The Lion's Roar 33-6

the LION’S

R AR

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Boston, MA Permit No. 54523

Volume 33, Issue 6 140 Brandeis Road Newton Centre, MA 02459

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · February 17, 2017

Boys gymnastics wins states, girls enter undefeated Cam Miller & Thomas Patti Sr. Sports Editors

SPIRALS DOWNWARD

Both the boys and girls gymnastics teams have won every meet so far this season in their respective pursuits of state titles, with the boys’ season culminating in a third consecutive state title. The boys gymnastics team, a joint program between North and South, competed at States on Feb. 10.

“We knew we’d be good coming into the season, but we’ve had a lot of injuries throughout it,” senior captain Ido Tamir said. “The team really stepped up, and we haven’t lost even through all [the] injuries, so I’ve been really happy with what we’ve done.”

Sophomore Sam Arber said he attributes the team’s success to “friendly competition” among gymnasts.

“We’re all working on similar skills,” he said. “It pushes us to learn those skills and learn new ones, so we keep progressing as a team and individually.”

According to junior Vincent Campagna, the team’s achievements have been due, in large part, to new head coach Bill Martin, whose coaching partner, Tom Steeves,

NPS seeks new student information system after difficult year with Skyward

By Kimia Tabatabaei After receiving negative feedback from staff across the district and dealing with unresponsive management from Skyward since the program's introduction in January 2016, the NPS Department of Teaching and Learning has decided to explore other student information systems (SIS) to replace Skyward.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education and Special Programs Toby Romer, when choosing an SIS to replace Powerschool SMS last fall, Skyward stood out to the district because of its “strong blend of functionality for both teachers and students, ... added parent access through the parent portal ... [and] really good data access capacity for staff.”

History teacher and ninth grade Cluster Coordinator Rachael McNally,

however, said she preferred Powerschool SMS. “From my point of view, the problem with Skyward is that it is not flexible enough in terms of letting the district technology people customize it for our needs,” she said.

Romer agreed that NPS has struggled to build high school schedules using Skyward. “[Schedules must] be customized and have the look, feel and information we want for both students, teachers and families,” he said.

South’s abnormal schedule does not translate well into Skyward, Vice Principal Candice Beerman said, as classes meeting either two or four days per week for one or two semesters at SKYWARD, 4

GYMNASTICS, 20

photo illustration by Bailey Kroner and Carina Ramos

Joy rider, 15

Students question emphasis on verbal participation Emily Belt & Sophie Lu Sr. Centerfold Editors

According to a Chapman University survey, 25.9 percent of Americans have a fear of public speaking. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 2.34 percent of the population has trouble speaking and 4.68 percent has social anxiety.

South's emphasis on interpersonal communication disregards students who

fall into these categories, sophomore Darby Wilson said.

“We do presentations ... for about three out of every four projects, participation is a part of the grade, [we perform] skits ... and [teachers require students to] turn and talk,” she said.

Speaking activities can induce anxiety, junior Ellie Downs said.

“I don’t like to put myself in situations where I could embarrass myself, so public speaking, getting up in front of the class

[and] peer editing ... [are] really difficult. ... I’m incredibly anxious [about] the fact that I know I’m being evaluated and [that] my ability to speak is a major factor of my grade,” Downs said.

Senior Doina Iliescu said potential judgment from peers has impacted her participation in the past.

“In ninth grade, I was silent most of the time,” she said. “I was afraid of what other people would think of me.”

Stutter activist Fiorella Reategui said

she had similar experiences. Reategui now works to combat stigmas surrounding stuttering through projects like her song with UsTheDuo, “Follow Me.” “Not knowing if the words coming out of my mouth would be a stutter was frustrating. It caused to me to not participate in class,” she said. “That same fear was transferred to presentations and ... group projects.”

According to American Sign Language COMMUNICATION, 12

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

UNESCO conference

Five students travel to Portugal for a conference to address global climate issues.

3

1,000 and counting

Blurred lines Athlete examines the fine line between injury preventatives and banned substances.

9

Junior Veronica Burton reaches a milestone and continues to control the court.

20

NEWS 2 EDITORIALS 6 OPINIONS 8 CENTERFOLD 12 FEATURES 15 FUn page 19 SPORTS 20

NEWS page 2|February 17, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

news@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 6

this month in

South Stage acquires rights to “Rent”

review Speech wins Columbia The Speech and Debate team attended the Columbia University tournament from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22. They won first place overall for the first time in the team’s 11 years attending the tournament.

Teen Summer Expo South hosted the Teen Summer Expo on Feb. 6 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the student center.

Students had the opportunity to learn about summer or post-high school programs, including community service opportunities, internships and STEM programs.

Commedia dell’Arte On Feb. 9, 10 and 11 at the War Memorial Auditorium at City Hall, students participated in the Commedia dell’Arte, a comedic love story that featured Renaissancestyle masks, improvisation and dramatized characters.

L-bench Reopening The administration announced plans to reopen the L-bench under conditions that students talk quietly, clean up after themselves and foster a positive environment. The L-bench re-opened Feb. 7.

photo by Bailey Kroner

Sophie Goodman & Hope Zhu

Sophomore Emma Martignoni, who plays Mrs. Cohen, the mother of a male lead who represents the struggle of the bohemian Two years after cancelling “Rent” due lifestyle, said that students in the cast have to a failure to obtain rights to the show, South found connections between the musical and Stage has cast and begun rehearsals for the their own lives. production as this year’s spring musical. Stu“[We’re] playing characters [who] are dents said that the show will explore topics living in this world where what you love to more mature than in previous years, includdo is just universally not accepted,” she said. ing urban poverty and the AIDS epidemic “There are people in the show who are going of the 1990s. to go into careers in acting. … That’s a really “We do have ... a reputation for going cool connection.” outside the box, and ‘Rent’, well — it pushes Knoedler added that students have boundaries,” senior Deana Korsunsky, playlargely led the production of “Rent”. ing a Leap of Faith singer who is a struggling “We have not only an entire student artist, said. cast, but an entire design team [of] students,” “There [has] been a build up about this he said. “Most of the orchestra pit will be show for two years now, students as well, so it’s a lot If we’re not doing challenging and risqué theater, so it’s really exciting to of student participation in finally get to do it,” senior all elements of the show.” then we’re not talking about things that we Abby Lass said. Lass plays Price said that she should be talking about.

Joanne, a lesbian civil enjoys working with a high rights lawyer from a wealthy school cast.

Rebecca Price, Director family.

“It’s really cool to be able The musical follows a group of artists typically avoided in everyday conversation. to work like a professional theater company living in New York’s East Village in the late “If we’re not doing challenging and and pass on responsibilities and always be 1980s and early 1990s. risqué theater, then we’re not talking about surprised and wowed and impressed with Junior Windley Knowlton, who plays things that we should be talking about,” she what everybody comes up with,” she said.

Maureen, a lesbian artist, said that “Rent” said. “[It’s] a more collaborative setting [than in differs from other musicals that South has Junior Elijah Lawrence agreed and said middle school], which is important to me.” performed in the past. that the musical’s mature themes make for While the musical takes place in the “It’s definitely very edgy,” she said. “I important topics of conversation. late 20th century, audience members can still know some people [who] are kind of angry “It is a little risqué — there’s drug use in find it relevant, Lawrence said. that, in a high school, we’re doing a show the show, [and it] talks a lot about sexuality, “It premiered on Broadway 20 years about AIDS and drug addiction.” about disease,” he said. “It’s very important ago, and although the AIDS crisis is not Since “Rent” tackles these difficult top- to explore those themes, even if they are a nearly as much of an issue now as it was back ics, theater arts teacher Jeff Knoedler said that little hard to deal with.” Lawrence plays Tom when this show was on Broadway, talking he invited a speaker to inform the cast and Collins, an HIV-positive gay philosophy pro- about acceptance, talking about sexuality crew about the AIDS crisis and living with fessor involved with AIDS activism. [and] talking about poverty … are very, very the disease. He said that he hoped to help “Theater is sort of a medium where you resonant, especially right now,” he said. “It’s them better understand their roles. go to enjoy yourself, but ... the people who put very direct, it’s very confrontational and it’s “Our actors are pretty sophisticated on the show — they see this as an opportunity very in-your-face, and I think that’s what sets so the subject matter isn’t going to be that to sort of educate and to enlighten through it apart from other shows that South Stage shocking or difficult for them, [but] that’s a form of entertainment,” Korsunsky said. has done in the past.”

News Reporters

always something tough when an actor has to play someone who is dying,” Knoedler said.

Sophomore set designer Allie Riklin said that the set reflects the show’s heavy themes. Lass agreed and added that the musical presents a universal message of embracing “alternative-ness.”

Rent’s raw-sounding music communicates the musical’s message, according to Korsunsky.

“The point is to make the audience uncomfortable, and then for the audience to shift from uncomfortable to a sort of ‘ah-ha!’ moment,” she said.

Director and Oak Hill drama teacher Rebecca Price said that the musical can provide an outlet for people to discuss issues

february 17, 2017|page 3

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|news

Students attend UNESCO conference Rachel Gu News Editor

Five South students attended the international United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference in Lisbon, Portugal last month, where they met with with students from 15 other countries for 10 days to discuss climate change.

Students presented a final research project at the conference and visited the Institute of Agronomy, where they learned about soil and crop production. Five doctoral students spoke about climate change’s effects on their specific areas of study within agronomy.

The conference’s objective is to encourage students to connect global issues with matters in their own communities, sporting the motto “think globally, act locally.” Climate change was this year’s focus.

Trip advisors Spanish teacher Stephanie Pavao and science teacher Molly Widrick conducted interviews in November 2016 to search for students who had already brainstormed and conducted research for the project.

Senior Kiki Vetoulis-Acevedo said the deadly effects of ocean acidification on the coral reefs in Australia influenced the South students’ final project.

“We connected a lot of things in the world to try to illustrate [that] no matter where you are, the steps you are taking to fight climate change [are] affecting the globe,” she said. “It’s not just a local thing. Everything you do will have world-wide effect.”

According to senior Noah Kopf, the project focused on illustrating seven connections among countries. “[An] example [is] how climate change affects the fishing industries in both Portugal and Sweden or how the amount of rainfall in the Amazon will impact the petroleum industry in Angola,” he said.

The students began their awarenessbased project by creating a promotional video for science classes, asking each student to answer questions about climate change on notecards.

The final project consisted of a 50-foot cardboard reef hung along the walls in Goldrick and a large cardboard tree along Goldrick balconies that used the notecards as leaves.

“The goal was to create a metaphor, so we had red strings connecting [the tree and the reef] to show the connection between the trees in Massachusetts and the reef in Australia,” junior Mia Calderone said.

Students and advisers did not explore climate change in depth at the conference, junior John Floros said.

“We did a reflection period that took up three or four hours of our time,” he said.

“We just touched the surface of what could’ve gotten a lot deeper in material.”

The UNESCO conference focused more on tourism and culture than the science behind climate change, senior Krish Maypole added.

Pavao added that UNESCO is not only a scientific organization, but an organization promoting “interaction with communities globally — what [we] can learn from one

another [and] how we can grow and ... promote communication and understanding,” she said.

Students said that although the conference did not meet their scientific expectations, they appreciated the cultural experience.

Kopf said that the language barrier did not impede conversation, like he had originally thought. “Those differences ended up being the focus of our conversation,” he said.

The trip was an opportunity to talk to other students from around the world, Maypole said.

“I think on the second to last night of the conference, I was up until 4 [a.m.] just talking to other people,” he said. “Ms. Widrick asked me why, and I was like ‘When am I going to have this chance again?’”

Both Pavao and Widrick said that they are excited for next year’s UNESCO conference.

Vetoulis-Acevedo said she encourages students to attend the conference, as they will get the chance to open their minds by interacting with people from other cultures and pushing themselves out of their comfort zones.

Teenagers can influence climate change action, according to Widrick.

