Gunn High School's Student Newspaper
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[2/22] Four former Gunn students create Shelby Company, inspired by theater teacher James Shelby
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[Features] This year’s robotic challenge, Breakaway, is essentially a three-on-three soccer match played with 12 balls. The robots compete on a 27 by 54 foot field divided into three sections by speed bumps. Each game lasts for two minutes and 15 seconds and starts with a 15-second autonomous period during which the robots are self-controlled. The goal of the game is to rack up as many points as possible by shooting balls into the two goals located on your team’s side of the pitch. Each goal is worth one point. Near the end of the match robots gain two extra points by pulling themselves up onto the tower or climbing onto the team’s platform. Hanging your team’s robot off another robot that is suspended from the monkey bars is worth three points. One noteworthy rule is that the soccer balls can only protrude three inches into the the robot’s frame which prevents it from picking up balls.—Jon Proctor
[Features] With a flurry of excitement, new librarian Meg Omainsky has brought a fresh perspective to the library. “At first impression, I thought Ms. Omainsky was really upbeat and passionate,” sophomore Suparna Jasuja said. “It was actually really refreshing to see such excitement in someone at school.” —Colin Chen & Annie Tran
[Features] The Oracle: How did you first get into sculpting?—Wen Yi Chin
[Features] Four former Gunn students create Shelby Company, inspired by theater teacher James Shelby—Nicola Park
[Features] The Mission: Build a Robotic Pelé—Jon Proctor
[Features] The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community’s fight for equal rights has been highly publicized recently with the continuing controversy over Proposition 8’s passage in California. Here, The Oracle features a few members of the LGBT community at Gunn including a lesbian’s coming out story, a straight student’s support for her friends’ sexual identities, a bisexual’s childhood growing up in a household with two moms and a transgender alum’s experience.—Sophie Cheng & Emily Zheng
[Features] The Oracle investigates past staff jobs—Yilin Liang & Niki Mata
[Features] The Oracle: When and how did you start making art?—Lisa Wong
[Features] Art teacher Erik Bowman transformed a lonely patch of dirt on the edge of the art building into a blooming zen and sculpture garden, a project that started in the beginning of this year and is still being worked on.—Nicola Park
[Features] For the fifth time that day, Senior Alexandra Yesian and her mother, Charlotte Yesian, were driving to the Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP), their car packed to the ceiling with piles of shoes. Yesian had been collecting shoes for donation to the EHP since last summer, and finally attained her goal of gathering 1,000 shoes this October. —Emily Zheng
[Features] You may have been wondering who the mastermind is behind the Badonkadonk Land Cruiser, a rusty-looking tank resembling a hybrid between a vacuum cleaner and hovercraft, which can be seen roaming around Stanford campus and accompanying the Stanford Band in its occasional romps.—Regina Ahn
[Features] For a student, living alone is a balancing act. “I thought it was going to be a total raging party at first, just staying up and playing video games, eating whatever I wanted, that type of stuff,” Class of 2009 alum Kan Magoshi said. “I later realized it was stupid though, because it started affecting me at school and I kept getting all sorts of headaches and tummyaches.” Magoshi, 18, has been living alone for eight months. He decided not to move to Japan with his family during second semester last year so that he could finish his high school education in the United States.—Jon Proctor & Annie Tran
[Features] The Oracle: Where do you get the inspiration for your art?—Mati Pluska-Renaud
[Features] Most people believe language is comprised of speaking and vocalizing words, but for sophomore Allison Doerpinghaus and seniors Chloe McAusland and Hillary Stangel, language has a different meaning. These students are not deaf, but they chose to learn American Sign Language (ASL) so they can communicate in other ways.—Jesse Klein
[Features] Senior Simon Kaubisch, who began playing the Xbox game Halo in 2001, has since developed his skills to compete semi-professionally.—Sophie Cheng
[Features] On Oct. 24, members of the Barron Park Green Team and Gunn Green Team met on the Gunn football field to join thousands of others worldwide to celebrate the 350 Day of Action, an event organized to raise awareness of and educate the public about global warming and the number 350. —Nicola Park
[Features] As I drive home each day, I notice that the tree tunnels are turning orange once again. What is a tree tunnel, you ask? It forms when the trees on both sides of the road are so large and intertwined that they create a canopy above the road. The wind tickles the leaves, and they gently fall to the ground. No more Indian summers. Fall has finally set up camp.—Joyce Liu
[Features] Gunn Beautification Day will be held Saturday, Nov. 14 and provides volunteers with three hours of community service for cleaning up the campus.—Colin Chen
[Features] Senior Jonathan Godoy cannot wait for his daughter’s “daddy’s little girl” days. According to Godoy, his 3-month-old daughter, Keira Nicole Godoy, born on July 19, is the center of his life. “She means a lot to me,” he said. —Tiffany Hu & Annie Shuey
[Features] The Oracle staff introduces Gunn teachers' pets.— Regina Ahn, Nicola Park & Linda Yu