The Lion's Roar 36-6

R AR Generation

VOL. 36 ISSue 6

the LION'S

VOTERZ PAG E

New library rules enforcing quiet study during J block come across as “useless,” “annoying” and “a police state” to some students

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Cultural Erasure Attuned to the cultural differences between Newton and Shanghai, I whitewash how I am perceived to fit stereotypes

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By Sophie Lewis

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inside this issue Library Reforms

Young voters hope to shift the political paradigm

Newton South HIGH School Newton, MA

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graphic by Emily Zhang

Femme in Forum

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Debate team empowers and engages girls by joining with national organization, Beyond Resolved

· Est. 1984 · February 10, 2020

NEWS

page 2|February 10, 2020|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

NEws@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 6

Ghana exchange fundraises for Luke’s Lights Peri Barest, Carrie ryter & Julian Fefer Managing Editors, News Editor

Students going on the Ghana exchange program are hosting a fundraiser for Luke’s Lights on Feb. 27 in the auditorium from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event comes in preparation for their April trip to the Tema School in Ghana. This year marks the first Newton Public Schools collaboration with an African school.

Luke’s Lights, the beneficiary of the fundraiser, was founded in memory of Luke Voss-Kernan, a ‘10 graduate who tragically passed away during his freshman year of college. The organization buys solar-powered LED lights and chargers to distribute to communities across the world without electricity.

English teacher Kandice Sumner will

emcee the event, which will include Ghanaian food, music and drumming, as well as speeches, including one from Superintendent David Fleishman.

Senior Skye Tausig, founder of the Luke’s Lights club, will head a table where attendees can donate toward lights to bring to Ghana. There is a suggested donation of $30 (three lights) or $50 (a charger) to enter, and there will be a discounted student rate at the door.

Voss-Kernan’s family and other volunteers have distributed lights to several communities abroad. Luke’s Lights have been delivered to over 70 countries including Puerto Rico, Kenya and Panama.

“Luke had spent some time in Haiti and was really moved by what he found there,” Tausig said. “Initially the goal of the organization was to send them to Haiti, and

so they have been and continue to do that.

More recently, they have started going to a few other countries.”

METCO engagement specialist Katani Sumner, who helped to develop and will lead the exchange program, said that she did not initially expect to collaborate with Luke’s Lights in a major way.

“When our partner came here from Ghana, she went to a fundraiser with me for Luke’s Lights, and then she had this brilliant idea. We were going to just bring a couple hundred of lights, we thought,” she said.

“She’s like, ‘No, no, no, this is big. We’re going to do like a thousand lights.’”

The fundraiser serves as a chance to give back to the group’s Ghanaian hosts, junior Emily Ball, who is going on the exchange, said.

“It’s going to be a really big deal for us because we really want to give back to the people who are hosting us in Ghana by supporting their community,” she said.

“We’d love for everyone to attend who can.”

J u n i o r Ya e l Shiner, who is par-

photos courtesy of Katani Sumner

Students from the Tema School in Ghana hold solar-powered lights at their Luke’s Lights fundraiser on Dec. 29 after raising over $5,000.

ticipating in the exchange, said that the lights are important for health and safety.

“There are 2.9 million people there who don’t have electricity or light once it gets dark, and some of the stuff that they resort to ends up affecting their health negatively,” she said.

The Tema School held a similar fundraiser on Dec. 29 that raised about $5,000, enough for 500 lights. Shiner said that the Feb. 27 fundraiser aims to exceed their earnings.

Planning for the fundraiser has heightened anticipation for the group’s travels in April. Senior Gustav Ter Haar said that he is looking forward to experiencing a new culture.

“I’ve seen it in movies, so having this opportunity to go to Africa sounded really exciting to me,” he said.

As she prepares for the fundraiser and April departure date, Katani Sumner said that she is embracing Voss-Kernan’s personal slogan, “Dream big, do bigger,” which inspired both the charity and the exchange program.

“Our Ghanaian partners had [the slogan] put on T-shirts, awend we’re going to get a T-shirt as well made with that, ‘Dream big, do bigger,’” she said. “This trip kind of came out of dreaming big and doing bigger.

You know, I always wanted to go to Africa, and I’m dreaming bigger by bringing students back now when I go.”

To support the Ghana exchange program and help distribute solarpowered lights to under-developed areas in Ghana, scan the QR code.

You can donate either $10 or $30.

Northland referendum scheduled for March Brad Chavin, Alex Merkowitz & Caleb Lazar News Reporters, News Editor

A city referendum will be held on March 3 to determine the future of the proposed Northland development on Needham Street in Upper Falls.

The development, a mixed use project space with 800 apartments, 180,000 square feet of office space and 115,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, has sparked debate among Newton residents.

The City Council approved the project in December, but Upper Falls residents and community groups such as RightSize Newton who oppose the development have circulated a petition to protest the decision.

The effort to collect signatures took advantage of a provision in the city charter which allows voters to petition against certain City Council decisions.

“After the City Council adopted the Northland plan on Dec. 2, the neighborhood group talked about this. They wanted to do the petition drive, and I helped them,” RightSize Newton president Randy Block said.

The largest concern with the development is the potential for increased traffic, according to Block.

“Some people will say there are three concerns: traffic, traffic and traffic,” Block

said. “I have come to have a really great appreciation for the seriousness of traffic.

It’s a hazard.”

Another concern is the development’s size. Suzette Barbier, an anti-development advocate, said the project is far too large.

“14 buildings between three and eight stories tall is just too many. [It’s] essentially a mini-city in an already congested area,” she said. “The scale of this project should

she will vote.

“I agree that it probably will cause more traffic,” Wittler said. “I’m also on the flip side of that, thinking that without any kind of housing for middle-income people, you’re forcing people who work in Newton to live farther out.”

City Council president Susan Albright, who originally voted in favor of the development, said that the developers are working

“ ” Some people say there are three concerns: traffic, traffic and traffic.

Randy Block President of RightSize Newton

fit in with what’s already on the street and the surrounding residential neighborhoods.”

According to Barber, an influx of new residents will cause a surge in enrollment at Countryside Elementary School.

Block said residents should have more of a say in the size of development in Newton.

He said that, overall, people he talked to about his anti-development petition seemed to be against the Northland development.

Upper Falls resident Linda Wittler said that she has not yet decided which way

to minimize the amount of traffic the development generates by increasing MBTA services to the area. To minimize car usage, the developers have promised to set up a shuttle to the T running 16 hours every day.

Albright said that new recreational space would be another benefit of the development. She said there will be a splash park, a green-space, a dog area and lots of open spaces.

City Councilor Emily Norton, who voted against the project, said she would pre-

fer a more heavily commercial development.

“These projects, especially related to residential development, end up costing the city more than we’re making in tax revenue,” she said. “So I would like to see more commercial development as part of the project, proportionally, as a way that the City of Newton could be generating more funds, rather than having to subsidize the project.”

Albright, however, said that a commercial development would generate more traffic than a residential development.

“It’s a question of saying ‘what’s the best for Needham Street,’ and many of us felt that the residential use would bring far less traffic.”

The decision to hold the referendum on March 3 is another point of contention among City Council members.

Albright said that the date was chosen to save money and maximize voter turnout, as it is the same day as the presidential primaries.

Barbier said lots of planning changes have to occur for her to support development.

“Northland would have to cut this project in half before I would give it any consideration,” she said.

Wittler said she has yet to make a decision.

“I think it’s up to me to just keep researching it and answer my own questions.

I’m still undecided.”

February 10, 2020 Page 3

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar NEWS

Senate reforms parking lottery Julian Fefer & Julian Phillips News Editor, News Reporter

The second semester parking lottery introduced 10 “green” parking spots for students who carpool to school. The spots, a culmination of South Senate’s efforts to reform the parking lottery, encourage students to mitigate their carbon emissions. These spots are closer to the school compared to other student spots Senior Anike Fiore, however, said that there are a limited number of green spots available.

“A l ot of people signed up but didn’t get it,” she said. “I would’ve been carpooling with someone if I had gotten a spot.”

S e n a t e ’s parking committee pushed for a bill to reform the parking pass policies, which was passed during term one. The drafting process began last school year, when previous senators ‘19 graduates Nayleth Lopez-Lopez and Ross Halpern introduced the legislation.

The bill aimed to reform the existing parking lottery process, which was a random draw. Senate set out to find ways to make the draw weighted, giving priority to students who needed spots more urgently, such as those who carpool or live farther from South.

Senator and parking committee member senior Lucy Chae said that a weighted

draw was too logistically complicated to implement.

“We figured out that the distance calculations would be difficult to implement because the people running the lottery would have to somehow incorporate people’s addresses and distances from school,” she said.

“We emailed someone in California who has a software that spits out distance off of Google Maps, but that didn’t work out.”

This roadblock led the parking committee to shift their focus to reforming

iting, which is understandable due to the number scheme. It didn’t allow for creativity,” she said. “We can get creative on how we make those 150 spaces really count.”

Winters said she is concerned about the enforcement of the new rules.

“I see so many kids parking in the teachers’ spots and some kids parking in spots that aren’t theirs, and so I don’t think that they’ll necessarily enforce [new] rules,” she said.

To reduce illegal parking and blackmarket sale of passes, the bill stated that students have to provide licenses and car registrations to enter the lottery.

Chae said that Senate took measures to prevent students who weren’t planning on carpooling to school from applying for carpool slots just to increase their chance of receiving a parking spot. For instance, every student included within a carpool application had to send their registration information.

“We’re trying to strike a balance between implementing ideas that we think will benefit students and also being able to regulate them,” Chae said.

The bill also gave students who did not get a slot first semester priority.

Despite the efforts to provide a climatefriendly option, the lack of sufficient spots has angered some members of the student body, particularly those who have longer commutes.

“I didn’t get the first round of spots, and I live farther, so I have to get up really, really early to get a spot on Brandeis,” senior Maya Jean-Mary said. “It’s not really fair for people who are living really close to school to get a spot over people who live farther.”

Fiore said the administration should consider increasing slot availability.

“I feel like they should really just make more parking spots,” she said. “Everybody just wants a spot, so it’s really hard to make it so everybody’s happy.”

Chae said that this bill is only the start of more parking changes to come.

“I think that the [weighted draw] would be important to implement. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to make it work,” she said. “We also might talk to the administration about increasing the number of carpool slots available.”

“ ” The changes allow us to think about how we’re a car heavy culture, and how we do that and still look out for our environment, Tori Parker student life coordinator

driving’s environmental impact by reducing transportation-related carbon pollution.

“The changes allow us to think about how we’re a car-heavy culture, and how we do that and still look out for our environment,” student life coordinator Tori Parker said.

Senior Maggie Winters, who drives to school and has a parking space, said she doesn’t believe the bill will have a significant impact.

“I think they want to show that they are for the environment, [but] ... I don’t necessarily see 10 cars making that much of a difference,” she said.

Even though there is limited availability for carpool spots, Chae said the bill was meant to make people think about ways they can commute to school in a more climate-friendly way.

Parker said she believes the changes can be expanded in future years.

“I’d like to see way more green spaces,” she said. “It’s just a trial, so we went slowly.”

Parker said that future changes could maximize the parking system’s efficiency.

“Our previous system was very lim-

South Spots Winter Warmer The Newtones, South’s a cappella group, partnered with the Children of the Candy Corn, South’s improv troupe, and performing groups from neighboring schools to bring attendees some warmth during the cold winter in a Jan. 24 performance at Gregorian Rugs.

photo contributed by Ritika Dudani

Chinese Exchange Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in the Wuhan province of China, the Beijing Jingshan Exchange has been postponed indefinitely.

“It’s just frustrating and disappointing. I sacrificed lots of opportunities this year so this trip could become a reality,” said Evan Zhu, a sophomore who had planned to go on the exchange program.

Freshman Assembly During G block on Jan. 30, freshmen filed into the auditorium for a presentation about social media safety from the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, an organization that works to end bullying across the state. The presentation was in Jeopardy format: the presenters called on students to answer questions about appropriate social media conduct. There will be another presentation on Thursday, Feb. 27.

photo by Netta Dror

Beethoven Concert

graphic by Emily Zhang

On Jan. 29, orchestra played alongside South, Brown, and Oak Hill choruses. Per tradition, the pieces performed were Beethoven classics.

NewS. ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 4 February 10, 202o

Practice MCAS ensures infrastructure for test days Caleb Lazar & Eva Zacharakis News Editor & News Reporter

A practice MCAS test will be held for freshmen tomorrow to ensure that the technology system will run smoothly on the test days in March and May. The trial will also be administered at North the same day.

This year, the physics MCAS will be administered on computers for the first time.

The sophomore English and Math MCAS exams were switched to computers last year.

While freshmen are taking the practice MCAS, sophomores, juniors and seniors will have a late start day with fewer blocks.

The practice day is meant to help the freshmen feel comfortable with the new test format and be better prepared for the real test, as well as to test South’s infrastructure, Principal Joel Stembridge said. Although the test will cut class time, teachers will still be in school, helping to administer the practice test.

“It’s not just that students won’t be at school. It’s that faculty will be busy. So they’re not expected to make up that time because they will be proctoring,” Stembridge said.

English department head Brian Baron said the practice test wastes time.

“The practice MCAS is another way that we’re eating into instructional time that I just wish we didn’t have to do,” he said.

The practice exam day evoked discussion of the value of MCAS testing as a whole.

MCAS is both a graduation requirement at South and a state mandate that measures student proficiency in the required curriculum. Science department head Gerard Gagnon said that MCAS is designed to test that students are academically on track.

“The design is to make sure that kids are learning and growing and progressing,” he said. “That is really predicated on the fact that the exam is reliable for all students.”

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education determines whether to recommend a practice test for Massachusetts schools each year. Practice tests

will be less necessary as computers become better incorporated into the overall MCAS testing process, MCAS coordinator Faye Cassell said.

Administrators and the IT department use the practice test to see if the Wi-Fi can support the entire freshman class at once.

Cassell said that changes to the layout of MCAS testing rooms may disrupt Wi-Fi connections.

“We used to spread out across the building, and that, just logistically, is somewhat challenging. So this year, we’re trying to condense the number of rooms that we’re using. That will create pressure on the Wi-Fi hotspots,” she said.

The practice day will also check if TestNav, the online testing platform, is able to handle both North and South at once.

To simulate the real MCAS day, there will be two proctors per room, full IT support both from South and from the district and a second round of buses.

Stembridge said the practice test is crucial for preparing the freshmen for the spring exams.

“This practice is for the freshmen to make sure that they are well-versed in how the exam is going to go online because they haven’t done the physics exam online before,” he said.

Still, the date was received with criticism for being pointless.

“There are probably a fair number of people around South who feel like we have the procedures down, and we don’t really need to do this anymore, but the state disagrees,” Baron said.

Gagnon said practice tests like the one tomorrow are one of many ways Newton Public Schools shows its commitment to providing educational resources so its students can feel confident on test day.

“We’re in a position in Newton where our students have had great access to solid education and, as a community, we value education tremendously and have the means to support kids both in schools and out of schools,” he said. “We have the privilege of not having to worry about test preparation the way that some other communities certainly would have to.”