“We have to better educate the youth of America or the youth of the world,” she said. “They’re the ones who are going to face climate change the most, and they’re also the ones who can probably make the biggest difference.”

photos courtesy of Molly Widrick

From left: Mia Calderone, Noah Kopf, John Floros, Stephanie Pavao, Molly Widrick, Kiki Vetoulis-Acevedo and Krish Maypole

Making Progress

DANIEL ABDULAH Class of 2018

South Senate Update The Senate held a joint meeting between student representatives and the Faculty Council in January to exchange new ideas and discuss the feasibility of some old ideas.

The Faculty Council has approved the proposal to switch the current four homework-free weekends to homeworkfree week breaks over Thanksgiving, Winter, February and April breaks, providing relief periods after the inevitable work increase prior to breaks.

Regarding final exams, the Grades Committee originally proposed that finals scores count for a maximum of 10 percent of final grades — and potentially lower for people with high grades — but it seemed too idealistic that a policy could be so flexible. As such, we tried to change it to a general policy for every student, but we had difficulty crafting one which would appeal to all students in the same class.

The Faculty Council then said, however, that the policy could potentially vary from student to student. After reviewing the proposal, the faculty recommended that teachers aim to count finals for 10 to 20 percent of overall final grades and employ a flexible system where they can decide, on a student-by-student basis, which percentage optimizes a student’s grade. With this new structure in place, finals could be less stressful and hopefully help students’ grades.

In addition, the Senate has recently passed a resolution suggesting that a member of the school administration occasionally sit in on a Senate meeting to keep faculty up to date on the issues students discuss. The benefits go both ways with this proposal; The Senate can more quickly raise issues and policies to the administration for approval, and school officials can also get more student feedback by approaching Senate members directly.

The Infrastructure Committee has worked on January’s plans as well. Newly installed hand dryers were unsanitary because the trays at the bottom collected water that could breed dangerous bacteria. After a few months, the senate and custodial staff have finally completed the effort to remove all trays.

Lastly, although it is not technically a topic of Senate discretion, the School Committee is tackling the issue of possibly delaying the high school start time.

We have three Senate liaisons who have been attending meetings and providing useful insight from a student’s perspective to advocate for an 8:30 a.m. start time.

Benefits of this later time include more sleep, better student performance in the morning and a reduction in tardiness, and disadvantages could include later release times. Overall, a later start time could reduce student stress and make mornings more bearable.

The School Committee is considering several proposals, but either an 8:30 a.m. start time or keeping the current 7:40 a.m. time is most probable.

If you have any ideas to contribute, feel free to mention them in our surveys or in a Senate meetings Thursday J blocks in the Lecture Hall. Everyone is welcome!

page 4|February 17, 2017

news|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

School Committee continues to discuss start times Michelle Cheng Sr. News Editor

The High School Start Time Working Group and the School Committee have entered their eighteenth month of exploring a later high school start time initiative, introduced in Sept. 2015.

Students said that they were unhappy with the slow process of the discussion.

“It’s at the point where I just don’t take it seriously as a thing that will actually happen,” junior Lizy Szanton said. “I definitely don’t think it will happen before I graduate.”

Sophomore Javid Kasraie said that at his previous high school, Davis Senior High School in California, a similar start time committee did not hold efficient discussions, only having meetings once every couple of months, which diminished the seriousness of the issue.

“Some things are matters that should be resolved quickly,” he said. “We’re talking about sleep deprivation among teenagers, so it is not a small thing.”

By focusing on the high school start time, the School Committee has ignored other options that could allow students to

sleep more, including reducing work and shortening the school day, junior Benjamin Timbers said.

“They’re not trying to solve the root of the problem, which is students getting less sleep than they need to,” he said. “It’s a flawed discussion from the start.”

In an email sent to the Newton Teachers Association (NTA), NTA president Michael Zilles said that the high school schedules

speech on high school start times, said his research indicated that lack of sleep results from factors beyond early start times.

“The homework load that teachers are giving us is the thing that really contributes to it,” he said. “If [the workload] doesn’t change, then a later start time isn’t going to really do much.”

A change to start time, however, would give students more time in the morning to

Some things are matters that should be resolved quickly. We’re talking about sleep deprivation among teenagers, so it is not a small thing.

Javid Kasraie, Class of 2019 provide more than the 990 required hours of instruction, so shortening or reshaping the school day could be a possibility.

“Once you start thinking about shortening the schedule and creating a different schedule where the start time is always the same and the end time is always the same, [then] it’s more logical that you can also think ... more creatively about how to juggle all the pieces to get the start time later,” he said.

Kasraie, who wrote his sophomore

eat breakfast and get organized, sophomore Zachary Rivers said.

Junior Sam Frankel said that while a later school start time is helpful in theory, it might hurt students if implemented.

“It would mess up 90 percent of my after school activities because my work is at a certain time during the day,” she said.

The current transition from middle school to high school mornings has been challenging, freshman Sage Winkler said.

“I went to Brown, so it was pretty drastic of a start time [difference] because I got to wake up a whole hour later [last year],” she said. “As time has gone on throughout the year, I’ve been getting a lot less sleep.”

Freshman Camilla Hayao said that she would be more optimistic and focused in class if the school day started later.

Szanton added that a later start time would, overall, improve student health.

“The majority of Newton South ... is really sleep deprived to the point of being very unhealthy, and I know I am,” she said.

“A change in routine is always difficult, but [it] can also be invigorating if it’s done right.”

Regardless of whether or not the School Committee decides to change the high school start time, Zilles said, Newton must keep the later start time discussion open and consider all other factors contributing to student stress. “[By] framing the conversation as how do we look at the schedule, how do we look at workload, how do we look at the whole picture of the things that contribute to our stress, ... we can come up with different kinds of solutions,” he said. “The problem with just thinking about the start time [is that] it [shuts] down the conversation.”

A Timeline of the High School Start Time Discussion (So Far) Sept. 16

‘15

March 2

June 20

March 14

Introduction to the High School Start Time Working Group

Potential vote on scenarios scheduled.

Parent survey responses released.

Staff survey responses released.

‘17

‘16 Jan. 25

Student survey responses released.

April 11

Oct. 19

Second set of student survey responses released.

Six possible scenarios revealed.

NPS begins exploring options to replace Skyward SKYWARD, from 1 various course levels create a host of complications specific to South.

“It’s harder [for teachers] to get reports out of Skyward about attendance and track their students,” she said. “It has a lot of implications sort of all over the place.”

“The user interface on Skyward is abysmal, it looks ugly [and] it’s hard to navigate ... around,” English teacher and Student Center Coordinator Emma Leslie said.

McNally added that the system’s inefficiency wastes teacher’s valuable time as they try to accomplish simple tasks. For example, searching a student’s name is far more difficult than it was with SMS, where the software would find the student with only a portion of the name, even if spelled incorrectly.

Math teacher Hayley Teich agreed and said teachers cannot “flag” a student on weekends or days when a class doesn’t meet with Skyward. “Flagging” is a way for a teacher to alert a guidance counselor if a student is at risk of failing or needs extra support in a class.

“There’s many bad things. It’s hard to remember the one good thing,” McNally said.

Romer said that these issues were due to the product’s inadequate capacity to meet

the schools’ needs.

Teich said that teachers were never taught to learn how to use Skyward efficiently.

“The transition [to Skyward] was a little weird, and I still don’t know how to do everything regarding grades and comments,” Teich said.

Fully implementing new software, she added, takes a while.

“For some of us who are younger and used to technology, it’s not as bad, but some

decision to stop using Skyward, she said that she was relieved.

“It has been extremely frustrating.

Hours, days, weeks of time have been wasted because of how rigid it is,” she said.

Although any changes will be districtwide, Beermann said the high schools would be impacted most.

Romer said all changes are in their early stages.

“I’ve just been working with our

The features are ... too sophisticated, and then, when you ask a very simple thing, the system doesn’t seem able to do it.

It’s not very intuitive.

Viviana Planine, Spanish teacher of [the] more veteran teachers struggle with technology sometimes, and constantly changing things is probably harder for them or for anyone who’s not as tech savvy,” she said.

Spanish teacher Viviana Planine agreed with Teich.

“The features are ... too sophisticated, and then, when you ask a very simple thing, the system doesn’t seem able to do it. It’s not very intuitive.”

When McNally first heard about the

technology department to work through troubleshooting different issues that we’ve had and work with the Skyward company to make sure we get individual problems resolved,” he said.

Members of the Teaching and Learning Department have begun to form a small SIS committee with representatives from stakeholders across the district. The committee will review Skyward’s issues and investigate other products used in surrounding districts.

“I hope [the new system] is nicer to look at and not [as] cluttered on the page ... because every time you have to do a multiclick process for accomplishing one small task, time is being wasted,” McNally said, “Technology should serve us so that we can meet our lofty goals and not thwart us.”

Planine said she hopes to see a simplified attendance system.

The process should not take quite as long as it previously did, Beermann said.

Beermann estimated the earliest NPS would be able to transfer everything over to a new software would be next January, as the district does not want to implement a new system at the beginning of the year.

“It’s scary to start a new system in September,” she said. “If something goes wrong and you don’t have schedules for kids, that’s not good.”

McNally said she is glad the school has recognized and begun to adapt to Skyward’s problems.

“It is so clear [that] there’s no way [Skyward] will ever be good enough,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to say, ‘Okay, that was a mistake, let’s move on.’”

Additional reporting by Michelle Cheng

IMAGINE

YOUr ad here. businesses, EVENTS, STUDENT CLUBS

SEND AN Email TO SRSTAFF@THELIONSROAR.COm for more details CONTACT US ABOUT OUR STUDENT DISCOUNT!

EDITORIALS page 6|FEBRUARY 17, 2016|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 6

the CAT’S

MEOW All the news that’s fit to print ... and then some!

Alternative facts In order to ensure objectivity in classrooms, the history department has asked teachers to refrain from mentioning any American political controversies from the past 231 years during class discussions.

“We simply cannot risk history teachers pushing their views on our students’ vulnerable, impressionable minds, especially when backed by years of historical evidence,” history department head Sen Sir said.

The announcement comes soon after AP U.S. History teacher Ayim Wither was removed from his position after an emotional outburst about former president Jimmy Carter.

“My history teachers just don’t know what they’re talking about,” freshman Stew Pid said.

“But I have to say, class is getting very confusing.”

“Now when I talk about Bill Clinton, I tell my students he was just tired of being president and went on a long vacation to the Bahamas,” history teacher Kahn Wai said. “Alternative facts.”

Teachers’ Lounge Ruckus Administrators were forced to close the Goldrick teachers’ lounge last week after complaints that noise levels during passing time had become distracting to students trying to talk to each other. In an email to teachers’ parents, Vice Principal Jardice Winemann said that the faculty will discuss steps to reopen the lounge during next Tuesday’s department meetings.

When approached for questioning about the developing situation, math teacher Howbow Dah reportedly shouted, “Cash me ousside!” before exiting the building on her motorized scooter.

Dr. Phil was alerted about the teachers’ strange behavior, and if the NPS budget allows, he will be flown in to counsel unruly faculty.

When South Tries School Spirit In an effort to garner school spirit after an “underwhelming” Thanksgiving pep rally, a group of senior girls decided to take matters into their own hands, kidnapping two African lions from a local zoo and setting them free in Cutler house.

The school immediately went into a lockdown drill and was unable to resume normal activities until animal control removed both the lions and the allegedly intoxicated perpetrators from the building.

“GO LIONS!” senior Leon Spride exclaimed as she chased one of the animals around the fieldhouse in an orange and blue onesie. Principal Stole Jembridge said he was not impressed.

“This is not what I wanted,” he said.

Forced participation fails to motivate students to speak

A small number of students can easily share a majority of any classroom’s airtime. While these few individuals might learn best through discussion, the assumption that vocal students gain the most from class time fails to acknowledge the different types of students within a classroom. Likewise, recognizing verbal contribution as the only valid form of participation assumes that all students in a class learn alike.

Participation grades determined by a student’s number of comments discourage thoughtful contributions to discussion, as students come to value comments’ quantity over quality in the pursuit of points.

Even as some students take time to prepare meaningful additions to class discussions, many teachers’ discomfort with silence leads them to call on the first hand in the air or to form queues of students immediately ready to par-

ticipate, rarely waiting for carefully crafted comments.

Both formal and casual speaking skills are crucial for high schoolers, who will soon enter either college or the job market.

