The Lion's Roar 31-6

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Volume 31, Issue 6 140 Brandeis Road Newton Centre, MA 02459

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · February 13, 2015

Disagreements stall teacher contract negotiations Nathaniel Bolter & David Li Sr. News Editors

After the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) rejected the School Committee’s proposal in December, the School Committee and the NTA have continued negotiations, but the two sides are far from settling the key issues.

Negotiations surrounding a new contract began in the spring of 2014, when the contract agreed upon in 2011 expired, and teachers entered the 2014-15 school year

without a contract. On Dec. 9, the NTA rejected the School Committee’s proposal for a 0.8 percent wage increase, and it has yet to hear back from the committee on its counterproposal.

Teacher contracts are negotiated every three years to determine teachers’ wages and benefits. This round of negotiations has grown contentious over the issue of wages.

The NTA has argued that Newton Public Schools (NPS) teachers are not being compensated as well as teachers in surrounding communities, and that this discrepancy could

affect Newton’s ability to attract new staff.

At the first NPS faculty meeting on Aug. 27, the NTA passed out information sheets that delineated how much more teachers would earn were they working in Belmont, Brookline, Lexington, Wayland, Wellesley or Weston. Weston teachers, for example, make an average $10,512 more per year than their counterparts in Newton.

“It worries me ... less that I won’t make as much money as someone in DoverSherborn and more just that Newton won’t be able to attract high quality faculty if we

aren’t paying as well,” Spanish teacher Jennifer Hee said.

In an interview last September, NTA President Michael Zilles said he was confident that the School Committee and the city had come to understand that comparatively low wages were a mutual problem, but that goodwill seems to have rapidly evaporated.

After the School Committee offered a proposal on Dec. 9 that the NTA deemed unsatisfactory, Zilles wrote in a newsletter to union CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS, 2

GSA to increase community efforts, expand discussions Adam Baker, Shelley Friedland & Natalie Harder

ADDRESSING across racial and socioeconomic lines — since January 2010 when the school released a report on the subject that focused on helping “the tail” — students of color who were struggling the most in school.

Since then, South has established an afterschool program, peer tutoring, a homework club and other programs to reduce the number of students in “the tail.”

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts took a large step towards LGBT+ equality, becoming the first state to legalize same sex marriage. Since then, 36 other states as well as the District of Columbia have followed suit, with many of the legalizations taking place in the past two years.

While acceptance of the LGBT+ community at South may not seem to require such dramatic changes and has improved over the years, members of South’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) said they have worked to increase knowledge about several LGBT+ issues, including ignorance and the use of pejorative language in reference to members of the LGBT+ community.

History teacher Robert Parlin started the South GSA, the first public school club of the sort, in 1991 and has advised the club for 20 of its 24 years. Parlin said he has noticed that LGBT+ representation has changed dramatically over the course of his lifetime.

“It is drastically different. There were no gay characters [in media] when I was growing up. I didn’t know anyone who was gay. I never saw any gay characters, except for one or two really exaggerated characters,” he said. “Today, there’s still somewhat stereotypical representations, but there’s so many more [gay characters]. It’s so much better to look around and find lots of different representations.”

GSA vice president junior Philip Batler agreed with Parlin and cited examples in the media as visible progress of the LGBT+ community.

“I think [the LGBT+ community is] more evident in the media, like Michael Sam being the first professional athlete to come out, … so I think that’s really cool that all this stuff is hap-

ACHIEVEMENT GAP, 4

LGBT+ CULTURE, 16

THE GAP

photo by Max Baker

Administration and students discuss initiatives to address academic disparities across racial demographics Ange Lu, Jake Rong & Hans Wang News Reporters

As part of an ongoing initiative to move more students of color into advanced classes, a data team headed by Cutler housemaster Josepha Blocker and Vice Principal Candice Beermann presented a new report on South’s achievement gap at a faculty meeting on Feb. 10.

The new data used a compos-

ite score for student achievement based on unweighted GPAs and MCAS scores, and compared these scores across different racial and socioeconomic groups. The report found that a pronounced racial achievement gap still remains at South, as black students’ mean composite score was 1.25 points below the average for the whole school.

South has been working on narrowing the achievement gap — the disparity in student performance

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Plastics Ban

Newton Aldermen pass a plastic bag ban, sparking discussion in the community.

3

The art of murals

New club works on a mural for the library, encourages collaborative art.

15

Rock climbing stars

Three students share their experiences at national rock climbing competitions.

20

NEWS 2 GLOBAL UPDATE 5 EDITORIALS 6 OPINIONS 9 CENTERFOLD 12 FEATURES 15 SPORTS 20

page 2|February 13, 2015|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

NEWS

Newton aldermen pass plastic bag ban

INitiatives proposed to address achievement gap

pAGE 3

pAGE 4

NEWS@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 31, ISSUE 6

SOUTH

SPOTS Information on school events compiled by Roar Editors

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NTA contract negotiations stagnate CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS, from 1

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“We feel like we’re at a crossroads. We hear it from our members. The anxieties, the frustrations and the fears.”

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Teacher Contract Negotiations Timeline OCT. 21, 2014 Spring 2014 Union members wore yellow t-shirts in protest.

The union’s previous contract expired.

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2011

NTA signed its most recent three-year contract.

fall 2014 Negotiations for unresolved issues from the spring resumed.

Dec. 9, 2014 Union rejected the School Committee’s proposal.

February 13, 2015|page 3

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|NEWS

Initiating Change

FROM PLASTIC TO PAPER In a move to be more environmentally friendly, Newton’s Aldermen have voted to ban plastic bags at grocery stores in Newton

By Michelle Cheng, Rachel Gu and Karen Kwan

The average American family uses 1,500 plastic shopping bags each year

Less than five percent of plastic bags are recycled in the U.S.

10 to 15 percent of paper bags are recycled in the U.S.

T

he Board of Aldermen voted in January to ban plastic checkout bags in large grocery stores, such as Wegman’s and Stop & Shop, in an effort to reduce Newton’s impact on the environment.

The ban was initiated by shared environmental concerns, according to Alderman Alison Leary, one of the ban’s sponsors. “I’m very concerned about the amount of nonbiodegradable plastics that are going into the environment,” Leary said. “So because the city of Newton cannot recycle them, because they’re so problematic, because we use billions of them and because they’re easily substituted for, it just makes sense to not use them at all and find a substitute, and that’s what we decided to do.”

The ultimate goal of the ban, Leary said, was not to have customers turn to paper bags instead but to encourage more people to use reusable bags. “We really want you to bring your own bag and not use paper,” she said.

Freshman Ariel Hirschhorn said that she thinks the ban will effectively help the environment. “I think it’s a step in the right direction, and it will encourage people [to be environmentally friendly.” she said.

Sources of information: The Washington Post, Environmental Protection Agency and Natural Respurces Defense Council

While freshman Alisa Rabin agreed with the ban, she said she questions its efficacy.“I think it’s a good idea, but I don’t necessarily think people would act upon it,” Rabin said. “[Electric cars are] not working.

Yes, there are some electric cars, but most people are buying gas cars rather than electric cars. I feel like [the plastic bag ban] is a good idea. I just don’t know if people will [respect] it.”

Junior Arjun Albert agreed that banning plastic bags will not be effective. “I think it is ultimately unnecessary, because the shops are promoting paper bags that way, and it also just leads to inconvenience,” he said.

“Maybe instead of banning plastic bags and encouraging paper bags, they should just sell more renewable bags and then charge extra if you use paper or plastic bags.”

Still, Albert said that small steps toward improving the environment are important.

“If more people are aware then we can take smaller steps toward helping the environment,” he said. “One person doesn’t do much, but, if a lot of people do small things, then I guess it adds up.”

The ban applies only to large establish-

ments, those with a store of at least 3,500 square feet or with two or more locations within the city. The ban also mandates that all paper bags be recyclable, as well as composed of at least 40 percent recycled material, according to an article in The Boston Globe. Repeated violations of the ban will incur a $300 fine.

Environmental Club advisor and biology teacher, Sally Rosen said she hopes that this ban will precipitate more action. “This is a huge step for Newton, an enormous step, and it is a step in the right direction,” she said. “I hope it is a step towards getting rid of plastic water bottles as well. ... Brookline already went through — they’ve banned plastic bags. They had also banned plastic bags in Concord, and … they no longer sell one-time-use water bottles, so it’s great.”

The plastic bag ban is only the beginning, Leary said, as there are plenty more environmental issues in Newton. “I think anything that we can’t easily recycle and anything that is a real problem in the environment that doesn’t biodegrade or break down — I think we should look at in terms of our whole solid waste plan,” she said.

Anna Kim

Senate PR Secretary

South Senate Update

O

ver the past few weeks, South Senate has focused on introducing and approving new legislation.

We have written resolutions approving action on suggestions taken directly from the student body, as well as the senators.

To begin, the Senate approved a resolution designed to limit South’s paper waste. The resolution urges administrators and faculty to refrain from printing copies of readings or assignment sheets for entire classes, and instead to post them on their website.

This practice would make these assignments more accessible and put an end to the waste created by students who quickly lose these papers and have to reprint them.

At the request of the Gay-Straight Alliance, the Senate has begun to discuss the possibility of installing gener-neutral bathrooms at South. These bathrooms would give a safe alternative to students who do not identify as cisgender.

The Senate also recently passed a resolution regarding the exploration of detention alternatives. The alternatives under consideration include various work around the school, such as tasks assisting faculty. With this new structure, detention would become less punitive and more constructive, benefiting the school while also enforcing rules.

Currently under debate is a resolution that proposes to expand the offerings of freshmen honors level classes. The resolution suggests creating honors classes in subjects other than mathematics, but also proposes limiting freshman students to one honors class each. We hope to offer academic opportunities to students who have profound intellectual interests, as well as level the playing field for those talented in subjects beyond mathematics.

The Senate is working on several other initiatives, including the creation of a mentorship program that would pair incoming freshmen with juniors to ease the transition into high school. The students would continue this partnership the following year as sophomores and seniors, and the rising juniors would then be paired with members of the incoming freshmen class.

We are also in the process of making medical supplies available for athletes after practices and making chargers more available in the library.

The Senate is constructing a handbook for the student body with information regarding clubs, sports, activities and other opportunities at South. This handbook will include meeting times for clubs, as well as information on how to join them. Our goal is to provide freshmen especially with resources necessary to become involved in the school. If you represent a club or organization that you want included in the handbook, please let us know.

We encourage you to stay up to date on all of the Senate’s recent work through our bulletin board, Facebook page or website, southsenate.weebly.com. The Senate meets during Thursday J blocks in the Lecture Hall, and we would love to see and hear from you.

page 4|February 13, 2015

News|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

photo illustration by Alexa Rhynd

Achievement gap initiative targets top students ACHIEVEMENT GAP, from 1 “[The earlier] report was really focusing on the students who were not achieving passing grades on the MCAS and other indicators in the composite, so it was trying to plan interventions and try to help those students ... improve academic performance in general,” Beermann said. “Now what we’re trying to do is to take the bulk of the students that are already doing okay and move them even further, higher. So we’re just focusing on a different part of the graph.”

This part of the graph, Blocker said, is called “the mountain,” which she described as the “kids who are doing okay, but could be doing excellently if they were receiving the right support.”

The subgroup of the data team focusing on “the mountain,” led by Blocker, concluded that although recently there have been fewer students of color scoring in the “Warning/ Failing” and “Needs Improvement” categories of the MCAS, there are still clear racial disparities among those scoring in the “Proficient” and “Advanced” categories.

Less than 20 percent of black students in the class of 2016 scored in the “Advanced” category on last year’s ELA MCAS, compared to almost 80 percent of white students.

Likewise, about 15 percent of black students scored “Advanced” on the Math MCAS, compared to over 80 percent of white students and over 90 percent of Asian students.

The achievement gap also exists in class enrollment. Black, Hispanic and multi-race students comprise 15 percent of the student body, while whites and Asians comprise the other 85 percent. The proportion of students of color in advanced classes, however, does not match the proportion in the whole school.

Junior Ilias Vamvakas said he has noticed this disparity. “In my AP English, AP [U.S.] History classes and AP Chemistry classes, there are no black students,” he said.

Sophomore Evan Zeng agreed. “There is actually a noticeable lack of diversity in my math class,” he said.

The lack of diversity in advanced classes can make those classes seem intimidating to students of color, according to junior Brianna Rivers, a black student taking one AP and two honors classes.

“My classes are filled with people who are really inclusive, and I have a strong sense of identity for myself,” she said. “But [for] some other people who kind of rely on seeing somebody who is the same color as them, it can be a little different to be by yourself.”

The data team looked to North for strategies on how to remedy this problem.

After the 2012-13 school year, faced with a significant achievement gap, North implemented several initiatives to address the gap, and teachers identified students of color capable of enrolling in advanced classes and encouraged them to do so. By the 2014-15 school year, the proportion of students of color in advanced classes had increased as much as 19 percent in some areas.

