DRAMASTUDENTS

RECEIVE ACCOLADES

BY KELSEY HURWITZ

From Feb. 1 to 3, the dra-ma department attended and participated in theLenaea High School The-atre Festival, an annual theatre competition and workshop that hosts over 50 West Coast schools and over 1000 students.

DANCING From Feb. 1 to 3, the drama de-partment attended and par-ticipated in the Lenaea High

School Theatre Festival, an annual theatre competition and workshop that hosts over 50 West Coast schools and over 1000 students. This was the first time Lynbrook entered, and over the weekend, the students were able to watch other schools’ performances and perform scenes that they had rehearsed in preparation for the festival.

The 32 Duo Scene performances were divided into two groups A and B of 16 acts each. Only four gold medals were given out in each divi-sion, in addition to silver and bronze awards. Seniors Barbara Jackson and Nathan Kastle took home gold for the Duo Scene they performed at the festival. The scene was a piece from the upcoming play Al-most, Maine that will come to the Lynbrook stage at the end of March. Jackson and Kastle initially per-formed for a small audience, which included a couple judges who gave constructive feedback after the per-formance.

The following day, they simulta-neously learned they had won gold and would have only 10 minutes to prepare before performing their scene again for everybody in atten-dance at the festival. Though they had some difficulties with a missing, then broken, prop, they enjoyed the experience as a whole.

“It was the biggest stage I’ve ever been on,” said Jackson of the final performance. “We just went out there and did it, and we got a stand-ing ovation, which was really cool.”

Jackson and Kastle beat out all other acts in their division, which included other high schools as well as conservatories.

“We weren’t expecting to win at all. We came in thinking this is our first year, we’re just gonna do the best we can and whatever happens happens. When Nathan and I won, we didn’t even believe it,” said Jack-son.

Other Lynbrook students to win awards at the festival were sopho-mores Arianna Behrens and Marion Lynch, who won a silver award for their duo scene from Chicken Bones for the Teenage Soup and sopho-more Lauren Platzker, who won Respondents’ Choice in the Musical Theatre category.

Lynbrook’s 10th annual Blue Pearl Jazz Dance took place on Feb. 1, having been moved up from its previous April times-

lot to avoid coinciding with AP testing. Held by Lynbrook Instrumental Music Boosters (LIMB), Blue Pearl is the only dance at Lyn-brook featuring live jazz music and swing dance, serving as the music community’s at-tempt to highlight the jazz culture, according to senior Emily Su.

“Blue Pearl’s main goal is to provide an entirely new atmosphere of jazz, swing dance, and a classy experience that is really not found anywhere else,” said Su, who over-saw much of the dance’s preparation.

Ballroom dancer senior Ashlyn Smith and her dance instructor gave dancing guidelines and an energetic demonstration at the be-ginning of the dance to ensure that everyone would be able to enjoy dancing for the rest of their night.

“Swing dancing was really fun!” said ju-nior Alex Chen. “Since I had a date, finding a dance partner wasn’t very difficult, but I know that many who went as singles didn’t have too much difficulty finding a person to dance with.”

Swing dancing’s simple steps and basic moves made for a lively atmosphere at the dance, but a bar and a bake shop were also

present for those who were more rhythmi-cally challenged or just wanted a break from the dancing. Best drink at the bar, according to sophomore Nicholas Wang, was the Shir-ley Temple. Or if you want to listen to Chen, it’d be the Mint Julep or the Pina Colada.

The LyraTones took on the role of live musicians, which had previously been held by Lynbrook’s presently dissolved after-school jazz band. The 17-piece ballroom dance orchestra is made up of various musi-cians, mostly retired engineers and is man-aged by music teacher Jerry Zis.

“We were extremely fortunate this year to feature a top-notch professional band,” said Su. The students at Blue Pearl seemed to agree with Su’s opinion of the band, even calling for an encore at the end of the dance.

As effortless as the entire presentation may have seemed, the dance relied on a workforce of volunteers to keep everything up and going. Various volunteers from Lyn-brook’s band coordinated ticket sales and took part in turning the school’s gym and cove into a bona fide jazz dance. tended bar and sold baked goods.

A night filled with great jazz music and hours of dancing, the Blue Pearl Jazz Dance is an experience no Lynbrook student should miss.

tHE NIGHT AWAYBY STEPHANIE LU

NEWS IN BRIEF

“We’re especially excited about our performance lineup, which iNcludes

Stanford Taiko, DJ Marcus D, the Ritards, Lynbrook’s very own AMP club, and much

more!”

RACHEL SONG, senior and JNHS co-president, describing the Bunkusai (literal translation: culture festival),

hosted by FUHSD’s various JNHS’s on March 8th at Cupertino High School.

“We wanted to get rid of the pressure of going to a dance with a date and help end the year with a fun and casual

dance.CAITLIN LEE, senior

and ASB Social Manager,

talking about “Livin’ the Night,” which will be held on March 7.

“Students tend to have [a similar] mindset as judges when asking questions, so it’ll

give us a sample of questions to prepare for when it comes to the real presentations.”

HARSH JAIN, freshman, describing the benefits of the STEM Research Expo for Syn-opsis science fair participants,

during lunch and from 3-5 pm in the library on

Feb. 28.

BY MICHELLE SU

“In the end, it’s all for a good cause, and regardless of who wins, competitors still get to play the game so it’s a win-win

situation.”

RAHUL SABNIS, junior, describing NHS’s lunchtime Super

Smash Bros. Brawl tournament throughout the week of March 3

in Room 606 to fundraise for their charity project.

“It’s amazing to see someone I know go to the Olympics, and I’m definitely rooting

for her and the entire skating team over there. It’ll be exciting to see her skate on

TV the upcoming week.”

SHANNON LEE junior, anticipating Polina Edmunds’s performance in women’s figure skating. So far, US

athletes have accumulated two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

BY KHAYA BHATIA AND IZABELLA KIPNIS

MORE THAN JUST INTELLIGENCE

PRESENTING THE NEW INTEL

FINALIST AND SEMI-FINALIST:

SENIORS ANGELA KONG AND JANE WEI

On Jan. 8, seniors Jane Wei and Angela Kong

were announced semi-finalists of the Intel

Science Talent Search (STS) competition,

the most prestigious pre-college science

competition in the nation. Kong was later

named one of forty finalists on Jan 22. Both

Wei and Kong conducted original science

experiments and helped further broader

projects at university laboratories.

ALL PHOTOS BY JOEY LI

The day before STS finalists were pub-licly announced, Kong was receiving a plethora of calls from an Oregon phone

number. Assuming that the calls were from telemarketers, she initially did not answer. Annoyed, she finally picked up the phone, only to hear that she had been selected as an Intel STS finalist.

Kong was was inspired after taking sci-ence teacher Amanda Alonzo’s new STEM class as a junior. That March, Kong reached out to professors around the nation whose projects she was interested in, hoping to find a lab in which to research. After painstaking searching, she was finally accepted by Dr. Shang Cai, a post-doctoral research professor at Stanford University.

Kong said, “He told me later on that it was not because of my GPA or anything, but be-cause ‘I could see the passion in your eyes and that’s why I took you.’”

Kong initially wanted to look into breast cancer because of her goal to lessen the num-ber of women suffering from breast cancer and decided to narrow down her research to study stem cells because she was interested

in the unique characteristics of stem cells and their implications on breast cancer.

“Stem cells are a really special kind of cell because they have the potential to turn into anything, whether that’s a skin cell or a blood cell or a brain cell. ” said Kong.

Cancer stem cells remain in the state of “quiescence” so they cannot be targeted with treatments. Not much information is current-ly available on what determines their state of dormancy and proliferation, but understand-ing the switch between these two stages is vital in helping scientists better target cancer stem cells.

Cai had evidence of a transcription factor called BCL11B that helps mammary stem cell renewal; however, he was not sure what mo-lecular interactions were occurring to regu-late the self renewal.

Kong’s experiment identified the specific mechanism that regulated the self renewal.

“My goal is for fewer women to suffer

from breast cancer, but right now there is not a direct impact on people yet because [my project] is more of a discovery of knowledge and not application,” said Kong.

Originally, Kong was pushed by Alonzo to enter the competition, and Kong did not real-ize how successful she would be.

“The thing is, when I went into this project my goal was not to enter this competition,” said Kong. “But Mrs. Alonzo encouraged me to go for it, and helped me through the daunt-ing application process. I’m also friends with last year’s STS semi-finalist, Eric Xu, and he told me to give it a shot.”

Kong wants to pursue her passion for sci-ence and research in the future.

Reflecting on the research process, Kong said, “If I go to a dance class I get something out of it every day. Either I get stronger or feel sore the next day, but for research you don’t know if you’re going to get the result you want.”

Her first day in the lab, Wei killed 24 sea anemones. She recalled, “The differ-ent species of anemones need differ-

ent levels of concentrations of water. It was kind of frustrating in the beginning because I didn’t really know what to expect like what I should expect out of the animals like how much they could take and how well they could take it.”

Wei started her research at the Boston University Research Internship for Science and Engineering (RISE) program under the supervision of Professor John Finnerty. Wei completed her project after 3 months, start-ing in June 2013 and finishing in September.

Jane’s interests were centered around ex-ploring oxidative stress,is defined as an im-balance in the ability of a biological system to detoxify reactive oxygen species.

At first, Wei wanted to explore the bleach-

ing effects on coral.“Oxidative stress is a really big problem

and it’s becoming a bigger problem in marine environments because it is a factor that is causing a loss in biodiversity is coral bleach-ing,” said Wei. “The parts in the coral that provide them with nutrients produce more of those parts that cause oxidative stress and expel the parts that provide them with food and nutrients.”

Because Wei would not have time in the lab to study coral, she instead examined the effects of oxidative stress on other estuarine species and marine species of sea anemone.

Species from an estuarine environment, the lower part in the river or near swamps, are more prone to oxidative stress caused by the excess sunlight and pollution than their counterparts in deep and dark oceanic ma-rine environments.

“My project helps a longer term project in the lab. They’re investigating a gene se-quence NFKB and the effects of this gene se-quence in species such as anemones, jellyfish and related nigerians,” Wei said. “We need to know if there’s actually a difference between oxidative stress responses and genetics.”

She hypothesized that the marine anemo-nes would be less tolerant to oxidative stress than the estuarine species she was experi-menting on because of the conditions they live in; however, there was one marine spe-cies that had surprising tolerance.

“My project helped because we had sur-prising results. One of the marine species had a surprising amount of stress tolerance, sug-gesting a more complex relationship between oxidative stress tolerance and environment.”

In the future, Wei hopes to continue re-searching science experiments in college. She said, “I definitely want to continue research in college. Hopefully, that will help me decide what I want to do after college, for example, if I want to consider graduate studies.”

JOEY LI—EPIC

434years*

With 2014 projected to become Califor-nia’s driest year on record since the state was founded in 1850, Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a statewide drought emergency. In doing so, the governor set the stage for new state and that will focus Californians’ atten-tions on the water shortages ahead. Although state officials have not yet instituted any re-strictions, scientists and residents alike wor-ry that this won’t remain the case for long.