Teachers cannot cultivate conversationalism, however, in fishbowls or socratic seminars where being assertive becomes more important

a mandatory per-class comment minimum will not help students become more comfortable sharing their voices and views, but instead, perpetuate a mechanical, contrived school environment.

A classroom should encourage thoughtful questions and comments that further class-wide understanding and engagement.

Meeting a mandatory per-class comment minimum will not help students become more comfortable sharing their voices and views than producing quality arguments.

Students vying for airtime provide little space for less-aggressive students to interject with relevant commentary.

Both small and large-group discussions can enhance post-high school interactions, but a student must learn the results of taking an active or passive role in a conversation on their own. Meeting

A teacher should invite students to contribute, but refrain from demanding they speak simply to hear their voices. Students can learn from speaking in front of their peers, though they must learn to seize opportunities to do so for themselves Most importantly, students should speak because they have something to say, not simply because they are required to speak.

JOIN THE R AR Come to a meeting any Monday J block in room 1201 to see what The Roar has to offer:

Photos

Writing

Improve your Conduct interviews, technique, stage report objectively photos and shoot at on compelling sports games and topics or write school events. about your opinions.

Graphics Draw, paint or use digital techniques to create pieces that accompany printed articles.

Message The-Lion’s Roar on Facebook, email srstaff@thelionsroar.com for more information and check out issuu.com/thelionsroar.

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 six 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.

FEBRUARY 17, 2017|page 7

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|DESK

Conquering "slumpophobia" and EDITOR’S embracing senior year clichés DESK from the

Mona Baloch

clichés I know, I decided to follow a loose interpretation of slump that best suited me: taking time to appreciate the little It’s February. Wading through brown things. slush on the way to class no longer feels After spending so much of my high worth the effort. A blocks are silent, slugschool career consumed by my one-track, gish and mostly empty. Crumpled, halfSouth-obsessed mind, I’d say it’s about completed worksheets line the bottoms of time that I learn to find joy in the small backpacks. Senior slump is upon us, and details of my daily life — especially those honestly, it's scary. that will quickly change once I graduate After three and a half years of tearin June. For me, taking the liberty to enjoy filled nights spent meticulously completing myself doesn’t necessarily require shifting essays, worksheets, math problems and research projects, I just can’t bring myself to toss everything out the window. I’m a self-diagnosed “slumpophobe,” and I hate it.

It took me a few weeks to process my dilemma. I knew that I needed to face my fear of slump or forever regret not enjoymy entire routine. ing the second half of my senior year. I just I’ve always been a detail-oriented didn’t know how to go about it. Should I person. Details are paramount when make a point of showing up half an hour editing and proofreading for The Roar. I late to at least two classes per day? Take focus on each detail of the worksheets I a vow to abstain from studying for any complete for my classes. Filling out college assessment for at least a month? Quit all applications required including innumeraof my extracurricular activities and spend ble details in a small amount of space. This my afternoons lying on the couch, doing kind of focus on details, though, doesn’t nothing? mean I always appreciate them.

The horror I felt after coming up I want to appreciate eating dinner with these options made it pretty clear that with my family. I want to enjoy going to I had to start out small. After carefully sift- the grocery store with my mom and beging through all of the “live your best life” ging her to buy my favorite junk food. I Editor-in-Chief

want to rejoice over snow days and spend hours gazing out of the window without worrying about all of the work I need to complete before the next school day. I want to spend the morning making an actual snowman.

I want to enjoy seeing a familiar name inside the front cover of a school textbook or novel, then take the time to reach out to people I haven’t spoken to in a while. I want to enjoy the books I read; I want to read them twice.

No matter how much I'd like to deny it, high school really is the last chance I have to be even remotely free of responsibilities.

300 NEEDHAM ST NEWTON, MA 02464 (617) 467-4244

newton south

I want to watch five episodes of “Love it or List it” in a row and take detailed notes to plan for my first house. I want to spend an afternoon analyzing my favorite “Hamilton” verses, unashamed when others hear my awful rapping.

I want to savor the moment a kid in the preschool finally remembers my name.

I want to celebrate the discovery of a new InDesign shortcut.

I want to run outside to see what the mailman brings each Saturday morning. I want to enjoy the days I wake up five minutes before my alarm goes off and can just

Volume XXXIII The Lion’s Roar Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper 140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

students & faculty mention south at the register and

GET 10% OFF

lay in bed thinking about nothing.

I want to feel overjoyed when there are paper towels in the bathroom and I don’t have to shake water off my hands. I want to embrace my excitement when I think someone might have brought food for one of my classes.

No matter how much I’d like to deny it, high school really is the last chance I have to be even remotely free of responsibilities. Sure, I can’t stop planning for the future, completely ignore the work we have to complete or throw common sense out the window. Once we leave this building, though, we’re not coming back.

I know some of you are probably laughing at my version of slumping — fair enough. It isn’t meant to be glamorous, only a first step. That’s why I’d like to make one thing very clear: the "appreciating the little things" cliché isn’t just a senior year thing. It’s something that I wish I had embraced sooner, from the moment I stepped foot in advisory on my first day of freshman year.

One last thing: what would this very sappy, extremely cliché, sixth-issue-of-thevolume Desk be without a farewell to the The Roar? Volume 34, if there’s one thing I’ve learned this past year, it’s that no one else cares as much about this paper as you do. Oh yeah, and bagels make paste-up twice as fun.

Editor-in-Chief Mona Baloch

Managing Editors Andrea Lirio

Carina Ramos

Noah Shelton

Editors Features

News

Celine Yung Aviva Gershman

Michelle Cheng

Centerfold

Copy Editor

Emily Belt Sophie Lu

Graphics Managers Karina Aguilar Josh Finkel Eunice Kim

Opinions

Cassandra Luca Clare Martin

Rachel Gu Kimia Tabatabaei

Aidan Bassett

Faculty Advisers Ashley Chapman Ryan Normandin

Business Managers Distribution Manager Nikolas Lazar Timmy Leong

Suzie Na

Sports

Catherine Granfield Cam Miller Thomas Patti

Photo Managers Bailey Kroner Kiana Lee

Webmaster Katie Collins

OPINIONS page 8|february 17, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 6

perspectives:

should the united states abandon the electoral college system? , it should nt it should

graphic by Josh Finkel

EU RO WANG

SEBASTIAN TSAO

A

s American citizens, our votes matter — this is a notion we should not take lightly. The process of electing a new president, however, is complex and convoluted: the Electoral College tallies all the votes in each state, and the candidate with the majority of votes receives all of the electoral votes allocated to that specific state (with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, who may split their electoral votes between two candidates). Within this process, there are small yet fatal flaws that the United States has disregarded for decades, proving that the popular vote should decide the presidential election.

The purpose of the Electoral College is to increase state power, but the value of a citizen’s vote varies depending on state of residence. As a Huffington Post study explains, “Wyoming has three electoral votes for a population of 532,668 citizens ... and Texas has 32 electoral votes for a population of almost 25 million.

Dividing the population by electoral votes reveals that Wyoming has one ‘elector’ for every 177,556 people and Texas has one ‘elector’ for about every 715,499.” With this imbalance, a president could theoretically win the election with only 21.8 percent of the popular vote. In fact, during this election, Donald Trump clinched the Electoral College by winning a majority of smaller states.

The Electoral College also hurts non-swing states: a Republican’s vote in Maryland really doesn’t matter, and a Democrat’s vote in Texas is worthless because in the Electoral College, an individual vote is only as valuable as its ability to influence the majority vote of a state. Individuals do not cast direct votes for president — the electors do. In 48 states, the citizens’ majority vote determines which candidate will receive all the electoral votes from their state.

There is always the possibility of a

faithless elector. While electors are generally loyal to their parties, they don’t have to vote the way they are instructed. According to the Huffington Post, “Since the founding of the Electoral College, there have been 157 faithless electors. Twentynine states have legislation that penalizes faithless electors, though no faithless elector has ever been successfully prosecuted.”

The will of one person should not be able to override thousands of voters.

Data from the 2016 campaign indicate that 53 percent of campaign events in the two months before the election occurred in only four states: Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Ohio.

Even in the swing states where there was some campaigning, candidates focused on urban areas. The Electoral College does not create a national campaign in which rural states are included.

Some believe that the Electoral College gives the president the authority to govern. They advocate continuation of the Electoral College because its winner-takes-all nature at the state level causes the media and the public to regard many close elections as landslides, thereby granting the winning candidate a stronger mandate to govern. In 1980, Ronald Reagan won 51 percent of the national popular vote but 91 percent of the electoral vote, giving the impression of a landslide that convinced Congress to approve his agenda. Although the Electoral College may seem to help presidents in this regard, it can also lead to backlash and resentment in the majority or near-majority of the population whose opinions are ignored.

If the majority of people’s votes do not count for the entirety of the electoral decision, then our values of equality and democracy do not align with our election process. The best way to fix the electoral college is to abolish it entirely and allow citizens to vote directly for their desired president.

The will of one person should not be able to override thousands of voters.

P

oliticians often fail to make good on their campaign trail promises, and Hillary Clinton’s 2001 senatorial election proved no exception. After becoming a Senator from New York, she chose to abandon an earlier call to abolish the Electoral College, a decision that would haunt her when the very system she had once opposed kept her from the Oval Office 15 years later.

Only five times in U.S. history have the Electoral College and popular vote produced different outcomes: the elections of 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and now, 2016.

Through the doubt cast on the Electoral College’s role in our democracy, we must not forget the system’s role in preserving the good of our nation.

The Electoral College safeguards political stability by ensuring that a majority of states support the incoming president.

It also prevents parties from splintering into extremist factions by maintaining a two-party system. The major parties must then assimilate some of the minor parties’ practical, yet unradical, ideas into their platform, thereby expanding representation of all voters.

Moreover, the Electoral College protects the interests of smaller states, as a candidate cannot completely ignore them and still hope to win the election: in a close election, every electoral vote counts.

The distribution of the American population is heavily skewed toward cities on the coasts. Hence, if popular vote decided the president, these coastal interests would determine elections. People who live in these regions, however, have very different interests from people who live in the interior. In particular, the Electoral College corrects policy biases against farmers.

While farmers play a key role in America’s economy, presidential candidates would never support agriculture subsidies if states like Iowa didn’t have the power they currently do.

In addition, without the Electoral College, every vote matters more; therefore, every fraudulent vote could have a greater impact in the polls, so having a popular vote system encourages voter fraud. The Electoral College thus serves as a deterrent against voter fraud because there is much less value in individual votes and more on regional voting trends.

The winner-takes-all nature of the Electoral College also compels swing state voters to pay more attention to the presidential candidates’ platforms.

Knowing that the allocation of swing state electoral votes often decides the election, candidates focus their campaigning efforts in swing states. It makes sense that swing state voters yield relatively more power in the outcome of an election because they also receive the most information from candidates and are thus likely to consider their vote more thoughtfully than voters in non-swing states.

Furthermore, the Electoral College can choose the president in the event that there is no clear winner after the main election. Although this procedure may seem undemocratic, it is the best option when a country is deadlocked. This process ensures that an effective leader will be chosen, one who will ultimately be able to work as a productive and cooperative member of the government.

When the Electoral College was initially established, the delegates “distrusted the passions of the people” and distrusted the ability of average voters to choose a president in a national election.

When other countries decided to trust the ability of average voters to make favorable policy decisions using referendums such as the Brexit vote, however, results proved detrimental to the country’s welfare.

While the Electoral College helped elect one of the most controversial presidents ever, we must recognize that it functions in America’s best interest.

Without the Electoral College, ... every fradulent vote could have a greater impact in the polls.

february 17, 2017|page 9

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions

BLURRED LINES

Athletes navigate the fine line between injury preventatives and performance enhancers

By Clare Martin

A

s the interviewer was wrapping up, I noticed a young woman with a clipboard waiting patiently a few feet away. She pulled me aside on the outdoor track turf, introduced herself and asked my age. When she found out I was only 17, she told me to find my mother.

Possibly because I had won my race, she had selected me as one of the athletes competing in this summer national youth championship to undergo drug testing, and as a minor, a parent needed to accompany me.

