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
Olivia Hewang

Olivia Hewang, Media Managing Editor

All content by Olivia Hewang
Remember when Wordle jumped into the public consciousness only a few months ago? We trace the rise of microtrends on Tiktok.

[Photo] TikTok and the rise of microtrends

By Nina Crofts
April 6, 2022

Growth and growing pains: The aftermath of distance learning

By Rachel Rudyak, Natalie Wei, and Olivia Hewang
April 4, 2022
IMG_1192

[Photo] Online privacy is not a given: Security is safety

By Dia Hemanth, Journalism One
December 12, 2021
'Tis the season to be caffeinated. A comprehensive review of Peet's holiday treats.

[Photo] A comprehensive review of Peet’s holiday treats

By Vaishu Sirkay and Nina Crofts
December 10, 2021
The Mountain View–Los Altos School Board will discuss the integration of an English Language Development program at LAHS similar to the one at MVHS. Additionally, the English department at both LAHS and MVHS both supported the addition of a reading specialist.

[Photo] Board agrees to discuss funding for reading specialist and implementation of an ELD program at LAHS

By Naomi Ichiriu
December 10, 2021
Duped by the oh-so-brilliant strategy of questionably deriving any calculus problem I didn't know the solution to, I've realized my neglect of fully addressing my questions — and learning to ask those questions in the first place. It was hard to reveal that under my facade of “okayness,” things were actually not okay.

[Photo] Derive or die… Or ask for help?

By Anika Sikka, News Editor
November 15, 2021
We all seem to think that influencers have life on “easy mode”, yet we continue to compare their lives to our own. If we learn to truly stop glorifying content creators, we wouldn't be so quick to judge the dissonance between their public and private lives, bringing us to peace with both their flaws and our own.

[Photo] Nina’s Notes: Idolizing Influencers

By Nina Crofts, Senior Writer
November 9, 2021
The Mountain View–Los Altos School District recently published the results to a homework survey, detailing participant’s concerns with stress, unhealthy workloads and the lack of standardization between classes.

[Photo] District releases results to homework survey following changes to District policy

By Natalie Wei
October 19, 2021
The Talon's source breakdown for this year based on gender.

[Photo] The Talon’s 2021 Diversity Audit

By The Editorial Board
October 10, 2021
Performing arts teachers lip sync along to ABBA’s “Mamma Mia,” which will be this year's musical.

“Mamma Mia” announced as this year’s musical

By Olivia Hewang
October 6, 2021
Now that it's fall, pumpkin spice lattes have made their return. We ranked the three big coffee companies — Starbucks, Peet’s and Dunkin’ — to help decide which latte is best for you.

[Photo] Battle of the pumpkin spice lattes

By Elyssa Kennedy
September 24, 2021
As Marvel’s first film to feature an almost all-Asian cast, Shang-Chi makes strides for Asian representation.

‘Shang-Chi’ and the legendary power of Asian representation

By Olivia Hewang
September 19, 2021
Female dominated sports have embraced a mentality of concealing unimaginable strength with grace, promoting the societal ideal of female delicacy. Through weightlifting, though, women can learn to value their strength as a contribution to their femininity, not a deterrent of it.

[Photo] Women in weightlifting: The fierce in femininity

By Allison Bricca, Senior Writer
September 19, 2021
The Mountain View–Los Altos District released a new schedule for the 2021–2022 school year.

MVLA introduces new schedule for 2021-2022 school year

By Olivia Hewang
July 23, 2021
During the pandemic, many members of the senior AVID class have experienced their fair share of trials from technological issues to reduced instructional time. Throughout this year, AVID classes and the District have worked to minimize the impact of the pandemic on the students' learning environment by improving virtual educational resources and reforming the AVID senior curriculum.

AVID seniors and teachers reflect on pandemic-era academic and financial challenges

By Parisa Larson and Olivia Hewang
June 2, 2021
Protestors assemble along San Antonio Road on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death

Protesters march on anniversary of George Floyd’s death

By Olivia Hewang
May 27, 2021
After months of WiFi issues and “Hey, you’re muted,” teachers and students have finally returned to the Los Altos High School campus for the first time since March of last year.

[Photo] Teachers are returning to campus — here’s how they feel

By Mira Sundar, Kaley Kwan, and Natalie Wei
April 25, 2021
As we mark the one-year anniversary of our transition to distance learning, The Talon surveyed the LAHS student body to highlight their diverse, yet unifying experiences during the pandemic.

Looking back on one year of COVID-19

By Olivia Hewang, Parisa Larson, and Naomi Schulze
March 13, 2021
Debate uses philosophical and logical mechanisms to dehumanize and objectify human lives into statistics.

