The Dial December13 2017

the

Dial

The voice of the student body Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY 10591

Highlights from Coffeehouse

The Cost of College

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Brown MUN

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iPhone X release

December 13, 2017

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Fall Coffeehouse 2017

Senior Michael Mezzacappa’s piano performance of “Patience” This lifer courageously stepped into the spotlight for his Coffeehouse debut.

Photo by Olivia Weinberg Out of the spotlight, sophomore Maggie Broadus, and juniors Ben Monroe and Richie Nuzum accompany Ava Knapp in her rendition of “Feelin’ Good.”

Kioni Marshall’s reading of her original spoken word, “Let Me Carry It” Doubling as a performer and M.C., she managed to wow the audience with her writing as well as her comedy.

Photos by Olivia Weinberg

New band rocks the house

By Olivia Weinberg

“Take it from the top,” Mr. Tonken directs, as he taps out the drum beat on an invisible set. He leads the Coffeehouse band on maracas, as they run songs through, occasionally adding his own vocalizations. In between playbacks, the group freestyles on their instruments and joke amongst themselves.

The Coffeehouse band, created and led by Music Institute Coordinator, Multimedia Coordinator, and Coffeehouse Director Wade Tonken on guitar, features senior Madi Schwartz on keyboard and piano, juniors Ben Monroe on drums and Richie Nuzum on keyboard, piano, and bass, and sophomore Maggie Broadus on guitar and accompanies musicians singing pieces ranging from jazz to rock.

With students graduating each year, this dynamic group of musicians has been under constant change from its start. In the past two years especially, a large cohort of musicians passed through the music department and house band. Names like Josh Greenzeig ‘16, Aurora Strauss ‘17, Jamie Leonard ‘17, and Jackson Corrigan ‘17 have long emblazoned Coffeehouse programs. With

their departure, however; a new group of students has made the PAC stage their home.

Although playing with a new group of people can be challenging, Madi, Ben, Richie, and Maggie developed a strong musical chemistry through jazz combo practices and hours of rehearsals a week prior to Coffeehouse, typically lasting for four or five hours a day.

“Richie, Ben, and Madi are all really talented and more experienced than I am with Coffeehouse and the house band, so when it came to joining the group I was surrounded by experienced musicians,” Maggie said.

In addition to taking on new responsibilities in regards to the music they play, the newest members of the house band took on major leadership roles.

“Something that I had to get used to was learning how to be a leader. While the performer ultimately always has the last say in what they want the house band to be doing, a lot of the responsibility in terms of arranging the songs and making sure that rehearsals run smoothly is in the hands of the members of the house band,” Richie said.

Madi shared similar sentiments and added

that, “there’s no longer the pressure that comes with performing alongside really experienced and older student musicians.”

Even though the band puts in long hours during the week leading up to the show, sometimes songs haven’t been perfected until sound check on the day of.

After the soundcheck of one particularly difficult funk song, Richie and Ben stand off to one side of the stage, conferencing about the drum beat. Richie urges Ben to ‘lag’ the beat, meaning play the drum notes right after the beat falls. This gives a new sound to the song and is growing more popular in funk and blues music. While Ben hesitates at playing this difficult style, he concedes, and the house band’s musical chemistry and camaraderie allows an expert performance during the show.

Ben said, “The best feeling in the entire world is getting up on that stage and nailing it in front of an audience despite how it may have sounded two days prior. Being in the house band is hectic and stressful but also probably my favorite thing to do at Hackley.”

Read more on hsdial.org

Musicians shine at prestigious All-State performance

By Jordan Miller

After hours of preparation and hard work, eight of Hackley’s most dedicated musicians and vocalists were accepted into New York’s All-State Band, Orchestra and Chorus ensembles. Sophomore Ben Marra was accepted for violin, juniors Katherine Gonick and Chris Sun were accepted for cello, and senior Ben Susswein was accepted for viola in the All-State Orchestra. Sophomore vocalists Hudson Kelly and Adam Tannenbaum, and junior Maya Watson were accepted into the All-State Chorus. Additionally, Rohun Rajpal was accepted into the Conference All-State Orchestra for violin.