The chaperone guided me and my mother to the locker room situated beneath the track stands. I met the winner of the boys age 17-18 800-meter final, who had also been chosen for testing. Doping Control Officers (DCOs) of the U.S. AntiDoping Agency (USADA) then detained me there for the next 90 minutes until I had produced the requisite 90 mL of urine for testing.

According to protocol, a female official stood in front of the stall and watched me while my mom stood to the side and watched the official. Another DCO tried to speed up the process by playing the sound of trickling water on his phone. A few weeks later, I logged onto the USADA website and found out that, as expected, I had passed the test.

Flash forward to today as I work to recover from my second bone stress injury in a year, swimming laps in the pool, performing workouts on the elliptical and

graphics by Charlene Ng

running on an anti-gravity treadmill. With the goal of preventing another injury, I am seeing an endocrinologist, a nutritionist and an orthopedist, but I can’t resist the temptation to conduct my own research online.

According to an article by Marion Herring, M.D. on Active.com, the blood of endurance athletes — like myself — is acidic in nature, which can cause calcium loss from the bones. Herring, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine, even recommends taking lacticacid buffer supplements to reduce blood acidity.

Lactic-acid buffers, or buffering agents, are controversial. Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not explicitly banned their use, sodium bicarbonate — a simple buffering agent — may violate the IOC’s statement that “athletes shall not use any physiological substance in an attempt to artificially enhance performance,” as cited by a 1997 review of three studies regarding buffering agents’ effect on performance. In fact, horse racing has set limits on the allowable concentration of bicarbonate in equine blood samples.

Sodium bicarbonate, colloquially known as baking soda, was discovered as a performance enhancer in the 1930s and has since proven most effective over periods of one to seven minutes. A 1983 study published in the journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise reported that six trained middledistance runners ran an average of 2.9 seconds faster in an 800-meter race under alkalotic (sodium bicarbonate-rich) conditions. This finding suggests that “ingestion of [sodium bicarbonate] by trained middle-distance runners prior to an 800-m race has an ergogenic benefit.”

Caffeine is another commonly known performance enhancer. In 2004, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed caffeine from its list of banned substances, a decision I support. Caffeine occurs naturally in over 60 plants, and people regularly consume

it in substances like coffee, tea and chocolate. It enhances athletic performance by stimulating the central nervous system to delay the sensation of pain.

While I agree with caffeine’s classification, I think sodium bicarbonate belongs on WADA’s banned substance list because its common side effects are more serious than those of caffeine. Most people can safely consume caffeine in moderate amounts, but even small doses of sodium bicarbonate can wreak havoc on a runner, functioning as a laxative.

Indeed, Boston Children’s Hospital endocrinologist Kathryn Ackerman, M.D. and nutritionist Laura Moretti, M.S. both advised me against taking supplements of sodium bicarbonate, for in their experience, the compound does not sit well with most patients’ digestive systems.

But what about Extreme Endurance, a buffering agent available in tablet form? The Xendurance company promotes athlete users, including Laura Roesler, a Nike-sponsored middle-distance runner, and Georgeanne Moline, a Nike-sponsored 400-meter hurdler. Seventytwo customer reviews of Extreme Endurance tablets award the product an average of 4.4 stars, and the negative customer reviews report no harmful side effects.

In 2016, David Bellar, Ph.D., Director of the School of Kinesiology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, published a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of Extreme Endurance on 16 active males during exercise. The study revealed a 26 percent reduction in lactic acid — the accumulation of which inhibits muscle contraction, inducing fatigue — in just 10 days.

In addition to the performanceenhancing boost that studies indicate this supplement provides, it is certified drug-

free by the LGC, the world-renowned sports doping laboratory. Since Extreme Endurance is classified as an electrolyte and mineral supplement and does not build muscle, it also complies with standards set by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

While Xendurance does not advertise Extreme Endurance as a preventative for bone stress injuries, could the reduction in lactic acid levels it produces help an athlete prevent his or her next stress reaction or stress fracture?

Unlike with sodium bicarbonate, it is too early to judge whether the ingredients of Extreme Endurance — including calcium carbonate, papain, magnesium oxide, potassium, magnesium hydroxide, catechins, selenium, chromium and black pepper fruit — pose any lasting side effects: the Extreme Endurance formula is only about 10 years old. Before I join the Extreme Endurance bandwagon, I would like to see the results of long-term studies.

When I returned from the championship meet and shared my drug testing experience with my summer track coach, Joe Tranchita, he told me that it was a rite of passage for athletes. Another involves dealing with injury in an educated manner, which means more than applying the principles of rest, ice, compression and elevation.

Athletes must learn to navigate a fine line between substances intended for injury prevention and those promising an unfair performance enhancement.

page 10|february 17, 2017

Opinions|THELIONROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Sharing the Personal Inside the Classroom

by Aidan Bassett As a student – and particularly as one at South — I have taken challenging classes, even in subjects I disliked, and struggled immensely with my academic performance.

I have often regretted my own complacency, inconsistency and relative inability to excel naturally in school, and I have often been frustrated by my classes — indeed, as I reflect on my high school career, multiple classes come to mind as being emotionally taxing and psychologically detrimental.

Reflection, however, also unearths a common theme: good teachers. These “good teachers” were not necessarily the most competent educators, nor inherently the most congenial people, but they were invariably effective. The unifying trait that led to their effectiveness was their connection with students.

In my experience, two of the three most important qualities of great teachers are organization and authentic, unwavering passion for their work. These two are usually mentioned, while the third essential trait more often goes unnoticed.

In my experience, teachers who live by the mantra “I’m here to teach, not to be your friend” are generally detached

and uninspiring. Why? Because they fail to recognize the emotional, human dimension of education. Students are not effortlessly disciplined, nor are they always motivated to work tirelessly irrespective of subject or assignment; instead, we are emotionally fragile beings who crave validation and expressions of empathy – a fact which most teachers recognize but seldom fully address.

Teachers undoubtedly have the right to withhold the details of their personal lives, and certainly, no student is entitled to know about a teacher’s romantic pursuits or resentment of colleagues. But by connecting with students through shared the details of their lives, teachers impact their relationship with their students in a way they can scarcely imagine.

By mentioning the satisfaction of a supportive spouse or having the grace and willingness to acknowledge the passing of a friend, teachers reveal the universality of human struggle — an obvious truth often

obscured by teachers’ position of authority. When they offer insight into their own lives, teachers allow students to empathize with them, see them as people and recognize their basic decency and fundamental struggles. Ultimately, students learn best from people they like, and they can’t like people they don’t know.

Though teachers may scoff at the seemingly dubious significance of sharing the occasional personal detail, the action’s effect can be profound: a teacher who mentions the fierce, devoted pride they take in raising adopted children or savors the joy of a recent marriage becomes human, a person whom students are more likely to appreciate, understand and respect.

Classes in which teachers dedicate 55 minutes every day only to content, from the first bell to the last, are purely academic and more detached.

When students are personally connected to the person who teaches them, they are more liable to dream in a subject,

The more students and teachers can connect, the less artificial the learning process becomes.

to explore the horizon and to examine the material’s significance to them.

In addition to learning more, students tend to be far less stressed in classrooms that feel like home: even in subjects at which I am devastatingly incompetent like physics or chemistry, having compelling, compassionate and charismatic teachers has motivated me to remain less anguished and to devote more time and energy to doing my best work.

While lesser teachers can be soporific and anxiety-inducing, teachers who connect with their classes on a personal level — with a good sense of humor or a willingness to chat about how students’ days and weeks are going — win their trust, their respect and their increased devotion.

Ultimately, teachers who share themselves, their lives and parts of their own stories with students are tacitly making a powerful statement: “I see you; I value you; we are a team, and you deserve to understand me.”

The more students and teachers can connect, the less artificial the learning process becomes. In the end, students and teachers form perhaps one of the most natural partnerships that exists in life.

Connecting Education and Culture By rachel honigsberg When I attended school in the Italian part of Switzerland for three weeks in third grade, the differences between American and Swiss schools fascinated me, and I continued to visit the area until high school. This past summer, my role as a teacher’s assistant in China exposed me again to international culture. Both experiences help me view nations’ cultural differences through the lens of their education systems. Through my travels, I’ve noticed that education and culture are too closely linked to make large, sweeping changes.

American schools are defined by creativity and “real world” applications.

South clubs, for example, represent a wide range of topics, allowing students to explore their creative interests. American schools also value participation. According to history teacher and director of the Global Communities Program, Michael Kozuch, “participation is helping other people learn as much as you learn. Some people learn through expressing their own ideas.” I’ve found that participating in class has let me find my own voice and form opinions. Projects and essays also play a key role in the American school system, encouraging creativity, communication and collaboration.

The Chinese education system, however, only measures academic achievement and students participate in few clubs.

Chinese schools are driven by performing well on the Gaokao, an exam that students take during their final year of high school.

Your region-wide ranking determines which college you attend or whether you may attend a college at all. Unlike American colleges, Chinese colleges do not

consider transcripts — admission depends only on performance on the Gaokao. Qi Cao, a student I met on my trip to China, attends Nanjing University, one of the top universities in China, but he said that he initially performed poorly on the Gaokao and had to take another year to study for the exam.

Creativity takes a lower priority in China than it does in America. While working as an English teacher’s assistant in a Shanghai summer camp for middle schoolers this past summer, I taught my students about fictional writing. I asked them to write a 10-sentence story, but they were initially confused. One student asked my permission to make his main character a dinosaur who lived on Jupiter. It amazed me how making up fictional characters — something that came so naturally to me — was so foreign to them.

Additionally, Chinese classes rarely hold class discussions. This classroom environment reflects the Chinese culture

of respecting one’s elders: to ask a question is to second-guess authority.

Europe presents a middle ground between the American and Chinese education systems. Germany, for example, divides its secondary school system into three tracks: Hauptschule (grades five through nine), Realschule (grades five through 10) and Gymnasium (grades five through 13). After grade four, students enter into one of their region’s three secondary schools, depending on which track they qualify for and want to pursue.

Students who learn at a slower pace and who do not plan on attending university enter Hauptschule. Students who graduate from Realschule can either test into a Gymnasium or pursue an apprenticeship.

According to Wanjun Mo, a first-year university German student, graduation from a Gymnasium means that a student passes the Abitur, which requires that a student perform well on an exam and demonstrate strong grades during the school year. Like

photo by Katherine Lobo

in China, participation does not factor into grades and there are no official afterschool clubs. Similarly, acceptance into a college depends on the grade received on the Abitur. On the other hand, clarifying questions are encouraged. Although you can change levels, the fact that each student is placed in a track so early on displays Germany’s focus on organization and structure.

In the U.S., we value well-roundedness, so colleges look for students who excel both inside and outside the classroom.

In Germany and China, colleges look for students at the top of their class; though Germany offers multiple opportunities to display academic ability. The American school system is more accommodating of students with different learning styles and teaches creativity, which is crucial for a student’s future.

I agree with our school system’s emphasis on extracurricular activities because they are a source of exploration and fulfillment for students. I appreciate Germany’s division of secondary school; this system allows students to learn among peers with similar types of career pursuits. I also find the low price of attending college in European countries attractive, as this sets students of different socioeconomic backgrounds on a more even playing field.

Although this would be my idea of the perfect system, creating such a system is impossible because each country’s education system is so closely tied to its culture. Changing the education system of a country to incorporate aspects from foreign systems would result in a system incompatible with that country’s culture.

campus chatter february 17, 2017|page 11

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions

UPGRADE

9 Longer days Teachers slumping

The Lion’s Roar asked ...

Should South reinstate College Apparel Day for seniors?

“I see [the] concern about people who may not be as comfortable about their college choices, ... but on the other hand, people who have gotten into these colleges worked hard and they deservedly got in.”

Valentine’s Day Pajama Day every day Beyoncé having twins

- Jaehun Lee, Class of 2017 “I don’t like the whole focus on college that [College Apparel Day] demonstrates, but I don’t really care. … It’s one day, why not have fun?”

- Miriam Glasgow, Class of 2017

Homework-free break Designated Survivor returning 34-28

“On one hand, you worked really hard to get into college, and that’s great, but I think it does kind of feed into that idea of the school name [meaning] a lot.

