News

By Angela Gin

On April 6, seniors returned from spring break brandishing water guns and swimming goggles; senior assassin was in full swing once again. 

The game is typically run by senior class ASB students and is not school affiliated. No Lincoln staff were involved in the game operations.

The rules were the same as last year’s game, but modified for teams of three to four. Each player paid the $5 entry fee and downloaded the Splashin app, where they would share their location with all the other players. The app does not provide real time location but instead gives an updated location every ten minutes. To access live locations, players could purchase the premium, which, in addition to real time locations, would provide the type of movement and activity. 

The goal of the game is to not get eliminated. Each team is assigned another team to get out at the beginning of each round; each round lasts a week. To move on to the next round, a team has to eliminate at least two of their targets. To eliminate someone, one member of the group has to film themselves shooting their target with water from activity sanctioned water guns. If a team does not eliminate two targets, they are disqualified.  Players can not be eliminated on campus, at home, or at their place of work. The campus safe zone rule applies to after school activities like sports, dance, or JROTC. Additionally, if a player is wearing their goggles on their head or a floatie, they are immune to attacks, unless a purge happens. Purges are short periods of time, typically lasting a couple of hours to half of a day, when a player could eliminate any other player, even those who are not their team’s targets. The last team standing wins the cash prize. 

This year, 91 seniors signed up to participate, teaming up with their friends in hopes of winning  the prize of $400, the combined money paid from all participants’ entry fees, and splitting it with their teammates.

However, the festivities were cut short only five days into the game on April 10th when Lincoln’s deans, Tumua Faasua and Tammy Yan, went to the ASB classroom and told them to shut down the activity due to the violation of school and district policy. 

According to California Education Code 48900, students are not allowed to bring weapons or objects that resemble weapons to school. 

In regards to why this is only becoming a problem now, Lincoln principal Marisol Arkin says, “Senior assassin is not a school sponsored activity and raises significant safety concerns, as well as a threat of substantially disrupting normal school activities.”

Arkin also states that cancelling senior assassin was a preventative measure and because of the potential harm, the activity is shut down indefinitely. 

She says, “People can get hurt, people that are involved in it. In my 16 years as an administrator and 27 years as an educator, things can start off as play and very very often escalate when something happens. I don’t believe that any students that created this had any ill intent. I don’t think that there was anything malicious behind it, but they’re not thinking bigger picture about the overall safety.”

Participants of the game were disappointed to find that the game was cancelled. Senior Misha May says, “[Senior assassin] was a blast for me. It was a bummer to hear it got shut down.” 

Since the game ended, ASB has offered to reimburse the entry fee of all players via Zelle or Venmo.

Arkin addresses Lincoln seniors, saying, “We know that senior year is a big deal. And we know that we’re at the end, and we want you guys to find joy. And I think there’s a lot of different ways to do that. We just want it done in a safe way at school.” 

Arkin also states that administration is willing to collaborate on alternative ideas. 

By Ariana Lopez 

Students who are currently enrolled in Spanish 3 and signed up for AP Spanish will be able to take AP Spanish next year at Lincoln to receive college credit. AP Spanish was previously available during past school years, taught by Trayvon Bailey, but that  wasn’t the case this school year. The class was last offered for the 2024-2025 school year. Last year students signed up for the class but shockingly, even though AP Spanish was part of the course selection, the course was not available this year due to the lack of students not signing up for it. This year it was vice versa; enough students signed up for the class, in fact enough students signed up to run two different AP sections this year according to Bryan Hill, next year's AP Spanish teacher. 

Hill has been teaching for 23 years, and this is his second year at Lincoln: he taught IB Spanish (international baccalaureate) in his previous school in Michigan for 17 years. Hill never thought about being a teacher until freshman year of college. He at first studied business but his only favorite class was Spanish. Although he never considered being a teacher before his first year of college, during his second year of college he studied abroad in Queretaro, Mexico, to pursue his career as a Spanish teacher. Hill shares that the importance of AP Spanish coming back to Lincoln besides receiving college credits—is that more students can learn the ability to speak other languages and learn critical thinking skills like reading and writing. These skills are very beneficial when applying for a job like healthcare. Students who are native speakers also benefit from taking this course. People with a Spanish speaking background have responsibilities to be translators for their parents. For example, parents would tell their kids to translate their documents or repeat what they are being told at the doctor’s office during an appointment. 

“It is a huge gift to be able to use and go through the world and interact with people who have all different languages,” said Hill. 

Students who have the opportunity to take AP Spanish  learn critical thinking skills and put them into practice with real life scenarios. For those who are native speakers, the class will also teach academic language. As stated by AP Central, during the course of the year, students will learn to comprehend writing and audio text, make cultural connections, learn how to speak and write to others, and communicate through spoken and written presentations. 

Bailey, previous AP Spanish teacher, said teachers have to teach the same curriculum. The course being taught is determined by AP Central, a website used by AP instructors. By the end of the year, students will use their knowledge on the topics that were covered during the year for AP testing; the test determines if the student will receive college credits. Hill mentioned that his goal for this course is to make AP accessible for everybody who is taking it. The class is a mix of students who are native Spanish speakers and students who are learning the language. Hill wants all students to feel supported when taking the AP course."I want people at Lincoln to know that if you are working through years of any language that you can get to AP,”  said Hill. If Lincoln students who are currently enrolled in Spanish are up for a challenge, AP Spanish is the class for them. Not only will they learn to speak, read, and write Spanish but will be able to learn and understand different cultures. 

Senior assassin participant Tyler Chan chases his target, Vincent Lee-Imhof, with a water gun down the street, ultimately succeeding in eliminating him.

