Kevin Mu

Known for its upscale appearance, tasty food and affordable prices, the Bell Tower Bistro has been chosen as the recipient of the Saratoga Youth Commission’s first Teen Friendly Business Award.

Jet packs, hydrogen-powered cars, virtual reality and a cure for cancer are some of examples of the scientific advancements students believe society will have achieved by the year 2020. Although more cautious in their predictions than students are, many researchers are also confident that science will have great impacts on society in the coming decade.

In January, Toyota announced a recall of 10 million of its vehicles as the result of floor mat and gas pedal defects that could cause spontaneous and uncontrolled acceleration. Since then, dozens of reports of runaway Toyotas have surfaced in the press, and unhappy drivers are looking for compensation from the car-manufacturing giant.

Every student longs to be successful in their post-high school endeavors. And due to increasing competition, many students pack their schedule so full of AP class study sessions and extracurricular activities to remain "competitive for college" that they often don't make time to simply enjoy high school. But 2003 SHS alumna Michelle Lin, the older sister of current senior Maggie Lin, has shown through her own experiences that stressing out about competition and obtaining an insanely high GPA isn't necessarily the only path to success.

In the normally tame world of high school badminton, a rowdy crowd of players gathers around a single court. The crowd erupts in cheering and applause after each point. With lightning-fast reflexes, sophomore Jeffrey Kuo blocks an impossibly fast smash from his opponent, Gunn High School's Charlie Yang. With flawless footwork, Yang makes it to the net for a cross-court net drop. But it's too late. Anticipating the shot, Kuo storms to the net, and with a flick of his wrist the birdie strikes the floor. Kuo clenches his fist in satisfaction—the match is over.

At Saratoga High, the valedictorian is the student with the highest GPA at the end of his or her four-year high school career. However, one's high school experience should not be limited to academics, and therefore the valedictorian and salutatorian of a school should not be chosen based on grade point average alone.

"One, two, swing! One, two, swing!" head coach John Phung repeats as he slowly circles the members of the varsity badminton team, who stand organized into rows and are practicing their racket strokes at the top of the quad steps. In a departure from last year's more free-form practices, Phung, who is returning to coach the Falcons for his second year, is focusing on improving players' core skills through basic drills and more intense conditioning. "My goal for the team is to finish in the top three or maybe to even win the league championship," he said.

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. Saratoga High students helped save these individuals' lives by generously donating blood in the Stanford Blood Drive Jan. 29. The bi-annual blood drive was hosted by the SHS Community Commission and was scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Small Gym. Although many appointments were pushed back because the Stanford Blood Drive truck broke down along the way to the school, the drive had a good turnout of 69 donations, according to head commissioner Daryl Chang.

Answer: This Jeopardy contestant and 2008 graduate's list of achievements includes being yearbook editor and senior wrestling captain. Who is alumnus Ryan Stoffers? If you tuned into Jeopardy on Feb. 1, you may have noticed a familiar face. Stoffers, now a sophomore mathematics/economics student at UCLA, got a shot at stardom when he became a contestant on College Jeopardy.

Dozens of Saratogans gathered in the Saratoga Library on Nov. 3 to celebrate the opening of a newly renovated teen center. The new center, located in the adult section of the library, boasts all new furniture, including distinctive desks and tables, swivel chairs and red leather sofas. Its $60,000 cost was funded entirely by the Friends of the Saratoga Library (FSL), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Saratoga Library.

When students think of novels read in an honors English course, their minds don't often jump to mystery novels or adventure stories, but that may soon change. In recent weeks,students took a survey that attempted to gauge their interest in having English literature electives available in their junior and senior years. These electives would focus on a specific genre of literature such as science fiction or horror/suspense and would aim to increase students' interest in literature.

Who knew that scammers could be such good phisermen? Recently, 30,000 Microsoft, Yahoo, GMail and Hotmail e-mail addresses and passwords were stolen and posted online in a highly publicized Internet phishing scheme. Even though the FBI has arrested dozens of suspect hackers according to the Washington Post, the real responsibility for these lost passwords lies with the e-mail users themselves.

Junior forward Vanessa Block hits the ball to the top corner. Senior midfielder Sam Lii stops the ball and passes to junior midfielder Ren Norris. Norris shoots—no, fakes—the ball goes in between her legs. Senior defender Anna Schroeder takes her position and strikes it in to the corner of the goal for a goal. Plays like this are what makes Schroeder stand out on the field, but this versatile athlete offers more to her team than just a wicked slap-shot.

