September - The Burlingame B

THE BURLINGAME B
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
1 Mangini Way, Burlingame, CA 94010
PHOTO BY FELICIA AZZOPARDI
WHAT’S
INSIDE
SPREAD
The Burlingame B Staff has been
One of the first shots of the new F building and its chandeliers.
collecting data on students’ opinions
regarding gender roles on campus. Go
to pages 4 and 5 to see graphs, quotes
and diagrams based off of a google
form created by our staff. Thank
you everyone who contributed and
expressed their opinions.
Building construction
soon to be (F)inished
By: Felicia Azzopardi
STAFF REPORTER
FEATURES
PHOTO COURTESY OF HANNAH DE LA CALLE
OPINION
INDEX
RELAY 2015
New bathroom policy
aims to increase safety,
not just track tagging
By: Rachel Greenwood
SENIOR REPORTER
As of the 2015-2016 school
year, there is a new school-wide
restroom policy that requires
students to sign out before leaving the room and sign in upon
returning. The policy, which was
developed collaboratively with
the administration, is designed
to prevent students from leaving
classrooms unexcused and will
help account for students in the
event of an emergency. Despite
the rule’s common misconception
as a tool for preventing and tracking bathroom tagging, tagging is
a secondary issue.
In previous school years, the
administration noticed that a
lot of students had a tendency
of walking around during class
time when they were not actually excused from class. These
students served as a disruption
to classes and teachers, and also
posed a safety issue. Additionally,
they were often unaccounted for,
which led to confusion if their
teacher needed to find them.
According to Dean of Students
Fred Wolfgramm the new policy
is an attempt “to lessen the number of students walking around
campus and [to] be able to identify what students were excused.”
Although the bathroom rule
was developed mainly to account
for Burlingame High School students, tagging is a secondary issue
that the administration is also
trying to address. The sign out
sheets may be used as a resource
to track tagging, which is cataloged by the administration and
by San Mateo Union High School
District Plant Manager Ricky
Carrillo. While there has been a
lot of tagging in bathrooms this
year, graffiti at BHS is not always
so prevalent.
“It comes in waves,” Wolfgramm said.
While tagging may seem like a
petty issue, individuals involved
in tagging are committing serious
damage to the school. It is an
expensive problem that impacts
students. On average, clearing
graffiti by painting, using chemical cleaner, or simply making
repairs costs $300. Additionally,
when tagging occurs, the bathroom has to be closed for graffiti
removal, which can take up to
an hour and a half, said Carrillo.
With a limited maintenance staff
at BHS, this takes away time and
resources from more important
projects.
Although the bathroom
closures definitely affect students
who already have limited bathroom resources, the rule seems
belittling to students who feel
as though they are not receiving
fair treatment from the administration. Instead of viewing the
policy as a safety precaution,
students view this rule as a way
of controlling when they can and
cannot use the bathroom.
“Do you get to regulate my
pee?” senior Jessica Hillhouse
asked.
Despite the policy’s bad reputation among students, Wolfgramm and Assistant Principal
Valerie Arbizu agree that this rule
is necessary to ensure the safety
of our students. In an emergency, the administration wants to
be able to account for students
as quickly as possible, ideally in
fifteen minutes, Arbizu said.
“I just hope that the student
body understands that [the
bathroom policy is] not there to
take away their privileges,” Wolfgramm said.
PHOTO BY: RACHEL GREENWOOD
In fall of 2014, construction of
a new two-story building began
on the Burlingame High School
campus. The new “F” building
will house a brand new and state
of the art culinary space for the
Foods and Nutrition program, office and meeting spaces, a learnRead about the student volunteer trip ing center, and four classrooms,
that fifteen Bay Area students took
according to Principal Di Yim.
this summer with the One Dollar for
The new building has a slightly
Life charity organization on page 3, by
different appearance than other
Senior Reporter Christopher Hu
buildings on campus, boasting
Curious about controversy regarding
chandeliers and handicap accessithe calisthenics bars and storage?
ble entrances. However, in order
Read about the storage crisis on our
to make room for the F building
campus on page 3, by Staff Reporter
and trailers for the construction
Jason Rundle
workers, the majority of student
parking was removed. This led
to another issue about places
for students to park during the
school day, as space is severely
limited.
The building replaced another that was torn down in order
to make room for the modern
facilities.
Is there discrimination against
“The building [the F building]
certain ethnicities in the college
replaced was just really old. The
admission process? Web Editor Alex
idea was to put in classrooms that
Lee discusses whether or not there
were more up-to-date,” Yim said.
is discrimination, and its impact, on
Prior to the dedication of the
page 6.
building as new culinary equipment and offices, there had been
soft plans to move certain areas
of the science department there,
specifically plans to build a new
• Features: Pages 2-3
science lab.
• Gemder Roles at Burlimgame
“Four years ago when they
Spread: Pages 4-5
began planning, a science lab was
• Op-Ed: Pages 6
in
the
plan,” chemistry teacher
• Entertainment: Page 7
Susan Marcan said.
• Sports: Page 8
During the changes in previous years, however, Marcan believes there was a communication
issue and, “there was no science
lab when [the F building plan]
It’s not too late to sign up for
was released.”
Relay For Life!
The science department still
Event details:
remains hopeful that once classes
Saturday, October 10, 2015
have moved into the F building,
10 AM- 10 PM
there will be more room for labs
Washington Park
and individual classrooms.
850 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame,
Though there will be no
CA 94010
science lab in the new build-
ing, Food and Nutrition teacher
Shannon Couch confirmed that
her program will have the entire
top floor of the F building.
The new facility will contain “8
cooking stations, so the kids will
get more hands on experience in
the food prep labs, and instead
of 7 students per group, it will be
4 students. Each group will get
its own cooking station with an
oven, stove, sink, and variety of
updated appliances,” Couch said.
