Volume 28, Issue 6

the LION’S

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

Vol. XXVIII · Issue VI

january 27, 2012

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · www.thelionsroar.com

Grad inspires self-defense Jessica Bolter & Ali Meisel Managing Editors

facebook harms self-esteem, aggravates eating disorders Carly Meisel

Cheng said that Facebook specifically creates a forum for comparison and competition.

Features Reporter “If someone is [insecure], and then they see other hen freshman Liz* was in second grade, people’s pictures who are very skinny, they could want to the boy she had a crush on called her a “fat change their size or how they look,” Cheng said. pumpkin.” Soon after, Liz bought a new Such a path can be dangerous, particularly if the winter coat, choosing an especially puffy line between dieting and having an eating disorder beone to ensure that no one could see what her body looked comes blurred, according to Pat Cable, an eating disorder like underneath. Not only did she wear specialist at Massachusetts General it outside, but also throughout the day Hospital. “[Eating disorders] contain an To read The in class. emotional component,” Cable said. “If a Roar’s editorial Liz’s second grade insecurities deperson has an eating disorder, it will inveloped into bulimia by sixth grade, and fluence their entire life. It will [change] on Facebook’s in later years, she turned to the Internet their relationship with friends, family, altered reality, see for support. “There is a whole sub-culture and [it] could affect a student’s perforpg. of people corresponding with each other mance in school,” she said. “Looks are and giving each other support like ‘Stick not … important if your health is at with it; it will work’ or ‘Pull through; you can do it,’” Liz said. risk.”

For girls who share the same insecurities as Liz, High school students are among those most likely issues with body image or motivation for having eating to take that risk, though, according to the National Asdisorders can go even beyond this sub-culture into social sociation of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, media, through which photographs are made available for which reports that 95 percent of those who have eating public viewing and critique. disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.

According to freshman Nicole Cheng, teenagers Senior Jane* was among that 95 percent as she face more outside influences that affect their body image coped with anorexia for months before starting to see an than younger children. “The pressure to be a certain body type has grown a lot since we were younger,” she said.

EATING DISORDERS, 11

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The Lily Konowitz Foundation For Women’s Safety is sponsoring classes at South taught by the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program. On Dec. 22, members of the foundation encouraged senior girls to sign up for the classes through an optional presentation in the auditorium. The foundation was established in June 2011 after ‘11 graduate Lily Konowitz fought off an attacker while vacationing in Aruba over April break. She credited her survival to having taken the RAD program.

“The class is what saved my life, and I know that,” Konowitz said. “I know that had I not taken the class I would’ve been in a much worse-case scenario, and I know that had I not taken it I would have not known what to do, and I would’ve froze.”

She and her parents, Diane and Steve Konowitz, established the foundation graphic by Ari Ebstein to help bring RAD classes to South for free, fund the training of more instructors and purchase equipment for the classes. “We’re just so thankful for the Newton Police Department for putting on the selfdefense class Lily and I took,” Diane said. “We wanted to do something to show our appreciation to the police department and to the community.”

Konowitz said that after the attack, she decided to share her story and continue spreading awareness about the RAD program. “The big thing that pushed me was that I knew if I shared it with more people, it would really help the self-defense class,” she said. “I attribute everything to the self-defense class, so I wanted to help … promote it.”

According to Prevention/Intervention counselor Rich Catrambone, the school was also eager to promote the classes.

“Our hope was to develop awareness and some enthusiasm about this in terms of [the senior] class,” he said.

RAD, 6

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Science

Debate arises over the effectiveness of the science curriculum.

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Germany

An exploration of German culture through the eyes of South students.

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13

photo courtesy of Newton Tab

‘11 grad Lily Konowitz speaks to senior girls on Dec. 22.

Technology A student’s criticism of the over-emphasis on education technology.

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NEWS 3 FEATURES 8 EDITORIALS 14 CENTERFOLD 16 OPINIONS 20 COMMUNITY 25 SPORTS 28

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january 27, 2012

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South Spots compiled by Roar editors

Orchestra Chorus Concert The orchestra and chorus held a joint concert on Jan. 26 in the auditorium. The groups performed pieces separately and joined together for two songs by Mozart. The concert marked the third year that the two musical groups have combined in concert. photo by Jordan Cohen-Kaplan

Junior Parents Night

The Newton Public Schools Education Center hopes to incorporate Google Docs as an educational tool in the classroom this year.

The guidance department held junior parents night to formally begin the post-high school planning process on Jan. 25. The event began with an address from principal Joel Stembridge, director of guidance Shelly Borg and college and career counselor Barbara Brown. Parents then had an opportunity to meet with their children’s guidance counselors. Today, counselors will hold follow-up meetings with all juniors during B block.

Students collaborate using Google Docs

Holocaust Memorial South will hold a program on the Holocaust during lunch today sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council, the New England Holocaust Memorial and the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.

Following a formal discussion, Holocaust survivors will share their stories with students and teachers to honor the United Nations International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

Julie Olesky News Reporter

In an attempt to facilitate online collaboration, the Newton Public Schools Education Center is piloting Google Docs as a supplement to South’s educational system this year.

The new initiative calls for the use of “Google Apps for Education,” an online tool developed specifically for schools, which provides all students and staff members with an account linked to their student ID numbers.

Instructional technology specialist Brian Hammel said the new educational platform of Google Docs will assist the transition from its role as an online storage space to a private forum in which students can work.

“Google Docs is something that a lot of people have used over the last several years … with their personal accounts,” he said.

“Now, [the new Google Docs system] is perfectly safe for students.”

Librarian Ethel Downey has been teaching students and teachers to use Google Docs in an effort to make technology more accessible for students.

“There’s no longer a concern for compatibility,” she said. “Some students may not have Microsoft Word at home, but they may have Internet access. As long as you have Internet access, every student now has a word processor, a spreadsheet [and] a PowerPoint [or] slideshow program that they can use.”

According to librarian Marnie Bolstad, the sharing feature on Google Docs, which allows students and teachers to share documents they have made with any other student or teacher in the system,

benefits group work because students do not have to be in the same place to work on the same document.

“It really encourages collaboration and working together for students,” she said.

“Teachers can also follow up with students because their work is being shared with their teacher, and the teacher can see how the students are progressing and … make comments and suggestions.”

According to science teacher Marianne McChesney, new sharing capabilities have proved to be helpful in her classroom.

“I’m finding that it’s a really convenient way for students to collaborate over projects

The teacher can see how the students are progressing and ... make comments and suggestions.

- Marnie Bolstad, Librarian and for them to share their work with me instead of having to email the first draft, revision and final draft. I always get the most recent revision,” she said. “[Google Docs] is improving … the ease with which students can work together over projects.”

Sophomore Josh Carney said that although he believes Google Docs will improve the sense of communication among students, it may also allow for an uneven balance of workload within a group.

According to Carney, some students may take the opportunity to do less work because Google Docs makes it harder for group members to ensure that the workload is balanced. He said the difficulty arises from using an online platform as opposed to a

physical setting.

“I’ve had a couple experiences where I’ve ended up having to ‘carry the weight’ because I’m the only one that’s on top of things or the only one that’s getting it in on time,” he said. “Google Docs is an excellent tool to progress and make a better project; however, it [can also allow] one person in a group fall behind and have the others pick up their slack.”

Hammel said he has noticed such situations of unequal distribution of work in the past, however, and said he hopes Google Docs can eliminate that problem.

“If you really wanted to micromanage [the project] as a teacher, you could see what work each student did,” he said. “I think Google Docs will really help us put an end to [unequal group work].”

Sophomore Valeria Kottke, who said she has been in a group in which she did most of the work, agreed that teachers will have a greater ability to supervise assignments.

“Since people are able to work on it at the same time, it helps with the group work situation because the teacher is able to see who does what work,” she said.

According to Carney, the success of Google Docs as an educational tool depends on students’ own efforts. “[Google Docs] can affect group work in negative and positive ways; it’s just a matter of using it wisely and contributing equally,” he said.

McChesney agreed that the program’s effectiveness depends on how it is used. “[Unequal distribution of work] can happen whether you use Google Docs or not,” she said. “Google Docs is not a way to prevent that — that is still something that the teacher and the students need to be aware of. Learning how to communicate with your partner and share work is all part of collaborating.”

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A CLOSER LOOK AT THE

SCIENCE SYST H

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In 1993, South’s science departBy Tricia ment drastically changed the order in which students take science classes. Now, that system is raising issues and bringing up a question long debated by the science department: Is the system working?

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oncerns have recently arisen about South’s science curriculum, in which physics is the freshman science course and AP biology is a junior year introductory course. Several students view freshman physics as an ineffective course, while the wide span of material covered in AP biology has caused problems with scheduling.

South began reworking its science curriculum after the introduction of the MCAS in 1993. The original science curriculum typically included physical science, biology, chemistry and physics, respectively, from freshman to senior year.

The science department changed the freshman science course from physical science to physics in order to prepare students for the Introductory Physics MCAS exam freshman year.

“Science is just sort of stuck, in the sense that there are no general preparations for science MCAS — it’s domainspecific. The MCAS, which is required by the state, has to be in that specific domain; you have to take an exam in physics [or] biology — you don’t have broad science,” chemistry teacher Alan Crosby said.

Teaching physics to freshmen also required a change in the typical order of science courses throughout the four years.

Once physical science was removed from the curriculum, students at South no longer had any chemistry knowledge from freshman year as a background for learning biology sophomore year, so the science department decided to teach chemistry sophomore year and biology junior year.

According to science department head Charles Hurwitz, freshmen at South previously took a physical science course consisting of three-fourths of physics and one-fourth of chemistry.

Now, taking physics freshman year can open students to ideas important in later science courses. “The pros of having physics freshman year are that it exposes students to measurement, exposes students to abstract skills that help develop their abstract reasoning and prepares them for physical science such as chemistry, which is placed sophomore

photo by Olivia Kennis

year,” physics teacher Brandon Schmidt said.

Yet senior Megan* said she believes that freshmen should not spend their freshman year studying physics.

Megan said that most freshmen do not understand the appropriate mathematical concepts to understand important ideas in physics. “[Freshman physics] is a joke and a waste of time, and it should be spent learning math so that you can learn better physics,” she said.

As a teacher of freshman physics, Schmidt said he sees this lack of interest in his own classes. “[Freshmen] come in with an idea of science as being more of an inquiry-based, exploratory type of subject they had in middle school,” he said, “and they are immediately exposed to the idea of motion and acceleration, velocity and forces, which are quite abstract, and I feel as if there’s a percentage of students that start to lose interest in science, which is a shame.”

During his time teaching high school, biology teacher Jim MacLaren said he has come to believe that physics should no longer be taught freshman year.

“I really think [the curriculum] should be reversed; biology’s much more accessible, and [at] the level at which high school kids typically can deal with abstraction, I think chemistry is probably the most abstract of all of the sciences, so I’d like to see it actually [last],” he said. “And I think physics is fascinating and I love it, but I think it’s just a little abstract and should be done later.”

Biology teacher Jordan Kraus agreed with MacLaren that biology should be taught earlier than chemistry. “I think it’s rough on kids, and I would have preferred the swap go the other way,” she said. “Everybody could take biology as sophomores, or maybe even as freshmen, and we could leave chemistry for later.”

Kraus said that offering an Honors level chemistry course sophomore year discourages students from higherlevel biology classes such as AP biology. “I also think that since we’re weeding out kids at a very young age, selecting them in and out of Honors chemistry, that we’re weeding out kids who were more than able to meet the challenges of AP

bio,” she said. “You need different skills to excel in biology than you do in chemistry.”

According to Crosby, creating a freshman biology course, however, would cause problems since students would lack a chemistry foundation. “To have biology without any chemistry leaves you in many ways sort of counting species — it doesn’t leave [you] with any of the higher level biology,” he said.

This change has also presented some issues in the teaching of AP biology, which in recent years has become an introductory biology course offered junior year, as it requires only a year of chemistry as a prerequisite.

According to Hurwitz, AP biology students essentially skip the high school biology course and go straight to a college level course. Yet he said that a typical college course covers less material than the AP biology course must cover for the AP exam.

In the past, South taught honors biology mostly to juniors and offered AP biology as a senior elective. “What we found was that honors biology essentially covered the same material as the AP class,” MacLaren said, “so the kids who took both, they didn’t roll their eyes, but they’d been through a lot of that information before. So we just dropped the honors and called it AP, and a lot of kids took it as juniors.”

Because of the vast amount of material and the lack of a biology prerequisite, AP biology classes have recently run into scheduling issues while trying to provide enough time for students to do the labs required for the AP course.

In past years, AP biology classes have used lunch time and have occasionally run into J blocks when the class is the last block of the school day in order to perform labs and finish lectures.

This year, however, the number of students taking AP biology has more than doubled from last year, resulting in four sections, so the G block section of AP biology, which Kraus teaches, never occurs before a J block.

In response to this lack of extension time, Kraus worked out a scheduling change with vice principal Mary Scott, allowing the G Block class to extend into the first

january 27, 2012

news

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MAGNIFYING THE PATH Originally, South’s science system began with an introductory physical science course freshman year.

Since the introduction of the freshman physics MCAS exam, students have instead taken an introductory physics course during their freshman year. In most other Massachusetts schools, such as Boston Latin, Dover-Sherborn and Roxbury High School, freshmen start with a biology course.

South before MCAS

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Physical Science

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Biology

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South after MCAS Physics

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Chemistry

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lunch of C block on Fridays. “[Kraus] tried to get it to work and then came and said, ‘These kids are way behind,’ after G block happened to get canceled a lot in the beginning of the year,” Scott said, “so we agreed that [the class] could go into first lunch C block, and then moved [the lunches of] seven classes, maybe more.”

She said that many teachers who have had to move their C block lunch times in order to accommodate an extension of G block biology have complained about the change.

For junior Benyamin Meschede-Krasa, who is in Kraus’s G block class, the extension, which he said rarely exceeds five or 10 minutes, has proven necessary to keep up with the other AP biology sections. “If we didn’t have the time [and] needed it, then we would be at at a huge disadvantage,” he said. “I’m really glad that we have it.”

This scheduling conflict brings up the issue of whether the AP biology class includes more material than is possible to cover with the current curriculum and schedule. “Time, I think, is very critical, and we don’t get to cover a lot of topics that at least I would like to see covered,” AP biology teacher Mita Bhattacharya said.

According to MacLaren, a possible way to alleviate the amount of work AP biology students must put in to the class would be to make AP biology a two-year course, as in past years.

“There is so much information in biology, and it’s only added in the last 30, 40 years since I started teaching,” MacLaren said. “The amount of information has mushroomed, and I’ve always thought that biology ought to be a two-year course with the first year focusing on non-molecular information, kind of not traditional biology, but you just learn more about organisms and evolution.”

Meschede-Krasa, however, said that AP biology should remain a one-year course.

“I don’t think that it’s too challenging, and according to past years, [students] have been doing very well on the AP without it being a two-year course,” he said. “There was a change this year to make it more open to other kids. Past years it’s been mostly only for kids who took Honors chem-

N

Other Massachusetts school systems Chemistry

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Physics

istry, but this year a lot more kids who took Curriculum I [chemistry] did it, but I think they’re doing fine too.”

Kraus said that the students from Curriculum I chemistry are performing just as well as students from Honors chemistry.

“The vast majority of kids who have moved up from Curriculum I, who have stuck with it, are at this point completely indistinguishable from the kids who took Honors chemistry,” she said. “Having Honors chemistry made no difference.”

AP biology classes now require more time also because South’s old schedule used to provide more time for AP science class labs. Before 1999, South used an eight-block schedule

We hire teachers who are so engaged in their subject; they have blinders - Mary Scott, Vice Principal

that allowed AP science courses four 50-minute classes and then one 105-minute class for labs.

According to Hurwitz, this year, an unusually high number of students are taking AP biology in part due to “a lot [of] advertisement and pitch on the teachers’ part” because of the lack of demand last year, when there were only two sections.

Kraus said that her motivation for recruiting more students stemmed from an inadequate number of students in AP biology last year. “Last year ... we had a total of 33 kids,” she said. “That’s ridiculous in a school of academically oriented and intelligent students.”

→

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Senior Electives

Kraus said she attributes the increased class sizes to her desire to allow as many students to take AP biology as possible.

“It’s really important that we broaden the opportunities for the largest number of students who are able to handle it to try challenging curricula,” she said.

Hurwitz said that he credits this enrollment increase largely to principal Joel Stembridge’s goal of providing more students with a chance to take AP courses, as well as to the general nature of this year’s junior class.

