June 2015

THE HIGHLAND FLING Vol. LXXXVIII

No. 6

JUNE 25, 2015 Published by Highland Park High School, Highland Park, NJ

2016 ELECTION: clinton, bush, or flame? by michelle fan

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WHY POETRY IS STILL A THING: a new look into one of the oldest art forms by amita shukla

STUDENT ABROAD: one students’ experiences in a country very unlike the US by elisabeth landis

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NO WAY IN NHL: why isn’t there a “hockey culture” in HP? by amiri tulloch

SUMMER EVENTS ROUND UP: find out your summer plans by using this list by tia wangli

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#FlingBackFriday

THE FLING REVISTS ITS JOURNALISTIC PAST, UNCOVERING PHOTOS AND STORIES FROM 89 YEARS AGO Jana Choi

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he Fling stumbled across a hidden treasure this year, buried in the inaccessible corner of the library, stacked haphazardly in manila folders.

Hundreds of historical Flings collected dust unbeknowest to the rest of the school because of poor storage and care. Dating back to the very start of Highland Park High School as an educational institution, these papers document student life, world events, and changing times in a way that history textbook can’t. They tell personal stories, and speak of life in the past with candor. (continued on page 7)

1926

VOL. I, NO. 1 // Oct. 1926

Opening of Junior High School

VOL. XI, NO. 1 // 1937

Name change to “Highland Park High School”

VOL. LV, Special Issue // 1987

In Memorium: Principal William Donahue

2015

TWO

News THE highland fling June 2015

2016 ELECTION: clinton, bush, or flame?

PRESIDENTIAL

CANDIDATES

AS OF 6/15 listed in order of public approval

Michelle Fan As Obama’s last term nears its end and campaign season rolls around, everyone’s got one question on their minds: Who’s going to be the next president?

Predictions about who will win the General Election vary across America, except, perhaps, when it comes to extremely liberal or conservative states. This year, the range of candidates stretches across the political spectrum; there’s Ted Cruz, Republican senator of Texas, who’s known quite well for his conservative views, there’s Bernie Sanders, Independent senator of Vermont, a self-described “democratic socialist,” and everything in between (including a very spirited rapper who goes by the name Waka Flocka Flame).

That being said, many are still confused about who, exactly, is running for president. After Hillary Clinton’s big announcement that she would yet again run for president, Twitter and Facebook lit up with reactions. Social media has generally focused on Mrs. Clinton and Jeb Bush, and the public hasn’t been given much information about the other candidates. The majority of candidates are Republicans, with only four Democrats (three if you count Mr. Sanders as an Independent).

The Highland Fling conducted an anonymous poll regarding the 2016 Election. The majority of participants have said that they would vote for Clinton in the upcoming election, with Bernie Sanders close behind in second place.

Estimates about who would actually win the final election, however, were very different. While most people predicted that Clinton would become president, only about 3% of participants believed that Bernie Sanders would take office. Instead, Rand Paul took second place, but only with about one seventh of the votes Clinton received. Students are pretty confident that Clinton will win, especially because of, “her experience with the White House as well as her constant positive role in the media,” one student explained. “She has shown the American voters that she is the best choice for President.” Another student argued that “she’s the only qualified candidate!”

National predictions aren’t too different from our school’s own, actually. The majority of future voters have declared themselves either on the side of Marco Rubio or Hillary Clinton, and, like Highland Park, few voters have considered Mr. Waka Flocka Flame. (He’s also seven years too young to qualify for President.)

Since Clinton is one of four Democrats running for office, it’s not too much of a gamble to predict her victory.

With so many Republican candidates, however, it’s difficult even to guess who will win the primaries. No one’s sure about how this election will turn out, but perhaps Highland Park’s students are right! Return to this issue in November 2016 to find out!

hillary clinton

jeb bush

ben carson

marco rubio

HIGHLAND PARK PREDICTIONS (198 students surveyed)

Who would you like to vote for?

48%

would vote for hillary clinton

34%

would vote for bernie sanders

9%

would vote for rand paul

Who do you think will win?

73%

Would you donate to Waka Flocka’s candidacy?

71%

predict a clinton victory

would not donate to his campaign

8%

29%

predict a bush victory

5%

predict a rand victory

would donate to his campaign

100%

of students love roche

bernie sanders

rand paul

mike huckabee

ted cruz

rick perry

*some candidates not included

Fl wers Sarah Cheng

Highland Park takes to the streets to decorate the town with greenery and colorful petals

very spring, thousands of local community volunteers line up in front of the Main Street Highland Park Office to participate in a town-wide beautification project by claiming one of the 150 downtown “planters” scattered along Main Street to decorate.

This year, the Planting Days occurred on Thursday, May 14 from 4pm to 7pm and Saturday, May 16 from 10am to 2pm. Fling members Amita Shukla and myself decided to join in to see what the hype was all about.

There is just something especially gratifying in creating something beautiful that will last an entire year and claiming it as your work.

We arrived at the Main Street Office near 2nd Street at 4:15pm on Thursday, and already a line of about 15 people had formed. Thankfully, most of the participants were groups of around 3-4 so it only took us 5 minutes to gather our supplies. The booth attendant gave us matching green shirts, an instruction packet, 12 small potted seedlings, and shovels to dig with. With tools in hand, we began our journey.

Have you participated in the Downtown Planting Days before?

Areli De Jesus: Yes, we also did it last year. We planted two planters, one in front of Midori and the other next to the laundry place.

The first page of the instruction packet showed a map of Main Street with our planter circled in bright yellow highlighter. Once on site, the second page employed creative symbols and name association techniques to direct us which formation to plant the seedlings in. The following 5 minutes consisted of puzzling about whether or not “Coleus Dipt in Wine” is actually the name of a plant and how to pronounce “Dorotheanthus Mezoo,” but we quickly got to work. First, we positioned each pot according to the diagram. Once in place, we each took a shovel and transferred the seedlings from their temporary home to their permanent one. This entire process took only around 25 minutes.

Before returning our supplies, our last step was to write our names on a sign and plot it in the same planter as our seedlings. This simple action generated a ridiculous amount of satisfaction that to me seemed disproportionate to the meager amount of effort that we put in.

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On our way back to the Main Street Office, we encountered other students from Highland Park High School and had the opportunity to interview Areli De Jesus ’18, Liz De Jesus ’18, and their family about their volunteer experience at this event:

How did you find out about this event?

ADJ: We were walking back from New Brunswick one day, and saw people working on the planters by the bridge. We asked what this was about, and ended up helping out and getting our own planter!

What do you like most about this event?

Liz De Jesus: I think it’s very rewarding to see your plants grow throughout the seasons.

ADJ: I like that you get to choose where you want to plant, because there are spots all across Main Street.

Will you likely be doing this again next year?

LDJ: Yes, this is almost like a small family tradition—we will probably do this every year!

All in all, Amita and I enjoyed our experience at the Downtown Planting Day. Based on the sea of participants that we encountered and the interview with other students involved, we confidently conclude that it’s an event every resident of Highland Park should attend.

NEPAL

MAKES JERSEY SEEM

LIKE PARADISE N

epal, a rather small country just north east of India and bordering China, was subjected to two major earthquakes in late April and early May. The first earthquake came on Saturday, April 25. It had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale. It occurred from the Indo-Australian tectonic plate pushing underneath the Eurasian Plate, a similar collision that happened long ago, which once produced the Himalayan Mountains. Seismologists have been expecting this earthquake for years as the Indo-Australian Plate continues to push underneath the Eurasian Plate. The first earthquake left numerous buildings toppled and tourist destinations and UNESCO World Heritage sites destroyed. Over 8,000 civilians died, and many others were injured and displaced. New Jersey may not be the most desirable place to live, but it is a million times better than the conditions in Nepal.

How can I help?

Highland Park High School’s Global Awareness Group is currently running a fundraiser, managed by Adelina Branescu ‘18. The club sells $1 bracelets and holds bake sales in Center Hall after school. GAG raised 100 dollars so far just by selling bracelets and holding 3 bake sales. Their goal is to reach 400 dollars by the end of the year. 400 dollars is an easily attainable goal if everyone chips in! Adelina explains that “all the money earned goes to a foundation called GlobalGiving, which gives money to Nepal to fund for medical aid, food, supplies, and shelter.”

