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AMT III class performs mainstage production of “Rent.”
Hollywood judgment hinders #MeToo and other movements.
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With the November 2018 midterm elections approaching, students at the Bay are actively preregistering to vote to ensure they can cast their ballot. Senior Sandra Salvatierra said she was eager to register because she wants to help make change in the country. “If you are 18 or over and a citizen of the United States, you have a massive amount of power in the way you want your country to run,” Salvatierra said. “Registering to vote is just the first step in manifesting that power to enact the change you want to see.” Once teens turn 16, they are eligible to pre-register, thus allowing them to vote immediately when they become adults. Salvatierra recently turned 18 years old and she said she is highly anticipating turning in her ballot because she is excited to have her voice heard by politicians. “I just turned 18 years old last month, so I can participate in this year’s midterm elections. By voting, I want to dismantle the preconceived notion that teenagers are apathetic about politics. Social media activism is a great way to become involved, but voting is what really sends a message to our current political leaders,” Salvatierra said. “If you do not listen to our cries, your job is on the line. That is why I think my vote matters.” Salvatierra said she is angered by the current political sphere of politicians. By voting, she believes that this is the first step to voicing her concerns, those of which deal with politics circulating everyday lives through social media, which she believes affect young voters the most. “With social media endlessly providing the latest controversial politicians’ tweets, along with viral comebacks by other politicians or celebrities, it is hard to escape politics
Like Silvey, Advanced Placement U.S. Government teacher Laurie Marx said she agrees that voting is an important privilege to everyone in the country. “It is the most important thing an American citizen can do to impact who their elected leaders are,” Mrs. Marx said. “It is the fundamental cornerstone of American democracy and it is what makes us a representative republican form of government.” Mrs. Marx said that she believes people sometimes don’t understand the impact of voting and that young teens who are preregistering to vote need to understand the importance of their ballots. “What people don’t understand about actually voting is that you have an opportunity to have an impact on the future and the policies that your country is going to follow,” Mrs. Marx said. “If you give up that right, then policies are made without your input.” According to Mrs. Marx, before pre-registering to vote, people should have a background knowledge of American government and current politics. “Find out who is running and then find out what they stand for,” Mrs. Marx said. “Don’t vote for somebody because somebody else tells you to. Vote for somebody because you believe in their policies and you believe they are going to be the best person for that job.” After the last presidential election and current political climate, Mrs. Marx said teenagers pre-registering to vote will have a great impact on society. “I want to see those young people vote and make change,” Mrs. Marx said. “They need to know that your vote is your most powerful weapon.”
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in our modern day,” Salvatierra said. “We are more aware now than ever of what our politicians are doing, or more importantly, not doing, and we are becoming aware of the powerful voice we hold within the public.” Like Salvatierra, senior Ethan Silvey has pre-registered to vote, and he said he is already hoping to make change in the current political system through his vote. “Voting is critical, especially with today’s political climate,” Silvey said. “Complacency is killing America, and if this is really going to be the generation that makes a difference, then they need to show up to the voting booth.” Silvey said this generation receives most of the news through social media outlets, so this is the most important way to educate future voters. “Young voters are the biggest untapped voting group that can really make a difference in this next election,” Silvey said. “From the student standpoint, getting involved, posting on social media, talking with friends and volunteering is the best way to become engaged in the electoral process.” Silvey said he struggles with the fact that young voters don’t understand the power that their vote has in the current political system. “I think that with the way our political system is structured, many people feel that their vote doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things,” Silvey said. “People need to understand that just being a part of the political process is a privilege that not every country’s citizens have.” Silvey said he wants young voters to understand why their vote matters and that voting is a privilege for not only young adults but also for all eligible American citizens. “Our vote matters because it is a civic duty that not everyone has the privilege of exercising,” Silvey said. “It is pivotal that we uphold our end of the social contract and that we play our role in the process.”
POWER TO THE STUDENTS
BY OLIVIA LANDSMAN
RAISE YOUR VOICE
UT NG B YOU MIGHTY
E T O M O R P THE VOTE
WE WAN CHA T NGE
Cypress Bay High School • 18600 Vista Park Blvd., Weston, Florida 33332 • Vol 17, Issue 5 • March 2018
2 THE CIRCUIT
NEWS
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MARCH 2018
New safety policies enforced after shooting BY ALEXIS EPSTEIN NEWS PHOTO EDITOR
After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, administrators from Broward County and the Bay have decided to evaluate and strengthen their active shooter initiatives to ensure the safety of their students and staff. “It’s a shame and a tragedy about what happened at Stoneman Douglas, but [Principal Scott] Neely, the School Board and the Bay are committed to ensuring the safety of the students,” Assistant Principal Jeff Nelson said. “Our first priority is safety. We’re anxious to find out what additional resources or opportunities we can take to upgrade our security system here and make it even better.” The county has announced that the school board is planning to implement new safety initiatives, specifically adding more security guards to school campuses. English teacher Julie Klitzner said she believes the school board wants to augment the number of security guards because more coverage means more protection, as these officers will likely be armed.
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Our first priority is safety. We’re anxious to find out what additional resources or opportunities we can take to upgrade our security system here and make it even better.
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-Assistant Principal Jeff Nelson “[Increasing the number of security guards] is so important; if there is a situation, an officer can respond immediately and not have to go to his vehicle for a weapon,” Mrs. Klitzner said. “The students’ security is our number one priority; having these extra precautions implemented at Cypress [Bay] can help ensure their safety.” Mr. Nelson said administrators from the Bay will be reinforcing many of the current initiatives they have in place already; for example, students and staff will be required to wear their identification badges. “We are well aware that many students don’t wear their badges, but we will start requiring this as it is a small safety precaution,” Mr. Nelson said. Teachers are now required to give their students a pass anytime they leave the class, including for the bathroom. Mrs. Klitzner said this is an important measure to guarantee safety around school. “Security needs to easily be able
to identify students as there are 4,700 students at the Bay,” Mrs. Klitzner said. “Even if a student is going to the bathroom, it is important that security is able to recognize them to ensure our safety.” Three additional security personnel are being hired, making a total of 15 officers. Administration is also adding cameras and transitioning from analog to high definition cameras. “We always say the more eyes the better, so having a few extra guards and better cameras will add to our school’s safety by covering more area,” Mr. Nelson said. Administration is also trying to create a reporting mechanism available through the school website, and it will be available to download as an app. If students see something, they will be able to report it and send a picture of the activity they may find suspicious. “I think this is a great addition as students are frequently walking around school on their phones, so they can open the app or website tab and report any suspicious activity they may see,” Mr. Nelson said. Administration will be purchasing a mat that slides under the door and when triggered by the teacher can lock the door airtight. This mat will remain flat and in the case of an emergency, a teacher will inflate it by activating it with their foot or hand. “We hope the need [to use the mats] never arises as it is important to not be restricted in the room, but these mats will ensure no one can come in,” Mr. Nelson said. “We just want to ensure the safety to students and staff, so whatever means are necessary, we are willing to take.” Students are no longer able to order food, and have it delivered to the Bay during school hours. Administration has established this to lower the number of outside individuals coming onto the Bay’s campus. For students like junior Panayiota Thiakos, this will change their lunch plans. “I understand why the school wants to implement this, but I find it a little disruptive,” Thiakos said. “My friends and I occasionally order food, so we don’t need to go off campus; however, our safety is most important.” Junior Iniya Thiyagarajan said there should be more security and the school can get facial recognition systems at specific entry/exit points. “I know this idea isn’t the most feasible; however, we have to consider unique ideas,” Thiyagarajan said. “Systems like this already exist, but it depends on if the school is willing and able to purchase them.” Thiyagarajan said the security checkpoints could assist people in entering and exiting campus as having an open campus makes it difficult to tell what is going on at all times.
GRAPHIC BY JESSIE CHAIET
“Schools need to have a better system that checks who is coming in and out,” Thiyagarajan said. “Although people who are coming in at odd times are asked of their intentions, anyone could lie and still be able to get in.” Governor Rick Scott and the Florida legislature proposed a bill to the Senate. It would raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, command a threeday waiting period for most gun purchases and increase funding for school safety measures and mental healthcare. This included $67 million to arm school staff trained by law enforcement. Mr. Nelson said teachers have enough on their plate and shouldn’t need to worry about this. “Teachers have a tremendous responsibility now in the classroom, so that additional responsibility isn’t something we want to see our teachers assume,” Mr. Nelson said. Thiakos said she agreed that teachers are meant to instruct students, not protect them. She said having a gun in the classroom can also have complications because students will have closer access to guns, and it will be more difficult to differentiate between who is the “good” and “bad” guy in the event of a shooting. “I could just imagine what would happen when the police come in as the first thing they ask is who has a gun,” Thiakos said. “They may mistake the teacher as the shooter.” The Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) around campus have AR-15s rifle guns in their possession, the same firearm the Stoneman Douglas shooter used. Mr. Nelson said there is much controversy
over this. “Although some are very happy about [the officers having AR-15s] and some are intimidated, the goal is to make everyone feel safer and have a safer environment for everyone here,” Mr. Nelson said. Thiakos said she is uncomfortable with the appearance of semiautomatic weapons on campus but is willing to look past it if they will keep the Bay safe. “I’m uneasy knowing that there are assault rifles on campus-- things that could hurt a lot of people in just a minute,” Thiakos said. “However, at the same time, if this is what it takes to protect 5,000 students, then so be it.” Regardless of the initiatives being implemented, Mr. Nelson is in the process of planning a forum soon that will include BSO, teachers, students and parents. He will discuss the actions being taken by the school and county regarding the safety procedures while students are on campus. “We want to address and inform them how serious we take safety and security because a lot [of them] really don’t know,” Mr. Nelson said. “Our first priority is ensuring that everyone is safe while on campus, and we want our stakeholders to be aware of how serious we take this.” Mrs. Klitzner said despite the many challenges in improving safety protocols, she believes the Bay will be successful in making positive changes. “I think the staff has reacted amazingly well and is trying to make changes to help us all feel safer,” Mrs. Klitzner said. “It is very hard with such a big campus and so many students.”
News Calendar General
Club Meetings
Early Release, March 22 Spring Break, March 26-30 FSA Reading, April 17-18 Algebra 1 & Geometry EOC, April 26-27 Biology & U.S. History EOC, April 30
National Honor Society, April 2 IOC Meeting, April 2 HOSA, April 10 SGA, April 10
Events Best Buddies Valentine’s Day, April 7 Debate Novice State Tournament, April 15 Junior Night, April 17
MARCH 2018
NEWS
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PHOTOS BY JESSIE CHAIET
The Bay’s student body honored the 17 lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. BY JESSIE CHAIET NEWS EDITOR
Just 23.4 miles away from the Bay, 17 students and teachers were murdered on Feb. 14 during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since the massacre, the Bay’s students have been active in providing support for the survivors of Stoneman Douglas. A week after the shooting, on Feb. 21, the Bay’s student body gathered together in a district-approved walkout. Holding signs that read “Enough is Enough” and “MSD Strong,” students, administrators and teachers walked to Vista View Park to commemorate the lives of those fatally shot at Stoneman Douglas. Senior Devon Stoloff, who organized the walkout with senior Julia Levy, said the event was an effective way to garner support for Stoneman Douglas. “We all have a voice that can travel much further and get our message picked up by many more if we do something out of the ordinary,” Stoloff said. “Having 5,000 kids walk the streets together—united— and gather around with key speakers was just the way to go about it.” Levy said she was inspired to organize the event after seeing schools across Broward County holding walkouts. “We were going to do a 17-minute thing to honor the lives that were lost and then we realized that a lot of kids wanted to walk out and Broward County was walking out in general, so we decided to take the initiative and create a Cypress Bay walkout,” Levy said. After all students made their way to the soccer fields at Vista View Park, four Stoneman Douglas students spoke about their experiences and the trauma they faced on Feb. 14. One of the speakers, Stoneman Douglas senior Kali Clougherty, said it was meaningful to speak at the walkout so other students could hear a first-hand account of the shooting. “I think it’s important to talk to other high schools and make sure that they
understand the severity of what has happened and that they are pretty much in charge of our future,” Clougherty said. “It is important that my classmates and I go around to speak to people and tell them what we went through so that they can understand our experience, so they don’t have to ever experience it themselves.” Stoloff said the walkout was an overall success. He said it highlighted the importance of student activism, as high school students have a strong voice and they can make change for the future of the U.S. “I think I can speak for anyone who participated when I say that the unity and coming together of all grades, whether that be students or faculty, was a very powerful moment to see how almost all could come together and support one common thing,” Stoloff said. “We might have different views on the change needed, but it wasn’t about that at all; it was about showing how we could congregate to support Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the fact that we need to see changes.” In addition to the walkout, Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a Stoneman Douglas Remembrance Day on Feb. 23 and Feb. 28 during all lunches in the courtyard. Students could write letters to Congress requesting change, sign a poster and paint stones, which will be used to create a garden for Stoneman Douglas. Junior and SGA 2nd Vice President Nicole Straight, who was tasked with organizing the event, said it was important for SGA members to quickly put this event together. “I know a lot of people were personally affected [by the shooting], so a lot of people in our class wanted to do it,” Straight said. “We are all leaders, so
we felt we needed to do something. We wanted to show [the Bay] is with Stoneman Douglas.” In addition, SGA sold shirts that said, “CB loves MSD.” Straight said it was amazing to see the whole school come together to wear these shirts for Stoneman Douglas. “We sold shirts because we wanted all of the money to go to Douglas since a lot of kids there don’t have school supplies since the building is being taken down,” Straight said. “It felt so good to see everyone wearing the shirts; it makes me feel like people actually care and they’re willing to stand up for what they believe in.” Sophomore Angela Li said she enjoyed painting stones because she knew they would cheer up the students at Stoneman Douglas. “I think it’s a really good cause, especially since a lot of people died during this event; if we can do anything like painting some rocks, it’s worth it,” Li said. “I’m proud of our school, and I’m proud of SGA for doing this.” Straight said the collaborative effort of all of the students at the Bay made the event an overall success. “I think it’s nice to see [students] being involved because it shows that they’re making a change whether or not it’s big or small,” Straight said. “We need to honor the victims and show them it’s never going to happen again.” In order to aid the survivors of the shooting, senior Bari Stockel and freshman Hanna Stockel held a school supply drive. They collected pens, pencils, note-
books, folders and backpacks for students who left their belongings at Stoneman Douglas during the shooting. “I was really upset over what happened, and I decided I wanted to turn my sadness into something positive,” Hanna Stockel said. “I wanted to have the drive, in order to let the teachers and students go to back to school as easily as possible.” Hanna Stockel said she spread the word about the drive by posting on social media and asking teachers to collect supplies from their students. She said she was happy with how the drive turned out because she received many items. “I got an overwhelming amount of support from not only my friends and family, but also from small businesses and corporations who I didn’t even know,” Hanna Stockel said. “It doesn’t matter that we go to a different school; we are all one large community that supports each other through good times and bad times.” Assistant Principal Marianela Estripeaut said she was glad that the Bay’s student body put on so many events to help Stoneman Douglas and honor those who passed away at the shooting. “I get choked up just thinking about how respectful they are and how they honored the students of Stoneman Douglas,” Mrs. Estripeaut said. “I just have no words; they made us so proud, and I’m sure I’m speaking on behalf of all of administration.” Clougherty said it was touching to see everything that the Bay’s students did to aid Stoneman Douglas. She said despite the tragedy of the shooting, she has seen how generous people can truly be. “To see [the Bay] supporting and just wanting to take part in this movement is absolutely incredible,” Clougherty said. “It just warmed my heart and made me feel like we’re not alone and that people actually care about what happened to us. I honestly had no faith in humanity before all of this and now I really realize people care.” #NEVERAGAIN: (From left) senior Adriana Morell and sophomores Andrea Briseno and Fabi Carrillo participate in the Bay’s walkout on Feb. 21, holding signs they created prior to the event. The purpose of the walkout was to honor the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) on Feb. 14. Sophomore Riley Carpinteri paints stones at Student Government Association’s MSD Remembrance Day on Feb. 23. The stones will be used to create a garden for MSD.
PHOTO BY AMANDA MORGAN
4 THE CIRCUIT
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NEWS
MARCH 2018
DECA dominates at state competition BY CHLOE WAIN
category,” Howard said. “People don’t compete in business finance because it’s known to have more involved role play situations than some of the other categories.” Like Howard, junior Taylor Futernick said it felt rewarding to win at DECA States. Futernick competed with junior Grace Kochy in the buying and merchandising team decision making event for the past three years. They received sixth place for the test portion, second place for their presentation and sixth place overall. “My favorite part of the weekend was getting called up for winning,” Futernick said. “It is always fun to win at states because it’s like all your hard work paid off.” Futernick and Kochy studied prior to States by taking practice tests and practicing their role plays. Futernick said she felt very prepared going into the competition weekend and enjoyed competing. “Preparing for the competitions were stressful, but [Kochy] and I were able to overcome the stress,” Futernick said. “I felt pretty confident about our tests and role play, so it is a great feeling to have the results show that.” Futernick said it is always exciting to win states because it felt that her hard work paid off. She said that besides from winning, she also enjoyed the opportunity to interact with other DECA members. “States is always super fun; I had many close friends attending the competition and always meet great people,” Futernick said. “It can be extremely stressful at times, but competing is definitely the best part of participating in DECA and worth it in my opinion.”
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It can be extremely stressful at times, but competing is definitely the best part of participating in DECA and worth it in my opinion.
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-junior Taylor Futernick Students who earned sixth place or higher that weekend were automatically qualified to compete in DECA Internationals from April 21 to April 24 at the Georgia World Conference Center in Atlanta. Mrs. Reid said she was proud to see 31 of her students qualify for Internationals. “Seeing numerous students winning awards definitely reminded me of why I became a teacher in DECA,” Mrs. Reid said. “Seeing their zeal for competition and then the true joy when awards were won reminds me that the extra time invested is all worth it.” The Bay’s DECA chapter is the largest in the world. Reid said her expectations prior to the competition were very high due to the number of students participating in DECA from the Bay. “My expectations for States prior to the competition was that we were going to dominate; I felt that many students would qualify for internationals,” Reid said. “The DECA members here are very intelligent and hardworking students who have shown that they can participate alongside other schools in Florida.” To prepare for DECA states, Mrs. Reid said she had her students practice at least two hours per week and complete practice tests, role plays and presentations. On Feb. 23, DECA officers had voluntary judges come in and help the students practice. “As a first year DECA adviser, it was at first challenging to help the students
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JUAN SALAZAR
BRINGING HOME THE GOLD: Juniors Juan Salazar and Pablo Camara take part in various contests at the statewide DECA competition in Lake Buena Vista from March 1 to March 3. They competed at the school and district level before qualifying to attend the state competition, where they placed first against DECA members from all over the state.
prepare for competition,” Mrs. Reid said. “With the assistance of all the other advisers, it became very fun and heartwarming to see students dedicating extra time aside from their regular curriculum to focus on sharpening their skills for competition.” Junior Juan Salazar partnered with senior Pablo Camara to compete in the marketing management team decision making event, which consisted of a test and role play presentation. The partners received first place in the presentation category and first place overall. “Because this is my first year in DECA, I spoke to many past DECA members,” Salazar said. “The members motivated me to join the club and to compete this year in States. I am a very competitive and hard-working person; therefore, DECA States was a perfect opportunity for me to compete.” Salazar said he was not expecting to win first place, but he felt he performed well because he practiced with Camara throughout the weekend. “My favorite part of the competition
was the role play presentation; the role play was a perfect blend of problem solving, critical thinking and personal skills,” Salazar said. “I felt that throughout the competition, the presentation was my strong suit that awarded me first place.” Junior Joey Howard said practice and hard work were necessary to succeeding at States. Howard was awarded first place overall in business finance services, which consisted of a test and presentation. “I prepared by taking numerous practice tests; I always looked up stuff about the subject in general to expand my knowledge, but I did not start heavily preparing for the competition until the bus ride up,” Howard said. “That is when I felt I had an opportunity to become hyped before the competition.” Howard said he felt his DECA teacher, Rachael Dubrow, was proud of him since she had not had a winner in business finance in many years. Howard said he was interested in the subject prior to joining DECA, so he was happy to finally win. “I was happy I won in such a tough
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I am a very competitive and hard-working person; therefore, DECA States was the perfect opportunity for me to compete.
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Members of the Bay’s DECA chapter competed in the annual States conference from March 1 to March 3 at the Hilton Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Competitions included 100 question multiple choice tests, presentations and business manuals based on different areas of the DECA curriculum. DECA adviser and teacher Katrina Reid attended the conference and said her students have been dedicated throughout the year to be ready for states. “All of the members and advisers worked very hard throughout the year to prepare for the conference,” Mrs. Reid said. “The results from the awards and who qualified really showed how much work the Bay has put into the DECA students. These students truly have a strong passion for competing.”
-junior Juan Salazar Like Futernick, Salazar said he was happy to meet new members of DECA throughout the state who all shared a common interest for competing. “It was very exciting to meet new people at the competition,” Salazar said. “Having DECA members from different locations throughout the state truly unites everyone in a special way.” Mrs. Reid said that throughout the weekend, she was able to form strong friendships with many DECA students from the Bay. She said she is increasingly proud of her students each time she sees them compete. “Seeing my students compete made me very happy I became a teacher,” Mrs. Reid said. “They showed how much dedication and hard work it takes to make it to Internationals.”
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MARCH 2018
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Scholars compete in televised game show BY JESSIE CHAIET NEWS EDITOR
Facing off against West Broward High School, seniors Mingyin Zhu, Zonshen Yu, Jason Liu and junior Nico Golner put their brain power to the test on the game show “School Duel,” which aired on BECON TV on Feb. 22. The Bay was one of 20 schools from South Florida to participate in this televised competition in an attempt to win the School Duel trophy, $1,000 per winning student and free Chick-fil-A sandwiches for a year. Golner, who served as the team captain, said he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to appear on TV and represent the Bay. “My sister first competed in School Duel, and seeing her on TV motivated me to take part in the competition as well,” Golner said. “As a fun way to compete with friends, the possibility of a cash prize, free Chick-Fil-A for a year and being on local TV seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.” The game show consists of four rounds of questions: the Warning Shot round, the Joust, the Rapid Fire round and the Final Showdown. After securing a 250-200-point lead after the Rapid Fire round, the Bay’s team ended in a 350-400 point loss after the Final Showdown. Despite losing, Golner said he still thoroughly enjoyed this experience. “Although we fell on hard times, we didn’t let it get to us as we had an experience that not many get to have and a fun time doing so,” Golner said. “The game was a ton of fun even if it didn’t go our way, and playing with the team made it so much better.” In order to make the team, tryouts were held in which interested students answered general knowledge questions sim-
ilar to those asked in School Duel. The students who got the most questions right were selected. Zhu said she was extremely happy when she found out she was chosen to be on the team. “It felt nice to be chosen,” Zhu said. “This was the first time I’ve ever tried out for School Duel, but everyone else who tried out had lots of experience with this kind of thing.” In order to prepare for the show, the team held practice rounds after school and watched previous episodes of the show. Team members also prepared outside of school by reviewing information from different topic areas like geography, science and pop culture. School Duel Coach and math teacher Richard Farmer said the students put in a lot of effort and hard work, so he was still proud of them despite the loss. “These are students who practice every week for math competitions and compete in School Duel for a change of pace; they did everything I asked of them, and I have absolutely no complaints,” Mr. Farmer said. “School Duel is such a small sample size that I’m not sure that more preparation would have made a difference.” Zhu said there was added pressure knowing that the game show was going to be aired on TV, but she felt support from her fellow teammates to succeed. “It was nerve wracking; it was my first time being on TV, so it was a new experience,” Zhu said. “There was definitely a lot of school spirit while we were there and lots of Cypress [Bay] love.” Golner said although he was nervous about being filmed, he was fascinated with the production aspects of the show. “Seeing the studio and how every part clicks into place during filming was incredibly interesting,” Golner said. “As
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMES GUARASCI
BRAIN GAMES: (Clockwise from top left) seniors Jason Liu, Mingyin Zhu, Zonshen Yu and junior Nico Golner prepare before competing in their first round of the game show “School Duel” versus West Broward High School Students. Math teacher and School Duel coach Richard Farmer and junior Benjamin Jones cheer on the Bay from the show’s live studio audience.
someone who has little knowledge of how TV sets work, I would have to say that seeing how the show is made and how everyone plays a part in its production would have to be my favorite part.” Mr. Farmer said he hopes School Duel will be a success next year because the loss will inspire prospective students to work even harder next year. “The students are very motivated and feel like we underperformed,” Mr. Farmer said. “Our captain is returning, and I am very optimistic about his leadership and ability to recruit new participants.”
Like Mr. Farmer, Golner said he looks forward to competing in School Duel again next year. Golner said he has learned many lessons from the show, which he will apply to the competition next year. “I witnessed during the game that stage fright and nervousness really got to us, so next year the team will make sure to keep its cool and do its best,” Golner said. “I’m much more motivated to do better in the competition and make sure that next year’s team can finish first.”
SHPE club hosts panel of engineers BY JACOB WINANS
The Bay’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Club (SHPE) club hosted a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Talk presentation on March 1 in the auditorium. The event, which was free and open to the public, featured three guest speakers who have worked in the industry of engineering. Biology teacher and SHPE club adviser Brandon Boswell said the purpose of the event was to motivate attendees to become involved in STEM careers. “The point of this talk is really to increase participation of Hispanics in the engineering field,” Mr. Boswell said. “These successful individuals are evidence that Hispanics can be successful in the engineering field.” The presentation was headlined by three guest speakers from different engineering careers around the country. Luca Bencini-Tibo, an MIT graduate, and Jose Saavedra, a Data Center Manager at Fidelity Information Services, shared stories to inspire those in attendance. Rey Bonachea, a Columbia University graduate and SHPE Engineer of the Year, was the closing speaker. Senior and SHPE club president Andrea Vallenilla said she enjoyed all of the speakers at the event, especially Bonachea. “I really loved the guest speakers and I liked how they explained what STEM really is because I fell in love with it even more,” Vallenilla said. “Especially with
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ALEXANDRA SAAVEDRA
SHPE-ING SUCCESS: Engineers speak to an assembly of Broward County residents who are interested in the science and engineering field at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talk on March 1 in the auditorium.
the story about the last speaker, it was truly inspiring.” The STEM talk began with an array of free food, which was donated by several local businesses. Publix, Chick-fil-A, Panna and Chilli’s were among the local contributors. Senior and SHPE club member Eitan Kogutek, who was tasked with organizing the event, said he focused on planning the talk for weeks and was happy to see it go according to plan. “I could not think of anything else
but this [event] for the last two weeks,” Kogutek said. “I have been planning for months and I truly put all my hard work and all my dedication into this.” Vallenilla assisted Kogutek and senior Isabella Chiurillo, SHPE Vice President of External Affairs, in finding the guest speakers and coordinating the plans and timing for the event. Kogutek said they were pleased with the three professionals who ended up speaking at the event. “We were looking for engineers or
professionals who are developing in the areas of STEM and who are part of the Hispanic community,” Kogutek said. “The main purpose, though, was for the speakers to inspire the students and teach them a little more about the field.” Vallenila said one of the main focuses of the event was to teach young students about STEM and the opportunities open to students through STEM education and the SHPE club. She said she wanted to spread her passion for engineering with other high school students through a fun and interesting event. “I wanted to inspire others to explore the field and actually learn what it is about since I believe it is a beautiful field that has so much to offer, not only to the world but to others,” Vallenilla said. “I wanted to share that experience through the lives of those three professionals.” Vallenilla said one of her goals in holding this event was to motivate Hispanics to pursue careers in the field. She said she hoped to break barriers with this event. “I want to empower Hispanics and demonstrate to them that we have the power to end professional stereotypes that keep us from reaching our goals and dreams,” Vallenilla said. “I want to prove to Hispanics that we can be the next Stephen Hawking, Richard Branson or Carlos Slim. We have the capability of being whoever we want to be.”
