliss Bar® This sweet treat is something consumers look forward to every year.

Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bar® is a blondie with dried cranberries incorporated into the batter, topped with icing and more dried cranberries. The bar’s chewy texture is what kept me going for more and the little breaks from the blondie by the cranberries kept things interesting and not monotonous. The icing, however, is very sweet. It may be due to the thick layer of icing on, top but the bar became cloyingly sweet after a couple bites. The bar is a nice seasonal treat, but I don’t think I would be able to eat a lot of them in such a close time span because of the sweetness. Overall, the Cranberry Bliss Bar® is a nice treat to look forward to; however, just occasionally.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Red Velvet Hot Cocoa The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s seasonal red velvet hot cocoa is a cup of coziness. The flavor itself isn’t especially holiday­themed but the color of the cocoa had me feeling festive.

After the first sip, I envisioned setting up holiday decorations in a big sweater. Flavorwise, it did not disappoint. The underlying chocolate notes and cake batter type flavor work together perfectly tocreate the red velvet experience. The red velvet hot cocoa is on the sweeter side but still isn’t too overbearing. There’s also a pleasant surprise at the bottom of the cup! I was very excited to see that marshmallows were included in their take on traditional hot cocoa but I would have liked to have known about them before I reached the end of the cocoa so I could enjoy them throughout the whole thing.

Use this gift-giving guide for all occasions

BY KELLY NGUYEN THEODORE DO

1. Make a sentimental gift.

If you find yourself stuck on what to get someone for the holiday season, be creative and DIY a gift!

Use websites like Pinterest, Etsy, and Youtube to get inspiration for unique gift ideas for any kind of person. Your friends, family, or significant other will see the amount of effort, thought, and time you put into their present. DIY presents can range anywhere from a collage picture frame to a mason jar full of memories or notes. This is something you and the gift receiver can look back on and cherish for a long time. Although materialistic gifts can be nice, sentimental gifts are closer to the heart.

2. Stick to a specific genre.

During the holiday season, we get

Jeans from Walmart

Docter Martens from Amazon

Her Fashion Inspir ation: “Early 2010’s Avril Lavine and all metal and rock bands I listen to.”

Raym und Cort ez Senior

Sweater gifted

a little stressed out with crowded malls and packed stores. When all ideas are exhausted, you can stick to a specific genre depending on the person you are shopping for. If the person is athletic, a water bottle or fitness watch can be helpful for their sport activities. If the person is a book worm, gravitate toward stationery items or books (of course!)

If the person is into makeup, you can not go wrong with a festive gift set from Sephora or Ulta. It is always easier to shop for someone based off of what they like, and you can group smaller items together into a gift basket.

3. Presentation is important.

Although the gift itself is the main part of the present, presentation can really make a difference.

Instead of using bland wrapping paper, you can jazz up a present by using chalkboardor brown paper.

With these papers, you can go a step further by using stamps or drawing quirky designs. If you op for a gift bag, you can write the gift receiver’s name on a tag in calligraphy or glitter. There are other decorative items to put a gift together: baskets, ribbons, and string. Since presentation is what gift receivers typically notice first, they will be sure to appreciate the thought you put into how the gift looks. It’s the little things that matter!

4. Listen and pay attention to what the individual may need.

Sometimes, the things that your receiver needs may pop up in conversations or daily activities. Be sure to take note of things that they are interested in, or things that they like but do not have. For instance, if they enjoy baking, but don’t own a hand whisk, you may consider

Dai’s declassified cuffing season survival guide

BY KEVIN DAI

Being Single The holiday season can be seen as a depressing time for single people. It seems like many holiday events are catered to couples or to those trying to get together with their crushes. However, being single doesn’t mean you can’t do fun things. Here are some benefits that a singleperson has during the holidays: 1. No obligation to spend money to buy gifts for your S.O­. That’s extra money for you to spend on yourself.

Buy yourself that Anastasia highlighter that you’ve always wanted or buy those wacky socks that bring out your eyes. Give yourself a gift because you want to break into the captialist holiday that is Christmas.

2. Hang out with friends.­Party!

Get together with friends and do things that couples do like ice skating without any guilty feelings. Eat all the yummy food without having to share with anyone!

3. Laugh at your friends who spend money on their S.O’s­You’ll be ballin’ while your friends have loved ones who appreciate their gifts and they look so happy... cry.

Courting your Crush Have someone you like? Well good news for you. This is the perfect time to pursue your crush.

With the long break and holiday season right around the corner, love may not seem all thathopeless for you. Compiled here are some of the greatest methods to steal your crush’s heart.

1. Utilize those creative pick­up lines to steal that guy or girl’s heart.

E.g “Christmas is coming around, but I don’t need any presents. The only gift I need is you ;).” Or if your feeling more courageous you can try this pick up line: “If I was the Grinch, I wouldn’t steal Christmas, I’d steal you..”

2. Give the best gift that they could ever get. Yourself! Wrap yourself with a bow tie, get in a Christmas box and ship yourself to their house.

They’re bound to be surprised after receiving your gift.

3. Invite your crush to charity dinners or volunteer services. What better way is there to get close to your crush than by doing an activity with them? Not only do you get to hang out with your crush, but you’ll be helping your community or supporting a good cause , as well!

What to do with your S.O. The holidays are known for the romantic events that couples do. This is the perfect time to spend quality time with your special someone.

Here are some things that you can do with your S.O. that might make the holidays a bit more interesting: 1. Go holiday shopping together. Buy matching ugly sweaters or socks, something that can give you and your S.O. something to laugh about over the holidays.

2. Bake food with your S.O. Baking is a great way to spend quality time with your S.O since the temperatures are cold and an oven is the perfect source of heat and aromatic smells of sweets. It’s great environment for people to get closer to your S.O. 3. Visit Christmas in the Park.

Take a nice walk with your S.O in Christmas in the Park and just enjoy each other’s company. *Disclaimer: These methods could either result in success or completely ruin your chances with your crush. The creator of this article does not take any responsibility for any injuries, heartbreaks, or any negative effect that may be a result from using these ideas.

shoes Adidas

His Fashion Inspir ation: “I don’t have an inspiration for fashion, but I just wear what feels right.”

Mili Bhatnagar| THE UNION

DECEMBER 2017

LIFESTYLE

7

THE UNION

Keep warm with these cool looking socks

BY KELLY LUE

As we move further and further away from the light of summer, some of you may be wondering: how on earth do we dress our feet?

The cold weather now prompts us to shift from our beloved flip-flops to real shoes. I know—I have a hard time just thinking about it. But as a person who loves and cherishes her flip-flop tan (I worked really hard for it during the summer), I can honestly tell you wearing shoes isn’t that bad—especially if you have the right socks. Here is my comprehensive list of the top five socks you should be wearing this winter: 1. Best Practical Socks - Champion Flat Knit No-Show Socks: If you’re looking for a simple, no-complications type of sock, these are exactly what you need. The moment I stepped foot into these socks, I was overwhelmed by the comfort and warmth they provided. Made out of a durable polyester and spandex blend, these socks allow for perfect mobility and keep your feet nice and

cozy. These socks come in a range of colors, but are low-cut enough to hide within your shoes.

2. Best Fuzzy Socks - Bath and Body Works Shea-Infused Lounge Socks: Shea-infused lounge socks? What on earth is that supposed to mean? To put it simply, it means comfort beyond the limits of your imagination—and ridiculously soft feet. These Bath and Body Works socks do everything a perfect pair of socks should do: keep your feet cozy and comfortable, but that being said, they have a few negative characteristics. As they’re extremely fuzzy, they tend to shed a lot and aren’t very practical to wear around in public. Their designs also cater towards a narrow audience— particularly cute-animal-loving people.

3. Best Expensive but Incredibly Warm Socks - Barneys Cashmere Socks: Are you looking to splurge some of your money? You may want to consider spending a few more (okay, a lot more) bucks on Barneys Cashmere Socks. These

socks are amazingly warm, and during the winter, what’s more essential than warm feet?

4. Best Socks for a Ridiculously Cheap Price - Daiso Socks: Daiso is home to many cute and cheap items, but did you know that they sell socks for only $1.50? Daiso offers a pretty good variety of socks as well, ranging from ankle socks to crew socks to fuzzy socks—you name it! They even sell leg warmers, which are like socks solely for your legs. The socks are rather soft and comfortable, but for such a low price, they aren’t as warm as other socks are, and they tend to wear out much faster than other brands.