Length of the DroughtScientists warn that the situation is dire

and could get much worse. According to data drawn from the widths of old tree rings, which grow wider in times of heavy rainfall and narrower in times of drought, California has not been this dry since before its found-ing as a U.S. territory in 1847. Paleoclimatol-ogist Bonnye Lynn Ingram, who studies the extended climatic conditions of past geologic ages, said that 2014 is on pace to become the driest water year since 1580.

State Regulations

Gov. Jerry Brown plans for Californians to reduce their water consumption by 20 per-

cent of 2013 water use, but his request needs only be fulfilled on a voluntary basis. As of now, efforts are being focused on general public awareness. Junior Shivani Kavuluru believes that the state government should trust Californians to control and limit their own water consumption without imposing legal restrictions.

“I think the state government’s focus on urging Santa Clara County residents to look out for their own water usage is a good idea,” said Kavuluru. “The state government needn’t get too involved in our day-to-day lives. There are many things we, as a community, can do to regulate our water intake.”

Science teacher Jon Penner believes that government intervention is inevitable if the dismissive attitudes of Californians are to continue.

“When I lived through a drought in the 1970s, the state government imposed these huge restrictions regulating the community’s water usage,” said Penner. “Now that the cur-rent drought is much more severe, either something needs to be done on the municipal level or people are going to have to conserve water themselves if they don’t want govern-

ment involvement.”Like Penner, senior Kavita Krishnan sees

government regulation as necessary means for these drought conditions.

“Just last week, I saw a fire hydrant going off and no one was there to do anything about it,” said Krishnan. “People faced serious fines back in the 1970s and they should face fines now.”

Conserving WaterThe Santa Clara Valley Water District, a

government run agency based in San Jose, is responsible for supplying clean water to the county’s 1.8 million people. This year, the agency plans to cut water usage by 10 per-cent and will double rebates paid to people who conserve water to meet the reduction target.

“[The Board] doesn’t have the authority to impose any regulations,” said water district spokesman Marty Grimes. “That’s up to the state officials. The ten percent reduction is simply our goal.”

In response to Brown’s urging for volun-tary water conservation to the tune of a 20 percent reduction, some Lynbrook staff and

*number of years since a winter as dry as this one in California

BY AUDREY ZHENG

Less rain means smaller har-vests and more fallowing of the land, leading to higher produce and meat prices.

Hot winds, high tempera-tures and an abundance of dry plants make for higher chances of fire

Lack of precipitation leads to little snow in Lake Tahoe. Busi-nesses which rely on visitors ev-ery winter are not getting the money they used to face major financial problems.

students are doing their part by watching their water usage.

“I’ve made some significant changes to my lifestyle,” said Penner. “I haven’t washed my car in a month, I’m taking shorter show-ers and most recently, I started using the cold water that gets wasted before the warm wa-ter comes out of the showerhead to water the plants.”

Although the effort seems small, data from The Department of Water and Power said that just by shortening showers by one to two minutes, residents may save up to 375 gallons per month.

“Before, when I used to take 10 minute showers, our water bill was increasing im-mensely and that was a sure sign of water shortage,” said sophomore Adhithya Kannan. “I realized that my showers were insanely long and bad for the environment, so now I take 5 minute showers, max.”

Junior Avanti Mehrotra also stresses the importance of turning off the tap when the running water is not needed.

“Whenever I take a shower, I turn the wa-ter off as I shampoo my hair,” said Mehrotra. “Same with washing the dishes and cleaning my hands; I don’t keep the water running.”

Other times, water conservation comes naturally, like for junior Sujeeth Jinesh.

“I tend to conserve water without think-ing about it,” said Jinesh. “I don’t use a lot of water when cooking, like when I make pasta or other dried foods.”

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Possible Mega DroughtCalifornians need to be ready, because if

some climatologists are right, the 2013-2014 water crisis is likely to last more than just a few years. Now in its third year of drought, the Golden State is experiencing record lows for its shrinking reservoirs, low rivers and light snowfall, which is at around 20 percent of normal for this time of year. In The New York Times, Scott Stine, CSU East Bay profes-sor of geography and experimental studies, said that he wouldn’t be surprised if the dry stretch grew into one of the mega droughts characteristic of California’s earlier past. As stated by Ingram, California has a history of mega-droughts that could have lasted for de-cades and even centuries. Examples include droughts lasting from A.D. 892 to A.D. 1112 and from A.D. 1209 to A.D. 1350.

“We ought to be ready for a long, contin-ued [and] persistent effort,” said Brown. “[We must] collaborate to restrain our water use.”

Despite all that is being done to combat these drought conditions, paleolimnological evidence gives reason to say that if California decides to revert back to its climatological past, there might not be any water left to re-strain ourselves from using.

ALL ART BY AUDREY ZHENG

LEGALIZE

MARIJUANABY SHOUVIK MANI

KASTURI PANTVAIDYA--EPIC

The voters in Colorado and Washing-ton have made a smart choice about marijuana. After voting to legalize

the use and sale of recreational cannabis in Nov. 2012, they have now begun to reap the benefits. The states have found that this $2.3 billion national industry, if heavily taxed and strictly regulated, can eliminate the dangers of the underground marijuana trade, generate tax revenue and spur eco-nomic growth. California, however, has been left behind.

While medical marijuana is legal in California, the state has been deprived of a legal marijuana market for recreational purposes. On Nov. 2, 2010, California voters rejected Proposition 19, which would have legalized the cultivation, sale, and posses-sion of recreational marijuana in the state. Three years later, the fight for legal marijua-na in California continues. This November, the state may have another shot at legaliz-ing recreational marijuana with up to four ballot measures lined up for voters. All four initiatives would authorize the recreational use of the drug for adults over age 21, while allowing local governments to tax and regu-late its sale.

The time has come to leverage the shift-ing public opinion and follow the examples of Colorado and Washington to legalize rec-reational marijuana. Provided that its use and sale is tightly regulated and its acces-sibility to minors is rigorously prevented, marijuana should be legalized so that the state can decrease drug enforcement costs

tobacco or alcohol and compensate for the externalities, or social costs, that marijuana users impose on society. The tax revenues should present lucrative opportunities for a state that was contemplating massive cuts to public education just two years ago.

Many critics of legalization fear that the economic benefits of legalizing recreational marijuana will never compensate for the health risks that the drug creates. After all, marijuana is a Schedule 1 substance under federal law, along with heroin, LSD and ec-stasy, but this classification and the associ-ated health risks are not deterring people from using marijuana.

“I already have pretty easy access to marijuana and legalization wouldn’t really change anything because I am still under-age,” said marijuana-user senior Sean John-son.* “Everyone who really wants weed will find some way to get it, whether it is from a dealer or a government dispensary.”

Let’s face it: if public demand for mari-juana is not satiated by legal means, then it will be met by more dangerous, illegal sources. Instead of naively pretending that criminalizing marijuana somehow prevents

and increase tax revenue. Voters should reverse the status quo and recognize that legalizing marijuana would bring both eco-nomic and societal benefits to the state.

Marijuana prohibition is expensive and costs taxpayers $41.8 billion a year nation-wide. This figure represents the cumulative effort to keep the drug off the streets, from incarcerating marijuana offenders to han-dling marijuana-related cases in courts. A legal apparatus for the production and sale of marijuana would starve the illegal mari-juana industry of its business and redirect this billion-dollar effort to combat illegal marijuana into more useful causes.

“We are using a lot of resources to keep marijuana illegal, almost to an extent that it is like a prick or a constant toothache,” said senior Varun Sujit, who supports the legal-ization of marijuana with extreme limita-tions. “Eventually, people will realize that regulation is a much more suitable option than prohibition.”

Not only would marijuana legalization decrease drug enforcement costs, but it would also generate significant tax revenue for the state. The Colorado General Assem-bly estimates that Colorado will generate $67 million in marijuana taxes this year, $40 million of which will be allocated to-wards school construction. Similarly, Cali-fornia would see a nearly $1.4 billion per year increase in tax revenues were it to le-galize marijuana, according to California’s State Board of Equalization. An excise tax on marijuana would be similar to those on

the public from obtaining the drug, we need to make a more realistic assessment of marijuana use. By legalizing marijuana, the state can at least capitalize on the demand for the drug, which would have been met by illegal sources anyway, and ensure that marijuana users are paying the price for the damage they are inflicting on their own health and society’s well being.

“Marijuana should be legalized in Cali-fornia because it would be a part of a grad-ual transition into a federal legalization of marijuana,” Sujit said. “People look at Wash-ington and Colorado and think that maybe it’s not as bad as they thought it was.”

Aside from its obvious economic advan-tages, legalizing marijuana would also pro-duce various societal benefits. Consider the Prohibition era, when bootleggers and the American Mafia filled the void for legal al-cohol. The state of affairs back then is fairly comparable with drug dealers and drug-re-lated violence, both of which are a menace to society today. By legalizing marijuana, the state can mitigate the demand from il-legal sources and provide a safer and more transparent means for obtaining the drug.

“If marijuana was legalized, people’s perspectives on the drug wouldn’t change immediately because there are some peo-ple who are really conservative,” Johnson said. “But eventually, as more and more people realize that marijuana is not as bad as they thought it was, they will be more ac-cepting of it.”

Opponents of legalization argue that the illegal marijuana industry will coexist with the state-regulated legal industry because the taxes and regulations on legal mari-juana would drive up its price. At first sight, their argument appear to be true: in Colo-rado, marijuana costs $400 per ounce from a legal retailer compared to $156 per ounce from the black market. This $400 per ounce legal price, however, is an inflated figure, driven by limited inventory and excessive demand that may fade over time. Even if the price of legal marijuana was higher, most rational people would be willing to pay a premium for a quality product that offers them security.

The effect of marijuana legalization on high school students, however, would be very different. Since any potential legisla-

tion would only legalize marijuana for any-one 21 or over, minors would still resort to drug dealers to satisfy their need for the drug. Many teenagers may also be encour-aged to take up the drug due to increased accessibility and lower social stigma after legalization. But teenagers are not the cen-ter of the world, and the state still has to fo-cus on adults who use the drug.

To combat marijuana use by minors, the drug enforcement costs that are saved by legalization should redirected towards more effective education programs that deter teenagers from using marijuana. Ga-brielle Antolovich, the Executive Director of Voices United, a local substance-abuse prevention organization, is against the le-galization of marijuana, but says that her organization is ready to act if marijuana is legalized this year.

“We keep educating the community that whether it is legal or not, the teenage brain is extremely vulnerable to marijuana,” An-tolovich said. “Every institution, whether it be schools, politicians or organizations, have a responsibility to educate youth about the dangers of marijuana.”

KASTURI PANTVAIDYA--EPIC

*Name has been changed

This year, students who attend-ed public four year colleges spent an average of twice the

amount of money on tuition and fees than students who attended public two-year colleges. Others who attended pri-vate, nonprofit four-year colleges spent more than 11 times the amount of mon-ey on tuition and fees than students who attended public two-year colleges. Com-munity colleges, which are also known as junior colleges, are suited for people who are looking for a generalized edu-cation rather than an intensive, focused education. From cheaper classes to a more flexible schedule, there are nu-merous reasons why community col-lege can be a good starting point when it comes to higher education.