Area-All State ensembles consist of talented musicians who live in a specific region in New York.

Area-All State positions are open to sophomores, juniors and seniors.

All the ensembles practice separately but perform in one session at SUNY Purchase. Conference All-State consists of juniors and seniors from the whole state and concludes with a concert at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester in December.

In order to be accepted into the All-State band, orchestra, or chorus applicants must take Level 6 auditions and receive between a 98-100 on their New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) evaluation, which is an incredible accomplishment. These scores are obtained by performing scales and a prepared solo piece for a NYSSMA judge.

Around 2400 applicants receive this score and then a committee selects around 900 candidates to be be members or the All-State Band.

On Wednesday, November 1st the All-State groups had their first practices at White Plains High School.

Photo by Annabel Ives All-state performers, like senior Ben Susswein, spent hours rehearsing in anticipation of their November 16 concert date at SUNY Purchase.

The groups practiced three times before the concert, and are expected to practice on their own as well.

The practices are five hours long and orchestra member Ben Marra noted that they are “definitely very

strenuous and a huge commitment.

The five hours were very grueling.”

Adam Tannenbaum who is performing in the chorus agreed and commented, “It’s really fun being around so many skilled singers

and it’s amazing to hear what a full choir sounds like. Even in practice it sounded amazing.”

In addition to developing musical skills, choir member Hudson Kelly found that, “The best part of (All-State) is getting to meet and befriend so many new people.

I would absolutely recommend applying next year for All-State Band Orchestra or Chorus to any freshmen or sophomores that are interested in music. It’s a good time and a great learning experience.”

Reflecting on their November 16th performance Ben Marra said “The groups were super talented and it showed in all the p h e n o m e n a l p e r f o r m a n c e s .”

For more information about how to apply be sure to check out the New York State School Mu s i c A s s o c i a t i o n w e b s i t e .

2 opinion / politics

the

December 13, 2017

Dial

Hilltop students retain a sense of solace and perspective in a nebulous world

By Jared Tilliss

Halloween, a holiday celebrated around the United States, is supposed to be centered around fun and happiness. Well this year, it took a bit of a turn. On October 31, 2017, tragic news erupted out of New York City; this news has alarmed a relatively low amount of Hackley students. To fully understand the incident and gain insight on how to prevent future attacks, students must not scapegoat to attempt to solve the problem, as that only exacerbates the issue at hand. Instead, students must examine terrorism through a wide lens before they can begin to make strides to fix it.

At 3:04 P.M., just as Hackley students were finishing school, a 29-year-old man intentionally drove a rental pickup truck into a popular bicycle path in Lower Manhattan. This act left 8 civilians dead and almost 12 injured. The suspect, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, has been convicted of federal terrorism offenses.

The assault has been classified by officials as the largest terrorist attack since 9/11.

President Trump has used this event in New York City to tout his controversial travel ban, which prevents immigrants from 7 terrorist-riddled countries from entering the United States. However, it was soon discovered that the travel ban would not have stopped the New York attacker, as Saipov arrived in the United States seven years ago and raised very little suspicion from law enforcement.

Before we start to solve the issue at hand, we must realize that terrorists of all sorts pose a significant threat to the security of the United States. Creating a scapegoat that Muslims are the only primary threats to the safety of United States citizens is not only xenophobic, but dangerous as well.

the

Dial staff

Hackley School 293 Benedict Ave.Tarrytown, NY (914) 631-0128 December 13, 2017 Vol. 120, No. 3 hsdial.org Editors-in-Chief

Online Editor

Technical Editor

Lei Anne Rabeje, Olivia Weinberg Alexi Sandhu Sydney Stoller Cosima Boettner

Section Editors

News Bailey Griffen, Matt Traum Opinion Bridget Barsanti, William Goldsmith Arts Georgia Panitz, Dylan Wade Feature Pat Walker, Lauren Ahern Lifestyles Amy Chalan, Natalie Sukhman Politics Raghav Chopra, Max Rosenblum Science & Tech Cory Gorczycki, Alexa Augustine Sports LiliAnna Khosrowshahi, Cole Wyman Advisers Michael Bass, Anne Budlong

Policy Opinions expressed in staff editorials reflect the majority view of The Dial Editorial Board. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not represent the views of Hackley School, its administration or its staff. The Dial invites and encourages its readers to write letters to the editor or submit contributions. Contact us at dial@hackleyschool.org. We reserve the right to edit any submission for clarity and brevity, and to correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation when necessary. We refuse to publish submissions which are unsigned, libelous, or plagiarized.

