8 CENTERSPREAD 10-11 GRAPHICS
7 FEATURE
OPINION
dhth: salt bread
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THE VOL. 61, NO. 4
native cultural guide to holiday appropriation light shows
SMOKE SIGNAL MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL
December 17, 2025
41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539
MSJ students and parents protest against schedule changes at FUSD board meeting
sneak peek into this month’s articles:
By Aarav Vashist & Andy Zhang
opinion: kirkification
Staff Writers Amid rising tensions between FUSD and some MSJ families over changes in the 202526 school year bell schedule, more than 30 MSJ parents and students affiliated with the Mission Possible Parent and Faculty Association (MPPFA) advocated against the controversial twoday finals schedule and the removal of Advisory at the November 20 FUSD Board of Education meeting. Some of these options included preserving Advisory and minimum-day scheduling while also complying with the state-mandated 64,800 face-to-face learning minutes required per school year. Approximately 71.7% of educators voted against restoring Advisory, according to Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA) Representative Science Teacher Lane Melcic.
considerably shorter, meaning that test makeups would not be possible. “If we were to keep Advisory, we had to shorten it so it would not be long enough to do a test makeup, because that would be unfair to the student who had to make it up,” Melcic said. As for the finals schedule, due to a mandate on interactive-learning minutes imposed by the state, the removal of minimum days meant that scheduling for finals testing requires adjustments to ensure sufficient face-to-face instructional learning.
msj students: do you support the new Finals schedule? MSJ MPPFA Student Representative Sophomore Leina Ikeda gives a public comment advocating for the revival of Advisory at an FUSD Board Meeting.
Data from an Instagram poll on @msjsmokesignal
Teachers who favored this schedule also believed that Advisory was misused for the primary purpose of leisure activities. “Teachers thought that it was unstructured instructional minutes, where kids mostly just went to hang out with their friends, go on their phones and play video games, so [they] wanted those minutes put back into instructional minutes,” Principal Amy Perez said. Additionally, even if Advisory was to be reinstated, the session would be
In a response coordinated by MPPFA President Anusha Vaidyanathan, parents and students expressed their discontent regarding the schedule at the FUSD board meeting open session, raising concerns about the choices made. MPPFA also presented data collected from a survey consisting of 577 students and parents, all of whom opposed the current bell scheduling, expressing the MSJ community’s concern. Three MSJ students attended the board meeting, each raising specific concerns about the changes made and sharing personal anecdotes of their experiences to oppose the new schedule. With topics ranging from extra time for sleep to %exible test scheduling, each student composed a 1-minute speech outlining why FUSD should restore Advisory.
Native American Cultural Appropriation at MSJ and the fight for change Editor-In-Chief, Web Editor and Staff Writers MSJ’s Indigenous iconography is rooted in cultural insensitivity. For decades, the symbols involved in the school’s logo and mascot have derived from stereotypical depictions of Native American people, both offensive and inaccurate to local Indigenous communities. Debate and calls for reform have and continue to define discussion surrounding the issue, pitting cultural sensitivity against school tradition. The Smoke Signal reviewed district records and its own archives to trace MSJ’s problematic history of appropriating Native culture, from the earliest iterations of the Warriors mascot to the 1995 powwow controversy, and finally, to today’s national efforts toward discarding deeply-engrained prejudice.
read more on pgs. 10-11 PHOTOS BY THE SMOKE SIGNAL ARCHIVES
www.thesmokesignal.org
Although these concerns were directly voiced to the FUSD Board and Superintendent, it is important to note that the board has no control over MSJ’s bell schedule, which is entirely dependent on MSJ staff. Despite the improbability of implementing these changes in the current semester, students are still seeking practical change. “We want to bring more students to talk to the superintendent soon. We’re generally going to be pushing for these changes to be in effect by the spring semester. It’s too late to make those changes for December,” SURFBoardE Representative Senior Ashwin Vaidyanathan said. Following the concerns raised at the school board meeting, Perez and Superintendent Zack Larsen have acknowledged the concerns of the student body and have encouraged MSJ teachers who are requiring finals to resort to less intensive tests or not implement testing altogether. In response, 30-40% of teachers will not be administering a traditional finals exam this year, and many who are will be giving a shorter one hour exam, decreasing the anticipated student load tremendously. “After these concerns were raised, I think teachers are more aware of how students feel, so they’re reconsidering. Instead of giving a traditional final, they’re looking at giving a chapter test or … a project,” Perez said.
