The Lion's Roar 35-5 by The Lion's Roar

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VOL. 35 ISSUe 5

the LION’S

SUCKED

Students live behind their screens as phone addiction remains prevalent by Sophie Goodman and Dorra Guermazi

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Graphic by Alice Zilberberg

Newton South High School Newton, MA

· Est. 1984 · FEBRUARY 15, 2019

NEWS

page 2|February 15, 2015|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

NEws@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 35, ISSUE 5

South implements One to One initiative Gillian Tobin & Rachael Wei

News Contributor, News Reporter The long awaited One to One (1:1) initiative began in mid-January. Every sophomore received a Lenovo Chromebook for school and home use. Despite having a few technical details to finalize, the administration hopes the new accessibility will improve equity and innovate curricula. Students are expected to return their devices by their senior graduation, and the administration plans to expand the program to include next year’s freshman and sophomore students. Every grade is expected to have Chromebooks by 2021. Brian Hammel, the Assistant Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Newton Public Schools (NPS), said that the NPS chose Chromebooks for their versatility and durability. “[It] is a touchscreen and you’re able to use a regular pencil to write on the screen and the keyboard. When you open it up, it can go all the way around,” Hammel said. “It’s also really rugged, so it’s supposed to survive a fall from table height, and it’s somewhat waterproof.” Another factor, Hammel said, was the price. “Chromebooks are inexpensive compared to Macbooks, and … they’re definitely a little cheaper than Windows machines,” he said. Chris Mills, South’s Informational Technology Solutions and Services specialist, said that insurance is currently available for the Chromebooks in case of accidental

damage. Interim Information Technology Head Steven Rattendi said that the district decided to implement 1:1 to enable sophomores to take the MCAS online using Chromebooks this year. Sophomore English teacher Jeremiah Hill said he considers the use of laptops during a high stakes standardized test like MCAS to be potentially treacherous. “I think it increases the chance of some big problem derailing the MCAS — if the internet connection goes out, if there’s a blackout or if a kid’s battery dies during the test,” he said. Hill also said that there is a significant academic advantage to taking a standardized test on paper as opposed to online. “I’m a big fan of paper and pencil tests.

sons,” she said. According to Beermann, the new laptops increase accessibility because teachers no longer have to reserve Chromebook carts since students now have devices on them at all times. She added said that teachers can also start creating lessons that further integrate technology. Junior Coco Lheritier said she is hesitant about the financial commitment that the program entails. “On paper, it’s a good idea, but I don’t know how needed it actually is,” she said. “I think that the computer carts work just fine, the labs work fine. We have all these computers already, so I don’t understand why we’re wasting our money on that instead of helping other parts of the school that need it more.” Sophomore Cindy Liu said there are

“ ” “Newton Public Schools is spending so much money on this ... There are just so many [other] things going on in the school that they need to address.” Cindy Liu class of 2021

I think the act of writing has good cognitive effects, and I think computerized tests overcomplicate something that doesn’t need to be overly complicated,” he said. Vice Principal Candice Beermann said that in addition to administering MCAS on the Chromebooks, the district wanted to account for equity. “Everybody having access … to the same device is really important to us and also helps teachers as they are planning les-

more important issues the administration could have tackled with the money that was used to purchase the Chromebooks. “Newton Public Schools is spending so much money on this. I think they could fix the school Wi-Fi instead. There are just so many [other] things going on in the school that they need to address,” she said. On the contrary, Hammel said that in the long run, the Chromebooks may actually save the city money.

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“In the next few years, with Schoology and Google and some other apps we’re looking at, we can get away from teachers and students printing a lot of [material],” he said. “It does save the district a lot of money. Maybe it even pays for the price of the Chromebooks.” Yet, Liu said she considers the Chromebooks futile, as many sophomores already own laptops. “None of my classes actually started using them because if you’re going to write something, you just use your own laptop,” she said. “I feel like they should have given you the choice of whether or not you want a Chromebook. If you don’t have a laptop, they can have one ready for you, but if you do, it’s a waste of money because the people who have their laptops don’t want the Chromebooks, because they would have to bring two laptops to school.” Hill said that the class time he has spent teaching his students how to use the Chromebooks has been wasteful— instead, he could be using this time for more valuable lessons. “There’s plenty of things I could be using class time for, and I’m not thrilled about the fact that we have to use it for that. I understand that it’s a state-mandated thing, so it’s out of our hands, but I definitely wish we didn’t have to do it,” he said. Beermann, however, said that students who refuse the Chromebooks are putting themselves at a disadvantage. “Ultimately if they don’t want to have them, they don’t need one. It’s like a textbook,” Beermann said. “We offer you a math textbook — you can take it or you can not take it. If you opt not to take it, okay, but you won’t have that Chromebook that you’re going to use for your MCAS and you might not know how to use it exactly [or] get the same experience. It’s advantageous for you to take it and use it, and it makes classwork a bit easier when every student has the same device.” Aside from student concerns regarding utility, the district has not addressed how it will deal with potential technical issues, including how the influx of these new devices will affect the Wi-Fi network. “That’s something that we’re aware of. We may have to add access points or upgrade our network technology, but it’s something people are definitely thinking about and planning for,” Mills said. Protocol for lost or broken Chromebooks is yet to be worked out as well, Beermann said. “We don’t know what to do with the loaners yet,” Beermann said. “We have an idea in place … but we don’t know what happens when a student forgets to bring their Chromebook or what [to do] if it’s broken … we haven’t worked out all of the details.” Criticisms and potential technical issues aside, Hammel said the Chromebooks prove to be a great scholastic resource and he is excited to see how students will utilize this new addition. “What I’m looking forward to for the next couple of months that I’m here is to see the feedback, like how they are using the [Chromebooks] in classrooms,” Hammel said. “I like just having regular conversations about having the devices themselves and seeing how [students] are using them.”

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar NEWS

February 15, 2019 Page 3

Parking pass lottery sparks controversy Peri Barest, Julian Fefer & Matan Kruskal News Editors, News Contributor

The start of second semester brought on a new drawing for the school’s biannual parking pass lottery on Jan.10. This semester, with 44 more students requesting parking passes than last semester and only 155 available spots, 67 percent of seniors received parking passes compared to 82 percent last semester. Each parking pass costs $175. The parking pass lottery system saw backlash from students whose new assignments displaced their regular commutes to school. Vice Principal Candice Beermann said that due to increased demand for parking passes, a “black market” formed where students resold passes. Students tried to either resell the parking pass for a profit or give it to a friend, senior Veer Sawhney said. The administration responded by taking preventative measures to combat this practice. Beermann sent an email to South seniors outlining the measures to halt resale. Now, identification and proof of vehicle registration are required to claim a parking pass. The administration will continue monitoring parked vehicles in student lots to verify that they match the registered parking passes displayed on their windshields. Senior Allison Riklin said that these procedures are too vigilant. “I don’t understand why the school is looking over it, they’re going to get their $175 regardless. If [the money] is coming from somebody else I don’t think it’s that big of an issue. I think they can … take a step back and realize that this is going to happen regardless,” she said. For the past several years, South has determined which students obtain parking passes through a lottery system, . Senior Emma Martignoni said the lottery system puts the administration in a tight spot regarding which students get passes. “It’s either you take into account multiple different factors and the administration opens itself up to criticism of biases, or you

don’t take any factors into account at all, which is why they’re doing a lottery,” she said. Senior Isabelle Gloria said that the lottery system is flawed because students with a more urgent need for the parking passes have the same chance of receiving a parking pass as students who can get to school via other modes of transportation. Martignoni added that the parking passes don’t take students’ commute distance to and from the school into account. “One person could live far away, and then they don’t get a parking pass, and they have to park far away from South, and they

a parking pass.” Martignoni said that it was a mistake to allow students without licenses to enter the lottery. “If you’re just looking at the seniors who we know have their license and ... want a parking pass, even among the people that we know that fit those qualifications, not everybody is getting a parking pass, so why should we be entering people who don’t yet have a license?” she said. Gloria added that many parking options on streets surrounding the school have recently become unavailable.

“ ” Everyone has different opinions about it, but I think that everyone would like a better policy than how it is now, which is just completely random. Ross Halpern South Senator, class of 2019

have to walk 10 minutes to school, whereas somebody that lives a ten-minute walk from school gets a parking pass,” she said. Another flaw, according to Riklin, is that students who did not receive a pass first semester did not have increased chances of receiving passes for the second semester. “There are some kids that didn’t end up getting a parking pass either semester, and that’s unfair,” she said. Other students, like Martignoni, expressed frustration with students who entered the lottery without the intention of using their parking pass themselves. “I don’t think people should be buying just to sell them. ... When students resell, it’s definitely opening it up to biases, like ‘do I like you as a friend and as a person? Are you nice to me? Did you send me the homework that day?’” she said. “That’s really unfair to students who … don’t get a parking pass and can’t buy a resold one because they’re not close enough friends with the person that’s reselling

“The additional problem that kind of came in last year was that a lot of the roads around school have gone from parking all day to two-hour parking or no parking on one side or both, and that’s eliminated a lot of the free parking around the school,” she said. Riklin said that the administration should tackle the parking problem at its core by creating more parking spaces. “There’s so much of a demand, and there’s just not enough supply for everybody that wants one, and there is more room on campus for parking. There just hasn’t been any motion to turn that into parking,” she said. Beermann said that adding parking spots is not an option because of space limitations around the school. Overall, students believe that the school is doing an inadequate job of dealing with the pass-selling problem, Gloria said. “They

did it in a way that really framed it against carpooling and framed it against sharing, and that kind of attitude is what made there be so much demand and response,” she said. South Senate seniors Nayleth LopezLopez and Ross Halpern are drafting a bill that would begin to reform the parking pass lottery. Halpern said that some of the possibilities include increasing the probability of receiving a pass based on factors such as a how far away a student lives from school and whether they received a pass in the first semester or not. “We’re thinking about trying to make it a higher probability of getting a spot second semester,” he said. “If you didn’t get a spot first semester then your name will be entered twice, and if [you] got a spot first semester then [your] name will be entered once.” Another possible change would add spots designated for carpooling, possibly reducing the demand for passes. “You sign up for either your car [or] for two other cars, and you have to have the signatures for [all the students in the carpool,] so those people will forfeit their ability to enter the lottery,” Halpern said. Sawhney said that he supports the idea of carpool spaces, but has some concerns regarding its effectiveness, since students often leave school at different times depending on their afterschool activities. Martignoni added that making an exception for students who want to carpool would only further complicate an already convoluted process. “If the administration opened up the parking system to that possibility, it would just become really chaotic,” she said. Gloria said that to fix the problem in the long term, underclassmen should pay attention to the current situation. “This can’t just be fought by seniors every year. It has to be people who are able to work on it for more than one year, more than the six months that it affects them,” she said. Halpern said that he and Lopez-Lopez are working to find a better solution and are happy to accept suggestions. “Everyone has different opinions about it, but I think that everyone would like a better policy than how it is now, which is just completely random,” he said.

graphic by Gemma Hill

56%

of seniors who park in the lot said they HAVE a parking pass.

44%

of seniors who park in the lot said they DO NOT HAVE a parking pass. * Results from Jan. 13 survey of 222 responses.

page 4 February 15, 2019

South Spots

News ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

Newton leads environmentally, despite school’s recycling inefficiency Alex Merkowitz & Dean Zhang News Reporters

Women’s March On Jan. 19, a group of students from FEM club attended the third annual Women’s March on Boston Common.

photo by Mena Lemos

Winter Warmer On Jan. 18, Newton North’s Forte and CRLS Pitches and Do’s gathered with South’s Newtones a capella group for their third annual Winter Warmer at Gregorian Rugs.

photo courtesy of Ethan Kopf

Field Lights Permanent field lights will be installed at South. Sports team leaders spoke at a Jan. 28 public hearing in favor of the installation. The lights will allow sports teams to have more flexible practices, increase the frequency of under the lights games and provide field usage to the community.

