THE SPOTLIGHT March 2019
Southern Lehigh High School 5800 Main Street Center Valley, PA 18034
Volume 62 Issue 3
Students Organize Second Walkout Read about why students walked out of school on March 15th on page 3. Photo Credit: Aisha Durrani
In This
Issue:
5
Read about the success of the boys basketball season on page 5.
12
On page 12, read about Senator Browne’s visit to SLHS.
14
Expose yourself to a whole new genre of music on page 14.
Page 2 News Southern Lehigh High School 5800 Main Street Center Valley, PA 18034 (610) 282-1421 x7122 slsdspotlight@gmail.com Twitter: @SLSDspotlight Instagram: @slsdspotlight Facebook: Southern Lehigh Spotlight
The Spotlight
Portfolio Students Display Their Paintings in Local Art Exhibit
by Sarah Jacobson
Faculty Adviser
Mrs. Marlo Spritzer
Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jacobson
News Editor Kennah Salvo
Features Editor Saskia Van’t Hof
Opinion Editor Bridgette Lang
Our World Editor Bridgette Lang
Entertainment Editor Quinn Schmidt
Sports Editor Quinn Schmidt
Social Media Editor Grffin Schmoyer
Staff Reporters Breana Grabowski Marc Ramson Aisha Durrani
Photographer Jonathan Lee
Pennsylvania School Press Association 2018 Gold Rating 2017 Gold Rating 2016 Gold Rating 2015 Gold Rating 2014 Gold Rating 2013 Silver Rating
Family, friends, and passerby stop to look at the student’s artwork. Photo credit: Sarah Jacobson
During the month of March, the Allentown Art Museum will be displaying “Luminous Divide,” an art exhibit that features paintings from Southern Lehigh High School’s portfolio class. The paintings are student-designed geodes based on photographs they were given in class. This year’s portfolio class consists of Corinne Balogach, Mickayla Bless, Sophia Buonanno, Elizabeth Checkeye, Jacob Chemnitz, Michael Dodson, Liam Fitting, Dyani Hernandez, Taylor Koch, Alyssa Lyon, Erin Noneman, Kierstyn O’Neill,
and Joseph Thomas. The class if a mixture of juniors and seniors from varying artistic backgrounds. “[The paintings] are nice. They came out great,” portfolio teacher Mrs. Courtney Bathgate said. The inspiration for the project came from the previous year’s portfolio class. Each year, Mrs. Bathgate asks for student feedback on the prior year’s art exhibit project. The students thought geodes would provide an interesting challenge while producing a visually pleasing outcome. Each student received a photo
National School Press Association 2018 All-American Rating 2016 First Class Rating 2015 First Class Rating
Each student created a unique geode painting, like the above painting by senior Corinne Balogach. Photo credit: Sarah Jacobson.
Did you know?
of a geode that they were required to interpret. They chose a color scheme and a general design to inspire their paintings, and from there were given several deadlines to meet until the painting was complete. “The picture we were given was really blurry so we all kind of made it up. That’s why everyone’s looks really different,” senior Alyssa Lyon said, “The crystals were very hard [to paint] because you had to think of where the light was.” To create the paintings, students had to utilize multiple compositional techniques, texture application, and color themes. Each student was able to put their own individual artistic style into their painting. Most of the work was done outside of class. The students spent many hours a week composing their pieces. Class time was spent on peer and instructor criticism, and it was the student’s job to take that criticism and create their masterpiece. “[Art] is a challenge,” senior Dyani Hernandez said, “and it’s interesting to see what you can make out of nothing.”
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March 2019
News Page 3
National School Walkout Rallies Southern Lehigh Students Against Gun Violence by Sarah Jacobson
During the walkout, students could sign petitions to local lawmakers asking for action against gun violence. Photo credit: Aisha Durrani
At 10:00 am on March 14, the students of Southern Lehigh High School walked out of school for the second year in a row. This display of political activism came after some concerned seniors approached principal Mrs. Guarriello with the idea to hold a walkout in order to promote political action related to gun laws. This walkout occurred on the same day and time as the National School Walkout event that happened last year in remembrance of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Students from all grade levels participate, but the walk out was not mandatory. “Gun violence is still a problem. It’s not like it’s gotten better since last year. There’s still mass shootings...so [the march] had to be done
again,” said Junior State of America (JSA) Club co-president and senior Hannah Grim. National School Walkout was organized across the nation to remember the lives of the 17 students shot and killed at a school shooting that occurred on February 14, 2018. The march was used to advocate for gun laws on both sides of political aisle. The march lasted for 17 minutes: one minute for each student killed. The students decided to organize the march again so that the victims of the shooting would not be forgotten. “ I wanted to sign the papers for the congressmen to possibly make a change to gun laws,” senior Natalie Kroboth said. “I think [the walkout] was necessary...for people to sign the petitions to try and make a difference
At this year’s march, there was a banner for students to sign. The quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” from human rights activist Mahatma Gandhi was written on the banner, along with the question “What change would you like to see in the world?” JSA had a booth to sign up senior students to vote in the upcoming elections. There were several petitions to Center Valley’s political representatives for students to sign. The petitions asked for politicians to take bipartisan action on gun laws. “It’s important for everyone to know that people can influence politics in their community, and they have to take stances on pressing issues like these,” student organizer and senior Alex Becker said.
Pennies for Patients Raises Money and Awareness for Childhood Cancer by Kennah Salvo
This year the annual Pennies for Patients fundraiser raised over $8,000 ($8,684.64 to be exact) for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS), an organization dedicated to combating childhood cancer. This large figure does not get raised without a great amount of work behind the scenes. “It all starts with generating excitement surrounding [the pep rally] in the student body,” Pennies for Patients adviser Mr. Jason Donnelly said. Following this, the student officers, juniors Jessica Beltz, Kate Miller, Krishna Annambholta, and Nicole Cesanek, and senior Dean Pellegrino, met with Mr. Donnelly and co-adviser Mrs. Mandi Mowrey to brainstorm ideas for activities for the rally. “They have to be activities that will be exciting to the student body so that they will want to participate in them,” said Mr. Donnelly. The activities were brought to building administration for approval to insure that they would be safe and appropriate. This year’s activities at the pep rally included a hockey shoot-out, human shot-put (one student pushed their partner on a scooter into the target zone), a dodgeball game, and a jump
rope contest. The winners of each contest were awarded medals to congratulate them. Throughout this process, Mr. Donnelly was in contact with Southern Lehigh’s liaison at the LLS, Hannah Reagan, through email and in person, in order to coordinate fundraising activities. From a fundraising standpoint, it all starts with setting the goal. This year, the goal was $14,000, and although the goal was not met, it was a way for everyone to get motivated about the fundraiser. “Once we have a goal, I make a spreadsheet with all the teams. Each team has an accountant and every two weeks, this year every week, they come down with the money they’ve raised and I put it into a spreadsheet,” said guidance secretary Mrs. Mowrey. Mrs. Mowrey does a lot of the organizational work for the fundraising as well taking notes for brainstorming sessions with students and meeting with administration. The students, teachers, and administrators who make this fundraiser happen are to be commended for their hard work and dedication Many “olympic” teams competed in different activities durto a great cause. ing the schoolwide pep rally. Photo credit: Kennah Salvo
Page 4 Features
The Spotlight
SLHS Theatre Performs A Masterpiece by Breana Grabowski and Saskia Van’t Hof
The cast, crew, and orchestra spent countless afternoons in rehearsal, perfecting scenes from Southern Lehigh’s production of “Les Misérables”. Photo credit: Jonathan Lee
It takes an army to spark a revolution, and the same goes for putting on a musical. After months of hard work, Southern Lehigh High School’s’ production of “Les Misérables” premiered on March 13th and ran through March 17th. “[‘Les Misérables’] is definitely one of the harder ones,” musical director Mr. Matthew Wehr said. “I chose the musical because I think
Jean Valjean, played by Christian Clausnitzer (left), and police inspector Javert, played by Jake Finkbeiner (right), during the “Confrontation”. Photo credit: Jonathan Lee
we have the talent to do it, and it fits as well for what were able to do.” The classic musical follows the life of Jean Valjean, a former-convict in early 19th century France. After being imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread, Valjean breaks his parole and and seeks a new identity. As Valjean’s quest for a new life leads him into Paris, his story intertwines with many others in this beautiful tale about love, loss, and bravery. “Les Misérables” is certainly an ambitious choice for a high school production. Southern Lehigh is one of the smallest high schools in the area to ever take on such a challenging musical. “‘Les Mis’ is so much more intense, but the music is also so much more beautiful, in my opinion,” ensemble member Brielle Finkbeiner said. Perfecting such an iconic musical required months of rehearsals for the cast. Auditions for the musical began on November 12, and rehearsals began shortly after the Thanksgiving break. “It’s a lot of work,” Mr. Wehr said. “I would tell anybody that until you do something behind the scenes or associated with it, you have no concept of what it’s like. It’s impossible to describe until you live and breathe it.” In addition to Mr. Wehr and the cast, many teachers and students helped bring “Les Miserables” to life. As the stage manager, biology teacher Mrs. Jesse Winslow directed the stage crew and organized backstage. Art teacher Mrs. Courtney Bathgate worked with a team of