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Round Trip, One Ticket PRIDE’s annual International Night on Feb. 23 celebrated cultures of 15 different countries. BY DREW ROACH
To continue its annual tradition, Promoting Relations in Diversity Education (PRIDE) hosted International Night on Feb. 23 in the cafeteria. In addition to representing cultures of 15 different countries, the club celebrated the FIFA World Cup, which was the event’s theme. Senior and PRIDE President Emmy Semprun said she was very happy with the choice for this year’s theme. “All of the officers spent a lot of time trying to find a great theme for this year’s International Night,” Semprun said. “We chose the FIFA World Cup because we knew it was a popular event, and it also represents a lot of countries.” In order to represent the heritages of students at the Bay, the event included performances including cultural dances and songs. Semprun said PRIDE’s goal for International Night was to show the diversity of the Bay. “International Night gives students the platform they need to celebrate so many different cultures and have fun with it, but at the same time, learn about other countries and cultures that the people who attended may not be familiar with,” Semprun said. “PRIDE will definitely be continuing this annual tradition for the years to come because of how important the event is.” Semprun said PRIDE members had many components they needed to prepare for the event, ranging from food to the indoor decor. She said she was proud of the club for putting in lots of hard work to plan the event. “Each officer had to go around to different restaurants looking for food donations since we knew that we would have a lot of people to feed and we wanted food from around the world,” Semprun said. “Making
decorations took a lot of work too because we had to create papier-mâché monuments, banners and centerpieces, and I helped to create a flamenco dance since I was also a performer.” PRIDE offered a buffet filled with foods from the 15 countries that were represented at the event. Senior and PRIDE secretary Christian Pichardo said his favorite aspect of the event was getting the opportunity to try a variety of unique foods that he has not yet had the chance to try. “My favorite part was definitely the buffet,” Pichardo said. “It was a great experience to be able to try cuisines from around the world and get to know some new restaurants right here in Weston that I did not know about, since a lot of the catering was from places around here.” During the night, a silent auction was held with prizes including a two-day beach vacation and a week of summer camp. Participants wrote down a bid for their desired prize. Spanish teacher and PRIDE adviser Paola Barrera said this was a highlight of the night because they were able to give out meaningful prizes to the participants who need financial support. “The event is so important because the different prizes that we had for the people who won the auction were used to support certain scholarships and we have that money to support them, which is a great feeling,” Mrs. Barrera said. “Typically, these scholarships are used to support those who are culturally diverse that are going through some type of adversity.” Mrs. Barrera said International Night was successful due to the large number of people who attended. She said she was pleased that so
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY EMMY SEMPRUN
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES: (From top) senior Emmy Semprun (left) and freshman Anabella Amanau perform a traditional flamenco dance. Attendees hold up signs to support teams participating in the FIFA World Cup, which was the event’s theme. The goal of Promoting Relations in Diversity Club’s annual International Night, which took place on Feb. 23 in the cafeteria, was to celebrate different cultures from around the world.
many people were able to learn about the diverse cultures that the event celebrated. “We had so many different cultures that were promoted throughout the night because of all the restaurants we contacted and the different activities we had,” Mrs. Barrera said. “We had about 15 restaurants cater and over 150 people attend, which is an amazing turnout, and we are so happy about that.” Freshman Lindsay Zifrony attended International Night for the first time. She said the event was well organized and ran smoothly the entire night. “From the moment I walked in to when I walked out, I thought the whole night went great because of all the activities, performances and food they had,” Zifrony said. “I especially loved watching the flamenco
dancers because I thought it was really entertaining.” Zifrony said the most memorable parts of the night were how interactive each part of the show was and how she got to share these entertaining moments with her friends. “I have never been to an event like this before, so it was really cool to experience a different part of Cypress [Bay] and what the clubs here have to offer,” Zifrony said. “I loved the entire night so much; I am definitely coming back to it again.” Having attended the past five International Nights, Semprun said the event seems to improve every year, and this year was no exception due to the efforts of the officer board and members of the club in general. “I am so proud of my event director, Cristina Heilbron,
and the entire officer board for making this night so incredible,” Semprun said. “There was great food, impressive performances and beautiful decorations. We had an outstanding amount of attendance and got to represent so many different countries, and I could not be happier with the outcome.” Pichardo said he believes International Night is a meaningful event for the Bay because it provides a unique experience for the students. “This night is so important because it allows us to engage with other cultures and that is necessary for a school that is as diverse as Cypress [Bay],” Pichardo said. “I am really fortunate to be a part of a club which provides that kind of experience.”
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In this issue’s recurring segment that explores current event topics affecting the nation, Online News Editor Casey Menten speak to students and teachers about the issue of gun control after the mass shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. What do you think of the issue of gun control? After the events that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Feb. 14, members of the community have sparked recent debate over the issue of gun control. Former Stoneman Douglas student Nikolas Cruz returned to his school on Valentine’s Day armed with multiple ammunition magazines and an AR-15 rifle, opening fire on his former classmates. With the death of 17 individuals, this shooting was the deadliest school shooting since 2012. “It is disgusting what happened on that day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas,” junior Kian Fadavi said. “It proves that we are in need of stricter gun laws and regulations to prevent events like this one from happening in the future.” Students, parents and faculty have taken charge of the issue, creating a student-led lobbying group demanding stricter gun regulations. On Feb. 21, students from across the country marched outside the White House protesting gun violence, promising that Stoneman Douglas will be the last mass shooting in the United States. Adviser of Political Awareness Club Laurie Marks said she is impressed with the dedication of the Stoneman Douglas students who are trying to make a change. “I am extremely proud of the [Stoneman] Douglas kids,” Mrs. Marks said. “It renews my faith in the ability of young people to see a problem and want to fix it when those of us who are older may have become complacent; it’s wonderful to see the new generation doing it.”
Alexa Voorhees Senior
Leonardo Vliveros Junior
“So many people blame the issue on mental health but I think it’s the weapons themselves. I don’t think guns should be allowed period.”
“I feel like if students really want to make a change they will need to go out and actually do somehting.”
Paige Sam Sophomore
Tabatha Botti Senior
“I think there needs to be more mental health backgroud checks and a raise in the age to buy guns. How is it that a young man with so many issues is able to get this gun in the first place?”
“Why do I have to have my brothers’ classes memorized so that if something happens I could be by his side to take the bullets for him?”
What change would you like to see in gun policy?
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It is disgusting what happened on that day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. It proves that we are in need of stricter gun laws and regulations to prevent events like this one from happening in the future.
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-junior Kian Fadavi
The Second Amendment establishes that all citizens have the right to bear arms, being a constitutional right many lawmakers fall in conflict when addressing the issue. Fadavi said that although most lawmakers agree that a change needs to be made, it is not easy to amend a part of the Constitution that the United States is built upon.
Further Gun Legislation Stricter Enforcement of Current Gun Laws Other GRAPHIC BY CASEY MENTEN
“It’s not fair to take away a constitutional right from law abiding citizens,” Fadavi said. “However, I do think it’s fair to take from people that will abuse the power and consequently hurt others by doing so.” In response to the shooting, President Donald Trump proposed the possibility of allowing highly trained teachers to be armed to act as a deterrent to future school shooters. In March, this bill narrowly passed the Florida State House
and will be sent to Gov. Rick Scott for further decision. “Schools are not a place where guns should be prevalent,” Mrs. Marks said. “If we have to have guards, I can live with that, but I can’t live with the idea of a teacher in every fourth portable packing heat.” Mrs. Marks said she believes the idea will not be successful at protecting schools from future mass shootings. She said that instead it would provide further
dangers to both students and teachers. “I don’t think anybody can be trained to respond to an active shooter situation,” Mrs. Marks said. “Guns don’t scare me; what scares me is a teacher in a crisis freezing, or worse, mistakenly hurting an innocent life.” Locally, Broward Sheriff Scott Israel announced that all deputies guarding schools will be armed with rifles including the AR-15 used by Cruz. Junior and President of Political Awareness club Jason Tache said he doesn’t feel comfortable with police officers carrying these weapons at the Bay. “Part of me wants to say ‘yes, I feel safe walking into school,’” Tache said. “But when I walk past the campus police and I see rifles strapped to their chest, I feel less safe than I ever have on campus.” On the other hand, senior Gustavo Rubio said he feels safer with the armed guards stationed at the entrance of the school. He said he would rather have guns in the hands of those protecting rather than someone who has the intentions of killing. “I would rather have the cop matched with the same gun power a criminal has,” Rubio said. “This way, they can effectively do their job and not show up underprepared.” Lawmakers and politicians have also brought to question the issue of mental health along with fault in the system of Federal Bureau of Investigation reporting. Rubio said he feels it is just as important to focus efforts on mental health and keeping guns out of hands of those who may abuse the power. “I feel that if someone is determined to kill someone they will find a way to make it happen,” Rubio said. “At the end of the day, a gun is an inanimate object that needs a person to pull the trigger.” Mrs. Marks said she believes that any precautionary measurements taken will be beneficial in the long run in reducing gun violence. She said that just because a law might not immediately solve the issue, doesn’t mean it should be banned all together. “This is a long game we need to play in order to fix a lot of issues in society,” Mrs. Marks said. “I think there are things we can do both in the short term and long term; however, we shouldn’t exclude any one thing because it might not work this year.” Tache said he has seen many Stoneman Douglas students continue to rally for support on both the local and national level, and he hopes they will resolve the issue of gun violence in the nation. “There is something special about these [Stoneman] Douglas kids that nobody saw coming,” Tache said. “I don’t know where it will go, but what they’re doing is the sole reason anything may get done.”
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SGA encourages teamwork at retreat To promote teamwork and bonding among members, the Bay’s Student Government Association (SGA) hosted its annual retreat on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Hunters Pointe Park in Weston Hills. Approximately 100 members attended the retreat to participate in the day’s activities. “We host this event each year to help members get to know each other better and bond,” SGA adviser Danielle Nascimento said. “Students work better as a team, and without knowing who the other members of their team are, this amazing teamwork isn’t possible.” The Human Resources (HR) department is responsible for planning and coordinating the event, as well as all other member motivation events for SGA. The department was responsible booking the park, ordering the food and setting up all of the activities for the day. Sophomore and HR Representative Sarah Gibson said a lot of hard work and effort went into preparing this event from their whole team. “There was so much to do, like researching games to play, booking venues and ordering the catering,” Gibson said. “All of the work helped to teach me time management and how to run an event for so many people, so it really paid off in the end.” The HR Department worked after school hours in order to plan and prepare for the event. Gibson said representatives held after-school meetings and remained in constant communication to ensure everything for the retreat would run smoothly and properly.
“My co-chair [sophomore] Sydney Kron and I, along with the rest of the HR Department, think the retreat is a fun event that we love to [plan],” Gibson said. “It is really cool to see how all of our hard work is enjoyed by others in the end.” At the retreat, SGA members were split up into 10 teams to participate in a color war. Freshman and SGA member Dylan Lessem said each team worked well together in an attempt to come in first place. “I was on the black team, and we all worked hard to win every game we played,” Lessem said. “All of the games
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We host this event each year to help members get to know each other better and bond. Students work better as a team, and without knowing who the other members of their team are, this amazing teamwork isn’t possible.
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BY HANNAH ZIFRONY
-SGA adviser Danielle Nascimento were super fun and really helped me get to know my peers better.” At the event, attendees participated in activities such as tug-of-war and capture the flag. Points were awarded to the winning team of each game, and the team who won the most points won the SGA
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PHOTO SUBMITTED BY LAUREN NAU
TEAM SPIRIT: (Clockwise from top) after winning a game at the Student Government Association retreat, sophomore Diogenes Mezzadra, freshmen Cole Carpinteri, Maria Mustafa, Camila Acevedo and Juliet Bell, junior Lauren Nau and senior Cara Siegel gather to celebrate their win.
spirit stick in the end. Gibson said the gray team was victorious this year. “The gray team worked super hard to be able to be the winner of the games,” Gibson said. “Their sportsmanship and hard work was apparent the whole day, and we all knew they would come out on top.” Teams were also required to create a team chant or cheer, as well as dress in their team color; these activities were additional opportunities for teams to earn points. Lessem said dressing up and cheering were great ways to promote team bonding. “My team all wore as much black as we could to show off our black team spirit,” Lessem said. “It made me feel really included in a group, and it was also really fun to participate in.” Mrs. Nascimento said the event ran
smoothly, with all students working together and enjoying themselves. However, she said she thinks some adjustments can be looked into for years to come, such as the quantity of food at the event. “We had too much food at the retreat this year, with lots of leftovers after we were done,” Mrs. Nascimento said. Gibson said the HR committee was also pleased with the outcome of this year’s retreat. However, she said they plan on looking into changing the event from a typical color war theme to something new for years to come. “Next year we want to try going in a completely different direction with retreat,” she said. "We may look into a pool day at a hotel, laser tag, or even an overnight event; the options are endless.”
SHPE plans elementary school visit BY JOLIE SONKIN ARTS & ENT. PHOTO EDITOR
The Bay’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Jr. club will extend its passion of engineering to students at Imagine Charter Elementary School on April 9 to help the students understand more about the field of engineering. SHPE Jr. members will visit the school and create interactive experiments to do with the students. Senior and SHPE Jr. Vice President of External Affairs Isabella Chiurillo said she thought of this idea because she wanted to help her community become more knowledgeable about the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field. “For a while, I had been wanting to find a way to expand STEM opportunities to students from a young age,” Chiurillo said. “This not only exposes fifth graders to all the opportunities a career in STEM, especially engineering, affords, but also provides SHPE members with an opportunity to give back to their community.” To engage the young students, Chiurillo said she came up with activities such as constructing an egg drop challenge, rubber-band helicopters and lava lamps. Chiurillo said SHPE Jr. members will also teach lessons about the mechanics behind the experiments. “The experiments that we will conduct at the school allow our club to teach the kids how STEM can be fun too, not as hard or boring as at times is portrayed by others,” Chiurillo said. Senior and SHPE Jr. President Andrea
Vallenilla said this event is valuable for young students at Imagine Charter who are interested in math and science. “This event allows us to reach out to our community and teach kids at a young age about STEM,” Vallenilla said. Vallenilla said she is proud of Chiurillo for planning this event because it helps elementary school students become more knowledgeable about the STEM field and prepare them for the future. “Chiurillo’s idea to teach at the school is a great way for the young kids to learn about engineering to see if that is what they want to pursue in the future,” Vallenilla said. Advanced Placement Biology teacher and SHPE Jr. adviser Brandon Boswell said it is important to promote the SHPE Jr. club among young students so that they will be encouraged to become involved in the field of engineering. Mr. Boswell said SHPE Jr. is a chapter of SHPE club from the University of Florida (UF), so he wanted to extend the club’s reach even further to younger students. “So many students from Cypress [Bay] ended up going to UF for engineering, so it makes sense to start a club here and spread knowledge about this organization to the young kids at the charter school,” Mr. Boswell said. Mr. Boswell said the club’s goal is to interest Hispanics who want to pursue engineering in the future, and club members are achieving this goal by teaching students at Imagine Charter. “[SHPE club] is designed to give Spanish students the opportunity to study engineering as they are poorly represented in the STEM fields, so this is an explicit
GRAPHIC BY CASEY MENTEN
purpose,” Mr. Boswell said. “By [having members] teach at the schools, this opens the horizons to people who may want to pursue engineering in the future.” Valenilla said by teaching the students, she feels a sense of achievement. She said she feels honored to help her community learn more about science. “Seeing these kids’ faces every time we teach them something science-related allows us to see what an impact SHPE is having on the young kids,” Vallenilla said. Chiurillo said it is important for her to spread her passion for engineering to young students. She said she hopes this event motivates the students to explore
STEM fields in the future. “I hope this will encourage more kids to continue studying STEM and prepare them for success in middle school,” Chiurillo said. “SHPE gives Hispanics an opportunity to study engineering for the future.” Mr. Boswell said he is proud of SHPE Jr. members for working hard to expand the organization by teaching at the elementary school. “I know they will do an amazing job by making it fun for the kids,” Mr. Boswell said. “It is something that makes a difference to them as it is something they wanted to do which made it worthwhile for them.”
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Weston World Fest cultivates diversity BY GABBY SONKIN
GOING GLOBAL: (From top) Weston locals run the Brazil, Peru and Colombia booths at the third annual Weston World Fest on March 4 at Weston Regional Park. Each booth represented a different country and its culture, and the theme for this year was sports, so each country incorporated this theme into its booth. There were a total of 20 booths representing countries in addition to multiple other booths held to promote local businesses and restaurants. Each booth featured activities and ethnic foods where people could learn about that country’s culture. Many people spent the whole day learning about the cultures of various countries that their local peers originated.
ARTS & ENT. COPY EDITOR
The Arts Council of Greater Weston held its annual Weston World Fest on March 4 at Weston Regional Park. The Weston World Fest was originally created three years ago to give people the ability to showcase cultures from 20 different countries. The theme this year was sports, so each country incorporated this into their booth. Member of the Arts Council of Greater Weston, Vicki Rosen, said the festival is a great way to promote the diverse cultures of the Weston community. “This event is really all about giving families a chance to come together and enjoy a beautiful day,” Mrs. Rosen said. “This is just educational for families and gives them exposure to a wide range of cultures and delicious food.” Because each booth presents a different country, Mrs. Rosen said families could spend hours at the event enjoying a variety of foods and participating in many different kinds of activities such as ping pong, face painting and field hockey. “I really love the effort everyone has put into this event in making sure families become well informed about each country,” Mrs. Rosen said. “It brings me such joy when our city comes together as one to put together events like this one in particular.”
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It is very important for my family and I to show people our culture and what makes it so special.
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-freshman Daniel Cohen Freshman Daniel Cohen said his mother encouraged him to help with this event. Cohen volunteered at the Israel booth, and he said he wanted to do this because Israel was not showcased at the festival in the last two years. “We wanted the experience to inform families about the Israeli culture because most of the people who go to this event are from a Spanish speaking country,” Cohen said. “It is very important for my family and I to show people our culture and what makes it so special.” Even though the Israel booth did not give out food, Cohen said he tried to persuade people to visit the booth by presenting facts about the people, places and events in Israel. “The theme for this event is sports, so we wanted to show people what sports are most well-known in this country, such as surfing and sandboarding,” Cohen said. “We also introduced famous Jewish celebrities who most people do not know are Jewish, for example Aly Raisman who is an American gymnast and two-
PHOTOS BY GABBY SONKIN
time Olympian.” Mrs. Rosen said she was amazed at the amount of people who showed up this year as compared to the numbers from the last two years. “I think the reason why there are so many more families this is year is because of the way we publicized the event on social media,” Mrs. Rosen said. “We used social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook months in advice to expose
people to this festival.” Junior Valentina Vallalta said she heard about the opportunity to volunteer at the festival from the Promoting Relationships in Diversity through Education (PRIDE) club at the Bay. “I am a member of [PRIDE], and during meetings they were promoting this event in order to promote cultural diversity,” Vallalta said. “I had a lot of fun learning about all different cultures and
ones I have never heard of before.” Although most of the booths were there to inform families about specific countries and their cultures, a few of the booths were hosted by businesses in Weston to attract new customers. CycleBar employee Randi Eisenshtat said Weston World Fest was a great opportunity to advertise the exercise opportunities at CycleBar. “Because CycleBar is relatively new, we wanted to give people a chance to try a class entirely free,” Eisenshtat said. “Our booth displayed what each class entails and also what our mission is for our customers.” In order to draw people to their booth, Eisenshtat said CycleBar gave attendees the opportunity to participate in a raffle where they can win a free month of classes. “It was important for us to come to this festival because we have met a number of families who have showed interest in our business and have hopes of becoming the winner of our raffle at the end of the event,” Eisenshtat said. Vallalta said during most of the festival, she distributed raffle tickets to the families attending. With these raffle tickets, people had the opportunity to win gift cards. To receive rewards at the end of the festival, people had to fill out an entire “passport” by visiting every booth. “I thought it was a good idea to give an incentive for participating in all of the countries activities and learning about their culture,” Vallata said. “These children especially had a great time because they would be rewarded for it.” Vallata said even though the booths were the major part of the festival, she enjoyed the entertainment that was also provided for the community. She said there were many singers and dancers performing to express their country’s heritage. “My favorite part about the festival was watching all of the performances of either singing or dancing acts,” Vallata said. “It was so interesting to see how each culture reflected their own style in different forms of entertainment.”
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First annual Unplug Day engages phone users NEWS COPY EDITOR
To promote social interactions rather than phone usage, Student Government Association (SGA) held the first Unplug Day on March 9. Freshman and SGA member Marley Solomon coordinated this event and said she was eager to bring it to the Bay. “We’re holding Unplug Day to encourage social interaction and get people to put down their phones and live in the moment,” Solomon said. “At times, especially now and in this century, people tend to get addicted to their phones and social media. By having a day where we encourage ‘unplugging,’ we want students to understand the importance of living in the moment and not through their phones.” During lunches, SGA held booths in the courtyard, each representing a phone game, including an HQ Trivia booth, Draw Something booth and Subway Surfers. They also placed a basket on every table in the cafeteria for people to put their phones in. “We wanted to incorporate phone games in a more interactive way,” Solomon said. “Using [applications] from phones seemed like a fun twist on an unplugged day.” Junior Jason Tache spent his lunch disconnected and played some of the games at the booths. He said his favorite was the HQ Trivia booth. “This is such an awesome idea since it’s giving me something new and different to
do during lunch,” Tache said. “I had so much fun paying trivia with my friends since the questions were so funny.” Tache said he believes this day is helpful in showing students that there are more things to do than playing on their phone. “A lot of my peers lack social skills; cell phones are the product to blame for this,” Tache said. “Having a lunch day encouraging little cell phone use is, in the end, encouraging more social interaction and a better grasp of learning social skills.”
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Encouraging little cell phone use is, in the end, encouraging more social interaction and a better grasp of learning social skills.
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BY LAUREN PABIAN
-junior Jason Tache Like Tache, freshman Dean Milan said he believes cell phones have proven to be distracting to students and have caused students to not be living in the moment. “Many students and adults don’t focus on the real world enough,” Milan said. “Phones just bring people into their own world and they ignore everything else, causing them to miss out on all of the little things.” SGA adviser Danielle Nacimiento
PHOTO BY LAUREN PABIAN
TIME TO TALK: Freshman and event coordinator Marley Solomon tested juniors Jason Tache and Madison Burns in HQ Trivia during Student Government Association’s first annual Unplug Day on March 9, which took place in the courtyard during all lunches.
said she believes many people are too attached to their phones and felt this problem needed to be focused on and demoted. “I see students everyday who can’t manage to stay off their phones for an extended period of time,” Mrs. Nacimiento said. “It came to the point where l felt like SGA needed to address this and do something about it since we have such a big voice at the Bay.” This was the first time the event was held, and Mrs. Nacimiento said SGA plans on holding it again in the future. “This event was run and planned very well, so I believe if we hold another Unplug Day, it will definitely be another success as long as we run it similarly to how we did this past one,” Mrs. Nacimiento said. Milan said he used to be an avid player of the game Draw Something and was
excited to see it being offered at a booth during Unplug Day. “My favorite game was Draw Something, and seeing it at one of the booths made me so eager to play,” Milan said. “They used lots of fun, popular games, which was really enticing.” Solomon said she believes the event was a success. She said she is excited to hold it again in the future and continue demoting phone usage around the Bay. “It’s just so important for people to appreciate life and everything that’s happening around them-- not only what is happening on their phones,” Solomon said. “We definitely accomplished our goal of an ‘Unplug Day’ in promoting a greater appreciation and awareness of the world.”
SGA prepares to dance for a cause BY SABRINA BLANDON
Student Government Association (SGA) will be holding a Dance Marathon on April 27 to promote awareness and raise money for children’s hospitals across the country. At the event, students will have the chance to dance in the cafeteria for six hours to raise funds. This year, all proceeds will go to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. SGA adviser Danielle Nascimento said this is the Bay’s third Dance Marathon and that she is thrilled to make it even bigger and better this year. “We’re really excited to launch this event because it’s for a great cause and I’m sure the students will have fun,” Mrs. Nascimento said. “This event is always so much fun to watch the students prepare.”
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This is the perfect opportunity for all of us to go out and help these kids. [They] are the future, too, not just us, so we need to give them a chance to be a part of our fundraiser.
doing preparations for the event, such as creating a website where all funds for the Children’s Hospital will go. Along with the website, Mrs. Nascimento said SGA has already been in touch with the hospital to make sure everything is on track. “We’re going to try to fix any issues we had in the past to make this [Dance Marathon] even better,” Mrs. Nascimento said. “We already spoke to the hospital, -junior Daniela Colon so they know exactly what our marathon Although Dance Marathon will is about, and they were eager to hear that be held in April, SGA has been busy we’ll be helping out.”
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF SGA
This year, SGA has set a goal to raise $15,000 for the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Colon said she hopes SGA raises even more money than this goal. “[$15,000] may seem like a lot to some people, but the reason why we chose this amount is because one school in Florida raised $46,000, and they only had less than 1,000 students participate, so we feel like we can raise this much and maybe even more because our school is much bigger,” Colon said. “If we set a low goal and it turns out that we raise more money,
it’ll be great not only for the kids but for the school because we accomplished more than we wanted.” Colon said she is confident that SGA can raise a lot of money because of the dedication of the Bay’s student body. She also said students will be dancing for the Children’s Hospital, so none of the proceeds go to SGA. “I really enjoy doing this event because it’s such a fun activity for us to go out and dance for hours and while we’re having fun, we know that our productivity goes to a great cause,” Colon said. Although SGA has held this event two times in the past, it will be sophomore Michelle Duque’s first year being a part of the event, and she said she is very excited to help. As a member of SGA, she will be responsible for making posters and spreading the word to promote the event. “Even though I’ve been in SGA since freshman year, I’m really excited to start telling all my friends about it,” Duque said. “I also look forward to spending a day with my friends and knowing that we’re doing it for a good cause.” In previous years, only students from the Bay could attend Dance Marathon. Since SGA is welcoming other schools to the event this year, Colon said she is even more excited about how it will turn out. “Since this year is opened up to not all high school students, college students and even middle school students, we’re hoping that a good amount of people show up to support the cause,” Colon said. “Not only that, but we hope that everyone has fun while doing it.”
