Verve Vol XIV Iss 4 Jan 2014

Year in Review Special

Winter Sports Preview

See page 4

See back page

Summit High School

January 2014

Volume XIV Issue 4

125 Kent Place Blvd. Summit, NJ 07901

Verve exclusive: Meet Assistant Principal Lapotasky Out of 172 applicants, 10 candidates, and 3 finalists, Michael Lapotasky will be the new assistant principal, effective Feb. 21, 2014. Lapotasky was introduced to and welcomed by the Board of Education at its Dec. 19 meeting.

When asked why he wanted to come to the district, Lapotasky said, “Summit has a proud past tradition, well known outstanding students, and is a high-achieving district.”

He will be leaving his position as Supervisor of English and Social Studies, grades 6-12, at Warren Hills High School. Prior to this role, he taught English at Manville High.

Lapotasky graduated in August 2002 from East Carolina University with a degree in English Education, and was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi

in May of 2009. He recently graduated from Seton Hall University, with honors, in May of 2010.

Lapotasky has been very involved in extracurricular activities and clubs, and has experience coaching football, advising yearbook, and student council.

“I want to improve student involvement, to make efforts to do something they enjoy outside the classroom,” said Lapotasky.

He added, “Something that I really want to focus on is to keep an extensive level of security, its really important in this day in age.”

“Summit High is such a terrific school and community, I believe it takes a different pair The new administrative team... The Board of Education has approved the recommendation to hire Mr. of eyes to help find areas for Lapotasky, seen here far right with Assistant Principal Grimaldi and Principal Sears. improvement, the administraGrimaldi adds, “I look forward ing the Hilltopper team, “I’m tive team is very collaborative cy Grimaldi are very excited to to collaborating with him to honored to be joining such have Lapotasky join the staff. we will indeed help Summit make Summit High School a great school community, “We believe he will bring a High make improvements,” I hope that together we can different experience and value better than it is.” said Lapotasky.

Lastly, Lapotasky comment- move forward and accomplish of an outsider’s point of view, Mr. Paul Sears and Mrs. Staed on how he felt about join- bigger and greater things.” “said Sears Photo Provided by Alex Arias

By Alex Arias Managing Editor

Football squad defends title to earn season win Friday Dec. 6 the football team defended its title of State Champions against Parsippany Hills with a final score of 16-13.

Though the weather was undesirable, cold and rainy at Kean University in Union, students and parents stood through the downpour to support the team and celebrate their victory.

The team was lead by senior captains Charlie Terry, Andrew Masterfano, Colm Dougherty and Eric Lyman.

Masterfano said, “ Maintaining the title of State Champions was a great way to end my last season with Summit Football.”

The last few minutes of the game had fans and players on the edge of their seats, as Parsippany Hills had opportunities to score.

However, senior Mac Wi-

esner defended Parsippany, with an essential sack, leading to a fourth down.

At the end of the final quarter, Masterfano had an interception that sealed the victory.

Junior Matt Greenstein said, “We came out on top this year because of hard work that we put in during the off-season, the help from coaches, and leadership from captains and seniors.”

Head coach, Kevin Kostibos stated, “The moment the clock finally ran out will be a memory that lasts a lifetime for me.”

Kostibos, extremely proud of his team added, “These seniors worked incredibly hard to achieve all accolades that will be bestowed upon them.

They were doubted from the beginning and used that as motivation to win 24 straight games and repeat as Group 3 State Champions.”

Verve

Photo by Peter Gangi

By Ashley White Staff Reporter

Inside this issue of

Champs! Photos from the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state football championship at Kean University 12/6/13

Globe...

2

Opine...

3

YIR...

4-5

S+S...

6

Buzz...

7

Turf...

8

MidTerm Exam Schedule: 1/23: 8:00 Exam 1 10:30 Exam 2 1/24: 8:00 Exam 3 10:30 Exam 4 1/27: 8:00 Exam 5 10:30 Exam 6 1/28: 8:00 Exam 7 10:30 Exam 8

Globe

Verve 2

January 2014

Applicants dodge O-bomb-of-a-care

Principal: Mr. Paul Sears Assistant Principals: Mr. Tony Akey Mrs. Stacy Grimaldi Adviser: Mrs. Anne Weisgerber English Supervisor: Mr. Corey Walsh Editor-in-Chief: Tommy DiSibio Stehanie Ollom Managing Editors: Alex Arias Gwen Rogers FRONT PAGE: Alex Arias GLOBE: David Meyers OPINE: Ellie Schaffer SCREEN & SOUND: Carly Leiter BUZZ: Meredith Robertson Megan Shaw TURF: Niko Nyktas & Jamie Macpherson YEAR IN REVIEW: Megan Shaw Nate Bowyer ART EDITOR: Nic Lalicato CIRCULATION: Jackson Sidebottom STAFF REPORTERS: Cam Fuoti, Emily Gao, Alice Kim, Bobby Moriarty, Ethan Mandel baum, Anna Tselevich, Ashley White, Anika Becker, Laura Pasquale, Dan Montgomery

“I have no interest in signing up for Obamacare.