There will also be demonstration stations in order to better instruct students on techniques and
procedures, as well as Smart TV’s.
There are no plans to increase the
number of available Foods and
Nutrition classes, which already
increased three years prior,
though Yim says that it can vary
based upon additional sections or
increased enrollment.
Among other potential classroom dedications is the computer
science program, which, according to Computer Science teacher
Christina Wade, may share facilities with the Architectural Design
classes. Wade is very excited for
the AP Computer Science class to
finally have a permanent home.
Funding for the F building
was provided by Measure O, a
San Mateo Union High School
District funding program for the
modernization of district schools
and facilities in order to better
prepare students for life after
high school. According to Yim,
the school board received some
of its funding from all taxpayers
in the SMUHSD district, not just
taxpayers in Burlingame. Construction is being completed by
Greystone West Construction
management company.
The new building is scheduled
to be completed in a month. At
the latest, Ms. Yim said students
can expect to be taking classes
in the F building starting next
semester.
Overall, students and faculty
are looking forward to a new addition to the Burlingame campus.
Issue 1 Vol. 96
Senior Stephanie Mark signs out of class following the new procedure.
2
Is Uber über safe?
By: Noah Lazers
COPY EDITOR
The safety of the customers should be their first
priority,” Burlingame High
School senior Tianny Lu
said.
Before this fee, UberX
hired many drivers without doing more than the
state-mandated background
checks and inspecting their
cars by viewing pictures
of them online. Additionally, many of these UberX
drivers admitted to not
receiving any safe driving training before being
released onto the street. An
undercover study by NBC5
news revealed that UberX
drivers consistently did not
know their way around the
city of Chicago, even some
of the most major landmarks. NBC5 also did its
own background checks on
UberX drivers and found
that many of them had
numerous tickets for speeding, running red lights, and
illegal stops. Many passengers think that they should
not have to pay $1 for their
safety, which Uber should
have already assured. Some
passengers also fear that a
fee of only $1 would not actually guarantee their safety.
People on Twitter
weighed in on how much
safety they felt this fee
would provide.
@mat imagine restaurants charging a buck extra
specifically for soap for
their employees to wash
their [hands] with.
— Jesse Atkinson (@
jsatk) April 23, 2014
While this is a somewhat
humorous perspective on
UberX’s safety flaws, it still
brings up the valid question
of whether or not Uber really is taking steps to ensure
the safety of its users.
The most notable case of
Uber’s questionable safety
measures occurred in January 2014. The murder of
a San Franciscan six-year
old girl by Uber driver
Syed Muzaffer prompted a
suit by the victim’s family.
Muzaffer struck and killed
her in his car, but Uber attorneys claimed that since
he was not technically
logged into the app at the
time of the murder, “the
company did not cause
this tragic accident.” Muzaffer was later found with
a previous reckless driving
conviction, which Uber’s
background checks did not
catch prior to the murder.
While murder and rape are
the most extreme cases,
there have been several
other instances of physical
and mental abuse.
A service such as Uber
can be an efficient means
of transportation for the
general public. However,
there are still problems and
the company has failed to
communicate any resolutions. For now, riders must
know to use discretion and
be constantly aware while
using Uber.
Two Truths and a Lie: New Teacher Edition
By: Mallory Jones, Stella Lorence, and Dara Phung
SENIOR REPORTER AND STAFF REPORTERS
Mr. McDermott- Government
1. I shared an elevator with
Michael Jordan once
2. I go to Crepevine so much that
the manager knows me
3. I was hit by a car and given a
ticket for disobeying a signal
Mr. Shaughnessy- Physical Ed.
1. My wife is in the Hall of Fame
here, at BHS
2. I have seven kids
3. I won the national championship at Cal by playing rugby
Ms. Liu- Architecture and Design
1. I used to play rugby
2. I broke my leg on Mt. Shasta and had
to be helicoptered out
3. My favorite superhero is the Hulk
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015
2015 Relay For Life
only 12 hours
By: Evalynna Ong and Lauren Bingham
ART DIRECTOR AND STAFF REPORTER
In 2014, Burlingame
High School raised $56,000
during the 24-hour Relay for
Life event, an annual event
that BHS students put on
in collaboration with the
American Cancer Society.
In the past, participants
who raised $100 could stay
the night and participate in
round-the-clock activities.
This year, the event will be
limited to 12 hours, taking
place Saturday, Oct. 10, from
10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Students are still required
to raise the $100 in order to
receive a t-shirt and food.
In the past, the overnight
portion of the event was
a major incentive for student involvement, so some
are concerned about how
this time limit will impact
student involvement and the
event’s success. Without the
students, there would be no
Relay.
“Since the event is so
close to home, and we had
events going throughout
the night it was really loud
and there were a lot of noise
complaints,” junior and BHS
Relay co-chair Diana Daniels said.
However, the time constraint is not a result of noise
complaints, and is not soley
at Burlingame’s Relay event.
In fact, it is a new rule from
ACS for all high school Relay events.
Junior and Relay co-chair
Johnny Kershner said, “[he]
wouldn’t discount the night
part and that we’re not missing out [on] much, because
honestly you don’t do that
much during the night. You
kinda are extraordinarily
tired from trying to stay up.”
The event symbolizes the
battles that many people
fight with cancer, and raises
money for research. So,
despite the constraints, this
year’s Relay for Life will continue to make an impact in
the long effort to find better
treatment, and eventually a
cure for cancer.
If you would like to know
more about Relay for Life,
go to relayforlife.org.
