World Cup 2022 Games Ranked
Ollie B. ’25 It’s been more than three months since the beginning of one of the most celebrated events every four years. Composed of cheers, cries, goals, wins, and losses, and by […]
The State of the California Senate Race
By Yuto K. ’23 It has only been four months since the 2022 midterm elections, yet, politicians are already positioning themselves for the 2024 elections. For the presidential election, the Republican field […]
And the Oscar Goes to…
By: Ethan Lee ‘25 You have probably heard of or seen the Academy Awards, whether it be from Will Smith’s infamous slap of Chris Rock to Leonardo DiCaprio receiving his first Oscar […]
Lip Sync Extravaganza: A Recap
By: Claire Z. ‘26, Sheridan S. ‘26, and Lauryn F. ‘26 Photo by Simone Summers Crystal has had yet another electric year of lip sync. Ranging from themes of Britney Spears to […]
Amending Section 230: The Bipartisan Solution to Reining in Big Tech
By Rohan D. ‘25 What we eat, where we go, how we shop: the complex known as “Big Tech” has transformed our lives, leaving an ever-widening footprint that is indelible but also […]
The Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse
By Romy S. ’25 The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was founded in 1983 and specialized in banking for tech startups. At the time of its collapse, it was the 16th biggest bank […]
On Affirmative Action: An Overview and My Opinion
By Lachlan G. ’24 So … affirmative action. If you haven’t heard about it yet, here is some brief background information. Affirmative action is a policy that allows U.S. colleges to admit […]
How Dr. He Jiankui bounced back from the CRISPR baby Scandal
By Findlay Tarik Baker (‘25) The Baby Scandal On November 25, 2018, the gene editing industry had both a revolutionary acceleration and a scientific drawback. He Jiankui, an associate professor in biophysics […]
The Fall of The Simpsons
By Ryan G. ’23 The Simpsons dominated 90s TV. In a time when sitcoms were blowing up, The Simpsons put that staged laughter to rest. It was a show that resonated with […]
Idea-Starter or Cheating Tool? The Benefits and Detriments of ChatGPT
By Rohan D. ‘25 In November, OpenAI released ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot which promised clearly-written responses to a variety of user-inputted prompts and became a viral sensation on social media […]
Happiness Hormones— What Are They and How Do I Hack Them?
By Allison H. ‘25 There are four natural neurochemicals in our brains— serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. Each chemical release triggers that “happy” feeling in our bodies, and each is linked to […]
A Place to Call Home: The Bay Area Homelessness Crisis
By Ethan L. ’25 I live in Silicon Valley, one of the world’s preeminent hubs for technology. Today, it is home to the headquarters of many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations, […]
The Speakership in Shambles
By Spencer M. ’25 Over the past few weeks, the House of Representatives has descended into chaos, as a small group of far-right representatives had hijacked the electoral process, confounding both parties. […]
Glass Onion: A Movie With Disappointingly Few Layers
By Patrick R. ’23 Just over three years ago, the delightful mystery movie Knives Out captured the world’s interest with its intriguing premise, star-studded cast, and thrilling conclusion. Since then, fans have […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Gryphon Gazette 