OPINION
8 CENTERSPREAD 10-11 GRAPHICS
5 FEATURE
guide to 2016 trends
weaponized antisemitism
THE VOL. 61, NO. 5
19
classics & coffee
immigrant fear
SMOKE SIGNAL MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL
January 30, 2026
41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539
sneak peek
into this month’s articles:
immigrant fear
As the clock struck 2 p.m on January 20, Washington High School Junior Maira was one of the al nearly 100 students to walk out of class in a nation Cusand ration Immig US walkout protest against toms Enforcement (ICE). Maira, who chose to give only her first name out of safety concerns, didn’t it know about the demonstration until just before occurred — but her empathy for humans pushed See more on pgs. 10-11 her to join.
As course registration season approaches, MSJ is introducing six new courses to its course catalog for the 2026-27 school year, including AP US Government and Politics and AP English Language and Composition (AP Lang). This decision has sparked discourse within the MSJ community on whether these courses are a positive addition.
new classes at msj 2026-27 AP US Government and Politics AP English Language and Composition Science Lab Technician Assistant AP Cybersecurity (ROP Center Campus) Newcomer ELA levels 9-12 Advanced English Language Development
PHOTO BY STAFF WRITER FINN MCCARTHY
luis he sprints into uchicago
Senior Luis He turned spikes into opportunity, discovering his path one lap at a time. After beginning track his sophomore year, He has now committed to the University of Chicago for Division III Track and Field, fulfilling a lifetime goal of his. This spotlight will chronicle his journey to finding and falling in , love with track, his goals for the upcoming season and his thoughts about committing to UChicago. See more on pg. 15
PHOTO BY JUNIOR MICHAEL HWANG
guide to photobooths
The Bay Area is home to a variety of photobooths, ranging from vintage analog machines to modern photobooths with a multitude of digital add-ons. Locations including Potobox, San Francisco Photobooth Museum, Musée Mécanique, and Club g Photomatica each have their own charms, offerin while ries memo e captur that nces unique experie blending nostalgia, customization, and affordabilSee more on pg. 20 ity.
PHOTO BY GRAPHICS EDITOR HANNAH BI
The California State University (CSU) Direct Admission Program took effect January 1 as a part of Senate Bill (SB) 640. Officially known as Public Postsecondary Education: Admission, Transfer, and Enrollment, SB 640 aims to break down accessibility barriers to higher education. High school students with a GPA
Gavin Newsom On October 8, 2025, CA Governor Direct Admissigned SB 640, establishing a CSU l students. sion Program for qualifying high schoo
To align with course opportunities given to students across the district, MSJ is introducing six new courses. AP US Government is taken with college prep Economics, while AP Lang replaces English 11 Honors. Although AP US Government and AP Lang have been offered at other FUSD schools previously, such as American and Irvington, this upcoming school year is the first time they will be available at MSJ. “I believe we were the only school that was not offering AP Government, so I wanted to offer something that students and parents were interested in, and it was already offered at other schools in FUSD,” Assistant Principal Jeana Nightengale said. With these new course offerings, some students are glad to have more opportunities to take challenging humanities courses on campus. “I’m really excited to see that these courses are finally coming to MSJ. I’ve always been more interested in the humanities, and [MSJ] is very much a STEM-focused school … so there weren’t many options for me to explore, especially when selecting classes,” Junior Kaiwei Parks said.
MSJ implements 6 new courses for the 2026-27 school year Cecilia Cheng, Aarav Vashisht & Lucas Zhang
Staff Writers The introduction of new AP classes has allowed students to expose themselves to more materials and expectations of college courses. “Originally, I was planning on taking only [English 11 Honors], but I’m deciding that I’m probably going to take the AP English instead. That’ll be more helpful, because it’ll help me learn more about college-level literature instead of just honors,” Sophomore Minlu Zhao said. Despite significant support across MSJ’s student body, some students have also expressed their concern for the removal of English 11 Honors. Specifically, some juniors enrolled in English 11 Honors believe that because teachers would have to comply with the standardized AP curriculum, the American literature aspect and the potential rigor of the course may be jeopardized. “[English 11 Honors] is a rigorous
would you prefer to take english 11 H* or ap Lang?* 47%: English 11 H* 53%: AP Lang* Data collected from an Instagram poll at @msjsmokesignal *English 11 Honors, AP English Language and Composition
course where we dive into a lot of books, while AP English Language is more focused on writing essays, and I’m not sure how the teachers will integrate that … English 11 Honors has been a static course for many years, and now they’re changing it,” Junior Roshan Annamalai said.
