1 Voice Winter 2011

Designed by Nina Kamath, District 1 YAC Public Relations Officer

+ In this Issue

Upcoming Events

o SAP Open Tennis – Feb 7th-13th

o Bay Area Pet Expo – Feb 26th

o Stanford Wind Ensemble – Mar 3rd

o Cirque Du Soleil - Quidam – Mar 24th-27th

Legislation

o New Legislation in California Brings

About New Changes

o Governor’s Proposed Education Budget

Yields Mixed Feelings

o Santa Clara County to Upgrade

Juvenile Justice System

Opinion

o Quit Cheating Yourself

o Tiger, Tiger, Burning Talent

o Too Many Activities?

Art Corner

o Photography: Autumn Leaves

o Color Pencil: Gluttony

o Photography: Scenic

Featured Youth

o Katie Gu

o Sruthi Ramaswami

Issue #

Volume 2, Edition 2: San Jose Youth Advisory Council of District 1

March 1, 2011

+ Welcome!

Dear District 1 Youth,

It‘s been a really busy second quarter for all of us. College apps, finals, holidays. As we‘re all finalizing

getting settled back into school and our daily busy lives, I‘d just like to remind everyone to stop every so

often and take a look at the world around you and get involved.

It‘s easy to forget what the world outside of our lives is like. It‘s important to watch out for what‘s

changing around us—from things as global as the Egypt crisis to things as local as the drastic budget cuts

in the city. Programs for youth are being cut. It‘s important to speak out on the budget so you as youth get

what you want and what you need.

Community activism is another great way to get involved. Joining YAC is one excellent method! Our mid-

year recruitment may have ended by the time of this publication, but keep your eyes peeled for our end-

of-year May recruitment.

We‘re also doing activities that may pique your

interest. Providing homework help for younger

kids, attending a city-wide youth conference, and

taking part in a nation-wide cleanup event (with

free pizza!). If you want to help and get

engaged, get out there. If you‘re on the edge, go

give it a try. Everyone benefits.

No Hesitation for Participation. Try living by that

for the next four months.

Feel free to contact me at

[email protected].

Thanks,

Peter Tang


+ Startling Statistic

Serving ice cream on cherry pie was once illegal in Kansas.

~Credits to Kevin Xie

COMPILED BY: HANSAA GOPALAKRISHNAN, VIRUP GUBBA, AND VISHWAESH RAJIV

+ SAP Open Tennis February 7th-13th

Play tennis with friends at:

HP Pavilion

San Jose, CA

+ Bay Area Pet Expo February 26th

When: February 26. 10am – 6pm

Where: Santa Clara County Fairgrounds

What: Pets receive ―spa treatments‖ from local groomers, sample delicious

treats, and try on the latest in ―furry fashions;‖ their humans interact with top

trainers and learn pet-care tips from animal welfare organizations.

+ Stanford Wind Ensemble March 3rd

When: March 3. 8pm.

Where: Dinkespiel Auditorium, Stanford University

What: Giancarlo Aquilanti directs the Wind Ensemble in this concert, which is

presented by the Department of Music with support from ASSU.

+ Cirque du Soleil - Quidam March 24th-26th

Watch an exciting play at:

HP Pavilion

San Jose, CA

Mark Your Calendar!

Events

Legislation

+ New Legislation in California Brings About New Changes BY: ACHYUTH SRIRAM

It‘s a new year and as the new year begins, new laws are brought into action.

One of the new, controversial laws that is now in effect is the reduction in the

penalty for marijuana possession of 28.5 grams or less to merely an infraction,

the equivalent of a parking ticket and just a $100 maximum fine. Legislation that

was brought in by State Senator Mark Leno, Democrat from San Francisco is truly

revolutionary. This bill is the first time that the California Legislature reduced the

penalty for possession of marijuana or any other drug offense since 1975 and

this makes California the most liberal state in terms of marijuana possession.

One might think that this bill is just for the marijuana users but this bill is

actually a major cost cutter for the state. With the new law in place, more than

50,000 people who are arrested each year for misdemeanors will not have a

criminal record and be spared the cost of having to appear in court which saves

the state millions of dollars in this $28 billion deficit that we have come to live

in.

Another new law that was brought into effect was the banning of processed oil

from restaurants in the efforts to try to protect the general population from trans

fats. It specifically bars the sale of unlabeled baked goods that were cooked with

trans fats beginning last month. Because trans fats increase cholesterol, analysts

predict that the reduced consumption will save California up to $180 million

dollars in medical costs. However, not everyone is happy about the new laws

that are taking place. Ron Nehring, chairman of the Republican Party, states ―The

overall trend in California government continues to be more intrusive‖ We‘ll just

have to see how these new laws are enforced and in effect.

at the price of a quality education.


