On the Road Again

Paly gearheads restore classic rides

Lifestyles, B1

The Campanile
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto Senior High School 50 Embarcadero Rd.
Palo Alto, CA 94301

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Vol. XC, No. 7 http://voice.paly.net Monday, March 17, 2008

NEWS
Students boogie
for Africa
Mock trial team to compete for state title
Paly mock trial wins county competition, qualifying for states, after numerous hardships
Paly freshmen plan dance
By Auster Chen Mock Trial captain and defense attor- prosecution team. Each side consists “Winning county was incredible
to raise money for poor ney Andrew Nizamian said. of a pre-trial attorney, three trial at- since Santa Clara county has 24 teams
Staff Writer
Africans PAGE A2 Palo Alto High School’s Mock “Our win at county was unexpect- torneys, four witnesses and a clerk or with experienced law firms helping
Trial team will compete in the Califor- ed,” sophomore witness Eoin Whitney bailiff. One school’s defense competes them out,” Nizamian said.
OPINION nia State Mock Trial Competition from said. “We only had a few practices and against another school’s prosecution Paly’s Mock Trial team lost 12
Mar. 28 through Mar. 30 in Riverside no scrimmages against each other, and argues the case before a judge and out of 18 of its members last year;
after its victory at the Santa Clara but the team just came together under scoring attorneys, whose score is based this year originally was only ex-
Saved by the county finals on Feb. 29. Andrew [Nizamian].” on both material and presentation. Each pected to be a period of rebuilding.
The Mock Trial team pulled Mock Trial competitions follow county sends one team to states. Santa “No one expected us to win this Courtesy of Amin Ronaghi
bell? through setbacks from earlier in the the style of a real trial, with each Clara county has 24 teams — the most Senior Andrew Nizamian
Details of proposed four year including a relatively new team, school bringing both a defense and of any county. See MOCK TRIAL, Page A3 gives his closing statement.
block schedule and 8:15
start debated. PAGE A5

SPORTS Basketball team focuses on future ASB prepares

Release your for prom
inner ninja after CCS infraction ends season
Student council
members focus on
Elizabeth Petit/The Campanile

semester projects

By Jillian Liu
CCS eligibility rules state that Staff Writer
Paly students involved in the players must have semester grades Over the past couple of months, Palo
ancient Japanese martial art on their transcript. Alto High School’s Associated Student
of ninjutsu. PAGE A10 Body has not only worked to make the
school appeal more to the student populace
SPOTLIGHT After further inquiry, McEvoy and ensure that events run smoothly, but
reported the discrepancy in Hall’s also continued to beautify the campus.
A day in the transcript to CCS headquarters Planning for prom is currently under-
way. Prom will be held at San Francisco
life... City Hall on Apr. 5 with the theme “I Left
My Heart in San Francisco,” a spin-off of
A look inside the everyday
Tony Bennett’s signature song. However,
lives and jobs of Paly
the decorations are meant to be a surprise
staffers. PAGE A6 Hansen approved Hall’s transcript,
and will not be revealed until the night of
and says he was not aware of the the dance.
infraction.
FEATURES Limousine sign-ups have begun and
will last until Mar. 20. ASB has also already
Boys pursue set the prom ticket prices at $85 with an
ASB card and $95 without.
ballet hopes “Prom is more expensive this year
because the location, San Francisco
Diepenbrock, who says he was
City Hall, was much more expensive to
unaware of Hall’s infraction, had to reserve,” ASB Treasurer Bowen Wang
forfeit 11 of the team’s wins.
Michela F-B/The Campanile

said.
Hall is ineligible to play having The tickets can be purchased at the
auditor’s office up until the Friday before
already completed eight semesters the dance, but ASB encourages students
of high school. to buy them ahead of time from the online
Paly boys pirouette and By Kevin Harvey eight semesters of high school in Oct. of 2007 “I talked about my plans with the administra- Paly store, The Viking Shoppe or to pur-
Staff Writer while still in Australia. tion for months before attending Paly,” Hall said. chase them in the Tower Building.
plié their way to the dance According to Wang, Paly spent over
studio PAGE B6 The Palo Alto High School boys Varsity However, the Australian public school sys- “I wanted to make sure that I was able to play no
basketball team was recently disqualified from the tem continues grade school through a thirteenth matter what. I really wanted to continue play- $54,000 on all of last year’s dances,
with prom making up the majority of the
Paly staffer Central Coast Section playoffs after forfeiting 11
winning games from their overall season record
year, which then interfered with Hall’s CCS
eligibility.
ing basketball through high school, as I always
have.” expenses.
pitches PETA due to the ineligibility of senior forward Ed Hall,
effectively ending their season.
During Aug. 2007, Hall discussed his plans to
transfer to Paly with the administration, including
However, because he began attending Paly
on Nov. 25, more than half-way through the first
“This year dance expenses will only
be higher,” Wang said.
Paly staff member Ronald Hall, who transferred to Paly from Australia his desire to continue playing basketball, as he did ASB is also participating in semester
Brown speaks about his in the middle of first semester, already completed for his school in Australia. See BASKETBALL, Page A2 projects.
“A semester project is a project that
animal activism. PAGE B5

Library considers adding security cameras

each officers comes up with to improve
the school or make Paly a more fun place,”
A&E ASB President Mohammed Abid said.
By Alex Greene The projects are designed to help
Find me in Staff Writer
As a result of the Martin Luther
improve Paly by making the school look
better, helping it run more efficiently,
the club King weekend library vandalism, the adding more entertainment for the student
Palo Alto High School administration body or by helping students improve their
Illusions and Abyss’ The is considering installing security academics.
Glow offer night clubs for cameras in the library as a deterrent One major project that several mem-
teens. PAGE B8 towards similar acts in the future. bers of ASB are working on is the renova-
The damages from the vandal- tion of the “senior deck.” The students in
ONLINE ism amounted to less than $500, charge, Senior Class President Sahar Raz,
Paly Librarian Rachel Kellerman Junior Class President Erik Klingbeil and
said. While the monetary damages Sophomore Class President Alex Freeman,
Fun in the sun may seem small, the money used to
repair the damages must be taken
hope to expand the deck and change it to
resemble an amphitheater.
on campus from the small amount set aside for “The project is set,” Abid said.
buying books, posters and library “[Klingbeil] has already made a contract
services. for rebuilding and tearing down the cur-
Julia Benton/The Campanile
Julia Benton/The Campanile

“We don’t want to have to spend rent deck.”

money on things like this,” Keller-
man said.
In addition to monetary dam-
age, small changes will be made in
the library.
View this edition’s photo “One change due to the vandal-
collage in vivid color. ism is that the library is opening a
http://voice.paly.net/
view_story.php?id=6499
little later in the day,” Kellerman said.
“[Library Assistant Deborah] Henry
and I have to make a complete loop
INDEX around the library every morning
News: A1-A3 Opinion: A4-A5, A8 [to make sure no vandalism or theft
Spotlight: A6-A7 Sports: A9-A12 had occurred during the previous
Lifestyles: B1 Features: B2-B6 night].”
A&E: B7-B12
After the vandalism that took place over the Martin Luther King Day weekend, Paly Librarian
A project that involves adding or
Rachel Kellerman is considering using some of the library’s limited budget on security cameras.
building to the school is considered a
So far, no formal plans have been According to Berkson, the cost Students around school have had capital investment and requires a long
made to install a security system, of the potential cameras would be varying opinions about the effective- process to gain school approval. The pro-
according to Kellerman. under $1000 dollars. ness of cameras. cess includes notifying the school about
“The cameras are just an idea,” A major concern of Kellerman’s “I don’t think there is a way to the project, why ASB wants to do it and
Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson is how the vandals entered the li- prevent these types of things,” Junior
where the funding would come from.
said. “There is no timeline.” brary, most likely through a hatch Amin Ronaghi said. After Paly approves the project, the
Other ideas are also being dis- in the roof. While a variety of options are school will receive projected expenditures
cussed with the administration. “We want to keep kids safe,” still on the drawing board, there is and ASB will work with Assistant Prin-
“We could change all the locks Kellerman said. “We need to make no clear solution to preventing future cipal Chuck Merritt and the construction
on the doors and install motion de- sure there is a deterrent. If kids think vandalism. company to work out the details of the
tecting lights on the outside of the there is a security system [in place] “The biggest and best deterrent is project.
library,” Berkson said. it will hopefully help.” the student body,” Kellerman said.
See ASB, Page A3
 A&E

1
B12 • March 17, 2008 The Campanile

Local artist paints the town in

By Julia Benton
Staff Writer
Don’t be too surprised if, while walking through
downtown Palo Alto, an alien saucer appears to have
1700
crashed into the sidewall of the Comerica Bank building.
Or, while heading to Gelato Classico for a chocolate ice
cream, there are two green aliens climbing up the nearby
stairway. And don’t be alarmed by the boy fishing for mail
outside the Hamilton Station Post Office.
These images are part of artist Greg Brown’s series of
trompe-l’oeil murals, titled “Palo Alto Pedestrians,” which
are scattered throughout Palo Alto. Brown completed most
of his public murals of aliens, bank robbers and pelicans

Julia Benton/ The Campanile

in the mid-1970s and many still remain today.
“When I first started painting the murals I thought
they might last around two years, or until somebody
painted over them,” Brown said. “I didn’t expect them
to be preserved.”
Brown became interested in art at a young age and
began painting with oil paints by the time he was eight.
When he was 12 years old, Brown began an apprentice-
ship with Italian painter Roberto Lupetti.
“It got to the point where I was so involved in art that
I didn’t know how to do anything else,” Brown said. “It
was either make it with the art or I don’t know.”
After graduating from Palo Alto High School in 1969,
Brown moved to London for a year to pursue his interest in
art. While there, he wrote a screenplay with a friend and
returned to California to produce it. Though the screen-
play was never made into an actual movie, Brown began
showing some of his artwork in local galleries.
“I painted and sold paintings in galleries for a number
of years before I did mural work, but I found the murals
to be a lot more fun just because of the activity and inter-
action with people,” Brown said. “Every project is with
a new personality and that is something that has always
intrigued me.”
Brown worked on a few small murals around Palo
Alto before he started on his pedestrian mural series. His
first inspiration for the Palo Alto series came to him by
accident.
“I was just doodling one day and I came up with a
character that I wanted to see on a wall,” Brown said.
“It was a little guy with a trench coat that people called
‘The Spy.’”
After receiving permission from the city, Brown
painted his first mural on a wall of the building where
Taxi’s Diner is now located in downtown Palo Alto.
Brown later added a bird to the spy’s hat because so many
people believed that the man was real and were scared of
the suspicious-looking figure.
“A city council member was frightened by the mural
when he went to buy a newspaper nearby,” Brown said.
“He went to a city council meeting and said that if this
was public art we don’t want it, this is terrible, get rid of
it. So I quickly went out and painted another one.”
Brown’s second mural, of a man pushing an alien in a
stroller, is still located on the wall of Restoration Hardware
at 280 University Ave. Brown originally painted a cat in
the stroller, but later changed it to the alien.
Brown later painted 13 other murals around Palo Alto.
His creations include “Two Aliens Climbing Stairway”
(436 Emerson St.), “Bird on Lady’s Garden Hose” (499
Hamilton Ave.) and “Polar Bear on Crutch Consulting
With Doctor in Inset Archway” (Building G at Stanford
Shopping Center).
“We asked Greg [Brown] to paint a mural for us
because we loved his whimsical creations downtown,”
Nora Cain, Director of the Stanford Health Library, said.
“He did a great job and now a lot of people stop to take
their picture by the mural.”
To create his Palo Alto murals, Brown draws detailed
drawings of his planned design to be approved by the
city. He then blows up the drawing using a projector on
to butcher paper and traces his design on the wall.
Artist Greg Brown’s series of trompe-l’oeil murals, which are painted around Palo Alto, includes “Bird on
Lady’s Garden Hose” (left) and “Polar Bear on Crutch Consulting With Doctor in Inset Archway”(right).
After mixing his paints, Brown paints the mural,
which usually takes him a few days to complete though
the length of time depends on the size and detail of each
specific mural.
Brown uses acrylic paints to create the murals because
they dry quickly.
“I was trained in oils and I love oil paints, but they take
six months to dry,” Brown said. “You can’t use them on the
side of a building that gets exposure to sun and rain.”
Though Brown doesn’t have a favorite subject to paint,
he enjoys interacting with and painting people. Brown
paints his murals with the mindset that a passerby can
either become involved with the painting or just simply
walk by.
“They’re kind of like open-ended stories,” Brown
said, referring to his murals. “Whatever somebody wants
to make of them, that’s what they are.”
Many of the characters Brown uses for his paintings
are from his imagination, but for most of the human char-
acters in the Palo Alto murals he used models.
“My models were a brother-in-law, my wife and a
friend,” Brown said. “I just put them in different predica-
ments.”
For Brown, there’s not a big difference between paint-
ing murals and painting on canvas; the main difference is
that the murals are simply larger.
“I’ve done a thousand square foot murals and I can do
them in the same time it takes me to do a painting that is
just 10 by 20 inches because the murals are bigger, looser
Julia Benton/The Campanile
and you use bigger brushes.” Brown said. “The smaller
the painting, the more intricate it needs to be and it’s more
time consuming for me.”
Brown has painted murals in Europe, as well as in
the United States. Palo Alto’s “sister city” of Linkoping,
Sweden is home to one of Brown’s murals. The mural is
of a violin player hanging from a second floor balcony
on a concert hall.
“I don’t really have a favorite,” Brown said of his
murals. “I can go through a portfolio and say I’ll probably
never do a mural better than that, but generally the one I
just finished is the one I like best.”
Brown works on private projects in addition to creat-
ing public murals. Usually a client will not have a prefer-
ence as to what Brown paints, though he tries to make the
process a collaborative effort.
“I still make the mural somehow be a part of their
personality and their eccentricities.” Brown said. “Whether
they ask for it or not, usually it involves the client.”
Brown is currently working on a few small projects
and recently completed a painting which he has been try-
ing to finish for over a year. Brown will also be teaching
a mural painting workshop over the summer in Palo Alto
for artists ages 13 to 18 years. Participants in the work-
shop will design and paint a mural on a wall inside the
Rinconada Pool area.
“We’re going to try to make the mural look really
special,” Brown said. “I would like to leave something
that has a professional feel to it.”
This edition featuring
Erik Klingbeil
with The Campanile’s own
Gloria Yu and Alex Greene
The Campanile: I heard you like Tila Tequila.
Erik Klingbeil: Well we…we share a little thing
goin’ on the side. It all started when I was back in my
hometown of Mexico and…
TC: But she’s from Texas.
EK: Oh... well, there you go. She and I were goin’ on a
little fling in Mexico. I was just, uh, I was just chillin’
with my G girls, mmmm-hmmmm.
TC: How does Tila know you?
EK: Tila knows me from somewhere else and let me
tell you, it’s not the school, it’s not the track, it’s not
the car... maybe the bathroom... maybe my bedroom... I
don’t know.
TC: Dance Pole...
EK: Kinda dance pole? Party stage.
TC: Do you think one could compare her to Monica
Lewinsky?
EK: Yes, only just a little wilder. I’d say she’s got the
whole hair thing down. She’s a little shorter.
TC: I just want to know if you’re with her or not.
EK: Basically, she loves me passionately. Can you
ignore that? She loves me! Passionately!
TC: I wanna talk to you about your election. Got
any words for your supporters?
EK: Tila Tequila is going to be my campaign manager
this year, so she’s gonna be hollerin’ back at all these
girls and she’ll have a little special somethin’ for the
guys.
TC: Stripes and stars?
EK: Stripes and stars! Green and white!
TC: Can you recite some of the lines from Tila’s
song?
EK: Um, basically it’s just something about... “I don’t
wanna f*** your man because, uh, because they all,
basically, wanna f*** me. I already did anyway.” That’s
slightly paraphrased.
TC: She kinda puts my feelings into words.
EK: Does she really? She makes my heart sing. Most
girls make it go a little thump thump, but she makes my
heart sing.
TC: What is the point of running in the pool for
track?
EK: So running in the pool, let me tell you, is
something else. It’s something special called Aqua
Jogging. It’s got like this whole new sound: Awkwa
JJaowggin.

Elegant atmosphere, cuisine at Bistro 412
By Alan Chu
Senior Staff Writer
Eating at Bistro 412 is essentially eat-
ing for atmosphere. The ambiance oozes
muted elegance and the lights seem to
reflect that, since they are dimmed down
low as if someone forgot to flip the switch
on. Soft rock plays in the background. The
sole exception to the clean, sleek image is a
turntable tucked away behind a podium.
The architecture is a vague rectangle
but the wall bends in one sharp angle, so
the building appears to be missing a few
chunks. The building is relatively small as
most of the tables are outside in the back
on the patio. The patio itself is a brick
courtyard with several umbrellas.
Inside, there are only four tables along
with chairs similar to lawn chairs. One side
of the inside wall is devoted solely to the
bar, set up along with two plasma screen
televisions.
The opposite side is filled with couches
instead of the traditional booths and tiny
black tables that can barely fit more than
four plates. The decoration is sparse. Noth-
ing hangs about the walls or placed on top
of the hardwood floor. The environment is
sterile with low lighting.
There is a small staff, about two appear
outside in the room at one time or another.
One of the waiters seems to be completely
devoted to serving. Another tends to the bar,
whether there are customers or not. This
seems strange since the room needs at least
two people to serve customers.
The menu is brochure-like and concise,
with only two pages of text. The menu only
states the names and prices of items. This
lowers the ordering time considerably, but
it makes the restaurant seem like a bleak
building, devoted only to efficiency.
Bistro 412 serves innovative, but expensive American cuisine, including
filet-wrapped asparagus and grilled salmon with pasta in a creamy sauce.
Like most restaurants, the food comes
with a considerable wait time. Even though
the style is American Cuisine, there are no
traditional American dishes. Bistro 412
seems to take a purist route of only having
entrees and no sides.
The apple salad ($8.00) is nothing
more than a medley of lettuce and apples
on a small ceramic plate. The price seems
to be set by the plate and not the salad
itself. The plate is drizzled with dressing
in a decorative swirling fashion, but this is
superfluous, since the decoration is never
eaten, only looked upon. The vinaigrette
dressing is not too sour. The apples add a
crunch to the whole dish but contribute
no extra taste.
The steak frites ($23.00), on the other
hand, seems worthy of its price. The steak
is tender and soft enough to eat without
Elizabeth Petit/The Campanile
a knife. The beef’s taste seems to dance
lightly on the palette, giving a pleasant and
addictive aftertaste.
The whole dish is served with garlic
fries, which contrasts the steak with its
sharp, spicy taste. Thankfully, the two
complement each other’s taste instead of
overriding each other.
The braised lamb shank ($25.00)
should not be on the menu. The dish is
not even remotely American. But the taste
keeps it there. The lamb shank comes on
top of a bed of couscous in a relatively
large plate.
The lamb itself is nothing but fat lay-
ered with more fat. The meat underneath the
layers of lard tastes bland and unappetizing,
but the couscous saves the whole dish.
It is is mixed with tomatoes and similar
vegetables in a tomato-based sauce. The
couscous rice-like taste gives way to the
tomato and herbs mixed into the dish.
Unfortunately, the filet mignon
($32.00) is not softer than its less expen-
sive counterpart. Like the apple salad’s
plate, the filet mignon’s plate is creatively
decorated. However, the steak is on top
of garlic mashed potatoes, which are
smooth and creamy and have garlic pieces
blended in.
Unlike the garlic fries, the flavor seems
muted by the starchy taste of the potatoes.
The garlic and potatoes do not work well
with the steak. The steak is actually more
flavorful than the mashed potatoes.
The dessert choices are not even on
the menu. They are offered by the waiters
and no prices are given along with them.
The berry crepe ($7.00) is nothing more
than a fist-sized crepe filled with glazed
blueberries and strawberries. The plate
also sports berry-flavored sherbet. On the
whole, there is nothing that warrants the
price. The taste is nothing to write home
about; the unripe fruits and sugar cancel
out to form a bland dish.
Bistro 412’s food is too expensive for
its own good, but the place has a certain
charm to it. It almost drowns in its own
elegance, but manages to stay afloat by
embracing its bare bones approach. The
price might be justified by the ambiance,
but there are other restaurants that provide
similar, if not better, environments.
Bistro 412
Address: 412 Emerson Street
Hours: Tue.-Thurs.: 11:30 a.m.-10 TC: Do you have any words for your brothers?
p.m. Fri.-Sat.: 5:30 p.m.-
2 a.m.
Price Range: $5-$35
TC: So it’s with a soft “J”?
EK: Soft “J”...it started in Germany actually.
TC: What happened to your presidential walk from
back in the day?
EK: I had the best presidential walk but apparently my
chiropractor’s not to happy with it. When I started to
get disjointed spinal columns they had a little problem
there. It wasn’t fun. They was all fusin’ together and
s*** like that.
TC: If you want me to vote for you, just do my
physics project. What do you do in ASB?
EK: We got all the scandals lined up. When we come
in the door, there’s a list. Then we vote on the scandals.
Sometimes we do some work, on occasion. There’s
usually not enough time for that, though.
TC: Are you Gossip Girl?
EK: Yes. I get all the dirt on the dirty.
TC: Why do you have so many pajamas?
EK: It started off as kind of a casual thing...
TC: Showing everyone that you’re the common
man?
EK: Yeah, the common man vote... I put a hard hat on
earlier today, threw a little dirt on myself. Mira would
know all about that, wouldn’t you, my little bird. My
little white oleander. Come, my antelope! We’ll flock
in the fields together! Come, my antelope. Come to me.
It’s warm here. Just hold me. It’s okay, don’t speak.
Don’t speak.
TC: She’s just trying to get close to you because
you’re a man of power.
EK: I know. I’ll show you, Mira, a little bit of my
power. Just come by fourth period, my little lovebird.
My heart weeps when I see this girl. It’s like...
something else.
TC: You and women: is it the hair? The personality?
The position? The social standing?
EK: Number one is the power.
TC: How many Monica Lewinskys do you have?
EK: I want to keep their identities secret, but one of
their names starts with “M.” If I am GeorgeW. Bush,
my boy Alex over here is my Dick Cheney. That really
says it all.
EK: You are all my brothers.
TC: Parting words? You should probably tell
everybody to go to the Poetry Slam.
EK: Don’t go to the Poetry Slam!! Vote Klingbeil.
The Campanile
Locals relish authentic sausage at Polish Deli
Small business with big flavor brings appetizing food, Polish culture to Palo Alto
By Pauline Slakey
Staff Writer
With genuine Polish food, a
friendly atmosphere and Polish
paraphernalia, Palo Alto’s Polish
Deli takes “small business” to the
next level. Since its opening in March
2006, the Polish Deli has attracted
all sorts of customers, ranging from
Polish immigrants to Stanford football
players.
The smell of grilled sausage and
spices surround a small room and a
clear display case of cold meats and
pastas buzzes. The left wall is adorned
with a large shelf that spans across the
entire wall and holds various condi-
ments for sale.
A small outdoor grill is placed
in the back and seating is scattered
throughout the store.
The man behind the counter is
none other than the friendly store
owner Marcin Klosek, who speaks
with a thick Polish accent. He works
the store alone, takes charge of the
cooking and handles the genuine Pol-
ish food available at his deli.
Although there is not a large
seating capacity, the store’s friendly
atmosphere makes up for it.
Klosek incorporates Polish cul-
ture into a comfortable atmosphere.
The store often becomes crowded
on Fridays and Saturdays with eager
football players and hungry business-
men.
The Polish Deli offers a wide
variety of Polish foods. Although most
of the food is frozen and canned, Pol-
ish Deli serves freshly grilled Polish
sausages, its most popular item.
All the Polish sausages and in-
gredients come directly from Poland,
although the distribution center is
located in Chicago.
Each Polish sausage is served
in a white French bread bun topped
off with original Polish mustard and
sauerkraut. The sausages offered
are regular ($6.00), Hunter ($7.50),
Country ($6.50), Kabanosy ($6.50)
and Slaska ($6.00).
A&E March 17, 2008 • B11
“Pierogi has an original flavor
much different from ravioli,” Klosek
said. “It has intense flavors and I would
recommend it for everyone to try.”
The Polish Deli not only sells
food, but also Polish films of ro-
mance, comedy and drama, which
are presented in a small display case
placed against the far back wall of
the store.
“The Polish videos are an added
plus,” Klosek said. “I figured that
videos are never going to go stale or
out-of-date, so why not add them in. I
see a lot of Polish customers purchase
them so I plan on continuing to keep
them in the store.”
Other foods that Polish Deli of-
fers include Polish konfiture, spices,
bread sticks, tea, lentils, pastas, sauces
and canned foods such as pickles
and tomato juice, which are set on a
large shelf spanning across the entire
left wall.
Authentic Polish treats also of-
fered include cookies and candies
that satisfy customers’ sweet tooths
including Delicie Szampanskie
cookies (made with sponge cake and
Hannah McGovern/The Campanile rich raspberry filling, topped with
chocolate) and the Prince Polo Clas-
Klosek’s freshly grilled Polish sausages are each served with original Polish mustard and tasteful sauerkraut on French bread. The deli
sic candy bar (a chocolate-covered
also offers a variety of other authentic Polish foods including Polish konfiture, pierogi, spices, tea, candy bars, cookies and chocolate. wafer bar).
The sausages absorb many of the has a juicy, slightly crunchy texture. “I can’t really explain why Pol- take home including veal wieners, Catering is also available for
flavors from the grill, giving them a The sauerkraut on top of the sausage ish sausages taste so much better, but pork rolls, double bacon, country those who want an authentic tastes
roasted taste while still keeping their gives it an added sweet, cold crunch, I know that they do and many of my bacon, home made sausages, Poledu- of Poland at their next event.
juicy flavor. while the mustard — originally from customers agree,” Klosek said. “It ica, “Kishka” or blood sausages, head Only a block away from Cali-
When Klosek grills them right Poland — softens up the sausage’s probably has to do with the fact that cheeses, Polish hams and smoked fornia Ave. off El Camino Real, the
outside the store, it is reminiscent thick, savory texture. Polish sausages are less processed Baleron, all of which range from Polish Deli makes for a fantastic lunch
of a backyard barbeque. Although The Country Polish sausage by machines and have more natural $5.29/lb to $10.29/lb. stop. The sausages are guaranteed
it takes five to ($6.50) has a ingredients.” Pierogi, a Polish pasta, is another to satisfy one’s hunger; if a single
ten minutes to chunky texture The majority of Polish food is popular food offered by the Polish sausage isn’t enough, one could order
grill each sau-
“Polish sausages are less pro- and succulent organic, a quality that Klosek prides Deli. Pierogi looks like ravioli but three, as Stanford football players are
sage, the wait cessed by machines and have flavor with a himself in as shown by all of the has a much stronger and heavier known to do.
is undoubtedly more natural ingredients.” peppery after- Konfitures (dense jams made of fresh taste to it.
worthwhile. taste. The Ka- fruit and sugar), which are made from “Originally pierogi was from
The Hunter banosy ($6.50) 50 percent organic fruit. China,” Klosek said. “However, Polish Deli
sausage ($7.50)
Marcin Klosek is a thin sau- “People can decide for them- Poland liked it so much that they Location: 456 Cambridge Ave.
is the store’s Store owner sage, with a selves if they like the natural taste of adopted it.” Hours: Tues.-Fri.: 10 a.m.-6
most popular crunchy, light the sausages,” Klosek said. “Although There are many different types p.m.; Sat: 10 a.m.-
sausage. It is taste. Polish I almost guarantee that they will.” of pierogi available including pierogi 5 p.m.; Sun:10 a.m.-
plump and flavorful with just the sausages are known for having more There is also a large selection of with cheese, onion, mushroom, sau- 2 p.m.
right amount of saltiness. The sausage flavor than American sausages. frozen meats and pastas available to erkraut or fruit. Prices:   $6.50 - $7.50
B10 • March 17, 2008 A&E The Campanile

In Bruges defies clichés of caper comedy

Action-packed, darkly comic shoot-em-up debut by award-winning playwright shatters trends of genre
By Ryan McLeod
Staff Writer
There are very few movies in this
world that can sport an R rating, hired
killers as protagonists and an unend-
ing barrage of words unrepeatable in
print and yet fill a movie theater with
senior citizens. In Bruges is one of
those select few and not just because
the title could easily describe a travel
documentary about the medieval
Belgian city of Bruges.
In Bruges is the writing-directing
debut of Martin McDonagh, who
recently won an Academy Award
for his short film “Six Shooter.” Mc-
Donagh’s past as an award-winning
playwright haunts the film, as it suffers
from sluggish pacing better suited to
the stage.
However, the script remains
darkly comedic and the brilliant
screen treatment shows a flair for
direction that marks In Bruges as a
must-see example of movie-making
done right.
In Bruges takes the tired genre
of action films and crafts a plot that
pokes fun at many of the old clichés.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson
play hired hit men who have botched a
job and now find themselves keeping
a low profile in the beautiful, if utterly
boring, titular tourist destination of
Bruges. The younger, played by Far-
rell, acts like a surly teenager on a fam-
ily vacation, while the senior, played
Colin Farrell gives a haunting performance as an assassin in In Bruges. Director Martin McDonagh
incorporates fast-paced, dramatic scenes into a small-town setting to show the soft side of a killer.
by Gleeson, takes the opportunity to
enjoy himself. Hijinks ensue, but the
story takes a turn for the worse when
their boss (Ralph Fiennes) appears.
Although much of the story
can be described as “dark humor,”
the picture is rarely laugh-out-loud
funny; gags are more likely to have
thought-provoking moral messages
than punch lines.
In one instance, Farrell’s charac-
ter compares Bruges to purgatory in
a comedic monologue which would
be incredibly funny except that view-
Boston.com
ing the town through his eyes gives
the statement an awkward truth. The
shift from comedy to tragedy within
the script is handled fairly well by
the consistent presence of comedic
and dramatic elements. None of the
themes change and the twisted humor
continues uninterrupted throughout
the movie.
Both the script and the actors
seamlessly integrate humor into
well-structured, layered characters.
Farrell, usually a hit-or-miss actor in
lead roles, finally delivers a commend-
able performance in In Bruges, diving
through layers of personality well past
his restless, cynical exterior.
As details of his past are revealed,
a haunting guilt appears in his char-
acter even as he tries to suppress it.
Fiennes and Gleason both show their
strengths as character actors, the for-
mer adding enough energy to drive
the film through a major plot twist
just as the action begins to bog down
in drama and endless dialogue.
The movie, of course, has
flaws. McDonagh’s script contains
good character development, plot
twists, depth, symbolism and humor-
hallmarks of a good script, but not
necessarily a good screenplay. The
movie has a tendency to violate the
law of “show, don’t tell,” bogging
down scenes (and especially phone
conversations) with excess chatter
while the camera idles.
The pacing also suffers from a
lack of screen writing experience. The
movie feels as if it should be divided
into two acts, as the plot begins to drag
about an hour into the film, only to be
followed by a sudden revelation that
changes the plot dramatically — the
perfect place to split the film with an
intermission.
Flaws aside, In Bruges is a mostly
successful effort to do something dif-
ferent. Poignant at times, then thrilling
or even comedic, In Bruges appeals to
a far wider audience than the subject
matter would suggest. The film also
shocks with tremendously un-PC
cracks at the following: midgets, tour-
ists, drug addicts, the morbidly obese,
Americans, Belgians, Canadians and
more Belgians, as well as everyone
else in the film.
Beyond the humor, though, is
a stunning movie with resounding
questions about the nature of guilt
and morality.
In Bruges leaves the audience
asking whether or not the story should
end happily for the, sympathetic, yet
undeniably evil, characters. This a
sign of how well-made movie can last
in one’s mind long after the credits
stop rolling.
+
In Bruges
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell,
Brendan Gleeson,
Ralph Fiennes,
Running Time: 1hr. 41 min.
Rating: R

