H - The Lowell

■ Nowadays teens hoping to
avoid the social pressures
of prom have a plethora
of other options to create a
night of life-long memories.
Page 14
A
HUNDRED and eighty
days of school down, five
more to go. Can you smell
the last day of school? Sniff the
chlorine wafting from the pool,
hamburgers sizzling on the grill
and the salty fog nights free of
homework. That’s right, it smells
like summer because it’s the last
Friday of the school year! Take
photos with your friends and make
sure everyone signs your yearbook
because this school year is moving
faster than a Lowellite dashing to
his 1-2 class the day the 29 bus
arrived five minutes late. Get your
sunscreen and swimsuit. Summer
2010, here we
come!
What’s
What’s
News
Pages
1-12
Sports
Pages
15-20
■ Badminton loses champs
against Washington Eagle rivals
■ Fencing dominates champs
and all-city competitions
Columns Pages 21-23
■ Boy explores theory of Law of
Conservation in happiness
■ Girl explains affinity towards
white guys on silver screen
■ Student anticipates future
Canadian college adventures
Opinion
Pages
24-27
■ Student objects army’s
use of diversity in ads
to encourage young
audiences to enlist
■ Girl explores various
creameries across the city
to discover sensational ice
cream flavors that draw
crowds by the dozens.
Page 28
By Amy Char
T
JEREMY GAINES
Seniors Angela Magyari, Emily Lewin, Jackie Gutierrez, Jessica Goodman and
other Italian 8 honors students sing Italian songs at Kermesse, on May 21.
HE ADMINISTRATION recently revoked the
admission of three freshmen slated to enter for
the upcoming school year after the district discovered that they live outside of the city.
The Educational Placement Center contacted assistant
principal of student support services Janet Tse and informed her of the names of the freshmen who do not live
in the district. “They asked me not to program them and
to take them off our ninth grade list for the fall,” Tse said.
The budget will not be notably affected by the loss of
the three students, according to Tse. “The district said
that if a large number of students are demitted because
of address fraud, additional students will be allowed
in,” Tse said. “The district will then determine how this
will be done.”
In other schools within the district, out-of-district
applicants can file a special application for an interdistrict
transfer. According to the San Francisco Unified School
District’s Web site, “Interdistrict transfers are not granted
See ADDRESS FRAUD on Page 5
Principal requests additional funding
By Edna Wu
T
HE ADMINISTRATION held an emergency meeting yesterday evening in
response to the principal requesting additional funding for the school to help alleviate
the budget deficit.
At the School Site Council meeting on May
17, principal Andrew Ishibashi asked the Parent
Teacher Student Association for an additional
$102,000 to help fund parts of journalism, yearbook, the student activities director position,
Advanced Placement English and a summer
session of College and Career at the school. The
SSC voted to endorse and support the principal’s
request for extra funding.
According to PTSA president Debbie Gee
Wong, the treasurer verified that PTSA has sufficient funds to grant the additional funds and will
still have a comfortable reserve. An emergency
PTSA meeting was held yesterday in the choir
room to attempt to ratify Ishibashi’s motion.
In addition to the requested money, on March
24 the Lowell Alumni Association pledged
$300,00 and the PTSA $320,000 to help bolster
next year’s slashed budget. These pledges did not on the class cuts and ensuing strain on specific
cover all the funds that the students and the school classes. In the science department, about 250
would require due to the budget shortfall and cuts students were turned down for a second science
will still be made, according to Wong.
class because four science courses were cut, acThe administration has been doing ongoing cording to Ishibashi. “There is still a possibility
planning for fall staffing.
that over 100 students still
The administration held a
will not get a science class,”
budget and staff meeting on
Seven staff members Ishibashi said. These sciApril 29. According to the reence classes lacked teachers
chose to retire and 11 despite the $150,000 from
cords of the meeting between
the administration and the
school district’s weightreceived preliminary the
Union Building Commited student formula funds
layoffs.
tee — which represents the
that will supply the school
United Educators of San
0.8 of a science teacher and
Francisco bargaining units
0.8 of a technology support
and is responsible for enforcing the provisions of person. (Refer to Reduced Sciences on page 2.)
the UESF teachers’ contract, — seven staff memNext fall, due to retirements and two volunbers chose to retire and 11 received preliminary tary consolidations, there will be 2.6 openings in
layoffs. Several staff members have inquired to the English department, totaling two full-time
remain at school part-time, but Ishibashi said positions and one part-time position. “We are
he does not feel that such a decision would be in assuming that a teacher in the district would take
each individual’s best interest, according to the those jobs because they have been consolidated
minutes of the UBC and administration meeting. somewhere else,” English department head Svein
On May 17, Ishibashi also included an update
See BUDGET on Page 5
S
Admin starts strict dance pick-up slips
Inside S
■ An alumnus donates funds to
purchase Chinese dictionaries
■ Girl helps organize city-wide
environmental awareness event
Eccentric creameries
Class
of
’14
Celebrating culture
minus three
students
In the news
In the news
Today
Backpage
Spotlight
Lowell High School, Red Edition, Vol. 213 No. 4, May 28, 2010, www.thelowell.org
Lowell
The
New night to remember
By Chan Chuan Chen
TUDENTS ARE NOW required to fill out parental
permission slips for dances.
The administration implemented the new permission slip policy
for a numerous reasons. Parent
permission is required by the school
district, according to the Future
Handbook — a district book that
provides information and rules for
all field trips that take place outside
school grounds and hours. “The district’s main concern is safety first,”
assistant principal of administration
Michael Yi said. “The district had
always required these permission
slips, we just have never required
them for dances. Other school
events like Beautification Day have
required these permission slips.”
Another reason for the new
permission slips can be traced
back to recent shootings and other
problematic incidents following
dances in the Bay Area. One such with parents. “We need to work
incident occurred with Richmond together as a unit with the parents,”
High School, where a girl was taken Dean Ray Cordoba said. “We need
to an isolated part of the school and to cover all the liabilities that may
beaten and raped as she left her occur.”
homecoming dance. “These sort of
Many teachers and administraincidents have aroused concern for tors, who have chaperoned past
the safety of
for dances,
our students
support
after dances
In the past, we had t h e n e w
at night,” Yi
permisneeded to call cabs and sion slips.
s a i d . “ We
don’t want
ercall parents to pick up “Chap
to be reones have
their children.”
sponsible for
sometimes
students still
had to wait
TONY LEE, until 2 or 3
standing or
walking on
counselor a.m. in the
lonely streets
morning
at 2 a.m. in the morning.” The for the last student to be picked
school’s formal dances end at mid- up,” counselor Tony Lee said. “In
night.
the past, we had needed to call cabs
Principal Andrew Ishibashi and and call parents to pick up their
the administration want to share the children.”
responsibility over students’ safety
In addition to these permission
“
I
slips, the administration requires
the chaperones stop the music and
halt the dance 30 minutes before
senior prom will end to let students
have time to use their phones and
call for their rides. “We don’t need
a set time to call for our rides,” senior Lisa Lee said. “Some of us had
called and told our rides beforehand
when we need to get picked up and
those who need to call, can take the
time on their own to call when they
need to.”
Student responses towards the
new permission slips have been
largely similar. Most students do not
mind the permission slips, but think
that they will not be useful or effective. “The permission slips aren’t
really a hassle, but I don’t think it
will make much of a difference,” student body council treasurer senior
Mindy Huynh said. “There would
still be students who will stay really
late and not be picked up.”
S
ir
2 NEWS
May 28, 2010
NEWSBRIEFS
Science dept faces major cuts
The science department eliminated two science electives due to a staffing shortage.
Because of a .6 position staff cut, the department is
unable to provide Marine Science and Geology. “We’ve
basically lost the ability to teach three sections,” science
department head Dacotah Swett said. “That’s three
classrooms full of kids.” Marine Science and Geology
were offered when students received course request
sheets in March.
Initially 1.5 science staff members were cut from the
department, but principal Andrew Ishibashi managed to
reduce the impact of budget cuts by saving $150,000
for the Science Department from the school district’s
weighted student formula funds (See Principal requests
additional funding on page 1).
In addition, students who signed up for both Physiology and a second science class are required to drop
Physiology and enroll in only one science class, because
a section of Physiology has been cut.
The staff cut did not affect the number of Advanced
Placement courses. “Students have in fact requested for
more AP classes in certain courses this year,” Swett said.
“AP Biology had four classes this year, but will have six
next year.” Responding to this student interest has a
domino affect. As a result of the increase in AP courses
teachers are allocated away from other science classes,
which contributes to the cuts.
— Nicolas Bloise
Peers brings destressors to reg
Stressed? You can reduce your stress through an innovative activity in Registry.
During the week of the annual Stress Free Fair on
April 23, the Mods 16-17 Peer Resources class passed out
activity cards to a few registries and sent them to teachers’ mailboxes for the remaining registries. To generate
interest, each of the activities from the first section of
the cards was a booth at the fair.
Peer Resources teacher Adee Horn said the cards,
which the class had been compiling since the fall, create
opportunities for students to reduce stress and promote
unity. Seven of the cards suggest practices such as
“random acts of kindness” to raise self-confidence and
manage stress. Four cards provide inspirational quotes
that give different perspectives on facing challenges such
as, “The optimist sees the rose & note its thorns. The
pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose,” from
the writings of Kahlil Gibran, a 20th century Lebanese
American writer.
The rest of the cards provide ideas and topics that
registries can discuss and approach as a class. “When
building a community, you have to have people to rely
on, so if there’s stress, there are people you can talk
to,” Horn said.
Junior Kathleen Soepardi said that her registry did
an activity only once. “It got me talking to more people
that I didn’t talk to before even though I knew them in
my Reg,” Soepardi said.
— Timmy Wong
Teachers step up to fill marole
Due to a math teacher’s absence from school, his colleagues and a substitute student teacher have covered his
classes since May 17. Math teachers Michael Ambrose
and Ernest Li and student teacher Sarah Kingon have
filled in for Anthony Costa’s Algebra, Geometry and
Advanced Algebra classes. Kingon is teaching all of
Costa’s Advanced Algebra and Geometry classes. As Li
and Ambrose’s student teacher, Kingon has taught her
courses all semester long and is well-qualified to handle
these classes, according to math department head Tom
Chambers. “We’re having qualified teachers in there
to help the kids along,” Chambers said. “We’re taking
care of them.”
Students are appreciative of the replacement teachers
and in some cases, find that the semester’s coverage is
benefiting. “Before Mr. Costa left, we were falling a bit
behind in the curriculum,” sophomore Clare Elliott said.
“Most classes had covered six chapters, whereas we had
only covered three. Ms. Kingon has been working hard
to bring us up to speed and is doing a great job.”
Chambers was the substitute for the first two days
of Costa’s absence, and will be handling the students’
grades. Grades will be based on the students’ grades up
until Costa’s departure, as well as the final examination.
“Students will not be tested on areas that were not
covered during the course,” Chambers said.
­— Caitriona Smyth
f o r t h e c o m p l e t e v e r s i o n s of stories, please visit
The Lowell on the Web
www.thelowell.org
Lowell High School
Kids visit historical landmark
By Sharon Yee
T
WO SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES boated to Angel Island on May 13 to learn about its multicultural history.
Advanced Placement United States History teacher
Thomas Martin and his 60 students from his Mods 1-2 and
6-7 classes visited Angel Island on May 13 from 9:45 a.m.
to 3:25 p.m. The students learned about how Angel Island
was the base for the first naval expedition to San Francisco
Bay by the Spanish. They also learned about how the United
States government used islands such as Alcatraz and Angel
Island for purposes of military defense, as well as isolation
for immigrants, people with illnesses, and prisoners from the
Civil War through the Cold War, according to Martin. “Angel
Island fits migration topics that we cover in APUSH,” he said.
The classes went to the Visitor’s Center, a small museum
of the island’s history, walked the five miles around the island
and hiked to the top of Mount Livermore where they got a
view of the Bay. They saw the Ayala Cove, which had been
used as a hospital, the old army administrative buildings, the
coastal artillery forts and the old Nike missile site. However,
they were not allowed to enter the immigration facilities due
to the renovation that was underway. Other students enjoyed the view from Mount Livermore
as well. “The hike was worth it,” junior Eric Wong said. “It was
a perfect and clear day. When we were hiking, Angel Island
provided breathtaking views of the San Francisco skyline
and the surrounding Bay. The rushing wind blowing over us
on top of the mountain made us feel like kings of the world.”
Martin was satisfied that the trip went very well. “It is
amazing how many people who live in the Bay Area have
never been to Angel Island,” he said. “It is beautiful, fun and
a great deal for the money. The weather was quite nice, and
COURTESEY OF THOMAS MARTIN
Advanced Placement United States History students
enjoy the view the on the way to Angel Island on May 13.
the ferry ride was fun.”
Some students visited the island for the first time. “I had
never visited Angel Island before the field trip,” junior Chelsea
Navarro said. “The classes only explored half of it. I would
especially go back to see the Chinese immigration station after
construction has completed. Angel Island turned out to be
an immigration station that organized Chinese families who
were arriving and returning from China.”
Wong gained more than just a history lesson from the
trip. “Other than the history of Angel Island, I learned about
sailing and about the overall meteorological conditions of
Angel Island,” he said.
Generous donors help out
CASSANDRA LIU
A representative from KAPA presents principal Andrew Ishibashi with a check for the Lowell Parent Teacher
Association on May 5.
Raffle promotes beanery options
By Elizabeth Trujillo
T
HE DISTRICT ’S nutrition
department held a raffle for
students who bought a school
lunch to promote a new lunch program.
From May 12 to 15, students who
used their PIN number to buy a school
lunch from the beanery or cafeteria were
automatically entered into a raffle for a
$20 Best Buy gift-card. One student was
chosen from Francisco Middle School,
Balboa High School and Lowell High
School each day from the daily list
of PIN numbers. “The student nutrition staff in the central office used the
computer list of students who ate lunch
at those schools on those days,” communications coordinator with SFUSD
Student Nutrition Services Caroline
Grannan said.
The schools that participated in this
end-of-the-year promotion were all
part of a pilot program that merged the
beaneries and cafeteria.
“Our plan is to start next year with
this model,” Student Nutrition Services
assistant director Zetta Reicker said.
“We’re seeing how it’s working and we
want to get the word out that students
can go to any line.”
Though the promotion took place
towards the end of the year, the Student
Nutrition Services aims to include all
middle and high schools to operate
with this model so that students can buy
either the cafeteria or beanery lunch.
“The promotion was to encourage more
students to try the new menu design
at Lowell and at the two other schools
where similar new menus have been
created,” Grannan said. “The promotion
was done once things were running
smoothly with the new menu design,
and the timing of that happened to fall
late in the school year.”
The raffle was intended to encourage
students to buy lunch at school. Its next
goal is to get at least 1,000 students to
buy a school lunch every day, which
would translate to better selections and
foods available for lunch. “Now that
we have the new set-up, we’re trying
to serve at least 1,000 kids a day for
lunch; right now we’re in the 900’s,”
Reicker said. “The more students who
eat lunch, the more money the district
will get, if we make more money we’ll be
able to reinvest it into further program
improvements for students.”
Sophomore Ayaka Ohsedo was one
of the raffle winners. “I never expected
myself to actually win so I didn’t intentionally go to the cafeteria to win
— I was just getting my lunch as usual,”
Ohsedo said. “I think it might be nice
to have something like this once in a
while.”
Students would also like to see
changes to lunch options. “School
lunches look fairly healthy, overall the
lunches’ quality has improved,” freshman Michelle Louie said. “But of course
I’d like to see the food quality improve
even more.”
Reicker thought of the promotion
idea. The SNS hopes to hold more promotions next school year and would
also like students to give input into
future ideas. “For other promotions
we would like them to be student-designed,” Reicker said. “We’ll do anything
to get the kids excited about getting
school lunch.”
To get the word out about the promotion, the SNS put up fliers around
the school and announced the program
over the intercom.
However, the promotion was not
advertised until a couple of days before the raffle took place. “Right now
we have a lot of critical projects being
implemented,” Reicker said. “And while
we were able to work with students this
year, next year, hopefully we’ll have
more time to do other promotions and
have student feedback.”
May 28, 2010
The Lowell
CAMPUS
3
Kickin’ it with chamber cool kids
JEREMY GAINES
Senior Taylor Chan (center) leads chamber choir girls (left to right) senior Margaret Reyes, junior Maranda Seney, senior Georgia English, sophomore Kitania Folk and seniors P.K.
Jones, Amy Zhou and Shelley Kuang in their performance “Wana Baraka” at Kermesse last Friday.
School club joins fight against growing epidemics
A
NEW SCHOOL CLUB hopes to get on the courts
and in the pool to combat two growing epidemics in
the country that threaten to affect a larger population: obesity and autism.
Kids Enjoy Exercise Now is a national organization dedicated to pairing students with children who are diagnosed with
autism to exercise together. KEEN’s new Lowell affiliate hopes
to spread the goal throughout school.
KEEN promotes understanding and helps students get
over stereotypes of autistic people. “It’s a great opportunity to
meet and help children who you would normally be afraid of
approaching,” KEEN president and school club founder sophomore Paul Steiner said. “The work is great and the experience
is really eye-opening.”
KEEN focuses on one-on-one interactions with autistic
youth by involving them in sports such as tennis and swimming.
“I work with KEEN on weekends and I wanted to get students
at Lowell to get involved in the program,” Steiner said. Steiner
founded the school club in January.
Along with promoting exercise and friendship, spreading awareness is also one of KEEN’s goals. “There is a lot of
misinformation out there,” club sponsor and history teacher
Richard Girling said. “Many students don’t understand and
it’s unfortunate that we’re not as aware as we should be and
sensitive to people who have special needs.”
Autism can also affect those who some would think are
normal. “There are probably kids here at Lowell who are on
the spectrum of autism, whose social skills are not the same
as others and sometimes they get ostracized too,” Girling said.
“When you are aware you are more understanding and you
don’t judge people as quickly and you see things that the average person doesn’t see.”
According to Kidshealth (kidshealth.org) children diagnosed
with autism usually are reluctant to interact with people they
are not familiar with and they may express their anxiety by
either talking to themselves or listening to music. A fear of
large crowds may lead others to believe that autistic youth are
secluded from the world, while the truth is they are
open to meeting new people – it just takes some
time.
Girling has a history working with autistic children family members. “I have a cousin who has a
son who is autistic and within my own family, there
are three kids who are autistic,” Girling said. “I have
a personal connection and I’m concerned with what
causes it and how you help kids with autism — that’s
why I sponsored it.”