PHOTO BY: DAVID ZHOU
The popular ride service
Uber has recently come
under scrutiny from both
the media and the public
because of criminal allegations that range from
rape to murder. Despite
the background checks
that all Uber drivers undergo, many passengers
have reported instances
of bodily or mental harm,
which Uber has done little
to address. The company is
estimated to be worth $18.2
billion and is expanding
from the U.S. (it originated
in the Bay Area) to China,
India, and beyond, even
amongst these controversies. As Uber becomes more
popular for high school and
college students, the public
is questioning what exactly Uber will do to ensure
client safety.
UberX, the cheapest of
Uber ridesharing services,
has begun charging all
riders a $1 safety fee. This
fee, “supports [Uber’s] efforts to always connect you
to the safest rides on the
road,” Uber said. When it
comes to the trust that both
drivers and riders place in
the service, many question Uber’s commitment
to safety, and want more
than “support”; they want a
guarantee.
“I believe that Uber
should be doing thorough
background checks on every single driver they have
regardless of a $1 charge.
Features
One of the many luminaria bags that students handmade for the
event.
Go to theburlingameb.com to reveal the truth (and lies)!
Mr. Scialanga- Exploring Tech
1. Mr. Knox and I are racquetball
partners
2. I have a twin brother named
Giovanni
3. My first trip to Italy was in 1960
Mr. Abbott- Special Education
1. I completed my undergrad through
three different schools
2. I perform improv in San Francisco
3. I am fluent in American Sign Language
Ms. Orozco- Spanish
1. I have traveled to over 14 different countires
2. I love gardening
3. I am in a dance performance
group that performs Cuban salsa
Mr. Gould- Chemistry Teacher
1. I was on my high school wrestling
team
2. I love T.S. Eliot’s poetry
3. I have been backstage at a U2 concert
Mr. Nichols- Architectural Design
1. I’ve taught in the school district
for 2 years
2. I’ve hitchhiked across the U.S.
3. I do not own a cellphone
Ms. Victorio- Math Teacher
1. I am part Japanese
2. This is my tenth year teaching
3. I grew up with English as my second
language
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015
Features
3
Untimely departure from rally confuses students
unable to introduce themselves.
When asked about what
To kick-off the 2015-2016
happened, Lowdon said, “yes, it
school year, the Welcome Back
was confusing as to why only one
Rally featured new activities
group of teachers came out which
and lots of school spirit, but was
caused a shift in the schedule.”
disrupted once students began to
He was not alone in the
leave early. Seniors Greg Pantazis thought; many others also
and Will Lowdon MC’d the event wondered why the teachers were
and, along with the leadership
introduced at different times.
class, guided the program to enAs Principal Di Yim explained,
sure the rally ran smoothly.
“some teachers were not present
However, the program hit a
because they work part-time comglitch half way through the event ing in towards the afternoon and
when some students started to
therefore missing the rally.”
leave the bleachers after the blindIn order to address this chalfolded competition, and before the lenge, the administration thought
MC’s were ready to introduce a
it best to split the ten new teachers
group of new teachers. It appeared into two groups according to their
as though those students did not
estimated time of arrival. No one
know that the rally was not over,
foresaw the confusion it would
but other students soon followed cause.
them to the field. In the confuStill, even with the unplanned
sion, the three new teachers were early finish, the Welcome Back
PHOTO BY: REINA ASHLEY NOMURA
By: Isabella Ko
SENIOR REPORTER
Rally brought everyone at BHS
together to celebrate the start
of a brand new academic year.
During the rally, new activities
delighted and drew strong participation from all four grades.
During the 4x400 meter relay,
junior Antonio Verrico jump
started the race by taking the
lead. In the end, the juniors won
the race while seniors finished
in second. The balloon-popping
game featured the freshman
and sophomores facing off
against the juniors and seniors.
Even BHS’s mascots, Peter and BHS students begin to leave during the Welcome Back Rally.
Patty Panther, enthusiastically
while crawling around trying to
formally acknowledge and extend
joined in. It was jaw-clenching
find an empty seat. Leadership
our warmest welcome to Ms.
but eventually the upperclassmen
students were on hand to provide Morocho, Ms. Vannini and Ms.
came out on top. The final activity
a little help and lend support
Victorio as well as all the other
was a game of blindfolded musical
to keep the participants from
new teachers to our school.
chairs. Game rules demanded that
straying.
all participants wear a T-shirt over
On behalf of BHS, we would
their heads covering their faces
like to take this opportunity to
One Dollar For Life Club builds a school in Nicaragua
By: Christopher Hu
SENIOR REPORTER
One Dollar for Life, a Bay
Area based non-profit student
organization founded in 2006,
has inspired students to reach
out to the underprivileged people
around the world with the mindset of improving the conditions
of people in developing countries
such as Nicaragua, South Africa, and Nepal through modest
resources. This past summer,
Burlingame High School’s ODFL
club once again committed to its
mission by building a classroom
in Nicaragua.
From July 19 to 29, counselor Mrs. Esrailian and two other
chaperones led BHS juniors
Gracie Kober, Hannah de la
Calle, Valerie Hon, and twelve
other students from all over the
Bay Area into the capital city of
Managua, Nicaragua. Their goal
was to help construct an elementary school for young children in
Manuel Piquera, a close-knit rural
community on the outskirts of the
city of Matagalpa.
Once they arrived, the ODFL
members immediately started
to build a classroom that would
provide a more constructive
learning environment to open up
greater educational opportunities
for over 200 local children, whose
educational opportunities were
few and far between. The team
wasted no time and began to build
the classroom from the ground
By: Jason Rundle
STAFF REPORTER
In order to revamp the storage
on campus, BHS decided to
remove its exercise bars, causing
controversy and anger amongst
the school and community. Every
day after school, students could
be seen swinging and working
out on the calisthenics bars next
to the Burlingame High School
track. When the bars were torn
out in early September, there was
an immediate outcry of anger and
disbelief from students.
