The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon
The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon
The student news site of Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California

The Talon
Katrina Arsky

Katrina Arsky, Photographer

All content by Katrina Arsky
The Asian American identity is a constant crisis for many and reconciling the relative privilege of one's experience with the discrimination that is faced is a critical part of acceptance of oneself and identity.

[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: Notes of a native Asian American

By Kaavya Butaney
May 9, 2021
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[Photo] Editorial: Our statement on anti-AAPI violence

April 7, 2021
The Talon compiled frequently asked questions about the hybrid return with responses, along with helpful resources and terminology.

[Photo] Hybrid return FAQs

By Anika Sikka
April 2, 2021
People use a variety of pronouns that all deserve to be respected.

[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: Respect pronouns

By Kaavya Butaney
March 28, 2021
Cooperation and empathy is the only way we will be able to get through the pandemic and the rockiness of a return to school.

[Photo] A teacher’s perspective: Rebuilding normalcy with a growth mindset (Op-Ed)

By Tiffany Karow
March 22, 2021
After years of student complaints regarding the sexism implied in the Los Altos High School dress code, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has started brainstorming a dress code revision plan. ASB’s goal is to revise the dress code to be more reasonable, inclusive and generally appropriate.

[Photo] District releases possible graduation plans along with modified senior spring activities

By Anika Sikka
March 18, 2021
Especially during shelter-in-place, it’s crucial that we take every measure necessary to ensure that students have unfettered access to mental health services. By normalizing the use of mental health services and increasing their accessibility, we can eliminate many of the obstacles that prevent students from getting the help they need.

[Photo] Editorial: LAHS’s mental health response leaves much to be desired

March 10, 2021
While Lifetime reality TV show Dance Moms seems like a stereotypical reality TV show in which moms fight unnecessarily over their children’s jazz dances, it has racist undertones that need to be addressed by Lifetime.

[Photo] Racism: Living on the dance floor

By Anika Sikka
January 25, 2021
While the existence of aliens isn't outside the realm of possibility, the galactic federation definitely is.

[Photo] Forget the murder hornets — we’re moving onto aliens

By Kaley Kwan
December 17, 2020
Hey there, do you have a moment to talk about the environment? Great! Well, here’s the thing: No matter how hard you try, you can’t make up for corporations.

[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: No more emissions for you, ExxonMobil

By Kaavya Butaney
December 6, 2020
2020 Los Altos High School alumni show us what they've been up to over the past few months, from studying and playing on-campus (top middle) to taking a gap year and working with technology from home (top right). Recruited athletes from the class of 2020 have decided to head down a number of different paths during their first year post-graduation.

Pandemic plans: College sports with the Class of 2020

By Allan Feldman, Rose Liu, and Emily Zhu
November 23, 2020
This election was days of drawn-out counting and states turning blue for the first time in over 20 years, all to determine whether or not the US would survive the repeated bashing of its ideals. It definitely had an effect on people, forcing them to cope in sometimes unhealthy ways.

[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: Say hello to unhealthy coping mechanisms!

By Kaavya Butaney
November 8, 2020
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[Photo] The trials and tribulations of distance learning

By Gil Rubinstein
November 1, 2020
Copy Editor Kaavya Butaney writes about how the media portrays teens as mature adults — far from the reality of what high school looks like.

[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: Screw you, ‘Riverdale’

By Kaavya Butaney
October 25, 2020
The English Department is currently seeking a replacement for Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" in its freshman Survey of Composition and Literature course.

[Photo] English Dept. set to remove ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ from curriculum

By Allan Feldman
October 18, 2020
BOARD

[Photo] Editorial: Faillace and Teksler for MVLA Board

October 13, 2020
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[Photo] Editorial: Kalkat, Meadows and Weinberg for Los Altos City Council

October 13, 2020
The Talon provided summary and commentary for the first presidential election today.

[Photo] An overview of the first presidential debate

By Nina Crofts, Kaavya Butaney, Olivia Hewang, and Nathaniel Joffe
September 29, 2020
A produce stand displays kale, cucumbers and bananas for varying prices. According to a white teenage boy on TikTok, $2 is the monetary value of an Asian, below that of your average cucumber.

Are you worth more than a cucumber?

By Kaley Kwan
September 28, 2020
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[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: Gender reveals are bull

By Kaavya Butaney, Copy Editor
September 28, 2020
Jacob Valadez hopes to bring changes to the Tutorial Center this year.

