The Spoke November 2012

S A N DY

S T R I K E S

Hurricane Sandy hits East Coast, causes damage p. 12-13

Sp ke

CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL, BERWYN, PA

VOLUME 63 NO. 2

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

STOGANEWS.COM Photo Illustration: Margot Field /The SPOKE

THE

Opening hearts and homes

By Patrick Nicholson and Jenna Spoont Staff Reporter and Managing Editor

When senior Kahle Mandarino goes out to dinner with her racially diverse family, including her white parents, African American brother, white siblings, biracial brother and half-Hispanic cousin, sometimes people ask her family, “Are you guys all together?”

“It’s normal. Sometimes when someone calls my name, or I’m going somewhere, they’re looking for some Italian girl with [the last name] Mandarino.

And then I show up,” Kahle Mandarino said.

Kahle Mandarino, who is of Nigerian descent, was born in America and adopted by her parents, Michael and Terry, when she was two days old. She is grateful that her birth mother chose a loving family for her to grow up with.

“I feel lucky that I’ve had the chance to have a normal family, with a mother and a father and siblings. If my birth mother was not as educated, didn’t have the opportunity to put me through a private adoption, I could have been in the foster care system,” Kahle Mandarino said. “To have all those things line up, and to live here in this great environment, I really haven’t had too many bad experiences [in my life].”

The Adoption Process Kahle Mandarino was born three years after her adoptive parents began the adoption process. Her parents were open to children of any ethnicity. They just wanted to bring home a healthy baby.

See ADOPTION, p. 4

PAGE 2 THE SPOKE

Marching band hosts ‘Showcase of Sound’

General election results Democrats Republicans President & Vice President

Maggie Chen Staff Reporter

Barack Obama* Mitt Romney Joe Biden* Paul Ryan

The sounds of music and marching drift from Teamer Field on a chilly November night. Conestoga hosted the third annual Cavalcade of Bands on Nov. 3. Fifteen marching bands and more than 2,000 spectators arrived for the “’Stoga Showcase of Sound.”

High school marching bands from Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, and even New Jersey, competed at the cavalcade. participated and were judged on their performances. Awards were given out to the top schools.

Band director and music teacher Anthony DiLella said the cavalcade was a great performance night for Conestoga’s marching band, even though ’Stoga did not compete.

“They are performing in front of about 2,300 people and everyone at that point is there to see them and all the other bands are there to see them,” DiLella said. “It’s a really neat atmosphere, and I think our kids really enjoy it.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

NEWS

U.S. Senator

Bob Casey, Jr.* Tom Smith

U.S. Representative

Manan Trivedi Jim Gerlach*

State Senator

Andy Dinniman* Christopher J. Amentas Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Sophomore Ben Thorn and junior Jesse Rong play their saxophones during the third annual Cavalcade of Bands. The Marching Pioneers performed in the “Showcase of Sound” but did not compete.

The marching band put on a I enjoy “seeing all the bands Billy Joel show, featuring an a capand getting to meet all the different pella group while the band played bands and talk with the kids [about] hit songs such as “Piano Man” and what their show is like [and per“Only The Good Die Young.” forming] to the entire community,” Senior Maya Jankowska, a drum Jankowska said. major in the band, said her favorite part about the event was the large Maggie Chen can be reached at audience she could interact with. mchen@stoganews.com.

State Representative

Paul Drucker Warren Kampf*

Attorney General

Kathleen Kane

S

Repu

Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co Co

David J. Freed

State Treasurer

Robert McCord* Diana Irey Vaughan * Denotes an incumbent

Compiled by Suproteem Sarkar

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Spoke.Conestoga1

Save the date: Upcoming in community National Honor Society Induction

Visit Stoganews.com for breaking news, photo galleries and video packages.

Sports Superstars Matt Moles

“Pride and Prejudice”

Sport: Cross Country Years playing: 8 Pump-up song: “Power” by Kanye West Role Model: My dad

The annual fall drama will be held Nov. 15-17 at 7:30 p.m and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 17. Tickets can be purchased at the door or at Stogamusic.com.

Glacier Freeze

Cornucopia

Salina Williford

One hundred twenty-eight students will be inducted into the National Honor Society Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Light refreshments will be provided.

Peer mediation will host its annual Cornucopia festival Nov. 20 throughout the school day. Clubs will hold entertaining activities to get students ready for break.

Comedy Night Drama Club’s Comedy Night, “Thursday Night Semi-Live,” will be held Dec. 6 at

Sport: Soccer Years playing: 12 Number: 20 Position: Center Role Model: Mia Hamm Berry Rain

Photos: Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Full interviews on Stoganews.com.

tin w lik fo Ja

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 3 THE SPOKE

NEWS

Math, science teachers turn page with digital textbooks Lavi Ben-Dor & Suproteem Sarkar News Editor & Convergence Editor Senior Katherine Connolly pulls out her iPod Touch, opens up her calculus textbook and gets started on her homework. Connolly’s calculus class is one of several classes that exclusively uses digital textbooks.

Honors and Accelerated Calculus classes started using digital textbooks two years ago, when more students started taking advanced math classes. Honors and Accelerated Chemistry classes began using digital textbooks the same year when chemistry attendance nearly doubled because of the removal of Introduction to Chemistry, Physics and the Environment classes. In addition, AP Biology textbooks come with digital counterparts that are equipped with supplemental videos and activities.

Connolly said her calculus digital textbook is more accessible for her than a physical copy.

“It’s more convenient—you don’t have to carry it, you don’t have to worry about losing it [and] you can access it at school, during your free periods or at home,” she said.

“It’s less bulky because it’s paperless.”

District Director of Technology and Services Robin McConnell said that the district uses digital textbooks derived from “FlexBooks” provided

digital textbooks are posted on teachers’ websites.

Math department chair Paul Poiesz said that calculus teachers have two years to include worksheets, lessons and problem sets. Poiesz also cial since they are free of charge, although many hours of teacher input are required to modify the textbooks.

“Customizing the e-textbooks required quite a bit of work, but the teachers were able to create a format that they felt would be most said. “Incorrect answers to some of the problems were corrected, and the teachers can break the book into individual chapters that make [them] more manageable than the total product.”

Science department chair Scott Best said that the chemistry textpartially to account for an increase in the number of students taking Hon-

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Senior Katherine Connolly works on her calculus homework using her iPod Touch to read her digital textbook. Honors and accelerated calculus and chemistry classes exclusively use digital textbooks. sources that you wouldn’t be able to use in a [print] textbook.”

Freshman Rohan Gandhi said he enjoys the interactivity of his digital textbook

nitely be used a lot more in the future, and rightfully so, because [they are] in many ways a lot more convenient than a regular textbook.”

The “FlexBooks” are free of charge signments chosen by teachers. The

ors and Accelerated science classes.

“We had a larger group of students coming through taking chemistry at that time, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to try and see if this is something that students would be interested in,” Best said. “It provided a lot of opportunities for students to use outside re-

to take notes on his computer screen.

“If you’re ever doing notes on the computer, it’s very easy to just multitask and have the [digital] book open and something like Word open and just take notes that way,” Gandhi said. “Also, the AP Biology [digital] book has a lot of activities that help along with studying.”

Junior Bridget Marturano took Honors Biology freshman year and Honors Chemistry sophomore year, which both used solely digital textbooks. Marturano said that she would have preferred a print version.

“I feel like it’s hard to focus on the screen instead of having something tangible,” Marturano said.

“It’s easy to lose your place [...] it’s really easy to be distracted and go on the Internet and then not do your work.”

Best said that he has seen a variety of reactions to the digital textbooks.

“It depends upon the student

and if they’re comfortable using technology or not, and it also depends on how the teacher uses the e-book—everybody teaches differently.” Best said.

Gandhi said that although he prefers to use his digital textbook, he keeps the hard copy as a backup in case of power outages.

“Generally, I just use the e-book more often, just out of convenience,” Gandhi said. However, “I wouldn’t like to have only an e-book because you always want to have the textbook as a backup in case you can’t access the Internet for whatever reason. But besides the [reliability] of regular textbooks, I don’t think there’s really any disadvantage to

having just an e-book.”

Gandhi also said that the low cost and interactivity of digital textbooks will make them useful tools for the future.

“I think they will be used a lot more often because everyone’s talking about how the price of textbooks [is] constantly going up, and with the e-book, there’s very little actual cost to produce it—no cost of paper and ink,” Gandhi said. “I think it will future, and rightfully so, because it’s in many ways a lot more convenient than a regular textbook.” lbendor@stoganews.com.

Math and science teachers use “FlexBooks” from the CK-12 foundation, available free of charge, as a base for their digital textbooks.

Digital textbooks are viewable on portable devices.

Ch. 4 ............. ............. .............

Graphic: Sophie Bodek and Suproteem Sarkar/The SPOKE

primar edition

PAGE 4 THE SPOKE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

NEWS

Families share experiences during National Adoption Month Continued from p. 1 “I was born on December 23, so I stayed in the hospital for two days and arrived on Christmas,” Kahle Mandarino said. “So my parents say that I am the best Christmas gift they ever had.”

Alexandra Peters, Marketing Coordinator at Adoptions from the Heart (AFTH) in Wynnewood, considers the adoption process long, yet rewarding.

“First [the prospective parents] start with education, learning about the adoption process. And then they go through all of the paperwork and everything. They have to go through a home study, where one of our social workers will go into their home and go over all of the questions [...] We just make sure that the children have a safe home,” Peters said.

According to Ashley Kodet, a social worker at AFTH, the paperwork itself may take up to three to four months to complete. Part of the reason is because AFTH wants to ensure that feels comfortable with.

“A birth mother doesn’t always get a lot of support. A lot of times more focus is put on the adoptive parents, who often times [are] the ones paying important to provide just as much if not more especially emotional support to the birth mothers. Both sides are going through a very emotional process. For a birth mother it is a really Kodet mentioned that an adoption at AFTH costs the adoptive family between $30,000-$35,000 because of expenses such as application, education, home study, advertising, placement, post-placement and legal fees. However, the agency itself does not charge any service fees to birth mothers.

Raising Awareness

According to adoption.org, the 2010 Census gathered that there are about 1.5 to two million child adoptees in the U.S. and anywhere from six to 10 million adult adoptees.

According to the Children’s Bureau Administration for Children and Family (AFCARS), there are about a half a million children in foster care in the U.S. As children are always available for adoption, adding a child to a famaccording to Terry Mandarino.

