We have a new Mailing List!
Please fill out the form located in the sidebar if you want to be notified/sent the newest Lincoln Log Newspaper on release. You can choose it to be sent digitally via email, or physically to an address.
Or here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaMb8NoF-y-GjM0GXWs7oVyBkn6vc0K_aCefSFVt9TFPmq1g/viewform
Protesters violate traffic laws at the intersection of 19th and Quintara Ave. Their actions appear uncoordinated; not all are blocking traffic.
Photo by Joseph Isaguirre Portillo
Students, staff gather in front of the main office at the start of third period; they had been informed of the meeting time through a PA announcement during advisory in addition to flyers posted around the school days before.
Photo by Joseph Isaguirre Portillo
Student protests against SFUSD, city gov., inaction in protecting immigrants
By Khoi Nguyen
On Thursday, March 20th, at approximately 10:20 a.m., around 50 students and staff gathered at the main office for a planned school walkout to protest SFUSD and the city government, because in the view of the demonstrators, those entities had not done enough to protect immigrants.
The walkout had been organized in advance by Peer Resource students, and all participants were instructed to abide by all laws and SFUSD rules, including to return to school after the demonstration was complete (near the end of third period), and most followed these instructions.
The hallway buzzed with happy chatter, “I’m here today to stand up for those who can’t advocate for themselves, specifically immigrant students–we are here to support them,” said one student.
The crowd maneuvered north down the main hallway and made a turn towards the New Building. Many of them held posters with a wide range of messages: one, drawn in red streaks, perhaps to resemble blood, spelled “F*ck ICE,” and another said in all capital letters, “NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL ON STOLEN LAND.”
“We worked on our [posters] all week, and we’re excited to be here,” one student remarked when questioned about their signs.
Other students held flags, many representing Latin American nations such as Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico, but the colors of Russia and Iraq were also proudly displayed.
The student with the flag of Iraq admitted, “Not gonna lie, [the organizers] just gave me a random flag, but I’m here to support my friends!”
The crowd then gathered on the blacktop outside of the New Building classrooms, where a couple students addressed the crowd with a microphone.
Anthony Hernandez Castro spoke first, saying “We’re here to show that our voices have power…and we want answers from our school district and the city [regarding] what they’re doing to defend immigrants.”
Envee Carter followed with her own passionate speech, saying, “Right now, students in San Francisco, my classmates, my friends, maybe even me, are living in fear–fear that when we go home, our parents might not be there. Fear that ICE [Immigration & Customs Enforcement] will show up at our doors. Fear that the only country I have ever known as home will try to erase us.”
Next, Saham Almehin reminded the protesters of the demonstration’s purpose, “[This] is about the undocumented student who fears that one wrong step could cost them everything. It’s about the families torn apart by borders and the system. It’s about the kids in cages and the asylum seekers turned away.”
Castro then issued a quick reminder regarding behavior during the walkout: “This is a peaceful protest guys. No banging on cars…respect the items that we bring. No roughhousing. Do not engage with agitators. And lastly, do not talk with cops.”
A single police cruiser was present when the crowd arrived at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Quintara next to the florist. Principal Shari Balisi and Assistant Principal Jordan Loey monitored the situation from a parked SUV on Quintara on the other side of 19th Avenue.
The protesters began chanting lines such as, “The people, united, will never be divided,” “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE,” “Power to the people, no one is illegal,” and “From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go.”
Many teachers and administrators were also at the walkout; however, it’s unclear who came to supervise the students for safety reasons and who decided to come in support. One teacher remarked that he had left the classroom where he was supposed to be teaching to attend. When his classroom was checked during the walkout, no adults were in the room, and all the students were on their electronic devices.
Aaron Marestaing, a teacher, also decided to bring his AP Government class. “A required document for AP Government is ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ by Dr. Martin Luther King, which outlines [steps] for a nonviolent campaign. And so this was the perfect opportunity for students to witness or participate–whatever they felt led to do.”
Marestaing led his students–at least those who came purely to observe–back to class before the walkout ended in order to complete an assignment reflecting on the presence of nonviolent tactics at the walkout.
At first, the protestors lined up along the intersection or on the median to chant. However, as the demonstration continued, the situation began to become more chaotic. Protestors began walking and running across the intersection when traffic signals did not allow them to do so, waving their signs and flags. Several cars honked (presumably in support) as they passed by.
