The Lion's Roar 36-3

R AR

VOL. 36 ISSue 3

the LION'S

A USB-Sized Public Health

HAZARD PAGE 4

By Julian Fefer

As student e-cigarette use rises amidst health concerns, state and local governments propose regulations to bar access, but it’s unclear if these measures will curb addiction

IT Chapter 2 Review Despite superb acting and harrowing plot, the sequel doesn’t live up to the hype and terror of the original

11

inside this issue College Reactions 12 Archery Champ High schoolers film their acceptance reactions and upload their college process to YouTube

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Newton South HIGH School Newton, MA

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Olympic hopeful sophomore Mina Chae balances competitive archery and school work

· Est. 1984 · October 11, 2019

NEWS

page 2|October 11, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

NEws@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 3

Chinese exchange trip delayed by visa denial Jenny He & Caleb Lazar News Reporter, News Editor

The annual Beijing Jingshan School Exchange Program has been delayed due to problems with travel visa paperwork.

In the exchange program, students from the Jingshan School in Beijing spend one semester in Newton before students from South and Newton North travel to China to study at the Jingshan School the following semester.

This year, two students and one teacher from the Jingshan School are participating in the program.

Faye Cassell, a member of the program’s executive board, said that the program, which began in 1985, is the longest-running exchange program between the U.S. and China.

To study abroad, students and teachers from the U.S. and China must obtain visas from the other country. This year, the teacher from the Jingshan School had her visa application denied.

Global education programs manager Samantha Mandel said that the visa was denied due to confusion over the proper type of visa application.

“There are different kinds of teacher

visas,” Mandel said. “There is a B1, which is a business tourist visa. There’s also a J1, which is an exchange visa.”

For the past nine years, teachers from the Jingshan School have applied for B1 visas, but this year, the teacher must apply for a J1 visa instead, Mandel said.

None of the attempts to begin the program without the visa being approved have succeeded, said sophomore Linnea Fried, who will be hosting one of the Jingshan School students.

“They were seeing if they could travel as unaccompanied minors, but they were

“ ” It’s interesting because we’re seeing on a micro-scale sort of the relations between the countries play out when we have visa issues.

Samantha Mandel Global Education Programs Manager

Although both South and the Jingshan School are working to remedy the issue, getting the correct visa may be a long process, world language department head Suzanne Murphy Ferguson said.

“It is not the kind of thing that can be rectified very quickly or very easily,” Murphy Ferguson said. “Things like the teacher’s level of language and ... authentication of that type of experience need to be reviewed.”

Although the Jingshan students were scheduled to arrive on Sept. 1, they must wait until the teacher’s visa is approved.

denied by the school,” she said. “They asked if they could come with a different school temporarily, but they were also denied, and they asked if one of our teachers could go get them and come back and were denied.”

Despite this delay, Fried said the students will likely be here by the end of this month.

Murphy Ferguson said that the Jingshan School students’ stay will not be extended to make up for the lost time because of the return just in time for Chinese New Year.

Mandel said that this is not the first

time that there have been issues with getting visas approved.

“Three years ago, the Jingshan School got denied the B1 visas,” she said. “We were told to seek the J1.”

Unlike this year, that problem was quickly sorted out and the exchange was able to begin on time. There have also been issues with acquiring Chinese visas for South students in the past years the program ran, but they have always been able to go to China, Cassell said.

While it is unclear why the visa was denied this time, Mandel said that these complications reflect current relations between the U.S. and China.

“It’s interesting because we’re seeing on a micro-scale the relations between the countries play out when we have visa issues,” she said. “The issues usually happen at a time when there’s tension between the U.S. and China.”

Mandel said that this year’s visa complication is just one example of the program’s recent slowdown.

“When I started, we were getting groups of eight or nine and then it went down to six or five, and this year, we’re only getting two students from the Jingshan school,” she said. “We’re not sure why that is, but there’s a trend.”

New lunch provider receives mixed reviews Tierney Gode von-Aesch, Julian Fefer & Preethika Vemula News Reporter, News Editor, News Reporter

Whitsons Culinary Group replaced Sodexo as South’s lunch provider this September. Since then, they have made several changes to the school cafeteria, ranging from food offerings to utensil varieties.

One prominent change was the food quality. Students disagree about whether it has changed for better or worse. Junior Ashley Wong, who eats school lunch every day, said that although she sees slight improvement from Whitsons’ changes, the food quality remains subpar.

“I’d say it is better,” Wong said. “It still has the quality of your typical school lunch, but it’s not great. Some of the food is overcooked, or dry, or undercooked or vaguely fresh but not fresh. I think the best example of this would be the broccoli: sometimes it’s really dry, but other times it’s overcooked, even to the point of falling apart.”

Freshman Gabriel Stern, who frequently buys lunch from the cafeteria, however, said he thinks the food is practically inedible.

“I understand that [they] are trying to get us to eat healthy, but that doesn’t mean you take the actually edible part of the food out from the lunches,” he said.

Junior Joel Sinclair said that the food from Whitsons is at least edible. A recent Roar survey found that 72% of South students

dislike the cafeteria food.

Whitsons differs from Sodexo in terms of its environmental impact. Sinclair said that Whitsons has pioneered the biodegradable lunch tray at South.

“Based on the look of the containers,

they seem like they would be more biodegradable than before,” he said.

Wong said that this a positive change from Sodexo, which used plastic trays.

Sinclair said that another benefit of the new lunch trays is their separated com-

“ ” It’s all grouped together, so even if kids only need a fork and a spoon, they have to grab everything. When they don’t really need everything, it’s just very wasteful.

Joel Sinclair class of 2021

graphic by Rachael Wei

partments.

New utensil dispensary policies, however, negate the environmental progress from biodegradable trays. Whitsons dispenses forks and knives as Sodexo did, but if a student wants a spork, they must take a bundle of plastic including a plastic straw and plastic wrapping.

“I remember the last lunch provider system handed [utensils] out one by one, and I think that was a more climate healthy way to do it,” Freshman Sonia Liao said.

Sinclair said that the switch to bundled utensils creates unnecessary plastic waste.

“It’s all grouped together, so even if kids only need a fork and a spoon, they have to grab everything. When they don’t really need everything, it’s just very wasteful,” he said.

“It’s really stupid. Why do you need it all together in that kind of plastic?” Sinclair added.

Wong, however, said that Whitsons’s policy will only have an extreme environmental impact if students choose to use the spork bundles.

“I wouldn’t say that there’s too much difference,” she said. “If people choose to use the sporks more, then there’s going to be a bigger environmental impact from all the extra plastic.”

Though Sinclair said he believes that Whitsons’s climate policies are unforgivable, he said there has been a net increase in quality of lunch service as a result of the shift from Sodexo to Whitsons.

“The food last year was horrendous in comparison,” he said. “The environmental impact is very important, but it’s more important that kids are able to eat the food.”

October 11, 2019 Page 3

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar NEWS

AP registration deadline now Nov. 15 Frank Liu, Julian Phillips, Rachael Wei & Eva Zacharakis

News Reporters, Copy Editor, News Reporter Starting this year, students across the nation will be required to register for Advanced Placement (AP) exams by Nov. 15 rather than the previous March 30 deadline.

South has implemented a school-wide Nov. 1st deadline. The cost per exam will remain at $100, but there will be an additional $40 fee for cancellations and late registration between Nov. 15 and March 13.

The change was met with backlash from students and teachers because some see it as a money-grab.

Science teacher Laura Johnson,* however, said that these new changes will give students equal access to resources, since the College Board added new test materials, like customized practice tests and unit guides, to its website to help students prepare for their exams.

“The rationale is actually pretty valid; they really want to increase the accessibility of the materials. What happens is that there are schools that don’t have access to all those practice exams and release questions, so what they’re trying to do is level the playing field,” Johnson said. “Before, only teachers who went to the College Board workshops or got training would get access to these AP questions.”

A study by Georgia State University in 2015 found that African American students are often influenced by their teachers into not taking AP exams. AP Statistics teacher Mark Rice said the early sign-up will help to prevent discrimination.

“This was created to decrease racism and other negative things that are happening in other school districts. I think it was to prevent minority students and low-income students from being bullied into not taking an AP exam,” Rice said. “There’s overwhelming research that shows minority and low-income students don’t take the AP exams even when they’re in the AP classes.”

According to a 2017-2018 pilot study by the College Board, there was an increase in test participation among students after the change was implemented.

South’s AP coordinator Mary Ann Price said that the earlier sign-up date will foster equity for those taking exams, potentially helping student scores.

“The College Board was hoping to boost student

confidence in taking the AP exams as well as raise scores. They decided that having students commit earlier in the school year to taking an AP exam was the way to do it,” she said.

Junior Anais Mobarak, however, said that low-income families will actually be hurt because of the non-refundable exam cost.

Although the College Board is a nonprofit organization, she said she believes corporate greed factored into their decision.

“I do feel like it may hurt low-income families because now they have to pay for the fees at an earlier time,” Mobarak said.

“They just want to make more money, and

will also force students to make a rushed, financially binding decision when choosing to take AP exams.

“Students have to decide long before they know whether they’re going to be able to stay in the class, and they have to pay money,” he said.

Senior Camilla Hayao said that since many colleges don’t accept AP scores for class credit, many students don’t know early on if taking exams is necessary. She said the early commitment could also affect students who plan to self-study for exams.

“For seniors at least, we don’t know what college we’re going to get into and if the college would accept AP scores afterward. Some teachers force you to take it, but overall, it’s a lot of money to spend for nothing,” she said. “I feel like it would be better to keep last year’s signups because then you were at a time where you would know which tests you were taking and which tests you wanted to take. Some people aren’t sure whether they’re going to self-study yet, and they have to commit to it now.”

Despite new changes, Hayao said the new deadline has not affected how she approaches AP classes.

“It just changed how soon I had to think about AP tests,” she said. “You still have to do well in the class if you want to get a good grade in the end. If you want to do well in the class you have to commit, it’s just a matter of committing to the test at least.”

The net outcome of the change is not yet apparent, Price said.

“Whether the College Board’s new policies do more good or harm is still not clear. Newton South students tend to do well on AP exams to begin with. Time will tell if the changes benefit our students,” she said.

“ ” They just want to make more money, and they think that kids are inevitably going to drop out if they don’t want to take the AP. If they have to decide in two months, the College Board makes more money from cancellation fees.

Anais Mobarak Class of 2021

they think that kids are inevitably going to drop out if they don’t want to take the AP. If they have to decide in two months, the College Board makes more money from cancellation fees.”

Chemistry teacher Alan Crosby said he is also concerned about a possible financial motive for this change.

“If you take a look at the amount of money they’re paying their CEOs,” he said, “it’s like maybe the corporation isn’t profiting, but certainly people are.”

Price said she believes the fees that come with the test are higher than they should be.

“One of my concerns is that the College Board has a new late fee policy of $40 per exam and a cancellation fee of $40 per exam.

I don’t see the rationale for those high fees,” Price said. “In my opinion, a $40 cancellation fee per exam is a steep price to pay.”

Crosby said that the early deadline

South Spots Movie Night On Friday, Sept. 27, class of 2021 class officers organized movie night in the Field House. Students set aside their homework to watch “Back to the Future” in good company, surrounded by friends and the remains of the mushrooms that used to infest the Field House.

photo contributed by Benjamin Moshes

Pep Rally South held its first pep rally of the year on Friday, Oct. 4.

Students filed into the Field House to be entertained by the senior emcees and the dance team and to watch the juniors decimate the seniors in the inter-grade basketball tournament. Teachers ended the pep rally with a spirited Zumba dance.

*Name changed to protect teacher’s anonymity

photo by Netta Dror

New Bike Rack

graphic by Gemma Hill

Recently a new bike rack unlike any other was installed outside of Goldrick House. With an inpenetrable plastic roof, it is fully equipped to guard bikes from all elements that frequently torment other bike racks.

Questions arise from witnessing such advanced technology — is it contained to this one bike rack? Will every bike rack across South benefit from this new innovation? Hopefully, the bikes, who were evidently running into trouble without protection, will be satisfied with their newfound home.

News ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 4 October 11, 2019

A USB-Sized Public Health

hazard

As student e-cigarette use rises amidst health concerns, state and local governments propose regulations to bar access, but it’s unclear if these measures will curb addiction

By Julian Fefer

photo illustration by Netta Dror

I

t’s not uncommon to enter a bathroom at South and see students huddled in the corner or sitting on the floor of the big stall. Chances are they’re juuling.

Across America, the percentage of students who vape has doubled since 2017, the largest increase ever, a nationwide survey conducted by the Public Broadcast Service found.

Though Juul entered the market as an alternative to smoking cigarettes, it has become a dangerous addiction for teens. The National Center for Health Research found that one e-cigarette cartridge, or “pod,” contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes, and according to Johns Hopkins Medical Journal, nicotine is a highly-addictive and toxic substance that raises blood pressure and spikes adrenaline levels, increasing the likelihood of a heart attack.

In the past few months, 18 people have died and over one thousand more have been hospitalized due to lung illness linked to ecigarette use. While the specific causes of these illnesses have not yet been determined, an investigation in New York, where cases are concentrated, found a trend: most of those hospitalized had used e-cigarette products containing Vitamin E acetate, an oily liquid that, when consumed in an e-cigarette, leaves visible scars on lung tissue.

The rising trend of e-cigarette use is a threat to South students, 20% of whom

regularly use e-cigarettes, according to the Roar’s survey of 296 students. Government agencies and school administrations alike are struggling to educate teens about the dangers of vaping and curb their use of Juul and other e-cigarette products.

population,” Baker said in an interview with WBUR. “This temporary ban will allow the state government and medical providers the time they need to understand the dangers and respond accordingly.”

Marco Piccariello, manager of Newton’s Vape Daddy store that sells vape and pain-relief products, said that given little notice, Baker’s ban will hurt many small businesses like his, as the majority of their revenue comes from e-cigarette sales. Vape

“ ” Massachusetts strikes back

On Sept. 25, Governor Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency and

There are thousands and thousands of flavors. It seems pretty obvious to me ... that they’re targeting kids.

Brian DeLeskey Intervention and prevention counselor

passed a ban prohibiting the sale of all ecigarette products in Massachusetts until Jan. 25, 2020. Massachusetts is one of the first states to impose such regulations, along with Michigan.