students to construct and paint the backdrops and sets. Spanish teacher Ms. Jessica Swartz also choreographed the dancing scenes in the musical. In the several weeks leading up to the show, members of the cast, crew, and orchestra all spent countless hours after school. From Monday through Thursday, the group of over 90 students rehearsed the production from 2:30 pm to roughly 6:00 pm. The cast and crew also spent many Saturdays rehearsing and working on the sets. “I think the hardest song, dance wise, is ‘One Day More’, or the ‘Epilogue’,” freshman ensemble member Manon Immerzeel said. “They both have marches in them, and getting everyone in sync is harder than you’d think. We worked on them for a long time to get that right and so that people didn’t misstep.” For members of the cast with lead roles, the hours were even longer. Aside from the singing aspect of their roles, Mr. Wehr also had them focus on their acting on stage. “When you’re on stage by yourself, you really have to connect more with the audience,” junior Christian Clausnitzer, who played Jean Valjean, said. “It’s just you and the audience. It’s more of the one on one interaction as opposed to singing with the ensemble, where I have to blend in and be a part of the group.” The cast, crew, and orchestra’s hard work paid off, and the play was sold out almost every night. Now, all that’s left for the cast is to wait for the Freddy nominations to start rolling in.
Check out the back page for more pictures from the spring musical, ‘Les Misérables’!
March 2019
Features Page 5
New Political Clubs Open Up Discussions by Saskia Van’t Hof
In the classroom, students are often told to shy away from discussing politics. However, Southern Lehigh students are forming their own clubs as a way to discuss current events with their peers. In January of 2019, two new political clubs, the Young Conservatives and the Young Democrats, were created to give students with different political beliefs more options. Currently, the Young Conservatives meet on day 4 spartan period and the Young Democrats meet on day 5 spartan period. Both clubs were created with the hopes of giving politically active students a more niche community. Unlike the bipartisan political club Junior State of America, which was created at the beginning of the 2017-2018 new year, these new clubs offer a more specialized experience. “[I joined Young Conservatives because] I thought it was a good opportunity to be able talk to people with similar viewpoints. We’re all different, even though we believe in similar things,” junior Ella Doddona said. The young democrats and young conservatives are not southern lehigh’s first attempt at specialized clubs. Many students have organized a variety of short lived clubs over the years. In December of 2012, the libertarian club was formed. They held meeting on Wednesday mornings before block scheduling allowed time for spartan period. In the 2013-2014, a Southern Lehigh chapter of Young Americans for Freedom was created for students. However, the formation of these two clubs marks the first time in recent years that both conservatives and liberals can be represented a the same time. “I felt like there’s not enough involvement for conservatives in this school atmosphere. I
Students in Young Conservatives discuss current issues during their meeting. Photo credit: Saskia Van’t Hof
know there was a liberal club last year or the year before, but there was never really a club for republicans”, senior Jerry Ascolese said. Not only do the clubs differ in ideology, but also in structure. In Young Conservatives, students begin most discussions by looking at a video or an article on a specific topic. The Young Democrats offers a smaller, more informal discussion led by different students. Both clubs hope to spread awareness inside and outside of the club. By having distinct groups, the two clubs are able to have a more direct approach to political outreach. “My goal is to grow it so that a majority of these seats can be filled,” president of Young Democrats Cameron Hines said. “I want to be
able to get as many people as possible involved, not just in the club on day 5 spartan period, but outside of the cub in politics and field trips and so far to become civically engaged.” At the same time, the two clubs have faced some concerns about how specialized clubs could foster division between students of different beliefs. However, members of both clubs disagree. “I think it can influence divisiveness, but I also think if it’s done correctly it can really bring people together,” Hines said. “I think there’s negativity on both sides but if we can come together and respect each other and respectfully disagree, then we can build our nation.”
Cooking Up Some Friendly Competition Copy and photos by Aisha Durrani The Chopped Cooking competition is heating up! During Spartan Periods teams compete to create the best dish. Inspired by hit TV show “Chopped”, teams are given a basket of ingredients that must be included in their main dishes. The teams that were in the March 21st preliminary rounds were Mr. Sinkler’s Bakalicious, Mrs. Kocis’ Louis V, Mrs. Guariello’s Heart Throbs, and Mr. Long’s Burrito Stuffers. Mr. Sinkler’s Bakalicious emerged victorious, and will advance to later rounds. Follow the excitement with the bracket posted outside the Family and Consumer Science room!
Page 6 Sports
The Spotlight
Reflections on a Four-Year Journey to Gold by Quinn Schmidt
Basketball recently suffered a generational shift that has nearly eliminated an entire skillset. Coaches and fans now favor the players who can shoot the ball from half court and make flashy passes. I’ll be the first to admit that watching a player fight for a position underneath the hoop isn’t the most exciting thing to watch. I would much rather watch a high-scoring affair with overwhelming offenses raining down threes on helpless defenses. But frankly, I’m not that good a basketball player to make that happen. As an athlete at Southern Lehigh High School, I’ve been honored to play alongside some of the Lehigh Valley’s finest on the basketball court. I’ve grown up watching players like Jacob Cassel and Jack Zamichieli dominate opposing teams not with their scoring ability, but with their passion. This season, I was able to take a page out of their book and use what I learned from them in order to achieve something two of Southern Lehigh’s most talented centers never accomplished: winning a gold medal. My freshman year I tried out for the JV squad but was sent back down to the freshman team because my offensive firepower was severely lacking. That year the varsity team went 18-7, and fell short of the ultimate goal when they lost in the Colonial League semi-finals. The entirety of the season, most people were captivated with senior Jacob Cassel’s post moves, allowing him to terrorize teams with his 6’5” frame. But I was more intrigued with his mentality: the way he took hold of games and managed to win them almost single-handedly. In a regular season game late in the season with large playoff implications, fans witnessed Cassel’s supremacy. Although Salisbury was projected to win, Cassel thought otherwise. He willed his team to a 56-52 victory, throwing down a makeshift dunk to put the punctuation mark on his senior night. Sitting in the stands, I saw him flip the switch and turn on his warrior mentality. As the fourth quarter drew to a close, he pounced on every loose ball, tracked down every rebound, and blocked every shot. Walking out of the gym, it was clear to spectators on both sides that he just wanted it more. He wanted to win, and with intensity and energy, he went out and stole it from a more talented team. The following year, my sophomore season, senior Jack Zamichieli took the reigns as team captain. Lucky enough for me, “Zam” lived in a neighboring development, and he regularly took me home from practices. I was able to spend countless hours in the gym with him long after the rest of the team was gone. I braced myself with a bag as he charged into me, practicing finishing layups with contact. My meager frame was never much of a challenge for him, but the way he practiced establishing physical superiority in the paint stuck with me. Unfortunately, like Cassel, Zam was unable to capture the ever-elusive gold medal. I watched from the end of the bench as they fell to Bangor in the Colonial League championship. Coach Tannous hung a silver medal around my neck for the first time, a feeling I would know all too well by the end of the following season. I matured over the offseason between sophomore to junior year. Football workouts whipped me into shape, and I filled out into a more Zam-esque physique. On the court, my warrior mindset was setting in. Two years of watching Lehigh Valley’s premier center work up close was beginning to pay off. I was able to work my way into the starting lineup and my role on the team quickly became clear. Freshman sensation Daryl Coleman resembled Kevin Durant, scoring on defenders at will with his lanky frame. The sophomore backcourt of Kyle Hoff and Chris Andrews gave opposing coaches headaches with their shooting ability and ball-handling. All that was left was a physical post player to eliminate the rebounding void in the lineup. Although I was severely underperforming on the offensive end, I made up for my shortcomings with focus on what I knew I could control. Like Cassel and Zamichieli, my intensity was never lacking. I was always the first to hit the floor in order to track down a loose ball, and I became the premier rebounder on a primarily three-point shooting team. I only attempted four three-pointers the whole season, scoring a grand total of 110 points. (To put that in perspective, recent 1,000 point scorer Ellie Cassel scored 113 points in the first 10 games of this season.) However, I earned my team countless extra possessions, dishing out rebounds to my teammates for wide open shots. Unfortunately, my game wasn’t there yet. Our team managed to limp into the playoffs after recovering from a 12-game losing streak during the regular season. After we staged an upset at Notre Dame Green Pond, followed by another upset of Moravian Academy, we fell to Bangor in the Colonial League Championship for the second year in a row. Yet again, Coach Tannous walked down the line and placed a silver medal around my neck. After a relatively successful junior season, I put on a few more pounds in the weight room over the offseason. Standing at 6’2”, 200 pounds, in my senior year, I was still well below proper height to play the center position. With no preseason media coverage, my team was counted out before this season even began. We only validated everyone’s opinions of our team when we crawled out to a 4-7 start. In the middle of December we found ourselves fighting to keep our playoff hopes alive. I fell back on what I learned through four years of basketball underneath
The team huddles up before a District XI playoff game in February. They would go on to win the contest 72-65 behind 26 points from Chris Andrews. Photo Credit: Alex Fillman.
