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The Urban School of San Francisco: What is it? Who are we? What is our reputation? What makes Urban different? Like it or not, our reputation is that we are environmentally friendly. We have laptops. We are known for our discussion-based classes and for our em-phasis on art. And we don’t see our grades. Over the past year, the administration has taken time to review the school’s values. The administration generated new outlooks on environmental sustainability; groundwork for the service learning curriculum, diversity and inclusion; and new methods for global edu-cation. And now, according to the dean of faculty, Jonathan Howland, the administration finally has “the courage and the capacity to deal with the devil” —Urban’s grading policy.

Urban ponderschanges tograding policyby Jason Cinti

Staff Writer

Living History

Brenda Travis assembled the class in a circle and started to tell her story: In 1961, and she was 16 years old. She bought a ticket for a Greyhound bus, but instead of standing with other African-Americans, she stepped into the whites-only line. At that moment, Travis knew she would get arrested. What she didn’t know then was how her community would come to support her action after she was expelled from school. Travis finished her story, then stood up and asked Urban students to grasp each others’ hands. “This is what it feels like to be supported,” she said. “As if someone was hugging you.” It was just one of many stories Urban students learned

during the week of May 3, when four students from McComb High School in Mississippi visited Urban, along with Travis. The McComb students came to Urban in conjunction with the ‘Telling their Stories’ class to interview Travis about her experience in the civil rights movement. Living in segregated Mississippi, Travis saw the injustices that were taking place within the black community and wanted to take a stand. Travis’ attempt to purchase a “whites-only” ticket resulted in her arrest and imprisonment for 30 days. After her release, Travis found out that she had been expelled from her school because of her actions. However, Travis did not stop there. She organized a protest with 100 other students to show solidarity against the school’s decision.

McComb students visit Urban

Forward Looking Brenda travis, a civil rights activist from McComb, Miss. rides a tour bus near the golden gate Bridge on May 6 while visiting san Francisco for the telling their stories project at Urban

photo by Robyn Mandel

by Jenna waldmanStaff Writer

ask a PHiLosoPHera balanced look at the BP oil spillin light of environmental ethics

– page 3

rULes For BULLyingHow Urban deals with harassment in hallways and online can affect you

– page 5

yoUrs trULy Learn more about the captains of 2010 spring sports

– page 11

June 2010 volume 11, issue 5the Urban school of san Francisco

Traveling to Arizona this summer? Do not forget your birth certifi-cate. On April 23, the Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, signed the nation’s toughest immigration bill to date. While illegal immigration has already been banned at a federal level, the new law requires state and local law enforcement to prosecute and check for immigration status in Arizona. A McClatchy-Ipsos poll found 61 percent of Americans support the Arizona law, including nearly 50 percent of Democrats. San Francisco illustrates another viewpoint. Three days after the

New Arizona law prompts anger, worryby adrienne von schulthess

Staff Writer

Urban students look at future effects of new law

sHoUt oUt Protesters rally at san Francisco City Hall on May 1 against arizona’s new immigration law

Since the establishment of the school 44 years ago, the administration has had “an on-going series of questions about the grading policy, and (we’ve) really never done a good job of looking carefully at what we do and whether or not it’s best for students,” said Suzanne Forrest, assistant head of academics. In February, the Urban com-munity took part in a survey that questioned the grading policy. While the results are not yet public, Forrest said about 75 students wanted absolutely no change to the current grad-ing system, while “more than twice as many students wrote quite articulately about wanting change.” Among parents, she said, most want more concrete information. More precise data from the survey were not im-mediately available. For faculty, the “big concern is that adding grades to the system will leak into the rich conversations that go on (be-tween) teachers and students,” said Forrest. Rebecca Shapiro,

there are many students and families “who feel as if we are playing a big game of taboo.”

–Jonathan Howland, dean of faculty

Arizona bill became law, several thousand people protested with a march through the Mission district. The Board of Supervi-sors also approved 10-1 a non-binding resolution to boycott Arizona business. Mayor Gavin Newsom asked city employees not to visit to Arizona for reasons other than public health or law enforcement. While the law does not directly affect residents in San Francisco, it could create ripple effects. Jorge Bustamante, a parent at the Urban School, believes that the law “will affect California because (other) politicians are already talking of doing some-thing similar.”

photo from www.flickr.com/photos/filmfa-tale/4557470093/used with permission

see MCCoMB page 4

see grading page 12see ariZona page 2

Urban’s Track Team is breaking records. No Urban

track team member has ever qualified for the Meet of Champions, but that all

changed this year. The first member of the team to quali-fy for the Meet of Champions

was Lily Burns (’11), who had a shotput of 31 feet and 6 inches. Sean Judkins-Boeri

(’11), Alex Wu (’12), Cole Larsen (’12), and Cole Wil-

liams (’11) made a new BCL West record for the men’s

4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:33.66. Williams, Wu and

Judkins-Boeri all qualified for the Meet of Champions.

Hannah Sears (‘12)wrote a one-act play that was performed at San Francsco’s

Thick House Theater on May 20. Inspired by the theme of an origin story, Sears spent

two months writing her show, called “Eden.” She says that

she “did not expect at all (for her play) to be” performed. Watching the performance was “extremely surreal. It

didn’t register for a while that they were really my words that were being spoken on

stage … but when it sank in, it was amazing.” Sears hopes

to write a script for Urban’s One Act Festival

when she is a senior.

Erick Reyna (’10) agreed, stating that, “even though this law is not close to San Francisco, it made me think about if what is happening in (Arizona) is spreading out.” Blanca Gutierrez (’11) described hearing about the law and think-ing, “if it happens in Arizona it could happen to us.” The law will also affect San Francisco, which is a sanctuary city and could have that status taken away due to laws similar to the one passed in Arizona. In addition, the new law leads to the possibility of an influx of immigrants into cities such as San Francisco because residents no longer feel safe in Arizona. On April 30, a follow-on bill was signed by Gov. Brewer as a response to charges that the law would lead to racial profiling. As Sen. Russell Pearce, the au-thor of the law, commented, police “have to have a real legitimate reason based on some violation or some suspicious activity based on some legitimate reason (to arrest or investigate someone). It cannot be just on how you look.” Supporters argue the law is necessary because the federal authorities have not succeeded in securing the border. They say that the law helps police do their job. As Pearce said when interviewed on Fox News, we are “taking the handcuffs off law enforcement.” Pearce referenced the lack of safety

due to recent murder of officers in Arizona, kidnappings and identity theft. “When do we stand up for Americans and America?” he asked. Pearce also contested, contrary to accusations, that “we’ve actually strengthened civil rights.” He sees the law as letting law enforcement follow the U.S. Constitution. Nevertheless, opponents ar-gue that while police cannot stop someone solely because they are suspicious of his or her immigra-tion status, any minor infraction can be used as grounds to question specific racial groups. They believe that the follow-on bill wil not suc-ceed in avoiding racial profiling. Bustamante called the changes “mainly cosmetic.” While “police have to have reasonable doubts”

before stopping a person, he argued, “what are ‘reasonable’ doubts?’” Reyna said, “I know the law is racist, and I know I am not af-fected but other people of my race are and I try to put myself in their shoes.” Gutierrez agreed, saying, “I feel the law is an excuse to continue with discrimination.” Furthermore, critics argue this law could lead to an actual decrease in the authorities’ ability to do their job. President Obama agreed, pointing out that the new law would undermine “the trust be-tween police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.” The real question now lies in the

constitutionality of the law. Mul-tiple challenges have been filed against the law,. As of May 18, three suits were filed, including one filed by four different non-profit law organizations. The grups want the court to strike down the law because, as Lucas Guttentag from the American Civil Liberties Union said, it “will undermine public safety and it is unconstitutional.” The potential to be deemed unconstitutional stems from the fact that this law could conflict with the supremacy clause in the constitution. Dan Murphy, Urban’s teacher of constitutional law, said that a possible route for opponents to the law would be to claim un-constitutionality because “Arizona is taking an action that is the role of the federal government.” Yet supporters argue Arizona law is in line with federal law and thus does not violate the constitution. For opponents, fighting the Arizona law will be an uphill battle that will continue to draw atten-tion and shape politics across the nation as well as in the Bay Area.

photo from www.flickr.com/photos/one-million/used with permission

ArizonA Governor Jan Brewer on April 23 signed the new Arizona immigration law, which states that when a person is detained, local law enforcement must ask about immigration status