Library implements divisive J block quiet study rules Julian Fefer, Deanne Harris & Caleb Lazar

News Editor, News Reporter & News Editor Junior and frequent library visitor Donny Tou barges through the library doors; a librarian standing inside watches him enter, holding a manual ticker. Tou is just one of the swarm of students trying to force their way through the crowded doorway on Feb. 2. The commotion fades as soon as they’re in, thanks to new library reforms that aim to maintain a quiet study space for students during J block.

Student life coordinator Tori Parker pushed the changes after overhearing a Senate meeting about how students have nowhere to study during J block. She announced the changes via a Jan. 2 Schoology Message, “New Year, New J Block Routine!”

Now, when students enter the library during J block, librarians check that they

are coming to work — sometimes escorting them to open tables — where they must work quietly. Though Parker looked into transforming other spaces, she said the library was the most feasible option.

“There was no other large enough space that could hold as many students as want to be in the library,” she said.

Librarian Jennifer Dimmick said that the changes come after student complaints.

“For a good amount of time, students have complained that they have not been able to get work done during J block because the noise level is just too high for them to be able to concentrate and focus,” she said.

Junior Nathaniel Quisel said he doesn’t think the alleged student complaints that prompted the change are valid.

“There are tons of places in the school where work can be done,” he said. “Teachers would be happy to host kids to do academic work … in all the classrooms, but now they’ve restricted all of the library.”

Sophomore Sabine Holsten added that the library already has a separate quiet

study area.

Nonetheless, Dimmick said there were efforts made to assure more boisterous students who opposed the policy that they have somewhere else to go. “[Parker made] sure there was a space for the students who would want to socialize and play games during J block,” she said.

“She was able to ensure that the student center was available for students.”

Tou said that, past the entryway, he hasn’t noticed a significant shift in the library’s atmosphere.

“The changes are useless,” he said.

“Students say they’ll follow the rules at the door, but, inside, everything is the same as before. Students still wreak havoc.”

Others have even more bleak outlooks on the changes. Sophomore Arman Tendulkar said that the changes are a step in the wrong direction.

“Before, it was nice,” he said. “Now I hate it. They’re restricting my access to knowledge. I think my freedom to enter a public space is more important than some

photo by Netta Dror

Students swarm to enter the library at the start of J block as librarians barricade the door, forcing students to form an orderly line

people wanting to quietly study.”

Junior Sam Jones said the changes have ruined the library for him.

“It was a nice haven in the stressful environment of South,” he said. “Now it’s a police state. They’ve imposed changes that make it so that people can’t talk to each other.”

Part of a student exodus from the library, junior Ethan King said he’s found other places to go during J block.

“Now, other spaces do its job much better,” he said. “I go to the band room or to classrooms where there aren’t restrictions.”

Though Parker set up the student center for students to go during J block, others, like sophomore Philip Martins and his friends, have yet to find a replacement gathering spot.

“If you were looking for someone, chances are they would be in the library, and it was just comfy. There are nice chairs, there are tables, it’s really welcoming to be around friends, and I just think the caf, it’s cold tables and chairs, and it’s not very welcoming,” he said. “[Our group] splintered to wandering around until we find each other, so that can be annoying.”

Holsten said that the changes have potential but are poorly implemented.

“The rules are definitely possibly helpful, but I don’t think they’re being enforced in the right ways that’s making it conducive to work,” she said.

Even in the case of backlash, Parker said the changes most likely won’t be reversed this year.

“It’s just professionally unwise to make a change and then flip-flop,” she said.

Though students seem to be against the new policies, Dimmick said there’s still high turnout.

“It’s certainly providing a quiet space for students to get work done,” she said. “The library is pretty full during the J block, so it’s still in heavy demand.”

“From day one we’ve had multiple students come up to us and thank us for the space,” Parker said. “We’ve gotten more positive feedback from both students, families and staff than we’ve had complaints.”

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar News

February 10, 2019 Page 5

Jazz Ensemble Performs at the Panama Jazz Festival Rachael Wei Copy Editor

The Newton South Jazz Ensemble flew to Panama on Jan. 13 to attend the annual Panama Jazz Festival. Founded by acclaimed musicians Danila and Patricia Pérez, the festival invites world-class ensembles to play and learn jazz, bringing together people from all over the world to celebrate the music.

“At night, you would go to a concert and see these artists perform,” senior Amanda Lookner said. “It was cool because you could interact with them in so many different ways.

You could see them in a clinic and maybe even have a chance to play with them later in that clinic.”

Jazz Ensemble performed and taught clinics at community centers. In Panama, where Spanish is the official language, senior Alex Marrinan said he could communicate with the locals through music.

“There was this little girl playing trombone, and she didn’t speak any English, so we taught her how to play it just by playing

the notes,” he said. “I think that’s pretty cool.

You don’t need to be able to speak verbally to be able to teach someone how to play music.”

Playing in Panama also helped the group recognize South’s privilege, senior Daniel Sivachenko said.

“Seeing how even people who don’t have all the concentrated opportunities and privileges that we have here still doing such amazing things and putting in the work makes me feel like I need to keep working and that I got to do something with what I have,” he said.

“Say, oh, I’m a poor person living in Newton, or in Needham. Yeah, we’re not really poor. We’re all affluent,” Jazz Ensemble director Lisa Linde said. “We go to this great school, we can take music classes, and usually our parents can afford instruments and private lessons. In Panama, that’s just not the case.”

A subset of South’s jazz band, the Jazz Ensemble focuses on playing as a group to spread their love of jazz. Although joining the group is a large commitment, as mem-

bers practice daily, Lookner said their love for their instruments makes it worthwhile.

“When you’re that dedicated to your instrument, you just have fun with it,” she said. “Especially with jazz, you can just work on improvisation for half an hour and just play around, so it doesn’t really feel like work.”

The ensemble’s motivated work environment also inspires players to push their limits, senior Jamin Liu said.

“It’s super motivating to see people who are interested in music, who are just as passionate as I am. It makes me want to practice more,” he said. “It’s just a whole other level because it’s not just your ideas, but the collective sound of everyone.”

Sivachenko said the group’s success is rooted in their hard work.

“If you have a band where people are good, but they’re not working hard, then that’s not the band that’s going to the competitions we go to,” he said.

Linde said that she’s proud of the ensemble’s ability to channel their emotions into music.

“I can remember telling them: I don’t know if you’re going to like this piece. It’s a ballad, it’s slow and it’s depressing. But they loved it,” she said. “These kids are working so hard to be expressive on music that was written almost a hundred years ago. I can get choked up on a Monday night in rehearsal. … I’m just the luckiest person ever to work with them.”

Lookner said that her favorite aspect of jazz is the freedom of emotion that it provides.

“It’s so expressive and free compared to a lot of other types of music. You really just have to think on your feet,” she said.

Linde said she hopes that their experience in Panama has inspired her students to play with even more feeling.

“It’s not about awards or getting into districts, it’s about emotions,” she said. “In terms of technique and who you studied with and what fancy thing you’re learning, nobody cares in a way at the end of the day.

Being smart and technically proficient is one thing, but we have to play with the heart and soul that we saw in Panama.”

photos contributed of Amanda Lookner

South’s Jazz Ensemble players jam on stage and pose with future jazz stars in Panama, where they traveled to in January participate in the annual jazz festival.

New senior center planned for an aging population Rachael Wei & Sarah Wei Copy Editor, News Reporter

A new senior center, the Newton Center for Active Living (NewCAL) is scheduled to begin construction in coming years. The new project is predicted to cost over $16 million and occupy 35,000 square feet. Before construction begins, the location has to be narrowed down to one of seven sites.

The city is home to the fifth-largest senior population in the state. Seniors are currently estimated to make up about 25% of the total population in Newton, and people over the age of 60 are the fastest growing age group.

The current senior center, which has been located in a renovated library building since 1993, is unable to accommodate this growth. Gail Zimmerman, a frequent visitor of the center, said that Newton must take this growing population into consideration when planning.

“The percentage of people in Newton who are going to be older is increasing and the number of people your age is decreasing.

So we need to think about that and plan for it,” she said.

“In the existing senior center, people are literally bumping into each other and hitting each other with their arms because the rooms are so small,” John Rice, former City Councilor and head of the Hyde Community Center, said.

For seniors who experience growing isolation, the senior center can be very important in helping them connect with others, said Joan Belle Isle, another frequent visitor of the center.

“It becomes increasingly difficult for older people, particularly if they can’t drive or have family and friends pass or move away.

We wanted to try to get more of those people involved in programs here, but I think one limitation is that we don’t have enough space

At a recent community meeting, the conversation focused on the two most popular locations: the current senior center in Newtonville and the parking lot in Newton Centre. Both options are within walking distance of restaurants and other amenities, which Jayne Colino, Newton’s Director of Senior Services says is ideal for seniors.

Building a new center in the middle of a community, however, can present challenges, said junior Ella Fontenot who lives

“ ” It’s not just what this generation of older users might want, but what your parents or what you will want when you’re our age.

Joan Belle Isle senior center supporter

to offer that kind of a program,” she said.

The current proposed sites for the building are the current Newton Education Center, the West Suburban YMCA, the former Junior Aquinas College, the current senior center in Newtonville, the triangular parking lot in Newton Centre, the West Newton Armory and the Police Headquarters.

After park locations like the Newton Centre Playground, Cold Spring Park and Weeks Playground were leaked to the public, 2,200 citizens signed a petition to remove parks from consideration.

in Newton Centre.

“Newton Centre is already pretty packed, and I don’t think there is space for a senior center there,” she said. “The drivers are really impatient too, and although having the center there would help bring community, the building might contribute further to the traffic problem.”

Belle Isle however, said she thinks Newton Centre would be an ideal place for the center to be located.

“It’s relatively centrally located and easy to get to by public transportation for a

lot of people who don’t drive anymore or who would prefer not to drive,” she said. “There are ways of dealing with the parking and the traffic and the biggest issue is going to be the kind of disruption that construction causes, but it would be my first choice.”

Regardless of its location, Colino says she hopes the community will embrace and be involved in the new center.

“We want the community to use it. We want seniors to be integrated into the community, not segregated in a standalone senior center,” she said. “It will be built for seniors, but it’ll be an asset for the whole community, and I think it’s important for people of all ages in the community to understand that that’s our vision.”

Rice said that the seniors deserve to have a new building designed for their needs.

“Many of the seniors have long-term investments in the City of Newton,” he said.

“The seniors need to have a building that is sufficient for their needs that has the same amount of investment into the school buildings and everything else,” he said.

“The new building would exist for about 50 years. It’s not just what this generation of older users might want, but what your parents or what you will want when you’re our age,” Belle Isle said. “It has to be a facility that’s big enough and flexible enough in terms of the way the space has to be able to respond to not only what we want today, but what the coming generations of people who would be users.”

EDITORIALS page 6|February 10, 2020|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 6

Peer vulnerability can reduce mental health stigma South has made leaps in educating students about mental illness since the community tragically lost three students to suicide during the 2013-2014 school year.

Between updating the freshman health Signs of Suicide (SOS) program, hosting Aware Club’s annual Aware Day lecture series and encouraging students to take fewer advanced courses, the administration has responded quickly and effectively to the needs of its student body.

More students now understand mental health, the resources available to them and ways to respond to mental illness than they did at the start of the decade. This, coupled with a lack of urgency that the 2013-2014 tragedies provoked, can make it feel easy to let up and rest on our laurels.

Though the past years’ initiatives have undoubtedly made a huge impact, what remains is a less tangible, but still pressing need to normalize discussions of mental health topics, particularly as they pertain to seeking help. While students may know how to recognize signs of mental illness in themselves, they may avoid reaching out for help — even if they know where to find it — out of self-consciousness. Still-prevalent stigma surrounding mental illness wears away at any progress made.

Mental illness may always be an awkward subject to navigate. For teachers and administrators, it can be especially difficult

to breach: it is deeply personal in nature and forces vulnerability that may overstep boundaries. If it is not personal, this dialogue falls into the trap of artificiality.

Though a classroom discussion is inherently unnatural, it may come across as the only tone acceptable for discussing mental health issues. The awkward dynamic then seeps into casual conversations that shouldn’t feel as uncomfortable. Friends should feel comfortable opening up to their close friends.

Yet, students have reported that they avoid mentioning that they attend regular therapy appointments, as noted in the page 15 article, “I Have an Appointment.” Either they resort to euphemisms like ‘going to the doctor,’ or keep the matter entirely to themselves.

This secrecy comes from feelings of self-consciousness that are rooted in stigma.

Students who have already reached out for help and those who are still mustering up the confidence to do so are equally affected by the taboo. It emphasizes that mental illness is something to be kept private.

However, students are hungry for discussion. Every year, at Aware Day, the panel of students who share their personal experiences with mental illness and seeking help is received well by audience members.

The panel models vulnerability and bravery.

SOS and other portrayals of mental illness at South often showcase the most

CONGRATULATE YOUR SENIOR on their graduation with an ad in the

R AR

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image credit to Anthony Padilla, Vine

Two bros, chilling in a hot tub, five feet apart cuz they’re avoiding vulnerability and aren’t sharing their experiences of mental illness and seeking help debilitating forms of mental illnesses. Peerto-peer honesty can shed light on manifestations that are less acute, helping students identify their struggles before they fester into a “worst-case” scenario.

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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.

On a smaller scale than a full auditorium, students who feel comfortable doing so can continue the discussion by opening up to their friends about how they cope with mental illness and stress on any day of the year.

Editors-in-Chief Jennifer Wang Dina Zeldin

Managing Editors 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

February 10, 2019 Page 7

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar editorials

So long, farewell: my bittersweet EDITOR’S goodbye to Roar DESK from the

Jennifer Wang After countless send-up breakdowns and midnight snack breaks, my time has come. I am saying goodbye to Roar. No doubt, I will miss it — the joy and the hours holding together seven issues, 176 pages and a staff that can make me laugh and cry at the same time — perhaps as much as I’ve missed the sleep I’ve lost for the paper. And by the time you read this, when each word on the page marks my last issue, I know I will miss Roar a whole lot more.

They say all good things come to an end, and Roar is no exception.

Truth be told, I am not yet ready to let Roar go. Really, I’m afraid to let go. Who will I be if not that person who eats all the food and cannot shut up at our “silent” work meetings? What will I do with all these free Monday J blocks? How do I say goodbye when goodbye admits my going away?

Five years ago, I learned that there was nothing good in goodbyes. At the driveway gate of my grandparents’ house, my grandfather and I stood exchanging our final farewells. This would be the last time I’d see them for a while. As usual, he gave me his housekeeping notes — help out the family with chores, learn to take care of yourself because you’re growing up — and when it was time to go, he patted my shoulders and said

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goodbye. In between the words themselves was the question that was always there: will I see you again? Will I still be here next time you visit? We parted without an answer.

Two years later, I stood in front of my grandfather’s grave, wondering if my goodbye came too late. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, I repeated in my head, wishing I could travel back in time with my answer.

