Vol XV Iss 7 APRIL '15 Verve

See Opine, page 4 for a guest column

by Danny Araya!

Turn to Screen & Sound, page 2, to read about the musician of the month, Maddy Ashmun!

Summit High School

April 1, 2015

Volume XV Issue 7

125 Kent Place Boulevard Summit, NJ 07901

Student-run Instagram attracts digital craze

public view.

According to Eliza Williams’ post in Creative Review, “His project is a truly ‘human’ one, revealing the vast commonalities in all our lives, and in our hopes and dreams, no matter how different our dayto-day circumstances may be.”

Junior Dylan Mondschein said, “I really appreciate the sense of community he’s creating within a said to be ‘hostile’ city. I enjoy talking to people and hope to work with photography in the future, so I thought it would be rewarding to carry out my own project.”

Following HONY on Facebook since 2011, Mondschein

was inspired by this idea and wanted to introduce it to Summit. She decided to emulate it, taking her own spin on the project and creating Humans of Summit.

Mondschein observes people in school as well as the neighboring streets of Summit. She is immediately drawn to people who she finds interesting and will ask them if she can interview them. She coordinates her posts with the relevance of time. Her first post was of a student couple on Valentine’s Day, which was accompanied by an intriguing caption consisting of quotes from the subjects.

Mondschein said, “I hope to continue this project until I graduate and possibly continue with it wherever life takes me!”

If you see Mondschein around town, don’t be afraid to give a friendly “Hello!” Who knows, you could be the next face to appear on the Humans of Summit Instagram.

Follow humansofsummit on Instagram and email humansofsummit@gmail.com and explain why you deserve to be featured.

by passengers. With anyone holding a license eligible to sign up as an Uber driver, the legitimacy of the drivers and their morals may be questionable.

Mary Wisniewski of The Huffington Post said that in Chicago, “They are investigating an allegation that a driver for the online car service Uber raped a female customer.”

Aimme Picchi of CBS News said, “[Uber’s] operations are coming under increasing scrutiny for what the company doesn’t offer. That includes the same type of insurance coverage as traditional taxi operators. Another complaint is possible misuse of personal information.”

Sophomore Jackie Deehan said, “I took an Uber once and it was really sketchy. The driver claimed it wasn’t his,

but there was an empty beer can in the front seat.”

The Uber website says that the company is designed with passenger safety in mind when hiring drivers.

It says, “This includes a three-step criminal background screening for the U.S. — with county, federal and multi-state checks that go back as far as the law allows — and ongoing reviews of drivers’ motor vehicle records throughout their time on Uber.”

Sophomore Simone Diaz said, “My Uber experience was convenient. The driver was quick and friendly. It was expensive though.”

Despite the pros and cons currently be debated over the company, Uber is a growing source of transportation and students are taking advantage of it.

Summit! Mondschein shows off the first HOS post, profling juniors Ted Cranley and Samantha Hanley. Photo Credit: Sophie Lees

By Sophie Lees Staff Writer

You may be familiar with Humans of New York, a social media sensation founded by former bond trader Brandon Stanton, that has over eight million followers worldwide.

HONY takes a peek into the daily lives of strangers walking the streets of one of the most diverse cities’ in the world; New York City.

Collected and presented in an appealing composition, HONY’s blog commemorates unique individual’s darkest memories, continuous struggles, and most prized achievements, only to be devoured by

New hairstyle sweeps across senior class

By Meredith Robertson and Ellie Schaffer Editors-in-Chief Who wore it best? This trending hair style is sweeping the Summit High School community, starting with the senior class. Here at Verve, we call it the Lazy Mohawk.

To get this look, ask your stylist to shave the sides,

but leave the top uncut, and parted naturally. Seniors Matt Greenstein, Conner Tomasello, and Hunter Wyckoff wear their trending updo with pride. If you think you can rock the Lazy Mohawk, give it a shot! We support you.

Uber provides smartphone convenience, risk

By Caroline Phillips Staff Writer

Whether it is a ride into the city or just a quick trip a few minutes away, Uber is growing in popularity as a new form of transportation for students.

Uber, founded in 2009, is a website and app that allows users to connect with a driver upon request.

By signing up, a credit card number is submitted with an email and phone number.

After passengers enter their location and desired time of pickup, a car will come within minutes. Uber users can also track the location of their car while they wait to be picked up.