San Francisco student named national High School Journalist of the Year

The Journalism Education As-sociation has named Ina Herlihy, a student at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School, the National High School Journalist of the Year as well as California High School Journalist of the Year. Herlihy, 17, received her award on April 17 at the National Scho-lastic Press Association high school journalism convention in Portland, Ore. Herlihy is editor-in-chief and photographer for Convent’s newspaper, The Broadview. Herlihy, who turns 18 in June, was encouraged to apply to be a freelance photographer for The New York Times two years ago. She filled out the official contract and tax form, not thinking her age was an issue. When editors found out she was a minor, they postponed

Leg

end

new

s

“That’s bizarre,” said Cassiel Chadwick (‘12). “Are you sure they said ‘The Urban Legend?’ ” asked Jason Cinti (‘12). For the five Urban School students who attended the national Scholastic Press Associa-tion high school convention in Portland, ore., the Legend’s two awards for “Best in Show” for newspaper and website were not the only surprise that the city had to offer. According to the Journalism Education Association’s website, the conference, which was held April 14 to April 17, had an attendance of 2,583. Students and advisers from more than 20 states were represented at the convention. “i was overwhelmed by the amount of high school students present,” said zoe Pleasure (‘12). “We were exposed to a really wide cross-section of kids,” said

Megan Madden (’12). other Bay Area schools represented were Convent of the Sacred Heart High School, in San Franciso, whose paper, The Broadview, won 3rd place among 9-12 page newspapers, and Los Altos High School, which took 8th place for website. The Legend won 9th among 9-12 page newsapers and 7th place for website. After a relatively smooth journey to Portland on Thursday night, the journalists woke up Friday morning and headed out towards the convention center on Port-land’s free public transportation system. After checking in and entering The Urban Legend in the best in show competition, the group separated for their separate seminars and workshops, including ses-sions on news reporting, ethics, photogra-phy and design. on Saturday afternoon, reporters decid-ed to explore the city instead of attending

the awards ceremony. Walking around the city, Chadwick, the designated map-reader and navigator, noticed a particular unique street. “Look how cool this is,” he said, “a street only for trains.” in a phone conversation with her husband, Beatrice Motamedi, adviser for The Urban Legend, said Portland “is just gorgeous.” Later in the day, after surviving the famous Portland rain, the group headed to Powell’s bookstore, which Madden pro-nounced a “utopia” of books. After spend-ing about two hours in Powell’s, the group started making its way towards another landmark, Voodoo Doughnut. on the way, the group received a surprise phone call announcing they had won best in show awards for both paper and website. A great surprise made for a great way to end the day and the trip.

–Sabrina Werby

The Urban Legendnews

June 2010

2urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com

photo courtesy of Beatrice Motamedi

CLoSE UP ina Herlihy, right, stands with her sister, Emma, a fellow staff member of The Broadview, at the California Press Women awards ceremony at Golden Gate Park on May 17. Both ina and Emma won awards for their work.

UrbanitemsA quick look at

what's happening in our community

After searching Google unsuccess-fully for how to apply, she com-piled a press packet with samples of her work, and sent it to more than two dozen politicians. “ I didn’t want my application to be thrown to the side because I was a high school student,” she said. It worked. On the morning of Jan. 10, 2009, she received an email allotting her two passes. She also photographed Obama’s arrival and departure on Air Force One and Marine One during his May 1 visit to the Bay Area. Though her work gives her a certain “adrenaline rush,” fueling her to take “the perfect photo,” Herlihy does not want to become a journalist after college. She plans to study economics, and then enter the business world and become involved in politics.

her work until she turns 18. After winning an essay competi-tion sponsored by Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians in the 7th grade, Herlihy was inspired to join The Broadview in her fresh-man year. Once on the newspaper staff, Tracy Sena, her adviser, “thrust a camera” into her hands. Her first job was to photograph the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure in 2006, as she explains on her website www.inaherlihy.com/about.html. Ever since that first experience, Herlihy said, she has “not been able to stay away from the camera.” One of Herlihy’s favorite and most notable accomplishments was the series of photographs she took at President Obama’s 2009 inauguration. She spent months trying to get credentials for the event.

Legend staff attends nSPA convention

Urban students stop for a photo on April 17 in front of the Portland zoo along with other students attending the national journalism convention

ArizonA: Challenges pendingfrom page 1

photo by Isabel Moore

by isabel MooreStaff Writer

email@texthere.edu

Note: With this issue, we debut our “Ask the Philosopher” column, fea-turing conundrums posed by readers (with replies supplied by Urban’s Philosophy Club). If you encounter an ethical problem, don’t despair — please email your query to urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com, where it will be considered with care.

Dear Urban Philosopher: I’m horrified by the British Petroleum oil catastrophe. I’ve heard rumblings that the United States will be taking the economic responsibilities for BP’s blunder. Is this right? Wouldn’t those funds be better used to pay for college scholarships?Sincerely, Ms. Just Don’t Get It

Dear Ms. Just Don’t Get It, You make an interesting point, but you need some context. Luckily, several philosophers have given thought to man’s responsibility to the environment, including Nor-wegian naturalist Arne Næss. Let us begin with an experiment. Imagine that the whole human race suddenly expires in the wake of a global catastrophe. Only one person survives. This person decides to ensure the annihilation of all forms of life after his death. Naturally, this is absurd. Our in-tuitive response here aligns with the environmental view that we have

a moral obligation to protect life. At Urban, where the Green Team’s placards ever populate the halls, we take this concept for granted. Now consider the BP spill. Con-sider also that much of humanity depends on the destruction of its environment – intentional or not. BP’s leak now spews an esti-mated 210,000 gallons of oil every day, only 42,000 of which engineers can trap and siphon away. The rest pollutes waters from the Gulf of Mexico up to southeast Florida. One argument that ecologists use is Naess’ “Deep Ecology” the-ory, which endorses “the view that all living things are alike in having value in their own right,” accord-ing to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. By contrast, the “Shal-low Ecology” movement focuses on “the health and affluence of people in the developed countries.” Whether or not you want to use tax dollars for fisheries or scholar-ships depends on which of these arguments you espouse. A “deep ecologist” would say that Louisiana shrimp are worth saving at any cost. A “shallow ecologist” would prefer college to crustaceans. One thing seems certain: The U.S. will sue BP. I think Naess would approve.

Ask ... the Philosopher!

Urban One Acts 2010

One Acts, MAny theMes Urban’s One-Act Festival tapped the thespian talents of many senior playwrights, along with actors and crew. top left: Adam Wolf ('11), Gabriel Ruimy ('11) and Zachariah satriani ('11) in "What It Is," by Jackson

Goldberg, a play about middle-aged baseball announcers whose lifelong friendship is put to the test. top right: Zoe Rosenfeld ('12) and henry cordes ('11) play husband and wife in Rebecca thurber's "the Mind Uncouples," which documents the subtle unraveling of a man's mind. Bottom left: In "the sentimentalists," senior Daniel Moattar draws from his experience at cityterm

in new york to explore the relationships among teenage boys, played by Rory hanlon ('10), cole Larsen ('12) and nico Kert ('12). Bottom right: timothy Gonzalez-crane ('11), Isabel semler ('11) and samantha Kostick ('11) play fairy tale characters

transported to a high school party in taylor Bostwick's musical, "Once Upon a throwdown." Photos by Sonja Bartlett

A man dressed in a classic dark suit walked through the red velvet curtains as if they were parting for him. It was English novelist Ian McEwan, who discussed his life, work and latest book at Herbst Theatre in San Franciso on April 13. McEwan spoke about his re-cent book, “ Solar,” a modern tale about a very modern topic, global warming. He also spoke briefly about his other books, which include “Atonement” and “The Comfort of Strangers.” Both are best-selling novels and have been adapted into movies. McEwan has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize numerous times and finally won it in 1998 for his novel, “Amsterdam.” During his appearance at Herbst, McEwan described the genesis of “Solar.” It began with a journey to a fjord in the far north of Norway. McEwan learned firsthand from the trip about the implications of climate change. This helped McEwan decide that the main character of this tragic comedy would be a dried up scientist still living off the Nobel Prize he received when he was a

bright young researcher. McEwan said during his lecture that he was “struck by the comedic tragedy of how they (scientists) reach a peak during their 20s.” He used this as a characteristic of the anti-hero of “Solar,” Mi-chael Beard. “ S o l a r ” takes place in England dur-ing a time of transition from people who are aware of climate change to people who are willing to fight it. In the midst of a fail-ing marriage, B e a r d h a s fallen into a routine of giv-ing the same lecture over and over about the Beard-Ein-stein Confla-tion. His life has become predictable; suddenly an entic-ing idea comes to his attention. He devises a plan to make his name will be known again, by finding a new way to use solar power.