Although the club currently has only seven members,
Steiner hopes to expand. “Right now, we are trying to get other
students interested,” he said. “I know Lowell kids are willing
to help out. All they need to know is there are organizations
out there like us.”
clubs
By Brandon Aguilar and Matthew Estipona
Student’s artwork glitters
Communist China
inspires democracy wall to national recognition
By Adriana Millar
I
curriculum
N THE MIDDLE of a hallway amid the
bustle of hardworking students, a beacon
of peace in the form of a large piece of
butcher paper beckoned to students. For
about a week anyway.
Teachers Matthew Magsanay and Nader
Jazayeri posted an imitation of China’s Democracy Wall between Rooms 253 and 255
on April 27. Magsanay and Jazayeri created
their own version of the historic
Chinese Democracy wall on a
bulletin board in the second floor
hallway and invited students and
teachers to share their thoughts
and feelings.
The wall was well-received
by many. “I thought it was a really cool idea,” freshman Ariel
Barbieri-Aghib said. “I wrote ‘Life
is like an onion.’”
Students who did not write
on the wall were able to enjoy the
sights as well. “I saw lots of good
stuff like poems and inspirational
quotes,” freshman Kinen Carvala
said.
The anonymous aspect of the
wall appealed to many of Magsanay’s and Jazayeri’s freshmen students. “It’s
cool to see what students think of Lowell,
without them being afraid what others will
say,” freshman Clara Swan-Streepy said.
“It’s interesting to be anonymous and still
share your artistic talent,” freshman Michael
Wasney said. “You can see sides of people
they wouldn’t normally show.”
The brick wall in China was put up in the
1970s for people to express their opinions
about the country’s transition under the
Communist Party’s leader Deng Xiaoping
from being strictly communist to more open
toward western ideas, such as capitalism
to boost the economy. The wall was closed
to the public in the ’90s due to increasing
censorship.
The school’s wall lasted for less time than
the twenty years of the original. The democracy wall was taken down four days after it
was put up, due to people writing profanity. There were clear guidelines posted by wall,
which included basic rules such as no gossip
or slander, crude drawings, and vulgarity.
The wall was undisturbed in the morning
of April 30 before Mods 1-2 according to Jazayeri, but by the middle of the day, someone
had scribbled swear words over the students’
art and words. “(The wall) is not total free speech,” Magsanay said. “In this environment, we have to
maintain certain standards.”
Some predicted the fall of the wall. “I
thought it was a good idea, but I knew it
wouldn’t last long,” freshman Kelsey Lem
said. “Teenagers are just like that.”
Although it was a disappointment that the
wall only lasted a few days, it was a mark of
victory for some. “At my old school, I don’t
think it would’ve lasted that long,” Jazayeri
said.
By Nancy Wu
W
ALKING INTO the art showcase
at a local grand dame museum,
the sparkle of necklaces made by
art students wink gleefully around the room.
Advanced Placement Studio Art students’
metallic jewelry pieces were showcased at
the deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park
earlier this month. The deYoung Museum
collaborated with the school district to host
Young at Art, an eight-day celebration of students’ creativity in visual, literary, media and
performing arts. At the event in the museum,
students from the district performed jazz,
choral, orchestra and drama productions. With a two-week time frame to create their
jewelry pieces, all the school’s AP Studio Art
students were required to find used objects
to use for their assignment. “It was quite
interesting to look for objects around my
house that I thought would be suitable for my
necklace,” sophomore Vivian Tong and The
Lowell illustrator said. The jewelry required
enameling which incorporates melting powered glass on to the students’ metalwork — a
painstaking process. “The kids loved it,” AP
Studio Art teacher Kirsten Janssen said. “It was
a special piece set.”
Despite the short amount of time students
had to work on their jewelry, several students
won regional and national awards for their
pieces. Regionally, Tong and senior Rachael
Gorai-Ng won Gold Keys for their
jewelry submissions and senior
Natasha Sadikin won a Silver Key
COURTESY OF NATASHA SADIKIN
Sophomore Vivian Tong’s art piece won
national recognition at Young at Art.
for her jewelry piece.
Tong went on to win the National Scholastic American Visions Medal for one of her
jewelry pieces. Currently, Tong’s jewelry piece
is displayed in New York’s National Gallery. A
photograph of her award-winning piece was
displayed at the de Young Museum. “I wasn’t
even expecting anything,” Tong said. “It was
a happy surprise.”
Students received awards for
their individual art submissions in
other media forms as well.
arts
May 28, 2010
The Lowell
NEWS
Whole school feels affects of slashed budget
See BUDGET on Page 1
still affected by budget cuts.“I have never seen
Arber said.
budget cuts so steep, school-wide, and I never
Overall, budget cuts in the last five years had to see so many colleagues go because of
have reduced the department from 23 teach- budget constraints,” world language departers to 18 positions in the upcoming school ment head Dorothy Ong said.
year, according to Arber. The English deOther department heads are upset about
partment has already
funding. “I am concerned
cut one senior AP class
that A-G requirements
for next fall and to have
are not getting properly
I am concerned
expects more freshmen
funded,” Physical Educathat A-G
in each English class,
tion department head
after having past years of
Sascha Taylor-Ray said.
requirements
freshmen English limited
“I strongly believe that
to 20 students. “Next fall,
the administration is not
are not getting
there would be 32 to 33
looking at graduation
properly funded.” requirements in-depth,
ninth graders in each
English class,” Arber
and core classes should
said. “That is where we’re
be funded first.”
SASCHA TAYLOR-RAY,
really seeing the impact
Electives were also
PE department head
of the budget cuts.”
affected. “Next year, I will
Department heads expressed appreciation teach one less Peer Resources class and begin
for funds from the LAA and PTSA but each is to teach Health,” Peer Resources coordinator
I
“
Math
Avg class
size
for fall
2010
Course
offerings
Staff
members
Funds
34-35
VPA
35
Science
33
History
35
G e o l o g y, No cuts
9th and
Marine Sci
upper grade Fewer
c e r a m i c s not
Geo not
offered
separate; No sections
Comp Prog 2
Losing 2.6
P.E.
40
World
Languages
30
minimum
Adee Horn said. “I hope that in the coming Wong v. the State of California, in an attempt
years, Peers can survive the budget cuts — to declare that the current education finance
not just at Lowell, but across San Francisco,” system is broken and unconstitutional.
she said.
The LAA sent a petiAccording to a lettion that many alumni
ter from Wong, if the
I never had to see so and faculty had signed
school does not add the
to object to the district’s
many colleagues go decision to slash the
additional College and
Career option, classes
school’s budget by a
because of budget
will have 50 to 60 stugreater percentage than
dents in the fall. “I asked
that of other schools.
constraints.”
the district if we could
On May 12, execuopen a College and CaDOROTHY ONG, tive director of the LAA
reer course in the sumworld language department head Terence Abad delivered
mer. It would be about
the 601 signed petihalf the price of the course during the school tions to Board of Education president Jane
year,” Ishibashi said. “Hopefully, this class will Kim and superintendent Carlos Garcia.
alleviate class sizes in the fall.”
“One concerned alum donated $25,000 to
At the school, various groups are rallying the LAA,” Abad said. “As of May 21, we have
to send a strong message to people who influ- now received more than 1,500 budget protest
ence the budget decisions. The school’s PTSA letters signed by Lowell alumni, faculty and
joined a historic PTA lawsuit, Maya Robles- other friends.”
English
32-33 in
9th grade
New
Latin AP and 1 12th
A r c h e r y 7 added
grade AP
unit
class cut
1.2 cut, L o s i n g 2 retiring 2 leaving 2.4 lost, net
cut 1.4
1 retiring 1.2;net lost
2.6 lost
0.4
LAA
District’s
Partial funds LAA funded LAA funded
0.4 poostiion
funding
a d d i t i o n a l No LAA from Prop H 1.0 FTE
theater tech fund 0.8
director
I
“
Incoming freshmen
are found to live
outside the district
See ADDRESS FRAUD on Page 1
to high-demand schools, such as
Lowell. This is a district policy, not a
Lowell policy, according to Tse.
This problem has arisen in previous
years as well. In December 2007, The
Lowell article “Students removed due
to residency” reported that 33 students
who applied to Lowell were asked for
proof of their residency — the families
decided not to supply it, and their applications were discarded. That year,
two Lowell attendees were also asked
to leave the school after unsuccessfully
appealing.
A San Francisco Chronicle article
published Dec. 6, 2007, entitled “S.F.
school district cracks down on residence
cheaters,” reported that the school
district hired a private investigator to
follow a Lowell student who insisted
that she lived in San Francisco. The
private investigator proved the student
did not live in the city, and she was
forced to leave the school. The district
also charged the family for the private
investigator’s cost, a fee that in this kind
of investigation can cost up to $5,000.
According to Tse, the EPC believes
that there may be more students who
do not live in the city. “Lowell does not
investigate where students live,” Tse
said. “Educational Placement Center
is the department which handles
school assignments. It is the district’s
responsibility to investigate students
who do not live in San Francisco and
attend Lowell.”
5
The Lowell
May 28, 2010
NEWS
Mystery fire leaves admin confused with
charred debri at foot of hill behind school
By Joey Lee
A
FIRE DISCOVERED near
the school’s dumpster on the
morning of May 4 destroyed
compost bins and left smoke damage
on the asphalt.
English teacher Deborah Canepa-Tencza discovered the smoldering remains of compost bins
outside the main building doors by
first floor vending machines shortly
after 6 a.m.
“I always pass this area on my
way to T-21 and saw melted compost
bins, roasted food and noticed the
smell of barbeque,” Canepa said.
She notified the janitor on duty
about her discovery, who then
alerted the administration.
Assistant principal of administration Michael Yi called the authorities. Two police officers from the
Taraval station, Rich Austria and
Moli Finau first responded in police
cars. The two then called in the
fire department’s arson team, who
brought a small fire truck. The fire
had already died out when the arson
team arrived.
The administration cordoned off
the fire-damaged area with yellow
caution tape to keep students away
from the on-going investigation.
A total of three green compost
bins were melted into puddles of
burnt plastic.
Police and fire department officers spent two to three hours
investigating the scene but were
unable to determine the cause of the
fire. “Investigators were shoveling
and overturning things and in the
end, found no sufficient evidence to
conclude anything,” Yi said. On top
of that, officers and custodians spent
half a day cleaning up the damage.
Authorities believe the fire was
started early Tuesday morning,
before faculty and staff members
arrived, according to Yi.
“The custodians did not notice a
fire or smell smoke before they left
the school at 11 p.m. the previous
night,” he said.
Assistant principal of curriculum
Holly Giles said the incident would
have been difficult to foresee because
fire prevention measures are most
effective inside the building.
“We try to be diligent, keeping an eye out for signs of fire and
putting people out of harms way,”
she said. “But this fire was hard to
prevent since it was started outside
the building.”
The administration is not certain
that it will replace the melted compost bins and restore the damaged
area.
According to Yi, the green compost bins were provided free of
charge by local disposal and recycling company Sunset Scavenger.
“We’re not sure if they’ll be willing to replace them, so for now, we’re
just going to use the remaining bins,”
Yi said. The administration also has
no plans to repaint the walls. “The
damage is very light, so we don’t
need to repaint them immediately,”
Yi said. “Perhaps on a future Beautification Day, we might.”
Page 1 (stand alone):
• Freshman Jesse Hanawalt was not in the photo.
7
JEREMY GAINES
Three compost bins reduced to hardened puddles of melted plastic and blackened compost refutes.
April Corrections
Page 1 (Longer mod schedule lined up for fall semester):
• Mejdi Mogannam’s quote may have been misleading to readers because the entire quote was not included. His entire quote in reaction to the increase in B/C code classes is “I don’t think it is a bad
idea because it would increase learning time. But it might be an inconvenience to those who use A-code classes to do stuff like homework.”
Page 15 (Soccer continues its dominant streak):
• Zoe Charter-Kuo is not a sophomore midfielder. She is a freshman forward.
Page 17 (Gymnasts impress coaches with high marks):
• There are four additional freshmen gymnasts on the varsity team: Heather Weiss, Tamara Chan, Jordan Ahn and Katie Dea.
Students are signing up
Donor contributes
for newly restored AP
funds to purchase
Chinese dictionaries Latin course for the fall
By Timmy Wong
S
TUDENTS TAKING a Chinese language class received funds for dictionaries
this month.
All 656 students in the Chinese language program will have received free Chinese
dictionaries by May 27, according to language department head and Chinese teacher
Dorothy Ong. The Lowell Alumni Association used the annual $5,500 from the Jessie
Fung Memorial Endowment Fund to buy 500 dictionaries from the book company Nan
Hai, which donated an additional 200 dictionaries, enabling students to have their own
copy, while the extras will be put aside.
The endowment fund was established by the Jessie & George Ho Charitable Foundation last year. The donor, George Ho of The Jessie & George Ho Charitable Foundation,
donated $100,000 to the Chinese language program to commemorate his late wife Jessie Fung from the Class of ’34. “The fund will purchase dictionaries each year and will
benefit the Chinese program,” Ong said.
The foundation designated the fund to benefit the Chinese language program, but
it was the Chinese teachers’ decision to purchase the dictionaries to benefit students’
language learning, according to Ong. Any dictionaries that are not given out now will
be reserved for the next purchase and distribution of dictionaries to sophomores in
Chinese classes in the fall of 2010.
According to Ong, Lowell Alumni Association’s executive director Terence Abad
prepared a bookplate to be placed in each dictionary to commemorate the donor’s late
wife. “We want the students to appreciate the donor’s gift and want them to know who
the donor is,” Ong said.
Junior Annie Chen said the pocket-sized dictionary was convenient for communicating. “China is going to be influential in our lives, so communicating in Chinese would
be an essential skill,” Chen said.
All the Chinese language students took photographs with their new dictionaries,
which will be sent to the donor, according to Ong.
By Kimbery Wong
F
OREIGN LANGUAGE students plan to
enroll in an advanced placement B/Ccode course next fall which was recently
reopened.
Current Latin teacher Samuel Williams,
who is also a journalism co-adviser, will teach
Advanced Placement Latin in addition to all of
the other Latin classes.
With the help of funds that were directly
donated for AP Latin, the course has been
reopened. According to Williams, the restored
AP class had been discontinued at the school
in 1996.
Lowell Alumni Association Executive Director Terence Abad said that in order to save
Lowell’s Latin program, the Lowell Alumni
Association decided to earmark a portion of the
$300,000 they have pledged for staffing needs
next year to providing an additional full-time
teaching position to the World Languages department. “There is no lack of student demand
for Latin at Lowell,” Abad said. “Rather due to
budget cuts and the low seniority of Lowell’s
only Latin teacher, the program was in danger
of being eliminated. That is why the Lowell
Alumni Association decided to take action.”
The prerequisites are three years of Latin
and learning the grammar and vocabulary skills
needed in AP, according to Williams.
Though there is no oral or conversational
component for the AP exam, to pass students
must read and correctly interpret Virgil’s original literature. According to the College Board
Web site (www.collegeboard.com), students are
required to read and translate lines from the
Aeneid, a comprehensive Latin epic poem written after the Trojan war about the colonization
of the Roman Empire.
Latin learners were highly interested in
the added AP course. “I am excited about the
class because I really like learning Latin,” junior
Katherine Gao said. “The language definitely
helps during English class and when I’m reading because I can look for and understand the
root of the word.”
Some former Latin students were indifferent about the added course. “I personally
would not enroll in AP Latin because I am not
interested in learning Latin for another year,”
senior Danny Lee said.
Williams said AP Latin is a good, challenging course for fourth-year Latin students. “This
is an opportunity for them to use the Latin
skills they have developed over three years to
read real Latin literature in its original form,”
Williams said.
Williams is still planning how students
should prepare for the course during this
summer.
8 NEWS
May 28, 2010
Lowell High School
Youth join hands to solve environmental issues
By Caitriona Smyth
A
S T U D E N T f ro m t h e
school helped organize
a city-wide park gathering on May 22 to educate fellow
students and youth in current
environmental issues.
Senior Meagan Le and the six
other high school students, who
make up San Francisco’s Youth
Advisory Board under the Environmental Service Learning Initiative,
organized the EcoFest.
EcoFest, held on May 22, was an
event that informed youth about
the environment.
The event aimed to educate
Bay Area urban youth and youth
of color.
“Our goal is to spread awareness
of climate change and environmental justice through youth involvement in art, music and a resource
fair,” Le said.
Green enthusiasts who attended
the event appreciated all of YAB’s
hard work.
“I think it’s great,” senior Kevin
Dinh said. “Everyone is coming to
enjoy the park with a good message.”
The Youth Advisory Board
contracted numerous performers
to work at the event.
Guests included hip-hop performers, dance groups and DJs.
Performers from Mission High
School also volunteered at the
event.
The fair featured interactive
booths and displays, including live
youth graffiti, live sustainable silk
CAITRIONA SMYTH
Senior Jackie Gutierrez (far left) and several other teens paint a mural at the city-wide EcoFest event on May
22. One of the city’s organic creations is displayed on the right.
JROTC receives full
marks on day-long
cadet inspection
“It’s what they do every day,” ColoBy Sandy So
nel
Douglas Bullard said.
UNIOR RESERVE Officer Train“There’s a certain amount of craming Corps received full points for
the cadet performance portion ming but it’s really the stuff they should
of an inspection that was held at the know.”
Bullard believes that the strong caschool last month, along with other
det leaders contribute to the program’s
strong scores.
Three inspectors came to the school achievement.
“They’re willing to work hard and
on Friday, April 23 and stayed from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to review each they work well together,” Bullard said.
However, even strong leaders get
class.
The cadets managed to receive worried about earning the yellow star
for “distinction”
all 600 hundred
on the uniform. points, a first for
“I felt a bit
Lowell, out of the
pressured when
total available for
They’re willing
inspection was
the cadet performance portion.
to work hard and around the corner because the
The JROTC
they work well
inspectors would
program rejudge how well
ceived a perfect
together.”
the battalion was
score of 1,000
running and deand the school
DOUGLAS BULLARD,
termine if we
support portion
colonel
deser ved to be
of the inspection
recognized as an
received 950 out
Honor Unit with
of 1,000.
In total, the Lowell program re- Distinction or not,” senior cadet battalion commander Roxane Li said in
ceived 2,550 out of 2,600 points.
Although the review is usually held an e-mail.
“The Lowell Battalion has kept this
once every three years, the JROTC program had not been formally inspected title for quite some time now and it
for the past four years due to the uncer- would have been a shame to not earn
it again. ”
tainty of the program last year.