However, safety concerns have recently been surfacing for drivers due to accusations

This month’s Verve....

Globe...................2 Screen and Sound...2 Buzz.....................3 Opine......................4

Short back and sides. Top to bottom: Senior Hunter Wyckoff, Senior Matt Greenstein, Senior Conner Tomasello. Photo Credit: Ashley White and Ellie Schaffer

Upcoming: Turf.......................5 Curve.................6-8

4/2: Autism Awareness 4/3: Passover Begins 4/4-10: Spring Break 4/5: Easter

4/14: Int’l Dinner 4/16: Quarter 3 Ends 4/17: Teen Arts Festival 4/22: Earth Day

Screen & Sound

Verve 2

Musician of Month is accomplished cellist

By Rachel Isralowitz Staff Reporter When senior Maddy Ashmun first picked up a cello almost nine years ago, she knew it was the perfect fit.

“Out of all the instruments I tried out, the cello sounded the best and felt the easiest to play. I really took to it,” she said.

Since her days as an elementary school performer, Ashmun’s musical abilities have blossomed. She has been a core member of the school orchestra, chamber orchestra, and pit orchestra.

Ashmun has also played cello for the New Jersey Youth Symphony for four years, performing in places as prestgious as Carnegie Hall.

Orchestra teacher Mrs. Barbara Vierschilling is grateful that Ashmun decided to stick with the cello.

“Her cello playing is lovely, with a pure focused sound that sings. At times, it is as if she

and the cello are one,” Vierschilling said.

During the four years Ashmun has spent with Mrs. Vierschilling and the school orchestra, she has grown into one of its most talented leaders.

“Maddy is an exemplary leader who’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge and boundless energy make people want to be in her presence.

She is able to think well on her feet and remain flexible. This serves her well both as principal cello and as president of the Orchestra Council,” Vierschilling said.

Ashmun’s musical range extends beyond the cello. She also plays piano and guitar, and is in the process of adding the base guitar and the ukulele to her repertoire.

Although Ashmun will be graduating this year, she won’t be leaving her musical interests behind.

“I would like to play in an orchestra during college. And after that, a career in the music industry wouldn’t be out of the question, even if it wasn’t performing,” she said.

Maddy Ashmun’s “cello playing is lovely,” said Mrs. Barbara Vierschilling. Ashmun plays cello for the chamber and pit orchestra, as well as the N.J. Youth Symphony. Photo provided by Maddy Ashmun.

Celebrate Earth Day

By Kaitlyn Stewart Staff Reporter

Statistics from Duke University show that, every day, the average person generates about 4.3 lbs of waste--in the form of wrappers, bottles, and other household products.

In order to reduce the amount of environmental stress placed on the planet, our students have made numerous attempts to “go green” over the years. Just this year, new filtered water fountains and

refill stations were installed, encouraging students to reuse their water bottles. In anticipation for Earth Day, students are encouraged to take advantage of these eco-friendly resources.

The foundation of Earth Day in 1970 aimed to make Americans more aware of the problems facing the environment and provide information about what the communities can do. Earth Day is meant to celebrate the organizations

April 2015

SNL performs controversial skit

By Anika Becker Global News Editor

“Fifty Shades of Gray” star, Dakota Johnson, generated a rush of buzz following her performance as guest host on Saturday Night Live. In a parody of a Toyota Camry, Johnson plays a girl joining the terrorist group ISIS. In the original Toyota commercial, a girl is driving with her father to the airport as she is on her way to deployment in the U.S. Army. In SNL’s spoof, Johnson is on her way to join militants in ISIS, with her final words to her father being “Dad, it’s just ISIS.” The SNL skit goes as far as to have a mock flag of the Islamic State printed on the car Johnson gets in, with many Muslim men with automatic weapons. One of these men also responds to the father by saying “Death to America.”

SNL received mixed opinions after airing this skit. According to the media’s coverage of the story, it seems as though the majority of people were offended by such a skit, while some others felt that such a terrible group as ISIS deserves the ridicule and mockery of this skit.

Senior Tabatha Hickman said “I thought it was hilarious and I didn’t even realize that other people thought it was an

offensive skit.”

The actors who participated in the skit, as well as the writers who came up with the concept, feel proud of this skit, and compare it to the global response following the attacks on Charlie Hebdo.

Taran Killam, who plays the father in the SNL skit, tweeted “Proud of this. Freedom to mock is our greatest weapon.”

