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16th congressional district elections. A2
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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
Profile on Megan Lemoine. C1
The Campanile Vol. CVI, No. 5
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
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n efforts to help improve campus culture and encourage dialogue between students, Breaking Down the Walls, an event sponsored by Ignite2Unite, took place during the school day from Jan. 23 to 25 in the Peery Center. According to Ignite2Unite’s website, BDTW aims to create a safe environment for students to build empathy and understanding through a “play, trust, learn” model. Principal Brent Kline said the event was a place for students to put aside their differences and create connections. “I wanted to give the students of Palo Alto an opportunity to learn more about who they are and what they can bring to our school,” Kline said. “It was a chance to connect and to stop, pause and find out more about your peers.” Junior Ethan Wang, a student leader for the event, said BDTW gave students the chance to see their peers in a different light and recognize shared experiences. “The students in our school community are more alike than you may think,” Wang said. “You're not alone in certain situations.” Junior Akiva Okumoto-Forrester, who attended BDTW, said the interactive activities at the event were structured to cultivate bonds within the student body. “I (enjoyed) the team-building activities because they were very competitive, and I think competitions are (important) in
order to build those deeper relationships,” OkumotoForrester said. Freshman Clara Manolache, who also attended the event, said she enjoyed the chance to meet new people. “My favorite part was meeting all the people because you had deep conversations with them,” Manolache said. “It was really nice to connect with people who I never would have talked to, and then get friends that you would never, never expect.” However, not all students felt like their expectations of the event were met. A Social Justice Pathway senior, who asked to remain anonymous because of potential backlash from teachers and administrators, said she was required to attend the event as a part of her grade. “The only reason I did it was because I had to do it,” she said. “I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.” SJP History teacher Cait Drewes said the SJP staff team for seniors saw the event as an opportunity for students to engage in more communal activities. “We are piloting a new community-based grading category, and we are trying it out with our second semester seniors and sort of seeing how it works out,” Drewes said. The anonymous senior, though, said many students were repeatedly encouraged to sign up, which decreased the appeal of the activity. “(Administration) made it seem like something that wouldn't be fun,” she said. “People had to do it, so then you got people who didn’t want to be there.” An ASB member, who asked to remain anonymous also because of potential backlash from teachers and administrators, said the presentation of the event to the ASB class was rushed and unclear. “Part of ASB is having (good) communication with the students and helping the staff and
admin when (we) need to,” the ASB member said. “It would have been nice if we had more warning or expectations for the (event).” This senior was also surprised that every member of ASB needed to recruit 10 students to attend the event as part of their grade. “I think it was surprising that this assignment was made,” they said. “At first, all the students were stressing about it. Overall, it worked out pretty well, and ASB ended up recruiting a decent number of students to attend.” Manolache said despite being told BDTW would not resemble Challenge Day, it ultimately did. Challenge Day is an event where students share emotional experiences with one another. Manolache said toward the end of the day, BDTW contained a “Cross the Line” activity where students step across a line ANILE A/THE CAMP ALEX ISAYAM drawn on the ground when an experience applies to them. “It was the exact same,” Manolache said. “You cross the line, then compliment or apologize to your peers.” Despite these student concerns, Kline said the event was an overall success. “I’ve heard tons of positive comments from students day after day,” Kline said. “I think the more we connect, the stronger and more efficient we can be as (a community).” Meryem Orazova & Alex Isayama Staff Writers
Sophomores Kevin Fong, Max Soparkar, and Luke Lew stand together to participate in Breaking Down the Walls. "The students in our school community are more alike than you may think," Junior Ethan Wang said. ART BY RACHEL LEE
MAC Open House event sells journalism to incoming freshmen
The Media Arts Boosters held a MAC Open House on Jan. 23 to educate the community about the variety of classes offered in the Media Arts Center. The open house, organized with the help of the journalism teachers and publication students, offered community members information about media arts courses and tours of the Media Arts Center. Junior and Incubator staff writer Marcus Ling said he volunteered as a tour guide because he wanted to give back to the journalism community and let prospective students know about the variety of choices they have when it comes to courses in the media arts center. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to contribute to my community because ultimately, our program depends on the
students,” Ling said. “The more students we can get, the longer (the program) is going to thrive, the longer it’s going to run.” Ling, as a representative of one of the publications, said of all the reasons students join publications, his favorite part is the independence and flexibility. “It's about all the different stories, all the different perspectives and all the different cultures I can learn about,” Ling said. “You aren’t confined to one type of journalism. You can pursue what you think is important in the world.” Jackie Wong, a parent of an eighth-grader, said the event opened her eyes to the numerous opportunities at Paly and made her consider encouraging her son to join one of the media arts programs.
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“My son is a STEM kid, but it is a good way for him to get out of his comfort zone, to be able to present and (improve his) public speaking,” Wong said. Eighth-grader Mateo Rosas said he enjoyed seeing the InFocus studio during a tour of the MAC. “I really liked going up and seeing the recording room of InFocus,” Rosas said. “They have a lot of cool equipment. I'm going to take one of the journalism classes, so I can join one of (the publications).” Eighth-grader Ian Harvie said he was drawn to the opportunities he hears about in photojournalism. “My favorite (publications) so far are probably Proof and Via Verde,” Harvie said. “You take nice photos and you put them in the paper.” Harvie said the open house was a success, and that he left the event excited about potentially joining a media arts class. Harvie said, “It just seems like one of the most fun electives (high schools) can offer.”
Gavin Lin
Assistant Managing Editor
GAVIN LIN/THE CAMPANILE
Junior Divij Motwani explains the Incubator class to parent Jackie Wong. Wong said the event opened her eyes to the opportunities at Paly and made her consider encouraging her son to join one of the media arts programs. "My son is a STEM kid, but it is a good way for him to get out of his comfort zone, to be able to present and (improve his) public speaking," Wong said.