THE PROSPECTORCUPERTINO HIGH SCHOOL’S

VOLUME 52 NO. 4 10100 FINCH AVENUE, CUPERTINO CA FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Chelsea Voss becomes Tino’s first Intel Science Talent Search finalist

New online resource for student research

HARINI JAGANATHANnews editor

When Chelsea Voss turned sixteen a year ago, she did not receive a car from her parents or have a large party. She received a microscope. Voss’ passion for science does not

stop at her love for looking at leaves and mushrooms under the lens of a microscope, but has led her to success in highly esteemed sci-ence competitions. Most recently, Voss was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search. This was the first time in his-tory that a Tino student made it not only to the semifinals, but also

WINNING MOMENT | On Wednesday, January 26 in the quad during tutorial, an Intel reprsentative presented senior Chelsea Voss with a giant “board-ing pass” and congratulated her on becoming a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. Voss ‘ mother looks on proudly as Voss is recognized for her work.

Lack of student vigilance begets traffic problemsREGINA HONGeditor-in-chiefVIRENA GALOTRAin-depth assistant

bike to school without music, he says it is important to keep fo-cused on the road without getting too distracted. But the student bikers are not always the ones at fault.

Drivers need to be cautious as well. Just as bikers can be dis-tracted by loud music, student drivers are often inattentive and careless, especially in the school parking lot. In the past, there have been several incidents in the parking lot because of students’ immature decisions.

“It is probably not a good idea to give your girlfriend driv-ing lessons or to practice your fishtails in the parking lot during school hours,” said Sanchez.

Such reckless driving can easily hurt others, which is what happened around 3 p.m. on January 26. As junior Jillian Wolgast was biking home on Finch Avenue, she was hit while making a turn. Although it was her right of way, the driver failed to notice her and kept driving. Wolgast’s bike was hit from behind she hit the street headfirst. She was uninjured, but her cell phone was crushed by the car.

What surprised her was the driver lacked concern and drove

On the morning of Friday, January 14, junior Jeffrey Ding was hit while riding his bike to school. He was driving past the bus circle and did not see a car nose out of the driveway, according to assistant principal Andy Walczak.

“It was more like the kid hit the car than the car hit the kid,” said Walczak.

According to student conduct specialist Jerry Sanchez, bikers often believe that they should follow pedestrian laws when they should be abiding by vehicle laws. They frequently think they have the right of way.

Students often bike with headphones in their ears and are con-sequently unable to hear other drivers and their warnings as they speed through the morning traffic.

Said Sanchez, “You can get into a trance like television.”Although Sanchez acknowledges that it could get boring to

see INTEL FINALIST, pg 2

see TRAFFIC ISSUES, pg 2

HARINI JAGANATHAN

WEDNESDAY MORNING | A student steers through traffic on his bike as a car noses out of the staff parking lot.

to the finals. The Intel Science Talent Search is widely recognized as one of the

most prestigious science competitions for high school students. The competition recognized 300 seniors as semifinalists and 40 as final-ists, including ten others from California. Semifinalists won $1,000, and finalists fly to Washington D.C. to display their work to the public and to compete for a $100,000 grand prize after a week- long judging process. Winners will be announced on March 15.

Voss submitted an application and research paper detailing the

MADHURI SATHISHfeatures assistant

The library’s newest database subscription, purchased by librarian Pat Accorinti, is Journal Storage ( JSTOR), a digital archive of articles from over 1,000 academic journals. These journals span a broad variety of topics in many fields, including literature and history. This plethora of subject mat-ter permits independent researchers to dive deeper into the information they seek and provides stu-dents with the opportunity to take their research to a more advanced level.

Said Accorinti, “[ JSTOR is more useful] if you’re doing extensive research and you have more time, [or] you have a whole team that is looking at the information.”

Accorinti explained that the Lynbrook librar-ian, Maria Jackson, gave her the idea to subscribe to JSTOR last year, but she actually made the deci-sion to do so this year, when the American Litera-ture Honors classes were doing a mock trial about Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and were in desperate need of evidence. At the end of this year, Accorinti will decide whether or not to keep JSTOR based on how proficiently it has been used and on the state of the budget.

Junior Anusha Ramakuri, who used JSTOR for the Huckleberry Finn trial, found it useful because it provided her with ar-ticles about e x p e r t s who had re s ea rc h e d the book themselves. R a m a k u r i said that she found ar-ticles about most topics, all of which contained reli-able information.

According to World History teacher Kyle

see ONLINE DATABASE RESOURCE, pg 2

JSTOR by the numbers:1,289 Journals

53 Disciplines

6,361,555 Articles

SPORTS: “Elle-god” brings basketball team success

JAMIN SHIH

COMPILED BY MADHURI SATHISH

FEATURES: A look into Pioneers’ obsessionsPHOTOESSAY: Taking stock of Tinostock

2 FEBRUARY 11, 2011THE PROSPECTORthe Prospector2010-2011

STAFF

Cupertino High SchoolEstablished 1958

Vol LIl., No. 4 | 2011

editors-in-chiefanthony kaoregina hong

news editorharini jaganathan

opinions editoreric jang

features editortess wu

in-depth editorsjackie breuer

vani mulkareddy

lifestyles editornatalie hoang

sports editorjoanna lee

photo editorswillie wang

amar kantipudijamin shih

copy editorsalyssa williams

jamin shihfred han

business managerjackie breuer

news assistants

opinionsassistants

featuresassistants

lifestyles assistants

in-depth assistants

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jesse zhouemily chengmadhuri sathish

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sunwoo jeongsindhu gnanasambandan

adviserann peck

editorial policy“The Prospector” is an open forum of

expression for student editors to inform and educate their readers. It will not be reviewed by or restrained by school of-ficials prior to publication or distribution. Advisors may and should coach and discuss content during the writing process.

The staff of “The Prospector” seeks to recognize individuals, events, ideasand bring news to the Cupertino community in an accurate, professional and unbiased manner. “The Prospector” will not avoid publishing a story solely on the basis of possible dis-sent or controversy.

If you believe an error has been made, or wish to have your opinion expressed in “The Prospector”please contact us via mail or e-mail. Letters sent become tbe sole property of “The Prospector” and can be edited for length, clarity or accuracy.

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An update on the organization that gained our school national media attention almost a year ago for raising money for a school in Kenya.Kenya Dream:

ALYA OMARnews assistantJESSE ZHOUfeatures assistant

During the SuperProm award ceremony last year, former Kenya Dream President and current alum Justin Li declared that “Kenya

Dream is now a reality.” One year later, reality is slightly more complicated. The Dream Team’s focus has shifted away from its initial goal of raising $100,000 for Kenya’s Nithimibiri Secondary School, instead opting to simply raise as much money as possible for other less fortunate Kenyan schools, such as the newly adopted Mukua Sec-ondary School.

According to the Cupertino Rotary, Kenya Dream’s primary financial partner, Kenya Dream has so far raised $52,000 (including matching contributions from Rotary International) out of its original goal of $100,000. Al-though the amount of money was only half of what the organization originally promised, it is already more than enough to pay for an entire lab at the school with $27,000 still left over. A long list of other needs is currently being formulated, and when the list is finished, the money will finally be sent over to Kenya. Until then, the money will be safeguarded by the Cupertino Rotary until a definite method of spending the it is developed.

