The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

Senior Nithya Appannagaari poses with her gold stud piercing. 

Photo by Nithya Appannagaari | Used with permission.

Power to the piercing

Samika Bhatkar and Sarah Liu January 24, 2024

Every day when sophomore Ria Sethi wakes up, she looks forward to selecting a pair of earrings to complement her outfit—typically, she’ll pick a dainty pair of thin, gold hoops. Similar to how her...

Since losing certain words in Kannada, Chikkaballapur finds himself using Google Translate more and more. | Photo by Suhana Mahabal

Culture through language

Suhana Mahabal December 11, 2023

https://soundcloud.com/suhana-mahabal/culture-through-language?si=f4588b5f9bfc4e9e9061a10be7dbfc11&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Sophomore Ronith Vinod...

Graphics by Stella Petzova

Immersed in India

As a student body filled with an array of Indian backgrounds, Indian-influenced arts and culture can be found in many corners of our community.  From incorporating traditional Indian clothing into daily...

Savoring spices

Savoring spices

Sarah Liu December 9, 2023

Culture plays a nuanced role in someones identity, which is why we must take it into account before asking someone to share their political opinions.

Culture: the elephant (and donkey) in the room

Anika Bhandarkar and Meggie Chen December 6, 2023

With all the social justice movements in recent years and the upcoming 2024 presidential election, politics is on the forefront of many people’s minds. As tensions between parties continue to rise and...

tudents share their opinions on the cultural inclusivity of prom outfits

Prom embraces cultural threads

Kripa Mayureshwar and Aashna Patel June 2, 2023
Students share their opinions on the cultural inclusivity of prom outfits
Students share their experience with three traditional instruments — the tabla, pipa and mridangam.

Playing traditional music

Nameek Chowdhury, Krish Dev, and Minjae Kang May 31, 2023

Madelyn Wu (pipa) When junior Madelyn Wu first joined an orchestra, she wanted to play the guzheng, a Chinese instrument with strings strung between two bridges. However, Wu’s orchestra didn’t have...

The visa voyage

The visa voyage

Chiran Arumugam and Darpan Singh April 26, 2023
MVHS community members share experiences with U.S immigration policy
Kim, dressed in cultural attire, poses before attending a Chinese New Year celebration at UC Berkeley. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Kim | Used with permission

Through generations

Alyssa Yang and Stephanie Zhang April 26, 2023
Exploring how community members’ cultural identities have changed over generations
Unlearning preconceived beliefs about gender biases is the first step towards dismantling these stereotypes.

“The golden son”

Sarah Liu December 23, 2022
How gender biases in Asian culture affect MVHS community members

Celebrating Ramadan

Taryn Lam and Shivani Madhan May 1, 2022
Highlighting the experiences of Muslim students at MVHS
The MV IASA officer team kicks off Spotlite on India 2022 with a welcome from President and senior Atmaja Patil.

IASA hosts first in-person Spotlite on India in two years

Shivani Madhan and Jiya Singh April 18, 2022
Diving deeper into the night of cultural performances
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