But the question carried its own response: goodbye for now, and goodbye forever.

sneak up on you, the ones that you were never ready for until they are already gone, the ones for which you cannot prepare, despite their looming in the back of your head. Good-bye, the final two syllables lapsed into the future from the past.

We bid goodbye to yesterday to welcome tomorrow. Just as the sun kisses the starry night goodbye and winter leaves the blooming flowers, every farewell is not only about what is gone but what is to come. For

“ ” I do not like to say goodbye, so instead I choose the better happier alternatives to an ending: “see you again” or “talk to you later.”

I do not like to say goodbye, so instead I choose the better, happier alternatives to an ending: “see you again” or “talk to you later.” I do not like to say goodbye because I’m afraid that once I let go, like a kite loose of its thread, I will not be able to grab the moment back. I do not like to say goodbye because I want to hold on and on, unknowing that my hands clutch nothing but a string of the past.

The hardest goodbyes are the ones that

every goodbye, there is a hello.

When I applied to join the Roar staff two years ago, I wrote in the application that The Roar means much more than just writing articles and interviewing people; it is about making connections and listening to others.” This purpose is what I will miss most when I leave.

So here we are, at the end. In this moment of finality, I am still not ready to leave Roar, but I don’t think I will ever be.

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OPINIONS page 8|February 10, 2020|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

Opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 6

Should Students Play a Larger role in teacher hiring?

NO

YES

By Sara Saloum

By Gillian Tobin

F

rom Forever 21 to college tour guides, almost every industry relies on customer feedback to ensure industry growth and well-being. Whether in the form of a Yelp review or an anonymous online customer survey, it is vital for any business to hold opinions of their customer base in the highest regard, especially if they want to grow profits.

A school is no different than a business — its goal is to churn out increasingly successful and knowledgeable students year after year. Behind the scenes of every good student is a team of educators, devoted to sparking and nurturing academic growth.

With such precious cargo in teachers’ hands, it seems only logical that the administration would place great emphasis on student input in the process of hiring new faculty. Students must demand an increased role if we’d like to see our school continually prosper.

While our school has made great strides in the teacher evaluation process by giving students the ability to give their teachers anonymous praise and constructive criticism, there are scant opportunities for students to play a role in this hiring process. In my chemistry class sophomore year, I remember a demo lesson in which a potential hire used Oreos to explain how to balance chemical equations. We were later tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of his teaching.

While this experience was certainly enlightening, experiences like these should be routine, not rare occurrences that only selective classes encounter. Since students are the ones participating in these demos, they are the most apt individuals to identify which teachers cater to all learning styles and which explain the content in an engaging, explanatory and interesting way. These are teaching traits that may be swept under the rug by teachers who are vastly familiar with their own material.

Further, students can offer unique insight that other teachers and administrators may overlook. According to a Forbes article titled ‘Giving Students a Voice in Hiring Teachers is Common Sense,’ organizations have already made progress in delegating roles to students in the teacher recruitment process.

A student-run non-profit organization called Student Voice has stressed the importance of instituting student panels in the hiring process, in which students are allowed to interview an array of prospective teachers.

Students should not be held responsible for reviewing resumes or recommendation letters, but they

should be part of panels to review prospective teachers’ passion and comprehensibility. As Nick Morrison of Forbes wrote, “Teachers have to be able to relate to students, and this is fundamentally what student panels are testing. Some panels ask frivolous questions, but dealing with frivolous questions is part and parcel of being a teacher.”

While teachers shouldn’t be best friends with their students per se, they should at least be considerate of the potential challenges students are facing, especially before doling out large assignments and exams. This professional relatability is one aspect of the recruitment process that students are best equipped to recognize, as it’s an attribute administrators may struggle to identify.

In a city that prides itself on the strength of its public school system, an increased student presence in the teaching hiring process is critical to accelerate academic performance and ensure a more efficient hiring process for both students and administrators.

N

early every 2000s movie I watched as a kid featured the same plot of a blossoming relationship between the high school jock and the quiet, nerdy girl secretly pining after him. Though the setting and the characters’ names varied from each movie, the fundamental plot was the same: a girl and a boy from different levels of the high school social hierarchy fall in love.

Although these depictions of high school are unrealistic and the endings seemingly frivolous, the more serious internal thread of each of these rom-coms is the same: first impressions are often wrong.

As of now, student involvement in the teacher hiring process is limited to a classroom demo where a prospective teacher comes in to teach a block. The process is based entirely on a group of students’ first impression of a teacher. The danger of such a process, is that in trial classroom simulations like these, it seems charisma and personality hold greater influence over student opinion

than actual teaching ability does. Charisma, unfortunately, does not equate to teaching ability.

A 2013 study by Iowa State University asked students to assess their knowledge after sitting through a lecture with two different instructors, each presenting with different overall levels of “fluency,” or perceived charisma. The study found that students perceived that they had learned more from the “fluent” instructor even though the content of each lecture was effectively the same.

This speaks volumes about the difference between perception and reality.

When learning from a charismatic teacher, students evaluate the teacher and also their own knowledge as more comprehensive.

Students have the impression that they are learning more, even when they aren’t.

When students are presented with teachers who are charismatic, they think they are learning more than they actually are. In classroom demos, this means that the teachers who smile and tell jokes will win over more students than the teacher who actually teaches because students not only like them more, but also think they are learning more.

Fifty-five minutes is not a long time and it certainly is not enough time to showcase everything about one’s teaching ability.

It is enough time, however, to make a few jokes, meaning that charismatic teachers will usually have a leg up in the short time frame they are given. Of course, teachers can be both appealing and effective, but during these classroom simulations, charisma unconsciously holds a higher priority than actual teaching ability in students’ minds, and it shouldn’t.

This means students end up picking people they like as people, not teachers they like as teachers. This isn’t only a decision that affects students; someone’s potential income is on the line. With our current process, the deciding factor of whether or not a teacher gets hired, is not how well they teach, but how much students like them after an hour.

A teacher’s teaching ability and overall effectiveness is independent of their charisma. We know this to be true at South; most of us have had a teacher who was a wonderful person, but not such a wonderful teacher. In my own experience, the reverse is also true: some of the teachers who have taught me the most from have not made me laugh during class, and have reputations amongst my peers as being strict and difficult.

At a school as competitive as ours, students often prioritize the letters on their report cards over the knowledge they gain.

It seems unfair to let a group of students, who don’t always prioritize learning, pick someone who will be hired exclusively for that purpose. As long as student involvement is restricted to a one-hour interaction where students judge a teacher on charisma and not teaching ability, it’s probably better if we don’t get involved. After all, teachers get paid to teach, not to smile.

graphic by Gracie Karl

february 10, 2020 Page 9

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar opinions

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by Ne tt

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SHAME ON YOU ror

Misunderstandings of Chinese values have caused me to experience shame in expressing my culture.

By Chunyu He

“H

ow does dog taste?” a classmate in middle school asked me. This was the first year after I moved to Newton from Shanghai. I responded that I had never tried it before.

America perceives Chinese culture through Orange Chicken in a white takeout box to bubble tea in a plastic sealed cup. I quickly learned.

Still today, I am not sure if they meant their question as an insult. Even if the question wasn’t ill-intentioned, but rather had emerged as a genuine curiosity, it still points to the stereotypes associated with being Chinese — that we are peculiar people with odd, “oriental” habits.

To my classmates, I am a scrawny Chinese teenager who eats rice at home everyday, who excels in chemistry and dreams of becoming a doctor, who is the child of tiger parents who scorn me for imperfect grades.

In America’s eyes, Chinese culture is defined by these stereotypes. As someone who treads the line between Asian and American every day, I’m acutely aware of how I do or don’t embody clichés like these. Still, the most obvious differences between my life and the average white South student’s aren’t as tangible. It comes down to ideology.

The incident from middle school was the harbinger of more questions to come.

Most aren’t as simple as a “yes” or “no.”

When people ask me why China doesn’t implement a democratic system, I simply cannot answer their questions so that they truly understand.

Americans often apply their own standards of liberty, human rights and democracy to other cultures and countries. In my history class, we learned that the United States can be referred to as a “policeman” to the rest of the world, interfering with foreign diplomacy to establish “liberation” disguised as Western democracy. If a country were to invade the U.S., it would be seen as an affront to human rights, a destruction of democracy.

But if China were invaded, would we still

think it a violation of human rights? Or is the country doing China a favor by giving them individual rights? This hypothetical scenario exposes how Americans apply their standards to others, sowing their own misunderstanding.

Americans have been reared and educated to value individualism and liberty.

Their opposition to Chinese government stems from their contrasting education. Chinese political structure can be explained by collectivism: unlike America, China was not formed on the basis of individual liberty— instead, a core value of Chinese culture is the idea of bettering the overall collective.

For many Chinese, China is one big family; it is acceptable to sacrifice one’s own rights for the greater good. This is how we

by the Western lifestyle: hanging out with friends, going to the beach once in a while and flying a kite in a park. After I immigrated to Newton, I realized that some parts of those shows are actually real.

My American friends are shocked when I tell them about the amount of studying I did in elementary school. This cultural difference is what gives me pause in sharing stories about my past and bits of my identity because, instead of thinking it is a disciplinary way of schooling, people pity my “unhappy” childhood. A part of me wishes I had spent my childhood in laughter and free spirit, but I also don’t regret the Chinese education I received because it instilled me a strong work ethic.

Now that I’ve lived in Newton for five

“ ” The truth is that I have begun to whitewash my own identity. I intentionally act differently, agreeing with others’ perception of Chinese culture.

have been educated; this is what we believe is adequate for our society. Chinese naming reflects this guiding principle: our surname is said before our first name to stress our belonging to a family, a greater good.

Another question I get asked often is “Are you sure you are not free this weekend?”

When I started middle school, I was shocked to learn that not all students take classes outside of school. For Chinese students, taking extracurricular classes is the norm; there is no such mystical thing as a weekend for the majority of Chinese students who attend schools of the same caliber as South.

Starting in kindergarten, I took piano lessons twice a week, drawing classes once a week and all my academic classes had tutors helping me learn the material ahead; later, I had a college student helping me with homework on weekends. When I watched American children’s shows, I was enamored

years, I am poised to be able to recognize the merits of each culture’s philosophies, be they in regards to government or education.

People who haven’t had the same exposure to another culture as I have might never be capable of fully understanding Chinese societal values. Misunderstandings of the Chinese fundamental values have caused me to experience shame in expressing my Chinese culture for fear of being judged based on my classmates’ false beliefs.

The truth is that I have begun to whitewash my own identity. I intentionally act differently, agreeing with others’ perception of Chinese culture. I pretend to agree with everyone’s political beliefs to avoid any disagreements and to dislike certain food like chicken’s liver and bird’s nest just because they are deemed “exotic.” In conversation, I don’t express any of the values I learned when I was in school in China.

Sometimes I catch myself, and ask if my response to my classmates’ judgements and questions are valid. Or, should I always try and uphold Chinese values? There are billions of Chinese, so why should it be my job to pass on these traditions? So, I sacrifice my identity to blend in.

For example, I’ve never participated in a Chinese cultural celebration in Newton.

When my mother asked me to be a photographer at a Chinese New Year celebration in Newton, I instantly rejected her idea. It was not until my mother demanded, “Are you not Chinese?” that I realized my internal shame.

Western society understands so little about Chinese culture that Chinese people are treated as some monstrous studying machines who have been programmed to become doctors or lawyers when they grow up. The root of the issue is the lack of knowledge people in my community have about Chinese culture. People don’t realize just how ignorant they are toward other people and cultures different from their own. Their misunderstandings impact recent immigrants like me.

It would be hypocritical for me to deny that I too have misperceived other cultures.

After moving, I had to catch up and learn major Jewish holidays like Hanukkah and Yom Kippur. While these may be basic traditions to those who grew up here, they were completely new — literally foreign — to me. If I seem uncultured, consider how I feel when people don’t know about the Mid-Autumn Festival, a major festival celebrating the reunion of family that is observed by over a billion Chinese people.

Subconsciously, reluctant to share my background, I have already slowly washed away my Chinese heritage. When two cultures with different values meet, it is hard for someone to understand and fully accept both simultaneously. Whitewashed Chinese culture has forced me into assimilation. My Chinese identity is a rock, and Western values are like waves, slowly washing it away.

opinions ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 10 february 10, 2020

WWIII Memes Reveal Ignorance About The Middle East

By MATAN JOSEPHY

The first time I saw a World War III meme was while scrolling through Instagram a mere few hours after hearing about the death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

After staring at it for the better part of three seconds, trying to understand what it meant, I kept scrolling, the image leaving my mind as soon as it entered.

Not even 24 hours later, what began as a lone post or two quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, infiltrating all corners of the internet. Memes about the next world war dominated social media feeds as tensions between Iran and the United States rose exponentially.

Beneath the humor, far fewer memers and internet-users actually understood what exactly had happened in Iran. Few teens actually knew who General Soleimani was, and even fewer knew of his work with terrorist groups in the Middle East or why he was killed. In fact, most of the focus on social media seemed to shift within a few days from the implications of the incident itself to simple doomsday jokes.

This isn’t to say that every teenager ought to be completely informed of what happened in Iran or should have a fullyfledged opinion. The apparent lack of basic understanding of American-Iranian tensions, however, is representative of a larger issue:

our schools, more often than not, skip over essential discussions about the modern Middle East, arguably one of the most vital regions to discuss given our country’s long-running interests and conflicts in the area.

The reason for the Middle East’s significance is simple: the events in the region, from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the rise of terrorist groups based there, impact the world we live in, despite feeling removed

of stopping terrorism and targeting terrorist groups. An open discussion about national security measures like this program, especially through the lens of terrorism in the Middle East, would enable students to learn and form opinions about issues like these.

Yet, like the recent Iranian-American tensions, many Gen Z-ers only know of the NSA’s spying through the lense of TikTok and memes — sources of media that hardly

“ ” Without exposure to adequate commentary on the conflicts and events in the region from schools and educators, individuals inevitably remain uninformed of actions both at home and abroad.

from our lives. Without exposure to adequate commentary on the conflicts and events in the region from schools and educators, individuals inevitably remain uninformed of actions both at home and abroad.

Take the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance program, for example.

It enabled the government to spy on approximately 75% of all internet activity in the U.S. without a warrant, all in the name

encourage accountability, and are prone to exaggerations, miscontruations and inaccuracies as opposed to more reliable, established forms of media that promote a more balanced and factual viewpoint.

It’s important to note that discussions about the Middle East tend to be avoided because of the potential for controversy, especially in the wake of the lawsuit against the history department that was withdrawn

on Aug. 14, 2019. Yet, it is this controversy that makes these discussions so important.

Beyond just forming opinions and being aware, discussing controversies and difficult issues like the many conflicts in the Middle East gives students the tools to navigate the awkward, yet necessary, dialogues that we will inevitably face.

Issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Yemeni Civil War and the Arab Spring are undoubtedly controversial, but, when well-moderated and discussed in an open-minded environment, they can facilitate coexistence instead of conflict.

