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San Jose Youth Advisory Council of District 1 Newsletter
Winter 2012 Volume 4, Issue 2
1 Voice
Happy 2013! I hope that you all
had a relaxing holiday season, and
that you're now ready and re-
freshed to take the new year by
storm. For high school seniors, we
have finally made to the end of the
stretch and should remember to
thank everyone who helped us get
to where we are today.
For all other students, remem-
ber to keep working hard and to
live up to the lofty New Years Res-
olutions that you set for yourself.
When you find yourself with a little
bit of free time, be sure to partici-
pate in volunteer activities around
your community or take a moment
to enjoy the latest creative writing
from D1 youth
at www.overtureliterarymagazine.co
m. Below is the second issue of the
1Voice Newsletter Volume (insert
Vol. 4), which contains art, poetry,
and articles written by District 1
Youth. We hope you enjoy!
Sincerely,
Kimberly
Message from Youth Commissioner: Kimberly Tan
Opinion: Calabazas Library
The Calabazas Library has been
closed since August 2009 because of
extensive renovations. Despite its
projected opening in the summer of
2011, the library is still a good six to
seven months from opening due to
a lack of funding to support the
building costs and new staff. Alt-
hough the renovation attempts are
commendable, the planning and
execution of the project was poor.
The Calabazas Library was
often a go-to place for Lynbrook
students to work on projects and
do homework. “The Calabazas
Library pre-renovation served its
purpose well: small size, local library
and can be used as a convenient
alternative to the Santa Clara Li-
brary,” said junior Michael Sheng.
To enhance the experience of its
members, the City of San Jose de-
cided to renovate the library to
in the same location; renovations
were estimated to cost $7.4 million.
The operating costs of the library,
however, come out of the City’s
General Fund, which also funds for
most of the city’s services.
Over the past decade, the City of
San Jose has been forced to cut back
on costs as a result of constant budg-
et cuts. The budget cuts do not affect
the building
of the li-
brary, but
they greatly
impact the
operating
Inside this issue:
Message from the Youth
Commissioner 1
Opinion: Calabazas
Library 2
Opinion: More Money,
More Problems. True
Statement or False Claim?
3
Legislation: Proposed Gun
Laws 4
Legislation: Illegal Immi-
gration 5
Opinion: Learning Life’s
Hard Lessons 6
Legislation: Prop 30 7
Opinion: Standardize the
System 8
Legislation: Copyrights in
the Digital Age 9
Featured Youth 10
Art and Poetry 11
Past Events 12
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Kimberly Tan
Clarence Tan
Sachin Peddada
MEMBERS
Aishwarya Nene
Aneesh Chona
Angela Kong
Chinmayi Manjunath
Claire Liang
Connie Li
Dana Lin
Hana Kim
Henry Shangguan
Hima Rajana
Jacob Antony
Katie Gu
Michelle Su
Nihar Wahal
Rishabh Jain
Scott Raine-King
Sonia Raghuram
Tara Pichumani
Tiffany Chao
Valerie Tan
Zareen Choudhury
include new technology and create a
modern feel for its members.
In November 2000, a $212
million library bond measure that
would reconstruct 14 library
branches and build six new branches
for under-served neighborhoods
was approved by voters. At a com-
munity meeting, members decided
to reconstruct the Calabazas library
Calabazas
Library during
renovations
Page 2 1 Voice
costs due to insufficient money in the city’s
General Fund.
“That is why there has been a reduction
in library hours, although some have been
restored. Besides reducing hours, one strate-
gy to save money was to delay the opening of
certain newly completed branches—
Calabazas being one of them,” said aide to San
Jose City Councilmember Pete Constant,
Jerad Ferguson. When budget cuts on the
General Fund were imposed, construction
had already begun; the city could not stop the
remodeling when the budget cuts hit because
of voter approval from a decade earlier.
“The bond measure was passed ahead of
the budget deficits and at a time where the
outlook for the city was good,” said Ferguson.
But this is not an excuse for the fact that the
city should have conducted extensive re-
search to determine whether there would be
budget cuts later on down the line. The vot-
ers who approved the renovation may not
have voted the same way had they known of
the likelihood of insufficient funds prior to
their decision. Even though the budget cuts
happened after the passage of the renovation,
the city still should have planned for a alterna-
tive back up in case of such cuts. Such a plan
could have included temporarily shutting
down construction and restarting once funds
were secured.
Had the general public known about the
insufficient funds earlier, some members of
the community could have donated money to
support the renovation of the library. The
library could also implement a small library
card fee to cover the costs of staffing and
operating hours; this money could have facili-
tated an earlier grand opening of the library.
As the reconstruction continued, the
budget deficits began to hurt the library. At
this point, the city should have gotten voter
approval to temporarily suspend the project
until the General Fund was stabilized. Since it
had become apparent that the General Fund
was not likely to be stabilized, the city should
have called on residents to vote on an addi-
tional fund, in the form of a parcel tax. This
would cover the operating costs of the library
and would also provide a safety net if some
part of the reconstruction went wrong. The
immense benefits provided by the library to
the local community should have dictated the
city to ensure the security of funds for the
reconstruction.
Throughout the Lynbrook community,
frustrations arose from the lack of updates on
the status of the library. Junior James Ma said,
“[The Calabazas Library] was so convenient
before it closed down, but now I have to go
all the way to Cupertino or Saratoga to find
reading material.” Without the Calabazas
Library around, Lynbrook students will con-
tinue to pay quite a bit of money to check out
necessary books.