Page2


One-third pound stalk of broccoli contains more vitamin C than 204 apples.


Legislation

+ Governor’s Proposed Education Budget Yields Mixed Feelings BY: TYLER KOTESKEY

Governor Jerry Brown‘s recently proposed state budget has educators breathing

a simultaneous sigh of relief and gasp of anxiety. K-12 educators, who have felt

the sting of drastic budget cuts for the past three years, are spared from further

funding reductions. Nevertheless, the plan calls for over $400 million to be

deducted from the Community College system and another $1 billion to come

from the UC System.

Superintendent Vincent Matthews of the San José Unified School District said,

―We're appreciative of the governor not imposing further cuts to education.‖

Even so, Matthews said, the funding level is disappointing because of the

successive years of budget cuts the school districts have had to weather through.

The impacts of education cuts are well-known to San José youth, who have seen

many of their teachers laid off, their class sizes increase, and their science and

art programs reduced.

Further muting optimism is the fact that K-12 education will only avoid further

cuts if several taxes, which are set to expire this year, are re-approved by

voters in June. If voters do not approve the tax extensions, San José Unified

School District alone could face $10.7 million in cuts, or $333 per student.

Regarding the possibility of shedding any more from the already lean education

budget, Matthews remarked, "You can hear the sigh in my voice trying to figure

out what more we can cut. It's mind-boggling.‖

Meanwhile, the anticipated impacts on higher education will be severe. California

Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott predicts that about 350,000 students

will not be able to enroll in any of the Community Colleges if course fees are

raised from $26 per credit unit to $36, despite these fees still being among the

lowest in the nation.

The education cuts come amid Governor Brown‘s Five-Year Plan to balance the

state budget by raising taxes and cutting over $12.5 billion in funds. Educators

and students alike can only hope that these needed budget reforms do not come

at the price of a quality education.


Page 2

Legislation + Santa Clara County to Upgrade Juvenile

Justice System BY: ADITI PRADHAN

Santa Clara County officials have announced plans to change the juvenile justice

system. Their aim is to treat juvenile offenders differently than adult criminals

and ensure that the youngest offenders stay out of jail.

In his 2011 State of the County Address Tuesday, County of Santa Clara Board of

Supervisors President Dave Cortese declared 2011 ―Year of the Child‖ and

proclaimed, ―I want to put Juvenile Hall as we now know it out of business…I

would like to transition the highly skilled employees there out into the

community to work on prevention and intervention instead of locking our kids

up." He explained his new plan of changing the age limit for entry into juvenile

hall to 16 and sending younger offenders to community-based treatment centers.

Presiding Juvenile Court Judge Patrick Tondreau hopes that the integration of the

new system "sends a message to the community that we do treat kids differently

than adults…They are not just short people; they're still growing up, and their

brains do not allow them to appreciate the consequences of their actions like an

adult. You have to appreciate that if you're going to work with kids."

Currently, offenders as young as ten have been incarcerated in county prisons,

although the board policy discourages entry for those twelve and younger.

Cortese‘s proposal contrasts Governor Jerry Brown‘s plans to eliminate the state

youth prison system and send more young inmates to county facilities.

Union leader Mark Murray expressed his disapproval for Cortese‘s proposition,

explaining that "creating two additional bureaucracies would cost a fortune."

+ Quit Cheating Yourself BY: LAUREN TAI

It was one of those rare days. Right before school starts a student abruptly

remembers he forgot to do his worksheet for a class. Without thinking straight,

his initial plan of action out of panic is to ask for his friend‘s homework and copy

it. This scenario and others, including cheating on tests, or simply discussing a

test with other students, is sometimes seen in the high-pressure high school

atmosphere. If a student is on the brink of cheating, that student should instead

turn in incomplete work than a copied version and keep their eyes to their own

paper.

This would obviously lead to a decline in their grade. However, it would also act

as a constant reminder for the student to work even harder in order to make up

the grade due to the lack of an assignment or points off on a test. It is not fair for

a person to spend his or her time working on an assignment and studying, then

have a peer copy his or her work. Students need to start enforcing an honesty

policy on themselves and accept that it is okay not to be perfect. If no one cheats,

no dependency is created and everyone is therefore graded on an equal scale.