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MARCH 2018
Debate team triumphs at Harvard tournament BY RACHEL LEVITZ
The Bay’s debate team attended the 44th annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament, which took place from Feb. 17 to Feb. 19 at Harvard University in Boston. Senior Jenee Cidel said Harvard National Forensics is one of the hardest tournaments of the year with around 4,000 competitors attending. “This was Cypress Bay’s first year going to the Harvard Speech and Debate Tournament since 2015, so we were extremely excited to go back,” Cidel said. “There were so many competitors there, so I was nervous as well.” Cidel and her partner, senior Maya Hedrick, took first place in Duo Interpretation. Cidel also won first place in Program Oral Interpretation and second place in Dramatic Interpretation. In addition to Cidel, juniors Aitana Hidalgo and Lau Rodriguez also reached the finals in the Humorous Interpretation and Informative Speaking categories. “I was really proud of how well my team did,” Cidel said. “We all work very hard to perfect our presentations.” Hedrick said she enjoyed competing alongside Cidel. She said the Harvard National Forensics Tournament has been one of her favorite competitions despite its difficulty. “The Harvard tournament is very intimidating due to the amount of competitors,” Hedrick said. “My partner Jenee Cidel and I did extremely well due to all the practice we put into it.”
Cidel said Duo Interpretation is one of her favorite debate competitions, especially because she gets to work with Hedrick. She said she has partnered with Hedrick for Duo Interpretation before in many previous tournaments. “I love doing Duo Interpretation; it gives me an opportunity to connect with my partner due to the amount of skill and emotion we have to put in to our performance,” Cidel said. “It’s definitely not easy, but with the amount of times we practice perfecting our performance, it’s all worth it in the end once we see the end result of our hard work.” Like Cidel and Hedrick, sophomore Alexia Cosman also competed in the Duo Interpretation competition. Cosman made it to the finals, and she said she was very pleased with this result. “I was a little nervous due to the amount of competition at the tournament, but I ended up doing a lot better than I thought I would,” Cosman said. “Practicing really helped me along with the encouragement from my teammates.” Along with 32 team members, debate teacher Jonathan Martin attended the Harvard tournament. He said he felt very proud of the team, and this was one of the best tournaments they’ve had. “As a team, we did very well,” said Martin. “The kids really enjoyed competing at Harvard. It was a fun experience for all of us, including me.” After the tournament, team members were given the opportunity to tour Boston. Cosman said she enjoyed sightseeing in
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY NOAH RABINOVITCH
HAR(VAR)D WORK: (From left) sophomores Jonathan Lun, Tristan Wertanzl, Maria Duran, junior Noah Rabinovitch and sophomore Cory Wurtenberger earn trophies at the Harvard National Forensics Tournament in Boston after debating students nationwide. 32 members from the Bay’s team participated in the threeday competition which took place Feb. 17-19.
Boston with her friends. “It was a really fun trip and experience,” Cosman said. “Overall, getting to tour Boston and riding the T Train was my favorite part.” Cidel said she loved getting to explore Harvard’s campus. She said she was also excited for a change in scenery because the weather was cold there, unlike the warm weather she had been experiencing in Florida. “It was so much fun to be able to attend the tournament with my friends,” Cidel said. “We all loved Harvard’s campus and it snowed on Saturday, which was so pretty, and for some people, it was their
first time seeing snow.” Cosman said she is happy that she joined debate her freshman year because she has been able to participate in many competitions like Harvard National Forensics. She said she is excited to continue participating in debate tournaments in the future. “I really enjoy making speeches and arguing certain topics to get my point across,” Cosman said. “The debate team has almost become like a family to me due to all the time we spend practicing and competing with each other.”
Super testing day benefits students BY LAUREN PABIAN NEWS COPY EDITOR
Due to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for juniors and Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) for freshmen and sophomores, March 7 was declared a Super Testing Day in order to make room for all students testing. Super Testing Days are days exclusively reserved for testing and no classes are held. Assistant principal Adrienne Maisel organized the Super Testing Day to make the day run smoothly for students. “With 3,500 students testing, it was in the best interest of the school to make this day into a Super Testing Day so students could just come in and take their test without the stress of their other classes,” Ms. Maisel said. “Having so many students testing really made the decision easy to turn [March 7] into a Super Testing Day.” Freshmen took the Writing FSA in the 800s building, sophomores took it in the 400s building and juniors took the SAT in the portables. “Students were spread out all over campus,” Ms. Maisel said. “Since everyone was in different classrooms, it would have been too difficult to rearrange the remaining classes, teachers and students.” Seniors were provided with the option of calling in an excused absence or had an alternative, if they chose, to come to school that day. They were able to go to the auditorium and speak with Broward Advisors for Continuing Education adviser Shari Bush throughout the morning about any future endeavors regarding college. “Though many seniors preferred to have the day off, I’m sure it was very
GRAPHIC BY LAUREN PABIAN
helpful and interesting to talk to Ms. Bush as she is always a wonderful resource to learn from and speak with,” Ms. Maisel said. Broward County worked with College Board to get a free SAT for every junior in the county; the test was mandatory which allowed for all students from the county to obtain an SAT score. “It’s such a great thing that the county does,” Ms. Maisel said. “Every student should apply to college with an SAT score, and our county allows everyone to do so by providing this free test.” Junior Blaise Ramirez took the SAT and said he was excited to be presented with an extra opportunity to take the test. “Since it was free, many students who cannot afford to take the test multiple times are provided with another opportunity to test,” Ramirez said. “I was eager to use this extra exam to my
advantage since students in the rest of the country did not have this exam.” Though Ramirez said he was happy to be provided with the opportunity to take an extra SAT, he was disappointed in the lack of offering of the American College Testing (ACT) exam. “I am better at the ACT, so I was upset that I wasn’t offered the option to take that,” Ramirez said. “It just felt like a waste to me since I knew I wouldn’t be as successful on the SAT.” Psychology teacher Lynda Lorie said she agrees with Ramirez that students should be offered to take the ACT as well due to students’ varying strengths. “Some students are better at taking the SAT and some are better at the ACT, so students should be allowed to have the option of which test to take so everyone can have an equal opportunity to reach their maximum potential of success,”
Mrs. Lorie said. Ms. Maisel said the county partnered with College Board to provide every student with an exam to take; thus, students were not able to be provided with the option to take either exam since College Board is not affiliated with the ACT. “We wish we could give students the option, but it’s not in our jurisdiction or power,” Ms. Maisel said. “Broward County gets the exams from College Board and they are not in charge of the ACT, so we cannot offer it.” Due to the Super Testing Day, the schedule skipped the B-Day in the block scheduling calendar. This year’s schedule was created prior to the school’s notice of the large testing day. “[Skipping the B-Day] interfered with my, and I’m sure many other teacher’s, lesson plans,” Mrs. Lorie said. “Taking away an entire day of school removed a whole period for teaching and class time and gave everyone an extra A-Day where I basically couldn’t do anything since I didn’t want to get too ahead.” There will be five more Super Testing Days held throughout the rest of the 2017-2018 school year with the same intended purpose. These days will be for the Algebra 1 EOC, Geometry EOC, Reading FSA for ninth and tenth graders, U.S. History EOC and Biology 1 EOC. “We find when students come in to test on Super Testing Days, they are solely focused on the exam they need to take and don’t have the pressure of a regular day of school on top of that,” Ms. Maisel said. “Super Testing Days have proven to be super beneficial for the students since these are such high stake tests they’re taking.”
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SGA hosts first annual Club Olympics BY DREW ROACH
Student Government Association (SGA) held the first Club Olympics on Feb. 22 in the bus loop. Sophomores and SGA members Jack Ross and Sara Joseph coordinated the event together as a way for clubs to interact. SGA adviser Danielle Nascimento said she believes Ross and Joseph executed the project idea successfully. “In SGA, I work with each committee, but the students are really involved with planning and putting on the projects, so it was really up to [Ross] and [Joseph] to make sure the project went smoothly,” Mrs. Nascimento said. “I think they did a great job, and we got good feedback from the event, which is always encouraging.” During the event, the clubs participated in many activities, ranging from a pie eating contest to a relay race. Every club was given a certain amount of points after each round of games. The two clubs that earned the most points competed in a tug of war for the firstplace trophy. Joseph said they used the point system as a tactic to keep the event organized. “We definitely tried to find a system that would reward each team fairly after every activity so that we could keep track easily and keep everyone happy,” Joseph said. “I think it was successful and we will probably use this point system in the future.” For the event to run smoothly, Joseph said her SGA committee members worked together several months in advance to plan the Club Olympics. The members’ responsibilities included encouraging a sufficient number of clubs to participate in the event as well as finding a location, deciding what
PHOTO BY DREW ROACH
GOING FOR THE GOLD: Members of Student Government Association gather after hosting and competing in the first Club Olympics, which took place on Feb. 22 in the bus loop. During the event, clubs participated in many activities, ranging from a pie eating contest to a relay race.
games would be played and obtaining the supplies for these activities. “We spent a lot of time in class and after school planning all of the fun games the [club members] would be playing during the Olympics,” Joseph said. “It got stressful at times since there were so many parts to the event, but I think all of the hard work paid off in the end.” Joseph said the competition went well
because of the amount of participation she saw from all 15 of the clubs that attended. “When I was walking around, I could tell everyone there was having fun because of all the smiles, which was so great to see,” Joseph said. “I love that so many clubs signed up for this fun event and participated in all of the games we set up.”
Throughout the event, Joseph said it got hectic as she had to ensure each activity was properly set up. Although there were some complications, she said SGA will continue to host the Club Olympics in upcoming years because of the overall success and positive feedback from each of the clubs that participated. “The only thing I would have changed from the whole event would be to be a little more organized and work out the food situation beforehand instead of right before each of the games,” Joseph said. The Habitat for Humanity Club won the competition, receiving the first place title and a trophy. The club’s Vice President Erica Alejaldre said the organization’s work ethic and encouragement is what led them to success. “We are a really motivated group of people that get along really well, so it was easy for us to encourage one another and get the win,” Alejaldre said. “We had so much fun with every activity and Habitat will definitely participate in the Olympics again next year.” Due to the variety of different clubs at the event, Alejaldre said this gave everyone there an opportunity to connect with new people. “Just from looking around, I could see that a lot of clubs were having fun and that people were bonding from different clubs, which was so fun to see,” Alejaldre said. Alejaldre said one of her favorite aspects of the event was being able to get exposure for Habitat for Humanity. “We absolutely loved getting the chance to get our name out there and win a fun school event together,” Alejaldre said. “We felt really grateful for the experience we had, and we are looking forward to compete again in upcoming years.”
National Merit finalists recognized for academics BY RACHEL FRIEDMAN MANAGING EDITOR
After taking the 2016 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/ NMSQT) their junior year, seniors were finally recognized on Feb. 5 as finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program, representing the top one percent of high school students in the nation. With 17 students achieving this title, the Bay had the largest amount of qualified students over any other school in Broward County. Finalist Zachary Wurtenberger said he took extreme pride in achieving this title and was excited to share the accomplishment with his family immediately after being notified. “It made me so happy to hear I was a National Merit finalist. As excited as I was though, it made me even happier and prouder to tell my family afterwards that I had made it. Within 10 minutes of finding out, I called my parents and all four of my grandparents to tell them the news,” Wurtenberger said. “I felt pretty solid about my chances of becoming a finalist, but still, there's always that nagging bit of doubt that never went away until I finally found out.” Aside from the benefit of being awarded scholarship money, Wurtenberger acknowledged another advantage to achieving this title. “The main benefit [of being a finalist is] getting to put ‘National Merit finalist’ on my résumé, which should greatly
help my chances with some of the more competitive schools,” he said. “Also, it should net me a little more money from those schools.” Finalist Christian Pichardo said he is awaiting decisions from seven universities and is excited to be able to have this scholarship opportunity to put towards one of those seven. “It was really cool to be named alongside this group of really smart kids,” Pichardo said. “Colleges look at [this title] really positively; a lot of them even offer their own scholarships for finalists.” Like Wurtenberger, finalist Hannah Rothbard recognized the benefits of attaining this title and said she is excited about this achievement because it is representative of her academic efforts. “I was proud to find out that I am a finalist because all my hard work has come to fruition,” she said. “Being a finalist puts me in a better position to receive scholarship money, and in the future it is a nice title to put on my résumé.” Broward Advisors for Continuing Education (BRACE) adviser Ysabella Herrera said she credits the high amount of finalists to the ambition of the class of 2018. “[BRACE Adviser Shari Bush] has stated many times how competitive this senior class has been in her experience,” she said. “This has proven to be 100 percent correct as I have come to work with them.” Mrs. Herrera suggested that students
GRAPHIC BY AUSTIN DUNNE
striving for the National Merit finalist title in the future use Khan Academy to familiarize themselves with the types of questions they will encounter on the test. “I am a big fan of Khan Academy,” she said. “It is tailored to help students identify where they may need the extra help, and they can even take real practice tests [through it].” Both Wurtenberger and Rothbard acknowledged the importance of preparing with practice tests for the PSAT. “I met with an SAT tutor who went through practice tests with me and helped me through problems and questions that gave me trouble,” Rothbard said. “Underclassmen should take lots of
practice tests and make sure to work out problems and questions they miss because similar ones will come up on the PSAT and SAT.” After learning tips in an SAT class, Wurtenberger shared advice for underclassmen that proved to be successful for him on his PSAT. “For underclassmen: read the short description at the start of the [reading] passage before you actually read the full thing. It's easy to skip, but that'll give you all the context you need to understand the passage, which is huge,” Wurtenberger said. “Also, skim the passage as a whole. Just get the gist of it, and move on to the questions; that's where you get the points from.”
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Lots o’ Luck BY NYAH HARDMON FEATURES COPY EDITOR
Each time junior Trystine Felleman notices a penny on the ground, she said she can’t help but pick the coin up and keep it as a token of good fortune. Felleman stores her collection of charmed pennies in two jars resting on her bedside table, crediting them for any fortunate event that she experiences. “My grandma once told me pennies grant you good luck and ever since, I have been saving them up,” Felleman said. “Collecting pennies is just a habit of mine I have developed ever since I was little.” According to Felleman, her friends and family often comment on how many times situations tend to work out in her favor. Though it may seem obvious to those around her, she said she has the same amount of fortune as any other person. “For example, last week, the one day I was running late and missed my bus, my friend just happened to still be on campus and offer me a ride,” Felleman said. “I felt relieved to have lucked out like that, but I think it could have happened to anyone. We all have those good moments.” Felleman said she wasn’t always so eager to believe in superstitions, but as she continued to collect pennies, she has accepted the power of intangible forces like karma. “I’m still not sure if I 100 percent believe in the pennies, but keeping them eventually adds up to a few dollars,” Felleman said. “Even if nothing else happens, I am fortunate enough to end up with more money than I started with.” When junior Ana Mendez entered a raffle while on her flight to Curaçao, she said she did not expect to win. Despite her assumptions, however, Mendez said she experienced her big break when she won the contest. “When they collected all the entries and drew a number, they ended up picking my number,” Mendez said. “Against all odds, we walked off the flight with a free plane ticket.” Like Mendez, sophomore Maggie
Ordonez experienced a similar stroke of happenstance when she visited Chicago in November 2016 during the annual World Series baseball games. She and her family are Chicago Cubs fans, but they did not purchase tickets to the final World Series game. Ordonez’s fate shifted courses when she began discussing the upcoming game with her brother at a local restaurant in downtown Chicago, and a stranger who had been listening in interrupted their conversation. “We were pretty disappointed because we would be in the city during this huge moment in sports history, but not be able to witness it,” Ordonez said. “But then, this random man turned around and after introducing himself, asked us if we were going to the big game. When we told him that we didn’t have any tickets, he offered us his.”
Ordonez said the stranger was not able to attend the World Series game, and instead of wasting the tickets, he decided to share them with fellow Chicago Cubs fans. Ordonez said she can only credit the series of fortunate events to being at the right place at the right time. “I was so surprised, I could barely thank him at first,” Ordonez said. “We ended up sitting in one of the front rows, and the whole time I was there, I could barely believe it was happening.” While both Ordonez and Mendez said their experiences were once-in-a-lifetime occurrences, junior Daniela Tobon said her mother has always been graced with
favorable outcomes. “Growing up, she would always be the one to find different amounts of money on the floor,” Tobon said. According to Tobon’s mother Patricia Suarez, she experienced unintentional success when she went to a casino for the first time. “I promised myself that I was only going to spend a certain amount of money, so I put in $20 and hoped for the best,” Mrs. Suarez said. Mrs. Suarez ended the night with more than $100, which she said was more than she thought she could win since casino games depend on fate.
“Even though looking back I didn’t win a lot, I was just so happy that I could walk away with more than what I came in with,” Mrs. Suarez said. “That kind of stuff has happened to me my whole life, and each time I am still surprised.” Mendez said she was ecstatic once she discovered she won her raffle because unlike Mrs. Suarez, she had previously never scored free money. She said her chances of acquiring a prize from random sweepstakes are relatively low, so she prefers focusing more on outcomes that she can control. “I do believe in luck because there are some times when that is the only explanation,” Mendez said. “But other times, you have to make the good things happen yourself.” Mrs. Suarez said she believes unforeseen blessings are beautiful to witness in action because they defy all expectations. “I believe in miracles,” Mrs. Suarez said. “I consider them wonderful because the odds of me achieving something can be incredibly low but somehow, someway I am still able to make it happen.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ANA MENDEZ
LUCKY LAD: (From left) junior Ana Mendez and her brother vacation with their family to Curaçao after winning a raffle for a free plane ticket. She said the odds were not in her favor since many people were a part of it, but she was happily surprised when she won. Sophomore Maggie Ordonez and her boyfriend attended the 2016 World Series in Chicago after a stranger gifted them tickets. She said it was a stroke of luck that a generous man gave them his seats and that she and her boyfriend were able to watch the game.
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY MAGGIE ORDONEZ
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End of year exam preparation commences ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
As the school year winds down, students and teachers are prepping for the Advanced Placement (AP) and Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) examinations. Testing coordinator Adrienne Maisel said she feels all teachers at the Bay are properly trained to teach and prepare students for their exams in April and May. However, Mrs. Maisel said the Bay does not ensure its passing rate easily. Teachers spend all school year preparing their students for the nationwide exams at the end of their courses. Mrs. Maisel said she speaks with College Board and Cambridge throughout the year to ensure that students are on the correct path to successfully take the test and to register each individual student for the exams. “College Board are very helpful in any way to assist our school. I am always working with them to make sure our students are able to achieve their highest potential,” she said. With the amount of students enrolled in AP and AICE courses, teachers take on a huge responsibility to prepare their students. AICE and AP Psychology teacher Lynda Lorie said she starts preparing her students well in advance to take these exams. “The AICE and AP exams are not easy,” Mrs. Lorie said. “It takes months to prepare these students to sit down for this
exam. There are many different methods I use to ensure my students know all of the information they need to know.” One tactic that Mrs. Lorie utilizes is making sure students are aware of the mistakes they have made on the assessments in her classroom.
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It takes months to prepare these students to sit down for this exam. There are many different methods I use to ensure my students know all of the information they need to know.
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BY CARLI UDINE
-AICE and AP Psychology teacher Lynda Lorie “If my students are able to know what they did wrong and know how to correct their mistakes in my own class, they will know what to do on the exam,” Mrs. Lorie said. “I think it is so important that we go over every test we take as a class, so students can see what their strengths and weaknesses are and what they need to improve.” Senior Gregory May said the activities he has been doing in his AICE Psychology class have not only been
GRAPHIC BY ANNABELLE DANIELS-ROSENBERG
helping him prepare for that exam but for his other AICE exams as well. “Mrs. Lorie has been introducing our class to many useful skills that I know I will use when I am sitting down taking that exam,” May said. May said the most beneficial tactic he has been practicing is going over all of the in-class assessments in depth. “I think the best way to learn is to see your own mistakes,” he said. “The repetition of activities we do in class is very useful in trying to learn the ins and
outs of a specific exam, especially one that is so specific like Psychology.” May also said participating in class helps him retain information for quizzes, tests and, especially, the AICE exam. “The fact that teachers encourage participation is also very helpful,” May said. “When students are actively involved in the class, it is much easier to learn and get into the material in order to be prepared for the big exams at the end of the school year.”
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Tattoos uncover personal messages BY HAYLEY PRINCZ FEATURES PHOTO EDITOR
On senior Ofek Ben-David’s 18th birthday, he commemorated the day with a permanent mark: a tattoo. Ben-David said he admires the individuality and beauty within tattoos, which inspired him to get one for his birthday in December. “There really is no difference between having a tattoo and not having a tattoo,” he said. “It really all comes down to the simple idea that tattoos are just body art.” Ben-David decided to imprint a crown with Roman numerals underneath it, stating his birth year. He said he chose a crown because his last name is translated into “son of David,” David being an ancient Hebrew king alluded to in the Torah. “I think my tattoo is significant because if you are not treating yourself like royalty, then what are you doing?” Ben-David said. Like Ben-David, senior Hussein Odeh said his first tattoo ties to his bloodline and reminds him of his grandfather. “My first tattoo is the name of this made-up character my grandpa used to tell me stories about growing up,” Odeh said. “I have it spelled in Arabic and it just reminds me of my back story.” Since first getting this tattoo in October, he has added more tattoos to his body, each one conveying a different meaning. “Each tattoo represents either a memory that I had or something that reminds me of my culture or childhood,” Odeh said. Senior Adi Ben-Dayan, who got her tattoo over the summer, said her body art ties to her family history as well. She said she decided get a tattoo of a Sanskrit Om symbol on her body because it is one of the seven chakras and correlates with peace. “My tattoo represents my mom to me because I got it with my mom, in Israel, on her birthday. It also represents my religion, so it has a huge overall meaning,” Ben-Dayan said. “It resembles the good and the bad in life; it’s meant to take away all the evil that shall follow.” Like Ben-Dayan, junior Jacob Wucher said his tattoo, a half-sleeve of three wolves on his left arm, makes him feel more in tune with his family. “It’s a family tattoo. My dad and brother have the same exact one. Although all of ours turned out a little different, they were all done by the same tattoo artist,” Wucher said. “It represents loyalty to my family and that they will always come first.” Although Wucher said he is happy with the ink, he said he has felt criticized by others for having this ingrained on his body at such a young age. “The people who criticize me tend to be older people,” Wucher said. “I think it’s because they don’t understand what tattoos can mean to people.” Ben-David said he has also received criticism for his tattoo; nevertheless, he said he embraces the artwork. “If anyone tries anything, I just tell them to mind their own business,” BenDavid said. “It’s my body, not theirs. If I want a tattoo, I’m going to get a tattoo and that’s that.” Like Ben-David, senior Manuela Arango said she ignores the negative opinions regarding her tattoos as they are something she is proud to wear every day.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY MANUELA ARANGO
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JACOB WUCHER
“Most people don’t criticize my tattoos, at least not to my face. I have had times where family members make rude remarks about ‘getting a job’ or ‘devaluing my body,’ which I think is stupid. If an establishment won’t give me a job because I have a tattoo, then that is not a job I want,” Arango said. “If anything, my body is becoming more valuable now that it has art on it. I usually brush off negative comments and tell those who criticize me that I like my tattoos.” Arango got two tattoos when she was 16 and said her favorite is one she got with her parents: a trinity symbol, which she said represents her bond with her parents. “I have a very close relationship with my parents and we decided to get these
tattoos on a trip to Hawaii, which is our favorite place in the world,” Arango said. “It keeps my parents close to me even when they are far. I’m proud of my relationship with them and I hope it never changes. I am who I am because of them.” Similar to Arango, Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Comparative Politics teacher Jason Gordon said his tattoos are works of art that transpire a deeper meaning. “My tattoos are based on important people in my life, my beliefs and philosophies,” Mr. Gordon said. “Tattoos are a way of expressing myself. I feel like I have a story to tell.” As a teacher, Mr. Gordon said he does not mind sharing his tattoos and their
TATTED UP: (From top) senior Manuela Arango has two tattoos. She said her trinity symbol, which she got while on a trip to Hawaii, represents her bond with her parents. As she has a close relationship with her parents, she said the ink keeps them close to her even when they are far. Because Arango is fascinated with artwork, she said she hopes to continue adding more tattoos to her collection. Similar to Arango, junior Jacob Wucher represents his family through his tattoo of three wolves on his left arm. Each wolf symbolizes a member in his family. Wucher’s brother and his father have the same tattoo made by the same artist. Although Wucher said he faced criticism from many older people regarding his tattoo, he is proud to show off his family pride.
stories with his students. “More often in the past, I shared my tattoos with students,” Mr. Gordon said. “They would want to know what each tattoo symbolizes or what they were.” Arango said her personal artwork has built up her confidence and self-identity, thus she said she aspires to continue adding more tattoos to her collection as she grows up. “I am planning on getting tattoos in the future, but I’m not sure what I want yet,” Arango said. “Getting a tattoo makes me feel empowered because I am choosing what to put on my body and keep it there forever. It is something important to me that will become part of my identity.”
MARCH 2018
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Tuition: $52,960
Undergrad Enrollment: 6,571
ACT Composite: 29-32
SAT Composite: 1480
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Percent of applicants admitted 30%
Q&A with a current student
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Tulane University is a private research university located in New Orleans, Lousiana with more than 10,000 students enrolled. 2015 Bay alumna Nicole Kaufman is currently a junior at the university. She spoke to the Circuit’s Mult. News Editor Olivia Landsman via text. Why did you decide to go to Tulane University? I decided to go to Tulane because I wanted to branch out of the Florida bubble I had always been confined to. I needed to go to college in a place that could teach me life lessons and let me explore. Tulane has the city of New Orleans surrounding it, and the city of New Orleans is filled with culture, music, food, entertainment and more.
What advice would you give to students going on to college? I honestly believe everyone should love their college as much as I love Tulane. Tulane provides you with a way to give back to the community, experience new places and foods you normally wouldn’t, and meet people who you never would have had the chance to. Tulane is a work-hard, play-hard school. Everyone takes their academics very seriously but we all love to have a good time to reward ourselves for our hard work. What do you hope to do once you graduate? I’m not sure what my future looks like. I still have ways to go to get to where I want to be in life. I hope to pursue a job in the music industry and Tulane provides me with classes to help me learn the ropes. I am currently in an
Introduction to Music Business class, gym or take a walk in Audubon park. which introduced me to important Wherever you walk on campus, you people in the music business such as see the beauty of New Orleans. David Geffen and Shep Gordon. What specific opportunities has How did your experiences at the Bay Tulane offered you so far? Tulane has a public service requirement prepare you for college? Cypress Bay was a huge part of getting which allowed me to integrate myself me to where I am today. Without all of in the city and the people of New the knowledge I acquired at Cypress Orleans. One of my service learnings Bay, I wouldn’t be in college. The was spent visiting an elementary faculty and staff taught me what I school once a week and teaching the needed to know. Being a Cypress Bay students how to read. Tulane has also cheerleader taught me the importance given me the experience of Greek life. I am currently a member of Pi of teamwork. Beta Phi, and without this sorority, I What is your daily life like on would never have met some of my best friends. I have the opportunity to give campus? I wake up every morning and attend all back to the community in the way of of my classes from Monday to Friday. philanthropy and I have learned how I like to keep all of my classes in the important it is to find people who have morning, so I have the rest of the day your back, no matter what the situation to do my school work and go to the is.