Inspectors were extremely imInspectors look at all aspects of the
pressed by the cadet staff, according
JROTC program.
Sections include compliance with to Li.
They requested that JROTC provide
curriculum standards and program of
instruction hours, cadet operations, them with copies of their standard
service lear ning and community operating procedures.
Inspectors plan to use the standard
service, uniform appearance and stanoperating
procedures as an example
dards, school support and instructor
with hundreds of other Western states
performance.
Inspectors checked lists for scoring JROTC programs that they visit each
the cadets’ knowledge of the program. year.
The chief inspector has also agreed
Cdets demonstrated profieciency
in aspects including briefing, uniform to provide funding for transportation
appearance and their demonstration of to the battalion rafting trip taking place
tomorrow.
the curriculum and training. J
“
T
screening, live earth mandalas,
summer resource board, an ESLI
art showcase, a live media tent, a
gardening section and food and
fashion vendors.
YAB has been organizing
Ecofest, the group’s biggest project,
since last January. “The planning
process was hard work, as we did
much research, reached-out to
performers, vendors and organizations, drafted service agreements,
recruited volunteers, created advertisement materials and much
more,” Le said.
For EcoFest, YAB members
were split up into four committees: Media and Marketing, Stage
managers, Floor managers and
Logistics.
Le served as a floor manager.
“Our job was to plan almost every
aspect of the event that literally
took place on the floor,” she said.
“My responsibilities were the kids’
zone, gardening section, summer
resource board and interactive
booths.”
Some of the youth involved in
the art displays also attended the
school, such as senior Jacqueline
Gutierrez, who attended the event
with Out of Sight Youth Arts and
took part in the live youth graffiti. “I think it’s really cool that
the event is all youth-organized,”
Gutierrez said.
Sophomore rewarded for
quick protective instincts
By Edna Wu
According to the school nurse Maryann Rainey,
she
had heard that there was a problem with a staff
HE PRINCIPAL GRANTED an award for
a student’s immediate assistance during a member. “I arrived with a blood pressure cuff,
stethoscope, and a first aid kit,” Rainey said. “Based
school emergency on May 5.
On April 23, at one of the staff ’s weekly upon my assessment, I did not think the situation
was life-threatening.”
barbeques during Mods
Hernandez said stress
14-15, security guard Jose
caused his anxiety attack.
Hernandez experienced an
“I have high blood presanxiety attack. Principal
I am very proud
sure, which triggers panic
Andy Ishibashi, who was
present during the incident,
about how he reacted attacks,” he said.
O n May 5 , du r i ng
requested emergency perin an emergency
Varguez’s English class,
sonnel through his walkieIshibashi and Hernandez
talkie. However, sophosituation.”
surprised Varguez with
more Manuel Varguez, who
a certificate award comwas having lunch at the staff
ANDREW ISHIBASHI, mending him for “heroism
barbeque area, called and
principal and immediate action durreached an operator first. “I
ing a school emergency.”
saw that the security guard
Hernandez said he feels grateful toward Varwas on the floor, and I heard Mr. Ishibashi saying to
call 9-1-1,” Varguez said. “I knew he was in danger guez. “I am glad he was quick on his toes and I
think the award made him feel good,” Hernandez
so I immediately called.”
Other faculty members quickly gathered to help said.
Ishibashi thought of the idea to reward Varguez
Hernandez until an ambulance arrived minutes
later. “The administration and our own registered for his brave actions. “I am very proud about how
nurse was there,” security guard AJ Frazier said. he reacted in an emergency situation,” he said. “I
thought it was special.”
“We all worked as a group.”
T
I
“
Babies with bathwater
RUBY WONG
Juniors Taylor Edelhart and Michaela Creedon perform Two by Durang at the last Brown Bag
Theatre acts of the year on May 24.
10 NEWS
May 28, 2010
Music students play
their pieces at annual
local arts festival
By Sandy So
S
TUDENTS IN BAND, choir and orchestra
performed at an art festival held in a museum
this month.
The annual Young at Art festival at the deYoung
Museum showcases students’ visual and performing art pieces. Elementary school, middle school
and high school students in the city were invited to
perform and show their artwork.
On May 12, symphonic band merged with advanced band to create one group while jazz band
performed separately. The groups performed for
40 minutes each, from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m. Advanced
choir and symphonic orchestra performed on May
14 from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. and 5:40 to 6:25 p.m.,
respectively.
Students enjoyed playing for a different audience.
“Because of the audience’s anonymity, the band
wasn’t as stressed as they would be playing for their
peers,” band teacher Mitchell Wagner said.
The band performed on an outside stage. “It was
fun performing outside, especially with the sun out,”
junior saxophonist Fanny Chow said. “Mostly tourists, museum visitors and families watched us perform at the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park.”
Some songs that were played from film
soundtracks including The Lion King and Star
Trek, as well as from the games Halo and Kingdom
Hearts. “We couldn’t play soft and subtle,” Wagner
said. “We had to be really loud so we played more
upbeat tunes and songs.”
The songs that advanced choir performed included “In my Life,” “Shambo,” “Shall I Compare Thee”
and “Wanaraka.” “These songs are a combination of
various dynamics, genres and culture,” Choir teacher
Jason Chan said. “These are the best selections from
our spring concert and Chanticleer Festival.”
Symphonic strings orchestra performed inside
the deYoung Museum at the Dreamcatcher Awards,
which gives tribute to adults who have supported the
arts, according to orchestra teacher Michele Winter.
Songs played included “Bartok’s Romanian
Dance” and music from the movie Spirited Away.
“The songs we played were a mixture of classical
and light pop, pieces we knew well and enjoyed
playing.” Winter said.
The orchestra performed to a variety of people
who admired students’ art pieces. “We performed
in front of visitors of all ages enjoying the festival,”
senior Colleen Lem said in an e-mail. “Mostly,
people liked to enjoy the art displays while listening
to our music.”
College-like room to be
renovated in the summer
By Sandy So
A
ROOM with a unique
design in the main building will be renovated
during the summer and should
be completed by the fall.
Alum Patrick Quan donated
$20,000 and his employer, Capital
Group Companies, donated more
than $15,000 to renovate Room
220, a stadium seating classroom.
Alumni Association Executive
Director Terence Abad had given
Quan project options that might
be funded by his donations. Quan
chose the room renovation.
Abad said the room was up
for renovation because of its
unique room configuration.
“The configuration of that room
and its seating is more like a
college lecture hall,” Abad said.
“It is a great setting to use for
guest speakers, regular classes
and for special events.”
Flooring, seats and a new
projector will be installed in
the room. The Alumni Asso-
ciation will also be purchasing
Lancaster desks, according to
Abad. “The seating for Room
220 will include table arms that
swing into place for note taking,” stated Abad in an e-mail.
Each seat will have an outlet
underneath so that students can
use their laptops.
Abad is enthusiastic for the
project. “This is a very exciting project that will dramatically improve the look of Room
220,” Abad stated in the e-mail.
Lowell High School
Updated schedule
changes finals date
for all students
By Jeffrey Wong
es, other teachers prefer the doubleHE SCHOOL has adopted a tiered schedule mainly because of
new finals schedule for the grading issues. Grades are due June 2,
week of May 26, following an two days before school is out. “Havearlier decision to change the 2010- ing to turn grades in earlier will be a
challenge,” English
2011 calendar and
teacher Tim Lamove fall semester
marre said. “After
finals before winter
Having to
finals, there may be
break.
mixB ecause the
turn in grades SchoolLoop
ups, absences or
a d m i n i s t r at i o n
plans to start the
earlier will be make-ups, which
will make it harder
next school year
a challenge.”
to finalize grades.”
on Aug. 16, one
Students have
week earlier than it
m i x e d fe e l i n g s
TIM LAMARRE,
was this year, finals
about this year’s
English teacher
have been schedchanges due to
uled earlier. Achow it will affect
cording to assistant
principal of administration Michael summer vacation and school work.
Yi, “Since finals for fall semester next “Since finals will be earlier, I am a little
school year will be before winter more stressed because we have less
break, spring semester and finals will time to study and everything seems
very crammed,” sophomore Avery
start earlier also.”
As a result of the earlier school Nicastro-Aikman said.
Others look forward to the short
schedule, the last day of school for
the 2010-2011 school year will be time before summer. “Students have
earlier. Before, school ended on the been stressing constantly over schoolweek of June 12, 2009, and this year, work,” sophomore Camilo Grabowosschool will end on June 4, 2010. Next ki said. “With finals soon done with,
year, school will end on May 27, 2011. we can then look forward to relaxing
“The San Francisco Unified School in the summer.”
Some seniors prefer the original
District has wanted to slowly move
up the school year to end earlier,” as- schedule in the May 3-7 bulletin, with
sistant principal of curriculum Holly separate senior finals on May 24 and
25. “Most seniors have senioritis so
Giles said.
In the past, senior finals were ear- they don’t try as hard,” senior Kathryn
lier, usually the week before regular Napolio said. “We should have kept
finals, to accommodate senior activi- separate senior finals because not
ties. This year, the administration, un- every senior even has finals.”
Some don’t mind taking earlier
der the district’s decision, decided to
final
exams because it means finishing
have seniors take finals with everyone
else. Since all finals are earlier, they school sooner. “While I want more
will not conflict with senior activities. time to study for finals, I’m happier
Although some teachers said they that summer is earlier,” senior Louise
felt unaffected by the schedule chang- Harrington said.
T
H
“
The Lowell
May 28, 2010
NEWS
11
Widely-used MUNI lines suspended until fall
By Lester Ma
S
RYAN YU
Construction workers rework the pavement and reroute buses on St. Francis Circle.
TUDENTS ARE familiar with time spent
peering down the street looking for a
sign of their street car. But the wait for
municipal transportation has just gotten longer
as rail construction by the city’s public transportation system will cause the K-Ingleside and
the M-Ocean View rail lines to be temporarily
unavailable. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Capital Improvement Program will
be replacing rails at the Saint Francis Boulevard
and Juniperro Serra Boulevard intersection,
rendering the M and K outbound rail lines to
be inaccessible from May 17 until late summer.
The project, known as the Saint Francis Circle
Rail Replacement Project, caused a shut-down
of the rails on May 8 and 9 in order to install a
temporary rail crossover on West Portal Avenue
between 14th and 15th Avenues and the start
of the M and K bus lines.
To implement the best possible means of
retaining transportation with the least inefficiency, the SFMTA planned transfer points
between the rail lines and replacement bus lines
at West Portal Station. The buses will be following the original route of the rail lines with the
addition of extra stops for rider convenience
and navigation around the construction site.
Many factors were considered in scheduling the work, such as the timing of summer
vacation in affected schools. “Multiple considerations are taken into account when scheduling a construction project of this magnitude,”
SFMTA spokesperson Kristen Holland said.
“Area schools being on break is one important
consideration.” One school that has been taken
into prime consideration is San Francisco State
University, a campus which holds about 30,000
students during the school year, but approximately 6,000 during the summer.
Lowellites, such as junior Mo Ying Tsui,
accept the timing of the project with regard to
the approaching summer break. “I think the
construction timing is close enough (to being
a summer-only project) since school is almost
over,” Tsui said.
Although some students agree with the
timing of the project, others disagree with the
project’s impact on getting to school on time.
“Most buses are not as frequent and they make
me arrive 10 minutes later than usual,” freshman Wendy Wen said.
The buses started running May 8 and will
continue running until the concluding phase
of the project in late summer — no date has
been specified yet — and are causing an inconvenience to those riding the M and K lines on
a daily basis. “Muni should have let the riders
know earlier and have more shuttle buses running,” sophomore KameronYee said.
Other students see positive aspects to the
temporary changes, as some adjoining lines
have increased their frequencies to help ease
the problem. “Unlike the M and K shuttle buses,
the L-Taraval rail line comes more frequently,
which is a benefit to Muni riders at West Portal
Station,” Tsui said.
Despite the SFMTA’s effort to start work near
the summer break, schools along the M and K
lines will still be affected by the less frequent
Muni buses for the remainder of the school
year. “Students from Mercy High School, Lowell
High School and the San Francisco Waldorf
High School need to ride the public transportation,” Wen said.
Early and late schedules exemption policy tightened
By Sophia DiMatteo
T
HE ADMINISTRATION and department heads recently publicized a revised schedule exemption policy
for the upcoming school year.
Since the administration’s decision in March, students with
six classes can apply to be exempt from a Mods 1-2 or 19-20
class if they have a specific reason the administration approves,
including Community Vocational Enterprises, Mayor’s Youth
Employment and Education Program, Youth Works jobs and
medical reasons. In addition, students with seven classes will
only be exempt for sports.
Assistant principal of Student Support Services Janet Tse
said she felt that the administration should not have to work
around students’ other arrangements. Students taking seven
classes do not have the same schedule exemption options as
other students. “Some students choose to take seven classes
and have to work with it,” Tse said.
The new policy may help fix problems the past exemption
policy had caused. “This stops people from trying to change
their schedule after arena, trying to use schedule exemption as
an excuse,” assistant principal Holly Giles said. “Students starting and ending at different times disrupts the flow of classes
because there are students coming and going.”
Tse said the new policy may be disadvantageous for students,
but will help the administration with balancing the schedule.
Tse believes that some students may have been making up
excuses for schedule exemption in the past. “It’s hard to know
if students are in need or not in need,” she said.
Even with this new policy, all students can try to schedule
their classes without a Mods 1-2 or 19-20 class, but it will not
be guaranteed.
“I don’t think students should see it as a big deal because a
lot of people who don’t have a 1-2 or 19-20 class do it because
they’re lazy,” junior Mitchell Fong said.
Other students do not look forward to the new policy. “Students look forward to leaving early,” sophomore Carrie Lin said.
12 NEWS
May 28, 2010
Lowell High School
Alumnus shares book of women’s lives in Tibet
By Cherry Manoonsilpa
A
N ALUMNUS gave a presentation at
the school last week about her writings
on Tibetan history and her experiences
in Central Asia.
Performance artist, writer, activist and
alumnus Canyon Sam gave a talk at the Carol
Channing auditorium on May 18 during Mods
3-5 to discuss her travels to Tibet and answer
questions about her new non-fiction book,
Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History.
Sam is a third generation Chinese-American and had not visited China or Tibet until
she was an adult. During the presentation,
Sam spoke about her inspiration in visiting
Tibet when she was 29 years old. “I grew up in
the sixties and seventies when we didn’t hear
anything about China,” she said.
The presentation included a reading from
the book, as well as a slide show compiled of
photos she had taken of Tibet and its people
both during her first visit in 1986 and when she
returned nearly twenty years later. The slideshow included pictures of Tibetan landmarks
and different villages, which illustrated the
inhabitant’s separation from technology and
modernization.
Canyon Sam also discussed the purpose of
her book, which follows nine Tibetan women
and how they have been affected by the hardships in Asia.
Students were impressed by the presentation and the information provided by the
photographs. “It’s truly astonishing to learn
about the vast difference between American
and Tibetan cultures,” senior Angela Magyari
said.
Other students found Sam’s personal stories
more interesting. “The speaker’s account of the
Tibetan people’s isolation from much of the
modern world was intriguing,” senior Brian
Wong said.
In 1986, while on a quest to discover her
Chinese roots, Sam ended up in Lhasa, Tibet.
There, she met four women who played differing roles in Tibetan society, including an
educator and a young bride. She then returned
to re-interview them in 2007. She compiled
their stories and incorporated her own experiences into her narrative, which was meant to
give voice to the untold importance of Tibetan
JEREMY GAINES
women during the country’s time of exile. Sky Alumnus Canyon Sam reads an excerpt from her book, Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the
Edge of History to students in the Carol Channing auditorium during Mods 3-5 on May 18.
Train is now gathering national attention.
Student reviews La Mission
starring alum actor
By Kimberly Wong
T
HIS FILM DOCUMENTS the struggle between one’s ethnic culture and one’s true
identity, but in the end, finds a commonality between the two.
Set in the Mission District, La Mission follows Che Rivera, an ex-convict who is
respected as the tough Chicano man of the neighborhood and unintentionally discovers his
son Jes is gay. Rivera, played by Lowell alum Benjamin Bratt, faces a personal dilemma when
confronted by another side of his son. He must struggle whether to accept his son’s sexuality.
Bratt and his brother, director Peter Bratt, both grew up in the Mission. Before shooting the film, they made an effort to reconnect with the neighborhood’s community-based
groups to share with locals their vision, according to Danza Azteca Xitlalli drummer Celia
Mana who plays the Huehuetl. “They showed a sign of respect in collaborating with the
neighborhood,” Mana said. Mana and her Aztec dance group left the audience with the
traditional Latino dance Águila Blanca.
As the film reaches the denouement, Rivera grapples with the aftermath of Jes’ coming
out of the closet and grows out of his macho image into an accepting father.
Extras from the film praised La Mission for showing the difficulty in expressing one’s
identity and loyalty to one’s family. “It shows the multi-faceted nature of the Mission: the
importance of indigenous traditions, of education, of respecting elders, of discussing children’s sexual preferences, but more importantly, of family and community,” Mana said. “It
also dismisses common stereotypes that say homophobia is a characteristic of the Latino.”
Composer gives
music classes advice
By Yelena Gankin
A WORLD-RENOWNED musician and
conductor from the University of Connecticut
visited some of the school’s orchestra classes
on May 13.
Dr. Al Leong listened to and then conducted orchestra teacher Michele Winter’s
Mods 4-5 Symphonic class and 6-7 Advanced
Orchestra class to help students by offering
suggestions for improvement.
Leong thought the visit was very successful
and the classes were impressive. “Everyone was
so receptive and open minded, I was pleasantly
surprised,” Leong said. “Music is truly mystical and can communicate in a way no other
medium can. I hope that my enthusiasm for
it rubbed off on the students.” Many students enjoyed being under his
instruction. “The students loved him,” Winter
said. “He was funny, personable, upbeat and
inspiring. His specific suggestions helped
students rise to the next level.”
Junior Karen Tom felt she learned from
his suggestions. “I learned how to control the
amount of emotion I put into the music so the
visit was well worth my time,” she said. “He
was patient and able to describe everything
in clear and simple instructions.”
Leong used his years of experience to give
students a better understanding of the music.
“He helped me to make the Mozart piece I was
playing more authentic and gave me a better
understanding of how to play the music so
that it reflects the Classical period,” freshman
Rebecca Jacobson said.
Leong says he has visited other schools to
prepare for his upcoming book about common
mistakes music students make. “This visit
showed me that certain mistakes are the same
no matter where I travel,” Leong said.