Cassel and Zamichieli. With my senior year on the line, the final stages of my game finally fell into place. Much like Cassel did against Salisbury, I played every game with a do-or-die mindset. A shift in the starting lineup placed me alongside junior Asher Smith, whose game closely resembles mine. With the two of us on the court at the same time, it seemed like a whole new game. Every time the ball hit the floor, the Spartans ended up with possession. It was barely off the rim before someone in blue and white hurled their body at the loose ball. I became the head of a hungry snake, strangling the life out of the Colonial League one opponent at a time. After the rough start, our momentum shifted, prompting a stout finish to the season on an 11-game league win streak. We headed into the playoffs with a number two seed and a first round bye, invigorated with confidence. Just a few days prior to our semi-final matchup with Notre Dame, the Colonial League all-star team was announced. The number two team in the league placed only two players on the all-star ballot. Chris Andrews landed second team honors and Kyle Hoff was recognized with Honorable Mention. Although we were cheated, it only added fuel to the fire. Four players scored double digits against Notre Dame, with Andrews and Trey Trevis leading the way with 15. As a team, we valued comradery more than accolades, and it showed on the court. Where some teams in the league relied on one player to carry the entirety of their offensive production, we all split the workload. In the end it paid off, and we advanced to the league championship with a 64-58 victory. From there it almost seemed like destiny. We were already a capable team, but then we finally understood the value of teamwork. Playing Bangor in the league championship for the third year in a row, everyone in the gym felt like it was our turn. Both teams were well known in the regular season for their dynamic offenses. Trevis and Andrews kept defenses guessing with their quickness and scoring ability. Hoff tore through defenders like he had the ball on a string, dishing out pinpoint passes to Smith and me down low. John Coyle became a lights-out shooter off the bench, and Coleman proved to be a matchup nightmare for anyone who dared to guard him. On the other bench loomed Ben Holland, a four-year varsity starter and league MVP averaging 22 points per game. But ironically enough, the Colonial League championship was a slug fest featuring lengthy possessions and poor shooting. Ultimately, it came down to effort plays and hustle, catering to the skills I learned from my predecessors. The student sections on both sides were not left with much to cheer about as neither team scored more than 40 points. The game fell short of many spectators’ expectations of an offense-heavy duel. Although the lowscoring affair was packed with tension, as neither team held a lead more than seven points, the game’s excitement was not what modern-day basketball fans expect. That is until the last 15 seconds. With the game on the line, and the whole team behind him, Kyle Hoff stepped up to perfectly defend Holland on the game’s last possession. Coleman pulled down the rebound off of Holland’s missed shot, and two free throws later we were Colonial League Champions for the first time in 25 years. After three years of being defeated by the same opponent, Coach Ben Tannous walked down the line handing out a different medal. Instead of the dull silver medals from the previous two years, my team managed to achieve something recent Southern Lehigh basketball legends had not. My entire sports career culminated in one moment as Coach Tannous placed the shining gold medal around my neck. “Finally,” I said.
March 2019
Sports Page 7
The AAF Provides Fans with More Football by Griffin Schmoyer For anyone that isn’t a fan of the New England Patriots, Super Bowl LIII probably left a bad taste in your mouth, and ended the football season on a sour note. However, hope is not lost. While it may not be NFL-caliber play, the Alliance of American Football (AAF) has shown plenty of promise, despite only being a few weeks old. The fledgling league was first announced on March 20, 2018 by founder Charlie Ebersol, and is run by many former NFL players and executives. Previous NFL general manager Bill Polian and legendary Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, along with executive J.K. McKay oversee the league. Other famous advisors include another former Steeler in the form of wide receiver Hines Ward, New York Giants and Oakland Raiders defensive end Justin Tuck, and MIke Pereira, a retired referee and current rules analyst for Fox’s NFL coverage. The AAF season started on February 9, 2019, and is a 10-week season before a oneround playoff, and then the championship game. The league consists of only eight teams at the moment, located in San Diego, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Arizona, Orlando, Memphis, Birmingham, and Atlanta. These teams already have some recognizable faces, including former Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson, now with the Birmingham Iron, and former Penn State quarterback and NFL flop Christian Hackenberg, continuing to be just that for the Memphis Express. Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has also joined the AAF, bringing his flamboyant attitude to the Memphis Express. In
his first game against the Birmingham Iron, he put up some impressive numbers considering he only lead one or two drives. However, he will most likely earn a starting spot shortly. Manziel, along with other well known college athletes, are sure to bring some excitement to the AAF. While the quality has been likened to that of an NFL preseason game, some of the rule changes and innovations to the game make the AAF more compelling than one would think at first glance. The major difference right from the start is that there are no kickoffs or extra points after touchdowns. The team that chooses to receive the ball after the coin toss sends their offense out to their own 25-yard line to start the game. After every touchdown, teams must go for twopoint conversions. Even onside kicks have been changed. If a team is down by 17 points or more within the last five minutes of a game, the team must attempt a 4th down and 12 from their own 28yard line to keep the ball. There is also a limit to the number of players you can have rushing the quarterback on passing plays. No more than five players can attack the quarterback, and if there are, a 15-yard “illegal defense” penalty will be called. Overtime is another huge change. Sadly, it is yet another league that won’t take up the successful college football format. In the AAF, each team gets the ball for one drive, starting with a 1st and goal at the 10-yard line. No field goals allowed: it’s touchdown or bust. The league has said that there will be only one overtime period, and games will end in ties.