5. Best Classic Everyday Sock Gold Toe Socks: Many people have heard of, if not own, Gold Toe socks.

There’s a reason why they’re so popular, and that’s because of their affordability and general comfort.

They’re compressing without being too tight, and the cotton and nylon fabric is just the right thickness for both warmth and breathability.

Mili Bhatnagar| THE UNION

Snowm e n cand les a re lit era l l y lit

BY MILI BHATNAGAR HOPE DO

Supplies: ­ - White candles in glass jars ­- Glass­friendly paint - Small paint brushes -Ribbon (any kind)­ -Scissors ­ -Hot glue gun and hot glun -­Buttons -Twist ties

Directions: 1) Carefully paint the snowman’s face onto the side of the candle jar; using black paint for its coal­black eyes and mouth, and orange for its carrot nose. Allow the paint to dry completely before handling.

2) Tie the ribbon around the candle jar just under the painted nose, using hot glue to secure each side. If you want, you may cut designs, such as fringes, onto the ribbon.

3) Attach a neat row of buttons down the center of the jar, or where the “stomach” of the snowman would be, using the hot glue gun.

Let dry.

4) Fold a twist tie in half and then twist the ends so they resemble the branch­ like arms of a snowman.

Add a touch of hot glue to secure it to your snowman underneath his ribbon scarf. Repeat for the second arm. Gift!

Hope Do| THE UNION

Gift thes e orna m ents

BY MILI BHATNAGAR HOPE DO

Supplies: - Clear ornaments - ­Sticker letters­ -Glitter or confetti -(You could even fill the ornaments with little candies too!)­ -Ribbon (any kind) -­Funnel -Glue (optional)­ -Q­tips (optional)

Mili Bhatnagar| THE UNION

Uniquely wrap your presents this season

BY LOAN-ANH PHAM

DIY Confetti Balloons Gift cards and money don’t have to be presented in Christmas cards or envelopes. This projects allowsthe receiver to have some fun by popping the balloon to get both the gift card/ money and a burst of confetti at the same time! Preparation time is less than 10 minutes.

Supplies: -Clear colored balloons -Money or a gift card -Gold, silver, red, and/ or green confetti -Any color curling ribbon -Funnel (optional) Directions: 1. First, fill any number of balloons with confetti in any combination of colors. Be sure not to put too much or the balloon will be weighed down!

A funnel can be used for this step.

2. After, roll up 2­3 dollar bills of any denomination into the balloon.

If putting a gift card in, gently stretch

the neck of the balloon and shift the card in slowly to prevent the balloon from breaking.

3. Next, blow the balloon up using your breath or a helium tank. If using your breath, be careful not to inhale any confetti.

4. Finally, tie up the balloon. Cut any length of curling ribbon and tie to the end of the balloon. Enjoy! The balloons will add a “pop” of color and joy to any celebration!

DIY Interactive Wrapping Paper (for any gift presented in a gift box) With this project, wrapping paper doesn’t have to be wasted and tossed. By turning wrapping paper into interactive activities such as a word search or coloring sheet, anyone of any age will appreciate your time and effort much more! Preparation time will vary depending on activity made.

Supplies For Instagram Photo Memory Game: -Tape

-Scissors -Any color(s) wrapping paper (green, red, gold, silver, etc.)

-Any color(s) of cardstock (must be different from the color(s) of the wrapping paper) -Printed out Instagram photos -Glue Directions : 1.Wrap your present in any color(s) of wrapping paper using scissors and tape. Tutorials can be found on the internet.

2.Print out Instagram photos and cut them into squares.

3.Cut out rectangles from the different pages of cardstock. Fold the rectangles in half so that the Instagram photos can fit inside.

4.Glue the Instagram photos inside the cardstock “cards.” (Optional: Decorate the front flap of the “cards”) 5.Glue the cards onto one side of the box. Your loved ones will have fun walking down memory lane while making more memories with your gift!

Directions: 1) Simply use your sticker letters to stick on the words or phrases you Ingredients: -1 cup butter -1 1⁄2cups sugar -2 large eggs -2 3⁄4cups flour -2 teaspoons cream of tartar -1 teaspoon baking soda -1⁄4 teaspoon salt -3 tablespoons sugar -3 teaspoons cinnamon -1 teaspoon vanilla extract

would like the ornament to display.

Names, years, and monograms work well!

2) Using a funnel, carefully fill the ornament with the desired quantity of glitter or confetti. You can also spread the glitter or confetti to cover the inside or outside of the ornament shell by taking a q­tip and spreading glue over the area you wish to cover, then sprinkling the glitter or confetti over the glue before it dries.

3) Tie on your ribbon as a festive bow and present your gift!

Ishrak Ramzan| THE UNION

Snack on some snickerdoodles

BY ISHRAK RAMZAN

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1tps of vanilla extract and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.

3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl 4. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.

5. Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.

6. Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in

a small bowl.

7. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture.

8. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.

9. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.

8

THE UNION

SPREAD

NOVEMBER 2017

We've made a list a nd we've checked i t tw Opinion: Were the 12 months of 2017 ‘sleigh’ or ‘nay?’ I say ‘nay!’

Good riddance, 2017. This year was characterized by natural disasters, political disasters, epidemics… need I say more? 2018 is on the horizon, and the focus of the world should be to move on and leave the events of this year to the past. Yet, this course of action should not mean that negative events should fade out of memory; rather, it is important to remember these things as a way to honor those who lost their lives as well as those who were affected by these events.

On Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.

Trump’s win resulted in the defeat of Democratic presidential

candidate, Hillary Clinton, who Twitter. The incident resulted lost a chance to become the na- into outrage over Dao’s mistreattion’s first woman president. ment.

On Feb. 20, Unity On May 22, 22 people State, one of South Suwere killed and 59 peodan’s states, declared ple were injured due to itself in a state of fama suicide bombing at ine, affecting 4.9 million Manchester Arena after people. an Ariana Grande conOn Mar. 6, President cert.

Donald Trump signed a On June 24, it was second executive order confirmed by the United regarding the ban on Nations that Yemen was travelers from six mostexperiencing the worst LOAN-ANH ly-Muslim countries for cholera outbreak in the PHAM 90 days. world.

On Apr. 9, a recording of PasOn July 4, North Korea sucsenger David Dao being violently cessfully tested an intercontiejected from an overbooked Unit- n e n t a l ballistic missile in the ed Airlines flight was posted on Sea of Japan.

Child labor is ever present in holiday consumerism Gift-giving season is amongst us again, and you may be among the countless shoppers who are preparing to give the perfect present. After all, it should be a joyful, merry holiday for everyone right? Wrong.

Many products that are sold in the United States are made through child labor and forced labor from all around the world.

Electronics, sweets, footwear, diamonds -you name it- are all products that may have been made through intensive labor. Which countries are involved? Argentina, Brazil, China, Malaysia… the list goes on endlessly. Whether it is a gorgeous pair of earrings or a new smartphone, chances are that it has been made with the help of intensive labor.

President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA) to ban imported forced labor goods on Feb. 24, 2016 (NBC News).

Yet, many companies, such as

On Aug. 12, 19 people were fatally rammed by a car during a “Unite the Right” march in Charlottesville, Virginia. The victims were a mix of both protestors and counter-protesters; the protesters were opposing the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Emancipation Park.

On Sep. 4, President Donald Trump announced the discontinuation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, also known as the Dreamers program.

On Oct. 1, Stephen Paddock fatally shot 58 people, while injuring a staggering 489, during an outdoor Las Vegas concert, leading to the deadliest mass shoot-

ing in American history. Paddock fired from the Mandalay Bay hotel, and he killed himself afterwards.

On Nov. 9, Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of numerous sexual misconduct claims by the Washington Post, yet he still participated in the Senate run.

However, Moore was defeated

by Democratic candidate Doug Jones on Dec. 13.

On Dec. 5, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency as Southern California wildfires burned through areas larger than Boston and New York City combined.

VIVIAN TSANG/ THE UNION

GRACE CHANG / THE UNION (SURVEY ABOVE)

Many children need the job due to Nestle, H&M, and Apple, are still economical probelms. By working using labor to meet up with their at such a young age, this leaves heavy consumer demands. As them trapped in a never-ending the market becomes increasingly cycle of health risk and poverty. competitive, businesses resort to Before you spend a great deal child labor in order to make their of money buying valuable gifts products quicker at a cheaper for others, consider avoiding the price. Consequently, the products from certain Bureau of International companies that may have Labor Affairs provided a been created through report on goods that are child labor. Instead of still produced by child saving up to buy the latest labor or forced labor as of iPhone for your friend, Sept. 30, 2016. 139 goods think of items that they within this list from 75 may need rather than the countries were found to unnecessary things that have been involved in they may want. worker exploitation.