“I’m confident that there are no misappropriations in funds regarding this project,” said Rotary representative Cecelia Babkirk. “We choose carefully about who we part-ner with in Kenya to make sure the money is spent cor-rectly. We don’t want the money to go down a black hole like it does in many areas around Africa.”

However, to Kenya Dream adviser Chin Song, this initial effort for Nithimibiri is a success best saved for the school’s history.

“To speak about raising $100,000 would be to speak of the past. I believe that our organization is more focused on the future,” said Song. “Today, the goal is to raise as much as we can within a given amount of time.”

Major events hosted by Kenya Dream are helping to achieve that new goal. Kenya Dance III attracted 26 dance crews from across the country who volunteered to help with the philanthropic cause and a multitude of sponsors, including Dell and the Silicon Valley Red Cross. The event sold well over 1,000 tickets and the Kenya Dance brand-name has become more well-known in the past three years.

“It’s been expanded hugely,” said Kenya Dream Presi-dent Al Hassani. “We have 50 percent more ticket sales than at the same time last year. [The tickets] are being sold throughout the Bay Area.”

Kenya Dream itself is expanding outside of Cupertino too. Nithin Jilla, an alum who was a pioneer of the organi-zation, has started a UC Irvine branch with over 40 mem-bers and counting. That branch has been planning events similar to Kenya Dance III in Southern California, and with this joint effort from both branches, fundraising for Mukua Secondary School is projected to increase.

Kenya Dream has changed the face and legacy of this school. From promising to donate massive amounts of money to spreading the word of education, Kenya Dream has spread its influence to myriad people during the past four years. With its new long-term visions and alumni as-sistance, Kenya Dream will continue in attempting to in-spire hope for students in impoverished areas around the world for years to come.

project she created during the second half of her summer. She studied nematodes, a type of worm, and created a computer model of their early development with limited help from mentor David Dill, a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineer-ing at Stanford University.

“Finding out I was a finalist was really unexpected,” said Voss. “My research wasn’t actually biological. It was more like computer science based research, so I wasn’t expect-ing it to get very far.”

Voss has had previous success in science competitions, placing third in the world at the International Biology Olympiad in Changwon, Korea this past summer, surpassing her fellow competitors from the United States. She plans on competing again this year.

Voss has been interested in science generally since she was young. Her childhood in Nevada sparked some of her interest.

“[Nevada] was interesting bio-wise because there’s a lot of stuff there that we don’t have here,” she said. “I found a scorpion once and many lizards.”

She developed her skills in Computer Science as a hobby during freshman and soph-omore years by learning programming languages on her own and creating games. Her interest in Biology increased after taking AP Biology during her junior year.

“Bio AP helped me with knowing how nematodes work and the development I was studying,” said Voss. “It got me more interested in looking under the microscope.”

Voss was the gold award recipient in AP Biology last year.“Not only was she one of the best, but she would do little things outside of class and

show me, like make microscope slides of a fungus and identify all of the parts,” said Voss’ AP Biology teacher Allanah Ujifusa.

Voss plans on combining her interests in Computer Science and Biology in the fu-ture as well. She wants to major in Computational Biology at MIT in the fall, and even-tually become a researcher.

Intel Finalist:(cont. pg. 1)

Traffic Issues:(cont. pg. 1)

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

May 2007: 90% of the Class of 2010 pledged to give all funds to Kenya Dream

Nov 2009: Kenya Dream Turkey TrotNov 2009: SuperProm Voting Beg

April 2009: Kenya Dance

March 2010: Dell announced Tino as the winners of SuperProm

May 2010: Kenya Dance IIMay 2010: Dell SuperProm

Feb 2011: Kenya Dance III

A look back at past events

COMPILED BY AZADEH RONGERE

Online Database Resource:(cont. pg. 1)

Fitzpatrick, JSTOR sets itself apart from the other databases the li-brary offers.

“The types of information it searches... [are] a higher level of re-search,” he said.

Fitzpatrick believes that JSTOR allows students to develop criti-cal thinking skills.

“They have to think about what [they’re] searching for and how [they’re] searching for it,” he said.

While JSTOR provides a chance for graduate students to get their work published online, it also gives high school students the opportunity to access a larger array of credible sources that goes be-yond basic research, at the same time allowing them to analyze and perform a more advanced level of research.

“Once you go beyond the search terms... being able to decipher loads of difficult information in a short amount of time [becomes crucial],” said Fitzpatrick.

Using JSTOR takes a great deal of practice, particularly because all search terms must directly convey what kind of information a student is looking for, and not all students may be ready for such complexity.

“However, there will always be an independent researcher who goes looking for more,” said Accoritni. “[It is] my job as a librarian to make sure that we have resources for all of the students here at school.”

Although JSTOR may not prove useful to everyone, it will be available for those who need it, at least until Accorinti re-evaluates it at the end of the year.

ANNOUNCEMENT | Students looked on as Voss was recognized for her success.

HARINI JAGANATHAN

off. “It was a hit and run. No one stopped to help me and I had to walk

myself home,” said Wolgast.Wolgast feels that the school needs to be safer for bikers and walk-

ers. She believes that carelessness on the road deters people from us-ing these methods to commute to school.

Said Wolgast, “My mom didn’t want me to bike to school this morning. She begged me to let her give me a ride.”

Wolgast’s mother’s sentiments are echoed throughout the school; in a poll of 101 students, 72 percent of students take a car to school while only 10 percent bike, scooter or skateboard.

Despite her mother’s wariness, she continues to bike to school because she feels that an accident like this is not the norm.

3FEBRUARY 11, 2011 THE PROSPECTOR

Student Doctors’ pig heart dissection cultivates students’ interests

ABHISHEK ZAVERIlifestyles assistant

The sight of a six-inch wide, blood-filled pig heart might leave many people disgusted and un-sure of what to make of it. With its muscular out-side and bright red color, a pig heart seems intim-idating even to touch. However, the vast amount of information within a pig heart, including its anatomy and its relations to a human heart, mes-merized a curious group of students enough to slice it open. On January 26, the Student Doctors Club brought education to ambitious students in a simple and inexpensive way by performing dis-

sections on 15 pig hearts to learn about the vari-ous parts of a living animal’s heart.

The novel idea of performing a dissection was brought to the club by its president, senior Samuel Lee. Lee thought that the dissection of a pig heart would teach the students about simple surgical procedures doctors perform and the anatomy of a heart. For the price of three dollars for every two pig hearts, the dissection seemed inexpensive and easy to execute.

“My excitement for biology really caught fire when I first dissected and observed a live crayfish heart. I felt obligated to share the exhilarating experience of dissecting an animal’s organ with other students,” said Lee.

DISSECTION | Club members examine a pig heart as they carefully make their first incision.

On the day of dissection, 25 members of the Student Doctors Club arrived at the science wing, eager to start cutting into their specimens. Instructed by Physiology teacher Samantha Southerd, the students were thought the basic safety methods with the dissection tools and be-gan immediately.

