Eastside: December 2015

Vol. 49 No. 2

Cherry Hill High School East: 1750 Kresson Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

December 2015

Photo by Liz Lee (‘17)/ Eastside Staff. Curtain art by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Cast members of The Tempest anticipate their opening performance on December 4.

Shakespeare’s The Tempest takes the East stage ■ By Jenn Pacitti (‘17)

Eastside News/Features Editor

The Tempest will be sweeping the East stage this fall as the Theatre Department performs its adaptation of Shakespeare’s last, and possibly most creative, play.

A production team, consisting of Director/ Producer Mr. Tom Weaver, Film and Projection Designer Mr. Peter Gambino, Assistant Director/ Choreographer Mrs. Sandi Makofsky and retired English teacher Mr. Matthew Carr, is working together to create a production that will grab the audience’s attention.

The Tempest is certainly not East’s first Shakespearean production, with performances of Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2009 and Romeo and Juliet in 2006, but The Tempest is bringing completely new elements to the East stage.

“The play as a whole has a little bit of everything. It has a little bit of comedy, a little bit of drama, a little bit of action, a little bit of tension... I think this play is very interesting because it builds upon itself by combining all those elements,” said Ben Levy (‘16), who plays Gonzalo in the White Cast.

The play begins with a shipwreck due to a mighty storm called The Tempest, which was orchestrated by Prospero as an act of revenge for the wrong done to him in the past. On the ship is his family that dethroned him as Duke of Milan and left him and his daughter on an island.

The plot follows the characters through a story of magic, revenge, forgiveness and love.

The choice of this play for the fall production allows for a lot of creative freedom in several respects, including easy gender switching.

“We did a lot of gender switching... It can take care of my actors here, our two leading ladies would have traditionally been two leading men.

Our Prosperos are now Prosperas... That’s the main way we adapted it to the East stage,” said Weaver.

The other adaptation was to cut down the four-hour version of the original play. Deciding to cut the play makes the production more audience-friendly. The adapted version is shorter and full of special effects. Also, the play will be set in the 1800s even though it would originally take

place in the 1600s.

“Matt Carr wrote and basically cut the play in such a way that you can still tell the story very nicely,” said Weaver. “I would dare say the play will be less than two hours, making it approachable for our kids [and] making memorizing all the lines and performing it much easier.”

Performing Shakespeare differs from performing any other play, especially in the language of the script, for blank verse requires a lot of research and practice from the actors.

Cedric Middleton (‘17), playing Caliban in the Red and White Cast, said, “There is kind of a language barrier like trying to learn any other language, but as you look into it and begin to understand what you are saying, it just flows naturally.”

magic through the elements and the characters,” said Gambino. “I am working with a team of students and we produced a film for the intro shipwreck as well as projections throughout that will help with the visual style.”

Although this is not the first time a movie has been incorporated into an East play, it has never been implemented on this scale with its own set and green screens, said Gambino.

It is only until Scene 2 in which the audience will see the actors on stage, but they will see them closer than ever before.

“We are out in the audience, the back wall of our set is the beginning of the stage. We are totally right there in the audience’s face... There is distance in the other shows, but here we are right in the audience’s laps just like Shakespeare intended with the Globe Theatre,” said Weaver.

During rehearsals, actors are also given the creative freedom to act out the scenes the way they envision them in their head.

Weaver then fine-tunes the scenes for the show.

“In this production we have had the opportunity to work with Weaver as creators.

We have a general read-through on stage, but then we actually get to block it ourselves.

Weaver sees what we want to do naturally and then cleans it up. It is really new and really effective,” said Jean-Louis.

Choreography will also make its appearance in the form of the character Ariel. Allison Shapiro (‘17) will play Ariel for the Red Cast and Katie Aylesworth (‘16) will play Ariel for the White Cast.

“The character of Ariel was definitely cast based on the actor’s ability to move with grace and agility. The two actresses playing the role are strong physical actors and are doing a fantastic job,” said Makofsky.

The Tempest will open on December 4 at 7:30 p.m. with additional shows on December 5, 11 and 12.

Weaver said, “This is the place to take chances, this is the place to teach actors to take chances, and they are. Every single one of the kids has done something to create something special for their characters and I am so excited about that.”

“This is the place to take chances, this is the place to teach actors to take chances.”

- Mr. Tom Weaver

Inside This Issue

Many of the actors enjoy performing Shakespeare’s blank verse and have learned to adapt to the pattern and complex vocabulary coming from the different time period.

“I first struggled, of course, but it’s not just reading it, it’s breathing it and speaking it at the same time. The language is so beautiful,” said Bethelly Jean-Louis (‘17), playing Miranda in the Red Cast. “You have to take your time to say each phrase, which is so different than anything I have ever done. It is beautiful how the actors can connect to it and makes the audience connect to it.”

Included in the playbill will be a list of unknown vocabulary in order to help the audience follow the conversations between characters.

Other creative elements include the special effects with film. Gambino and a team of students have created a film for Act 1 Scene 1.

“We are experimenting with three projection screens, which is something we have never done before... We are going to try to visualize some

Hacking up a storm Community, Pg. 6

Record Guru makes musical whirlwind Underground, Pg. 11

Lu storms the icy stage Sports, Pg. 18

NEWS/FEATURES

Page 2

EASTSIDE

December 2015

Yi attempts to break womens’ Rubik’s Cube record ■ By Jenn Pacitti (‘17)

Eastside News/Features Editor

“I would like to be the fastest girl in the world,” said Dana Yi (’17), talking about her close-to-recordbreaking time in solving the Rubik’s Cube.

At eight years old, Yi walked downstairs into her basement and accidentally stumbled across an odd puzzle. Upon finding this Rubik's Cube, she told herself, “I will learn how to solve this.”

Now, one can find in her desk drawer a collection of over 60 Rubik’s Cubes that she has acquired over the years while mastering her technique and competing.

Yi found her method of choice through the Internet. Out of all of the ways to solve the puzzle, she chose one technique to excel and bring to competition.

She first learned of Rubik’s Cube solving competitions from YouTube videos regarding the events.

After the videos sparked her interest, she attended her first competition in 2010, solving the puzzle in 30 seconds. About six months later, she cut that time down by nearly half.

Yi said, “At home, my best average [time] is 8.1 seconds, but in competition it's 11.4 [seconds].”

At a recent competition she attended in September, the event was run in heats.

Art by Lauren Romisher (‘16)/ For Eastside Photo by Rachel Becker (‘16)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Yi focuses on solving a Rubik’s Cube.

“There were 160 people there…. There are people that average around seven to eight seconds and then people that take two minutes to solve it,” Yi said.

Yi found mot ivation to

master her skill from the ambitious nature of the competition.

“I made friends in competition. As I saw them getting faster, I wanted to be able to beat them… One of

Li braves audition process ■ By Lanxi Li (‘16)

Eastside Humor Editor

When I volunteered to audition for the fall play, I had no idea what I was getting into. Now that I think about it, I still don’t fully understand my reasoning at the time. What was I thinking when I raised my hand?

“Sure, I’ll audition! It’s just Shakespeare’s The Tempest, you know, the last play he wrote, often considered one of the best plays in the English language, whatever. How hard can it be, right?”

The answer: it depends.

It depends on whether you decide to attend the after-school workshop and spend an hour and thirty minutes listening to the play directors talk about Shakespeare. It depends on whether you’re willing to lock yourself in the basement and practice a character’s monologue. It depends on whether you’re able to pick apart your delivery, word-for-word, taking note of everything from your facial expression to your tone of voice, solely so that you can improve.

But what do I know? Aside from imitating the voices of cartoon characters when I’m home alone, I don’t have any acting experience. And, to be honest, while I did practice the monologue a few times, I didn’t put nearly the same kind of effort as did the senior veterans of theatre, or even those aspiring freshmen and sophomores hoping to land a role.

During the after-school workshop, the show directors—Mr. Tom Weaver, Mr. Peter Gambino, retired English teacher Mr. Matthew Carr and choreographer and assistant director Sandi Makofsky—discussed the intricacies of putting on a high school production of The Tempest. The amount of thought they had put into the play took me by surprise. Like the internal parts of a computer, I knew perfectly well that complex decisions on

casting actors and building sets occurred in the Theatre Department, but I could never appreciate them until they were set out in the open.

Through a Q&A, the show directors explained that creating a theatre production gave the director a certain artistic freedom—that although Shakespeare wrote the script, the lighting and set choices allowed each production to put its own “spin” on the play.

One important topic that kept coming up in the director-student conversation was the possibility of swapping genders for certain characters. Weaver pointed out that changing the main character Prospero into a woman would completely alter the father-daughter dynamic between Prospero and Miranda present in the original play. At the time, I thought, “That’s a pretty deep observation.” I felt as if I were sitting in on an English class.

He did say, though, that if the auditions took him by surprise, he would reconsider.

My experience when auditioning for the fall play was, in a way, one of mild intimidation. On the day of the audition, we gathered in the auditorium after school and presented our monologues, one by one, on the starkly-lit stage. While I was waiting for those before to finish saying their monologues, I briefly considered going up onstage and reading off my lines in a dumb, robotic voice.

In retrospect, that may have been a better option.

So, what happened at the fall play auditions? I forgot my lines, went off-script to say, “Huh, it seems like I’ve forgotten my lines,” and then walked off.

When they e-mailed out the official cast listings, the first thing I noticed was that I didn’t get a part, not even as an extra. The second thing I noticed was that Prospero had been changed to Prospera. I guess the auditions really did take everyone by surprise.

the guys I met at the first competition now holds the world record,” said Yi. Yi’s ultimate goal is to break the female world record for solving the puzzle.

The record is 9.84 seconds, which she has already beaten at home, but not in competition due to nerves and pressure.

Although she would like to compete in more competitions, many are too far and expensive to attend.

Yi has taught her eightyear-old sister how to solve the Rubik’s Cube and says her sister really enjoys it.

Yi also finds the hobby to be relaxing.

As a left-brained thinker, she does not only excel at solving the Rubik’s Cube, but also games such as MagicTouch, in which her score of 2240 ranks within the top eight highest scores on the Championship board.

“Dana is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met… She is so good with puzzles and technology,” said Peter Ma (‘17), one of Yi’s close friends.

The Meyers-Briggs Personality test describes Yi as a “Logician-INTP" (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Perceiving).

“In general I find that I'm decent at spacial thinking, like visualizing things,” said Yi. When she is not doing school work, she is practic-

ing karate or playing the violin, which have been hobbies of hers for 10 years now.

Not only does Yi play the violin for East Orchestra, but she has also spent the past two summers volunteering as a sensei at Amerikick in Marlton and has exceeded in the sport.

“I remember this one NASKA [North American Sport Karate Association] tournament I actually got third place,” said Yi. While school work is the number one priority for her, Yi said that she finds her hobbies to be second on the list.

Yi’s friend, Maryia Oreshko (‘17), said Yi is very energetic with everything she does, whether it is cubing or talking about school.

Yi said, “I think music is going to be a part of my life forever, whether it be in the form of playing, listening or something else. Cubing, I think, will be a great stress relief as I get older… and karate is good because it forces me to exercise.”

The most recent cubing competition she attended was in November in New York, where she continued to strive to beat the female world record.

“I am motivated by competition with friends, the satisfaction of not failing, and the desire to be something,” said Yi.

December 2015

NEWS/FEATURES EASTSIDE

Blood drive eligibility criteria called into question ■ By Courtney Finnegan (‘17)

Eastside News/Features Editor

For over 30 years, the American Red Cross Association has been the conductor of blood donations at East. For these 30-plus years, the Red Cross has assisted East faculty members and students willing to donate blood.

The American Red Cross Biomedical Services is the largest single supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The Red Cross provides life-saving blood and blood products to help people in times of emergency and disaster.

Collecting and processing approximately 40 percent of the blood supply and distributing it to about 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide, The American Red Cross proves its dedication to helping thousands of people every day.

In order to obtain and distribute such large amounts of blood, the Red Cross reaches out to public places such as schools like East. Last year, about 450 students, faculty and members of the community donated to the annual blood drive held at East.

For one to participate in blood donation, he or she must meet the criteria es-

tablished by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Red Cross. The Red Cross requires interested donors to answer specific personal questions prior to donating. The questions test a person’s eligibility to donate.

F o r s t u dents like *Pet e r Kell e y (’16), the eligibility test was more harmful than helpful. Out of the 450 people who donated blood at East last year, Kelley was unfortunately not one of them.

Kelley was turned away at last year’s Fall Blood Drive after completing the screening prior to donating.

Since Kelley recorded his sexual history with other males on the eligibility test, he was unable to continue donating blood as he did at previous blood drives held at East.

“I was embarrassed. I’ve been at East for four years,

and I’ve never been discriminated against...That was my first experience ever being even remotely discriminated against. Nothing has happened to me like that before,” said Kelley.

The Red Cross rejects blood donations from males who have or have h a d sexual relations with other males, j u s t as they would r e j e c t blood donations from those with an iron deficiency or an HIV virus.

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). AIDS is acquired by HIV when spread from an infected person to another person—homosexual or not—through direct contact with some of the body’s fluids.

The homosexual deferral policy stems from the statistic that the majority

of men who have had a sexual encounter with another man have the HIV virus.

Although even today’s studies prove that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men of all races and ethnicities remain the population most profoundly affected by HIV, there is a prevalent number of those who do not carry the HIV virus or AIDS. “They are still so stuck in the mindset of the past with all gay men having AIDS, and I don’t think they’ve come up to date with that being false, so I just think they haven’t changed their policy,” said Kelley.

The denial of homosexual donors has recently become more questionable than it has been in the past. Equality in all forms is presently a prominent trend in society, and laws, rules and regulations that have previously limited equality have been eliminated or changed to comply with the equality notion. The question that now lies with the FDA and the Red Cross is if their deferral policy should be revised to go along with current society. *To preserve the identity of the student featured in this article, his name was changed to Peter Kelley.

feet wide and five feet high, to represent their grade’s theme. This tradition diminished because of the desire to keep the new track that West received clean.

In the November 1997 issue of Eastside, while she was a student, Trish Devine (’99) said, “Float building is a way for me to get involved with my class and also express my artistic ability.”

Due to their large size, the floats would stay at a student’s house until the day of the game that occurred on Thanksgiving Day. On game day, the

students build and decorate now replaced the floats in the early 2000s. This way, students can still construct and design something to represent their class.

Junior Class President, Maddie Phillips (‘17), said, “We still have the booths, so [students] still [have] the artistic involvement.”

The games in the cafeteria during lunch breaks have always been part of Spirit Week at East.

However, the

floats would be transported to Cherry Hill West, where they would stay put outside of the track.

Before the game started, about fifteen students would perform skits on the float pertaining to their grade.

The skits would generally make fun of other classes in a fun and satirical manner.

