besmartbehealthy pages 10 & 11
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SCORING GRADES AND GOALS
page 14
More Inside: •
End of world approaches - page 6
•
Honey boo boo: Review - page 9 Fall sports recap - page 16
THE
Lightning Strike Taking Miami-Dade by Storm
Dr. Michael M. Krop Sr. High • 1410 Countyline Road • Miami, Florida 33179
December 17, 2012 • Issue 3 • Volume 15
BACK ON THE COURT After a series of appeals to the FHSAA, the basketball team can now return to the playoffs and the fine has been reduced.
Courtney Goodstein co-sports editor
In his postgame speech to his team following the murder suicide of player Jovan Belcher, Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs Romeo Crennel said, “We got through it in a grand way because everybody made a contribution, everybody helped. And that’s what a team is about.” This is the motto Principal Dawn Baglos has followed the past two years as “we,” as a school, have dealt with the consequences of the basketball scandal. The eligibility scandal occurred after the FSHAA discovered that player information was falsified in order to maintain athletic eligibility. Krop was fined half a million dollars, the boys were banned from the playoffs for three years and all sports were put on administrative probation for three years. In a series of appeals to the FSHAA, Baglos successfully reduced the fine to $6,000, gained back post season play for the boys and reduced the administrative probation from three years to one. “I hope it gets better for the
boys and the team,” said Baglos, who says the players were in great spirits after hearing the news despite their 0-6 start to the season. Although most of the sanctions have been reduced, the pressure remains on the athletes and on Athletic Director Elizabeth Morgan. “Doing things like talking to coaches and checking up on athletes is a major part of the job, but now I double and triple check everything to make sure all paperwork is correct because the FSHAA can come check anytime,” said Morgan. FUNDRAISING HELPS
Financing athletics due to the fine has been a challenge for the school, coaches and the teams. When the average football game costs $3000, candy sales, seasonal car washes and other fundraisers have had a major impact. The baseball team, for example, sells advertisement banners to pay for uniforms and equipment and they rely on the school for only transportation to their games. “Fundraising is very important
to our department,” said Morgan. “If the FSHAA says we do not have to pay the remainder of the fine, we will have extra money to do things such as buy new equipment.” Even though all teams are off probation, the FSHAA will still keep an eye on the athletic department and one mistake can result in stringent. For instance, during a boys’ soccer game against Hialeah Gardens Senior High, a player was involved in an altercation which resulted in him getting a red card. The school was fined 150 dollars, and the player was suspended from soccer for the remainder of the season and has to pay a 250-dollar fine himself. “Being an athlete is a privilege,” Assistant Principal Daniel Ponkey said during a meeting with the girls’ and boys’ soccer team following the incident. “If you see your teammate about to get into a fight, another someone needs to step in, so situations like this don’t happen.” Despite the incident, Baglos plans to make one final appeal to the FSHAA in January and hopes to repeal the $6000 left of the fine.
BLAKE MARS
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
Israel rally ignites controversy among students Clarissa Buch managing editor
THE COLORS OF ISRAEL: From left, seniors David Stolear, Adam Tzur and Kevin Gerszuny sing a Hebrew song that calls for peace. Gerszuny started the rally to show support for Israel; however, it was not a school sponsored event. ABIGAIL DUFFY
“Pro-Israel Rally tomorrow during first lunch!!!! Bring your flags!!!” This status posted by senior Kevin Gerszuny went viral among students and sparked what they called a “pro-Israel rally” during first lunch on Nov. 21. Approximately 30 students gathered with seniors Oree Levy, Ivan Levy-Hara and Gerszuny who led the group. Participants were dressed in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag and sang Hebrew songs. As the rally moved from the south patio to the north patio, roughly 100 students joined in. Senior Oree Levy wanted to educate the student body on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and thought a pro-Israel rally would engage students.
“All we wanted to do was have students see what we were doing so they could go home and research why we were rallying for Israel and discover the truth,” Levy said. “We want to stop students from getting sucked in by all the propaganda that makes Israel look bad.” However, because the rally was not sanctioned by the school, chaos and confusion erupted among students. Sophomore Jala El-Blali, who is a practicing Muslim, was shocked to see a crowd of students jumping and screaming at lunch. “I didn’t understand what their message was,” El-Blali said. “When I asked a student what was going on, he just said someone told him to dress up in blue and white. He wasn’t even sure what he was supporting.”
Freshman Youssra Yemmas also Muslim disagreed with the rally. “I don’t think it was right, but I don’t have a right to stop them either,” Yemmas said. “It’s their opinion and they can voice it if they want.” However, sophomore Eric Cohen, who participated in the rally, saw nothing wrong with it. “I didn’t feel as if anyone was being offensive at the rally because we weren’t putting anyone down, just expressing our rights,” Cohen said. “I think it was successful because we got people to think about what was going on in Israel.” Levy-Hara explained that because the rally was not planned,
► see “RALLY” page 4