“For some of the students, doing a fresh heart dissection is a huge eye opener. If you can’t handle looking at a fresh heart you might need to consider the path of doctor. So I think that these students are one step closer to knowing if they want to be doctors or not,” said Southerd.

Students began noticing various components of the heart when they started to cut into the outer muscles with sharp scalpels. Slicing with precision, many found main arteries, the apex, bicuspids, tricuspids, the apex and the muscular tissues of the heart.

It reminded students like junior Natasha Chitnis of their original goals for college and fur-ther studies.

“Prior to the dissection, I was already inclined to pursue science and medical fields and am in fact thinking about majoring in neuroscience. This experience encouraged this because I’ve never dissected just one organ before and to see all the intricate parts in the pig heart that are very similar to those in humans was really amazing,” said Chitnis.

At a minimal cost, this dissection educated interested students with hands-on learning. The process helped generate more ambition in the students, to think of medical fields for their own future. Lee hopes that such dissecting proj-ects become a tradition of the Student Doctors Club, so it may spark many more minds in years to come.

JAMIN SHIH

Letter from the Editors

news

Greetings!

I hope you guys missed us! We were so forlorn during break and the first few weeks of this semester because we couldn’t distribute lovely little newspapers to all of you.

As you make your way through all sixteen pages of our blood (literally since Anthony was having chronic nosebleeds while compiling this issue), sweat and tears, you may notice several interesting topics, such as an overview of some com-mon obsessions or the awesome shots taken at Tinostock!

Additionally, we’d like to thank our illustrious and glorious staff members for following our non-existent Five-Year Plan to craft The Prospector into a highly acclaimed high school newspaper.

Please remember to check out our official website at www.chspros-pector.org. You can view supple-ments to this issue on the website as well as copies of previous issues.

Oh, and if you somehow don’t feel the need to preserve this paper in a diamond-paneled museum display case, please feel free to use it as compost to make some nitrigen-fixing legumes grow taller!

Sincerely,

Anthony Kao and Regina HongEditors-in-Chief

opinions 4

Just as the Class of 2011 celebrates the end of the college application pro-cess, an aftershock of financial worry opens up a second can of worms. For many of us who cannot afford a full four-year education, college is a dangerous option to be avoided.

On average, a UC education costs $29,500 a year in tuition and fees; private schools demand even greater sums. Account for the abysmal four-year graduation rates plus four years of wages that could have been earned as a full-time minimum wage worker and the cost of a college education rises even higher to approximately $300,000.

The common defense for a painfully pricey college degree reads like this: over the course of a lifetime, a bachelor’s degree garners $1 million more than a mere high school diploma.

This is a lie.A new study conducted for Bloomberg Newsweek calculates

that colleges offer returns of only about $400,000 over a 30 year period. Even this $400,000 does not necessarily come from the degree; economist Richard Vedder attributes about 2/3 of the marginal difference to the character and drive of the individual himself, not to what that person learned at school.

Diligence, not a diploma, measures the worth of a person to a business. Bottom line: cream always rises to the top, whether or not one clump is more expensive than another.

One distinction must be made: professional degrees tend to be worth the investment because doctors and lawyers earn $3.5 million more than those with just a high school diploma. Howev-er, for those of us who cannot foot the astronomical bill for higher

education, college is a huge luxury. In fact, investing that money in stocks would offer greater returns.

This writer can already hear the scoffing of incredulous par-ents, teachers and administrators. Not go to college? And invest in stocks? This guy must be non compos mentis. Hemlock is too good for him, off with his head!

On the contrary, Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale, said, “Prospective students paying full price would probably have been better off investing in the stock market 30 years ago rather than spending their money on a college educa-tion.”

The problem is that unlike any kind of assets, a college degree cannot be easily turned into cash. Our generation is entreated to a most sickening comedy: while a nationwide Ponzi scheme can be taken to court for some compensation, a diploma cannot. Every educational institution holds out an invisible sign that reads, “No Refunds!” This is why 317,000 waiters and waitresses, 107,000 janitors and 18,000 parking lot attendants have wasted bachelor’s degrees.

At this point, advocates of the Eleventh Commandment “Thou Shalt Go To College” retort with a sentimental cliché: you don’t attend just to earn more money—you grow as an individual and an active citizen of this nation.

To be fair, the personal growth during four years of college is unquantifiable. The years spent developing as an intellectual can be valuable to some students; however, intellectual growth is not a necessity. Some of us are not as blessed to have the affluence, intellect and desire to attend a reputable four year college. The good news is that there are numerous alternatives.

Select careers in a specific trade, such as construction, re-quire no extra schooling beyond high school. For occupations such as health information technicians, air traffic controllers, court reporters, military personnel and radiation therapists, the skills needed are learned on-the-job, sometimes in a two-year certificate program. In fact, tuition and fees for a year of commu-

For all its pizazz and sophistication, the Silicon Val-ley is a difficult environment to choose a career. Many parents encourage a variety of extracurriculars and sports, but stubbornly insist that becoming a doctor or engineer is the only way to achieve a steady and com-fortable income. This is perfectly acceptable for many of our students—44 percent in fact—but others may be limited by the lack of variety. Consequently, the over-

emphasis on medicine and science careers may push students away from their true passions.

Doctors have been regarded as among the most presti-gious of professions. Scientific discovery became the next big thing during the Cold War, and the invention of computers lumped technology in along with medicine and laboratory research. The rest is history; the buzzword of today is STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Unfor-tunately, the increase in STEM careers has limited the pos-sibility of pursuing other interests.

Granted, the most lucrative jobs of today play promi-nent—even beneficial—roles in shaping society. However, the stress of competing for these select jobs has already permeated high schools; each year students fight over the handful of summer science research programs in the hopes of making themselves more presentable to engineering col-leges and future employers.

Medical careers take up most of the top ten best pay-ing jobs in the nation, along with engineering man- agers and astronomers. Meanwhile, life does not smile favorably on art; modern sharing of creative content has forced all but the most successful artists to take up side jobs while pursuing their ambitions. In fact, 27 percent of our stu-dents have already quit an instrument to make more time in their schedules. While being a dentist may promise a safe salary, it does not equate to happiness. Over half of all aspiring doctors quit before they finish medical school.

Not surprisingly, people achieve a greater sense of ful-fillment when they dedicate their lives to what they believe

in and what they like to do. Humanitarian aid workers do not have to go through the laborious years of medical school

to enjoy the rewarding experience of making a difference in other peoples’ lives. Likewise, video game creators and chefs alike are able to dedicate their lives to their true passions.

College students should pursue more career options without the pressure that a Pre-Med or Computer Science major is the only answer to financial security. Instead, they should find careers that combine life fulfillment and sincere interest.

Happiness isn’t rocket scienceERIC JANGopinions editor

Your wallet just got schooledGUN HO LEEopinions assistant

nity college add up to less than $2,500 a year, a far cry from the $29,500 that goes to a UC education.

From freshman year, we were fed the well-intended, but mis-guided, advice that a college degree is the only way to survive in this modern, global society. It is time to return to sanity.