GlobalGiving is a very transparent foundation that is dedicated to providing relief to people who are in need. 100% of the donations go toward providing sup-

port for the project of choice. There are no scams. 90% of the money is donated to the project on the ground (only about 10% go to the foundation, operating these projects, and training project leaders). This foundation makes sure that the donations are actually being put to good use.

GAG has picked GlobalGiving as the foundation of choice because it is a legitimate foundation whose only goal is to help communities in need. The severity of the

condition in Nepal has only increased as not long after the first earthquake, another earthquake of 7.3 magnitude took place. This earthquake did not cause nearly as many deaths as the previous one, but with the country still recovering, it definitely worsened the situation. Buy a bracelet or a baked good, and you may change the life of a Nepali and relieve the damage these natural disasters have caused.

Wenyi Ouyang

June 2015 THE highland fling

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May

THREE

FOUR

OPINION THE highland fling June 2015

Much Ado a b o u t

Something

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f you asked me to, in one word, explain what Highland Park Drama is, what it means, and why you should do it, I would respond without hesitation: “Story”.

It was on Seussical’s first show night, back in 2011, when my fellow 8th graders and I had an experience which would set our courses.

The Seniors (The Class of 2011) gathered the rest of the cast together. They told us to cross arms, hold hands, and bow our heads. The silence was pregnant, fit to burst. Then the Seniors pierced the swelling air with short speeches highlighting their drama journey.

Many had started when they were our age, while others regretted not starting sooner. To conclude, they each imparted to us a word which summarized their time spent in Highland Park Drama.

They ranged from “Family” to “Edelweiss”. After the seniors had expressed themselves as fully as their sobs permitted, we chanted in unison with cheeks still raw, red, and wet from our crying. It was just then that Camila Marcone, “the big sister of drama”, knelt down in front of me and comforted me with this: “Don’t cry. You have to carry my torch.”

Then it was my senior year and my story was in its final chapters.

A few months ago, I found myself standing in an awfully familiar circle. Again, our arms were crossed, our hands held, and our heads bowed. Already, the newer seniors had spoken in previous days. But now, it was that little gaggle from 8th grade so many years ago, hands clasped firmly with our eyes shut. To my left, was Lara, and to my right, was Hillel. They each spoke with eloquence and sentiment. Then, it was my turn, as the last to speak. I had prepared my word years ago. I shared with everyone the story of my 8th grade. I ended by saying this: “At the end of the day, we’re all just stories. Might as well make it a good one.” I passed the hand squeeze around the circle and when I felt the compression of my hand from Lara, a moment, long-awaited, came to me.

I slowly repeated our senior words as I finally felt brackish water trickle down my cheeks: “Life-changing, people, story... WE’VE...

GOT... THE... JUICE!” The chant continued along the verse as we all chaotically spun inwards towards each other, eyes open, heads up, hands free to pump the sweaty air. Through my saltwater view, I could just make out the throbbing mass of wonderful people around me. However, one stood out. Mackenzie Volpert ’19 stood off to the side silently crying. I had no choice but to do what I did next. Crossing to her, I knelt. I grabbed her shoulders, and through my shuddering breath just managed to say: “Mackenzie, I’ve waited a long time to say this to you and an even longer time to know I would need to say it at all. I need you to carry my torch.”

The last day of the show came the next day. After it ended, I sat in solitude inside the green room. Everyone (but myself and the techies) had left. I found an album buried in my music. I pressed play on the penultimate song. “The sky became... PINK! And then guess what happened? Well... what do YOU... think?” exclaimed the recording of the Cat in the Hat from the 2000 Broadway Seussical. The chorus then slowly followed. “Oh the thinks you can think, think and wonder and dream, far and wide as you dare…”

As the song closed off on a single exclamation of “Seuss!”, fresh tears welled up. I left the green room slowly and plodded through the auditorium. I went mainly unnoticed. I walked to the door and slowly pushed it open, but turned for a last glimpse. The techies were still about their jobs as they will be for years to come... but without me. Without Hillel… without Lara… without Lena, Ethan, Chris, Mario, Jake, Jacob, Andrew… And still without Charlotte, Justice and Maddie, Jess, Thomas, and Camila. Now we are all just… stories.

Highland Park Drama has forged my story, which will hopefully be passed down to the incoming generation of cast and crew.

However, my story is not why you should do join the drama department. Your story is why you should. It doesn’t matter what grade you are in. Come to those auditions, join the tech crew, do something! I promise you that your story will be forever altered.

You see…at the end of the day, we’re all just stories. Might as well make it a good one.

Darcy Thompson

five

Poetry and politics walk into a bar.. which one gets slammed?

Wherefore R E A D

Poetry ?

It was at that age that

poetry came in search of me

Pablo Neruda

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair

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am fully aware that liking poetry is culturally regarded on par with liking country music.

Everyone professes not to—but there must be people who do, because Billy Collins and Tim McGraw continue to exist. Now seems as good a time as any to out myself: I do like poetry.

The “slithy toves at brillig” that Lewis Carroll wrote about are hard to match—but today the Chipotle-cup verse is much more present than the punch-card-era tome. The sentimentalist verse that comes to mind when most people consider poetry, as an institution, may well be on a permanent decline. That doesn’t mean poetry is over.

I’ve just recently fallen for poetry because of its unexpected power. Despite the recent rare consensus across the political aisle that liberal arts are for the weak, the conduct of most politicians would suggest that it is needed now more than ever. While politics seems to be coalescing against the art, its leaders are missing the surprising convergence of politics with poetry. The mainstream is just realizing what rap has known forever: that words are rhythm; and rhtyhm is power. There are groups whose voices now come out of chinks in supposedly soundproof walls. They’re speaking in verse.

Often they speak with surprising force, and surprisingly close to home. The “Just Another Rape Poem” done by the Rutgers Slam Poetry group was incredibly intense, garnering media attention, and yet occurring only a few miles away from our high school. It’s no mistake that poetry has yielded some of the world’s greatest sound bites. The “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” may have fenced off iambic pentameter.

But now more than ever, fortune favors the bold.

Poetry can be brazen. It can be caustic. Most of all, it can be moving.

Even if poetry is not inherently your “thing”, it can be one of the best ways to learn about current events and perspectives.

The motion can be literal: the Poetry in Motion series captivated, and slam poets often incorporate motion intrinsically into their pieces. But the best modern verse can move whole societies. One of my favorite poets is Ingeborg Bachmann; a German who wrote poetry from the perspective of the ‘tainted country’ after World War II. Her words not only stunningly create imagery but

also speak to a deeper meaning of pain. Back in 2003 there was a huge but underpublicized effort called Poets Against the War: think of it as the original slam poem. Both of these illustrate how poetry can be a window, and a rallying point.

There’s something I really love about the meanings behind reclaiming an artform regarded as archaic and corny for real change. Today’s poets are in many ways slamming straightforward sentimentalism; the feelings they discuss are more real for it. Even if poetry is not inherently your “thing”, it can be one of the best ways to learn about current events and perspectives.

As a good example, the spirit of the Palestinian conflict can be found in the recent writings of its poets, especially Mahmoud Darwish. He embodies perhaps that spirit which explains why poetry is so powerful: he was a “man of action whose action is poetry”.

Poetry is finally having its comeback moment.

You could call it poetic justice.

Amita Shukla

June 2015 THE highland fling

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six

O THE highland fling June 2015

the

Illusion of

k n o w l e d g e

+

=

Highland Park High School clearly struggles with academic dishonesty— so what, if anything, can the school do about it?

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ccording to the student HPHS handbook, “academic dishonesty is the improper representation of the work of another person, the use of non-authorized tests, homework, quizzes, reports, or papers from previous classes and/or other students.” Basically, that means a student is cheating if they take someone else’s work and ideas.

How often do students in HPHS cheat? Why do they cheat? How can the school maintain academic integrity?

An outsider would be surprised by the number of cheating incidents at HPHS. Some types of cheating, such as copying homework, have become routine for many students. “We’re lazy and we don’t get caught,” reasoned one anonymous senior. Fewer students cheat on tests, and some say they have cheated on small quizzes, but not on big tests.