Many agree that this skit crossed a very sensitive line, after all that has happened in the past weeks. With a group of young English girls joining ISIS and groups of people in the U.S. providing aid to such a radical group, many are also drawing parallels between this event and that of Charlie Hebdo. Those who are adamantly against the skit believe SNL should publically apologize for such an insensitive parody of current events.

Steve Bucci, a conservative think tanker of the Heritage tweeted “SNL ISIS skit also draws a moral equivalence between ISIS murderers and the U.S. Military, that is wrong.”

Saturday Night Live has received such buzz from this controversial skit, and has yet to publicize any sort of formal response to apologize nor to justify the skit.

in their routines to help protect our planet.”

The ways that people can participate in Earth Day are boundless. Ranging from volunteering, building a community garden, to installing solar panels. Every little thing counts---even switching household lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lightbulbs can save about 300 lbs from entering the atmosphere.

Junior Julia Sanyour said, “Bringing a reusable water bottle to school with you saves money and the environment.

Why would anyone ever buy plastic ones?”

Also, unplugging electronic devices instead of simply turning them off can help reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.

Each year, 18 million tons of carbon is released on account of devices that aren’t even on.

Think about that.

This Earth Day, go out and make a change. Plant a tree, ride a bike, or make a resolution to recycle everything you can. No gesture is too small to make a difference!

Globe that work persistently to improve the planet. Yet, most people don’t even know the date of Earth Day. Environmental teacher Ms. Botti says, “Earth Day, at its core, is all about learning how to make the Earth a better place. I think that everyone wants to be environmentally friendly, but they don’t know exactly how to go about doing it. Earth Day serves to provide awareness about the current state of the Earth and, most importantly, about the small changes that people can make

Verve Views:What By is Ben theHenning best April Fool’s joke?

Junior Ben Golding

“Replacing milk with white paint.”

Junior Louisa Fowler

“Replacing the icing in Oreos with toothpaste.”

Sophomore David Medina

“Putting Vaseline on a doorknob.”

Junior Dan Hicks

“Putting glue on someone’s seat.”

Freshman Mari Cannon

“One time I dyed the milk in the fridge green.”

Buzz

Verve 3

To wear or not to wear?

The social identity disorder

By Anna Tselevich Opinion Editor

www.usmagazine.com

By Ellie Schaffer Editor-in-Chief

Protective father. Curt Schilling and daughter Gabby, appearing on ABC News after the Twitter incident, spoke about the negative effects of cyber bullying.

whatever they want online; they forget that their virtual identity is not separate from their real one.

Senior Peter Mosakowski says, “People act like they are in another world when they are on their social media accounts, when in reality, they are just telling themselves that because they are insecure and lack the confidence to say what they want to say to people’s faces.”

In another, less serious situation, a girl tweeted about how she was not excited to start her new job using explicit language and was extremely ungrateful and disrespectful for the opportunity she was given.

Her employer saw the tweet, and she was fired without even receiving her first paycheck.

The best part- she was fired via a tweet. What goes around comes back around.

People need to be reminded

that if they aren’t able to say what they are typing and posting to someone’s face, then they shouldn’t be saying it to begin with. Posting something online does not give immunity to the consequences that would follow in any other given situation.

Clearly we need to go back to the basic lessons that are taught to elementary school children- treat others how you wish to be treated.

nextimpulsesports.com

“This is a generation of kids who have grown up behind the monitor and keyboard. The real world has consequences when you do and say things about others. We’re at a point now where you better be sure who you’re going after.” - Curt Schilling On Feb. 25, former MLB player Curt Schilling tweeted a congratulations to his daughter for committing to the Salve Regina softball team. With over 122 thousand followers, Schilling was bound to get plenty of responses. But, instead of the casual “congrats!”, he received a chain of disgusting and perverted messages.

Schilling did some investigating and found that the faces behind the twitter handles were Brookdale Community College radio DJ, Adam Nagels (@Nagels_Bagels), and the vice-president of Theta Xi at Montclair State University, Sean Macdonald (@ primetime227). Thinking they would face no consequence for their actions, they kept the chain going, but boy were they wrong. Nagels was suspended from college and is being investigated by police. Macdonald was fired from his parttime job as a Yankees ticket seller.

People seem to have this mentality that they can say

Opinion: Greek Grill is a slam dunk in downtown Summit Made with meat from either lamb or chicken, the gyro also includes lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a yogurt-based Greek sauce called tzatziki sauce.