Four hundred copies of each issue are distributed among the High School student body of about four hundred students and the faculty and staff.

Graphic by Raghav Chopra and Will Goldsmith

In fact, as Vox concludes, domestic American men are a bigger threat to the United States than Muslim foreigners.

Even the most “radical Islamic terrorists” are very rarely immigrants; they typically originate in the United States.

An analysis by Vox discovered that the San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people was carried out by an Americanborn US citizen of Pakistani descent and a lawful permanent US resident.

The Orlando nightclub shooter who murdered 49 people was an Americanborn US citizen of Afghan descent.

The Boston marathon bombers came to the US from Kyrgyzstan and grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, be-

fore carrying out attacks that left three dead. Faisal Shahzad, the attempted Times Square bomber, was PakistaniAmerican. Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, was born in Virginia to Palestinian parents.

Thus, because of Saipov’s legal citizenship, the real focus following the events in New York City should be on terrorism, not immigration. The travel ban should have no place in discussions following the incident; it is an ineffective mechanism in stopping terroristic actions in the future.

After an investigation into the incident, it has been discovered that Saipov left a note explaining that his attack was

done in the name of ISIS. Consequently, this incident has rejuvenated discussions about the threat ISIS poses to the safety of the United States. CNN has discovered that, since declaring its caliphate in June 2014, ISIS has conducted or inspired more than 140 terrorist attacks in 29 countries other than Iraq and Syria. These attacks combine for a startling death toll of at least 2,043 people, along with afflictions of thousands with gruesome injuries.

These statistics have likely played a role into why, out of 112 Hackley Upper School surveyed, 87% have some level of apprehension regarding the events in

New York City, while 76% fear terrorism on the whole.

Before you panic, keep in mind that this was the first ISIS-based terror attack in the United States in 2017. The average likelihood of an American being killed in a immigrant-based terror attack in any given year is still 1 in 3.6 million — even including the 9/11 deaths.

Additionally, the lifestyle of a Hackley student is very distinct to that of another United States citizen. After all, Hackley has often been referred to as a “bubble from the outside world.” This is why an astounding 88% of students feel “safe” or “very safe” while at Hackley.

The media has also gotten a large amount of conversation following the attack in New York City. Even though 46% of students believe that the media gives the proper amount of attention to terrorist attacks, 52% believe that the media sensationalizes terrorist attacks in general. This has likely played a role as to why only a meager 22% of students feel as though terrorism is the greatest threat facing America.

On the other hand, 75% of students have concerns about non-terrorist crime. These fears are much more legitimate. After all, a Chase bank in Tarrytown was robbed at gunpoint on Monday, November 13.

Terrorism is not something that can be taken lightly. However, barring Muslim immigrants from entering the country is not the correct way to approach it.

As of now, the American vetting system for immigrants is one of the strongest in the world, protecting citizens every single day. Ultimately, we must understand the full scope of the issue (which is presented by terrorists of all nature) before we can begin to solve it.

College tuition weighs down students’ potentials Students struggle with the burdens of debt while trying to build their futures

By Raghav Chopra

Empty coffee cups, tears, sleepless nights, biting nails. The stress of getting into college is already harsh enough, but for many concerns extend beyond just getting that sought-after acceptance letter; college tuition can be quite pricey.

While this may not be the case for many Hackley students, more than 44% of whom surveyed by the Dial were not concerned at all by the costs of college tuition, there are still many in the community for whom the implications of paying tens of thousands of dollars a year is very real.

Many, protected by the buoyancy of wealth, may take the cost of college tuition for granted; the financial aspects of higher education are a matter for their parents, not them. Yet in its effort for diversity, Hackley has attracted students of various financial backgrounds, and many are forced to be cognizant of the tuition costs.