There’s a lot of factors to blame for rampant academic dishonesty. Many juniors and seniors suggest that the pressure to perform well in every class to be competitive in the college selection process makes cheating tempting. Other students say that cheating on small assignments isn’t a big deal; it doesn’t matter. “Some assignments are just busy work,” said a senior. “Why am I going to do it if it’s not going to help me?” Because of the growth of academic dishonesty, another excuse, “Everyone is doing it,” gets tossed around as well.

While I think all of these play a role in the growth of cheating and plagiarism, I have a different theory. I think the biggest factor is the internet. With new technology in this digital age, students have millions of resources just clicks away. “The answers are easily accessible,” said one junior. “It’s too tempting.” It’s not just using the internet to

get answers that’s the issue, students can Snapchat pictures of tests, or text answers to their friends in other periods.

If so much knowledge is out there, wouldn’t students be smarter, more well-rounded, and more critical? I argue the opposite for two reasons. The first reason is that even if a student is reading multiple essays on a topic, it’s still someone else’s work. Therefore, when they begin to answer the question on their own, they take ideas—whole sentences even—from another author.

However, the second reason why I believe the digital age encourages cheating, rather than stimulating intellectual activity, is that it gives a student the illusion of knowledge. Students download tons of resources from the internet: assignments, essays, emails, articles, etc. I believe that because the student has such easy access to these great resources, they think—consciously or subconsciously—that they actually know the contents of those sources. Ms. Marionni added, “The trouble is, in addition to the compounding of moral implications and the perpetuation of fraud, students who cheat are gaining a false sense of accomplishment, [and are] resting on unearned laurels.”

For me, this is where the cheating stems from.

It’s easy to take someone else’s work if you think you already know the material. You start to believe that you do know the subject, so it’s not a big deal if you copy someone’s homework that you didn’t have time to do. All of the other excuses—“It’s a small assignment,” “I need to keep my GPA up,” “Everyone is doing it”—are the result of a misconception. Simply because you can get the information doesn’t mean you actually know it.

We can’t stop the internet. I don’t think we should. Although I think it’s contributed to a culture of academic dishonesty in HPHS and across the nation, it can be very valuable. So how do we stop cheating and plagiarism in this school?

The answer is easier said than done: we need to change the culture. I think constant communication among peers and teachers about the perils and consequences of academic dishonesty would mark the beginning of a change. In addition to promoting prevention, there should also be harsher punishments, so students don’t take cheating for granted. “There needs to be greater ramifications for cheating,” said Ms. Maher.

“Teachers need to unite.”

I think students should be frequently made aware of their responsibility to do their own work. Ms. Marionni tells her students to “fail with dignity” if they don’t know the material. One way to promote this is by having students sign an academic integrity pledge every quarter.

Changing the attitude of a large group of people, especially high school students, doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time. Bringing about a cultural change is the only way to maintain academic integrity, and turn this “illusion of knowledge” into concrete understanding.

Annie McCrone

seven

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

June 2015 THE highland fling

#FlingBackFriday

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Jana Choi

(continued from cover) Over the course of the 2014-15 year, Shana Oshinskie (The Fling’s Editor-in-Chief next year), and I organized, scanned, and archived these papers to preserve them and make the available for display.

This project became a core objective during my senior year, especially with the approval of an independent study, and an extended legacy mission for Shana in the coming year, as there are still holes to be filled in our collection.

Though The Fling archive started as a mere curiosity with the discovery of some crumbling papers in the Media Center stacks, it truly burgeoned with the support of Student Congress, Principal Lassiter, and the Highland Park Historical Society. With money provided from the Fall Student Congress grant, The Fling was fortunate enough to purchase 6 portfolios to store the first 2 decades of Highland Park High School Newspapers. When the portfolios arrived, Shana and I learned important aspects of the archival process; we had to restore ripped papers with archival tape, and handle disentegrating ones with care. We learned that the money The Fling received would likely not be enough to fully archive the hundreds of papers that required care, and began looking into other forms of funding for this incredibly rewarding and important endeavor.

THE HIGHLAND FLING the official newspaper of highland park high school

EDITORIAL BOARD editor-in-chief managing editor layout editor

Each portfolio costs approximately $40, and can store anywhere from 24-48 papers, depending on the age of paper; the oldest of The Flings are stored so that all pags can be seen without being removed from their sleeves (therefore taking up more space).

Options such as the Garden State Press Association grant, the Highland Park Education Foundation Grant, and Donor’s choose are all outlets we have explored and are currently looking into, but private donations are welcome as well. Any community member who wishes to contribute to the Fling’s archival cause, please contact us. You may sponsor a portfolio for $40, and you will be recognized on the portfolio you help us purchase.

Despite the obstacles we encountered, Shana and I made significant progress in the organization of the old Flings, and were able to fill in many missing volumes and issues through the generous help of Ms. Jean Kolva of the Highland Park Historical Society.

Before corresponding and meeting with Ms. Kolva, the archives lacked many issues of the first volume and a majority of the papers from the 1950’s. With her generous donation of The Historical Society’s Fling collection, we were able to flesh out the school’s archives almost fully. The Highland Park Historical Society is looking to move into a brick and mortar location in the next year. Keep and eye out for more information, and for the mean time, view their display located at the Highland Park library.

As a pillar of the school and student’s freedom of expression, The Highland Fling has existed since before the school opened. Published in October 1926, the Vol. I, No. 1 of Highland Park High School’s paper existed before the school was officially named. Originally referred to as simply “Junior High School” and later renamed “Franklin High School”, then “Highland Park High School”, the building on the corner of Montgomery and North 5th has served generations of students, ranging from 7th to 12th grade.

Experiences like the Columbia conference...open up the world a little bit more beyond our small town’s borders, pointing out our insecurities, but also our strengths.

The Fling staff regularly attended the Columbia Scholastic Press Association conference in New York City, which continues to exist as a conference where publications from all over the United States

Jana Choi

Jisu Jeong

news

Becca Chant

opinion

Amita Shukla

feature

Shana Oshinskie

arts

Tia Wangli

sports

Annie McCrone

advisor

come together to attend workshops seek models of journalism from which to draw inspiration. I was fortunate enough to attend the CSPA conference my Sophomore year, as an assistant feature editor for The Fling. Experiences like the Columbia conference are the teaching moments that define Highland Park High School’s impact on me and the time I’ve worked on The Fling. They open up the world a little bit more beyond our small town’s borders, pointing out our insecurities, but also our strengths.

For those considering joining the ranks of Fling writers, photographers, and illustrators - do it. Interviewing, writing, editing, and completing layout are abilities with steep learning curves, but stand out as critical skills as one branches out from the safety of Highland Park High Schools halls. With plans for the future already in mind, the paper’s staff will have the opportunity to attend the Garden State Press Association conference in October, as well as continuous in-school workshops over the course of the coming school year. Moreover, as a paper, The Fling strives to be a relevant, interesting, news source for the school’s students and community, and ultimately provide an outlet for students to express their views, interact with each other, and deliver important information. For that reason, over the past year, we have stressed article structure guidelines such as the use of catching “leads” and the inverse triangle (placing the most important information at the beginning of an article, followed by the details).

In addition to addressing content issues, the archive project inspired the layout staff—Jisu, Shana and I —to make significant changes in the layout of this final, commencement issue of the 2014-2015 school year. Dissatisfied with the boxed-in nature of our typical paper, we chose new fonts, reformatted our templates, and incorporated graphic design elements to introduce more visual interest to The Fling.

With the use of blue spot color on the front cover and spread, we are very excited to launch this new face of Highland Park High School News.

Sarah Cheng

Brett Roche

WRITERS

Michelle Fan, Camryn Kozachek, Gabrielle Rosenthal, Adelina Branescu, Amiri Tulloch, Alyssa Pilch, Wenyi Ouyang, Kate Atschinow, Dawn Park, Darcy Thompson, Elisabeth Landis, April Lopez, Maverick Lin

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kate Atschinow, Shana Oshinskie, Sarah Cheng, Elisabeth Landis

FIND US at OUR...

WEBSITE

thehighlandfling.wordpress.com

FACebook

facebook.com/hpfling

TWITTER

twitter.com/hpfling

MAILING ADDRESS

EMAIL ONLINE COPIES ARCHIVE

112 north 5th avenue highland park, new jersey 08904

thehighlandfling@gmail.com issuu.com/thehighlandfling scribd.com/thehighlandfling

WITH APOLOGIES TOWARDS...