The goal of the ban is to give facilities across Massachusetts time to adapt to the harms of rising e-cigarette use and the illnesses that come with it.

“E-cigarette use is exploding, and it’s clear there’s a very real danger to the

Daddy has been forced to downsize since the regulation was passed, he said.

“Our doors are basically locked. The stuff that we can sell [now] is a very, very small percentage of our business,” Piccariello said. “We let every employee go. We’re just packing everything up and maybe hoping for a miracle. They didn’t give us any notice.”

Baker said that banning e-cigarette sales is nonetheless prudent in the midst of the current health crisis.

newton takes action One reason vaping is prevalent at South is that e-cigarette companies market their products towards teens.

“There are thousands and thousands of flavors,” South intervention and prevention counselor Brian DeLeskey said. “It seems pretty obvious to me … that they’re targeting kids.”

Juul, specifically, is the culprit for high student use rates, Piccariello said.

“It’s money for them. Juul targeted the youth. It’s why we’re in the issue that we are now,” he said. “Their packaging says 5% [nicotine]. So when you look at that, you think, ‘oh, okay, it’s only 5% nicotine.’ Well, that’s 5% of a 0.7mL pod, which equals 15 milligrams of nicotine. It’s a salt-based juice, which is meant to hit your bloodstream fast.

That’s why you get stuck on it really fast.”

Teens are not exempt from nicotine’s addictive qualities. A 2018 survey of ecigarette use found that in Newton, high school e-cigarette use rates jumped from 4% in 2016 to 15% in 2018. Among middle schoolers, the percentage of e-cigarette users increased from 0.2% to 2%.

With usage rising at unprecedented rates, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said e-cigarette use is an epidemic in Newton. Previously, the city has tried to restrict e-cigarette use with regulations.

October 11, 2019 Page 5

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar NEWS “A number of years ago, we changed the age for selling from 18 to 21,” Commissioner of Newton’s Health and Human Services Department Deborah Youngblood said. “After that was the flavor ban: you couldn’t sell flavored products except mint and menthol.”

More regulations are forthcoming, Youngblood said. In Newton, prior to Baker’s ban, e-cigarette products could be purchased from over 40 stores. The proposed regulations, which would go into effect on Dec. 16, would limit e-cigarette sales to the two 21 plus dispensaries in the city. They would have a direct impact after Jan. 25, when Baker’s ban ends.

Youngblood said that Newton’s regulations on e-cigarette consumption — use and sale — can be passed unilaterally by the Health and Human Services Department because the problem qualifies as a public health hazard.

Fuller said she believes that reducing the number of stores that sell e-cigarette products will reduce accessibility.

“With more than 40 locations, they’re more easily accessible than our two adultonly retail stores,” she said. “[At the others], you may be looking for bubblegum, and then there are the vape products right there.”

“If it’s less available, it makes it that much harder,” DeLeskey said. “I don’t think you can go wrong with trying to make it harder.”

The 2019 Youth Behavior Risk Survey done by Newton Public Schools (NPS) found that 66% of NPS students feel e-cigarette products are easily obtained currently, and the Roar’s survey found that 86% of students believe it’s not difficult to access e-cigarettes underage.

can students be stopped?

Unfortunately, simply limiting the quantity of stores and raising access ages may not be enough. Students can obtain e-cigarette products from family members and older friends, or use fake-IDs to enter vaping stores.

Junior Victoria Joyce* said that the regulations will only minimally reduce use.

“I don’t think it’s going to work, be-

cause if a student decides they’d like to [use e-cigarettes], they can go through all sorts of actions to get what they want,” she said.

“I think that regulation is good, but it’s not guaranteed to stop e-cigarette usage.”

Junior Rebecca Hoover* said that the high costs of vape products will deter students from vaping, and, more importantly, prevent students from beginning to vape, as she did in her freshman year.

“It used to be a lot easier. Now, people charge double the price for pods,” she said.

of students have used e-cigarettes

During his sophomore year, junior Marty Smith* began juuling, which soon spiraled into addiction.

“My friend let me try it, and I liked the instant feeling I got from it,” he said. “It was a hobby. I would [juul] every day and it took at least four to five months to realize ‘wow, this is really affecting me, my mental health, my schoolwork, everything.’ It became my main priority. Every time I woke

“ ” It was a hobby. I would [juul] every day, and it took at least four to five months to realize ‘wow, this is really affecting me, my mental health, my schoolwork. Everything.’

Marty Smith* Class of 2021

“In freshman year, I used to smoke a lot of weed, and to get off of that, I started juuling.

I’ve been addicted ever since. I’ll either have my friend get [pods] for me, or I’ll have an adult get them for me.”

the black market is back

Restricting access to vape products may foster illicit e-cigarette sales. Piccariello said he believes when easy access to e-cigarettes is barred, students will turn to the black market where products may not be as safe.

“Everything that we sell is approved. I don’t want to see any kids buy this stuff off the black market and end up getting really sick or die,” he said. “[Regulations] create a giant black market industry; people are going to make their own stuff. It’s honestly the wrong decision.”

Piccariello said the black market cannot be regulated to ensure clean production, raising the danger of e-cigarette use that may exacerbate current public health concerns.

Hoover said she believes that students may turn to smoking traditional cigarettes with access to e-cigarettes barred.

The Roar anonymously surveyed 296 students about their e-cigarette use. The results show that though students view e-cigarette use as dangerous, e-cigarette use among teens remains prevalent.

20%

is there another way?

18% of students who have used e-cigarettes felt health detriments

up, I wouldn’t be worried about a test, I’d be worried about, ‘oh, I want to get my first buzz.’ I was in the bathroom every block.”

After juuling for six months, Smith told his friends he was committed to quitting. His friends supported him as he cut back, helping him overcome his addiction six months later. Smith said that even with regulations, students won’t stop juuling until they learn the consequences.

“At the end of the day, people have their ways, and in my opinion, until people really understand the cause and totally get a message, I don’t think a lot is going to happen,” he said. “I wanted to do this interview because I know nothing good comes from [juuling] at the end of the day.”

Newton is also attempting to slow ecigarette use with reaction programs in NPS. “We’re going to be implementing a program within the school,” DeLeskey said.

“Initially, it will be a small series of sessions with kids who get caught vaping.”

Developing prevention programs to stop students from trying vape products in the first place is also an NPS priority.

“We are working with a group of school personnel to develop a vaping cur-

riculum,” Youngblood said. “There will be a curriculum that will educate young people about what’s in these products, [and] what the medical risks are.”

Joyce said any measure taken against e-cigarette use would benefit students.

“It’s necessary, because obviously teens shouldn’t be consuming things that aren’t good for their health,” she said.

Hoover, however, said she doubts any measures will be effective, especially because she knows her peers will find a way around any rules.

“The school shouldn’t do anything.

It’s not going to stop kids from [juuling], it’s just going to make them sneakier,” she said. “If someone wants to quit, they’ll do it themselves. The school implementing rules and getting them in trouble isn’t going to help.”

Smith said that the school should educate, not villainize students who juul.

“I don’t think they should be on the hunt for people and always looking in bathrooms. I think they should promote a message and have a one-day program where we actually talk about why it’s not good for you and show they’re not the enemy,” he said.

deaths test juulers’ resolve Aside from regulations and school programs, Hoover said that the latest news about deaths and illnesses caused by e-cigarettes has made her more hesitant to juul.

“Before, there were not very many studies on it, so I thought it was okay,” she said. “Now that I see that people have lung issues, I’m starting to want to quit.”

66% of 296 students surveyed by The Roar said that recent news stories have deterred them from using e-cigarette products.

Overall, Fuller said everyone must cooperate to effectively counter rising rates in e-cigarette use.

“We, as a community, need to attack this growing epidemic,” she said. “We look forward to students, parents, educators and the health community partnering with us to educate, prevent and help students who have become addicted.” *Names changed to protect students’identities

66% 86% of students said that recent news has deterred them from using e-cigarettes

of all students believe it is not difficult to access e-cigarettes underage

EDITORIALS page 6|october 11, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 3

Administration needs to tackle vaping head-on Early on the morning of the second day of school, everyone arriving for A Block was greeted with an absurd traffic backup on Brandeis and an angry honking red truck. Students stood stranded outside in packs, and a faint siren rang from the buildings.

Unsurprisingly, it was another fire alarm. This one, like some of its predecessors, was triggered by a certain mango-flavored “particulate matter,” a reckless decision hanging in the air.

Somewhere in a deep dark corner of the school bathrooms, an early bird was ripping their back-to-school buzz and accidentally set off the sensor.

As much as the scenario was comical, it was pathetic. The student body is so dependent on vape products that students feel the need to get high while still half asleep at 7 a.m. — this issue isn’t exclusive to South.

Behind the dependency is not only student ignorance but also administrative passivity from the Newton Public Schools. While vape products were initially advertised as safer alternatives to cigarettes, they aren’t intended for high schoolers, and recent news has clarified the side effects. The administration, however, has done near nothing to educate its students on the misconceptions.

Beyond the “Myth and Fact”

posters that hang unnoticeably in the hallways, there has been little effort from the administration to combat vaping. Right now, the administration is only taking reactive measures.

There are vapor detectors in bathrooms that often result in evacuations, and parents and teachers regularly receive emails that explain what “Juuling” is.

Yet it’s rare for students to be caught red-handed in the bathroom or have their Juuls confiscated.

Instead of creating consequences or ignoring the issue, the administration should proactively address teens’ ignorance, which is the root of the crisis. Already, there are many online campaigns that echo D.A.R.E., which targeted cigarettes a decade ago. Initiatives like “Truth” and “The Real Cost” frontline the battle against vaping, presenting both statistics and real-life stories to teens scrolling through their social media.

The next step must be for schools to embrace these campaigns and inform their students; South should do so by rolling out a new curriculum for its Health and Wellness classes as soon as possible.

The vaping addiction is reaching a crisis, and it’s unbelievable that the school has responded with apathy.

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

Editors-in-Chief Jennifer Wang Dina Zeldin

Managing Editors

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.

Peri Barest Carrie Ryter

Section Editors News

Opinions

Julian Fefer Caleb Lazar

Centerfold

Features

Copy Editor

Sophie Goodman Shoshi Gordon Ellyssa Jeong Siya Patel

Graphics Managers Gemma Hill Emily Zhang

Sophie Lewis

Rachael Wei

Business Managers Fletcher Smyth

Faculty Advisor Ashley Chapman

Isabel Flessas Chunyu He Anya Lefkowitz Gillian Tobin

Sports

Dorra Guermazi Jackson Slater

Photo Manager Netta Dror

october 11, 2019 Page 7

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar editorials

Learning to sign, learning to listen, EDITOR’S learning to appreciate connection DESK from the

Carrie Ryter Managing Editor

If you’ve ever had a class with me or so much as passed me in the halls, you probably know me as the girl who doesn’t shut up. I’m the first with my hand raised, even before the teacher finishes asking a question, and you can always count on me to give the lengthiest answer — verbal or written.

I love to connect with others, and I’ve always thought that talking, asking questions and filling every awkward silence was the best way to do so. You’ll never hear a pin drop if I’m around, but you might hear the infamous clunk of my water bottle falling to the floor.

While my loquaciousness has earned me plenty of “Actively participates in class” on my midterm comments, I’d never actually mastered the art of talking. Ironically, it took a summer immersed in sign language and a nonverbal three-year-old for me to truly learn to communicate.

Most of us probably view preschoolers as just learning to communicate their needs and feelings. Entering Lucy’s comprehensive preschool classroom as an intern this summer, I fully intended to teach Lucy and the rest of the children everything from sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce in a circle to washing their hands before snack; little did I know that I would learn not only how to communicate with Lucy, but how to communicate with myself and with others in my life.

Lucy has a smile that lights up the room, an unrivaled sense of humor and an admirable sense of determination; she also happens to have Down syndrome. Through my hours of experience with little kids, however, I had always relied on verbal communication. That changed when I met Lucy.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Lucy’s smile is worth a million. In a single smile, she managed to tell me that she was having fun at the sensory table, wanted to be picked up to get just one more paper

I was going to hang out with later. When I was with Lucy, I was present— physically, mentally, emotionally — in the moment.

After a mere two days of being present with Lucy, I could recognize her preferences, anticipate her needs and communicate in the ways that worked best for her.

Communicating with Lucy required both of us to use more than our vocal chords or our hands. Constant giggles and dances encompass Lucy as she signs “lunch,” her favorite sign and time of day, and in turn,

“ ” It took a summer immersed in sign language and a nonverbal three-year-old for me to truly learn to communicate.

towel from the automatic dispenser or was ready to slide down the big red slide.

If I wanted to see Lucy smile or appreciate her presence, I had to devote my complete and undivided attention to her.

The typical half-texting, half-listening act that we all fall into just wouldn’t cut it. With Lucy, I had no choice: I needed to be all in.

Being all in meant that when I was with Lucy, I wasn’t thinking about the SATs I had to go home to study for; I wasn’t thinking about how many Roar articles I needed to edit; I wasn’t thinking about the friends

I squat, maintain eye contact and sign — usually something along the lines of “silly girl” — right back to her.

When I started learning American Sign Language (ASL) at school last year, I quickly realized that while listening requires just one sense, signing requires all five. Signing requires a unique kind of attention that I developed from my time with Lucy: to watch hand movements, to read facial expressions, to follow pointed fingers, all while listening.

As for my own signing ability, well, it’s a work in progress. Right now, I enjoy the extra few

moments I have to “compose my thoughts” (i.e., figure out the signs) before sharing them.

Before meeting Lucy, awkward silences in my life were just, well, awkward. You know those long car silences with a friend and a parent, when no one knows what to say? True to my talkative nature, I would usually fill the space talking, talking and talking just to say something.

Lucy made me comfortable with silence. In the future, I’m going to embrace these awkward silences to learn more about myself and those around me. I know that my relationship with Lucy would not have had the same depth with words, because the absence of words allowed us to connect on a deeper level.