“The bars were a great place to
socialize and work out. It’s unfair
they took them away without asking,” said Junior Brice Redmond.
Redmond isn’t alone in his
disappointment. Many students
have pointed out that sports
teams, Physical Education classes,
and the Burlingame community
use those bars. The school had
torn down the bars without warning, and without explanation.
Since it opened, BHS has
been expanding in order to
accommodate increasing student
populations and new activities,
and every program needs space
to store equipment and supplies.
Until this year, everything from
maintenance products to sports
gear has been stored in metal
storage containers located across
campus. Community members,
neighbors, and the administration complained about the smell
and rust of these containers.
According to Principal Di Yim,
the school “wanted to move away
from metal sheds in order to
improve the overall appearance
of the campus,” and create a more
centralized system for storing
supplies.
Over half of BHS students play
a sport, so the first priority for
the storage was finding a place
for athletic gear. The overflow of
sports equipments has forced the
school to place nets and chairs in
the gym, and even in the hallways, which poses a significant
safety concern.
“Storage is a real issue on
a warm welcome and appreciated
their commitment to improving
the community.
“What surprised me the most
was the amount of gratitude, love,
and happiness the people showed
us when we came,” Hon said. She
quickly settled into their daily
routine and easily interacted with
the Nicaraguan children. When
not working, the volunteers taught
them arts and crafts and English.
More importantly, the volunteers
realized that this was not only a
PHOTO BY: HANNAH DE LA CALLE, VALERIE HON, GRACIE KOBER
“It was so surprising to see
such a close-knit community of
people who are working together
to grow stronger. Rather than
pushing each other down to gain
more for themselves, the people
are so willing to help pick each
other up. It is far more important
to grow as a community rather
than individuals,” Kober said.
Others used this experience to
value precious moments in their
own life.
“Many of them lived in shacks
and poverty, struggling everyday to get electricity or water,”
remarked de la Calle. “Even so,
these people were happy with
what they had in life. I learned to
be happier with what I had and to
cherish the relationships I make
with others.”
Returning home, the ODFL
members will continue to make
positive changes by serving the
most needy people in the world.
Summing up the experience,
One Dollar For Life Club volunteers gather with Nicaraguan children in front of the newly built school.
Hon said that “nothing could have
up. At the work site, they formed continued, “even though we were service trip, but also a fantastic
possibly [been] more rewarding
the foundation, mixed concrete,
foreigners, the people there took
real-world learning experience.
than coming back to the lodging
dug the trenches to support the
us under their wings, respected
The local people inspired them
brick walls, bent wires to build the us, and made us feel like we were with their values of teamwork, re- and back home knowing that I
framework, and painted the walls. helping our own community
silience, and their positive outlook spent my time in the best way
possible - helping others.”
In turn, the citizens of Manuel there.”
on life despite the tough living
Piquera greeted the students with
With that, the volunteers
conditions.
Solving Burlingame High School’s storage crisis
PHOTO BY: DAVID ZHOU
campus. For example, we have to
keep football gear in 6 separate
places,” Athletics Director John
Philipopoulos said.
BHS decided to centralize
storage by building TUFF sheds
on campus that would not only
be aesthetically pleasing, but also
very useful. However, there are
significant regulations and laws
limiting the building of structures
on a school campus. For instance,
any storage space has to be at
least 20 feet away from school
buildings. An approval from the
Division of the State Architect
Replacing metal storage containers on campus with these sheds.
could take anywhere from 6-12
months, but according to Yim,
that the plan was very “last minbars, Yim said that the school
BHS “didn’t have time to wait.”
ute.”
would consider building new bars
So instead, went through a
The administration realized
“if students showed enough interbidding process and quickly
that some students used the bars, est.” Currently, Senior Guillermo
decided to begin construction
but the space “was the only place Guzman is drafting a petition to
on new sheds in accordance with we could legally put [the new
bring back the bars.
district and state law. The admin- sheds],” Carrillo said.
But according to Carrillo, new
istration decided to tear down the
Despite all this, BHS hopes
calisthenics bars are a “100 perexercise bars to create space.
that these new structures will cre- cent certainty and will probably
Ricky Carrillo, head of mainate a more organized and efficient be located near the softball pitch
tenance for the San Mateo Union storage system.
or the blacktop near the gym.”
High School District, admitted
As for replacing the exercise
4
By:
Does Burlingame High School cater
equally to all genders?
Senior Reporter, Taylor Cotchett
Design Editor, Charlie Jones
News Editor, Claire Morrison
Art Director, Evalynna Ong
Equality Equations:
Gender at Burlingame High School
Boys vs. Girls in AP Biology,
AP Chemistry & AP Environmental
Science in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016
school years
77% said YES
23% said NO
Those who said yes...
“If we’re discussing BHS, gender equality is
not an issue. Sorry, it just isn’t. There are more
important problems like racial and ethnic diversity (or
lack thereof) in the classroom that impair learning.”
Those who said no...
“Today I saw two girls get in trouble for having no straps.
What do shoulders do? Why is the dress code tailored to
not distract boys? Seriously, why can’t we have no straps
I honestly don’t understand. Also why does the whole
school praise the football team in the fall, the boy’s basketball in the winter and boy’s lacrosse in the spring... Boys
already have social superiority which makes them a lot more
confident in regards to speaking in classes and overpowering every discussion. This makes me very uncomfortable.”
58% Female
42% Male
Total amount of Boys vs. Girls in AP
Calculus, both AB and BC over the 20142015 and 2015-2016 school years
120
“If boys can’t control their urges, it’s not the girls’
fault. It’s not as if boys haven’t seen shoulders or legs
before, nor is there really interesting about them that
cause boys to lose focus during class. The girls aren’t “asking for it” either. They wear shorts and tank tops to feel
comfortable in the heat, not to attract attention. They
should feel comfortable in their own skin, not shamed for it.”
