Newspaper of Summit High School November
2011 Volume 12 Issue 2
Introducing Hilltopper Points
INSIDE this issue of Verve:
Snow Storm Coverage Page 8
By CARLY NYMAN and LINDSAY LEITER Ten points for Gryffindor – oh wait, be earned in the hallway decorating compe- to answer trivia questions about Summit. we mean the junior class! Summit High tition, which is set to take place around the By correctly answering the trivia question, School is beginning to resemble the hal- Semi Formal Dance. Additionally, points points will be tallied for the individual’s lowed halls of Hogwarts. Similar to the can be given to the class that contributes class. Student council members will conschool of witchcraft and wizardry, each most to various charity events during the tinuously be creating new ways to win Hillgrade is collecting points through various year such as the Thanksgiving Food Drive. topper Points throughout the rest of the year. events throughout the entire school year. Rumors have been circulating regardThere are some cool prizes in the works. ing the grand prize, but we’re here to put a The 2011-2012 school year will be filled stop to this nonsense. Junior Jess Sanyour with spirit due to the new Hilltopper Points heard the award was an all-expense-paid competition. One of the student countrip to Hawaii. Hate to shake the rumor cil advisers, Ms. Winifred Caetta, shares grape vine, but no such trip is in the works. that the goal of this friendly competition The details of the prize are bewill “create an excitement in the school ing finalized. There will also be and a bond within the SHS community.” smaller prizes for runner-up classes. This contest will be sure to spark interest and Student Council president, Sharon participation in future school events. Also, Kwak, believes “Hilltopper Points will it will hopefully revitalize school events The student council formulated new con- benefit our school by bringing us closer that have died down in the previous years, tests to gather points. For example, the together. The more students that get in(cough, cough…the Halloween assembly class with the highest attendance record at volved and branch out to other groups and the infamous Homecoming Dance). different checkpoints throughout the year of kids, the better connected our school Besides October’s Spirit Week and Pep will be rewarded with Hilltopper Points. will be.” This competition is sure to spark Rally, there will be multiple ways for your Also, during the year, students from dif- school spirit and encourage all students class to earn points. For example, they can ferent grades will randomly be selected to get involved in our SHS community.
Hallway Decorations By EMILY WILLS
Photo By Andrew Mandelbaum
Globe.....................2 Buzz.................3&4 S&S.......................5 Turf.......................6 Opine.....................7 Special...................8
What's Up:
November 13: World Kindness day November 17: Homemade Bread Day November 23: Fibonacci Day
The disappointment of the cancelled homecoming dance is old news, and now many students have noticed the lack of a senior class mural painted in the back hallway by the art wing. In previous years, Spirit Week was brought to a close with the gathering of each class to decorate their assigned hallway. The seniors would leave their mark on SHS by painting a mural of their hallway’s theme on a wall. Students would put their creativity to the test, bringing art supplies and ideas to compete to create the best hallway. Everything from Finding Nemo to The Pirates of the Caribbean to Monopoly and Harry Potter have found their place in the SHS hallway gallery. So, the question remains: will there be hallway decorations this year or not? Student council president, senior Sharon Kwak, says, "the decorations will make an appearance the week before Thanksgiving" this year. Pressure's on for for the classes to come up with this year's themes. Speculations for this year's hallways include the ubiquitous Jersey Shore cast, and the closely related 2012 Apocalypse. Until then, let the race to capture Spirit Year begin.
Steve Jobs: Remembering a Tech Icon By NATE COHEN
On October 5, most of us found out about Steve Job’s death via the Apple homepage screen. A thoughtful, healthy looking Jobs stared us all in the face and seemed to say frankly, “I’m gone”. There was no headline, no melancholy, just the dates of his birth and death to the left of his face. This all gave the announcement a particular shock value. It let you stare at the cool black numerals until you got the message. This, on the day of his death, was classic, quintessential Jobs. Even his death was announced in as sleek, simple, and striking a way as possible. The visuals, basic; the message, shocking; the delivery, genius. Consumer, you have been captured yet again. Hopefully, Steve Job’s legacy won’t be limited to this hypnotizing portrait. As brilliant as it is, it hardly captures the man that is its subject. Jobs founded Apple and pioneered Pixar. He brought us the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Store, and even the mouse. He gave us the means to put the universe in our pockets. He brought us out of the age of bulk, CDROMS, and keyboards. He also was the executive producer of the first computeranimated film, Toy Story. To every baby of the 90s, Steve Jobs was the modest, yet omnipotent bestower of media. Clearly, Jobs was, at the very least, a massive influence on the world. But unless you rooted for the PC in the “And I’m a Mac” commercials, you would say that Jobs was a visionary, a genius, even a hero. And this is not so because of his skill or intelligence alone. No, this is so because Jobs, perhaps unlike Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, was not a robot. This tech-
icon was also, at one point or another, an adopted child, a Buddhist, an LSD user, a romantic, a husband, a father, a cancer fighter, an intellectual, and a dreamer. That is not calculation you see in the steely eyes on the Apple homepage, that is vast experience, emotion, and depth. From the time he was a young adult Jobs truly had a vision to change the world. I don’t have to tell you that Jobs did one semester of college, or that he founded Apple from his parent’s garage, or that he voluntarily accepted an annual salary of $1 as CEO. What I might have to tell you is that he did have this goal, and that he wasn’t foolish for it. There really is no catch: Jobs wasn’t a sellout or a lucky break; he was never scandalized or corrupted; he was never just in it for the wealth. This immaculately pure motive, ironically, seems to have been the very key to his success. If he’d had any other motive he just might have failed. Apple’s 1997-2002 “Think Different” advertising slogan read: "Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do "
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