Trung Vandinh

Deeming itself the “anti-Facebook,” the new social network “Ello,” which boasts a simple and private yet also ad-free interface, is turning many heads. While the website, still in an invite-only beta stage, is committed to retaining an optimized user experience, it is dooming itself to failure as an ineffective and unsuccessful business.

The Media Arts Program (MAP) added a Media Arts 2 class for juniors this year, a continuation of the sophomore MAP class Media Arts 1 — and also a major blow to the size of the broadcast journalism program, which has suffered a greater than 50 percent drop in numbers and is down to a staff of 14 students.

Senior Rio Harada has sat through hundreds of hours of lectures, jotted down notes in English and history, taken the SAT and passed countless tests. But in June, after the years that he spent struggling through school with his classmates, he plans to take a very different path: Harada will be enlisting in the military.  

Three media professionals urged students to follow the path that suits them best as they begin their careers in the next few years. They spoke to an audience on Nov. 8 in the McAfee Center as guests of the Media Arts Program (MAP).

To graduate, students need to complete two years of a foreign language. Though there are many ways for them to fulfill this requirement, almost all to the language classes offered at school. One of the possible alternative languages is an unexpected one: American Sign Language (ASL), a course that can be taken at local colleges like De Anza College and West Valley College and fulfills the language requirement.

As the matches continue, the girls’ volleyball team has only grown stronger and more accustomed to the younger players on the team.  As of Oct. 14, they remain undefeated in the El Camino league with a record of 5-0 despite preseason struggles.

During an average school-day lunch, many students pile into one car and hurry off to fill their stomachs. Though the law imposes a one-year wait before new drivers can carry minors, few students climbing into cars know if the driver has had his license for that long. To these kids, waiting that year does not matter.

As the school year begins to gain momentum, so do Saratoga’s many successful sports teams. Last year, the girls’ volleyball team placed second in their league, almost making the CCS playoffs. The team strives to be league champions this season and build upon last year's success.

Over the last summer, senior twins Eric and Kip Ringsrud began work on an old 1978 Datsun 280z, which they bought off Craigslist without an engine.

On April 6, family and friends filled the many seats stationed around a runway in the Large Gym to watch around 140 student models support a worthy cause. This year, the eighth annual Benefit Fashion Show raised money for the American Cancer Society in memory of longtime art teacher Steve McCue, who passed away from a rare form of lung cancer in early January at age 48.

It is hard to imagine that the necessity of Health/Driver’s Ed, a class crucial for the easily influenced teenage mind, could come into question; however, with a weakening annual budget and the high cost of classrooms and material, this could be the case.

Recent tragedies have sparked a national outcry against firearms. As a result, President Obama and others are aiming to tighten restrictions on guns and ammunition, measures that will prove to be ineffective.  

As schools around the nation experience severe budget cuts, Saratoga has not escaped unscathed.

On Dec. 5, Nationwide Insurance issued a public notice on its website informing customers that a breach of security had occurred on Oct. 3, joining a whole host of companies that have been infiltrated by hackers.

Early October of last year, The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved an all-services overlay that added a new 669 area code to the same geographic region as the existing 408 area code.

When senior Maggy Liu heard her name over the announcements on Oct. 15, she felt thrilled and a little confused. 

Recent scares, including the vandalism of a student’s car and of school property, have caused members of the school community to bring up the question of whether the school has enough security cameras. Though some security cameras do exist in the front of the school, their effectiveness is questionable.

Nuts are now included among the many substances and foods recognized as dangerous by the administration. Around campus, bright pink sheets of laminated paper warn, “This is a [nut-free] zone. Do not eat nuts in this space!”

Since fewer students signed up for the classes than needed, woodworking will not be offered in the course selection starting this fall.

On Aug. 24, The Falcon approached several students with an opportunity for ephemeral glory in the Saratoga Olympics. Those who were convinced of their ability to digest processed foods accepted the challenge and promptly began inhaling hot dogs at school.