Since the 1980s the cost of a college education on average has tripled, rising faster than even medical care. But the fact remains, college is a worthwhile investment; while steep prices for private institutions may make them unaffordable for many, for those who can make the investment, a college education significantly increases students’ long-term economic prospects.

According to study from Georgetown regarding employment through 2018, around 63% of jobs will require some form of a college education or degree, and degree owners can expect to earn between 600,000 to 1 million dollars more over a 40 year work period, a substantial gain over a lifetime of work.

Despite the continuing benefits of a college education, for many students, even being able to afford the opportunity to receive such an education is not a given. Having a roof over your family’s head and keeping them well fed takes priority over going to school for another four years, and

if the two are in conflict, a choice must be made.

For Hackley students, the name of a college and its prestige can often take the lead in this decision. While these large universities and colleges often offer grants and opportunities to work to students, able to compensate with endowment funds, it is not a perfect solution to the problem of affordability for all.

Senior Vinay Bijoor explained how Financial Aid has allowed him greater, though not full accessibility to apply to colleges he wanted: “There’s a certain bracket of schools I would consider for EA (early action) or ED (early decision) if they give me a grant.”

While decreased options and incomplete compensations may restrict some students’ choices and persuade them to refuse acceptances to reputable colleges, the higher stakes for their choice has a silver lining; choosing a college becomes a more focused process.

For Senior Edwin Garcia, this choice is particularly clear. He explained that he has no intention of going to a “party school”’ where he thinks the social environment is prioritized over classes and education, as his family can’t take tens of thousands of dollars for granted. The decision comes down to balancing costs and gains; where can he get the most education relevant to a future job without economically crippling family. For students like him, getting the biggest bang for your buck is most important, where each buck means more.

The ever-increasing cost of college tuition has pushed students to change their ap-

plication process in two ways. First, their family must be able to afford the costs in the first place, through either grants or choosing to apply to lower cost schools. Then they must consider whether or not the investment is worth it. When the stakes of money are high, applying to college becomes only more complicated and stressful.

Illustration by Olivia Weinberg

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Dial

lifestyles / feature 3

December 13, 2017

Ask

the Community By the Dial Team

Q: What is your favorite

Thanksgiving tradition or memory?

Photo by Jimmy Hefter Dr. Atiya Martin, a certified emergency manager, with a past in public heath, spoke at the BUSUN opening ceremony. Her speech focused on resilience after natural disaster.

Hackley takes the gavel at BUSUN

By Jimmy Hefter

T

he chatter coming from delegates at Salomon Hall kicked off the debate-filled weekend at Brown University. Stress and anxiety filled the delegates waiting to be sent to their room assignments. On the second weekend of November, upper school students from grades ten to twelve ventured to Brown University for a Model UN conference. After spending many hours to prepare for the Brown Model UN conference, Hackley delegates’ hard-work and preparation paid off when two students received awards for their performance.

The Brown University Simulation of the United Nations, or BUSUN for short, is a model UN conference for high schoolers hosted by Brown university students. Many countries around the world were represented in this conference from larger countries like the United States and Canada to smaller nations like Indonesia and Sudan. There were

hundreds of students present to Model UN, participated at BUSUN take part in interactive simulations as Othman in the revolutionary and competitions to discuss and Zanzibar crisis committee. She was negotiate international affairs. extremely excited for the chance to At BUSUN, there were many immerse herself in high-level debate. different committees, including She said, “It’s a great opportunity general assemblies, crisis committees, to compete and debate with other and specialized committees. The kids on many of the world topics amount of today. I feel like delegates in I have learned a committee It’s a great opportunity to much more from ranged from 10 going on this trip compete and debate with a n d d e b a t i n g to 40, based on whether it was a other kids... I feel like I about diplomacy general assembly have learned much more a n d w o r l d or specialized from going on this trip and negotiations.” committee.

Frances plans on debating about diplomacy taking part in BUSUN urged these delegates and world negotiations. more Model UN to be aware of conferences in Frances Schaeffler the future. international issues with highSenior Alex quality debate Wenstrup won and discussion, while preparing best delegate in his committee students for Model UN in the this year. He said, “It feels great to collegiate level. win best delegate. I know that lots Junior Frances Schaeffler, an of club members share both my ardent and longtime member of enthusiasm and skill in Model UN,

Five ways to save money during gift giving season

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so I think that my award bodes well for the future of the club.”