J&J Hawaiian BBQ well-known for cheap Chinese dishes

By Rye Druzin
Senior Staff Writer
The J&J Hawaiian BBQ is a franchise
restaurant in a nondescript location next to
7-Eleven in Menlo Park. Yet its low-key
personality hides a huge selection of cheap,
filling and tasty food.The Hawaiian barbeque
is more well-known for its Chinese food; one
can buy an entree with either chow mein or
fried rice for only $4.68, and a second entrée
for an extra dollar. Almost everything that
J&J offers is exceptional, even by Chinese
restaurant standards.
Most of the food is fried, so the restaurant
is not for those afraid of raising their choles-
terol, but it is for those who want a thicker
wallet. The selection of entrees, from orange
chicken to Mongolian beef to sweet and sour
pork, offers the customer an overwhelming
number of choices.
The orange chicken and imperial chicken
are the best. Both are fried but crispy and are
not dripping with fat or grease. The portions
are large, with generous helpings of fried rice
or chow mein and enough food for two people
to eat if one chooses the two entrée meal.
J&J also offers chicken teriyaki bowls
($5.39), which come with steamed rice, veg-
gies and chicken teriyaki, all drenched in
teriyaki sauce.
The steamed rice is perfect and the chicken
is tender. The only problem is that the steamed
veggies hold a lot of water and dilute the
teriyaki sauce. However, compared to local
establishments such as the Sushi House, J&J
gives you more bang for your buck.
The restaurant also carries a variety of
canned Hawaiian Sun drinks with many dif-
ferent flavors along with traditional soft drinks,
all for 99 cents each.
J&J is the perfect place for the diner on
the run, with the food already made and kept
hot. Food is never microwaved, but you can
still order and pay in five minutes or less,
depending on the crowd.
J&J is popular with a lot of locals so its problem because the 7-Eleven takes up half of
never surprising to see a crowd. The atmo- the parking spots in front of the restaurant.
sphere is relaxed, as many families dine there. But whether you are looking for a quick
Even when it is busy, the restaurant keeps the meal or simply looking to sit down and relax
line moving and the food pumping. Noise is not somewhere, J&J Hawaiian Barbeque is the
an issue and abundant seating means that you place for you.
have time to sit down to enjoy your meal.
J&J is also close to Palo Alto High School, +
allowing those with a car to drive over and J&J BBQ
pick up food during lunchtime. It is also a
nice place to go to if you are strolling through Location: 1170 Alma St., Menlo Park
downtown Menlo Park, which is right across Hours: Mon.-Sun., 11 a.m.-9p.m.
the train tracks. Phone: (650)-323-6137
The only downside is that traffic in the Prices: $3.00-$7.00
area is usually pretty bad and parking can be a

Oregano’s Pizza combines classic dishes with casual style

By Amy Stringer
Features Editor
Tucked quietly away in the
Village Court strip mall off of San
Antonio Road in Mountain View,
Oregano’s Wood-Fired Pizza incon-
spicuously provides quality, tradi-
tional Italian dining. Upon entering
the restaurant, one is greeted by the
friendly staff and a casually stylish
atmosphere, perfect for a dinner with
a group of friends or with the family
at a reasonable price.
With its high ceilings, spacious
dining areas, wooden dining tables
and granite bar where one can watch
the pizzas being individually made
in the wood-fired ovens, Oregano’s
creates an environment of combined
quiet elegance and inconspicuous
informality. The service is of consis-
tently high quality.
Whether one is in the mood for
garlic fries ($4.99) or bruschetta
($5.99), there is an enticing array of
appetizers from which to choose. The
garlic bread ($4.50) was slightly disap-
pointing. The wafer-thin pizza bread
could not adequately sustain the crisp
Parmesan cheese piled onto it, giving it
Hannah McGovern/The Campanile an unappetizing burnt taste. However,
Oregano’s combines a homey atmosphere, high-quality pizzas and the vast assortment of entrees makes
innovative recipes, to create a comfortable and quiet restaurant. up for this sub-par appetizer.
While the restaurant’s name gives and thin, reminiscent of gourmet Ital- kid’s menu is available for children
it away as an eatery known for its ian cuisine, yet not at all too crispy under 12.
pizza, the popular dish is far from the or burnt. While any of these entrees will
only option available to customers. In Aside from the diverse assort- satisfy an individual’s appetite, the
fact, one may find it difficult to make ment of optional pizzas, there are desserts should not be overlooked, as
a decision between an adventurous also multiple delectable pasta choices there are some tasty options.
option, such as the caramelized pear from which to select one’s meal. The The old-fashioned sundae ($3.99)
pizza ($10.79), and a classic dish, fettuccine alfredo ($10.99) provides is composed of vanilla ice cream,
like the cheese ravioli ($9.99). On a fulfilling portion of fettuccine fudge sauce and whipped cream, a
the menu, the restaurant promises that served with a thick Parmesan cream large enough portion to share and en-
“one pizza will satisfy an individual’s sauce. While it is certainly creamy, joy with a friend. The tiramisu ($5.99)
healthy appetite,” a statement true to as it should be, the sauce is not at all offers a huge serving of a rich layered
its word. obtrusive. cake of ladyfingers and chocolate, and
A simple choice like the Hawaiian The fettuccine alfredo can also the brownie with ice cream ($5.99)
pizza ($9.99) be ordered is surprisingly warm with a cake-
assures qual- On the menu, the restaurant prom- with chicken like texture. While one may come to
ity taste and or prawns for Oregano’s for its well-known pizza
satisfaction.
ises that “one pizza will satisfy an more flavor dishes, one will stay and come again,
The delicious individual’s healthy appetite,” a with a few for its pasta gems, desserts and friendly
h o m e m a d e statement true to its word. extra dollars. atmosphere that only a family-owned
pizza is topped Another sat- restaurant can provide.
with sauce and isfying pasta
just the right amount of cheese, dish is the chicken pesto pasta ($8.49),
+
although all pizzas can be ordered which offers spaghetti topped with Oregano’s
without cheese. The pizza is then chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and a
layered with delicious Canadian bacon wonderfully creamy pesto sauce. Location: 4546 El Camino
and fresh, ripe pineapple. Vegetarians also have an assort- Real, Los Altos
Another classic pizza option is ment of options to choose from, such Hours: Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-
the pepperoni pizza ($8.99). Its tangy as the tasty vegetarian fantasy pizza 10 p.m.; Sun., 4-9
pizza sauce covered with a layer of ($11.99), the creamy penne prima- p.m.
cheese and topped with pepperoni is vera pasta ($10.99), the vegetarian Phone: (650) 941-3600
just spicy enough to entertain one’s calzone ($10.49), and much more. Prices: $4.00-$15.00
taste buds. The pizza crust is light Additionally, a simple and affordable

O’Connor and Sons Electric

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Bonded and insured

Complimentary Estimates
Check out our archives at: License no. 513626 Phone: (650) 813-9159
www.PaloAltoElectric.com Fax: (650) 813-9179
http://voice.paly.net/ OConnorElectric@comcast.net Cell: (650) 740-1121

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The Campanile A&E March 17, 2008 • B9

Janet’s new album Discipline could be “So Much Betta”

Janet Jackson’s recent comeback record a step backward, lacks both lyrical, musical variety
By Anna Waldron
Staff Writer
With her latest album, Discipline,
pop artist Janet Jackson tries to recap-
ture the magic she created earlier in
her career. Jackson is probably hoping
for a comeback with this album by
replacing her longtime team of pro-
ducers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
and her record label, Virgin Records,
with Island Def Jam. However, these
changes prove to be detrimental to her
career rather than helpful. Discipline
has too few hit tracks and lacks variety
in vocals.
Jackson’s excessive production
and technical manipulation of her
singing makes it difficult to hear the
lyrics because it muddles her voice,
which was heard so clearly on her
previous albums, Damita Jo and 20
Y.O.
Discipline is more of a step back-
ward than a step forward for Jackson,
who’s long music career dates back to
the early ‘80s. Famous for exploring
her sexuality in her lyrics and songs,
Jackson holds nothing back in the
futuristic-themed Discipline. Most of
the songs are either erotic and too fast-
paced for dancing or are tiresomely
slow to express the pain of a break-up.
The overall effect: choppiness.
For an album with 23 tracks, it
feels 18 songs too long. The talking
interludes of Jackson conversing with
her space-age butler “Q” and taking a
“bathroom break” only further inter-
rupt the flow of the album.
The interludes are extremely
unnecessary and only aggravate the
listener. Jackson does not show growth
in her lyrics or singing, but projects a
tired image as her voice lacks emotion
and remains monotonous.
Despite too many slow songs that
could serve as soulful lullabies, there
are a handful of songs that have the
potential to save Discipline and could
become radio hits.
The album should have been
titled “Feedback” instead of Disci-
Jackson, who has not released an album since 20 Y.O., released in 2006, and is viewed as a musical has-been, is attempting to recapture
the magic she created earlier in her career. The lyrics and songs in her new album, Discipline, are far from inspirational and original.
pline because it is the best song on whether a listener likes it or not, the the car allusions may be interesting
the album and captures the futuristic lyrics will be imprinted on the brain and creative, it goes overboard with
and sexy theme Jackson was aiming to because the song is very repetitive. cliches such as “He crashed into my
project. “Discipline” barely registers Despite “Feedback’s” lack of heart.” Rihanna’s “Shut Up and Drive”
on the album since it is the second creativity in lyrics, listeners will want is much more effective using these
to last track and the few listeners to dance. analogies. “LUV” is fun because the
who actually listen Following music is similar to Kanye West’s suc-
to the entirety of “Feedback” is cessful hit “Good Life” and shows the
Discipline will be For an album with 23 tracks, it “LUV,” anoth- capabilities and talents of Jackson’s
confronted with a feels 18 songs too long. er potential hit. sweet, high voice.
major disappoint- The song toys “Rock with You” and “2nite” are
ment. with car and songs fit to blast through the speakers
In true Jackson style, “Feedback,” driving metaphors citing, “I should of all Abercrombie and Fitch stores
the first song on the album, opens with have stopped at the red light,” and “He because of their fast-paced beat and
an explanation of why she’s still hot hit me with his luv, luv, luv.” She paints techno vibes.
and sexy: “Light skin, dark skin, my a picture of herself as being a “deer The two songs are very similar
Asian persuasion/I got them all that’s caught in the headlights” because in instrumentals and although they
why these girls out here hatin’/Cause she never expected herself to fall in are energetic songs, each song has
I’m sexy.” The chorus is catchy and love with this particular guy. While a slower beat than “Feedback” and
www.latimes.com
“LUV.” What makes Discipline
frustrating and disappointing is the
album’s poor structure. After the first
five upbeat songs, the album goes into
a seemingly depressing slump. All
the songs drag on for too long and
Jackson’s voice is an indiscernible,
wimpy whisper.
Before listeners fall asleep after
three long songs and a few annoy-
ing interludes, “So Much Betta” and
“The 1” featuring Missy Elliot will
wake them up, but then the album
loses its energy again and ends on a
low note.
To name a few unfortunate songs
that made their way onto this album
are “Rollercoaster,” “Can’t B Good”
and “Never Letchu Go.” Appropri-
ately titled “Rollercoaster,” the song
takes the listener on an unpleasant and
confusing ride.
It opens with a Jamaican feeling
with banging drums, but is quickly
overridden by a clapping sound. The
song is not entirely bad, but what
makes it strange is the bridge towards
the song’s end when the music changes
and is replaced with a cheesy ‘80s-
style beat.
“Can’t B Good” is probably the
worst song on the album and is there-
fore aptly named. The music is too
much of a throwback to the ‘80s with
its slow beat and soap opera feel.
What makes it uncomfortable and
displeasing to listen to is the heavy
breathing in the background. The song
is supposed to be seductive and allur-
ing, but the breathing is too much and
serves as a major distraction.
The beginning of “Never Letchu
Go” is reminiscent of Beverly Hills
90210’s opening theme music. Like
“Can’t B Good,” its beat and lyrics
match the characteristics of a soap op-
era in that it is overbearingly slow and
too sappy. Jackson’s sing-songy voice
becomes irritating in this seemingly
never ending, repetitive song.
While the futuristic theme of
the album attempts to capture audi-
ences by being hip and up with the
times, Jackson’s voice gets lost in
the over-computerized music which
makes the album boring and tedious
to listen to.
Jackson has the talent to produce
a better comeback album. Although
there are a few upbeat and fun songs
for dancing to, the interludes and ‘tear-
jerking’ slow songs serve as filler and
interrupt the album’s flow.
Discipline
Artist: Janet Jackson
Label: Island Def Jam
Running Time: 1 hr. 20 min.

Welcoming setting, quality sushi characterize popular Koma’s Sushi

Local family operates small, friendly restaurant perfect for either business lunches or family dinners
By Cassie Wedemeyer
Staff Writer
What distinguishes Koma’s sushi from
other sushi restaurants in the Bay Area is its
family-friendly atmosphere. Restaurants such
as Miyake and Sushi Tomo do not have the
same feeling of welcomeness that Koma’s
offers.
Koma’s moved to Menlo Park four years
ago. The owners, who are also parents of a
Palo Alto High School junior, have run the
restaurant since it began at its original location
in Fremont 16 years ago.
A popular spot for business lunches and
family dinners, Koma’s relaxing atmosphere
proves to be for all types of customers. Slightly
resembling a comfy dining room with plain
walls and lighting, the setting at Koma’s is
generally laid back.
Around busy hours is the restaurant’s
small size and capacity tends to be a problem.
Although Koma’s fills up quickly, the service
is fast so a group doesn’t have to wait long for
a table. The food is served in a fashionable
manner. It is evident that effort has been put
in to making the dishes presentably pleasing,
both in taste and look.
The appetizers can be eaten either as a nice
starter or a significant part of the meal, like
the miso soup ($1.75). The perfect starter to a
Japanese meal, the soup is light and refreshing,
with more flavor than miso soups from other
sushi restaurants. The edamame (soybeans,
$3.50) would be one of the starters, while
the sashimi appetizer ($11.50) is more filling.
The assorted version of the sashimi appetizer
may cost more, but it comes with white tuna,
scallops, shrimps, yellowtail and other sorts
of raw fish, all pleasing to the taste buds. The
waitress was even nice enough to throw in a
complimentary miso soup.
Even though it is only an appetizer, the
assorted sashimi plate serves more as an op-
portunity to try the variety of the raw seafood.
Some are better than others; the surfer clam is
chewy and light while the scallops have a good
flavor but a somewhat unlikable texture.
For the main course, the bento boxes are
the perfect combination of rice, sushi, salad
and another food of choice. An especially
solid choice is the shrimp tempura bento box
($12.50). The deep-fried shrimp has the perfect
amount of crunch to make the dish tasty and
the shrimp is not drowned in batter.
Another bento box option is the chicken
bento ($14.50) in which, once again, the
main part of the dish, teriyaki chicken, goes
tastefully with the sides. One of the choices
for sides in the bento box is the traditional
California roll. Almost always a sushi favorite,
Koma’s is no exception in making sure their
California rolls are just as high-quality as the
rest of their food.
Other types of sushi can be ordered
separately, such as the temake (hand-rolled
sushi), with spicy tuna or salmon skin. The
spicy tuna roll has the right amount of spice,
and the salmon skin roll, although slightly
burnt, is satisfying as well.
For dessert, mochi, a rice bean ice cream
($1.75), comes in the flavors of red bean, green
tea, mango, coffee and strawberry. The mochi
is just the right size so that it is enjoyable but
not too filling.
Located on El Camino Real in Menlo
Park, Koma’s is not the easiest restaurant to
get to, but it is obvious that people are willing
to take the slight detour, parking behind the
restaurant and walking around to the front
along busy El Camino Real. Even though
Koma’s is on a busy street, the noise does not
filter into the restaurant.
Other than the wait upon first arriving at
Koma’s when it is full, one can still eat in about
an hour depending on how quickly one wishes
to eat. The food comes relatively quickly, the
appetizers arrive a good ten minutes before
the main dishes.
Although a little pricey for students, the
quality of food at Koma’s is worth its price. The
fish is fresh and the sushi is seasoned carefully
to make sure the customers have an assortment
of dishes that compliment each other.
Nothing too extraordinary, Koma’s will
provide a good meal just like any other res-
taurant would, it all depends on if a person is
willing to wait for quality sushi.
Koma’s Sushi
Location: 221 El Camino Real,
Menlo Park
Hours: Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-
2 p.m. Dinner: Mon.-Sat. 5 Elizabeth Petit/The Campanile
p.m.-9:30p.m. Sun. 5 p.m.-9
p.m. Potstickers and sushi, especially the California Roll, are favorites at Koma’s
Prices: $7-$24 Sushi, a family-friendly restaurant which serves high quality food worth its price.

Bruce Whitson Eric Wu, D.M.D. Geraldine Asmus

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B8 Mar. 17, 2008
A&E
Chu On This:
Breakfast Foods
Alan Chu
The sweet serenade of the alarm
clock woke me up. Half-blind with
sleep, I managed to shut off the air raid
siren and shuffled toward the kitchen.
I poured myself a bowl of cereal. After
adding milk, I spooned some into my
mouth. The taste had all three of my
favorite adjectives rolled up into one
neat package: cold, wet and slimy.
Swallowing the spoonful would take
Herculean fortitude, none of which I
had at the moment. I wistfully thought
of breakfast alternatives to the rank
breakfast. It was then and there that
I had an epiphany. Why should any
child suffer through what I had to? I
started to ponder the other delicious
foods that can be eaten for the most
important meal of the day.
After extensive research, I can
now share my list of alternatives
with the rest of the world. First off,
there are several plain and simple
egg dishes. Let me count the ways
one unborn chicken can be cooked.
Eggs can be eaten scrambled, boiled,
sunny-side-up, sunny-side-down and
my personal favorite, simply raw. Of
course, there are as many ways to eat
an egg as there are Pokèmon to catch.
But I digress from my list of breakfast
foods. If time and skill with a hot pan
are on your side, then the egg is the
best way to go. If you are a Rocky
Balboa impersonator, then drinking
eggs is the next obvious choice.
Next up are cakes. Rather, pan-
cakes — pancakes stacked as high
as the Eiffel Tower and dripping
with sweet syrup. Unlike the egg,
the batter cannot really be changed
without repercussions to the smooth
cake taste. Instead the toppings can
change. From drizzled with chocolate
to adorned with fruit, the pancake can
have it all. Then there is the long lost
cousin to the pancakes, waffles. They
have dips to trap syrup from running
down the side into its soft egg flavor
interior. Waffles also have numer-
ous toppings, ranging from whipped
cream to candied fruits. Each has its
own advantages and taste. It depends
on what is available, since a waffle iron
is needed to make a waffle. Thankfully
there is a compromise between the
two: French toast.
The bread of the toast reflects the
cake and egg taste and soaks up the
sweet nectar of syrup. It can sport the
toppings like an old pro. The toast can
be eaten alone, but that option only ex-
ists in theory. I’m not willing to travel
down the path less traveled, and I will
not make you. Whoever goes down
the path of no toppings and no syrup
is braver and hardier than me.
Then there is the vile spawn of
demons that exists under the guise of
a smiling Quaker. I am talking about
hot cereal, or oatmeal. So now, along
with concentrating on swallowing the
slush, I have to worry about not burn-
ing my tongue. Making cold sludge hot
is like making cows purple: perverse
and unnecessary. If anyone eats this,
it is only for health reasons. If it is for
the taste, they are just reconfirming
that evolution has a long way to go.
Fruit can be added, but I would not
waste good food and mix it into a bland
swampy mess of a meal. If your taste
buds were burned off and flavor is just
a fife’s dream, then eating hot cereal
is a possible course of action.
The latest addition to my list is a
classic. If time and money are things
of the past, then leftovers for breakfast
are perfect. Nothing quite says sophis-
tication like eating cold pizza in the
morning. Personally, the congealed
tomato sauce carries the taste to a
new level of appreciation. There are
other choices besides pizza. The sky
is the limit. I mean hamburgers can be
eaten for breakfast, but I’d rather have
the juicy burger later when I am fully
functional and can taste every com-
ponent. The possibilities are endless.
From cold fries to hot cakes, breakfast
does not have to be a chore.
So next time when you are shov-
ing down that spoonful of foulness, be
comforted by the thought that there are
bigger and better things out there.
The Campanile
Teen dances at nightclubs gain popularity
Under-18 nightclubs offer safe dance venues for Paly students
By Kelley Shin last from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Spitz,
Staff Writer a local DJ under the name Spaztik
A line of teenagers strings along Emcee, was in charge of the music
the side of the building and stops at the for the events at Illusions. Maraboli
corner as each one waits in anticipa- said that there have been promises of
tion. Once at the front of the line, the special guest performances, but the
wait ends; the doors of the club open. music less remarkable.
The area inside is dark with special “The club often promises a guest
lighting effects, a stage, some tables performer who is supposed to be really
and about two hundred teenagers special, but they end up being lame
dancing or mingling in crowds. and unheard of, or they just don’t show
These types of teen events that up at all,” Maraboli said.
mimic the typical clubbing scene are Overall the teen nights have been
growing increasingly popular in the positive and will probably become
Bay Area. Nightclubs like The Abyss routine, according to King.
and restaurants like Illusions Fayrouz “There were no fights and very
Dining and Entertainment have held little drinking,” King said. “In gen-
teen club nights in the past and are eral it was a great turnout and we are
becoming routine as the number of considering making the teen nights a
interested teens grows. permanent event.”
The Abyss on California Ave., The same rules from past events
typically a nightclub for the 21-and- would apply to future dances. Like The
over crowd, holds teen nightclub Glow, Illusions advocates the “no ins
events known as “Glow” nights on and outs” policy. A dress code is also
special Sunday nights when there is no enforced by Illusions, requiring boys
school on the consecutive Monday and www.dkwan.com to wear collared shirts and cautioning
is open every Sunday night during the Teenagers and students dance at The Glow during the Abyss nightclub. The Abyss holds special events the ladies to keep it “PG-13.”
summer. Junior Eric Jones first heard on Sunday nights for teens under 18, and the Glow usually attracts around 200 to 300 teenagers. “Another thing kids have to
about The Glow from his friends. keep in mind is that by coming to
“It’s a good way to meet new Inside, there is a bar, a dining area, agree that Illusions is better for a “It’s more than just renting out these events they are susceptible to
people,” Jones said. “It’s basically a a main stage and a smaller stage with teen night. space, we have to make sure that ev- a search,” King said. “So far there
school dance, but better because there cages on top of it. However, many of “I’ve been to Illusions before and erything will run smoothly and safely, haven’t been problems, but if we
are a lot of new people. Around 200 to those features are unavailable when it was a lot better [than The Glow], otherwise there can be wrong elements see something suspicious we have
300 people usually go. Also, it has the the club is open as The Glow. mostly because a lot more people that such as kids getting into trouble or the right to search them for alcohol
best DJs around and sometimes there The bar sells only non-alcoholic I knew went,” El Gamal said. unhappy parents,” King said. or drugs.”
are even live performances.” beverages and both the eating area Sophomore Silvia Maraboli at- The first All-Peninsula Under The next upcoming teen club
Although some consider The and the cages are off limits. The Glow tends and enjoys the teen nights at 18 Party was a hit and the basketball night at Illusions will take place on
Glow to be a great socializing oppor- is designed for teenagers with ages Illusions. team decided to plan another event on Mar. 21 as a fundraising event. Illu-
tunity, others feel ranging from 14 “The Illusions dances are excit- Feb. 17. Unlike the previous dance, sions is hoping for a big turnout and
differently. Junior “I like the dances because through 17 with a ing,” Maraboli said. “The fact that the second was for a special occa- another successful night.
Jessica Cruz, who they’re more fun and excit- few restrictions. there are people from other schools is sion, Valentine’s Day, and was titled “I have been to Illusions once
currently attends A current form both a positive and a negative. It’s fun “CRUSH Valentine’s Party.” and not that many people showed
Foothill Middle
ing than Paly dances.” of identification is to see different faces from the usual, Many students learn of these up, but I did think it was a lot better
College, did not required to enter but sometimes there are some pretty dances through friends or Facebook. than The Glow,” Cruz said. “There
get a good im- Sophie Maraboli and once inside the sketch guys.” For both of the All-Peninsula Under is another club called Barcelona, but
pression of the sophomore club, students are Unlike the dances at The Glow, 18 Parties, Facebook events were barely anyone goes or even knows
teen nightclub. not allowed to leave the Illusions teen nights are new addi- created by the teenagers in charge of about it.”
“I used to and return. tions to the restaurant’s entertainment planning the event. Information about Barcelona is an all-ages venue
go regularly, but I don’t really like it Although the club’s capacity is services. So far two dances were held prices, time, music and other details located in Sunnyvale on 769 N. Ma-
anymore,” Cruz said. “The music isn’t 1,000 people, individuals have the at the restaurant, the first of which were provided on the Facebook event thilda Avenue. The nightclub is open on
that great and it is a bit extreme.” option of buying pre-sale tickets to took place on Dec. 1. Mark Spitz, the page. Tickets can also be purchased both Friday and Saturday nights when
The Glow advertises a special ensure a spot. basketball coach of Crystal Springs through the event page and there was it is not hosting concerts.
guest DJ performance from Wild Tickets bought before 7:30 p.m. Uplands School, approached his the additional option of being put on 1Barcelona has a Latin vibe and
94.9, a local radio station. However, cost $5. After 7:30 p.m., tickets are friend and Illusions’ general manager the guest list either by messaging a two dance floors. One usually plays
Cruz said that the music is different sold for $20. Glow nights are held Ulysses King about promoting a teen representative via Facebook or calling Spanish music such as meringue,
from songs played on the radio and from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. night to raise money for the Crystal a specified telephone number. salsa and reggaeton, while the other
is disappointing. Another place for local teen club Springs Women’s Basketball Team. All-Peninsula Under 18 parties floor plays mostly hip-hop and top
Junior Ashraf El Gamal has also nights is Illusions Fayrouz Dining “I though it was a great cause and collaborate with www.brownpaper- 40 selections. These teen nightclubs
attended a Glow Sunday before and and Entertainment, located on 260 S. a great idea,” King said. We actually tickets.com. Tickets online sell for offer teenagers both an alternative to
like Cruz found it to be extreme. California Ave. Similar to The Glow, had done teen nights before, but had $15, five dollars cheaper than ones at school dances and a chance to meet
“It seemed like the people there teen nights at Illusions, known as the stopped doing it three years ago and the door. There is a limited early bird new people.
were desperate and weird,” El Gamal “All-Peninsula Under 18 Parties,” are decided to try it again.” pre-sale and a VIP admission for $35. “I like the dances because they’re
said. “There are people just making not the restaurant’s primary concern, The Crystal Springs basketball VIP admission includes priority entry, more fun and exciting than Paly
out all over the place and it was kind as Illusions is regularly a Mediterra- team organized the event with help seating in exclusive areas and free dances. They are less strict and you see
of intimidating.” nean restaurant. In general, students from Illusions. non-alcoholic beverages. Teen nights a lot of new faces,” Maraboli said.
The Counterfeiters sustain suspense through ambiguity
By Henry Becker times and out of place. A million times an SS
Features Editor officer looks down on Sorowitsch, but he stands
A horsefaced man walks into the glamor- mute, face resolutely down.
ous casinos of the wealthy and wins fabulous The point is made: he’s no martyr. But this
sums. He catches the eye of a young woman and theme adds a heavy tone to the whole movie.
quickly they retire to his suite. Before they make Sorowitsch is always looking down and away,
love, she unrolls his sleeve and sees a number removed emotionally from the audience. Long-
tattooed on his arm. faced characters with sordid pasts are interesting,
“What is that?” she gasps. but hard to relate to.
The Counterfeiters, an Austrian film writ- In contrast, fellow inmate Adolf Burger
ten and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, spirals (August Diehl) does not simply stand by as he
back to tell the story of the mysterious man. fuels the war machine. The audience loves the
Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) is the scrappy Sorowitsch but has qualms over his
alleged “King of the Counterfeiters” in prewar compromise with the enemy. In the thick of
Germany and, unfortunately for him, a Jew. war, it’s hard to say who is more right; Burger
Caught by the counterfeiting bureau of the protests when Sorowitsch asks him to comply
Schutsztaffel (SS), Sorowitsch makes use of with his logic of pleasing authority. “It’s the
his talents to remain alive until he is moved to ideal of the thing,” he contends.
Operation Bernhard, a last-ditch effort of the While Sorowitsch’s character is more real
Nazis to fake U.S. and British money to survive and believable, Burger is passionate and more
as the war slowly ends. watchable. The comparison says a lot about the
Ruzowitzky presents the familiar WWII movie’s restrained style. The camera follows a Magnolia Filmproduktion
saga of the survivor that draws comparisons man from camp to camp, where he works and Inmate Adolf Burger (August Diehl, left) opposes survivor Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl
to Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, but with an is threatened. He cannot leave. The prisoners Markoviks, right), who fuels the German war machine to save his fellow workers.
interesting twist of psychology that keeps the rarely fight the guards, usually each other, and
movie fresh. there is a desire to know what is going on out- from Sorowitsch. Both men have to survive. Ultimately, the movie boils down to So-
Who does the audience root for: the absolute side. Beyond the prison walls, the war rages on, Sorowitsch is not likable at first — he’s just a rowitsch. The audience watches a man who
idealist, who will die for his cause and doom a but the prisoners are inside dressed in smocks counterfeiter — but throughout the movie he survives and protects his companions through his
few alongside him, or the survivor, who complies printing money. learns to be a hero. One senses that both men cleverness. He is arguably the hero, but he also
with orders to save himself and his comrades? However, that tense feeling of ambiguity is are playing their set roles in life. has unheroic characteristics, nor is he entirely
It is an old question, but Ruzowitzky continues a saving grace of the movie. As The Counterfeit- When Sorowitsch and Herzog are together, good anyway. Viewers want to know what he is
to ponder it. His own grandparents were Nazi ers progresses, Ruzowitsky hints at changing The Counterfeiters is at its best. The dynamic thinking, but he is frustratingly opaque. Perhaps
sympathizers and a sense of betrayal comes times. The best character in the film, SS com- tension to either live dishonorably or fight drives his moral ambiguity is Ruzowitsky’s point, but
through the movie powerfully, as Sorowitsch mander Herzog (Devid Striesow) drops clues the movie, which quickly becomes a study on he leaves all final decisions to the audience.
is forced to work for his Nazi oppressors in the of Nazi trouble, desperation to print money and how average people change depending upon
effort to live. the need to meet deadlines. The officer who the situation. This is the novelty that revitalizes
Portraying Sorowitsch is a dangerous line to catches Sorowitsch initially, Herzog is also most the film and elevates it beyond the usual WWII The Counterfeiters
walk for an actor, but Markovics performs well understandable, because he is just a middle- movie, which helps explain why it won the Director: Stefan Ruzowitsky
and creates a man with the face of a cardsharp man caught up in the situation. He functions as Academy Award for Best Foreign Film this year. Cast: Karl Markovics, August
who values life fiercely, but lies to protect his Ruzowitzky’s testament to the man who stands In part it might be the debt the Academy feels Diehl, Devid Striesow
fellow workers from punishment and bargains by and does nothing and is perfectly charming it owes to any WWII movie since the definition Running Time: 98 min.
for medicines and good treatment. However, and monstrous at the same time. He has a wife of war became so conflicted recently, but The Rating:      R
Markovics’ mask of a face seems overdone at and kids and most chilling, is not so different Counterfeiters has a nuanced angle to merit it.
The Campanile Features March 17, 2008 • B7
B6 • March 17, 2008 Features The Campanile