However, it was then that students began to leave; a small number violated the guidelines and boarded the 28 bus heading in the direction of Stonestown and Daly City, and a substantial number headed back to campus.
Carter, who identified herself as “one of the leaders,” among others, also revealed that “about a month and a half” of planning had gone into this walkout, starting with the distribution of flyers advertising the walkout around the campus and the placement of yellow signs labeled with statements in support of immigrants and others at the front of the school.
Morgan Wallace, who teaches the Peer Resources class, corroborated. “[The organizers] have been using my room…For me it’s all about supporting what my students want and not telling them what to think or do…I’m trying to support them and their First Amendment speech.”
At the time of this article’s writing, it has been well over a month since the walkout took place. SFUSD did not respond to a request for comment.
San Francisco, along with a dozen other local governments around the country are suing the Trump administration over its immigration enforcement policies in “sanctuary cities,” a self-designated label for cities that refuse to collaborate with enforcing immigration laws handed down by the federal government.
Sophie Wall and Sophia Chen are hard at work filling in the mural outline, square by square.
Photo by Angela Gin
New Lincoln mural exhibits student talent
By Angela Gin
From being hung up on the walls to being scribbled on whiteboards to being performed on stage, student art at Lincoln is everywhere . But, some students take it to the next level.
Last year, the school administration commissioned Student artist Sophia Truong to paint a mural on the wall of the hallway between the first floor and the New Building. While the connecting hallway may seem to be a random placement for a mural, Principal Sharimar Balisi specifically requested that Truong paint it there because it was where a previous mural was located.
Several years back, in 2018, Balisi had commissioned students caught tagging the school to paint a street-art inspired mural where the new mural will be located.
“It’s street art; it’s graffiti. It’s not meant to be permanent,” Truong says.
The new mural is centered around the topic of mental health and uplifting the student body, particularly the upperclassmen because of how stressed they are due to college applications and AP classes. Truong dedicated the mural to her friend who previously struggled heavily with mental health.
The center depicts three people in the water: one of them is near the surface, pulling the second one with them. The second person is reaching out to the third person, trying to pull them to the surface too. Truong says the illustration is supposed to send the message that we should uplift each other.
Surrounding these people are happy little blobs, or “wellness blobs,” as coined by Tam, that are pushing them to the surface.
Painted in the margins are golden poppies, plants native to California, and a seagull with a piece of pizza in its mouth as symbols of California and San Francisco. And arching over everything else is a sunset as a nod to the Sunset neighborhood.
“This whole section was designed to invoke the feelings of Lincoln and the Sunset, without more mustangs and horses,” Truong says.
Truong picked seniors Sophie Wall, Cheri Tam, Sophia Chen, and junior Luke Hu to contribute to the mural. And because almost everyone working on the mural is a senior, Truong hopes to finish the mural before graduation. She has also partnered with Paolo Salazar, Lincoln’s art and architecture teacher, for almost two years.
Prior to teaching at Lincoln, Salazar has worked on larger scale pieces like this. He had been a professional artist for 15 years. However, for Chen and Wall, this is their first time working on such a large scale art project that impacts their community so much.
“I’m really proud of this and really honored. And leaving this as a parting gift for the school is really nice,” Chen says.
Wall says, “I’m really glad to be a part of it. It feels really good to see my art up on a permanent wall. And other people are actually gonna be seeing it.”
Keeping in the theme of the mural, Truong hopes to uplift and inspire other aspiring artists.
“My advice really is, take risks. Take some shots, put yourself out there. It may sound scary and crazy and impossible, but nothing’s really impossible.”
The first couple cherry blossom trees you see when you walk into the festival before seeing the parade.
Photo by Karina Lam
Lincoln High School students experience at the 58th annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival
By Karina Lam
The Cherry Blossom Festival started after the war between Japan and the U.S. ended. Japan sent a cherry blossom tree to Washington D.C. to signify friendships. San Francisco has already had a tie with Japan. The festival is to celebrate the welcoming of spring and to celebrate Japanese culture.
The festival consisted of different booths that were selling food, toys, etc. Other than people being different types of performances happening during the festival. Students from Lincoln High School volunteered at the festival as well. Going to the festival was a nightmare; trying to find parking was daunting. The number of people there was enormous; people were walking, taking the bus, and not to mention the amount of cars that were there.