In regards to the conference itself Alex stated that, “BUSUN was a lot of fun. I know there are some who disagree with me, but I preferred it to Cornell, which we have attended in the past. Its shorter length both prevents missed school, and keeps debate from droning on beyond its natural resolution.”

His recognition is a great achievement for Hackley’s Model UN team and sets a standard for the program in the future. Model UN is growing more popular at Hackley, with more and more people interested and participating.

Many students see the program as a great way to get to meet people from around the world through debate on national conflicts.

Every year, there are many new faces that wish to compete and succeed. The Hackley Model UN team highly encourages more students to join the club and represent the Hilltop with pride.

Target

Honey If you’re looking for an online deal for a wide variety of stores, Honey is a browser extension which finds coupon codes for the sites you shop on and applies them all at checkout. You can install this extension in your Chrome, Firefox, or Safari browser. Honey is compatible with thousands of online stores, and will automatically search for applicable coupon codes, saving you money with a couple clicks.

By Dylan Wade and Annabel Ives

Target’s Cyber Monday sales last all week and promise to exceed expectations with exclusive deals online and on the app. In the past, Target has included many gift cards with the sale of big ticket items. This year is no different; Target will be selling a Xbox One with a $25 gift card. Also, by signing up for a Target REDcard you can save an additional 5% on all purchases. Other great deals include $50 off BEATS earbuds, $100 off Jetson V12 hoverboard, and $60 off JBL Charge 3 bluetooth, waterproof speaker.

Urban Outfitters

Kohl’s

Urban Outfitters will have online sales starting at midnight on Friday, November 23rd. With a buy one get one 50% off sale last year, shoppers have high hopes for discounts on their clothing. To get an even better deal, create an account on the website and get a extra discount on Cyber Monday deals. New members also get a coupon for 10% off their first purchase and a chance to win a $100 gift card to the store. There are Urban Outfitters stores in the Westchester Mall and six in Manhattan which you can pick up the clothes that you ordered online.

Kohl’s is having a sale starting on November 25, but the real savings started on November 20th. Starting on the 20th, every $50 you spend will earn you $15 of Kohl’s cash.

Additionally, many purchases on the actual day come with Kohl’s cash, which deducts a certain amount from your total purchase. Some of the best deals are on electronics, namely TVs, Fitbits, and Xboxes, but other great deals cover toys, jewelry, and pet supplies. Some of those deals include $100 off remote control Quadcopter, $90 off Xbox One, and $50 off Fitbit Charge 2 watch. You can also use up to 4 coupons at a time and Kohl’s members are offered even more sales online.

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Every year we watch Thursday night football and Fernando, Fran, and I play football outside.

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Sebi Docters

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A tradition we have is we take our potatoes and we all go outside and throw them up in the air and all stand in a circle. The last person to get hit with a potato wins.

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Nico Butterfield

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My favorite tradition is when my mom, grandma, and I all create a dish together for our family dinner to surprise everyone else with.

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Madison Carter

Cyber Week Cyber Week can be the best way to buy inexpensive gifts for the holidays. If you don’t want to be involved with the chaos of Black Friday, wait until the week after Thanksgiving when you can shop with great deals from the comfort of your home. Last year, Cyber Week had even more deals on clothing then on Black Friday.

Nordstrom, H&M, and Amazon offer some of the best prices this year on clothing and other items. Although most stores don’t offer free shipping, the products are very affordable.

Illustrations by Annabel Ives and Dylan Wade

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We always make pumpkin pie souffle together the morning before Thanksgiving.

Zoe Naughton

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Photos by Amy Chalan

4 science & technology / sports

the

December 13, 2017

Hackley athletics begin to incorporate technology

By Cole Wyman

Technology has revolutionized athletics over the past 50 years. Sports technology has changed player development, player scouting, and broadcasting in professional sports, but on the Hilltop, teams have yet to make full use of modern technology. Athletic director Jason Edwards, sees that, in terms of machinery, technology does not aid team improvement, but rather individual development. And further that our coaches see more of a priority in working as a team than having individuals.