The homecoming football game between East and West used to be a major event that almost all students would attend. The games were always packed with mobs of people. Even though it is still one of the most attended football games of the season, the attendance does not compare to that of prior decades.

The booths that East

games themselves have evolved based on their popularity each year.

Over the years, the theme of Spirit Week and each specific class have changed. Previously, there was no overall theme for all four classes, as the classes tended to choose broad themes that had no relation to one another.

Now, there is one generic theme for the entire school, and each class selects a more specific theme relating to the larger one. For example, this year the theme was Pre-Loaded Applications. The Class of 2016 chose Maps, 2017 chose Clock, 2018 chose Weather and 2019 chose News to represent their class.

One thing that seems to remain the same is the lack of attendance at what is now called the Homecoming Dance and what used to be called the Welcome Back Dance. School dances at East have yet to make their breakthrough, and it has been this way for years.

“Going to school dances just isn't fun, and all we ever hear is that we don't have enough spirit,” said Richard Gabbay (’02) in the November 1999 issue of Eastside.

Inevitably, the lack of attendance at school events correlates to the level of school spirit.

This issue remains prominent at East.

While there are a good number of students who thoroughly enjoy participating in Spirit Week, there are others who will do anything and everything to get out of showing any school spirit. “[Spirit Week] activities are great except we don’t get enough involvement sometimes… just word of mouth, spreading it out, if we can do a better job with that, we can get a better turnout,” said Lee RosenSwell (‘16), Senior Class President From floats to booths, and pep rallies to dance competitions, Spirit Week at East has undergone a plethora of changes, large and small, over the past decades. The evolution continues year after year, some changing Spirit Week for the better and some for the worse.

Art by Jacob Borowksy (‘16)/ Eastside Editor-in-Chief

Spirit Week has evolved over the years ■ By Sari Cohen (‘18)

Eastside News/Features Editor

When talk of Spirit Week comes up nowadays, most East students immediately think of the competition involving the anticipated dances and booths, along with the overwhelming feelings of stress and, of course, spirit. However, this event did not always hold true for East students.

Prior to the 1990s, one of the biggest Spirit Week activities was the pep rally held the day before the homecoming football game.

By the early ‘90s, students began to lose interest in the pep rally, as they dreaded going and often left early.

In the December 1993 issue of Eastside, Jackie Lichtm a n (’96) said that while she was Sophomore Class President, “no one paid attention to the pep rally. No one cared what was going on. They wanted to leave, and they did.”

Before the Spirit Week of 1993, SGA proposed to cut the pep rally altogether.

At that point it was not yet completely gone, but vast changes were made to make the pep rally a little more exciting for the students.

A couple of years later, in 1997, East officially cut the Spirit Week pep rally.

The activity that proved extremely popular at the time was the float building for the parade at the homecoming game.

For this, students would build floats, approximately ten

Art by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

The Boyling Point

Page 3

■ By Kaitlyn Boyle (‘17) Eastside Managing Editor

As Spirit Week comes to a close, a large majority of East school spirit disappears with it. Spirit Week marks one of the few times during the school year when glimpses of an enthusiastic student body can be seen.

Yet even these glimpses themselves are scarce, as large quantities of students remain oblivious to the activities, and others dress up merely for the sake of extra credit points.

It isn’t that East doesn’t offer any opportunities for school-wide activities; the student body just does not feel the desire to attend most of them. New events, such as Red and White Night and Project East, almost immediately receive the scorn of students. Only long-standing traditions such as Spirit Week or certain successful sports teams seem to draw any sort of crowd. What is the cause for this lack of school spirit?

Why do seniors sulk their way through what should be the most exciting year of their high school career, only to experience a rush of passion for their college?

Perhaps East students show little excitement because many of the clubs that previously united the school no longer exist. It becomes difficult for students to enjoy their four years of high school when the groups that cause this enjoyment vanish. The absence of a contract not only negatively affects the teachers in the district, but also takes a toll on school spirit as a whole.

Once the contract dispute reaches a resolution, East students can once again pursue their interests.

East also places a large emphasis on academics, which in national rankings may not appear detrimental, but clearly shows in the lives of students. A stressed, sleep-deprived high-schooler struggles to get through the day. School spirit most likely will never cross the mind of this exhausted teenager, who merely wishes to escape the very building that creates his or her anxiety-filled life at 2:30 p.m.

Furthermore, the unnecessarily complicated and constantly changing policies of East frustrate students, creating a sense of distaste towards the school.

Homeroom and study hall policies alone created an irritated atmosphere from the very start of this school year. Strict regulations put in place by the administration make it difficult for scholars to even slightly appreciate the positive aspects of their seven hours spent at East.

School spirit cannot and will not suddenly appear overnight, and the possibility of engaging the entire school community remains unlikely. In order to shift the mindset of East students, however, some changes will have to occur within the district itself.

NEWS/FEATURES

Page 4

EASTSIDE

December 2015

FOP holiday party impacts community for over 40 years ■ By Courtney Finnegan (‘17)

Eastside News/Features Editor

The holiday season includes family, friends and a lot of presents. For the chairperson of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Stephanie Brooks, the annual FOP holiday party is the best present of them all.

“I love the interaction between the high school kids and the special needs kids.

I love the fact that for one day they’re just like one another. For one day it’s not about the kids having autism or cerebral palsy, or anything like that. It’s truly a Christmas gift to me,” said Brooks.

The FOP organization has been hosting holiday parties for children and their families who have special needs for over 40 years.

With the help from local police officers, chairpersons, Cherry Hill East and West high school students, and various donators such as the Ravitz family, the FOP has been able to successfully execute the party year after year.

For the past few years, the event has been held at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill. The student volunteers from East and West greet the special needs students from various schools such as Kingsway, Rosa and Bancroft, with live music, food, snacks and presents.

Maryrose Ruggieri, a seventh grade special education teacher at Rosa Middle School, said, “I feel like the students from

the high school are out“They are taken out of Among the hundreds of standing. They pretty much their element. They are people who attend the anrun the whole day. I go, and taken out of what they are nual event, there are a variety of people aging from I basically turn my kids over used to in the classroom, elementary school to grown to them because they bring and they go and spend the adults.

There them out on the are hundreds of dance floor, eat different persontheir lunches alities stemming with them, have from various conversations backgrounds, with them and and there is a I think that’s a significant range big deal for our of mental and kids.” physical abiliThe holiday ties. However, party serves as despite these one of the only differences, evdays when the ery person in children can attendance at take a break the party acts as from their typithough each one cal everyday of them is equal. schedules and Many grafeel comfortable cious people around other of the commustudents to nity contribute completely enand put forth joy themselves. an enumerable “The neatamount of time est part for our and energy into staff is to see the party in orthe children der to make it that they work as enjoyable as with every day possible and to running drills give the children and lessons is more than they to give them would normally a day off and receive during have fun and Courtesy of the Pennington Family the holidays. be entertained For some by everybody,” John P. sits on Santa’s lap at the FOP Holiday Party.

“The care of their children costs so much that they don’t have a lot to give them really anything else,” said Brooks.

Zach Padersky (‘17), an FOP chairperson at East, said, “It’s so gratifying to see all of our hard work so greatly appreciated by the kids we host the party for.”

The mother of John P., a student at Bancroft School, said, “For our kids especially, because we are in a self-contained school, it’s so much fun for them to have an activity where they interact with their typical peers in a different setting.”

John is a non-verbal high school student at Bancroft who has been attending the FOP holiday party the past few years. Through his Augmentative and Alternative Communication device (AAC), John expressed great enthusiasm and appreciation for the event.

Another student at Bancroft, Tyler, who is in third grade, said, “It’s the best party of the year.”

Overall, the FOP has contributed countless hours and created memorable moments by hosting the holiday party every year. The hard work put in by the police officers, the chairpersons, the high school students, the volunteers and the donators in the community definitely pays off when the party comes around.

The FOP holiday party is the best present of the season because for these kids, it is priceless.

“When you see them having fun and you see the smiles on the kids’ faces, it’s priceless.”

- Stephanie Brooks

said Jakie Pawling, the teacher leader of the elementary program at Bancroft School.

day with people they have never met before. It’s like a miracle that it all works out that great every year.”

families, this is the only Christmas party or holiday party their children will experience.

tunities for students.

Lia Yamamoto (’17), who hoped to visit Spain with the program, said, “For me it was to improve language, like my Spanish skills, primarily. [Also] for the experience of being in another country, to meet new people, to have international friends.”

The exc h a n g e program used to occur regularly in past years.

However, in the last couple of years it has not been carried out by East. “ T h e school that we communicated with in Spain,” said Leslie, “decided to stop the program because it was difficult for them.”

With the success of the French Exchange Program, both Spanish students and Spanish teachers wanted to reinstate the opportunity to travel.

There were two meetings regarding the Spanish Exchange Program with about 10 to 25 students at each one. The students that attended were looking forward to experiencing a new

culture and furthering their intelligence in the Spanish language in hopes of becoming fluent. However, these hopes were given up when the following meetings were cancelled and teachers became unsure if the trip could occur.

“I think by being a cultural experience it’s also an educationa l ex-

because of her vast interest in both the Spanish culture and the language. After discovering that the program would most likely be cancelled, Yamamoto found herself distraught.

This November, students from Germany traveled to Cherry Hill for t e n

Possible cancellation of Spanish Exchange causes confusion ■ By Sari Cohen (‘18)

Eastside News/Features Editor

The Spanish Exchange Program at East said to occur at the end of June, July and September of 2016 will most likely be cancelled due to issues concerning teacher contracts. As of now, the decision has not definitely been made as to whether or not the program will occur.

“They have been really wishy-washy with answers and haven't definitely said it’s cancelled or definitely said it’s going to happen and they have kind of left everyone in limbo,” said Devon Leslie (’17), who planned on going on the trip to Spain.

The trip was supposed to be 2-3 weeks for East Spanish students to travel to High School I.E.S. Carlos Bousoño in Majadahonda, Spain, in late June through early July 2016. Majadahonda is a suburb of Madrid in which students would stay with local families.

The students from this school in Spain would travel to Cherry Hill to stay with East families. This trip would be a great opportunity for students at East to use the cultured material that they are learning in the classrooms and experience it firsthand. However, the unresolved issues the teachers are enduring with their contracts in the Cherry Hill School District are hindering these oppor-

perience because you are fully [immersing] yourself and you're not just being talked at on how to do something,” said Leslie.

Differing from other students, Yamamoto studies the German language at East in addition to Spanish. She had also wanted to go to Spain, and chose the Spanish Exchange Program

days. During the upcoming spring break, German students from East will be traveling to Germany.

Yamamoto felt regretful for not choosing the German Exchange Program in the first place because when she first shared her interest after the Spanish program seemed to cease

to exist, the German group was already full.

Luckily for Yamamoto, a spot opened up on the trip to Germany. Although she did mention that if the Spanish Exchange Program does occur at a later date, she does not think she will go due to earlier issues and lack of trust regarding communication.

Other students felt like they missed all of the opportunities and the cancellation of the trip will affect their future with the Spanish language. Some even hope to travel abroad to Spain during their college career.

“My goal in life is to become fluent in Spanish… so I thought this experience would help me improve my abilities, and also I thought it would be really cool to [immerse myself] in the culture and also have somebody be there as a peer to help guide [me] through,” said Leslie.

Although the Spanish Exchange Program at East will not be occurring as of now, students still have interest in traveling across the sea and are hopeful that the program will be reinstated soon.

“The last thing I heard is right now it’s not happening, “ said Yamamoto, “[but] it might happen… stay tuned.”

Sabrina DeAbreu (‘18)/ Eastside Staff

COMMUNITY

December 2015

EASTSIDE

Page 5

Grand Master Giacobbe: a modern Renaissance man boxing.

“He loves boxing because he Upon entering the boxused to train ing room in the Ironhand pro boxCrossFit Karate and Boxers,” Nick ing Gym in the Woodcrest Capuzzo, a Shopping Center, the first boxing coach thing that calls for attenat Ironhand tion is a picture frame next said.

“He to the doorway which pops worked with into view as soon as the [Muhammed light switch is flipped on.

Ali’s] trainThe majority of the frame er, Angelo is occupied by the famous Dundee, for a photo of boxer Muhammad couple fights.”

Ali, towering victorious This fact over opponent Sonny Lionly presents a ston. The upper right corsnippet of Gianer of the frame, however, cobbe’s boxing is covered by another photo expertise. of Ali with his arm around “I worked the shoulders of a man with a lot of standing next to him. He is professional the now sixty-five-year-old boxers,” GiaGrand Master Dominick cobbe said. “I Giacobbe, the gym’s propriworked with etor, who is also a famous Evander Hofigure in the world of Tan lyfield for five Emelia Keller (‘17)/ Eastside Photo Editor Soo Do Karate. of his fights…

“It’s the old style of KoSugar Ray Dominick Giacobbe sports the cover of rean Karate,” Giacobbe Leonard, they Martial Arts: Combat Sports magazine. said of Tan Soo Do. “It’s the brought me in same style that Chuck Norto train him ting what the boxers did in ris did.” for his famous fight with their training camps… It’s For Giacobbe, the connec[Luis] Vega.” constant, constant motion, tion goes Holyfield and it just kills you.” m u c h is boxing’s In addition to impledeeper. only four-time menting boxing coaching H e heavyweight at Ironhand’s classes, Giaw a s champion and cobbe also has football contaught was the Undisditioning under his belt. b y puted World “I worked with the PhilGrand Champion adelphia Eagles football M a s in both the team for five years,” said ter J.C. heavyweight Giacobbe. “I was condiS h i n , and cruisertioning coach for them… I who also weight diviworked with all the playtaught sions. Leonard ers from the eighties to t h e held the title of the nineties… a lot of the fighting Welterweight techniques I learned from style to Champion of them, which is what I do Norris the World, and with the sports fitness [at himself. was named Ironhand].”

GiacobAccording to Capuzzo, Emelia Keller (‘17)/ Eastside Photo Editor “Boxer of the be also Dominick Giacobbe teaches his class karate techniques. Decade” for the Giacobbe implemented his received 1980s, and he karate skills into football personal made his proas well. He would teach training from the son of took first place [in England] fessional debut in a historic linemen hand motions that Tan Soo Do’s founder, and in their divisions, we go in victory over Vega. enabled them to deflect was a top competitor in the the blackbelts and masters “He took a lot of the hits from offensive linemen late 1960s and early ‘70s, category.” training camp stuff and without being flagged. before he began teaching in In Giacobbe’s case, the implemented it into [our] In addition to tradition1974. word “master” is an underworkouts,” said Capuzzo. al Tang Soo Do, Giacobbe Giacobbe has appeared statement. Aside from Ka“That’s why it’s… so unbemakes a clear demonstraon the covers of five famous rate, he is also an expert in lievable because you’re gettion of the power of the mind ■ By Steve Mirsen (‘16)

Eastside Multimedia Director

publications, including Black Belt Magazine and Karate Illustrated. In 2000, Black Belt named him the magazine’s “Man of the Year.”

