by Arhana Aatresh (’23) | March 31, 2023 Readers, this column marks my end as a columnist and staff member of The Lancer. It is with deep sadness that I bid you […]
Brain Dump: how to put yourself out there
On the Frontlines: Unveiling the hegemon’s toolbox
by Alexander Chang (’23) | March 31, 2023 This final edition of On the Frontlines deviates from its traditional format to illustrate a broader geopolitical situation that has only grown more and more […]
On the Same Page: feminism and dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale
by Smriti Vijay (’25) and Katherine Winton (’25) | March 31, 2023 The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood holds a significant place in literature as a feminist criticism. The widely acclaimed novel […]
Banned Book Club: “The Downstairs Girl” and the importance of representation
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 31, 2023 This year’s Oscars was a major night for Asian representation, with history-making wins for Michelle Yeoh, “Naatu Naatu,” and more. Yeoh becoming the first […]
Cinematic Chat: privilege and pretension in “The Menu”
by Elsa Ying (’23) | March 31, 2023 This article contains spoilers. Premiering in fall of 2022, The Menu was a horror comedy film that brought not only gorgeous dishes but also […]
Banned Book Club: “Beyond Magenta” and the significance of context
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 10, 2023 In October of 2022, Fox News published an article attacking Ms. Betsy Snow, media specialist for Sequoia High School in Redwood City, for “broadcast[ing] […]
Trend Z: perception vs. peace
by Semira Arora (’25) | March 10, 2023 Congratulations! Your personality type is…exactly what you filled out for ninety questions. With the rise of personality questionnaires like the Myers-Briggs sixteen personalities test […]
On the Frontlines: The story behind the DRC’s two decades of war
by Alexander Chang (’23) | March 10, 2023 On November 4, 2022, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced the establishment of military recruitment centers across the […]
Cinematic Chat: generational cycles in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
by Elsa Ying (’23) | March 10, 2023 Since its release in March of last year, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s absurdist comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All At Once has received widespread acclaim. […]
On the Same Page: depth, detail, and emotion in “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”
by Katherine Winton (’25) and Smriti Vijay (’25) | March 10, 2023 Traditionally, novels involving time travel exist squarely in the science fiction genre. The general premise of these stories consists of […]
Brain Dump: New Years’ resolutions
by Arhana Aatresh (’23) | February 3, 2023 It’s that time of year again! One month since we eagerly set ambitious New Year’s resolutions to exercise more, eat healthily, spend less, and […]
Club Chronicles: Mind, Body, Spirit
by Will Li (’23) | February 3, 2023 From daily sports practices to a never-ending stream of tests and projects, high school life can feel overly demanding at times. But the remedy […]
Trend Z: the evolution of self-care
by Semira Arora (’25) | February 3, 2023 As the cold, flabby sheet mask marinated my skin, I sat with my own thoughts for fifteen minutes. While staring at the ceiling, I […]
Cinematic Chat: “Glass Onion” and modern tech moguls
by Elsa Ying (’23) | February 3, 2023 This article contains spoilers. After the success of his blockbuster mystery movie Knives Out (2021), director Rian Johnson returned to the film scene with […]
On the Frontlines: A nation in the pocket of twenty-four families
by Alexander Chang (’23) | February 3, 2023 Weighed down by the ashes of the Korean War, the largely agrarian South Korean economy entering the 1960s was anything but successful. Nearly eighty […]
Did we “fall in love with hope”? Signs point to no.
by Smriti Vijay (’25) and Katherine Winton (’25) | February 3, 2023 The world of literature has undoubtedly been altered by the rise of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, influencing […]
Banned Book Club: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and erasing identities
by Kylie Chen (’24) | February 3, 2023 Disclaimer: Joanna Ho, one of the authors who was interviewed for this article, is the writer’s aunt. As this publication is committed to providing […]
Brain Dump: the importance of consensus in conversation
by Arhana Aatresh (’23) | October 7, 2022 Welcome to Brain Dump! I’m excited for a year of exploring the mysteries and wonders of our brain and how they manifest in our […]
Cinematic Chat: the Percy Jackson adaptation and representation
by Elsa Ying (’23) | November 18, 2020 In March 2021, author Rick Riordan announced the search for directors and a cast for a television adaptation of his beloved fantasy series Percy […]
Brain Dump: the science behind voting
by Arhana Aatresh (’23) | November 18, 2022 The arrival of November is an exciting time: leaves falling and changing colors, a rare peek at rain, and perhaps most importantly, Election Day. […]
On the Frontlines: how social media decided a Philippine election
by Alexander Chang (’23) | November 21, 2022 On May 9th, 2022, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) won a landslide victory in the 2022 Philippine presidential election, securing roughly fifty-nine percent of […]
Trend Z: authenticity on social media
by Semira Arora (’25) | November 18, 2022 In the past six months, the app BeReal has achieved virality and become one of the most popular apps for Gen Z. Alexis Barreyat […]
On the Same Page: description and dread in “Bunny”
by Katherine Winton (’25) and Smriti Vijay (’25) | November 18, 2022 In light of Halloween, Saint Francis’s Book Club picked Bunny by Mona Awad to read and discuss in October. Bunny […]
Club Chronicles: Aviation Club and a trip to SFO
by Will Li (’23) | November 18, 2022 Photography by Abhijit Nambiar (’24) While a vast majority of commuters may consider flight merely another mode of transportation, there’s more to aviation than […]
Banned Book Club: “A Raisin in the Sun” and how banning books impacts education