As regular consumers, Numerous chocolate THEODORE we have the ability to stop companies use children DO the demand for childas a labor source for made products. It is important to cocoa farms, even if their level realize that while you are enjoying of ability fails to meet the work your holidays, many others are required. In many cases, children unwillingly spending endless are taken away from school to hours creating the precious gift, help production, erasing their rather than receiving the gift. opportunity to continue their studies and become successful.

ERIN UTTER / THE UNION

NOVEMBER 2017

SPREAD

THE UNION

9

wi ce! Are the holi days naugh ty or ni ce?

Opinion: Were the 12 months of 2017 ‘sleigh’ or ‘nay?’ I say ‘sleigh!’

Oftentimes it can be hard to focus on the sunshines, when the shadows begin to prevail. But it doesn’t mean our efforts to bring positivity and happiness to society will go to vain. Here are some events of 2017 that truly made it a year worth remembering.

On Jan. 28, Serena Williams defeated her sister, Venus Williams, at the Women’s Australian Open and set the record for being the player with most wins in open era.

On Feb. 5, New Yorkers came together on the subway to remove anti-semitic and Nazi graffiti from the car’s defaced windows.

Attorney Gregory Locke reported to NBC News that the passen-

gers all banded together, and the graffiti was gone before the train reached the next station.

On Mar. 2, Zimbabwe put a ban on the beating of all children in their country. The ban was enacted due to a parent’s complaint about her six year old left with deep bruises after being hit by a teacher.

On April. 17, the end of the California drought was declared after three years, with 20 inches of rain and 12 feet of snow. The onslaught of rain and snow brought much needed relief to Northern California, where the drought existed for a tough five years.

On May 7, MTV became the first awards show to have gender neu-

GRACE CHANG / THE UNION (SURVEY ABOVE)

tral categories, saying that their On July 6, France announced audience “doesn’t see male-fethat would ban petrol and diemale dividing lines”. Instead of sel cars by 2040. The campaign the traditional “best acplans to meet France’s tor” and “best actress” goals under the Paris clicategories,the ceremony mate accord. presented awards with On Aug. 21, the Total gender-neutral titles.

Solar Eclipse was visible On June 4, Ariana from North America.

Grande led her benefit On Sep. 5, Hurricane concert “One Love ManIrma wreaked havoc, yet chester” for the victims in the aftermath of the of her concert bombing. disaster the entire naAfter the devastating tion gathered together to MILI terror attack that took BHATNAGAR support the victims not place in May during only of Hurricane Irma, her Manchester performance, but Hurricane Harvey as well.

Grande hosted the concert as a On Oct. 15, Actress Alyssa Mifundraiser for those affected by lano urged victims of sexual harthe bombing. assment to write “me too” and

LOAN-ANH PHAM/ THE UNION

Be kind; make it the most wonderful time of the year

BY KELLY NGUYEN

During this festive time of the year, it is always nice to give back to the community and spread a little holiday spirit by thinking of others. Knowing where to start can be intimidating, but there are endless ways you can volunteer or donate.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank.

Soup kitchens and food banks provide nourishment for those who are unable to afford food in stores. There are several local soup kitchens and food banks that are open to volunteers.

Typically, these establishments are flexible with your schedule and are open throughout the week. As a volunteer, you will be doing activities that benefit the less fortunate. Serving hot meals, preparing food, sorting cans, and cleaning the facility are amongst these activities.

KELLY NGUYEN / THE UNION

replies flood across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The phrase “me too” went viral on social media, in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against film producer and executive Harvey Weinstein.

On Nov. 30, the world’s longest recorded rainbow took place in Taipei’s Yangmingshan mountain range.

On Dec. 7, Australia’s parliament voted to legalize gay marriage. The released results by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that 61% of the population voted to allow same-sex marriage.

Make care packages for the homeless.

During the winter time, care packages for the less fortunate can go a long way in benefiting their health or simply bringing joy into their lives. Start with a compiled list of essential items anyone may need during this colder season: water, snacks, band-aids, blankets, or socks. Always make sure to gather a group of 5 to 10 people to help distribute care packages (safety is important!).

When you approach the less fortunate, smile and have a brief conversation with them to make their day.

Donate to a local thrift store.

If you are slowly transitioning to the winter season and finding clothing that you no longer wear, you can donate to thrift stores like Salvation Army, Savers, or Goodwill. By compiling a bag of gently used outerwear, tops, or bottoms, someone else can

benefit from the clothes you no longer have use for. During these colder months, people who can not afford expensive clothing can buy these items at a discounted price. By “recycling” your clothes or shoes, you are helping the environment and contributing to a greater cause.

Bring toys to a children’s hospital.

Children who suffer from a severe illness, have a mental disability, or cannot receive proper treatment at home must reside in a hospital during the holiday season. By donating gifts to a children’s hospital, you are uplifting a child’s spirit and making a difference in his or her life. Another alternative would be donating to Toys for Tots, a foundation that gives back to the less fortunate. You can find boxes to drop off toys for children at a local Toys“R”US store.

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THE UNION

DECEMBER 2017

ENTERTAINMENT

RATING KEY Thicccccc Layers Winter Candy Apple Smittens Fred Claus Elf on a Shelf Music Reviews

Roshni Sheth | The Union

A few of the radium girls (left to right), including Irene Rudolph (Marel Vazquez), Miss MacNeil (Laura Hare), Grace Fryer (Mekdelawit “River” Awoke), and Kathryn Schaub (Helen Cui), pause while working on painting radium onto army clocks.

‘Radium Girls’ illuminates the MHS theater the play’s events, was soon tainted by the gruesome effects it brought upon the working girls, who often

BY MILI BHATNAGAR literally glowed in the dark from ROSHNI SHETH the paint. Five of the studio women from New Jersey, one of whom Radium Girls, a powerful play was Grace Fryer, filed a lawsuit written by D.W. Gregory, covers against the corporation, which the story of the 1920s factory girls contributed to the establishment of who fell victim to the afflictions the occupational disease labor law. of radium, the once applauded All of the characters in the play “miracle cure”. In the play, the share eccentric tones of emotions latest rage of luminous watches which create a stirring environment. is quickly denounced as the girls Grace Fryer is portrayed by Senior who paint the watch dials Mekdelawit (River) Awoke. begin to fall ill with a peculiar Awoke delivers a multifaceted disease. The protagonist, a dial performance as a young girl painter named Grace Fryer, who encounters difficulties PLAY not only as one of the factory takes her former employer, REVIEW workers, but also as a and adversary, Arthur Roeder to court to get justice in this committed friend and loving impassioned play. fiancee. Senior Darryl Remulla During World War I, hundreds exceptionally portrays the role of of young girls and women worked the ambitious and all-too-human in studios that manufactured Mr. Roeder, and characterizes the military watch dials coated with performance with his distinct facial luminescent radium paint. The expressions and annunciation. girls were instructed to use their Senior Jackie Tran plays the lips to give their paintbrushes a supporting roles of Fryer’s fiancé, fine point. Radium, discovered by Tom Kreider, as well as a sensational Marie Curie twenty years prior to news reporter. The chemistry

RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):



between Tom and Grace make a convincing display for the audience with their individual spirited performance.

The clothing worn by the cast presented 1920s fashion suitably.

One of our favorite outfits was worn by sophomore Jenny Ho, who wore a long blue skirt to show her fashion as a Sob Sister. With the characters jumping back and forth to the next scene, it was amusing to see the different colors and styles that transitioned in the play.

One of the only flaws is that the play consists of mostly excessive dialogue between the characters.

If a person from the audience was to look away for just a second or so, they could possibly have trouble following along with the storyline because of the lack of narration.

Additionally, the play runs for a little more than two hours, which is rather lengthy since the whole play consists of conversations. Despite these flaws, the play delivers a bittersweet ending and presents a perfectly blended story that gives the audience knowledge and entertainment simultaneously.

Cinematography doesn’t do ‘Justice League’ justice someone slapped a dark, gritty Instagram filter over every scene.

The entire movie feels more like

BY ERIN UTTER a video game than an actual film.

KELLY LUE The quick cuts, awkward camera angles, and constant flashing lights Despite subpar reviews, “Justice were headache-inducing.

The League,” the newest addition to the CGI was unimpressive, especially DC Extended Universe (DCEU) when portraying the film’s villain, was pleasantly surprising.

Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), Although it did not meet and his parademon army. the high bar that “Wonder The antagonists were so Woman” set, “Justice League” distractingly ugly, it looked MOVIE like they were clumsily put was an entertaining watch, REVIEW together. The special effects amidst its low points.

The most prominent flaw used on Cyborg (Ray Fisher) of “Justice League” is the made the character look underwhelming cinematography. anatomically incorrect.

In fact, the entire visual look of The plot, although not “Justice League” was disappointing. unnecessarily convoluted, was Typical of the DCEU, the coloring of nothing brilliant nor was it “Justice League” looked as though surprising. The events in the movie RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):



were formulaic, typical of most superhero movies.

Despite its shortcomings, DCEU successfully moved away from its characteristic dark vibes. It wasn’t the most relatable and the humor sometimes fell flat, but there was a pretty enjoyable sense of levity.

Representative of this humor was the Flash (Ezra Miller). As the youngest member of the team, Miller’s portrayal of the speedster was genuinely funny and contributed to a break from the allaround monotony. His performance and Gal Gadot’s stunning reprisal as Wonder Woman were a light in what would otherwise have been a gloomy, sullen film.

Overall, if you turn off your brain and don’t analyze the movie too much, it’s relatively enjoyable.

Book-to-movie adaptation proves to be wonderful in fear of the bullying Auggie could receive. Tremblay portrays Auggie in such a captivating way; the audience becomes empathetic with

BY KRYSTAL QUIOCHO the Pullman family.

The cast members, including big “Wonder,” a 2017 film based names like Owen Wilson and Julia off the book by Raquel J. Palacio, Roberts, do a good job in bringing follows the story of August “Auggie” something different to the table.

Pullman (Jacob Tremblay). Auggie The portrayals seemed so natural is a ten year old boy with Treacher for everyone; it was easy to form Collins Syndrome, which attachments to the characters. causes abnormalities in his I personally admired the facial features. The movie many child actors as they really follows Auggie, his family, drove a main theme throughout and his friends on his journey MOVIE the film. Through the young through fifth grade filled with REVIEW fifth graders’ bullying, giving courageous acts, the harshness into peer pressure, and of reality, and acceptance. enduring of going against the The movie starts with Auggie status quo, it shows that some of prepping for his first day of school, the hardest challenges can be faced after being homeschooled until at anytime. It was refreshing to then. The Pullman family is see such young characters carry nervous for the long awaited day a mature disposition toward the

RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):



situation at hand, yet still display their innocence and willingness to push aside prejudices.

The movie does a good job in incorporating the book’s details.

In the book, each chapter is told in perspective of a different character.

In the movie, the character’s name is displayed before their “segment.”

Though some of the characters’ sections overlapped, the movie did a good job in not being redundant. I was glad to see that a few seemingly insignificant scenes in the book made it into the movie.

Overall, the movie “Wonder” is an inspiring and uplifting film that will make you you smile, laugh, cry, and consider the importance of understanding. With admiration for its coverage of many different struggles, its tear-provoking scenes, and soundtrack, I highly recommend watching it.

A PENTATONIX CHRISTMAS (DELUXE)

by Pentatonix Genre: Pop RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):

WHAT IF NOTHING

by WALK THE MOON Genre: Indie Pop RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):

BY JONATHAN TRAN

BY JERALD MENDOZA KELLY LUE

Pentatonix’s “A Pentatonix Christmas Deluxe Edition” was released on Oct. 20 and includes all eleven tracks from the non-deluxe version released a year earlier. Accompanying them are five additional tracks, four of which are covers of holiday classics, and one, “Hallelujah,” being a repeat of last year. This year’s version features the instrumental talent of “The String Mob”. In addition, the four new covers lack Avi Kaplan, one of the band’s original founders. His role as bassist is taken over by Matt Sallee instead.

Pentatonix delivers a stunning experience in the holidays classics department. I found “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” alongside “Hallelujah” (the original) to be among the most beautifully renditioned. Giving the a capella treatment to songs that have traditionally been accompanied by instruments is always a dicey transition, but the ever-talented Avi Kaplan and Kevin Olusola do a wonderful job of providing the bass and vocal percussion that many a cappella groups today lack.

Pentatonix actually released two original holiday tracks next to their numerous song covers, “The Christmas Sing-Along” and “Good To Be Bad.” They’re certainly onpar with, if not of higher caliber than their earlier original works such as “Can’t Sleep Love.” Scott takes the lead on “The Christmas Sing-Along” while Kirstin’s presence is felt the most strongly in “Good To Be Bad”. Both have a bright and snappy feel, in welcome contrast to the slower and more serious holiday classics.

This album definitely won’t disappoint anyone this holiday season, and the songs are a welcome addition to any household’s winter playlist. So grab a blanket, find some headphones, and jam out to Pentatonix’s holiday hits.

WALK THE MOON released their fourth studio album titled “What if Nothing” on Nov. 10.

Known for their radio hit, “Shut Up and Dance,” they’ve strayed away from their early days, incorporating an overwhelming amount of synth in their newest album.

Though it isn’t entirely terrible and the songs are admittedly pretty catchy, it dabbles in both pop and indie, lacking the cohesiveness that pulls an album together.

The next two songs best exemplify the shifty nature of “What if Nothing.” “Headphones” sounds like a true attempt at rock, while “One Foot” takes a step back and sounds closer mainstream radio.

The first half of the album is so difficult to get past, I wouldn’t be surprised if people skipped over the rest of the album. “Sound of Awakening” sounds like an unfortunately popified version of an old WALK THE MOON song, “Iscariot.” “Surrender” falls short because natural sounds are covered up by awful electronic tunes.

However, as the album progresses, the band returns to the familiar rock flair that made them a cult hit. While synthesized sounds remain, they’re better integrated into the music, complimenting the pure instrumentals rather than replacing them. At some points synth sounds actually improve the songs, and songs like “Can’t Sleep” and “In My Mind” end up being some of few good pop-rock songs.

In the end, “What if Nothing” seems to have an identity crisis, much like the band itself. I don’t think WALK THE MOON has found the balance of rock and pop to establish a new niche. The success of their last album was a complete fluke. this one screams out “sophomore slump” as they seem to be completely lacking in balance and cohesion, though the band still has potential.

Mili Bhatnagar | The Union

DECEMBER 2017

ENTERTAINMENT

THE UNION

11

John Green returns with novel; has plot similar to past books too hard to seem profound; this, in turn, makes it much more difficult to take him seriously. Aza herself

BY KIRK TRAN is too static to find interesting; she’s either stuck in mope-mode or For the last 12 years, John Green phobia-mode for most of the book. has written the same type of book, Character dynamics hardly featuring an awkward protagonist, change over the course of the book, a goofy best friend character, which is damning for a book that and a mysterious love interest. is mostly character interaction.

Unfortunately, while “Turtles All Aza’s character is the type to the Way Down” is the latest of bottle her emotions up and Green’s works, it’s a more than she literally puts a halt to her a bit shy of being the best. romantic development with The book revolves around Davis several times because BOOK of her anxiety. Because of this, Aza, a girl with a strange and REVIEW Aza’s relationships with Daisy irrational phobia of bacteria; Daisy, Aza’s best friend; and and Davis change suddenly Davis, the son of a billionaire or not at all, and usually, it’s not fugitive. While the blurb on the at all. When the book’s climax inside of the book’s cover jacket rolls around, it comes and goes implies a good chunk of the book so quickly that it lacks emotional will be spent searching for Davis’ impact. Because of these issues, dad for the reward money, that reading through “Turtles All The part of the plot only serves as an Way Down” can feel like a slog, with excuse for Davis and Aza to meet nothing ever really happening. each other. The book is instead Like many of Green’s previous mostly character driven, focusing books, “Turtles All the Way on Aza, her anxiety, as well as her Down” did not end perfectly for its relationships with Davis and Daisy. protagonists, but unlike those other Of course, because the book is books, it didn’t incite any great grief more character driven than plot or catharsis. The end of the book was driven, it begs the question: are more or less a return of the status the characters interesting? The quo of the beginning of the book, answer? Not really. The major making it feel as if nothing in the characters all get fairly annoying book really mattered; everything fairly quickly. The characters’ wraps itself up too nicely. That’s personalities are all conveyed not even mentioning the fact that through the copious amount the book doesn’t put much effort of dialogue in the book, which into grabbing the reader’s attention depending on the reader, may come anyway. While it the ending was off as clever and cute, or eye-rolling realistic, it just wasn’t entertaining. and forced.