One of the arguably most appealing features of community college is the cost of tuition and living. Those who have the choice to attend a state univer-

sity in California and decide to attend a community college instead often do so to save money. Some use community college as a way to learn and work a part-time job at the same time. Many community college students also stay at home, saving on liv-ing and food expenses.

Community colleges also generally as-sign a smaller workload to students, al-lowing them to work jobs or pass required courses that are unrelated to their major without much hassle. Students also have the opportunity to explore a variety of classes and spend more time deciding on a major. Class sizes are also usually small-er than those at at four-year universities, providing a more targeted environment for students to study and learn.

Even with these positive aspects of community college, the well-known com-petitive environment at Lynbrook has af-fected not only students’ opinions of com-munity colleges, but also parents’.

“I have considered going to community college. My brother was planning to go to De Anza and then work for an opportunity to transfer to UCLA, which my mom didn’t allow. She’s now realized that it would have been a good option for him,” said sophomore Rupa Ganesh.

Many who have not experienced commu-nity college do not know about its benefits. Not only do many Lynbrook students put down the idea of attending community col-lege, but it also is used as a joke and “harm-less” insult when it really can affect others who may be considering attending commu-nity college.

“I think it’s really demoted at Lynbrook. Usually it’s just the typical ‘oh, I’m never go-ing to get into college; just watch me get into De Anza’. I’ve said it too; everyone says it,” said sophomore Gayatri Dandu.

In addition to her doubts about attend-ing community college, like Ganesh, Dandu pointed out that her parents would not allow

BY CHRISTINA LIU

Carnegie Mellon or Harvard, and par-ents compare us to them because they assume that those students will be the most successful. Community college isn’t considered to be an option to many parents,” said Dandu.

In addition, many students and par-ents do not consider the many success-ful community college graduates when dismissing the form of schooling as an option. Intel’s CEO, Brian Krzanich, for example, graduated from De Anza Col-lege and transferred to San Jose State University to study chemistry.

Senior Esther Kim, who is planning to attend De Anza College, agrees, al-though she sees the matter from a dif-ferent perspective.

“I haven’t heard people say bad things about community college because they know I’m going. When I tell them I’m considering DeAnza they’re just like, ‘Oh, okay’; they become awkward,” said Kim. “I get it though, I used to look down on it a lot. Every time [I thought about DeAnza], I would snicker.”

Contrary to the beliefs of many who blindly put down this kind of higher

education, good opportunities can arise from community college. Shrini Ganga-purkar, who is a Lynbrook alum from the class of 2010, is currently a student at San Jose State University. After attending middle college at DeAnza College during his senior year, he studied at DeAnza for one year before transferring out. Although he admits that he has talked lowly about community college, he elaborated on the pros of community college.

“As many Lynbrook students know, De Anza is one of the best community colleg-es in the state and annually produces the highest number of transfers to UC Berke-ley and UCLA. The clubs and associations are pretty much the same as those at four-year universities,” said Gangapurkar. “The clubs and associations are also pretty much the same as four year universities, and I chose community college because of the money and time you save.”

Currently studying political science and philosophy, Gangapurkar works for the San Jose City Council and plans on at-tending a master’s program this fall. De-spite the positive aspects of community college, some find four-year colleges more

appealing for several reasons. Gangapurkar added his take on the cons of community col-lege.

“It is not as social as regular colleges, but your social life is of your own doing, so those who want to have fun will. A bad aspect of community college is the fact that you cannot take upper division courses, which tend to be more specialized and interesting in most cases,” said Gangapurkar.

There is also the perception that teachers at four-year universities are more qualified or professional. Although teachers at communi-ty colleges include first-time college profes-sors, many experienced professors choose to teach at community colleges to make time for pursuing different passions. There are no ex-cuses for underestimating the opportunities that community college can offer when it is simply an alternative to the accepted path to higher education.

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY ZHENG

HALF EMPTY:Why it pays to be a pessimstBY PRACHI LAUD

KASTURI PANTVAIDYA — EPIC

You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch...You’re as cuddly as a cactus, You’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch!”--I take offense. Ever since Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas became a

sensation, grinches have been erroneously viewed as crabby, Christ-mas-stealing curmudgeons. In reality, grinches are merely severely misunderstood creatures whose mantra is perpetual pessimism. Contrary to what the optimists of the world want to believe, pes-simism is a wonderful state of being—certain aspects of this nega-tivity complement the advantages of optimism, making a balance of pessimism and optimism extremely beneficial in life.

The codified optimist philosophy is “anticipate the best possible outcome,” but extreme optimists are “cakes filled with rainbows” people who believe that as long as we have hope, life will get bet-ter. Yeah, right. Extreme optimism is a dangerous state of mind, be-cause it makes people too carefree in the supposed knowledge that everything will be fine. Look where optimism got Santa. Overweight, overworked on Christmas and employed full-time in the business of stalking little boys and girls with no salary or benefits.

Most extreme pessimists, on the other hand, believe that the world is a mental Hunger Games. They are religious believers in Murphy’s Law: everything that could possibly go wrong, does. As their dictionary definition labels them, pessimists have “an inclina-tion to emphasize adverse possibilities or to expect the worst pos-sible outcome”: in essence, the cup is perpetually half-empty. Such negativity causes them to have tougher, more hard-bitten characters than optimists—however, this grit complements the positivity that comes with optimism to create characters of determination and for-titude. Expect the worst, work to achieve the best.

From this philosophy comes the birth of a new breed of man: pessimist-optimists, or, “pestimists.”

Pestimists inspire positive change in their environment by work-ing to resolve the issues they complain about. If the people of Go-tham had embraced pessimism as well as optimism, they would have been prepared each of the three times they were attacked by evil forces. The city defies logic—any place that gets that many death threats cannot possibly still be optimistic.

As a hardcore pessimist, I have lived the life of a grinch (minus the social awkwardness that comes from being green and fuzzy) and have come to the conclusion that pessimism is a strength. So what if optimists have been scientifically proven to live longer? Pessimism has its own, equally superior benefits to add to pestimism.

The traditional view of pessimists is a group of whiny, gloomy cynicists. In reality, we are a group of whiny, gloomy, extremely an-gry cynicists. Not only do we complain about the world, but we also get very righteously angry about it. According to a December TIME article about the benefits of anger, the “facial expression of anger overlaps perfectly with the facial expression for determination”--psychologically, anger and determination can have the similar effect of spurring pessimists to action. We raging pessimists have plenty of impending doom to vent about, and combined with optimism, what better way to release our frustration than to channel it into fixing our problems? Inspired by the idea of creating change, pestimists are often the hardest workers. (Clarification: Although pessimists are unreasonably angry and gloomy, we do not throw temper tan-trums. We are a highly sophisticated class of apoplectic people.)

Ever seen defeated looking students sobbing hysterically over their APUSH test? That, my children, is the fate of extreme optimists. Optimists tend to hope for the best possible outcome after putting in work for a goal; “I actually studied for this test! Since the world is filled with sunshine and unicorns, I’ll at least get an A- on it.” You joke. Pessimists, on the other hand, mentally brace themselves for the possibility of a C regardless of how determinedly hard they have worked. (Then there is that class of people who rage quit, but they do not deserve to be classified here.) So when their tests come back with a B, pessimists sing in praise of Lynbrook while optimists curse the education system to the high heavens. Enter with low expecta-tions, be happy if you receive more. Since pessimists enter with low expectations, they aren’t at as much risk of disappointment as op-timists.

In the social hierarchy of the world, churlish pessimists emerge on top. Most universally loved personages are surly: Viktor Krum--the cynical Harry Potter hottie. Squidward--50% of the reason Spongebob’s pathetic attempts at humor succeed . The grumpy cat meme--this one doesn’t even require an explanation, it’s just cute. And the world loves them! The inherent grumpiness that comes with pessimism creates the illusion of a person likely to take on any challenge and possibly beat up several people if they have free time; it makes for a rather badass attitude. The dark aspect of pessimism also adds a grave, enigmatic aura to one’s character, winning more points in the romance arena. Surly and dark equals attractive per-sonality. Pessimistic equals surly and dark. Therefore, pessimists equal the bomb dot com. Really, who’s more attractive to the average person? The potential partner who could give Disney a run for their money when it comes to cheesy optimistic dialogues, or the cool, mysterious, brooding stranger ? Exactly. Case in point, Mr. Darcy. Of all the romantic Prince Charmings from Jane Austen’s imagination, none is as sought after by starry-eyed women as Darcy. The sulki-ness and pessimism is all part of our charm. (My abysmal lack of admirers should not be taken into consideration for this argument.)

At times, optimists are too nice to claim any sense of social supe-riority. By my observation, pessimists on the other hand unasham-edly think of themselves as more mature and worldly individuals than optimists. They look at optimists and think, you poor fools; your life is a lie. Fear not, poor optimists. When hopefulness is exces-sive and cheer is abundant, pessimists will always storm in feeling socially superior to remind everyone that the world is terrible.

As many perks as pessimism has, it can be equally disadvanta-geous. Severe pessimism has the potential to throw people into depression and hopelessness, which can only be combated by opti-mism. In the long run, both pessimism and optimism are requisite to having the right attitude in life.

The world naturally seeks balance, and to complement optimism, we need pessimism. Indulge in a little healthy grinchiness and pes-simism, and the world will be a better place.

MOTIVATION BY ANGER SENSE OF SOCIAL SUPERIORITY

BITTER BADASS ATTITUDES

FEWER LET-DOWN BACKLASHES

Student tardiness has long been an issue at Lyn-brook. In attempting to counter the problem, the administration implemented a revised tardy

policy under which parents receive a “tardy notifica-tion” email each time their student is late to class. The policy, though curbing tardiness in its first few weeks weeks, was received negatively by the majority of stu-dents largely due to a sense that the administrStudent tardiness has long been an issue at Lynbrook. In an attempt to counter the problem early this school year, the administration implemented a revised tardy poli-cy under which parents receive a “tardy notification”

email each time their student is late to class. Though the policy effectively curbed tardiness in its first

few weeks, a majority of students believed that the administration’s steps were unnecessary

and that parents need not be so directly in-volved in such a seemingly trivial issue. The

proposed actions are, however, fairly rea-sonable.

In addition to the parent email alerts, the administration began to

enforce a new set of consequences for excessive tardies at the start of

second semester as additional re-inforcement for teachers. Though

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE SU

these actions have also fallen out of fa-vor with students, it is justified for the administration to step in seeing as the issue of tardiness had not been effec-tively addressed through the previously existing policies.

Curbing tardiness, however, can only happen through efforts from both stu-dents and the administration.

It is up to students to show sufficient maturity to get to class on time. Brush-ing off tardiness is easy when it becomes a habit, but too many students do not realize the message they are sending to their teachers and classmates when they consistently show up to class late.

“It’s a courtesy to everyone in class and to your teacher to be in class on time,” said English teacher Connie Will-son.

Most teachers have their own philos-ophy on what should be done about late-ness, and they all have valid reasonings that students should learn to respect. Let’s face it-- mornings are difficult for almost all of us, but as we are complain-ing about getting up in the morning, most teachers are already at school. While some teachers may be sympa-thetic in the morning, students need to understand that teachers do not all need to be as forgiving.

