BY KAYLIN LI
C
ellos and the rumble of the timpani break the silence. The rest of the orchestra comes in beats later. Suddenly, the velvet curtains are drawn. The voice of the narrator sounds through the speakers, “Once upon a time…” “Beauty and the Beast,” Lynbrook’s �irst musical in six years, featured steampunk castles; corseted dresses; and intricately engraved props. Though the performance only ran from April 25 to April 27, it was the culmination of months of hard work by many members of the Lynbrook community. “We wanted to do something that would be recognized by everybody,” said vocal director Crystal Isola. “It’s a great family show. It’s got a big orchestra. It’s got great music. It’s got a lovely story. ” The plot of Lynbrook’s musical
was true to that of the Broadway musical, following the protagonist Belle into a castle in a forest, where a prince has been turned into a beast due to his callousness. To turn back into a prince, the Beast must fall in love before all the petals on a magical rose fall off, or else he will stay a Beast forever. Auditions for the musical lasted for a week in November 2018. Rehearsals began the day after winter break, and for two weeks, Isola taught vocal techniques. M i c h a e l Pakaluk, the
instrumental music director, wrote parts for the violas. Daniella Howard, the director, organized set building in March, when student volunteers pitched in, designing props and costumes. The show was polished during tech weeks, when the cast and orchestra met for sound and lighting checks. Before each performance, the cast huddled in a circle to energize themselves. The performance garnered sympathy, laughter as well as applause all around. “I’m more musicallyoriented than actingoriented,” said senior Meghna Kaligotla, who played Belle. “My favorite
part was telling a story with song.” During intermission, volunteers sold Beauty-and-the-Beast-themed concessions. The Saturday afternoon performance ended with a gala, in which cast members signed playbills and took pictures with audience members. “In the past, the drama department has been a niche community,” said senior Adam Katz, who played Gaston. “But now I think it’s going to grow, and people will come in for shows. If [joining the drama department] is in your head, come in; the drama department will welcome you.” Isola hopes that a musical will be performed every other year, as had been the norm years ago. “It's a worthwhile experience,” Isola said. “I tell my students that everybody should experience being in a school musical. It’s life changing, something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
KAYLIN LI — EPIC
ASB implements rigorous new club review system BY ARUL GNANASIVAM
I
n an effort to reduce the number of inactive clubs on campus, ASB announced on March 26 that it will begin to review all current clubs as per a new rubric. If clubs do not meet certain criteria, they will be disbanded at the end of the school year. The rubric covers new guidelines that aim to improve transparency between clubs and ASB to ensure that all clubs are meaningful to Lynbrook All clubs were required to share club documents, such as meeting minutes, club constitutions, budgets and attendance records, with ASB by April 17. Additionally, 50 clubs will be interviewed by ASB this year about how they contribute to the Lynbrook student body, and the remaining clubs will undergo the inspection next year. In an Inter-Club Committee (ICC) meeting on March 29, ASB speci�ied that clubs will be evaluated on �ive factors: differentiation from other clubs, purpose, quality of events and meetings, member/student engagement and structure. The evaluation panel is
comprised of ASB President Emily Zhang, ASB Vice President Diya Jain, the Community Link commissioners, ASB adviser Jason Lee and Assistant Principal Brooke Chan. If ASB notices problems in a club interview, it will continue to review the club; if a club passes, it can continue operating. Bias in the review process is a major concern, one that ASB aims to prevent by including admin such as Chan in the interview between ASB and of�icers. “My main role is to provide checks and balances and to make sure we’re not doing anything discriminatory, and there’s fair and equitable process throughout the school,” Chan said. In the event that a club does not pass the interview phase, ASB will conduct surprise club visitations. Although clubs that do not pass are at risk of being disbanded, Chan assures that plenty of communication will take place between ASB and the club before that decision is made. The new club review process was created after concerns arose about the number of
clubs on campus. In some situations, new clubs are unable to be passed due to a lack of resources. ASB hopes to rectify this by disbanding clubs that do not currently contribute to the community. “The biggest thing is that we have over 90 clubs on campus,” said senior and ASB Vice President Diya Jain. “We’re running out of resources, and we’re running out of teachers to be advisers.” Although the review panel can be held accountable, the same cannot always be said for the of�icers who are being interviewed. Often, the of�icers can slightly exaggerate their club’s true effect and membership, an issue that has been voiced by some club members. In order to combat this, ASB compares club documents with interview responses to verify the facts presented. Although the reformed club review process may be a challenging adjustment for club of�icers, ASB hopes that the new guidelines can provide more transparency with clubs and uphold high standards for clubs on campus.
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