- Rebecca Reinstein, Class of 2017

“If it’s a tradition, then we should try to preserve the tradition, [and] if it’s harming students, then we should definitely try to look into it.”

- Bhavik Nagda, Class of 2017

9

DOWNGRADE

Club Penguin shutting down February 14 6 more weeks of winter Naviance updating GPAs Goldrick Springs not running Sophomore speech Waiting for Mr. Fleishman to call

photos by Netta Dror

Tastes of the South at Blue Ribbon BBQ

by Noah shelton The heat radiating through the screen door creates a perfect entry into the small barbecue joint founded in 1995. The door swings loosely on its hinges, reminding me of rustedout springs — an image as recognizably Southern as the scent of pulled pork and grits.

A small restaurant on Washington St. in Newtonville, Blue Ribbon BBQ is best known for its creamy mashed potatoes and variety of sauces, including golden sweet sauce and tongue-numbing hot sauce. Seating is minimal, but the 15 or so counter stools further its Southern vibe. One wall, which used to feature license plates with barbecue-oriented puns, now pays homage to Southern food by displaying beans and carrots pickling in jars.

The menu contains a wide variety of ribs, brisket, sliders, pulled meats and links, along with some spectacular sides of mashed potatoes, collard greens, dirty rice and cornbread.

I ordered both a pulled pork burrito and a pulled pork platter, the most powerful scents emanating from the kitchen.

As a beverage, I chose homemade lemonade. I sat along the windows watching strangers crane their necks as they passed the aromas of Jamaican jerk chicken with string beans and potato salad.

Slow service is not a flaw at Blue Ribbon: I appreciated the informal deli-style of calling out

orders. I was surrounded by college students and construction workers, all in the pursuit of one thing: a home-cooked, Southern-style meal.

Since I am no foodie, the burrito disappeared quickly. The flour tortilla stuffed with cabbage, sour cream, rice, beans, cilantro and salsa is eight inches of heavenly goodness. The sour cream mixed with the tender pulled pork hit the spot straight.

If this were the Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” Flay would head home disappointed — there is no way that he could cook a Blue Ribbon dish better than the restaurant’s own chefs.

The tortilla was a work of art: it had absorbed all of the flavors of the burrito to create a tender explosion of flavors.

Moving to the pulled pork platter, I started with the mashed potatoes. If Newton had a mashed-potatoes cookout, Blue Ribbon would take the prize year after year.

The mac and cheese was not the standard from-the-box Kraft or Annie’s, or even one of “grandma’s famous recipes.” It was on another level.

This mac and cheese joined an elite class of food. Said class is reserved for only a few foods: s’mores, filet mignon and Blue Ribbon mac and cheese. My suggestion? Skip lunch — a dinner at Blue Ribbon is worth it.

photos by Andrea Lirio

here but not heard.

Despite some students’ struggles with speaking, South’s curriculum emphasizes verbal communication Continued from page 1

have the best tools to do so.” presentation, a video or a comic book, so you can chose your own way In addition, Wilson said that those inhibited by speech should to communicate. It will also make it more interesting for the rest of the (ASL) teacher Peter Hershon, a lack of communication tools in not be obligated to participate in public speaking. “Someone with class so that they’re not watching the same [type of] presentation over public schools can also inhibit a student’s ability to participate. “There social anxiety shouldn’t have to do something that they cannot do. I’m and over again.” were no interpreters, translators [or] note takers for the deaf. I was five feet tall, and so you wouldn’t make me play basketball,” Wilson Nathan added that writing is a good alternative to verbal so isolated,” Hershon signed. “When I learned ASL, I could start said. “Why would you make someone with communication.“People who are incredibly understanding what people were really saying.” something very real and very valid that prohibits fearful of presenting their knowledge in a public Despite difficulties and insecurities, the ability to communicate them from speaking, speak?” situation tend to be incredible writers. They can Society puts a lot with teachers is critical to a student’s education, French and math Because communication is necessary in write beautiful commentary on society or poetry of pressure on teacher Michael Jenkins said. “Teacher[s] need to be able to check the classroom, teachers can implement activities but can’t present their ideas [verbally],” he said. people to speak in to make sure kids understand [the material],” Jenkins said. “That to help students feel comfortable speaking, “It would be nice to [use] alternative [methods] may involve them saying something, [and] that may involve them English teacher Shauna Pellauer said. “It’s really instead of always having people get up in front well. If you see explaining their reasoning and their logic.” important to get people comfortable ... taking of others to present ideas.” someone who According to Stephanie LaGreca, Human Resource Director risks,” she said. “When [sophomore] speech According to educational and behavioral doesn’t speak as at Hammond, a local real estate company, the importance of speech starts, we do the speech drills and we talk about specialist Mia Hyman, society should learn to extends beyond high school. “When I’m hiring people, ... being able to silly … things. All of [those activities] try to be more understanding of different types of well, ... you might communicate well is absolutely imperative,” she said. “If you don’t ask humanize the room a little bit so then when you communicators. think ‘This person questions because you are afraid, then you won’t learn.” get up there, you’re not speaking in front of total “A lot of it comes down to education. …

Psychologist Andrew Nathan added that communication is strangers.”

Any opportunities that we have … to introduce is stupid’ or ‘This unavoidable in greater society. “We ... stress the idea that whatever Jenkins added that participation can people to different communication systems person just doesn’t you know, you ought to be able to talk about it,” Nathan said. “It seems come in many forms. “Spoken expression ... other than verbal ones ... [lets] them ... see know what they’re unavoidable that [at] one point or another we have to present ourselves doesn’t necessarily have to take the form of an [equally] effective way[s] to communicate,” to the public. ... We don’t have a ton of ways [without speaking].” oral presentation,” Jenkins said. “It can be in an Hyman said. “Just like you would communicate talking about.’

Despite eventual necessity, the emphasis on speech in schools informal setting, paired work or small groups. with a friend sitting next to you in a classroom, -Christina DeLuca may exclude those who struggle with communication, speech therapist ... When it’s a small group, … it takes a lot of the you can communicate with someone using a Christina DeLuca said. “I think society puts a lot of pressure on people pressure off because the entire class isn’t your communication system, … such as augmentative to speak well. If you see someone who doesn’t speak as well, ... you audience.” computer-based devices that have pictures might think ‘This person is stupid’ or ‘This person just doesn’t know Different types of presentations can also help students better [representing objects and actions].” what they’re talking about,’ when really, they may have something else communicate their ideas, Downs added.

Education can also help bridge the communication gap between that’s affecting them,” DeLuca said. “A lot of my [students] are really, “We could have a more diverse curriculum with different types deaf and hearing students, Hershon added. “I teach ASL because really smart and they want to communicate. They just don’t always of projects,” Downs said. “For example, you [could choose to] do a we need interpreters in the world. … Hearing people can help with

“

communication in any situation,” he signed. “Hearing people [who know ASL] can help [deaf people] with communication in any situation — at the hospital, at high schools, … [with] services like lawyers [and] doctors. Without that, how would deaf people be able to survive?”

“There are different types of styles of learning and different ways to communicate, and if we are more aware of these people, [they] would feel more heard,” Downs added.

“Education is key,” Reategui agreed. “I believe it’s my responsibility to help spread stuttering awareness and help people understand what this disorder really is. … [I want kids to know] it doesn’t make you any less beautiful, smart or deserving to have a stutter.”

Beyond education, a shift in societal expectations may also help different communicators feel more comfortable, Nathan said. “We need to try to reduce the expectation of perfection with learning that mistakes and imperfections just help us learn more,” he said.

Junior Anna Dietrich agreed and explained her experience with classroom expectations. “Sometimes I don’t want to raise my hand because I could be wrong, and people will know that I was wrong,” Dietrich said. “There’s a lot of pressure to be right all the time and there’s not really a diversity of ideas.”

Iliescu agreed, calling for a reformed classroom environment.

“I think rather than an emphasis on [forced] participation, [South] should add emphasis on making a more comfortable environment for students to [voluntarily] participate,” she said.

Despite calls for changes in environment, freshman Fionn O’Connor said that South is already accepting. “I would say for the most part at South, people are going to accept you,” he said. “I would say not to be uncomfortable sharing your opinions and views because you’re not going to be judged for [speaking].”

photo illustration by Kiana Lee

“

page 14|February 17, 2017

Centerfold|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

a chance to speak.

Sophomore speech presents an opportunity to gain a valuable communication skill

By Ilan Rotberg

I

n class, I constantly hear students complaining that material is “useless” or that they will “never need to know this information ever again.”

Students concerned that math, English, history, science and world languages will prove useless in later careers are unmotivated to study these subjects in-depth.

Public speaking, however, is almost guaranteed to be useful in adult life. While one might never need to apply the quadratic formula or analyze the French Revolution after high school, self-advocacy and communication are invaluable life skills. Sophomore speech, in particular, presents an opportunity to learn new public speaking skills including memorizing and performing a self-written oratory. Nonetheless, many students view the the process as a heavy, unnecessary burden.

In an extensive survey, Chapman University reported that 25.9 percent of Americans fear public

photo illustration by Kiana Lee

speaking, but this fear is not innate.

The Social Anxiety Institute, the “only treatment center in the world that specializes solely in helping people overcome social anxiety disorder,” reported on its website that “no one is born with social anxiety.” The institute further states that social anxiety has much to do with one’s environment. We can minimize the number of cases of social anxiety by encouraging children to practice expression skills from a young age.

South’s requirment that all sophomores perform a speech already creates an environment emphasizing empathy and minimizing fear of failure; everyone one is in the same boat, practicing a new skill. Furthermore, as I observe my peers growing more comfortable speaking about issues they care about, I am further inspired to emulate their communication techniques and improve my own speaking skills.

Assistant professor of psychology and human services at Beacon College Dr. AJ Marsden wrote in a Good Call article, that “by overcoming a fear (such as public speaking), we increase our self-confidence and feel more comfortable about success in the future.”

Moreover, sophomore speech teaches students advocacy and expression of beliefs. Students learn to practice good posture, employ effective hand motions and apply emphasis with volume and tone. These techniques allow students to become more confident and emulate effective communicators like successful leaders and notable professionals. These skills help students better advocate for themselves in other situations.

In a Washington Post article, author Neil Mercer started that “employers in the U.K. regularly say that they want to recruit people who are effective public communicators.” Some of the most successful businesspeople in the world echo this viewpoint: in an interview with Forbes, billionaire Richard Branson said that “communication is the most important skill any leader can possess.”

In the same Good Call article, Brian Braudis, president of The Braudis Group, which offers crash courses for those struggling with communication, stated that “most everyone would safely assume that if you [are] good at public speaking, you [can] easily find success in sales, customer service or leading a division.”

Learning a new skill is never easy. It takes a long term commitment and a lot of effort to become confident in something we might initially find difficult. As students, however, we will eventually compete for jobs in an increasingly competitive market. South can boost students’ chances of success by adopting additional curriculum on public speaking.

Sophomore speech is a step in the direction of making high school more relevant to real life. As a high schooler, thinking about the future and what it will hold is stressful. I, however, am sure that sophomore speech will help prepare me to reach future success.

FEATURES page 15|february 17, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

FEATURES@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 6

Joy Rider Junior Susannah King rides and cares for horses at Black Brook Farm

By Dina Zeldin

L

ast November, junior Susannah King and two of her friends dressed up as Disney princesses to race their horses.

King said that although her friends and their horses were the only pairs who dressed up, the day remains a fond memory of hers. “[Riding] is a safe space [for me] because I feel more confident while riding, and I’m not usually the most confident person,” she said. “My riding friends are some of my closest friends in the world. At school, you [have to] find things you have in common with friends, but with horseback riding, you know you all share the same passion.”

In addition to increasing her confidence, King said that riding has sharpened her general awareness.

“Horses can tell when you’re in a bad mood. They’ll be like, ‘Oh, maybe you shouldn’t be riding like this. It’s a little harsh.’

Then I have to relax and check myself,” she said. “That transfers over into my real life too.”

Prospect Hill Academy junior Leah Cohen, who rides with King, agreed and added that at times, riding requires equestrians to focus more on their horses than themselves.