As we have recently seen regarding topics like sexual health, open discussion naturally leads to more nuanced views and civil discourse, all of which helps much more than it hurts. The more actively aware teenagers are about what happens in the world, the more able we are to work to improve it.

While World War III memes may be funny on the surface, it’s important to remember where they come from. The Middle East is a complex region, but one that must be acknowledged. Facilitated classroom discussions about the challenges the region faces would ensure not only that students are informed, but also that they are able to handle controversy and disagreement in a manner that is constructive, not critical.

Phone-less: A Week of Self-Discovery and Mindfulness By matan kruskal When The Roar’s editors were assigning articles, I proposed one about how we need to use our phones less. Admittedly, the message lacked uniqueness and persona, so one of the editors suggested that I instead go without a smartphone for a week and write about my experience.

So, I traded in my iPhone for a flip-phone for a whole week. As you’ll see, different facets of the task were easier or more difficult than I expected them to be.

No longer having my iPhone on my person at all times, I couldn’t easily check Schoology, message a friend or play games in the car. Instead, I had to wait until I arrived home to use my computer.

Every minute of this waiting felt like a success — I was becoming the

photo by Netta Dror

boss of my own addiction.

I found it easier to regulate my communication with others. Normally, it’s hard not to immediately respond to texts I receive, but during my phoneless week, I could restrict myself by contacting people on my own terms. In this day and age, it’s easy

to feel bombarded with information and interaction. For once, I felt like I had a little more control over my intake. Moreover, it took longer to type on my flip phone, so I was much more sparing with my texts: I had to really think about my words, their relevance and their impact.

Phones are meant for communication, but, in reality, we spend much more time using them for entertainment. Our use of social media is an incredibly inefficient method of fulfillment. Even if I was able to maintain it as a positive force in my life, it would be taking away from other activities that should be prioritized: face-to-face socialization, hobbies, schoolwork, etc. I think most of my peers experience a similar guilt about their phones driving out other parts of their life.

As a chronic procrastinator, I can say that having a flip-phone was incredibly conducive to my academic success because, when I managed to bring myself to a state of focus, I stayed there instead of being distracted by notifications

or wormed into the internet. This also helped me spend more time writing poetry, a hobby I swore I never had time for, but which I had been wanting to do for a while. It helped me break out of the cycle of wasting time on my phone, stressing and going back to entertain-away my stress because the first step just wasn’t available anymore.

The week had its imperfections, and there were particularly useful features that I missed, but my mind felt more clear. Even if giving up my phone didn’t solve all my problems, it gave me the space to see where to start.

Looking back, I don’t think that it works for me to go without a smartphone all the time, but I do hope to repeat similar exercises to improve my mental health.

During the week of my experiment, I found my focus, patience and clear-headedness were all noticeably increased. None of that compared to the high I felt from achieving what was for me such a monumental exertion of self-control.

54%

of U.S. teenagers ages 13 to 17 say they spend “too much time” on their phone Source: Pew Research Center

February 10, 2020 Page 11

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar opinions

UPGRADE

9 Quirky Valentine’s E-cards Senior slump Shadow-free groundhog February break Second semester carpool spaces Galentine’s Day Inexpensive chocolate Upcoming MCAS schedules

9

DOWNGRADE

Coronavirus incubation period Flu shot failure Valentine’s day third-wheeling Global warming winter :( RIP Gianna and Kobe #OscarsToo White2.0

v-day survival guide Whether you love it or love to hate it, Valentine’s Day is here!

There are two ways to spend your Feb. 14, and two ways to read this story.

W

ith February vacation looming just around the corner, you know what time it is!

Before spending endless hours on warm Florida beaches/the computer trying to find an unpaid internship for the summer, it’s everyone’s favorite/least favorite holiday: Valentine’s Day. Is there a more polarizing holiday? We think not. And if you’re in a relationship/severely single, you’ll need these tips to make the most out of #VDay2020.

1 2

3

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s gift, remember that you don’t need to spend a ton to say a ton. A box of chocolates/a 99.99% off Christmas decoration is the way to go!

Do your plans include hanging out with your S.O./seventhwheeling on your friend’s date? The Roar has you covered. Based on our scientifically proven methodology, we highly recommend watching a rom-com/spending six hours on Tik Tok, as doing so is an ideal way to spend time with your S.O./alone.

If you are planning on shooting your shot with your crush, the best way is to tell them how you feel/get a friend of a friend’s aunt’s neighbor’s dog’s cousin to shoot them a text. It might be super awkward/worth it in the moment, but it will be worth it/super awkward in the long run!

However, if your Valentine’s Day plans aren’t too wild, there’s a week of packing for your big trip/pre-vacation tests to look forward to. The Lion’s Roar staff and I wish everyone a happy/ tolerable Valentine’s day!

Yours truly, Eva Shimkus, opinions writer

“Weathering With You:” A Rainy Review

By Jaesuh Lee and Julie Wang

W

hen it rains, it pours. And when it pours, a lighthearted teen romance is born. Produced by Makato Shinkai, the filmmaker responsible for “Your Name,” the highest-grossing anime film of all time, “Weathering With You” is an endearing Japanese animation. Unfortunately, it does not quite live up to Shinkai’s legacy.

The movie is set in Tokyo, where non-stop rain leaves its residents miserable. The gloomy weather is the first thing to greet 16-year-old Hodaka Morishima, a runaway in search of a more exciting life, when he arrives in the city.

Without money and shelter, Hodaka is forced to look for a job to escape his unpleasant life in Tokyo.

During his search for a job, Hodaka runs into a man he met on his ferry ride to Tokyo and ends up working as a writer for his strange, occult magazine. One day, having fallen asleep out of exhaustion in a fast-food restaurant, he meets a girl named Hina, who offers him a free burger out of pity. Their friendship grows and the audience soon learns that she has the peculiar ability to clear rainy skies.

The movie’s slow intro diminishes audiences’ expectations and fails to engross viewers.

Furthermore, the plot is oddly arranged, making the film confusing at times. The entire movie is a long build-up with a very brief resolution, making for awkward pacing that leaves something to be desired. In line with Shinkai’s other works, the ending is painfully brief. On the other hand, the ending is optimistic, which is something we’re not used to seeing in his films.

Shinkai’s intricate backgrounds become prettier as the movie progresses. As in his previous works, he again exceeds expectations with the movie’s visuals — every frame is beautiful enough to be used as a laptop wallpaper. The lighthearted soundtrack adds to the movie’s aesthetically pleasing visuals. While the soundtrack compliments the character’s internal emotions

image courtesy of CoMix Waves films

Hina (left) and Hodaka (right) embrace in the clouds, a scene from Makato Shinkai’s newest release.

Shinkai has ever released. The movie is alright — struggles, expectations and infatuations by itself, but having it come right after such an — the selection of cheesy pop music kills the amazing film, it leaves behind a slight sense of intense mood during some of the movie’s most disappointment. dramatic scenes. Ignoring its inconsistencies, Overall, “Weathering With You” feels the soundtrack style overall remains enjoyable like the runt of the litter among Shinkai’s films. and engaging.

While cute and endearing, it does little more The most significant downside to “Weaththan follow behind in the shadows of their more ering With You” is that it failed to live up distinguished siblings. Watch this movie, but to Shinkai’s previous movie “Your Name”, a don’t expect to feel amazed. blockbuster hit and arguably the best movie

Generation

VOTERZ POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT Senior Izzy Klein has knocked on a lot of doors for a lot

of candidates — Bill Humphrey for Newton City Council, Jay Gonzalez for Governor, Elizabeth Warren for Senate. She was even offered a full-time job as a field organizer for Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign, which she turned down because she is, after all, a student.

“Participating in politics is the way that I justify my opinion,” Klein said. “Having firsthand experience really allows you to understand the impact that policy has.”

There are countless ways for young people to be involved in politics, especially on the local and state levels. Junior Laila Polk said she was surprised by how easy it was for her to be a delegate to the 2019 Massachusetts Democratic Convention.

“The Democratic Party reserves add-on delegate seats for people who have been traditionally underrepresented. So they have some for women, some for minorities, some for young people,” she said. “I applied to be an add-on delegate, and it’s literally a Google form.”

For senior Jessica Wu, interning for Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu last summer was an inspiring experience.

“She’s an Asian American woman, and for me, I had not seen a lot of representation before,” Jessica said. “Seeing her being so popular and supported throughout Boston and leading bold initiatives such as making the T free was super invigorating and exciting.”

Emailing candidates is a great way to learn about opportunities to be involved with politics, senior Amy Xiao, who interned for Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss, said.

“From my experience, people really want younger generations to be involved.”

Social media also plays a key role in youth political engagement. In a 2018 Business Insider Poll, 59% of 13- to 21-year-olds listed social media as a top news source. 14 million young people heard about the 2018 midterm elections through social media platforms, according to Tufts’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

Junior Anais Mobarak said, however, that posting about politics on social media can sometimes be attributed to the trendiness of civic engagement rather than a genuine desire to inform others.

“It’s sometimes hard to distinguish why people do things on Instagram,” she said. “Like if they posted about some political candidate on an Instagram story, you don’t know if they’re doing it to genuinely be politically active or to just show off.”

Nonetheless, history teacher Jon Greiner said that youth engagement with politics will translate to a historic vote in 2020 — students “are more motivated to vote than I’ve seen in my career,” he said.

PROGRESSIVE BELIEFS During the 2018 midterm elections, twice as many 18- to 29-year-olds voted than in the 2014 midterms.

These voters favored Democratic candidates by a margin of 35 points, according to CIRCLE. “People came out and voted in droves in 2018, almost flipping deeply red states like Georgia and Texas, which did rely on boomer suppression to keep them red,” Polk said. High profile races, such as Beto O’Rourke for senator in Texas and Stacey Abrams for governor in Georgia, were shared widely on social media, further pulling young people’s support.

Polk, the vice president of the Newton chapter of High School Democrats of America, said that she identifies as a moderate democrat — compared to voters from her home state of Texas, she’s quite progressive.

“Massachusetts already started at the left. And so if you’re young, you’re being more progressive, you’re going to go even further to the left as opposed to say if you’re from Texas where I’m from, which leans right,” Polk said.

Even among South’s more conservative students, there is support for liberal responses to social issues.

“Economically, I’m very conservative, but socially, somewhere in the middle, but more conservative,” senior Emma Sondergaard Jensen said.

“For South, I’m very Republican. And then for the country, I’m pretty liberal,” junior Damian Mathews said. “We all kind of have the same values and we all want Americans to do well.”

Gen Z is also America’s most diverse generation: 48% identify with a racial or ethnic minority, and 62% believe increased diversity is good for society, according to Pew Research Center. Polk attributes her generation’s progressive attitudes to its diversity.

“When you have a candidate like Donald Trump who said horrible things, anti-LGBT, anti-women, anti-people of color, anti-black, anti-immigration, and you have one of the most diverse generations, then it’s like you were attack-

In 2020, members of Gen Z (born after 1996) will be eligible to vote for president for the first time. Data suggest that this new generation of voters will significantly impact election results

BY THE NUMBERS of college students plan to vote in 2020, up from the 48.3% who voted in 2016.

80%

By Sophie Lewis

Source: Chegg

Graphics By Emily Zhang ing every part of their family,” she said. The Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP) found in their fall 2019 survey that nearly three-quarters of young Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration policy, race relations and climate change.

Cathy Sun, a sophomore at Harvard University and HPOP chair, said that a key finding from the fall 2019 poll was that young people are open to large-scale, structural changes.

“Even those who claim to be much more supportive of slow-paced, feasible change are supportive of policies such as abolishing the Electoral College,” she said. “So things that are considered radical to a lot of older generations are very feasible to our generation.”

NON-PARTISANSHIP In Greiner’s AP U.S. Government and Politics class,

seniors explore how the American political system functions.

For a unit on bureaucracy, Griener uses a seemingly simple organization, an apple farm, to demonstrate the amount of complex governmental regulations with which companies must comply. While many of his students start off with liberal beliefs, common in Massachusetts, realistic scenarios such as that of the apple farm allow students to appreciate political nuance, he said.

“A lot of students say, ‘I’m all for environmental regu-

lation, but that feels overwhelming.’ You can understand the position of a businessman who says, ‘Red tape is destroying my business,’” he said. “It’s actually a little messier of a subject than a simple platitude.”

Through facilitated discussion on politics and civics, students of all political beliefs come to appreciate different viewpoints, Greiner said; he himself identifies as liberal but has become more moderate through teaching the course.

“There’s a sort of meeting in the middle of understanding that your ideals don’t always match up with the systems that are in place,” Greiner said.

Sondergaard Jensen, one of Greiner’s students, said that her section of AP U.S. Government and Politics encourages empathy for differing viewpoints.

“In a society where things are getting more and more progressive, you have no other choice but to open your mind,” she said. Still, she said that sometimes she feels attacked for her conservative beliefs.

Sondergaard Jensen founded South’s Young Conservatives club as an open forum for free speech, but some students, she said, won’t talk to her because she’s conservative. This year’s flyers for the Young Conservatives club, which included a quote from Thomas Jefferson, were vandalized with the message “Thomas Jefferson was a Republican and a slave owner.”

Nonetheless, Sondergaard Jensen said that the club attracts members across the political spectrum who are interested in engaging in political discussion — sometimes, more liberal students than conservative students attend meetings.

“They come up to me and they’re like, ‘I just wanted to see why people would believe in these things, and I kind of get it now,’ she said. “It’s very humbling to see that I’m making a difference, even in people who have very distinct beliefs and preordained beliefs.”

Mathews, who plans to take over for Sondergaard Jensen as club president next year, said that he enjoys “questioning everything,” including his parents’ beliefs.

Mathews said that his parents used to take a strict pro-choice stance on abortion, but through open dialogue he’s been able to change their minds.

“They don’t believe in the government pouring money into or even giving money to clinics for abortion,” he said. “Showing them media, like statistics, videos, documentaries, can be very powerful in changing someone’s mind and not necessarily changing their morals.

As a young independent, Mathews is certainly not alone in his political beliefs — HPOP found that only 31% of young voters strongly identify with either the Democratic or Republican Party, and an additional 20% do not lean towards either party.

President Donald Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic congresspeople and Republican congresspeople all have approval ratings below 50% among young people.

Sun said that one key trend that HPOP is interested in focusing on for their spring 2020 poll is the disintegration of the two-party system.

“It seems like the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are fundamentally shifting from their roots or the way they have been for the past decade,” she said. “We see a lot of changes about the ways in which our institutions are evolving and grappling more with urgent issues such as gun violence that matter to young people.”

Percent who say government...

Is doing too many things better left Should do more to to businesses and solve problems individuals

70 Millennial 64

29 34

Gen Z

53 Boomer 49 Silent 39

45 49

Gen X

60 Source: Pew Research Center

22%

of young Democrats and Republicans have followed at least one active member of the opposite political party on social media

Source: HPOP

8%

of young people have volunteered for a political campaign.

Source: HPOP

Percent who say increased diversity is beneficial for society

62

Gen Z

61

Millennial Gen X Boomer Silent

52 48 42

34% of college students say that neither political party fits their views.