As the library continues to remain closed
due to lack of funding and poor execution of
remodeling plans of the Calabazas Library,
many students who have relied on resources
provided by the library for years will be detri-
mentally affected.
Opinion: Calabazas Library (cont.)
Recap: Designing the 21st Century School Education Forum
By: Hana Kim
On November 15, 2012, a long line
formed in front of the Mexican Heritage Plaza
in San Jose. Students from all over the city
came to the education forum, to discuss
educational barriers they faced in school.
These students offered their school experi-
ences to help shape the ideal “21st century
school:” safe, motivational, and productive.
We started off with a very warm wel-
come from Dr. Xavier De La Torre, the
County Superintendent of Schools, and Chris-
tian Sanchez, City District 3 Youth Commis-
sioner. They explained that 67-78% of Latino
students drop out and that there were 4,347
suspensions in the East Side Union High
School District. Afterward, we broke up into
groups of about 10 students and 2 facilitators
who asked questions and guided the discus-
sion. The facilitators asked questions includ-
ing:
1.In what situation do you feel you learn best?
2.Do you feel safe in your school’s environ-
ment?
3.Do you see a problem with gang violence at
your school?
Our group concluded that lack of sup-
port from family and role models is a major
cause of dropouts because students don’t
have enough motivation to learn. Conversely,
teachers are a crucial element in a student’s
school performance because their help allows
students to keep pace with other students,
instead of slowing the whole class. Further-
more, we found that a student’s ability to
learn is greatly influenced by his or her peers.
If a student is surrounded by others who
are hardworking, they are more driven to
work hard in school. The main goal of the
students in our group was to graduate high
school and be accepted into college. In our
group, 8/10 students would be the first gener-
ation in their families to go to college.
Near the end of the forum, we began to
envision the improved 21st century school.
We, the students, want a school where eve-
ryone is safe, staff and family make sure we
don’t fall behind, and interactive technology
keeps students connected with their teachers.
At the end of the forum, we all understood
the importance of education and the possible
ways to could improve schools in the future.
Page 3 Volume 4, Issue 2
seasons of spinoffs and knockoffs alike. There
are more sobbing talents, more scripted
catfights, and many more idiots on television
than anyone would care or
like to see. But reality televi-
sion continues to be one of
the most profitable indus-
tries that network television
has ever seen.
And so we come to
Honey Boo Boo. Do people enjoy watching
it? I don’t think so. There’s a certain element
of spectacle that keeps audiences tuning in
week after week to watch the antics of a pre-
diabetic six year old. The outrageous hilarity
By: Jacob Antony
I was too young to notice the reality TV
explosion that took place
thirteen years ago. When
American Idol and Survivor
hit America was taken by
storm, a storm that has
raged for thirteen years
since. We loved the come
up stories of Idol, the
voyeuristic nature of shows like Big Brother,
even the sometimes harrowing survival tales
in Survivor. They were all relatively original
shows, but, like all good American money-
making machines, they spawned seasons and
of that family isn’t something audiences revel
in, but we don’t exactly condemn it either.
Why?
The exploitation of the poor for the
entertainment of the masses isn’t anything
new for human civilization. Gladiator fights in
Rome, human sacrifices in Tenochtitlan, and
more recently, the drastic “classy” makeovers
of MTV’s Trailer Fabulous-a show giving low
income households a chance to look like
upper class ones (every other problem the
family had would then magically solve itself).
But there’s something much different
about Honey, real name Alana, and the rest
By: Aneesh Chona
Teenagers may assume that the political
process is only relevant to adults, but this is
simply not true. The political process deter-
mines the representatives of the general
public, public policy, and even shapes the
views of teenagers. Therefore it affects
everybody. With the passage of the Su-
preme Court’s Citizens United decision
in 2010, unlimited spending from corpo-
rations on independent expenditures is
now allowed in our election process.
Aside from the influx of corporate mon-
ey in the election process, one conse-
quence of the decision is that it was used
as a legal precedent for other decisions
like the SpeechNow case, which created
super PACs that wealthy organizations
and individuals now use as vehicles for
spending.
One avenue super PACs have used
their funds on is advertisements. Unfor-
tunately, one study has found that
“misleading claims [are] in 85 percent of ads
produced by super PACs.” There can be
several unintended harms from this recent
phenomenon. A study by Columbia Universi-
ty found that without advertising in the 2000
election, a specific subset of voters wouldn’t
have voted and consequently Gore would
have won the presidency instead of Bush.
Thus, with deceptive advertisements now
plaguing our election process, there is a po-
tential for individuals to vote based on false
information and inadvertently elect the wrong
president. This fear is empirical proven as an
analysis by George Mason University simulat-
ed truthful and deceptive campaigns and
found that “in the deception treatment, when
information is received, there is a four-fold
increase in the likelihood of an informed
voter casting a ballot for a low-quality candi-
date.”
The study also found that informed vot-
ers abstain from voting due to not fully trust-
ing the information in a deceptive campaign
while uniformed voters begin voting off the
deceptive information. Thus, in a world
where super PACs are displaying misleading
advertisements that cause the public to vote
off false information and potentially elect the
wrong candidate, it seems that democracy
ceases to exist. However, there can surpris-
ingly be some benefits to this kind of advertis-
ing. For example, Newsweek Magazine ana-
lyzed negative campaigning and found
several benefits.