The last major change is in the officiating. All games have a “sky official,” or an official in the press box who can watch in real time and overturn obvious errors in officiating. He has the ability to bypass replay and immediately change the call. For example, in the 2019 NFC Championship game, a sky judge could have immediately called down to fix the obvious missed pass interference call on Los Angeles Rams cornerback Bradley Robey-Coleman. As mentioned, this league isn’t NFL quality. But it is refreshing to see some solid football being played. Games can be incredibly highscoring, or tough defensive struggles. The league has managed to impress many a skeptic, and it could really blossom into something special. I think that some players in the AAF have the ability to play at the NFL level, and in a way, the league could become a developmental league of sorts, in the same way the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and Phantoms are minor league affiliates for the Philadelphia Phillies and Flyers, respectively. NFL teams could in the future send talent down to the AAF to grow and give them some playing time. The league would probably need to expand for that to happen, but there is potential. Overall, the AAF is a very interesting league to watch. It provides additional quality football action throughout the year for fans. With enough funding and new waves of talent, it could develop into something incredibly special. Keep your eyes on this little wonder. I, for one, have definitely “Joined the Alliance.”
Winter Sports Earn Remarkable Achievements Photo Credits: Alex Fillman, Robert Gaugler, Nick Pirrocco, Mark Zimmerman, and Olivié Rautureau. Janik Wing shows off his District XI 200m Freestyle gold medal moments after placing second in the District XI 100m Fly. With his win, Janik earned a spot in the prestigious State tournament pool.
Here the girls and boys Basketball teams pose after sweeping the Colonial League Championships. The girls would go on to win District XI while the boys finished as District XI runner-ups.
Madi Trout and Alex Kane after running at the New Balance Indoor National Meet. These super-freshmen are at the top of their respective events, earning high honors during the winter track season.
The Boys swim team placed fourth overall in District XI paced by the 200m Relay team of Janik Wing, Caleb Munoz, Aidan Johnson, and Matthew Wendling who also placed fourth.
Olivia Snyder (right) poses after scoring her 2,000nth point. She would go on to break the school record for career points scored, finishing the year with a staggering 2,077 points.
The Rifle team is pictured here at one of their contests this winter. These sharp-shooters placed fourth in the state lead by a talented group of upper classmen.
Michael Tilley (right) is pictured here after winning a contest this winter. He surpassed every other rifleman in the state this winter, bringing Southern Lehigh its lone state champion.
Nick Colasurdo (far left) flexes his 4th place medal at the PIAA Regional Championships. He would later place 5th in the 138 pound weight class in District XI on his way to a state tournament bid.
Page 8 Center Spread
The Spotlight
Meet the Real Teachers’ Pets of Southern Lehigh High School After a long day at school, it’s nice to have something to look forward to when you go home. For these teachers, that something is a pet, or pets, that they adore. Keep reading to discover the real teachers’ pets of Southern Lehigh.
Rudy the Chihuahua “My favorite thing is [Rudy]’s low maintenance. His personality is very demanding, very affectionate, and probably his favorite thing to do is burrow himself under the covers. Just gotta make sure you don’t sit on him.” - Gym and Driver’s Ed teacher Mr. Brenton Ditchcreek Photo credit: Mr. Ditchcreek
Zoe and Claire: The French Pair “I love Zoe because corgis have a lot of attitude and she kind of just does what she wants, which is usually just lay around, which is great. I’m all about that lifestyle. And then I like Claire because she’s wild and like she always wants to rip around and get petted. And she often has this really dopey look on her face which is cute. ...My dogs have really won over my neighbors. My neighbors buy special treats for them. They go over to my neighbor’s house everyday and get their special bones from them.” - French teacher Madame Kaytlyn Byers
Photo credit: Madame Byers
March 2019
Center Spread Page 9
Mrs. G’s Chickens “I love animals. I went to college for environmental biology, and I had [chickens] when I was little too. I have about 15 chickens now. My favorite type is a barred rock. One of my barred rocks tried to get on the trampoline with my two kids.. My favorite rooster is named Henry. People often think that I’m talking about my husband because I talk about him so much.” - Special education teacher Mrs. Erica Groendal Photo credit: Mr. Groendal
Skittles the Lovable Cat “[Skittles is] very loving and she’s very amusing to watch. She’s not the smartest thing in the planet. She has fallen in the toilet multiple times. Not once, but multiple times. She’s very much a lovebug. She loves snuggling. She’s also very sweet.” - Chemistry Teacher Ms. Rachel Saber Photo credit: Ms. Saber
Devoted Dixie
“My dog keeps me laughing, and my dog is 100 percent devoted to me. She follows me around wherever I go. It’s kind of an ego trip.” - English teacher Mr. Jeffrey Hershey
Photo credit: Mr. Hershey
Page 10 Opinion
The Spotlight
Green New Deal Heats Up Debate in Congress by Marc Ramson
The New Deal was a program put into place by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 as a way to provide relief from the Great Depression to the American people. The program worked to decrease unemployment, increase wages, and revitalise the people’s trust in the banking system. The New Deal has been noted as saving capitalism, and many of the provisions and programs are still in place today, serving as the groundwork for the current mixed economy of the United States. “The New Deal was a series of government programs to try and put people to work, and give them paychecks and be able to provide for themselves at least at a basic level in a time of dire need,” social studies teacher Mr. Thomas Beaupre said. The existential threat to our planet’s future is easily comparable in importance as the Great Depression was in the 1930’s. Rights now, carbon dioxide levels are higher than they’ve ever been recorded in the history of the planet based on preserved ice samples. Greenland’s ice caps has lost an average of 286 billion tons of ice a year from 1993 to 2016. These devastating changes have been as a direct result of human interaction, and without changes being made, more irreversible lasting changes are on the horizon.
Based on a United Nations report, we have 12 years to fully combat climate change before the problems become catastrophic. Rising sea levels would cause flooding; extreme heat could lead to drought and famine; warming oceans would kill off large amounts of marine life causing instability of the global ecosystem. There’s no doubt that we should be doing whatever it takes to prevent these travisties from occurring. The question is what the American taxpayer is willing to do about it. According to new polling done by Yale University and George Mason University in October 2018, over 80 percent of registered voters support the green new deal including over 60 percent of Republicans, so it doesn’t seem like the many people are afraid of the 19 trillion dollar price tag over the next 10 years. Any idea proposed doesn’t go without it’s opposition, some people have concerns of how realistic the Bill would be in getting passed. “The Green New Deal calls for the US to be carbon neutral, and greatly change our infrastructure along with some social programs as well,” sophomore Lucas Zhang said. “Personally I think they have good intentions, but this specific plan seems to be tad too ambitious to achieve real change.” There’s no question that cost should come
into consideration when discussing any type of government spending, but when it comes to prioritizing what to be spent on, the health of our planet should be on the top of the list. And just helping save the planet wouldn’t be the only benefit to a Green New Deal, large economic benefits are also present. Estimates show that the demand for innovation will create over 10 million private sector jobs, which would immensely help reverse some of the effects of outsourcing and automation in the past few years. Not to mention, the jobs guarantee provision of the bill which would allow for any person willing to work to become a government employee and be given a living wage, allowing for them to participate in the economy on their own. When compared to the future costs of climate change, a mere 19 trillion dollars doesn’t seem like that much. The cost of adaptation from the year 2050 and onward would be around 500 billion dollars per year to migrate people, transport resources, and provide relief for people affected by life threatening weather events. So we’re faced with two options: face the consequences of climate change, lose countless lives, force species into extinction, displace millions from their homes, and have to pay the economic and humanitarian price later; or pay the smaller cost now, creating millions of jobs, refining our
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Letter to the Editor: Our ‘Awful’ Senior Trip At the beginning of the year, the seniors were called down to the auditorium for their last ‘first class meeting of the year’ ever. Mrs. Guarriello told us that this was our senior year. She explained to our senior class that we had the ability to make this year exactly how we wanted it to be and was open to any and all suggestions from our class. From our perspective, senior privileges were the top priority. Suggestions included sitting outside for lunch, bringing back open gyms, being exempt from finals if you finish with an “A” in the class, and finally the ability for seniors to skip beginning and end of day study halls. We left that room excited about the year; finally, an administration that would listen to and work with us to make our ideas reality. After all, this was our senior year. In mid-January, the class was rounded up for another senior class meeting. The principals announced that the senior class officers were working on a senior class trip to New York City, a glimmer of hope for our class. Similar topics from September were brought up to our principals. Students directly asked what had happened to all of our ideas, what progress was being made, and why no privileges had gone into effect now that we were halfway finished with our senior year. The response was that our senior privilege ideas would start to go into effect next year. The principals announced this news as if our class should be happy and proud that we led the way for the rest of the school to have great senior years of their own, unlike our own. Not a single senior can honestly say that happiness was the emotion they felt upon hearing that news - we felt deprived and disappointed. It has been 213 days since the first day of school and we have less than 70 days left until graduation. There are zero senior privileges. What happened to the hopeful message of change at the beginning of the year? What happened to making this our senior year? The one saving grace was the senior class trip. By this point, seniors have gotten used to school without privileges, and we have accepted that the likelihood of the administration actually living up