“It’s teamwork, but it’s with [an animal] that is intelligent and willing [but] can’t talk to you at all,” she said. “It’s always about paying attention to your horse and constantly making minute changes to help them perform at their best.”

According to King’s trainer Heather Hollaway, in addition to the technical skills riders gain from riding, they also learn leadership skills. “[Riding] teaches a lot of things about partnership and empathy, [which gives equestrians] more of a team player perspective — more of a ‘we’ than an ‘I,’” she said.

The team aspect of a rider’s bond with their horse, King said, makes it unique from bonds with other animals.

“Riding is different from having a dog,”

she said. “You can definitely have a bond with your dog, but with riding you are a part of a team with this animal, so you get a lot closer than you would with a different animal.”

While riding is invaluable in terms of the lessons it teaches equestrians, riding gear and training is expensive. According to Cohen, riding can amount to tens of thousands of dollars a year with boarding, feed, horse care and tack fees.

Concord-Carlisle junior Isabel Svrcek, who rides with King, said that the cost of riding may reinforce misconceptions about the sport.

“Because horses are so expensive, I think a lot of people might think it’s a stuckup [sport],” she said.

Cohen agreed and added that a barn’s atmosphere can either positively or negatively affect an equestrian’s riding experience.

“There are a lot of barns that are snobby, like you have to own a horse, and have a lot of money to go there,” she said.

“The first barn I went to ... wouldn’t move me up a level, but Susannah’s barn is totally open to whoever wants to ride there, so the people have a lot of freedom.”

King works at her barn to cover the costs for riding, which she said is gratifying to her as a rider. She added that the environment of her barn adds to her love for horseriding.

“There are no instructors at Black Brook, which is a co-op barn, and we all have our own horses, and we’re all in charge of the chores,” she said. “At first, it’s hard, but I’ve learned so much more riding-wise and horse-care-wise in the past year and a half that I’ve been here than I did in five years of just taking lessons.”

While King used to ride competitively, she said now, riding is a therapeutic practice.

“For me, [riding] is more about taking care of the horses and being around them and having fun, rather than getting first place in

a show,” she said. “[Taking care of the horses] is really fun — I didn’t have fun when I was showing.”

Instead of competing, King and Svrcek work with the Dorset Equine Rescue to rehabilitate two Shetland ponies: Spirit and Barney.

Pony rehabilitation is a time-consuming process that Svrcek said requires patience.

“A lot of [rehabilitating ponies] is being a really calm person and spending as much time with them as possible,” she said. “I probably spend two to three hours a day [at the barn].”

Chris Price, who rides with both King and Svrcek, agreed and added that King’s personality fits the task of rehabilitating ponies.

“These are horses that haven’t been treated well, so that’s a real challenge,” she said. “I think [Susannah’s] the right person for the job because she doesn’t get upset. She’s very calm, and the animals end up trusting her.”

King said since she has begun to spend a majority of her time caring for Spirit and Barney, she has been training largely on her own.

“It’s nice to be thrown into the metaphorical deep-end where [you] have to figure things out on your own,” she said. “It’s really cool to compare where we were when I first started riding them to where we are now and be like, ‘Wow, I was actually able to really do that with a horse!’”

According to Cohen, riding requires a high degree of dedication from equestrians.

“You can’t just say that you are a horse person because you’ve been on a horse and you’ve walked in front of one,” she said.

“You have to feed the horse, and you have to groom the horse. You have to take care of the whole [horse] — that’s so generic, but that’s what makes Susannah a really good horsewoman.”

Additional reporting by Celine Yung

photos courtesy of Susannah King

page 16|February 17, 2017

Features|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Student Songwriters South students write and compose songs and raps to express their creativity

By Jessica Altman, Maggie Kenslea and Zoe Golub

graphic by Ellen Deng

S

enior Annah Bierenbaum started writing music ¨It’s scary putting yourself out there, but in the anyone’s telling them to do it, and not because they’re trywhen she was stressed while studying for finals her end it’s a really amazing experience and it’s something ing to please anybody, but because music is such an amazfreshman year. that I wish more people would take advantage of,” he ing thing to do. It’s a really cool way of exploring yourself “I actually wrote my first song during freshman said. “Come to the lab, see what’s going on, and just make and getting your music out there to other people and finals as a way to procrastinate. [It] probably wasn’t the music, and think about how you can use music to bring sharing it with them. It’s a really powerful experience.” best thing for my grades, but it got me started on someyourself to the community and the community to you,” he The joy of making music, however, does not come thing I care a lot about, and from there it has kind of just said. easily, according to Gawlick. expanded,” she said.

Creating music also gives students a different ap“The two biggest [challenges] are making a song Although Bierenbaum had past musical experiencproach to their academic life, according to English teacher that I know that people will want to enjoy and listen to es, she said that composing music provided her an outlet Corinne Popp. She said that she appreciates the influence and have good, positive feedback. Also just what to write to better express herself creatively. music has on her students. about and what really means a lot to me and what it could “I’ve been playing guitar since I was in fourth ¨[Gawlick] approaches class really musically, one relate to to others,” he said. grade, and I’ve been doing chorus since sixth grade. I of our first our assignments was reading and performing Not only does the difficulty lie in the process of think that music is a really strong way of exwriting music, but also in performing or It’s scary putting yourself out there, but in the end it’s a pressing yourself. It’s like poetry but I get to publishing music, Biernbaum said. combine it with my love of music,” she said.

“Posting music online, those initial really amazing amazing experiencae and it’s something Music is a way to create something 10 minutes when you post and you’re that I wish more people would take advantage of. out of nothing, according to junior Oliver waiting for the likes and comments to Todreas, who currently resides in Sweden. Toroll in, like, ‘Oh no, I only got like eight - Benjamin Youngman, Music Teacher dreas is a member of the group Oceus, which likes within the first five minutes, what makes electronic music. a poem by Anne Bradstreet called ‘The Burning of Our does that mean? Is it bad?’— that’s always scary,” she said.

“I think it’s really incredible that you can start with House,’ and he really turned it into a piece of music. That According to Todreas, he is his own worst critic. just silence and build whatever you want from there,” he was what made me realize not only how talented he is, but “I think that the person who doubted me the most said. also how it influences all the different aspects of his life, was probably myself. At times, it looked like there was so Junior Szymon Gawlick started rapping his sophoand his approach to learning,” she said. many things you could do and I didn’t know how to do more year after playing instruments earlier in his life.

Student artists and producers distribute their music them,” he said.

“Over the years, just seeing what everyday life online using SoundCloud, Facebook or YouTube.

Despite their challenges, artists continue to overwas like at school and outside of school, I wanted to see ¨I use SoundCloud and YouTube a lot. YouTube come their fears and publish music. Bierenbaum added another person’s view,” he said. “I sometimes write songs to have people see me rap and do poetry as well, Soundthat she has no plans to stop making music. that aren’t about me, in any sense, and just show what Cloud to hear the beats that I’m rapping to what I made,¨ “I continue to make music because it’s an integral somebody [else] could be facing in their everyday life,” he sophomore Raven Fernandes said. part of not only my life, but who I am and my identity. My said.

Youngman said that he also encourages his students high school career has been defined by two things: one of South’s music department offers dozens of differto explore writing and producing their own music, not those is running in track and field, and the other is makent classes including, music technology and choir. Music with the goal of being discovered or praise, but for the ing music, whether in chorus, or on my own,” she said. teacher Benjamin Youngman said that he encourages sheer enjoyment of it.

“It’s something that will hopefully be a life-long hobby students to follow student artists who make music of their “The cool thing is, I have a feeling that [these stuand something that I can share with my children when own. dents will] be doing this for a very long time; not because I’m older.”

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|Features

Language Barrier S

eeking to explore an unfamiliar culture, freshman Isabel Flessas decided to take Chinese when she entered sixth grade.

“I think Chinese is really interesting,” she said. “I took it because I wanted to take something different from what most people were taking as a language.”

Much of the class’s curriculum and activities, however, was not beneficial to the students, she explained. According to Flessas, this did not stop after sixth grade “I wish that there was more interpersonal speaking [activities], because most of the time we just have to memorize dialogues. I feel like that is not as useful as being able to talk to other people because it won’t be applied as much in a foreign language speaking situation,” she said.

Senior Michael Garb took Russian as a non-native speaker. After five years, he said that he still did not understand a lot of Russian.

“I could read a children’s book, but I had no idea what the children’s book was saying. I could only recognize a few words,” he said.

Freshman Shoshi Gordon agreed and said her French class should incorporate more engaging activities and rely less on its textbook.

The goal of South’s language program is to prepare students for real life situations, Spanish teacher Viviana Planine said.

“The goal would be that you communicate and then can use it in real life— like if you go to Spain and you need to buy a ticket to go somewhere or go to the store to shop for something,” she said.

Some students find language classes unengaging because of the level of difficulty, sophomore Colin Chen said.

“To be honest, I thought it was boring before because it was too easy for me,” He said. “Now that it’s more of a challenge; it seems more interesting,” he said.

The difficulty of a class does not always correspond with the level of interest and intrigue, Gordon said. “[Easier classes are] not that engaging but I think it’s because people think that easy classes can’t be as fun and engaging as harder classes,” she said.

Students have the power to make a class more interesting and useful, sophomore Eva Sours said. Already fluent in French, Sours chose to take Spanish to learn her third language.

“Some students don’t really take it seriously. They just want to get language credit.,” she said. “I feel like the teachers are doing what they can to make the class interesting,” she said.

Planine agreed and said that the atmosphere of a class depends on the students’ passion and involvement.

“Some kids enjoy it a lot. You can see they have a passion for it. They like to

February 16, 2017|page 17

While students enjoy the opportunity to learn a language, some struggled to stay engaged in their classes

By Aviva Gershman

communicate, and they participate and they enjoy it. Some kids don’t, unfortunately. It depends on how you are,” she said.

Even though some students may find language classes uninteresting, each class explores a new culture, while creating a good environment, Sours said.

“It’s interesting to learn a language with students you know. I guess it’s a way to bond,” she said. “You can learn about people and culture in languages, and I think that’s something really important.”

Additional reporting by Ella Biggs and Rayna Song

graphics by Jasmine Chan

page 17|february 17, 2017

Features|THELionsRoar.com|THE LION’S ROAR

THE

COMMONAPPLICATION

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

By Celine Yung

N

ate* has interviewed at Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College and is waiting to hear back from schools mid-March. He said that interviewing was the most enjoyable part of the application process so far.

“You would think an interview would feel like an interrogation, but it’s more of a conversation in most cases,” he said. “It gives you a chance to learn about the college from someone with real experience there, and it also gives colleges a chance to learn more about you beyond your application.”

With the bulk of the application process behind him, Nate said that he is ready to return to the activities he put on hold while applying.

“I’ve been planning to go back to Science Team meets and I’m also planning on going back into sports, like swimming and soccer,” he said.

Nate said that he is still interested in swimming for a college team.

“The schools I’ve applied to definitely have very qualified swim teams that I would be very honored to be a part of,” he said. “For example, Cornell has some very intense meets against Harvard and MIT this year, and since [Cornell’s]one of my top pick schools, I would want to join them.”

While he is planning to relax second semester, Nate said he does not think he will slack off completely. In general, he said this past month has been less stressful for him.

“It feels nice to have that weight off my shoulders, but I wouldn’t say I’m going to flat-out just slump,” he said. “It’s kind of a welcomed change of pace, even though I know college decisions are going to come back at some point.”

R

graphics by Celine Yung

ufus* said applying for financial aid has proved strenuous. “Each [financial aid application] has its own processes, which is a pain because you have to fill out a hundred different forms for the same thing,” he said.

He advised people who plan to apply for financial aid to keep in close contact with school representatives.

“Don’t be afraid to call people — even though it’s really awkward — just so you know what you need and what you don’t need,” he said.

In addition to applying for financial aid, Rufus interviewed at Wesleyan University and plans to interview for Cornell University and Vanderbilt University. “[Interviewing] interests me a lot more than filling out paperwork and test scores,” he said. “On paper, my application isn’t the strongest, but I feel like once people get to know me, it helps out a ton.”

Although Rufus said that he originally planned to slump, he decided that doing so could interfere with college plans.