“I have never been late in my 13 years teaching here, and I’ve taught first period almost every year,” said Willson. “I also have to travel farther than most of my students.”

Although things can go wrong once in a while, students ultimately have no justification for chronic tardiness, and should not feel wronged by subsequent consequences. In fact, our tardy policy is lenient when compared with that of other schools such as Fremont High School, where students are subject to detention upon just four tardies to the same class in one semester as opposed to Lynbrook’s ten, and where excessive tardiness can show up on a student’s permanent record. That is not to say that the occasional tardy is unacceptable, but students should appreciate Lynbrook’s relatively lenient policies. The adminis-tration’s actions are justified: consistent lateness reflects a backward attitude of disrespect and indifference, and the new tardy policies are critical to erasing these habits.

Beyond curbing tardiness to show respect to their teachers and make the most of educational time, students should realize that tardiness is unac INFOGRAPHIC BY SABRINA JEN AND MICHELLE SU

ceptable in many of the situations they will find themselves in after high school. In the corporate world, employers are not obligated to warn and notify. Incessant late-ness more often than not results in a card-board box and a vacated cubicle. Bucking the trend when the consequences are less stringent is vital to positive tendencies later in life.

While the administration’s new policies are justified, rules should be reviewed and fine-tuned so as to reduce parent involve-ment for less serious offenses. The emails were certainly well-intentioned, but what the administration does not realize is that they may cause more trouble for students than is necessary, especially when tardiness is not habitual. Although their goal in send-ing parents tardy notifications is to make them aware of the situation, some parents will inevitably take the emails too seriously. In some cases, the immediate emails pro-voke more vehement reactions from strict parents than the administration may be aware of. Some parents may not fully un-derstand that the notifications are just to keep them in the loop, and instead, will be under the impression that their child got in trouble.

Junior Grant Lin, who had previous run-ins with the administration over tardiness, sees the administration’s new policy as well-intentioned, but much too broad. He cites an anecdote: earlier this year, he blew out a tire while biking to school. Forced to walk the rest of the way, he arrived late to class, and his teacher marked him accord-ingly. Although he set out for school early, he was still tardy due to circumstances be-yond his control. Regardless, he was repri-manded by his parents after they saw the tardy notification. Lin views this as unfair, and evidence that the policy is too all-en-compassing.

“I don’t completely agree with this poli-

cy. I think it’s a little too strict,” he said. “If you’re late every day, then I agree, but not really otherwise.”

Lin has a point. Freak accidents like the one he experienced happen extremely rare-ly. Consequences are appropriate for repeat offenders, but one-time instances should be kept solely between the student and his teacher; they do not warrant the adminis-tration’s involvement.

“For the first few times, I would think the issue should be kept between the teach-er and student,” said Lin. “Only if it’s a con-sistent problem, is it okay for the admin to step in.”

There is no doubt that the emails have decreased the amount of tardies, but they unnecessarily worry parents even after one-time tardies. Only after it is apparent that a teacher is unable to deal with a stu-dent’s excessive tardies should the admin-istration start sending email notifications.

History teacher Nate Martell, for exam-ple, talks to his students on his own before using other means.

“A combination of consequences and ap-proaches is important in dealing with tar-dies, but generally I like to start with talking to students to figure out what the problem is,” said Martell. “I find that having a talk with students usually solves the problem and nips the problem in the bud.”

Students should have three free tardies in a school year during which the situation would stay between teachers and students. After the third offense, the administra-tion could start sending out emails each time students are late. Combined with the administrator meetings and detentions outlined by the rest of the current policy, this system would allow students the right amount of leeway in one-time tardy occur-rences without compromising consequenc-es.

Ending lateness is a goal to be shared by both students and the administration. With proper amends on both sides, tardiness could become a thing of the past.

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GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FRINA REDOLOZA

At age four, junior Malvika Sriram en-tered the world of classical Indian music. A disinterested Sriram was

disheartened further by her first teacher’s claim that she wasn’t talented enough at singing to achieve anything great.

The young Sriram would have been shocked to know that in a few years she would be coached by both an Oscar nomi-nee and a Grammy nominee, perform sev-eral solo concerts across the U.S. and create an album with a distinguished harpist.

Sriram didn’t discover her potential in singing until Nachiketa Sharma, a long-time family friend and a music teacher, con-vinced Sriram’s mother to re-enroll her in Indian classical music classes.

Sriram’s music career took its first step towards serious training when Grammy nominee and flute-playing prodigy Sha-shank Subramanyam, a family friend, of-fered to teach her.

A few months into her training with Subramanyam, Sriram received an equally delightful shock when Sriram’s uncle in-troduced her to Bombay Jayashri, a close friend of his. In 2013, Jayashri would gain prominence as an Oscar nominee for her performance of “Pi’s Lullaby” in the film “The Life of Pi.” She would also become a great friend and music teacher to Sriram.

That evening, Sriram sang for the Oscar nominee. In response, Jayashri spoke with Sriram’s mother in private, returning with a pleasant surprise.

“When they came back, I remember Jayashri aunty saying I was an unpolished diamond and I had to be trained properly. It was really exhilarating and unexpected,” said Sriram, grinning.

As Sriram practiced with her new teach-ers, she realized that their opposite per-sonalities and the equally opposite styles of teaching affected how she learned. Jayashri was graceful and peaceful, while Subra-

manyam was strict and straightforward.“They taught with completely different

styles so it was really hard,” said Sriram. “Jayashri dealt with beautiful melodies and songs while Subramanyam emphasized rhythm and the more technical training.”

Sriram continued her training through Skype whenever she and the teachers could find time in their busy schedules. During winter breaks, Sriram traveled to India to study with Jayashri and Subramanyam. Dur-ing summer breaks, Sriram’s training ses-sions extended to six to eight weeks.

Although learning two different faces of classical Indian music simultaneously was

complicated, Sriram began to understand how melody and technicality complement one another.

“It’s so clear to me now that they’re not exactly entirely different styles of music but parts of music that improve my singing on both ends of the spectrum,” said Sriram. “I learned that it’s not about knowing how good you are, it’s about knowing where you need to improve and how.”

About a month after starting lessons with her two coaches, the 10-year-old Sriram sang her very first full-length, two-and-a-half-hour concert. Before her performance, famous musicians like Sai Giridhar and Ava-neeshwaran Vinu played on stage which Sri-

ram considered a huge honor.“It was really unnerving at first because in

the three days prior to the concert, I did a lot of grueling last minute training with Subra-manyam uncle,” said Sriram.

Sriram started performing full-length con-certs eight to nine times over her summer breaks. Over the past six years, the number of concerts gradually grew to 12 or 13.

One of Sriram’s most significant Fusion breakthroughs came in the form of renowned harpist Diana Rowan. After coming to Sri-ram’s concert in Berkeley, Rowan introduced herself and offered to make song mixes with Sriram. After a day of practice, Sriram and Rowan played with the prospect of releasing an album around August 2014.

Sriram’s secret to success did not come solely from talent or practice. Although Sri-ram did not know it when she was young, her parents had been integrating her in the world of music from the start.

“Right from when Malvika just a few weeks old, I would play selected pieces of Western classical music before for about an hour a day before she went to bed,” said Sriram Krish-naswam, Sriram’s father. “I was hoping that she would learn to love and appreciate music throughout her life.”

Although both parents are proud and sup-portive of Sriram, they believe that she still has space to improve.

“She must spend more time on practicing music, even amidst her busy schedule, be-cause ultimately hard work will always pre-vail over talent,” said Krishnaswam.

In the future, Sriram hopes to tour in Ma-laysia and Singapore. Currently, she is work-ing on advancing from Beyoncé covers to composing her own Western music.

“I learned that music isn’t about show-ing off your skill or talents,” said Sriram. “It’s simply about singing for yourself, singing be-cause you truly love it.”

For the full version of this story, please visit lhsepic.com

After years of polishing, junior Malvika Sriram has a sparkling singing talent.BY FRINA REDOLOZA

Malvika Sriram:the polished diamond

RucheThis vintage-style online shop has so many fascinat-ing tabs I could spend hours looking through the as-sortment of frequently updated lookbooks that all have different themes, like “The New Nautical” and “Spring 2014.” Their styles are edgy and very mod-ern; however, the quality does not deserve any praise. Much of their merchandise is made out of cheap mate-rial, making the expensive prices seem outrageous. If the bad quality bothers you, the lack of stores to walk into won’t help. You can only return an item by per-sonally shipping it back to the warehouse. Although if all you’re looking for is a cute outfit for only once or twice, you should shop at Ruche. Check out their site shopruche.com to see for yourself!

TopshopTo all the One Direction fans, or more specifically, Louis Tomlinson fans, make Topshop your new favorite store (if you haven’t already). There’s definitely a reason why Eleanor Calder, the presumably future Mrs. Tomlinson, loves shopping here. The quality is great with a “hip and edgy” style. This multinational retailer that sells fashion clothing, shoes, make-up and accessoriesis slightly more expensive than H&M and Forever 21, but if you can find something that fits and looks nice in the sale section, it’ll definitely be a very satisfactory buy. Although the styles are flattering, the customer service is not. Most of the sales associates don’t seem especially happy to be working, so I would suggest shopping on their online site. Not only does shopping online get you out of dealing with people who clearly don’t want to help you, the discounts are much better online than in the store itself.

Fresh An increasing number of people are using natural based products

over chemically based products. As the name suggests, this company only sells natural skin, body and lip products. Each product has a “uniquely blended formula of ef-

fective skin care ingredients with sublime textures for nourishing,”

clearly evident in the texture of the products. Their products suit any skin type given the light, airy

and moisturizing texture. Don’t be driven away from buying Fresh

products just because the price range is higher than other drug-

store products, but after trying any of their products once, you’ll defi-

nitely see why. My personal favorite is the SUGAR Rose Tinted Lip Treat-

ment because it goes on smoothly, lasts through the whole day and has a slight tint - everything a girl needs in a lip balm. Try out Fresh if you’re not afraid to spend a little bit more;

you’ll definitely be rewarded.

BrandedBY FREYA LIU AND ASHWIN RAVI

Photo from Fresh.com

Photo from shopruche.com

JOEY LI--EPIC

Members Only Complete with a flashy name and a crisp design, Members Only sells only the highest quality jackets. Through all the various designs and materials offered, like bombers, windbreakers and racers, the trademark collarless, hoodless design never fails to look simple yet sharp. I inherited my father’s old bomber jacket and, in addition to always being able to keep me warm, it has not frayed and is still looking good after years of use. It is al-ways a positive sign when a clothing item looks nice and feels comfortable, and the jacket fulfills both of those criteria.

Puma Although Puma is often seen as a little brother of more popular athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, it has been around for decades; it was founded in 1924. Over the years, Puma has held its own against its larger competitors in quality and design. Along with these attributes, lower prices are another favorable aspect of Puma gear. A typical Nike windbreaker costs about $180, while a similar Puma jacket costs around $75. In my experience, Puma’s products tend to have smoother, more subdued features in compari-son to the offerings of Nike and Adidas, and as a result, often agree better with the rest of my wardrobe. In terms of comfort, Puma products are just as good as any other athletic brands out there, providing soft material while allowing for excellent freedom of move-ment, Whenever I feel lazy in the morning, I just wear my Puma sweatpants to school, which are very comfortable and match well with almost any shirt or sweater I own.

