By Samantha Hong, Mia Rossitto, & Xara Alexander

This December, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) demanded that all schools align their schedules within the next two years. Currently, a team of Lincoln teachers and administration have selected an option with no blocks and a minimum day Wednesday. However both teachers and the Union Building Committee (UBC) are fighting the district to use the option that retained partial blocks, which was initially vetoed by district officials because of attendance concerns with the hour-long advisory. This final decision is evolving as of going to press.

The Leadership Equity Achievement and Design (LEAD) staff, the cohort of board members underneath the superintendent, is in charge of ratifying the admin’s proposed schedule. LEAD is allowing George Washington High school and Lowell High School to have the long advisory but not Abraham Lincoln High School (ALHS).

The district required the change for a couple of reasons. Firstly, SFUSD signed a new contract with a different Special Ed bus company, and the timing of class interrupts the bus system. Secondly, schools were complaining that students who have an extra early release day go out to other schools and start fights with other students. 

Lastly, all staff teachers' meetings needed to be at the same time across the district, but with the current schedule, most teachers at Lincoln missed out on 30 mins of professional development meetings per week because of Lincoln’s 2:57 early release. 

“Staff became aware [of the issue] in January, and in December we heard rumors that all high schools were gonna have a similar schedule next year,” says Kristy Erickson, a union building representative who communicates with the Teachers union and health teacher at Lincoln High school.

Around January, Erickson and Jordan Loey, an ALHS assistant principal, started immersing themselves in SFUSD’s schedule requirements to create several bell schedule drafts. SFUSD required current start times at 8:40, early dismissal on Wednesdays at 2:25, and 64,800 total instructional minutes per year. 

In February, the drafts were shared with the Union Building Committee (UBC), along with a survey sent out to gather faculty feedback. This survey had a response rate of about 26.67%, which prompted the UBC and other teachers to meet to discuss the issue.

The first meeting, held in NB08 with around 12 teachers present, was rushed, with the realization of how little time was left for such a big workload.

The teachers present decided that the issue needed to be brought before everyone and decided to discuss the scheduling changes at the next all-staff meeting on the 27th. Three students, reporting to the meeting based on a tip from their teacher, proposed the idea of getting student feedback by working with ASB to send out surveys. 

During the all-staff meeting, around 50 teachers met up in the library to discuss the schedule change. Teachers wanted to know more about how newly formatted instructional minutes would minimize student’ skipping and make schedules more flexible. 

Science teachers need block schedules to perform labs, while math teachers voiced concerns about having blocks based on the disengaging effect that such a long time period would have on students. Some teachers wanted no change at all. 

“Unfortunately, [keeping our current schedule] doesn’t seem like an option. I’ve spoken to the people that are more familiar with the constraints of the new schedule than I am and they tell me that one of the things that really has to change is the advisory period attached to another class period. It was described to me as an equity issue. Not all staff have the periods that the advisories fall on. Staff is being unequally burdened with having these advisory periods attached to their regular periods,” states Nicholas Glasser, a history teacher.

Despite the approaching deadline, the admin still collected a lot of teacher input. “[The administration] has said to the teachers, what do you need? They are being very open about our needs and want to get input,” said Erickson, when surveys were being sent out.     

However, in the long run, teacher and student input made little difference. After months of revisions, ALHS has decided to implement a new schedule for the next school year, which has six 59-minute periods every day, except for Wednesdays, which have six 44-minute periods. 

The third option, which included blocks and advisory that lasted an hour long, was most popular among students and teachers in the survey. This option was immediately shut down by LEAD because ALHS’s previous attendance issues made them skeptical of the school's accountability for student attendance. 

Despite or as a result of teachers' efforts to gather student input, many students are unaware of the technicalities behind the schedule change despite the released bell schedule surveys. 

“I don't really know what’s going on with the schedule change. I feel sort of out of the loop on the whole thing, ” says Jay Fabian, a junior at ALHS. 

Like Fabian, students would briefly skim through the surveys, after being told to do it by their teachers, without really processing the drafts.

Alan Zeng, a sophomore, says, “To be honest, I really don’t care about the schedule, I just want earlier starts and earlier ends.” 

Some don’t understand that basic functions of the schedule, like start and end times, are non-negotiable because of previously set laws. Students don’t trust that the school will take their concerns into account, which makes it harder to get students' voices. Many students think that responding to surveys is a waste of their time because they won’t be heard. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Zaihra Mena

Since January 3, 2022 EMpower has miscalculated pay rates for emergency sub coverage, extra work hours have not been applied to gross pay, and deductibles for retirement accounts are being withdrawn but not deposited into 403b accounts. This is concerning for teachers, especially new teachers who depend on their new job.

Christopher Cary, a social studies teacher,  has been sending emails to Abraham Lincoln teachers regarding the financial technical problems within the EMPowerSF payroll system.  The emails state the common issues that all sf teachers have been struggling against. Some are, teachers are being underpaid, insurance for dependents and the employee are no longer valid, Pay Stubs from a former system were inputted incorrectly when transfering data into the new payroll system, and the lack of communication from EMpowerSF and the school district.

While grievances have been filed, teachers are frustrated by how little action has been taken by EMpowerSF and the San Francisco Unified District  to resolve the issues stated in the grievance. 

Cary says, “What I had to do for myself and a lot of my colleagues is play certified public accountant.”

With previous experience with data entry,  Cary took it upon himself to create a Google Sheets doc where teachers who worked extra hours for emergency sub coverage , can input their working hours, which would then be uploaded into the EMpowerSF website while also supporting teachers on how to make accurate calculations for their pay stubs. 

Having to address EMpowerSF difficulties himself brought up a thought for Cary of, ``Im I getting paid what I should or not.”

Many other of Carys colleagues feel their time and effort is not being valued as teachers. Having to sit hours on the phone waiting for a helpline representative to support them during school hours, with no response. Leaving the teacher with anguish, about whether or not they are getting paid on time or at all. 

Cary says, “My hope in a crisis situation that we are in, somebody in management would say in every email  or phone call that you respond to, at the end say, we are really sorry for the inconvenience you have experienced, we are working to fix this problem and understand the hardships you are going through¨  Yet this was not common.

Receiving only one delayed apology email  from EMpowerSF taking responsibility for the issues at hand. 

This is a fundamental issue Cary says, he continued on saying¨ it's messing with people's ability to pay rent, cars, their kids daycare or food, essentially it's messing with people's livelihood.¨ 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Carina Lee

Abraham Lincoln High School students of all grades probably saw students chasing each other around with a plastic spoon on campus over the last several weeks. More than 90 Lincoln seniors eagerly signed up for Spoon Tag, since many traditional high school activities like rallies and dances were canceled due to COVID.

Spoon Tag runs 24/7 and requires participants to tag their assigned target with a spoon to eliminate them. The official game rules warn students to be prepared for “running and/or chasing.” 

Participants were all given a plastic spoon and tasked with tagging the name written on the handle. They needed to tag the target with their spoon to eliminate them.  However, if the target is holding the spoon in view, the spoon acts as a shield and they are safe. Players could be eliminated at any time (with the exception of class time, sports practices and in bathrooms), so they must constantly be on guard. Video proof was required to confirm the elimination. Some of the highlights were posted on Instagram. (Check them out on @alhs.2022)

The game was divided into three rounds: the first lasted three days, and the second and third rounds lasted a week each. Only those who survived the round can advance to the next.

Round one, day one: Leina Hutcherson, Tyler Yan—Yan made the first kill on Hutcherson. “I felt like Lightning McQueen,” said Yan. “I called a friend to ask where Leina ate lunch and surprised her.”

Round one, day three: Mia Antonio, Ivan Lam—Antonio stole a peek at best friend Lam’s spoon and was shocked to find that she was Lam’s target. “It was really difficult to get Mia because she knew that I had her,” said Lam. “We were always together, so she was always holding her spoon, and I couldn’t find an opportunity to tag her. I know that she usually arrives later on Fridays so I waited by 22nd Avenue where she gets dropped off. I was hiding behind the corner and then I followed her inside the building. Then I took my chance and tagged her from behind.” 

Spoon Tag ignited FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in many seniors. After popular demand, game organizers created an option for late sign-ups to join in the second round. 

The rules grew stricter and stricter with each round. Round two introduced a rule that required participants to hold the spoon with both hands to be safe and necessitated that players must eliminate at least one person to advance.

Round two, day two: Simone Parker, Mackenna Dere, Joanne Huang: Dere tagged Parker, who had forgotten her spoon at home, and then regretted celebrating. Dere recalled, “It was the senior class ASB (Associated Student Body) meeting, and I was waiting for the perfect time. When the meeting was over, [Parker] looked at a friend’s phone, and I went over to tag her. When I got her, she screamed, and it jump-scared me. As I was celebrating, I took one hand off the spoon and Joanne came up to me and she got me, and I was like ‘What the heck.’”

Round two, day one: Michael Shelley, Julian Fong-McAdams—Fong-McAdams tagged Shelley in the New Building courtyard. “I tagged him kind of awkwardly and he got fake mad, kind of for the camera, kind of just because he was only in the game for 20 minutes. I was planning on waiting a couple days,” said Fong-McAdams. 

Round two, day five: Skylar Yoshimura, Ryan Park—Passerbys saw Yoshimura run from Park on Friday afternoon, dropping her books in the process. “At the end of first period,” said Park, “I hid behind other people and waited for [Yoshimura]. Then she showed up and I walked up. Skylar tried to run away but I caught her and tagged her. She was screaming at me too, and I was just laughing.”

Nineteen people advanced to round three. In addition to holding the spoon with two hands, at least one one-hour period was announced per day. During that hour, no one was “safe.” Players were free to tag their target regardless if their target had two hands on a spoon. 

Round three, day one: Jonas Abrams, Joanne Huang—Huang tagged Abrams immediately after class. “I realized I had forgotten my spoon,” said Abrams. “So I asked my teacher if they had a spoon or other utensil, and they gave me a fork. I tried clutching the fork to hide the fact that it was a fork; and hopefully deter anyone from tagging me because they would be revealing themselves by tagging me if I had my spoon in both hands.

Unfortunately, Joanne didn’t take the bait, and I knew I was out the moment I got tagged. For a second, my life flashed before my eyes, and I experienced a moment of pure dread. I went through all five stages of grief in about five seconds.”

Round three, day one: Nicholas Toohey, Christopher Ku—Ku, despite sitting one seat away from Toohey, couldn’t make a legal elimination during class time. “Nick didn’t know I had him, and the free-for-all time was right after second period. We walked out of class and I tagged Nick,” Ku chuckled. “It was certainly an exhilarating feeling. I felt an amplification of my adrenaline prior to tagging Nick, and an immense feeling of relief after I tagged Nick.” 

Round three, day three: Joanne Huang, Ashley Saripin—Saripin climbed through the trunk of a car into the backseat of a car to tag Huang during the free-for-all period. “It was a bit hard to tag her because we’ve never had class together. I was able to get her because my friend texted me where she was during lunch, and I was able to find her walking to a friend’s car. I was about to tag her as she was walking in, but she was too far. 