A modern tale for a modern problemIn his new book, “solar,” Ian Mcewan weaves a comedic narrative about a scientist attempting to salvage the earth, along with his own career

Just as McEwan did, Beard takes a cruise with artists and other scientists north to explore the Arctic Circle to research climate change. Hilarity ensues and shows how out of place Beard is. One of

the only rea-sons he chose to attend the event was to meet an at-tractive artist, showing his true motives. “ S o -lar” is both comedic and tragic. Many times the read-er finds him-self or herself laughing at the situation that Beard may be in because of how odd and dreadful it is. An ex-ample of this is when Beard is exploring

the glacier near here his boat is docked. Beard has an unfortunate experience with an ominous polar bear, only hundreds of feet away from his decrepit snowmobile. He

attempts to start it, to no avail, and is forced to prepare for his death. “Rather than turn and have his face ripped away, he hunched his shoulders in expectation of the worst,” McEwan writes. “His last thought — that in his care-lessly unchanged will, he had left everything to Patrice for Tarpin’s use — would have been a dismal one, but what he heard was the guide’s voice. ‘Let me do it.’ The Nobel laureate had been pressing the headlight switch. The machine came to life at first touch.” McEwan provides a refreshing alternative to the sometimes trite topic of global warming by apply-ing it to a comedic character and story. In a Wall Street Journal article in which McEwan is interviewed, the reporter, Alexandra Alter, ques-tions whether climate change can be funny or not. McEwan says that one of his reasons for writing “Solar” as a comedy was because “if you're going to make your reader travel with someone who is full of hu-man weaknesses, who is a liar and a thief and lazy and yet clever, if you are going to make your reader travel with someone fundamentally unsympathetic in human terms, you've got to have this other element.”

by Zoe PleasureStaff Writer

by cassiel chadwickStaff Writer

the Urban LegendFeatures June 2010

3urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com

photo courtesy of ianmcewan.com

Travis’ complete story is docu-mented on the Telling their Stories website at www.tellingstories.org. This project has been going on for eight years at Urban. In past years, students have interviewed Holocaust survivors, Japanese-American camp internees, and U.S. soldiers who liberated con-centration camps. Deborah Samake has taught the Telling their Stories class numerous times and believes it is truly unique. “It is a way that the students can get authentic, live history," she said. "Also, it gives them a personal connection. I think you can learn a lot from textbooks but when you actually have a person who has lived it, it motivates you more." M c C o m b , Miss., is located more than 2,195 miles from San Francisco. The two cities could not be more different. Ac-cording to zip-skinny.com, the median income in San Francis-co is $75,727, compared with $23,766 in Mc-Comb. School life also is dif-ferent. At McComb High School, “they're making us get our educa-tion,” said Lisa Magee, a senior. Magee explained that this type of learning “makes you want to rebel against it... (because) if we don't do it as they say, we're reprimanded or sent home.” During the panel at a Students of Color meeting, the McComb students also explained the social demographics at their school. Se-nior Alexander Fletcher described the student body as “mostly black

students, a few white students, (and) hardly any other race.” "We’re separated from each other during lunch," Fletcher said. "We have tables where whites will sit in a section and (tables where) blacks will sit in a section … it’s what we’re accustomed to.” Despite these boundaries, students agreed that racial ten-sions generally are low, though at times race becomes an issue. For example, each year McComb High puts on a public prom for all students, regardless of race. How-ever, there is also a private prom that is sponsored by the white children’s parents, the McComb students said. This prom requires an invitation, and consequently ends up being “basically for the elite — the elite social class,” said Magee.

Students said the public and private prom segregate the community. “If I (got) in-vited (to the private prom,) I wouldn’t feel comfortable there,” said one McComb student. When asked to compare Urban and McComb in one word, the four students unanimously labeled Mc-Comb High “torture” while they agreed that Urban was “unique.” They explained that the only class at their high school that mirrored the Urban teaching style was the class that brought them to San Francisco, a course called “Local Cultures.”

In this course, students learn about the history of the South. Travis and the Urban School contributed to the course. “In this class you get more into the details of what's happening in society,” said Latoya Smith, a McComb senior. Teacher Vicky Malone made the “Telling their Stories” connection between the two schools in 2008 when she came to San Francisco to participate in a summer program

sponsored by Urban's Center for Innovative Teaching. Malone met Urban Director of Technology Howard Levin at this program, and ideas started rolling about doing a civil rights unit together. This year was the first year that

McComb students worked directly with Urban students. Blogging has become a new component of the project, and the next Telling Their Stories class will pick up where this class has left off. Samake also said there are plans

Cinco de Mayo flap highlights issues of race, free speech

Worlds apart McComb High School, pictured above, could not be more different from Urban, according to four students from the Mississippi school who visited Urban in May.

a nice ride Students from McComb High School enjoy a sightseeing tour of San Francisco. Left to right: Latoya Smith, DeLisa Magee and Lyderious Isaac

storYteller Deborah Samake teaches the Telling Their Stories class at Urban

photo by Sonja Bartlett

A recent incident involving students at a school in Morgan Hill has put a spotlight on how schools deal with the complicated issues of race, free speech and tolerance. On May 5, five students from Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill were sent home for wearing American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo. KTVU news reported that an assistant principal at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill told the group of boys to take off ban-danas and shirts bearing American flags or turn the shirts inside out. Some Live Oak students thought the administration vio-lated the boys' free speech rights. Others were offended by the boys' actions. Within days, the story provoked a national uproar. Julie Fagerstrom, mother of one of the boys, told KTVU that the boys were "just being patriotic and displaying their individuality.” Student An-nicia Nunez told KTVU that the boys "should apologize (because) it is a Mexican heritage day (and) we don't deserve to get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on

Fourth of July." The incident prompted re-flection by Urban students and administrators. “I would question why they would wear (the) American flag on Cinco de Mayo," said Ken Garcia-Gonzales, Urban’s dean of multicultural life, adding that "the day is already an embrace of American culture,” because Cinco de Mayo has become so thoroughly Americanized. “Wearing American flag T–shirts on Cinco de Mayo is hinting that the flag is (only for) white (people),” he said. Math teacher Richard Lautze noted that one group's speech can be another group's insult. “The dominant culture can all think it's funny and say get over it, but it may not be okay,” he said. History teacher LeRoy Votto said even an academic setting does not necessarily make it easy to talk about race. In the civil rights sec-tion of the Recent America class “we have not had many discus-sions about race …. I might even be uncomfortable about it.” Ironically, the same free speech and racial issues which are at the

center of the Sixties and the civil rights movement are also part of the Cinco de Mayo case. “Students see this as history that is dead and not relevant anymore. I am not sure if stu-dents really un-derstand (it),” Votto says. In student essays, "factually, (the students) will have it, but they have missed the spirit of the times.” The Cinco de Mayo case is by no means the first time that a student's choice of clothing has raised tensions. On May 23, 2007, the Napa Superior Court heard the case of student Toni Kay Scott, who was thrown out of Redwood Middle School for violating the school's solid colors-only dress code by wearing socks featuring Tigger, the Winnie-the Pooh character.

The American Civil Liberties Union represented Scott. It cited Tinker v. Des Moines, a 1969 Su-preme Court case in which a high

school student was expelled for wearing a black arm-band to school to protest the Vietnam War. In its decision, the Supreme Court said that "students do not shed their constitutional rights to free-dom of speech and expres-sion at the schoolhouse gate." Eventually, the Napa school district settled, promising not to ban Tigger or other images on student clothing if they don't conflict with state educational code. Garcia-Gonzales says that modern methods of com-munication, such as blogs, Facebook and YouTube, are exposing students to a whole

new level of exposure to racial expression, including humor. “The more you are exposed to it, the more you get numb to it,” said Garcia-Gonzales. These modern methods of communica-tion can distort a person’s idea of offensive and desensitize them to the real impacts of racial jokes, he

says. Lily Burns (’11) agrees. “I hear tons of Asian jokes every day from everyone, even Asians," she said. "It never made me uncomfortable until one of my friends told me they didn't really approve of it when people made jokes like that. Now I’m conscious of it, and it's kind of weird to think that it probably does make a lot of people uncomfort-able.” On the other hand, Julian Matulich (’12) says, “I feel totally comfortable talking about race. In my group of friends, race is not a very intense subject.” If faced with a racially sensitive issue such as the Morgan Hill inci-dent, Garcia-Gonzales hopes that Urban would act “in a effective, constructive way. It would be a learning moment — not a paralyz-ing moment." He also believes that this situation would not be a place for punishment, though “even if the intent (of a joke) is not to offend, it doesn’t minimize how offensive that can become.” Lautze says cases like the one in Morgan Hill prompt him to look inward. "It’s not helpful for anyone to be accusatory," he said. " We have to recognize our own racism.”

photo by Robyn Mandel

photo courtesy of Vickie Malone

from page 1

in the making for sending some Urban students to McComb next year to experience a whole new cultural world.

