In The News
@cscpawprint Coral Springs Charter School cscpawprint@gmail.com November 2019 3205 North University Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33065 Volume 5, Issue 2
Features
News
Anime Club pg.2
Veganism pg.7
Sports
Volleyball pg.11
Entertainment
IT Review pg.9
Parkland buddy Andrew teaches Junior volunteer, Radamus Leyva how to dab. Photo credit: B. Andara
Buddy Sports: NHS involvement in changing lives by Barbara Andara, news editor
Charter’s involvement with volunteer work hasn’t only benefited the students with the volunteer hours necessary for their college resumes, but with service that changes their lives. “Our chapter of NHS [National Honor Society] is the most active chapter in the county... other schools have more kids than us, but we have a greater percentage of kids involved in service than any other school in the city,” states NHS adviser Michael Singer, “Charter has great kids doing great things, and it’s amazing for our school,”. About 3 years ago, NHS started their student service at Parkland Buddy Sports, an organization where student volunteers play sports with mentally and physically challenged kids. “It’s great that there is this type of experience in the community for special needs children to learn sports, learn teamwork, and to have fun,” said Joe Chedus, the father of Andrew, a Parkland Buddy Sports member. Students are assigned a buddy on the first day and continue to play with their assigned buddy every Saturday of the sport’s season. “This is my second flag football season that I’ve volunteered in and the smile I put on the kids’ faces motivated me to come
back,” said Junior Radames Leyva. “The impact you make in a kid’s life goes farther than just volunteering,” said Leyva.
Volunteer interacts with her buddy in order to make him smile. Photo credit: B. Andara
Volunteer work such as Parkland Buddy Sports, not only makes someone else’s day much brighter but it can also affect the student
volunteer. “This experience has been life changing for me; now I think in the future I’m going to do something with kids,” said Sophomore Isabella Michelotti, “Seeing the joy on my buddy’s face while I’m with him, is something I want to do for the rest of my life.” The bond created between the student and their buddy, usually doesn’t end along the with sport’s season. “I was invited to go bowling and a food truck event with my buddy, Andrew,”said Leyva. “It’s an amazing feeling to see the way Andrew gets along with his buddy… he looks forwards to Saturdays and has an amazing amount of fun,” said Andrew’s father, Joe Cheedus. “I love my buddy because he plays with me a lot,” said Andrew, an NHS student and volunteer in community service events such as cleaning up parks, making cards for veterans, feeding South Florida, packaging foods, and more. “The volunteer work of each and every Charter student has impacted thousands of lives, and will continue doing so,” Singer states, ”You don’t realize what kind of gifts you were born with until you see the people who were born without them,”.
The fall of AICE Math Kendall Hendrix business manager
After years of extremely low pass rates, admin has made the executive decision to no longer offer AICE Math. This is the first year in three years that students in grades 10-12 will not have the option to take the class. “A lot of kids are signing up to get a bump in their GPA,” says the head of the math department and former AICE Math teacher, Jill Fishgold. “They either say it’s hard, I’m not even going to try to take the test or take it seriously. I’m just going to get the grade and then have a higher GPA, so they blow off the test,”. As a result of this, administration has taken up a new system of placing students into the proper math classes for them. “We gave all upper level kids a practice SAT, plus we took theresults of the NWEA and used those results to program them for the following year,” Fishgold explained. If a certain minimum wasn’t met, the student would not be able to go into AP or AICE math classes. “We’re hoping that that would weed out people who were taking [AICE Math] because they want the elevated GPA.” This decision has affected every grade, particularly the sophomores who took Pre-AICE Math last year. “I was actually kind of looking forward to [AICE Math] because of the small pass rate,” said sophomore Phillip Khaskin, “You know, it was a challenge and we got bamboozled and they took it away.” Melanie Rodriguez, another sophomore, expressed similar thoughts. “[Pre-AICE Math] was really meant to prepare us for AICE Math, but we just didn’t end up taking that class,”. These students are currently taking pre-calculus in place of the AICE
Math course. A number of upperclassmen who were planning on taking AICE Math have expressed disappointment in not having the class as an option this year. “I heard that the class was really easy to pass from what I’ve been told,” explained senior Lena Santigo, “I was annoyed that they took it away this year because I don’t think it’s fair,”. Other upperclassmen have said that they were not expecting the class to be removed. Senior Giuliana Sarcone expressed her concerns for the general student population: “I completed the needed credits and exams needed for the AICE Diploma so I didn’t worry much, however, I do understand why it could be a concern for underclassmen who are seeking the credit,”. Sarcone also explained that because she had already passed the required amount of exams for the Cambridge Diploma, on top of the already low pass rate, she didn’t believe that she would be highly motivated to pass the exam during her senior year. “Nevertheless, I would have still put in effort to the class and tried my best to keep up,”. Despite the low pass rate of the exam, students have passed the exam before. Junior Allyse Doblmeier passed the exam last year with an E. “I did feel like I was prepared [for the exam],” Doblmeier explained, “but I felt like, for me personally, I had to put a certain amount of work in it that maybe other people wouldn’t have been willing to put in.,”. Senior JulianMaldonado also passed last year with a C. “You have to put in the effort. The concepts aren’t hard, however it can get very tedious,”. In regards to the decision of getting rid of the
class, people have had differing views. Maldonado thinks it was a great decision. “Frankly, no one was prepared to take the class and in reality it was only setting up these kids for failure in the future years because even if they failed AICE Math, they were still passed onto AP Calc. It’s much more beneficial to not have AICE Math and actually teach the material that would help them in the future.” Fishgold on the other hand, thinks that the course has the potential to be brought back in the future. “I don’t think that it was a good idea to get rid of the course. I think if we want to bring it back, which we can, we have to rigorously enforce the standards to get in.”