In addition, he has personally written five books, titled Tang Soo Do, The Way of the Warrior, Secrets for a Powerful Life, Master Your Mind and Conquer Your Body. On October 27, Giacobbe boarded a plane to South Korea to train at a Tan Soo Do seminar. He was invited by the son of the founder of Tan Soo Do, who is one of Giacobbe’s former teachers and is also one of his close friends.

Ironhand is run by Giacobbe and nine other coaches, and offers classes in Karate, CrossFit, circuit training and boxing. Many of the coaches are Giacobbe’s students. Giacobbe and other coaches participate in international Tan Soo Do tournaments.

“We’ve done it over the years,” said Giacobbe.

“We’ve been to Italy, most recently, we were in England… our team does very [well]... four of our guys

and its effects and power over the body. His tournament’s tagline is “observe the unbelievable,” and with good reason.

Prior to his demonstration, “[Giacobbe will] meditate… to calm his mind down, to calm himself down. Then what he’ll do, with the use of Chi energy, he’ll stick motorcycle spokes through his arms, right here,” Capuzzo said as he pinched a piece of skin below his elbow, on the back of his forearm.

“He’ll stick it in really slow, without bleeding…

Then what he’ll do is he’ll hang buckets of water, or in this case, he, you know, hung his son,” Capuzzo said as he pointed to a photograph of Giacobbe holding his son on wooden boards, suspended by strings wrapped around the spokes, with another strap clenched between his teeth.

Many photos on the wall depict him doing similar feats. But it does not stop there.

Giacobbe, while hanging the water buckets, stands atop extremely sharp blades of long daggers.

After standing upon them, Capuzzo said, “he’ll step out, take off all of the stuff, and he won’t be bleeding anywhere.”

Capuzzo attributes this to “the power of the mind and staying relaxed,” he said.

“He’s out of his mind,” Capuzzo said. “He’s crazy… his philosophy is as long as you take care of yourself, then you can live forever… ‘the body’s a temple,’ he says. Your body’s a temple.

You’ve got to take care of it. You’ve got to eat [well].

You’ve got to stay active, and believe me, he is active... whether it’s working out or just constantly moving… he’s keeping his body active, and he also keeps a positive mind… He always sees the positive side of every situation. That’s what keeps him happy.”

Life Time Fitness brings innovation to Cherry Hill ■ By Sara Messinger (‘17)

Eastside Staff

With over 117 operating facilities throughout the United States and Canada, Life Time Fitness opened its first South Jersey facility in Mount Laurel this fall.

Life Time resembles more of a resort rather than a fitness center. The 102,442-square-foot gym consists of a cafe, spa, cycle studio, indoor pool, outdoor pool and much more.

"We want to create an environment that our members could spend an entire day [at Life Time]...

It's almost like that country club type of atmosphere wrapped around fitness instead of golf," said Frank Quartararo, the general manager of Life Time Fitness in Mount Laurel.

Every week, over 90 group fitness classes are offered. These classes range from yoga or pilates to Shaun T's “Insanity”—an intense interval training

workout.

"You can build a workout plan at Life Time by incorporating group fitness classes and by doing some-

Park and Montvale.

Life Time also offers personalized training with over 30 personal trainers.

The trainers at Life Time

The membership comes with a complimentary personal training session.

By seeking out certified and experienced trainers,

Rachel Becker (‘16)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Life Time Fitness in Cherry Hill is open from 4 a.m. to midnight. thing different every single day," said Quartararo.

All fitness classes are included in the Life Time membership at no additional fee. In addition to access to the entire facility in Mount Laurel, members also have access to 90 other Life Time locations nationwide, with four of these facilities located in New Jersey—in Mount Laurel, Berkeley Heights, Florham

must have national certification, at least five years of experience, and must receive Life Time’s training certification as well.

"We want to be sure that our trainers are on the cutting edge of all the new technology [and] all of the new techniques. That way we can truly say that we do have the best people inside of Life Time," said Quartararo.

Life Time hopes to fulfill its vision to help organizations and individuals achieve their total health objectives, athletic aspirations and fitness goals.

The Life Time model states that the company can fulfill its vision by providing the best places, best people and best programs, Quartararo said.

Life Time also offers an abundance of wellness ser-

vices through a registered dietitian and a nutrition coach. These wellness services work in conjunction with the fitness plans in which members partake.

The personalized training model determines a “My Health Score,” which assists in creating a personalized fitness plan for members based on their individual needs.

Considering the indoor and outdoor pools at the facility, Life Time expects to have a popular aquatics program. The Aquatics Department will consist of swim lessons—starting at ages three months all the way up to adults—and swim teams.

While the swim teams will not travel to compete, Life Time will be hosting fun competitions for the teams at the facility.

Life Time is opened seven days a week from 4 a.m. to midnight. The hours give members the flexibility to work fitness into their busy daily lives.

COMMUNITY

Page 6

EASTSIDE

December 2015

CHE Hacks “opens the door to programming” ■ By Matt Kains (‘16)

Eastside Community Editor

From November 7 to 8, roughly 125 students from 22 different high schools across the South Jersey region congregated at the Cherry Hill Public Library to participate in Cherry Hill East Hacks: a student hackathon organized by East students Bogdan Vitoc (’16), Emily Reisman (’16), Jason Fisch (’16), Miku Fujita (’16) and Salman Fakhri (’17).

No, 125 students did not come together to celebrate illegally gaining access to people’s computers.

In fact, a hackathon is not at all what it sounds like.

Hackathons are a chance for programmers to work together on various projects involving software and hardware development for a set amount of time, usually anywhere from 24 to 48 consecutive hours.

Typically, hackathons are competitions; teams work together on a project for a given amount of time, and they are judged on the final product. However, CHE Hacks was different. While many experienced developers were in attendance, the event was geared towards those with little to no prior experience, hence the hackathon’s slogan, “Open the Door to Programming.”

“At East, there was no computer science class [prior to 2015] or club for [programming]… It is unfortunate for those who didn’t have the opportunity like

students of the importance of programming, but also to reach out to other communities outside of Cherry Hill.

“We definitely want to

thon scene as a beginner, so [CHE Hacks] is a good way to get into larger and more competitive hackathons.”

Vitoc played a crucial role in the creation and organization of CHE Hacks. He stressed the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education.

“I really want to help Cherry Hill East to hit the ground running with STEM education… I think CHE Hacks can help East become a strong player in technology,” Matt Kains (‘16)/ Eastside Community Editor said Vitoc, Nikola Kosaric (‘16) works on Blind Spot, a pair of glasses that detects who led the way in the the distance between the user and objects. process of us to attend hackathons,” grow the hackathon and planning the hackathon. said Reisman, who, along programming community The hackers at CHE with the other organizers, in South Jersey,” said Fisch, Hacks took full advantage has been exposed to prowho also wants to help of the opportunity to be cregramming and hackathons make hackathons more apative during the 24-hour for several years. pealing to less experienced time frame. Arnav Misra The goal of the event was programmers. “It’s really (’19), Eli Griffith (’18) and not only to educate East tough to get into the hackaJeremy Joji (’19) were in

Starbucks lets customers order drinks via new app

times, but it makes the trip so much easier. I don’t have to remember money when I go to Starbucks First launched in 2014 in Portsince my card is on the app, and I land, Oregon, Mobile Order and don’t have to wait to scan or pay.

Pay was introduced to a selection of It also helps me get Starbucks reStarbucks locations throughout the wards more easily since it’s all on country before becoming available my account.” to all of its 7,400 shops in the UnitStarbucks’ new update is indeed ed States. Mobile Order and Pay ala prime example of how retailers lows customers to place their orders are designing new strategies to before their visit and pick the order keep up with the demands of a busy up at their chosen Starbucks store society dominated by technological instead of waiting in a line. evolution.

Customers can browse the menu, The trend of mobile ordering has customize beverage and food items been picked up by other quick-seravailable at their chosen location, vice chain restaurants like Domipre-pay for their order and see the no’s and Chipotle. Mobile ordering estimated time until their order is also being prototyped at Dunkin’ will be ready, all as part of the MoDonuts. bile Order feature on the Starbucks “I’ve only tried [the app.

Starbucks To use the feature, which is availMobile Orable from the Apple App Store and der] once Google Play store, you must downor twice, load the app. and I First, add a Starbucks ordered Card to the app if awhile you are not before already a getting member there, so of the I didn’t rewards have to p r o wait at gram. all. I can Then, click see this be“Menu” and ing a reguturn on lolar thing for cation serpeople who vices to see work or are the stores just really Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director in your area busy,” said a c c e p t i n g Starbucks and Domino’s are two places N i s h a a d where you can order food through an app.

“Mobile OrKhedkar der & Pay.” (‘18).

Finally, select your food or drink With new innovations adding a and confirm the purchase by clickcombination of technology and coning “order.” When your order is venience to some of society’s most done, the barista will call your name popular businesses, one will always or have it waiting on the counter. have the time to stop for a muchLily Yang (‘18) said, “I’ve only needed Venti Skinny Iced Caramel used [the Starbucks app] a few Latte just in a click of an app.

■ By Rose Ni (‘18)

For Eastside

the process of creating a Mario game, and Vignesh Vasu (’16) was leading a team of hackers creating Club Connect, a website that allows leaders of school clubs to connect with leaders of similar clubs at different schools. Additionally, Nikola Kosaric (’16) created the prototype for a device called Blind Spot, a pair of sunglasses designed to help blind people.

“If you put on these sunglasses, they will be able to tell you how far away you are from the object in front of you with beeps… Based on how close it is, it will increase the frequency of the beeps,” said Kosaric.

Hackers can take away more than an increase in their programming experience; hackathons are great networking tools as well.

“Going to hackathons is not always just about learning a new language or making a product, but it is also a great way to meet similar people who are also interested in the same ideas,” said Fisch.

The organizers of CHE Hacks do not intend to make this hackathon the last one. Vitoc hopes that this will continue for years to come.

Vitoc said, “Making CHE Hacks a reoccurring event is definitely a goal for me…

I’m definitely going to help out as much as I can going into college.”

December 2015

COMMUNITY EASTSIDE

Page 7

Gloucester Outlets make holiday shopping a breeze ■ By Ben Goldsmith (‘17)

Eastside Multimedia Director

The Gloucester Premium Outlets are taking holiday shopping to a whole new level this season. Thirty minutes away from Cherry Hill, the outlets, owned by Simon Property Group, provide popular brand names and low prices that are now accessible to East students.

Cherry Hill can now get a feel for the true “outletstyle” savings.

After opening in August 2015, the Gloucester Outlets have acquired around 90 independent stores, and store employees are very aware that sales have been favorable. “[Business] is good. It’s been busy,” said Francesca’s employee, Amy Palmer.

Shoppers browse the stores while leisurely strolling about the city-like environment the outlets create.

From live entertainment such as a steel drum band to a turf grass park with games for young children, it is easy to feel that “small town” comfortable vibe. The outlet center even named the sidewalks between the stores to add more of a downtown charm.

If one were to walk to the Famous Footwear outlet, he or she would simply pass through “Cottage Court.” Surround sound radio speakers provide a nice beat for shoppers to walk to. However, it is not just the atmosphere that is attracting shoppers this holiday season; it is also the enticing deals.

Shoppers Mr. and Mrs. Geitz are attracted to the atmosphere because they like to be outside. Another outlet shopper, Argemiro Aguirre, is shopping at the outlets because he is visit-

ing long-distance family and wants to get in on the good-rumored deals.

Vera Bradley employee, Cheryl Moreira, said, “We have 50 percent off the entire store and then an additional 20 [percent off],” one

bers, Yankee Candle may have trouble keeping up with customer service due to the crowds it creates with its sales.

Other stores with big discounts find ways to still make their customers feel

fully better [than malls] because [the Gloucester Outlet’s] prices are lower,” said Watch Station International employee, CJ Volk.

Along with a 40 percent discount on their whole store, shoppers can expect

Ben Goldsmith (‘17)/ Eastside Multimedia Director

The 90 stores located in the Gloucester Outlets lure visitors from everywhere. of the better deals in the Outlet Center.

Some shoppers mention that Yankee Candle’s deals cannot be beaten. The Yankee Candle store has a whole list of specials. Specials include 12 sampler wax melts for 10 dollars and all gift sets reduced in price by 50 percent. These deals make scenting the house with one’s favorite holiday fragrance and gift giving to a friend or loved one very reasonable. With its sales bursting in num-

welcome and helped. Lucky Brand Outlet circumvents that issue by hiring more store-hands to cover the store effectively. And sure enough, even with big holiday promotions, employees are able to greet shoppers effectively and warmly while helping them meet their needs.

Stores in the Gloucester Outlets are expecting their crowds to rival those of more traditional shopping malls.

The deals will be “hope-

an additional 30 percent off when checking out International Watch Station.

As Seen On TV employee, Amish Shakeel, said, “We do pretty well compared to other [stores]. You’ll see a bigger crowd.”

As Seen On TV specializes in unique and quirky products including the “Cloud Pets” and “Gadget Grab” that will entice customers with their practicality and prices.

If you are planning on spending the whole day

shopping at the outlets, finding a good place to eat will probably be on your mind some time throughout the day.

Food at the Premium Outlets is far from scarce; most eateries are mainly condensed into a food court with five separate establishments to choose from. Most “meal-time” food stops can be found at the food court in Market Hall between Under Armour and Nike Factory Store. Yet, the outlets only offer one sit-down restaurant, Friendly’s, which makes finding a more adultlike restaurant impossible.

Snack foods, including Auntie Anne’s and Starbucks Coffee, can be found spread out at different kiosk-type setups. Starbucks Coffee is located to the left of Town Square. In rainy situations, the Gloucester Outlets provide canopycovered areas along their four courts.

When the weather becomes cold outside and starts to snow, there is a huge four-sided fireplace with overhead coverage and a comfortable sofa and chair seating area to warm up. The outlets prove to be versatile for almost all weather, considering it is an outdoor shopping venue.

That being said, there are still plenty of open areas with a visual of the sky.

With the holiday season right around the corner, it is easy to give a loved one a gift card to the exquisite outlet center. Heading over to Guest Services in Market Hall and purchasing an outlet store gift card, good for all Simon Center outlets, with Gloucester included, or an independent brand gift card, makes the perfect holiday gift for shoppers of all ages.

DreamPlace brings holiday magic to the mall ■ By Brooke Greenberg (‘17)

Eastside Community Editor

Waking up on Christmas morning and awaiting St. Nick’s arrival is one of the most anticipated days of the year. Unwrapping crisp wrapping paper to reveal a much-wanted gift is one of the most exciting parts of the holiday season.

Rewind a few weeks and see where the holiday cheer started: The Cherry Hill Mall.