Librarian Awards South librarians Jennifer Dimmick, Margaret Schoen and Katherine Steiger will recieve the 2019 Ellen Bern Pathfinder award for innovative programming from the Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA) on March 31. Dimmick also received the MSLA 2019 service award for dedication and leadership.

photo courtesy of MSLA awards committee

With the implementation of the Newton Power Choice contract, Newton will become one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the state in March 2019. Green Newton, a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental protection within the city, promotes this contract, which will allow Newton businesses and residents to buy renewable energy to match 60 or 100 percent of their electricity use, Green Newton president Marcia Cooper said. This amount of renewable energy greatly exceeds the state requirement of 14 percent. Cooper said that Green Newton is interested in working with high school age students to help spread awareness for the Newton Power Choice program. “It would be great to have student help. We want to have students call the people who said they are willing to pay for renewable energy and ask them if they can opt up,” Cooper said. Some students have already become involved through South’s environmental club and service trips, such as the UNESCO Portugal trips and Puerto Rico service trip. This past summer, for instance, a group of students, including junior Jay Park, went on a service trip to Puerto Rico to help disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “While we were [in] Puerto Rico, we helped to plant 100 trees in the forest which would help to reduce the carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere,” Park said. Newton is currently designated as one of 351 Green Communities around the state. The Green Communities Division helps cities and towns find methods of using clean energy while reducing energy costs. “We advocate for solar energy and solid waste improvement, and currently have about 400 members,” Cooper said. Already, 8400 street lights have been changed to energy-efficient LEDs thanks to Green Newton’s efforts, Cooper said. Now, the organization has focused on increasing renewable energy, banning plastic products like straws and styrofoam and creating better public transportation systems. Green Newton started the School Connections program, which works to increase sustainability specifically within Newton Public Schools (NPS). “It started more recently, this project, to try to gather together people related to schools: parents, educators, students to try to see how schools can get a little bit greener. We’ve started more specifically with waste management and recycling,” program cochair Joana Canedo said, adding that all Newton residents are welcome to attend the School Connections meetings which take place regularly at City Hall and the Newton Free Library. Sophomore David Kim said that he believes many Newton residents favor helping the environment. “I think everyone, at least where we live, is aware of it, is pro-environment,” Kim said. Despite their awareness, Park said that too few people in Newton actively combat climate change. “Only a rare group of people take action in order to mitigate the effects of climate

graphic by Alice Zilberberg

change,” Park added. Although it takes a group of people to make a huge impact, Kim said he thinks that individuals need to have their own resolve first. Park said that he believes that people who are financially stable should feel a bigger responsibility to help protect the environment. Sustainability teacher Michael Kozuch said that climate change is a crucial issue facing the world today. “The number one environmental issue is climate change. If we don’t do more to reduce our fossil fuel emissions, then no other issues will matter,” he said. While South has taken measures to preserve the environment, sustainability teacher Andrew Thompson said that South has a mixed record dealing with environmental issues in the past. “We have had certain people working on environmental issues for a long time, and we have a recycling program, but it is pretty inefficient,” Thompson said. “We have put in more bike racks. The city has put in solar panels in the parking lot and on the roof. We have also put in the farm in the back of the school, in addition to the green trail around the school.” NPS is trying to promote efforts to preserve the environment by hiring a Director of Sustainability for the school system, so as to more easily enact environmentally friendly alternatives within Newton schools, Thompson said. “It would be helpful to have someone who oversees recycling and composting,” Thompson said. “A bigger commitment from the School Committee and NPS would make a huge difference.” Canedo agreed, adding that the School Connections initiative is working to find more permanent standards regarding composting, recycling, food waste recovery and school garden projects for NPS. “One of the problems the schools have is that sometimes there is a champion, a per-

son who believes that they can do something to have the schools become greener, but either it’s a teacher who doesn’t have time … or it’s a parent who then graduates with the student,” Canedo said. “So what we’re trying to think is about to how to institutionalize recycling and green teams in schools.” Kozuch agreed that while South has done a lot to fight climate change, more needs to be done. “As a school system and a city, we need to make decisions that will reduce our carbon emissions,” Kozuch said. “We have a serious recycling problem which we need to fix, and I don’t quite understand why we don’t do so.” Canedo said that despite Newton’s recent progress, there is still much more that can be done to help the environment, especially regarding public transportation and recycling in the city. “Recycling, in general, can become better. The city still gets lots of fines, because not only schools, but households and even business are not recycling correctly,” Canedo said. Park added that while recycling is important, it is not necessarily the most effective means of reducing waste. “Go for materials that do not need to be recycled in the first place,” Park said. “So before you buy that frozen drink at Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks, maybe refrain from picking up the straw because it doesn’t serve many purposes, and it consumes a lot of plastic which ends up as microplastics in our oceans, which are detrimental to the health of certain marine animals.” Kim said that people do not have to donate tons of money or spend lots of time volunteering to make a difference. “I think the biggest thing people should do is just make small changes,” Kim said. Cooper agreed that people can make an environmental impact on their own. “By using solar panels, driving less or using electric cars and turning lights out, people are making a difference,” she said. Additional reporting by Peri Barest

FEBrUARY 15, 2019 Page 5

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar NEWS

NCE reviews ties with Newton Driving School Shoshi Gordon & Jennifer Wang

News Reporter, Copy Editor Newton Community Education (NCE) is currently in the preliminary stages of bidding for which driving school will teach the NCE Driver’s Education course in upcoming school years. Each bidder needs to meet a set of NCE-compiled requirements and submit a standard cost for their service. NCE Program Director Lisa Rucinski said the cost is the deciding factor in awarding the bid. The winner of the bid receives a contract to offer the NCE Driver’s Education course for the next three years. “They basically provide the program, they provide the teacher for the classroom hours, they provide the instructors [and] they schedule the driving time and observations for each student, and we supply the classroom space for them to run this,” Rucinski said. Newton Driving School (NDS) has won the past two bids and has subsequently gained more business, NDS manager Maryna Savitska said. With the new bid, however, students and parents question the quality of NDS after their experience with the NCE Driver’s Education course. Senior Isabel MacGinnitie, who completed the NCE Driver’s Education course in her sophomore year, said that the course was a waste of her money and time. “I don’t think Newton Driving School helped me learn how to drive at all. The classroom portion was just 30 hours in five days. It was clear that no one was paying attention. For the actual driving hours, I did not get 12 hours worth of learning,” she said. NDS offers both classroom and behind-the-wheel instructions, and partners with the RMV to schedule road tests while providing school vehicles and planned routes. NDS instructor Igor Drizik said that the school’s goal is to prepare students to deal with different driving situations. “A teen driver’s education is key in preventing crashes, as drivers at that age, between 18 to 24, are very vulnerable to get into all kinds of situations. Our school just provides information so they can be equipped on the road,” he said. Junior Samson Cantor, like MacGinnitie, said that he found the course unproductive, particularly in its style of classroom instruction. “The classes were a joke. We would watch videos for most of the time and occasionally they would hit us with information” he said. MacGinnitie said that the in-class

lessons were still more informative than the driving instruction. “The classroom portion is annoying and dumb, but they do teach you. If you pay attention, you will learn a lot of things about cars and how to drive. But, even if you try your best at the [driving] lessons, you still can get nothing out of them,” she said. Many of the driving hours, Cantor said, were spent taking the NDS instructors on errands rather than learning how to drive. During one of her driving lessons, MacGinnitie said that the instructor made her and her observer drive to get groceries and left them waiting outside his house. “We drove to his house, where he put the groceries in and smoked. … We were sitting there for like half an hour, [and he] came back in smelling of cigarettes,” she said. Senior Isabelle Gloria also had similar

tional quality, many students continue to enroll in NDS for convenience. Fegley said that location was a priority in her choice of driving school. “My daughter doesn’t have her license, and she’s got two working parents, and so it has to be a convenient location for me to pick her up when I’m finished working,” she said. Students also choose NDS because of its high road test passing rates. “I’ve heard that no one fails it. That was a main factor. It’s easy.” MacGinnitie said. Drizik added that students feel more comfortable with the setup of NDS’s Saturday road tests. “The advantage is that the students will be driving in the familiar areas because we’ll take them to the place where the exam takes place. They also will be taking the exam in familiar vehicles,” he said.

“ ” When I ... sit in the car for 15 minutes while he gets groceries, and drive him to his house so he can smoke, that’s not me being taught how to drive. That’s my being a free Uber. Isabel MacGinnitie class of 2019

experiences with NDS. “I was observing and my friend was driving, but we were going around and the guy had us drive him to a random house,” she said. “He got back in the car like five minutes before the lesson was supposed to end.” South parent Michelle Fegley said that she does not feel comfortable with her daughter being left alone in the car without the driving instructor. “With a brand new driver, I’m not sure that my daughter would know what to do if, say, the car started rolling,” she said. Drizik, however, said that he has never heard of such incidents. According to the Instructor Conduct policy of the RMV, students cannot be left unattended while under the care of a driving instructor. If an incident is brought to the attention of NDS, Savitska said that the instructor will be penalized with a one-week suspension. “I speak with all my employees and make sure I explain all the rules again that they are not supposed to leave kids in the car unattended,” she said. Despite questions over its educa-

In face of the expense of the Driver’s Education course, however, MacGinnitie said that the lessons at NDS are not worth the exorbitant cost: the teen driving education program is priced at $750. “The scam is that you don’t get what you’re paying for. My parents paid for me to get 12 hours of a driving instructor teaching me how to drive,” she said. “When I go to the Russian grocery store and then sit in the car for 15 minutes while he gets groceries, and drive him to his house so he can smoke, that’s not me being taught how to drive. That’s my being a free Uber.” Cantor added that cost does not reflect the skills he has learned from NDS, as his driving lessons were not applicable in real life. After being rear-ended in an accident one month after she obtained her license, MacGinnitie said that she regretted attending NDS for its poor educational quality. “If I had had 12 hours of

a real instructor who knew what he was doing, I would have been much more prepared, versus three hours of instruction and nine hours of nothing,” she said. With the upcoming bid, MacGinnitie said NCE should take the opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of NDS. “Newton Community Education is basically saying that they support Newton Driving School because they are partners with them. ... I think that they need to get rid of that partnership because, clearly, it’s a scam,” she said. “They should use their power to threaten Newton Driving School, that if they don’t have a better solution, if they don’t become a better company, then they will go.” Fegley added that it is important for NCE to maintain excellence in its Driver’s Education course and a standard of professionalism for driving instructors. “A lot depends on the instructor because the classroom stuff you can almost do online, … but the actual driving behind the wheel, that’s almost like the creative piece, so it would be great if there was consistency from teacher to teacher,” she said. As NCE’s current partnership with NDS concludes, Rucinski said that parent and student feedback has brought concerns to the attention of NCE regarding NDS’s educational quality. “Just over the last few months, the particular complaints have been disturbing enough to us that we would have difficulty awarding the program to Newton Driving School next fall,” she said. “We are aware that there have been issues. We do our best to address it with the driving school and get them on our side so to speak, and we definitely hear you loud and clear that students are unhappy.” Owner of CS Driving School owner Anna Sabatino said she will compete for the bid, hoping to get more customers. “We hear from parents that they like to see us more in the Newton area. That’s what has been asked of us,” Sabatino said. Rucinski said that NCE hopes to find a new driving school that can effectively teach its Driver’s Education course. “We don’t want to hear that so many students are unhappy. ... We provide this program as a convenience, as a service to the community,” she said. “My wish would be for someone to actually enjoy a driving class such that they would tell us.”

graphic by Grace Karl

EDITORIALS page 6|february 15, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 35, ISSUE 5

Feedback shouldn’t be a one-way street: let students anonymously improve teacher practices When students hand in essays, they rarely expect to receive them back with a “100 percent” stamped on the front. A perfect grade on an “A Tale of Two Cities” essay or “The Great Gatsby” explication is unattainable not because the assignments are too difficult but because student writing can always improve; nobody has impeccable word choice, craft or clarity. Even excellent writers have room for growth, so the act of receiving feedback is nothing but a given. This process of feedback-based growth has proven to be the best way for students to grow and is, consequently, ubiquitous at South. It extends well past essay-writing into every subject and each kind of assignment. But the opposite exercise — teachers improving their practice based on student feedback — is rarely executed effectively. Teachers have years of expertise and training they use to teach their classes, which ultimately accounts for our school’s renowned high-quality education. Yet, teachers’ training should continue on the job, for even the best teachers have room to further hone their practices. Currently, most teachers implement some type of student feedback questionnaire near the end of the year where students can comment on their experience in the class.

These forms, however, are not enough. Teachers should capitalize on students’ unique insights by asking open-ended questions and reaping their sincere and unreserved responses. How are their practices failing individual students? Are there general trends of student discontent? What are some ways their practices are succeeding? Do students feel comfortable in class? What strategies are their colleagues using that can

Preserving anonymity is also paramount — surveys would need to account conflicts of interest between student and teacher perspectives. Many students fear that negative feedback will be reciprocated through unmerited bad grades because teachers ultimately have the power to abuse what students share in the forms. Since the “karma” mentality can obstruct students from sharing their thoughts openly, ano-

“ ” Students want to learn from teachers who are tuned to their success, so the vast majority will take the opportunity to improve their classes thoughtfully.

benefit the teacher’s own practices? These surveys should be given a few months into the school year instead of at its end so that teachers can work to improve as soon as possible, not just during the upcoming school year. No two classes are the same, so teachers shouldn’t standardize their teaching; instructors can tailor their style to meet the needs of a certain level, class or student from student input.

nymity would protect students identities and would lead to more constructively candid and helpful responses. Even though some students might take this as an opportunity to be bitter, we should remain positive that honesty will prevail. Students want to learn from teachers who are tuned to their success, so the vast majority will take the opportunity to improve their classes thoughtfully. Some of the current

methods department heads use to improve teacher practices are not nearly as effective as anonymous student feedback. If students have real concerns in the class that their teacher is not addressing, they are encouraged to speak to department heads. But the assumption that all students are comfortable speaking with department heads is bogus. While high school is a time for students to learn self-advocacy skills like seeking help in a professional setting, students need comfortable mechanisms to express their concerns and needs. Furthermore, department head observations cannot account for the multitude of intricacies that go into teacher quality control, and department heads don’t have the time to micromanage everything. Students’ longitudinal experience in a classroom is, therefore, more valuable to a teacher looking to improve. Improving the student feedback process is fundamental for the educational quality of our school. It will both empower students, who will be more involved in their own education, and permit teachers to be constantly improving their work. A working feedback loop will set a needed precedent of open communication between NPS and the students it works tirelessly to serve.