First, the press goes “into fact-
checking mode, which injects even more
information in the campaign.” Second,
they force the opposing candidate to
clarify their true position on the issue, as
candidates must respond to the false
advertisement, which creates more ac-
countability to the public. In fact, from this
inflow of information, elections become
more competitive and informative, as the
USF Law Review found that “thanks in
significant part to the [Citizens United]
decision, the 2010 elections were the
most competitive and issue-oriented in a
generation” and the Political Research
Quarterly found these advertisement
viewers are “14% more likely to know about
the election and the candidates.”
So next time you see a political adver-
tisement, be cautious that it may contain
misleading information because of Citizens
United, but the content that is now called the
“worst decision ever” may ironically be the
one thing democracy needs most.
Opinion: More Money, More Problems. True Statement or False Claim?
Opinion: Why we’ll never get over Honey Boo Boo
Page 4 1 Voice
They keep us entangled in their
spectacle and utter ridiculousness-like
the funny looking animals at the zoo.
They are the peak of the parade of the
weird. We’ve been treated to the sex
tape of Kim Kardashian and the sur-
prising boring life of Sarah Palin.
America decided that it was time to
take on something significantly weird-
er and outrageous.
And that’s why we’ll never let go
of Honey Boo Boo. Reality TV has fed us so
much over such a wide range of settings and
situations that we need to turn to the in-
creasingly absurd. Reality TV isn’t a spectacle
anymore. It isn’t voyeurism. It’s an obsession.
of her family. People like them are the butt of
jokes about the dredges of middle America,
memes about hillbillies and trailer park white
trash that the educated of the coasts can
laugh about. But Honey is a child. Are Ameri-
cans just trashy enough to be able to laugh at
someone who does and says the things she
does because she doesn’t know any better. If
Honey had Down’s or Asperger’s would we
still laugh at her the way we do?
The problem is, Honey is normal. Nor-
mal in a six-year-old sense. It’s her parents
that are the problem. Honey Boo Boo likes
junk food and soda just as much as anyone
else her age does. But the antics of her par-
ents are what keep us coming back for more.
And like a desperate crack addict, we just
keep on wanting more.
Opinion: Why we’ll never get over Honey Boo Boo (cont.)
although mentally ill people cannot obtain
firearms, they are eligible to purchase guns
once they complete treatment.
To address these concerns, state legisla-
tors have proposed an array of new laws.
Kevin De Leon (D) has led anti-gun propo-
nents by supporting stricter regulations.
Under his proposal, gun owners would have
to renew their gun permits every year from
the Department of Justice and pay an annual
fee. De Leon also proposes tougher safety
measures and background checks for the
mentally ill, as well as a clearer definition of
“handgun ammunition,” which he says is
currently ambiguous. The Gun Owners of
California has lashed out at this proposal;
they claim that taxing the right to bear arms
would be unconstitutional.
Leland Yee (D) has proposed bills
similar to De Leon’s, advocating annu-
al background checks and fingerprint-
ing before purchasing firearms. In
addition, his bill would ban all semiau-
tomatic weapons that can be easily
reloaded, in order to close the loop-
hole created by “bullet buttons.” To
ensure secure storage of firearms,
Yee would mandate all guns to have
lock triggers, as well. Meanwhile,
Senator Ted Gaines (R), would like to perma-
nently ban guns from mentally ill people and
prevent them from obtaining arms even if
they complete treatment. These proposals
and more will surface for debate in the state
legislature in the upcoming year and will
undoubtedly face fierce opposition from gun
rights advocates.
The National Rifle Association, Gun
Owners of California, and some Republicans
are concerned that further restrictions will
only limit the people’s rights and “empower
those who choose to break the law.” We are
yet to see how the proposals will play out in
the upcoming year.
By: Zareen Choudhury
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook
massacre, a devastating tragedy that sent
shock waves throughout the nation, the de-
bate over gun laws was reinvigorated. As
President Obama called for immediate action
following the event, legislators in California
likewise began to square off with various
proposals.
California already boasts some of the
most stringent gun laws in the nation. Gun
purchasers must first pass strict background
checks and subsequently wait ten days before
buying a firearm. Furthermore, gun sellers
keep records of customers, and some cities
such as Los Angeles and Sacramento also
maintain fingerprinting archives. Most im-
portantly, California has banned assault weap-
ons, or semi-automatic firearms that have
more than ten rounds of ammunition. De-
spite these regulations, though, loopholes
exist and are the source of concern for many.
While guns with detachable magazines
are illegal, the advent of “bullet buttons” has
allowed semi-automatic rifles to be used
legally. “Bullet buttons” allow new rounds of
ammunition to be inserted with the use of a
bullet, rather than one’s hand, which would
normally be considered illegal. Additionally,
Legislation: Proposed Gun Laws
Page 5 Volume 4, Issue 2
By: Jacob Antony
Undocumented immigrants who were
brought into the country before they turned
16 can now breathe a sigh of relief as Califor-
nia recognizes their right to have a driver’s
license. Previously children brought illegally
into the U.S. would be deferred by California
if they attempted to apply for a driver’s li-
cense. The only caveat to the measure is that
applicants must be eligible for a federal work
permit, an Obama administration protocol
that allows the undocumented who were
brought into the U.S. as children and are
presently under 30 to earn a living without
the threat of deportation.
The measure is part of a larger push by
Gov. Jerry Brown to push for extensive immi-
gration reform at the state and national lev-
els. "Gov. Brown believes the federal govern-
ment should pursue comprehensive immigra-
tion reform with a pathway to citizenship,"
said Brown spokesman Gil Duran to the Los
Angeles Times. Giving workers a chance at a
driver’s license is “the most obvious step.”