Sperry Top-Sider Popular in the 1980s, boat shoes have experi-

enced a resurgence in recent years. When I was looking to buy a pair of boat shoes, the Sperry brand was the first recommended to me, and I can see why. The simple yet unique design lets

me wear them with just about any outfit for any occasion, save for formal, black tie events. I can

slip my feet into them with or without socks, and being a 9.5, I found that both sizes 9 and 10 fit

me almost as well as the 9.5 does. This wonderful aspect of the shoe makes finding a suitable pair

both easy and stress-free.

BrandedPhoto from membersonlyoriginal.com

Photo from sperrytopsider.com

JOEY LI--EPIC

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY FEATURES SECTION

The “industrialrobot” thatcompletelyrevolutionizedprinting

1. On the computer, use a software to make a de-sign. Examples: Maker-Bot, AutoDesk.

2. After the design is fin-ished, place it on a USB or SD card.

3. Put the USB or SD card in the 3D printer and press Start.

4. Voila! Your 3D object is made!

BY PRASANN RANADE

Toothbrushes, clocks, and cam-era lenses. At first glance, these have nothing in common—but

all three are objects that have already been produced by 3D printers, which use melted plastic to form 3D objects. Employing a unique manufacturing processes that is additive instead of subtractive—material is added in lay-ers rather than being removed through drilling or cutting—3D printers have become the emblem of the do-it-your-self “Maker Movement.” Their renown rose in part from their wide range of applications, including printing human cells into organs, one of 3D printing’s more revolutionary uses. Currently, 3D printers or their products are be-ing used in a large and ever expand-ing number of fields, from automotive engineering to medicine to firearms. In addition, forums such as Makerbot and Thingiverse cater to an increas-ing interest in 3D printing by allowing members to share designs and down-load others’.

Because of their novelty and cost, 3D printers remain relatively exclusive. Lynbrook students interested in utiliz-ing this technology must drive to shops such as Sculpteo in San Francisco or TechShop in San Jose and pay around $100 per hour.

To make the capabilities of 3D print-ers more accessible to students, science teacher Amanda Alonzo facilitated the purchase of a $2,000 Makerbot Replica-tor Dual Extrusion 3D printer last year, using funds provided by Lynbrook Ex-cellence in Education. Alonzo originally bought the printer for STEM class stu-dents like freshman Andrew Park, who used the printer to build better proto-types for his science fair project. The Epic joined Alonzo to take a look at the capabilities of the 3D printer.

“I decided I wanted to enhance the engineering piece of the science fair,” said Alonzo, admiring a newly-printed frame for an iPhone-mounted micro-scope. “As a non-engineer I didn’t know how to do it, and when people were bringing prototypes in [that] were popsicles and glue, I was like ‘There is definitely a better way’ and as the price of 3D printers went down, they were in the possibility of reach.”

With that in mind, Lynbrook’s own 3D printer is more than a curious piece of machinery; it can make parts and objects quickly and efficiently without human guidance. Such benefits of 3D

printing, along with its ease of use and relatively low learning curve, appealed to Park, whose science fair project re-quired him to make multiple proto-types of Starbucks cup lids.

“[When] I used the lids that I got from Starbucks, [my designs] were not always constant when I experimented with them, but the 3D printer is al-ways constant because the code never changes,” said Park.

For him, the 3D printer was invalu-able in his project because of its ability to make better prototypes than simply hand-made ones. The benefits of the 3D printer also attracted Lynbrook Ro-botics in its search to make better parts for its robot. After assisting Alonzo in some projects and discovering that she possessed such a printer in her class-room, Robotics co-president senior An-urag Makineni jumped on the chance to use it.

“The cool thing about a 3D printer is that it can make really complex ge-ometry [without] much effort from us,” said Makineni. “If you want to make a part that complicated on the other ma-chines we have, you’d have to do a lot of work and someone would have to actu-ally be there making the part, but a 3D printer does it by itself.”

For Robotics and in general, how-ever, 3D printers are restricted by the material they can use: plastic only. While cheaper than metal, plastic lacks metal’s strength and durability, ren-dering plastic parts almost useless in many applications for the robot. None-theless, these parts can still be used.

“Plastic is much cheaper than alu-minum, so if we use [the parts from the 3D printer] in places where they wouldn’t be damaged easily, like spac-ers, they would save us a lot of time trying to machine them and they would also allow us to use them on the robot,” said Robotics member junior Sahil Sancheti.

No technology is without its down-sides, however, as Park soon realized.

“[The 3D printer has] taught me patience; for the printer to preheat it takes about 20 minutes, and then when I want to start printing, it takes about an hour and a half to print and I have to watch it constantly,” said Park.

Beyond the needs of Robotics and her STEM class students, Alonzo wants the 3D printer to be a play tool for all students to use. In fact, Park has begun sharing his knowledge about the 3D printer to help create various objects.

“Already five people came up and

FROM START TO FINISH| The Viking Helmet is the first item the Robotics Club printed using the 3D printer. They made this helmet as a gift for Ms. Gail Davidson’s retire-ment as our principal in 2013. The first picture shows the original digital design made via AutoDesk. The second picture is taken during the printing and the third one is the final product.

asked me if I could make them stuff, so I have a line al-ready,” said Park. “Some people want me to print them a Nokia phone case, some people a [miniature] basketball jersey, a keychain, a model computer, a tennis racket, and a FIFA world cup trophy.”

A Viking helmet, an iPhone-mounted microscope, and the 3D letters in this headline. All three were cre-ated by Lynbrook’s very own 3D printer.

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Set in Seattle Grace Hospital, this medical drama focuses on the lives of several surgical interns and attendings as well as the dif-ferent stories of their patients. It features a strong and diverse cast with many different personalities and storylines, so every viewer is able to relate to at least one char-acter on the show.

“Suits” follows the life of Mike Ross, a brilliant college dropout, who becomes the pro-tégé of Harvey Spector, one of the best lawyers in New York. It’s truly a pleasure to watch Harvey and Mike unfold the kinks of a case and see Harvey fighting with Louis Litt, Har-vey’s short, bald counterpart.

Don’t worry: this show is nothing like “Twilight.” The plot follows the life of Elena Gilbert, a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire named Ste-fan Salvatore. Through Stefan and his brother Damon, Elena discovers the mythical world of vampires, doppelgangers, trav-elers, and werewolves.

The plot of “Sherlock” stays true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, while adding its own modern-day twists. The series follows Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as they solve crimes and catch psychopathic serial killers. Each episode is packed with great dialogue, heart-pounding action, and an intricate plot.

Mindy Lahiri, protagonist of “The Mindy Project,” is probably one of the most relatable televi-sion characters out there. She’s on the hunt for Mr. Right, she loves a good rom-com, and she desper-ately wants to lose weight, but hates exercising. Mindy is truly what makes this show one of the best comedies out there.

It’s like your family, if your grandfather married a Colom-bian woman and your uncle and his boyfriend adopted a daugh-ter from Vietnam. So probably, nothing like your family – but this family is the epitome of a “modern family,” and their hi-larious encounters have won this show countless Emmys.

Morally sound. Hard work-ing. Socially Awkward. Three phrases that capture the es-sence of this comedy’s pro-tagonist, Leslie Knope. “Parks and Recreation” follows Leslie’s work and social lives, as she and her hilarious co-workers main-tain the Parks department of Pawnee, Indiana.

Whether she’s scaring popu-lar celebrities or pointing out idiots on Instagram, Ellen De-Generes never fails to amuse her audiences on her popular talk show. She always gives her guests thoughtful and funny presents, like the relationship status t-shirts she bought Taylor Swift and Zac Efron.

It’s the perfect activity when you have a couple of hours to spare: just curl up on the

couch, turn on your television, and pick a show.

Picking a show, unfortunate-ly, can be a challenge. Medical drama or romantic comedy? The

possibilities are endless without a proper guide, which is why the Epic has decided to recommend a couple of its favorite TV shows. All you have to do is pick a genre, read the synopsis, and prepare to be amazed. For weekly reviews, visit lhsepic.com.

BY AMANDA CHANG AND MEERA KRISHNAMOORTHY

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY MEERA KRISHNAMOORTHY

Now that second semes-ter is in full swing, the widely known senior

game Spoons has begun. When I signed up to play, I knew that I wanted to survive for as long as possible, which would re-quire smart strategy to avoid dumb mistakes. After scouring the rules to find all possible loopholes, I came up with a few ways to prolong my survival and hopefully make it far. For all you thinking this is gonna be some kind of fruity survival guide, however, you’re terribly mistaken. You see, this column was going in that direction un-til disaster struck—yes, I died. It happened just two days be-fore our deadline, so I’m sure you understand when I say that even thinking about my death makes me angry. I forgot my spoon at home and paid the price for it, which was quite the opposite of the epic ending I had in mind (if I were to die, that is). Since I’m bitter about dying, which I’m sure all of you fellow dead seniors are, I’ve done you the favor of compiling a short list of ways to seek revenge on your assassins (not that I’m sug-gesting you actually do these things…). For all underclassmen reading this, it may be smart to take note of some of these tac-tics for when (or if) you die in your senior year:

Tell your old target who their new assassin is

Even though this is a pret-ty low blow, this probably leads the number of ways you can sabotage your killer. But if you’re still having second thoughts, just think about how they ruthlessly and mercilessly eliminated you from the game and ruined your second semes-

ter (excuse the exaggeration) and that should pretty much justify it.

Sabotage their plansThis will obviously require

the most planning and some serious motivation, but imag-ine how awesome it would be to jump into the scene as they try to kill their new target and foil their plan. In fact, seeing the (likely) shocked and con-fused expression on their face could easily make up entirely for your own death.

Buy out all immunity items

If you want to go all out in avenging your death, then this might be the best yet most difficult (duh), way to do it; although I will admit that this is borderline ri-diculous. Nonetheless, if you are truly dead-set on mess-ing with your killer then go ahead—just don’t blame me if you’re broke in a few days.

Despite the extremity of some of these tips, remem-ber that at the end of the day this is just a game and doesn’t necessarily call for serious vengeance. If you lack the motivation to actually do these things (like me), then a surefire alternative for curing your sadness is shamelessly pigging out on food to your heart’s delight. Anyways, whatever you choose to do, I hope you get over the shock of elimination and take sol-ace in the fact that you can live free of paranoia. Plus, it’s pretty funny to see people struggle with the immunity items—I mean did you see all of the people with apples in their mouths?

BY KASTURI PANTVAIDYA & SANA SHARFUDDIN

Hundreds of unread messages. Only six were opened. And in one of them, the opportunity for love that would last

more than nine years.That was 26 year old Spanish teacher Jen-

nifer Hutton’s experience with the notorius online dating website, Match.com. A couple of days after signing up, her inbox was inundat-ed with messages from prospective romantic interests, one of which was from her future husband.

With the surge in popularity of online dat-ing websites, the Internet has become a me-dium for love.

While there are several popular sites such as eHarmony and Match.com, social media networks such as Facebook have also become popular ways to meet other individuals, es-pecially among teenagers. These platforms allow users to search for, contact, and begin online relationships with other individuals with similar interests. Online interactions can lead to close friendships, and potentially serious relationships.