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School tragedy provokes activism BY CASSIDY SHELDON & JESSICA SOBEL FEATURES EDITOR & ONLINE FEATURES EDITOR
After returning to school on Feb. 15, the day after 17 lives were taken at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) mass shooting, junior Jason Tache said the environment at the Bay had shifted. “School still does not really feel the same. Everything is just a little off,” Tache said. “Seeing police officers with assault rifles strapped to their chests and seeing my friends and classmates that I know will never be able to have the same lives again- it changes things. It does not let you forget.” Senior Class President Julia Levy said the closeness of MSD to the Bay amplified her feelings. She said her personal connections to those at Douglas made the situation seem more real than other shootings. “Because [MSD] is so close, we know people who were in that school who experienced this, and because of the actual proximity and similarities between the Bay and Douglas, it frightens us even more,” Levy said. “We are such similar schools and we would have never imagined anything to happen in Parkland, but it did. Just the fact that anything could have happened here scares a lot of students.” Like Levy, Tache said the proximity of Douglas made him more concerned about the safety of himself and his peers. “This has made me hyper-aware,” Tache said. “Everyone has always known security could not do much in its current role to stop something like this from happening; however, it now feels like a reality of something that could happen, not just an abstract scenario.” Levy said she is confident that Principal Neely is ensuring that students are in good hands. With security increasing, Levy said she feels completely safe returning back to school. “I was all right coming back to school. I was a little nervous and I made sure I was close to a door all day in case something were to happen,” Levy said. “I know that Cypress is a very good school and Mr. Neely is taking all of the precautions necessary to make sure nothing like this happens to us which helped to calm me down.” Similar to Levy, school counselor Rosa Mazzocca said she feels confident the Bay is taking the necessary steps to ensure everyone’s safety. “I always felt safe, but due to the open layout of our school, I am happy to know that Mr. Neely and administration have increased the safety measures to maintain the Bay a safe place,” Mrs. Mazzocca said. “I am extremely thankful for our security staff and school resource officers.” Returning back to school the next day, Mrs. Mazzocca said she was prepared to assist any student or faculty member in need. “I came back to school with a heavy heart, ready to help our students and staff,” Mrs. Mazzocca said. “I have been trying to help students cope with feelings of vulnerability, hopelessness and sadness. Identifying our feelings is the first step to learn coping skills.” Like Mrs. Mazzocca, Advanced Placement Psychology teacher David Geller said he was concerned about the feelings of his students and faculty
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY JULIA LEVY
MSD STRONG: In the wake of the school shooting at Majory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) on Feb. 14, students across the nation have been reacting to the tragedy by raising their voices, including students here at the Bay.(Clockwise from left) senior Class President Julia Levy said she was motivated by her personal connections to those at MSD to speak up about gun reform and show her support for the victims in any way she could. This prompted Levy to help coordinate a school walk-out where students were given the opportunity to leave class and unify for a common cause.
members as he returned to school. He said his door will remain open to anyone who needs help coping with the tragedy. “I was more worried about my students and their feelings. I was thinking about the reaction of my peers at Douglas and [the Bay] and how they were feeling,” Mr. Geller said. “I wanted to get back so I could be there in case students needed me. We spoke about it in every one of my classes. We had many major discussions for several days.” Mr. Geller said it is important that people don’t merely regard MSD as another name on the mass shooting list. Through raising awareness, he said he is hopeful that the students will one day impact legislation. “The kids from Douglas have been so outspoken and eloquent talking on TV and going to Tallahassee. They have really kept this whole situation alive,” Mr. Geller said. “Hopefully they’ll continue with it so people do not forget, and maybe we can make a difference in next year’s elections with all the 18-year-olds coming to vote.” As a result of the Douglas tragedy, Tache said he has been encouraged to speak up politically.
“[The shooting] has obviously changed a lot for every student, especially in Broward County, but for me personally, it has changed the way I feel about the importance of voting and being politically involved,” he said. “I am starting to notice a shift in passion towards political issues and I am trying to have as many conversations with people as possible while this passion is fresh.” Similar to Tache, Levy said she has been inspired to take action. After the shooting, she coordinated with senior Devon Stoloff and Mr. Neely to organize a walkout with intentions of showcasing the Bay’s support for MSD. Through protesting, speaking out and voting, she said the younger generation will be able to provoke necessary change. “I think the most important thing to do at this moment is to stand with Douglas and show them that they are not alone. I think it is important for kids to stand up and advocate for safety in our schools,” Levy said. “Marching is great advocating and peaceful protests are great, but we need to encourage people to register to vote because that is how change will happen.” Alongside Levy and many students
at the Bay, Tache participated in the walkout. He said seeing thousands of students and faculty members marching hand in hand was an experience he will never forget. “During the walk, I felt hope, pride, passion, love and excitement. It was just so great to see so many people unify behind one cause,” Tache said. “With a school as large and diverse in interests as Cypress, you really do not ever get to see everyone focusing on and supporting one thing. I cannot even begin to describe in words how impactful it was.” Tache said seeing the courageous Douglas students speaking up against gun violence has motivated him to join the Eagles in their flight. “Seeing all of the kids from Douglas reminds me that I can always be better. I thought I was doing as much to effect change as any high school student can, but these kids from Douglas have proved me wrong,” Tache said. “It is truly inspiring to see the potential that exists in other high schoolers.”
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In this issue’s recurring segment that gives students an opportunity to learn more about the teachers they see every day, staffer Jake Miller interviews biology teacher, Ruth Hager.
How does teaching coincide with your personality? I think teaching matches perfectly with my personality. I played [the game] “school� as a child with my younger sister, so I would say that provided an indirect base for my career as a teacher. What do you find to be the most exciting part about being a teacher? My favorite part about being a teacher is] looking at the students and seeing their possibilities and seeing how far they can go in life. Being able to look at all my students and the next generation makes me proud of all of
What do you think is the most benthe positive ways they will affect change in the world. All of my students are fun eficial aspect of teaching at the Bay? Students here are great and motivated. and make my job as a teacher enriching. I enjoy teaching them. I also enjoy spendWhat is something outside of ing time with the other teachers here as school that you are passionate about well. Administration lets us do our jobs, and how does it relate to your job as a which is not always the case, so that is a plus. science teacher? I am kind of intrigued by 23andme What inspired you to become a and Ancestry.com. It allows me to see where I came from, where my children teacher? I have always had a love of teaching came from, and I believe that is rather interesting. I also think that people are and helping others learn. It truly was more multicultural than they think they what I was interested in most when I was are. It all applies to what we learned in young. School was a big factor in my life and it helped shape me into the teacher I biology for genetics. am today. Additionally, I enjoyed teachWhat other professions have you ing classmates, and my sister, material we had learned. had? My first job I ever had was a cashier What do you hope students take position at a local grocery store while I was in high school, and I worked for a away from your curriculum? I hope that students see the true meancandy shop and a movie theater while attending college. Being a parent allows ing behind school, besides just reading you to have a perspective on things. Be- textbooks and taking tests. I want them to ing a cashier or in a candy shop when in take away the experience that high school college did not really help me. It is be- has to offer and take away important parts coming a parent that helps with social of school that can help them later in life. As far as my curriculum goes, I hope that skills.
students see the importance of biology because it is the study of what is around you. I want my students to take away the importance of family and the importance of the environment as well. What methods do you use to keep students active and involved? I try to incorporate labs into my curriculum. I find that this generally makes students very hands-on and engaged when it comes to wanting to learn. Labs interest students because it allows them to incorporate things they use in everyday life and allows them to see how they would be able to take a scientific perspective on the topic. For example, when we looked at pond water under microscopes, students could use this same lab to determine the cleanliness of their neighborhood pond or lake.
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Fight for gun control yields change BY RACHEL ALEXANDER
Sophomore Beau Simon is one of several students at the Bay who frequently voices his political opinion. Simon went to Tallahassee twice to discuss changes in politics with government representatives. Simon said he has strong political views and enjoys discussing these views with others. “It is so very important that young adults voice their opinions in today’s society,” Simon said. “I think everyone should register to vote as soon as they can because it really shows that America is a democracy and the beauty in getting to choose who is elected.” Simon said he found his passion for politics through his public speaking experiences. He has lobbied for legislation and has spoken to senators about funding for public education. “I’ve always been fond of democracy and how it is run,” Simon said. “Tallahassee was made for me. One day I hope to exercise my rights and my voice and hopefully run for public office.” Like Simon, sophomore Grace Chrupcala visited Tallahassee to speak with state legislators about gun control laws. She said she felt it was the least she could do to support Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) after their recent school shooting. “I knew that it was important to go and speak to the state legislators and try to get something done,” Chrupcala said. “It is so important for the people in government to hear what the students have to say because we are the future of this country.” When she was in the sixth grade, Chrupcala visited Washington D.C. to advocate for the Arthritis Foundation. She said this experience inspired her love for politics and expanded her governmental knowledge. “Politics has changed my view on everything. It is so much more complicated,” Chrupcala said. “Things are not as black and white as they appear.” Junior and Co-President of the Political Awareness Club (PAC) Jason Tache said his interest in politics grew during his discussions at PAC meetings. During the club’s meetings, they have speeches and discussions regarding numerous political topics. “I feel as though politics is encompassing of all different aspects of life, so it is a great avenue to be able to combine all kinds of passions,” Tache said. Senior and Student Government Association President Harrison Miller attended a meeting with Broward County officials after the shooting at MSD. He said he is taking advantage of this opportunity to voice his opinion on gun control. “We will be the generation to make a change,” Miller said. “I encourage every
FIGHT FOR CHANGE: Sophomores Grace Chrupcala, Ashley Keene and Beau Simon represent the Bay in Tallahassee to advocate for a change in gun laws nationwide. They participated in the gun control rally which took place on the steps of the old Capitol building. They spoke with state legislators about gun control in retrospect of the school shooting that transpired at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14. Students around the country have been protesting to try to get through to politicians on both state and national levels. They have organized schoolwide walk-outs and other events to honor the victims on the Douglas shooting.
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY GRACE CHRUPCALA
student to voice their opinion if they have something to say.” Holocaust history and English teacher Leslie Rheingold and English teacher Barbara Ehrlich have offered to sponsor a club with the goal of ending gun violence. Mrs. Rheingold said they hope to keep students actively engaged in the political process in regards to assault weapons and gun violence. “I grew up in the sixties and early seventies, so activism is a part of my DNA,” Mrs. Rheingold said. “I want to instill in today’s students a drive to get involved and understand that they can make a difference.” Mrs. Rheingold said she has had an interest in politics ever since she was a young girl. She said she enjoyed
using political music to help expand her knowledge on politics. “The lyrics of the music we listened to taught us about what was happening,” Mrs. Rheingold said. “You simply had to listen to the Beatles and others from my day to know the politics of the day and to understand the importance of one’s vote to make a change.” Sophomore Ashley Keene went to Tallahassee to try to influence policy making. She said going to the state capital was an eye-opening adventure and it gave her a completely different perspective of society. Throughout her trip, Keene said she and her friends bonded over their common goal: stricter gun control. “I think now more than ever we have to use our voices and keep the pressure
on the government,” Keene said. “There are so many of us that if we really keep going and stick together, we can evoke a real change.” At first Keene said she thought her voice did not matter, but after the shooting at MSD, she was directly affected and said she was tired of being ignored and neglected by the government. Since individuals in high school are nearing the voting age, she said she thinks it is important for students to be politically active so they can make educated votes. “We might think that politics has nothing to do with us, but for a lot of people it does or it will soon,” Keene said. “Being informed and active can really help push us in the direction we want.”
“It is so very important that young adults voice their opinions in today’s society,” Simon said. “I think everyone should register to vote as soon as they can because it really shows that America is a democracy and the beauty in getting to choose who is elected.” Simon said he found his passion for politics through his public speaking experiences. He has lobbied for legislation and has spoken to senators about funding for public education.
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THE THINGS THEY CARRIED FEATURING GILLIAN GLATER AND HER BACKPACK
“The Things They Carried” is a recurring segment that examines the personalities of individual students through the contents of their backpacks. This month, Head Photo Editor Rachel Silverman interviews sophomore Gillian Glater to discover the meaning behind five items.
DECK OF CARDS Rather than draining her phone battery, Glater opts to play with her deck of cards when she has free time in a class. Although they don’t get much use, Glater said she likes how the card games keep her busy during testing season when her teachers begin to give less classwork. “A lot of kids brought cards at the end of last year to school and I thought it was a really good idea, so I started carrying my own this year,” Glater said. “I like having the cards because I always have something to do and I never get bored in school.”
WATER BOTTLE Rather than using countless plastic bottles a day, Glater opts to carry a reusable Hydro Flask water bottle instead. She said she likes to personalize her bottle with stickers showcasing her personality. ” I put the stickers on my Hydro Flask because it helps me differentiate my [water] bottle from everyone else’s,” Glater said. “I also feel that the stickers are another way of expressing myself besides my clothes and physical appearance.”
ORANGE RIBBON Glater recently added an orange ribbon to her backpack in honor of her friend Jaime Guttenberg, who passed away at the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. She said orange was Jaime’s favorite color so the ribbon reminds her of her best friend and all of their fond memories together. “Having the ribbon on my bag is just one way that I keep Jaime in my memory,” Glater said. “At this point, most people know that the orange ribbon is in Jaime’s memory, as it has been all over the news, but I know that by other people seeing it on my bag it helps them remember the tragedy too since it is so important to not forget.”
CHAPSTICK Instead of opting for any chapstick, Glater has a go-to product that she won’t go to school without: Blistex. She said this lip balm works wonders on her dry lips and it has become an item she could not go to school without. “Blistex is my favorite and makes my lips really soft. I just love it so much,” Glater said. ”I am sure that other people use it too, but in comparison to all of the other kinds of chapstick, this works the best and makes
GIFT CARDS
In case she ever plans a spontaneous shopping trip after school, Glater said she does not leave the house without gift cards attached to her keys. She said she never knows when she will need to make a purchase, so she likes to keep them handy at all times. “I don’t know why I bring the gift cards to school, since I can’t use them here, but I guess I feel more comfortable with them,” Glater said. “Sometimes I go shopping after school or hang out with my friends, so I feel like it is better safe than sorry, and I should just keep the gift cards with me.”
FUNKY PEN Although Glater said her favorite writing instrument may look unusual, she said this multi-functional pen has drastically improved her handwriting, so she carries it with her all day. “I am sure it is just a coincidence or my mind playing tricks, but I have not stopped using this pen since I got it, and since then, my handwriting looks so much better,” Glater said. “The pen is also a stylus, which I sometimes use on my phone, and I use the hair part of it to clean my phone screen.”
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The ribbon on my bag is just one way that I keep Jaime in my memory. I know that seeing it on my bag helps [other people] remember the tragedy too since it is so important to not forget. -sophomore Gillian Glater
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Couponing lifestyle makes shopping easier BY SOPHIA HANDLEY
Whether it’s for groceries or school supplies, freshman Juliet Bell cuts and clips coupons with her mom. She said she has fully embraced the extreme couponing lifestyle after realizing how much money her family had saved so far. “While growing up, my mom has always saved gift cards and coupons from magazines,” Bell said. “As I grew older, I picked up on the trend and by doing this, I have saved so much money.”
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I really want to get more on track with my couponing because I know the few extra hours will eventually add up to a lot of extra money.
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-junior Lauren Nau
While Bell believes there are great financial benefits of her hobby, she said the time and effort it takes to go through magazines and search for gift cards is a hassle; therefore, her mother Tammie Bell usually ends up doing the digging. “Juliet usually doesn’t have a lot of time to organize the coupons, so I usually end up doing that part for her since she is always so busy with school and sports,” Mrs. Bell said.
Bell said couponing can be difficult, but thanks to her organization skills, the process is much more efficient. “Whenever I am running out of the house to go to the mall with my friends, it makes it a lot easier when everything is organized,” Bell said. “I really appreciate that my mom helps me with organizing the coupons into bags for me.” Like Bell, junior Lauren Nau said she enjoys couponing and saving money. However, she said she never ends up completing the task since it is too time consuming. “Although I love to save money, I just never set aside the time to organize the coupons I have,” Nau said. “I always tend to have to dig through a large bag full of coupons and it takes way too long.” Nau said she and her mother love teaming up to save money. While her mother is in charge of clipping and cutting, Nau said she enjoys the shopping aspect. “My mom will sometimes gather the coupons together for me before I am about to leave to do some shopping. Besides that, the coupons and gift cards are in a big mess,” Nau said. Bell said she likes to keep her coupons in a plastic bag, so the process is easier and more organized for when she goes on her shopping sprees. “Whenever I go out with my mom and sister to do some shopping, we always carry around multiple plastic bags with all different sorts of coupons in them,” Bell said. Bell’s mother said she finds the time to
GRAPHIC BY ANNABELLE DANIELS-ROSENBERG
sort through her magazines because she has noticed the great financial return over the years. “Since I am constantly going food shopping for my family, I have really seen how much couponing has saved me,” Mrs. Bell said. “Even if it is a couple of dollars a week, it adds up, and why not put in a little extra time to get free money?” While Nau said she has a hectic schedule, she said she hopes to dedicate more time to organize and compile her coupons.
“I know as I get older and will soon live on my own, those extra couple of dollars will really help, especially in college,” Nau said. “I really want to get more on track with my couponing because I know the few extra hours will eventually add up to a lot of extra money.”
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Class of 2008
‘I cannot imagine myself doing anything else.’ Alumna Erica Machado returns to her alma mater to launch her teaching career. BY ELLIE SACHS
Alumna Erica Machado graduated from the Bay in 2008; however, she is now back at her high school 10 years later as an Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Literature teacher. After graduating high school, Mrs. Machado said she always envisioned herself becoming a teacher but never imagined she would get the chance to work at her alma mater. “Being a teacher at Cypress Bay was always ideal and would have been the most amazing thing for me,” Mrs. Machado said. “I think I was lucky that I ended up doing my masters in South Florida and was able to apply here.” After being a teacher for over three years now, Mrs. Machado said she has found many aspects of teaching English that she enjoys. “I love teaching a humanities class in general,” Mrs. Machado said. “This is the only class that I would want to teach where I feel my time and my energy is having a lasting impact.” Comparing the experiences of being a teacher at the Bay versus a student, Mrs. Machado said she has a new viewpoint on the academic rigor. However, she said she is able to understand the pressures put on her students since she was once in their shoes. “I definitely have a new perspective on the academic competition at Cypress as a teacher. I think I was less aware of that as a student; not that I got bad grades, but I was not part of that competitive top-of-my-class group of students,” Mrs. Machado said. “I try to be aware about what my students are stressed about so that I can give them advice that they can actually implement.” Despite graduating 10 years ago, Mrs. Machado said there are many aspects of the school that have stayed the same since her high school career. She said these similarities add to her love of teaching. “I had a great time at Cypress Bay with no complaints,” Mrs. Machado said. “I was in the band, which is still a huge program. My graduating class was known as the largest high school class that the United States had ever seen from a public high school.” Mrs. Machado said certain smells and sounds take her back to her high school career, as if she were back to being a student roaming through the hallways. “It’s really weird but Cypress Bay smells the same as it did ten years ago,” Mrs. Machado said. “As soon as I walk through the doors, I’m like, that is Cypress Bay’s smell.” Mrs. Machado said she encourages her students to take advantage of every high school experience and to follow their own paths. “I’m just excited for my students to go out into the world and do their thing, especially this year because it is my first time teaching seniors,” Mrs. Machado said. Mrs. Machado graduated with a major in English Literature from the University
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ERICA MACHADO
of Florida (UF) in 2012. She said her degree could have been applicable toward other career options, but she is happy with her decision to teach. “If I didn’t become a teacher, I could see myself doing something in photography or actually maybe something in editing so that I would still use my degree,” Mrs. Machado said. “But I cannot imagine myself doing anything else.” While studying at UF, Mrs. Machado worked at the English Language Institute, where she was given the opportunity to teach students from all over the world who wanted to learn English. She said her time teaching there influenced her decision to pursue a career in teaching. “Even though I wasn’t teaching any subject and I was only teaching the English Language and American culture, that experience sort of cemented my idea of wanting to become a teacher,” Mrs. Machado said. Since her time here as a faculty member at the Bay, Mrs. Machado said her favorite aspect of her job is working with teachers who impacted her education when she was a student. “All of my most impactful teachers are still here, and I love that. It is such an enjoyable part of my job that I now work with them and I get to see them often,” Mrs. Machado said. “ I think it is probably rewarding for them too to see one of their students follow through in that field. Definitely Dr. Amparo, Ms. Waite and Ms. Fonseca were some of my teachers that I am grateful for and so thankful that they all took the time to do such a great job teaching.” AP and AICE Literature teacher Simone Waite said she has never been prouder to work alongside her former student, who is now a colleague and friend. “It has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as a teacher to remember her as a student and the bright shining star she was then,” Ms. Waite said. “She has evolved into such an amazing person and teacher.”
PHOTO BY ELLIE SACHS
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ERICA MACHADO
BLAST FROM THE PAST: (Clockwise from top left) alumna Erica Machado participates in a character tea party reenacting a scene from the novel “Pride and Prejudice” in her former teacher Simone Waite’s AP Literature class back in 2008. Mrs. Machado now teaches the same class alongside Ms.Waite as her co-worker. Mrs. Machado also graduated from the University of Florida in 2012 with a degree in English Literature before becoming a teacher at the Bay.
When considering if she would have wanted to teach at a different high school other than the Bay, Mrs. Machado said she is forever grateful that she was given the incredible opportunity to come back to her hometown school. “There is no school like Cypress,” Mrs. Machado said. “In terms of size,
the rigor of the curriculum, the teachers, the administration, the students and the facilities that we are afforded here, there is nothing like it. I hear horror stories from friends who taught at other schools and I’m just so thankful that I ended up here.”
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Knock your socks off BY JULIANA ATENCIA
Although they are not easily seen beneath sneakers and other types of shoes, students at the Bay have been spotted wearing eccentric socks to accessorize their footwear. Senior Aleeza Sultan said she is a huge advocate for the crazy sock trend and loves wearing pairs with numerous colors, patterns and items on them. “They honestly make any shoe look better and they are definitely a conversation starter,” Sultan said. “I have a lot of them but my favorite are these blackstriped cat socks because they’re so cute and I love anything with cats on it.” Sophomore Luis Suarez sports his socks with vintage Vans. He said his wild socks complement his shoes perfectly and are the best fashion statement.
“I really did not like the trend before, but it is warming up to me now,” Suarez said. “[Socks] are a cool way to make anything bolder and funnier.” Name brands such as Prada, Gucci and Valentino have showcased the trend in their recent fashion lines and celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Justin Bieber have also taken part in the fashion fad by creating their own sock brands or sporting a pair. Suarez said seeing famous people wearing unique socks justifies his fashion risk. “It is funny to see how celebrities’ styles influence us,” Suarez said. “It makes us want things that we’d otherwise think would be ridiculous.” Like Suarez, senior John Hurth said he loves to partake in the wild footwear accessory. He said his favorite stores that supply the
“My craziest pair of socks are my ‘Naruto’ socks.” -senior Isaac Malcolm
“My craziest pair of socks have Jack from ‘The Night Before Christmas’ on them.” -senior Mariah Perez
weirdest socks are Forever 21, Zumiez and Spencers. “I saw these super ridiculous socks one day in Spencers, and I thought it would be funny to buy a pair,” Hurth said. “My favorite pair is these black socks I got from Spencers that have a bunch of bacon strips on them.” Although the trend has been showcased recently on campus, it has been around for years in the fashion world. Senior Jocelyn Thomas said she remembers when Rob Kardashian made the trend even more known through a unique brand dedicated to designing funky socks. However, she said nobody understood his company during that time and his crazy socks seemed excessive, irrelevant and expensive. “I remember when Rob Kardashian
tried opening up his sock store and no one liked any of his socks,” Thomas said. “Now having weird socks is a cool thing so it is ironic to see how things change.” Unlike Thomas, senior Brianna Perez said she is not a fan of quirky socks and instead opts for plain pairs that are barely visible underneath her footwear. “Crazy socks are not for me. I respect people who do wear them, but it is not for me,” Perez said. “I’m bold but I feel like they’re just too much with all the colors and designs.” Sultan said whether the crazy sock fad comes or goes, she will continue to accessorize her school attire with funky and unique socks. “They’re so cute and bold; I really hope it doesn’t fade away too fast,” Sultan said. “Regardless of if it fades away, I’ll still probably be wearing them.”
“My favorite pair of socks have Patrick from Spongebob on them.” -junior Jeffrey Shim-Francis
“I love my Elmo from ‘Sesame Street’ socks.” -junior Robin Fintz
“My craziest pair of socks are teal with hamsters.” -junior Luciana Cavero
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Technology eases college transition BY LUCY CELENTANO ARTS & ENT EDITOR
Immediately after she was accepted into the University of Arizona (UA) in February, senior Annie Morris said she instantly turned to the Internet to find a roommate. While she will be attending UA in the fall, Morris said she is eager to meet prospective classmates and she has been able to do so through social media. “As soon as I got into Arizona and knew I wanted to go there, I began the search for a roommate,” Morris said. “In a GroupMe chat of over 50 people committed to UA, I began chatting with the girls who did not have roommates yet and I eventually found Emily.” Without this GroupMe chat, Morris said she would never have contacted her future roommate since Emily lives in California and they have no mutual friends. “Prior to talking to each other online, we did not know each other at all,” Morris said. “I met her for the first time last week because she came down to Florida and we got to hang out and meet other girls who are going to Arizona as well, which made me even more excited about college.” University of Florida (UF) sophomore and Bay alumna Ilyssa Grapin said without technological assistance, her first year of college would have been drastically different since the Internet allowed her to make friends prior to arriving on campus. “Social media networks, such as Facebook and GroupMe, were a big help in finding people, which made me feel more comfortable before coming to college,” Grapin said. “When you go anywhere new, it is always reassuring
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ANNIE MORRIS
ROOM FOR TWO PLEASE: (From right) senior Annie Morris and future roommate Emily Berger met up for the first time when she came down to Florida from California. Morris came into contact with Berger initially through the app GroupMe, and after talking, the two decided to room together when they attend the University of Arizona in the fall.
having a few familiar faces, especially in college.” Unlike Grapin, senior Gabriel Menoyo will be attending State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime Academy without meeting many of his classmates beforehand. Although he does not get the opportunity to handpick his roommate online, he said it is exciting to be assigned to live with a completely random person. “My father graduated from this school and seeing the doors it has opened for him makes me realize that SUNY Maritime was the best option for me to continue down [the naval and aeronautical career path],” Menoyo said. Menoyo said his college experience
will force him to adopt new standards of comfort and push himself to accomplish his personal goals on his own and with the people he meets once he is at college. “I will have to meet new people and learn to adapt,” Menoyo said. “Instead of feeling secure knowing people like my roommate going into college, I am going to be put outside of my comfort zone and forced to overcome these insecurities.” Without access to her technology, Grapin said she would not have found her perfect freshman year roommate in time for summer session at UF and she attributes this good luck to the various platforms that assisted her during her search.
