Familiar chants of “I can’t breathe” and “Say his name” rang through the streets of Los Altos on Tuesday afternoon as activists marched from Los Altos High School to the intersection of San Antonio…

What does it mean to be Asian American? I got the technical aspect down cold (an American of Asian descent), but I’ve spent 16 years struggling with the details. Must I be a straight-A student or speak…

Anyone who knows me will tell you: I am the biggest Swiftie there is. But Taylor Swift, pop icon and lyrical genius though she may be, is still human and has room for growth like everyone else. People…

To be perfectly honest, I thought pronouns were the simplest part of learning English grammar. Why focus on when to use she or he when I can be worried by my semicolon usage? But, of course, I was wrong….

Protesters took to the streets of Downtown Mountain View yesterday at 1 p.m. under the scorching heat to unite against the rising acts of hate crimes across the nation.

This protest — organized by…

Spring is in full swing with birds chirping and flowers blooming. It’s also the season most seniors receive a surge of life-changing college decision letters — rejections, acceptances and everything…

The content in this article is written from a student perspective and should not be taken as endorsed financial advice.

As high school students, most of us bear little to no serious consequences for…

Prompted by the recent hate crime against 75-year-old Chinese man Pak Ho and by the history of racism against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, hundreds of protesters joined the…

After a full year of quarantine, many may think the lack of social and economic activity during the pandemic has finally curbed carbon emissions, but student environmentalists can assure you that the fight…

Trigger warning: Discussion of sexual assault.

I love gymnastics. 

I never thought that sentence would be difficult for me to say. But the face of the sport continues to let me down. 

I walk…

In all honesty, history has consistently been my least favorite subject. My lack of interest paired with the class being right after lunch led to me falling asleep way more than I’d like to admit. 
…

If you were asked to make a list of actors who use a wheelchair, how long would that list be? For most of us, it’s a struggle to get a single name out.

The underrepresentation of wheelchair users…

For many children, playing with friends in the local park’s sandbox and perfecting pirouettes in their dance class has been replaced with countless hours spent staring into a screen. COVID-19 has…

Recently I’ve seen my TikTok feed filled with videos of people reenacting the notorious scene between dance mom Kelly Hyland and dance teacher Abby Lee Miller, where Hyland nearly bit Miller’s finger…

The most impactful and emotional part of the inauguration ceremony for me wasn’t Lady Gaga’s rendition of the National Anthem, nor was it Vice President Kamala Harris swearing in or even President…

Space law, the final frontier. This is the voyage of space lawyer and upcoming author Lauren Peterson, LAHS ’11.

So, you may ask, what’s a space lawyer? You’re probably imagining an astronaut…

Note: For a better viewing experience, please access this photo essay on web (not mobile).

Pyramids of cheerleaders have become masked groups doing planks in the quad, and football players who once…

Historically, it has been an honor for the president to attend sports competitions: It was representative of the proud patriotic values Americans hold dear. However, after the Capitol Hill riots that happened…

Wednesday, January 6, 2021 will go down as one of the worst days ever for American democracy — the day that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, incited a mob to breach the Capitol building,…

The definition of irony: a sweatshirt reading “tax the rich” while costing a hefty $58. Recently, Congress Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known more often as AOC, came under fire as she released…

When sixth-grade students pick their own topics for a research project, most don’t resort to complicated, obscure subjects like ancient Greek philosophy. Despite knowing hardly anything of the subject…

The Talon collaborated with New Media Lit Co-Editor-in-Chief senior Cathryn Krajewski to document her experiences as a participant of the local Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trial for minors.