Students face physical, social trials associated with ballet

Male Paly upperclassmen overcome feminine stereotypes to pursue classical dance form
By Gloria Yu
Staff Writer
Trailing the room with pirouettes
and sashay turns, Palo Alto High
School senior Alexei Koseff dances
with confidence as he admires how
far his passion for ballet has taken
him. Koseff, junior Alex Nee and
Paly Class of 2006 grad Bret East-
erling, all manage to acquire mental
and physical toughness through ballet
while combating societal standards
and stereotypes.
Koseff, who began dancing in
kindergarten, now takes lessons at
Dance Connection in Palo Alto and is
the Paly Dance Company’s only male
dancer. He discovered his passion for
ballet after watching friends perform
tap-dancing at a school carnival. This
motivated him to enroll in an all-boy
tap class and, over the years, he began
to experiment with different styles of
dance until he settled with ballet.
“I’ve always been a creative
person and it’s a physical activity that
appeals to that side of me,” Koseff
said. “Also, I’ve made a lot of really
great friends at my studio.”
Dancing, like most sports, serves
as a community for making friends and
creating bonds with those who share
the same interests. However, since the
ballet industry runs low on male ballet
dancers, Koseff, Nee and Easterling
are in a unique position.
“It gives me a different position
and perspective than other people,
which sets me apart in things like col-
lege applications,” Koseff said.
Koseff’s interest in dancing was
not always as prominent as it is today.
Hardships that come with dancing
ballet consist of arduous hours of
body-straining exercises and the main-
tenance of harmonizing one’s physical
and mental capabilities. Ballet, a fluid
yet learned discipline, causes stress in
achieving this precision. However,
aside from the critique of the style of
dance itself, male ballet dancers face
another specific type of criticism.
Many stereotypes associated
with male ballet dancers can plague
a dancer’s confidence.
“In middle school, I was teased
incessantly, but it was during a time I
was feeling undervalued at my studio,”
Koseff said.
At times, Koseff considered quit-
ting as an escape to evade the harass-
ment of classmates who taunted him
for dancing.
Ballet can be seen as one of the
most expressive forms of dance.
The widely held opinion that society
encourages males to conceal any
emotion, and in turn mask any sign
of sensitivity with a facade of tough-
ness, fosters the underlying notion
behind society’s prejudice against Cubberly Community Center. Nee,
male dancers. like Koseff, was exposed to many
“The most frustrating thing is forms of dance such as jazz, hip-hop,
the assumption that you’re gay and tap and, ultimately, ballet.
the idea that it’s bad,” Koseff said. “I “I was the only guy there and
can deal with that, but I think it’s even I realized I kind of liked that,” Nee
worse for people who are gay, because said.
it’s like they are a lesser person.” At the end of the summer camp,
Koseff said one of the reasons Nee won a competition and received
people choose to look down on male a prize of a year’s-worth of free les-
ballet dancers is because dancing sons.
ballet does not make them “manly” After taking these lessons, Nee
enough. Not only does society sustain took his new level of experience and
the concept that men cannot express expanded upon it when he transferred
emotion, but that they also cannot be schools and attended classes at the
graceful or delicate either. Pacific Ballet Company for the fol-
This denigration of constant teas- lowing two years.
ing resulted in many days of fear and Nee’s decision to quit ballet did
torn confidence during which Koseff not stop him from using the knowledge
went home crying. he learned from dancing and applying
“I seriously considered quitting, it to other aspects of his interests. At
because I thought it would make ev- the time, Nee was also committed to
erything better and there was no reason gymnastics and theater. He viewed
for me to continue,” Koseff said. ballet as the lowest of his priorities
Fortunately, one of Koseff’s fam- and decided to continue it only to
ily friends, who saw him perform at enhance his other activities.
a show, was encouraging about his “Ballet fed into both of the oth-
dancing and told Koseff to stay true ers,” Nee said. “It is much more fluid
to himself. and interpretive in nature. You can feel Julia Benton/The Campanile
“It would have been like throwing the music and, although you’re doing Senior Alexei Koseff, who has been dancing since kindergarten, trains rigorously for 12 hours every
away my passion for a bunch of stupid set moves, you can accentuate them week. Koseff also faces the stigma of being a male ballet dancer in a sport associated with women.
boys,” Koseff said. differently.”
Currently, Koseff attends dance Other difficulties faced by male After falling in love with dancing throughout rehearsals can be really ballet techniques in his other artistic
class every Monday through Thursday ballet dancers stem from the ex- at a young age, Easterling is proud hard on their back.” dance activities.
for two to three hours each day. Danc- pected competition with girls in the of where his passion has taken him. While the time commitment and “There’s more freedom and
ing is such same field and The dynamic curriculum at Julliard strenuous hours of practice can be connection with emotion than in
an important accidentally produces two concerts per semester. compared to that of any other sport, other sports,” Nee said. “Ballet has
part of Kos- “The most frustrating thing is the dropping any In addition, students perform their males who do in ballet are exposed to helped me with theater, juggling and
eff’s life that assumption that you’re gay, and the dance part- own choreographed works. harsh criticisms from society. unicycling because it improves your
on the week- idea that it’s bad. I can deal with ners. In most Usually, Easterling’s school “The worst thing about being a coordination and balance.”
ends, he also that, but I think it’s even more hurt- ballet parts, schedule consists of “work,” which male dancer is that there are a lot of Last summer, Koseff performed
attends prac- the male per- includes dancing, choreographing and people who look at you badly for it,” in his first solo performance and made
tice for his ful for people who are gay, because sona acts as other elements in creating art, from 9 Koseff said. “I went through a really it to finals of a national competition
competition it’s like they are a lesser person.” the support a.m. to 10 p.m., five days a week. tough time in middle school because that was held in Las Vegas.
team. In the of the female The environment at Julliard cre- other boys would harass me. It took “I guess dance has just opened
fall, Koseff Alexi Koseff figure as she ates an atmosphere more tolerant of a lot to put it behind me initially, but me up to a lot of new experiences,”
participates poses in an ar- male ballet dancers. I was lucky to have a lot of support. Koseff said. “Sometimes, my studio
annually in Senior abesque, a po- “Coming into Juilliard I knew that When everyone matured a little bit, goes to dance conventions and I’ll
“The Nut- sition where technical proficiency was my biggest at the very least the judgments to my get the experience of competing and
cracker” and one stands on weakness,” Easterling said. “I have face went away.” auditioning, which is comparable to
in June, his studio holds a yearly dance one leg and raises the other leg straight been working hard on sculpting my Nee said being a male dancer a lot of situations in life.”
show. In his studio, he takes part in a out behind him or her. body so I can produce lines that have certainly has its upsides. Evidently, lessons learned through
performance team where he competes The difficulties shared between direction and are aesthetically pleas- “There aren’t many guy dancers, ballet and dealing with the harangue
and performs every year aside from male ballet dancers are universal. ing. Therefore, when I have to perform so you’re the odd one out,” Nee said. that comes with being a male dancer
his regular dance class. Easterling has also experienced movement I am most stressed about “But then again, you’re the only guy is strengthening in the end.
“Dance is a huge time com- hardships. making sure that I apply the ideas and in a room full of fairly attractive girls “I do not see myself performing
mitment,” Koseff said. “I’m really Easterling, who graduated from principles that I learn in ballet.” in tight leotards.” classical repertoire anytime soon. I
devoted to school, so it’s tough to find Paly in 2006 and currently attends In fact, Easterling said that male While men who dance ballet are only see ballet in my future as a way
the time to do homework, go to dance Julliard Conservatory in New York dancers may have an easier time than often times viewed under a negative to help me grow a more solid technical
and still have fun.” City, shares similar experiences of female dancers strictly because of the light, those males who participate in foundation,” Easterling said.
As a result of the long hours of ballet. ratio of men to women dancers. For this sport consider it one of the most Whether or not ballet continues to
commitment required by ballet, Nee, “I was always at the studio [as a example, more opportunities are given rewarding experiences of their life. play a role in Eastering’s, Nee’s and
who began dancing ballet at the age child] in the back of classes in my crib to men because of their rarity. “It’s so intense, athletic and dif- Koseff’s future, the three have gained
of 11, stopped his ballet lessons in his trying to follow along,” Easterling “Besides the struggles both guys ficult, that it’s comparable to any sport, valuable skills and have also learned
sophomore year of high school but said. “I’ve been dancing ever since. and girls face to fulfill the demands with an extra layer of artistry added to stay true to what they love.
continues to include what he learned I was not ever interested in ballet as a that dance asks, the only difficulty that on,” Koseff said. “I don’t think it’s bad “I always want to dance, because
from ballet into his other activities. performance art. I only took it for the is gender specific to men is lifting,” at all that anyone should manage to it’s so important to who I am,” Koseff
He began his ballet career the training so I could have a strong tech- Easterling said. “Male ballet dancers succeed at something like that.” said. “I really enjoy both the exercise
summer he attended a summer camp nical foundation for when I attempt to usually have partners and lifting and Although Nee does not see bal- and the expression, so I’ll always find
at the Dance Connection in Palo Alto’s do less classical movement.” pressing women over and over again let in his future, he still includes his a way to make it part of my life.”

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The Campanile Features March 17, 2008 • B5

Staff member defends animal rights

Paly staffer Ron Brown advocates the humane treatment of animals through posters, letters
By Annie Vought
Staff Writer
Students at Palo Alto High School are
familiar with the shell-pink Suzuki Samurai
jeep with “Summer” emblazoned across the
sides in glittering letters.
The vehicle zips daily through the staff
parking lot with a boogie-board in tow. But
the jeep is set apart from others in the parking
lot in another way: a bumper sticker that reads
“Real Men are Kind to Animals.” The owner
of the sticker — and of the car — is Paly staff
member Ronald Brown, whose campaigning
for animal rights advocacy is visible on walls
and bulletin boards throughout Paly’s campus.
He cites the phrase on the sticker as his own
personal credo.
“Contrary to what some may think, ‘real
men’ are so self-assured that they can be
compassionate,” he said.
Brown, who has been a member of the Paly
staff for five years, was previously a teacher
in Wisconsin at both private and public high
schools. For the past 25 years, he has been
strongly committed to the welfare of animals,
annually making financial contributions to
15 different animal rights organizations with
his wife, Summer Peters and actively getting
involved in various animal-related issues.
“I think that the Earth is sacred,” Brown
said. “Plants and animals are sacred. Earth
itself has historically been the ‘Mother,’ but
I think that [people] are spoiling it.”
His outlook and personal philosophy on
the importance of animal welfare are perfectly
summarized, Brown said, by the words of
renowned 18th and 19th century philosopher
and social reformer Jeremy Bentham.
Bentham, one of the earliest proponents
of animal rights, questioned the ethics of
mankind’s treatment of other creatures.
“The question is not ‘Can they reason?’
nor ‘Can they talk?’; but, ‘Can they suffer?’”
Bentham wrote of animal treatment.
Brown, alongside thousands of others,
firmly states that the ideas raised by Bentham
are still relevant when considering today’s
treatment of and compassion toward animals,
if not more so than ever.
He believes strongly in the importance
of creating awareness about animal suffer-
ing and thus tries to make visible the various
actions Paly students can take to help protect
animals by placing posters and flyers through-
out campus.
“Until you know that there is suffering,
you just don’t see it,” Brown said. “But once
you know that it is there, you see it every-
where ... I want to make young people aware
of noblesse oblige — the obligation of the
nobility to do something for the greater good.
Those who have the advantages should make
the world better.”
Brown, an avid boxer, found inspira-
tion for these ideas in the words of his old
coach.
“He said, ‘When you come to die, if you
haven’t made the world a better place, then
you haven’t done anything,’” Brown said.
Brown, who some may refer to as an
animal-rights activist, prefers the term “hu-
mane educator.”
the arrests of the workers and a 36-state-wide
recall of the house’s beef.
Brown also laments the fact that the
same laws, which were instated to regulate
the humane slaughter of cattle and other farm
animals, do not yet apply to poultry.
“[The laws] should be amended to
include poultry. Poultry are slaughtered in
ghastly fashions,” Brown said, referring to
the infamously torturous methods that many
American slaughterhouses employ on chick-
ens and other fowl.
However, stricter controls of poultry
slaughter would cause the industry to lose
some profit, which might explain their slug-
gishness in becoming legislation.
“The bottom line is money — it’s always
money,” Brown said.
Although many animal rights activists
exert their energy toward legal reform, Brown
remains truer to his title of “humane educator”
by working instead through methods of direct
contact and gathering awareness.
Brown is aided by PETA’s Action Alert
e-mail system, which contacts subscribers with
information regarding critical opportunities
Julia Benton/The Campanile to help animals.
Ronald Brown, known for posting PETA posters (right) around Paly’s campus, also passionately defends animal rights in He frequently takes action on both world-
many other ways. He strongly believes that mankind has a responsibility to care for the Earth and its living creatures. wide and local matters, such as the Westland/
Hallmark slaughter case.
“In truth that’s what I do, whether I’m After news of the mountain lion’s death Unfortunately, many current methods “If somebody presents me with a petition,
talking to young people or whether I’m reached the public, many members of the lo- of the meat farming industry are in blatant that’s nice, I’ll sign it,” Brown said. “But one
writing animal-related letters to the editor or cal community expressed outrage at the city’s violation of a federal law and of what most person can’t change laws. It’s like trying to
whatever.” chosen course of action. animal activists consider to be rather basic stick your finger into a dyke.”
His posters, many of which are produced “The town was wild,” Brown said. “The moral standards. Instead, he tries to change the ways
by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, mayor told me that there had never been more Brown recently took part in helping to in which people think about and approach
succeed in drawing the attention of Paly stu- fervor, chaos, anger and hubbub about anything draw awareness to the atrocities committed situations involving animal liberties. Brown
dents. Brown said he believes the presence in Palo Alto, ever.” by Westland/Hallmark, a California slaugh- and Peters decided to continue to support
of animal rights advocacy in a community is Brown then began to collect signatures terhouse whose violation of various humane animal causes after they pass way. The sole
crucial because it makes the concept of animal from students and faculty at Paly who were slaughter acts resulted in a tremendous scandal beneficiaries of their will are the 15 animal
advocacy more mainstream and accessible to displeased by the mountain lion’s death, even- this winter. rights organizations to which they already
members of said community. tually presenting the mayor with a list of over Legal battles are still running over the contribute.
Even if students do not always stop to 350 names from the Paly community. scandal sparked by secret video footage of “People aren’t getting anything,” Brown
read his posters, Brown said, they will absorb He also wrote to PAPD police chief Lynne non-ambulatory cattle being forcibly dragged said.
their messages at least in part through their Johnson, who told him that she “didn’t think into slaughter by Westland/Hallmark workers He hopes that Paly students, as well as
subconscious, thereby beginning the first step they would do something like this again.” — a direct violation of Congress’s Humane the rest of the world, will be encouraged to
toward mainstreaming the idea of supporting “I thought the whole thing was handled Slaughter Act. help support animals in
animal rights. terribly,” Brown said. “But I like to think that “If an animal
“Plants and animals are sacred. any way they can.
“I’m trying to raise awareness, so that my part, plus the indignation of everyone can’t even walk, then “It’s as Gandhi
when people hear about an important issue, else, will mean that this really won’t happen it shouldn’t be eaten,” Earth itself has historically once said: ‘The great-
they are already familiar with the idea of again.” Brown said. “But [the been the ‘Mother,’ but I think ness of a nation can be
animal rights,” Brown said. “When I started Brown has not always claimed a history employees] defied the that [people] are spoiling it.” judged by the way its
advocating for animals 25 years ago, it was of standing up for animal rights, however. law, dragging the ani- animals are treated.’”
an unheard of thing. But now it’s not so off- Brown, who grew up in Wisconsin, comes from mals into slaughter and Although entirely
the-wall.” a family which has a strong hunting tradition. spearing and shoving Ronald Brown committed to the wel-
Although Paly students may now be fa- Eventually, though, Brown’s enthusiasm for them with forklifts. Cru- Paly staff member fare of animals today,
miliar with the PETA signs, few are aware of hunting started to wear thin. elty shouldn’t be profit- Brown still regrets his
the other measures Brown takes to aid animals “As I would hunt, I’d shoot the animal, able — if you are going hunting past, insisting
and to protect their rights. and then I’d see its eyes slowly start to glaze,” to eat meat, you should be respectful.” that it turned him “bloodthirsty” and caused
Brown was deeply involved in the moun- Brown recounted. “And then you think, ‘this When such important animal rights is- him to “lose reverence for life.”
tain lion controversy that struck Palo Alto in animal was just trying to get by and then this sues surface, Brown makes a point to write to “Fortunately I became sickened at what I
May of 2004, when a police officer shot and S.O.B., myself, came by and shot it.’” newspapers and his letters are nearly always was doing,” Brown said. “The greatest single
killed a mountain lion that had strayed into a Brown gave up hunting at the age of 20 published. influence on my life’s permanent values is Tho-
family’s backyard. and turned to vegetarianism. By persistently contacting both California reau, and I agree particularly with one quote
The Palo Alto Police Department, which “My father was heartbroken,” he said. senators and newspapers, Brown helped to of his, ‘Life is better than death, be it man or
partook in a search for the mountain lion “But I didn’t need to hunt. When you hunt, bring the attention of the nation toward the moose or pine tree.’ Loving all nature at last,
since the first report of its presence arose that you lose respect for life.” unlawful practices of the Westland/Hallmark if I were raising small children, I would take
morning, made a crucial decision to shoot the Despite his personal choice to remain a slaughterhouse. them to the woods armed only with cameras
cougar with a rifle rather than with a tranquil- vegetarian, Brown does not demand that others Other animal rights activists were out- and would do like the Kodak commercial
izer dart for fear that the animal might attack necessarily remove meat from their diets. He raged by the abusive behavior of the slaugh- recommends: ‘Leave nature the way you
neighborhood residents before the drugs could asks, however, for those who eat meat to be terhouse employees and the collective efforts found it!’ Maybe life will allow me to live
take effect. “respectful of the animals.” of these activists and humane educators led to long enough to make some amends.”

Students seeking culture, adventure elect to study abroad

By Hannah Bystritsky my own,” Watson, who will be trav- Senior Claire Lesikar had a simi-
Staff Writer eling to Spain next year, said. “I do lar problem when she traveled to Spain
Senior Emily Merritt always not want to get locked into this kind during her junior year.
wanted to study abroad in Spain. of super-academic, high-pressure “Picking up on the different
“I decided I wanted to go to Spain lifestyle and never really experience subtleties of social situations was
because I was born there and lived anything else. The fact that I can do fairly difficult for me,” Lesikar said.
there until I was three,” Merritt said. this now, when I’m still really young, “It was pretty similar, but there were
“I had no memory of living there, since is great. I want to take full advantage some differences I had to decode.”
I was too young to remember any of it of the possibilities that are out there Admission into a program is
and I wanted to experience my ‘home for students.” relatively accessible, but there are still
country’ as less of a tourist.” While traveling abroad can be many obstacles to traveling abroad.
Like Merritt, a number of Palo an educational and fun experience, Students must find a host family,
Alto High School students are taking students admit it is also stressful and figure out school credit and follow
advantage of opportunities to study challenging. Leaving home and living host rules — all of which can be fairly
and travel abroad. A slew of programs on her own in Spain was at times chal- challenging.
allow students to take either a semes- lenging for Merritt, especially when “Since I’m going away, I have
ter or a year off to go to school in a it came to being part of a household to complete all [of] my credits earlier
foreign country. of strangers. and figure out college applications,”
“I was in the province of Andaluc- “The hardest part about traveling Watson said. “If you are planning to
cía, in a town was probably travel, you definitely want to figure out
called Chiclana “Sometimes people would cor- getting along your credits ahead of time and know
de la Frontera, with my young your post-high school plans.”
right by the rect [my Spanish], but most of the host siblings,” Learning the language and being
coast,” Merritt time they’d just laugh. You have Merritt said. fully submerged in a different culture
said. “School to get over those things because “I’m an only can be a challenging transition. Merritt Courtesy of Emily Merritt
was pretty cra- they really help you learn.” child, so it was found that without the fully developed Senior Emily Merritt spent her junior year studying language in the Spanish coastal town of Chiclana de
zy, because on my first time skills of a native speaker, it was dif-
la Frontera. She cites cultural immersion as one of the most enriching aspects of studying abroad.
top of learning having broth- ficult to keep up with conversation
in Spanish, the Emily Merritt ers and sisters. and socializing. Another challenge for some stu- didn’t like being told what to do by crazy adventures and really improved
way they teach senior In any case, I “I felt like a complete idiot when dents can be following the rules of their host family, and who felt like my Spanish.”
is really dif- think I handled I spoke,” Merritt said. “Despite having their host household and learning what they should be able to do whatever Despite the challenges she faced,
ferent than in it pretty well, learned Spanish for so long, I still felt is considered socially appropriate in they feel like.” Merritt also said she had a very posi-
California.” even when they would come in my like a fool half the time I opened my a new culture. Although Lesikar faced some tive experience.
Like Merritt, junior Caitlin Wat- room and bug me when I was trying mouth. Sometimes people would cor- Living with a host family can be challenges, overall she accomplished “If I could go again, I would in a
son wants to travel abroad to fully to sleep in on Saturday mornings. rect me, but most of the time they’d difficult because guests must adapt everything she hoped to while study- split second,” Merritt said. “I had so
immerse herself in a new culture Also, I can’t even begin to tell you just laugh. You have to get over those to the rules and customs of their new ing abroad. much fun, and I learned a lot, espe-
and learn from a different group of how many lectures I gave on saying things because they really help you family. “I gained foreign language flu- cially about myself. Every once in a
people. ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’” learn. I ended up getting a lot better “You have to be willing to com- ency, new friends and unforgettable while I think ‘Man, I wish I was back
“I want to leave Palo Alto because Another challenge for some at speaking Spanish and I came away promise with your host family and experiences,” Lesikar said. “Basically, in Spain’ or ‘I bet it’s a great day to
I want to become fluent in Spanish students is interpreting the cultural with an accent particular not just to become a member of their house hold.” everything everyone wants to gain go to one of its beaches today.’ It was
and also well-versed and experienced differences and adapting to different that region of Spain, but to the town Merritt said. “I met a lot of kids who when they live abroad. I feel like I’ve a great experience and you take a lot
with a culture pretty different from social norms. I was staying in.” came through my same program who made some amazing friends, had some away from it.”
B4 • March 17, 2008 Features The Campanile

Antique buildings illustrate history of downtown Palo Alto

Popular hotels, theaters, train stations around town feature distinctive historical character, unique detail
By Yvonne Lin Today, the red Southern Pacific
Staff Writer
The town of Palo Alto has a long
history and its old age only adds value
and color to its story. Many of the
Historic Buildings in Palo Alto Line logo still adorns the main win-
dows of the building, but doors to the
ticketing lobby were closed long ago;
a thin layer of dust now covers the
buildings that Palo Alto students pass floor of the once bustling lobby and
by daily may be as old, if not older automated ticketing machines replace
The Hotel President
than their grandparents. friendly faces manning the station.
488 University Ave. Refurbished in the early 1980s,
Hotel President Founded 1929 the Palo Alto station has become a
Tenants of the President Hotel regional transit center for bus pas-
The Varsity Theatre

ue
Apartments in downtown enjoy a great sengers and Caltrain commuters.
housing bargain and live in the once 456 University Ave.

en
classiest hotel in Palo Alto. Shortly The Stanford Theatre

Av
Founded 1927
after the completion of its construc- M Unlike its nearby rival the Varsity
id

ity
tion, the Hotel President welcomed Theatre and many other outmoded
dl

rs
its first guests in 1929, right when ef single-screen theatres, the Stanford
ie

ive
staying in downtown hotels was a new Theatre did not meet the dismal
national craze that indicated class and The Stanford Theatre ld

good taste.
According to the Palo Alto His-
tory Project Web site, auto-friendly
motels like the Cabana and Dina’s
Garden started to spring up along El
Camino Real in the 1950s and 1960s.
This occurrence caused the Hotel
President to lose its customer base,
despite its business success. The Ho-
tel President was converted to studio
apartments in 1968.
Dennis Backlund, resident at the
apartment for 26 years and Historic
Preservation Planner for City of Palo
Alto, said all the current structures
in the apartment, including tiles and
plaster, remained the same.
“If you see something that has
no reason to be there [around the
apartment] today, there probably was
something — it was [probably] taken
out,” Backlund said.
The elevator inside the President
Hotel Apartment installed in the 1950s
is still in use and squeaks loudly when
in motion.
Luxurious dark leather coats the
entire interior of the elevator box, with
detailed floral patterns stained on it.
Although parts of the leather coating
are peeling off, it is still evident that
the hotel had no doubt once been the
symbol of sophistication and class in
Palo Alto.
Backlund said before a theft in the
1980s, the hotel-converted apartment
lobby resembled a palace; extravagant
gilded mirrors were hung near the en-
trance and antique Persian rugs were
lavishly spread across the floor.
“There was all sorts of theft going
on in the ‘80s,” Backlund said.
Backlund said someone stole the
entire rug and all the armchairs in the
lobby one evening and the criminal
was never apprehended.
The Southern Pacific
Railroad Depot
95 University Ave.
Founded 1941
“‘Greed is good’ was the slogan
of the time,” Backlund said.
However, the frequent crime
occurrence stopped by the end of
the ‘80s. Now, primarily Stanford
graduate students and singles live
in the apartments, mostly due to its
proximity to stores and its relatively
low rent. films in 1994.
The Varsity Theatre
While it may be hard to picture
downtown Palo Alto without the hip
Borders Bookstore on University
Avenue, the Varsity Theatre used to
be a place where townspeople would
gather to watch the latest movies in
its one-screen auditorium. Hints of the
building’s past can still be spotted if
one knows what to look for.
Along with its saved marquee,
the red and white neon lights shaped
in block letters that used to be the
theater’s sign are still left intact and
hangs above Borders’ banner. The
impressive sand-colored arches and
pillars surrounding the courtyard
remain unchanged since the theater’s
opening in 1927.
The gilded interior walls of what
is now Borders, crafted in decorative
forms such as floral patterns, emblems
Un
Al
m
E a
Re l C St
re
al am et
in
o with celebrity blessings and drawing
and childish faces, suggest that the
Varsity Theatre had once been a glori-
ous movie theater. After fifty years of
showing Hollywood blockbusters, the
Varsity Theatre underwent transfor-
mation in 1987 and became a revival
house where only aged, classic films
played. Sadly, it stopped showing
Although some art lovers urged
the city to preserve the beloved Varsity
Theatre and utilize it as a performing
arts center or a historical museum, the
Borders retail chain eventually bought
the theater. Because the restoration
and preservation project would cost
an enormous sum of approximately
five million dollars, the city rejected
the proposal.
Although the efforts to preserve
the historic building failed, Borders
agreed to preserve most of its original
interior. The two large ornamental
decorations found in the ceiling of
Borders are remains of where the chan-
delier of the theater used to hang.
In order to reconstruct the build-
ing, the stadium-style auditorium
as well as the ascending stairs were
knocked down. However, the preser-
vation group succeeded in persuading
Borders to keep the marquee, court-
221 University Ave. Ro
Founded 1925
ad
Julia Benton/The Campanile, Elizabeth Petit/The Campanile
yard and some of its interior features. landmarks in Palo Alto remain un-
Backlund, who also planned the recon- challenged.
struction project, said Borders initially Completed in 1941 by the South-
was reluctant to invest on maintaining ern Pacific Company, just years before
the theater’s interior. However, Bor- the decline in railroad popularity, the
ders later changed its mind. single-story Palo Alto Station served
“Now that they see that having the a total of about 600 residents and
additional historical value and decora- Stanford students.
tion is an attractive asset for customers This newly finished station,
who come [to Borders] to buy books, which replaced the one built in 1897,
they must be happy to have kept the had an arcade in front and a marquee
old features,” Backlund said. at the rear. Its elaborate interior design
also befitted the hub city that it served,
The Palo Alto Southern consisting of a ticketing office, wait-
Pacific Railroad Depot ing room, rest rooms and baggage
When students read about the rail- rooms. The station was designed in the
road expansion in 1920s in their U.S. Streamline Moderne style ­— hip at the
history class, most do not immediately time — which features curving forms
connect Palo Alto as relevant to this and long horizontal lines. Backlund
important social revolution. said the ticketing office was operated
When they busily pass by or manually and the Palo Alto depot was
wait at the Palo Alto Caltrain station, once the third most trafficked station
they often dismiss the now defunct in California.
cream-colored building erected by The mural in its interior above
the railroad tracks. The purpose and the ticketing booth can still be seen
past of the building remain a mystery today. The art done by John McQuarrie
to most. depicts the Leland Stanford’s dream
Today, although the South Pa- of a prospering university influenced
cific Depot is no longer teeming with by a pageant of transportation: steam
bustling crowds waiting in queue to trains along with hopeful settlers on
purchase train tickets, its status as horseback and wagons rushing west-
one of the most significant historical ward to California.
fate of closure. Thanks to the David
and Lucile Packard Foundation, the
Stanford Theatre has survived the
trials of time.
The Stanford Theatre was built in
1925 for $300,000 and was immedi-
ately praised by the local press to be
the pride of the Peninsula. At the time,
the Stanford showed premiers of such
classics as The Philadelphia Story and
Rear Window, hosting opening nights
crowds of movie aficionados.
However, declining business in
the 1960s led the theater to modify its
offering; for a brief period, the Stan-
ford showed obscure off-Broadway
plays and bland pop acts that received
no praise and little notice. Unsuccess-
ful at this new endeavor, by the early
1980s the Stanford reverted back to
showing films, this time of second-
run variety.
However, when the Stanford’s
showing of old movies attracted the
attention of David Woodley Packard,
who later poured five million dollars
into the restoration project, he single-
handedly ensured that the theater
would be restored to its former glory
with great accuracy.
To do so, Packard’s crew pains-
takingly searched for original pho-
tographs of the theater in the ‘30s
to serve as models for replication.
Additionally, the crew brought in the
original construction team from Los
Angeles to manage the restoration
project.
After decades, these historical
landmarks of Palo Alto are still stand-
ing erect. They are reminiscent of
the city’s past as it undergoes social
transformation and evolves into the
charming town Palo Alto High School
students have come to know.