—Reporting assistance by Hannah Gorman and Megan Madden

urbanlegendstaff@gmail.comJune 2010

The Urban Legend

Focus4

look inside Teacher Richard Lautze urges a personal perspective on race

by Sabrina WerbyStaff Writer

photo by Isabel Moore

McComb: Students compare school, life

By the Book

Rudeness is a fact of life in high school. But when do cutting words become a cause

for alarm?

Being BuLLieD

It’s Saturday night, and a senior girl refuses to hook up with a popular junior boy. Now it’s Monday, and the girl can’t turn a corner without being called “bitch” by one of the boy’s friends. The verbal barrage lasts for days. She feels embarrassed, but can’t avoid the abuse. At school, a sophomore boy gets shoved in the hall-ways. His friends from last year are the ones pushing him around. He feels awkward that they aren’t friends anymore, but he doesn’t understand this new aggression. He complains, but no one thinks it’s a big deal. A girl leaves her computer on and walks away, only to come back and find that her Facebook profile has been hacked. After an anxious search, she discovers that the hackers posted rude comments on her friends’ “walls.” The girl apologizes to her friends, but she and they are angry. In high school, rudeness happens. It can be difficult to distinguish when a passing remark or even a physical act crosses the line into bullying or harassment. However, as recent cases have shown, when inconsiderateness becomes harassment, the law steps in, with profound consequences not only for bullies, but for the entire community.

High-profile cases point to problems Phoebe Prince, 15, was relentlessly bullied at her high school in South Hadley, Mass. Prince, a freshman, took her own life on Jan. 14. Nine students have been charged with statutory rape, criminal harassment, and stalking in connection with the case. Alexis Pilkington, a senior at West Islip Senior High School in New York took her own life on March 21. While her parents refuse to attribute her death to online harass-ment Pilkington had experienced, her friends believed that this may have triggered her suicide. Eric Mohat, 17, from Mentor, Ohio, committed suicide in 2007 after enduring multiple forms of harassment at school. His parents claim that the school was aware of what was going on, and filed a lawsuit. These cases reflect the potential consequences to bul-lying going unchecked.

Handling harassment — by the handbook Bullying is a tough term to wrap your brain around. The three hypothetical cases mentioned above may seem ordinary, but according to Charlotte Worsley, dean of student life, each one warrants at least a conversation between the students and an administrator. The first two cases — involving the girl who wouldn’t hook up, and the boy who got shoved — should definitely be reported, according to Worsley. The disciplinary con-sequences for these situations depend on the specifics of the case. “It definitely would be a case I would investigate under our harassment policy,” said Worsley. However, the third case, involving the girl whose Facebook account was hacked, calls for discipline straight away. Thanks to California’s new cyberbullying law (see “By the Book” (at right) that case would result in disciplinary action, Worsley says. In a small school such as Urban, where everyone is on a first-name basis, harassment doesn’t necessarily look as obvious as it might in a high-profile case, such as that of Phoebe Prince. “At Urban, harassment is so subtle. Physical outbreaks are so rare,” said Andrés Bustamante (’11). Emma Strebel (’11) defines bullying as physically or verbally “putting someone in a situation that they are not comfortable with.” But Strebel understands that even this definition it is up to interpretation. “(A comment) can be hurtful for one person, but the other person didn’t mean it”, she says. Dana Lee (’10) described what she sees as a tendency for some students to engage in mockery and jeering remarks. “A lot of people aren’t very considerate (about) what other people might not think is funny,” she says. “They

assume the person listening will take it as a joke.” Worsley also says that, over the last year, she has heard complaints of “middleschool-ish” behavior. But that still leaves the question unanswered: When does inconsiderate behavior become outright harassment?

How harassment is defined According to Urban’s 2009-2010 Student Handbook, which reflects California state law, bullying includes any method by which “hateful or abusive remarks” can be made. Verbal statements, such as “epithets, derogatory jokes, slurs, and comments” all can be considered harass-ment. An Urban student also can be subject to discipline if he or she sends a “derogatory” email, according to the handbook. Additionally, physical conduct that includes “assault, unwanted touching (and) intentionally blocking normal movement” or “interfering with work” all are forms of bullying within the Urban community, the handbook states. If the offensive act has happened previously, or happens more than once, it is considered bullying. The bottom line, Worsley said, is “if a reasonable per-son would find (an) experience to get in the way of their ability to get an education,” the incident falls under the definition of harassment.

What to do At Urban, if a student feels harassed or bullied, the first step to take is to talk to a faculty member, a student dean or to Kaern Kreyling, school counselor. “Discomfort is not neces-sarily bullying or harass-ment, but Kaern, the deans and I want to be available to students to listen and help them decide what is going on,” said Worsley. “We will not take any action without the student’s agreement,” she added. “The goal of the initial conversation is to listen to the student's experience and explain to him (or) her what the options are. Then I work with the student to plan a response.” Given Urban’s size — 347 students, all of whom know each other by first names — the administration’s approach is to deal with complaints on a case-by-case basis. “(How we treat cases of harassment) are different for every kid and every different context,” said Worsley. However, harassment, once brought to the attention of the administration, can result in “verbal warnings, letters of reprimand, counseling, suspension or expulsion,” ac-cording to the Student Handbook.

Phoebe Prince, 15, was harassed by students at South Hadley High School in Mass. and took her life on Jan. 14. Her case raised concerns about how schools and students deal with bullying both online and in the school hallways.

No MeaN teeNs A photographer captured this sign at an Ohio school in May 2008.

Photo from flickr.com/photos/

pointshoot/2500644518 / used

with permission

by Madeleine May

“”

A lot of people aren't very considerate (about) what other people might not think is funny.

– Dana Lee ('10)

What urban's student handbook says about

the Web

• When using social networking sites, email or instant messaging, consider the impact on others, and be mindful of school rules and core values. In particular:

• Any posting that ends up creating an uninviting atmosphere for any member of Urban's community will be considered a violation of the school’s harassment policy.

• Anonymous postings on sites such as Bathroom Wall and Honesty Box that violate the above norms and rules will be investigated. Such postings undermine the atmosphere of trust that is one of the seven core values of the school and will be treated seriously.

• Students should be aware that when their social networking sites identify them as Urban students, they need to be mindful that they are representing the school. They should not post anything compromising that would then be publicly linked to the school. —Allegra Gordon

photo illustration by Zoe Pleasure

see BULLY page 12

urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com June 2010

The Urban LegendFocus 5

The art was smuggled in my suitcase and I prayed that I would not be stopped at security. I was entering China, a communist country, and I was carrying student art-work from Urban, our politically liberal San Francisco high school. It was this contrast, however, that originally sparked my idea for an art exchange between the two schools, and more importantly, between the two cultures. Although it first seemed like an abstract and far-fetched idea, an enthusiastic response from the Chinese school to an e-mail I sent over a year ago transformed my idea into reality. The project came together with the help of the Urban Art Department, artists, and faculty, becoming an art exhibition that not only pleased the Chinese students, but as I found out, also inspired them. At the opening of the show — held at the China Academy of Art, the most prestigious art institution in China — art from 11 Ur-ban students was exhibited alongside art by Chinese students from the high school of the China Academy of Art. They gathered around to take photos of the work and ponder the Urban art program. At Urban, we are offered a certain liberty to choose our materials, our general content, and the message we want to portray through art, but I learned that the Chinese students followed a strict and ordered structure. Their art classes are very traditional and are based on 17th century European art. The students’ main goal is acceptance into the China Academy of Art University. With each student drawing or sculpting the same thing, using a small range of materials, and maintaining identical goals, competition is a huge factor in their lives. It was because of this, I think, that students were so enthralled by Urban’s art program. They gazed in awe when they heard that Caroline Yopes’ (’10) prints were based on her family history; they took pictures of Althea James’ (’11) mystical creatures for ideas for their own cartooning. One boy even asked me, “Are you allowed to draw what you feel?” It was this question that made it clear to me that the Urban artwork was inspiring to these students, and that it was introducing them to an unknown world. Meanwhile, I was blown away by what I saw hanging on the walls next to the work I’d brought. Although the Chinese students spoke about their desire to take a more freestyle approach to their art, their work expressed incredible ability and keen knowl-edge of technical drawing and painting skills. So different than ours, these artworks may be coming to Urban next fall. I hope they’ll prompt similar inspiration in our community. True, my Chinese peers and I didn’t speak the same language (I couldn’t even communicate with their headmaster). But our art became a universal language between our two cultures, our two communities, our two schools.