After months…

While his former classmates attended virtual classes from the comfort of their homes, Daniel Lim, LAHS ’20, was running through the muddy jungle floor of Singapore in the middle of a thunderstorm with…

 I’m sure many of you can relate when I say that my Instagram and Twitter feeds are flooded with passionate messages from all parts of the political spectrum. But even in this seemingly endless sea…

Red lights flashed across my face as my hands clammed up, my body almost paralyzed out of terror. I was surrounded by what can be described best as absolute chaos, and the only figures I saw were different-colored…

The Talon interviewed five high school students from across the world on their experiences with the pandemic over the past few months. Click on the map above to explore the different ways in which countries…

Ben Rubinstein

Fifty years ago, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, but since then, space exploration has halted. Mars has only been explored by unmanned…

In September, the Los Altos City Council put together a police task force to provide recommendations regarding the presence of school resource officers (SROs) at Los Altos High School and improve the process…

I was in fifth grade when the 2016 presidential election took place. My class was talking about the first presidential debate when my teacher told us that the only reason Hillary Clinton would win the…

The English Department is set to replace the freshman course reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” (“TKAM”) next school year. Working with the Mountain View–Los Altos School District, the department…

Among the many summer plans derailed due to COVID-19 were youth sports camps — long days of sweaty scrimmages, sack lunches and water gun fights seemed completely out of the question. However, four LAHS…

Trigger warning: Discussion of eating disorders and body image.

Struggling with body image issues is nothing new for a lot of people. In a world where appearance influences every aspect of our lives,…

The phrase “cancel culture” has boomed all over the world, gaining fame and followers faster than a fly can steal Mike Pence’s spotlight. But the modern cancel culture movement has really become…

Most people know Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) as a rapper. Some may recognize him as an actor, but few would call him a pop-punk singer — that is, until the release of his latest album “Tickets To My Downfall”…

Palo Alto’s Foothills Park — where, by law, non-Palo Altans can be cited with a misdemeanor for entering the park — has been embroiled in a divisive debate over its non-resident ban for years.

Recently,…

Generally speaking, teenage girls’ coming-of-age movies are pretty cringe-worthy. Often centered around a lifelong crush or a fashion reset, these movies feed into society’s misconceptions about women…

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THE SUPREME COURT
Trump and Biden started off by discussing whether the sitting president has the right to nominate…

Protesters took to the streets of Menlo Park yesterday at 6 p.m. in reaction to the grand jury indictment in Breonna Taylor’s case.

On Wednesday, September 23, Brett Hankison, one of the officers…

A handful of Mountain View and Los Altos community members presented a petition to the district board asking to eliminate the presence of student resource officers (SROs) on campus and adopt a mandatory…

The Moos family just bought a new Brother laser printer. Why? Because for the past month, Los Altos High School graduate Kenan Moos, ’16, has been printing thousands of leaflets and flyers nonstop…

Note: Rose Liu is the graphic artist for this article.

Colleges want to know one thing about me: who I am. They’re asking for a lot of things, but I don’t know how to explain who I am; I don’t…

As the humdrum months of quarantine have drawn on, many have found themselves trying a bit of everything to stay busy. Music has taken a place of solace for many, but with shelter-in-place orders, not…

In the era of a global pandemic, it’s easy to feel powerless, especially if you’re just a high schooler. Often, it can seem as though there is very little we can do.

But that’s not what a group…

Eric Carlson

Some of senior Eric Carlson’s friends have been disregarding the quarantine guidelines, but he can’t afford to do the same. Eric’s dad has a compromised immune system as a result…

“He is a Legend. She is a Prodigy. Who will be Champion?” We, alongside countless other elementary and middle schoolers, read those words on the backside of Marie Lu’s beloved “Champion,”…

“Weak. Feminine. Gay.” These are just a couple of the adjectives that plague male ballet dancers. It’s something that makes dancing for boys both difficult and rare. Despite being one of the few…

“Moana” and “Lilo & Stitch” have always been cute, cuddly films and two of my favorite Disney movies. But they weren’t just fun films to watch with my family. They were the only times we…

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from “The Simpsons,” Raj Koothrappali from “The Big Bang Theory,” Kelly Kapoor from “The Office.”

The ranks of South Asian characters in Hollywood are limited, but…

“Come on, vámanos, everybody let’s go!” shouts Dora.

This familiar song, alongside dozens of others, is more than some children’s introduction to Spanish; it’s a treasured part of many childhood…

I know I’m not special when I say that I’m a huge fan of Netflix’s Emmy-winning series, Queer Eye. The show is known worldwide for its heartwarming lifestyle makeovers from the iconic group of men…