“RIP Kirk, your sacrifice meant something,” one TikTok user said, captioning a slideshow of AI-generated memes of the late Charlie Kirk. “[These memes are] genuinely more important than he was,” other commenters said, countering the former user’s statement. Following the death of Turning Point USA Founder and Right-Wing Podcaster Charlie Kirk, satirical posts such as the above – part of a larger trend dubbed “Kirkification” – have exploded in popularity, taking the Internet by storm. See more on pg. 5
GRAPHICS BY OPINION EDITOR JANET GUAN
Wicked: for good review Wicked: For Good, the sequel to Wicked (2024), continues exploring Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda Upland’s (Ariana Grande) complex relationship as they fight for what they believe in. While Elphaba is actively trying to fight for animal rights and expose the Wizard, Glinda embraces her role as the Wizard’s spokesperson, using her in%uence for political gain. See more on pg. 13
PHOTO BY PRINTERVAL, LICENSED UNDER CC BY 4.0
Glowfari at oakland zoo
MPPFA President Anusha Vaidyanathan (right) voices parent concerns about the new finals schedule.
Reopening for another year of vibrancy, Glowfari at the Oakland Zoo features hundreds of glowing animal lanterns nightly from November 7 to Jan. 25, 2026. From towering giraffes to delicate butter%ies, these displays provide a captivating holiday destination for the Bay Area community to celebrate wildlife and art. See more on pg. 19
PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITERS AARAV VASHISHT & ANDY ZHANG, COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE GRAPHICS BY NEWS EDITOR JENNIFER LI
local park encampment clearance triggers questions about city’s homelessness response
PHOTO BY STAFF WRITERS AMBER HALVORSEN & CECILIA CHENG
By Padma Balaji, Ekasha Sikka, Erika Liu & Andy Zhang
Online THIS MONTH
20
By Amy Han, Mansi Mundada & Hamnah Akhtar
Staff Writers
Smoke Signal articles in May 1995 depicting the controversy over MSJ’s Warrior mascot.
ZOOTOPIA 2 REVIEW Released on November 26, Zootopia 2 returned audiences to a bustling metropolis with the same energy that made the original film a beloved classic. Its world expands to explore weighty topics, such as colonialism and power structures. Read the full review on our website.
Fremont officials cleared out an encampment of more than 40 homeless individuals at Isherwood Park on November 14 with a full park closure, citing maintenance efforts. The closure of Isherwood Park is part of a broader push from the city to relocate unhoused individuals. The city disclosed in a November 12 newsletter that the park was temporarily closed for the duration of winter due to “necessary improvements and maintenance” to reduce environmental hazards. The city also states that they have been developing a relocation plan for residents since mid-2025, and that a team of staff, service providers, and volunteers, has been on site to provide information for the community. “Through that effort, 33 people are now in shelter. The remaining people decided to leave voluntarily,” Homeless Services Manager Laurie Flores said. Still, many residents of the encampment find the clearance a difficult shift. “[The move is] very emotional … we all prefer to stay,” Isherwood Park Resident Veronica Sanchez said to ABC7 News. “We’ve all been here for a long time, so read more on pg. 2 we’re all close.”
NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T REVIEW
The third installment of the Now You See Me franchise, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, brings back the Four Horsemen. They embark on a new adventure with a new generation of magicians for another heist. Read the full review on our website.
For more coverage, visit www.thesmokesignal.org