Rebranding and expanding: Anime club Madalen Erez staff writer
Anime Club is rebranding this year into the Geek Alliance. The Geek Alliance will expand into all new interests not covered in Anime club before. This includes playing D&D and other roleplaying games, as well as exploring popular “geekdoms”. These changes to the club aren’t sudden. In fact, Geek Alliance advisor Amanda Lanza, as well as Geek Alliance president Caroline Riquelme have been thinking about this for more than a year. “We want to focus on different things than just anime, because a lot of students don’t want to come. Anime used to be much harder to find. Now it’s more readily available,” Lanza said. According to Lanza, the main goal of the change is to get students to be more social and talk to their peers. “Even our principle thinks the kids need more social skills. We’re trying to present them with an atmosphere where they can just freely socialize with each other and be themselves,” Lanza said. Geek Alliance hopes to explore different aspects of geek culture through having themes each month. “In the earlier years, we would have different themes of anime, like for October we would have psychological or scary anime. In February, we had romance anime. Since this year we’re reaching out to other geekdoms we’re going to start doing more activities, like we’re going to have a roleplaying month,” Geek Alliance vice president Luis Silva said. In the past, this club help served as a way for students connect over the anime they enjoyed. “I joined in seventh grade because I really had nothing else to do and I really liked anime, so
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I was trying to make some friends. I even made friends with people who were higher or lower than me grade levels,” Silva said. Silva continued to say that the now Geek Alliance will continue to be a positive influence for students in the future. ‘‘If you’re interested in a certain genre or media than this club could help you meet more people that share your interests,” Silva said. If you want to join the Geek Alliance, meetings are held in room 253 on Fridays from 2:45-4:00. The current monster manual, which provides the statistics for monsters in D&D 5e. Photo credit: M. Erez
the geek alliance D&D group as they roll the dice. Photo credit: M. Erez
News A CSCS face lift Felicia Grippo copy editor
While this is nothing new, Coral Springs improvements to do and see if we can fit some of Some of the renovations already set in stone Charter will be staying in its current location for it into our budget,” says Springer. “He will take a is the air conditioning, the science labs, and the roof. possibly the next ten or more years. But what does comprehensive look at everything and we will talk The air conditioning is said to be fixed this coming this really mean? In order to stay in the February, while the labs and roof current location, the building would need are set for the summer due to the to be updated. For those who don’t know longevity of the project. Springer also the history of our building, before 1999 expressed other aspirations for the (the year the school opened), the school, school. Such as a permanent overhead as well as the library combined, was the structure, a stand-alone building and Coral Springs Mall. Thus, concluding that upgrades for theater. The permanent this building is old. So, we need to mend overhead would be by the entrance to the school’s wrinkled face and give it a the PE area and would provide shade face lift. and weather protection for those Slowly but surely, the face lift has waiting outside to be picked up. already begun this past summer. While As for the theater, there most can’t see it, the science department are many opinions as to the set-up storage closets have been cleaned out and of the backstage. “It’s [backstage] new shelving was installed. disorganization and the lack of Within the chemistry shelving make it very cluttered and closet in lab room 135, there were exposed makes it very cramped in the already chemicals, unknown chemicals, dirt, small space to work.” says senior broken glass, and old chemicals dating thespian Joey Cannon. “It is quite back to when the school opened. Now messy,’’ says senior thespian Alyssa thanks to Mrs. Suzette Fasciani, the head Valvano as she makes a weird face of the science department, and those who hoping she doesn’t sound to mean. helped her, we now have a more efficient Luckily, Mrs. Alaina Butler, the way of conducting lab experiments with head of the theater department, was The product of a summer long project: a clean and more efficient science closet. Photo an accessible inventory. assigned with the task of drawing up In order to get a clear idea of whatcredit: F. Grippo a whole new layout for back stage. was wrong or needed to be improved within “It’s great for theater and the future the building, the man with the answers, Principle about some of those potential upgrades, because you thespians but it’s a bummer that I won’t be here for it,” Mr. Gary Springer, provided some insight. Before can put all the new equipment in but still gotta do says Cannon. any modifications are made, a meeting was set everything else inside - it’s called a test of balance”. with an architect in order to create a master plan or The architect will also provide us with a set amount so “a short term-long term plan to decide some of the that the school can budget the renovation.
I came, I SAW, I conquered
Alexander Kafouse sports editor
Service and Wellness, or SAW, is a new club at Charter that was introduced in order to promote not only physical health but mental stability as well. Junior Clayton Bueno is the founder and president of SAW. His decision to start the club was influenced by an incident that had occurred the previous school year. “I decided to do this in maybe April, after the whole situation,” states Bueno, “ I lost everything; back then I thought that I could either look at it in a good way or a bad one and so I decided to start this club hoping that it would turn into something good.” The decision to start this club wasn’t just personal for Bueno, he saw how the people around him were going through their life and he wanted to help. “I feel like a lot of kids are not as active as they should be,” explains Bueno, “and their mental state isn’t that great and I wanted to create something that could help them boost up their work ethics, their mind, and their health. I also see what people that post things on social media about being depressed and all that. I wanted to find a solution so they wouldn’t be depressed.” The club has already taken steps in order to help its members. For instance, the club is sponsored by Planet Fitness and any member of the club that decides to go there will receive a free three-month membership. “It’s free, so who wouldn’t go?” says club member junior Tsaryi Grant. .Also, any member of the club may go to Jamba Juice and receive a discount so they are more inclined to make a healthier decision by purchasing a beverage that is better for them.
