The Talon

The varsity football team closed their season with a win against the Fremont High School Firebirds last night, leading to a 23 record for the season. It was a close finish, but the Eagles ultimately came out on top with a score of 2114. The last couple games, we have fallen behind right out of the gate and had to try and power our way back in without success, wide receiver junior Cole Rafferty said. We fired right off the bat and got to defend the lead for most of the g...ame this time. While, the Eagles played a few tough teams throughout their season this year, and although it wasn’t a traditional season, Cole thinks that the team managed to hold it together and come out on top. The team played exactly how we know we can play every game, Cole said. It just took a couple games to get there. Read the full article at the link in our bio. Story by Mira Sundar Photos by Emily McNally

The Talon is collaborating with other local newspapers to learn about the Bay Area’s perspective on the recent rise in AAPI hate crimes. We want to learn about your experiences with anti-Asian discrimination and what steps you think the community should take to address the issue. Click the link in the bio to fill out our form or go to the website in the post.

Prompted by the recent hate crime against 75-year-old Chinese man Pak Ho and by the history of racism against the AAPI community, hundreds of protestors joined the AAPI march organized by local youths in Downtown Mountain View from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday. This is the same America built on the backs of enslaved people, the same America that uprooted Japanese Americans from their homes to places in internment camps, Castilleja School senior and youth chair Amanda Khu said during her speech. We need to strike for the liberation [of all people] from white supremacy. Read more at the link in our bio.

This year, instead of hitting tennis balls and running up and down hills in the crisp fall weather, the girls tennis and cross country teams were welcomed by the warmth of spring. Their seasons continued to prove successful, however. The Talon interviewed one athlete from each sport to give you an inside perspective on what their sports seasons looked like amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

OPINION: Due to the pandemic, the College Board has offered digital AP exams for the second time. With Los Altos also offering in-person exams for certain AP subjects, it can be a difficult decision to make. Read junior Kiefer Tierling gives his perspective on the shortfalls of digital AP exams and how they can harm students. https://lahstalon.org/the-shortfall-of-digital-ap-exams/

Swipe to see the results of the ASB and class council elections from this Wednesday.

With an overall record of 412, the varsity boys soccer team has had quite a successful season thus far yesterday’s rivalry game against Mountain View High School was no exception. The Eagles won 31 on the MVHS field, scoring two goals in the first half and their final goal in the second half. The Eagles’ strong defense, led by Co-Captain senior Gavin Fairey, kept MVHS from scoring until the final 30 seconds of the game. On the offensive front, Co-Captain senior Jimmy De...ssouki led multiple breakaways and continued pushing the ball up the field throughout the game. His hard work paid off, as Jimmy scored the third LAHS goal with a header, assisted by junior Rafa Ulloa. We've been doing well because of the team chemistry, Jimmy said. Everyone on the pitch trusts each other on and off the field, so we're able to build a good environment at practice and carry that with us through the games. After tying 22 against Santa Clara High School on Santa Clara territory, the Eagles will get another chance at victory with home field advantage this Friday, April 9. Story by Emilie Enser Photos by Emily McNally

Some teams would walk away from a 410 loss questioning whether they wanted to play their next game. However, the Eagles faced this exact outcome against Homestead High School and instead took the tough loss as a lesson learned and an opportunity to improve. The Mustangs got off to a quick start, scoring all six of their touchdowns in the first half. While the Eagles were able to string together a collection of good drives, false starts and a lack of composure led to many pe...rsonal fouls called against them, causing them to lose 15 yards each time. Going into halftime, we talked about not executing, keeping our composure and cutting down on the penalties, head coach Dave DeGeronimo said. I think if we executed and kept our composure that we’d have a better outcome, and we came out in the second half and we did that. Despite the tough first half, the Eagles were able to keep their heads high throughout the rest of the game. The Eagles limited the Mustang’s scoring to zero in the second half, keeping the score 410 to end the game. To come out of halftime and to keep playing hard and to keep executing, that’s a positive for me, DeGeronimo said. The guys continued to play hard and it was a good outcome that way. Story by Mira Sundar Photo courtesy Tyler Crissman

With the Mountain ViewLos Altos hybrid return date approaching, students and families had an opportunity to voice their questions and concerns at today’s webinar held by the MVLA District. The Talon compiled some of the frequently asked questions with responses along with helpful resources and terminology. See the FAQ at https://lahstalon.org/hybrid-return-faqs/. Story by Anika Sikka... Photo by Katrina Arsky See more

