Eastside: October 2012

www.eastside-online.org

Vol. 47 No. 1

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

October 2012

Change.

Photo by Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Inside This Issue

Students take on election issues Opinions Pg. 8-9

The future of entertainment: is it now?

Entertainment Pg. 10-11

Eastside evaluates the new schedule Editorial Pg. 12

NEWS/FEATURES Page 2

EASTSIDE

October 2012

Waldman makes her iTunes debut ■ By Danielle Fox (‘13) Eastside Editor-in-Chief

Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

It was a busy and productive summer for the Board of Becca Fisher E d u c a (‘13) t i o n .

Board of Changes Education and upRepresentative dates at both the district and state level have ensured that the 2012-2013 school year will be a success. In conjunction with Sustainable Cherry Hill, Cherry Hill Public Schools adopted a new aspect of the curriculum in sustainability to be integrated into multiple disciplines across the district.

Each school in Cherry Hill must set and meet certain goals concerning sustainability in an attempt to involve students, staff, teachers, families, community members and community leaders. Cherry Hill students can expect to see aspects of the new curriculum in science classrooms, business classrooms, social studies classrooms and others.

The Board of Education has been very interested and concerned with the implementation of the new schedule at the high school level. Multiple Board members, as well as Superintendent Dr. Reusche, visited both East and West during the first week of school to see how students were adjusting.

The Board was happy to hear that the changes in the Aramark Lunch program were beneficial to students, such as the implementation of more lines for students in the cafeterias and the continued use of multiple snack carts across the school.

The Board members were curious about the success of the lunch break period, and despite concerns about the volume of students and the general uncertainty of students, they were happy to hear that students are adjusting and finding the break period both productive and necessary. The Board is relieved that students are adjusting to the change and realizing the numerous benefits. These benefits include longer instructional periods, a more manageable homework situation, a more efficient homeroom period and, of course, the promotion of time management and organization skills.

The Board members and Central Administrators want updates from students with any concerns or questions, so as the year continues, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any feedback.

“I think recording makes it easier because I can, you know, hide behind the headphones,” joked Julia Waldman (’13), who released her album, An Estimate, on iTunes this past July.

She continued, “I have major stage fright. I don’t know if many people know that. I mean, you probably could tell because I don’t really do many solo acts…actually I don’t think I’ve ever done any solo acts except for when I was being inducted into the Thespian Society and I had to.”

Waldman is the girl often caught jotting down lyrics in music class, and her friends began pressing to hear what she was writing.

“The real reason I started recording my songs was so that I didn’t have to sing them live to people who wanted to know what I was working on. I wanted to show people without having to just sing and so I recorded songs and then they were like, ‘Wow, that’s really good. You should put those on iTunes.’ And one thing led to another,” Waldman said.

Waldman recorded all four of her album songs— “A Cliché from the Heart,” “Short Stories,” “She’ll Write of Love” and “The Dew”—on Apple’s record-

ing program, GarageBand.

“My sister helped a lot because she let me use her laptop. I kind of stole it sometimes and locked myself in my room and

“I’d have to say she’s definitely a role model for me.

I also sing and I’ve written a couple of my own songs because I was like ‘Oh my gosh, that’s cool to be able

Angie Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Julia Waldman poses with her album, An Estimate. sometimes I would hear her banging on the door saying, ‘Give me my laptop back,’” Waldman laughed, and continued, “but I edited that out of all of the recordings.”

Waldman’s sister, Samantha Waldman (’16), said,

to have something of your own and write your own music.’”

Waldman said that she knew from the start that she would want ten percent of the album’s proceeds to go to the American Cancer Society.

France.

This trip is held every two years, so that students in the Vocal Department have an opportunity to attend no matter what year they graduate.

Max Hoffman (’14) said, “The trip was the three best weeks of my entire life.”

The students prepared hard for the trip. Becca Fisher (’13) said, “The students that participated had about 25 songs to learn, more than we would do in any small choir at

East. We had long, pretty intense rehearsals that were three or four hours each.”

Rehearsals at East started at the beginning of June. All 67 students attending the trip from schools all over New Jersey gathered at East to practice their music. They also had to travel to North Jersey for a rehearsal.

The entire choir met at The College of New Jersey on July 17, where they stayed for two days before departing for Europe.

She said, “A lot of my family has actually fought and conquered cancer so I figured I should support the cause.”

East choral instructors, Mrs. Heather Frampton and Mrs. Laurie Lausi, both served as mentors for Waldman during some of the album-creating process. Both encouraged Waldman to record her music so that others could appreciate her talent, and Frampton helped her write the sheet music for “She’ll Write of Love,” one of Waldman’s Ingrid Michaelson-esque songs that she has arranged and hopes to have performed in her group, The Bells of East, sometime in the future.

“Julia’s a very thoughtful student. She really puts a lot of effort into what she does,” said Lausi.

Frampton continued, “I’m not surprised [that she has created an album] at all. She’s the type of person who will sit wherever she records her music and keep going and going until finally she has something she is satisfied with.”

With free recording offers that she intends to follow through with and a plan to perform for the first time at Coffee House this year, Waldman will not only embrace her passion behind the headphones but also try a solo or two.

East vocal students travel and tour Europe ■ By Jenna Wilson (‘15) Eastside News/Features Editor

While most students were away at camp or digging their feet in the sand this past summer, 24 East students were sharing American music around the European countryside.

Through a program called American Music Abroad, the students were able to travel to Europe from July 20 to August 5, performing concerts in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and

Courtesy of Max Hoffman (‘14)

East students attending the American Music Abroad trip pose in Europe.

There they attended orientations, had language lessons to expose them to the different languages and hours and hours of rehearsals.

They departed for Europe on July 20 and landed in Germany. They then traveled by doubledecker bus to Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France.

The students performed six formal concerts, which were held in churches, auditoriums and in town squares. The locals came to watch them perform. On nights when they would perform, they donned their uniforms of a red blazer, blue pants and white shirt.

They sang American songs in English as they promoted American culture.

Fisher said, “A lot of the music was religious and slow, [but we] did a couple of pop songs as well.”

Dakota Judge (’13) said that they performed six or seven informal concerts as well.

Hoffman said, “For street performances, we sang a capella versions of pop songs. The musical part of the trip was just as meaningful to me as the places we sang in.”

These students enjoyed the opportunity to share American culture while immersing themselves in European culture.

NEWS/FEATURES October 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 3

Lab Theater performers become a real “family” ■ By Sherin Nassar (‘13) Eastside Managing Editor

Laboratory theater may sound a little too intimidating to people who hear the announcement, prompting images of science experiments and theater collaborated into one mess gone wrong. However, this image could not be further from the truth.

The show was actually seen as a pre-fall show, which gave underclassmen the opportunity to learn the ropes of theater at East.

“It’s a great project show because it lets underclassmen and new people have valuable stage experience because the show is designed to nurture them and let them be comfortable on stage,” said Joey Ciurlino (’13), who has been a part of this production for the past four years.

Drew DuBoff (’15) believes the program is a great way for freshmen to get involved, like he did last year, and get to be a part of the theater community.

“They want you to be a part of theater because

when [the seniors] graduate, they are going to need you to step up, so it was a great way to become a part of the family,” DuBoff said.

But the show is not just an underclassmen-dominated feature, as it also gives upperclassmen the opportunity to do more productionlike tasks, such as directing.

“The upperclassmen get to see the production side that they never get to see. It also gives teachers the chance The cast to experiment with unconventional types of theater,” said Damien Stucho (’13).

This year’s show, entitled “Family Album,” portrayed different types of family relationships through small scenes. In past years, Lab Theater has strived to interact with the audience more, last year even allowing them to sit on stage to offer a different

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

Class presidents answer: What are your plans for this year as president of your class?

Angie Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

of “Family Album” rehearses for performance. perspective. This year’s Lab Theater hoped to continue this practice.

“It [was] like taking a family album of photos and showing what each picture represented,” Stucho said.

This year’s directors were Mr. Charles Muscemeci, Mr. Pete Gambino, Mr. Tom Weaver and six students. Overall, the show

was quite the family-oriented event for all to enjoy.

Plus, this event set the stage for theater’s next two productions, “Skin of Our Teeth” by Thornton Wilder in the fall and “Peter Pan” in the spring.

So, after seeing this production, we now know that Lab Theater in no way correlates to test tubes and Bunsen Burners.

Lab Theater productions over the past 5 years 2008 Twain by the Tail

2009 A Night at Macabre

2010 Choices

2011 Give and Take

2012 Family Album

Peterzell forms bonds through exchange program country to practice those skills.”

In the typical exchange Noé Bouman program at East, a stuand Matthijs de dent from another counFrankrijker try studies in Cherry Hill traveled to East for a few weeks while in October to staying at the home of an exercise their East student, then the English-speakstudent leaves and the ing skills and relationship ends. For experience Ross Peterzell (’14), his American culrelationship with his ture for two exchange students blosweeks. The two somed over time.

Dutch students The entire adventure adapted quite began when Marnix quickly.

On College in Bennekom, weekends, the Holland contacted the exchange stuEast faculty to see if any dents traveled student would be willing to Philadelphia to host Dutch students at and New York. his or her home. In this During their Courtesy of Ross Peterzell (‘14) specific district in stay, Bouman Peterzell stands in Amsterdam with his Dutch friends.

Holland, it is required and de FrankBut Peterzell’s experitransportation there) that the students go rijker befriended many ence did not end when and attend the specific abroad to an EnglishEast students at school. his exchange students classes for the day. speaking left. Peterzell enjoyed the From February country. experience so much that through March, more “Half he decided to plan a trip Dutch students that of their of his own and study in Peterzell knew from his classes the Netherlands at their trip to Holland came to are in school. Last January, East and stayed with English,” Peterzell flew to Holland Peterzell. This also ocs a i d to reunite with his curred in the summer for Peterzell. friends and to discover five weeks when Bouman “ T h e y and explore the Dutch came to visit again. The have to culture. two worked together at use the “The lockers are much Tall Pines Day Camp and s k i l l s smaller and the classes enjoyed more time tothat they are much longer,” Petergether. h a v e zell said. “The school“After spending so acquired work is much easier, but much time with them, we over the there is much more all became like brothers,” past few homework.”

Peterzell said. years and On a typical day in He hopes to go back travel to Holland, he and Bouman soon and host his friends an EnCourtesy of Ross Peterzell (‘14) would bike to school (bikagain in a short matter of g l i s h ing is a main form of time. s p e a k i n g Peterzell and Bouman visit Kinderdijk.

■ By Kayla Schorr (‘14)

Eastside News/Features Editor

This year is going to be different. With the new enrichment periPaulomi od, we are givBanerjee en much more (‘13) time to plan and organize. I am hoping to improve communication with notifications given to classmates via social networking sites and to hold more informational meetings. Senior Prom preparations have begun and the payments for Senior Trip are being submitted. This year I really want more class participation in the Spirit Week competition.