Julia Brennan, who wanted to write an article for this issue but could not because we neglected to add her to the mailing list. Sorry Jules <3

eight

FEATURE THE highland fling June 2015

(noun) the warmest season of the year, in the northern hemisphere from June to August and in the southern hemisphere from December to February.

Adelina Branescu

Students’ excitement has skyrocketed as temperatures rise past eighty degrees and while they counted down the days. The Fling took to asking students and an ecstatic teacher about what they plan to do this summer break.

I plan on volunteering at a local animal shelter, getting a summer job that is better than being a waiter at Tete, and hopefully passing my driving test. If I do pass my driver’s test, maybe I’ll drive down to… oh I don’t know…

Mexico, probably. Heck, I might even adopt some kittens. Who knows? It’s the summer! Anyway, in addition, I will read interesting books to quell my thirst for knowledge but most importantly I’m going to enjoy the rest of my summer with the squad.

- Daniel Park ’15

I’m going to Europe... to do stuff. I’m probably going to Amsterdam. I’m sleeping. I’m eating. Yeah...that’s it.

- Adam Liebell-Mclean ’18

Three sleep away camps!

- Maya Powlen ’18

Work for a Rutgers professor. Play soccer and tennis.

Look at colleges.

- Leo Goldman ’16

I’m trying to get a job because college is expensive. I applied for one at Ruthies, but if that doesn’t work then I’m not sure what I’ll do. I might try to be a waitress. Oh, and probably lots of Netflix!

- Lara Perez-Curan ‘15

I’m going to Taekwondo Nationals in July. It’s gonna be in Texas so I’m pretty excited about that, but I won’t be able to enjoy the city much because the trip is going to be really competition-oriented. After that, I’ll be relaxing at home andspending a lot of time with my little brother. I’m thinking aboutteaching art as a summer job, but I’m more focused on having a nice, chill summer.

- Michelle Fan ’17

I’m going to be very busy this summer. Aside from working on my crafts, I will be traveling in August to Scottsdale, Arizona to attend the Marine Corps League/Auxiliary National Convention.

- Ms. Zimmer

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Strawberry Mango: A fruity concoction to satisfy your sweet craving.

Ingredients- 2 cups frozen mango chunks, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 cup milk, 1 banana Very Berry: A blend packed with antioxidants that will fill you up with energy.

Kate Astchinow, Alyssa Pilch, Wenyi Ouyang

SMOOTHIE SAVVY

his summer, there’s no better way to introduce fresh produce into your diet than with a smoothie! In the variety of different blends below you will surely find a recipe to suit your taste buds.

Ingredients- 2 cups plain yogurt, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 2 tablespoons flaxseed, 1 tablespoon honey Pineapple Mango: A taste of the tropics while remaining in the good old town of Highland Park.

Ingredients- 1 cup frozen pineapple, 1 cup frozen mango chunks, 1 cup plain yogurt, ⅓ cup milk, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 ice cubes Green Machine: A perfect drink to cleanse your body of toxins.

Ingredients- 2 cups spinach, 2 apples, 1 cup cucumber, 1 cup mango juice Creamy Green: A sweet and surprising combo containing vitamins, proteins, and all essential nutrients.

Ingredients- 1 cup spinach, 1 frozen banana, ½ avocado, ¼ cup milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon [Recipes Accredited to All Recipes, Rabbit Food for My Bunny Teeth, The Philosophie, and Right at Home]

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HPH S

R

D OA

ST

E NT A D B U

Elisabeth Landis in JERUSALEM, Israel

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s many of you know, for the past four months I have spent the spring semester of my junior year in Israel. Over the course of this semester, I learned more than I thought was possible.

Every day I had Jewish History for three hours and Hebrew for two. I took “general studies,” otherwise known as the typical high school classes, only four times each week. Even though I had a very rigorous academic schedule, which went from 8:15 A.M. to 7:15 P.M., the most important things I learned about myself were learned outside of the classroom. This experience felt similar to what college might be like, and I feel more prepared for the next chapter in my life because of it.

For the past four months, my parents have not been telling me when to go to sleep, what to eat, or trying to make me do my homework. I became really independent on this trip. At first, I thought it was awesome because I thought that it meant that I could eat ice cream whenever I wanted and buy whatever food I chose, but I had to realize that it was not in my best interests to do so. Having an eleven hour school day also required that I learned good time management and organization. Consistently writing in my required blog took a lot of discipline as well. I had to learn how to make my own decisions about many things.

One of the main reasons I did not want to go to Israel for four months was because I knew I would be missing a large part of the basketball season, along with all of track and spring soccer. Despite this, I decided that it was important to come anyway. For four months I played virtually no sports (sorry to all my coaches). Nevertheless, I think that not playing sports and not being identified as the athlete was really beneficial. There was no pressure related to whether or not I wanted to exercise, and in all honesty, I went on one run my entire trip. (Don’t worry Ruck, I still play soccer sometimes.) It was really nice for me to get out of a competitive environment.

My teammates may be laughing, because it would not have seemed possible a few months ago, but I found a way to be competitive with myself in other areas, such as being the best student and friend that I could be. I really liked being identified as something other than

“the athlete.” Instead of going on a run on a Saturday afternoon, I would go on picnics with friends. While I am a big believer in the idea that sports bring people together, I was so happy to get to know people in other ways.

It was beyond weird for me to see armed soldiers walking around the markets with their M16s.

My program has also helped me become a better student. My general studies classes ranged from five people to just me. This intimate learning environment helped me get involved and ask questions. It made my classes more interactive and beneficial for obtaining more information. I developed personal relationships not only with my peers and counselors, but also with my teachers. We call all of our teachers by their first names and overall, there is a more relaxed vibe.

When going out into Israeli society and past the tourist spots, there are stark differences between Israel and America. It was beyond weird for me to see armed soldiers walking around the markets with their M16s. It made me really uncomfortable at first, but over time I grew accustomed to it. After spending a week in the Israeli Military simulation, Gadna, and learning how to shoot an M16, I felt so much more comfortable and safe around soldiers. I learned the values of the Israeli Defense Force, which gave me so much respect for them.

In Israel, there is much less pressure to decide what profession you want to be at the age of eighteen like we do in the Unites States. In Israel, mandatory military service or national service is required for all citizens.

Usually before this, however, Israelis will do a year of community service and after they will go on a trip to another country. This helps expose Israelis to different options and it prevents setting an educational or career path in stone. Despite this more indirect meth-

od of achieving an education, Israelis tend to be very direct in expressing their opinions which is a change from what I have seen in the United States It’s hard to tell exactly what’s changed about me, but I am aware of some things. As I mentioned earlier, my traditional competitiveness took a back seat. One morning, we woke up at four to climb Masada, a very important mountain in Israel. In any other setting, I would probably try to get there as fast as I could to prove to others that I was athletic. This time though, I stayed back so I could walk with a friend. I realized at that moment that it wasn’t about who could walk faster, but the relationships we formed.

Another example of how I have changed is how I feel about germs (I hated them). You may be surprised to hear that I went without a shower or bathroom for five days while on a hike! Even though I brought a liter of hand sanitizer with me, I have gotten much better about germs in general, and sometimes I even let people drink out of my water bottle!

I think the way that I have changed most, however, is that I am really interested in current events and politics now (at least Israeli politics). For an hour every morning, my class covered current events going on in Israel and we learned a lot about the complex Israeli government. Along with this, I feel like I have a well-rounded understanding of the Israel-Palestine conflict and other issues frequently discussed amongst Israelis. I love reading articles about what is happening around the world, whether they involve political, social, or economic issues.

Besides news and current events, I have also become more in touch with my religious identity. We have services twice a week, and I have learned a lot about the meaning behind prayer. I have also been exposed to differences in how other Jews practice their Judaism.

I could go on and on about everything I have gained, but overall this experience has benefited me in ways that I could not have imagined. I hope to bring the essence of this experience back to Highland Park High School to enhance the rest of my time.

Special thanks to Elisabeth, this month’s guest contributor, who made time during her busy year to write a thoughtful and candid reflection on her time in Israel.