Cheating also only hinders those who cheat. Although cheating may seem like an

easy way out of a complex academic situation, it is not and would result in dire

consequences. Those who do engage in such activity would later end up

suffering from a lack of independency. Therefore, implementing a no-cheating

policy on oneself comes with benefits. In the long run, students who do not cheat

would be capable of being independent and learn to depend purely on

themselves. Not cheating would lead to self-improvement as well because one

would then work hard in order to achieve the standards they want to achieve. Do

not take the easy way out and instead depend on yourself.

Opinion


Page 2


The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.


Opinion

+ Tiger, Tiger, Burning Talent BY: SABRINA SHIE

On the night of Jan. 8, a friend of mine sent me an article titled ―Why Chinese

Mothers are Superior.‖ At first, I thought it was a joke. Then I saw that the

author was a Yale professor named Amy Chua and that it had been published

in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, every word printed in the article was

true.

For the most part, it‘s an explanation of how Chinese mothers raise more

successful children than Western mothers. It‘s also just an excuse for Chua to

brag about her kids on a national level. Her view is that there‘s only one path

to success, and that it is being the best at everything, but more importantly,

having a mother like herself to guide children to their ―goals.‖ She holds her

children like trophies and calls herself a ―Tiger Mother.‖ But I say that Chua

was lucky. She‘s very fortunate to have children with the talent for music. The

problem is Chua‘s approach doesn‘t always work. She focuses on a very

narrow boundary (music and good grades), but does not take into account her

kids‘ happiness, and completely misses any other talents her daughters might

have. What if they didn‘t enjoy playing their instruments? What if they were

good at something else? No one will ever know.

I‘ve known someone who was pushed to success by a ―Tiger Mother.‖ She

was constantly pressured by her mom to swim faster and eventually made it

all the way to her club‘s national team. I recently bumped into her at a meet,

and congratulated her on a successful swim. Within five minutes, she told me

that she hated swimming, and really could not care less about swimming. It

was her mother who loved swimming. Her mother believed that she knew

what was best for her daughter, but her daughter viewed every hour put into

swimming as joyless, and every one of her mother‘s urgings as reminders of

her hatred.

And as for talent, the only person who has a clear idea of what they want to

do and where their talent lies is the person himself. Not even a ―Tiger Mom‖

can know for sure. I remember reading an article on a Chinese-American

family, with another ―Tiger Mother‖ and a resentful child. He went to Harvard,

before shortly dropping out to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. In this

case, the ―Tiger Mother‖ view fails to see the other talents and the child‘s

happiness. The conclusion ends with bitterness on both sides.

That‘s not to say Chua did not put in effort to raise her kids. However, there

are different methods of success, because the ―Tiger Mother‖ method can

easily backfire. If her daughters did not have the talent in the area that she

had pushed them towards, the end result would have been a different story.

+ Too Many Activities? BY: OLIVIA ZHU

Debate, science bowl, student council,

dance, volleyball, theater, Junior

Statesmen of America, Future Business

Leaders of America, Gay-Straight Alliance,

journalism, research, and more: every

day, I see my peers getting more and

more busy. Though having too many

choices is certainly a better alternative to

having too few, this abundance of activities

has certain drawbacks.

Why do students keep piling more

on their plates? The answer lies

in the ever-present worry about

college admissions. Everyone knows that

being invested in extracurricular clubs,

sports, and arts means that highly-ranked

universities will weigh your application just

a little bit heavier than anyone else‘s.

Being a club‘s president, a team‘s captain,

or the lead in the play makes a candidate

even more attractive. Thus the abundance

of student-created and -run clubs.

Being busy is fine, but being stressed out

certainly isn‘t. Sometimes, being a club member

without being invested in a club is worse than

doing nothing at all. Don‘t be that one kid that

everyone dislikes because he or she never

shows up to meetings but still uses the club to

pad college applications. And it‘s hard to be a

good, solid member of everything: there are

dues to pay, huge time commitments to fulfill,

and tons of work to do. The best solution?

If you‘re passionate about something,

do it. Work hard at being the best editor,

teammate, singer, debater, or chess player

you can be.

It‘s ok to have to drop that one

club that you always forget to go to.

Seriously!


Page 2

Art Corner

+ Photography: Autumn Leaves BY: ROOPA SHANKAR

+Photography: Scenic BY: FRANK WANG

+ Color Pencil: Gluttony BY: JOSHUA HUANG


Page 2

Featured Youth

+ Katie Gu BY: SHILPA NATARAJ AND CONNIE LI The Winged Post (Harker Upper School)

Nose clipped. Muscles burning. Breathing held back. Eyes wide open.

And then, with a triumphant burst out of the water, Katie Gu (9) emerges in

perfect unison with her teammates. As a competitive synchronized swimmer,

Katie has competed four times at nationals, formerly known as the Junior

Olympics, as well as three times at the international level.