The club has meetings every first and last Friday of the month where the officers will show and explain a powerpoint as a group. “We talk about how we can better ourselves, mentally and physically” states Vice President Lena Handler. “One day we talked about acts of kindness,” states Handler, “and how it not only affects you, yourself, but those around you as well.” Although the club is very young, officers are already thinking ahead as far as having different ways to help its members learn about making the right choices. “For meetings, I am trying to bring in guest speakers, like I have a therapist coming in and an as seen on TV as well,” states Bueno, “Even Dan Daily said he was willing to come into one of our meetings. Getting all these speakers to come in and help educate these kids is a good thing that I have done for this club.” SAW is open to anyone at the school grades 6 through 12, and as of now, they have nearly fifty active members. “I feel like the club has good intentions,” says member Kayla Humphrey, “Something like this is needed at schools to make students more aware of their physical and mental health.” If you are interested in joining, the club has meetings every first and last Friday in Ms. McLaughlin’s room, 110. So, if you are tired of staying at home all day playing Fortnite and you want to have a healthier lifestyle, join SAW and be happier with yourself physically and mentally
Club members duscussing a summer long project for a clean and more efficient science closet with guest speaker Isabella Thorson. Photo credit: A. Doblmeier
Club members presenting the product of their summer long project. Photo credit: A. Doblmeier
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Is four days worth more? Madalen Erez staff writer
Some nearby schools are beginning to switch into a four-day school week instead of the traditional five. A structure like this would excel in our school, with many benefits for students, teachers, and parents. A four-day school week would run from Monday to Thursday. This would result in students getting three-day weekends. With longer weekends, students could focus more on their school work. “I feel like two days, like during the weekend, is not enough to do everything. We can’t really relax because we also have homework to do and catch up on, so I think a three-day weekend would be better.” said sophomore Maliha Mahmud. To support a four-day school week, each class would have to be about 20 minutes longer in order to make up for the lost time of a fifth weekday. Critics argue that there are downsides to this system. “Every time there’s a weekend, students kind of lose their information from the week before, so the teachers have to work even more just to get students to remember what they taught in the previous week,” said Sophomore Connor Cox. “Five days is easier for teachers because they can implement more into the students mind without them forgetting.” In my experience, when there are more days over the weekend, that means there are more days for students to study. I know that I have a much easier time reviewing and remembering information over the weekend than the school week, when I end up exhausted from the long day and homework. Additionally, four-day school weeks have been proven to help increase attendance. Oftentimes, parents struggle to make appointments for their kids without pulling them out of school or conflicting with
their work schedule. Having a guaranteed day where There are also students who oppose the anything can be scheduled would result in less tardies idea of a four-day week. “I like the five-day school and less early pickups. week. Yeah, the A and B days would be even, but we Furthermore, a schedule like this could make wouldn’t have enough time to finish the curriculum students healthier. “I would actually love a four-day and then it would lead to more intense work during school week, just because it would give us a mental weekends or even on the school week,” said Freshman break, but I also feel like we wouldn’t get all of our Reeselyn Haring. On the other hand, I would say that school stuff done,” said Junior Victoria Loffreda. work would actually be much less intense with a four Moreover, students would be able to have a day schedule. Because there would be more better balance with this structure. “I think it would be uninterrupted time in each class, there would be less better because it’d be like equal amounts of classes unfinished assignments that end up as homework due. during the week and then over the weekend it would The extra day would also provide a way for absent give students more time to balance their work and students to catch up on work they missed and get back spend time with their family,” said Junior Ella Benn. on track with the rest of the class. Sometimes, field trips and games planned Even though the topic is largely controversial, late on Thursdays can affect student’s performance a four-day school week would really elevate Charter as the day after. “Like, on the Thursday games, I can’t a whole for both students and faculty. “Other schools even function the next day and we get back to school have tried it and it’s worked out, so why not give it a at 10:30 PM,” said color guard member Brittney try?”, said Sophomore Camila Vazquez. Hinden. “We fall behind on a lot of stuff.” With a fourday schedule, students would be able to sleep in the next day and not worry about suffering academically because of their commitment to certain activities. One of the most mentioned flaws with this system, especially when it comes to Charter, is that our school doesn’t just include high school. “My friend, who’s at Pompano, she does it. But we have middle school, so that’s why we can’t,” said junior Malcah Gayle. However, having middle school is no excuse not to implement a fourday school week. A four-day school week would be beneficial to middle schoolers in the same way it The Broward County 2019-2020 school calendar. would be beneficial those Photo credit: M. Erez in higher grade levels.
On the issues: Phones in school Garrett Shanley- Against phones in school
Barbara Andara- For phones in school
As much as it hurts to say, putting phones up at the beginning of class is for the best. The pocket universe that is the smartphone is an enthralling piece of technology that has no doubt made the general quality of life better in the past decade and a half, but those benefits are next to none in the classroom. “The use of phones has led to a lot of fighting, a lot of drug use, a lot of bullying, and have been used for plagiarism and cheating,” said Dean of Students Alexander Groothuis. “Basically, aside from the phone being used for instruction by the teacher, it’s only being used for negative stuff.” One of the most prevalent problems in the realm of “negative stuff” is cyberbullying. Bullying through phones presents a unique issue in the form of anonymity. When bullying happens on campus, more often than not we are able to pin a face to the crime. However, when bullies are able to hide behind a digital mask, the consequences are easier to escape. “The problem is that there are things that people would never say face-to-face, but on social media they do. It’s lead to kids being disrespectful to each other in ways that they wouldn’t in person.” said Groothuis. “I’d say about 75 percent has to do with social media. The problem either starts or escalates on social media.” In addition to stopping bullying, the elimination of cellphones would cut back on cheating. Over the past couple years, websites like Quizlet and Reddit have made it all to easy to ace assignments without doing any of the actual work. If students are left to their own devices, they will be forced to put in the work and exercise their intellect. In short, it is our moral imperative to turn in our phones. As tempting as it may be to keep them on us, turning them in will result in a safer, more respectful, and more educated Coral Springs Charter.
“I love you, Mom and Dad” has been the last few words of dozens of students from schools all over the country that have suffered from a school shooting. If it wasn’t for the students being allowed to have access to their phones, this would not have been possible; nor would the students have been able to call the cops or cause awareness of their current situation. “ In case of an emergency, we would be able to contact our parents or the police if it’s necessary, although this can only be done with the access of a phone during school hours.” States Ryan Ugalde, 10th grade. Some teachers and admin claim that in case of an emergency or if you need to talk to a parent, you could easily just go to the front office but what it is not understood is that their “solution“ to the idea of banning phones cannot be applied to all sorts of situations. “Some people aren’t fully comfortable of going to the nurse or front office because they may be nervous… some people much rather privately text their parents about what’s going on or if they’re not feeling well for whatever reason.” States Nicole Gomez, 9th grade. No matter how much some people may hate the idea about students having the right to carry their phones around, we can’t deny the fact that technology is also needed for the benefit of online research, whether it’s for a project or regular class assignments. Plus, let’s keep it realistic here, it’s not like an iPad or a MacBook Air is going to be provided to each and every student to help fully satisfy their educational needs. “I feel like we’re becoming a modern, technology-based school and the banning of phones, would stunt the progression into becoming that because for example, a lot of times during testing, we don’t have computers so majority of the classroom periods, teachers allow us to use our phones for research, but if it were to be completely banned, it would put a brake to the lessons being learned.“ States Amina Monsour, 11th grade. Don’t get me wrong though, I still believe that there should be restrictions and consequences for those who decide to mistreat the use of phones, but I don’t think it should kill the opportunity for those who actually are trying to gain something positive out of it, especially considering that the amount of students using it for the benefit, outweighs the amount of those who use it to fool around. “He [Dean Groothuis] took my phone away from me, simply because I had my phone out before the bell rang so I could put it on ‘do not disturb’.” states Monsour, “I was left with anxiety all day and wasn’t able to study the Quizlet I had made for a very important test I needed to take that day.” Her phone was taken without a legitimate reason and by the end the day, it cost her, and dozens of other students who can relate, more bad than good.
