Barker’s track: From mentee to mentor
Noah Tesfaye, Web Managing Editor
February 9, 2019
Sarcasm, fist bumps and Capri Suns seemingly have nothing in common. But, in fact, they do. They are “Barkerisms,” a term coined by AP Literature, Film Analysis and New Media Literacy students to describe some of teacher Robert Barker’s most unique traits. Barker uses his role as an educator to empow...
Richa Krishna: Helping Hearts
Elli Lahdesmaki and Sanjana Mishra
February 9, 2019
Senior Richa Krishna started dance when she was just four years old. But in her freshman year, she was devastated to find out her heart condition, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), left her unable to continue her pre-professional ballet training. Richa had to stop intense physical training in order to r...
Puff, Puff…Pass
February 8, 2019
It’s been about 30 years since Nancy Reagan preached the slogan "Just Say No" to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use. In 2019, we are in a stalemate. Teenagers are facing challenges that did not exist a generation ago and for parents, it is not enough to just keep a wa...
Oscars 2019: The red flags in “Green Book”
Cathy Wang and Sua Kim
February 8, 2019
Among the Best Picture nominees—full of biopics and remakes and fantastic original films that all seek to tell an authentic human story—comes the quiet, yet deceivingly problematic “Green Book.” Named after “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” a mid-20th century manual written by Victor Hugo G...
Oscars 2019: Why “Roma” should win best picture
Ishaan Parmar and Sua Kim
February 8, 2019
This year’s Best Picture category is filled with biopics, a remake and, for some reason, “Black Panther.” The only two truly original films in the whole category are Yorgos Lanthimos’s period piece dark comedy “The Favourite” and Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.” “The Favourite” is a wicked...
Sip it or Skip it?
Katrina Arsky, Daphne Ih, and Daniela Gloster
February 8, 2019
Over the past three decades, bubble tea has become an automatic association with Asian culture. First invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, bubble tea—named after the bubbles in the tea itself, not the tapioca pearls—has since found popularity in the west, particularly in the United States. Oolong, j...
ASMR: Do you tingle?
Emma Kwan and Suzanne Guo
February 8, 2019
Sophomore May Jiang was in fifth grade when she began to recognize the “relaxed and comfortable” feeling she had when a friend quietly explained concepts to her. Years later, she stumbled upon a YouTube video featuring whispering that replicated the reaction. “People say they get tingles, but my brain...
Senior quotes are in, amidst controversy
Noah Tesfaye, Web Managing Editor
February 6, 2019
Senior quotes have been part of the Los Altos Aerie Yearbook for nine years, acting as a platform to express themselves in a piece of their own personal history. But after recent controversy surrounding the validity and appropriateness of these quotes, Assistant Principal Suzanne Woolfolk instructed yea...
Let “Lost in the Fire” burn
February 5, 2019
On January 20, Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd’s “Lost in The Fire” made top 25 on the Mediabase pop radio airplay chart. And I am appalled. I used to admire The Weeknd for his ability to convey vulnerability through his lyrics and his music style. I always thought that he was an open-minde...
“Angst” didn’t raise awareness
Stella Huang, Staff Writer
February 5, 2019
An estimated 40 million adults in the United States have an anxiety disorder, making anxiety the most common health concern in the United States. “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety” is a 2017 documentary directed by Matt Skerritt that takes a closer look into the causes of anxiety and the e...
Should students be forced to attend challenge day?
February 4, 2019
Compulsory schooling in the United States began mainly with a religious mission of enabling children to read the Bible. Looking back, it seems unethical to use education as a means to spread religion, but it was understandably the norm at the time. Similarly, while the five academic subjects are unde...
An Easier Egan
Mayu Alten, Anisha Desai, Evelin Diego, Nathan Godderis , Ethan Jeram, Emma Kwan Alex Luna, Mia Scher, Avi Varghese
December 14, 2017
Before standards-based grading, Egan Junior High held academic rigor high, trumpeting its 4.0 honor roll students and boasting high scores on standardized tests. But after Egan adopted the new grading system last year, honor rolls no longer existed. Aligned to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium ...