100
80
60
40
“I feel disadvantaged in math and science classes because in this world, females are discouraged to pursue
such careers in these fields whereas men can do whatever they want as long as they do not act like a girl.”
20
0
“In my AP English Language with
Larkin, there are 7 males in the class
with triple the amount of females.”
Boys
(AB)
Girls
(AB)
Boys
(BC)
Girls
(BC)
Boys vs. Girls AP English Language and
Composition 2014-2015 and 2015-2016
school years
Do you feel that your
English and Arts classes
have an equal number of
boys and girls?
57% said YES
43% said NO
60% Female
40% Male
“In my calculus BC class last year,
there were only 5 girls out of 30+
students in the class”
Additional thoughts on gender at Burlingame
“We are one of the most accepting schools around in
my opinion and by enforcing so many politically
correct phenomena’s at our school we are restricting
our freedoms and becoming politically incorrect.”
Do you feel like your math and science
classes have equal numbers in boys and
girls?
“Everyone
should
be
treated
fairly
and
gender is a subject that should not be taken lightly.”
58% said YES
42% said NO
Coming soon to The Burlingame
B website, an article on the
recent controversies over
Burlingame’s ‘Powder Puff’
football game.
theburlingameb.com
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the spread by filling
out the google form.Thank you
to Mr. Guiulfo as well for helping
out with class
statistics.
“Gender is not binary. Boys and girls are not the only
genders in this world. It is cissexist to say stuff like
‘ladies and gentlemen” or “he or she” because
the
speaker
is
not
acknowledging
non-binary genders, and implying that they
are less human than those who are binary.”
“I feel that students at BHS find guys to be more
assertive and show-offy about their smarts,
therefore creating a false idea that there are
more smart guys than girls at our school”
5
Op-Ed
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015
Las ideas de Trump levantan preguntas en la communidad hispana
By Chelsea Lopez
SENIOR REPORTER
Donald Trump se ha convertido en uno de los políticos más
influyentes de los Estados Unidos
y la comunidad hispana, ¿pero,
por qué? Él no llegó a tener tanta
fama solo. El ha llegado a obtener tanto éxito gracias a muchas
personas que creen lo que él les ha
estado vendiendo.
Donald Trump encendió el
fuego de sus ideas en una junta
en julio donde dijo que México
está “enviando las personas que
tienen un montón de problemas ,
y que van a traer esos problemas a
nosotros. Están trayendo drogas.
Están trayendo crimen. Son violadores. Y algunos, supongo, son
buena gente.”
Personalmente no entiendo
como hay personas que pueden
estar de acuerdo con esta perspectiva, porque, sí, es verdad que
el mundo está lleno de personas
malas que causan daño pero no
todas son de orígenes latinos, y
pensar que sí, es ignorante.
Esta creencia polémica de
Trump comenzó un escándalo
en las redes sociales. Univision,
que había firmado un contrato
con Trump y su organización de
Miss Estados Unidos, se retractó
después de oír los comentarios
que Trump había hecho sobre los
inmigrantes mexicanos. Incluso
el cantante de reggaeton J.Balvin
anunció que no cantaría en el concurso de Miss Estados Unidos en
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, porque
no le gusto lo que había dicho
Trump de México.
Balvin dijo en una entrevista
que “No se [trataba] de un castigo,
sino de mostrar liderazgo a través
de la responsabilidad social. Los
comentarios de Trump no sólo
fueron contra los mexicanos,
sino contra todos los latinos en
general.”
Balvin tiene mucha razón en
ese aspecto porque aunque sólo
menciona a los mexicanos en
específico, el tema de ponerle alto
a los inmigrantes ilegales tiene
un efecto negativo sobre toda la
comunidad hispana. Trump está
intentando de convencer a todo
el mundo de que los todos los
inmigrantes ilegales tienen pasados oscuros de dañar a personas
y que todos son malos, pero lo
más peligroso en esta situación es
el intento de Trump de crear una
división entre los hispanos y otras
comunidades.
Trump ha propuesto la construcción de un muro para dividir
la frontera mexicana y ponerle
alto a la llegada de inmigrantes
que cruzan la frontera a pie.
Trump muy engreído hasta dijo
“Yo quiero que sea tan hermosa,
porque tal vez algún día van a
llamarlo el Muro Trump.”
Trump ignora los gastos necesarios para construir este muro.
Espero que el público estadounidense se dé cuenta del
peligro que representa Trump. A
diferencia de Trump, la candidata
para los demócratas, Hillary Clinton, respondió a la postura fuerte
contra los extranjeros ilegales de
Trump en llamándolo un racista.
Yo estoy de acuerdo con Clinton
en que Trump es racista en contra
de los inmigrantes ilegales latinos
y no entiendo por qué le perturban tanto los inmigrantes de
Latinoamérica y no los que vienen
de otras regiones del mundo.
Tengo muchas preguntas
para el Señor Trump. Si tanto le
molestan los inmigrantes, ¿que
va a hacer con los refugiados que
vienen huyendo de otros estados
buscando seguridad de opresión
en sus países? ¿Los va a mandar de
Discrimination in college admissions causes frustration
By Alex Lee
SENIOR REPORTER
Diversity. It makes college
admissions officers shake in
excitement and employers nod
fiercely in approval. College
officers close their eyes and
imagine a utopian campus with a
wide range of diversity. But I and
many others hear this word and
shiver with anxiety about how
we will fit into this picture.
When colleges try to fulfill
their mission of a culturally
diverse campus, they often end
up discriminating against races.
Race is something you are born
with, but culture and perspective, which is what colleges want,
is something people form from
their experiences. To say that
a person’s cultural ideology is
defined mainly by race is a bit of
a racist statement in itself.