[Parker] caught me creeping up and closed the doors except for the trunk so I just went for it,” said Saripin. “I felt bad because it was just an impulse, and I went into a person’s trunk. I apologized to Ivan for trespassing onto his property.”

Ten seniors survived until the end of round three. The rules designated the person with the most eliminations to be the winner, but some students tied. The game organizer decided to extend Spoon Tag by one week.

Five participants didn’t eliminate anyone, so they didn’t advance to part two of round three.

Oscar Martinez made the only elimination of round three part two on Ashley Saripin. Along with Martinez, Keanu Chau, Jasmine Martinez and Xander Contrares were the last seniors standing. Oscar Martinez ended the game with six total eliminations, beating out the other three participants and securing the free prom ticket. 

“When I joined the game, it was during late sign-ups, and I already bought my prom ticket, so winning it for the ticket wasn’t a big factor for me. I just wanted to have fun with the one and only Keanu,” said Martinez. 

After being notified of his victory, Martinez said, “Man, as the one and only once said, not talking about Keanu right now but DJ Khaled, ‘Suffering from success.’ That’s how I feel. It was pretty easy, not gonna lie. It’s just a lifestyle, you know; winning is a lifestyle that not many people live.”

Spoon Tag was largely organized by Emma Chu, a former ASB member. Seniors were charged a three dollar entry fee, and Chu volunteered all profits towards prom.

Chu and other senior ASB members felt that Chu’s efforts went unappreciated.

“One of the most difficult things was trying to pair people and making sure they knew where their target was. I wanted to be conscientious, but people still got really mad at me,” said Chu. 

As the official point of contact for the game, Chu handled the brunt of the questions, complaints and disputes.

“Some people, more than once, lost their spoon or got their spoon stolen or left their spoon or couldn’t find their spoon, and so I probably had to replace spoons three or four times for certain individuals,” said Chu. 

Each round, a new spoon was distributed to the participants’ second period class. “People would skip class or not show up to class or be late, and they would blame me, asking for their spoon even though it was with their teacher.” 

Spoon Tag received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players and spectators. Dere said, “I think the game was super fun even though I got out. It was still fun because it was something our class could collectively do together. It was nice to do something that had a sense of community to it.”

“The fact that everyone enjoyed this game is an accomplishment to me,” Chu beamed.  

Published on 05/23/2022

By Joshua Henriquez and Callie Janza

Abraham Lincoln High School is renowned for its Olympian weightlifters and its athletics program with the volleyball, football, and basketball teams being frequent shoe-ins for the championships. Yet, despite their stellar athletic record, the operations of the program remain a mystery, often resulting in concerns amongst students and coaches alike. Among these concerns are the lack of information about how much money is in the overall budget, irregularities regarding the hiring process for coaches and inequalities when it comes to the attention each sport receives.

The lack of transparency in the athletics’ budget has often led to frustrations stemming from what seems to be disproportionate spending on each team. Every sports team in Lincoln has a set budget to spend on necessities, however the amount in that budget has never truly been clear.  As a result, coaches are unable to project needed funds and resort to fundraising to prevent shortfalls.  Anonymous sources within the department claim that Lincoln's sports funding remains out of the coaches’ control and by extension, out of reach for potential problem-solving. In the past decade, no significant changes have been made to the athletics department’s budget. According to football coach Phillip Ferrigno, he utilized Snap Raise and the Alumni Association to raise the funds they needed for helmets, uniforms, equipment, and even team dinners.

These sources claim these discrepancies would not be an issue if a breakdown of spending for each team were more transparent. This would quell suspicions or set into motion the reforms required to prevent personal spending and inequalities amongst teams. 

However, no coach, not even the assistant athletic director, has access to or knows what funds the department has. According to one coach, “There’s no clear guidance about how much is allowed for each sport.” 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Brandon Tse

After the passing of Colonel Ishikata in December, Colonel (COL) Tony Paz, a retired United States Army Officer, became the new JROTC teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School. This new role gives Col. Paz the opportunity to give back and serve the community.  

“I was very fortunate to meet Colonel Ishikata. [I] got to know him, and I wanted to continue to serve my community, and being a JROTC teacher is a great way, or a great fit, to do that,” says Colonel Paz. 

Colonel Paz retired from the Army two years ago in Washington DC, a month before the pandemic began. Working for a non-profit organization that supports grieving military families as their outdoor programs director, he and his wife moved back to California during the middle of the pandemic. Where he reached out to the JROTC instructors in the San Francisco Unified School District. 

“Last fall, I looked into being a JROTC teacher, and I reached out to the instructors in the school district like Colonel Ishikata. The original plan was to be an instructor at another high school. With Colonel Ishikata’s heartbreaking and unexpected passing, the district JROTC teachers reached out to me in January, and a couple months later, here I am,” says Colonel Paz.

Colonel Paz honors the same philosophy that Ishikata had, being that he [Ishikata] believed in preparing students for graduation and helping their future, while also having fun along the way. He sees Ishikata as a wonderful person who cares for his students. While being in Ishikata’s place, he doesn’t have to do everything on his own to achieve his and the program’s goals, as Master Sergeant (MSG) Marieta “Top” Lagat (retired) and the cadets are there to help him. Colonel Paz learned a lot from Top and the cadets, seeing that the Lincoln JROTC has a great team that provides what Lincoln High School students need for success. 

“He [Ishikata] believed in preparing students for graduation, helping them plan for future life goals beyond high school, and having fun along the way. I intend to honor that same philosophy. Good planning, coaching, and mentorship while having fun with many of our special teams activities will meet those goals of becoming better citizens in your community,” says Colonel Paz. 

“[Ishikata is] a wonderful human being. He really cares for his students. He wants them to be happy, wants them to be successful and have fun. He really wanted everyone to do their best and succeed. I admire him for that,” says Colonel Paz as he talks about Colonel Ishikata. 

In order to lead the JROTC program, Colonel Paz notes that the goals in doing so will require attraction and attention from Lincoln students. Considering the variety of activities to do in the program that has something for everyone. 

“Since arriving at Lincoln High School, my goals at JROTC, you know, they are the same goals for each student in the program - to become better citizens,” says Colonel Paz

“Meeting our goals [to lead the program] requires the interest, curiosity, and motivation of our students. We ask that everyone come try us out. I can promise that there’s something in JROTC for everyone. Whether you’re here to learn Drill and Ceremony, Archery (we have plenty of bows and arrows!), participating in the Drum Corps, building and programming your own robot, learning and practicing how to be a good leader, how to plan and implement a community service project, or just simply discussing current events in class,” says Colonel Paz. 

Cadets are still going through an adjustment period of someone filling in Colonel Ishikata’s position in the program, seeing the new Colonel’s positivity within the class as well as during events as a mentor and an instructor. They also notice him being observant as he has interests on how the program in Lincoln works, along with getting involved in a lot of the program’s activities and events as it's more liberal compared to other JROTC programs.

“I think he’s just mainly still getting used to our environment first. Seeing how everything’s run before getting all hands in, because obviously he wants to see how everything’s run, see how everything is used, because people don’t like quick change so I think he’s trying to develop a sense of how to lead and everything. But, from what I can see right now I think he’s doing a good job with understanding everyone, meeting everyone, and seeing how things are run,” says Cadet Battalion Commander Carla Dagandan.

“He’s definitely different from Colonel Ishikata. I think we’re just gonna have to break our previous habits of him always being around, ” says Alpha Company Executive Officer Mia Rossitto.

As of now, Colonel Paz looks forward to the future of the JROTC Program, seeing it as something that will become bigger over time. Paz and Top plan to be there to help Lincoln students who want to reach something greater and support their community. 

“Five years from now, I see a vibrant JROTC program at Lincoln High School, with well over 100 participants in the classroom, learning and conducting the program's leadership, the Drill teams, Drum Corps, Archery, Raider Challenge, and the ever-growing support from alumni who return to offer mentorship,” says Colonel Paz.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Samantha Hong

Brendan Furey is the only AP World History teacher at Lincoln High School, and despite teaching a more difficult course, he strongly values the well-being of his students. Furey takes students on what he calls “Wellness Walks” around the school or around the reservoir. He uses Mondays as a day for meditation and gives students more relaxed days after a week of stressful history document analysis and writing. 

Furey’s had an interest in history since he was young. “It was dinner table conversation,” he says. Despite neither parent working in history, his mom and dad were very involved in cultural topics and discussions. Accordingly, both he and his brother became AP world history high school teachers. His brother teaches at Lowell while he teaches here at Lincoln. 

However, he did not start at Lincoln, Furey started teaching in 2007 at Visitacion Valley middle school. That same year he taught was the same year the David Lynch Foundation was implemented in the school. The David Lynch Foundation is a program that implements the practice of mental health and meditation. The school would pull all the staff into the auditorium to practice transcendental meditation for fifteen minutes. 

Therefore, because of his experiences with Visitacion Valley middle school, Furey spends a lot of time emphasizing the importance of taking mental health breaks and knowing one’s limits. He often says things like, “A student should take at least five mental health days a year,” He asks questions like, “What physical activity do you plan to do over the weekend?”

He is quick with a joke, enjoys conversations with students, and works hard to get to know his classes. He incorporates different activities into an already very structured course. He adds things like jeopardy and quizlet live. Furey believes that the extra air, physical excursion, and change of scenery are important for his students. 

“What I have observed is that after walking for fifteen minutes, students are more alert, less fatigued, and more energetic to learn than if I just pushed through the curriculum. So, even if it takes time, it results in a better learning environment for my students because they’re more mentally able to focus and to learn more actively,” says Furey.

Aware of the declining mental health of teenagers, Furey tries to create a positive environment for students in his class. “I think high school is a really tough time for many students. They are trying to figure out who they are,” he says. 

Furey tries to alleviate stress towards college and tests, with sarcastic jokes and real-life advice. He advocates for community college or taking a gap year. He warns students about the impending student loan and tries to emphasize how it’s okay to not get accepted into an ivy league or a UC.  

He works towards building students’ stamina and preparing for stress. “I do believe in building a culture of anti-fragility,” he says. “Life is a pain, life is about loss, life is about stress and we have to learn to deal with these things.” 

He tells his students to tell their partners, “You will probably fail the test.” or “you probably won’t get into UCLA.” 

For a lot of students at Lincoln, Furey is the first AP teacher and class they’ll take in their high school careers. The AP world history class is one of the largest cohorts of students at Abraham Lincoln, so it’s important that students have a stable teacher that can prepare them for this new curriculum. 

He believes he and his students work really hard to create a strong academic culture that prepares students for a long and strict test. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Liam Hargis-Bullen

A Chemistry major from New York becomes the AP Physics teacher for ALHS. Travis Heidepriem is from New York state, after visiting his aunt and uncle in San Francisco for summer break during his high school year, it compelled him to leave New York for San Francisco. 