Alternative ice creams delight and intimidate
F
ROM THE BEWITCHING SCENT
of steamy sourdough bread in Fisherman’s Wharf to the sound of a
sizzling hot pot in the Richmond, you’ll find
yourself bombarded with San Francisco’s
unique culinary concoctions in every inch of
town. The city’s ice cream is no exception. In
the Mission District alone, a handful of highend ice creameries offer bold, exotic and occasionally daunting flavors not found within
traditional ice cream counters. Flower and
meat-flavored ice creams may not sound like
your everyday dessert, but as San Francisco
resident and Bi-Rite customer Courtland
Smith points out, “I consider this a treat as
opposed to a habit.”
While customers venture to Bombay from
near and far, the fresh ingredients featured
in each novelty scoop of mango, cardamom
rose, kesar pista (saffron pistachio), chicku
(a tropical fruit), fig, sesame, raisin, ginger
and chai tea ice cream travel from India to
California every other week. Closer to home,
the Bay Area suburb of Hayward is where
Suresh’s wife, Bharti, works wonders as she
transforms cream, sugar, authentic fruits and
spices into rich, delectable ice cream. What
else is unique about Bombay’s Western-style
ice cream? “We have less sugar and more
cream,” Parmar said.
According to Parmar, a particular crowd
favorite is cardamom rose, a sweet and delicate delight. The use of flowers in ice cream
Mitchell’s Ice Cream
is rather uncommon and Parmar adds that
What opened as a neighborhood ice Bombay’s flavor features real rose petals
cream shop in the Mission district half a cen- imported directly from India. “The Indian
tury ago, today
rose petal has a very different
remains a city
taste,” he said.
icon. Call it a Mitchell’s
Offering a medley of disBay Area favor- 668 San Jose Ave.
tinct flavors, visitors of all ages
ite, for ice cream
file into Bombay for a cultural
enthusiasts don’t
experience. It’s not uncommind waiting 30 Bombay Ice Cream
mon to find teachers bringing
minutes in line
classes of 30 to 40 students
at eleven o’clock 552 Valencia St.
into the shop. Since the store
at night for a
gets busy easily, Parmar’s one
scoop of Mexirule includes limiting the
can chocolate or Bi-Rite Creamery
customer to two samples only.
ube ice cream.
“Otherwise, oh my goodness,
3692 18th St.
From their
every customer would take 20
friendly service
minutes to decide,” he said.
to t heir old- Humphry Slocombe
fashioned batch
Bi-Rite Creamery
freezer, the shop 2790 Harrison St.
Steps away from Mission
c o nt i nu e s t o
Dolores Park, herds of people
represent the business established by Larry can be found lined up around the corner of
Mitchell in 1953. What set Mitchell’s apart Bi-Rite Creamery’s block all hours of the day.
back the ’60s was their introduction of ex- Serving homemade ice cream, the store has
otic flavors, suggested to Larry by a regular customers that mostly do not mind waiting
customer. The regular, a food broker from 45 minutes for a scoop of honey lavender
the Philippines, recommended that Larry or coffee toffee. With unique flavors and
try making ice cream with Manila mangoes. a cheerful staff, Bi-Rite attracts those who
“Mango became popular almost overnight,” enjoy quality ice cream and a feeling of
Larry’s daughter and Lowell alum Linda community. “The owners of Bi-Rite focus on
Mitchell said. The smooth creamy pilot flavor building relationships with people through
ranked second in popularity to vanilla but food,” scooper Chris Longyne said.
eventually surpassed the classic flavor.
Featuring offbeat flavors such as salted
The successful debut convinced the owner caramel, honey lavender, earl grey, roasted
to import additional fruits from the Philip- banana and riconelas (cinnamon with snickpines. Soon, customers of every race flocked erdoodles), visitors line up outside ready to
to Mitchell’s for frozen delights such as ma- try something new. “It’s a treat — these aren’t
capuno (sweet coconut), ube (purple yam), your run-of-the-mill flavors like chocolate,”
langka (jackfruit) and halo-halo (a traditional customer and San Francisco resident Sean
iced dessert meaning “mix-mix”).
Negron said.
Over the years, Mitchell’s has broadened
Longye said he can’t choose just one fatheir menu into a more international variety, vorite. “Here, I love it all. I can honestly tell
offering captivating tastes like lúcuma (Pe- people ‘This is my favorite’ or ‘This is what
ruvian “eggfruit”) ice cream and yuzu (Japa- I like’ when I recommend a flavor,” he said.
nese citrus) sorbet. Such global fruit flavors,
Enjoying her scoop, customer and downalong with other inventive combinations, town resident Shiela Shaare often proposed by customers. Through habi savored a lick
experience and a simple “gut feeling,” the of salted caramel,
Mitchell family decides which novelties to summarizing its
serve. Occasionally, the family encounters taste as “va-vaflavor flops, like apple pie or sweet and salty voom.” “It’s tanpeanut, that prove not popular enough to talizing. It doesn’t
keep on the menu.
n or m a l i z e — it
Whether it is the store’s recent remodeling keeps popping!”
or a plan to quicken ice cream transactions, s h e s a i d .
the Mitchell’s continue to enhance their fam- W h i l e
ily business. “We don’t just sit back on our Sha habi
laurels of 57 years — we’re always trying to d o e s n’ t
improve,” Mitchell said.
normally
travel crossBombay Ice Cream
town for an
Bombay Ice Cream is home to 56 tantaliz- i c e c r e a m
ingly exotic flavors. “People travel for long cone, cusdistances because they visit for our special- t o m e r
ties,” owner Suresh Parmar said. Nestled
on Valencia Street next to
New Bombay Bazaar,
this gem beckons
those who crave
flavors that once
crossed the Silk
Road.
Paul Manz journeyed from L.A. just to try a
scoop of roasted banana.
Some view roasted banana and honey lavender as daring, but Manz and Longye claim
that the flavors are nostalgic to them. “My
grandma use to roast bananas,” Manz said.
Honey lavender reminds Longye of
unpleasant memories of his childhood. “It
reminds me of getting my mouth washed
out with soap for swearing as a kid,” he said.
Customers also appreciate Bi-Rite’s support of all-natural, sustainable ingredients.
Each batch of ice cream is made from organic
milk, cream and eggs supplied from the local Straus Family Creamery. Customer and
local human rights activist Meredith Smith
praised Bi-Rite for serving ingredients her
grandmother would have used in her own
ice cream. “Down in Southern California,
they say that Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors
and 101 chemicals,” she said.
Humphry Slocombe
Inside Humphry Slocombe, the eyes
of a stuffed, two-headed milk cow gaze at
customers from the creature’s position of
honor mounted on the wall. The mutated,
taxonomic cow head is not the only weird
thing inside this ice cream shop. Peer into
the glass display case of ice cream and you
will find titles such as peanut butter curry,
Blue Bottle Vietnamese coffee and Baccalone
prosciutto.
Offering around 80 original flavors of
ice cream and sorbet, with live flavor
updates on Twitter, this store has
something to boast about.
“People would go to BiRite if they wante d pl ai n i c e
cream,” scooper Blake Stimac said. “People
come here for a daring experience.”
Flavors such as salt and pepper, pistachio
bacon, McEvoy Olive Oil and Guiness Gingerbread draw crowds to this one-of-a-kind
shop. “It’s like eating at a new restaurant,
but in ice cream form,” customer and San
Francisco resident Cynthia Boedihardjo said.
Outside the shop, the Caviness family indulged in their scoops of Tahitian vanilla and
Secret Breakfast, a bourbon and cornflake
mishmash that “tasted like frozen eggnog”
to customer Jean Caviness. Having opted
for the more “digestible and palatable” flavor,
Caviness admitted that the others seemed
intimidating. Intrigued by a flavor labeled
“Jesus Juice,” a determined Randy Caviness
ordered a cup of the Cote du Rhone red wine
and Coke Classic treat after his first cone.
To him, the sorbet’s cinnamon spiciness
tasted similar to sangria. “I feel very holy
now,” Caviness said jokingly. “I want to go
to church tomorrow.”
Those who prefer something more familiar find satisfaction in flavors like milk
chocolate passion fruit and Tahitian vanilla.
Chris House and his wife, Ana, classified passion fruit as a “mutant pineapple mango” that
enhanced his scoop of chocolate ice cream.
“It might be the best chocolate ice cream
I’ve ever had,” he said.
With its inventive treats and loyal
customers, this exceptional creamery will
continue to serve
the gastronomical fancies of
adventurous
gourmets.
TRIppy
TREATs
The Lowell Backpage, May 28, 2010
By Jenna
Fiorello
N
RE
KA
Dragon Boat paddles away with
first place titles in all divisions
Softball sheds tears after first
championship loss in 4 years
Lowell High School
May 28, 2010
Page 15
Volleyball snatches championship victory
By Chan Chuan Chen
F
and the veteran experience of the
ILLING UP bleachers with seniors that really pulled through,”
excited fans wearing “Prop- Dinh said.
Luckily, the team adjusted and
erty of Lowell VB” V-neck
T-shirts, a rowdy crowd from schools picked up their game at the beginall over the Bay Area watches the ning of the third set, according to
intense and highly-anticipated AAA coach Steven Wesley. “We knew
it took a while
boys’ volleyball
for us to start gochampi onsh ip
ing and get adgame.
justed to our opClinching
ponent,” Wesley
the first place
said. “Once that
title on May 7 at
happened, we bethe championcame much more
ship game with
comfortable in
a cutting-edge
running our nor3-2 score and
SPENCER WONG and ALVIN HO,
mal game.”
set scores of 24varsity boys’ volleyball MVP
Senior outside
26, 20-25, 25-14,
hitter Spencer
25-18 and15-12
against the Lincoln Mustangs, the Wong scored the winning point
Cardinals fought a consistent and and had a match high of 19 kills.
fierce battle to win the title that Sophomore libero Jeffrey Wong
escaped them last year when they also had an impressive match high
lost to Balboa Buccaneers. “I think of 64 digs. Both players, as well as
the team has worked really hard this senior outside hitter Alvin Ho and
whole season to win the title back,” senior setter Joseph Lee made it to
senior manager Erin Lee said. “It the All-City First Team, announced
wasn’t only about who deserved it, before the championship match.
but it was also about who wanted to Lee received the Peter K. Yan award,
win more. I feel like our boys had given to the AAA player of the year.
the drive to pull through in the last Senior outside hitter Chen-Chen
three games to grab the champion- Huo also made it to the All-City
Second Team and junior opposite
ship title.”
hitter Lincoln Lam
The Cardinals
received an Honorlost the first two
able Mention.
sets to the MusIn the playoffs
tangs, with scores
on May 5, the team
of 24-26 and 20-25,
played the Balboa
having to break the
Buccaneers, last
regular 25 points
season’s championper set. Senior and
ship titleholders,
for mer defens e
and defeated them
specialist Kevin
JOE LEE,
3-2. The Cardinals
Dinh has been obvarsity boys’ volleyball MVP
lost their first two
serving the Cardinals play since he left the team. “The sets, but made a comeback and won
match began with scrappy plays on the last three sets to narrowly deboth sides of the net but in the end it feat their opponent. “We got more
was the consistency of Lowell’s team excited later in the game when we
won the third set,” Huo said. “We
were more excited because we still
had hope to win, or else it’d be our
last game.”
Most Valuable Players
The Lowell’s choice for most valuable players are: senior captain and
setter Joe Lee, senior outside hitter
Alvin Ho and senior opposite hitter
Spencer Wong. All three players
made the All-City First Volleyball
Team and have played consistently
well throughout the season.
On the team for four years, Lee
is often looked up to as the leader of
the team. Voted by the team as one
of the volleyball captains in the beginning of the season, Lee has been
described as a dedicated and skillful
team player with outstanding sportsmanship. Lee won the Peter K. Yan
Award, given to the AAA player of
the year. Directing the team from the
setter position, Lee often makes the
calls and plays. The players consider
Lee as an essential part of the team.
“Joe is hardworking and a good
sport,” Wong said. “He is always the
person to bring everyone’s spirits up
and, basically, he is the backbone of
the team.”
Also on the team for four years
and regarded as an excellent allaround player, Ho also deserves
recognition. “Alvin is one of our
most dynamic players,” Lee said.
“He plays good defense and is always
an offensive threat.” With rare high
records of both kills and digs, Alvin
indeed seems to be the “best player
all-around.”
A crowd favorite, Wong is another talented and crucial player on the
team. Wong did exceptionally well
in this season’s championship game,
scoring the final point for Lowell to
clinch the first-place title. “Spencer
has been the playmaker of the sea-
RYAN YU
Senior opposite hitter Alvin Ho spikes on a Lincoln blocker in the AAA
championships on May 7 at the Lincoln High School gymnasium.
son,” Dinh said. “When things don’t
go right, the coach rotates Spencer
to a more effective position and
Spencer has pulled through. Spencer
rarely makes a hitting error and he’s
Boys’ golf reclaims long-lost title
By Amy Char
T
HE CARDINALS WALKED into
the gloomy, rainy weather at Lincoln Park on May 17 ready for
redemption, and walked out of the golf
course later that day with the well-deserved
CASSANDRA LIU
Senior golfer Andrew Huang tees
off in the championship on May 17 at
Lincoln Park against Washington.
title of champions.
placed second. “I’m happy with how I
The boys’ varsity golf team sank birdie played, especially in the rain,” Ebergen said.
after birdie in the AAA golf championships
Keeping a clear head this season,
on May 17 against the Washington Eagles. golfers gave their all at practices despite
They crushed the Eagles —
being undefeated. “We
who have been the reigning
kept focused on what we
champions for the past two
wanted to achieve this
years — in a dramatic 443year,” Mak said. “For the
459 victory. “We should
past two years we have
have won by a larger marbeen undefeated, and we
gin from the beginning,”
started to loosen up on our
junior golfer Edwin Mak
practice routines and such.
said. “It was uncomfortThis year, we did not.” Acable to have the match go
cording to coach Mitchell
down to the wire like that,
Wagner, the team has “imTOM EBERGEN,
though it certainly added
proved their focus level,
varsity boys’ golf MVP
more excitement.”
motivation, camaraderie,
The Cardinals and Eagles played 18 team spirit and cohesiveness.”
holes, as opposed to the usual nine holes
for a regular season game. “I feel redeemed Most Valuable Players
in a way for winning this year because our
team worked hard and we know we deserve
The Lowell’s choice for MVP is sophoit,” sophomore golfer Tom Ebergen said.
more Tom Ebergen. Though it is difficult
Dominating the individual tournament to choose just one player because the team
on the same day, the Cardinals faced golf- is composed of all solid players, Ebergen
ers from Washington, Lincoln, Wallenberg has showed stability throughout the seaand Balboa. Six golfers — Ebergen, fresh- son. He shot an 80 at the championships,
man golfer Scott Bang and senior golfers the highest scoring round of all the golfers
Max McKenzie, Sam Berry, Patrick Berg competing. “He’s consistently one of our
and Andrew Huang — placed in the top best players,” Wagner said. “He is always
17. Ebergen placed first in the individual enthusiastic and constantly working at his
tournament. Last year, as a freshman, he golf game, trying to get better.”
pulled the team from tight spots like
a champ.” With the highest number
of kills this season, Wong is definitely
a dangerous and valuable member
of the team.
Athlete of the Month:
Nicholas Kwan
By Kimberly Wong
T
HE PRESSURE’S ON.
CO
UR
D o n’ t
TE
SY
OF
choke.
TR
UC
DIN
But this
H
thought doesn’t
worry senior swimming
champion Nick Kwan as he
strokes quickly through the
water, tags the next swimmer
in, cheers for his teammates
in the varsity boys’ 200 freestyle relay for his team and
yells in victory as senior anchor Stanton
Huang breaks the All-City record at the
AAA Swimming Championships with a
time of 1:32.11.
Kwan means more to the team
than a great swimmer. “He not only
contributed as a strong swimmer, but
as a roaring personality that inspired the team to
swim faster,” sophomore fellow freestyle swimmer
David Liberman said. Kwan will truly miss his
years on the team. “The
Year: 12
Lowell swim team will
Weight: 140
always have a special
Height: 5’8’’
place in my heart and
Specialty: Freestyle
Vars. Years: 2006-2010 has taught me that I
can’t get by on talent.”
Club Team: Koret
16 SPORTS
The Lowell
May 28, 2010
Fencing lashes
out, clinches first
place at All-City
By Adriana Millar
A
JOE FIORELLO
Senior captain and pitcher Alina Werth attempts, in vain, to tag a Washington batter out as the Eagle player slides into
home base in the hard-played 3-4 AAA championship game loss at West Sunset Field on May 18.
Cardinals devastated in
softball championships
By Joe Fiorello
allowed only 8 hits throughout the enS THE FINAL out on the Car- tire game in addition to fielding several
dinals was made in the champi- outs from the pitcher’s mound. A few
onship game, raindrops imme- times the team started to pick up their
diately darkened the brown infield. The offense, but was unable to capitalize on
Cardinals came up short in the cham- opportunities to take the lead, leaving
pionship to the Washington Eagles, several potentially scoring runners on
losing 4-3 in seven depressing innings. base. Sophomore first baseman Madison Donahue-Wolfe hit
“Usually when our
a triple in the third inoffense is down we
ning but never reached
have players that can
home.
pick up the whole
In the bottom of the
team,” head coach
fifth inning the CarSascha Ray said.
dinals almost took the
“The nerves got the
game. Sophomore secbest of us.”
ond baseman Michelle
Despite their
Willis hit a double to
less-than-impressive
ALINA WERTH, center field, bringing
offense, the team
softball MVP Young in to score. Wilperformed exceplis’ double would have
tionally well on defense. In the sixth inning junior right brought junior catcher Chloe Roddy
fielder Abigail Young threw out an Eagle home if a fence gate hadn’t been left
runner at first base to end the inning. open that allowed the ball to bounce
Senior captain and pitcher Alina Werth off-site, an overthrow that sent Roddy
A
back to third base.
In the seventh inning Washington
pitcher Lana Buchbinder shut out the
final inning, ending the post-season for
the previously undefeated Cardinals.
The team shut out the Lincoln
Mustangs 10-0 on May 11 at West
Sunset field in their playoff game. The
match-up proved mismatched for the
Cardinals, who quickly defeated the
Mustangs. Junior catcher Chloe Roddy
drove a ball to hit the right-field fence
at West Sunset.
Most Valuable Player
The Lowell’s choice for MVP is senior
captain and pitcher Alina Werth. Werth
is great at the plate, quick in the infield
and astounding on the mound. Named
the California Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year, Werth has led
the team to success, including 12 out of
16 shutout games. “Alina inspires everyone to do better everyday,” sophomore
outfielder Emma Nakayoshi said.