North’s initiatives included creating an honors community for students of color, assigning students faculty mentors and clustering students of color in advanced classes.

All students can succeed at higher levels, Blocker said. “It just matters how we support those kids, how much time we give those kids and what resources are open to them.” she said. “So we are exploring what barriers get in the way of [students], and we’re looking toward specific strategies that ... will help us remove those barriers.”

A demographic breakdown of Newton South High School

Who is NSHS made of?

* ** *

images from the public domain

source of information: Newton South High School

*

infographic by Nathaniel Bolter

1,815 students Multi-Race Black Hispanic Asian White

1/3

speak English as 2nd laguage

4.3% 4.7% 6% 20% 65%

are METCO students

57

Newton Cares begins suicide prevention training Sophie Lu & Carina Ramos News Reporter, News Contributor

Approximately a year after Newton’s third suicide in less than six months, the Newton Cares coalition is moving forward with suicide prevention training programs.

The city created Newton Cares, a coalition of organizations dedicated to raising mental health awareness, in response to last year’s tragedies, and this January, the coalition began offering lessons to teens and adults in the community on suicide prevention using the QPR method: Question, Persuade and Refer.

“It’s a simple but educational program that teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize a mental health emergency and how to get a person at risk the help that they need, so participants in that training program learn

to recognize the warning signs of suicide, and ally bring it down to a teenage level without to offer hope and get help and refer people,” having to make it sound too academic and Jennifer O’Higgins, Newton’s Director of make it over the top,” he said.

Youth Services, said.

“Not that you’re The coalition going to lighten the consists of Newton “[We talk about] if someone’s mood too much becommunity memfeeling suicidal, how to per- cause it’s the topic of bers, local orgasuicide and depressuade them to live and per- sion, but you’re gonizations and national organizations suade them to get ... the help ing to have to make dedicated to mental it very applicable to that they need.” health awareness. teenagers.”

- Jennifer O’Higgins, According to O’Higgins said Newton Director of Youth Services that while QPR share guidance counselor Chris Hardiman, many objectives with who taught the the Signs of Suicide Question, Persuade and Refer program in curriculum taught at South, it approaches November, the class is focused on teenager’s the topics in a different way. perceptions of suicide and depression.

“SOS does help people learn to rec“We try to gear the teen QPR to re- ognize the warning signs of suicide ... and

then encourages young people to talk to a trusted adult. … [But] we go over sort of the scope of the issue. We talk about national, regional and local statistics and how big is this of a problem,” she said. “[We talk about] if someone’s feeling suicidal, how to persuade them to live, and persuade them to get help and refer them to the help that they need.”

The program is a constructive way address a sensitive issue, according to Hardiman.

“I think [that the QPR method] is an effective training for students or people who don’t know a lot about psychology. It gives very clear tools without being over complicated and without raising the stress or the fret,” he said. “It gives them some basic tools to help someone in the future if need be.”

February 13, 2015|page 5

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|NEWS

A Glimpse of the Globe Information compiled by Roar editors from CNN, The Economist, BBC, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, Twitter and the rest of the Internet.

Argentina: what is actually happening?

Even in a country plagued by corruption, a labyrinthine plot involving a high-profile death and a possible government cover-up is evoking distrust and discontent among citizens.

A car bomb went off outside the Amia Jewish center in Buenos Aires, Argentina in July 1994. 85 people were killed and over 200 more were left injured, making this Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack.

There was speculation that Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, in partnership with Iran, was responsible for the attack.

High-profile public prosecutor Alberto Nisman was selected by then-president Nestor Kirchner in 2004 to investigate the bombing after a previous investigation led by Juan Jose Galeano fell through.

In mid-Jan. 2015, Nisman accused current Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of covering up Iranian responsibility for the bombing

in order to benefit from a trade deal with Iran. In this deal, the financially struggling Argentina would trade meat and grain for Iranian oil.

Nisman had been set to formally present his findings on Jan. 19, but the night before, he was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in his apartment, which was locked from the inside.

Public officials deemed the death a suicide. Nisman was to appear before Congress and formally accuse Fernandez de Kirchner and foreign minister Hector Timerman of covering up Iranian involvement in the Amia bombing.

A poll of over 400 Argentinians conducted by the firm Ipsos showed that 70 percent thought that Nisman was murdered. Forensic investigation revealed a lack of gunpowder residue on his hands, as would be present if he had shot himself.

Viviana Fein, the prosecutor in-

vestigating Nisman’s death, stated that although no conclusion has been reached about the circumstances, she is looking into both possibilities.

Following Nisman’s death, Fernandez de Kirchner ruled it a suicide, then quickly retracted her statement. She also claimed that Nisman had been used and manipulated by rogue agents inside the Argentine intelligence agency, Secretariat of Intelligence, to attack her government.

Less than two days before Nisman’s body was discovered, the court in which he was to testify published his 289-page criminal complaint report. The report detailed tapped phone conversations between Argentine and Iranian representatives working out the trade deal.

The report also stated a conspiracy to veil the circumstances of the bombing and to reroute the investigation of the bombing by providing fake evidence.

The plan was allegedly hidden under the veneer of a joint “truth commission” formed in 2013 that would have both countries investigate the bombing.

This plan, however, was never put into effect; Interpol refused to withdraw the Red Notices (the Interpol equivalent to an arrest warrant) against Iranian suspects in the bombing. Iran then put the deal aside.

Protests erupted quickly after the public learned of Nisman’s death. Protesters in Buenos Aires took to the streets carrying signs that read, “I am Nisman” and “We are not afraid.” Some protesters have been communicating their theories to the media.

Before his death, Nisman had drafted a warrant for the arrests of Fernandez de Kirchner and Timerman. Nisman had also told reporters that he feared he would not come out of the investigation alive and purchased the gun that killed him for his own protection.

An Overview:

The issue: Alberto Nisman investigated Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack and claimed that the nation’s president was involved in covering up Iranian responsibility. At the height of the investigation, Nisman was found dead.

The response: No conclusions regarding the attack or the circumstances of Nisman’s death have been reached, but investigations of both continue.

Reuters

nonsensical news: Hat Burglar

Joggers in Salem, Ore. have good reason to hold onto their hats during early-morning runs. Officials have issued warnings about an owl who is swooping down to steal hats off the heads of passersby.

Park officials say they have never heard of a case like this one. Four hats have fallen victim to the “angry owl” in the past month.

Members of bird conservancy group the Audbon Society say that the bird is a barred owl, the species blamed for driving the endangered northern spotted owl out of the West Coast.

Although the Audbon Society believes that just one owl is stealing hats, the owl may be more aggressive because of the onset of nesting season.

News this week After falsifying a story about his helicopter being hit with an RPG on a 2003 visit to Iraq, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams has been suspended for six months without pay from the program.

Following the murders of two Japanese hostages in late Jan., ISIS released a video of Jordanian pilot Moath al-Kasasbeh being burned alive. ISIS has also claimed American Kayla Mueller was killed in an airstrike.

Despite a federal ruling which legalized samesex marriage in Alabama on Feb. 9, many state officials refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. This follows the state chief justice’s orders to judges to ignore the ruling.

An alleged dispute over a parking space led to the murders of three Muslim college students in North Carolina on Wednesday.

The father of two of the victims said the shooting was a hate crime.

Fun and informational.

Old-fashioned Discipline

The park where the bird lives now has signs warning people to avoid predawn jobs. They are also — perhaps jokingly — telling people to wear hard hats.

Wikipedia

A barbershop in Snellville, Ga. is offering a way for parents to embarrass their children into behaving. The barbershop’s “Benjamin Button Special,” named after the movie about a case of reverse aging, is designed to shame children into good behavior.

The special entails trimming the child’s hair to resemble the hair of a balding adult man. Russell Frederick, whose 12-year-old son was the first “Benjamin Button” recipient, said that following the haircut the boy’s grades, which were lacking, improved dramatically.

Experts have stated that shamebased punishments can lead to psychological scarring later in the child’s life. Frederick emphasized that the

Instagram

haircut is only to be used under circumstances in which conventional methods of discipline fail.

A before-and-after shot of the cut was posted on Frederick’s Instagram account, accompanied by the caption, “So u wana act grown ... well now u look grown too.”

page 6|february 13, 2015|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Editorials Editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 31, ISSUE 6

’S T A C the

W O ME All the news that’s fit to print... and then some!

AP Exam Modifications With six school cancellations due to inclement weather wreaking havoc on the strict schedules of AP classes, the College Board has decided to take mercy on students and make selected tests open-note.

In the event of three more snow days, the tests will become group tests, during which every student in the room can collaborate on answering each question.

Students are already feeling the rush to prepare their notes for the tests. Junior I.C. Rhodes, who will be taking the AP Chemistry test in May, said that she is beginning her note collection process.

“All of these snow days have made me kind of lazy. I just spent the days sitting on my floor vent and watching ‘Real Housewives,’” she said. “So I just photocopied my textbook and clipped all the pages together so I can take them into the test room.”

Jon Stewart’s Heir Following the news of Jon Stewart’s retirement from “The Daily Show,” the student body has taken up the task of combing the school for his one true heir.

A widespread theory is that under the preschool lies a stone hall in which a beast dwells. This beast can be heard through the pipes, but only one preschooler has the ability to understand its language. This preschooler is the heir of Stewart.

Students are working tirelessly to find the child, who, after being whisked away for a life of seclusion and lessons in comedic journalism, will take over Stewart’s role.

Preschool teacher Tom Marvolo said the child will have immense influence. “We’re pressing the kids’ ears to the walls of the building to see if they can translate the beast’s language,” he said. “It’s imperative that we find him or her as soon as possible.”

editor evaluates teaching process

ben rabin tackles a bouncy castle

pAGE 7

pAGE 8

The Roar defends freedom of press, considers effect on readers On Jan. 7, gunmen attacked the Paris offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people, including the cartoonists and editor.

Police have named three suspects, including the Kouachi brothers.

The satirical publication was last attacked in 2011, criticized for its controversial Muhammad cartoons; similar right-winged cartoons have continued to spark discontent in the religiously divided country.

Last month’s attack, one of the deadliest acts of terror in France since the Algerian War of the 1960’s, has made headlines across the world, initiating key discussions on censorship and journalistic rights, such as free speech and press.

Reflecting on the sensation and anger this incident aroused globally, staff members agreed in a Roar meeting on Feb. 5, that, despite the inflammatory response, Charlie Hebdo has the journalistic right to publish any material — satirical or not — under the freedom of press.

Although the nature of the magazine itself lends itself to be the object of dissatisfaction of certain social groups, heavily censoring or limiting published material can jeopardize these freedoms that jour-

nalism upholds.

These attacks constituted an extremist response. Journalism, especially satire, is bound to cause discontent; sensitivity to the public and the readership is the responsibility of the publication’s editor staff.

In the case of Charlie Hebdo, the magazine’s nature and style encompass daring writing that is intended to put people on edge, and, while the response it received was

through edgy satire is thus not in the style of the Roar.

Although we approach sensitive issues, we do so with caution, specifically to present them to the community in a critical and wholesome manner. We know our readers, and we keep them in mind when publishing controversial material — we present issues carefully without bias and let the community formulate its own judgments.

The Roar has and always will represent this vision of informing the community, rather than provoking it. by all means out bounds, Charlie Hebdo, as all publications, has the right to continue to publish its work.

In context of our publication, however, these events still bring up a valuable discussion concerning censorship and what constitutes appropriate content for the student body.

As any professional publication, we stand up for the student voice within the community and have the duty to uphold journalistic freedoms. As staff members agreed, however, our overarching goal is to promote a safe and fruitful educational environment within the school. Intentional provocation

The Roar has and always will represent this vision of informing the community, rather than provoking it. Even within South’s safe sanctuary, however, sensitive content can have certain backlash.

It is our responsibility as journalists and editors to be accountable for what we release, as well as be mindful of the effect it may have on the school environment and confront it appropriately when necessary.

The Charlie Hebdo incident has wrecked havoc on the global scale, but it has also reminded us just how profound the effect of journalism can be. The Roar hopes to use this power wisely.

Editorial Policy The Lion’s Roar, founded in 1984, is the student newspaper of Newton South High School, acting as a public forum for student views and attitudes.

The Lion’s Roar’s right to freedom of expression is protected by the Massachusetts Student Free Expression Law (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 71, Section 82). All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Lion’s Roar in no way reflects the official policy of Newton South, its faculty, or its administration. Editorials are the official opinion of The Lion’s Roar, while opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lion’s Roar. The Lion’s Roar reserves the right to edit all submitted content, to reject advertising copy for resubmission of new copy that is deemed acceptable by student editors, and to make decisions regarding the submission of letters to the editors, which are welcomed.

The Lion’s Roar is printed by Seacoast Newspapers and published every four weeks by Newton South students. All funding comes from advertisers and subscriptions.

In-school distribution of The Lion’s Roar is free, but each copy of the paper shall cost one dollar for each copy more than ten (10) that is taken by any individual or by many individuals on behalf of a single individual. Violation of this policy shall constitute theft.