I saw what happened to everyone who tried to sign up for it and how poorly it worked

out for them, and I think I would prefer to just stay on my parents’ insurance policy.”

- Michael Riela

With the passage of Obamacare, young adults, such as Michael Riela, have the right to do just this. In fact, according to the Affordable Care Act, young people can now stay on their parents’ healthcare policies until the age of 26. What’s more is that they can do this regardless of whether or not they are currently employed. However, as Mike Patton, a writer for Forbes notes, “This may cause health insurance premiums to rise.” If premiums rise, we could see the opposite effect of what the president had

Exhausted! Junior Dillon Diaz imagines struggling through the perils of trying to sign up for health insurance on Healthcare.gov.

hoped; healthcare will become more expensive.

So with all the commotion surrounding Obamacare, it is becoming more and more clear that, while the new law has many good provisions, there are still many adjustments to be made before we will see the

benefits of the ACA take full effect.

Commented senior Tanner Fulton on the situation, “I think Obamacare is good in philosophy, but I don’t see it working for a while. Hopefully this mess gets straightened out by the time I apply for coverage.”

Let the Winter Games Begin!

By Carly Leiter Screen & Sound Editor As the New-Year rings in, the 2014 Olympic Winter games are fast approaching.

This year, they are taking place in Sochi, Russia from February 7th to February 23rd. The games are expected to be as competitive and entertaining as ever, with audience favorites such as figure skating and ice hockey.

Three players from the New York Rangers have recently made the U.S. Ice Hockey Team and will compete in Sochi including: forward Ryan Callahan, playing on his second Olympic team, defenseman Ryan McDonagh and center Derek Stepan.

In the figure skating portion of the Olympics, certain prospects are expected to achieve success. The lead U.S.A skating team, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, won a silver medal at the 2010 games and defeated the defending Olympic gold medalists in 2011.

Historically, female figure skating is the most watched event of the winter games.

Junior Emma Flannery comented, “I cannot wait to watch the figure skating in the Olympics because it’s always my favorite. Gymnastics in the summer games and skating in the winter games are the only parts of the Olympics that I actually watch. Although, I’m also excited for the opening

Photo by www.senatus.net

Summit HS 125 Kent Pl. Blvd.

Summit, NJ 07901

functioned extremely poorly and crashed several times while Americans attempted to purchase health insurance. As a result, the President’s signature law is yet to take effect because his website is failing to accomplish its goal of serving as an online marketplace.

Said former Summit High School graduate Michael Riela, who recently entered the workforce,

Photo by Tommy Disibio

By David Meyers Globe Editor In 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, into law. The law mandates that all Americans must have health insurance or otherwise be fined.

After much debate regarding the legality of the bill, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Obamacare and established that it is constitutional. In light of that, this past year, the administration launched a website to serve as an interactive marketplace that provides government funded healthcare to the uninsured.

Despite being a hallmark of his presidency, President Obama has struggled with his goal to provide healthcare to all Americans. Despite launching several months ago, Healthcare.gov, the website,

Anticipation! American pride is strong amongst this group of Olympians who hope to excel in, among other events, figure skating and ice hockey. ceremony!”

Nearly 4 billion people around the world, spanning 220 countries, are predicted to tune in the games at some point from the 7th to the 23rd.

So get out your firewood and stock up on hot chocolate because while the snow comes down outside, everyone can snuggle up inside and watch the winter games.

Verve Views:

What is Your New Year’s Resolution?

By Tommy DiSibio Editor-in-Chief

Connor Murphy ‘14 Say hi to every single kid in the hallway and become more friendly of a peer.

Julia Mcnally ‘14 “To walk!!”

Peter Mckinley ‘15 “Eat more chicken, especially from Chick-fil-A.”

Mrs. Cynthia Retotar To continue to go to the YMCA four days a week and start to lift weights.

Verve 3 Opine Why New Years resolutions only last until From the Editors’ Desk By Ellie Schaffer We want to start by applaud- first round of decisions for

midnight Opine Editor ing the summit fans! The crew admissions, the talk of the

Each year as the Christmas trees come down and the Times Square ball goes up, it’s clear that the New Year is arriving. But before it does, before the clock strikes midnight and the past 365 days become a distant memory of another year gone by, we resolve.

We make resolutions that are meant to last us through the upcoming year, that are meant to make us happier people, better people. The tradition of New Year’s resolutions has been prevalent for hundreds of years, but why? Why does making a promise on the last day of the year to start washing the dishes or stop biting your nails have any more resonance than making that promise on any other day?

