My name is Pete Constant and I am the Councilmember for Dis- trict 1, which covers all of West San José. Community involve- ment has always played an impor- tant role in my life. I began my career with the City of San José as a Police Officer for the San José Police Department in 1989. I re- tired from the department in 1997 after being severely injured in the line of duty after an undercover drug enforcement arrest. I have always looked for opportunities to serve the public. As one of the founders of the Lynhaven Neighborhood Association, I was able to make direct improve- ments and changes to benefit the Lynhaven neighborhood. I began serving at the city level when I was appointed to the City of San Jose Appeals Hearing Board. I was elected to the San José City Coun- cil in June 2006 and assumed office in January 2007. I am also active in several non-profit organi- zations such as the Police Athletic League and Rotary Club of San José North. Today, I represent almost 100,000 constituents in West San José and make policy decisions that impact the entire City of San José. One area that I am passionate about is civic en- gagement. I think that it is impor- tant for the youth of San Jose to be active in their communities. With the encouragement and enthusiasm from parents, teachers, neighborhood lead- ers and peers, you can partici- pate in a collaborative effort to improve the quality of life in San José. By getting in- volved, you can create an environment that promotes self-awareness and leader- ship. Training and leadership opportunities are available by participating in District 1 neighbor- hood associations and volunteer- ing at community events. My office is always open to students who are interested in local gov- ernment and community rela- tions. I host student interns year- long and sponsor community events throughout District 1. Please don’t hesitate to contact my office if you have any ques- tions or need additional informa- tion. I look forward to supporting and working with all of you. Message from Councilmember Pete Constant Message from Youth Commissioner Kavya Shankar My name is Kavya Shankar and I am the District 1 Youth Commis- sioner and Youth Commission Chair! This year, one of the goals of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) of District 1 is to increase the voice of the youth of our district in city-level decision mak- ing, so our YAC is extremely ex- cited about the start of our quar- terly newsletter, 1 Voice. We hope to produce this in order to con- nect the youth and adults of San Jose District 1 as well as to inform them about opportunities to get involved and positively impact our community. Be sure to browse around our newsletter to learn more about your neighborhoods and how our Youth Advisory Council participates in civic leader- ship. And of course, we want to hear from you too, so don’t hesi- tate to email me at [email protected]if you want to write for us or if you have any comments you want to share. Also, feel free to stop by our YAC meetings, which are held the first Friday of the month at the Starbird Youth Center from 5pm-6pm. Thank you for caring about our community! Councilmember Pete Constant and District 1 Youth Commissioner Kavya Shankar 1 Voice Fall Edition Volume 1, Issue 1 Roundtable with Councilmember Constant 2 Operation Cooperation 2 T3XT 4 1NFO 3 Cutting the Excess Leaves Pension Plans in Shambles 3 Feature Organization 4 San Jose’s Green Print 4 Single-use Plastic and Paper Bag Ban 5 Opinion Article: The Bag Ban 5 Poetry, Artwork, Photography 6 Feature Youth 7 Job, Internship, & Volunteer Opportunities 8 Inside this issue: Youth Advisory Council of District 1
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My dark-eyed heart stands at crossroads of past and present, watching a resurrection of silhouettes and briefly shunning the horizon. Wistful dreams of impossibilities— yearning for the road to permit a return to previous avenues, we clutch at fleeting desires to live backwards and diverge from tangled mazes of Fate. But—we are bound to destinations ahead for the paths already traveled will dissipate behind us and the cobblestones of Time shall ever be free to banish, display, and bring forth, marking our staggered passage through the boundaries of memory.
she's sitting in the cracked brace of a tree, her eyes quiet like crescent moons. and she looks like she has the voice of an ocean, but she only wishes she had that much courage— to put herself (back) together and yell until she has galaxies and stars pinned up against her lips. her father used to hold her in his arms and tell her that wearing half-hearts was a sin, that her soul could break diamonds and still be whole. and she wore his poetry on her skin like little jewels that made her feel beautiful, until he chose the heavens and undid her stitches, leaving her with lungs that burned like autumn leaves, november pale in comparison.