Recently, there have been
rumblings about discrimination in the college admissions
process. In 2014, more than sixty
Asian American representative
organizations filed complains
about discrimination against
Asians to Harvard College. According to one of these groups,
¨Over the last two decades,
Asian-American applicants to
Harvard University and other
Ivy League colleges have increasingly experienced discrimination in the admissions process.
Many Asian-American students
who have almost perfect SAT
scores, top 1 percent GPAs, plus
significant awards or leadership
positions in various extracurricular activities have been rejected
by Harvard University and other
Ivy League Colleges while similarly situated applicants of other
races have been admitted.”
Whether or not these colleges
actually discriminate by race, the
race check box in applications
will always give colleges the
opportunity to do so. As seen on
the image, this box asks students
to clarify their race, and while
this box is optional, many people
still fill it out.
College officers state that this
box helps them give “disadvantaged” students the opportunity
to go to college; if a student
accomplished great feats in high
school with less resources, that
person is a strong applicant. But
the problem is that race does
not determine whether a person
comes from a disadvantaged
background, a person’s family income information and personal
essays do. So why does this box
exist?
According to Kevin Halleran, a college consultant for
Thinktank Learning, one of the
reasons this box exists is because
“The Department of Education
wants to keep track of who is
getting into college and who is
not.”
Analyses of ethnic groups
in college can be useful, but we
need to weigh whether or not
this analysis is worth giving colleges the ability to judge applicants based on race.
Certain people and politicians in California, a state that
possesses some of the most
bountiful college guidance and
financial aid programs, support
the state constitutional amendment, SCA-5, which essentially
allows colleges to discriminate
by race. This legislation looks to
repeal California’s Proposition
5, legislation that stops colleges
from using race as a factor in
college admissions.
“Think about it: Limiting the
amount of a certain race? If you
want to give the ticket to someone because they were experienced some huge hardship, that
is perfectly alright. But because
of race? That just sounds blatantly unconstitutional and unfair,”
junior Michael Andrew said.
SCA-5 has been withdrawn
for now, and legislators are
making changes to the bill, but it
could return in the near future.
And no one knows if this one
bill will unleash a flood of other
discriminatory acts.
These new revelations of
discrimination can also lead to a
loss of culture. College consulting companies like “Asian
Advantage,” have proliferated,
which advise students to abandon traditional and somewhat
stereotypical Asian activities that
they may be passionate about
- including badminton, music,
math, and science- and flock
to the traditionally “American”
activities like debate or writing.
While this may be enlightening,
it defeats the purpose of college
and of high school- to pursue
one’s passion. Being pushed to
abandon your passion and adopt
another can lead to a dispassionate, disinterested person. Moreover, a person who abandons
their true passions, will likely
not be able to write as deep and
thorough of an application as
one who stays with their their
passion.
PHOTO FROM WIKI COMMONS
6
Trump at an event for the Republican party during his 2016 presidential campaign.
regreso para que los maten o sigan
oprimiendo? Me pregunto cuál
será su plan con respecto a estos
desafíos de hoy en día. ¿Le da algún placer extraño ser un opresor
de la gente latina?
Vi en la televisión a un miembro del equipo de Trump que le
dijo a Jorge Ramos “get out of my
country” aunque Ramos ya es ciudadano estadounidense. Nunca se
Teacher Adviser:
Melissa Murphy
Editors-In-Chief:
Colette Weese and David Zou
Design Editor:
Charlie Jones
Copy Editor:
Noah Lazers
News Editor:
Claire Morrison
Art Director:
Evalynna Ong
Web Manager:
Alex Lee
Business Manager:
Renata Servulo
Entertainment Editor:
Lauren Bodenlos
disculpó por haber dicho eso.
¿Qué va a hacer Trump con los
inmigrantes que ya son ciudadanos? También a ellos les va hacer
la vida imposible?
La comunidad latina tiene muchas preguntas para Trump. Pienso que merecemos sus respuestas.
To read the full translation,
go to theburlingameb.com.
Reporters:
Alexandra Atkeson
Felicia Azzopardi
Andrew Battat
Lauren Bingham
Ariana Chin
Victorya Cintra
Sofia Guerra
Priscilla Jin
Cameron Kelaita
Emmy Kuniy
Oliver Lane
Stella Lorence
Dara Phung
Jillian Rolnick
Benjamin Rosenberg
Jason Rundle
Kaili Shan
Senior Reporters:
Taylor Cotchett
Rachel Greenwood
Christopher Hu
Mallory Jones
Isabella Ko
Chelsea Lopez
Erika Taylor
with the San Mateo Union High
Policy Statement:
School District. The Burlingame
The Burlingame ‘B’ is a student-run newspaper with the sole ‘B’ does not discriminate against
race, political orientation, ethnicpurpose of providing an open
ity, religion, gender, sexual orienforum for student expression.
Anything printed represents the tation, or disability. Although The
Burlingame ‘B’ will never refuse to
opinion of the writer, but not
necessarily that of the The Burlin- publish student guest submission
game ‘B’ staff, the administration based on the aforementioned factors, we reserve the right to edit or
or faculty of Burlingame High
not publish them.
School, or any person affiliated
Letters to the Editor:
Disagree with the writers? Bring your letters to the room A120 or
email them to <theburlingameb@gmail.com>. Letters may be considered for publication. The Burlingame B reserves the rght to edit for
clarity, length and accuracy. We welcome all comments.
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015
Entertainment
PHOTO BY MELISSA MURPHY
Top ten trails to hike this fall
By: Lauren Bodenlos
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Fall is the perfect time of year
to go for a good hike. The trees
are changing colors and you can
hear the leaves crunching as you
walk; and unlike summer, it’s not
unbearably hot.