Heidepriem received a chemistry degree from San Francisco State University.  “I had never taken a chemistry class at all in high school,” Heidepriem stated. “The reason I majored in chemistry was due to one high school teacher who had a profound effect on me. This teacher majored in physics, but he only picked physics because he knew nothing about it, so I did the same with chemistry as a way to test my technical ability.” 

Before becoming a Physics teacher at ALHS Heidepriem taught summer chemistry classes at ALHS and Galileo high school from 2016-2019. Heidepriem was also an assistant teacher for Coach Doherty's AVID tutoring class.

Despite attaining a chemistry major Heidepriem was granted a job at the start of the 2019-2020 school year as a Physics teacher. “While being two different subjects, Physics and chemistry are both connected through the use of math to solve scientific real-world problems. They both involve change that is visible for anyone.” 

Heidepriem’s schedule consisted of 10th grade Physics classes until the return from the pandemic. 

Albert Jou, the former AP Physics teacher, left ALHS, opening up the AP Physics position for someone else. “After Jou left I reached out to Alan Calac to teach AP Physics since he had done it formerly,” says Sunshine Roque, the ALHS science head. 

“I was willing to teach AP Physics as I had before, but I knew Heidepriem was up to the challenge and willing to do it. I asked him if he wanted to teach it and he accepted,” Calac states. 

Since the start of the 2021-2022 school year Heidepriem has been teaching both AP Physics and regular 10th grade Physics classes. “I like AP Physics because of its connection between mathematics and the phenomenon of life. Conveying these connections to my students is exciting,” states Heidepriem.

Although this transition to teaching AP Physics hasn't been uneventful. “I had to relearn a lot of material in order to be well equipped for the class,” Heidepriem mentions. “I even used old lessons from former AP Physics teacher Calac as a way to familiarize myself with the material. I have needed to make some changes but I am glad I am teaching AP Physics. It is important for ALHS to have advanced science classes.” 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Levi Hall

As the school year wraps up and graduation nears, many seniors are starting to figure out what they are going to do once they leave Lincoln.

Lots of students are going to four-year universities all across the country. Other students are going to attend community colleges in the area such as Skyline College and City College of San Francisco. 

“I am going to Tulane University in New Orleans. I chose Tulane because it is in an urban area and it is a prestigious university. I also got a pretty good scholarship so that definitely influenced my decision,” says Kira Chu. 

Some students don’t know what they want to do yet or are unsure of how to even get their foot in the door when it comes to figuring out possible careers. 

“I am going to Skyline Community College because I am not really sure what I want to do yet,” says Kaithleen Sunga. “I plan on doing internships and making connections to try to find out what I want to do with my life,” she explains. 

Numerous factors contribute to a student's decision regarding their future such as their high school grades, family pressure, financial situation, career path aspirations, overall fit, and more.

“I am going to UC Davis because they have a good medical program. I applied to 20 schools and tried to stay neutral throughout the whole process. Not getting into schools was hard, but that just means that a door was closing and another one was opening up for me,” says Snow Jiang. 

Cost of going to college is one of the biggest factors when it comes to choosing colleges, but scholarships and cheaper options exist. 

“I really wanted to go to New York University, but the cost was too much, and it made no sense going into that much debt. I decided to commit to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo because it is a lot cheaper,” says Josh Chew.

For some students, going to commuter schools is the best option for them. At a school like San Francisco State, students can save a lot of money by not having to pay for room and board. 

“I am going to San Francisco State University because I can save money by living at home and because of the programs it has for social work,” explains Jose Hernandez. “I was pretty set on San Francisco State, and I was super relieved when I got in,” Hernandez adds.

The admissions process this year was especially hard as a lot of schools were test blind and many students took gap years in 2021 due to the pandemic. Almost every school across the nation had a record number of applicants and many students didn’t get into their top choices.

“I wanted to go to the University of Michigan for as long as I can remember but I didn’t get in. It was really hard for me, but I am going to the University of Oregon in the Fall and am super excited,” says Nick Toohey. 

As going to college and moving out is not too far away, many students reflect on the difficulties of leaving the nest.

“I am excited but nervous to move out because I grew up in a very large household where I didn’t really do anything by myself. I am definitely looking forward to the new experience though, and I know that I will be fine,” says Chu.

A few Lincoln seniors aren’t going to college right away and are taking other paths like joining the workforce or joining the military. 

“I am joining the United States Marines, and I am very excited,” says Lorenzo Oakley. “Growing up I was always surrounded by people in the military and my family is very supportive of my decision.”

As Lincoln gets ready to send off the class of 2022, they are also beginning to prepare for the class of 2026. 

“Some advice I have for current Lincoln students and for the incoming freshman class is to pace yourself in high school and take your time. Don’t be in a rush all the time and try to enjoy the little things. Also, try new things and don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone,” Hernandez says. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Riley Brown

Mark Stephan Aquino has been on a path to be an Ethnic Studies teacher for many years now. This is his third year at Lincoln High School. Here, he is an Ethnic Studies Honors teacher, as well as the anti-racist teaching and learning coordinator. Before coming to Lincoln, Aquino worked at James Denman Middle School for seven years. He was an English Language Arts teacher, an Ancient History Social Studies teacher, the Technology Leadership teacher, a Video Journalism teacher, and finally held the history department chair. 

He attended San Francisco State and got his undergraduate degree in Ethnic Studies, specifically Asian American Studies. He then went on to get his Masters in Arts and Teaching with an emphasis on urban education and social justice from the University of San Francisco. After that, he got a Social Science teaching credential. Later, an English teaching credential and finally a Computer Science credential.  

For fun, Aquino likes to go camping, kayaking, and fishing (he runs a YouTube channel called @outdoorschoolofthought). Aquino sponsors the fishing club here at ALHS. The club has already gone on a couple of trips out to the San Francisco Bay and they hope to continue this club and field trips next year.  

Aquino's plan of being a teacher had been a constant for him. “Going through that major [Ethnic Studies], I always felt that I was being pushed towards being a community activist or being a teacher, and I chose to be a teacher because both my parents were teachers.” 

“I feel like my education and teaching career has always been this cycle of always wanting to engage with the community and getting people involved in social movements,” says Aquino. 

He chose to leave Denman as his job was supporting a one-to-one iPad program, which was provided by Verizon Innovative Learning Schools so that students had access to technology in school and at home.  

Aquino, “I felt that I was being pulled away from my core beliefs as a teacher, while providing equitable access to technology is something that is important to 21st-century learning. I still feel like my core beliefs are driven by helping students make sense of the world around them, and their place in it.”  

Aquino has worked to incorporate his education in Ethnic Studies into other classes he taught. As a social studies teacher, he taught students about history, but as an Ethnic Studies teacher, he is able to connect students' real-life experiences in an interdisciplinary way to patterns and events in history that they have learned about.  

“I feel that only being an English teacher or only being a history teacher is extremely limiting. Being an Ethnic Studies teacher gives me the opportunity to combine all the things together. Whereas, there’s specific writing spirals you have to follow in history standards that we have to follow sequentially, Ethnic Studies reacts to the world.” 

“[Ethnic Studies is] being able to teach history to students from the perspective of their own experiences or taking a deeper dive into their own lived experiences connecting their lives to history, in sort of culturally relevant ways,” says Aquino. 

“We're pretty similar in that we try to connect to current issues, past issues, views, media, and different approaches–trying to break out of the mold,” says Anthony Navarro, who has taught, learned with, and now teaches with Aquino. They met when Navarro was a teacher's assistant for an Asian American studies class that Aquino was taking at SF State. He is one of the other Ethnic Studies teachers at Lincoln. Navarro says that they have a similar curriculum, but both bring different touches to their classes.  

“I think one thing that should be highlighted is that he's rooted and grounded in social justice and equity, whether it's for BIPOC folks, whether it's for the LGBT community, whether it's working-class folks or allies, whoever it may be–fighting the good fight,” Navarro states. 

“[The best part of my job is] seeing the many revolutions that happen within students when they go from being indignant about an issue to starting to formulate plans on how to address specific issues. Seeing that transition from strictly understanding theory and then moving towards practice, that's the joy I get out of teaching,” Aquino says.  

As his career changes have lined up with previous students’ journeys to high school, he often keeps in touch with them. “Teaching is an emotional investment. I’ll have a student for one year and it doesn't matter how many times I cross paths with them, I always want to know that they are doing well,” says Aquino. 

“I really value Mr. Aquino's genuineness.  He's not afraid just to be himself, and kind of just like, take me for who I am. He's really supportive,” says Navarro. “He's just one of those people; he's easily approachable. You can really find support with him.”    

Navarro says, “He's also the kind of person, not just as a teacher but as a person in general, he helps a lot of people and he's a resource on a lot of levels, whether its skills, whether its education, whether it's emotional. He's just that kind of person.” 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Marley Steiger

The Academies offered at ALHS are constructed to create community. Valerie Ziegler taught the Teacher Academy for the present Business Academy Coordinator, Teacher Academy Coordinator, and the ASB Coordinator. Ziegler currently serves as the Green Academy Coordinator and teaches several courses in the Teacher Academy as well. 

Ziegler says, “What I really like about being an Academy teacher is that the work that we do over the course of three years has a very specific focus and lens. So students can really identify what they’re learning, but they can also identify why they are learning it.” 

Ziegler elaborates, “Today we put on Earth Day. The tenth graders were in charge of it; they can clearly describe what they did and what the content was. The 11th graders are going to start here designing green buildings they will present to judges. It’s really powerful to show off what you did.”

Ziegler describes, “I like the relationships you can build with students over time, so instead of a student I know for one year, I know them all for three years. And especially with online learning, it helped so much that I had the students before. We already knew each other. It wasn't awkward. That class always had their cameras on…because they knew me.” 

Ziegler adds, “You see them mature…and when you see them by senior year getting into college and planning their future that part is really sweet.” 

Arisa Hiroi is a Teacher Academy graduate and says that the decision to teach was solidified by her experience in the Academy program here at Lincoln. She has been teaching Teacher Academy and Japanese 1 for the past seven years.  

Hiroi states, “I think seeing everyone grow and getting to be a part of that process is special. It makes me so proud to see students mature into young adults and grow to do things that used to be outside of their comfort zone!”

Hiroi says, “Having former students come back to visit is one of my favorite things as a teacher. I get to see what amazing adults they all become. And it really means a lot to know that they still want to pop by and say hi for years after (even when I don’t have control over their grades anymore). Some former students email little updates of what they’ve been up to, and I appreciate those as well.”

Hiroi shares, “I always tell students to visit whenever they want and that they know where to find me. And who knows, maybe some will come back to teach at Lincoln just like me…”

Hiroi expresses, “I feel sad seeing it come to an end. However, I also know that the bonds that count last — I have been college roommates with, bridesmaids for and even helped throw baby showers for my own former Teacher Academy classmates.” 

Senior Riley Brown has been a member of the Business Academy (BA) for three consecutive years now and says it has molded her high school experience. 

