Maggie Lin

"1...chubby bunny...2...chubby bunny...3...chwubby bwunny...4...twubby bwunny...5..." All of the Chubby Bunny participants sounded exactly the same as they put one marshmallow in after the other. For those unfamiliar, Chubby Bunny is a childhood past time in which people compete to see how many marshmallows they can put in their mouth before their uttering of "chubby bunny" becomes incoherent. In the first showdown, seniors Mika Padmanabhan and Trevor Teerlink stuffed six and seven marshmallows in their mouths respectively, leaving witnesses in awe.

Ceramics teacher Leah Aguayo has had over 30 years of experience working with clay. While her students toil away at throwing, taking an average of 10 minutes for advanced students, throwing a bowl is effortless for Aguayo. The Falcon timed Aguayo to get an accurate record of how long it takes for her to throw a bowl.

For most, the Super Bowl brings to mind heavy padding and players tackling each other, but at Saratoga High, the Souper Bowl, a clever play on words, brings to mind big ladles and volunteers tackling vegetables and broth. After a four year hiatus, the ninth Souper Bowl, a fundraiser for the ceramics program, is returning on Wednesday, Feb.10 from 5-7 pm.m in the cafeteria.

Snorkeling in the Galapagos, backpacking in the Andes and hiking up to the summit of Machu Picchu. Sounds like a dream vacation, but these breathtaking adventures will be daily fare for one lucky junior.

"Pumpkin stress balls? That is so cool! My secret pal is awesome." This was just one of the excited responses from the first Secret Pals event held on Oct. 30. Secret Pals is a year-long event hosted by the ASB that is open to all students and teachers who want to exchange gifts at designated times of the year.

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.

With college application deadlines just around the corner, I've done more than my share of research in narrowing down the colleges I want to apply to. There are three main variables which I took into consideration: academics, dining and diversity. Academics: Of course, being a proud member of the Saratoga High student body, I would take into account college rankings.

"Oh, so it's like riverdance!" is often the reaction sophomore Stephanie Shimizu receives when she says she Irish dances. From a range of comments, many ask if she is part Irish. In truth, Shimizu, of Chinese-Japanese descent, has no Irish blood in her—uncommon among her dance peers. “I started [Irish] dancing when I was in third grade because my best friend [who is also Asian] had been Irish dancing for a couple of years and told me I should try it,” said Shimizu.

While most juniors were taking their SATs the morning of May 2, juniors Cindy Chang, Layla Daryan, Vicki Ni, Karen Wai, Erika Ye and Haley Zarrin were in Sacramento, serving up a hot slice of history. The Constitutional Rights Foundation hosted its annual History Day Competition on May 2. AP United States history and world geography teacher Matt Torrens calls History Day “a research project hosted by the national competition of research projects,” emphasizing the seriousness and degree of work done for the project.

While some students of the Falcon newspaper staffs continue to pursue their interests in journalism by writing for their college publication, class of 2008 alumnus Daniel Yang has extended his journey in another, more creative direction As a cartoonist for Georgetown University’s The Hoya, Yang has free reign as to what to do with his cartoon, Disconcerted Demagogue. “No one tells me what to draw—I get to choose,” said Yang. “Only one thing matters: make the readers laugh.”

Last November California voters voted in favor of Proposition 8, which reversed a previous state ruling that gay marriage was legal. It was a shocking blow to supporters of gay rights and equality. The decision made by voters in California to restore and continue marriage discrimination in what has always been considered an open-minded state is shocking.

As high school students enter their junior year, dread of late nights filled with SAT practice exams is a primary concern. With a recent announcement by colleges across America, however, relief from this source of stress may be on the horizon.

The usually deserted downtown was crowded with small groups of people. Students dressed in red gestured to different stores while the sound of traditional Chinese instruments blew sweet melodies over downtown. Children dressed in Chinese robes giggled with excitement, paper lanterns dangling from their wrists.

After a week of interviews from May 19-23, all the commissions excluding Events and Benefit have been finalized. Events and Benefit commission will undergo a different selection process. This year, the selection process changed so that application slips had to be filled out beforehand and students came in on their own to be interviewed. The changes were made to quicken the selection process and make a smoother transition into next year.

For junior Steven McClellan, it all started with a missed ballet class when he was 10. The nine year danseur (a male ballerina) and seven year tap dancer attended a tap dancing class for a makeup lesson and has continued it ever since.

Even without a Sadie Hawkins dance, Spring Fling maintained its fun-filled reputation complete with boy cheerleaders, Powder Puff football games, a dunk tank and Battle of the Boom. Tradition has set its path for the defending champions, class of ’08, to win Powder Puff, and this year the senior girls did not disappoint.

Even without a Sadie Hawkins dance, due to the excessive drinking issue at the Holiday dance, Spring Fling maintained its fun-filled reputation complete with boy cheerleaders, Powder Puff football games, a dunk tank and Battle of the Boom. Tradition has set its path for the defending champions, class of ’08, to win Powder Puff, and this year the senior girls did not disappoint.