“When I opened the message [my hus-

WE JUSTCLICKED.A look into the world of online relationships

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band] sent me, I thought it was nice and po-lite, so I decided to message him back,” said Hutton. Soon, the two were consistently chat-ting on the website. After just two chats, Hut-ton’s husband to-be asked her out to dinner for the first time. Ten months later, she was engaged.

Among adults, relationships borne through online dating are becoming a trend. In fact, a study by eHarmony and the Harvard School of Public Health showed that like Hut-ton and her husband, one third of people who married between 2005 and 2012 met online. This trend is not confined to adults, however. Many teenagers also feel greater freedom on the internet, and prefer the ambiguity and control that online relationships offer.

According to psychologist Rhona Kastle,

the primary allures of online relationships are the emotional safety and freedom that come from online dating’s “barrier of safety.” If you decide after a few conversations that the person is not right for you, it is easy to stop replying and never have to face some-one’s disappointment. Kastle feels that the lack of face-to-face interaction in online rela-tionships holds adolescents less accountable.

“Through talking to people online, teens can express a strong array of emotions with-out the fear of being judged or the risk of hav-ing to follow through with promises or com-

mitment,” said Kastle. Junior Aneka Suri, for example, prefers

meeting people online because it gives her time to get to know the person before the re-lationship reaches a physical level.

“I can’t handle being touched unless it’s by someone I really, really trust,” said Suri. “When the person is far away, at least I don’t have to worry about that aspect.”

In Aug. 2013, Suri met Ray Malice, an 18 year-old from Indiana, on Facebook. They had 20 mutual friends.

“He added me and I commented on a pic-ture of his dog. It sparked a conversation, and soon, we bonded over our similar issues as well as our interests,” said Suri. A few weeks later, Suri was dating Malice.

“We began to have Skype dates to make

up for our lack of physical relationship. We’d dress nicely and get the same dinner on both sides. Sometimes, we talked to each other’s parents or I played with his dog. It was cute,” explained Suri.

Suri’s parents did not fully approve of the relationship because it was online. They eventually accepted it, but decided to moni-tor it carefully since it made their daughter happy. Online dating brings up the question of how much the physical aspect defines a re-lationship. While Suri found the lack of physi-cal proximity in online dating advantageous,

for Hutton, a relationship is not a relationship unless there is a physical aspect to it.

“If you online date and never meet in per-son, I don’t call that a relationship. I call that a possible friendship,” said Hutton. “When you online date there’s always that question of ‘How do I really know that person and are they representing themselves accurately?’ If you never meet them in person, you never know.”

Despite its benefits of a feeling of safety and increased freedom, online dating comes with its fair share of risks. The data that a user shares on the internet is inerasable, leaving open the possibility of exploitation and misuse of personal information.

Another prevalent risk of online dating is the veil of obscurity that comes with

being on the Internet, which enables fraud and deceit.

Although the web-site, Match.com, was convenient because it was easier to meet new people, Hutton discovered that many people misrepresent-ed themselves, which was disappointing for her.

On one occasion, Hutton chatted with a man who seemed to be “hilarious and charming.” Her perception changed when she met him in person.

“He had described his physical appear-ance in a way that was the polar opposite of reality,” said Hutton. “Putting his appearance aside, we took a seat and chatted for about an hour until I got the “save me” text from a friend. It was a really bad experience.”

Online, it is common for people to lie on their dating profiles or distort information-- in fact, according to a study done by Catalina L. Toma, an assistant professor in communi

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY KRISTEN WONG & JEFFREY YANG*According to Princeton Survey Research Associates International

cation arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 81 percent of people lie about their height, weight, or age in their online profiles.

Though Hutton was not wary of meeting new people online, she made sure to take a number of precautions before meeting someone in person.

“I would ask to meet in a pop-ulated place, and I would tell at least one of my friends who I was going with, where I was, what time I was supposed to be home,” said Hutton. “My friends always texted me in the middle of the date to check up on me and make sure I was okay.”

Hutton noticed that online dating has a negative connota-tion because of the stigma that it is reserved for those who are un-successful with in-person dating.

“When I tell my students I met my husband online they think that it’s because I was too unpop-ular to date in person, but it’s not like that,” said Hutton. “I think people who are against online dating are closing down their op-

tions to meet new people.” While Hutton considers on-

line dating a positive thing, she does not recommend it for teen-agers--she thinks that the age requirement should be 25 years old, or older.

“For teenagers, online dat-ing could be really dangerous,” said Hutton. “I remember I was getting really creepy messages sometimes. There could be situ-ations where a man lies about his age and tries to meet the girl in person. Teenagers should refrain from putting themselves in such situations.”

She believes, however, that online dating changed her life for the better— without online dat-ing, she would not have met the man she fell in love with.

“We’re coming up on our ninth anniversary now,” said Hut-ton.

Whether they begun with traditional courtship or interest sparked by an online dating pro-file, love and relationships have an equal chance of being suc-cessful.

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“Why am I still awake?”

KASTURI PANTVAIDYA—EPIC

In her sophomore year, Lee began losing her ability to sleep, spending hours upon hours trying to put her brain to rest. It was

at this time when she discovered that she had the symptoms for insomnia.

Insomnia is defined as a sleep disorder in which people experience trouble falling asleep or staying awake. According to John T. Peachey, Psy.D, from Stanford University, insomnia is ultimately a subjective disorder, and is difficult to characterize. Because of this, many students are unable to con-firm whether they have insomnia with-out a professional diagnosis.

Peachey did state, however, that most patients are only officially diag-nosed with chronic insomnia when they have difficulty fall-ing or staying asleep at least three nights a week on average for longer than a month.

Although never officially diagnosed with insomnia, Lee is certain that she went through it up until the end of her first se-mester senior year, struggling with a sleep-ing pattern similar to the one described by Peachey. Similarly, senior Irene Chen began suffering from an inability to sleep stemming from an over-thinking problem, one that still plagues her today.

Unlike many students at Lynbrook, Lee and Chen do not lose sleep because they have to pull all-nighters to finish their homework. Instead, they struggle with falling asleep.

“The problem with me is I have an overly active mind,” said Chen. “I can’t calm down because I’m always overthinking everything, so it takes me a long time to fall asleep, if I am able to.” Even during the interview, Chen was distracted by a squirrel’s movements outside the window.

An overactive mind is a commonly report-ed symptom among people with insomnia. Peachey relates having an overactive mind to people who are fatigued but have a difficult time unwinding and relaxing before bed, as seen in Lee’s sleeping situation.

Both Lee and Chen feel that a part of over-thinking comes from the stress built up from academics.

“When stress becomes chronic, it can potentially fuel a chronic sleep prob-lem,” Peachey said.

Lee tried many ways to make herself fall asleep, including attempting to calm her mind, listening to classical music

and taking Advil PM pills—a drug which in-duces drowsiness and can help treat occa-sional sleeplessness. But nothing worked.

She was convinced that her insomnia would go away if she tried hard enough, so she continued trying to clear her mind each night in bed.

“I would just lie in bed and I would lose track of time,” she said. “I told myself that I would be able to fall asleep within 30 min-utes, but the next time I checked my phone it would be two hours later.” The situation of-ten scared her, and she questioned whether she would ever be able to fall asleep again.

It was the question that she asked herself every night.

BY FREYA LIU & SABRINA JEN

“Sometimes, I couldn’t even remember how I fell asleep the last time,” she said.

Chen also attempted to make herself fall asleep when she began having insomnia-like symptoms by counting sheep, reading or lis-tening to calming music.

The different methods occasionally worked, but Chen continues to have a hard time falling asleep every night.

After going through a year of constant sleep deprivation, Lee eventually realized that she would not be able to fall asleep, and that “twisting and turning in bed for over two hours every night” was a complete waste of time. Accepting this, she began doing things that she would normally do during the day, trying to find anything distracting that could possibly trick her mind into falling asleep.

“I watched videos and pretended like it wasn’t as late as it was,” said Lee. “Eventu-ally, if I got bored or tired, I could fall asleep within just an hour if I was lucky.” By the time this happened, however, Lee only had about an hour to sleep before she had to get up in time for school.

Lee attempted to fix her sleeping schedule on several occasions by going to bed earlier, but she was unable to fall asleep, resulting in a neverending cycle of constant fatigue.

To make up for the lack of sleep during the night, Lee took naps throughout the day.

“But the 30 minute naps that I planned for often became two hour naps,” she said. These naps, although barely enough, allowed both Lee and Chen to regain enough energy to con-tinue with their lives.

While daytime naps are good temporary fixes for a few sleepless nights, naps are not recommended.

“Naps are a poor long-term solution for insomnia,” said Peachey. “They can reinforce difficulties falling and staying asleep by re-ducing the drive to sleep.”

For Chen, her daily “sleep” consists of nap-ping during the day, resulting in an almost nocturnal living cycle of sleeping during the day and being active during the night, exclud-ing the hours which she has to be awake for school.

“I don’t get tired like other people do dur-ing the night, but I do during the day because my nighttime becomes the school day,” she said. “It’s like a never ending cycle.” Chen has

not attempted to change this sleeping cycle because she has become accustomed to it and is able to work more efficiently with it. Still, being inable to fall asleep when she wants to has become somewhat of a nuisance for her.

“I wish it was something that I made a choice to do,” said Lee while talking about the students who stay up at night to finish work which they procrastinated on. “If I chose to stay up late, that would be another story, but it’s something that I can’t prevent, and it’s not under my control.”

Now a second se-mester senior, Lee’s ac-ademic stress has been greatly lifted, which has helped her avoid insomnia.

She has also learned to view sleep with a more positive mental-ity, since a large part of the disorder is based on the mindset of indi-viduals regarding their inabilties to fall asleep.

“If you tell yourself you’re not going to be able to fall asleep, then most likely you won’t be able to fall asleep,” said Lee. “Now that I know that, I try to dis-tract myself from sleep until I actually need it, and I don’t think as much when trying to fall asleep.” Today, it still takes Lee about 30 minutes each night to fall asleep; however, she has only experi-enced insomnia about once or twice so far in 2014.

Chen has not been able to maintain a nor-mal sleeping cycle, but she does hope to fix her sleeping cycle by sleep-ing at more suitable times before she goes to college in the fall.

Lee also worries about college, since she feels that the stress may trigger her insomnia again. Now, though, she is prepared to face the possibility of suffering sleepless nights, since she is no longer fearful of not being able to fall asleep.

“I think that the fear of not being able to fall asleep is a main thing that leads to insom-nia,” she said. “I overcame that fear by just telling myself that its natural and that I can overcome it, and I did.”

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I give off a bit of an intimidating aura, so I pass

off as a guy very well and bullying isn’t that much of a concern for me,” said junior Wil-liam Kuo*, a trans-gender student who identifies as a male. “So the prob-lem with using the boys’ bathrooms at school is more that I might accidentally bump into a guy I know.”

Still, it’s not as bad as being told that he doesn’t belong in the girls’ bathroom--which, he says, has happened multiple times.

Kuo occupies a murky area, stuck in a catch-22: expected to use female facilities, which would make him uncomfortable yet wants to use male facilities, which would make other students uncomfortable.