Contribute to The Roar !

Monday J Block, Room 1201 photography

WRITING

Hone your writing skills by joining one of our five sections and working with our editors.

Learn new techniques by shooting at school events and sports games.

Graphics

Draw illustrations to supplement articles.

February 13, 2015|page 7

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|DESK

THE Editor reflects on teaching experience EDITOR’S on The Roar, encourages collaboration DESK Hyunnew Choi Editor-in-Chief

When Volume 30 senior staff ’s editors-in-chief called to notify me that I would be filling their shoes for the next volume (that is, after they tried to convince me that I would be taking over the sports section instead), I was overwhelmed.

While I had been looking forward to that day for quite some time, it finally hit me that I would no longer be able to chat them at odd hours of the night to figure out a photo request or the ending of a 1400-word centerfold article.

I was concerned about how I would go about efficiently working with so many other editors, given that I, being the micromanager that I am, avoid group projects whenever possible. Most of the new editors were completely unfamiliar with the programs that we use to create the paper, and I felt as if the list of things we had to teach the new editors was endless.

So, during the first few issues, I took over the job of completing whatever work the editors did not complete or could not produce at a high quality level. This often meant completely reworking an article at 1 a.m. or redesigning a page entirely. But things have changed.

This isn’t to say that I no longer take charge when a crisis occurs (which, I hate to admit, happens far too often on The

Roar). happy ending, though.

I believe that it is my job as the That happy ending began once I editor-in-chief to make sure The Roar pro- recognized the core reason behind this reduces an excellent paper that handles all curring problem: my inability to focus on articles and pages in a sensible, thoughtful anything but the quality of final product. way, and I’d like to think that I have sucIt’s pretty hard to argue that the final cessfully done that for the duration of my product isn’t important; the final product Roar career. is what everyone sees — everyone from I do, howlonely souls ever, admit that the in the library, process by which I seemingly judgaccomplished this mental senior “I’ve discovered that while in the first few isstaff alumni, the final product may seem sues of this volume judges at comwas incredibly exto kids most significant, the means petitions hausting — more sneaking a peak by which you get there are than it should at an article have ever been. during chemisjust as important — if not I lost my patry class. more.” tience frequently, I’ve particularly when I discovered that felt as if I was pickwhile the final ing up an unreaproduct may sonably large bulk of the work time after time. seem most significant, the means by which And that was the real problem; no you get there are just as important — if matter how well we tried as a staff to plan not more. ahead and set small goals for ourselves, I As difficult as it was for me at first, continued finding myself finishing up so I began to avoid taking over any single many files that my computer ran out of part of the paper whenever possible. This space. meant I often had to spend more time exAt this point you’re probably thinkplaining the edits I made to senior editors, ing I’m simply ranting and lamenting the discussing the countless ways to improve loss of my computer’s memory space. This a page and thoroughly teaching even the story, I’m happy to report, does have a most basic concepts.

Host an international student!

Essentially, this meant I had to learn to be okay with sacrifcing some of the quality for the sake of the editors’ learning process.

But working more closely with staff members — rather than taking over the outstanding workload — not only relieved me of an overwhelming number of sleepless nights, but also taught them skills that translated into their future work.

As validating as it is to open a fresh copy of The Roar on #paperday and see your own ideas and work in full print, it’s incredibly rewarding when a senior editor comes up to you giddy with excitement about a story or layout idea that directly reflects the feedback you gave them just days before.

I am far from a perfect teacher. I admit that I have a lot room to grow in my ability to collaborate and to carefully consider opinions apart from my own, but I sincerely thank all members of Volume 31 for being by my side in my journey to becoming a better leader.

As much as I have taught you during long paste ups, you have all taught me what it means to effectively lead a group like the Roar staff, and for that I am grateful. It is my hope that the following volume’s senior staff will discover the same joy in teaching as I have, and learn to have the utmost faith in the next volume’s staff as I did with you.

Volume 31

The Lion’s Roar

-Make new friends -Practice new languages -Receive a stipend

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper

*Can’t host? Refer a friend!

If they host with us, you earn $100*

Hyunnew Choi Parisa Siddiqui

140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

Editors-in-Chief

Managing Editors

Sasha Kuznetsov Carly Meisel

Business and Production

Chief Copy Editor

Faith Bergman Julia Mount

Darren Trementozzi

Section Editors Sr. News Editors Nathaniel Bolter Bella Ehrlich David Li News editor Bhavik Nagda

Andrew Lewis EF Community Outreach Coordinator 200 Lake St. Brighton, MA 02135 Phone: 617-746-1700 Email: andrew.lewis@ef.com

Sr. Centerfold Editors Sophia Fisher Veronica Podolny

Graphics Manager Sophie Galowitz

Sr. Sports Editors Sr. Features Editors

Helen Haskin David Kim Jack McElduff

Amelia Stern Nicole Yu

SR. OPINIONS EDITOR

Maia Fefer Shelley Friedland Features editors

Advisers

Ashley Elpern Brian Baron Paul Estin Ryan Normandin

Ariel Neumann Ben Rabin

Photo Managers Katie Asch Max Baker Alexa Rhynd

page 8|February 13, 2015

Fun page|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Columns, rows and squares Each take a digit, falling Between one and nine.

ROSSWORD

bad haiku by Tony Vashevko & Rob Hass puzzles courtesy of sudokuoftheday.com

EASY: 9

8

4

1

1 3 7

9

1

2

5 5

9

9 1

4

4

3 3

9 3

1

1

6

3 4

2

1

7

CHALLENGING: 4 1

8 8

2

1

3

4 6

5

2

6

7

9

3

2

7

4 9 9

8

7

8

1

3 2

1

32

3

4

5

7

ACROSS:

1. Hiring fee 6. Singer, Nat 10 11 King ...

12 13 7. Carnival 14 14 10. Affirm or aver 15 18 17 19 19 16 11. Regretted 21 20 21 12. Animal enclosures 23 22 13. Terminates 25 24 14. Stared (at) 15. Burglar’s loot DOWN: lens cover 17. Zone 1. Roam 8. Classic heavy 20. Meat paste 2. Stretches or makes metal group, ...

21. Leonard longer Zeppelin Cohen hit, ... On 3. Magazine & tabloid 9. Advertisements The Wire retailer 15. Jet-bath 22. Yemen port 4. Nice 16. Roll of banknotes 23. Guide 5. Washhouses 18. Periods Voice 24. Anxiety or 6. Camera’s pressure of work 19. Tot up 6

4 5

1

v

4

6

4

6

6

Crossword courtesy of youplay.com

7

8

9

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month:

Rabin 0, Bouncy Castle 1

page 9|february 13, 2015|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

opinions

Sophomore Reacts to charlie hebdo massacre pAGE 10

campus chatter: What is your dream job? pAGE 11

opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 31, ISSUE 6

Perspectives:

Should Boston host the 2024 Olympics? photo by Jacob Rozowsky

no, itBy sally should not nelson

yes,BYit should clare martin

I

s Boston prepared to host a colossal international event like the Olympics? According to a recent poll by MassINC Polling Group, 33 percent of Bostonians believe otherwise. Those who said no should think again.

Boston has hosted eight pro-sports world championships or title parades since 2001, with up to 3 million people gathering in the city at once. As it is, the annual Boston Marathon draws over 500,000 spectators and more than 30,000 runners.

Boston is well equipped to handle crowds.

The question of space is a valid concern. The Olympics, however, have been held in smaller cities by population, such as Atlanta and St. Louis. Congestion was a concern at the 2012 London Olympics, but it ended up posing no substantial issues.

Advocates against Boston’s hosting of the 2024 Olympics cite that with the city’s cramped accommodations and streets, navigation during the Olympics would become impossible on top of the existing traffic. Fortunately, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Agency (MBTA) provides transportation for 1.29 million passengers per weekday. Plus, daily commuter trips decline by 250,000 riders during the summer. More importantly, the Games are predicted to stimulate investment in crumbling roads, bridges and the aging MBTA system. These renovations would increase the capacity and safety of Boston’s transportation system for the 2024 Olympics and the city.

It therefore makes sense that the $5 billion tax revenue should be spent

on public affairs. Private investors would handle the remainder, which is set for a modest $4.7 billion, according to ABC News. Compared to the average Summer Olympics charge — a whopping $15 billion — the Boston 2024 projection comes in inexpensive.

Although London 2012 cost $16 billion over budget on a similar allowance, this loss is easily canceled out by the Olympics’ revenue. As indicated on the Boston 2024 website, all previous Olympic cities have achieved either a net positive or break even operating budget. Any revenue from Boston 2024 could be ferried into improving schools, lowering healthcare costs and reducing crime.

New International Olympic Committee guidelines, require much smaller stadiums than previously required. The gaudiness associated with Olympic stadiums will be refined under Boston 2024 plans, as project leaders aim to construct a partially or entirely temporary stadium to be repurposed after the Games.

Boston 2024 project leaders also plan to limit as much construction as possible. In fact, ABC News reports that pre-existing venues, such as Fenway Park and TD Garden, as well as the buildings of the 100 colleges and universities in the area, will be utilized as Olympic arenas and athlete housing.

The prospect of Boston hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games has faced great skepticism, but if plans are initiated, Boston would set a new standard of innovation and moderation for future Olympic host cities.

T

he prestige of the Olympics would make Boston a world-class, glamorous city, right? Wrong.

Boston does not need the Olympics to improve its reputation as a historic city with prestigious schools, historic sites and extraordinary hospitals. Hosting such a massive event in 2024 would be financially devastating.

According to ABC News, the proposed budget for the 2024 Boston Olympics would include a $4.7 billion operating budget, a $3.4 billion bid cost and in addition, $5.2 billion that would be spent on improving the infrastructure. Time magazine also reports that the average Olympics, however, cost 200 percent more than the preliminary budget. If Boston is to host the Olympics, it will be swimming in debt for years.

There are many protestors enraged at the prospect of Boston hosting the Olympics. With so many Boston residents immediately opposed to this project, it would only ruin Boston’s credibility and create further discontent among Bostonians.

A lot of the projected budget goes toward the amount of construction necessary to facilitate the Olympics. In Boston, four major stadiums would have to be built, not to mention the countless buildings needed to host athletes from around the world.

Boston does not have room for a huge stadium or an Olympic Village. As it is, Boston is experiencing a housing crisis; where would these new buildings go once the Olympics are over? What could they

be used for? Sounds like a waste of time, money and materials. Should Boston sign itself up to massive debt and wasted city space?

This money could be much better used to improve the lives of Bostonians.

For example, Boston could instead improve its mediocre public transportation.

The train stations are dirty, confusing and unreliable. Trains and buses are constantly breaking down so frequently that it has become comical. Fixing public transport would be impossible while preparing for the Olympics.

Boston, a small city that is difficult to navigate, is already extremely congested. Even the shortest of commutes can take hours due to complicated routes and constant traffic.

Leading up to 2024, the construction and preparation would make navigating through Boston even more chaotic and challenging for residents. Meanwhile if and when the Olympics came, the narrow streets would be impossible to drive through for attendees.

Boston is simply not equipped to handle the 8 million people who would attend the Olympics.

Finally, Boston has enough on its plate without this $9.5 billion project.

Before Boston hosts a multi-billion-dollar worldwide event, it needs to focus on fixing the multitude of problems within city limits like the crumbling bridges, roads, public transportation and schools.

No one wants to see an incredible city fall flat on its face due to an outrageously costly event.

page 10|february 13, 2015

Why I Stopped Eating Almonds

opinions|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

BY cassandra luca

Among the many foods that doctors promote for health benefits, one has emerged as a clear winner: the almond.

This food helps one lose weight, protects against Alzheimer’s disease and decreases the chance of contracting a cardiovascular disease. But, unfortunately, it’s one of the many foods grown in the U.S. that have colossal implications for our water supply and ecosystem.

It’s time for us to start thinking more about what kinds of foods we eat and just how much we consume.

A large percentage of almonds is now grown as a monocrop, a crop that does not rotate with other crops in a particular field, year after year. Almonds alone take up 44 percent more land than they did 10 years ago, according to online magazine Mother Jones.

Additionally, these huge swaths of land cannot be pollinated solely by native insects, requiring bees to be brought into California. Last year, almond trees required 60 percent of the colonized bee

population of the U.S. Due to this, bee populations have been declining recently; this is important because bees are responsible for pollinating many other crops, which would consequently become endangered.

We need rethink our consumption and decide whether or not it is ethical to allow this crop to grow at the expense of others.

ries (0.4 gallons each). Agriculture in California, the source of much of the nation’s food supply, already uses 80 percent of the state’s water. It seems foolish and selfish for us to continue to grow these foods in such large quantities.

Combating the damage to the environment is more important than continuing to expand our agricultural practices to fulfill this need.

It’s time for us to start thinking more about what kinds of foods we eat and just how much we consume.