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Opinions You can buy a gun, but you can’t buy a drink Diane Del Rio opinions editor
The United States has a bad habit of portraying “adulthood” at the age of 18, but nothing magical happens on your birthday, and if you were truly an adult, you should be able to make your own decisions. These decisions ought to include purchasing and consuming alcohol, but unfortunately, the nation trusts 18-year olds with products that have proven to be more reckless than alcohol. Imagine a government that allows you to enjoy all the freedoms of adulthood, once you become, at least in their eyes, a tax paying, legal adult. We are old enough to contribute to the future of our country, something vitally important, but too young to be trusted with alcohol, something retrospectively trivial. Currently, the MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) is 21, which is puzzling considered that the legal age to buy cigarettes, juuls, and vapes, is 18. Many of these have many more damning effects than alcohol, so why does the government trust 18 year olds with these, but not with alcohol? Charter students take to the polls and tally up a whopping 60% of the students surveyed believe that the current MLDA is just fine. Tyler Harris, a sophomore at Charter approves of the current MLDA. “It should stay 21, as it prevents drinking and driving.” That is a very valid point, though countries around the world have set their minimum drinking age to 18, and the positive effects are worth mentioning. Lower percentages of car crashes caused by drinking and driving could vouch for me. The United States stands at 31% of crashes being caused by such, while places like France, (29%) Germany (9%), and Israel(3%) have lower drinking ages and are thriving. Brianna Bennet, a senior at Charter also
approves of the current MLDA. “It’s been working. 18 is just getting into adulthood and your brain isn’t fully developed until your mid- twenties.” On the contrary, a psychologist at Temple University, when studying the brain scans of teenagers compared to adults actually proposed that the legal voting age be lowered to 16. “Sixteen year olds are just as good at logical reasoning as older people are.” Said Laurence Steinberg. A Harvard neuroscientist, Dr. Leah H. Somerville, when studying brain scans that range sixteen to twenty one year olds reported that young adults’ brain looked like teenagers. “Nothing magical happens at 18,” she said. Other students at Charter, however, find it easy to express their support of lowering the MLDA to 18, for example Chandler Gentile, a junior says “When you turn 18 it comes with responsibilities. You could buy guns, you should be able to buy drinks.” To truly evaluate just how crazy it is that the minimum drinking age in the U.S. is 21, we must see all the other privileges and rights we gain once we turn 18. On your 18 th birthday, you are now an adult in the eyes of the law. This means you will be charged as an adult if you were to be committed of a crime. This could entail a lifetime in refinement. You are also eligible to be married, move out, enlist in the military, and, most shockingly, buy a rifle or shotgun in some states. Here in Florida you are able to buy a long gun at 18. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the U.S. trusts 18 year olds with the power to decide someone’s fate, but not with a drop of alcohol. The U.S. burdens all 18 year olds to live as legal adults, hence purchasing and consuming alcohol
should be right up there with other basic rights gained at 18, such as buying cigarettes, voting, and even fighting for our country. Its unlawful that a newly turned 18 year old could be risking their lives for a country that wouldn’t even acknowledge their justified rights. Junior Nick Wagner says it best: “If you can shoot a guy for your country, you should be able to drink.”
UNDERAGE DRINKING STATS Nearly 1/3 of all drunk driving deaths happen to people ages 16-20. There are about 10.8 million underage drinkers in the United States. One in six teens binge drinks
Only 1 in 100 parents believes his or her teen binge drinks.
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Humans of CSC Madalen Erez staff writer
The goal of this project is to share stories that show what it means to be human. We aren’t just students or faculty, we’re people. These interviews allow us to celebrate the experiences that both make us special, and connect us together, through courage, compassion, creativity and perseverance. “I have Alagille Syndrome. I haven’t met someone else who also has it because it’s pretty rare. Basically, the way my liver works is it doesn’t break down certain things properly. Andbecause of that I have low vitamin D. And then I have heart murmurs, which are like little holes in your heart. If you would use a stethoscope, it would sound like a whistle. I was born with it. My parents don’t have it, but both of them are carriers. I was born in Holy Cross, but they had to transfer me to a different hospital because they had better treatment for it. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in hospitals for treatments and things. I still have to go to hospitals now just to see a cardiologist and a liver specialist. But, for the most part, I’m pretty normal. There’s like certain things, like I couldn’t eat too much sugar as a kid because of my liver. When I have sugar, it affects me and causes me to itch and things like that. But it only affects me physically, not really emotionally. Emotionally, I’m still in a pretty happy place. I have to see different doctors and take certain medications, but that’s it. With this condition, it depends on how severe it is. I have it less severe. There are some people where it affects their eyesight or even like their physical features. I’ve learned that as long as you’re taking care of yourself, it’s going to be worth it. Yeah it might tough at sometimes, but in the end your health is very important.”