Overall, “Turtles All the Way For example, Daisy has little Down” is an okay book. If you’re a substance to her character other fan of Green’s works you’ll probably than supporting Aza and being a enjoy it, but it definitely isn’t the bubbly Star Wars geek. Much of must-read book of 2017. That being her dialogue is awkward to read said, it’s not a bad book at all. If because she puts too much effort you’re bored and in the need for into acting goofy and she comes off some teen drama, this could be the as obnoxious rather than endearing. book for you. As an entry point for Davis, with his frequent quotings of Green’s writings, it works just fine famous individuals, as well as his because very few of his books stand poetry, seems as if he’s trying way out over the others.

RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):

&

Mili Bhatnagar | The Union

Christmas-themed T.V. shows bring holiday spirit

BY GRACE CHANG SUHAS SHEKAR

Glee - Season 2 Episode 10: “A Very Glee Christmas” This episode of “Glee” is filled with lots of singing and Christmas classics. In this episode Glee Club tries to spread holiday cheer, while Sue attempts to ruin the holidays for everyone except herself. However, no matter how bad things get the Glee Club still maintains the holiday spirit. As a continuation of the plot, character development may be hard to capture, but it is still a fun, musical episode to watch.

Spongebob - Season 2 Episode 28: “Christmas Who” “Spongebob” is well-known for its youthful and witty humor.

In this episode, Spongebob becomes a laughingstock when Santa Claus doesn’t come to the city, despite Spongebob promising his arrival. The premise takes a turn when Squidward, a normally cynical character, takes on the role of Santa Claus after realizing the effort Spongebob put into spreading Christmas joy. This episode will be an entertaining and possibly nostalgic watch for those who viewed the episode many years ago.

The Office - Season 2 Episode 10: “The Christmas Party” While “The Office” has multiple Christmas-themed episodes, this one was the first of them. The inclusion of a Christmas tree, gifts, and games exemplifies the holiday spirit. As expected, Michael’s shenanigans cause a ruckus in the office. His dislike of a knitted mitten given to him during Secret Santa makes him turn the event into impromptu White Elephant.

Inevitably, the occasion turns into a hilarious disaster. Anyone looking for something laid back and festive will find it in this episode.

New ‘Animal Crossing’ released; game is on-par with expectations freedom, and can act as a means of teaching young adults how to live on their own, manage money, and

BY ANANYA DONAPATI develop friendships. The characters are quirky and welcoming. Pocket Who doesn’t love a game where Camp fosters benevolent gameplay you can travel through a world that all ages can enjoy. filled with talking animals and One huge aspect with this app is manage your own campsite? That’s connectability with friends. While right, Animal Crossing: Pocket it is a plus that I can visit my Camp was released on Nov. friend’s campsite and give 22 in America. The beloved them kudos for it--that’s almost Nintendo game series has all I can do. There is so much GAME potential to this feature but transformed into a new app REVIEW because it is so lacking, this was that allows players to attract animal inhabitants to their a big disappointment. Friends campsite, connect with friends, and should be able to interact with each explore. other in real time. That brings me Upon its release, Pocket Camp to to the biggest issue with this instigated mass attention, and I was game. It encourages the player to also at the edge of my seat to see what check-in multiple times throughout the app had in store. As the name the day, but after completing suggests, this game is definitely requests and crafting things, there quite different from the previous is really nothing else to do but wait. console versions in terms of Playability is limited and doing tasks gameplay and characters. However, can become extremely repetitive the visuals and background music becase of only eight map locations. immediately bring back the warm What made the older games so atmosphere that characterizes exciting were the special goodies or Animal Crossing. The visuals characters the player unexpectedly are exceptionally crisp and the ran into each day. Due to Pocket environment changes according to Camp’s structural design, it is a bit the time of day and season. lackluster, but I appreciate that it Once I customized my character, I accommodates for holidays with could begin customizing my trailer seasonal items and promotions. and campsite by spending “bells,” Though there’s room for the form of currency in the game. improvement, the functionality is Bells are earned by completing exceptional. Hopefully, there will be requests, leveling up, and selling more additional features included items to friends. Both familiar and in the future but as of now, Nintendo brand new characters are present. has done a great job modernizing Players can purchase clothing, this popular game. I recommend furniture, and craft amenities it to anyone who wants a smidgen such as tents to display at their of joyfulness added to their lives campsites. by exploring the world of Animal The game is the epitome of Crossing.

RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):

Ä

Andrew ha | The Union

The Killers perform ‘Mr. Brightside’ at 105.3’s Not So Silent Night on December 8th. Lead singer Brandon Flower’s voice in concert proves just as dynamic and melodic as on the recorded track. The band’s setlist provided both old and new songs.

‘Not So Silent Night’ is truly not so forgettable RATING (Out of 5 candy canes):

BY ANDREW DINH ANTHONY NGUYEN

Not So Silent Night, an annual alternative rock concert hosted by radio station 105.3, returned to the Oracle Arena in the Bay Area for two nights, Dec. 8 and 9. The holiday show exhibited the best talent the alternative rock music world had to offer.

This year, the concert featured musical powerhouses The Lumineers, Weezer, and The Killers alongside modern bands Foster the People and Walk the Moon.

Walk the Moon, Foster the People, Weezer, and The Killers all headlined the frenzied second night, performing a mix of old hits and new singles from each of their recent album releases.

We arrived to the concert a tad late, so we missed Alice Merton, the first act, and luckily caught Walk the Moon. Walk the Moon performed upbeat tracks while showcasing material from their new album with an infectious energy. The crowd sang along to recent hits like “One Foot” and “Shut Up and Dance,” the single that pro-

pelled them to mainstream fame.

The band closed with their first single, arguably their magnum opus, “Anna Sun,” to a delighted crowd.

Foster the People took the stage after Walk The Moon. Though they did not shine as bright as other performing bands that night, their set was still laced with liveliness.

The pinnacle of their performance came at their final song, “Pumped Up Kicks.” Their most recognizable song, the beginning riffs of the track ignited screams of delight.

Weezer walked on and immediately started rifling through their setlist filled with the most recognizable songs in their discography, starting with the rock smash “Say It Ain’t So.” On the heels of releasing their eleventh album “Pacific Daydream,” Weezer also played recent single “Feels Like Summer” and iconic hit “Undone.”

Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer, showcased his quirky personality throughout the performance, coming out in a sombrero to sing “Beverly Hills,” and singing nostalgic track after nostalgic track.

The band also debuted an ambitious rendition of “Where Is My Mind,” a classic Pixies song, much to the pleasure of the crowd and finished their set with a carefree

rendition of “Island in the Sun.” The Killers closed out Not So Silent Night, returning to the Bay Area main stage for the first time in three years after releasing new album “Wonderful Wonderful,” their first album in five years. Lead singer Brandon Flowers rocked the crowd in a black suit with his flamboyant voice and unrivaled swagger, acknowledging the greatness of Weezer and the honor bestowed upon his band to perform after such a legendary group at the beginning of the performance.

Flowers got the crowd on their feet, starting with a thunderous performance of new single “The Man.” In an extended performance of “All These Things That I’ve Done,” Flowers incited the crowd to chant “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier,” promoting a sense of unity among concertgoers. The Killers finished the night with their most popular song, “Mr. Brightside,” evoking euphoria through powerful guitar riffs and flashing green lasers.

Not So Silent Night was not so forgettable, showcasing a variety of talented bands. The December concert is one of the most enjoyable concert experiences in the Bay Area.

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SPORTS

THE UNION

DECEMBER 2017

Football rebounds from Salinas defeat; wins first NorCal Championship title

BY LUKE REN THEODORE DO

COURTESY OF TYREE BRACY

Varsity quarterback TyRee Bracy (pictured) prepares to pass the football to a fellow varsity Trojan football player during a football game.

The Athlete of the Month: Quarterback TyRee Bracy

BY ASHLEY CHEN

The Varsity Football team has had a good season this year, advancing to play in the Central Coast Section Open One Championship game. Quarterback TyRee Bracy, shares his recent as well as his childhood experiences with football.

Q: What positions have you played on the team?

A: Sophomore year I played cornerback and then junior and senior year I’ve played quarterback and a little bit of defense too.

Q: What position do you enjoy playing the most and why?

A: I enjoyed playing quarterback the most because I’ve wanted to play that position since I was younger and I was able to accomplish that goal.

Q: What is your most memorable experience playing football?

A: My most memorable moment in football is just being a part of a great team and being able to form

a bond with my teammates.

Q: What is your favorite part about playing football?

A: Just having a brothership or brotherhood and a bond with my other teammates. They’re like my second family and I really love that about being on the football team.