S THE SEASON comes to a close, the Cardinal
fencing team looks back on their stellar record
while gazing ahead confidently for another excellent
season next year.
The Cardinals beat out 10 other schools for first place
at the All-City Tournament for the second year in a row on
April 24 at George Washington High School and competed
for individual titles. “I’m honored to be invited to compete
with other skilled fencers,” senior fencer Arlo Lobascio said.
Lowell placed first by earning 48 points total, beating out
their rivals, the University High School Red Devils, by 12
points. The Cardinals also triumphed over the Red Devils
during their individual match back on April 16. “It’s always
great to beat out your main competition,” Lobascio said.
Although senior starters Melissa Louie, David Seeto and
Lobascio are graduating, the team has faith for next year.
“The remaining members are still strong, and hopefully we’ll
be able to strengthen this year’s underclassmen,” sophomore
starter Alex Cheng said. “ We definitely have freshmen with
potential.”
Sophomore starters Cheng, Walter Pan, Jayne Stewart and
junior back up Elizabeth Chen joined Louie and Lobascio as
they continued on to the All-State Invitational on May 15 at
school. Though Lobascio did not rank in the top eight fencers in the AAA, the coaches voted him into the tournament.
The Cardinals placed first overall in the competition, which
included the top players from All-City and several schools
from San Jose. “Everyone on the team did well this season.”
Cheng said. “Each match needs each fencer to do well, and
that’s why having a team full of strong fencers is so great.”
Most Valuable Player
The Lowell’s choice for MVP is sophomore fencer Alex
Cheng. Cheng placed first in the boys’ division at both
All-City and All-State, as well as most of his bouts during
the season. “He brings a very positive attitude, understands
competition but can enjoy it, gets along great with everybody,
and works hard when it’s time to compete,” Lobascio said.
Cheng himself is very humble about his talent with a foil,
and insists it was a team effort. To keep his game up, Cheng
also competes in local and national championships. “Both
competing in tournaments and in school is fun,” Cheng said.
“As you’d expect, competing in national tournaments are way
more intense. But I like fencing against other high schools
more because of the whole team dynamic. At school, it’s all
about supporting each other.”
Captains’ Corner Swimmers make their mark
in finals and break records
By Destiny Vaughn
Although the season has come to a close, team
ETTING THEIR SWIM caps and goggles in members reminisce on the closeness that led them
place, the Cardinal swimmers made a splash to a strong victory. “Every moment during the swim
by breaking 12 league records at championship. season is a moment to be treasured because we
On May 1 at City College of San Francisco, the Car- practice together, race together, have fun together
dinals entered the All-City Championships against and even suffer together,” Fung said. “This season is
the Washington Eagles, Balboa Buccaneers, Lincoln the closest the team has ever gotten. Our tight bonds
Mustangs, Galileo Lions and the Wallenberg Bulldogs. with one another were the key to our continuation
Despite tough competition, the Cardinals came out of our domination.”
on top with the boys’ and girls’ varsity teams and the
Most Valuable Player
girls’ JV team winning first place while boys’ junior
The Lowell’s choice for Most Valuable Player is
varsity won second after the Mustangs. “This year’s
championship was really intense,” senior varsity senior varsity co-captain Kevin Lee. Working hard to
swimmer Erica Fung said. “The swimmers from help lead the team to victory even in his senior year,
he has encouraged his fellow teamall the schools have gotten faster,
mates to never let their guard down
so Lowell had pretty hard-hitting
and to always keep working their
competition this year.”
hardest. “Kevin has been a great
According to senior varsity
leader to us. I know that he pushes
swimmer Celia Liang, going into
himself to his limits, inspiring us
the championship was a nerveto do the same,” sophomore varsity
wracking experience. “During the
member Helen Tang said.
season, Washington was our biggest
This year, Lee swam in the 200rival and we had to stay determined
yard medley and freestyle relays and
and focused, never letting our guard
contributed to the team breaking
down when we swam,” Liang said.
“We were nervous, but we knew
KEVIN LEE, both records. “He has a positive
varsity swimming MVP influence on the team and keeps us
had to stay consistent until the end.”
in line and focused with the other
Out of 12 records broken, Lowell
now holds the record for all varsity relays, boys’ and team captains,” sophomore varsity member Amanda
girls’. According to freshman varsity member Leslie Chun said.
Although Kevin is graduating this year, he will
Fung, there were many close matches, including the
Boys’ Varsity 200-yard Medley. “Lowell and Wash- swim next year on Vassar College’s swim team and
ington were head-to-head until the last two laps, but will continue to swim on his USA Swimming club
then the anchor for our relay beat Washington by half team, the Koret Youth Swim Club. The staff wishes
him the best of luck in the future!
a body length,” she said.
S
“This year we wanted to
make every stroke count.”
“We try to have fun, but it
gets really competitive.”
“We kind of act like brothers to get pumped, and
more like a family than a
team.”
“They’re so strong mentally
and physically that the best
I can do is to be at every
meet and support them.”
MAX MACKENZIE,
boys’ golf captain
MICHAEL INOUYE,
varsity baseball captain
DAVID SEETO,
fencing captain
MEAGAN LE,
varsity gymnastics captain
The Lowell
SPORTS
May 28, 2010
QUENCH YOUR THIRST
By Nancy Wu
A
FTER A TEN-MILE run leaves you drenched in
sweat, you reach for a sport drink, the ultimate thirst
quencher.
Sport drink ads show athletes excelling beyond normal
human ability, but are sport drinks really what they’re cracked
up to be? Studies show workouts that involve a loss of large
amounts of electrolytes and nutrients can lead to dehydration
or, strangely enough, water intoxication in which the fluid
enters the body but none of the nutrients are being replaced,
according to a associated content, a public media site, (www.
associatedcontent.com). This is where sport drinks come into
play. Their formula is designed to replace the carbohydrates
and electrolytes lost during intense exercise and to prevent the
athlete from suffering negative health effects.
Athletes are seen chugging massive quantities of sport
drinks on television ads. Yet interestingly, consumers in the
sport drink industry are mostly non-athletes who favor the
pleasant taste of the drink and disregard its original purpose of
replenishing an exhausted human body. Although sport drinks
are chock-full of vitamins and nutrients, they also contain as
much sugar as sodas.
Another side effect of the high sugar concentration in sport
drinks is that it makes you even thirstier than when you were
in your prior state. The body uses water to break down sugar,
a carbohydrate, into simpler forms that it can use for energy.
This causes the body to lose water and creates a thirst within
the athlete. Sport drinks are meant for athletes who work
out for long durations where the replacement for electrolytes
becomes critical. For the athletes who prefer sugarless drinks,
some brands of sport drinks are beginning to market sugar-free
drinks with the same amount of vitamins and a similar taste,
according to lifescript, a health site, (www.lifescript.com).
The most popular sport drinks in this billion-dollar industry
have been Gatorade, Powerade, Propel and Vitamin Water.
Lemon Lime Gatorade
Fruit Punch Powerade
ONG
INFOGRAPHIC
BY RENN
DARAWALI
INFOGRAPHIC
BY RENN
DARAWALI
One of the few lowacid, yet colored drinks,
Vitamin Water does not
wear away the enamel of
one’s teeth. Vitamin Water
may not be unhealthy for
one’s dental work, but
one 32 ounce bottle consists of a whopping 32.5
grams, approximately 8
teaspoons of sugar with
an average of 125 calories,
comparable to the sugar
level of soda and double
that of Lemon Lime Gatorade. Every 8 ounces of
Tropical Citrus Vitamin
Water contains additives
of vitamin C, B3, B6, B12
and B5.
When I hydrated with
IVIAN T
Tropical Citrus
Vitamin Water
Vit a m i n
Water during cheer practice, I quenched
my thirst, but I felt
no different during practice. I did not
feel more energized and
in fact, ended up feeling
more exhausted than usual. Vitamin Water had
a pleasant, “tropical”
taste, but with no real
fruit juice, the drink
as a whole did not
make a difference in
my workout routine.
NS BY V
STRATIO
Contrary to what many think, Powerade is not a division of
Gatorade, but owned by Coca-Cola Company, one of Gatorade’s
largest competitors. In 1992, Powerade became the official drink
to hydrate athletes for the Olympics.
During cheer practice, the Fruit Punch Powerade kept me
from feeling fatigued. Throughout practice I was active and
felt more awake than I usually am, but there was a downside. I
drank more of the sugary drink than I should have during water
breaks due to the addicting, mouth-watering flavor. My desire
to consume as much as the Powerade as possible overrode my
self-control, probably due to the great amount of sugar in the
drink, which left me thirstier than I was previously, so I ended
up with a nasty stomachache afterwards. Also, the fruit punch
taste that accompanies this “advanced electrolyte system” is
very sweet and temporarily stains one’s teeth red due to the
artificial dyes.
Fruit Punch Powerade contains sodium, potassium, calcium
and magnesium. Along with those minerals, the formula, with
more vitamins than Gatorade, includes vitamins B3, B6 and
B12. Powerade’s “advanced electrolyte system,” christened the
futuristic ION 4 by the marketers, contains the same amount
of minerals and electrolytes lost in the process of
sweating.
ALL ILLU
The king of sport drinks, Gatorade is a major franchise and
sponsor of athletes. Due to Gatorade’s immense popularity,
traditions have been established around its original Lemon
Lime flavor, from being served at nearly every sporting event
to soaking a victorious coach.
The Gatorade phenomena all started in 1965, when Ray
Graves, the coach of the Florida Gators football team, concerned about the athletes’ performance, confronted university
scientists about the lack of energy his players had during days
with high temperatures. The scientists soon formulated Gatorade, which was rich in carbohydrates and electrolytes, the
basis of all sport drinks.
After a cheer routine in Anaheim for nationals, the Lowell
cheer squad, myself included, was provided Lemon Lime Gatorade. After a vigorous two-minute routine consisting of jumps
and launching girls in the air, Lemon Lime Gatorade satiated
my thirst and gave me relief from my shallow panting while
trying to recuperate.
Just plain Gatorade is currently a low calorie drink option
with the same amount of electrolytes as the original formula,
but with only 20 calories per bottle. However, Lemon Lime
Gatorade contains sodium, potassium and chloride
to replace lost minerals in the body, and also a
whopping 14 grams of sugar per 8 ounce serving.
There are approximately four servings per bottle,
so one 32-ounce bottle of original Gatorade
contains four cups of solution mixed with 56
grams of sugar. Imagine spooning approximately
14 teaspoons of sugar into your drink.
Gatorade’s new product, G Series Pro, is a
three-part regimen for serious athletes, composing of three different drinks — one before
a workout, one during and the final one for
after the workout. Fifteen minutes before
a workout, athletes are recommended to
drink Gatorade Prime 01, a 4-ounce pouch,
meant to supply an athlete with an availability of carbohydrates for the muscles. During
the workout, athletes would drink Gatorade Thirst
Quencher to refuel themselves with electrolytes and nutrients.
After, Gatorade Recover 03 is used to provide “muscle recovery
benefits” for the worn athlete, a replinishing combination.
Thesweettoothtruth
behind sport drinks
Athletes have been drinking sport drinks since the ’50s,
but which drinks are the best for you? Which will enhance
your performance? Our reporter investigates the most
popular sport drinks and analyzes their pros and cons.
17
Lemon Propel
A d iv i s i on of
Gatorade, Propel
markets itself as
“enhanced water”
and uses no artificial coloring. During
practice the lemonflavored Propel taste
made me cringe due to
its overly sour, even bitter
taste. But during practice, when I drank an occasional
gulp, it did help me re-energize and focus. An 8-ounce serving
of Propel contains vitamins C, E, and B6, sodium and potassium
along with only two grams of sugar.
As a low calorie drink, Propel would be my personal choice
as a sport drink during workouts since it is a good alternative
to excessively sugary sport drinks. Although I do not prefer the
taste (other flavors include Berry, Black Cherry, Citrus Fruit,
Grape, Kiwi-Strawberry, Melon and Peach), I would rather
replenish myself with a low-sugar sport drink that contains as
much electrolytes as a sugary sport drink. It does not contain
any caffeine so the athlete would not be worn out from the
spontaneous burst, then letdown of energy.
Propelled to the top
Out of the four sport drinks — Gatorade, Powerade, Vitamin
Water and Propel — Propel worked best for me. It contains
many different vitamins and electrolytes balanced with just
what an athlete would want before shouting cheers and catapulting girls in the air at a Cheer competition in Anaheim.
18 SPORTS
May 28, 2010
Badminton falls short in nailbiter
By Grace Sun and Michelle Wan
U
CASSANDRA LIU
Juniors May Ling Tay and Mo Ying Tsui
anticipate a birdie against the Galileo Lions
on April 27 in the Neff Gymnasium.
P UNTIL THE championship game,
the girls’ badminton team was unstoppable; then they hit a roadblock.
On May 17 in a heartbreaking defeat, the
Cardinals lost the championship title to the
Washington Eagles with a score of 2-3.
After losing the first two singles games,
the Cardinals made a comeback, winning two
doubles games. However, despite a close fight
in the last doubles match, they were unable to
win. The match ended 2-1, with scores of 21-9,
17-21 and 19-21.
On May 10 and 11 the Cardinal doubles
teams dominated the All-City tournament; for
the first time in Lowell badminton history all
the top pairs placed. Second doubles players
junior Christina Chiu and senior Zoie Chow
placed third, third doubles players Karen Lei
and Stephanie Khin placed second and first
doubles players junior Bettina Dea and sophomore Jenny Wong clinched first.
The Cardinal singles players also fought
hard, though they did not place. Chiu fin-
Drill team finds grueling
practice sessions in vain
P
Lowell High School
By Destiny Vaughn
ROUDLY SPORTING their
shining red boots and doing
their drill in perfect unison,
the girls’ drill team proved that they
could make their way to the top.
Teeming with confidence, the drill
team entered the 91st Annual Spring
Drill Competition in the Presidio on
May 15. Out of the seven competing
schools — Balboa, Burton, Galileo,
Washington, Lincoln and Mission
— Lowell placed second behind
Lincoln.
The competitors proved to be
worthy opponents, with the standards appearing to be higher this
year than the last. “The competition
was tougher this year,” junior commander Julia Kwong said. “Everyone brought out their best in their
routines and it was a challenge to
compete with that.”
During the competition, the
Cardinals kept the “wow” factor at
the top of their list. Lowell always
attempts to stand out by not relying
on pre-recorded music but by using
their own voices and bright smiles.
“Our drill aims to entertain the
crowd, so we have to be extremely
sharp and in sync with everyone else
on the team,” junior member Cindy
Huang said. “Our drill team is known
for our perfection and we strive to
deliver as much as we can.”
Although the girls practiced
all year for the competition, they
started to practice their routine as
a team in February. “Although we
only perform for six minutes at the
competition, the amount of effort
and practice we put into our routine
beforehand made the competition
worthwhile,” junior drill team member Ashley Zhang said.
ished fourth overall and senior Leta He was
eliminated from the tournament in the second
round. “Being put into a position in which I
already had to play against the ultimate firstplace winner in my second round, I felt quite
a lot of pressure,” He said. “I didn’t feel as bad
because I knew that wasn’t
the last anyone would see of
me on a badminton court,”
referring to the upcoming
championships.
Five of the eight starters
competed in the top rankings
for the first time this year.
Despite a lack of experience,
the team succeeded because
of the hard work they put in
throughout the season. “Ms.
Hosoda’s hard training and
coaching has really paid off and it showed at
All-City,” Khin said.
Next year, AAA badminton teams will be going co-ed. There will be one girl singles player,
one boy singles, one pair of girls doubles, one
boys pair and one co-ed pair for each team,
and there will only be five starters for the girls
to make room for five boys starters. Hosoda
has not yet decided how the change will affect
next season’s roster. Because only two players
are graduating, “next year we will have six starters for the girls, but we can
only use five,” Hosoda said.
“Everything will be different
because of the new format.”
Most Valuable Player
The Lowell’s pick for most
valuable player this season
is junior first singles player
Oriana Chiu. Chiu is the top
ORIANA CHIU, ranked player and an integral
badminton MVP
source of leadership and
inspiration for the team. “Skill-wise she is the
best player on our team,” Hosoda said. “She’s
always working really hard, pushing herself
and pushing the team,” sophomore alternate
Carmen Leung said.
sports opinion
Dethroned Dynasty
VIVIAN TONG
Dragonboat reigns supreme in waters of Lake Merced
T
By Grace Sun
HE CARDINALS PROUDLY sit upon
a mighty throne after finally taming
rival dragons.
At the California Dragon Boat Association
Youth Race on April 24, Lowell’s dynamic
Dragon Boat team placed first in every mixed
division and second in both gender divisions.
The Cardinals dominated the waters of Lake
Merced, paddling to their fullest and to the
medal stand. The Cardinal Crewzers swooped
their opponents and regained the gold in Division A, which Lowell hasn’t won since 2005.
Red Tide battled intensely for first in Division
B, and the Big Red C’s unwavering teamwork lit
the path to first place in Division C. Paddling
neck to neck with their competitors, the Lowell
Riders (boys’ crew) and Lowellitas (girls’ crew)
fell just short of first, but earned second place.
With 36 crews competing in this year’s race,
winning the championship is a feat for the
Lowell Dragon Boat history books. In the first
heat, the Cardinals faced their ultimate compe-
tition: the CYC Allstars and the Lincoln Gold
Mustangs. Gritting their teeth and gripping
their oars, all three crews fought for the gold.
In the final heats, the crews were exhausted but
adrenaline pushed them to victory. The Cardinal Crewzers trumped the Gold Mustangs by
1.89 seconds, Red Tide won by 4.53 seconds
and the Big Red C won by 2.26 seconds, all
crews finishing in first place. “Winning the
championships was a legacy,” junior Cardinal
Crewzers paddler Hilary Louie said.
Raw emotions overwhelmed the team
when they won. “I was thrilled beyond words,”
sophomore Red Tide paddler Gordon Deng
said. “Nothing went through my head except
for ‘We did it. We won!’”
The paddlers credit their win to the team’s
collective support. “I think our success was
due to everyone’s heart for the team, the sport
and each other,” sophomore Cardinal Crewzers
paddler Jimmy Yang said. “We each had our
doubts, but we pulled through and trusted one
another to the very end.”