Hopefully this will be a year none of us will ever forget. GO COUGARS! This year, the Class of 2014 should be expected to do big things.

Abe We’ve already Granoff picked a venue (‘14) for Junior Prom and we also plan on selling class apparel once again. As far as Spirit Week goes, we will definitely win. Because of last year’s victory over the juniors (this year’s seniors), if we just show a little more effort and spirit as a class, Spirit Week should be a cakewalk. Overall, I plan to give the Class of 2014 the best school year they’ve had so far in high school.

The sophomore class has many plans to make this year Sam great.

The Amon class SGA and (‘15) I hope to get many more people involved in the choices that have to be made for the entire class. We also hope that more people will get involved in the Spirit Week festivities so we can do even better than last year. One more goal of ours is to have a fantastic Sophomore Cotillion. I will ensure that the Class of 2015 will have a great school year.

I have many plans for this school year, but my main focus is going to be the Kennedy s t u d e n t s ’ Omari choice. At this moment I still (‘16) don’t exactly know what I can do as class president, but what I do know is that I will try my best to make it a great year. In the end it’s going to be a full democracy based on students’ choices because I want my peers to be happy and to have a great school year!

NEWS/FEATURES Page 4

EASTSIDE

October 2012

Shivery leads DECA as the regional VP ■ By Rachel Tinkelman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

When Peter Shivery (’13) signed up for Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) as a freshman, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Now, Shivery enters his fourth year participating in the program and his first as Vice President of the Southern Region of New Jersey. He is only the second East student in ten years to hold such a position.

“The feeling is definitely overwhelming,” Shivery said.

Over the past few years, Shivery has become more and more immersed in DECA, but when he started out, it seemed like just another club offered at East. Shivery said that the program quickly began to grow on him, especially because students can gain a variety of experiences from the competition.

He said, “It’s really beneficial for students who are looking to get into different careers, whether it be in business or not, because it relates to many different areas.”

Shivery decided to run for a position as state officer during his sophomore year when he attended Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Talking to the DECA state officers on a one-on-one basis inspired him to take action himself.

“After talking to them, I found out that DECA was really an organization of leaders, and I wanted to be a part of that,” he said.

Because of this experi-

ence, Shivery decided to run for Vice President at the end of junior year. This task involved a great amount of preparation.

Before a student is allowed to campaign, he or she must be interviewed. Then a decision has to be made about whether the student

attend both. East students generally only attend the

“After talking to them, I found out that DECA was really an organization of leaders, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

- Peter Shivery (‘13) first one, so Shivery had to appeal to thousands of DECA students in a short

Jordan Baum (‘13)/ For Eastside

DECA Southern Regional Vice President Shivery poses in front of a presentation. can handle all of the responsibilities that come with the position. So, Shivery trekked upstate to the DECA offices of New Jersey for an interview and ended up competing for the spot of the Southern Regional Vice President.

The campaign lasted the span of two New Jersey State DECA conferences; every student does not have the opportunity to

period of time at the one conference. By asking students to fill out recommendations for the upcoming year and promising to make it his personal goal to put them into effect, Shivery’s campaign success-

Art by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director Photos by Kaylin Magosin (‘14)/ Eastside News/Features Editor Logo by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

We asked...

If you could If you could live in any be any Sometimes Last night I other era, landmark, I... dreamt... what would what would it be? it be?

Benaiah Hand (‘13) 1980s

Statue of Liberty

Wendy Sherman (‘15) Stone Age

Luigi Gabriel (‘14) Ottoman

Mr. Killion 1960s

fully reached out to students.

“My primary goal is to listen to all the D E C A members,” Shivery said.

Shivery maintains this goal, and, in fact, has already worked with the other New Jersey DECA officers to

Eiffel Tower

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Dress crazily

That I was getting chased by mice

Am overly organized

I don’t remember my dreams

Draw anime

I was in a zombie apocalypse

Fall asleep where I Washington stand Monument because I am so tired

Nothing

meet some of the demands voiced by the students during his campaign. For example, in light of the multitude of complaints

Shivery received concerning the DECA website, he and his fellow officers have recently launched a new and improved one.

Although his responsibilities lie mainly in the southern region of New Jersey, Shivery is constantly talking with the president and the other officers.

Furthermore, even though they are only required to meet monthly, the officers meet much more often. Together they work on making a budget, designing shirts and pins as well as other similar duties.

Shivery said, “We’re actually really, really close, so it’s really good to be working on a team that’s coherent with each other.”

Of the thousands of New Jersey DECA participants, not many have had the chance to be in such a high position. Out of the 200,000-plus competitors nationwide, the ratios seem even smaller.

Shivery is proud to serve as the Vice President of the Southern Region of New Jersey, but he still insists “Just because I’m somebody high up... doesn’t mean I’m not supposed to be listening to our members, so it’s definitely a goal of mine to listen to the members and make sure our organization runs fluently.”

COMMUNITY October 2012

EASTSIDE

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Flying Monkey Bakery soars across Reading Terminal ■ By Rachel Cohen (‘15) Eastside Community Editor

In the hustle and bustle of the Reading Terminal Market stands a bakery that gives extra care to its customers and baked goods while managing to stay unique and creative. The Flying Monkey Bakery, which turns two this month, is this sterling bakery.

The operation is owned

by Elizabeth Halen, who got her start by making baked goods and desserts at a restaurant as a part-time job while studying for her PhD at Temple University.

While juggling three parttime jobs, she decided to abandon the pursuit of a PhD and to make baking her full-time job, and from here, an amazing opportunity came along.

The previous owner of what is now the Flying Monkey Bakery did not get any joy from owning the bakery, Halen said, and Halen offered to buy it.

Now, the Flying Monkey Bakery has been featured on shows such as “Rachael Ray” and “The Today Show” for its original

dessert, Pumpple cake.

Pumpple cake is the dessert form of a turducken, which is a chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey. The Pumpple is a pumpkin pie baked inside of a chocolate cake and an apple pie baked inside of a vanilla cake, filled and frosted with vanilla butter cream. “[Pumpple is] perfect for Thanksgiving,” Halen said.

Pumpple is a seasonal dessert, only available during the fall and winter. As Halen said, it is a huge hit for Thanksgiving. In fact, Pumpple is so huge that just two months after the bakery opened, it became a media phenomenon.

Halen posted a picture of the cake to her popular food blog and, by word of mouth, Pumpple became popular and was first featured on The Washington Post, and then later on “Rachael Ray” and “The Today Show” as well as numerous magazines.

Those interested in getting the Pumpple cake must give the bakery a 72hour notice and must pick the cake up from the Reading Terminal, as The

Flying Monkey does not ship its goods.

All of the goods from the Flying Monkey Bakery are made f r o m scratch, “the way y o u r mom or grandma would do it, homeschool style,” H a l e n said.

T h e bakery will not ship its g o o d s Angie Ngyuen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor b e c a u s e The Flying Monkey Bakery’s classic whoopie pies on display. hours of time and pies—which come in in the middle of Center care are put into every twelve different varieties— City, Philadelphia…you dessert and the bakers to taste fresh, and shipping never know what’s going to would not want it to arrive these types of goods would happen next,” Halen said. in anything other than tiptake away this freshness.

What people will know, top condition. The Flying “There’s never a dull however, is that their Monkey wants its fabulous moment in the Reading desserts will taste amazbutter cake and whoopie Terminal because it’s right ing.

Angie Ngyuen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

The Flying Monkey banner attracts many customers to the bakery.

Donovan provides contact with your guardian angel ■ By Emmy Silverman (‘13) Eastside Community Editor

Some people like to believe that everyone has a guardian angel.

Bree T. Donovan, author of the novel Blackthorns of the Forgotten, is a believer. In her novel she writes of a musician, Gillean, who, with the help of a newfound guardian angel, Sully, is lifted out from the chaos of his clashing family and career lives.

“We get so caught up in our lives and the struggles that sometimes we forget to look to the signs along the way that tell us what to do,” said Donovan.

Donovan is generously giving all of the proceeds of her novel to a 24hour helpline based in Cherry Hill called CONTACT. The well-trained volunteers at CONTACT coach callers through the death of loved ones, drug and alcohol addictions and mental illnesses. The non-profit organization even calls shut-in elderly people to make sure they are doing okay and taking their medicine. Those in need can call the helpline anonymously and as frequently as they would like.

Donovan worked for CONTACT as its volunteer coordinator for one

year and as its funding researcher for two years. She found charities to help fund the organization and went to high schools to inform guidance counselors about the resources CONTACT could provide for their students who may need someone to talk to about their problems.

Recently, not unlike many non-profits in the area, CONTACT had to make some budget cuts.

Donovan hopes that the proceeds from her Courtesy of Bree T. Donovan book will help upgrade the Donovan will be donating the proceeds of her new technology of the novel to CONTACT. organization, computers and helping to get more including buying new phones and events which raise money for CON-

TACT, such as the suicide prevention walk the organization holds every June at Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill.

“Once you go [to CONTACT] you never leave. There are always things to do,” Donovan said.

Even though Donovan stopped working for CONTACT in order to fulfill her lifetime dream of becoming an author, she still feels a strong connection to the organization and wants to help it in any way she can.

“The people of CONTACT have good hearts. There are so many great people working there and volunteering,” said Donovan.

Donovan believes that the people at CONTACT are like real life guardian angels because they are on call 24 hours a day for any struggling caller.

“Whenever you need some advice or someone to talk to, you can call them up and they will be there,” said Donovan.

Donovan’s selfless act of providing money for CONTACT is enabling many struggling people in the South Jersey area to talk to their guardian angels whenever they feel stuck or alone. Now that’s a miracle.

COMMUNITY Page 6

EASTSIDE

October 2012

Mayor Cahn takes the initiative in Cherry Hill health ■ By Juliet Brooks (‘13) Eastside Editor-in-Chief

Mayor Chuck Cahn’s new Health and Wellness campaign is taking the initiative to try and foster a healthier Cherry Hill.

Prominently displayed as the first link on the left side of the Cherry Hill website (http://www.cherryhill-nj.com/), the campaign takes a multifaceted approach to the health of Cherry Hill’s citizens.

According to the campaign’s website page, “wellness is defined as ‘achieving a healthy balance of mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being.’”

In order to accomplish

this initiative, the campaign offers ‘wellness tips’ every week. These tips have thus far included tips for all members of the Cherry Hill community, from students (how to properly wear a backpack) to working adults (eating healthy at work) to general portion control for everyone.

The mayor’s Health and Wellness Campaign also has a wellness pledge.

People who take the pledge are pledging to start exercising, eat healthier and “know their numbers”— cholesterol and BMI, among other things.

Citizens interested in taking the wellness pledge can simply click on a link on the site’s page.