Brown expresses her emotions on graduating, “This is hard for me, I feel really bonded to that classroom. And to my classmates of three years…I really care about everybody in the room. Ms. Lee has been a really special teacher for me.” 

Brown adds, “I hope we have some sort of reunion. Whenever I come back home I will definitely be visiting Ms. Lee and the BA.” 

Jorge Goncalves has been the Digital Media Design Academy teacher for the past 12 years now.  

Goncalves says, “ …Watching, over time, how students’ personalities mature, how their creativity and ideation skills expand, as well as how their design software skill levels improve is a wonderful aspect of teaching in this multi-year program.”

Goncalves also teaches the Creative Computing class which is a one-year elective class. Goncalves, “In that class, like most other one year classes, towards the middle of the spring semester is when teachers really get to know the personalities and work ethics that most of their students have, and then, boom, the school year is over and they most likely will not get to see those students again in another class at ALHS, which is unfortunate.”

Goncalves voices, “Getting to watch students’ senior capstone project presentations is one of the high points of the DMD Academy Program because you get to see students put together all the varied skills they have learned over the years into a powerful multi-faceted project that has special meaning to them.”

Goncalves concludes, “It’s definitely more difficult to say goodbye to seniors when you have gotten the privilege of getting to know them over multiple years. For many students in an academy, you have a stronger connection with them, and they with you, so you will definitely miss them a lot.” 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Mia Rossitto

The 2021-2022 Lincoln flag football team came out of the pandemic with the first city championship win in nearly ten years. The only other time that the Mustangs had won championships was during the first year that the San Francisco Unified School District had offered flag football in high schools, back in 2013. To add to the team's accomplishments, they went through the season undefeated.

Their season started with a 25-0 game against Washington. 

Lowell was the first team to score on Lincoln’s team on the last play. It ended in a 21-6 game. Stephanie Lu, an assistant coach for the flag football team and defensive coordinator, states, “Lowell’s touchdown was unofficial. Instead of making a big deal about it, we reported both scores. During flag football games when a team is up by 19 points and two minutes remaining in the game, the contest/game is called.  When we were playing Lowell we were up by more than 19 with 2 minutes remaining. The referees allowed Lowell to keep playing because their coaches asked to since they were close or the endzone.  So technically we did not get scored on.”

The closest game the Lady Mustangs played was the first game back from Spring break against Balboa, who had played one game after Spring break before facing Lincoln. The score remained 0-0 until the game ran into overtime.

Balboa’s quarterback threw an interception to Ashley Saripin, a senior. She ran down the whole field while Heaven Wyatt, a junior, was blocking a Balboa player from grabbing Saripin’s flags. The last play in the game would lead to a 6-0 game that would continue Lincoln’s undefeated streak.

The next game was against Balboa again. Lincoln had a shutout game with a 25-0 final score. This would conclude the first playoff game.

Lincoln players were waiting patiently to see the results from either Galileo or Lowell players to hear who they would play in the championship game, which was already predetermined to be at Lowell’s campus. Galileo had dominated Lowell with a 25-0 game.

This was a little concerning to Lincoln because even though they had beat Galileo before 12-0, that had been earlier in the season. Lincoln knew that they would be coming back with more vengeance. Plus, Lincoln had only been able to beat Lowell 21-6. Despite that, Lincoln went into the playoff after a rainy morning with hopes of bringing home the championship title.

The game started off with Joelle Wong getting a touchdown in the second quarter and Jasmyn Anderson getting the next point. Wong says, “I think getting the first touchdown gave me more confidence going into the next three quarters of the game.” Galileo then tied up the game by getting a touchdown and the point after. 

In the fourth quarter, Jeanna Wu got a touchdown. Wu says, “I personally felt really proud of my teammates and relieved because we were tied until the fourth quarter. And although we were in the lead again, I was a little anxious when I went back on defense.”

It was a really close game, with one play and a fast runner the game could be tied because Galileo was back on offense. With less than five minutes left in the game, Galileo needed a touchdown. 

Galileo’s quarterback pitches the football to her wide receiver who was already surrounded by Lincoln players. Billie Zeng was the one that got her hands on the wide receiver's flags while the Galileo player was in their own end zone, adding two points on the scoreboard for Lincoln which would end the game. The final score was 16-7. 

Wong says, “Winning was one of the best feelings I’ve felt in a while…not only did I see how much we had bonded over the season, but also how much we improved. Honestly, it just felt great for our work to pay off.”

Lu says, “We will now have a target on our backs. All the teams will want to beat us or score on us next year because we were undefeated this season. But I think the system that we had this year got our girls ready for whatever was thrown at us, and keeping the same system but adding some parts here and there will really set us apart from the other teams again.”

The Lady Mustangs were ecstatic with their champion title however, their celebrations were cut short upon learning that their head coach, Donald Harris, wouldn't be returning the following year. Although he does have plans to help the team out, he would be unable to be as involved as he is now.

Harris says, “It was an emotional year, as I knew from the very start of the season that it would be my last.”

Harris was asked to be head coach four year ago with two weeks left before the season started and since then has never planned on staying long term. Harris says, “There is never a right time to leave, but with the help of Ms. Lu and Ms. Bustos, I feel like they are perfect for the ohana to step in and be role models for our student athletes.  I also have two young boys who I need to be present in their lives.  I have always been a person who is either all in or all out.  I have to be all in on my kids' childhood.”

Jeanna Wu, a senior quarterback, punter and receiver on the team, says, “I feel like he has a very good reason for leaving and I’m glad he putting more focus into his family. I’m also glad that Busto and Lu are taking over next year.”

Lu says, “Mr. Harris has asked me to coach with him ever since he started four years ago. But with last year, distance learning and being at home all day long. I wanted to be outside and see Mr. Harris and Ms. Bustos in person and try coaching a new sport. (I coached basketball for 7 years prior to last year.) I had so much fun coaching last year, and it made me come back this year. I am happy that I did because it’s literally been a fun time coaching Flag Football.”

Published on 05/23/2022

By Jay Fabian

This year, a huge majority of Lincoln's sports teams raised money through the use of “Snap Raise”, a new digital way to raise money. Lincoln as a whole has already made $100,000 through said platform. 

“Snap raise” provides fundraisers with an easy way to make money. They create an online webpage that shows off the team's fundraiser. Their website shows the donation goal, the overall amount so far, and how you can donate. All donations are done digitally through their website. Students are responsible for providing the emails of family and friends who they think will donate. “Snap raise” uses the emails and sends information regarding the fundraiser to those emails. This makes it quick and easy for people to donate to the team. 

Brandon Moreno is the Marketing Developing Manager for “Snap raise”. We reached out to him and he was excited to explain the benefits of the program. 

“The best thing about ‘Snap raise’ is that it is world-wide… You can reach family members much farther away.”  Moreno talked about how “Snap raise” was all about making it easy for the coaches. According to Moreno, “Snap raise” takes care of everything. All you need to do is sign up, create a goal, and snap raise will do the rest.  

The only thing “snap raise” takes in exchange for their help, is 20% of the overall profit raised in the fundraiser. Many students seem to have a problem with this cut. 

“I donated some of my own money, some of my family donated as well, if ‘snap raise’ is going to take 20%, I should have just given my coach the money myself” stated Vincent Chen, a student on the track team. Many students seem unaware of the 20% “Snap raise” take as profit. Some students feel like “Snap raise” does not deserve this cut and that teams should raise money on their own rather than use “Snap raise”. Coaches however seem aware of the 20% and don't really mind it all too much.

Donald Harris is the school's flag football coach. When asked his opinion of the 20% cut he said this,  “20% is a little steep, but at the end of the day, it was a very efficient process, they deserve some kick back from what they provide.” 

It would seem that “Snap raise was an overall success for Lincoln this year. Many teams are planning on using it again next year and people are trying to find ways to get clubs in on the action as well. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Mia Rossitto

Mea Dunbar is a junior at Lincoln. She plays wide receiver and safety on the Girls Flag Football team. This is her second year of playing Flag Football.

She used to play a lot more sports. “In my life, I’ve done gymnastics, karate, basketball, track, flag football, and cheerleading,” says Dunbar. Due to the pressure, the workload, and other extracurriculars, she has stopped playing most of these sports.

One of the main reasons she doesn’t have much time for sports is because she is also in Drum Corp. She’s one of the two juniors that play the Snare drum and teaches younger cadets in the JROTC program how to play it to make sure that they can pass down the knowledge of how to play even when they have graduated.

Her parents also have a lot of influence on the type of sports that she has pursued. Dunbar says, “My family has a long line of [people who play] sports, specifically basketball, football, and track. They’ve impacted my mentality toward sports a lot…They’ve also pushed me to be able to be as fast as I am today.” 

“I stopped playing basketball because of the pressure from my family,” says Dunbar. She had played four years of basketball when she was really young. 

Dunbar says, “I would reconsider going back into track, gymnastics and maybe even basketball if my family didn’t put that much pressure on me because they [the sports] were very beneficial in my athletic life and also just really fun.”

Dunbar mentioned that she made a decision to play flag football instead of track because her busy schedule could only fit one of them. Her family’s support when she chose to play flag football made it easier for her to continue playing the sport she loves.

“I have chosen to stay in flag football because it’s the sport I feel most confident in. Track seemed like it was more competitive in high school and I didn’t have as much confidence,” says Dunbar.

Dunbar has also mentioned how she tends not to play sports for an extended period of time but does plan to continue playing Flag Football next year.

Dunbar expressed how she feels most confident in Flag Football, and how she also wishes to be able to play more than she does, which is hard with the number of seniors that are on the team. “I wish I had a little more say in some things with flag [football], but I also really hope that the seniors get as much playing time before they leave, so I don’t mind waiting to get to play for now,” says Dunbar.

Camille Bustos, an assistant coach for flag football, believes that Dunbar has a leadership role, despite what Dunbar says. Bustos says, “Leadership comes in all sorts of forms. Mea is a leader in the social-emotional realm, which is as important as the outspoken leader and takes charge. Mea can read people's actions and emotions which will be valuable her senior year. ”

Dunbar talked about how it feels so different to be a leader to younger cadets in Drum Corp then flip the switch and spend most of her time cheering on the sidelines. “It’s a big shift because I’m not a leader in sports so I don’t get a lot of say in things but in my other team [Drum Corp], I’m one of the people that control things.”

Andre Partin, the other junior that leads the Snares with Dunbar, says, “It’s great to lead with Mea, although I do wish she was there more. I understand and totally respect that she has other commitments. I’m fine with her being part of flag football.”

Dunbar hasn’t always gotten this support from leaders in Drum Corp though. Dunbar claims, “The reason I wasn’t able to play Flag Football in my freshman year was because of a miscommunication. One person told me that I couldn't participate in any other sports or clubs, and I had to focus on Drum Corp… I, later on, found out that this wasn’t true.”

Bustos says, “She is a fantastic drummer in Drum Corps. She can balance both flag and Drum Corps. She would go to flag football practice and then to Drum Corps practice. Most students would want to straight home after, but not Mea Dunbar!”