[Photo] Kulture a la Kaavya: Debate is heartless

By Kaavya Butaney
February 28, 2021
Lauren Peterson, who graduates from Northwestern Law this year, is the upcoming author of “The Future of Governance in Space,” an introduction to the nebulous field of space law. Forging her own path while studying the niche subject, Peterson has found her life’s passion and hopes to be on the industry’s bleeding edge.

Upcoming author Lauren Peterson’s space law odyssey

By Kaavya Butaney and Olivia Hewang
January 25, 2021
Like oil and vinegar, politics and gaming are typically mutually exclusive. However, congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has successfully combined the two with her Twitch streams, gaining support from teens nationwide. Nevertheless, like with all politicians, crossing the line between supporting her and idolizing her is where things get problematic.

[Photo] AOC: Not your streamer best friend

By Naomi Ichiriu
December 21, 2020
What’s the difference between racism and pizza toppings? One is a major dealbreaker, and the other isn’t. In such a politically polarized nation, it’s easy to see why people are urging everyone to come together and love their neighbors regardless of political opinions. However, when basic human rights are at stake, it’s not that simple.

[Photo] Opinion: Why I couldn’t be friends with a Trump supporter

By Elana Eisenberg
November 20, 2020
There will never be an absence of perfectionism in gymnastics; that’s just not how the sport is built. The “perfect 10” is, ultimately, the goal. But with her discovery of surfing, Allie found a way to enjoy gymnastics by letting her success be defined by improvement, not scores.

[Photo] Split leaps and surfboards — flipping the tables on perfectionism

By Allison Bricca
November 8, 2020
The Palo Alto City Council voted to open Foothills Park to non-residents.

Palo Alto to open Foothills Park to non-residents

By Olivia Hewang
November 3, 2020
Tonight, Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in the final presidential debate.

An overview of the final presidential debate

By Kaavya Butaney, Natalie Wei, Olivia Hewang, Gil Rubinstein, Anika Sikka, Mira Sundar, and Nathaniel Joffe
October 22, 2020
Joe Biden and Donald Trump attended separate town halls in which they answered questions tonight, replacing the originally scheduled second presidential debate.

An overview of tonight’s presidential town halls

By Anika Sikka, Olivia Hewang, Gil Rubinstein, and Nathaniel Joffe
October 15, 2020
The Los Altos–Mountain View League of Women’s Voters hosted a forum for the three MVLA Board candidates.

‘The communication has not been there’: MVLA Board candidates discuss goals at webinar

By Olivia Hewang
October 7, 2020
The District clarified its plans for continued distance learning this year.

District to begin in-person return for select groups of students

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
October 6, 2020
The District is set to construct a new school to accommodate projected growth.

MVLA to construct new high school to accommodate anticipated growth

By Olivia Hewang
October 5, 2020
A sign at the entrance to the park clearly indicates the park’s restrictions. “Palo Alto residents and accompanied guests only,” it reads.

The farm, pilot and suit: A definitive guide to the Foothills Park controversy

By Tomoki Chien and Olivia Hewang
October 1, 2020
The Talon provided summary and commentary for the first presidential election today.

An overview of the first presidential debate

By Nina Crofts, Kaavya Butaney, Olivia Hewang, and Nathaniel Joffe
September 29, 2020
3rdparty

[Photo] Third parties have always had little success, but whose fault is that?

By Garv Virginkar, Staff Writer
September 28, 2020
The District is planning a hybrid in-person return to campus for this semester.

MVLA planning hybrid in-person return for this semester

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
September 18, 2020
ACT opinion graphic

[Photo] UCs must remove SAT and ACT from admissions: Was it the right decision?

September 14, 2020
Although EA dominates the sports gaming industry, the company lacks a strong work ethic and fails to innovate their annual releases. If consumers don’t demand higher quality updates each year, EA will remain complacent without significant competitors in the gaming market.

[Photo] EA Sports: My love-hate relationship

By Allan Feldman
August 30, 2020
Three candidates are running for two spots on the MVLA Board of Trustees in this year's upcoming election.

Laying the field: Three candidates run for two MVLA board seats

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
August 30, 2020
Aang looks out at the sky as Netflix rises in the east.

[Video] ‘Avatar’’s Netflix renaissance: The Gaang Returns

By Kaavya Butaney and Olivia Hewang
August 17, 2020
The district board voted unanimously for a complete remote return in the fall.

District board votes for complete remote return to school

By Olivia Hewang and Natalie Wei
July 16, 2020
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