Christmas ornaments, holiday sales and the infamous Christmas tree outside of Nordstrom are all a part of the holiday festivities happening at the Cherry Hill Mall. The tree is lit and the ornaments are hung, but one thing that is far from ordinary is the DreamWorks DreamPlace that captivates families into the true meaning and spirit of the holiday season.

On November 7, a lifesize house, reminiscent of one of the North Pole, was contracted as the main holiday attraction for families of all ages this season, incorporating elements many children look up to and get excited about, such as Santa, Shrek and Christmas.

The DreamWorks DreamPlace is based off of

Shrek, and is the to see Santa main premise for and the overthe interactive all magic of holiday story. it all,” said The attraction is Keating. an interactive 4D The Cherexperience, comry Hill Mall plete with a virlights up durtual sleigh ride ing the holito transport kids day season and their famiwith everylies to the North thing from Pole, culminatmailboxes to ing with a trip to Santa, with see the beloved large crowds, Santa Claus for seasonal merkids and families chandise and of all ages. an instant fes“[Dreamtive spirit raWorks] brought diating from in a bunch of difstore to store. ferent pieces and Take one they put it tostep inside of gether like a githe Dreamant puzzle. Guys Works excluwere here after sive Dreamthe mall closed Place in the and it was kinda Cherry Hill cool seeing the Mall and be whole thing betransported ing put togethinto the most Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director magical place er,” said Mark Keating, a Lulu- The DreamWorks DreamPlace will bring holiday spirit to all mall-goers. for any child: lemon educator the North the Cherry Hill Mall is one ences without ever having and employee Pole and of the 13 available around to leave Cherry Hill. who witnessed the building Santa’s Workshop. the world with locations “I think that when you of the DreamPlace starting The DreamWorks spanning as far as Califorsee [the DreamPlace and] out from large individual DreamPlace is an experinia to London, England. walk through it, you will pieces coming to life as a ence to be treasured with The visit will be rememfeel like a kid again and it full-size house. children and families of bered as one of the most will bring you back to when The 15- to 17-minute all ages for generations to enchanting holiday experiit was your first time going DreamPlace experience in come.

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 8

EASTSIDE

Christmas traditions differ around the world their past and their hopes for the future.

For many Americans, Putting up Christmas Christmas means snow and lights, placing stockings relaxing by the fireplace. over the fireplace and leavHowever, in Bondi Beach, ing warm chocolate chip Australia, Christmas day cookies out for Santa are means a day in paradise. all classic and long-lasting Bondi Beach is the ultitraditions of an American mate Christmas party desChristmas. Year after year, tination. Clad in bathing families around the country suits, sunglasses and flippartake in these familiar flops, locals and tourists Christmas customs withgather on the beach for a out even thinking twice. giant Christmas festival.

However, when travelBands and DJs are locating to other countries over ed throughout the beach, the upcoming holiday as well as fake Christmas break, be prepared to trees planted in the sand. experience holiday fesTo talk to Santa Claus tivals and observances himself, travel to Lapthat are far from the land, Finland, otherwise norm in the United States. known as Santa’s true Planning to travel to base of operations. LapDublin, Ireland, this land is located at the foot Christmas break? Betof the Arctic Circle and ter bring your is home to Santa Claus bathing suits Village and Santa Park. because These attractions offer Dublin has all things Santa. From a very Santa workshops and special Santa merchandise to Christmas Santa’s reindeer, Santa tradition, Claus Village and Santa and there Park have it all. Lapland, is most Finland, during Christmasdefinitely time is a scene straight out swimming of a movie, one that anyone involved. who travels to Lapland On the would not want to morning of miss.

December No matter the 25, many destination, ChristDublinmas is a special and ers gather to unique experience all jump off over the globe.

Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director Whether of a 40you foot rock Christmas traditions differ around the world, but the are wearing into the spirit remains the same. winter gear in freezing Cherry Hill or Irish Sea a bathing suit in Sandycove, just south of This story has come to be and sunglasses in Bondi Dublin.

Ireland’s version of “The Beach, Christmas is a time If jumping into a freezing Christmas Carol,” a piece to bask in the cultural tracold body of water does not of literature that encourditions no matter which sound ideal, another popuages people to reflect upon continent you are in.

■ By Leah Korn (‘16)

Eastside Entertainment Editor

lar Christmas tradition in Dublin is the reading of James Joyce’s short story “ T h e Dead.”

People’s Choice Logo by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

We asked...

Dani Lazarus (‘19)

What’s one thing you hope to accomplish before 2015 ends?

What was the best song of 2015?

If you could eat one food only for the next year, what would it be and why?

What are you most looking forward to in 2016?

Getting a varsity letter in cross country.

“Hotline Bling”Drake

Steak, because it’s yummy.

Watching my sister graduate.

None of them are good.

Fruits, because they are healthy and they provide all the vitamins you need.

Make more friends and keep more of an open mind on things.

“Hotline Bling”Drake

Guacamole, because there are a lot of flavors that form one fantastic creation.

Become a top 12 runner in all of South Jersey.

“Stressed Out”Twenty One Pilots

Barbecue chicken hoagie from Wawa because it’s so good.

Ari Nahum Get good grades (‘18) on my report card and be successsful in lacrosse.

Sarah Jang (‘17)

Cole Parsons (‘16)

December 2015

#trendingnow

Star Wars edition ■ By Julia Rothkoff (‘16) Eastside Editor-in-Chief

When one thinks of December 18, he or she might think of it as a few days away from Winter Break. However, Star Wars fans like myself know that day as the day that the newest movie in the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, comes to theaters. After years of speculation, December 18 truly cannot come fast enough; I even watched a football game until halftime just to have a first look at the official trailer for The Force Awakens. So, while I sit in my room talking to my interactive R2-D2 more than I’d like to admit, I cannot help but get excited for this new generation of Star Wars films.

The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars movie in ten years, and it comes 32 years after the final movie of the original trilogy, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

While the prequel trilogy that ran through the late ‘90s to the mid-2000s suffered from a poor script, pointless CGI and ludicrous characters such as the worthless Jar Jar Binks, The Force Awakens has new characters that seem promising, such as a new Darth Vader-obsessed villain, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and two new protagonists, Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega).

The Force Awakens takes place about 30 years after the Ewok party at the conclusion of the final movie of the original trilogy.

When The Force Awakens was announced after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, fans were left wondering: why is there a third Star Wars trilogy? After the prequel trilogy was not well received by fans, and the creator of the original trilogy, George Lucas, digitally remastered the original three movies for seemingly no reason at all, Star Wars fans were left wondering, why ruin the universe that sparked a cult fandom dedicated to a galaxy far, far away?

While I agree with the critical consensus that the

Star Wars prequels were less than satisfactory, I think that a new era of Star Wars movies can prove to be a positive addition to the Star Wars universe.

The director of The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams, picked a female lead character (Ridley) and a black male lead character (Boyega). Abrams’ racially diverse cast can be a positive asset to the Star Wars universe. According to a study by the Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California, in the 700 top grossing films from 2007 to 2014, only about 30 percent of the 30,835 speaking characters were female.

The new female character in The Force Awakens is not only given a speaking role, but also she is the main character.

Not only does Hollywood have a gender problem, but also it has a race problem.

Of the speaking characters in the top 100 films of 2014, 12.5 percent were black.

To go against this statistic, Abrams casted Boyega, a black man, as one of two protagonists. The racial diversity in The Force Awakens will be a welcome addition to a series originally driven by white men.

To satisfy fans and maintain some continuity between the original trilogy and the new trilogy, Abrams brought back Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and my personal favorite duo C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker)—all main characters from the original trilogy. While trailers have left Luke’s whereabouts up in the air, it seems that Han Solo and Leia will become mentors to the new generation of main characters, Rey and Finn. If the racial and gender diversity of The Force Awakens does not excite Star Wars fans, then maybe the return of beloved old characters will.

While I highly doubt that The Force Awakens will be able to match the magic created by the original three Star Wars movies, I will be first in line with my interactive R2-D2 and lightsaber to see the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night in IMAX 3D.

Getting my license.

Becoming 17, one step closer to 18.

Getting out of high school.

Courtesy of Disney

Photos by Allie Grossman (‘16)/ Eastside Entertainment Editor

Characters from previous Star Wars movies will reappear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

December 2015

ENTERTAINMENT

Cougarfeed EASTSIDE

Page 9

Which Starbucks drink are you?

By Allie Grossman (‘16) and Leah Korn (‘16)/ Eastside Entertainment Editors

Gifts that give back:

1. FEED Apron - For each apron purchased, FEED will donate 14 meals to deserving families in the United States.

Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Top 3 foods to hibernate with:

1. Tollhouse Cookies: These cookies are sure to keep people warm throughout the winter, especially when paired with milk.

Courtesy of westelm.com

2. Uncommon Goods Vintage Camera Pillows - When you purchase one of these handmade pillows, the company donates a dollar to help fight sexual violence, protect American forests, promote literacy or help female war survivors.

Courtesy of uncommongoods.com

3. Smile Squared Toothbrush – For every purchase, a toothbrush is donated to a child in need.

2. Soup: A common wintertime food. Paired with bread, soup can be the perfect food for staying warm this winter.

3. Frozen hot chocolate: Try this frozen twist on the hot beverage favorite. Frozen hot chocolate can be paired perfectly with peppermint.

Courtesy of smilesqaured.com Photos by Allie Grossman (‘16)/ Eastside Entertainment Editor

UNDERGROUND

Page 10

EASTSIDE

December 2015

Childhood story translated to novel by local businessman ■ By Ashley Cooper (‘17)

Eastside Underground Editor

Courtesy of Jason Robert

The cover artwork for Robert’s Hidden World succeeds in creating an eerie atmosphere.

A successful businessman, dedicated father of twin boys and author, Jason Robert, leads a busy life to say the least. Fittingly, Robert’s novel came to fruition in the same fast-paced manner as his everyday life. After a brief meeting with his mom in December 2008, Robert decided to embark on a major journey: that of writing a novel.

Ever since Robert was a child, he has had one story e n c o m passing his mind.

Though the story was initially thought of a s a “cool movie,” it has come to fruition as a full-fledged fantasy novel.

“I’ve always been creative,” said Robert. “But I was never really into books until I wrote my own book... it’s really bizarre.”

Robert did not publish his novel until he was already into adulthood. As the story was festering in his mind for over 20 years, the writ-

ing process occurred in a rather untraditional manner for Robert.

“Instead of me writing a novel, it was almost like me reading a novel,” said Robert.

Entitled Hidden World, Robert’s novel centers around two teenage boys, Corey Jarakeny and Will Joviani. Jarakeny and Joviani, using an old metal detector, discover a large tree. On it lies a mysterious symbol of which the boys desperately hope t o find the meaning. When the two come to realize the symbol means material wealth, they begin to dig, ultimately leading them into a portal—a portal of other dimensions.

Essentially, they embark on a treasure hunt to find Earth’s biggest mysteries.

Robert went about finishing his novel by steadfastly “writing something every day,” he said. Due to

his commitment, Robert was able to finish writing, editing, publishing and distributing his book within a short timespan of 10 months.

Driven and enthusiastic, Robert published a self-proclaimed “easyread.” Eighty-one chapters and 184 pages, Hidden World makes “readers want to continue on” due to the non-intimidating length of chapters, he said.

Robert has a distinctive approach to writing. Though he acknowledges that “everyone brings their own spice to the chili,” he said he still believes he is unique.

“When I’m writing I almost think of it as a puzzle,” said Robert on his unconventional manner of going about story writing.

Robert currently only has one book released, but he claims there is possibility for a sequel to Hidden World.

“The ending’s pretty interesting.

There’s a lot of unanswered questions throughout. There could definitely be a sequel,” said Robert.

Check out Hidden World on Amazon, iUniverse and B&N.com.

Logo by Tammy Stahl (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

The Skyrider flies around the tech world in style ■ By Liza Rothkoff (‘16)

Eastside Editor-In-Chief

The Skyrider, invented by Scotty Olson, will have its users flying above ground in no time.

The Skyrider is a futuristic, elevated monorail system. Powered by the rider of the bike, the Skyrider moves based on human force; the more energy the user puts into the bike, the faster the vehicle will zoom around the track.

Olson’s most famous inventions include rollerblades, commonly used at skating rinks and on streets around the world.

Skyride Technology uses Olson’s rollerblade inven-

tion on both the track and the Skyrider vehicle itself.

It is no wonder that the Skyrider has already seen popularity at some resort communities.

Skyrider first gained attention when it was featured on season three of the popular entrepreneurial show “Shark Tank.” Olson ent e r e d “Shark Tank” a s k ing for three million dollars for a 20 percent stake in the Skyride Technology business.

Due to the limited marketing range of the Skyrider and its heavily construction-based focus, Olson walked out of “Shark Tank”

without any offers to contribute to his Skyride Technology enterprise.

will go to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and will set sail in 2016. Carnival

Courtesy of Skyride Technology

The Skyride is now a part of Carnival Cruises.

Since the Skyrider’s introduction on “Shark Tank,” it has garnered attention from top companies such as Carnival Cruises. Carnival features the Skyrider on its Carnival Vista ship, which

offers the Skyrider to ship guests of every age.

In order to appeal to the masses, Olson insists that the Skyrider can be installed in any backyard, no matter how large or how

small the backyard may be.

In a backyard setting, the track is elevated enough to not interfere with lawn mowing, barbequing and people playing outside.

Moving around the track is made easy by utilizing the Skybike, which is the vehicle that moves around the track. Also, the Skybike is perfect for fitness purposes, as it utilizes the same pedaling motion that bikes do. By using different gears, the user can change the speed of the vehicle as well.

Although not entirely practical in cost or in usage for the average consumer, Skyride Technology is without a doubt an engaging invention – even if one may need to go on a Carnival Cruise to test it out.

Logo and artwork by Tammy Stahl (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Out of the Vault: Beyblades spin back into popularity ■ By Jared Fisch (‘18)

Eastside Underground Editor

Beyblades can be found whizzing around arenas across the world with children cheering them on. Beyblades are “spinning top” toys that battle in a plastic arena known as a “Beystadium.” This arena contains traps and other obstacles that affect the spinning tops. The Beyblades are ejected from a launching mechanism that the player controls. Multiple Beyblades are launched into the arena, and the last one spinning wins. Each Beyblade has advantages and disadvantages

based on its size and shape. The toy’s stardom in 2008 by Japanese toy and entertainment adding a metal outer company Takara Tomy first layer to the toys. released these toys in 2000.

This new Beyblades were such a huge layer was hit that Hasbro, the toy meant to manufacturing giincrease ant, wanted to t h e join in on the strength fun—and, of of the course, the B e y profits. blades, Hasbro allowing obtained a the toys to license from Tawithstand kara Tomy and bemore physical gan selling Beyblades punishment in the around the world. Beyblades arena. Subsequently, the were extremely popJared Fisch (‘18)/ Eastside Underground Editor ular from 2000 to Battles take place in a Beystadium.