Published on 05/23/2022

By Jay Fabian

Abraham Lincoln high school has just finished their badminton season with a bang.  They have defeated Lowell in the championship with a score of 4-3. This is their first championship win in six years. Lincoln's badminton run was an amazing one for this year's team because not only did they win it all, but they also went undefeated with a record of 12-0. 

Lincoln's badminton season started all the way back in January. Like most teams they had a rough start following the pandemic. Originally, they had no coach and most of their older players had graduated leaving no form of management. Luckily, the team was able to wrangle a coach with Jack Doyle and was able to form a team of 25. 

This was Doyle's first year coaching badminton and he seemed like he enjoyed their season. Lincoln Winning the championship makes Doyle undefeated in his badminton coaching career. When interviewed Doyle stressed how amazing the team was this season and how dedicated they all were.

“We have so many great players on this team…they all show up and practice hard.”

Some players he highlighted specifically were Ethan Paw and Natilie Chen. He said they were both very competitive and that they were really great players. Ethan Paw plays in the boy’s singles and Natilie Chen plays in the girl’s singles. They both started in the lineup and made it to badminton all city this year. 

The season is a long one for the badminton team, lasting from January all the way to May. Each and every day the badminton team practiced to improve. They would have practices at seven in the morning before school and then practice again when they got out. This year's team was very competitive and really gave their all this season. 

Lincoln's team seemed to almost cruise through the competition. They would win game after game with no end in sight. Apparently, the only schools that put up a fight were Washington and Lowell. 

Even after all their highs, some students are sad with the ending of their season. They are losing six players next year to graduation, three of which are starters. Many players have a strong bond with their fellow teammates and are sad to see them go. Even with a blow to their line up, they remain confident.

“I think we have a strong chance next year; our boy and girl teams are very strong.” Paw stated. Paw and most of the team remain confident that Lincoln can win the whole thing again next season. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Brandon Tse

Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella “The Heart of Darkness” focuses on the horrors of western colonialism, and it inspired film director Francis Ford Coppola to make the 1979 film, “Apocalypse Now.” Coppola utilized his inspiration in the film by  focusing on the horrors of war, and it eventually became one of the greatest and influential films ever made. “Apocalypse Now” was later re-edited and released in 2001 as another version of the original film called “Apocalypse Now: Redux.”

“Apocalypse Now: Redux” is a psychological anti-Vietnam War film that follows the story of Captain Willard and his journey through the Nung river in a Navy patrol boat to terminate a rogue Colonel Kurtz. As Willard continues going farther down the river, the horrors of war slowly arise in the form of atrocities and insanity. 

Despite the war film’s straightforward set piece, it portrayed the Vietnam War as a hellish nightmare, showing how it can haunt the minds of soldiers. The film is extremely shocking and hard to watch, but it still manages to capture the psychology of being in the Vietnam War as a soldier and how someone can turn into an animal as a result. The film introduces this in its significant scenes, with each one being harder to watch than the last. 

The main protagonists and their development were completely memorable throughout the entire film. Every character manages to establish who they are flawlessly, and they all become a great significance to the film. All five characters go through the same journey upriver as Willard, and despite starting off so friendly and as ordinary soldiers, everybody in the group except one slowly loses their innocence while continuing onwards. 

Willard, the protagonist, has already been in the jungle before, and that’s why he’s empty, depressed, and tired at the beginning of the film. He is left desensitized by everything that happens along the river, and he simply wants to keep going in order to meet Kurtz, despite the signs telling him to go back. 

Actor Martin Sheen’s role as Willard surprised me, as he was Coppola’s second choice for the role and was casted at a very bad time. When he was casted, he was struggling with alcohol abuse, a nervous breakdown, and a heart attack. Despite this, Sheen successfully plays the role of Willard, and it helped him overcome his struggles. If actor Harvey Keitel, Coppola’s first choice, was casted as Willard, the film today would never be the same.

Kurtz is the greatest antagonist compared to other franchise villains. He is a shell of himself, stuck in his own cycle of suffering. He only shows up near the end of the film, acting like a philosophical god leading a Montagnard Army of his own. He aims to assist the United States to win the Vietnam War through the use of extreme methods against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. During the horrific war, he was mentally traumatized to the point where he wanted to die. Kurtz is someone who wants to go out like a soldier and not a renegade. 

What differentiates Kurtz from villains and antagonists in other franchises is that he has this foreboding and unsettling aura around him when he’s on screen. He’s mostly in the dark with barely any light revealing his identity, only showing up in the daylight once. Even the way he speaks is impactful, making me lean forward to listen to him with silence. The way Coppola captured Kurtz cinematically is surreal and bizarre, and it makes me want to know more about him. Actor Marlon Brando plays this role, and it was a wise move for Coppola to give him it. 

Many of the scenes in “Apocalypse Now: Redux” are suspenseful, traumatizing, and eerie, successfully executing the terrifying moments. For example, the jungle scene where two of the main protagonists creep through the trees, the animals in the jungle quiet down when the tiger shows up. During another scene at the bridge, a gunner shoots into the pitch black darkness as the flares in the sky illuminate the small area around them, only to miss every single shot while a Vietcong soldier shouts without making a visual appearance. The film consists of many details in these scenes that I never noticed at first. Amazingly, the film’s production went from six months to over a year to finish. Coppola put so much effort into the film, and it shows on screen. 

The soundtrack and music in “Apocalypse Now: Redux,” is perfect with the scenes as they set up the atmosphere. When the UH-1 Huey helicopters rise over the tree line, the synthesizers play a haunting, yet surreal, melody. As Willard goes through the Do Lung Bridge, the music turns into cheesy circus music and slowly changes to trippy segments, haunting voices, traumatic segments, and finally psychedelic guitar riffs that resemble the works of Jimi Hendrix. Each of the original tracks are unique for the scenes throughout the film. They bring a spine-chilling feeling whenever they make an occurrence, and it’s fitting to the cinematography. 

Overall, “Apocalypse Now: Redux” is a masterpiece of filming history to this day. It’s a modern classic that remains relevant to the horrors of war after over 40 years since its original’s release. “Apocalypse Now” has four different versions of itself, consisting of the original theatrical cut, the first assembly, the redux, and the final cut.

While the redux isn’t a fan favorite, I consider it to be worth watching for those who want to see more of it. The theatrical cut is considered to be the best way to watch the film, and I suggest checking it out first. Everything about “Apocalypse Now: Redux” hits home, from the mesmerizing cinematography and scenery, to the outstanding character development and haunting soundtracks. The film sticks out like a memory to remember, and I never want to forget it.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Jay Fabian

Looking for a movie that will show you what it’s like growing up as a woman? “Turning Red” is the movie for you. The movie came out on Disney Plus on March 11, 2022.  The movie was directed by Domee Shi and edited by Nicholas C. Smith. Mei Lee is the main protagonist of this movie and she lives in Toronto, Canada. Whenever Mei gets out of control she turns into a big red panda.

This movie teaches viewers the ups and downs of being a teenager. The movie also captures what it’s like to be a woman growing up and highlights the importance of puberty and women’s health. 

The movie is about a 13 year old girl named Mei Lee, who discovers that after a horrible nightmare she turns into a giant red panda. She turns into a giant red panda because her ancestors have a mysterious connection with the red panda species. In order for her to be a human again, she has to control her emotions. Mei turning into a red panda can be stressful, but she also has to deal with the challenges and expectations that her mom puts on her everyday. 

She really cares about school and is obsessed with the boy band called “4-Town.”  Mei Lee is really extroverted and loves to hangout with her friends. Because she is very extroverted, she has a strong connection with her mom. She has a really strong and complex connection with her mom, Ming Lee. 

Sometimes, she can be overprotective of Mei. They do almost everything together such as maintaining the family temple. Mei’s mom is also really involved with her relationships with Mei’s friends. Her mom doesn’t support Mei’s relationship with her friend, Miriam; Miriam thinks that she is a bad influence on Mei. 

As Mei transitions into being a teenager, she develops new hobbies and interests. For example, Mei starts finding boys that she likes. However, her mom doesn’t support Mei having a crush.

My favorite character in the movie is Mei because she is really kind to everyone she is around like her family and friends. 

Some things I learned from this movie is that it is normal to talk about what’s happening throughout your body and be educated about it.

I liked watching this movie because the animation was really thought out. The details of this movie were well done. Another thing that I enjoyed about this movie is the amazing and detailed plot. I also enjoyed how they compared how Mei turns into a panda to puberty and how the panda stayed as a teenager.

I thought that this movie was very well arranged and very entertaining in a meaningful way. I personally think it is a must see for all ages. I thought that the music in this movie was really interesting and melodious. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Tommy Tian

In a future world where technological advancement has peaked and natural death and disease have been completely eradicated, overpopulation is the greatest remaining problem in society. An all-powerful organization called the “Scythedom” recruits and trains scythes to “glean” (permanently kill) civilians to keep sustainable population levels.

2016’s “Scythe” by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman follows two teenagers, Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch, who are unwillingly recruited by Scythe Faraday as apprentices due to their “high moral fiber.” After rigorous training and a series of grueling trials over the course of the year, only one apprentice will pass and become a scythe. The pair are forced to compete against one another with their lives for a title that neither wants.

“Scythe” is the greatest book I have ever read due to its impeccable character development, immersiveness and fascinating storytelling. It opens up the imagination with a compelling story that transports the reader into a different universe. 

The book does an amazing job drawing the reader into the book the moment they pick it up. For example, the book starts off with a passage from the journal of Scythe Curie, where she goes over the morality of gleanings. She believes that anyone who is gleaned is innocent and guilty at the same time, as with the rest of humanity. 

This passage sucked me into the book because it presented an unsolvable ethical question: Is it morally correct to glean people to prevent overpopulation? It caught my full attention, and I was stuck pondering this question throughout the entire book.

Additionally, “Scythe” does a stellar job of immersing the reader into the text through the use of vivid, descriptive language. Throughout the book, readers are transported through a portal that brings them to a new world.

“Guests were frequent at the Terranovas’ apartment, so when the doorbell rang, there was no sense of foreboding—no dimming of the sun, no foreshadowing of the arrival of death at their door. Perhaps the universe should have deigned to provide such warnings, but scythes were no more supernatural than tax collectors in the grand scheme of things. They showed up, did their unpleasant business, and were gone,” writes Shusterman on page one.

This paragraph is captivating and chilling because it paints a colorful picture of scythes and how they operate. It invokes a powerful sense of fear into the readers, making them feel like they are part of the story. 

The most interesting part of “Scythe” is the power dynamics shown between civilians and scythes. Scythes are able to get whatever they want from civilians, and this often leads to an abuse of power. At one point during the book, a scythe forces a rich CEO to give up his company by threatening to glean him. Civilians are always at the mercy of scythes due to the unfair power structure, and scythes don’t experience repercussions for their actions.