Now, I’ve said goodbye to Lucy, and I won’t be doing much signing outside of my ASL classroom. But the lessons I learned from my internship will nonetheless carry into the rest of my life. Maybe I don’t have to answer every question, maybe I don’t have to fill every silence, and maybe I don’t have to give hour-long responses to yes or no questions. Maybe, instead I can listen more fully to my peers’ comments, learn through silence and take the time to explore my thoughts more deeply, as if I had to sign them. (No promises on meeting essay page limits, though, Ms. Bernhard.)

When I began learning ASL last fall, I thought I was learning how to talk. Lucy showed me I was learning how to listen all along.

Newton 216 Sumner St. Newton, MA 02459 (617) 795 - 2022 Brookline 1331 Beacon St. Brookline, MA 02446 (617)-487-8689 www.leesburger.com

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Opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 3

Should South teach internet security?

NO

YES

By Ari Gordon The internet: we all know it, we all grew up with it and we all have used it for a copious amount of time. It treats us well most of the time, but what is hiding under the innocent face of Schoology and the dinosaur game? We are constantly told by our family and friends to keep our passwords and addresses private and not to share our real names online — you know, the basic stuff.

However, the real dangers of the internet have been muddled by true, yet uninformed advice. No, telling a stranger your address and age is not safe, but internet privacy and security extend so much further than that.

The sad reality is that today, your creepy internet stalker already has your address. Currently, 75% of all adults in America with an active credit score have their information leaked, and that is just from one data breach. This breach included Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses as well as credit card information. If you’ve ever made an account on StockX, Yahoo or most any website, your address, email, name and password have probably already been copy-and-pasted onto hundreds of databases on the dark web. Countless other sites have been breached this year, and the number will just keep climbing unless there is a major shift in how people interact with their technology.

Luckily, there are many ways you can prevent your information from being stolen. You can start off by going to Have I Been Pwned (a secure website) in order to check if your password has ever been compromised. Additionally, all your passwords should be different and should be held on a password manager, such as LastPass or the built-in chrome password saver. Although anything stored online can be stolen, it is much safer than using the same password for multiple websites.

These programs allow you to generate a secure password for each website. LastPass doesn’t have access to their users’ passwords, so rest assured your passwords won’t be compromised.

Just a few tips, however, will not protect you from all attacks.

Now that Chromebooks have been introduced to South, and the move to an entirely online classroom has started, internet safety is a larger concern for South than ever before.

In June, teachers’ and students’ private information, such as addresses, enrollment information and test scores were leaked from the Baltimore Public School District due to a security flaw in Schoology, the same program South uses. Although it seems unlikely, South could be the subject of the next cyberattack.

At South, every-

thing is online: your homework, your grades, your notes, your worksheets, your messages to teachers and administrators. The fact that South has made almost zero effort to teach its students about how to stay safe online is shocking and unacceptable. We should not be waiting for an attack to happen in order to start teaching students how to safely use the internet.

It would really only take a few classes a year, which would be very manageable. A simple overview of how to use a password manager, how to check which databases your passwords are on, and how to secure your email would take very little time and resources. An in-depth class is not needed; just a little bit of information on how to stay safe online can go a very long way.

While many argue that kids should not have to sit through a class that has nothing to do with school, I believe the opposite is true: cybersecurity has everything to do with school. As I previously mentioned, everything is online at South. Without any cybersecurity education, the Chromebooks change from a useful tool into a liability for students’ information.

The administration should ask students and parents what they feel is most important — as they should in any situation.

The people who are affected by this technology should decide what we learn and how we use the resources available to us. In our almost fully online school experience, it is necessary for everyone to learn how to stay safe, and it’s appalling that internet security is almost always ignored.

40%

By Chunyu He As we’ve seen time and time again, schools cannot prevent careless students from setting school facilities on fire or pulling the fire alarm. There is a limit on how much a school can do for its students, but the most important thing the school can do is maintain a safe environment for students. While South does have the responsibility of teaching academic materials, students should have enough common sense to avoid obnoxious actions that put their own safety and that of their peers at risk. The same principle applies when it comes to internet safety.

Everything comes at a price. While the internet brings us convenience, it also comes with risks. We all know this: many of us have received messages about receiving Amazon gift cards or cruises to the Carribean.

We often hear breaking news about identity theft, data breaches and cyberbullying.

For example, on July 30, USNews reported that an unknown individual gained unauthorized access to approximately 100 million Capital One customers’ identities.

Capital One claimed that no credit card information was compromised and more than 99% of the social security numbers were safe — but its statements have not been verified and may just be fluff. This example turned many banks’ attention toward strengthening online security. Students know that when they access the internet, there is a possibility of getting software viruses. Students are already exposed to these issues when they read the news, so it’s not necessary for South to tell us what we already know.

Moreover, internet threats are not

something the school can prevent entirely.

Even a password that is rated “very strong” and contains capitals, symbols, etc., will not prevent Facebook and other platforms from selling such personal information. Forbes reported that Facebook databases containing 419 million users’ phone numbers, social media IDs, passwords were found to be unprotected. To this day, investigation regarding the cause and effect of the leak remains unsolved. These dangers are inevitable, no matter how much you know about them.

In class, all we need to use are Google Drive, Schoology, and maybe an online article or two. It is fairly hard to leak your personal information when it comes to schoolwork. The problem arises in our free time. When we access the internet, we often use it for personal purposes, like accessing websites with free movies, pirating applications and playing multiplayer games. These are the times when electronics get viruses, not when you access published research in a library database. If these issues happen outside of classrooms, it doesn’t need to be South’s responsibility to fix. Newton’s middle schools have already implemented technology training classes.

Although we do almost everything online, the internet should be the least of South’s worries when it comes to school safety. Gun violence, sexual assault and substance abuse should all be the top priorities for every high school in America, as those issues are much more relevant. How many of us have worried that one day a shooter will appear? How many students have been harassed or heard of others getting harassed in school?

How many students have used drugs to relieve stress?

On average, eight out of 10 students have experienced sexual harassment: 83% of girls and 78% of boys, according to the American Association of Universities, a binational organization of leading research universities.

In 2019 alone, there have been 22 school shootings in the United States, according to CNN. Shouldn’t schools allocate more attention to these issues rather than the occasional stolen credit card information which can be resolved by contacting the bank?

As the generation that is affected the most by technology, we do face issues with internet. Teaching students how to keep themselves safe from hackers, however, shouldn’t be South’s priority when students are facing more severe issues that have greater consequences. graphic by Jasmine Liu

of surveyed students agree that South should teach internet safety

october 11, 2019 Page 9

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar OPinions

The Voice From the Frosh by ahona Dam For all those who are in favor, say aye!

The government plays a huge role in our country today, and I believe that to establish a democratic government, the people need to project their voices, and their beliefs should hold equal weight.

South’s student government is founded on similar principles, aiming to make each year the best year for their class through fundraisers and end-of-year events. While upperclassmen may think that freshmen aren’t well-suited to have an important leadership roles in school clubs and teams, freshmen offer unique and add fresh perspectives that can improve the school. Giving freshmen leadership positions allows them to develop their confidence and learn to voice their opinions from a young age. Being part of student government introduces students to the concept of government. Freshmen are then able to apply that information to make the changes they want to see at South.

It is very important that freshmen get involved in activities and clubs. When freshmen are involved in clubs, they are

able to meet upperclassmen and learn more about South. Then, freshman can meet other freshmen as well as upperclassmen, make new friends and bond over a shared goal or interest.

Being engaged in student activities allows freshmen to build their own communities and make an impact on South’s larger community. For example, students from each class in student government are capable of making important and valuable decisions for their school. For every club or school activities, freshmen should be given the opportunity to try and learn from leadership positions.

With guidance from teachers and upperclassmen, freshmen will strengthen their skills in areas such as communication, research and collaboration. These skills are needed in adulthood, and I believe it’s important to strengthen these skills through early in students’ educational careers.

South’s clubs and other activities should also think about the future of their members. After seniors graduate, younger

graphic by Emily Zhang

club members need to fill their shoes and prepare to take on leadership roles.

Upperclassmen should realize the potential of freshman’ ideas because they can look at the community with fresh eyes. Such ideas can promote richer conversations that can translate to meaningful changes at South.

However, since freshmen don’t have

a lot of experience with certain types of activities, many don’t think that they are suited for positions in student government. South has many more clubs and activities than middle schools do, and that gives students the freedom to create clubs if there isn’t one that interests them. This means that there is a place for everyone to excel.

Even if freshmen are inexperienced, with enough guidance and exposure they can become student leaders. South isn’t just a place for sophomores, juniors and seniors.

This school belongs to freshmen too. Freshmen deserve the opportunities to project their voices and organize school events.

Preserve Jewish Culture, Not Our History

by Dina zeldin When I walked through the clearing that now quietly sits in the place of the Treblinka extermination camp, the strangest thing I saw wasn’t the sea of memorial stones, nor the granite grave markers. Neither was it the wildflowers, fertilized by ashes, that grew between the cracks of rock slabs laid on the ground. Nor was it the white ticker tape crisscrossing between the birch trees that surrounded the mildewed meadow.

The strangest thing I saw at Treblinka was an old and back-bent man clad in blue work clothes and black boots. He was the only one in a thicket of visitors who did not look lost. Instead, he traipsed through the gravestones with purpose: in one gloved hand, he clasped a black trash bag; with the other, he picked up withered roses and empty candleholders, traces of the mourners who had passed by the clearing earlier. The strangest thing I saw at Treblinka was the Treblinka custodian.

The man’s job was to pick up the prayers left behind by others and toss them away into a black, plastic abyss of the forgotten. At first, the man and his trash bag felt insulting. This was Treblinka, after all, and coming here meant not only mourning the one million Jews killed at the extermination camp, but remembering the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. Let the roses decay and the glass accumulate; let it show how many people still care about what happened here, I thought.

I remember the Treblinka custodian periodically, when, while scrolling back through my camera roll, I catch a glimpse of him bending down toward the granite ground to pick up a wilting flower. Over time, I grew to appreciate his steady figure and the ease with which he was able to cast away Jewish sorrow.

I realized that our conviction to remember the Holocaust is misguided. As survivors pass away, it’s inevitable that the details in our collective memory get fuzzy. No amount of textbook-writing or documentary-making will preserve the his-

tory forever. We should be asking ourselves how we want to move forward, instead of burdening ourselves with the facts and figures of the past.

Before the Holocaust, there were thousands of pogroms throughout Europe, each unspeakably more atrocious than the last. Besides the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century, one of the most significant Jewish massacres was the Khmelnytsky Uprising which started in 1648 and ended nine years later. The Ukranian insurgence decimated Jewish communities throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historians estimate that more than 100,000 of the 200,000 Jews living the Commonwealth were murdered during the uprising.

Context is key: Poland had been a safe-haven for Jews for over one thousand years. Jews could find refuge there when fleeing antisemitism in other parts of Europe, and they assimilated into Polish culture economically, politically and socially. Even Poland’s name was a good omen — it can be transliterated into Hebrew, in which the syllables “Polanya” take on the meaning “here slept God,” an homage to the peace and tolerance Jews found in Poland. The safety that Jews felt in Poland before the uprising is what made their massacre so despicable.

In many ways, this parallels the tragedy of the Holocaust.

Without Nazi technology, the rebels in the Khmelnytsky Uprising were more primitive in how they approached mass murder.

One historical account details how a rebel ripped an unborn baby out of a pregnant woman’s belly and waited for the mother and child to bleed to death together. My anger stems from the crudeness of the murders, but also the scale of the massacre. Jewish life was destroyed in each city and village of

the Commonwealth.

It’s no wonder that after such trauma, Jews in the Commonwealth struggled to bring their communities back to life. A few historical accounts mention that some Jewish communities instituted a three-year period of mourning for those who perished during the massacre. For three years, there was no celebration, dancing or music. The uprising debilitated Jews in more than just physically — it weakened their spirit.

By honoring the deaths so vehemently, the Jewish communities in the 17th century compromised their culture and faith. In the end, their vigil was futile, for today, few know about the Khmelnytsky Uprising. I’m afraid that 70 years after the Holocaust, we’re still stuck in that same period of mourning. It’s time to move forward. Let’s turn our attention to the next chapter of Jewish history instead of dwelling so heavily on the past.

We cannot replace Jewish culture and faith with antisemitism awareness and hate crime vigils. Bigots will always exist, and we can’t cower in their presence. Now that I’ve paid my respects to the victims of Treblinka and the other sites I visited in Poland, it’s more important for me to practice my Jewish faith and to observe Jewish culture in the face of the historical circumstances

of my culture.

I think back to the Treblinka custodian, how, when he saw me with my camera up, he smiled pitifully at my attempt to catalog my visit, as if to say, “It’s okay if you forget this.” To forget is not necessarily to disregard; I’ve concluded from my journey that what matters most to me isn’t the number of times I recite the Kaddish in mourning of Holocaust victims, but how I choose to express Judaism. It’s empowering to walk into Treblinka as a proud Jew, proof that Jewish life perseveres, but it’s equally as empowering to light candles every Friday night for the Shabbos and to celebrate the high holidays surrounded by family and friends.

Two hundred fifty miles south of Treblinka, a Jewish Community Center stands proudly in the center of Krákow’s old Jewish quarters. It’s a sign that Jewish life can sprout in the unlikeliest of places, in the places from which it almost disappeared, twice — first during the Khmelnytsky Uprising and, roughly three hundred years later, during the Holocaust. In the midst of the high holidays — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur behind us, and Sukkot peaking up in the horizon — there’s no better time to for me to embrace my Jewish heritage.

graphic by Dina Zeldin

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AP and IB Should Learn From Each Other by eva Shimkus There is no happier sight than a graduating class of International Baccalaureate (IB) students. Their relieved smiles and carefree mannerisms, as well as their dark under-eyes and slouched shoulders, tell the story of their achievement. However, at the back of everyone’s minds is one underlying question: was it all really worth it?

It is no secret that the IB is a tough system.

Urban Dictionary defines the IB most accurately as, “A malicious program aimed at the unnaturally brighter population in an attempt to overload their brains, thus reducing them to vegetables without lives.”

Although this definition was most likely written by a sleep-deprived teenager, it still holds some truth.

A popular system, the IB program is offered in about 3,500 schools across 143 countries. Although South and many nearby schools only offer Advanced Placement (AP) classes, the IB is starting to gain momentum in the U.S. In Massachusetts, it is offered in 14 schools — although not a particularly high number considering the abundance of educational institutions in our state, it is on the rise in Framingham, Brockton and Malden.