California, which is currently facing a severe drought, produces 82 percent of the world’s almonds. Since each almond requires 1.1 gallons of water to be fit for consumption, precious water is being used on a crop which is difficult to grow.

Of course, almonds are not the only crop that needs lots of water. Others include broccoli (5.4 gallons per head), tomatoes (3.3 gallons each) and strawber-

The solution is not to stop eating these foods altogether; rather we need to confront our problem of overconsumption. We see this issue manifested in South’s own cafeteria, where trays of untouched food are constantly thrown away. Grocery stores also contribute to the problem by ordering more food than they can sell and throwing away expired food.

Almonds and broccoli, among others, however, are merely a small part of the problem. They are a symbol of U.S. materialism, the continued need to have more and more things, supposedly to increase the quality of life.

Although we may not often think about the impact of our actions, the problems that California is undergoing suggest that our actions have a visible price. When I go to the supermarket during the winter, I still see strawberries and other fruits from California ready to be purchased.

The majority of the country would not normally have certain varieties of fruits and vegetables during this time of year. Because we are now accustomed to having a variety of food on our plates, we continue to plant more crops to satisfy the population’s appetite.

As a country, it is our burden to bear when crops such as almonds, whose production has harmful effects on the environment, are wasted.

Three Lessons From Charlie Hebdo

By Bryan Hysenaj

On Jan. 7, a group of Islamic extremists stormed into the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and gunned down 13 innocent cartoonists.

The murders were apparently instigated by caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, which are forbidden in Islam.

The attacks were an unimaginable act of evil and an affront to free speech. As an aspiring journalist and an avid writer who is not afraid of engendering controversy, I was both shocked and personally affected by these attacks.

Whenever something like this happens, we must not only mourn for the dead but also discuss the lessons learned from this event.

We must finally come to terms with the fact that entire world does not conform to our western values.

As Americans, we live in a bubble. We cannot fathom that, outside the borders of the Western world, live many people whose values and beliefs are vastly different from our own.

The depravity that we witnessed in Paris shows us that not all cultures value the cornerstones of our culture, the ideals of freedom of expression and rights of the press.

Criticism of religion is not taken as lightly in many other cultures either; radical terrorists across the Islamic world are violently reacting to the French protests.

In the Western African country of Niger in particular, protestors are burning churches and ripping apart French flags.

This creates an unfortunate paradox, since large numbers of people from Niger and

surrounding countries immigrate to Euorpe every year, according to statistics from the European Union’s census.

As a solution, European countries, as well as America, should improve their immigration systems to only allow immigrants who respect our cultures and want to contribute to our society.

This is the only legitimate way to prevent such terror attacks from frequently occurring.

Second, we

must realize that extremism, in nearly all forms, is usually very negative and unproductive.

Whether it is the religious extremism of the Kouachi brothers, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre, or the militant secularism of former Russian dictator Joseph Stalin, extremism of this sort frequently leads to violence, intolerance and a lack of productivity.

For example, take

the American government; extremists from both political parties seem to be determined to prevent compromise and progress.

As a result, the legislative body sports an embarrasing 14 percent approval rating, according to Gallup polling. Similarly, the Kouachi brothers’ extremism in Paris did nothing to advance the cause of their faith. Their actions only served to justify societal xenophobia and negative views of Islam. In fact, Marine Le Pen, the leading candidate in the upcoming French presidential election is a white supremacist, whose party is now emboldened by overwhelming reaction to the terrorist attacks. If Le Pen, manages to win the election, Muslims in France would undoubtedly suffer greatly.

As a matter of fact, Le Pen and her political allies serve as yet another archetype of why extremism is a vice.

We need to ungraphic by Ben Rabin derstand that extrem-

ism, an erroneous path, is unlikely to accomplish anything.

Only moderation and compromise can achieve significant change.

Last but not least, we must continue to underscore the importance of the right to free speech.

While I hold mostly conservative views, I would never dream of banning or violently reacting to many of my friends’ liberal beliefs with which I disagree, for such actions would be both unproductive and immoral.

Everyone, no matter how unintelligent or offensive their views are, should be allowed to express and advocate for their beliefs.

Just because a publication expressed an inflammatory viewpoint does not mean that its writers deserve to be violently murdered. The proper response to someone’s offensive belief is effective communication and discussion. Murdering people just because of their political beliefs is never the right path under any circumstance.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The true measure of a man is not where he stands during a time of peace, but at a time of controversy.” While it is certainly true that Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons were insensitive and highly provocative, this magazine’s cartoonists will eternally be remembered as martyrs who died defending the cause of free speech. We need to make sure that their deaths are not in vain.

We must understand that we live in a world were western ideals are not universally valued; we need to realize that all forms of extremism tend to be inherently negative and we must continue to defend our right to freedom of expression. Only then can we truly recover from this horrible act of evil.

As both a journalist and a free speech advocate, I proudly say, “Je Suis Charlie”!

february 13, 2015|page 11

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|Opinions

UPGRADE

9

campus chatter

The Lion’s Roar asked... What is your dream job?

February Vacation

“I want to be a pediatric oncologist. I’ve wanted to be one since I was like 10. It’s working with kids with cancer, [and] I want to save somebody’s life.”

Valentine’s Day Black History Month Super Bowl Victory

Mary Levine, Class of 2015 “My dream job in life is to do something with basketball, … either to play basketball, or [to] be a coach or a manager or something.”

alex Kiritsky, CLASS OF 2016

Mardi Gras

“I want to be a film director or an actor when I grow up, mostly because when I was younger, I was really into creating stories. ... I really wish that I could have a way to actually make that real.”

Short Month Midyears Over Presidents’ Day Snow Days

Ariel Kohane, class of 2017 “My dream job is computer engineering. … I could make good money and it’s the same as my uncle, so he gave [me] some advice.”

Bashar Salloum, Class of 2017

9

DOWNGRADE

Icy Sidewalks Waiting for College Decisions Potholes SAT Makeup Shoveling Snow Snowdays Makeup Crunch Still Five Months Till Summer Football Season Over

photos by Alexa Rhynd

“Selma”

BY Parisa Siddiqui

It is a shame that only after a series of tragedies involving police brutalities against black citizens are we as a nation beginning to speak more frankly than we have in a long time about race relations. Amidst all the Oscar buzz, the film “Selma” stands out for its resonance and timeliness.

The film follows a three-month period in the turbulent year of 1965. It chronicles Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s (David Oyelowo) role in the march from Montgomery to Selma, Ala. and the fight to have then-President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) support suffrage.

While we have learned the facts of the civil rights movement in school, the film focuses on King’s personal life as well.

The movie starts out with King’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize. Soon after, a group of black girls is attacked by a bomb, and a black woman, Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey, who also produced the film) is prevented from voting. The juxtaposition between King’s proud moment and the horrific injustices these women face is just the first of a series of bold, terrifying contrasts. Powerful imagery, with visceral performances, makes the film more than just a reenactment of bits of textbook knowledge on the civil rights movement.

David Oyelowo’s performance stood out in a sea of strong ones. As King, Oyelowo com-

“Selma”

Black protesters, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyewolo, center), march for civil rights.

manded the same attention and had the same presence. Best of all, he humanizes King in a way that I have not seen before. This King is a sage leader and a hopeful public figure, as he remains in the mind of the public even today, but he is also vulnerable and flawed. This is also due to the outstanding direction of Ava DuVernay, who makes the audience empathize with the characters, not just sympathize.

This is not a movie that sugar coats or romanticizes the struggles of black activism in the 1960s. It is replete with scenes depicting fighting, beatings, shootings, humiliation and various other brutalities. “Selma” has the audience live the panic and horror of these moments alongside the characters. President Johnson is

not portrayed as a champion for the rights of the marginalized, as he was in my history textbook last year. He pushes aside King’s request for legislation allowing black people to register to vote peacefully in the beginning of the movie, though Johnson does eventually sign 1965’s Voting Rights Act. What makes the movie shine is not the plot, but the people involved. The film tapers off toward the end, although it is common historical knowledge what happens next.

Protests in the movie evoke the ones that have been occurring around the country for months now. The message of complete egality persists, and although the film ends on a hopeful note, there is still a ways to go.

changing the look

The Roar investigates the different ways in which girls modify their appearances and the stigma surrounding those changes

J

photo illustration by Alexa Rhynd

By Sophia Fisher and Veronica Podolny

unior Sam Heesch was 14 years old when she personal one.

Although makeup often affects the way people underwent rhinoplasty. Following a 1 1/2 hour “There have been people saying ‘I can’t believe you perceive one another, Heesch said that wearing makeup surgery, she left the hospital sporting a white plastic got plastic surgery’ and people saying ‘you didn’t need it,’ provides girls with control over changing how they look. cast and two swollen black eyes. After the procedure, but I wanted it for myself and I wanted it for my health, so “I think guys can be hard on themselves sometimes Heesch had to clean her stitches with hydrogen peroxide I wasn’t going to listen to them,” she said. “If I want to get when it comes to their own body image,” she said. every two hours. A few days later, the doctor replaced a nose job, I’m going to get one. I mean, yeah, people are “For girls, you can contour your face to make the cast for a piece of tape and instructed her to press the going to talk about it and I can’t stop them, but if it’s not a yourself look different. I guess it’s kind of worse for guys sides of her nose every half hour to keep it straight. big deal to me, why should it be a big deal to you?” in that sense, because … it’s really uncommon for guys to Although Heesch needed the procedure to fix her While Cohen and Hesch are among the few students wear makeup.” deviated septum and remove her adenoids, her doctor that have undergone plastic surgery, many more said According to Logan, boys do not face the same also performed cosmetic surgery at her request. they try to enhance their appearance by wearing makeup. pressure girls do about their appearance.

“I got a lot of crap for my nose job. I wanted to get Senior Kelsey Logan wears makeup to school almost every “It’s easy for them and no one really cares, … They my nose fixed because I couldn’t breathe correctly,” she day and said that she does so to keep herself happy. can wear the same shirt three days in a row and no one said. “A lot of people were like, ‘She got a freaking nose “I definitely am a big believer in wearing makeup would say anything to them,” she said. job, that’s so weird.’ It’s taboo, I guess, for someone my age for yourself and making yourself feel better and not really “[Guys] face pressure with different things, but not ... to get it.” trying to impress anybody else,” she said. “I just really like keeping up their appearances,” freshman Deika Albert While rhinoplasty is a permanent body alteration, it. It’s fun for me to do. ... I really enjoy taking 10 minutes agreed.

South students often make temporary changes to their for myself to ‘put my face on’ and then leave.”

Many cited the media as an overarching source of physical appearance by wearing makeup. While students Li, who has a beauty channel on YouTube where she pressure for girls to appear perfect. reported facing judgment from peers for altering their films makeup tutorials, said she enjoys wearing makeup as “It’s ridiculous. The Kardashians walk out of the appearances, many agreed that changing one’s appearance, a form of self-expression. house without makeup on, and it’s on the front page of whether temporarily or permanently, should be an “When I do makeup or beauty videos, it’s not the newspaper,” Logan said. “Everyone has their face, and acceptable means for girls to gain confidence in a high- because I want to project for other girls to have to wear everyone doesn’t look perfect all the time.” pressure society.

Hardiman said he thinks the media Junior Rachel Cohen underwent has a great impact on how girls judge I think people at South love to defy what society does, so I’d rhinoplasty over the summer and again this their own bodies. winter. While her parents supported her say, around here, you don’t see that much pressure from the media “There’s still a lot of the choice to proceed with the surgery, Cohen … I think people at South are much more evolved than that. objectification and sexualization of said she received pushback from her friends. women. … I don’t think [it] has improved - Jonathan Kirshenbaum, Class of 2015 “A few of my friends were like ‘you don’t that much over time, and I think it need it, so don’t get it’, but I didn’t listen. Obviously … I makeup to feel beautiful,” she said. “I think makeup … is can relate to girls ... looking inward at their physical did it for myself. Their opinions shouldn’t matter,” she said. not a form of trying to cover myself up, but more a form appearance and deciding ... what they hear unconsciously Senior Vivian Li, however, said she believes plastic to show that the face is a canvas. ... I think of it as art — from society — music, TV, movies, print.” surgery is not a viable way to resolve personal issues with not for the sake of making myself more beautiful.”

Kirshenbaum, however, said the South community one’s appearance.

Logan said she has noticed judgment from peers seems to be less influenced by this superficial culture “I don’t think plastic surgery is something you regarding girls who wear makeup. Yet she still believes that because of the school’s diversity. ever do for yourself,” she said. “People say it helps them makeup is an appropriate way to boost confidence.

“I think people at South love to defy what society gain confidence, but that confidence comes from the way “I think a lot of the guys will think that we’re all does, so I’d say, around here, you don’t see that much society views [them]. ... Plastic surgery is something I trying really hard. But none of it has to do with them. All pressure from the media. I think people at South are much always feel like you do for other people and not yourself.” of it is a personal thing,” she said. “If certain girls decide more evolved than that,” he said.