Shusterman also does an outstanding job with character development through the use of character dialogue, background information and descriptive language. For example, Citra is described as smart and short-tempered, and this can be seen through her dialogue with her parents. Rowan is quick-witted and caring. Understanding who the characters are builds a connection between the reader and the characters, making the book more enjoyable.

After every chapter, the book includes passages from journals of many different scythes. These passages add greatly to the story and allow readers to develop a deeper understanding of scythes and the world they live in.

One critique I have of “Scythe” is that I don’t understand how overpopulation is a problem. If the growth of civilization and technological advancement is “complete,” how has overpopulation not been solved?

Overall, “Scythe” is a terrific science-fiction book. I highly recommend this book to all readers. What would you do if a scythe shows up at your door?

Published on 05/23/2022

By Joyce Li

Macy Sorensen has her life planned out–or at least she thought she did. She’s a new pediatric resident and is engaged to a financially-secure single father named Sean. But one day at a coffee shop, she spontaneously runs into Elliot Petropoulos, her childhood best friend and first love from eleven years ago whom she never forgot or let go of. This encounter confuses Macy; all it took was one look into Elliot’s eyes to make her wonder if she’s making the right choice by marrying Sean.

Written by Christina Lauren in 2018, “Love and Other Words” is a slow-burn fiction romance novel with childhood friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance tropes. 

The narrative follows Macy and tells two stories by alternating a dual timeline. Between the two timelines, it’s a mystery what happened between Macy and Elliot that caused their relationship to be cut off for eleven years. 

When Macy was thirteen years old, she met and fell in love with Elliot, the boy next door to her father’s vacation home. Now, Elliot moves to the city Macy lives in, reunites with her, and is determined to find the truth to fix their relationship.

The story begins with Macy in the past, introducing how she had lost her mother at a young age and how her mother left behind a list of advice that she wanted her husband Duncan to follow as he watched Macy grow into adulthood. From Macy’s mother reminding Duncan to tell Macy he loves her to doing all the talking when she’s quiet, the list goes on and on.

Number 25 on the list states, “When Macy looks so tired after school that she can’t even form a sentence, take her away from the stress of her life. Find a weekend getaway that is easy and close that lets her breathe a little.”

Duncan, taking his wife’s advice literally, bought a vacation house in Healdsburg, California. 

In many ways, Macy’s mother is still present in her life. While reading the book, it was heartwarming to see the list of guidance pop up and Macy and Duncan referencing it when they need advice whether that’s with boys, sex or periods. I also found the relationship between Macy’s family to be extremely cute–especially when Duncan was so serious about following every single piece of advice his wife had left behind on how to care for Macy.

Personally, my favorite moment in the book has to be when Macy’s dad decides to build a library for her in the closet. It was the beginning of their love story; I liked seeing Macy and Elliot making the closet library a special place for them and growing up reading and bonding over books for hours, sharing favorite words in books and listening to each other. 

Though Macy lost her mother at a young age, Elliot made sure that she could talk about her feelings without being judged, listened to her and made sure that she was feeling loved. 

In the present, Macy says, “I haven’t been living without him [Elliot]. I’ve been merely surviving. I want to share this life with him somehow. I just… have no idea how that looks.”

To me, it was hilarious to see the comparisons Macy makes between Sean and Elliot throughout the book. Just by reading the stories of Elliot and Macy when they were young, I think there was obvious chemistry that shows they are truly soulmates. Macy’s description of Elliot over the years revealed how she genuinely fell in love with him unconditionally.

Though I don’t usually read books with dual timelines, the way the author wrote the stories between the past and present connected beautifully to help shape the reader’s understanding of the characters to the fullest extent. It made me, as a reader, curious to know more about how Elliot and Macy's close relationship in the past went in opposite directions in the present.

Additionally, the characters and their relationships were realistic. It was beautifully authentic to see Elliot and Macy’s friendship as kids develop into something more romantic as they grew up. Their dialogue took me back to my own past and reminded me of my early teenage years.

Overall, this book was a breathtaking read that made me speechless. It was a well-written book and I would highly recommend this to anyone, but especially those who love closet libraries, favorite words and sweet romances.

The plot is full of suspense and will keep readers guessing about what caused Macy and Elliot’s relationship to drift apart for over a decade and how they will eventually fix it. 

As the plot unravels, readers can see how the story also includes many common realistic situations in relationships such as breakups, drifting apart and miscommunication. 

“Love and Other Words” describes the rawness and pureness of first love romance, the reality of relationships and how second-chance romance can work out if it’s with the right person.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Nicole Chao

Looking for a new, adventurous and lighthearted game? Look no further, because “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” is here! The object consuming, combative, pink puffball hero, Kirby, is back on a new adventure in a three-dimensional spinoff of its other classic games in the series. 

On March 25, 2022, HAL Laboratory developed the 17th mainline installment in the Kirby series in Tokyo, Japan after about a year break from their previous Kirby Game, “Kirby Fighters 2.” The game is meant to be played on the Nintendo Switch, which is Nintendo’s newest console on the market.

Nintendo has also developed many well-known video games and game consoles such as: “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” “Pokémon Legends: Arceus,” and the “Nintendo Switch” console. The concept of “Kirby” was created in 1992 by the mastermind Masahiro Sakurai. In the following three decades, each game in the series has showcased a stunning storyline that keeps players wanting more. 

The overall concept of the game through the years consists of Kirby having the ability to suck up enemies to steal their powers and finding secrets along the way. Kirby, who is a pink puffball creature living in Planet Popstar, is also the protagonist of the series. It is up to Kirby to restore and save the creatures living in Planet Popstar from enemies. 

This three-dimensional version of the classic Kirby games shows a new yet familiar perspective on the series. Sucking abnormally large objects is just one of the many new features in this game. In previous games, Kirby is known for having the ability to swallow enemies to steal their power. 

However, in this game, instead of swallowing objects, Kirby stretches and wraps his whole body around objects. The ability known as “Mouthfuls,” allows players to use Kirby’s body to stretch into everyday objects like cars, traffic cones, and vending machines. “Mouthful” is used to navigate the area with certain properties based on the object inhaled. Transformation into vending machines allows players to shoot out cans of soda to attack enemies. Consuming light bulbs allows for players to light up dark rooms and power up machines. This quirky twist is quite entertaining and visually appealing in a hilarious way. The animations on the “mouthfuls” feature are simply astonishing to look at. 

The game starts off with a unique cinematic opening sequence that introduces Kirby and the general outline of the game. Kirby is minding his own business in Dream Land and suddenly a rift tears open the sky. Monsters capture all the Waddle Dees amidst building and growing their town. Waddle Dees are small creatures native to Dream Land who can appear as enemies, NPCs (non-player characters), and a second player in co-op (cooperative game) option in the game. The goal of this game is to rescue all the Waddle Dees from the enemies and return them back to their town. 

For anyone who isn’t into violent or graphic video games, “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” is for you. As a Kirby fan since my elementary school days, I was so excited for this release. I vividly remember playing “Kirby's Epic Yarn” on my Wii console and thinking how much better it would be if the game had more features and abilities for Kirby. This game is exactly what I was looking for with its enticing quests and secrets. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fun and stress-free experience. 

“Kirby and the Forgotten Land” perfectly captures and maintains the elements of a classic Kirby game while still being distinguishable from the rest of the games. HAL Laboratory really impressed me with the complexity and details that were incorporated into each scene. I enjoyed how the game is customizable and allows players to complete missions with different upgrades and at their own pace. For example, players can look around for blueprints along the different levels of stages to upgrade Kirby’s fighting abilities. A fire ability can be upgraded to a volcano fire ability which is much more damaging to enemies. With many hidden pathways and secret portals, the game entices players to explore and mess with all the features along Kirby’s adventure. 

Regardless of any age, “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” will bring out anyone’s inner child with a fun packed punch.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Daniel Toy

Get hitched or call it quits? Six couples put their love to the test on "The Ultimatum, Marry or Move On." The show features six couples who sign up for a two month long experiment. They split up from each other and swap partners to figure out whether their original partner is really the “one” for them. Each individual has two options: either propose to their original partners or then, dump them and leave with their new-found loves.

During the first few days, the couples split up from each other. They are going on speed dates with everyone, trying to get to know each other more and find a connection. They would have one on one talks, hang out by the pool, get drinks with each other, and spend time trying to figure out who they choose.

As trial marriage arrives, everyone has made a decision on who they want to spend the next three weeks with, either a new partner or get married with their old partner. Each couple moves in with each other, and they would have to act like a married couple. They will explore with each other by going on dates, trying to feel each other’s vibe, helping each other grow as an individual, and helping each other resolve their issues.

After the trial marriage, they get back with their original partner and spend three weeks with each other. These few weeks, they would try to get back into the groove and see if anything has changed or stayed the same. But, some couples run into problems where one partner is jealous of how much fun they had: Are they losing love for each other?

I like how the show is very dramatic. You wouldn’t expect certain things to happen during trial marriage. Some examples were they would start catching feelings for their new partner, and meeting their new partner’s parents with only knowing each other for a week. The thing that surprised me the most was that the girls and the boys group would get together to gossip about what was going on in their trial marriage. Some of them would brag about having lots of fun, feeling a connection with their partner, and talking about their relationship on what they do or even compare it with the others. 

A couple that stood out to me in a bad way was Nate and Lauren. They came into the show intending to solve their issue of agreeing to have kids to start a family. However, Nate proposes to Lauren for the sole reason that he wasn’t getting picked by anyone else, while Lauren was chosen by Colby. It also sucks how Lauren went on saying yes to him, but I felt like she should have gone with Colby and tested it out first. So I felt like they basically wasted their time for nothing, not gaining anything from the show.

However, the connection between Colby and Madlyn shocked me the most. In the beginning, they seem like very chill, nice, and easy-going people. But towards the end, Colby became this stuck-up person who didn’t care anymore. It seems like he was giving up hope or not wanting to be on the show no more. He would get mad very easily and end up drinking all night. But on the other hand, Madlyn was trying to make things work out and doing her best to pull things together without losing the relationship. Colby just wasn’t giving the same energy back to Madlyn, it led her to confusion if she should leave with Colby or someone else. 

At the beginning of the show, right off the bat, I felt very obvious chemistry between Rae and Jake. They have very similar personalities and have lots of traits in common, always enjoying hanging out together, and always complimenting each other. They were scary couples where everyone can see they are actually falling in love with each other, making April and Zay rethink their relationship. Every time Jake and Rae got together, they would always have a full ongoing conversation, expressing more and more to each other, and it would seem like they were already dating. 

If you like reality romance shows, you would enjoy this show. This show can maybe solve some of your issues if you are in a relationship. The lessons you learn from the show are that communication is the most important part of relationships and that speaking up for yourselves and being able to identify what you want.

Chris Coelen, the director hints at a second season of the show, but instead, it would revolve around a group of singles finding other singles whom they have a genuine interest in dating.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Ashley Talbott

Picture this: It’s a hot, sunny day in San Francisco or you’re just craving some ice cream. Here is the inside scoop on some of San Francisco's best ice cream shops and their flavors.