“There’s ... scholarship stuff that I have to keep my grades up for,” he said. “There’s also the fear that I might not like any school that I go to and will have to transfer.”

Overall, Rufus said first semester was the hardest part of the year.

“The regular school year is a marathon compared to first semester, which was a full-out sprint,” he said. “It’s weird to be like, ‘My high school career is basically over.’” *Names changed to protect students’ identities

Dumpling House 870 Walnut St., Newton MA Our favorite dishes are the juicy Soup Dumpling, Sauteed Lobster from a live-lobster tank, Ma Po Tofu, Sliced Fish Fillet Szechuan, Twice Cooked Pork, Spicy Salt and Pepper Calamari, Braised Eggplant with Basil & Shredded beef with Longhorn Pepper

Taste of Real Chinese Food

Lee’s Burger Place 216 Sumner St. Newton, MA 02459 Tel. 617 795 2022

Beer, Wine and Liquor for dine-in are available Hours: 11 a.m. though 10 p.m. (7 days) Dine-in, Takeout and online orders are welcome We deliver min. $15.00 per order within 4 miles Delivery charge $2 within 2 miles, $4 for 2 to 4 miles

WE DELIVER

Tel: 617-969-2800, 617-969-6300 Website: dumplinghousenewton.com

February 17, 2017|page 19

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|FUN PAGE

South Crime Watch Editors’ Note: Individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

MUGGING Feb. 1, English Dept. A teacher reported that a student had been mugged during class. The nurse spent the rest of the day removing the ceramic pieces from his body.

graphic by Sophie Galowitz

MALICIOUS DAMAGE Feb. 6, Commonwealth Ave. In order to avoid an unexcused tardy, a senior decided to slash his two front tires, then take a picture to show his A block teacher.

He said that the payoff was worth the hour long walk to school.

THEFT Feb. 9, Senior Lot The Carbon Dioxide club was seen dismantling the solar panels in the senior lot. Sources said that the group was attempting to hasten climate change, hoping for more snow days in the future.

THEFT Feb. 14, Tango Mango A senior reported that his heart was stolen by a medium carnitas burrito.

Previously afraid of being alone, he said he was overjoyed when he found his true love.

VANDALISM Feb. 15, Faculty Lot A junior was seen painting over white teacher spots with yellow paint, claiming the snow had stolen student spaces. Contact parkingvandal@gmail.com if interested.

Overheard at SOUTH Yes, we heard you say that.

Carb historian: “Were there bagels in the Old Testament?”

Nostalgic freshman: “Are Sugarlips still in?”

Tough-loving parent: “I’m gonna donate my finger to my son. I’ll be like, ‘You get a finger, and that’s all!’”

Overworked test-taker: “It’s better to stand. Sitting is killing us.”

Gummy lover: “Yo, slide me a fruit snack!”

Skeptical eavesdropper: “How do you slide a fruit snack?”

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month:

After a long day, Lu mourns the loss of her neck.

Annoying Roar Staff Photo of the Month:

Lazar and Leong clog the Roar chat with tubs.

The Real Grammys COREY SAMUELS sr. fun editor

bffls & bad puns Recently, the International Recording Academy of America ­­— or whatever the Illuminati calls themselves these days — recognized the incredible accomplishments in all of music over the last year, including a bunch of music from 2015, for some reason. Viewers tuning in to the broadcast caught the expected: Adele cleaning up, Beyonce being regal, white people doing country music, James Corden reminding everyone why he’s on after midnight and Chance praising God on national TV. But, lesser known awards are traditionally distributed during a smaller, much more exclusive ceremony.

As up-and-comers in the teaching/music production industry, Mr. Lee and Mr. Davison were privy to a memo, and we are pleased to forward the following: Winners, Best Album or Song in a given category: Best Human/Chipmunk Rap Crossover Record: “Panda,” Desiigner Best Song Written and Performed in Complete Gibberish: “Panda,” Desiigner Song That Your Parents Just Don’t Get … And, Let’s Face It, Neither Do You: “Panda,” Desiigner Best Album for Dylan, the Ninth Grader Who Also Just Found Out About Adele: “Lemonade,” Beyoncé Best Album of the Year if You Didn’t Listen to Music This Year: “Lemonade,” Beyoncé Best Album of the Year if All You Listened to Was Beyoncé: “Lemonade,” Beyoncé Album Least Deserving a Grammy Win This Year: “25,” Adele Best Gospel Album: The first 9 minutes of “Life of Pablo,” Kanye West Best Rap Album: “Coloring Book,” Chance the Rapper Worst Rap Album: The remaining 57 minutes of “Life of Pablo,” Kanye West Best Derelict Album: “Life of Pablo,” Kanye West Best Song Sung Heinously Off-Key by a Strikingly Handsome Individual, Yet Inexplicably Nominated for a Major Musical Award: “City of Stars,” Ryan Gosling Winners, Best Artist or Group in a given category: Angriest Rapper (White): Eminem Angriest Rapper (White & Non-White): It’s definitely still Eminem Artist Most Likely to be a Gorgeous Alien: Ariana Grande Artist Most Likely to Have Just Been Joking This Whole Time: Drake Really Good Artist That Mr. Davison Somehow Just Found Out About: A Tribe Called Quest Really Good Artist That Mr. Lee Has Loved For Literally the Last 20 Years: A Tribe Called Quest Best Prince Impression: Bruno Mars Best Michael Jackson Impression: Bruno Mars Best James Brown Impression: Let’s be honest, it’s Justin Timberlake Winners, Life Achievements: Best Mic Drop: “There’s No Way I’m Enforcing Your Executive Order, Bye” Former Attorney General Sally Yates Best Guitar Solo: “El Scorcho,” South sophomore Nick Adams Best New Discovery: Mr. Lee, who quite recently found out about Jazz Winner of the *NSYNC/BSB Lifetime Feud Award: Duh. *NSYNC 4eva Best Freestyle Pulled Out of a Butt: Kellyanne Conway, every Sunday morning interview Lifetime Achievement in the Spoken Word: “Hi, this is David Fleishman. Due to the severity and duration of the storm ...,” David Fleishman.

SPORTS page 20|february 17, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 6

1,000 counting and

Junior basketball player Veronica Burton reaches a 1,000 point milestone for the Lions

By Jake Freudberg and Andrew Mei

Junior basketball captain Veronica Burton, who recently reached 1,000 points for South.

Burton (second from right) poses for a photo with a group of her teammates on Feb. 7.

photos by Sebastian Tsao

Burton practices during a Feb. 7 warm-up before a home game against Concord-Carlisle.

added that most of her impressive work is behind-the-scenes.

Baker said that Burton takes control of the game.

Coming into the girls basketball “She controls both the offense and matchup against Lincoln-Sudbury on Jan. the defense by [not only] communicating 13, junior captain Veronica Burton needed with her teammates but also [by] dictatonly seven points to reach 1,000 in her ing the spacing and [making the] defense South career. choose whether to stop her or the other Though Burton has averaged around teammates,” she said.

20 points per game this season, she said “Her ball screen reads — the reads that she was still anxious. she makes as she’s picking off rolls — are “I was definitely very nervous going much better than at the beginning of her in,” she said. “I was over-thinking that, and career,” Rogers said. “She’s definitely a betI thought of all the bad possibilities.” ter shooter [now] than when she started During the first quarter, however, playing. I think she’s the best basketball Burton hit a three-pointer off an assist player in the state, as well as the best scorer from senior co-captain Zoe Foster, bringin terms of the variety of the ways she can ing her up to 1,000 points. score.”

“I felt [like] a lot of pressure was off King said that she respects Burton’s after I scored it, and I could just focus on poise as a teammate and leader. playing the game and trying to win, rather “She always has fun, she’s always rethan focusing only on scoring,” Burton laxed,” King said. “You know she just loves said. the game.”

“It was awesome,” Foster added. “I According to junior Paige Ollivierre, also got to see [South graduate] Emily Burton has proven to be a great teammate, [Chang] get it last year. But it’s fun because on and off the court.

I’ve been playing with Veronica longer “She’s always there, and she has than I’ve been playing with [Chang]. I felt always pushed me. She’s a very good friend really proud of [Burton].”

– always has been,” Ollivierre said. “She’s Senior Brooke Baker, Burton’s team- always there to pick up people when they’re mate since middle school, said she felt down – one of the best teammates I’ve ever equally excited. had.”

“Seeing her achieve it, that was the Burton’s sisters Kendall and Kayla most exciting thing in the world,” she said. both scored 1,000 points at South, so Bur“She’s my really good friend, so I was just ton said that she is carrying on the family so happy for her.” legacy.

Scoring 1,000 is just one of Burton’s “Being the youngest, I definitely had milestone accomplishments at South thus an advantage, as I got to learn from their far. Last year, she won the Dual County mistakes and see what they did and take League MVP award. from them,” Burton said. “So seeing that According to head coach Joe Rogthey both got [1,000 points], I wanted to ers, Burton’s success is a result of her hard join them in that.” work. He said that Burton trains constantly Burton said that she hopes to break and plays both for South and her travel the school record for career points scored, team, the Bay State Jaguars. currently set at 1,436 by South hall-of-fam“A lot goes into [1,000 points]. What er and Brown Middle School P.E. teacher goes into it is all the work that she puts in Katrina Antonellis, ‘86. year-round to make herself the basketball “I hope to get [the record],” Burton player she is,” he said. said. “It’s not my main focus whenever I Senior teammate Sarah King agreed play, but I think it would be pretty cool.” with Rogers.

After South, Burton said that she “It’s all the stuff she’s doing that you hopes to play Division I basketball in coldon’t see that’s really impressive,” King lege, following in the footsteps of her three said. siblings who all play, or are committed to “The other thing that goes into it play, Division I sports. is her teammates and their willingness to Burton has received offers from play the roles that they do,” Rogers added. Brown University, Elon University and the “To set screens for her, make space around University of Minnesota, among others. her and their ability to make shots as well, For now, Rogers said that Burton’s which makes it difficult for [opponents] to current focus is to keep South as one of the surround her all the time.” best teams in the DCL and the MIAA. Both her teammates and her coach “Her goals are the team’s goals, which said they admire Burton’s talent and the include [getting] better every day,” Rogers improvement she has demonstrated, and said.

february 17, 2017|page 21

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts

Gymnastics teams eye States, demand respect

GYMNASTICS, from 1 retired last season. “[Martin] will help our players get better at parts of the routine that they don’t see,” he said. “[He can serve as] a second pair of eyes.”

The girls gymnastics team has found similar success, winning all of its meets on the way to clinching the DCL title after its Feb. 2 victory over Westford Academy, with which South shared the league crown last year. According to senior captain Laura Hernandez, the team’s first win over Westford on Jan. 19 confirmed that South was a serious state contender. “[Success] was expected because a lot of the girls on our team do club gymnastics outside of high school gymnastics,” she said. “But we didn’t think we’d get this far — beating Westford was a huge deal for us. We came in as the underdogs and we won by a lot, so that was really surprising.

People have definitely been stepping up to the plate because we have a really small team.”

Junior captain Ally Youngsman cited the team’s improved chemistry for its recent dominance.

“We’ve all really bonded this year,” she said. “We’ve been a lot closer than in past years. Everyone really supports each other and accepts one another.” “[Our next stop is] sectionals, where we’re going to have a lot of competition this year,” girls head coach Kylie Calzone said. “[The] top four teams of that meet will make States. [That’s] going to be a little bit harder to accomplish, but I think the girls definitely have the talent and the ability to do it.”

Despite both programs’ strong seasons, gymnasts and coaches noted that

their fanbase has not expanded significantly.

“The gymnastics team is kind of unknown at South. When it’s announced on the loudspeaker that we won a meet, people go, ‘Oh, there’s a gymnastics team?’” Hernandez said. “I think more people should know about it because we’re actually surprisingly good.”

“I think it’s just hard because our meets are over at North, [and] we don’t practice at the school,” Calzone said. “It’s really hard to get the word out there and for people to get to the meets.”

Arber said that both the teams themselves and the athletic department must better advertise the sport to students.

