Eastside: December 2012

www.eastside-online.org

Vol. 47 No. 4

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

December 2012

Making cents out of financial aid mee ts

loans or work-study (getting a job on campus).

As important as the percentage of needApparently, winning one hundred obscure based aid is, the percentage of students essay scholarships is not the underground way whose need was fully met is equally, if not of affording college. If you are even lucky more, significant because it is telling as to enough to be the one-in-a-million student who how the percent of need-based aid is divided. snags the 10,000-dollar scholastic reward, that Take Pennsylvania State—University Park, sum does not actually reduce college tuition. for example. While the school meets 56 perMost colleges will look at the amount of the cent of need-based aid, only 6 percent of stuscholarship, take that quantity and deduct it dents’ need is fully met, meaning a large from the amount of need-based aid they were majority of that 56 percent most likely conoriginally going to provide. A scholarship is sists of loans as opposed to free money. only beneficial to the student if it comes from Returning to the expected family contributhe federal government, the state government tion, that sum is not necessarily the true or the college itself; any other kind could affect price a family can afford to put forth each the amount of need-based aid administered. year. Financial assets such as the amount of But how is need-based aid even determined? equity paid on your home, money in your Part of applying to college involves filling name and student income (if you have a job out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal that pays 6,000 dollars a year or more) all Student Aid) forms. come into play. The twisted philosophy is “What a family is expected to pay is deterthat in order to avoid putting a student in mined by the federal Department of Education. debt, parents can indebt their families by There’s a formula called the Needs taking money out of what they have already Analysis Formula. You get that by put down on their mortgage and putting it # of putting in financial information about toward college the family, plus how many people are People in If parents have a child in col- tuition. So, if in the family and how many kids are Household lege, the EFC for a college-bound embarking on a in colsibling should be cut in half. witch hunt for 4 lege.

It Parent age suggests if a parent scholarships on d e t e r - is close to retiring, they may sites like Freewebs is not going to have a retirement fund. m i n e s make any difference, how can a stu# of w h a t dent attend an ideal college for the Parents they say a family can afford to and Age of Parents most efficient cost? pay no matter where the stuEast guidance counselor Mr. (48 and 45) dent goes to school,” said Ray Roberto Figueroa said, “If your Murphy, the president of GPA, your transcript and your Parents’ Total Solutions for College standardized test scores are realIncome Funding, the largest college ly good comparatively to a school advisory firm in New Jersey. and the numbers it has, it is a 186K For instance, suppose the good idea to apply there, [espeexpected annual family concially if] it’s a tier one or tier two EFC tribution is 40,000 dollars school, meaning the school gets and the cost of the college is a lot of money from the alumni so 60,000 dollars per year. The it has a lot of extra money to give. college should make up the Since there’s such a small percentage vs. differof acceptence of Total taxable income - deducance [at The Expected Family 30K 2 0 , 0 0 0 tions = Adjusted Gross Income.

Contribution is often much s u c h dollars higher than a family can afford. schools], i n t h e Reality need-based aid. However, accordschools are often able to give stuing to U.S. News rankings, only 62 dents a lot of money in order to Adjusted colleges in the U.S. meet 100 percent attend the school.”

Gross 191 of need-based aid.

Another option is to simply ensure Although only nine East students Income Untaxed income is the income t h a t (according to Naviance), since 2005, Untaxed excluded from federal income t h e 12K have applied to Gettysburg College, taxation under the IRS code. school Income which t o m e e t s Includes both savings for the which you are applying meets a sig1.5K 1 0 0 college-bound student and any Savings nificant amount of need-based aid, percent savings of the student’s siblings. as not all schools provide merit aid, of need-based aid and is ranked Investsuch as Northwestern University, number 46 on the U.S. News list of ment 15K Vassar College and the Ivy League best National Liberal Arts Colleges, Equity Colleges due to the implicit aca755 East students applied to Drexel demic excellence that resulted in University, which meets 61 percent of Home acceptance. These may be the 180 most practical approaches for colneed-based aid. And while the 61 per- Equity cent is already a disadvantage, that lege-bound seniors, but for a col61 percent may not even be comlege advisory firm, like Murphy’s, prised of entirely no-stringsthe ideal student is actually a attached money, meaning part of it sophomore or junior. could encompass taking out student See COLLEGE, pg. 2 ■ By Danielle Fox (‘13)

Eastside Editor-in-Chief

93.5% o

f need

61 %

100%

90%

99 %

82%

88%

100%

90%

100%

100%

Flags and dollar sign by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

46K

Eastside used the FAFSA calculator to determine how the Expected Family Contribution is determined. To learn more information about colleges and financial Aid, visit eastside-online.org for collected statistics.

Inside This Issue

School-based movie aids cancer research News/Features Pg. 3

Kind citizens fund hurricane relief Special Pgs. 12-13

58%

69%

89%

% 100

% 1 00

100%

100%

1 00%

100%

100%

99.7%

92%

College student by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

Pizza brain dishes out dough Underground Pg. 17

NEWS/FEATURES Page 2

EASTSIDE

December 2012

Melissa McHattie: making, selling and profitting from bracelets sold to destinations around the globe ■ By Kaylin Magosin (‘14)

Logo by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Staff

It has been a q u i e t month for the Board of EducaBecca tion. As Fisher (‘13) t h e Board of school Education year is Representative a l r e a d y well underway, the current board members and all the district administrators are very happy to hear that the 2012-2013 school year is off to a great and productive start in the entire district.

The Cherry Hill School District adopted a new mission statement, adhering to the New Jersey Common Core State Content Standards. The newly instituted goals include provisions to continue improving student achievement at all grade levels for all students and close achievement gaps where they already exist.

They also created a costeffective budget that provides for educational resources, as well as preventive maintenance and ongoing facilities improvement in all schools, and enhances communication with outreach to internal and external stakeholders.

These newly implemented changes have resulted in consolidated goals with broader specification points to articulate Cherry Hill’s mission to prepare students to be knowledgeable, responsible, caring and confident members of society.

On November 6, along with selecting a candidate for President of the United States, Cherry Hill voters had the opportunity to elect three new school board members for a three-year term.

This year’s candidates were Kathy Judge, Colleen Horiates, Barry Dickinson and Wayne Tarken. Judge, Horiates and Dickinson received the most votes.

The board hopes that every Cherry Hill parent came out to vote, not only for the presidential election, but also voted for their preferred board member. As your parents know, every vote counts. In conjunction with the newly instated election change from April to November, the Board of Education committees and chairpeople have been updated with the new term as of October.

Please stay tuned for more Board of Education information. As the school year progresses, many policy and logistical changes that affect students more closely will be implemented. Please feel free to contact Andrew Adler or me with any question or concerns.

through Google, and then I found some through etsy.”

Eastside News/Features Editor McHattie has made jewWhile walking through elry ever since she was litthe hallways, it is easy to tle, and, at one point, spot girls who have their friends started to tell her wrists adorned with all that she should look into kinds of jewelry parading selling her bracelets. up their arms. Making Remembering etsy, she friendship bracelets and took their advice and set other jewelry is a hobby for up an account to begin her many of them. However, sales.

Melissa McHattie (’14) not McHattie currently sells only makes jewelry, but one type of handmade sells it, too. bracelet—a colored hemp McHattie began selling bracelet with tiny beads bracelets in May on the intertwined. Each custom craft website etsy.com. She bracelet costs four dollars stumbled across this weband takes her between 20 site looking for bracelets to to 25 minutes to make. buy for herself.

“My bracelets are made to order, so I don’t have any pre-made,” McHattie said.

O r d e r s placed through etsy allow the customer to choose his or her own color of string and beads.

Most customers order three or four bracelets at a time, but McHattie has Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor even sold quanBeaded braclets made with hemp. tities of seven or eight. Her McHattie said, “I always biggest order was fourteen wear a ton of bracelets, bracelets. [and] I was just searching McHattie has received for bracelets online orders from all over the

Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

McHattie poses with her frienship bracelets. world, including Canada, “To me, I just think it is really cool that people France, England, New want to buy and wear Zealand, Portugal and things that I’ve made.” even Hong Kong. Of McHattie enjoys taking course, she sells many the common hobby of makbracelets to United States ing jewelry one step furresidents, too. ther.

“I feel like I’ve sent She said, “For people to them to most states [in the already start buying stuff US],” McHattie said. that I’m making, that’s McHattie wants to go pretty cool.” into the fashion industry, and selling her customTo purchase jewelry designed bracelets is the from Melissa McHattie, first step in that direction. check out her etsy page at When asked about her www.etsy.com/shop/lissfavorite part of the jewelryabellax making process, she said,

Block Scheduling app facilitates new agenda ■ By Neil Davis (‘13) Eastside Staff

It’s a new school year. Every student has a new schedule with classes on different days and different times.

Although the new schedule may seem intimidating, the new Block Scheduling app can help.

The app was created by Alek Kosinski (‘13) for KosiDoss Apps and is used to help students and teachers “navigate through the complicated world of block scheduling,” according to the app description in the App store.

Unlike regularly scheduled periods, block scheduling cycles through a sixday schedule. The app helps both Cherry Hill East and West students and faculty manage their schedules.

Kosinski said, “I thought the new schedule app would benefit students and teachers since all you need to do is carry your phone around with you and you basically know where you are going.”

When students purchase the app,

they first choose the school they attend and then enter their class information into the app. The app automatically calculates their entire schedule for the year. One additional feature is the calendar category, where a person can see the entire year from September to June. Also, in the set-up category, a student can see which day of the schedule it is.

Within every app there are some flaws. One flaw is that there is no way to change the schedule if a student drops or adds a class. Also, the calendar is duplicated in both the “set-up” portion of the app, as well as the designated “calendar” section of the app.

Still, these small bugs are nothing to harp on.

The Block Scheduling app is a handy app when a student forgets or loses his or her schedule. There are some useful features on the app that can help a student or staff member manage the new Screen shot by Kaylin Magosin (‘14)/ Eastside News/Features Editor schedule throughout the year. The price is 99 cents for iPads and iPhones App description in the app store. only in the Apple store.

How to manage college tuition without inducing stress Continued from pg. 1 “January 1 of the junior year is the date to which almost all of the colleges look back to see about your finances, so if there’s anything we’re going to help you adjust, you want to do it before that date. After that date, things could be used against you,” said Murphy. “There are laws of financial aid just as there are laws of taxation. It’s just taking advantage of whatever you can to fit your particular family to get that family contribu-

tion as low as possible.”

But seniors past Murphy’s deadline can negotiate with schools if their expected family contribution is higher than the amount their family can afford. Dara Weinraub (’09) and her family wrote an appeal to The University of Southern California and received more money as a result.

She said, “If you write a letter of appeal, then it could work in your favor, but in my situation, the amount of money they’ve given me each year has

decreased, so my family and myself still have to continue to come up with ways to make up for the amount that I do have to pay.”

Figueroa noted that many colleges are willing to work with students on their aid.

“It’s definitely something that people don’t tend to think about doing, contacting the college and saying, ‘Look, I’d really like to go to your school, but it’s still extremely expensive.

How do we make this work?’ A lot of colleges do

have extra funds they save for things like that.

Some of them will work with you to get more money; the only issue a lot of the time when you get that extra money is sometimes it’s loans,” said Figueroa.

The financial aid system seems complicated, but there are two very simple solutions to it: find a school that meets close to 100 percent of need and/or a school where you are better than the average student to increase merit aid opportunities.

NEWS/FEATURES December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 3

Ain’t Nobody Left Behind: mocking governmental decisions in a humorous manner ■ By Kayla Schorr (‘14) Eastside News/Features Editor

“Mockumentaries look at a serious situation and they profile it. Education is serious, but, at the same time, there are some ludicrous and ridiculous laws that force educators [to do things] that we, as educators, can’t and shouldn’t do.”

For six years, Mr. Charlie Musumeci has developed, written, produced, acted in and awaited the release of his own work of art: a mockumentary. As Musumeci explained, this type of production acknowledges any type of blunder, and through comedy and sprinkles of exaggeration, the movie suddenly becomes a burlesque of the situation.

The mockumentary, fitfully titled Ain’t Nobody Left Behind, chides President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

“The No Child Left Behind Act that I signed into law is raising standards for student achievement, giving parents more information and more choices, requiring more accountability from schools and funding education at record levels,” said George W. Bush regarding the act.

