Meet Enikia Ford Morthel: Berkeley’s New Superintendent
The district’s superintendent of three years, Brent Stephens, announced he was leaving Berkeley Unified School District this spring. Since then, the search for a successor led to one finalist, Enikia Ford Morthel, the deputy superintendent of instruction in the San Francisco school district.
Proposal Approved for Paid Student Advocate Position in Title IX Office
On May 23, Berkeley Schools Excellence Program approved a proposal for a paid student advocate, a new position in the Berkeley Unified School District Title IX office for the 2022-23 school year.
Downtown Asian Eateries Offer a Blend of Cultural Cuisines
Every day, hungry students leave Berkeley High School to crowd the surrounding restaurants. BHS is located right near the epicenter of Downtown Berkeley, allowing students access to the many cusines of the area.
Leave a Message for the Graduating Senior Class
The Jacket is bringing back our popular graduation message board! Brighten someone’s day by leaving a congratulatory message for a friend or relative, or for the entire senior class.
Bay Area Book Festival Features Diverse Collection of Authors
If you were walking around Downtown Berkeley on the weekend of May 7, you may have stumbled upon the largest annual book festival in the Bay Area. Every year, the Bay Area Book Festival draws authors and readers to Berkeley from all across the country.
Opinion
Beauty and Time
An ethereal magnolia dances in the wind. It sways and bows as its petals pirouette and its leaves sashay. As the magnolia laughs, tickled by the wind, it frees a petal.
Teachers Must Remain Considerate During End of Year
The end of the school year is a time of immense stress for many students. Over the course of the preceding two semesters, large projects and tests most likely came up sporadically, as a class finished a particular unit or area of study.
Californians Need to Defend the Rights of LGBTQ+ Youth
California has long been known as one of the most liberal places in the world, and a place that has historically served as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ people.
COVID-19 Data
The Jacket is tracking pandemic data in the Berkeley Unified School District during the surge caused by the Omicron variant.
More DataCoronavirus Coverage
District Lifts Mask Mandate as COVID-19 Spread Decreases
Over two years ago, on March 12, 2020, California announced an official lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the mask mandate for California has come to a partial end.
BHS Plans to Support Students Using COVID-19 Relief Money
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the educational challenges it brought, the state of California has given school districts relief money to use as they choose.
AFAM Department Weathers COVID-19
Dawn Williams and Spencer Pritchard, both teachers in the African American Studies Department at Berkeley High School, had a vision for the department.
School Board Talks Black History Month, COVID-19 Measures
At its February 2 meeting, the Berkeley Unified School District School Board convened to commemorate this year’s Black History Month and review future steps regarding COVID-19 policies including mask mandates, testing, and employee vaccination requirements.
Sports
Athlete Profile: Sienna Prak-Perry
When Sienna Prak-Perry first began playing lacrosse in sixth grade, she was one of few players of Asian and Black descent on her team. At that age, she believed that she was an outsider in the Berkeley Bear Lacrosse community.
BHS Softball Suffers Defeat vs. O’Dowd
Berkeley High School’s girls varsity softball team took on Bishop O’Dowd High School on the evening of May 12. The match concluded with O’Dowd winning 3-0 against BHS, who put up a good defense, but didn’t counterattack offensively.
Crew To New Jersey Nationals
On April 24, for the first time since the pandemic shut down athletics, the Berkeley High School crew team was able to compete in the Scholastic Regionals against fellow Bay Area high schools.
Martial Arts In a Modern World
Shortly after World War II, something new was introduced to the American mainstream: martial arts. With high value placed on tradition and discipline within these ancient practices, maintaining heritage while moving to the US proved difficult.
Entertainment
Bay Area Teenagers Defy Gender Norms at Local Skate Parks
“If I’m a girl, and I’m good at skating, the first thing that guys will resort to is just being really threatened by me,” said Naiya Leighton, a sophomore at Oakland Technical High School who has been skating for three years.
Artist Spotlight: Konani Chinn
For Berkeley High School junior Konani Chinn, art has always been their fundamental form of self expression, regardless of the medium. “I don’t have a kind of art, I just create when life inspires me,” they remarked.
Portrayals of Cops vs. Criminals in Media
Crime shows have always been a beloved genre of television because of the suspense, action, and excitement which has always drawn in many viewers. However, not all shows in this genre are the same.
African Diaspora Comes Alive
Berkeley High School’s African Diaspora dance program — previously known as Afro Haitian — performed their last show of the year on May 5, 6, 12, and 13.