Margot Field/The SPOKE

said ‘I want to adopt this little girl,’” Raffaele said.

Coming to America allowed her to gain access to many of the opportunities available to her today, including her teaching career “I just feel I knew teaching was what I really wanted to do, because I wanted to help people. Because I feel that I was helped by having my parents adopt me,” Raffaele said. “I mean if my parents were still alive, I would thank them and thank them for bringing me here, for giving me opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have had if I was in Italy.”

Junior Andrey Lanahan spent the

Freshman Julia Hess was adopted from the Zhanjiang Kids Orphanage in China when she was 10 months old. Hess always knew that she was adopted because her mother is German and her father is Armenian.

Hess hopes to give back to the country that laid the foundation for her life.

“I plan on going over to China when I am older [to] help out in my orphanage that I was adopted from,” Hess said. “If I am not able to work

Life in the Family

Art teacher Piera Raffaele had never seen a man until she came to America when she was 3 years old.

Her father adopted her from an allgirls convent in Italy.

age in his home country, Russia, until his adoptive family from the U.S. gave him a home.

“In Russia, I wasn’t really exposed to so many opportunities. Like I never knew competitive water sports even existed,” Lanahan said. “Things like crew and canoeing, I became really passionate about. Back there all I did was kick a soccer ball a few times and that was about it. So when I came here, my athletic career really started going.”

According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. families have adopted approximately 20,000 children internationally each year over the last decade.

“Adjusting to the different lifestyle and culture, that was probably the

laid eyes on her.

“My father was over in Italy, and he went to this orphanage where I was, and he saw me in a corner, and he

there it was just a loose lifestyle. Here you start mapping out your future really young. It is at a much faster pace than Russia.”

“I try to encourage people to think about it and to consider [adoption], especially if you have room for just one more,” she said. “I think that if you can touch the life of just one child, that is something really wonderful.”

The Mandarino family was featured on NBC’s “Real Life,” a daytime-talk-variety show, in May 1996.

In the segment featuring her family, Terry Mandarino commented on the topic of interracial families.

“Do you really see color? Because I see an infant that needs a lot of love and a home,” Terry Mandarino said in her interview on “Real Life.”

Because November is National Adoption Month, Peters, of AFTH, is spreading the word about adoption through social media and raising money to provide services to underprivileged birth parents.

When raising money, “We try to get people to look at it from the perspective of if you were adopted or if you had placed your child for adoption or if you have adopted. There are so many different things that happen on a daily basis that could be different for someone who’s involved in an adoption,” Peters said.

International Adoptions

least like to help out in an orphanage and interact with the community that I was born in.”

Junior Lee Bernick’s brother, Andy, a sophomore at Delaware Valley Friends School in Paoli, was adopted from Cambodia when he was 2 years old.

“I look at him like a regular brother. I don’t even think about the fact that he’s adopted, normally, unless people ask,” Bernick said.

After visiting Cambodia when she was 12, Bernick realized how an

adoption can completely change a child’s life for the better.

“I stood next to a 16-year-old girl to take my picture, and we were the same height because she was so undernourished. And they were happy, but they were just really poor,” Bernick said. “If [Andy] had stayed there, he could be living like that, or living on the streets selling stolen books to tourists.”

TV studio technician Art Phillips and his wife adopted their daughter, Kelly, when she was 5 days old.

He recalls an experience when his daughter was 2 months old.

“This one night I remember I was looking out the window as I’m leaning my head toward her nose to listen to her breathing, and I look up and there’s a full moon and there’s a beautiful sky. And I go up to the window and I thank God for this bundle laying there in that crib, and then I realized how strong my love was for her,” Phillips said. “I said that my love didn’t come close to the love that God has for her and all of us. That’s a strong love.”

Continued on p. 5

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 5 THE SPOKE

NEWS

Adoptees celebrate families, embrace opportunities Continued from p. 4 Phillips has a chain of adoption in his family. His daughter was trying to adopt her own child when she was contacted about an abandoned baby at the hospital who needed a home.

Baby Nicholas was adopted right then and there.

“I shudder to think what would’ve happened to Nicholas if he was not adopted,” Phillips said.

Junior Kyle Stefanic was also adopted right after he was born. His older sister, Candice, a Conestoga 2011 alumnus, was also adopted. He said their relationship resembles that of biological siblings.

“It’s always felt like we were sort of blood related, I guess, even though we’re not,” Kyle Stefanic said. “It’s just since we were both adopted from birth, we’ve always had the connection of being brother and sister and not just, ‘oh, you’re not part of my actual family.’”

Meeting the Birth Parents The Phillips family had mixed

emotions about their daughter meeting her birth mother.

“It hurt my wife, but I knew it’s what [Kelly] needed to do,” Phillips birth mom, you could visibly tell how felt much better about herself.”

The birth mother happened to live only a mile away from Phillips’ home.

“We could’ve been wheeling Kelly through the store and there she [could’ve been] in the same lane,” Phillips said.

Kodet suggests that the best way for adoptees to cope with the whirlwind of emotions about possibly meeting their birth parents is to talk to their adoptive parents.

“Often times adoption records are sealed until a child is 18, but their parents might have some information that they haven’t shared with them yet, that they might not have felt that they were ready for,” Kodet said. about possibly searching for his birth parents one day. He only knows the

“I would [consider searching for my birth parents] because I’d always and just be able to relate with them.

But, I really don’t know what would happen from there if I met them,” Although Hess has never met her birth parents, she does not feel a great need to meet them. would be cool, but it is not a huge intention of mine. All the family I need is right here with me,” Hess said.

On this Thanksgiving

Margot Field/

As Thanksgiving approaches, their families.

“I guess having so many different people in my family, I’m more open to people from other races, open to diversity,” Kahle Mandarino said.

Hess, whose sister was also adopted from China, appreciates how her adopted parents made her family feel like any traditional family.

“We don’t make it a big deal. A family is a family, no matter how

and who it is made up of. I love my family and I know they love me back.

I appreciate every little thing they do for my sister and [me],” Hess said.

On this Thanksgiving, Lanahan is especially grateful to have the educational opportunities available in America.

“I never would’ve dreamed of going to college, but now I’m starting to go through that process,” he said.

Thanksgiving dinner this year, she will think about her eternal gratefulness for the birth mothers of her two children.

“Both of [my] children are a dream come true for us, because we wouldn’t have had a family otherwise,” she said.

Jenna Spoont can be reached at jspoont@stoganews.com.

PAGE 6 THE SPOKE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

NEWS

Speech and Debate team prepares for inaugural ethics bowl Mary Mei Staff Reporter Off-shore drilling and the federal contraceptive rule are just two of the many topics members of the Conestoga Voices Speech and Debate will analyze at the first ever Philadelphia-Area High School Ethics Bowl, held at Villanova University on Dec. 1.

The Ethics Bowl is an event where a team of five members collaborate to examine ethical issues. These issues are analyzed by the team members as they create a strategy for a solution and to answer questions posed by the judges. The competition is unique in that a team does not have to declare themselves as the pro or con side of the issue.

“Most types of debates are assigned one side to take, so you either argue the pro or con. Here in the Ethics Bowl you explore the issues,” club adviser and librarian Lydia Lieb said. “It’s more of a conversation and a dialogue.”

Philosophy teacher John Koenig is helping the club prepare

by teaching students to examine the issues in different ways using a philosophical framework.

He believes that the Ethics Bowl is a “very powerful intellectual and personal task” that requires “much critical thought and analysis.”

The club, which is actively preparing for the upcoming event, already knows the cases that will be used in the Bowl this year. Lieb said that there have been meetings during which the members brainstormed ideas about the various 15 cases.

The club has 60 members, but it can only bring two teams of five students to Villanova. Senior Anurag Garikipati, who will serve as captain for one of the teams, said he is excited about the competition.

“I’m looking forward to talking about interesting topics and the moral views of the issue,” Garikipati said. “I think we’ll do extremely well since we’ve been prepping a lot and practicing.”

Ten schools will attend the Ethics Bowl, but only one team will

Sophie Bodek/The SPOKE

represent the region in the National High School Ethics Bowl held at the University of North Carolina in April 2013. Each team is judged on clarity, moral dimension and how well the students address various perspectives of the issue. Even with all the criterion, Koenig said that there have been Ethics Bowls that resulted in ties.

“The judges can at that point say, ‘We believe both teams have done an excellent job in elaborat-

District collects activity fee Claire Moran and Shwetha Sudhakar Business Manager and Operations Director Among the multitude of forms ginning of the year, Conestoga parents received an extra one this year: the activity fee.

The $50 activity fee was implemented this year to offset the district costs of student activities at Conestoga and the middle schools.

Students participating in activities with a paid school adviser or district funded transportation are required to pay, although students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are exempt from the fee. A list of such activities at the high school was issued along with the summer mailings.

Sixty three activities at Conestoga require a fee including team sports, co-curricular organizations and certain clubs like REACH.

Parents can pay the fee, which is collected through the district Oct. 31, the district has collected fees from 2,632 students. The $131,600 raised from the fees partially offsets the $470,000 budgeted cost of student activities.

District business manager Arthur McDonnell said that students who have not paid the fee but are participating in eligible activities

supplements district funds. These funds are then used to help pay for advisers and district transportation.

Senior Brian Jay is on the swim team, one of the sports eligible for a fee. He understands why the district implemented activity fees, but foresees potential “With the whole budget issues, I guess [the district is] ey from wherever they can, but I think there’ll probably be an outcry against it,” Jay said.

Freshman Emmy Chen feels that the activity fees are necessary considering the current budget situation of the district. “ I t ’s t h e o n l y way because our only other option would be to cut other stuff like music and art which would be even worse,” Chen said.

“It’s the only way because our only other option would be to cut other stuff like music and art, which would be even worse.”

-Freshman Emmy Chen will be issued a student debt.

“The payments received will be reconciled with the records of students participating in the activities,” McDonnell said.

The money from activity fees does not go directly to clubs, but

Claire Moran can be reached at cmoran@stoganews.com.

ing the issue and offering a clean she is confident that the team will and clear statement,’” Koenig be able perform well. said.