According to Kraus, this year 120 students were enrolled in AP biology at the start of the year, and the number has dropped to 92.

Scott said she considers this encouragement by the science department to be an example of an overall trend at South, the way many teachers focus only on the specific subject that they teach.

“We hire teachers who are so engaged in their subject; they have blinders,” she said. “They don’t think you’re taking any other class; you can devote your life to their class.”

She said that while this intense environment can prepare students for college, the demanding classes can ruin the high school experience for some students.

“Now in the end, if you live through it, you’ll be very grateful, because you’ll go to college and think, ‘This isn’t bad’,” she said, “but I’m not sure we should go through high school that way. There are some kids who have no fun at all in high school because they’re going through these grueling courses.”

Bhattacharya agreed that when considering the curriculum, the science department should think in terms of what is best for students.

“It’s kind of tricky trying to balance these things out,” she said, “but we definitely need to sit together and focus and figure what is in the best interest of students and find out what other schools are doing and see if we can change it around.” * Name has been changed to protect student’s identity

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Foundation funds RAD self-defense classes RAD, from 1 The RAD classes at South will serve as a pilot for the implementation of similar programs at other schools. Diane said she hopes that Lily’s connection to South will help the pilot succeed. “The way to get people to participate is to hear it from a peer,” she said.

The foundation brought the program to students’ attention through Konowitz’s presentation to senior girls, which Konowitz said was particularly meaningful.

“Speaking to the girls at South was more important than me speaking to Channel 5 because I was them last year, and that was before I was attacked,” she said. “I just hope that someone in that audience is able to take the class and if for some reason ever needs to use the self-defense, they’ll be able

to protect themselves.”

Newton Police Sergeant Bill Spalding, one of the RAD instructors and a member of the board of directors of the foundation, said that the class provides participants with skills necessary to deal with an attack. “You’ll survive the encounter, but it does change your life,” he said. “A little bit of knowledge is one of the most important things.”

But even more effective than the skills to fend off an attacker, school resource officer Jeff Mace said, is prevention of an attack in the first place. “Ninety percent of self-defense is avoiding risk and recognizing risk,” he said.

The class will benefit all the participants, vice principal Mary Scott said, even if only a few of them use the techniques. “Of all the kids we train, maybe two kids will use it, and that’s good enough for me,” she said.

photo courtesy of Newton Tab

Sergeant Bill Spalding advised senior girls to learn self-defense through the RAD program.

“The rest of the people will feel a teeny bit be fighting.” safer [knowing that] in a dangerous situation, Krug said that the lessons she has they might be able to defend themselves.” learned are invaluable. “[The class] was inMace agreed that often, the mental timidating but definitely worth it,” she said. strategies that RAD teaches are just as impor- “If I were ever in that situation, I definitely tant as the physical ones. “I think everyone feel more confident now that I would have will learn something from it,” Mace said. some idea of what to do.”

“It’ll be different ways to keep yourself safer One idea that the class emphasizes is as far as everyday life goes, things to look for to fight back, a strategy which, Diane said, and how you carry yourself physically, being attackers are often unprepared for. “Lily aware of your surroundings, just watching caught [her attacker] off guard by not recoilout for your friends.” ing,” she said. “He was in there to attack. He Even before her attack, Konowitz said never expected that the person he attacked she integrated what she learned in the class would attack him.” into her everyday life. “I’d be on a drive with In addition to the practical benefits, my mom and I’d say ‘Mom, what do we do Mace said he hopes the class will further now?’ and I would quiz her because you think open the lines of communication between about it,” she said. “Once I was attacked, it students and the police department. “This was just like another scenario.” is just another way that we can connect Senior Skylar Krug, who took RAD with the students,” Mace said. “It builds a classes over December break, said the idea relationship, a trusting relationship, with of taking a self-defense class had always the police so if you ever have any questions intrigued her. “After everything with Lily or concerns you feel comfortable with aphappened last year, it gave me more of a proaching police officers.” push and more motivation to do it,” she said.

Although only classes for girls are curAlthough the classes include a class- rently available, Catrambone said he hopes room portion, Mace said, the majority of the South will soon offer a related curriculum for curriculum focuses on perfecting the physi- males. “We have to educate boys to become cal defense techniques. “When you’re trying allies to women and not to allow our young to protect yourself … let’s face it, men typi- men to walk out of here without a deep uncally are stronger,” he derstanding of what said. “They have more their role is in terms upper body strength of being proactive I just hope that someone than a woman, so you and not inactive have to learn to get bystanders,” he said. in that audience [takes] the technique right to Education the class and ... they’ll be make sure that you’re for boys may be on using all your power able to protect themselves. the horizon, but effectively.” the Lily Konow- Lily Konowitz, Class of 2011 Krug said that itz Foundation has during the first three created increased classes, she and the availability of selfother participants defense education learned and practiced skills, and on the last for girls now. Scott said the RAD classes will day, everyone participated in a simulation better arm girls with the skills necessary to in which they were confronted with various protect themselves. “It’s really important to attack situations. give these young women the best we can, to The class teaches strategies that supple- give them a chance,” Scott said. ment physical techniques, according to Krug.

As Konowitz spreads awareness “People underestimate themselves, and you through her foundation, she said she condon’t have to be a body builder to be able to tinues to uphold the importance of the RAD fight someone off,” Krug said. “One of the program’s most basic message. “No matter most important things I learned is that it’s what,” she said, “you just have to fight back.” just as important to be shouting as it is to

Sign-up sheets for RAD classes are available in House Offices

Child molestation allegations strike Newton Danny Gifford Editor-in-Chief

For the past three months, the mainstream media have been riddled with controversies surrounding alleged incidents of child molestion. The purported actions or inactions of public figures such as Bernie Fine, Jerry Sandusky and the recently deceased Joe Paterno have captivated and horrified much of the nation from a safe distance.

Ten days ago, however, this appalling phenomenon found its way to Newton. On Jan. 17, 34-year-old South alumnus David Ettlinger, a second grade teacher at Under-

wood Elementary School, was arrested, arraigned on two counts of possession of child pornography in Brighton District Court and held on $10,000 bail.

According to The Boston Channel, prosecutors said they found hundreds of images of child pornography on computers in Ettlinger’s home, as well as videos of Ettlinger – referred to by his students as “Mr. E” – sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

He was arraigned in West Roxbury District Court the next day and held on $100,000 bailon separate charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and posing a child in a state of nudity. Before

teaching at Underwood, Ettlinger coached boys gymnastics at South and worked as a counselor at JCC Grossman Camp.

This was not an isolated incident, however. On Jan. 25, Newton librarian Peter Buchanan was arrested and charged in Newton District Court with two counts of child pornography dissemination and possession of material depicting a child in a sexual conduct.

“Our first priority is ensuring the safety of every child,” Mayor Setti Warren said in a statement about the charges. “The type of behavior that is alleged has absolutely no place in our community.”

David Ettlinger

Peter Buchanan

photos courtesy of The Newton Tab

january 27, 2012

news The GOP: A Grand Old Primary

7

Eric Allegro Common Cents

graphic by Eleanor Richard

Students and parents will now receive midterm comments and report cards via the ParentCONNECT system online, instead of by mail.

ParentCONNECT replaces paper reports Dipal Nagda & Alex Verbitsky online system are more accessible than the do so,” he said.

News Editor, News Reporter

After the ParentCONNECT program was piloted last year, the new system, which offers parents online access to their childrens’ midterm comments and report cards, has been officially implemented at South since second term midterm comments became available.

Students, staff and parents have had varied responses to the new system, which, unlike the pilot last year, eliminates the use of a mailing system that offers comments and grades in physical form, unless parents specifically request to have student information mailed to them.

“While it did create some difficulty in the beginning, the community response has been very positive,” principal Joel Stembridge said.

In addition to midterm comments and report cards, ParentCONNECT now allows parents to check students’ classroom and school attendance.

According to vice principal Mary Scott, teachers will not be required to continually update their online gradebook.

She said she is enthusiastic about the inefficiencies this technology will eradicate.

To print and mail each batch of report cards to 1,600 students cost the school close to $1,000. “This system will save both time and paper,” she said.

Chemistry teacher Alan Crosby also said he supports the efficiency of the ParentCONNECT portal. “I’m all for … anything that saves time, effort and money,” he said.

Crosby said the grades in the new

previous physical copies. “I like being able to see the grades wherever and whenever,” he said.

Sharmila Hazra, mother of junior Tuleeka Hazra, agreed with Crosby that the new system is more efficient. “There’s no mail [so] it doesn’t get lost,” she said.

Martin Shiu, father of sophomore Allen Shiu, said that he, too, is confident in the system’s ability to facilitate access to informa-

While it did create some difficulty in the beginning, the community response has been very positive.

- Joel Stembridge, Principal tion. “I prefer to look online if it can be more convenient and [provide] a great amount of information such as in this case,” he said.

On the other hand, Chuck Wu, father of sophomore Chris Wu, said he believes that the system will not necessarily be more effective than the mailing system. “I think that getting the grades in the mail has been fine,” he said. “I do not see a need to change that system.”

Freshman Jasper Primack said that South’s transition to the new system could invade the privacy of students.

“I think it’s a bad thing because some students may want to conceal their grades or comments from their parents, and I believe that they should at least have the choice to

Shiu said that although he believes the implementation of the system is a step in the right direction, he has doubts about its simplicity as an online tool. “I feel that it is rather primitive,” he said, “but it is better than nothing.”

Hazra also said she is happy with the new changes being made, but agreed with Shiu that there are inefficiencies in the grading system as a whole.

She said that in the past she has experienced problems with teacher feedback and said the system could use revising in areas such as comment posting.

She said that it does not help students when some teachers give simple, trivial comments rather thasn insightful, worthwhile comments. “I’d like to see a uniform policy at South with [comments on] web applications,” she said.

Hazra said that while this system has the potential to be a useful tool to increase communication between teachers, parents and students, its success ultimately depends on how well the teachers use it.

Stembridge said he hopes to continue to expand ParentCONNECT, allowing South to make announcements and send emails through the system in the future. “It’s much easier, for example, when the superintendent wants to communicate home to the families,” he said.

Although the system has received varied responses, Stembridge said he hopes that the transition to the ParentCONNECT portal will pay off in the end. “This is an evolving, interesting component to how Newton has been communicating with parents,” he said.

The 2012 Republican primary has certainly been an unpredictable one. Since the start of the presidential campaign, it has seemed as though every month or so a new front-runner has emerged from out of nowhere. First Michelle Bachman, then Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and now Mitt Romney. Bachman, Perry and Cain dropped out along with Jon Huntsman, who never had any major percentage of the vote. Going into the Florida primary, which is scheduled for Jan. 31, Romney has a considerable lead over Gingrich.

The leader as of now, Mitt Romney, is predicted to become the nominee. The former governor of Massachusetts has been a consistent number two in the polls for several months before recently taking a commanding lead.

He does, however, face two major problems: he has not been consistent in his views on many important issues, and more importantly, he appears out of touch with the American people. He has, however, gained support through his popularity as a second choice for some voters whose first-choice candidates have dropped out of the race, and he therefore has the best chance of becoming the nominee.

In second place is the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. A brilliant political strategist, he had a meteoric rise in November but has cooled down to a point where he has failed to place second in either the Iowa or New Hampshire primaries. The major reason is that he is, frankly put, not a good human being.

He cheated on his first two wives and recently said that he will teach African Americans how to get and retain jobs. After being involved in various scandals, he has become an easy target for negative advertisements. He surprisingly dominated the South Carolina primary, however, taking 41 percent of the vote, with second-place Romney getting only 27 percent. These results seem to be more of a fluke than a new pattern, and I doubt Gingrich will get even closer to this number again.

Third-place Rick Santorum and fourth-place Ron Paul are neck and neck in the polls. Rick Santorum is an ultra-conservative and a mixture of anti-gay marriage, and pro-life/anti-abortion advocacy. These two candidates still have a chance at being nominated, but because Romney has more than their combined polling numbers and has a campaigning fund that makes theirs look diminutive in comparison, the chances of that happening are unlikely.

In an even more unpredictable turn in an already ever-changing race, a new candidate, Stephen Colbert, has recently been making strides. Even though most see his campaign as a joke, he recently has polled ahead of some candidates. For example, a recent poll conducted by Public Policy Polling has shown Colbert receiving an estimated 13 percent of the presidential vote, should he run as an independent. As incredible as it sounds, in this race I wouldn’t be surprised if those numbers are not a huge exaggeration.

As for which candidate I support, I had formerly endorsed Jon Huntsman, whose campaign now rests two yards beneath a tombstone. The race is as open as it ever has been, and the way the primary has recently panned out for the Grand Old Party, any of these candidates could become the nominee.

features volume 28

issue 6

january 27, 2012 • thelionsroar.com/features

page

8

photo by Olivia Kennis

Student rappers challenge popular conceptions Tom Howe & Anastasiya Vasilyeva Features Reporters

Wherever he goes, senior Tim Jiang is prepared to write down any rhymes, lines and phrases that come to his mind.

Using these “snippets,” Jiang later constructs his notes into complete rap songs. “When I get a rhyme, I’ll just reach for the nearest utensil and write it down,” he said. “Later I’ll just stitch those snippets together into a song, and I’ll add a few other words just to make it flow together, and I’ll just work with transitions.”

Rather than bow to stereotypes of rap, Jiang and several other student rappers have pursued rap as a form of art and self-expression that requires talent and commitment.

One such student, freshman Michael Garfinkle, began rapping in seventh grade to benefit the Newton Tanzania Collaborative (NTC) in its 2010 talent show.

“I was involved with NTC, which is a cultural exchange with kids in Africa, and I couldn’t really think of a better way to kind of express … culture other than rap,” Garfinkle said. “[My raps] were really bad, but I did it for a good cause.”

According to Garfinkle, media often portray professional rappers inaccurately, leading to misconceptions about high school rappers.

“On the news … you will never hear about a rapper who’s going over to a different country and donating money to help build a school, but you’ll hear about a rapper if they get charged with assault and battery, so that’s what people think when they see rappers,” he said. “Lil Wayne has had problems with … drugs and alcohol, and so people always talk about how he drinks cough syrup, but people don’t understand that he works really hard and he makes a lot of music,” Garfinkle said.

Garfinkle said that these misconceptions about rappers and their work can spawn negative responses.

“I work and ... I just keep going, despite what people think of me because a lot of people do have those misconceptions,” he said.

Freshman Brendan Duggan, who produces rap with Garfinkle in a group called No Trace, agreed that the media’s representation of rappers does not apply to all artists.

“The media portrays the famous rappers as very cocky and … selfish, and … sometimes they get in trouble for doing bad things,” Duggan said. “Young rappers like me do it for fun.”

Senior Aren Bailey, who also raps, agreed that those who accept common assumptions about rappers ignore that they are

all unique individuals.

“Every rapper is different, and every rapper portrays a different message,” Bailey said. “[Rapping] is kind of like a statement of self-expression.”

According to Duggan, rap conveys this message despite its use of profanity. “Rappers can address … real life problems, and yeah, there are explicit lyrics, but sometimes the lyrics can … mean more than what’s being heard,” Duggan said.

then you can learn about that through their music.”

Every night, Garfinkle dedicates two hours to writing rap lyrics to express his own messages. Garfinkle said that he considers rap to be a legitimate form of art, which requires real talent.

“It’s a lot more talent than people think. A lot of people think [rap is] not music, and even though there’s not as much musical stuff, like singing, it still takes a lot of talent,” Garfinkle said. “You have to have a very artistic mind and be very creative.”

Garfinkle’s mother, Lynne Garfinkle, said that her son’s involvement in rap has made her more aware of the skill necessary Lynne Garfinkle, South Parent to create rap.

“I always heard it as a lot of chatter “If you think about what and heavy beats, and I never they’re trying to say and what really listened carefully to the message they’re trying to get out, words and the plays on words that’s where you find the meaning and the poetry,” she said. “I think of the song or the rap,” he said. people can learn to listen a little Garfinkle said that rap can deeper into it — you can appreciconvey a more meaningful mesate the skill that goes into it like sage than listeners might expect. any art form.”

“Rap tells a story, so if Garfinkle said that his own there’s a meaning to it, then you rap allows him to express his can learn whatever the person frustrations with others’ stereois talking about,” he said. “If the types of his work. person is talking about where “I … let people know how they grew up in and then hardhard I work and how I just keep ships that they had to deal with, going, despite what people think

I always heard [rap] as a lot of chatter and heavy beats, and I never really listened carefully to the words.

of me, because a lot of people do have … misconceptions [about rap],” he said. “I have a rhyme that has to do with misconceptions … ‘I don’t need to hear your misconceptions, ‘cause the reality is you just missing the concepts, homie.’”