2005; however, in 2006, the Beyblade toy began to lose popularity. upgrade would make the battles Takara Tomy tried to revive the longer and more exciting. Although

this upgrade seemed ingenious, the idea was rather dangerous. Beyblades had previously been banned in Europe in 2003 prior to having the metal outer layer because children and parents were injured by the toys. Despite all the controversy, Derryl Depriest, Vice President of Marketing at Hasbro, said that if used and launched correctly, Beyblades are safe.

Beyblades have kept on spinning, and in 2010, over 15 million Beyblades were sold. Since then, over 90 million units have been sold. Beyblades are not slowing down anytime soon, as they are sold at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Kmart and on Amazon. Beyblades will continue to be a powerhouse in the toy industry as long as consumers keep coming back for more.

Logo by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

UNDERGROUND

December 2015

EASTSIDE

Page 11

“The Record Guru”: the story of a record aficionado

‘I’m selling this place for ten thousand.’” A Trenton native, Chrambanis impulsively bought On a quiet street in Bordentown the store—a decision he would is The Record Collector. Harboring not regret. a green and pink exterior, the store Four stores later, Chrambanis is reminiscent of the 1930s era durhas moved out of Trenton and ing which it was built. relocated himself to his current Eccentricity bouncing off its building in the quaint city of walls, the inside of the store blares Bordentown. with eclectic tunes and swirls overAs “The Record Guru,” Chhead with authentic steel fans. Furrambanis appraises vinyl rether within, the store surrounds cords. These records are often customers with a panoramic array appraised in large quantities and of vinyl records. Immersed in the require a lot of “time and work.” bountiful stock of vinyl albums, At a rate of 75 dollars per hour, shoppers may fail to notice a man Chrambanis’s appraisal does not modestly nestled behind the store come cheap. Some people pay counter. That man is John ChramChrambanis nearly a “thousand banis. dollars” to appraise their music, Despite his humility, Chrambanhe said. If Chrambanis appraises is is much more than simply a man a record, he said its determined behind a counter; he is the foundaprice is “unquestioned by insurtion behind the entire record shop. ance companies.” Thus, his apNot only did Chrambanis entirely praisals are more than just a renovate the store from the ground hobby; they are a masterful artup, but also he mastered the art of form. appraisal and keenly found every “I had one appraisal that was record that lives within the store’s a divorce. The husband was a Ashley Cooper (‘17)/ Eastside Underground Editor domain. multi-millionaire and he had like Chrambanis proudly stands in front of his renovated record store.

Chrambanis deservedly holds the five thousand records. None of title of “The Record Guru.” them were worth less than 100 that they are going on a ride, which Chrambanis also hosts shows Chrambanis is not a traditional dollars apiece. He had half-a-milwould ultimately result in fatal within his shop. As opposed to simguru. Rather than a calming menlion dollars worth saved in records, endings. ply playing local artists, Chramtor, he is an exciting ball of energy. so he could keep the money all for “That’s not music, but it’s Ameribanis hosts many famous clients as He never stops can culture—and I have a piece well. moving as he of it,” said Chrambanis.

“We’ve had members of the Beatconstantly roams Chrambanis also feels that les, The Rolling Stones, The Monthroughout the music can unite nations. Even kees… we’ve even had Bruno Mars’ different areas of mortal enemies can agree on certrombonist play here,” said Chramhis store. Chramtain pieces of music as “classic,” banis. “We’ve been very blessed.” banis makes sure he said.

Chrambanis has further been to always wear “Think about all of the things validated as an expert in record his more comfortpeople like about America; it’s collecting, often contacted by celebable red sneakers not our bombs, it’s not our guns, rities such as Matt Lauer, a host to accommodate it’s our music,” said Chrambanis. of “The Today Show,” and Mickey for this habit. Behind his framed himself. When they called me out “I mean King Jong Un is a Frank Stevenson, a Motown mogul. Even glasses, one can see the knowledge for an appraisal, I shut that down Sinatra Collector.”

Donald Trump has purchased and wisdom which he possesses. right away,” said Chrambanis.

Though Chrambanis does have from Chrambanis in order to add With a hefty 35 years of experience Chrambanis claims the key bea lot of fun under his belt, Chrambanis is full of hind an expensive album is “having as “The Reinteresting stories that can only be a story” and “supply and demand.” cord Guru,” gained through experience.

Essentially, for an album to truly be not many “I’ve been doing this for so long appraised at a high value, it must p e o p l e that I’ve just gained a lot of knowlhave an interesting backstory. But could hanedge over the years,” said Chramit is not that simple; someone also dle his job. banis. “Nobody’s gonna teach you has to care. Most albums naturally Dan Filkothis; you’ve gotta do it on your become rare due to the two aforehazi, head own.” mentioned, naturally occurring proof the oncesses. But line composometimes, nent of Chartists intenrambanis’s tionally plan business, to make an t a l k e d album worth about the a great deal. extensive “Oftenwork that times this he and Chbackfires, rambanis because it’s perform on a little...cona daily batrived. One sis. example of “ W e this is the work like Led Zeppedogs to lin album In bring vinyl Through The products to Out Door. you,” said They had six Filkohazi.

Ashley Cooper (‘17)/ Eastside Underground Editor album covers “It’s hard, for the same it’s dirty Gamble admires the collection of records that she has extensively cataloged. record, and work.” they were Through all covered his years of experience, Chrambanis to Trump’s extensive The Rolling with a brown has acquired a certain taste for muStones record collection. cover,” said sic. His favorite genre? Well, admitDawn Gamble (‘82), an East Chrambanis. tedly, he doesn’t have one. Instead, alum, has now found herself at “It’s kind of Chrambanis prefers a specific era of Chrambanis’s store. Working tiresleazy if you music: the ‘50s-‘80s. lessly in the “Employees Only,” unask me, but “Back then, the [recording] equiprenovated section of the building, it’s also clevment was expensive and primitive Gamble catalogs the albums sold er.” by today’s standards,” said Chramon the online aspect of The Record Chrambanis. “This forced the artist to reCollector. Over the six months that banis adores ally be a lot better.”

Gamble has been at the store, she every aspect In fact, this “primitive” nature of has gotten to work very closely with Ashley Cooper (‘17)/ Eastside Underground Editor of his busiolder music is precisely what entices Chrambanis.

Chrambanis searches through his array of albums. ness.

More Chrambanis. He fully understands “It’s just his life. It’s just a piece than simply that many old recordings are “imof him,” said Gamble, describing Although always passionate the music, Chrambanis also enjoys perfect.” Nonetheless, Chrambanis Chrambanis’s passion for his busiabout music, Chrambanis never the people that he meets through still feels that older music is “perness. intended to own a record shop, he his shop and the unique history enfect in what it tries to get across,” One thing is certain; Chrambanis “just kind of fell into it,” he said. closed in records. Lying on Chramhe said. loves his store.

“One day I walked into this small banis’s walls is one of these records: “That may be missing in today’s “The people that I’ve met, the shop in Trenton,” said Chrambana Freedom Riders album. In the almusic since it’s so homogenous,” people that I’ve talked to—that’s is, “and the owner of the shop said bum, the Freedom Riders announce said Chrambanis. priceless,” said Chrambanis.

■ By Ashley Cooper (‘17)

Eastside Underground Editor

“The people that I’ve met, the people that I’ve talked to—that’s priceless.”

- John Chrambanis

Page 12

COMICS

Fast Food Crisis by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Winter Break by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Top Five by Tammy Stahl (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

EASTSIDE

December 2015

EDITORIAL

December 2015

EASTSIDE

Page 13

Editorials represent the views and opinions of the Eastside Editorial Board.

“Parents for Cherry Hill Teachers” makes an impact As the fight over teachers’ contracts continues deeper into the 2015-16 school year, the two sides—the Cherry Hill Education Association and the Cherry Hill Board of Education—are at as much of a stalemate as they were at this time last year. The dispute, which has only been proliferated since the teachers’ last contract expired on June 30, 2014, arose due to conflicting interests between the two sides when it came to a new contract. Thus, the teachers have been working without a contract ever since, causing members of the CHEA to take a stand by refusing to stay after school past 2:45 for clubs they are not paid for, among other forms of protest.

The impact of the contract dispute has extended to those not immediately involved, such as students and, more recently, parents. As many clubs have been forced to halt operations until the dispute is resolved, many students

Benefactors Sherri and Ken Hoffman Fran and Sid Fisch Lynne and Eddie Cohen Jennifer and Steven Greenberg The Goldsmith Family Erica and Jerry Rothkoff Susan and Ian Meklinsky Robin and Richard Pacitti The Steele Family Lois and Mitch Cohen Billig Jewelers Stephanie and Ted Fisch Linda Ross The Appel Family Lonnie Propass Dolores Birnbaur Shine Power Yoga Christy Marella

and parents have become frustrated with the gridlock that has arisen over the contract and are moving to action.

The “Parents for Cherry Hill Teachers” Facebook group has made a profound push for parents to stand up for their kids, teachers and community to resolve the dispute for good.

Eastside praises the “Parents for Cherry Hill Teachers” Facebook group, its creators, and all of its members for getting the community involved in an issue that greatly affects everyone with a vested interest in their students’ educations. In addition to raising awareness on the issue, the group has successfully put pressure on the Board of Education to move negotiations along so that students and teachers can return to the exemplary learning environment that the Cherry Hill Public Schools provide. The group has mobilized parents by promoting attendance at town hall and Board of

David Samuel Steven Davis David and Maxine Butler Sponsor Cheri Tolin Patron Jessica Gardner Brad and Melissa Tinkelman The Nussbaum Family Jonathan and Staci Boiskin The Mistry Family Joan and Rich Rosenblatt Jennifer Grossman Wayne Myers The Keller Family Steve and Michele Kains Debbie Shore and Jonathon Korn

Education meetings, rallies, and even voting on Election Day for local candidates who will push to support students’ and teachers’ interests.

The group has had tangible success thus far, reaching Mayor Chuck Cahn’s attention, exposing questionable statements made by Board of Education members and, most recently, putting enough pressure on the Board that in October, the Board and CHEA agreed to resume negotiations after a four-month stalemate. The Facebook group’s impact has been the greatest external factor pressuring the Board of Education thus far, a much-needed force should teachers hope to have a contract resolution any time soon.

Once the dispute is resolved, Eastside hopes that this group will continue to fight for the district’s teachers in the future, as the teachers are the crux of what make the Cherry Hill Public Schools so prestigious.

Friends of Eastside Jeffrey and Rochelle Dashevsky The Goldfinger Family Brian and Christina Boyle Steve and Stella Kim June and Bill Borowsky The Cooper Family Jeffrey and Darcy Becker Cynthia Black Matthew Cohen Dr. Jarrod Kaufman Premier Surgical and Vein Center Ronald Stern Andrea Cohen Stephen Ross Contributor The Greenberg Family Pamela Barroway Haye and Sherru Hinrichs

Cherry Hill High School East 1750 Kresson Road Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 Phone: (856) 424-2222, ext.

2087 Fax: (856) 424-3509

Eastside Online http://www.eastside-online.org

Publisher

Fort Nassau Graphics Thorofare, NJ

Letters to the Editor

Submit signed letters to F087 or e-mail letters@ eastside-online.org.

Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director The Voorhees Diner Rosemarie and George Dolnycky The Nemeroff Family The Kibitz Room Spencer Lincoln Douglas A. Perham Mitchell and Martha Rosenburg Steven and Jane Lindemann Advocate Samir and Rupalee Mehta Ralph and Roe Deal Mr. Rouen Rachel Wint Daniel Stahl Abby Hoffman Suzanne and Clifford Young Sam Malat Ruth Southworth

Scott Brown Sari Mintz and Tom Mirsen Janet Ruslf Norman H. Fuegal John Solano Nancy Ramming The Lehrfeyd Family Arizona Green Richard Josselzon Sandra and Mutch Berger Barbara and Stanley Rekant Lucas Lafor Elinor Beier Dr. Robin Fenilberg Heather Lehrfeld Allesandra Berger

Managing Editor: Kaitlyn Boyle Online Editor-in-Chief: Sonia Kim Editors-in-Chief: Jacob Borowsky, Julia Rothkoff, Liza Rothkoff Adviser: Mr. Greg Gagliardi

News/Features Editors Sari Cohen Courtney Finnegan Jennifer Pacitti

Community Editors Brooke Greenberg Matt Kains Jenna Myers

Sports Editors Elissa Cohen Samuel Greenberg Luke Hinrichs

Underground Editors Ashley Cooper Jared Fisch

Opinions Editors Shari Boiskin Matt Nussbaum Hope Rosenblatt

Photo Editors Rachel Becker Emelia Keller

Art Directors Tammy Stahl Sydney Steele

Video Editor Madeline Bowne

Webmaster Gabriella Friedman

Entertainment Editors Allison Grossman Leah Korn

Multimedia Directors Brett Dashevsky Ben Goldsmith Steve Mirsen

Business Managers Drew Meklinksy Priya Mistry

Humor Editor Lanxi Li

Radio Manager Ethan Tinkelman

Contact the Board: To contact a member of the Eastside Editorial Board via email, type the person’s first name followed by a period, then his or her last name followed by “@eastside-online. org,” ie: matt.kains@ eastside-online.org.

Editorial Assistants Alon Goldfinger (Note: There is a dash Drew Hoffman between “eastside” Josh Sodicoff and “online”)

OPINIONS

Page 14

EASTSIDE

December 2015

Non-politician candidates raise controversy ■ By Jenna Simons (‘17)

This issue’s topic is how Israel should handle its current situation.

Tammy Stahl (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Diplomatic

■ By Sebastian Duva (‘16)

Eastside Staff

Israel and Palestine need to settle their quarrel in a diplomatic way. It’s the only way a true resolution can be solved. When one takes two religions into account, oftentimes certain interpretations guide—or misguide—the person’s view.

In the case of the Israelis and the Palestinians, both groups have their interpretations of where their home countries are. However, when Israel becomes militant with Palestine, America as Israel’s largest ally will have to intervene in a war that has little to do with America’s interests as a country. It’s also not inconceivable that other militant Arab groups will come to the aid of Palestine, in spite of the partnership created by Israel and the United States.

What started as combat over a small area of space has now blossomed into a full-scale war in the Middle East. It’s much easier to be diplomatic and hold talks with United States Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

Militant

■ By Shira Resnick (‘17) Eastside Staff

Diplomacy is no longer an option when dealing with the Palestinian government. Over the past several years, any attempts at diplomacy with the Palestinian government have failed.

Camp David Summit?

Failed.

Oslo Accords?

Failed.

Road Map for Peace? Failed.

Time and time again, attempts have been dismally unsuccessful. Israel is still attacked often, and peace is unattained. Perhaps it is because the attempts at diplomacy are weak; perhaps it is because Palestinians do not believe in a home for the Jewish people.