Another facet of the

include a plethora of healthy cooking events at various food suppliers, as well as group exercise programs and free health screenings. The campaign is facilitating a community environment to motivate people to be healthier. This part of the campaign can actually be seen in East cafeterias: Mayor Cahn said, “representatives from the Board of Education met with Aramark representatives and a nutritionPhoto Illustration by Angie al team and they discussed Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor putting out more nutriMayor Cahn gets Cherry tional news and awareHill healthy through his ness.”

All through September, wellness program. the campaign offered free wellness campaign is the yoga classes at the Jewish monthly calendar of Community Center (JCC) events.

These events on Springdale Road.

Participants only needed to sign up to take advantage of these classes.

The calendar on the Cherry Hill website shows that the campaign has planned cooking classes and various other events several months in advance, so that people looking to really stick to the health campaign can set up their schedules around the opportunities offered.

Cahn said, “[The campaign] is to get all of our residents aware of their own health and to take ownership of healthy eating and healthy living.”

The Mayor’s Health and Wellness campaign is taking steps toward a healthier Cherry Hill community.

More pink, more lives saved at Six Flags ■ By Olivia Altman (‘14) and Rachel Cohen (‘15) Eastside Staff and Eastside Community Editor

Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

Six Flags allowed race participants to go on rides and enjoy Six Flags amusements after the race ended.

Six Flags held a Susan G. Komen-affiliated Central and South Jersey “Race for the Cure” on September 30, 2012.

In a place built for fun, one day is set aside to help an amazing cause.

On September 30, the 19th annual Susan G. Komen Central and South Jersey Race for the Cure took place at Six Flags Great Adventure. Around 15,000 spectators participated in this event, including about 10,000 runners, who had the option to stay at the park after the walk to go on rides.

These races are not only to raise money; the races are about the entire experience of a community getting together to celebrate, fight and remember.

“I think that on the surface, you’re having a good time at the amusement park…and then you’re also helping to find a cure,” says Monica Smith, Director of Development for the Susan G. Komen South Jersey affiliate.

These races appeal to thousands of people because unfortunately many people know someone fighting breast cancer, or worse, have lost someone to breast cancer.

In the past year, Susan G. Komen invested sixty-three million dollars fighting breast cancer through education, finding treatments and improving the lives of survivors. Seventy-five percent of revenue from the Race for the Cure goes to local community education. The other twenty-five percent of the proceeds support national breast cancer research programs. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the largest private funder of breast cancer research.

Lorelei McGlade, a survivor and participant in the race, said that the people who come to the race “have the dedication to help all women and the ability to save lives.”

OPINIONS October 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 7

“Forgotten war” rages on ■ By Kyle Bigley (‘13) Eastside Staff

■ By Gilana Levavi (‘14) Eastside Opinions Editor

“As human beings are also animals, to manage one million animals gives me a headache,” said Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn, Apple’s iPhone manufacturer. To alleviate this “headache,” Foxconn plans to install more than one million robots in its factories within the coming years. This will doubtless, displace countless workers, because robots are able to perform factory work far more efficiently than human beings. As technology has improved, this has been a growing trend. Robots are now able to do more intricate, skilled labor than ever before and are replacing workers worldwide in manufacturing and distribution.

It is not ethical for companies to simply trade in their workers for machines. The presence of thousands of laid off, dissatisfied people does not benefit any society. Yet progress cannot be stopped.

The fact that robots are more efficient at factory work cannot be denied.

Instead, a plan must be enacted to allow technology to work with the human population in order to benefit society as a whole.

Before factories lay off their workers, a plan must be made to ensure that those workers can find meaningful, sustainable jobs elsewhere. This will

most likely require re-training employees. The government as well as non-governmental organizations must work with companies to ensure that workers are prepared for sustainable jobs. These re-training programs must be implemented before factories are permitted to purchase robotic systems.

In the meantime, efforts should be increased to use robots for tasks that humans are not capable of performing, or tasks that would endanger humans if they were to perform them. For example, the Pentagon’s research and development agency has announced a competition to design specialized robots to work in disaster zones.

Disaster areas, such as nuclear power plants, where it is dangerous for humans to be, are the perfect places to utilize this technology.

Also, miniscule robots can be used in surgery to perform tasks that could otherwise not be done.

Furthering the development of these types of robotic applications will create jobs to replace some of those lost by the advent of robots in factories.

The efficiency of robots in manufacturing and distribution cannot be denied.

However, robots cannot displace millions of workers. Instead, this workforce must be re-trained for new, sustainable, meaningful jobs, in which humans and technology may form a productive partnership.

Headline and robot art by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

War rages on in Afghanistan in late 2012, the twelfth year of the longest war in American history. Yet, while the Afghan government seemingly decays, American casualties rise and fighting intensifies, no one seems to care. Like the Korean War, the war in Afghanistan has seemingly become a forgotten war.

Though war on the Korean peninsula raged six decades ago, the American troops slog on in Afghanistan, ostensibly without feasible objectives or the resources required to rebuild an entire nation—one so backward that a raped woman must either marry her rapist or face prison time. And while public opinion of the war routinely pools at about 65 percent against, neither candidate in the 2012 presidential election seems willing to talk about it. The Republican Party, formerly the party of foreign policy, did not even see the need to mention the war at its convention. But the problem is that there is no peace candidate in this election—or at least not one running on either of the two major parties’ tickets. In 2009, though offering ambiguous hopes of peace in the election year, President Obama deployed 33,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. And here we are today, left with an uncaring public and a war that drags on. No man left behind? Tell that to the forgotten 80,000 American troops still waging war in that mountainous tract of land known as Afghanistan.

Though President Obama envisions a plan in which most troops would come home in 2014, with about 20,000 staying behind, the war in Afghanistan is not winding down. In fact, the fighting has intensified, but NATO allies, including the United Kingdom, Canada and France, have begun to withdraw soldiers, with France pulling out all its combat soldiers by the end of this year. And so a coherent policy on Afghanistan seems missing-in-action, just like the almost 2,000 American dead from this war. Is the objective to rebuild a nation, fight Al-Qaeda,

fight the Taliban, or simply make Afghanistan into a Central Asian Guantanamo Bay—an American military base surrounded by hostile nations? All these potential objectives, while superficially appealing, fall apart under closer scrutiny.

A 2009 report claimed that there were less than 100 Al-Qaeda still in Afghanistan, which makes sense considering that enemies of the U.S. Government would rather have a base in Pakistan than in Afghanistan, a country with 80,000 American soldiers. The Taliban has returned with force, the rugged mountains acting as curtains to shield the extremists.

Nation building does not seem to offer results either. These days are the bloodiest ones in the war. An American dies nearly every day.

NATO forces are killed by Afghan Security Forces, their supposed allies, more often than by a member of Al-Qaeda. Hamid Karzai, whose brothers work in the opium trade, presides over an Afghan government riddled with corruption. How can the United States possibly use the Western liberal democracy model to build a tribal nation in the middle of the central Asian mountains at all, let alone in a span of two more years? Without a stable government, Afghanistan could actually become a terrorist state, but to build a stable Afghanistanian government would require resources the American public is not willing to commit.

Now that Osama Bin Laden has been killed—in Pakistan, not Afghanistan, as it is important to note—what is the reason for more Americans dying in Afghanistan?

To prop up a corrupt government?

To try to impose Western culture on a tribal culture unchanged in millennia?

The lack of a policy in Afghanistan by the American government betrays the men and women fighting there. An unjust peace is better than a just war, Cicero once said, but when the war is unjust itself, it is a betrayal of all the good inherent to the United States. We owe it to our soldiers to bring them home. If not, they will continue to shed their blood in vain, their sacrifices continuing to go unnoticed, their coffins still being shipped home to grieving loved ones.

Courtesy of historyguy.com

American troops are still stationed in Afghanistan.

OPINIONS Page 8

EASTSIDE

October 2012

Fair Pay Act Now ■ By Rebecca Fisher (‘13) For Eastside

The United States of America has made vast improvements in equal rights legislation since the birth of the United States.

The Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama, states that the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit resets for 180 days after each new paycheck in violation. A separate bill, The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, was introduced in the 10th Congress, passing in the Senate but failing in the House.

House Republicans strongly opposed the syntax of the Bill, citing liability of companies for actions committed by former employees. The Democrats argue

in favor of the bill, stating that the act protects the interests of the victims whenever they are affected by a discriminatory action.

Since the passage of the 19th Amendment, Americans have made notable progress in establishing more equal circumstances for women. The opposition to the Lilly Ledbetter Act and the Ledbetter court case show the biased mindset of many politicians and the blatant ignorance of the rights of female victims.

Because American women make up more than 47 percent of the workforce, they deserve equal compensation for their work.

If this equality is violated, women deserve the right to fight for equality of opportunity.

8, p r be ke u o t c a O m f o s As ocrat l m a n De tio a cN i r ne lot. e G al e B h of t

% 4 4

Health “assurance”

■ By Scott Nover (‘13) Eastside Staff

As an East senior, I know full well the effects of an uncertain future. The doubt is overwhelming.

Who knows, maybe I will spend my time after college wandering the city streets scrounging for my next meal. While the uncertainty of my future begets major questions, luckily, health care does not have to be one.

President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, fully

approved and deemed constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, has many revolutionary clauses that change the whole game of health insurance. The one most applicable, perhaps, to both my life and that of fellow students is the clause pertaining to “Young Adult Coverage.”

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, parents can now keep their children on their insurance plans until the ripe age of 26, replacing the old policies that presented a much younger

Pay as you earn ■ By Leah Mashioff (‘14)

Eastside Staff

Under President Obama’s improved “Pay As You Earn” income-based plan, the federal government plans to lower the cap for more borrowers on student loan payments from 15 percent of income in 2009 to 10 percent of discretionary income in 2012.

The latest change will likely reduce monthly student loan payments for more than 1.6 million responsible student borrowers. In the federal program Income-Based Repayment, or IBR, undergraduates will pay less than under a ten-year program.

Lower loan payments will give the chance for undergraduates and grad-

uates to credit loan lenders in the future. Also, young Americans under the IBR plan have up to 25 years to pay off their loans, depending on the payment plan.

The federal government offers loan forgiveness, after a 10-year deferment, in return for volunteer work, the military or choosing certain incentivized careers. Also, college students have the benefit of direct subsidized loans, which can be paid monthly or deferred after a sixmonth period.

Making choices for the future has fiscal consequences; thus, the federal government wants to assist young Americans by relieving them of high interest rates so they can achieve success in this economy.

age – even as low as 19 in some cases – for children to be eligible to stay on their parents’ health insurance.

Whatever the scenario may be, President Obama has done his fair share.

While single-handedly fixing the economy is quite the burden, bettering the case for health care gives those in their twenties a refreshing lift off of their shoulders. The world is scary. Fortunately, health insurance coverage does not have to be.

