Christine Bancroft

This past summer, I studied at Stanford for three weeks. I took a psychology class and lived on-campus in a beautiful house with 26 other students and four counselors. It was something that, a few years ago, when I was crippled by shyness and a general social awkwardness, I would never have been able to do. But this was something new and exciting for me.

Starting Dec. 6 many students were surprised when they pulled into the parking lot in the morning, only to find their usual parking spaces cordoned off for the construction of a new fence. In addition to newly painted crosswalks, the construction represents the school’s efforts to improve the parking situation and increase in the lot.

When it was announced last April that drama teacher Chris Mahle would not be returning to his position, the future of the drama department was uncertain. The students were worried that their beloved "family" would fall apart in the unforeseeable future.

Next year will be one of change and adjustment for drama students, as current English teacher Kerry Mohnike has volunteered to teach two classes of drama after Chris Mahle, who has led the program for four years, was not retained by the school. Many students were disappointed about news of Mahle's departure, which was revealed during a drama club lunch on April 6 by assistant principal Karen Hyde. Junior Hannah Harter said the news was "very upsetting" and was surprised to hear it.

Rick-rolling the announcements. Trying the notoriously spicy chicken at Smoke Eaters. Visiting the Mystery Spot and Hicks Road. These are a few of the 21 missions, some more daunting than others, that senior Lauren Henderson has set out to accomplish before she says goodbye to Saratoga High. Henderson, who is attending Seattle University this fall, documents the count-down on her blog, "21 Things, 2 Months," on Tumblr and YouTube channel under "laurenslistof21," to document her progress.

In a country that treasures above all, its liberty, freedom, justice and equality, a shocking new measure that limits the freedom of women and their choices has been passed by the Oklahoma State Senate. Despite being vetoed by Gov. Brad Henry, the law is being called the "strictest abortion measure in the country" by the National Center for Reproductive Rights, as well as being protested by thousands of women all over the country.

Shortly before the Holy Week of Easter, the Catholic church was hit with a devastating and familiar scandal. A massive cover-up of pedophilia and sexual abuse committed by priests and high-ranking members of the church was brought to light. With over 300 cases just in Germany, the victims have reported everything from molestation to repeated abuses, including beatings and rape. These offenses have left an unknown number of children traumatized by the very people who were supposed to guide them.

Twelve SHS drama students arrived at an Ontario theater in Southern California on March 25 armed with songs and others with monologues and ready to see how their see how their work compared to drama students throughout the state.

Fraternities on the UC San Diego campus allegedly hosted a party mocking African Americans and Black History Month on Feb. 15. Dubbing the event the "Compton Cookout," the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity instructed attendees to wear clothing no smaller than extra-extra large and asked women to dress as "ghetto chicks" in an attempt to perpetuate racial stereotypes.

Luger Nodar Kumaritashivili speeding down the track. Kumaritashivili going airborne as his luge remains grounded. Kumaritashivili tumbling through the air and coming to a disturbingly fast stop around a steel beam. On-site paramedics compressing his chest and trying to get air flowing through his lungs.

As the season began to shift into spring, members of the National Charity League, or NCL, hosted their annual spring tea on the morning of March 14 at the Walden West Education Center. The event was the culmination of hours of organization and hard work by NCL's class of 2012.

Since the opening of the Whistler Sliding Centre in 2008, many have called the luge track "too fast" or "unsafe." People believed that one day, the track would take the life of one of its competitors. But they never expected that a fatal accident would occur so soon, as Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvilli was killed after losing control of his sled and slamming into a steel pole during a practice run on Feb. 12, the opening day of the Olympics.

This February break, while much of the student population hit the ski slopes, a group of students traveled in the opposite direction––Mexico. On Feb. 11, 52 Spanish students and five teachers traveled to Cuernavaca, Mexico, to attend Universidad Internacional. While there, they took a week of six-hour long courses and went on several excursions to Taxco, a nearby silver mine and town, and Xochicalco, the site of former Mayan pyramids. Students also took classes in salsa dancing, watched a movie in Spanish and socialized with Mexican high school students.

Saturday morning rolls around and a group of students wearily trudge up the steps to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. library in San Jose. Junior Grace Kim, Synthia Ling and Kevin Mu are here to complete research on the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger. They are working on a short document about her life in time for History Day in June.

On June 20, 2009, a 27-year-old woman was killed by a sniper in the Iranian government paramilitary forces, the Basij. Her death was videotaped by two others, both of whom were protesting the fraudulent June 2009 elections that reinstated President Mahmoud Ahmidinejad.

Stephanie Meyer's 2005 novel, "Twilight," has created a phenomenon among female readers all over the world. It has grown into a multi-million dollar franchise including film adaptations and has launched the author and the actors portraying her characters into super-stardom. The fans, or "Twihards," obsess over the series with something similar to a cult following. Critics of the series and the fans call the Twihards "deluded and rabid," in the words of one blogger.

The school will be hosting its first version of National Service Day, a nationwide event in which people do a variety of community service projects. It will occur Jan. 18, which is also Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, a nationally recognized holiday.

I have a twin. This does not mean that we love the same things, do everything together and wear the same clothes. We are not identical. This is mostly because my twin is a boy.

In a famous 1964 incident, a New York city bartender named Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was walking home late one night after a day's work when she was attacked by a man. She screamed, pleading nearby bystanders for help, but the screams seemed to fall on deaf ears; the bystanders stood idly, and later, Genovese's attacker came back to finish the job. Her murder—and bystanders' indifference to her pleas—became a national outrage and the source of years of academic study.

The 2009 Homecoming week will certainly be one remembered for changes, as it came to a close with a senior quad day, a football game and an unusually clean dance in the gym the following night, Nov. 7.

The drama department successfully showcased fall play "On the Razzle" during the weekend of Oct. 22-25 at the McAfee Center, despite difficulties such as illness, issues with scene changes and cues and a smaller audience turnout than had been seen in the past. "There were a lot of bugs going around during rehearsal," said sophomore Natalie Berg, who played a Scottish woman. "Everyone was in really close contact. It was hard not to get sick." The play, by British playwright Tom Stoppard, was directed by drama teacher Chris Mahle.

Saratoga, 1977. Previous Homecomings had been lackluster and unenthusiastic. There was a Thanksgiving football game, but none of the decorations, quad dances and other festivities that came to be associated with the event.

All the students enrolled in the Media Arts Program (MAP) traveled to the Fort Miley Ropes Course in San Francisco on Sept. 18. The purpose of the ropes course field trip was to encourage to students to work together, overcome personal challenges and achieve their goals, such as building trust and team-bonding. “We were asked to do things like walking across a tightrope, boosting someone over a wall, walking across a log suspended high in the air, or zip lining,” said sophomore Antara Rao. Rao also said she felt the field trip was successful in encouraging teamwork between classmates.

All the students enrolled in the Media Arts Program (MAP) traveled to the Fort Miley Ropes Course in San Francisco on Sept. 18. The purpose of the ropes course field trip was to encourage to students to work together, overcome personal challenges and achieve their goals, such as building trust and team-bonding.

“There was no way out.” Since May 5, three students have killed themselves on Caltrain tracks. They all were from Henry M. Gunn High School. They stepped in front of an oncoming train in a public place. The first was a 17-year-old male who committed suicide on the tracks on May 5. In June, another student was killed the same way. On Aug. 21, the Friday before Gunn's school year commenced, a 13-year-old girl took her own life after leaving a suicide note.