One astounding ice cream shop is called Swensen’s. They always have tons of customers because of how amazing their flavors are. My personal favorite flavor there is the Raspberry sorbet. But they have so many different and delicious flavors, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone there to get their raspberry sorbet. They have delicious and fresh ice cream like their Caramel Marble, Black Raspberry marble, and Bordeaux Cherry, not to mention their outstanding customer service. They are located at 1999 Hyde St, in the Marina district.

Another personal favorite ice cream shop of mine is called Toy Boat. It is located at 401 Clement St, in the inner Richmond district. I have been going there since I was a little kid and my favorite was always cookies and cream even though they have a variety of flavors. I recently tried a new flavor called mixed berry, and it was so refreshing and tasted fresh and delicious. I asked one of the workers what was the most popular flavor,and he said the grasshopper pie, which is cookies and cream and mint chips. They also have the cutest decor like an electric little pony in the center, and toys all over the walls, including tremendous customer service.

One of the best ice cream shops in San Francisco is Mitchell’s Ice cream. It’s located at 688 San Jose Avenue, in the Mission district. They have the most amazing flavors like Butterscotch Marble, Strawberries and Cream, New York Cherry, Thin mints,and Mango. Due to their large variety and tremendous flavors, they can have a line around the corner on hot days or even not hot days. My favorite flavor since I was a little kid is New York Cherry, and may I say it tastes insanely delicious because it has chunks of cherries inside it. They have amazing flavors and great customer service.

Philmore Creamery is also a tremendous ice cream/gelato place in San Francisco. It is located at 1840 Fillmore St in the Fillmore district. They have welcoming workers along with fantastic customer service. One of my personal favorite flavors is the Passion Fruit which is vegan; They have a lot of vegan flavors. I asked one of the workers there what the most popular flavors are and she told me the Pistachio and the fresh squeezed Lemon sorbet.

One last excellent ice cream shop in San Francisco is called Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream Inc. It’s located at 1447 Taraval St in the Sunset District. My favorite flavor is their strawberry. It honestly tasted fantastic, it was creamy and the strawberry taste was very potent. They have so many flavor options that it makes it hard to choose. They also have very interesting flavors that you don't find everywhere else, for example, Cantaloupe, Lychee, Guava, and Jackfruit.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Snow Jiang

A thoughtful and tearful ride in which the destination is a spiritual confrontation with oneself, “Drive My Car” devastates and comforts through its vehicular poetry of the sorrow from which we run, the collisions that awaken us, and the healing gained from every bump in the road. 

“Drive my Car” by Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is a complex and elegiac film about love and mourning, about art as a means of relieving personal trauma, about responsibility and about the persistence of pain. Hamaguchi has adapted and significantly expanded a 2014 short story by Haruki Murakami, “Men Without Women,” into an intricately structured drama about love and loss and the ways in which art can and can't compensate for some of life's disappointments. 

The story follows a Tokyo stage actor named Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a calm, mild-mannered man who's been married for two decades to a screenwriter named Oto Kafuku. Viewers get a sense of their mutual devotion when Yusuke drives around in his bright red Saab, rehearsing his lines by listening to audio tapes that Oto has painstakingly recorded for him.

The prologue (lasting a full 40 minutes) introduces viewers to Yusuke and Oto’s relationship. Grief haunts their relationship, but so does their fuzzy definitions of love– Oto freestyling her best written work during sex so that Yusuke can retell her own forgotten thoughts the next morning. A canceled flight finds Yusuke walking in on Oto cheating with a younger man, and the chapter ends with her dead on the floor– leaving Yusuke with nothing but sadness, guilt, and an audio recording of her reading all the lines from his upcoming play, Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.”

Slowly unpeeling the leftover feelings of the opening act, the film picks up the plot as Yusuke finds himself at a theater residency in Hiroshima preparing to direct “Uncle Vanya,” the play Oto was helping him rehearse for. Booking a hotel more than an hour away so he can spend his long commutes listening to Oto’s voice on the tape deck of his retro Saab, he turns up at the festival to discover the theater has assigned him a chauffeur, Misaki Watari (Tōko Miura).

Driving down the road has all the usual heavy-handed metaphors about life and the journey, but I appreciate the irony of a man who had ceased moving despite all the travel time. Yusuke often drives and goes nowhere, but when he becomes the passenger, he arrives at the most important destination of his life.

As Misaki silently drives Yusuke down endless lamp-lit highways with the sound of his dead wife endlessly narrating lines, “Drive My Car” starts laying out its bigger picture. Unveiling Misaki’s tragic past, Yusuke’s broken memories, and the fragile connections that keep each character’s story tangling up together.

Hamaguchi finds subtlety in the sentiment. He floods the film with the kind of emotion and intimacy that feels earned and real. “Drive My Car’s” sensibility is a wonderful connection of the two authors that shaped it: it has Murakami's feel for loneliness and alienation, and Chekhov's compassion for human fragility. 

Three hours of subtitles for a Japanese language film may dissuade viewers. The film moves at a glacial pace. It’s mysterious, impenetrable, creeping forward on many fronts like a flow of ideas and nuance. Relying heavily on the art of conversation, each character evokes their emotions through prolonged scenes of talking.

The three leads, Yusuke, Oto, and Misaki, bear their own unique griefs and personal outlooks on them. I am constantly invested in the character’s individual journeys of self-acceptance and how they help each other through them. The cinematography is beautiful and evokes nostalgia, and the acting is wonderful.

Ultimately, what makes “Drive My Car” such an effective film is the cinematography and direction. The long, repetitive shots of Yusuke's bright-red Saab against seemingly endless— and completely vacant— roads impart a sense of a personal spiritual journey. Great care is taken to avoid distractions. While people do appear in the backgrounds of shots, they're often in shadows and slightly out of focus. Many of the scenes are vivid and dramatic, heightening the tension bubbling under the surface of the subdued action.

Like Yusuke’s beloved classic Saab 9000 that Misaki drives ever so carefully, “Drive My Car” moves ahead with smooth confidence and a fine-tuned reliability. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Zayar Myint

Becoming vegan is not only good for the environment, but it is good for our own well-being as well, being physically and mentally strong. 

After being vegan for a week, I’ve personally felt better about myself as an individual. The first day was difficult, and I had a hard time keeping track of what I could not eat. After the first day passed, I had better knowledge of what I could eat and started to create meals based on said knowledge.

My experience of being vegan for a week definitely made me feel good about myself, and to some people, that might be worth more than just the way that meat tastes for them. 

The health benefits that I learned about being vegan were honestly shocking, with one of them being heart disease. According to a study published by Harvard Medical School, "researchers found a 19% lower risk of death from heart disease among vegetarians." Being vegan has an effect on those with heart disease, preventing and reducing the risk of heart disease.  

"Vegetarians were, on average, 25% less likely to die of heart disease," the study states. Additionally, not consuming red meats, which are all highly concentrated in fat and cholesterol, can lead to a healthier lifestyle. 

Most people don’t actually have to be fully vegan to reap the benefits of veganism. Small changes to your diet can go a long way, whether it is trying different types of milk, such as almond or soy, that contain less fat than interesting cows milk, or avoiding eating eggs in the morning, which could lead to high cholesterol, any small changes in diet has a long term effect on someoneś health. 

As someone whose family is heavily associated with diabetes, I was glad to learn that being vegan can help lower type two diabetes, as well as lowering hypertension and reduce cancer rates. 

Besides improving one’s well-being and health, veganism is also beneficial for our planet. The plants that we grow go through another process of consummation before arriving on our plate, and that is very inefficient for our planet. Eating food directly as a producer saves our environment from wasting food and other variables that feed animals costs, like natural gas pollution and the destruction of habitats. 

Killing livestock is also unethical as well. Chickens are stuffed into kill houses by the thousands, overstuffed, cramped, and extremely hot. Cows are chained to feeders and stuck in small quarters, not being able to move around at all. Imagine thousands and thousands of animals living sad lives, only to die in cruel ways. Even though going vegan does not stop these practices, the idea of not eating something sentient that has been brutally tortured gave me an ease of mind at the dinner table. 

Besides vegetables and greens, I gave other vegan foods a shot. I scoured the isles of my local Safeway and stumbled upon the “impossible meats,” a completely plant-based version of meat. I quickly purchased the meat and went home to cook it, and to my suprise, it actually tasted and felt like meat. My one issue with the impossible meats is that they were only selling red meats, and upon further research, their products are very limited in variety. There were no lamb, fish, duck, or any shellfish replacements, which is understandable for a company that is only a decade old, but it’s hard to see people limiting themselves to this small selection of foods. 

Although I will not be continuing my path of veganism, I want to urge you to give veganism a chance. I believe that it is worth trying to see if you enjoy the lifestyle, and if you don’t, then you can always fall back on eating meat. It’s healthier, more sustainable, and tastes almost exactly like meat and dairy, as well as being beneficial for the environment. You’ll never know what you enjoy in life unless you take a chance and give it a shot. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Aleksander Mendoza

Is it just me, or do our school's Chromebooks take forever to start up? If I had created a survey on how many Lincoln students use Chromebooks, we would find out that probably half of the students use their own devices. Due to distance learning, we got glued to our screens, and I believe that the quality of the screen itself and the speed of the processor is essential. Growing up, many of us, including myself, only had one computer in the household, and I always found myself waiting until I had my turn using the computer for homework.

The very first computers came out in 1946. Those large machines took up a lot of space and were very expensive. With time, we kept shrinking the computer into smaller and more intelligent machines. Most people prefer slim laptops because they are handy, but customized PCs have more pixels, faster loading speeds, and higher resolution. PCs, especially if customized, are the most reliable and robust machines. When I was in middle school, I decided to build my PC, and I am still delighted with the results. My computer is working very well, and it is reliable and fast. I can also watch movies and videos and play video games. If you want to use your computer not only to do your homework but also to watch movies or play video games, I recommend building your own. 

Building your computer is an enjoyable hands-on experience, which, once you finish, gives a great sense of reward. Making your computer has many advantages as you can customize it and create a strong machine that others in your household can also enjoy. A couple of essential customizations would include adding more pixels with a monitor, faster loading speeds, and higher resolution to watch your new favorite Netflix series. 

If you are thinking of building your computer, patience is the most important. Do not get overwhelmed by watching too many YouTube videos on it. If you have ever constructed something with a lego set or a model kit, building a computer will be just as easy; all it takes is just a little more patience. Everything in a computer is connected to a motherboard. No computer would work without one, and the CPU is a central processing unit that is the brain of your computer. Then we move on to the graphics card, which is needed if you want to play any video games or watch your favorite Netflix show in 4K. RAM is another essential part of the computer. Ram stands for “random access memory. '' All of these parts I have mentioned connect to the motherboard. 

Finally, one more component is a PSU (power supply unit). If you get all of these components you will be able to build your own fast and efficient computer.