[Photo] New Tutorial Center coordinator to bring changes to tutoring programs

By Lauren Morimoto
September 22, 2020
The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs linked arms in a moment of silence for those killed by police brutality before their game on Thursday, September 10. The LAHS football team aims to show a similar act of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

[Photo] Texans and Chiefs — linking arms and sparking controversy

By Anika Sikka and Mira Sundar
September 20, 2020
Copy Editor Kaavya Butaney writes about how her name has been mispronounced her whole life and how that reflects broader trends in America.

[Photo] Kulture à la Kaavya: Pronounce my name right, please

By Kaavya Butaney
September 13, 2020
Starting their LAHS teaching careers virtually, some would assume that these teachers would feel disconnected from the school community. However, they are more than ready to overcome the challenges of Distance Learning and bond with their students.

[Photo] Meet the newest members of Los Altos’ faculty

By Marie Godderis, Allison Bricca, and Cameron Cox
August 17, 2020
ASB will host club day virtually this year.

[Photo] Virtual Club Day: What will it look like?

By Marie Godderis
September 10, 2020
With canceled sports and art classes, parents have been scrambling to involve their children in enriching opportunities while they’re stuck at home. With a passion for everything marching band, senior Ella Freda-Eskenazi founded Rhythm In Place to give children of all ages the opportunity to find comfort in music through virtual tutoring sessions, free of charge.

[Photo] Rhythm In Place makes virtuosos virtually

By Cedric Chan and Allan Feldman
August 30, 2020
This summer was full of grief, anger and disappointment. As we enter a new year, we’re focusing on making our newsroom more inclusive, but we need your help to make that happen.

Letter from The Talon’s managing staff

By Stella Huang, Navya Singhai, Cedric Chan, and Emily Zhu
August 17, 2020
Los Altos High School graduate Kenan Moos, ’16, has battled with racism and discrimination in his community since childhood. As the organizer of the Friday, June 5 Los Altos Black Lives Matter protest, a leader in multiple activist organizations and an independent musician, Moos uses his voice to amplify those of fellow people of color, hoping that one day, they will all "live like kings and queens.”

[Photo] “Live like kings and queens”: Kenan Moos empowers communities of color

By Navya Singhai and Isabella Borkovic
August 17, 2020
A disturbingly cute cat exists in two universes at once.

[Photo] I spent $2.99 on a universe splitter and it was the best worst decision of my life

By Kate Stadler
August 17, 2020
Senior Writer Kaavya Butaney writes about how quarantine has given rise to a resurgence of childhood interests — something born of a desire for normalcy.

[Photo] Quarantine: the inner child strikes back

By Kaavya Butaney, Senior Writer
August 13, 2020
tangled is better

[Photo] It’s time for a change, and that’s why I’m team “Tangled”

By Vaishu Sirkay, Staff Writer
May 21, 2020
Students express their perspectives about the MVLA Board's decision to switch to a credit/no credit grading policy.

[Photo] Credit/no credit policy: did the MVLA School Board make the right choice?

By Oliver Yu, Stella Huang, and Nina Crofts
April 25, 2020
Teachers Michelle Bissonnette and David Campbell guest write in support of the credit/no-credit grading policy for the spring 2020 semester.

[Photo] Credit/no credit grading: It’s about reality, not charity (Op-Ed)

By Michelle Bissonnette and David Campbell
April 14, 2020
Lucas uses his time during the shelter-in-place to express his artistic creativity.

[Photo] Shelter-in-place: an opportunity to slow down

By Lucas Bricca, Senior Writer
April 11, 2020
The "tampon tax" should be eradicated and period products should be considered essentials, argue writers Kate Stadler and Nina Crofts

[Photo] Make tampons accessible—no strings attached

By Kate Stadler and Nina Crofts
April 10, 2020
Staff writer Kaavya Butaney writes about her experiences using technology during the coronavirus pandemic.

[Photo] Tech in the time of corona

By Kaavya Butaney
April 11, 2020
On a New York subway, a racist remark is hurled at an Asian American passenger.

[Photo] COVID-19: Don’t blame the victims

By Allan Feldman, Guest Writer
March 28, 2020
The Talon provides live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on students and the community.

[Photo] Coronavirus Updates

By Talon Staff
March 13, 2020
Santa Clara County closed all public schools in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Classes will resume Monday, April 13 in the MVLA school district.