Whatever the reason, it is time for Israel to take a militant response to the recent attacks of terrorism on Israeli Jews. As Israeli politician Avigdor Liberman said, “Security is gained through an iron fist.”

A more militant approach would stop any attempts at violence towards Israel. And though it is not preferred by Israel, the country has no choice.

Israel must meet force with force and protect its citizens from future terror attacks.

Eastside Staff

The 2016 presidential election is unlike any presidential race that America has seen before.

With candidates like Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson in the mix, there is a new dimension to the race.

Neither Trump, Fiorina, nor Carson have previous political backgrounds, yet they are all running to be the next President of the United States.

Having candidates without political background is good for America because it allows a wider range of people to be interested in the election, and it adds an outside perspective that politicians do not have.

Some Americans who are not interested in politics are interested in this election because of recognizable names like Donald Trump. When people think of Trump, they do not primarily think politics; they think about business, Miss America and Atlantic City.

Trump adds an interesting factor to the election that the experienced political candidates do not possess because they lack name recognition.

According to Deadline, the first Republican debate for the 2016 election had 24 million watchers in comparison to the 2012 Republican debate, which only had 3.2 million people viewing.

This rise in viewers can be attributed mostly to Trump and his knack for answering questions in an unforgiving fashion.

Candidates without political backgrounds add an outside perspect i v e to the r a c e that politicians do not have.

Carson has experience in medicine, is a published author and has served on the boards of numerous corporations.

Fiorina was CEO of Hewlett-Packard—commonly known as the technology company, HP—for six years and is currently chairwoman of the American Conservative Union Foundation. Trump is a well-known businessman and real estate developer.

Their respective backgrounds give them an edge over other candidates. They have seen how different aspects of the United States run and how they need to be improved.

Matt Hernberg (‘16) said, “I think it’s good that nonpoliticians are running because they have experience in the real world.”

Carson has extensive background in the medical field and has strong opinions on topics such as Obamacare. There are numerous political topics that

center around the medical field, and Carson has seen firsthand how those issues fold out.

Fiorina has run a business, which can be compared to how the government runs.

The similarities between running a business and running a country certaintly make up for a l a c k of political background and knowledge.

During Fiorina’s time as CEO of HP, she had to abide by government regulations and therefore is relatable to many businesspeople, as is Trump. They both also have experience in foreign affairs from dealing with foreign companies, which plays an enormous role in the president’s everyday duties.

Cole Checkoff (‘17) said, “I think that business people like Donald Trump make very good presidential candidates because the government runs just like a business.”

Candidates such as Carson are more relatable to the general population.

Carson came from a poor background with an undereducated single mother. His father left his family when Carson was young.

Carson overcame many obstacles before he graduated from Yale University in 1973 and continued his education at the School of Medicine at the University of Michigan to study neurosurgery. He also had to work extra-hard to be able to attend such prest i gious schools.

A story such as Carson’s relates to many Americans, as about 50 million Americans live in poverty, according to The Washington Post.

N o n politician candidates appeal to voters because voters find them to be relatable. Presidential candidates without political backgrounds will make the 2016 presidential election better than any election Americans have seen before.

PRO

Art by Tammy Stahl (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

■ By Jenna Myers (‘17)

Eastside Community Editor

Ever since 1787, the United States Constitution has listed three major requirements one must fulfill in order to become a U.S. president: the candidate must be a U.S.born citizen, over 35 years old, and has to have been a United States resident for at least 14 years. Today, these are still the prime requirements prospective presidential candidates have to meet; however, it should add that these presidential candidates should also have some sort of political history.

Having a president with a political background is without a doubt better than having one without a clue on how to make decisions for a large population. Running a business is in no way similar to being able to run a country. Being a president means that one has to make settlements on worldwide issues, control the U.S. military, execute new laws and, most importantly, lead America in a better direction.

Would you rather have someone who is experienced in politics, like Bernie Sanders or Jeb Bush, or a simple musical artist, like Kanye West, run for president and lead our country for the next four to eight years? It is a no-brainer that one would want Sanders or Bush to be in charge compared to West because both candidates have spent many years in political power.

For example, Sanders has been the senator of Vermont and Bush was the governor of Florida for eight years, and both candidates are running in the 2016 election.

Eastside distributed a written survey on the election to 50 East students; 45 of the 50 students—or 90 percent—would prefer to have a president with political experience. The other 10 percent said that it would not matter if a presi-

dent does or does not have any political background.

Still, East AP Government and U.S History teacher, Ms. Christine Mason, believes that political experience is not a necessity in order to run for president.

“I think the constitution is pretty clear with its three criteria in regards to the qualifications to be president of the United States,” M a s o n said. “It’s up to the voters to make a decision concerning who they would choose, so anyone who meets those qualifications would be perfectly fine to run for president.”

Although just about anybody is able to run in the next election, that does not necessarily mean that they should. For instance, Ben Carson is a candidate for the 2016 election and has never been involved with any sort of politics before.

Carson is an author and a retired neurosurgeon, and being president is completely different from what he has done in the past.

If Carson were to become president, it would require him to know a lot of historical knowledge to handle the responsibility of running a country.

“Being the president is a big deal, and you don’t want someone that has no idea what [he or she is] doing,” said Michelle Curreri (‘16).

“They would not handle situations as effectively as someone with experience could.”

Having a presidential candidate with some sort of political background could definitely lead America in a better direction, in all aspects and areas of the job.

Although it is highly unlikely things will be altered in the Constitution to only make politicians run, it is nevertheless the best route to have someone politically savvy with a sense of what to do as a presidential candidate.

OPINIONS

December 2015

EASTSIDE

Page 15

Students choose between liberal arts and research universities ■ By Elissa Cohen (‘18) Eastside Sports Editor

With college applications being sent to universities on a widescale level at this time of the year, both underclassmen and upperclassmen are beginning to contemplate their futures. At East, the word “future” is often used in conjunction with college, leaving many decisions for the students at East. One of these academic decisions includes whether or not a student should attend a research university or a liberal arts university.

The outcome of this decision should be the research university option. Research universities offer a complex level of education in specific fields and allow for future opportunities that liberal arts schools may never provide. For example, students may be more likely to obtain a profession due to their more comprehensive education. The worries about taking a boring class are eliminated because every class relates generally to a particular major.

Getting a research degree can set the perfect stage for the future as long as the student attending the school puts in what he or she wants to get out of his or her own education. Hard work is a major deciding factor for success at every university, but when it is put into play at research universities, extreme benefits can and will appear.

Deciding on a research university is the right choice for the future because this decision will allow for a more precise education in preparation for a future profession. Research universities not only give students an intricate education, but these types of schools also prepare the undergraduate students for graduate school—if they choose to go—and the harshness of finding a job. With a big university’s name on a résumé, applying for jobs becomes a more stress-free process.

“There are more research opportunities. For example, if you wanted to get a Master’s Degree in engineering, you’d have that research to put on your resume as an undergrad,” said East guidance counselor Ms. Cathleen Enderle.

Another positive that a research university presents is the idea that classes will be full of people with the same interest—people who want to ultimately be a part of the same

profession. Socially, this is a huge contender in the decision between research and liberal arts universities. These major-based classes offer a diverse, yet similar group of people with whom to spend four years of undergraduate schooling.

“At a research university, once you get into your major-track, you have to follow a more specific guideline to get your degree,” Enderle said.

Although Enderle said that East students seem to be evenly split when considering the number of graduates

■ By Joe Levin (‘17)

Liberal arts universities are known for their smaller class sizes. The average class size at a liberal arts college is only 18 Having a well-rounded, broadstudents. Rather than being run based education in the liberal by graduate assistants, who asarts enables students to view sist professors at research unithe world from a different lens. versities, liberal arts classes Being educated in subjects all are taught by actual professors across the academic spectrum aldedicated to expanding their lows students to put together the students’ education rather than greater picture. their research skills.

Typically, a liberal arts stuThis lack of emphasis on redent receives exposure to literasearch enables professors to enture, philosophy, mathematics gage students directly and on a regular basis. Students, therefore, are able to develop authentic relationships with their teachers, while at large research universities, students have trouble finding a genuine connection with their professors.

“It’s good to develop a relationship with your teacher, so you can learn their teaching style and adapt to them, and do your work more efficiently,” said Aditya Harohalli (‘17).

In the crowded environment of a research university, students have few opportunities to speak Emelia Keller (‘17)/ Eastside Photo Editor directly with professors and usuStudents can choose to study a wide range of subjects at a liberal arts ally wind up talking to desiguniversity or focus more specifically on one subject at a research uni- nated graduate students. Liberal arts colleges take advantage of versity. smaller class sizes, and thereby who went off to a research university create close-knit communities. and social and physical sciences. versus a liberal arts university, the In a more intimate environment, Liberal arts colleges give stucolleges that have larger percentstudents feel as if they truly matdents the opportunity to learn inages of East graduates seem to be ter. Smaller class sizes make it formation not necessarily related research universities. possible for the brightest stuto their desired careers.

An in-state research university, dents to shine and demonstrate “The beauty of a liberal arts like Rutgers for example, offers an their capabilities. education is that it’s a multidisimpressive education for a fairly low Most high school students ciplinary approach to your learnprice when compared to liberal arts have not yet had enough experiing,” said East guidance counselschools. ence to select a lifelong career. or Ms. Eileen Lynch.

Money is often a major part of the With their versatile educational According to a study by the college decision process, and research approach, liberal arts colleges Association of American Colleges universities provide the more frugal allow students to explore and and Universities (AAC&U), colchoice of college. reflect upon their passions, and lege graduates with Liberal Arts The college decision has become they do not limit students to one degrees earn an average of 66,185 an important part of the majority prescribed subject. dollars by their peak earning of East students’ lives. Choosing be“I’m pro liberal arts,” said Zac years (ages 56-60). This salary is tween the thousands of college opWilkes (‘16). “For starters, I feel about 2,000 dollars higher than tions can be a stressful decision, and as if it allows you to learn what that of people with professional narrowing the choices down to strictyou want to learn.” or preprofessional degrees. In a ly research universities can relieve For students unsure about similar study performed by the some stress. their futures after just four years AAC&U, seventy-four percent The future has a plethora of opporof high school, liberal arts collegof respondents said that critical tunities to offer to any given student, es are ideal. It is clear that libthinking, problem-solving and and attending a research university eral arts schools provide opportucommunication skills were more is a beneficial way to obtain these opnities that research universities important skills than any one portunities successfully. simply cannot. major.

Eastside Staff

Early child language education is imperative ■ By Gabrielle Boiskin (‘18)

Eastside Staff

The brains of young children are like sponges; they absorb everything. Therefore, it is imperative for schools to take advantage of this time of mental development that children experience at a young age and offer more extensive world language programs at the elementary and middle school level.

There are many cognitive benefits of learning languages earlier. Unfortunately, foreign language programs are typically cut from elementary schools.

This is the case for the Cherry Hill School District, as world language is not given enough attention.

Other districts used to look at Cherry Hill for guidance for the world language programs, but according to East French teacher, Mrs. Carmela Griffo, “now [Cherry Hill is] no longer the light that guides the other districts, in fact [Cherry Hill falls] behind.”

Even though the teenage years would be the prime

time to start learning a seconly help children to exchildren learn a language ond language, most schools pand their vocabulary and naturally. Within the first do not use this to their adunderstanding skills. Most few weeks of life, children vantage. All public schools young children truly enjoy are able to differentiate in Cherry Hill should have learning, so learning a secamong two languages easa world language program that gives students the option to learn a language through all 12 years of their education.

It is easier to learn a language when young because one’s brain Julia Rothkoff (‘16)/ Eastside Editor-in-Chief is still in its early devel- Mrs. Griffo teaches French to her French 4A class. oping stage and will compare and relate ond language is something ily. A benefit of learning a his or her first language to fun and brand new for them second language early inunderstand the second. to do. Also, the brain, like cludes an enrichment of a “We have strong evidence all other muscles, works child’s long-term verbal detoday that studying a forbetter when it is being exvelopment. eign language has a ripple ercised. Learning another Woodcrest Elemeneffect, helping to improve language requires memotary School has students student performance in rizing rules and vocabugo through a cycle of nine other subjects,” said Richlary, which strengthens the weeks of computer class ard Riley, U.S. Secretary of mental muscle. Learning followed by nine weeks of Education under Bill Clinanother language is a great Spanish instruction. In ton, in 2000. exercise for the brain. the nine weeks of Spanish Learning another lanYoung brains are really classes, there are only nine guage at an early age will flexible, which helps many classes of instruction.

At Beck Middle School, world language is not offered for the whole year for sixth and seventh graders.

It is an exploratory—Beck’s equivalent to an elective— that the students can choose to take. Instead of having a world language program, the school has extended the time of language arts from 45 to 100 minutes only for sixth and seventh grade students. Eighth grade students are given the choice of taking level one of Spanish or French in only one year.

On the other hand, Rosa Middle School has a world language program that allows the students to take Spanish or French during all three years. In these three years, level one of the language of the student’s choice will be completed.

Clearly, the world language programs for the Cherry Hill Public Schools are inconsistent.

They waste time and effort for children to only receive a little foreign language instruction. The Cherry Hill District should pay closer attention to the world language programs.

OPINIONS

Page 16

EASTSIDE

December 2015

Daily fantasy sports are bad for fan culture ■ By Matt Nussbaum (‘16) Eastside Opinions Editor

player’s team was relatively consistent for the entirety of a season.

This year has seen the explosion of a different type of fantasy sports onto the scene.

Websites like FanDuel and

Over the last five years not many forms of entertainment have seen the meteoric rise that fantasy sports have encountered.

Fantasy sports games have burst onto the sports scene and do not seem to be leaving anytime soon.

These games appeal to those who have always dreamed about owning their own sports franchise.

Through these games they are able to achieve this lifelong dream.

Recently, however, there has been something different about the fantasy sports scene.

In the past, fantasy Ben Silvert (‘16)/ Eastside Staff sports have been about drafting a team of players Fans now see sports teams more before the season starts, like means to a monetary end. and working with that team every week to win as many DraftKings offer the fun of games as possible in hopes of classic fantasy sports with the winning the championship at twist of being able to reset evthe end of the season. ery week or every day.

There were multiple variWhereas in classic fantasy eties of fantasy games, but sports games one must mathe one constant was that a neuver his or her way to vic-

tory when issues appear, in daily fantasy sports games, if one has a bad week, he or she can just try again next time.

This inherently goes against what fantasy sports should be about—fun and building a strong team.

When you are able to completely reset and start anew every week, the game becomes less about skill and crafty pick-ups and more about luck and playing the odds.

Daily fantasy sports require players to pick against the grain in hopes of hitting big and scoring higher than all others; daily games do not reward consistency, instead they reward luck.

This all stands alone, but when the reward system of daily sites like FanDuel and DraftKings prove unfair, the issue becomes much larger.