Q: Is there an achievement or contribution that you made in football that you are the most proud of ?

A: My greatest achievement was being a part of the reason our team has made it far for the past two years as the quarterback.

Q: What makes football different from other sports?

A: Football is different from other sports because it forces you to overcome adversity and teaches you to be tough mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Q: How has football changed you?

A: Football has helped mold me into a stronger individual and has taught me that hard work is needed to accomplish your goals.

Girls’ team room almost complete

BY SHREEYA ARANAKE

New girls’ team rooms are soon to be completed, according to Athletic Director Jeff Lamb.

The construction began in the last school year, and hopefully, the room will be able to be used during this year’s winter sports season, Lamb continued.

The decision to construct a girls’ team room was in response to the Title IX controversy regarding the inequality between boys and girls’ team rooms, Lamb said at the time during the spring of 2016. On Mar. 8, 2016, 450,000 dollars were allocated to spend on the room during a school board meeting.

The girls’ room, unlike the boys’ team room, will not be only used for one specific sport, Lamb said.

The boys’ team room is predominantly used by football, mostly due to all the equipment that football players have.

“The boys’ room has an attached bench to the locker,” Lamb said.

“We didn’t want that for the girls [room] because it’s really hard to use them for something else. So we will have benches that face the TV, or face the whiteboard [in the

girls’ room]. One of the things that the girls room has that the boys’ doesn’t is that it has an entire wall that has a white board.”

The fight to get a girls’ team room began in groups of people, then went to the administration, and then went to the school board, according to P.E. teacher Corinne Osbourne. The process to reach the decision to construct a girls’ team room took about half a year, Osbourne continued.

Former JV Volleyball Coach Paul Cao said that when he heard that there was a boys’ team room and not a girls room, it bothered him.

The construction of the room only on the boys’ side looked bad, but was not in fact a violation of Title IX, Cao continued.

“The law is just written that they should strive for equality,” Cao said. “So technically, I don’t think it is in violation of Title IX, but it is in violation of the spirit of the law. The original intent of the law is to make things fair. Men and women, boys and girls, specifically in athletics.”

Cao would not want to use the room, because he is a male coach, he said. If it was not an issue, however, he would use the team room. he continued.

The Varsity Football team went undefeated with twelve wins and zero losses until their game on Dec. 1 at Independence High School, Athletics Director Jeffrey Lamb said in an email. The game was the team’s first Central Coast Section Open of the year and the MHS team was against the Salinas Cowboys, he added.

The game was extremely close with the MHS team losing 25-18, Lamb said. The Cowboys were given a lead during the fourth quarter and were not able to pick it up afterwards, he added.

“They scored more points than us,” Varsity Football Coach Kelly King said. “We had a bunch of penalties, a couple touchdowns got taken away, we just didn’t get the job done.”

Prior to this game, the team had done really well, going undefeated, Senior Varsity Football Player Nathan Benavidez said. The team’s success originated from the coaches and brotherhood that the members of the team shared, Benavidez added.

“We kind of expected it because of the hard work we put in in the off-season,” Benavidez said. “It wasn’t given to us. We had to put it out there.”

MHS has been notorious for having a good team, Senior Varsity Football Player Isiah Cotton said.

The coaches train each generation with the necessary discipline and teamwork to succeed, Cotton

added.

“I think we’re a good team because we have home-grown talent that has been here since we were little,” Cotton said. “We’re just all committed to do the best we can as a group.”

The coaches are what really make the team successful, Sophomore Varsity Football Player Raiden Michailoff said.

The training of the coaches is what brought the team so far in the season, Michailoff added. “[MHS has a good team] because all our players work hard, and just the coaches are really great,” Michailoff said. “Just any talent we can get, Coach King can turn them into a freak athlete.”

Because of the help and encouragement from their coaches, the team has been able to become confident in their abilities to win, Junior Varsity Football Player Justin Scrempos said. By sharing an interest with others, football gave him a sense of family with the team, Scrempos said.

“I think it’s because of the coaches and staff; they really push us to do our best,” Scrempos said.

“Everyone does their job.”

Many students in the team were introduced to the sport as kids, and have grown to live alongside the sport, Cotton said. Like many others, football opened doors for him, giving him new opportunities in school, Cotton added.

“I started playing football when I was 8 years old,” Cotton said. “I

played down at the Milpitas night field, I got signed up, and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Despite the setback of losing against the Cowboys, Benavidez feels assured about winning the upcoming games, he said. With the effort that the team has put into the season, they are prepared for what is ahead of them, he said.

“I’m confident we can win the next game,” Benavidez said. “We’re going to come back together and come back stronger than ever.”

At this point, the team is trying to continue playing, ignoring outside influences of the past or possible future, King said. The team was able to compete for the NorCal title the past two years, but ended up losing both games within the last minute, according the King. This year, they will focus on their current task at hand and aim for playing the section title, he said.

“It’s about our effort and limiting our mistakes, playing well together and knowing our assignments; that’s what we’re focused on now,” King said.

“We’re going to work hard and we’re going to try our best to win and win the NorCal title.”

On Dec. 9, the Varsity Football team won the school’s first NorCal title in any sport, Lamb said in an email. The MHS team defeated the Campolindo Cougars 52-38 at Campolindo High School, he said.

Phoenix Track Club runs like wildfire

BY ANDREW DINH LUKE REN

Club track and field practices year-round, offering an alternative to seasonal school track and field. Phoenix Track Club is a local track and field club thatempowers many MHS athletes to pursue their passion for the sport off campus.

Because club track and field is done off campus, athletes have more personal freedom than when they are bound to a team, Junior Emily Truong said. Coaches spend more time focusing on the individuals in club track and field rather than the team as a whole, Truong continued.

“There’s not really much of a difference, it’s just you’re not forced to doing anything inclub track rather than in school you have to do certain events,” Truong said.

“It’s hard to workout at school and you don’t get as much help as you do in club.”

Because coaches spend more time with the athletes individually, they are able to assist the athletes better, Junior Heng Tan

stated. In comparison to school track and field, club track and field provides more opportunity for the athletes to improve, Tan continued.

“With school track and field, there are limits and less freedom in the way that we do things. The coaches try their best to understand the athlete’s body in the quick sprint season,” Tan said.

“With outside track, the coaches step up their game in the ways that they understand more of the athlete's capabilities and give more freedom to the athletes.”

Club track and field is meant to train the athletes for when the school track and field season starts, Tan said. Because club track and field is year-long, athletes are able to preparebetter for the competitions during school track and field season, Tan added. The fitness that club track and field builds for student athletes allows them to enter competitions more confidently than athletes who simply train during the annual school season, Tan continued.

“Club track doesn't end, so it’s

every week for the whole year until track season comes,” Tan said.

“All the hard work and effort put into track outside of school really shows during the season when races come,” Tan continued.

Club track and field provides athletes the opportunity to challenge themselves against other athletes of the same caliber, Sophomore Jessica Nguyen said.

Because the club team is not as big as the school team, club track and field offers athletes a better chance to bond with each other, Nguyen added.

“I enjoy the environment. The people are amazing and I love the sport,” Nguyen said. “The most rewarding thing about doing club track and field is getting fast enough to beat [other people] and run with faster people I never thought I could run with before.”

Effort is integral to success in track and field, Tan said. Everyone strives to be the best athlete they can be, resulting in a resilient culture and dedicated work ethic.

“Get ready for a lot of hard work and sore days,” Tan said.

Student athlete plays extracurricular ice hockey

BY ARIANA KHATEEB

With the winter season, comes the hockey season. Senior Sonal Mehta shares her unique experience playing with the San Jose Junior Sharks hockey team.

Q: What position do you play?

A: Right wing. It’s a forward on the right side.

Q: How long does your season usually last?

A: We started in August and we’ll have playoffs in March.

Q: How did you start playing?

A: I got into hockey with this event called “Girls Give Hockey a Try” where they give you all the

gear and give you a mini lesson for an hour and a half as you skate with all the gear. I was doing figure skating before for a couple of years and then I found out about this event. My brother was doing hockey so I wanted to try it out.

I liked it more and then I just switched over.

Q: What made ice hockey more appealing than figure skating?

A: Ice hockey is more of a team sport and it is more unpredictable. Figure skating is when you prepare a routine and you do it and ice hockey is more like when you adapt to the situation.

Q: Was it difficult to transition from figure skating to hockey?

A: It was at first, but not really. It’s just that the blade is shorter so you have to get used to it, but I got used to it pretty quick.