1. Point Lobos State Reserve:
Located in Carmel, it’s a bit of
a trek to get to this destination,
but it is definitely worth it. Point
Lobos is famous for its beautiful
ocean views and variety of animals. It’s not uncommon to spot
a sea lion or two on a nice day.
2. Lovers Lane, Presidio: If
you’re looking for a quick insta-worthy walk, this could be
the place for you. The majority
of the walk is paved, but eventually leads up to a forested area.
The path is best known for its
winding tree trunk path. A great
feature about this little walk is
that it’s very low intensity and
definitely won’t take all day, giving you the perfect opportunity
to pop into the city.
3. Muir Woods National Park:
Perhaps the most famous national park in the area, Muir woods
is known for it’s excellent trails,
towering redwoods and overall
beautiful scenery. The main trail
is roughly two miles long and
mostly flat, making it ideal for
people of all ages.
4. Golden Gate Bridge: While
this walk is not a typical hike, it
is definitely a bay area must. The
walk back and forth is only 3.4
miles long and provides a great
view of the city and the famous
Alcatraz Island. The bridge opens
to pedestrians at 5 am. Now,
bare with me, waking up early is
probably not something you want
to do on the weekend, but seeing
the sunrise from the Golden Gate
Bridge and watching the city
come back to life is an experience
like no other.
5. Mori Point: Located in Pacifica, it covers a 110 acre stretch of
coast. Unlike most other locations on the list, this area is not
heavily forested. Most of the walk
is flat, but be warned, it is usually
fairly windy, so bring a jacket.
6. Mount Diablo. This is one of
the most well known and exciting
places to go hiking in the East
Bay. Famous for its rock formations and caves, Mount Diablo is
not exactly a hike for beginners,
in fact it’s more of a climb. Before
going, one of the most important
things to know is, while it will be
fun, you probably won’t finish,
since the park covers roughly
20,000 acres.
7. Lands End: This trail, like
Mori Point (number three) gives
one of the best views of the Pacific. This 3.4 mile trail leads up to a
labyrinth, right above the water.
It’s a great place to clear your
mind and take a pause from the
7
#4 on the list, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most photographed landmarks in the bay area
chaos back home while still being camping facilities and is known
in the city.
for its helpful Rangers, making it
a family friendly destination.
8. Marin Headlands:This destination is just across the bay
10. Crystal Springs: If you live
bridge in north San fransisco. If
in San Mateo County and you
you decide to head over there,
have not yet been to Crystal
you should definitely check out
Springs, you should definitely
the lighthouse that hovers over
go (and hopefully before the
the pacific.
reservoir dries up). It’s a 12 mile
hike around the water, which
9. Memorial Park: This park is
makes for an awesome day-long
located in Pescadero, which is
adventure.
just a few miles south of Half
Moon Bay. The area has great
A Broadway Rendition Fenway Park makes East Coast
transition easy
By: Lauren Bodenlos
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
ment and questions the morals
of modern industry. The show,
which is perhaps best known
for its 2013 run starring Daniel
Radcliffe, should be a refreshing
change for the BHS drama program, especially compared with
last play, “Radium Girls”. Another notable change from previous
shows is the heavily male cast,
with Ben Howley, Liam Metzcus and John Peceimer taking
three of the significant male
roles. As opening night arrives,
the drama department is hoping
for yet another success. Show
dates are October 23, 24 and 30
at 7:30pm, and October 25, 31
and November 1 at 2:00pm.
By: Cameron Kelaita
STAFF REPORTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF: COLIN MORONEY
This year, the BHS drama
program will present “How to
Succeed in Business Without
Really Trying,” a Broadway show
first shown in 1962 as a musical
adaptation based on the 1952
best-selling novel of the same
name. The author, Shepherd
Mead, tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch, a window washer at
the World Wide Wicket Company. By manipulating the system
with help from his book How to
Succeed in Business, Finch slowly
works his way up the corporate
ladder, eventually becoming
Vice President of Advertising.
The comedic musical provides a
satirical outlook on the difficulties of the workplace environ-
Boston College freshman Colin Moroney enjoys an evening at Fenway Park with recently-met student
Jennifer Daniels.
students to the local environment, me to integrate into the commuBOSTON, Mass.— Labor
people, and traditions, allowing
Day weekend, also known as
nity.”
them to experience local city life,
“move-in” weekend among colMovva’s experiences are exactimportant
landmarks,
and
favorlege freshmen and their families,
ly what universities want for their
marks the end of one era, and the ite sports teams.
students. It’s no secret that having
beginning of another, more indeEnter Fenway Park.
friends leads to success in the
pendent one for incoming college
Built in 1912, and home to
classroom, and schools are willing
students. But independence and
the historic Boston Red Sox,
to use endowment money to
freedom aside, there’s also that
Fenway is the mecca of all eastinvest in building their students’
oh-so-wonderful feeling of home- coast sports. Its central location
success.
sickness that tends to preoccupy
in Boston makes it an ideal spot
“My school is extremely
so many college newbies in the
for new college students to learn
supportive of new student social
beginning of the school year.
about Bostonian culture and fan
clubs geared toward…making us
Regardless of the distance from
base that embraces its a sport like better students,” Colin Moroney,
home, becoming acclimated to a
a religion. Schools such as Boston a current freshman at Boston
new school without the presence
College, Boston University,
College, said.
of parents can be a daunting task Harvard, and Northeastern fund
A Saturday afternoon at Fenfor many students. However, for
student groups to achieve that
way allowed Moroney to “meet a
those heading northeast to attend exact purpose.
lot of different people and make
college, Boston’s Fenway Park,
“When I moved to Boston,
some great experiences.”
home of the Rex Sox, is just the
I found the baseball savvy and
These experiences set students
place to help new students unenthusiasm a familiar and refresh- up for an easy acclimation to the
derstand the history and culture
ing aspect in the community, and community and make Fenway
of their new home and make new found that it helped me meet a lot Park just as great of a social
friends.
of like-minded people,” Harvard
hotspot as a baseball shrine.
