Vibrant stories: unique aspects of 10 MVHS students
About: For this package, my section and I randomly chose 10 students that we interviewed and wrote a feature about. Since I couldn't approach my interviews with a specific angle in mind, there were a lot of subjects they talked about, and I had to choose what I found to be the most important aspect to focus on in the story. I started off both of my stories with a blind lede, as I wanted readers to see that this could be any of their peers and that they all have a story worth telling.
ANDREW GOLONKA
He walked on stage with nervous anticipation, seconds away from beginning his piano performance. Suddenly, he realized that he had forgotten what piece he was supposed to play. He stood there for a minute, trying to remember, until gradually, the music came to him again.
Although sophomore Andrew Golonka was 9 years old during this piano recital, his interest in piano first began at a younger age.
“I was probably, like five years old,” Golonka said. “It was Christmas. I got a toy piano. That inspired me to listen [to and] play [it] and then that started getting me to learn. A couple months later, I got a [real] piano, and my mom hired a music teacher. My music teacher started teaching me, and here I am now.”
Six years later, Golonka is still passionate about music and has expanded his interest to other instruments, like the trombone and tuba, after taking the band elective in middle school.
“I played trombone [in band] up to seventh grade, until my teacher ran out [of] tuba [players],” Golonka said. “So she recommended me to turn into a tuba. So I tried out as a tuba [player], [and] made it to advanced band. It inspired me to continue with this instrument until now.”
Golonka plays the tuba in the MVHS marching band, but doesn’t have many other musical extracurriculars. However, he still enjoys it.
“I’ve been learning music most of my life already,” Golonka said. “And I’m hoping that [it] can bring me somewhere in the future.”
EMILY WONG
She tries to cosplay every Friday, if possible. But it depends on the weather. This year is better than last, though, as she has more outfits available for different weather conditions.
Inspecting her closet, she has a number of options to choose from. Some of her past costumes includes specific characters, such as Baymax from “Big Hero 6” or Anna from “Frozen.” She also has many outfits that are more generalized, like schoolgirl or maid outfits so that she can change them up with different wigs and accessories.
Inspired by MVHS alumnus Olive Wu ‘16, senior Emily Wong began publicly cosplaying her sophomore year. However, she was first introduced to anime when she was only a toddler by her older sister, whose favorite anime is “Cardcaptor Sakura.” Her interest continued to grow, and she has watched and read many other anime shows and manga, one of her favorites being “Fairy Tale.”
“‘Fairy Tale’ has been a very long anime, and I’ve been following it since fourth grade,” Wong said. “I stopped last year because they said it was ending. I cried so hard. I’m like, my favorite anime is ending. A lot of people don’t like it, but it’s really about when you grew up with this anime, you don’t care if it’s horrible. It’s your thing.”
Besides cosplaying as anime or Disney characters, Wong is also into Lolita fashion, a subculture from Japan influenced by Victorian and Edwardian clothing, with a focus on portraying cuteness. Many of her teachers and classmates are accustomed to her cosplaying and compliment her outfits, but in public, people generally just stare, unless she’s at an anime cafe or a convention.
“[Conventions are] somewhere you can just be yourself truly, and just enjoy what you love and are passionate about. Because everyone there is the same,” Wong said. “They love anime, they love manga, they love gaming. And if you’re a huge nerd or anything, no one shames you for it. They join you.”
SELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR
About: This is an opinion story I co-authored with Lakshanyaa Ganesh. At MVHS, a majority Asian populated school, joking about one's on race is relatively common, and we examined the effects it has on the community.
A witty comment or two to entertain a bored audience, to relieve an awkward silence or to have a shield to bounce back on after an embarrassing moment. Humor is the natural human response to something surprising or unexpected, used across all cultures. Yet sometimes, when looking for something to poke fun at, the target falls on ourselves — or rather, a group we belong to.
According to FUHSD, MVHS’s population is 79.4% Asian, and sophomore Jharna Suresh believes that as a result, a large part of the school culture involves joking about one’s own race. In a survey of 385 MVHS students, 82% think making fun of your own race is a common occurrence at MVHS.
Suresh believes it’s a common occurence to hear people make stereotypical and self-deprecating jokes relating to their own cultures, especially when it comes to test scores and grades. For example, people may say things along the lines of “I got a 94 percent on my test, and my parents are going to kill me because they’re Indian.”
Sophomore Jackie Liu hears jokes like these frequently as well, but has conflicting feelings about them.
“I can understand why people would be okay with it,” Liu said. “If you’re of the race [you’re making fun of] and you’re okay with it, I don’t see why not. If [the joke] isn’t funny, and it really is offensive and you’re being overly aggressive, then it’s not okay.”