When people can so easily and so frequently gamble on something that was created for fun, a moral dilemma is created.

While, yes, original fantasy games often involve money for a buy-in and as a reward to

the winner, there is only one winner the whole year, there is a season of opportunities to build a better team in order to win the prize at the end.

In daily games, one can continue to place bets every week, multiple times per week, and only win or lose due to luck.

This ease can slowly devolve playing daily games from being about fun and a love of the game to being all about winning money.

Another huge issue seen with these daily game websites is their reach into the actual sports themselves.

Anyone who has watched an NFL game this season - or any sports broadcasting, for that matter - has most definitely seen a commercial for DraftKings or FanDuel. The viewers have seen sections of broadcasts sponsored by these gaming behemoths; their reach is inescapable.

When people only pay attention to games to see if they have won money instead of watching to enjoy the games, that shows that daily fantasy sports have pushed fantasy too far over the line.

■ By Nafessa Jaigirdar (‘19)

said, “If I knew that others had placed bets on my team, I don’t even think I could concentrate properly. If I didn’t win, I’d feel terrible. I’d feel betrayed more than anything. It shows that our fans were not there to support us, but were there to make some money.”

To place someone else’s fate in the hands of a player is not only unfair, but also foolish.

The 2011 Super Bowl had 87 million dollars wagered on it, and the 2012 NCAA Tournament had 2.4 billion dollars change hands in NCAA pools alone. This is not a simple bet with your best friend. These are the types of bets that could turn around someone’s life.

The legalization of sports gambling would create the ideal environment for gambling addictions to prosper.

Compulsive gambling is a legitimate health concern which has many negative psychological, physical and social repercussions.

Both drugs and gambling are self-destructive, yet drugs are illegal and sports gambling is only being considered for illegalization. To compulsive gamblers, gambling is a drug. The most obvious impact is the increasing financial debt and the dire need to gamble, even if a person cannot afford to lose.

According to a 1990 Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene survey, “62 percent [of gambling addicts] committed illegal acts as a result of their gambling.”

The legalization of sports gambling has the potential to seriously harm the lives of fans, players and gamblers.

For fans, sports should be about entertainment and having fun, not gaining money for one’s own purpose.

DFS should be regulated Sports gambling law is fair ■ By Gregory Rothkoff (‘19)

For Eastside

This year, sports betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings have surged into the limelight, with the two sites spending a combined 300 million dollars on advertisements.

Even those who are not sports fans have most likely seen at least one of their advertisements. Daily fantasy sports (DFS) work by picking a different virtual lineup of real players in contests that range from a day to a week.

Some of the contests include basketball, a handful of NCAA sports, and football.

DFS are appealing because the users are not locked in for an entire season; they are only locked in for the time of the contest.

A recent scandal involved employees from both companies getting insider information for playing purposes.

This scandal has left the two booming sites with unwanted attention. All of this controversy sparks a new question: should daily fantasy sports be considered gambling?

Nevada was the first state to ban daily fantasy sports.

Fanduel, DraftKings and other DFS sites have started online petitions to fight against the ruling. Other states are considering taking Nevada’s approach as well. The Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act of 2006 states that fantasy sports are legal because gambling is defined as a game of chance, whereas fantasy sports are a game of skill.

How is it that making virtual teams is perfectly legal, but betting on the individual outcomes of teams and players is illegal? Where is the line drawn?

In an interview with CNN,

former ESPN Vice President Roxanne Jones confessed that she had access to insider information. She admitted that she knew which players were likely to perform best on game day.

With information like this

For Eastside

The issue of sports gambling has been a hot topic on the minds of sports fans for a long time.

Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

Having money on results creates new reason to watch. being kept secret to only the insiders, it is about time that the government started to regulate it.

Up until now, the government has let the daily fantasy football industry regulate itself. It would not be fair for the government to limit daily fantasy sports entirely, but the government needs to start taking steps such as overseeing insider information.

The integrity of the game is being compromised. The millions of paying customers are being cheated on by the insiders.

Whatever the case is, one thing is for sure. With a projected 56 million fantasy sports players hoping to win big money this fantasy season, the industry is not slowing down anytime soon.

The 1919 World Series was home to the greatest scandal in sports history—the Black Sox Scandal. Players from the Chicago White Sox were found to have thrown games for monetary gain. All the players involved in the scheme were banned from baseball for life.

This scandal raised the question of sports gambling and its legality.

Sports gambling jeopardizes the integrity in sports, and for that reason, should not be legalized. Sports gambling will not only ruin the game for players, but also for the fans.

Some fans will become so invested in making profit that they will forget the real reason for buying tickets. They will forget to have a good time.

Basketball player and swimmer Lauren Covert (‘19)

Border by Ben Silvert (‘16)/ Eastside Staff

December 2015

SPORTS EASTSIDE

Page 17

Collegiate sports are simply a different game ■ By Ben Goldsmith (’17) Eastside Multimedia Director

Collegiate athletics are known to be much harder than high school sports.

This obvious truth resonates with former high school athletes now playing in college. From the need for more game-time preparation to living with teammates, college sports pose a much more demanding test to athletes, while high school seems to simply be the training grounds for college.

“One thing you get when you’re in high school, you’ll have a lot of big physical players, but speed when you come to college is way different than high school,” said former East Varsity soccer player, Kyle Lochbihler (’15), who now plays for St. Joseph’s University.

After leaving high school and going on to play in college, student athletes devote a lot of time to work on and study their craft.

Still, for most college athletes, the time lost in the classroom can be made up through school accommodation.

According to Lochbihler, all student athletes at St. Joe’s are required to take study hall for a minimum of eight hours a week. This is a chance for student athletes to catch up with missed assignments.

“We have a 50-game [baseball] season, the longest season out of any team at [St. Peter’s],” Nick Ciocco (’14), St. Peter’s University outfielder and former East Varsity baseball and soccer player said. “It goes from a 20-game high school season to 50.

It’s a lot lon-

ger and a lot more practice.”

Unlike high school sports where student athletes practice after school hours, college athletes do that in conjunction with studying film on the team they will be playing.

“We know everything

about the other team before we play against them,” Lochbihler said. “[We’ll] literally spend hours watching film.”

Just like professionals would, the team sits down to go over what they can do to overcome their opponent.

Coaching at the college level is fundamentally different than high school coaching as well. Montclair State University center back and former East Varsity soccer player Brooke Beatty (’14) explained how having more coaches gives student athletes more outlets.

“In high school we just had one varsity coach, and now at college, [we] have one main coach and four assistant coaches. You can go to a lot of different people for help or support,” Beatty said.

At the college level, coaches are there for almost all the positions in team sports. This can make relationships with a coach more specific to a certain player as they specialize in a position, allowing them to hone in on a less magnified group of athletes.

Being a part of any college sport means teammates are friends on the field and off. However, at the college level, many athletes describe their team-

mates as more than just friends.

“I look at [my teammates] as my family on campus,” s a i d Jake Russ

(’14), Stevenson University defenseman and former East Varsity soccer player.

“Those are the guys I go to chill out with and those are the guys I eat with.”

Camaraderie is important for a well-functioning team. While it may seem easy to have relationships with teammates in college, fighting for spots on the team can cause competition between good friends.

“There’s good and there’s bad. My roommate and I were fighting for the same position last year and at times, things got a little heated,” said Russ.

According to Russ, it can be hard balancing a healthy friendship with someone you live with and are trying to defeat.

Beatty also detailed how being so close to teammates could become a tedious task.

“There are six sophomores on the team and we all live on the same floor,” Beatty said.

Though most college student athletes spend their time advancing their game to a higher level, staying true to the game is something athletes like Ciocco credit to their time as high school athletes.

Ciocco said, “Coach Martin [retired Cherry Hill East baseball head coach and hitting coach] taught me a lot of stuff I won’t forget, like how to play the game the right way… We were [never] disrespectful.”

Playing a sport at any level, high school or above, is definitely an athletic feat. For those playing at the next level, whatever the sport may be, it is simply a different game.

Art by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

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SPORTS

Page 18

EASTSIDE

December 2015

East Hockey finally gains independence ■ By Luke Hinrichs (’17)

Eastside Sports Editor

After a successful 10-4 record in a winning season last year, the EEW Hockey Team, a unified team of Cherry Hill East, Eastern Regional High School and Cherry Hill West players, officially dissolved.

At East, a new team, officially dubbed the Cherry Hill East Ice Hockey Club, has been formed. Although the team carries East’s name, East Athletics are not affiliated with the team in any way. The ice hockey team’s eventual success will neither be seen as an extension of the high school’s excellence nor be archived in the school’s records.

However, the attitude of the players and the student-fans reflects a clear and strong bond between club and school.

“When we see the fan section, there is a sense of school pride and school support. It really means a lot when we see East students backing us [up] even though we aren’t considered an East sport,” said defenseman and assistant captain Brian Stamm (’16).

The East Hockey Club competes in the Tier 2 Division of the South Jersey Hockey League. Due to the team’s status as a club, it is restricted to Tier 2 and cannot compete at the Tier 1 level.

“We are going to have a successful year. Our division is not as strong as it’s been in the past, and I feel like the core group and leadership that the team

has will result in a winning season,” said Stamm.

After years of playing as the EEW, East’s break

created an opportunity for East players to step up and fill roles on the team.

“We did not lose a lot in

feature “East” on them.

“Having ‘East’ on our jerseys is a real source of pride for us. It is great to be rep-

Courtesy of Stephanie Fisch

East Hockey plays HLV in one of the first games in its independent season. from the combined school team resulted in an inevitable rivalry against Eastern Regional High School.

“We are ready for Eastern. A definite rivalry has formed and we are excited to prove ourselves,” said center and assistant captain Andrew Bowen (’16). “We did lose some great Eastern teammates, and I made a lot of good friends from Eastern out of EEW, but it is really a good feeling to represent East in and of itself.”

The break from EEW

the break from EEW,” said winger and assistant captain Eric Busler (’16). “Yes, there were a few varsity players last year that now play for Eastern, but the gaps are now filled. In reality, we actually gained a lot from this, and now we have new players stepping up.”

Even though the team remains independent from East and the Cherry Hill School District, the team bears the name “Cougars” and this year’s jerseys worn by the club

resenting East as an East student, and that’s always how we view it,” said Bowen.

Since the team is not funded or related to East Athletics, the club is dependent on community involvement. Parent and coordinating coach Scott Busler has been coaching for seven years, spending three at the middle school level, one with junior varsity and three with varsity.

Busler started playing hockey when he was 13, and in his 30 years of

hockey involvement, he has both high school and college hockey experience.

Busler has dedicated his life to the sport of hockey.

Thus, for Busler, it was a natural transition from playing the sport to coaching others. He now faces a new season with new opportunities, not as the EEW coach, but as the East Hockey Club team coach.

“The biggest challenge is trying to play good hockey as a cohesive unit and keeping the pace we set for ourselves. Right now we are playing at a good level, and we will try to keep that going for the 18 regular season games,” Busler said. “The goal this year is to stay positive, stay true to our team, and stay true to ourselves.”

Although the coach is optimistic regarding the strength of his team this season, the players consider this a rebuilding year following the graduation of over ten seniors from the 2014-2015 team.

They still believe in the potential of a championship-winning season. The current record of the team is 10-1 as of November 23.

“We are the caliber of an East Varsity sport. We will find success under the East name, and I just wish we would be recognized for our hard work,” said defenseman and captain, Jason Fisch (’16).

Fortunately, for Fisch and the rest of the East Ice Hockey team, their hard work has already garnered a large fan section and could translate to trophies on the ice in the coming years.

Lu figure skates his way around the world ■ By Brooke Greenberg (’17) Eastside Community Editor

Walking up and down the hallways of East, Tony Lu (’17) appears to be an average high school student. Yet, once Lu walks out of the doors of East and steps onto the ice, he is not just an East student; he is a nationally ranked figure skater.

Lu’s story began like many others who become embedded in their passion: their parents get them involved when they are young until they find a hobby that ultimately sticks. Lu’s dream when he was five years old was to become an ice hockey player.

Unfortunately for young Lu, conflicting parent opinions shifted his future plans a bit off-track. “[I started skating] when I was five. [At first I wanted to play] ice hockey, because there was free ice at the rink my parents knew, but they said it was too dangerous,” said Lu. Because of Lu’s parents’ harsh feelings towards ice hockey, he decided to figure skate instead.

“I was pretty good at it. I also liked it a lot,” said Lu. Eleven years later, Lu is a nationally ranked figure skater and skates six days a week. Lu recently moved from Mahwah, New Jersey, to Cherry Hill due to a change in coaches. He currently trains with his coach, Viktor Pfeifer, who is also a world-renowned figure skater.

Lu not only competes in the United States, but also internationally in locations such as Italy; Poland, where he won sixth place in the world for his age; Germany; and, most recently Croatia, where he won seventh in the world for his age.

Currently he is skating for Team USA and has been ranked third in the country for his age group.

“Tony is very talented as a skater. He has good athletic ability, he is very strong, [with] jumping ability,” said Pfeifer. “You have to be driven, and the amount of success he has gotten is because he is driven.”

Even though Lu has an incredible ranking, he still manages to stay humble throughout it all.

“I try to make the best out of everything. There is a six-minute warm-up, and it doesn’t matter how the warm-up goes. I take it one step at a

time, and I usually don’t get nervous,” said Lu. High school is hard enough for any teenager, let alone a competitive skater traveling the world. His struggles of keeping up in school are compounded by the struggle of competing in a sport that has a typically feminine connotation.

Despite all this, Lu manages to handle it strongly.

“I usually don’t mind [that it is a feminine sport]. They understand, and it’s hard.

[You need] strength, flexibility and coordination, and you have to fine-tune everything. Everything requires precision, and most of my friends support me,” said Lu. For Lu, being a junior in an unfamiliar high school exacerbates the challenge even more.

He currently leaves school at 10:30 a.m. every day to drive the 40-mile journey to the Skating Club of WilmCourtesy of Tony Lu ington to train for hours.

Lu poses in front of the Team USA poster after a performance.

Lu said his mom Lu carries an immense amount of strength has been his biggest and determination in order to maintain his supporter throughout this entire experience. national rank, grades and health. He push“My main focus is on skating and es himself to get better every day, a qualschool. [My] mom drives me every day ity only a world-class athlete could possess. to the rink and always pushes me.”

“You have to make every day count. Every Eventually, Lu ends his day around 6 day is important, and the bad days are the best p.m., when he finds himself juggling his days to train. If you are going through a bad day, schoolwork and adequate sleep before he it will make going through a good day easier.” has to wake up and repeat his schedule.

SPORTS

December 2015

Brookover aims to capture another NJSIAA Title

■ By Luke Hinrichs (’17)

Eastside Sports Editor

He wakes up when the sun still sleeps. He is on lap fifty while his opponents are sitting on the couch. He expects nothing but victory. East Varsity swimmer Duncan Brookover (‘16) has the dedication and work ethic that results in trophies and titles.