“I trust my team members,” Not only does each team have Weng said. to present clearly and identify the Despite the 10 other schools multiple angles of the issue, but competing, Lieb believes the Ethjudges are looking for students ics Bowl will be a success. to also demonstrate collaboration “We’re excited; it’s something and teamwork. All or one of the new and we hope we do well,” members can speak for the group, said Lieb. although the central point is maintaining a unified stance.

Mary Mei can be reached at HS_News (4.125 x 5.843).4_Layout 1 10/23/12 4:57 PM Page 1 Sophomore Sophia Weng said mmei@stoganews.com.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 7 THE SPOKE

NEWS

Political clubs engage, interact in pre-election debate Yuge Xiao Staff Reporter room until every single seat was taken, packing the aisles and leaving little room to stand. All eyes were focused on the 13 students seated at the front of the room.

On Nov. 2, more than 100 students stayed after school to observe the Liberals v. Conservatives debate, hosted by the Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs. The debate was moderated by district social studies curriculum supervisor Todd Parker. The debate focused on the economy, foreign policy and domestic policy, with the goal of informing peers about the election and providing a forum to exchange political ideas.

Junior Aaron Davis, a member of Young Democrats who debated economic policies such as tax cuts, “Though there are a lot of hotbutton topics right now that a lot of people want to talk about, economy and job creation are probably the

most important because it sends a lot of people to work and affects a lot of families across the country,” Davis said.

On the other team, junior Chris Hall, member of Young Republicans, believes that economy, the nation’s tant issues.

“The relations with other countries and how we adapt, that is going to be a big part of the future,” Hall said.

After observing the debate, freshman Lily Medosch gained a new interest in the political system and said that she cannot wait to take a government class. However, she believes that topics such as college expenses and Planned Parenthood should have been discussed in the debate. creation, regrets that local issues were not included.

“We mainly talked about problems on a national scale, so relative to what our debate was parallel to, not much about our district and our immediate public goal changes were discussed,” said Davis. “But now, I am kind of disappointed. That probably would’ve been a really good idea.”

Medosch felt that the debaters' behavior was more respectful and positive than she had expected..

“It was a bit more civil than I thought it would be, because on the Facebook page they fought a lot and I thought it was going to be uncivil, but they did a great job,” Medosch said.

Parker agrees that the efforts made by the two sides to remain respectful should be applauded.

“I thought that everyone got to speak, got to speak well and were prepared,” Parker said. “There were times where responses became emotional, but I don’t think that they’ve [edged] towards the disrespectful.

There was an honest agreement to disagree and that was admirable in both groups.”

Having participated in various debates, Davis said that he enjoyed the debate’s environment and the chance to listen to the opinions of the other team.

“As a liberal, you frame all the conservatives in such a way and it is interesting how although people associate with either conservative or liberal, they have their own individualistic views and I thought that

Maddie Amsterdam/

Students debate at the Liberal vs. Conservative debate on Nov. 2. The two sides discussed the economy and foreign and domestic policies. was really, really interesting to see,” Davis said.

Hall also appreciated and enjoyed the experience of the debate.

“We had a huge audience and I got to get together with all the other kids that are as politic-crazed as I am and argue about national issues,” Hall said.

“It was exciting how we got other [students] to focus on politics.”

When asked if they would participate in such a debate again, both Hall and Davis said that they would “I am really glad that I got out there to do it and next time, even more people should come,” Hall said.

Yuge Xiao can be reached at yxiao@stoganews.com.

Common App interface, essay prompts set to change Emma Purinton and Simran Singh Staff Reporters For students applying to college in future years, the open-ended, free-choice essay prompt on the application will no longer be available. Instead, students will have to prompts.

Beginning on Aug. 1, 2013, students applying to college through the Common Application, a standardized application used by more than 450 colleges, will face some changes to the way the application works. The 250 minimum and 500 maximum words for the essay will now be enforced and not suggested, as in previous years. In addition, the Common App is removing the “free-choice” essay topic, and replacing all topics (previously six topics that will change every year.

These prompts are expected to be be unable to upload their resumes unless a particular college requests one.

The Common Application, Inc. -

son said that the organization chose to change the prompts because they felt the earlier format was not focused enough.

The committee members working on the application “unanimously support the idea that at least one of the new essay prompts be broad enough to permit students to address but not so broad as ‘topic of your choice.’ Put another way, their helps students tell their stories in and focus.”

Junior Juliana Clifton said she feels that the new prompts will make it harder for students to express themselves in their essays.

“I understand where they’re coming from in trying to level it, but personally I don’t think it’s fair because if you have a certain prompt and you have to stick to it, I feel like it’s going to be hard for a lot of people to try to get their personality across and try to get across to the college what they really want [the college] to know about themselves,” Clifton said.

Guidance Counselor Leashia Rahr does not think that the changes

future applicants because colleges will often ask for a supplementary essay with a topic that differs from that of the Common App prompt.

“I don't think it will negatively or positively affect students. I think they’re just trying to streamline the process,” Rahr said. “Most colleges will offer the student another opportunity to express something about themselves or an extenuating circumstance that they could not otherwise put in their essay. Colleges do allow for a supplemental essay to be uploaded, so that gives students another opportunity to express themselves.” with Clifton, noting that the new prompts will limit applicants’ abilities to express themselves.

“I would think that keeping the choose-your-own topic would level can do whatever you want. People know their own strengths, and can therefore choose a topic that they know they could write very well upon,” Moran said. not be impacted by these changes, -

old

THE

new

THE

5 open ended topics + 1 choose your own topic prompt

4-5 topics that will change yearly

Ability to add own resume

Can only add resume if requested by college

Old interface

New, more user-friendly interface

250 word minimum suggested

250 word minimum required

500 word maximum suggested

500 word maximum required

Zoe Au for

son between this year’s Common App and the proposed changes.

“I guess I can see from the Common App standpoint why they want to make these changes, to make it more standardized, but for the stusaid. “If I have to write to their restrictions, they won’t know as much about me.”

Rahr says that the length of the essay does not necessarily determine whether or not students can express themselves effectively, as there are other factors that admissions of-

application. tiple essays or a two to three page essay and an extensive resume for an admissions counselor to know who the student is, to know the essence of the student,” Rahr said.

“There are other ways in which the admissions counselors have the opportunity to get to know the student outside of the transcript.”

Emma Purinton can be reached at epurinton@stoganews.com.

Opinion TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

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 School Press Association Pacemaker awardwinning publication. The Spoke serves as a public forum for student expression.

Editors-in-chief: Heather Ward, Haley Xue Managing Editor: Jenna Spoont News Editor: Lavi Ben-Dor Op/Ed Editor: Allison Kozeracki Features Editor: Natalie West Sports Editors: Maddie Amsterdam, Abby Pioch Design Editor: Margot Field Photo Editor: Karolis Panavas Centerspread Editor: Noah Levine Convergence Editor: Suproteem Sarkar Business Manager: Claire Moran Operations Director: Shwetha Sudhakar Graphic Designers: Callum Backstrom, Sophie Bodek, Anisa Tavangar Cartoonists: Callum Backstrom, Sophie Bodek, Maggie Chen Staff: Andy Backstrom, Kelly Benning, Maggie Chen, Isha Damle, Stephane Hardinger, Courtney Kennedy, Gabrielle Kerbel, Emily Klein, David Kramer, Mary Mei, Patrick Nicholson, Sophia Ponte, Emma Purinton, James Redmond, Shivani Sanghani, Emily Seeburger, YingYing Shang, Simran Singh, Wendy Tan, Yuge Xiao, Navin Zachariah Faculty Advisers: Susan Houseman, Cynthia Crothers-Hyatt

Submissions The Spoke will print letters of general interest to the student body and community. Signed letters under 200 words may be submitted to Susan Houseman, Cynthia Hyatt, Heather Ward or Haley Xue. 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.

From the Editor:

Going digital

The Spoke encourages district to expand digital resources The use of hard copies of thick, heavy textbooks may become obsolete as schools across the nation implement digital textbooks.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has already encouraged schools to move toward digital the State Educational Technology Directors Association, at least 22 states have taken major developments toward digital textbooks during the past two years.

Conestoga has already jumped on the digital bandwagon as several classes, like Honors Biology and Honors Calculus, have digital versions of textbooks. Moreover, in an effort to enhance the learning atmosphere, the Tredyffrin/Easttown school district has enacted a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative. The initiative encourages teachers and students to bring their tablets, laptops and other portable electronic devices to school.

Under the BYOD initiative, it will be easier than ever to access digital resources.

While The Spoke applauds the school district’s plans to increase the use of technology in schools, we also encourage the expansion of digital textbooks to cover more courses.

Switching from hard copies of textbooks to digital ones will alleviate the burden on students’ shoulders in a very literal sense. The Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission calculates that carrying a 12-pound backpack to and from school for an entire school year adds up to a cumulative load of about 21,600 pounds on students’ backs.

Among the risks of bearing heavy backpacks are back and neck strain and nerve damage in the neck and shoulders. tablet or laptop will undoubtedly save ’Stoga students from health risks associated with ponderous backpacks. Lighter backpacks will also mean safer

and faster commutes through the hallways in between classes; there will be a reduced hazard of being painfully smacked in the shoulder by unwary passersby with heavy backpacks. textbooks are also more economically sensible than their hard copy counterparts. According to the Association of American Publishers, the U.S. spends about $8 billion on textbooks every year for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, yet many students are still using outdated versions.

Going digital with textbooks will not only save about $250 per student, but also provide students with information that can be continuously updated In addition, many digital versions come equipped with features like videos, 3-D models and interactive timelines. For students who do not have devices to access digital textbooks, the $250 saved can be invested in a tablet. Even with the investment, the school district will still be saving money since many Conestoga students already have tablets and laptops of their own.

Furthermore, going digital also means going paperless. As a high school that encourages students to “go green,” replacing hard copy versions of textbooks will allow Conestoga to become more environmentally friendly. Each textbook that is digitalized will save hundreds of sheets of paper. Students who feel that reading a digital version of a textbook is not as effective as reading a hard copy version can still print out the pages. Yes, printing out pages will use up paper, but at least it will use a lot less than having a hard copy textbook for every Conestoga student.

The advantages of digital textbooks outweigh the disadvantages, and thus the T/E school district should expand its library of digital textbooks. Doing so will help students step into the new era of technology-based education.

Haley Xue Co-editor-in-chief When I was little, I wished for a younger brother. My wish eventually came true a couple years of having my parents tell me what to do, do.

