Articles

Small Business Spotlight: Sulbing

Author: G. Li 📍Santa Clara, California Tucked in a plaza near El Camino Real, Sulbing is known for its bingsu and Korean delicacies. Bingsu is a popular Korean shaved ice dessert made from frozen ice shavings and usually topped with sweet ingredients like condensed milk and fresh fruit. This past weekend, I had the pleasure…
Jane Street Accused of Market Manipulation by India Following Years of Arbitrage

N. Sava, Staff Writer📍 Silicon Valley, USA When does clever financial trading turn into criminal market manipulation? This question is at the forefront of the ongoing conflict between India’s Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) and Jane Street Capital, a proprietary quantitative trading firm. The heart of the dispute centers around Jane Street’s participation in the…
San Jose Jazz Summer Festival: ’25

V.Iyengar, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA The August 8th-10th weekend saw the beginning and end of the 35th edition of the San Jose Summer Jazz Festival. This event, founded in 1986 by San Jose Jazz, has grown to become a vital part of the artistic and cultural scene of San Jose, showcasing some incredible musical talent.…
Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla Closes after 32 Years

G. Li, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA On Sunday, July 27th, Iguanas Home of the Burritozilla had its final day of service. This ends 32 years of dedicated work in our community, touching the hearts of countless, including mine, living in the San Francisco Bay Area. The closing was announced a few weeks prior in a…
AI Translation Technology in Police Body-cams

V.Iyengar, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA Police officer bodycams of the City of Campbell will now be equipped with Artificial Intelligence that translates conversations in real time during traffic stops. The Campbell police department, the first police department in the South Bay to implement this technology, welcomes the integration of this technology into their daily jobs,…
Interview w/ Nicole Meldahl, host of the Outside Lands Podcast (Part 2)

G. Li, Editor-in-Chief, V.Iyengar, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA Nicole Meldahl is the Executive Director of the Western Neighborhoods Project and the host of the Outside Lands Podcast. She is an accomplished archivist and historian, and works with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and as a freelance historian and contract archivist. In this interview, we…
Interview w/ Nicole Meldahl, host of the Outside Lands Podcast (Part 1)

G. Li, Editor-in-Chief, V.Iyengar, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA Nicole Meldahl is the Executive Director of the Western Neighborhoods Project and the host of the Outside Lands Podcast. She is an accomplished archivist and historian, and works with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and as a freelance historian and contract archivist. In this interview, we…
The Return of the Gilroy Garlic Festival

V. Iyengar, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA Get giddy garlic groupies, for the Gilroy Garlic Festival has Returned! This past weekend, July 25th-27th, marked the first in-person Gilroy Garlic festival in 6 years and the first festival in 3 years. The Gilroy Garlic Festival is an annual food festival held in Gilroy, CA, and includes every…
Arrhythmia

Arrhythmia G. Li, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA Did your heart just skip a beat, or do you have arrhythmia? You may find your heart skipping a few beats doing an important task or talking to your crush – is it because you’re nervous, or do you have arrhythmia? What you may have disregarded as a…
What is Radiology?

What is Radiology? V. Iyengar, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA Radiology is a medical specialty that uses images produced by radiant energy to diagnose and treat diseases. Radiant energy is used in technologies like X-rays, Computed tomography (CT), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Nuclear medicine, Positron emission tomography (PET) and Ultrasound. There a several types of radiologists.…
Items you NEED for School

G. Li, Editor-in-Chief📍 Silicon Valley, USA With the anticipated (or dreaded) school season around the corner, students must pick up their swords and shields and prepareready for battle. Therefore we’ve created an ultimate list of items you WILL be needing this school year. And reasons to go along with them! Pilot G-2 (0.7mm): Also known…
Careers in Health: Anesthesiology

Careers in Health: Anesthesiology G. Li, Editor-in-Chief📍Silicon Valley, USA Anesthesiology is a specialization in the medical field focused on administering anesthesia, a numbing medicine, before procedures or surgery. Practitioners of anesthesiology are anesthesiologists. Surgery is an invasive procedure, with cutting and suturing that causes pain. Anesthesia prevents patients from feeling pain during surgery in different…
Canada’s Increasingly Complex Political Landscape

Author: N. Sava, Megaphone Staff Writer In the wake of rampant inflation and high unemployment rates, Canada has grown largely disillusioned with Justin Trudeau’s incohesive governance. The former prime minister has been embroiled in multiple scandals over his decade-long tenure. The SNC-Lavalin affair is considered to be the most serious of these transgressions, where Trudeau’s…
What Makes a Psychopath? Inside the Mind of Criminals