“The moment in life I felt the most down was when I started to come out to my family, and I was like, worried, that I might not be accepted by anyone. So, I was contemplating, ok should I tell them? Or should I wait? Or should I not tell them and keep it a secret? I told them. I just wanted to tell them right away. But when I found out that they accepted me, it turned my life upside down and it changed my life to this day. I’m happy for it. My fears were that if I didn’t have any family to back me up that I might have been alone. And I am alone still, because none of my family are part of the LGBTQ community, so I am the only one. I’m actually starting a support group for kids in all of Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, and the Parkland area, because there isn’t a place local to us for sanctum. To feel safe. I’m opening up my home and having a group set up there and doing fun activities. It’s not really a support group, just having fun. And just letting them know that no matter what, I don’t care if you haven’t come out or you’re out, it’s open for everyone to make you feel safe.”
“One time, I was setting up camp in Ocala. I was getting in my little hammock and I hear this weird noise. I look over and it’s a bear. And I’m like freaking out but I can’t move because I’m in this tiny little hammock, no walls, nothing on me, and there’s a freaking bear. I’m like, what did I do wrong? I hung my food on a tree like half a mile away from my camp and it’s still at my camp. I stayed there for a solid forty-five minutes, just lying there as straight as a board as this bear is going around my campfire, going around my area, literally sniffs over my hammock and I’m on the verge of tears. I was like, I’m going to die here.”
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Features The rise of veganism at charter Diane Del Rio opinions editor
The year 2019 has brought many new fads and trends, but something with the potential to wither in popularity, has been growing stronger and stronger every day all around the world; Veganism. Veganism, a diet that eliminates all consumptions of animal products, requires discipline and effort to accomplish in a healthy and fulfilling manner. So much so that it scares off people from trying it out.
Allyse Doblmeier
“It’s just a big change and most people don’t want to change things that they like.” says vegan senior Emily Fermin on why she believes people wouldn’t go vegan. Junior Allyse Dolbmeier shares what she believes is the leading factor to why going vegan is off the table for most people. “Society has conditioned us to think that animals don’t feel anything.” Doblmeier shares. “A lot of people just
Snack time but Healthy alternatives to popular snacks
Healthier Popcorn
Instead of: Chips
think that because [animals are] lower than us on this ecological scale, they don’t have any feelings or they’re not able to feel any pain.” Charter students applaud them for accomplishing this, but have different reasons as to why they wouldn’t go vegan themselves. Junior Connor Balem shares the biggest reason why he wouldn’t transition. “I like the taste of meat, it’s the biggest source of protein.” While junior Eli Harris explains with just one word: “Bacon.” The controversy on whether more people should go vegan for the sake of the planet has beensparking up, though most agree that it shouldn’t be forced, as junior Matues Santos shares when asked ifhe believes more people should change. “ Yeah, but don’t force it. People make their own decisions.” To truly understand why veganism is spreading, we must go to current vegans and discover the root for their change. Many vegans decide to switch for moral reasons in order to stop directly contributing to the exploitation of animals, like Senior Jonathan Kernisant, a vegetarian currently trying to go vegan, shares this as his main contribution to going vegetarian. “Ms. Parks had a presentation on how they treat animals in the slaughterhouse, that and the health benefits.” Doblmeier on the other hand who has been vegan for roughly a year and a half, decided to go vegan for more environmental reasons, since she’s been a vegetarian for quite a while already. “I love being able to know that three times a day I’m saving animals literally by just not eating them.” The health benefits are another huge factor on making the change. Senior vegan,
Try:
Emily Fermin and Johnathan Kernisant
Emily Fermin shares this as her biggest incentive in going vegan. “High cholesterol runs in my family, and recently my bloodwork has shown my cholesterol has dropped dramatically. I just feel a lot healthier than I did, before I was [vegan].” Vegans at charter, though small in number, are mighty in drive, and encourage everyone who’s thinking of converting to try it out. Doblmeier gives her advice for those who are tempted. “Do your research before you try it because if you do it wrong it might turn you off for the rest of your life.” “Go for it, you don’t have to go cold turkey right away. You could accumulate and build on your habits until it becomes easy for you.” advises Fermin.
Instead of:
Instead of: Milk
French fries
Try:
Try:
Almond Milk
Sweet potato fries
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Features Top tips for college applications Kendall Hendrix business manager
Seniors, it’s that time of year: college applications. For those of you that procrastinated all summer and still have no idea where to start, this is for you. This can be a very stressful time and cause a lot of unwanted anxiety. In order to make this a much easier process, here are the top tips for working on your college applications. Tip #1: Read all of the instructions. This probably seems pretty self-explanatory: read all the instructions, something you have been told since kindergarten. But now is the time to make sure that you are paying attention to all of the little details so you know that you are doing everything that is asked of you. Tip #2: Proofread. You’re going to be doing a lot of writing between the actual essay and all of the supplements that many colleges require. Be sure that anything you write is proofread by you and at least two other people; it’s always good to have extra sets of eyes on your writing. If possible, ask your English teacher as well. Tip #3: Avoid redundancy. Don’t repeat the same story every single time you’re asked to write something. If your essay is about the sport you play and you have a recommendation letter from that coach, it would probably be in your best interest to write any supplements that are required about a different topic; you want to be able to show multiple sides to yourself. Tip #4: Fill out everything thoroughly. Even though the majority of questions on college applications are required, it’s easy to give underdeveloped answers. Make sure you take the time to fully think through how you are going
to write out your answer before you start Tip #5: Be honest. Once again, this one is pretty self-explanatory. College applications are about you and only you, so tell your best (or worst) experiences in all of their glory. You want to make yourself presentable at all angles possible. Tip #6: Keep copies. You’re going to be sending a lot of different documents to each college you are applying to so be sure to make extra copies for yourself, whether it’s a physical copy or saved on an external hardrive. If you need a separate portfolio for your major the same concept applies, especially if you are going to be uploading extra pictures and videos of your work. Tip #7: Early action V. Early decision. Regular decision is pretty self explanatory but many people don’t know the difference between early action and early decision. Early action is a nonbinding deadline that allows students to receive an early response from the college they applied to about their acceptance but does not require them to commit to going to the school. However, early decision is defined as a binding deadline that if students are accepted, they must attend that college. Both have earlier application dates than regular decision does. Early decision is better suited for those who have a definite idea of where they want to go, so if you are still unsure of where your future lies, early action would be a better option for you.