to the words spoken at the beginning of the year is extraordinarily low. However, the senior class trip was different. It was the one thing that could make our senior year special. On March 18th, 2019, all the seniors received an email from Ms. Brinson that included a survey about the class trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. This surprised the majority of us. As up until that point, we had all heard that our class officers were planning the trip to New York City. Apparently, this was a surprise to the officers too. There was no explanation given to the senior class regarding the sudden change of plans. So, who planned the trip? The administration. The class officers have shared details about their planning process of the trip to any classmate that has asked. The current trip is obviously not planned for NYC, but it will also only provide yellow school buses and is on June 4th, a day that the seniors do not have to come to school. At this point in the year, we have come to expect nothing. However, it doesn’t make the most recent snub any less upsetting to our class as a whole. Time is running out on our senior year, and this was the one chance we had to leave positive change behind while we could also reap the benefits and see them in action. After an outpour of frustration from the seniors following the announcement of the senior class trip to Six Flags, it became the talk of the grade. I heard from friends in two separate classes of classwide discussions about the class trip with many frustrated seniors. The class officers then opened a suggestion box for seniors to type out their opinions and feelings about the trip. This suggestion box was posted to the Class of 2019 Instagram, and all the responses were viewable to the all of the respondents. Everyone was invited to contribute! After submitting responses to the form, it was clear that the seniors were displeased. In total, there were 43 responses, most of them indicating that the trip was not what they hoped for or what they expected. One of the responses summed up the consensus of the group: “Awful.” The Class of 2019 being ripped-off is a feeling
we are rather familiar with. If you are unaware, we have an unfortunate history dating back to our time at JPLIS, regarding trips. We have missed the trip to Ellis Island due to a hurricane, a Philadelphia Phillies game due to funding, an America’s Got Talent viewing due to snow, and none of the trips were rescheduled. We have been to Dorney Park - in the rain in middle school and then again, in junior year for physics class. There seems to be a theme with amusement parks. I have always looked forward to senior year, a magical, carefree and bittersweet year to enjoy, above all. Yet when I look back on our final year at SLHS, someday down the road from now, those emotions won’t be the first to pop into my mind. I believe my class instead shares emotions of disappointment, being let down and feeling as if steps could have been taken to do more for the students who have spent the last 13 years of our lives being grown, nurtured and educated at Southern Lehigh. With all of this being said, I know that the principals and administration as a whole are good people, and I believe that they think they are doing the best job that they can. This is not a criticism of their character nor a criticism of their dedication to the betterment of this school for the future. Many of their actions have already begun making this school a generally better place. The purpose of this letter to the editor is to shine a light on how the senior class at this school truly feels. I believe that the administration can do better with regard to the students who helped make this school such a great place over the years. So, when the senior most class notices things that make it worse to attend school here, we have an obligation to speak up because in the end we all have the same goal of bettering this school for the future. That’s why this letter is being written, to try and make Southern Lehigh a better place. But, for that to happen the seniors need to be listened to, valued, and taken seriously when we say that actions should be made. - A Disappointed, Unvalued Senior
March 2019
Opinion Page 11
Death Calls for Conscientious Decision Making by Gianna Griffith, Student Contributor
Imagine this: your family member dies, and you don’t know what to do with their body because they always flirted around the subject while they were still alive. Why is this? Why do we have this innate fear of the unknown, of what will happen once we “shuffle off this mortal coil,” as Shakespeare puts it? There is something in the way that that our society so ardently avoids the subject that is shown in our actions surrounding the processing of deceased bodies. When a family member dies, one of the first things the average American family does is call a funeral home, who then picks up the body and prepares it at their facility. This is not required by law; however, a lot of people believe that this is the case, because it is the procedure that has been ingrained in the brains of the American people. Preparation of a body usually means one of two processes. One of them is embalming, a tactic that involves filling the body with formaldehyde. The body may then either be displayed at a funeral or put straight into a casket to be lowered into an underground cement vault. The second mainstream option is cremation, which has become increasingly popular over the past couple of decades. During the process, the body is placed inside of a machine called a Cremulator and baked for a couple of hours. The remnants from the machine are then blended and put in an urn for the family. This method allows for more portability with the remains and does not require family to pay for an
There are more unconsidered options when it comes to funerals and burials. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
expensive casket and a plot in a cemetery, making cremation a more environmentally and wallet friendly option for families. “Cremation takes up less space, and we’re running out of [cemetery] space to put people,” senior Sam Wetzel said. “It may be morbid, but it’s a fact.” One of the concerns that is becoming more and more popular among death enthusiasts and deathpositive people is the concern that funeral homes may be taking advantage of the grieving families and their willingness to do whatever they believe is best for their deceased loved one. The raw emotions of the grieving people leave them more open and vulnerable to being persuaded. Funeral directors and other employees at funeral homes can use this opening to convince families that their loved one would appreciate a fancier casket or urn, one that is out of the funeral budget. The truth is that, let’s say, an already passed great aunt would not care whether she was buried in the cheap casket or the ten thousand dollar casket, but a vulnerable person who isn’t as knowledgeable about industry prices might be persuaded to spend the extra cash. Because of these issues that are continuously occurring in the funeral industry, many people have taken to alternate family and environmentally friendly options for death care. There has been a small segment of people who consider natural burial, a much more wallet and environmentally friendly option for those who still want to be buried. People can either be buried in a shroud or in a biodegradable casket, both of which cost less than the average metal casket, and are buried in specified plots straight in the ground without a concrete vault surrounding them. The gravesite is then only marked by a stone, rather than the traditional engraved headstone. This method of burial is not only cheap, but also allows the body to decompose in the way that nature intended, straight back into the earth. The decomposing body adds carbon and nutrients to the soil and feeds the creatures that live there. “I like [natural burial] more than other current burial methods because it is more sustainable and more in line with how I want to end up,” said senior Alyssa Kovacs. Some families have also chosen to connect with the dead in the easiest and most traditional way: staying with the body after death. Some families will wash and dress the body, hold home wakes or funerals, or find other ways to connect with the deceased person and mourn. This can arguably be the best way to overcome a fear of death, to surround yourself by those who
have passed and realize that the average dead body is no more dangerous than the average avocado. Personally washing and dressing the body of a loved one may help a person find closure in doing something to help them, considering how impersonal the funeral industry has become. It can also help people come to terms with what it is like to be dead, and may make those afraid of death realize that it isn’t so bad to be surrounded by family that cares about you. It is completely legal in most places in the United States to keep a body at home, although Pennsylvania law requires that a body be refrigerated if it is going to be kept around a house for more than a full twenty-four hours. From a home wake or funeral, the body can then be picked up by a funeral home to be cremated or buried. “I feel like it really depends on what the family wants for themselves, and they should have that choice to have a home funeral if they want,” sophomore Joy Fan said. Perhaps the option for softening fear of death that is seemingly the most efficient and difficult is talking about it. Although it can be difficult to address what is going to inevitably happen, it is incredibly important for both the person and their family to discuss death plans. The hardest thing for a person to go through is the death of a family member, as it is hard on a person emotionally, mentally, and financially. By having discussions with members of your family about what they want to happen to them when they die, whether that be funeral type or disposal type, it eases the difficulty of the death by a small degree. It can be comforting to a person to know that the cremation that you chose for your Aunt Sally was exactly what she said she wanted when she was alive. It is as if you are fulfilling that last of your wishes that you are physically able to do. “My husband and I have drawn up our wills. This brought up a discussion about death,” English teacher Mrs. Sheryl Ciotti said. “We determined what we wanted to happen upon our death. Personally, having an idea of my final resting place offers me peace of mind.” People don’t like to talk about death. They don’t like thinking about what they will look like lifeless, what will happen after they take their last breath. Fear of the unknown is ingrained in us. If we as a society can begin to open up to these sorts of discussions, we can begin to realize that we do control our deaths, in a sense. Even if we can’t control why, where, or when it happens, we can still control what happens to our bodies when life is over.