In order to alleviate these problems and extend California’s anti-discrimination law, Governer Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1266 (AB 1266) into law last August. It man-dates that schools allow transgender stu-dents to participate in sex-segregated school activities and use school facilities regardless of the gender listed on official school records. Such activities and facilities include school sponsored sports programs and restrooms. In accordance with AB 1266, FUHSD will be

BY STEPHANIE LU & DHIRAJ NALLAPOTHULA

making adjustments to Board policies and regulations.

“One [policy] is about anti-discrimination and the other one is about sports and activi-ties,” said Principal John Dwyer. “The district is going to make [these] adjustments to make sure that we have specific references to [AB 1266] included.”

The district has not published these poli-cy changes due to the opposition to AB 1266 from Privacy for Students, a coalition of par-ents, students, nonprofit and faith groups who wish to give voters the right to repeal AB 1266. Privacy for Students opposes AB 1266 because it is poorly drafted and lacks the provisions needed to “balance the inter-ests of students.”

Until the legal challenge to the bill is re-solved, the bill will not be implemented. Due to the petition, the law could be placed on a statewide Nov. 2014 ballot if enough sig-

natures are found to be valid. De-spite the petition, FUHSD has put things in motion to implement AB 1266 if the petition lacks the necessary support.

“We’ve been doing two things,” said Dwyer. “First of all, drafting up

what we think we should be doing as a re-sponse to the bill as read. Secondly, we’ve been keeping an eye on the challenges [to the bill] and waiting for a final outcome before moving ahead with advising our school com-munity of any changes.”

Dwyer stressed the importance of keeping things “equitable, respectful and sensitive” by asking that students who wish identify as a different gender to talk to the administration or counselors privately to make a request to use different facilities.

Thus far, the request process is just about the same as before AB 1266. In years past, transgender students were allowed to use gender-neutral bathrooms if they felt uncom-fortable using bathrooms corresponding to their birth-assigned gender; this allows all students to be comfortable with who was us-ing what facilities.

According to Dwyer, AB 1266 has simply

AB 1266:A student may participate in sex-segregated activities and use facilities that correspond with his or her gender identity.

Examining California’s AB 1266 and what it means for transgender students on campus

TRANSLATINGPOLICYTRANSGENDER

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said she would “... like to remain open-mind-ed. I don’t know if that’s possible, but I want to try, at least.”

Contrarily, junior Traji Omar disagreed with the implications of AB 1266. “I’d rath-er not have [transgender guys] in the girls’ bathrooms. As a girl, I feel like if I went into the guys’ bathrooms, I would risk serious sexual harassment or assault, so it might be dangerous for transgender students.”

Though Kuo said that Lynbrook has handled AB 1266 fairly well, California as a whole has not welcomed the bill with open arms. Though the bill helps transgender stu-dents, some things--like student, parent and staff mindsets--are not changed so easily.

If a situation arises where students abuse AB 1266, administration will investigate the issue and will deal with the issue on a disci-plinary or counseling basis or a combinati-non of both.

Like all LGBTQ-related issues, AB 1266c comes controversy as Lynbrook students generally had mixed reactions to the law. The FUHSD amended current policies to ad-dress AB 1266, but the petition has stalled their implementation. Despite the contro-versy, AB 1266 has a clear goal: Create a comfortable environment for transgender students that caters to their needs.

*Names witheld to protect identity

will be competing in the girls’ division, due to AB 1266.

Kuo thought that the bill showed support for the transgender community, even if there were still more problems at hand. “I really feel like it’s enough as it is, because any other

issues I have can’t be impacted by the law.” Such issues include negative student reac-tions or people who view heterosexuality as the absolute norm.

Current student opinion on AB 1266 is mixed. Junior Irena Feng said, “[Transgen-

der students] are the gender they iden-tify with, so I’m okay with [AB 1266.]”

When asked if she would be comfortable using facilities alongside transgender stu-dents who have not completed the sex change process, she

put these unspoken agreements into law. Though the administration had declined

to allow Kuo to use the boys’ bathrooms, he was given access to gender-neutral bath-rooms this year.

“Actually it started out with me being kind of lost, so I went to the counselor, and even-tually we started chatting, and I asked if I could use the boys’ bathroom, and I just want to use the bathroom peacefully, and I’m just like, ‘godd*****t!’” He stopped and sheepishly apologized. “Sorry. I’m just really frustrated about the whole thing.”

A major point of emphasis is to ensure that school faculty address the needs of transgender students in a safe and appropri-ate manner

“In particular, we want to talk to make sure all our staff are on the same page

with how we respond to students ex-pressing different gender identi-ties,” said Dwyer.One key sex-segregated activity

that AB 1266 refers to is school-spon-sored athletics. As a wrestler, sophomore

Gabriella Lee*, a transgender student who identifies as a girl, wasn’t able to

compete in the girls’ division this year. Next year, however, she

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As the waves quietly overlap in the glis-tening lake, sophomore Joelle Shieh rows in The Edge, an eight-person

boat she has rowed in since she began the sport last March. It is here out on the water, arms oscillating in pace with her teammates’ movements, where Shieh feels most at peace.

After a friend began rowing, Shieh decided to try out the sport, too. With no expectations of what was to come, Shieh began rowing at the Lexington Reservoir in Campbell.

“I put the oar backward in the water, and I tried to row but it pulled me back. I literally fell out of the boat, and it was scary and really embarrassing,” said Shieh. “They had to stop because of me, but I eventually got back in.”

Though most of the other girls already knew each other from attending Saint Fran-cis High School, Shieh went into the experi-ence as the only Lynbrook girl on the team. Getting along was not an issue.

“In the end, you row with the girls in com-petitions so you have to learn to like each oth-er,” said Shieh. “We all focus and work hard while pushing each other to try harder.”

As Shieh was enjoying meeting her team-mates, she had a nerve-wracking experience that alerted her to the risks of rowing. While learning to row alone, Shieh was told to head out into the middle of the lake.

“I was really scared, because everyone

From the gym to the reservoirJunior Joelle Shieh recently traded in her vol-leyball for a pair of oars and is now explor-ing the sport of rowing. It turns out that the streams are anything but gentle, but her per-severance, her intensive training, and her pos-itive attitude have paid off.

BY SANA SHARFUDDIN

JOEY LI -- EPIC

else was in the boathouse and I didn’t have much practice,” said Shieh.

Still inexperienced, she slowly rowed into the lake, but The Edge flipped over in the process because of the strong wind.

“I tried to get back in the boat, but it was really hard,” said Shieh. “I treaded wa-ter for an hour, and then my coach finally came and helped me back into the boat.”

The exercise Shieh gets from regularly attending the almost daily, three-hour practices is far more intense than what she ever got playing volleyball.

“To set up for each session, we have to go to the boat house and put the boats on our shoulders, and then walk down a hill with it,” said Shieh. “The boat is extremely heavy so it’s a core workout.”

For Shieh, the hardest part of the wa-ter sport is the intensive training sessions that happen on land. When she trains on the rowing machine, the amount of pain Shieh must endure has caused her to re-

think continuing the sport multiple times. “During these training sessions, people

start crying or barfing but you have to keep on going. I cry tears of pain almost every time we have a session,” said Shieh. “One time we had an hour of rowing on the row-ing machine, and I remember telling myself to give up because I was enduring so much pain. I was about to quit, but then I thought that this is what the sport is about, so why should I leave if I joined it for the purpose of challenging myself?”

Although Shieh was surprised at how different rowing is from volleyball, she found that being around the water has had a positive effect on her.

“Rowing gives me something to hold onto when I’m frustrated or sad,” said Shieh. “If I ever have problems in my life, I do rage rowing, which is basically letting out all the emotions you feel through the pain that you experience while rowing.”

While this has helped Shieh emotionally,

it has also given her more knowledge about her physical limits.

“You begin to understand your limits and how far you’ll go to achieve some-thing,” said Shieh. “You have to pay at-tention to how your body works and what muscles are related to what.”

Confronting and overcoming the var-ious challenges of rowing gave Shieh a better understanding of herself, and also instilled more confidence in her. One time, in a recreational race she beat a girl who had been rowing for three years longer than her.

“I was extremely proud of myself be-cause I realized that I was improving a lot,” said Shieh of the race.

Shieh wishes to keep rowing through-out high school and college, if possible.

“Rowing is something I want to do for a really long time,” said Shieh. “It has proven to be the perfect sport for me, and I’ve learned so much from it.”

JOEY LI -- EPIC

ROWING HER BOAT //Top left, Joelle Shieh rows third

from the right. Bottom left, Shieh, center, looks

determined as she pushes through a tough practice.

WINNINGAre you a winner or a loser? That’s a question that many athletes

ponder throughout their athletic careers. Through wins and

losses in team and individual sports, athletes change how they

see themselves in other aspects of their lives.

BY KRISTEN WONG

for athletes who take home the.

Winning isn’t everything, is it?From triumph to heartbreak, pride to hu-

mility, athletes of all different types of sports have learned from wins and losses a myriad of lessons that apply to academics, social re-lationships, and life in general.

On cross country Ling said, “Success in running has definitely boosted my self es-teem which improved the quality of every-thing that I do in all aspects of life. Last cross country season was the best season I’ve ever had so far and it also occurred during the semester where I got the best grades in my life. Coming from a failure status mindset to success is the most wonderful thing I have experienced in my life because of everything I have learned. A positive mindset reflects upon everything that happens.”

To many Lynbrook athletes, there are more important things than winning at the end of the day.

“Mostly I try to focus on sportsmanship,” said Yung. “If you only care about winning, you lose the school gossip, the long-lasting friends, and the entire sports experience.”

ture of athletics is a benefit to players, the negative effects that stem from a sports com-petition can often be more intense, and even threaten an athlete’s grades and social life.

“Losing in sports leads to a loss in self respect and confidence for me,” said junior Grace Ling, who previously competed in track and field. “Last year, I got a stress frac-ture on my left shin twice which didn’t allow me to run for three months. As a result, I got the worst grades that year and I just felt like I wasn’t worthy of anyone so I found it hard to talk to people.”

A sports loss resulting from poor perfor-mance can affect a student’s academic suc-cess and a number of personal relationships.

“When I have bad games or when I’m not satisfied with how I’m playing, I get re-ally angry at myself and that affects the way I treat the people around me,” said junior Alan Wang, who plays for the boys’ varsity bad-minton team. “Usually when I lose games I become irritable and snappy, so I get mad at other people really easily.”

Often there is a overlap between a per-son’s athletic life and academic and social life that can either create hardships or happiness

Athletes generally try to separate their worlds: they’ve got their sports lives and their everyday lives. But when

performance in their sport is a top concern, the line between tends to blur and conse-quences of their athletic achievement, good or bad, can impact their everyday lives.

Confidence is the name of the game There are intense moments in all sports:

a penalty kick, a free throw, the last hundred meters of a race. It’s moments like these that can shake the confidence of athletes. “A mo-ment like that can either make you or break you,” said sophomore Kirsten Chai. With a year of varsity soccer under her belt, Chai has had her share of game-changing experiences.