College application checklist Make a note of application deadline Request transcript Take admission test (SAT/ACT) Send admission scores to colleges Request reccomendation letters Write personal essay (if required) Submit financial aid profile Double check everything
Freshie fears Brianna Dattile staff writer
Starting the first year of high school can be scary and full of new opportunities. Select freshmen came forward to open up about their own fears
entering freshmen year.
Sarah Henault: Coming into freshman year I was afraid that I would lose old friendships. Last year I had the same people in every class, but now I barely see them during school. I didn’t want to fade away from close friends.
Julia Estroff: My biggest fear coming into freshman year was the classes. I was afraid of all the homework that was going to get assigned. Things aren’t easy when you’re a procrastinator because it makes everything harder for myself. I also definitely took middle school for granted because high school is a whole new ball game. Picture of Sarah Henault
Zach Manoli: My biggest fear going into freshman year was that school was going to get harder. Homework, class work, and tests were going to be difficult and challenging to keep my grades up. The last thing I want to do is fail my classes the first year of high school.
Picture of Julia Estroff
Collin Teschky: Coming into the school year I wasn’t fearing the work necessarily, I was fearing on how I would manage my time being class president. With after school sports and SGA, it is hard to manage it all. But I was confident with keeping up with school work due to only 4 classes a day. Picture of Colin Teschky
Picture of Zach Manoli
Picture of Colin Teschky
DJ Tarquinio: Honestly, I feared that I wouldn’t do a good job as Vice President and not stand out in SGA. I was also nervous that I wouldn’t be able to help that class or the school to my full potential. I always want to be helpful in any way possible for my pears.
Picture of DJ Tarquinio
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Entertainment IT Chapter 2 review Felicia Grippo copy editor
The Stephen King universe is a world that no one but the creator himself can behold and understand. One of the most popular books of the King collection, IT has become a horror classic among the bookshelves of many. The director of IT Chapter 2, Andres Muschietti, remained true to King’s major themes in IT: how innocence can be corrupted and preserved by knowledge, about the hidden pathways between the unconscious and the natural world, and the psychological power of friendship. The on screen appearance from King himself, as he plays the antique shop keeper, can be seen as the movies seal of approval. The beginning of IT Chapter 2 re-introduced the characters as their adult-selves in different cities. However, you find some of them are living the same lives that they had in Derry due to them losing their memories as stated earlier on. Eddie Kasbrark, played James Ransone (adult) and Jack Dylan Grazer (child), is found arguing with an overweight, overbearing wife that resembles his mother as they both treat him as a protected toddler. Beverly Marsh, played by Jessica Chastain (adult) and Sophia Lillis (child), is married to an abusive husband who wants to control her and make her tell him that she is his, much like when her father asks if she is still his little girl. The beginning is much like it is in the book, however, like in most book based adaptations, there are different plots in comparison between the books and the movies. The biggest difference that stood out to me was the missing deity, Maturin the Turtle God. To better emphasize the importance of this character, our universe was created by fit of his
flatulation. Maturin is also the one to inform Bill Denbrough (played by James McAvoy) of how to defeat Pennywise, not Mike Hanson, played by Isaiah Mustafa (adult) and Chosen Jacobs (child), who is the one to discover how to defeat the clown in the movie. But, within the first IT movie, an allusion to the Turtle God is seen in Georgie’s room as the Lego turtle. Another big difference between the book and the movie is the time frames. In the book, the characters’ childhood took place in the 50s, while their childhood in the movie took place in the 80s. This is due to building a connection with the audience. King used famous horror characters of the 50s in his book as some of IT’s inspiration to scare the children. However, due to the advancement of technology, those classic characters would fail to scare the younger generations. So, besides Ben Hanscom, played by Jay Ryan (adult) and Jeremy Ray Taylor (child), seeing Boris Karloff’s “Mummy”(1959), he sees a zombie like victim of the Derry Iron Works explosion. Beverly encounters an old woman turned giant troll that charges at her, besides the witch from the Brothers Grimm’ “Hansel and Gretel” who scares Beverly by turning into her father who shouts horrid profanities at her and describes how he will beat her because he had other plans for her. Deterring from the jump scares and murders, there were many comical moments that were almost like a breath of fresh air as you feel your body ceases its quivering in anticipation for the next scare. However, I feel that the jump scares and jokes became over used. You would have instances of straight fear with a random joke, typically originating
from Richie or Eddie, and the jokes kind of ruin the scary feel. It became a pattern throughout the movie to the point where I could anticipate the next joke or scare. Towards the end of the movie, there are very strong emotions besides fear: sorrow and empathy. Eddie dies, and this is unavoidable. In the book, he loses his arm and bleeds out in Beverly’s arms. In the movie, he is impaled by one of Pennywise’s spiderlike legs and bleeds out while the others fight the clown. Richie is the one who takes his death the hardest. Throughout the movie, you see Eddie and Richie tease each other at any given opportunity. They had a closer bond with each other than the rest of the group. But to Richie, it was more. To further tie in with today’s society, the plot adapts Richie’s childhood trauma based around the fact that he is gay. His endless parade of sexual humor acts as a mask to hide his true identity. His feelings are confirmed when he goes to the Kissing Bridge after Eddie’s death and re-carves the same initials he did as a kid: R + E. While this may seem sad for an ending, the movie ending is actually happier than the ending in the book. In the book, they sacrifice everything that the Losers have built together; their memories, the good, the bad, the physical scares, and their friendship all disintegrating as IT’s dark hold on the town follows with it. The movie doesn’t sever that bond, it unites the Losers, making them closer than they have ever been before.