Guidance counselor Christopher Hardiman added that that’s what they need to do to make themselves “In our generation, hopefully, there’s less of an that a large factor of a young girls’ decisions to get feel better, then I think there shouldn’t be a negative importance or less of a judgment placed on makeup and cosmetic surgery is societal pressure — especially from connotation with that.” presentation and appearance … as there is on character the Hollywood culture.

Senior Jonathan Kirshenbaum said he rarely notices and personality.”

“It’s hard for me as a male to understand why young whether or not a girl is wearing makeup. Even when he According to Li, however, judging others is an girls feel like they have to get plastic surgery, and what does, however, Kirshenbaum said that a girls’ wearing inherent part of human nature. “As a society, I feel like I immediately think of from my counseling lens is that makeup does not cast a negative light on the individual everyone judges no matter what,” she said. there’s some sort of self-esteem stuff going on or some real but instead shows him a part of her personality.

Heesch agreed that the evaluation of physical insecurity,” he said. “I do wonder sometimes about role “I’d say there are definitely people, boys and girls in appearance is ingrained in society. modeling, specifically related to if a girl’s mom or aunt ... general, who have certain niches or a certain reputation, “I think just the way society is, we’re obviously going has had plastic surgery, and, if that’s kind of out there in and I think for some girls, wearing certain makeup fits to judge people. … If it really makes that person wearing the open or obvious to the daughter, that [it] may have into that niche. I wouldn’t say it changes my opinion, that much makeup feel pretty, then I guess that they had an influence as well.” but I would say it’s definitely part of … getting an should be able to do it,” she said. “Who are we to tell them For Heesch, the decision to get plastic surgery was a understanding of who’s who,” he said. ‘no, don’t wear so much makeup, because we don’t like it’?”

page 14|february 13, 2015

centerfold|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

A Closer look

Two anonymous students explain their personal choices regarding plastic surgery and makeup

Getting the procedure The rule of thumb, they say, is to wait a year. Before you make any life-altering decision, give it a year and see if in that time you still want to make the same choice. Well, five years later, I still want a nose job.

“If you get a nose job, I won’t be friends with you,” my friend told me when I expressed my desire to undergo rhinoplasty.

It is shocking that we continue to make people ashamed of their personal choices. We’ve made progress in eliminating social judgment surrounding choices of partners and religion, but why do still call people who want to change a part of their body “egocentric” and “shallow”?

Most arguments against cosmetic plastic surgery are hollow. Some say that those who get plastic surgery are insecure. Of course they are! Why would I permanently alter something that I am happy with? In fact, I am not so certain that “insecure” should be an insult — that makes flaws sound like anomalies and exceptions to the rule that everyone is perfect. Yet some people can mitigate the effects of their flaws by skillfully using makeup or wearing a certain type of clothing. I can’t do that, so thats why I’ve decided to get a nose job during the summer before I head to college.

Others have said cosmetic plastic surgery is frivolous. If that really is the case, then why are we accepting of people who drive luxury cars or wear expensive clothes? Everyone chooses to spend money in different ways, and if a nose job is what I choose, then I should be put under no more scrutiny than someone in a Mercedes.

I do not want plastic surgery as a “pick-me-up.” I am not looking to become a model or actress or to appear physically perfect. I am simply making a proactive decision to fix an insecurity that I have been dealing with for years.

Women are undoubtedly put under a double standard in which they are criticized for both their flaws and the ways they correct them. My friend who got a nose job explained to me that she felt like it was impossible to win. People made fun of her flaw — her nose — and continued to judge her when she chose to fix that flaw. If I’m going to be judged either way, I want to do what will make me happiest — that is, fixing one of my insecurities.

So, I no longer believe in the validity of the aforementioned rule of thumb. I now ask myself, “How does this affect me?” I urge everyone to consider this before making hasty judgments.

It is because of society’s persistent, unwarranted judgment that I don’t want to reveal my name.

I hadn’t felt embarrassed for wanting plastic surgery until I saw the reactions of others. Until we stop with our bigotries and narrow-mindedness, our society will continue to ostracize those with unpopular opinions. As a result, we deny these people control over their own bodies while exacerbating their insecurities. We as a society praise acceptance of our own and others’ bodies, but when we judge others for getting plastic surgery, we reinforce a regressive, limited society where personal choices are subject to the judgment and control of everybody else.

Experimenting with makeup A common misunderstanding about makeup is that its only purpose is to mask one’s face — that is, to hide one’s true features. Makeup, however, should be about enhancing natural features and gaining confidence.

When I discovered makeup in the eighth grade, I was instantly hooked. I would spend all my money buying products and all my time surfing sephora.com. I found that wearing makeup didn’t necessarily make me feel like I had something to hide in my appearances; rather, it just boosted my self-confidence. Waking up five minutes earlier every morning and brushing on just a swipe of mascara somehow made the biggest difference in my day. When you feel confident about the way you look and are happy in your own skin, your attitude transforms completely.

When I started playing around with makeup, I had a preconceived notion that there was a certain way I had to look in order to be beautiful. I quickly learned that that’s not the case. With makeup, it’s all about finding what works for you. Just like trying on clothes and finding the best fit, trying on different types of makeup is just as important. In a perfect world, no one would feel the need to wear makeup and everybody would wake up flawless; but channeling your inner Beyoncé is harder than it looks. Whether it be bright green eye shadow or candy apple red lipstick, you should wear whatever makes you feel the best about yourself.

Walking through the halls of South, you will see that there is no single way to look. Our school is special in that it celebrates and embraces diversity; there is a wide range of people who express themselves in all sorts of ways. For instance, last Halloween, countless students dressed up in creative costumes and wore funky makeup to match. Everybody loved seeing new characters in the hallway and embraced their peers’ efforts. I don’t see why we should view people who wear makeup daily any differently.

Of course, there is no high school — or any other community for that matter — that is 100 percent judgment-free. Some students may think makeup is inappropriate for school while others think it is necessary; those different points of views will persist. But at the end of the day, whether it’s about makeup or life in general, you should do whatever satisfies your desires most. If your friends don’t support you, they probably aren’t that great of friends to begin with. The truth is, there is no formula to wearing makeup. There is no right or wrong way you should look. It all comes back to being happy with yourself.

The Roar surveyed 105 students on Feb. 6 and found that ...

7%

of students said they have considered getting cosmetic plastic surgery

21% of students said they

believe it is appropriate for a high school student to get cosmetic plastic surgery

33%

of girls said they wear makeup to school every day

28%

of girls said they wear makeup to school some days

39%

of girls said they never wear makeup to school

page 15|February 13, 2015|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

FEATURES

Skipping Class Levels to Mix Results PAGE 16

Students find locker use inefficient pAGE 17

FEATURES@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 31, ISSUE 6

Coating the Canvas photo by Chloe Miller

South art teachers and students form Mural Club and work as a team on their first project ever

By Karin Alsop and Amelia Stern

In a cramped and secluded hallway large project with other artists. off the 9000s, students and staff met on “[Being in the club] is really exciting, a Saturday morning to start painting the because making a mural is just a huge pronewest addition to South’s murals. After cess, but working with other people and months of planning, they spent six hours making such a big painting is just really surrounded by the buckets of paint, watch- amazing,” she said. ing as the rough sketches on the canvas Working with such a large group became vivid and detailed images. creates a unique artistic experience, acPacing alongside the mural, collabo- cording to junior Annalisa Flynn. rating artist David Fichter gave the students “[Collaborating with other artists] is advice on how to replicate the small model of exciting. Things move quicker. It’s nice to the mural onto the large canvas, pointing out have more people working, and working where to add shadows with other people has and suggesting slight that energy,” she said. color changes.

Junior Jacob “[In groups] you can bounce At the beginRozowsky agreed ning of the 2014-15 ideas off each other, and we that collaboration is school year, South’s art can critique each other more. beneficial because teachers, along with ... I want other people’s imput other artists can offer interested art students, advice. on how to make it look better.” helpful“[In came together to create groups] - Jacob Rozowsky, Class of 2016 you can bounce the Mural Club. Members have recently beideas off each other, gun their first project, and we can critique which aims to connect all the academic sub- each other more. If I was to paint my own jects and highlight the recently introduced thing, I wouldn’t care as much about other Da Vinci program, an interdisciplinary cur- people’s feedback,” he said. “But here, I riculum that includes math, science and art. want other people’s input on how to make While a project undertaken by part it look better.” of the Mural Club, this painting is actually Fichter, a professional mural artist on a canvas rather than directly on a wall who has worked with schools for the past because the library wall where the clubs 30 years, said that murals are not only a wants to display the final product is too great form of art because of their collabhigh to paint safely. Currently, the large orative nature, but also because of their canvas hangs in the 9000s where artists are distinct setting and style. able to carefully detail the picture.

“One of the reasons I do public art, Librarian Ethel Downey said the which murals are, is because I’m not the mural’s theme is appropriate for the kind of person who likes to stay in a studio library. and work by themselves all the time. I “I’m looking forward to it. This is like the kind of collaboration or even just a big library, and there’s a lot of big walls, working in unusual settings. … The world high ceilings, and it’s about time we had becomes your studio,” he said. [something] colorful that’s really an inEvery aspect of making a mural, stalled part of the library. … The library is including forming the picture, requires certainly where all subjects come together collective decisionmaking, art teacher to learn and discover, and the [mural] will Megan Leary-Crist said. really reflect that,” she said.

“It’s a lot of brainstorming and talkFor junior Hadas Rosen, the mural ing to classes and students gathering ideas offers her a rare opportunity to work on a of what they want to see,” she said. “[We]

compiled hundreds, literally hundreds, of ideas from students and faculty members about what they’d like to see in the mural.”

Leary-Crist added that this planning process is particularly difficult because the artists want their work to transcend time and apply to future South students.

“We want this to be timeless. It’s not supposed to be admired [only] in 2015.

20, 30 years from now, students will look at this and it will still be relevant to them,” she said. “What you’re really seeing [in the mural] is that education is not just

happening as what you learn in math class stays in math class, what you learn in science stays in science. It’s really helping people to see the cross pollination of ideas that happen between different disciplines.”

Junior Anjali Shankar said the timelessness of these projects makes the arduous process worthwhile. “[Finishing a mural is] very rewarding, because you see it in the school and you’re like, ‘Oh, I did that,’” she said. “It’s really cool, because the mark is on the school forever.”

photo by Mikayla Kass

Junior Anjali Shankar, a founder of the club, works on her portion of the latest mural

page 16|February 13, 2015

features|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Out of the Shadows Members of South’s LGBT+ community reflect on awareness of prominent issues, prompting discussion on inclusiveness, progress and representation at South

What It Means to be

L G B T +

Lesbian: A woman who is attracted primarily to other women

Gay: A person who is attracted primarily to members of the same sex

Bisexual: A person who is attracted to people of both their own gender and another gender

Transgender: a person who does not identify with his or her assigned gender at birth or with the binary gender system

Other terms: asexual, cisgender, genderqueer, intersex, pansexual, queer, questioning transgender, transsexual

Source of information: International Spectrum at Univeristy of Michigan

have actually brought [the idea] in front of the South Senate to try and get this to pening,” he said. “‘Orange is the New Black happen, because I don’t feel comfortable in ‘[and] ‘Transparent’ — those are both either of the bathrooms,” he said. “I know shows that have brought this new, moda couple other people who aren’t either. It ern look. Laverne Cox ... is such a good would just be a safe place for us to use the example that she’s transgender, but ... she’s bathroom.” on the cover of Time magazine. That’s stuff While freshman Katy Ronkin said that I think is so amazing and progressive she supports the idea, she wonders if and inspiring that it’s very hopeful to think the community would effectively use about.” gender-neutral bathrooms. “People would Freshman Sam Frankel, a GSA regular, definitely take advantage of this. Like, said the club strives to provide an open enthey would just use it because it’s gender vironment for students to hold discussions. neutral and use it like a family bathroom,” “It’s a safe space, and anyone is welcome,” she said.

Frankel said. “Basically, we try to make South Parlin, however, said that he is a more welcoming and accepting place for confident that the community will come everyone to try and eliminate bullying.” to understand the importance of providAccording to sophomore Jason ing an exclusive facility that could better Kan and other stuthe experience of dents, the LGBT ac- [Homophobia and transphobia are] not as much institutionalized so much many students. “Once ronym may be short [students at South] as the individuals who just ... haven’t been exposed or educated about a few letters. Kan realize that what we’re these issues. … They don’t understand the impact of their words. said that one variatalking about is a tion is LGBTQQIAP, space that would be a - Robert Parlin, History Teacher which stands for lesfaculty bathroom — a bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, implications of their words, even if used in single facility — I don’t think they’d have questioning, intersex, ally and pansexual. a joking manner. “I hear people call each any issue,” he said.

