Madelyn Philhower

Position

Writer

Graduation

Class of 2023

Madelyn Philhower is an artist, printmaker, and rugby enthusiast. She is best known for her articles in the Jacket and her involvement as a printmaker at the Berkeley High Climate summit. She is passionate about graphic design and science fiction.

Berkeley High School averages 50 fire alarm triggers each year.

50 fire alarms a year: What do the Berkeley firefighters think?

Features

Fire alarms are a notorious part of Berkeley High School, bringing fire trucks blaring to the scene each time. According to Interim Deputy Fire Chief Keith May, BHS averages 50 fire alarm calls to the Berkeley Fire Department each year.

A student leaned over a white board working with film negatives

Film photography thrives in Berkeley classrooms, communities

Entertainment

“When we started out, we were one of a number of labs,” said Andrea McLaughlin, the owner of Photolab, a digital and film photography processing lab located in Berkeley.

Kathleen McLoughlin hugs Anna Eisen after promposing.

Revival of promposal sparks competition

Entertainment

Boom boxes, big signs, and bare chests painted with the letters P, R, O, and M. These are all hallmarks of an average day in March at Berkeley High School during promposal season.

BHS students perform community stories in ‘Our Monologues’

Entertainment

18 silhouettes stood onstage at Berkeley High School’s Little Theater, applause thundering across the room as the opening night of “Our Monologues” came to a close.

Afrofuturism in literature: Recommendations from BHS Library

Entertainment

“Memory informs, but it’s not where you live,” said Sarah Rosenkrantz, Berkeley High School librarian.  This concept is key to Afrofuturism, a genre of literature where the perspectives, experiences, and culture of Black artists and writers are celebrated within the realms of science fiction.

BHS independent musicians struggle with financial sufficiency

Entertainment

One-third of a penny. That’s how much artists on Spotify are paid on average each time their song is streamed, according to a 2020 Business Insider report.

The Habesha Student Union

Ethiopian, Eritrean students form union

Features

“I grew up not knowing a lot of Habesha people in my classes or in school, separate from my sister,” said Maraki Mengesha A. “A lot of times I felt really isolated whenever there’d be conversations about culture, because I’d look around, and there wouldn’t be a lot of Habesha students there too.”  Habesha is

Students with IEPs and 504 plans continue to be overlooked

Features

During his sophomore year at Berkeley High School, Luke Prud’homme reached out to his teachers about an incredibly difficult situation. “My mother was dying during the pandemic, and I was one of the people taking care of her,” Prud’homme said, “I wanted to spend time with her before she died, so I emailed all my

From crowds of hundreds to dozens: The reality of activist burnout at BHS

Features

This last month alone, many Berkeley High School students attended one or both of two protests: the No to Coal, Yes to Life climate strike in Oakland and a reproductive rights walkout organized by the Reproductive Justice Club.

Micaela Bedolla Garcia and her older sister, Paola, find that they approach BHS Spanish classes differently.

A cultural connection: Learning Spanish

Features

Though raised in the same Spanish speaking household, Micaela and Paola Bedolla Garcia have different relationships with the language. Paola Bedolla Garcia, a senior in Berkeley International High School, grew up speaking Spanish and took part in the Two Way Immersion program at Longfellow Middle School.

Traditional school drawbacks highlighted in transfers to BIS

Features

“Of all the bad things that COVID shed the light on in our education system, the one good thing there are kids out there that can thrive in an alternative learning environment,” said Tamara Mays, mother of students in Berkeley Independent Studies.

BHS

Chiefs of publicity trio work to maintain video bulletin legacy

Features

“Look at him, look at Bowie the cat,” said BHS senior Valerie Le, as she pointed to a picture of a cat splayed out on a couch during the August 24 video bulletin.

BHS Recruited Athletes Approach College Transition

Sports

For Berkeley High School athletes, chasing the dream of collegiate sports takes hard work and perseverance.  “It’s been really tough, but I’ve had people that are with me along the way [and have] helped me and pushed me through challenges,” said Chase McFarland, a senior in Academic Choice, when describing his journey of

Members from BHS’s robotics team presented SQUID, a tennis-ball lobbing robot, to the Berkeley Rotary Club on April 13.

Team Berkelium Excels in Competition

Features

Whirs and buzzes filled the room as oversized red and blue tennis balls flew through the air, lobbed by none other than a robot named SQUID. Five members representing Team Berkelium, Berkeley High School’s robotics team, presented their robot to members of the Berkeley Rotary Club on April 13.

‘Power, Prestige, Privilege:’ Pillars of BBQ Club at BHS

Sports

    “[The Barbecue Club wanted] power, prestige, privilege. They wanted all the benefits of being part of the club and none of the responsibility or accountability of being tied to one of the most visible aspects of rape culture on campus,” said Angela Coppola, a Berkeley High School social studies teacher in Academic Choice

Conversation on Menstruation: Athletes Tackle Taboo Topic

Sports

When Anna Eisen, a swimmer and water polo player at Berkeley High School, was younger, nobody on her swim team talked about periods. Since it was never discussed, “[Eisen] had no idea how to deal with [her] period as a swimmer.” She said, “I used to skip a week of practice every month because

Destiny Evans, a BHS senior, goes to shoot during the February 10 game.

Senior Night Games

Sports

Spirits were high on February 10 as Berkeley High School’s girls varsity basketball team decisively closed out its season in a game against Oakland High School, winning 64-22 on their senior night.

The African Diaspora Dance Program, which put on its 53rd winter show on December 2, offers a safe environment for students.

African Diaspora Uplifts Dancers of Color

Sports

The Berkeley High School African Diaspora Dance Department changed its name in 2020 from the Afro-Haitian Dance Department in order to encompass “all the countries where African Black people have been in this world,” Dr.