Technology has improved the efficiency of training. At the professional level, sports franchises can now do more things, including tracking the dietary requirements of all their players, using machines like the MVP – a remote controlled tackling dummy, or The Gun, a basketball machine that rebounds and passes the ball back to the shooter, and looking through film from previous games so players can learn from their mistakes. While Hackley coaches do use all of these to a certain extent, the technology is not revolutionizing team sports.

From a broadcasting standpoint, professional sports have been completely modernized with new angles, enhanced zoom, and slow motion capabilities. NBC uses NBCee-it during hockey broadcasts to replay highlights from the game. NBCee-it uses zoom and slow motion to give audiences optimal views of the game. Professional broadcasts have become so entertaining that many fans would rather watch the game on TV than actually attend the game.

Despite Hackley’s resistance to technology in terms of machinery, Hackley is consistently top flight in terms of equipment technology.

Each year leading brands in athletics release new helmets or protective padding. Athletes at Hackley are almost always provided with the safest equipment on the market.

Hackley sports teams do not utilize technology to its fullest extent, as the technology available to teams is limited. The basketball teams occasionally use The Gun; however, it is best suited for individual shooting practices.

According to Mr. Edwards, the football team has access to an MVP, a programmed tackling dummy used to simulate tackling a moving object with a minimal risk of concussion. While players have acknowledged that the machine is “cool”, they also commented on its lack of efficiency in a team setting.

Although colleges with an arsenal of MVP dummies use them to improve the way players work as a team, the one machine that Hackley only works on individual tackling techniques one athlete at a time. At Dartmouth – the birthplace of the MVP – and all around the Ivy League, teams have no contact in practices whatsoever and simply use the padded dummies to simulate tackling drills. Edwards claims that Hackley football is having a “trickle down effect” from the collegiate Ivy League in the movement towards no physical contact in practices, the MVP helps that process move along.

Despite technology lending itself better to individual improvement, widespread individual improvement can bolster a team.

Photo by Cole Wyman

This Nixon watch allows athletes to maximize their performance

Aside from a small number of colleges with large athletic budgets, technology is typically used for individual improvement. Hackley athletes use their camaraderie and limited technology available in practice to improve their performance in games.

Nonetheless, athletes who participate in individual sports, like fencing and cross country, or in teams outside of school find better uses for these new devices. Golfer Charlie Hite uses golf simulators to work on his game. “It helps a lot because it gives you a completely accurate feel of your game and tells you some of the specific things you need to work on,” said Charlie.

Dial

Enzi Teacher commented that he uses The Gun only during private workouts and finds it effective as it rebounds the ball and dishes it back. Many runners on the cross country team also purchased smartwatches to track workouts and to use GPS navigation to further analyze runs.

Overall, technology has made significant waves across athletics on all levels. However, the Hilltop remains accustomed to age-old methods of teamwork and camaraderie during practice. But lookout for the opening of the Johnson Health and Wellness Center; there very well may be some exciting new equipment.

Apple’s bold new iPhone features spur concerns about lack of privacy Face ID is 20 times more secure than Touch ID. The software maps and documents a 3D structure of the user’s face to ensure that it cannot be unlocked with a picture. Not only that, but it will not unlock until the viewer looks at the phone. Notifications are private until the user’s face is authenticated. There are only a few minor bugs with the Face ID. For example, sometimes, it is unable to recognize the user, like if you were to shave off your beard or wear certain sunglasses. It also has difficulty in bright sunlight or if you hold the Photo by LiliAnna Khosrowshahi phone far from your face.

The iPhone X raises concerns about lack of privacy On the other hand, Face ID raises with its most recent innovation, Face ID. issues about privacy. Many people

By Cory Gorczycki wonder if this will void their privacy, as From Equifax credit files to hacked Ya- Apple will have access to their faces, and hoo email accounts to the Apple iPhone X, will have the ability to use this data for new technology is presenting people with whatever purpose.