All election art by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

In 2010, 57% of 18-29 year-old voters supported Democratic House candidates.

Democrats have a 19 point lead in party identification of young voters. 47% of young voters are Democrats.

In 2008, President Barack Obama won among youth voters by 27 points.

Background courtesy of www.123rf.com Election statistics courtesy of www.yda.org and www.rassmussenreports.com

OPINIONS October 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 9

Fair Pay Act Later As o f Oc Rep t ubli can ober 8, sm ake up o Con f the G gres e sion neric al B allo t.

43%

“Funding dependence” ■ By Zachary Hamm (‘14) For Eastside

One part of Obamacare is that dependents, up to the age of 26, may stay on their parents’ health care plan. This idea of adults being able to stay on their parents’ health care plan encourages dependency on parents. America is built on strong, intrepid individuals who can fend for themselves.

What will these new 27-year-olds suddenly do without health care? If

they do not have a job to supply health care, it could take some time for them to find a health care plan. And if you do not have a health care plan, you will be taxed. If you cannot find health care after you turn 27, you pay a tax, thanks to the very same plan that previously kept you insured and untaxed.

When you turn 18, you should do everything you can to find a job and find a health care plan to insure against injury and the threat of being taxed by

■ By Michael Wang (‘13) For Eastside

Let’s make something clear: everyone wants equal pay for men and women. However, the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Act are just not feasible right now.

According to these acts, every single time a woman is paid less than a man, she will have the opportunity to file a complaint.

This will lead to an unprecedented number of lawsuits. The real winners would be the lawyers, as they would handle legalities and charge both company and female employees in the court of law, fighting for something that the country cannot financially handle at the current time.

Secondly, many small businesses do not have the capability to make sure that all of their employees are paid equally.

When forced to raise someone’s salary, the entire company’s dynamics would change. Many businesses are not actually against equal pay, but simply cannot afford to pay men and women equally because they do not have enough money to succeed with its implementation.

This may lead to the closure of many small businesses, which are the backbone of America’s economy.

Thus, until the economy improves, forced equal pay will have to wait. When the economy booms, we should switch onto an equal pay salary basis.

the federal government.

The whole Obamacare policy should be thrown out completely and made into a patient-centered health care plan. One major part of Obamacare is the policy that adults up to 26 years old can stay on their parents’ health care plan.

If former students are covered with their parents’ health insurance, the government will further ruin the economy by fostering dependence among students instead of growth.

Pay for yourself ■ By Zachary Hamm (‘14) For Eastside

All election art by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

19% of young Republican voters believe that job creation is the top issue of concern.

Republicans trail the Democrats in youth party identification.

28% of youth voters are Republican.

35% of young Republicans are white and 30% of young Republicans are male.

Background courtesy of www.123rf.com Election statistics courtesy of www.yda.org, www.rockthevote.com and www.rassmussenreports.com

The Student Loan Reform that Obama and the Democrats support so fervently cripples America.

The federal government wants to regulate the amount of money college students pay based on their incomes.

We do not need the federal government involved in our educational system.

The government should step back. What if a student drops out? The government and the taxpayers could lose money.

This notion gives the students the idea that the government will always be there to help and that they should look to the government every day.

The government is not a

baby-sitter and should not have to fund the furthering of students’ educations by taking a financial hit.

Just like funding Obamacare, this is hindering the youth and is causing them to become too dependent on the government for the future.

The government’s intention was to avoid direct control over the personal lives of individuals and was intended to provide for the public when needed. Creating a larger demographic of financially dependent individuals will not stimulate the economy but will, in fact, harm the future of this country.

Government should be an entity to help Americans in times of extreme need, not in everyday life.

Streaming quickly replaces entertainment purchases Streaming giants muscle in on TV series

Music listening becomes easier and more controversial

By Rebecca Cohen (‘15) Eastside Entertainment Editor

Over the years, the way of getting a hold of music has been constantly changing.

From records to tapes, CDs to iTunes, it has been easier and easier to listen to whatever music you want, whenever you want. Most people thought iTunes was the simplest way to own music for such little cost, but the music world has advanced even further. Recently, new music streaming sites, such as Spotify and Grooveshark, allow people to lease music and create playlists of whatever songs they want for free. Since the music libraries have no limit, users have access to practically any song in the world.

Recently, music lovers have been switching over to streaming websites to reap the benefits that a program like iTunes cannot provide. For instance, Spotify and Grooveshark are totally free.

This means that users do not personally own the music they are listening to, but, instead, are just streaming it from the source. For most people, this is not a problem as long as they can have access to the music they want. If you add up how much money you spend on iTunes in a year, the $1.29 song really stacks up, making it seem much more reasonable to switch over to a streaming site in order to save some money. The issue some people face with these streaming programs is that using these programs means only having access to the music library on a computer.

Additional charges are necessary to make the music library portable, to put it on a phone or mp3 player. In addition, there are ads that are played between every few songs. Sure these glitches are annoying, but they do not seem to dissuade users

Courtesy of Entertainmentbuddha.com

Spotify offers free streaming through record company contracts. from switching to these new music sources.

The question that these streaming sites have brought to the music industry table is: what does this mean for other online music stores such as iTunes and Amazon?

Does this render them obsolete?

They have not been completely knocked out of the game yet due to some conflicts the streaming sites have been facing, including a few lawsuits filed against Grooveshark. According to cnet.com, most recently, the company was sued by EMI record label because of a breach of contract and copyright infringement. Record labels are unhappy because they feel they deserve more money for all of the work they put into making music; when people stream, these companies make less profit.

The music streaming world is becoming much more advanced and will continue to grow throughout America and the world.

Spotify and Grooveshark may never completely overtake iTunes and Amazon, but for now, they are still growing and gaining as many listeners as they can -- one free song at a time.

By Joe Incollingo (‘13) Eastside Entertainment Editor

When series creator Mitchell Hurwitz announced his plans to turn Arrested Development into a movie, fans took note. When he added that the movie would follow a fourth season revival of the show to be aired only on Netflix, fans lost it.

Hurwitz s cult classic sitcom will join a slew of new programs for television-lovers to enjoy: programs available exclusively through video streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. As sites like these have already absorbed a hefty chunk of cable and satellite television subscribers, original programming threatens to twist the knife even deeper.

Netflix and Hulu are by no means new players in the streaming realm. Netflix s Watch Instantly feature (as opposed to its mail-order DVD rental service) dates back to before January 2008, while Hulu, which offers only online streaming, began in March 2007. Both offer unlimited

access to extensive libraries of television shows, movies and other content for monthly subscription fees. Yet, why wait until now to produce original programs?

Part of it may have to do with the surge of high-quality series from basic cable networks. The Sunday night HBO school of programming has lost footing as viewers find comparable and, even better, free alternatives in shows like Breaking Bad or Modern Family.

Top-notch series are no longer exclusive to premium cable networks. Hulu already airs programs from filmmakers Kevin Smith and Morgan Spurlock, while Netflix hopes to cash in with its own lineup of promising series, many of which feature talent like that of Kevin Spacey, Eli Roth, David Fincher and Weeds creator Jenji Kohan. By adding its somewhat infamous recommendation system, Netflix hopes its viewership will rival those of cable juggernauts like AMC. These shows will have a big audience because the algorithms

Students who stream some form of entertainment using a mobile device:

60% Most Used Sites for Streaming:

on Netflix will put it in front of the right people, chief content officer Ted Sarandos assures.

However, there may be another reason, specific to Netflix. The company lost around 800,000 subscribers last October when it split its DVD-by-mail and streaming features into two separate services with two separate price tags. An array of star-studded stories available nowhere else could certainly bait disenfranchised subscribers back for another taste.

Either way, it s a promising formula for both companies: put together a portfolio of Hollywoodclass programs to bring people in and keep them entertained with an endless array of movies and TV shows. It s also a formula that, Sarandos hopes, will last even after the shows all air.

People will be discovering [these shows] for the first time over the next several years, he said, the same way they re discovering Mad Men for the first time on Netflix today.

It s a bold claim, but not unrealistic.

The most popular type of streaming used among East students is music.

YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora

Video bar courtesy of sonos.com Game of Thrones still courtesy of film.com Laptop by Angie Ngyuen ( 13) and Brittany Ngheim ( 12)/ Eastside Photo Editors

Movie streaming cuts DVD sales significantly

By Rachel Tinkleman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

Remember Blockbuster? Neither do the majority of American consumers. The shift from DVDs to online streaming is evident, even when simply looking at the number of movie rental stores left standing and the declining popularity of Redbox. Especially traumatic for the movie industry is the ongoing deterioration of DVD sales. First put on the market in 1998, six years later, the DVD industry was grossing about 14 billion dollars. The falling popularity of this form of movie watching is exactly what caused MGM and Blockbuster to file for bankruptcy a few years back. People had no desire to rent a movie from Blockbuster when they could get it cheaper online without having to go anywhere to get it or concerning themselves with the hassle of returning it.

There is even a divide between certain online movie sites.

According to research by IHS, or _________. Netflix rose from less

than one percent of the total United States revenue for online movies, in 2010, to surpass Apple at 44 percent, in 2011, and Netflix membership continues to expand. The difference between Apple and Netflix lies mostly in their paying systems. Out of all the sites that offer movies at a per transaction price, Apple leads the way in revenue, but Netflix s more convenient monthly charges have made it more popular with consumers. People cannot seem to resist the easily accessible unlimited streaming for a mere eight dollars a month. Another notable difference between these two leaders in online movie sales is that while people tend to purchase new releases from iTunes, they can more conveniently watch older movies through online streaming with Netflix.

The DVD business is in danger, which is understandable when, according to an IHS report, viewers pay an average of 51 cents for every video they watch online, a cost that is much preferable to the $4.72 for DVDs. But what does this mean for Hollywood? Although online streaming has yet to detract from theater ticket sales rev-

enue, save for a few obscure bootleg streaming sites, the movie industry is still taking a hard hit, and has been for the past several years, made evident by MGM s bankruptcy in 2010. Not only had the sale of DVDs dropped, but also the sales from its collection of over 4,000 classic films, the largest company selection in Hollywood, had dropped. Sales of these movies were cut in half in the year leading up to MGM s demise. Before online streaming, MGM DVD copies were the best source of old movies for classic movie fans, but with online streaming, Netflix makes movies of all types easier to get. And if Netflix does not have it, someone has probably posted it piecemeal on YouTube or on some illegal streaming site that can be readily found through the all-powerful Google Search.

It is so much easier to get anything electronically these days: books, news, random information, music and, now, movies.

Streaming sites like Netflix get consumers hyped up at the availability and price of movie: they seem to be growing into more than just a mild headache to movie industry giants.