Lynne said that she has recently revised her opinion on rapping.

“Well, [Michael] is from an upper-middle class, Newton background, so you know, I don’t think he fits the particular profile I am accustomed to, in terms of a rapper,” Lynne said. “But I have come to realize that was a very superficial way of looking at it, and there is a lot more underneath it, and what he loves about [rap] is what he shares with other people who [rap].”

Jiang said that rap can be “classy, very sophisticated and educated” if it is done correctly.

Although the reactions that these rappers receive as a result of common stereotypes can be hurtful, they have found ways to use negative feedback in their favor.

“Negative comments … build a fire in me,” Garfinkle said.

“Negative comments piss me off, but they make me better.”

Bailey said that negative comments also drive him to work harder at rapping. “[Hate] makes me stronger. That’s what pushes every rapper — if you don’t have any haters, you’re not doing shit correct,” Bailey said.

january 27, 2012

features

Bjorn To Be wild Sophomore Nick Reitman plans on taking his passion for the outdoors to Colorado next year

photo courtesy of Nick Reitman

Sophomore Nick Reitman recently decided to go by the name “Bjorn,” a decision inspired by his experiences hiking on a nature expedition.

Emma Loeb & Kylie Walters

Features Editor, Sr. Features Editor

W

hile working with a backcountry conservation crew in Olympic National Park, sophomore Nick Reitman had a realization.

Reitman realized while discussing hiking trail names with his fellow crewmembers that he no longer wanted to be called Nick. From then on, he was Bjorn.

Reitman said that the name Bjorn, which means “bear” in Norwegian, fits better with his character than the name Nick does. “I feel like a Bjorn. I just feel it,” Reitman said. “Nick is so bland; it’s so common.”

Reitman’s mother, Maria Reitman, said the name “Bjorn” is suitable to his personality.

“I think it’s him being so nature-centric,” she said. “Something very Nordic feels natural to him.”

Despite the friendships he has forged in Newton and his participation in wilderness adventures during the summer, Reitman is eager for even more exposure and access to the outdoors.

Reitman, who has lived in the Greater Boston area his entire life, said that because the suburb of a large city is not a suitable place for him to live, he is applying to boarding school in Colorado for his junior year of high school.

Reitman’s friend, sophomore Andrew Dembling said he can understand why Reitman is so excited at the prospect of moving to Colorado. “He has an insatiable appetite for adventure,” Dembling said.

Dembling said that Colorado will be a better fit for Reitman. “He’s too transcendental for this urban area,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll find a curriculum that’s better for him and what he needs.”

Reitman discovered his passion for

the outdoors on a backpacking expedition in Colorado and New Mexico during the summer of 2010. “[I was] on top of this 14-er in Colorado, which is a 14,000 foot peak. I just feel this … rush, this feeling above all else, kind of like an epiphany,” he said.

Not only did Reitman realize his love of nature, but he also decided that he wanted to incorporate this love into something more tangible.

“It’s difficult to describe. It was like … a psychological orgasm or something.

You always feel that when you’re in a natural setting, but this was just like raw. I was like, ‘This is what I have to do. This is me,’”

He’s too transcendental for this urban area.

- Andrew Dembling, Class of 2014 he said. “I really felt a drive to do my part in preserving these incredible places for generations to come.”

Maria also said she noticed that this expedition was particularly formative for him. “He came back a changed person,” she said. “He was so into the wilderness and preserving it.”

Maria said that she and her husband, who died when Reitman was young, were both nature enthusiasts and brought their son on camping trips. “He has a need to be in a nature setting to connect with nature, which I also understand; I always had the same feeling,” Maria said.

Just as his mother has long observed Reitman’s love of nature, sophomore Dan Kenslea said that Reitman has always aspired to live in the western United States.

“Him and [junior] Dan Kaufman

have plans of opening and running their own bison and alligator farm on the plains in New Mexico,” he said.

According to Reitman’s friend, sophomore Dylan Cloud, Reitman’s interests are dissimilar to those of his peers.

“He’s different; he is a unique person. He is a man of the earth. He lives off the land,” Cloud said. “He is not afraid to act on impulse, but he has the earthly wisdom to know when not to at the same time.”

Reitman also embraces his natural side by playing a traditional indigenous Australian instrument, the didgeridoo.

“He has always been drawn to people living off the earth and ancient wisdom,” Cloud said. “[The didgeridoo is] a medium for him to get … in touch with … aboriginal Australianism.”

Reitman has not only developed a strong identity for himself, but he has also influenced his friends. “He has taught me to get more in touch with nature and myself. He is an inspiration in that sense,” Cloud said.

Cloud said he understands why Colorado is so appealing to Reitman’s sense of adventure. “The scenery, the landscape, his dream to be partly isolated — it fits his personality, the access to the mountains,” Cloud said. “He really likes climbing and being outdoors; his vision of Colorado is one of living off the land.”

Kenslea agreed that more access to the outdoors will be suitable for Reitman.

“There’s nothing he hates more than being inside,” he said.

Reitman said that he will find more opportunity out West and that he envisions himself pursuing his passion for the outdoors for the rest of his life.

In 10 years, he said, “[I will be] living the life of adventure — that’s what its all about. Life is all about sensation.”

Additional reporting by Jillian Marks

9

Relationships: Boy confronts age gap

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

Overcoming the age barrier in a relationship is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I failed twice last year. For a time I gave up trying, thinking that pursuing underclassmen was hopeless. They’re like beautiful untamed animals, enticing and not too far off, but easily frightened.

Trying to get them out of their comfort zone is almost impossible. But I’m not here to mope about lost love; my story in the end is happy.

Prior to my phase of liking underclassmen girls, I had several relationships and encounters with girls to varying degrees of success. By no means am I a womanizer, but I have some experience and a small amount of charm. At the beginning of last year, my girlfriend and I broke up after half a year together. Not knowing what to do with myself, I made some pretty strange decisions about the girls I wanted to chase. As fun as chasing is, my efforts yielded no success, even after long months of emotional investment. I entered the summer a bit disheveled.

Traveling abroad over the summer brought my spirits back. I went somewhere new, met new people and had two wild flings with girls who knew almost nothing about me and with whom I could pretend to be someone else. I found my lost confidence: it was hiding behind all the gossip and social intricacies of South’s community.

I came back home, and reconnecting with my friends sparked love I’d never felt before. I realized this platonic love was quickly developing into romance in my mind, and after only two short weeks back, an underclassman held my heart in her hand. This time, I knew exactly what my goals were, and I set out to gain her trust.

The main problem with age differences is the difference in expectations.

After having been there and having done that, it’s hard to wait for people to mature and become more open to experimentation. Younger girls have less experience and are reluctant to step out of their comfort zone. But in the end, she trusted me and began to see me for the person I was inside. While we were together, we were quite happy. I had managed to succeed in finding a romance that I was happy with.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned in trying to date younger women is patience. You can’t have the same expectations of girls who haven’t gone through as much of high school as you have. If you are older, you have to be able to understand that and realize that once upon a time you too felt the same way about the opposite gender.

All you can do in the end is be nice, and wait out the period of time it takes to gain your crush’s trust. In the end it’s possible to see eye to eye and be with that younger girl — but it takes lots of work and patience.

Cr u

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ree blocks are hours lost, according to wellness teacher Alan Rotatori. “If free blocks were cut, we would have a more efficient day,” he said.

“Four to eight free blocks totals about 70 minutes a day every school day in which you’re not learning.”

Rotatori said revisions to South’s current schedule, among them the elimination of free blocks, could increase efficiency and help students better manage their time.

According to Rotatori, earlier releases rather than later starts would be most beneficial to students, allowing them to get more sleep. “Students don’t need to start later, but they need to go to bed earlier,” Rotatori said. “[If we got out of school earlier], kids could then go to bed at 11 and not 1 or 2 a.m.”

Rotatori said cutting long blocks would lead to an earlier release time without significantly impacting student learning. “Long Rotatori blocks can be useful for some classes, but it isn’t being used efficiently by most classes,” he said. “Instead of 75 and 55 minute classes, four 60-minute classes [could be better],” Rotatori said. “We could have a more efficient day.”

A prototype schedule Rotatori sent to Principal Joel Stembridge required two directed studies for every student instead of J blocks to increase student productivity. “Because everyone’s in directed study at the same time, students can get passes to go see teachers,” Rotatori said.

Rotatori said a schedule change is highly needed. “A schedule change is overdue, something more realistic to young adolescence,” he said.

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features

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By Hyunnew Choi & Yonatan Gazit

ccording to history teacher Jessica Engel, student energy levels are easily predictable — they are only a matter of timing. “I often know, based on when my classes meet, how much energy students are going to have,” she said. “F block is almost always at a tricky time of day for students, so two days a week it’s the last block, and in the middle of the week, on our longest Engel day, there’s the long block.”

Engel said that South’s schedule suffers from what is essentially a structural issue. “I like having a one-day break,” she said. “That said, I don’t like that we essentially have a rotating schedule that doesn’t really rotate. You generally have classes that meet at a certain time of each day.”

Engel said she thinks that the longer school days wear down the students too much, partially because the schedule does not permit time to rest. “Most days, the school days are too long, especially Wednesdays when students go from 7:40 to 3:20 without a break,” she said. “I think school should start at a later time and end when we usually end.”

F

ive-minute lunches would be a thing of the past if science department head Charles Hurwitz had his way.

“Twenty-five to 30 minutes are enough if you brought a lunch from home,” Hurwitz said, “but if you have to wait in a 20-minute line, by the time you’re out you’re inhaling lunch.”

Hurwitz said that South’s current schedule works well as a compromise between available options but Hurwitz that there are ways to diminish the time crunch it can create.

He said that extended J blocks would give students the ability to take full advantage of them as educational opportunities. “They are important … [but] too short. Students want to make up work but can’t in a period of time less than a block, like a test,” he said.

Hurwitz said he understands the constraints administrators must deal with in selecting a schedule that works for everyone.

“I’d say more is better, but there are only so many hours in a day,” he said.

“We’re all trying to fit in as much as we can. This schedule is good.”

outh’s schedule has changed over the years, in part as a response to state legislation requiring each student to receive 990 hours of academic instruction annually, according to vice principal Mary Scott. “Nine-hundred ninety was not made for Newton South High School,” Scott said. “It was made for some of the inner city schools that have some of the shortest schedules.”

Changes nevertheless ensued at South — some for the better and some for the worse according to Scott. She said she understands both the teacher and student perspectives of the resulting schedule, which is in use today.

Scott said a later start time would benefit nearly all members of the South community. “I don’t think school should start before 8 o’clock,” she said. “High school kids are so [sleep] deprived, and getting up in the dark does not help them.”

Scott said that teachers would also benefit from a change.

“A significant number Scott of teachers request that A block not be included in their schedule because they’re dropping kids off at daycare,” she said.

Although she said long blocks are necessary, Scott said she understands why others might find them problematic.

“The first major reason for long blocks is science labs,” she said. “Lots of teachers use the long block really well, but for some students it’s a long time for one class if you’re not doing something active like a science lab.”

Scott said that some teachers do not need long blocks. “I think there are teachers that would prefer four 60-minute classes,” she said.

Getting to Know Noa(h)

The Roar spoke to all five students named Noa or Noah to uncover their opinions, personal stories and little-known fun facts

By Hannah Shields & Caroline Zola

Q: What was your dream job when you were younger?

A: I always wanted to be a scientist because science was always my favorite [subject], but recently I’ve liked history much more. [Science is] just not nearly as fascinating as it used to be, like when we made things explode in fifth grade.

Noa Shneorsen, Class of 2014

Q: Who do you think will win the Republican nomination?

A: I’m going to go with Mitt Romney. He’s been pretty consistent, and I kind of like him, and he’s from Massachusetts.

Q: What is on your bucket list?

A: I’d want to go ... helicopter skiing, like getting dropped off on a really high place, because skiing is my favorite thing to do in the world. If there wasn’t such a high chance of avalanches and whatnot, then I’d definitely want to do that because it’s such a thrill.

Noah Adams, Class of 2013

photo by Julia Hurwit

Noah Shuster, Class of 2015

Q: Tell me about a time in your childhood when you were disrespectful to an authority figure.

A: It was the last day of [third grade] ... and [my friend and I] were like, “See you, Ms. Carwalki. Now we don’t have to deal with your BS class anymore.” Then we went to our car, but we forgot our backpacks in her room, and we had to go get them. It was really, really awkward.

Q: Why did your parents name you Noa? A: I’m Israeli, and when my parents were in the hospital, there was this song about my name that came on when my mom was in labor, and they thought that was a sign.

Noa Golan, Class of 2012

photos by Jordan Cohen-Kaplan

Noah Rivkin, Class of 2013

january 27, 2012

features

11

Social media affects students’ body images EATING DISORDERS, from 1 improvement in herself. Jane said, however, that Facebook has sometimes caused her to fixate on the details of her appearance more than she might otherwise. “[Being on Facebook] gives me the opportunity to see these small things about myself that no one else would notice [because] I have all of these pictures of myself right there,” Jane said. “It gives me the ability to look through them and criticize them.”

Liz said that in the past, she has altered photographs that her peers could view online using a photo editing website called Picnik, which is accessible through an app on Facebook. This app contains a touch-up section, allowing users to alter their hair and eye color, erase blemishes and virtually lose weight. Liz said she often used the “insta-thin” button because she thought that, “it would do a good job with convincing people that I wasn’t fat. I would slim down the picture or crop it to make me look skinnier.”

Senior Hannah* said she understands where the drive to make such alterations to photos comes from. “Facebook and body image problems are for sure related,” she said.

“Seeing pictures of yourself and … pictures of your friends [adds to the] pressure. You’re constantly being photographed, so you want to look good in pictures.”

After taking a step back, however, Liz said she decided that editing Facebook photos is not the right way to look good. She said she now believes that editing photos emphasizes a person’s body image issues rather than masking them. “[Using photo editing websites] to make yourself look skinnier doesn’t work,” she said. “It makes your face look weird, and [now] when I notice that other people are using that website, I know that they have bad confidence.”

Hannah said she was unaware that editing techniques like “insta-thin” existed but still chooses to control what her peers see on Facebook by un-tagging photos she deems unflattering. “I’m pretty nit-picky if I don’t like a picture of me,” Hannah said. “I used to have a thousand pictures of myself on Facebook, [but] I constantly go through

graphic by Ale Diaz

and un-tag pictures that I don’t like.”

Cheng said that Hannah’s actions are not unfounded, as Facebook’s structure encourages peer critique. “The focus [of Facebook] is on posting pictures,” she said.

“People feel judged on their photos and then [they] could want to make themselves look better so people won’t judge.”

When choosing a new profile picture for her Facebook page, Liz said she takes her audience into account. “I just think about what other people will think when they look at it,” she said.

Jane agreed that she must have criteria for how her body appears in profile pictures.

“I wouldn’t make a picture my profile picture if I thought I looked fat,” Jane said. “I definitely [think about] how my body looks [in it].”

According to Cable, Hannah and Jane’s scrutiny of their own photos is typical of those with eating disorders, regardless of how their bodies actually look. “People could see photos on Facebook and think that they are not thin enough,” she said, “but in reality, it is the psychological part of an eating disorder that is making the person think that.”

Although Hannah said she has spent years feeling unsatisfied with her body and critiquing her appearance in photos, she said she sees herself in a harsher light than her peers do.“I think that my friends would choose different [profile pictures] for me than I would choose for myself because [I’m my own] worst critic,” Hannah said.

These carefully-chosen photos do not only affect the people in the pictures, but also others who view them.

Junior Eliza Spiegelman said she sees a correlation between these photos and motivation to lose weight herself. “It can be [influencing in] very subtle ways, like pictures of skinny, pretty girls,” she said.

The American Journal of Public Health took note of such influences in an Aug. 2010 study of 180 active pro-eating disorder websites. Of these websites, “thinspiration material,” or material intended to encourage eating disorders to improve one’s physical appearance, appeared on 85 percent of the sites.

Such material can be pro-ana or pro-mia in support of anorexia or bulimia, respectively.

Senior Rebecca* said that she herself has perpetuated thinspiration material.

“Tumblr can sometimes have a negative effect because there are blogs that are designated to [thinspiration],” Rebecca said. “I wouldn’t post any thinspiration things as a ‘get skinny’ kind of thing, but if I liked one of their pictures I would re-blog it, but I wouldn’t do it to promote thinspiration.”