“This movie is a satire.

It pokes fun at something real. This specifically pokes fun at education,” Musumeci said.

Musumeci worked with another director, Rich Reiner, who is familiar with the Hollywood scene.

One particularly commendable aspect of this film is the utilization of East faculty members as actors. Although there are about forty to fifty speaking roles, faculty such as Mr. Greg Gagliardi, Mr. Bob Hulme, Mrs. Jane Abo, Mr. Matt Carr, Mr. Ken Smith, Mr. Keith Kovalevich, Ms. Julie Bathke and many others contributed to Musumeci’s endeavors.

Musumeci tried to refrain from using too many professional actors since he wanted to mostly use “real people.”

The movie was featured in a one-time showing at the Rave Motion Pictures movie theater in Voorhees on November 7. All of the proceeds were donated to the Sloane Kettering Cancer Center out of Musumeci’s great appreciation for their help in treating his cancer.

Shot mostly in the halls of East, and partially in Los Angeles, the movie recognizes the many faults of the act, including cheating scandals and the futility of always including “everyone.”

“In East’s fall and spring productions, we usually double cast the roles to give more people chances; however, in the movie, we mocked this by casting thirty-five Juliets in the

making of Romeo and Juliet,” Musumeci said.

Mr. Pete Gambino also contributed greatly to the editing of this production.

Though Musumeci directed

mentary was filmed at East, Musumeci stressed throughout the process that the preposterous incidents feigned in the production are in no way tar-

Courtesy of movie trailer

Mr. Musumeci and Mrs. Abo supervise and critique a teacher, played by Musumeci’s mother.

“We were trying to show, in the movie, how the government is dysfunctional with overseeing education. What we found was, we were just as dysfunctional filming a movie about education.” and wrote the movie, Gambino mixed all the ingredients together to form the end product.

“My favorite thing about this whole experience was being able to sit down with

geted at East. The movie regards a fictitious high school, Tiuta High, that serves as a prime example of a typical school exercising all of the flawed standards represented in the

Courtesy of movie trailer

Mr. Carr portrays a vice-principal at Tiuta High.

[Mr. Musumeci] and spend Saturdays with him for like three months. He is truly a great guy, very nice, very genuine, and what you see with him is really what you get,” Gambino said.

Although the mocku-

No Child Left Behind Act. “At Tiuta High, we are supposed to be so engrained in academics that we had to change the school mascot from the Lions to the Testees because we’re always taking tests.”

Courtesy of movie trailer

Mr. Musumeci’s mother plays an elderly woman teaching a Home Economics class.

Musumeci explained that the film should exemplify all of the major imperfections of the act. Many of the issues that resulted after the initiation of the act revolved around cheating epidemics. The No Child Left Behind Act basically threatened teachers, implying that if their students did not achieve certain exam scores, then those teachers would be fired. Musumeci gave an example, saying how after the law was enacted, instead of just having most of a class pass a test, now almost everyone had to pass. There were various incidences in which teachers fed the students the test concepts and answers out of fear of being dismissed.

“We were trying to show, in the movie, how the government is dysfunctional with overseeing education.

What we found was we were just as dysfunctional filming a movie about education. We found humor in what we were doing. There were so many funny outtakes that we decided to make fun of ourselves as well, and at the same time, make a movie,” said Musumeci.

The first twenty minutes of the picture show the actors messing around and enjoying their time together on set. It was imperative to Musumeci that, although the movie showed condemnation for the consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act, the audiences would appreciate the work for the incorporation of humor.

“It is not politically correct. It’s a movie,” Musumeci said.

Since the No Child Left Behind Act consequentially inspired the discharge of some teachers, many teachers needed to be hired as replacements. In Ain’t Nobody Left Behind, the newly hired teachers lack the necessary credentials, some of whom were not even certified in teaching.

Musumeci’s mother plays an elderly woman who is hired to teach a Home Economics course, yet she is not a certified teacher, nor is she in a state to be teaching since she resides in a nursing home. Tiuta High also hires a mechanics teacher who is a criminal.

“Seeing the passion for his film, and then his willingness to bring me on to something that he really cared about so much just so easily and openly, that’s probably my favorite thing about him,” said Gambino.

Musumeci’s long-term contributions to Ain’t Nobody Left Behind have truly shocked, amazed and inspired all participants and viewers throughout the production process. Nobody was left behind.

Logo by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

Class presidents answer: What are the most unique aspects of your SGA representatives and what are their duties?

The most unique quality of the senior class representatives is that they Paulomi want to “go Banerjee out with a bang.” This (‘13) year has brought about a sense of unity that makes us feel like a family needing to defend our title. The SGA reps this year have been planning fundraising events, like Movie Night, and brainstorming ideas for Senior Prom, while trying to publicize them. I’m already so proud of us, and the year has just begun!

The SGA representatives of 2014 make up the backbone of the junior class SGA. Abe Granoff W i t h o u t them, little to (‘14) n o t h i n g would get done. The most unique thing about our reps, in my opinion, is that all of them, including the officers, are great friends.

Outside of school, for the most part, we all hang out and are able to talk to each other easily. Being the president, I could not ask for better reps.

The SGA class representatives all contribute greatly to Sam Amon our success.

They help (‘15) think of many ideas as well as distribute important information to the rest of the class. The most amazing thing about them is that they never ask for the thank you that they truly deserve and are always willing to put in the extra effort.

The most u n i q u e aspects of my SGA reps have to be the charisKennedy ma, intelliand Omari gence cooperation (‘16) that they demonstrate on a daily basis. They try their best and always want to put forth their ideas. At times, it’s even too much, but we are still adjusting. The SGA reps fulfill the day-today tasks, such as brainstorming and getting the word out.

NEWS/FEATURES Page 4

EASTSIDE

December 2012

Pierlott revives economics program at East ■ By Jenna Wilson (‘15) Eastside News/Features Editor

sions possible based on the information you have. What we focus on in economics is the scarcity of resources; you try to do the best you can with limited resources.

These choices are important

It is not too often that a teacher has the opportunity to create a program from scratch. But in his first year teaching at East, Mr. Marc Pierlott has essentially done just that. Pierlott is reviving the economics program, a program that was absent from East for the past three years.

With a background in business, advertising, sales and marketing, as well as a previous teaching position at Carusi Middle School, Pierlott is more than qualified for the job.

“It doesn’t present itself that often to build a program [from scratch] and make it my own,” Pierlott said.

He is currently creating an entirely new program, supplementing the old economics textbook with a more current one and using online resources and hands-on learning opportunities to make the classroom experience more interesting and interactive for students. Pierlott tries to explain economic theories in new and interesting ways, such as playing games in class, like economics baseball, to learn Pierlott brings a new perspective to about supply and demand, as choices because they affect everywell as creating widgets to learn one. The choices the government about diminishing supply. makes or a person makes affects “I was told by a professor that the country and/or themselves. I economics was really a vocational try to teach them how to use their study, that it’s not theory; it’s reallimited resources, whether it be ly applying it. What I try to do is money or time as a student,” spend the right amount of time Pierlott said. explaining and demonstrating the Students at East will be able principles, but then even more to gain more than one perspectime having the students practictive when taking the course, as ing those principles and putting Pierlott focuses on both microthem to different situations,” economics and macroeconomPierlott said. ics. Microeconomics primarily At East, Pierlott is teaching two focuses on one person or comAP Economics classes. “For me, I pany’s decision-making, while think what [economics] boils down macroeconomics focuses on a to is the decision-making process whole industry, government or and how to make the best deci-

Logo by Joel Greenspan (‘13) and art by Zoe Greenhall(‘13)/ Eastside Art Directors Photos by Jenna Wilson (‘15) and Kaylin Magosin (‘14)/Eastside News/Features Editors

We Asked...

Robin Brown (’16)

Tarek Abdelkader (’13)

David Nahum (’14)

If you could If you had a be any cereal hidden box charactreasure, ter, which where would one would you hide it? you be?

The Cocoa Puffs Bird

Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes)

Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes)

By my bed

In the backyard

In the library

Mrs. Peifer The Lucky Charms guy

In my backyard

If you could What is a mix three strange, but animals, delicious, which three food would they combinabe? tion?

A robin, a dog and a monkey

Potato chips and pizza

A horse, a gorilla and Green peas a donkey and rice

A lion, a monkey and a narwhal

A dog, a pig and a giraffe

Fish sticks and custard

Peanut butter and bananas

society and its decision-making.

“Primarily the first semester is micro and the second semester is macro, but we will be focusing more on micro,” said Pierlott.

Those students who successful-

Pierlott recommends that everyone take the course, not necessarily just those interested in entering the business sector in the future.

“I believe that [economics class] would certainly help anyone…it will prepare you [to be a business major] but the course itself will benefit you as an individual because it will explain your role in society and the government’s role in society, among other things,” Pierlott said.

Pierlott has high hopes for the course.

“My long term goal is to develop this and to make it my own, to make it a popular course. I want to make it something that the students enjoy, [a class] that they get a lot out of. Hopefully it can become a highlight that they look back on, something that they got personal value out of, something that they were able to take out into the future no matter what the pursuit might be,” said Pierlott.

He added, “In the end, I hope that the skills the students walk away with are not Andi Leff (‘14)/ For Eastside only an understanding of ecothe economics program at East. nomics, the market and busily take the class will be eligible to ness and how decisions are made take both the microeconomics and on a governmental level, but also macroeconomics AP exam, with on a level where they can make successful students earning six sharper and better decisions about college credits after passing both their own purchases and their own of the tests. resources and time.”

COMMUNITY December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 5

Big man meets little pastries ■ By Darby Festa (‘13) and Sherin Nassar (‘13) Eastside Sports Editor and Eastside Managing Editor

To Brian Zoubek, starting center of the Duke Men's Basketball 2010 National Championship Team, basketball has always been natural.

Starting his own cream puff business, however, has not.

As a child, Zoubek never dreamed of becoming a pastry chef; but, as he is 7' 1” and a basketball player, eating was always on his mind.

Zoubek graduated from Duke in 2010, and pursued a career in basketball until injuries prevented him from going any further. He then decided to attempt a business venture with other Duke alumni.

Zoubek, a college U.S. History major, had never counted business among his pasttimes, but he decided to try with a small tech company in New York City. However, Zoubek soon realized that his passion did not lie with this company.

“In March, I made the decision that I wasn’t liking what I was doing. You wake up too many mornings in a row, look yourself in the mirror and ask, ‘do I want to be doing what I’m doing today?’ And it got to the point where there were too many days in a row when I did not like what I was doing. I did not have an idea of what I was going to do yet, I just did not want to do that,” said Zoubek.

After this revelation, Zoubek pondered his next move. Fortunately for him, he was in New York, and he became inspired by the niche pastry shops that surrounded him. The pastries reminded him of his second great love: cream puffs. This eventually led him to open up a small cream puff store in his hometown, Haddonfield, NJ. “I knew that I wanted to start

my own thing, my own business.

I just sat down at a desk one day. This cream puff idea had always been a reoccurring theme, and I knew that if I didn’t go after it now, I probably would never do it. I’d probably regret it if somebody else did it, or if I had not done it ten years later,” Zoubek said.

Zoubek never anticipated the amount of work that went into creating a small business. After renting the store in April of 2012, Zoubek started construction the following month in an attempt to open the store as soon as possible. On July 30, Zoubek’s store, Dream Puffz, became a staple of Haddonfield.

“Fortunately for me, I think it was a good thing that I had no idea what I was doing when I started because if I knew the amount of work that I would have to do, or the amount of stuff that I would have to get through, it’s a pretty daunting task. Everything that I thought I had to do was quadrupled in terms of things I didn’t think of, or surprises that came up, or problems that

arose, whether it be with dealing with hiring people. That’s one of the toughest things you’ll ever have to do: deal with people. The other toughest thing is the government. Getting past regulations, getting past all that kind of stuff. But, you have to take it one day at a time and realize that stuff is going to go wrong,” Zoubek said.

Z o u b e k p l a n n e d everything for his shop meticulously, down to the final detail: the name. He did not want his name attached to the store, wanting the integrity of the cream puffs to carry the brand. But, he did want the name to stand out among the bakeries that occupy Haddonfield.

