The Evolution of the Athlete-Activist
Callum Olsen, David Gormley, Madhu Ramkumar, and Anika Chang
October 14, 2020
On September 1, 2016, fans piled into the stadium as the clock approached gametime. The sound of the “Star Spangled Banner” echoed across the field as the sea of fans stood up, taking off their caps and placing their right hands firmly on their hearts. The players on the turf faced towards the Americ...
Over Before It Started
Jenna Hickey, Phoebe Kim, Victoria Soulodre, and Parker Bates
October 12, 2020
Katherine Sung: On July 9th, Paly alum Katherine Sung (‘20) woke up to an email relaying the news that her golf team had been cut from Dartmouth athletics. After committing in her junior year, Sung had her heart set on continuing the sport after high school. Similar to other colleges, the news was broken to the athletes over a...
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...
