Culture

*Disclaimer, this article is ever-so-slightly satirical, and written in the style of an epic, iconic priss–I myself do not live by many of these commands, I am not Emily Post, and my etiquette in OHS classes is far from perfect. 

Twice a year, the clocks spring forward and fall back, marking the start and end of daylight saving time. While intended to conserve energy and make better use of daylight, this biannual change often leaves people scrambling to adjust their routines. For students, the one-hour shift can be particularly disruptive, affecting sleep schedules, productivity, and even emotional well-being.

On the night of October 23, OHSers met  at Filoli Gardens and Estate where they experienced the magic of Halloween.

Parent-teacher conferences can be a source of anxiety, excitement, or curiosity for students at any school. But for Stanford OHS students, whose parent-teacher conferences are upcoming at the end of October (to be exact,October 30th through November 1st), this normal mid-term ritual has certain differences to brick-and-mortar schools, precipitated by both OHS’s “online”ness and its global reach.

Or do they? One student, rising full-time senior Charlotte Own, has pioneered a highly commendable different course of action. Instead of disillusionment, she chose an alternative route to prepare for the OHS prom. Charlotte shared: “I thrifted [my dress] at a relatively high-quality Japanese thrift store…for an equivalent of around $20.” Thrifting is not only a sustainable recourse in the face of a difficult prom dress market, but may solve problems of both quality, comfort, and expense that many are facing. Before thrifting, Charlotte pattern sewed her own dresses. “It’s become a yearly tradition for me to get straight to sewing…right after finals end so I can have that week in between finals and prom to work on it.” 

In reality, reintroducing mandatory testing is more likely to go back to privileging the privileged—those who could afford pricey test prep classes and had the overall advantages in life that lead to higher scores. Although students struggle to perform well in this unbalanced system, they are also stressed by trying to determine if they even need to take these standardized tests or if they should. We don’t know whether to take tests, retake them, or focus our energy elsewhere based on the latest policy changes from different colleges.