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Washington University of Puget Sound Sarah Stuckey

Oregon Reed College Owen Fessant-Eaton

California Academy of Art University Martin Butts Humboldt State University Kiara Weinstein

University of CaliforniaLos Angeles Angela Mishky University of California Riverside Ethan Shoulson

Other Gap Year Lena Copperman Jazmin Ramirez

Undecided Lillie Bey Jeffery Mathis Dana Elafy Andrea Shaw Galoni Smith

CONGRATULATION

CLASS OF 201

A new chapter is opening up for Highland Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seniors. The Fling p Class of 2015 for their post-high school plans.

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Minnesota

New York

Macalester College David Isaacson

Cornell University Maverick Lin Geoffrey Muniz

La Salle University Stephanie Diaz

Long Island University Post Timur Gavrilenko

Pennsylvania State University Andrew de Uriarte

Sarah Lawrence College Darcy Thompson

Shippensburg University Dondre Wilburn

Pennsylvania Temple University Cindy Lee University of Pennsylvania Wharton Tomas Sanchez

Massachusetts Harvard University Chris Zhou

Connecticut Mitchell College Asia Burrell

Rhode Island Ohio

Johnson & Wales University Zoe Hudgins

Oberlin College Rebecca Chant

Washington D.C.

Maryland

Delaware

George Washington University William Jacobs-Perez

University of Maryland Harman Anand Emily Zarra

Wesley College Nautica Dennis Jason Griggs

Virginia

South Carolina

Virginia Commonwealth University Jana Choi

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island Kamuran Akyol Mario Urias

Texas

Georgia

Lackland Air Force Base Caleb Aspy

Emory University Rose He

NS,

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polled the

William Paterson

New Jersey Lincoln Technical Institute Joshua Chavarria

Princeton University Sarah Cheng Lucas Irvine

Middlesex County College Peter Bortolon Nyahjah Boykins Ernesto Camacho Katherine Davila Eitan Fabia Daniel Gardella Samuel Guerrero Cristian Guevara Meagan Hoffman Michael Kovalchik Justin Melgazo Alexandra Petitjean Ivan Reyes Brandon Rivera Marvin Thomas Kathryn Wilson

The College of New Jersey Rachel Beyer

Kean University Judea McDonald

Montclair State University Simone Kuznecov Lesly Zambrano

William Paterson University Zoe Shombert Devry University Darnell Ettienne Yonicka Patterson Drew University Sophia Gillerman Monmouth University Peter Szabo

Montclair

Drew

Kean Rutgers University Hillel Adiv Carly Aversa Jacob Callahan Shuhong Chen Nick de la Cruz Evangeline Emmanuel Christiana Fabito Gus Fessant-Eaton Marta Herrera Rahmate Islam Yoon Jo Jeong Arteina Kapaj Samiul Karim Samuel Lee Annie McCrone Christopher Michael Daniel Park Lara Perez-Curran Vivek Puduri Shaina Resnick Jacob Rothberg Anna Schnetzer Hye Min Shin Courtney Stevenson Amar Venugopal Avantika Yellapantula

Lincoln Tech DeVry

MCC

HIGHLAND PARK Rutgers Princeton TCNJ

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We love Rochie M

r. Brett Roche is a very special kind of guy. Most know him from English 10 or 11, but those on the Fling editorial staff share a very special relationship with him from the many hours spent in room 110 working on layout, organizing workshops, and just hanging out.

Though I (Jana) had Mr. Roche for English Sophomore year, I never would have forged the relationship that I have with him now if it wasn’t for The Fling. One of the best memories I have from high school involve him and Ms. Marionni driving the editors up to New York City for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association conference. That was by the far the most fun I’ve ever had on a field trip, and it was thanks to Roche and Marionni. They didn’t even go into the conference they sat in Starbucks for 7 hours waiting for us to soak up knowledge.

Thank you Mr. Roche, for everything you do for the Fling staff and for us personally. Thank you for reading each issue with meticulous attention to detail, and for supporting us along every step of the journalistic process.. You rock!

TOP TEN REASONS TO LOVE ROCHE

1) He is super chill

3) His head is like a beacon

5) He has great taste in movies

2) He loves race cars

4) He makes great selfie faces

6) He sits on his desk during class

7) He plays Magic: The Gathering

8) He is a great WISE mentor

9) Glasses game on point

10) Avocados and Ethan Frome

sincerely, Jana and the Fling Staff The Highland Park First Aid Squad, Inc. 128 SOUTH ELEVENTH AVENUE HIGHLAND PARK, NEW JERSEY 08904

The Highland Park First Aid Squad is so proud of all our cadets who are graduating from Highland Park High School Class of 2015 Sarah Cheng Sam Lee Cindy Lee Vivek Puduri

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WHY does the end of testing mean the end of learning in school? Does our principal motivation come from the ideas that working hard and pursuing knowledge gets us good grades and better test scores? Is learning for its own sake dead?

EYES

ON THE

PRIZE Shana Oshinskie

I

have to believe that if there was a way to measure the collective brain activity of the entire school, sometime in lateto mid-May a huge drop-off would begin, as all students (though especially AP-taking Juniors and Seniors) turn on autopilot and coast for the rest of the year.

Though it would be easy to blame the teachers for the sudden adjustment in effort (after all, no one is forcing them to show us movies and take class outside) the fact of the matter is that most teachers still try incredibly hard to cram in more lessons before the end of the year. Students are the ones that procrastinate, avoid, or, too often, don’t do the work at all.

Of course, this phenomenon is not unique to Highland Park; the issue is so prevalent nationwide hundreds of psychological studies have been attempted in order to study the impacts and causes of the lack of academic motivation. There is, of course, no one reason why students stop applying themselves at the end of the year. More likely, a litany of various causes combine to create the awesome effect of the spring slump.

The climate certainly plays a role--climbing temperatures inject a lazy atmosphere into the air that makes even the most motivated students and teachers simultaneously lethargic and anxious for summer. It is also hard to deny the important role of the length of the school year. Managing the commitments of homework, extracurriculars, and social activities for ten months out of the year is indisputably difficult, and increasingly more so as the months go on and on and on and on.

Studies from the Center for Education Policy (CEP) have also shown that as a whole, students are less motivated than they once were; over 40 percent of students experience “chronic disengagement.” While this certainly tells part of the story, many of the students that experience the spring slump are part of the 60 percent that are generally academically motivated.

For these students, the cause is perhaps a little bit more complicated. Generally, however, the end of May brings the end of APs, SATs, SAT IIs, and the final commitments to colleges, all of which are huge milestones that students spend countless hours working towards. AP classes, for example, occur for three to four hours a week (though they end up taking up much more when all studying and homework time is accounted for) and primarily exist for the purpose of taking a single test. Students then follow the line of logical thought that the end of the tests means the end of learning in AP classes. Similarly, the immense focus on preparation for college (think: we have classes called “College Prep,” receive reminders about taking the SAT, teachers remind us that certain aspects of our work “won’t fly” in college etc.) leads students to devalue school after being accepted/committed to their school.

So where is the love of learning that drove our third grade selves to question anything and everything, that made us read books for pleasure, that made us collect fun facts about dinosaurs and butterflies and Colonial America?

There is, of course, no clear answer why we as students suddenly stopped caring about learning for its own sake. Maybe it happened when we started to associate it with 4 hours of homework a night, or with standardized tests, or with the competitiveness that we had to forge with our classmates to get an “edge.”

At the end of the day, however, it is likely too late for us to try and decipher why we don’t enjoy figuring out the perfect verb tense for that Spanish homework or wordsmithing perfect sentences for Lang essays. We are students with our eyes on the prize and our academic histories behind us. So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.* The above photo is a collage of photos of Alyssa Pilch ‘18 taken by Kate Atschinow ‘18. *This final sentence is a quote attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald in his award-winning book, The Great Gatsby.

June 2015 THE highland fling

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SENIOR PROFILES Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” Gabrielle Rosenthal

W

hile many seniors begin preparing themselves both mentally and physically for the upcoming challenges of college life, a few have decided to take a less common approach to furthering their education. Some seniors are diving immediately into career-oriented schools, pursuing a variety of interesting subjects. Instead of immediately seeking higher education, some have decided to serve their country, joining the Army, Navy, or Marines. Still others may choose to take some time off to volunteer or travel. This idea of a “gap year” between high school and college is a growing trend, and many find it to be a beneficial break before returning to their studies.