Emily Hypes, a junior at Lincoln High School, went to the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival and was delighted by what the festival had to offer.
“I liked how many people showed up to support the communities, and they had a bunch of different booths, like, selling food to support the community,” added Hypes.
Hypes also stated that she used to be in one of those booths that sold food and when she visited the booth again, she said, “It was fun buying from it instead of working in it for once.”
“Japantown was just so packed for those two weekends. It was kind of overwhelming, but overall I liked it, it was a really fun experience, and it was a sunny day,” said Hypes.
It was so packed that Hypes had spent two hours walking around.
Hypes also mentioned, “We would walk around and then get stuck and then there would be a stoplight, where we had to wait a while.”
When I arrived at p.m., the festival had already begun. The first thing I saw was a Hello Kitty character named My Melody in a car blasting a song called “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan. Walking forward a bit more, I saw a van that consisted of a lot of people waving , while the exterior of the van was promoting the winter olympics that would be taking place in February of 2026.
Rosa Park Elementary School is located close to Japantown and would raise funds from the festival by using their school as a parking lot and selling a spot for $35. All the areas for parking were full, and it was dreadful to find. Some people were lucky enough to just turn and find a parking spot. Sadly, I was not one of the few lucky people that were able to take a turn and get a parking spot right away.
A lot of high school students were volunteering at different booths that were placed all around the festival.
“It was fun hanging out with friends. Even though we were there for a really long time, it didn’t really feel like a long time,” said Hypes.
Lincoln's team presenting their two-minute pitch to judges who are biotech professionals and with careers in biotechnology.
Photos courtesy of UC Berkeley Bioengineering Honor Society
Lincoln’s team, celebrate their second-place victory next to the event managers and biotech professionals.
Photos courtesy of UC Berkeley Bioengineering Honor Society
Lincoln wins second place out of 66 schools at UC Berkeley’s Biotech competition
By Dalton Brown
Every spring, UC Berkeley hosts a bioengineering competition for high schoolers across the world. Students are challenged with identifying a problem in health or biology, and then they work in groups of four or five and receive guidance from bioengineering mentors to design a bioengineered solution in seven weeks. At the end of the weeks, each team will present a slideshow and poster detailing their proposed solution and analysis.
This year, Lincoln entered into the competition for the first time and went against 65 other schools. Lincoln's team consists of Haley Yan, Khoi Nguyen, Kim Tran, and Joanna Ma, with two mentors named Vivian Chung and Vienna Huang, seniors from UC Berkeley that were studying bioengineering. However, before they could enter, they asked Teacher Suh, Lincoln's Biotechnology teacher, to be their faculty sponsor to approve Lincoln joining the competition. First off, the team decided on their problem to solve, while the majority of the group suggested health-related problems, Nguyen pitched a solution to a bioengineering problem, landmines.
Nguyen argued that landmines have been carelessly placed around the world and even more are deployed today, decades after conflicts end these mines are still active, and harm those with no part in the conflict at all. He also made the case that current solutions in dealing with landmines are inadequate, making this a very pressing issue to be addressed. After identifying their problem, the team researched multiple case studies and scientific papers. One of the more notable organizations is called APOPO, which trains rats to smell and detect explosives. Another was called Mine Kafon, a company that uses drones to map areas for mines, detect the mines, and then remotely detonate them.
After researching, the team concluded that removing mines from the ground would be too hard, and opted to deactivate them instead. Eventually, the team came up with a landmine that deteriorates over time. The dirt surrounding the mine will deteriorate a bag, revealing fungi that deactivates the explosives.
When it came to presenting their problem and solution, all teams had to submit a slideshow and a scientific poster. These were judged separately, first students had 10 minutes to present a slideshow presentation in an auditorium. This slideshow went into depth explaining their problem, the science behind their solution, how the solution works, research they conducted, and why the solution is viable to the world. Secondly, teams stood in a massive room with scientific posters while judges walked around the area. Each team had two minutes to pitch their problem and solution to the judges, as if they were trying to sell the product.
