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Student Council Opens Its Doors
At student council meetings, attendees are given the opportunity to voice their thoughts on school issues and propose initiatives for change. Before this year, attendance was limited to selected representatives, chosen by teachers or from extracurricular classes like Speech and Debate. Now, any student can participate by...
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Cracks in the Walls
In an effort to bring students closer together, the school planned day-long workshops designed to strengthen the community from Sept. 3 to through 5 called Breaking Down...
Recent Articles
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Mid-Cycle and Money Measures
By Ayush Deshpande Dec. 11, 2025 Dilara Varoglu Art On Nov. 4, several elections were held across the state of California, leading to measures such as Proposition 50, Santa Clara County Measure A, Delano Measure B and McFarland Measure C being passed. Proposition 50 authorizes California State legislature to begin a mid-cycle redistricting of the state’s congressional maps. Measure A will raise the county sales tax to 9.75% for the next five years, and Delano M
Dec 123 min read
The Snapping of SNAP
By Andrew Xie Dec. 11, 2025 On Oct. 1, the U.S. government entered a shutdown for the first time in seven years. After both chambers of Congress failed to agree on a spending bill to propose to President Donald Trump, many government services were either partially or completely stopped. Among these disruptions was the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal program that provides monthly food benefits for millions of low-income households in
Dec 123 min read
A Holly Jolly Musical Sleigh Ride
By Brandon Koo Dec. 11, 2025 Ryan Park Art As the doors swing open to the band room of Rian Rodriguez , Visual Performing Arts Department, the vivid soundscape is impossible to ignore—the brass warmups blaring and the vocal scales filling the room. The collage of notes is a kind of organized chaos that only happens when three major music groups work together—a collaboration between Band, Choir and Orchestra. “I feel more connected because I am working with peop
Dec 113 min read
Chicago School Musical
By Isabell Zhu Dec. 11, 2025 Ryan Park Art The stage lights dim, the orchestra hums a quiet melody and a hush falls over the audience. A single spotlight makes its way on stage—just in time for the school’s long-awaited production of “Chicago” to begin with a jazzy, scandalous and ritzy adaptation of Velma Kelly’s “All That Jazz.” The school’s rendition of “Chicago” premiered on Nov. 12 at 4:30 p.m., followed by evening performances on Nov. 13, Nov. 14, Nov. 20
Dec 113 min read
AI in Education
By Teresa Sun December 10, 2025 The academic environment is rapidly shifting as Artificial Intelligence (AI) moves from a theoretical concept to a powerful tool accessible to every student. While AI-driven systems have been evolving for decades, the current generation of Large Language Models has made personalized, on-demand academic assistance instantly accessible, enabling students to study smarter and more effectively, or perhaps for misuse. However, this rap
Dec 124 min read
Campus Goes Phone-Free
The Phone-Free School Act, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 23, 2024 required all school districts, charters and county offices of education to implement some policy that limits or prohibits smartphone usage during the school day by July 1, 2026. SJUSD decided to enact a complete prohibition in and out of the classroom for the 2025-2026 school year; phones must be kept off and...
Nov 125 min read
Cultivating Culture and Customs
By Sarah Perez December 10, 2025 Growing up Persian-American in the U.S., senior Tara Kashani-Brink celebrated Persian cultural traditions, was spoken to in a mixture of English and Persian and enjoyed Persian food—experiences that led her to feel passionate and proud between her two cultures. Kashani-Brink vividly remembers her mother’s book of Farsi poems; whenever her mother had a worry or unanswered question, she would read a poem to Kashani-Brink and foll
Dec 124 min read
Chargers Roll For Initiative
By Dylan Xie December 10, 2025 On Wednesday afternoons, when many students are tired and eager to head home after a long day, a new adventure is just beginning around the corner of campus in Room F-4—the clatter of dice on the table top, the murmur of voices around the table, the players plotting their next move. This is a typical afternoon at Leland’s Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Club, a growing community of students eager to explore the limitless realms of make
Dec 123 min read
A Matter of Mindsets
By Brandon Koo ` Dec. 12, 2025 Emma Wang Art “Stay positive!” The screen flashes as the teacher monotonously reads off the Seven Mindsets slides. A student scrolls through TikTok under the table, and another races through his math homework. The Social and Emotional Learning Program, founded by author Daniel Goleman, created the Seven Mindsets curriculum and new Monday mental health activities to improve mental health and community, yet, for many students, it coll
Dec 124 min read
College Lottery?