–text and photos by Isabel Moore–Chinese lettering and translation by Xiaorong Li, Urban teacher–spread by Allegra Gordon

Urban art travels to China

Clockwise from top left: High school students work in quiet during a figure drawing class. Their curriculum is based largely on working from models, rather than personal imagination. Top middle: The week of the Urban exhibition was finals week for the students. In addition to their art classes, they take core classes and compete rigorously for acceptance to the art university. Top right: A student draws a model during her drawing final exam. Although Urban’s art program is much less competitive, it and the Chinese program share a philosophy of accepting a student’s work for what it is, as long as the student put his or her best effort into it. Center: Hao Zhang, headmaster of the Subsidiary School of the China Academy of Art, takes a look at Lillian Moebe’s (‘10) piece hanging in the school’s exhibition hall. Zhang himself is an artist, known for his paintings of abstract im-ages that are very different from his students. He has exhibited his work all of the world, including a recent show in Shanghai.Bottom right: Workers hang a piece by Aaron Garkinkel’s (‘10) the day before the opening of the exhibition. Bottom left: An art exhibit of boxes filled with leaves hangs on a tree near the cafeteria of the University’s beautiful Hangzhou Campus. Both the high school and the university are located on this campus, which was founded in 1928 to replace the practice of religon in war-torn China with the practice of art.

An art exchange between two cultures

You could call her the GOP’s Million Dollar Baby: In the last nine months, according to an estimate by ABC News, Sarah Palin has made more than $12 million. Her focus on finances should not come as a sur-prise. During the 2008 presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee spent over $150,000 on Palin’s clothes. Furthermore, documents show that she spent a total of $75,062.63 at Neiman Marcus alone. Of course other politicians have been accused of similar spending sprees, such as Democratic presi-dential candidate John Edwards’ $400 haircuts. Yet, lately the sheer magnitude of money that Palin has been making leads to the question: Is she a politician or a performer? In January, she found the perfect opportunity to balance the two professions. Palin, for an undis-closed sum, became a contributor on Fox News. In her debut, she professed her belief in presenting the “fair and the balanced” news. At the same time she criticized Americans who “don’t like the common sense conservative solutions” that she espouses. A more recent deal brings up the tensions between her political past and the en-tertainment hype currently surrounding her. In March, Palin signed a $2 million deal with Discovery Com-munications, whose networks include TLC, Discovery and Planet Green. The show is called "Sarah Palin’s Alaska" and will be a reality TV series featuring the environmental beauty of the state. Ironically, as governor Palin helped to destroy this wilderness through her political policies. She supported increased oil drilling in Alaska. She also rejected initiatives stopping miners from dumping pollution in salmon streams and listing polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Due to this conflict, the Huffington Post reported that after potential ad buyers were shown the promo for "Alaska," there was laughter. Isabel Eskin Shapson (’11) commented on the con-tradictions, saying that Palin “is looking for money and not for something substantial.” Now that she is no longer governor, Palin “wants to stay in the spotlight,” Eskin Shapson said.

$12 million

of Americans who say Palin is top choice for president in 2012

ABC News estimate of Palin's income in the last nine months

Palin: Politician or Entertainer?

“Palin is looking

for money and not for something substantial

...(Palin) wants to

stay in the spotlight.”

Isabel Eskin Shapson

('11)

The Urban Legend he Urban Legend is a vehicle of student freedom of

expression and a public forum for The Urban School com-munity. It is produced several times per year during the academic term by the journalism class. We also publish the Legend online at www.urbanlegendnews.org.

We welcome feedback about our articles and we also encourage readers to contact us directly with tips or ideas concerning future coverage.

The Legend publishes letters on topics of concern to the Urban community. Letters must be signed; requests for anonymity will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Let-ters may be sent electronically to urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com. Hard-copy letters may be sent to the Legend care of The Urban School. Guest opinion columns also may be submitted electronically or in hard copy. We reserve the right to edit for space and language.

Signed articles or opinion pieces represent the views of the writer only, Unsigned editorials reflect a consensus opin-ion of the newspaper staff.

T Editors in Chief:Allegra Gordon (Design) Madeleine May (News)Acting Managing Editor:Sabrina WerbyOnline/Multimedia: Daniel Moattar Features: Sarah MaccabeeFocus: Jenna Waldman and Sara BrooksFolio Editor: Zoe PleasureHealth: Sabrina WerbyOpinions: Adrienne von Schulthess Photo: Isabel Moore and Sonja BartlettSports: Samantha Lucas

Staff Writers:Hannah Gorman, Megan Madden, Jason Cinti, Sabrina Werby, Emily Wen, Cassiel Chadwick, Jenna Waldman,Cody Siler, Jonathan Baer, Jesse King Fredel, Annakai Geshilder, David Immer-man, Marney Kline, Hannah Sears

Adviser: Beatrice Motamedi

11%

The Urban Schoolurbanlegendstaff@gmail.com June 2010 Opinions

Palin's focus appears to be on money and not policy. The Web site Politico.com reports that Palin asks for a $100,000 speaking fee ($75,000 for speeches on the West Coast). While she does waive fees for some charitable events, she did not for the February Tea Party conference or for a May speech at Rain-bow Omega, a non-profit group that helps disabled adults. In addition, Sarah Palin took in $1.25 million for her most recent book "Going Rogue: An American Life." She is expected to publish another book called "America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag", which will be released in November with an initial printing of 1 million copies. True, Palin is not the first politician to ask for hefty speaking fees and book deals. Hillary and Bill Clinton have both published memoirs, with advances of $8 million and $15 million respectively. Bill Clinton also has a $150,000 speaking fee, which tops Palin's. However, unlike the Clintons, Palin hopped onto the entertainment circuit before she finished her public service. Palin resigned from her position as governor of Alaska in 2009 with over a year left in

her term, stating that she wanted to pursue other ambitions. Palin is in a position to jeopardize her ability to be taken seriously as a politician. As Eskin Shapson said,

“she’s looking for other things, but is not becom-ing more qualified” as a politician. In contrast, the choice to “stay as governor” would have signaled a continued interest in politics. Similarly, FOX News reported the move brought into question her ability to run for the 2012 presidential race, which some supporters had already been envisioning when President Barack Obama took office. Despite multiple controversies, Palin has been able to stay in the national spotlight. A Gallup poll of Republicans in February found 11 percent of Americans chose Palin when asked to list their top presidential candidate for 2012. Palin even helped Sen. John McCain in his recent Senate campaign. Even so, Palin is toeing a fine line. As Eskin Shapson said, at “a certain point it becomes too much.” For some, that line was crossed long ago. But for the rest of America, only time will tell how long Palin can balance politics and entertainment.

Self-Censored: Why Is Urban Afraid of Race?

In May, Urban’s “Telling Their Stories” class teamed up with four students from McComb High School’s “Local Cultures” class in Mc-Comb, Miss., to interview civil rights activist Brenda Travis. She explained a life philosophy that got us thinking. “I see things in the real,” Travis said. “As people we camouflage things …(when) people tell us … who they are, then we say, ‘Well, that’s not it.’ (But) if a person shows me who they are, I believe them.” Speaking with Travis and the McComb stu-dents, we began to wonder how we at Urban keep ourselves camouflaged. We started ques-tioning how this community talks about race, and more importantly, how it does not. As a school community, we agree in theory that cultural diversity and acceptance are important. But often these ideas do not carry over from school-sponsored discussions into everyday life. The mention of race continues to evoke tension and fear in our community. “Urban kids, in my experience, rarely talk (about race) outside of class,” says Elly Fireside-Ostergaard (’12). Race is one issue that we find difficult to discuss. When students do mention race, usu-ally it's in a self-deprecating way: “God, this school is so white.” We're embarrassed, so we substitute jokes for thoughtfulness. This confusion comes in part from our fear of coming off as racist or uninformed. The need to be politically correct can be a mental block. Hannah Sears (’12) recalls studying the civil rights movement: "(I) had a hard time calling the African American population of the time ‘blacks’ even though my intellectual mind told me there was nothing wrong with that. I was so worried about offending someone.” Many Urban students are paralyzed by this fear of breaking unseen rules. “I think it's dif-ficult to show and/or admit one's ignorance,” said history teacher Deborah Samake, “espe-cially in a community of people who think of themselves as being aware, progressive, and intelligent … we still are a part of a bigger society that continues to face issues around racism.” Unfortunately, the less we talk about race, the less familiar we are with its taboos, making it more difficult to broach the subject. Another problem is the perception that there is no reason to talk about race, and that talking about it will only generate the tensions we seek to dispel. Natasha Weiss ('11), who represented the the MultiCulti team on the McComb panel, spoke about how Urban looks at race almost as if it is a problem that has already been solved. “I think it's because race is addressed in a pretty impersonal way at Urban — the ‘diversity issue’ is not treated as a dynamic, relevant force but instead as something that outside speakers come in to teach us about,” she said. “It is easy to forget that there is racism at Urban .... we think we have made it to the promised land of equality and awareness. I think we have stopped progressing as a com-munity,” Weiss added. There are a lot of kids at Urban who look white, no need to deny it. But keeping silent or even poking fun at our lack of diversity isolates us and keeps us from forming genuine opinions. Our culture of assumption surround-ing race lulls us into a passive frame of mind, where discussing race is a messy, potentially dangerous task. So we avoid the topic. Samake says that when push comes to shove, students keep quiet around race be-cause “they don’t want to get hurt, and they don’t want to hurt other people.” But silence should never be a crutch. We can't temper our discomfort by keeping quiet, nor let our lack of understanding prevent us from growing. We should be allowed to make mistakes — to not always have the right words — because it is only through a respectful deconstruction of the prejudices we might have that we can figure out how to get rid of them. So we are asking you, Urban. What would it take for us to stop being afraid and begin an honest, thoughtful conversation? —Hannah Gorman and Megan Madden