Overall, the Greek Grill is a beacon of light in a dark restaurant world beckoning people to step out of their comfort zone and try new delicious food.

Photo courtesy of Summit Greek

As a young half-Greek male living in New Jersey, authentic Greek food and dishes are hard to come by. That why when I heard that the Greek Grill was opening up in Summit, of all places, I was ecstatic.

Usually when I’m in the mood for some Greek food I have to travel thirty minutes to my Yia Yia’s or to the Greek store in Kenilworth. Greek diners are okay, but they don’t have the variety of Greek dishes that the Greek Grill provides.

It isn’t only me that has taken notice of this awesome

new restaurant, the majority of Summit High School’s Greek population agrees with me.

Senior Yannis Nyktas said, “The gyros there are great, and the pastitsio is amazing.”

Senior James Demakos chimed in “The food there is amazing; it’s the best moussaka I’ve ever had.”

The main thing that sets the Greek Grill apart from other restaurants is that they serve authentic and traditional Greek dishes such as pastitsio, moussaka, spanokopita, and tiropita.

But the favorite dish at the restaurant seems to be the gyro.

Photo courtesy of Summit Greek Grill.

By Peter McKinlay Contributing Writer

Opa! The Greek Grill has a trendy architecural design and an inviting inside loaded with TVs for entertainment and plenty of tables to accomadate the many customers.

Everyone has a favorite sweatshirt. For many, it’s a cozy and spirited university sweatshirt from their mom or dad’s alma mater, their dream school, or simply their favorite college to represent in NCAA’15.

College sweatshirts are commonly a fan favorite, perhaps because they show interest in a place that may or may not be in one’s future post-high school. But for seniors, whose college plans are slowly but surely becoming more concrete, the college sweatshirt wearing etiquette isn’t so clear.

When actually applying and hearing back from the colleges that may or may not be plastered across your hoodie, where is the line drawn? Should seniors be wearing sweatshirts repping schools they have no interest in? After being deferred or rejected from a school, is it odd to still don their apparel? To wear or not to wear?

I looked to my senior peers for some guidance.

Dylan Diaz shared, “I definitely still wear the sweatshirts of all of the colleges I applied to, and I will continue to even when I decide where I’m officially going. But as for the schools I’ve been rejected from, those are being burned.”

Dayton-bound Will Cassin seemed to agree. He said, “I think that it’s completely fine to wear college apparel whenever. I have decided where I’m going to school, (Go Flyers!) but I still wear shirts of other schools.”

But Jenny Martino had some other ideas. “While I think that it’s okay to wear a school sweatshirt that you’re applying, I would advise against wearing any other school’s apparel. I wore my

College pride! Seniors show off their interests in various universities by sporting their apparel around the halls of Summit High. Photo credit: Ethan Mandelbaum.

manchesterunitedfanatic.com

April 2015

Harvard sweatshirt to school and people kept asking me if I was applying there. I’m not…” Martino also added, “I would still wear the clothes from a school that I got rejected from though because I want to get my money’s worth!”

But wearing college apparel may be a slippery slope for seniors, a slope riddled with questions and nosy people wondering about your interest in the university displayed across your chest.

Matt Greenstein, a proud member of the University of Wisconsin Class of 2019 replied, “Personally, I didn’t buy apparel at any schools I visited, and once I applied I waited before I was accepted to wear college apparel again. I would never wear apparel from a school that I was rejected or deferred from, but it’s everyone’s own choice to wear what they want.”

Ryan Freeman agrees with that choice. “Seniors should only wear apparel from a school that they have been rejected or deferred from if they are prepared for people to be asking them over and over if they were accepted there.”

At the end of the day, a sweatshirt is just a sweatshirt, and the writing on it is just writing. So, students of SHS, there are plenty of ways to go about the college, and college apparelwearing process, but whatever you do, do it with pride.

Opine

Verve 4

April 2015

When do stereotyping jokes cross the line?

By Danny Araya Contributing Writer Let me spill the truth right now, because I have had enough of modern day prejudice masquerading as forms of humor.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been witness to stereotyping in our school, but I’m now speaking out in hopes that it will be the last.

I was in the sandwich line one day talking with my African-American girlfriend when all of the sudden a white student came up to another black girl in the line and said “Hey girl, how you doing?” in an obnoxiously sassy tone of voice, while pursing his lips and moving his head side to side like some diva. Now think about what he said, and how he said it.

