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
Vaishu Sirkay

Vaishu Sirkay, Copy Editor

All content by Vaishu Sirkay

Senior columns: Reflecting on the past four years

By Kaley Kwan, Vaishu Sirkay, Kaavya Butaney, and Rose Liu
June 9, 2022
A ranking of the Disney princes.

Battle of the beaus: A Disney princes ranking

By Vaishu Sirkay and Kaavya Butaney
December 12, 2021
'Tis the season to be caffeinated. A comprehensive review of Peet's holiday treats.

A comprehensive review of Peet’s holiday treats

By Vaishu Sirkay and Nina Crofts
December 10, 2021
At last Tuesday's Community Conversations event, panelists discussed the disproportionate impacts the pandemic has had on women's mental health.

Women’s mental health discussed at Community Conversations event

By Vaishu Sirkay
November 22, 2021
Manish Tyagi, owner and head chef of Aurum, in the kitchen. Aurum takes traditional Indian food and brings its own modern twist.

Aurum: Tradition meets a modern twist

By Vaishu Sirkay and Rachel Rudyak
November 6, 2021
The debate over the implementation of an AP cap — a limit to the number of Advanced Placement classes a student can take — has long been discussed in the Mountain View–Los Altos School District.

An overview of the AP cap debate

By Vaishu Sirkay and Nina Crofts
November 5, 2021
The Los Altos Community Center had its grand opening on Saturday, October 2, highlighting community speakers and giving attendees a tour of the space.

Los Altos Community Center opens after years of planning and construction

By Vaishu Sirkay and Nina Crofts
October 7, 2021
The Los Altos Suburban District will be experiencing a limited water supply until tomorrow, due to a leak on California's water facilities.

Los Altos to experience reduced water supply until tomorrow

By Vaishu Sirkay
September 23, 2021
Washington D.C. updates: What's going on at Capitol Hill?

Washington D.C. updates: What’s going on at Capitol Hill?

By Vaishu Sirkay, Mira Sundar, Naomi Schulze, Navya Singhai, Emily McNally, Lauren Morimoto, and Anika Sikka
January 6, 2021
Lily reads Dash's latest addition to their shared notebook, eager to learn more about him. Netflix's "Dash & Lily" is an enjoyable Christmas romantic-comedy, despite falling prey to certain pitfalls of the genre.

‘Dash & Lily’: a fun take on a tired genre

By Vaishu Sirkay
December 12, 2020

Senior Margaret Capetz’s cookbook makes sustainability delicious

By Anika Sikka, Vaishu Sirkay, and Navya Singhai
December 6, 2020
These women seem impressed by something, but we are not. “The Kissing Booth 2,” one of Netflix’s newest teen rom-coms, debuted to a disappointed crowd.


‘The Kissing Booth 2’ is proof that Jacob Elordi’s abs can’t fix everything

By Vaishu Sirkay
August 29, 2020
Opinion: Governor Newsom’s proposal to suspend fitness tests is a step in the right direction

Opinion: Governor Newsom’s proposal to suspend fitness tests is a step in the right direction

By Vaishu Sirkay
June 11, 2020
It’s time for a change, and that’s why I’m team “Tangled”

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

By Vaishu Sirkay, Staff Writer
May 21, 2020
Staff writer Kaavya Butaney on the left and staff writer Vaishu Sirkay on the right. Kaavya and Vaishu write about how their friendship has developed over the years.

Friends who fight together stay together

By Kaavya Butaney and Vaishu Sirkay
April 6, 2020
A Girl Scouts Uniform vest. Girl Scouts at Los Altos answer questions about their experiences.

Girl Scouts Q&A

By Kaavya Butaney and Vaishu Sirkay
March 31, 2020
Sanjay Dave told the Los Altos Town Crier that he wanted to move the school year to align with the AP exams. Staff writers Vaishu Sirkay and Cedric Chan write about their opinions on the implications of Dave's statements.

OPINION: Sanjay Dave’s comment about AP classes is problematic

By Cedric Chan and Vaishu Sirkay
March 23, 2020

Yes, you do have an obligation to vote:

By Vaishu Sirkay, Staff Writer
March 20, 2020
Superintendent releases new bell schedule proposal

Superintendent releases new bell schedule proposal

By Vaishu Sirkay
March 4, 2020
Next year, Los Altos is implementing a new Computer Science course called ADEN that is geared towards students who have previously taken AP Computer Science.

Los Altos to introduce new Computer Science class

By Kate Stadler and Vaishu Sirkay
January 29, 2020
Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott), Jane Kano (Ella Balinski) and Sabrina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) play three impressively feminist characters in the newest version of this franchise.

“Charlie’s Angels” modernizes an outdated movie franchise

By Kaavya Butaney and Vaishu Sirkay
December 17, 2019
Anna, Elsa, Sven, Kristoff, and Olaf pause at the edge of the Enchanted Forest.

“Frozen II”: It’s got plenty of ice but no dice

By Cedric Chan and Vaishu Sirkay
December 17, 2019
Courtesy William Blair

MVLA school district hires first-ever Wellness Coordinator

By Kate Stadler and Vaishu Sirkay
December 15, 2019
Los Altos plans to pass a tobacco ordinance aimed at addressing teen vaping.

Los Altos to pass tobacco ordinance

By Nina Crofts and Vaishu Sirkay
November 8, 2019
As we closed the books, we were not fulfilled with the bittersweet farewell to the epic saga; instead, we were furious at the vague epilogue, our treasured happily-ever-after between Daniel and June tantalizingly out of reach.

A decade later, Marie Lu closes Legend saga with “Rebel”

By Cedric Chan and Vaishu Sirkay
November 8, 2019
It’s immoral to force students to pay for their grade and use their own money to fund ASB and SCL.

Solving Los Altos’s unethical fundraising

By Vaishu Sirkay and Cedric Chan
November 8, 2019
With slight variation, ASB and SCL policies require that students sell a certain number of merchandise and tickets. If they are unable to meet this quota, their grades are negatively affected. To avoid this, some students end up paying for unsold goods themselves. 

ASB and SCL grading policies violate California Education Code

By Cedric Chan and Vaishu Sirkay
November 8, 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
Javed celebrates his birthday with his parents and sister, complete with a homemade cake and his ever-present headphones and cassette of Bruce Springsteen.

“Blinded by the Light” lights the way for South Asian characters to come

By Vaishu Sirkay, Staff Writer
October 14, 2019
In second period Calculus BC class, math teacher Victor Nguyen teaches juniors Grady Hofmann and Egor Cherkashin how to compute and graph derivatives on their calculators.

Victor Nguyen: what’s on the Nguyen(side) counts the most

By Cedric Chan and Vaishu Sirkay
October 2, 2019
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