Palin in Dover, N.H. in October 2008 Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssken-

nel/2945573392/used with permission

8

by Adrienne von Schulthess Opinions Editor

Keep an eye on the skies this summerRecent disasters reveal that our interconnected world needs a good backup plan and needs one quickly

“Zoe, it looks like Mom won’t be coming home too soon.” I was in Portland, Oregon attending the NSPA/JEA Convention when my sister called and frantically told me that our mom, Irene Pleasure, was stuck in Germany. My mom was one of many travel-ers on the 100,000 flights cancelled between April 15 and April 18. She and many others were stranded in Europe, not able to leave and return home. The cause of all this uncertainty was the eruption of Iceland's unpronounceable volcano, Eyjafjallajökull. As a resultm, volcanic ash filled the sky and shut down air traffic. The last time this volcano erupted, in 1821, it spewed magma for two years. After the April erup-tion, European governments were concerned about when stranded travelers would be able to get to their destinations, but more importantly, they worried about the money lost by the cancelled flights. Our dependency on travel has grown to enormous proportions. Air travel is a multibillion dollar in-dustry, and during the latest disruption of travel an estimated $1.7 billion in industry revenues was lost. Airplanes are used to transport people for vacations and business. If air travel is not functioning, many people are not able to work. And as my sister and I found out, the whole world is affected. More recently, the British Petroleum oil spill off the Louisiana coast has shown that lacking a backup plan can be detrimental. As with the volcanic eruption, the spill was a wake-up call. As a society, we are always working and moving, but we're not always prepared for the implications of being so interdependent. One of the reasons many planes could not fly was not because of the ash, but because of miscommunica-tion between countries. As Fabrice Pothier, the direc-tor of Carnegie Europe, said, “Europe is the victim of the precautionary principle — an uncoordinated overreaction to possible risk." Yes, worrying about

people’s safety is important, but when people are stranded due to miscommunication, we must question the efficiency of this system. If Mt. Hood in Oregon erupted, the Federal Aviation Ad-ministration would take command of the problem. But when Eyjafjallajökull erupted, the governments of the countries affected individually attempted to find the most efficient way to get people home. This caused miscommunication between airlines and governments. Stranded passengers were stressed. My mother told me it would have helped “to get all

Continuing Crisis: A dead dolphin shows the impact of the BP oil spill on Louisiana's Port Fourchon beach on May 25, where a cleanup operation was underway. photo by Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/used with permission from MCTcampus.com

The Urban Schoolurbanlegendstaff@gmail.com Opinions June 2010

A parable: A few years ago, I got dressed, and I realized that everything I was wearing was either from Gap or J. Crew. It did not happen overnight; preppi-ness snuck up on me with little changes. Now flash back to the 1960s, when as a student, Head of School Mark Salkind spent three weeks riding Muni to the end of the line, talking to the drivers to figure out why San Francisco’s mass transit did not (and does not) work. It was a novel way of learning. And in fact, Urban was not accred-ited until the 1980s. The demands that went with accreditation were not in line with the kind of educa-tion Urban wanted to provide. Now we are moving in a differ-

by Zoe PleasureStaff Writer

Tim Harrower, a well-known newspaper designer, and author of “Inside Reporting,” Urban’s journalism textbook, was the keynote speaker at the National Scholastic Press Association’s high school journalism convention in April. His presentation was about “grabbing eyeballs,” or how to use creative design, catchy images and punchy stories to capture readers’ attention in an increasingly com-

petitive media world. One of the publications Har-rower used was Maxim magazine, which its own website advertises as a place to find “hot girls (and) sexy photos & videos." As the picture of two half-naked female models stared down at me from the megascreen, and the wolf whistles of excited teenage boys echoed in my ears, I was visited by a disturbing premonition. I imagined myself, 10 years from now, carrying The New York Times on my way to work, just as my dad does. Opening my paper, though, I find a pornographi-cally posed woman with blurbs plastered all over her body about some future war. Back at his desk, the reporter who wrote the story says, “Ha! I bet I grabbed your eyeballs!”

Freedom of the press stands as one of the core principles of democ-racy. Journalism is known as the fourth branch of government. The news is the people’s connection to their politicians, fellow Americans, world events and so much more. And yet despite their vital role in the community, newspapers are going under right and left. So it's no news these days that the news is changing. What’s worries me is the change in how people read. My father’s Times is struggling; readers get their news online in small chunks. Why read an educational, well-written article about global warming when you can Google it, read a few lines and click on the Wikipedia page? But the web is not necessarily easy to navigate. Many feel there is simply too much information

New world of news underestimates next generation

ent direction. As I write, Urban is in the process of revising its grading policy. Urban's present approach to evaluation is idiosyncratic, indis-putably iconic, and a cornerstone of its approach to education. I do not like the idea that this approach might be going away. Grades, for my money, are re-ally a waste of time. Sure, they are necessary to apply to college. But apparently our grading system needs overhaul because some parents and kids don't understand how well they are doing in classes given evaluations alone. However, narrative evalua-tions, when competently written, should tell you what you need to do better and how much better you need to do it. If an evaluation

spaces per class. We must be doing something right. We are rapidly climbing up the ladder of urban preparatory schools. But it would be nice to attend a school that did something other schools did not do. Being interesting is more difficult than grooming a bunch of kids to have high test scores. I worry that we are devoting too much effort to the latter. The administration has let us know that Urban's personality consists of more than its grading policy, and that Urban will not stop being Urban if kids can see their grades. But personality is what you get when you put together every aspect of someone's character. Change one, add one, take one

away, and the product, the final personality, is a different animal. I am graduating, and I hardly have to worry about the potential long-term consequences. By all means, change the grading policy. It is pretty strange right now, and it could use some tweaking. But understand, Urban, what you are getting into. You cannot change it and pretend not to be changing the character of the school; make sure the approach you are pursuing is the best one for the kids we want to have, not just the ones who are having a hard time. When we cater to the majority because they are the majority – not because what they want makes sense or is scholastically beneficial – we can only set ourselves back.

there. “I just get flooded and the actual writing doesn't seem as im-portant anymore,” says Annakai Geshlider (’13). Journalists feel like they have to solve this problem by stuffing everything they have to say into infographics instead of conventional articles. Ironically, much of the pressure to shrink the news comes from the misperception that teens want it that way. Teenagers are the ones who need pictures in order to be interested, older journalists such as Harrower say. Teenagers want video, pictures, facts — and they want it all right now. Well, we did learn to read and we are not scared by the big, bad text. We are bored with everything being dumbed down for us. We are thirsty for information. Journalists need to stop be-

ing bullied by what they think is popular demand. "If I am invested (in an article) I am going to read it," says Ian Sicurella (’12) “even if (it) is super-long.” There is nothing wrong with long-form journalism. It just needs to find its own place in this new world of news. Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article on parents who accidentally kill their children by forgetting them in cars. That story won't fit in a blurb, though it might save lives. How much will journalism sacrifice in order to fill the demand for catchy? I happen to like my father’s New York Times. And I do not think I am alone. So go ahead and grab my eyeballs. But please, remember to feed my brain.

the countries together to come up with a plan.” In fact, the world could come together to produce a plan to execute during crises. No matter where they ar from, researchers could work together rather than competing. This volcanic eruption, like many other airplane related issues, shows how no system of travel will be perfect. If you will be travelling this summer, make sure you are aware of the possible implications a highly interconnected world will have on your everyday life. Make sure to devise a t plan in order to ensure you arrive to your destination and return home safely.

