Akshara Sekar

Principal Paul Robinson and various architects have recently been scanning the school for ways to make better use of facilities and classrooms. 

Principal Paul Robinson and various architects have recently been scanning the school for ways to make better use of facilities and classrooms.

Seniors at The Harker School, the private school in San Jose, don’t have first semester finals. Their first semester gives seniors more time to work on college applications. Seniors at Saratoga High and many other schools have no such luck.

BBC’s beloved British masterpiece classic “Downton Abbey” shocked viewers during its American third season premiere on Jan. 6.

Elephants everywhere on Nov. 6 tooted their trunks to their newly elected leader, the well-groomed Mitt Romney. It was a fine day in Mormon households all over as “Jesus took the wheel” (thank you Carrie Underwood) and drove straight into the White House with Mitt on deck. 

"Action,” a whisper sounds, and all goes silent except the actors’ voices and the low, steady hum of a video camera. Later, members of the sitcom team run through the lines, edit the video and sit back and watch their work in action.

Fear. It’s the dominant sensation on the minds of all seniors at this time of year.

“Skins” is a British television series on the air since 2007. The show follows a group of teenagers who navigate through through controversial topics, like drugs, alcohol, mental illnesses and death.

In the first rally, students were surprised at the amount of  self-deprecation by commissioners. After numerous complaints about jokes made in previous years, the rally commission’s freedom on their material has been limited.

In every fairy tale, there’s always a villain lurking in the shadows. In this case, it’s Wisconsin representative Paul Ryan, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s running-mate. He’s big and he's bold. 

In late April, the Falcon launched its modernized website, which consists of more than just a new layout. The new website, designed by senior Arnav Dugar, has a new look as well as many features that integrate into widely used online social networks.

From May 21 to May 30, the Spanish Club has been selling hand-woven friendship bracelets known in Spanish as “pulseras” made by artisans and underprivileged youth in Nicaragua. Each bracelet comes with a tag containing the picture and signature of its creator.

The College and Career Center will be taking used study material books, such as SAT, ACT, essay or scholarship books starting the week of April 2. In an effort to reduce the amount of paperwork, the CCC hopes to move most of its information online, but with the help of donations from students, also manage a school lending library system. “We’re trying to do a spring cleaning. This is basically a callout to students and parents asking them to donate books published after 2007,” said CCC coordinator Bonnie Sheikh.

For junior Shreyas Doshi, April is a stress-filled, head-breaking, fingernail-chewing month. This anxiety comes not from AP classes, extracurriculars or sports, but rather from choreographing a dance in Bombay in the Bay. Doshi, along with junior Rohil Taggarsi, is a choreographer of the junior boys’ dance. The good friends and neighbors spend about three to four hours weekly for approximately two months before the show on April 14 making the dance. Although it may seem insane to the untrained, Doshi believes his past helps him through the time struggle.

Hundreds of students raced to their computers to share the viral “Kony 2012” video this past month. The 30-minute tearjerker, showing Ugandan children as victims of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) forced to become child soldiers and even kill their own parents, garnered over 83 million views on YouTube in under a week, achieving Kony a spot on Yahoo’s top trending list rather than his well-deserved spot on a wanted list.

t’s a scary world when a minor can go to her local CVS pick up a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, a box of Kleenex and a pack of Plan B pills. Thankfully, this situation was averted by the Obama administration’s decision to reject a request from the Food and Drug Administration to let anyone of any age buy the Plan B, or “morning-after pill,” directly from a drugstore. This is the first time that the Department of Health and Human Services has refuted a decision made by the FDA on the basis that drug makers did not fully assure that the product would be safe for younger girls.

The “ginger” stereotype Junior Olivia Whiting, a medium-height student with strawberry-blonde hair (more strawberry than blonde), recalls excitedly attending a Sharks game, cheering for the home team and returning home saddened by being the object of a media-created stereotype. An insolent male fan with a soggy hot dog covered in ketchup charged up to Whiting and yelled, “Ginger, high-five!” as the Sharks scored.

After 92 juniors expressed interest, the social studies department has decided once again to offer an Advanced Placement European History course. The course will be taught by social studies teacher Jerry Sheehy, who taught the class three years ago. AP Euro ran for a year before interest petered out and only 20 students signed up.

There is the oh-so-noble and admirable cause behind the Occupy Wall Street movement to establish a better distribution of economic power in America. Then there are the horror stories: protesters smashing in shop windows and setting barricades ablaze in Oakland, attacking police officers with razor blades, unprovoked in San Francisco, and pushing elderly women down stairs in Washington, D.C.

“Revolution, Reaction, Reform.” The theme of the 2012 History Day competition holds promise for all participating sophomores, juniors and seniors. Coming from their respective world history, U.S. history and government classes, students feel more prepared than in years before to place in this year’s National History Day.

7:50 a.m.: A couple bewildered stares, some hushed tones and the blaring hum of the wheels.

A cookie for a Caucasian male: $2. A pastry for an Asian-American: $1.50. A brownie for African-Americans: 75 cents. A cupcake for a Native American: 25 cents. The cost of getting rejected based on ethnicity or gender: astronomical.

When senior Ivan Lee was in eighth grade, his wardrobe was in no way the representation of his style. After wearing his brother’s hand-me-downs for years, Lee was left with no choice to determine a style of his own and strove to create his own image. After attempting to assert his own individuality, he realized his brother’s old clothes were the basis for his own style.

Every year, the ASB is bombarded with requests from of students requesting to form a club. The wide variety of skills and interests at SHS has led to almost 61 clubs, with five more impending on campus for a school population just under 1,400. However, the sheer number of clubs has become a problem.

When senior Ivan Lee was in eighth grade, his wardrobe was in no way the representation of his style. After wearing his brother’s hand-me-downs for years, Lee was left with no choice to determine a style of his own and strove to create his own image. After attempting to assert his own individuality, he realized his brother’s old clothes were the basis for his own style.

High-waisted skirts/shorts From the time summer began, to its dwindling downfall in the coming days, masses of girls enjoyed dressing in tucked-in tanks with high-waisted skirts or shorts. The style, a resurgence of a 1950s fashion staple, can be worn at a multitude of events. Many girls enjoy the flowing skirt as a symbol for the free, casual look of summer, versus others who prefer the business-casual appeal of high-waisted shorts. Either way, look out for some of these voguish styles among your classmates! Big Sunglasses

When March rolled around last year and schedule preferences were made, senior Thomas Ishikawa requested a free sixth period because of conflicts with baseball. However, upon receiving his schedule this year, the school said that he had to take seven classes during his final year in high school.