By Melvin Najarian Dec. 12, 2025 Senior folklore claims that the final step of the admissions process involves a dramatic drumroll and an admissions officer sitting back in a large brown leather chair, flipping a two-sided coin: “Accept” on one side, “You are Not Welcome” on the other. Of course, no established university operates this way, but to many students, it sometimes feels like they might. The truth is, admission outcomes reflect less randomness; what feel
Dec 123 min read
Ws in the Chat
The school alarm blares at the University of Akron in Ohio, signaling the start of the day. Hundreds of students rise from their slumber to prepare for class, but they do not pack their backpacks with traditional supplies such as pencils or textbooks; instead, they fill their backpacks with...
Nov 123 min read
"Happy Gilmore 2”
As an avid fan of Adam Sandler and an occasional golf player, on the day “Happy Gilmore 2” came out on Netflix, I sat down before my TV with legs kicked back...
Sep 282 min read
Surviving Typhoon Kalmaegi
By Liliana Chai December 10, 2025 The morning of Nov. 6, Typhoon Kalmaegi unleashed a torrent of destruction on the central Philippines, killing at least 188 people in the country. Heavy rains brought by the typhoon triggered landslides, obliterating residential areas and public buildings. Underlying the storm’s physical damage is the nation’s long-standing issue of corruption-plagued flood control infrastructure projects. This failure in disaster preparedness ha
Dec 124 min read
Starvation and Survival Stories in Sudan
By Winston Chu December 10, 2025 The destructive civil war that broke out more than two years ago in Sudan still persists today, spreading famine, genocide and death among fighters and innocent families in what the National Public Radio has labeled the world’s largest humanitarian disaster. While the conflict officially began in 2023, tension emerged when President Omar al-Bashir seized power in a coup in 1989. Al-Bashier presided over Sudan for three decades un
Dec 123 min read
Mushrooms Insulating Rooms
By Lauren Law December 10, 2025 In Alaska, where homes battle the brutal cold with layers of imported Styrofoam, scientists are turning to mycelium, the living root network of mushrooms, to create a biodegradable and locally sourced insulation alternative that has been in development for nearly a decade. In Alaska, where homes battle brutal cold with layers of imported Styrofoam, scientists are turning to mycelium, a living root network of mushrooms, to create
Dec 124 min read
AI CRISPRfication of Genes
The era of lengthy, trial-and-error laboratory work in gene editing is ending. Researchers are forging a transformative partnership between artificial intelligence (AI) and CRISPR-Cas9, accelerating the speed and precision with which scientists can modify DNA. This alliance promises to...
Nov 124 min read
CSS Successes
By James Yu As the warm autumn leaves wither away with the start of winter, several of the school’s fall sports have successfully topped off the end of their seasons at the Central Coast Section (CCS) championships. Even before they hit the green for CCS, the school’s girls’ golf team was on fire. After finishing the regular season with a flawless 8-0 record, the team dominated the league at Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL) Championships. Hitting the ball running at CCS
Dec 123 min read
Breaking Rules or Records?
By Dylan Xie December 10, 2025 The gun goes off. Runners explode out of the blocks for the 100 meter dash, their legs churning as they push into the ground. The crowd roars, but this is not the Olympics. It is the Enhanced Games: a sporting competition where athletes are openly permitted to use performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in an attempt to break world records and push the limits of the human body. Eleanor Wang Art This idea was conceived in 2023 by Aust
Dec 124 min read
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