What Makes a Psychopath? Inside the Mind of Criminals Author: R. Panchavaktra, Megaphone Staff Writer “Beneath a friendly smile,Lies a heart grown cold.No guilt, no tears, no true careA dark secret to be told?” Some people seem normal and even charming. Yet, behind their pleasant face, they may hide a lack of real feeling. This…
Judge orders VTA Transit Workers’ Strike to End

Judge orders VTA Transit Workers’ Strike to End Author: E. Cherkuri, Megaphone Staff Writer This Friday, the strike by the Amalgamated Transit Union, the largest union that represents transit workers in the U.S. and in Canada was ordered to end. This comes after a VTA began negotiating a new contract with the ATU in August…
The Battery of Southeast Asia, or China: Laos and China’s Modern Neo-Colonial Ties

The Battery of Southeast Asia, or China: Laos and China’s Modern Neo-Colonial Ties Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-Chief In the 21st century, the rise of China globally has been accompanied by a growing pattern of influence economically – “debt trap diplomacy”. This strategy offers large-scale infrastructure loans to developing countries vulnerable to financial pressure, often…
White House Signal Messages Leaked

Author: V.Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-Chief Earlier this week, the Atlantic published an article titled “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.” This article sent shockwaves throughout the country due to the fact that Jeffrey Goldberg,Editor-in-Chief of the Atlantic and the journalist who leaked this story, was a person without clearance to have access to…
Interview with Musician Tiffany Barry

Authors: G. Li & V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Grace and Vrinda: Hi! Ms. Barry: How are you both? Grace and Vrinda: I’m good. Ms. Barry: That’s nice to meet you. I’m Tiffany. And, well, I’m just curious. Like, how did you, how did you find my information? Vrinda: We found you from a book you wrote called,…
Almaden Barnes & Noble closes Jan. 19th

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief On January 19th, the Almaden Plaza felt … empty. Gone were the crinkling of pages, the clinking of coffee cups, and the community of readers that considered the Barnes & Noble bookstore in San Jose’s Almaden Plaza a second home. Officially closed, this bookstore was cut short with its 26 years…
AR Goggles for Firefighters

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief As fires ravage Southern California, local firefighters in Menlo Park are training with augmented reality (AR) googles that could potentially make it easier for them to save lives. When firefighters enter a burning building, they face danger, not only from the fire, but also from the smoke produced by that fire,…
What is Starlink?

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief In January 2015, SpaceX announced its plans for Starlink for the first time to the public. Since then, it has launched 6912 satellites into orbit as of January 2025, 6874 of which are working, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer who tracks the Starlink constellation on his website. How does it…
Healthy Homework Act

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Photo from KHTS In the new year, a new law is set to create healthy boundaries separating the school and home life for students. The “Healthy Homework Act”, or AB 2999, is a law which plans to prevent excessive stress placed on students because of homework. Written by assemblymember Pilar…
November 5, 2024⁩: U.S. Senate Election for California

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief On November 5th, there will be an election to fill the Senate seat previously filled by Democrat Dianne Feinstein in the United States Congress for California. In this election, candidates Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey will be running. Adam Schiff is of the Democratic party and Steve Garvey is of…
2024 California Ballot Propositions – Part 2

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Read Part 1 to learn more about California Ballot Propositions 2 through 5. Prop 6 Removes the provision that allows involuntary servitude by incarcerated prisoners in the state constitution. What a YES on this Proposition means: Currently, the California state constitution bans slavery in all cases except when used as punishment…
2024 California Ballot Propositions – Part 1

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief In this article we’ll summarize the content of the ballot propositions that all California voters will be able to decide on in this year’s election. Prop 2 Authorizes the state government to borrow $10 billion to be used to repair/upgrade existing facilities at K-12 public schools and community colleges, and/or for…
How the California State Government is Structured

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Like the federal government, each state’s government is comprised of an Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branch. The Executive Branch Analogous to the president of the country, the Governor of a state is the chief executive of the state and is responsible for enforcing state laws, signing/vetoing state legislation, and appointing heads…
Silicon Valley District Candidates for the House of Representatives Election

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Image taken from Wikipedia Article “California’s congressional districts” In the Bay Area, seven congressional districts have seats open for election this November 5th, all listed below with general information on the elections. Congressional District 11 Incumbent Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) and Bruce Lou (Republican) are running in the general election for…
November 5, 2024⁩: U.S. Senate Election for California – Adam Schiff

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Read previous article titled “November 5, 2024⁩: U.S. Senate Election for California – Steve Garvey” for information on Republican candidate Steve Garvey. Adam Schiff Schiff is the Democratic candidate for the US Senate for California. Here are his views on major California issues: Defending Democracy Restoring the Vote: Schiff hopes…
November 5, 2024⁩: U.S. Senate Election for California – Steve Garvey