Lena Copperman ’15 is one such senior. For her, the choice to take a gap year was obvious. “I’ve never really been the on-track, college kind of person,” said Copperman. After spending the first semester of her junior year going to school in Israel she, “...fell in love with the country,” solidifying her desire to take time off and live in Israel.

Starting in September, Lena will be participating in an Ulpan, an intensive Hebrew language class. During the three-month class, she will most likely be living in Tel Aviv. Afterwards, Lena plans to spend two or three months volunteering for Magen David Adom. This organization is the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross, where she will be serving as an EMT and living with other volunteers. The final step in her plan involves living in southern Israel for three months. Lena plans to work in a kibbutz, or a communal settlement. This kibbutz, called Lotan, is a small community of only about 150 people. It is an agricultural community, and is also widely known for its environmental sustainability. Lena plans to participate in both aspects. As a volunteer, she will be helping to construct sustainable buildings out of mud and other materials, as well as working in the fields and with animals.

Although gap years are often extremely beneficial to students who yearn for real life experience or some time to discover what interests them, they can also

pose problems. Gap year programs are often expensive and restrictive. “I wanted to find a way to do things on my own,” said Lena. Luckily, she found an organization called iTrack which helped her figure out what she wanted to do with her year and how to accomplish it by helping with aspects like accommodations.

Gap years can also pose a problem when thinking about and applying to college. Most students find that the easiest way to tackle this issue is by applying at the regular time and simply deferring enrollment after acceptance. This can get complicated depending on the school, but is usually the simplest method.

Although she has some qualms about learning the language, Lena’s only serious concerns seems to be “... falling in love with the country too much and living there forever.”

Zoe Hudgins ’15 is another senior who has chosen a less conventional subject to pursue after high school.

Although she is attending college, the school that Zoe has chosen is not like most.

Zoe has decided to attend Johnson & Wales, a university well known for its strong culinary school found in Providence Rhode Island. Zoe will be participating in their Baking and Pastry Arts program. This university is unusual in that it has 3 semesters of eleven week courses. Zoe will be in six-hour cooking labs every day during the first two, while the last one focuses on academic classes When asked how she decided to attend culinary school, Zoe responded, “I’ve always had a niche for cooking but I specifically like baking. I’ve never considered myself artistic, but when I bake, I feel like I’m creating my own masterpiece. Also, that is how I cater to other people - I like to cook and bake for them and see the excitement that other people get when I make stuff.”

Although Zoe considered other career options, culinary arts appealed to her because it is more “free.”

She is a bit concerned about her job prospects in this field, but the growing industry makes culinary arts a fairly safe bet. Other than that, Zoe is a bit apprehensive about physically overworking herself during long cooking labs. “I’m a little bit nervous about that, but I think I’ll be fine,” she said.

Another senior choosing to stray from the expected course is Mario Urias ’15, who will be joining the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school. After joining, Mario will be heading to South Carolina for three months of basic training. This involves both physical and mental discipline, testing the limits of each new recruit.

After completing his training, Mario will be returning to New Jersey to serve in the reserves as a military police officer in Fort Dix. Although he does not know all of the details of his assignment, Mario plans to remain in the Marines for at least eight years. As for continuing his education after his service, Mario wants to pursue pre-law or criminal justice studies.

Fortunately, the Marine Corps provides extensive educational benefits to its members, with the costs of tuition, fees, textbooks, and more being covered by the federal government, as well as some funding for advanced degrees.

Joining the Marines is both an exciting and daunting endeavor. “I’m excited with a mix of anxious and scared because it is something so new,” says Mario.

Many students do not consider straying from the conventional college path. However, pursuing real life experience or unusual career paths can be hugely beneficial, allowing students to diverge from academic goals, if only temporarily.

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What is it?

Two years of collaboration between a group of particularly motivated Highland Park teachers and the Rutgers Graduate School for Education have finally led to the formation of an exciting new opportunity for HPHS students. The new Global Citizenship Program will encourage students to increase their involvement in and awareness of the global community in which they live.

But what does “global citizenship” even mean?

And from where does this concept originate?

According to the digital publication openDemocracy, a global citizen can be defined as “someone who identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community’s values.”

Therefore, in a world that has undergone rapid globalization over the past century, it comes as no surprise that global citizenship has become a concept of growing prevalence and increasing importance. Globalization has affected almost every sector of most nations’ economies and communication of ideas.

How does it work?

Students who choose to participate in this new program will need to display an active pursuit of global citizenship. Their commitment to becoming a global citizen will be evaluated and determined according to a point system, and a select panel of program supervisors. The basic framework for this point system already exists, and can be found under “High School” on the district website on page 9 of the “2015-2016 Planning Guide.”

Participants can accumulate points by completing existing courses and electives that fall under one of the four program concentrations: Investigating the World, Recognizing Perspec-

tives, Communicating Ideas, and Taking Action.

Each of these themes is a vital component to the overall concept of global citizenship. Additionally, completing projects in and out of classes that have a global focus (such as “World History,” “Foreign Language,” and “WISE,”) can earn an individual points, granted that they receive a final grade of or above an 80%.

In the courses that correspond to the “Investigating the World” component of the program students would also need to draw a connection between their classwork and themes of global citizenship to receive points. For example, a “student working on a survey project in precalculus can receive points if the survey has a global topic.”

What will I get for participating?

By nature, this program provides a rewarding learning experience for students. However, in a reward-motivated society—more specifically a school of résumé-building students—participants that accumulate a specified number of points will receive an official “Global Citizen” certification, accredited by the Rutgers Graduate School for Education How can I get involved?

Is there any risk to doing so?

The new program, which will be unveiled in fall 2016, will offer a new extracurricular opportunity that is fairly easy to participate in.

It welcomes any and all students that wish to join. Because participation entails merely a quick email to one of the program supervisors and a continuous pursuit of points, all students

should feel encouraged to join. Getting involved does not require a substantial amount of effort, and no penalty will be dealt to students who attempt to obtain certification but cannot collect the required number of points.

Why should I get involved?

Participants will collectively help to further foster an already existing community of global appreciation and participation in the Highland Park School District. Mr. Gold, one of the program’s founders stated, “I personally love working at Highland Park High School because it is a unique environment that lives and breathes diversity,” and later included that, “this program will allow us to celebrate our unique focus on diversity and tolerance that we have previously struggled to express.”

Why is this program important?

The new Global Citizenship program will help to develop a student body, a school district, and a local community that has an elevated understanding and concern for the current state of the world in which they exist. The HPHS/ Rutgers GSE Global Citizenship Program will hopefully succeed in increasing awareness and participation in the global community by young minds in the Highland Park community and simultaneously set Highland Park High School aside from the number of other equally brilliant schools in the area.

Global Citizenship

A

s the end of the school year rapidly approaches, students at Highland Park High School patiently wait for the arrival of summer and try to avoid thinking about next school year. However, the 2015 Fall Semester at HPHS will arrive with a number of new extracurricular opportunities. One such opportunity is the introduction of the new HPHS/ Rutgers GSE Global Citizenship Program.

Micah Gartenberg

FUNAND GAMES pictorial phrases

tiLEVARTme

Athalon athalon athalon

dog the

Jack

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ARTs THE highland fling June 2015

Highland Park Outdoor Movies

mo vie s

Price: free Date: May 16 - August 22 Location: Municipal Parking Lot, (between S2nd and s3rd), Highland Park, NJ Every other Saturday night, starting May 16, Highland Park will be playing various movies, ranging from Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger to Fantastic Mr. Fox, with additional cartoons shown before the main film.

Plays in the Park

Price: $7 Date: June 17 - August 8 Location: 1 Pine Drive, Edison, NJ Set in an outdoor theater, Plays in the Park provides a summer series of highly successful nighttime performances. This year’s plays include Oklahoma!, Young Frankenstein, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Junebug ArtFest

Price: free admission Date: June 5 - June 26 Location: Downtown Metuchen, NJ Every Friday night in June, Metuchen is transformed into a center for artists with its exhibits, live music, open-mic, and interactive art booths.

SUMMER ARTS ROUND-UP Tia Wangli

Central Park Summer Stage

Firefly Music Festival

Price: $329+ Date: June 18-21 Location: Dover, DE Currently on its fourth year, the Firefly Music Festival is a four-day long music festival featuring major artists, with this year’s headliners being Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, and the Killers. During the day, festival-goers can relax in the Hammock Hangout, have a secret rack in the Thicket, or play games at arcade tents.

