Other: The Problem with Standardized Ethnicities

We can all agree that the STAR tests have many faults, but one glaring issue that is usually overlooked is that of the choices included in the “Ethnicity” section of the bubble-test. “American Indian” always tops the list – perhaps it’s our idea of compensation for the mass genocide in the 1600’s. “Hispanic” is followed by several variations of “Pacific Islander,” then “Asian”, “African American”, and finally, “White or Caucasian”.

Although I consider myself a diverse and well-rounded as well as culturally sensitive individual, I always feel guilty marking “White,” as if it’s my fault that my grandparents were not Haitian. * sigh. * That’s life.

But what of the cultures completely omitted in this by-no-means comprehensive list of “acceptable” ethnicities? Indians (that is, those from the country of India), are nowhere to be found. Are they “Asian?” Doesn’t that imply almond shaped eyes, tan skin, and an exceptionally high math IQ? (I don’t actually stereotype “Asian” this way; the statement is for the sake of argument.) What could be the cause of this discrepancy?

To answer this question, we must first ask ourselves, “What is the purpose of the STAR testing masterminds knowing whether our skin is white, black, or purple?” An executive answer would probably come close to “In order to improve the test through enhanced data collection and ensure that all races have an equal opportunity to succeed.” In other words, so that they can quote the exact percentage of Pacific Islanders who scored above average on the STAR test, thereby proving that “Americans really aren’t prejudiced!”

What would a person whose mother is African American and whose father is Mexican bubble in? What if her grandmother was born in Spain? What if her great-uncle was born a native of Australia (of Aboriginal descent)? Is Spain “Hispanic”? If her grandmother was from Spain but her aunt was born in Florida, does that make her aunt American?

Although an individual might not think this deeply which black and white bubble to fill in during a week where teachers don’t give homework, the STAR test does, in essence, force participants to either categorize their identity or to abstain from answering the question (which, in reality, rarely anybody does). While for some it may be simple, for others it shoves the potentially touchy issue of their heritage right in their faces.

STAR tests are designed to categorize. They sort out students into types, making it easy for the analysts to throw together some numbers that supposedly represent the entire American population under the age of 18. STAR tests: progress reports, or offensive identity sorters? Only you can decide.

45 degrees: The Homecoming Dance

A mass of humans, some wearing animal prints, moving strangely under the revolving flashes of light. The concentration of bodies seems to increase closer to the far end of the room, where a man with headphones on flicks and pushes hundreds of buttons and switches. Other attendees sitting in tables at the back of the room, some playing cards. One lone reporter, watching it all happen.

No, this scene is not from a bad science fiction movie. It's Paly. It's the homecoming dance.

Contrary to popular rumors, parent chaperones did not carry protractors with them as they prowled the dance floor, searching for violators of the "45 degree rule." In fact, most of them expressed indifference when asked about the new dance policy. "We were invited to watch the video," said one adult, referring to the two minute clip playing on a continuous loop just outside the gym. The short movie explained acceptable versus inappropriate dance behavior, but only enforced what the text of the policy states (you may not bend forwards at an angle of more than 45 degrees, you may not dance in a way that is unreasonably explicit). One chaperone said disparagingly, "There are so many more important things to pay attention to," suggesting that the administration could be wasting its time implementing and enforcing rules about the way students can dance.

Far more interesting were the reactions of students when informed that their parent would be a chaperone. "My daughter was almost in tears," replied an adult near the coatroom. Although it is undoubtedly embarrassing to see your mother at a dance, one might wonder precisely what the student had planned on doing so that she was so upset.

No extreme violations of school policy presented themselves, however. "There was one girl whose mother would not have been happy," reported a chaperone, recounting an incident of a "sandwich." The penalty is also not so severe as had been rumored. "I shone my flashlight twice on [this girl], but it wasn't really bad." Reports of alcohol use were also few. "One girl looked like she might have been under the influence, so another chaperone made sure she was okay."

This account contradicts the presence of two or three policemen at the dance. When asked why they were there, they replied, "some kids have been drinking." The cops walked around in the bleachers, surveying the scene below. Later, as the dance ended, they moved outside. "This is our first time here," said one. Perhaps some additional precautions have been put in place after all.

The Winter Formal will undoubtedly have a different atmosphere, and the circumstances regarding strictness remain to be seen. Stay tuned for the next article!

Lost Cell Phone Results in "Airport Security" at Paly

In light of the recent "punknastying" segment on InFocus, it seems that students are not the only ones who feel free to literally turn others' backpacks inside out.

