Talia Nicole Fine

Column

May 05, 2018

Anyone driving past Carlmont on Monday, April 16, would have witnessed what looked like an absolute tragedy.

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In the senior parking lot, two wrecked cars had been arranged to appear like they had been involved in a horrific and fatal crash. The teenagers who had been in the cars were either stumbling around in shock or unconscious.

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Every 15 Minutes. The Safe Sober Prom Program. Safe & Sober. These are all names for national campaigns like Carlmont’s own Sober Prom to discourage teens from driving while drunk on prom night.

Column

March 31, 2018

Just one week after the shooting in Parkland, Florida, I got the unique opportunity to go to the Deep South and meet some of the people who made the civil rights movement what it was.

Sojourn to the Past is an interactive civil rights crash course that takes high school students from around the country to the heart of the 1960s civil rights movement and meet people who risked their lives for a cause that represented their basic human rights. Sixty years ago doesn’t seem like such a long time ago, but soon the key players will be left to reside in history books.

Sojourn trips are unique educational opportunities and mine was made especially memorable because it took place in the direct aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Column

February 24, 2018

At Carlmont High School there are 22 sports teams, more than 16 advanced placement courses, about five choirs, three types of physical education classes, three languages — and others off campus — two levels of dance, two student government classes, an entirely separate track for biotechnology, a pathway for journalism, advanced math and English tracks for all four years of high school and I want to do all of it.

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If there were 48 hours in a day I’d still try to fill them; I’d take sign language as well as Spanish, attend beginner’s dance, try choir, go to both student government classes and do cross country and water polo during the same season.

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But there aren’t 48 hours in a day, so I can only do one foreign language, one period of student government, journalism, four advanced classes, one sport per season and work or volunteer on the weekends — still, all because I want to.

Column

December 16, 2017

There aren’t that many people who get the opportunity to be punched in the face.

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It’s generally accepted that fighting is a worthwhile skill because it means that one can defend oneself if a physical confrontation arises. But another, less discussed advantage is the comfort that comes knowing you can take a beating and keep on fighting — if you ever needed to.

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Getting to experience physicality in a safe space is an opportunity to gain toughness and humility. A lot of fears take root in a fear of the general unknown and knowing you can get knocked down seven times and get up eight is powerful.

Column

November 04, 2017

Dysphoria. Nausea. Vomiting. Anxiety. Agitation. Headaches. Constipation.

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Effects of heroin withdrawal. Or caffeine withdrawal.

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Caffeine is a drug, but caffeine is not illegal. About 90 percent of America consumes caffeine in some form every day, whether it’s coffee, soda, energy drinks or other substances (Villanova University). Caffeine is America’s most popular drug and, in moderate amounts, caffeine is relatively safe.

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In concentrated spikes, however, which is how current high school athletes are taking the performance-enhancer, it could be considered less so.

Column

September 29, 2017

My sister is a phenomenal singer. My dad can cook. My best friend from elementary school is a varsity basketball player. My teacher is a salsa dancer.

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Some people can write an essay in their sleep or they compose music. Some always get As or are good at taking tests; others can draw anything.

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Lacking some of the skills means not making a team or joining a club, but lacking all of the skills means not making it to the college of my dreams.

Introduction/Column

August 26, 2017

It is my honor to introduce my fellow columnists: Charlie Chapman, Sophie Penn, Priscilla Jin and Connor Lin as this year’s “Student News” columnists. We are all incredibly active in our schools’ journalism programs, along with other career technical development and hobbies outside of school. Here is some background on each of us:

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My name is Talia Fine and I am the junior class president at Carlmont High School and I am an editor for Carlmont’s online news website Scot Scoop News. I have interned at a radio station in San Francisco and I’ve worked in photography for the past two years. I also play water polo and lacrosse, I wrestle and I do computer science. My column will revolve around what’s going on in teens’ heads today — specifically insight into the pressures students are facing — and the world into which we are growing up.

Opinion Editorial

May 13, 2015

As an eighth-grade student, I am on the brink of a grueling, three-week period of standardized testing featuring state and nationwide mandatory tests such as the CAASP, SBAC, STAR, MARS, Scholastic Reading Tests, Class Placement Tests and Learning Diagnostics.

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I will be taking tests in 90-minute sessions, which changes the class schedules to accommodate enough time for each of my classes to complete the all of the tests I need. Therefore, even if I am not in a class for a subject that is taking a test, I will have either an extremely prolonged or a dramatically shortened class period. The point is that at every moment of every day, for seven hours a day for 15 days over the course of three weeks, someone at my school will be taking a test.