Staff Editorial: Minors Have a Major Impact in Politics In a recent viral video, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California addressed a group of child lobbyists ranging from elementary to high school age who had come to ask her to vote “yes” on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal. Instead of listening to what the children had to say, she ignored their requests and tried to give them a lesson in politics. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Senator Feinstein said. “I know what I’m doing. You come in here and you say, ‘It has to be my way or the highway.’ I don’t respond to that.” Throughout her interaction with the children, Senator Feinstein told them to “listen.” She wanted the children to listen to the Republicans on the other side and to listen to her speak about her experience because that’s how you get things done. When she was telling them to “listen,” however, she was also interrupting their presentation and their time to talk. Instead, she should be the one listening to her constituents and future voters, instead of impeding on their ability to share their own opinions. She clearly did not view the youth in her office as her equals, and she exhibited a high level of hypocrisy.
In general, politicians should understand that their choices influence more than just their voters. When they vote to pass or fail a law, children, nonvoters, members from the other party, felons, pets, the environment, and international citizens are affected. Serving as a representative does not always mean serving your voters only, but serving the people that live in your area or district. Non-voting constituents are still constituents. Activism is one of the few voices given to children under the age of 18. It is the driving force behind political change, so Senator Feinstein should not be so quick to dismiss it the way she did. The voices of the young generations matter. Who else will be the future movers and shakers, if not them? Children do not have a choice to vote, and representatives, like Senator Feinstein, cannot assume that their interests are being represented by their parents. When children aren’t represented in the electorate, it is important to take their opinions and voice into account. These five-year-olds, tenyear-olds, and 15 year-olds are your future voters, and if you do not allow them to speak now, they will not vote for you in the future. The future is theirs, after all, not Senator Feinstein’s.
Page 12 Our World
The Spotlight
Is Intuitive Eating the Answer to Living a Healthy Lifestyle? by Sarah Jacobson
Dieting is common in teens. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported that 58.6 percent of teen girls and 28.2 percent of teen boys are actively dieting. However, there’s a lot to be said for how well these diets work. A study done by University of Minnesota found that dieting actually promotes weight gain and makes teens more likely to binge eat than those who don’t diet. All this research has ushered in a new health movement known as intuitive eating. “[People] hope that [diets] are an easy fix, or a cure-all,” English teacher Mrs. Ciotti said. “[People] need that expertise to guide them through the process [of being healthy]; the diets offer structure and tools to assist them.” To fully understand the concept of intuitive eating, it is first helpful to take a look at what is is. Certified intuitive eating counselor and psychotherapist Sarah Hersitch defines intuitive eating as, “a non-diet approach to help normalize your relationship with food.” There are ten main principles behind intuitive eating that were developed by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. They include rejecting the diet mentality, respecting one’s fullness, and honoring one’s health. They are designed to break a person out of the realm of dieting and into the idea of eating according to their own body’s needs. This means no counting calories and macronutrients, and definitely no heavy monitoring of food intake. “Intuitive eating is relearning how to eat without rules and rigidity, and instead, learn how to feel and honor your individual internal cues like hunger, fullness, cravings and satisfaction level,” Hersitch said. “[Intuitive eating] teaches us that the longer we fear fat, the longer we’ll stay steeped in dieting and ultimately feelings of not-enoughness.” In 2018, the University of Helsinki did a study that followed the eating habits of young men and
women. They found that the only people who succeeded in managing their weight long term were those who ate regularly without following any kind of diet. This style of weight management is the exact methodology behind the concepts of intuitive eating. Ms. Hersitch describes intuitive eating as a way for people to end the “body project”: the never-ending quest to change their bodies to fit into the cultural thin-ideal. The idea that thinness isn’t innate or attainable for all people is another cornerstone of intuitive eating. This is often called Health At Every Size (HAES). “I don’t think health is just about weight,” junior Emma Herceg said. “I think you have to mentally healthy... I think that if a person is comfortable with how they are, then they’re good.” Because intuitive eating isn’t weight based, people who practice it often promote the ideal that one can be healthy no matter what size they are. According to Hersitch, body shape and size are not markers of health, and that health behaviors are more important. This would include eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables for your personal lifestyle, exercising frequently, and paying attention to fullness and hunger cues. Ms. Hersitch believes intuitive eating to be an important practice because of all the damage that traditional dieting can do to a person’s body. She says that dieting has been shown to decrease selfesteem and increase depression and anxiety, and people can often get caught in cycles of dieting and depression. For 95 percent of people, she says that the desired weight loss never comes and is instead replaced with weight gain. “So many people conflate health with body size... I encourage all people to consider, how do you want to feel mentally, emotionally and in your body? And, what behaviors can you engage in that will support that?,” Hersitch said. “This
People who practice intuitive eating often promote the ideal that one can be healthy no matter what size. Photo Credit: ThoughtCatalog.
helps people move away from extremes of dieting and exercise and toward a sustainable approach that actually feels good for them and helps them achieve the way they want to feel.” For those looking to engage in intuitive eating practices, she recommends first unfollowing any social media accounts that promote dieting, and instead following accounts that embrace body positivity and intuitive eating. The most unique part of intuitive eating is that its principles apply to everyone. No matter your health concerns, it is possible to eat in an intuitive manner. Perhaps that is what makes intuitive eating so intriguing for many people: the idea of being free from dieting’s psychological constraints. If you would like to learn more about intuitive eating, Hersitch encourages people to read “Intuitive Eating” by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. She also recommends the podcast “FoodPsych” by Christy Harrison, which can be found on iTunes. Seeing a nutritionist that specializes in intuitive eating is also an option for those wishing to speak to a professional.
New Zealand Attacks Parallel American Shootings by Bridgette Lang
On Friday, March 15th, an Australian man walked into the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand with a gun and phone in his hand. Then, he entered the Linwood Islamic Centre, livestreaming the attacks. When he left both locations, 50 were dead, and 50 were injured, according to NPR. “I was really shocked, really, really shocked, because there was so many people who died,” freshman Alicia Prince said. “And New Zealand [is] not a place where you would expect anything [like this] to happen.” Unfortunately, the United States is all too familiar with gun-related fatalities. Although it may have come as a shock for New Zealand, gun violence of any kind is an everyday event here. In the United States, our country has experienced religiously-fueled hate and white supremacy mass shooting multiple times within the last couple of years. In 2016, an Orlando nightclub saw 49 deaths, from what was most likely homophobic sentiments. In 2017, the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs saw 26 dead. In 2018, 11 were proclaimed dead at the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. In just a couple of weeks after the Christchurch attacks, the world has seen an almost immediate reaction from New Zealand. Not only did Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern deliver a speech the day of the event, but new gun legislation was passed by the NZ Parliament. Only six days after the shooting, it was drafted, introduced, and passed. The new law was signed into law on March 21, 2019. “Our history changed forever,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference. “Now,
our laws will too.” The proposal includes a ban on semi-automatics, assault rifles, and high capacity magazines. New Zealand will use a buyback program to remove the banned weapons as soon as April 11, 2019. “I think the New Zealand government is doing a good job trying to help the families of the victims and passings gun control laws in record time,” sophomore Evan Wimmer said. Like the United States, New Zealand has had some of the most lenient gun laws of Western countries. This makes this new proposal even more surprising, considering the widespread support after decades of stagnation. After seeing this, many Americans ask why can’t the United States come together for legislative action? We’ve had many incidents of gun violence within such a short period of time and higher death tolls, so why is the United States waiting?