Volume XXXV The Lion’s Roar

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper 140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

Editors-in-Chief Catherine Granfield Ilan Rotberg

Managing Editor

Send an Email to srstaff@thelionsroar.com for more details Editorial Policy

The Lion’s Roar, founded in 1984, is the student newspaper of Newton South High School, acting as a public forum for student views and attitudes. The Lion’s Roar’s right to freedom of expression is protected by the Massachusetts Student Free Expression Law (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 71, Section 82). All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Lion’s Roar in no way reflects the official policy of Newton South, its faculty or its administration. Editorials are the official opinion of The Lion’s Roar, while opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lion’s Roar. The Lion’s Roar reserves the right to edit all submitted content, to reject advertising copy for resubmission of new copy that is deemed acceptable by student editors and to make decisions regarding the submission of letters to the editors, which are welcomed. The Lion’s Roar is printed by Seacoast Newspapers and published every four weeks by Newton South students. All funding comes from advertisers and subscriptions. In-school distribution of The Lion’s Roar is free, but each copy of the paper shall cost one dollar for each copy more than ten (10) that is taken by any individual or by many individuals on behalf of a single individual. Violation of this policy shall constitute theft.

Dina Zeldin

Section Editors Opinions

Features

Sophie Lewis Carrie Ryter

News

Chunyu He Caleb Lazar

Peri Barest Julian Fefer

Sports

Centerfold

Sophie Goodman Dorra Guermazi

Aron Korsunsky Jackson Slater

Copy Editor Graphics Manager Alice Zilberberg

Jennifer Wang

Business Manager Javid Kasraie

Faculty Advisor Ashley Chapman

Photo Manager Netta Dror

February 15, 2019 Page 7

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar desk

Finding worth in the long-term: EDITOR’S DESK lessons we can learn from Fake Spring

from the

Catherine Granfield Editor-in-Chief

My favorite season of the year is Fake Spring. For one tiny blip in January or February — usually for one day, sometimes two — the weather spikes to a tropical 60 or 70 degrees, and Newton sheds its wintertime identity as a barren, uninhabitable tundra. When I stepped outside to face the 65 degree breeze last Tuesday, I knew the season had arrived. I threw on my lightest clothing, swiftly canceled my indoor commitments and headed to the unfettered wilderness of Cold Spring Park. I usually don’t like walking for pleasure, but my journey through the forest seemed perfect. It was cloudy, but I wasn’t staring at the sky anyway. The path was thick with mud as the ice began to melt and slide, yet I consoled myself with the knowledge that even if I stepped in a puddle, my feet wouldn’t get frostbite today. By the time evening arrived, I was thinking I could get used to this. Maybe a light swim tomorrow? I thought. Some tanning? Then Wednesday morning dipped back to 33 degrees, and I returned to my hermit-like existence with little complaint. Situations that I know to be tempo-

rary, like Fake Spring, are more effective than Thanksgiving when it comes to general gratitude. When a definite end lies in sight, I look past the little issues that would typically bother me, willing to appreciate a moment for its worth. If Fake Spring had happened during real spring, I likely wouldn’t have left the house. It wasn’t uncanny beauty or idealistic conditions that compelled me outside —

of relaxation, every second will feel more meaningful. This willingness to cherish only the times that have a defined end is somewhat of a paradox. Eventually, every part of life will change. When I rounded the corner into the second half of my senior year, this reality, which I’d formerly regarded as a loose abstract, hit me with stark clarity: High school is a temporary time.

“ ” When a definite end lies in sight. I look past the little issues that would typically bother me, willing to appreciate a moment for its worth.

cloudy and 65 is nice, but nothing to write home about. Rather, I was drawn outside by the sense that if I didn’t take advantage of the situation now, I would miss my window of opportunity. I know I’ll have the same experience next week with break. At the beginning of the week, when the break feels endless, I’ll do a lot of sitting around. That will continue for a few days, until Friday hits and then, once I realize there’s just one regular weekend left

The day before I began freshman year, my uncle gave me a piece of advice. “Don’t blink,” he said. “You’ll open your eyes and be graduating.” I have to admit that I left his advice largely unheeded. It’s easy enough to appreciate a temporary situation when the situation is, to say the least, fun. I capitalized on Fake Spring because the weather was nice, and I knew I’d enjoy it. I couldn’t say quite the same about high school. Trudging from class to

class, perfecting my notebook doodles — it didn’t seem like a situation where I needed to fear the looming end. That view has changed as my tenure comes to a close. Although I will leave behind South’s faulty heating systems and gum-coated water fountains, I see that I’ll also leave behind the school system that has shaped me for 13 years. And now, as I finish up the final edits of my final moments on Roar, I feel myself developing a Fake Spring mindset. For all the time I’ve spent deleting commas, transcribing interviews, trying to understand design software that clearly doesn’t understand me, my four years on Roar were, if not perfect, certainly irreplaceable. When I came home from my Fake Spring run, I didn’t spend time dwelling over my mud-soaked sneakers. My sadness didn’t stem from the shortcomings of my Fake Spring celebration; rather, they came from the knowledge that the weather had once again dipped, that an imperfectly beautiful stint in my life would cease to exist, and I would never retrieve it. It’s easy to get caught up in grey clouds and mud puddles, but I’ve determined to look past these imperfections as my high school career speeds toward its close.

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

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Improve your technique by shooting at sports games, school events and staged photos.

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Conduct interviews, report on compelling topics or write about your own opinions.

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OPINIONS page 8|February 15, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 35, ISSUE 5

SHOULD NPS REALLOCATE FUNDING FROM SPORTS TO ACADEMIC CLUBS? NO B C L

YES B A R

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hate cilantro. It tastes like soap and contributes nothing to society. There is one thing, however, that I hate more than cilantro: Newton Public Schools’ (NPS) budgeting favoritism of sports over other student activities. NPS spends an extreme amount of money on athletics and leaves little for other clubs and activities. Minimal funding hinders the ability of clubs to excel and hurts students’ chances when it comes to college. For the 2019 fiscal year (FY19), NPS plans to spend over $1 million on athletics for all of its schools. To put that in perspective, they are spending only $700,000 on “textbooks and instructional materials.” The budget disparity widens when we look specifically at other activities. In 2019, the South athletics department is receiving $500 thousand while the music and drama department gets only $40,000. The measly $40,000 will get divided among all of South Stage’s productions, and have to cover costumes, sets and other expenses. But even with such low funding, theatre is still much better off compared to most other clubs, which don’t receive any funding at all. Clubs are enjoyed by many students, contribute to South’s community and achieve incredible accomplishments. They, therefore, merit ample funding. Unfortunately, the current inadequate funding hinders the activity of academic activities. For instance, some clubs must pay to attend competitions, but low funds make this difficult because fundraising is often not enough. Therefore, families of students in those clubs have to absorb those expenses. While participating in school sports is also expensive, the school covers 60 percent of sports costs. Funding other activities gives students just as much help getting into college as funding sports does. When colleges evaluate students, they look for extracurriculars that show passion and dedication, not just sports. According to PrepScholar, a prep service designed to help teens apply to college, extracurricular activities that match up to a student’s future career look especially impressive. Many South students definitely have the potential to excel in school clubs, but South puts these students at a disadvantage because the clubs are underfunded.

For example, rather than having passionate, outsourced coaches, clubs have teacher advisors. While South’s lack of care for academic clubs was initially just financial, it has unfortunately begun to materialize in other ways. Many of us are tired of hearing about sports teams’ accomplishments, especially when other clubs rarely get recognition. Last spring, members of the debate team won arguably the most difficult and prestigious debate tournament in the country, yet they got no announcement on the loudspeaker. On the other hand, sports teams get loudspeaker announcements dedicated to their regular season game wins. A large number of academic clubs are extremely successful, but because South puts no money into them, they have no incentive to advertise their accomplishments. At the end of the day, academic extracurriculars give just as many opportunities and matter just as much to the students who participate in them as sports do to studentathletes. Inadequate funding, however, limits the heights that passionate students can reach through these activities. The solution is simple: reallocate some of the massive budget allocated to sports to make sure that students with all interests are equally provided for.

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magine being unbelievably passionate and involved in a sport but having a terrible coach or program. Although you are devoted to your sport and perhaps even dream of finding a career in that sport, the feasibility of your aspirations is limited because your school doesn’t fund sports adequately. Sports are no longer limited to a student’s hobby; they can also build a path to a student’s future. South should continue to generously fund sports to support the students who are looking to qualify for collegiate sports scholarship. Sports also give students an outlet for exercise and create more school spirit and therefore deserve the large budget that Newton Public Schools (NPS) allots them. For most students, after-school sports are their only form of exercise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an adolescent needs an average of 60 minutes of exercise per day to maintain their health; due to the intense workload placed on high school students, however, students often cannot get those 60 minutes. To make sure students’ health is well maintained, South should honor its students by funding sports teams as much as possible. Even though many students are able to purchase soccer balls, lacrosse sticks and other sports equipment by themselves, installing stadium lights, building tracks and hiring coaches all cost money. If the school continues to spend money on sports, students will not only be able to thrive as athletes but also get better training, allowing them to excel in their much-needed exercise. Sports scholarships are some of the largest financial aid

packages students can receive for universities, so South should provide students with competitive sports programs to maximize its students’ potential of being offered these scholarships. For those who decide to go to college, it can be one of the most important milestones in one’s life. The cost, however, can be extremely prohibitive, so many students depend on scholarships to pay for college. Sports scholarships require students to maintain a certain level in their sport; in order to train and prepare their students to qualify for the scholarships, South should provide qualified coaches and excellent sports programs. Sports also elevate school spirit, which is rare at South. From Friday Night Lights to statewide tournaments, students get invested in cheering on their fellow class and teammates. The investment in sports programs not only provide athletes with opportunities but also brings non-athletes into school events. Athletes and student audiences show spirit on game days by showing up dressed in school colors. Through these rituals, sports help build a community at South. Needless to say, South needs to invest more money in building a strong community. Stadium lights, equipment and field management all cost money to maintain; however, building excitement around sports teams is one of the most effective ways to build a school community, and the cost is therefore worthwhile. To many students, sports teams are like family, always cheering them on and supporting them. Sports are students’ passions, main forms of exercise and way to pay for a college education. In order to ensure students’ health, well-being and future, South must continue to adequately fund sports.

graphic by Jodi Khan

February 15, 2019 Page 9

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Opinions

Building Business and Portfolios on Social Media by ANya Lefkowitz

When asked their opinion about social media, people often think of obsessively checking likes and comparing themselves to others. Because we focus on these harmful tendencies, we forget the main purpose of social media and its potential to help us. Social media platforms of all kinds serve a main, cohesive purpose: to connect people efficiently. Through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, you can easily meet new people online who may share interests with you. By using hashtags or keywords on Twitter, Instagram and more, people can easily share accomplishments. These features make social media a huge, individualized marketing tool if used responsibly. Of the many wondrous benefits of social media, the ability to create personal, accessible portfolios that display your passions is the most remarkable. Whether the portfolio is for professional use or simply for fun, people online can access your posts easily and share them with others, giving your

talents and hobbies more outreach. So, why is creating a portfolio important? Having a portfolio — a collection of accomplishments — can be a tool for reflection. For me, reflection is

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an essential step towards improvement. Thus, by creating a portfolio, we can self evaluate and get feedback from others. Social

media assisted me in creating my own art portfolio, allowing me to reflect on my work, and provided connections with others. Promoting your portfolio or content through social media can go beyond just seeking feedback. Before social media was popular, finding the connections to start a

Social media has allowed companies to embed their website into a bio or caption that can be reached easily, giving them the potential to grow rapidly. business was challenging. Because social networks help individuals advertise their work, new businesses have a much easier time going public. When you create a portfolio that

displays your hobbies and talents, you create opportunities for other users to buy the things you created. Social media helps small businesses and creators of all types succeed in their fields, sharing their purpose while catching people’s interest. For new businesses, finding customers and garnering attention is difficult. Nowadays, websites aren’t very helpful for small businesses, as there’s no easy way for companies to reach out to new customers. Social media, however, has allowed companies to embed their website into a bio or caption that can be reached easily, giving them the potential to grow rapidly. Through this easy access, new businesses can specifically target potential consumers that have demonstrated interest in similar products. Many in our society believe that social media is a toxic waste of time that promotes bad standards and social anxiety. While some people use social media for the wrong purposes, a few bad eggs shouldn’t give it all a bad reputation. The benefits of social media are not restricted to personal entertainment; social media is a source of business, opportunity and community. If we are able to become more responsible for our actions online, one day people will see social media for its benefits and talk about it in commendable terms. Cultures and economies constantly change, and social media’s marketing capabilities are part of the most recent wave of progress. We should embrace, not criticize, these new opportunities.

