THE PAGE

By Aria Kim-Brown

On October 6, 2022, rap artist Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was featured in an interview with Tucker Carlson of Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News. Many controversial things were said, whether that be about the “White Lives Matter” shirt that West wore at his show during Paris Fashion Week or his relationship with his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. But perhaps the most controversial of all was his comments about the Jewish community, which lead to a flood of antisemitism not new to our world. The Nazi party in World War II did not introduce it, nor did the end of the war end it. In fact, antisemitism springs from centuries before the Second World War. It starts with the Bible.

Judaism was one of the first religions, along with Islam and Christianity, dating back to over 3,500 years ago. It is said that those three monotheistic (belief that there is only one god) religions sprouted from Abraham bringing his family to Canaan, henceforth bringing the religion of Islam into being. Because the early Jews refused to submit to the Islam rulers, they faced persecution and discrimination. 

But mainstream anti-Judaism didn’t start until the birth of Jesus. Christianity was born with the son of Christ, who strayed from his Jewish society to preach different ideals, slowly gaining more followers. The New Testament revolves around Jesus as he teaches Christianity, and initially, Christianity was thought of as a form of Judaism. The Jews rejected Jesus and his teachings, dragging him through city streets and nailing him across the infamous cross. But in 70 C.E., as Romans took on Catholicism, they cast out all Jews, subsequently scattering them all throughout the world and sending them on a long path of hardship and discrimination. 

During the years after that, as Christianity boomed exponentially, Jews lived under a set of restrictions. They couldn’t marry Christians, couldn’t hold positions in government nor bear witnesses in court. Offensive images of them arose: devils with horns and tails that murdered Christians (more specifically Christian children) for evil Jewish rituals. When the bubonic plague spread throughout Europe during the 14th century, it was said that Jews were poisoning drinking water, causing the deaths of the 200,000,000 people who suffered from the plague. In Germany and Austria, 100,000 Jewish boys were burned for this—and other—false crimes. It was moments like this that began the change from anti-Judaism: discrimination against Jews for not accepting Christianity, to antisemitism: the discrimination against Jews as a race of people for fear that they would contaminate the “Christian race.” This only increased with time. In the 16th century, a German priest, theologian, author, hymn-writer and professor, Martin Luther, well-known for his 95 Theses, published a pamphlet called The Jews and Their Lies, that would later influence the Nazis and be republished by them. That wasn’t all the Nazis took from history—in the 13th century, Jews were forced to wear a badge and/or a pointed hat that would differentiate them from the Christian population. Actions like this, clearly repurposed during World War II, are a haunting embodiment of  “history repeats itself.”

It wasn’t until after the horrors of the Nazi rule that antisemitism became far less acceptable. It even led to monumental change within institutions as old as the Catholic Church, which removed the charge against Jews for Jesus’s death in 1960. But change is a rollercoaster and more always follows less. As time goes on and the Holocaust becomes further removed from our present, antisemitism rises once more. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a service that tracks antisemitism around the world, found that in 2021, there was a 34% increase in antisemitic behavior from the previous year: a whopping 2,717 incidents. In 2013, they found that a large group of Europeans thought of Jewish citizens as disloyal to the countries where they live and that they wield too much political and economic power.

An April 2022 interview on PBS News Hour talks about this rise in antisemitism. Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, said, “As [the interviewer, William Branghan] pointed out, this is the highest total we have ever tracked in more than 40 years of doing this work. And we should keep in mind that antisemitic acts were going down in the United States for almost 15 years and then, in 2016, they started to move up. And we’re now at the point where we have nearly triple the number of incidents today [than] we did in 2015.” These acts consist of vandalism on synagogues and other Jewish locales as well as harassment against Jewish people. 

The reasons for this rise in antisemitism remain unknown. A rise in attacks on Arab Americans, Asian Americans and African Americans in the past few years could very well be connected to the rise in antisemitism. This “normalization of antisemitism and extremism,” which Greenblatt called it, can be applied to other minorities as well. And all throughout history, that’s what antisemitism can be seen as: what humans are capable of doing to another human when hatred fuels them. The Holocaust is one of the most extreme and clear examples of our prejudices blinding us to reality, but it is not the only one, and unless we can learn to work on our judgments and biases, it will not be the last. 

The prime example of contemporary antisemitism is the recent controversy surrounding Kanye “Ye” West. This normalization of anti-Semitic hate paves the way for other people who share these ideas to break out and spew forth their harmful stereotypes and prejudices. Indeed, controversial comedian Dave Chappelle and NBA star Kyrie Irving contributed to this anti-Semitic culture following Ye’s outbursts.

By Cecil Dean

Midterm results season is upon us. While perhaps the AUHSD school board election doesn’t seem very important compared to the election of senators and representatives, it is the one which will affect you the most directly. It’s important to know about your local government, especially the ones who help make crucial decisions about the place you spend most of your time: school. While election results are not yet final and certified (they will be confirmed on December 16th by the Secretary of State), we can use voter statistics to determine with substantial accuracy which three candidates will be elected to the school board. The following is a debrief on the three projected winners. 

JENNIFER CHEN

Received 27.22% of votes (36,085)

 Jennifer Chen received more votes than any other candidate, securing a place for herself on the AUHSD school board. Chen is a “WaLamorinda” resident with two kids in the public school system. She has held a career for 22 years as a clinical social worker, working in different schools, organizations and communities to create ethical and effective policies so “families can thrive.” Passionate about learning for all ages, Chen has worked as adjunct faculty at UCLA, USC and LMU. In this position, Chen facilitated the learning and professional development of rising mental health professionals. She is endorsed by all four mayors across the AUHSD and all members of the Moraga Town Council. In addition to that, she has been endorsed by the President of the AUHSD Governing Board, Kristen Connelly, as well as several other prominent local government officials.

