Robin Liu

$4 might not seem like a lot, but when used wisely, it can go a long way. Go back 45 years to 1965. Junior-Senior Prom bids were only $4. The theme? A Knight in May. Besides the huge increase in cost to around $90, today's junior and senior proms are held separately, unlike years ago.

As seniors end their last year of high school, what comes ahead is the next big step: college. Students leave for a new place, somewhere with no one they've known for the past 18 years. It's a serious transition that determines your future, but what if you're not ready? Fortunately, high school graduates do not all have to take that path. For those who aren't ready for college, there is something called the gap year, a 12-month break before making the transition to college. More and more students are choosing to wait a year before college, and it's no surprise why.

Many things can happen at school within the span of 50 years. The flow of new ideas, new technology and new people all contributed to what Saratoga High has become today. Those trends and changes have often shown up in the form of what clubs and classes are on campus.

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.

The issue of whether finals should be before or after break has been a topic of debate in the past. As of now, finals are in mid January, leaving plenty of time over the break to review. Although the current finals schedule allows much time for studying, reading textbooks is no way to spend the holidays. The point of a break is to give students time away from stress and provide an opportunity for kids to do activities completely unrelated to school.

Most students today would never imagine being able to buy a yearbook for $4 or listen to Duke Ellington and his jazz orchestra live for even less. For students here 40 years ago, such occurrences were normal.

Excess. This word has defined American culture since the inception of industrialization. No where else in the world exists a place where citizens consume so many manufactured goods. Many parents in Third World countries wake up worrying whether they can provide enough food to feed their children, while in America people are constantly subjected to mass production. Anyone who has sauntered down the endless isles of Costco can only begin to grasp the overwhelming amount of energy and resources spent catering to the "American dream."

The recent case of Jaycee Dugard has sparked alarm among parents of young children. Phillip Garrido, convicted of kidnapping Dugard and keeping her hostage for 18 years, was already a registered sex offender in the 1970s.

Saratoga High, circa 1959: 350 mostly white students, lots of orchards and an unfinished school. Fifty years later: 1,400 students, hundreds of homes nearby, a diverse student body from across the world, and an increasingly state-of-the-art school.

English teacher Bill Peck first met Judith Sutton when he was her student in high school. Little did he know that four decades later he would be taking her place as the teacher of the poetry program she created.

Summer is a time for students to take a break from school. However, with the No Child Left Behind Act and, more specifically to Saratoga, intense AP curriculums, more schools are taking precautions to keep their students from falling out of line. More and more teachers are assigning homework over the summer to help students retain their knowledge over the long months, but it may not be the best way to benefit kids.

After a confusing lecture in physics, a student returns home with a problem set. He doesn’t have any idea how to complete it, but he doesn’t panic. He pulls out paper and his textbook, and then hands it over to his dad. After 20 minutes, the dad hands back the completed problem set, and the student shoves it into his backpack, ready to turn it in tomorrow.

Imagine being able to save an entire year of college tuition, savings that could add up to over $40,000. With a three-year college program, students can complete their degree in just three years, while still leaving summers free for internships and job opportunities. Despite these seemingly limitless benefits, however, securing a degree after only three years of college is detrimental to undergraduate study.

Testing has always been a tedious process. For many students, taking the SAT means sitting for hours and rushing through problems to finish within the time limit. After the test, however, students often have to repeat the process numerous times to improve their scores. Even then, after taking the test a second time, the score may not improve much, or worse—it could worsen. To ease the stress, students want the privilege of choosing the best scores of each test for colleges to see. This March, that wish will finally be granted. According to an article by the New York Times, the College Board, the company primarily responsible for the regulation and writing of the SAT, has decided to allow students taking the SAT exams to use Score Choice.

Learning about history in a classroom can be exciting, but there’s no replacement for hearing it firsthand. Three World War II veterans came to the McAfee Center on Dec. 1 during tutorial to speak to students about their experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many people attended, and over half the McAfee was filled.

Students enter the gym, wearing their class T-shirts and yelling. Suddenly, the lights go off. Music blasts from the speakers. Light reappears and the gym erupts with cheers. This is the thrill that motivates people to become rally commissioners.

As Election Day approaches, people are finalizing their decisions on which presidential candidate they will be supporting on Nov. 4. Over the past few months, people have been following Barack Obama and John McCain closer than ever, tuning in to all debates and watching every interview.

Payment for academic success is nothing new. Countless students receive scholarships every year for their outstanding performance, and many Saratoga High students are rewarded with extra spending money for good grades. It would only be reasonable to extend these practices for students at traditionally low-scoring high schools to be rewarded with cash prizes for passing the Advanced Placement exams.

Checkmate! The chess team is once again on top as it won first place for the fourth straight year at the CalChess State Scholastic Championships held May 17-18.

Next year, the English Department plans to add five more sections after a district decision to decrease class sizes in English. English Department chair Cathy Head hopes that the addition of more periods in some crucial courses will reduce the average class size. “We can bring down class sizes from 33 or 34 to 28 or 29,” said Head. “There should be a reduction of maybe five students on average [in classes] above freshman level.”