Zoubeck bakes the cream puffs fresh himself every day.

He wants to bring the baking business back to the basics by preparing everything from scratch, avoiding any premade preservatives that enhance the shelf life of products.

But Zoubek does not want Dream Puffz to be the only store for his cream puff creations. He hopes to create another store in New York, eventually branching out the business throughout the United States.

“Basically I picked Haddonfield because I didn’t have much experience in the industry, I did not have much experience baking, I never worked in the food industry, and coming from basketball, I did not have too much time to hone my business skills. I think it can do well in suburbs, but really it’s made for the city in terms of catering large offices, large events. It has that youthful, urban feel to it. I think it can work in the suburbs, but it’s ideal for the city. The idea is to have one regional baking center and then a lot of little retail locations, where you don’t need to have that overhead of having that entire pastry chef division or kitchen in your back area,” Zoubek said.

Less than a year since its grand opening, Dream Puffz has certainly become a hot commodity within the Haddonfield neighborhood, drawing customers near and far to the store for the delectable assortment of cream puff designs. Needless to say, fans do stop by to get pictures with the famous basketball player, but the store has truly grown into its own, attracting a fan base separate from Brian Zoubek’s.

“If you’re going to start something, start something new, something unique, and make sure to go after it. And don’t let what anybody else says influence you. Because you’re the only one who has the right vision. Don’t listen to your friends, or your family, don’t listen to anybody who hasn’t done exactly what you are doing before,” Zoubek said.

Photo of Zoubeck by Bogdan Vitoc (‘16)/ Eastside Staff Photo of cream puffs by Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

7’ 1” Brian Zoubek holds a tray of his cream puffs from Dream Puffz bakery located at 605 N Haddon Ave., Haddonfield. structions and physical nity service project ■ By Nina Goodman (‘16) ■ By Danielle therapy with Briggs and is Christmas carolFor Eastside McCormack (‘13) numerous volunteers. Voling at Saint Mary’s For Eastside Compassionate Friends unteers can work with the Nursing Home in Therapeutic Riding Center students by guiding the For over 25 years, Cherry Hill. Every located in Medford, NJ, is a horses and helping the stuIndian Maidens, a mother and daughter place where disabled childents with their balance mother-daughter bring one gift for the dren and adults can learn and posture. Volunteers do community service seniors to ensure to ride horses while worknot have to have an intergroup, has been that they will have ing on different methods of est in horses or be a spechelping people in our something to open on therapy. The program was ific age to participate. area. Local mothers Christmas day. They initiated in 2009 by owner People who volunteer at and daughters get sing and then visit and instructor Sherri Compassionate Friends together once a with the residents at Briggs. She decided to befind the work they do intermonth to work on the home. The resigin the program after sufesting and rewarding and different community dents thoroughly enfering many injuries in her enjoy being a part of someservice projects, such joy singing along and lifetime and using therathing so unique and speas raising money for the maidens love peutic riding to overcome cial. If you are interested animal shelters and being able to bring them. Lessons include in volunteering, please CHOP. a little holiday spirworking on speech, followemail Briggs at sherribrigEvery year the it to the nursing ing and listening to ings@comcast.net.

December commuhome.

Two students discuss volunteer opportunities in the community. If you volunteer, please tell us about it in our next issue! community@eastside-online.org Logo by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/Eastside Art Director

COMMUNITY Page 6

EASTSIDE

December 2012

Garden blossoms at Beck Middle School ■ By Rachel Cohen (‘15) Eastside Community Editor

In 2008, the idea for a school garden sprouted at Beck Middle School after the whole school read the book “Seedfolks” by Paul Fleischman. The book contains short stories about a girl who starts a garden in her community. In the stories, people from different ethnic groups in the community come to plant crops that represent their homelands. This community garden grows as more people come to plant. The garden helps the contributors grow as people.

Beck librarian Mrs. Ramona Bregatta said, “[After reading the book] we started thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if we created our own garden?”

Beck students, parents and Cherry Hill community members work on creating a garden for the Beck community, which is located next to the tennis courts at Beck.

The garden is usually planted in the spring, and this past year Beck families helped maintain it over the summer. This fall, the students worked in the garden as well. Springdale Farms has also helped to plow the garden.

The school usually uses cold-weather crops. Last year, one team (learning community) had a saladmaking party by using the crops grown in the garden.

Any leftover crops are donated to a food bank.

The garden was not an immediate success—the first year all of the crops

were eaten by deer. The second year, a Beck family donated a fence and water, but the crops were planted too late. Within the past year the garden has grown to be really successful, thanks to the help of the school and community.

Two boy scouts, Liam Mahoney (’14) and Alan Jarvis (’14), worked a lot on the garden in order to complete their Eagle Scout project. Mahoney worked on the collection of rainwater and Jarvis worked on the raised garden beds.

There are 18 raised beds in the garden for the nine different teams at Beck.

The PTA gave Beck the money to put a new fence in.

“The garden was opened to the community this summer and people could

rent the [raised beds] to raise money,” said Jarvis.

The boys learned valuable life lessons and skills while working on the garden. “[Working on the garden] taught me the important skills it takes to be a leader rather than a worker, and to plan, plan, plan before you work because it can really help in the long run,” said Mahoney.

The garden has become

a huge success in helping the students and staff become more environmentally friendly and in teaching the students the importance of connecting with nature. “[The garden] helps us be a little more connected to our food source and the environment,” said Bregatta.

Hopefully, this connection will last for many more seasons to come.

Photos by Roni Clothier (‘14)/ For Eastside

The garden is located next to the tennis courts at Beck Middle School on Cropwell Road.

Wishes granted to sick New Jersey children ■ By Julia Rothkoff (‘16) For Eastside

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is devoted to granting sick children’s wishes.

It has been granting wishes to children with illnesses since 1980. Children between the ages of two-and-a-half and eighteen, who have been diagnosed with life-threatening conditions, may be eligible for a wish as long as they are medically able to participate in whatever their wish calls for.

The mission of The Make-A-Wish Foundation is to enhance the lives of children with life-threatening illnesses. The foundation does this by granting ‘wishes,’ or fulfilling desires that these children may express.

The foundation was created in 1980. Chris Grecius, a typical sevenyear-old boy, wanted to be a police officer. Unlike most seven-year-old boys, Chris had leukemia.

When Chris’s mother became friends with U.S. Customs Officer Tommy Austin, Chris had the chance to be a police officer for a day. On April 29, 1980, Chris's wish came

true. Unfortunately, Chris died on May 3, 1980, but not without completing his life-time dream.

After attending Chris’s funeral, Officers Frank Shankwitz and Scott Stahl reflected on the happiness of Chris and his mother Linda, while Chris’s wish was being granted. They realized that this happiness could be given to other sick children. Along with Chris’s mother and other contributors, they decided to start a foundation called the Chris Greicius Make-A-Wish Memorial to help make other children’s wishes come true. This foundation later became known as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Children all around the world have the opportu-

nity to have their wishes granted. In fact, every 38 minutes, a wish is granted to a sick child.

New Jersey is no exception. Here, wishes are granted all of the time. The New Jersey chapter of The Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted wishes to go to the 2012 London Olympics, to Australia to experience ancient culture and to the BMW Factory in Germany.

Melanie, a 15-year-old girl who was diagnosed with leukemia, was granted her wish by the Make-AWish Foundation to have a modeling portfolio.

In a video on makeawish.org, she said, “It felt amazing with everyone taking pictures and feeling pretty.”

Darren, a cancer pa-

tient, chose to give back as his wish. He is a football player and Darren wanted to give new uniforms to his team and school.

“Make-A-Wish has changed my life by bringing people closer together and making my family stronger,” said Darren.

The costs of the wishes

Jenn Cha (‘13)/ Eastside Staff

Children sleep in a pedriatric ward as a fairy grants their wishes.

are covered fully by the help of donors and volunteers.

“As of [the foundation's] current Fiscal Year, the average cost of a wish is $8,500,” said L i n d s e y Pritzlaff, the Director of Communications at the New Jersey chapter of The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation has brought joy and bliss to ill children for over 30 years.

The foundation succeeds at its goal of making sick children's worries melt away for a day by granting their wishes.

Scientists are coming closer and closer to finding cures for life-threatening diseases, but until they do, wishes will always be granted.

OPINIONS December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 7

Recycling symbols affect the environment ■ By Molly Schultz (‘14) For Eastside

We all know what it looks like: the red cylindrical shape seen from across the room at a social event or a family get-together. It is the red Solo cup. After pouring the Diet Coke or iced tea and raising it up to sip, you catch a glimpse of the bottom and notice the recycling symbol, clearly denoted with a number 6.

The red Solo cup is among many other products that contain the symbol in order to encourage consumers to recycle; however, the products are not actually recyclable.

Companies that put recycling symbols on nonrecyclable items are simply

confusing the consumers. If we cannot trust the companies that we buy our products from, who can we trust? The truth is that plastic corporations are using recycling symbols to lure the consumers in and make them feel like they are doing a good deed by buying products that are recyclable.

A lazy and somewhat careless culture sees a chance to eat off of a plate and then simply throw it out, therefore not requiring a messy clean-up in the future. In a further affront to our shared world, the same population would not even recycle these products, tossing them into the trash and within a matter of hours, forgetting the

product ever existed and continuing on with their day.

Many also believe that curbside recycling is helping, and it is—but for those who actually have it. According to Tapped, a movie based on the plastic industry and plastic water bottles, about half of the U.S. has curbside recycling while the rest does not.

Everyone should have access to curbside recycling whether it is outside of your home or on the street.

According to the Plastic Pollution Coalition, 93 percent of plastics are not put in recycling bins. Why is this, you might ask? Only about half of Americans do not have access to recycling

in their homes. There should be a recycling bin on every corner in every major city and outside of every homeowner’s house on trash day. People do not recycle because they are uneducated about the system, some do not know where to put their recyclables and some have nowhere to put them.

It would be a miracle if all of America had curbside recycling and actually recycled. It would be a miracle if plastic corporations were mandated to remove the recycling symbol on products that are not recyclable. Unfortunately, this ideal is currently unrealistic in a society reliant on an economy dominated by large oil and plastic corpo-

Paper or plastic, tax or ban ■ By Sarah Robbins (‘13) Eastside Staff

We have a new question to test one’s supermarket experience, and it is a lot less conventional than the old “paper or plastic?”

This time around, it is just plastic.

However, the question still stands: tax or ban?

T h e fact is that plastic serves as one of the world’s most waste d produ c t s t o d a y.

About 50 billion plastic bottles end up in United States landfills every year, and that is just bottles.

When it comes to plastic bags, the world consumes from 500 billion to one trillion every year, and it is estimated that the U.S. alone contributes 100 to 380 billion of those bags.

It seems like it is time to cut out the plastic bag altogether... or at least charge for it.

The cost of making these bags goes further than just waste in landfills. In a world where oil is scarce, the production and transportation of plastics steals eight percent of yearly global oil production. The plastics in a landfill in the U.S. have the equivalent of 139 barrels of oil, or 783 billion cubic feet of natural gas. However, plastic companies do not want this information to reach the masses.

“If you ask people what a

plastic bag is made of, they won’t know,” said Roni Clothier (’14), a member of East’s Environmental Club.

Plastic materials in landfills can take up to one thousand years to decompose, meaning that we have millions of tons of plastic that will continue to pollute water sources that will not biodegrade anytime soon.

Instead, they are ending up in the oceans where they break down into t h o u sands of

small particles that fish consume. Plastics in the ocean are now held responsible for the deaths of 100,000 animals every year.

Sam Kell (’14) said, “I think plastic bags are fine if we recycle them, but too many people don’t, so there should be something to deter people from using [them].”

Exactly.

A Cherry Hill plastic bag tax may be just what people need.

Many other countries h a v e already f o u n d success with this, m o s t n o t a b l y Ireland.

In 2002, Ireland put a 33-cent tax on plastic bags, and in just a couple weeks, bag use went down by 94 percent.

M a x Grossman (’13) disagreed with the tax.

“I use the little bags I g e t from the store as trash bags [at home], and it would be more costly without them,” Grossman said.

Still, there are larger costs to our continuing dependence on these bags.

