The Spoke October 2014

October 14, 2014 Conestoga High School Berwyn, Pennsylvania Stoganews.com Volume 65 No. 1

“A whole lot of courage in this gym today” p. 4

Yuge Xiao/The SPOKE

New Superintendent p. 5

Food Guidelines p. 12-13

Net Neutrality p. 16

News School The Spoke is published seven times per year at Bartash Printing.

It consistently receives the Gold Award from the Pennsylvania School Press Association and is a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker awardwinning publication. The Spoke serves as a public forum for student expression.

Editors-in-Chief: Suproteem Sarkar, Simran Singh, Yuge Xiao News Editor: Michael Hong Features Editors: Courtney Kennedy, Mary Mei Opinion Editor: Meagan O’Rourke Sports Editors: Andy Backstrom, Navin Zachariah Convergence Editors: Michael Li, Jerry Zhu Business Manager: Shivani Sanghani Copy Editor: Paula Miller Graphic Designers: Sage Forté, Liz Lawton, Ben Red, Michael Zhang Staff: Betty Ben-Dor, Elizabeth Billman, Maggie Chen, Allan Du, Nour Elkassabany, Rose Kantorczyk, Camille Kurtz, Liz Lawton, Cissy Ming, Kyle Nicholson, Ian Ong, Matt Paolizzi, Emma Purinton, Allison Reagan, Matt Soderberg, Caleigh Sturgeon, Michelle Xu, Eric Xue, Lyvia Yan, Michael Zhang, Warren Zhao Faculty Advisers: Susan Gregory, Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt

Submissions Letters to the editor may be submitted to Suproteem Sarkar, Simran Singh or Yuge Xiao, or advisers Susan Gregory or Cyndi Crothers-Hyatt. Unsigned editorials represent the views of The Spoke editorial board, and not necessarily those of the administration, student body, community or advertisers. The opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of The Spoke.

Contact Us Email: spoke@stoga.net Phone: 610-240-1046 The Spoke accepts paid advertisements.

Email: ssanghani@stoganews.com Visit The Spoke online at www.stoganews.com Web News Directors: Michael Li, Jerry Zhu mli@stoganews.com jzhu@stoganews.com

2 The Spoke

Students participate in political process Cissy Ming

“All because you can’t vote doesn’t mean you can’t affect someone else’s vote,” Pu said. “The interns [through volunteer work] help people gain the name recognition of who Trivedi is and the values he holds.”

intern and senior Jennifer Zhuge claims that creating a connection with voters encourages them to support the campaign.

Senior Victoria Phelps, who has volunAs the 2014 Congressional elections draw teered for Governor Corbett’s campaign near, voters around the country are feeling locally and serves as Young the pressure: from glossy fliers Republicans club president, hung on the doorknob to front also has plans to become more yard signs, politics is unavoidinvolved with political activism. able.

“This year, we [members of Although some teenagers Young Republicans] are planare content to leave voting ning to go to CPAC (Conservato the adults, members of the tive Political Action ConferYoung Democrats Club are ence) so hopefully members taking an active role in the can link with congressmen political process. Over the and women to work on their summer, several club members campaigns on a national level,” interned for the campaigns of Phelps said.

Democrats Manan Trivedi and Despite these students’ enMarian Moskowitz, running for thusiasm for politics, with voter 6th District Representative and turnout in midterm elections state legislature respectively. stagnating at around 40 percent, Contrary to the dictionary apathy toward the elections definition of democracy, one seems to be the norm. Phelps does not have to be eligible Michael Hong/The SPOKE to vote to participate in the Senior Victoria Phelps participates in phone banking for Governor Corbett. sees this as a negative trend selection of representatives, Phelps is a volunteer for Corbett and president of the Young Republicans Club. which may only be remedied if people care enough to support as evidenced by the fact that Volunteers with Trivedi assisted the their candidates of choice at the polls or enmany of the interns and campaign volunteers were minors. According to senior Yuyan Pu, campaign by going door to door personally courage others to do so.

“Today, as a nation, we face a problem with who interned for Trivedi over the summer and speaking to voters, known as door-to-door continues to volunteer with the campaign, canvassing, and calling voters en masse, or apathetic voters. I think we as young people underage students can be a pivotal part of phone banking. Although door knob hangers should know what is going on around us and and front yard signs are easy to ignore, Trivedi what we can do to fix that,” Phelps said. the election process.

‘Stoga succeeds in standardized testing

Eric Xue “Outstanding,” Principal Dr. Amy Meisinger said, applauding the student body for its performance in standardized tests. “They consistently score high, if not the highest in the state.”

The school year of 2013-14 was a year of high standardized test scores for Conestoga students. In May, Conestoga students took 1,665 Advanced Placement, or AP, exams, ranging from art history to calculus.

There were 719 5s and 546 4s out of all the AP exams taken last school year. Several courses saw improvements in the scores students received from previous years, one being AP Calculus BC. Of the 57 students who took the AP Calculus BC exam, 56 obtained 5s. The high test average impressed Paul Poiesz, both a calculus teacher and the math department chair at Conestoga.

“I think the part I was most impressed by was that as a whole, they did very well.

It wasn’t like people were scraping by to achieve the 5 that they got,” Poiesz said.

Despite the difficulty of AP exams, students still manage to receive high scores. AP U.S. History teacher John Koenig believes he has an explanation as to why students succeed.

“I think they’re compelled to try to see how they can do, and I think a lot of students who sign up for AP classes anticipate or expect or want to take the exam,” Koenig said.

54 3

1,665 Tests Total

719

21 &

546 311 89

Michael Zhang/The SPOKE

In addition, in October of 2013, the class of 2015 took the PSAT to enter the National Merit Scholarship competition hosted annually by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

According to Meisinger, out of the local schools, Conestoga has the most semifinalists and more than several local schools combined. Conestoga had 44 semifinalists, which exceeds the total number of semifinalists from Radnor High School, Lower Merion High School, Harriton High School and Strath Haven High School.

“This is the most that we’ve had in my tenure here. The next highest that we had was

37, and that was in 2010, and then two years ago, in 2013, we had 35, but 44 far exceeds,” Meisinger said.

Conestoga also has 40 students who were named Commended Students.

News School

This past summer, Conestoga saw several changes to its infrastructure. Two trees in the large courtyard were cut down after storms significantly damaged them this past winter. In addition, several classrooms were remodeled and the track was completely repainted.

“I was shocked and kind of annoyed,” senior Fiona Copeland said. “The courtyard is a place where students go to relax and eat lunch and enjoy the fresh air. But now, particularly on sunny, warm days, the courtyard has no shade and is overly bright, which makes it uncomfortable for those of us who sit outside.”

The tree in the middle of the courtyard took a toll after the ice storms that hit the area last February, losing branches and becoming diseased. Although tree experts were brought in to try combating the rotting, more ice storms hit, ruining the tree. The second tree in the courtyard, although it suffered less, was also diseased and the ice storms damaged many of its remaining healthy branches.

“Every year, there is an arborist who checks the trees here at Conestoga. In past years, as the trees were decreasing in health, he has stated that they are still not at a horrible position. However, this year, he said it was significantly worse, leading to the dispatch of the trees,” assistant principal Patrick Boyle said. “The administrators were concerned for the safety of the students, as the entire tree could collapse at any moment.”

AP European History time as a full-year elective rather than as a major course. This change allows for more class time to be devoted toward stimulating debates instead of teaching note-taking and study strategies.

Gregory Hein, who teaches AP European History, explains that the course begins with a cursory glance at the Middle Ages, followed by a deeper look into the Renaissance and the events leading up to and including the modern era.

Hein gives his students the freedom to choose their own learning styles, anywhere along the spectrum of vigorous note-taking to simply reading the text.

“The concept of the course is that it’s a unique opportunity to have almost a college experience.

In college you’re assigned reading notes, but they are never collected. So why do you read? It’s about intrinsically being motivated to learn,” Hein said.

According to Hein, the course takes a comprehensive look into the “political, social, cultural, religious and economic events of Europe” and may even incorporate district-provided technology as a medium of learning in years to come.