Graph by Rebecca Cohen ( 15) and Joe Incollingo ( 13)/ Eastside Entertainment Editors CHE sticker by Zoe Greenhall ( 13)/ Eastside Art Director Cougar sticker courtesy of Cherry Hill East

EDITORIAL Page 12

EASTSIDE

October 2012

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

New schedule brings positive change one of the most monumental changes that East has ever seen. The rotating schedule allows students the benefits of not having all their classes every day, giving students more time for homework. The eighty-minute periods, though originally expected to be too long, have been used wisely by most teachers. Eighty-minute periods are a great time for in-class discussions with a supplemental teaching period, which many teachers have used as a model for these long periods. Most teachers split the class period into two forty-minute sections, designating one half of the section to an interactive activity and the second half to instruction. Some teachers have continued to teach for the whole entire eighty-minute period, which is exactly the type of teaching that has been advised against since students can only pay attention to a lecture for so long. Teachers should do their best to adapt lesson plans that ensure that students are interested and involved throughout the extended classroom instruction.

Although classes are not offered each day, many teachers end up holding assessments on the same day, which overwhelms students. Testing days should be reinstituted to make sure that teachers do not all test on the same day.

Although teachers may argue that the rotating schedule prevents that, it does not entirely, since on some days, students could have all or most of their academic classes.

The start of the new school year brought a slew of changes. From different traffic patterns to the rotating schedule, the new format has caused a transitional process that took the cooperation and patience of students, and even teachers and faculty. As students settled into the first few weeks of school, they also settled into the new schedule. Eastside acknowledges as a whole that the new schedule has been a positive change for the East environment. Below, Eastside has evalutated both the positives and the negatives of the new schedule to bring to light what could be changed in years to come.

Study Hall: Originally, study hall was meant to be a designated time for students to independently study.

Oftentimes, however, studying productively requires more necessities than just a room to sit in. Despite this, the new study hall rules have actually worked to inhibit student studying by creating too much red tape. Students now have assigned seating. Though students were allowed to pick their own assigned seats, assigned seating works against the students’ advantage in study hall since students are no longer allowed to move around to work with other students who may take the same classes as they do.

The assigned seating divides students into groups of four. Currently, students are allowed to go to the library, but only in groups of four from each quadrant of the cafeteria, restricting student access to the library’s resources, such as the computers, which may be necessary to complete some homework assignments. Although it may seem ideal to have so many rules in order to maintain order within study hall (especially since the class contains so many students this year), students require a certain sense of freedom to be able to study in whichever way they see fit, so long as behavior does not become an issue. Because there are so many study hall periods, policies often vary depending on the advising teachers.

Therefore, policy during all study halls should be consolidated so that it is uniform throughout the day. As long as cellphones do not become distractions that inhibit others’ learning, students should be able to use their phones during study hall since it is their free period and many might also want to utilize their smartphone internet access to complete some homework assignments. One of the benefits of the new study hall is that students are able to get a pass to either come in later or leave school early if they have study hall either first or last period. They can also leave early if they have it the period before or after lunch, meaning that they can leave for the two-break period if they obtain a pass.

Break/Lunch: Initially created as enrichment periods for students, the break periods have served different roles for different clubs. Some clubs have chosen to be very productive with the period, such as the Robotics Club, which utilizes the entire time for building robots, while others have not been. The productivity levels are based on the students’ willingness to work. However, the most productive homerooms tend to be the special homerooms, rooms designated for specific clubs. There are some homerooms that serve no special role, but are just rooms to have students in, such as the Spanish homeroom or math homeroom. The administration should reevaluate these homerooms to pick which ones should be used next year. A possible alternative to these purposeless homerooms would be to allow clubs who have not been given the option to have a homeroom this year to apply to be a homeroom next year. Also, students should be allowed to utilize the break period to re-take tests and do other such educational tasks.

Staircases: The traffic within East had been a constant problem within the halls, especially in the infamous C-Wing intersection. The new traffic patterns are worth commending, considering traffic has been alleviated within the staircases and C-Wing hallway. However, these rules should not be applied before or after school or during classes.

Rotating Schedule: Although the new schedule was met with some disapproval last year, it has proven to be

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COMICS October 2012

EASTSIDE

Logical Logistics by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

Hipster Pharaoh by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

Page 13

Halloween by Shari Bodofsky (‘14)/ Eastside Staff

UNDERGROUND Page 14

EASTSIDE

October 2012

Assassin’s Creed coming to America

■ By Joe Incollingo (‘13) Eastside Entertainment Editor

Election year excitement brings out the historian in everybody. Ubisoft Montreal’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed III promises to satisfy all Americans’ amplified love for their country and, for the especially passionate, quench their thirst for blood. Moving the setting to Revolutionary America, this fifth major installment offers a new experience for devoted fans of the series.

“We’re trying to do something that makes people excited,” said creative director Alex Hutchinson.

A new protagonist, new era-appropriate weapons and a supporting cast of American historical celebrities give new life to the franchise which has, for the better part of its five-year existence, mostly focused on one character and one time period.

Still, the series’ notoriously complicated premise is no less complex here than in the past. Assassin’s Creed III introduces Connor Kenway, a half-Native American and half-British man who enters the swelling American Revolution as both a soldier and a shadowy killer following an attack on his Frontier village. Meanwhile, the game’s parallel storyline about a bartender/assassin in the present day, continued from the

“Hear” this fall

■ By Jack Braunstein (‘13) Eastside Editor in Chief

Death Grips - No Love Deep Web - October 23: How to follow-up a universally regarded firestorm of a debut album that is already clawing its way to the top of best-of-year lists?

Well, if you happen to be Sacramento noise-rap Internet demigods Death Grips, try ditching a nearly sold-out world tour without warning and getting right to work on your second album of the year.

An absurd career choice for most any band at the peak of its critical adoration, the move for Death Grips sounds about right: The Money Store is the musical equivalent of a .gif image of a hit-and-run, a deranged, glitch-y fiend of a record that forcefully revolutionized any genre that had the misfortune of getting caught in its blogosphere hype-current.

Here’s to hoping that No Love puts at least one hole in my bedroom walls for each tour date cancelled.

Maserati @ Kung Fu

Necktie – November 5: Three years ago, Jerry Fuchs fell to his death down an elevator shaft; in

previous four titles, expands with ties to the Mayan Apocalypse. While Desmond Miles courts the end of the world, Connor works with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to oust the British from the colonies.

In accommodating the 250 years since the events of A s s a s s i n ’s C r e e d :

Revelations, Assassin’s Creed III updates and adds elements to its gameplay. With more enemies carrying firearms than in previous games, ranged combat, along with dualwielding combat, gets a necessary boost. Connor enters the fray with tomahawks, flintlock pistols, bow and arrow and the series’ iconic hidden blade; new fighting mechanics ensure that Connor can use any weapon with horrifying effectiveness.

The game also introduces an open-world frontier f o r

players to explore.

W h i l e cities like Boston and New York offer a similar stage for shenanigans to Rome and Jerusalem in previous games, Assassin’s Creed III introduces forest-based missions and a hunting mechanic reminiscent of that i n the process, the world lost a great American drummer and the future of his main gig, Maserati, quickly dimmed. But after a short mourning period, Maserati is back—with disco beats?

While the old Maserati used to hypnotize audiences with its casually complex, powerful but laidback approach to post-rock, the revised line-up promises to offer a show that, if not entirely uncomfortable, is quite the dance party.

The addition of Mike Albanese behind the kit gives the entire set a sort of rejuvenated disco feel, with heavily swung beats and dense synths that almost never match up exactly with the decreasingly precise delay echoes of Coley Dennis’ and Matt Cherry’s guitars. Regardless of such changes to Maserati’s aesthetic, this should prove to be an entertaining show, even if that just means a bunch of thirty-something post-rock nerds pulling at their collars and muttering “too soon, too soon.”

The Dead Milkmen & MC Lars @

Union Transfer – October 31

Black Moth Super Rainbow @ Union Transfer – December 7

Of Montreal @ The Trocadero – December 13

Rockstar’s cowboy blockbuster Red Dead Redemption. Even more unusual is the addition of naval combat; Connor will be in command of his own ship (exactly why is yet to be revealed). All come together to offer a more appropriate account of 18th century America.

Yet, while a lot of gameplay footage involves offing Redcoats, developers insist that the story is not that black and white.

“It’s not about ‘America Ra Ra,’” lead writer Matt Turner defends. “It’s about freedom and community and how people are treated in that kind of a situation.”

That said, and considering all of the new goodies it brings to the franchise, Assassin’s Creed III sounds like the standout title its developer has aimed for.

Look for it on consoles October 30 and on PC November 20.

Upcoming Releases • Halo 4. November 6 • Call of Duty: Black Ops II. November 18 •Hitman: Absolution.

November 20 Art by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

UNDERGROUND October 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 15

Great Guitarists Great Guitars and their

Thurston Moore & Lee Ranaldo ■ By Nick Mitchell (‘13) Eastside Underground Editor

Where did grunge come from? It had to do something with Sonic Youth, and particularly their guitarist, Thurston Moore.

Sonic Youth has been hailed as somewhat of a revolutionary alternative band, mixing noise rock with an artsy avantgarde flair. Few bands have taken a more ferocious role in its revolution of guitar music in the past thirty years than Sonic Youth: picture two shaggy-haired maniacs—noise rock pioneers. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo—beating their instruments senseless with drum sticks, screwdrivers and water bottles, conjuring up tempests of sound that range from abrasive firestorms of gritty snarl (check out 1982’s “Shaking Hell”) to hauntingly sparse beauty, like “Shadow of a Doubt,” to windows-down indie-rock anthems like “Teenage Riot”—created a new age in music.

Urban legends from the early ‘80s New York No Wave scene describe Sonic Youth pulling up to shows with cardboard boxes full of abused Fender Jazzmasters with screws and nails shoved under the strings in insane alternative tunings. Moore and Ranaldo could be seen as the frontmen of an entirely new generation of music, spawning acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Blonde Redhead.

When Moore plays he seems to almost connect with the guitar: it seems as if the guitar is an actual extension of him, a tool that he can use to convey a myriad of different sounds and emotions. Though Moore has used many guitars on tour, his signature tool of destruction is the Fender Jazzmaster—Fender even released special editions based on Moore’s and Ranaldo’s manipulations of the build.

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

■ By Rachel Tinkleman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

As a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast, I’ve seen at least one film featuring the well-known London sleuth from almost every decade since the beginning of motion pictures. The first time Sherlock ever appeared on screen was in 1908, in the first of six movie shorts. But a little later came a much more developed, although still silent, Sherlock movie that is definitely worth checking out.

Sherlock Holmes (1922) with John Barrymore may not be the best interpretation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, but it has a certain charm to it, a charm that a lot of good silent films carry.