Source: Chegg

Source: Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center “Generation Z Looks a Lot Like Millennials on Key Social and Political Issues”: Data collected from surveys of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 24-Oct. 7, 2018 and U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted Sept. 17-Nov. 25, 2018 for a combined sample size of 11,602. Generation Z includes people born after 1996, and no chronological endpoint has been set for this group. The Gen Z margin of error is ±4.2%. Millennials include people born 1981 to 1996, and the margin of error is ±2.8%. Generation X includes people born 1965 to 1980, and the margin of error is ±2.8%. Baby Boomers include people born 1946 to 1964, and the margin of error is ±2.6%. The Silent Generation includes people born 1928 to 1945, and the margin of error is ±5.1%.

Chegg 2019 State of the Student research project: The sample for this research was collected in June and July 2019. It consists of 1,001 students currently enrolled in U.S. (two-year and four-year) colleges. To guarantee the sample is reflective of the college population at large, the data is weighted to match data from the U.S. Census.

Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP) Fall 2019 Survey: This poll of 2,075 18- to 29-year-olds was conducted between October 15 and October 28, 2019. The margin of error for the total sample is ±3.02 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Generation

VOTERZ POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT Senior Izzy Klein has knocked on a lot of doors for a lot

of candidates — Bill Humphrey for Newton City Council, Jay Gonzalez for Governor, Elizabeth Warren for Senate. She was even offered a full-time job as a field organizer for Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign, which she turned down because she is, after all, a student.

“Participating in politics is the way that I justify my opinion,” Klein said. “Having firsthand experience really allows you to understand the impact that policy has.”

There are countless ways for young people to be involved in politics, especially on the local and state levels. Junior Laila Polk said she was surprised by how easy it was for her to be a delegate to the 2019 Massachusetts Democratic Convention.

“The Democratic Party reserves add-on delegate seats for people who have been traditionally underrepresented. So they have some for women, some for minorities, some for young people,” she said. “I applied to be an add-on delegate, and it’s literally a Google form.”

For senior Jessica Wu, interning for Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu last summer was an inspiring experience.

“She’s an Asian American woman, and for me, I had not seen a lot of representation before,” Jessica said. “Seeing her being so popular and supported throughout Boston and leading bold initiatives such as making the T free was super invigorating and exciting.”

Emailing candidates is a great way to learn about opportunities to be involved with politics, senior Amy Xiao, who interned for Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss, said.

“From my experience, people really want younger generations to be involved.”

Social media also plays a key role in youth political engagement. In a 2018 Business Insider Poll, 59% of 13- to 21-year-olds listed social media as a top news source. 14 million young people heard about the 2018 midterm elections through social media platforms, according to Tufts’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).

Junior Anais Mobarak said, however, that posting about politics on social media can sometimes be attributed to the trendiness of civic engagement rather than a genuine desire to inform others.

“It’s sometimes hard to distinguish why people do things on Instagram,” she said. “Like if they posted about some political candidate on an Instagram story, you don’t know if they’re doing it to genuinely be politically active or to just show off.”

Nonetheless, history teacher Jon Greiner said that youth engagement with politics will translate to a historic vote in 2020 — students “are more motivated to vote than I’ve seen in my career,” he said.

PROGRESSIVE BELIEFS During the 2018 midterm elections, twice as many 18- to 29-year-olds voted than in the 2014 midterms.

These voters favored Democratic candidates by a margin of 35 points, according to CIRCLE. “People came out and voted in droves in 2018, almost flipping deeply red states like Georgia and Texas, which did rely on boomer suppression to keep them red,” Polk said. High profile races, such as Beto O’Rourke for senator in Texas and Stacey Abrams for governor in Georgia, were shared widely on social media, further pulling young people’s support.

Polk, the vice president of the Newton chapter of High School Democrats of America, said that she identifies as a moderate democrat — compared to voters from her home state of Texas, she’s quite progressive.

“Massachusetts already started at the left. And so if you’re young, you’re being more progressive, you’re going to go even further to the left as opposed to say if you’re from Texas where I’m from, which leans right,” Polk said.

Even among South’s more conservative students, there is support for liberal responses to social issues.

“Economically, I’m very conservative, but socially, somewhere in the middle, but more conservative,” senior Emma Sondergaard Jensen said.

“For South, I’m very Republican. And then for the country, I’m pretty liberal,” junior Damian Mathews said. “We all kind of have the same values and we all want Americans to do well.”

Gen Z is also America’s most diverse generation: 48% identify with a racial or ethnic minority, and 62% believe increased diversity is good for society, according to Pew Research Center. Polk attributes her generation’s progressive attitudes to its diversity.

“When you have a candidate like Donald Trump who said horrible things, anti-LGBT, anti-women, anti-people of color, anti-black, anti-immigration, and you have one of the most diverse generations, then it’s like you were attack-

In 2020, members of Gen Z (born after 1996) will be eligible to vote for president for the first time. Data suggest that this new generation of voters will significantly impact election results

BY THE NUMBERS of college students plan to vote in 2020, up from the 48.3% who voted in 2016.

80%

By Sophie Lewis

Source: Chegg

Graphics By Emily Zhang ing every part of their family,” she said. The Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP) found in their fall 2019 survey that nearly three-quarters of young Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration policy, race relations and climate change.

Cathy Sun, a sophomore at Harvard University and HPOP chair, said that a key finding from the fall 2019 poll was that young people are open to large-scale, structural changes.

“Even those who claim to be much more supportive of slow-paced, feasible change are supportive of policies such as abolishing the Electoral College,” she said. “So things that are considered radical to a lot of older generations are very feasible to our generation.”

NON-PARTISANSHIP In Greiner’s AP U.S. Government and Politics class,

seniors explore how the American political system functions.

For a unit on bureaucracy, Griener uses a seemingly simple organization, an apple farm, to demonstrate the amount of complex governmental regulations with which companies must comply. While many of his students start off with liberal beliefs, common in Massachusetts, realistic scenarios such as that of the apple farm allow students to appreciate political nuance, he said.

“A lot of students say, ‘I’m all for environmental regu-

lation, but that feels overwhelming.’ You can understand the position of a businessman who says, ‘Red tape is destroying my business,’” he said. “It’s actually a little messier of a subject than a simple platitude.”

Through facilitated discussion on politics and civics, students of all political beliefs come to appreciate different viewpoints, Greiner said; he himself identifies as liberal but has become more moderate through teaching the course.

“There’s a sort of meeting in the middle of understanding that your ideals don’t always match up with the systems that are in place,” Greiner said.

Sondergaard Jensen, one of Greiner’s students, said that her section of AP U.S. Government and Politics encourages empathy for differing viewpoints.

“In a society where things are getting more and more progressive, you have no other choice but to open your mind,” she said. Still, she said that sometimes she feels attacked for her conservative beliefs.

Sondergaard Jensen founded South’s Young Conservatives club as an open forum for free speech, but some students, she said, won’t talk to her because she’s conservative. This year’s flyers for the Young Conservatives club, which included a quote from Thomas Jefferson, were vandalized with the message “Thomas Jefferson was a Republican and a slave owner.”

Nonetheless, Sondergaard Jensen said that the club attracts members across the political spectrum who are interested in engaging in political discussion — sometimes, more liberal students than conservative students attend meetings.

“They come up to me and they’re like, ‘I just wanted to see why people would believe in these things, and I kind of get it now,’ she said. “It’s very humbling to see that I’m making a difference, even in people who have very distinct beliefs and preordained beliefs.”

Mathews, who plans to take over for Sondergaard Jensen as club president next year, said that he enjoys “questioning everything,” including his parents’ beliefs.

Mathews said that his parents used to take a strict pro-choice stance on abortion, but through open dialogue he’s been able to change their minds.

“They don’t believe in the government pouring money into or even giving money to clinics for abortion,” he said. “Showing them media, like statistics, videos, documentaries, can be very powerful in changing someone’s mind and not necessarily changing their morals.

As a young independent, Mathews is certainly not alone in his political beliefs — HPOP found that only 31% of young voters strongly identify with either the Democratic or Republican Party, and an additional 20% do not lean towards either party.

President Donald Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic congresspeople and Republican congresspeople all have approval ratings below 50% among young people.

Sun said that one key trend that HPOP is interested in focusing on for their spring 2020 poll is the disintegration of the two-party system.

“It seems like the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are fundamentally shifting from their roots or the way they have been for the past decade,” she said. “We see a lot of changes about the ways in which our institutions are evolving and grappling more with urgent issues such as gun violence that matter to young people.”

Percent who say government...

Is doing too many things better left Should do more to to businesses and solve problems individuals

70 Millennial 64

29 34

Gen Z

53 Boomer 49 Silent 39

45 49

Gen X

60 Source: Pew Research Center

22%

of young Democrats and Republicans have followed at least one active member of the opposite political party on social media

Source: HPOP

8%

of young people have volunteered for a political campaign.

Source: HPOP

Percent who say increased diversity is beneficial for society

62

Gen Z

61

Millennial Gen X Boomer Silent

52 48 42

34% of college students say that neither political party fits their views.

Source: Chegg

Source: Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center “Generation Z Looks a Lot Like Millennials on Key Social and Political Issues”: Data collected from surveys of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 24-Oct. 7, 2018 and U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted Sept. 17-Nov. 25, 2018 for a combined sample size of 11,602. Generation Z includes people born after 1996, and no chronological endpoint has been set for this group. The Gen Z margin of error is ±4.2%. Millennials include people born 1981 to 1996, and the margin of error is ±2.8%. Generation X includes people born 1965 to 1980, and the margin of error is ±2.8%. Baby Boomers include people born 1946 to 1964, and the margin of error is ±2.6%. The Silent Generation includes people born 1928 to 1945, and the margin of error is ±5.1%.

Chegg 2019 State of the Student research project: The sample for this research was collected in June and July 2019. It consists of 1,001 students currently enrolled in U.S. (two-year and four-year) colleges. To guarantee the sample is reflective of the college population at large, the data is weighted to match data from the U.S. Census.

Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP) Fall 2019 Survey: This poll of 2,075 18- to 29-year-olds was conducted between October 15 and October 28, 2019. The margin of error for the total sample is ±3.02 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Centerfold ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 14 February 10, 2020

ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM

Where do your political beliefs come from?

My dad told me I could mow the lawn for money and ... he gave me $15, but then he’s like, ‘Wait, I need two of those back. That’s how the tax system works. … Some other people need that more than you.’ And I was thinking, this doesn’t make sense.

Emma Sondergaard Jensen ‘20 Republican

I’ll always start by looking at sources like CNN and the Washington Post to see what they’re saying on the left side of the argument. Then I’ll go over to sources like the National Review and see what the discrepancies are, what is being argued or whatever. … For me, it’s all about analyzing those biases and just trying to get to the truth.

My views are shaped by Newton and where I live. …

I have the comfort of being able to think about politics in a way that’s very sheltered because a lot of the things that politicians try to solve, like unemployment and homelessness and lack of education, like that is something I’m never going to have to go through just based on where I was born.

Anais Mobarak ‘21 Democratic Socialist

Damian Mathews ‘21 Independent

Which 2020 candidate appeals to you?

If I had to choose a candidate to vote for in the election, I would’ve said my top three were Yang, Tulsi Gabbard and Trump. Those three were the ones that stood out to me as not just shilling for a certain ideology but as actual people. What Yang was saying about the impeachment was awesome because he was the only one who was willing to say it feels like a baseball game and we already know the end result.

Damian Mathews ‘21 Independent

I’m split between Elizabeth Warren and Klobuchar because I feel like Warren has been somebody who has consistently proven that she understands policy. … On the other hand, personally, I am more of a moderate Democrat, like healthcare shouldn’t be fully socialized, we should have a private option and that’s why I’m also thinking about Klobuchar.

Bernie Sanders. His platform appeals to me because I think that education and healthcare are human rights and for somebody who is born into a family that doesn’t have that much money, they still should be able to have access to free college and a good education and free healthcare so that everyone has some sort of starting point.

Anais Mobarak ‘21 Democratic Socialist

Amy Xiao ‘20 Moderate Democrat

Why should students be involved in politics?

It’s so important that young people get involved in politics because we really are the future of legislation and what happens to our country.

Damian Mathews ‘21 Independent

There is a sense of urgency that my generation has, and we’re looking for someone who can embody that. The way I’ve always thought about it is that our generation has to fix all the stuff that the older generations did.

Our future is at stake. If no one does anything about climate change, we’re not in a great position for the future. Right now is a really critical moment for people to actually get involved.

Jessica Wu ‘20 Democrat

Laila Polk ‘21 Moderate Democrat

REGISTER TO Register by VOTE ONLINE Wednesday, Nov. You must be at least 16 years old 12 at 8 p.m. to be You will need your driver’s license number or your social security number eligible to vote in the MA primaries.

The MA primaries will be held on “Super Tuesday” on Mar. 3. 15 jurisdictions will vote on this day, including Texas and California, the two most populous states.

Newton polls will be open from 7 a.m.

In 17 out of the last 18 Super Tuesday to 8 p.m. 17-year-olds cannot vote in primary elections, the winner received Massachusetts primary elections, even if his or her party’s eventual nomination. they will turn 18 before the general election.

The 644 delegates from Texas and California account for 16% of all pledged delegates.

416

+ 228 Sources: City of Newton, Ballotpedia, FairVote, Vote. org

FEATURES “I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT” page 15|Feburary 10, 2020|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

features@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 6

gra ph ic

by G

em m

aH ill

South’s lack of discussion about therapy makes students hesistant to share their own expirences

By Shoshi Gordon

S

enior Samson Cantor tore his ACL on the first day of lacrosse tryouts his sophomore year. His injury didn’t just impact him physically though.

“Working out was a big way for me to release stress generally, and then on top of that I also had to do rehab, and I missed school for surgery and doctors appointments,” he said. “I started to feel more overwhelmed by the different pressures that I was feeling.”

As the injury began affecting his schoolwork, Cantor said he knew something was wrong.

“I started to develop really bad test anxiety, and because I had so much going on at the time, my mind would kind of just go blank,” he said. “Once my grades started reflecting that I was not testing well — that’s when I decided to pursue therapy.”

Through therapy, Cantor was given skills to deal with test anxiety. Despite finding many benefits, he hesitated to talk to others about therapy.

“I’d definitely say the academic stigma surrounding why I was going to therapy and the results of it were definitely something that was not easy to talk about,” he said. “In general, I’m a pretty open person … whoever asked me, I would answer it honestly … it’s not something you’d just wear on your sleeve and go around telling everyone you meet.”

Like Cantor many students at South go to therapy but don’t discuss it outside of their close circle of friends. Much of this apprehension stems from a lack of awareness about therapy, as well as from the competitive environment of South.

Senior Lev Rosenberg found that he would unintentionally avoid the subject of therapy when speaking with friends.

“If I asked someone once for a ride, I’d be like … ‘I have an appointment, can you give me a ride?’” Rosenberg said. “I wouldn’t say, ‘I’m going to therapy, can you give me a ride to therapy?’ So I was probably subconsciously embarrassed by it.”

Senior Sara Landry* said she fears

how people’s perception of her will change if they know she’s in therapy; she asked to remain anonymous for this reason.

