Alex Ju

Should one be trapped in Saratoga during the summer, frozen yogurt presents a cool, delicious escape from the heat. Countless available yogurt shops present the perfect opportunity to deviate from the traditional Yogurtland and Pinkberry.

Janice Bobholz, an employee for the state of Wisconsin, chose to work in the public sector, though the private sector offered better pay, because of the rights being in a union afforded her.

“Guns don’t kill people, people do.” The National Rifle Association’s slogan is a famous call for relaxed control regarding arms possession. However, recent events have cast a dark light on the issue. On Jan. 6, Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in an attack that killed six people. Locally, on Jan. 15, a murder-suicide took place outside a Peet’s Coffee and Tea shop on El Paseo de Saratoga.

My brother is a freshman in high school this year. Chances are, however, that you haven't seen him wandering around campus. Though my brother went to Redwood Middle School, he now attends Los Gatos High School. This strikes a number of people as odd. Why have two siblings attend two different schools?

An emergency medical technician for a Connecticut-based ambulance service was fired in November for ridiculing her supervisor on Facebook. The worker’s termination ignited a national controversy, with the National Labor Relations Board deeming the supervisor’s actions illegal. An administrative judge is slated to hear the case on Jan. 25. Breaches of privacy in the corporate world are inevitable byproducts of the proliferation of social networking users; however, similar issues have arisen from student use of these outlets to criticize teachers and school employees.

In a classroom, there are always the students who constantly talk, the students with hands shooting up to answer every question and the students who shy away from even the idea of standing in front of the class. To fix this imbalance, many teachers choose to use a participation grade. Although scoring participation can encourage students to engage in discussions, it is often harmful to the classroom overall.

The 10-year tax cuts for those in the highest tax bracket are soon set to expire, resulting in a raise of taxes on Jan. 1. As the deadline to extend the tax cuts approaches, Washington has been in a state of vacillation. Although Republicans are pushing to maintain the cuts for the wealthy, who are defined as people with an individual income of over $200,000 or a household income of over $250,000, President Obama has no plans to continue them.

"In eight children, the onset of behavioral problems had been linked, either by the parents or by the child's physician, with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination." This excerpt from gastroenterologist Dr. Andrew Wakefield's study was enough to strike fear into the hearts of thousands of parents, and seemed to confirm their belief that vaccines can, indeed, cause autism. However, on Feb. 2, the controversial study was officially retracted by the Lancet, the British medical journal that originally published it in 1998.

After coaches made drastic changes this year in Winterguard and split the group into both a varsity and JV team, the team's strong finish at the San Joaquin Valley Color Guard and Percussion Review (SJVCGPR) Championships on March 26 showed how far the group had come.

Both the JV and varsity Winterguard teams took home first place trophies at their first two competitions of the season on Jan. 29 at Clovis East High School and Jan. 30 at James Lick High School. The wins w*ere the result of weeks of hard work and preparation and were a promising start to the competitive season for the 23 members of the JV team and 12 members of the varsity team.

Saki Kitagawa may seem at first like a regular individual at Saratoga High. She works hard in all her classes, has many friends and participates in a variety of activities, such as marching band. However, Kitagawa is much more than an ordinary student. Junior Saki Kitagawa is an exchange student from the Saitama Prefecture in Japan, located in an area next to Tokyo.

Members of the Winterguard are looking forward to a promising season after placing 4th during field season at the Western Band Association Championships in Clovis on Nov. 21. "I couldn't be more excited about the outcome of the season and am really happy with the improvement all the kids have made," said instructor Tony Crapo, new this year to Saratoga High. Winterguard differs from Color Guard by moving off the field and onto a large indoor floor. More up close and without the band, it focuses solely on the guard, which dances and spins flags, rifles and sabres.

Secret Santa gifts are a popular tradition around the holiday time. Whether between friends, classmates or sports teams, giving and receiving anonymous gifts is always fun. But what if one tried to give someone such presents without any formal establishment? Could one accomplish this? How would the target react in response to the spontaneous gift-giving? I decided to find out.

President Obama and many others are frustrated with American education, annoyed with how the country's performance on international standardized tests is always trailing behind other countries. As a result, he recently proposed a radical plan that would increase the length of the school year.

Saratoga High School students, trapped in a competitive environment that excels in academics, are under constant pressure to get ahead. For everyone from the many students who take geometry during the summer before freshman year to those who go through intense tutoring, the goal is the same: to get through as much math that they can, as quickly as they can.