Administrators wished to fill the empty space and worked with a landscaper to draw up plans to put three new trees in the courtyard which have been planted. The landscaping reflects the school colors, garnet and white; tree leaves and flowers will bloom in those colors.

“Planting new trees will allow younger students to see something g r o w, a s t h e y m o v e through high school,” Boyle said. He believes that the trees will be Michael Hong/The SPOKE aesthetically pleasing, The tree in the middle of the courtyard has been removed.

In its place, variprovide some shade and ous smaller trees and shrubbery have been planted to occupy the center. “give the younger students a sense of pride as they watch the trees grow as were also added to the adjacent classrooms to allow stuthey do.” dents to directly enter the rooms from the hallway. The Room 153 also saw some changes this summer. Last computers were replaced with lab benches, and students year, there was a computer lab in between two adjacent will use computer carts as needed instead of the desktops. classrooms. The only entrance to these three rooms was “These changes provide increased educational experithrough the computer lab. However, over the summer, ences for students, allowing access to more classrooms,” the computer lab was remodeled into a classroom. Doors Boyle said.

AP Italian 4

SAT Strategies

AP Italian 4 was added as an expansion to Italian 4 that will give Italian language students an opportunity to show how much they have learned over the course of their study. Aaron Gutter, one of two AP Italian 4 teachers, has

SAT Strategies is a course focusing on teaching students strategies they can use while taking the current SAT to minimize lost points and

students can succeed on the AP exam in their fourth year of study; only students who take languages that begin in middle school such as Spanish and French have the opportunity to take schools whose students also take the AP Italian exam in their fourth year.

“If the students possess the motivation to sucGutter encourages students to learn Italian if they feel connected to it in terms of heritage or “It’s at the base of so much art, theater, opera and the boundless cultural achievements from Italy, and learning Italian will bring you so much closer to that and the exploration of those subjects,” Gutter said.

Students take weekly practice tests and are encouraged to take the PSAT in October. Students’ the personal strengths and weaknesses of each student. Course instructor Susan Monaghan then works with students to turn those weaknesses into strengths.

Since the SAT is a timed exam, Monaghan said she emphasizes the importance of time management.

“You have to be able to pace yourself and know when it is time to move on and how to approach those kinds of situations,” Monaghan said.

A course fee of $150 comes with the class and goes towards the PrepMe software, a narrated, interactive opportunity for students to learn stratand practice those strategies on real SAT quesprovided to students as a part of the course fee.

Sage Forté/The SPOKE

The Spoke 3

News School

Unguarded Courage Cover Story Yuge Xiao, Courtney Kennedy, Liz Lawton Co-Editor-in-Chief, Co-Features Editor, Captivating a crowd of more than 2,000, Chris Herren in more than a decade.

A former Boston Celtic and drug user, Herren launched his Project Purple initiative to shed light on substance abuse.

The idea to have Herren present at ’Stoga began three years ago after several students watched him speak at a local college.

“I had a couple of students who were working on their own recovery, their own substance abuse issues,” said mental health specialist Dr. Christine Dunleavy. “When Chris Herren came into town, he actually spoke at Neumann College and a couple of our students went and saw him and thought he would be really inspirational and appropriate for Conestoga.

So we started looking into him, researching into how we can make it happen here.”

Dunleavy and the students proposed the idea to the administration. However, due to logistical issues and cost concerns, the push for Herren to present ebbed until the spring of 2013, when the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club revived the idea.

SADD president senior Jenna Gillam said the process to gain the administration’s approval was long.

“The hard part was just the persistence,” Gillam said. “It because previously teachers and administrators have menschool board when it’s from a student’s perspective.”

Student and community organizations came together to help SADD sponsor the event. The main stakeholders included Area Residents Caring and Helping (ARCH), Foundation for Learning in Tredyffrin/Easttown (FLITE), Paoli Wildcats, Drugs and Alcohol Recovery Team (DART) and Student Council.

Expenses for the event totaled to about $15,000 and were funded entirely by money from stakeholders. Expenditures included advertising and Herren’s evening and day presentapurple car, the hotel we had him stay in needed to have spehim to be not super down-to-earth but when we met him, oh my gosh, he’s such a cool guy. He’s so down-to-earth and he’s way awesome, actually.”

Photos by Yuge Xiao/The SPOKE

Joe Herren’s speaking package covered two presentations–– one for students Thursday morning and one for the community the night before. While the student presentation focused more on making the right decision and helping peers, in the community presentation, Herren talked more about what role parents play in their children’s social life.

At the evening speech, Herren “tailored his message more towards parents, and how they should be alerted to how ‘Day 1 doesn’t look like needle in the arm,’” principal Dr. Amy Meisinger said. “He also talked similarly to the students about ‘why am I not good enough on Friday and Saturday nights?’ and how to talk to your son or daughter if there is a situation that would arise. It was more tailored to parents, but it was still his story that he used as the platform.”

The Wednesday presentation, held in the school auditorium, was well-attended by parents, faculty and community members. Dunleavy estimated that between 750 to 800 people were in attendance.

“You never know what you’re going to get so I was very, very happy with the turnout. We wanted to have a packed house because it’s an important topic and he delivered such an amazing program so the audience, I will tell you, was as quiet as the student body was during his presentation. You

Lynch

embraces

Chris

Herren

af-

of good questions,” Dunleavy said. to hear Herren give the second of his two speeches. Starting with a video of his career highlights, drug use and consequent and spoke about making the right decisions and dangers of alcohol and narcotics.

For some, it was the nature of his speech and its relatability that struck a nerve. Sophomore Leah Coogan felt that the personal aspects of Herren’s speech were most prominent.

“His story related to me because of struggles I’ve dealt Coogan said. how the content of the speech and its presentation were most impactful. tences and says exactly what you’re thinking and it throws you off guard? [Thursday] was Chris Herren doing that over and over again for an hour. He had me pegged perfectly, it was so unnerving.”

Continued on p. 5

Students wait in line to speak during the question and answer session. About two dozen students got up from their seats to address Herren, school faculty and the entire student body.

4 The Spoke

News District

Sharing stories

District appoints superintendent

Continued from p. 4 The speech’s conclusion brought what was anticipated to be a brief question and answer session. In his speech, Herren mentioned that Q&A sessions at some of the schools he had visited entailed a long stretch of unbroken silence during which no student volunteered a story or asked a question.

Conestoga was the exact opposite.

To the awe of many, approximately 20 students left their seats and waited in line to share their stories relating to topics from the speech and pose questions to Herren.

For Davis, this was not an opportunity to ask a former professional basketball player and inspirational speaker a question out of curiosity; it was an opportunity to make a statement about her life, and she took it.

“I realized that the people at ’Stoga are more accepting and I just thought that if anyone’s going to judge me [then] they’re not worth my time,” Davis said. “It was kinda like getting a weight off my shoulders. It needed to be said.”

Senior Nate Sterry also had the opportunity to talk to Herren in front of the entire student body. He emphasized the role that the students played in making the assembly as poignant as it was.

“For that two hours that we were all in there, we were one solid entity and that was the big thing,” Sterry said. “Not one person in there didn’t care about what was going on.”

Coogan discussed the tangible feeling of community in the gym as well.

“I felt a lot of empathy for everyone who got up to speak and even those who didn’t, and I could tell that everyone else felt the same way. It was a good feeling of unity,” Coogan said.

Assistant Principal Andy Phillips attended Wednesday night’s event and said it was made better by the question and answer session, so he anticipated a similar response with the school assembly.

“We thought that students might have a few comments and that Chris would sort of say, ‘I have time for one or two more,’ but you could tell that he was really connecting with us. You could tell that he didn’t want to leave,” Phillips said.

“It was great to see our students stand up and not everybody got heard, but they have just as much to say and just as much courage as the kids who stood up. Someone was standing on the side with me and saw me starting to move to end the session and they said to me, ‘Please don’t stop this.’”

Michael Hong/The SPOKE

Director of Curriculum Dr. Richard Gusick speaks at the board meeting on September 22, 2014. Gusick was appointed as superintendent for his skills, personality and work ethic.

Michael Hong News Editor The T/E school board voted unanimously on Sept. 22, 2014 to appoint Director of Curriculum Dr. Richard Gusick as the next district superintendent.