The team’s dramatic success is especially
significant since it has been six years since the
Cardinals won first in all divisions. “I am really
happy for them and proud of their dedication,”
coach and Chinese teacher Brian Danforth
said. “When you first see the team approaching
the finish line and you know you got the win in
the pocket, you know all that training and hard
work that took you to your goal has paid off.”
Through rain, wind and even hail, the
Cardinals paddled strongly. This year, Danforth made a new approach on conditioning
practices by focusing less on endurance and
more on strength exercises to build short bursts
of energy. “Even though the previous seniors
were the main power source of the boats, we
proved that it’s not just power that wins the
race,” sophomore Cardinal Crewzers paddler
Irene Li said. “It’s also timing and working
together as a boat and as a team to accomplish
our goal.”
Danforth will continue to teach at Lowell
after a close call with the pink slips earlier this
year. Due to money from the Lowell Alumni
Association for Latin classes, department slots
were freed up for other classes, according
to language department head Dorothy Ong.
“Ever since I got the job at Lowell four years
ago, I’ve considered myself one of the luckiest
people in the world because I love my job,”
Danforth said. “It’s great to teach where I grew
up and to have a great bunch of students in a
great atmosphere. I’m really happy to stay.”
Members of the Dragon Boat team were
ecstatic, thankful and relieved over Danforth’s
return. “He has the ability to just motivate
you, but he also cares about what is going on
in your life and can sympathize,” sophomore
Big Red C paddler Sean Luong said. “I feel
these qualities are what make him such a good
teacher and coach.”
This year, the Dragon Boat team is traveling to Macao to compete and experience the
higher level of competition and festive culture.
Danforth is taking 27 paddlers from all grades
and divisions on the team.
The Lowell
SPORTS
May 28, 2010
19
Girls’ soccer wins one final
‘ship for retiring coach
By Elizabeth Trujillo
ing record in his last year. We pretty much
OR 13 CONSECUTIVE seasons, the dedicated this season to Mr. Feibusch and his
girls’ varsity soccer team has shown the amazing legacy at Lowell.”
Feibusch is the perfect example of an inspicity that it never gets tired of being a
rational coach who coaches for the love of the
champion.
On May 8, the Cardinals came out of Boxer game. “I was practically born with a soccer ball
Stadium victorious once again with a close 1-0 at my feet. This was my life, my game, my love.”
win against the rival Washington Eagles. The Feibusch said. “I would hope that (my players)
Eagles gave the Cardinals the competition they would take up the fight to promote soccer and
were waiting for all year. From start to finish, the turn out to be decent human beings and coach
for the good of the game.”
game was not going to
On May 4, the girls tribe a typical win. “In my
umphed over the Lincoln
previous three seasons
Mustangs 1-0 in the playthe championship has
offs. Though the Cardinals
been a blow-out, but
dominated the game, the
this year we knew it
scoreboard did not show a
was going to be a closer
comfortable margin for the
game,” senior goalie
girls. “The team was a bit
Rachel Baskin said. “A
shaken up and we weren’t in
1-0 win made it feel
our usual formation but we
like we had worked
still made it through,” freshharder to win and was
much more satisfying ADRIENNE PEARCE and ALISSA GOLDBERG man midfielder Zoe Chartergirls’ soccer MVPs Kuo said.
than a blow-out.”
Although the girls could
Though the Cardinals gained another city title this year, they are not walk away with a perfect record, they walked
losing a long-time key to their success: head away with an impressive 9-3-1 league record.
coach Ernst Feibusch. Feibusch has made this “This season was amazing,” Baskin said. “We
season his last and is retiring after 44 years of are the most bonded team I’ve ever been on at
coaching at the school. “I wanted to make last Lowell.”
year Feierabend (a colloquial German term for
‘finished’), but the girls were absolutely delight- Most Valuable Players
ful and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to
The Lowell’s choices for most valuable players
stay,” Feibusch said. “Besides that, ego got in the
way because I thought we would win another are senior captain and sweeper Alissa Goldberg
and sophomore midfielder Adrienne “Deedee”
championship.”
The impending retirement of Feibusch gave Pearce. Goldberg has brought leadership and
the Cardinals yet another reason to win. “Of strength to the team. “Alissa was vital in keepcourse we want to win every year, but this year ing the back line together,” Burke said. Pearce
was even more important because it was Mr. has been a solid player for the past two years.
Feibusch’s last year,” junior defender Tamar “You can’t be an impact scorer if you don’t have
Burke said. “We didn’t want to tarnish his amaz- someone to get you the ball,” Estebez said.
F
JEREMY GAINES
Senior pitcher Nate Gilchrist hurls one of his infamous fastballs against the Eagles.
Varsity baseball finishes
season with whimper
By Nancy Nguyen
A
urgency,” Chen said. “We waited too long
to pick up the intensity.”
With the season over and seniors moving on to college, this means the beginning
of a new team. “I hope that the younger
players on the team remember
this disappointing feeling of
coming up short, and use it
to motivate them to take the
championship for the 2011
season,” senior centerfielder
Michael Inouye said.
COMBINATION of tears for a
disappointing loss and smiles
for an unforgettable season put
an end to the final huddle of the 2010
varsity baseball
team.
On May 6, the
varsity baseball team
said their final goodbyes to the closing
season with a devastating 5-8 loss to the
Most Valuable Players
Washington Eagles
NATE
GILCHRIST
and
NICK
ALLEN,
in the playoffs. “It was
varsity baseball MVPs
Due to their outstanding
difficult for the team
to have done so well all year winning 23 performances and leadership, senior
games and being in first place 13-1 all outfielder and pitcher Nate Gilchrist and
season only to have some breaks in the senior third base man and first base man
final game against Washington,” coach Nick Allen are The Lowell’s choices for
Most Valuable Players. “They not only
John Donohue said.
The Cardinals did not bring their full lead the team with their superior play, but
potential to the field in time, according to also motivated us with their inspirational
senior pitcher and designated hitter Chris speeches in team huddles,” senior pitcher
Chen. “We didn’t come out with a sense of and outfielder Sam Mallonee said.
Tennis coach leaves team with final victory at champs
By Ashley Wu
the beginning but we’ve all improved and we
VEN IF YOU have the skills, you came out on top,” junior number two doubles
can’t win without the mentality,” player William Zhu said.
C oach Jimmy
junior singles
Rosenheim looked
player Alex Zhu said.
the season’s turnOn May 13, the CardiWe were not clear over
out, appreciating how
nals lost at All-City with
much the team has
doubles players senior
victors from the
improved. “I’m really
Finnian Firth and junior
beginning...but we proud of our team,”
William Zhu placing third.
Rosenheim said. “The
The team was disapcame
out
on
top.”
team lost to Galileo
pointed, but is satisfied
2-5 during the season
with their sweeping win
and beat them 5-2 at
at the championship. The
WILLIAM ZHU,
the championship.
boys had fought their way
junior number two doubles player
This shows the growth
to the top and proved their
strength on May 6 to conquer the strongest of the team and shows that we extract the good
three schools. “We were not clear victors from from all situations.”
“E
W
“
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they sides and potentials they didn’t know existed
will have to make their way up to the cham- before, but who knows what I will be doing
pionship next year without their current in two years.”
coach. Rosenheim has
Most
Valuable Player
coached both the girls’
and boys’ tennis teams
at Lowell for three
The Lowell’s choice for MVP this
years, but will be leavseason is junior singles player Alex
ing the team to earn
Zhu who placed forth at All-City.
his masters degree
He has been challenged time and
in clinical psycholtime again this year by going up
ogy. “I enjoyed beagainst and prevailing against the
ing able to show high
top-ranked players from all over the
school students what
state and the city including Galileo’s
ALEX ZHU
varsity boys’ tennis MVP
I did in high school
number one singles player Juan Pablo
and watching them
Garcia. “Alex goes out there with a
mature and grow on the court,” Rosenheim good mindset and plays a clean set every time,”
said. “As a coach I can guide them to explore junior doubles player Kameron Chang said.
20 SPORTS
May 28, 2010
The Lowell
Gymnasts land a solid title in regionals
By Sharon Yee
happy with second place.”
Junior varsity gymnast Alexis Kinard placed
HE GYMNASTICS TEAM tumbled
over their competitors to land feet first seventh in the all-around individual event with
a score of 35.05, freshman varsity gymnast
on another victorious season. Heather Weiss placed tenth in
The varsity gymnastics
the all-around individual event
team unexpectedly placed
with a score of 34.85, and freshsecond at the North Santa
man varsity gymnast Tamara
Clara Valley Athletics League
Chan placed first in the vault
High School (SCVAL) Varsity
individual event with a score
Finals at Gymtowne Gymnasof 8.8.
tics on May 12 with a score of
The meet exceeded expec138.05, according to freshman
tations, and the team scored
varsity gymnast Jordan Ahn. “I
138.05 points to qualify for the
knew we would do great but I
Central Coast Section Chamdidn’t expect to get second,”
ALEXIS KINARD,
varsity gymnastics MVP
pionships (CCS), according to
Ahn said. The gymnasts only
sophomore varsity gymnast Ivy
set their bar to place third but
reached second, according to junior varsity Zeng. “We expected to receive enough points
gymnast Brianna Lam. “We were aiming for to make it to the CCS, but the actual score was
the top three and were not focused on winning,” a surprise because we beat Burlingame High
Lam said. “So the team and the coaches were School, who we lost to earlier in the season,”
T
Zeng said. “Previously, we skimmed finals
and barely qualified for the CCS, but this time
we exceeded the minimum score of 128 by a
margin.”
The JV gymnastics team finished off the
season on May 7, placing first after beating
seven other schools at the North SCVAL High
School Junior Varsity Finals at Gymtowne
Gymnastics in South San Francisco with 174.5
points. Senior JV gymnast Denise Chan placed
eighth in the individual rankings with a score
of 34.15, while senior JV gymnast Jessica Noss
placed ninth with a score of 34.05.
Most Valuable Player
The Lowell’s choice for varsity MVP is junior
Alexis Kinard, who placed highest out of team
in the finals. She also acts like a mentor, leader
and inspiration, according to Le. “She has
taught me some mental tricks that have helped
me improve,” Le said.
JEREMY GAINES
Junior varsity gymnast Alexis Kinard
flies into a solid grip on the vault.
Cardinals zip to All-City
Track runners sprint for college and past their weaknesses
By Tanzania Coleman
M
feature
OST SENIORS take
high school memories
with them to college,
but these two seniors are not
satisfied with keeping their sport
in the back of their mind, like
photos in a yearbook.
Senior runners Tamara Purpura and Safa
Mannah have made the
decision to continue
track in college. They
aim to become better
runners by gaining the
skills that college track
provides.
Mannah’s top choice
is UC-Davis and although track was not the deciding factor, it was still a plus
for him that he got accepted. “I
mainly wanted something to do
and I’m pretty good at it so I figured it would keep me in shape,”
Mannah said. “Also I enjoy it and
it would be an easy way to make
new friends.”
As for Purpura, track is her
chosen path to a special school
which she got accepted into.
“I wanted to run college track
because I actually got recruited,”
Purpura said. College track
coaches started contacting Purpura after the California State
Track Meet last year. “I’m going
to UCLA because I got a scholarship and the coach for UCLA
went to the Olympics four times
for the 800-meter race,” Purpura
said. “Basically the coaches have
a lot of experience and know
everything.” Purpura visited a
few schools including UCLA
where the coaches would discuss
scholarship opportunities. “I’m
so pumped for college track,”
Purpura said. “When UCLA told
me I could get a scholarship, I
thought that was pretty generous.
I was so excited and happy.”
The prestigious Lowell track
team has motivated and prepared
these seniors to take it to the next
level. “I’m going to prepare for
college track by staying in shape
in the summer and going to their
summer retreat,” Purpura said.
Mannah also plans to keep
in shape over the summer by
working out with his coach and
possibly working out with the
City College track team. “Hopefully I will learn more about how
sports operate at the college level
and what it takes to compete at
that level,” Mannah said.
Purpura shares a similar goal
with Mannah. “I want to run well
at the state meet for my senior
year,” Purpura said. With inspiration and motivation to pursure
track and field, these seniors will
uphold the Lowell legacy and
continue charging towards the
finish line and past it, to UCLA
and UC-Davis.
By Lester Ma
ing 41 feet in three jumps, beating his
HE TRIPLE JUMPER starts off personal best of 40 feet and the school
slow and gradually accelerates record of 38 feet.
Although no official scores were
as his first, second, and third
jumps crash into the sand and beat the being kept at the McAteer meet,
head coach Andy Leong entered the
record of 38 feet!
On May 13, the Cardinals scraped athletes to test their improvement. In
the competition in intense jumps, ex- addition to this competitive practice,
the repositioning
treme field events
of some of the
and heated runs at
the McAteer meet
We still have some runners balances
the playing field
against Lincoln,
holes in our team, in the upcomWashington and
events and
Ga li le o. Many
but we’re closing ing
All-City meet.
athletes such as
“We’re trying to
seniors Katherthe gap.”
get Lowell athine Jarvis, Tony
Wong, junior Leo
ANDY LEONG, letes to match up
Harrington and
track coach with Lincoln athletes in the same
sophomore Will
Chen are stepping up as All-City events,” Leong said. “We still have
contenders in multiple events. Jarvis, some holes in our team, but we’re closa varsity girls’ sprinter, participated in ing the gap.”
Come support the Cardinals at the
the long jump event and planted a 16.8
feet jump while Wong, a varsity boys’ All-City Finals at 9 a.m. on May 29 at
sprinter, took up the triple jump, leap- Buchanan High School.
T
W
“
May 28, 2010
The Lowell
COLUMNS
21
Exotic EDUCATION
Join two college-bound seniors as they choose to study outside the lower 48 states for exciting
locations, pine trees and pineapples, with maple syrup and macadamia nuts along the way.
North American neighbor tempts freshman-to-be
By Caitlin McKewan
M
Y HEART WAS POUNDING as the sweat beaded on
my brow. My hands shook as I reached for my mouse
to enter my username and password. A notification
popped up, telling me I had one unread message. Visions of
“I’m sorry, you’ve been rejected!” flew through my head and
my stomach churned. But then, fifteen letters filled the screen:
“Congratulations!” I’d been accepted into the University of
British Columbia’s Faculty of Arts, and within seconds, my
future was set.
The first time I heard about the University of British Columbia at Vancouver, it was just another college on my endless
list of schools to which I was obligated to apply if I didn’t want
to spend the next four years of my life at home. But as the list
got shorter, UBC fought its way to the top. I struggled with the
frustration of rolling acceptances, but the night I was accepted,
I surprisingly found myself crying with joy.
After sending in my Statement of Intent to Register, I realized
that I’d never really thought much about our friendly neighbor to the North before applying to college, and even before
accepting the offer of admission. Sure, my heart flutters with
excitement at the sound of the words “oot” and “aboot,” but had
I really thought about what life as a Canadian resident would be
like? In the weeks after my acceptance, I would randomly blurt
out questions to whoever would listen, such as “Do they have
Jamba Juice in Canada?” and, “Do I get Thanksgiving break off?”
I soon discovered I would be sipping smoothies during classes in the last week of November while my friends in American
universities gorged themselves on turkey and cranberry sauce. I
also learned that I’d have to drop my loyalty to Verizon Wireless
and become accustomed to Canada’s Rogers Wireless, as well as
suppress my cravings for In-N-Out and tasty Mission burritos.
In an attempt to curb
my disappointment, I
checked the weather,
hoping at least
for an exciting
change in climate, only to be
slapped in the
face by reports
of all too familiar predictions of
MON
constant rain, fog and
ICA
ZHA
NG
snow from October
to April.
Despite these setbacks, I was determined to cross the
border with high expectations, but had yet
to discover anything
truly positive that set
the Canuck culture
apart from that of the US. My friends teased me, telling me I’d
become an avid, flannel-wearing hockey fan, douse my meals in
maple syrup, and end every sentence in “eh?” They laughed, but
I second-guessed myself. Maybe UBC wasn’t the right choice,
and maybe I should have stayed closer to home and closer to the
culture to which I’d become so accustomed. If I’d just enrolled
in UC-Santa Cruz, I could still chow down on California cuisine, keep my trusty cell phone service and go to Sharks games
every once in a while, all from the safety of my own home state.
I also worried that I’d have to get used to a new Queen-hon-
oring system of government, the Canadian
health care system and
even a new currency
system in the form
of pink paper money
and “loonies.” The stereotypically peaceful
country presented me
with so many daunting possibilities, and
I became panicky and
ove r w hel me d. Not
only would I be leaving
home to live with complete strangers, I would
be adjusting to another
country entirely.
But amidst my
panic, I realized that
all these prospective
problems were really
what I was excited about. I was leaving home anyway, so why
not go all out in a new nation? And the simpler obstacles were
entirely manageable. As a native San Franciscan, fog and wind
and rain bring me a sense of comfort. And a dusting of snow
never hurt anyone; I could spend my winter breaks and weekends in Whistler, sipping hot chocolate and learning to ski. I
want to battle the elements, adopt new slang and become a
true Vancouver Canucks fan, even if it means starving myself
of In-N-Out’s signature Cheddar-coated animal-style fries. I’ll
just replace the cheese with maple syrup.
Girl opts for collegiate experience in tropical oasis
By Destiny Vaughn
E
VERY TIME I TELL someone I’m going
to University of Hawai’i at Hilo, I get the
obvious comments about combing the
perfect sandy beaches, exchanging studying for surfing, and living in a tropical
paradise. However, Hilo
is the rainiest city in the
United States, and I don’t
even like the San Francisco
fog that much. Nonetheless,
I submitted my intent-toregister to Hilo this past
April without hesitation.
However, a crippling case
of cold feet overcame me
on May 1 — the national intent-to-register
deadline. From my early morning wake-up, I
stared down nearly every clock I encountered
until 11:59 p.m., when my choice would be
permanent and my other options would fly off
the table. I spent the whole day weighing my
two choices: either stick with Hilo or register
at my second choice school, San Jose State University. Finally, I realized the real war raging in
my mind — to stay near home or to leave?
I never imagined myself leaving The City.
All of my memories thus
far lay scattered around
the many districts of San
Francisco. Born and raised
in The Sco, I appreciate its
“sunny” beaches and the
mixture of cultures that call
it home. I do not think I
will be able to abandon my
Northern California slang,
especially the words “hella”
and “janky,” considering
that they both come out
of my mouth fifty times a day. Forever, I will
proudly sport my San Francisco Giants hoodie
and my IYSF T-shirt.