Building your own computer is very fun, and many people never even consider doing it. The best part about building your own PC is not finally being able to watch your favorite shows at crystal clear resolutions. It's about having all these parts on your table and figuring out how to finish this puzzle. Experiencing this moment of random bits and pieces coming together to form a working computer is truly rewarding and very satisfying.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Joshua Chew

Nike’s ‘White/Black’ Dunk Low has drawn lots of attention over the past year as many people have been chasing a pair. Often called the “Panda” Dunk Low, the black and white silhouette is a simple colorway that easily pairs with any outfit. The shoe consists of a black and white leather block with a black swoosh logo, white midsole, black outsole, and black laces. 

Restocks of the ‘White/Black’ Dunk Low have occurred multiple times on the Nike app and various shoe retailers including Footlocker and FinishLine at a retail price of $100. Over the past few restocks on nike.com, the shoe constantly sells out within five minutes or less leaving many buyers dissapointed. With so many people already wearing this black and white shoe, I often wonder why people still aspire to get a pair for themselves. 

While it is still a good piece to pair with any outfit, I feel that it’s not worth it to dress like everyone else. 

This shoe has been overproduced, which has led to many people snagging a pair for themselves or to resell for quick profit. The shoe has become so popular amongst teens that it has become the new staple shoe. It is almost guaranteed that an individual will be wearing the “Panda” Dunk Low at any occasion.  

Resale websites like StockX and GOAT have had the Nike “Panda” Dunk resell for prices in the range of $210 to $260. This is double the price of retail, which is a waste of money. Paying over double the price for a shoe that many others have just isn’t worth it. 

I personally would not get this shoe, unless it is to resell for a quick profit of around $100. Matching with others is not something that I want to do, I would much rather stand out from the crowd by getting a different colored pair of Nike Dunks. A few other colorways I would buy besides the “Panda” Dunks are the “University Blue”, “Grey Fog”, and the upcoming “Racer Blue” Dunks. 

Besides the Nike “Panda” Dunk, there are other shoes that still flash a fashionable image at a more affordable price. 

The Reebok Club C 85 consists of a chalk-colored leather upper and hint of glen green with a rubber sole at just $85 at reebok.com. This shoe provides minimalistic color to correlate with any outfit. 

Vans also has a cheaper option, the Vans Old Skool, starting at $65 on vans.com. A black suede and canvas interrupted by a white stripe across the shoe. This alternative gives a stylish look and saves money at the same time on a shoe that is never sold out. 

Adidas comes the closest to the Nike Panda Dunk matching the black/white color. The Adidas Forum Low is composed of white leather with three black stripes, a velcro strap above the tongue, and white midsole followed by a black rubber outsole. 

With these options, anyone can still stand out without having to pay over double the retail price. 

Published on 05/23/2022

By Adalia Wani

Growing up watching an ime, one element I’ve always noticed is that all the characters

were fair-skinned. It was rare to see any dark-skinned or even tan-skinned people in anime.

On rare occasions, if non-fair skinned characters were presented, they were mostly represented through negative stereotypes. One example is Killer Bee from “Naruto” who takes on the attire of being a stereotypical black man, obsessed with hip-hop and rap, and is seen as unmannered. Often these non-fair skin characters were side characters; their character development was never focused on. Their whole existence was to help or follow the lighter skinned-characters.

In the “Fate” series, an anime that revolves around masters who summon servants to fight for the Holy Grail (an all encompassing wish granting grail), Archer, a tan-skinned servant, is summoned by his master. His entire existence is to fight and protect his white

master; even sacrificing his life for his master. Unlike the other servants, who are given whole backstories, Archer isn’t given a backstory at all. We, the viewers, are just left to speculate who Archer was before becoming a servant. The female portrayal of non-fair skinned characters in anime is even worse. Hayase is a tan-skinned character from “Nagatoro,” an anime series about high school students. Hayase is extremely hyper-sexualized. She’s even presented as sexually harrassing a lighter skinned boy named Naoto. Hayase’s behavior towards Naoto is predatory at times. Hayase plays into the Je-

zebel stereotype, which suggests black women are hypersexualized individuals, and in some instances, are predators towards men. Hayase’s lighter and fairer-skinned friends are portrayed as more feminine, with better attitude and manners, and less sexaulized compared to Hayase. Naoto even prefers Hayase’s friends over her.

In anime, it’s hard to see any positive portrayal of non-fair skinned characters. Many of

this could be attributed to Japanese society, where fairer skin s valued. Tan and dark skin are looked down upon. Japan is a very homogenous society, with its people having little exposure to other cultures and ethnicities.

Many of Japan’s perceptions and portrayals of dark and tan-skinned people come from the Western nations, such as America.

The West has a racist history of stereotypes towards people of dark, brown and tan complexion. This enables Japan to portray these characters in the only way they see in western media, through stereotypes. As Japan is a homogenous nation, very few people complain about this negative portrayal of non-fair skinned characters as many don’t find anything wrong with it. 

Race and racism isn’t a topic discussed heavily in Japan like it is in the West. However, because of the globalization of anime, we have fans from around the world. I, myself, a tan person, have always wanted to see an anime character that’s my skin complexion; one that

doesn’t abide by any stereotypes. 

It is important to note that anime has spread from the borders of Japan and has become an international sensation. Anime studios should take into account their global audience. They should portray darker-skinned characters adequately instead of just blaming their portrayal on the West’s racist history.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Hanson Pan

Football is the most popular sport in the United States, with lots of spotlight at Lincoln. Lincoln has plenty of sports to offer and wants other sports to have the same amount of spotlight as football. After having a bell game rally, other athletes wonder when their sports will get the same treatment as football. Sports such as volleyball or baseball are popular sports that will shine more spotlight on them. They don’t have any events for anyone to recognize these athletes. These two sports have been in the playoffs for many years. It would be amazing if students were able to watch them pull off an insane playoff run and win it all.

Both swimming and track have All-City events where athletes from our school can potentially go to the state qualifiers. Don’t other students want to see their fellow classmates make it into states and compete with the best athletes in the state? State qualifiers are important to the athletes because they can win scholarships and get recognized for their whole city. If there were fans attending these All-City meets and cheering on their fellow classmates, then the swimmer or runners might be able to swim or run just fast enough to get 1st place. 

An event for some sports would be perfect as they don’t have All-City events. Having something to showcase these sports that are under the radar would mean a lot to athletes. This would make them feel that their hard work was worth it throughout the season.

Another way to get more spotlight on other sports is by advertising games around the school. By advertising games, there will be more people going to the games. Students can clear out their schedules and have time to go to games.

More spotlight on other sports also means that there would be less on football. We would have less time for football and make time for other sports, with more advertising and more events.

To get students to games, there could be t-shirts or custom merchandise for that game to show support. This can get students to go to their games, and they also get free merchandise and support and cheer for their students.

I think that every sport deserves an equal spotlight. Athletes that have been working hard want their school and fellow students to be able to support their hard work.

Published on 05/23/2022

By Xara Alexander

Since post distance learning, teen mental health has been at an all time low. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “in 2019, 1 in 3 high school students and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, an overall increase of 40% from 2009.” 

“I’ve noticed here that panic attacks have increased since coming back, as well as identification of feeling down, depressed, suicidal ideation, more this year than I’ve ever seen,” states Ms Edmoston, the Wellness Coordinator at Lincoln High School.

Academic culture promotes pushing through weeks of late nights and stressful deadlines.  “There's stress and academic pressure, which can impact mental health in a negative way. I think overall, like at any school, just being a teenager is really hard; it's really stressful, in a lot of ways,” says Edmonston. This means that students experience pressure to go to school even when they are sick or mentally exhausted.

Not working in and of itself can cause guilt due to the fetishization of productivity and how heavily rewarded and romanticized workaholism is. As a student, I have experienced this stress, and I have found that long-term exposure to it has resulted in a persistent nagging guilt that I constantly need to be productive, even in my free time. 

Although bad mental health stems from a lot of external factors, such as family life, pre-existing mental health conditions and more, school is the environment where bad mental health is bred, where teenagers spend time worrying about their future, interacting with their friends, their grades, and processing academic pressure from teachers and family. 

Students are already working the equivalent of a 30 hour work week, excluding homework and extracurriculars. Many are in a position where they get home late from extracurriculars, and then have to stay up late to finish homework. “Sleep impacts our mental health so much,” says Edmonston. Lost sleep and stress (especially common under the pressure of strict deadlines) can have a profound effect on the body, reducing thinking, concentration and memory capacities. 

School burns the candle at both ends by forcing students to go to school for attendance and class time and expecting them to stay up late working on assignments. This problem is augmented by taking days off, since they are forced into twice the amount of work just to catch up, and stress is compounded. Schools aren't set up to make mental health days actually function. 

“It would be nice to have a mental health day with a free pass of no makeup work,” states Edmonston. Some of my friends really can't ever afford a complete mental health day, since a lot of times there are important assignments to turn in or tests to take that they have to be present for.

There are two bills, SB 14 and 224, which allow students to miss days of school with mental health as their reason for absence and requires schools to introduce mental health content to their curriculum on or before Jan 1th, 2024. Since it isn't required by law yet, classes don't actually have to teach students about mental health. This law isn’t going to help any students who are struggling now.

Additionally, although the law justifies mental health days, it doesn’t support them in practice: students will still struggle with school, perhaps even more than before, when they come back from taking a mental health day. 

Kids’ ability to take days off for themselves is also largely dictated by their cultural upbringing. 

“Mental health days acceptability really depends on the family's cultural understanding of mental health,” says Edmonston.

There are times when I have wanted to take days off but couldn't tell if I actually deserved to take a break or if it was justified, since my parents have instilled the idea that mental health days are just a way to slack off. 

Simone Biles took time off in the middle of the 2020 Olympics to work on her mental state, which should honestly be the norm. Feeling unwell should lead to rest, not more exhaustion. 

I think there is some stigma that I have experienced about mental health days being used to slack off, which is a harmful idea that perpetuates the struggle.

There are wrong ways to go about mental health days. According to the Child Mind Institute, mental health days should be used, “as long as they’re done in a way that’s not reinforcing avoidance or anxiety… if kids are asking for a day off because they’re trying to get out of something that they’re anxious about, staying home may end up reinforcing that anxiety.”

An effective mental health day should include activities that actually help the student to relax and de-stress, such as staying off of social media/technology, taking a walk, calming activities like baking or drawing, reading and exercise.

According to Edmonston, mental health can be defined as having a good support system and good coping strategies. The wellness center at Lincoln is a big source of support, but not all students make use of it. “I do find that [students ability to use the wellness center is] dependent on teachers' understanding (of mental health). Because a teacher's job is to teach and to educate, and make sure the students are in their class and learning, I understand it's hard if a student is using wellness a lot,” says Edmonston.

Additionally, many students may not have the resources to hire a therapist for their mental health, because of cost. Many therapists in San Francisco charge around $60 to $150 per session. The school should step up and help students.

By the end of the school year, 400 to 500 students access wellness resources in some way, and about 70 students visit per day. 

Published on 05/23/2022