“For me it just feels really liberating,” says 28-
year-old Ismael Soto, speaking to KQED,
“...the amount of pressure I had every day –
like I’m gonna be picked up off the street and
sent to Mexico.”
Brown also vetoed another measure, the
Trust Act, which would have kept local law
enforcement officials from collaborating with
federal immigration officers to detain illegal
immigrants, except in cases of certain felony
charges. The measure was vigorously cam-
paigned against by law enforcement such as
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who
stated that he would defy a measure that, in
his eyes, conflicted with federal law.
The act was intended to hinder the Se-
cure Communities program, which would
have created a database between local jails
and federal offices to find illegal immigrants.
Critics of this program state that it has a
negative impact on local communities, with
immigrants having an unnatural fear of the
police and packing jails at high economic cost
with those who otherwise would not be
detained. Legally speaking, all states are a part
of this program, but they are also legally
allowed to ignore requests from ICE to de-
tain immigrants.
The Trust Act, if passed, would release
undocumented immigrants from custody if
they didn’t meet criteria or based on the
seriousness of the crime committed. Gov.
Brown wrote in a statement explaining that
although "federal agents shouldn't try to
coerce local law enforcement officers into
detaining people who've been picked up for
minor offenses and pose no reasonable threat
to their community.” it was a flawed plan.
It created a protective umbrella for all
illegal immigrants, including those involved in
criminal activities like child abuse and drugs
and weapon trafficking. "I believe it's unwise
to interfere with a sheriff's discretion to
comply with a detainer issued for people with
these kinds of troubling criminal records,"
Brown stated.
Legislation: Illegal Immigration
By: Nihar Wahal
The San Jose Police Department has
recently decided to stop responding to bur-
glar alarms. According to Jose Garcia, a
spokesman for the San Jose police, only one
percent of all alarms sounded in 2010 were
legitimate. The rest of the alarms were false
alarms.
To save money and time, the police
department has decided to not respond to a
burglar alarm unless it has some form of
confirmation that the alarm is real, such as a
call from a neighbor. Of course, there are
some exceptions to this rule. Police will
automatically respond to alarms sounded at
airports, banks, and businesses involved with
the sale or distribution of firearms or other
weapons.
Understandably, residents of San Jose
had mixed feelings about this change. Propo-
nents of the decision say that it is a good way
to save money; they argue that if a majority
of the calls are false alarms, there is no point
in responding unless police have confirmation
that the alarm is real. Additionally, they
believe officers can spend more time focusing
on more important matters.
On the other
hand, protesters
argue that protect-
ing personal safety
is not something
the police depart-
ment should be
cutting back on,
and that officers
should respond to
all alarms to en-
sure the safety of
the public. If a
family leaves home
and happens to
return during a
burglary, the robber could feel threatened
and would be more likely to attack the family.
However, if police had responded the
moment the alarm sounded, there would be
no risk of harm towards that family, as the
criminal would be safely apprehended by
officers.
Legislation: Burglar Alarm Responses
Lack of response
from burglary
alarms is causing
concerns.
Page 6 1 Voice
off and work during the weekends to earn
their pay.
There were many nights when we just
couldn’t go to bed because it was incredibly
hot and humid, and there was no electricity
to run the fans and air conditioners. The lack
of electricity didn’t seem to faze any of my
extended family members who slept through
the heat and still went about their work
cheerfully. The last time
we had a minor blackout
in the Bay Area in March
2011, traffic was a chaos,
elevators and garages
wouldn’t function, and life
became quite miserable.
Another observation,
which reinforced my
beliefs about the toughness of my relatives
living in India, was how they dealt with the
lack of adequate drinking water supply. The
reservoirs dry up during the summers, and
the groundwater in the bore wells continues
to be depleted, causing a further drain on the
By: Vineet Kosaraju
Life is not easy when you don’t have the
basic comforts. The three weeks I spent in
India observing my extended family showed
me how hardships brought out the best in
them and taught me an important life lesson:
how all of us need to adapt in the face of
adversity and take joy in whatever life has in
store for us.
It is extremely unusual
to see a blackout in the US
and to imagine that there
would be eight-hour black-
outs every day is beyond
comprehension. However,
while I was in India, that
turned out to be the situa-
tion because of the power
crisis. No new power plants are being built,
and because of the rapid industrialization and
urbanization, the demand continues to out-
race supply. Small-scale industries are forced
to shut down for two days during the middle
of the week, so the workers take those days
existing water supply. In some parts of the
country, drinking water is supplied only twice
a week for a few hours because of the scarci-
ty of rain. Water is stored in huge containers
for usage later in the week as it is quite ex-
pensive to buy bottled water.
It is amazing how my relatives did not
seem to mind at all and had figured out a way
of making the best of the situation. These
experiences made me pause and reflect on
my life in the Bay Area. To say that we live a
privileged life is an understatement. Basic
necessities such as drinking water and elec-
tricity are taken for granted. We do not have
to struggle one little bit to have these essen-
tials delivered to our houses, and yet there
are parts of the world out there which have
to struggle to get these every day.
The few weeks that I spent in India
showed me how resilient the people are
despite the adversities they face and how we
could learn from them to tackle difficulties in
life with a positive attitude.
Opinion: Learning Life’s Hard Lessons
implement an auditing program to ensure the
law was being followed.