According to the Environmental Projection Agency, in 2010 only eight percent of plastics were actually recycled. Although this number has increased in recent years, there is still a lot of plastic throughout our seas that is ending up in the stomachs of animals.

Plastic bags cost more than they are worth, and those still willing to use them should help pick up the tab.

Art by Rachel Pacitti (‘15)/ Eastside Staff

rations.

Although it is impractical, there are other ways we can make a difference without the help of the government. If people who buy Styrofoam plates, plastic utensils and cups realize that those materials are not recyclable, they could make a huge difference.

If reusable water bottles instead of plastic bottles are used, it could minimize the amount of plastic left on the Earth long after mankind. If we encourage recycling, we could change the way we reuse all types of products in the state, country and world.

Remember: before you fill up that plastic cup, reach for a glass instead.

Do YOU want to become eco-friendly?

Follow these simple steps!

1. Recycle: It is estimated that at least 80% of what the average family tosses into the trash bin can be recycled. On average, that could mean a family would save 5,000 hours of energy if they choose to recycle.

2. Check for the symbol: Many materials used for packaging have the recycling symbol on them to indicate that they are, in fact, recyclable. Shop with your own reusable bags when grocery shopping.

3. Turn off the lights: Turning off the lights when they are not needed saves energy and cuts down electric bill costs.

Incandescent light bulbs give off 90% of their energy as heat and only 10% as light. Leave window blinds open to use natural light rather than light bulbs.

4. Turn down the thermostat: By turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours, you can save 5 to 15 percent a year on your family’s heating bill.

Information courtesy of 1. http://www.greenearth4energy.com 2. http://energy.gov Art by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

OPINIONS Page 8

EASTSIDE

December 2012

Julian Assange’s rights still being violated ■ By Danielle Fox (‘13) Eastside Editor-in-Chief

Julian Assange: high tech terrorist? That seems to be any mainstream corporate media’s answer to WikiLeaks’ notorious releases of classified information of international government abuse. It is not surprising that government and corporate media are not fans of the site.

Unlike Daniel Ellsberg’s release of the Pentagon papers in 1971, WikiLeaks is accessible to the average

individual. Any person with Internet access can watch, comment on or share the exposed abuses of governments and corporations.

As of December 4, Assange has been detained in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, England for 725 days. He has not been charged of any crime, yet he cannot travel to Ecuador, where he has been granted political asylum.

It is a known fact that the United States had been working to extradite As-

Courtesy of viberated.com

U.S. smothers Assange’s freedom of speech.

Independent Research ■ By Gilana Levavi (‘14) Eastside Opinions Editor

Every student has multiple interests. Yet many of these unique interests are not addressed in East’s limited curriculum. However, independent research projects allows students to further their own interests. Among countless benefits, research projects have proven to be an engaging way to challenge students. “[Independent research projects] force students to think for themselves,” said Alyssa Poletti (’15), a current Research in Science (RIS) student.

East’s RIS program allows students to conduct independent research projects in the science field. Yet research can be conducted in any subject area. All students should have the opportunity to experience the benefits of independent research. Students should be required to conduct at least one year-long independent research project during their four years of high school.

In middle school, the Information Literacy Project (ILP) gives students a taste of independent research. In high school, students can build upon this experience.

For example, although the ILP focuses on researching through the Internet and books, at the high school level, students would also consult higher level sources, such as pro-

fessional experts, doing original research or citing primary sources.

Cullin Poresky (‘15), an RIS student, noted that the program allows students to do things that they would never be able to do in an ordinary class.

“It lets you work off of your own creativity,” said Luke Bonanni (’15), an RIS student.

Independent research projects teach students a multitude of skills they will need for their future.

“In higher education, for a job, you need to be able to do research,” said Srihari Shankar (’15), another RIS student.

Also, conducting independent research places a large responsibility on the student. Students must organize their projects and manage their time effectively, skills necessary for future success.

With the help of an advisor, students would largely be responsible for monitoring and reflecting upon their own progress, important skills to learn.

The project would culminate in a presentation, in the form of a paper, oral report, or documentary, through which students would hone their communication skills.

Every student has at least one interest that is not addressed in typical school curricula. Independent research projects allow students to learn about a topic that interests them while learning valuable life skills.

sange to the U.S. and already has a sealed indictment against Assange. The British police had been planning an official raid on the embassy until United Kingdom ambassadors declared that it is unprecedented and illegal, according to international law, to raid the embassy of a sovereign nation.

While the U.S., Great Britain and Sweden are violating Assange’s rights under international law to political asylum, the move to keep him detained and to have mainstream media attack him as “a monstrous narcissist” or a “sex pest” can be seen as the most extreme present-day attack on freedom of expression.

Assange’s name is often attached to that of Bradley Manning, the man who allegedly passed information to WikiLeaks that exposed the torture of Iraqi citizens and gave WikiLeaks 251,000 diplomatic cables, which supposedly helped trigger the Arab Spring. Also, as of December 4, Manning has been detained in Virginia for 922 days without a trial (the legal maximum in the U.S. military is 120 days). The U.S. government has tortured him to

try to force him to testify against WikiLeaks and Assange. For so serious a violation of national law, one would think that mainstream media would take a greater interest in the dangerous precedent about to be set.

“At [Manning’s] pretrial hearing there was a smattering of mainstream media... They’re not there now. All of the American networks were there for the first couple of days, but to be quite honest with you, they were looking at pictures of George Clooney and shopping for wedding shoes in the press pool while this trial was being conducted. That is a fact. I was there, and I saw them doing it,” said Alexa O’Brian, an independent journalist currently researching the Bradley Manning trial and the U.S. investigations into WikiLeaks and Assange, in an interview with James Green, another independent journalist.

We as readers have the power to choose our news.

Assange has made it clear that the agenda of an independent media site, like WikiLeaks, is to facilitate access to information to produce the most wellinformed electorate. By

turning a blind eye to the strife men like Assange and Manning are facing, we not only discredit their human rights, but we also set a dangerous precedent for the way governments can control freedom of speech.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly, President Barack Obama said, “Those in power have to resist the temptation to crack down on dissent.”

Acknowledging these words in his own address to the UN, Assange said, “There are times for words and there are times for action. The time for words has run out. It is time for the U.S. to cease its persecution of WikiLeaks, to cease its persecution of our people and to cease its persecution of our alleged sources.”

It is time for the U.S. to end the crusade against the messenger and to focus instead on the message.

But what happens when the audacity of hope shrivels up into vacuous rhetoric?

Governments and politicians may hide behind it, but its people must not remain so misguided, for if they do, the worst thing that they can lose is their voice.

OPINIONS December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 9

Service Learning builds character ■ By Amanda Friedman (‘14) Eastside Staff

ice Ju

‘13) an ( or kelm umor Edit l Tin Eastside H che y Ra

■B

Ideally, schools are supposed to teach skills that will help students succeed throughout the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, any skills that are not strictly academic are overlooked from a scholastic standpoint and are disregarded in the curriculum.

It seems that public school education rarely encompasses one important facet of learning: community service. Including community service in the school curriculum would be beneficial both to students and to those receiving the service, as it would build character and enrich the community. With the exception of some ambitious students, many teens do not regularly do community service because it seems intimidating, boring or too time-consuming. The implementation of compulsory service associated with school would introduce teens to other ways of living and would inspire them to pursue projects of their own later in life.

Multiple organizations

co m pa ni

are set up for this purpose, such as the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and Learn and Serve America. These organizations work to implement service-learning initiatives in schools across the country. But how does service-learning differ from regular community service?

As the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse site says, “If school students collect trash out of an urban streambed, they are providing a valued service to the community as volunteers. If school students collect trash from an urban streambed, analyze their findings to determine the possible sources of pollution and share the results with residents of the neighborhood, they are engaging in service-learning.”

This special learning approach gives self-worth to students while teaching problem solving, teamwork and the basics of social action. A study through Learn and Serve America shows that “effective service-learning programs improve grades, increase attendance in school, and develop stu-

dents’ personal and social responsibility.”

All of the skills learned through service would continue to appear in the classroom.

Cherry Hill East can easily incorporate service learning into elective classes that do not require large amounts of academic output. After studying murals in a classroom environment, art classes could paint murals to beautify urban areas. An environmental studies class could help clean up a polluted area and discuss the effects of the specific pollution. These suggested projects would let students and teachers interact in a non-traditional way and would create better communication in the classroom among peers.

Service projects are also a great way for students to become involved in their communities and to form relationships with local businesses and organizations.

With all of these opportunities and positive experiences that servicelearning could introduce, the possibilities are truly endless.

Juice carton art by Madison Stern (‘13)/ Eastside Staff Orange art by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

There has been a lot of hype over the past few years concerning the safety of certain food products on the American market, including various juice products brought to the attention of the public by a book entitled Squeezed by Alissa Hamilton. The misleading advertisements used by juice companies to make their products more appealing to the public have really gotten consumers riled up.

About 20 lawsuits have sprung from the heated debate over Tropicana’s and other leading juice companies’ use of the words “all natural” concerning their orange juice. The problem is that according to the Food and Drug Administration, “all natural” has no specific definition, but as long as the product in question has no added color, artificial flavor or added substances, the claim to “natural” checks out. Because of this, more and more companies are hiding under this vague, loosely defined term.

The pasteurization of orange juice eventually takes away the flavor of the oranges, which is why many consumers prefer to drink freshly squeezed orange juice, or juice they consider to be “natural.” To give their consumers the taste of freshly squeezed orange juice promised by advertising, many leading manufacturers use flavor packs to enrich the flavor and scent of the juice, as well as to keep it uniform all throughout the year.

Angelena Lewis, the California resident who inspired other consumers to take legal action by suing Tropicana in the lawsuit that started all the commotion, points out in her complaint that the shelf-life of freshly squeezed orange juice could be no longer than two months, whereas the shelf-life of Tropicana orange juice is really much longer. Orange juice is concentrated, pasteurized or freshly squeezed, and all products must indicate which they are. Although the label on Tropicana juice cartons states that the juice is pasteurized, tiny words printed on a carton hardly draw as much notice as the big attention-grabbing “all natural” on the front of every box.

The complaint states that “Tropicana is well aware that consumers want and demand natural products, and it seeks to take advantage of that consumer preference by deceptively promoting and marketing its NFC juice as ‘100 percent pure and natural’ even though it has been pasteurized, deareated, stripped of its flavor and aroma, stored for long periods of time before it ever reaches consumers and then flavored before it is packaged directly into the carton.”

Another misleading advertisement commonly used by juice companies is the claim of American-grown oranges. Other countries do not have the same laws concerning food safety as the United States does, so homegrown foods are often more appealing to consumers, as well as safer. For example, many American apple juice companies import apple concentrate from China (which does not ban the use of arsenic in pesticides), making the risk greater for the arsenic level in apple juice to go above the maximum 10 parts per billion. Similarly, a fungicide that has been banned in the United States protects many oranges grown in Brazil, the world’s leader in orange production, and therefore naturally a leader in the sale of flavoring packs. These flavoring packages are in part made from various oils extracted from the skin of the oranges, the part that comes in contact with fungicides. This particular fungicide which is illegal in the United States, Carbendazim, has been proven to cause infertility in high doses. According to Hamilton, the author brought many of these issues to light, many companies do not share information on the origin of these flavoring packages and are not, as of yet, required to do so.

Deceptive advertising is a highly volcanic and important issue in the world of consumers and food production companies. Before the lawsuits against Tropicana and other orange juice makers, companies such as Ben & Jerry’s, Tostitos and Snapple have been exposed for other similar misleading statements. Companies need to learn that in order to mitigate the rising public criticism that has been troubling them over the past several years, it will be necessary to make a return to honest advertising, if such a thing has ever existed.

es

fal s

y

el

c

l

a

im

“all natu ral”

Page 10

EASTSIDE

December 2012

SPECIAL

December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 11

Coming together to help as one: Americans do good after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy Looking on the bright side: How Americans are helping each other during Hurricane Sandy, and how you can help ■ By Jenna Wilson (‘15) Eastside News/Features Editor

HOW YOU CAN HELP: In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the tri-state area banded together to help those affected by the storm. The Salvation Army has over 26 divisions within the state of New Jersey that reach people in almost every county in the state. As of November 16, they have collected over 4,800 pounds of clothing valuing over 12,700 dollars. A new website, yougivegoods.com/contest, allows people to give a monetary donation to The Salvation Army and choose where they want the goods purchased with their donation to go.