According to a 7th per. art student, Paly's vice principal arrived in the classroom to conduct a backpack search of everyone in the room after one student mentioned that he "lost his cell phone." The alarm was uttered half-way through the period. That, and the fact that the cell phone did not ring when called seemed to convince the teacher that the cell phone was stolen and not merely misplaced.

Again, in the words of this student, the teacher forbade anyone from leaving the room and called the vice principal. When the vice principal arrived on a golf cart, he and the driver of the cart searched the backpacks of every single student in the room.

Although the search of student possessions is legal according to the Constitution and Supreme Court, rules regarding reasonableness, excessive intrusion, and relativity to the specific suspected offense apply. Far more troubling were the reported parting words of the vice principal: "I didn't catch you this time, but you can be sure that I'll catch you doing something wrong sometime" [or equivalent: exact quote unavailable].

The student questioned the judgment of the teacher for so quickly calling the administration and the administration for dropping whatever it was doing at the time for the purpose of finding one student's lost cell phone. One would hope that a lost cell phone would be the greatest of the school's worries, but, of course, this is not the case. For instance, the high school task force has concluded that building another high school for the purpose of accommodating the steady increase of student enrollment is not realistic. Therefore, the task force says, schools should work on enhancing and enlarging their existing facilities and programs. This, surely, is one of Paly's concerns that deserves far more attention.

The author does not seek to criticize the administration, merely to comment on and encourage slightly better use of the administration's time. From the administration's point of view, it is understandable that in Palo Alto, the number of parents prepared to sue for circumstances just as trivial as a lost cell phone is quite high. Consequently, the actions of the school taken to recover lost property might be understandable. Also, our new principal may feel the need to come down hard on theft (real or alleged) and to make it clear that no stealing will be tolerated.

As a student, I hope there will be no veritable violations of student rights with regard to search and seizure. However, if you want to contribute to the prevention of these violations (and ensure that your classmates won't hunt you down after class for sinister purposes), hold onto your cell phones!

UPDATE: The student found his phone behind some paintings. He does believe that it was stolen, but that perhaps the culprit tossed the phone away to avoid incrimination. "Somebody probably just threw it back there," he shrugged.

Paly Profile: Accomplished Music Artist

While some Paly students still cherish dreams of musical stardom, Molly Tuttle has been there, done that. Well, partly.

Molly's first album, "The Old Apple Tree," was released onto iTunes last April. It features country songs with vocals and guitar by Molly and her dad.

"I never really wanted to be a rock star or anything," Molly said. "I just started playing guitar when I was eight."

Since then, Molly has played and sang at talent shows, music festivals, and her eighth grade graduation. Just last week she performed at the Tennessee International Bluegrass Music Association festival.

A shy person by nature, Molly says she doesn't get stage fright - anymore. "When I was first starting, I did," she admitted. "But now, not so much."

Molly's father, Jack Tuttle, the main force behind her musical career, teaches bluegrass violin and is also featured on the album on violin and vocals. "We recorded "The Old Apple Tree" in our backyard studio," said Molly. "It used to be a shed, then it was my dad's office, but now it's got microphones and stuff in it."

So, can anyone put an album on iTunes? "Yeah, basically," said Molly. "You record the album and you call them and tell them you want it on iTunes." The company that does this is called TuneCore (www.tunecore.com).

When asked, "Is another album on the way?" Molly laughed. "Probably not, at least for awhile," she said. "It was a big project!"

PE Uniforms: What A Ripoff!

On the first day of school, one student in my PE class asked if we were allowed to wear our Jordan PE clothes in addition to our Paly PE clothes; say, while we were washing the latter. "No! Of course not!" was the answer given my my teacher. Her vague explanation had something to do with "Paly pride," but I thought the idea of reusing a $10 shirt that you otherwise would never wear again had its merits. Added to the fact that a full set of Paly PE clothes costs $20, using a Jordan shirt for PE seems pretty ingenious.

The school should theoretically have more profitable fundraising techniques than selling $10 shirts that don't fit all that well and don't even have designer labels plastered over every square centimeter of fabric, but the element of requiring every student to buy at least one makes it more effective.

I could have gone with the masses and forked over another $20 for another set of clothes for alternates, but instead I decided to go the creative (if, on the whole, unnecessary) route by recreating the Paly logo on my computer, printing it onto a piece of special iron-on paper, and ironing it onto the inside back of my Jordan PE shirt.

I admit that actions like these, that people (comme moi) take every day just for the heck of it, are unnecessary, but hey! Extraneous actions (and the selling of PE uniforms) could potentially make the world go 'round.

