Maddie MacWilliams
Newtonite
Non-profit org. US postage paid Newton, Mass. Permit no. 55337
Newton North High School, 360 Lowell Ave., Newtonville, Mass. 02460
◆ Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 • Volume 88, Issue 12
Looking up applicants Colleges say if Facebook affects admissions process ELI DAVIDOW n a poll taken Tuesday, Oct. 20, 20 percent of seniors said they had changed their names on the social networking website Facebook. Responding to a survey distributed by this newspaper, one student said, “Some of my peers are changing their names because they figure colleges won’t be able to identify them on the profile.” Colleges commented on whether they search for prospective students on Facebook to obtain more information about them. They also said whether any information that they find on Facebook would affect the application process, and how. Some colleges said they do not normally search prospective students’ names on Facebook because it is not their standard procedure. Boston University’s chief of media relations Colin Riley said that the university might search Facebook if someone wants an admissions counselor to look at it. “There may be an exception,” he said. “If someone calls attention to the use of Facebook or the things they have on Facebook, the university may look it up and go on a page. “By and large, the university is not engaged in going into Facebook to research student applicants.” Vivian Robson, an admissions representative at Harvard College, said that there is no time to search Facebook due to the high amount of applications the school receives every year. She estimated that thirty thousand students apply to Harvard each year. “With Harvard’s high volume of applications, we still make every effort to carefully read each applicant’s evaluations and essays. We will look at anything we think we need to.” Meanwhile, other colleges said they do not search Facebook because it may not be a dependable place to find information about someone. According to Clark University’s director of admissions, Tricia Uber, Facebook is not an appropriate web site for colleges to investigate applicants. “We feel strongly that it’s your private space,” she said. “If we were missing some information from an applicant, we would call the student or the high school to ask for an explanation. “Facebook doesn’t paint a full picture. In some cases, you don’t know who put it up. “It’s not a reliable source, because it might not be from the BY
Teddy Wenneker
Spain versus JV: In a scrimmage game Tuesday at Warren, Alba Rodrigo, a Spanish exchange student, kicks the ball as sophomores Denis Nalbatov and Ben Mubiru look on.
Students visit from Burgos
JACOB BRUNELL tudents from Burgos, Spain have been staying with host students and families from this school. The 21 exchange students from the Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente School in Burgos arrived here on Sunday, Oct. 18 and will stay until Sunday, Nov. 8, said Italian teacher Emilio Mazzola, the exchange’s coordinator. The Spanish students spend a part of their day at North with their hosts. “After the first two blocks, in which they go to classes with their hosts, the Spanish students work on their own homework for two blocks, and then they participate in Spanish class so that students in those classes have an opportunity to talk to BY
S
Library has new search options
MARENA COLE New resources are now available from the library. According to librarian Annette Tate, the library’s catalog is now available online. “You can access it from home now, or see if we have a certain material in the library,” she said. Additionally, Questia, an online library, is now available to faculty and students, said librarian Kevin McGrath. “You can access lot of copyright-protected books, as well as a lot of periodical articles,” he said. According to McGrath, almost 75,000 books are available on the website. The website allows users to search the books and articles for specific terms, he said. Students and staff can access Questia through the school library website. Anyone who wants to log on must use his or her ID number and first and last initial for the username, and “newton” as the password. BY
them and get to know them,” Mazzola said. In addition to attending school, the Spanish students also plan to visit Boston and go on trips to the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Freedom Trail. Last Wednesday, Oct. 21 and Thursday, Oct. 22, the Spanish students visited Newtonian New York City. Emilio Although it Mazzola has not been confirmed, Mazzola said, the North students who go to Spain might visit some of its major cities, such as Barcelona and Madrid, in addition to Burgos.
“There is an application process for students to go to Spain. In order to go, you have to have a record of good performance in the classroom, as well as a good record of behavior.” Students who participate in an exchange have a great opportunity to improve their language skills and increase their love of that culture, Mazzola said. “First of all, there’s a friendship between the students from both schools that develops, a life-long friendship.” “Lastly, by the time they leave, students often feel a connection or a sense of belonging to the city they were in for just three weeks,” said Mazzola. Students from this school will stay in Burgos from Friday, Feb. 5 to Friday, Feb. 26.
in brief
Board to discuss issues with new building
Laptops stolen this month
MARENA COLE Two laptops have been stolen this month, according to computer information specialist Phil Golando. The laptops, newly issued to teachers this year, were both stolen Friday, Oct. 9, Golando said. One was stolen from a locked office and the other was stolen from an unlocked classroom. Police do not have any suspects at this time, he said. The City of Newton is self-insured, which means it does not insure any physical items with insurance companies, Golando said. Horace Mann Insurance, a company that will insure teacher laptops, offers discounted rates to Newton Public Schools employees, according to Timothy Cheek, the owner of the agency in Newton. The company currently insures over 300 Newton Public School employees, he said. BY
REBECCA HARRIS Transition to the new building will be a key topic of discussion for the Student Faculty Administration this year, principal Jennifer Price said. She cited two specific issues to address: issues with the new building’s wireless computer network and incentives for students to eat in the new building’s cafeteria. “We won’t have that level of space that we currently have on Main Street,” Price said. Additionally, the SFA plans to discuss ways to deal with overcrowding during third lunch, whether second-semester sophomores will have frees when their classes are canceled, how the board might redesign the block schedule so that A-block isn’t always first in the day and student input on the library’s transition to the new building. The SFA elected history teacher Gregory Drake faculty cochair and senior Ezra Cohen student chair. BY
I
See Election Special — Pages 7-9
student or the high school.” At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, dean of admissions Stuart Schmill said that Facebook is something irrelevant to the admissions process. “We feel there is enough information in the application there that it is not a representative of who students really are,” he said. “We don’t want to bring that into the admissions process.” Wheaton is one example of a college that would take into account negative information if it happens to be found on the Internet, according to the college’s assistant director of admissions, David Ostman. Although the college does not actively scan Facebook, Ostman said, “If by chance we happen to randomly come across an applicant’s profile and see something inappropriate, we would certainly consider it further,” he said. Students should always be aware of what they put online, according to two schools. Salem State College’s assistant dean of admissions, Mary Dunn, said that she strongly advises students not to put anything online that can be viewed as negative. “I believe the social networking sites can affect a person’s opportunity, as anything written is open to the general public review and interpretation,” she said. Also, Robert McGann, the director of admissions at the University of New Hampshire, said that “the larger issue for students to be concerned about is being conscious about a student’s electronic image.” Still, the university does not check, he said. “That image can linger for years,” he said. “At UNH, we don’t search students on Facebook, but employers do and graduate schools do. The rule of thumb is ‘if you don’t want your grandparents seeing something, then don’t put it up on Facebook.’ “And even if you do delete something on the internet, it’s still there. Students need to be careful.” Facebook’s privacy settings allow users to dictate how open their profile is to the public by customizing who can view their profile as a whole, as well as specific content. “You choose what information you put in your profile, including contact and personal information, pictures, interests and groups you join,” according to the website’s privacy policy. Users can also block other users or specific e-mail addresses to prevent them from being able to access any of their content on the website. ◆ S EE EDITORIAL ON PAGE 2 AND RELATED STORIES ON PAGE 3.