I attended an IB school in Switzerland before I moved to Newton.

The AP and IB systems each have distinct approaches to learning. Where the IB involves interdisciplinary learning and

dives deeper into the material, the AP is more fast-paced, with new topics introduced and tested each week. In other words, the IB is focused on connecting subjects across the curriculum, whereas the AP is more centered on each individual class.

Both the AP and IB programs are considered the highest level of courses a student can take in high school, meaning that colleges value both in admissions, and

No CAS means no pass, kids.

Extended essay (EE), a 4,000-word research paper and Theory of Knowledge (ToK). ToK, not to be confused with Tik Tok, is a debate among students about topics like “Is water wet?” and “Is a pen really a pen or is it actually a pencil?” The grading for final ToK essays is seemingly random, resulting in a not-so-fun guessing game when results come in.

“ ” In other words, the IB is focused on connecting subjects across the curriculum, whereas the AP is more centered on each individual class.

some schools even offer college credit for them. South recommends that students take a maximum of three AP or honors subjects, and in Switzerland, teachers similarly advised us to take only three higher-level classes.

A unique facet of the IB program is its mandatory components, such as creativity, activity and service (CAS), which requires students to complete community service hours and write reflections for service action clubs, all keeping within strict guidelines.

The multiple Service Action blogs that currently collect dust in my Google Drive will tell you that I participated in many clubs.

One thing I have always admired about the AP is its reliability when it comes to grading. The AP is administered by the College Board, who appoints college professors and experienced AP teachers to score exams. The IB system sends the actual tests (no, not digital versions) on airplanes across the world to examiners who all seem to have different interpretations of the rubric.

The IB falls short when it comes to one of the most important parts of a student’s life: college. From my brother’s experience, the IB curriculum did little to prepare him for the SATs. As an AP school, South does a great

job of providing resources and support for students taking the SATs. Considering that thousands of students’ futures are dependent on these tests, reforms need to be made to the IB system.

The IB leaves room for mistakes when it comes to one of the most important parts of a student’s life: college. Although I despised having to constantly write reflections and sometimes felt that parts of what I was learning were completely unnecessary, in retrospect, I feel that the IB enhanced my critical thinking abilities due to its in-depth courses.

Perhaps, if the AP slowed down its curriculum and focused on larger, less frequent assignments as opposed to the constant influx of homework it provides, it might be a beneficial change to the system.

Now I’m not saying that we should completely reform the AP system — I think it succeeds in many places where the IB fails, such as scoring reliability and popularity in the U.S. These steps seem to leave students equally equipped for college while avoiding the unnecessary obstacles of the EE, CAS and ToK. In the end, there’s no single path to success. Instead of poking holes into each program, stressing over every grade and worrying about the future, we have to make the best of the benefits of our system, be it IB or AP.

Pollution and Corruption: Welcome to Fast Fashion by shanae venter I first heard the news of Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy from a post on my Instagram feed, and my immediate thought was about how good the sales would be in the coming weeks. Later that day, however, I saw a post calling out Forever 21 for their use of child labor.

The

began to think about the store’s bankruptcy in an entirely new light: what were the societal implications of shopping at Forever 21 and other fast-fashion stores?

Forever 21 is a prime example of a fast-fashion store, one which sells cheap and disposable clothes in order to keep up with trends and sell to a large market of people. Elizabeth Cline, author of the book “Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of fast fashion,” accuses fast-fashion stores H&M and Forever 21 of getting new clothing shipments daily.

The rapid pace of appropriately named “fast” fashion makes consumers feel the need to buy new clothes weekly, rather than when old clothes are worn out or too small. Instead photo illustration by Netta Dror and Emily Zhang of buying just what they person who posted this need, consumers now explained that they were feel the need to be “trendy,” glad that the store was clos- r e s t o c k i n g their closets ing because it had harmed constantly. many lives. After seeing Due to their obsesthis, rather than simply sion with monetary gain, fasthunting for online sales, I fashion stores often buy from

sweatshops that manufacture extremely cheap fabric. These sweatshops are typically located in developing countries, such as India and Bangladesh, where labor laws are looser and allow companies to underpay their workers. The U.S., however, is not immune to these issues: to produce the cheapest fabric possible, such companies employ people, usually the impoverished or children, who will accept low pay rates. A 2016 investigation by the U.S. Labor Department of select U.S. textile retailers used by fast-fashion stores uncovered violations, including pay rates below minimum wage at 85% of the establishments. Given these violations found in the U.S., imagine the amount of unjust labor practices taking place in the rest of the world. Worse yet, the clothing companies did not have to pay any charges, as only the textile production companies were directly violating labor laws.

Not only are fast-fashion chains like Forever 21 cheating the system and hurting thousands of people, but they are also huge contributors to climate change. The fashion industry as a whole is responsible for 10% of the world’s climate emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Unsold garments from fast-fashion stores often end up burned, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Water pollution is another huge problem associated with fast fashion. According to the UNEP, 20% of water pollution comes from textile dyeing alone. Furthermore, the National Resource Defense Council, a charity that aims to ensure clean air and water for everyone, said that unsafe water kills

more people yearly than war and all types of violence combined. Polluted water causes major health problems for both people and underwater ecosystems. In fact, the UNEP states that it takes about 2,000 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans. With more than 450 million pairs of jeans sold in the U.S. annually, this amounts to 2.5 billion gallons of water.

The problems that come with the fastfashion industry almost make me glad that Forever 21 is closing, but I am confronted with the question of privilege. It may seem like an easy solution to only buy sustainable and ethically produced clothing, but the unjust practices of fast fashion are what allow their clothes to be cheap and accessible to those who are unable to afford expensive, ethically made clothing. Another environment-conscious alternative is thrift shopping; however, with the commercialization of “thrifting,” it is possible that product prices in these stores rise in the near future.

Fast fashion is evidently a morally corrupt industry; therefore, we should fight fast-fashion culture. For example, we must buy necessities instead of simply keeping up with trends. Even if we continue to shop from fast-fashion chains, we should strive to buy less, decreasing our demand on suppliers and, hopefully, on underpaid workers and the environment. Shopping less and smarter is the only way to avoid the trap of fast fashion and to stop its multitude of negative effects. This mass mindset change will force fast-fashion clothing stores to rethink their practices and improve corporate ethics in the fashion industry.

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UPGRADE

9

Sweater weather Halloween candy Missing classes for college visits Pumpkin spice everything Pep Rally Freshmen getting lost less often Baking season

october 11, 2019 Page 11

campus chatter

The Lion’s Roar asked ...

What’s your most memorable trick-or-treating experience?

“I broke my arm on Halloween, so I couldn’t go trick or treating ... my brother brought me a lot of candy though.”

-Jason Garb, Class of 2020 “My friends and I were dressed as cheerleaders ... this woman thought we were cute and took pictures.”

- Julia Roth, Class of 2021 “My friend decided that he didn’t want to go trick-ortreating, so I had to go with my mom.”

- Phillip Martins, Class of 2022 “I went to a Halloween party, and some drunk parents spilled wine on my friends and I.” - Mai Tran, Class of 2023

Apple picking primetime “No concerns at this time”

9

DOWNGRADE

Filling out the FAFSA Rainy fall weather Earlier AP registration College essays Fasting for Yom Kippur Flu season *sniffles* Rough 1st term grades Teachers blasting the A/C

“IT” is not quite it by matan josephy

“Come back and play with the clown.”

While “play” is not the first word that comes to mind when I think about “IT Chapter Two,” coming back to the clown definitely feels like a fitting description for the sequel to the 2017 horror movie, “It.” Directed by Andrés Muschietti and set in Derry, Maine, “IT Chapter Two” picks up 27 years after “It,” in which the Losers’ Club, a ragtag group of middle school social outcasts, takes on and beats Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), the nightmarish, psychotic, child-eating clown that has haunted Derry for millennia.

In the sequel, however, Pennywise emerges from a period of hibernation to once again prey on the people of Derry.

After recognizing the clown’s handiwork at the scene of a murder, Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa), the only member of the Losers’ club left in Derry, summons the group to defeat Pennywise a final time.

The movie wastes no time in reintroducing viewers to its main characters, most of whom have achieved varying degrees of success. As the Losers get back together and catch up, Mike briefs them on the events in Derry over the past few months: children have gone missing without a trace, in a pattern eerily resemblant of Pennywise’s past behaviors.

The Losers are separated for much of the movie’s remainder, each trying to retrieve an artifact from their childhood that Mike claims could be used to defeat Pennywise, who seeks to undermine them through showing each Loser haunting hallucinations that relate to their past in Derry.

Flashbacks to the Losers’ childhood are also scattered intermittently; while these are meant to provide further context into each

character’s hallucination, they often feel more redundant than useful. After their search, the Losers finally regroup and directly take on Pennywise in a dramatic, action-filled battle. This scene is arguably one of “IT Chapter Two’s” most memorable moments.

It’s messy and chaotic, but rather than taking away from the scene’s cinematic quality, these traits only add to the continuity of the film and the fast pace that has come to define the modern battle scene.

Throughout “IT Chapter Two,” Muschietti’s desire to revive our memories of “It” is extremely evident. The characters’ dynamics are almost exactly the same as in the original, with each one taking up the same role within the group as they did 27 years prior. The characters’ relationships are also reprised; this is best exemplified in the love triangle between Beverly, Bill and Ben, which returns after playing a large role in each character’s development in “It.” While these features all definitely work to provide more context for the movie, their frequency and prevalence within the movie often make them come off as a slightly desperate way to mimic the original.

While “IT Chapter Two” has its fair share of exceptional elements — the transition and contrast between the flashbacks are flawless, and the acting is superb — the film stumbles more than it runs. This is best illustrated in the movie’s “fear factor.”

While the original “It” is known for being a genuinely scary film, the scare tactics in its sequel are almost formulaic, with the typical, anticipatory buildup to a jump scare, but not much else. A great deal of the movie is like this, and as such, is not intrinsically scary.

If anything, the only genuinely fearinducing part of the film is Skarsgård’s

portrayal of Pennywise. The clown borders on disturbing at times, although this only benefits the film. Instead of being a generic horror film villain, Pennywise is shown as psychologically manipulative, merciless and calculating — all traits that, when combined with his colorful, iridescent makeup and sudden movements, create a perfectly terrifying and unsettling antagonist.

The main downfalls of “IT Chapter Two” are fundamental. The movie feels more as if it is trying to mimic the original than doing something of its own. It is riddled with references and thematic parallels to the first, yet lacks the childhood innocence and simplicity that made its predecessor so worthwhile. “IT Chapter Two” is like a bad remix of a popular song — while the original can still be heard, the remix tries to distinguish itself by putting a new twist on the original.

“IT Chapter Two” fails to do just that.

image courtesy of GQ

https://www.youtube.com/collegereactions

p e e l s o n

1600

38

A classes

5.0 unweighted gpa

photo illustration by Netta Dror; graphics by Emily Zhang

YouTube: Your New College Counselor

By Sophie Lewis High school seniors post videos on YouTube of their reactions to their college decisions. But the helpfulness of these videos remains up for debate

Camilla Hayao, ‘20

This is a really important part of life, at least for us, that it’s worth documenting.

newly arrived freshman at MIT, Ryan Normandin wanted to document his college experience and help clear up others’ fascination with such a reputable school. But when he was not selected to be a student blogger for the MIT admissions website, Normandin said he decided to try something even cooler: making YouTube videos.

By the time he graduated in 2013, Normandin had released over 120 videos on his channel, known as ProdigyMedia17. He paints a holistic portrait of his experience as an MIT student, from rapping about tough physics problems to dancing in the Park Street subway station. The majority of the videos were filmed at 4 a.m., right after Normandin finished his problem sets.

“Watching it back, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, these are horrible.

Why would anyone want to watch these? They’re incredibly boring,’” he said. “But then I get these messages to this day saying, ‘Your videos were so inspiring, thank you so much.’ It was very unexpected. I didn’t expect people to watch it and draw inspiration from those videos.”

Normandin’s simple, pixelated videos pale in comparison to the high-quality college decision videos that have since taken over many students’ YouTube feeds.

In an era of teenage vloggers who make millions of dollars, many high school seniors have taken to documenting the one part of their life that most YouTube stars can’t compete with for views: applying to college. These college reaction videos are astonishing in their similarity: a kid applies to a dozen or more schools, the kid opens college decisions from their bedroom to be #relatable, the kid celebrates Ivy League acceptances with screaming friends, the kid dons apparel for the school they committed to and the kid posts a video with college emblems displayed on the thumbnail.

But somehow, each of these endless videos is suspenseful enough to merit thousands of views or more.

For some students, watching college decision reaction videos can be motivating, while others said these videos can make an already stressful process feel more overwhelming.

Auto Play

It’s no new trend for students to compare their college prospects. On the College Confidential “What are my chances?” forum, students (and their parents) post SAT scores, GPAs and extracurricular activities behind the anonymous facade of a username.

Now, college comparison culture has seeped into the already booming YouTube reaction video market. People love watching others react to anything and everything, be it song covers or haircut fails or their own college decisions.

Senior Joseph Rasamat said that although he did not plan to fall down a college decision reaction video rabbit hole, web algorithms knew he would be interested.

“Google does a pretty good job with understanding that I’m 17 and nervous about college stuff, so they recommended it to me,” he said.

Once you watch a college decision reaction video, it can be hard not to click on the next one, senior Adina Smith said.

“I just saw one in my recommended on YouTube, and I watched one. And once you watch one, YouTube shows you all the other videos you can watch, and then you get trapped in a cycle of watching more and more different types of videos,” she said.

Senior Camilla Hayao, however, said that she exercises discretion in choosing college decision videos to watch.

“I tended to gravitate more towards people I could identify with. So like, Asians,” she said.

Hayao said that these videos appeal to growing competition — and community — in the college process.

“They’re becoming more popular just because as the whole college process becomes increasingly more competitive, people in response are also getting increasingly more supportive because we all understand that the whole process is super stressful,” she said.

For Smith, the successes depicted by students in college decision reaction videos can be misleading.

“People in the videos might be bragging a little if they get into really good schools,” she said. “It also can provide a sense of

false hope because these people are getting into all their dream schools, which is not realistic most of the time.”