I frequently imagine myself scouring the
Big Island for a Mission District super burrito
stuffed with carne asada, rice, beans, fresh guacamole and cheese or one of Chinatown’s sun-
shine yellow dan tat with its mouthwatering,
flaky crust. I fear that these delicacies would
never have the same San Francisco taste that
has spoiled my taste buds for the past 18 years.
And yet I asked myself, “Would I really
want to keep running back to a place I already
know so well?” Putting on my rose-colored
glasses, I mulled over my decision and I realized that I was choosing something good for
me. I can always come back to the City by the
Bay during winter and summer breaks. Now is
the time to explore another part of the world.
Once we’re over the trademark comments
about sand and water sports, some friends still
question my sanity: Why would I want to exile
myself from my University of California and
California State University-bound peers to a
small island in the middle of the Pacific? Sure,
the rain will take some getting used to and
Hilo is a five-hour plane ride away, but I crave
exposure to different cultures of the world.
I can take a walk down the famous Banyan
Drive where celebrities plant the eponymous
trees. Off of Banyan Drive are the Lili’uokalani
Gardens, authentic Japanese gardens that
were built as a memorial to the immigrant
Japanese and named in honor of Hawai’i’s
last reigning monarch. And I’ll finally see real
coconut palms and hula dancers at festivals.
Although I worry about butchering street
names such as Waianuenuea, Kanoelehua or
West Puainako and even the name of my dorm
building (please drop me a line if you know
how to pronounce Hale Kauanoe), I am still
excited to immerse myself in the multi-syllabic
language. The opportunity to come back and
amaze my friends and family with my mastery
of Hawaiian pidgin is another perk.
Even though I am leaving, I will always have
my special memories of eating crepes in Japantown, chomping down dim sum in Chinatown
or Clement Street and walking along the foggy
Ocean Beach. Maybe even an impending absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
But until I come back, I’m going to wake up,
smell the Kona coffee and watch the blue ocean
waves spattered with raindrops. I have a new
beginning and I couldn’t be happier.
22 COLUMNS
Lowell High School
May 28, 2010
Enamored girl fantasizes over unattainable stars
By Bonnie Tong
W
In my defense, by no means do I purposely
rank attractive males according to their ethnicity or age. It just so happens that all my
unrealistic crushes are on older white men,
while most of my more accessible real-life
crushes have been on Asian boys slightly
younger than me.
A coincidence? I’d like to believe so. Nevertheless, I suspect that this has to do with a
subconscious desire to go against the expectations of my peers and myself. Growing up
in Chinatown and attending schools with
mega-Asian populations has led me to interact
more with people of my own ethnicity. The
typical Chinese boys have become too much
the norm and I crave a different type of fish
from this big blue sea. Since I am
a December baby, I am older
than nearly 90 percent of the
guys in my grade. Recently,
to her delight and against
my defense, my
friend completed yet another round of ridiculing me about my taste in the male species.
We then noticed two classmates — both Asian
boys slightly younger than me — playing some
sort of game that appeared to be a muddled
cross between thumb wrestling and thumb
twiddling. I gave my friend a knowing look and
triumphantly declared my delayed comeback,
“Okay, this is why I do not go for guys my age!”
Actually, Chinese boys have been the
victims of all my real-life infatuations, from
the little bouts of puppy love to the big fatty
crushes. But in my ideal world, I would be
with considerably more “exotic” men, rather
than the Chinese boys who have become all
too familiar. This hypothesis may sound rather
ridiculous, but I have convinced myself that it
is an understandable
explanation to give
to my friends’ inquiring minds. I
am still consider-
ing the usage of “bonnielikesoldwhitemen” as a
password one day, after my friend half-jokingly, half-seriously suggested the idea countless
times. Simultaneously, I agree to expand my
horizons in celebrity adorations (hello, Jerry
Yan, my favorite Taiwanese singer and actor!).
While these two goals may seem to conflict,
I will nonetheless loyally insist on my romantic
roots, continue to idolize my more mature
heartthrob headliners and again develop silly
crushes on silly schoolboys. I’m actually not a
creeper; I’m just a starry-eyed hopeful.
Who knows, as I tan on the sunny San
Diego beaches this fall, I may even meet some
demographically different, yet attractive students from the University of
California-San Diego who
will completely revolutionize my checklist!
MONICA ZHANG
HILE MY FRIENDS obsess over
celebrities like Korean singing
sensation Taeyang, werewolf hottie Taylor Lautner and Olympic speed-skating
sweetheart J.R. Celski, I faithfully paste pictures of Johnny Depp, Wentworth Miller and
Joseph Gordon-Levitt on my walls and folders.
The latter three celebrities all share similarities: they are generally categorized as white
men who are, to an average teen, considered
past their prime; their acting abilities have
perpetually kept me in awe. In a nutshell, I
have a tendency to like older white guys. But
while people may feel the urge to take out their
labeling machines and start stamping “creeper”
on my forehead, I have a variety of reasons for
why the majority of my celebrity crushes have
been on white men who are at least a decade
past my 18 years.
I love Depp’s mascara-ed and dreadlocked
swagger in Pirates of the Caribbean; I swoon
over Miller’s amazingly fit and intricately tattooed body in Prison Break; I am enchanted
by Gordon-Levitt’s boy-next-door
look in (500) Days of Summer.
They make up the top three on
my “hot guys list,” each blessed
with head-turning good looks,
amazing acting talents and just
plain awesomeness. I once took
the 1-California bus home and
just happened to sit across from
a white male with — bonus! —
sparkly blue eyes and an irresistible
foreign accent. My five-minute long
infatuation developed approximately two
seconds after he looked up to ask whether or
not the bus headed toward the Embarcadero.
Before he even had the chance to complete the
five-syllable word, I interrupted with a breathless “Yes, yes it does,” developing a momentary
obsession with this stranger. He was perfect;
he met all the requirements of my fantasy men
with his ethnicity, age, appearance and absolute
unattainable status. Busy student forfeits full love life for full schedule
By Daisy Chung
“T
HE FIRST PERSON TO GET a boyfriend wins.
The winner treats the loser to dinner.” My best
friend and I made this pact four years ago, back
when we were naïve freshmen entering high school. Being the
boy-crazy girl that I was in middle school, I thought that within
a week I would head out to the Cheesecake
Factory as my friend dug into her pocket for
her allowance. However, like everything else
in life, my wishes didn’t go according to plan.
My best friend found someone by the second
month of high school and won the bet. I didn’t
mind too much since I knew I still had four
years to bump into the Prince Charming who
would sweep me off my feet.
Like a sponge, I eagerly entered high school
with my mind ready to absorb new ideas and
meet new people. Shallow as it sounds, I would
enthusiastically scan each of my classes to scout out the cutest
guys to flirt with. I would rely on my biological instincts (where
the female species are automatically attracted to the male species due to their ability to provide and protect) and their “oh
damnnnnnnn, he’s fine!” for me to approach these cuties. But
some problem would result in us being “just friends”. From
stubbornness and unrequited crushes to miscommunication
or a loss of interest, relationships never seemed to work.
By my junior year, I had three focuses in school: my grades,
my SAT scores and my extracurricular activities. Throughout
each day, my concentration would be dedicated primarily to
academic work and improving my grades. My daily after-school
schedule would consist of the typical routine necessary to go to
a “good college”: sports, jobs, clubs. Rinse and
repeat. To get to University of California-Los
Angeles, my dream college, I would devote
free time in between classes or Muni commutes to flip through my endless stack of SAT
vocabulary cards. Needless to say, with such a
hectic junior year schedule, I not only had no
time for a boyfriend, but I did not even have
time to spend with friends.
Surprisingly, second semester senior year
had arrived in the blink of an eye. Rumored
to be a semester ruled by slack behavior, I
thought my life might finally slow down, perhaps even allowing
me time to finally meet a potential Romeo. Boy, was I wrong.
This semester had proven to be both the busiest and most
stressful one out of all eight semesters I have spent at Lowell.
So much for the calm after a storm.
I thought back on the bet and realized I had (almost) completed my high school career without a steady boyfriend. Sure,
there were those occasional summer flings and puppy love
moments. But for better or for worse, none of these had ever
escalated to the boyfriend level. I’ll admit that occasionally I
would eye my friends’ relationships jealously, desiring cozy
romance. The green-eyed monster would be forced out of hiding while I suffered through the sight of boyfriends wrapping
their muscular arms around my friends on chilly afternoons.
Don’t even get me started on all the overly cheesy, yet sweet
good night texts my friends have received.
Yet this is not a pathetic plea for a boyfriend; I am absolutely
fine with my perpetually single status over the past four years.
During these years I was able to mature from a boy-crazy girl
to someone serious about her education. Nowadays, I will even
ignore a Taylor Lautner look-a-like for the sake of boosting my
grade from an A- to an A. By spending time pursuing extracurricular activities, taking challenging classes, and meeting new
people, I was able to learn more about myself and my interests.
Technically speaking, senior year is not over and I have
about a week to get a boyfriend before I officially declare myself
boyfriend-less throughout high school. Who knows, maybe
prom will catalyze a spark between me and my date, or maybe
my heart will beat faster when a guy’s hand lightly brushes mine
as we both reach for the ketchup at the senior picnic. But for
now, Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” will have to suffice as an accurate
anthem for my high school years.
Savvy boy enhances his happiness quota, drains peers’
By Scott Davis
A
S A YOUNG LAD, I never squandered
my time even while wasting it. I made
it my mission to understand what my
peers seemed to easily obtain without any real
effort: happiness.
While other children carelessly blew out
their birthday candles, wishing for ponies,
love and political power, I wished for an understanding of how joy manifests itself. As the
years went on, I noticed that as my joy shot
upward, the joy of my peers plummeted faster
than the crash of ’29.
After learning the first law of thermodynamics in physics, I realized that joy func-
tions a lot like energy. Fueling us, it makes us
work hard. Like energy, joy is conserved over
time and cannot be created
or destroyed; it just changes
hands and possibly shape. For
example, have you ever found a
really cool pen that just makes
your day? Did you ever think
about the person who lost it?
According to my law of conservation of happiness, you have
just drained that person’s joy
levels, you greedy goblin.
As I sat in my history class last year, fantasizing about sleeping for hours and playing
Pokémon, I vaguely heard my teacher make an
urgent announcement. To my utter shock and
awe, he was praising a superior
essay which brilliantly compared the American Civil War
and the less successful French
“revolution.”
My shock and awe were not
due to the fact that someone
had aptly written an essay on
this topic, but that I, Scott Davis, was its creator. As I sat in
my seat festering with pride, I
could feel about 20 sets of eyes glaring at me
with resentment.
Clearly their hard work did not get them
the same satisfaction that I received, and I had
drained their joy. It felt good. My half-baked
efforts had resulted in this amazing piece of
work, and I was benefiting from my unmerited
success. It was almost as satisfying as sneaking
a slice from a stranger’s birthday cake before
the candles were even out.
So the next time you win the lottery or get
to ride shotgun, don’t forget that your happiness is built on a foundation of your peers’ misery. Cake always goes down far more sensually
when there aren’t any other pesky, joy-sucking
vampires around to “share” it with. After all,
what are we, commies?
May 28, 2010
The Lowell
COLUMNS
23
Tech-inept teen battles electronic enemies
By Rachel Hwang
W
HATEVER moral support, bad jokes, gifts
or services are shared
between a couple, a healthy relationship depends on a balanced
exchange. When one member of the
pair consistently wears the pants,
problems arise. With this in mind,
I recently began to question my
long-term polygamous relationship
with the various electronic devices
in my life. Judging from my negative
experiences yet continued reliance
on the likes of Ipods, laptops and cell
phones, the pants were now riding
squarely on polyethylene tush.
My friends are in the habit of
blaming my serial relationships with
eight cell phones, three mp3 players
and three computer replacements on
some combination of my poor coordination, absent-minded tendencies
and general misfortune. I, however,
have noticed a far more dangerous
trend: my crippling dependency
on devices, which inconvenience
me when they break, embarrass me
when they malfunction and cost a
bundle to boot.
Phones, Internet connections
and wireless printers time and time
again mysteriously fail at crucial
moments, leaving me screwed. My
family pays for the privilege of having a car navigation system strand
us in suburbia. My father even pays
extra for voice recognition software,
which, in a pleasant British accent,
politely asks us to repeat ourselves
more often than it gives directions.
Rather than focusing on my budding conspiracy theory, I realized the
fault lay with me, and not because
of my high chassis count. Technology has proven itself to behave
maliciously in its deviously illtimed malfunctions. Giving
it power over my well-being
is simply asking for abuse.
What started as a symbiotic
relationship between man and machine has evolved into a crutch for
humanity’s ineptitude.
Personally, I refuse to be the
barnacle in the whale-barnacle relationship. I reassert my dominance
by preparing for disaster, for the
inevitable circumstance in which
technology will pull the rug out from
under me once again.
When a rogue soda renders my
keyboard useless, I will handwrite
my English paper in perfectly
adequate cursive. When a phone
battery or poor reception ren-
ders a close friend unreachable, I will
walk to their house and demand the
$12.50 I am owed. And
whether I’m leading
my peers home by their
carpal-tunnel plagued
wrists when their iPhone compass apps someday fail, or waving
gleefully from my bicycle at a neighbor who has discovered a design
flaw in his Segway mid-commute,
when electromagnetic disaster hits,
I will be ready.
I know from experience that
Murphy’s law (what can go wrong
will go wrong) can be all too true,
yet it’s not luck, but our starry-eyed
infatuation with the likes of Apple
and Sony products that may prevent
humanity from jumping ship when
our one-sided relationship with
technology turns abusive. I, at least,
know better.
There are plenty of
other fish in the sea,
and not all of them are
battery-operated.
MY
TAM
G
YIN
Holiday enthusiast Americanized girl teased
lets go of traditions for unique cultural tastes
.
By Sharon Yee
I
ALWAYS JUMP AT the chance to
dress in festive garb on holidays,
like wearing a green felt clover pin
on St. Patrick’s Day. I break out my red,
heart-covered shirts and hand out pink
Hershey’s Kisses taped to children’s Harry Potter Valentine cards on Valentine’s
Day. I fill plastic pastel eggs with bunnyshaped chocolates on Easter. Especially,
I distribute candy to my friends so I
can spread my holiday joy by activating
everyone’s sweet tooth. However, I realize that packaging
candy to distribute every holiday is more
than a little childish. I have distributed
Valentine cards and Halloween candy
since preschool, but the idea of expanding the giveaways to other holidays had
not popped into my head until I perused
the candy-filled shelves of Walgreens
during Christmas time in sixth grade.
I couldn’t resist snatching up the bellshaped chocolates and candy canes to
hand out in addition to
my traditional Christmas presents. When
I entered high school
though, I noticed that
no one else celebrated
holidays as fervently
as I did. As I handed
a friend an Easter egg
this past April, she commented, “Wow, no one
has done this for me
since I was five.” The
comment was meant to be a compliment
on my kindness, but it also reaffirmed
my high school resolution to end the
tradition before I ended up dressed as
Santa Claus slipping Christmas cards
and candy canes under the doors in
my college dorm. It would be just plain
weird to hand out candy on holidays as
an adult. Who wants to be the creepy
candy-giving coworker who never quite
grew up?
Therefore, I celebrated my last candygiving holiday on April 22 of my senior
year, when I offered organic, fair trade
chocolate drops to my friends in celebration of Earth Day. I will miss these
holiday giveaways, but I don’t want to
be the only one handing out Happy
Bunny Valentine cards on my way to a
job interview.
Ending my candy cane tradition is
only one of the changes that I will have
to face in the transition from high school
to college. Since it is also the transition
from childhood to adulthood, my entire
lifestyle will need adjustment. I will have
to do my own laundry, pay bills, learn
how to cook and even maintain a job,
which will be challenging because my
friends always say, “Sharon, you are one
of the most childish people that I know.”
My favorite colors are pink and baby
blue, I am incredibly dependent on my
parents and I love to bedazzle everything
I own ­— my friends from middle school
all agree that ...I haven’t changed at all.
I know the writing is on the wall. I
embrace being a kid, though. Childhood
is the liveliest time of a person’s life,
if not the best. I sometimes wish that
Neverland from Peter
Pan was on my horizon instead of droning research papers
and frustrating taxes.
Clearly, this is not the
first time that I am hiding from the looming
“grownup!” monster.
I dread every birthday because it means
that I am getting older,
even if just by one year.
Usually, such anxiety signals a midlife
crisis, but I stopped looking forward to
birthdays when I was shocked at being
called a “teenager.”
Will college be different? I remind
myself that most people are hesitant
towards change at first. And I also know
that I have survived life’s rollercoaster so
far, so I will probably get used to college
after sticking it out for a month or two.
I am actually looking forward to living
independently, even if not in Neverland,
and developing as a person. College will
probably turn out to be better than I
think, despite the absence of Sweethearts
and candy corn.
By Kimberly Wong
I
AM WHITE-WASHED. Yes, it’s true, I am
Chinese, but those who know me recognize
that I lack certain cultural characteristics,
like being fluent in any one of the eleven major
Chinese dialects. Though to the untrained eye,
I might look like your average Chinese girl who
eats rice three times a day and feels constantly
stressed out from the heap of soon-to-be-finished
homework piling up in her backpack, I have
another side entirely: white Kimmie.
As a Chinese girl living in an American world,
my taste in food has been influenced accordingly. I favor eating Americanized “fake” Chinese food
like orange chicken and sweet
and sour pork from Panda
Express or Rice Garden over
the traditional rice porridge
that hides a thousand-year-old
egg in its chunky gloop. Even
though every bite is packed
and loaded with MSG that
could most definitely give me
a heart attack in a second, I
would rather eat the food sitting on greasy trays
adorned with English labels rather than point
sheepishly at the hot racks of steamed cha siu
baos in a bakery on Clement Street, unsuccessful
in communicating my snack order to the server.
Just like my acquired taste for brand-name
food, the music escaping my iPhone sounds
different from that of most Asians I know of. I
choose rock bands like Linkin Park and Daughtry
over high-pitched Korean pop singers like Rain
and Se7en. In their music video “What I’ve Done,”
Linkin Park addresses the irony of humanity and
its destructive impact on the world, whereas Rain
always sings about another tryst between him and
his newfound crush. Seeing my Korean singercrazed friends fawn over and become love struck
by these singers makes me wonder why anyone
would want to listen to the same old love ballad
story again and again. Guy falls for girl. Girl’s too
shy to talk to guy. Guy coaxes girl with bright red
roses. After five grueling long minutes of handholding, the couple ends up together, happily
ever after. This just screams unrealistic fantasy.
