Under piles and piles of glossy magazines and New York Times newspapers, I recently found the first-ever issue of Verde Magazine. Published in 1999, the pages are a faded yellow and the pictures appear in black and white. As expected, times were very different, and many of the stories are difficult to connect to as a part of the modern generation. (Who knew that people needed a tutorial on how to use the Internet?) However, there are also various topics that still ring true to our Palo Alto high school community and have even been touched upon in Verde during the last few years.

Similar to a cover story last year, the first issue of Verde features a story on Planned Parenthood. Although the story from 1999 was written in light of the growing epidemic of chlamydia, it’s interesting to note that the topic of Planned Parenthood is still a contested and sensitive topic 17 years later, now in regards to abortion. President Obama has also recently taken action to make sure funds towards Planned Parenthood stays protected.

In our most recent issue of Verde (Issue 18.1), there is a profile on startup kids of past Paly alumni who are technological entrepreneurs. In the heart of Silicon Valley, it’s no surprise that the topic of technology continues to be a focus in our magazine. It’s nice to see that Paly students keep prospering in this area, even after almost two decades.