Why did he say it in the way that he did? What this boy did was use stereotypical “black talk” towards a black girl. You could say he was trying to be funny, which is true in most cases, but that does not take away from the fact that he is using a stereotype as the basis of his humor.

Tragically, this “humor” is also used in social media. I was on Instagram the other day when I saw a completely ordinary picture that a boy posted of himself playing a sport. The boy who posted the picture was African-American.

I scrolled down and found an absolutely infuriating comment left by a white male student. The comment read “You ain’t surviving a sinnle day if you try an com up in my hood boi #crips #bloods.” Feel free

to get angry at how ignorant that is. For starters, take a seat because you have no involvement in gangs.

Again, trying to be funny, but what this student must not have realized is that by posting this comment, he was insinuating that black people are illiterate, because that’s clearly not proper English. This isn’t true, and isn’t okay to assume.

What I’m trying to say in this article is that students use major stereotypes such as illiteracy, and slang against the minorities here at SHS. Senior Brittany Beamon expressed, “When some people talk in slang or stereotypical black girl voice, like ‘Hey girl hey’ or ‘no you didn’t’ they don’t notice but subconsciously they are belittling us. I grew up in Summit, in the same Eng-

Photo Credit Ellie Schaffer

The millennial generation of complainers

By Bennett Hermann Contributing Writer “Between my three AP classes I have two projects and a test tomorrow. I’m not going to get any sleep tonight.”

Comments like this are heard frequently around SHS, and complaining about being too busy with homework and extra-curricular activities is common practice among our generation.

In fact, last month there was an article in The Verve about student stresses due to homework. It stated that students often struggle to meet the rigorous expectations of

some of the harder AP classes, which often give several hours of homework a night. This is very true, some AP classes are extremely difficult and require lots of dedicated time each day for success.

But that is not unfair, that is how it is supposed to be.

An AP class is a college level class. It is going to be difficult, and it will require hard work.

Certainly it is reasonable to be stressed because of schoolwork. But no one is forced to take super challenging courses, and we all know what we are getting into when we apply to AP and Honors level classes.

If you want to get straight A’s in all AP classes so that you can go to Harvard, that’s fantastic, but it will not be easy.

It seems that we SHS students often spend more time worrying and complaining about how much work we

have to do, than actually doing it. I would argue that our generation does not necessarily receive more work in school, but instead we have more distractions than those before us.

We would rather go on Yik Yak and complain about the piles of work we have, or surf the Internet and procrastinate.

The next time your teacher gives you a big project that’s due in two weeks, start it early. If you have a lot of homework one day, come home and start it right away.

As strange as it might sound, eliminating procrastination may actually be the key to eliminating stress. And less talk about the piles of work means less stress and more time to actually get the work done.

If we are complaining this much about our work today, I can only imagine what the next generation will be saying in twenty-five years.

Friends forever! Best friends, seniors Molly Richardson and Danny Araya pose together after gym class. Photo credit: Ellie Rogoff

lish classes and such I speak proper English and I expect to be talked to the same way you would talk to anyone else. Not the way you would talk to your ‘homegirl’.”

This is the truth. It is not funny to speak to someone of another ethnicity or lifestyle in another style of speech. This country was founded on equality. So why don’t we treat everyone equal and speak to everyone that same way?

ALICE who? Students unsure

By Ethan Mandelbaum Metro News Editor Late in Feb., instead of playing volleyball, students were all called down to the auditorium to learn about an awesome new emergency protocol: ALICE. It is the Cadillac of evacuation protocols, with a smorgasbord of options: running outside, running to Kent Place, running to Oratory, running at the intruder, or the classic duck and cover.

Early in March, the first ALICE drill arrived. Yay! Once they called the drill, my classmates and I told our teacher we wanted to lockdown. However, the rest of the class wanted to go outside to the parking lot.

So instead of following the individualism and choices that ALICE promised us, my class went outside.