Ubiquitously, any new beginning brings hope. The word “new” itself evokes the idea that things will be fresh, different, better. This sentiment embodies the prospect of New Years resolutions in its entirety. Aside from its excuse to wear feathery tiaras and top hats and pop bottles of champagne, the New Year comes with a sense of hope and excitement for something new, literally, a “new” year.

www.theepochtimes.com

January 2014

Light it up! The fluorescent ball in Times Square attracts millions of excited people on New Years.

that stood out in the pouring rain and gusting winds during the football game at Kean University deserve an applause.

At the boys hockey game at Warinanco, Summit fans were on their A game when it came to enthusiasm. Unfortunately, this spiraled into a frenzy that may have gone too far. Stay classy, Summit. That being said, our excitement for sports is excellent, and in the future we definitely want to see “Pack the pool” for the swim teams, “Crowd the court” for the basketball teams, and “Fill the lanes” for the bowling team.

All senior athletes deserve to be cheered for as they tackle their last winter sports season.

Speaking of seniors, the early applicants are starting to hear back from colleges, and it is the buzz around the school.

With colleges releasing the

Making a resolution on a day when the slate will be wiped clean at midnight carries more weight because, well, the slate will be wiped clean at midnight, giving people a chance to start over: 365 new days to live lives more fully.

I may just be a pessimist, but from where I’m sitting New Year’s resolutions are fleeting. They are ephemeral notions that are made under the intoxication of hope for a fresh beginning. New Years resolutions last as long as the New Years party does, and then they become would-haves, shouldhaves, and could-haves, but didn’ts. Once the initial resolution is made under the clean slate of the New Year, people

forget about their resolutions because on January 1st, the buzz of the New Year has faded, and it is just another day.

So, why don’t we just make resolutions on other days throughout the year? Maybe that is the solution to forming permanent resolutions; making them on days when nothing particularly exciting is occurring, and having hope each day for the new day that is revving up. Instead of relying on New Years, let’s make it a habit to find hopefulness in tomorrow, in a new 24 hours. Maybe this way, resolutions will be withstanding, and better lives will no longer be sought, but achieved. And with that, I’m off to wash the dishes.

captain of one of my junior high basketball teams. Needless to say, I loved – and still love - the sport.

As a SHS teacher, I always hoped that basketball would enjoy the same success and popularity as the SHS football and lacrosse programs. Over the past couple of years, as I started to share announcing duties at the high school basketball games with Ms. Donat, I saw dismal student attendance at home games.

four years ago.

Basketball needs the support of high school students in order to thrive. Luckily, there have been some signs of positive change for basketball in Summit. This year, the Summit Basketball Club was formed, modeled after the hugely successful Summit Lacrosse Club. Its mission is to offer all interested basketball players from 3rd- to 8th grade a competitive yet educational environment to develop their basketball skills.

Another big change has been to hire Coach Jim Davidson to run the SHS Varsity Basketball Program. Coach Davidson brings many years of experience and credibility. (His success with the SHS lacrosse program speaks for itself.) I was thrilled to join the SHS basketball coaching staff this year and truly enjoy helping to coach the freshman boys. On the eve of our home opener, I am optimistic about the resurgence of my beloved sport in Summit.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 300,000 concussions occur every year. High school athletes are prone to receiving concussions because participation and intensity of sports has risen at this level, thus becoming a prevalent concern.

On Oct. 31, Nadia Kounang said via CNN that contact sports athletes at the high school level are two times more likely to receive concussions than collegiate players.

She also reported that the brain is not fully developed until age 25, endangering teen athletes with concussions that are potentially more damaging in the long term. All-season athletes increase their odds of suffering a concussion, especially if playing contact sports.

Because of the camaraderie, competitiveness, and athleticism, sports remain popular, but the risk of obtaining concussions has increased. In 2011, Lindsay Barton reported

the writer’s intent.

Libelous and inappropriate writing will not be published in Verve. If Verve has made an error and a correction is warranted, the editors take

reader feedback seriously and will promptly deal with concerns.

Reader corrections welcome at shsverve@fc.summit.k12. nj.us.

All-season athletes: stay mindful of concussions

By Ellie Rogoff Contributing Writer

Photo taken by Tommy Disibio

I grew up playing basketball morning, noon and night.

The first ten years of my life were spent on Staten Island.

(If you were born in any of the five boroughs, and you played sports, basketball typically was your favorite.) When my family moved to New Jersey, my favorite sport remained basketball. My friends and I played at Memorial Field in the fall, winter, spring and summer. I shot hoops in my driveway for hours until the tips of my fingers were split and chapped. I was even the

“I was thrilled to join the SHS basketball coaching staff this year and truly enjoy helping to coach the freshman boys.”