Students learn auto skills on their own, spend time to rebuild classic cars
CARS, Continued from B1
sports and other activities, dedicating time
to working on a car or buying auto parts is
difficult.
“The ‘67 Cougar, which I got first, I’ve
spent almost a year and a half on and I’m
not completely done,” Fittoria said. “I have
school, sports and all these other things. It
takes a long time.”
Despite the problems, Fittoria cites many
advantages of rebuilding cars.
“You can take a muscle car from the ‘60s
or ‘70s and make it look however you want,”
Fittoria said. “You can make it faster, bigger
and louder. And it’s that sense that you made
it yourself. I can say that these are my cars,
that I rebuilt them.”
Another benefit is the relatively inexpen-
sive cost of these cars.
“Rebuilding it yourself is a lot less money
than paying someone to do all the work,” Fit-
toria said. “When you have the knowledge
to do all the work, it’s a lot cheaper. At most,
doing all the work on a car is maybe a couple
thousand dollars.”
Maggi is taking a different path with his
car, investing a self-estimated $10,000 from
his parents and personal savings to fix up his
VW Bug, not to mention countless hours of
working and fixing.
“I spend hours mulling over in my mind,
making sure I’m doing it right,” Maggi said.
“I had to replace certain things, which led to
replacing other things, so I spent more money.
The biggest thing this has used up is time but
it’s worth it. ”
Not only did Maggi add changes such as
custom black rims, a new engine and custom
interior details, he also repaired all of the
problems that seemed to plague the car.
“I sanded off all the paint, dealt with the
rust because it’s a pretty old car, painted and
restored the frame, put in new brake lines and
fixed holes,” Maggi said.
Maggi also installed a custom air suspen-
sion system and took the car to a paint shop
to give it a distinctive blue color.
“The air suspension is probably the car’s
most unique feature,” Maggi said. “I can make
the car go within a few inches of the ground
and then raise it up when I want to drive it. It
adds a new level to the car because you don’t
see a lot of cars with air suspension.”
Likewise, the awe and impression a rebuilt
car has motivates Fittoria.
“I rebuild these cars so that I can drive
them and be in this nice looking car,” Fittoria
said. “When I go down University Avenue,
people stare at my car and notice it.”
Despite the frustration of challenging car
parts and the difficult balance between other
activities and his project, Maggi is also looking
forward to his final product.
“I had a picture in my mind of what I
wanted it to look like and I’m surprised as
to how close my original dream my car has
come to,” Maggi said. “I’m pretty proud of
myself. This isn’t something you see everyday,
someone in high school doing this kind of stuff. Julia Benton/The Campanile
The sense of accomplishment is definitely Driven by his interest in automobiles, senior Michael Fittoria has rebuilt five
worthwhile.” cars, transforming both the physical and mechanical capabilities of his cars.

JJ and F

Melinda Wedemeyer
Realtor, Alain Pinel
10% off with student ID!
578 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94307 410 California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA
(650) 543-1109 (650)323-0409
mwedemeyer@apr.com
The Campanile Features March 17, 2008 • B3

Students under stress battle insomnia

Teen insomniacs unable to fall asleep due to academic and social pressures, anxiety
By Rebecca Allen
News Editor
As Tiffany opens her eyes, she
realizes that school begins in 40 min-
utes. She has been awake for the past
four hours and has gotten less than two
hours of sleep. Palo Alto High School
senior “Tiffany,” who, like the other
sources in this article chose to remain
anonymous, has battled insomnia for
the majority of her teenage years and
often struggles to get more than three
hours of sleep a night.
“Most of the time, I sleep a little
bit,” Tiffany said. “But I have experi-
enced periods of time when I just don’t
sleep at all for a few days.”
Insomnia is defined as a chronic
inability to fall asleep or remain
asleep for an adequate length of time.
According to a 2004 study on teen-
age sleeping patterns, 17 percent of
students aged 14 to 18 have persistent
enough sleeping patterns and habits
to be defined as insomniacs.
Tiffany first started having
sleeping problems in middle school,
which soon escalated into full-blown
insomnia. Some nights she would not
sleep at all; often, she got less than an
hour of sleep.
“I stopped sleeping normally be-
cause I got extremely anxious and just
couldn’t sleep,” Tiffany said. “Now I
don’t sleep just because I’m used to
not sleeping. I just stay up.”
Caused by a multitude of fac-
tors, typical insomnia is often due to
anxiety. There are two main types of
insomnia: short-term (transient) and
long-term (chronic). Stress and poor
mental state are cited as causes for
both types of insomnia and often the
severity of stress can impact how long
the insomnia lasts.
“Matt,” a Paly sophomore, was
diagnosed with insomnia in the sev-
enth grade when he stopped sleeping
through the night.
After his parents’ divorce, he
began staying up late due to anxiety
over his situation and when school
began to get more difficult, his sleep-
ing patterns became more and more
irregular.
“It is hard to say that the only
thing that caused my insomnia was
my parents’ divorce or stress about
school,” Matt said. “I know that I
have always had a very active mind
and imagination and that makes it
very hard for me to focus on sleeping.
The problems come because once you
start thinking about sleep and how you
don’t sleep enough, it is impossible to
stop thinking about it.”
According to the Centers for
Disease Control, both a stressor and a
poor mental attitude about a person’s
inability to sleep or even a fear of sleep
can trigger insomnia.
“[The affect of sleep deprivation]
depends on how long it’s been since
I’ve slept,” Tiffany said. “If I get a
little sleep, I actually think I have more
energy; I get an adrenaline rush.”
According to the sleep study, 15
percent of teens drive drowsy and with
below minimum attention to the road
which increases the rate of accidents
in and around schools.
Additionally, 73 percent of teens
who develop anxiety and increased
stress at school do not sleep well the
previous night, thus increasing the
tension they feel at school. Conversely,
over 80 percent of the teens who do
sleep on a regular pattern have an
average GPA between 3.2 and 4.0,
whereas students who suffer from
sleeping disorders and irregularities
have a much lower average.
Though there is medication avail-
able to help insomniacs and those who
have trouble sleeping at night, students
like Matt and Tiffany do not see those
as viable options for them.
“Taking medication like Ambien
when I can’t sleep causes me to be a
completely different person the next
day,” Matt said. “I am absolutely not
willing to sacrifice my personality and
my energy level just so I can sleep a Allie BollellaThe Campanile
little more. The medicine disorients
According to The National Sleep Foundation, only 15 percent of high school students are getting the recommended amount of sleep.
you the entire day.”
Ambien, a sleep aid, is classified Insomia is caused by stress and anxiety, but distractions such as extracurriculars, homework can also influence sleep deprivation.
as a hypnotic and users often report of Estrogen can also be found in take additional Advanced Placement and brains, but it is also a key time For Tiffany and Matt, sleep
experiencing at least minor side effects cattle and pesticides in food and classes, getting the recommended when they process what they’ve deprivation is more than just stress
the next day, which include drowsi- when a person eats an excessive amount of sleep each night is unre- learned during the day,” Jodi A. Min- and distractions. It is internal, and
ness and feeling disoriented. However, amount of food, he or she releases alistic. dell, Associate Director of the Sleep school only serves as complicating
symptoms can be more serious such more estrogen. “The workload at Paly is huge Center at The Children’s Hospital of the problem.
as becoming a more aggressive person When both men and women go and I’m always trying to find time to Philadelphia, said. “I don’t think anything Paly has
and having violent tendencies. through puberty, estrogen is released fit it in,” Koseff said. “I think the non- The study shows most teenag- done is the cause of not sleeping but I
Tiffany believes that it is not to stimulate sex organs and changes stop intensity of being at this school ers are turning to caffeine in lieu of do think that teachers and administra-
worth taking a sleep aid in order to the circadian rhythm, which normally contributes to my need to just chill sleep. tors could be more understanding of
get more sleep. controls sleep pattern. for some time each day, but that time About 75 percent of all 14- to the affects of losing sleep,” Tiffany
“I think that I am completely dif- Senior Alexei Koseff said that can only come when I really need to 18-year-olds drink at least one bev- said.
ferent than I would be with a ‘healthy’ due to school pressure, extracurricular be sleeping.” erage with caffeine and out of that Though Matt thinks that insomnia
sleep pattern,” Tiffany said. activities and constant distractions, According to The National Sleep population, one third of those teens is a personal issue that each person
Beyond diagnosed insomnia, it is impossible for him to get a full Foundation, high school students are drink two or more beverages. has to deal with on his or her own
teen insomnia is a serious issue for night’s sleep and come to school well supposed to get eight to twelve hours The study recommends keeping accord, he also thinks that Paly has
students, particularly in high-stress rested the next day. of sleep a night. electronics outside of the room, doing a responsibility to take care of each
school districts such as Palo Alto. “I get hours of homework every However, 85 percent of students homework earlier in the day and exer- student and make sure that they are
Teen insomnia is defined as an night, from math and English espe- do not come near eight hours a sleep cise to improve sleeping patterns. mentally stable.
interrupted sleep schedule due to out- cially,” Koseff said. “But then I feel a night, averaging around six hours However, it also acknowledges “I understand that the teachers
side forces such as school, social life, the need to check my Facebook, my each night. that making a real difference is have a duty to teach,” Matt said.
pressure and in many cases hormonal e-mail, PerezHilton.com and so on. During the ages of 14 to 18, unlikely without later start times at “But by taking accountability for the
imbalances. The main hormone that I’m aware that I need to go to bed, sleep is crucial not only for health schools. amount of work given and the early
interrupts a teen’s ability to sleep is but I still get distracted for at least reasons but also allows students to “In the competition between the start time, we can start to eradicate
estrogen, which, though released more an hour.” learn better. natural tendency to stay up late and the problems with our sleep schedules
prominently in a female body, is pres- Many students claim that because “Sleep serves not only a restor- early school start times, a teen’s sleep and help each student become more
ent in both men and women. of the constant work and pressure to ative function for adolescents’ bodies is what loses out,” Mindell said. stable.”

PageOnce offers a new approach to using the Internet

By Jon Shan
Staff Writer
Twenty minutes checking Facebook, ten
minutes on Gmail, then another fifteen minutes
spent on Facebook. The incremental amount
of time initially spent avoiding homework
snowballs, growing exponentially until the
typical high school student’s procrastination
reaches its zenith.
For many students, logging in to check
their numerous online accounts is a time-
consuming task. Now, a new Palo Alto-based
company called PageOnce may have the solu-
tion: a personal content aggregator.
Personal content aggregators are web-
pages that collect information from other
web-pages and transmits the data back to
a centralized homepage. Like many other
services online, PageOnce is a free service
available at www.pageonce.com/utr.htm
After signing in, users are presented with
a page filled with icons of various service
providers, including Yahoo, Netflix, Facebook,
Myspace and more. Clicking each site brings
up a sign-in box, allowing users to input their
usernames and passwords.
Once on the site, users are presented
with a site that is divided into six tabs, with
the homepage showing a summary of all the
information and the tabs giving detailed infor-
mation about each category such as finance,
shopping and travel.
From PageOnce, students can stay up-
dated on their Facebook messages, check their
e-mails, find out when their next Netflix DVD
will come and how many minutes are left on
their cell phone plan. Parents can also use it
to cross reference their credit cards with their
checking accounts, keep tabs on the delivery
status of items ordered from places like Ama-
zon.com, check up on their phone bills or even
stay up to date on their investment portfolios.
One drawback to the program is its inability
to send or otherwise edit information directly
from the PageOnce homepage. Replying to e-
mails or social network “wall posts” requires
going to the actual page.
Created in mid-2007, PageOnce allows users to access all their accounts such as Facebook, e-mail and phone bills from one
central location. The service is currently in private beta but is expected to become public beta in the upcoming month.
Instead, PageOnce provides links that
automatically log users into those accounts
and if they fall victim to credit card fraud,
PageOnce displays the telephone number of
their credit card company.
Privacy advocates worried about the site’s
venerability may be somewhat comforted
in knowing that PageOnce uses 128-bit en-
cryption, the highest industry standard for
data protection and is audited and tested by
reputable third party security firms.
The company was founded in mid 2007
by CEO Guy Goldstein and Hakim Kufman.
PageOnce recently received a $1.5 million
boost from venture capitalists and has a de-
veloper team based in Israel. A three person
staff is currently working out of a building on
El Camino Street.
According to Goldstein, the user base has
grown to over 10,000 users. The program is
currently invite-only, similar to Gmail in its
early stages.
“We are currently in private beta right
now and we will go to public beta within the
next few weeks,” Goldstein said. “Although
we are in beta, we are finding that people are
finding us.”
A new “Invite friends” link was added,
allowing for current beta users to invite friends
and family to use the service.
Companies like Yahoo! and Google have
fought not only for dominance as search en-
gines, but also as the user’s homepage.
Each of those services (like iGoogle
and My Yahoo!) has customizable modules
showing news, blog posts and RSS feeds. On
iGoogle, users can add on custom widgets
such as clocks and calendars.
However, neither of these programs al-
low users to directly access any log-in based
accounts outside of the service tied with their
own.
From the iGoogle.com homepage, us-
ers cannot check their Yahoo! Mail and vice
versa whereas PageOnce can and is currently
attempting to fill that niche with its service.
“Ideally we would like for PageOnce
to be where users log in every day,” VP of
Marketing Aimen Minhaf said.
The feedback the company has received
from users has also been positive and en-
couraging.
“Overall people really like it,” Minhaf
said. “They [users] say they were looking for
something like this.”
Like many other free services, PageOnce
may find methods of revenue, such as ad-
vertisements, in order to bring in funding
for development. For now, the site is free of
advertisements.
Like all web services, PageOnce provides
links to its privacy and terms of service page
on every page.
“We are currently talking to VCs [venture
capitalists],” Minhaf said. “The more accounts
people put in, the more they frequently use it,
the better. Our goal right now is to try to make
the service as useful as possible for customers
on a frequent basis.”
Recently, PageOnce was chosen by the
California Israel Chamber of Commerce, a
organization devoted to potentially promis-
ing connecting Israeli start-ups to resources
including investors and the media.
B2 • March 17, 2008 Features The Campanile

Hospitalized students receive unique education

PAUSD and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital collaborate to continue education for residents of the hospital
By Michael Hamada
Staff Writer
When teacher Cameron Sunde walks
into her elementary school classroom, she
sees an ordinary classroom full of children’s
books, crayons, chairs, student artwork and
colorful paper cutouts. It is almost nine in the
morning, but Sunde’s first students will not
arrive for another half an hour, so she read-
ies her lesson plans for the day. The place is
spotless; it has to stay clean and organized
for good reason. As average as the classroom
may seem at first glance, it is one of the most
unique schoolrooms in the entire Palo Alto
Unified School District.
A closer look will reveal a biohazard box
placed near medical gloves and disinfectant
spray in the corner of the room. At the entrance
of the facility, visitors will even be questioned
about recent illnesses and possible exposure
to disease.
There is even the option of picking up a
face-mask for one’s own protection. Some-
times the students of Sunde’s classroom can-
not make it to class and will require bedside
teaching. These are the conditions that the
students of the Lucile Packard Children’s
Hospital (LPCH) School must endure to keep
up with their schooling.
Even though the LPCH School, founded
in 1924, is the second oldest school in the
PAUSD behind Palo Alto High School, most
students do not even know it exists.
The school is a collaboration program
between the PAUSD and the LPCH to provide
education to critically and chronically ill chil-
dren during their stay at the hospital.
“The LPCH School is the same in almost
every aspect as any of the other schools in the
district, except that LPCH students become
residents in the district, staying at either the
hospital or the Ronald McDonald House,”
PAUSD Associate Superintendent Marilyn
Cook said.
Sunde is proud of her students who insist
on continuing their education despite the dif-
ficult circumstances they face.
“The children who come here are gener-
ally more mature and their responses are more
adult-like because of the things they have been
through,” said Sunde, the leading teacher at
the LPCH school.
According to Sunde, most of the patients
who attend the school are in the hospital for
transplants, which usually require a hospital
stay of over 100 days.
“Since a regular school year is about 180
days, a student in the hospital for a transplant
is missing about two thirds of their school
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital School, the second oldest school in PAUSD, accommodates its young patients by
providing personalized instruction during their stay at the hospital. The school has an enrollment of about 50 students.
year,” Sunde said. “So most kids will want
to try and keep up with their schooling if their
condition permits them.”
However, it is not always easy for the
students at LPCH.
“Some students will come into class in
wheelchairs or other medical paraphernalia,”
Cook said.
Most students, because of their medical
conditions, are unable to work together in
class. This is the reason for why most of the
students receive one-on-one teaching. There
are also a few group classes that include art
and theater.
The LPCH school currently has an enroll-
ment of about 50 students who’s grade levels
range from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Of the 210 children in the hospital only a
certain number are of the right age and are in
a stable enough condition to attend the school.
Although the school program is funded by
the PAUSD and all the teachers are provided
by the district, only about two percent of the
students who attend the LPCH school are from
the city of Palo Alto.
When a new student enters the school,
teachers at the LPCH school will contact the
school the child was previously attending and
obtain information about where the student
stands regarding his or her schooling. The
teachers will then develop a student-specific
curriculum to match the needs of each student
with material obtained either from the school
the student previously attended or from the
PAUSD.
“It is a complex process that requires a
lot of preparation from the staff,” Sunde said.
“But it is the only solution when you have
med.stanford.edu
so many students at different grade levels,
who have all learned different things at their
previous schools.”
Maia Evrigenis, a seventh grader cur-
rently attending the LPCH school, was skepti-
cal at first about this new school.
“When I was first diagnosed with leuke-
mia and moved from Sutter Middle School
in Sacramento, I was scared about school
and how hard it was going to be,” Evrigenis
said.
However, when Evrigenis began attend-
ing the LPCH school she soon realized that
everything was going to turn out fine.
“The best part is that the teachers are so
fun and they are your friends,” Evrigenis said.
“You also get a lot of one-on-one attention
which is great because when you go through
chemo, it makes you forget about things.”
According to a LPCH report, there are
students from China, Jordan and Samoa
currently attending the school. Students
receive an average of three and a half hours
of classroom instruction per day unless they
are receiving bedside teaching. The report
also stated that children who become ill have
responded better to treatment if they maintain
similar routines.
“Students who attend the LPCH school are
given a district transcript with course credits
from the PAUSD,” Marilyn Cook said. “We
have also arranged with the College Board to
have students take Advanced Placement and
SAT tests at the LPCH school.”
Evrigenis said the atmosphere is laid back,
but it is still difficult for the students to be
away from friends and miss out on the social
aspect of going to a regular school.
“Of course you make friends, but I miss
being around my friends at home a lot,”
Evrigenis said.
Attending the LPCH school is as good
as any school, as some students have gradu-
ated from the program and are now attending
prestigious universities. Cook and Sunde
said some graduates and past attendees are
currently enrolled at Stanford University,
University of California at Los Angeles and
Dartmouth College.
“Probably the most memorable thing for
me is putting together the Hospital School
Prom each year,” Kathy Ho, a LPCH high
school teacher, said. “There are so many kids
who miss their own proms, or who will never
get to go to one and we want all our students
to have as normal a life as possible.”
LPCH school alumnus Alexandra, whose
full name has been withheld for privacy rea-
sons, said that her friends never understood
what a gift the school was to students like
her.
“The opportunity is not just to have what
is essentially three private tutors on hand for
four hours a day, but it is also a break and
distraction from being sick,” Alexandra said.
“For a little while each day, fellow students
and I can pretend that we aren’t sick, but
instead, in a special school with relaxed, but
smart teachers.”
Teachers at the LPCH school have their
work cut out for them, but it is the students
who defy the odds and choose to continue
their schooling regardless of their unfortunate
situations.
“These kids have a very different perspec-
tive because of their situations, so they are
inspiring to me and to the other kids around
them,” Ho said. “Our kids are special.”

Ku Klux Klan hate crimes darken Palo Alto’s history

By Kevin Harvey protecting the South from negative
Staff Writer black influence.
Most students at Palo Alto High Klan membership dramatically
School do not expect a history of increased in the late 1910s to six
severe racism in their greater com- million members across the country,
munity. Most students discuss the which was about one quarter of the
United States’ shadowy history tainted American male population during
by racial prejudice and how people the time period. Many women were
continue to work to overcome it. involved in the Klan as well.
However, these students are not aware In 1923, Palo Alto first encoun-
of the fact that during the 1920s and tered the Klan when Robert Burnett,
mid-1940s, many residents of Palo a Texan and engineering graduate of
Alto and Stanford University were Stanford University, advised the Palo
members of the racist hate group Alto Times of his determination to
known as the Ku Klux Klan. create a local chapter of the Ku Klux
The Ku Klux Klan was founded Klan in Palo Alto.
in 1866 by veterans of the Confederate By the next year, two local chap-
army after the Civil War in an attempt ters emerged. One was a Palo Alto
to resist the northern states’ plans of chapter, made up of some of the area’s
reconstructing the South. businessmen and political figures and
The Klan used violence and ter- the other was at Stanford University,
rorism, such as lynching or cross burn- comprised of at least seven members
ing, to display their white-supremacist of its staff. Later that same year, a
views and to intimidate social or women’s auxiliary of the Palo Alto
ethnic groups that they believed were chapter was instated and consisted
of lower status. However, the first of over 50 members.
iteration of the Ku Klux Klan began Unabashed, the two chapters of
to disintegrate after President Ulysses the Klan held many of their meetings
S. Grant passed the Civil Rights Act publicly and throughout Palo Alto,
of 1871. both out in the streets or in public
Both Palo Alto and Stanford facilities.
University established their own According to the Palo Alto Times
distinct chapters of the Ku Klux Klan archive, initiations of new members
during the 1920s and mid-1940s. were carried out and witnessed by as www.old-picture.com, cache.viewimages.com, www.paloaltodailynews.com
Their members acted on their hatred few as a hundred local resident or as
Antique images from the 1920s and 1930s depict Ku Klux Klan members, dressed in white robes, engaging in illegal activities and secret
of African-Americans, Catholics, many as a few thousand. They were
Jews, homosexuals and immigrants organized by assigned recruiters, or rituals. The painting of the Klan’s insignia in 1946 in Palo Alto (right) alludes to a possible second uprising of the Klan in the 1940s.
throughout the community. Kleagles. Venues, such as the Santa thority to repress the growing Klan Outward violence by the Klan On May 31, 1946, a three-foot- local police departments, no one was
A second wave of Klan followers Clara County Fairgrounds and numer- movement within Palo Alto by aid- was relatively dormant during the high Ku Klux Klan insignia was ever convicted for the crime.
emerged in 1915 when D.W. Griffith’s ous other halls in the area, were used ing potential minority victims and 1920s. The Klan was able to intimidate painted in bright red on the intersection Most students react to this little-
film, Birth of a Nation, was released. for initiations and demonstrations. empowering building owners to not the social and ethnic groups that it of Homer Avenue and Ramona Street, known fragment of Palo Alto’s past
The film was based on Reverend The Klan gatherings were extremely rent their sites to the Klan. He made a despised because of its large size. which was formerly a dominantly with disbelief.
Thomas Dix- formal and valiant effort to eliminate Klan corrup- The Klan drastically adapted black populated area of town. “I know that the Ku Klux Klan
on’s book, each event tion within the police force by firing since the 1920s and was much more The menacing insignia disturbed was very wide spread, but I did not
Both Palo Alto and Stanford Uni-
The Clans- would be officers whom he discovered to be secretive and covert. They no longer local residents and Palo Alto Chief of make the association that they were so
men, which versity had their own distinct chap- conducted by Klan members and by preventing po- held large marches or gatherings, Police Howard A. Zink immediately prolific as to spread here too,” junior
romanticized ters of the Ku Klux Klan during the an assigned lice compliance with Klan activities, and all actions that were labeled took action to repress any further up- Nadav Shiffman said.
the original 1920s and mid-1940s. leader. All according to the Palo Alto Times. as the Klan’s were generally more rising, vandalism or violence. Earlier Despite the popularity of the Klan
formation members Noble was later brought to trial terrorist-like intimidation rather than that year, the home of an African- in certain areas, the Klan has mostly
and actions would be and falsely accused by enraged Klan intimidation by the masses. American WWII veteran named John disappeared in the U.S.
of the Klan. suited in a white hooded robe and a members of financial corruption and During the mid-1940s, Palo Alto T. Walker was burned to the ground in “While the crimes of the sort
The propagandist’s film dis- cross was burned as members chanted dismissal of charges against numerous residents suspected that there had been Redwood City, after the 22-year-old have subsided, the tensions are still
played images of white men rescuing and made speeches. criminals. Noble was testified against a second uprising of the Ku Klux Klan. veteran was repeatedly threatened. there,” Shiffman said. “Perhaps it will
terrified Southern white women from At this time, Palo Alto Police by multiple Klan members, including However, the suspicion was never Despite the collaboration with the always be there as long as we continue
haunting-looking black men and Chief Chester F. Noble used his au- Burnett. corroborated. Palo Alto Police Department and other to view race as an issue.”
The Campanile
Life styles Features • A&E • People Monday, March 17, 2008

Pimp
Media’s momentum
manipulative “You can take a muscle car from
“I had a picture in my mind of the ‘60s or ‘70s and make it
what I wanted it to look like look however you want. You
and I’m surprised as to how can make it faster, bigger
close to my original dream and louder. I can say that
my car has cometo. I’m these are my cars, that
pretty proud of myself.” I rebuilt them.”
Chris Clayton
Jon Shan
On Mar. 4, Ohio, Texas, Vermont Stefano Maggi Michael Fittoria
and Rhode Island all held primaries
or caucuses; according to the media,
junior senior
Hillary Clinton won a “definitive vic-
tory,” taking Ohio by approximately
10 percent, the Texas primary by a little
over three percent and Rhode Island
by approximately 18 percent. Obama
took Vermont by over 20 percent and,
with 41 percent of the precincts report-
ing, was winning the Texas caucus by
over 12 percent.
Finally, when the delegates were
tallied (not including those from the

my ride
Texas caucus, which on Thursd, have
not been delegated to each candidate,
as the caucus results are not complete),
Clinton had gained fewer than 20 del-
egates across the four states, hardly a
resounding victory, as these delegates
comprised less than 10 percent of the
total delegates at stake that night, and
substantially less than one percent of
the total delegates to date.
But what, then, did Clinton win
that night? Although the delegate
count remained virtually unchanged,
she gained political momentum.
Political momentum has been
emphasized enormously throughout
this campaign, almost entirely by the
media, as being nearly as important as
the relative delegate totals. But what
is political momentum, then, save a
fabrication of the media, created to
allow for another topic of discussion,
and increase ratings by encouraging
potential voters to continue watching
a station?
Political momentum, in and of
itself, is meaningless; one rarely sees
the candidates proclaiming that they
have the momentum of the country
behind them or that their momentum
will carry them to the nomination.
Instead, they discuss why they are
better, and imply that their superior
policies cause others to rally behind
them.
Thus, the media is responsible for
this phenomenon, and deserves criti-
cism for its irresponsibility in creat- By Kelly Zhou Another Paly student, junior that I decided to fix the car,” Maggi the ‘67 and see that the rust was a lot
ing this false perception that extends Staff Writer Stefano Maggi, is working on finish- said. “I could see that it had been in ‘69 Cougars. thicker or that there were
Rolling up to his house after four ing rebuilding a 1964 Volkswagen an accident before.” The ‘67 was a complete disaster holes. The little problems
far outside their role as information
weeks away during the summer, Palo Beetle, also commonly referred to Similarly, Fittoria learned how to when I got it. It didn’t even have an made it harder.”
providers and affect politics in a de-
Alto High School senior Michael as a “bug”. rebuild cars by himself, with some as- engine to begin with. There are some Maggi experienced a similar
ceptive manner counterproductive to
Fittoria expected to find everything “I really like to tinker around sistance from his father. Although his small details to be finished but they’re technical situation with his car.
our democracy.
as he had left it. Instead, he found and rebuild things and I’ve always car had many problems when Fittoria pretty much ready to go.” “The front end of my car gave
Conversely, this momentum
something else: potential. been interested in the way things first received it, such as a lack of an Fittoria is making extensive me a lot of trouble. At first, when I
has played a role in helping Barack
“I suddenly saw two nice muscle work,” Maggi said. “Cars interested engine and a hood, he rebuilt the car changes to the cars’ mechanical power installed it, I could visibly see that
Obama, particularly after his virtual
cars [1967 and 1969 Mercury Cou- me because it was something I could and later sold it. and physical appearance, including the wheel on the driver’s side was
tie with Clinton on Super Tuesday,
gars] just standing there, and by nice, rebuild. It sounded really fun and re- “I replaced both the engine and interior changes, adding a nitrous kit more forward than the other side. I
and his 11 consecutive victories be-
I mean pieces of junk,” Fittoria said warding and I got a lot of inspiration the transmission, changed the interior, for extra horsepower and replacing measured everything but the results
tween then and the March 4 primaries
“But I could see that a year from now, from other people’s projects.” it was pretty nice,” Fittoria said. “I the engines. were completely inconclusive.”
and caucuses. Either way, the media
those cars would definitely come out Maggi expects to complete his didn’t really want a Jaguar though. “For the ‘96 Nissan Sentra, I put Because of other modifications
should not create this pendulum that
really well. Just seeing what I could project this month after finishing some [Later] I sold it because I didn’t need nice touches on it like new lights, Maggi had made, it was necessary
alters the “momentum” of the race,
do with these cars made me feel so minor details on the car, including it and it was taking up room.” racing seats, a nice steering wheel, for him to find the solution.
and unfairly advantages one candidate
good.” the bumpers and front fenders. He Since remaking his Jaguar, Fitto- new rims and tires, blue light gauges “This problem haunted me for
or the other.
Driven by his love for cars, Fitto- started working on his Bug about ria has rebuilt four other cars: a 1967 and a special stereo system,” Fittoria more than six months,” Maggi said.
The problem with momentum
ria started taking apart and rebuilding two years ago, removing all of the Mercury Cougar, a 1969 Mercury said. “I wanted it to look like a sporty After changing the front fenders
is that it derives from nothing other
cars about two years ago. parts and teaching himself how to Cougar, a 1996 Nissan Sentra, and a racing car.” and adjusting the front suspension,
than the previous victories of each
“My dad gave me a car, an ‘88 rebuild a car. 1968 Chevy Impala. Although the cars However, all these changes did Maggi resolved the problem and
candidate and does not reflect the
Jaguar, as a present for graduating “I took it apart out of interest and I are not entirely finished, most are up not come easily. aligned the front end of the car.
actual merits of each candidate.
sophomore year and I started work- thought I was just going to put it back and running. “There were a lot of difficulties,” For both Maggi and Fittoria, time
Voters should be voting based upon
ing on it,” Fittoria said. “I started just together as it had been before, but as “I drive my ‘68 Impala to school, Fittoria said. “I’d think that something is an important issue. Facing school,
whom they believe would be a supe-
because my dad always used to work I started taking more and more parts it’s almost completely done,” Fittoria was fine but when I sanded a part
rior commander-in-chief, whom they
on cars and I thought it was fun.” out, things were in such bad shape said. “The only two that aren’t done are down, like the interior floor panels, I’d See CARS, Page B4
believe will be best able to win in

the mural
the general election, whose policies

sleepless in
Posting FEATURES FEATURES A&E
they agree with more, and whom
they believe will more effectively
facilitate the transformation of these
policies into concrete legislation and
Excessively By Annie
of the story is...
Palo
executive action.
Vought
What the entire concept of politi-
cal momentum encourages is voting
based upon the previous primary
Tender By Julia
Advertisements?
Alto
victories of each candidate, something
that is reflected very little, if at all, in
the reasons for which one should sup-
Benton
port a candidate, and is certainly no
manner by which one should choose
for whom one will vote.