In an attempt to reverse the prison-like appearance of Saratoga High, school officials are continuing to make strides towards making the appearance of the school more inviting for the students, parents and community. Beautification of the school started in the summer of 2007 and has been ongoing over the past two years.

The Saratoga badminton team’s CCS hopes were extinguished May 28 when its sole representative, freshman singles player Jeffrey Kuo, defaulted in his second round match against Monta Vista’s Gary Wang by arriving seven minutes late to his match. Kuo got out of school later than he wanted and ran into lots of traffic, leaving him crushed that he couldn’t compete. After a strong showing at Leagues, Kuo was optimistic heading into CCS. “I was confident and was determined to perform well,” he said.

Typically, the election process for ASB has been held in the classrooms and administered by teachers. This year, voting was held in the quad in an attempt to lower the burden on teachers and find a more democratic election method; however, this new routine resulted in a dearth of student participation.

For three years, statistics teacher Seema Patel has wanted to participate in the inspirational Susan G. Komen three-day Breast cancer walk, but because of the large time and monetary commitments involved, she put it off. This year, however, Patel had a different attitude entirely.

It was a cool evening, but the crowds that filled the Saratoga High football stands erupted with energy, as the seniors faced the juniors in a battle royale for the title of Powder Puff champions. At the end of the highly anticipated match on April 16, the senior class claimed the Powder Puff crown, clobbering the juniors 14-7 and asserting their dominance as the rulers of the school.

Starting May 4, 441 students will be taking 919 AP tests at Saratoga, representing a slight increase from last year when 417 students took 905 individual AP Tests, according to College and Career Center personnel Bonnie Sheikh.

Capping off a tumultuous building season delayed by a shortage of funds, the Robotics team finished 31st out of 48 teams at the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) regional competition held from March 12 to 14 at the San Jose State Spartan Stadium.

Characterized by deafening firecrackers, hong baos (red envelopes) stuffed with money, delicious food and the color red everywhere, Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in Chinese culture, symbolizing a fresh start and a new beginning to one’s life.

Friday, March 13th will prove to be a lucky day next month for 12 students of the government classes, who will be afforded the rare opportunity to be the jury in the real trial of an accused DUI offender. To make matters even more unusual, attorneys will present their cases not in the courtroom, but in the McAfee Center.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Baab maneuvers her sailboat through the turbulent waters of the San Francisco Bay as the wind whips her sun-bleached hair into her face. This is where the avid sailor spends 10 to 16 hours a week practicing for her regattas, or sailing competitions. Regattas bring Baab to every corner of the country, leaving her less time to focus on schoolwork. For Baab, Independent Study Physical Education (ISPE) is a convenient option, allowing her more time to pursue sailing.

America is notorious for many things, but perhaps best known for its leading status as the most obese nation in the world. With over 13,000 McDonalds franchises, the United States is a bastion of unhealthy eating.

Service clubs at Saratoga High, including Key Club, Interact, California Scholarship Federation (CSF) and Amnesty International (AI) are doing charity work for the holiday season.

The Falcons headed into the final league playoffs confidently and in first place. But nothing, not even a 11-1 season and comfortable first-round bye could prepare the boys’ water polo team for the biggest shock of the season.

With a shortage of sponsors and funds, the Robotics club is struggling so far this year; its 20 active members need to raise thousands of dollars before the start of the season in January.

The boys’ water polo team is like a family in more ways than one. Their 12-1 league record is a testament to not only powerful and effective teamwork but also the team’s brotherly bonds. Team members junior Kevin and sophomore Tim Rollinson are brothers both in and out of the pool, while team captains seniors Arian Mahini and Nick Mortazavi have played together so long they could be considered brothers.

Of all the players on the boys’ varsity water polo team, senior Justin Winningham is the tallest. His height of 6’5” dwarfs those of his fellow teammates and also provides him with an advantage as goalie: his massive wingspan. His long arms cover up most of the goal and frustrate opposing players in their shot selection, boosting the team’s defensive presence.

Once a peaceful country with economic stability, Zimbabwe has become a country ruled ruthlessly by vicious dictator Robert Mugabe, who will stop at nothing to achieve his own selfish goals.

While the other classes got to confer and choose their themes for Homecoming, the freshman were left with the one theme that nobody seemed to want—Atlanta.

Boys’ water polo has had a new coach every year for the past four years, and this year is no exception. Swim coach Christian Bonner is filling the position, so the team will have to adjust, once again, to new strategies.