“If people knew I was in therapy, they’d be like, ‘Well, she’s a mess,’ or ‘She must not do well in school; she must not have friends,”’ she said. “I think there’s a misconception about mental illness ... that it’s debilitating, and what I’ve learned is that depression looks very different in different people, and anxiety looks very different in

ous,” she said.

Male students face an extra pressure of maintaining an appearance of masculinity, which discourages them from discussing therapy and mental health in general, junior Owen Zimmerman* said.

“It’s sort of like the saying ‘boys don’t cry,’” he said. “For a guy, it’s hard to vocalize it, and I do believe that there is a huge stigma about it because no guy really wants to be the one to say like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m

“ ” I wouldn’t say, ‘I’m going to therapy, can you give me a ride to therapy?’ So I was probably subconsciously embarrassed by it.

Lev Rosenberg class of 2020

different people and especially young women are really, really good at pretending that everything’s okay, doing a million things and making it work.”

Many students feel that they must let their own mental health deteriorate in order to prioritize school, senior Claire Olson said.

“It’s kind of an attitude of, ‘No, I don’t have time to deal with these issues in a healthy way. So they just kind of push it off,” she said. “I don’t think that people look down on it … it’s more like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. But I don’t go because I don’t have time.’ It’s very much a not-prioritizing-your-own-wellbeing thing, which is pretty toxic.”

The lack of discussion about therapy, and subsequent misinformation leads to students choosing unhealthy coping mechanisms over therapy, senior Ilana Smith* said.

“A lot of people tend to self-medicate, which I personally don’t believe in. I know that I do take medicine to help deal with anxiety and depression, and I think it’s important to use a resource in order to help yourself and not to think that you have the situation in your hands, which a lot of people at South tend to do, which is really danger-

sad because of all of these reasons’ [because it’s] depicted as unmasculine.”

The culture at South is far from perfect in discussing therapy, but the school has taken steps to educate students, senior Elie Berman said. Her guidance counselor recommended she start seeing someone weekly after she filled out a depression screening form in her freshman health class.

“This school, as a whole, wants to be positive about it, given that they did say to me, ‘Hey, this might be a good thing for you to check out,’ and very nonjudgmentally,” she said.

Still, she said the system has its flaws.

“I took that screening test in freshman year, and it took me eight months before I got a therapist, and never once did they come back to me or anything, which if you’re actually concerned about a kid, is probably a good thing to do,” Berman said.

Olson said that she felt like South, and the Signs of Suicide (SOS) curriculum specifically, did not do much to educate students about therapy. SOS, a program delivered to freshman health classes, teaches students how to recognize suicidal tendencies in

themselves and others.

“They never really mentioned therapy. They never bring it up. They’re like, ‘report it to a parent or something,’ and then never really talk about the possibility of medication or the possibility of therapy for someone who is struggling,” Olson said.

Cantor said that guidance counselors, who are different than therapists, are the only options presented to students who want to talk with an adult.

Senior Netta Dror said that South could also be educating students more about the various components of therapy.

“I think that I should have learned the different types of therapy specifically what exposure therapy is, what CBT is, and if I had learned about it I would have recognized that these types of therapy would have helped me personally, and I would have sought help much earlier than I had,” she said.

Interim Vice Principal and guidance counselor Chris Hardiman said that while he discusses therapy as an option with his students one-on-one, he has not seen it mentioned on a broader scale, besides through Aware day, an annual lecture series organized

by Aware club.

“There has been more emphasis [during Aware day] on broadening mental health to include bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorders,” Hardiman said.He added that the club recognizes that while some students may not deal with specific mental illnesses, many deal with intense stress, and they have shifted the focus of Aware day, and Aware club in general, to reflect this pattern.

Students discussing therapy is going to have the largest impact in terms of destigmatizing it, Olson said.

“I think a lot of change is just going to happen with students talking to each other and normalizing going to therapy as an option rather than, ‘Oh, maybe you should just sleep more.” *Names have been changed to protect students’ identities

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 16 February 10, 2020

Students petition for climate education in NPS Abigail Arndt and Sophie Goodman

Features Reporter, Features Editor Senior Kate Esbenshade said that she didn’t really understand the crisis of climate change until she participated in Brown’s Environmental Leadership Lab. Once she fully grasped the urgent need for action, she began making changes both in her own life and in her community. Now, she is working to push for climate education in schools with the Green Newton’s School Connections program, which promotes sustainability in Newton Public Schools.

Esbenshade, along with North senior Coral Lin, wrote a petition to promote climate education in Newton Public Schools (NPS).

The petition asks the School Committee and superintendent to provide teachers with the resources and professional development time to learn more about climate change and construct curricular modules that can be integrated into the pre-existing curriculum.

Esbenshade and other students presented their argument to the School Committee on Jan. 20. She said that the goal of the petition was to show that the Newton community supports climate education.

“The petition lets a wider audience know what we’re doing, so they can join the movement,” Esbenshade said. While the School Committee was supportive, she said implementing their demands will take time.

Sophomore Cheri Lookner said that the petition was a way for students like herself to communicate the severity of the situation to local government officials.

“This petition is really, really great because it’s student-led, and it’s showing that there are things that we value and we want to be educated about,” she said.

Green Newton School Connections chair Joana Canedo said she hopes that given the proper resources, teachers will incorporate climate change into their lessons.

“We’re going to ask for at least one day of professional development on this subject, so teachers know where to find the

photo contributed by Netta Dror

South seniors and Sustainability teacher Andrew Thompson gather at the School Committee meeting to speak about climate education materials, where to find the information, so that they learn more about the issues to teach about it in their regular classes,” she said.

Sustainability teacher Andrew Thompson said that while climate education has teacher support, he hopes it will be implemented in a flexible manner.

“I know a lot of teachers support this.

I know our state [teachers’] union has done a lot around this. What we’d like is the space, the resources, including professional development, to figure out how we can do more to pull it in, rather than someone mandating you must teach this unit at this time,” he said.

Green Newton member and Underwood Elementary School building aide Andy Gluck is on the Climate Education Subcommittee of School Connections and said that although Green Newton has been pushing climate education in NPS for a while, the petition serves as a new strategy to raise awareness.

“The petition came out of a drive to

keep the pressure on Newton Public Schools to get serious about climate science,” he said.

“Climate change is a really huge problem that we should all be studying, starting even in elementary school.”

Gluck said he expects these proposed changes to be implemented in a few years.

“It’s going to be a long conversation among the School Committee [and] among the science coordinators in the district to make it happen,” he said Students as young as kindergarten are excited to make a difference, Gluck said.

“When I am teaching my kindergartners how to compost or ‘don’t throw that in the trash, that can be recycled’ or ‘why don’t you get a drink from the water fountain? You don’t need to take a plastic water bottle,’ their eyes light up. They get so excited doing something that can make a difference. They can help,” he said.

Not only are young students excited about making individual changes, they also

join advocacy efforts when empowered by education, Esbenshade said.

“I myself have seen elementary schoolers who take action. I’ve seen them distribute flyers and come to meetings, and I know that they’re passionate about it once they learn about it. It’s something that they can imagine. It’s something that they can comprehend, and they play outside every day” she said. “It’s an issue the elementary schools, as well as everyone, should be and could be taking action on.”

Lin said that education empowers students to take action in the face of anxieties they may have about living in a warming climate.

“I feel like a lot of people have been discouraged,” she said. “I hope by teaching this, students become aware of not only the causes and effects, but also the solutions.

Students will feel more empowered to make a change in their own lives and in schools and urge our local governments to take action.”

Homework club a space for help, productivity Laura Braudis Features Reporter

Leaning over a group of sophomores, chemistry teacher Kirsten Vickey explained the difference between a hydrogen bond and a covalent bond as students shuffled through their notes. Her lesson didn’t take place during class or even J block, but during homework club, a relatively unknown teacher-organized program that runs after school on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:45.

“For me, homework club is usually hopping between students, answering questions, helping them work through chemistry,” Vickey said. She is one of many teachers who devote their after school time to providing additional academic support to students.

While all students are welcome to attend, those who are struggling in classes are individually invited.

“If you are a student who got a D or an F in a term, you are invited to join,” math teacher Vittoria Macadino-Francois, who runs the club, said. “We send a note home to your parents and say, ‘Hey, I think he or she needs a little bit more help in this subject, so we have recommended you for

an after-school program.’ It’s free for them, and they don’t need to hire a tutor.”

Math teacher Mark Rice has been helping students at homework club for three years and said he appreciates homework club’s inclusive atmosphere.

“Any student can drop in and come at any time, if they come once or as much as

distracted. It’s nice to have a teacher by your side.”

Sophomore Hagar Yosfan agreed that homework club increases her productivity.

“Even if you don’t need the teacher to help you specifically, everybody actually doing work is helpful,” she said. “It motivates me.”

“ ” At home, I get really distracted. It’s nice to have a teacher by your side.

Karine Grutman class of 2022

they want,” Rice said. “If you’re an honors student with straight A’s, of course you can come get help. It is a really low-stress environment.”

The club provides snacks and drinks at the end of each day.

Sophomore Karine Grutman, who has only been attending homework club for a month, said the environment has already made a difference to her study habits.

“It’s a good place to sit down and just work,” she said. “At home, I get really

Physics teacher Sarah Maillet has been working with homework club for two years.

She said it is a valuable resource that more students should utilize.

“Homework club is kind of flying under the radar,” she said. “Working oneon-one is really helpful and something you don’t even get in J block a lot of times.”

Macadino-Francois said that general academic pressure may contribute to a low turnout at homework club.

“The inclination of ‘I don’t want to

be viewed as if I’m struggling’ is hard for some people,” she said. “Asking for help is hard. That’s definitely one of the reasons why people don’t take advantage of this extra help.”

English teacher Natalia Taube, who has been working at the club for a year, said that more should be done to inform students about homework club.

“Guidance counselors in seminars, especially freshman and sophomore seminars, could talk about it,” she said. “Teachers could talk about it more in class, or it could even be posted on Schoology.”

For Vickey, teacher involvement is just as important as student involvement.

“One thing that would be nice is having more teachers,” Vickey said. “If I’m having trouble explaining a concept, it would be nice for there to be another teacher to get a different perspective.”

Vickey recognizes the impact that homework club has had on both her and the students.

“Just seeing students understanding concepts is great.” she said. “I would have loved in high school to have a nice place I could hang out to do homework and talk with teachers.”

february 10, 2020 Page 17

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Features

SPEAKING UP

Female students join Beyond Resolved to help combat gender disparities in debate

By Sanjana Deshpande and Siya Patel

S

enior head varsity debate captain Jessica Wu said she’s witnessed genderbased discrimination during debate tournaments.

“Rather than critiquing the girl for their skills or what they did wrong or correctly in the round, this ends up turning into judges saying, ‘Oh your voice is too high, speak lower, or your skirt is too short.’ So critiquing things that have nothing to do with the quality of the debate itself, but just factors that girls can’t control,” she said.

“I’ve felt that sexism in the air, and that’s made me feel less welcome.”

In an effort to combat gender disparity, South debaters have joined Beyond Resolved, an organization that aims to empower female and gender minority debaters in high school debate.

Under this organization, South students have taken the initiative to get involved with pink legal pads, debate captain senior Eliza Madigan said.

“What I have done is become part of the pink pads initiative where people bring pink legal pads into debate rounds to show a symbol, like a sign of how they’re allies and this is an issue and they want to bring awareness.”

Sara Catherine Cook, a freshman at Dartmouth College, co-founded the organization in 2018 while in high school in Alabama. The organization has grown substantially over the past two years, expanding to over one hundred members.

“We started doing promotional stuff for it and handing out flyers at tournaments,” Cook said. “We didn’t necessarily know how successful it would become or if it would be successful at all.”

Junior Sara Saloum, a debate tournament host, said that the nature of debating, which already has a gender imbalance, lends itself to a double standard.

“Debate is an activity that requires you to be very argumenta-

tive and to think on your feet and be present in a very assertive way. For a lot of the boys who meet that standard, they’re applauded for their presentation skills … for girls who are a little bit more aggressive, that’s perceived as forceful,” she said.

Tournaments hold different expectations, making females have to change how they present themselves, junior Dana Silvian, Beyond Resolved’s Massachusetts state coordinator, said.

“Women are twice as likely to be called aggressive in a debate round,” she said. “I’ve seen my style of debate where we change to be more relaxed, sometimes more masculine as I’ve gotten across the past couple of years on debate.”

Madigan that she has experienced less respect on the debate team.

“Even as a captain, my male peers talk over me all the time. It comes up frequently, and it’s a breeding ground for mansplaining too,” she said.

South’s debate team is unique in that it has almost as many girls as boys, Wu said.

“Other schools don’t have as many girls and women on their team, and they don’t try to help them succeed as much as we do,” she said. “We have a 50-50 split of girls to guys, which is uncommon.”

South may have an equal gender balance, but this has led to people not noticing the gender issues that still exist.

“On the outside it looks really good, but that also m e a n t that people

overlook problems that still do exist because they see girls around them and assume that the public space is inclusive, but it’s not really,” Silivian said.

Beyond Resolved’s executive director Yukiho Semimoto said that male-dominated debate culture affects the experience for non-male participants.

“Women who want to do things like the activity of debate don’t get to enjoy it as much because they’re excluded,” Semimoto said. “They don’t have the people to support them, or they face explicit forms of biases throughout the activity in general.”

Cook said she is proud of what Beyond Resolved has accomplished, especially in becoming more intersectional over time.

Though the original purpose of Beyond Resolved was to fight sexism in the debate community, it has grown into an organization supporting different minorities.

“We’ve been putting out a lot of stuff to combat socioeconomic inequalities, as well as discussing some of the issues with race,” she said Beyond Resolved not only focuses on spreading awareness on gender inequalities but also gives opportunities to anyone who wants to become involved in debate, Semimoto said.

“Right now we’re working on a free coaching service so that debaters or anyone who wants to do debate can learn without having to go through the financial expenses,” she said.

Graphic by Cat Lu

Even with all Beyond Resolved has accomplished, there have been some negative criticisms in response, said Silvian.

“The biggest criticism is the classic one, which is, ‘Oh, they just hate men.

They’re trying to take down all men and they’re assuming that men aren’t qualified,’” she said. “A lot of people say ‘Yeah, they’re women and they see hardships, but they’re just trying to look for excuses to complain.’

The most frustrating thing is that almost all of them come from men.”

Becoming a part of Beyond Resolved has helped Silvian connect more with other women debaters and inspire changes in South’s team.

“It’s given women a community that they know is standing behind them,” Silvian said. “South itself has started all-girls’ practices and sometimes girls nights where only the girls hang out. It’s created our own small community, and I hope other schools start to do that too.”

These changes have given girls a place that supports them, varsity debate captain senior Michael Lezhnin said.

“It’s been a part of the reason why more girls have stayed on teams, because they know that somebody out there is working to make sure that they can continue to compete,” he said.

Cook said that Beyond Resolved has helped females become more confident speaking up to shed light on discrimination.

“People feel more empowered now to talk about their experiences and take a stand in a positive way,” she said.