“A few days after I got accepted to UF, I was added to a UF 2020 chat on GroupMe,” Grapin said. “In the chat, a bunch of girls from South Florida organized a lunch so we could meet more people, and I sat next to Jessica, my future roommate. This was when we realized we could potentially work well together.” While on the hunt for a roommate, Grapin said the most challenging aspect was the risk she had to take when deciding on living with someone she barely knew. “Finding a roommate can be difficult since you never really know what it is like to live with someone until you’re actually in the situation,” Grapin said. “I feel really lucky that I didn’t have to go through one of the horror stories I have heard so many about.” By utilizing social media resources, Grapin said she was able to develop relationships and connections that helped her when she began her freshman year in college. “Even if you do not end up befriending all the people you meet, it is still nice seeing a familiar face or two when you are walking around campus,” Grapin said. Morris said her ultimate goal to accomplish before she begins college is befriending new people she doesn’t know from home to ease her nerves about her move to Arizona. “I find comfort in knowing that I already have [a roommate] and someone I am familiar with,” Morris said. “I have friends from across the country and I have not even started school yet, which I find really exciting given that I am going so far from home.”
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Motivation drive students to success BY NYAH HARDMON
FEATURES COPY EDITOR
Sophomore Jada Haywood said it’s not easy for her to wake up on weekday mornings knowing that her day will consist of rigorous courses immediately followed by an hour-long basketball practice. Haywood, who plays point guard for the Bay’s girls basketball team, said it can be difficult to get through the day between her acad e m ics and sports. “I’m already tired from waking up early and tryi n g
my best to stay alert during lectures that seem to last forever, so it can be hard to find the energy to run layups and work on my jump shot after all of that,” Haywood said. Haywood said she hopes to continue her basketball career into her college years. In order to get into her dream school, Duke University, she said she has to make sure both her grades in school and her performance on the court are top-notch. According to Haywood, the need for her application to stand out among the rest is what keeps her motivated. “My mom told me she wasn’t going to pay for my tuition, so I have to play ball to make it and have a good future,” Haywood said. Haywood is motivated by the prospect of being the first in her family to graduate from college. When Haywood said she feels like giving up, she thinks about being the first to earn a college degree and make her family proud. “Nobody from my family graduated college so everybody is putting the pressure on me to be the first one to make it,” Haywood said. “I don’t want to let them down.” Like Haywood, senior Angelica Almeida said her academic perseverance is fueled by her desire to attend a prestigious college. “I know that if I slack, then colleges will see that and I may not get accepted or they may even revoke my admittance,” Almeida said. Almeida was accepted into both Nova Southeastern University and University of Florida. She said she is considering both of these options, so she doesn’t want to harm her grades by adopting a lazy mentality when tackling tough courses. Instead, when she struggles in her classes, Almeida tunes in on what she can do to improve her understanding. “When it gets hard to see the point in continuing my classes, especially since I already got into college, I basically see if I can change any part of my classroom routine that would make coming in easier, whether that be the way I take notes or the time I set aside for homework,” Almeida said. “Once I fix whatever was holding me back, I can just carry on.” Almeida said her course schedule makes it easier to push through the day because she enjoys most of her classes. She said she feels like her class selection and her achievements in these classes paid off in the long run since they helped her get accepted into college.
“I chose classes that I enjoy, so I wouldn’t want to drop them or do badly in them,” Almeida said. “I actually want to succeed and get my credits because I know they will help me later on.” Like Almeida, junior Sebastian Makrides said his dreams of affluence motivate him to make it through the day. He said he knows that one day all of his long hours working will eventually pay off. “When it comes down to it, it is my want for a successful future that I focus on when it gets hard to continue the school day,” Makrides said. Although Makrides said future prosperity prompts him to excel academically most of the time, he said when all else fails, he turns to caffeine to keep him going. “I’ll usually have coffee every morning to wake me up,” Makrides said. “It’s honestly my saving grace for staying awake and doing my best.” Advanced Placement Environmental Science teacher Laura Ashley said her drive to carry on is not as motivating as caffeinated beverages. According to Mrs. Ashley, her inclination to persist is heavily influenced by the impact her teaching has on her students. “My career is shaped by those times when students have that ‘aha’ moment and they finally get it, or they can relate something they saw to a concept that I taught,” Mrs. Ashley said. “When that happens, it kind of glosses over the not-so-great moments.” Mrs. Ashley said small gestures like classroom visits from former students refuel her morale when she lacks energy. “My students are really the ones that remind me that this is why I [teach],” Mrs. Ashley said. Mrs. Ashley said her appreciation for seeing her hard work pay off in the long run was passed down from her previous occupation as a dolphin trainer. She said even though her days were often long and tiring because of misbehaving animals and impatient customers, the good moments outweighed the bad. “It was pretty much the same motivation at my old job,” Mrs. Ashley said. “The dolphins had that ‘aha’ moment too when they would finally get a behavior. It also helped when a guest would get in the water and have a permanent smile on their face or just start crying tears of happiness.” While Mrs. Ashley’s ambition comes from the attitudes of other people, Makrides said his encouragement comes from within. “I think of how good I will feel once I accomplish my goals to get past the hard times,” Makrides said. “I keep myself from giving up by believing that I can do it.”
LAYOUT BY AMANDA MORGAN
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New opportunities surface with age BY NYAH HARDMON FEATURES COPY EDITOR
Last year, when junior Juliana De Oliveira turned 16 years old, she said she was excited to take advantage of her new responsibility of driving. She said once her birthday came around in February, the only thing on her mind was getting her driver’s license. “I had been waiting for that day for years. I was ready to get on the road the moment I turned 16,” Oliveira said. “It took me a month after my birthday to finally get my license, but in the end it all worked out.” Oliveira said driving was the only aspect about this age milestone that excited her because it was a large amount of freedom to get accustomed to enjoying. “Having this freedom is amazing and it makes life so much easier,” Oliveira said. “This way I am less dependent on others and I can learn to do things for myself.” According to Oliveira, as she aged, her parents became less strict about her going out late at night or getting driven around by friends. Along with her newfound freedom, she said she also had to adapt to new tasks associated with driving, like filling up her gas tank and running errands for her mother. “I was not overwhelmed by the new responsibilities but I think that varies from person to person,” Oliveira said. “However, I do not think 16-year-olds should get more responsibilities because at this age, we are supposed to be living life to the fullest and chasing after our dreams without too much stuff holding us back.” Senior Taylor Lessem agrees that it was more fun and less stressful when she was younger. She said responsibilities like going to college and being on her own are more serious than the weight of learning how to drive. “When I turned 18, it struck me that I was going to be graduating in a few months and heading to college,” Lessem said. “I felt like I had way more power coming my way.” Lessem said that overall, her daily activities like participating in Student Government Association and playing flag football have not changed as she has gotten older. However, she did look forward to the opportunities that opened up when she matured. “I was excited to turn another year older because I knew more interesting things were waiting for me,” Lessem said. “I can now vote and am about to go to college, but I also got to live my dream of going skydiving on my 18th birthday. It was worth the wait and I would definitely do it again.” Lessem said she was also excited about being able to vote and for her voice to be heard on a political scale. “Voting definitely emphasizes the fact
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY TAYLOR LESSEM
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY JULIANA DEOLIVEIRA
NEW YEAR, NEW ME: (From top to bottom) senior Taylor Lessem spends her first day as an 18-year-old skydiving. Junior Juliana De Oliveira begins to drive after receiving her drivers license at 16. DeOliveira said she loves the freedom and convenience that come along with driving.
that people can treat me as an adult now because my political opinion matters just as much as someone twice my age,” Lessem said. “It’s more nerve-wracking than anything now that I can make these big decisions completely by myself.” Senior Fernanda Campos agreed that in the past couple of years, the variety of tasks she was able to do widened. When she was gifted a car on her 18th birthday, she said the weight of being accountable for herself finally hit her. “For once, my parents weren’t liable for me, so knowing that I would have to handle myself was the biggest change that happened,” Campos said. Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher Jeffrey Buttell said he has
faith in students’ ability to handle the responsibilities awarded to them when turning both 16 and 18. He said he can recall going through the same adjustment period when he was younger. “As soon as I turned of age, I was behind a wheel. After that, I was registering to vote,” Mr. Buttell said. “I have voted in every election since then.” Mr. Buttell said he shares Lessem’s and Campos’ eagerness for voting at a young age, especially considering the historical context behind this political privilege. “You should definitely vote as soon as you can,” Mr. Buttell said. “That’s why the 26th amendment was written in the 1970s. We were sending people
off to the Vietnam War, so if people felt that you could put your life on the line for your nation then you should also be able to vote for the people that you are serving.” While Oliveira is only 17 years old now, she is confident that she is prepared for the responsibilities coming her way in the next year. “I’m extremely excited for my next birthday,” Olivera said. “I know it will be weird to officially be an adult but I know that the older I get, the more I will be given new privileges and the more I will be ready for the real world.”
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Athletes overcome injuries BY CASSIDY SHELDON FEATURES EDITOR
Since senior Jack Barges was twelve years old, he has been devoted to playing football. Throughout his football career, Barges said he has never made it through a season without enduring a serious injury. He has received a concussion four times, dislocated his jaw and shoulder, twisted his knee and ankle and broken all ten fingers. Because of all of his injuries, Barges said it is hard for him to sit on the sidelines unable to participate during a game. “At first I felt like I let my teammates down because football is a huge team sport,” Barges said. “Your team is supposed to be able to depend on you to make plays and get them out of situations when they need you.” While Barges said some of his injuries have looked physically gruesome and painful, the worst injury in his opinion is a concussion. He said he despises this because he feels stable and looks physically able to play as well, but is not cleared by a doctor. “The concussions are probably the hardest to deal with because physically you feel fine most of the time and just feel like running and people think you are going to come back faster than you do,” Barges said. Like Barges, junior Samantha Teixeira has gotten injured playing a sport. Teixeira has played soccer since she was five years old and has recently torn her ACL for the second time. “As soon as I heard my knee pop, I knew what it was and I was destroyed. I could not believe that I would be out for nine months again,” Teixeira said. “Since it is my second time tearing it, I at least knew what to expect for the rehab process.” Teixeira still has seven months left for her recovery process and said she cannot wait to get back on the field. Through her time on the sidelines, she said she has learned valuable life lessons. “During my time off, I learned that even with an injury, I still had to continue working hard,” Teixeira said. “I go to the gym to work on strength, and I try to eat healthier since I am not doing t h e normal amount of exercise I would normally do.” Guidance Counselor Melissa Boorom helps athletes throughout their season and also helps to find accommodations for athletes who get injured during the school year. She said ensuring their success in their classes is important, but she also helps the studentathletes once they return to their sport, making sure that they are healed and ready to play again. “I advise for the athletes to make sure that they start slow and are cautious at first until they build their confidence back up so they don’t get re-injured,” Mrs. Boorom said. “A lot of injuries are due to improper training beforehand like when athletes go out and play without any preseason training. This might teach them how important that preseason training is, how important it is to ice and how important it is to be more aware of themselves.”
Cleveland Browns’ future is bright
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JACK BARGES
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY SAMANTHA TEIXEIRA
BACK AND BETTER: (From top) due to various injuries, senior Jack Barges (91) was only able to play in one game this football season. However, he said he is still training to ensure a successful transition back onto the field. Junior Samantha Teixeira plays soccer at Tequesta Trace Park for the first time after tearing her ACL. Although Teixeira’s injury was an obstacle, she said she is determined to train hard in order to accomplish her goal of playing collegiately.
For Barges, after a minor injury like twisting his knee, he said he wasted no time to recover and was back on the field later that week playing in a game. He said his sport depends on every member of the team, so he never wants to let his peers down. “I think most players would do anything they could if there was any way to get in the game,” Barges said. “It is a really bad feeling [to be unable to play] and there are certain games where people rely on your specific job to attack people’s weak points and you feel like you can’t be there for everyone. There is a big sense of family in football, so if one person is missing, you can definitely feel the loss.” According to Barges, being injured is not an excuse to cut practice or miss games. He said coaching his teammates from the sidelines is just as important to the team. “You still have to support your team and help coach them because it is always helpful to get a second pair of eyes to give someone little scouting tips to change up your style,” Barges said. You would expect them to show up for you, too. It is just part of being a good teammate.”
Once Barges recovers from one of his injuries, he said he follows Mrs. Boorom’s advice and is hesitant when returning to the field. “You are going out there and making full contact with someone and if you can’t trust your body, you get anxious. When you don’t hit someone back, that is when injuries happen,” Barges said. “Once you get comfortable again, it is the best feeling in the world. Even running in warm ups and doing drills is just a great feeling because you’re back with the boys.” Like Barges, Teixeira said she sees her injury as a minor setback in her entire soccer career. She said she aspires to be back on the field to continue reaching her goals once she is healed. “My dream has always been to play college soccer, and I am hoping that I can achieve that dream,” Teixeira said. “It will definitely be harder after this injury, but I am planning to work hard to get there.” Next fall, Barges will be attending Norwich University where he will play football and then serve in the military for six years. He said he has learned to value everything in life and has not let his injuries slow down his career. “You never appreciate the little things and even the hard things until they are taken away from you,” Barges said. “[My injury] made me appreciate everything especially football.”
The Cleveland Browns are universally known as the joke of the sports world. The team hasn’t been to the playoffs in 15 seasons, and its persistent failure has only gotten greater in recent years: a 1-15 2016 record was followed by an 0-16 2017 season. Although times have been bleak, the Browns fan base finally has some real hope. The Browns roster has endured an overhaul of youth in recent years--its average player age of 24.24 ranked as the youngest in the National Football League (NFL) in 2017. Young players typically take time to get accustomed to the speed of pro football and struggle before gaining experience, and that was a large cause for the Browns’ awful season. The inexperience shined through each rookie on the roster, as they were thrusted into starting roles with few experienced players around them to fall back on. Most notably, rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer had to lead the team for a large part of the season, and his inaccuracy led to red zone ineptness and turnover troubles for the offense. Also, rookie defensive back/linebacker Jabrill Peppers was put into an unnatural position in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ system in which the free safety plays abnormally deep. The system demands a lot out of that position, specifically in terms of reading the defense and quick reaction times--two skills that rookies struggle to sharpen, and Peppers was no exception. Cleveland’s 2017 struggles were practically a part of the plan, as it was a season designated for building youthful talent; it is unfair to judge the potential of the team’s young players by their faults rather than their flashes of solid play, which occurred relatively often for players such as Peppers, Myles Garrett, and Corey Coleman. So far in the offseason, Cleveland has strengthened its once unclear plan with headline moves. The team has acquired talent on both sides of the ball, including star slot wide receiver Jarvis Landry, running back Carlos Hyde, and defensive backs Damarious Randall and T.J. Carrie. Most importantly, veteran Tyrod Taylor is headed to Cleveland, and he just might be the end to the team’s everlasting search for a competent quarterback. Taylor has never been considered a great quarterback, but he has quietly become a consistently good one. Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded him as a top-15 quarterback in each of the past three seasons. Taylor is among the league’s best in terms of taking care of the ball, but he has the big play ability--both through the air and on the ground--that typically isn’t seen from “safe” quarterbacks. Additionally, Cleveland is loaded with picks in the upcoming draft, including the first and fourth overall picks. With all of the young talent and free agent acquisitions on the roster, the team has a ton of flexibility with these picks, so the main focus should be gaining as much talent as possible. The Cleveland Browns’ front office is quietly building one of the best rosters in the NFL, and the team should trust its solid coaching staff and Tyrod Taylor to lead the way to its first winning season since 2007. The future is bright in Cleveland.
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Underclassmen thrive on varsity sports teams Many varsity sports teams at the Bay not only consist of juniors and seniors, but freshmen and sophomores as well. According to Lonny Shapiro, the varsity softball team’s head coach, underclassmen are essential to the team. “13 of our 17 players are freshmen or sophomores; they not only bring talent, but competition as well,” Coach Shapiro said. “They play a huge role on our team, as they are the majority of our starting players.” Senior varsity softball player Sydney Eldeiry also said the underclassmen play a vital role on the team.
“
A lot of people may think being a freshman on a varsity team can be scary especially when you’re the youngest, but in softball everyone is so nice and welcoming.
“
-freshman Abigail Ballard “At any given time, most of the players on the field are freshmen or sophomores, so they’re often responsible for making key decisions and plays. Because of this, many underclassmen have become team leaders in their own way, speaking loudly and voicing their opinions about the game, which was not the case when I was a freshman,” Eldeiry said. “They are given responsibilities to help bring the team to victory and fill their roles in the best way.” According to Eldeiry, not only are the underclassmen talented, but driven as well. “In the beginning of the year, the freshmen on the team were a little reserved and kept mostly to themselves; however, now they are now all super outgoing, lively and bring a ton of good energy to games and practices,” Eldeiry said. “The sophomores that were here last year are all very competitive and manage to keep the energy high throughout everything we do.” Eldeiry said she wanted to ensure that the underclassmen adjust well to playing in a new environment. “I remember how intimidating it was to join a varsity team my freshman year, and how I wasn’t sure exactly what my role was supposed to be, so I wanted to make sure that our freshmen this year felt comfortable playing on the field with us,” Eldeiry said. “I tried to help the freshmen adjust to the differences by explaining that it was okay to feel intimidated and a little unsure of themselves, but also reminded them that this is still the game they’ve played for years and that they’re extremely talented.” Although being on a team with many older players may be intimidating to some, freshman varsity softball player Abigail Ballard says that she feels at home. “A lot of people may think being a freshman on a varsity team can be scary
especially when you’re the youngest, but in softball everyone is so nice and welcoming,” Ballard said. “It’s such an amazing experience and I’m so happy to be a part of it.” The varsity softball team is on the field either practicing or playing a game at least five days a week, allowing for the players to form a tight bond. “I love the connection with my teammates; a lot of us have just met this year, but it feels like we have been playing together for forever,” Ballard said. “I’m so happy to have such great people as my teammates.” Freshman lacrosse player Jaycee Engelhard also said she enjoys playing a varsity sport. “Being a freshman on a varsity team is definitely nerve-wracking at times, but also fun,” Engelhard said. “It’s like having a ton of older sisters.” On the field, Engelhard’s main focus is fulfilling her role as a midfielder. “For me, it’s not a lot of pressure playing with older girls; it’s more of just making sure I get my job done on the field,” Engelhard said. “I want to help the seniors take home the district win this year.” According to Engelhard, everyone on the team, regardless of grade or age, works well together. “We have a bond that will never be broken,” Engelhard said. “Everyone is incredibly supportive of each other.” Junior and varsity lacrosse play Amanda Saavedra also said that they have excellent team chemistry. “Our team is such a big family; there are so many girls who have a true passion for this sport, and you can really see that when we practice,” Saavedra said. “Every year, we have team bonding, which brings us all even closer together, which I really love.” Since Saavedra has had several years of experience on the varsity lacrosse team, she helps to provide help and encouragement to some of the newer players.
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JAYCEE ENGELHARD
“
[The underclassmen] are the future of our lacrosse team at Cypress because once the upperclassmen graduate, the younger girls will have to play our former positions.
“
BY JOSIE CLANCY MULT. SPORTS EDITOR
PHOTOS BY JOSIE CLANCY
PUT ME IN COACH: (From top) freshmen Juliet Bell and Jaycee Engelhard -junior Amanda Saavedra end practice with sophomore Taylor Stark at Tequesta Trace Park. Freshman pitcher Abigail Ballard prepares a team handshake with sophomore center “Every time I see one of the new girls fielder Sammy Perez and sophomore second baseman Stephania Arenas. practicing and I see something that I think Senior pitcher Sydney Eldeiry warns up before a game with Ballard at the Bay’s they could improve on, I give them some softball field.
advice on how to be more powerful with their throw and other skills of that nature,” Saavedra said. “My biggest advice I give to them, though, is advice that I wish some girls gave me when I was new; I tell them not to be afraid to mess up because even as a returning player, I still mess up, and overall don’t be afraid to play. At first, you’ll be nervous and nothing will make sense, but as you improve, you start to understand why [lacrosse] is truly one of the best sports to play.”
According to Saavedra, the underclassmen’s passion for the sport of lacrosse is essential to the team. “[The underclassmen] are the future of our lacrosse team at Cypress because once the upperclassmen graduate, the younger girls will have to play our former positions,” Saavedra said. “Because of their participation and interest for this amazing sport, our school allows us to
play.” Abigail Ballard said that overall, she is extremely grateful to play the sport she loves at the Bay. “Softball has been my passion ever since I was a little kid,” Ballard said. “So, playing on the varsity team for it makes me the happiest.”
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Boys volleyball prepares for season BY JOSIE CLANCY MULT. SPORTS EDITOR
Before playing its first game of the season, the boys varsity volleyball team participated in a preseason tournament, which junior Mariano Robert said was advantageous. “The preseason games were very good for the team because we were able to see what we need to improve as a whole,” Robert said. “I was also able to see what skills I had to improve on the court, and I’ve been working on developing those skills the past few practices.” First year Head Coach Breno Paulinelli Ertty said that by having the team play in the two preseason games, he was able to evaluate their overall skill level and see what aspects of the game must be refined. “From those initial preseason games, we were able to observe the entire roster in action,” Coach Ertty said. “We will be working to improve on communication, passing and minor positioning corrections.” After holding many practices and seeing how the team works together in a game situation, Coach Ertty said he is hopeful for the future. I’m very excited for what this season has to bring,” Coach Ertty said. “The team has showed potential and the capability to compete against the best.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY CHRIS CASTELLON
GET SERVED: (Clockwise from top left) Samuel Rodriguez, Jowen Ortiz, Robert Slutsky, Christian De Leon, Santiago Urrea, Lucca Pereira, Armand Bourjolly, Elijah Baik, Gustavo Medina, Chris Castellon, Alessandro Nicolicchia, Mariano Robert, Federico Bengoa, Alejandro Correa and Gabriel Blandin anticipate their upcoming season.
Sophomore and second year varsity volleyball player Armand Bourjolly also said he expects the team to have great success this season. “I feel like this team will perform really well for this upcoming season; we have great potential, and our returners are at a higher level than before,” Bourjolly said. “The newcomers are pretty talented as well. “ According to Bourjolly, the varsity volleyball team’s enthusiasm and ability to pick up on new skills quickly could lead to a district title in the near future.
“I do feel that we have a good chance at winning districts this season because we’re learning at a fast rate, and our learned skills show on the court,” Bourjolly said. “We’re also a very lively team, so we keep each other going when we do well, or even when we do poorly.” Sophomore Samuel Gil Rodriguez said in practice, the team works to overcome its weaknesses. “We usually work on our defense and on working as a unit,” Rodriguez said. “As a setter, I need to connect with the hitters to know what play they want to do.”
Rodriguez said that Coach Ertty is helping to improve the team’s gameplay, not only in practice, but in games as well. “I think the new head coach is doing awesome because we connect better with him and he pushes us on every point, every set of every game,” Rodriguez said. “Personally, I connect really well with him because he played the same position that I play, and he coaches in the same club that I play at, so he knows what I’m doing every time.” Robert also agrees that the team’s new head coach is making a positive impact on the team as a whole. “Breno Ertty, our new head coach, is honestly a great coach; he cares about the team, tries his best to make every one of us better, cares about how we play and basically about every single little thing,” Robert said. “I’m very happy with my team this year and I know we can get far.” Coach Ertty said that the team’s vast amount of talent and good comradery will lead to victory. “I am a strong believer that this year’s team is a big candidate to win the District Championship. This year our roster consists of 15 talented players that can walk on the court at any time and get the job done,” Coach Ertty said. “An individual can win a couple of games, but a complete roster can win championships.”
Boys basketball falls in regional quarterfinals BY ZACH COHEN
The Cypress Bay boys varsity basketball team ended its season with an overall record of 18 wins and nine losses. The defeat culminated a season of winning streaks, tough losses and a fourth-straight district title. Despite the district championship, head coach Jason Looky’s preseason goals were headlined by a potential trip to the state championship in Lakeland, Florida. “If they work as hard as they possibly can and believe in the process of being better teammates and holding each other accountable, then I think we can be there,” Looky said. Junior guard Tyler Krivitzkin, who has been a starter since his freshman year, also believed in the team’s potential run at the state playoffs. “We’re talented enough to go to Lakeland, but we have to put in the time and effort to do so,” Krivitzkin said before the season. With high expectations, the Lightning started off the season on a four-game win streak, beating Nova, Coral Springs Charter, Flanagan Charles and South Plantation in a span of six days. The
Bay averaged 55 points and gave up an average of 44 points in those four games. The team’s first loss came on Dec. 7 to its rivals Western, 65-57. Four days later, the Lightning lost again to Cooper City, this time by a score of 66-52. Among defensive improvements, Looky also said the players needed to build trust with each other. “I’m a big trust guy,” Looky said. “They just have to trust each other and make an additional pass, and they’ll get easier shots. When we get easier shots, we’ll make more shots.” The team finished Dec. by winning three out of seven of its last games in 2017, including losses to Mount Zion Christian Academy (located in North Carolina) and National Christian Academy (located in Maryland) in the Bull City Classic in Durham, North Carolina. Entering 2018 with seven wins and six losses, the Lightning went on its longest winning streak of the season with seven straight victories. Looky said he was especially proud of how balanced the team was. “The great part about it is we haven’t had a 20 point scorer in the past three games and we’ve won by big numbers,”
PHOTO BY ZACH COHEN
REJECTED: Despite senior swingman Tremaine Major’s block on Deerfield Beach’s Victor Robinson, the Lightning lost the regional quarterfinal matchup 65-48.
Looky said after the fifth win in that streak, which came against Everglades. “There’s a lot of balance, which will really help us in the long run.” Cypress Bay’s seven-game win streak ended with a 66-48 loss to Miramar, but by then, the Lightning was first place in 9A District 12, a position they held going into the district playoffs. After beating South Plantation in the district semifinals, Cypress Bay won its fourth consecutive district championship by defeating Western 62-43. However, the team’s goal of reaching states fell short when Deerfield Beach
defeated the Bay in the regional quarterfinals for the second year in a row, this time by a score of 65-48. After the loss, Looky informed the team of how they can deal with the season. “He told us to use this season as a life lesson,” senior center John Truske said. “Even though it didn’t end how we wanted, I still enjoyed the season. We still had some good moments including winning districts, making the Big 8 (a tournament of the eight best teams in Broward County), and winning at Western twice.”
