Asian American Literature, a semesterlong English elective offered for juniors and seniors after successful completion of English 9 or 9A and English 10 or 10A, will focus on Asian American experiences ranging from immigration to discrimination. English teacher Diane Ichikawa, who proposed and is leading the implementation of Asian American Literature, says that the English department lacks books about Asian Americans, although Gunn’s student population is 46.4% Asian, according to the Gunn 2023-24 school profile.

“We don’t really treat Asians as people of color on this campus, so I think it’s important that we see that Asians actually are people of color,” she said. “We need to find a space for those discussions, and this could be a class where you could have those conversations.”

The curriculum will draw from texts such as Thi Bui’s memoir “The Best We Could Do” and essays from Eric Liu’s “The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker.” Students will practice writing memoirs and understanding the use of figurative language in non-English languages.

Sophomore Joyce Wong, who is interested in taking Asian American Literature, considers it an opportunity to gain insight into issues that Asian Americans face.

“Reading literature written by Asian Americans (can) offer a really refreshing perspective on controversial or historical events,” she said.

In addition to Asian American Literature, Gunn will also be offering AP Physics 2, a yearlong algebra-based physics course for juniors and seniors who have successfully completed AP Physics 1. The course provides a nonvisual approach to electricity and magnetism, in contrast to its mechanics-focused prerequisite, AP Physics 1.

According to physics teacher Christina Norberg, the science department decided to add the course for students who wish to continue learning physics after AP Physics 1, but may not want the rapid pace of calculus-based AP Physics C. The yearlong mechanics course will no longer be offered, but students can still take AP Physics C: Mechanics and AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism as semesterlong classes.

The curriculum, based on the College Board’s AP Physics 2 Unit Guides, features units on thermodynamics, electricity, geometric optics and atomic physics, which are not covered in AP Physics C: E & M. According to Norberg, students will use skills such as scientific argumentation, collection of evidence and experimental design to build a mathematically rigorous perspective.

“When you talk about electricity and magnetism, a lot of those different topics you need to be able to model effectively in a way that you can’t actually see,” Norberg said.

Junior Daniel Zhang, who is currently in AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, is considering taking AP Physics 2 next year.

“I’m thinking of taking AP Physics 2 because it covers the sound unit, which seems really interesting,” he said.

With the addition of AP Physics 2, Gunn will now offer all of the College Board’s AP Physics courses. Students who are in or have taken regular, college-preparatory physics may take AP Physics 2 with approval from the science department.

Asian American Literature and AP Physics 2 will only run if there is enough enrollment. Students can learn more about these courses by reading the 2024-25 course catalog or contacting Ichikawa or Norberg.

Asian American Lit Books

• Thi Bui’s “The Best We Could Do”
• Min Jin Lee’s “Pachinko”
• Kathryn Ma’s “The Chinese Groove”
• Eric Liu’s “The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker”

AP Physics 2 Topics

• Fluids
• Thermodynamics
• Electric forces
• Electric circuits
• Magnetism and electromagnetic induction
• Geometric and physical optics
• Quantum physics

Latin American and Hispanic culture has long shaped the U.S. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson — spurred by Mexican American Rep. Edward Roybal — established Hispanic Heritage Week to recognize Hispanic history and contributions, and in 1988, the week was extended to a monthlong celebration from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Although this recognition marked a step forward in acknowledging the diversity of the U.S., some, such as sophomore Megumi Estrada Nakamatsu, have pointed out that the blanket term “Hispanic” groups all Spanish-speaking people together, despite their cultural and geographical differences. Estrada Nakamatsu, who is Peruvian and Japanese American, feels that Mexican culture is more prevalent than South and Central American culture at Gunn. “I feel like while Mexican culture is represented, I can see that it’s not enough when it comes to South American and Central American countries’,” she said.

Countries of origin matter, especially when it comes to shared experiences, according to Spanish teacher Teresa Niño-Oliva. While she bonds with other Latin Americans through a shared language — Spanish — she feels closer to her Chilean friends because of their shared experiences. “I did not grow up here, so there are so many things that happened in my childhood that some here don’t understand,” she said. “(But) I can find that (connection) with my (Chilean) friends.”

Nevertheless, a significant characteristic of most Hispanic and Latin American cultures is the close-knit community among family and friends. A distinct part of Estrada Nakamatsu’s childhood was celebrating Señor de los Milagros with her loved ones. The Peruvian Christian celebration features a parade with a sacred image of the Purple Christ, in which purple represents devotion and royalty. “For the whole month of October, everyone wears purple,” she said. “Ever since I was born, I would dance for the celebration.”

Similarly, the stories Ceniceros’ parents told him about their childhoods in Mexico demonstrated the community’s closeness. On one occasion, his mother told him about a neighbor’s child who died in a car crash. “(Every family) started helping financially for the funeral,” he said. “Everybody who was their neighbor came in and helped them with what they could.”