High-stress games against formidable op-ponents not only worry athletes before the event, but also leave them second guessing their play after the game ends. No matter the sport, there are after thoughts centered around one major question: What could I have done differently? Wins tend to erase or minimize this question, whereas losses gen-erally magnify it.

Some successful sports teams have to manage their victories in order to maintain a competitive and ambitious mentality.

“Winning a lot of [water polo] games does create a sense of invincibility, but we play a difficult season outside of leagues to keep the right perspective in mind,” said Jerome Chung, the boys’ and girls’ water polo coach.

For teams who have a less distinguished reputation, confidence on the field is lacking, but does not always impact the confidence of the players outside of the game.

Steve Kendrick, the varsity baseball coach said, “Being a program that has struggled to win games in the past definitely affects our team’s confidence on the baseball field. How-ever, I believe that our athletes are very con-fident in other arenas [such as school work and club activities]. Hopefully, with a few more wins, their confidence in this arena will also improve.”

It’s not just a game, it’s my lifeFrom an athlete’s viewpoint, one of the

main challenges of playing sports is the ef-fect the outcome of a game can have on his or her studies. In some cases, this challenge can turn into a beneficial asset.

“Joining cross country and competing in many invitational’s has forced me to give up on some of my extracurriculars and dedi-cate less time to some of my other school-related activities,” said freshman Irene Han, who currently participates in track and field. “However, running after school made me less stressed and boosted my concentration level, therefore improving my work efficiency.”

Though sometimes the competitive na-

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PHIC ILLU

STRATION

BY KELSEY HU

RWITZ

While the game of ping-pong is not widely played at Lynbrook, it incorporates a fascinating array of skills, including a unique emphasis on mental games, speed and agility rather than on physical strength alone.

Junior Manoj Vasishta’s eyes are wide open. Maybe his mouth is too, but he doesn’t realize. He’s thinking of every-

thing and nothing all at once. He’s in the zone. “In the zone, things lose focus. It’s tun-

nel vision, but more extreme,” he said. “I’m so focused on the ball, I kind of forget where I am, and who I’m playing.”

Vasishta has been playing ping-pong for three years, most of which competitively.

Physically, he might never lunge from side to side any faster than he is now, or hit the ball much harder. What keeps him engaged is the mental aspect of the game.

“You need to pay attention to so many

things at once. You need to figure out how he’s hitting the ball, or how his feet are moving,” he said. “But you also need to make sure you’re not putting yourself in a corner.”

Ping-pong, notorious for requiring a high level of finesse differs from sister sports tennis and badminton in that brute force rarely proves an irreplaceable asset.

Sheer athleticism, though advanta-geous, does not play as big a role as punc-tilious hand-eye coordination.

To gain an edge, ping-pong players often resort to mind games in an attempt out-smart their opponents.

“You have to play a step ahead of your

opponent,” agreed junior Vincent Li. Li, having played for three years, be-

lieves that “reading” an opponent is abso-lutely vital to success.

“When you play an opponent, you quickly start to get a feel of what his ten-dencies are,” he said. “You have to pick them up and exploit them before he picks up yours, or else you’re at a disadvantage.” Li says that the nature of the game leaves him in a heightened state of anticipation—he is constantly trying to guess where the ball is going to be before it even reaches his opponent.

And according to Vasishta, at that point the game begins to resemble chess.

BY YONATAN ZEMLYAK

Q + A

GRAPHIC BY KELSEY HURWITZ

“Since you want to be in place for the winning hit, you have to put yourself in that position. You can’t look too far ahead, but you can hit the ball in a certain way so that your opponent can only retaliate in a cer-tain way,” said Vasishta. “And then you’re at an advantage. If you can your opponent on his heels, then do it.”

Li agrees: pong-pong is a mental game, and he who displays the best ability to adapt comes out on top.

“I tweak my game to better combat those of my opponent. And vice-versa. Whoever figures it out first, wins,” said Li. “You play the guy as much as you play the game.”

Yonatan Zemlyak: You are coached by Olympian Tim Wang.

Talk about your experience.Manoj Vasishta: First time I

met him, I was really nervous. My hands were kind of sweating, and I’m pretty sure he noticed it when we shook hands. When we met, he

introduced himself by saying “Hi I’m Tim Wang” and I was really

close to saying “Yes, I know.” What took me aback was how laid-back he was. He really came off as just

an ordinary guy. He doesn’t act any differently than the other

coaches; you couldn’t tell that he’s an Olympian.”

YZ: How did you feel right before you meet him?

MV: He was supposed to be a temporary coach, and I found

out only the day before. My initial reaction was“No this can’t be!” I

was terrified that he would go all ‘Olympic’ and I would embarrass him because I’m not on his level.”

YZ: How is being coached by an Olympian different than be-

ing coached by just some coach?MV: More than anything, he

adds a practical perspective to his coaching. Any coach can show you theory, but this guy can show you

how it’s done.”YZ: What specifics can he

show you that other coaches wouldn’t be able to?

MV: He made the importance of training very clear. He showed that

in ping-pong, you need to be able to endure long periods of action. It wasn’t something anyone else had

dwelled on up to that point. He also made me take training very seriously to improve my game.”YZ: Has Wang inspired you in

any way?MV: Oh absolutely. He started

out as just some kid in Texas. He liked ping-pong. He had a dream.

He followed it. The amount of effort he put into his training is

incredible and inspirational. And then he got it. His goal was all-or-

nothing, and he made it.”

Reporter Yonatan Zemlyak sits down with Manoj Vasishta for

some fast facts about his ping-pong experiance

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PHIC ILLU

STRATION

BY KELSEY HU

RWITZ

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION BY URMILA VENKATARAMANI & PRACHI LAUD

ILLUSTRATION BY AUDREY ZHENG

Yes, it’s that time of year again. This time of year is easy to identify for a San Jose Sharks fan: full of hope, bliss,

and clamor for the jersey of the Sharks’ new-est star—Tomas Hertl this season. Anyway, with the National Hockey League (NHL) sea-son almost 75 percent complete, the Sharks sport an impressive record of 37 wins and 22 losses. They sit in second place in the Pa-cific Division and have the fifth-most points in the entire league. As a devoted Sharks fan, I should be happy. But I’m not. I am not sat-isfied because I have come to the realization that every year, the season only ends in heart-break. We fans get our hopes sky high, only to have them come crashing back to Earth. After months of analysis, introspection and study, I have identified the five stages of being a Sharks fan. They are as follows:

1. Anticipation (September): The NHL season is finally about to start! Although hockey has been gone for just a few months, it feels like it has been years, if not decades. The pain from last year’s playoff exit is still here, but it’s time to move on. Frustration has been replaced by a cautious optimism. It’s a new season, and it represents a chance to put the unsavory memories from last year be-hind us. There’s nothing to make a summer’s worth of bad dreams go away quite like the first face-off of the season at the Shark Tank!

2. Hopefulness (October-February): The new season is underway, and the Sharks are playing some stellar hockey! All the ana-lysts on TV are praising them and there seems to be a good vibe running through the whole team. Headlines like “This Sharks team looks different,” “Team chemistry at an all-time high,” and “San Jose looks like a threat to win it all” usually pop up in the newspapers and

online during this period. It’s still pretty early in the season, but the Sharks are near the top of the standings. It’s in this stage that a new player, usually either an inexperienced one or an offseason acquisition, takes the league by storm and makes us believers (Tomas Hertl this year, Dany Heatley a few years back, Devin Setoguchi a few years before that). Side note: Yes, I’ve fallen for this a couple times. Did I buy a Dany Heatley shirt in 2009? Of course I did. Did I trash the aforementioned shirt and feel like a fool when he got traded after the following season? Yup. Not one of the better purchases I’ve made in my life.

3. Cockiness (March): The regular season is just about wrapped up, and the Sharks are set to be one of the top-ranked playoff seeds. The Sharks look unstoppable; they’re truly firing on all cylinders. Our cockiness can’t be helped—it’s not our fault that the Sharks are too good. The championship is right there for the taking. It’s just sitting there, like a brief-case full of cash left unattended. What can stop this team from snatching the briefcase/Stanley Cup? Nothing!!!

4. Nervousness (April-May): Sharks fans hit this stage in the playoffs. It can be in the third, second or even the first round. Despite their efforts to remain level-headed, overcon-fidence has seeped in. The Sharks fall behind in a playoff series to an inferior team. Sud-denly, all the bravado from Stage 3 has evapo-rated and been replaced by fear. The memo-ries of early playoff exits in years past come flooding back, inciting even more panic in our minds. On television and the radio, expert af-ter expert says that “Team X has the Sharks figured out,” or “Team X cannot be stopped.” Hey… the Sharks won’t really do this again, will they? No, this season is different… right?

5. Agony (April-May): Disaster has struck. The Sharks are eliminated from the playoffs. Once again, they have bowed out early. Hopes of winning it all are dashed. The world is empty, devoid of meaning. We are angry. Angry at the team for always fall-ing short in the playoffs, but also at ourselves for being sucked into it like that. Why did we think this year would be different? Why did we become so sure that the Sharks would breeze through the playoffs, when that never happens? Do the Sharks really try to win and just always fall short, or are they actually a group of sadists that secretly revel in watch-ing us mourn the season’s conclusion? What did we do to deserve this punishment? All of these are valid questions, and we’ll have a long offseason to ponder the answers.

There you have it; the five stages of emo-tion that Sharks fans go through every year. This is why I now refuse to be sucked into the hype, the promise that this year will be ‘the year.’ All of you other Sharks diehards can buy into it if you want. I will cheer for the Sharks as I always have, but I root for the team with the knowledge that they will likely find a way to come up short in the playoffs. Unless, of course, the Sharks win the Stanley Cup. Then, and only then, will I lower my guard and be carefree.

Bottom left: Tin Pot Cream-ery. For those willing to make the drive into Palo Alto, Tin Pot will offer some of the best ice-cream flavors and baked treats in the Bay Area, hands down. Bottom right: J. T. McHart’s Pizza. Located in a popular complex next to Cupertino

Square, it is truly a wonder that more students and residents of the area do not frequent this res-taurant. Though it is a tad more expensive than most joints, you’ll realize that you’re paying for the quality after trying out McHarts’ outstanding pizzas.

Top: Stevens Creek County Park. Tucked away in the

Cupertino Hills, the park offers a variety of trails, beautiful scenery and a gorgeous reservoir. Visi-tors can hike, fish, bike, picnic or kayak in the lake.

After hearing a variety of Lyn-brook students talk about how “there’s nothing to do

around here,” the Epic staff set out to prove their assumptions wrong. Over a period of two days, two staffers spent their time after school visiting a few of the area’s “hidden gems.” Top left: Hakone Estate & Gar-

dens. Located a short drive away from Lynbrook, the well-mani-cured gardens offer a place of se-renity for those wanting to walk around and take in the scenery. Right: Recycle Bookstore. A small and intimate bookstore lo-cated in the heart of Campbell, Re-cycle Bookstore offers customers

a vast collection of books for great prices. Also, they have resident cats! Bottom left: Great Bear Cof-fee. A hole-in-the-wall shop lo-cated in downtown Los Gatos, Great Bear provides customers with divine coffees, delicious fro-zen treats and a wonderful selection of sweet and savory baked goods.