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Dwyane Wade’s return to Heat is storybook ending Miami needed
Atlantic Coast Conference continues to dominate college basketball
Dwyane Wade’s professional basketball career began when the Heat chose him as the fifth overall pick out of Marquette University in the 2003 NBA Draft. After a tremendous run in Miami, Wade spent a season and a half on other teams where he failed to duplicate his success. Wade’s return to Dade County, sometimes nicknamed ‘Wade County,’ is just what the Heat organization and its fans so desperately needed. Wade is an icon in Miami and was the city’s prodigal son, especially during his thirteen seasons on the Heat. The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound guard was the backbone of each Heat roster he played with; the only two years Wade did not make the playoffs in a Heat uniform were 2008 and 2015. Wade’s impact is especially profound considering he missed the entire 2007-2008 season with an injury. On the positive side, Wade won three championships in Miami, including his first in 2006. While his second and third titles were aided by the Big Three (the nickname for the trio of Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh), there would have been no Big Three without Wade in the first place. As an individual player, Wade racked up numerous awards and performed at a high statistical level. His accolades include twelve straight All-Star games, eight All-NBA teams, a Finals MVP and a scoring title. However, to say that Wade changed the city of Miami is an understatement. In the two seasons prior to Wade’s rookie season, the Heat suffered through two winless seasons and missed out on a trip to the playoffs. The last time the team had missed the postseason was in 1995.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 basketball league consists of 32 conferences, including five Power Five conferences consisting of the most prominent teams in the country. Although each conference has the opportunity to send at least one member to the NCAA tournament, teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference, Big 10 Conference, Pac-12 Conference and Southeastern Conference (SEC) have a greater reputation to represent on the national spotlight. NCAA basketball recruits who sign to play for a Power Five school are given an opportunity to play in front of a national audience while increasing their chances of playing professionally; however, there is one conference in college basketball that has solidified itself at the top of the standings: the ACC. The ACC has held a consistent dominance over Division 1 basketball ever since Syracuse, Notre Dame and Louisville joined in 2013. Those additions complemented the legendary powerhouses of North Carolina, Virginia and Duke, already in the ACC. The conference is the only one in the country that can hold 11 or 12 respectable teams each year. The ACC’s depth is marked by consistently leading all conferences in the amount of teams they send to the annual NCAA tournament; this year marks the second year in a row that nine teams from the ACC have received a bid into the tournament. Although the nation views the conference as being led by the historically great schools, teams such as Florida State, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Miami have made a name for themselves and formed into national competitors.
Enter Dwyane Wade, who resurrected a weakened franchise both on and off the court. Within Wade’s first two years, Miami’s attendance spiked from 22nd to 4th and has since stayed among the best in the league. After a quick hiatus in Chicago and Cleveland, respectively, Wade was traded back to Miami for a 2024 second-round draft pick in February. The move came at a perfect time as the Heat had lost seven of their previous nine and were the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. In the span of Wade’s return, the former All-Star has hit a game-winning three-pointer and had a game-sealing block.
Bottom Line: Dwyane Wade’s incredible NBA career is getting the ending it deserves in Miami, solidifying his legacy as one of the Heat’s greatest and a local legend. Most importantly, ‘Father Prime’ has provided a reliable closing option and depth to the Heat lineup, something the team has been lacking since LeBron James left town. Wade is also a massive source of revenue, as the organization’s profits ascended 8000 percent in the days following his return. Wade’s arrival in Miami has rejuvenated the fanbase and given the Heat realistic playoff hopes, just like when Wade first landed in Miami over fourteen years ago.
FACE OFF YES Since the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs were founded in 1946, the playoffs have been divided between eight teams competing in each conference. Currently, there is discussion about combining the two conferences for the playoffs to create a 16-team playoff bracket of the top 16 teams remaining at the end of the regular season. This is an excellent idea because it would make the playoffs a lot more competitive. In both conferences, there are two teams superior to the rest of the conference; the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. With this new idea implemented, it would make the playoffs a lot more competitive with teams in the Eastern Conference battling teams in the Western Conference instead of the same usual teams they have to face every year in the postseason. This new format would switch up the competition a lot more than the original games because teams from both conferences that never get to play each other in the playoffs would have that opportunity. This would make it a much more exciting competition instead of having to watch a dominant team play an eighth seeded team that has no chance. There would be a lot less 4-0 series sweeps considering the competition would be a lot more rigorous. Lastly, this new system would introduce many more exciting matchups because teams would have a tougher road to make it to the finals. Clearly, it is time to implement this new system to sacrifice the amount of travel for a much higher competition and excitement rate. -Ben Eiglarsh
Should the NBA change its playoff format?
Along with its dominance at the collegiate level, the ACC has become a direct pipeline for players looking for professional careers in the NBA, preceding significantly over the rest of the NCAA’s conferences. In 2017, 15 players from the ACC were drafted, including 10 players chosen in the first round of the draft. This is just the most recent statistic of the trend, in which during the last five seasons, 11 players from the ACC have been drafted per year. This significantly impressive statistic draws attention from the nation’s top high school recruits away from competing conferences, which will continue to lead the ACC to the top of the college basketball world. Although the extremely competitive conference could become a hazard for its deep success, it hasn’t been a problem thus far. The teams that make up the ACC have done an exceptional job competing with a rigorous conference schedule and drawing recruits towards their program. The teams within the ACC have also used their strength of schedule as an advantage to obtain impressive victories that increases their team and their conference’s profile. The competition within the ACC, which many people view as a danger for its growth, has only helped it form into the powerhouse that excels on various platforms. The significance of the ACC’s dominance is felt across the nation, but other Power Five conferences with two or three competitive teams have failed to mimic the ACC’s expanded depth and success. The ACC’s combination of great players, coaches and its substantial legacy has raised an unbeatable force in college basketball.
NO Since the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1946, the playoff system has been a best-of-seven series bracket between the Western and Eastern Conference, with the East champion playing the West champion in the NBA Finals. The current commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, pitched the idea to change the playoff format to a 16team ranked bracket, with no divide between the Eastern and Western Conferences. This would be an inefficient way to go through the final stretch of the season. The NBA has followed the same tradition since it was first created, and there is no need to go off the rails and change the entire format. The changing of the seeding would change the landscape of the game as it would change how specific regular season games are weighted as there would be no desire to attempt to have conference wins, but just wins in general. Also, it would not really put an end to the super-team epidemic. The main reason why Silver wants to change the format is due to the fact that the Western Conference has been incredibly dominant over the past few years. However, this would be an irrelevant solution to the conflict as the new seeding would just saturate the postseason with ample Western teams, ending with the same results that the current playoff system brings. The NBA should not change its playoff format as it would be a large change to the traditions of the game, as well as bring no true solution to the problem at hand for the league. -Sam Bialczak
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Coach’s legacy persists post-retirement BY JESSICA SOBEL ONLINE FEATURES EDITOR
Coach Marc Guandolo’s (Coach G) football resume consists of 10 regional championships, 17 district titles, 15 10win seasons as a head coach, and five Sun-Sentinel Broward Coach of the Year Awards. Amassing 272 wins and two state titles over 31 seasons as a head coach, he is only one of two coaches in the state of Florida to take three teams to a state championship game. Coach G said the last 11 seasons of his coaching career at the Bay have impacted his life tremendously, but health and family reasons have led to his retirement. “I just needed a chance after 35 years of coaching really hard and giving my everything to step back, get refreshed and regroup,” Coach G said. “I need to work on my health and renew the time with my family because although it has been great, coaching has been all consuming and has taken a toll on my health and family.” Although Coach G said he is looking forward to spending time with family and focusing on himself, he said he will miss his relationships with the players. “Leaving the players is the hardest thing for me. They are the ones that have kept me at this game for so long, and the hardest part about leaving is telling them that I am not coming back and seeing those disappointed looks on their faces,” Coach G said. “I will miss my relationships with the players and having that closeness with them; that is going to be tough.” From playing for Coach G at the Bay to eventually coaching alongside him, Assistant Football Coach and Wrestling Coach Joshua Kelso said he has mixed feelings about Coach G’s retirement from coaching. “I am always sad to see a long tradition start to come to an end, but I am happy he can do what is best for himself,” Coach Kelso said. “It is a much-needed thing after [more than] 30 years of coaching. It is time he needs to be with himself and his family.” Like Coach Kelso, junior football player Sebastian Dutra said he has conflicted emotions regarding Coach G’s departure. “I am sad, but I am happy for him because he has been doing this for so long and needs a break,” Dutra said. “However, he has been through so much with the team and I have grown really close to him over the years, so it is definitely sad to see him go.” Throughout his 11 seasons at the Bay, Coach G said he aspired to teach his players how to grow and be successful on and off the field. He said he used the game of football as an outlet to prepare them for real world situations. “I talked to the players about adversity because one thing football teaches you is that even when you get knocked down,
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY MARC GUANDOLO
LEAVING LEGACIES: (Clockwise) alum Nico Marley, Coach Marc Guandolo and alum Jaranta Lewis celebrate after defeating Columbus High School in 2012, sending their team to its first State Championship. Coach Guandolo said this was one of his proudest moments of coaching, as he was able to see his players excel. In 2010, the Lightning compete in a semi-final game against the Miami Central High School Rockets. Coach Guandolo said that the 2010 team had many talented sophomore players, and he feels lucky to have had the opportunity to be with them throughout their journeys. Through Coach Guandolo’s 35 years of coaching, he said he learned many valuable lessons from each one of his players.
you still have to get back up,” Coach G said. “Life is about problems, so that was a big emphasis I always wanted my players to understand. I tried to teach them that it is how you deal with those problems that makes you who you really are.” Whether in the classroom, on the field, or outside of work, Coach Kelso said Coach G’s guidance shaped him into the man he is today. “He has done a lot for me to become a better leader and person, not only in coaching but in everything else in my life,” Coach Kelso said. “He has taught
me how to handle obstacles that are placed ahead of me, and I will always be thankful for that.” He said he is grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from Coach G for the past nine years. “It was a very awesome experience playing for and coaching alongside Coach G. I cannot really put words to it,” Coach Kelso said. “I am incredibly blessed that I was able to see and be with one of the best coaches in the nation.” Regardless of the setbacks Dutra and his teammates faced, he said Coach G
showed them how to persevere. “There’s a lot of things we go through as a team such as losing games, and it’s not something many people can take lightly,” Dutra said. “However, he’s taught me how to handle adversity. No matter how bad a situation may be, he taught us to keep our heads up and push through it.” Dutra said Coach G’s passion for bettering the team helped him develop into a better player. “He really cared about me and everybody on the team. He yelled at us all the time, but it really showed me that he cares,” Dutra said. “His goal was to help me improve and mature, and I am really lucky to have had him as an integral part of my life for so long.” Even though Coach G said he thought about retiring from coaching for three years, he said receiving positive feedback from former players motivated him to stay. “What kept me coaching for so long is seeing my past players talk about the program and what it has meant to them,” Coach G said. “I have had guys tell me they are raising their families the way we taught them, and that is just an amazing feeling.” In addition to the positive feedback, Coach G said the most rewarding aspect of coaching was witnessing the progression of his players overtime. “Seeing my players go from ninth grade to twelfth grade and seeing how they have developed and matured was the biggest satisfaction of coaching for me,” Coach G said. “If I could take a good player and make him great or a poor player and make him average, that is an amazing feeling. It is all about getting the most out of them.” Even though Dutra said the players learned countless valuable life lessons from Coach G, Coach G said he learned even more from the players. “My players have kept me young at heart even though I have gotten older,” Coach G said. “I take the losses and setbacks hard, but the kids have taught me the resiliency to keep going and how to show compassion in times of pain.” While Dutra recognizes the experience of the new coaches, he said no one will compare to Coach G. “The new coaches are good, and they know what they’re doing, but they’re not the same because they are not Coach G,” Dutra said. “It’s going to be something I am going to have to adjust to especially because it’s my senior year. We’ll see how it goes; only time can tell.” Although Coach G’s coaching career has ended, Coach Kelso said his legacy will live on forever. “Coach G will be most remembered for shaping his students lives and helping his athletes grow from young kids to young men,” Coach Kelso said. “He made a significant impact on everyone’s life at the Bay.”
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ATHLETES TO WATCH ARMAND BOURJOLLY When did you start playing volleyball? I started playing volleyball in 8th grade. I got into it because it always interested me and it was my final year of middle school, so I gave it a shot. What has been your favorite moment in volleyball? My favorite moment in volleyball was when I went undefeated in Daytona with my travel team. How often do you train for volleyball? I usually train two times a week for two hours, but because the school season started, I practice every weekday for two hours, unless we have a game. Do you plan on playing volleyball in college? I only plan on playing volleyball in college if I’m offered a scholarship for it. I am motivated to play at the next level, but only if the opportunity comes to me. What is your personal goal for this volleyball season? My personal goal for this volleyball season is to win districts. I think once our team gets used to each other, we will have a good chance of winning.
ABBIE HOLT
What are some of your pregame rituals? Before each game I have a set warm-up that my teammates and I do. I also have a handshake with each of my teammates. What first made you want to play volleyball? I was playing a bunch of different sports before, but I never really continued with a sport. Some friends at school played volleyball, so I decided to try it out, and it was history from there. What was your best achievement of your volleyball career? My best achievement in my volleyball career has to be getting a bid to play at the National championship at the end of the season. How has volleyball affected your life? Volleyball has taught me how to be a better person towards my teammates. It also allowed me to face adversity and learn how to work through difficult situations. What motivates you to perform at the highest level? What motivates me to perform at the highest level is the feeling of playing a highly competitive team and working with my teammates to get to a higher level.
-Sam Bialczak
Class of 2020 Height: 6’1’’
GOAL: WIN DISTRICTS HEIGHT: 6’2’’ TEAM: BOYS VOLLEYBALL CLASS OF 2020
-Ben Eiglarsh
GOAL: GET RECRUITED BY COLLEGES HEIGHT: 5’8’’ TEAM: GIRLS VOLLEYBALL CLASS OF 2020
SPRING SEASON STATISTICS Boys Lacrosse
Girls Water Polo
Girls Tennis
Archbishop McCarthy
W 13-9
Coral Springs
W 12-7
Flanagan
W 7-0
Western
L 5-16
Fort Lauderdale
L 4-15
Pembroke Pines
W 7-0
West Broward
W 21-6
South Broward
L 2-14
Cooper City
W 5-1
Key West
W 14-7
Pembroke Pines Charter
W 13-9
Nova
W 7-0
University School
L 11-14
Cooper City
W 18-6
Baseball
Softball
Taravella J.P.
W 10-5
Pompano
W 19-4
Stoneman Douglas
L 1-4
West Broward
L 11-13
Flanagan Charles
L 0-10
American Heritage-Plant.
L 2-14
Mirimar
W 17-0
Western
L 3-4
West Broward
W 4-3
Everglades
W 16-0
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REnt PHOTOS BY JOSIE CLANCY
BY JOSIE CLANCY SPORTS MULT. EDITOR
The Bay’s American Musical Theater (AMT) III class performed “Rent,” a musical about friends facing challenges and struggling to pay their monthly rent, on March 7 through 10 in the auditorium. Ensemble member and junior Connor Lewis said the crew and cast invested a tremendous amount of hard work into the production of “Rent.” “We worked for months preparing for ‘Rent,’” Lewis said. “The first quarter of the year was dedicated to casting, meaning we had auditions for who gets what character, and then we started learning the music and finally, around the middle of second quarter, we started blocking and choreographing the scenes.” Senior Gianni Palermo, who played Roger Davis, a struggling musician, said in order for the show to run smoothly, every student had to devote an extensive amount of their time to rehearsals during school and after hours. “Around two weeks before the show, the cast and I found ourselves very behind and we basically had to conjure up a full act II in just two weeks,” Palermo said. “We had to work and prepare everyday.” Palermo said he was grateful to have a lead role in his last play at the Bay and he has anticipated the production ever since he auditioned for the part of Roger. “I appreciate any role in musical theatre because at the end of the day, it’s the whole cast that puts together this amazing work of art and creates this theme on stage,” Palermo said. “However, when I found out I got a lead I was very happy that I could have the chance to portray what the musical is all about.” Palermo said from the start, he recognized playing a main character would require extensive work, which is why he went to extreme lengths to prepare for the show. “My ‘Rent’ book was with me in my classes, before bed and in the morning to really try trying to get into the mindset of [Roger],” Palermo said. Palermo said there are many steps that must be completed to ensure the cast is prepared for opening night, such as audi-
tions, vocals and choreography. Palermo found memorizing his character’s lines by far the most time-consuming. “The hardest part of preparing for ‘Rent’ was definitely just the memorization of everything,” Palermo said. “I was absorbed in school work and other school activities so I had to juggle all of that while trying to memorize the whole script. It was a slow process, but it worked out in the end.” Palermo said the opening night on March 7 was nerve wracking, but him and his fellow cast members were able to overcome their weary feelings and deliver the show exactly as they had rehearsed. “I was very nervous; it was our first night performing the show for an audience and it was also Cappies night, which is when student judges come and watch the show to give awards,” Palermo said. “There was a lot of pressure put on the cast that day, but we performed with confidence and it went by like a breeze.” Junior Kyleigh Jehlicka, who played Mimi, said her nerves mixed with her excitement allowed for the perfect opening night performance her and fellow cast members worked so hard to accomplish. “On the first night of performance, I was nervous but also very excited,” Jehlicka said. “We had done all that we could do to prepare, and now it was just time to execute. After the show, I was completely content with our opening night performance.” Jehlicka said the most enjoyable aspect of the production was the cast’s ability to get along and work well as a team to overcome any challenges they faced. “I think the cast worked amazingly well together, as all throughout rehearsals we never had any arguments or miscommunications,” Jehlicka said. “Everyone worked so well together and I think that’s what helped us to have amazing chemistry on stage.” Behind the scenes, junior and stage manager Alex Tawid assisted in the organization of necessities ranging from lights and sound systems to props during the show. “Basically I make sure all the techies complete their jobs,” Tawid said. “I am also responsible for calling the cues dur-
ing the show and being there to fix any technical problems that may occur.” Although she may not have been performing on stage, Tawid said the many hours she spent after school preparing for the show allowed her to form strong bonds with other cast members. “My favorite part of ‘Rent’ was definitely getting to bond with the cast, many of whom happen to be my best friends outside of the show,” Tawid said. “I also love the music in ‘Rent,’ so it was just a dream-come-true to be part of its production.” Director and drama adviser Cynthia Lutwin said there were many aspects of the play that she loved, but the most rewarding part of the show was seeing the audience’s positive reaction to the cast performing “Seasons of Love.” “I have so many favorite moments from the show, but I loved the audience’s reaction when ‘Seasons of Love’ was performed because it seems like everyone is able to get into that classic song,” Ms. Lutwin said. Palermo said he appreciates theater as an outlet for him to express his creativity and positive energy and by singing “Santa Fe,’” he was able to fulfill his dramatic desires. “‘Santa Fe’ is my favorite song on the soundtrack, so I was glad I was able to sing it on stage,” Palemor said. “By then I usually feel very confident with how the show is going, it’s just the peak of my happiness when I’m on stage.” Ms. Lutwin said that the cast and crew can take something new out of participating in the production of a show. “Every show is a learning experience about hard work, believing in yourself and what can be accomplished by working together,” Lutwin said. Jehlicka said after the final curtain call on March 10, she is very pleased with the outcome of the show and is glad all her hard work paid off. “Overall I feel that our performances were amazing. I wouldn’t change anything about any one of them,” Jehlicka said. “Each performance was so unique in its own way, and it was an amazing thing to be apart of.”
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Award shows offer political platform With the Academy Awards quickly approaching, the true reason millions of individuals are drawn to award shows on a regular basis is still contentious. The most memorable aspect of award shows is not the actual awards granted to the hardworking nominees but is instead the political revelations that celebrities have frequently brought about over the course of the past several years. While many claim award shows are not an adequate time and place for political movements, this is far from the truth. In and amongst politics today, celebrities are granted little time to speak uninterrupted in a formal manner about their political opinion is very limited considering the brevity of other means of expression like social media and TV shows. Programs like the Oscars and the Golden Globes are the perfect time for noteworthy figures to share their opinions regarding current political happenings. During the 2017 Academy Awards, the most exciting portion of the show was not the confusion of “La La Land” almost winning Best Picture in an envelope slip-up. Meryl Streep overshadowed the awards of the evening, giving an insightful speech criticizing President Trump in order to bring awareness to her set of political beliefs. After her acceptance and expressions of gratitude, Streep proceeded to inform her colleagues and the public of the performance from 2017 that “stunned her” and “sank its hooks into her heart” the most: Trump imitating a disabled reporter at a rally in South Carolina. In any other scenario, Streep would have been unable to fully communicate her ideas like she was capable of doing at this time. Streep connected her criticism of Trump mocking of a disabled journalist to her nomination playing the titular role in “Florence Foster Jenkins.” The actress’s ability to seamlessly tie these two very different concepts together while alluding to her personal political beliefs about Trump’s “performance” proves that award shows and public presentations are in fact the perfect scenarios for famous actors, artists and other individuals to express themselves. Streep’s speech at the 2017 Academy Awards was approximately five and a half minutes. Her tweets, and those of other politically vocal celebrities, are limited to 280 characters. Made apparent by the Board of Governors’ proposal to limit Oscars acceptance speeches to 45 seconds, political digressions during award shows are highly controversial. As citizens of the United States, we are all granted the right to the first amendment stating “congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.” Regardless of viewers’ popular opinions, nominees are permitted to share their thoughts wherever and whenever they please. Award shows and other widely televised programs serve as the setting for celebrities to make their voices heard.
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MARCH 2018
NAHS presents annual Art Festival BY LUCY CELENTANO ARTS & ENT. EDITOR
obviously put it out in all the art classes and social media and flyers around school, which helped get the word out more than anything else.” After last year’s show, Ms. Jenkins and her officer team discussed the challenges they faced at the event and how they could improve before this year’s show. Last year, there was a live band, but this year, NAHS opted for streaming music to prevent the event from becoming overly noisy. Individuals hosting booths did not have to be members of NAHS to sell their goods. Prospective vendors filled out an online form and paid $10 to be approved by Ms. Jenkins. Junior Marie Franco ran the phone case booth, offering her newest designs on iPhone cases of various sizes. Franco said she thought of her friend and junior Marta Vera, who makes jewelry, when she realized anyone could participate. “I told her about this event because I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to [share our art together],” Franco said. “It’s open for everyone to have a booth, and last year clubs like Ecology Club and Habitat for Humanity were here to share information.” Senior Isabella Meza said she enjoyed both the event and the pieces of art she purchased, and she was glad to have the opportunity to attend. “At first, I did not know anything about
National Art Honor Society (NAHS) hosted its second annual Art Festival where aspiring artists had the opportunity to share their work while raising money for Save a Child’s Heart (SACH), a foundation that provides surgical treatment for underprivileged children and medical education in developing nations. On March 2, in the cafeteria at the Bay, NAHS gave attendees the opportunity to listen to music, eat food and purchase art all while raising money for charity. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY HANNAH ROTHBARD Senior and President of NAHS Hannah Rothbard said the event required SNEAKER HEAD: Senior and National Art Honor Society President Hannah immense planning but the hard work she Rothbard shared her past creations including paintings, watercolors and other put in with adviser Bizzy Jenkins and the items which she sells on her Instagram. Rothbard’s most popular items are other NAHS members was worthwhile. her custom designed sneakers sold for various prices. Rothbard distributed “Putting the event together took a lot business cards with her contact information. of preparation, with finding sponsors and money to pay for the food that wasn’t Jenkins said seeing the event come the event,” Meza said. “Once I realized donated,” Rothbard said. “Overall, it went there was an art show where I could come together and the students taking action well, and I am happy all the aspects lined and look around for some pieces and buy makes her proud to be the adviser of such up accordingly.” them, I decided there was no reason I an amazing program. Rothbard said this year’s event was “I think it’s just fantastic seeing these shouldn’t come and check it out.” less stressful due to the preparation that Meza said she enjoyed the diverse kids take on entrepreneurship and want took place last year when officers decided collection of art, ranging from jewelry to share and show their art,” Ms. Jenkins to establish the festival as an annual and shoes to phone cases and paintings. said. “And seeing all the other kids and celebration. “I am giving away some of the art that adults wanting to buy it makes it so special “We did this event last year, so it I bought and keeping some of it for myself for everyone.” was probably a little less stressful since because the wide variety allowed me to we know what to do,” Rothbard said. choose pieces for everyone,” Meza said. “The one stressful thing was finding sponsors and having to pay for some of the food because we didn’t get enough food donated, whereas everything was donated last year.” Rothbard said her ultimate goal was to raise more money than NAHS did at last year’s event by selling more tickets and booth. “It makes me especially happy seeing everything come together because this is a charity event and I that we are working together toward a common goal,” Rothbard said. “Although we did not reach $1000, I am still incredibly proud of NAHS for raising $810 all for the [SACH foundation].” Ms. Jenkins said informing the community and the Bay’s student body was the most challenging aspect of preparation for the festival. “We have to start early because we PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY MS. JENKINS have to recruit people to be artists, and we also need to pick the date way at ARTSY ASSISTANCE: (From left) sisters Alexa and Alora Clayton sell admission tickets at the second annual National the beginning of the year and try to Art Honor Society Art Festival to raise money for the Save A Child’s Heart foundation. Senior Elizabeth sold various get vendors,” Ms. Jenkins said. “We items like bath bombs, original paintings and pins.
A&E Calendar Albums
Movies
Concerts
“Farmhouse Sessions” by HighValley, March 23 “Rearview Town” by Jason Aldean, April 13 “Pinned” by a Place to Bury Strangers, April 13
“Blockers,” April 6 “A Quiet Place,” April 6 “Rampage,” April 13 “Truth or Dare,” April 13 “Traffik,” April 20 “Disobedience,” April 27
Ultra Music Festival, March 23-25 @ Bayfront Park Demi Lovato and DJ Khaled featuring Kehlani, March 30 @ American Airlines Arena Lorde, April 12 @ American Airlines Arena
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Fashion sense exhibits unique taste BY GABBY SONKIN ARTS & ENT. COPY EDITOR
Ever since sophomore Irina Blanco was exposed to the fashion world by her four sisters, she has developed a unique passion for the industry. Blanco said her sisters have inspired her with their distinct wardrobes as they attempt to bring back old styles and trends. “In my case, I have been able to take their styles and mirror many of their outfits into my own unique wardrobe,” Blanco said. “My sisters were able to help me develop into my true self and display who I really am because it wasn’t so easy from the start.” Irina’s sister Natasha Blanco said she feels rewarded as she was able to make such an impact on her sister, especially with her interests in fashion. “I believe my sisters and I had a huge influence on Irina’s fashion sense because growing up we all loved to express ourselves through clothing and makeup,” Natasha Blanco said. “I noticed her love for fashion really started during middle school, but when she reached her high school years I noticed her true passion for it and something I knew would impact her greatly.” Natasha Blanco said although fashion has become a major part of her sister’s life, she still manages to stay on track with school as well as her other activities. “I am truly amazed at my sister and her dedication to everything she puts her mind to,” Natasha Blanco said. “With school work, water polo, and Fashion Club she is able to manage a perfect schedule to succeed.” Although Natasha Blanco said she has a similar style to her sister, she takes on a more comfortable attire during the day. “When it comes to fashion on the daily I am more practical, but I think Irina really puts thought into her outfits and is willing to be uncomfortable to look good,” Natasha Blanco said. “I wish I was like her in this way, but for me being comfortable is always key.”Irina Blanco started to become involved in fashion in the past few years as she joined Fashion Club and said she started to express herself more during school. “Joining Fashion Club was one of the best choices I made during high school because I really love fashion since I’m allowed to express myself in the way I have always wanted,” Blanco said. “It is an extremely empowering small aspect of our lives and continues to brighten my mood every day, especially at school.” During her free time, Blanco said she has started to pose for pictures with her friend, sophomore Pearse Koch. “Even though I am not an actual model, I take pictures with my friends and try to go out once or twice a month for a shoot,” Blanco said. “This is something that makes me happy because I can display my style on social media and I receive
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY IRINA BLANCO
CLOTHES OVER BROS: Sophomore Irina Blanco flaunts the different elements of her looks that allow her to express her individuality and stylish fashion choices. She said fashion is an outlet for self expression and enables confidence. This confidence has prompted her to be comfortable in her own skin, enough to come to terms with her identity and come out as bisexual. Blanco said her biggest personal achievement this year was coming out because it required immense amounts of courage.
positive feedback, which is rewarding.” Koch said he has known Blanco for a long time and believes she is the kind of person who isn’t afraid to express herself and step out of the box. “I can tell she has a real eye for photography and modeling, so she is always open to trying new things, which makes the process even more exciting,” Koch said. “She started modeling about a year ago, so she knew exactly what to do and I was amazed at all the finished products.” Because Koch photographs several other students, when he is with Blanco he tries to find different areas to take pictures and uses her creative ideas as well. “I have been taking a lot of pictures recently, but whenever I do shoots with
her, I find all of these photos to be unique and worth posting on social media, so it is not easy to narrow them down,” Koch said. Blanco said due to the positive feedback she receives about her fashion taste, the OurCityWeston Magazine reached out to her for their recent issue. “I was presented in the city’s magazine because they wanted a teen to be featured on their fashion section and my best friend’s mom picked me,” Blanco said. “I was very touched by this gesture because she thought I had so much creativity and uniqueness that everyone needed to see my style.” Blanco said it has been much easier for her to express herself and be comfortable in her own body because the Bay has such
a diverse group of students. “My biggest personal achievement this year was definitely coming out as bisexual because it took a lot of courage and dramatically changed who I was as a person,” Blanco said. “However, I am very happy I did because all of my friends and classmates were very accepting and made me feel good about my decision.” Because fashion has become such a big part of Blanco’s life, she said it has shaped her into a confident and independent girl. “All of my passions, but especially fashion, have taught me that if you aren’t doing what you love in life, then it isn’t worth it,” Blanco said. “With fashion I can truly say I am doing what I love and developing a true understanding of what a passion really is.”
