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Sunnyvale's Newspaper

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Who cares about home prices? It's the school that counts

Your article from Sept. 9, 1998, has struck a nerve with myself and many other students at Fremont High School. Your article is portraying Fremont as a bad school. As a school inferior to others in the district and deterring people from buying homes within our borders.

The article makes reference to home prices in either area. To be blunt, we really don't care about how much a home costs. Honestly, most people at Fremont can't afford to live in a $600,000 house in the first place. What we care about are the things that really make a school great. To us, those little details that make a school are not its SAT test scores. A school is made of much more than shallow SAT scores.

Your article shows our school in a biased light. I'd like to open the eyes of your readers and make them less oblivious to some of the really good things going on at Fremont. First, Fremont is an extremely diverse school with a well-mixed blend of people. Students come from different ethnic, social and economic backgrounds. You will have a hard time finding a school that does as good a job as Fremont in terms of different people getting along in peace and harmony. Also, you will never find another high school anywhere in the Silicon Valley with more dedicated students than Fremont. We give and we work and we keep on going until we cannot go anymore, and then some. The people at Fremont are not a bunch of stupid, lazy thugs who go around shooting and mugging everyone. That is just not true.

Fremont also has some extremely successful and inspiring programs and clubs. For example, our three leadership classes: MOSAIC, Green Circle and Leadership Phoenix. Then there are also several community-based clubs like Cascaids, Octagon and Environmental. We cannot forget Fremont's superb performing arts groups under the leadership of band director Joe Howard: our choir and award-winning marching band and color guard. We may be small, but we're dedicated and never quit. Also, we have a talented drama department under the direction of Mr. Tim Shannon. We have championship caliber sports teams that routinely qualify for the playoffs.

Academically, we have a group of dedicated teachers. Our great math department has taken us above the national average in that area. Also, many of our teachers have either worked, been interviewed or substituted at the other district schools. All of them will tell you that they could work and have worked at other schools, but they liked Fremont the most and wouldn't think of teaching anywhere else.

Fremont is by far the best school and best-kept secret in the Silicon Valley. We have earned the title of California Distinguished School and been recognized as one of the top 100 schools in the country. Do not exacerbate the Fremont myth of being an undesirable, deplorable, poor excuse of a school full of a bunch of stupid, criminal thugs with no sense of morality or community. Do not insult our wonderful students, teachers and staff. Do not criticize our great principal, Mr. Pete Tuana, and assistant principals Mr. Grover, Ms. Raun-Linde, Mr. Villaubi and Mrs. Scott.

In conclusion, I urge you to come and see for yourself how Fremont is truly a distinguished school. Come and see our wonderful students, faculty, staff and administration. Come and see and write an article that reflects the reality that is Fremont High School. On behalf of myself, the entire student body--1700 strong--our dedicated faculty, staff and innovative administration, we urge you to come and see.

Kevin Fang
Tenth Grade, Fremont HS

City should take over Town and Country, pay to move merchants

I'm deeply concerned with the well-being of Sunnyvale citizens and merchants. For so many years, merchants of Town of Country Village have experienced a yo-yo way of life due to the political issues concerning that center.

The city of Sunnyvale should take over that section of the town for its general plan. Unfortunately, the city has never taken the initiative. When the newspapers got word of it, the damage was done--especially to the tenants of the center that have put in their life savings to own their own businesses.

Once again I'm hearing the same echoes regarding the Town & Country Center. These poor merchants are not yo-yos. This time if the city needs to do something, it should do so, but be considerate of the merchants who have been at that center for a long time. The city should consider possibly relocating and compensating these merchants in their overall plan.

This is a serious matter not only for the current government but for the future of Sunnyvale. We are all so familiar with the 10-year budget and how the city of Sunnyvale will soon outpace the revenue.

Kayvan Navai
Sunnyvale

Measure S is bad policy and a power grab by the City Council

Besides being terrible public policy, and an obvious power grab by the City Council, Measure S should be illegal. Under our form of government, the voters vote on matters which are legislative in nature, not matters which are judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative in nature.

For example, in land use matters, the voters can vote on a plan amendment or a zone change, but not a variance or conditional use. The results of arbitration proceedings in labor relations are not legislative matters and are outside the scope of the ballot.

The City Council should be ashamed of itself in trying to politicize arbitration results in labor relations matters.

Bruce Bertram
Sunnyvale

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 7, 1998.
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