40% Science/Technology/Medicine

33% Other

26% Undecided

27%of students quit an instrument to make time for homework.

COMPILED BY: JESSE ZHOUPHOTO BY ERIC JANG139 STUDENTS POLLED

PHOTO: JAMIN SHIH

COMPILED BY: JESSE ZHOUPHOTO BY ERIC JANG139 STUDENTS POLLED

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unidentified mold

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Student Career Preferences

EMILY CHENG

5FEBRUARY 11, 2011 THE PROSPECTOR

Even before the SuperProm contest last year, students could unite in knowing that Kenya Dream exemplified the selflessness and philanthropy Tino stands for. SuperProm solidified that unity—which remains to this day. By heeding the call to invest votes and donations, all members of the Tino com-munity have become stakeholders in Kenya Dream.

Now, if these stakeholders are to make new in-vestments, it seems reasonable that they can get clear and consistent updates on how their previous ones are doing. Part of this involves providing two simple facts, revealing how much money Kenya Dream has raised and what exactly has been or will be done with those funds.

During the research process for our news up-date on Kenya Dream, we discovered that, regret-tably, getting such facts wasn’t so easy. The Dream Team was unable to provide any concrete plans or financial figures to The Prospector when interviewed, citing procedural paperwork and changing develop-ments with Rotary’s promise to match funds.

It was only when The Prospector obtained the figure of $52,000 raised from the Cupertino Rotary that The Dream Team was able to publicly release any figures or statements regarding the progress of

STAFF EDITORIAL

Kenya Dream.Although belated, this disclosure was a step in

the right direction, and we sincerely hope that Ke-nya Dream will continue such acts of transparency. Even if $52,000 is short of the initial $100,000 goal, it is still an extraordinary amount and in no way discounts any of Tino’s support for the Dream—so there’s nothing to be shy about.

Still, for all the support that Pioneers gave it during the past four years, Kenya Dream shouldn’t need any external impetus to provide solid financial figures or present plans more concrete than simply saying, “We’ll raise as much as we can.” In fact, the incentives of complete and willing transparency outweigh any costs.

It’s understandably hard to run such an impor-tant operation, so full disclosure will allow all Pio-neers to understand any challenges Kenya Dream faces and effectively unite to overcome them. If Pioneers don’t know what Kenya Dream’s concrete goals are, it’ll be difficult for them to continue con-tributing. In short, being completely upfront about Kenya Dream’s actual progress will allow all of Tino to be on the same page of progress—to truly lever-age the unity the Dream is all about.

Full disclosure should be Kenya Dream’s realityCrime watch: A good samaritan in all of us

You check for your wallet twice in one period. You feel for your phone every ten minutes. You assure your-self that everything is where it should be countless times every day. You do this out of fear because you were sto-len from recently and that scar continues to shape your conduct. No one should deserve such trauma.

When people are negligent, they are vulnerable to theft. If you forget to lock your locker, you risk losing ev-ery single scrap inside. We are owed our sense of security and that sense of security comes from each other. Theft is taking advantage of the vulnerable, but we can stop being vulnerable through small acts of mutual kindness.

Theft is agonizing at first because of the material val-ue of stolen items, but the bitterness is amplified by how much those items truly mean to someone. To freshman David Han, a visually impaired student, his Braille lap-top was crucial to his classroom participation because it was essentially his entire classroom. Still, someone saw it as a source of cash rather than Han’s essential learning tool. A few weeks ago it was snatched out of his locker. This contemptible larceny was met with fury from the faculty. Any thief with the tiniest iota of a conscience would not have stolen the laptop, but the grim coup de grace is that anyone could have locked that locker or told the administration, but the only one to act was a thief. Due to negligence, Han lost not only his belongings, but also his sense of security.

Even so, as long as there are those who take, there will always be those who return. Recently, juniors Bran-don Gong, Tobias Shin, Rodney Tang and Andrew Yoon were honored by the city of Cupertino because of their small but heroic participation in the investigation of a robbery. In August, they returned some money and a hockey mask found on the sidewalk to police investigat-ing a robbery that had taken place earlier that day. With this new evidence available, the police have been able to lift fingerprints and DNA matches on the mask, advanc-ing their investigation. These boys’ actions went fur-ther than returning some cash, for they returned some closure to those who had been robbed. To know that people can choose to do the right thing for a complete stranger is a good feeling, no matter how inconsequen-tial the action.

As students, we don’t want to be robbed or afraid for the safety of our personal belongings on campus. We are owed the feeling of security while at school, and we owe that to each other as well. If we closed each other’s lockers, told someone that they had dropped some money, theft itself would perish. No security system is as good as 1,800 helpful Samaritans. You have the choice to be safe and it begins by shutting that open locker.

NIKHIL KANTHIin-depth assistant

Your bratty teenage child wants some free timeHo

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sue my interest in history, but where’d that interest come from? Free time, Mom.

If I could independently explore magazines, books and the internet, I could zero in on something that I’d truly love, something I’d be enthusiastic about. And when that ‘some-thing’ is intellectual, the rewards are great.

You know the guy who made that Facebook site? Or the Google guys? Silicon Valley CEOs like them are so smart and innovative because they tinkered around with comput-ers in their free time, not because their Moms registered them for Stanford’s Young Children’s Expensive Summer Program.

But yes, I know, many teens watch Glee in their free time and don’t end up as CEOs. But this isn’t because of free time itself; it’s because those teens misuse its great potential. So don’t worry, Mom—before all this high school madness set in, you created an environment in which I already learned to use free time for worthy pursuits.

Thank you for surrounding me with enlightening books and magazines on everything from Annelids to Zimbabwe when I was younger. Thank you for stocking our shelves with documentaries, always turning on NPR in the car and getting a cable subscription with only CNN, History and Discovery. When you created this environment, you predis-posed me to pursuing productive, intellectual interests. Just bring that free time back, and I’ll couple it with my school knowledge to expand and discover more passions.

So please share this idea with that Mom-group you like to share my grades with. Tell them that if they create a prop-er environment and give their children free time, those kids

will end up having innate academic passions and there-fore academic success. I hope you like this idea,

Mom. And thanks for reading so far—I hope it was a good use of your free time.

Sincerely, Your Bratty Teenage Child

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opinions

Hi Mom! It’s your Bratty Teen-age Child speaking. I’ve got an idea I think you’ll love. I think that if you gave me more free time, I’d get more of those A-pluses you’re asking for and start making six figures sooner.

Extracurriculars? Ivy League summer programs? No, I mean free

time—like time in which I don’t have anything planned and can do anything I want. I promise I won’t go around party-ing or licentiously dancing. In fact, I’ll tell you why all this free time will actually help me in school.

Mom, you see, when I’m actually passionate about something, I’ll do it better. This includes aca-

demics. If I’m passionate about history, I’ll darn well have fun—yes, fun—

reading Carl Degler’s Out of Our Past—and I’ll do better in

APUSH as a result.Sure, debate tournaments

may help me pur-

PHOTO: JAMIN SHIH

CO

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& J

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ANTHONY KAOeditor-in-chief

Every May, FanimeCon attracts anime enthusiasts from all over the Bay, including senior Bianca Tseng. Far from the casual attendee, Tseng began selling her artwork there at age 15.

