The Oracle

California’s high-speed rail system ill-conceived

The Oracle • April 10, 2013

Written by: Catalina Zhao This summer, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) will begin construction of the United States’ first high-speed rail. CHSRA, the organization in charge of planning, designing, building and operating the rail, has planned to build it to connect San Francisco...

Paly’s block schedule is superior to Gunn’s rotating schedule

The Oracle • April 10, 2013

Written by: Tim Wang and Katherine Zu Pro: Palo Alto High School’s (Paly) block schedule differentiates from Gunn’s rotating schedule in that students take fewer classes or periods per day and instead spend a significantly longer time in each period. Gunn and the Palo Alto Unified School District...

Palo Alto’s carbon-free program eliminates harmful emissions

The Oracle • April 10, 2013

Written by: Rebecca Alger In the wake of recent natural disasters and extreme weather, the Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously to approve a 100 percent carbon-free electric portfolio on March 4. The plan is incredibly important because it has the capacity to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions...

Editorial: Advisory Committee reccomendations for titan 102, tutorial impractical

The Oracle • April 10, 2013

After almost a full year of research and collaboration, the newly appointed Guidance Advisory Committee (GAC) recently released a report containing recommendations for the school to consider in planning its future. Though most of these recommendations are well-reasoned and likely to yield positive results,...

School should be about learning, not grades

The Oracle • March 8, 2013

By this point, we have all experienced the immense stress that comes with finals week. We have found ourselves overwhelmed with the pressure of trying to remember a whole semester’s worth of information and considered ourselves lucky if we got more than three hours of sleep a night.

Take action against inequality

The Oracle • March 8, 2013

In a city as socially liberal as Palo Alto, blatant discrimination against gay people is hard to find. For the most part, people practice tolerance and good will towards people of all ethnic backgrounds, religious affiliations, political creeds and sexual orientation.

Assemblies needlessly interfere with school

The Oracle • March 8, 2013

All too often, Tuesday’s tutorial period is eliminated to make time for a riveting mandatory assembly, interrupting students’ scheduled activities. This could be forgivable if the assemblies’ contents were of any sort of urgency or necessity, but when the entire purpose of the assembly is to watch a preview of the theatre musical or screen the Prom video, which is ever so easily accessible on YouTube, one must question whether his or her time might be better spent studying or doing just about anything else. There is rarely any information communicated that could not be just as effectively passed along through other mediums, such as e-mail or the morning announcements. It would be in students’ best interests for the administration to pursue these alternate avenues of communication.

Camp Everytown is conducive to a more inclusive community

The Oracle • March 8, 2013

Every year, as student delegates return from Camp Everytown, informal debates ensue over the camp’s merits. Opponents of the program generally claim that the insulated atmosphere creates a “cult” that excludes those who do not have a chance to attend. Proponents of the program generally cite increases in empathy and understanding of major social problems that many students undergo. While the camp is far from perfect, it ultimately serves to promote inclusivity and provides a rare opportunity for self-improvement

Editorial: Current GPA distribution table is superior to previous year’s decile system

The Oracle • March 8, 2013

In place of a decile ranking, a system which was formally abolished in the past school year, the Gunn administration has incorporated a grade point average (GPA) distribution table on the school profile it compiles and sends to colleges. The district superintendent, Gunn Principal and Gunn Assistant...

Language classes are key to well-rounded education

The Oracle • March 8, 2013

Written by: Nabeel Chollampat Within the current climate of valued skills and talents, communication still remains a fundamental aspect of society. People often lose sight of the importance of social interaction, however, because they don’t accord it the necessary attention. If students were to list...

Teacher feedback system in need of improvement

The Oracle • January 30, 2013

Written by: Mitch Donat The United States Department of Education’s mission statement includes “to encourage the involvement of the public, parents and students.” However, students tend to conceal themselves behind walls of shyness, limiting their own involvement in the system. This is especially...

Homework a necessary component for successful learning

The Oracle • January 30, 2013

Written by: Klaire Tan Homework is a daily burden teenagers deal with as students. However, for a handful of “lucky” students, homework isn’t a staple of the daily to-do list. While the majority of teachers assign homework, a few designate homework as optional. In other words, homework doesn’t...

The Oracle

The Oracle

The Oracle

Forum

The Oracle