Verve letters and editorial policy:

to shsverve@fc.summit.k12. nj.us. Letters must be signed, and will be subject to editing for space, grammar, and factual accuracy; however, all efforts will be made to preserve

Verve is a publication open to opinions of its readers. Please submit all letters

The players’ parents were always there, as well as a handful of teachers and administrators, but where was the student body? The last time I saw a big student section at a game was when the Hilltoppers beat Chatham at home in 2009 -

www.scienceline.org

Faculty voice: A Comeback for Youth Basketball in Summit

By Mr. Don Standing Photography Teacher

hallway is who got in and who didn’t. Congratulations to all of the seniors who got acceptances, and for all of those who didn’t, do not worry, there is a school out there for everyone, finish the year out strong! Getting those acceptance letters in the mail (probably online) is just another sign for us seniors that college is that much closer.

Soon enough it will be second semester, APs will be over, we will have made our choice for college, and we can finally put our feet up and relax after four years of hard work. It can not come soon enough, and we have a feeling that senioritis is starting to spread like wildfire already throughout the grade.

But keep it up, we can all see the finish line!

on her findings from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council that concussion rates in schools have gone up 16 percent. She said that athlete reluctance to self-report concussions to coaches and trainers is part of an “insidious culture.”

Therefore, it’s time for athletes to take their chances of receiving grave and lasting head trauma more seriously. Those unwilling to sacrifice playing sports can lower their risk by playing one contact sport a year; this decreases possibilities for concussions because the brain will be in fewer scenarios where there is contact.

Therefore, playing non-contact sports – think of bowling, golf, tennis, swimming – will help diminish the amount of impact the head receives, while still enjoying playing on a team and competing.

Before stepping onto the field, rethink the precautions behind each sport and possible scenarios where a concussion can occur. The human brain is a vital part of the body and needs to be protected.

20 January 2014

ibtimes.com

February

February 3 marked Superbowl XLVII, a thriller between the Ravens and the 49ers. Head coach of the 49ers, John Harbaugh, beat his younger brother Jim with a goal line stand late in the game, despite a midgame power outage that caused a change in momentum.

nytimes.com

MARCH

On March 8th, after Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope to resign, Jorge Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis, the first pope to take the name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi.

April

MAY

A category 4 tornado tore through Oklahoma last May.

http://i.huffpost.com

JANUARY http://www.npr.org

On January 21 President Obama is inaugurated for his second term. After being sworn in, Obama proclaims, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”

Year In

Verve 4

The tornado was one mile in diameter and flattened parts of Oklahoma City, Newcastle, and Moore. Moore was hit the hardest, and the Tornado flattened the city elementary school. The Syrian war continued, and in early May Israel took responsibility for two airstrikes on Hezbollah military warehouses.

provided by http://cdn.theatlantic.com

On June 5, Edward Snowden, an employee for the National Security Agency leaked numerous classified documents through The Guardian and The Washington Times. These documents contained secret information about the NSA’s and its programs, such as PRISM. Snowden is currently on the run, seeking asylum in Russia and, despite pleas by the American people to pardon him, is still facing numerous criminal charges by the government. On a more local note, in June Summit High School won the Rising Star award for its fantastic production of “Beauty in the Beast.” This title labeled Summit’s musical as the best in New Jersey from the 2012-2013 school year!

http://www.nj.com

June

www.theguardian.com

Boston and the surrounding area, one suspect was killed in a shoot-out and the other was apprehended in Watertown, Mass.. This month also marked milestones for proponents of homosexual rights. French lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage and Jason Collins of the Washington Wizards announced he was gay, becoming the first open homosexual player in the four main American professional sports.

http://www.nj.com

The Boston Marathon came to an abrupt halt on April 15 when two homemade bombs detonated near the finish line. After a six-day chase through

013 January 2014

July

Aaron Hernandez, former player for the New England Patriots, was indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Odin Lloyd on August 22, 2013. The case, beginning in June, revolved around the shooting of Lloyd,Hernandez’s friend. The case is still underway, and it isn’t clear whether or not Hernandez will eventually face charges.

October http://trend.usao.edu

REVIEW

Verve 5

On Oct 1 at 12:01 a.m. the U.S. government shut down because of a disagreement in the House and the Senate over the controversial Obamacare. Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has caused much tension and dispute that eventually climaxed and caused the shutdown.

November

http://www.newyorker.com

Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons to ever make landfall, destroyed

September

The incedibly popular television show “Breaking Bad” finished its fifth and final season with a dramatic, event-packed season of eight episodes. After receiving the top Emmy Drama prize a week before the finale, the show had a recordbreaking viewership, which topped 10.3 million, a series best for the show.

December

Nelson Mandela passed away on Dec. 5. Mandela spent 27 years in prison while leading South Africa out of decades of apartheid. Mandela served one term as president after he was elected in 1994, in South Africa’s first democratic election.

http://consortiumnews.com

“Chelsea” Manning recieved the longest sentence ever given in the U.S. involving leaked government data to the public.