I soon realized that there were downsides to having a younger brother. After he was born, I was no longer the center of my parents’ attention, and I had to learn a mysterious concept called “sharing.” As he grew older, I had to get used to his random singing, and I had to learn to deal with his annoying habit of jumping out from behind walls and scaring me half to death.

But I’ve recently realized that I’m thankful that I have a younger brother who sometimes bothers me. I’m glad that I have a sibling to talk to when my parents aren’t home. I’m glad that my brother’s jokes and constant surprises add laughter and levity to my life. Most importantly, I’m glad that having a sibling encourages me to be a better person.

Being an older sister means that I let my brother have the last Popsicle even if I really want one.

Having a sibling offers a humble reminder that sometimes I can’t merely worry about myself; I I’ve learned to be giving and willing to embrace Being an older sister also means that I have to learn to be patient while trying to teach my brother how to craft an essay. It also means adapting to his learning style and taking the time to explain everything clearly and concisely. I have learned to avoid yielding to frustration and to become brother learns, just like I can’t change how my peers think and act, but I can change myself to approach everything with optimism and determination.

Thanksgiving is a time of, well, giving thanks, so while you may be thankful for computers, cell phones and Sparknotes, it’s also important to let your family and friends know that you appreciate what they’ve done for you. Whether it’s a sister or brother, mom or dad, aunt or uncle, it doesn’t hurt to say a quick “thank you” during Thanksgiving dinner.

So Eric, if you’re reading this, I just wanted to say thanks.

Contact Us

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

Email cmoran@stoganews.com.

Visit The Spoke online at www.stoganews.com News Director: Suproteem Sarkar ssarkar@stoganews.com

Thanksgiving spirit

Sophie Bodek/The SPOKE

Haley Xue can be reached at hxue@stoganews.com.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 9 THE SPOKE

OP/ED

Access denied: schools over-restrict Internet use Report

Heather Ward Co-editor-in-chief Twenty minutes until class begins. I have to print something. Pull

doing any harm by working on a college application during my free period.

According to an article from USA Today—which I had to read at home—the U.S. Department of Education has begun investigations into “brute force” software that blocks educational sites. They also released a statement advocating less the Internet will not be going away

my paper! It must just be this computer—I’ll try another one. No luck.

The school’s Internet restrictions have just interfered with my education.

I understand that Facebook and Twitter are blocked. I’ll accept that I can’t access any email accounts beside the school-sponsored one.

But Google Docs? Really?

It has gone too far. There is a line between preventing bad behavior online and interfering with educational resources—and the school has crossed it. I cannot access the USA Today website nor can I access some application pages on college websites.

I am not advocating for the school to give us access to every website on the World Wide Web. Facebook does not and should not have a place in the classroom—although some of my peers would disagree—but I promise I won’t be

be a part of the classroom.

Oct. 3 was Banned Websites by librarians to raise awareness about potential restrictions schools are placing on websites and other educational resources. Their theory educate students about the safe use of the Internet if they can’t access

a logical theory to me. dents to be able to research and learn in general with so many sites a paper on the War on Terror last year and found myself unable to do much of my research in school because I was unable to access papers written by professors and archives from global newspapers while at school.

The Internet can be a dangerous place. We spent multiple months learning that in middle school. But it can also be a helpful and educaand cooperation among students and providing them access to realms of information that cannot be stacked on shelves in a library.

It is important for the school to protect its students. They do not need to give us access to Facebook and Twitter in school. But they do need to take another look at the softthings have gone too far. The school has stopped protecting us and has begun restricting us.

Card

Thanksgiving + Food, family and fun - Eating leftover turkey for a week

Beardvember + Raises awareness for prostate cancer - Some beards become scruffy and unattractive by the end of the month

Hurricane Sandy + Two days off from school - Millions of power outages and billions in damage

unfortunately right now we are unable to access it.

Sophie Bodek/The SPOKE

Heather Ward can be reached at hward@stoganews.com

“Is the school Internet filtering software too strict?” “ because it restricts things that can sometimes be useful. For Tube or class-related groups on Facebook.”

-Freshman Casey Waite

“ fair because it blocks the claim to cause our procrastination and distraction.”

-Junior Sonali Dhawan

“I think the controls are way too

strict. People who want to get on Reddit and Facebook will inevitably do so, and trying to block sites like YouTube goes too far because it can often be used for educational purposes.”

-Sophomore Robert Tang

“sites (even educational ones), I bit.”

-Senior Stephen Arnold

Election Results + No more political arguments on Facebook - Fewer opportunities for students to be politically engaged

Keystone Exams + No more PSSAs - Students will lose class time and have to focus their studying on old material

Winter Sports + Fans show spirit at ice hockey games - Fall sports are over

PAGE 10 THE SPOKE

YingYing Shang Columnist If Hester Prynne were transported to Conestoga, she would still be denounced, ostracized and forced to don the scarlet letter of shame.

Nathaniel Hawthorne may have portrayed Puritan times, but the social stigma associated with women’s sexuality is still present today. It’s here at Conestoga, and it’s called slut-shaming.

Slut-shaming is the phenomenon in which people degrade or mock a girl for her clothing or alleged sexual behavior. Slut-shaming is bullying.

Slut-shaming is wrong.

We’ve all witnessed or joined in on slut-shaming. It’s easy—“so-andso and so-and-so hooked up at the party last night. He has a girlfriend.

She’s such a slut.” You don’t have to be at the party or even know any of

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

OP/ED

Gendered bullying targets young women the subjects personally to say that.

You just have to repeat the message to your friends, exaggerate a little bit to make the story more interesting and the slut-shaming is in action.

As seen in the recent scandal when older, married director Rupert Sanders had an affair with Twilight star Kristen Stewart, the girl almost always bears the brunt of public fury. It takes two to create a scandal, yet only one is blamed and publicly denounced.

I’m not here to make moral judgments about what’s acceptable sexual behavior in high school or what the

Frequently, girls are the ones who slut-shame other girls in an effort to gain social capital. Insecurity, often pointed as a contributing factor to bullying, can prompt girls to accuse each other of being “sluts” in order to elevate themselves in the perceived social pecking order, regardless of whether or not that allegation is true.

As long as gendered slurs like “slut” exist, any girl can be a victim of slut-shaming. Among different social groups with different expec-

tations, it may connote different to adult activities. This context is left out when the word “slut” is lobbed haphazardly at any girl who is disapproved of by others. Is she truly reprehensible or was she simply friendly?

Boys, on the other hand, have a completely different repertoire of adjectives to connote promiscuous behavior.

What do we call a guy who expresses his sexuality or dates a lot? A stud, a badboy, perhaps a player at worst.

Even supposing that the word “slut” is used to denote truly reprehensible or promiscuous behavior, slut-shaming is not an effective or

What causes a girl to devalue herself and her body is self-doubt or dence; slutshaming can only worsen her self-image problems.

If a girl is insecure, either about her body or about her popularity or about to say her value that in general, n o she may term fall prey to t a r pervasive Maggie Chen/The SPOKE geted tomedia imwards boys captures the social stig- ages telling her to sexualize herself. ma that surrounds the word “slut.”

Maybe she engages in promiscuous

behavior. How does society react then? By slut-shaming her and lowering her self-esteem further. What a vicious, destructive cycle.

As onlookers with no knowledge about the context or background, there is never an excuse for bullying or sexual labeling. Especially if you have limited to no acquaintance with the girl in question, no matter how others portray her behavior, there is no reason to spread gossip and rumors. Dress code breaches can be dealt with by teachers or the adminabout her sexual behavior.

Lastly, we must be conscious of the double standard that we impose upon guys and girls. It takes two to engage in any rumor-worthy behavior; both should face the same consequences.

Whether or not Hester Prynne truly sinned, gendered bullying doesn’t facilitate learning or promote healthy behavior. Let’s take off the scarlet letter and move toward awareness of our own actions.

YingYing Shang can be reached at yshang@stoganews.com.

Creepers in the cloud: why Google wants your location

James Redmond Columnist For a bunch of cynical teenagers, sometimes I feel like we aren’t nearly cynical enough. Our minds are too easily molded into whatever suits the establishment, man. But seriously, it’s high time we turned a suspicious eye on the world, and for the many of us who spend our days glued to computer screens, that world would indeed be the Internet.

Our generation has been condifree information and entertainment, naively assuming that it was all put there for the sole purpose of providing us with a constant source of LOLs and giggles. We get indignant when websites interrupt our vitally important online shenanigans with fundraisers and soap advertisements.

The truth of the matter is, websites are run by people. And people like money. Not only is it very shiny, but it helps pay for things like server maintenance and Lamborghinis.

And while it’s easy to consider moneymaking tactics such as YouTube commercials, Wikipedia fundraisers and the new “promote” option on Facebook to be annoying, other methods can be far more unsavory.

See, there is a darker side to online economics. The Internet is the world’s most powerful infor-

mational tool, and we spend hours a day attached to it—inevitably, information begins to seep into our monitors, where it is immediately and irreversibly sucked into the World Wide Web. Some of that information is pretty valuable. Some of it can be sold.

If a website isn’t funded by some company and doesn’t have ads or fundraisers, the odds are good that way to suck money and information out of users like you.

Maggie Chen/The SPOKE

Skeptical? Here’s a little story.

A while ago I was researching casinos for a piece on the Valley Forge Casino. Soon enough, every time I went on the web, I was bombarded with taglines like, “Gambling problem? Give us a call,” or “Las Vegas: America’s playground.” You can try this yourself, if you’re patient enough—just look something up a couple times a day and see how long it takes to catch on. The Internet learns from you and shifts in response to what it learns. It’s kind of scary.

This kind of information pales in comparison to the data collected by sites you log into and use with a mobile device. People think they’re carrying around little computers. Really, they’re tiny, super-sophisticated tracking devices that know not only where you are, but who your friends are, what you do on a daily basis, where you work or attend school and much more. Google collects this information, along with Facebook and Verizon. Sprint and T-Mobile also allude to it in their privacy policies.

The scary part is that no one reads these privacy policies. To actually read one would take much longer than most people have the patience

for, and understanding all the legal jargon is another matter entirely.

It can’t be unintentional that those things are so dense.

Not all sites are honest enough to limit their selling to aggregate data, either, and it can be next to impossible to tell the good from the bad.

Not only that, but anyone can be hacked. This information has to get out somehow, or else all those shady “people search sites” would go out of business.