“Preparing for the Artist Alley is my most hectic and stressful time of the year, but seeing people who genuinely appreciate my work makes all the stress seem like nothing,” said Tseng. “People don’t realize that artists recognize returning customers. Seeing familiar faces over the years makes me smile.”

At Fanime, Tseng met her favorite Japanese band LM.C, but she leaves a word of warning to new Music Fest partici-pants.

“Don’t try to get front row seats…un-less you don’t mind singing and dancing and catching their spit for hours. Leave the spit for the fangirls.”

features FEBRUARY 11, 2011 6

Life is an irrational obsession.

It is always

the same pattern: Left right, right left. Right

left, left right. From blinking to tapping to entering keys on a keyboard, it

haunts me when I am stressed. The obsession seems irrational, but for those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

(OCD), patterns like that are the basic structure of irritating tics.I have a fairly mild case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and it subtly af-

fects everything I do. Now, I am aware that everyone and their dog claim they have OCD, but what I have found is that many people have a flawed understanding of what it actu-

ally is. The general consensus is that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is simply a synonym for “neatness” but that is far from the truth.

What people do not realize is that a large portion of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is more “obsession” than “compulsion”. By obsessions, I mean the frequent, disturbing and intru-

sive thoughts that abruptly plague the person; the only way to relieve some of that tension is through the ritualistic tics (s)he performs. For example, I tend to get random bursts of disturb-

ingly violent imagery, and compulsions or avoiding stressful or triggering situations altogether are the only ways to stop them. It is much like when people muse over out-of-character actions

that they are able to do but would never actually want to carry out. The only difference is that for me, I have an overwhelming and irrational fear that if I lower my guard, I will actually go

through with these actions. I am not, by any means, a violent person; the intrusive thoughts definitely are, however, and the caliber of the distress leads to my compulsions.

These compulsions, on the other hand, usually seem unrelated at first. However, they tend to stem from real problems. My dominant tic, blinking in a specific pattern when stressed, origi-

nally arose from checking to see if my contacts were in by blinking only one eye and then the other to see if the clarity was the same. The problem was that I would end up needing to check

countless times until it ended up evolving into a tension-relieving nervous tic.In fact, the vast majority of my compulsions revolve around obsessive checking. When I was

a child, I would check that my alarm clock was on upwards of three or four times a night. It was not the fear that the alarm clock would fail to wake me up in the morning that prompted this

behavior-- it was the genuine feeling of impending horror that if I did not make sure that the alarm worked, something horrible would happen, and not just to me, but to the entire world.

While a part of me was aware that my line of thinking was illogical, the pure fear compelled me to check “just one more time”. I rationalized that it did not take much effort to do so and the

inconvenience was worth avoiding whatever terrible event I had involuntary concocted.This kind of obsessive fear has evolved to checking the stove or garage door repeatedly. I have

turned around and biked back miles to my house just to re-check the garage door, getting to the point where I need to take a picture of it to quell my predictable fear. Even then, the picture

can fail to convince me and I will force myself to return and check again. While the most visible aspect of my mild Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is the compulsive checking and re-checking,

the obsessions that cause it are the true root of the problem and the lion’s share of the disorder.Contrary to popular belief, it is very difficult to determine whether or not someone has Ob-

sessive-Compulsive Disorder as many of the symptoms, like self-narration, minor tics and ob-sessive thoughts, are hard to spot. So while the common assumption of Obsessive-Compulsive

Disorder is just a two-dimensional view of excessive cleanliness, this imperfect conclusion is far from right. Left. Left. Right.

JAMIN SHIH

copy ed

itor

OCD

and m

e:One s

tuden

t’s ex

perie

nce a

nd

strug

gles w

ith un

diagn

osed

OCD

Mirror, mirror on the wall, m

ake me dazzling, slim and tall. A girl

tumbles out of bed in the morning, half asleep, and stumbles into the

bathroom down the hall. She turns the lights on and barely recognizes

the face in the mirror. She shuffles through drawers, pulling out primers,

powders and eye pencils. After applying all the layers of make up, she

stares at the face in the mirror once more, finally satisfied with what she

sees. This is the morning routine of thousands of teenage girls. To them

make up has become a necessity and sometimes even an addiction.

Senior Brianda Lundberg admits that she could never stand to be

seen without make up.

“Sometimes I do leave the house without make up—usually it is late

at night—but even then I have to cover my face,” said Lundberg.

According to Stacy Malkan, founder of the campaign for Safe Cos-

metics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty

Industry, make up is advertised just as tobacco is. Girls believe that make

up transforms them through beautifying their skin and features. With-

out it, most girls barely recognize themselves. For them, make up is

the way to brighten and define the face and image. But the extremes to

which teens are going to achieve their perfect self-image, is astonishing.

On the other hand, not everyone is completely absorbed by make up

obsessions. Three sophomores who typically love to be made up every

day made the bold decision to not wear make up to school for one day.

“Nobody treated us differently or said anything and, part way

through the day I completely forgot that I was not wearing make up. By

that point I really did not care who saw me at school. I believe that it was

a positive experience,” said sophomore Samantha Valkanoff.

Sophomore Hayley Brahy’s passion for make up is linked to her fu-

ture aspiration of becoming a make up artist. In spite of not wearing

make up for one day, Brahy felt comfortable with herself.

“We did not wear make up for one day because we did not want to

always wear make up to feel confident. Doing this helped me realize that

I do not have to wear make up every day,” said Brahy.

For sophomore Kaeya Shah, a regular morning make up routine in-

NATASHA SHARMA

news assistant

Make up madness: why some girls c

an’t leave the house without it

At a glance the closet appears peaceful, but upon closer examination, the door is bulging and threatening to burst. A Power Rangers backpack, crumpled spelling tests from second grade

and an old plastic dry-cleaning bag spill out. This closet’s condition is gruesome, but it is no stranger to an experienced pack rat, a person who collects miscellaneous objects. There are

many different subtypes of this Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, such as animal pack rats (people who find comfort in collecting different animal species) and bibliomanias

(people who obsessively collect print media). While Tino’s pack rats are not nearly as dramatic as animal hoarders or bibliomanias, to these quirky students, pack rat-

ting can be, nonetheless, second nature.

“ I can’t throw away candy wrappers or gift wrapping pa-per. It’s such a waste of pretty paper—I just can’t do that.

I don’t so much ‘collect’ it as I purchase

the technology I think I’ll use—and that

tends to be a lot.

“Gavin Higham

senior

Shona Hemmady

BLURB BY ALYSSA WILLIAMS

Packrats: the fine line between trash and treasure

fanatic feature: bianca tseng

PHOTOS BY JAMIN SHIH AND TESS WU

fanatic feature: kevin wu

THE PROSPECTORFEBRUARY 11, 2011 features 7

Life is an irrational obsession.

obsession.obsession.