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Magic in animation
The Circuit’s staff reviews six motivational Disney animated films.
“Finding Dory” BY HEATHER DENNIS
After 13 years, Disney finally released “Finding Dory,” its prequel to the 2003 Pixar film, “Finding Nemo,” in June 2016. In the film, Ellen DeGeneres returns as Dory, a role in which she incorporates her bubbly, energetic personality. Dory is a Pacific blue tang who has lost contact with her parents, but since she suffers from short-term memory loss, she is unable to recall where she last saw them. Dory and her friend Nemo keep the film entertaining and energetic with high intensity and anticipation. Once Dory encounters her parents in the ocean, it is apparent that all happy endings are accompanied with challenges one must overcome along the way. Despite the difficulties, Dory remains positive and inspires others to never give up. The directors made it essential to keep the film’s funny and charming personality by sharing numerous lessons that are useful in everyday life. The idea of never giving up and staying strong is clear and provide a sense of motivation. The lengthy search for her family pays off and is coupled with an emotional, heartwarming ending, making “Finding Dory” a memorable Disney animated film.
“Frozen” BY JENNA FRIEDMAN PR MANAGER
“Frozen,” a Disney animated film released in November 2013, is a whimsical movie that provides a valuable lesson: the love of sisterhood. “Frozen” follows the life of Princesses Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel). Because Elsa was born with powers to turn anything to ice, she is forced to be locked up throughout her youth, away from Anna and the rest of the world, to prevent her from harming anyone. However, when Elsa and Anna’s parents tragically died in an incident at sea, Elsa is to be crowned Queen. On coronation day, Elsa accidentally reveals her powers to the world and brings about a harsh winter in the middle of summer. Anna embarks on an intense journey to find her sister, alongside mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Sven the reindeer and the overjoyed snowman, Olaf (Josh Gad). “Frozen” has a catchy soundtrack by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez and Christophe Beck, which contributes to the dramatic aspect of scenes throughout the entire movie. The film includes a perfect mix of emotion, comedy and action, and its message is valuable. At the end of the film, Anna’s frozen heart can only be thawed by an act of true love; the love of her sister was exactly what she needed, which demonstrates the strength and bond of sisterhood.
“Tangled”
“The Lion King”
BY LUCY CELENTANO
BY RACHEL SCHONBERGER
ARTS & ENT. EDITOR
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
“Tangled,” a Disney animated film released in November 2010, is an insightful and entertaining movie. In the beginning of the film, main character Rapunzel lets down her luscious golden locks from the tower in which her kidnapper, Mother Gothel, has held her captive for years. Flynn Rider eventually encounters Rapunzel in the tower, giving her the opportunity to escape. The immense passion displayed between characters Flynn and Rapunzel proves the importance of family values and finding true love. Additionally, Rapunzel’s actions demonstrate the idea anyone can do anything that they set their mind to doing. Because of her outstanding determination, Rapunzel’s hardfought escape from the tower shows she is a self-motivated, young female. During another scene, Rapunzel is made aware that the annually released balloons from the tower are in her remembrance. At this point in time, she is able to turn her confusion and frustration into motivation. Overall, the “Tangled” is an adventurous, cute, and influential film, made apparent by the challenges the movie’s characters overcome.
The 1994 cartoon adventure “The Lion King” tells the tragic but moving story of Simba, a young lion prince whose Uncle Scar kills Simba’s father in desperation for the throne. When Scar convinces Simba that he caused the death, the cub flees from his home at Pride Rock. He quickly meets Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog, who expose Simba to a carefree life and raise him until he reaches adulthood. However, he cannot escape the responsibilities of the throne as the lioness Nala, his childhood best friend and love interest, reminds him of his duty to his people. The story is emotionally charged by Simba’s grief, shame and lack of identity in the wake of his father’s death. The Disney film is visually enchanting, with animation that encompasses the mood and character of every single frame. However, the true artistry of “The Lion King” lies in Elton John and Tim Rice’s iconic soundtrack, with ‘90s Disney Renaissance classics like “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” With a moving score and engaging characters, it is understandable why the cartoon has inspired two television series, three spinoffs, a Tony Awardwinning Best Musical and an upcoming live action film set to debut in 2019.
“Hercules” BY CASEY MENTEN ONLINE NEWS EDITOR
The Disney animated film, “Hercules,” is a tale of a young man growing into a hero. The movie is a reimagined version of the well-known adventurous Greek myth: “The Life of Hercules.” The cartoon is simplified, but nevertheless, includes the remarkable trials of a young god attempting to escape from his human form. The characters are all creatively imagined, showing characteristics depicting their roles as gods and goddesses. From the first scene of the movie, the action and adventure does not stop, making the entire film captivating. In true Disney form, catchy music by legendary composer Alan Menken wittingly describes the character’s conflicts. Throughout the film, the charming Muses break the fourth wall, providing witty commentary and adding a comedic essence. The villain, Hades, strays from the typical antagonist by making light of his evil decisions with a sarcastic attitude that is both humorous and amusing. In the film, the love story occurring between Meg and Hercules is charming and gives the storyline a romantic appeal. “Hercules” brings to life the Greek myth with one-of-a-kind characters and a comedic twist on the classic tale.
“Ratatouille” BY LUCY CELANTANO ARTS & ENT. EDITOR
Released in 2007, the Disney animated film “Ratatouille” remains inspiring and humorous more than ten years later. The movie follows Remy, an aspiring chef living in Paris who takes a risk and attempts to make himself known in the competitive culinary industry. However, he has one obstacle: he is a rat. Remy is stuck between his want to fulfill an unconventional job and the wishes of his realistic family. This conflict proves that anyone is capable of accomplishing their goals with hard work and dedication. The concept of the plot is ironic; a rat, raised on the filthy streets and associated with an unsanitary lifestyle, wanting to be the head chef of a fancy French restaurant adds a comical and entertaining twist to the story. Another witty aspect of the film is Remy’s less-thanglamorous home life. During the day, the culinary expert can be found exploring the underworld of Paris in the gutter beneath the restaurant where he works. At night, the chef prepares exquisite meals for France’s finest. Remy’s actions and words reinforce the underlying message regarding perseverance and self-confidence throughout the entirety of the film. Remy’s actions and relationships are adorable and touching, which helps to express the immense passion he has fulfilling his dreams.
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Seniors utilize prom dress Facebook page BY JENNA FRIEDMAN
Mrs. Machado said girls will avoid purchasing dresses that someone else has sent in the chat already. The Bay As seniors at the Bay anticipate prom graduate said that one of her friends had on May 25, many prospective attendees the same dress as someone else on prom have turned to technology to avoid night. purchasing the same dress. Senior Class “My friends and I had to surround my President Julia Levy created a Facebook best friend, and we had to reassure her group for students to share their dresses that she looked better,” Mrs. Machado with to prevent duplicates. said. “I think this chat would have been “They had a Facebook group chat beneficial for us because it would have in past years,” Levy said. “A lot of most likely prevented this situation.” girls wanted to post their dress so there wouldn’t be any fights, and nobody would have the same one.” Levy said she thinks the use of A lot of girls wanted to technology is extremely beneficial for post their dress so there sharing dresses because so many people can be involved. Levy said she tried to wouldn’t be any fights include as many seniors as she could. and nobody would have “With the use of the group chat, people the same one. won’t just be reaching out to their friends to tell them not to buy a dress, but they can also share their dress with a good -senior Julia Levy majority of the class,” Levy said. Similar to Levy, Fashion Club adviser Like Mrs. Machado, senior Alexa and former student at the Bay Erica Machado said seniors using technology Zuckerman said the Facebook group will to show classmates their dresses is an most likely ensure that every girl shows up effective method, and it could have in their own dress. “I think people won’t buy a dress benefitted her when she was a senior. “Having [the Facebook group] will someone else has because it just seems prevent girls from feeling insecure if like the right thing to do,” Zuckerman they see someone with the same dress said. “If everyone pays attention to what and thinking they look better in it,” Mrs. other people are wearing and buy their dress accordingly, every girl can feel Machado said. PR MANAGER
“
DRESS TO IMPRESS: In the Facebook group, seniors post screenshots and photos of their prom dresses in order to prevent accidental matching. The group is open to any senior girls who want to ensure their dress is unique on prom night.
“
PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY RACHEL FRIEDMAN
special at prom.” Zuckerman said she feels confident that she will not be matching anybody, having already bought her dress in January. “I got my dress really early because when I found it, I immediately fell in love with it,” Zuckerman said. “I think I sent it in the chat early enough that nobody else had already bought the same one.” Levy said she thinks there can be incidents where people will buy the same dress, but she said she thinks this will only
happen by accident. “Even with the group chat, some people might not scroll down all the way and miss something, resulting in them accidentally getting the same dress as someone else,” Levy said. “Although I can’t guarantee it will prevent it fully, I definitely think the Facebook group will be a big help.”
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Informational banners display creativity BY ANNABELLE DANIELSROSENBERG
The main goal of banners is to promote and inform the thousands of students and faculty at the Bay. Student Government Association (SGA) adviser Danielle Nascimento said she and her students work hard to ensure the banners they hang around the school are creative and intriguing. Mrs. Nascimento said she compares the banners to a billboard on the side of a highway since they catch attention easily. “It is very hard to communicate to nearly five-thousand students,” Mrs. Nascimento said. “Banners are one of the many ways we can inform the school of something going on, on campus.” Sophomore Douglas Sandler said banners remind him about certain days and events when they catch his attention. “I think banners around the school are beneficial because they keep me, and the other students informed about upcoming events,” Sandler said. Sandler said his favorite project SGA has done thus far was the Valentine’s Day banners. This year, Sandler’s friends chipped in to buy him one without him knowing. “At first, seeing my name in front of the whole school made me embarrassed, but in the end, it gave me a good laugh and I thought it was a really creative idea,” Sandler said. For every specific spirit or dress-up day at the Bay, SGA paints and themes backdrops to display. Sophomore and SGA Executive Board member Samantha Brodsky said backdrops are a neat project
Along with displaying the theme, backdrops provide an area for students to take pictures and see their friends on a dress up day or at an event. SGA member and junior Lauren Nau said because of the immense interest students have displayed every time they are hung outside during school backdrops are being used more frequently. “Banners are super fun to take photos, and I always end up meeting new people and seeing my friends at the backdrops because they are so popular,” Nau said. Mrs. Nascimento said, along with banners, backdrops require hard work, but seeing the students find such pleasure in taking pictures with them makes the time working worthwhile. “It’s great to see students taking pictures with the backdrops SGA students PHOTO SUBMITTED BY LAUREN NAU worked so hard on,” Nascimento said. “I’m glad we can give them something to have fun with.” Nau said because of how aesthetically pleasing backdrops are, she always posts pictures on social media and ends up with an original post. “I think the more visually appealing something is, the more it is able to attract students who love to take pictures,” Nau said. Brodsky said creative projects are PHOTO BY KARLA SOBERON enjoyable but much more labor intensive SGA PSA: (From top) juniors Callie Carpinteri, Lauren Nau and Brianna Piderit when she must incorporate specific designs and artwork. smile in front of a banner during homecoming week. Student Government “Banner-making and other projects Association displays banners around the Bay giving students information about can seem like a challenge,” Brodsky said. upcoming events and activities. “But it is worth taking the time to express SGA does due to the uniqueness and paper, made for Lightning Oscars took and share ideas with the school in a fun individuality of each one. hours to finish, but was like nothing we manner.” “The rose wall, made of red tissue had ever done before,” Brodsky said.
Competition for love warms winter hearts relationships. It was filled with emotional moments as each contestant fell in and out of love. “The Bachelor Winter Games” World Tells All Special followed the finale, in which contestants reunited to dish out secret behind-the-scenes gossip. Some contestants came back happy in love while others came back with questions and angered faces, making the event feisty and dramatic.
BY OLIVIA LANDSMAN MULT. NEWS EDITOR
International fan favorites from “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” hit the slopes for another chance to find love in the first season of “Bachelor Winter Games,” a sports-themed reality show. The four-episode spin-off series, which premiered Feb. 13, was filled with lighthearted comedic entertainment, as well as some tearful, heartbreaking moments. “The Bachelor,” which has been on 16 years has grown internationally. Multiple spin-offs, such as “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and now “Bachelor Winter Olympic Games” have created what is now known as Bachelor Nation. The show was hosted by longtime bachelor host, Chris Harrison. Sports journalists Hannah Storm and Ashley Brewer joined Harrison during the not-so-fierce competitions, adding a sense of competitiveness and energy to the show through play-by-plays and backstage interviews. “The Bachelor Winter Games” succeeded in presenting humorous scenes, similarly to other spin-offs. The idea that untrained, unfit contestants competed in professional snow sports like speed skating and ski biathlon was purely amusing, bringing a cheerful and upbeat tone to the show.
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Outside of the lighthearted humor, the winter games brought culture, an aspect the franchise had not yet presented. Stars from the Bachelor franchise all around the world came together attempting to find love in a new place. Contestants from New Zealand, Russia, Canada and other countries came together in a small cabin in Vermont to try once again to find love, which they have failed to find on past seasons. It was incredible to see so many different cultures come together considering other series from the
franchise include sleazy, scandalous scenes. Contestants from the other countries brought a new sense of class and taste to this show, mostly due to the cultural differences. This introduced an intriguing and intellectual aspect to the show that has not always been seen in past series and spin-offs. While there were some mild and dramatic arguments that occurred throughout the show, it mostly focused on each individual trying to find love. “The Bachelor Winter Games” focused purely on individual couples building
Bottom Line: It was incredible to see so many different cultures come together considering other series from the franchise include sleazy, scandalous scenes. Contestants from the other countries brought a new sense of class and taste to this show, mostly due to the cultural differences. Overall, “The Bachelor Winter Games” mixed various aspects of every genre. With romance, comedy and athletics, “The Bachelor Winter Games” definitely made its mark in the Bachelor Franchise and will hopefully return for another exciting season.
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AJR enlivens show with persistent spirit negatively changed the vibe of the theatre. Even though the band was upbeat, the style and songs were very monotonous, making the act slightly boring due to the unsettling change in genre. “The Click Tour” Band members and brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met opened BY ANNABELLE DANIELSthe show with a(n) “Overture”, ROSENBERG which is a combination of all the Indie pop band AJR put on an songs on “The Click,” the band’s electrifying show at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale of on Feb. Bottom Line: 12. AJR incorporates electronics and instruments in its songs and The brothers of AJR compiled its musical repertoire radiated energy in “The Click Tour.” The venue and put on an was well-suited for the concert, as the band’s style coincided impressive show. with the atmosphere and the set was perfectly sized. The concert started with second album. With anticipation two opening acts. The first act, and energy running high, they Hundred Handed, is a pop group followed with one of their most with a similar vibe to AJR. popular songs, “Come Hang Although not very famous, the Out,” and played a mix of their band’s songs were catchy and new and old songs throughout. One of the most intriguing entertaining. Hundred Handed parts of the concert was the mostly sang songs from its stage setup. All three brothers new EP called “Oo Whoa” to promote its most recent releases. played instruments along with The band set a cheery tone for musicians. Upstage center lay AJR and was an exciting preview large, empty boxes that lit up of the night’s mood. The second in multiple colors. Adam, Jack, act, Grisfolk, is a folk band that Ryan and musicians motioned
as if they could control the lights just by moving their hands. The boxes also lit up and changed color to go along with the beats. Along with the instruments, AJR used sounds to create different noises and pitches within its songs. The band demonstrated its creative process by starting with the beat of the song “Drama” and embellishing it with more intense electronic and musical sounds until it became the song, providing a different perspective on the art behind the music. Along with the band’s faster pop songs like ”Bud Like You,” the band also played some slower songs like “Call My Dad.” This mix of feelings added depth to the show and provided entertainment and variety. The band’s songs are about real events and personal situations, which also made the concert more relatable. PHOTOS BY ANNABELLE DANIELS-ROSENBERG Given the concert was THE GOOD PART: The indie pop band AJR performs at standing room only, the crowd Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 12. Following was tightly packed. The audience groups Hundred Handed and Grisfolk, the brothers was energetic and singing along; maintained their spirit throughout the entire performance. however, it became difficult to jump around and yell at times considering the mass amount of entertaining and lively, filled with concert and production, which talent along with an enthusiastic evoked positive energy and lost people in a small space. The concert was both crowd. It was an unforgettable voices.
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netflix
ORIGINALS
Streaming website Netflix has ventured into its own production of original series. BY LEXI FLECHNER ONLINE ARTS & ENT. EDITOR
The first series to be premiered on Netflix was “House of Cards,” which has five seasons, with a sixth to be released in fall of 2018. The series follows conniving and corrupt politician Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) in his attempt to remain in power in the United States government. Despite the controversy surrounding the show’s star Spacey, he does deliver an excellent performance. The show is extremely insightful to what goes on behind closed door in Washington every day, despite dramatization involved in a television show. “House of Cards” provides a suspenseful and exciting storyline that makes it hard to keep from watching episode after episode.
Another one of Netflix’s first original series is “Orange is the New Black,” which follows inmate Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) during her stay at Litchfield Women’s Correctional Facility. The series has been on for five season with a sixth to be released this summer. Every inmate and some prison guards receive an episode, if not more, providing backstory. This makes it even more fun to watch as every inmates story gets crazier by the episode. Though a good watch for the first three seasons, the last two seem dragged on and simply a push for the company to gain more revenue. As a whole, the series is too long, which ruins the excellence of the first three seasons. In 2017, Netflix brought YouTube star Colleen Ballinger to its site, with a show about her character Miranda Sings in “Haters Back Off.” The show is a disaster and is one of the worst shows Netflix has produced. The character, though funny in a fiveminute YouTube video, becomes annoying and tiresome in each half-hour episode, not to mention the entire series. The series is quite juvenial and unentertaining for as a whole. After releasing its second season, the show was ultimately canceled and Ballinger took her character back to her rightful place on YouTube, where she is at least more tolerable. COURTESY OF DANDELIONMOMS.COM
“The OA,” released in 2016, tells the story of a blind girl, Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling), who was kidnapped but miraculously returns home having regained her vision. Prairie then confides in a group of people from her community to explain how she got her sight back and how they can help her. “The OA” is a unique show that delivers in suspense and interest despite its obscurities. The entire series is addicting and a fresh show that does not carry off of cliches often found in other series. Though it contains only one short season, a second season began filing in January and will most likely be released in late 2018 or early 2019.
One of Netflix’s most popular originals is “Stranger Things,” which is set in the 1980s and centers around the disappearance of young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). When Will goes missing, his friends go on a search to find him and stumble upon the science fictional truth of their small town. The show’s two seasons are both extremely enjoyable but feature very different storylines. The first season is outstanding and the second season, despite still being enjoyable, seems too different from the first season to make the whole series perfectly cohesive. When the third season is released in early 2019, hopefully the previous seasons will be correctly intertwined and make the entire series whole. Similar to the iconic science fiction series, “The Twilight Zone,” “Black Mirror” offers a new storyline in every episode of its four seasons, focusing on the potential dangers of highly advanced technologies on society. Though some episodes remain strange and slightly disturbing, most are intriguing and captivating. The great episodes, being a vast majority of them, consistently show interesting technologies while the lesser episodes still can be enjoyed, despite being sometimes slow. Though not confirmed, there are speculations of a fifth season of the addicting series.
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“Black Panther” celebrates heritage “Black Panther” BY SHANTY FIERRO ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
Marvel’s newest addition to the superhero film family, “Black Panther” was released on Feb. 16 and has generated over 200 million dollars in the box office less than a week after its release. The film is laden with vibrant colors, music and great actor chemistry. The movie revolves around T’Challa (Chadwick Bosman), future king of Wakanda and title hero. T’Challa returns to Wakanda, a fictional land that is one of the most technologically advanced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) due to its abundance in vibranium, the fictitious strongest metal on Earth. The way that the Wakanda is introduced is extremely well done; the culture displayed within the land, along with the music and overall sophistication of the advanced technology, helps establish Wakanda as another major setting in the MCU. T’Challa returns to Wakanda after the events that occurred in a previous Marvel film, “Captain America: Civil War,” to claim his role as king. Although the main point of the film is to introduce the audience to Black Panther, it also introduces viewers to T’Challa as a person, which is not something that
Marvel Studios had done successfully in previous films. Moreover, one of the best aspects of the film is the amount of female power. Strong female leads are more in demand in the film industry now than they ever have been, and “Black Panther” nailed the casting and character development of its female characters. Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) is headstrong, independent and powerful in her role as T’Challa’s love interest in the film who constantly fights for justice in her own way. Nakia’s mentality is a major part in the girl power movement throughout the film, and promotes the strong female trope. Okoye (Danai Gurira) plays the king’s trusted general and the leader of the Dora Milaje, an all-female army that protects and serves the king. Seeing Okoye in action is stunning since she highlights the idea that women can be more than just damsels in distress. T’Challa’s little sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) is only 17 and is already one of Wakanda’s brightest inventors; she also provides plenty of comedic relief for both the movie and her older brother. Overall, the women of the film fill primary roles that are often taken by men in other films, thus promoting female empowerment throughout the film. Another element that contributed to the film’s success is the special effects PHOTO COURTESY OF COYOTEPR.UK editing that creates the visually stunning Wakanda. successfully introduces the hero and his landscapes of Wakanda. There are Overall, “Black Panther” is one of motives without rushing through key plot certain scenes in the movie where the Marvel’s best films thus far. The visuals points. visual effects take the film to another are amazing and the representation of level, adding to the magical appeal of African culture is masterful. The movie
The music in your ears “The Music in Your Ears” delves into the music tastes of students at the Bay. Staffer Ellie Sachs interviewed four students who enjoy listening to different types of music. “Slide” by Calvin Harris “It is a super upbeat song that puts me in a nice and happy mood.” -junior Erica Alejaldre
“Money Trees” by Kendrick Lamar
“I love all of Kendrick’s music and this song especially because it’s super chill and has an unique beat.” -senior Delaney Miller
“Opps” by Vince Staples
“I like this song because it’s from my favorite scene in ‘Black Panther’.” -senior Sandra Salvatierra “1 Million” by Neutro Shorty “It’s a Spanish song which is my favorite kind of music and I really enjoy the story that the song tells.” -junior Javier Pinedo
46 THE CIRCUIT
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
MARCH 2018
DIY decorations foster creativity Whether it be in their own bedrooms or in the classroom at school, students and teachers at the Bay have participated in expressing their creativity by making their own do-it-yourself (DIY) room decor. Sophomore Samantha Henky said she has been making DIY bedroom decor for over four years and enjoys projects like pressing and framing roses and hanging up original paintings. “I started making my own decorations when I was about 12 because I have always been a creative person who enjoys art,” Henky said. “So I decided I wanted to make my own personalized crafts that would make my room look cool and unique.” Henky said apps like Pinterest, which showcases a variety of pictures of creative projects, inspire her to create her own version of specific projects. “I‘m always scrolling through Pinterest and seeing cool projects that other people have done, that I end up really liking,” Henky said. “Instead of copying them exactly, I like to change them up a bit so I can add my own individuality.” Art and photography teacher Bizzy Jenkins said she appreciates students that enjoy expressing their individuality in an innovative way. “I love when kids share with me that they painted their room or that they have a
whole photo wall mural that they made,” Ms. Jenkins said. “It’s great that they’re expressing and personalizing their room to make it a space that they enjoy.” Senior Bella Correia said she makes photo collages and new desk organizers as a way to manage stress and relax. “The main reason I like making my own decorations for my room and for other projects is because it allows me to take my mind off things that stress me out,” Correia said. “I just love saving a bunch of ideas I see online for when I want to relax and do a quick DIY that makes my room look cute.”
“
The main reason I like making my own decorations for my room and for other projects is because it allows me to take my mind off things that stress me out.
“
BY ELLIE SACHS
-senior Bella Correia On top of making decor for her own room, Correia said she finds herself making DIY photo collages for her friends’ rooms as well. “Sometimes when I am thinking of birthday or Christmas present ideas I always end up making cute photo
PHOTOS BY ELLIE SACHS
DID IT MYSELF: Art and photography teacher Bizzy Jenkin displays her original artwork around her classroom to spark creativity in her students. The artwork in her classroom varies from bicycles to 3D words to phrases. Jenkins gets inspired from Pinterest.
collages for my close friends to hang up in their rooms,” Correia said. “I think it is an easy present that is also very sentimental and sweet.” Along with students decorating their bedrooms, teachers have also made their own decor for their classrooms. Ms. Jenkins said she feels having creative
decorations in her room serves as a great opportunity for art that can drive motivation in her students. “I feel like hanging decorations gives kids something to look at, and I also hope it inspires them,” Jenkins said. “This year I made the word ‘focus’ out of different pictures of cameras.”