Having grown up with it, we have been conditioned to think of the Internet as something we’re entitled to, and as a result we are blind to the nefarious deeds sometimes going on behind the scenes, and antagonistic towards efforts to raise money in more honest ways. I, for one, would rather sit through a little ad or tolerate a fundraising pitch than have 12 different people running around using my name by the time I’m 23 because some guy sold them my virtual soul.

Whether you notice it or not, it’s dangerous out there. So surf wisely, Conestoga.

James Redmond can be reached at jredmond@stoganews.com.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 11 THE SPOKE

OP/ED

Organ donation: saving lives by checking a box

Allison Kozeracki Op/Ed Editor We live in an amazing world.

We live in a world where doctors can make a human heart beat in a new body, give someone a new set of lungs or use a cornea to restore someone’s sight.

We can allow these groundbreaking, lifesaving procedures to happen with something as simple as checking a box—by becoming organ donors. Unfortunately, less than 38 percent of all licensed drivers are registered donors. Why is this number so low?

One reason is that the United States has an “opt-in” approach to organ donation, rather than an “opt-out” system where drivers would be automatically enrolled as donors.

But there is a bigger, more

unsettling reason as well. An alltoo-common reason I’ve heard for not being an organ donor is that doctors will make less of an effort to save donors. This is simply untrue (as well as a violation of the Hippocratic Oath). According to Donate Life America, an organization dedicated to organ donation, doctors will only use a donor’s organs after they have made every last effort to save him or her.

And then of course there are people who simply want to be buried with all of their organs.

I ask those people to step into someone else’s shoes (or body, for that matter). Imagine if you or a family member needed an organ transplant. What would you think of that idea if you had a spot on the ever-growing transplant list?

I don’t need to imagine because I know how it feels. Having an uncle who passed away wait-

ing for a transplant, I know the feeling of helplessness and the thought that maybe, just maybe, if more people had registered, he could have had a chance.

The decision to be an organ donor is not some higher calling, and I don’t think I’m a good person because I signed my name on a dotted line at the DMV. It cost me absolutely nothing.

So when you get your learner’s permit or renew your driver’s

license, or just have a few spare minutes in the day, I ask you to register to become a donor—you never know whose lives you may save.

No one plans on getting into a car accident. But by being an organ donor, you have the chance to turn a tragedy into a miracle by giving the greatest gift of all: life.

Allison Kozeracki can be reached at akozeracki@stoganews.com.

Tumblr users need tumble back into reality falling in love, being heartbroken or something of the like that are invading the website. Now, we see these pictures transitioning over to Twitter and Facebook, being promoted by following, retweeting, favoriting

and liking. They’re everywhere, and it’s making me crazy.

Some examples: Silhouette of a teen couple on a beach during a sunset? Check. Distant photo of friends

Emily Seeburger Columnist Technology, again, is coming back to haunt us. This time, Tumblr’s the offender, along with all of the clichés that come with it. It’s altering the way we perceive the world around us—and ourselves.

Tumblr, started in 2007, is a social networking site based on its users’ blogging, reblogging and re-reblogging all sorts of media: pictures, videos, music—you get the idea. Today, it has more than 27 million blogs and counting.

With Tumblr’s reblogging ability, a photo from one account can travel through thousands, if not millions, of accounts, giving it mass exposure. The problem isn’t the website; it’s the media itself that’s being reblogged. It’s the sappy, edited, staged pictures about either

of everyone at a party cropped from the smiles down? Check.

The people reblogging these photos don’t even know the people in them. In fact, these photos look 100 percent staged: beautiful people, beautiful setting, beautiful moment, beautiful editing.

And somehow this media has This is what is pretty. This is what your relationship should look like.

This is how you should lead your life. You should aspire to create these moments. But why? Who is

Callum Backstrom/The SPOKE

what is ultimately desired? And more importantly, why are we letting them?

These Tumblr images are also subtly perpetuating dangerous pop culture pressures, like weight issues and unrealistic beauty standards.

There were blogs dedicated to “thinspiration” until the site itself shut them down for violating terms of service for encouraging extreme weight loss, eating disorders and other self-damaging activities.

However, there are some people using Tumblr that are making the most of it: up-and-coming musicians

spreading their talents, fan pages supporting them, everyday funny people trying to give users a good laugh. These are the people worth following and reblogging.

The most frightening aspect is that people are starting to live vicariously through the moments of other people via Tumblr. Instead of going out and letting life happen organically, high schoolers are trying to recreate what they’ve already seen. We don’t need to see your party pictures from Friday night, your photo shoots in Valley Forge Park, or even Photoshopped pictures of just yourself. You don’t need to impress the whole Internet with your social life or beauty.

So offenders—and you know who you are—log out, get off your computers and live your life. Make your own moments. Don’t emulate anyone else, especially someone you don’t even know. Because in the end, the moments you create, not the ones that you’re trying to recreate, are the ones that make you who you are.

Emily Seeburger can be reached at eseeburger@stoganews.com.

Features TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

red mango

whirled peace

“Original Yogurt” is always available, and the other nine are alternated weekly, with several tart and sweet options, as well as a swirl, which combines two yogurt flavors.

Toppings: Toppings range from a variety of fruit, like mangos, kiwis, white peaches and pineapples, to candy, organic granola, sunflower seeds, baked items and tapioca balls filled with a fruit juice known as boba, a type of Japanese-inspired marshmallow. Chocolate, caramel and white chocolate syrups from Ghirardelli are also available.

What Makes It Unique: Red Mango’s yogurt is all-natural, gluten-free, non-fat yogurt. The frozen yogurt brand has its own probiotic, GanedenBC30, which supports the immune system and digestive health. The fruit served at Red Mango is freshly cut on a daily basis. Red Mango also serves smoothies, which customers can personalize by adding granola to vary the drink’s texture and consistency.

“Despite the fact that it seems to always be busy, there is a great atmosphere in the store,” employee and senior Sarah Moore said.

vanilla and tart are always available. According to senior Annie Chen, an employee of Whirled Peace, chocolate and vanilla seem to be the most popular flavors among customers. Recently, the shop has also provided more diverse flavors such as pumpkin, espresso, coconut, pomegranate, blueberry and lychee, which is a tropical fruit native to southern China.

Toppings: Various fruits are available as toppings in addition to sprinkles, sauces, candies and nuts.

What Makes It Unique: Whirled Peace is an environmentally-friendly establishment.

It uses biodegradable spoons, cups, straws and bowls and has beverage lids made from corn.

Whirled Peace also serves coffee, hot chocolate, ciders, teas, bubble teas, banana whips and froyoccinos, which are blends of frozen yogurt with espresso and ice.

Family FroYo: “I decided to apply at Whirled Peace because it was one of the places my dad and I would always go during the summer. It’s different from all the more commercial chains in that it’s family owned and environmentally friendly,” Chen said.

150 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne 111 E. Lancaster Ave, Paoli Flavors: Ten flavors are always available and are periodically rotated.

Flavors: The 45 flavors on the Whirled Peace menu are rotated every week, but chocolate,

kiwi yogurt

Gateway Shopping Center, 251 E. Swedesford Rd,Valley Forge Flavors: Acording to employee and senior Deborah Matheny, many flavors served

at Kiwi are seasonal. Currently, “Pumpkin Spice” is being offered. There are more than 60 flavors that are rotated.

Toppings: Kiwi customers can top off their frozen yogurt with candies, fruits, pretzels, cereals, chocolate and caramel sauces, honey, pieces of baked goods like brownies and cookies, and pieces of pies and cheesecakes.

What Makes It Unique: Punch cards are available to frequent customers and can be redeemed after 10 hole punches for a free bowl of frozen yogurt.

FroYo Fantasy: “I’ve seen younger kids who walk in [to Kiwi], and it’s like [Willy] Wonka’s factory to them. It’s so cute,” Matheny said. “I decided to work there because of the environment. Everyone is so happy and the camaraderie is amazing. I think it’s different [from other frozen yogurt places] because of the variety and the high standards [that] the owners have.”

so fun!

315 E. Lancaster Ave, Wayne Flavors: So Fun! always provides at least 16 different flavors. Some of the unique

: FrwohYero e to go

Reporting by Isha Damle Design by Anisa Tavangar

flavors include “Angel Food Cake” and “Boysenberry.”

Toppings: Toppings are separated into three categories. “At the Snackage Bar” includes nuts, candies like Butterfingers and jelly beans, coconut flakes and a variety of cereals like Cocoa Pebbles. “At the Chill Bar” is made up of Mochi (a type of Japanese rice cake), cookie dough, brownies, cheesecake and a variety of fruits. The liquid array of “Hotties,” includes hot fudge, sugarless or non-fat fudge and caramel sauces.

What Makes It Unique: All So Fun! flavors that do not contain cookies or cake are gluten-free. Sugarless and dairy free flavors are also available.

“I think it is more popular than some other frozen yogurt places especially in the summer,” employee and junior Alyssa Willgruber said.

Twi s t e d Man g o

2 E. Lancaster Ave, Paoli

Flavors: Twisted Mango offers more than 200 types of flavors, and 14 flavors are available at any time in the shop. Additionally, seven “twisted” flavors, which are combinations of multiple flavors, are available. The shop provides sorbet flavors as well as sugarless, low-fat or non-fat flavors.

Among some of its unique flavors are “Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Bun,” “White Chocolate Mousse,” “Tahitian Vanilla,” “Watermelon Sorbet” and “Firecracker,” which is a spicy cinnamon candy.

Toppings: The toppings at Twisted Mango are just as diverse as the other establishments, and 40 types of toppings are available in the store at any given time.

What Makes it Unique: Twisted Mango works with school clubs and other organizations to hold fundraiser nights and focuses attention on giving back to the community.

Always Enough Choices: Employee and senior Amanda Kim loves the concept of selfserve yogurt because it is delicious and a healthier dessert option.

“Some of the flavors and toppings are so out of the ordinary that people just have to try it,” Kim said. “Personally, I love having so many options that allow me to get something different every time.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 15 THE SPOKE

FEATURES

’Stoga Connects club faces sticky competition Emily Klein Staff Reporter Costume contests and candy collecting competitions are well known to all trick-or-treaters, but this Halloween ’Stoga Connects club competed in a different kind of contest. ’Stoga Connects, a club that works to find new and creative ways to use duct tape, participated in Duck Tape brand’s “Stick Or Treat” duct tape Jack-O-Lantern decorating contest. As its submission to the contest, the club decided to create a dragon sculpture using only duct tape and an artificial pumpkin. Competitors are scored based on their use of duct tape, use of color, originality of design and workmanship.