UGG Australia ‘Classic Tall’ Boot: $179.95 at Nordstrom. Vera Wang Princess Eau de Toilette: $75.00 at Neiman Marcus.

Fighting that impulse and walking away, money intact: priceless. This is the incessant battle against the pull of consumerism. As

senior Jeannie Kim portrays, it is also a battle in which many suffer from faulty armor, having to bear the title “shopaholic”.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft Zwangserkrankungen (a German organization researching Obsessive Compulsive behavior) has es-

tablished the addiction to shopping as a disorder, but there is still much debate regarding whether it falls under Obsessive Compulsive,

Impulse Control or some other categorization. Regardless of how you define this urge, the need to shop is a cold reality to the affected few; it

is filled with endorphin-fuelled highs and guilt-ridden lows. Kim has had a taste of this but she is now a veteran with a closet full of

battle scars to show for it—not to mention her extension closet and vari-ous other stashing areas.

She started working at her parents’ dry cleaners from a young age and now balances four jobs: a kitchen crewmember of a cafe, a Korean folk

dance teacher assistant, a tutor and a babysitter. Earnings piled up in a sav-ings account until a couple months ago when she turned 17 and a half. This

marks the point when her plastic began working overtime. Sometimes Kim would hit the mall three days in a week, other times it was

every day. During this shopping spree period, she would hardly hesitate to make a purchase.

“If I saw something I liked, I would just buy it. I didn’t think about it,” said Kim. “I bought stuff for my friends too. I kind of had this idealistic view that I

should just do what I want. Whatever happens, happens. I just went with the flow.”

Her best friends, seniors Jackie Breuer and Alex Pommier, saw things a little differently. One night, they drove her up to the mountains, locked the doors of the car and confronted her. It was pitch black. Kim was stuck, forced to face her problem. As Breuer and Pommier revealed to Kim that she was a shopaholic, they jumpstarted the recovery process by confiscat-ing her beloved credit cards.

By this time she had spent 80 percent of her savings. Her parents knew nothing—and still know nothing—of this as Kim went as far as to switch from mailed-out bank statements to electronically sent. The clothes contin-ued piling. She kept stashing. Until, at some point, Kim decided for herself that it was time to rethink things.

In hindsight, she reflected, “I regret [splurging] a little bit because it was so much money, and I could have done so much with it, but I don’t regret it in the sense that I have experienced it, learned from my mistakes, and now have a lot of pretty clothes.”

Kim now hits the mall no more than once every few weeks and has sig-nificantly reduced her monthly spending. The true state of her progress, though, will be evident as she steps out of high school into the real world; even more so considering the size of the steps that are ahead of her. Kim is joining the navy.

“They’re only letting me have locker space, which is 100 times small-er than my closet, so I guess all my clothes were a really bad investment,” laughed Kim, “but I’ll keep them for the holidays, report to my storage im-mediately after I discharge.”

SINDHU GNANASAMBANDANsports assistant

Jeannie Kim:Confessions of a teenage shopaholic

up transforms them through beautifying their skin and features. With-

out it, most girls barely recognize themselves. For them, make up is

the way to brighten and define the face and image. But the extremes to

which teens are going to achieve their perfect self-image, is astonishing.

On the other hand, not everyone is completely absorbed by make up

obsessions. Three sophomores who typically love to be made up every

day made the bold decision to not wear make up to school for one day.

“Nobody treated us differently or said anything and, part way

through the day I completely forgot that I was not wearing make up. By

that point I really did not care who saw me at school. I believe that it was

a positive experience,” said sophomore Samantha Valkanoff.

Sophomore Hayley Brahy’s passion for make up is linked to her fu-

ture aspiration of becoming a make up artist. In spite of not wearing

make up for one day, Brahy felt comfortable with herself.

“We did not wear make up for one day because we did not want to

always wear make up to feel confident. Doing this helped me realize that

I do not have to wear make up every day,” said Brahy.

For sophomore Kaeya Shah, a regular morning make up routine in-

cluding concealer, eyeliner, mascara and blush

usually takes up to ten minutes. For Lundberg,

who uses these and many other products, the routine

takes 30 minutes. A normal make up routine for many girls can

include lotion, foundation, eyelid primer, concealer, powder, blush,

eye shadow, mascara and eyeliner. Shah admits that while her staple prod-

ucts are important, mascara is an item that she cannot live without. M

ake up can

be a touch of color or layers of powders and paints. Either way, make up gives girls

a superficial sense of confidence that they believe cannot come from within—it

must be applied.

The tween and teen market has emerged as a very profitable segment

for cosmetic companies. From numerous glossy magazines to beauty

gurus on YouTube, girls have an easier access to make up, and this has

lowered the age that they begin to use it. Girls are already wearing

make up that makes them look far older then they are.

Undoubtedly, age, experience and achievements eventually

kindle a true sense of self-worth and beauty. But for now, it is

the age of experimentation.

Make up madness: why some girls c

an’t leave the house without it

BLURB BY AZADEH RONGERE

At a glance the closet appears peaceful, but upon closer examination, the door is bulging and threatening to burst. A Power Rangers backpack, crumpled spelling tests from second grade

and an old plastic dry-cleaning bag spill out. This closet’s condition is gruesome, but it is no stranger to an experienced pack rat, a person who collects miscellaneous objects. There are

many different subtypes of this Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, such as animal pack rats (people who find comfort in collecting different animal species) and bibliomanias

(people who obsessively collect print media). While Tino’s pack rats are not nearly as dramatic as animal hoarders or bibliomanias, to these quirky students, pack rat-

ting can be, nonetheless, second nature.

I can’t throw away candy wrappers or gift wrapping pa-per. It’s such a waste of pretty paper—I just can’t do that.

“I have a made up lan-guage called ‘Votex’

that I created in seventh grade and I keep every

record of it, such as any modification

of any characters, that I can refer

to later.Eric Chen

sophomore

Shona Hemmadyjunior

BLURB B

Y ALY

SSA W

ILLIA

MS

the fine line between trash and treasure

Blizzard Entertainment hosts an annual convention called

Blizzcon late every year, where Blizzard gamers can check

out upcoming products and meet fellow fans. First time

attendee senior Kevin Wu was fascinated by the enor-

mity of Blizzcon. “[At the demonstrations], I learned about the

steps the company was taking to introduce their

upcoming games, as well as very neat insider

stories about how day-to-day computer

graphic and program development work,” said Wu. “This was definitely an inspi-ration.”

lifestyles 8FEBRUARY 11, 2011

INSPIRATIONHIPSTERHAPPYREBLOGNOTESFOLLOWERS

45% 25% 20%BLOGGING PHOTOGRAPHY INSPIRATION

WHAT DO YOU USE TUMBLR FOR?

OUT OF 50 STUDENTS POLLED

TUMBLRWORDASSOCIATION

DAILY DOSE OF INSPIRATIONfashion food photos words

lifestylefashionfashionfever

cocobellaxphotojojo

tonsoflandlamahkun

It’s both a communica-tion and artistic tool .-Kaila Zager, sophomore

We post what we love and share our interests with other people who appre-ciate what we do.-Quynh La, senior

tumblin’ past social networking

quote-bookjust-littlethings

happythings

prettyfoodsfoodzillah

scanwiches

JESSE ZHOU features assistant

NATALIE HOANGlifestyles editor

Easy to use and hugely popular, Tumblr has taken the rant-riddled, inspiration-craving teenage world by storm. A scroll down the dashboard brings a multitude of posts from an assort-ment of users. It is random and spontaneous and exactly what young minds crave.