Make up artists at Charter Danielle Derosa editor-in-chief
Some artists at Charter use their face as a Ackerman has more of a routine. “My go-to look is canvas. Makeup has become a growing popularity usually yellow eyeshadow and glitter, if I’m ever in today’s world that doesn’t go unnoticed amongst wearing a more “natural” look it’s because I deem it certain talented students. better for my outfit or I don’t have enough time to “Makeup like anything else is an art form.” Says senior Kaiya Metzler. Metzler has been doing makeup for a while now. “I started basic liner around sophomore year out of school, and then I started bringing it into school my junior year. When I hit senior year is definitely when I got more artistic with my designs and colors.” “The only time I come to school without makeup on are when I wake up late or I spend the morning doing homework that’s due that day.” Says junior Marley Ackerman. She started doing makeup fairly young. “In sixth grade my mom said to me one day that I should start wearing makeup, I said sure. We went out the next day and she bought me a small compact of green eyeshadow.” she said. Since then she’s tried new colors and experimented with other Marley Ackerman touches up her lip balm between classes. Photo products. Most days Metzler will testcredit: D. Derosa her artistic skills and do a less natural look. She says “I try to do more artistic looks with have fun with it.” my liner because it’s different and it’s just fun to see Makeup can be part of one’s personality. what designs you can pull off on such a small scale.” “Makeup is important to me because it makes me feel
confident a lot of the time and it’s something I can easily work toward.” stated Ackerman. When asked if makeup is part of who she is, Metzler responded “most definitely. My makeup and my style out of school are both very creative and different I guess. I try to create looks that you’re not gonna see on a regular basis. Makeup came natural to Metzler who stayed “it came pretty easy for me and I think it’s because I was always doodling or drawing so I just took that and put it on my face.” For Ackerman as well who says “makeup comes naturally to me but even a prodigy can still learn more about their skill.”
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Entertainment
Let’s get Tik Tok famous
Lia Therrin staff writer
TikTok is the newest app that majority of teens across Charter have been obsessed with since its switch from Musically in November of 2017. It has striking similarities to Instagram and Snapchat, and it’s easy-to-please audience places your chances of becoming viral at an all-time high. However, most of the time true TikTok fame doesn’t just come from any random video. There must be a guide of how to truly become TikTok famous. First let’s get to the basics. Be consistent and confident with your work. Starting off your TikTok account may be lonely at first, but you’ll be gathering fans in a short while. Sticking to one account theme for certain types of videos helps you get noticed faster as well, but it isn’t necessary. While recording your content, just be yourself and let your imagination run wild. Next, no one likes a content stealer. Come up with unique ideas instead of stealing someone else’s. Humorous and relatable videos about almost anything gain the most likes and comments. It also helps to come up with your own sound. If being original isn’t really your thing, try following some TikTok trends! These include duets, cosplays, and point of views. You can also show off any amazing talents you have. With TikTok trends you’ll hardly be confused about which type of video to post next. Just try your best and have fun with it! Aside from trying hard to get famous on TikTok, there’s also a certain amount of luck that comes with posting. Most often, TikTok chooses random videos to put on the ‘For You’ page for no reason. If you’re unfamiliar with the ‘For You’ page, it’s the section of TikTok where most videos are, no
matter if they’re popular or freshly posted with zero likes and zero comments. It’s also the page you start off on when you open the app. Randomly, your videos can generate there, and if it does, then your video will climb to the top quickly, as well as your followers. But most of the time you just have to wait and see if you get on the page. Now that you have a helpful guide to being TikTok famous, take this information and go crazy with it. “Make Every second count” – TikTok.
Artists on the Rise: Deb Never Garrett Shanley features editor
“I’m Deb Never. I make music and I live in LA, but I hate the sun.” In a time when artists like Billie Eilish, Juice WRLD, and XXXTentacion saturate the airwaves relationship woes, depression, and millennial angst, it’s hard to find someone lesser known whose expressions have maintained a feeling of authenticity. Enter Deb Never. Never, based out of L.A. but originally from Spokane, Washington, has slowly blossomed into an indie darling within the music industry. Even though she left behind the Pacific Northwest, she brought the area’s signature grunge sound with her. In an interview with West Westwood, Never cited her two main musical inspirations as “Nirvana and Three 6 Mafia, [they’re] honestly just two opposites. It was really heavy metal, grunge, rock, or dirty rap,…” Her 90’s influence is on full display on some of her earliest demos, like
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“PRELUDE: somewhere close.” The track starts off with a soft, melancholic chord progression, played by a reverb-soaked electric guitar. The simple instrumental, reminiscent of Mazzy Star’s work, allows Never’s hypnotizing vocal balladry to take center stage. The lyrics spell out an intimate story of suicidality and feelings of being boxed in by life. With a running time of only one minute and thirty-six seconds, the tune manages to perfectly establish the depressive themes heard throughout Never’s discography. Speaking with Complex, Never explained “With my music now I’m trying to convey the same feelings I felt growing up listening to bands like Nirvana, Radiohead, Brand New. It was never solely about what they were saying, but how they said it. The melody and the feeling behind it. That’s something I really gravitate toward and am influenced by.” Most recently, Never has released her first full-length project with the “House on Wheels” EP. In a short but sweet 15 minutes of runtime, Never manages to exemplify everything that makes her unique. The standout track from the project, “Ugly” sees her chronicle a toxic, co-dependent relationship as it starts to sour. The track features a tear inducing lead chord progression and a gut-wrenching chorus where Never croons:
“You don’t want me, I don’t want you You don’t wanna do things I want to Why can’t we separate? Am I that desperate to feel the way that we used to? When you don’t want me, but I need you.” Her 90’s grunge influence is easy to notice as the track closes out with a distorted electric guitar solo oozing with attitude. Never can also be heard on the earworm chorus of the opening song of hip-hop collective BROCKHAMPTON’s latest record “GINGER.” On the track, titled “NO HALO,” Never steals the show with the spacey, earworm hook, echoing “I’m sure I’ll find it,” throughout. In only two years, Never has shown her ability to effortlessly fuse hip-hop, grunge, and acoustic balladry and has carved herself a place in the music scene as a one-of-a-kind indie darling. If you’re ever going through it, give Deb Never a listen.