Freshman Friday and The Dance

Well, the events of Freshman Friday, (aside from the girls' water polo team's interesting accessories) were about as climactic as opening a pair of socks for your birthday. No one I know got egged, or water ballooned, or even pushed around. The worst was a few seniors yelling at the 7th per. freshman PE class to run faster. In fact, the uneventfulness was slightly disappointing. Oh well. Maybe the seniors will take us by surprise on Tuesday.

The number of people buying dance tickets was slightly more impressive. There was a decent sized crowd outside the Student Center at lunch, and although I didn't collect opinions from very many of them, I'm sure the allure of "a dance under the stars" was appealing.

Among those who did not plan on going to Paly at 7:30pm, reasons were fairly standard. The "I don't know how to dance" argument held its place as the most common, but "I'm going to play video games instead" was pretty high up there. One student said, "My boyfriend doesn't want to go, so there's no point." Other answers were more rational, like the facts that going to a dance with students three years older might seem intimidating to the average freshman. That the dance was on Freshman Friday decreased the appeal to freshmen as well. Then, there was the question of whether the dance was simply scheduled too early in the year. A student with this view replied that she didn't know enough people yet to want to go to a social function with 200 of them.

Those who bought tickets, have a great time at the dance!
And those who didn't, I hope you get to a new level on your favorite video game.

Freshman Orientation: Don't Go on The Deck.

I was looking forward to Freshman Orientation as a chance to get my schedule, meet my teachers, catch up with friends, and get to know Paly a little better. Unfortunately, Freshman Orientation seemed not so much a welcome to new students but a warning that the seniors are the bosses and everybody else better get used to it.

That's not to say that the orientation was a waste of time. I definitely know my way around campus better, I talked with some friends, I got my schedule, and I registered my lock. However, the main points of the presentation in the theater seemed to be, "Freshmen: stay off the deck, don't ask seniors for help because they'll throw eggs at you, and have a great time!"

Paly is, as ASB president Mohammed Abid proclaimed, "One of the best schools in the nation." Why, then, should any member of our senior class see fit to engage in such activities as lobbing raw eggs at students whose only crime is not having previously attended Paly? The often grunted reply of "Tradition" hardly constitutes an excuse.

It is of course, possible that the small percentage of seniors who chose to participate in orientation do not accurately represent the dispositions of the rest of the senior class, or they may grow more mature as the year progresses.

I can't wait to observe the events (or lack thereof) of Freshman Friday, and to see if the senior class is really as formidable as they profess themselves to be.

Orientation Poll: Do you like Paly's historic but aging campus, of would you rather have a brand new campus with modern buildings?

Do Paly's 88-year-old buildings change with the times? Can a group of buildings that were, 88 years ago, the center of higher education in Palo Alto, still represent that place of learning? Would students be happier with a cluster of more modern buildings?

"This looks too much like Stanford," said one freshman, perhaps hinting that he doesn't want this to feel too much like college yet. Others agreed. "I'd rather it was new and modern."
Of course, the issue of overcrowded high schools has prompted a possible solution including building a smaller, specialized high school, with a focus on performing arts, international studies, or environmental studies, among other options. A new school does give the impression of teaching material that is also new and up to date.

Predictably, many other students like Paly's unique buildings. Two seniors said they liked all the history Paly held.
"The tower building is really cool," said another freshman.
"I think it's cute. It's more authentic," two others agreed.
Still others couldn't care less. "Who really cares what the buildings look like?" a freshman tossed over her shoulder.

Whatever your opinion on the subject, Paly's buildings provide a certain atmosphere, one part very Californian and laid back, another deeper and more complex. If a new high school is built, it will be interesting to see if its style mirrors that of historic Paly, cement block Gunn, or a new, more modern building style.

Why do you only think of good summer projects two days before school starts?

After a summer of playing the Sims 2, watching stupid TV shows, swimming, maybe traveling, shopping, and otherwise "just hanging out", you can at least look back upon your summer activities as "mentally preparing youself for the start of school." Then, on Sunday, August 25, it hits you. Bam! "I should have--" a) redone my room. b) learned how to do that new trick on my skateboard. c) made a movie about the squid in Monterey Bay. d) gone to Monterey. e) learned to surf. f) finished writing that novel. Alas, you have done none of these things. You may not even have known about the Humboldt squid invading Monterey Bay because of warming Pacific waters. Instead, you sigh, go to that one last summer barbecue, and try not to think of all those lost opportunities, consoling yourself with the fact that, unnervingly soon, you won't have time to mourn a wasted summer. Besides, there's always Winter Break.