Suresh believes that ridiculing your own race is akin to making fun of yourself, and this parallel can have many implications of its own. She also acknowledges the tendencies of people to use race as an excuse or reason for the issues they face in their day to day lives.
“When you’re making fun of someone else that’s bullying, and I think that can apply to race too,” Suresh said. “Race is this umbrella term for you and other people to use [and identify with], but it can’t be used in the wrong way. [A lot of people say things like] ‘Our parents are gonna be mad at us because they’re Indian,’ when in reality, they’re mad … because they want you to do well in school and succeed.”
Chinese teacher I-Chu Chang thinks the acceptability of joking about one’s own race depends on the situation, but is generally alright, especially if everyone present understands the culture and background. She also agrees with Suresh about the parallels between self deprecation and making fun of your racial identity, as well as how being racist to other groups can be seen as a form of bullying.
“I don’t like the idea of joking [about] another race because sometimes we are just not thinking and not really being respectful,” Chang said. “But to [make fun of] one’s self, to me, is more acceptable.”
However, Suresh believes that making racist remarks and comments about your own race can play a large role in reinforcing stereotypes. This can add to negative stigmas surrounding a particular minority group. She agrees that a lot of existing stereotypes are a product of outside influences, but the people who make up that minority group also have a role in either dispelling or reinforcing these stereotypes.
“If I go around telling people that my mom said something [derogatory], the fact that she’s Indian would [make other people think] ‘Oh a lot of Indian parents do this,’” Suresh said. “It would create and reinforce stigmas around that race, and would allow people to make hasty generalizations.”
While everyone acknowledges that there may be negative effects from poking fun at one’s own race, Liu believes that its effects can often be blown out of proportion.
“I feel that especially in this day and age, a lot of people get offended really easily,” Liu said. “Someone can make a really generalized statement pertaining to anything and someone can take it too personally.”
Ultimately, Suresh believes that there needs to be a balance between making light-hearted comments about your own race and recognizing when a joke can go too far.
“If you’re just mocking your mother with an accent [and there’s no ill intent], by all means go for it,” Suresh said. “But if it’s taken to an extreme where you’re putting down your own race saying something along the lines of ‘I wish I was some other race,’ that’s when it shouldn’t be acceptable.”
A ROLL OF THE DICE
About: This is a feature story I wrote for El Estoque's November 2018 issue, on the impact of luck in games. I interviewed two student sources, along with a math teacher on the probability behind games.
Watching as the die spirals through the air, the player holds his breath, crosses his fingers, hoping for the number that will win the game. It lands and bounces, once, twice, three times. He releases his breath and uncrosses his fingers, still waiting, hoping, when finally daring to take a peek for that lucky outcome.
However, as much as it may be hoped for at times, according to math teacher Martin Jennings, luck does not actually mathematically exist in games of chance, from rolling a die to playing cards. Instead, he says, the results are based on the probability of winning and balancing the payoff with the probability.
“It’s called weighted probability, so you consider the size of the pot with your chance of winning and go from there,” Jennings said. “Statistics is simply looking at the past and what’s already happened. And that may be trying to project what the future holds based on what the past. So luck? No, not really part of the mix.”
Junior Brandon Guo, who sometimes bets with his friends on various topics, from certain academic results to card games to the results of sports games, agrees on the lack of impact luck has on determining outcomes.
“I think a lot of people think that betting is a lot of luck-based, like, for example, if I lose this one game, I should win the next game or something,” Guo said. “And this kind of attitude is pretty dangerous and makes you a very bad better. I don’t think luck has a lot to do with bets. If you just look at the probability of things, and then you make your choices based on those calculations, you should be able to bet pretty well.”
Junior Rohit Kumar also feels that luck has little influence on games, even those that would typically be seen as based on chance. He participates in fantasy football, where he and his friends each pool $10 in August each year and draft players onto teams. At the end of the year, the money is split based on the performance of the teams.
“Since we’re putting in money, we all have a decent amount of football knowledge,” Kumar said. “And I think most of us do [our research]. So there’s a lot behind drafting players: you look at analysis online, you watch games. It’s not just luck.”
Although he feels that for the season as a whole, the people who do the best are the ones that put time into researching, he admits that there are still certain elements to the game where luck has a more prominent influence. For example, there are events that the player has no control over.
“There’s some things, like injuries, you can’t predict,” Kumar said. “You can’t predict if the field goal kicker misses his field goal. Earlier this year, I lost the game because a field goal kicker, [who] 90 percent of the time is going to make their field goal, missed and that cost me the game. So, there’s little things like that, but I think the winners are usually going to be the ones who put the most time into their research.”