Life Skills Classes: Investment in Students’ Futures by Isabel Flessas Society will always disagree over which skills schools should teach their students. Although academic subjects are rightfully prioritized by most high schools, many students fear they are being sent into adulthood unable to navigate their future and without a sound understanding of adult responsibilities like paying taxes or managing a mortgage. While the transition to adulthood is expected to be rocky for everyone, adding mandatory classes that educate students about basic life skills would supplement the excellent academic and social skills that many students have already nearly perfected. Although South already offers classes that teach students life skills, such as finance and cooking courses, South must guarantee that students obtain this information before they depart for college and beyond. The low number of students who take these important classes seems odd. Unfortunately, too many students pack their schedule with intense courseloads and leave room only for relaxing or enjoyable classes like art and music instead of ones that may teach them important life skills. Many teens acknowledge that they do not understand many of the systems and institutions that come into play during adulthood and desire an environment where a teacher provides them with reputable information. Most, however, aren’t willing to sacrifice a semester of class that could otherwise be spent doing a more pleasant activity. The addition of a mandatory “life skills” classes would benefit the student population later in life.

South students already have tightly packed schedules that offer little wiggle room for additional courses. A “life skills” course could be integrated as a mandatory part of the wellness curriculum, consuming only two blocks per week for half a semester. If that time proved too restrictive to the curricular schedule, information about balancing bills and taxes, managing time, applying for jobs and building resumes could be included in a guidance seminar or two. This change would ensure that all students have at least some access to this vital information. The curriculum should also coincide with students’ senior year because as seniors, many students will depart for college and therefore will be on the verge of a new level of financial independence and responsibility. Many criticize today’s adolescents for their lack of knowledge regarding adult responsibilities, but these same people do little to combat the lack of education in these areas. Teaching students life skills would allow them to lead more stable and mindful adult lives, ultimately creating a more stable society. If students were provided with information about how to balance a budget or apply for a loan, they would have a head start in creating a financially stable future for themselves. As a whole, South should focus more on equipping students with skills that they will actually use in life. I’d be lying if I said I have never spent a class period or two pondering when in my adult life I would need to know how to graph an ellipse or find the true meaning of a poem based on its use of the

iamb. Society has painted a grim picture of adult life full of complexities, the most elusive of which is to manage one’s own finances. Hopefully, there will soon be a day where people don’t look back on school and say, “all I learned is that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell,” rather: “school gave me the tools I needed to forge a stable path into adulthood.”

graphic by Emily Zhang

page 10 February 15, 2019

OPINIONs ISSUU.COM/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

parents system The wealthy should think twice before paying their way into college

etween application costs, tuition and other expenses along the way, higher education in the U.S. favors the wealthy. Standardized testing is no exception; in 2009, a New York Times study unsurprisingly found a strong positive correlation between income and SAT scores. In fact, their findings show that every additional $20,000 in annual family income was associated with an average score boost of 12 points, or 8 points on the new SAT. Unfortunately, the ACT is no better. As of 2016, students who reported an annual family income of over $80,000 scored an average of 4.1 points higher than those who reported an income below $80,000, a difference that’s widened since 2012. This disparity disproportionately harms minorities. A University of Pennsylvania study found that the effects of different income levels on test scores were twice as severe for black students than for white students. There are a number of possible explanations for why the rich have better outcomes. Families with higher incomes typically live in better school districts or send their children to private schools; they can also afford to devote more resources to their children’s education through supplementary means like prepschool and tutoring. While prioritizing education is undoubtedly beneficial for society as a whole, these wealth-based advantages also serve as disadvantages for those with less

By Caleb Lazar disposable incomes, manifesting themselves in the college admissions process. Despite this ugly reality, educational institutions could take many measures to level the playing field for students of varying wealth backgrounds. The College Board, the nonprofit that administers the SAT, is already making some changes. For instance, the new SAT, which was first administered in 2016, scaled back the amount of vocabulary testing to make the exam more representative of what students learn in a classroom rather than specific information for a test that students only learn through test prep tutoring. Although this singular change may slightly mitigate the problem, many of the skills needed to excel on the SAT are still more easily accessible for high-income students. While there are free test-prep services like Khan Academy, paid tutoring shows a much higher average score increase. Companies like PrepScholar boast an average improvement of 200 points for the price of almost $400, but specialized SAT tutors advertise even better improvements for a much higher price. In fact, some college prep programs here in Newton, including tutoring for the SAT and ACT, cost thousands of dollars. Needless to say, paying your way to a better score is not cheap. Many, however, see it as a necessary measure. These programs are exceedingly popu-

lar with South students, but while they may help South students become more competitive for college admissions, they hurt less well-off students a lot more. Low-income students, who are already more likely to receive lowerquality public education, are much less able to afford expensive SAT prep. As a result, students who are equally smart but have fewer resources, often score lower on these exams. Thus, SAT prep is an extra hurdle for poor students in terms of getting accepted by top colleges. On top of that, over 100 colleges offer scholarships for students with high scores an, opportunity that’s much more desirable for low-income students. The ideal solution is to elevate the quality of SAT prep programs that low-income students can access. While some progress is being made in this respect, reaching the same level of preparation of that high-income students have access to seems challenging. Government funding will most likely never reach a point where it can compete with the amount rich families spend on private tutors. At that point, the only solution is for low- and high-income students to meet somewhere in the middle. While giving up SAT tutoring definitely sounds unfavorable to those who benefit from it, the current realities for less privileged students is a lot worse. Every societal inequality is funded by those who continue

graphic by Chris Jang

benefiting at the expense of others. Those people have the option to give up some of their advantages to give opportunities to those who need them more. By choosing not to pay for SAT preparation, students at South and other affluent high schools can begin to level the college admissions playing field. It’s easy to excuse yourself from the problem by claiming that one person’s decision won’t make a difference because seemingly everyone else also pays for SAT preparation, but it is important to remember that, like every other institutionalized inequality, this unfair advantage is made up of individuals, and if those individuals chose not to participate in the system, it couldn’t continue. At the end of the day, South students hardly need any more advantages when it comes to getting into college. We already attend one of the top public high schools in the state, have many opportunities through our well-funded teams and clubs and even have a full-time college and career center to help students succeed. No matter how much help we think we need to get into our dream schools, lowincome students in worse school districts need it a lot more. While small decisions like not paying for SAT prep may seem inconsequential, these choices add up, and only through conscious decisions can we achieve educational equality.

campus chatter February 15, 2019 Page 11

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar OPInions

UPGRADE

9 Super Bowl Champs Candy on sale Galentine’s Day

The Lion’s Roar asked ... What’s your dream February break?

“I really want to go to Japan, since many Youtubers go there, and I want to be like one of them.”

- Kristine Yancey, Class of 2019

Black History Month

“I would travel to Paris, go on a hot air balloon tour and have a cup of coffee below the Eiffel Tower.”

Progressively warmer weather Pep rally Senior Slump

- Crystal Chau, Class of 2020

“I want to go to Sri Lanka ... drinking coconut water while reading Harry Potter on a beach.”

- Adele Fegley, Class of 2021

February break Spanish Movie Week

“I would travel to Maui because I water ski, but at the same time I have a fear of deep water, which I want to conquer.”

- Mina Chae, Class of 2022

DOWNGRADE

Sophomore speech Classrooms without tissues NFL covers up domestic abuses Random weather patterns Muddy snow More college rejection letters Virginia controversies

by Allie Riklin Whether you know him as Kylie Jenner’s baby daddy or a record-breaking musician, Houston-based rapper Travis Scott has been up to quite a bit this past year. In August, Scott released his third studio album: Astroworld. Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, Astroworld gained platinum certification only a month after its release. Just weeks after the launch, Scott announced a tour titled “Astroworld: Wish You Were Here.” As an avid Travis Scott fan myself, I bought tickets for his Dec. 2 stop at the TD Garden in Boston, and the results were as impressive as I had expected. As a sold-out show, the Garden was packed. From the beginning, the crowd went wild for the night’s opener, Sheck Wes. Following his absolutely electric performance of “Mo Bamba,” artists Trippie Redd and Gunna took to the stage. After a few hours of opening, it was finally time for Mr. Scott himself to take the stage. Fittingly starting his set with the intro to the album, Travis began with “Stargazing” and worked his way back to the days of “90210” while still incorporating hits like “ZEZE,” “Sicko Mode” and “Butterfly Effect.” Travis even included an homage to Boston by playing the Dropkick Murphys’

Review “I’m Shipping Up To Boston,” a surprising, addition that kept the crowd’s morale high. Travis’ newest tour exceeded all conventional concert expectations and proved not only his musical talent, but also his abilities as a showman. The tour itself was a reference to the since-closed Houston amusement park, Astroworld, so it was only fitting for Scott to bring with him two fully operational roller coasters. Yes, you read that correctly: one circular coaster was set on stage, while the other crossed over the crowd on the floor. At different points throughout the show,

photos from Titel Media

screens lowered from the ceiling and showed short films that corresponded with the music. From my seats, I had a clear view and was truly in awe as Travis performed his heart out on stage below me. Astroworld was a concert that is hard to forget due to its pure righteousness. Travis Scott brought the traditional concert experience to a completely new level, incorporating multiple experimental art forms into one singular show. Having witnessed such passionate performance, I’m left with only one question: what will Travis bring to the stage next time?

sucked in Students live behind their screens as phone addiction remains prevalent

By Sophie Goodman and Dorra Guermazi

istory teacher Bob Parlin does not own a cellphone. Nicknamed “Analog Bob” by his students, Parlin said he manages with just a landline and email for communication. “My students say, ‘how can you survive without a smartphone?’ And we did it for 2,000 years, so I’m finding it not hard to survive. I feel like I’m thriving without a cell phone,” he said. Parlin, however, is an anomaly. According According to at 2018 Pew Research Center study, 95 percent of Americans own a cellphone, and smartphones have invaded almost every aspect of our daily life. Students said their phones allow for wider social circles and give them security during uncomfortable situations. Yet, the prominence of cell phones comes with consequences: students are spending less time communicating face-to-face and more time on their phones, where they feel safe from social risk.

Making connections

One of the primary uses for phones, students said, is keeping in touch. The same Pew study reported that roughly 81 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 say social media makes them feel more connected to their friends. This tool also had drawbacks, sophomore Emily Zhang said that while she realized she was using her phone too much, it is an invaluable tool for connections in all spheres of life. “It’s so much easier to build connections with people both on a personal level and for businesses,” she said. Junior Jacob Glick said he has made connections through his phone and the internet by participating in e-sports, a competitive video gaming platform. “It connects people through a greater community that you have access to through technology,” he

said. “I’ve met a lot of people through this e-sports thing that I definitely wouldn’t have otherwise.” This tool also has drawbacks, Zhang said. “On one hand, people have an easier time communicating, with it being faster and easier over social media or messages, but on the other hand, they also lose the skill of face-to-face interactions.” Senior Ronit Glasgow, who doesn’t use a smartphone, said that the informality of communication over texting and social media has led to a lack of professionalism among her peers. “With all the more casual social media, I feel like people aren’t used to writing emails, and then, to a degree, they aren’t used to speaking professionally. I definitely think people are so good at making relationships casual and shifting the barrier, and I’m not sure that’s good,” she said. Most students, like freshman Victoria Revard, are opting to text instead of calling. “I usually text people because it’s the easiest way and it doesn’t bother them as much as if I were to call them,” she said. “[Calling is] always very awkward. And also I’m usually in a public place and everybody can hear what I’m saying, and I feel like I’m bothering people,” junior Kathryn Rhatigan said. Zhang said that texting allows her to think about her words before she sends a message, relieving the pressure of in-person conversation. “It’s just easier to manage your words,” she said. “When you text, you have a buffer moment if you need to think of what to say.” Parlin said that, on the other hand, social interactions may be misconstrued over text. “In print, it’s much easier to be misinterpreted,” he said. “You can’t get things like smiles and gestures as easily communicated, and it’s very easy to misinterpret someone’s written comment.” English teacher Jeremiah Hill said that when people lose the ability to read facial expressions,

body language and tone, they do not see the impact of their words on others. “It’s a lot easier to be horrible to someone who isn’t sitting in front of you, who you might never meet. The consequences for being a terrible person are diminished, and it encourages bad behavior,” he said.