What disheartens some motivates others. Senior Allie Floros said that college videos inspire her to work harder on her own applications.

“If I’m just lying, watching YouTube, and I stumble across one of these videos, and then I watch it, it gets me excited for the whole thing. And then maybe I’ll work on an essay or do some of the Common App, just to get more stuff done at a time that would just be spent relaxing and doing nothing,” she said. “If I hadn’t seen them, I’d still be doing the same steps, I just might not be doing them at the same pace.”

Recommended For You

In many ways, these college reaction videos are like virtual scrapbooks — high schoolers love to commemorate their milestones. Smith said that she plans to film herself opening her decision letters so that she can one day reminisce with family and friends.

“I don’t think I would post it anywhere, but I think that the reactions when people are opening acceptance or rejection letters is just something that people might like to have for the future,” she said. “Just to look back and see how they’re feeling at the time and how they feel a few years after, once they’re already into college and things like that.”

As a first generation American college student, Rasamat said that his parents feel strongly that he should film his college decisions to share with friends and family.

“My mom went to college in Israel, and my dad didn’t finish college in Israel,” he said. “So for them it’s a point of pride, and also at the same time for them it’s just interesting to see a memorable life achievement that they want to be able to capture.”

Uploading...

Because she had seen so many college decision reaction videos herself, Ila Amiri, a student from Santa Monica, California, wanted to create a video of her own.

“I figured if I found use in watching others then maybe someone else would find use watching mine,” she said. Her video, posted in April of this year, was titled “College Decisions Reactions 2019 // IVY LEAGUES, UCs, + MORE!” While she initially worried about receiving negative comments, Amiri said that she’s found the college niche of YouTube to be surprisingly supportive. Her parents, nonetheless, were apprehensive about Amiri’s video, specifically that she save face.

“Their concern was less with me putting myself online and more with like, ‘If you get rejected, do you really want to advertise that?’” Amiri said. She remained unfazed.

“I don’t care about the potential consequences of people knowing that I didn’t get into some places because I don’t think that that’s a measure of how good of a student I am, how good person I am, that sort of thing,” she said.

When it came time to make her video, Amiri said she asked her friends to react to her college decisions with her to make the video as entertaining as possible and to receive as many views as possible.

“Whether I got in or not, I wanted to have friends there so either they could console me or celebrate with me,” she said.

Now a freshman at Duke University, Amiri said she continues to be amazed by the popularity of her video.

“I remember posting on my Snapchat story, ‘Oh my God, it hit one thousand views.’ And then it just kept growing and it kept getting more views — it was exponential almost,” she said.

“Now it’s at 350,000 or something crazy like that, which I never would have imagined.”

Amiri said that she tried to dispel misconceptions about the college process through her video.

One viewer, she said, was a parent who expressed concern about her seventh-grade daughter’s college process in the comment section.

“She was like, ‘My daughter does this and this and this. continued on next page

https://www.youtube.com/collegereactions

p e e l s o n

1600

38

A classes

5.0 unweighted gpa

photo illustration by Netta Dror; graphics by Emily Zhang

YouTube: Your New College Counselor

By Sophie Lewis High school seniors post videos on YouTube of their reactions to their college decisions. But the helpfulness of these videos remains up for debate

Camilla Hayao, ‘20

This is a really important part of life, at least for us, that it’s worth documenting.

newly arrived freshman at MIT, Ryan Normandin wanted to document his college experience and help clear up others’ fascination with such a reputable school. But when he was not selected to be a student blogger for the MIT admissions website, Normandin said he decided to try something even cooler: making YouTube videos.

By the time he graduated in 2013, Normandin had released over 120 videos on his channel, known as ProdigyMedia17. He paints a holistic portrait of his experience as an MIT student, from rapping about tough physics problems to dancing in the Park Street subway station. The majority of the videos were filmed at 4 a.m., right after Normandin finished his problem sets.

“Watching it back, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, these are horrible.

Why would anyone want to watch these? They’re incredibly boring,’” he said. “But then I get these messages to this day saying, ‘Your videos were so inspiring, thank you so much.’ It was very unexpected. I didn’t expect people to watch it and draw inspiration from those videos.”

Normandin’s simple, pixelated videos pale in comparison to the high-quality college decision videos that have since taken over many students’ YouTube feeds.

In an era of teenage vloggers who make millions of dollars, many high school seniors have taken to documenting the one part of their life that most YouTube stars can’t compete with for views: applying to college. These college reaction videos are astonishing in their similarity: a kid applies to a dozen or more schools, the kid opens college decisions from their bedroom to be #relatable, the kid celebrates Ivy League acceptances with screaming friends, the kid dons apparel for the school they committed to and the kid posts a video with college emblems displayed on the thumbnail.

But somehow, each of these endless videos is suspenseful enough to merit thousands of views or more.

For some students, watching college decision reaction videos can be motivating, while others said these videos can make an already stressful process feel more overwhelming.

Auto Play

It’s no new trend for students to compare their college prospects. On the College Confidential “What are my chances?” forum, students (and their parents) post SAT scores, GPAs and extracurricular activities behind the anonymous facade of a username.

Now, college comparison culture has seeped into the already booming YouTube reaction video market. People love watching others react to anything and everything, be it song covers or haircut fails or their own college decisions.

Senior Joseph Rasamat said that although he did not plan to fall down a college decision reaction video rabbit hole, web algorithms knew he would be interested.

“Google does a pretty good job with understanding that I’m 17 and nervous about college stuff, so they recommended it to me,” he said.

Once you watch a college decision reaction video, it can be hard not to click on the next one, senior Adina Smith said.

“I just saw one in my recommended on YouTube, and I watched one. And once you watch one, YouTube shows you all the other videos you can watch, and then you get trapped in a cycle of watching more and more different types of videos,” she said.

Senior Camilla Hayao, however, said that she exercises discretion in choosing college decision videos to watch.

“I tended to gravitate more towards people I could identify with. So like, Asians,” she said.

Hayao said that these videos appeal to growing competition — and community — in the college process.

“They’re becoming more popular just because as the whole college process becomes increasingly more competitive, people in response are also getting increasingly more supportive because we all understand that the whole process is super stressful,” she said.

For Smith, the successes depicted by students in college decision reaction videos can be misleading.

“People in the videos might be bragging a little if they get into really good schools,” she said. “It also can provide a sense of

false hope because these people are getting into all their dream schools, which is not realistic most of the time.”

What disheartens some motivates others. Senior Allie Floros said that college videos inspire her to work harder on her own applications.

“If I’m just lying, watching YouTube, and I stumble across one of these videos, and then I watch it, it gets me excited for the whole thing. And then maybe I’ll work on an essay or do some of the Common App, just to get more stuff done at a time that would just be spent relaxing and doing nothing,” she said. “If I hadn’t seen them, I’d still be doing the same steps, I just might not be doing them at the same pace.”

Recommended For You

In many ways, these college reaction videos are like virtual scrapbooks — high schoolers love to commemorate their milestones. Smith said that she plans to film herself opening her decision letters so that she can one day reminisce with family and friends.

“I don’t think I would post it anywhere, but I think that the reactions when people are opening acceptance or rejection letters is just something that people might like to have for the future,” she said. “Just to look back and see how they’re feeling at the time and how they feel a few years after, once they’re already into college and things like that.”

As a first generation American college student, Rasamat said that his parents feel strongly that he should film his college decisions to share with friends and family.

“My mom went to college in Israel, and my dad didn’t finish college in Israel,” he said. “So for them it’s a point of pride, and also at the same time for them it’s just interesting to see a memorable life achievement that they want to be able to capture.”

Uploading...

Because she had seen so many college decision reaction videos herself, Ila Amiri, a student from Santa Monica, California, wanted to create a video of her own.

“I figured if I found use in watching others then maybe someone else would find use watching mine,” she said. Her video, posted in April of this year, was titled “College Decisions Reactions 2019 // IVY LEAGUES, UCs, + MORE!” While she initially worried about receiving negative comments, Amiri said that she’s found the college niche of YouTube to be surprisingly supportive. Her parents, nonetheless, were apprehensive about Amiri’s video, specifically that she save face.

“Their concern was less with me putting myself online and more with like, ‘If you get rejected, do you really want to advertise that?’” Amiri said. She remained unfazed.

“I don’t care about the potential consequences of people knowing that I didn’t get into some places because I don’t think that that’s a measure of how good of a student I am, how good person I am, that sort of thing,” she said.

When it came time to make her video, Amiri said she asked her friends to react to her college decisions with her to make the video as entertaining as possible and to receive as many views as possible.

“Whether I got in or not, I wanted to have friends there so either they could console me or celebrate with me,” she said.

Now a freshman at Duke University, Amiri said she continues to be amazed by the popularity of her video.

“I remember posting on my Snapchat story, ‘Oh my God, it hit one thousand views.’ And then it just kept growing and it kept getting more views — it was exponential almost,” she said.

“Now it’s at 350,000 or something crazy like that, which I never would have imagined.”

Amiri said that she tried to dispel misconceptions about the college process through her video.

One viewer, she said, was a parent who expressed concern about her seventh-grade daughter’s college process in the comment section.

“She was like, ‘My daughter does this and this and this. continued on next page

https://www.youtube.com/collegereactions

continued from previous page She gets straight A’s; she’s doing well in school. She takes harder classes when she can.’ And she’s like, ‘I’m just worried she’s not doing these electives, that she’s not doing sports. Should I be worried?’” Amiri said.

Amiri said that she was shocked by the amount of stress this mom was placing on such a young student.

“I told her, ‘Don’t put this much pressure on your kid. The thing that they look for is to make sure that the students that they’re accepting are passionate about something,’” she said. “I told her I didn’t do sports ever.”

Jason Wu, a student from San Diego who currently attends UCLA as a freshman, has created over 50 videos related to his college process. He, like Amiri, was surprised by how many people connected with his videos.

“Even at UCLA, just walking around campus, I’ve met so many people who have watched my college decision reaction videos,” he said. “Even though I’ve never met the person, they’re able to know who I am and then come say hi.”

Unlike Amiri, Wu regularly releases new content to his YouTube channel, where he is known as “Waddle.” Wu said that he encourages interested students to film their college process. Hayao, who occasionally posts vlogs to her YouTube channel, said she plans to create her own college decision reaction video.

“People might judge me and be like ‘what the heck is she making a video for?’ … But in the end, this is a really important part of life, at least for us, that it’s worth documenting,” she said. “I would also try to provide my insight on the whole, so I’m not just throwing my results out there but actually helping people who want to watch it.”

Trending

Wu has taken college YouTube content to a new level of creativity. When he received his AP scores for his senior year, he and a friend filled up balloons with colored powder; each balloon represented a possible score out of five, which his friend then popped over Wu’s head to reveal his score.

Stats videos, like college decision reaction videos, have grown in popularity. In these videos, students share — although usually without popping balloons — the statistical components of their applications that enabled their college acceptances.

Amiri said that while she valued college decision reaction videos, watching stats videos could be discouraging.

“I remember watching a certain stats video. I think it was for Princeton,” she said. “The guy was listing off his stats. He’s like, 35 on the ACT. I was like, ‘got that.’

He had a 4.0 unweighted GPA. I was like, ‘this is looking pretty good for me.’ And then he did extracurriculars. I was like, ‘I also did those, and I’m in really good shape.’

And then the guy just went, ‘I also am the CEO of my company that’s doing pretty well.’”

This was when Amiri said she realized that college stats videos can leave students feeling hopeless about their options.

“I was like, ‘What am I going to do now? I haven’t made a company; I don’t have a brand,’” she said. Although Amiri’s viewers have requested a stats video, she said she is hesitant to create one of her own.

“If I did put it out, it would be focused less on stats, and on more important things, and that’s just to genuinely make the most out of your high school experience and make sure you’re doing things for the right reasons,” she said.

South students agreed that watching stats videos is sometimes stressful. Floros said that now that she’s so close to submitting her college applications, she tries to focus on the parts of her application that she can still control, which does not include test scores or other statistics.

“Those videos actually stress me out more because we’re all at a place where we’re all pretty much done with that part. We’ve shaped ourselves; we’ve done our extracurriculars; I’ve done my test scores. I can’t change those parts of me,” she said. “But I can change how hard I work to do these essays and spend my time on them and really sit and work through them.”

As a math teacher, Normandin said that students should be aware of how misleading statistics on websites such as Naviance, a college search service that displays scatterplots with students’ standardized test scores and GPAs, can be.

“I’m a huge proponent of giving people a ton of information and letting people draw conclusions from that, just in general in society. But I think that for colleges, high school students, especially at South, are so intense and so focused on college that you give them this information, and they do not draw the correct conclusions from that data,” he said. “They see it, and they’re like, ‘If I don’t have this dot, I’m not getting in, so I’m not gonna apply.’ And as a result, they might not apply to a school that they really want to get into.”

Not Interested

While some of the most popular college decision reaction videos feature students who apply — and get in — to dozens of the most prestigious universities, students and faculty alike said that this path is not the only one to success.

Normandin was the only student from his high school to attend MIT, and most of his classmates enrolled in far less prestigious schools. Yet as a class officer currently in charge of planning his 10-year high school reunion, Normandin said he has seen his classmates go on to be highly successful.

“In terms of what society brands a success, I’m the least successful. I’m a public high school teacher. My salary is next to nothing compared to friends who are doing software engineering, who are doing mechanical engineering, who are architects,” he said. “All of these people are doing really well. And they went to the school that they felt was a good fit for them and that they could afford.”

Economists Stacey Dale and Alan Krueger have consistently been at the forefront of investigating whether or not attending an elite college really makes a difference later in life. In 2002, the pair analyzed groups of students who demonstrated similar characteristics in their college applications. They found no significant differences in these students’ salaries, regardless of the institution of education that the students ultimately attended. In other words, Dale and Krueger proved that the type of person you are when you apply to college matters more than where you go to school. A follow up study from August 2019 yielded similar results.

Floros said that watching her brother apply to college two years ago taught her that everyone ends up at a school that’s right for them.

“I saw him get rejected from most of his schools, and he’s at a school that he never thought he would end up at. But he loves it, and it’s the perfect school for him.

He’s taking advantage of all the opportunities they have to offer, and I can’t imagine him anywhere else,” she said.