Spark Relief has created an online interactive map that displays areas in need of donated goods. You can also donate through its website, sparkrelief.org/disaster/ hurricane-sandy. The website offers locations of shelters and places to find power and food for those still affected by the storm.

Additionally, another online map was created by the students at Franklin High School in North Jersey after the hurricane. These students created gas maps showing where available gas stations were and other locations for people to find gas.

HOW THE GOVERNMENT HELPED: The government declared Hurricane Sandy a Major Disaster on October 30. Atlantic County, Cape May County, Essex County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County and Union County were all given direct federal assistance. In New York state, over 69,000 people registered for FEMA and more than $75 million in assistance was approved for those people. In New Jersey, over 49,000 people registered and more than $31 million in assistance was approved. In Connecticut, over 2,400 people registered and more than $368,000 in assistance was approved. These people will receive food and shelter through government agencies.

Additionally, due to the fuel crisis, the Defense Logistics Agency purchased up to 22 million gallons of multiple kinds of fuel to distribute to citizens in need through 10 fuel sites set up by FEMA in the New York and New Jersey area. Residents came to get gas not only for cars, but also for generators and other necessities.

Brittany Nghiem (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

A trash pile after the hurricane.

Image courtesy of Roxbury Township

Roxbury Township in New Jersey is holding a ceremony to honor all of its citizens who helped after the hurricane, including first responders and the police.

Image courtesy of HuffingtonPost

Local New York City physician Dr. Dave Ores was open for business the Tuesday after the storm hit.

He accepted and treated any patients that needed his help.

Brittany Nghiem (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

A New Jersey home that was destroyed by the hurricane.

HOW CHERRY HILL HELPED: Each elementary and middle school in Cherry Hill collected different goods to donate to the hurricane victims.

The student council at Johnson had a pretzel sale to benefit the American Red Cross, separate from the district-wide goods drive. Cherry Hill West had a jeans day, which raised over five hundred dollars for the American Red Cross. They also had a volleyball fundraiser, which benefited the American Red Cross as well. Many churches are accepting donations of food and clothing through the Knights of Columbus organization to donate to those who need relief in the Cherry Hill area. East student Sophia Santo (‘13) also sold cupcakes to raise money for Sandy victims.

RELIEF CONCERTS AND OTHER FUNDRAISERS: There have been numerous relief concerts to raise money for victims, the biggest of which was ABC’s starstudded “Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together” telethon, which included performances by Christina Aguilera and Bon Jovi. The relief concert raised over $23 million. Following their lead, there were numerous other benefit concerts in the area, such as the “Benefit at the Brooklyn Bowl,” a relief concert in Long Island, and a relief concert in Wainscott. Additionally, ABC held a telethon that started with “Good Morning America” at 5 a.m. and lasted until “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 11 p.m. They raised over $17 million for those affected. Additionally, MTV hosted a “Restore the Shore” fundraiser that featured multiple high-profile celebrities, like Taylor Swift and Nikki Minaj. The casts of MTV’s shows “Jersey Shore” and “Teen Mom” were in New York answering the telethon’s calls. The telethon aimed to attract the younger crowd: those who donated got an “MTV song bundle” and were able to purchase “Restore the Shore” Tshirts, the proceeds of which went to Architecture for Humanity’s Seaside Rebuilding Fund.

Image courtesy of The HuffingtonPost

Newark Mayor Cory Booker invited residents without power to his house for food and electricity through his Twitter account.

Image courtesy of Hypervocal.com

Chicago resident John Turner stands with a check after winning the lottery. Turner was among the early responders in New Jersey, and has decided to donate a portion of his winnings to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Image courtesy of guardian.co.uk

The Cuban government is offering subsidies and loans on building materials for the thousands of Cubans affected by Hurricane Sandy. All building materials are 50 percent off, which will help the families rebuild the more than 200,000 Cubans’ homes that were damaged by the storm.

Cuba and Haiti were also in the path of Hurricane Sandy.

Both countries were devastated; they were hit by an even stronger Sandy than those of us along the East Coast of the United States.

East coast by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director Cuba and Haiti by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

EDITORIAL Page 12

EASTSIDE

December 2012

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

Americans should be globally aware In the last week of October, Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast of North America, devastating states unaccustomed to hurricaneforce winds and rain, and pounding against the Barrier Islands on the coast.

Obviously, the media covered this—big time.

But what the American media has devoted less attention to is the devastation to areas outside of the United States, such as Haiti—which fared far worse in the disaster than the East Coast did.

While the wreckage left by the hurricane should not be underesti-

mated in any area, it is unfortunate that the United States’ media focused so heavily on the North American side of the disaster that some people were not even aware that Sandy had hit Haiti and Cuba. For instance, in Cuba, power was not restored in some areas until over three weeks after the hurricane had passed. That means that halfway through November, Cuban residents were still living without electricity; no refrigerators; no lights; no central heating or air conditioning. In some cases, no hot water.

To put Sandy’s impact on countries outside of

the United States into perspective, it is believed that the storm and others that came after it killed at least sixty-six people in Haiti, eleven people in Cuba, two in the Bahamas, one in the Dominican Republic, one in Jamaica, and one in Puerto Rico. In the United States, over 120 people died.

Yes, there were more storms in Haiti after Sandy—the United Nations estimates that 90 percent of Haitian crop was destroyed in the floods that came with the rain. Roughly 1.5 million people are now at risk of malnutrition because there will be no crops in Haiti until the next har-

vest season in March.

But a lot of Americans are unaware of the devastation occurring in other countries because the media did not focus on these non-American tragedies.

American indifference expands beyond this hurricane, and it is imperative that we take note of the issues in other countries.

Whether or not we decide to act upon the devastation that comes from international tragedies, we should be aware of their occurrence. This way, the American people can develop informed opinions about issues in the world today.

Extra 30 minutes will negatively impact students and faculty alike In November, the Cherry Hill Board of Education, with the help of school administrators, decided to add an extra 30 minutes of instruction to the beginning of each school day, starting at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.

While we acknowledge the advantages of an extra 30 minutes during each school day, Eastside opposes this change due to the negative implications the schedule has for students and faculty alike.

If the school day starts at 7:30 a.m. instead of 8 a.m., students are deprived of an extra 30 minutes of sleep.

Though a half hour may seem insignificant, the extra sleep is vital for students who already have problems getting their recommended eight hours of sleep each night due to schoolwork and extra-curricular activities.

Students should be responsible for getting their appropriate amount of sleep, but in a school that encourages students to push themselves academically and to get involved after school, this is not always possible.

Furthermore, students will not be the only demographic negatively affected by this change. Faculty members will also need to start the day 30 minutes earlier, causing problems for teachers with small children needing care in the morning. Most of these teachers must take their children to day-care centers, many of which do not open early enough for teachers to get their children there and still be in school on time. A rushed morning for teachers could lead to worse morning instruction, defeating the purpose of the extra 30 minutes and potentially ruining an entire class.

Though the possibility of adding the time to the end of the day seems reasonable, this would cause problems for student-athletes who would need to leave earlier for games and miss more instructional time.

In theory, Eastside understands the reasoning behind the additional half hour, but in practice, the negative implications outweigh the benefits of an extra five minutes per class period.

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

Awards The International Quill and Scroll Society, The American Scholastic Press Association, The Garden State Scholastic Press Association, The Temple Press Tournament, and The National Scholastic Press Association.

Letters to the editor are always welcomed!

Drop off letters to F087 or e-mail letters@eastsideonline.org

Friends of Eastside

Benefactors

Mark and Deborah Wilson Sherri and Ken Hoffman Jennifer Brooks Becker Family Greenhall Family Maya Mintz Yashaya Family

Sponsors

Linda Frank Christopher J. Festa Cohen Family Rebecca Cohen

Patrons

Colleen and Don Hudson Marsha Friedman Fox Family Staci and Craig Tinkelman

Contributors

Christine Benedetto Erin Schaffer Jennifer Cunningham Rita and John Biehl Zach Becker Rachel Becker

Managing Editor: Sherin Nassar

Eric Zucker Shalit Family Bushman Family Susan Magosin Slavinsky Reisman Family Gay and Stephen Fox Carl Tinkelman

Advocates

Suzanne Robinson Sondra Summers The Krell Family Mr. Killion Mike Reisman Lisa Levy

Opinions Editors Abby Hoffman Gilana Levavi Amy Meyers

Photo Editors Brittany Nghiem Angie Nguyen Angie Pacitti

Sports Editors Darby Festa Greg Frank Mike Reisman

Entertainment Editors Rebecca Cohen Joe Incollingo

Video Editor Thomas Hudson

Underground Editors Nick Mitchell Bryan Sheehan

Contact Iftikhaar Ali and Michael Yashaya at business@ eastside-online.org

Editors-in-Chief: Jack Braunstein, Juliet Brooks, Danielle Fox

News/Features Editors Kaylin Magosin Kayla Schorr Jenna Wilson

Community Editors Rachel Cohen Emmy Silverman

Donate or advertise in Eastside!

Humor Editors Zack Becker Rachel Tinkelman

Radio Manager Dylan Fingerman Art Directors Zoe Greenhall Joel Greenspan

Webmaster Maya Mintz Business Managers Iftikhaar Ali Michael Yashaya Adviser Mr. Greg Gagliardi

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

(Note: There is a dash between “eastside” and “online”)

COMICS December 2012

EASTSIDE

Recalculating Route by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/Eastside Art Director

Kiss Face by Shari Bodofsky (‘14)/ Eastside Staff

This could be your ad (and everyone will love you for it)

Contact: advertising@eastside-online.org

Princess Wars by Shari Bodofsky (‘14)/ Eastside Staff

Page 13

ENTERTAINMENT Page 14

EASTSIDE

December 2012

Comic book movies have taken over the big screen ■ By Juliet Brooks (‘13) Eastside Editor-In-Chief

Spider-Man is stuck in a revolving door. He spins around to the corporate side, where they hurl money at him. He swings back to the consumer side, where they hurl money at him. Then he rolls around to the corporates again; they shovel the money out using heavy-duty snow shovels, and then they toss in some more. He rolls back to the consumers and the cycle repeats.

But aside from Spider-Man’s four movies in the past decade (three starring Tobey Maguire and a remake with Andrew Garfield), other superhero movies are making a big splash. In fact, superheroes are among the most popular faces in the industry right now: Thor, the Dark Knight trilogy, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man and The Avengers, just to name a few.

To put this superhero craze in perspective, The Avengers grossed $623,357,910 worldwide, making it the ninth highest grossing film of all time.

So the big question is “why?”

Why has Hollywood turned to superhero remakes?

According to boxofficemojo.com, the four Spider-Man films all placed within the top 10 highest grossing superhero movies of all time. That’s four places out of ten devoted to an angsty teenager swinging around New York City in spandex.

The number-one slot, of course, goes to The Avengers, a heartwarming film that includes brothers with ‘Cain and Abel’ complexes,

superheroes tossing out snarky one-liners to avoid saying anything meaningful, and a small group of polar opposites working to halt a large-scale alien invasion.

Now, with the better CGI effects and more serious plotlines of today’s superhero movies, directors are finding a market for the movies. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, directors treated the movies almost as caricatures, mocking the characters who they portrayed. Making a superhero movie was not a cause for critical acclaim. But with the more cathartic appeal of today’s superhero films, the market is expanding. Take the Dark Knight trilogy. The modern incarnation of gravelly-voiced philanthropist Bruce Wayne is a far cry from the Bruce Wayne of the 20th century. The lower-budget Batman stories of the mid to late 1900s pandered to the “geek” crowd, while still professing not to take themselves seriously.

In a way, the directors deprecated themselves and the market they catered to.

But today it is different. The Batman of The Dark Knight fame fights real, dangerous criminals and takes on more mature themes like love, death and betrayal. The more serious subject matter that most credit to director Christopher Nolan has permeated other new superhero movies, attracting a larger audience than that of previous superhero films.