[Photo] Santa Clara County closes all public schools

By Cedric Chan and Tomoki Chien
March 13, 2020
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[Photo] I do…not

By Nina Crofts, Staff Writer
March 7, 2020
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[Photo] Ryan Carter gives other counselors a run (plus a cycle and a swim) for their money

By Elana Eisenberg, Staff Writer
March 6, 2020
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[Photo] Varsity boys tennis serves Paly defeat on a silver platter

By Parisa Larson
March 4, 2020
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[Photo] Get gains—go grain

By Cameron Cox, Staff Writer
March 1, 2020
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[Photo] Funding Complications

March 1, 2020
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[Photo] Junior Margaret Capetz & Australian Shepherd Auggie

February 12, 2020
Dogs of Los Altos

Dogs of Los Altos

By Isabella Borkovic, Ethan Ruyack, Kylie Akiyama, Katrina Arsky, Marie Godderis, and Emily McNally
February 11, 2020
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[Photo] Sophomore Serena Gaylord & German Shepherd Border Collie mix Jenny

February 16, 2020
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[Photo] Junior Charlie Atkins & Golden Retrievers Bentley and Frankie

February 12, 2020
'Tis the Season: Holiday flicks and drinks reviewed

‘Tis the Season: Holiday flicks and drinks reviewed

By Katrina Arsky, Cathy Wang, and Meleseini Lotoaniu
February 6, 2020
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[Photo] Creative Writing class debuts at Los Altos

By Meleseini Loto'aniu
January 31, 2020
I’ve realized that my insensitivity, particularly the use of homophobic slurs, was in part because of my own grapples with my sexuality.

[Photo] Dear teammates,

By Tomoki Chien
January 15, 2020
LAHS Debationships

LAHS Debationships

By Kaavya Butaney, Kylie Akiyama, Katrina Arsky, and Suzanne Guo
December 14, 2019
Los Altos Eagles Marching Band and Color Guard performs their production titled "Les Plumes." This season, Marching Band placed fourth in the Western Band Association championships.

[Photo] Marching Band competes in Western Band Association championships

By Julie Vargas
December 6, 2019
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[Photo] Why I’m technically a criminal

By Tomoki Chien, Staff Writer
November 21, 2019
It’s immoral to force students to pay for their grade and use their own money to fund ASB and SCL.

[Photo] Solving Los Altos’s unethical fundraising

By Vaishu Sirkay and Cedric Chan
November 8, 2019
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[Photo] The 90-second grace period is downright disgraceful

By Nina Crofts and Cedric Chan
November 7, 2019
Los Altos dancers leap into the Nutcracker season

Los Altos dancers leap into the Nutcracker season

By Cedric Chan, Vaishu Sirkay, and Katrina Arsky
November 7, 2019
Varsity football Homecoming game: You can take our victory, but you can’t take our spirit

Varsity football Homecoming game: You can take our victory, but you can’t take our spirit

By Cameron Cox, Katrina Arsky, and Amid Najmi
October 27, 2019
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[Photo] The history of Homecoming at Los Altos

By Mia Scher and Cathy Wang
October 25, 2019
SCHOOL STARTING TIME CHANGE

[Photo] Los Altos to delay school start times in accordance with new legislation

By Tomoki Chien
October 21, 2019
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[Photo] Teenagers’ take on the democratic field

By Nina Crofts and Kate Stadler
October 15, 2019
forever 21 (color)

[Photo] Forever 21 should close forever

By Elli Lahdesmaki, Copy/Content Editor
October 9, 2019
This year, the College Board moved the Advanced Placement (AP) test registration deadline from March to November.

[Photo] Early AP registration deserves a one

By Isabella Borkovic, Web Managing Editor
October 7, 2019
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[Photo] Ethnic studies a day keeps the ignorance away

By Stella Huang, Features Editor
October 7, 2019
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[Photo] School Musical Returns February 2020

By Julie Vargas
October 1, 2019
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[Photo] Los Altos students strike for climate advocacy

By Kaavya Butaney and Nina Crofts
September 24, 2019
Humans of Los Altos

Humans of Los Altos

By Navya Singhai, Marie Godderis, and Katrina Arsky
May 28, 2019
military

[Photo] The advantages of joining the military after high school

By Julie Vargas
May 28, 2019
Meet next year's ASB leadership and class council members

Meet next year’s ASB leadership and class council members

By Marie Godderis, Katrina Arsky, and Ishaan Parmar
April 10, 2019
Photo essay: ASB hosts first Clash of the Classes

Photo essay: ASB hosts first Clash of the Classes

By Kylie Akiyama and Katrina Arsky
April 7, 2019
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