The Seniors’ Perspective on College Applications
By Patrick R. ‘23 As we inch closer to the second semester, every senior is glad that the college application season is drawing to a close. It’s been a long, tiring journey […]
Bias Takes a Deadly Turn – the Impact of Race in the Administration of Bystander CPR
By Rohan D. ‘25 Disparities in access to healthcare have long been documented across a broad swathe of interventions, expensive and cheap, new and old. However, a recent landmark study in the […]
The History of K-Pop
By Ethan L. ’25 Welcome to South Korea, a thriving metropolis filled with people, food, tourist attractions, and music. Yes, today I’m talking about something that has been blowing up worldwide. No, […]
The World Cup Preview Podcast
By Alex R. ’23, Luke I. ’23, and Jack M. ’23
Team USA in Qatar: America’s Best Chance for a Trophy?
By Luke I ’23 Christian Pulisic falls to his knees and despair grips each American soccer player as the dream of a 2018 World Cup qualification falls apart. America’s two-one loss to […]
World Cup Predictions: From the Group Stage to the Finals and Everything in Between
By Jack M. ’23 The World Cup. Copa Mundial. Svjetski Kup. Coupe du Monde. Weltmeisterschaft. Copa do Mundo. Whatever the name, the World Cup is the biggest tournament of the world’s most […]
Becoming an Upper School Gryphon
By Sheridan S. ’26 The Class of 2026 is made up of eighty-five students, most of whom are rising from Crystal’s middle school, but some of whom are coming in from many […]
Crystal Beyond Campus: Hari S. ‘22
By Jack M. ’23 The Crystal community is known for being close-knit, so when members of the Senior class graduate and move on to the next chapters of their lives, the students, […]
What Are These Ads About Props 26 and 27?
By Yuto K. ’23 “Vote No on Prop 27 in November” “Vote Yes on Prop 27 in November” You have likely heard those lines multiple times while watching TV in the past […]
Brandon Sanderson and his Record-Setting Kickstarter
By Patrick R. ’23 Six months ago, fantasy author Brandon Sanderson made history with the highest-funded Kickstarter campaign of all time, raising over $40 million. What was he funding, you may ask? […]
A Midnights Mayhem Investigation
By Claire Z. ’26 Taylor Alison Swift. Singer, songwriter, superstar sensation, basically the entire music industry. After rocking the world with 2 surprise sister albums, Folklore and Evermore, in 2020, ending the […]
A Film Ranking of 2022
By Ollie B. ’25 and Ethan L. ’25 After a lackluster 2021 movie season, it seemed fitting that 2022 would have a better array of films. And while there are still a […]
Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry: Visionary Scientist and Mentor
By Rohan D. ’25 The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, to Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi of Stanford University, who will be sharing the prize with Morten […]
WWII Movie Rankings
By Ryan G. ’23 Though we may never experience a battleground, these cinematic masterpieces make us feel as if we were there. Some filmmakers are able to tell great stories of the […]
A Brief History of the Greatest Guitar Player of All Time
By Jacob D. ’25 It is undeniable that everyone has heard the name “Jimi Hendrix” at one point in their lives, whether it was listening to Purple Haze on the radio or […]
Is Stanford’s New Doerr School of Sustainability Altering the Climate Change Landscape?
Rohan D. ’25 Climate change is worsening every year, and we are not doing enough to stop this trend. If we do not counter the prevalent problem of climate change, our grandchildren […]
The New Age of Party Games
By Patrick R. ’23 Charades. Pictionary. Everybody has heard of these common party games, and almost everybody has played them at some point in their lives. They are easy to learn and […]
Doctor Strange 2: A Multiversal Mess
By Aryav D. ’23 Back in 2016, the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) received its newest addition with Doctor Strange, a safe and relatively self-contained romp whose flashes of psychedelic visuals promised […]
A Brief History of Gotham’s Masked Vigilante
By Ethan L. ’25 “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” Whether you think he’s an overrated “superpowerless” superhero or not, The Batman is and will […]
Zen and the Art of Teaching PET: A Tribute to Dr. Venuti
By Jack M. ’23 Walking down the stairs into the mansion basement, minding the “mind your head” sign on the way down, Crystal students are always thrilled to encounter Dr. Venuti, known […]
California’s Crown Jewel: Mikey Williams
Luke I. ’23 Basketball has taken over the global world of sports with transcendent superstars and authoritative presences in Asia and Africa. Basketball has long since passed slower games like baseball and […]
Welcome to Harry’s House: An Album Review
By Jasmyn M. ’23 Whether it was one of the tens of millions of devout fans that have been following him since he was sixteen on The X Factor, or it was […]
History Teacher, Mr. Holubar, Retiring after 41 Years
By Jack M. ’23 Mr. Holubar, history teacher at Crystal Springs Uplands School for the past 41 years, is retiring from teaching this June. The entire Crystal community will feel the loss […]
Is There a Method to the Madness? How to Pick the Optimal March Madness Bracket
By Ryan S. ’22 There are few events in American society that galvanize the friendly competition of coworkers, families, and friends quite like the NCAA Basketball Tournament every March. Around the start […]
What’s Next in the COVID-19 Pandemic?