“One problem is that we don’t publicize enough,” Arber said. “But also, I think it’s partially … on [athletic director Patricia Gonzalez] to kind of tell people about [the program] and let them know that this is an option.”

The social stigma surrounding the sport has also negatively impacted its reception at South, Arber continued.

“There are a lot of misconceptions [about] the sport,” he said. “People think that it’s for wimps; they see it as ‘gay,’ and I really don’t agree with that. ... I would like for people to know that whatever it may make you look like, it’s a really fun sport, and it’s a lot harder than some may think.

It requires a lot of physical strength and if you’re willing to put in the work, it’s really worth it.”

“If you look at it in terms of success, we should get more support,” Tamir added. “But I understand because we don’t even practice [at South]; our meets aren’t here. I’m not satisfied with [student support of gymnastics], but we’re working on it.”

From left: Danielle DiNisco, Julie Schoen, Laura Hernandez, Ally Youngsman, Emily Goetzler and Laura Dammann

Julie Schoen

Laura Hernandez

Senior Night Arielle Cohen-Oliviera

The girls team honored senior Laura Hernandez during its Jan. 26 victory over Acton Boxborough Photos by Bailey Kroner

Arielle Cohen-Oliviera

Beth O’Neil

Laura Dammann

page 22| February 17, 2017

All-Star Snubs NATHAN ELBAUM & NOAH SHELTON

T

Sports|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Bona-Fide rule protects athletes

Stealing Second

his month we’ve decided to cover a topic that hits close to home: the Celtics being snubbed of any All-Star starters.

As of the time we’re writing this column, the Celtics are 2.5 games behind the Lebron James-led Cavaliers.

Kyrie Irving was picked over Isaiah Thomas as the Eastern Conference All-Star starting point guard.

In terms of scoring ability, Irving has dominated Thomas by shooting both a better field goal percentage and three-point percentage. He has been comparatively more effective on defense too; Irving has amassed both more steals and more blocks per game than Thomas, helping lead the Cavaliers to the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.

Averaging more minutes per game than Thomas, the Cav’s point guard is also proving able to deal with superstar knucklehead Lebron James on a nightly basis. On the other hand, Thomas is leading the Celtics under Gregg Popovichesque’s oversight. He isn’t surrounded by a single superstar (let alone two), and he has been burdened with carrying the Celtics on his own.

Thomas has averaged 10.1 points per fourth quarter, more than any other player in a Celtics uniform. In fact, no one has averaged that many points in the fourth quarter since the ‘90s. Back in the ‘90s, the game was run-and-gun; basically, a faster-paced version of the Warriors.

Thomas’s fourth quarter shots are astoundingly 49 percent from the field and an unbelievably 45 percent from downtown.

He is beating the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant, who averaged 9.5 in the fourth quarter in the 2005-6 season.

Of course, statistics only matter if you let them, which we don’t think we should. Thomas takes deficits that the Celtics would lose or leads that his team would blow and turns them into wins.

At the end of the day, the only statistics that matter are the two numbers in the standings. Irving might have the better stats, but Thomas turns losses into wins.

Thomas energizes a crowd.

Thomas takes control of the floor. Irving was chosen by the fans, but Thomas forced his way onto the list. Note the use of passive and active voice to show which player is better.

The NBA has a responsibility to its fans to change the way that All-Star players are selected — the current system almost voted Zaza Pachulia as the starting center for the center of the Western Conference ahead of Anthony Davis.

An alternative would be to select players with the highest number of Win Shares. Win Shares, like Wins Above Replacement, assign a value to everything that an NBA player does on the court. The player with the highest number of Win Shares at each position for each conference would be elected a starter at the All Star game.

graphic by Robin Acosta

Catherine Granfield & Dorra Guermazi

Sr. Sports Editor, Sports Reporter School teams come before club teams.

The Bona-Fide Team Member Rule — enforced by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) — ensures that all Massachusetts high school athletes adhere to this idea, prohibiting that an athlete miss a South practice or competition to attend a club event.

According to girls tennis coach Robert Jampol, the rule helps South teams build a sense of unity; before the rule was implemented, talented athletes would often opt out of school practices and only attend the competitions.

“They would ask to go to their private clubs and their own personal pro,” he said.

“They missed out basically on almost the entire experience of being on a team except competing in the interscholastic matches.”

Junior basketball player Lucas Nathanson said that the rule ensures athletes’ dedication to school teams. “[The rule] increases commitment level. Kids realize that they have to go all-in with the sport that they’re playing or risk being kicked off,” he said.

“Your teammates expect you to to perform and be committed to your team,” freshman swimmer Jamin Liu added.

The rule also states that an athlete will face suspension for 25 percent of the season the first time he or she breaks a rule.

Nathanson, however, said that he believes the MIAA should leave punishments to the coach’s discretion. “[The suspension rule] is ridiculous.

I think it should be decided by the coaches to see if [players’] levels of commitment are enough to play on the team. Then, the coach should be able to make the decision on whether or not they play,” he said.

Volleyball coach Todd Elwell said that he supports enforcing disciplinary action, but hesitates to punish athletes for practicing and improving with club teams.

“I fully support all those high school coaches who are trying to do what they do. On the other hand, I appreciate the kid who is trying to go out and get better and get more coaching,” he said.

Senior basketball and tennis player Sarah King said that although the BonaFide Rule can improve commitment, it only addresses a small portion of the problem.

“Kids will overlap practice with tutoring, or babysitting or something else,” King said. “That’s been the bigger issue for [the tennis team], even though that’s still rare.”

In addition, according to sophomore soccer player Maia Madison, the rule does not always have its intended effect. “It was put into place to protect the athletes from having to do both [a school and club sport], but I think a lot of the time they end up having to do both anyway,” she said.

Nathanson agreed that many students still opt to join club teams.

“I’ve seen athletes who try to do club basketball when they’re doing something like track or football [in school],” he said.

“They miss more of the club practices because, obviously, if they miss the school practice, they’re going to get suspended.”

According to Elwell, even though the rule does not prevent students from joining club teams, it prevents club coaches from over-scheduling athletes.

“If you didn’t have that rule in place, those club coaches would go crazy with the expectations of those kids,” he said. “Then [the athletes] would probably have to give up their high school season.”

King and Madison said that their school sports, basketball and soccer respectively, have little to no overlap with their club seasons. Jampol said that some athletes double up anyway by participating in a club sport different from their school sport during the same season, which he said can cause overexertion.

“It’s unfair on a student’s body to be going in full hilt in two different sports, even if only one of them is at school,” he said.

Elwell agreed that athletes who play for two teams sacrifice their health. “I have seen kids who needed rest, and didn’t take it, and ended up with stress fractures [and] season-ending injuries,” he said.

Liu, however, said that even with the complications, he has balanced both club and school sports by prioritizing school sports.

“I swim for a club as well [as school], but you kind of have to make a choice,” he said. “It hasn’t impacted my school season because I usually don’t go to club practice when I have school practice.”

King added that the rule forces students to prioritize school over club.

“It makes the decision for the student of which [team] to pick. Whereas otherwise, there’s definitely a conflict of interest,” she said. “The parents might be pushing for club; the kid might be pushing for school.

The coach is obviously going to push for the school. [The rule] alleviates that tug of war that would otherwise be happening.”

Elwell said that although school teams should be prioritized, club teams can be an important supplement for athletes.

“Once you get to a club season, coaches don’t have as many practices.

Therefore, they spend a little more time with X’s and O’s,” he said. “Some kids would be better served by doing fundamentals in the off-season rather than joining the club team. Others might need that club experience to bolster their IQ for their sport.” “[Club teams] give you a chance to play outside the season [and] lets you practice certain skills to get ready for the [school] season,” Nathanson said.

Madison added that she believes her club team plays at a higher level. Elwell, however, said that it is important to note that school teams foster a sense of community unavailable in club sports.

“Lots of times, the high school season is the best experience you can have in your life. It’s a potpourri of friends from your school,” he said. “Your club season is a different animal.”

“You go to school with these people.

You see them in the halls, and you’ve known them since elementary school,” King added. “That fortifies your experience in a way club can’t.”

The Bona-Fide rule is necessary for South athletes to enjoy their seasons, Elwell said.

“The MIAA [enforces] the Bona Fide team rule so that the club coaches cannot abuse the high school kids in their season . . . It’s a high school team; it has precedence,” he said. “That’s a good rule to have because kids need that protection.”

February 17, 2017|page 23

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts

Coach’s Corner The Roar’s Catherine Granfield asked basketball coach Joe Killilea for a season update

Q A Q A Q A

Joe Killilea boys basketball coach Who have been some star players so far?

Oskar Coulter has been our leading scorer. Sasha Hoban has had some tremendous games, scoring and rebounding. Andrew Bereket just gives 100 percent, 100 percent of the time, and Daniel Chafetz has played really well. So those four seniors have really carried the load, and then Robbie Hodin has hit two game-winning shots. That doesn’t happen often.

What has been the highlight of the season so far?

The Waltham game. We played really, really well as a team, [with] very balanced scoring and excellent defense. . . . [The] kids play real tough man-to-man. They help each other out quite a bit. We have a couple of good rebounders.

What has been the team’s biggest challenge?

Blending together offensively and trying to find a flow that becomes consistent throughout the game.

South Scoreboard

***All information is as of 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14, 2017***

Team

Next Game/ Meet

Record (W/L/T)

Boys Basketball

February 17 at Westford

10-7-0

Girls Basketball Boys Swimming Girls Swimming

February 17 at Westford

13-3-0

N/A N/A

6-4-0 3-5-0

Wrestling

N/A

1-15-0

Boys Gymnastics N/A

9-0-0

Girls Gymnastics February 11 at DCL Championship

6-0-0

Boys Hockey Girls Hockey

February 8 at Weston N/A

10-5-1 4-9-4

Boys Track

N/A

1-3-0

Girls Track

N/A

5-0-0

A Tradition of Success DAN EPSTEIN

sports contributor

Floating Column EDITOR’S NOTE: Every issue, The Roar publishes a different athlete’s perspective from his or her position on a sports team.

Contact srstaff@thelionsroar.com if you are interested in writing this column.

During the winter of my freshman year, I got a little bored. Soccer season had come and gone, and I was impatiently waiting for the fall, when I could lace up my cleats and get on the field again. I was tired of coming home every day after school, watching some TV, doing my homework and going to bed. I needed something to fill my afternoons, or I would drive myself crazy.

“I’ll give track a try,” I decided. “I won’t be good, but it may be fun, and at least I’ll stay fit.” To this day, I am still thankful that I made that decision.

Three years later, I am a senior captain of both indoor and outdoor track. With just a few months left in my high school track career, I’ve realized how much I’ve learned from a sport I didn’t plan on joining.

Track is not easy; the spring of my freshman year, I began my track career both mentally and physically unprepared. I was stunned by the training’s difficulty: the sprints were grueling, the core workouts lasted forever and every inch of my body ached for days on end.

Every time I gasped for breath or clutched my stomach, feeling vomit arise, I asked myself, “Why am I here?

Why am I putting myself through all of this?”

I came close to quitting so many times that season, yet somehow, I found the will to stick with it. When the team captured the Dual County League (DCL) title at the end of the season — the third win in a row — I realized that pain was the ultimate sacrifice for success. Track has taught me discipline, which will serve me well in life.

South’s track and field team has a history of dominance in both the DCL and the state. We’ve won the DCL four of my six indoor and outdoor seasons and placed in the All-State competition’s top 10 multiple times since my freshman year.

When I joined track, I bought into a team with a tradition of success, a legacy that proves true every day at practice, where I’m surrounded by a group of guys who motivate and push each other to improve.

After my first season, the pain started to pay off as my times dropped. I went from the back of the pack freshman year to winning a 4x100 meter relay all-state championship during junior year. That gold medal represents the notion that hard work can accomplish anything.

My progress amazes me, and I’ve had so much fun in the process. I’ve competed with some of my closest friends year after year, and I find myself actually looking forward to practice each day.

I know that next year, as I hopefully continue my track career, I am going to miss my time running for South.

Burritos, tacos, nachos, quesadillas and more...

FREE FOUNTAIN DRINK WITH PURCHASE for high school and college students 1191 Center St. Newton, MA 02459 617-969-8100