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief On November 5th, there will be an election to fill the Senate seat previously filled by Democrat Dianne Feinstein in the United States Congress for California. In this election, candidates Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey will be running. Adam Schiff is of the Democratic party and Steve Garvey is of…
Interview with Artist Lynn Jaye

Authors: G. Li, V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Jae-Lynn’s piece, Evening Glow Q: Which qualities about a certain location or subject make you want to paint it? I love the California landscape! Coming from Europe, I used to paint Provence and Tuscany, two of the most beautiful places I knew, but then I began to appreciate…
The Future of AI Regulation: SB 1047

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief On August 28th, 2024, the California state assembly passed a landmark AI regulation bill, SB1047, which will now be sent to the Governor’s desk, where he has until September 30th of this year to sign it. What is SB1047? SB1047 was proposed earlier this year by CA state senator Scott Wiener…
Latin-American Independence Day Celebrations

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief Credit: The San Francisco Peninsula This past Sunday, September 15, 2024 marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. In lieu of this special day, a number of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations were held across the Bay Area. The festivals/parades were not only celebrations of hispanic culture and Mexican Independence from Spain,…
Songs to Save the School Year

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief For many, September marks the beginning of the school year. So, what’s better to save this school year than a curated list of songs from all our members, a playlist to save the school year! This contains a wide mix of genres, and ranges from giving motivation, brightening your day, or…
A Comprehensive Guide to the MrBeast Controversy: Part 4

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief This is a continuation of Part 3 of this series. “MrBeast’s Secret CEO“ Thumbnail from Dogpack404’s video, “MrBeast’s Secret CEO” In his third video, DogPack404 splits it into three main chapters: James Warren, Locoya Hill, and Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast’s work environment + Jeff Housenbold). We will be exploring each section individually,…
A Comprehensive Guide to the MrBeast Controversy: Part 3

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief This is a continuation of Part 2 of this series. “I Worked for MrBeast, He’s a Sociopath” Thumbnail from Dogpack404’s “I Worked for MrBeast, He’s a Sociopath” In this second video, DogPack404 focuses on covering Jake Weddle, a former MrBeast employee, and his experience working for MrBeast. This video in particular…
A Comprehensive Guide to the MrBeast Controversy: Part 2

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief This is a continuation of Part 1 of this series. Getting to the more serious allegations, Dawson brings up examples of what he claims to be “illegal lotteries”. While we will not be diving into the exact legalities of these lotteries, we will be discussing some of the ethics behind them. …
A Comprehensive Guide to the MrBeast Controversy: Part 1

Author: G. Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief In the past month, a slew of different allegations have come out against Jimmy Donaldson, or MrBeast, the main instigator being the videos created by a Youtuber named DogPack404. His first video, “I Worked For MrBeast, He’s a Fraud” served as the catalyst for a tidal wave of allegations of varying…
Golden Gate Bridge Protestors

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍San Francisco, CA Image Credit: ABC News On August 12th, 2024, anti-war protestors were charged with felony and misdemeanor charges by the San Francisco District Attorney. At 7:30 AM on April 15th of this year, a group of protestors stopped their cars on the Golden Gate Bridge, blocking all southbound lanes…
The First Capital City of California

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Sacramento, CA Today, Sacramento is well known to residents of California as our state’s official capital city, being the location of the Governor’s Mansion, the Capitol Building, and the epicenter of California’s politics. However, for the first 4 years of California’s time as a U.S. state, this was not the case. …
Lynn Conway Passes Away at 86

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Palo Alto, CA Cover image from the University of Michigan This past June saw the passing of one of Silicon Valley’s most influential tech pioneers, Lynn Conway, a computer architect active during the 1960s-70s, who left behind a legacy of remarkable intellect and and inspiring bravery. Image from Wikipedia Conway…
San José Jazz Summer Festival

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Downtown San José, CA Image Credit: San Jose Jazz The San Jose Jazz Summer Festival, known as one of the country’s best jazz festivals, kicked off and came to a close this past weekend, drawing in audiences from all throughout California. The San Jose Jazz Summer Festival is run by…
Waymo Honks Disrupt San Francisco Neighborhood

Author: G.Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍San Francisco, CA In a San Francisco parking lot, Waymo cars were getting loud. Waymo is an American company providing autonomous driving technology, meaning that they give driverless rides to passengers. These rides have recently gone from a limited waitlist to opening up to rides for everyone, and Waymo has expanded…
Exclusive: Interview with Ayelet Gal-On, Part Two