Even with these efforts to fight gender disparities, there is still a long way to go.

“I’m proud of the work that’s been done so far to combat sexism within South and within Beyond Resolved,” Silvian said.

“But I’m excited to see where it goes because there’s a lot of work to be done.”

FeaTURES ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 18 February 10, 2020

R AR

the LION’S

THE

COMMON APPLICATION Follow the playlist on Spotify by scanning the code in the app

The Lion’s Roar Valentines Day Staff Picks:

20 songs, 1 hour 12 minutes — songs to listen to if you don’t have a valentine

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

By Ellyssa Jeong

In Love: it might be one-sided but love is still love Crush Tessa Violet Pumpkin The Regrettes Paper Rings Taylor Swift She dodie Can’t Help Falling In Love Ingrid Michael Single: just the way you like it Trust My Lonely Alessia Cara broken lovelytheband Get Well Donna Missal You Matter To Me Sara Barailles, Jason Mraz Truth Hurts Lizzo Broken Up: currently cuddling with an empty bag of Doritos The Good Side Troye Sivan Talia King Princess All Love FLETCHER Rivers and Roads The Head and the Hear Your Best American Girl Mitski It’s Complicated: if things aren’t going as planned with your SO...

King of Anything Sara Barailles You Destroyed My Heart King Princess Breakeven The Script Crush Culture Conan Gray Undrunk FLETCHER

K

orey* was deferred from MIT, denied from Brown, and accepted to University of Massachussetts Amherst in the early action round.

“It was a little surprising because I worked so much harder on Brown than MIT,” he said. “I added a couple more schools after I got denied from Brown because I was a little scared since I put so much effort into that one, so I thought I would at least get deferred.”

Korey applied to a total of nine other schools through regular decision: University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Cornell University, Amherst College, Middlebury College, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University, Brandeis University and the University of Rochester. His top two choices are Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Since finishing the application process, Korey has had time to reflect on his time at South.

“I remember when I was just going to high school, and when I was little and I was looking to highschoolers, thinking that they were so old,” he said. “It’s so surreal to think that I’m almost done with high school.”

He advises his senior classmates to stay focused on relevant courses.

“In the classes that are going to be important for you later, you should be trying hard because if you fall behind, you’re going to be set back because you haven’t been paying attention to the second half of the year,” Korey said. “I am planning on working really hard in the classes that I find interesting or classes that are important for what I’m majoring in.”

C

andace* received live auditions for all of the schools she applied to. She has already auditioned at Indiana University and the University of Michigan, with four more scheduled in February and early March.

“Indiana University and the University of Michigan were good to start with because the repertoire was not as intense, so it was a good run for the more intense auditions. I think they’ll get better as I go because, already, Michigan was better than Indiana,” she said.

As Candace has been competing regularly in competitions for the past two months, she said that the season is coming to an end. She is waiting on the results of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, whom she will hear back from in a couple of weeks. Candace said that the worst part of auditions and competitions is the nerves.

“I think I was well prepared for these auditions, but part of the reason you have to prepare so much is because, inevitably, you’ll get nervous and won’t be able to play as well.”

While some seniors have been able to relax a little, Candace said that her unique application process has kept her from doing the same.

“I haven’t felt myself going into senior slump because I still have a long way to go, but even my classmates who are well into college haven’t slumped too hard. I think the slump is more of people relaxing, rather than letting their grades drop, which is good, because you won’t be failing all of your classes,” she said.

A

graphics by Emily Zhang

ustin* was accepted to the University of Chicago in December, was recently learned about his acceptance to Northeastern University. He is waiting to hear back from Case Western’s Pre-Professional Scholars Program, in which students earn a bachelor’s degree and enroll into the School of Medicine. For regular decision, Austin applied to Harvard, Yale and Princeton Universities and Williams College, all of which he would consider attending over University of Chicago.

“I didn’t end up applying to Dartmouth because I’d rather go to UChicago. All four of the schools I ended up applying regular decision to are all schools I don’t know if I would choose over UChicago,” he said.

Austin reminds his peers who have been accepted to be mindful that other students have yet to get into a college they are excited about.

“Be careful about wearing college merch” he said. “If you wear your college merch to school, you are bragging about getting into college, which is fair because you should be proud of it, but other people are probably really stressed out,” he said.

Looking forward to the next four years, Austin said he hopes to meet a diverse group of students and find his community, wherever he ends up.

“College is when you start new, and the demographics are going to be different in college, so I’m kind of nervous to see how that community works for me. But I’m also really excited to see something different.” *Names changed to protect student’s identities

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar Fun

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS:

1. Warm up with a _____ fire; inverse of an exponent abbr.

5. Houston baseball team that illegally stole signals 6. Unite the _____ fundraiser will take place on Feb. 27 to raise money for Luke’s ____s 7. ______ Knope; Parks and Rec. character who invented Galentine’s Day 8. Children of the _______ and Newtones performed at Winter Warmer on Jan. 24; most controversial Halloween treat 12. Controversial proposed development; antonym of south water 15. Structure of freshman social media assembly; Faculty Advisor Ashley Chapman starred on episode #7732 of this popular game show 16. Commercial event of the year; antonym of a small plate 17. Try not to third _____ on your friend’s Valentine’s day date 19. Annual creative writing contest in honor of beloved former English teacher M. Roland _________ 22. Juniors’ favorite vacation activity; ____ de France 23. Massachusetts Child Abuse System for freshmen; extra sleep for everyone else

FEbruary 10, 2020 Page 19 A vivacious vessel of vibrant valentines

DOWN:

2. South newest exchange program will travel to this country in Africa 3. Check out thelionsroar, Roar’s new ______ account and listen to the Valentine’s Day playlist 4. Red, blue and yellow; the New Hampshire ______ is tomorrow 8. Elementary school that will be most affected by the Northland development 9. 2020 is a ____ year; take a _____ of faith and try something new 10. Punxsutawney ____ saw his shadow this year 11. Senior parents, buy this in the Roar to congratulate your child on graduation; synonymous with CE when following a date 13. ____ Wednesday is 46 days before Easter; solid debris from fire 14. Read about the anime movie “_____ ing With You” on page 11; thanks to climate change, we have had unusually warm ______ this year 18. Kate Esbenshade’s climate education _____ garnered over 1,000 supporters; the First Amendment protects religion, speech, press, assembly, and _____ 20. Newton senior center abbr.

21. _____ exams; _____ elections were in 2018

Embarrasing Roar Staff Photo of the Month Down: 2) Ghana 3) Spotify 4) Primary 8) Countryside 9) Leap 10) Phil 11) Ad 13) Ash 14) Weather 18) Petition 20) NewCAL 21) Midterm Across: 1) Log 5) Astros 6) Light 7) Leslie 8) CandyCorn 12) Northland 15) Jeopardy 16) Super Bowl 17) Wheel 19) Heintzelman 22) Tour 23) MCAS

Three of four fearless, ferocious and fiesty features editors, from left: Jeong’s smiles through the pain of sophomore year, Gordon shows off her orthodontist’s artwork, bird-of-prey Goodman swoops in.

PERSONALITY QUIZ:

Which vacation destination are you?

What are you doing on Saturday night?

A. Dinner at the Top of the Hub B. Saturdays are for the boys C. Pajamas + best friend + favorite movie D. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Where are you staying?

A. The Four Seasons B. Youth hostel C. Airbnb D. Living with a host family

What’s your favorite midnight snack?

A. Açaí bowls B. Coffee C. A bowl of Cheerios D. Chocolate

Who’s your ideal travel companion?

A. My SO B. A big group of friends C. My family D. I’ll meet people when I get there

What is your favorite TV show?

A. The Great British Baking Show B. The Office C. Gilmore Girls D. The Amazing Race

How do you exercise?

A. Private training at Equinox B. Soccer practice C. Light jog around Crystal Lake D. Group fitness at the YMCA

Pick a travel accessory.

A. Gucci sunglasses B. Travel playlist C. Neck pillow D. Fodor’s guidebook

How long are you staying for?

A. Never coming home B. Just a few days C. A week or two D. Until I’ve seen the world

If you answered mostly... you got....

A

Bora Bora You’re not the center of attention, but anyone spends time with you is in for a treat. You only settle for the best, and you make sure that everyone else has it too.

B

C

Home Tokyo It doesn’t take much to make There’s never a dull moment when you’re around; you light you happy; you’re content where you are. You’re happiest with up a room with energy, humor close friends and family, and and positivity, and everyone likes people feel at ease with you. spending time with you

D

São Paulo There are many layers to you, and only a lucky few ever discover them all. You aspire to better yourself and love being exposed to new perspectives.

SPORTS page 20|February 10, 2020|THE LION’S ROAR|issuu.com/thelionsroar

SPORTS@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 36, ISSUE 6

SLEIGHT OF HAND Recent Astros sign-stealing scandal has monumental repercussions for the baseball world

By Austin Chen

W

hen YouTuber Jomboy uploaded another video in his long-running series of baseball breakdowns — this one titled, “Astros using cameras to steal signs, a breakdown” — the world of baseball was turned on its head. Fans weren’t sure of what would follow, but it was clear that baseball history was unfolding before their eyes.

Before Jomboy uploaded that video in November, the Houston Astros were considered one of the best teams in baseball.

After spending much of the early-to-mid 2010s at the bottom of the American League West, the Astros used their high draft picks well, eventually building a World Series championship roster. After three straight 100-win seasons, a World Series title in 2017 and another appearance in 2019, the Astros’ success had no foreseeable end.

Then Jomboy released that video, and the end of the Astros’ reign became all too apparent. In a scant two minutes and 20 seconds, Jomboy provided irrefutable evidence of an explosive scandal that rocked the sport In their article for The Athletic, pub-

lished just before Jomboy’s video, journalists Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported on allegations leveled by Oakland A’s pitcher Mike Fiers against the Astros, his former team. Fiers claimed that the team had been electronically stealing signs since its 2017 World-Series-winning campaign.

In baseball, catchers use hand signals to indicate to pitchers which pitch — whether a fastball, a curveball or something else — should be thrown. If a batter somehow knew the signs, they would know where the next pitch was going and obtain a massive advantage. In the unwritten rules of baseball, there are certain “tells” that are seen as acceptable gamesmanship because noticing an opposing catcher or pitcher’s tendencies requires careful observation.

These tells can manifest themselves in many ways, from a verbal tic to a repeated physical motion. For example, in the 2017 World Series, many fans and pundits believed that Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish had been “tipping” his pitches: Darvish would hold the ball at his side when receiving signs and would change his grip

only if he was going to pitch a slider or a cutter. Acting on tells like these is perfectly acceptable, but the signs the Astros stole using technology were strictly off-limits.

The Astros had developed a sophisticated system that utilized a center field camera trained on the hands of opposing catchers. They would note which hand movements correlated with which type of pitch, then pass the information on to someone sitting in the dugout. If the upcoming pitch was a curveball, this person would bang on a trashcan loud enough for the Astro at bat to hear.

The banging was even noticeable to others on the field; in fact, White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar said in an interview with The Athletic that, “There was a banging from the dugout, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack every time a changeup signal got put down. After the third one, I stepped off.”

Upon further investigation, Jomboy discovered that Farquhar was right. Whenever White Sox catcher Kevan Smith put down the signs for a curveball, a distinct banging noise was audible almost immediately. These sounds were completely absent when Smith put down signs for fastballs.

Jomboy’s video has accrued nearly 4 million views and over 10,000 comments since its upload and was instrumental in forcing Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred to thoroughly investigate the Astros. Social media was ablaze with speculation, ranging from the veracity of the accusations to the scope of the cheating to the potentially massive punishments that could be levied. For 62 chaotic days, nobody knew what was going to happen. Then, Manfred dropped the hammer.

On Jan. 13, the MLB public relations office announced that league officials had concluded their investigation into the Astros.

In a 10-page report, a number of important current and former Astros figures were found guilty of devising and implementing an electronic sign-stealing system. Among those implicated were Astros manager A.J. Hinch, president of baseball operations and general manager Jeff Luhnow, Red Sox manager Alex Cora and newly-hired Mets manager Carlos Beltrán. Hinch had executed the plan, Luhnow let it happen, Cora masterminded it and Beltrán both assisted, and, as a player,

benefited. What followed was devastating.

The Astros were fined $5 million and were stripped of their first- and second-round picks in both the 2020 and 2021 drafts. $5 million is the largest possible fine under the MLB constitution, and the loss of that many high draft selections can cripple a team’s future.

Despite these brutal punishments, some have (rightly) pointed out that no current Astros players, despite directly benefiting from the scheme, have been penalized.

Shortly after the news broke, both Hinch and Luhnow were subsequently fired. Cora and Beltrán “mutually agreed to part ways with” (read: were fired by) their respective teams, and it’s likely that none of the four will ever be hired at the major league level again.

Cora was hired as the Red Sox manager in 2017, and he decided to bring the lessons he had learned in Houston to Boston. In a threegame series against the New York Yankees in 2017, a Red Sox assistant athletic trainer was seen looking at an Apple Watch in the dugout, and after the Yankees complained to the league over an improper use of electronics, the Red Sox were investigated and fined for stealing signs. Red Sox fans were bewildered then, but with all of Cora’s dirty laundry now being aired out, that particular debacle makes much more sense.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are perhaps the biggest victim of this fraud: the franchise has a heartbreaking history of losing in the playoffs; not only were they defeated by the Astros in the 2017 World Series, but also by the Red Sox in the 2018 World Series. Were the Dodgers robbed of two championships because these teams cheated? It’s hard to say.

As of now, the ultimate fate of the Astros and the baseball world as a whole remains uncertain. On Jan. 23, a class-action lawsuit was filed in New York against the MLB, the Astros and the Red Sox on behalf of sports bettors. Even if the case goes nowhere, it is concrete proof of yet another indelible stain on the fabric of baseball’s story. Only time will tell just how deeply legacies will be re-evaluated and how, if at all, the affected teams will recover from this scandal. Baseball fans everywhere are left questioning the integrity of the game. If the Astros and Red Sox were doing it, who else was? Who else is?

photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal

On Nov. 2, 2017, the Houston Astros celebrated as outfielder George Springer tied the World Series with his fifth home run, leading the Astros to a 5-1 win over L.A. Dodgers

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar SPORTS

February 10, 2020 Page 21

Super Bowl Awards

Even for practices, athletes travel Dorra Guermazi Sports Editor

Every Tuesday, nordic ski captain senior Sara Modiano slides out of her car doors into the dark, skis and school bag in hand, and walks through her front door. It’s 7:30 pm, though she left school for practice just after 2 p.m. After a 20-minute bus ride, Modiano and her teammates arrived at the Weston Ski Track with enough time to wax their skis, do homework or go to a nearby café before skiing. Later that day, they had a lesson with the instructor, and then headed home.

“For me, on Tuesdays, I don’t have to go to the lessons because I already know how to ski, but I stay with the team, and on those days, I feel like it’s cutting into my time,” she said.

By the time the bus drops Modiano off at South and she makes her way back home, she has spent nearly 12 straight hours at school and skiing.