Price: free Date: May 18 - September 24 Location: Rumsey Playfield, Cental Park An extensive series of free outdoor concerts, with a few benefit concerts thrown in the mix, held at Central Park in New York City. Some notable artists include Lindsey Stirling (6/17) and Ingrid Michaelson (6/29).

The Princeton Festival

Price: varying prices Date: June 6-28 Location: Princeton, NJ Offering everything from operas, to Indian dance performances, to musicals, like Spelling Bee, the Princeton Festival provides a wide variety of entertainment. The festival also offers various lectures on topics like Mozart and theater production.

The Greatest Day Ever

Price: $55 Date: July 18 Location: Brooklyn, New York Part of a series called Brunch Bounce, this year’s The Greatest Day Ever! features artists such as, Travis Scott, Walshy Fire of Major Lazer, and Mija.

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A June 2015 THE highland fling

D E A D

CENTER

Never Been More Alive

Dead Center members reflect on the successes of 2015 and look towards bigger and better plans for next year

I

t’s almost the end of the year, but for Dead Center, it’s only the beginning! After a long year, the small club has finally published its 2015 literary magazine, which includes poems, short stories, and art work. From the beginning of the year, Dead Center obtained various literary submissions from students to combine into one magazine. While not all submissions made it in the final draft, the selective process helped make the magazine more special.

Chief Editor Anna Mina ’16 explained the basic goal: “We’re a really small club, but we’re trying our best to raise it up with the help of Ms. Marionni.” Our favorite AP Language and Composition teacher is in charge of leading the club and helping find its way to success and recognition. “Managing Dead Center involves close communication with the editors, weekly/monthly meetings, and consistent organization and commitment by both students and the advisor,” Ms. Marionni noted. “We met in September and drafted a plan of action, culminating in the April 30th Dead Center Art Show/Coffee House for the magazine release.

We worked hard to stick to the plan and make it happen!”

The latest coffee house on April 30th stands out as a turning point for Dead Center. It may have had the usual poetry reading with open-mic performances and delicious snacks, but this one was a little different. “It was a lot of work and effort, coordinating the donations, getting the art, setting up the displays, getting the posters printed, etc. A lot of work,” Ms. Mar-

Movie Review

C

aptivating its audience with laughter and music, the Pitch Perfect sequel successfully captures the idea of friendship and embraces originality.

When the Barden Bellas, an eminent group of a capella singers, embarrass themselves and are viewed more as “circus performers” than as singers, these friends struggle to reconnect and to find their “sound.” Along the way, these college seniors also struggle with the issues of reality and of learning to live in the moment while also looking ahead into their future after graduation.

In particular, Beca is caught in a dilemma when she cannot decide whether she should focus on her future as a music producer or on the competition. Her best friend, Chloe, on the other hand, is so passionate about the Bellas that she can’t imagine life outside of Barden University.

After college freshman Emily Junk, daughter of an ex-Barden Bella legend, Katherine Junk, joins the group of friends, the Bellas attempt to refortify their team by learning from each other and gradually regaining their confidence.

However, rediscovering their “sound” is not the only issue the Bellas have. To try and regain their notorious reputation as the a capella champions, this group of friends has to go to an even further extent to prove that they are the best. By competing in

ionni explained. As a junior jazz band played snazzy music, artwork and poetry was hung on the walls, amazing every visitor. Sculptures of high school students were displayed, expressing the outstanding talents of various students from Ms. Grunstein’s sculpting class.

Some of Dead Center’s old literary magazines were also placed for everyone to see and experience its past legacy. The Highland Fling and The Albadome received their own places as well with old newspapers and yearbooks from as early as 1926 on display. There was so much beautiful art and literature to observe and read that there was never a dull moment for anyone.

It was also a great benefit for Dead Center as well, as they made profit from the admissions and the magazine. The atmosphere of this coffee house was so alive there was definitely no room for dead boredom.

But because Dead Center was a small club, it went through numerous difficulties throughout the year. There weren’t many administrators for the magazine’s publication, and the club received only a few submissions, most of which came from Ms. Marionni’s Creative Writing class. “We don’t get enough artwork and poetry,” Anna explained, “We got submissions from the Creative Writing class, but I wish we could have gotten some more from a more varied group.”

Even though Dead Center has gained a lot of recognition this year, last year wasn’t a huge success. The 2014 magazine was supposed to

be published by the OQ café, but the café forgot and was unable to sell many copies to people.

Thankfully, this year’s results were drastically different and much more positive. With the ability to buy a magazine at the Coffee House, sales for this year’s magazine have grown. “Last year, the magazine didn’t come out so well.”

Anna explained, “This time it came out, even though sales are pretty minor.” Ms. Marrioni believes, “It is simply more successful because we are promoting it and letting the student body know it exists. It still has a way to go, as I have 125 unsold copies of the magazine left!”

Dead Center magazines are currently on sale for five dollars. It’s not too late to get them; come see Ms. Marionni in Room 106 or Anna to get a copy. Ms. Marionni dedicated the club to all of the staff members, especially Anna.

“She is the key to the success, and I am excited to work with her again next year for another issue. We both learned a lot about layout, editing, and the publishing process this year, so next year will be even better!” Anna herself also had some thanks to say: “I would like everyone to buy a magazine, but I’d like to thank Dead Center for our hard work and efforts.”

It may be a small literary club, but the poetry, literature, and growing recognition helps Dead Center rise from the ashes and stay alive. “Now that we have reestablished ourselves as a ‘real’ club at HPHS, perhaps we will have a more diverse group of students join us in the fall,” Ms. Marionni said.

Dawn Park

Pitch Perfect 2 an international a cappella competition, the Bellas must defeat the infamously renowned German a capella voices of Das Sound Machine (DSM).

The movie also includes many special guests including Pentatonix, Snoop Dogg, players from the Green Bay Packers, Robin Williams, and yes, even the President.

Pitch Perfect 2 is a relatable movie for the average college, or even high school, student. Thinking about life after graduation can be frightening. While some students, such as Beca, rush to think about their future, others, like Chloe, are afraid of leaving behind what feels like family.

The harmony between these friends helps to enrich the audience’s spirits through their catchy tunes and touch upon the topics of girl power and sisterhood.

Although most parts were predictable, there were also a couple of unexpected twists.

Sending its audience on a miniature emotional rollercoaster, Pitch Perfect 2 included motifs of love, rivalry, and determination, in order to drift away from just music. But, of course, when the varying songs played, one could not resist singing along to such excellent performances.

Favorite characters, such as Beca, Chloe, and Fat Amy returned to the big screen alongside new characters to continue to give Pitch Perfect fans a good laugh. So, if you have a checklist of must-watch

movies, Pitch Perfect 2 should definitely make its way to the top your list.

Overall, Pitch Perfect 2 is the pitch perfect film for anyone looking for a diverse movie. Using comedy, romance, and drama to discuss more than just the struggle to win a competition, this movie inspires its viewers to believe in themselves and to remember that true friendships last a lifetime.

April Lopez

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SUMMER

PLAYLIST

What’s summer without the perfect soundtrack?

This playlist has a variety of upbeat songs to help you start your summer with a bang!

Gabrielle Rosenthal BEACHES Tokyo Police Club WAIT FOR THE SUMMER Yeasayer

Q.U.E.E.N. Janelle Monae XO Beyonce

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SCAN HERE to listen on YouTube (right) and spotify (left).

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NO WAY IN NHL

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Why hasn’t one of the most popular sports nationwide affected Highland Park? Will it ever?

hen an individual with moderate athletic knowledge thinks about professional sports, powerhouses like the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball easily come to mind. But in many cases, it takes even a seasoned sports fan to recall the National Hockey League—a proverbial footnote when compared to the country’s bigger leagues. Despite the NHL’s comparatively small foothold in everyday society, the sport’s ability to captivate people is severely under appreciated. And yet, the NHL’s impact can be felt all across the country—even right here in Highland Park.