At the regular board meeting, Gusick and the school board signed a three year contract. Gusick’s term begins July 1, 2015 and ends June 30, 2018.

Gusick says he plans to serve his superintendency along the same lines as current superintendent Dr. Dan Waters, who announced his resignation in October 2013.

“Dr. Waters is an outstanding superintendent,” Gusick said.

“You might see stylistic differences between us but we both care about the best interests of the students at T/E.”

After a process spanning four months and 24 board meetings, the board decided Gusick was the best choice to become superintendent. Gusick was the only internal candidate who expressed did not have competition from internal candidates, he competed with 24 external candidates selected by the Chester County Intermediate Unit. The district was not involved in the selection of external candidates. According to the school board, Gusick’s passion and love for the district along with his valuable experience in the district set him apart from other candidates.

“In Dr. Gusicks’ blood is T/E,” board member Scott Dorsey said at the board meeting. “That’s his blood type.”

Part of Gusick’s enthusiasm for the district is his appreciation of the students in the district. out as a teacher, as an administrator at all levels and I’ll continue to do that,” Gusick said. “The best asset this district has is its students.”

For Meisinger, the question and answer session was the most powerful part of the presentation.

“Chris’s presentation was powerful, but more powerful was the student response, and I’m just so proud to have been a part of that, and proud of the students, most importantly, for what they brought to Conestoga for the experience,” Meisinger said.

Herren was scheduled to end at 10 a.m. but stayed past

Chris Herren

leave to prepare for another presentation at Villanova University later that day.

“A whole lot of courage in this gym today,” Herren said. “I know personally it’s not easy speaking in front of 2,000 kids, never mind being 14, 16, 18 walking up to a microphone.”

Students still in line when Herren left were given his Project Purple email. In addition, after the assembly, Student Services’ mental health specialists and guidance counselors were avail-

Senior Devon Baran

of students who reached out in some way or another to those who needed a positive reinforcement.

“Everyone was supporting each other. We saw a genuine care and concern for each other and for each other’s health and wellness as well as some other things where it struck a

Students Tweet Out

Waters believes Gusick will be able to successfully lead the district in the future.

“Dr. Gusick has the skills, the personality, and the work ethic that he’ll need to be a successful superintendent for the students in the district,” Waters said.

Gusick has already accomplished much in his 24 years with the district. Gusick began his teaching career in Conestoga, moved on to become assistant principal and eventually rose to the position of Director of Curriculum. Gusick was also involved in the creation of the Strategic Plan, which outlines the district’s goals and vision for the future.

“Our hope is that Dr. Gusick will continue to utilize all the great qualities that he has shown the district over the last 24 years he has worked here in his new role as superintendent, and we’re

However, not everyone felt comfortable with the level of sharing from different students.

Junior Alex Moon

Sophomore Jeremiah Bertin

Courtney Kennedy/The SPOKE

senior Ethan Zhao. “For a lot of people, a private one-on-one one thing I really liked was that a lot of people realized how many problems everyone else has and how much of a wall we put up between others. Not everyone’s perfect.”

Many students appreciated hearing their classmates’ stories and felt that the assembly brought the whole school community together.

“I was bawling half of the time. The stories were really touching,” Gillam said. “I was very impressed with how many students got up and shared those things. That’s awesome. I also saw a bunch of tweets afterwards. People were like, for once, ’Stoga is actually united.”

The Spoke 5

FEATURES No-Carve Pumpkins: Skip the messiness of carving by sticking with alternative methods to transform your pumpkin.

Get creative with different patterns and stencils, and use decorations like ribbons.

What you need: -a pumpkin -a light and dark marker -cutouts of bats and ghosts -washi tape (in different colors)

Witch's Hat: Create a no-bake, no-mess dessert with this chocolate treat. Bring these hats to parties and watch them work their magic.

Depending on what kind of design you want to create, use the cutouts as stencils and outline the shape onto the pumpkin with the dark (permanent) marker. Fill in the bat or ghost shapes by coloring thoroughly. Use the washi paper tape (colored paper tape) for the “plaid pumpkin.” Outline your plaid pattern onto the pumpkin with the light marker and begin applying the tape from the stem down around the pumpkin. Finish by sticking the tape around the circumference.

What you need: -Hershey’s Kisses -orange frosting -fudge cookies ing up. Apply a small dollop of orange frosting in the middle of the cookie and push a Hershey’s Kiss into the frosting. The frosting should act like a glue and keep the Kisses in place.

Halloween crafts and Snacks Story and Photos by Features Editor Mary Mei Graphics by Nicole Delgado Halloween might be just a few weeks away, but there’s no need to panic. Use these simple tutorials to help you get into the holiday spirit. Whether you’re looking for easy decorations or tasty treats, The Spoke can help you prepare for the spookiest day of the year.

Clementine Pumpkins and Banana Ghosts: In honor of First Lady Michelle Obama’s new rules in accordance with her Let’s Move Campaign, try making these cute fall snacks with all the holiday spirit and much less of the fat.

Ghosties: Great in all sizes, these cheesecloth ghosts are easy decorations that you can put anywhere around the house.

You can even try making larger ones for the front yard.

What you need: -a toilet paper roll -wire -cheesecloth -aluminum foil -marker Poke two holes in the toilet paper roll and slide the in the wire (these will act as the arms of the ghosts).

Crumple up the aluminum foil in a ball and tape it to the top of the toilet paper roll for the ghost’s head. Drape the cheesecloth over the whole structure for a cute but spooky decoration.

6 The Spoke

Popcorn Hands Customize this elementary school favorite by changing the type of popcorn or adding a spider ring for decoration.

What you need: -plastic gloves (latex free) -candy corn -popcorn (or kettle corn) To make the “nails” of the hand, place the candy corn your choice of popcorn and tie with ribbon or string.

Try distributing to friends, trick-or-treaters, teammates or even teachers for an easy Halloween goodie.

What you need: -banana halves -peeled clementines -small pieces of celery -dark chocolate chips Take the whole peeled clementine and stick a small piece of celery in the center as a stem (you can also used unpeeled clementines and decorate them as jack o'lanterns with a marker). Use the chocolate chips as eyes and mouths for the banana halves. Make sure to push them into the banana so that they stay. Results: mini pumpkins and banana ghosts made out of fruity goodness that are perfect lunchtime snacks (or if you’re really a health nut, trick-or-treat handouts).

Features Community

It takes a few to tango: Students take on ballroom Paula Miller Copy Editor Seniors Maggie Chen, Sophia Chen, Wendy Tan and Nelson Zhang spend Monday night in a class unlike any other. Their classmates consist of a middle-aged married couple. Their instructor is an Eastern European woman who constantly reminds the group to move their hips and extend their arms. Tonight’s lesson: the tango.

In late August, the four seniors began attending ballroom dance lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Chesterbrook. After watching “Dancing with the Stars” over the summer, Maggie Chen was inspired to try ballroom dancing for herself. Once she discovered Fred Astaire Dance Studio, she recruited her friends to join the class. Sophia Chen was eager to try something new.

“When I was younger my mom wanted me to do ballet,” Sophia Chen said. “I’ve always wanted to start dancing, so when I saw this I said, why not?”

Every week, the seniors participate in group classes where they learn the basic steps to dances such as the rumba, tango, waltz, swing, cha cha and foxtrot. Once they complete the beginner program, they will move on to the social foundations program, which involves more challenging moves and routines. cumulative process than learning other types of dance.

“Ballet is more repetitive, like you’re doing the same movements over and over to get it down perfectly. But ballroom, you learn a lot of things, different moves over time that all go into one type of dance,” Maggie Chen said.

Tan, who has experience with both ballet and Chinese cultural dancing, enjoys the more relaxed nature of ballroom dancing.

It’s “a social dance. It’s fun to interact with people,” Tan said.

In addition to group lessons, the seniors also take private lessons. The students start by learning the steps, adding in music and ultimately trying the dance with a partner. Zhang said his individual lessons usually focus on “how to keep your footwork not terrible.”