Modiano’s commitment is not unlike that of many winter athletes at South, most of whom do not get home until long after dark.

Since I have to come home first, then I have to make sure I have time to do my homework so I’ll do my homework after school, or as much as I can do right before practice,” she said.

Many teams use facilities outside of South, adding to their commute times.

Sharing facilities with other schools’ teams is an additional barrier. Gymnast senior Beth O’Neill said that although her practices at North are only about 15 minutes away, training can only begin at 4:45 p.m. after North sports finish.

“It just makes it annoying because you come home, and you have time, but then you have to leave again,” she said. “It just breaks up my day, but it’s not that inconvenient.”

Gymnastics captain senior Danielle DiNisco agreed that though it may be initially cumbersome, she has been able

captain senior Jamin Liu said the commute is part and parcel of the swim team.

“I lose half an hour, but it’s part of it,” he said. “Getting to practice is part of practice.

Having practices outside of South poses barriers for underclassmen athletes, O’Neill said. Before she could drive herself, finding a ride was difficult.

“I didn’t really know the upperclassmen that well, and it stressed me out a lot to ask the upperclassmen for rides every single day. I felt really guilty about it,” she said.

Liu, however, said that team car rides are often fun and can contribute to team bonding.

“Especially if you’re carpooling with other people, you have time to sit in the car and talk to your friends for a little,” he said.

Lacey said that she is fortunate to live close to where her practices are.

“I go home after school because I don’t want to stay for J block, and I actually live closer to North than I do South which is fortunate, except for staying at South would be ideal,” she said. “I usually drive to practice myself, and sometimes I drive one of my teammates to practice as well.”

BY ARON KORSUNSKY & JACK WYLIE

senior sports editor, sports columnist

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2. Sports’ Reporters Aron Korsunsky and Jack Wylie share their picks for some game awards.

Most VALUABLE PLAYER

Wylie: While the Chief ’s Patrick Mahomes had a strong fourth quarter, he missed crucial throws in the first half, so I would have to give MVP to the Chief ’s Damien Williams, who scored twice and did a lot of the heavy lifting in the first half.

Korsunsky: Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Chiefs. Mahomes led a few crucial drives in the fourth quarter, finding receivers with perfect throws in typical Mahomes fashion. Strong fourth-quarter. The Chiefs won this game because of Mahomes. Take Williams off the Chiefs, and they still win 10/10 times.

Take Mahomes away, they never stand a chance.

UNSUNG HERO

Wylie: Damien Williams had an outstanding performance. On 21 touches he had 133 total yards and two touchdowns. He should have won Super Bowl MVP over Mahomes.

Korsunsky: I’m gonna have to agree with Wylie here. Choosing anyone else would be a mistake. Williams was crucial with ensuring that the Chiefs remained balanced between running and throwing the ball. A very close second for MVP.

Most Important Play

South’s alpine ski team leaves right after school and does not return to South until 9:30 p.m. three times a week. The boys and girls basketball teams often play away-game doubleheaders, in which the second game doesn’t start until 7 p.m. Boys and girls track teams travel to meets near weekly, from which they return to South after 9 p.m.

Though the time commitment seems extreme, athletes said that they make use of their long commutes.

“When I was younger, I would do my homework on the bus, but now it’s second half of senior year, so it’s okay,” Modiano said.

Rather than inducing stress, gymnast junior Shanna Lacey said that the time commitment has helped her stay on top of her assignments and commitments “It’s taught me time management.

Unlike Lacey, Modiano has to take a circuitous route home because of the bus, adding extra time to her commute.

“I take the bus back to South, which passes by my house and then I go back to my Hill mma

by Ge house, which ic h grap is like 40 minutes, and that is definitely timeconsuming,” she said.

Liu said Jamin Liu that the lengthy class of 2020 traveling is a habit that he has gotten used to in to adapt. his years on the team.

“Being on the team for the past four “It’s really not as bad as everyone years, I have gotten used to this commute thinks,” he said. “It’s pretty manageable.” and it isn’t that big of an issue for me,” she Liu said he’s making the best of an said. “It is a little more stressful because it’s unideal situation because of his dedication not just a practice that you go to in the field to the team and sport. house after school and it’s a little confusing “Maybe you’re a little more stressed to get into a regular routine with this tim- being an athlete and having less time, but ing, but in the end I feel like it’s not a huge it’s necessarily the car ride itself,” he said. inconvenience.”

“It eats into your time, obviously, but that’s The swim team also practices later in the commitment you make as an athlete, to the day, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at North. Swim be willing to have less time.”

“ ” I lose half an hour, but it’s part of it. Getting to practice is part of practice

Wylie: The 49ers’ George Kittle’s offensive pass interference to close the first half had a tremendous impact on the game. The 49ers would surely have had a field goal, and the gameplans would have been different if the 49ers had been ahead.

Korsunsky: Mahomes 44-yard pass to the Chief ’s Tyreek Hill on 3rd and 15 with 7:13 left in the game while being down 20-10. They likely would have had to punt away, instead finishing the drive with a touchdown.

BIGGEST UNDERPERFORMER

Wylie: Jimmy Garoppolo had a promising first half for the 49ers, but he fell apart toward the end. He missed a wide-open Emmanuel Sanders on a deep ball on 3rd and 10 down 4 with 1:40 remaining for a sure touchdown. He finished the game with a substandard QBR of 40.6.

Korsunsky: George Kittle, tight end for the 49ers. Coming in, there were talks that Kittle was the NFL’s most important tight end. He ended the night with only four catches for 36 yards.

Most VALUABLE DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Wylie: Frank Clark applied pressure all game, rushing Jimmy Garoppolo to make throws. His one tackle was perhaps the most important defensive play of the game, sacking Garoppolo on 4th and 10 with 1:25 left in the game.

Korsunsky: Chris Jones, defensive tackle for the Chiefs. With three pass deflections, including a crucial one on 2nd and 5 with 5:26 remaining in the game, Jones led the Kansas City front-line against the 49ers’ powerful running game.

sports ISSUU.COm/TheLionsroar The Lion’s Roar

page 22 FEBRUARY 10, 2020

DOWN THE STRETCH A mid-season look into South sports as they close down their seasons with titles on the line

By Henry Blanchette

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triving to finish undefeated for the eighth season straight, girls gymnastics has carried on a legacy of success, junior Carly Eswara said.

“We’re looking forward to getting more skills and seeing how far we can take our undefeated legacy,” she said.

Honing in on new skills, she said, is essential toward making improvements and growing closer as a team.

“We always support each other, so when one person gets a new skill, it's like we all get a new skill because we all get so excited for that person,” she said. “We do a lot of team bonding and [make] each other close so that we can work better together, even though [the sport] is individual.”

"You can only win as a team, because you have to combine your scores to win," senior Beth O'Neill said. "You're not doing your routine for yourself, you're not trying to win for yourself, you're doing it for the team."

To stay undefeated was the team’s goal from the start, junior Shanna Lacey said. They hope to replicate their 2018-2019 success, when they won the New England Regional Championship.

"Our proudest accomplishment as a team is being undefeated for eight years," Lacey said.

Not only have they found consistent success in meets, but the program has grown in recent years, which is critical to their success, senior captain Danielle Dinisco said.

"This season has been a little different than our last three years because of our size," she said. "Starting with just nine members when I was a freshman, we now have 19 and it’s been so fun. It gives everyone a chance to get to know so many more people of all ages."

Their coach, Kylie Calzone, has been a big part of their success, Lacey said.

"She just wants the best for us ... to influence us and inspire us," she said.

In just her first year on the team, junior Dalani Ramos has made an immediate impact and, in a Jan. 30 meet against Westford Academy,broke the school record for the floor event with a 9.8/10. Ramos's contribution helped the team secure their final regular season win and undefeated finish.

On Feb. 5, the team's goals came to fruition as they defended their DCL title, taking home the win with a score of 146.00.

SWIM & DIVE

photo by Netta Dror

Junior Topher Fitzpatrick swims the 50m freestyle in a Jan. 23 win against Bedford

GIRLS GYMNASTICS

photo by Netta Dror

Junior Carly Eswara does a back walkover on beam in a Jan. 31 win against Cambridge Rindge and Latin

B

efore the start of the season, captain senior Miya Johnston encouraged the team to set personal and team goals to guide them through the season.

“We always make a goal sheet on the very first day,” Johnston said. “I've seen over the course of the season everybody just working hard, and I hope to be able to see everybody achieve one of their goals that they set.”

Junior Collin Holson said this dedication paid off when the team defeated Weston 96-83 on Jan. 7.

“We beat Weston this year, and we have only beaten Weston twice in the history of the South swimming,” he said. “Once my freshman year and once this year.”

Senior Kyle Lo credited the team’s determination to their constant focus on improvement.

“The season’s been really successful for the boys team,” he said. “It's really just generated from the community. We, at practice, make an effort to work on the little things.”

The team’s overall score is a sum of points earned in each event, which Johnston said is a major motivator for her.

“Knowing that my points [and] my swim will affect how the team does overall really pushes me to swim faster and just do well,” she said.

While the sport is team-oriented, junior Maya Hernandez said individual goals are crucial, too.

“Each person has their own improvements and goals in their mind, which is really important when you swim,” she said.

Next year's team will have big shoes to fill after the current seniors graduate, Holson said.

“They're leaving a huge gap behind.

Eight for the boys and six girls,” he said.

“That's going to be really hard, to plug that hole.”

Captain senior Kate Taylor said she is still optimistic about what the rest of this season has in store.

“I think that DCLs at the end of this season is where we get to see the fruition of our hard work really come to play and how everyone is working their hardest,” she said.

“The camaraderie of the team and the sense of family is really the strongest toward the end of the season.”

FEBRUARY 10, 2020 Page 23

The Lion’s Roar Issuu.com/thelionsroar SPORTS

ALPINE SkI

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hen junior Alexa Firkusny finishes her alpine ski races, she knows that her teammates will greet her with cheers and snacks, no matter how she places. It’s this type of support, she said, that brings the team together.

“At every race, we have tables at the bottom with food, so after you race, everyone congratulates you, high fives you,” Firkusny said. “We're trying to get a lot better about cheering them on down at the finish line.”

Because of the shared team spirit, skiers like Firkusny have grown increasingly confident as athletes.

“This year, I just feel more comfortable,” she said. “[I’ve] become a better racer.

It's not just me. I've been noticing, at our last race, a lot of people got faster times than they ever have before.”

“Every week we get better with guidance from the captains,” freshman Eva Shimkus said. “When you do your run, they're always congratulating you and being supportive.”

This winter, the ski team performed

photo contributed by Masie Abbiati

Senior captain Maddie Bray finishes her ski race at the bottom of Nashoba Valley on Jan. 28

W

ith 41 tryouts and a new training regimen this year, things are looking up for the wrestling team, whose members have worked hard to improve throughout their season, junior Claire Caldicott said.

“Everybody's made huge leaps in their abilities, and everybody's stamina is really good,” she said.

Caldicott said that these improvements are the result of their new training style techniques. “[Coach Kramer] is basically having us drill certain moves over and over again instead of learning a lot of new moves,” she said. “That makes us get a lot better at those certain core moves that are really important.”

Junior captain Phillip Amitan said that Kramer’s dedication inspires the team.

“He works one-on-one with many of us to help us improve,” he said. “He can be tough

sometimes, but we all know it’s for the best.”

Amitan said that putting in work during the pre-season and playoffs is essential.

“I feel like our team needs to work on off-season conditioning and technique,” he said. “It’s important that everyone does club in the off-season.”

A common misconception, Caldicott said, is that wrestling is strictly an individual sport.

“You can't practice by yourself,” she said. “You have to practice with someone else, so you become very close with all your teammates.”

Amitan has set his sights high for the rest of the season.

“I really hope we can fine-tune all the details and small problems to win the rest of our meets,” he said. “I’m going to be working very hard to climb to the top podium everywhere I go.”

well at every race: the girls team has placed only first and second, and the boys have finished third and fourth in races that typically consist of six or seven teams.

In December, the team’s season got off to a rocky start when they didn’t have a coach. Luckily, engineering teacher Claus Hinck stepped up to the plate just days before the season began.

The captains — seniors Aden O'Beirne, Charlotte Doran and Maddie Bray — and Hinck have worked to ensure success for the entire team, Firkusny said.

“They’re helping me out a lot,” she said. “Coach is actually very good because ... he's really organized, so he keeps the team together, is clear about details and helps us run an efficient practice.”

Shimkus said that she’s grown throughout the season, and that she and the team, with this growth in mind, hope to place well at States to close their 2020 season.

“Every week, we always get better with guidance from the captains on how to race and just how to ski," she said.

WRESTLING

photo by Hedi Skali

Sophomore Zach Wagner (left) and senior Mark Nazzaro (right) wrestle during a practice

QuICk hITS

boYS bASkETbALL GIRLS INDooR TRACk boYS GYMNASTICS GIRLS hoCkEY

A

fter narrowly missing the playoffs in the 2018-19 season, the boys basketball team has rebounded exceptionally. Led by an electrifying captain, senior Njavan Stewart whose play has finally drawn crowds to games, South has secured a playoff spot and hopes to win enough games to host its first playoff game since 2014.

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enior Lucy Jenks, a Stanford commit who ran the fastest 1000m time in the country on Jan. 26, and freshman Emilia Everett, who won the Coaches Invitational Meet with a 5:15 mile, are just two of many South runners hungry for the DCL title.

Also notable: the South 4x800 relay is ranked seventh in the country.

T

his team has won four straight state titles. “Quadpete” is a word made up for winning the championship four times in a row. The word had to be made up because such things never happen. First-time South gymnast and Junior Olympian junior Jonah Henderson hopes to lead this team to a pentapete, another made up words.

W

hen asked of their major accomplishments this winter, senior captain Sam Shaevel said "No ghosts were present this year." She did not elaborate. What does this mean? We couldn't tell you if we tried. Ghosts or no ghosts, the team is 4-11-2 and is elimated from playoff contention.

GIRLS bASkETbALL boYS INDooR TRACk CRoSS CouNTRY SkI boYS hoCkEY

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he girls basketball team began 2019 with nearly an entire returning squad and their chemistry working to their advantage. The team started off their season 11-4, tied for second in the DCL. Based on current seeding, South should host a playoff game and look to improve on last year’s firstround playoff exit.

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everal seasons of close finishes at the DCL finals behind them, the team remains hungry for the chip. After an undefeated cross country and Indoor season, the team looks to improve upon their performance when it matters most. DCL titan Acton-Boxborough stands iron-clad, guarding the throne.

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ordic skiing looks to take the rest of their season head-on. The team is now keyed in on the post-break Feb. 25 state championship, where only a fraction of the team, freshmen Willa Keller and Ben Modiano, and seniors Alex MacArthur, Jacob Glick and Benji Todreas, will compete for the cup.

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lthough South made a deep playoff run last winter, 2019-2020 has not brought the same success, since Johnny Baker, South's all-time leading goal scorer, graduated last spring. Despite losing the best player in their history, the boys remain in the playoff hunt and must win two of their four remaining games to secure a spot.