B2
The media needs to realize that it
cannot extend its power beyond serv-

B12
ing the people, without bias in news,
and with intelligent commentary in
opinion. It must refrain from swing-
ing elections by offering manipulative
information that is irrelevant to the
reasons for which voters should vote
for a candidate.
B5 By Becca Allen
A12 • March 17, 2008 Sports The Campanile

Vikings expect a successful season

Varsity baseball team strives to improve season record through teamwork, experience
By Zal Dordi another run to their lead. The Vikings struck
Staff Writer back for one of their own in the bottom half
After a less than satisfactory start to last after junior Will Holder hit a leadoff double
year’s season, the Palo Alto High School over the left fielder’s head.
Varsity baseball team looks to start off strong After stealing third he scored on a sacrifice
with a talented core of players. fly by Burk putting the score at 4-1.
The Vikings closed out the 2007 season The Mustangs broke loose from the Vi-
with four wins in their final six games, fol- kings in the fourth. After a one-out walk the
lowing an upsetting 3-14 start. For the first number three hitter for Homestead launched
seventeen games of the season the Vikings a Goodspeed pitch over the wall in center for
faced many setbacks, including the arm injury a two-run jack.
of former pitcher Alex Schmarzo. After getting the second out of the inning,
With Schmarzo out, the Paly pitching staff Goodspeed walked and hit a batter before
lost its most important member, crippling the being relieved by Dalton with two outs in
team for what would effectively be the rest the fourth.
of the season. The Vikings almost escaped the fourth
This season, the Vikings will rely on the with only two runs of damage, unfortunately
youth to power the squad. Though the Vikings the third baseman, sophomore Wade Hauser,
have several seniors including Peter Abrams, overthrew Holder at first base allowing two
Will Goodspeed, Michael Martin and Tyger more runs scored before Dalton could end the
Pederson returning for their final season, the inning by forcing a groundout.
performance of the juniors and sophomores Kevin Johnson gave the Vikings some
will be key to the amount of success the cur- life and energy after the long top of the fourth
rent squad will have. with a one-out solo shot to left-center, but that
The Vikings will likely begin the season would be all the Viking offense could muster
with a two-man rotation. Goodspeed and junior on the day.
Steven Burk look to be the two mainstays for The Homestead Mustangs gained an-
the Vikings this season. Senior Tommy Dalton other run after a leadoff triple in the fifth.
will pitch out of the bullpen as the two-inning In the sixth, Dalton surrendered a leadoff home
closer and will get spot starts during three- run and another one later on in the inning
game weeks. before being relieved by Byrne.
The team began their pre-season schedule Byrne gave up a double to the first batter
with three extremely tough games. On opening he faced. This allowed a twelfth run to score.
day, the team suffered a demoralizing loss at Byrne then walked the next hitter before
the hands of Westmont High School. settling down to induce a groundout to end
Senior Neal Ketchum got the call to start the inning.
for the Vikings, but struggled early on against After hitting the first batter in the seventh
a clearly superior Westmont team and was inning, Byrne struck out the side halting the
relieved by Burke in the fourth with six runs Mustangs offense at an even dozen.
credited to Ketchum’s name. The Vikings went down quietly in the bot-
It would not get easier for the Viking tom half of the inning putting the final score at
pitching staff, who simply could not find 12-2 and the team’s record at 1-1 (2-4).
the plate all day. Junior Colin Byrne entered Hopefully through experience and team-
with the Vikings trailing 10-0 in the seventh Hannah McGovern/The Campanile work, the team will see more wins in the
and gave up a two-run round-tripper giving Junior Will Holder hits a double in the Vikings’ Mar. 7 home game against Homestead High School. The Vikings upcoming season.
Westmont their dozen. will attempt to improve upon a slow start to their last season by relying on a blend of youth and experience.
The Vikings went down in order in the
bottom half of the inning making the final their first win of the season in a 21-5 blowout [Pete] Colombo started working out with us, Sophomore Wade Hauser highlighted the of- Baseball
score 12-0.Things would not get better for against Fremont High School at home. we’ve got a lot more energy and focus. We fense with two singles out of Paly’s nine hits.
the Vikings as they Abrams high- could definitely make the playoffs.” In the second game of the two-game series Scores
dropped their second “I thought this year was going to be a lighted the offensive With Colombo returning as an assistant with Homestead, things did not begin well for
game 9-0 at the hands performance with a coach and the team fresh off a huge victory Goodspeed, who got the start for the Vikings Fremont @ Home
of Saint Francis High lot like last year, but ever since [Pete] three-run home run, over Fremont, the green and white look ahead for their first league game at home. February 29, 21-5 W
School. Colombo started working out with clearing the right to successful league play further on in the Goodspeed gave up a leadoff single on Homestead @ Homestead
After two shut- us, we’ve got a lot more energy and field fence and land- season. In the first league game of the season the first pitch of the game and walked the March 5, 6-0 W
outs and a rained-out focus. We could definitely make the ing in the District Of- the Vikings faced Homestead High School at number three hitter before giving up a one Homestead @ Home
game against Serra fice parking lot. The Homestead in the first game of a two game -out two run double. March 7, 2-12 L
High School on Feb. playoffs.” Vikings hope that the series. Burk got the call for Paly and pitched After two more walks the southpaw hit
21, the Vikings found offensive surge in a two-hit shutout. the eighth batter of the inning with the bases Upcoming games
their first bright spot Peter Abrams the Fremont game is “He hit the spots,” catcher Abrams said of loaded bringing home the third run of the
of the season by senior catcher a clear indication of Burk. “He didn’t let the bad calls get to him. inning. Los Gatos @ Los Gatos
scoring a run in a 9-1 true abilities of the He bulldogged up.” The Mustangs would not let up in their March 19, 3:30p.m.
loss to Bellarmine club. Meanwhile Burke’s Viking offense offensive assault. Carlmont @ Carlmont
College Prepatory. After the disappointing “I thought this year was going to be a lot gave him plenty of support by plating four In the top of the second inning, Homestead March 22, 11 a.m.
0-3 start to the season, the Vikings finally got like last year, “Abrams said. “But ever since runs in the first inning against the Mustangs. gathered two hits and a sacrifice fly to add

Girls’ lacrosse succeeds despite inexperience

Sophomore Gracie Cain handles the ball past Woodside defender in Paly’s 3-1 win on Mar. 8. The
Vikings began the season with a huge overtime win and look to play strong throughout the season.
By Austin Smith parents and players fighting in vain As an expansion team, the Vi-
A&E Editor
It’s official: in its entire history,
the Palo Alto High School girls’ Var-
sity lacrosse team has remained un-
defeated. With a 9-8 overtime victory
over Woodside High School on Mar.
8, the team won their first match of
their first season since the team was
assembled this spring.
This team was finally assembled
after over four years of community
pressure for the creation of a team
at Paly. However, lack of funds left
for a team for their girls to play on.
The team was finally approved this
season by school officials.
There have always been club
teams in the area which include teams
such as the Tomahawks, but the play-
ers have found value in putting on their
Paly green and white.
“It feels great to represent your
school,” junior Caroline Lucas-
Conwell said. “We used to always
have club teams to play on, but this
is different.”
Hannah McGovern/The Campanile
kings are dealing with unique circum-
stances as they try to build a program
that will hopefully have success in
years to come.
“There are so many girls out
here who have literally never picked
up a stick before,” head coach Jen
Gray said. “There are six first-time
players on varsity, and one hundred
percent of our JV players are new to
the sport.”
Gray believes that the new team’s
inexperience will not undermine
the team’s success throughout the
season.
“The new players are still really
good athletes,” Gray said. “They don’t
have any bad habits so they learn
quick. Everything we do in practice
they have down perfectly by the next
game.”
The Vikings showed signs of
struggle in their first scrimmage at
Menlo Atherton High School on Feb.
29, falling miserably 16-0.
“We barely had time to practice
before that game,” Gray said. “I
think if we went back and did that
over again, we’d have success. Our
improvement in those few weeks has
been incredible.”
That improvement was evident
come Mar. 8, as the girls defied
expectations and defeated a more
established Woodside team.
“The team looked awesome,”
Gray said. “They were really excited to
get out there. We outplayed them too.
We only scored nine but we missed a
lot of shots we should have made.”
Despite its youth and inexperi-
ence as a whole, the team is not without
its leaders.
Junior captain Helene Zahoud-
anis has been the biggest weapon for
the Viking attack so far this season, as
she has led the team with two goals
against Woodside.
“Helene has experience and
is just an all-around good athlete,”
sophomore Claire Cooper said. “She’s
a great team player who is really fast
and aggressive on the field. She has
great stick control and ball handling
skills.”
The only senior on the team,
captain Kati Dahm has been playing
the sport the longest.
“Kati brings a lot of knowledge to
the team,” Gray said. “She’s a natural
leader off the field and she definitely
brings shows her leadership on the looking ahead to the future of the
field.” program.
Yet it is not the individual play- There is a wealth of talent
ers that give the team its best chance amongst the younger players, includ-
at success. ing freshman stars Gracie Cain and
The Vikings, more so than any Hannah Elmore.
other team in the “[Cain and
league, have a “The new players are still re- Elmore] both
depth of skilled play soccer so
players on the
ally good athletes. They don’t they know how
bench. Against have any bad habits so they to work the
Woodside, the Vi- learn quick. Everything we do field,” Cooper
kings’ nine goals in practice they have down said. “They are
were scored by a so fast and ag-
total of seven dif-
perfectly by the next game.” gressive. ”
ferent players. TheVikings’
“I’m proud Jen Gray first big test is
of our depth head coach looming in the
and our bench not too distant
players,” Gray future.
said. “Everyone The squad
contributed. Everyone’s a scoring will face off on Mar. 20 at Henry M.
threat.” Gunn High School, a match which will
The players, however, attribute mark the first time in history that they
their success to the hard work and have faced their cross-town rival.
knowledge of Gray and her assistant “In terms of our future, that’s
coaches Nicole Hyde and Mark going to be a big game for us,” Gray
Dahm. said. “It’s always good for the team
“Jen’s so smart and she definitely momentum when you beat your
knows what she’s doing,” Lucas-Con- rival.”
well said. “Our coaches can be intense Finally representing their school
at times, but they get us playing hard colors, they look to seek bragging
and the improvement is really cool.” rights.
The team’s more experienced “It means a lot to us,” Dahm said.
agree that Gray has done her part in “We finally get the chance to carry on
helping the young players and the the Paly tradition.”
newcomers mature.
“Gray’s shown a lot of patience,”
Dahm said. “She goes through the
drills with us, ingraining the basic
Lacrosse
technique into the younger players’
heads. Everyone comes from dif-
Scores
ferent sports, so it’s all about incor- Monterey @ Home
porating and channeling everyone’s March 1, 10-6 W
athletic ability into the basic lacrosse Upcoming games
skills.” Henry M. Gunn @ Home
Even only one game into the March 20, 7 p.m.
team’s first season, the players are
The Campanile
Paly boys’ tennis displays dominance early in season
Despite setbacks due to injuries, the Vikings rack up an impressive streak of crucial victories
By Sam Jones
Sports Editor
Despite having a roster domi-
nated by young players, the Paly boys’
Varsity tennis team got off to a blister-
ing start in the 2008 season.
The Vikings started the season
with an 8-1 overall record (4-0
league) despite a wave of sicknesses
and injuries that depleted most of the
team’s roster. The Vikings’ resiliency
already showed in the first weeks of a
long season, which is a good sign for
the young squad.
The Vikings are still coping with
the loss of Kyle Shulman, Matt Sev-
erson and Jason Mah, three graduates
who played an integral part on last
year’s squad.
“Kyle and Matt were undefeated
last season in doubles, so to lose them
was definitely a big hit to the team,”
Head Coach Andy Harader said.
However, the new additions to
the team have already begun to play
at a very high level, and are filling the
gaps quickly providing for a young
team with a deep roster.
The new players on the team are
freshman Baramee Wongbanchai,
sophomores Drew Pearson and Grant
Audet and junior John Mitchell.
Wongbanchai, in particular, has
made a significant impact on the team
early in the season.
As a freshman, he already holds
the second singles position on the
team, and is displaying skill and matu-
rity in his play that is uncharacteristic
for one so young.
“Jang [Wongbanchai] is a really
solid player,” senior captain David
Plotkin said. “He is definitely going
to be a dominant presence on the team
over the next few years.”
The Vikings opened league play
with a match against crosstown rival
Henry M. Gunn High School on Feb.
26. The contest was a crucial one as
Paly and Gunn are two favorites to
capture the Santa Clara Valley Athletic
League (SCVAL) title this year.
Before the game, both teams
knew full well that an early win would
give the victor a leg up in what is sure
to be a tight race for the SCVAL De
Anza Division crown.
PALY SPORTS COVERAGE WILL
NEVER BE THE SAME
Senior Kushal Tantry hits a backhand in a home victory against Mountain View High School on Mar. 6. Although the Varsity tennis
squad is young and has been plagued by injuries early in the season, the Vikings have demonstrated impressive poise and confidence.
The match was evenly played,
with each team racking up crucial
victories. The third seeded doubles and
fourth seeded singles matches were
postponed to Feb. 27 due to darkness,
as Gunn held a tight 3-2 lead.
With Paly needing both wins to
defeat Gunn, the doubles team of ju-
niors Alan Chen and Cory McCroskey
came through 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5),
and junior Dan Schwartz pulled off a
huge third set victory, 6-4, 6-7 (9-11),
6-3. These clutch victories earned the
Vikings a very important 4-3 win.
The victory was of great impor-
tance for the Vikings, providing the
team with momentum as they enter
the long season of league play.
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Sports
“Beating Gunn was huge for
us,” senior captain Kushal Tantry
said. “Even though we had a bunch
of guys who were sick or injured,
we still managed to pull it out. The
match was a big confidence boost
for the team.”
The Vikings then moved on to
play in the California High School
Tennis Classic on Feb. 28 and 29 in
Fresno. In the first round, Paly faced
off against Clovis West High School.
The Vikings dominated from the first
serve in a 6-1 statement win for the
squad.
In the quarterfinals, the Vikings
were matched up against Alameda
High School. Paly’s momentum from
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PASportsOnline.com
New! From Palo Alto Online
the previous match aided in a solid 5-2
victory over the opposition.
The Vikings found themselves
facing off against a solid Davis High
School team in the semifinals, but were
not daunted by the competition. With
the team playing at its finest level, the
young squad won once again in a 5-2
victory that displayed just how strong
the young Viking squad is.
The Vikings met a familiar foe in
the finals though, as Gunn dominated
the other side of the bracket to set up
an unexpected early season rematch
between the crosstown rivals. But
with the Vikings running out of steam
and plagued by minor injuries and ill-
nesses, the squad could not retain its
Elizabeth Petit/The Campanile
momentum in the tournament, losing
2-5 to Gunn.
Despite the tough loss in the finals,
the Vikings feel proud of what they
accomplished in the tournament.
“It was definitely one of the best
performances I’ve seen in the Fresno
tournament in the four years I’ve been
on the team,” Tantry said. “We played
some solid tennis, and placing second
out of 16 teams is never something to
be ashamed of.”
However, returning home from
the loss to Gunn, the Vikings knew
they needed to recapture their mo-
mentum.
The team responded in a big
way to its tough loss against Gunn
March 17, 2008 • A11
by thrashing Lynbrook High School
6-1 on Mar. 4.
This dominant performance by
the Vikings was only the first of a slew
of blowouts. The hungry squad hit the
road on Mar. 5 to face off against a
strong Aptos High School team.
Though Aptos has a strong singles
line-up, the Vikings were able to take
three of the four matches. The only
loss was by junior Sam Wong, who put
up a valiant effort despite struggling
with injuries.
The Vikings also swept the
doubles contests, en route to another
impressive 6-1 victory.
Entering their home match
against Mountain View High School
on Mar. 6, the players expected a big
performance. Their confidence was
apparent throughout the match, as
the Vikings swept Mountain View in
a 7-0 dismantling.
With all of the momentum behind
the Vikings, the team faced off against
Los Altos High School at home on
Mar. 11. Once again, the team was
explosive in a 6-1 victory.
This streak of Paly domination
has only added fuel to the determina-
tion of the squad.
“Those four straight big wins
were huge for the guys,” Harader said.
“We have only been growing stronger
after every match so far.”
Despite all of the youth and new
additions to the squad, the Vikings are
quickly developing a strong sense of
camaraderie.
“The early season matches and
the Fresno trip bonded us as a team,”
Tantry said. “Everyone has each
other’s backs, and it’s a supportive
rather than a competitive atmosphere
overall.”
With the performances that the
Vikings have given so far, the sky
is the limit for the deep and talented
squad.
“It has been a long time since
Paly has had a premiere tennis team,
but we can definitely claim that this
season,” Harader said. “We have al-
ready beaten some of the best teams
in the area, and with the youth that
we have, we will only get better as
the season progresses.”
A10 • March 17, 2008 Sports The Campanile

Ancient art of Ninjutsu taught in Palo Alto

Martial art teaches students physical techniques, disciplines the mind
By Lindsay Yang
Staff Writer
A three-foot long metal sword slashes
through the air in an arc. Shihan, or senior
instructor, Yaron Galant teaches the fluidity
of the movement: first slicing the sword above
the head and second, completing the swing
with the power of the shoulders. Galant then
explains to the class about the importance of
the sword technique in feudal Japan, from
the place where Ninjutsu, the art of the Ninja,
originated.
Ninjutsu, a more than 2000-year-old
martial art that had managed to remain a secret
until 40 to 50 years ago but is now gaining
international popularity, traditionally trains
people to become ninjas.
Although commonly associated with
spying and assassination, Ninjutsu can also
help people improve a person’s mental focus
and physical balance.
“Ninjutsu has helped me stay in shape,”
Palo Alto High School sophomore Nathan
Wilen, who takes classes from Palo Alto Nin-
jutsu, said. “Ninjutsu has also taught me how
to keep a level head and how to stay calm.”
The Palo Alto Ninjutsu class, founded
by Galant, who used to teach in Israel and
Sunnyvale, is held on Tuesdays at Mitchell
Park Community Center and on Thursdays
at Cubberly Community Center from 7:30
p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
“You come here and you learn and you
learn and you learn,” Galant said. “You train,
and you get better. There are no thresholds.
This [Ninjutsu] is a continuous learning ex-
perience starting from the first time a person
enters the school.”
Palo Alto Ninjutsu, which belongs to
the international Bujinkan Ninjutsu school in
Japan, admits students from any experience
level and is non-competitive.
Although basic and advanced ranks are
designated by color belts, ranks are not heav-
ily stressed.
“There are no separate classes for different
ranks,” Galant said. “They all work together
and benefit in their own way.”
Yaron Galant (right side) defends himself from two assailants with his arms and steals the stick, which is a replacement
for a sword. Galant teaches Ninjutsu at the Mitchell Park Community Center and the Cubberly Community Center.
Between two and eight students attend
each session, and although the group is in-
tended for adults, Wilen, who is 15, joined
after finding interest in Ninjutsu. Others
joined without any previous experience or
from past experiences with different kinds
of martial arts.
“When I started, I wanted something that
uses techniques and that uses skill,” student
Doug Albrecht, 49, said. “It works on tech-
nique and sensitivity rather than overpowering
someone with strength.”
Ninjutsu focuses more on skill as each
class session concentrates on posture, balance
and timing. From reviewing basic positions
to executing a series of kicks, Ninjutsu values
precision.
“[After starting Ninjutsu], Nathan [Wilen]
is more aware of where he is in the physical
environment,” Wilen’s mother Stephanie
Wilen said.
Wilen finds that the Palo Alto Ninjutsu
class is not physically demanding. In addition
to the fighting aspects, students learn how to
develop better flexibility, body movement,
awareness, coordination, preparation and
mental self-defense.
Especially when reviewing the different
forms of Ninjutsu at the beginning of each
class, Ninjutsu takes on a more philosophi-
cal nature, Wilen said. Each session begins
with a Japanese saying, bowing and clapping.
Members then warm-up with rolls and review
basic stances. Finally, the class progresses to
learning new combat skills such as falls and
rolls, throws, locks, punches, kicks, blocks,
chokes and strikes. In addition to hand-to-hand
combat, the Palo Alto Ninjutsu class also uses
Elizabeth Petit /The Campanile
a variety of weaponry: staffs from pen-size
to six feet long, knives, long swords and
short swords. Despite the different weapons
that are taught, members of the class are not
required to participate in any fighting to move
to higher levels.
Nevertheless, most people participate,
even in an intimidating exercise that requires
a person to sit with their eyes closed while
anticipating a strike from an opponent.
The opponent, who stands with a staff
raised above the person’s head, brings the
staff down as quickly as possible. The students
practice knowing rather than thinking as they
sit under the staff and roll away when they
sense harm. They believe that every intention
can be sensed and avoided.
“I thought it was a bit sketchy at first,”
Wilen said. “It was kind of scary having a
person holding a stick above your head, but
the first time you succeed, it is really reward-
ing.”
As part of deception training to disguise
and redirect intentions, students learn numer-
ous feints and sequences of attacks.
Ninjas often deliver powder into their
opponents eyes as a blinding technique and
students incorporate those practices into the
sequences.
Most Ninjutsu techniques overlap with
skills from other martial arts such as Judo,
Jujitsu, Aikido and Karate.
“The typical Ninjutsu class varies,” Gal-
ant said. “Some days, we will work more with
grappling, which is more judo and jujitsu.
Other weeks we will focus on punching
and literally use boxing gloves and bags to
strengthen the shoulders and arms. Ninjutsu
really runs the gamut.”
Palo Alto Ninjutsu classes also practice
on many different surfaces, working outside
on Tuesdays and indoors on Thursdays. Class
members try to perfect their skills on uneven
grass fields, hard concrete floors and soft,
more physically forgiving mats. By receiving
specific feedback, reflexes and muscles reflect
accordingly and adapt rather than accept one
single synthetic environment, Galant said.
The feedback that the students receive
from Ninjutsu is rewarding and many ideas can
be applied to everyday life, according to the
many of the members of Palo Alto Ninjutsu.
“At work, I am often in a situation where
things are not flowing well,” Galant said. “A lot
of people come to me with a lot of problems
and need attention at once. This is very similar
situation to fighting against a number of op-
ponents. Everybody deals me their blows in
different ways with each person at their own
pace. I have learned how to overcome this
potentially overwhelming environment.”
Similarly, black belt Ayelet Lorberbaum,
30, has learned how to reach kamai, or bal-
ance, in her life.
“I deal with every aspect of my life better,”
Lorberbaum said. “For everything in my life,
I try to stay balanced and focused.”

Badminton team plans to improve upon fundamentals

By Chris Gallagher
Staff Writer
Unknowing rivals see Palo Alto
High School’s badminton team as
the group that won only one game
last season and finished last in its
division.
They unfortunately fail to see
that Paly’s badminton team, after a
divided and difficult season last year,
is preparing for a new year during
which its members hope to achieve
a greater sense of team unity and
overall skill.
“Last year, the Varsity players
kept to themselves and didn’t teach any
of the new players the basics,” junior
Allen Chen said. “We hope to change
that by having the Varsity team teach
the less experienced players.”
Chen’s plan is shared by many
others who hope to strengthen the
unity of the team and improve the
general strength of the team as a
whole.
“People tend to work with other
players who are doing the same thing,”
Coach Kara Prentice said.
The difficulty with uniting the
team is that there is not any real need
for cross training between doubles and
singles players, Prentice said.
“Last year we were less orga-
nized,” Chen said. “We didn’t really
have a lot of morale either.”
Chen and other key players like
senior Isaac Yao and junior Hansen
Moon hope to strengthen the team’s
morale, which has been somewhat
dampened over the last few years.
“I think that our record just shows
that we’ve got nothing to lose this
season,” junior Young Hsu said.
Many other players share Hsu’s
optimism and recognize that the team
must focus on what it has to gain
through hard, well rounded practices,
rather than how it has performed in
the past.
“Although we have lost some
players, people who played on Varsity
last year will be playing again and will
be more used to the Varsity team,”
Prentice said.
The Varsity teams from rival
schools are made up of players who
may never have been exposed to the
level of play experienced in higher-
level matches. Paly hopes to have a
leg up in this regard, as the team is
more experienced in these types of
matches.
“Our Varsity girls are pretty
strong this year,” Prentice said. “After
looking at last years rosters from other Occasionally, prospective play- said. “Monta Vista didn’t lose many coming together near the end of their
schools, that seems to be the area that ers are admitted onto the team from people and I don’t think we’ll be able matches to pull it out.
we will perform best in this year.” tryouts, which are all based on future to beat them.” “We won our first game, had some
Many members of the team skill that is founded in natural ability, The team showed its conviction trouble in our second game and then
believe that the current juniors are Prentice said. in its match against Los Altos High came back in the third,” senior Eric
were better overall than those of other “Ultimately, Paly is not going to School, winning in both varsity and Hassine said.
schools. The team hopes that since get better without new blood,” Chen junior varsity. The varsity boys won all Varsity one and two boys doubles
others lost many said. “We hope to their matches against Los Altos, start- won their matches, but Varsity three
of their star play- really strengthen ing with a crushing victory by Yao. He lost their game to their Los Altos
ers to graduation,
“It is nice to have players the roots of the really worked the angles and slammed opponents.
these fresh juniors who take the time to teach team this year.” the birdie at his opponents feet. “We got together in the third game
will perform well people without ever being These long- “As a player I always start slow,” and started listening to each other,”
on Varsity. asked.” term goals of Yao said. “But I hope to make it to the sophomore Ryan Bell said.
“The roster building a foun- playoffs this year.” Varsity one and two girls doubles
is very young dation for later Chen played extremely well in lost their matches to formidable Los
with the varsity Kara Prentice years is shared by his match, getting huge air on his Altos players. Varsity three players,
team being main- Badminton Coach many members slams and nailing many behind-the- Petrina Chie and Vika Kreitz won
ly juniors this of the team. They back shots. Varsity one and two girls their match.
year,” Hsu said. hope to bring the singles lost to the 2007 Central Coast The team was very supportive of
“I think we have a lot of potential.” team upwards as a unit over time, Section champions. However, the each other, many of the players coming
Players like Hsu and Chen are an rather than divide the team based varsity three girls singles, Kathy Woo, to cheer on their teammates and giving
important part of the badminton team’s on skill. won her match. words of advice between games.
leadership, as the team has no captains. “The scoring system that is “I knew her and that she had been The badminton team will hope-
The more experienced members of currently established benefits a well fourth in CCS last year,” Young said. fully perform better this year than last
the team have traditionally taken this rounded team,” Prentice said. “I was really excited and nervous to year as a result of the team’s plan to
responsibility upon themselves. The badminton team won their play her.” improve practices, strengthen team
“It is nice to have players who first match at home against Los Altos Varsity one mixed doubles lost to unity and bolster team spirit.
take the time to teach people without High School and their next home Los Altos, but Moon attributes their They are entering the year with
ever being asked,” Prentice said. match will be against Gunn High poor playing to junior Alyssa Burton’s a greater level of optimism and lead-
It is leaders like these varsity School on Mar. 18. leg injury. They lost their last game ership than they had last year, which
players who will train new members “I think our toughest teams will be 10-15. Varsity two and three mixed will definitely benefit them throughout
of the team. Monta Vista and Lynbrook,” Prentice doubles won their games, however, the season.

Varsity softball works to recuperate from last year’s record

Hannah McGovern/The Campanile
Sophomore pitcher Kelly Jenks strongly fires the
ball in a game against Lynbrook High School.
By DJ Hsueh
Staff Writer
With two new coaches, a handful of returning players
and no seniors, Palo Alto High School’s Varsity softball
team faces many challenges this year.
Last year’s record was disappointing, but the team is
working hard to improve.
“We’re trying to establish a new look,” Head Coach
Jake Halas said. “The girls are young, but when they
get out on the field, they work hard and well as a team.
Everyone has a really great attitude.”
The team is mostly freshmen and sophomores, with
only two juniors on the team.
“We’ve got some really strong underclassmen,”
sophomore shortstop Lauren Bucolo said. “I think we’re
stronger as a team than individual players.”
In addition to the many new players, the team has a
new head coach, Jake Halas, who also teaches at Paly.
“I really like our new coach, he’s pointing us in the
right direction,” Bucolo said.
Junior outfielder Pam Wong agrees with Bucolo.
“He’s really personable and has realistic goals for
the team,” Wong said. “He understands that each of the
players have something to offer, and really knows what
he’s doing.”
The team also has a new assistant coach, Adam Yon-
kers, who is also a Social Studies teacher at Paly. The team
has a great pitching staff, but is working to improve its
offense. It also suffers from a lack of players.
“I think we’re looking pretty strong throughout,”
sophomore first basemen/catcher Ryan Flanagan said.
“Our pitching is looking really good, but so is our infield
and our outfield, so I wouldn’t say there are any holes. We
just need to get our bats on the ball. I’d say our biggest
weakness would probably just be that we don’t have many
subs, but that just gives everyone more playing time.”
Although their first game against Aragon High School
was a 5-0 loss, the team played well.
“It was our first game, so it was the first time we’ve
ever played together and some people were in brand new
positions,” sophomore third baseman Kristen Dauler said.
“It was definitely an eye opener to what we need to work
on to be a better team and make it to CCS.”
During the game, the team struggled with many
small errors.
“I don’t think the score reflected how we played,”
Halas said. “Aragon has a really good program, but it
was a good game. We out hit them consistently, but we
also made many more errors. They scored all their runs
in one inning.”
The team was able to recover for their next game
against Menlo-Atherton, beating their opponents soundly
even though they only had nine players available.The bats
were hot, as Paly scored multiple runs in a few rallies.
However, the young team struggled in their next
game against a solid Mountain View High School team.
Although they were winning 2-1 at the bottom of the third,
Mountain View stepped up their game and Paly was un-
able to stop their multiple run streaks. The game ended
in a disappointing 11-1 loss.
The team recovered early last week in a game against
Lynbrook High School, a team that is in the higher De
Anza League. The Vikings started slowly in the first in-
ning, but then came out strong and scored six runs in the
third inning.
Both teams were unable to score until the top of the
seventh when Lynbrook was able to send a runner home.
Paly remained strong, though and ended the game with
an important 6-1 win.
The team suffered a setback in the top of the sixth
inning, when freshman utility player Gracie Marshall
had a collision with a runner and received a deep cut on
her ear.
“The batter ran into me, but I didn’t feel anything,”
Marshall said. “I only noticed it a minute or two later when
I saw blood all over my hands and jersey.”
Wong, who had been sick the previous week, entered
the game as centerfielder while freshman outfielder Ma-
riah Philips moved to second base. Philips hadn’t played
infield this season, but she immediately fielded a hard-hit
ground ball and flipped it to second base for the second
out of the inning.
The Vikings have made a few mistakes this year, but
are hopeful in improving their record. There is no doubt
the young team will gain experience each game they play.
The team is confident they can take that experience and
turn it into success.
A9 March 17, 2008