Avoiding unwanted interaction

For many young people, cell phones serve as a medium for social escape. Sophomore Zhitong Liu said he notices students avoiding conversation with each other in his advisory, opting to spend time on their phones instead. “When I walk into my advisory, sometimes everyone is on their phone. They’re just looking down at their phone, no one is talking to each other. No one’s communicating,” he said. “I see people physically sitting next to each other on their phones, aimlessly scrolling,” sophomore Sophie Gu said. Though some students use their phones to avoid socializing, Zhang said that she uses her phone to avoid talking to people in potentially awkward situations. “At the dentist’s office, I ran into this one kid who I know from school and neither of us say anything. We just go on our phones,” she said. Because of her introverted personality, sophomore Sara Saloum said that she uses her phone to evade socializing. “Sometimes, if I’m in very awkward social situations, my phone is definitely an excuse to get me out of it,” she said. “I’m also just not a super extroverted person, so if I’m somewhere I don’t really want to talk to a lot of people, then I’m just on my phone.” Senior Lily Boschin said that she sometimes feels uncomfortable without her phone.

54 percent of teenagers believe they spend too much time on their cellphones source of information: Pew Research Center, August 2018

“It’s almost a security blanket in a way. It’s like the thing that you hold on to all the time,” she said. “I feel weird if I don’t have it on me.” The same Pew study furthers that 56 percent of teens associate feeling lonely, anxious or upset in the absence of their cell phone. Rhatigan, who recently upgraded to a smartphone, said that she is uncomfortable with how dependent she has become. “I really liked having a dumb phone. I don’t like having a smartphone as much,” she said. “It’s nice to have music and the internet, but also I feel too attached to it.” Parlin said that although people expect texting to bring people together, it has the opposite effect. “[Phones] are isolating us into our own little cocoon of communication,” he said. “You would think the effect would be just the opposite — it’s bringing together large communities of people, and they’re all working together to solve problems — but I think we’re starting to realize that that’s not happening as much as we would want.”

Accessing information

By utilizing the internet for the vast amount of available information, Liu said he uses his phone to stay informed. “I use my iPhone for researching topics, for debate or just looking at current events,” he said. This constant stream of information, however, can also hinder productivity, Liu said. “I can access any type of information at any given point I need to, but that also means that it’s constantly near me and it’s going to be distracting,” he said. Boschin said that her phone gives her something to do in her free time. “It’s nice to have something to do, but at the same time it means that I’m thinking less,” she said. “I just have less time to actually process my thoughts. It’s always being drowned out by something else. There’s never a moment of boredom. It’s nice to let your mind wander sometimes. I think you worry less if you have more time to think.” Librarian Margaret Schoen said

that she spends less time waiting in boredom because she can use her phone instead. “People have less ability to sit quietly with themselves or focus than they did,” she said. “Sitting and waiting at the doctor’s office, I can’t just say ‘okay, I’m just going to sit here quietly.’ Now I need to play the game on my phone, or check Instagram or whatever, and not just sit with myself.” Junior Adina Smith said that she has noticed that the convenience of her phone has made her more impatient. “It’s making you become accustomed to being able to do everything in five seconds and not having to rely on a person to find something out, or not having to talk to someone to be able to actually communicate with them because you can just text them instead,” she said. Parlin said that this convenience of technology has changed the way students learn. “I would like students to be a little more independent from their technology, so at least they know where they could find information rather than just always being reliant on a device,” he said. “On the other hand, it is a huge tool. It’s a great tool and I think it’s going to change the way we teach and learn if we don’t have to memorize dates and names.” Schoen said that the internet has changed the role of librarians at South. “I don’t think I can overstate how much of an impact it’s had on research and the ability to find information,” she said. “Now our job is to help you find which [source] is the right one that you want to use.”

Distractions

Though phones make research efficient and effective, Glasgow said that new technology and screens have created a whole new distraction. “If you are distracted, it’s really easy to procrastinate going to bed or doing homework,” she said. “I know of people who have just admitted, ‘yeah, I stay on my phone really late at night. If I didn’t have my phone, I would go to sleep.’” “Before I go to bed, I used to randomly scroll through Instagram, and that is like a vortex, and

I ended up going to bed a lot later than I should have,” Gu said. Smith said that she recently began tracking her screen time, producing shocking results. “I use it for on average five hours a day, which I was honestly surprised about,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like I have that much free time, but you just don’t realize how much going on a few minutes every now and then really adds up.”

Selective usage

Roughly 90 percent of teens view spending too much time online as a problem facing people their age. Saloum said that though phones allow people to make more connections, users may also lose some social skills. “In terms of my actual skills in talking to people, I noticed that for people who don’t have phones, it’s a lot easier for them to carry a conversation because they don’t always have something to go to hide behind,” she said. Glasgow said that she does not want a smartphone, but expects that she will eventually need one. “I don’t really want a smartphone, but it’s going to be inevitable one day because I do end up carrying a computer around to school because it’s convenient to be able to do work … and communicate with other people,” she said. “A smartphone would definitely be useful, but it would also be kind of a pain. My friends would know that I would be constantly reading my messages, more than if I didn’t have a smartphone.” Parlin said that he has refrained from buying a smartphone because they take too much time away from real-world interactions. “I find a cellphone forces me to be more connected with the world than I want to be,” Parlin said. “It just takes up too much time.”

“ ” “It’s almost a security blanket in a way. It’s like the thing that you hold on to all the time. I feel weird if I don’t have it on me.” Lily Boschin class of 2019

sucked in Students live behind their screens as phone addiction remains prevalent

By Sophie Goodman and Dorra Guermazi

Making connections

Avoiding unwanted interaction

54 percent of teenagers believe they spend too much time on their cellphones source of information: Pew Research Center, August 2018

Accessing information

Distractions

Selective usage

“ ” “It’s almost a security blanket in a way. It’s like the thing that you hold on to all the time. I feel weird if I don’t have it on me.” Lily Boschin class of 2019

Screen-time apps The Lions Roar reviewed three screen-time tracking apps and rated them based on their effectiveness

moment

Flora allows users to choose an amount of time not to go on THEIR phoneS. If THE USER succeedS, THEY get a tree in a virtual garden. If THEY fail, the tree dies.

Moment tracks the user’s screen-time and number of phone pick-ups, while comparing stats to other users. Periodic notifications remind users how long THEY’VE spent on your phone.

flora

flipd

Flipd allows USERS to set it on “light lock,” so THEY can’t exit the app until THEY end the session. For those with little self control, however, it’s easy to end the session and continue procrastinating.

FEATURES page 15|february 15, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

LUNCH

How we

features@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 35, ISSUE 5

reshman Ryan Lee sat at a round table near the ramp in the cafeteria on Feb. 5. This spot is where he usually eats lunch, he said. “Sometimes I have it there or like there,” he said, pointing at other tables in the cafeteria’s bottom floor. “We’re freshmen, so we don’t really go elsewhere.” The cafeteria, although imperfect, is a much-appreciated upgrade from middle school lunch, he said. “If I get to sit with my friends, I don’t care where I eat,” he said. “Lunch at middle school, it was by grade, but now it’s just by class, so you’re mixed with more people. I kind of like it better.” At the other end of the cafeteria, in a more rectangular arrangement, freshman Ryan Hagen was situated with his group of friends. “It’s away from all the rest of the people who eat lunch,” he said. Like Lee, Hagen said that the liberty South gives students to eat lunch is refreshing after three years of strict rules in middle school. “In middle school, … you had to line up to go places,” he said. “[Here], you have more freedom, you can go wherever you want.” Lee sat beside his friend, freshman Josh Jackson. Lee said he and Jackson rarely hang out outside of the lunch block. “You get to spend time with friends you don’t usually see,” he said. “I’m never in any classes with Josh.” Lee clutched a tinfoil-wrapped sandwich, which he said his mom had packed him. “When I get older, ... I’ll find another spot to sit with my friends,” he said. “And when I’m a senior, I’ll probably leave and go out for food.”

ophomore Maya Hernandez spent the unusually spring-like Feb. 5 with a group of friends at the blue tables outside of the Goldrick entrance. “We usually eat in Mr. Wixon’s room, or we just walk around,” Hernandez said. “Today, it’s warm out.” Since using lunch as a study period always fails, Hernandez and her friends use the time to have fun, sophomore Jakhi Singleton, Hernandez’s friend, said. “Sometimes I want to do [homework] during lunch, but then I become distracted because you only see your friends for 30 minutes every day,” Singleton said. The short time allotted isn’t enough, the girls agreed. By the time they buy food from the cafeteria — Feb. 5 offered noodles and hotdogs — lunch has already vanished, sophomore Danyelle Pope said. “Lunch goes by really fast,” she said. Despite the tight schedule, the group is hopeful their lunch routine will become more extravagant as the weather warms up and they start using their open-campus privileges, sophomore Kaliyah Harrison said. “We’re going to order more,” she said. “And drive to get food, if I have a car, but I doubt it,” Hernandez said. “My mom said that if she gets a new car, then I can have hers, but she also forgets every time she says something like that” In the meantime, the girls proposed a couple of changes that could make all their lunches as congenial as Feb. 5’s. “I wish we had a better layout plan for us to sit outside more, instead of just these four tables,” Singleton said, then, pointing to the tables around her: “During the summer, over there just looks like really boring and dull. There’s not any flowers.”

South’s open-campus policy fosters community and independence as students move out of the cafeteria and into the world beyond

By Dina Zeldin Below, left to right: freshman Ryan Lee, sophomores Maya Hernandez and Kaliyah Harrison, junior Nick Hatzis-Schoch and senior Clara Boberg.

unior Andy Goldberg spent his Feb. 7 lunch with a group of friends at the 4100s bench. “It accommodates the group really well,” he said. “There’s a limited freshman and sophomore presence here, which adds to the wonderful atmosphere.” Spirits are always high, he said. “I’d describe it honestly, as ‘the boys,’” he said. “Great people, established morals.” Junior Yono Bulis, Goldberg’s friend, said the group moved around the cafeteria before settling. “We were nomadic for the first part of junior year,” Bulis said. Unlike junior boys in years past, the group has made it clear that their corner won’t become the next L-bench, which the administration converted into a green space at the start of the 2017-18 school year. “The L-bench is surrounded by controversy now, and I’d feel almost uncomfortable eating there,” Goldberg said. “The last thing we want to be associated with is the rude, inappropriate humor associated with the L-bench.” But if administrators tried to curb lunch liberties, Goldberg said he’d take action. “I’d feel like our rights had been violated [so I would] maybe get some protest signs going,” he said. Lunch is a necessary interruption from the stresses of junior year, the boys agreed. “It’s a good break from the daily hustle and bustle,” Bulis said. Now in their third year of eating together, the group has nearly perfected the lunch routine. Junior Nick Hatzis-Schoch, however, had one suggestion for the cafeteria staff: “I think a more constant flow of purple Doritos would be welcomed.”

photos by Netta Dror, Dina Zeldin and Alice Zilberberg

enior Chapin Galowitz drives to school in a pickup truck, and, on Jan. 31, took advantage of his vehicle to drive himself and seniors Clara Boberg, Isaac Chapin, Tess Gordon and Alice Zilberberg out to lunch. “We could go to Wegmans. Should we Weg it up?” Galowitz asked, as the group prepared for their journey out for lunch. The group stuffed their backpacks into the back seat. Galowitz turned off Brandeis to Route 9 — towards Chestnut Hill. “Let the record show that Chapin is going warp speed,” Gordon said. The seniors said they began leaving school for lunch during their junior year. “I had a lot of friends who were seniors, and we all had the same free block. We’d go out for lunch every Wednesday — well not every Wednesday, but a good amount of Wednesdays,” Chapin said. They said they’re looking forward to spending more time going out for lunch. “Sophomore year, when people were like ‘oh, the cafeteria’s for freshmen,’ I had to find a place to go, but I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “I was like a lunch vagabond.” “Whoever you ate lunch with never had a spot, … so you always had to check every spot,” Galowitz said. “When it was warm out, my friends and I would all go out to the field and eat really quickly and then play some soccer. But then it would get cold and we’d just get confused. We wouldn’t know what to do.” At Wegmans, the group bought sandwiches, while Galowitz opted for some spinach and squash. They also bought snacks for the rest of the school day. “We should get more snacks for the art room,” Boberg said, taking down a box of Goldfish from the shelf. “They’re our fuel.”

