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News

Official statement, complete transcript of interview with Rowena Chiu

Ava Knapp, News Editor • February 5, 2025

Palo Alto Unified School District trustee Rowena Chiu posted an official statement yesterday regarding her stances on both...

Palo Alto Unified School District board trustee Rowena Chiu expresses her opinions at a board meeting on Jan. 23. According to Chiu, an Ethnic Studies course is a valuable class but must be implemented with careful consideration. “Context is everything,” Chiu said. “Whilst it is an incredibly fascinating field, it's really hard to teach. When it comes to the area of curriculum approval, we need to take that seriously and proceed with caution about how Ethnic Studies is implemented."

Exclusive interview: Chiu maintains “bullying” claim, but condemns attacks on district employee

Kristine Lin and Ava Knapp • February 2, 2025

Editors' Note: After review, The Paly Voice has updated the story to clarify the timeline between Rowena Chiu's concerns about safety and Danae...

Freshman Oscar Varodayan and other Multivariable Calculus advocates hold signs at the Palo Alto Unified School District board meeting last week hoping to persuade board members to add multivariable calculus as a math elective next year. According to Varodayan, this year was the first time he truly enjoyed a math class due to the challenge. “This year was the first year where I fully enjoyed my math class because it was a fully challenging class so thanks to the district for providing me the mechanisms which allowed me to advance," Varodayan said.

New board members support Multivariable Calculus as after-school class

Navya Narayanan, Ava Knapp, and Mayu Altekar-Okazaki • January 31, 2025

Palo Alto Unified School District board members are working to add Multivariable Calculus as an after-school math elective at Palo Alto High...

PAEA revokes endorsement of Chiu

Motoko Iwata, Opinion/Editorial Editor • January 31, 2025

The Palo Alto Educators Association, the teacher's union for the city's public school district, issued a statement this afternoon condemning...

Going over a block, senior Emma Lee shoots a 3-pointer as the seniors beat the staff, 25-20, in the annual seniors-versus-staff basketball game at the Winter Rally on Wednesday in the Peery Center. According to Engineering and Computer Science teacher Kathryn Widen, she had fun participating in the game. "I promised my students I would score two points, and I scored two points," Widen said. "It's really fun playing sports with my colleagues and my students, and I hope we do more of these activities."

Seniors triumph over staff in Winter Rally; Prom location revealed

Navya Narayanan and Nathan Jiang • January 30, 2025

Seniors claimed victory over staff, 25-20, in Palo Alto High School’s annual student seniors-versus-staff basketball game at the Winter...

Palo Alto Unified School District board member Rowena Chiu expresses her opinions during her first board meeting on Jan. 21. Two days later, Chiu shared her thoughts on an ethnic studies class as a graduation requirement. "If we vote to pause, there has to be a practical way of moving forward with what is a deeply important course," Chiu said in the board meeting.

PAUSD board member Rowena Chiu asked to resign

Ava Knapp, News Editor • January 30, 2025

Palo Alto Unified School District board member Rowena Chiu received condemnation and calls to resign from the Palo Alto Management Association...

Culture

Two lion dancers unveil auspicious tapestry at the Lunar New Year Celebration at Palo Alto's Mitchell Park Community Center. According to Palo Alto resident Yi Chen, the event was both fun and enriching for his family. “This is my first time at a Lunar New Year event in Palo Alto,” Chen said. “I think this event is pretty great as it shows all ages what Asian culture is as well as its traditional art forms.”

Palo Alto celebrates Lunar New Year with performances

Allison Ma and Sophie Zhang • January 12, 2025

With traditional Chinese opera reverberating across the room and lions weaving energetically through the crowd, the Palo Alto community welcomed...

In Wicked, Glinda teaches Elphaba how to become popular with a famous song from the original musical.

Wicked: A spellbinding success?

Andrew Zhao and Alex Chang • December 7, 2024

So, you’ve got a Broadway musical with a 20-year legacy, millions of devoted fans who know every lyric by heart and themes of friendship and...

Students from Antara Asthaayi Dance perform traditional Diwali dance performances, ranging from kathak dance to technique dancing on Sunday afternoon in the El Palo Alto Room at the Mitchell Park Community Center. According to Ruthann Garcia, the Mitchell Park Library Services Manager, Palo Alto worked with different dance schools to plan the activity. "We worked with a coordinator who would gather a bunch of different dance schools to help us out," Garcia said.

Festival of Lights event celebrates Diwali

William Xue and Cailey Quita • November 14, 2024

Yellow and magenta Diwali dresses, chalk-drawn rangoli on the floor, Henna tattoos and craft tables filled the rooms as Palo Alto held its "Festival...

At the grab-and-go, healthy restaurant Proper Food, customers are given the option to have their food heated up. Kevin The, a manager at Proper Food, said that the restaurant targets office workers. “They [the owners] wanted something where it’s easy to be grabbed, but still very healthy for people,” The said. “90 % of them [our customers] are people coming down from the office.”

Proper Food: Quick, healthy solution for busy employees

Sophie Zhang and Cailey Quita • November 12, 2024

On a brisk Thursday morning, mouth watering aromas fill Proper Foods, a cozy new spot hidden inside an office center in downtown Palo Alto. This...