Though she has viewed thinspiration material, Rebecca said that the most dangerous images are those of skinny girls who appear to be healthy. “I think that some people look at some of their pictures and think, ‘That’s disgusting; I don’t want to see all of your ribs,’” she said. “Other pictures of people looking more healthy-skinny, ... those can have an effect.”

School nurse Gail Kramer said that she and the other nurses at South have observed one potential effect of such pictures — flawed self-images among teenagers. “[They] don’t know how emaciated and/or unhealthy they have become,” she said. Kramer said that cyber-bullying might tie into the relationship between social media and eating disorders.

“Mean comments, even bullying, on Facebook could be a huge influence,” she said.

Liz, who said she has stopped throwing up but still struggles with irregular eating habits, said she has found negativity in social media but turns to it nevertheless. “If I need motivation, I’ll look at [a thinspiration] blog,” she said. “I know it’s unhealthy, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t do it.” *Names have been changed to protect students’ identities

Outside sources enhance learning experience Dani Davidoff, Katherine Dorfman & Parisa Siddiqui Features Contributors, Features Reporter

When sophomore Tekoah-Mikneiah Shear-Yashub looked up the definition of a “limiting reactant” in her chemistry textbook, its explanation bewildered her. “The textbook, it gives a short, terrible explanation,” she said.

“When I looked it up online, it gave me a better [idea] of what it meant.”

Although textbooks are a common reference in many classes, several teachers have found drawbacks to using them as a sole resource. These teachers supplement and enhance their curriculum with outside sources such as readings and primary source documents.

History teacher Jamie Rinaldi said there are disadvantages to relying only on textbooks. “The textbook doesn’t focus in on the most important issues,” he said. Rinaldi said it would be a “missed opportunity” not to use outside sources.

According to junior Lauren Cutler, publishers influence a textbook’s contents. “[Textbooks] are very onedimensional,” she said. “If the publisher doesn’t feel that something is important, then it wont be in there, so you risk not getting all the information — not understanding the complete story.”

Sophomore Michael Costello said that he considers outside readings more reliable than textbooks because they are more professional. “A lot of the time, the outside reading sources are reviewed by experts or people with a more professional eye in the field, and I find that that’s helpful because it gives you a different perspective, the perspective of somebody who actually works with that subject and probably has for most of their life,” he said.

A certain amount of textbooks’ unreliability can be credited to the necessity of publishers to satisfy a diverse range of customers, according to history teacher Sean Turley. “Textbooks are decided upon nationally, and a lot of textbook companies will not make a textbook if they know it will not sell in a big market,” Turley said. “There’s a more conservative part of our country that is not going to buy textbooks because of the stuff in it, so they leave it out. So it means that you are compromising sometimes what you want to teach based on regional differences and regional beliefs, which can be very problematic.”

Senior Antonia Nichols agreed that outside readings offer more points of view on the classroom material than the textbook. “I think teachers supplement the textbook in order to give us the full picture and give us other perspecTEXTBOOKS, 12

graphic by Kylie Walters

Junior Lauren Cutler said that using primary sources is helpful to add different perspectives in history classes.

12

features Family Bonding Over Football Sundays Annie and Lili Kadets Are You Seeing Double?

Sunday afternoons are bittersweet.

The bitter: Cramming in last-minute history notes and math problems you’ve so artfully evaded the entire weekend, anticipating Monday morning eye crusties and preparing for Mom’s green bean casserole “surprise” that you’ll be eating for leftovers all week long. (The “surprise” is the color of that charming meal.)

So, your Sunday night is looking a little dismal. What about the sweet? You didn’t think we would forget, did you?

There are two of us, which means twice the memory! Just wait.

TA-DA! Please visualize Faith Hill singing the theme song for Sunday Night Football, and get excited to watch the game. Sit back, relax and enjoy the serene experience of observing muscular men crashing into one another on live television. (Or at least that’s how our mother would describe it.) Enticing, isn’t it?

Whether you live on American football, despise American football, cringe at American football or cringe at your dad watching American football, you’ve got to admit it is quite the spectacle. We’re writing to tell you on that the NFL can bring your family together and add enthusiasm to those gloomy Sundays. So, today’s question: Why should I care about first downs and handsome quarterbacks like Tom Brady? Never fear. The twins are here!

Before we discuss this question, we must first establish the football spectrum.

Please decide for yourselves where you fit after contemplating these three major categories. Results may vary.

1. The crazy, body-painting TVscreamers with season tickets. That’s us.

Just kidding.

2. The Average Joes: Game time? Go Pats!

3. The “How-many-innings-are-inthe-Superbowl?” folks.

Take your time analyzing the situation. Done? Okay, great. Wherever you and your family fall on the spectrum, just remember that we believe a little dose of the NFL has substantial benefits.

Watching other people fight over an oddly shaped ball takes your mind away from homework and that green bean casserole. Immerse yourself in the wonders of pro sports; you’re guaranteed a sight.

We’d also like to point out that watching football together as a family gives Mom, Grandpa and even Sparky an opportunity for collective enthusiasm. When Dad is paying the bills, you’re playing video games and Grandma’s taking a snooze, familial connection is lacking.

Fortunately, there’s nothing like a 1 p.m. family date with the TV to bring everyone together for a common goal: beat the Jets/Dolphins/Titans/Colts/Giants/ Cowboys.

Finally, especially in our household, the cheers and sighs of the television crowd is enough to lull us into an afternoon of relaxation. It might even be better than yoga. If you’re reading this, we assume you want our advice, so call up the cousins, curl up on the couch, grab that halftime snack, attempt to learn a few rules and don’t forget to tackle low.

thelionsroar.com/features

Cast, crew overcome play’s challenges Jess Dagg & Andrew Feng Features Reporters

Eight days was all it took to sell out South Stage’s upcoming “Beauty and the Beast,” which means that a plump Mrs. Potts will be showing off her newfound curves to a full house.

“There are some aspects of these costumes that characters have that usually actors don’t have to worry about,” senior Daniel Bender Stern, who will play Lumiere, said. “My hands are going to have giant fake flames coming out of them, and Mrs. Potts has to be super round.”

Costumes will not be the only challenge of “Beauty and the Beast,” though, according to cast members, who said they are confident in their ability to overcome the unique difficulties this show poses.

Stage manager and junior Dorie Klein said that these difficulties began as early as the process to select this year’s musical. “We had to factor in that a lot of talented seniors were leaving,” he said.

“We didn’t know how many other people

would be willing to audition.”

Junior Nathan Matzka, who will play the Beast, said that turnout for auditions was ultimately strong. “Many people auditioned, and many talented people who wanted to get in could not,” he said.

Freshman Jonathan Kirshenbaum, who will play Lefou, said that since auditioning successfully, he has had to contend with unfamiliar acting techniques. “[The show] definitely poses some challenges. In some of the scenes, I’m getting hit with a gun or strangled,” Kirshenbaum said. “This is my first experience with stage combat, so it’s something I have to learn then perform in a very short amount of time.”

Bender Stern said that the entire cast has used its rehearsals wisely to learn such skills during the ten-week production process of “Beauty and the Beast.” “[When] we had only had a couple weeks of rehearsal, we had already learned all the big group numbers,” he said.

Kirshenbaum said he believes that such achievements stem partially from the

cast’s leadership. “[Director] Jeremy gets the work that needs to get done, done, in a timely way,” Kirshenbaum said.

Music director Matt Stern is also part of the leadership team overseeing “Beauty and the Beast” and said that the musicians involved have risen to the occasion. “The orchestra has really difficult music to play and plays pretty constantly,” he said. “The orchestra doesn’t get a break [for] the whole show.”

Before the music begins to play on opening night, though, the auditorium stage must be performance-ready. According to Matzka, the set of “Beauty and the Beast” is among its most complicated technical hurdles.

“Instead of it just having it flat and wheeling on, … in the back we have three platforms of varying height to show different places in the castle,” he said.

Matzka said that neither the set nor overall performance will suffer for their complexity. “It’s going to be complicated,” he said, “but I also feel that it’s going to be done well.”

photos by Lauren Ashbrook

According to junior Nathan Matzka, the set of South Stage’s “Beauty and the Beast” poses unique challenges for the show’s crew.

Textbooks provide base for learning TEXTBOOKS, from 11 tives as well as bring in more interesting information,” she said.

Nichols said she prefers outside sources because of the fresh approach they offer. “I much prefer using outside materials because they tend to be more interesting, and … is usually different from what I have already heard,” Nichols said. “Outside sources seem more relevant to life.”

Cutler said that incorporating outside sources into the curriculum is especially helpful in history.

“If we’re reading about … the Monroe Doctrine, and then we actually read the Monroe Doctrine, it makes it easier to understand and makes it more interesting,” she said.

Costello said that in chemistry, outside materials enhance the learning experience.

“I’ve learned a lot from the [chemistry] textbook, but I wish I could have learned more from outside reading sources, and I’ve occasionally gone into the honors sources,” he said. “You have to go toward more outside connections because in science that’s where they all are.”

History teacher Robert Parlin said that outside sources allow students to better relate to the subject matter. “[The textbook] is dry and not as narrative,” he said. “Stories

are how people connect to history.”

Costello said he prefers using outside resources because they are written for a larger audience. “If you have a textbook, all the kids who are using it have to be able to understand it. Whereas outside readings … are written

If the publisher doesn’t feel that something is important, then it won’t be in [the textbook].

- Lauren Cutler, Class of 2013

for younger students to learn from but also experts … all skill levels,” he said. “You get a lot more diversity.”

Turley said that the layout of textbooks can also be challenging. “There’s always so much going on each page — so many organizers and graphics and colors that it’s almost impossible to read.”

According to math teacher Thomas Lee, it is the responsibility of teachers to help students read and understand textbooks by elucidating it during class time. “Especially

with math, textbooks can be confusing and dense,” he said.

Lee said that class lectures are meant to explain the material and textbook and clear up any misconceptions the textbook reading may have caused.

French teacher Sebastian Merle said that he is thankful for the ease with which teachers can supplement textbooks. “[I’m] lucky it’s easier to complement the textbook with authentic materials than it was 20 years ago,” French teacher Sebastian Merle said.

He said that even though the textbook can provide structure, students should “be taken out of the textbook.”

Turley said that although textbooks offer a foundation, it is imperative that teachers supplement it. “As long as you limit things to a set source, you restrict yourself as to what you think about, and what students can think about,” Turley said. “So, I guess the one thing you can say that would be good is that a textbook provides a foundation, but it’s not a beautiful building if it’s just a foundation.”

Costello said that his experience in history has been the best method for integrating outside sources into the curriculum.

“Starting the year off with textbooks and … more simplistic stuff, and then moving on up to more challenging reading, I find that’s always worked out,” he said.

january 27, 2012

features

13

By Jenny Friedland & Kylie Walters

Bleigiessen brings Germany home Junior Benyamin Meschede-Krasa spends his New Year’s Eve celebrating a traditional German ritual called Bleigiessen

photos courtesy of Reuters

Every New Year’s Eve, junior Benyamin Meschede-Krasa melts lead figurines with family and friends in a tradition called Bleigiessen, which he said reminds him of Germany.

F

rom a young age, hat or something, and you Meschede-Krasa’s mother, junior B enyamin just … put it on the spoon said that once the lead Meschede-Krasa has and hold it over a candle, melts, participants dip the spent his New Year’s Eve and it melts really easily, spoon into cold water. “You melting lead and tellput the spoon into ing fortunes with his cold water, and then family and friends. … you get some re[I] feel that I’m still in Ger- ally bizarre looking According to Meschede-Krasa, many even though I haven’t shapes, … and then this tradition, called you have to guess been there in a while.

Bleigiessen, is a Gerwhat these shapes man ritual for anlook like and pre- Benyamin Meschede-Krasa, ticipating what the dict what is going upcoming year will to happen to you in Class of 2013 hold. the coming year,” “There are Tatjana said. like eight or 10 little figuand then you throw it into According to rines, and they’re simple a cold bucket,” he said.

Meschede-Krasa, each things like an animal or a Tatjana Meschede, German kit of pre-shaped

lead pieces comes with a guide for interpreting your fortune.

“You kind of have to use your imagination to make it look like something, and whatever you think it looks like you can look at the back of the kit, and then, if it’s there, it will tell you what it means about your upcoming year,” he said.

According to Tatjana, the melted lead can become any shape. “You get boats … birds … really bizarre stuff,” she said. “It’s a little silly sometimes.”

Tatjana, who has celebrated Bleigiessen since her childhood, said it is always an enjoyable experience.

“It’s very exciting; everybody watches you and watches the spoon ... that you’re holding over the candle and sometimes it takes a little too long and people lose patience, but then when it starts melting, it melts really fast and everyone’s like, ‘Woah’,” she said.

Meschede-Krasa agreed that Bleigiessen is always a very festive

German movies carry culture

graphics by Ale Diaz

Actor Til Schweiger does not appear on the American big screen, so sophomore Annabel Epstein settles for the smaller screen of her computer.

“There are a lot of places online where you can watch American movies that are just voiced-over in German and there [are] also some … German-made [movies],” Epstein said.

Epstein goes online to search for these movies in an effort to remain up to date with German language and culture, from where she emigrated at age 12.

Epstein said she maintains a strong group of German friends whom she visits during the summer. German-language movies are among the threads that tie

them together.

“When I talk to my friends about [German movies], they’ll also know what I’m talking about,” Epstein said, “so we can connect over that, and it helps me keep up with culture there.”

Epstein’s mother, Sabina Roytman, said that while both German and international films are part of Germany’s cultural fabric, the films are more difficult to find in America.

“In Germany, … when you go to the theater, you see not only American movies, you also see French movies, German movies,” Roytman said. “There are a lot of German movies, and it’s almost impossible to see those things here. You can look them up on the Internet, but if you go to the

theater, it’s almost impossible.”

Epstein nevertheless said that she stays on top of current German trends. “I usually am ahead of what people in Germany are listening to and watching because there’s a lot of German stuff that’s just American stuff, translated [into German],” Epstein said.

Epstein said watching movies from her country is part of an effort to maintain a German identity. “I feel like America really tries to assimilate people into its culture,” she said. “I don’t want to lose being German.”

Roytman agreed that maintaining a German identity will help Epstein in the future. “You have more choices in life, [with] one more language,” she said.

celebration. “I always do it with my whole family,” he said. “We have some German friends in Newton so their families sometimes come over and we do it with them.”

For MeschedeKrasa, being surrounded by other German families during Bleigiessen reminds him of being in Germany.

“It’s good to feel that I’m still in Germany, even though I haven’t been there in a while,” Meschede-Krasa said. “It’s one of the few really German traditions that we do.”

editorials volume 28

issue 6

january 27, 2012 • thelionsroar.com/editorials

page

14

Facebook presents sterilized reality

The Cat’s

Meow by the Roar staff

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

History Department Collectivizes Sustainable Farm “Bourgeoisie loot! Share the fruit!” was the cry of South’s history department outside the school greenhouse last week.

The group, led by Thomas Murphy of Weather Underground fame, violently took the means of vegetable production, citing bourgeois capitalism as its impetus. “We were left with no other option. Common swindlers have been profiting off of pestos that should be shared,” Jamie Rinaldi, former member of the leftist league, said. “It was collectivization or proletarian shame.” Other group slogans included “Capitalist pigs! We want figs!” and “By all means! Take the greens!”.

Also, copious and tortured puns were made with respect to “Animal Farm.” The department’s actions have been largely unpopular. “They’ve turned it into the freaking gulags out there,” one student, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

“I saw them make a kid swear on the ‘Communist Manifesto’ that he would share his kale.”

South Holds Annual Crapper Memorial The administration will be holding an all-day assembly in the auditorium today to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of Thomas Crapper’s death. Though it is only the second year that South has held such a ceremony, principal Joel Stembridge informed The Roar that it is going to be “a big number two.” When asked if he was excited for the assembly, Stembridge replied that he “could barely hold it in” and “wasn’t sure he could make it up on stage” before he would “let it all out.” Junior Daniel Pujols said he felt similarly excited. “It’s like there’s been something building up in the pit of my stomach that just wouldn’t come out,” he said. “I know once the ceremony starts it’ll all just flow out of me.” When asked what the memorial will entail, Stembridge responded with a laugh. “I can’t tell you that,” he said. “But I can promise you one thing – it will be explosive.”

Second-Semester Assignment Distresses Slumping Senior Class English teacher Robert Murder ignited an uproar in his senior class when he assigned a three-page paper on the first day of slump. Upon his announcement, many students broke into tears of distress, and several exited the classroom in protest. “I was horrified,” senior Meagan Tortilla said. “I wore my best ‘slump’ outfit to school … they have no right to assign us any more work – ever.” Senior S. Donny Van agreed. “I was planning on throwing a darty every day of the week to celebrate slump,” she said. “Now I’m actually going to have to do work. I’m so angry, I have half a mind to break a bathtub!”