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 16 February 15, 2019

Nothing More, Nothing Less

THE

ANNA LI

features contributor

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every issue, The Roar publishes a different artist’s perspective of their work. Contact srstaff@thelionsroar. com if you are interested in writing this column. My first drawings were preschool crude crayon sketches in old picture books. I would flip through the pages and when something caught my interest, I would render it as best I could, which was to say, terribly, in the margins with the few colors I had on hand. Nearly all of my childhood books are vandalized with my attempts at drawing butterflies and birds, the subjects my four-year-old eye deemed most aesthetically pleasing. I discovered the wonders of the the sketchbook in kindergarten. My first sketchbook was small but all mine to wreak havoc upon. Finally, I had free reign over one whole page of blank paper. I was no longer confined to the squashed edges of a book. I had a blank expanse to fill with anything I desired, which turned out to be horrendously disproportionate stick figures and globular flowers. I love drawing; there is no other way of saying it. Once in elementary school, I spent hours illustrating a burrowing owl on a piece of cardstock, and it remains one of my favorite works. Sure, the body was too small, and the cacti in the background were distinctly cartoonish, but it was my magnum opus. My art is an expression of whatever I fancy at the moment. Nothing more, nothing less. Why did I spent a large portion of junior summer painting a blue and green skeleton? It seemed interesting, so I drew it. Why did I spent time in class drawing a person covered in flowers? Some flowers caught my eye in the spring, so I wanted to paint them. Currently, I’m painting animal skulls in different colors. I found a picture of a cat skull and thought it might look interesting in purple, so I painted a cat skull in purple. If I did one in purple, what was stopping me from painting another skull in blue? Or green? That is how my most recent project started. Of course, there are people who don’t like my art. People tell me that it is shallow, superficial, and that my “art for art’s sake” pieces are inferior. Although I was aware that some artists convey poignant messages through their art and some do not, I never realized one was somehow better. There will always be people who take issue with what you do. Pleasing everyone is impossible, but pleasing yourself is possible. If finishing my “superficial” painting is the way I can calm my anxiety, then I will finish that painting. If my “silly doodles” on the edges of my notes are what keep me going through the day, then I will keep doodling. I paint for myself because my drawings motivate me to continue on, even on days when it is physically painful to get out of bed. I paint for myself because no one else is going to illustrate my ideas for me. Even though I’m older, use oil paints instead of crayons and am — hopefully — better at drawing, I haven’t really changed from the four-year-old girl drawing butterflies and flowers on the sides of her picture books.

COMMON

APPLICATION

Artist Spotlight

The Roar follows three remaining 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 Sophie Lewis and Carrie Ryter

photo by Netta Dror

alia Vyadro, previously known as Milly, committed to Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. “It’s your typical Southern hospitality school: everyone’s very warm and welcoming,” she said. “Everyone there seems very happy to be there.” She said that the school meets all of her criteria: it’s a medium-sized school located in the South with a variety of activities, a balanced environment of academic ambition and fun and a suburban feel in the midst of the city. “It’s great. I could not have asked for a better thing. And it’s not an Ivy, but it’s kind of next to it,” she said. “I’m just really happy.” While she was accepted into the business school, Vyadro said that she appreciates the variety of opportunities Emory offers to merge her business and science interests. “Most schools, if you’re going into the business school, they’re just going to put you in the business school right away, you don’t really have time to see anything else,” she said. “Here, we have two years to do whatever we want before the business school, but I can still do economics, finance, entrepreneurship, all that… with additional other classes like science.” Vyadro said that she was superstitious in anticipation of the decision, and prepared to open her letter accordingly. “I was wearing like five Patriots items because the Patriots won in Atlanta, so I was wearing all my gear,” she said. “Before I opened it, I had this very calming sense that it was going to be okay, and it was.” She advised others to trust themselves during the application process. “Do everything that you want to do, don’t think about what colleges want you to do and you’ll get there,” she said. “Everyone’s path is different, but you’ll end up on the best path for you.”

ailey submitted all of her applications, including one to Yale University, but her process is far from over. She sent in piano recordings and was called back for live auditions at the Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory and Boston University School of Music. Bailey said that she wants to continue to put forth her best effort at school, despite her classmates’ senior slump. “Everybody’s not happy to learn, or just not excited to learn because it’s not for a grade or anything, and even the teachers are a lot more lax,” she said. “I want to do the work; I just feel sad because people around me don’t want to do the work.” Bailey said that she remains torn between attending a conservatory and a college. “When I talk about why I want to go to a liberal arts college, I’m like, ‘yes,’ and when I talk about why I want to go to a conservatory, I’m like ‘yes,’” she said. “I feel like I’m not one person; I’m two people.” “My going to conservatory is going to be the most selfish choice I make. My going to college is going to be the most selfless choice that I make,” she said. “If I go to a conservatory, it’s just going to be about me and my own skill.” Bailey said she is looking at schools that would allow her to enact change. “I’ll get in somewhere, so I’m more focused on what the heck I have learned from South, what I have yet to learn and how I can modify myself so I can be a catalyst for change,” she said. Bailey said she is frustrated by the lack of support that the guidance department and College and Career Center offer for applying to nontraditional schools. She said that many underestimate the work required for music. “Curtis Institute of Music has a lower acceptance rate than Stanford or Harvard,” she said. “That goes to show you that music is no joke.”

graphics by Alice Zilberberg

yan, after being accepted to Boston College and the Commonwealth Honors College at UMass Amherst through early action, focused his regular decision applications on reach and target schools: Amherst College and Boston, Brandeis, Cornell, Duke, Dartmouth, Tufts, Washington and Harvard Universities. “I figured there are certain schools which I wouldn’t go to over either of those, so I took those off my list and put in reaches instead,” he said. Ryan said that he finished his regular decision applications with a sigh of relief. “It felt like a big burden off my shoulders and the only thing that was left was to just grind out the last weeks of term two, and that’s everything for the college process,” he said. He was, however, surprised to be rejected from Brown University, his early decision school. “To be honest I was expecting to get deferred,” he said. “I was also very surprised that … across the board in our grade, a lot of people weren’t getting accepted early, which I thought was a little off from the past two or three years.” Ryan said that he has kept an optimistic outlook despite the bad news. “Rejection doesn’t define you— there’s so much more than one college’s opinion,” he said. “Everyone should be really proud of all the work they’ve put in these past four years, and wherever you end up, you’re still going to do amazing things afterward.” Preparing to leave South feels surreal, Ryan said. “I don’t feel like I’m about to go to college: I feel like I’m going to be in high school for a while,” he said. “The whole process of applying has really made me appreciate my time at South and all the people I met and all the opportunities I’ve been given here.”

February 15, 2019 Page 17

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Features

Space f r race Students reflect on year-round racial awareness during February’s National Black History Month

lack History Month (BHM) was a time sophomore Imani Fonfield associated with feelings of isolation and otherness during elementary and middle school. “When I was younger, I felt traumatized about BHM because when my teacher would announce it, everyone would just collectively turn towards me, as if I was the spokesperson for all black culture and everything that pertains to black people,” she said. Fonfield felt the burden of a whole race on her, but she said that race should not impact students’ knowledge of black history. “Black history is American history and should be something that everyone knows about, not just the only black person in the room,” she said. Black Student Union (BSU) president senior Cierra Brown said that South does not devote enough attention to the diversity of black culture and experiences in school, which February’s BHM does little to change. According to BSU and METCO advisor Katani Sumner, the BSU hosts a day, known in 2018 as Black Experience Day, to celebrate black culture. She said that recent topics have included senior’s experiences being black at South, black music, black hair and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). This year, the BSU is adding content about racial medical disparities. Senior Salim Gomez said that last year’s Black Experience Day was valuable for everyone involved. “It was a nice opportunity to open up and bring some insight to different people on the feelings and emotions of BHM and black history in general,” he said. “It was nice to have people have their ears open.” Sumner said that Black Experience Day is intentionally not hosted in February. “Every year we consciously have taken a day and we specifically do it in March because February is not the only time we celebrate Black history because black history is American history,” Sumner said. “Black history is not only limited to the month of February. It’s around us every day and it’s the inventions and creations of black people,” junior Larissa Williams said. Brown said, however, that having a designated BHM is beneficial. “We should just focus on talking more about black history throughout the year,” she said. “But I think it is important to still have that one month and have that remembrance and have that dedication.” Brown added that the history curriculum does not pay an adequate amount of attention to Africa.

By Natasha Naragajan and Carrie Ryter “We seem to do a lot of units on Europe,” she said. “You don’t really talk about any African countries and [the school] uses the explanation that they tell oral stories so not all their history is there, which doesn’t make any sense.” Fonfield said that when topics of race come up in the classroom, teachers discuss only a limited scope of black history. “What if we celebrated people as people? Black history doesn’t start with slavery,” she said. “Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman or Rosa Parks: those are the only three people that are talked about when there are a lot more legacies to be talked about.” Gomez said he would like to see increased attention to a more diverse group of African-Americans in history. “One specific way would just be to bring to light more and more of the achievements that African-Americans have made than the ones that are the obvious ones,” he said. “They could just talk about other achievements that none of us even know about. … Many credits have been stolen from the African-American race, and not many people know about that.” Sumner said that she is committed to increasing awareness of black history and culture through curriculum. “I’m personally invested in trying to incorporate more culture in the entire curriculum,” she said. “I would want to see black

history and black culture and black heritage celebrated as a part of the mosaic of all the cultures that represent Newton South.” ‘18 graduate Khyla Turner said that discussions about slavery and other racial issues in South history classes made her more aware of her racial identity. “I just thought, ‘Okay, I’m different than other people, so let me walk my truth.’ It didn’t make me feel bad,” Turner said. “I recognized every day that I don’t have the same reality as other kids and other kids don’t have the same realities as me.” Now a freshman at Hampton University, a HBCU, Turner said that she has become more confident in her identity in the absence of labels like “black” and “METCO.” “There’s an uncountable number of black people or different types of black people that I’ve still yet to see all forms of,” she said. “That diversity is what helped me become more confident in my blackness.” In a school whose students are 64.3% white, Brown said that being a student of color has given her both a feeling of solitude and a special outlook. “You feel like an outsider sometimes, but then also you get this unique opinion on different subjects,” she said. “Right now, this is an example of me speaking for my entire race and summing up the experience of what it is to be black at South, when I’m just one person. I think it’s a very diverse experience,” she said.

Gomez, who went to Washington Irving Middle School in Boston after experiencing racism at his Newton elementary school, said that he felt more respected in its black majority. He returned to Newton Public Schools for the superior education, but said faculty have viewed him differently and made assumptions because he is a student of color, like when a white friend took something valuable from him. “A white female, we were kind of friendly, she just took something out of my hand. … I catch up to her and I grab her hand with no sort of force,” he said. “That moment is when a teacher sees us, right at that moment when my hand is on her wrist, taking out what she had in her hand. That teacher immediately assumed the worst and started coming at me for it.” Turner said that celebrating black history year-round would contribute to a stronger community. “South does not need to become 90 percent black for it to be a safer institution,” she said. “Newton could still be 60 percent white and still have a safe environment for students of color and black and brown students, if the administration, students and student leaders … take it upon themselves to highlight the differences and celebrate them instead of highlighting them and then throwing them away once Black History Month is over.”

graphic by Emily Zhang

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 18 February 15, 2019

Teaching Arbitrarily

Teaching Assistants are only sometimes used effectively because their roles are not clearly defined By Jibek Kelgenbaeva and Sophie Lewis

enior Mirea Klee found that being a Teaching Assistant (TA) for students in her own grade during her junior year came with plenty of challenges. “There were some students that I had a class with before that I don’t think really respected me because we were the same age,” she said. “I helped make some of the tests, so my friends who were in the class would be like, ‘Tell me the answers,’ and I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.’” The role of a TA in a classroom is loosely defined, varied at the discretion of the teacher and based on the abilities of the TA. Science department head Gerard Gagnon said that regardless of the role they play, TAs provide assistance to teachers. “I’ve had TAs where I could have turned the class over to them, … and then there are other times when there are kids who are more reserved, or haven’t had the same experience or skills yet to be able to work in that capacity,” he said. “Oftentimes, those kids will support the teacher whether its lab prep — setting up or breaking it down — or administrative stuff teachers need to do.” The 2018-2019 Program of Studies defines a TA as someone who can “aid students as needed,” “assist the teacher as requested” and “ask for help as needed.” Klee said that TAs play a unique role in their classrooms. “Each individual looks at the TA-ing role in a different way. You can’t really have any standardization to it because it’s a very personal thing to do,” she said. “It’s a very odd program. It’s not very organized.” Senior Amit Levonai, a physics TA, said that his TA blocks help him relieve stress from other classes. “You help out, but there’s no pressure,” he said. “It helps you calm down in the middle of the day instead of being stressed out all the time. It’s not another class that you have to do stuff for.” Junior Claire Olson, a chemistry TA, said that both her desire to help and her love of science motivated her to become a TA. “It’s a really unique experience to be able to not entirely be a student for one block of the day. At a place like South, where there’s a lot of pressure on students, it’s nice to be able to take some of that off and help other people,” she said. “Any excuse to be able to do more science without having a real class is pretty much something I like to go for,” she added. For Levonai and junior Matt Reinstein, however, being a TA was merely a way to fill up free blocks. “I dropped a class at the beginning of the year, … and then I had six frees,

so I wasn’t taking the correct number of classes,” Reinstein said. “Seniors don’t take classes pretty much, and I had to fill in something,” Levonai said. “I was like, ‘I’ll just TA for Mr. Schmit because … I can spend some more time with him. It’ll help me in [my own] class and I can help him too.’” Olson said she inserts her own perspective to the classroom, having taken the class herself. “I know what it’s like to struggle in that class, and it was terrible, especially because last year we didn’t have super dedicated TAs, so I wanted to change that this year,” she said. “I wanted to be able to be a person who could maybe be less intimidating [and] where people can go for help.” Gagnon said that academic prowess is no longer a prerequisite to TA. “There was a history that you’d ask the kids who had been the most successful — capital T, capital M, capital S — and I’m not okay with that,” he said. “I’ve had quite a few students … being very successful TAs even if they weren’t necessarily A students the first time they had the course.” Sophomore Alexa Firkusny, a French TA, said that she has felt pressured to know more about the subject than she does. “Especially with the fact that there’s a language barrier, sometimes kids will be like, ‘What does this vocab word mean?’ and I just legitimately don’t know what it

means because it’s not really a common word,” she said. Sophomore Ava Gode-von Aesch, a da Vinci math TA, said that she has faced unrealistic expectations, too. “I know a lot about math. I wouldn’t say it makes me better or smarter than anyone, it just means I’m good in this one area. But people can see me as this one person who knows everything,” she said. Gagnon said that TAs are able to learn a subject more deeply by teaching it. “If you’re in that situation where you’re directly supporting students, and that’s the expectation that you’ve established with the teacher that you’re working with, then there’s no more profound way to learn the subject and really understand it at a deep level than to have to teach it,” he said. Levonai said that watching students process material has helped him learn. “Trying to understand what they think of it helps me understand how I can explain it better and how I can understand it better myself,” he said. “I just love seeing when people understand a concept. That’s my favorite thing,” Gode-von Aesch said. Olson said that she has seen her abilities as a TA improve over time. “It was hard at first, especially learning how to grade on a scale and how to guide people through problems rather than giving them the answer,” she said. “But after a few