Lincoln’s team ended up winning second place in bioengineering, losing to Harker high school, a private school. The school's yearly tuition is $65,000 and runs from kindergarten to senior year of high school. Lincoln won several hundred dollars worth of lab equipment as a reward, which included glassware, sterile plates, treatments and more. Suh says that the equipment proved useful to ninth grade students year-round, as well as in his biotech class.
One of the challenges Lincoln’s team faced was figuring out how to solve a problem without a definite answer. Oftentimes, when students in school are presented with a problem, teachers will expect a certain answer. However Berkeley’s competition challenged the students to continue working through dead ends, until they found a solution they found worthy.
“If you are discovering something new, you have to make the tools to figure out the answers. And no one’s gonna tell you if you are measuring it right.” says Suh.
Another of the challenges Lincoln's team faced early on was working as a team. In a typical group project, one team member will have a plethora of ideas which may be adequate in k-12 education, but college-level work necessitates a different approach.
“The best work we do needs to integrate multiple ideas,” says Suh.
Part of the challenge Lincoln’s team faced early on was that not all ideas are good ideas, and just because someone said it first, doesn’t mean it is right. Suh eventually met with the team to confront their challenge,
“They took it beautifully, and within half an hour, they got back together, and were able to put something out that won second place in a multi-school competition,” says Suh.
Philip Ferrigno facing the camera at the 2023 championship game against Balboa.
Photo courtesy of Mitch Stephens
Ferrigno accepts the Steve Mariucci Trophy awarded by the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club.
Photo courtesy of Harold Abend
Ferrigno talking to varsity football team during practice .
Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Lurie
By Joseph Isaguirre Portillo
Philip Ferringo has been coaching the boys varsity football team since 2002. Recently, P.E. teacher Ferringo decided to step down as coach due to health concerns.
Ferringo comments, “I think I was gonna be thinking about doing it next year, but I had some health concerns that I needed to get fixed and I kind of weighed out all the time I spent doing this, and I thought it was time for a change.”
Before Ferringo was the head coach of the varsity football team here at Lincoln, he was an assistant coach for several other high schools such as Mission, Sacred Heart Cathedral, and Archbishop Riordan . Additionally, he coached at the City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University.
In 2002, Ferringo took over as head coach at Lincoln.
Throughout his time on the varsity team, he has accomplished many feats.
“We’ve won [the] state championship three times. We’ve been [to the] NorCal championships five times. We lost two of those, but we’ve won ten turkey days, and we’ve been in the playoffs 15 times” said Ferringo.
Michael Washington, junior and running back/safety for the varsity football team, comments, “He’s very disciplined, hardworking, makes sure everybody is on task, does their job and makes sure they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.”
Troy Ieremia, junior and Defensive-liner/Offensive-liner for the varsity football team, also comments, “He’s very accountable, he holds everyone accountable on working hard just like him and teaching us all he knows.”
Ferringo’s three keys to success are Dedication, Discipline, and Desire. His methods for coaching the boys varsity football team are very old-school. When most coaches would tell their team to pass the ball, he would confidently tell the team to run the football down the field. His mentality led to the success of his career and for the team.
“He’s a winning guy, he likes to win, but even when we lose, it's always about how we’re gonna win the next game and what we’re gonna do to win the next game,” said Washington.
Ferringo strives to bring the best out of his team, making sure that everyone is pushing themselves past their limits.
“He always talks about working harder and fix our wrongs,” said Ieremia
Ferringo makes quite an impact on the football team with Washington stating, “He’s the heart and soul of the Lincoln Mustang… he’s been here for a while, winning seasons…”
Ieremia comments, “He’s the reason the Lincoln Mustangs football team is what it is now, he built it from the ground up.”
The next head coach is currently unknown at this time.
Washington comments, “It’s all about how the players wanna work and how they’re going to achieve their goals in winning…his presence is still gonna bring a lot of energy to the field and how the players work.”
Ferringo also teaches P.E. and weightlifting here at Lincoln and is head of the P.E department.
Since he won’t be coaching next year, he still encourages many students to take his class.“...I wanted to say, hopefully everybody comes and takes my class. It’s fun, you know,” Ferringo said.
From left to right, Kathia Rivas, Nick Tang, are warned by Elliot O’Neal about the king’s duck-like features being a result of a curse after murdering his wife.
Photo courtesy of Julian Byrns
Mika Buckwald and Angela Gin pose together after their curtain call for the Spring One Act “All American Girls.”