Superheroes have become more mainstream as they have started

Reality TV turns the worst of society to the best of television ■ By Abby Hoffman (‘14) Eastside Opinions Editor

Reality television shows of all shapes and sizes have been sweeping the nation, appearing on numerous TV networks. The subject matter of these shows span the worst aspects of everyday American life.

“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, “ for example, is one of the latest hits in reality television. Throughout each half-hour episode, the Thompson family bobs for pigs’ feet, mud bogs at the “Redneck Games” and otherwise degrades themselves for big network paychecks. The family of six—seemingly led by six-year-old Alana “Honey Boo Boo”—understands that they are displaying their rural lifestyle in an offensive yet humorous way, but some people do not view the program as an ethical addition to TLC’s programming. The family’s reaction? “No one can be proper and etiquette-ly all the time.”

Ironically, the channel that seems to be at the helm of this lowbrow phenomenon is TLC—“The Learning Channel.” TLC has truly veered away from its days of cooking, home improvement and “Captain’s Log with Captain Mark Gray” and has instead opted for a more ratings-friendly mix of reality shows. For a channel that, prior to the Reagan administration, was funded by NASA and primarily aired documentaries, TLC has really fallen quite a ways from its educational heyday in the 1970’s.

As mentioned, while many still

believe “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” is an ethically terrible program, most cannot resist the show’s stupidity and catchy oneliners. Along with “Honey Boo Boo,” TLC has recently added “Secret Princes” to its docket. The show is about four princes from four countries searching for love in the United States, as well as “Abby and Brittany,” a show about a set of conjoined twins who travel and perform everyday activities that many would believe to be impossible feats for the siblings.

Additionally, reality television networks have opted, in some cases, to hunt for people and families in the midst of, say, searching for a home in a specific area.

Whether it is local or not, some feel that following these families is too “up close and personal.”

This phenomenon of “reality” is not singular to TLC: on other channels, other sleazily-premised programs seem to be continuously on the rise. “Jersey Shore” and “Real Housewives” are both examples of series that have aired for a handful of seasons and seem to find a new audience every time a new season premieres.

Call it exhibitionism at the expense of our morals; as long as American couches seat viewers willing to corrupt themselves for entertainment, reality television will reign. Whether watching bobbing for pigs’ feet or clandestine royalty searching for true love, people cannot seem to turn their heads away from the ridiculousness on their screen.

to incorporate universal themes, as opposed to the hackneyed theme of villains in ostentatious outfits with outrageous, implausible plans.

So we expect sequels for Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, X-Men and T h e

Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

Avengers.

These movies are doing so well because they portray an alternate reality that the human psyche clings to. The people in superhero mov-ies have extraordi-nary abilities thrust upon them, forcing them to make the choice to fight on the side of good, to help the weak and the needy.

These superh e r o e s actually embody personality ideals for the common man: everyone would like to think that, given such power, they would use their abilities for good.

It all comes down to what Uncle Ben says to Peter Parker in every remake of Spider-Man: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Superhero movies are so popular because the public loves to watch other people who have extraordinary power, and rightly choose to use it responsibly.

ENTERTAINMENT December 2012

EASTSIDE

Green Day returns to recording after break ■ By Rebecca Cohen (‘15)

possible “rock legends.”

Although this may be true, some of the band members are letting it get to their heads.

On September 21, the band preformed at the iHeart Radio Festival in Las Vegas. While their concert was coming to an end, a screen flashed

Because of the fame and fortune Green Day has been blessed with, it seems as if Armstrong expects all of the rules to be altered for him.

Many fans support what he had to say, but most think it is ridiculous that the band would be granted any

refusals to grow old in any sort of traditional Eastside Entertainment Editor way,” according to the Alternative Press. LisThe band that deteners can hear that fined the 1990’s popalready with the release punk era is making a of ¡Uno!, which contains huge comeback. Yes, many upbeat tunes and Green Day has hit the lyrics about having studio and is in the fun. Fans expect the midst of doing the remaining two parts of unthinkable. The band, the trilogy made up of to follow three punk legthis patends, is releastern. ing three new In adalbums over the dition to course of only the trilfive months. ogy, Green ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, Day will and ¡Tré! are a continue part of an their patalbum trilogy, tern of just like those n o n s t o p sporadically t o u r i n g r e l e a s e d with a full throughout N o r t h music history America by other huge tour in names in rock honor of and roll such as t h e i r AC/DC, Bruce a l b u m s .

Springsteen, ¡Dos! was The Rolling released Stones and U2. on NoThis is an v e m b er advanced step 13, 2012, for a band to followed take.

Since by ¡Tré!

1988, Green on JanuDay has sold 65 ary 15, million albums 2013. and toured T h i s around the huge leap world a time or Photo courtesy of LA Times for Green two, so a ma-ture Day will release project is Billie Joe Armstrong in the midst of his meltdown. most likely not unexpected letting lead singer Billie special privileges over earn them an even from them. In the beJoe Armstrong know he anyone else there. wider fan base and ginning, their music had one minute to finish Following this meltstronger acclaim. Maywas not greatly appreciup his set.

Enraged by down, Armstrong was be someday Green Day ated outside of the the fact that he was admitted to rehab will be looked back upon Seattle pop-punk scene, about to be cut off, because of the effects of as one of the greatest but over time, it spread Armstrong immediately his drug abuse, which bands music has ever across the world and stopped singing and has clearly gone too seen. took over the maininstructed the band to far. On the new albums, Their rise to the stream. stop playing the current fans will hear the simithrone of pop-punk Since then, Green song.

He went off on an lar “Green Day sound” and now their legacyDay has gained a survey expletive-littered rant they are used to, with sealing trilogy of alof listeners from every about how “[he] has the obvious maturity bums surely prove that generation. Their conbeen around since 1988, that results from a they will not quickly be sistency over the last 28 and [they’re] only going three-year break from forgotten by their fans years has reserved them to give [him] one recording. The albums or by the music indusan extreme amount of minute” to finish his set. are said to be “energetic try. positive recognition as

Page 15

Les Misérables revolutionizes movie musicals ■ By Joe Incollingo (‘13) Eastside Entertainment Editor

Despite spending 20+ years frozen in development, the film incarnation of Broadway’s Les Misérables promises to prove the power of patience. The first effort from director Tom Hooper since his Oscar-sweeping The King’s Speech, Les Mis brings a formidable ensemble cast, featuring both film talent like Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway and stage stars like Aaron Tveit and Samantha Barks, in for a rarely-attempted live vocal recording of the musical’s sung-through setlist (as opposed to studio recording).

Set in 19th century France and following the life of a paroled convict (Jackman) pursued by an obsessed policeman (Crowe), Les Miserables tells a romantic tale of love and revolution. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives take a twist. The movie is already drawing hype from every direction.

Aside from obvious Academy Award hype for Best Director-winner Hooper and his stellar cast, the film offers goodies for fans of the book and the musical on broadway, including cameo roles from original stars Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle along with new music—including a previously unreleased song—from composer ClaudeMichel Schönberg.

Both the film’s cast and producer Cameron Mackintosh promise nothing short of spectacle when the film hits theaters on Christmas Day this year.

Courtesy of metro.co.uk

Samantha Barks stars in Les Mis.

The Hobbit joins stories to be split into multiple parts ■ By Rachel Tinkelman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

Recent rumors that The Hobbit will be released in a series of three parts have now been confirmed.

Devout fans of JRR Tolkien’s novel might rejoice at this news, but many others wonder why—when none of the longer, much more eventful Lord of the Rings books have been broken up into parts— producers of The Hobbit now feel that this comparatively shorter story needs a more in-depth telling.

Director Peter Jackson explained via Facebook that, after reviewing what had so far been accomplished, the obvious question presented itself to the filmmakers: “Do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.’”

Jackson claims that he and the writers are reluctant to let any part of The Hobbit go unmentioned in the movies, and that may be

true. But considering the h u g e gross in profits from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a s t r i c t depiction of the plot is unlikely to be the only motivation for another three-part extravaganza.

O n e can hardly blame Photo courtesy of digitalspy.com J a c k s o n Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, and other based on JRR Tolkien’s novel. key playthose in television. They are also ers on The Hobbit’s production hopping on board with this new team for following what seems to progression. The fifth and final be a highly profitable trend in the season of Breaking Bad has been movie industry, quickly copied by

split up into two parts, the first of which premiered in July, and the second of which will be starting in the summer of 2013, which is a good, if not a bit manipulative, way to build up hype for the show’s finale.

It appears that the trend was set with Parts One and Two of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, followed shortly by Breaking Dawn being split into two. Breaking Dawn Part One had the third highest attendance on opening day ever recorded, right after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part Two. While it is true that these movies could have conceivably been compressed into one, and although admittedly there were some lags in the action, there was still enough content in the books to justify the release of two separate movies for both Breaking Dawn and The Deathly Hollows.

Whether the partition of The Hobbit into three parts is a dedicated desire to stick to the plot of the book or a practical money making scheme remains to be seen when the movies are released.

UNDERGROUND Page 16

EASTSIDE

December 2012

New MellowHype: too mellow, not enough hype ■ By Jake Borowsky (‘16)

see no reason for his straying away from the usual Odd Future themes, other As a huge Odd Future than maybe just trying a fan ever since Goblin came different style of album for out in 2011, I’ve highly once. anticipated this release Overall, I was extremely from MellowHype, a subsurprised at the turn this section of rap collective album takes when it comes Odd Future featuring to the sound of the beats producer Left Brain and and the changes in the lyrirapper Hodgy cal content.

Beats.

Since Many tracks MellowHype recome off as released their either too weak, very successful too awkward or 2010 album just plain BlackenedWhite, uncomfortable.

I have been After the waiting patientduo’s two hardly for another hitting previous loud, obnoxious a l b u m s , release. With the Numbers sounds release of Numsoft. I sincerely bers, I finally hope, on had my opportuM e l l o w H y p e ’s nity to see what next release, the hype was that they go about. back to the old MellowHype style that got me has been a part hooked on Odd of Odd Future Future and since the group MellowHype in formed in 2007 the first place. when Hodgy and H o n e s t l y, Left Brain met Numbers wasn’t at a party and terrible, but it immediately was not what I started collaboexpected. I enrating.

Since joyed the styles then, they have presented in r e l e a s e d their past two Ye l l o W h i t e albums much Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director online for free, Left Brain (left) and Hodgy Beats (right) of MellowHype. more. Though I BlackenedWhite don’t see online for free in 2010, and, this album would still is so smooth that it borders MellowHype using these under the financial bring the same hype as the on singing. beats in the future -- as resources of Fat Possum last two albums, Numbers This technique, though, they do not fit the whole Records, a physical release has really nothing else does not work so well on a Odd Future style of being of the latter. They are conagressive to offer. Although few tracks, like “Beat,” noisy, incredibly provocasidered by many to be the this isn’t necessarily a bad where the combination of tive, and getting listeners best arm of Odd Future, thing, it really sounded out the slow beat and Hodgy’s pumped up -- the rise in many of thier songs makof place on a MellowHype dynamic rap style sounds popularity that resident ing it onto the setlist at release. Hodgy’s voice can very out of place.

Odd Future R&B softy every full Odd Future be smooth and slow and As for the lyrics, many of Frank Ocean has seen in show. still sound good, as anyone the songs have different the past few months may Numbers features a very can see in his release meanings, but in general suggest otherwise. different style of music “Higashi Loves You” off of this album deals with the from their previous mixhis untitled EP, but there struggles Hodgy experitapes -- not at all what I was something that style enced in school and as a Rating: expected. Whereas Yellojust doesn’t fit in with most kid growing up until final6/10 Stars White and BlackenedWhite of these tracks. ly making it big. I really For Eastside

Logo by Joel Greenspan (‘13) / Eastside Art Director

■ By Rachel Tinkelman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

Although Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove, a dark satire on the Cold War, was created at the height of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, it seems frighteningly relevant today. An insane general, incidentally named Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), develops a strange theory that the communists plan to contaminate America’s “precious bodily fluids,” and that the only way to preserve these fluids is to nuke Russia.