However, because students often select more advanced classes, the administrators have stressed the importance of student interest over academic rigor. “I’m hoping that it doesn’t have too much of a negative effect, but we don’t know. I do hope that students will still consider that they should be taking classes that really interest them above trying to take as many AP classes as possible.” — Principal Amy Perez
Similar to the replacement of English 11 Honors, MSJ has offered the Newcomer ELA series in the past under a different name to support the campus’s English learners. The Science Department chairs created the Science Lab Technician position as an extension of the Chemical Technology option. Nightingale stated that the department made this move as a response to a restriction on Chemical Technology that only allows students to assist teachers with chemistry credentials, whereas the new position allows students to assist any science teacher at MSJ with lab work. The new courses have been met with both enthusiasm and concern from the MSJ community. “It’s nice to know that they’re trying to branch out what kind of electives we have into what we could possibly see in the future, in our lives, [and] jobs, because — let’s be honest here — APs are not going to take us anywhere, except for college. To see that there are more hands-on electives and more ‘creative’ electives ... I think it’s a great addition,” Junior Katelynn Tran said.
CA State Universities expand access through new Direct Admission Program
versity Professor Caroline M. Hoxby and University of Virginia Professor Sarah Turner shows that direct notifications can boost application and enrollment by informing them Amy Han & Matthew Zhang of their eligibility to some schools. The AmerStaff Writers ican Association of University Women of California, the CSU Employees Union, school of 2.5 or higher who have completed A-G households. districts, and community colleges have shown The program runs from the 2027 admis- their approval for this program. high school graduation requirements are automatically issued acceptance letters. “SB sions cycle through January 1, 2037 for stu640 is motivated by the idea that it should be dents in participating school districts, county “We are extremely proud to have led the as easy and seamless to go from 12th grade offices of education, and charter schools, foway in California with the successful dito [college] as it is to go from 10th grade to cusing on underprivileged and first-generation rect admission pilot program with the 11th grade,” CA State Senator Christopher families. SB 640 is the first systemwide direct California State University and the Class admission initiative in CSU. Participating Cabaldon said in a press release. of 2025 in Riverside County,” According to the Public Policy Institute campuses, such as CSU East Bay, CSU Chico, — Riverside County Superintendent of of California, CA’s poverty rate rose from and Cal Poly Humboldt, use transcript-based Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez 15.2% in 2022 to 16.9% in 2023, with 6.4 accounts on CaliforniaColleges.edu, CA’s ofmillion residents living below the state pov- ficial college and career planning platform, to erty threshold of $43,990. According to a determine eligibility. While SB 640 increases access to admission study by the National College Attainment offers, it does not remove financial barriers “I think it’s going to open doors for a Network, schools with 75% of students qualsuch as tuition, housing, or books. Acceptance lot of students who may not have conifying for free reduced-price lunches only letters also do not guarantee placement in spesidered college or didn’t know it was an had a 50.5% college enrollment rate, while a cific CSU campuses or academic majors. For option,” — Counselor Lindsay Rotter school with less than 25% qualifying for free students aiming for other higher education reduced-price lunches had an enrollment rate institutions, the direct admission program For students at MSJ, the program could be offers an automatic backup. “It would mean of 73.3%. CSU has long worked to reduce economic barriers in public education; as of especially helpful for those who feel uncertain that I automatically have a backup option to 2024, over one-quarter of CSU undergrad- about their college options or discouraged by fall on if I don’t get into another school that I uates are first-generation students, and 52% the traditional application process. really wanted to [get into],” Sophomore Anna A 2013 working paper from Stanford Uni- Dai said. of first-year students came from low-income
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Online THIS MONTH
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ALBUM REVIEW: LOCKET
RENEE NICOLE GOOD’S VIGIL COVERAGE
Madison Beer’s Locket lives in the space between holding on and letting go. Released on January 16, it is an album built on memory, mood, and emotional suspension. Read the full review on our website.
On January 7, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. The Fremont community gathered at Good’s vigil and protested against ICE’s rampant enforcement operations. Read the full coverage on our website.
For more coverage, visit www.thesmokesignal.org