Photo courtesy of Julian Byrns
The 2025 Spring One Acts spring into production at Lincoln
By Emily Hypes
On April 24th, 2025, the Drama and Technical Theater departments at Lincoln showcased student creativity through the annual spring one Acts. Written and directed by students, the spring one act productions gave the student writers control to express their ideas and be brought to life through a performance.
Elaine Walenta, better known to Lincoln students as Walle, is the head of the Drama and Tech programs at Lincoln and has been hosting the spring one acts since 2015.
Walle says, “In the spring of 2015 I had a student come to me who had written a play — they were interested in producing it, and I thought that was a great idea.” “Another student wanted to direct a one act, and I thought let’s put that together, and we’ll have a night of student-directed one acts. It was a big success, and we have been doing that since.”
The 2025 spring one acts featured two senior writers and productions, the first by Ashen Blumberg and the second by Kassandra Beale.
Blumberg has been a part of the department for her four years at Lincoln, having key roles in multiple productions.
A notable performance Blumberg has been involved in was being cast for a spring one act in 2022, which she stated to be her first full commitment to high school theater and inspiration for her 2025 spring one act production.
Beale has been a part of the Drama and Tech departments since her freshman year.
Beale tells us, “Although I've had my ups and downs, theater has helped me develop skills and prepared me for “the real world” teaching me how to manage responsibilities.”
“Sophia and the Fool,” opened the night, written and directed by Blumberg. The story revolves around an eight year old princess who ventures into the woods to uncover who killed her mother and cursed her father — whom she brings along, unaware that he was the culprit.
The story was based on Blumberg’s childhood experience of forgetting a Father’s Day gift and making up for it with a comic strip, “This play is the adaptation of that comic I had been working on.”
“My dad helped put what I wanted to do into words that I didn’t know how to articulate at the time,” Blumberg explains, “I have always been fascinated with putting real world issues into abstract, more imaginary and fantastical settings.”
The involvement in the 2022 spring one acts influenced Blumberg to produce her own three years later, “If someone around my age could write something that meant that much to people and could connect with them personally, that’s the core of what I have wanted to do.”
“As someone who has always wanted to be a director, this is my dream,” says Blumberg.
After a brief 15-minute intermission, where audience members were encouraged to support the program by purchasing snacks, the second production took the stage, “All American Girls,” written by Beale and directed by Phoebe Seigel.
“All American Girls,” follows a girl who brings an American Girl doll to her school, only for the doll to come alive and attempt to take over the student’s identity.
Beale’s creative storyline was inspired by multiple factors, “I wanted to be realistic with what we had, not too hard or intense for drama or tech. I chose a school environment because I felt a lot of people could relate to that.”
She adds, “I have always loved female driven stories. I started the Feminist Film club, and I felt more connected and I knew that's what I wanted to write about.”
The writing process of these productions began roughly around the same time the Fall play ended, around late November and early December. Towards the end of the first semester, and the end of winter break, the writers’ drafts are due in order for Walle to check their progress and review their ideas.
Walle mentions, “They get complete freedom, but it does have to be school appropriate,” followed by, “Once I get a first draft, I read it and make suggestions, and because of the format of what we do in terms of tech needs, sometimes I have to curtail what the students want.”
The idea to have another person direct her show came from Beale herself, “I have wanted to write a show since my freshman year, since I have known the side of directing has not always been my strong suit.”
Seigel tells us, “I wanted to have a more active role in drama, while not being in the class itself, so I did that through stage managing, and directing seemed like the next step.”
Both Seigel and Beale’s passions for the drama department aligned perfectly for Beale’s show.
Near the beginning of March, and after the writers make their edits to their stories, auditions opened for the writers and directors to choose who would be casted for their production. Simultaneously, the Tech department began to prepare for the shows through the set requirements.
Reflecting on her favorite parts of the production, Walle tells us, “Watching them see how the audience reacts, see how their actors are doing, watching them take notes, I love it. Watching them be in charge and having to deal with the types of things that teachers have to deal with is a really good experience for them. The best part is when I watch them watch their own show, that is absolutely the best.”
Blumberg says, “I am so proud of everyone who has come together to make this wonderful production. I am thankful that everyone here, actors, tech, costume people, have all been able to make this story come to life.”