Sometimes in silent movies, the directors only show part of the picture instead of the whole Courtesy of Regional Frontier image. The rest is blacked out. This is used to focus Jonny Greenwood, in the simplest the attention of the audi■ By Nick Mitchell (‘13) terms, is a musician. His vast selection of musical instruence, which was helpful Eastside Underground Editor ments includes the viola, the harmonica, the glockenspiel (kind when not many other camof like a xylophone), the ondes Martenot (kind of a mix between a era techniques were availpiano and a theremin), the banjo, the drums, computer-generated sounds able. In this film, the and finally, his guitar, which is his main instrument for live shows and albums. director uses this blackout Greenwood’s main gig is in Radiohead, shredding out melodic and sometimes technique around the face heavy guitar riffs as the background for Thom Yorke’s angst-ridden lyrics—and he of Holmes’ timeless literdoes quite a fantastic job of it. His guitar of choice happens to be a Fender Telecaster, ary nemesis Moriarty, but which he brings on every tour. Unlike most guitarists, he’s part of a band that focuses on it is not in the shape of a a very distant and sometimes ominous type of music that doesn’t allow for the usual bluesy circle or a triangle, or any twang or up-tempo guitar ballads that most guitarists have the freedom to play. He plays other standard geometric more grunge-inspired tunes with a bit of electronica added in. shape. Instead, it is the Interestingly, Greenwood doesn’t exactly give off a rock-star attitude, as he stands with shape of a spider. long black hair over his eyes while he violently picks at the strings. His aggressive guitar The body of the spider playing has even earned him a few wrist injuries, and due to this, he must wear a brace. seems to fit the face of Greenwood’s influence is especially evident in the Radiohead albums The Bends and Moriarty exactly, without Ok Computer. Lately, Radiohead has changed its musical direction and Greenwood’s losing shape as a spider, along for the ride. New Radiohead albums such as The King of Limbs and Kid A focus and long spindly legs come less on rock and more on electronic sounds. Due to this change, Greenwood has from the body jutting out switched job descriptions, from simply playing guitar to supplying the sound into the darkened picture. software for the band. Recently, Greenwood created critically acclaimed Without a word, this immovie scores for films such as The Master and There Will Be Blood. His age impresses upon the special way of playing the guitar has earned him a place in rock audience the desired efand roll history. For a small sampling of Greenwood, listen fect. to tracks “Paranoid Android,” “Creep,” “BodyThe film has funny Courtesy of Virgin Media snatchers” and “My Iron Lung.” moments, too, some intentional and others naturally comical to people spoiled by modern acting.

In one part Sherlock is trying to see if he can guess a man’s height by the length ■ By Bryan Sheehan (‘13) A quintessential Jack of all of his stride. When the Eastside Underground Editor trades, Jack White has been everywhere musiman walks by, he goes up, cally. While most would know him from the White measures the length Stripes, where he played guitar and sang lead vocals with his between his footprints, wife Meg White, Jack has also been a part of a couple major side projthen starts measuring the ects, including the Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. man. I guess when I As a part of these other bands, White has taken the role of keyboardist (The explain it, it isn’t so funny, Raconteurs) and also drummer (The Dead Weather), but the instrument he but you can imagine the shines with is the guitar. On his recently released solo album, Blunderbuss, White look on the other guy’s is responsible for every instrument, with other studio musicians lending a hand on face when some random back-up vocals and percussion.White’s instrument of choice, though, is the guitar, dude with a tape measure which appears in most of his songs. is trying to find out how Although the White Stripes broke up in early 2011, their music is still widely tall he is. popular in the mainstream. Their biggest hit, “Seven Nation Army,” is played in areThen, like I said, there nas all over the country. In fact, the main guitar riff in the song may be more iconare those moments you ic than the track itself. White’s tendency to play memorable riffs is not lost on just have to laugh at; Blunderbuss, which combines some of the old school White Stripes sound with newer, they’re so overdone. While more experimental, jams. “Sixteen Saltines,” the second single released off the Sherlock is snooping album, has the potential to be an instant arena-rock hit, while “Hip through someone’s second (Eponymous) Poor Boy” is piano-heavy and more jazz-pop than hard rock. floor window, he falls and Through his numerous projects and bands, Jack White has made a makes an overdramatic name for himself in the music world. Still playing with The flop onto the ground, Raconteurs and The Dead Weather along with his solo which looks kind of silly, to career, White is constantly working on different be honest. But the film projects that are each in a unique does look really cool, has Courtesy of Warner Brothers style. some good suspense—and it’s a cute story to boot.

Jonny Greenwood

Jack White

HUMOR Page 16

EASTSIDE

My summer well spent ■ By Blod Onmashert (‘16) For Eastside

Most kids go away for s u m m e r vacation or stay at home and have fun, but for me, summer was a great opportunity to start preparing for high school.

The last day of eighth grade, my homeroom teacher gave me my summer reading assignment.

As soon as I held it, I took a picture of it and sent it to my mom for her to buy both books immediately.

When I got home, I skimmed through both books and could hardly help starting them. The next morning, I woke up with them next to me and smiled. This was going to be a great summer!

I read my summer reading requirements and went over them with my parents. My mom tried to encourage me to go outside and play, but I told her that I’d like to stick to my reading. That day, I read every page of The Book Thief front to back.

It turned out to be the best book that I’d ever read. During my second day of summer vacation, I typed up the full assignment for The Book Thief.

Throughout the rest of the week, I read The Alchemist and took my time to complete the assignment. At the end of the first week of summer, I had conquered all of my summer reading and the assignments for all of my classes. I only wasted a bit of time playing Online Scrabble to help build my vocabulary for the SAT’s.

During the second week of summer, I went out and bought brand new pens, mechanical pencils, highlighters, sharpies, scissors, post-itnotes, paper and a reasonably sized 8 by 11 inch pencil case. Then I asked around to find out which books I would be reading during the year, made a list, and bought all of them. During week three, I gathered notebooks, binders and folders, colorcoding all of them in the process.

During this week I also indulged in a series of YouTube videos regarding high school preparation.

Until Labor Day weekend, I spent my time memorizing my schedule and routes for each day of school.

When Labor Day weekend rolled around, I was fully prepared and felt supremely confident about the start of my freshman year, which is more than I can say for some of my friends.

Story actually by Ethan Tinkelman (‘16)/ For Eastside Photo by Zack Becker (‘13)/ Eastside Humor Editor

October 2012

Live cougar mascot attacks school – with spirit ■ By Zack Becker (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

School is upon us yet again and just like every year, administrators are hunkering down to solve the most important issues affecting each and every student. This year, the school has decided to purchase a real cougar to serve as the mascot for the football team to increase school spirit.

“The time has come to focus on what really matters,” East principal Dr. Ron O’Schmeeza said in a speech on the first day of school.

“No more worrying about frivolous things like having the best test scores or h e a l t h y

school lunches: our football team did not have nearly enough attendance last season. I am extremely disappointed in this school’s lack of energy at football games.”

As expected, students of all ages, shapes and sizes have taken Puma, a rescue cougar, in as one of their own.

H e

Photo by Sophia Santo (‘13)/ Eastside Staff Illustration by Angie Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Student pets school’s new mascot.

accompanies students to classes, leads cheer squad sessions and even substitute teaches a few classes here and there. No matter what environment Puma is put into, it is clear that the students are not only comfortable with this large cat – who weights in at about 160 pounds and, stretched out, is over eight feet long – but they are happy to see him as well.

“Puma was so excited to see me in Anatomy class this afternoon that he jumped right onto my shoulders and latched his claws in me! It was AWESOME! It was kinda like when your dog is excited to see you, you know? Just a lot bigger and stronger, but so much more awesome,”

said Evan Jaybird (’14), who is currently recuperating in the Virtua Emergency Room from the severe clawing he received.

Rumor has it that crosstown rivals, the Lions, will follow suit and get a live lion of their own – which could cause a security nightmare for the Thanksgiving game.

“I can’t wait for the East-West game in November,” said Philip Adams (’15). “They’re having a live petting zoo with the mascots, and all I had to do was sign some lame waiver or something like that. It’s gonna be so much fun!”

Getting a live cougar to be the school’s new mascot proves the absolute perfection of executive decisions made by the school; next thing you know, they’ll be flawlessly directing hallway and stairwell traffic!

SPOTTED: Teachers seen outside of natural habitat ■ By Rachel Tinkelman (‘13) Eastside Humor Editor

Two weeks ago, Wally Handford (’14) spotted a teacher walking from store to store in Holly Ravine on Springdale Road.

As to what the teacher was doing so far from his natural habitat, the teacher was reportedly wearing a dark-colored shirt and jeans, and was carrying a plastic bag out of CVS, presumably filled with products from that store.

Although Handford is certain that he recognized the teacher as one from East, other students who have seen the live footage Handford caught on his iPhone suspect otherwise.

Lacrosse player Lindsey Leibowitz (’13) said, “I think that teacher was

•Students still do not understand why there was school on Columbus Day. • Siri taking tests for history students.

• Mandatory show-andtell instated during enrichment period.

• Students caught trying to sneak up the “down” staircases.

• East’s slang dictionary reveals that kids with huge backpacks are now called “snails.”

• Break 1 and Break 2 periods now called “Halftime.”

News Briefs logo by Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

really from Eastern. I saw (’14). “That video was blurhim there at an away game ry at best and I think Wally once.” just wants attention.”

Whether this teacher was really from Cherry Hill East has not yet been determined, but one thing is for sure, H o l l y Ravine is certainly an odd place to find a teacher from any school. In fact, some students are inclined to believe Shari Bodofsky (‘14)/ Eastside Staff that it is all Bigfoot has lost his step to teachers. a hoax.

“I don’t buy it,” said Gary Finch The most astounding of

all claims came from Elizabeth Sutton (’15), who said she actually saw multiple teachers at a restaurant in the Promenade.

Students flocked to the Promenade in multitudes; meanwhile, the restaurant in question reaps as much benefit from Sutton’s story as tourist sites in the Scottish Highlands do from the rumor of the Loch Ness monster.

Sutton said, “I mean, I knew teachers went outside of school, I’m not a skeptic or anything, but I didn’t expect to see so many of them at once.”

The live footage captured by Handford can be seen on YouTube, or on his website at www.fakelink.com/wastingurtime. All teachers questioned on this matter suspiciously refused to respond.

HUMOR October 2012

EASTSIDE

The tables are turned; seniors get lost ■ By Amy Myers (‘13) Eastside Opinions Editor

“Yeah, it's really embarrassing. We're supposed to be the dominating classes, you know, as upperclassmen. Now I have to ask freshmen for help. Like,

fortable scenarios.

“You'd think that, as a senior, I'd lead helpless freshmen to their classes like I always did. And now they're leading me. So

The social hierarchy of high school has been turned on its head this year, and it is extremely clear where the blame lies: the advent of the new schedule forces the once too-cool-for-school seniors to struggle and strive to get to class on time.

For decades, the freshmen were lost in awe and confusion as they were given a schedule to start their new future in high school. Recent studies have shown, however, that the freshmen were the least affected by the new schedule.

