By Levi Livengood Independence High School breaks two Guinness World Records! On October the 21st and 22nd, a football game and an all-class reunion were held for all of Independence’s alumni. Every class but one, from 1976 to 2018, had at least one representative show up. At the reunion, the school set the records for most consecutive graduation years represented at a secondary school, getting 41 of the 42 past classes to come, and the most signatures in a year book in 24 hours. A total of 1,902 people signed the year book in the end. However, the school failed to set the record for most alumni at a single gathering, failing to surpass the Bhashyam Rama Krishna, Bhashyam Educational Institutions’ record of 4,268. Many former students returned to the school to reminisce and remember all the memories they had made at the school, walking around the whole campus. People were able to meet up with old classmates of theirs to share their memories together, finding them even amongst the crowd, which numbered well over a thousand. Dr. Amy Nguyen-Chyung, who graduated in 1990, shares some of her stories and observations, “Overall the school looks the same, there isn’t much difference.” When asked about her favorite part of the school, she says, “Even though it’s a big school, you can find your niche. I worked on the yearbook for two years in Mr. Edgar’s class. It was very fun.” When the topic of stress came up, she says, “I got a great education and am very grateful for it. My own kids and others in high schools talk about stress, but I don’t remember any myself.” Talking about her favorite class, she says, “I enjoyed Ms. Elaine Dependahl’s English III honors. Recognizing some people at the gathering, she says, “I was able to meet quite a few people. I met our old principal, Mr. Gibeau, who was an inspiration for all of us because of how active he was in the community, especially on city council.” Now a professor at University of California San Diego, teaching managerial economics, and once a professor at University of Michigan teaching strategy, she proves that students of Independence can go wherever they put their mind and energy to. Johnathan Cabrera, who graduated in 2018, came to the event to meet people from his class. When asked about what he did after high school, he says, “I study journalism now at De Anza.” “I want to cover local crime stories.” When asked what his favorite aspect about the school is, he says, “I love how big the school is, and I really appreciate how nurturing and caring for the students it is.”
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By Enya Bours German Club’s annual Oktoberfest is back this Friday, October 26th, and with it comes a variety of food, games, and a taste of German culture.
The food being served this year includes potato salad and sausages, and for dessert, spaghettieis (or spaghetti ice cream), which is vanilla ice cream doused in strawberry sauce made to look like spaghetti. As for drinks, there will be root beer floats in place of the traditional beer that would be served in Bavaria’s Oktoberfests. The event that is attended by around 150 people each year will also include games such as darts, cup pong, pretzels- or donuts-on-a-string eating contests, and a chance to win goldfish. Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival held in Munich, Germany, with people from all over the world in attendance, and the event held on Independence’s campus is just as important. “We bring people together and teach them more about the German culture in order to keep the language alive,” says Sabrina Tu, co-vice president and senior of German Club. “We’re all kind of Asian here, so I think it’s good for us to emerge ourselves into cultures that aren’t Asian,” adds Jasmine Vallarta. There is a lot of work put behind the event that it is run entirely by German Club officers. When asked how it is done, co-vice president and senior Emily Dinh explains, “We break up into committees, and usually we plan it about a month before the actual event. We have our food committee, deco, and then games. [...] We have someone print out tickets, make event pages on Facebook, make announcements in class and on the speaker, and that’s just kind of how we promote it so that more people will come.” The process is not an easy one, however. “The most difficult part is trying to get people to come to our [board] meetings. Because if you don’t have everyone, it’s hard to plan out who’s going to go on the Costco run, who’s going to buy this, who’s going to make posters,” Dinh describes. “But just seeing people have fun at Oktoberfest is what makes it worth it.” |
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