“” One TA I had was in freshman year. She was for physics, and I maybe talked to her once to ask for a paperclip. Matt Reinstein class of 2020

weeks, I think it became second nature.” Junior Evan Kos said that he has found TAs to be most helpful when they explain material thoroughly. “You’ve got to be able to go slow and go step by step and make sure people understand every aspect of what you’re doing instead of just jumping forward and saying, ‘oh its very easy,’” he said. Reinstein, however, said he has had no shortage of unhelpful TAs. “One TA I had was in freshman year. She was for physics, and I maybe talked to her once to ask for a paperclip,” he said. He added that there is wasted potential in South’s TA program. “TAs are more than capable of helping students out. That doesn’t mean they are right now, because I don’t think teachers really allow them the opportunity,” he said. Senior Sabrina Murray said that she had to take her own initiative to have an active role in the American Sign Language class she TAs. “The teacher usually does incorporate me and the other TA in the class pretty well in regards to giving examples of how people sign and conversations can go, but I feel like in the classroom we’re never really given much time to help,” she said. Murray said that she has chosen to go to the classroom during lunch to be more helpful. “If any students are struggling they can come in and talk to me,” she said. “I’m not always available after school and there might be some kids who want to talk to me then and sometimes it’s really frustrating.” “It’s really been nothing that the teacher has instructed me. Usually, she’s just surprised when she walks in the room and sees me writing on the board,” she added. The relationship between a teacher and a TA is important, chemistry teacher Alan Crosby said. “Usually I develop tighter relationships with my TAs,” he said. “That often leads to letters of recommendation as well.” For Klee, her current TA position with science teacher Linda Kraus was brought about by her relationship as Kraus’ student. “Last year, I was in her class, and I would always clean the board when I came in, or I reorganized her cabinets for her, just because that’s something that I like to do,” she said. “So she was like, ‘I’m not letting you go. You’re going to do this for me next year as well.’” Crosby said that students who TA experience learning in a more meaningful way. “People finally have to confront the idea that they have to understand instead of getting an answer on the page,” he said. “Unfortunately, nowadays the idea that ‘all I need is an answer’ has spawned rather strongly, but an answer won’t really do you any good in the grand scheme of things.”

graphic by Alice Zilberberg

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Fun Page

Today's Roaroscope

February 15, 2019 Page 19

Look to the stars!

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Drink more coffee. You need it. Plus, Starbucks has a Valentine’s Day Cherry Mocha.

Gemini (May 21- June 20): You lost your student ID! Stop trying to get a library study room — explore new places instead.

Libra (Sept. 23- Oct. 22): Be selfless. Be caring. Take this group project and do all the work.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): The slowest walker is always right in front of you. Stay patient and enjoy the pace.

Cancer (June 21- July 22): Cancelled C block! Don’t show up.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 21):

Aries (March 21-April 19): Be bold. Be daring. Enter the cafeteria at the start of first lunch.

Leo (July 23- Aug. 22): Your 89.9 percent is an 89.9 percent. Accept things for what they are.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 21): Never give up. If you don’t succeed at first, complain to your dean.

Taurus (April 20-May 20): Though the front doors are closed, keep your heart open. The second entrance is just to the right.

Virgo (Aug. 23- Sept. 22): The hopes of your today will be the nightmares of tomorrow. Choose your classes with care.

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 19): Follow the laws of this universe. No food in the library!

Overheard at SOUTH

Stop looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It won’t rain today anyway.

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month

Yes, we heard you say that. Innovator: “I wish I could copyright my brain.” Budding Economist: “Group projects are proof that communism doesn’t work.” Fierce Competitor: “Square dancing is for the strong and only the strong.” Future Historian: “Wait, wasn’t Helen Keller the one who couldn’t breathe?” Defeated APUSH Teacher: “You’re all AP students, so you will always do everything last minute. And I’ll always be carrying around this briefcase of papers that I’ll never grade.” Beyonce Supporter: “Who run the world?” Sociologist: “Whites.”

CrosSWord Puzzle

Guermazi and Slater use teamwork to perfect their double knot techniques

A speckling of sundries for the pre-vacation wait

DowN

Across

3) Country in a crisis; has delicious arepas 4) What are all the sophomores carrying around? 6) Infectious disease; common amongst eldest grade 10) How South pretends to be good to the environment 11) The one in the library got fixed

12) Where you went instead of school last Tuesday 13) Still waiting on Fleishman for one of these days 16) Moved online for this year 17) Around 58 pounds of this sold for Thursday 18) Biannual senior fight to the death for a pass to ____ 19) Didn’t happen; still got two documentaries

Answers: Favourite, rejection, Venezuela, Chromebooks, Heintzelman, senioritis, blocked, goat, speech, recycle, printer, parade, snow, movie, PETA, MCAS, chocolate, park, Fyre

1) Oscar nomination for Best Picture; spelled differently in American English 2) Still bitter about that college ____ 5) Creative writing assignment juniors and seniors dread 7) You can’t watch Netflix at school because it’s ____ 8) Small horned mammal; six-time Super Bowl winner 9) With this kind of competition, sophomores pretend to be articulate 12) They didn’t burst as often this winter 14) It’s Spanish ____ Week! 15) Gave Big Boi some heat for his Super Bowl outfit

SPORTS page 20|February 15, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

Sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 35, ISSUE 5

Fire ice ON

Boys hockey begins dominant season following a disapointing finish in 2018 By Jackson Slater

ophomore Eddie Tarmey said he remembers last season’s playoff loss like it was yesterday. In February of 2018, in the John A. Ryan Arena, a “stacked” South hockey team played out the final moments of their season. Heads hung low as they skated off the ice for the last time. Tension filled the locker room. Guys were heated; tears may have been shed. South was utterly disappointed as a “high ceiling” season barely got off the ground. Last season’s end is still fresh in

Junior Eric Donlan takes a shot in a Feb. 2 game against Watertown photo by Netta Dror

players’ minds, motivating an equally talented roster to improve this year, junior captain Alex Klapes said. “Guys want to get better because they remember what happened in our last game, the second round of the playoffs,” he said. “There’s so much will.” “Losing in the tournament at our home rink really stuck,” junior Michael DeFranco said. “Right away, we started organizing stuff for the offseason, [and] we had a lot of guys who just want to show up to get better.” Following the disappointing playoff loss last season, the team started off 10-2-4 this year. Klapes said he believes their offseason work could lead to major success this winter. “Everyone did everything they could get better, and it definitely shows through what we’ve done so far,” Tarmey said. “Whether it be in the gym or on the ice, every-

one put in the work.” This motivation to improve did not come from coaches or captains, but came internally, Klapes added. “Guys wanted to do it. Guys wanted to have a good season,” he said. “Guys just had it within.” “I wasn’t even motivating any of the players themselves. They were getting in there. They were working hard. They do it themselves,” senior captain Chris Aucoin said. “I’m proud of that.” This competitive nature has contributed to success both in games and in practices, Aucoin said. Klapes said that this team is one of the best South has ever seen and has serious potential. “We haven’t ever had a team from South start off so well,” Klapes said. According to Aucoin, before this team can focus on winning a championship, players must address their largest weakness: physicality. “We need to be more physical on the ice: taking huge hits, handling hits,” Aucoin said. “[Teams] see our weakness. ... Our physicality needs to improve.” “Other teams were really hit hard,” Klapes added. “They were coming at us hard, knocking us down physically and mentally.” The team has worked to address this weakness in practice and looks

to combat opponents’ size with technique. “Our speed is what wins games, our speed and skill,” Aucoin said. “We are keeping up the pace and speed, and doing everything we can to get better.” Klapes said leaders of all ages fill the team, allowing all to have a leader to whom they can truly relate. “Being a junior and having to control a everyone on the team including seniors might seem a little bit hard, but I think [Klapes] does a really good job at it,” Tarmey said. “People respect him.” “He’s able to relate to the younger guys also,” Aucoin said. “Everyone loves [Klapes]. He’s a great guy.” While they have major potential this coming postseason, the team truly

does needs to step up to achieve this success, DeFranco said. “If we play our best, we can beat anyone on our schedule. That being said, obviously, when we don’t show up and play our best game, [games] don’t go our way,” DeFranco said. “We need to make sure that we’re able to show up every game, no matter who our opponent is and be able to play our best game so ... we’re able to capitalize and move further on.” “We need to continue to get better. We can’t just stay at the level we’re at right now,” Tarmey said. “We need to always bring intensity.” Aucoin said that playing truly as a team will be a major factor in postseason success. “Our team just needs to get our minds together on the ice. We need to be on the same page through everything we need to do,” he said. “There needs to be incredible team chemistry. In the locker room, at home, guys texting back and forth,” Klapes said. Senior forward Johnny Baker showed success with 29 goals and counting this season, including a last-second game winner against Lowell on Feb. 2. “He’s really stepped up huge this year,” Tarmey said. “We have a lot of a strong guys who are also contributing a lot lower down in the lines,” DeFranco said. “Like the second line, third line guys were still contributing a lot to the team.” “We have a goalie and definitely have a great defensive corps with Anthony [Maregni, sophomore] and Michael DeFranco, and it’s just great to see that on the defensive end,” Klapes said. “We have great guys who are going to the net and scoring goals,” Klapes added. This year, the boys hockey team may bring South its first Division I state title since 2014. “The goal is to win the state championship, so I think anything less than that would be disappointing,” Tarmey said. “We can most likely win the championship,” Aucoin said. “[In] years before, it has just been trying to make the tournament, trying to make the playoffs, and now our eyes are set on the championship.” “We are incredible,” Klapes said. “When we play as a team we are unbeatable. ... The future of South is just great.”