Sports Digging herself out of a hole
Alexander Kafouse sports editor
Jordan Mills watching her teammates practice for their first regionals game against University School. Photo credit: A. Kafouse
Co-captain of the varsity girls volleyball team, Senior Jordan Mills is met with an unforeseen injury leaving her unable to play in the last games of her high school career. While playing in a mid-season game against Cypress Bay High School on September seventeenth, Mills went for a receiving set from a serve made by Cypress Bay but when the ball hit her finger tips she fractured her thumb. “At first I thought I just jammed my thumb so I kept playing but the pain only got worse.” states Mills. Although she continued to play her teammates begged her to stop before she would injure herself any further. “She kept playing with only her left hand”, explained Co-captain D’Loren DeJesus, “I have broken my finger before and when it happened I kept playing and it only made it worse. So I was like, Jordan please don’t keep playing.” “Once I was subbed out I was just focused on breathing and didn’t pay attention to it”, says Mills, “I tried not to think about it, because I knew I wasn’t going back in so I decided to wait and see how I felt the next day. “Mills was taken out in the second set and the team would go on to lose 3-1 in the fourth set that night. The next day Mills would go see the school’s athletic trainer, Coach Thompson after school, where he would tell her that she should reach out to an orthopedic surgeon to get a better idea of what went wrong. “The doctor said I chipped a part of my bone. He said it was a small fracture but I would have to be in a cast for three weeks.” says Mills. This would make her ineligible to play for the remainder of the season Mills would go on to miss a total of seven games, in which her teammates lost two out of the seven games and won the rest. Winning or losing all Mills could do was watch. “I was upset that I couldn’t contribute to the team”, she explains, “it was difficult for me to sit there and do nothing. When we were losing it made me anxious, there was nothing I could do to bring us up. All I could do was sit there and watch us make mistakes as we lost.” Mills attempted to be as supportive as she could however it made little to no difference to her. “I tried to help my coaches by doing stats and I cheered a lot but other
than that there was nothing more I could physically,” says Mills. As Mills would not be continuing her volleyball career passed high school, it made her upset and it infuriated her that her last days would be spent on the sidelines injured. “It all justmade me so frustrated”, explains Mills, “because it’s my last few weeks of playing in my volleyball career but I got injured and couldn’t play; and I wanted to finish it with these girls, with this team but I couldn’t play.” On October third the Varsity girls had their senior night and although Mills was injured there was a turn of events that night that lifted Mills’ spirits from that point on. On senior night, it is tradition that these girls have a banner with each of their names on it and as they are announced they walk through the banner and onto the court. “I was excited at first, going through the banner has been something I have been waiting for since freshman year to do, play on senior night and win”, explains Mills, “but I was also sad because I wasn’t going to play.” “Watching my team warm up and play on the actual day hurt worse”, stated Mills, “This was the last opportunity for me to play with these girls on this team and I could not play because I got injured.” However, when the game started Coach Harwell started Mills but for technical reasons she had to be subbed out before the ball could be served and go over the net. “I felt bad,” explains head Coach Samantha Harwell, “she is one of our starting seniors and she has started on Varsity for the past four years. For her not to play seemed remiss [unjust] and so I asked the referees if I could put her in and then sub her out and they said yes,”. “I thought it was really sweet of her to do that”, said Mills, “She went up to the refs and asked them if I could be put in, and it was special to me because she knew that I really wanted to be put in the game,”. As the final game of the season started, Mills became perturbed or upset with the fact that she was not playing. “In the beginning, when I was watching, I couldn’t believe I wasn’t playing, it sucked and I was very distraught with how everything turned out”, explained Mills. Her teammates shared the
same feelings, “It was hard for me, playing without her,” expressed DeJesus, “because we were the only ones who made it on the varsity team when we were freshman and we have been waiting four years for this opportunity. And for her not to enjoy her day mad me sad.” As the game progressed, Mills would have a change of feeling, she was in a better mood after winning the first set and she “got hyped” and excited. She began cheering and really getting into the game. “In the end”, expressed Mills, “I just wanted what was best for my team.” As the girls came closer and closer to winning Mills became emotional. “I was wondering if I would ever play with this team again, on this court, at home.”, expressed Mills. Despite being in tears of sadness Mills was also content that her team had just won their last game on senior night just as she had hoped for. “I felt really good about all of my years playing volleyball,” expressed Mills, “I feel like I have grown from start to finish and volleyball has given me some of the best memories. But, if I didn’t have the experiences with this team and these girls I wouldn’t be the same person I am today; I wouldn’t be the same without volleyball.”
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The significance of the jersey number
Sports
Danielle Derosa editor-in-chief
The number on an athlete’s jersey can often been wearing the same number for four years. He says times hold a certain significance tothat player. Nearly “I pick number ten because it is the number of my all team sports have numerals incorporated in their birthday, and because I’ve always liked that number.” uniform. This system is meant to help distinguish between members of the team. “Seven and four are my two favorite numbers” Senior football player, Khadafi Bristol stated when answering why his jersey number was 74. Bristol has been wearing that number on his back for three years now. “I’ve been hurt in this number, I’ve been loved in this number, and I got my first sack (the act of tackling an offensive member on the opposing team behind the line of scrimmage before they pass the ball) in this number, so me not having this number would hinder my performance on the field.” He says wearing the number is “Kind of like a superstition.” “Seven is the number of perfection.” says volleyball captain D’loren DeJesus. She explains how wearing the number seven contributes to her skill during games. “Every game I try to perfect my skills as captain.” DeJesus became seven because what the number meant to her. She says “7 is a spiritual number that is associated with intuition, inner wisdom, and a deep inward knowing.” In the professional world of sports, such as the MLB, or the NBA, a team has the ability to retire #74, Khadafi Bristol Photo credit: A. Wallach certain jersey numbers. This process honors players who have either retired from the sport, left the team, or passed on. One of the most well-known retired Similar to Boing is Senior Gabrielle Tedesco who numbers was league-wide. In order to recognize picked number 9 for soccer because of her March 9th Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball, birthday, this had been her number for three years. his number, 42, can’t be worn by any other player in “The number is important to me because the major leagues. it sets me apart from everyone else,” she says, “It Varsity baseball player, Alejandro Boing has makes the number individual and unique to me.”
A Mission Like No Other Leadership, Scholarship Service, Character National Honor Society cscsnhs.org
Jersey numbers become part of an athlete’s identity,” Tedesco says. “That number helps me see my importance on the team and how my efforts are a part of a greater cause; to help my team achieve their greatest dreams in soccer together,”.