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Anika Jain

Hi! I am a seventeen-year-old Indian American and have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area my entire life. My interests include reading, writing, and social justice activism. I am the Editor in Chief for my school newspaper and captain of my debate team. In college, I plan to major in Public Policy and Philosophy. I also want to write for the university newspaper and academic journals.

The Lancer •

Following fake bomb threat, Saint Francis students and faculty reflect on the evacuation

On October 5 at around 1 P.M., Saint Francis received a series of phone calls regarding the presence of a bomb on campus. Principal Katie Teekell immediately made an announcement over the PA system, informing all students and faculty to evacuate swiftly and calmly. “This is not a drill,” stated Principal Teekell. Following a pre-established evacuation procedure, students diverged to secure locations—the El Camino Hospital, the Highway Community Church, and Cuesta Park—led by teachers trained in
The Lancer •

Humans of Saint Francis: Jake Randazzo

by Anika Jain (’22), Will Li (’23), and Sophia Tran (’24) | October 11, 2021

In the frenzy of a rally, one Lancer claims fame for performing flips in the distance. Perhaps you know him simply as “Flip Guy,” but this athlete is Jake Randazzo (’22). Dedicated to his craft, Randazzo possesses one of the most challenging and fascinating passions on campus — parkour.

Inspired by his experience as a breakdancer, Randazzo dove deeper into the gymnastics aspect of breakdancing: “I decided to learn fli
The Lancer •

All About Alumni: Ms. Amy Sherrard

One day, every single one of us will matriculate from Saint Francis. What will follow these four years of high school? How will the lessons we have learned within the walls of these classrooms impact the trajectories of our lives? Perhaps your experiences might pan out like those of English Department Chair and teacher, Ms. Amy Sherrard (’10), for whom Saint Francis has played an incalculable role in life, from career choice to partner.

The Lancer: What were some of your favorite classes and te
The Lancer •

The obsession with 17

“And I’m so sick of 17 / Where’s my f****** teenage dream?” These acerbic lyrics from the opening track of Olivia Rodrigo’s record-breaking, debut album SOUR have been on repeat for many teenagers this year. While Rodrigo’s song “brutal” was a fresh listening experience, her lyrics touch upon a trope in the music industry that spans decades—songwriters’ obsession with the age of seventeen.

While Rodrigo referred to the age with an emphasis on teenage angst, ABBA’s hit “Dancing Queen” from 1976
The Lancer •

Game Changers: accountability, not justice

On April 20, 2021, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty for unintentional second degree murder, third degree murder, and second degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Last year on Memorial Day, Floyd’s death incited worldwide protests for police reform, police abolition, equity, and racial justice.

Calls to end police brutality have been a prominent issue in United States history, dating well before the Civil Rights Movement. For many, the verdict represen
The Lancer •

Game Changers: Western imperialism strikes again

On the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 quarantine, the World Trade Organization (WTO) failed again to approve the relinquishment of intellectual property rights for the COVID vaccine. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, also known as the TRIPS Agreement, is an international legal agreement between the members of the WTO that grants them the ability to extend intellectual property rules if they wish. The proposal to waive the TRIPS Agreement, co-sponsored by 57 n
The Lancer •

Game Changers: a review of President Biden’s first month in office

Last January, President Joe Biden was officially inaugurated. This presidential election has been incontrovertibly momentous with historical anomalies such as the riots on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and President Trump’s second impeachment trial in mid-February. Not only has political polarization intensified between Democrats and Republicans, but tensions within the two parties have also increased. Both parties were not entirely satisfied with their candidates, especially leftists who began
The Lancer •

Game Changers: Prop 16 and the benefits of reinstating affirmative action

This year, there was a large dispute over racial justice on the California ballot. California currently stands as one of only eight states that have banned affirmative action, a practice which refers to policies benefiting minority populations that were previously discriminated against in legislation. The purpose of affirmative action is to offset the disadvantages and disparities associated with race and gender.

To provide context, Prop 209 was passed in 1996, forbidding academic admissions of
The Lancer •

Game Changers: RBG’s legacy and what her death means for America

This summer has been extremely eventful, from the pandemic to the horrific acts of racial violence to the fires engulfing the West Coast. But the cherry on top of this quasi-apocalypse is undoubtedly the death of the Notorious RBG—Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

We lost Justice Ginsburg on September 18 to metastatic pancreatic cancer after her tenacious tenure on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) for 27 years. A renowned feminist, Justice Ginsburg has been a prominent f
The Lancer •

Black Lives Matter rundown: the history of the movement, the impact of protests, Saint Francis, and more

In the past couple months, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained unprecedented traction in America and around the world. Considering the 246 years of slavery and additional hundred years of segregation, the history of racism runs deep in the United States. Even now, racism is extremely widespread in our communities.

In order to combat racism today, we must understand systemic racism. One of the most pernicious and recent forms of systemic racism is called “redlining.” Redlining refers to g

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