We all know the face — that But for others, as demonstrated in muscled smile with taut cheeks. It’s Facebook harms self-esteem, aggrethe face of the classic party picture: vates eating disorders, the pressure A group of people, assembled in it generates is corrosive. We are not various states of mind, put their as perfect as the selves we project arms around one another and on Facebook, and for some this plaster that ebullient look onto their anxiety can eat them away. Few faces. Then someone takes a mobile of us go to the extreme of editing upload, and the crowd disperses. our pictures on Picnik, artificially It’s a face with implications thinning ourselves, but plenty of we seldom ponder. We see it at us untag photos. least every weekend on Facebook, Consider what we’re doing but we move onto the next picture when we untag an unflattering in less than a half-second. We don’t picture: We are literally disidentistop to consider what it means. We fying with a less attractive version don’t think; we click. And in doing so, we unconsciously accept Facebook’s reality withWhat we present on out realizing its fundamental Facebook is a brand for distortions.

Behind the party-smile ourselves, and like all is a myriad of emotions. advertising, distortion is They’re not consistent, but they’re almost never the uninherent. abated glee displayed by the rigid cheeks. What Facebook presents, with its selectable content of ourselves. We say, “This is not organized by popularity, is a sim- me,” when in fact, we know it is. plification of genuine experience. This fundamental component of Pictures of people milling about our Facebook profiles, the idea that looking generally bored do not we don’t want to project imperfect top newsfeeds. It’s the super happy photos, leads to body-image issues pictures of all the smiling people, in the real world. In real life, we half-drunk and jubilant, that grace cannot pretend we do not look the our monitors. way we look. We are blemished And why shouldn’t they? beings. We have acne, food on our Who wants to look at people being face, ketchup on our jeans or body bored at a dance? We know that fat in unflattering places. This is sort of stuff happens, but we don’t reality, where no one looks good want to waste our time watching it. all the time.

It’s this built-in distortion We are also not as clever as that is the Trojan horse of Facebook: Facebook-time allows us to be. with its editable presentation, we If someone writes on your wall, don’t stop to consider the less glossy you have as long as you want to aspects of our realities. To some, think of a response. You can write this sounds harmless. To others, something, go back, revise, think blasé and unoriginal. If this is the of something more clever, revise case, The Roar asks you to suspend that, read it again, make a pot of your incredulity and just entertain coffee, drink it, revise a final time the possibility that how we spend and then post. What absurdity this our virtual time might have serious paradigm would lead to in the real repercussions within our real lives. world: Someone asks you a quesPerhaps for some of us, the tion and then, after an hour, you glossy Facebook world is harmless. respond with a joke.

Editorial Policy

What we present on Facebook is a brand for ourselves, and like all advertising, distortion is inherent. We are prettier and funnier on Facebook. We never say something impulsive if we don’t want to, something we can’t take back. Nothing is final; little is real.

We are, in short, edited versions of our real-life selves.

Consider this thought experiment: You are a Martian with Internet access. You can only log onto Facebook. Everything you know about the human race is gleaned through this one medium. One day, someone tells you a spaceship is leaving for Newton, MA. You hop on and realize your dream to travel to a foreign planet.You are now in Newton, the land of the real-life Facebook. What do you think your impressions would be, if all you knew was Facebook, and then you met the real world? You might wonder why people in real life have double chins, why most conversation consists of niceties without wit or why no one is giving your comments jubilant thumbs-ups. Think about this the next time you’re on Facebook.

Which parts of our selves do we display, and which parts do we hide?

There is no easy solution to this problem. Facebook consumes a large part of our daily experiences, and that isn’t likely to change. All we can control is our level of conscientiousness.

Consider that you are editing yourself and that other people are too. Consider that what we present on Facebook is a sterilized reality.

Most importantly, consider other people’s feelings. It’s a cliché, but an apt one. Our virtual actions have real-life implications. Facebook is not a harmless site; we must navigate it with responsibility.

And in the real world, let’s give our wholly imperfect selves the benefit of the doubt.

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 three weeks by Newton South Students. All of our funding comes from advertisers.

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

Violation of this policy shall constitute theft.

january 27, 2012

editorials

Editor explains new journalism program, sees new opportunities

!"#$ #%&!'()*$$$%#*+ Emily Breuer Editor-in-Chief

We sat in a circle in the lobby of our Minneapolis hotel until our feet fell asleep and our eyes could barely stay open. As we do every year, on the last night of the National Scholastic Press Association conference that The Roar attends each November, we spent hours discussing ways to improve our paper.

But something about this year was different: instead of just The Roar staff discussing our opinions, members of three publications, The Roar, Denebola and Regulus, attended the conference and had a joint meeting. Alhough we discussed the usual topics, such as improvements we can make in content and design, the meeting had a different focus: how to revise the journalism program at South.

A few weeks earlier, English department head and assistant adviser to both The Roar and Denebola Brian Baron proposed a plan for the future of journalism at South.

Denebola’s lack of an official adviser created an immediate short-term problem. Instead of fishing around for temporary solutions and prolonging the problem, though, we decided to not only solve the short-term problem, but to also improve the long-term structure of the journalism program.

The devised plan will include the

creation of a newsmagazine that will publish one. Looking at this idea from an outsider’s approximately five times a year, a website perspective, however, it is evident that updated daily and the continuation of only the new plan makes the most sense. The one newspaper. Reflecting on the way that plan will add to the journalism program the South newspapers run, it is clear that at South, going to a level beyond where our current system is inefficient. it is now. As time progresses, it doesn’t We have two monthly newspapers necessarily make sense to have only print that print the same kinds of articles, inter- publications. Professional publications are view the same people and design pages in a making an effort to build their presence on very similar way. We have two different sets the Internet, a medium to which The Roar of advisers who stay hours after school to does not devote most of its effort. supervise the papers.

In order to And we each have inkeep current with dividual funds, mainly the outside world It is my hope that ... students collected by selling and people’s inwill enter South with a advertisements to the terests, we need same businesses. multitude of opportunities to to change our traSo why do we ditional ways and get involved in journalism. have these two newstransition to the papers working inmodern, technodependently of one logically focused another, even creating some sense of rivalry world. With the new journalism program, in the school culture, if it is more efficient we can create a website that is updated daily to only maintain one? and that students actually find helpful in Although it seems like an easy answer, their day-to-day lives. it is not. Speaking for myself, though I am We can establish a magazine that sure many others feel similarly, I feel a con- engages South students to contribute stonection to The Roar. I have been on the paper ries and other work. And we can maintain since freshman year, and since then, I have one newspaper, avoiding competition and looked up to the seniors, patiently waiting overlapping subjects. my turn until I could manage the paper.

Though separate entities, the publicaWith this in mind, I realize how hard tions will work together to provide South it is to watch two newspapers merge into with up-to-date news and profiles of com-

Volume 28 !"#$%&'()*$+',Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper The Lion’s Roar 140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

Editors-in-Chief Emily Breuer

Danny Gifford

Managing Editors Jessica Bolter

News

Joe Joseph James Wu

Emily Ho Christina Lee Dipal Nagda

Features

Jenny Friedland Kylie Walters

Ari Ebstein

Peter Haskin Ali Meisel

Section Editors Centerfold

Opinions

Julia Gron Peter Szabo

Anqi Gao Ravi Panse

Community

Yoonchan Choi

Sports

Dani Glasgow Victor Moisescu

Emma Loeb Julia Snider

Graphics Managers Ale Diaz Eleanor Richard

Photo Managers Dylan Block Olivia Kennis

Business Manager RJ Hayes

Faculty Advisers

Web Staff

Paul Estin Thomas Murphy

Jack Lovett Aaron Trachtman

Brian Baron Ashley Elpern

15

Derek Mei Tony Wu

munity members.

Unfortunately, though understandably, this transition will most likely not be perfect; we will run into flaws and obstacles along the way. But the collaboration between publications and the general desire for positive change will overcome the challenges.

Not only will there be obstacles, but this transition will also not be instantaneous. Though members of The Roar are encouraged to apply for positions on the website and magazine, and vice versa, it is already clear that there will not be an abundance of people switching.

Next year we will still have publications that seem separated into two distinct groups: Roar members who work on the newspaper and Denebola members who work on the magazine and website.

It is my hope, however, that over the next few years, incoming students will know nothing of the reputations of the current papers and that they will enter South with a multitude of opportunities to get involved in journalism.

They will see each publication for what it is and will want to contribute to the program as a whole.

Throughout the process of establishing these new publications The Roar staff has already united with other journalists, and I sincerely hope this connection only grows.

Join The Roar!

Monday J Block Room 1201

Positions available for writers, editors, photographers, graphic designers and web designers

and web designers tographers, graphic designers Positions available for writers, editors, pho-

Room 1201

Monday J Block

Join The Roar!

GETTING BACK IN THE GAME photos by Olivia Kennis

is

liv yO sb

oto ph

I

n the middle of taking a lifeguarding test at camp in the summer of 2010, junior Jessie Rosen realized that her already “loose shoulders” swung all the way around, immediately bringing an end to her test.

“For a week my entire arm was blue and tingly, and [I] lost all the feeling in it,” Rosen said.

Rosen, a swimmer on the South team, was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome and snapping scapula syndrome after this injury. “[The injury] probably was from swimming so often,” Rosen said, “[but] the brick incident set it all off.”

Although Rosen said she now “can’t even be in the pool for really more than an

hour without serious pain,” she still attends practices and meets.

According to Rosen, it was too large a part of her identity to give up on account of injury. “I got back from camp and continued swimming because I’ve always been a swimmer,” she said.

She said she is occasionally frustrated by her inability to complete practices but would not consider quitting the team.

Junior Abby Rice has had an experience similar to Rosen’s — she too has continued with her sport after sustaining a serious injury.

Rice has played soccer since kindergarten and has competed at the club level since fourth grade. She made the South varsity team as a freshman.

“My freshman year was one of the best experiences of my life because we had a great team,” Rice said.

In 2009, during her second season with the team, Rice sustained a double concussion on the field, an injury that confounded doctors. “[My injury was] unheard of, so doctors really didn’t know what happened ... so they sent me back to school a week later,” Rice said.

enn ia K

Even after sustaining serious injuries, committed athletes keep coming back to their sports because these activities have formed crucial parts of their identities by

Julia Gron

But the doctors’ According to athletic director decision to immediately put Scott Perrin, injuries are par for the course her back in school did not go as for dedicated athletes. planned.

“Unfortunately, you do get injured “Weird things started happening, so sometimes,” he said. “In athletics, [athletes my teachers sent me home like every single will] keep going. And these kids who’ve day, and eventually I had to fly all over and had serious injuries but keep finding a see new doctors,” she said. new way to come back [demonstrate] “Eventually they told me that I really, commitment to their team and to severely injured my brain, and I wasn’t able themselves,” Perrin said. to go back to school until I fully recovered, Perrin said that athletes return to which would take up to a year. So I had to their sports after sustaining serious injuries drop out of school [until I recovered].” because, even more important than being Rice said that before committed to their teams, they identify her concussion, through them. soccer was a major “Theater kids component of her identify through If you get injured, you life. theater, musicians feel more attached to “[Soccer] identify through was pretty much music. Athletes, they your sport because you the only thing I did. get their identity I went to school, I miss it more. [from sports], and went to soccer and for some kids it’s - Jason Chari, Class of 2013 then went home their source of stress and did homework,” release, and it’s so Rice said. “Once I couldn’t do any of those, important to them,” there was kind of nothing left.”

Perrin said.

As a result of her strong identification “They love being part of a program with soccer, Rice has tried multiple times so they keep coming back because it’s part to get back on the field despite her serious of who they are.” injury and the warnings from doctors.

Especially for long term injuries, Due to symptoms of her concussion, athletic trainer Patrick Jordan Quern said which include seizures, dizziness and he understands the challenge of giving up disorientation, Rice has not had much an activity to which athletes had previously game time. devoted so much time.

“I haven’t really played; I played “If they’re out for months at a time, pretty much four games in three years,” she and you’re a student athlete and you’re said. Nonetheless, she said she hopes to participating every day for three to four play again this winter. hours, six to seven days a week in a sport,

and then that part gets taken away from you ... it’s a large amount of time that they’ve dedicated to their sport to just stop,” Quern said.

Unlike Rice or Rosen, junior Jason Chari has not sustained any long-term injuries while playing sports.

A member of South’s cross country and track teams, Chari said that “running is a very injury-prone sport,” and as a result many members of his team have sustained small injuries in the past.

“In running, injuries are more common than people think,” he said. “At some point, half the team is injured.”

Chari has learned from his wounded teammates that injuries can inspire dedication in athletes rather than reduce their confidence in their ability to play. “[For] an athlete that really cares about what they’re doing, injuries are a way of motivating themselves. If you get injured, you feel more attached to your sport because you miss it more,” Chari said.

“The mark of a true athlete is someone who is willing to overcome obstacles along the road to achievement,” he said. “And I think injuries are one of the obstacles along that path.”

18

thelionsroar.com/centerfold

centerfold

As national awareness of concussions begins to increase, students who have had concussions consider the causes and effects Peter Szabo

Sr. Centerfold Editor The idea of sports injuries often evokes images of broken bones, muscle strains and twisted ankles, but deep inside the brain, a more serious and longer-lasting injury can take high school athletes off the field and even out of school.

This invisible injury, a concussion, is one of the most hotly debated topics in the realm of sports injuries, although this attention is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Varsity boys soccer coach John Conte said he has noticed the rise in interest about concussions. “I think that there has been an increase in concussions because there has been research that has shown that kids are prone to concussions and concussions are shown to have damage to and have affected student brains,” Conte said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traumatic brain injury emergency room visits have increased by 62 percent between 2001 and 2009. An estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur in the United States every year. According to the CDC, they have reached an “epidemic level” because they are the second leading cause of traumatic injury for people ages 15 to 24, second only to automobile accidents.

Although statistics indicate that concussions are occurring more frequently by the year, awareness of both concussions’ severity and newer diagnosis techniques is partially responsible for this phenomenon.

“The awareness has gone up, but I’m not so sure that concussions had,” Conte said.

“I think that they have always been there, but not everyone has known about them.”

According to Conte, although concussions have occurred in the past, they went unnoticed because of a lack of medical knowledge of the actual effects. “I think that when I was an athlete, there was no such a thing as a concussion,” Conte said. “Maybe you were hit in the head and you saw stars, and you got up, and you played. I think that there is a greater awareness for the damage that concussions can create.”

Even though the number of diagnosed concussions has risen sharply, 88 percent of them still go unnoticed, according to the Journal of Emergency Medicine.

This is because concussions themselves are unlike other sports injuries, which are more obvious to detect and easier to diagnose. Concussions, on

the other hand, have no visible symptoms and occur within the brain.

When an athlete suffers a fall or a large blow to the head, the brain hits the skull, causing usually temporary, but sometimes permanent, brain damage.

The only ways to know whether someone has a concussion, according to WebMD, is to take a cognitive test or to observe obvious signs of a concussion such as memory loss, trouble

grap hic b y E le

anor

“I am a goalie, and I had to dive to save a ball,” Friedman said. “I did not land right, and my head slammed into the ground quite hard, and that’s how I got my concussion.”

At first, Friedman said he was unaware that he had suffered a concussion. “I didn’t black out, and when I got up immediately afterwards, I was really dizzy, and

said. “If I would have stopped schoolwork the day that he told me that, then I would have had a faster recovery.”

Similar to Friedman, sophomore Jake Alexander experienced a concussion while playing a sport — football — which had detrimental effects on both his academic and athletic performance. “I missed a full week of school because you have to rest your brain, so when I was trying to do

I almost fell over, and … I played throughout the entire second half,” he said. “I found out that it was a concussion the first day back in school when we were doing a track workout, and I felt sick to my stomach and dizzy.”

Friedman said that although his injury seemed minor at first, he continued to experience symptoms for six weeks, worsening both his academic and athletic performance. “Throughout the year I was getting Bs in French,” Friedman said. “Monday or Tuesday after I got back, we had a French test and I ended up getting a D on it, and the French teacher called home concerned.”

Friedman said he attributes the perpetuated effects of his concussion to a late diagnosis. “I think that if I would have known [about the concussion] earlier … a lot of the effects and the symptoms could have been prevented.”

Friedman said that because of misinformation he received, he was not able to get medically excused from schoolwork earlier. “[The previous trainer] just thought that it was a tiny little rattle in my brain and that schoolwork and things were really not a problem,” Friedman

work, I had to re-learn how to do work,” Alexander said.