Shockingly, the upperclassmen are the ones stricken with confusion.

Of course freshmen are Joel Greenspan (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director still struggling with locat- Freshmen help seniors find their classes. ing classes, but the older students are frazzled with ‘Yo, what period is it?’ And even though I know where the timing of the classes then the kid says ‘G’ and I'm going, I don't know and who has what class at runs off before I can even when I'm going there!" what time. figure out what class I said Morgan Friedman Andie Pendent ('14) have,” Pendent said. ('13). even admitted to asking Even the seniors have High school counselors a few freshmen to help faced the similarly uncomare working furiously with him decipher his schedule.

students to clarify the schedule.

“It’s just so difficult,” high school counselor Annabeth Jones said. “I have three seniors come in before first period and as soon as I explain the system to them, three or four more are standing there, staring at me with puppy dog eyes.”

Instead of the typical image of freshmen writing their schedules down their arms or keeping their planners close at hand, the seniors are reading their schedules inches away from their noses, which, as Pendent said, “shouldn't happen.”

With the combination of the new alternating schedule and the branded “up” or “down” staircases—an issue that has caused three nervous breakdowns and an orange-throwing fight in C-wing intersection to date—it seems that these changes have already proven to be too much for many upperclassmen.

■ By Jon Levine (‘13) For Eastside

He’s done this before. The lights shine down on his face, a face of determination. Bursting through the doors, he lines up on the starting line, and as the bell rings, he explodes. A young freshman gets in his way, and he lights the poor underclassman up. Sprawled on the floor, the little freshman just stares in awe at what is now just a blur of speeding color. Rounding the corner, he dodges several obstacles: a past teacher who wants to say hi, friends, a group of girls and a janitor.

Shoving the teacher aside, side-stepping the friends, stopping to talk to the girls, continuing on and running over the janitor, this runner cannot be stopped! Teachers are screaming and herding students into rooms to avoid a possible trampling by this frantic runner. Time is ticking down, and the runner is starting to look tired and thirsty. He steps into a classroom for a quick vomit, realizing he has to persevere; past the obstacles, past the vomit, past the thirst, he keeps on going. This is real life, not a game. Mike Tyson’s voice rings in his ears, “Thith ith real, you need to finish firtht.” Powered by those coherent, eloquent words of wisdom, the runner treks on. Now the runner reaches another level. Resembling Chris Christie chasing an ice cream truck mixed with Dez Bryant fleeing a DUI scene, he sprints toward the final leg of the race. Ten seconds left, nine, eight. He’s close to the door now, the Promised Land. He crosses the finish line with five seconds to spare. Tears streaming down his face, he begins to thank his family, friends and school for this amazing victory. Ladies and gentlemen, I have never seen the likes of this before, it’s amazing, it’s unbelievable, Joe Shmoe finally made it to period G! Too bad it was at the wrong time.

Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Editor

Radio broadcaster reports on student’s flight.

Page 17

■ By Sherin Nassar (‘13) Eastside Managing Editor

This has gone on for long enough. This unspoken truth must be revealed, and I am the one who is going to do it, darn it. My name is Ben Schlizner and I am a senior at East, and for the last four years I have watched as the freshmen have grown significantly shorter.

At first, I thought it was just an oversight. I was 5’11” my freshman year and everyone around me was a bit shorter. But, I was on the tall side, so that was okay. I even got a little suspicious at eighth grade orientation when all the little eighth graders crowded me. It was like looking into a pit of garden gnomes. Their big, bulging eyes wouldn’t even meet mine. No one came past my shoulder, only reaching to a bit above my belly button, but you know, I expected that.

When I came back sophomore year and saw the freshmen, the problem had gotten worse. Now, they were nearly at my hipbone. I brought these claims to the school nurse, Shirley, bringing photographic evidence of the freshmen walking the halls and entering classrooms, but she just laughed at me. She even took my height on the scale in her office. But, the scale was completely wrong because it said I was 6’4”, which I know is a lie since I visited the doctor two years ago and, then, I was 5’11”. That’s my height.

Junior year I really could not stand it anymore. The new freshmen were beyond short. When I barged into the principal’s office with a plan to quarantine the freshmen into the gym and submerge them in soil and water to make them grow, he actually laughed out loud, telling me that I was as tall as he is, so of course they’d be so short. But, he’s 6’11” and I’m pretty sure I’m still 5’11”. I could never be his height.

Now I’m a senior and this has to end. The freshmen are too darn short.

The freshmen are getting shorter every year and I just wanted to draw people’s attention to the study I have been making because no one seems to believe me without an official report. But what do they think could possibly be happening? It’s not like we’re all getting taller!

The freshmen are just simply shrinking.

Myth Busters logo by Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director

SPORTS Page 18

EASTSIDE

October 2012

No easy job: How coaches prepare for games ■ By Greg Frank (‘13) Eastside Sports Editor

It may not seem like a lot goes into preparing for a game on the high school level. But if you’re jumping to that conclusion, then you ought to slow down.

Certain types of preparation, like scouting, only apply to some sports. For example, Head Football Coach Mr. Tom Coen said that the team will exchange film with upcoming opponents in order to get to know the opposition and what areas they can exploit.

Football, unlike other sports, is unique in that it lends itself to big group substitutions.

Offense, defense and special teams all have to work together as their own individual unit to be successful.

“You just have to make sure you prepare the same way each week. We have to be ready in all phases of the game,” said Coen.

Offensive Lineman Tyler Drob (’13) said, “It helps us know what to

expect in our opponent. We are ready for whatever they do and we put ourselves in the best position to win.”

Much like football, the East girls’ volleyball team also watches a lot of film.

Head Coach Mr. Scott Mooney said he likes to record all of their games as well as some of the bigger games that feature East’s rivals. Mooney likes to record games that do not feature his team because his players can know their opponents better by watching them on film.

“It takes away the awe factor,” Mooney said.

Mooney also likes to keep his own personal statistics for everyone on his team and the players’ success rates in going for kills.

Mooney writes down three numbers for each girl: the number of kills, the number of errors and the number of total swings or attempted kills. Mooney said most people consider a kills-to-errors ratio of about 20-30 percent good for high school volleyball.

Boys’ Cross Country Coach Mr. Matt Cieslik said he uses a website called NJRunners.com in order to find out more about some runners from other schools.

Though Cieslik did say he likes to see other cross country teams in person, NJRunners.com offers a nice alternative method of scouting in which he can learn more about other runners that may pose challenges for his team.

Mr. Karl Moehlmann, the Boys’ Soccer Head Coach, presented another way of scouting. Moehlmann said that his assistant, Victor Dombrovsky, is a referee for a soccer league that plays games over the summer. This league includes lots of male high school soccer players who play for schools that appear on East’s schedule. There were also a couple of summer tournaments that the soccer team participated in. In the Shawnee tournament, the team won three of its four games, but

Brittany Nghiem (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Coach Moehlmann leads his team during a game. ultimately ended up losing teams’ games to get a feel in the semifinals. In the for their best players and Stockton tournament, tendencies. While she East won all seven of its will also call other coachgames and the champies at times, Boyle said, onship. Between these “It’s all about what you preseason tournaments can get out and do.” and Dombrovsky’s refereeSeeing opposing teams ing, East has a good idea of in person seems to be the what players and teams to top choice for coaches look out for in the coming when it comes to scouting, season. but each team has its own Girls’ Soccer Head additional routine for Coach Ms. Katie Boyle preparing to play the best tries to drive to other game possible.

Wonder-Walsh: The end of an era is upon East made sure all of the coaches were up to date in their Eastside Sports Editor CPR certification and conWhen the bell rings at cussion training, two certi2:30, the work day is over fications that coaches need for students and teachers in order to be allowed to alike. While some stay coach. All of that, however, after for clubs or sports, is in addition to all of the the hardest part of their other small problems day has ended. But for Walsh helped coaches fix.

Mrs. Joan Walsh, the “She helped you with school’s athletic secretary, everything,” said Mr. Karl the work was just Moehlmann, the beginning. Students head coach of came to hand in the boys’ soccer and health forms and boys’ volleyball coaches called her to teams. ask why their buses Moehlmann had not arrived. She added, “She could made calls to track work out all the down equipment that kinks and problems still had not arrived, that may occur and, on days with bad before, during and weather, her job got after the season. even harder.

She She’s the heart and needed to call other soul of the athletic schools to reschedule program.” games, cancel buses Walsh said she and tell referees will miss being about the cancelation. around all the peoWhile few saw her ple at East and the working firsthand, sports. Some of her she had one of the favorite memories most important jobs include going to in the school: managfootball games and ing the Athletic watching the dediDepartment. cation of the basket“She was the founball court to Coach dation, the center John Valore. She core [of the Athletic will be moving to Department],” said Cape May Courtformer Athletic Direchouse, but said she tor Mr. Bob Hulme. will still try to keep “Without that foundaup with East sports. tion, we wouldn’t “ M i d d l e have a functioning Township is the Athletic Department.” high school down Walsh, who retired there and I know at the end of boys’ lacrosse plays September, worked at them,” she said, East for 12 years as laughing, “So I’ll Danielle Fox (‘13)/ Eastside Editor-in-Chief look them up if they the Athletics Secretary, handling respon- Walsh retired at the end of September after 12 years as East’s athlet- come down.” sibilities from making ics’ secretary.

Whether or not sure students met academwas because of her interest their games.” she continues to follow ic requirements needed to in and knowledge of sports.

But coaches did not just East sports closely, one play sports, to scheduling Before coming to East, appreciate Walsh’s sports thing is for sure: she will buses and referees for Walsh worked at Sports knowledge. Walsh also be missed.

■ By Mike Reisman (‘13)

games, to talking to opposing schools’ athletic directors and making schedule changes. When somebody called with a question for the Athletic Department, Walsh answered first.

Hulme hired Walsh in 2000 when he was the school’s athletic director.

He said that part of the reason he selected Walsh

Illustrated and had kids come through the East sports program.

“I usually pick up the newspaper and open to the sports section because I want to see [which East teams] won or lost,” Walsh said. “I like talking sports to the coaches. They’re my friends now. They’ll come in and want to talk about

Through the years...

In her 12 years at East, Mrs. Walsh has led the Athletic Department through: 54 Conference Championships 21 Sectional Championships 8 State Championships 1 Sport dropped (Dance) 1 New sport (Boys’ Lacrosse) 3 Athletic Directors 37 Changing Coaches

October 2012

SPORTS Fall Sports Interviews EASTSIDE

Page 19

Prior to the beginning of the fall sports seasons, the Eastside sports editors caught up with a player from each of the teams.

Boys’ Soccer

Coming into this season, expectations were high for the boys’ soccer team. With a majority of last year’s team’s starting line-up returning for this season, an improvement from past seasons, boys’ soccer could end up being one of East’s better teams this year.