Sports The Campanile

Track hopes for stellar performance in upcoming season

Despite several losses for boys’ and girls’ track, members remain optimistic about this season’s upcoming meets
By Mira Parekh
Staff Writer
As the spring sports season be-
gins, Palo Alto High School’s Track
and Field team looks forward to leap-
ing into a new and exciting season.
However, this year Paly will
have to compete throughout the
season without the host of standout
runners that helped lead the team
last season.
Although the girls’ performance
was lackluster last year with a 2-4
record in the Santa Clara Valley Ath-
letic League, the girls’ distance team’s
biggest obstacle this year is the loss of
star distance runners Renata Cummins
and Alicia Ivanhoe.
The Vikings, who struggled last
year with a virtually non-existent
sprint team, will also have to find
a runner to fill the hole left by sole
sprinter Aly Seedman, who graduated
last spring.
The boys’ team, which finished
undefeated last year with a 6-0 record,
will have to regroup after losing
standout sprinters Will Frazier and
Trenton Hart as well as shotputer
Fred Koloto.
Despite the losses, the team looks
forward to stellar performances from
sophomore distance runner Philip
MacQuitty, junior runner Charlie
Avis and seniors Julius Berezin and
Willie Xiang.
Even after losing graduate Sam
Margevicius, the boys’ hurdle team is
looking forward to a promising season
led by returning senior Mohammed
Abid and junior Pascal Truninger,
a foreign exchange student from
Switzerland.
Along with new runners, the track
team this year will have several new
coaches for events such as sprinting,
hurdles and throwing.
Allye Mullins, Paly’s Student
Activities Director, and science
teacher Michelle Steingart will both
coach hurdles. Nick Van Der Burg
is the new coach for the boys sprint
team and Brandon Shalkowski is the
new throw coach. Joe Giannani, who
coaches both girls’ and boys’ 800- and
400-meter events and the 4x400 meter
relay, is optimistic for the season de-
spite the team’s heavy losses.
“The Varsity boys’ 4x400 relay
team is returning from CCS,” Gian-
nani said. “They should be one of our
top performers throughout the season
and are trying to shoot for breaking
the school record which they barely
missed last year.”
Giannani hopes that losing
Frazier from the relay lineup will
simply be an opportunity to some of
the younger boys to display potential
rather than a contributing factor that
hurts the squad.
“We’re looking to replace Will in
the 4x400 and there are lots of people
competing for that spot, which could
potentially be filled by junior Paul
Brown or sophomore Dan Jones,”
Giannani said. “It’s going to be hard to
choose, but hopefully the competition
will bring out the best in people.”
As for the girl’s Varsity team,
Giannani feels that a major drawback
is the number of runners on the team,
which is small compared to previous
years.
One thing that will help the girls
through the season is the recovery of
star runner Mia Lattanzi, who is return-
ing after spending a lot of time battling
injuries. Paul Jones, the Varsity girls’
Head Coach, feels that the team has
great potential and will improve as
the season progresses.
“We’ll be missing Renata [Cum-
mins] and Alicia [Ivanhoe], but we’re
strong in distance running,” Jones
said. “We will have Mia [Lattanzi]
back and senior Leah Gaeta who is
new, but performed well during cross
country. However, the team is young
and inexperienced in the hurdles and
inexperienced in the throws.”
The girls’ team also suffered the
loss of junior Cate Olsen, no longer Elizabeth Petit /The Campanile
attending Paly, who led the team in At the first league meet this season, junior Megha Ram hurdles for the first time this season against Mountain View High School
the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles where the girls’ Varsity team suffered a loss of 56-71. However, the boys’ Varsity team secured a win of 80-47 at the same meet.
as a freshman and sophomore. Jones
also believes that the girls’ relay Paly started the season with Gaeta said. “I think I could have kept to clinch first place for Paly. Truninger excelled in the 3200-meter with
team, although young, displays a lot mixed results in their first meet against up, but it’s my first race. Now I will also led Paly in the 100-meter hurdles the help of cross country star junior
of potential. Joe Park, who primarily Mountain View High School, hosted know how to place better.” with a time of 16.6 seconds followed Charlie Avis, who ran the two miles
coaches the relay team, agrees with at Paly on Mar. 6. Both girls’ and boys’ teams per- by senior Mohammed Abid who fin- with a speedy time of 9:53 followed
Jones. In the 4x100-meter, relay the girls formed well in the 100-meter sprints, ished with a time of 18.3 seconds. by junior Skyler Cummins, who came
“The girls’ relay team is young were off to a strong start and in the lead an event that Paly girls stuggled with Abid and Truninger also swept in third with 10:06. Avis, who is new
and has mainly sophomores and fresh- until the last leg when a faulty hand-off last year due to a lack of sprinters. the competition in the 300 meter to the track team, thinks that the team
men. It has a lot of potential, but it’s disqualified the team. The boys’ relay Sophomore Emily Yeates, who hurdles with times 44.6 and 44.8, is looking good and will hopefully get
almost like everything is starting from team, starring Brown, Jones, junior placed first in the 200-meters, and respectively. far in CCS.
ground zero,” Park said. “The biggest Ariel Arsac-Ellison and Abid, finished sophomore Erika Hoglund led the girls Girls’ hurdles similarly per- “The team looks good, “ Avis said.
thing to look for though out the season with a time of 45.0 seconds, beating 100-meter with times 12.9 seconds and formed well, with sophomore Marissa “I can’t compare with older teams, but
will be improvement. Senior year is Mountain View soundly. 13.0 seconds, respectively. Florant in first place with a time of there is a strong core of cross country
definitely going to be good.” Paly’s boys’ and girls’ teams Among the boys, Jones led the 18.19 seconds and junior Megha runners that are on the team. We can
In additon, Van Der Burg feels struggled in the mile event however, pack with 11.1 seconds followed Ram coming in second with 18.5 definitely make CCS semifinals.”
that improvement will be key for with Berezin leading the boys in third by Brown with 11.2 seconds. Paly seconds. Despite the strong showing in the
the boys sprint team, which is also place overall with a time of 4:37 and also dominated the girls’ and boys’ Although boy’s 4x400 meter first meet, Paly will have a long road
relatively young this year. Gaeta in fourth overall in the girl’s 800-meter with Lattanzi leading the relay got off to a rocky start, Paly ahead to winning the league.
“It’s hard to tell who is really go- mile with a time of 5:25. The 400-me- girls and finishing with 2:19 and
ing to be leading the team; I don’t think ter event showed improvement with MacQuitty with a fast time of 2:03
I will know that until mid-April,” Van
Der Burg said. “Its a young team, there
Gaeta finishing second in the girls’race
with a time of 1:05 and Xiang in second
in the boys’ race.
Although shotput star Fred Ko-
Track and field
are no seniors. At this point everyone with a time of 52.9 seconds. loto graduated last year, Paly won the
is in the middle of the pack. Also, I Gaeta, who is new to the Paly event with outstanding performances Scores Upcoming games
haven’t been able to work on an off- track team, hopes that this first race from juniors Ashraf El Gamal, who Mountain View @ Palo Alto Palo Alto @ Gunn H.S.
season workout since I am new and will only help to improve her strategy threw a distance of 40’ 2’’ to capture March 6, B.V. 80-47 W and March 20, 3:30 PM
have had to re-train many of the boys. in the mile and 400. first, and Andy Maliska, who threw G.V. 56-71 L Los Gatos @ Palo Alto
No matter which way you cut it, I think “I’m happy with my mile time, 37’10” to place second. Truninger led April 1, 5:30 PM
next year is going to be better.” but I’m not happy with my strategy,” the long jump with a distance of 18’ 6”

Varsity swimmers and divers begin their new season strong
Senior co-captain Geng Wang swims breaststroke in practice. Wang won the 100-yard breaststroke event in the meet
against Woodside High School and in the Spring Invitational helping lead his team to strong wins in both meets.
By Alexi Dagan
Sports Section Editor
The Palo Alto High School Varsity Swim-
ming and Diving team kicked off their respec-
tive seasons with a meet against Woodside
High School, in which they both took first
and second place in nearly every event against
the Wildcats.
Highlights from the meet, which does
not count towards the team’s league record,
include incredible double wins from fresh-
man Sabrina Lee swimming the 200-yard and
50-yard freestyle, junior Mark Higgins in the
200-yard Individual Medley and 100-yard
backstroke, as well as senior co-captain Geng
Wang in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard
breaststroke.
“The team as a whole did really well, and
I think we’re all pleased with the good times
we put out,” Higgins said.
Head Coach Danny Dye was also pleased
with the results from the meet.
“My expectations were more than met,”
Dye said. “They showed their training and
strong base.”
Both the girls’ and the boys’ teams have
high expectations to live up to, after the suc-
cess of both of last year’s teams.
“Last year’s season went almost exactly
the way I had planned it to for the girls’ team,”
Michela Fossati-Bellani/The Campanile
Dye said. “Monta Vista [High School] had a
very strong team but we had the depth to beat
them and win leagues.”
The boys’ team also won the league title
and went on to place second in the Central
Coast Section Championships, while the girls’
team placed third in CCS.
The boys’ team now has a record of 40
straight wins in dual meets, and the girls’ team
won five league championships in a row, the
most in Paly’s history, and is looking to bring
that record to six straight wins.
Dye said the girls’ team is more talented
than last year’s team, as the sophomores and ju-
niors bring more experience and confidence.
“The girls are the most cohesive group
I have ever coached,” Dye said. “They all
get along, treat each other fairly and support
one another. It makes it fun; I enjoy coaching
them. They want to win CCS and they can do
that, they have the talent.”
Dye is also very confident in the success
of the boys’ team because, despite their lack
of depth, the swimmers have talent.
Dye said he believes that Higgins has to
the opportunity to have All-American times
once again as well as place first in CCS, while
junior Tim Wenzlau could break the school
record in the 100-yard backstroke, and senior
Michael Fortune is looking to break the school
record in the 50-yard freestyle.
Last year’s All-American 400-yard
freestyle relay, which consisted of Higgins,
Wenzlau, Wang and Fortune, is still intact and
preparing for another successful season.
“The boys’ team has the opportunity to
win leagues, and they want to take second
in CCS and push Bellarmine [College Prep]
which has a 24-year CCS winning streak,” Dye
said. “The boys’ team is the most talented I
have ever coached, but they are going to have
to want it.”
Both teams continued to dominate their
opponents in the Spring Invitational, hosted by
Paly on Mar. 7 and 8. The boys’ team swam
against Lynbrook High School, Wilcox High
School, The Kings Academy and the Bel-
larmine College Prep B-team, and won with
a score of 264 points.
“Everyone came out hard and swam
really well considering how many yards we
have been swimming in practice,” Wang said.
“There are always things we still need to tweak
but we’re at a good point for the second meet
of the season.”
Wang placed first in the 100-yard breast-
stroke, just one of many first-place finishes for
the Vikings during the meet.
Senior co-captain senior Scott Mielke
feels that the team’s performance in the invita-
tional is a good indicator of how the team will
do against other teams in their league.
“In our league we should be fine judging
by our performance this weekend,” Mielke
said. “CCS should be a lot harder though,
we’re banking on some big performances
and wins.”
The girls’ team swam against Lynbrook,
Wilcox, and Los Altos High School, and won
with a total of 302 points.
Freshman standout Sabrina Lee took first
in the 200-yard freestyle and fourth in the
100-yard backstroke, and has high expecta-
tions for the remainder of the season.
“As the season goes on I hope to do well
in other events as well,” Lee said. “To begin
the season with that win felt really good.”
Dye remains optimistic about the future
of both teams.
“[The meet] was a good example of how
they are focused on what they want to ac-
complish,” Dye said. “I am looking forward
to the duel season.”
Swimming
Scores
Woodside @ Woodside
February 29, W
Spring Invitational @ Palo Alto
March 7-8, W
Upcoming games
Menlo H.S. @ Palo Alto
April 1, 3:30 PM
Lynbrook @ Palo Alto
April 4, 3:30 PM
A8 • March 17, 2008 Opinion The Campanile

Naviance offers useful resources in new form Youthful

The College and Career Center could have used money spent on Naviance more effectively
By Becky Byler
Staff Writer
Naviance, Palo Alto High
School’s latest online addition to its
college advising program, effectively
helps students manage their college
application process and syncs helpful
planning tools and college information
on an easy-to-use Web site. However,
despite its helpful nature, the funding
for the program could be better used
on other college resources.
Paly purchased Naviance last
spring for $2,000 in an effort to aid
juniors in the college application
process. It will also cost the school
$1,200 annually in management
fees. The College and Career Center
was allocated more funding for this
service.
Naviance is an all-inclusive,
college-planning Web site for high
school students. It offers information
on prospective colleges and careers
and helps students gather information
to choose the right college for them.
Naviance also allows Paly college
counselors the ability to communicate
with program users, adding a more
personal touch to what could have
been just another college-planning
Web site.
The most helpful aspect of Na-
viance is that it brings together all of
the resources that the CCC already
has. Although the CCC previously of-
fered similar services, such as detailed
career tests and scholarship searches,
most students did not utilize these
resources. For example, the CCC
offered personal career tests though
an online service called Bridges, but
most students did not even realize the
service was available. With Naviance,
students are not only offered this ser-
vice, but the test results are saved to a
personal profile that can be accessed
at any time.
However, the CCC should not
have to use Naviance to increase
student usage of its resources. Instead,
more attempts should be made to let
students know what the CCC has to
offer.
Also, with Naviance, the CCC’s
multitude of college information
books, scholarship opportunities and
colleges admission statistics are now
available to students online. This al-
lows students, who previously did not
use the CCC, to gain from the useful
information offered.
Nevertheless, most of the infor-
mation offered is not new and can
be found virtually anywhere on the
Internet. The information that is not
easily found on the Internet, such as
Paly college acceptance statistics,
should have been available online
a long time ago. It should not have
taken the purchase of a new program
for this information to be readily ac-
cessible.
Naviance is appealing to stu-
dents, parents and advisors because,
although it is not the only Web site to
offer these services, the services are
all located in the same place, which
allows quick access to a breath of
information. This not only saves time,
but also creates better student manage-
ment of college materials.
The site’s multiple organiza-
tional resources, such as college
visit schedules and personal profiles,
help students to effectively organize
and juxtapose personal and college
information. Naviance’s “About
Me” section also offers a location for
students to record activities, awards,
and notes, hopefully making it easier
to fill out applications.
Although Naviance is a great
resource for college planning, it is not
the best option to further aid students
in the college admission process.
Many students already use
Collegeboard.com, a Web site like
Naviance that connects students to col-
lege information, and so the purchase
of a similar program seems almost
unnecessary and a waste of funds.
The College Board’s resources
are similar to Naviance’s, both being
incredibly helpful in the college ap-
plication process and having 24-hour
access. However, this nationally-used
organization surpasses Naviance be-
The College and Career Center recently purchased Naviance, a college advising program that lets
advisors communicate with students and helps them choose universities that fit their personalities.
cause of its more appealing format
and price: schools do not have to pay
if its students access and use Colleg-
eboard.com.
For Naviance to be successful,
it should be formatted more like the
College Board Web site.
Having links to SAT testing in-
formation, as well as the inclusion of
nationwide testing scores, not solely
testing scores from the Palo Alto Uni-
fied School District, would also help
students.
Naviance would also be im-
proved if students could sign up for
Advanced Placement or SAT tests
while being logged into the Web site.
Currently only College Board offers
this service.
The CCC must make Naviance
more appealing to students. It is not
enough to just have a college informa-
tion program; it needs to be one that
caters exactly to students needs, like
the College Board’s Web site.
It is in the best interest of both
students and the CCC if the funds used
to purchase and maintain Naviance
were also allocated to other college
resources that provide a more personal
experience.
For example, the funds could
be used to increase the availability
of counselors by paying for addi-
tional working hours. A personal
meeting with a counselor is much
more effective in aiding students in
the college process than an online
Hannah McGovern/The Campanile
program, according to College Board,
which stresses not only establishing
a personal relationship with college
counselors, but also meeting regularly
with them.
Funds could also be used to
expand the current facilities or to pur-
chase more college books so that more
students would be able to utilize the
current resources the CCC offers.
Naviance was purchased for the
benefit of Paly’s students, but despite
the program’s usefulness, the CCC
should instead expand on the resources
it already offers. College resource
expansion or increased counselor
working hours would benefit students
much more than anything an online
program, like Naviance, could offer.
Change
Gabrielle Hadley
This year’s election will be the
nation’s 55th consecutive quadrennial
presidential election. As I listened to
one particular group of people who
discussed their birthdays, I noticed
that many of them had birthdays late in
the year. It was then that I realized just
how many young citizens around the
United States cannot vote this year be-
cause their birthday is just weeks after
the voting date. It is these few weeks
every four years that cause the U.S. to
lose many valuable votes. Instead of
losing these crucial votes, it would be
a more beneficial if there were a new
amendment stating that those that are
currently 18 or those that will turn 18
in the year of the presidential election
are able to vote.
Currently, anyone whose 18th
birthday falls between the dates of
Nov. 2 and Dec. 31 cannot vote. This
seems inherently unjust. Those that
lose their right to vote because of those
58 days ­— not even two months —
are forced to wait another four years
before their voices are heard. In 1990
alone, the average number of births
per month was 346,500, according to
the U.S. Census Bureau. Based on this
data, there are about 693,000 17-year-
olds with birthdays past the election
day. The U.S. voting pool is losing
approximately 700,000 potential
voters every year due to the current
voting-age amendment. These people
will be 21 years old before they can
vote for the first time, while people
who were just a couple of months
older than them will be voting for the
second time.
It is understandable that there
should be an age limit for those able
to vote. Many people have not gained
enough understanding of this country

Current standardized tests inadequate in assessing students
Standardized tests should expand difficulty options available for students in different areas
Although standardized tests, such as the SAT, provide colleges with a systematic way to evaluate applicants, they provide
inadequate assessments of students because of their failure to provide different difficulty levels for students of ability levels.
By Chris Clayton
Opinion Editor
Standardized tests, such as the SAT and the
ACT, have long provided colleges an objective
standard of measuring the abilities of students
in various academic fields, compared with
other students; thus, these tests factor into the
college-admissions process. Although colleges
must employ an objective standard of assessing
applicants’relative cognitive abilities, the current
standardized tests required by many colleges
fail to provide an adequate level of objective
assessment.
Standardized tests are essential to the
college-admissions process, as the objectivity of
these tests provides colleges with another means
by which to evaluate students, apart from other
less-objective measures like grades. Grades often
reflect not only the academic performance of
an individual, but also the grading policy of a
particular school. Thus, a 4.0-unweighted grade
point average at one school may not reflect a
similar level of academic achievement as the
same GPA at another school.
This is not meant as an implication that
colleges should not review these factors when
considering the merits of different applicants.
But because the scores on standardized tests
derive from a raw score, and not a subjective
grading policy, these tests provide a crucial as-
sessment of students’ relative abilities.
Unfortunately, the standardized tests cur-
rently considered during the college admissions
process, particularly the SAT Reasoning and
Subject tests, provide an inadequate assessment
of students for various reasons. Primarily, most
of these tests fail to provide adequate assessment
at different levels of ability, particularly for
Hannah McGovern/The Campanile
students enrolled in honors-level and Advanced
Placement courses.
Thus, students enrolled in higher-level
courses often receive scores similar to students
enrolled in lower-level courses, because the tests
incorporate no measure of assessing abilities at
higher levels of education.
For example, the SAT Subject Test Math-
ematics 2, a common choice for students who
wish to demonstrate their abilities in mathemat-
ics, covers only through trigonometry, or, at most,
the equivalent of the Palo Alto High School
mathematics course Trigonometry/Analytical
Geometry A.
Thus, a student who completes this course,
or its equivalent at other schools, could expect
to obtain a score of 800, the highest possible
score, which students who completed the Palo
Alto High School mathematics courses or the
equivalent courses at other schools, Analysis
H, AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC, could
expectably receive upon completing these
examinations.
This problem extends, however, not only
to the mathematics portions of the test and the
mathematics subject test, but to any other exami-
nation that covers material covered completely
in regular-lane courses, but not material covered
in denser AP and honors-level courses.
Essentially, although colleges can with
greater ease differentiate between the abilities
of a student who receives a score of 750 on a
subject test and the abilities of a student who
receives a score of 600 on the same subject test,
colleges cannot differentiate between different
students, all of whom receive scores of 800 on
the same subject test.
Thus, these standardized tests should ex-
pand the options available to students, in terms
of difficulty in subject matter, on examinations
pertaining to the same subject category, such as
mathematics and history in order to expand and
clarify the actual meaning of these subject tests,
beyond the limitations of a single test available
in each general academic area.
Although students have, to an extent, the
opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of
more complex material on AP examinations, this
opportunity extends neither to students enrolled
in higher-level, non-AP courses nor to students
enrolled in AP-level courses that are not classi-
fied as AP courses.
Moreover, the AP examinations currently
prove insufficient, as many colleges do not
consider them or do not require students to re-
port them during the admissions process. Even
those colleges that do consider them at all, do
not consider them as important as other factors,
including other standardized tests and grades.
The SAT, for example, does not need to
include many additional subject tests to allow
these different tests; merely providing two to
three subject tests in each necessary category
would be sufficient, as they could include both
the subject-tests available now as well as a couple
of higher-level subject tests (for example, for
mathematics, pre-calculus, or even calculus).
The standardized tests would be accommo-
dated for practicality, and only levels of academic
studies that a significant number of students take
would be incorporated into the new subject-tests.
Colleges should continue to consider standard-
ized tests in the college admissions process, as
they provide a necessary, objective assessment
of students’ relative abilities.
However, these tests must be altered and
expanded in order to better provide students with
opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of
their knowledge as part of the college admis-
sions process.
and the world before the age of 18.
However, it is doubtful that people
will be more mature after another
two months. The voting results in an
election are supposed to represent
the majority of the nation’s choice.
If a large number of the nation’s con-
stituents are missing from the voting
pool, the country’s final decision may
be misrepresented.
This year’s election is undoubt-
edly one of the most important presi-
dential elections that our country will
ever face. There is a good chance that
our country’s next president will be
a minority. For the first time ever,
there is a chance there will be a black
or female president. Because of the
effects and implications of this land-
mark presidential election, this year’s
election has also managed to capture
the interest of hundreds of thousands
of youths across the county.
Campaigners want youths to get
involved; politicians know that the
youth vote holds some of the most
important because there are such a
large group. If there is such an active
youth participation in this year’s elec-
tion why silence their voices? In 1971,
the 26th amendment was officially
ratified, stating that, “the right of citi-
zens of the United States, who are 18
years of age or older, to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of
age.” The amendment specifically
states that no one 18 or older should
be denied the right to vote. It does not
say that anyone younger than the age
of 18 should not be allowed to vote.
By making an amendment that allows
anyone that will turn 18 in the year of
presidential election vote, the active
youth participation that America is
currently experiencing will only con-
tinue to energize the movement.
There is a crucial link separating
intelligence and youth in America’s
faulty voting age amendment. What
legislators need to realize is that age
does not necessarily determine intel-
ligence or maturity. Surely the differ-
ence between the average 18-year-old
and a 17-year-and-10-month-old is
negligible. The current voting age rule
hinders those who have an active inter-
est in politics and want to get involved.
If there were an amendment stating
that those that will turn 18-years-old
in the year of the election may vote,
anyone who wanted to participate in
the campaign would be able to. This
kind of amendment would only help
to emphasize the amount of change
possible for this country.
A6 • March 17, 2008 Spotlight The Campanile

The Days of
By Allison Coleman
Staff Writer
The Academic Resource Center is a great
place to make up tests, study or find a tutor.
Many people, however, do not know about all
the work and different responsibilities that go
Our Lives
into making the ARC run on a daily basis.
Noël Beitler and Paula Harvey, who
manage the ARC, have a whole host of re-
sponsibilities.
When Beitler first arrives in the morning,
she said that one of the first things she does
is heat water so that students can make hot
cocoa, but many of her true responsibilities
lie in setting up tutoring sessions. On one
morning alone, a volunteer who works with
Beitler delivered over 50 call slips to tutors
and tutees, reminding each participant of their
respective appointments during the day.
A good portion of Beitler’s lunch is also
spent setting up tutoring appointments and
making sure that they are kept. Beitler says that
.. Elizabeth Petit/The Campanile

Noel Beitler
one of the things that makes her most upset is
when a tutor fails to show up for an appoint-
ment, or when a tutee asks to have a tutor, but
then fails to arrive for the appointment.
Beitler works to make sure that everyone and
Paula Harvey
is matched up in one way or another if one
person does not show up.
“I call myself an academic matchmaker,”
Beitler said. “I just kind of mix and match to
make sure that everyone has a partner.”
Harvey agreed that a lot of the work that By Miki Kenrick cruises around Paly throughout the
she and Beitler do in the ARC is setting up Staff Writer school day.
tutoring pairs throughout all grades and in a Scott Reese is an integral part The main purpose of his job is to
variety of subjects. of the Palo Alto High School scene, secure the Paly campus, weed out the
Another significant part of their daily always there to say “hi” to and always non-students and make sure the Paly
responsibilities includes working with par- willing to help. students are behaving appropriately.
ent volunteers to make sure that they have A big part of the Paly security Overall, Reese says that he loves get-
something to do. Beitler and Harvey must team, Reese seldom shares his first ting to know the Paly students.
also make sure each of the volunteers knows name because he wants students to “My job may seem boring, but
how to give tests to students who come in for call him by his last name only. there is always something different and

Scott Reese
make-up tests. “This is my 17th year working at
Beitler says she really enjoys working with Paly and it never seems to get old,”
the volunteers and believes that they enjoy Reese said.
working in the ARC because it is “right in the Reese grew up in Redwood City
middle of everything and they get to interact and moved to Palo Alto when he was
with a lot of students and teachers.” 13. He later graduated from Cubberly
For Harvey, the best part of working in High School in 1975.
the ARC is that she gets to work in an setting Reese first became involved in
with so many young students. the Paly community when he started
“I really like working in an environment coaching Varsity and frosh-soph foot-
with so many teenagers who are excited about ball. He also helped coach baseball,
the next step in their lives and where they are girls softball and track.
going,” Harvey said. During this time he was working
Beitler personally loves working in the as a Paly security guard as well, but
ARC because she enjoys interacting with decided to work solely as a security
students and seeing them successfully gradu- guard when his life outside Paly got
ate after she has worked with them over the busier.
course of four years. The older of Reese’s two sons,
Beitler and Harvey both view the ARC who are 12 and 17, plays hockey and
as a symbol of rescue. travels around California and to other
“I see the ARC as a safety net for stu- states, always accompanied by his
dents and I like being a part of that system,” father. Because of this, Reese had less
Harvey said. time to coach and decided to stick to
Beitler tends to agree with Harvey. a full-time security job.
“The ARC is a place where you can help “We travel around many parts
rescue yourself academically,” Beitler said. “I of California and we have also been
just love being the person who’s in the middle to Colorado for hockey,” Reese said.
of all this.” “Not many of the parents have such
a flexible job as I do, so I am lucky
that I get to go.”
Reese’s day begins when he
drives to Paly from his home in
Sunnyvale, where he lives with his
wife and two sons.
With the bicycle that he totes
Michela Fossati-Bellani/The Campanile to and from home every day, Reese
crazy going on at Paly,” Reese said.
“I used to write down all the crazy
things I had seen, but after a couple
years there were too many times to
remember.”
In his 17 years at Paly, Reese has
witnessed acts “too inappropriate” to
discuss.
“I can say one of the weirdest
things was in my second year of work-
ing at Paly when I saw a student throw
a bottle at a police car and break the
back windshield,” Reese said. “The
cop came back and arrested him on
the spot; I just couldn’t believe I saw
him do that.”
According to Reese, his job al-
ways has surprises in store for him.
“Just when you think you’ve
seen it all, you’re proved wrong,”
Reese said.
When Reese’s work day ends at
3:30 p.m., his second job begins which
is taking care of his kids. This includes
making sure they’re fed, have their
homework done and taking them to
sports activities.
When asked if there was anything
else he wanted to share with the Paly
community, Reese had one more
comment.
“It’s interesting to see how the
kids as freshmen come in so rigid and
as they mature, they realize they can
approach me,” Reese said. “I’m really
not as bad as I seem.”
The Campanile Spotlight March 17, 2008 • A7

By Crystal Wang during which she usually reviews lessons and

Staff Writer develops upcoming curriculum.
Palo Alto High School’s English Special Because there are only 12 students in the
Education teacher Jenny Chin and her math class, Chin is able to work with students one-
contemporary Lily Donchik run busy lives, on-one, which Chin says is one of her favorite

Jenny Chin
creating and carrying out 12 very different
curriculums for 12 very different students.
“It’s interesting because each student has
such a different program that there is a lot of
and variety in my job and in what I’m providing,”
aspects of the program.
“When I started teaching the class, the
students themselves really affected me,” Chin
said. “I got to know each one of them.”
After lunch, Chin teaches about money

Lily Donchik
Chin said.
Each curriculum is tailored to the specific
needs of the individual student. Chin and
Donchik work with a wide range of disabilities
including autism, mental retardation, physical
disabilities and visual challenges.
“It can be really challenging to balance
everything,” Chin said.
Chin arrives at school around 7:15 a.m.
every morning and starts the day with an
English class.
With five to six students with unique and
personalized curriculums in one class, Chin
may help one student with handwriting while
another student works on reading.
“Everyday in my classroom is different
and exciting,” Chin said. “I really love that
about my job.”
Chin was originally a freshmen English
teacher at Paly before getting involved with the
Special Education program as a teacher aide
two years ago. This year, Chin has returned
as a Special Education teacher.
“The opportunity to become a Special
Education teacher was a little surprising,” Chin
said. “At the same time, it was very exciting.
Allie Bollella/The Campanile I had wanted to become a Special Education
teacher for a couple of years.”
After first period English, Chin teaches the
Academic Projects class with either English
and math or science and history activities.
In third period, Chin teaches another
class of English and then has a free period
transactions in fifth period “Money Math.”
In addition to the two main teachers, six
teacher aides volunteer their time to help in
the classroom.
“One of the best parts of my job is having
so much aide support in the classroom,” Chin
said. “They inspire me to continue to devote my
time and energy to making the best programs
for my students.”
While a great number of volunteers is
good to have, organization, management and
coordination are crucial to have among the
number of adults in the classroom.
“We each work in our own little world
in many ways,” Chin said. “It’s sometimes
challenging to communicate.”
Flexibility and patience are the most
important characteristics to have as a Special
Education teacher, Chin said.
During sixth period, Chin and Donchik
teach the students about vocation eduction in
a job preparatory class. The teachers review
skills such as dressing appropriately for work,
following directions and filling out job applica-
tions. At the end of the day, the students take
electives such as student service and art.
Chin enjoys teaching and watching her
students grow throughout the year.
“One of my favorite things is seeing my
students change, grow and perform day to
day,” Chin said. “It is very inspiring to see
someone who has so many challenges work
to be successful everyday.”