The New Zealand parliament has 120 seats. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
“Sandy Hook happened 6 years ago and we can’t even get the Senate to hold a vote on universal background checks w/ #HR8,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said on Twitter. “Christchurch happened, and within days New Zealand acted to get weapons of war out of the consumer market. This is what leadership looks like.” Though there are many comparison to draw between the two countries, there are also considerable differences when looking at New Zealand’s legislative process and political climate. New Zealand has a population under five million, while the United States has a population of 327 million. With a population that is only a little more than one percent the size of the United States, it may be easier to sway the electorate. The New Zealand parliament also has less seats, with a total of 120. The US House of Representatives has 435 voting members, while the Senate has 100. Considering this, it is also much easier to gain consensus and persuade others in a smaller group. It is rather easy to overlook the action that our own local community has taken in the face of gun violence. At SLHS, administrations, staff, and faculty have all encouraged students to practice decision making during our ALICE drills this school year. ALICE is an acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate, and it is intended to be a more dynamic approach to a traditional “stay and hold” lockdown structure. With this new knowledge, students are more prepared for whatever and whoever may stand in their way. Now, it is only a waiting game of seeing what the United States Congress will and won’t accomplish.
March 2019
Our World Page 13
JSA Hosts Event with Pennsylvania Senator Pat Browne by Saskia Van’t Hof
As the first wave of 2020 presidential candidates step forward, attention-grabbing media and dramatic scandals in the presidential race can often overshadow the work done by state and local governments. However, it is as important as ever to look to state and local representatives to make change. On March 1, the Junior State of America invited Pennsylvania State Senator Pat Browne to speak with students at Southern Lehigh High School. While the event was hosted by students in the JSA, students schoolwide were welcome to sign up and ask questions. Over 35 students participated. “I really like politics and wanted to see more of them at a local government level,“ sophomore Jack Ziets said. “I’m in JSA and politics is an interest of mine, so I thought it’d be a good opportunity to hear from a state senator,” freshman Noah Denton said. “I thought [the meeting] went pretty well.” Throughout his speech, Senator Browne spoke about his experience before and after becoming a senator. His overarching theme was to empathize the importance of listening to all sides of a discussion. “You come to realize [as a politician] that there’s a certain feature on your body that’s the most important – your ears,” Senator Browne said. “The best [politicians] are the ones that listen. One thing about the place I represent is that just [as] our country is a very diverse place, we live in a very diverse state, and we live in a very diverse
Senator Browne emphasized the power of listening during his presentation. Photo Credit: Mr. Ruhf.
community.” Senator Pat Browne has lived all but eight years of his life in Pennsylvania. In fact, he is a Lehigh Valley native, growing up in Allentown and graduating from Allentown Central Catholic High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and earned a law degree from Temple University. Prior to holding political office, Senator Browne was employed in Philadelphia as a tax manager and senior tax associate at Cooper & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse. While he was working in inner city Philadelphia, the economic divide he saw in the urban community inspired him to become a politician. “It was not a good time,” Senator Brown said. “As a finance guy, I didn’t want to be advising my clients to leave Pennsylvania. I was proud of my state. But I had to give them objective advice and tell them that financially they’d be better somewhere else. That really bothered me.” Once Senator Browne decided to run for office, he moved back to the Lehigh Valley to campaign. He was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1995 and held the position for ten years. In 2005, he won a Special Election to fill the Pennsylvania Senate seat vacated by Rep. Charlie Dent. He was elected for two more terms before becoming the Republican Whip of the Pennsylvania Senate in 2011. Currently, Pat Browne serves as a chairman of the PA Senate Appropriations committee. Senator Brown is also a member of four other committees, including Education, Finance, Health & Human Services, and Local Government. “I look for consensus and collaboration,” Senator Browne said. “The only way to be successful in politics is if you’re willing to be in the room with people who don’t agree with you and have different opinions. Eventually, you will able to come to a middle ground with something that you both need. The ones that are least successful at politics are the ones that hold onto their opinions and are never willing to listen to someone else’s.” As a former Certified Public Accountant, Senator Browne specializes on the fiscal consequences
of the governor’s legislation. While being an accountant may not be the typical stepping stone into politics, Senator Browne believes that different life experiences give politicians unique advantages because they are able to focus on specific topics. “Don’t worry too much about what ‘path’ you’re on,” Senator Browne said. “No matter which path you choose, there will always be constituents who can relate to you. That’s the most important part: it’s all about shared common experiences.” During the conference, Senator Browne addressed some issues he believes are affecting Pennsylvania. In correlation to being an “aging” state, with 17.8 percent of the total population in Pennsylvania comprised of people over the age of 65, Senator Brown questions why young people are moving away from Pennsylvania. “We need to talk about why our young folks are not staying,” he said. “Why they are looking for opportunities elsewhere?” While currently the situation seems bleak, Senator Browne is energized by the younger generation’s interest in living in cities. Unlike older generations, who spread out into suburbs, many millennials are looking toward cities for their diversity, convenience, career opportunity, and social scene. Senator Browne believes that a new wave of urbanization could bring back economic success to cities. “The needs of our cities are a lot more segregated than they used to be. If you just look at Allentown, the city was going in a very strong direction when I was growing up, but it’s very different now,” Senator Browne said. “It’s important to understand that income diversity is important for a city to thrive….There needs to be enough people to invest in cities for them to do well.” Senator Browne places a lot of faith in the younger generations. As a politician, he hopes that he will be in office long enough to see voter turnout for elections go up. “I have a very strong sense of pride for Pennsylvania,” Senator Browne said. “What makes this job meaningful is that at the end of the day, I understand that I got something done. Everytime we do that, something gets better.”
No One Loves the Oscars More than Mrs. Tocci by Aisha Durrani
February is filled with several calendar events: Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Groundhog Day, and most importantly, the Academy Awards, or “Oscars,” a popular award show to recognize esteemed works in the film industry. The 2019 Academy Awards were held on February 24. English teacher Mrs. Lauren Tocci is known throughout the school as being absolutely obsessed with all things film, and the evening of the Academy Awards is her favorite holiday. As the big day ticked closer, Mrs. Tocci kept a running tally on her board. Who better to ask about the Oscars than Southern Lehigh’s very own film fanatic? The films Mrs. Tocci was most hopeful for were “BlacKkKlansman” and “Roma,” due in part to their marvelous directors, Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) and Alfonso Cuarón (Roma). “They were two very different films, yet two demonstrations of the power of story, and what great directing can look like,” she said.“I think Alfonso Cuarón is our modern day master. When you watch ‘Roma,’ there is not a moment in that film that isn’t beautiful. Even in its heartbreak, in its tragedy, and in moments that are really challenging, its beautiful.” Mrs. Tocci’s obsession with the Oscars is not a new hobby. She’s been watching the awards ceremony since she was four years old, and her love for it has only grown with time. Having watched film for most of her life, Mrs. Tocci is no stranger to cinema. “I’ve always had a personal obsession with
film, and it was really fostered through my family,” Mrs. Tocci said. “My parents were really great about showing me great cinema very young. My dad especially was willing to take me to movies that were probably a little bit more mature, but he felt it was a great way to experience story, and he really believed in good films.” However, according to Mrs. Tocci, the night was not without it faults. “Green Book,” directed by Peter Farrelly, was widely controversial. Many believed that the movie did not properly depict the stories of the people within it. “[‘Green Book’] is inaccurate in its portrayal of Dr. Shirley, as admitted by his own family, and the fact that he didn’t want that film made,” Mrs. Tocci said. “Dr. Shirley is the most compelling part of the film, and the story is not told for him, about him, or within his vantage point. You take someone so important and so dynamic and silence them, which is the biggest controversy of the film.” Overall, Mrs. Tocci enjoyed this year’s Oscars. Although she liked the old format, she was pleasantly surprised by the new method of having many presenters rather than just a few. As a champion of film and theatre, she was pleased to see the celebration of it. However, “Green Book” did sour the night quite a bit. “I think ‘Green Book’ winning was the most egregious mistake of the night,” Mrs. Tocci said. “The problem is, you have a telecast where the first half of the night felt very hopeful and celebratory with the new pace of the Oscars, and then you
Mrs. Lauren Tocci is known throughout SLHS as being absolutely obsessed with all things film. Photo Credit: Aisha Durrani.
end with ‘Green Book,’ and it makes you question everything.” Many students also enjoyed watching the Academy Awards with friends and family. Like anything else in pop culture, they had varying views about this year’s Oscars. “I thought it was amazing that the Oscars was more diverse this year,” sophomore Kayla Howie said. “In the past, I think it’s been a problem with awards shows in America, and I’m proud that we’ve finally bridged the gap and started becoming more diverse.” Freshman Aiden Tobin rated the 2019 Oscars a “four out of ten,” while freshman Bryson Davis rated it a solid “six out of ten.”