“So for me, I don’t really care where I go as long as I love it and as long as I want to call it home.”

She said that having a positive outlook has enabled her college process to feel like an opportunity rather than a burden.

“I was just in Indiana this weekend visiting my brother, and I’m that much more excited for college,” Floros said. “Up until this point, we haven’t had many choices, especially not this big. And so for me, it’s just so exciting to be able to go around and find places that I really feel like I fit in and want to spend the next four years.”

Up Next:

FEATURES page 15|october 11, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

NEws@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 3

FROM

STEMS FEMME Despite recent progress, gender gap in South’s STEM classes remains

By Sanjana Deshpande and Esme Kamadolli Last year, out of 24 students, South’s AP Physics C Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism class had a mere four female students. This gender disparity is representative of a larger divide in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses — last year, girls made up 43% of students enrolled in AP STEM classes at South. Though the gap has been closing in recent years, senior Peter Janosky said there is still a ways to go.

“We live in Newton, so you want to believe that we’re progressing and girls have more opportunities to get into STEM, but we’re definitely not there yet,” he said.

“Sometimes you don’t think about it when you hear about gender disparity in the news, but then I remember a moment in programming class last year when I sat down, looked around and realized there were two girls in this room that had 20 students.”

Female students said that South doesn’t outwardly discourage girls from taking STEM courses, but the atmosphere in the classes still breeds discomfort. Junior Michelle Yu said she felt the need to substantiate her presence in her science classes.

“In the beginning, you feel like you have to prove something about yourself,” she said. “But once you start knowing your place, you feel more comfortable.”

Yu said that she has never received negative attention in regards to her gender and passion for STEM at South.

“At South, we’re pretty good about being inclusive about girls in STEM. I don’t think anybody had ever discouraged what I do, and I don’t think I’ve ever been criticized about what I do,” she said.

Science team captain senior Amy Xiao said she noticed a similar pattern in her AP Physics C: Mechanics class.

“A lot of the harder sciences, especially physics, computer science and math tend to be more difficult for women [to enter],” she said. “If you’re going to higher-level physics, engineering and mechanical, you only have three girls in a class of 30.”

A 2015 study conducted by Catalyst, a non-profit organization that encourages women to pursue STEM careers, revealed that women make up less than a quarter of those working in STEM jobs in the U.S. When she was in medical school, chemistry teacher Suzy Drurey said she was treated differently from her male colleagues.

“Physicians were asking me, ‘What do you plan to do after you have children?’” she said. “I was so young; I was 22, for them to ask me that, and I don’t think they would’ve asked their male counterparts that. … You’re always having to prove your worth in a way that I don’t think guys have to do.”

Physics teacher Doctor Hema Roychowdhury said she noticed a growing representational disparity as she progressed through higher education.

“I grew up in a household where I was encouraged to pursue math and science, so growing up, in high school, … it felt okay,” she said. “When I went on to pursue a Ph.D. in India, I found that I was definitely the sole girl in the program. ... In terms of academics, I found that I had good foundations to succeed wherever I was, [but] the social piece would feel lopsided.”

South’s gender gap is smaller than the national divide, but it’s prevalent enough to merit conversation and change, students said.

Non-binary students face additional barriers. ‘19 graduate Ilani Axelrod-Freed, who now studies at MIT, said that they first noticed the gender discrepancies in South’s STEM classes when they took a seniorlevel physics class their freshman year.

Now, Axelrod-Freed said they hope they can contribute to diversifying MIT’s math department. They said they encourage other minority genders to pursue STEM. “I am a gender minority in these fields and my presence can hopefully increase representation,” they said. “It’s going to be more of a draw for people to be like, ‘oh, maybe there’s a space for me to do this, I can see myself being here, and I can see people being understanding,’ … Being someone who can add more gender representation to the fields I care about is very important to me.”

Janosky said, however, that such gender roles in STEM perpetuate a vicious cycle.

“There’s a stereotype that STEM is dominated by males, and that creates a cycle where girls feel like they can’t pursue a STEM career,” he said.

Senior Adina Smith, Female Empowerment Movement club vice president, said the root of the problem revolves around what girls are taught from a young age.

“One of the main reasons for gender gaps in STEM fields is young women aren’t taught early on that they can pursue whatever career they want,” she said. “I think girls learn at a young age that they have to conform to certain norms, and they don’t realize that they have the same opportunities as men and anyone else when it comes to what they want to learn and what they want to do with their lives.”

Sophomore Enya Kamadolli, who was one of a handful of girls in her freshman Physics and Engineering class, said the solution to the gender disparity may lie in drastic measures, like implementing gender limitations in classes.

“It would be interesting to have some sort of gender cap, like a maximum of 50% male cap just to encourage more females, because I personally know there’s nothing more intimidating than walking into any sort of room and seeing 40 guys and three females. If females knew that there was a guarantee that half of their class would be females, they’d be more inclined to sign

g han

ily Z

y Em hic b grap

up for classes,” she said. “That’d be pretty cool to put girls in an environment where they don’t feel like they have to prove themselves the minute they get their hands on a power tool.”

Outside of classes, Yu said clubs related to STEM also help to inspire girls.

“I’m part of the robotics team, and I also run my own club [Technovation], which is geared toward promoting girls in STEM and teaching them how to code an app,” she said.

Science department head Gerard Gagnon said he prioritizes diversity among the faculty in his department to provide a wide range of role models for students.

“It’s really important from an optic standpoint that young women in our younger grades see that STEM is a place for them, and it’s important that they have appropriate role models that don’t conform to that narrow stereotype,” he said.

Roychowdhury said that over the years, she has noticed an increase in female enrollment in the AP Physics C: Mechanics class she teaches.

“This year, I have a class with 16 girls and 10 boys, so that makes me super happy,” she said.

Male-dominated clubs and activities like LigerBots and math team have also seen an increase in female membership.

Junior Ligerbots member Daniel Feng said the percentage of girls in LigerBots has

changed throughout the years, increasing almost two-fold.

Kamadolli said that girls offer a unique insight and can be instrumental in reaching new breakthroughs in STEM. “Because they have grown up with different experiences, they bring a new perspective, and that’s one of the reasons why we value diversity,” she said.

Feng agreed that diversity is crucial for scientific advancements.

“Part of why promoting STEM is important to me is because all it takes is just more minds: if you have more people working in STEM, humanity’s ability to develop technologically increases tremendously,” he said.

Smith said she is optimistic about the future of women in STEM. “I hope within South there are less gender gaps in classes and that there will be more girls who feel that they are able to thrive in STEM classes,” she said. “I hope that it will be the same all over the country: that women and young girls are realizing they can do whatever they want. … Even though they might face setbacks from jobs that they’re turned down for or from people that tell them that they can’t do a certain thing because of their gender, they should be able to realize then they have the power to do what they want to do.”

Additional reporting by Siya Patel

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 16 October 11, 2019

SCATTERED PIECES

graphic by Gemma Hill

Global students navigate changing program dynamics as they go into their senior year

By Laura Braudis, Lucia Cataldo and Shoshi Gordon

S

enior Lev Rosenberg, a new addition to the Modern Global Communities program this year, said he felt welcomed immediately into his Sustainability class. He said he was compelled to take sustainability because of his interest in the subject.

“I feel like I fit in with the dynamic,” Rosenberg said. “It’s a lot of new people, and even the old people are welcoming to the effect that it doesn’t feel different than a normal class.”

But the community wasn’t what had prompted him to take a Global class.

“I did not join Global at all because of ‘global communities.’ It was just because of sustainability,” Rosenberg said. “The youth in this country, including myself, are really invested in our future. The environment is just ... the most dire issue right now.”

This is not an unusual pattern. Since all senior year classes are electives, students tend to sculpt their schedules based on interest, not on loyalty to a program.

Global Communities offers linked 10th and 11th grade English and history classes and a Global 11th grade biology class. Seniors who want to stay in the program can choose between the Marine Biology science class, the Sustainability history class and the Words that Change the World English class.

Senior year presents a unique challenge to Global students because of the variety of electives offered within and outside of the program. Many students join the Global community, while others leave to pursue new elective options. This reshuffling results in a changing classroom dynamic.

“Senior year, classes are very mixed up, so there’s no guarantee of staying together,” Global English teacher Joseph Golding said. “We wanted to preserve some choice in electives, and there was no way to do that and keep kids together in their streams, and so that was always the traditional big difference.”

Senior Samantha Shaeval, who has been part of Global for three years, said she has met more people this year due to

the wider variety of students in her classes.

“It’s just a different experience, because there are a lot of new kids that I wouldn’t have had classes with because I was in Global,” she said.

Shaeval said that she decided to take Sustainability because of the subject matter, not because it was a Global class. However, she said that the tight-knit community was the primary reason she stayed in the program for three years.

Senior Elie Berman, who has participated in the Global program since sophomore year and is taking Sustainability this year, said that she appreciates the continuation of support from Global teachers and students through senior year.

“I do think that the Global teachers do a good job of committing to trying to meet you wherever you’re at and giving a lot of different options for people with different needs,” she said.

Berman said that while there are new students in her Global class, the environment remains the same.

“It’s nice that with the division of Global classes this year, some kids are the same, and it’s nice to see them in their same seats or in the same room. It’s a nice familiarity. Even though it’s definitely different not to have everyone … taking the same class,” Berman said.

Senior Adalia Rodriguez, who has been in the program since sophomore year and is currently taking Marine Biology, said that Global cultivates a tight-knit community.

“You always know [with] the Global kids, someone will make a reference, and all the Global kids are like, ‘Oh, there we go,’” she said.

Marine Biology teacher Sally Rosen said that each year’s particular Global students dictate the nature of the classroom environment.

“Some years we have new kids come into the community, and it’s seamless, and it’s beautiful because the community is so open and engaged already,” she said. “But

then I’ve had years where I feel that there’s not a great sense of community, regardless of who’s in the class. I can’t seem to make it gel.”

With new students joining the program, Golding said that he and his colleagues have struggled to define what the Global community means for seniors.

“While it was a little weird, we have a lot of debates in our Global teacher group as to whether or not [the people who join senior year] are part of the Global community or not,” Golding said. “I always liked the idea personally of saying “you’re here now, and you are part of the Global community.’”

For Shaevel, the community will continue to thrive even if students change.

“What you bring to the table is a lot of the Global community. So I think it’s different because [of] different kids, but [it’s] the same nice atmosphere,” she said.

Although Global is important to many people at South, Sustainability teacher and former Global director Michael Kozuch fears that without support, the program will dissipate.

“I just hope that whether it’s the administration or the Newton community, [people] recognize the benefit of having a real, true, small learning community and put the resources where they need to be to make that community happen,” he said.

“Clearly, these programs are filling a need that’s out there. But if the resources aren’t behind them to fill that need, they’re just going to be names on a piece of paper and not a true community.”

Berman said that despite the changes in Global from year to year, one constant is the program’s emphasis on hands-on interdisciplinary learning.

“I really liked having similar people in those classes, and I enjoyed that when we went on field trips and the bio teachers came, they clearly worked to connect things to another class,” she said. “Having some connection between what you’re learning in different ways is really nice.”

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 17 October 11, 2019

SIGNS OF

CHANGE South students join in the worldwide climate strike movement

By Ellyssa Jeong

O

n Friday, Sept. 20, students across the globe, including many from South, skipped school to protest the lack of climate initiatives, inspired by Swedish 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

The Boston strike included a rally at City Hall Plaza, where climate advocates as well as Mayor Marty Walsh and City Councilor Michelle Wu spoke to show their support for the cause. The crowd then marched to the State House to demand recognition and climate action from legislators.

A survey conducted by The Roar found that approximately 26% of the 296 South students surveyed attended the strike.

After traveling from Norway to New York in an emissions-free sailboat, on Sept.

23, Thunberg spoke at the United Nations Climate Action Summit on the unresolved issue of climate change.

She said that the world should listen to the plea of the youth, directing her statement at world leaders.

“You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: we will never forgive you,” Thunberg said at the Summit. “The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.”

photo contributed by Laura Braudis

From left: seniors Lucia Cataldo, Laura Braudis and Elie Berman outside of the State House.

From left: sophomores Miranda Robertson, Victoria Rivard and Kate Butts protest at City Hall Plaza.

photo contributed by Victoria Rivard

“I’ve never skipped a class, ever ... I hope it’ll make a little bit of a difference. I think this is the biggest threat to global peace.”

Kathyrn Rhatigan class of 2020

“It’s important that people understand that this is an emergency, not just something we can wait out. We have to take this opportunity while we still have the opportunity to fix things; before our future is set in stone. We have to decide right now whether or not we’re going to take action.”

Leyla Surmeli class of 2022

“I’ve been very frustrated with climate change and environmental regulations that have been cut back. Going to the climate strike was a really empowering experience because I got to see all of these people who were fighting for the same thing as me.”

Laura Braudis class of 2020

“It’s a big issue that our generation is most likely going to be facing the worst of if we don’t try and fix it. I knew that the climate strike was the perfect way to show my support, and it’s really important that we do it during school because it shows that although our education is important, this is more urgent and requires a lot of attention.”

Senior Kathyrn Rhatigan holds two signs at the rally at City Hall Plaza

photo by Netta Dror

Victoria Rivard class of 2022

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 18 October 11, 2019

Overcrowding causes scheduling problems Oliver Ciric and Shoshi Gordon

Features Reporter, Features Editor On August 29, junior Collin Holson opened Aspen to see his new schedule. He began to compare it to his friends, when he noticed something weird: he had six free blocks, when he was only supposed to have four. To add his Jazz Improvisation class to the empty spots, Holson went to Arena Day, a designated time for students to fix their schedules.

“The lines at Arena Day were an hour long. I stood in line from 2:30 to 3:30, which is when they cut off the lines and asked us to go home,” he said. “When I talked to my guidance counselor about the scheduling changes, I was told that I could not fit the classes into my schedule.”

Holson was never able to fix his schedule and still has six free blocks. Holson’s scheduling issues are due in part to an influx of new students. Other students have expe-

rienced similar issues that have restricted them from making edits to their courseload.

English department head Brian Baron said that the English department based the new teacher hires on the expectation that there would be 25 new students coming South this fall. However, actual enrollment exceeded this number twofold, as there are approximately 50 more students than last year.