Private Bradley Maning was found guilty and sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking over 700,000 US Government confidential files to Wikileaks. The day after Manning was sentenced, he announced that he is a female, and would like to be called Chelsea. Later Manning announced that he wants the US government to help pay for a sex change involving hormone therapy.

http://blogs.nd.edu/

http://www.businessinsider.com

AUGUST

lands in the Philippines in early November. Over 4.2 million people were affected by the typhoon, which wind speeds reached up to 190 mph.

Screen & Sound

Verve 6

Forensics team wins again

Upcoming hot artists

By Laura Pasquale Staff Reporter

Rizzle Kicks This one-of-a-kind British hip hop duo; consisting of Jordan Stephens (age 21) and Harley Alexander-Sule (age 22), is one of the few successful male acts to come from the BRIT School, the same school that generated artists such as Adele, Leona Lewis, and Amy Winehouse.

By rapping and singing fantastic catchy tunes, they truly earned themselves a spot on tour with Labrinth in 2012 and with Ed Sheeran in 2013.

Not only are these young men talented artists, but they also

www.thisisfakediy.co.uk

The Neighbourhood Although “Sweater Weather” has begun to be played on radio stations such as Z100 and 92.3NOW, this indierock band from Los Angeles has many other songs of that are great.

Only recently formed in August 2011, they have performed at music festivals such as Coachella and SXSW. In addition, they have opened for Imagine Dragons on their 2013 tour. The Neighbourhood’s unique style stands out amongst today’s various artists. A reviewer on Metacritic stated, “From start to finish [the album] is a great listen with no fillers.”

www.last.fm

Grath-octo-finals in Public Forum; Ulyana Piterbarg-octo finals and Top Speaker in Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate; Matt McGinn-3rd place in Acting Improvisation; Aisha Guindo-4th place in Original Oratory and 1st place in Poetry Interpretation; Alison Johnston -6th place in Prose Interpretation; Keenan Buckley -3rd place in Dramatic Interpretation; Dana Goodstein and Zack Rissman-5th place in Duo Interpretation; Greg Archer and Allison Scott-3rd place in Duo Interpretation; Anne Borzner and Matt Wilson-2nd place in Duo Interp; Sean McManus and Keegan McManus-1st place in Duo Interp; Sean McManus-4th place In Humorous Interp; Allison Scott-3rd place in Humorous Interp; Zach Rissman-1st place in Humorous Interp

The 1975 In 2002, high-school students Matthew Healy, Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann, and George Daniel met at Wilmslow High School near Manchester, England. Encouraged by a school counselor, the boys formed “The 1975” by playing punk covers at local clubs. They signed with a UK indie label, called Dirty Hit, and released their first EP in 2012.

The 1975 has toured with General Fiasco, Muse, and Bastille. The band’s punk rock/indie style has listeners hooked. Sophomore Anton Voci said, “They’re great. And so different than anyone that’s popular right now.”

co-wrote a comedy sitcom in which they hope to star.

Austin Mahone After only three years of releasing music, Austin Mahone has already mananged to open for Taylor Swift on the Red Tour and for Bridget Mendler’s Summer Tour.

Currently, he has released six singles and plans to headline on MTV’s Artist to Watch Tour in 2014.

Just like many other artists, Mahone started by posting videos of himself singing with his friend, Alex Constancio in June 2010.

He has yet to announce a release date for his debut album. www.telegraph.co.uk.last.fm

Photo provided by Anne Poyner

Here is a roundup of some new artists worth a listen.

It’s better than “CSI”: The SHS Forensics team won the First Place Sweepstakes at the Newark Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament Saturday, Jan 4. A National Circuit tournament, 43 schools from 4 states attended the competition.

Summit, NJ: The Forensics team has attended four NJ Forensic League tournaments and won sweepstakes at each: two 1st place and two 3rd place. The team has also traveled to two National Circuit tournaments: Yale and George Mason University, placing students in finals at both.

Team coach Mrs. Anne Poyner said, “we have had consistent success as a team of over 70 competitors.” This includes last June’s performance at the NFL National tournament, where the team advanced to: quarter finals in Oratory (top 30 out of 240 in the country); 6th in DUO interpretation out of 240, and, said Poyner, “we won an award of excellence in speech for ranking in the top 20 out of 1000 schools at Nationals.” Individual Awards went to: Megan Shaw and Jake Mc-

January 2014

British Invasion! The popular new UK band The Neighbourhood (top) and the British band The 1975 (bottom) are expected to be big in 2014 with new songs soon to come. Also, the British hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks (middle) opened for Ed Sheeran in his 2013 tour and are expected to grow in 2014 as well.

2013: A year to remember in the music world

Get Lucky! Daft Punk’s song Get Lucky became an international hit within weeks of its release and was considered to be the song of the summer, along with Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines.