Some students, however, said they con- other faggot [or] queer. People will call Batler added that the bathroom sider the extra letters unnecessary. Freshman each other gay ... in the locker room, and would be more accessible than the already Catarina Martins said she feels that adding it’s definitely not supposed to be offensive,” existing gender-neutral facilities. “[The more letters could complicate the acronym. he said. “It’s just that I think people should gender-neutral bathrooms are] more “I think that there’s pros and cons to having really think about what’s the meaning private and you have to be on a list to use those letters because those are the major ones, behind those words.” them,” he said. “The one we’re trying to but there’s also ... asexual [and] pansxual,” In order to prevent inadvertent pass would just be more public.” she said. “They could add more, … but for offense, the GSA has worked on several While members of the South the sake of convenience, LGBT is good.” projects to educate the South community community may not be rid of all their Freshman Harry deVries agreed on awareness of LGBT+ issues. One of prejudice and homophobia, Parlin said he with Martins. “Where it stands, [LGBT] these projects is TB’GLADD, an event held recognizes the significant progress South seems fine to serve as an umbrella [term]. in December where students, staff and has made in welcoming all students and I know that there’s a lot more, but that’d be alumni run lectures on different aspects of raising awareness of LGBT+ issues. “I a really long list,” he said.

LGBT+ awareness. think we’re more and more accepting all Several students said they have The GSA is also working on is lobthe time,” he said. “I wouldn’t say we’ve noticed that a growing number of LGBT+ bying for the creation of a gender-neutral conquered racism, homophobia, transpeople have been using the word queer bathroom to be used by transgender stuphobia [and] classism, but I do think that to refer to themselves. Though the term dents, genderqueer students and anyone the experiences students have — meeting has been considered offensive in the past, who does not feel comfortable identifying people from different backgrounds — and Parlin said he appreciates its current as male-female gender binary. the teachings we do of these issues really comprehensive usage. “I actually now love Kan said he fully supports the idea make a difference.”

Additional reporting by Shelley Friedland the word [queer] because it’s so inclusive of a gender-neutral bathroom at South. “I LGBT+ CULTURE, from 1

and gets all the different groups — you don’t have to have all those letters,” he said.

“But it has so many negative connotations for so many people. ... I just don’t know if people can reclaim it.”

While Parlin said that the word “queer” is no longer offensive when used in reference to the whole LGBT+ community, he said that homophobia and transphobia are still noticeable at South.

“I would say it’s not as much institutionalized so much as the individuals who just ... haven’t been exposed or educated about these issues. … They don’t understand the impact of their words, so they still use expressions like ‘that’s so gay’, or ‘don’t be such a fag,’” he said.

Batler agreed with Parlin and said that he urges students to think about the

page 17|February 13, 2015

FEATURES|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Skipping levels yields varied results Shira Abramovich & Emily Belt Features Reporters

An eighth grader in a sea of high schoolers, Mikaeel Yunus arrived at South at 7:40 a.m. each morning, attended a sophomore honors math class until 8:35 a.m. and walked back to Brown Middle School to attend first period.

Now a junior, Yunus has completed South’s math curriculum. “In seventh grade, I skipped to eighth grade math and I got this amazing teacher, so in eighth grade ... I went to 10th grade math, and in ninth grade I went to 12th grade math,” Yunus said. “You only need 10 math credits to graduate at South. … Even though I

AP Math Math 613 Math 612 Math 611

graphic by Maia Fefer

did the bare minimum, ... I’m done with math [here].”

Yunus is not the only student to skip levels. Students at South may skip levels of classes such as math, science and language, provided they can prove their mastery of the skipped material.

According to students and teachers, the dedication required to learn the material means that not every student succeeds in skipping, and, for those who do skip, success and enjoyment in higher-level classes can vary.

Sophomore Eleanor Harlan took sophomore French as a freshman. “At first I wasn’t really sure,” Harlan said. “I found it was really fun, and I’m glad that I did it.”

Other students, however, found the transition to a higher level course to be challenging. “In the beginning of the year, it was definitely difficult,” senior Mira Li, who skipped precalculus to enter AP Calculus BC her junior year, said. “[It] was review for other kids, but, for the kids who’d skipped, it was the last part of the learning ... we hadn’t learned it as well. ...

That ended up making the beginning of the year really tough.”

Science department head Gerald Gagnon said that skipping course levels can indeed pose many challenges.

“I think that socially, it’s challenging for [students] because they’re no longer with their peer group,” he said. “I think that developmentally, sometimes it’s harder for students — the mind grows an awful lot during high school, ... and it can be a struggle.”

But science teacher Hema Roychow-

dhury said skipping a level can be the right decision for certain students. “Sometimes the mandated levels are not the right levels for kids, so ... it’s good that kids have the ability to go to a class that’s appropriate for them,” she said.

Li said that a common misconception is that students who skip levels are intrinsically smarter than those who stay in their assigned levels. “A lot of people will say, ‘You are so smart for skipping a grade,’ but I don’t really think it’s about intelligence. ... It’s more about hard work,” she said.

Freshman Stephanie Luiz, who attempted to skip a level in Spanish, agreed with Li and added that studying just a little can make the difference between a pass and a fail on the exam.

“If I studied even 20 more minutes, … I might be in a different class right now,” she said. “Skipping a level is really something you [have to] want to do because it takes a lot of time and effort.”

Yunus said that the hard work required to skip a level was worth it because of his passion for math. “My favorite part of skipping the level was definitely just doing the math, because I’ve always just loved math,” he said.

Ultimately, the choice to skip a level depends on the student and his or her specific citcumstances, according to Gagnon.

“Make sure you’re [skipping a level] for the right reasons and that you’re going into it fully aware of the time and energy that will be needed to invest to be successful,” he said. “Certainly, we don’t want to hold kids back.”

exchange experience at the school.

Brazilian exchange student senior Camila Noronha said that the variety of courses and extracurriculars are the most enjoyable part of South. “There’s so [much] variety here. … In my other school, everyone was basically the same,” she said. “I love the different languages; I love all the clubs, all opportunities.”

Sophomore Annie Hu, another Jingshan exchange student, said that her native school offers very limited opportunities. “We only have two courses that we can choose in China; one is PE [and] the other one we can choose is French, Spanish or Italian. I prefer the way South does

For sophomore Peter Jin, another Jingshan student, Hema Roychowdhury, his AP physics teacher, has been a great help. “I am in 10th grade in China, but I am taking 12th grade AP physics here, so it is very hard. I [knew] nothing about calculus before, but we need to use calculus in this physics [class],” Jin said. “She taught me a lot about physics and calculus.”

Noronha agreed that the South community has been welcoming. “They’re all friendly and try to help me and everything [with] anything [on] any day,” she said.

“Everyone is so friendly and … I didn’t expect everyone [to be] this friendly when I came,” Shen said. “Most of the people [tried] to talk to me in class when I first came here, and then I had some friends in the first two weeks, and that is way faster than I expected.”

According to Noronha, exchange programs provide valuable experiences for students. “You need to adapt yourself for their customs, their values and their routines,” she said. “It’s good to do an exchange program because you get to see so many things.”

Murphy-Ferguson added that participation in an exchange allows students to learn about a culture from a different perspective. “[Exchange students] get to see what daily life is like for somebody their age abroad. They just get to experience a whole different culture, and they really get to live [and] use the language they’ve been studying,” she said. “[The exchange students have] a willingness to understand that there are multiple perspectives. ...

Once you do speak the language, you gain insights that you don’t have otherwise.”

South welcomes exchange students Ella Kim & Nicole Yu

Features Reporter, Features Editor When sophomore Simon Shen, a Chinese exchange student from the Beijing Jingshan School, arrived at South, the course catalogue caught him by surprise.

“The education system is completely different in China. We have a fixed class for the whole high school, so we have the same classmates for all three years, and we do not have courses to choose,” he said.

“The first time I saw the course catalogue, I was really shocked. … It was 70 pages long.”

According to world language department head Suzanne Murphy-Ferguson, a central orchestrator of South’s foreign exchange programs, Shen’s experience is common among Chinese exchange students. Since the program — one of the first of its kind between U.S. and China — began over 30 years ago. “The Chinese students find that they have a lot more freedom here in the United States, [and that] there is a much more open, relaxed relationship between teachers and students in the classroom,” she said. “[They have] the ability to get extra help, and it’s a less intensive exam preparation atmosphere.”

For Shen, Russian class was a highlight of his experience at South. “It is very fun to feel the diversity. Once I’m in the Russian classroom, I just hear Russian, write Russian and talk Russian. Once you get out, it’s the whole American [experience],” he said.

According to several exchange students who have spent time at South, the hospitable environment and the diversity of courses contributed to a positive

“Most of the people [tried] to talk to me in class when I first came here, and then I had some friends in the first two weeks.”

- Simon Shen, Jingshan Exchange Student [it],” Hu said. “You have tons of courses to choose [from], so you can choose whichever course you like according to your hobbies and interests.”

Noronha said that her Brazilian school focused much less on extracurriculars. “We can’t choose our classes, so we need to take all the classes,” she said.

“We don’t have sports, and we don’t focus that much on sports. We focus basically on subjects, grades and all that stuff.”

In addition to the wide range of courses, the exchange students said they also appreciate the friendliness and welcoming attitude of the students and faculty.

Relationships:

The Communication Factor EDITOR’S NOTE: Every issue, The Roar publishes a different anonymous student’s perspective on relationships. The views expressed in the “Relationships Column” do not reflect the official views of The Lion’s Roar, nor are they intended as a guide or source of advice for others.

Right before school ended last year, I found myself watching Lord of the Rings while sitting on the couch of a girl who I had liked for a while. We had watched another movie before and sat close to each other, but this time, about midway through the movie, somehow my arm ended up around her shoulders.

It’s now been almost eight months, and we’re still watching movies together (although we’ve moved on from Lord of the Rings) on her couch and mine.

It seems to me as though we have a relationship that isn’t exactly ‘normal’ or ‘expected’ from two high school students.

That’s not to say that every moment is the most perfect fairytale that has ever existed, but we do seem to be able to work things out that many other young couples can’t.

Of course we fight and have disagreements, but these bumps really do make up a healthy part of every relationship. When we have problems, we communicate that to each other and work to figure it out.

We are also incredibly good friends — best friends, you could say — so we know the little things about each other that make it easy to figure things out. I know when she’s upset or not happy about something, and she knows the same about me. And most importantly, we care about each other. Really, truly, deeply care.

Neither of us likes to see the other one be upset, and we both really enjoy seeing each other happy about something.

All of these things and more combine to create a long lasting relationship.

It’s odd, though, because we’ve watched friends of ours fail at some of the things that to us are just so natural. We have friends who can’t figure out how to communicate between themselves and who don’t really seem to care all that much about the other person. It’s hard to imagine that type of relationship lasting long at all, and as we’ve seen, they don’t. I’m not saying any of this as some sort of stab at other relationships; I’m certainly not saying that they are any less, or any worse, but they definitely seem different.

It seems weird to me that in the middle of a fight that one person would say something that they know would hurt the other person. I know from experience that doing that might be the natural defensive impulse, but such impulses don’t make anything better. In fact, they can worsen misunderstandings. Moreover, saying those things would hurt the person that I care about so deeply, which I would never want to do.

Yet, I’ve heard of other couple’s fights where one says something that makes the other not want to talk to them at all. We’ve never had that issue. We care too much about each other. All I can really say is that I’m truly lucky to have her, and to have the type of close, deep, relationship that we’ve had.

page 18|February 13, 2015

features|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Campus size, limited time reduce locker use Andrea Lirio & Ilana Zeldin

T

Features Reporters

he passing time between blocks gives junior Melanie Jermanok barely enough time to get to her next class on time, let alone make a stop at her locker to drop off a few books.“South is so big, and it’s stressful to go to your locker before you go to a class, because you only have five minutes to get to each class,” she said.

Sophomore Sarah King agreed that students find it difficult to use their lockers. “You have so little time in between class to get your stuff, and the walk from the 6000s to the 1000s [is] so long,” she said. “There is just really no time whatsoever to get to store anything.”

Other members of the community cited time shortage, campus size and location as factors affecting the lack of student locker use at South.

Instead of using a regular hallway locker to store her supplies, King uses a locker in the dressing rooms of the field house. “[Regular lockers] are small, so I think it’s very hard to put lots of stuff in them, which would not be most helpful,” she said. “[Field house lockers] are much bigger, and they are closer to the bus entrance.”

School nurse Gail Kramer said that South tries its best to accommodate students with storage space and is open to

THE

reassigning lockers. “If [your locker is] not convenient for you, we can find you a locker elsewhere in the school,” Kramer said. “Just because you have a locker in Goodwin and all your classes are somewhere else, we can help you rearrange that.”

Most students, however, opt for carrying all of their supplies with them throughout the day for convenience. “I never use [my assigned locker], because it’s too much work to go to,” Jermanok said. “It’s a lot easier just to carry my books around, because then I can just grab them whenever I want.”

According to biology teacher Jeffrey Burt, however, lockers could be advantageous for students, particularly younger ones. “It is really nice to have as an option if you want to use it, especially if the kid is coming from middle school,” he said. “[As freshmen], they are used to having the routine of visiting their locker and being able to access that locker during the school day.”