This enrollment increase led to class sizes that are exceeding capacity.

“If you think about it, every 25 is roughly a class. We’ve added three new classes of English classes with no one available to teach them, so they’ve gone into increased class sizes for English classes, and that’s true of every department, not just English,” he said.

Senior Nora Swidey said that overcrowding made it harder for her to switch classes, even though she tried to leave one with fewer students.

“My class had 29 people in it originally, and the class I was trying to switch

into had 26, but they still wouldn’t put me in that class because that would be actively ignoring the cap, I think, versus my class was already over the cap,” she said.

Limits on the number of students per class, or “caps,” often lead to students not getting classes that they request, especially if they don’t rank the class highly on verification day, scheduler Faye Cassell said.

Class caps are dependent on other factors, such as students’ safety and classroom space available, fine and performing arts department head Megan Leary-Crist said.

“In our cooking and woodworking classes, we have very hard caps because those students could potentially get hurt in those classes,” she said. “It’s a safety issue.”

English classes, specifically, have a contractual limit of students a teacher can have, Baron said.

“The English department is the only department that this exists for because reading papers and things like that takes a lot of time outside of school.”

Rearranging students’ schedules in

the fall can become difficult considering that the number of classes is dictated by interest expressed the previous spring, history department head Jennifer Morrill said.

This is particularly challenging with senior elective courses.

“Where it gets tricky with seniors is when they change their mind, and we’ve already built the classes. So one of the things that’s been happening in recent years is that our class sizes are going up, and because of that, there’s less room to move kids around,” Morrill said.

Baron said that other grades are having similar issues with class adjustments.

For Baron and other department heads, it’s challenging when underclassmen want to switch levels.

He added that ultimately the problem is that spending at the highschool has not increased even as the number of students rises.

“The amount of money that we’re spending on the high school now hasn’t gone up enough to accommodate the new level of students that we have,” said Baron

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

By Ellyssa Jeong

graphic by Gemma Hill

W

ith top choices Tufts University, Brown University and University of Massachusetts Amherst, Korey said that he feels confined when looking at other colleges because he wants to stay close to home.

“I know some of my classmates are looking like all over the U.S., but I’m still focused around here. The farthest I’m looking right now is in Pennsylvania, but mostly in New England,” he said.

Korey said that the schools on his list would be good fits for him.

“When I went to some other schools, I was kind of turned away from them, and I didn’t like how the campus felt,” he said.

“When I did the tours at the colleges I’m looking to apply to, I got a good vibe, and I could see myself there.”

He said that he plans to apply early decision to Brown University, but feels ambivalent about the early application deadline.

“The November 1 deadline is getting closer every week, which is kind of scary.

It’s also pretty exciting because after I get the first early applications done it’s going to be such a relief off my shoulders,” he said.

As a member of the soccer team, Korey said that despite his busy schedule, he has never regretted his decision to commit to soccer.

“I’m always thinking about how if I had four extra hours today, I would’ve got so much done, but I think soccer is a big part of me and I really enjoy it.”

C

andace said that she is almost done writing her personal essay and is working on her supplemental essays for conservatories she is applying to. She is hoping to submit applications soon in order to get ahead.

“I’m hoping to apply to most of my schools as early as I can because, while the deadline is Dec. 1 for conservatories, most of them allow you to apply earlier, and they give you a bit of a priority when scheduling auditions,” she said.

Candace’s top choices are the New England Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Rice University.

“The teacher at Eastman is great. He’s my favorite out of the ones I’ve worked with so far,” she said. “For the other two, I just found that I work well with them, which is the main thing, but their teaching style also compliments my learning style.”

For Candace, the upcoming months bring a range of college-related responsibilities. “[I’m] basically just finishing my essays and making my recording next month, and then I’ve got a couple of visits planned in the next two months that I obviously have to prepare for,” she said.

Candace said that the school year is off to a positive start.

“School hasn’t been as stressful as I thought it was gonna be,” she said. “There’s definitely a lot of work, especially with the essays, but it’s manageable for the most part.”

A

ustin decided to apply early decision to Brown University and early action to University of Chicago, Northeastern University, Case Western Reserve University and University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“From all of the schools I’m applying to, including regulars, my top choices would probably be Brown, Yale and Williams.”

Austin said that he would be happy at any of the schools on his list.

“I like all the schools that I’m applying to, including my safeties, so I’m a little apathetic about where I go,” he said.

Austin said that he is still struggling to choose between STEM and humanities fields to pursue wherever he ends up.

“I still haven’t really come to that much of a conclusion on which field I’m more interested in. Most of my thinking right now is that my interest in both is pretty equal,” he said. “I will say that the STEM field seems like a more lucrative and stable field, but it depends on what opportunities I get during college.”

Austin said his priorities for schools have changed since he began the process.

“One of my criteria was size early on because I wanted to go to a school with less than 8,000 kids. … I’ve been less concerned about that,” he said. “I’ve been asking more of the admissions officers just how they think the community interacts with each other, and I think that’s a better reflection of how tightly-knit the class is.”

F

rancesca is in the process of applying for the leadership-merit based Posse scholarship and has made it past the first two rounds of the application.

If chosen, she will be accepted into her top school, Bryn Mawr, early and will recieve a full-tuition stipend.

Francesca said that community and culture are her top priorities in looking for schools. She’s also looking at the University of Houston, Bowdoin College and Emmanuel College.

“The most important factor for me is the school communities. ... Houston, when I went there, there was a lot of diversity, and it seemed like a community I could see myself in even if it’s far away from home. Bowdoin, it’s really integrated with the community and with itself. There’s a lot of leadership at that school,” she said.

She said she looked for schools that would allow her to pursue her interest in health policy or similar fields.

“I know a lot of schools don’t offer health policy, so maybe I’ll want to go into environmental studies, ... or maybe even humanities.” she said.“Health policy is still my main goal, but I might do different things to get there.”

She said that she has been able to keep her stress under control.

“I’ve been going to bed early, and I think spreading out my time has been extremely helpful.” *Names changed to protect students’ identities

October 11, 2019 Page 19

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Fun

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

A few ounces of October’s offerings

ACROSS

2) Nighttime sporting event abbr.

3) Rapper on page 6 5) Stock your shelves with overpriced and festive spin-offs of your favorite candies for this holiday 7) Number of girls in last year’s AP Physics C Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism class 8) Orange gourd carved on Halloween; song by the Regrettes 9) Katniss Everdeen and Mina Chae’s shared interest 14) APUSH students enjoyed reading about this person over the summer; alternative name for Indigenous People’s Day 15) 16-year-old climate activist who kickstarted Friday’s for Future

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) Take one candy? Nah, you deserve the entire bowl.

Pisces (Feb. 19 - March 20)

Grab 86% of your bestie and dress up as double stuff oreos.

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Put up your Christmas lights now (unless they’re still up).

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

1) Upcoming South Stage performance; supernatural phenomenon 2) Class of 2021 watched “Back to the ____” on Sept. 28 4) Site to check if your email has been hacked: Have I Been ____ 5) New athletic trainer Adam ____ 6) Latin prefix for eight; month abbr.

8) Rally; Put some ___ in your step 10) Sport that college recruiters go crazy for; practiced at CRI 11) New college counselor: You____ 12) Your mom’s social media abbr.

13) Seasonal Starbucks drink abbr.

Yes, we heard you say that.

Stay in, because early applications are due tomorrow!

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

Dress up as Joel and camp out in the 6000s intersection.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

You’ll need more than one costume for all your Halloweekend plans.

Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22)

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month:

Dress as Splenda to match your night’s plunder.

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)

Which ‘wich will the witch bewitch? Avocado toast.

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22)

Trick or treatment! You’re medicine is actually placebo.

Statistician with Priorities: “Starting Chapter 4, we’re going to be eating a lot of food. We won’t necessarily be doing complex statistical analysis, but we will be studying junk food.”

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21)

Lock your doors and turn off the lights. The children are coming.

Distracted Teacher: “I don’t have ADD or ADHD, but working at a high school gives you some sort of attention problem.”

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) Go as a ghost. You didn’t step outside all summer, so your complexion’s perfect.

Experienced Biologist: “If there are sperm cells on the table, they won’t move around. I know that for a fact.”

Cookie Monster: “I have more data on Oreo cookies than you can ever imagine.”

Mid-mirage Sophomore: “Karl Marx looks like grumpy cat.”

Roaroscope What does Halloween have in store for you?

DOWN

Overheard at SOUTH

Today’s

Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) Fefer practices his pen-twirllng skills.

Inspired by our page 11 review?

Go as clown. It’s good practice for your future profession.

SPORTS page 20|October 11, 2019|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

Sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 3

TEAMS TO WATCH

By Jackson Slater

Boys cross country

T

he boys cross country team began their season with a win over strong opponent Acton-Boxborough (AB), their toughest meet of the regular season, junior Will Lavey said.

“AB is our toughest competitor in the DCL,” he said. “It gave us a confidence booster for the rest of the season.”

After defeating AB to open the season, the team handily beat Lincoln-Sudbury and Cambridge, beginning their season 3-0.

“It showed that we can run as a pack pretty well,” captain senior Andy Goldberg said. “It’s a strength for us because we have such good depth on the team. [We are] the entire middle of the pack basically.”

“Our team’s biggest strength is definitely our depth,” senior captain Ben Geisser agreed. “Our varsity boys have definitely stepped up this year in terms of their times.

It’s been awesome to see the JV guys absolutely crush it in their races.”

While the team has a very strong middle-tier varsity pack of five or six runners, in order to capture this DCL title and place highly at invitational meets, the team needs junior Brett Miller, their current strongest runner, to become even faster, junior Owen Holland said.

“If Brett can stick with their best runner, that will be a huge difference-maker,” he said. “We’re just going to have to form a pack and work together and try to stick on [the other teams].”

“We really lack one runner who’s way up there ... getting top five at invitationals,” Lavey said. “As a team we don’t really struggle, but we need one guy to really push out and excel this season.

“I definitely feel it’s going to be a challenge this year, but I feel like I’m really up to the challenge,” Miller said. “Last year I was a little hurt and stuff, so I definitely want to come back strong this year and bring it on.”

Goldberg said he believes that the entire varsity team, not just the top runners, are crucial to their success.

“The separation is going to be in the middle pack. So at the top of the packs, we’re going to be able to go guy-for-guy. Their fastest runner and Brett are probably going to be at similar speeds,” he said. “What needs to happen for us to beat them is our guys [need to] finish like four or five, six, seven … that’s where the separation has to be.”

“Both the JV and varsity boys have done a great job packing up early in the races and pushing each other,” Giesser said. “This will continue to be an X factor guiding us to success as we can push each other through racing and pacing more strategically.”

Senior Ethan Jackunski, the team’s second-best runner, should soon return from injury to compete at DCLs and other invitationals.

“He’s definitely motivated to come back soon and just try and fit right into the team,” Miller said. “When he comes back we’ll be extra motivated, and he’s a very big

part of the team that pushes everyone to work harder.”

The cross country team is the best it has been in years and is looking to capture the DCL title, Lavey said.

“When we came into South, right away you could see that the underclassmen were dominating the varsity pack,” he said.

“This year, it’s the same kids, but now we’re just stronger and older, and we’re looking to do really well.”

“DCLs would be a big goal of ours we’ve always wanted,” Miller said. “I feel like we definitely have a good chance this year in the upcoming races.”

Miller looks to establish himself as a truly dominant runner, while Holland and Lavey, along with fellow juniors Cam Dion, Eero Helenius and Jonathan Orelowitz look to run as an elite pack en route to a DCL title run.

Junior Owen Holland leads the pack in an Oct. 2 meet against Cambridge

photo by Hedi Skali

Girls Soccer

T

he girls soccer team entered this season missing 16 of last year’s 22 varsity players but nonetheless has had an impressive start, going 8-2-1 in its first 11 games.

“We came into the season with pretty much an entirely new team,” junior Masie Abbiati said. “But we have a ridiculously strong freshman class.”

“We came into it kind of thinking it would be a bit of a rebuilding year,” junior Olivia Dubin said. “We have just exceeded expectations.”

Getting the new roster to play as a cohesive team was crucial, Dubin said.

“To make 22 players into one collective team was initially a struggle, but I think each game we’ve definitely improved, not only with results, but with our movement of the ball, our communication on the field and our chemistry as a team,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of team bonding outside of the field, which has really helped us come together … creating

friendships outside of the field has definitely translated into our play on the field.”

In the opening half of the season, the team tied Acton-Boxborough 0-0 and defeated both Lincoln-Sudbury 1-0 and Framingham 5-1. “Those are our big ones,” Abbiati added.

“Beating LS and tying with AB was a really big win for us,” junior Lottie Mcleod said. “We are doing well overall right now … so that’s really exciting.”

While ‘19 graduate Audrey Lavey, now cross country runner Lucy Jenks and injured Larissa Willams led the attack last year, this year, the team plays much more as one unit with no particular stars; the team makes things happen, Abbiati said.

“Our whole strategy last year was to just pass it up to the forwards, and they’ll do all the work, and that worked fine because they were incredible players. But we obviously don’t have, [those forwards] again this year,” she said. “Now, we’re playing more as a team. We’re not just playing to our best players, so every person really has a part and does their job. … There really is not a weak link to our team because everyone works really hard.”

“Without one person that we heavily rely on, I think it’s forced us to … rely on all 11 players on the field, not just a handful of them, which has really made us move the ball around the field rather than have one target the whole game,” Dubin said.

“It’s the whole team really,” Mcleod said, proceeding to praise literally the whole roster individually in a beautiful, yet humble, show of the selflessness that this year’s team embodies. “Last year, we had a really good group of kids, we definitely had some stars, and yet this year it’s more everyone collectively working together.”

After two consecutive DCL titles and Sectional Finals appearances, it seemed as Junior Masie Abbiati though girls soccer was bound for an off year. plays a ball in an The freshman class, however, has been Oct. 2 practice stellar, and the team has played exceptionally photo by Netta Dror well. Now they look toward the playoffs and welcome a challenge, Mcleod said.

“We should definitely qualify for the tournament,” she said. “We are all just trying to do our best and see how far we can go.

“Going into the tournament ... we’re all going to need to step it up together,” Abbiati said. “We’re all very good individual players. … We definitely have the skills as a team to be really good.”