Others just tease me and that’s when it is plain
embarrassing to be white-washed. The biggest
critics come from my own flesh and blood. Most
of my relatives ridicule me about my failed efforts to speak the family language. When I try
to thank my grand-aunt in Cantonese for her
homemade sweet rice treats, she always makes
me say the name of the treat to her. “Boo-jih-go,”
I attempt. Then she laughs at me, belittling me
with each “ha!” she coughs out. Whenever my
aunts and uncles speak to me in Cantonese, I
try to avoid their gaze, prompting them to giggle
with glee. The whole time, I nod my head, deaf
to every single word that comes out of my relatives’ mouths with feelings of regret, knowing
that I never took Chinese school seriously. My
halfhearted attempts probably explain why I
failed Chinese kindergarten and would have had
better luck learning sign language.
When I was eight years old and still attending
that dreaded Chinese school in
North Beach, I remember my
presentation of a Chinese skit
to my schoolmates, feeling like
an outsider to all of them. Even
at an early age, I was mortified
while standing in front of my
fluent Cantonese-speaking
peers, at a loss for words. My
teacher had laughed, thinking
this little kid’s mistake was cute.
I could feel my face get hotter
and hotter. Much to my chagrin, these embarrassing episodes have continued with me throughout
high school, each more humiliating than the last.
Just last semester, even my good friend made
fun of my language “disability” when I met up
with her at her locker and asked “Hey, what’s that
Ma guy’s first name?” raising my voice an octave
higher over the “Ma” part of his name. Confused,
my friend asked why I said his last name weirdly.
Obviously, I was unaware that Mandarin is spoken with four tones and, in using the wrong one, I
changed the meaning of the word from horse to a
gab of gibberish. I realized my mistake only after
tears of laughter flooded her eyes and an ear-toear smile cracked onto her face. I couldn’t help
but feel peeved that I yet again was being teased
for my inexperience in speaking Mandarin. Even
worse, the mockery came from my friend.
While my lack of knowledge of Chinese
customs seems like something to hoot about for
my relatives and friends, I’m here to say that I’ve
accepted this about myself. Laugh all you want
at my Americanized lifestyle. Laugh at my mispronunciation. Laugh at my failure in Chinese
kindergarten. While some may call it an identity
crisis, I call it a way of expressing myself. After all,
as long as I say “do-jeh” before happily munching
on my grand-aunt’s rice treats, she doesn’t mind
that I’m still an “honorary white.” Why should
any one else?
The Lowell
May 28, 2010
OPINION
Racial
25
Students weigh in on the recent controversy evoked by media coverage of a
possible increase in crime by African-Americans against the Asian community.
Crimes originate in opportunity
African-Americans need voice
any people believe that two
details make the killing of Tian
Sheng Yu, a 59-year-old Chinese man, such a prominent issue: Yu was
attacked in broad daylight in Oakland’s
bustling business district. More importantly,
his attackers were black. Many people have
reacted loudly to this event, compounded
by the recent string of attacks on Muni’s TThird Street train route, and labelled them
black-on-Asian crime. Undoubtedly, these
are all deplorable acts; all forms of violence
are wrong. However, when people sum up
these recent events and label them as an
alarming increase in black-on-Asian crime,
they wrongfully blame the entire AfricanAmerican community for the actions of a
handful of dangerous youths.
The assailants behind Sheng Yu’s brutal
death and those responsible for the three
recent attacks on Muni’s T-line all share one
common trait, and it is not the presumption
that they are all black. Most of the attackers
have yet to be racially identified, as reported
by both The Examiner and KTVU, but every
suspect has been a teenager. It is easy for all of us to point fingers when
we are angry, but blaming the entire AfricanAmerican community is reprehensible.
According to KTVU News, the people who
helped the Asian woman who was thrown
off a Muni platform on March 22 included
African-Americans. When viewed in a
he recent violence on Asian-Americans in San Francisco’s Bayview
District is a travesty. However, the
current media spike covering the recent
Asian-American victims in the Bayview
District is another example of the juxtaposition between the value of a model
minority to American society versus an
African-American. African-Americans make up only seven
percent of the city population while AsianAmericans make up 30, but according to
sfgate.com, despite the smaller number of
people, the African-American victim rate
is still two points higher than that of the
Asian-American victim rate. Black-onblack crime and police-on-black crime are
daily occurrences in the Bayview yet, The
Chronicle deems these events too common,
or possibly unimportant, to cover.
This is not an abstract controversy to
me. On April 25, a friend and I were driving
through the Haight District when we saw
three young black men attack a black youth
behind the McDonald’s located on Haight
and Stanyan. Someone called the police,
who came 40 minutes later, as the rest of
us watched helplessly. The next morning
I woke up and checked The Chronicle and
The Examiner to see if there had been coverage of the incident — neither had any.
This lack of coverage compared to the
coverage of Yu’s tragedy, 10 articles in a
M
larger context, these attacks do not indicate a
black-on-Asian crime trend, but youth crime
publicized by media.
Since black-on-Asian crime only accounts for a small portion of all violence
in the Bay Area, maybe race is not as big a
factor as simple opportunity. Contributor
to New America Media, Amanze Emenike,
who himself used to rob Asians and Latinos explained that he was taught to target
these immigrant groups because they usually did not have extended family relations
that would later seek him for revenge. As
reported by The New York Times, Reverend
Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial Church explains that “one [ethnic] group may emerge
because they’ve got greater population and
another group feels pushed out — feels
like they don’t have any voice anymore.”
Although tension may exist between some
individual African-Americans and Asians,
these crimes simply are not black-on-Asian
crimes.
When we look at these seemingly racist
attacks and contrast them with all Bay Area
crime, we see the same problem. Youth in
poverty-stricken neighborhoods, frustrated
by their own stressful situations, seek easy
targets as outlets for their anger. Asian citizens make easy targets. All of a sudden these
incidents do not seem racially motivated,
but motivated by simple opportunity.
— Joe Fiorello
T
week, says two things: one, the protection
and safety of the stereotypically law-abiding Asian-American population is more
important than that of the African-American population. And two, the mainstream
media and city government considers it
more important for San Francisco citizens
to be made aware that Asian-Americans
have been involved in a few isolated incidents of violence than the reality that
African-Americans are also victims.
But we cannot place all the blame on
The Chronicle for the lack of concern for
the black community. African-Americans,
including myself, have been too satisfied
with pointing fingers at the people we
hold responsible for our economic and
social troubles instead of taking action to
spread awareness of the crime and lack
of resources in our neighborhoods. The
African-American population needs to organize rallies, hand out tabloids, call town
meetings — anything to spread awareness
of the rising African-American victim rate.
Awareness is the start; however, unity
is the key. Tensions between the black
community and the Asian community are
unnecessary. Energy should be harnessed
to solve the real question facing both our
communities: what are we going to do to
change these statistics in both our victimized populations?
— Anthony Clay
jjjjjjjj
Stop incidents from escalating
Increase cultural understanding
ome in the Asian community of the
Bay Area argue that the recent assaults involving African-Americans
attacking Asian-Americans were racially
motivated. I believe that regardless of what
caused the violence, controlling the interracial community’s urge to respond with
hostility is of greater importance.
Whether this string of attacks was racially charged is questionable and it would
be reckless and irresponsible to conclude
that the general population of AsianAmericans is a specific target of AfricanAmerican violence based on these few
incidents. To attempt to prove that there is
a racial correlation is futile, because these
attacks were isolated incidents with no
relation to each other. Rather, it behooves
the Asian community to respond to these
crimes with careful forethought.
Passionate feelings of fear, frustration
or anger are extremely difficult to suppress,
especially if a person feels that his or her
people are targets of malicious victimization. However, both individuals and the
Bay Area’s interracial community will
benefit when they resist the impulse to react
with heated words.
Since Oakland and the greater Bay Area
have always been very ethnically diverse,
occasional bouts of conflicts due to racial
tension should not be surprising. However,
the entire interracial community should
tereotypically, Asians are soft-spoken
and obedient, which often gives the
impression that they are vulnerable
victims. However, after recent random assaults in San Francisco on Asian-Americans,
the Asian community came together to
protest in front of City Hall on May 4th. It seems that because of this perceived vulnerability, Asian-Americans have become
victims of violent attacks by African-Americans. The lack of understanding between
African-Americans and Asian-Americans is
the result of a language barrier and cultural
misunderstanding, which can make this
population appear to be an easy target.
The hesitation of some victims to report
crimes further reinforces the stereotype of
soft-spoken Asians. Many Asian-American
victims do not go to the police out of fear
of an inability to bridge the language gap
and of being misunderstood. According
to C.W. Nevius, a reporter of the San Francisco Chronicle, some Asian-Americans are
ashamed to report the crimes inflicted upon
them. Mrs. Cheng, a 52-year-old woman who
was thrown off a Muni platform by a 15-yearold African-American boy, said in Nevius’s
article, “I feel ashamed that this horrible
bad luck has happened to me.” Although she
suffered injuries, Mrs. Cheng does not want
retribution against the perpetrator for fear
of retaliation. Her decision reinforces the
image of an un-rebellious Asian-American
S
not allow the fevered emotions and misguided speculation that result from these
isolated incidents to escalate into a full-on
race conflict between the different ethnic
niches of the Bay Area.
We are all reminded of the 1992 Los Angeles race riots that resulted from mounting
tensions between the Asian-American,
African-American and Hispanic-American
communities who shared neighborhoods in
close proximity. Fortunately, the Bay Area
has not experienced a similar catastrophic
event fueled by rising racial tension. We do
not want the ill will evoked by the recent
string of crimes to be the first step towards
such an outcome. Simply acknowledging
the danger of setting our progress in race
relations backwards may constitute a step
forward, but it is not enough.
Deliberation over whether the attacks
were racially motivated is ultimately futile.
Instead, we must rise above this counterintuitive thought process, and include all
stakeholders and groups involved in a dialogue to reach a new level of understanding and cooperation. For the interracial
community, the all-important action of
not retaliating will absolutely make this
first step possible. Such a vital step will
help prevent further racial conflict and
spur the possibility of rebuilding a strong
community identity.
— Sean Lee
S
community. This self-perpetuating problem
should be solved. The city should instigate a
more effective translator program to enable
people to raise issues about safety and to give
victims the opportunity to explain.
The San Francisco Police Department
plans to place 32 police officers around the
Visitacion Valley and Bayview District, but
this will not alleviate tension or increase
understanding. The added police officers
will not bring the communities together.
Another major factor in the misunderstanding between the two groups starts in
schools — education now includes segregation. The public schools are not purposely
segregated, but because most students are
allotted into school based on their neighborhoods, some SFUSD schools are not diverse
enough. A Bayview District School, KIPP
Bayview Academy, has a student population of 67.3 percent African-Americans
compared to 2.8 percent Asian-Americans
students. Students cannot learn the aspects
of other cultures by interacting with different races. The district should host city-wide
events to help students expand their cultural
understanding. The May protest served as
encouragement for Asian-Americans to
report crimes, but the city should work
with minorities to increase communication
between ethnic groups.
— Nancy Wu
PROM
Alternatives To Prom Let Everyone Party
By Shirley Xu
W
ITH THE GLORIOUS flowering
of spring comes the flu season.
But not just that; students everywhere are suffering from Bieber fever, spring
fever and prom fever.
The only thing that pushes a senior
through the seemingly endless battle of Advanced Placement exams and onslaught of finals is the bubbling anticipation of one school
event that seniors everywhere have fantasized
about since they first heard the word: “prom.”
Ever since graduating teenagers first preened
in fancy clothes and danced the night away
in 1920, prom has become an essential rite
of passage for most high school students.
But what is the true essence of prom? Over
the decades, prom has transformed from a
magical night of good-natured co-ed fun to
a wild night-to-early-morning of dirty dancing, exhibition of wealth and, in some cases,
illegal activities and blatant promiscuity.
The growing infamy of “prom night” has
spawned a new prom trend: the anti-prom,
also known as morp (prom spelled backwards). The purpose of morp is to boycott the
official school prom and to have an alternative celebration. Some may want different
music than what the prom coordinators have
chosen. Others may prefer a different venue
or a smaller and more personal event with
either more or fewer restrictions than the
school has set. “I didn’t want to pay $60 just
to watch people grind,” junior Hanling Chang
said. “Especially people I know. It’s just gross.”
Morp-goers often find themselves out-ofsync with the typical prom attendees. Some
opt out of the prom by choice and others by
obligation. In some cases, anti-proms are
more preferable due to religious, ethical or
social issues. Aside from underclassmen who
organize morps to protest their ineligibility
to attend prom, anti-proms can appeal to
the dateless, nonconformists and those who
scorn the vanity and excess of a typical prom.
Dance For A Cause
The most common anti-prom activity is
another dance, usually held on the same date.
High school students from West Port High
School in Oscala, Florida organized their
own “Alternaprom” that took place on May
15. According to its MySpace page, the event
was held at a local club and tickets were about
a fifth of the cost of real prom. The event was
complete with live music, picture opportunities, free drinks and a formal dress code. The
entire event was held separately from the
school prom and ticket proceeds paid for the
entire party. The live performers were local
bands that donated their time but sold band
merchandise at the venue. An event such
as the Florida “Alternaprom” makes prom
n i g h t possible for kids on a low budget
and also supports
local businesses. Students were also allowed formed the entire prom experience. Similar
to explore the area before and after the event events have been held at high schools all
and have fun without the restrictions of an across the country and for all sorts of causes.
Last year at Arcadia High School in Arizona,
official prom.
The Gay Straight Alliance at La Quinta students donated $5,980 from prom ticket
High School in California organized a secret sales to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots
prom. “Many youth do not feel comfortable Foundation.
attending school dances, and there are a lot
of silly social pressures around high school Alternative Activities
prom,” the organizers said on their MySpace
event Web site. “We wanted youth to have
Not going to prom but still want somethe opportunity to attend a prom and bring thing to look forward to? When there is a
whomever they wanted as well as wear what will, there is a way. Creative teenagers all
they wanted.”
across the United States have invented fun
There are groups that are actually against prom alternatives that guarantee a different
any prom or prom-replacement activities and magical unforgettable experience.
harbor extreme sentiments for social and
For a cozier experience with more opreligious reasons. The organization LIFE: The tions, you can gather up a few friends and
Anti-Prom, formed by the American Acad- attend a local event. Junior Lydia Lui and a
emy of Anti-Socialization, Child Solitude few of her friends decided not to attend the
League International, and Partnership from school’s junior prom on April 10. Instead,
a Prom-free America, preaches that prom they organized an all-day get-together –
corrupts the mind and sets up teenagers for literally. According to Lui, they spent 14
a lifetime of failure. “Your child is vulnerhours together. The
able and confused
seven friends attendabout his or her
ed the annual Cherry
natural role in the
Blossom Festival in
world,” according
Creative teenagers all Japantown. “We ate
to Life: The Antilot of unique and
across the United States acool
prom (www.thefoods like fried
antiprom.com).
mochi
and Takoyaki,
have invented fun prom
According to the
then we got hungry
Web site, signs of
alternatives that guaran- again and ate ramen,”
prom planning and
said. “We got our
tee a different magical Lui
doom include an
faces painted. Everyincrease in friends,
unforgettable experience. one had a cool panda
telephone chatter,
hat sold at one of the
changes in perbooths. Everyone was
sonal grooming
friendly and festive
and the use of air freshener to cover up the and there was live music.”
smell of roses.
Afterwards, the group of friends went
If you enjoy mingling with hundreds of downtown and enjoyed dinner at the Cheesepeople in large social gatherings but dislike cake Factory. “It felt really fun hanging out
the excess of prom, you can attend the dance with people who also didn’t go to prom,”
for the company while benefiting society. junior Staly Chin said. “It felt like we were
High school sewniors from Whitefield Acad- mavericks, having fun at a fraction of the cost
emy in Atlanta named their event “Prom of prom.” Finally, they finished the night with
With a Purpose” in an effort to raise money movies, ping-pong and Wii at Chin’s house.
for leukemia patients. Participants were en- The entire day cost a mere $40: ten less than
couraged to recycle or redesign old tuxedos the $50 tab of prom, which would probably
and dresses, hunt for bargains and create do- have escalated with preparation, food and
it-yourself corsages. Participants also drove photo fees.
themselves instead of renting limos and had
Typical activities done
group dinners in private homes – which are on prom day or while
great for bonding – instead of filing into fancy wearing fancy clothes
restaurants. Students were able to dance the can feel completely
night away as well as donate the money saved different and twice
on prom to the Leukemia and Lymphoma as special. Have
Society. This exhibited not only a financial you ever ridden
generosity, but also a spiritual one. “The fact the rotating teacup
that it involved sacrifice, giving up something wearing a frilly dress or
to benefit someone else is encouraging,” hung upside-down
Whitefield Academy teacher David McBride from a roller coaster
said, according to an article from the Atlanta in your father’s
Journal-Constitution.
tu xe d o ? In
These seniors turned the purpose of their t h e
prom to something meaningful, which trans-
C
spring, ticket prices for theme parks are exponentially cheaper and as there usually are
fewer patrons, shorter lines will guarantee
less time waiting and more time playing. And
because you will be there with a rebellious
spirit and desire to party until nightfall, the
day will be twice as special.
You do not have to create an elaborate
plan months ahead to have a good time.
Research upcoming events on prom day in
your area, invite other anti-prom friends and
enjoy a relaxed day of enjoyment or strut
your stuff and be the satin and bow group
that everybody will notice.
To Morp or Not to Morp
There is nothing wrong with the concept
of prom. In fact, a school prom can be extremely memorable and exciting, given the
right circumstances. “I just want to have a
good time with my friends and that special
someone,” junior Lisa Truong said. “It’d be
nice to just relax and let yourself go. Since we
are students, we are usually thinking about
school. So that one night would be a night
where you let loose and live in the here and
now.” Although some students may disagree
on where to spend their evening out, they all
have the same expectations of prom. “Prom
is about friends.” Lui said. “If all my friends
decide not to go, then it’s more fun to hang
out together, since it’s about being together
anyway.”
Sometimes the bad, the ugly and the
nasty of a prom dance floor and after-party
outweigh all the benefits of the treasured
tradition. Schools that worry about the decline in prom-attendees can hold their own
new-and-improved senior proms. Until the
traditional prom can clean up its bad rep
and become something more meaningful
than just another dance, students who wish
for a truly special prom night can look for
creative alternatives. They can wake up the
next morning with unique anti-prom pictures and memories that are worth keeping
for a lifetime.
ADMI
T ONE
THE L
OWEL
L SPO
TLIGH
MAY 2
T
8. 2010
ALL GRAPHICS BY KAREN CHIN