In order to decrease healing time, Alexander had to forgo almost all mental activity in order to allow his brain to rest. “I could just sleep and eat, that’s about it,” Alexander said. “You can’t do anything where you are using your brain.”

Concussions also occur in other sports, such as hockey.

Senior and varsity hockey player Gail Waltz recently had a concussion and agreed that although recovery might be boring and difficult, it is essential in order to prevent permanent damage.

“It sucks that you have to miss so much school and so much of the season,” Waltz said, “but at the same time, you don’t want to screw anything up because a lot relies on your brain.”

Because of the detriments concussions have on cognitive performance, new policies regarding concussions have been established at both the city and state levels. “The new rules are through the state and the city,” Quern said. “It’s at least seven days, symptom free, before the athlete returns to play, and that is even different than what the

Rich

ard

concentrating or reduced cognitive ability.

Although concussions can occur by slipping and falling in almost any sport, they most commonly occur in contact sports.

Concussions are most prevalent in football and soccer, acording to physical trainer Patrick Jordan Quern. “Football has head gear, so a lot of athletes won’t use the right technique for tackling; they will just use their head as a weapon, rather than for protection,” Quern said. “In soccer, there are a lot of headers.

Some people just don’t pay attention at some times — it’s just a faster-paced game.”

According to varsity football coach Ted Dalicandro, the idea that concussions occur more often in football is somewhat of a misconception. “People have this perception that athletes get more concussions in football, but I have seen just as many [concussions] in other sports,” Dalicandro said.

Conte said he has seen three concussions in the past four years in soccer games. Sophomore Daniel Friedman was one of the students who suffered a concussion while playing soccer.

National Athletic Training Association recommends. They recommend a longer time before they return to play.”

State policy requires coaches and athletic trainers to visit a city website to learn about the signs and symptoms of concussions, increasing early diagnoses, which are essential to reduce recovery time and the severity of symptoms.

Quern said that school physical trainers are also prohibited from clearing athletes with concussions, and the clearance of a doctor who specializes in concussions is required.

Time is of the essence in case of a concussion because the sooner a person starts to rest his or her brain and suspend participation in heavy intellectual and physical activities, the less time it will take to heal the concussion, reducing the chances of permanent cognitive damage.

Before players begin playing a contact sport, they must take an impact test. This test includes reciting numbers backwards, taking processing speed tests and assessing reaction time.

The test makes it easier to determine if a player has a concussion after a head injury occurs, which makes diagnosis quicker, thus helping determine if the player needs to undergo treatment.

Concussions are sometimes difficult to prevent because of the nature of contact sports, although South takes some measures to increase the safety of contact sports and raise awareness about how head injuries are often incurred.

According to Dalicandro, coaches can take some measures to help prevent concussions, especially at practice. “We try to limit too much contact in practice. Football is a contact sport; it’s a collision sport,” Dalicandro said. “We as a staff feel as if we have to prepare kids without beating them up all week. We need to give their bodies a rest.

We play a little bit more fast and furious during the game than at practice.”

In football, incorrect playing methods and a lack of proper technique are often what lead to concussions. When the proper techniques are used, the chances of getting a concussion are greatly reduced.

“The most important thing is proper tackling and hitting technique,” Dalicandro said. “If kids are not taught the right way, then you will see a lot of concussions.”

Whether to prevent concussions or to cope with them after they occur, schools are now taking them more seriously than in the past. “We are not going to mess around with this,” Dalicandro said. “This is your brain.”

january 27, 2012

EFFECTS OF

centerfold

19

SPORTS-RELATED INJURIES

photo by Olivia Kennis

Statistics on concussions prove worrisome

1.6-3.8 #2 15.8% million

sports-related concussions occur in the United States each year.

leading cause of tramautic brain injury, behind automobile accidents, for people ages 15 to 24

of football players who sustain concussions severe enough to lose consciousness return to play the very same day.

opinions volume 28

issue 6

january 27, 2012 • thelionsroar.com/opinions

Bashing

Technology Learning how to use technology in school is unnecessary and wasteful; instead, South should focus on learning from real-world situations and acquiring materials that truly advance students’ education

Lindsey Walters Opinions Contributor

When my eighth grade science class at Brown got to test out individual tablet computers for a couple of months, we spent the majority of our time playing games. When we were told not to play games, we either hid them behind other windows or drew in an application called Paint. I can’t remember what the purpose of these computers was, nor can I remember learning anything from them other than the best Minesweeper strategies.

Technology is distracting, yet we recently received more iPads for the library. These new devices are gratuitous, a product of adults’ misconceptions that the newest, coolest devices are necessary to attract students of our generation.We are a school with limited resources, and we can’t afford to be investing in toys.

We shouldn’t blindly assume that technology helps learning. The Newton Public Schools’ Three-Year Technology Plan (2008-2011) says, “Most educators realize that in addition to ‘traditional’ basic literacy, we need to teach students the vital skills required in this digital age, such as critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration.”

The plan, most of which has already been implemented, suggests that teachers incorporate technology into the classroom, yet not one of those three “vital skills” needs to or should be taught through the use of a technological device.

Collaboration requires human interaction, which is either removed or significantly diminished when a computer is put between people. Critical thinking and problem solving have always been necessary skills, and technology does not improve them in any way. The idea that an

iPad application, which may have a series of preset obstacles or problems to solve can help improve a person’s critical thinking is seriously flawed. If people were to learn to problem-solve this way, we would have a generation of students who knew how to solve issues only in the context of a particular game. There has been little conclusive evidence that the skills learned through playing a game on a device translate to real-life situations. According to a recent New York Times article, many employees and executives of major Silicon Valley companies like Google, Apple and Yahoo even send their children to technology-free schools.

We don’t need to actively work to bring SMART boards or iPads into classrooms; we should be trying to keep them out. SMART boards allow students to access notes online after class is over, but this just gives them greater freedom to

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tune out in class. Good note-taking skills are crucial, especially later in life when students may not have access to the full text of a presentation. The “critical thinking” and “problem solving” skills that the Technology Plan stresses come into play when taking notes in class, not when reading the teacher’s notes at home. You need to be able to quickly filter information and decide what is important for you to write down, and then write this information while still following along with the lecture.

Learning how to multitask in this way is essential for living in a “digital age,” as the Technology Plan calls our era; yet by integrating technology into the classroom, the opportunity to improve this skill is lost and is replaced with few concrete benefits.

The Technology Plan’s assumption that educators need to teach students how to use technology is perhaps the biggest misunderstanding. To be honest, students know more about how the Internet works than teachers do — we’ve all sat through presentations where we’re taught how to use the library website as if we’ve never seen a computer before.

Technology is interwoven in almost every aspect of our lives, and we don’t need any help integrating it into our learning. I have no doubt that any of us could figure out how to work an iPad in two minutes, even if we had never seen one before. With such limited resources and time in schools, we don’t need to be “teaching” a skill in which the majority of students is more than proficient.

I understand that grants are complicated and that the money from them cannot be assigned wherever the school wishes. This means that we end up with an excess of iPads in the libraries, but we still have classes that exceed 30 students. I’m no financial expert, but it seems we’re applying for the wrong grants. If a grant stipulates that it may be used only to purchase superfluous technology, we shouldn’t be taking the time to apply for it.

We should be searching for grants that can help minimize class sizes or pay for whiteboard markers. If we must spend money on technology, it should be technology that has proven useful or is clearly necessary. The language labs, for example, are falling apart, and the tools in them are required for AP tests. Computers are also necessary for accessing resources beyond those in local libraries and for typing papers, so we should upgrade laptop carts and desktop computers.

Most importantly, however, we should be purchasing new books and new editions of textbooks. Books are the most important and lasting investment. While technology is constantly changing and in constant need of replacement, books can last decades and be read by hundreds of people.

Last year in Spanish, my copy of “Nosotros Somos Dios” was from the early 1970s and had students’ names written all over the inside front cover. This one book, which probably cost under $5 at the time it was purchased, has helped countless students improve their Spanish. Even if there’s an iPad App that claims to do the same thing, we should be spending our money on a cheap paperback rather than on an expensive piece of technology that will need replacement after five years.

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opinions

As the GOP primaries grow more and more heated, many of the candidates are going to extreme lengths to defame President Obama — and each other.

Lee Schlenker

Opinions Contributor For months now, Republican nominees have been crisscrossing the country, insisting to as many voters as they can that their respective platforms — though few voters can actually differentiate among them — are more viable than those of their opponents.

I’m not here to critique the various objectives, though; instead, I’m interested in discussing what we hear every day from all of the candidates in this particular campaign cycle, a shared rhetoric that has dominated our collective dialogue.

These candidates understand that in order to win over “your average Joe” and eventually secure the GOP nomination, they need to employ the same phrases, stress the same ideas and beat certain keywords to death.

Though this tactic makes issues easier to understand for many Americans, its overuse by Republican contenders proves disastrous for our national discourse.

If you watch a speech by any of the remaining candidates, you will hear him mention “jobs” over a dozen times.

You will hear him blame Obama for the economic recession.

You will most certainly hear about unemployment and any measures Obama didn’t approve which would’ve created thousands of American jobs (most notably the Keystone pipeline). You will hear about Obama’s socialist tendencies, his anti-American policies and his culpability for our nation’s debt crisis. You will hear that he cozies up to enemies abroad and suppresses liberty at home.

Now, the men that say these things and the speechwriters that write them are not stupid people.

The GOP candidates have attended top institutions and enjoyed illustrious careers in business and politics.

They understand that numerous other factors — other than Obama’s untimely stimulus package — led to the economic recession we’re experiencing, including policies enacted by members of their own party.

They realize that Obama’s refusal to back Keystone wasn’t because of his inherent antiAmerican attitude, but his environmental concerns.

And they are certainly aware of our long dependence on foreign credit, which has catapulted the country into a state of seemingly irreversible indebtedness.

But the GOP candidates have capitalized on the fact that their constituents perhaps don’t know or don’t fully understand these issues.

Many Americans don’t understand the political jargon they see in the news or have a firm grasp on the nuances of political economy and complex Middle Eastern geopolitics.

So the candidates simplify and dumb things down, explaining complicated issues through the lenses of “jobs” and “socialism,” placing blame on the easiest target: Obama.

This isn’t to say that Obama has been a wonderful president, for he certainly has not. But when a voter base sees widespread financial hardship and persistent inequality, it will rally behind a message of “it has to be somebody’s fault,” rather than consider a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective (like, I don’t know, maybe an intransigent House or a corrupt financial sector).

Along with exploiting widespread ignorance, though, GOP candidates have taken a page out of the media’s book, using sensationalistic strategies to get their points across.

Granted, this isn’t a new phenomenon by any means. But on this campaign trail in particular, we’ve seen the continued reliance on theatrics, rather than

substantive arguments, to attract voters.

Think about Perry’s corny advertisements about faith and the “crusade” against religion or Gingrich’s attacks on Romney, claiming he’s a “Massachusetts moderate.” These advertisements try to cater to people’s emotions, to evoke visceral responses from them, instead of promoting healthy dialogue about our country’s future.

By putting every issue into simple, hackneyed terms, the GOP candidates disseminate imprecise and inaccurate information, thus diluting our national discourse.

The candidates force our attention to their abstract goals for the future, at the expense of the more important question we should be asking: what can we do right now?

This is troublesome not only because we get caught up in campaign frenzy and ignore issues presently affecting us, but also because we now think of national problems as partisan ones that leave us blaming one another instead of collaborating and achieving a common goal.

So my advice to you, South, is to continue thinking critically about what politicians on both sides of the aisle have to say. Look past the political maneuvering, the rhetoric, the narrative and the bright smiles, the euphemisms and the circumventions.

graphics by Eleanor Richard

Newton Problems

compiled by Sophie Forman

newtonproblems Sophie Forman FaceTime makes my face look fat. #newtonproblems 1 Jan newtonproblems Sophie Forman My mom bought me the wrong Vera Bradley, so my Blackberry can’t fit in it. #newtonproblems 1 Jan

newtonproblems Sophie Forman I couldn’t get anything from the school vending machine because I only have twenties. #newtonproblems 4 Jan

newtonproblems Sophie Forman I’m not getting enough cell service in school to play my Words with Friends games! #newtonproblems 7 Jan

january 27, 2012

opinions

Oak Hill Council letter patronizes students Jake Medoff

Opinions Contributor A few weeks ago, the Oak Hill School Council sent out letters to the families of students, asking that their children not wear celebratory clothing received as party favors at bar and bat mitzvahs on the Monday after.

This request has erupted into a vigorous argument on various blogs and websites. Oak Hill claimed that this clothing causes feelings of exclusion in students who were not invited to the bar mitzvah.

The letter has created a major stir on websites such as wickedlocal.com, where parents, educators, journalists and political wannabes have all added their two cents.

Comments, veiled and not-so-veiled insults, have attacked parents for purchasing the questionable clothing as well as the kids for thoughtlessly wearing it to school. Does the conspicuous display of party favors and a few potential hurt feelings really warrant such a lengthy discourse?

Some people, including myself, believe that this clothing ban is an attempt to coddle the children of Newton.

Newton is a very sheltered community, largely free from crime and many of the issues that complicate life. Local sports teams no longer keep score of wins and losses, trophies are awarded to every participant and valedictorian awards are a thing of the past.

There is a fine line between protecting kids from the all-too-common bullying in middle schools and sheltering them from necessary life lessons. The job of the middle school administration and staff is to prevent fighting in school. The job of community law enforcement is to shield children from crime and violence. This in itself is a good thing, but where does it stop?

As members of society, people should accept that sometimes students are excluded or rejected. For example, a student trying out for the lead in a play may get only the part of an extra or another student trying out for a particular team might not make the cut.

The results are similar:

exclusion from a group, one that probably identifies itself proudly with clothing (such as spirit day apparel). As people get older and more mature, these shortcomings are no less painful, but they are easier to overcome and even help define them as individuals.

Furthermore, people should be aware of etiquette, realizing that while it is wrong to be intentionally hurtful, never hurting at all is inescapable. The bottom line is that if you are not friends with someone, you can’t expect them to invite you to celebratory events, and that’s that.

Once again, a seemingly benign issue has been hijacked by our schools and our community and blown out of proportion. Is it the school’s job to teach etiquette to its students? I don’t think so. Should parents spend huge amounts of money on party favors in the first place? That’s a personal decision.

By cushioning kids against possible pain derived from exclusion, Oak Hill is only doing them a disservice.

It’s better to learn the unfortunate realities of life early with a trivial issue such as bar and bat mitzvah clothing than later on with a more important issue. graphic by Eleanor Richard

ParentCONNECT system excludes students Jack Rabinovitch Opinions Contributor

The combined effect of the “Going Green” movement, which focuses on efficiency and convenience, and a tightened school budget has changed many things in the Newton Public School System, including a shift from paper to electronic. One example of this change is “ParentCONNECT,” a website on which parents will be able to look up their kids’ grades and midterm comments.

The school used this system of providing midterm comments for parents to see for the second term of this school year and will most likely remain the vehicle for grades as well.

ParentCONNECT provides a more convenient and eco-friendly way to organize information. Furthermore, it lacks the cost and tedium of snail-mail. But any electronic source for sending midterms, term grades and any other academic information to a student’s parents has of course, shortcomings as well as benefits.

With a school of hundreds of students, the shift to posting grades online is significantly more efficient for the faculty. It also bypasses the wastefulness of printing and mailing, which in turn saves the school money, something every academic and scholastic institution needs to consider.

In addition, ParentCONNECT makes it more convenient for the parent,

as the internet can be accessed from any computer in a wi-fi hotspot.

In some cases, students cannot destroy or simply “lose” the midterm, saving their parents time and frustration.

It gives parents an opportune way to look back at their child’s improvements (or lack thereof). All in all, between the ease for parents and faculty, school savings and

Midterm notes should inform not only parents, but students as well.

- Jack Rabinovitch, Class of 2015 the shift from paper to website, this new system seems only advantageous.

One problem with ParentCONNECT, though, is that the parents are generally the only ones in the family who view the midterm comments. Midterm notes should inform not only parents, but students as well.

Grades and midterm comments show both the student and the parent the improvements, flaws and setbacks in the child’s learning and provide a way for students to take a long look themselves and see how they can improve. The shift from a sheet of paper that students must hand to their parents to a website where parents simply log on may affect the students’

self-awareness and perspective. Because they are no longer obligated to bring home a midterm report, students have the responsibility of looking at their grades themselves.