Apple’s Face ID will be highly shareable privacy issues that need to be addressed. to third-party app developers, and Apple Several major tech companies introduced will have to strongly enforce their privacy new products this fall. The most notable of policy with the thousands of app developthe bunch is the iPhone X, which contains many innovative features but there is an ers who want to integrate facial mapping underlying concern about exactly how into their apps. While there is a possibility that all third party apps will respect this secure it is.

Apple released the $1,000 iPhone X to agreement and the privacy of its users, a consumers on November 3rd. This is a big change like this is always something to big step for Apple, boasting many new exercise caution.

As noted by a Business Insider article by features, including long-awaited wireStephen Nellis, “third-party app developless charging capabilities, and an OLED display, which uses tiny individual LEDs ers are allowed to collect certain facial that light up at different intensities to data with user permission under Apple’s create different shades of color and allows developer agreement.”

Senior Ian Wong said, “I just think for high contrast colors and deep blacks. it’s unnecessary as fingerprints should Out of all of these new features, Face ID is what comes to consumers’ minds. be enough.” Wong also doesn’t like that The feature of being able to unlock a Apple will potentially share information phone with your face has been used on with third parties, “It sounds sketchy as the several Android devices before, like in I’d rather have fingerprints without sharing the Samsung Galaxy model as early as in to third parties than have face recogni2011. However, Apple decided to create a tion with sharing to third parties. This software that far surpasses the security of will absolutely lead me to get a Samsung the previous Face ID and even Touch ID phone instead.”

Wong’s concerns were noted before software, with Apple claiming that their news broke that Apple’s Face ID was eas-

ily hacked by a Vietnamese security firm who claimed to have bypassed the Face ID system using a silicone mask, a 3D printed frame, and 2D images of the eyes and mouth. It’s not a simple process, but it does mean that the iPhone X is technically defeatable despite the company’s claim that it is the most secure biometric security system ever put into a smartphone with a false-positive rate of just one in a million under normal circumstances.

Besides the security firm, a video has come out showing how a 10-year-old was able to unlock his mother’s iPhone X, even when she re-registered her face into the phone. This raises concerns if the Face ID software that Apple is claiming to be 20 times more secure than Touch ID is actually less safe than using your fingerprint.

There hasn’t been a backlash by Apple users just yet as brisk sales upon release showed that users are unfazed about the privacy issue.

“Our surveys indicate most of the stores were sold out within a few hours after opening despite limited promotional activity,” Key Banc analysts noted in a November 5th release. Supply was said to be “scarce” at T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. stores, indicating they had not received enough shipments. AT&T and Verizon stores estimated that they will have to wait until December before they get additional shipments, but remained hopeful supply issues will dissipate soon.

“While it remains unclear what true demand is for the iPhone X given the supply constraints, we are encouraged by our initial survey results, which revealed a healthy initial demand response to the initial launch”, the analysts continued.

While sales are strong currently as iPhone consumers are ignoring the privacy issues and keep buying Apple’s new versions of the iPhone, I believe a significant number of users will eventually take a bite out of Apple and voice their objections by looking at competitive products.

App of the Month:

By David Ben-Ezra

Aaptiv

If you have trouble getting motivated to workout, Aaptiv may be the answer.

Aaptiv features hundreds of different workouts with trainers providing instructions. Workouts include running, walking, cycling, elliptical, weight training, stretching, and yoga.

Aaptiv offers training plans for 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon races.

All of Aaptiv’s workouts are set to customized playlists that are designed by the trainers. The app’s music selection offers a wide variety of genres, from the top 40 hits to ‘90s rock.

Aaptiv is free to download from the App Store and Google Play, and it offers a 7-day free trial. Afterwards, it costs $9.99 a month, $99.99 a year, or $399.99 for a lifetime subscription. Although this is not cheap, it is more affordable than hiring a personal trainer. A personal health trainer costs anywhere from $60.00 - $150.00 a month, according to an article written by K. Fetters for Women’s Health.

Some reviewers note that Aaptiv continues to bill them $9.99 each month, even after they canceled their subscriptions.

Despite some billing problems, the overwhelming majority of reviewers enjoyed Aaptiv, giving it a 4.5 star rating in the App Store. If you are having trouble motivating yourself to workout or get in shape, Aaptiv is a great, low-cost option. llustration by Olivia Weinberg