A user may first find it difficult to explain to a friend exactly what Tumblr does and what it is for. It has got that Facebook ap-peal of being able to network with friends, but then there is also the Youtube ability to share music. Add in a dash of Flickr’s high quality hipster photos and Blogger’s heartfelt rants and finally, a few followers later, is the birth of Tumblr.

“I use it because I can write a little more personal things about my life,” said sophomore Jason Chen. “I can write almost any-thing I want. It’s an outlet for my inner thoughts.”

Luckily, when words fail, gifs, music, photos and hilarious as well as relatable memes are at the ready. And just when adults are in the midst of rolling their eyes over our “me, me, me” genera-tion comes the beauty of Tumblr, found in two buttons: a heart and a reblog. Tumblr is not about throwing your life, issues and inspirations on the Internet. It is about catching somebody else’s. When users scroll through their dashboards and stumble upon a noteworthy post, they can either “like” it by clicking a heart or reblog it.

“On Tumblr, you can see who may have more serious situa-tions than your own,” says Chen. “You realize you aren’t the cen-ter of the world and you realize you should be helping others and moving on from your own problems. It’s also relaxing because people post funny things to help cheer you up. It’s just different.”

With this system, posts circulate and appear on dashboards

COMPILED BY JOANNA LEE

COMPILED BY NATASHA SHARMA

10%OTHER

looking for some interesting tumblrs to follow?

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEAH CHANG

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS DAM

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAILA ZAGER

the pen

more than once, truly reaching out to do whatever it was intended to: inspire, teach or express… the opportunities are endless!

Tumblr’s rise also peaked with the introduction of fashion blogs. Seniors Quynh La and Leah Chang created their own, known as lifestylefashion, which is known around the Tumblr community.

“We love fashion and we shared a passion for it so we decided to just do it and see where it led us,” said La.

Said Chang, “I personally really like the photography side of it as well. The pictures on Tumblr also introduce me to new ideas and inspirations.”

While La and Chang accumulate followers by inspiring oth-ers through fashion, Tumblr famous sophomore Kaila Zager isn’t quite sure how she does it. One of Tumblr’s first users, Zager has a total of six thousand followers and counting. Those as lucky as Zager were able to discover yet another tool on Tumblr’s long list of abilities: meeting new people.

“People come up to me in malls and stuff and say, ‘Oh, I like your blog!’” says Zager. “I met a lot of them for the first time through Tumblr because of situations like that. It’s both a com-munication and artistic tool because I got to meet a lot of people from Southern California and all over the world.”

Still, there are those who refuse to jump on the bandwagon of Tumblr. Known as a large inside joke, it is hard to keep up with. But getting right down to the grit of it, Tumblr is truly a host to creative and young minds, where everything can be captured, shared, remembered and looked back on.

There is an air of maturity and respect between seasoned blog-gers, and anything written on the site that may be private is usual-ly not brought up face to face or used against the writer. Through the multiple mediums of expression available on Tumblr, blog-gers will always know there is a way to relate to someone else and that they will never be forever alone.

It feels nice to know so many other people out there share the same interests.-Leah Chang, senior

8

COMPILED BY JOANNA LEE

COMPILED BY NATASHA SHARMA

THE PROSPECTOR lifestyles 9FEBRUARY 11, 2011

dasaryan. “I personally like it because it does sort of remind of the days with no computers, and there were appointed scribes for writing and copying texts.”

His unique handwriting brings up an interesting correla-tion. As a swordsman who regularly goes through specific muscular training, Bagdasaryan has stumbled upon a little-known method to improve handwriting.

“I guess what I can say is that in fencing one has to make very small, precise and flowing movements. Same can go for written work. At times my writing may be a bit flamboyant, but it’s usually something that just conserves space. It’s not cursive, because quite frankly I’ve forgotten how to write in cursive anyway, but all my letters are connected in some way since I don’t lift the pen or pencil off the paper much,” he said.

While he has not achieved his dream of becoming a brave knight, Bagdasaryan has managed to accomplish something else quite remarkable using his time with the sword. And though it may not be something obvious, in a way, his quirky talent has brought him exactly where he wanted to be—closer to those ancient days of chivalry and courage, not as a warrior, but as a scribe.

TESS WUfeatures editor

It had been his childhood dream to become a knight. To be able to use a real sword and fight honorably in glorious and leg-endary battles were amongst some of the deepest desires in his young heart.

Now though, senior Evgueniy Bagdasaryan has to settle for a foil and monitored duels—he fences. And while he may not be gearing up for a bout on the battlefield when he attends fenc-ing practice, he does do something much more discreet but no less fascinating. His pursuit of romantic, medieval days of old has unwittingly brought him his wish in a rather unorthodox way—penmanship.

Bagdasaryan has been on the receiving end of many com-ments regarding his unique handwriting.

“I’ve had people tell me that it looks like the type of hand-writing that is on the Declaration of Independence and other such documents. Some fawn over how interesting it is and oth-ers, like my mother, hate it and call it chicken scratch,” said Bag-

JAMIN SHIH

the penis as mighty as the sword.

Getting into and affording competitive colleges today requires strategies that come from knowledge and experience.

Address: 10275 South De Anza Boulevard Cupertino, CA 95014

Phone: (408) 253-6532

sports FEBRUARY 11, 201110

The voice of varsity basketball Coach Craig Ellegood roars throughout the gym as his players try to keep up with

his coaching. The screeching of their shoes against the floorboard is clearly audible as the audience sees the exchange of fouls while the referee’s eyes are diverted away.

Sweat drips down their faces as they run hard down the court until the clock ticks down to zero. The clock runs out of time as the buzzer rings. The people in the crowd leap to their feet screaming, “Elle-god! Elle-god!” as they ac-knowledge the heart and greatness behind his coaching.

Although at times his intensity and passion cause him frustration when his team is perform-ing below expectations, Ellegood’s profound dedication to coaching is reflected in his nick-name “Elle-god.”

After 20 years of head coaching at various high schools, Ellegood was recently named the Central Coast Section (CCS) Honor Coach for the 2010-2011 basketball season. Before these years of head coaching, Ellegood served as an assistant coach for five years at Fremont High School under head coach and mentor Phil Kel-ly, a three time CCS title winner. During these years as an assistant coach, Ellegood learned the fundamentals of coaching while experiencing the head coach position as well.

The philosophy behind Ellegood’s coaching focuses on consistency, as he sees hard effort and practice as an essential part of success.

“When there is an issue, it is really important to go back, find out what went wrong, learn how to fix it and then just practice, practice and prac-tice,” said Ellegood.

Not only is Ellegood interested in winning, but he also enjoys the preparation necessary to shape a winning team. He often watches the games of future opponents to see how his team should play against them when they meet.