Co-president and junior Elaine work.

“Compared to what was submitted last year, I think we have a pretty good chance of winning,” Ho said.

The club’s sculpture itself will be almost two feet tall and will be covered in approximately 1,000 individually made duct tape scales.

During the past month, club mem-

bers have gathered with their friends to work on individual parts of the sculpture. Club member and junior Chelsea Yasgur worked on the scales of the dragon. Yasgur enjoyed working with her fellow club members to create such a unique work of art.

“It made me feel a part of something. It also gave me a creative spirit,” Yasgur said.

If the club wins the contest, the $1,000 prize will be donated to the Student Activities fund to help support students who cannot afford the new activity fee required at Conestoga.

“We’re a club [that] raises money for the student activities fund or for the school in general,” Ho said.

In order to raise money, the club tops of pens and wallets, all completely out of duct tape.

“We make things and we sell them and then the money all goes back to the school,” co-president and junior Felicity Gong said.

Duck Tape brand, the company through which the club purchases its duct tape, also sponsors a more popular competition which involves making a prom dress completely out

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Junior Mitchell Jao and co-president and junior Elaine Ho work on ’Stoga Connects’ submission to Duck Tape brand’s “Stick Or Treat” contest, for which they created a dragon made out of duct tape and a pumpkin. of duct tape. However, the club’s co-presidents decided to participate in the smaller Halloween-themed contest while researching online. ’Stoga Connects hopes to compete in similar competitions in the future.

The competitions are “a chance for people to expand their imaginations and really get creative with duct tape,” Ho said.

Club secretary and junior Shaina Bernstein also enjoyed the process of creating the dragon and is impressed by the type of work the club is capable of doing.

“A lot of people are really creative when it comes to duct tape so it’s interesting to see how people just go with it,” Bernstein said.

Junior Mitchell Jao, who joined

the club when his friends recommended it to him, has liked working with ’Stoga Connects because of the creative atmosphere.

“I enjoy relaxing and having fun with friends after a long, harsh school day,” Jao said.

Emily Klein can be reached at eklein@stoganews.com.

Students use art of origami to reach out to community Sophia Ponte Staff Reporter After a few short steps, it is possible to create life out of a simple piece of paper. Origami, the ancient art of paper folding, originated in Asia and has been incorporated into societies all around the world.

Juniors Caroline Mak and Jodie Fong, co-presidents of the 1,000 Cranes Project, devoted their club to teaching origami to other people.

Earlier in her life, Mak had a neighbor who fell into a coma and was hospitalized. Her local church decided to do a project in which they

would make her 1,000 paper cranes.

This story inspired Mak to form her club.

“I thought that the overall idea of 1,000 cranes for hope was really important,” Mak said.

Fong said that their goals for the club include extending the project to hospitals and teaching children in the pediatric wards about origami.

“As of now the essential point of the club is to teach origami to other people,” Mak said. “It’s appreciation for art and it’s a direct way of sharing origami through the school setting.”

Since the club is fairly new, Mak and Fong have been mainly focus-

ing on getting the club recognized at school. In the future, they plan to teach children in the Child’s Activity Center at the Dupont Hospital in Wilmington and create origami Valentine’s Day cards to be distributed at the Bryn Mawr Hospital.

“Origami is so simple and available to everybody,” Mak said. “It is really universal—a lot of people have folded stuff before, from a boat or a simple crane to dragons. I really like the application of it, and I can think of so many ways that it could be used.”

Fong, who has been interested in origami since she was in elementary

school, devotes three to four hours a week to practicing origami.

“I like the way that things turn out and how people can diagram animals using a piece of paper that’s a single plane without cutting or tearing into it,” Fong said.

She said that origami has helped to teach her to be meticulous and focused.

“I’ve learned problem solving, and attention to precision and detail,” Fong said. “Origami is a sort of exact practice, when you fold something, it should be optimal to fold something exactly in half, or it won’t work.”

Senior Phoebe Wang has been do-

ing origami since she was in middle the Internet, she discovered various blogs and origami-related websites that got her into origami. Although she is not part of the 1,000 Cranes Project, she said that she has also learned valuable skills from the art. sheets of paper can be enticed to form complex designs,” Wang said.

“Being able to rip paper neatly is a pretty useful skill. Patience and perseverance are important too.”

Sophia Ponte can be reached at sponte@stoganews.com.

Sam Sedor for The SPOKE

PAGE 16 THE SPOKE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

FEATURES

Courtyard hacky sack games bring competition, community

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Seniors (from left) Pat McGee, Will Renner and Mike Miclette spend their free period playing hacky sack in the courtyard. Groups of students like to create hacky sack circles during lunch and free periods. The game has been played at Conestoga since the early seventies.

David Kramer Staff Reporter In the midst of throngs of students eating lunch and socializing in the large courtyard, an intense round of elimination unfolds among a small circle of students. Students passing by watch as the game of hacky sack is played.

In a game of elimination, the person who starts with the hacky sack must hit it three times before kicking it to someone else in the circle.

Multiple groups of students playing hacky sack have formed in the courtyard during their free periods.

Students play games of elimination, dare elimination or “onesies,” in which each person can only hit the hacky sack once. Other times, students enjoy passing the hacky sack around without any strict rules.

“It’s fun to see who can do the coolest tricks and how long we can keep it in the air,” senior Pat McGee said. We “like to be competitive and see who can get [people eliminated] and just have fun.”

Although the game has been around since the early seventies, life into the game. They have invented

new variations and challenges, in addition to hacky sack jargon.

“Cici’s Pizza” is a term that is used when a player serves the hacky sack to him or herself. “Chicken scratch” involves dragging the hacky sack backwards along the ground and quickly kicking it up into the air. Some terms

said. “Say you didn’t study for a test and you get a 95 [percent], it’s that kind of feeling.”

The hacky sack circles are always open to newcomers. They welcome additions to the circle as long as they are not in the middle of a game of elimination. Senior Sean Duffy reas-

“You don’t have to be the best at it to play. We accept anyone which is really fun as long as you’re willing to put forth the effort.”

-Senior Brendan Bense from previous years still remain in use, such as the classic “stall,” in which the player lets the hacky sack rest on the side of his or her shoe in the middle of a round.

Senior Drew Rudd started playing hacky sack last summer. He occasionally joins the circles in the courtyard spend his free time.

“I like the little feeling you get when you get a bunch in a row,” Rudd

sures onlookers that the hacky sack games are laid-back and open for anyone to join.

“Hacky sack is chill people and good vibes,” Duffy said.

Senior Brendan Bense has been playing since his freshman year and feels that in addition to being a fun pastime, it also helps his coordination for soccer. Since he plays in the courtyard on a regular basis, he has met some new friends through the game.

“You don’t have to be the best at it to play,” Bense said. “We accept anyone, which is really fun as long as you’re willing to put forth the effort.”

Science teacher Michael Kane was an avid hacky sack player when he was in high school and still likes to join in a game with some of his students in the courtyard.

“It’s a fun way to spend some time [and] not hurt anybody, regardless of skill or ability,” Kane said.

Kane is pleased to see hacky sack maintaining its popularity since his high school days.

Elimination “was never part of the deal back then,” Kane said. “It seems to go against the friendly inclusive spirit of the hacky sack circle, but every sport changes.” are supportive of the game, as long as the hacky sackers keep their games under control and take caution when playing around other students.

“You can still hang out and have conversations about what’s going on,” Kane said. “[I like] the idea of being with a group, not winning or losing, but seeing if you can get everybody to hit it once.”

David Kramer can be reached at dkramer@stoganews.com.

Monday Special: $9 Large Cheese Pizza

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 17 THE SPOKE

FEATURES

Michael Trainer Accelerated Wor

"You can have fun and still learn at the same time."

The Spoke (T.S.): What is your favorite thing about teaching English?

Michael Trainer (M.T.): I love the fact that when you teach literature, you help students see themselves in the characters and the story.

-Mr. Trainer

T.S.: How long have you been learn a lot at the same time. I teaching? never viewed learning as fun M.T.: 19 years. This is my seventh when I was little. year at Conestoga.

T.S.: If you weren’t T.S.: Which type of class do you an English teacher, like teaching more: the language- what could you see oriented ones, or the literature- yourself as? focused ones?

M.T.: A writer or M.T.: I have taught both, and I a comedian, alwould say although I enjoy both, though comediI really enjoy teaching Lang. and ans have a rough Comp. because you are able to see life; it’s not as the art of language and words in funny as it looks. everyday life. You are able to show If I were a writer students that this is all around us. I would be a novelist.

T.S.: Who is your favorite writer?

M.T.: F. Scott Fitzgerald. I love T.S.: What are how he writes in such a way that your hobbies? the language is still rich, but he M . T. : I r u n , exposes all sides of things. You I g a r d e n , [ I have these characters, like Daisy, watch] movies who is beautiful, but there is this and I read. really ugly part of her. And the parties, you think they’re all about T.S.: What is glamour, but then you see the ugli- something most ness and overindulgence. I just love people don’t how he conveys that. know about you?

T.S.: If you could be any super- M.T.: I was in hero, who would you be? an episode of M.T.: I would say Iron Man. I think the “Sopranos.” I I can relate more to his obnoxious was in a bar scene. side than his powerful side.

They took over this bar called the T.S.: What made you want to be- Crazy Horse and I come an English teacher? was a patron. It’s M.T.: One of the reasons I became in season three. a teacher was that I found I was A lady I went to not really engaged in class a lot. I high school with found that I wanted to let students knew I was a fan. see that you can have fun and still She was an assistant

ld Literature director, and said “Mike wants to be on the show.” They were very cool when they found out I was a teacher. All the actors were really nice.

T.S.: If you could give students one piece of advice about writing, what would it be?

M.T.: We write in order to better understand ourselves.

I think good writing comes from a place where you’re not afraid to put it out there. Even with a fiveparagraph essay or something, if you just put it out on paper and

you don’t [think], “this sounds stupid” or “I don’t know if this is

T.S.: If you could change one thing about Conestoga, what would it be?

M.T.: I would say the pencil sharpeners. Every room I teach in has a horrible old pencil sharpener.