Author: G. Li, V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Los Altos, CA Please view part one of this interview before reading this article. Cycle of Life, painted by Ayelet Gal-On Grace: So I think you mentioned, looking back at your art and thinking, like, “oh, it looks good”. So, on your website, I saw that you mentioned…
Exclusive: Interview with Ayelet Gal-On, Part One

Author: G. Li, V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Los Altos, CA Ayelet Gal-On is an artist based in the Bay Area, in California. She has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions, winning awards such as the prestigious “Best of Show” at the San Ramon Wind and Art Festival. Her passion for art stems from her…
Researchers are creating a 3D map of Alcatraz + A Brief History of the Island

Author: V. Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍San Francisco, CA The United States gained possession of Alcatraz, along with the rest of California in 1848, following the Mexican-American War, and since then, the island has accrued a rich, and deep history. History of Alcatraz In 1850, President Millard Fillmore ordered that Alcatraz be set aside as a…
Exclusive: Interview with Caltech Professor G. Ravichandran

Author: E. Cherkuri, Megaphone Staff Writer 📍Pasadena, CA Renowned aerospace and mechanical engineering professor at Caltech, Ravi Ravichandran, shared insights into his illustrious career and offered advice to aspiring engineers during an exclusive interview. With over three decades dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of material deformation and fracture, Ravichandran’s work has been instrumental in fields…
Teens of Silicon Valley: Nitya Jayaprakash

Author: E. Cherkuri, Megaphone Staff Writer 📍San Jose, CA Q: Nitya, could you please introduce yourself and your involvement with the animal shelter? Nitya: Certainly. My name is Nitya Jayaprakash, and I’m an eleventh-grade student at Notre Dame School. I’ve been working to raise awareness and funds for an animal shelter in India as I…
Local Bodybuilder Helps Man with Down’s Syndrome Achieve his Dream

Author: G.Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍San Jose, CA (Image taken from NBC Bay Area) About a decade ago, Samuel Hinojosa stepped into a gym with a dream— to become a bodybuilder. Hinojosa was born with Down’s syndrome, a medical condition where a person is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21. This condition affects how…
Former Stanford Dean’s Inappropriate Affair with Student

Author: G.Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Palo Alto, CA Julie Lythcott-Haims is a Palo Alto City Council member, and was the dean of freshmen and undergraduate advising at Stanford from 2002 to 2012. Earlier this year, she ran in the open primary for California’s 16th congressional district for the House of Representatives. On July 10th, on a…
The Future of HIV Prevention: Gilead’s Lenacapavir

Author: V.Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Foster City, CA Intro On December 22, 2022, the FDA approved Lenacapavir— or as it’s known by its brand name, Sunlenca®— a twice-yearly injection meant to prevent HIV infection in adults, declaring that the drug is safe and effective for its intended use. Almost exactly one-and-a-half years later, on June 20th…
From Prunes to Apple – How the Silicon Valley came to be a leader in technology

Author: G.Li, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍Silicon Valley, CA The Silicon Valley, nestled in the southern part of the Bay Area in California, is widely renowned for its leading role in tech and innovation. Named after ‘silicon’, the chemical element whose semiconducting properties have enabled it to be used in transistors and integrated circuit chips in computer…
Ranking some of the most popular teen shows

Author: E.Cherkuri, Megaphone Staff Writer S Tier (Top Shows) The Vampire Diaries (The CW): Elena, a teenage girl who lost her parents, finds herself in a small town filled with strange occurrences and a series of mysterious murders. As she struggles to cope with the loss of her parents, she unexpectedly meets a captivating boy…
Betsy Mitchell – More than Medals (Olympic Swimmer)

Author: E.Cherkuri, Megaphone Staff Writer 📍Pasadena, CA (Information collected from her book promotional event at Caltech University) The life story of Betsy Mitchell goes beyond Olympic success and competitive swimming. Her swimming accomplishments, which include a gold and silver medal from the 1984 Los Angeles Games, are undoubtedly remarkable, but, as she emphasizes in her…
Waymo Opens to All

Author: V.Iyengar, Megaphone Editor-in-chief 📍San Francisco, CA When it was first founded in 2009, the Google Self-Driving Car Project, began with the sole purpose of making fully-autonomous vehicles more viable in order to make roads safer and more efficient for civilians. Almost 15 years and over one billion dollars later, that “project” has spun out…
Andy Wang: Inspiring Change, One Bag of Trash at a Time

Dedicated to making a difference in our community, Andy Wang cleans up trash in illegal dumping sites in the bay area.