Page 14 Arts and Entertainment
The Spotlight
Dive Into a New Culture with Spanish Music by Bridgette Lang
When we listen to music in a different language, we activate our brains to learn new vocabulary, slang terms, and different cultural contexts. A study by the University of Edinburgh found that, “participants who learned [a new language] through singing performed twice as well as participants who learned by speaking the phrases.” After hearing this, I have always listened to Spanish music in my car on the way to school, right before Spanish class, so I put together a small list of some of my favorites from the past few months.
Bad Bunny
Photo Credit: sclance.com
Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio is a Puerto Rican trap rapper, who originally found success on SoundCloud. His most recent collaborations include “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin, “MIA” with Drake, and “Te Boté” with five other rappers. As seen through his own work, remixes, and collaborations, Bad Bunny may be the most versatile Latin artist. His collaborations are a clear sign that he is able to work his own sound into other genres. Bad Bunny is breaking into the scene with his own songs as well. His most recent release was his first album, “X 100pre.” He was nominated two times for the Latin Grammys and once for the Grammys. In 2018, he won Latin American Music Awards Artist of the Year.
Rosalía
Rosalía Vila Tobella is a 25-year-old Spanish singer from Catalonia. While other Caribbean and Latin American artists dominate the Spanish music scene, Rosalía has taken the liberty to explore her Spanish roots through flamenco. She does an excellent job in combining the old and new. Her entire second album, “El Mal Querer,” is based upon her university thesis. Each song represents a different chapter of the 13th-century novel “Flamenca,” which revolves around a toxic relationship. “Malamente” from “El Mal Querer” won two Latin Grammys in 2018. Compared to the other artists on this list, Rosalía is definitely the hardest to understand if you are still learning Spanish, like me, because of the flamenco singing style, her accent, and the abstract ideas in her lyrics.
Ozuna
Top Bops: 1) “Solo de Mi”
2) “Cuando Perriabas”
3) “NI BIEN NI MAL”
Top Bops: 1) “MALAMENTE” 2) “DE AQUÍ NO SALES”
3) “PIENSO EN TU MIRÁ” Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado, know as Ozuna, had his breakthrough in 2017, as he released his first album “Odisea.” In 2017, he also won Best New Latin Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Ozuna is best known for his urban reggaeton style, influenced by his hometown San Juan. For being on the charts for just two years, he has experienced immense success, thanks to his catchy choruses. Earlier this year, Ozuna became the artist with most one-billion-view videos on YouTube. He has a total of seven videos that meet this criteria. Ozuna also won the Billboard Latin Music Awards Artist of the Year.
Top Bops: 1) “Baila Baila Baila” 2)“Vaina Loca”
3) “Me Dijeron”
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
J Balvin J Balvin is a Colombian singer. He lived in the United States for many years, participating in an exchange program in Oklahoma and living with his aunt in New York City. Despite the music influences he was exposed to here and his English fluency, J Balvin still decides to only sing in Spanish with the hope to invite others into his world. J Balvin has a total of five studio albums. Throughout his well-establish career, he successfully combines slower sounds and traditional instruments, like the guitar, with reggaeton beats. His album “Vibras” won a 2018 Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album.
Daddy Yankee
Photo Credit: Surizar on Flickr.
Top Bops: 1) “X”
2) “No Es Justo”
3) “Brillo” (ft. J Balvin, Rosalía) Photo Credit: RalphArvesen on Flickr.
Daddy Yankee is the father of the reggaeton style. He was the first to ever coin the term, “Reggaeton.” After diverging from mainstream rap in the mid-1990’s, he teamed up with DJ Playero to release explicit music that was banned by the Puerto Rican government at the time. Today, it is clear that his music style has influenced many other artists and the genre as a whole. Today, Daddy Yankee is still at the top of the industry, and he is here to stay. In 2017, he was the most streamed artist on Spotify, and he has won multiple Latin Grammys. With his extensive expertise, Daddy Yankee has also assumed the role of a producer, sharing his knowledge with future stars.
Top Bops: 1) “Dura”
2) “Con Calma” 3) “Gasolina”
March 2019
Arts and Entertainment Page 15
Former First Lady Debuts Her Writing Skills in Her Captivating Book ‘Becoming’ by Kennah Salvo
Simply put, Michelle Obama’s new memoir, “Becoming,” is captivating. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. The storytelling is compelling, engaging, easy-to-follow, and built toward Mrs. Obama’s larger purpose very well, culminating with what wisdom she has gained. In the beginning, Mrs. Obama tells about her childhood, placing specific emphasis on events that would shape and influence her for the rest of her life. For instance, she relates how she learned piano from an aunt who was strict and hard to please on an old upright piano. She explains how middle C is the anchoring point on a piano that allows everything to fall into place, a sort of guiding point for a player. Obama recalls how the piano she learned on had a chip off the middle C key, which was how she always knew where it was. When it came came time for her recital, however, she played on a pristine grand piano with no chip on the middle C key, and she had a moment of panic, with no idea where to begin. She uses this experience as metaphor later on to describe how she felt upon becoming the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS). She does this with other events and I found it a particularly effective way of telling her story. Beyond superior storytelling, “Becoming” helped me better understand her initiatives to combat childhood obesity as FLOTUS. In her book, Michelle Obama relates a visit to the do ctor’s office with her daughter, Sasha, where she
Michelle Obama dazzled readers in her New York Times Bestseller. Photo Credit: Crown Publishing Group.
was informed that Sasha was overweight. This sent her reeling, and, moreover, she describes it as an awakening to the problem of childhood obesity and the catalyst for all her initiatives. Before reading this book, I did not understand Obama’s passion for this cause and it seemed to me a strange one to champion. After reading this book, though, I thoroughly understood her decision. “Becoming” also helped me to understand Michelle Obama better as person. I am a great admirer, especially of her initiatives surrounding the education of girls. However, I never thought of her as a person: as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister. But she is all of these things, and “Becoming” showed me that side of her. Is she successful and accomplished and a great role model? Absolutely, but she is also a typical woman going through life the same as you and me. I did not even realize I thought this way until I stopped thinking this way. I think the moment that this dawned on me was when I read about how Mrs. Obama had struggles with infertility. I was shocked. I had no idea that had been a struggle for the Obama family. That was the moment I realized that she was a person. “Becoming” is a powerful novel. From plot points to revelations and educational value, Michelle Obama’s autobiography is excellent. If you are looking for an awakening read, “Becoming” is for you.
Upcoming Movies You Won’t Want to Miss
“Avengers: Endgame” comes out on April 26th. Photo Credit: Marvel Studios.
“Pet Sematary” comes out on April 5th. Photo Credit: Di Bonaventura Pictures.
“The Best of Enemies” comes out on April 5th. Photo Credit: Astute Films.
“Under the Silver Lake” comes out on April 19th. Photo Credit: A24.
“High Life” comes out on April 5th. Photo Credit: ZDF.
“Peterloo” comes out on April 5th. Photo Credit: British Film Institute.
Page 16 Odds and Ends
The Spotlight
March 2019
Spring Musical ‘Les Miserables’ Brings The Sounds of Theatre to SLHS
Photo Credit: Jon Lee