February 7, 2019 Page 21

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar sports

Mid-Season

otherwise lacks it, yet this intensity has re- in the game by the third-year forward. had returned to the team, the Celtics had to sulted in some friction. It isn’t just Brown who has been lacking rely on players like Terry Rozier and Jayson During a timeout against the Miami in aggression, however. As a team, the Celt- Tatum to run their offense, who, despite meetHeat on Jan. 10, Morris Sr. got into a scuffle ics average a paltry .172 free throws per field ing that challenge, were not stars. Despite, Austin Chen with Brown and the pair needed to be separat- goals a game, good for third last in the league. or perhaps due to this lack of a true star, the Sports Reporter ed by their teammates. Morris Sr. would later They also only attempt layups on 24.5 percent Celtics were able to have a balanced, selfless insist that there was no bad blood between the of their field goals, which is more than only offense that shared shots equally between two and that the incident was purely caused four other teams. These numbers indicate starters and bench players that ended up f the NBA playoffs were to begin today, by reasons concerning the game. that they are settling for more difficult jump one game short of the NBA Finals. During the Boston Celtics would start their Nonetheless, these incidents have not shots, rather than driving to the basket and this season, however, the additions of Irving postseason run as a fifth and Hayward has thrown off the seed. Considering their hefty team’s rhythm. (yet deserved) preseason exThe two are returning pectations, this season has been from injuries, but coach Brad strange, if not disappointing. Stevens has tried to place the ESPN, CBS and Bleacher Report bulk of the offensive load on all projected the Celtics to win them nonetheless, which has 57 games or more, plus a deep led to some good but mostly playoff run. frustrating consequences. With a healthy Kyrie The good: Irving has risen Irving and Gordon Hayward to the occasion and has played returning to a Celtics squad very well, averaging 23 points, 7 that had managed 55 wins and assists and 5 rebounds. a near trip to the NBA Finals, it The bad: Hayward’s lack was hard not to get excited. The of aggression on the court has young duo of Jaylen Brown and relegated him to a supporting Jayson Tatum was expected to role off the bench, Rozier, Tatum make leaps in the team’s developand Brown have all regressed or ment as they continued to adjust stayed the same despite playing to the league, Marcus Smart and like they were still the focal Aron Baynes were expected to be point of the offense and Irving the anchors of a stifling defense has backtracked on his earlier and a deep bench consisting of comments about wanting to photo courtesy of CBS Sports solid role players was expected Celtics forward Jayson Tatum looks at the ground in dissapointment during an 87-79 loss in the Eastern Confernce Finals continue his career in Boston. to be productive with its minutes. All of these factors have combined to Thus far, however, chemistry issues and a been isolated, and many fans believe that the attempting to draw fouls. make a team that should be a Finals contender lack of aggression have caused the team to Celtics’ lack of chemistry stems from frustraCoupled with the lack of agression is and a force in the Eastern Conference into a perform far below their potential. tion over a lack of aggression on the court. a lack of cohesion, which might stem from middle of the pack squad that, unless it gets The emotional leaders of the team, It appeared that Morris Sr. was upset over the uncertainty of how to play with so many its act together, will exit the playoffs with a Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris Sr., have Brown’s laziness in getting back on defense, “stars” on the court at once. Last postseason, whimper, not a bang. brought last year’s intensity to a team that which was just one of many defensive miscues before Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward

Celtics report

Teens flock to SoulCycle and leave with mixed opinions Dorra Guermazi Centerfold Editor

unior Lev Rosenberg walked into the SoulCycle studio armed with only his wallet and his water bottle. He was greeted at the front desk, where he signed in and paid the $3 fee to borrow shoes. Rosenberg grabbed a piece of gum on his way to the studio where he pushed past many middle-aged women and a few kids his own age, and strode through the open locker room, strapped on his shoes and headed towards the studio. When he got into the main room, filled with 55 standing bikes and flashing strobe lights, he adjusted his seat, his weights, secured his shoes to the pedals and started spinning to the beat of the music. “Everything about it was well done,” he said. “I just think it’s pretentious.” Originally founded in 2006 in New York City, the trendy cycling studio SoulCycle has expanded to 88 studios in the U.S. and Canada. South students flock to the nearest location at Chestnut Hill. Though other forms of cycling, or spinning, exist, SoulCycle has become increasingly popular for the unique music, encouraging instructors and soulenriching motivation that its 45-minute, $30 classes offer. Junior Miya Johnston said she started going to classes because of her friends. On the day of her first class, the four of them packed into a car wearing leggings and high-tied ponytails. Her friends had attended before, and when they got to the studio, they helped

Johnston clip her shoes on the pedals and adjust the seat height. “I went with a group of friends who really talked it up and who really wanted me to go,” she said. “It was very fun.” Despite the positive initial experience, Johnston said that she thinks that the classes sometimes lack a positive vibe, allowing newcomers to feel judged. “There are different rows in SoulCycle,

to avoid judgment played a role in Rosenberg and Johnston’s reservations toward SoulCycle, junior Elijah Sarvey said he had other concerns. He said that SoulCycle is not only inauthentic compared to riding a bicycle, but is much more expensive too. “It costs a crap-load of money, and it’s just too expensive to be a feasible way of exercise when you compare it to regular biking,” he said. “As a cyclist, what I really love about

“ ” It’s not that a single time going is too expensive. It’s [just] kind of dumb, bougie and pretentious. Lev Rosenberg class of 2020

and the front row is where all the really good, athletic, skinny people are with their sports bras on and their abs,” she said. “The back rows are people who don’t really know what they’re doing, struggling. It’s like the caste system of SoulCycle.” During her first class, Johnston said she cycled on a bike near the front of the room, right in front of her friends. Although she said she was nervous to be so close to the front, the arrangement helped build intensity. “I wouldn’t say that I felt judged. It was more motivating,” Johnston said. “I wanted to be as good as the person in front of me and to the left and right of me.” While a level of flashiness and pressure

biking is the freedom it gives you to go out and explore, and the excitement is lost when you’re just in a dark room.” Three clear deterrents arise for novice SoulCyclers: the pompous atmosphere, the judgemental riders and the more authentic alternatives, Sarvey said. Rosenberg said that the price has dampered his desires to attend classes regularly. “It’s not that a single time going is too expensive — it’s only $30. It’s the idea of my spending $30 on an hour workout that I would spend $0 if I worked out at home,” Rosenberg said, “It’s kind of dumb, bougie and pretentious.” Junior Beth O’Neill, who plays lacrosse

and gymnastics for South and has never been to a SoulCycle class, said that the studio holds little value for student-athletes, like herself. “It seems like it’s for people who don’t really work out. They don’t go to the gym, they don’t do a sport, so they go to SoulCycle,” she said. “It’s like its own realm, so I feel weird going as a person who does a lot of sports. You can get more for your money if you just join a gym, but I feel like a lot of people have trouble motivating themselves to be active, and it seems like SoulCycle helps with that problem because of that culty fun aspect around it.” Senior Emma Martignoni said that she likes SoulCycle’s unconventional workout style and tries to go to two classes per week. Martignoni said she found it fun, unique and more than anything, addicting. “I found myself wanting to be on the bike, dancing to music and whipping my hair around and screaming a song,” she said. Martignoni added that the way the SoulCycle instructors run the class makes the workout feel more personal. “It doesn’t have to be about the way I look, but about the way you feel, which is how I think exercise should be in our society, even though it isn’t,” she said. Johnston said that the classes ultimately benefit those who are willing to look past the inconveniences. “There’s definitely a certain type of person who goes, and it is very bougie. I think if you don’t mind being around a lot of people ... and if you don’t mind being a first timer and getting used to it, then it’s fine.”

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The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar sports

The art of kicking Last minute field goals dictate the history of the NFL

s the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams battled it out in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, New Orleans Saints fans sat on their couches, angry at referee Bill Vinovich. During the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 20, Vinovich and his crew failed to throw a flag with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter as Rams cornerback Nickell Robie-Coleman hit Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis a few yards away from the end zone before the airborne ball reached Lewis. Saints fans blamed their loss on this missed penalty, but their team had a 23-20 lead late in the game after Saints kicker Wil Lutz made the ensuing field goal. In reality, their loss was due to the two field goals made by Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein: a 48-yarder with 15 seconds left in regulation and a 57-yarder in overtime, which tied and eventually won the Rams the game 26-23. Both of these kicks were nowhere near automatic in any normal setting (the 57-yarder tied the NFL longest field goal in overtime history) and took place under extremely high-pressure situations where they ultimately decided the final score of this game. Last minute field goals in NFL playoff games are often made or missed by mere inches, and their success is mutually exclusive with the momentum or talent that a team has. The crazy thing is that these makes and misses have changed the history and legacy of this sport. We don’t have to go far back in history to find

playo f f games decided by a field goal in the final minute of the fourth quarter or in overtime. In the wild-card round of this year’s playoffs, the Bears, one of the top Super Bowl contenders, were eliminated after their kicker, Cody Parkey, missed a potential gamewinning 43-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. In fact, 13 games in the past 10 NFL

By Aron Korsunsky playoffs have been decided by a field goal made or missed in the final minute of regulation or in overtime. That’s 13 games which either team could

Vinatieri, however, is remembered for his one game-tying kick and two game-winning kicks for the Patriots in the 2001-2002 playoffs, as well as his game-winning kick in the Super Bowl two years later. In the Divisional Round following the

much as everyone celebrates Brady’s incredible success, we must remember that the Patriots, not Brady alone, won those Super Bowls.

“ ” The crazy thing is that these makes and misses have changed the history and legacy of this sport

have won, independent of how they played in the first 59 minutes of the game, 13 games that have impacted the direction of NFL history. Obviously, certain kicks have been more influential than others. As expected, the further into the playoffs that the

field-goal-decided game was played, the more influential the make or miss was. Colts kicker Jim O’Brien’s lastsecond winner in Super Bowl V ultimately has more value in the legacy of the NFL than Parkey’s wild-card round miss or Blair Walsh’s miss against the Seahawks in the 2015-2016 playoffs. One of the more legendary kickers, Adam Vinatieri, is on track to play in his 24th NFL s eas on next year at the age of 46. Vinatieri’s consistency as a kicker is unfathomable. During eight of his last nine seasons, he has kicked at a 85 percent success rate or higher and his total success rate during those seasons ranks second all-time in field goal percentage. Overall, he has the second-best field goal percentage by any kicker who began their career in the ‘90s, (kickers’ percentages were far worse back then).

2001-2002 season, the Patriots were down 13-10 with one minute left when a few shortyardage plays gave Vinatieri a 45-yard field goal attempt to tie the game with 27 seconds left. Despite the heavy snow, he made it. Later, in overtime, the Patriots drove down the field in their first possession and eventually won with a 23-yard field goal by Vinatieri. Taking into account the conditions and importance of the moments, many see these two kicks as two of the most difficult

Obviously, Brady’s title as one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks of all time is rightly deserved, but he rarely wins games singlehandedly. Both today and in the previously mentioned Super Bowls, Brady often relies on clutch receptions from

kicks in NFL A coulater, the Paoff against one teams in NFL 2001-2002 St. Tied 17-17 game, Vina48-yard field to win the f irst Super T w o Vinatieri did necting on a goal with four to give the Pa29 lead and victory.

receivers and running backs all over the field. By saying that Brady didn’t carry the Patriots on his back through those Super Bowls, I don’t mean to imply that Vinatieri did — those wins were full team efforts — but if Vinatieri had missed any one of those kicks, history would forever be altered. If Vinatieri had missed the first, gametying, highly-difficult kick in the Divisional Round of the 2001-2002 season against the Raiders, the Patriots would have lost and been eliminated from the playoffs. Every single play would have the exact same outcome throughout the whole game, except for that 48-yard field goal. In either of the Super Bowls, a missed kick by Vinatieri would have sent the games into overtime, where either team could have won. For any team, a field-goal carries a lot of weight, but we’re talking about the Patriots. Our team, our dynasty, which has been one of the most dominant in sports history, let alone in the NFL, began with successful field-goals by a kicker. Brady could have played as well as he has in his career, putting up top-of-the-line stats, and not have won two Super Bowl wins in three years. Who knows what would have happened without those made field goals? Thank Adam Vinatieri we don’t have to worry about that.

history. ple weeks triots faced of the best history, the Louis Rams. late in the tieri made a goal attempt Patriots their Bowl. years later, it again, con41-yard field seconds left triots a 32an eventual The latter two wins were Brady’s first two Super Bowls, and as

graphic by Alice Zilberberg

SPOTLIGHT

February 15, 2019 Page 23

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Sports

WINTER ATHLETE

By Aron Korsunsky and Jackson Slater

Danny collins

Junior INdoor Track, jumper

ollins has placed first in high jump at meets throughout his seasons at South, but this winter he jumped his best yet. Collins jumped 6’6”, a new personal and school record in a Jan. 16 meet against Westford. In doing so, Collins quailified for Emerging Elite Nationals. Collins capped this stellar season on Feb. 9, jumping 6’6”, placing first in the DCL, and helping the boys team place second in DCLS.

Lucy Jenks Junior INdoor Track, Distance

enks competed in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix against some of the top athletes in the nation on Jan. 26. She placed fourth in the 1500M, with a 4:34:08, and fifth in the mile, with a 4:51:88. Jenks qualified for National Championship Events in both the 1500m and the mile.

Max Aicardi

Sophomore Basketball, Guard

icardi has been one of few basketball bright spots this winter. Despite a vision-altering eye injury in December, Aicardi has nonetheless continued to lead the team in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game. Aicardi went off in a Feb. 1 loss to Westford, dropping 30 points and adding 9 rebounds. He looks to lead the team to playoff success despite a 7-9 start, and was named a “player to watch” by the Boston Herald.

Johnny Baker

Senior Hockey, forward

aker leads the boys hockey team in points as they make a push for the State Cup. Indeed, Baker has net 27 goals to date, in only 16 games. Many of these goals have come in the clutch, including in a 3-2 win against Lowell on Feb. 2, when Baker scored the game-winner with roughly 1:30 left to play. Jenks photo courtesy of Aron Korsunsky As of Feb. 12, Baker’s 27 goals landed Aicardi photo courtesy of Max Aicardi Collins photo by Daniel Glickmanhim first in Division III and tied for first Baker photo by Netta Dror across the entire state.