Although students can easily check their midterm grades by looking online, they might not have the motivation to do so. Students did not have to make an effort to face teachers’ feedback when they received paper midterms, but students now have to go online voluntarily to check their grades.

Now that parents are the first to have access to their children’s grades, students might not feel as responsible for or as proud of their progress and therefore cannot judge themselves without initial parental interactions or pressure.

ParentCONNECT takes away this aspect of receiving grades and midterm comments, which allowed students to better assess their own standing, understand how they can change to meet teacher requirements or do nothing at all because they are satisfied with their grade.

Of course, this is not to say that the ParentCONNECT is bad — it is very beneficial for teacher-parent relations.

But for students, receiving grades and midterm comments in the mail offers more constructive feedback. It allows them to judge themselves honestly, understand how teachers view their learning styles and generate incentive from themselves, not their parents, to improve and do well.

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Dak canned ham not worth indulging in Jake Abramson & Jonah Reider Food’n’Stuff

It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the most regal day of the year. The succulent aroma of roasted chestnuts wafts through my nose holes. White truffles, piled high, stimulate my tongue muscle. Kobe beef, fed only Stella Artois beer and massaged by hand for supreme tenderness, is very tender.

But the real delicacy of the night — the reason we’re all here — is the canned Dak® Fully Cooked Premium Ham (Water Added).

Canned ham has always been a staple of the epicurean lifestyle. Whether it be with a fresh slice of canned pineapple, simply sprinkled with sea salt and thrown on the grill, or served as suggested with cloves, maraschino cherries and brown sugar, there are a multitude of ways to prepare the canned ham, all guaranteed to tickle your taste buds.

With 208 percent of your suggested daily sodium intake in each oblong can, the canned ham is, though out of the price range of many, a nice treat.

Canned ham can also be enjoyed in a variety of settings. The can suggests camping, hunting or fishing, but we found it quite appropriate on fine china.

And since it’s cooked ready-to-eat, you can snack right out of the can during your daily drive to buy more canned ham.

And then the vomit came. Chunks of ham, flying through the large spaces between my teeth.

Having now consumed the product, we can safely say that no one should ever purchase or allow in their home a can of Dak® Fully Cooked Premium Ham. As soon as I broke the seal of the can, an acrid gust of mercury and blood pillaged each and every cell in my face.

My eyes started to water tears of blood.

My dog died. As I drained pink-brown gelatinous fluid from the can, my neighbors called the fire department.

That was the first bad sign, one that should have been better heeded.

Upon severely shaking the can, a pink gristly oval was ejected onto my kitchen table. It was blanketed with a layer of thickened pink juice, which I calmly scraped off using my car ice scraper.

Shaking, I dug my fork into the meat product and prepared for a life of shame.

The first bite was as gristly as Herman Cain. If there is anything that actually tastes like human feces, it’s this.

I would have been glad to eat Fancy Feast™ Gravy Lovers Gourmet Cat Food instead (not that I don’t already). I felt baby pigs trampling over my stomach lining. I threw up, swallowed and threw up again.

It was time for the second bite, but the sight of the ham was just too much.

All of the food I had consumed in the last week was ejected from all of my orifices, an experience actually quite cleansing.

“We believe that you make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give,” Dak®’s Parent Company once eloquently declared on their website.

And we agree with them. Don’t ever do this to anyone you love.

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opinions

Arts Review

A bloody Good Time

photo illustration by Olivia Kennis

Joe Busaba

Opinions Contributor

T

he horror story is not a development of modern times. It is strongly rooted in American culture and other cultures around the world. Greek mythology, for example, depicts tales of cannibalism and human treachery. Even the Bible has scary stories about the end of the world and the destruction of man.

M.R. James, an early 20th century British author, explained the five key components of a ghost story: the story must seem truthful, draw the listener in, contain some sort of gruesome bloodshed, tell the story without explanation of the terror’s motives and seem like something it

could happen today.

Today, people consume these narratives through movies and, more recently, television.

Why do people enjoy fear elicited by media they choose to watch?

I spent my winter break watching FX’s new show, “American Horror Story”. I never thought that I would be interested in the horror genre. I believed it was odd to purposely scare myself or expose myself to images I didn’t have to see if I didn’t want to. The show, however, proved to be completely captivating, and I ended up watching all 12 episodes in two days.

Researchers have wondered why people are willing to endure horror movies and have come to a few basic explanations. One is the need to experience intense

“Catch-22” offers new perspective on war Dana Cohen-Kaplan Arts Review Column

Not often in the history of the English language do we get a word from the title of a book. Sure, some people will know what you’re talking about if you ask to borrow a frindle, but most people will look at you funny or think you’re in seventh grade. “Catch-22,” by Joseph Heller, is a book truly deserving of its notoriety and timeless place among the literature of our language. Though it took me a few tries

emotion and a human desire for excitement. Another is that the fear experienced in a movie is not real fear because we are exposing ourselves to it in a comfortable, familiar and controlled setting.

The third explanation is that people use these movies as a test to see how much they can tolerate. Horror movie watchers seek a feeling of relief at the end.

I find some truth in these explanations from my own experience. Over winter break, the only thing that could elicit mental stimulation and excitement in me was “American Horror Story.”

The show captivated me for an hour, and then I returned to my life.

While watching the show, I knew I wasn’t in any real danger, and I didn’t feel a connection to

to get past page 15, the third time was the charm, and I was richly rewarded for my perseverance.“Catch-22” was the funniest book I’ve ever read — including “The Big Book of Jewish Humor.”

There was a period when I would tote this book to school and back every day because I didn’t want to put it down, snagging a few minutes between homework assignments to read in the library.

I found myself laughing aloud time and time again as students stopped their email checking and librarians stopped their student monitoring to shoot a confused glance in my direction. When people ask me how a book could be so funny, I can only answer with, “It’s just so ridiculous!”The story tells about the ludicrousness of war, and how silly the whole affair is. Yossarian, the main character,

anything shown on the screen.

At the end of the series, however, I felt a sense of relief, as if I had experienced, on some level, what the characters had experienced.

One thing researchers didn’t account for was the connection viewers form with the characters by watching horror shows and movies. What really kept me watching “American Horror Story” was the desire to know what would happen next.

The creators of the show, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (who are ironically also the creators of Glee), kept me captivated, providing brief hints and clues but never giving everything away until the very end. Other thrillers, such as Showtime’s “Dexter” and the British show “Misfits” also capture viewers’

seems to be the only sane one in his camp, a bombing group of B-25 crews based in Italy during World War II. He tries everything he can to get out of his flying duty because he simply sees no sense in it (“They’re trying to kill me!”).

The doctors, chaplains and commanding officers all insist that no one is trying to kill him, even as his friends die off all around him one by one, brought down by antiaircraft fire. He can only leave when he has finished his missions. Colonel Cathcart raises the number of missions each time he reaches the requirement. He can stop flying missions and go home because he’s insane, but he’s clearly sane if he wants to stop flying missions and go home. The characters are brilliant and crazy, as are the situations.

Toward the middle of the book, I fi-

emotions in a less horrifying way. All three of these shows let people experience intense emotion vicariously through the characters in a very tangible way.

Viewers can disconnect from the concerns of their own lives and enter a world in which problems are magnified and human struggle is heightened.

Aside from the stress that our schoolwork and social groups elicit, we usually fall into routines that can begin to feel mundane and repetitive. The thriller genre is a way to momentarily escape to a place where we can activate our sympathetic nervous systems and feel a rush of excitement. I suggest trying one of these shows.

Even if you think the horror genre isn’t right for you, it’s worth the feeling of suspense.

nally realized it was political commentary on war as each predicament brought on by the men behind the machine became more and more preposterous. The theme, starting off subtle (that’s why it takes a bit to get into it), grew in a frantic crescendo until Heller essentially clubs you over the head with pacifist rhetoric. Though no one really “likes” war, this book opened my eyes to how silly it can be, and I have half a mind to slip it into Andy Webber’s backpack one of these days.

I recommend “Catch-22” highly, for many reasons. Though I appreciate great humor, this book is rich in more ways than that. Also, you’ll learn what “Catch-22” means so you can use it in a sentence and sound sophisticated. To agree with and quote the back of the book, it is truly a “masterpiece of our time.”

community volume 28

issue 6

january 27, 2012 • thelionsroar.com/community

25

page

photos by Yoonchan Choi

Michael Baker, owner of Bakers’ Best, decided to shutter the windows of the cafe on Lincoln St. to refocus resources toward his more successful Needham-based catering service.

Local cafe closes Newton location, expands catering Yoonchan Choi Sr. Community Editor

When junior Jennifer Olins was hired by Bakers’ Best in October, her employers warned her that she may not be there for long.

“When they hired me, they told me [Bakers’ Best was] up for sale but was going to operate as usual until they got sold,” Olins said.

Two months later, she received her last paycheck. The cafe officially shut its doors on Dec. 13, with an explanatory letter from owner Michael Baker posted on the window. The letter explained that Baker was closing the cafe but continuing his catering service.

“I was surprised,” Olins said. “I thought it was busy enough that it didn’t have to close, but apparently a majority of the profit came from the catering, so closing makes sense.”

Olins’ surprise was shared by many of the cafe’s customers, including junior Julia Goldberg, who had been going to the cafe “ever since [she could] remember.”

“I was really upset that it closed, and I also was really surprised,” Goldberg said.

“It was so busy whenever I’d go, so I didn’t realize their business wasn’t doing that well until after it closed.”

Baker said the closing was not because of ailing business at the store, but rather a refocusing of time and resources.

“Some people think we closed doors because we weren’t doing well, but that’s not the case,” Baker said. “Closing was a business decision: we wanted to put our effort where our business was coming from.”

Despite the large number of customers, especially during weekend brunch hours, Baker explained in his letter that 85 percent of the store’s business came from the Needham-based catering service.

“About five years ago, we opened a

10,000 square-foot kitchen in Needham of the store will inconvenience many New[for the catering service],” Baker said. ton residents.

“Even then, we were anticipating closing “It’s been around forever,” she said. the retail store at some point.” “[Although] they do catering — I think Many aspects of the cafe made it my family has gotten catering from there a less profitable than the catering service. few times — the place was nice for a kind Baker said that the cafe would often waste of upscale treat.” food because it was difficult to predict how Bakers’ Best opened in Newton many customers would come on a given Highlands 28 years ago and expanded its day. business over the years. First located in “[Catering] is a different business,” the space where the candy store Indulge he said. “All the orders are in advance, so operates today, the cafe moved to its larger there’s no waste at all because we’re only Lincoln St. location 12 years ago. buying products for the orders of the day.”

Olins described the cafe as “a According to Baker, the catering friendly environment for everyone.” service quickly became the larger business, “There were always a lot of little kids sending “well over 100 deliveries” around the there with their parents,” she said. “Older Boston area to a variety of customers, includ- people came a lot, but so did couples and ing hedge funds, teenagers ... Every biotech labs and weekend I saw at least universities. The two kids from South, Closing was a business store, however, maybe more.” decison; we wanted to put had not been as Goldberg said successful. that frequent customour effort where our busi- ers of the cafe formed “While t h e c o m p a ny a close community. ness was coming from. has been thriv“We’d run into the - Michael Baker, owner ing over the last same people all the couple of years, time,” Goldberg said. we weren’t man“There was a little Bakaging [the store] very well at the end,” Baker ers’ Best group.” said. “It was taking up a lot of our time and Biology teacher Amy Richard, a just didn’t make sense.” former Newton resident, said that she This growing difference between frequently visited the cafe because of the retail and corporate profits led Baker to high-quality food. close. Although it was a “simple business “I used to go there every weekend,” decision,” Baker said that closing was difRichard said. “Their chicken salad with ficult from a personal perspective. grapes introduced me to a whole new level “If someone were just looking at the of culinary perfection.” numbers, they would have told us to close Baker said many customers, like even sooner,” Baker said. “But it was very Richard, came to Bakers’ Best because of hard for me to let go of the store because the quality of food. it’s what I’ve done all my life.”

“We use higher-quality ingredients Junior Emma Race, who lives down than most places ... I feel bad for people the street from the cafe, said that although that have been coming in for years for the the catering service still exists, the absence food,” Baker said. “But we deliver every

day, all over Boston, even people just looking for a dinner for 8 or 10.”

Goldberg also said that the personal relationships between customers and employees created a welcoming environment.

“I’ve been going there since I was very young, and every time I go, Michael [Baker] used to give me free cookies,” Goldberg said. “It was a very welcoming place that was always so fun to go to.”

In the letter on the window, Baker wrote that he would “miss the day-to-day interaction” with each of his customers, but that the catering service would continue to serve “for years to come.”

Goldberg, who said that her family has used Bakers’ Best’s catering services for many years, said she will continue using the catering service.

“They catered my brother’s bar mitzvah, and then I had them cater my bat mitzvah,” Goldberg said. “Now that the store is gone, we’ll be catering for the holidays and other occasions.”

Richard was uncertain that she would ever use the catering service, despite saying the cafe’s closing felt “like an old friend is leaving.”

“I’m not sure that I’ll ever have an event that’ll require that kind of catering,” she said.

Olins said she believes that, although customers can still order catering services, the closing of the Newton location is more significant because it may have an impact on all the nearby stores. “[Bakers’ Best] used to get stores around there a lot of business,” she said.

“People would go to that toy store across the street while waiting for a table or go shopping at other places on the street.”

Race agreed that the absence of the cafe will affect the town’s atmosphere.

“It’s been a part of the neighborhood forever,” Race said. “It’ll be weird not to have it there.”

26

thelionsroar.com/community

community

ONE WORD, ONE COMMUNITY

Every issue, The Roar asks four members of the Newton community to expand upon a one-word prompt

Motivation photo courtesy of Madeline Emmett

Madeline Emmett

photo courtesy of Daniel Sands

Daniel Sands

photo courtesy of Bonnie Rosenberg

photo by Yoonchan Choi

Class of 2013

Primary Care Physician

Berklee College Faculty Member

Bonnie Rosenberg

Naomi Dorfman

I lack motivation.

This lack manifests itself throughout my academics, athletics, clubs and chores — not because I don’t care, but because I don’t care enough. Neglecting my obligations just comes naturally to me.

This all changed two months ago, when I went to my parents with a farfetched proposal.

I announced excitedly that I wanted to go to on the Prague trip over April break, and that the trip would be one of the best experiences of my life.

I was met with silence. Later, my parents explained how they too wished I could go, but the money just wasn’t there.

I was undeterred. My desire to somehow, someway, go on this trip mounted to new heights.

I put down the $200 deposit for the trip from my piggy bank savings, then found a minimum wage job at a coffee shop.

For the last six weeks, I have worked there five nights a week to make the money I need.

My parents, my manager and my friends all think I’m crazy. I get home after 9:30, and after eating dinner, showering and doing my homework, I often have to go to bed in the early morning.

The execution has been far from flawless, but I get closer to my goal every day.

My desire to go to Prague and my belief that making the money myself will make the trip a more valuable experience motivates me to accomplish all that I am.

When I was about 5, I started learning — and later performing — magic, which became an important part of my life for 20 years.

Mastering individual magic tricks, however, wasn’t my motivation for spending hours practicing my art. It was so I could perform, which afforded me the pleasure of bringing joy and entertainment to others.

Magic not being the basis of a reliable livelihood, I pursued a more traditional career and became a physician.

As I studied, my motivation was not to complete whatever I was struggling through at the time, but to be able to practice medicine. To practice medicine, I’d need to accomplish these intermediate goals.

As a parent, my family sees me eating healthily and exercising and thinks I enjoy them. In fact, I’m not driven to do either.

However, I’ve found that when I have a healthy lifestyle I feel better and am more productive. I visualize the way I will feel for the rest of the day, and that pushes me through my workouts.

As a physician, I want my patients to stay healthy. But everyone is different; some may have the same motivations that I do, but others may be motivated by the desire to see their children graduate, to be a healthy grandparent, to play better golf or to grow old with their spouse.

The lesson is to understand what is important to you (or to the people you’re trying to motivate) and then work toward accomplishing the steps necessary to achieve this product.

It was in fifth grade that my teacher, Mr. Goldstein, first introduced me to the concept of “the extra degree.”

At 211 degrees, you have very hot water; at 212 degrees, you have steam.

Steam moves locomotives, and locomotives move mountains!

That last push, one small degree, is worth the effort, since it makes all the difference in what you can achieve.

That early lesson stood me in good stead for life. The difference between excellence and a moderate attempt at success was not huge. Often, one more degree of work did the trick.

Soon it became obvious that there were two motivational drives — one came from within; the other, from the external environment.