MARCH 2018
OPINION WWW.CBHSCIRCUIT.COM
47
THE CIRCUIT
Beauty standards hinder movements Every year, the Academy Awards are filled with glitz and glamor, luxurious gowns and sparkling jewelry. However, this year on March 4, the red carpet was filled with Time’s Up pins, as Hollywood’s elite united in support of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. After film executive Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment in October 2017, the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements have grown strong, gaining support from countless celebrities. At the Golden Globes awards, all attendees wore black to support these movements. Similarly, at the Grammys, all attendees wore or held white roses, which were chosen to symbolize hope, peace and resistance. At the Academy Awards, celebrities also supported the movement by wearing Time’s Up pins and verbally promoting the movement during the award show. Despite this wave of women’s activism, female celebrities are still objectified at each award show. On the red carpet, interviewers from E! Network and Access Hollywood constantly ask women about their appearance and clothing choices. While men are asked about their career and award nominations, the most common questions for women is “Who are you wearing?” The real question they should be asking is “Who are you as a person and an actress?” Additionally, the day after each award show, magazines like People Magazine and US Weekly publish “Best Dressed” and “Worst Dressed” lists. At ceremonies so focused on the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, this behavior is completely contradictory. The whole purpose of
Flash of brilliance
YES Students should be allowed to retake a test if they fail because one chance to prove mastery on a specific topic is not enough. A student’s failure on a test can be a product of having a bad day, whether it be that they are sick or having problems at home. Poor test grades can also result from multiple tests being planned on one day. To prevent this, teachers should either work together when scheduling assessments or refrain from holding it against the student by offering makeups. Also, as it is typical of high school students to undergo immense amounts of stress and pressure, their ability to perform on a single test can be hindered. Even if the student knew the information, he or she may still be anxious and potentially choke or accidentally prioritize the idea of doing well rather than focusing. Some students excel and have mastered the process associated with test taking, but others struggle even if they thoroughly understand the material. The pressures entailed in test taking can overwhelm a student to the point of damaging his or her grade; because of this, students that fail a test should be offered a retake assessment. It is unfair to be expected to succeed on the first try every time, and often there is no room for mistakes in the gradebook. Just as other schools in Broward County like private school North Broward Preparatory School have enacted these test retake opportunities, the Bay should implement them as well. Students should not be expected to excel on their first try. -Annabelle Daniels-Rosenberg
GRAPHIC BY JESSIE CHAIET
#MeToo and Time’s Up is for women to support each other for who they are, not what they look like. However, the beautyobsessed nature of Hollywood promotes the idea that women need to compete for the best look. The Oscars this year promoted a variety of powerful women. Greta Gerwig, director of “Lady Bird,” was the fifth woman in Oscar history to be nominated for the Best Director category. The movie “Molly’s Game,” which was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, features a strong female lead, played by
Jessica Chastain. Frances McDormand, who won the coveted Lead Actress award, also plays a strong female lead in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” However, within their first steps on the red carpet, Gerwig, Chastain and McDormand were likely judged based on their appearance and asked about their outfits rather than the strong female characters who appeared in their movies. This is utterly absurd; women shouldn’t have to walk the red carpet in fear of the “Fashion Police.” The women on the red
Should students who fail exams be permitted to retake them?
carpet are being objectified and evaluated based on their looks, in the same manner as the male film executives who allegedly sexually assaulted them. If men aren’t being asked about their appearance, why do women need to be interrogated about each element of their outfit? Women have been fighting for rights for centuries; this is a recurring theme in history, as it was seen in the suffrage movement and the feminist movement. Even now, women are still having to earn rights and fair treatment. The Academy Awards should serve to promote the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements and aid women in their fight for recognition for their bodies of work-- not just their bodies. However, beauty standards continue to limit necessary progress. To promote women’s activism, movements like #AskHerMore need to gain traction. At the 2015 Golden Globes, actress Amy Poehler spearheaded this campaign to change the questions women are asked on the red carpet. Throughout the last three years, other Hollywood influencers like actress Reese Witherspoon and television producer Shonda Rhimes have championed this movement. However, the “Who are you wearing?” question has still been asked time and time again. Ultimately, award shows like the Academy Awards need to promote women’s activism, honor their acting abilities and recognize them for all of their achievements in the industry. Otherwise, it might be “Time’s Up” for the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements.
NO
Students’ assessment grades are representative of their level of studying, understanding and how well they pay attention in class. If students had the ability to make up any test that they have failed, they would most likely abuse this privilege. Knowing that they have a makeup, students may ignore a teacher during class and depend on the makeup to succeed. If this reliance on the retakes is to continue, this can affect the grades that students receive on their final exams and standardized tests. Makeups can discourage students from studying to their best ability, which can not only restrict their knowledge, but can also have a detrimental effect on their studying skills. Without these necessary studying skills, students can be lost when trying to prepare for Endof-Course exams; because retakes cannot be offered for standardized tests, their scores will probably be lower than what they have been receiving on the retakes throughout the year. After taking one exam, students also know what to expect on a makeup; therefore, their scores may GRAPHIC BY SOPHIE GAER be higher than what they truly deserve and will be unrepresentative of their true level of understanding. As students Visit cbhscircuit.com move on to college and into a job, they to vote on this topic. will most likely not receive this same opportunity to try again on assessments and projects. The idea of retakes would allow students to receive higher grades during the year, but it will definitely leave them unprepared for their future in school and in adult life. -Jenna Friedman
48 THE CIRCUIT
WWW.CBHSCIRCUIT.COM
OPINION
MARCH 2018
Female athletes treated unfairly in industry
It’s March again, marking the start of the “March Madness” season where boys and girls alike frantically fill out their brackets and root for their favorite male basketball teams to decide who will win the infamous National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college basketball tournament. What is not seen, however, is those same boys and girls filling out brackets for the women’s NCAA basketball tournament. These women athletes are participating in the same tournament for the same reasons and aiming to win the same trophy. But these women, while deserving of the same attention as the male athletes, simply get thrown into the shadows of the men’s spotlight. Breanna Stewart, a star from the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), was the winner of the 2016 Espy Award for “Best Female Athlete.” While this is a huge award in the field of sports, instead of using the spotlight at the award ceremony to revel in her accomplishments, she took it as an opportunity to draw attention to the inequality in the coverage of male athletes versus female athletes in sports media. Stewart along with many other professional female athletes feel that they do not receive anywhere close to the same coverage and fame as their male counterparts, even though they train just as hard and play the same game. According to CNN, the average salary for a WNBA player is $72,000, while the average salary for a male ath-
lete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is around $5 million, which is about 70 times the amount of money the average female basketball player makes. Even in high schools, it is very common to see male athletic programs getting much more recognition than the girls programs. Nancy Hogshead-Mear, a former Olympic champion swimmer, retired from the sport to become a women’s athletic defense attorney. She recently dealt with a case regarding a public school in Indiana and the dramatically unequal facilities that the boys baseball team had access to in comparison to the girls softball team. Hogshead-Mear claims to see cases similar to this one quite often and believes it is very unhealthy for girls to witness the boys being treated with more importance and respect, but it is also equally as unhealthy for the boys to constantly be reminded that women athletes are below them. This is a chain reaction that will continue to be passed down and reinstated that men deserve more attention in athletics than women. We as a society do not show female athletes that they deserve equal support, and we certainly need to. By getting more people in the stands to watch girls sporting events at the high school, collegiate and professional level, more funding is likely to go towards women’s sporting events once it is known that there is an audience who wants to see these women play. Dr. Nicole Lavoi, the associate direc-
GRAPHIC BY SOPHIE GAER
tor of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women’s Sports at the University of Minnesota, attributes the lack of interest and funding towards women’s athletics to the fact that the media does not broadcast their games or give them any coverage in newspapers and online media. A study at the University of California discovered that 98 percent of network sports coverage is of men. While coverage of a regular season male hockey game might be posted all over the front page of newspapers, the women’s national championship hockey game falls into a small corner in the sports section, lucky to get more than a picture. This is an unacceptable statistic which is demeaning to women and harmful to the boosted ego of men. While the women’s hockey team at the University of Minnesota has been deemed the best women’s college hockey team in history, they still manage to get an average of 1,878 spectators while the male team had an average of 9,950 spectators at each game. Unequal viewing of
these sporting events can be seen not just at the college level, but also at the high school level and the professional level. High school students never attend the pep rally and homecoming game to see their girls flag football team or lacrosse team or soccer team take on its rivals. Instead, they’ll go watch the boys football team or the baseball team or the basketball team just because they’re the boys team and not because they’re any better or more entertaining to watch. Boys grow up all their lives seeing images of men playing sports confidently on the television or on the front page of newspapers, but how can girls see that there are an equal amount of qualified women playing the same sports who are just as confident, capable and heroic as the male athletes if we do not cover this in the media or support our women athletes? Our society needs to get its act together and show women and girls that they are just as deserving and qualified as men to play sports, and start turning our attention towards our female athletes.
Letters to the Editor Wifi and cell service should be easily accessible on school campus The wifi and cell service should be improved on the campus. Over most areas of the school it is like a “dead-zone” for cell phones. It can be really frustrating when I need to contact someone, like my mom, and I can’t. It even interferes with my school work because sometimes I may need to search something up and I can’t. This could easily be fixed by adding an unlocked wifi for the students to use so that if needed, they can easily contact someone. -Skylar Gerstenfeld, sophomore
School announcements should be posted online so students can be fully informed at all times
Every day, tons of seniors take advantage of their senior privilege and leave school at 12:30 or 1:05. Although this is a great incentive for seniors to come to school, there is one major problem. These seniors are not able to hear the announcements that begin at 2:40 when the last bell rings. Aftershock, which is played every Friday, is available on the CBTV website for seniors or any other student who missed an episode. Similar to this solution by CBTV, a recording or transcript of the announcements at the end of the day should be published on the CBHS website that is always being
browsed through by students and parents. If not, seniors will continue to be left in the dark on several important dates, school events, and deadlines. Several seniors rely on their friends or underclassmen to pass on the messages, but this goes against the belief that students should not have to rely on other students to receive important information. A student may forget a crucial thing that was said in the announcement that applies to the student who is asking. With today’s tech-savvy society, it should be no problem to post the announcements online so no student is left out. -Alexa Maldonado, senior Sidewalks should be covered to prevent students from getting to class during inclement weather The school could use more covered walkways. Since The Bay is such an open school, whenever it rains I always get drenched. Especially when coming or going to the portables. The whole courtyard area is very open, which is really nice, but some more covering could be really helpful. It is really uncomfortable to be soaking wet all day at school. Also at the end of the day, when walking to my car. Once you pass the buildings there is barely any covering on the campus. So additional covered walkways in the courtyard, by the portables, at the student parking lot, and by the teacher parking lot can be a useful feature to have on rainy days. -Silvana Lozano, senior
Paper towels should be used in the bathrooms to save time and prevent spreading of germs There should be paper towels in the bathrooms. In all the bathrooms on the campus there are hand paper towel bins but they are always empty. As an alternative to the paper towels, there are hand dryers. But, the hand dryers don’t even usually work, I can be standing there drying my hand for like up to five minutes straight and they will still be wet. I think a simple solution like filling up all the paper towel bins every one or two weeks could be a big help. -Lauren Maykut, sophomore Additional gate in student parking lot should be open during dismissal to avoid traffic The gate that leads to vista by the baseball fields should be opened. I understand that security is becoming more strict lately at The Bay. And one of the changes made have been closing the gates in an attempt to make our school a one entry point. However, I park at the Vista Park parking lot and it has become a big inconvenience for me to walk from Cypress’s buildings to my car after school. I have to walk all the way around by the student parking lot, and by the time I finally get to my car, the traffic is so backed up. If the school security can simply open the gates before the bell at 2:45, and then close them once students have cleared out, it can continue to keep our school safe and be of a big help for so many of the students that park at vista. -Alison Sappia, senior
School bathrooms should be kept cleaner and stocked with supplies Something at Cypress that I would want to change is to make the bathrooms cleaner. They are always so dirty and it’s kind of gross having to go in their everyday. I know I am not the only person complaining about the bathrooms, all of my friends never really want to use the bathrooms at school because they are always dirty. Also, sometimes when I go to the bathroom, there is no toilet paper and that is really gross. I usually have to ask someone for toilet paper from another stall and I don’t think we should have to do that. Keeping the bathrooms clean and stocked with supplies would be ideal for all the students at our school. -Lauren Nau, junior
Letters to the editor are encouraged as part of The Circuit’s mission as a public forum. Submissions should not exceed 300 words; they should be dropped off in Room 360 or mailed to the school to the attention of adviser Eileen Manella. The author will have the final say in phrasing of the letter, but letters are subject to editing for length, clarity, punctuation and grammar. Anonymous letters will not be printed and the writer’s identity will be confirmed prior to the publication. Any material deemed libelous, obscene, disruptive or unlawful to minors will not be published.
MARCH 2018
OPINION
THE CIRCUIT
49
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Prospective pet owners should adopt animals rather than purchase them
Journalists remain credible through growing era of fake news accusations
When many Americans think of getting a pet, they often get one from a pet store where they can go in and play with different animals until they find one they want to take home. While this can be fun and offer many options when it comes to what breed and age a pet owner wants to have, adopting a pet is a far better option. When animals are given up by their owners for any reason, or found as strays, they are sent to animal shelters. Unfortunately, there are an abundance of unwanted animals in the US, and many shelters resort to euthanizing older pets to make more space. This practice is extremely cruel to animals, but there are no laws prohibiting it. To stop this euthanasia from happening, adopting is a great choice for prospective pet owners. When more pet adoptions happen, there is less of a need to euthanize pets, because there is plenty of space in the shelter for all of them to stay. Moreover, animals who are adopted are often depressed from being locked in cages all day, often with no love. Giving them a chance to live in a good home with owners who are excited to have them, renews their life and makes everyone in the family happier overall. When animals aren’t adopted, they often come from breeders or mills. While breeders are not terrible, it would be better to give other pets a chance than purchase one from a breeder who could find another customer easily. Mills are very disturbing and use malpractice. Here, animals are raised in bulk, trying to get as many out as possible for people to buy. Once they reach pet stores, they
Fake news: (n) reports that are intentionally false or misleading. Or as defined by President Donald Trump, news he particularly doesn’t like. This isn’t the first time Trump has disagreed with a generally reputable source like the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. As seen through his informal Twitter account, the President has hypocritically accosted the media for releasing faulty information. Meanwhile, according to Politifact, around 32% of his statements made this year have been entirely false. Attacks like this on investigative journalists, who are simply completing their task to expose the political process and inform the public, discredits their work and causes mistrust of the media throughout the general public. According to the Statistics Portal, only 11% of people in the United States fully trust cable news. Although a 280 character tweet may seem insignificant, when it comes from a person in power, it can lead to delegitimization of the media and concern with the integrity of journalists. Despite all of the hate, the media exists to help the community. During the recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD), many parents and residents of Broward County, as well as throughout the nation, relied on social media and national news to stay updated. None of these stories replayed by the news about the Douglas shooting were falsely reported. The news displayed the harsh and ugly truth of a mass murder at MSD and no political tweet denouncing the situation could possibly weaken the
are kept in small cages all day long and treated terribly. If people adopted more than they shopped, mills would be unable to sustain revenue and be forced to shut down, stopping their harmful practices. Besides the morals behind adopting, it is significantly cheaper. Animals bought from breeders or stores are often exorbitantly more expensive. At a shelter, animals are sold for very cheap prices. Adopting not only saves money, but also saves animals’ lives. In the United States alone, there are 7.6 million animals being put into shelters every single year. Some of those animals will never end up getting adopted, most likely the older animals. While pet owners tend to want to get young animals, older pets need just as much love and attention. If possible, adopting an older pet is even more helpful than adopting a younger one since they tend to get more attention. Though most people will not want an old animal because they believe they won’t have enough time with them, they still
Bottom Line: Adopting from animal shelters saves both lives and money. deserve the same love for the rest of their lives and should be receiving it. To maximize the benefits of having a pet, all prospective owners should consider adopting an animal form a local animal shelter. Fees are low, if existent, and the feeling of saving an animal from a hard life in a cage is too precious to pass up.
voices of those students in Parkland who spoke out for change to be made regarding gun control laws. Like the students who spoke up, a journalist’s role in society is not to intentionally persuade an audience to feel a certain way or lean toward a certain position. They have no intentions of promoting political gains, but instead they reveal the truth within political policies and officials. Thus, they further a democratic system of checks and balances. Sites like Snopes, which determine what articles are fact or fiction, should not have to exist. Within this generation of fraudulent news claims, more and more
Bottom Line: Media exists to inform rather than spread libel. journalists are increasing their primary and secondary sources to prevent verbal attacks by citizen journalism and political officials. The job of a journalist is to present the cold truth. Headlines should not be decoded and judged as a true or false question on an exam. Whether it is because a politician dislikes the report, or the public sees something they would rather not believe, it cannot be instantly classified as a mistruth. As a journalist myself, along with the other student journalists at the Bay, we have no intentions of spreading rumors and false beliefs. Thus, we work hard to maintain our credibility and strength through reliable sources and hard-work during this era of fake news.
Bottom Line: We cannot normalize school shootings; this generation has the power to make a change in legislation and must utilize its voice to guarantee there is ‘Never Again’ another one.
Student action leads to progress ensuring lives prioritized over guns The atmosphere at the Bay felt different on Feb. 15. Students were terrorized and teachers were numb; the hallways were barren. How could we feel normal going back to school when our peers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) just endured this much pain? How could we resume our daily routines when 17 innocent lives were taken after a senseless tragedy on Valentine’s Day involving a gun similar to those used by our military in combat? What was supposed to be a day of love and happiness turned into one of terror and sadness. Now instead of being known as the school with the fantastic debate team and talented marching band, MSD will forever be associated with being the site of one of the deadliest school shootings in the nation.
The MSD shooting has devastated 17 families, yet another school and another community. How many more innocent lives need to be taken before legislators realize they need to fight for people’s safety rather than for guns? What is it going to take for politicians to realize that the lives of people are more important than National Rifle Association (NRA) funding? According to CNN, in the first nine weeks of 2018 alone, there were at least 14 school shootings in the United States. On average, this means there have been 1.5 shootings per week. If we do not make a change immediately, this number will inevitably continue to grow. School shootings have become all too familiar and a monotonous cycle of providing “thoughts and prayers” rather than action has yet to change. However, some students from Stoneman Douglas are de-
termined to change this pattern. After the MSD tragedy, students from the school formed the #NeverAgain movement in order to advocate for tighter regulations to prevent future gun violence. These courageous students have staged protests in which they demand legislative actions to be taken and have spoken out against lawmakers who receive political contributions from the NRA. Although their finish line has not been reached, their progress has been remarkable. Because of these bright young student’s impactful appearances on national news stations, rallies and in front of politicians, they have become household names. Well-known companies such as Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kroger have changed their gun sale policies by increasing restrictions and more than a dozen large companies including Delta Airlines, Hertz and MetLife Insurance have pulled discounts offered to NRA members. Through their powerful voices and messages on social media, these students have created a domino ef-
fect in which more and more people are beginning to advocate for change. In another attempt to have their message heard, students have organized March for Our Lives to demand that an effective bill be brought before Congress to address gun issues. On March 24, supporters will take to the streets of Washington D.C. and many other communities around the nation to demand that their safety is prioritized and that gun violence and mass shootings come to a permanent halt. We cannot let MSD merely become another name on an already too long mass shooting list. Let’s make a change for all of the people who have lost their lives to gun violence. Our generation can be the one to make a difference. The MSD Eagles have soared and now it is our time to join them in their flight. We must vote in the upcoming elections, advocate for stricter gun laws and come together to make sure no one ever has to say “#NeverAgain” again.
50 THE CIRCUIT
WWW.CBHSCIRCUIT.COM
OPINION
MARCH 2018
A ‘WICKED’ BACKSTAGE EXPERIENCE Magic happens below the stage of the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. On Feb. 22, I witnessed that magic firsthand, sitting next to the conductor during a performance of the Munchkinland National Tour of “Wicked.” Through headphones that picked up every little noise from every microphone and every instrument, I experienced “Wicked” differently than I had the first three times I saw it. “Wicked” tells the story of Glinda and the Wicked Witch Elphaba in a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” following their complicated friendship in their days together at Shiz University. I was first introduced to the musical in 2005, when I saw it in New York with my family. Within the course of the next six years, I had seen it twice over at the Broward Center, memorizing every lyric and line of dialogue. As a Teen Ambassador at the Broward Center, I am one of 25 high school students from the tri county area given unique opportunities to delve into a variety of aspects of the theater industry. The January of my freshman year, I sat in the orchestra pit during a performance of the touring company of “The Lion King,” a show especially important to me as it was the first Broadway production I ever saw. I’m not a musician, so this experience in the pit may initially come off as moot, but my theatrical interests lie not in performing nor in orchestrating; instead, I just find no passion greater than watching a show and realizing the artistic journey it forges. Going into my last year as a Teen Ambassador, I knew I wanted to take advantage of these opportunities and asked my mentor if it would be possible to sit in the “Wicked” orchestra. After conversations with the production team, my mentor told me I was approved a “‘Wicked’ backstage experience.” I wondered what this experience would entail, priming myself with the soundtrack for a good week in advance. When I arrived, I was greeted by the production stage manager, and in a common room for dancers and directors alike, I watched as women in green ball gowns and costume designers with broken monkey shoes circled in and out prior to showtime. With every handshake and introduction, I was told, “Welcome to ‘Wicked,’” in jazz hands and pre-show excitement. I
sat on a couch and within 20 minutes had conversations with the traveling carpenter, the dance captain, two assistant production stage managers, a swing going on for understudy Glinda and the actor preparing to replace Boq. I finally met Adam Souza, the conductor and musical director, who took me down to the orchestra pit and set me up with a headset and noise controller next to a pianist. The time before the show began was a whirlwind of questions and answers, and though I wanted to know everything about everyone’s role in production, they all ended up asking me what my role is as a Teen Ambassador. In those moments I realized how once-in-a-lifetime of an opportunity this was, with cast members telling me they were jealous I got to sit in the orchestra as they had never been down there. I conversed with the three pianists before they began playing, as I realized one graduated from the university I plan on attending and one handed me his extra musical score, so I could follow along. Many musicians in the pit asked me what instrument I played, to which my go-to response all evening was, “I wish I played one,” and further explained my simple interest in seeing theater at a new perspective. So there I sat, the lights dimming, a score I can’t read in hand, when Adam warns me, “We giggle a lot here.” I prepared for a one-of-a-kind pit experience, and that I certainly got. For the first act of the show, I had a slim view of the stage, only sometimes seeing parts of the faces of performers downstage left and hearing the footsteps directly above my head. My view was the orchestra, as I watched the reactions of the guitarist, pianists and conductor feeling the notes they played. And even without sight of the stage, the emotions of the songs and dialogue struck me through my headphones. For the second act, I was motioned to join Adam next to the conductor’s booth, where I watch the entire act right above me, with an HD view of everything from Elphaba’s makeup to the folds on Glinda’s dress. I know “Wicked.” I could recite “Wicked” in my sleep, yet every time I watch it, it takes on a new meaning. Prior to the show, the actor playing Doctor Dillamond, Elphaba’s goat teacher, asked
PHOTOS BY RACHEL SCHONBERGER
CHANGED FOR THE BETTER: Senior Rachel Schonberger volunteers at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts as a Teen Ambassador. Through this program, she had the opportunity to sit in the orchestra pit at “Wicked” and further learn about different career paths in the theater industry.
the production stage manager if he could wear an orange ribbon under his collar in honor of Jaime Guttenberg, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas victim whose cousins were in the audience. During the show, knowing this information, so many words and sentences took on different meanings and different commentary in the context of current events. That is why “Wicked” is magical, and that is why theater as a whole is magical.
It characterizes its audience and can be interpreted however its audience wants to interpret it. Theater is changing, theater is moving, theater encompasses life. I was lucky enough to watch the process unfold from curtain to curtain in a new light. I wish all students the opportunity to have a “backstage experience,” whether that is in theater or in whatever field their passion lies, for there is nothing as motivating as seeing dreams in action.
OPINION
MARCH 2018
THE CIRCUIT
51
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Rally allows activist to voice opinions
After the recent events that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, I knew it was time for a change. This shooting was too close to home; it could have easily been my school. I decided enough was enough. As I scrolled through Snapchat, Instagram and other social media platforms, I noticed pictures of protests circulating, for a change in gun control. I told my parents about the rally and they agreed that we should participate.
While voicing my opinion, it was difficult to hold back my tears. I was so angry these events occurred, and no changes had been made. I explained to the reporter how confused I was that teenagers were fighting for a difference more than politicians were. My parents went out to buy a poster board and markers. I recorded statistics on school shootings in the U.S. and other countries. My friend and I held our sign up throughout the whole rally; people took pictures of us and posted it on social media. We rallied in front of Fort Lauderdale’s Federal Courthouse. Our chanting could be heard from two blocks away. Streets were closed causing traffic downtown. People from all over Florida came to support a new firearm safety legislation. As soon as I arrived at the courthouse, I felt a wave of sadness, happiness and
accomplishment. I was heartbroken for the 17 lives lost, but overjoyed that although tragic events occurred, I could do something to help. The pride I took in participating was so strong it was almost tangible; I could voice my opinion on the change I want to see in the world. People were crowding around the podium where survivor Emma Gonzalez gave a speech on her experience. Everyone was cheering, videotaping and crying as she shared her story. The whole rally was empowering as everyone joined together to fight for a common cause. Strangers were hugging each other. There was a huge sense of unity throughout the whole protest. Government officials presented speeches, and all came to a unanimous conclusion: stronger gun control is needed. Students screamed, asking when they would feel safe in their own classroom. There were parents and children pleading for change as they got interviewed by different news stations. As I was leaving, NBC Los Angeles stopped my family and I. Being interviewed was an amazing feeling as my voice could be heard across the country and reach people in different states. I felt hopeful that my words could influence someone’s opinion and help see a different perspective. I knew my experience would make a mark, and that was a feeling I could never reciprocate. While voicing my opinion, it was difficult to hold back my tears. I was so angry these events occurred, and no changes had been made. I explained to the reporter how confused I was that teenagers were fighting for a difference more than politicians were. Being vocal in this situation is what the politicians need to see for change to occur, so I let everything I had in me out.
EDITORS
The Circuit is the student newspaper of Cypress Bay High School. The opinions expressed in the paper are not necessarily those of the adviser, administration, or advertisers. The publication of advertisements in The Circuit does not imply endorsement. The Circuit is a free publication available to approximately 4,700 students and 300 faculty and staff members of Cypress Bay High School. The publication prints 3,500 copies six times per year. The Circuit has been recognized as a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown Winner, National Scholastic Press Association-All American publication and Florida Scholastic Press Association All-Florida publication. TO CONTACT US: CALL (754) 323- 0350, ext. 3277 eileen.manella@browardschools.com OR VISIT cbhscircuit.com
PHOTOS BY CRISTINA CIMATO
NEVER AGAIN: Sophomore Cristina Cimato fights for gun control at the Fort Lauderdale Federal Courthouse rally on Feb. 17. With signs saying “Enough is Enough,” Cimato protests alongside others in order to ensure the safety of her and her peers.
Although I may be only 15 years old, news station. I am young, but I have used my small part in the protest is part of a my voice to spread the message we need big movement. I’m proud of myself for to actualize: protect children, not guns. participating and being interviewed by a
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Editor-in-Chief: Rachel Schonberger
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MARCH 2018