By Nanor Balabanian sporting events to simply interacting

Staff Writer
“Health Office, Terri Webber
speaking, how may I help you?”
It is in no way common for Health
Office Nurse Terri Webber to sit still
during a regular day at Palo Alto High
School.
Running from one patient to
another, Webber hardly has a moment
in her day to rest.
From the second she opens her
office doors at 8 a.m. to the end of
her day at 3:15 p.m., Webber is con-
stantly helping sick students, calling
doctors, giving medication and filling
out paperwork.
“Mondays are typically the busi-
est day of the week for me,” Webber
said. “Especially around mid-day,
which is when many sick students
realize they cannot handle their illness
anymore.”
Eight years ago, Webber decided
to take a break from working at local
hospitals and move to a high school
for a change.
Having seen both a son and
daughter graduate from Paly, she
said she likes being able to relate to
students.
“I like being a nurse at Paly
because there is a lot of psychology
involved,” Webber said. “I’ve had
my own children go to Paly, which
has helped me better understand the
with students.
“I guess I like being around
students, even when they are sick.”
Gregg said.
Both of the nurses’ top priority is
the health of their students, and both
strive to educate them about important
health issues.
“We never know what could
happen during the day on campus,”
Gregg said. “But we are well trained
and work hard at keeping all students
and staff on campus safe.”
The nurses’ jobs are not only
limited to the health office. Early in
the year, Webber sometimes had to go
to other elementary schools in the Palo
Alto Unified School District during the
day to help diabetic children.
The shortage of nurses during
the beginning of the 2007-08 school
year was a serious problem for Paly’s
nurses as they tried to be in multiple
places at the same time.
“It was hard to leave the school
during the day,” Webber said. “But it
needed to be done.”
After a week of hard work and
stress dealing with students and pa-
perwork in school, Webber relaxes
by heading off to the San Jose Wind
Symphony to play the clarinet.
“Playing the clarinet is my stress-
release,” Webber said. “It’s a hobby
I’ve had for a very long time.” Allie Bollella/The Campanile

students here.”
The Health Office currently has
two registered nurses that work on
campus. Webber is on duty from Mon-
days to Wednesdays and Lee Gregg
takes over for the rest of the week.
“Because there are two of us
working at this site, communicating
with each other is essential,” Gregg
said. “We attend meetings with our
departments, the staff and, at times, the
other Health Techs in the district.”
Gregg likes being part of the high
school environment, from going to
Terri Webber
However, Webber has been happy
working at Paly over the past eight
years. She said that Paly students
should be very proud to have two
registered nurses on campus all the and
Lee Gregg
time who are open to talk to any stu-
dent about any issue on a confidential
basis.
“If students want to know more
things about their health, we are always
here for answering their questions and
concerns,” Webber said. “I am always
open and ready to help students in
whatever they are in need of.”
The Campanile Opinion March 17, 2008 • A5

New block proposal raises dispute

Block schedule would improve student productivity, but force teachers to change lesson structure
By Zach Harris
Staff Writer
The recently proposed changes to Palo
Alto High School’s schedule would make stu-
dents’ workloads more manageable, increase
class productivity and give students a more
realistic idea of life after high school.
The changes would include making
classes on Monday through Thursday blocked,
like Wednesday and Thursday currently are
and starting school at 8:15 a.m. every day,
while leaving seventh period unblocked to
accommodate the journalism, band and sports
programs.
Due to the 25 minutes of extra sleep that
students would get with the new schedule, they
would be more alert and ready to learn, espe-
cially in their first and second period classes.
According to the National Sleep Foundation,
teenagers aged 11 to 17 should get 8 1/2 to 9
1/4 hours of sleep per night.
In a 2006 poll conducted by the NSF, it
was found that only 20% of adolescents get
the recommended nine hours of sleep, while
on average, a high school senior gets only
6.9 hours of sleep per night. If school were
to start at 8:15 a.m. every day, students could
at least get closer to the suggested nightly
amount of rest, better preparing them for the
next day’s classes.
If there were a block schedule every
and interesting learning techniques into their
daily routine, making students more involved
in the learning process.
Teachers have often opposed four days of
block schedules because it would force them
to revamp their lesson plans, often pushing
two days’ lessons into one.
While this is understandable, teachers
have a professional responsibility to adjust
to the schedule the school provides, much
like it would be if they moved to a different
school.
The entire staff’s job includes creating
a superior learning environment for Paly
By Nolan Wong
Staff Writer
Although the proposed four-day block
schedule at Palo Alto High School may offer
prospects of extra sleep and greater depth of
topics covered in classes, the proposed sched-
ule has some flaws that could undermine these
good intentions. The proposed block schedule
would block classes on Mondays and Tuesdays
in addition to the currently blocked classes on
Wednesdays and Thursdays. Fridays would
remain unblocked.
The argument in favor of the longer 90-
minute classes states that students will be able
Paly math teacher Suzanne Antink said. “In
a geometry class, I would probably do four
sections a week. That means every block
day I would do two sections and on Friday I
would try to help everybody catch up with a
summary because that’s a lot to learn in 90
minutes. If we slowed this pace, we wouldn’t
finish the curriculum.”
With a larger amount of material to
cover, students could face overloading. This
is because the lessons that would have been
taught gradually each day would be crammed
into larger lessons which meet together every
other day.
and make sure that they aren’t just sitting,”
Duffy said.
Even so, with large amounts of material
and a longer period, students would have to
cope with setbacks in learning.
Inconsistent meetings would provide a
weaker base for language classes. Ideally,
foreign language classes should meet at least
once a day to practice speaking and listening
to that foreign language, Duffy said.
With inconsistent meetings every other
day, fluency in foreign languages could suffer.
Students would spend more time in each class
session speaking and listening to a foreign
language, but would not practice speaking
and listening in a classroom environment for
two days each week under a four-day block
schedule. This would be comparatively worse
than the current two-day block schedule.
Increases in the amount of material cov-
ered would also correspond to an increase in
homework. Many argue that students would
have two days to complete more homework,
but this is an illusion. In math classes, students
would receive double homework assignments
to correspond with the double lessons.
The amount of homework assigned for
each class would be psychologically over-
whelming. Students would receive two days’
worth of homework on one block day and
many students would have to manage their

PRO
day, students could better manage their time
and space out the amount of daily homework
they do.
Having four block periods would also
solve the testing problem most Paly depart-
ments have. Paly’s current schedule allows for
testing only on odd or even days depending
on the departments, but with a four block
schedule students would have more time to
complete the test and with only four classes
a day, teachers would have the option to give
tests on the days they choose, without schedule
restrictions.
Although there would be the same amount
of total work, if students had each class every
other day instead of every day they would be
better able to decide for themselves which
homework they wanted to do on which day,
instead of having to do every class’ work for
the next day. Students would have the oppor-
tunity to learn to manage their own schedules
successfully.
Additionally, if classes were an hour and
a half long, teachers would have more time in
class to better explain the material and better
prepare students for homework and tests, giv-
ing them a sufficient amount of time to answer
any questions students may have about the
following nights homework. A day between
classes would give students enough time to
talk to their teachers about homework they
do not understand.
Currently, teachers have lessons that are
too long for the standard 50-minute class. It
would be easier for students to take in the
information if it were given to them in one
90-minute block.
Even though students often complain
about the length of block periods, if a four-day
block schedule were to be implemented, teach-
ers would then be forced to add more active
Students and faculty discuss the proposed changes to the daily schedule at the Block Schedule Meeting at lunch on Feb. 29.
The faculty compiled feedback from the students and discussed how they might conduct student polls on the schedule.
students, even if that means putting in a little
extra work
Having a block schedule in which students
do not have all of their classes every day
also helps prepare students for later in life.
In college, most students will not have all of
their classes every day and will still have to
manage their time wisely. This is also true in
business. Taking responsibility for one’s work
load and planning one’s schedule accordingly
is a valuable skill.
A later start, complimented by four days
of block scheduling, would drastically improve
the learning environment at Paly. Students
would be more responsible for their own
workloads, preparing them for the future and
better rested due to the late start. The minor
sacrifices needed for the schedule change are
greatly disproportionate to the advantages of
the new schedule.
to learn topics in greater depth and teachers
will have more time to explain their subject
material.
However, many students would face
difficulties in paying attention throughout
the period. Students often grow tired as the
double-period wears on and subsequently
absorb a smaller amount of the long lesson.
In addition to the difficulty of maintain-
ing attention throughout the periods, students
would receive an increased amount of infor-
mation on each block day.
Because each blocked class would meet
three times a week instead of the current four,
teachers would have to cover more material to
keep up with the curriculum. Math classes, for
example, would have to teach the equivalent
of two lessons on each block day.
“In a calculus class, I would just power
through and we would do five sections a week,”
Morgan Pichinson/The Campanile
Students would have to cope with copi-
ous amounts of information and at a certain
point during each class students would face
reductions in lesson retention.
These limits in student attention span
can sometimes be seen in foreign language
classes.
“Many students will reach a saturation
point,” Paly Spanish teacher Kevin Duffy said.
“Especially in the first semester of level one,
you can easily reach that saturation point and
the students are done learning for the day no
matter how long the class is.”
Teachers, in turn, would have to adapt
their lesson plans to involve more activities to
further engage students so that they can stay
focused as the class goes on.
“We would have to have a variety of
activities for every block period, including
having students up and around and moving
CON
time well to cope with the pile.
According to a study, done by University
of Calgary professor Piers Steel that was
published in January 2007 by the American
Psychological Association, 26 percent of
the American public identify themselves as
chronic procrastinators.
Cited sources of this procrastination
included new electronic novelties such as
televisions, the Internet, cell phones, iPods
and video games –– many of which are used
regularly by high school students.
With such a high inclination for high
school students to procrastinate, a good portion
of Paly students may not be ready for a change
in homework and time management.
Even though most Paly students tend to be
high academic achievers, a portion of students
still procrastinate chronically and would be
harmed under the increased homework load
of the block schedule.
Another problem is a decrease in class-
room time. Under the current two-day block
schedule, students receive about 240 minutes
of classroom time, whereas under the proposed
four-day block schedules, students would
receive about 230 minutes of classroom time
each week. This lost instruction time would
hurt students because they would lose nearly
360 minutes of instruction time per class over
the course of the year. Despite the proposed
four-day block schedule’s good intentions, the
proposed schedule has several flaws that could
be detrimental to students’ learning.
These faults include lowered retention
rates, more homework and less overall class
time. For these reasons, Paly should consider
either keeping the current two-day block
schedule or making further modifications to
the proposed schedules that would help reduce
the aforementioned flaws.

Students would benefit from longer ARC hours

Academic Resource Center should open earlier so students can make up tests before school and during first period preps
By Laura Kurtz
Senior Staff Writer
The ARC is one of the most
important extra programs at Paly and
is used by many students on a daily
basis. However, it appears that the
district does not realize the center’s
importance and unfortunately, this
means that not all students have access
to the ARC.
The ARC does not open until 8:30
a.m., and on all non-block days, first
period ends at 8:40 a.m. This means
that the students with first period preps
do not have access to the textbooks,
computers and other services that the
ARC offers.
Although many students with first
period preps choose to stay at home
in the morning, many students are re-
sponsible for driving younger siblings
or neighbors to and from school. Other
students must comply with the Palo
Alto Unified School District’s public
transportation schedules or can only
get rides early. This means that they
are forced to come to first period, but
are unable to get work done unless they
bring textbooks from home, which
can get very uncomfortable if these
students do not have lockers.
Although the library does have
some textbooks, these textbooks must
be checked out and students cannot
leave the library. Also, many people
choose to eat breakfast at Paly and
because of the library’s understand-
ably stringent rules, students cannot
eat in the library.
On all days with normal sched-
ules, an average of a little over ten
students come in every day, needing
to use the ARC and all they find is a
closed door.
The large room can be opened
by the library staff or the people that
work in the Health Office. However,
the area with tests, quizzes, in-class
essays, textbooks and computers can
only be accessed by Ms. Beitler and
Ms. Harvey who work in the ARC.
The ARC computers are two of
the only three computers that can
transfer data from a flash drive, some-
thing that only one of the computers
in the library can do. This computer
is extremely slow and students can
only use it to download a document,
and then must email it to themselves
to open on another computer.
However, the inability of first
period prep students to access text-
books and computers is not the biggest
problem. The most important issue is
that students with first preps are not
able to make up tests and quizzes in
the center. These students must come
in at lunch or after school to make
up tests, because they are unable to
during a prep.
It is unfair that these first period
students are unable to use the ARC,
while other students are. The root
of the problem is a serious lack of
funding.
The school only has enough
money to pay one ARC worker from
8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The school
managed to get enough money to keep
the ARC open until 4:30 this year, and
assistant principal Kimberly Diorio
said that they are looking into opening
it in the morning next year.
“We recognize that [the ARC] is a
valuable service for our kids. Because
it is so used, we will look for ways to
improve it,” Diorio said.
The district office supplies Paly
with money from the Partners In
Education (PIE) Fund. Paly uses this
money at its discretion, but mostly
on teachers said Diorio.
The district needs to find a way to
keep the ARC open 40 extra minutes
four days a week. As it is, Beitler and
Harvey share one person’s salary.
With the school and the people
who work in the ARC making so
many sacrifices, the district should
be able to find some way to give a
small amount of money for a very
important program.

Verbatim
“Mr. Geller and Mr. “Mr. Cronin and Ms. “Ms. Lassen and Ms. “Ms. Predescu and Mr.
Posada” Brockmann” Vereyken” Posada”
—Andy —Justin —Boys Swim Team ­—Caroline
Which two teachers should go Maliska Austin Lucas-Conwell
to prom together? junior sophomore junior
A4 March 17, 2008
Opinion
Letters to the Editors
Unsupported statements
plague article
This letter was written in response to Alex Greene’s
article, published Feb. 20, “Students should not be
dependent on computers for school.”
I would like to preface this piece of feedback by
saying that I think the writer deserves a lot of credit for
maintaining such a unique opinion in such a computer-
dominated area.
That said, I think this article has many structural
flaws. Blanket statements such as “most students use
computers multiple times a week...” lose credibility
when they have no statistics to back them up. I attended
Palo Alto High School, I would guesstimate that about
99% of students use computers at least 5 times a week,
however without statistical data this argument is very
weak. This article is full of such statements with no
statistical support.
Secondly, I think it is a great and very underrepre-
sented argument that not all kids can afford computers
and Internet access on a regular basis. However, again,
without any numerical data or even a first-hand account
of a student who has difficulty accessing a computer,
this argument is similarly very much weakened.
I think this is a great start to a potentially great
article, however suggest that next time the author ei-
ther leaves out blanket statements, or better yet, finds
statistical support for them.
–– Helen Sims, Paly alumnus
The following letters were written in response to
Hannah Bystrisky’s article, published Feb. 20, “Mush-
room gathering attracts local families.”
Mushroom article
factually flawed
It’s great to see high school students showing
an interest in mushrooms, but I’m afraid this article
contains factual errors that could be deadly. Especially
dangerous is this statement:
“Usually in nature, the brighter the color the
mushroom has, the more dangerous and possibly fatal
the mushroom is to consume.”
This is just plain wrong. Color is not an indica-
tion of edibility or poisonousness. Amanita ocreata
(sometimes called the destroying angel) is white and
Amanita phalloides (a.k.a. death cap) is often muted tan
or greenish, and they are two of the world’s deadliest
mushrooms. On the other hand, Cantharellus cibarius
(the golden or yellow chanterelle ) is bright yellow to
orange and is among the most delicious edibles.
Another misconception: “Smaller mushrooms are
the yummiest,” Souverneva said.
Boletus edulis (a.k.a. king bolete, porcini) is one
of California’s largest mushrooms and is also one of
the most delicious edibles, zealously sought after by
pople from many cultures. Similarly, truffles can be
the size of marbles or basketballs; regardless, they are
among the most expensive and prized edible fungi in
the world. There are countless tiny mushrooms that
are nasty tasting, poisonous, even deadly. Size is ir-
relevant to taste.
There are an awful lot of misconceptions about
mushrooms. Unfortunately, this article contained some
common ones. It’s always a good idea to double-check
your facts when writing a story about matters of life
and death.
–– Peter Curtis, San Francisco
The Campanile
Editors in Chief
Tyler Blake • Danielle Kim • Peter Lee
Ryan Pfleiderer • Mia Pond • Tomer Schwartz
News Editor Lifestyles Editor
Rebecca Allen Kairen Wong
Features Editors A&E Editors
Henry Becker Sara Reihani
Amy Stringer Austin Smith
Photo Manager
Hannah McGovern
Business Managers
Geng Wang Debbie Zhang
Staff Writers
Nanor Balabanian Rye Druzin
Catherine Benson Christian Gallagher
Ayelet Bitton Alex Greene
Becky Byler Chris Gonnerman
Hannah Bystritsky Gabrielle Hadley
Alan Chen Michael Hamada
Auster Chen Zach Harris
Alan Chu Kevin Harvey
Allison Coleman DJ Hsueh
Zal Dordi Mikaela Kenrick
Photographers
Mika Ben-Shaul • Julia Benton • Allie Bollella • Nora Brannen-Burt
Michela Fossati-Bellani • Stacy Levichev • Elizabeth Petit • Morgan Pichinson
Graphics Editor
Erik Krasner-Karpen
Adviser
Esther Wojcicki
It would have been a good idea to run this story
by one of your many local mycologists before print-
ing it. You could find any number by contacting the
Mycological Society of San Francisco.
The statement that most concerns me is the one
about avoiding all brightly colored mushroom as one
means of being safe. This seemed to indicate that those
are the most dangerous. Although some of those are
poisonous, I can’t think of any that would kill an adult.
Amanita muscaria causes alarming symptoms, but
patients recover usually within 12-24 hours.
You do have some of the most deadly mushrooms
in the world in the Bay Area. Interestingly enough,
all are white or pale greenish or yellowish gray. They
are the amatoxin containing amanitas. The one most
commonly involved in life-threatening poisonings is
Amanita phalloides.
The subject of mushroom mycophagy needs to be
approached with a great deal of caution, especially in
your part of the country, where, it is my understanding
in discussions with some of your local experts, Amanita
phalloides is sometimes one of the most common mush-
rooms around.
–– Marilyn Shaw, former toxicology chair for
the North American Mycological Assosiation
Mushroom hunting fun,
but dangerous
I am the Co-Founder of BAMS!, the Bay Area’s
newest mushroom society. Although the author mis-
stated some of her mushroom “facts,” I appreciate
her enthusiasm for the topic. Mushroom hunting is
indeed fun and joyful. If you are considering eating
wild mushrooms that you have collected, however,
you must be absolutely sure of their identity, and this
only happens through long experience. To reduce your
chances of making an error, learn from the experts! Here
in the Bay Area, we have many mushroom societies to
choose from, and wonderful field guides that are geared
to our specific area.
Hunt safely; there is plenty of information out there
to help you along your (forest) path.
–– Debbie Viess
Interesting article about
“Third Wave”
This letter was written in response to Sarah
Stringer’s article, published Feb. 20, “Palo Alto’s ‘Third
Wave’ inspires German filmmaker.”
This is a cool article about the film, which is already
playing trailers in Austria’s and Germany’s cinemas,
and I think it’s a really cool thriller.
The reason I write you is that I’m doing research
about The Third Wave for about a year or so; it began
as part of a scholarly paper (I finished highschool last
year), but turned into a very interesting investigation
about the truth. There are reasons that Jones’ story is
exaggerated, so I did a lot of Googling –– now, one year
later, I have contact to five of his ex-students. One of
them sent me the link to your article, and when I read it,
it was interseting that you mentioned “The Breakers”. I
don’t know any text in the Web mentioning them (but I
know about them because one of the students told me)
–– where did you get your information from, and what
was your approach to the research?
Best regards from the other side of the globe.
–– Tobias Deml, Vienna
Opinion Editor
Chris­Clayton
Sports Editors
Alexi Dagan
Sam Jones
Spotlight Editor
Sarah Stringer
Advertising Manager
Erik Krasner-Karpen
Laura Kurtz Annie Vought
Yvonne Lin Anna Waldron
Jillian Liu Crystal Wang
Josh Lo Cassie Wedemeyer
Ryan McLeod Allison Whitson
Mira Parekh Eliot Wilson
Jonathan Shan Nolan Wong
Julia Shapiro Lindsay Yang
Kelley Shin Gloria Yu
Pauline Slakey Kelly Zhou
Journalism bill necessary
to protect free speech
Senate Bill 1370 protects students from
censorship, allows students to report truth
Last month, Sen. Leland Yee (D-
San Francisco/San Mateo) presented
legislation that would prevent school
administrators from taking retribution
against journalism advisers for what
their students publish in California.
Specifically, the bill, Senate Bill 1370,
states in Yee’s Feb. 29 press release
that it “prohibit[s] an employee from
being dismissed, suspended, disci-
plined, reassigned, transferred, or
otherwise retaliated against for acting
to protect a student’s speech.”
The bill, referred to as the “Jour-
nalism Teacher Protection Act,” adds
to the rights already guaranteed to
student publications by California
Education Code Section 48950, en-
acted in 1992. The law declares that
“a student shall have the same right to
exercise his or her right to free speech
on campus as he or she enjoys when
off campus.”
As a result of this earlier legis-
lation, SB 1370 further checks the
power of an administration’s ability to
censor or in some way filter material
published by students by limiting the
severity of consequences that teacher
may face if material is considered
controversial or a breach of the First
Amendment.
The Campanile strongly supports
SB 1370 in its attempt to respect the
true nature of journalism; the bill
would better protect student publica-
tions from administrative bias and
censorship, respect the over-arching
goals of and intentions behind student
journalism programs and serve as a
step in the right direction for journal-
ism in general.
Such a law would not only em-
power the writers of student publica-
tions but also the respective audience
District should open up
Internet wireless network
Allows students access to internet would
encourage unhindered productivity
When the Palo Alto High School
wireless network was created more
than three years ago, a writer for the
Palo Alto Weekly discovered a secu-
rity hole in the network that would
have allowed anyone on a school or
district computer access to confiden-
tial student information.
In response, the Palo Alto Uni-
fied School District placed limita-
tions upon access to the Internet and
proceeded to install Internet filters
to protect its network infrastructure
from any further breaches. By doing
so, students at Palo Alto High School
have been cut off from Wi Fi Internet
access.
In an age when security holes are
not uncommon, the district’s actions
were justified; student privacy is of
utmost importance. However, barring
the wireless network at Paly has been
problematic for students.
The Campanile believes that it
is time for the district to re-evaluate
it’s Internet usage policy and to either
Corrections: Significant corrections will be noted
in the upcoming edition. Please send any corrections
requests to theeds08@googlegroups.com.
Letters to the Editors: E-mail all letters to edi-
tors to theeds08@googlegroups.com. The Campanile
welcomes and prints letters to the editors on a space-
available basis.
Editorials
The opinion of The Campanile
as their right to freedom of the press
would be both protected and endorsed.
Specifically, by prohibiting a school’s
administration from pressuring pub-
lication advisers, students would be
able to report any information without
being censored. Such an exception
would be made to material deemed
libelous, obscene or slanderous.
For example, Teri Hu of Fre-
mont’s Irvington High School was a
victim of school censorship, according
to Yee’s Feb. 29 press release. Dur-
ing the 2003-04 academic year, The
Voice, Irvington’s newspaper advised
by Hu, ran two controversial articles
that she suspects led to her removal
as journalism adviser. Specifically,
Hu was asked by the administration
both times to retract each story on
grounds other than violation of the
First Amendment.
While in support of SB 1370,
The Campanile also recognizes the
freedom of the student press at Palo
Alto High School. During the course
of this year, The Campanile wrote
stories on the following subjects:
student substance abuse, the reen-
actment controversy, and the recent
boys’ basketball disqualification. If
published at other high schools around
the country, there is a high probability
that such articles would not run; these
student voice would go unheard. SB
1370 allows these students to have the
same opportunities Paly’s publications
experience as there is relatively little
censorship of articles or threatening of
journalism advisers. The Campanile
commends Paly for its consistent re-
spect for student publications, which
should serve as reference for all na-
tional public high schools’ journalism
programs.
open up or create a new wireless
network for Paly students. Students
should be given the ability to access
the system on their own laptop com-
puters in a manner that is responsible
and secure.
Often, students need the Internet
to complete schoolwork and carry
out research. This is currently very
difficult given the situation. Paly may
offer excellent computers in the library
and its computer labs, however nearly
all computers are occupied during
brunch and lunch in the library, and
most Paly computer labs are inacces-
sible to students who aren’t accessing
them as part of their class.
It would be beneficial to students
to have the ability to access the inter-
net on their own personal laptops at
school, as school-owned computers
are not always available.
The Campanile firmly believes
that if access to the Internet is being
provided at local libraries, Stanford
University, and entire cities like near-
The Campanile reserves the right to edit submis-
sions for length. Please note that The Campanile only
publishes signed letters.
Advertisements: Ads with The Campanile are
printed with signed contracts. For more information,
contact Campanile Business Managers by e-mail at
campanile.ads@gmail.com.
The Campanile
This freedom of the press not
only furthers the quality of student
journalism, but entitles individuals
to their first amendment rights of
the United States’ Constitution. The
Campanile congratulates SB 1370
for clearly recognizing students’
rights and providing them with the
opportunity to write freely. Under this
law, student journalists are protected
against censorship and can fulfill
their responsibility to the public by
providing the truth. Moreover, Yee’s
bill does not ban students’ pursuit
of the truth but inspires and protects
their courage.
In addition, with this freedom and
expanded autonomy students will be
forced to take more responsibility for
published work. While this law would
not remove or decrease an adviser’s
power on a student publication, with
less censorship students are able to
report on subjects that matter to them,
regardless of how controversial they
may be. Because of this, The Campa-
nile supports the very nature of Yee’s
bill as it sends a powerful message to
all student journalists of maturity and
independence. SB 1370 will give stu-
dents more of an opportunity to learn
from their success and mistakes by
gaining a stronger sense of ownership.
This bill acknowledges the power and
importance of student journalism as it
respects and seriously recognizes the
work of high school students.
According to Yee’s Feb. 29 press
release, SB 1370 will be considered by
the California State Senate in March.
The Campanile strongly urges the Sen-
ate to approve of this bill as it will not
only serve justice to its constituents
but model an example all journalism
should follow.
by Mountain View, there is no reason
why an accessible wireless network
should not be set up for student use.
How this is achieved will require the
district to hear input from students, and
The Campanile hopes that the district
will work with the Paly student body,
including ASB leadership, to make
this possible.
Paly is currently facing increasing
enrollment; at some point, a handful of
library computers will not satisfy the
needs of the growing student body.
The school has spent thousands of
dollars on laptop mobile carts, which
are largely only accessible for limited
times during class period and are not
available during lunch or brunch.
By making access to the Internet
available and encouraging students to
bring their own laptops, the district
would allow Paly students to study
and work on their own laptops and
allow them to be more productive and
unhindered by the amount of available
computers in the library.
A4 March 17, 2008
Opinion
Letters to the Editors
Unsupported statements
plague article
This letter was written in response to Alex Greene’s
article, published Feb. 20, “Students should not be
dependent on computers for school.”
I would like to preface this piece of feedback by
saying that I think the writer deserves a lot of credit for
maintaining such a unique opinion in such a computer-
dominated area.
That said, I think this article has many structural
flaws. Blanket statements such as “most students use
computers multiple times a week...” lose credibility
when they have no statistics to back them up. I attended
Palo Alto High School, I would guesstimate that about
99% of students use computers at least 5 times a week,
however without statistical data this argument is very
weak. This article is full of such statements with no
statistical support.
Secondly, I think it is a great and very underrepre-
sented argument that not all kids can afford computers
and Internet access on a regular basis. However, again,
without any numerical data or even a first-hand account
of a student who has difficulty accessing a computer,
this argument is similarly very much weakened.
I think this is a great start to a potentially great
article, however suggest that next time the author ei-
ther leaves out blanket statements, or better yet, finds
statistical support for them.
–– Helen Sims, Paly alumnus
The following letters were written in response to
Hannah Bystrisky’s article, published Feb. 20, “Mush-
room gathering attracts local families.”
Mushroom article
factually flawed
It’s great to see high school students showing
an interest in mushrooms, but I’m afraid this article
contains factual errors that could be deadly. Especially
dangerous is this statement:
“Usually in nature, the brighter the color the
mushroom has, the more dangerous and possibly fatal
the mushroom is to consume.”
This is just plain wrong. Color is not an indica-
tion of edibility or poisonousness. Amanita ocreata
(sometimes called the destroying angel) is white and
Amanita phalloides (a.k.a. death cap) is often muted tan
or greenish, and they are two of the world’s deadliest
mushrooms. On the other hand, Cantharellus cibarius
(the golden or yellow chanterelle ) is bright yellow to
orange and is among the most delicious edibles.
Another misconception: “Smaller mushrooms are
the yummiest,” Souverneva said.
Boletus edulis (a.k.a. king bolete, porcini) is one
of California’s largest mushrooms and is also one of
the most delicious edibles, zealously sought after by
pople from many cultures. Similarly, truffles can be
the size of marbles or basketballs; regardless, they are
among the most expensive and prized edible fungi in
the world. There are countless tiny mushrooms that
are nasty tasting, poisonous, even deadly. Size is ir-
relevant to taste.
There are an awful lot of misconceptions about
mushrooms. Unfortunately, this article contained some
common ones. It’s always a good idea to double-check
your facts when writing a story about matters of life
and death.
–– Peter Curtis, San Francisco
The Campanile
Editors in Chief
Tyler Blake • Danielle Kim • Peter Lee
Ryan Pfleiderer • Mia Pond • Tomer Schwartz
News Editor Lifestyles Editor
Rebecca Allen Kairen Wong
Features Editors A&E Editors
Henry Becker Sara Reihani
Amy Stringer Austin Smith
Photo Manager
Hannah McGovern
Business Managers
Geng Wang Debbie Zhang
Staff Writers
Nanor Balabanian Rye Druzin
Catherine Benson Christian Gallagher
Ayelet Bitton Alex Greene
Becky Byler Chris Gonnerman
Hannah Bystritsky Gabrielle Hadley
Alan Chen Michael Hamada
Auster Chen Zach Harris
Alan Chu Kevin Harvey
Allison Coleman DJ Hsueh
Zal Dordi Mikaela Kenrick
Photographers
Mika Ben-Shaul • Julia Benton • Allie Bollella • Nora Brannen-Burt
Michela Fossati-Bellani • Stacy Levichev • Elizabeth Petit • Morgan Pichinson
Graphics Editor
Erik Krasner-Karpen
Adviser
Esther Wojcicki
It would have been a good idea to run this story
by one of your many local mycologists before print-
ing it. You could find any number by contacting the
Mycological Society of San Francisco.
The statement that most concerns me is the one
about avoiding all brightly colored mushroom as one
means of being safe. This seemed to indicate that those
are the most dangerous. Although some of those are
poisonous, I can’t think of any that would kill an adult.
Amanita muscaria causes alarming symptoms, but
patients recover usually within 12-24 hours.
You do have some of the most deadly mushrooms
in the world in the Bay Area. Interestingly enough,
all are white or pale greenish or yellowish gray. They
are the amatoxin containing amanitas. The one most
commonly involved in life-threatening poisonings is
Amanita phalloides.
The subject of mushroom mycophagy needs to be
approached with a great deal of caution, especially in
your part of the country, where, it is my understanding
in discussions with some of your local experts, Amanita
phalloides is sometimes one of the most common mush-
rooms around.
–– Marilyn Shaw, former toxicology chair for
the North American Mycological Assosiation
Mushroom hunting fun,
but dangerous
I am the Co-Founder of BAMS!, the Bay Area’s
newest mushroom society. Although the author mis-
stated some of her mushroom “facts,” I appreciate
her enthusiasm for the topic. Mushroom hunting is
indeed fun and joyful. If you are considering eating
wild mushrooms that you have collected, however,
you must be absolutely sure of their identity, and this
only happens through long experience. To reduce your
chances of making an error, learn from the experts! Here
in the Bay Area, we have many mushroom societies to
choose from, and wonderful field guides that are geared
to our specific area.
Hunt safely; there is plenty of information out there
to help you along your (forest) path.
–– Debbie Viess
Interesting article about
“Third Wave”
This letter was written in response to Sarah
Stringer’s article, published Feb. 20, “Palo Alto’s ‘Third
Wave’ inspires German filmmaker.”
This is a cool article about the film, which is already
playing trailers in Austria’s and Germany’s cinemas,
and I think it’s a really cool thriller.
The reason I write you is that I’m doing research
about The Third Wave for about a year or so; it began
as part of a scholarly paper (I finished highschool last
year), but turned into a very interesting investigation
about the truth. There are reasons that Jones’ story is
exaggerated, so I did a lot of Googling –– now, one year
later, I have contact to five of his ex-students. One of
them sent me the link to your article, and when I read it,
it was interseting that you mentioned “The Breakers”. I
don’t know any text in the Web mentioning them (but I
know about them because one of the students told me)
–– where did you get your information from, and what
was your approach to the research?
Best regards from the other side of the globe.
–– Tobias Deml, Vienna
Opinion Editor
Chris­Clayton
Sports Editors
Alexi Dagan
Sam Jones
Spotlight Editor
Sarah Stringer
Advertising Manager
Erik Krasner-Karpen
Laura Kurtz Annie Vought
Yvonne Lin Anna Waldron
Jillian Liu Crystal Wang
Josh Lo Cassie Wedemeyer
Ryan McLeod Allison Whitson
Mira Parekh Eliot Wilson
Jonathan Shan Nolan Wong
Julia Shapiro Lindsay Yang
Kelley Shin Gloria Yu
Pauline Slakey Kelly Zhou
Journalism bill necessary
to protect free speech
Senate Bill 1370 protects students from
censorship, allows students to report truth
Last month, Sen. Leland Yee (D-
San Francisco/San Mateo) presented
legislation that would prevent school
administrators from taking retribution
against journalism advisers for what
their students publish in California.
Specifically, the bill, Senate Bill 1370,
states in Yee’s Feb. 29 press release
that it “prohibit[s] an employee from
being dismissed, suspended, disci-
plined, reassigned, transferred, or
otherwise retaliated against for acting
to protect a student’s speech.”
The bill, referred to as the “Jour-
nalism Teacher Protection Act,” adds
to the rights already guaranteed to
student publications by California
Education Code Section 48950, en-
acted in 1992. The law declares that
“a student shall have the same right to
exercise his or her right to free speech
on campus as he or she enjoys when
off campus.”
As a result of this earlier legis-
lation, SB 1370 further checks the
power of an administration’s ability to
censor or in some way filter material
published by students by limiting the
severity of consequences that teacher
may face if material is considered
controversial or a breach of the First
Amendment.
The Campanile strongly supports
SB 1370 in its attempt to respect the
true nature of journalism; the bill
would better protect student publica-
tions from administrative bias and
censorship, respect the over-arching
goals of and intentions behind student
journalism programs and serve as a
step in the right direction for journal-
ism in general.
Such a law would not only em-
power the writers of student publica-
tions but also the respective audience
District should open up
Internet wireless network
Allows students access to internet would
encourage unhindered productivity
When the Palo Alto High School
wireless network was created more
than three years ago, a writer for the
Palo Alto Weekly discovered a secu-
rity hole in the network that would
have allowed anyone on a school or
district computer access to confiden-
tial student information.
In response, the Palo Alto Uni-
fied School District placed limita-
tions upon access to the Internet and
proceeded to install Internet filters
to protect its network infrastructure
from any further breaches. By doing
so, students at Palo Alto High School
have been cut off from Wi Fi Internet
access.
In an age when security holes are
not uncommon, the district’s actions
were justified; student privacy is of
utmost importance. However, barring
the wireless network at Paly has been
problematic for students.
The Campanile believes that it
is time for the district to re-evaluate
it’s Internet usage policy and to either
Corrections: Significant corrections will be noted
in the upcoming edition. Please send any corrections
requests to theeds08@googlegroups.com.
Letters to the Editors: E-mail all letters to edi-
tors to theeds08@googlegroups.com. The Campanile
welcomes and prints letters to the editors on a space-
available basis.
Editorials
The opinion of The Campanile
as their right to freedom of the press
would be both protected and endorsed.
Specifically, by prohibiting a school’s
administration from pressuring pub-
lication advisers, students would be
able to report any information without
being censored. Such an exception
would be made to material deemed
libelous, obscene or slanderous.
For example, Teri Hu of Fre-
mont’s Irvington High School was a
victim of school censorship, according
to Yee’s Feb. 29 press release. Dur-
ing the 2003-04 academic year, The
Voice, Irvington’s newspaper advised
by Hu, ran two controversial articles
that she suspects led to her removal
as journalism adviser. Specifically,
Hu was asked by the administration
both times to retract each story on
grounds other than violation of the
First Amendment.
While in support of SB 1370,
The Campanile also recognizes the
freedom of the student press at Palo
Alto High School. During the course
of this year, The Campanile wrote
stories on the following subjects:
student substance abuse, the reen-
actment controversy, and the recent
boys’ basketball disqualification. If
published at other high schools around
the country, there is a high probability
that such articles would not run; these
student voice would go unheard. SB
1370 allows these students to have the
same opportunities Paly’s publications
experience as there is relatively little
censorship of articles or threatening of
journalism advisers. The Campanile
commends Paly for its consistent re-
spect for student publications, which
should serve as reference for all na-
tional public high schools’ journalism
programs.
open up or create a new wireless
network for Paly students. Students
should be given the ability to access
the system on their own laptop com-
puters in a manner that is responsible
and secure.
Often, students need the Internet
to complete schoolwork and carry
out research. This is currently very
difficult given the situation. Paly may
offer excellent computers in the library
and its computer labs, however nearly
all computers are occupied during
brunch and lunch in the library, and
most Paly computer labs are inacces-
sible to students who aren’t accessing
them as part of their class.
It would be beneficial to students
to have the ability to access the inter-
net on their own personal laptops at
school, as school-owned computers
are not always available.
The Campanile firmly believes
that if access to the Internet is being
provided at local libraries, Stanford
University, and entire cities like near-
The Campanile reserves the right to edit submis-
sions for length. Please note that The Campanile only
publishes signed letters.
Advertisements: Ads with The Campanile are
printed with signed contracts. For more information,
contact Campanile Business Managers by e-mail at
campanile.ads@gmail.com.
The Campanile
This freedom of the press not
only furthers the quality of student
journalism, but entitles individuals
to their first amendment rights of
the United States’ Constitution. The
Campanile congratulates SB 1370
for clearly recognizing students’
rights and providing them with the
opportunity to write freely. Under this
law, student journalists are protected
against censorship and can fulfill
their responsibility to the public by
providing the truth. Moreover, Yee’s
bill does not ban students’ pursuit
of the truth but inspires and protects
their courage.
In addition, with this freedom and
expanded autonomy students will be
forced to take more responsibility for
published work. While this law would
not remove or decrease an adviser’s
power on a student publication, with
less censorship students are able to
report on subjects that matter to them,
regardless of how controversial they
may be. Because of this, The Campa-
nile supports the very nature of Yee’s
bill as it sends a powerful message to
all student journalists of maturity and
independence. SB 1370 will give stu-
dents more of an opportunity to learn
from their success and mistakes by
gaining a stronger sense of ownership.
This bill acknowledges the power and
importance of student journalism as it
respects and seriously recognizes the
work of high school students.
According to Yee’s Feb. 29 press
release, SB 1370 will be considered by
the California State Senate in March.
The Campanile strongly urges the Sen-
ate to approve of this bill as it will not
only serve justice to its constituents
but model an example all journalism
should follow.
by Mountain View, there is no reason
why an accessible wireless network
should not be set up for student use.
How this is achieved will require the
district to hear input from students, and
The Campanile hopes that the district
will work with the Paly student body,
including ASB leadership, to make
this possible.
Paly is currently facing increasing
enrollment; at some point, a handful of
library computers will not satisfy the
needs of the growing student body.
The school has spent thousands of
dollars on laptop mobile carts, which
are largely only accessible for limited
times during class period and are not
available during lunch or brunch.
By making access to the Internet
available and encouraging students to
bring their own laptops, the district
would allow Paly students to study
and work on their own laptops and
allow them to be more productive and
unhindered by the amount of available
computers in the library.
The Campanile News March 17, 2008 • A3