With every new year, new trends in music are introduced, along with new artists. 2013 was no excuse, with new acts from kids like Lorde to bands like Florida George Line, to comebacks from legends like Justin Timberlake.

Early this year, in March, Justin Timberlake debuted his first album in over seven years to the top of the charts. The work that he has done on his number one album, the 20/20 Experience has earned him seven Grammy nominations.

In May, Daft Punk made an international splash when the French duo released their fourth studio album, Random Access Memories.

Sophomore Alex Moore said, “I like Daft Punk. They have a very interesting sound.

I’ve never heard anything quite like them. Pretty cool, too, they sound like robots.”

The hit Get Lucky, reached the top ten on music charts in 32 different countries. Daft Punk collaborated with more than 15 different artists and producers to develop Random Access Memories.

The man who is a self-ac-

claimed voice of a generation, maybe the most controversial man in the music business, Kanye West, released his sixth solo album in June, titled Yeezus, a play on his nickname Yeezy and Jesus.

Throughout the album, West rants about the struggle of fame, having money, and being Kanye. Yeezus received an 85/100 from Megacritic.

Junior Pat Murray said, “Ye-

www.musicnfilms.org

20/20! Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience album, his first album in awhile, was a hit around the entire world and put JT back on the music map. Be sure to expect more hits from Timberlake in 2014.

www.socaledm.org

en.wikipedia.org

By Ethan Mandelbaum Staff Reporter

ezus was good. I like Kanye West. He is clearly the voice of our generation.”

In September, Drake released his third studio album, titled Nothing Was the Same.

Though it wasn’t received a positive rating of 79/100 from Megacritic.

Started from the Bottom, the single off the album released

in February, is certified 2x Platinum and reached 6 on US Billboard Hot 100.

Junior Conner Tomasello said, “I really enjoyed Drakes new album. He started from the bottom, now he’s here.”

In November, Eminem released his eighth studio album, titled The Marshall Mathers LP 2. It is a sequel to his most successful album, The Marshall Mathers LP, released in 2000.

Single The Monster reached 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The Monster was made in collaboration with Rihanna, the duos second hit, after Love the Way You Lie was wildly successful in 2010.

Love the Way You Lie was released on Eminem’s seventh studio album, Recovery.

Sophomore Xavier McCormack said, “Eminem was in a funk for a while. But now, he’s back, and just as good, if not better than ever.

The music of 2013 was filled with hit songs and people should be expecting new artists and hits to come out throughout the new year as well.

Buzz

January 2014

Photo by Daniel Montgomery

Downtown catches new seafood restaurant

Seafood! Fin Raw Bar and Kitchen, located at 37 Maple Street in downtown Summit, recieves popular reviews from locals.

By Daniel Montgomery Staff Reporter At last, a long-awaited seafood establishment has revitalized the restaurant culture of Summit. Fin Raw Bar and Grill has gotten off to a sizzling start, with rave reviews from local foodies.

An extension of the main restaurant in Montclair, Fin in Summit has brought a new dimension to the town’s food scene.

Its atmosphere makes diners

feel like they’re eating a meal at the Jersey Shore boardwalk, with its grayish walls made of weathered driftwood, and spectacular hanging ceiling lamps wrapped in burlap.

Wood beams and ceiling fans further deepen the nautical feel. 8 Its incredible display of seafood on ice, matched with its vivacious crowds, and the dozen raw bar seats facing the open kitchen, make this a can’t miss local establishment.

“Fin is dedicated to sustainability and seasonal quality,

offering light, clean fare, with a price point that is sensitive to the time,” owner Gerry Cerrigone said. “I just can’t believe we are off to such a tremendous start.”

Although its menu includes more than seafood dishes, the Sea Scallops and the Crab Cakes are highly recommended from the renowned chef and have been instant consumer favorites. No matter the entrée, the whole family can enjoy a meal at Fin. “I loved it. The food was fantastic, the setting was great, it’s exactly what Summit has need for so many years,” junior Will Currie exclaimed. Fin is certainly a restaurant climbing in the ranks of Summit food connoisseur’s favorite eateries, and looks to continue its astounding success.

Located at 37 Maple St., Fin is open for dinner Tues - Thurs from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., 5:00 - 11:00 PM Fri. and Sat., and Sundays from 4:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Within the coming weeks, they look to open for lunch as well.

Parking is available at the deck in the rear, and the driveway alongside the building.

Senior Column: Feeling the burn of New Year’s resolutions

Verve 7

Mild-mannered sub by day, mogul by night...

By Anna Tselevich Staff Reporter Spencer Frohwirth, has not only been a substitute teacher in the district for six years, but is also an audio engineer and producer. He has been making music for as long as he could remember. When he was a child he mentioned that he would sing himself to sleep whenever he had bad nightmares.

When his best friend growing up learned how to play the guitar, his interest in music grew and so he began writing songs in high school.