Dubin said that there is no ceiling on their tournament success.

“I’d love to say everything’s possible,” she said. “I think this is a team that wants it more than anybody else, and I think that’s going to translate into success on the field. So, I would not limit our success to anything.”

October 11, 2019 Page 21

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Sports

gently dowN THE

stream

While cost and resources prevent South from establishing a crew team, athletes compete at high levels in club rowing programs

By Dorra Guermazi and Jackson Slater

(7th from left): Community Rowing Inc. (CRI) varsity boys team member and South junior Alex Chan rows along the Charles in a boat with eight teammates. photo contributed by Alex Chan

J

unior Alex Chan held up his hands, black and blue calluses lining his palms — a physical representation of how grueling rowing is. Chan rows for Community Rowing Inc.’s (CRI) varsity team, where in season, he practices six days a week and travels to occasional competitions. Rowing is brutal, Chan said, but he loves it.

“It’s definitely a grind,” Chan said. “But I think in the end, the payoff is worth it.”

Senior Gustav Ter Haar began rowing only two summers ago. After participating in a two-week program, he started competing at a more serious level. For Ter Haar, however, the commitment was just too much.

“It was a lot on me, and it was super stressful, and it’s really physically taxing. I remember going to class and struggling just to stay awake,” he said. “School became really difficult in general.”

Unlike Ter Haar, Chan welcomed the exhaustion.

“When I get home I’m already mentally and physically gassed, and I’m just like, ‘all right, time to do my homework,’” he said.

While South offers a variety of sports of varying price commitments, rowing is not currently on the table. To begin a rowing team, one needs boats, a place to store them and transportation to both water and competitions. Together, this comes at a very high price point.

For public high schools, funding rowing programs, among other high-price niche sports like fencing, sailing and rock-climbing, is unimaginable without a substantial body of student-athletes helping cover the cost.

This is the current issue at South, Assistant Athletic Director David Padgett said.

Padgett rowed in high school and at Boston University and later worked as a crew coach. He said he greatly values crew and the lessons he believes it teaches. Despite this appreciation of the sport, Padgett said he does not see a rowing program coming to South anytime soon.

“You need two very critical things: you need access to water, meaning water

that is safe to row on and is long enough and large enough to row on, and then access to equipment,” he said. “Those two things can be very hard to come by.”

Padgett added that even though South is close to the Charles River, funding a South team would cost far too much.

“Access to equipment can be additionally cumbersome given that the equipment is very expensive. It’s hard to acquire good equipment that is affordable, and then you need a place to store that equipment, so the equipment is safe and protected from the elements, especially during the winter,” he said. “The upfront cost of acquiring equipment would be significantly challenging even for a school like Newton South.”

Liu said. Athletes who want to participate in crew are already able to do so at a higher level in club programs.

“There’s a lot of club crews. I feel like the people who do club at times would appreciate if there is a school team, but those who are extremely serious stay in club because it’s more intensive,” he said. “The problem with school sports at times is, if you want to really become competitive with [a sport], school sports aren’t the best avenue to pursue it.”

Indeed, Kuo said she would not participate in a South team even if it existed, as her club competes at a higher level.

“I would probably stay with CRI,” she said. “It’s a really good team; it’s well-known throughout the U.S.”

“ ” You need two very critical things: you need access to water ... and then access to equipment.

Those two things can be very hard to come by.

David Padgett Assistant Athletic Director

While crew demands a significant financial commitment, it demands a more intense time commitment, Ter Haar said.

When Ter Haar was part of a crew team at CRI, the amount of time he spent practicing and commuting was just too much for him.

“It was a 20-minute drive there,” he said. “The practice itself was two and a half hours long. ...I would spend from 3:30 to 7:30 [dedicated to rowing], and that’s a really long time.”

Chan and sophomore Alex Kuo, who also rows at CRI, said that practices run from 4:00 to 6:30 every weekday, and for three hours on Saturdays, which significantly outnumber those of South sports teams.

The fact that South does not offer a crew team, however, does not pose a great conflict for South students, senior Jamin

“CRI is a well-known, competitive atmosphere,” Chan added.

Indeed, CRI is nationally competitive; the CRI Girls Lightweight 8+ crew team won the national title at the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in 2010.

In addition to the higher level of competition, Padgett said that the practice and training quality at a club institutions is much higher. “[There] is just a trade-off that [athletes] have to come to terms with: ‘I’m not going to get the chance to represent my school necessarily, but I’m going to be participating in one of the best club programs in the country,’” he said. “The success they’ll have at a club program like Community Rowing will probably supersede any success that they could probably put together as an individual

school.”

Ter Haar said that although he would enjoy having a rowing team at South, he doesn’t see it coming to fruition.

“I don’t know if people would really be down for that because you’d have to bring everyone down to the river, buy all this equipment and you have to have people stay committed,” he said. “With other sports, you can easily join and then drop out. But with rowing, you need like every single part to work and I feel that would be really difficult for the team.”

Junior Isaac Levy added that a South team would not be as competitive.

“It wouldn’t be good. It’s a smaller group of people that they’re pulling from, so it’s just harder to get a good team together,” Levy said.

Though a South rowing team might not be ideal for the most competitive athletes, Liu said that it would provide a valuable option for those who are interested in trying out the sport. “[School sports] are definitely a source of fun and being able to connect with people at your school,” he said.

Though a South crew team is not on the horizon, Padgett said that rowing could add dimension to South’s athletic offerings by teaching unique lessons and fostering teamwork.

“It’s definitely brought me solid connections with teammates and other people in the rowing community and taught me a lot about discipline and self-sacrifice and putting the team and other people ahead of my own goals,” he said. “Knowing that people who don’t necessarily agree with or get along with each other can put aside personal differences and work towards a common goal ... really translates into all facets of life.”

“It’s the bonds that you build with the people in your boat because everything about rowing is teamwork, and it’s all about creating an atmosphere in which everyone could be better,” Chan agreed. “Everything comes down to teamwork.”

Sports ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 22 October 11, 2019

Not-too-hot NFL takes ARON KORSUNSKY sports columnist

Korsunsky’s Corner

Numbers don’t lie: The Patriots are great, but they will not go 16-0.

The Patriots have outscored opponents 155-34 through five games. Yes, two of the four games have been against two of the worst teams in football — the Miami Dolphins and the Sam Darnold-less New York Jets — but wins by margins of 30 and 43 and a 5-0 start nevertheless suggests pure dominance.

No team, however, will go 16-0. Probability runs the world, and the probability gods shake their heads no at the Patriots.

Let’s say that the Patriots have an absurd 80% chance of winning each of their next 12 games. The chance that they then win every game is merely 6.9%. Let’s up that ante and say that the Patriots have a ridiculous 90% chance of winning each game, with the exception of their upcoming games against the best teams on their schedule, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys, for which we’ll be reasonable and suggest a 60% chance of winning. The chances of a 16-0 sweep are still just 12.6%. Not gonna happen.

Daniel Jones is great, and the New York Giants have a chance of sneaking into the playoffs.

Let’s set the scene. Going into the season, the Giants, led by Eli Manning, looked to be fighting for the title of “worst NFL team,” and it showed. Two double-digit losses put the Giants in a 0-2 hole to open the season.

During week three, however, the Giants started rookie and sixth overall pick, Daniel Jones, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jones went on to complete 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 28 yards and two touchdowns en route to an 18-point second-half comeback. Now, sitting at 2-3, the Giants still crane their necks up high to the Cowboys, who stand atop the division. But if star running back Saquon Barkley returns from his injury soon and Daniel Jones continues his strong play, they can snag a playoff spot.

The NFC North is the best division in the NFL. The NFC North may not be the greatest division of all time, but it is the best right now. Each of the four teams — the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears — are strong enough to earn a playoff spot or even the division title.

For the Packers, a strong start to the season with Hall of Fame-bound quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been a familiar script over the past decade, and the divisional title is in their reach.

The Vikings’ third-year running back, Dalvin Cook found his stride, running for three consecutive 100-yard games and four touchdowns to start the season. Supported by veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and a strong defense, I expect the Vikings to push for the playoffs.

Last year’s NFC North Champions, the Bears, have struggled to start this season, especially offensively, but they are led by arguably the best defense in the NFL, so we cannot count the Bears out to right the ship and push to another playoff appearance.

While the Lions seem to be the most mundane, a 2-1-1 record to start the season suggests otherwise. Wins against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles, two top-tier teams, and a close loss to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs earn the Lions respect from the NFL.

centered focus Sophomore Mina Chae has exceptional archery talent, focuses on school

O

ne shot after picking up a bow, sophomore Mina Chae could not put it back down. Ever since Chae’s sister, senior Lucy Chae, asked her to come to the archery range three years ago, Chae has not stopped going back.

“It was something my sister wanted to try out,” she said. “So I just tagged along with her, and then I got recruited to be on the team. … I was like ‘why not?’”

Chae began with the Riverside Archery Road Team, shooting recreationally. She said she never saw herself becoming the elite archer she is now. “[The Riverside Road Team] wasn’t a big, athletic team,” Chae said. “It’s just like a small group just shooting for fun. ... They would just give me a bow and be like, ‘oh yeah, you can shoot.’”

The local tournaments Chae competed in with her first team were casual, she said.

“Everyone is very chill. Everyone is just eating, having fun, laughing,” she said.

Less than two months after Chae first picked up a bow, she surprised herself and won the 2016 JOAD Indoor Archery Nationals title in her event, 18m Recurve Bow, for her age group, 10-14-year-old females.

“I don’t even know how,” Chae said.

Chae said that her heritage inspired her archery career early on.

“I come from a Korean background, and Korea is known for its

By Jackson Slater archery,” she said. “I just looked up videos of people who I wanted to be like.”

National archery tournaments are massive competitions where 200 to 300 people shoot at once, Chae said. She said there is no eating, laughing or fun.

“Everything is so loud. They play music, which is really distracting when you’re doing archery, but I was able to block everything out and be meditative,” she said.

“I just shot the way I was taught, just the way I practiced, and the scores just came out.”

Chae said she scored 501 of the 600 possible points at her first competition.

At Nationals, coach Teresa Johnson spotted Chae’s potential and offered to coach her.

Now, just under three years later, Chae practices three to six days a week; she alternates between doing stretches and formwork and shooting between 30 - 500 arrows, depending on how she is feeling.

Chae and her parents constructed a range at home to practice, and she has a membership at the Riverside Gun Club where she practices on full 18-meter and 70-meter ranges.

Chae also dedicates hours lifting weights during the week to supplement her training. While weight training may seem foreign to a sport like archery, lifting is a crucial part of Chae’s practice routine, she said.

“It takes a lot of physical training outside [of shooting] in order to balance out the muscles,” Chae said. “If I don’t balance out the muscles, then the risk of injury increases.”

Chae, bow drawn, aims downrange at a target

To perfect her form, Chae travels once a week to her coach in Connecticut.

“It’s hard to explain, … but what Teresa did is she showed me how she shot, and I would follow what she did,” she said.

“If it felt right, that’s what we’d do, and we just kept going from there.”

Though she is often in the gym, Chae said that the sport is largely dependent on an athlete’s ability to concentrate.

“It’s 97% mental. You need to block everything out to keep on shooting,” she said.

She sends videos of herself practicing to Kisik Lee, the National Head Coach of the US Olympic Archery Training Program, who lives in Santa Fe, California. Every week, Lee gives Chae advice over FaceTime or through email.

After her first Nationals victory, Chae said she continued to dominate local tournaments. Chae attributes this success to her desire to win, no matter the cost.

“I just wanted to win everything, so I just put [in] that much more work. If you look up my local scores, I would just win everything,” she said. “I would just go in there saying ‘I’m going to win this. If I don’t win this, I’m going to quit.’”

Chae, since May of 2017, has been competing with adult women, which is significantly more difficult and cutthroat, she said.

“It’s definitely a lot harder,” she said.

“Everyone’s super competitive. The environment is very toxic because we’re trying to push each other down so much.”

Chae continues to travel to both indoor and outdoor tournaments across the country.

Though making the Olympic Archery roster is within her reach, Chae said, she has taken time off to focus on schoolwork.

“If I wanted to, I could’ve shot [Olympic] trials, I guess,” she said. “Tokyo 2020 is not something I’m shooting for because then I would have to miss school.”

A budding archery career would likely not support her financially either, Chae said.

“Only the top three get prize money, and it ranges from $100 to like $10,000,” she said. “When one [piece of a bow] can cost like $1000, maybe $1,200, [a career in archery] is just not there.”

Drawing the bow and releasing the arrow, however, keeps calling Chae back.

“The release of the arrow, is super satisfying. … There’s a clicker that goes off and that tells me when to shoot, when to release the arrow and that’s just super satisfying to me,” she said. “I just find it very meditative.”

photo contributed by Mina Chae

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Sports

Q&A

OCTOBER 11, 2019 Page 23

with Adam Hryniewicz

The Roar’s Emily Schwartz asked athletic trainer Adam Hryniewcz about his new position at South

What brought you to South?

I realized how special of a place it was in terms of athletics and the community that it builds within the school, so I really just fell in love with that aspect of South.

How do trainers help athletes?

photo by Netta Dror

Being an athletic trainer is a lot more than just treating the human body for sports-related injuries. There are other aspects in terms of dealing with the day-to-day, making sure that every athlete is okay, both physically and also mentally and emotionally. There are those aspects of trying to help them not only through athletic injuries as athletes but also real-life problems as human beings.

What advice do you have for athletes to prevent injuries?

For prevention in general, don’t play as if you’re afraid to get hurt. People have played a sport their whole life, and then once they start worrying about, “Oh man, I’m gonna get hurt; I need to prevent everything,” all of a sudden that goes out the window and that puts them at risk because maybe you’re hesitating a little bit more than you should, whereas if you’re working hard and going all out, it’s not as much of an issue.

UNDER THE

LIGHTS

By Netta Dror

South defeated Brookline 30-14 at the Friday Night Lights game on Sept. 20. Photos clockwise from left: Players warm up with pre-game sprints, South catches an essential pass, and athletes end the night celebrating their victory. According to the Roar’s survey of 295 students, 39% of South students attended at least one sports event that weekend, which included a boys soccer game on Saturday and a girls soccer on Sunday.