Hispanic and Latino Americans only make up 12.3% of Gunn students, according to the 2022-23 Gunn School Profile. As a result, Hispanic or Latino American students can feel alienated. Both Mexican American senior Andrea Esparza
and Estrada Nakamatsu have sometimes felt isolated because of their cultural backgrounds. “When I was younger, I was very embarrassed in my own culture because I was the only Peruvian in (my) whole school,” Estrada Nakamatsu said.
“Sometimes, American culture can badly influence you because of how judgmental people can be, (and) it can make you feel very much like an outsider.”

Stereotyping only worsens this issue. Estrada Nakamatsu has heard people use offensive slang terms to describe Hispanic people. “We’re called ‘ratchet,’ or ‘ghetto,’ since in our culture, we’re super loud, (and) we’re super honest and blunt,” she said. “The term ‘ratchet’ for us is hurtful because we’re raised to be blunt and very loud — that’s how we show our care for each other.”

This stereotyping and discrimination have disheartened Esparza. “It saddens me that people are discriminating and (have) a bunch of stereotypes on Hispanics when they’re only here to make a better life, get a good education and try to move forward in life,” she said.

Despite these prejudices, Esparza is proud of her culture, where she is embraced with open arms. “What I love about the community is seeing how much we love our culture and that we’re not ashamed of expressing it,” she said.

In South Asian cultures, food is integrated into the celebration of many festivals, including Diwali. Sophomore Aarya Bhushan sees cooking during Diwali as a time to bond with her mother. “During Diwali, my mom and I always make Indian sweets together, and we always have a fun time in the kitchen,” she said.

Similarly, English teacher Terence Kitada, who is Japanese American, remembers how his family would relax and enjoy Japanese  cuisine together. “When I was a little kid, my dad would always grill chicken teriyaki (during) the summers,” he said. “Making food with my family is a nice break. Everybody’s so busy all the time, if you could just concentrate on making something together, it brings people together.” Kitada recounted how food also fostered more intimate connections with individual family members outside of larger gatherings. When he was younger, Kitada and his sister would regularly go to a Japanese restaurant together, which provided them with a time to build their relationship. “We’d always go after school and just eat comfort food (while) talking to each other,” he said.

Nostalgic moments around food also appear in Chinese teacher Yanan Vrudny’s childhood. She and her extended family would gather at her grandparents’ house to make “jiaozi,” or dumplings, together. “You have uncles and cousins who you may have never met for years,” Vrudny said. “You realize that making dumplings is not only making food, but it’s making connections to relatives and hearing their stories from all the generations. You can’t learn all these from the textbook.”

Children of immigrants may find it difficult to learn about their cultural customs. According to Vrudny, however, food provides an opportunity for them to connect with their heritage. “I once heard that food is history — the way it’s prepared, the ingredients that are used and other factors are all chosen by our ancestors,” she said. “By cherishing the food, it’s like eating a piece of history with some twists of our own.”

Similarly, when Kitada was teaching in Japan, he and his students learned about Japanese cultural values through the experience of harvesting rice. “You eat (rice) every day, but a lot of work goes into it,” he said. “In Japan, you’re not excused to go to recess until you’ve eaten every grain of rice in the bowl. (There is) the idea to not waste food because somebody made that for you.”

Sharing food among different groups in the AAPI community also kindles intercultural dialogue. Vrudny explained that although chopsticks are used in multiple countries — China, Japan and Korea, to name a few — they are designed differently based on the specific foods and customs each individual culture has. Having conversations among different AAPI cultures regarding food practices can create bonds between communities. “(This) can build connections when people may have nothing to talk about,” Vrudny said.

Food is also significant in religious practices. In Hinduism, food called “prasada” is offered to God and consumed by devotees as a way to give thanks. “There’s the aspect of sacrificing for God,” Bhushan said. “But it’s also bringing us closer to our culture and heritage.”

Despite the positive connotations of food in AAPI communities, many experience discrimination due to their cultural foods. AAPI foods have been considered “exotic” or “strange” in some school lunchrooms, which can cause AAPI individuals, such as sophomore Jessie Han, to feel uncomfortable with sharing their cuisines. “In the past, I was self-conscious about the food I brought to school, mostly because I was scared that others would act negatively towards it,” she said. “But if I could time travel, I would encourage them to be curious and try some. If they like it, that’s amazing — if not, then that’s totally fine as well.”

Kitada discussed this type of discrimination in his Visual Storytelling class while reading “American Born Chinese,” a graphic novel in which the Chinese American protagonist experiences bullying because of his lunch. “When students in my class reflect on the text, I consistently hear people mentioning that they went through the same thing when they were younger,” Kitada said. “It’s sad that students are discouraged from eating cuisine from their own culture due to harassment from classmates.

As an integral part of AAPI culture and community, food celebrates a sense of belonging and what it means to be AAPI. “Food not only is for eating,” Vrudny said. “It is more important how we use it as a tool to connect people to the knowledge, the ingredients and the world.”