by Kylie Chen (’24) | November 18, 2022 As students walked into Summer Boismier’s English class at Norman High School in Oklahoma for the first day of school, they were greeted by […]
On the Frontlines: LGBTQ+ Erasure in Uganda
by Alexander Chang (’23) | October 7, 2022 On August 7, 2022, Ugandan officials shut down the Sexual Minorities Uganda Group (SMUG), claiming that the group had failed to register with the […]
Cinematic Chat: “Avatar” (2009) and social context
by Elsa Ying (’23) | October 7, 2022 James Cameron’s iconic science fiction film Avatar (2009) returned to theaters on September 23 to generate excitement for its long-awaited sequel, Avatar: The Way […]
On the Same Page: retellings and tragedy in “Song of Achilles”
by Katherine Winton (’25) and Smriti Vijay (’25) | October 7, 2022 This month, Saint Francis’s Book Club chose to read Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which follows Patroclus, a young […]
Trend Z: the dark sides of dark academia
by Semira Arora (’25) | October 7, 2022 The romanticization of education is certainly not a new niche within media. Entertainment gave us Dead Poets Society as early as 1989 and more […]
Banned Book Club: “Gender Queer,” the most banned book of 2021
by Kylie Chen (’24) | October 7, 2022 “Books unite us. Censorship divides us.” These six words were the theme for the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2021 Banned Books week, and they […]
Club Chronicles: Lancer Analytics
by Will Li (’23) | October 7, 2022 Graphing polynomials and plotting points in a portable with five minutes left on an exam during a chilly second period. Watching the football whistle […]
Cinematic Chat: growing pains in “Turning Red”
by Elsa Ying (’23) | April 8, 2022 Disney’s recent movies tend to focus on stories of families of color, whether through the lens of magical realism in Encanto or Marvel’s expansive […]
All About Alumni: Ms. Cindy Leslie-Forbes
by Anika Jain (’22) and Louis Chavey (’22) | April 8, 2022 At the forefront of Holy Cross education, Saint Francis has always relied not only on educators but also students to […]
The Spice of Life: polos
by Isha Karim (’22) | April 8, 2022 While spring and summer have us looking to fresh, citrusy dishes, I can’t help but crave a spicy rice-based dish, especially the kind that […]
The Policy Proposition: saving America’s only universal healthcare program
by Alexander Chang (’23) | April 8, 2022 President Richard Nixon signed the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program into law on July 1, 1973 to cover some ten thousand patients who lacked […]
culture.png: the effect of war on fashion
by Pujita Tangirala (’22) | April 8, 2022 Welcome to the last issue of culture.png, a column where I break down various topics in pop culture and their relevance to society today. […]
Club Chronicles: Lancer SportsMed
by Will Li (’23) | April 8, 2022 From shin splints to torn rotator cuffs, injuries are ubiquitous in the realm of athletics, with the potential to irreversibly alter an athlete’s career. […]
Mental Mettle and Musings: the power of art
by Arhana Aatresh (’23) | April 8, 2022 The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked dialogue about the importance of art during difficult times. Isolation, lockdown, and quarantine periods have inspired people to turn […]
Cinematic Chat: offscreen diversity in “Avatar: The Last Airbender”
by Elsa Ying (’23) | March 21, 2022 The rising demand for racial and ethnic representation in film, television and all forms of media has recently sparked conversations about representation offscreen. While […]
Mental Mettle and Musings: to conform or to conform?
by Arhana Aatresh (’23) | March 21, 2022 Teenagers get a bad reputation for their obsession with social status and group belonging, as well as their impulsive and temperamental tendencies; just look […]
ViewPoint: behind the scenes of Track & Field
by Da Hee Yang (’23) | March 21, 2022 Now we are back on track! Track season has started, with almost four hundred athletes looking forward to marking their personal records, coaches […]
Club Chronicles: Shakespeare’s Dropouts
by Will Li (’23) | March 21, 2022 The name “Shakespeare’s Dropouts” usually evokes imagery of literary fanatics huddled together, religiously dissecting texts from the Elizabethan period. But Saint Francis’s team could […]
All About Alumni: Mr. Jim Kaspari
by Anika Jain (’22) and Nikita Senthil (’23) | March 21, 2022 Living in Silicon Valley, many Lancers have continued on to fulfilling professions in the biotechnology industry. Jim Kaspari (’80) is […]
Humans of Saint Francis: Ashton Liu
by Will Li (’23) and Kasper Halevy (’24) | March 21, 2022 Strolling into the Commons, one can never miss the energetic student sporting tinted aviator glasses, playing an assortment of melodies […]
Humans of Saint Francis: Ishan Pachauri
by Sophia Tran (’24) | March 21, 2022 Whether it’s binge-watching anime or answering the next question about the Golgi complex, Ishan Pachauri (’24) has always been a curious learner with an […]
Humans of Saint Francis: Medha Mahanta
by Kasper Halevy (’24) and Will Li (’23) | February 14, 2022 Medha Mahanta (’24) began her mathematical journey in middle school with the local MATHCOUNTS and Math League competitions as a […]
Club Chronicles: Arduino Uno
by Will Li (’23) | February 14, 2022 When people visualize computer programming, what often springs to mind is a geeky adolescent equipped with horn-rimmed glasses, hunched over a laptop and fingers […]
The Policy Proposition: putting charter schools to the test
by Alexander Chang (’23) | February 14th, 2022 Charter schools have come a long way since City Academy, the first publicly funded, privately run institution in the United States, opened its doors […]
All About Alumni: Dr. Christopher Gilbert
by Arhana Aatresh (’23), Louis Chavey (’22), and Will Li (’23) A number of Saint Francis alumni have taken the leap from student to teacher. One of them is Dr. Christopher Gilbert […]
The Spice of Life: preserved lemons
by Isha Karim (‘22) | February 11, 2022 As our mild California winter comes to an end, spring flavors are back in season. Spring cooking demands citrus, leafy greens, and nutty notes […]
The Lancer 