He enjoys making music because he is a creative person, and sees himself as a writer and an artist. To him, music is the best way to express himself.

He does some performances at open mics in New York City and in Newark. He is currently in a new band as the lead singer and synth, along with his best friend who and former college room mate as the guitarist, and another member who is their bassist.

When asked on what type of music they play he said, “We play experimental rock that is of epic proportions.”

Frohwirth has a lot of ideas for new music, but won’t be

able to produce any of it until he has a drummer.

Besides his band, he is currently working on an EP for

Fro! Substitute teacher Mr. Frohwirth jams out in the halls between classes.

his singer-songwriter friend.

Some of his performances, and other music production videos can be found on Youtube under his account, SpencerFro. To anyone who wants to pursue music, he says to “practice despite feeling the odds are against you, despite the haters you can create a fan base, and everyone can look forward to a lot of new Fro-tastic musical releases in 2014!”

Nevertheless, with 2013 falling through the cracks, I am making it publicly known that 2014 will be the Year of David!

All right so that might be kind of an overstatement. Perhaps I should start smaller.

I think I will name January the month of David! Actually that seems too big as well.

Verve’s staff invites all clubs to share news of meetings, events, You known what? I think I am and festivities. Representatives and advisers can e-mail inforgoing to abandon this resolumation to the Verve editors at shsverve@fc.summit.k12.nj.us. tion already.

It’s bad enough that I am embarrassing myself by writing this, I don’t need the additional humiliation of failing to live up to that sizeable task.

But to everyone who is actually trying to pursue a new resolution, I wish you the best of luck.

There is no better feeling than accomplishing a goal or challenge that you set for yourself.

However, if your resolution is to go to the gym more, let me be the first to say, don’t kid yourself.

If you don’t already workout, Latin club! Despite surprise morning power outages around town on it’s not going to happen. Be- Dec. 19, the Latin Club had its Saturnalia fest as planned. Munchkin lieve me, I’ve tried. The first donuts were imported from Westfield, and club liaison Mr. Jonathan two weeks will be great, but Hills hosted the food, games, and song. Winner of the pin-the-tailafter that, you’ll find some- on-the-lupus game was sophomore Ethan Powers, and classmate Paul thing interesting to watch on Flanagan won the competitive Achilles heel game. Latin scrabble was TV and, from there, we all played. The event culminated with, as per Hills, “the triumvirs of the Latin club performing a skit about Saturnalia.” Triumvirs are Ben know it’s straight down hill.

Kelser, Timmy Childers, Caroline Wohl, and Aediles are Tom Ellison, But good luck anyway.

Pressing on to June! Senior David Meyers offfers advice on new year’s resolutions, wishing everyone (much needed) goodluck to stick with these goals.

By David Meyers Staff Reporter Good news to the readers of the senior column, after being cut from the December issue of the paper, my column has been restored.

To all of those who were disappointed to see my column not be published last month, sorry mom I had no control over it. But with the New Year comes redemption and a chance to write once again.

Let me start off by saying Happy New Year to everyone!

Each New Year brings around the same traditions, bold reso-

lutions and regret from failing to accomplish last years’ resolutions.

I recall as the clock struck midnight last year, I triumphantly declared 2013 to be the year of David and planned on having the most exciting and adventurous year of my life.

However, looking back, 2013 decent at best, but I don’t think it won the title of the Year of David.

This is true not only because my year was particularly boring, but also because I think years are only named after animals in the Chinese calendar.

Photo by Anne Weisgerber

Photo by Nic Lalicato

Club Corner...

Alex Kelser, Katie Suffern, all pictured with the club above. Latin club meets most Tuesdays, 7:15 a.m. in Room 218. Join discussions that seek to answer the question: What would Caesar do?

Turf

Verve 8

Ready, set, go! Summit’s Leland Jones (right) congradutlates Westfield’s Matt Luppinno (left) after a hard race.

By Meredith Robertson Buzz Editor On November 30 Junior Amanda Brodow, representing the girl’s team, ran in the Nike Cross Northeastern Regional. Running under the title Top of the Hill Track Club, both the boys team and the two qualifying girls ran their hardest in order to finish out the season strong.

The athletes raced against 42 other clubs from across the North East.“The race was pretty difficult,” explained McIlroy, who placed an astonishing 56th out of 252 runners. “It was really muddy and I fell early on, but either way it was a really fun meet! My teammate Amanda Brodow had an amazing race and ran her fastest time all season. I’m glad I ended my final high school cross countryseason at this meet!”

The boys team, with the JV runners participating in the open race, worked hard together and cheered each other on to end out the season on a positive note.

Varsity runner, junior Leland Jones, recounted the challenging event with a positive attitude.

“It was probably the coldest race we’d ever run, with temperatures around 19 degrees during the race, but everyone stayed tough and put it on the line. The course is one of the most challenging in the Northeast, with tons of extremely steep hills and a harsh bottleneck right from the start, and even though the times weren’t our best, we were still happy with what we learned and what we now know we’re capable of doing in the future.”