Paula Miller/The SPOKE

Seniors Wendy Tan, Sophia Chen, Maggie Chen and Nelson Zhang practice their ballroom dancing skills. They dance at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Chesterbrook for Extended Experience credit and to have a good time.

While Tan and her friends are only taking lessons for fun, she says that ballroom dancing is usually more of a “couples thing.” Newlyweds and older couples have also joined the students’ group lessons. In November, several married couples in the more advanced programs will even be performing in a ballroom dance competition. tive experience.

“They’re really nice and professional. They give you really good instruction,” Maggie Chen said. “They’re just really happy all the time.”

Aside from teaching the basics of ballroom dance, the lessons

are also good exercise. With weekly private and group lessons, the students get enough hours for Extended Experience credit from Conestoga. While getting out of gym class is an added boredom, and he hopes to expand his skills to other types of dance in the future.

“Personally, I’d like to learn how to do breakdancing. But they Sophia Chen hopes to continue with ballroom dancing after high school and potentially enter competitions in the future. Tan thinks her new skill may come in handy later in life, but for now, her favorite part is just dancing with her friends.

Wilson Park hosts 10th birthday bash

Emma Purinton

Visitors to Wilson Farm Park on Sept. 27 could expect more than the usual dog-walkers and elementary school soccer games.

The park turned 10 years old on Saturday, and threw itself a Community Day celebration open to the public.

The event featured more than 30 exhibitors, which lined the pathway to the Shire Pavilion with tables and posters. Exhibitors included the Tredyffrin-Easttown Historical Society and Main Line Animal Rescue. Local restaurants and stores also joined the event to serve food, including Mesa Grill, Whirled Peace and the Pizza Wagon. Visitors found entertainment through attractions such as moon bounces and the “Touch a Truck” activity, in which Conestoga also got involved in the festivities. Several musical groups performed in the outdoor theater, the Shire Pavilion.

The camerata choir performed, and the girls a cappella group “Pitches Please” and boys a cappella group “Voice Males” each featured songs during the performance. A student and teacher saxophone quartet and brass ensemble also performed, as well as the marching band drumline. Junior Kathryn Lenker, who was part of the saxophone quartet, enjoyed the atmosphere while playing in the park.

The performance “was really short notice, but it had a nice, low stress level because of the amount of people there. It was Lenker said.

Since Wilson Park became a part of the community on Oct.

Sage Forte/The SPOKE

Seniors Jeb Backe, Jacob Beilenson and Nate Aspinall perform at Wilson Park’s Community Day celebration on Sept. 27.

2, 2004, it has become a well-known place for events, sports and recreation. The park is now a valuable place, even for students who have not been able to use it from its opening 10 years ago.

“It’s certainly a great frisbee spot. In middle school back when the Rita’s was open it was a great place to walk to, get some water ice and just hang out on the swings,” senior Sarah Whelan said.

The Spoke 7

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8 The Spoke

Seth Schweitzer U.S. Government/Politics Interview by Rose Kantorczyk Design by Courtney Kennedy The Spoke (TS): What led you to becoming a teacher?

Seth Schweitzer (SS): I actually started off as a musician for many years. I played in a band from 1972 to 1988, and then at the age of 30 I decided that music wasn’t going to happen for me anymore. So, long story short, I’ve always liked history and government, and when I was looking for something to do for a career, teaching seemed like a natural option. I went to law school for a year, because I liked the law, but I decided that teaching would be better for me, so I got my master’s in education, and here I am!

TS: What did you play in your band?

SS: I was the drummer.

TS: What was the band’s name?

SS: The Impossible Years. We went at it for a long time, and then all of a sudden I was 30 and I was making 20 bucks a week, and it was just pathetic.

TS: What was your most memorable moment with the band?

SS: plause, and I just got the bug to be a performer.

TS: What is your favorite thing about teaching U.S. Government?

SS: My favorite part of teaching U.S. government is making students aware of how their government works, because I believe it’s important in a democracy that citizens are knowledgeable about how government works. Even as a kid I was attracted to two things––music, and then politics and history.

TS: How has the transition been from teaching middle school to teaching high school?

SS: I taught eighth grade for 13 years, so 11th isn’t that much

2014_HS_Newspapers (10.312 x 5.843).2_Layout 1 7/28/14 3:33 PM Page 1

Features Teachers TS: Have you had any run-ins with old students?

SS: Oh, absolutely. I know the ninth graders and I know the 12th graders. Lots of them have come by to say hi. It’s funny with the girls, because girls don’t really change that much from middle school to high school, but with boys, it’s like, kids will come up to me and they were really short and now they’re really tall. It’s like, you have to remind me, who are you again? Boys just develop a lot differently in high school. It can be embarrassing when I can’t remember their names.

TS: Are there any similarities between music and teaching?

SS: I look at teaching as a mode of performance. Just being in front of an audience. I mean, not everything I do is entertaining as a teacher, but I think it’s just the performance aspect of being in front of a crowd. The only difference is, as a musician, I might come home at 6 a.m, and as a teacher I’m leaving the house at 6 a.m.

TS: Who’s a more critical audience, a crowd at a concert or a classroom full of students?

SS If I think about it really hard, I’d have to say that a nightclub types of people that might populate a club late at night; let’s just put it that way.

TS: What do you like to do in your free time?

SS: I like to hang out with my daughter; I have a 12-year-old daughter, and she’s a musician too. Listening to music, reading

Favorites

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Song: “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen Food: Veal Parmesan Holiday: July 4th

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The Spoke 9

Features Clubs

Conestoga Clubs

by Business Manager Shivani Sanghani Graphics by Nicole Delgado

Cycling Club pedals past problems

outside. Another way to practice during winter would be to pur-

Michael Li Co-Convergence Editor

for stationary training. But both of these approaches could quickly

A new club is up and running at Conestoga this year. Actually, it’s up and pedaling—the Cycling Club caters to cyclists of all abilities. This year, members of the Cycling Club will bike together on a variety of trails up to three days a week on mostly the Chester Valley Trail, but also Wilson Farm Park and Valley Forge National Historic Park.

Junior Rohan Gandhi, an avid cyclist, enjoys biking because while riding with some of his fellow ’Stoga bikers.

“The fact that [cycling] will be part of a club will probably

Eyes For You Junior Mia Borger founded the new club, “Eyes for You,” to raise awareness for the Seeing Eye Association, which runs a facility for training the visually impaired to work with guide dogs. Eyes for You plans to hold fundraising events throughout the school year, which will potentially include the sale of bracelets.

“I’ve always loved dogs, and I soon felt motivated to help raise money for this institution,” Borger said.

“There aren’t many foundations dedicated towards helping the visually impaired. The Seeing Eye Association is unique, in that it is one of the only organizations that performs this kind of social work.”

Though some may think of cycling as just a simple hobby or a means of transportation, the Cycling Club aims to change this perception. Later on in the school year, the club plans to join the national cycling body, USA Cycling, in order to take part in its participating in these competitions later on in the spring.

“We probably won’t enter any competitions this fall because we’re really focusing on just getting interested people and practicThe Cycling Club does face obstacles, including fundraising help the club prepare for competitions, so the club may impose grab their bikes and then meet up with the rest of the club there.

Michael Li/The SPOKE

possible the club will join an indoor cycling gym so members won’t have to grapple with the freezing winds and slippery snow

TED Talks Club After witnessing the success of the 2014 Conestoga TED Talks, seniors Asher Goldfinger and Jonah Foley decided to start a new TED Talks Club at Conestoga. The new club will function as a division of the national TEDx organization.

“The club will not only raise public awareness for many intellectual issues, but it will also provide great practice for public speaking,” Foley said. “It gets really jam-packed during these talks, and speaking to an audience of about 250 to 300 people is certainly a very stimulating experience.”

The new club plans to cover topics ranging from politics, philosophy, science and education.

Cyclists bike along the Chester Valley Trail. The new Cycling Club plans to practice along the trail to prepare for competitions.

UNICEF not just for Trick-or-Treaters

around the world to launch and lead their own programs of change.

in size but not in ambition. By the end of the school year, Kim humanitarian programs. The club also hopes to participate in and campaign for different events and fundraisers. The task of raising funds for their parent organization was already arranged by the posed by the new school restrictions on numbers of bake sales. want fundraisers and events relative to our club and our mission, Shivani Sanghani/The SPOKE

Brighter Futures for Females After learning of the hardships faced by young girls across the globe, six Conestoga juniors decided to co-found the new Brighter Futures for Females Club. The new club will focus on raising money and awareness for the education of young girls globally.