Stringent laws and expenses lead to fewer teen drivers

Recent survey shows the number of American teen drivers has decreased by about fifteen percent since 1998
By Sarah Stringer During the 1980s, 90 percent Requirements for driving also
Spotlight Editor of schools offered driver education make the process more time con-
A recent survey of American to students as a class; now, only 20 suming. Newer, more stringent laws
teenagers found that only 29.8 percent percent of schools offer it and many for driving have been put in place in
of teens now get their licenses upon of those programs are run after school many states, including California.
eligibility, down from 43.8 percent or on weekends. In 2006, the state enacted a new law
in 1998. Students must then choose a requiring teens to have their license
The data, collected by the private school or an internet program for one year before driving between
Federal Highway Administration, for their education. In California, the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and
demonstrates a close to fifty percent students must complete 50 hours of before transporting passengers under
decrease in teen drivers within the driving with a permit before obtain- the age of 25.
past ten years. ing a license. Other states have adopted simi-
Experts cite various reasons as Palo Alto High School senior lar graduated driver-licensing laws
to why these numbers changed so Samuel Kung said that he does not during the past decade to reduce the
drastically within ten years, including drive because he is putting off this number of teen car crashes.
parents who are more willing to drive process. As a group, teenagers are in-
students, increases in insurance and “I originally wanted to get started, volved in the highest number of auto-
gas costs, tighter state laws and chang- but I got lazy,” Kung said. “I was in mobile crashes. According to “Saving
ing methods of driver education. Hong Kong for the past two sum- Teenage Lives,” a study released by
Still, many are mers, so even if the National Highway Traffic Safety
surprised as to why I did complete Administration, car accidents are the
“It’s a big change in a ma-
fewer teens are drivers education, leading cause of death for teenagers.
driving now com- jor American ritual of driv- I wouldn’t be able While some states allow teen-
pared to ten years ing as early as possible.” to do much while I agers to get restricted licenses six
ago. Michael T. was there and then months after they turn 14, those states
Marsden, dean of
Michael T. Marsden when I came back with new laws in place delay drivers’
St. Norbert Col- I had other stuff to licenses, mainly until one turns 16
lege in De Pere, Dean of St. Norbert College do, so I couldn’t years old. In New Jersey, learners
Wisconsin and an really get to it.” must be 17 years old before they can
expert on car cul- F o r n o w, get a restricted license.
ture believes this goes against tradi- Kung’s mother and friends drive Graduated licensing laws also
tional American teenage values. him to where he needs to go, but he restrict the hours at which teens may
“It’s a big change in a major hopes to find the time to complete drive, the time before they may trans-
American ritual of driving as early as driver education sometime in the port other minors and the number of Stacy Levichev/The Campanile
possible,” Marsden said in an inter- near future. hours they must accumulate in behind- Over the past ten years, fewer high school students have been driving to school because of stringent
view with the New York Times. Other teenagers have different the-wheel training. state teen driving laws, increases in auto insurance costs and changing methods of driver education.
One of the reasons fewer teens reasons for delaying driving lessons. These laws have helped decrease
may be delaying their trip to the Insurance costs have risen steadily, the number of teen fatalities in car However, there are still many “I wanted my license so I could to her parents or friends to ask for a
Department of Motor Vehicles is making it more expensive for teenag- crashes by 11 percent, according to teenagers who are eager to get their stop asking my parents for rides and ride. She also feels that she has much
because of the new difficulties and ers to have cars. a survey done in 2006 by the Johns licenses, a traditional symbol for I could be more independent,” Miller more freedom now that she is able to
expenses that teens face when obtain- Currently, most insurance poli- Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public independence and maturity. said. “Now I drive a lot.” provide her own transportation.
ing a driver’s license. cies will cost 80 to 100 percent more Health. Paly senior Amanda Miller, for Miller said she now drives her- “It is definitely a sign of inde-
There are also fewer methods of when adding a 16-year-old driver to One of the main reasons these example, took driver’s education self everywhere, including her dance pendence for me,” Miller said. “I’m
obtaining drivers education, which them, according to Allstate Corpora- laws are effective is that they keep and got her license as soon as she classes in San Jose and her job, when never even at home any more now
further delays licensing. tion. teenage drivers off the road. turned 16. previously she would have had to go that I can drive.”

PAUSD administrator Marilyn Cook announces retirement

Former Paly principal contributed 14 years to the Palo Alto Unified School District in various leading roles
Marilyn Cook is remembered for her contributions as a Paly principal, Human
Resources Assistant Superintendent and the PAUSD Associate Superintendent.
By Ayelet Bitton
Staff Writer
After working within the district at vari-
ous different positions for the past 14 years,
Associate Superintendent Marilyn Cook an-
nounced her upcoming retirement from the
Palo Alto Unified School District at the end
of the 2007-08 school year.
Nolan Wong/The Campanile
Among her various positions, Marilyn
Cook also served as Palo Alto High School’s
principal.
“I was hired as the Paly principal in 1994,”
Cook said. “After six years I moved over to
the district office.”
After transferring to the District Office,
Cook worked as Assistant Superintendent
for Human Resources for five years and then said. “She had a very calm presence and was “She visited Paly the year before she was
took on the role of Associate Superintendent very caring. She was delightful, organized hired and thought Spirit Week was very clever
for the entire district. and very bright.” and very interesting,” Paugh said. “The next
Cook holds an overseeing position with English teacher Mike McNulty also year, she had a really great idea and came up
responsibilities ranging from curriculum and worked with Cook during her years in the with a costume with four quadrants. Each
instruction to technology services to student Paly front office. quadrant was a different color representing a
support. She worked on a number of projects “The main reason that I liked her was that different class, instead of just one supporting
in various different departments throughout her door was always open,” McNulty said. one class.”
the district. “That was very nice. If you had a question for Cook was also a major factor in the
“It’s hard to think of something she hasn’t her, she would always have a straightforward implementation and initiation of In Focus,
influenced,” PAUSD Superintendent Kevin answer for you right away, which might not the broadcast journalism program at Paly,
Skelly said. “Any time you’re in a senior, lead- sound like a big deal, McNulty said.
ing position, you have a big effect. Marilyn is but is a very help- “She was never
a really smart curricular thinker. She’s given ful characteristic “[PAUSD] is the most fun place that afraid to try new
me a lot of advice in my first year here.” in a work environ- a person can be in if he or she likes to things,” McNulty
Cook has enjoyed her time spent with ment.” learn and grow. It’s great no matter said. “She hated to
the district. Cook said that after her retire- Cook has nu- follow the status
ment, she plans to look for more interesting merous memories who they are or how long they’ve been quo. If someone
things to do. from her years at here.” could figure out a
“This is the most fun place that a person Paly that include a better way to do
can be in if he or she likes to learn and grow,” number of difficult Marilyn Cook things, she would
Cook said. “It’s great no matter who they are administrative deci- try it.”
or how long they’ve been here.” sions. Associate Superintendent All in all,
Cook is not certain about what she will At the start of Cook’s coworkers
do during her retirement. She may contribute Cook’s very first look favorably upon
to and become involved with certain projects year at Paly, PAUSD faced enormous budget all of her contributions to the Palo Alto com-
at the district if something that she wants to cuts, which quickly trickled down to Paly. munity and memories with her.
help with arises. Cook faced difficult decisions from day one, “I’ve worked for a lot of good people
“The district always has things for people including cutting staff and funding for pro- in my life,” McNulty said. “She is certainly
to work on,” Cook said. “I really love the place. grams, Paugh said. one of them.”
It’s a great place to be in.” “A lot of students misunderstood her,” Cook’s position of PAUSD associate su-
During Cook’s six years as the principal McNulty said. “She wasn’t out and about all perintendent is currently open to all potential
at Paly, she was very involved with and fre- the time, but she was really taking care of applicants. Applications for the position are
quently interacted with both students and staff, things behind the scenes.” due by Apr. 4.
English teacher Kaye Paugh said. Still, Cook was also very fun and was “Marilyn has a ton of history,” Skelly
“One thing I always remembered about involved in enjoyable times as well, Paugh said. “She knows a ton. You don’t just replace
Cook was that she was very receptive,” Paugh said. that history.”

Mock Trial team heads to state competition

MOCK TRIAL, Continued from A1 sor] Judge McKay, both of whom helped tions and knowledge of evidential rules,”
ASB plans to renovate deck
me a lot.” Nizamian said. “Senior deck” semester project pending school approval
year, but somehow we managed to gain 11 Due to the fact that the team did The Mock Trial team may also hold ASB, Continued from A1
brilliant students and went undefeated,” not have an experienced coach, tryouts, some extra rounds to practice for the state
Nizamian said. practices, transportation and scrimmages
The team’s new members include were run by students with Nizamian tak-
competition.
“We are probably going to have a few
“Although the semester projects seem like
they could cost a lot of money, most cost very ASB Update
freshmen, sophomores and juniors in vari- ing the lead. more practices and a scrimmage against an- little, because funds come out of the ASB General
ous courtroom roles ranging from attorneys Nizamian has also made valuable con- other high school to better prepare ourselves fund, Paly Beautification account or various grants • Prom at San Francisco City
to witnesses to pre-trial attorneys. tributions to the team because he teaches the for states competitions,” Whitney said. to which we apply,” Wang said. Hall on April 5
“The whole team the majority The mock trial team is also currently For another semester project, Junior Class Site
team has done a lot “No one expected us to win this of the content, the searching for donors to fund the last $5,000 Council Representative Jenna Lose and Sopho-
of work so far, stud- laws relating to needed to take the team all the way to more Class Site Council Representative Olivia • “Senior deck” renovation
ied and reviewed year, but somehow we managed to the case and court- Riverside for the state competition, Niza- Diamond joined the Stressed Out Students (SOS) pending school approval
lots of cases and un- gain 11 brilliant students and went room protocol. He mian said. Committee to adjust the school’s bell schedules
der Andrew’s lead, undefeated.” worked with each The team is looking for private dona- to a later start for next year. In February, the SOS
we were able to student to guide tions as well as financial contributions from Committee proposed four different class schedules • Stressed Out Students (SOS)
make it all the way them as they cre-
Andrew Nizamian ated and developed
local law firms. They may also raise some with late starts. Committee modifying bell
to states,” Whitney money on their own with a bake sale, a car Lately, Paly staff and students have been
said. Mock Trial captain direct and cross wash or a dinner fundraiser at Chevy’s. debating the possible schedules and the school schedule for 2008-09 school
Another obsta- examinations skills Despite the many setbacks the mock may conduct a vote among the student body and year
cle the Mock Trial as well as drafting trial team has experienced, the team still staff. Results and a decision are to be released in
team overcame this season was learning opening and closing arguments. made it to the state competition due to March or April.
to interpret material without the aid and “Andrew taught us most of the things the entire team’s combined effort and However, not all of the semester projects pro- idea to hold a prom fashion show due to lack of
guidance of a coach or experienced legal we know now,” sophomore prosecution contributions. posed by council members have been successfully interest from council members.
advisor, Nizamian said. attorney Ryan Flanagan said. “It’s thanks “We couldn’t believe that we had got- carried out, mainly because of lack of interest or “Not only did no one in ASB take interest in
“Coaching and teaching the rest of to Andrew that we were so successful.” ten to the county finals,” Nizamian said. other reasons. it, but we felt that we had to focus our time and
the team was a little bit difficult at times,” Before the state competition, the team “When we all held hands waiting for the According to Abid, some student council energy on the prom itself,” Wang said.
Nizamian said. “Mainly, I just taught the plans to practice and review topics. final verdict, we knew that no other team members planned to host a school carnival, but li- With the advent of such new additions, im-
team what I learned from [previous coach] “To prepare for states, the Mock Trial wanted or deserved the win more than ability issues forced ASB to terminate the proposed provements and events to Paly, students have much
Susan Stewart and [previous legal advi- team plans to continue practicing objec- we did.” project. In another case, ASB had to abandon an to look forward to.
A2 • March 17, 2008 News
NEWSBRIEFS Paly freshmen to host dance for charity
Proceeds from dance at Club Illusion will benefit African children in poverty
Books Inc.’s arrival at Town
and Country viewed positively
Town and Country is now home to one of the West Coast’s
oldest bookstores. Books Inc. moved from Stanford Shopping
Center, where it was located for the past 50 years, to Town and
Country on Feb. 1.
“The new location is better in many ways,” store manager
Eric Petersen said. “The layout of the store is more open and
inviting than the old location. The location is easier for people
to get to.”
The new store also has more room to hold events. During
their grand opening week, Books Inc. had multiple authors come
in to speak, including Carol Black and Frank Portman, author
of King Dork.
Palo Alto High School is already benefiting from the opening
of the new store. Only a week after the store opened, Manager
Eric Petersen told the Paly librarian Rachel Kellerman that the
store offered a “Paly Day” on Mar. 7 during which ten percent
of all profits from that day would go towards the Paly library.
The library made $608 from “Paly Day,” which will go towards
buying materials and resources for the library.
“We’re very excited to be located across the street from the
high school,” Petersen said. “The students bring a great energy
to the center.”
Moving to Town and Country puts Books Inc. at the center
of the Palo Alto community.
“We’re looking forward to building a strong relationship with
the community,” Petersen said. “A bookstore is a great place to
hang out, browse and meet friends. We are very excited to be
closer to our customers.”
—Allison Whitson
Staff Writer
Robotics team looks forward
to upcoming competition
On Feb. 29 and Mar. 1, the Palo Alto High School robotics
team competed in Portland, Oregon where they finished 23rd out
of 55 teams at the Pacific-Northwest Regional.
The team got off to a promising start that was cut short due
to a broken sensor on one of the robot’s arms.
“For the upcoming competitions we feel comfortable that we
have fixed the problem that happened in Portland, and that it will
not happen again,” senior co-captain Daniel Shaffer said.
The robotics team’s next competition is the Silicon Valley
Regional from Mar. 13 through Mar. 15 at the Event Center
Arena in San Jose.
Attending the competition will be many local schools, such
as rival Henry M. Gunn High School and Woodside High School.
Last year’s champion, the Massachusetts Academy of Math and
Science, will also be competing.
“Right now, as a team, we are feeling very confident about
our chances in the upcoming competitions,” Shaffer said.
At these events, each team’s robot competes against one
another in a simple game. Teams score points by throwing yoga
balls with their robots over bars or overpasses that are placed
along a 60-to-70-foot track. Each time a ball is thrown over, a
team scores eight points and each time the robot makes a lap
around the track they are granted two points.
Paly’s robot is based on a Roman catapult that rolls on six
six-inch wheels and flings balls over the overpass similar to how
a catapult flings large stones.
“We have a lot of trust in our robot’s abilities and we take
pride in building it on our own,” Shaffer said. “Some teams have
other companies build the robot for them.”
The Robotics team will compete next at the Las Vegas Re-
gional over spring break.
—Chris Gonnerman
Senior Staff Writer
Stanford psych professor
discusses work with students
Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a professor emeritus of psychology at
Stanford University best known for leading the Stanford Prisoner
Experiment in 1971, came to Palo Alto High School on Mar. 4 to
discuss his new book, The Lucifer Effect, with Paly’s Advanced
Placement Psychology classes.
In his talk, Zimbardo addressed the question his book poses:
“What makes good people go bad?” He showed examples from
psychological experiments and from current events that dem-
onstrate his theories about the human capacity for both good
and evil.
“Psychologists tend to ask little questions and they have very
good methods for answering them,” Zimbardo said at the talk.
“Sociologists and anthropologists try to ask big questions, but
their methods can’t give them any definite answers. I’ve tried to
apply the methods of psychology to the questions of sociology
and anthropology.”
Zimbardo identified behaviors that lead ordinary people to
perpetrate or to accept evils, and others that lead ordinary people
to act heroically in the face of evil. He concluded that an edu-
cational program designed to inspire the “heroic imagination”
would help young people stand up to injustice.
Students who attended the lecture were mostly seniors who
watch Zimbardo’s psychology videos in class. After the speech
Zimbardo signed copies of The Lucifer Effect and “Dr. Z’s Lucifer
Effect,” shirts of his own design, for members of the audience.
—Erik Krasner- Karpen
Graphics Editor
Upcoming Events
• March 20: End of Quarter
Third quarter grades are sent home.
• March 24-28: Spring Break
Students and staff relax during their week
off.
• April 5: Prom
Juniors and seniors enjoy Prom, held in San
Francisco City Hall.
The Campanile
By Alan Chen
Staff Writer
Palo Alto High School freshmen
Ricky Minno and Sam Greene will host a
dance called “Club for Kenya” at Club Il-
lusion on Mar. 21 to help support African
children in poverty. Although the dance
is called “Club for Kenya,” proceeds will
go to children all over Africa.
The tickets cost $15 for general ad-
mission while VIP tickets cost $35. The
VIP tickets allow patrons to by pass the
line and includes free drinks and access
to a special upstairs room. The pair first
decided to host their own party at Club
Illusion when they went to an Under-18
dance at Club Illusion hosted by Crystal
Springs on Dec. 1, 2007.
“When we saw how nice Club Illu-
sion was, Ricky and I decided that we
wanted to host our own party,” Greene
said. “We’re planning to have at least
450 people show up.”
All profits from the dance will be
donated to the Friends of Lurdes Mutola
Foundation, which helps children in
Africa get out of poverty.
“Ricky and I knew that we would be
making a lot of extra money and neither
of us wanted it or needed it,” Greene said.
“So we decided to give it away to charity.
Luckily enough, one of Ricky’s mom’s
friends helped us pick a good foundation
to donate the money to.”
Although planning a large scale
party may seem time consuming, Minno
and Greene said that booking a spot at
Club Illusion was very easy. According
to Greene, not only did Club Illusion
offer to provide a DJ, food and drinks,
the manager was also willing to sell
the extra tickets if Minno and Greene
couldn’t sell them all.
“It was actually much easier than I
thought it would be,” Minno said. “The
Town and Country asked to eliminate Styrofoam
Paly student and World Centric confront businesses about polyurethane use
By Ayelet Bitton
Staff Writer
World Centric, Palo Alto High School sophomore
Isaac Plant and the City of Palo Alto met with Town
and Country businesses last Thursday to discuss a
pilot program to try out biocompostable products as
an alternative to Styrofoam products.
“Styrofoam is horrible for the environment, so
we’re trying to eliminate Styrofoam in Town and
Country restaurants and eventually all of Palo Alto,”
Plant said.
Styrofoam Facts
64 billion Styrofoam products are thrown
away every year in the US alone
Styrofoam does not decompose and is
harmful to wildlife as well
Styrofoam contains chemicals harmful to
the body
Recycling Styrofoam is costly
Eligibility infraction leads to basketball forfeits
BASKETBALL, Continued from A1
However, because he began attend-
ing Paly on Nov. 25, more than halfway
through the first semester, in time to
participate in the basketball season.
Hall’s grades for first semester
from Paly were audited and he began
officially receiving grades at the begin-
ning of second semester, which began
Jan. 22.
“I talked to Ms. Singares and she
told me that my grades for first semester
would be audited and I would begin get-
ting grades at the beginning of second
semester,” Hall said. “If I had known
that this was going to cause such a huge
problem with basketball, I would have
immediately told Diepenbrock what
was going on.”
Without complete first semester
grades on his transcript, Hall was ineli-
gible to play on any sports teams during
that semester.
“As far as I was concerned, all of the
paperwork involved with Ed’s eligibility
had been checked out,” boys’Varsity bas-
ketball head coach Peter Diepenbrock
said. “I didn’t check every single thing
out personally, though.”
The minor discrepancy in Hall’s
transcript was discovered by Principal
Jacqueline McEvoy at the end of first
semester, after realizing that there was
a student attending Paly who did not
receive first semester grades.
After uncovering the identity of
the student, McEvoy immediately
reported the issue to both CCS com-
Hannah McGovern/The Campanile
Freshmen Sam Greene and Ricky Minno plan a charitable dance that will help African children
in poverty. The multi- school dance will be held at Club Illusion on California Ave. on Mar. 21.
entire process has been really smooth, To help spread the word about While many school dances have had
nothing bad has really happened yet.” their charity dance, Minno and Greene problems with student substance abuse,
Though Minno and Greene are both have representatives from a variety Minno and Greene are not worried about
Paly students, they want to open up the of schools, including Paly, Gunn, Los such behavior at their dance.
dance to students from all schools. They Altos, St. Francis and Mountain View “Before, I was a little bit worried
hope students from many high schools High Schools help sell the tickets. Paly about seeing drunk people around,”
will come and have a good time. representative Ethan Plant is helping Greene said. “But Club Illusion has re-
“We really wanted to have other Minno and Greene sell the dance tickets ally strict rules and a low tolerance for
people from other schools because we around campus to both upper and lower- drinking.”
both play soccer and we have a lot of classmen. Both are also looking forward to
friends from other schools,” Greene said. “I’m basically helping sell all of another charitable dance in the future.
“We basically told our soccer friends and the tickets and telling people about the “If everything goes well this time,
since they were interested, we decided event,” Plant said. “The tickets are selling we will definitely try to hold another
to have the dance open to the schools really fast; they’re almost all sold out. It dance before the end of the school year,”
around us.” seems everyone wants to help out.” Greene said.
World Centric is a non-profit organization dedi- tion with World Centric, according to Zero Waste
cated to reducing environmental degradation through Coordinator Annette Puskarich.
education, community networks and sustainable “We’re approaching businesses and asking them
enterprises, according to World Centric Research to try out the products as a pilot for thirty days at a
Associate Anna Ching. One of the current projects discounted price,” Puskarich said. “The goals of the
it is conducting is the production of green food-ware pilot are to try out the products, provide feedback from
— products that decompose — as an alternative to the business owners on how they hold up against regular
Styrofoam, which does not. products and to get customer feedback.”
Plant approached the city about the creation of World Centric offers food-ware made from bio-
a project to switch Styrofoam products to biocom- degradeabls such as sugar cane fiber, reed grass and
postable items and the two have formed a collabora- corn starch.
“The hope is that once the restaurants transition
to these [biodegradable] products, they will continue
using them,” Puskarich said. Possible candidates for
the pilot include businesses that use a significant
amount of Styrofoam products which could include
Kirk’s Steakburgers, the Sushi House, Spot: A Pizza
Place and Douce France.
“They will use our products for one month, tell
us what they think about the products and allow us to
conduct exit surveys on customers,” Ching said.
Businesses who partake in the program will receive
recognition in both the Palo Alto Weekly and the Palo
Alto Daily News.
As the project expands, Plant hopes that other Paly
students will become involved as well. Plant plans to
hold a contest sponsored by World Centric for Paly
students to design posters to promote the businesses
involved and the project as another incentive.
missioner Nancy Lazenby-Blaser and us and told us to further look through his positive and supported Ed through the
Diepenbrock. transcript, as well as speak with his fam- problem.”
“I immediately suggested that coach ily and discuss the problem with coach After the issue became public, Hall
Diepenbrock stop playing him until the Diepenbrock,” McEvoy said. “We just dealt with many accusations regarding
issue was resolved. However, I never wanted to protect the team by having his justifications for attending Paly in
thought the degree of the problem would him wait to play until the situation was the first place.
be so great,” McEvoy said. “After talking clarified. We really wanted to ensure that “My family moved here because
to Diepenbrock, I called the CCS com- he was eligible.” this is where my mother grew up,” Hall
missioner and reported the issue.” As a result of discordance with said. “I have family that lives in Palo
Despite the fact that he was still a CCS rules, the final record for the boys’ Alto and my cousins went to Paly. I
legitimate high school senior, Hall was basketball season changed from 17-8 to didn’t move here to be recruited by the
ineligible to play within CCS athletics 6-19, changing 11 games their victories basketball team.”
to losses. The public response to the issue
“The consequences for the issue was considerably large and emotional.
“We did not know or under- were already known and expected,”
Reactions posted by the public were on
stand the sport’s eligibility McEvoy said. “There could have been both the Paly Voice and the Palo Alto
guidelines for a student coming additional sanctions if we had not self- Weekly’s web sites. However, due to
from Australia.” reported the problem. However, no many violent and unnecessary reactions
matter how justified, it was still hard to by the public, administrators from both
explain to the team.” Paly and Gunn sent letters to the Palo
Earl Hansen The information regarding the Alto Weekly requesting that the comment
Athletic Director forfeitures was released to the team function for the story be shut down.
due to the fact that he had already com-
members and their families at a private
meeting in the gym on Feb. 16 by McE-
voy, Hansen and Diepenbrock.
“Whenever anything like this hap-
pens, it triggers bad sentiments about
other issues,” McEvoy said. “People
pleted eight semesters of high school, The administration received notice use these blogs to attack Paly or other
stated in CIF Bylaw Article 20: 204. to the extent and consequence of the schools, even if their attacks are not about
“We did not know or understand problem on Feb. 13, but wanted to give a recent problem.”
the sport’s eligibility guidelines for a the team the opportunity to play against To prevent a similar situation from
student coming from Australia,” Paly Henry M. Gunn High School on Feb. 15 occurring again, the administration is
Athletic Director Earl Hansen said. “If with high hopes. discussing and proposing new ideas
we had known about the problem, this Letters were sent by McEvoy to 15 about including more information about
never would have happened.” different schools within CCS to prevent eligibility for sports in the Palo Alto Uni-
Paly and CCS partnered to fully information about the issue from being fied School District entrance packet.
uncover the extent of the problem and leaked to the team before they were “The process is already estab-
discussed whether Hall was eligible to formally be informed. lished,” Hansen said. “This was a rare
play and finish out the 2007-08 season. “The team was very disappointed,” occurrence. A similar event will not
“CCS walked through the issue with Diepenbrock said. “But, they were really happen again.”