T.S.: What is your favorite punctuation mark?

M.T.: I have fallen in love with the semi colon. It’s so cool that you can continue a sentence without a conjunction.

T.S.: Why is writing important?

M.T.: Writing is the basis for all forms of communication: song lyrics, a cartoon you watch, sports.

Interview by Natalie West, Features Editor

favorites

song:

“Blood Bank” by Bon Iver

movie: food:

Currently, “Moonrise Kingdom”

Cake

vacation spot:

Long Beach Island

book: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

quote:

“Enjoy the little things, because one day you will look back and realize they were the big things.” -Robert Brault

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

PAGE 18 THE SPOKE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

FEATURES

Students walk in entrepreneur’s shoes, spread Toms message Natalie West Features Editor When senior Julianna Bradley noticed her friend’s colorful, quirky shoes, she had to get herself a pair.

She had no idea that a simple pair of shoes would inspire her to try to make a difference in the world.

This year, Bradley and senior Megan Moyer combined their passions for shoes and charity and created

the Toms club. They hope to extend the Toms organization, which aims to give shoes to children in need, to Conestoga and encourage students to get involved.

“When I met [Moyer] my sophomore year, I admired her colorful shoes which I had never seen before,” Bradley said. “After buying a pair for myself just because I thought they were cute, I found out that they were more than just shoes. I saw that they

bring together a community of people

ated by Toms Shoes, entails giving one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold. The charity was founded by American entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie who, after volunnization delivering shoes to children in the villages outside of Buenos

“Shoes will not solve world hunger, they will not bring about world peace, but they will still change the world.”

-Senior Julianna Bradley

Zach Lowry for The

Seniors and co-presidents of the “Toms” club Megan Moyer and Julianna Bradley show off their “Toms” gear. They created the club in hopes of supporting the charity and spreading the message that one person can make a difference.

Aires, Argentina, decided to start his continually give shoes to children in need. Thus, Toms Shoes was created in 2006, and has since donated shoes to more than 40 countries.

Bradley and Moyer went through a short interview process and became High School chapter. The club meets once a month at Bradley’s house, and since its formation this year, Bradley and Moyer have been busily planning different ways to get the word out about the cause.

“We started ‘Toms Tuesday,’ where we invite everyone to wear their Toms on Tuesdays, and if you

to live a simple life and still visits the countries he reaches out to on the Shoe Drops.”

Although both Bradley and Moyer would be thrilled to see more students supporting the cause by buying and wearing Toms, they agree that their main goal is to promote a message more than a brand of shoes. Mycoskie claims that while volunteering in Argentina, he experienced an epiphany that one person can make a difference, and Bradley and Moyer believe that this message is important to spread among the student body.

was thought to be impossible, but [he] proved everyone wrong and demonstrated that a business can work like a

idea of little inspirations going far distances,” Bradley said. We want to “promote the message that each of us has an incredible opportunity to change the world in some way; we just have to act on it. Toms inspires me to be the change, and I want to pass that on to students in our school.”

Bradley claims that students need not rush out to buy a pair of Toms to be part of the movement; all that is necessary is a passion for knowing that any small idea has weight.

Toms “is making such a profound difference with the simple action of giving shoes,” Bradley said. “Shoes will not solve world hunger, they will not bring about world peace, but they will still change the world.”

said. “Despite the overwhelming success of Toms, [Mycoskie] continues

Natalie West can be reached at nwest@stoganews.com.

pair of Toms periodically throughout the year,” Moyer said. “We also plan to do a ‘Style Your Sole’ party where we each buy Toms and get together to decorate them ourselves.”

Mycoskie serves as Bradley and Moyer’s role model, and his determination to start the organization is their main source of inspiration as they work to spread his story to other students.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 19 THE SPOKE

FEATURES

Foreign families celebrate Thanksgiving, form new traditions Kelly Benning Staff Reporter There’s piling into the car and driving to Grandma’s. There’s the pie. This is the image of Thanksgiving that has been branded onto the American cultural identity, but families moving to the United States from other countries develop their own traditions and ways to celebrate this holiday.

Senior Ramya Meka was born in her life living there with her grandparents. Her parents had emigrated soon after she was born and they had to temporarily leave her behind.

“My dad was working [in Michigan] and they were just trying to get how the country works,” Meka said.

“Then I came and started preschool here and it was really scary.”

Meka said her family began celebrating Thanksgiving at her insistence after they had been living in the United States for a few years.

“My first Thanksgiving that I remember, I [said], ‘We should do Thanksgiving this year, but not with turkey.’ So we made all our Indian food, but the good stuff,” Meka said.

“It was just us back then because we lived in Michigan so we didn’t really have family nearby and it was pretty

early on so we didn’t have many family friends yet.”

The Mekas moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania in 2008 and now have cousins nearby. Last year, they went to their cousins’ house for Thanksgiving dinner and her Thanksgiving with family and with turkey as a dish.

“I don’t really like the turkey,” Meka said. “The way we make our chicken is the Indian way so it’s spicy and really good, and I think compared to that the turkey is kind of bland and She added that though they do not love the turkey, they do love the classic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and Detroit Lions football game.

Junior Karl-Luis Neubig’s family hails from Germany and moved here about 10 years ago when he was 6 years old. He does not remember but he does remember they embraced America’s turkey tradition from the beginning. Since then, they have spent every Thanksgiving with a fellow German family that lives in West Chester. Neubig says that it is a family tradition he looks forward to every year.

“It’s sort of American and German,” Neubig said. “We always have turkey and gravy but then we

MARGOT’S MEDIA Margot Field Design Editor

MUSIC Andrew Bird Andrew Bird has achieved something kind of extraordinary with his latest album, “Hands of Glory.” Already established as a talented multi-instrumentalist, Bird harnesses his talents to prove this yet again. “Hands of Glory” isn’t as catchy as some of Bird’s older work. Instead, its value comes from its ability to bottle a feeling.

Dreamier than much folk music, “Hands of Glory” takes listeners on a journey far away from the city and the suburbs. Where it goes exactly is up to interpretation. For

in the dead of night, for others a peaceful stroll through the forest at dusk. Wherever it may be, it feels somewhat magical.

“Hands of Glory” possesses a strange quality that reads as both rustic and complicated. Each note seems well thought out, yet somehow very relaxed. Pensive and calming, “Hands of Glory” will either bore you or take you on a trip to somewhere truly peaceful.

“American Horror Fans of the first installment of this horror-thriller will be enthralled with the new season.

Instead of continuing the original plotline, season two tells a new horror story in a new time, a new

Sam Sedor for The SPOKE

also have knödel, which are dough balls. They’re really good. We watch football and hang out.”

Freshman Seyoung Kim was born in the United States but her parents moved from Korea to attend graduate school in America about 20 years ago. The Kim family usually opts for a very low-key celebration.

“We have salmon,” Kim said.

“Our dinner might be a little bigger than usual but we don’t have turkey or anything, and we don’t ever really eat more than normal so there tends to be a lot of leftovers.” location, and with a new cast of characters. The story takes place in the year 1964 and focuses on the Briarcliff Mental Institution, which has taken in two new patients.

Lovers of the former season need not be too upset to see their favorite characters gone; “Asylum” features many of the same actors in new roles. Familiar faces include Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto and fan favorite Evan Peters.

While still early in its run, “Asylum” delivers just as much creepiness as its predecessor but seems to lack the same chilling suspense.

The previous season preyed upon childhood fears of darkness and ghosts. “Asylum” tries to do the same, playing upon society’s fear of mental illness, helplessness and the occult. Unfortunately, it feels akin to the same sensation one experiences at autumn haunted houses; we walk in expecting, even wanting, fear.

Despite lacking the same addicting quality as the previous season, “Asylum” is still entertaining and

The only time the Kim family ate turkey for Thanksgiving was when her cousins, who were temporarily sylvania to visit them.

“My mom ordered a turkey from Whole Foods and it wasn’t very good,” Kim said.

Despite this, it is one of Kim’s fondest Thanksgiving memories because of the time she was able to spend with her family.

“Most of our relatives live in Korea [so] the break is not long enough,” Kim said. “Plane tickets are

“The Perks of Being a Anxiety, bad dreams and fading memories fill Charlie’s head as he begins his freshman year of high school in this adaptation of Stephen Chobsky’s 1999 novel. After dealing with his best friend’s suicide, he finally regains a sense of normalcy. Despite his mental improvements, he faces a new set of challenges: He has no friends, he is a target of bullying and he feels utterly invisible.

While not all of us may have experienced trauma as extreme as Chobsky’s protagonist, we have all, at one time, felt like wallflowers. While “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” which is directed by Chobsky himself, is often confusing and does not accurately portray the high school experience, it’s backed by a sense of sincerity

so expensive it’s only worth going if you can stay a long time.”

While Thanksgiving might not be hugely important in the Kim household, she does enjoy the holiday.

“I like it because we get days off from school,” Kim said.

Even if your turkey is dry, your football team loses or your family is thousands of miles away, everyone can be thankful for a few days off from school.

Kelly Benning can be reached at kbenning@stoganews.com. that keeps the viewer constantly engaged. This is achieved with the help of strong performances by cast members Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.

However, there are a few things about this movie that are troubling: its dialogue is occasionally forced and its more obscure pop culture references often go over the heads of its youthful audience. Its assumption that a group of seniors would adopt a freshman as one of its own is fairly unbelievable. But although the plot may be exaggerated, the feeling behind it is genuine.

The desire for acceptance is something so instilled in the American teenager that “Perks” is easily forgiven for its flaws.

“Perks” reaches out to the wallflower living inside all of us and reminds us (even if we may have already figured it out on our own) that everything will turn out okay in the end.

Margot Field can be reached at mfield@stoganews.com.

hl

Sports TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The Recruiting Game Reporting by Navin Zachariah Graphic by Callum Backstrom

The Spoke breaks down the college recruiting process by examining facts, exposing common misconceptions and following senior Joe Viviano through his recruitment.

FACTS 1. Less than 0.8 percent of all high school student athletes will play NCAA Division I sports.

2. There are more than 2,000 pages of recruiting rules, regulations and guidelines printed from seven different college governing bodies that outline eligibility guidance for the college recruiting process.