Q: What do you like best about ice hockey?

A: I like how I don’t have to do any running. Skating is much more fun than running because you are gliding. The blade is thin for the ice skate so it is super cool that you can go on the edges.

Q: What has your team won?

A: We won a division game once when I was a sophomore. We were division champs of the JV division. Recently, my team won a tournament in Colorado.

DECEMBER 2017

SPORTS

New wrestling coach moves team practice room

OPINIONS

13

PRO

BY ANTHONY NGUYEN DEVYN NGUYEN

New Wrestling Head Coach Jake Tanenbaum has high expectations for the team, hoping to build a strong program at MHS, Tanenbaum said. With many returning CCS qualifiers and projected state qualifiers, the Milpitas team is looking very solid, he said. Aside from the veteran wrestlers returning to the program, Tanenbaum has high hopes for some first year wrestlers, he added.

“We’re trying to build a legacy here at Milpitas, one that will last quite some time,” Tanenbaum said. “It all starts with the freshman coming in, having the attitude of expecting to win,” Despite Tanenbaum’s high hopes for this year’s team, he is in no rush to build the program up, Tanenbaum said. The main focus of the team is on the new wrestlers, and with many hard-working young wrestlers, Tanenbaum believes the team is well off, he said.

“The ultimate goal for every individual is to win a state championship,” Tanenbaum said. “It’s definitely a process, but those who are willing to put in the time and effort can get there. Especially the young ones who have lots of time ahead of them.”

Along with the change in coaching philosophy and area of focus, Tanenbaum has also changed practice locations, Tanenbaum said. As owner of the Milpitas Smash Gyms, Tanenbaum has held some practices at Smash Gyms rather than MHS. This change was made due to the space constraints of MHS, he said.

“We are still holding practices at Milpitas high, with the exception of some being at Smash due to the sheer numbers of our team,” Tanenbaum said. “It’s nice to have a facility able to hold all 50 of us without having to worry about injuries or bumping into each other.

THE UNION

Athletic meetings are essential, necessary for athlete awareness

KIRK TRAN THE UNION

Varsity wrestler Chris Manisay (right) practices his standing position with assistant coach John de Gula (left) at the new Smash Gyms location.

Despite the larger practice facility and newer equipment, the main issue for some wrestlers has been the commute to the new practice location, Wrestler Joshua Gomez said. With the new practice location, both off-campus and far from campus, ride complications have been an issue for the team, Gomez said.

“Having practice at Smash Gyms is a lot better since there is much more space than the wrestling room at MHS,” Gomez said.

“The only problem with commuting is that there is sometimes not enough space and people have to ask for last minute rides.”

For the most part, returning wrestlers have been open to the new changes Tanenbaum has brought to the team. Despite this, many wrestlers were sad to see former Wrestling Head Coach, Kent Mitchell step down, saidWrestler Linden Aly. “Mitchell’s departure has actually been pretty sad for a variety of reasons such as us missing his foolishness, strong coach sympathy, and his long talks and rambles about random stories,” Aly said.

Although Mitchell has stepped down as head coach of the team, his presence is still evident amongst the team, Wrestler Vivek Chotai said. Chotai often sees Mitchell coaching at practices, Chotai said.

“Mr. Mitchell still stops by many times, so he’s still coaching basically, he's like an assistant coach. He’s pretty much still at practice,” Chotai said.

With Mitchell’s departure as head coach, Mitchell hopes that the wrestling program will still bring in many athletes as it did in the past, Mitchell said. Mitchell hopes that the athletes will continue to have commitment and work ethics involved in being a wrestler, he said.

“The numbers have been pretty good in the years and I hope that we keep the numbers and keep the kids a good amount coming out that are really getting the experience of what it's like to work hard and bust your butt and commit to something that is tough,” Mitchell said. “But my hope would be that after the change, the program doesn’t dissipate and kind of continues to prosper.”

Student athletes, along with Because of the sheer volume of their parents, must attend at knowledge that must be known least one so-called parent athlete before starting the athletic seameeting per year, lest they be de- son, options to spread this knowlnied the right to compete. Despite edge are fairly limited; there are being boring, they are needed to only so many ways one can presfoster a healthy athletic depart- ent an hour’s worth of informament for myriad different rea- tion. It’s not as if the entirety of sons. a meeting’s content can be sent The parent athlete meetings over the course of the morning cover a variety of different athlet- announcements. ic topics, from sportsmanship to Let’s say the content of the athconcussion safety to behavioral letic meetings were distributed by standards. All of this e-mail or letter mail or information is of parsomething of that sort amount importance rather than by the spoto any student athlete ken word. In that case, because all of this inthere’d be zero guarformation directly reantee that the athlete fers to the conditions or the parent received an athlete must follow the information, let to be an athlete; if this alone processed or uninformation were not derstood it, defeating so readily available or the point of sending it even slightly inaccesin that way in the first KIRK sible, there would be place. In short, the TRAN much more frustration meetings are completethan the amount the ly necessary and are meetings incite now. the best way to achieve Of course, just because the in- their goal: to inform the school’s formation presented in the par- athletes of what they need to do to ent athlete meetings is important join their respective teams or not does not mean that the meetings get cut. The meetings also grant themselves are in and of them- several minor boons. selves important; the need to The meetings force all athletes spread information about athlet- to gather, allowing coaches to reics mandates a vector but that vec- lay information and plan practictor doesn’t necessarily need to be es with team size in mind. They an hour long meeting in the gym. also give the athletes information Given the weaknesses of other on team size, allowing them to options and the amount of infor- understand their competition in mation being spread, it becomes making the team. apparent that the parent athlete The meetings are long and bormeetings are the best option. ing, but useless they are not.

CON

Athletic meetings boring, needs alternative solution The athletic meeting is a man- not have to attend again for the datory meeting that students par- rest of the school year, but that ticipating in MHS athletics and should be expected. The problem their parents or guardians must is that this meeting is important attend in order for the child to enough to cover once so that evtry-out for a team. eryone is aware of how to behave, It’s unfair to make parents and but it is not worth reviewing it to athletes attend the same meeting the point that it has to happen eveach year. Many parents have to ery year a student participates in attend multiple meetings if they a sport. have more than one Another reason why child trying out in difthe athletic meetings ferent seasons. must change their sysOn top of that, the tem is the strict rules meeting’s content rareon timing that make ly varies and we are it difficult for parents forced to watch the who couldn’t make the exact same video each meeting on time. They time. Listening to the get locked out of the dos and don’ts of being gym and instead of bea supportive parent ing pardoned and let of an athlete, the dry ANANYA inside, they wait idly in DONAPATI humor in each scene front of the gym for an only exacerbates our opportunity to sneak boredom. These athin. In past years, late letic meetings are unnecessarily parents and athletes would rush repetitive. There needs to be an inside when given the chance, efficient change to the system. disregarding apprehension by any A good alternative would be to faculty. At times, even coaches make the meetings mandatory for would sneak parents and students parents that have students who in during the meeting for the sake are participating in MHS athlet- of their athlete. ics for the first time. After one Sure, there is second meeting meeting, parents and students for those who miss the first but will have the knowledge on how for parents locked out the first to behave, so there is no need to one this is a huge inconvenience repeat the same information to on top of being locked out the first people who are already aware. meeting. The chaos outside the I appreciate the fact that if the gym doors is getting out of hand, parent and student attend the and that is why the system runmeeting in the fall season they do ning right now is inefficient.

14

THE UNION

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DECEMBER 2017

DECEMBER 2017

NEWS

T HE U NION

15

Debate succeeds at the recent competition

BY THEODORE DO HOPE DO

Courtesy of Taylor Tran

Senior Vivian Le, Junior Anvi Brahmbatt, Senior Catherine Yang, and Senior DiAngelo Jacquez (left to right) organize the collected cans into their respective boxes.

ASB hosts annual Jack Emery drive; leadership launches Winter Wishes

BY ASHLEY CHEN MORGAN LEI

The Jack Emery Drive, which lasts from Nov. 15 to Dec. 13, aims to support the Milpitas Food Pantry through can collections and monetary donations, Activities Director Joanna Butcher said. If 19,000 cans are collected by the last day of the drive, students will receive a minimum day on the Friday before Spring Break, Butcher added.

The cans that students bring in count towards their first period class, according to the MHS Jack Emery Drive Goals and Incentives Flyer.

Awards for each class are determined by the average number of cans per student, the Flyer said.