Ch-ch-ch-changes: Urban School's grading policy is just fine as is

is incompetently written, its cor-responding grade also is going to be incompetently determined. We are afraid to move back towards a radical educational phi-losophy because we could alienate many of our hundreds of yearly applicants. But stop for a second and consider: Urban gets about 500 applicants, for fewer than 100

by Sabrina WerbyStaff Writer

by Daniel Moattar Staff Writer

9

Donating life

urbanlegendstaff@gmail.comJune 2010

The Urban Legend

Health10

She sits in a chair, arm extended, her face turned away from the needle about to pierce her skin. The plastic bag fills with the oxygen-rich liquid; the source of life is being drawn out of Rebecca Atkinson’s (‘10) arm though a tubular passage-way. This is life, being passed from one person to another in need. On May 25, the Urban School sponsored a Blood Centers of the Pacific blood drive. In St. Agnes Gym, 18 students and five teachers gath-ered to donate pints of blood, an amount that is enough to save 69 lives, according to the Centers. Blood from Urban students takes quite a trip after it leaves school. Ultimately, it is destined for one of 43 hospitals in the Bay Area served by Blood Cen-ters of the Pacific. First, howev-er, the blood must travel up the

street to the Centers’ Masonic and Turk headquarters. Then, the tubes that are used to col-lect the blood, along with vials of blood that are set aside for testing, travel to Arizona to be quarantined for four days and tested for various diseases. It is vital for Bay Area residents to donate blood regularly because hospitals “still need to pull (blood) from other parts of the country,” says Chuck Stephanski, a donors collections nurse for the Centers. This is because many people travel to the Bay Area to acquire medical care, making blood that much more in demand. Stephanski says that one of the reasons that the Centers like to conduct blood drives at high schools is because they can “get more of a volume from high school students.” Workers average about 19 to

25 students per visit to local high schools, and sometimes — as in the rare case of Archbishop Riordan High School of San Francisco —they get over 200 units of blood. Diane Lai, the Centers’ coordina-tor account representative, enjoys coming to different high schools because they are “starting a culture

Photo by Sonja Bartlett

of giving blood.” Urban English teacher Courtney Rein says she loves giving blood and has been giving blood since college, when she coordinated blood drives. Jill Fisher (’10), one of the leaders of Urban’s Community Outreach club, wishes there was more stu-dent participation in blood drives.

Corrections to our February issueIn “Thieves break into Urban, steal three computers,”the window in Bobby Ramos’ of-fice is approximately 12 inches by 19.4 inches, not 12 inches by 19.4 feet.

In “Urban’s Month of Understanding dwells on home,” the MultiCulti Team has 14 members from grades 10, 11 and 12, not all four grades.

In “Who’s looking at you? Eye contact in the Urban labrynth,” Megan Madden (’12) should have been credited as a staff writer, not as a staff editor.

HIPE finds less hype on substance abuse

Zoe PleasureStaff writer

Want to find out who is having sex, drinking coffee, or using drugs? HIPE’s latest student survey results tell it all. The Health Initiative for Peer Educa-tion (HIPE), consisting of eleven Urban ju-niors and six seniors, tackles physical and emotional health issues within the school. On Feb 5, HIPE conducted an anonymous survey of the entire student body regard-ing drugs, sex and nutrition. “We (conducted the survey) for two reasons. We wanted to clear up miscon-ceptions and identify the needs of the school, so HIPE knows where to focus their attentions,” said Jennifer Epstein, health teacher and faculty adviser for HIPE. According to HIPE, misconceptions about drug and alcohol abuse are common within the school community. Elly Fire-side-Ostergaard (’12) says, “It’s interesting to get some perspective. (Illegal substanc-es) are not as prevalent as everyone thinks they are.” Epstein says when it comes to substance use “the ones who are doing it are usually louder than the ones who are not.” The HIPE survey is an opportunity for those voices to be heard, says Epstein. Like many surveys, the latest HIPE report is not perfect and HIPE is continu-ing to try to improve the accuracy of the results. Griffin Snyder (’11) points out the survey results included “a statistic about driving under the influence of any drug, and (they) claimed that (fewer than 10 percent) of students have driven under the influence. “This statistic was taken from a major-ity of the student body rather than just the (students) who drive,” Snyder noted.

Where does your blood go after it trickles into the bag? Plenty of places, it turns out

“So the resultant percent would be much higher if they calculated correctly.” Other students said they wanted more information about what leads up to or what comes after various student behav-iors. “The HIPE survey does not really talk about the emotional aspects,” says Julia Hankin (’11). One change the survey has undergone since last year is the method of delivering the information. Last year, all the results were available online, but now HIPE has posted the results in the hallways. Katie Cohelan (’11) says she is “glad” the results are available on paper because posting them in an open space makes the subject matters open to discussion. Many students find the results interest-ing, but do not really see what the larger goals of the survey were. “I don’t really see the point,” said Rebecca Thurber (’10). “If they were try-ing to make kids more cautious, I don’t think it is going to work.” Tanisha Rai (’13) says, “ The school can’t control every student to stop doing” certain behaviors. However, Hannah Sears (’12) believes that the results should “inform the health education curriculum at school. For instance, the fact that the large majority of students do not use protection during oral sex is a concern and should be addressed in the way that health education is taught at Urban.” Adds Hankin: “There are a lot of really interesting forums the results could inspire.” Beyond Urban, the survey results are being put to good use. “For project, I worked at the Conant Foundation,” said Zoe Rosenfeld (’12). “We used the HIPE results in our cover letter for a grant ap-plication to try and get money for free HIV testing in high schools.”

This year there was more participation from students than ever before. However, of the 36 students who signed up to give blood, 13 were turned away for various reasons, including anemia and low body weight. In other years, parents also participated in the blood drive.

BLOOD DRIVE Rebecca Atkinson (‘10) gets her blood drawn by Nurse Chuck Stephanski in the gym at St. Agnes on May 25. Atkinson’s blood is destined for testing at an Arizona lab and then back to the Bay Area.

WHAT’S ALL THE HIPE? The poster above shows results of a Feb. 5 HIPE survey on student behaviors. HIPE members posted their results in school hallways. Poster courtesy of Health Initiative for Peer Education

by Sabrina WerbyHealth Editor

Spring varsity sport captains share favorite moments

Wooden bats: Do they hit the sweet spot?

By the NumBerS

1Number of perfect games that Danica Lauden ('10) has

pitched this season as of June 1

5Number of times Brazil has won the World Cup

29.4 Average number of

Kobe Bryant's points per game as of June 1

35.7Percent of 56 students surveyed who believe

Spain will win the World Cup

37Average score that

Daniel Starr ('10) shot this golf season

145 Strikeouts Danica Lauden ('10) has

thrown as of June 1

High school baseball is a sport that requires precision, timing, and tremen-dous consistency. As hard as it is for high-school students to master these skills with light, forceful aluminum bats, just imagine how hard it is for them to master these skills with breakable, fragile wooden bats. Yet that’s precisely what players will have to do after a Bay Counties League-West decision to play all games with wooden bats. On March 11, a line drive hit from an aluminum bat hit Marin Catholic High School pitcher Gunnar Sandberg in the head. Standing on the mound, Sandberg had delivered a fastball right down the middle. Sandburg hoped for a strikeout; the ball instead was sent flying at a speed so fast that Sandberg had absolutely no time to respond. He was immediately rushed to Marin General Hospital, and spent the next two weeks in a medically induced coma. Fortunately, Sandberg’s condition has been steadily improving. As of press time, he is at home recovering and is out of the hospital. After the incident, Marin Catholic’s athletic director met with 12 other athletic directors from the BCL-West League and Central League to discuss the need to make the sport safer. On April 26, the managers of the North Coast Section voted against the use of aluminum bats in their tournaments. Urban Athletic Director Greg Angilly, who was at both meetings, said “the issue of wood bats was discussed at great length,” and that no decision was made without careful thought. The outcome of the meeting surely took Sanberg’s situation into consider-ation since some believe that the alumi-num bat was to blame for the pitcher’s

injury. Gabriel Howden (’11), center fielder on the Urban baseball team, said that “the sweet spot is a lot smaller (on a wooden bat), (so) it’s harder to make good contact.” “Wooden bats go just as far and just as fast as aluminum bats when hit right, but when hit incorrectly, the aluminum bat will always go further,” said second baseman Nate Stern (’12). Wooden bats reduce the risk of faster hits since hitters within the league do not often hit the ball as solidly. And the risk to pitchers from fast hits is reduced. Yet for every improvement, there’s a downside. Wooden bats, when hit incorrectly, break very easily. And even though they are supposed to prevent injury, “there are safety issues with wooden bats as well,” said Angilly. “When they break, they are dangerous flying objects.” The baseball team at Urban has to replace new bats almost every practice and game. And buying new bats over and over again is not cheap, either. Angilly bought 16 bats for the season, and each bat ranges in price from $60 to $110. They aren’t much cheaper than aluminum bats, yet Angilly bought only three to five aluminum bats for the season. He said that they “will last for three to four seasons,” while the wooden bats have a much shorter life span. The new desire for safety also is likely to reduce the number of home runs, base hits, and hard-hit balls. Games may see lower scores, with not as much excitement and thrill when players stand up to the plate. Stern believes that wooden bats “just make it a lot more difficult to hit the ball.” Angilly observed that Urban’s more experienced and “sea-soned ball players – Noah Howland (’10),

