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Photo Credit: Mary Ann Anderson
Fireworks at Sunset Cove.
January 6, 2012
Meilin Liang
New Year’s was a couple of days ago and it marked the start of 2012. All the years have been important in shaping me into who I am, and I have a feeling that this year will be the most pivotal and memorable. This is the year when I will be receiving college acceptance and rejection letters, attending Senior Ball, graduating and receiving a diploma, turning eighteen, enjoying a wonderful summer, going off to college, and doing many exciting events. It’s surreal to think that in a matter of months, I will be off to college and live in dorms with other college students. I am anxious for the transition from adolescent to young adult and being an independent person. Then again, I am also sad to leave the comfort of Fremont, a city where I have lived in my entire life. I have high hopes for this year and I am ecstatic for whatever this year brings.
Photo Credit: Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda
Counterfeit currency is displayed at the Secret Service Orlando Field Office in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday, November 3, 2011. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)
December 12, 2011
Anmol Mathur
Two Lucky supermarkets in Fremont, along with more than 20 other of the Bay Area chain stores, discovered a severe problem in their self-check-out lanes on Nov. 11. It appears that thieves have tampered with the card-readers, secretly attaching card-skimmers that store the card and PIN numbers of any customer who uses the self-check-out. Some stores even had tiny cameras hidden near the key pads that would record the customers typing in their financial information. Lucky claims to have no idea how or when anyone could have installed these devices in the stores. Senior Johnfavour Ng said that the whole incident was “Shady to say the least.” On Nov. 23, the supermarket chain warned the public about the danger of possible credit card and debit card scamming, and since then the stores and banks have been inundated with complaints of identity theft—some people losing up to $700.
“It makes me want to use cash now rather than my debit card,” says senior Jake Nichols. “I feel scared about spending my money with my debit card. I can’t really trust any kind of card-swiping pay system for a while now.”
As of now, banks are having to reimburse their clients’ losses with bank-owned money. No reports of identity theft were reported by customers who had used a regular check-out lane. The Secret Service is now involved in this investigation into who is responsible for this massive case of fraudulent activity. They are calling the scamming devices “extremely sophisticated”. Senior Jonathan Hui was surprised by this and exclaimed, “Cash!” as a way to fix this problem. Save Mart Supermarkets operates the Lucky chains and advises anyone using a debit or credit card to examine any card-reading machine carefully for any unusual nuances before proceeding to input private information.
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January 19, 2011
Shadi Rayyan, Videographer
The Fremont city council rescinded its original decision on Tuesday, Jan. 11, over the building of the new skate park until further investigation of the environmental impact it will have in its currently planned location. This decision sets the city’s deadline of completion a year back, until summer of 2012 at the earliest.
Originally, the skate park was to be built and completed by 2007, when the temporary park was to be closed. The city was forced to delay the project time and time again for lack of funds. The temporary park was closed over 2 years ago, and only recently were the funds acquired for the permanent park.
The meeting stemmed from a complaint made by neighbors across the street from the planned skate park location. Adjacent to the water park, residents brought a lawsuit against the city claiming that they hadn’t done proper sound and light studies, which would disturb the peace and lower property values.
The decision came as a loss to both sides, further delaying the much awaited park but not solving the resident’s problem, as the park is still planned to be built at the same location. Arguments from both sides were heard, with the board making a 5-0 decision to rescind the original plan.
The board came to a conclusion to suspend the project and do the required environmental study, but not to move the project to a new location unless the study deems the site in violation of sound and light codes.
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October 20, 2010
Dylan Mahood
What is taking Halloween too far? Is it the macabre costumes, the boisterous late-night parties, or the TPing pranksters? Actually, there is something much darker.
When I was a kid I always felt like Halloween was watered down and the mischief promised to us by pop culture was unrealistic. It was fun repeating “Trick-or-Treat!” as an empty threat with the masses of kids bearing their lost-tooth smiles, but I always thought it would be fun to see some actual Halloween pranks.
One year, however, I walked out to our front yard the chilly morning after Halloween, and found the remains of my pumpkins stuck to the street like the sticky candy ground into my molars from the previous night. Maybe as a teenager you wouldn’t be surprised if someone smashed your jack-O’ lanterns, but put yourself back in the shoes of a young, naive, six-year-old kid.
