Brian Tsai

If you’re looking for senior Sandeep Chandrasekhar on Facebook, try typing in his new name Deep Deep Mustafa Muhammad. A rumor that colleges and universities will check Facebook profiles and use the information to make admissions decisions has caused several seniors to change their Facebook names to make it harder for colleges to find them.

The Business for Life club started two years ago as the brainchild of junior Charles Sun and senior Paul Stavropoulos. Ever since then, the club has had big success, especially with the debut of two classes of the Introduction to Business course taught by Kirk Davis last year. Sun and Stavropoulos now want to head in a new direction by changing Business for Life to Investment Club.

Despite losing two highly-rated seniors last year, the chess team is confident they can win the league championship for the fifth year in a row. They have already defeated Leigh 5-0, Bellarmine 6-1 and Menlo Park 7-0.

A lot of students are too sleep-deprived to function in the morning, so they usually turn to a hot cup of coffee to keep them awake. If they can’t make the run to Starbucks without being late to first period, their first alternative is gum. The craving for sugary sweetness has become just as addicting as the need for caffeine. Sadly, many teachers do not allow gum chewing in their classrooms because they find it causes too many problems. What they don’t realize is that gum chewing brings many benefits that can improve academic performance to students.

For months, people debated whether allowing Beijing to host the 2008 Olympics was a smart move. Many regretted the choice, and harsh criticism still bombards the Chinese government for the way it handled the event. But these naysayers miss the point: The Olympics allowed the Chinese to showcase themselves to the world and instilled a thirst for more cultural and social freedom.

Throughout the 2008 presidential elections, candidates have made religion a key issue. Democrats have held numerous conventions discussing the candidates’ religions. Republicans have cast doubt over Barack Obama’s Christianity and based many of the platform’s core concepts on religion. Religion, however, should not find its way into the presidential elections because of the need for separation of church and state.

In response to the sometimes apathetic and negative attitudes at Saratoga High, assistant principal Karen Hyde is teaching a new leadership class this year. Senior Paul Stavropoulos first introduced the idea to Hyde last year after hearing some students' take on the school. "There's a lot of gossip that always goes around about how the students don't really like Saratoga [High], or there are [always] things they can fix," said Stavropoulos. "Our goal would be to make [school] a place where our students could feel not only comfortable and accepted in but somewhere they can also have fun and some spirit."

In response to the sometimes apathetic and negative attitudes at Saratoga High, assistant principal Karen Hyde is teaching a new leadership class this year. Senior Paul Stavropoulos first introduced the idea to Hyde last year after hearing some students' take on the school.

This year’s chess season will be different from past seasons due to the graduation of two students, David Chock, the highest-rated player in SHS history, and Marvin Shu, another top-seeded player. Coach Stayton Chock will still be heading the team. Three talented freshmen, Sankash Shankar, Brian Wai and Evan Ye, on the bright side, have joined the team. Wai and Ye currently place within the top five of the team roster, which is determined by ratings. Shankar may also be added to the top seven.

The boys’ tennis team failed to avoid repeating history when the Falcons lost to Sacred Heart Prep in the CCS finals on May 9. They previously lost to Sacred Heart in the ‘06 CCS finals. “They played a lot better, and I think they really wanted to win,” said sophomore No. 2 doubles player Aditya Joshi. “We were too excited about beating Menlo, and we thought we’d [pull off a] win already against Sacred Heart, so we weren’t as focused.”

If the boys’ tennis team had difficulties after its first loss against Gunn, the Falcons certainly overcame them in their first CCS match, where they easily defeated Aptos 6-1 on May 2.

Monta Vista. Defeated. Palo Alto. Taken out. Even Menlo, last year’s CCS champions, were no match for the amazing boys’ tennis team. But Gunn did not go down like the rest. The Falcons suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the Titans, 3-4, on April 24. The Falcons finished 16-1 this season. Senior Sameet Ramakrishnan attributes this year’s success to many of the players having experience at high levels of the sport.

Not many people know what they want to do when they grow up. Some even have a hard time choosing their careers when they’re adults. But for senior Jennifer Wey, Wey knew that she had a strong future with the violin ever since age 3.