The opponents of Measure D countered
support by using radio and TV ads to explain
their side of the story. Most voters, however,
agreed that a higher minimum wage was
needed in an area with a high cost of living.
The wage hike, which will take place in March
2013, will affect about forty thousand work-
ers in San Jose. A statement from raisethew-
agesj.com explained that “California requires
most employers to pay a minimum wage of
$8.00 per hour. It’s been that way since 2008,
while cost of living has increased 5.76%. As a
result of state and federal inaction, cities have
taken the lead to raise wages on their lowest
paid workers. San Francisco passed a city-
wide minimum wage in 2003 with an annual
cost of living adjustment, and the workers in
that city now make $10.24 an hour.”
Professor Myers-Lipton, whose class-
room was ground zero for the wage hike
movement, added to the support for Measure
D in a written statement. “It is our belief that
people who work hard and play by the rules
deserve to make a fair wage. Unfortunately,
$8 an hour is not a fair wage due to the high
cost of living in San Jose, where a minimum
wage worker’s salary of $1,280 per month
doesn’t even cover the cost of the average SJ
rent of $1,800, let alone provide for food and
other necessities.”
By Jacob Antony
Thousands of workers across San Jose
can rejoice after the passing of a minimum
wage hike in November. Fifty-nine percent of
voters approved Measure D, increasing the
minimum wage from eight dollars an hour to
ten. The idea was first propagated by San Jose
State sociology students in January, a move-
ment that eventually snowballed into a ballot
measure. The students themselves drafted the
measure and then collected signatures so it
could be placed on the ballot.
The Silicon Valley Chamber of Com-
merce and various small business leaders led
the charge to oppose the measure, stating
that if passed, the wage hike would force
businesses to layoff thousands. Mayor Chuck
Reed also opposed the measure, explaining
that the city would have to use $600,000 of
an already scant budget in order to form and
Legislation: Measure D
Page 7 Volume 4, Issue 2
By Nihar Wahal
Recently, there has been much talk about
gun control in the wake of the Connecticut
shootings. What happened was a complete
tragedy, and I sincerely hope that it will never
happen again. However, the solution that
lawmakers have brought up is to have a com-
plete ban on the sale of guns. This ban will
not work at all in stopping tragedies like the
massacre from occurring again.
Prohibiting the sale of goods has never
worked out in history. If one looks at the
Prohibition Era, when the sale of alcohol was
made illegal, one will find that much alcohol
was still being sold in speakeasies and moon-
shiners were making their own alcohol for
sale on the black market. Today, certain
drugs are illegal, such as heroin and co-
caine. Does this stop the sale of these sub-
stances?
Millions of dollars are made every year
through the sale of illegal drugs. Anyone can
buy illegal drugs. If the sale of guns was made
illegal, nothing would be changed. A black
market for guns would rise, the same way
one for alcohol did and one for illegal drugs
has done. Anyone who wanted to buy a gun
still could buy a gun. Additionally, the gov-
ernment would have less control over who
can have a gun. Currently, the government
has regulations regarding who can own a
gun. If the sale of guns were made illegal, the
government would not be able to impose
regulations on these black market sales.
Anyone whom the government deemed
unfit to own a gun would be able to buy a gun
on the black market, and this black market
only exists if there is no legal way to buy
guns. The end result of prohibiting the sale
of guns would be an increase in the number
of people whom guns will be available
to. Additionally, gun production can current-
ly be monitored by the government.
The government can make laws regarding
the specifications of weapons available to the
public to ensure maximum safety. If the
government makes gun sales illegal, they lose
control over this, and anyone can buy any
weapon, no matter how dangerous, on a
black market that will be created from this
prohibition.
One needs to see the consequences of
both sides of the gun control debate to make
an educated decision. If guns were made
illegal, the government would have less con-
trol over their sale, and the common people
would have a false sense of security that
there are no guns in the world. If nothing
was changed, the government would keep
some control over who can buy guns and
what type of guns can be bought.
I believe that if a different course of
action must be taken, the restrictions over
the sale of guns should be slightly increased
but not made outright illegal, to gain more
control without creating a black market and
losing all control.
Opinion: Should Gun Sales be Legal?
By: Hima Rajana
On November 6th, 2012, California
voters voted to pass Proposition 30, or the
Schools and Local Public Safety Act, by a
53.9% majority vote. Proposition 30 will
impress a temporary tax hike on high-income
citizens and increase California sales tax by
1% over four years in order to increase tax
revenue to the state. 89% of the tax money
generated by Proposition 30 will go toward K
-12 schools, and the other 11% will be given
to community colleges.
Only Individuals who earn $250,000 or
more per annum will be affected by the in-
come tax increase, as they will face slightly
increased taxes. The exact percentage that
tax rates increase depends on personal in-
come. For example, those individuals earning
between $250,000 and $300,000 per year will
only see a 1% tax rate increase, while those
who earn $500,000 and up will see a 3%
increase from the 9.3% that applies to every-
one earning above $48,029. For couples who
choose to file their taxes together, the same
increases apply, except that the base about is
doubled. The 1% tax increase that affects
people who earn over $250,00 applies to
couples who earn over $500,000. The in-
creased tax rate does not change the extra
1% that applies to personal income over $1
million that goes toward mental health ser-
vices in the state of California. This change
will go into effect for the 2012-2013 fiscal
year, so it applies to all taxes filed after July
1st, 2012. It will continue for seven years,
through the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
California has the second highest sales
tax rate in the United States with a statewide
average of 9.04%, coming in second only to
Tennessee, where the average is 9.44%. Sales
tax varies by county throughout the state,
ranging from 7.25% in Ventura County to a
whopping 9.75% in Fremont and in Los Ange-
les County. Over the next four years, it will
increase by 1% all over the state, going up in
increments of 0.25% each year. The new sales
tax will go into effect on January 1st, 2013.