Jennings sees the benefits of analyzing the statistics behind a situation when playing games such as cards, but realizes that it may not always be practical to be extended to everyday uses.
“Even though I like math, it does take work and desire to keep track of statistics [and] probabilities in your head and figure stuff out,” Jennings said. “And when you’re playing friendly games, the games move too fast for some of that. But for the professionals, there are no time limits. They just take as much time as they need to weigh what they want to do.”
Guo, too, emphasizes the importance of weighing the options before making a decision in these types of games.
“Generally, when you bet for higher stakes, you want to be able to win more,” Guo said. “Even if it’s at a lower probability. And you have to really understand when you have to bet more and when you can bet less.”
However, he acknowledges that just analyzing the situation isn’t foolproof. Despite usually taking into account how likely he is to win before making a decision, he has suffered a number of losses as well.
“I definitely remember the times I lose more often,” Guo said. “And I can’t say I win more than I lose. I think I can safely say I win the times I’m supposed to win, and that just comes down to the roll of the dice.”
SELF-DEPRECATING HUMOR
About: This is an opinion story I co-authored with Lakshanyaa Ganesh. At MVHS, a majority Asian populated school, joking about one's on race is relatively common, and we examined the effects it has on the community.
A witty comment or two to entertain a bored audience, to relieve an awkward silence or to have a shield to bounce back on after an embarrassing moment. Humor is the natural human response to something surprising or unexpected, used across all cultures. Yet sometimes, when looking for something to poke fun at, the target falls on ourselves — or rather, a group we belong to.
According to FUHSD, MVHS’s population is 79.4% Asian, and sophomore Jharna Suresh believes that as a result, a large part of the school culture involves joking about one’s own race. In a survey of 385 MVHS students, 82% think making fun of your own race is a common occurrence at MVHS.
Suresh believes it’s a common occurence to hear people make stereotypical and self-deprecating jokes relating to their own cultures, especially when it comes to test scores and grades. For example, people may say things along the lines of “I got a 94 percent on my test, and my parents are going to kill me because they’re Indian.”
Sophomore Jackie Liu hears jokes like these frequently as well, but has conflicting feelings about them.
“I can understand why people would be okay with it,” Liu said. “If you’re of the race [you’re making fun of] and you’re okay with it, I don’t see why not. If [the joke] isn’t funny, and it really is offensive and you’re being overly aggressive, then it’s not okay.”
Suresh believes that ridiculing your own race is akin to making fun of yourself, and this parallel can have many implications of its own. She also acknowledges the tendencies of people to use race as an excuse or reason for the issues they face in their day to day lives.
“When you’re making fun of someone else that’s bullying, and I think that can apply to race too,” Suresh said. “Race is this umbrella term for you and other people to use [and identify with], but it can’t be used in the wrong way. [A lot of people say things like] ‘Our parents are gonna be mad at us because they’re Indian,’ when in reality, they’re mad … because they want you to do well in school and succeed.”
Chinese teacher I-Chu Chang thinks the acceptability of joking about one’s own race depends on the situation, but is generally alright, especially if everyone present understands the culture and background. She also agrees with Suresh about the parallels between self deprecation and making fun of your racial identity, as well as how being racist to other groups can be seen as a form of bullying.
“I don’t like the idea of joking [about] another race because sometimes we are just not thinking and not really being respectful,” Chang said. “But to [make fun of] one’s self, to me, is more acceptable.”
However, Suresh believes that making racist remarks and comments about your own race can play a large role in reinforcing stereotypes. This can add to negative stigmas surrounding a particular minority group. She agrees that a lot of existing stereotypes are a product of outside influences, but the people who make up that minority group also have a role in either dispelling or reinforcing these stereotypes.
“If I go around telling people that my mom said something [derogatory], the fact that she’s Indian would [make other people think] ‘Oh a lot of Indian parents do this,’” Suresh said. “It would create and reinforce stigmas around that race, and would allow people to make hasty generalizations.”
While everyone acknowledges that there may be negative effects from poking fun at one’s own race, Liu believes that its effects can often be blown out of proportion.
“I feel that especially in this day and age, a lot of people get offended really easily,” Liu said. “Someone can make a really generalized statement pertaining to anything and someone can take it too personally.”
Ultimately, Suresh believes that there needs to be a balance between making light-hearted comments about your own race and recognizing when a joke can go too far.
“If you’re just mocking your mother with an accent [and there’s no ill intent], by all means go for it,” Suresh said. “But if it’s taken to an extreme where you’re putting down your own race saying something along the lines of ‘I wish I was some other race,’ that’s when it shouldn’t be acceptable.”