So, he launches a surprise nuclear air attack against the Russians, seals off his base, orders his men to attack anyone who comes near and destroys all radios, eliminating the possibility of anyone on base realizing that Washington has not been attacked by the Russians. Unfortunately, this creates a rather sticky situation for the President (one of three roles played

by Peter Sellers) and the politicians gathered in the war room. They must figure out the recall code (known only to General Ripper) or at least find some way of preventing the attack while dealing with Russia’s drunk premier, Dmitri, who is more upset that the president never calls “just to say hello” than the fact that his country is about to suffer the blow of several hydrogen bombs. In the boardroom, the Russian ambassador and ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove (also Peter Sellers) reveals information that makes the situation even worse: a weapon which, when Russia is attacked, will cause the entire world to become uninhabitable for 93 years.

Though the existence of this type of weapon is impossible, the threat of nuclear war is still something applicable to today’s society. If someone bombed us, it is likely that we would not have a choice but to retaliate.

It’s a dark, thoughtprovoking subject for a comedy, but Kubrick’s films are always good for that. Even the look of the film coincides with the black humor, with most scenes heavily contrasting black and white, which, aside from looking cool, sets an appropriate mood for the film, making everything seem to look darker than it should be.

Despite the subject of the film, it manages to make the audience laugh, all the while fearing the initiation of the doomsday device.

featured loud, creative beats that seemed to perfectly match Hodgy’s style of rapping. Numbers is almost completely made up of soft, slow beats that do not match what I believed to be MellowHype’s style at all. After “Grill,” the opening song that immediately gave the impression that

In the song “65/Breakfast,” my personal favorite from this album, Hodgy rides the beat and conveys some very sophisticated, deeper lyrics that MellowHype tends not to use; it all flows together perfectly. I would say, at some points, especially during the bridge, his voice

Out of the Vault: Daniel Johnston ■ By Nick Mitchell (‘13) Eastside Underground Editor

Daniel Johnston, a lyrical genius, broke into the realm of people’s consciousness in the eighties, with his widely distributed cassette Hi, How are You?, a collection of songs that were recorded in Johnston’s garage with a small piano. His unique way of creating music attracted listeners all over, not only because of the music itself, but also because of his peculiarities.

Johnston suffers from manic depression and schizophrenia, both of which have profoundly influenced his music and his state of being.

These illnesses have seriously debilitated Johnston, but have made his songs wonderfully unexampled. With a squeaky, high-pitched voice, mediocre piano skills and brilliant lyrics, Johnston has found a niche in the hearts

of many listeners. Some of his lyrics cover themes of lost love, solitude, madness, morality and existential torment. Due to his illness, Johnston has experienced terrifying hallucinations, endangering his life as well as the lives of others. Multiple times he believed that certain people were possessed by the devil and trying to harm him, causing him to write tracks such as “Devil Town” and “Don’t Play Cards with Satan.”

“There’s certainly a devil and he knows my name,” Johnston once said.

Even though his madness may seem terrifying and weird, there is still a sweet center and admirable simplicity attached to his songs, making me always return for more. One can’t help but pity him when listening to his pinched innocent lyrics. It’s hard to explain, but there seems to be a fine type of purity in his

minimalist music that escapes other artists. His music is true and incredible. He’s an artful warrior who valiantly struggles with the world and his own mind—a battle that, for this tortured mind, is no cakewalk.

Not only is Johnston a musician, but also a very talented visual artist. His cartoonish works depict alien creatures, skeletons, people with their brains missing, and eyeballs, for which he holds a special affinity.

His works are quite whimsical and original, making appearances in art galleries around the world. For a sampling of Johnston’s music, listen to the tracks “Story of an Artist,” “Some Things Last a Long Time” and Art courtesy of Daniel Johnston “Walking the Cow.” Johnston’s art reflects his deranged genius.

UNDERGROUND December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 17

Welcome to Pizzadelphia: Philadelphia’s own Pizza Brain is unique restaurant, museum

■ By Bryan Sheehan (‘13) Eastside Underground Editor

“Pizza connects people. It’s like the most universally celebrated food in the world… I can’t think of a food that unites people more, especially in a world where there are so many niches and so many things that divide people, pizza is something everyone can agree on.”

This is the mindset of Brian Dwyer, a 28-year-old film-school dropout who has turned his love of pizza, as well as his world-recordholding collection of pizza memorabilia, into one of the coolest and most unique restaurants in all of Philadelphia.

Pizza Brain, w h i c h opened in September, is a shrine to all things pizza: from the decorations adorning almost every square inch of wall space—about twenty percent of Dwyer’s full collection—to the beautifully unique pies being served up at the Kensington joint.

But, according to Dwyer, Pizza Brain is more than just a pizzeria. “[Kensington] needs more sit-down restaurants, and it needs places for the community to be together. There hasn’t been a new restaurant [on this street] in a couple decades, so for us to open up here was a big deal for the neighborhood and a cool point of pride for Philly,” he said, especially since Philadelphia lacks the status as a “pizza destination” that cities like Chicago and New York have.

While the pizza on the menu may be exotic and uniquely flavorful, Pizza Brain is more about the experience attached to it than the food itself. “[The experience is] something that everyone can share, just like the food itself.

This pizza shop is everybody’s. I didn’t invent pizza, I’m just a spokesperson for it, so people can celebrate it with me,” said Dwyer, a self-proclaimed “student of

pizza.”

As for the collection itself, Dwyer remains the undisputed world record holder. In fact, when he approached Guinness to see if he had enough to make it into the record books, he was told that there was no record set at all for largest collection of pizza memorabilia.

“It blew my mind because it’s pretty ubiquitous, so hidden in plain sight, but I guess no one has thought to do it,” said Dwyer, who still has not been approached by anyone else with their own collection. “I guess I’m the first person, which is weird... I’m just a regular dude who’s just very enthusiastic about art and pizza.”

In addition to gaining recognition from Guinness, Pizza Brain has also been featured in stories all around the globe. From NPR to the Huffington Post and the Associated Press, many news outlets have picked up on the allure and originality of Pizza Brain, creating an enormous and unexpected media hype storm.

“I always thought this idea would be big, and I always thought someday the world would take notice of it,” said Dwyer with a laugh, pointing out that all his marketing is done from a cracked phone and broken laptop in the living room of his aboveshop apartment. “I had no idea that it would happen before we even opened, or the week we opened… it’s just me in my living room sending emails and Twitter and Facebook. So it’s fascinating.

I’ll definitely be telling my kids this story someday, I’m sure.”

So what’s the plan for Pizza Brain in the future?

While the business is just a few months old, Dwyer already has his sights set on expanding the restaurant to add more seating, an arcade and a dedicated “pizza museum” on the second floor.

As for expanding outside of Philadelphia, Dwyer doesn’t like the idea of it: “I want Philly and Kensington to have this feather in their cap [as] a point of pride for everyone.”

And in a city notorious for its glorious stubborn pride, Philadelphia is sure to embrace Pizza Brain for a long time to come.

Pizza with basil leaves photo by Angie Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor All other photos by Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

HUMOR Page 18

EASTSIDE

December 2012

Interpretive roller skating team places 107th in nation ■ By Mike Reisman (‘13) Eastside Sports Editor

The Cherry Hill East interpretive roller skating team placed 107th in the nation last week at the I n t e r s c h o l a s t i c Interpretive Roller Skating National Championships, the school’s best finish since its controversial 34th place finish in 1997.

“It feels great to have all of our hard work pay off like this, 107th place is more than I ever could have asked for,” said team captain and four-star recruit Alex Strantin (’13).

“Everyone skated their hearts out and we couldn’t have done this well without everyone.”

Strantin, who recently committed to one of the top five collegiate interpretive roller skating programs in the country at Bowling Green University, led the team to a 107th place finish, twenty eight spots better than their 135th place projection.

The group performance was almost called off after James Green (’15) tripped and broke his push-off a n k l e, rendering him unable to compete.

However, freshman sensation Emily Janow (’16) filled in, learning the routine in just 20 minutes.

“I knew that I didn’t have as much interpretive experience as James, but I was feeling great and the meaning of the routine just came to me, and I think I interpreted it as well as anyone,” she said.

Other key contributors were Kyle Maxor (’14) and Grace Ketol (’13), who set a school record with a rating of 86 in their doubles performance, earning them 83rd place.

Strantin also placed 77th in her individual skate, despite nearly falling on her doublejump-twist, a key part of the routine.

“Everyone did their best and I’m really proud,” head coach James Grinndell said. “We never expected this kind of success, especially given the high level of competition. Their interpretations were phenomenal.”

Normally, the team, which practices at the school’s skating rink, located under the dance gym, gets very little attention. However, the sensational finish has sent some fans into frenzy.

“I didn’t know we had an interpretive roller Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ skating Eastside Art Director t e a m , ”

Stairs go in One Direction ■ By Jenn Cha (‘13) Eastside Staff

One question has been on everyone’s mind since day one of school: why did the stairwells change to only allow one way of traffic?

Those awaiting an answer, look no further: The teachers and administration of East are HUGE closet One Direction fans.

It all began with a seemingly innocuous tweet from principal Dr. Ron O’ Schmeeza the day before the first day of school, which read, “Beginning tomorrow, the stairs will head in one direction ;)” Within minutes, the tweet had garnered 37 favorites and 15 retweets

from various East staff members.

“Hmm… Interesting…” thought this investigative journalist as she slipped a hidden microphone into the teachers’ lounge (legally, of course…I think).

The results of the completely permitted search were as follows: “Niall is my fave. He’s so cute and dreamy,” gushed O’ Schmeeza, before Dr. Von Baarns cut him off—“Baaaaa humbug, Zayn is a cutie patootie!

Besides, I hear Niall used to be a member of the Wool-Tang Clan...”

Juvenile insults and blatant fangirling were soon heard as more voices joined the fray.

“I bet you don’t even know Liam’s favorite col-

or!”

“It’s lilac and you’re a meanie!!”

“I’VE SEEN THEM FIVE TIMES IN CONCERT! I WIN, I WIN HAHAHA!!!”

Muffled blows from pillows of mysterious origin were heard thrown throughout the room as the scene disintegrated into chaos.

Rumor has it that the lunchtime announcements are just excerpts of “That’s What Makes You Beautiful” played backwards.

No one has paid enough attention to confirm, however.

“We’re thinking about switching to ‘Live While We’re Young’ next week,” reported senior class president Ball Panerjee (‘13).

Photo by Austin Billig (‘13)/ Eastside Staff Illustration by Angie Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

O’Shmeeza struggles to concentrate with Zayn watching him lovingly.

Gene Talop (’13) said.

“Where do they practice?

Oh, we have a roller skating rink? I never knew that. But I guess that’s cool. I mean, 107th in the country isn’t too bad. It could be worse, like 108th or 300th.”

The team’s place at the IIRS Nationals has even sparked some interest in the sport among younger students.

“When my friend told me he was on an interpretive roller skating team, I thought he was kidding,” Allison Thamin (’15) said.

“But now that I know he was serious, I might as well join. It’s just roller-skating. How hard could it be?

Quite frankly, I’m most surprised that there are at least 106 other ‘interpretive roller skating’ teams in the country.”

No matter what the long-term effect of this finish is, one thing is for sure—this year’s team is one of the all-time greats at Cherry Hill East.

Logo by JoelGreenspan(‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

• Air in gym locker rooms now contains near-lethal amounts of Axe. • Students complain about lack of 4G coverage in hallways and classrooms.

• Freshman applies early decision for parking spot.

• Barracuda blocks Progressbook on the school’s server.

• Due to extreme temperatures, East students deemed cold-blooded mammals.

• Impending apocalypse causes Class of 2013 to rename to Class of 2012.5.

Epidemic infects senior class ■ By Kayla Schorr (‘14) Eastside News/Features Editor

On November 5, Cherry Hill High School East experienced a significant decline in attendance rate. However, freshmen, sophomores and juniors were not affected by this craze— the Class of 2013 was the sole cause of this recognizable attendance atrophy.

“I have absolutely no idea what the problem may have been,” said Mrs. Scale, the school nurse at East. “I had a few seniors come in over the last few days, but they did not seem to be suffering with any viruses or anything of that sort. One boy seemed a little dizzy, but I just gave him ice f o r that.”

out of school, yet this pattern drastically lost consistency.

After interviewing a few seniors who were recorded absent that day, many different responses were derived.

“I just like...had a fever...I guess, and my toes wouldn’t crack” said Emily Mitchell (’13).