All online stores that serve California, even if
they cater to the entire world, such as Ama-
zon.com, will also have the increased sales
tax.
Both tax hikes combined are projected
to lead to an estimated $6 billion dollars
annually in state tax revenue, which will go
toward K-12 public schools and community
colleges (together referred to as K-14 educa-
tion). The money will allow schools all over
California to have full 180 day school years,
keep art and physical education programs,
and prevent multimillion dollar budget cuts in
the near future. While it is up to each district
how the money will be used, every school
district is subject to an annual public audit to
ensure that the money is used for educational
purposes.
Legislation: Prop 30
Page 8 1 Voice
By James Wilhelmi, modified by Sonia
Raghuram
Grades exist to assess a student's under-
standing of an academic subject. Ideally, a
report card would reflect only a student's
aptitude and not be influenced by other fac-
tors. But this is not true at Lynbrook High
School. Schedule distribution on Viking Days
elicits a wide range of emotions. Students
smile if they receive an "easy" teacher, and
groan if they end up with a "hard" one.
This phenomenon exists because of a lack
of uniformity among teachers that teach the
same subject. A standard grading system tai-
lored specifically to each subject would pro-
mote fairness and allow students to obtain the
same grades regardless of who they are taught
by.
In order to achieve uniformity, a key area
to standardize is assignment grading. Essays
play an integral part in a literature class, and
each English teacher has a different rubric for
grading essays. For example, some teachers
choose to use eight-point grading scales on
essays. In this scale, a one is an F, a two is a D,
a three is a C, four to six earn a B and a score
of seven or eight results in an A.
Grading systems like these can be very
frustrating for students because the difference
in quality between two essays that receive an
identical score can vary greatly. Also, students
are left in the dark as to how much they need
to improve to get a high score. "The problem
with this system is that if you got a six, which
is considered high, you still have no idea exact-
ly how close you were to an A," said Lynbrook
sophomore Rahul Iyer. Additionally, there are
no definite guidelines as to how much weight
should be placed upon each aspect of an essay.
"I think that teachers should focus more
on the ideas presented in the essay instead of
the technical aspects of writing. They spend
too much time grading the smaller problems,"
said Lynbrook sophomore Dhruv Walia.
Both of these conundrums could be
solved by a 100-point rubric designed in col-
laboration by all literature teachers at Lyn-
brook. The rubric would allow each writer to
see how close they were to an A right down
to the percentage.
Furthermore, the allocation of points to-
ward mechanical errors would be restricted to
what it was assigned to in the rubric, allowing the
assessment of a student's abilities to develop
ideas in an organized manner to shine through in
their grade, rather than their knowledge of Mer-
riam-Webster's Dictionary.
Another realm that needs to be standard-
ized is the weighting system. In math teacher
Stephanie Wu's Pre-Calculus class, tests make up
60 percent of the grade, the final exam is 20
percent, homework is 15 percent and participa-
tion is five percent. For students in Rita Korsun-
sky's Pre-Calculus courses, tests are 50 percent,
the final is 25 percent, homework is 20 percent
and participation is also five percent. While these
differences do not seem like much at first glance,
an A in one class can be a B in the other, despite
keeping the same percentages in each category.
A possibility such as this is a reason why
teachers of each class, whether it is Algebra II/
Trigonometry or American Literature, should
collaborate and create a standard system of
weighting for their subject. It would create com-
plete equality and each student would receive
the grade that reflects their aptitude, rather than
be at the mercy of a teacher's judgment on what
types of assignments are important.
Opponents of greater standardization
argue that it is important for teachers to have
autonomy in their classroom. If they were to
be subjected to a uniform system, the belief is
that the traits that make each teacher unique
and entertaining would dissipate. These claims
are totally unfounded. Creating a school-wide
grading system would not restrain the teach-
ing itself; it would just change the grading.
Furthermore, the power of teachers in the
classroom should have limits. Teachers are
public employees of California and as such,
their salary is paid for by the taxpayers.
Therefore their teaching and grading methods
should be determined by the public's wants
and needs, rather than their personal whims.
As a public school, Lynbrook gives those
that live within its boundaries a chance to
receive an education. If this ideal of equal
opportunity is truly to be believed in, a stand-
ardized grading system should be implemented
to ensure that all students get a fair shot at
the grades they deserve.
Opinion: Standardize the System
Page 9 Volume 4, Issue 2
Other problems include: Duplication
preventing digital media is also a worrying
development. These discs can be restricted to
be playable only by official media players, not
by computers. This would stop the re-
ordering of songs that has always been consid-
ered a legal use.
This is the act of changing the way songs
play, allowing you to play more desirable
songs first, etc. “Public interest advocates also
argued that Congress had left the definition of
a protective "device" up to the copyright
holder. The DMCA lets companies "write" the
law, and then puts the power of the state
behind them.” The actions following, such as
the DMCA, nearly ended careful thought and
lawmaking in intellectual property protection
rules.