In addition to not making use of lockers, many students strain themselves by hauling unnecessary supplies and materials throughout the day, adding excess weight to their backpack.

The common stance of wearing a backpack on one shoulder can damage the back, physiatrist David Blaustein said.

graphic by Annalisa Flynn

“I know it is not cool to have a rolling backpack or use your straps on both shoulders, but people need to realize that it’s a real problem and understand that biochemically it’s much better,” he said. “[Wearing your backpack on one shoulder] causes back pain, because the weight is not evenly distributed across your back, and half your back is bearing more weight than the other.”

Kramer said that for many South

students, carrying excess materials and not taking advantage of lockers has become a school-wide trend. “I think it’s a culture.

We give everyone lockers, and there are rolling backpacks available, and you can keep your textbooks at home and just take the bare minimum to school,” she said.

“When you really go through people’s backpacks and see what is really required that day, there’s a lot that you could eliminate.”

COMMON APPLICATION

The Roar follows three seniors with different interests as they navigate through the college application process and will reveal their identities and college plans as they make their decisions

By Shelley Friedland

L

eo* has been accepted to University of Oregon, Miami University of Ohio, University of Vermont, University of Delaware, Elon University, University of Maryland and James Madison University. He is waiting to hear back from University of Connecticut and Vanderbilt University.

Leo said he looked at schools with both strong athletics and academics. “From the beginning, I never really cared if it was one of those super popular schools or [that] a lot of kids from South went to or had a good reputation or whatever — that was never important to me,” he said. “I tried to get in and then emailed the coach. … I applied to weaker Division I programs. I want to go to a good school, obviously, so I tried to pick schools that were academically sound institutions.”

Over February break, Leo will go to visit the University of Vermont. “I’m going to meet the team and the coach,” he said. “I’ll hopefully be going out to Oregon at some point to actually get to see it with my own eyes.”

E

lizabeth* has applied to MassArt, Rhode Island School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art, Lesley University, Boston University and UMass-Dartmouth.

She said that although portfolio requirements can differ from school to school, applicants have significant input into what goes toward the final product. “Most schools require 15 to 20 pieces. … It does vary, but other than that, you’re given a lot of freedom as to what you can submit. You can really submit any form of art,” she said.

“There are some variations in what you have to submit for different schools, but they give you a lot of freedom.”

Elizabeth said she decided to apply to art school around five years ago. “I decided that I wanted to go to art school when I was 12 or 13 years old and I first learned that art school existed,” she said. “I knew that I had always loved art, and as I grew up and as I continued making art, it just all kind of became real for me, and I realized that it was something that I really wanted to do.”

G

graphics by David Gorelik

regory* submitted his applications to Harvard University and Yale University. In the early application process, he was accepted to University of Chicago and Case Western Reserve University and was deferred from MIT. Due to his early acceptances, he said he found the remainder of his applications to be less stressful and more enjoyable. “I guess part of getting in early is that my list of colleges became a lot shorter, so I only had to write about one supplement because Harvard and Yale had the same essay question basically,” he said. “I felt like I could take more risks applying to the other schools. … It definitely made doing the extra supplements a lot more fun since I could go a bit crazy with them and not worry too much.”

Gregory has also had interviews with MIT, Harvard and Yale. “For me, [interviews are] helpful,” he said. “They give you an opportunity to ask questions about the school, which is actually pretty pleasant, because you get to ask a pretty recent alumnus what they thought of the school.” *names have been changed to protect students’ identities

February 13, 2015|page 19

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|Features

Jonah Cochin is ...

Every issue, The Roar randomly selects a student and explores what makes him or her unique.

Bringing Theater to Life

Senior Jonah Cochin develops his passion for theater, gains invaluable perspectives through South Stage

A

talking dog may not typically be a dream musical role, but senior Jonah Cochin’s experience as Toto the talking dog in “Wizard of Oz” was an especially fond one. Since that experience in fourth grade, Jonah has been cast in several leading roles and has become an active member of South’s theater community at South.

Jonah said that he particularly enjoys the community aspect of theater.

“I would say the majority of what is fun about doing a show is being in a cast and bonding with people,” he said. “I wouldn’t be nearly as into theater as I am now if I hadn’t had such good casts over the years.”

These casts, Jonah said, have been instrumental in developing his appreciation of the plays in which he has participated. “[In theater] you learn about what the play is about, but on a bigger level you learn a lot about coming together as a team, and you realize a lot about how much is happening behind the scenes that you never see and how much of that you should be grateful for, because without that nothing would be put together,” he said.

According to Jonah’s father, Jesse Cochin, theater provides Jonah with an outlet. “I think that [theater] relieves a lot of stress for him, whether about school, about grades [or] about college applications,” Cochin said. “He uses theater as a way to push aside the pressures of the world.”

“Theater is what I do for fun,” Jonah agreed. “It is like how sports are an outlet for some people, or computers or writing. This is definitely an outlet for me to let everything go for a while and have fun.”

While Jonah releases stress through acting, many of the characters he has played on South Stage are quite difficult to portray. “[His characters] have very adult subject matter,” Cochin said. “In [Spring Awakening], he got into a lot of things he has never done before and that was really hard for him. But he threw himself into it, and he did an amazing job with it.”

Jonah said that his role in Spring Awakening and others like it have contrib-

By Maia Fefer uted to his unique perspective outside of theater.

“South Stage has exposed me to a lot of things that I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise,” Jonah said. “Doing it has helped give me a better perspective on kids who are going through these kind of things.”

Theater teacher Jeff Knoedler praised Jonah for his sensitivity in dealing

with deep and controversial roles. “[Jonah] really brought out a lot of vulnerability and innocence in [his Spring Awakening] character,” he said. “Plus I never forget how risky it can be for a high school actor to reveal himself on the stage, or be vulnerable on the stage even if he isn’t revealing himself and is only playing a character. … Playing the kinds of parts that Jonah has played takes a lot of cour-

age, and I admire that about him.”

This courage, senior Rebecca Williams said, sets Jonah apart as an actor. “[Jonah has learned] to be adventurous, to remember that there’s no such thing as embarrassing yourself on stage,” she said. “He definitely doesn’t worry about what others think of him and does what he knows is right or what makes him happy. ... I admire that.”

According to Knoedler, another one of Jonah’s greatest strengths is his selfawareness and his ability to be realistic.

“Part of being an actor is realizing what roles you’re good for and what roles are stretches. It’s sort of like a high school person looking at colleges. Yes, everybody might want to go to Brown [University], but that might not be a good fit for everyone,” Knoedler said. “It’s a hard lesson for actors to learn, and I think Jonah has learned it pretty well that he’s not going to be the best fit for [all] the biggest or the most prestigious characters.”

Although Jonah has learned that not all leading roles will fit him well, senior Julia Hurwit, Jonah’s friend, said he has grown in confidence since the days when Hurwit first met him.

“I think he has become a lot more confident and outgoing. He used to be a little shy. Now I think he is not afraid to be himself,” she said.

Jonah said he has applied these lessons to his outlook on his future; he is currently waiting to hear back from several music theater colleges, but understands the competitive nature of the industry.

“It is nearly impossible [to work in theater], and going to a good school of theater is really hard. You basically need a massive amount of luck to get into theater ... but it is something I can’t imagine myself not doing,” Jonah said. “My family has been really supportive of me. I know most families wouldn’t support their kid doing theater as a life choice, because it isn’t a very good life choice.”

While being on Broadway is Jonah’s dream, Cochin believes that Jonah will be successful in whatever he devotes himself to. “Hopefully we’ll see [Jonah] on Broadway sometime but if not, he will be very successful with whatever he is doing. He can be anything,” photo contribution of Jonah Cochin In “Arabian Nights,” senior Jonah Cochin played several characters including Madman.

Cochin said.

page 20|February 13, 2015|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

SPORTS Rock

Unusual snowfall affects ski teams this year

Playoff previews of select sports teams at south

pAGE 22

pAGE 23

Top of the

Sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 31, ISSUE 6

Three South students rise through the ranks in the national rock climbing community

By Noah Shelton and Darren Trementozzi

Bimini Horstmann

Class of 2017 Lily Canavan

Class of 2016 Annalisa Flynn

As sophomore Bimini Horstmann waits in the isolation room for her turn at a new climb, she sits with the other climbers, her back against the wall, trying to focus. “I just try to remind myself that the reason I [climb] is because I love it, not to win,” Horstmann said. “But, obviously, I still want to win, so I try my best.”

Horstmann, who is sponsored by Five Ten Footwear, rock climbs competitively. She recently competed at the 2014 Pan-American Youth Climbing Championships in Mexico City over Thanksgiving break along with junior Lily Canavan. Both climbers represented the U.S. National Team.

Earning a spot on the U.S. team is demanding, according to Horstmann, but she and Canavan, along with junior Annalisa Flynn, have each qualified several times.

“It starts with a regional competition. If you get top seven there, you move onto divisionals — top seven, you go to nationals,” Horstmann said. “If you get on the top four at nationals, you get a spot on the U.S. team, and you get to go to Pan-Americans. If it’s during rope season, you can go to world [championships].”

Horstmann qualified for the World Youth Climbing Championships, but was unable to go because a twoweek trip to Australia would have posed many scheduling conflicts. Horstmann’s mother, Kari Horstmann, said she understands the struggle of her daughter’s rock climbing schedule. “It is a hassle, but she just loves it so much that it’s worth it,” she said.

Horstmann, Canavan and Flynn attended nationals this past year for bouldering, one type of climbing involving 20-foot ascents without belay rope support.

The annual bouldering national competition is a three-day tournament, consisting of a day of qualifers, semifinals and finals.

During each round, contestants are faced with various “boulder problems,” or climbing challenges. “Qualifier round is five boulder problems, so there’s five routes or lines that each climber has to climb,” Josh Larson, the girls’ coach,

said. Climbers are given five minutes to plan and climb each route. They either fall or make it up on their first go, which is called a “flash.”

The routes are ranked according to holds, the grips attached to the climbing walls. “Each hold is worth a point, so the higher you get, the more points you get,” he said. At the end of each round, the points are totaled, and climbers proceed to the next round.

“I get into the zone where I’m just climbing,” Horstmann said. “I just think about each move as I go, and I’m like, ‘Okay I can do it.’”

When they are not traveling to tournaments, the three competitors train at the MetroRock Climbing Center in Everett. Four days a week, they meet with Larson for three-hour practices.

During training, the climbers perform a variety of exercises. “We train for finger strength, endurance and power,” Flynn said. “Sometimes, we climb without our feet.” This type of training is called “campusing” and improves climbers’ explosiveness in movement.

“We also do things like four-byfours where we have to climb four routes four times in a row,” Horstmann said.

“We do laps when we go up and down the wall to build our endurance.”

Larson stressed the importance of working on weaknesses in training. “I know that sometimes it’s not the most fun thing to do, but those girls are [so] motivated and dedicated that they take extra time to focus on their weaknesses,” Larson said. “I think that’s why they shine as climbers. They do work.”

Rock climbing is rising in popularity around the world and is on its way to becoming an Olympic sport as more athletes like Horstmann, Canavan and Flynn are finding competitive climbing appealing.

Horstmann said she finds the variety and community of the sport particularly attractive. “It’s so fun, and it’s never the same. At climbing you’re never going to see the same route; it’s always changing,” Horstmann said. “At competitions, everyone’s friends, and everyone’s cheering for each other, even if you’re on different teams.”

Class of 2016 photo courtesy of Bimini Horstmann

February 13, 2015|page 21

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM |sports

Q&A SONJA KLUMPP

Boston Celtics: Rebuilding

WITH

Senior ice hockey team captain Sonja Kumpp discusses her passion for the sport and her experience as a captain.

by nathan elbaum & Noah Shelton

By Nathan Elbaum

1

What do you like about ice hockey?

SK: Well, I really like skating, because I like just being on the ice. It’s really different than other sports where you are usually running on a field. It’s a really fast-paced sport, so I like that.

Also, you get really close with your team.

4

What is it like being a leader when the team struggles?

SK: I think it is definitely hard because you kind of get very frustrated when you are not winning many games— or any games— especially as a leader. But you still have to make sure that everyone else just stays mentally strong. As a general rule, you always have to be playing with your best effort, because, otherwise, you’ll set a bad example for other players, which lets the team down.

2

What does it feel like to score a goal in ice hockey?

SK: It’s definitely a great feeling. Especially when you have not scored a goal in a while, it can really boost your confidence. It just feels really nice, because it feels like your hard work has paid off, and your past frustrations just get relieved.

5

How does it feel play on a joint team with Brookline?

SK: It’s new as of last year. I think that it’s going pretty well, because we’ve gotten to know the girls in the past couple weeks. It sometimes gets tricky when you’re ordering apparels or other jerseys, because you have to combine both schools and both names. Also, with the buses you have to go from school to school, but other than that, working with them is fun.

photo courtesy of Sonja Klumpp

3

What are some of your roles as a captain?