Photo by Tyler Chan

By Leo Le

The long-awaited and needed renovations of Abraham Lincoln High School’s athletic facilities have recently begun.

Starting in late March of 2026, Lincoln High School’s field improvement project kicked off, bringing major changes primarily to the Lincoln football and track fields. 

On November 6th, 2024, San Francisco voters passed Proposition A, a $790 million general obligation school bond measure. The bond will be used to improve school’s across the district in infrastructure and safety, positively impacting students. A portion of the money granted to Lincoln was invested into the renovation. Additionally funds will be used from a special fund dedicated to construction and renovations.

According to Marisol Arkin, the principal of Abraham Lincoln High School, “Lincoln is not paying for the field improvement project.”

The SFUSD Facilities Department assesses conditions of fields and athletic areas at schools across the district. These assessments determine which SFUSD schools are prioritized in renovations of their fields and athletic areas.

Arkin states, “Lincoln’s field was one of the highest priority projects, which is why it was selected for this work.”

The project’s scope is set to upgrade existing athletic facilities, including a brand-new synthetic turf field, track repair and resurfacing, a scoreboard, water fountains, accessible parking spaces, and improvements upon the fence, long jump area, and bathroom accessibility. 

The new synthetic turf is expected to make a big difference. Compared to grass, turf acts as a more cost-efficient and aesthetically pleasing material with bright colors and a logo of Lincoln High School. Additionally, turf is much easier to maintain because it eliminates the concern for watering and mowing. 

Mason Silvey, a Lincoln freshman on the track and field team, exclaims, “I really like the idea of new fields.”

These changes may improve the overall school experience by encouraging more students to participate in sports. The new fields could also create a sense of renewal and excitement, not only for athletes but also for students who may enjoy the improvements made to the fields during their regular walks in physical education classes.

While these improvements are expected to positively impact not only the aesthetics of the fields but also the overall school experience, students are already feeling the effects of the closure, especially athletes. Every day of the week, starting in January and going until March, track and field athletes practice at school for hours before they leave. Due to the ongoing renovation, track and field participants have to practice at alternative locations such as San Francisco State University's track and field. This takes away more than thirty-minutes out of practice, or makes practices last even longer.

Michael Lee, a Lincoln freshman on the track team who runs the 1600 and 800 meter events, expresses, “I think the renovation will improve aesthetics and students’ experience […] but one thing that disappoints me is we have to commute to practice, which lengthens our time at practice.”

Track and field isn’t the only sport where students feel the impact of the field’s renovation project. Baseball, softball, and lacrosse continue to practice as their seasons are ongoing. These teams have to resort to practicing on the small grass field on the side of the Lincoln track and football field.

Xavier Malizia, a senior at Lincoln and team captain of the boys' baseball team, angrily expresses, “The renovation is very inconvenient for us [baseball team], and three sports teams have to share the small field next to the track.”

Additionally, Lincoln's football field is a venue for graduation ceremonies hosted by both A.P. Giannini and Hoover Middle School. With the field unable to be used, both schools had to find alternatives. A.P. Giannini will still be hosting its graduation ceremony at Lincoln, but it will take place in the auditorium. Hoover, on the other hand, has decided to choose another venue overall.

According to Arkin, “The field is expected to be completed in August of 2026.”

By Phoebe Seigel

On Friday, May 1st, student journalists from 11 school publications, including the Lincoln Log, were invited to a press forum with officials from mayor Daniel Lurie’s administration. Schools at the forum included Lick Wilmerding, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, Mission High School, Convent, Riordan, and Lowell. Students were told beforehand to come prepared with three questions they had, but were guaranteed, and ultimately got to ask, only one question per publication. 

This was the very first time the mayor’s office has held a forum like this, giving the opportunity to student journalists to ask questions that concerned them and their fellow students. Questions ranged from concerns over MUNI’s budget to worries over San Francisco’s affordability. 

 “It was a great opportunity. It felt really important to hear what other people in the city had to say, and what questions they asked,” says Lincoln Log writer and forum attendee Elise Dunn. 

Though mayor Lurie himself was unable to attend the forum, students were able to direct their questions at a panel of several of his employees. Alicia John-Baptiste is the city’s director of Infrastructure, Climate and Mobility, who answered questions about the future of MUNI, and  explained the three-tiered strategy they have planned to shrink the deficit the transit system has found itself in. 

“The very first step was to take every measurement we could immediately, to make sure that we kind of reduce the size of the deficit as much as we could, without cutting the transit surface. And so that meant reorganizing the way that it operates tend to take some of the cost out of the system. The second step was to say, ‘Okay, we know we are going to need more revenue in order to support these systems,’” says John-Baptiste. 

The third step she outlined came in the form of ballot measures advocating for a raise in sales tax to fund MUNI and a new personal tax that would go towards preventing service cuts. Both measures have been backed by mayor Lurie. 

Many students had questions about funding and affordability, especially surrounding the rising costs of living in the city and funding going towards SFUSD. According to Charles Lutvak, the mayor’s press secretary, one of the mayor’s main focuses is affordability in the city. 

“The goal is to look across aspects of life around the question of government, and say, ‘How can we bring down the cost of living down by thousands and thousands of dollars?’ Initially, one of the big initiatives that we launched was an expansion of free and low cost childcare. So we are leveraging hundreds of thousands of dollars in unspent funding that voters had approved eight years ago, [allowing] the mayor to expand childcare subsidies,” says Lutvak.

Overall, the forum was a way for the mayor’s office to show their care and concern for student journalists. 

Sara Falls, the Lincoln Log Advisor says, “I think it’s super cool that they put this together, because it shows that they care about the high school constituency, and that they care about student journalists. I hope that they follow through, and continue to take seriously the issues that matter to students.”