The creators were given to power to
police their works. In the future, there may be
a period where the creator of intellectual
By: Kevin Zhang
Copyright laws such as the DMCA pro-
vide artists with the tools to make a living off
their artwork but these laws are not yet
prepared for the digital age. Copyright in the
US has been argued over from the founding
of the US to now. At America's
birth, they first decided on a bill which
would encourage creation of content by
giving creators the ability to act as the sole
users of their property, allowing Congress
enforce and provide rights to the creators of
content.
The reason we need to modify IP laws is
to prevent unauthorized distribution of intel-
lectual property. In the online age, media can
be sent between people rapidly without any
licensing fees or restrictions. This is the main
problem that these laws aim to solve. Users
in the online world agree that the ability to
find and use content for free should be easy
for everyone. However, this contradicts the
opinions of the intellectual property owning
people, who demand that content should be
charged for.
Despite the fact that many owners wish
to charge for their work, some differ. These
feel that being able to show people their
creations and allow these works to be shared
takes priority over immediate profits. “They
also claimed that, in the networked world,
with expanded use of the Internet and the
broad availability of Internet access, thou-
sands of copies could be distributed around
the world with the single click of a mouse.
The creators of intellectual property com-
plained that, with the arrival of digital technol-
ogy and the Internet, their works were under
greater threat of piracy than they had ever
been before.” (Thieler 97)
Representatives of creators of intellectual
property suggested the DMCA to the US
Congress as a solution to the newest threats:
"digital technology and the Internet", which
have the potential to promote stolen works.
According to them, these would allow dupli-
cates to be completely accurate with no
reduction in quality, unlike older technology
which made inaccurate duplications.
property would be able to be the sole decision
maker in regards to the property, therefore,
blocking public storehouses of media from
lending books through justifiable usage. In-
stead, these works would only be available
through systems where you must spend mon-
ey to acquire the media, even temporarily.
The 1201(a) (1) clause, of the DMCA is
extremely worrying. It makes the bypassing of
digital locks illegal, even for non-piracy related
instances. The content creators accusations
scared Congress into accepting the DMCA
with no alterations, giving the creator com-
plete command in regard to his/her creations.
Because of these examples, The DMCA is
one of our first attempts at regulating intellec-
tual property online. However, the vague
language and unconstitutional rules make this
law unprepared for the real world.
Legislation: Copyrights in the Digital Age
Page 10 1 Voice
Featured Youth: Cecilia Lang-Ree
By: Kaitlyn Gee
During long lunch at Harker, senior Cecilia
Lang-Ree spoke to the Medical Club and other
attending students about her battle with cancer
and her experience overcoming the challenges.
Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leuke-
mia, Cecilia was admitted into the Lucile Pack-
ard Children’s Hospital at the age of four.
Although her parents expressed doubt
about enrolling her into kindergarten, they
found a way to schedule the treatment around
school. By attending school every day, Cecilia
found a way to “feel normal” despite her thin-
ning hair and regular overnight hospital stays.
Within the hospital, Cecilia found friend-
ship in her support group members, many of
whom were her roommates. “We had the
same cocktail, basically, the same doctors,
nurses, and treatment,” she said.
When looking back upon her experience,
Cecilia remembers skateboarding on IV carts
and spending time with the compassionate,
caring staff. Cecilia went into remission at age
six, and many of the side effects of her chemo-
therapy began to become more apparent.
Yet Cecilia describes herself as rather
“vindictive” after coming out of remission at
age ten.
“I wanted to make full use of what I’ve
been given. It’s a challenge to prove myself
wrong […] I want to find joy in what I’ve been
given,” she said.
Now, she reflects on her past and is star-
tled between her memory and the reality. As a
child, she found the situation “rather ordinary:”
overnight trips to the hospital were a vacation
from school; her parents called them “hospital
parties.” Distracted by new toys and paint to
decorate her windows, Cecilia forgot about the
never-ending flow of hazardous chemicals, the
constant battle with her body, and even the
chance that she might have died.
Nevertheless, Cecilia considers herself very
lucky. Of all the children in her ward support
group, only she was able to go into remission
and survive with no relapses. Moreover, she is
grateful to have been surrounded by attentive
doctors, nurses, and parents and even just to
be literate.
“They saw me as a little kid, not [just] a
case file,” she said. Each year, Upper School
vocal group Downbeat goes to Lucile Packard
Hospital to distribute toys and perform; many
of Cecilia’s past doctors are still there and see
her every year as she hugs the children, poses
for pictures, and sings.
“My mom calls it ‘being the hope’ […]
That’s something I’ve really dedicated my life
to,” she said. In the future, Cecilia aspires to
become a children’s psychologist, although not
necessarily a medical psychiatrist. While she
may not become a pediatrician, she expressed
her wish to always attend charity fairs. “[I will]
always be volunteering for cancer kids. It’s a
connection I’ll not let die,” she said.
After Cecilia’s speech, the club members
created paper cards to give to the children in
the Lucile Packard Hospital. Touched by Cecil-
ia’s speech, many of the
students created multiple
cards to send to the chil-
dren’s oncology ward.
“I was quite surprised
that there could be some-
one […] who had gone
through so much and still
have been able to go to a
school like Harker,” Samali
Sahoo (9) said. “I would
have never thought some-
one who had gone
through so much would be
able to achieve so much. It
was really inspiring.”
Many of the students
expressed similar opinions.
“I really appreciated that
she came. It’s very person-
al, and I know it’s hard to
talk about such personal
topics. I thought it was
very touching,” Medical
Club president Zina Jawadi
(11) said. “When you hear
‘cancer’ on the news,
there’s this perspective
that they put it in, but
when you hear it from
person who’s a survivor,
it’s this sad yet joyous
feeling.”