Since this will be head coach Karl Moehlmann’s final year, it would be nice for him and the team to go out strong. The team’s three captains, Andrew Adler (’13), Jarred Madrid (’13) and Matt Muench (’13), plan on having a great season. Eastside sat down with Muench prior to the start of the season to discuss the team’s plans.

Football The Cougar football team came into 2012 with the job of following up one of its best years in recent history. In 2011, the team went 7-3, including a win over Cherry Hill West, but narrowly missed making the playoffs. Led on defense by Nick DiVito (’13) and captain Nick DellaVecchia (’13) and by Daishi Goto (’13), Tyler Drob (’13) and captain Jonni Cassano (’13) on offense, the team looks to improve on last year’s record and make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Eastside talked to Jonni Cassano (’13) about the 2012 season.

Eastside: How much does last season help give the team confidence that you guys can keep improving this year?

Matt Muench: We’re looking to build a lot off of last season. Though we did not make the playoffs last year, we’re looking to make the playoffs this year – and not just make them, but advance far.

E: How do you think playing with lots of seniors will help in terms of team chemistry?

MM: I’m playing alongside guys I’ve been playing with my whole life, so we don’t even need to look up at times. When we need to pass, we just know where our teammates are going to be, so it makes a big difference.

E: Obviously West is the biggest rival for all East sports teams, but if you had to pick Zoe Greenhall (‘13)/ Eastside Art Director another team that makes for an intense batMuench and the rest of the boys’ soccer team tle, who would it be?

MM: I think it’s always intense against are returning a lot of last year’s roster.

Cherokee because they have won States the last two years, so when you’re facing a team that’s had that much success recently, it’s easy to get up for the game and want to win.

E: What’s the biggest key to success this season?

MM: I think not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We just have to keep at it. Even if we get off to a hot start, we have to focus on the entire season, not just the beginning.

E: Realistically, how far do you think you guys can go this year?

MM: I think we can go all the way. If we focus and keep at it and everyone stays healthy this year, I think we can win States.

E: What would it mean to go that far for coach Moehlmann in his final season?

MM: It’s obviously always special to make a far run in States to represent your school, but this year, since it is Coach’s last, it’s even more special.

We have an extra bit of motivation to help us this year.

Boys’ Cross Country

The boys’ cross country team has some big shoes to fill. The past four teams have won the county title and the previous team also placed fourth in sectionals. But even though they have lost two of their best runners, in addition to four other seniors, captains Chris Arnold (’13), Mike Bruce (’13), Mike Minion (’13) and Michael Wang (’13) hope to lead the team all the way to the Meet of Champs. Eastside sat down with Wang to discuss the team’s plans for the fall.

E: How do you expect the team to do this season?

Michael Wang: We are returning four lettermen.

We expect to win the county title for the fifth straight year in a row, and I also expect us to win the Conference Sectional title. I think we can make it to Meet of Champs.

-Interviewed by Greg Frank (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor

Angie Nguyen (‘13)/ Eastisde Photo Editor

Wang and East cross country have set the bar high for this season.

E: How will it be different from last year?

MW: We are losing two [key] seniors, DJ Rodriguez (‘12) and Zach Iannarelli (‘12).

They were our top two guys, so we are really going to miss them a lot. We also graduated four other seniors as well, so we are going to miss their presence.

E: Have you done anything different this year in training?

MW: We put more emphasis on miles.

That means we are running more miles at a less intense pace. In the previous years, we were tired by States.

This creates a stronger pace for us and prevents us from burning out.

E: Whom can we expect big things from in the future?

MW: We have two really good juniors, Ben Dillon (’14) and Jared Dashevsky (’14). We also have sophomore Dan Helfand (’15), who has a lot of potential.

-Interviewed by Darby Festa(‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor

Dana Brito (‘13)/ For Eastside

Cassano leads the revamped football team this season.

Eastside: What are your expectations for this year?

Jonni Cassano: We plan on beating our record from last year. We plan on going to the South Jersey playoffs and we plan on winning the South Jersey Championships.

E: What are some of the team’s strengths this year?

JC: Our strength is up-front defensively. It’s a lot better, in my opinion, than last year. Our run game has stayed the same. We were good last year and we’re the same this year. We work a lot better this year.

E: What is your biggest challenge going to be this year?

JC: Our biggest challenge is definitely going to be topping last year’s season, only because we were so good last year and expectations are so high.

E: Have the expectations given to you by last year’s season motivated you guys at all?

JC: Yeah, our one thing this year is motivation.

Going 7-3 last year and not making the playoffs was just ridiculous, but it’s definitely motivated us to do better because it shows that it doesn’t matter what your record is, you have to show people that you can make the playoffs and that’s one thing we have to do this year.

E: How is everyone stepping up this year to replace last year’s seniors?

JC: We did lose a lot of guys last year, but Daishi Goto (’13) has done a fine job this year so far... Receivers are stepping up and, defensively, our line hasn’t been affected; if anything it’s better. We lost our linebackers, but we also replaced them. Honestly, it’s all the same; it shouldn’t be any different from last year.

-Interviewed by Mike Reisman(‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor

SPORTS October 2012

EASTSIDE

Page 20

Fall Sports Interviews (continued) Girls’ Tennis

Girls’ Cross Country

The girls’ tennis team faces a tough season after losing their best player, Jamie Silverberg (‘12), to graduation. But captains Paige Leone (’13), Amanda Elfman (’13) and Nikita Shukla (’13) are embracing their new status as the ‘underdog,’ ready to prove their worth on the court. Eastside met with Leone to discuss their tactics for the upcoming season.

The girls’ cross country team hasn’t seen a lot of success in the past few years, but this year, captains Allison Smith (’13) and Maddy Berman (’14) expect a change in that pattern. They not only have a crop of experienced runners, but the team welcomed two new additions who are sure to hit the ground running. Eastside met with Smith for an inside look of the team’s goals and expectations.

Bogdan Vitoc (‘16)/ For Eastside

Allison Smith (‘13)

Eastside: What can we expect from the team this year?

Allison Smith: You can expect us to make it past sectionals and to states this year. We should be better than previous years because we have better 1, 2, 3, 4 runners.

Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Eastside: How is the loss of Jamie Silverberg going to affect your team?

Paige Leone: Although Jamie was an amazing player, we do have a lot of underclassmen who are ready to step up. It will be tough, and we are going to have to work hard, but a team isn’t built around one player.

Paige Leone (‘13)

E: What do you expect from the team this season?

PL: Some guy from the newspaper was saying that East is going to be pretty bad this year, but that’s actually the best news to hear. We may not be as good as last year, but we are the underdogs now and we have nothing to lose.

E: How is the team different from last year?

AS: We have the addition of Monica Lee (from Paul VI). We also have a couple of new freshmen and another new runner, Sara Downie (’14).

E: As captain, how will you lead your team in the face of these unfavorable circumstances?

PL: Now that we are at a disadvantage, our team is going to have to work even harder as we can’t depend on other players to carry us through. As captain, I will need to push myself harder because I know that I am the role model now.

E: Who can we expect big things from this season?

AS: Monica Lee (’15), Maddy Berman, and, I hate to say myself, but me, and Sara Downie.

Interviewed by Darby Festa (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor

Interviewed by Darby Festa (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor

Despite a heavy loss of players in the graduating class of 2012, the girls’ volleyball team has a solid group of experienced players to perform this season. Lead by co-captains Nancy Brown (’13) and Natalie Roy (’13), the team is expecting a competitive season, but not an impossible one. Eastside sat down with Brown to discuss the upcoming season.

Girls’ Soccer In the past, the girls’ soccer team has struggled to compete in one of the toughest conferences in the state. But, this year, captains Erica Hansen (’13), Caitlin Delaney (’13) and Alex Manofu (’14) plan to make some changes and lead the team to victory. Eastside met with Hansen to discuss the team’s strategy for the season.

Eastside: How do you think the team will do this season?

Erica Hansen: I think we will be more successful than we have been.

In the preseason, we worked really well together and we all put in a lot of effort. We get along great and we make a good team.

Girls’ Volleyball

Eastside: How do you think the team will do this season?

Nancy Brown: I think we will do well this season, to be honest. We have a lot of good players and we all work well together as a team.

Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

E: Which teams will be tough to beat this year?

NB: I expect a lot of competition from Cherokee. They have always been a great team and we have always been a decent team, so it should be a fun and energized match. Williamstown will also be competitive.

Cherokee and Williamstown will be our most intense games because both teams have really talented players.

Bogdan Vitoc (‘16)/ For Eastside

Nancy Brown (‘13)

E: How is this year’s team different Erica Hansen (‘13) from last year’s team?

EH: We definitely lost a lot of good players, but we also gained a lot of talent. We have two new freshmen and people who have been playing club. We pretty much lost some and gained some.

E: As a captain, will you be doing anything different this year?

NB: I’m co-captain with Natalie Roy (’13) and we are both trying to lead the team. We have a really close team with a lot of positive energy. I think we’ll be very successful. We are not that different from the past season. We also both have very good leadership qualities, and I don’t see us changing anything. The team has positive energy. We cheer each E: As captain, are you trying to do anything different this year? other on and pick each other up when we are down. We always stay positive, even if we EH: Boyle likes when we are more assertive and take charge. win or lose.

Me and Caitlin have been communicating more with the team, and we’ve been trying to help people, and do other things like Interviewed by Darby Festa (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor plan more psych parties.

E: Which players do you think will stand out this year?

EH: Our center mids, Alex Manofu and Emily Rimdzius (’15).

Interviewed by Darby Festa (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor

Even though they play in arguably one of the most competitive conferences in the area, the girls’ field hockey team never loses spirit. Lead by Coach Elizabeth Scharff, as well as senior captains Natasha Hauck (’13), Jennifer Lagrossa (’13) and Angela Cirillo (’13), the team aims to snag some wins this year, providing tough competition for opponents. Eastside sat down with Hauck to get the inside scoop.

Field Hockey

Eastside: What do you expect from the team this year?

Tasha Hauck: We are probably going to win some and lose some. Lose more than win, actually, but it will still be fun.

E: How is the team different from last year’s team?

TH: We graduated a lot of the starting line-up, and we also lost our best player, Dailyn Brook (‘12), but it will be just as fun this year.

E: You play in an extremely difficult conference. Does this ever affect the team?

TH: We always try our hardest, but we expect a few losses because we know we are not as good as Eastern. We try to be as competitive as possible with other teams.

E: Whom can we expect big things from in the future?

TH: Jordan Coleman (‘13), Taylor Janney (‘13), Jenny [Lagrossa] and Angela [Cirillo].

There’s also Megan Thompson (‘14), who is a junior. She’s amazing.

Interviewed by Darby Festa (‘13)/ Eastside Sports Editor Angie Pacitti (‘13)/ Eastside Photo Editor

Tasha Hauck (‘13)