Gabriel Howden (’11), Matt Goldman (’10) and Robert Kline (’11), all are hit-ting the ball well with both wood and metal.” Yet he has also noticed that it’s extremely tough on the new, inexpe-rienced players to “acclimate to high school pitching and then be asked to switch to wood (bats).” On the other hand, Stern said that using wooden bats can improve bat-ting skills, as it “makes you more pre-cise as a hitter.” Since the sweet spot on the wooden bat is much harder to find, practicing with wooden bats can improve a hitter’s ability to find the sweet spot and therefore make better contact in the future. The Urban baseball team made the switch to wooden bats in early April, and according to Howden, “the team adapted pretty quickly.” The team played its whole pre-season with aluminum bats, and had to make the switch at the beginning of the season. Angilly noticed that the “team as a whole has handled all of this with incredible poise and class. They have never complained, never once said they thought it was a bad deci-sion or a stupid decision.” In fact, now that the team is getting used to the wooden bats, it has a “better chance to compete” against other teams in the North Coast Section. Just as the golfers don’t depend on golf balls to win, or basketball players on a particular type of shoe, baseball at Urban won’t suffer from the switch to wood bats, Angilly predicted. “(We’re) a program that takes pride in doing things the right

way, in honoring and respecting (the) sport,” he said.

photo by Isabel Moore

LACrOSSe Sam Cash (right): "Warriors beating el mavs in the playoffs."

SOCCer evan Chang: "I had this free kick ... I curved the ball into the right corner of the goal."

SOCCer Sara Ach (center): "the Catch" (49ers). I wasn't alive for it, but it's still my favorite sports moment ever."

teNNIS rudy henriquez (right): "When Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run, becoming the home run King. I cried."

SOFtBALL Zoe Williams: "Watching michael Phelps win his 8th gold medal."

BASeBALL Noah howland: "Winning Little League All Stars."

by Jason CintiStaff Writer

the urban LegendSports June 2010

11urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com

FeNCING Amrit Khalsa: "We were down against Balboa. I had lost. I was upset. then hannah Gorman and Kendra Bradinini turned it back and we won!"

trACK and FIeLD Sean Judkins-Boeri (center): "When we won NCS for the men's 4 x 400 meter and set the BCL West record."

GOLF Leo Stroe (not pictured): "Knocking down a putt that sent us to NCS my sophomore year."

photos by Isabel Moore

Photo-illustrations by Cassiel Chad-wick

Clockwise from top: Max Burman, Daniel Durst, Danica Lauden, Sarah Ach, Dana Lee, Alex Wu

Photos Courtesy of Yearbook

GRADING: no changes for now

BULLY: speaking upisn’t easyfrom page 5

led the SF Ferries team to vic-tory. The only thing that each team needed in order to suc-ceed was some sense of team-work, though some athletic ability didn’t hurt. At each lunch (a 50-minute period), two matches took place. Fans gathered in the gym as the teams battled it out for the best out of three games. For Sarah Atkinson (’12), a dedicated fan who went to several of the match-es, the best part of watching the tournament was “how intensely the players got into it.” After a rigorous series of intense dodge ball games, the two teams, both composed of mostly senior boys, made it to the championship. Unfortu-nately, the game was played on May 14, a good month after the end of the regular season. Not a lot of fans were present to experience the thrill and excitement of the final championship game, maybe because they were unaware that the tournament had not yet come to an end. Despite the light turnout, the senior

Urban’s long-delayed dodgeball tournament finally came to an end on May 14 as the SF Ferries took down the Crew. The last game was a long time coming. Beginning on March 22, 55 Urban students gave the Dodgeball Tourna-ment their all as they com-peted in intense matches dur-ing lunch. A total of 11 teams, each composed of six to seven players, took part in the tour-nament this year. For students, the tourna-ment requires no real anxiety or pressure, since the event doesn’t require planning or practice. Of course, there’s some “mental preparation for the games, but that’s about it,” said Sam Cash (’10), who

boys ferociously battled it out for “supremacy over every-one else,” said Cash. In previous years at Urban, the dodgeball tournament used to be “the (most popu-lar) school activity,” accord-ing to Jordan Calhoun (’10), one of the hosts of the tour-nament this year. Calhoun believes that the tournament “is slowly dwindling down in terms of the amount of partic-ipation.” Even so, Calhoun hopes that in coming years dodge-ball will be an important school focus. After all, what’s more amusing than watching your friends heave rubber balls at each other?

To watch thrilling clips of the tournament, visit

www.urbanlegendnews.org.

Jason CintiStaff Writer

with the journalism class, Forrest said that the first problem is that “students do not have a clear understanding of their overall achievement in class.” The second concern, according to Forrest, is that the system does not work for everyone. As it is, “it is not okay that so many students feel so confused about how they are doing in class,” said Forrest. The grading sys-tem has to work for more people in order to be successful, she said. The final problem that came up in the survey is that grading “(is) not a transparent practice” and that it does not “line up with our values” of hon-esty and openness between the stu-dents and faculty, Forrest said. On the other hand, the survey also showed that students felt that not hav-ing letter grades on tests, quizzes and essays is an advantage, Forrest said. Students also said that the interim conversations at the six-week mark are “extremely helpful.” In a separate interview, Howland

a history teacher, says the current sys-tem “changes the nature of the conver-sation from ‘How did I do’ to ‘What did I do well and how can I improve?’” History Teacher Clarke Weather-spoon worries that grades can distract students from the goal of learning. The current system ensures “quality (in the) relationships between student and teacher. What we want to do is help students learn and identify what they want to learn.” However, Forrest said that a faculty-teacher committe’s review of the grad-ing survey data found some reasons for change. The committee — made up of Forrest, Jonathan Howland, Dan Matz, Algis Sodonis, Kate Randall, and Clarke Weatherspoon — identified three elements that are “not working” in the current system, and two ele-ments that are, Forrest said. In a question-and-answer session

said course reports and interims are designed “to communicate a nuanced portrait or rendering of a student’s achievement, but what people are tell-ing us instead is that they just confuse the student about (his or her) grade,” said Howland. Many students and families “feel as if we are playing a big game of Taboo.” Sara Ach (’10), who got to see her transcript in the middle of her junior year, thought that “there were a couple of courses where I thought I did better or worse than I actually did.” Gracelyn Newhouse (’12) says Ur-ban shouldn’t “push demanding aca-demics without being upfront about all of it.” But other students adamantly sup-port the current system. Josh Rubin (’12) believes that Urban’s approach “provokes us to pay more attention to detail in our education,” and that changing the system would sacrifice learning for learning’s sake. Ach also supports the current sys-tem and thinks that “if we get grades, it would ruin what Urban truly is.” For now, students should not expect any changes. In typical Urban fashion, the administration is putting extreme amounts of time and effort into this de-cision. However, changes would take effect for the 2011-2012 school year. —Reporting assistance by Jonathan Baer, Cody Siler and Jenna Waldman

Any “retaliation” because of an individual’s decision to report harassment can lead to disciplinary consequences for the person who acts against the initial victim.

A difficult conversation While speaking up can help to keep problems from being ignored, students say it’s often difficult to confess their concerns. “It’s tough to report on someone you have had some sort of relationship with,” said Strebel. Students also seem confused as to where to find the Student Handbook for information on bullying. None of the students interviewed for this article knew where it was located (it is in the “Student Information” conference on Urban’s First Class online system). Neither could any of the students remember being educated on what harassment is or what to do if it happens. “We haven’t talked about it at all,” said Haley Witt (’13). Even those who know what the school’s harassment policy is find it confusing. “(I)t’s ambiguous for students,” said Bustamante. Worsley says students do review the handbook every fall in grade-level meetings and in advising. Ultimately, though, the best way to com-bat harassment within a school setting is not a handbook — it’s the habit of respectful behavior. “We start with core values (and) create a culture of respect,” said Worsley. Students need to speak up when they see inappropriate behavior. ”It’s a basic skill,” said Worsley.

from page 1

CabooseThe Urban School of San Francisco

urbanlegendstaff@gmail.com June 2010