Other cases seemed a bit more extreme. According to Bryan Stein (’13), his “sinuses and temples felt like volcanoes erupting not only lava, but sedimentary rocks that pummeled the insides of [his] skull.”

One peculiar aspect of this situation is that while on a lunch break, a few faculty members spotted a group of about six seniors at Panera Bread. Although this situation may seem like seniors are intentionally blowing off school, the teachers concluded that these partic - u l a r stu-

dents After were v i e w - Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director t o t a l l y ing the innocent attendance sheets from and were just picking up each class, it was detersoup to recuperate from mined that a shocking their ailments.

92.31 percent of the “All this time has past Class of 2013 was absent and we still have no on the 5th. The attenclue as to what may dance from the days have caused such an prior to this incident was epidemic among so many also tabulated, but the seniors that day,” said results did not yield any Principal Dr. Ron evidence that warO’Shmeeza. “We all hope ranted such a spike. On to see the attendance a typical day, about 3.5 rate rise again in the percent of seniors are coming days.”

HUMOR December 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 19

Mischievous prankster corrects clocks ■ By Sarah Robbins (‘13) Eastside Staff

Disturbing news has traveled through the East hallways faster than… actually, it came right on time. Yesterday morning, teachers noticed something strange about their clocks: they were all set to the same time. Someone has rewired the school clocks.

Outrage burned through the school like wildfire.

Students are enraged at the concept of having to leave their classrooms at the same time, and the rate of possible trampling has doubled. But students are not the only ones with hurt feelings.

Teachers Mrs. Rain and Mrs. Reckus complained

that the new schedule ruined their bet to see whose clock is the least accurate.

“It was different every

knew who was going to win,” Rain said.

Rain had won over 6,000 dollars in the past few days and was planning a trip to

enough to go there.”

Pre-Calc teacher Mr. Kokanacus described when he first noticed the change.

“I could tell it was different

Jenn Cha (‘13)/ Eastside Staff

The school clocks displayed here have enraged staff members across the building. Everyone is horrified that clocks show the correct times. day. That was the thrill of it. Sometimes it would read 5:00, sometimes 3:30, sometimes 10:00. We never

Maui with her husband.

“I just needed this last bet. Now, because of the clock setter, I won’t have

■ By Kaylin Magosin (‘14) Eastside News/Features Editor

After replacing Aramark at the start of November, The Cheesecake Factory began serving lunches to over 2,000 students and faculty members per week.

“I am really looking forward to providing higher quality meals to the student body,” said head chef Mike Seller.

East has renovated the kitchen area by expanding it to allow The Cheesecake Factory workers enough space to prepare the food.

Although many of the menu items are the same, The Cheesecake Factory has added over 75 new options.

Because each meal is prepared individually and is not premade, the time a student needs to wait in line has grown exponentially. Some students have complained about waiting in line for three hours.

“I used to wait, like, ten minutes for my lunch, but now I wait an average of two hours a day,” said Julia Meldon (’14).

because I usually have my clock set to SET,” he said.

When asked what this was, he responded, “It’s

Standard Ewok Time.”

Another person hurt was Janitor Perkins, who once had the only working clock in the school.

“It made me feel special, you know. Students used to pop in all the time just to check what time it was. I had a title. I had a position.

I was the clock man,” he said.

Several teachers have begun walking around with pocket watches displaying different times to protest the new clocks.

The mysterious time turner remains unfound, but he or she has created lasting effects on the school. As Kokanacus said, “Usually my clock reminds me of Ewoks. Now, I just think of the time. It just makes me sad.”

In order to cut back on the amount of class time students miss waiting for their lunch, the school has employed The Cheesecake Factory buzzers.

Although one could be pulled out of math class at any moment, many argue that The Cheesecake Factory meals are worth it.

“I don’t care if I have to wait three hours for my lunch.

These lunches are way better than what East used to have,” said Todd Bartley (’13).

Not only are the lines and the wait even longer, but the prices have skyrocketed, too. Salads from Aramark cost about four dollars, but the salads from The Cheesecake Factory cost at least twelve dollars, depending on what variety a student chooses.

“My parents normally would give me 25 dollars a week to spend on lunch, but now I spend at least 15 dollars a day, so I need more like 70 dollars a week,” said Samantha Tillman (’16).

Perhaps the biggest change since The Cheesecake Factory replaced Aramark is that the food carts have been replaced with cheesecake stands. A student can buy a slice from a multitude of cheesecakes for six dollars each.

Furthermore, these stands also sell full cakes, so if students want to take a cake home to their families or buy one to share with their friends at lunch, they can.

Seller said, “I am just so excited that students can experience a luxury meal every day at school. I am proud to support luxury school lunch eating habits.”

Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

New menu for Cheesecake Factory at East.

Marching band revels in its new turf field ■ By Rachel Tinkelman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Editor and Rachel Tinkelman (‘13)/ Eastside Humor Editor

The football players have been forced to practice near the trashcans while the marching band practices on their new field.

The Music Department rejoices as it finally gets what has been much called for by students and parents alike.

Funds this year have been put aside to create a new turf field in front of the school solely for the benefit of the marching band. Although they will not be marching on the turf field during game day, they will reap its benefits during practice after school.

Trombone player Sarah Mann (’14) said, “It is so great to finally get some practice on an actual turf field. We’ve been stumbling over rough ground far too long.”

The school is considering building bleachers so that people who want to go to the practices have somewhere to sit.

Surprisingly, the football team is miffed by this new turn of events. Some have even suggested it should really be

used for game day, so that the marching band could play on it for the actual games.

Coach Will Jackson went so far as to mention that the turf field should be used for football practices, saying, “Our boys could really use it, the practice I mean.”

Misty Parks, bandleader, is actually foremost among the disgruntled complainers.

“What we need is discipline,” she said, “and this new turf field is going to spoil our marching band and our players will get soft. When it comes time for game night, and they have to play over that unfamiliar patchy field, there are going to be some big problems, and we are going to lose coordination.”

Aside from these few, infrequent negative remarks, the reaction to the new turf fields is, overall, a positive one, and many hope to see other groups within the Music Department utilizing their new asset.

SPORTS Page 20

EASTSIDE

December 2012

To play or not to play:

Should seniors get top priority?

Seniors should play over underclassmen ■ By Mike Reisman (‘13)

■ By Darby Festa (‘13)

Eastside Sports Editor

For high school athletes, the end of a season signifies the end of long practices and tough games for the rest of the year. Most athletes are happy to get a break from the physical challenges of competing at a high level and spending so much time preparing and playing their sport. But for seniors, the end of a season comes with the realization that, for many, they will never play a competitive, organized sport again. This means the end of a commitment to a sport that may have started a s early as first or seco n d g r a d e, something that a lot of these s t u dents do not want to give up. So why should seniors that may never get the chance to play again have to ride the bench and watch while underclassmen play in the final games of their senior careers? Merit should always be the first determinant of playing time in sports, but given the decision to play a senior or an underclassman with similar skill levels, the senior should always get the call.

In an increasingly competitive sports world, beginning as early as elementary school age, the human factor is overlooked too often in sports.

Coaches think too much about micromanaging games, making substitutions that only marginally change the outcome of the game, sacrificing the happiness of students in the process.

Most of these seniors have put in years of work and all they get for their com-

Best players, not oldest Eastside Sports Editor

The old saying “age is but a number” can be applied to several aspects of life, varsity sports included.

When I look at the starting line-up of a team, I believe that I should be looking at the best players on that team. Not the oldest, per se, but the best.

Varsity sports are called that for a reason: in terms of high school athletics, it’s the highest level of play out there.

Varsity athletes play to have fun, but most importantly, they play to win and will do whatever it takes to do so. If this means that a younger player will increase a team’s chances of winning, then by all means, that younger player should start over his older teammates.

Of course, there is the argument that the high school team is the end of the road for many athletes. After graduation, many seniors will never competitively play the

sport again. So shouldn’t they get the most out of their last year on the team and play as much as possible?

Absolutely not. If an underclassman will contribute more to the team, then he or she deserves the starting spot.

Not only does this make a team more competitive, but it raises the bar for underclassmen and upperclassmen alike.

If senior athletes knew that their starting spot was a shoe-in, there is a likelihood that they’d rest on their laurels. Why put in the effort if not just playing time, but a starting spot, is guaranteed?

That goes for underclassmen as well. The prospect of a starting spot gives them something to strive for and motivates them to work even harder.

By allowing underclassmen to start over seniors, the bar is raised for every single player on the team.

In the long run, a team can only benefit by starting its very best players.

As for the seniors who sit the bench, chin up – there’s always club.

Shari Bodosky (‘14)/ Eastside Staff

mitment to the team is a front row seat to the games that they should be playing in.

In most situations, seniors have a built-in advantage over underclassmen in their experience. These students have been part of the team for

four years, learning plays and playing styles, and their extra playing experience usually leads to calmer minds going into games. So even if winning is a coach’s only goal, seniors may be the best option when intangibles are considered.

‘Well-Wishers’ bring humor, passion to sidelines of boys’ soccer games

■ By Jack Braunstein (‘13)

EastsideEditro-in-Chief

During school, they were hardly a noisy movement: you’d be hard pressed to recognize their carefully coordinated dress-up days—pleated khaki shorts and pastel colored button-ups rolled up at the elbow, maybe—unless you spotted a few of them walking together in the halls.

But after school, huddled together beyond the line that seperates the playing field from the spectators, this group of “welldressed” sports fanatics and amateur humorists alike couldn’t be missed.

The Well-Wishers, a group of mostly seniors that supported the East boys’ soccer team at every game this season, blurred the line between fanaticism, burlesque and good old fashioned

sports-shouting.

Though at first glance they may have looked

exaggerated way. With gleeful shouts of “we bleed red!”, signs that

Jordan Baum(‘13)/ Eastside Staff

The self-named “Well-Wishers” cheer after an East goal and sounded like just read “Lenape? More like another proud Cougar Lena-poop!”, and calls of sideline support group, “lucky save, lucky save” the Well-Wishers set out every single time an to satire crazed sports opposing goalie touched fanaticism by putting it the ball, they dressed up on display in a silly, the sidelines in a cloak of

subtle, biting irony.

Make no mistake: the Well-Wishers’ dedication to the team was absolutely, honestly real. They stood up for players against callous insults from hotheaded opposing players, organized tailgating events and ecstatically rushed the field after the Coaches Cup Final. And how could they not be passionate, what with the Cougars winning the Coaches Cup outright for the first time ever and making a deep run in the NJSIAA playoffs, all in Coach Karl Moehlmann’s final season?

Equal parts die-hard supporters and Swiftian satirists, the WellWishers put on one of the most entertaining and exciting sideline campaigns in recent East history.

An inside look at the girls’ basketball team: Darby Festa tells all

Darby Festa (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor It’s hard to believe that this is my last year on the East girls’ basketball team. It feels like yesterday I was trying out for the freshman team, barely eating a thing Thanksgiving night because I was so nervous for the next morning. And now I’ll be playing my final minutes in the DiBart Gym, running my last ladder at practice, playing my very last games with girls I’ve been playing with my entire life.

It’s unreal. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s also exciting.

This year is going to be a big year for Lady Cougars’ basketball. After my sophomore year, with a 22-1 regular season record, it seemed as if the girls’ basketball program could never quite recover from the loss of eight talented seniors.

But I have high hopes for us this season. We’ve had time to rebuild, with a potential point guard in Yamie Villegas (’16), in addition to the return of many players from last year’s varsity team. Three returning seniors, consisting of myself, Brooke Rose (‘13) and Stephanie Ohnona (‘13), will be playing, in comparison to last season when we had one returning senior who had taken a two-year break, and only one returning varisty player. We’re more experienced this year; we know what to expect and how to play together.

Last season, there were glimpses of a winning team. This year, I really think that we can pull through.

I’m hoping for a lot this year, both individually and for the team. I’m hoping to break 1,000 points, with an estimated of 350 points to go. I’m hoping to have a winning season and a run in the play-offs.

Already, just from playing in a fall league and summer league, I’ve noticed an obvious step up in the competitiveness of our team. In fact, we defeated several teams that blew us out last season, and I expect that this trend will only continue.

My sophomore year, we were the number one seed in our conference. We had a target on our backs and a record to defend. This year, it’s different. We’re the underdogs. But I don’t think I would want it any other way.