In the 2014-2015 season, the NJSIAA Public A State Championship became a David and Goliath story. East faced three-time defending champion and number-two in the state Westfield in a meet that was determined by the final event. They had met Westfield in the playoffs the year prior, but were overpowered in a 103-67 loss. However, East was tied at 78-78, and the 400 freestyle relay, with Brookover swimming anchor, was the last hurdle between the title and heartbreak.

Brookover dove into the pool, a body length behind Westfield.

Every inch was decisive. In a photo finish, Brookover overtook Westfield’s swimmer to win by .12 seconds and snap East’s thirteen-year championship drought.

Even though Brookover does not hold any individual records for East, he is a member of the teams that hold the records in the 200 Medley Relay, the 200 Freestyle Relay and the 400 Freestyle Relay. Brookover is expected to bring the same intensity and success to the pool in his final year at East.

“You are going to see him go top five in the individual medley, the backstroke and the 500 all throughout the state. By the end of the season, he will have top times in at least three events,” said Coach Joe Cucinotti.

Throughout Brookover’s swimming career, he has swam with nationally ranked and Division I athletes of all different strengths.

“I have been lucky enough to

train with some of the fastest swimmers on the East Coast for the majority of my life…Without them there every day I would not Emelia Keller (‘17)/ Eastside Photo Editor be as good as I am to- Duncan Brookday,” said over (‘16) Brookover.

In his freshman year at East, Brookover was named Rookie of the Year, showing great promise as an East athlete.

Then, in the swim team’s championship-winning 2014-2015 season, he was awarded Co-MVP. Now, for his last season as an East swimmer, Brookover hopes to add more titles to East Boys’ Swimming before he graduates.

“We can go backto-back state titles.

I know it’s not going to be easy.

We understand we have the target on our back now for New Jersey.

There is a lot of momentum coming o f f of last year, and we c a n really do a lot t h i s year,” s a i d Brookover.

Brookover is a s w i m m e r t o watch as the swim team defends its NJSIAA Public A State Championship this season.

EASTSIDE

Page 19

Kerner seeks spot on the Junior National Swim Team

■ By Sam Greenberg (’16)

Eastside Sports Editor

Swim. School. Sleep. Repeat.

Lauren Kerner’s (’17) schedule consists of these three basic activities.

Kerner is a full-time student-athlete and manages to excel at both.

Kerner estimates she spends 24 hours weekly in the pool. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she wakes up at 3:45 a.m. for a pre-school swim practice. Then, after school on every weekday, she has another practice. On Saturday mornings, she wakes up at 4:30 a.m. for another three-hour training practice held in Northeast Philadelphia, and Sundays provide the much-needed sleep and rest that Kerner rightfully deserves.

“I think training as much as I do, you kind of have to have a certain love for the sport, and I really do love to swim,” Kerner said.

Kerner’s love for the sport has afforded her many great opportunities. She has been to New York, Florida and California to participate in swim meets, and in December she will travel to Indianapolis to compete for a spot on the Junior National Team.

“Being a part of [the] Junior National Team gives you more of an opportunity to be seen by college coaches,” said Kerner, who has been in contact with a n estimate d 20 collegiate coaches f r o m Division I and D i v i sion III schools.

Kerne r ’ s goal is to make Junior Nationals in either the 100 or 200 meter butterfly as well as dropping times in other events.

Kerner

said she cannot wait to see how she stacks up against some of the fastest swimmers in the country and how she can impress the many coaches

Emelia Keller (‘17)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Lauren Kerner (‘17) that will be in attendance. Qualifying for Junior Nationals at this meet would lead to larger Junior National meets and even international meet opportunities where Kerner could then showcase her skills further.

With so much traveling and such a busy schedule, it would be easy to think that Kerner’s grades have suffered. However, that is not the case; Kerner’s hectic swim schedule has had no negative effect on her honors class workload.

“I take advantage of the time I have during school,” said Kerner.

For Kerner, missing practices at Wahoos is not really an option. Missing practice means that she has to make it up at a different time, which can really mess up her schedule for both swimming and school.

“Missing practice just throws your body off. Muscle memory wise, you feel out of it when you get into the pool,” said Kerner.

During her two years of high school swimming, Kerner has accomplished a lot. Last year, she spearheaded the ‘A’ relay that took thirteenth place in the state. For every East meet, she swims the maximum allowed, which includes participating in two individual events and two relays.

This year, Kerner has even bigger plans. She aims to break a six-yearold record in the 100 meter butterfly.

“Anything is possible,” said Coach Anita Bowser, who is in her fourteenth year as the girls’ swim coach.

“That’s a good goal to have for the season. It’s something to look forward to.”

The boys’ and girls’ swimming teams “dive” into the upcoming season with confidence

■ By Sam Greenberg (’16)

Eastside Sports Editor

As winter arrives, most students find themselves in anticipation of the impending basketball season. However, students now have another sport to be excited about: swimming.

East boys’ swimming and girls’ swimming have been under-the-radar sports in recent years, with many students not knowing much about the teams or even going to the swim meets. This all could change soon as the teams get more recognition for their various accomplishments.

“We should have a lot more respect going into this season,” said Coach Joe Cucinotti, who was named as last season’s NJ.com Boys’ Swimming Coach of the Year.

Cucinotti coached the boys’ swim team to the NJSIAA Public A State Title last season. The team was bound to capture the elusive title after seven straight seasons winning a sectional championship and advancing far in the state playoffs. “[The boys’ swim] team is always capable of winning a state championship,” Cucinotti said.

“It is easy to expect that same result.”

The boys go into the season each and every year with the thought that they are the best, a mindset instilled in them by Cucinotti. This season, they truly are the best, after knocking off the powerhouse Westfield High School to win it all

last season.

“If someone wants to knock us off, we welcome that,” said Cucinotti. “We are the best and the target only gets bigger on our chest. People keep missing. No one really hit us yet.”

No one has hit them yet because the team is constantly grooming younger swimmers to take on the more mature upperclassmen. Cucinotti mentioned how East has been full of younger swimmers who are able to take on the older swimmers.

In this upcoming season, he cited Jack Watson (’19) and Anthony Moon (’18) as younger swimmers to keep an eye on. Cucinotti also said he expects Kevin Gillooly (‘17) to make major strides this season after a successful summer.

“Graduation kind of hit us a little hard,” said Cucinotti.

Despite this, the team is still stockpiled with talent and expects to be in contention once again come February for another state title.

The boys’ team and the girls’ team are at completely different spots with their programs.

Whereas the boys always have that championship mindset mentality, the girls are at more of a rebuilding stage.

“The main goal is to win more meets than we did last year and progress from there,” Coach Anita Bowser said.

In 2014-15, the girls team had a 4-6 overall record while the boys team was 14-0.

Last year, the team was in a major rebuild-

ing stage after losing 14 seniors. This year, they lost two more of their top swimmers. In such a rebuild, the younger girls had the opportunity to get more time in the pool, making this year’s team full of experienced swimmers on the rise.

Bowser noted how many girls began to swim for club teams, allowing them to get more time in the pool than the four practices that she holds per week, which are one and a half hours each and are with the boys’ team.

“It’s good for the girls to swim with the faster boys,” said Bowser. “It should give them confidence, too.”

The team made it to the first round of the state playoffs last season, which, according to Bowser, is always expected. Consequently, she knows that it is difficult to catapult the team up to the top.

“Everyone’s goal is to be a state champion, but we have to really look at it realistically,” she said.

Although many of the girls swim for various programs, the team is very close-knit. Bowser believes this is part of the formula for a very successful team.

“Swimming can be individual, but with us, it’s more of a team sport,” she said.

Overall, both the boys’ and girls’ swim teams have a lot to look forward to this upcoming season. East will now take notice to these two programs with impressive history.

Art by Sydney Steele (‘16)/ Eastside Art Director

SPORTS

December 2015

EASTSIDE

Page 20

Coach Allen prepares for a new chapter in East boys’ basketball’s history

■ By Jacob Borowsky (’16)

Eastside Editor-In-Chief

Basketball, like high school, is a game that lasts four treacherous but startlingly quick quarters. Unlike basketball, however, there is no overtime in high school. Thus, basketball teams face significant roster changes year after year that they must work hard to compensate for. At East, the boys’ basketball team is facing this challenge for the upcoming season.

Going into the 2015-16 season, the team must fill the holes left by four of last year’s graduates: PG Jake Silpe (’15), the second-highest scorer in East history; reliable three-point swingman SG Josh Brown (’15); and key role-players SG Mike Zilberfarb (’15) and SG Mike Ariza (’15). The presence of these leaders in the locker room is one which the players have said cannot be understated.

SG Pierce Elliot (’16) cited Brown as the player who guided him most throughout the season last year.

“Obviously Jake [Silpe] carried the team, but Josh pretty much directed all the younger guys through all the plays.

He helped me more than Jake did, as far as plays, where to be, and what to do,” Elliot said. “He always kept me motivated, telling me to keep shooting when they weren’t falling, [saying] ‘just keep shooting, they’re gonna fall eventually.’”

PG Evan Campbell (’17)

didn’t get something, they would just teach it in a different way to let it resonate with us,” Campbell said. “It goes hand-in-hand, on and off the court they were just a help to keeping the team together and keeping us uplifted no matter what.”

Coach David Allen praised Silpe and Brown for inspiring the team last year, speaking on how their impact extended beyond just their high level of play.

“Leadership is just communicating to the people who are following you, and being able to communicate their value and their work and their potential in such a way that they are inspired to see within themselves,” Allen said. “That’s what Jake and Josh did… That’s what good leaders do—they do it in different ways, but they have to communicate their visions.”

Despite this, Allen had been prepared all along for the moment these star players would graduate.

“It’s attrition. You’re gonna lose players. The best thing that they did for

Photo courtesy of Mr. Bill Kovnat Photo Illustration by Jacob Borowsky (‘16)/ Eastside Editor-in-Chief

The boys’ basketball team must replace last year’s seniors. ing Pierce, Olin [McClendon] (’16), and Timmy [Perry] (’16) are just gonna step up in a bigger role. We’re not gonna try and fill the void that Jake left because that’s just not our identity.

But we’re gonna just try to each step up into a bigger

focuses on pushing players to reach their greatest potential every day. Elliot cited the mentality of “just focus on the next play” that Allen has emphasized as the factor that has allowed the team to exceed expectations and achieve long-term

icals like shooting down, there’s no limit that can be posed on this team.”

When preparing to ascend into more prominent roles as leaders, the players were in unanimous agreement that Allen, affectionately called DA by his players, has more than fulfilled his job as both a coach and mentor.

“DA has done a tremendous job of uplifting our spirits.

Every day he sends us motivational stuff, inspirational stuff, and he’s really integrated a lot of mindfulness in us,” Campbell said. “Just taking it one game at a time, [telling us] we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and make any predictions of where we’ll be in March when it’s not even December yet. He tries to unlock our full potential every day, and take it one small step at a time, whether that be a win or a loss, just learn from it, because it’s a learning process.”

As he prepares the team for an enduring season, Allen said that in order to reach their potential, he wants everyone on the team to be a leader. This, he says, is what gives the boys’ basketball team the advantage they needed to win the past two seasons.

“Everybody should be a captain. Everybody should be a leader. It shouldn’t be two guys on the team. We’ve got a team of 15 guys, we’ve got 15 leaders,” Allen said.

“You have to learn how to lead, and you have to lead yourself first... so, our job is, teach each individual kid how to be a leader. We’re not the most talented team, but we try to come out there with 15 leaders, and it gives us an advantage.”

While the players are primarily focusing on the short term, the excitement that the players and students have for this year’s team is evident.

“I don’t see why we can’t go to Rutgers again,” Elliot said, his disposition morphing from an attentive, serious expression to an anticipating grin. “Don’t sleep.”

“The expectations are always the same: just to be better than what people think you can be. To exceed expectations, whatever they are.”

-Coach David Allen our team was show what a great example was. We’re not gonna be here—we’re not gonna live forever— so you know your time is

Liz Lee (‘17)/ Eastside Staff

Pierce Elliot (‘16) will continue his pre-game tradition of dancing, just with many new faces surrounding him. echoed these remarks, reflecting on how Brown, Silpe and the others led the team on and off the court.

“Off the court, they kept us together with a close bond. We were a tight-knit group, we hung out on and off the court. Obviously on the court they directed all of us, like the underclassmen who came into the offense and didn’t really know what to do, but they directed all the plays and they were really accepting of us. If we

limited playing high school basketball,” Allen said.

After two-straight South Jersey Group IV Championships with these players leading the team, this year’s roster has much to live up to. Despite the pressure of performing at this high level, the new leaders of the basketball team are not fazed by the increased responsibility they will have to assume in place of last year’s graduating class.

“I think all of us includ-

role and grow as a unit,” Campbell said.

Campbell spent his summer preparing to step into the starting point guard position by maturing his game and working on his jump shot. Elliot praised his hard work and ability to stay “calm and positive” during games and in practice. Campbell has already displayed immense leadership by focusing primarily on improving the team as a whole during the season.

“I’m just trying to get everyone involved, get Pierce the ball to shoot, get Olin involved to drive, get Timmy the ball, feed the rest of the players,” Campbell said.

“I’ll just do whatever I have to do to get the team to win and spark some energy on the court. No set individual numbers or stats, just in it for the greater good.”

Campbell and Allen both stressed that although they recognize that the whole team must assume bigger roles this season, their gameplan and mentality for the season has not changed.

“The mentality is the same. All we want to do is try and reach our potential, try to exceed expectations and try to do the best we can on this day. Whatever day we play, we just try to do our best,” Allen said.

In a similar vein, Allen also emphasized his sustained mentality of focusing on the short-term as opposed to long-term goals.

This is a mentality that he has ingrained in each player on the team, as he

success over the past two seasons.

“The expectations are always the same: just to be better than what people think you can be. To exceed expectations, whatever they are,” Allen said. “But it’s never been about – it’s not about winning games or championships. Just like in school—it’s not about grades, it’s about learning, and all that stuff takes care of itself. If you’re just focusing on the next play, doing your best, then the winning will take care of itself.

If you’re doing that better than somebody else, then you’re gonna win more than you lose.”

As the leaders of the current team, these players have supplemented Allen’s personal expectations of the team with their own expectations: that the team recreates the close-knit environment it has sustained the past two seasons. “[I expect] that we’re all on the same page, that no one is being selfish or complaining about something, that we can all be able to approach each other and talk about our faults and our strengths as a team so we can grow from that,” Elliot said.

Campbell concurred that the team must have an open and honest environment.

“I think we need to all open up about our vulnerabilities so that we’re all on the same page and it’s a good ambiance before the season starts,” Campbell said. “If we’re on the same page and we have our phys-