“It’s essential to acquire an education,” junior Hannah Sullivan said, “as, it can possibly [dictate] how you live the rest of your life.”

Sullivan added that the club also seeks to help middle school girls in schools in Chester.

“The opportunity for Conestoga students to be able to help these possibly under-privileged students is one that we just couldn’t ignore,” Sullivan said.

10 The Spoke

Junior Linda Ashmead hangs signs for Conestoga’s new UNICEF Club. The club hopes to plan an upcoming food drive.

Allison Reagan

According to club sponsor Heather Bailey, the nature of other clubs and food drives. The club hopes to enact a food drive program in which ’Stoga students can donate money instead of canned food to the club, choosing what canned goods their money will buy at the grocery store. By making it simpler for students to participate, the clubs hopes to involve a larger number of students.

For most elementary school students, Halloween never seemed -

tally [of canned goods requested] and end up getting what students wanted to get, but they don’t have to drive and get it and bring it

Junior Jason Kim wanted to change that.

Kim, inspired by the life-saving programs sponsored by the

Kim hopes that the food drives, which will send food to local food banks, will not only increase awareness about the issues the club supports, but also introduce Conestoga students to a club they may have an interest in being a part of. tarian work and we hope to be able to help their effort to save

bring the organization’s initiatives to the hallways of Conestoga all provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to mothers

Features Arts & Entertainment

Football game halftimes face changes with two new marching band directors

Mary Mei/The SPOKE

Christopher Nation and Gregory Boccuti

-

Lyvia Yan It’s a Friday night at Teamer Field, and students mill around under the fluorescent glare of the stadium lights. As the smell of hot dogs and hot chocolate wafts through the air, new band directors Christopher Nation and Gregory Boccuti eagerly anticipate the night’s show.

This year, Nation and Boccuti replaced Anthony

DiLella, now one of Conestoga’s assistant principals, as marching band directors.

With a focus on education and character building, the directors try to make marching band an educational, instrumental and fun experience for students and the community.

“My biggest marching band philosophy is reaching that community connection and really showing what Conestoga students are capable of to the community at large,” Nation said. “Marching band has the unique opportunity to address other aspects besides performance, such as leadership and organization so that’s a big part of my philosophy too, just making sure that we provide an experience that not only teaches kids how to play music and how to march, but how to be better people.”

There is also an increased emphasis this year on hard work and strict discipline, especially in band practices.

“I noticed that Mr. Boccuti is definitely more serious than [directors] we’ve had previously,” senior drum major Nick Cruickshank said. “You can tell in the focus at practice. Practice is much more focused this year than it has been in years past. We get a lot more done each practice.”

With fewer members than in previous years, the directors say they are proud of the band and their high level performances. Dealing with a smaller number of people meant that the band was able to get through three quarters of the show in the first week of band camp in August. This year’s theme is Queen, selected by Boccuti and Nation.

“We try to pick shows that will be well received by both the audience and the community,” Nation said. “Queen was one of those bands that we felt really fit into what everyone would want to listen to.”

’Stoga welcomes new school librarian Ian Ong Brooke Hauer does not just organize books and help students. In her spare time, Conestoga’s newest librarian runs a food pantry and visits Arden Theater downtown to enjoy a good play.

Hauer began working at Conestoga this year after the retirement of former librarian Catherine Bond. This will be her second year working in the T/E School District.

After graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a major in English Education, Hauer worked in Ireland and Louisiana as an English teacher before moving back to the Philadelphia area in 2005. She became a librarian for T/E Middle School last year.

“I never realized it, but I loved being a librarian,” Hauer said. “I loved combining my skills as an English teacher along with my love of reading and helping teachers and students.”

Outside of school, Hauer enjoys running, reading books, watching plays and spending time with family, including her husband, a Temple University professor.

She also volunteers and gives back to the community.

“My husband and I run a food pantry that helps provide food to people in the Philadelphia area,” Hauer said. “I am involved in the St. Vincent de Paul Society which helps individuals in need. The organization organizes visits to elderly men and women, sponsors a fall and spring clothing drive, and helps people who are struggling financially or otherwise by helping them with resources.”

So far, Hauer has been focusing on learning the ropes of the Conestoga library.

“It’s just a lot of new information. Learning where everything is, getting to know names of people, and the schedule, how the schedule works, all of the different

Breakfast carries so much comfort and is enjoyed at all hours of the day, but it can quickly lose its charm when tossed into a repetitive schedule. that will bring new life to the start of anyone’s day.

The Black Cat Café Located near the Devon Whole Foods store at 40 Berkley Road, the Black Cat Café is a quiet, easy to miss place. The inside, however, is open, inviting and calm. The pancakes, which contain an obscene amount of chocolate chips, and French toast both came out steaming hot, which is especially nice on a sleepy, cold autumn morning.

All bakery items offered at the Black Cat Café are fresh and customers will be pleased to know that

Frazer Diner Diner is the place to go for an authentic diner space is small and laid out with a chrome counstaff is friendly, the service is lightning quick, the home fries are good and the food is cheap. Other than that, the menu

accepts payment in cash. But it’s safe to say that waking up early one day for this diner is worth it.

The Classic Diner caster Ave., The Classic Diner is just down the Ian Ong/The SPOKE

Librarian Brooke Hauer works at her desk in the quiet zone projects,” Hauer said. “It’s about finding that balance of getting all of our work done but also helping the students and helping the teachers.”

Hauer hopes to improve the library by displaying student artwork and enabling students to navigate the wealth of information available online.

“I think one of the important parts of the library is to support the curriculum and what’s happening in school,” Hauer said. “It’s a place of service, a place where we serve the students and try to help [them] as much as possible, and we serve the teachers, and try to help them as much as possible, so that ’Stoga can be the best place it can be.”

place offers a sophisticated twist on traditional breakfast foods. The peanut butter and banana with honey; the eggs were accompanied by some of the best multigrain toast, which feels odd considering that multigrain toast has never been a hot ticket item generous, but inside the restaurant, seating is a bit of ahead as The Classic Diner also closes in the afternoon.

The Spoke 11

OFF TABLE THE

GF

Story by Suproteem Sarkar, Design by Michael Zhang

With new federal nutritional guidelines set for schools, Conestoga now limits what foods can be sold and distributed to students.

“I feel like we should be able to choose what we want to eat,” said Jack Lee, a sophomore who is a member of the Cupcakes for Casa club.

Lee said that the club, which relies on cupcake sales to raise money, won’t be the same after new USDA guidelines that limit what students can sell to one another during the school day.

“As of right now, we’re not sure what we’re going to do for the year. All Cupcakes for Casa does is make cupcakes and sell them, and all that money goes to an orphanage in Guatemala,” Lee said. “And now we can’t do that.”

Smart Snacks in Schools, part of a larger nutrition initiative stemming back to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, sets limits on what types of “competitive” foods—foods that aren’t produced in the cafeteria—can be sold to students during the school day.

The school district’s Regulation 5402, on Student Wellness and Nutrition, applies this regulation to consumables including “a la carte foods, snacks and beverages; vending food, school store food, fundraisers, classroom parties, holiday celebrations and food from home.”

District Food Services Supervisor Michael McKinney said that foods given away for free—for example from teachers to students during class— Snacks rules, are included in the district’s wellness policy and must meet the nutritional guidelines.

Competitive foods must now be fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein-rich foods, whole grain or combo foods that include fruits and vegetables.

The USDA also sets limits for calories, sugar, sodium and fat.

Sugary baked goods—which are commonly sold in Conestoga fundraisers, including the ones set up by Cupcakes for Casa—don’t meet the competitive snack standards and can’t be sold to students during the school day.

The administration has begun enforcing these guidelines—which were released on the district website Sept. 4, after the school year started—and requires clubs to submit what they want to sell at bake sales for approval.