Although this course proved to be difficult, it was a true test of strength and each runner was really pushed to the limit. Working together and encouraging their teammates to run their hardest and push the pace, this race was a clear indicator of the future triumphs that the summit cross country runners have potential to achieve.

Seniors taking athletics to the collegiate level

By Anika Becker Staff Reporter As suddenly as college applications were sent out, seniors are just as soon hearing back from their top schools. Excitement and relief is setting in for those seniors who have been accepted to their top schools, officially ending the college search process, and beginning their next journey in college.

Many additional seniors were fortunate enough to have been recruited to schools for a variety of varsity sports at that college.

Coming from a high school so athletically competitive and talented, students are eager to start cheering for a new school team, whether for a fall, winter, or spring sport. Collegiate sports means competing at the next level, and Summit is best known for its talented athletes and spirited super-fans.

There are many students being recruited and some of them continuing to the next level of competition are seniors Gillian McIlroy running for Cornell University, Anna Baumeister playing lacrosse for Cornell University, Kelly Haberl playing lacrosse for Colgate Uni-

By Jamie Macpherson and Niko Nyktas Turf Editors

Women’s Swimming

This year’s Women’s swim team is having a season that is sure to end in an exciting fashion. Although a recent loss to Hillsborough, ranked ninth in the state, brought the team’s record to a 3-2, their spirits are still high as ever.

Photo provided by Monmouthathletics.com

Photo from highschoolsports.net

Cross country post impressive times despite harsh conditions

January 2014

Recruited! Summit basketball phenom, Ba’Shawn Mickens from the class of 2013 took his talents to Monmouth University after recruitment last year.

versity, and Connor Murphy playing lacrosse for Dickinson College.

Gillian said, “I am really excited to meet my new team and compete with runners from all over the country”.

Kelly said, “I’m excited to continue to be part of a team and to be able to represent my school”.

Connor said, “I’m most ex-

Winter Sports

include Senior Anna Baumeis- Walsh the team has played ter and Sophmore Cassidy well in Davidson’s first year O’Malley. as coach. Upcoming games include Jonathan Dayton and A.L. Johnson.

Men’s Swimming

Top sprinter senior David Connoly and top distance runner junior Leiland Jones have led the team for the men.

While seniors Gillian McCillroy, Cara Brenn, and Sarah Salter lead the women’s team.

Looking to repeat their state championship last year, the team began with a solid 3-1 record, and coming off of a huge win against Governor Livingston where quite a few swimmers had their best performances.

Coming up are some big meets against teams Hillsborough and Westfield, ranked sixth and ninth in the state respectively.

Girl’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball

Winter Track

The team, after an opening win against Scotch Plains, went on a 4 game winning streak. Coach Erikson’s squad received their only defeat versus Union, which put their record to 4-1. Scoring leaders

ited about meeting my new teammates and creating a bond that will last a lifetime”.

Cornell has a Division I athletic program, and competes as part of the Ivy League. Colgate is another Division I school, participating in the Patriot League. Colgate has recently been ranked as 129 on the Patriot Honor Roll. Dickinson competes as a Division III pro-

Under the direction of Coach Davidson the team has opened up with a strong 3-1 start to the season, after a big win over rival New Providence.

Led by Seniors Mac Wiesner, Matt Fischetti, and Robbie

Men’s Hockey

Led by Seniors Liam McLaughlin and Garrett McGowan the team has begun the season with a formidable 3-1 record. Top scorers include junior Riley Flynn and junior Whit Cummings. Their biggest win came in a commanding 8-0 defeat over a strong Roxbury squad.

Men’s Wrestling

The High School wrestling team is giving it all they’ve got this winter, and so far, it seems to be working. With a current record of 4-0 at their meets, the team stands undefeated and brimming with confidence.

Just last Saturday, they managed to win all three of their

gram and is in the Centennial Conference. Dickinson considers its Men’s Lacrosse Team national title in 1958 their biggest athletic achievement.

These four seniors are just a sampling of the many others are embarking on a new journey, and are beginning to get enthusiastic about new schools, new experiences, and new sports teams!

quad matches against Mt. Lakes, Bernards, and Glen Ridge respectively.

Girl’s Hockey

Top scorers Senior Annabel Sangree and Junior Teia Ross the team lost two tuff games, opening the season with a record of 0-2. Under the direction of Coach Stanboro the team looks to improve their record in upcoming games against Pingry and Rye Country Day School.

Bowling Team

The bowling team is having a decent season so far this year.

The team’s current record is 3-2, but with a solid team full of returning seniors this year such as Brianna Boze, Nate Bowyer, Ricky Miner, and Chris Mulinos, the team is set to get better and keep winning matches under the direction of Coach Kratch.