When we walked outside, I realized that we weren’t alone. It seemed that al-

Summit Senior High School 125 Kent Place Boulevard Summit, NJ 07901 Staff Reporters: Editors-in-Chief:

Meredith Robertson Ellie Schaffer

Managing Editors:

Carly Leiter Megan Shaw

Metro News Editor: Ethan Mandelbaum Globe Editor: Anika Becker Opinion Editor: Anna Tselevich

Entertainment Editors: Ashley White Laura Pasquale Buzz Editor: Carly Leiter Sports Editor: Cam Fuoti Asst Sports Editor: Dan Montgomery Art Director: Ryan Blume Circulation: Sophie Lees Kaitlin Stewart

Ryan Blume, Spencer Frey, Ben Henning, Emily Hurley, Rachel Isralowitz, Sophie Lees, Matthew Mormile, Caroline Phillips, Marielle Rogoff, Kaitlin Stewart Principal: Mr. Paul Sears Assistant Principals: Mrs. Stacy Grimaldi Mr. Michael Lapotasky Adviser: Mrs. Anne Weisgerber English Supervisor: Mr. Corey Walsh

My peers at Summit High School, I urge you to think about what you’re going to say and how it can be portrayed. Some things that someone may deem as funny, when we take a step back, are not funny at all.

We must work together to distance ourselves from using stereotypes when trying to make a joke. Just remember; keep it cute or put it on mute.

most half of the school was standing in visitor’s parking.

Hmmm…

Wow, what a great drill!

Instead of practicing the actual program, we essentially had a fire drill and helplessly stood in the parking lot. Had there actually been a shooter, he could have targeted half the school in less than a minute! What good is a “perfect plan” if people can’t practice it and teachers just send students outside during drills because they don’t want to separate the class?

Maybe soon we should have a real ALICE drill, where students can decide what they think is the best option to remain safe. I get that we can’t just karate-kick people and barricade doors during a drill, but how will we be prepared for an actual emergency if we can’t practice now? I don’t know about you, but if there really was a problem--I’d be running for my life.

April 1, 2015 Volume XV, Issue 7 shsverve@gmail.com

Verve is funded by a grant from the Summit City Board of Education and print subscriptions. As of publication, Verve’s circulation is 600, including 320 print subscribers.

Verve is printed at School Publications Company in Neptune, NJ, and digitally archived at Issuu as shsverve.

Verve is a publication open to the opinions of its readers.

Please submit all letters to shsverve@gmail.com.

Letters must be signed, and will be subject to editing for space, grammar, and factual ac-

curacy; however, all efforts will be made to preserve the writer’s intent. Libelous and inappropriate writing will not be published.

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@ gmail.com Views expressed in Verve do not necessarily reflect those of Summit Senior High School’s administration, faculty, staff, or other students.

Turf

April 2015

Hometown heroes: Fan poll nominees receive support

vote for who they think is the best player at their respective sports.

“It felt awesome to win the poll as best player in Union County,” senior basketball player Jordan Gonzalez said.

Jordan Gonzalez (above) was vot“There are so many amazing ed the top player in Union County by fans, parents, and coaches. He players on that list, it just felt special that I received so much received 16,814 votes. support from the students at Photo Credit: Jeremy Schneider school.”

By Dan Montgomery As special as it is to be Turf Page Assistant bestowed the “best player” These days, social media’s by fellow peers, nj.com does grasp on the world has ex- know that contests like the tended to sports. Whether it’s aforementioned fan poll can athletes posting something cause controversy.

In a disclaimer posted on scandalous on their Twitter the polling page, nj.com said, account or brushing reporters “We know you take these polls off in a post game interview, the realm of media influence seriously. We do, too. We enseems to span farther each courage you to come back and day. An example of this comes vote often. Please note, the in the form of New Jersey’s poll will view rapid-fire votown news website, nj.com, ing from any individual IP as polls each individual county an attack and will put that IP for each athletic season to in a time out. Poll results have

no influence over All-State or All-Area honors from The Star-Ledger or our affiliates.”

Senior lacrosse player Andrew Helmer has been in the running for numerous polling contests in the past few years.

“It was great that people thought so highly of me,” Helmer said when he nearly won the voting for best defenseman in the state. “But it doesn’t really matter at the end. Results don’t indicate or define who I am as a player. It is really about what town and what school cares more.”

In the end, the friendly poll gives an opportunity for student’s to showcase their passion for their team or a certain player. But the involvement of students and the hometown supporters in polls are truly what makes high school sports memorable. Look for more polls throughout the spring season.

Golf team tees up for new season

By Matt Mormile Staff Writer

The Varsity golf team is gearing up for its 2015 Spring season.