Hockey’s true national grasp can be seen during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL’s postseason. Starting in April and culminating in June, 16 of the league’s best teams face-off in several rounds of best-of-seven series to determine a league champion. After grinding through 82 regular season games, teams and players lay everything on the line in the postseason, in what becomes the most unpredictable and exciting back-and-forth action throughout the series. This gives the league its uniqueness: such erraticism and unexpectedness is hard to find in sports nowadays.

Amiri Tulloch “Hockey is the most exciting sport to watch,” for the community to develop an interest in says William Schwartz ’18, “It combines the watching the NHL on a regular level. The three skill of baseball, aggressiveness of football, and New York/New Jersey hockey teams—Rangers, pace of basketball. And in playoff hockey, the Islanders, and Devils—all broadcast on MSG intensity [of hockey] is doubled compared to Network, and the last plays out of Newark. Althat of the regular season.” though the speed of the game can be unsettling initially, hockey is not a taxing undertaking While William’s fascination with the sport is and it is easy to fall in love with the fluidity and not really indicative of the overall feeling in continuous nature of the game. Furthermore, the NHL’s compact schedule features games nearly every night. If interest in hockey is culIt is easy to fall in love tivated, the means for follow-up are virtually endless. with the fluidity and

continuous nature of the game.

the New York Metro area, he is not alone in his opinion. In fact, hockey has grown in the area, an interest that has been sparked by extended playoff runs from the New York Rangers, promising play from the New York Islanders, and the close proximity of the New Jersey Devils. Towns are becoming more infatuated with the sport and youth teams and ice rinks are growing more prominent than ever.

The one question regarding hockey in Highland Park is the actual playing of hockey. The town is certainly not known for players—which can perhaps further explain the community’s lack of involvement in the sport.

“Although it would be amazing if we could get hockey big here,” William explained, “Highland Park is too small to support a hockey [playing] community.” From price of play to rink availability, fostering a complete hockey atmosphere in Highland Park would be a difficult and costly task.

There are two basic ways to consider the im- Then again, simply noticing and acknowledgpact of hockey in a town: the ability to play ing hockey more would represent a solid push and the ability to view. It is definitely feasible to increase the sport’s impact in Highland Park.

Despite the controversy, e-sports have undoubtedly soared to unprecedented heights. In 2014, the total spectators of gaming topped out at an outrageous 72 million.

This means that more people are choosing to watch others play video games than to watch some US sporting events. To put it in perOne idea that blocks many from considering spective, that is more than the enMany Highland Park students have formed e-sports “real sports” is that doing so would be tire population of the United Kingstrong opinions on the topic. According to put gamers, such as Lee Sang-Hyeok, or “Fak- dom (64 million) or France (65.5 Andrew de Uriarte ’15, a current senior and er,” in the same league as sport-superstars, million) tuning in to watch a video game tournament. soccer captain for the Highland Park Boys’ such as Tom Brady or Lionel Messi.

Soccer team, “E-sports are not sports, simply because they do not involve any physical as- While some have obstinately chosen sides, In essence, e-sports will undoubtsertion or activity.” His opinion is backed by Patrick Liu ’16 has taken a middle road, pro- edly continue to grow and evolve fellow senior Geoffrey Muniz, who declared, nouncing that, “If you define a sport as a as a worldwide phenomenon. Even “Do e-sports take strategy? Do they take skill? competitive physical activity, then e-sports though they may not be recognized Maybe. Are they sports? NO.” Another teach- are not sports. If you only define sports as a as full-fledged sports, electronic er, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has competitive platform where players are able sports have begun to challenge the also chosen his side of this battle: “E-sports to immerse themselves in the subtleties of the status quo in the scene of competitive entertainment. are not sports, because there is a definition for game, then it is a sport.” sports and electronic sports do not meet that Maverick Lin criteria.” global battle has reached the halls of Highland Park: the clash between nerds vs. jocks. The topic? Electronic sports, also known as e-sports. The “nerds” ferociously argue that games, such as the increasingly popular League of Legends, are indeed sports. Others have rebutted, saying that such games are just that; there is no “sport” element involved at all.

Yet it isn’t just Highland Park High School students and faculty members that dispute the authenticity of e-sports. ESPN’s president, John Skipper, recently announced his thoughts on the rise of e-sports: “It’s not a sport—it’s a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition….Mostly, I’m interested in doing real sports.”

E-SPORTS?

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June 2015 THE highland fling

SPORTS

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S THE highland fling June 2015

PLAYER PROFILE On a quest to discover students who participate in unusual sports, The Highland Fling caught up with Avantika Yellapantula ’15 to learn more about her passion for fencing.

When and why did you start fencing?

At the time I was kinda sporty and super excited about running around and sports in general. I was used to playing soccer but I always kind of liked swords and fighting so my dad recommended fencing. Since then I kind of just never stopped. Along the way, I fell in love with the sport and all the interesting strategies and techniques it comes with.

What has been your biggest achievement as a fencer?

I would say winning a sparring match against my captain for the first time. It gave me a giant boost of confidence I needed at the time and it motivated me to continue to fence even beyond the season and compete in a few matches through the state.

And how did those go?

I won 3 out of 5 matches in New Jersey for Women’s Foil (type of fencing sword) but for me, even being qualified to go, having my coach encourage me to stay longer a few nights a week to practice a technique was worth even the loss.

What sort of team or organization do you train and compete through?

I compete outside of Highland Park. I’m technically captain of a Rutgers Prep girls fencing team on a sort of scholarship so I don’t have to pay to be out of district. When I compete, it’s usually through an agent from USA Fencing New Jersey Division. They contact my coach to get my current scores and ask my coach to recommend me to sign up for the competition.

Scuba diving: the hobby everybody wants to do at some point in their life, but no one actually does. Well, maybe not no one. Diver Paddy Burke ’18 spoke with the Fling to discuss his scuba diving career, his experiences thus far, and more.

How did you get involved in scuba diving?

I got involved when my parents, who are both certified divers, offered me a chance to take classes for my own certification. When I was young I loved snorkeling, and I still do, and after visiting reefs in Puerto Rico I could never get enough. However, at that age I was too small even for the lightest of scuba gear, so I had to wait until I got older to start.

How long have you been scuba diving?

In April of 2014 I completed my four certification dives, in Mexico. These were my first open ocean dives and for the most part they were similar to a standard dive, but the dive master had me perform certain exercises along the way, such as compass navigation, underwater mask clearing and reaching neutral buoyancy. Since then I have completed two dives, which were during the 2015 spring break.

What is your favorite aspect of scuba diving?

For me it is certainly the wildlife that I see while diving. The experience of being only a couple feet away from wild sharks is unlike that of any aquarium.

The variety of animals from location to location is also incredible. In Mexico I was swimming amongst eagle rays and squid while in Florida I came faceto-face with octopi and sharks. The color palette of the ocean life is much broader than that of the land creatures. Blue and white angelfish with bright orange coral is a huge change from the green grass, trees and bushes in New Jersey.

Do you plan on continuing to fence out of high school?

What are some challenges of scuba diving?

Initially I thought that the classes would prove challenging and boring, but they ended up being pretty fun and relatively easy. The actual dives are also not difficult, because in addition to the classroom lessons I took pool practices to get used to the equipment. These were a little challenging at first but I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

I will as a club sport just to keep my self from forgetting. But in college, it’s going to be difficult for me to keep up with my sport and with my studies.

Has it been difficult to balance during high school?

Extremely. Taking 6 APs last year and being a co-captain were probably not my smartest choices and there were definitely times I chose my fencing career over my school career and strug gled to balance both.

Sleeping was a distant dream and I’d rely on any source of heavy coffee or sugar to keep me through the day.

What is your diving schedule?

When I go diving, my dad and I go to the dive center. There, we register and prepare to get on the boat. The boat will take us to the dive site, which can be anywhere from a 10 to 45 minute ride.

During the ride, the dive master will brief all the divers, usually 6 to 12 on the boat, about the dive site. This usually includes animals regularly seen in the area as well as the temperature in the water. After the first dive, the boat goes to the second site—we dive two sites every time—and we switch out our air tanks as the dive master tells us about the next site.

What’s the biggest life lesson you’ve gotten from fencing?

I think that working hard only gets you so far in both fencing and academics. It’s how dedicated you are to improving your technique that brings true success.

Avantika Yellapantula Senior Fencing

Camryn Kozachek

Paddy Burke Freshman Scuba Diving Amiri Tulloch