“The Milpitas Food Pantry relies on about 65% of their donations coming in directly from our district canned food drive. That includes the monetary donations as well,” Butcher said. “They do have a small garden that doesn’t really grow a lot of stuff and so the monetary donations help the Food Pantry in regards to buying fresh fruit and vegetables and

meats.”

Another event going on during the holiday season is Winter Wishes, which is a program that runs from Jan. to Feb. in which students and staff can nominate wishes for one another, said Leadership Student Alfa Belen. As a way to pay for wishes, Leadership holds an online auction where students, teachers, or businesses can offer services or items and 100% of the proceeds go towards granting students’ wishes, Belen added.

“This year, our auction is based on Instagram,” Belen said. “I think Instagram is a better platform because more students are definitely more active on Instagram than they are on Facebook, and last year there was a small variety of students that participated in the auction.”

Winter Wishes is a great program because it really reaches out to students in need, Belen said. Some examples of wishes would be to pay for a student’s AP test or to get a scarf for another student who has been really kind and has shown acts of generosity, she added.

The MHS Speech and Debate Club has started off their season this year with the most successes at once so far, with members earning multiple bids for the Tournament of Champions, Speech and Debate Club Advisor Charles Schletzbaum said. Known as the TOC, the Tournament of Champions is one of the three national-level tournaments near the end of the school year that draws competitors from all over the United States, he said.

A major reason for the success the team has seen so far this school year is the hiring of outside coaches for practices, Schletzbaum said. The addition of two new coaches definitely helped to increase the amount of

practice and support for the debaters and speakers, he continued. With the help of funds raised from hosting tournaments in the previous debate season, the team hired two coaches to guide the members in their respective events.

“I’ve been too busy managing the team to coach the team for a couple of years because we get too many tournaments,” Schletzbaum said. “I’ve got a lot of administration that prevented me from doing a lot of coaching. Now that I have somebody to take over parts of those, more coaching gets done.”

Having some direction with regard to the line of argumentation and strategy-building has contributed to the debaters’ successes this year, Public Forum Debate Coach Victor Rivas Umana said. With their energy,

enthusiasm, and determination to have a successful season, the debaters have a lot of potential and have the potential to exceed those expectations, Umana continued.

“I look forward to coaching here for the next couple of years and building up this program to the level where Mission San Jose was in the past,” Umana said. “I think that this is a school that could definitely do it, so I look forward to that part of their success.”

The team of Junior Nisha Porchezhiyan and Sophomore Neval Mulaomerovic has earned two bids for the TOC, becoming the third pair to have a guaranteed spot in the tournament in the history of the MHS team, he said. Sophomore Devika Kumar also earned her first bid to the TOC as a speech competitor.

Mona Lisas to initiate prom location excitement early

BY ERIC DE GUZMAN LUKE REN

Posters showing the Mona Lisa painting were hung up on buildings at MHS during the end of November and the beginning of December, Class of 2019 President Clowie Angelica Ravanera said. The posters were put up to hint at the location where prom will be held and generate excitement for prom early in the school year.

The student who guesses the correct location where prom will be held will gain a discount for half of the price of their prom ticket, Ravanera said. The Mona Lisa posters were hung on the L building, in front of the theater, and on the bathrooms locat-

ed between the E-building and the theater, Ravanera added.

“It’s basically a prom publicity stunt,” Ravanera said. “Prices are going to be really high and this creates the hype for prom.”

The junior class officers of 2019 wanted to pick a famous piece of artwork because it relates to the location of the venue, Ravanera said. The locations of the Mona Lisa posters are the only other part of the clue, Ravanera added.

“I feel like the Mona Lisa is just such a staple that everyone knows,” Ravanera said. “Everyone would know that’s the Mona Lisa. That’s just like an art piece that everyone would know.”

The goal of the Mona Lisa posters was to excite the students for prom early, Butcher said. This approach allows for a buildup of hype rather than waiting until March to start the excitement, Butcher added.

The posters were too random and confusing for students to understand what they meant, Senior Steven Ong said. Because of this, students were not able to connect the posters to prom and gain excitement for the event, he added.

“It just seemed like another school decoration,” Ong said. “The Mona Lisas did not make me curious for prom.

I didn’t pay any attention to the posters so I can’t recall if it said prom or not on there.”

WASC to review MHS for mid-cycle accredidation

BY SHREEYA ARANAKE

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or WASC, will be coming to MHS for a mid-cycle review from April 30th to May 1st, according to Assistant Principal Skyler Draeger.

WASC is an organization that assures the quality of schools and colleges for the western region of the United States, according to its website.

The WASC team comes every six years, and leaves recommendations on areas the school can improve on, Draeger said. Then, after three years, they come for a mid-cycle review to

check up on the school’s progress, which is what is taking place this school year, Draeger continued.

“WASC wants to make sure that schools are safe, and that they are providing a standardized education to their students,” Principal Francis Rojas said. “We actually look at what the needs are, and make sure that all the staff members, students, and community members are involved in the decision making.”

MHS gives WASC a list of things that they were working on at the time of the six year check-up, and so WASC also looks to see if the school has improved by their own measures

as well as WASC’s, according to Draeger. MHS also needs to show proof of the school’s work, Draeger continued.

“One of the areas [the school needed to improve in] was community outreach, which is looking at fostering better communication between MHS and he community of Milpitas, or the parents of the students at MHS,” Draeger said.

MHS must prove this effort to the WASC, Draeger said. For examplew, MHS would show power points from parent nights, or have proof of flyers or emails sent out by the school to the students and/or parents, Draeger continued.

Cameras added to cover blind spots

BY KATHERINE HUBENY

New security cameras are being installed on campus, Assistant Principal Jennifer Hutchison said. The cameras are being added because there are still some blind spots administration does not have view of, Hutchison explained.

MHS originally had 72 cameras, and seven new cameras were purchased for slightly less than $6,000, Hutchison said. The price includes the cost of the camera, wiring, and installation, she added. Six of these cameras have already been installed and the next one should be installed sometime within the next week to fill the holes, Hutchison said.

“We have some blind spots on our campus,” Hutchison explained. “We have found that there have been times when it would be helpful to have cameras in those locations where the blind spots have been.”

The cameras are very helpful and effective, according to Principal Francis Rojas. These new additions cover dead spots to ensure safety and security on the campus, Rojas explained.

“The resolution is pretty decent,” Rojas said. “It’s helped us solve prob-

lems when there are people who trespass on campus, things happen on weekends, or when there are fights on campus.”

The cameras are only used to investigate situations, according to Hutchison. The administration uses the data from the cameras to support their claims if something has happened, she explained.

“I don’t feel that it’s invading anybody’s privacy because we’re not sitting here staring at people,” Hutchison explained. “Nobody sits and spends their day looking at cameras.

After something has occurred, we’re able to go back and review and be able to investigate further.”

The new cameras on campus were not even noticeable, Senior Isaac Chang said. The added security cameras are meant to be used as a deterrent for inappropriate behavior, but this will only affect a few people, and majority of the school’s population will go unnoticed, Chang continued.

“I won’t disagree that the security cameras add to the safety of the school,” Chang said. “But when you have benches on campus that don’t even have seats like the one behind the L-building, you should question if this is money well spent.”

courtesy of Vicky Lu

The MHS marching band performs the piece “Gifts of the Earth” during their last competition at Fairfield High School.

The band won grand sweepstakes in general and visual effect, as well as earning trophies for several musical sections.

Marching band plans to improve after competitions

BY KEVIN DAI

The marching band season has come to an end with its last competition being held at Fairfield High School, according to Trumpet Section Leader Harrison Lok. They received multiple awards.

Out of twenty schools at the competition, the MHS Marching Band ended second in their division and received two sweepstakes awards, overall awards for general performance and visual arts, Marching

Band Director Chris Kaldy said. The band also placed second in brass and woodwinds overall, he continued.

“We had a lot of new people this year,” Kaldy said. “Just getting everybody all on the same page and performing together and understanding how that all was gonna work out was definitely a challenge for us, but we made it work.”

Overall, the band did well this season even if it wasn’t as good as they wanted to be, according to Lok. “Most of our competitions, we didn’t really place that much. We

didn’t perform up to the level that we all wanted to. It wasn’t until the last couple of competitions that we started actually winning stuff,” Lok said.

This season was overall less than average, but they still managed, Color Guard Captain Virginia Lien said.

“Since the beginning, we changed instructors, that kind of threw us off.

It was all good at the end,” Lien said.

“I think it could have been better, but it was more like how we didn’t give as much dedication as we have done in the past, but I’m very happy with what we came up with in the end.”

16

THE UNION

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DECEMBER 2017