Senior Bobby Pragada, President of the Junior Classical League, said he thought the new

nutritional guidelines were “a good idea in theory,” but “executed poorly” at Conestoga “Students were given almost no warning that of it was when I got back to school.

The guidelines were published by the USDA deadline for schools to adopt. Pragada said he didn’t know about the regulations until the school year started.

“If we were given more time to adapt, it probably wouldn’t have been as much of a shock as it was,” Pragada said.

Assistant principal Anthony DiLella said the administration discussed and decided which events the school would allow to be exempt from the nutritional guidelines, though it did not ask for student input.

Competitive foods must now be fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein-rich foods, whole grain or combo foods that include fruits and vegetables. The USDA also sets limits for calories, sugar, sodium and fat.

“When we looked at all the events that the school offered, we tried to pick events that affected the entire school,” DiLella said.

Pennsylvania allows 10 exemptions per high school, and Conestoga has slotted out eight for student events.

The eight events DiLella said are exempt from the requirements are Cornucopia, the health fair, Manifestival, Snow Day in May, African American Culture Day, Italian Culture Day, German Culture Day and Asian American Culture Day. “Bake sales have become part of the culture here, and so we sort of take for granted that there will be a bake sale in the main lobby for a club, booster organization or parent group,” Principal disappointment. What I’ve heard is disappointment that [bake sales in their current form] can no longer

WW LS continue, but I’m optimistic that our students are Meisinger added that students can fundraise without selling baked goods as well. non-consumable type fundraiser items, whether it’s crafts or things that they might produce or sell,” Meisinger said. “Or maybe we see more car washes, or different kinds of ways that don’t involve baking items and selling them in the main lobby.”

Peer Mediation president Megan Wilson said the club has been looking to produce a new formula of popcorn for its trademark popcorn sales that meets the nutritional guidelines, changing ingredients including seasoning, oil and salt content.

?

Peer mediation has developed a new, gluten-free popcorn formula with less fat and salt.

Best Buddies may sell whole wheat, low-salt pretzels from a new manufacturer to meet the guidelines.

Cupcakes for Casa is not yet sure how it will fundraise while retaining its identity.

Michael McKinney District Food Services Supervisor

Senior Tracy Conlan Co-President of Best Buddies Pretzel sales make up the majority of the budget.

a lot of clubs and organizations at 'Stoga have traditionally relied on bake sales or other types of food selling to raise money, recipes can always be She added that Peer Mediation is looking into alternative fundraising methods as well, which don’t involve selling food.

Pragada said that he is skeptical of how willing students will be to buy the newer, healthier products.

“I’m aware of [the new guidelines], but now in order to get a bake sale, you have to come up with a list of what you’re going to sell and get it approved by the school, and there’s always a chance that if you’re selling these new things, that people aren’t going to buy as much—they I agree it is possible to [hold bake sales], I don’t year. And even if they [are], they’ll take longer to get out there.”

Lee said that cupcake sales were the main way Cupcakes for Casa raised money for children in the orphanage it supports, and that helping them now would involve changing the identity of the club.

“In the past, we’ve been able to help them a lot to happen now.”

Anthony DiLella Assistant Principal

Sophomore Jack Lee Member of Cupcakes for Casa

Senior Megan Wilson Co-President of Peer Mediation

sales or other types of food

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OPINION From the Editor: Life does not have to be picture perfect

Our Policy: 2014 -2015

Yuge Xiao Co-Editor-in-Chief

With the start of a new year comes a new Spoke, with new reporters, new editors and a new vision. The Spoke feels

ceeded with my selfie photo-

it had way more likes.

What is the mission of The Spoke?

-

a better person?

Who determines what is published in the paper? we took them.

represent the views of the editorial board and are written by perfect.

of The Spoke.

In what ways is The Spoke accessible to its readers?

How does The Spoke decide what to cover?

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How often does the paper come out?

How can one join The Spoke?

Maggie Chen /The SPOKE

14 The Spoke

Opinion Commentary

Trick or…

Time’s up?

What the media has done and not done

Camille Kurtz Columnist As Halloween is just around the corner, a particularly frightening story has reached my headband-cat ears, leaving me quaking in my witch’s boots. Within the last 10 to 20 years, several cities across the country have enforced a trick-or-treating age limit, claiming it against the law for children older than 12 to participate in the usual spooky fun and thrusting fines upon all who refuse to comply.

After recovering from my initial shock, these seemingly ridiculous laws made me question myself. How old really is too old? After thinking about it, I came to a conclusion that may gravely disturb some of our stricter friends on the hunt to condemn a 12.5-year-old Darth Vader-decked kid looking to collect a few Milky Way bars. There is no age limit.

The concept of trick-or-treating is largely contested.

While some feel that it should end before graduating middle school, others eagerly pine for candy up until they’re sent off to college. There are, of course, also the “sneakier” sweet-tooths, who claim trick-or-treating is “just for kids” but then proceed to guiltily amass hundreds of chocolate bars.

But why does trick-or-treating become something we need to ashamedly hide as we get older? What is so immature about dressing up and receiving candy versus up and going to a “Why does trick-or- dressing holiday party? If Halloween treating become itself is analyzed (a night in which people pretend to be something we some creepy character and ask strangers for candy), it need to seen as an irrational and ashamedly hide isinsane holiday. Why then do as we get older?” we even attempt to rationalize it by tacking an idealized, or even legalized, age limit upon it? If we do any “irrational-rationalizing,” then perhaps we should consider that this holiday of walking around in the dark and knocking on strangers’ doors is one better suited to older participants. But where’s the fun in that?

My questioning did not end with Halloween, however.

If age limits can be placed upon innocent trick-or-treaters, what is to become of other childhood activities? Easter egg hunts, cheap drugstore Valentine’s cards, April Fool’s day pranks, the endless pinching of all those doomed to not wear green March 17, Secret Santa parties. Now some may say that a few of these activities are still (and should still be) enjoyed widely by adolescents and, even, adults.

But on what basis are we judging which holidays get a prized spot on the “all-age-appropriate” list?

It is commonly argued that kids in today’s society are growing up too quickly, placed under too much stress and don’t know how to have “good old-fashioned fun.”

Maybe, then, we should step back for a moment and consider how important it is to judge others (or even penalize others!) for participating in a more juvenile activity.

Taking advantage of moments and holidays like these to slow down and just have fun, breaking from the constant pressures that consume daily life, may help to ground us. If something as harmless as trick-or-treating, or having a birthday party at Bounce-U, will momentarily relieve people from the stressful angst and concern for the mysterious, yet imminent, future, then who is to stop it?

Maggie Chen/The SPOKE

Michelle Xu Columnist When I was just old enough to read all the road signs out loud but not yet to escape the dreaded booster seat, I would demand my parents put on these cassette tapes with Chinese fables during long car drives. One of them goes something like this: There once was a bear that really liked corn, and one he decided to indulge himself by gathering up all the corn under his arm to eat. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the sharpest claw in the paw, and as he would break off each new cob of corn, the previous one would fall onto the ground without him noticing.

And so it is with the media, which our society depends bear uncanny similarities to this poor protagonist. Corny puns aside though, our media really do move on from important topics with a disturbing velocity. years ago the case of Martin’s racially fueled murder by George Zimmerman was all over the news, hailed as the spark that would change America’s race relations once and for all. With the media’s help, the public was going to take the world by storm. But like always, the media’s attention I understand that there is only so much room on the front

Darren Wilson, who committed the Ferguson murder, is pressing enough to warrant a bright red banner in a section called “Black Voices,” but not a spot on the front page. Apparently, black voices just aren’t meaningful enough to oust the top 10 things to do at Disney World.

Despite what the media may think, Ferguson needs to be remembered. America needs to tackle both police militarization and racism. Yes, citizens are starting to wear cameras to keep an eye on cops. Yes, the U.S. Justice Department is supporting a national petition to enforce police wearing cameras at all times. Yes, people in Ferguson are making sure that Darren Wilson tastes justice.

But Ferguson is not much improved. Tensions have always run high in the town with a 67 percent black population and 94 percent white police force. There are still protests outside the Ferguson police station and memorials have been burned near the site where Wilson shot Michael Brown, according to CNN. There are still people around the nation who believe week vacation after shooting a teenager. America needs the reminder that our skin may be different, but the muscles, bones and hearts buried beneath it are the same.