3. 1.7 percent of college football athletes play in the NFL and 0.08 percent of high school athletes play in the NFL. 4. The only sport that had more than 2 percent of college athletes go professional is baseball. 11.6 percent of collegiate baseball athletes go to the MLB. 5. In the NCAA, there are 246 Division I programs, 148 Division II programs and 237 Division III programs in the United States.

MYTHS

1. Just because you’re getting recruited or have committed to a college, you can blow off the SATs or ACTs. assistance.

2. All colleges offer athletic scholarships Reality: Only Division I and II colleges offer athletic scholarships.

Reality: Coaches depend on direct contact from high school athletes.

1 Contact “Early in the spring last year, [Harvard] expressed interest in me. I was just really shocked because they obviously I was very excited.”

2 Visit “I have visited Harvard a few times, spring after I got the letter and I loved it. I got to meet a few players and they all seemed like real good guys.“

3 Meet “In the spring there is a time period when college coaches are allowed to come into school and talk with players.

They sent a coach in to talk with me and to talk to Coach Vogan.”

4 Narrow down “I narrowed it down to an offer from North Carolina State and an offer from Harvard. I chose Harvard because I felt they had the best mix of both football and school.“

5 Commit “I committed the last week in July. I was very nervous in my decision, and it took a lot longer than I thought it was going to. I am extremely happy with my the future.”

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

PAGE 21 THE SPOKE

SPORTS

Ice hockey participation takes a dive, swing players increase Courtney Kennedy Staff Reporter In 2008 the Conestoga boys’ ice hockey team was thriving. With a large number of players making up one varsity and two separate junior varsity squads, participation in hockey was as high as ever. In 2012 there remains only one varsity team and one junior varsity, with seven “swing” players on both teams.

According to the 2010 National Sports Goods Association Survey (NSGA), ice hockey is one of only 12 sports that experienced a positive trend in participation since 2006, with a 26.9 percent increase. The report also showed that hockey experienced an increase in participants of 7.9 percent per year. Currently, there are 3.3 million ice hockey players across the nation.

However, these national trends are not evident at Conestoga, where the number of players is declining.

“Numbers are down in the area across the board, I think for a few reasons,” head coach Mike Graves said. “One is cost. It is a tough economy and has been for a few years. Some kids are playing just

travel instead of school. Others are not playing at all. It’s not dire, but high school teams are increasingly having to rely on a number of swing players to carry two teams.”

Graves said he also believes that the 2004 NHL Lockout attributed to the decline.

“I think when the NHL locks out it certainly drops the interest and visibility of the sport,” Graves said.

“Most kids start playing hockey between 6 and 8 years old, which is the high school age kids today.”

While the current NHL lockout may not have immediate effects on high school hockey, there are potential implications for the future.

“Maybe this year, fewer kids will start to play hockey just because the NHL season is not going on,” freshman John Hamblett said, adding that he still thinks interest in hockey “will pick back up.”

There are seven “swing” players on this year’s roster, which makes up about 37 percent of the varsity team. These players play on both varsity and junior varsity in the same season, and as a result, manage extra game and practice time on the ice.

“I have to practice with varsity, so

for JV, it’s kind of weird at the games because I’m not with the team a lot,” Hamblett said.

Despite the challenges for swing players, this is often an opportunity to gain more critical ice time in extra games and practices. Sophomore

to being on both teams.

“I like playing for both teams. I get to play with more of my teammates. I get to play in more games, and I get more practices and more

ice time,” Lake said. “It’s a lot more ice time, and it’s a lot more work, but it’s fun to be able to play on both teams.” at ckennedy@stoganews.com.

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Sophomore Albie Austin breaks away in a game against Upper Darby at Iceline on Nov. 9. The team won

Runners keep pace between seasons Shivani Sanghani Staff Reporter As the cross country season draws to a close, many student athletes will not look forward to a relaxing break, but to the approaching winter track season.

Athletes will need to further prepare for the excessive amount of running still to be expected during the winter months.

Head coach Ryan Comstock implemented a new strategy for runners to maintain their physical seasons.

“The coaches came up with a of the off-season. We’re going to run like every other day in a couple of small groups,” sophomore Jack Iffer said. “This way we’ll stay in shape, but we won’t get too tired for winter track season.”

Every runner is unique and must practice training exercises that work ideally with their body.

Senior captain Molly Dudrear said that she likes to train at her local gym.

“Personally, I like to go to the YMCA, and I’ll lift weights, go

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE

Connor Lake said that although it is

on different kinds of runs on the treadmills or just do different kinds of cross training things to stay in shape,” Dudrear said.

Freshman Caroline Cruikshank is training vigorously for the start of the winter track season in hopes “For winter track, I expect it to be a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work, so I’m working hard to stay in shape,” Cruikshank said. “I’m running around my neighborhood every day and practicing hard to stay in shape.”

Senior Caroine Deakins said that she is grateful to have such a supportive coaching staff through the transition between seasons.

“The transition between cross country and winter track is always a tough one because of the huge change in distances,” Deakins said. “Even though it’s tough, our coaches always help us through it and winter track always ends up being a great season.”

Shivani Shinghani can be reached at ssanghani@stoga.net.

PAGE 22 THE SPOKE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

SPORTS

Celebrate Thanksgiving with football traditions

Stephane Hardinger Sports Columnist This year, just like every year of my lifetime and every year of my father’s lifetime, there will be football on Thanksgiving. It has become an annual tradition now: the Detroit Lions wear their throwback jerseys and host an early Thanksgiving game at 12:30 p.m., the Dallas Cowboys wear their special Thanksgiving Day jerseys and host an afternoon game at 4:15 p.m. and a third game (this year, the New York Jets host the New England Patriots) is played at 8:20 p.m. to wrap up the slate of holiday games.

Football fans look forward to the date year-round because, for one of only two times in the year (the Super

Bowl being the other), the entire nation’s eyes are on the National Football League. There’s rarely any other news on Thanksgiving aside from puff pieces and human-interest stories, so football takes center stage.

There is the occasional Thanksgiving game that proves to be one of the highlights of the season (like Dallas’s last-second win over Miami last year), but the popularity of the Thanksgiving Day games isn’t really about the quality of the football.

After all, the Lions have consistently been one of the NFL’s worst teams throughout their sordid history, and the Dallas Cowboys have been a middling team over the past 15 years.

Yet these two teams each host a game every season. The third game on Thanksgiving night is a more recent development, but there are still no guarantees before the season that the game will be a good one.

The popularity stems from the tradition. While not everyone’s is the same, everyone seems to have their own. My Thanksgivings typically unfold in a similar fashion every

from my food coma at some point in the late game and watch the rest of it, which usually concludes around 11:30 p.m. The end of the late game

ceases to be competitive: the third quarter. The family meal, which is always delicious, concludes right around the start of the Cowboys game at 4:15 p.m., allowing us to take in the majority of the usually more-competitive contest. The gap between the end of the Cowboys game and the start of the late game usually does me in, as the combination of a lack of entertainment on the

giving, and I go to bed.

The details of my tradition aren’t as important as the fact that I have one. I’m sure yours is different, and I’m sure it is great nonetheless. The combination of football, food and family on Thanksgiving is one that has been ingrained in American society over the years, and it’s a big reason why Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a throwback to a simpler time, when people watched football as a family for the sheer entertainment value rather than worrying about their fantasy football team or the severe injury risk in the sport.

For one day a year, being a football fan is relaxing and fun rather than stressful and, for Eagles fans, infuriating, and that’s something we can all appreciate.

overtime lulls me to sleep. I wake up

Stephane Hardinger can be reached

Callum Backstrom/The SPOKE

year. The day starts with an earlymorning football game with friends and neighbors to get the football in time for the Lions game to start, with the tantalizing aromas of my mother’s cooking wafting in from the kitchen as the men of the family chuckle at the Lions’ ineptitude on ner is usually ready around 2-2:30 p.m., which perfectly coincides with the point when the Lions game

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*All updates as of November 6.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

SPORTS

Sailing club splashes into action Andy Backstrom Staff Reporter In previous years, Conestoga students interested in sailing competitively would have had to go elsewhere to pursue their interest.

This year, however, students won’t have to look any further than the Conestoga sailing club.

The Corinthian Yacht Club on the Delaware River in Essington sponsors the club, along with many college sailing teams. Founded in 1892, the Corinthian is among the oldest yacht clubs in the nation.

Edward Dunham, a long-time member of the Corinthian Yacht Club, said that the Corinthian is a great home for Conestoga sailing.

“Although it has great social aspects, it was composed mainly of very good sailors, and it sponsored a lot of good races during the years,” Dunham said.

Freshman Field Dougherty is not new to sailing. Though he usually sails at Bay Head Yacht Club in New Jersey during the summers, he said that being a member of the club allows him to sail during other parts of the year, not just the summer months.

“I was looking for some sailing to do in the fall and the spring,”

Field Dougherty said.

Even though Field Dougherty is an experienced sailor, it is not necessary to have previous experience sailing to be on the team. The team is very welcoming to novice sailors looking to learn how to sail and maybe eventually sail competitively. The team practices Tuesdays and Thursdays during the week with regattas held on the weekends.

The founder of the club, Nancy Dougherty, Field Dougherty’s mother, said she started the club to generate interest in sailing at the high school level, but she believes that the best part of the club is the opportunity for students to meet other sailors.

“It’s been unique that they get to practice with other Main Line schools. It’s a true coed sport, and there aren’t many truly coed sports,” Nancy Dougherty said.

While sailing is a coed sport, many people believe it is an individual sport as well. Although Field Doughety agrees, he said that sailing also has a strong team atmosphere.

“We all bond together as a team pretty well,” Field Dougherty said.

Andy Backstrom can be reached at abackstrom@stoganews.com.

Graphic: Callum Backstrom/The SPOKE Photo: Courtesy Greg Dippell

PAGE 23 THE SPOKE

VOLUME 63, NO. 2

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Walk through the recruiting processSee p. 20

INSIDE

Sailing club comes about at ’Stoga See p. 23

Serving Getting up a grip success See extended photo gallery at stoganews.com.

Girls tennis wins Central See p. 23

Senior Marcus Burtonreturns leaps over at a match game agianst Upper Main DarbyLine on Nov. 2. The team won the game a score Chamof 34-14, Senior Maggie Manning the his ballcompetition during a tennis at the Upper YMCA. The team competed in with the District pionships on Oct. 8 and Oct. 11.

Karolis Panavas/The SPOKE