ARTS Have you read a good book outside of class lately? Why not? Here’s how to get back in the habit. PAGE 14
SCIENCE & HEALTH Science classes are beginning to catch up with climate curriculum
Though women are leading the Bionic Bruins, STEM classes are still predominantly male. PAGES 10-11
BEAR
PAGE 7
WITNESS BRANHAM HIGH SCHOOL
MARCH 2023
@bhsbearwitness BHSBEARWITNESS.COM
EXTRACURRICULAR SPORTS
FOOD INSECURITY
LEFT HOLDING THE BAG With emergency food funding gone, California families are feeling the pinch
Grace Ngo/Special to the Bear Witness
Price to pay for athletic excellence
Athletes in club sports have an advantage over those who can’t afford it NOLAN ZILS
Co-Editor-in-Chief
n the student-athlete culture surrounding I the school’s athletic program, those who can afford to join sports clubshave an advan-
tage over those who can’t.. As family income increases, so does sports participation. Global Sports Matters in 2017 reported that 69% of athletes playing at least one sport come from families earning more than Inside $100,000 famili However Sports in families earning less than $25,000 a year, just Exploring factors 34% participated. The ar- behind the high ticle claimed this to be a costs of joining a cause of the expenses to play sports, including club club sport. Page 2 sports. Senior Ava Medina, played varsity girls volleyball last season and recently committed to play Division II at Shorter University in Georgia. She said that playing in college would not have been possible without her participation in club sports. She estimates that her family has spent as much as $7,000 annually for her to play club volleyball, including travel and lessons. This made playing collegiately and getting a scholarship a must. While she said a few athletes on the Shorter squad did only play school volleyball, recruiting is infinitely harder in that scenario, since club games allow for more exposure to scouts and colleges. The experience gap created from club sports SEE SPORTS • PAGE 2
FOOD INSECURITY Inflation and the loss of federal and state funding of food programs are making it difficult for families to stretch the dollar.
RETIREMENT
38,000 Santa Clara County teens qualify for the CalFresh program, which will be discontinued soon.
13.1%
78,746
Food prices increased by 13.1% between July 2021 and July 2022, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. It estimates that inflation has cut the value of SNAP increases by 76% since 2019
households receive food assistance through CalFresh, a number that has jumped since the start of the pandemic.
Volunteer Food Pantries Volunteer sign ups can be done at this link: www.shfb.org/give-help/ volunteer/volcalendar-general/ Branham’s distribution site food pantry takes place every other Wednesday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Text and email reminders are sent by school administrators.
27.7% of Branham students qualiied for free or reduced lunch for the 2021-2022 school year.
Beloved book clerk to retire in June MAKAYLA WU
JIYOON CHOI
T
Susie Fleming
Fleming joined the Branham staff in 2014 as part of the substitute clerical pool, substituting only for Branham. When the previous book room secretary left in 2015, Fleming took the position and has stayed ever since.
Co-Editor-In-Chief
he rollback in February of federal and state food assistance during the pandemic is expected to lead to food insecurity and has led to a dropoff in donations at food banks. During the pandemic, the federal program for food aide, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), increased payouts to food assistance programs in each state. Until February, families in California’s program, CalFresh, received up to $95 in extra benefits. More than 3 million California households, including 78,746 in Santa Clara, receive food
assistance through CalFresh, a number that jumped during the pandemic and has remained there. After March, households would no longer receive these extra funds. A typical family will stand to lose an average of $200 a month. The recent rollbacks are a blow to area families, who are feeling the effects of inflation in their pocketbooks as well as their grocery carts. At Branham, a pop-up food pantry in the parking lot funded by the Second Harvest Food Bank has been regularly providing fresh vegetables, milk and poultry since early 2020, SEE FOOD • PAGE 3
B
Staff Writer
ookroom clerk Susie Fleming will be retiring at the end of this year after nine years in a role that went beyond helping students check out textbooks and novels. As clerk, Fleming has been responsible for preparing and organizing tests, from the PSAT, AP to the statewide CAASPP exams and figuring out schedules for thousands of students and keeping track of books that students need for their English classes. She said that she doesn’t mind that her hard work is largely in the background and unknown to most, saying that her favorite part of the job is organizing testing schedules and making sure everything runs according to plan. “Not a single AP exam has fallen through the SEE FLEMING• PAGE 3