Media is supposed to be the modern spearhead of social change, but judging by its rate of topic changing, it’s more like the feeble plastic pointer on a Twister spinner. While the media is vital in starting social change, the real vehicles of change are the people themselves.

So wake up sheeple! It’s time that we realized that the selves started analyzing the societal waters that we swim in. fable but still can’t sound out “Conshohocken” might end up being wiser than us.

Cartoons by Maggie Chen/The Spoke

The Spoke 15

Opinion Commentary

Do not stay neutral on net neutrality Michael Zhang Columnist Whether you identify as a loyal citizen of the Internet or someone who just likes to watch easily accessible cat videos on YouTube, chances are you’ve probably heard of something called net neutrality. You might be aware that an organization called the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established net neutrality in 2005, or that earlier this year in May the same organization submitted a proposal that effectively violates net neutrality. why the Internet is free, open and most importantly, equal.

Under it, everything on the World Wide Web carries the same weight. In other words, on the same Internet service provider (ISP), this article on Stoganews.com loads just as fast as your Facebook newsfeed, which loads just as quickly has an ISP-provided speed advantage over another, and so therefore the net remains neutral.

But the fate of our neutral Internet lies in the balance.

The telecommunications corporations like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T that provide the cables that your Internet lives in argue against the glorious concept of free and equal Internet. These companies claim that restricting some Internet pipe diameters and widening others would spur innovation and competition on the web, providing an incentive where companies could pay for higher web services that would allow them to gain access to special high-speed Internet highways.

Visitors would then become frustrated at the slower loadthat’s paying to maintain faster ISPs. It might seem like an endorsement of competitive business, but keep in mind that all of these fees are heading towards the small handful of already established providers, and if this happens, the monopolies that control our Internet cables will soon be controlling our Internet content. violating net neutrality attacks Internet freedom and the First Amendment, or that household names of the web like Reddit, Vint Cerf are against ISP takeover; if we as students lose net neutrality, we lose more than Internet equality. Through a realistic standpoint, an online educational service like our school email doesn’t stand a chance in taking on a site like little incentive to give Stoga.net access to high-speed Internet lanes, instead forcing the site to crawl on low speed networks.

Similarly, valuable online tools used in schooling would be forced to rely on second-rate providers, struggling to deliver their content to student consumers because other more popular sites could afford more than their fair share of bandwidth. As one of the most importan t yet fragile parts of the web, the educational niche of the Internet will be a prime

Cartoons by Maggie Chen/The SPOKE

Report Card Card Chirs Herren Assembly AReport + Powerful, moving and unifying Report Card Report Card

F

Bakesale Crackdown

+Potential for underground Snickers market -Sometimes you just need a cupcake

A

Halloween on a Friday

+More trick-or-treat time=more candy=more joy -Being judged for trick-or-treating as a teenager

C

+It works -1990s throwback?

staggered Internet. Sure, our cat videos might load seconds faster, but our education is going to take a hit.

Gender lines and punch lines: Funny girls struggle for laughs Meagan O’Rourke Opinion Editor Sometimes I dream of myself as a stand-up comedian, probably roasting somebody more famous than me, making the audience laugh and However, instead of wearing dress with a pair of classic stilettos, I’m wearing a starchy blazer I snatched from the Joseph A. Bank dumpster. I’m not wearing pants because I am usually a centaur in these kinds of dreams. Anyway, I don’t want to be seen as feminine, because I need the audience to take me seriously. Well, seriously funny.

I need to make myself look like a man...and lose the hooves. to host her own late night network television show a mere 28 years ago, got me thinking about the ladies of hilarity. Twentyeight years is a blip in time compared to the 60 years of male dominated hosts of the “Tonight Show,” starting with Steve Allen in 1954, and even shorter compared to the thousands of years of comedic misogyny.

The senseless debate whether or not women are funny has raged on for far too long and reached a fever pitch after the release of Christopher Hitchens’ 2007 Vanity Fair Article, “Why Women Aren’t Funny.” Hitchens argues women are not funny while men use comedy as a mechanism for attracting women.

16 The Spoke

However, declaring women as unfunny is a sweeping and arbitrary generalization. Women can be funny, just as people can or cannot be funny (wait, women are people…what?). Though, many women’s comedic talent is unrecognized or overlooked in the entertainment business and daily life.

Last year, Forbes’ list of top 10 highest earning comedians based on concert sales alone was an all-boys club, and the percentage of females who performed at the famous comedy club, Caroline’s, on Broadway, has ranged from a meager 20 to 25 percent since 1982, according to club owner, Caroline Hirsch.

Some could argue this gender gap in comedy stems from fewer women wanting to be comedians. However, I believe deeply rooted gender prejudice prevents women from getting laughs.

Picture this: a beautiful girl in a dress on “America’s Got Talent” saunters up to the microphone and opens her mouth. quip? When a guy describes his ideal woman, does he immediately describe Society idealizes women as attractive and graceful, not as hilarious.

Although there are many famous comediennes like Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey, Ellen DeGeneres and classics like Goldie Hawn, they draw from a limited pool of female comedians, and thus we compare rising funny women to a few comedic archetypes. If a woman

doesn’t perhaps have that “quirky Lena Dunham quality,” isn’t raunchy like Chelsea Handler or lacks Lucille Ball’s that society considers funny: male.

We need to see past the gender lines and start focusing on the punch lines. If we accept comedians solely based on their business in which a “white girl from the suburbs counts as laughs, and we could all laugh a little more, not fretting over who tells the jokes.

Opinion Commentary

The College Chasm: Out of low income high school seniors in the academic 96th percentile, only one in every three attended a

selective college, according to Brookings Institution.

Cartoon by Liz Lawton

Anonymity: The pitfalls of Yik Yak Matthew Soderberg Columnist “ M a t t S o d e r b e rg i s a dime.”

My friend texted me a picture of that message a few weeks ago. I was told it was posted on an app called Yik Yak. I was initially less concerned with what this app is as I was with judging the level of sarcasm in this post. However, like every good teenager, I downloaded the app on my smartphone, and opened it up. What I then witnessed was about three days of madness. Throughout this period, I laughed, I cringed, I sat there confused and most of all I realized something: we need to get rid of this.

Yik Yak, launched last year by two recent college graduates, is set up very simply. Anyone can anonymously post, and only people within a certain radius can see these posts, creating a local message board that was envisioned as a way to quickly get in contact with people in the area. Instead, the app quickly became popular among high school students. The founders and school districts have worked in recent months to prevent use in high school areas including Conestoga, but as users of the app know, there are always ways to work around this.

And these attempts to prevent use of the app at school? They only make us want to use it more. It’s exciting to feel like you belong to this secret group that can commu“Throughout this nicate throughout the period, I laughed, I school without worrying about being discovered. cringed, I sat there Stand up in the library in protest of the four confused and most to a table rule? Yeah! of all I realized Rebellious underground bake sales? Yeah! Make something: we need people feel worthless? to get rid of this.”

Yeah! ...oh wait.

So what is this paradigm? As students we are attracted to this outlet and yet we do the one thing that can ruin it: we call our peers names. We liken our teachers to evil dictators. We reduce our female classmates to numbers. We suggest suicide for those we just don’t like. Because we, with our anonymity, are the authority right?

That’s the danger every time this type of thing comes around. Can you imagine what is said on YikYak being said in real life?

Yik Yak made me laugh. It made me smile. So who am I to tell you not to use this service? I may have just been an observer, but my time on YikYak played just as big a role in promoting bullying as any of yours did.

I find it hard to say we should not be using this app, because I feel as though I’m turning into my mom. I genuinely wish we were able to use this responsibly. I had fun using it.

But for once, our parents may be right. For all the great things that could have come from this, there are 10 times as many messages saying that so-and-so should kill themselves. We cannot try to ignore that. If you haven’t already, delete the app YikYak. It is just the right thing to do. However, anyone still down for that bake sale protest?

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SPORTS

Photos by Navin Zachariah and Sage Forté/The SPOKE Design by Ben Red/The SPOKE

Caleigh Sturgeon

for one another.