Most universities offer
College freshman Maitreya MovSo while the Red Sox may be
programs for freshmen to help
va said. She continued, “although a cellar team for the next several
facilitate their intimidating transi- I felt slightly out of place, I felt
seasons, Fenway will never cease
tion from home to college. These
that student organizations and
to help college freshmen get a true
programs typically introduce
sports clubs were the best way for taste of the Boston culture.
8
Girls’ Tennis aims for
Sports
Football gears up for fall’s exBy: Victorya Cintra
STAFF REPORTER
Keeping the successful 2014 season in mind,
this year’s 44 varsity football players have been
training since spring for the demanding season
ahead. Senior co-captains Alex Furr, Cooper
Gindraus, Berry Palu, and Ben Williams have
led the team to the great start, winning both of
their games so far.
New rules in several states limit the amount
of contact each player can have in practice in
an effort to prevent injuries. The Panthers have
had to change some of their practice structures, but do not believe that these new rules
will affect their playing.
Williams remains hopeful for the rest of the
season, saying, “I’m expecting big things... I’m
really excited to see what we can do.”
Catch the Panthers doing what they can do at their next home game, Friday, Sept. 25
at 7:00 p.m. against South San Francisco High School.
PHOTO BY: DAVID ZHOU
PHOTO COURTESY OF: NATALIE SOMERS
By: Erika Taylor
SENIOR REPORTER
After winning the Peninsula Athletic League
playoffs and continuing on to the Central Coast
Section games last year, the girls’ tennis team is
back for a new season with several experienced
returning seniors and promising juniors underclassmen. This year, the highest-ranked singles
players, who include seniors Lindsey Schloetter,
Sarah Sinatra, and Natalie Somers, are also taking
on leadership roles.
The team hopes to beat its rivals, Menlo Atherton and Carlmont, who are tough competitors
every season. Still, Head Coach Bill Smith knows
that the team will be successful, just like in 2014.
“Our success will ride on the continued excellence of the veterans in singles and the emergence
of those competing for doubles spots,” Smith said.
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015
about upcoming season
By: Cameron Kelaita
STAFF REPORTER
for a stronger season
By: Renata Servulo
SENIOR REPORTER
This year the BHS varsity
girls’ water polo team will focus
on communication and consistency in order to be strong and
work as a cohesive unit. Led
by senior and two-year captain
Claire Morrison and head coach
Paul Felton, the girls are putting
lots of effort into swim conditioning to be in the best shape
possible. They will also rely on
senior Amelia Milne, who is in
her third season as goalie for
the varsity team and is crucial to
the team’s success and defense.
The Panthers have already
played in two weekend tournaments, and their next Peninsula Athletic League game is against Aragon High School,
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 4:00 p.m., here at BHS.
to come
Girls’ volleyball has not played
any Peninsula Athletic League
games yet, so be sure to check on
our website at
theburlingameb.com to see updates.
By: Charlie Jones
DESIGN EDITOR
The Burlingame High School Cross Country team is looking forward to a promising
season ahead, especially for the girls’ varsity team. The girls competed in the first Peninsula
Athletic League meet on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Westmoor High School and finished with a
solid 7th place. They also came in 7th place at the same meet in 2014, and continued on to
the Central Coast Section championships, and for this reason Head Coach Steve “Obbie”
O’Brien believes that the girls’ are on track to go to CCS again this year.
Additionally, the team welcomed many peomising freshmen this year, so be sure to stay
tuned in the years to come.
PHOTO COURTESY OF: SIMON GREENWOOD
Volleyball
PHOTO BY: CLAIRE MORRISON
By: Jillian Rolnick
STAFF REPORTER
This season, the Panthers
girls’ golf team is focusing on
mastering skills like balance
and patience in order to further
develop each player’s game. Last
year, the team tied for third place
in the Peninsula Athletic League
and is now looking forward
to what everyone hopes will
be another rewarding season.
However, losing key players, such
as former captain and Central
Coast Section individual qualifier
Allison Economou, could prove
to be difficult to replace.
Still, “Clare Colson, Christina Monisteri, and Meagan McEnery are all dedicated
to the game and great assets to the team,” sophomore Anna Montalvo said.
Head coach Jeff Dowd said that this year, he wants the team to “compete, come
to practice, and improve,” and hopes that the 26 athletes are “having fun” this fall.
PHOTO COURTESY OF: JEFF DOWD
Girls’ golf aims to master
key skills
By: Kaili Shan
STAFF REPORTER
This summer, the
BHS cheerleading
team attended a cheer
camp at UC Santa
Cruz, where they won
the honorary Spirit
Award, and they are
now bringing that spirit
back to Burlingame.
You can see them at rallies or cheering on our
football and basketball
teams. They also plan
the annual Homecoming Dance the evening
of the Little Big Game. Be sure to purchase tickets to games and the dance to support the
cheer team’s efforts on and off the field.
PHOTO BY: ISABELLA KO
PHOTO BY: CAMERON KELAITA
Once again the
varsity boys’ water polo
team will seek to prove
it is worthy of a medal
in the Peninsuala Athletic League standings
this season. Despite adjusting to a new coach
and losing several of
last season’s key seniors,
the team still plans to
have a run at the league
championship.
Senior co-captains
Will Lowdon and
Michael del Pape are looking to add a bit more grit to the team’s playing style, and under
new Head Coach Steve Pratt, the team feels that it is in good hands.
“This season we’re just hoping for more consistency and for us to win the games that
we should win,” Lowdon said.
The Panthers’ next game is a matchup against rival Menlo Atherton, at MAHS,
Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 4:00 p.m.