CHRISTOPHER SEVERSON

Received 23.70% of votes (31,420)

Christopher Severson received the second greatest amount of votes, taking the second available spot on the AUHSD school board. Severson has worked as an Emergency Medicine Physician at Kaiser Permanente since 2005 and was on the Board of Trustees for the Orinda Union School District for four years. His top three priorities as a school board member are giving special attention to student wellness, maintaining a superior state of public education and providing efficient deployment of scarce resources. Severson is endorsed by members of the Acalanes Union Board of Trustees, the Lafayette Union Board of Trustees and the Orinda Union Board of Trustees. Additionally he is endorsed by several different city council members and California state senator Steve Glazer. 

NANCY KENDZIERSKI

Received 23.41% of votes (31,038)

Following closely behind Severson is Nancy Kendzierski, taking the third open spot as an AUHSD school board member. Kendzierski has been an active community member and parent since moving to the area in 1995. She has twelve years of experience on the executive board of PTAs, has been a Moraga Education Foundation director since 2005 and has five years of experience on the AUHSD board. Kendzierski’s top three priorities are to support the district’s strong academic focus and performance, maintain fiscal stability, and to work closely with parents and community to continue to “enhance their invaluable support”. Kendzierski is endorsed by members of various school Boards of Trustees and Glazer. 

By Adam Tarr

When people think of California, they think of warm weather, sunshine, and beaches, among other words that characterize California as a hot place. Although this can be the case in the months of October and November, local temperatures have regularly reached under 50ºF, even reaching below 40 at points, in the mornings. In addition, Walnut Creek weather at times can seem out of the ordinary due to its location and the geographical features surrounding it. With that being said, here are some explanations of the weather phenomenon affecting Walnut Creek and recent cold weather, with some of the effects on Las Lomas being highlighted. 

First off, there is no question that the Inner East Bay areas can have much different weather than its counterparts near the water, such as Berkeley or San Francisco. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the average high daily temperature in San Francisco during September is 74ºF, with a low of 58ºF. In contrast, Walnut Creek averages a high of 85ºF and a low of 64ºF during the month of September. San Francisco’s location near the water means that when the surface water of the Pacific close to the coast is colder, the air also cools, thus resulting in lower temperatures. This phenomenon has less of an effect on Walnut Creek due to its location inland, as the presence of the Berkeley Hills separating it from the coast blocks the cool ocean air, making it hotter during the summer months.

Additionally, Walnut Creek can experience larger fluctuations in weather during the day in comparison to areas near the water due to heat capacity. The basic concept is that things with a high heat capacity take in and give off energy slower, meaning that their temperature is less likely to change quickly. Water has a much higher heat capacity than typical land areas, so as a result, the temperature around San Francisco will have a lower range throughout the day in comparison to Walnut Creek.

“[The] ground can heat up very quickly and cool off very quickly. But the water has a high specific heat…the water out in front of San Francisco is [mostly] between 53 and 58 degrees, regardless of what time of the year it is…[so] the temperature [of San Francisco] just doesn’t change that much,” said Las Lomas science teacher John Morse. 

In the later fall and winter seasons, temperature differences are less apparent. Both the inner Bay Areas like Walnut Creek and the areas near the water experience temperatures that are in close proximity. For example, both Walnut Creek and San Francisco experience an average high temperature of 64ºF during November with lows of 49ºF and 51ºF respectively.

Recently, as it has already reached the months of November and December, as one would expect, the temperatures have decreased. From the week of November 6 to November 12, the temperature reached a low of under 50ºF six out of seven days, with four of the days experiencing a low under 45ºF.

 Although the temperature changes have seemed drastic, even atypical for California, Morse said that it is nothing out of the ordinary. “It only seems cold…it’s been this up and down sort of cycle sort of thing and it’s been that way for years.” 

Regardless of the cause or perception of the daily temperatures lowering, the colder weather as well as the phenomenon of temperature fluctuations during the day has had impacts on students at Las Lomas. These impacts include issues like how students dress for school and changing what they do if they arrive early.

One such student who is typically at school early is junior Alex Shewmaker-Herrera. “Because it’s so cold, [I’ve been] going into the library in the mornings when I show up [early]. It wasn’t something I normally used to do,” he said. 

The Las Lomas Library, in fact, has become a primary place for students like Shewmaker-Herrera to escape extreme temperatures throughout the day. Joy Kim, the Las Lomas librarian said, “We’re getting a lot more people coming in the mornings. Even more so because I think it is coldest in the mornings.”

With many changes to the library this year like the addition of music, it has become an attractive place to hang out, whether it is too hot or too cold.

Inside and outside of the library, varied temperatures have also sparked the rise of questions, such as: Should the school add additional indoor places where students can seek refuge as temperatures drop or get too high?

“I personally think that there should be more open public spaces… I don’t know where you guys go in the mornings, if not the library,” added Kim. 

Overall, what’s clear is that with the onset of winter approaching, the temperatures have gotten colder and may continue to do so over the next few months. Alongside Walnut Creek’s ability to experience temperature fluctuations, the general trend of it being colder will continue to impact students, potentially sparking the need for individual action, like bringing a heavier jacket every day or school-wide action like adding a new indoor place for students to spend time.