SK: As a captain, I mainly just keep all the players focused and try to keep them mentally strong, especially when we are down in a game. I also do other normal tasks like bringing water and stuff just like all the other players.

6

What does a typical practice look like as a joint team?

SK: So first, you get on the ice and just skate around for a little. Then, we have a warm up drill that usually lasts about fifteen minutes, and then we do a couple of standard practice drills, like shooting, which warms up the goalie as well.

Then we’ll do other standard drills, and sometimes we’ll play some scrimmages within our team at the end.

photo courtesy of The Sagamore

Klumpp, one of the senior captains of the Newton South-Brookline joint ice hockey team, anticipates the second half of the 2015 season.

7

How has this season gone for you as an individual player?

SK: This season probably has not gone as well for me as last season, unfortunately. I think it’s just because the season for the team in general has not gone well, which has affected my personal level of playing. We still have a second half of the season to go, so hopefully it will get better.

8

Do you think the team can rebound from an off season?

SK: We have to first admit the fact that we have not been doing as well as in previous seasons. Then, we have to figure out some new strategies, make different lines, think of doing different drills and just make new plans after learning from the mistakes of this year.

9

What have you noticed about the younger players?

SK: I’ve noticed a lot of improvement, especially with the sophomores who were freshmen last year. Also, there have been new freshmen who have come in, and they look pretty good. I think they can definitely improve over the years and lead the team.

The Boston Celtics are undeniably in rebuilding mode. They have acquired 14 additional draft picks for the next two years. After missing the playoffs last year, the Celtics front office has decided to focus on the future by trading away the stars of the present. With Marcus Smart at the helm of the rebuilding process, the Celtics are looking to clear cap space and add young studs with the drive to win.

Currently sitting in the 11th place of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are coming to the realization that it may be time to surrender. It is time to really focus on how they can improve in the coming years.

Because Coach Brad Stevens coached at Butler University for 12 seasons, he is used to honing young talent. Stevens has not publicly announced the team’s rebuilding, but his actions have certainly hinted toward such a procedure.

This type of procedure, though disappointing to fans of dismal teams, is necessary. The Philadelphia 76ers, for example, have been tanking (losing on purpose to earn a better draft pick) for the past three seasons. Their strategy seems to be working because they now have some of the most dynamic, front-court players in the league — namely, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel.

The NBA decides the draft order based on a lottery, and tanking improves chances of getting a higher draft pick.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver refuses to believe that teams intentionally lose in order to get a higher lottery chance percentage. Silver ought to take a good look at the league around him and realize teams actually do lose on purpose.

As fans of Boston sports, we find it hard to see our team go through a rebuilding process. Since 2000, Boston has won nine different championships in four sports— one for the Celtics, one for the Bruins, four for the Patriots and three for the Red Sox. Other Boston teams have also rebuilt their teams, but in a different way. The Red Sox, the last team to “rebuild,” have lured players like Carl Crawford and Eric Gagne with multi-million dollar contracts, but they ultimately underperformed.

As far as the Bruins go, finding young talent has proven to be Peter Charelli’s strong suit. Building around veterans like Milan Lucic, the Bruins have acquired countless young stars (mainly from abroad) that came to Boston with cheap contracts. This strategy allowed the young players to lead the team to a Stanley Cup in 2011.

The Patriots have not entered fullblown rebuilding mode in more than 20 years, after a putrid 1-15 record in 1990 that forced the team to look for new ownership and on-field talent. Serving as both the general manager and the head coach, Bill Belichick has the gift of strategically rebuilding certain sections of his team. For three to four years, Belichick has worked to refine his offensive line into one that can stop the league’s greatest pass rushes. He has also turned the Patriots secondary into one of the best in the NFL by adding cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.

Watching the Celtics enter a darker time in their franchise history is tough, but we can still hope that as young talent increases, ticket prices go down and the chances of an NBA title in the future go up.

page 22|february 13, 2015

sports|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

A Game to Remember

UNDER THE WEATHER

Brendan Duggan sports columnist

duggan’s corner Irregular winter weather impacts ski teams’ routines, seasons

By Josh Goldenberg

F

photo by Jack McElduff

or the first month of this winter sports season, snowfall was significantly below average. For indoor sports, such conditions made transportation easy and cancellations infrequent. For the Alpine and Nordic ski teams, however, the lack of snowfall, in addition to other irregularities in weather throughout the season led to significant changes in the structure of practices.

Junior Sam Rubel, a downhill racer, described practice conditions at the team’s first meeting at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford. “[There was] one little sliver of snow we had to go on,” he said. “Practice was pointless.”

These conditions meant that only one alpine skier could descend at a time, creating a near impossible coaching environment, according to senior Alpine team captain Jessica Landon. “It was much harder for coach to give us tips,” she said.

According to senior Nordic team captain Sam Noymer, however, the lack of snow resulted in unexpected benefits for the team as well.

“At the beginning of the season, when there wasn’t enough snow for us to ski at Weston, we stayed at South,” he said.

“We ran some, and then we went to the

weight room to lift. Just working on endurance was really good for [the team.]”

Another weather element that posed difficulties for the teams was the extreme cold that tore through New England at the start of the new year.

Temperatures frequently reached -30 degrees with wind chill, and, in a sevenday period in early January, only one

“It certainly affected people’s performance. ... I saw people who are normally great score much lower than normal due to the lack of practice.”

- Jessica Landon, Class of 2015

featured temperatures above 30 degrees.

According to Landon, the team found it difficult to overcome the weather. “We had to cancel practice, and that was brutal so close to an upcoming game,” she said.

Noymer said that because the

Nordic team includes a number of beginners, the cancelled practices presented significant obstacles. “We had a bunch of kids who didn’t know how to ski,” he said. “The fact that we couldn’t get on skis hurt the team.”

For the Alpine team, practice was cancelled for an entire week, which hindered the team, according to Landon.“It certainly affected people’s performance in the game,” Landon said. “I saw people who are normally great score much lower than normal due to the lack of practice.”

A little more than two weeks after the cold snap, a blizzard further affected the teams’ preparation. The storm dumped approximately 22 inches of snow on West Newton, the location of the closest National Weather Service reading to South.

Although senior Dezso Wyner said the school closings did not affect the Nordic team’s practices, the plethora of snow did force the team to change gears and adapt to the altered environment.

“If anything, the blizzard made our races harder, as there was now snow where there hadn’t been before,” he said.

WINTER WEATHER AT A GLANCE Jan. 8 As wind chills reach -30 degrees, the Alpine team cancels practice Jan. 26 Winter Storm Juno dumps 22 inches of snow on Newton, NPS cancels schools, but Nordic team continues practices during storm Feb. 2 Another 14 inches of snow fall in Newton, with more than 20 in some parts of the state, Nashoba Valley closes for two days Feb. 8-9 A slow-moving Nor’easter leaves behind more than two feet of snow in parts of coastal Mass., capping two weeks of unprecedented snowfall in Greater Boston

Snowfall for Winter 2014-15 24 in.

19 in.

14 in.

5 in.

Dec. 21Jan. 26 Feb. 2 Jan. 25

Feb. 9

Top 5 largest Boston blizzards 1. Feb. 16-17, 2003: 27.6 in.

2. Feb. 6-7, 1978: 27.1 in.

3. Feb. 24-27, 1969: 26.3 in.

4. Mar. 31-Apr. 1, 1997: 25.4 in.

5. Jan. 26, 2015: 24.6 in.

Wow. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still in shock from the Super Bowl.

There were some amazing plays from both sides, and the unforgettable finish was arguably the most clutch play in NFL history. For those of you who didn’t watch, shame on you. For those who did, know that we all just witnessed one of the greatest Super Bowl games of all time.

When the Pats made it to the Super Bowl after their shellacking of the Colts in the AFC title game, I began anticipating some key matchups: Brady vs. the Seahawk defense, Lynch vs. the Patriot defense, Revis vs. Sherman. But it all came down to one play. One play call from Pete Carroll, one throw from Russell Wilson and one outstanding interception by… who? Malcolm Butler? Who’s that? The 24-year-old signed with the Patriots in May 2014 as an undrafted rookie. Before that he went to West Alabama, a Division 2 school, where he also worked at Popeyes to make money.

I’ll be honest: I’m not going to act like I knew who Butler was before the play happened. I knew who McCourty, Browner and Arrington were, but not Butler. I guess the important thing is everyone knows who he is now: a Patriots hero and NFL legend. He even earned an extra award for his efforts: a 2015 Chevrolet Colorado pickup that was surrendered to Butler by game MVP Tom Brady.

The roller coaster of emotions started on a positive note when Brady fired to LaFell to give the Pats an early 7-0 lead. Before the first half ended, an impressive 31-second drive by Wilson tied the game up at 14. It got scary for us New England fans when the Seahawks scored 10 points in the third quarter to take a 24-14 lead into the fourth quarter. But Brady did what he does best, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give the Patriots a 28-24 lead. As the Seahawks marched down the field with two minutes left, a miracle catch by Jermaine Kearse brought the Seahawks just five yards away from pay dirt. His catch had “David Tyree” written all over it. I was in shock and disbelief that the Patriots were going to blow it again.

When the Seahawks brought the ball down to the goal line, I, along with 114 million other viewers, envisioned Marshawn “Beastmode” Lynch punching it in and winning the Super Bowl for the Seahawks. With the physical strength of Lynch, it seemed inevitable.

But bad luck couldn’t rear its ugly head at us a third time.

An interesting play call by Pete Carroll to throw the ball led to Butler’s phenomenal interception and jubilee for Patriots fans worldwide. Now with four Super Bowls since 2000, it is safe to say that Brady and Belichick are the greatest of all time, and the Patriots have yet another Lombardi trophy to take home.

It was amazing to watch a team that was criticized after week 4 (2-2) to come back and remind the world why we’re the best city for sports. Boston is “Title Town”, the greatest sports city, as it captures its ninth championship in 13 years. Numbers don’t lie. Haters gon’ hate.

February 13, 2015|page 23

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|sports

PLAYoFF PREVIEW The Roar takes a look at the season highlights and playoff predictions of four teams as they head into the postseason

Girls Basketball

Boys Hockey

By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff

By Dan Carney

photo courtesy of Regulus

The girls basketball team has made a big comeback after last year’s season, with a current record of 14-2. The team clinched a playoff berth, after a 69-44 win over Bedford on Jan. 23.

The Lions have made their way back to the top of the Dual County League through long range shooting along with defensive stands and overall consistency across the board.

Junior Emily Chang and sophomore Veronica Burton have powered the team on the scoring end, consistently scoring 3-pointers and making aggressive drives to the basket.

Last year’s team failed to qualify for the state tounament.

The Lions are determined to make up for last seasonand make a long run in the tournament.

As they have during the regular season, the Lions plan to maintain a consistant lead throughtout their postseason games as they compete in the sectional finals.

Boys Basketball

Girls Gymnastics

By Helen Haskin

The girls gymnastics team has gone undefeated for the past two years.

The team started the current season with many of its experienced gymnasts injured. Due to these injuries, the team lost its first meet in two years to Westford.

Despite the loss at the start of the season, the team has gone on to win all of its remaining meets.

Senior captain Camila Hernandez, junior Kalena Wang and junior Sally Jenks — who missed last season due to injury — have been consistant scorers throughout the season.

One particular highlight of the season was a win during a rematch of Westford at the end of the season.

The Lions ended the season 7-1. Despite the shaky start to the season, the team has clinched one of 12 spots in the North Sectional finals and hopes to move on to the state finals for the third year in a row.

photo courtesy of Regulus

After recently beating defending state champions Shrewsbury 4-1, the boys hockey team improved to 113-1 on the season, achieving a top rank in the state.

The team has been putting up win after win behind its high powered offensive line made up of both proven scorers and newer players. The offense has been primarily led by junior Thomas Tresca and senior Griffin Connolly.

Last year’s team was just shy of making the state championship, losing in the sectional finals to Wayland. After beating Wayland in the home opener 7-5, this year’s team is confident it will make it even farther in the postseason.

The end goal for the Lions is a state championship win, and if they continue to play as they have during the regular season, the boys hockey state title could come back to South for the first time in many years.

By Cam Dubin

photo by Alexa Rhynd

After a strong start to the season, the boys basketball team currently has a record of 11-6. They are 5-1 in the Dual County League, with their only loss to Cambridge Rindge & Latin.

With three games remaining as of publication, the Lions have clinched a spot in the state tournament.

Injuries have plagued the team throughout the season, but wins against rival Lincoln Sudbury and other DCL teams have kept the Lions’ postseason goals alive.

After proving themselves as a competitive team in several close games against the top teams in the state — including Newton North and Catholic Memorial — the Lions have high hopes for the playoffs.

After losing to North Quincy in the state tournament last year, the senior dominant Lions are looking to make a deep run into the state tournament.

photo courtesy of Regulus