November By Roopa Shankar
Artist: Bill Lee
1 V o i c e
Page 6
Lanes of Time By Frances Guo
Photographer: Roopa Shankar
Photographer: Danielle Lerner
Nearly 1,500,000 people in the United States are forced to file for bankruptcy every year.
V o l u m e 1 , Is s u e 1
As a French horn player in Lynbrook High
School’s wind ensemble, a player on the
school’s tennis team, a 12th place honor-
able mention in the USA Mathematical
Olympiad, a semi-finalist in the USA Phys-
ics Olympiad, an alternate for the USA
International Mathematics Olympiad, the
vice-president of Lynbrook’s Junior Engi-
neering Technology Society (JETS), co-
president of Lynbrook’s math club, and a
successful Starcraft player, Timothy Chu, a
senior, is anything but a typical teenager.
Beside his astonishing ability to sleep
before 11 pm almost every night, he holds
a true interest in contributing back to the
society that has nourished his accomplish-
ments.
Chu recalls his first dive into the math and
science community when he first attended
the after school math club held at Hyde
Middle School in sixth grade. Though
initially he lacked a interest at the time,
Chu rapidly became an eager participant in
mathematics and science after attending
Mathcounts, a national math competition
for seventh grade students.
As a result he spent eight to ten hours a
week practicing various math problems
during his middle school years, sometimes
focusing seven hours on a single problem.
Contrary to the stereotypical impatient
teenagers, Chu never lost his persistence
following his favorite motto, “Failing to-
day will only make me stronger tomor-
row.”
However, upon entering Lynbrook High
School, Chu felt his motivation die off.
Now, he spends no more than three hours
a month on math. As apathy became a
habit, fear that he would resume working
hard but would not do well
impeded his progress until the
summer after freshman year
when Chu attended a math
camp.
“I met an old friend at a math
camp in my 9th grade summer.
Bluntly, he told me to get my life
in order.” says Chu. Those words
were his wake-up call. During his
junior year, he began logging in
five to eight hours of math a
week, and even eight to twelve
hours during winter and spring
break. His work paid off when at
the end of the school year he
managed to place amongst the
top high school students in na-
tional and international competi-
tions.
To share his experiences and
diffuse his love, Chu teaches younger
students with enthusiasm that is rarely
seen in teenagers. He tutored middle
school students in competitive math at
Ivymax for a year. This past summer, he
was also an academic instructor at Awe-
somemath, a 3-week long camp that was
geared towards students like Chu. Chu
says, “The best part about Awesomemath
was when the students discover an appre-
ciation for math. I found it really enjoyable
to help others, especially when it was
about a topic that I am genuinely inter-
ested in. I love to talk about math in a
conversational tone with the students.”
This willingness to teach new concepts
and his outstanding math credentials
substantiate his position as a popular
volunteer teacher at the club.
Outside of mathematics Chu is a Life
Scout, the second highest rank in Boy
Scouts, and participates in numerous
philanthropic volunteering activities.
“It was really eye-opening to see third-
world poverty just 20 minutes away from
my own house. There were children with-
out toys who were living in run-down
houses. They had no experience with
technology at all.”
Chu wishes to use his own knowledge and
abilities to educate them with hopes that
this will provide them with the opportu-
nity to lead a better life.
“My plans for the future include doing
something orientated around helping
those who need assistance.”
Feature Youth: Timothy Chu, the multi-faceted teenager By Vicky Ro
Page 7
By the time you finish reading this sentence, you'll be 25 miles closer to the planet Mars.
The Youth Advisory Council of District 1 (YAC) is an active group of youth, 14-20 years of age who dedicate their time, talent and ideas to promote positive change in their community. YAC members identify and tackle youth issues, host special events, participate in volunteer activities and address the needs of their district residents. In the past, the District 1 YAC has hosted dances, movie nights, and barbe-ques. YAC empowers youth to make change in their communities.
YAC meetings are held the first Friday of the month from 5pm-6pm at the Starbird Youth Center, located on Boynton Avenue. The Starbird Youth Center provides a safe and positive environment for youth to do their homework, use computers, play games, and participate in activities.
For more information, please contact District 1 Youth Commissioner Kavya Shankar at [email protected].