In addition, Shivani Gillon (11), a fellow
cancer survivor, found the speech incredibly
relatable. “All the experiences she had, I had
too, you know? Not going to school that
much […] It was almost the exact same
thing,” she said.
Cecilia’s speech inspired many of the
attendees, some of whom plan to become
doctors to help young patients like she was.
Throughout the week, the Medical Club is
holding a fundraiser for the Leukemia and
Lymphoma society, a nonprofit organization
built to help those with similar diseases to
Cecilia’s.
Page 11 Volume 4, Issue 2
Nothing Left to
Say by Valerie Tan
Forgotten laughter leaves still silence
only broken by darkness so bright
I know that the answer is not violence
but I cannot lose you without a fight
Broken promises and little white lies
our story is more like a tragedy
It's strange how fast seasons change
and time flies
I'm certain in our future lies jeopardy
But you will soon learn the loss you
thought was mine
is an illusion that you feed your mind
and when you realize I'm doing just
fine
you'd be but a memory left behind
Knowing that I gave 'us' my very best
try,
there's nothing left to say but good-
bye.
Featured Artist: Lydia Kassinos
The Lost Ones by
Michelle Su
Running, running, fast as they can
They hide from their problems,
Flee from crushed dreams
No one will help, no one to be seen
No more courage in this world of thieves
Stealing the lights and extinguishing flames
Of innocent fireflies who can no longer play.
Where is the love, where is the peace?
There is no more goodness left
In our world full of thieves
Bloodshed and violence prevail in the end,
The end of their journeys
Sound with a bang
Poetry by Angela Kong
How the clear lake reflects the sunrise
How the cattails sway— How the red weeds are masked in shadow By the moonlight’s fade—
How the new couple shares a blanket Till the fog is clear— Have I the blood of the Cardinal That I hold in fear?
Then, how the couple lies so still— Ensconced in the grass With intertwined fingers— crimson-- shapes—
As the sunrise passed— How the shrill cry echoes through the air
When the lake glistens
And the opaque night’s shade, fades away Runs until it opens— How it is chill—in cranny and crook—
And where was the swan Just a draft of currents was blowing into de-struction —
These are the moments flitted couple— No one—would ever—hear— The couple got to their feet and ran— Terrified with fear—
How the youthful woman cried in pain How the winter howls How the big tree is covered in snow
By the white snowflakes How her brave lover works on the tree Till his hands are numb—
Has she the courage of the eagle
That she would summon Then, how the dark descends like a cloak— Taking all her life
With a fleeting—gruesome— expression— As death took the wife
Winchester Mystery House Christmas
Tour
What? A tour showing exclusive designer
Christmas trees and decorations in the 160
room mansion. Every tree is designed to
complement the room’s character, while
reflecting its heritage.
When? Daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where? Winchester Mystery House
Downtown Ice
What? Downtown Ice has become a holiday
tradition and one of the top outdoor skating
experiences around. The opportunity to ice
skate under the stars and palm trees attracts
more than 40,000 skaters and thousands of
spectators.
When? Open from 9:00 a.m. to midnight
until Tuesday, January 1st.
Where ? Located at 120 S. Market Street
between the Fairmont Hotel and the San José
Museum of Art across from Christmas in the
Park.
2013 Bay Area Amazing Pet Expo
What? People can bring their pets or simply
go visit this expo. There are live demonstra-
tions, giveaways, low cost vaccinations, con-
tests, and more. There are also more than
200 pets available for adoption.
When? Saturday, January 12th, 2013 at 10:00
am to 6:00 pm
Where? Santa Clara Fairgrounds Expo Hall
Past Events
Recap: Family Giving Tree
By: Scott Raine-King
With the last days of summer slipping
away and the cold weather seeping in, the
wintry winds herald the arrival of every
privileged child's favorite holiday — Christ-
mas. This festival evokes many warm imag-
es, most commonly of hot chocolate, a
hefty pile of presents beneath a large
Douglass Fir lavished with colorful baubles,
and a stout but smiling Santa Claus, imagi-
nary or not.
Although, not
every child is able to
grow up with such
privileges — for
many, presents have
been nonexistent as
their family's income
is hardly able to
keep up with day to
day living, let alone
often expensive
gifts. Thankfully, the
community is step-
ping in to help bring
a bit more cheer
into the holiday
season for these
less affluent families. This December, the
District 1 Youth Advisory Council (D1
YAC) is once again partnering
with Community United to host
the Starbird Family Giving Tree
on Wednesday, December 21st
from 4:00pm - 6:00pm at Starbird
Teen Center on 1050 Boynton
Avenue.
At the event, members of the
Youth Advisory Council and
volunteers will help wrap pre-
sents to give to
under privileged
children. Games, food,
arts and crafts will also be
provided at the event for
children to enjoy, as well
as a costumed Santa
Claus granting wishes,
handing out candy canes,
and posing for pictures.
In the past, YAC
District One has donated
gifts to over 100 youth
and made personalized
holiday greeting cards for
every teen attending the
Starbird Teen Center.
Not only does this event bring out the
brightest smiles from these less privileged
children, but many YAC members have
claimed that helping out other children has
been one of the best annual community
service events they have volunteered at.
This event will help to continue
strengthening the bond between YAC
members and the San Jose youth as they
congregate together for an evening filled
with casual dining, craft-making, and gift
exchange.
Pictures of members at
the Family Giving Tree
events at Starbird
Youth Center
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