“Every team has its own weakness and, since I enjoy preparing for our games, I often see what the other teams do and try to help out our team in every way.”

Mirroring his mentor Kelly’s intense meth-odologies, Ellegood often creates a demanding expectation for his team’s performance. When players do not perform up to par, he diverts his focus from the outcome of a game to finding ways to correct his players’ techniques. This pas-sion to open his players to their fullest potential is what makes his coaching so profound.

“He knows all the strategies of our oppo-nents. He breathes basketball, and when it comes to practices and games, he is a genius. He knows the real definition of ‘work’,” said senior varsity basketball player Terry Chu.

Varsity basketball player Gokul Natesan said, “What makes him stand out from other coaches is his attention to the little details that do not appear on the stat book but help the team win. The amount of dedication that he puts in is just amazing.”

Going back into the A league this year of the De Anza Division, Ellegood and his team face a tougher schedule with stronger mental chal-lenges, as Ellegood realizes that his team needs to set their mentality to a higher level before go-ing into the season.

Said Ellegood, “In the A league, there are no quitting teams, and we have to play hard until the end. I have to make sure the team is aware of that.”

SUNWOO JEONGsports assistant

A look at what makes Coach “Elle-god” tick

Basketball su

ccess

from the Elle-

“

“

“

‘god’

Coach Ellegood h

as taught m

e how

to improve m

y game. I can’t i

mag-

ine being coached by anyone

else except fo

r him

and get-

ting th

is far. H

e has taught

me concentratio

n, work

and intensit

y. You

need all three of

those to have a

good chance

in winning.

-Terry Chu,

senior

“Coach

Ellegood

definitely

makes sure w

e

raise th

e intensit

y

level all t

he way to

leagues. He m

akes us r

e-

alize w

e have to tre

at every

game like it’

s a playoff game.”

- Jomel B

autista, sophomore

ALL PHOTOS BY JAMIN SHIH

PHOTO COURTESY O

F TERRY CHU

Coach Ellegood

is the m

ost pas-

sionate perso

n

towards basket-

ball that I

have

ever met. H

e is the

type of coach w

ho

pushes p

layers to

reach their f

ull po-

tential. H

e is sim

-

ply a god.

-Takashi Huynh,

senior

Basketball su

ccess

Coach Ellegood h

as taught m

e how

to improve m

y game. I can’t i

mag-

ine being coached by anyone

else except fo

r him

and get-

ting th

is far. H

e has taught

me concentratio

n, work

and intensit

y. You

need all three of

those to have a

good chance

in winning.

When the tradition started, the teachers played noncom

peti-tively. A

round the year 2000, however, these w

eekly games

grew progressively m

ore heated and it was around this tim

e that the core group of players em

erged, including Goes, Song,

Ellegood, Morse, W

alczak, Fitzpatrick and Rosado. Th

e group is often joined by retired teachers and ones from

Fremont.

THE PROSPECTORFEBRUARY 11, 2011 11

With teenage obesity on the rise, experts are pointing fingers at schools for not mandating more sports or physical activity. But virtually all high schools offer a myriad of sports, providing the opportunity for students to get their recommended exercise. However, less than half of our own school’s students are active in school sports, prompting a question: why do so many people not do sports? And should we mandate sports for everyone?

Of course, there are generic answers as to why students do not play, such as “I just don’t have time” or “I’m not good at anything.” But it seems like these aren’t the main motivation for students avoiding sports.

Unsurprisingly, many of those students, like senior Wei-Chih Wang, wish to forgo sports for academic work “because that’s what colleges tend to care about the most.” Though colleges do some-times prefer well-rounded individuals that play sports, excelling in specific academic areas and having achievements to show for it is often more effective.

What about our nation’s obesity crisis? With teenage obesity at a staggering 14 percent according to National Health Statistics, ex-perts argue that schools will do students a favor by helping them keep fit through mandatory sports. But this can only do so much, for students without the motivation to play will continue to lan-guish while time is stripped from true interests.

In contrast, students who dedicate all their time to doing what they love often achieve excellent academic results, even if it means not playing any sports. For example, senior Samuel Lee, who spends countless hours playing the violin and studying to become a doctor, was admitted into Stanford University for the Class of 2015, “something [he] wouldn’t have been able to do if [he] spent [his] time playing sports.”

With this in mind, it seems that this lack of interest in sports has its roots in students’ legitimate academic focuses, not in banal excuses. Thus, instead of mandating sports and making people do something that they do not want to, allowing them to pursue their passions reaps far more rewards.

AMAR KANTIPUDIphoto editor

In defenseof the non-athlete

TRUE BALLERSSTAFF SPORTS TRADITION ENDURES

“The best thing about morning basketball is prob-ably that it’s fun. Some added benefits are exercise

and the fact that I get to know some teachers better.”- Andy Walczak

For a select group of teachers, basketball is more than an inter-esting sport. It has become a long-lasting tradition and means

much more than a simple ball and hoop.

“Friday morning basket-ball offers a chance for

exercise that I normally don’t get. This tradition

also gave me a chance to interact with other

teachers who I otherwise would not have gotten to

know.”- Wes Morse

COMPILED BY ANAND HEMMADY

“Initially I played as a way to

exercise, but I quickly enjoyed both the cam

araderie and friendly com

petition with m

y peers. It’s fun getting to know

people in a differ-ent setting.”

- Kyle Fitzpatrick

sports

-Takashi Huynh,

senior

Every Friday morning, from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.,

a group of teachers meet up, shoot some hoops and have a good time. History

teacher Wes Morse says that the tradition of meet-ing every Friday morning

and playing basketball started back in the mid-90s

by the special education teacher. It was not long

until more people became excited and joined in.

 

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photoessay FEBRUARY 11, 201112

Tino’s got talent= @Tinostock 2011

On January 28, dozens of students waited patiently for Tino’s finest to come up on stage and show off their talent in the annual Tinostock talent show. Be it senior Jenny Chen pushing boundaries with her modern dance style (top middle), or freshman Ashley Nguyen capturing

the attention of the audience with her humor and amazing vocal and instrumental abilities (top left), there seemed to be no end to the diversity and sheer amount of talent on stage. As the night continued, sophomore Takuma Matsui wowed students and faculty alike with two performances—one in a band, and one as a solo guitarist (top right). Though it seemed that the vast majority of the performances were musical, each group varied in genre, humor and charisma. Freshman Bryce Raja represented this diversity by showing off his inner rock star while playing with his band, Frootloops (lower right).

However, no matter how brilliant each performance was, there had to be one winner. As the night-defining envelope opened, everyone, including senior Akaash Mungale (left), waited anxiously, antici-pating the forthcoming results. In the end, “Kazamm and the Band” claimed victory as the judges unani-mously agreed that guest star Kevin Zhang, also known as Kazamm, had an uncanny knack for rapping (lower left).

Nonetheless, everyone who performed at Tinostock 2011 was a winner, exemplifying unique talents and proving to not only themselves but also the entire school that anyone can be a star (bottom).

COMPILED BY AMAR KANTIPUDI AND WILLIE WANG