Sudeep Raj

The speech and debate team ended a successful season with a bang at the state competition on April 25 at James Enochs High School in Modesto.  

Graham Grant, a senior who wrestles at 220 pounds, finished fourth in the state and first in CCS in his weight class, the most success any SHS wrestler has had for years. Junior Christian Murabito did not place at state, but took second at CCS a week earlier in the 170-pound class.

For many students, March can be the worst month of the school year. There are no breaks from school, with AP tests looming in early May. To keep students alert and active, English teacher Suzanne Herzman has instituted “cupcake month” in her class every March.

Junior Kevin Chiang doesn’t mind saying he is a teacher’s pet. He said that for him, maintaining good relationships with teachers is not a difficult task. “Just stay respectful, say ‘hi’ every once in a while, and don’t take anything for granted,” Chiang said.

Freshmen Andre Xiao and Kailar Shekar highlight the reason why the boys’ tennis team is primed for a deep run this season, despite having lost key players to graduation. Xiao and Shekar will play No. 2 and No. 3 singles respectively, showcasing one of the deepest rosters the Falcons have had in years.  

The Percy Jackson movie industry didn’t deserve a second chance. Yet the “Sea of Monsters” was created, and it failed just as miserably as its prequel.

Eighty-eight schools competed in the Martin Luther King speech and debate tournament at James Logan High from Jan. 17-19. 

Two years ago, senior Nikhil Goel founded Project SEED, or Student Entrepreneurs for Educational Development, with his brother Vishal Goel, who graduated in 2012. They wanted to create student-run businesses while earning money for the school. The project slowly expanded with one business model and many additional members. Eventually, Vishal graduated and turned over the organization to his brother. After cementing the project and proving its viability, Nikhil made current junior Vikram Ramesh the president. In two years, the organization has raised over $3,000 for the school.

The science department has expanded significantly this year, with growth in the number of students taking AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science and AP Biology, all requiring the addition of one new class and a total of two new teachers in the department.

Through the rising popularity of online colleges, online tutoring and Sparknotes, the Internet has become a primary educational tool in a modern student's life. As part of this movement, some teachers are embracing the idea of online help, and post videos of their lectures on their websites.

On June 24, the Supreme Court decided not to give a major ruling on a Texas affirmative action case and avoided setting a precedent for the whole country. They chose instead to rule on the affirmative action policies in the University of Texas, thereby not creating a definite law for every college.

On June 24, the Supreme Court decided not to give a major ruling on a Texas affirmative action case and avoided setting a precedent for the whole country. They chose instead to rule on the affirmative action policies in the University of Texas, thereby not creating a definite law for every college.

Imagine teaching at Saratoga 13 years from now. Many current teachers will still be teaching, while a new generation of students will walk the same halls you once walked. 

This year’s National Speech and Debate Qualifiers was the first time in the last few years that the team qualified students to nationals. 

With long sessions of studying and frequent dance practices sometimes going up to 11 hours on a school night, alumni who are now in college are able to continue to keep in touch with their Indian dancing roots.

The 5-2 boys’ tennis team recently defeated Cupertino 4-3 on March 28. All three doubles teams and No. 1 singles Neel Bedekar won their matches.

Once again, the speech and debate team displayed an impressive performance at the Coast Forensic League Tournament 3, with many schools such as Milpitas, Bellarmine, and Leland, on March 2. 

The speech and debate team competed in two back-to-back tournaments in late January as the season started to pick up its pace: the Martin Luther King Jr. tournament held at James Logan High on Jan. 20, and the CFL League 2 at Milpitas High on Jan. 27.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Interact is selling Valentine grams. This year, as opposed to past years, instead of candy or balloons, each gram will include a rose.  

“Last year handguns killed 48 people in Japan, eight in Great Britain, 34 in Switzerland, 52 in Canada, 58 in Israel, 21 in Sweden, 42 in West Germany, and 10,728 in the United States. God bless America.” This caption was written on one of the many posters advocating the abolishment of the right to bear arms after the Connecticut shooting.

Unnecessary roughness is unavoidable in any sport. However, there is a fine line between foul play and the natural spirit of the game, especially in soccer and basketball.

With the 2013 tennis season starting soon, many members on the varsity squad want to regain their place as the one of the top tennis teams in the state.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Interact is selling Valentine grams. This year, as opposed to past years, instead of candy or balloons, each gram will include a rose.

After seven years of waiting, Jesus Navarro, an undocumented immigrant, recently received a much needed kidney transplant. Before the surgery, Navarro needed to go to a dialysis machine every night after work to keep his body functioning. Although they tried to cover it up, the UC San Francisco exchange denied him the transplant because he is an illegal immigrant.

At the Santa Clara University tournament over the Nov. 16 weekend, the members of the speech and debate team displayed an impressive show as many individuals advanced to the final rounds in multiple events against participants from 47 different schools.

Sophomore Mihir Samdarshi has participated in many sports, including rowing, boxing and basketball. But the one sport that he thinks impacted his life the most is karate. 

On Oct. 20, as sophomores and juniors arrived at the school to take the dreaded PSAT, some members of the speech and debate team departed for Gunn High School for the first league debate tournament of the year.

Last year the boys’ cross country team finished third overall at CCS and sent eight runners to the state tournament, an achievement unparalleled since 2006. This year the team hopes to replicate its success.

Along with a national drop in SAT scores, California’s average SAT scores have dropped three to four points since last year.

To most people who watched the girls’ water polo game at home on Oct. 25, it may have been just another game, but for the seniors, it was the last time they would play at home.

Nigahiga, Smosh, Fred, RayWilliamJohnson, NickPitera, and Sxephil are all some of the channels on YouTube. Five of these names are names that many people would know.

The boys’ cross country team has plenty of underclassman superstars such as sophomores Steven Sum and Andrew Harter. However, even they still look to the senior captains for guidance.   

As the speech and debate team expands, there has been considerable interest in going to higher level tournaments across the country.