Compulsion: The Complicated Intersections of Exercise and Mental Health
Ya'el Sarig and Sofia Bliss-Carrascosa
May 27, 2020
In 2001’s Legally Blonde, a classic murder mystery—husband murdered, wife caught standing over the bloody dead body by the daughter and the pool boy—is cracked by an unlikely candidate: Elle Woods, Delta Nu sorority queen and lover of all things pink and strawberry-scented. From the start of her assig...
On the Basis of Gender
Kate Milne, Ethan Hwang, Hallie Faust, and Avantika Singh
May 23, 2020
Left foot forward. Right foot forward. While that may well be the mantra playing in 18-year-old Caster Semenya’s head as she flies furiously down the length of the track towards the finish line, the spectators watching her would be lucky to be able to distinguish between her feet as she runs. Her high...
Training for Two
Ya'el Sarig, Natalie Schilling, Victoria Soulodre, Libby Spier, Emma Stefanutti, and Gwyneth Wong
May 22, 2020
It’s a sunny June morning in Sacramento, California, and Alysia Montaño bears the look of a competitor so focused on the race ahead of her that she’s immune to the effects of the heat. She’s clad in black compression shorts, a bright pink tank top, and a yellow flower tucked behind one ear, but...
Judges of the Game
Vijay Homan, James Fetter, Elif Turgut, and Nikhil Majeti
April 10, 2020
Saints receiver Tommy Lee Lewis streaks down the right sideline to catch the pass that Drew Brees lofts him. Before he attempts to secure the football, he’s hit to the ground by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Saints fans jump out of their seats, frustrated about the missed opportunity to advance...
Play Like A Girl
Sofia Bliss-Carrascosa, Sophie Kadifa, Jenna Hickey, and Hana Erickson
April 10, 2020
If you were to look down at the field during Super Bowl LIV, you would see a sea of men. But standing in front of the mass of red and gold with the Niners logo proudly on display and intently focused on the field is Katie Sowers. Sowers in the first openly gay and first female coach in Super Bowl hist...
Ballers to Scholars
Sophie Kadifa, Hana Erickson, Nikhil Majeti, and Tina Lagerblad
February 20, 2020
Ms. Whitson Although Debbie Whitson is a beloved economics teacher at Palo Alto High School, she also once had a career as a Division III tennis player at Lewis and Clark College. Whitson grew up in Los Altos and started playing tennis when she was nine years old because that was the minimum age...
Rising From the Ashes
James Fetter, Hana Erickson, Tyler Stoen, and Jenna Hickey
January 9, 2020
The stadium stood like an oasis amidst a desert of ash and fiery remains. Residents of Paradise began coming in and filling the seats to witness their high school football team link arms and walk to midfield. As the pre-game show began, waves of emotions and memories of the past year flooded back. On Aug...
Dye Hard
Tyler Stoen, Ella Jones, Liam Nagesh, Annika Shah, and Sophie Kadifa
November 14, 2019
Great spikes of pool water rise into the air as the energetic hands of the Palo Alto High School Swim team catapult their beloved coach, Danny Dye, into the home waters of their pool. The buzz of celebration is not without cause- it’s Dye’s 200th win at Paly. But the exuberant support of his swimm...
High School Powerhouses
Sofia Bliss-Carrascosa, James Fetter, Vijay Homan, and Tina Lagerblad
November 12, 2019
On a September night in 2004 before the watchful eyes of 25,000 fans, a football game was underway between elite high schools De La Salle and Bellevue High. For the fair-weather fan, this game was like any other matchup. But for the hard-core fan, the game had the potential to rewrite history. The...
From Paly to the Pros
Justin Byer, James Fetter, Vijay Homan, Tyler Stoen, and Elif Turgut
September 30, 2019
As the clock ticked down and the morale of their opponents faded, the Paly basketball players knew: they had won the first state championship in school history. The 2006 Paly basketball team was one that will be immortalized in school history for taking down a modern-day Goliath in the Mater Dei basket...