Azevada Elementary School was not going to have enough money to take its kindergarteners on the annual pumpkin patch fieldtrip—so several classes planted pumpkins last spring for the incoming kindergarteners. Parent volunteers took care of the plants over summer, but this September some vandals snuck into the school to massacre the pumpkins against the Azevada buildings. Now the school is paying money that is increasingly precious due to the budget cuts to purchase new pumpkins, and the kids are left feeling cheated.
I can understand why in theory it might seem reasonable to smash pumpkins after Halloween when the pumpkins will just get moldy soon anyway, but just because something “sounds like a good idea” doesn’t mean it’s justified. People have to take into consideration the hard work and time that went into carving the pumpkin and the emotional value something like that has to a little kid.
The vandals may snicker at the ignorant fools who leave their pumpkins outside and vulnerable on porches and feel a barbaric sense of power from the act of splattering thier guts across the asphalt, but, how much esteem can you really extract from breaking a child’s holiday project?
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December 15, 2009
Shelmi Liang and Alejandro Montalvo
Although “home” is the ultimate destination for the holidays, spending the entire day at home might be boring. But where is there to go in Fremont, California? We’re just a BART ride away from San Francisco and a 20-minute drive from San Jose.
San Francisco offers a few holiday attractions. Every year, Macy’s sets up a giant Christmas tree adorned with lights and ornaments. The surrounding buildings have enough lights to illuminate a tiny village. The overwhelming experience invites an evening stroll or serves as backdrop to your shopping enjoyment. Near Union Square, the ice skating rink offers modestly-priced ice skating.
“Last year I went shopping with my friends at Union Square in the afternoon,” senior Alice Pan said. “By the time I was finished it was nighttime and the lights outside were beautiful.”
On the other side of the bay, San Jose offers shopping centers and Christmas in the park. If you are willing to buy pricey gifts, Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row contain stores, restaurants and a movie theater to accompany your taste.
In our hometown, you could go to the Shark’s Ice skating rink.
“It’s fun if you have a lot of people going with you,” freshman Sylvia Liang said.
If you are thinking about staying home for the holidays, these are a couple of suggestions of places to go and things to do.
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September 19, 2009
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September 18, 2009
Photo by Paolo Bonaccorsi
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September 18, 2009
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July 20, 2009
Anterpreet Kaur and Nicole Doan
The Fremont board of education excluded Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina from the AP English curriculum by a vote of 3-2 at a June 10 meeting. The semi-autobiographical book is about a girl who is beaten, molested and raped by her step-father.
“AP English students may be intellectually ready for college level studies; but emotionally, I think they are still too young to handle certain issues,” board member Ivy Wu said in an e-mail.
Board member Bryan Gebhardt’s view contrasted that of Wu.
“It is a superbly written book, and a fantastic example to all students of what great writing is,” he said in an e-mail. “Dorothy Allison did an excellent job of capturing the shame, confusion, and guilt an abuse victim feels. It is important for everyone to understand this, as unfortunately abuse is much more common than we would like in this world.”
Also a member of the Secondary Schools Textbook Adoption Committee, he, along with other supporting committee members, recommended the book only to English 12 AP students.
“In general I believe students can handle much more than we realize, especially with a trained professional teacher facilitating the discussion,” Gebhardt said.
Initially, AP English teacher Teri Hu believed the mere title of the book shaped the board’s decision. Her own son and daughter read the book at the ages of 14 and 12, respectively.
“I would never give my students anything I wouldn’t give my own children,” she said.
Hu submitted the book for approval by first reading the book, filling out a specific form and finding two other supporters, who were also required to preview the book. The English curriculum committee, consisting of secondary school department chairs and an administrator, examine the book and form. The Secondary Schools Textbook Adoption Committee, whose members are teachers, administrators, parents, and Gebhardt, then met to approve the book. The district’s board of education is the final determining factor in the book’s endorsement.
“To my knowledge, nothing that’s passed the previous two levels has ever been rejected here. I was genuinely surprised when I found out it was voted down,” Hu said in an e-mail.
If students are interested in reading Bastard out of Carolina, they will have to stop by the library to pick up a copy. After all, the Young Adult Library Association has it on its “outstanding books for the college bound” list.
“As parents and educators, it’s condescending and ignorant to prevent [students] from reading about difficult subjects,” Hu said. “The more enlightened and responsible approach is to guide them through the reading, giving them a chance to ask questions and discuss it openly with adult supervision. That is how we teach. That is how we prepare young people to enter a complicated adult world where they have to make informed decisions on difficult topics.”
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June 26, 2009
Washington’s 450 graduates of the Class of 2009 received diplomas on June 19.
Photo by Paolo Bonaccorsi