By Yuto K. ’23 It has been over two years since Covid-19 first disrupted our lives. Since then, there have been times when the number of cases were going up at an […]
Atlanta Season 3: Donald Glover’s Surrealist Masterpiece is Back with Full Force
By Aryav D. ’23 Donald Glover, otherwise known as rapper Childish Gambino, created and starred in FX’s Atlanta in 2016, a surrealist comedy-drama about an up-and-coming rapper, Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), […]
Lonzo, LaMelo, LiAngelo, and the Greatest High School Basketball Team of all Time
By Luke I. ’23 Senior guard Lonzo Ball, then #4 high school recruit in the nation, secures a weak side rebound and rifles a pass to his younger brother, LaMelo Ball. LaMelo […]
“Tools to Finish the Job” – What Can The US Do To End the Russian Invasion of Ukraine?
By Rohan D. ’25 It has been over one month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian troops have been advancing toward Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. A war of aggression, the Russian invasion […]
A Surprisingly Contentious Supreme Court Confirmation: Kentanji Brown Jackson
By Spencer M-D. ’25 The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation process for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been quite the rollercoaster, with senators up in arms arguing over what should be a non-partisan […]
Home Economics At Crystal
By Abigail A. ’23 When the words “home economics” are spoken, most people’s first reaction would be to say that it’s outdated. “Home economics” hearkens back to classes our grandparents may have […]
How Wordle Has Taken Over The Internet
By Ally A-L. ’23 One word, five letters, six guesses, three colors. Ring a bell? You’re probably familiar with, if not already addicted to, Wordle, the word guessing game fad rocketing around […]
Dogs of Crystal
By Arjun R. ’24 and Jack F. ’24 Half of all Americans own dogs. While we usually associate dogs with being home-bound, they can also be found all over the Crystal campus. […]
73 Questions with Izzy F. and Kayla D.
Tsunamis 101
By Rohan D. ’25 On Saturday, January 15th, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted. This volcano is situated on an uninhabited island of Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island. According to the Tonga Geological […]
Squash: Crystal’s Best Kept Sports Secret
By Jasmyn M. ’23 To be completely honest, when I first came to Crystal, I had absolutely no idea that “squash” could represent anything other than a vegetable. I saw a couple […]
The Evolution of Survivor
By Patrick R. ’23 Survivor is a show that has been airing for over 20 years, and just finished its 41st season. When Survivor first came out, it quickly became one of […]
Joe Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee
By Spencer M-D. ’25 President Biden is currently facing one of the toughest decisions of his presidency: the vacancy left by Justice Breyer gives Biden his first opportunity to nominate a member […]
The Russia-Ukraine Crisis: A Briefing
By Jack M. ’23 In recent weeks, tensions between Russia and Ukraine have risen to a feverish pitch, provoking fears that an invasion may soon be forthcoming. The United States and its […]
73 Questions with Hope T. and Reilly S.
Crystal’s Most Famous Alumni
By Ryan S. ’22 A premier high school institution, Crystal Springs is a conglomerate of some of the most talented and intelligent students in the Bay Area. Year after year, Crystal pumps […]
When Will The Pandemic End?
By Ally A-L. ’23 Editor’s Note: This article is not meant to serve as a substitute for medical or professional advice regarding Covid-19. If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last […]
The Length of a Life
By Spencer M-D. ’25 On September 29th, 2020 a new bill was introduced to the House of Representatives which proposed 18-year term limits for the Supreme Court. This bill would provide equal […]
The Naming of Natural Disasters
By Yuto K. ’23 Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, Wanda. All these names are the names of […]
The Ethos of Silicon Valley: Should Silicon Valley Change after Theranos Committed Fraud?
By Rohan D. ’25 Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 on the premise that it could revolutionize blood testing technology by only using a few drops of blood. Holmes wore black turtlenecks […]
How to Avoid Procrastination
By Aydin M. ’25 and Ethan L. ’25 For many of us students, procrastination is the demise of our productivity. We waste hours scrolling through social media or watching YouTube. We constantly […]
The Future of Autistic Representation in Popular Media
By Abigail A. ’23 In recent history, autistic characters in visual media have typically fallen into one of two categories: comedic relief (i.e. Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory), and one-dimensional characters […]
Game Review and Strategy: Monopoly
By Patrick R. ’23 Monopoly. If you were to think of a board game, odds are Monopoly would be one of the first games your mind goes to. This is because it […]
If Facebook is Harming Teens, What Else Should Be Regulated?
By Rohan D. ’25 If you use Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, or any of Facebook’s subsidiaries, you may have experienced an outage on October 4th, 2021. Approximately 3.5 billion people lost access to […]
The Nature of the National Debt
By Ryan S. ’22 One week ago, the Senate passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling to cover the government’s expenses through December of this year. Although the Senate was able […]
The Boom in the Korean Entertainment Industry
By Ethan L. ‘25 and Allison H. ‘25 You have probably heard of the breakout hit TV series Squid Game, or perhaps the four-time Academy Award-winning movie Parasite. You have also most […]
Big Mouth, The White Lotus, and more: Fall TV Recap
By Aryav D. ’23 This fall saw some of television’s most beloved series returning — and in the case of some, coming to a long-dreaded close. I will not be covering House […]
“The Dragon” Captivates Audiences With Soviet Satire
By Sheridan S. ’26 Walking around campus in the beginning of November, it was impossible to miss the bright red posters dotting Crystal’s Upper School. Those posters, featuring artwork by Elena K. […]
A Recap & Look Ahead: Crystal’s Cross Country Team
By: Lauryn F. ’26 Photo was taken by Brian Dye The Crystal Cross Country team consists of a variety of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and of course, seniors. Coached by Albert Caruana, Andy […]
The Gryphon Gazette 