NEWS
Board of Education election results. Page A3
LIFESTYLE
Increased iPad use in classroom notetaking. Page B3
SCI/TECH
Growing popularity of new virtual reality hardware.
PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44
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The Campanile Vol. CVII, No. 3
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
SLICK SCANDAL
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esla inadvertently released over 900 gallons of watertreatment chemicals into a storm drain near Matadero Creek on Oct. 17. This incident prompted cleanup efforts by the city and raised concerns about the company’s environmental record. According to Palo Alto Online, officials confirmed that the chemicals were a mix of disodium tetraborate pentahydrate and sodium hydroxide, usually used for stain removal and cosmetics. The chemicals were used to cool Tesla’s Artificial Intelligence Supercomputer, which were released into a storm drain that flows to the creek. While Palo Alto officials later confirmed the bright green substance wasn’t toxic, Barron Park resident Mike Hedblom, who first reported the spill while on a walk along Hanover Street, said the incident highlights the need for better response planning by Tesla.
“Accidents are going to happen,” Hedblom said. “It’s a And senior Alma Bendavid said the city should have matter of what you do about it … Tesla wasn’t prepared for done more to inform residents about the spill. this, but hopefully they’ll handle it better next time.” “The city should have been a lot more transparent Tesla representatives did not respond to about the spill, because whether the interview requests from The Campanile. chemicals are harmful or not, it's In addition to what Hedblom said was a scary experience for anyone who poor disaster management, junior Talia might see it,” Bendavid said. “It's Boneh said she was worried about the crazy the way that stuff like this environmental and health implications of doesn't get publicized very much.” gallons of chemicals the spill. City of Palo Alto Officials did “If the chemical was toxic, it could have not respond to interview requests leaked into Matadero been really dangerous for a lot of Palo from The Campanile. Creek on Oct. 17 Alto residents,” Boneh said. “Seeing the King also said the lack of comneon green in the news was obviously remunication from the city has left ally startling and shocking, so I’m relieved the Barron Park neighborhood to know that it was not harmful.” feeling vulnerable. Other residents were also unhappy with the poor com“The Barron Park neighborhood is suffering from some munication from the city. Barron Park Neighborhood AsPTSD,” King said. “Just let us know. We should have a sociation president John King said he did not learn about more direct line of information that comes to us in a timely the spill until a week later when a neighbor sent him an manner because ultimately, we want to find out what haparticle from Palo Alto Online. pened, when it happened, and make sure that there are “He sent me the message about this incident and I said, solutions so it doesn’t happen again.” ‘Wow, I’m really surprised that it’s been nearly a week, and I’m finding out through a neighbor, and there wasn’t any notification,’” King said. “I should be one of the first people Meryem Orazova & Shaurya Thummalapalli Staff Writer & Guest Writer that should be contacted by city officials.”
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California bans legacy and donor preferences in private college admissions In an effort to address what supporters say are inequalities in college admissions, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1780, banning legacy and donor preferences in private college admissions across California. The law goes into effect in 2026. California joins four other states who have similar measures aimed at increasing diversity and reducing systemic advantages for applicants with family connections to selective institutions. But former Princeton University admissions officer Hope Murtaugh isn’t so sure the bill will do what its supporters say it will. Murtaugh said while legacy status often provides an extra boost to alreadystrong applicants, it is not a decisive factor on its own. “Legacy definitely tips people who were already qualified,” Murtaugh said. “It might be one of those things that makes somebody stand out, but it never
lets people get in by itself — never. It’s too competitive for that.” Murtaugh also said she doesn't think the policy will increase socioeconomic diversity because most legacy admits are already well-qualified. “The policy is going to weed out maybe half of the legacy admits,” Murtaugh said. “Those seats would just go to the general applicant pool, and they aren’t going to be limited to lower-income or first-generation students.” Junior Bela Patel-Meyers, whose mother went to Stanford for her undergraduate degree, said her status as a Stanford legacy has had little influence on her college plans. “Having a legacy tie doesn't really make me want to apply there,” Patel-Meyers said. “Honestly, hearing about Stanford from my mom and her sisters, who both work there, doesn’t make me want to apply either.” However, a junior with legacy connections to Stanford and who requested anonymity because of potential back-
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lash from admissions officials who might read this story, said they were only going to apply to the university if they had the edge their parents’ and sibling’s connections provided under the current policy. “The experience of going to Stanford would be very similar to Paly because they are literally right next to each other,” the junior said. “If I didn’t have legacy there, I wouldn’t ever weigh Stanford as a choice.” One way that Murtaugh said she sees California's law making a potential difference nationwide is that it may inspire more states to initiate bans against legacy admissions. Several states, including Massachusetts, have such bills pending in their state legislatures. “There are four states that already have restrictions, and I could see it spreading further,” Murtaugh said. “If uber-selective colleges are already denying the majority of alumni children, and it hasn’t hurt their fundraising, then what’s the argument for keeping it?"
Meryem Orazova Staff Writer