The California Department of Public Health announced the upcoming expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on Thursday, March 25. Starting Thursday, April 1, all individuals 50 or older will be eligible for vaccination. Eligibility will expand to all Californians 16 or older on Thursday, April 15, and those younger than 16 will be eligible as soon as the vaccine is approved for their age range. Currently, all residents who are older than 16 years and considered at risk, ca...n be vaccinated; this includes those who have serious medical conditions, disabilities or are living in close contact with someone who has these conditions. Residents who are over 65 years old can get the vaccine regardless of medical conditions. All healthcare workers and teachers are also eligible to get the vaccine. To find out if you are eligible or to reserve an appointment, visit https://myturn.ca.gov/. To stay updated on news about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/. Story by Kaley Kwan, Natalie Wei and Mira Sundar

Loving gymnastics should be easy, with the sparkly leotards, adrenaline-inducing flips and pumped-up teammates. But as we have seen on the news in recent years, those in authority over America’s best gymnasts are disgustingly neglectful. Read about senior writer Allison Bricca’s outrage toward USA Gymnastics over their failure to keep athletes safe at https://lahstalon.org/underneath-this-love/. Graphic by Elli Lahdesmaki

The field hockey team played their first game of the season on Wednesday, March 24, against Archbishop Mitty High School. The highly anticipated home game resulted in a 10 loss for the Eagles, with the Monarchs scoring late in the second half. Throughout the game, both teams had multiple exciting breakaways towards the goal, but the Eagles couldn’t connect with one another on offense while the Monarchs pressed forward. Although multiple penalty corners were awarded to AMHS,... the Eagles held them at bay for the majority of the game. In the second half, LAHS was often pushed back into their defensive circle and the Monarchs took the lead with just a few minutes to spare. As they gathered for post-game snacks and stretching, the Eagles took the tough loss as an opportunity to improve. I think we can always improve our communication and our transfers, senior Maura Kelleher said. We were getting stuck on one side of the field a lot. Despite the rocky start to the postponed season, the players are excited to get back on the field and play against other schools. Being surrounded by spectators, refs and players felt surreal because, for the longest time, we didn’t think we would have a season, senior Emilia Mogetta Bertiz said. It feels so good to finally start my last season with this team. The Eagles will play their next game away against Saint Francis High School on Saturday, March 27. Story and photos by Emily McNally

County officials announced today that Santa Clara County will move into the orange tier, effective Wednesday, March 24. The move comes as the county’s test positivity rate has dropped to 1.2 percent, well below the threshold of 4.9 percent required to move into the orange tier. Under the new guidelines, businesses in the county will be able to loosen some capacity restrictions, including but not limited to the following: Indoor gyms and fitness centers can move from 10 perc...ent to 25 percent capacity. Restaurants with indoor dining can double capacity to 50 percent or 200 people, whichever is fewer. Movie theaters can operate at 50 percent capacity. Zoos, museums and aquariums can open indoors at 50 percent capacity. Indoor retailers can fully reopen with safety modifications. Small private gatherings will continue to be permitted indoors and outdoors, provided that people from no more than three households are present. Gatherings lasting longer than two hours are strongly discouraged by health officials, as are singing, shouting, chanting and cheering. Currently, the Mountain ViewLos Altos School District has plans to bring more students back to the classroom. The latest plan put out by the School Board, which is pending further approval, involves allowing students in Option A to go to school in person for four half-days starting on Monday, April 19. One week later, on Monday, April 26, students will have the option to attend all their classes on campus for four full days of the school week. If this plan is approved, students will continue to stay at home on Wednesdays, which will be asynchronous. Students in Option A will have the option to remain home for distance learning, and students in Option B will participate in their current, self-paced learning model for the rest of the school year. Story by Mira Sundar and Nathaniel Joffe Graphic by Cedric Chan

OP-ED: Amid calls from parents for an in-person return to school, Spanish teacher and parent Tiffany Karow provides her take on hybrid return plans. She argues that although a return to normalcy is tempting, in-person school will not be close to the same as it was pre-COVID-19. Instead, she asks that these parent groups consider the needs of less fortunate community members impacted by the pandemic. Read more at https://lahstalon.org/a-teachers-perspective-rebuilding-no/. Graphic by Emily Zhu