―[Synchronized swimming is] really exhilarating, and it‘s nice to get a chance to

show what you‘ve been working so hard for,‖ Katie said. ―You‘re really in the

moment so it goes by quickly.‖

Katie is one of eight members of the 13-15 Team A, based on her age and skill

level, at The Santa Clara Aquamaids club. The team typically practices at

Gunderson High School in south San Jose; otherwise, they practice at the Santa

Clara International Swim Center or at San Jose State University. Competitive

synchronized swimming has provided Katie with the opportunity to travel to

various locations such as Peru. Her team may even visit Italy this summer.

―[International competitions are] always a lot of fun because there are always

different people from different countries coming to the competition yearly, so

you get to know a lot of people,‖ she said.

Thus far, Katie has also managed to visit nearly every state in the nation for

synchronized swimming competitions.

+ Startling Statistics

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Of married couples, 70% of men and 60% of women have

cheated on their spouse.

Not all polar bears hibernate; only pregnant female polar

bears do.


During her trips to nationals, Katie‘s mother Huan Tu accompanies her for

support, and considers the parents as the ―cheer team.‖ ―[As] I watched Katie

walk out from backstage, I was in tears,‖ Tu said. ―I [could not] believe [that she

was] such a young lady - the way that she walks, the pride, it‘s just very

different from every day when you watch Katie,‖ she said about her daughter‘s

first water show.

Even before she entered elementary school, Katie participated in dance,

gymnastics, and speed swimming. Later on, Katie became tired of speed

swimming, and her coach then recommended synchronized swimming. After

Katie began participating in synchronized swimming at seven, she found it to be

―a combination of all the sports that [she] loved and did.‖ At first, Katie was

slightly intimidated by the older team members. ―I thought it was really hard,

and there was a lot of dedication [required], considering I was just seven-years-

old,‖ she said. Eventually, however, she grew to love synchronized swimming for

the close friendships and bonds with her teammates who were ―always there to

support [her].‖

As Katie grew older, balancing her academic workload and synchronized

swimming was a challenge, especially in the eighth grade.

―I‘d eat dinner in the car, and then I‘d get home and start doing homework right

away,‖ she said. ―I had no time to waste on Gmail or Facebook [since] I got home

at 9:30 [in the night].‖

During her journey as a synchronized swimmer, Katie has had several coaches,

including alumnus Andrea Nott ‗96, daughter of Director of Nursing Services

Debra Nott.

Katie said, ―You have to be dedicated to your team, the coaches, and if you let

down yourself, you let down everyone else.‖


Question & Answer

+ Sruthi Ramaswami AN INTERVIEW BY: ALISHA DUA

A current junior at archbishop Mitty High

School, Sruthi is a great youth advocate

in California‘s government. Recently she

has been working towards a better

future through her work in Catholic

Lobby Days, her internship at Assembly

Member Jim Beall‘s office, her

Presidency of her school‘s advocacy club,

and her work as the Communications

Director of the 14th Congressional

District Student Advisory Board of

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. She hopes

to continue her work in politics in the

future.

+ What got you interested in government and politics?

My freshman year civics class completely changed my life; after several mock court cases and presidential elections, I

developed a profound interest in politics.

My teacher approached me one day after observing my interests, and asked if I would like to attend ―Catholic Lobby Day,‖ a

day where members of different dioceses around California convene at the state Capitol to lobby their representatives about

issues such as food stamps, juvenile sentencing, and safe surrender, to name a few.

After attending and preparing for that day, I took on a leadership position in the Mitty Advocacy Project, and my interest

continued to develop. As part of MAP, I have organized a letter writing campaign to close the School of Americas and lobbied

representatives such as Assembly Member Jim Beall and Senator Elaine Alquist.

Currently, as President, I‘m working with the San Jose Police Department to create an educational curriculum about human

trafficking. Perhaps most exciting of all—MAP has taken a leadership position in organizing ―Catholic Youth Lobby Day,‖ an

initiative to encourage advocacy among youth.

+ What do you hope to do with what you have learned?

Doing this type of work has led me to

firmly believe in the power we have to

make a difference in our communities.

I know that I want to study something

in college that will allow me to make

an impact on the world. Community

service can be done in several

different ways, and my future goals

include establishing a business that

will serve the needy.

+ Why do you think it is important for people to speak out for what they believe in?

We, as youth, have a unique

perspective on the world around us. It

is imperative that we speak out for

what we believe in because our

actions will ultimately shape our

future. We will be the leaders of our

world in a few years, and it's up to us

determine what our future will look

like.

1 Voice Winter 2011

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