A giant stuffed banana “crowd surfs” the Pioneer Pit. Students stand, cheer and rip the Pit’s banana to shreds,

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Pioneer Pit.

excited.”

The banana has become an important member of the Piorest of the season. students become, the harder the banana gets hit.

on screaming.”

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To p : T h e P i o n e e r P i t ’s b a n a n a g e t s r i p p e d u p a t t h e ’ S t o g a v s . L o w e r M e r i o n f o o t b a l l g a m e o n S e p t . 1 2 . B o t t o m L e f t : T h e P i o n e e r P i t c h e e r s o n t h e b o y s ’ s o c c e r t e a m a s ’ S t o g a f a c e s G r e a t Va l l e y . B o t t o m C e n t e r : S e n i o r A o d h a n S w e e n e y h o l d s u p a sign during a ’Stoga football game. Bottom Right: ’Stoga sophomores participate in the Pioneer Pit’s Hawaiian Day during the football game against Ridley.

18 The Spoke

NO MORE STICK Navin Zachariah Co-Sports Editor

Sports Field Hockey

Everts puts his field hockey days behind him -

Sage FortĂŠ/The SPOKE

Senior Olivier Everts hockey. A new PIAA rule that restricts boys from playing on a

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20 The Spoke

Sports Fall

Matt Paolizzi Conestoga football is having one of its best starts in years.

on the feat.

Courtesy Conestoga Football

Coaches Tom Batgos, Joe Bogus, Hal Honig, Gary Phillips, John Vogan, Matt Diamond, Gordan Davis, Justin Davey, Sonny DiMartini and Josh Phillips (Alex Johnson is missing from photo). Bogus, Honig, Johnson and Davey are replacing former coaches, Chris Gicking, Josh Crooks, Zach Young and Matt DeStefano. The new coaches bring a lot of experience to the team, and hope to help Conestoga make history.

Navin Zachariah/The SPOKE

positive effects.

Reporting by Andy Backstrom, Co-Sports Editor

Senior Kylie Johnson gets ready to kick the ball during the Pioneers’ win against Springfield on Sept. 9.

The girls’ soccer team has been having a successful season even with its large number of underclassmen.

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Sports Opinion

Domestic violence has no place in professional sports Andy Backstrom Co-Sports Editor

To make up for his atrocious management of the Rice incident, Goodell installed new domestic policy regulations for the league.

As a high school newspaper journalist, I can attest that readership of all forms of print has declined in recent years. My generation is technology driven, where there are more visual learners than ever. Many students would much rather watch a video or examine a political cartoon

will be suspended for at least six games and offered counseling.

If a player commits a second domestic assault, he will be banned

a rumor or idea with visual evidence that excites people, which is the reality in which we live today. It provokes us to overlook things until they are placed right in front of our faces.

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has admitted

The question that popped into my head was, what happened in the hotel elevator before the footage begins of Rice tugging suspension, even after Rice met with Goodell and informed the commissioner of everything that happened that night in the hotel elevator. Goodell did not have the visual evidence that would convince him to extend the suspension.

It is absolutely absurd that Goodell did not give Rice a more severe suspension from the start. No person in the Commissioner’s position should have needed to see a second video of the actual

now appears clear that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made action concerning Rice when a video that shows Rice dragging aged the NFL’s reputation. Goodell initially gave Rice a light, two-game suspension to start the 2014 season. The public was despite his behavior, and were willing to work with him through his rehabilitation. Only when a horrendous second video surfaced showing the assault itself was Goodell compelled to consider and take more serious action.

The hotel videos are anything but appealing to the eye, but they

Ravens released Rice, effectively ending his NFL career.

Domestic violence has been a long-lasting issue in society, but the NFL has not shed light on it until this year. It has been occurring for years, but, now, with social media, ubiquitous cameras, and

similar incidents of domestic violence. Why now?

The answer lies in our need for graphic proof to accept what victims and domestic violence professionals have been trying to tell us for years. Domestic violence is an ugly and persistent problem, often overlooked unless it occurs in our own households. But, thanks to Ray Rice, it is on our television screens and computer displays even if only for a brief interval, and it makes us crazy.

Commissioner Goodell appears earnest about one thing: additional vivid evidence, and evidently nothing else, moved him to reconsider Rice’s punishment. Is it because he, like we, cannot believe awful things unless we see them ourselves? I believe that if Rice’s scandal was not caught on tape, the NFL would be under much less pressure, and Rice probably would still be playing professional football this fall. We can try to deny it, but it is the truth. If only professional sports could boast more athletes that are role models. in common for each of their sports. Respect. They have represented

After the initial video release, the media began to tire of the story, thugs. It’s about time that those who are accountable for domestic violence or any other crimes should be punished appropriately,

support from the Ravens organization. The second interior video Andy Backstrom/The SPOKE

Andy Backstrom/The SPOKE

a game, but those who play them have much more of an effect on the world than you may think.

Drama back in Happy Valley after sanctions droppped Elizabeth Billman The Valley at the base of Mount Nittany is likely a much happier place as are the

comprehensive actions of the University, the alumni, the student achievement of winning 111 games appropriate payment for the actions of one man who was no longer even coach? The NCAA was inappropriate with the way they dealt their punishment to the college, as if it was a hasty decision. I believe the only ones who should be punished are the people involved in condoning -

alumni in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties as tarnished while his culpability still in the grey zone, is sadly no eligible again to play in a post-season bowl game.

As a result of sanctions, some of the most severe in NCAA the university have to relinquish dozens of scholarships and pay a

way of acknowledging that they had overstepped their bounds.

Much has been done to correct systemic failures that allowed including: implementation of the 100 points outlined in the Freeh athletic and recreational facilities on campus, obtaining a new human resource system and fostering an ethnical culture. All of this could have been accomplished without imposing the harsh sanctions on kids and coaches that had nothing to do with these terrible events.

contributions he made to the university well beyond the football to the library system.

Lifting of the sanctions by the NCAA is a just testament to the

Upon the release of the independent Mitchell progress report in the 2014 Big Ten championship game, if they win their East Division, and possibly in a bowl game. Although this is all happy continue to donate their share of bowl revenues to child-protection charities in the Big Ten communities.

said in an article in the Morning Call, “My clients are less concerned about bowl games and scholarships than they are about picking up the pieces from their shattered childhoods.” This just goes to show that even the victims don’t care about what the players and coaches do as long as they can get closure for the unjust and horrors they experienced as children. That is all that really matters right?

One positive of this is the increased crime of child abuse occurs every day

sex-abuse scandal that went public back in Nov. 2011. While the families, communities and institutions to be more vigilant about its prevention.

ensuing cover-up inexcusable, many of the people who have suffered from the punishment had no real connection to the people involved in nor any responsibility for the events that occurred.

There is a long list of coaches and more importantly student revenue funds all other sports), who have been punished by as-

22 The Spoke

Maggie Chen/The SPOKE

the spirit on campus has increased and students are able to continue to be proud of their school and those of us fans and alumni at home can hope for a bowl game this year.

Sports Briefs

SportsLine: Run, Marston, Run Andy Backstrom

Design by Ben Red/The SPOKE

“The best pace is a suicide pace and today is the day to die.”

-Senior co-captain Andrew Marston

COMMITMENT CORNER

Brendon Little

School: University of North Carolina Sport: Baseball Grade: 12 Position: LH Pitcher Why University of North Carolina? the players were actually really nice and the coaches too–I guess Favorite ’Stoga Baseball Memory?

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Sarah Nicholson

School: Cornell University Sport: Lacrosse Grade: 12 Position: Why Cornell?

tunities being a great institution. that are there now.”

Favorite ’Stoga Lax Memory?

Beating Radnor in the Consolation The Spoke 23

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INSIDE:

Pioneer Pit p. 18 Andrew Marston p. 23

Leading the Pack

’S th ’Stoga cross country races against Haverford and Marple Newtown on Oct. 8. For the first time ever, both the boys’ and girls’ teams are 11-0 . Cross Country hopes to participate in Nationals in Oregon later this year.

Kyle Nicholson/The SPOKE