Expectations are high entering the new season. At first, practices for the team will be at the Essex Golf Driving Range in Roseland, but will later move to Canoe Brook Country Club. The season will contain over 20 matches as well as state tournament matches.

Coach Mr. Frank Baragona said, “We’re looking to be very competitive in our league, as well as in the country and state tournaments. I think we can expect to have success at all levels as a team.”

The coach is also confident this season because of a talented core of returning seniors return, along with the great potential the underclassmen.

Sophomore Tommy Rasweiler said, ”Although we lost seniors Bob Moriarty and Nate Bowyer, Andrew Bowyer and Matt Siler will be able to fill their shoes and lead us back to the state playoffs.”

Senior golf player Matt Siler is also confident about the potential of this year.

Siler said, “I think we definitely have a shot to win conference, and counties with the players we have this year.”

One of their major rivals is Oratory who is ranked in the top 10 in the state. Other strong opponents include

Fore! Returning starter and a 2014 Third Team All-State member Andrew Bowyer (left) looks to lead the Hilltop golf team towards its first ever state championship title. The Villanovabound senior is ready to take on all the challenges that await.

Photo Credit: Patrick Lannid

Scotch Plains and Westfield.

This year, it appears the golf team is on par to win.

Junior’s thousand-point milestone

By Cam Fuoti Turf Page Editor

Junior center Cassidy O’ Malley is not only the leading scorer and leading rebounder for the lady Hilltoppers, but she also reached a career milestone earlier this season.

A feat only six other girls have achieved, O’Malley scored her 1,000 point earlier this year against Roselle Catholic.

“Obviously I was really happy,” O’Malley said, “my whole family and all my friends were there to celebrate with me.”

She is the only girl in Summit’s history to score her 1,000 point during her junior season.

She is only 363 points shy of Lindsey Burns for the all-time points record at 1,364 points.

A feat like this is not only special, but hard to obtain.

Head Coach Thomas Kenny said, “Cassidy grew up quite a bit this season. Her influence, as a captain, on the younger players was substantial.”

The lady Hilltoppers finished with a 14-10 record and lost in the first round of the state sectional tournament

against Orange 39-27.

Shot! Junior Cassidy O’ Malley takes a shot against Roselle Catholic, where she set her record.

Photo credit: Chris Ryan

Verve 5

Sports squads sign into social media

By Spencer Frey Staff Writer

Social media has become an integral part of our society, and lately several SHS sports teams are taking advantage of this. The girls lacrosse team, bowling, and boys volleyball teams all have student-run Instagram pages to represent and advertise their teams.

many followers as it did.”

With the winter coming to the end and warmer weather sports approaching fast, the boys volleyball team Instagram and girls lacrosse team Instagram accounts will have a tough act to follow.

Senior girls lacrosse captain Kady Glynn said “I created the page to show people what the girls lacrosse team is

Squad Up! The girls lacrosse team practices in the main gym while they wait for the snow outside to melt off the turf. They start the season ranked second overall in the state.

Photo credit: sglax2015

The bar was set high earlier this year when the bowling team made an Instagram account to showcase the ups and downs of their season. They posted hilarious pictures of themselves riding to and from competition, as well as various photos of them eating pizza.

The bowling team page is run by senior captain Will Cassin.

Cassin said “I started the page to keep everyone updated on the bowling season.”

The account was able to get 261 followers. Cassin said ”I didn’t expect the page to get as

up to.” But Glynn is not alone on this endeavor. The page is run by all the seniors together.

New on the scene, but starting off a little bit later than sglax2015 is the volleyball team’s Instagram page. The page was started by sophomore Cooper Macpherson and junior Jeff Chang.

There is little information about what the page will bring, but we all have very high hopes.

Make sure to follow summit_bowling, sglax2015, and Summit_volleyball on Instagram.

Updated Winter Season Final Standings

Boys basketball - 12-12 - First round loss to Mendham Girls basketball - 14-10 - First round loss to Orange Boys ice hockey - 16-11 - Second round loss to Nutley Girls ice hockey - 6-5 - Public State Champions Bowling - 6-9 - Transitional season Boys swimming - 7-5 - State Sectional Champions Girls swimming - 6-7 - State Sectional runner-up Wrestling - 5-20 - Four District champions Boys track - 12th in the Nation in DMR Girls track - 5 runners went to compete in Nationals

Have you committed to a school for a sport?

Let us know at shsverve@gmail.com