Reading, studying and learning for pleasure was one path; doing those very same things for grades, to get into the right college and to ensure a career that would provide good earnings was another.

There are seasons in life — a time to provide and earn and a time to enjoy and give back.

While my drive and motivation still have me pushing the limits of each day, I have moved from a demanding career in social justice to a life in music at Berklee College.

I have been motivated to do my best at both, giving that extra degree.

These days, however, I am motivated to share what I have learned in my long career, rather than strive to be the head of the department.

There is a purpose for every season, and our drive alters depending on the purpose at hand.

Fear of regret played a key role in motivating me to open Sweet Tart.

I never wanted to look back on my life and regret not having followed my dream of opening a sweet shop.

As the cliché goes, I would rather open and fail than have to spend my days wondering “what if...”

So when the ideal location opened up next to Bill’s Pizza in Newton Centre, it didn’t deter me that we were headed into the offseason.

I felt that the Newton market could bear another frozen dessert option and would welcome a self-serve choice.

Newton has, in fact, received us with open arms. The community seems to be very excited to have Sweet Tart here.

This reception provides me with daily motivation to make it through the cold months into the spring, when our traffic will ostensibly increase and sales will grow.

Seeing smiles on little kids’ faces, hearing students call the store “heaven” and watching people run into friends reassure me that opening Sweet Tart was a smart choice.

Owner of Sweet Tart

next month’s word:

Window

27

thelionsroar.com

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

EASY: 8

5

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9

ROSSWORD

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

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Word Search B N K O O T B V X U N K N M

U R A R E D A N A T I D M Y

Y J W L U O S H Y O Z L J H

K U E H C M S O T N P W O I

O T E S O G P L A Y C P X Q

X Y H A L N N I D G A D V B

Y F A L D O Q A N J R B R D

O J Z F S T I M T G N O C I

14

19

17 20

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DOWN:

ACROSS:

1 5

11

33. The only non-metallic substance on Earth that is less dense than its liquid counterpart.

34. The Old Man’s companion, according to Hemmingway.

35. A careful examination, can be a cat or a pet.

1. Large, hairy arachnids.

2. To display one’s feelings.

24 22 23 3. Find out what it means to Aretha Franklin.

25 26 27 4. Ted Turner’s broadcast station.

28 29 5. Pejorative for drug addict 30 or someone on Facebook.

6. We all sent these in middle 31 32 33 school, but now we just email.

34 35 7. Penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt’s 18th dynasty.

8. Architect of destalinization.

17. ___ Scott, beloved SportsCenter 11. At Whole Foods, you get anchor. a discount if you pack your 1. Arts performance held every 18. Something that is necessary for groceries in a ____ bag.

April in the auditorium. organisms to live; often misused by 13. Don’t pee on the third 9. Word commonly used to con- spoiled high schoolers. one. clude a prayer (plural).

20. Helping verb, third person con- 19. Set under coffee cups, a 10. A traditional story; the Greek jugation of “to be.” funny-sounding word. form is most common.

21. 20 across, in Spanish.

23. Nas’s debut album 12. Lists of members of a sports 22. A series of loops, squirming in a “___matic.” team.

Phish song.

24. Something generally 14. Conjunction, or Reed Col25. Up to a point in time. clogged with hair. lege’s home state.

27. ____ Blair, George Orwell’s real 26. World’s longest river.

15. Organization for professional name.

27. Roar’s favorite kind of male tennis players, or a coen28. __ Na, defending women’s dash. zyme used in energy transfer.

French Open champion.

30. A prefix to inverse trigo16. Trained peer leader who 29. The alpaca is its miniature rela- nometric functions. supervises those living in a group tive.

32. A note, best known for housing facility.

31. A friend or McBeal. following “so.”

3

8

16

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CHALLENGING: 6

6 10

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By Danny Gifford

S W G R C P Q H H U N O N V

U O Z E H M M G T X W L U M

“Is hip-hop just a euphemism for a new religion/The soul music of the slaves that the youth is missing?” ponders Kanye West in “Gorgeous.” We’ve dedicated our word search to this influential genre.

N Y H T O O Y E R D R D X V

P Z B S O C V R H H P Z Q V

R Z N A L F Y X T C U W K S

V N B M F J O K L P O N R T

X L S D K B D C K L T D Y L

X R C N T R F A F C I T Z Z

M R E A G W N K T X K B N P

R M E R P Y M P E H H K K K

Z B D G E U Z N V F W N T O

K U H W J R T I J X J W S G

F Z E F T A M H T R F H W A

V S B B O Y Y K G H E J V U

T W V U R B E Z X J P Y L Z

S A M P L I N G Q H H B A R

1) Kanye West 2) Bass 3) Tupac 4) Krumping 5) Sampling 6) Jay-Z 7) Grand Master Flash 8) B-Boy 9) Dr. Dre 10) Wu-Tang Clan 11) Turntables 12) Flow 13) Beatbox 14) Old school 15) Compton 16) Bronx

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month:

O X S E L B A T N R U T E X Friedland spent years studying with a grammar guru in Kathmandu.

sports volume 28

january

issue 6

27, 2012• thelionsroar.com/sports

page

28

Julie Olesky News Reporter

photos by Olivia Kennis

The Lions lost 54-41 to Acton-Boxborough on Jan. 24 in Acton. This year’s team has experienced a change in dynamic as underclassmen dominate the team and the court.

Youthful Lions drop a pair to tough A-B squad Peter Haskin Managing Editor

The varsity boys basketball team has slipped to 1-11 after losing back-to-back games to Acton-Boxboro. The Colonials clinched a state tournament berth with their Jan. 20 59-44 victory on South’s home court; they triumphed again just four days later in Acton, 54-41.

With only three seniors on their roster, the Lions are perhaps the youngest team head coach Joe Killilea has led in his 32 seasons at South. “With young kids, somedays they’re just not going to be there,” Killilea said of his inexperienced team. “Generally, I’m pretty pleased with the effort [that the underclassmen are making]. We just need to improve on the results.”

Flashes of the Lions’ brilliant potential shone through against the Colonials: Killilea pointed to the strong play of sophomore Phil Levine-Caleb

on both offense and defense as a tied to its youthfulness. “You sign of the team’s improvement. can make adjustments on the fly One of the highlights of Jan. 20’s with seniors … [With younger contest was a dazzling steal by the players], you can’t take anything 6’4” sophomore, following a pos- for granted. You expect them session on which he scored. to know something, but they’ve South’s weakness lies in its never seen it before, they’ve never inconsistency. After cutting an early heard it before, they’ve never deficit late learned it in the first before. You quarter have to slow I’m pretty pleased with on Jan. 20 your whole and comthe effort. We just need to practices ing within down.” improve on the results. two points Senior o f A- B , and captain South let Josh Kasten - Joe Killilea, Varsity Basketball Coach up a 15-0 agreed with C olonial Killilea that run, to a strong make the score 28-11. Again effort in practice has correlated on Jan. 24, South scored only with improvement in gameplay: four points in the eight-min- “Physically, kids have gotten a lot ute-long third quarter, effec- better,” he said. “It’s not like we tively taking itself out of the game. should be angry with ourselves “We have these dry spells,” for not working hard enough.”

Killilea said, acknowledging Instead, Kasten attributes that his team’s inconsistency is his team’s subpar record to its rel-

ative inexperience in comparison to tough Dual-County League opponents. Of A-B, Kasten said he “wouldn’t be surprised to see a run in the tournament.”

Killilea pointed to A-B’s 6’4” senior forward Joe Flannery and 6’6” senior center Kevin LaFrancis as two problems for South’s defense. “They’re a big, physical team with an inside-out combination,” he said. Flannery hit three 3-pointers for the Colonials Jan. 20.

With the state tournament out of reach, South will look to further cultivate the talent of its underclassman-heavy lineup, Kasten said. Still, his aspirations for the rest of his senior season remain unchanged. “Obviously … I’m disappointed that I’m not going to make the tournament in my last year, … [but] the losses don’t really change my role as a captain,” he said.“We’ve got eight games left, and I want to win every one of them.”

upcoming home games

Jan. 31

&

Feb. 3

january 27, 2012

sports

29

Swim atmosphere changes with increased size Ali Meisel

ent. Nobody brings it up,” Bussgang said.

“When we’re all as a team, yeah we try and improve, but we don’t criticize.”

Even though the team shares a drive Only four lanes are available for swimmers when the swimming and diving to improve, junior Jenny Kaufman said team has diving practice. In past years, this that the large contingent of freshmen spent much of its time together, rather than with would not have been a problem, but this other swimmers.“Probably just because year there was not enough lane space for there’s so many freshmen and it’s their first the 44 team members. year … it’s really hard to try and incorpoThis overcrowding resulted from rate them in stuff because they kind of stick first-year swim coach Phil Martin’s decision not to make any cuts, a chance that he together,” Kaufman said.

Bussgang said that as the season said helped the team more than hurt it.

“I wanted everyone to be part of the progressed, however, she got to know upperclassmen as well as her fellow freshmen. team,” Martin said.

“At first I sort of stayed with the According to freshman Claire freshmen because I knew them better,” McElduff, not making cuts gave many of her fellow freshmen the chance to swim on Bussgang said, “but as the season went on, I started talking to the upperclassmen the team, which they might not have had more, hanging out with them, and I realotherwise.“There’s definitely some people ized that it’s really nice.” in our class who probably wouldn’t have The team spirit, sophomore Ryan made the team,” McElduff said, “but I think it’s good because if they had gotten cut this Spatz said, has helped incorporate the new swimmers into the team environment. year they might not have tried out next “We’re definitely a lot louder; we have year and just given up on it altogether.”

Martin agreed and credited his deci- more voices,” he said, “and the environment’s just a lot more powerful and more sion to the belief that all swimmers can enveloping with all of these people now on improve and benefit the team.

“No matter what your level is, if you the team.”

Spatz said that the team’s supportive put in four years of commitment to swimming, you’re going to be scoring points for atmosphere is particularly important during meets.“We’re always at the ends of the the team,” Martin said.

“Those fifth places are just as impor- lanes cheering each other on,” he said, “and tant as those first places, so you want more it’s really helpful to have people behind you while you’re swimming so you’re not going people on your team.” at it alone.”

Regardless of their level, all swimKaufman agreed that cheering helps mers were welcomed into the close team swimmers make their best time, but she community, according to freshman and diver Jackie Bussgang. “If you’re not a good said that cheering during meets occurs less frequently because the team is larger. swimmer or a good diver, it’s not apparManaging Editor

photo by Olivia Kennis

To create an inclusive environment, swim coach Phil Martin decided not to make cuts.

“A lot of people swim faster when there’s people cheering for them, but since not everybody knows each other, there’s not always somebody there cheering for you,” she said. “Before, everybody was always standing up and cheering for each other, but it’s not like that this year.”

Team spirit at meets is still evident to senior and captain Jossie Forman, however, and she said that a larger team is beneficial in many ways.“I was definitely excited to have a big team because there’s more spirit, and there was always going to be enough swimmers for every meet,” she said. “There was never going to be questions on whether or not we could fill up enough relays.”

Having experienced three seasons with a smaller team, though, Forman

said she was initially worried about how the team would operate with so many swimmers.“As a captain, I heard some concerns from other swimmers about lane space and how crowded the bus and team dinners would be,” she said.

According to Forman, the change also affected the team atmosphere. “It has definitely changed the dynamic of the team together,” she said. “It’s a little less intimate, but when we’re together, it’s a little more powerful.”

Although this is his first season with the team, Martin said he understands the differences between a large and a small team but said the benefits outweigh the LANGUAGES, 10

SWIM , 30

photos by Olivia Kennis

The boys hockey team started 5-0 before losing seven of their next nine games. The team has struggled with injuries throughout the season, with eight players missing at least two weeks due to injuries (five with concussions), but with the final stretch of the season approaching, most players are back and healthy. The boys hockey team has also had to overcome a loss of powerful offense that last year’s senior, Danny Ramin, who scored 30 goals last season, provided. The defense, however, has improved, rallying behind senior goalkeeper Charles Egan. The team is now 7-7 and must win at least three of its next six games to make the playoffs. If they make the playoffs, it will be the first time in 48 years.

30

sports

thelionsroar.com/sports

Wrestling program expands to include club team William Fleisher & Dani Glasgow Sports Reporter, Sr. Sports Editor

This year, 42 students tried out for the wrestling team, 10 more than last year. For the first time in five years, instead of making cuts, the wrestling program added a club team.

“One part of [why we created the club team] is simply a space issue,” head coach Alan Rotatori said. Last year the JV and varsity teams practiced separately, but the JV practices had too many athletes to yield productive practices.

This year, the club, JV and varsity squads work out together on Mondays and Thursdays and practice separately the other days of the week. “Now that there are less people in the room at a time, the coaches are able to focus more on what each individual wrestler needs to work on,” Rotatori said.

The club team, however, acts as more than just a way to free up practicing space. “In seventh and eigth grade, most teams have a feeder program and we don’t. [The club team] acts as a feeder program, which definitely helps out,” junior Lucian Cascino said.

Rotatori said that similar to a feeder program, the club team attracts potential wrestlers. “The club team is also designed for a kid who may not want to fully commit to wrestling, but just try it for a year,” Rotatori said.

Cascino agreed that the club team makes joining the wrestling team a less daunting prospect. “[The club team] makes wrestling seem a little less intimidating,” he said. “Wrestling can definitely seem like an intimidating sport when you know nothing and you could be going up a against a state champion.”

photo by Olivia Kennis

Club team wrestlers practice with the varsity and JV squads twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, but they do not participate in meets.

According to senior varsity wrestler Michael Berman, starting off with the club team also helps young wrestlers to develope.

“Hopefully in the next few years, all the individual training they are getting will benefit them when they move up to JV and varsity,” he said.

Sophomore Curtis Teitleman, a first year wrestler, said that most importantly the club team helps less experienced wrestlers improve. “The purpose of the club team is to gain experience and learn things that more experienced wrestlers may have already learned,” he said.

According to sophomore Mike Chandra, club team wrestling is giving him the experience

he needs to wrestle on varsity in the future. “My goal was to make it on the actual team,” he said.

“But I’m happy with the club team because I will be mentally and physically prepared for next year when I can try to make the team.”

Sophomore Matt Wenger wrestled on varsity last year as a freshman because an upperclassman never made weight, but he said he is glad to be on the club team this year.

“I want to have more experience before I go back onto varsity because the other varsity kids are really experienced and good,” he said.

Although the club team does not participate in meets, according to Cascino it is still

very much a part of the South wrestling program. “We don’t really differentiate at all in the room [during practice],” Cascino said.

“When we’re in there, everyone is willing to work with each other. I haven’t seen any hesitation from a team member to help a club member.”

Chandra said that like the JV and varsity practices, club team practices are grueling. “Every practice pushes you to your limits, or gives you the opportunity to do so,” he said.

Berman said that the harder club team wrestlers work, the more they will feel part of the team; they even have the possibility of moving up to JV or varsity.

“The kids who are committed on

the club team are connected with the team,” he said. “Other kids who don’t take it as seriously do not seem as connected with the team.”

According to Cascino, however, the identity of wrestling as an intensive program is still intact. “[The club team] is opening up the wrestling program, but it’s not really changing the culture,” he said. “They don’t get to work any easier than the rest of us,” he said.

On the contrary, Berman said that the club team motivates him to work harder. “When I see people who are new to wrestling working hard to get better, it gives me that extra boost,” he said.

Swimmers and divers struggle to form close friendships SWIM, from 29 detriments. “It’s not as tight a unit as it has been before, but they’ve welcomed everyone in, and they’re still a great team,” he said.

Kaufman said that this loss of intimacy is reflected in the difficulty she has encountered in learning each person’s name on the team.“I’m still working on learning names, and last year at this point I knew everybody’s names. I could tell you who they are, and I felt like I knew everybody,” she said, “but this year I don’t.”

Martin said that when he joined the team, he too struggled to get to know the swimmers.

“The hardest part was learning the kids,” he said. “The swimming part is easy, practices are easy, it’s really just … getting to know them as swimmers and knowing how much they can handle.”

“That was more of a struggle than

anything that had to do with swimming,” he said.

Forman, who was a captain last year as well, said she had to alter her leadership techniques to focus less on individuals and more on the group as a whole.“At this point, it’s almost like we have to control the masses and help the coach deal with having so many kids,” she said. “In the past … we got to spend time bonding with all the new swimmers, all the freshmen, and this year it’s a little more of just making sure everyone knows what to do.”

Martin said he appreciates the captains’ efforts to lead the team. “The senior captains, I don’t know if this would have been possible without them,” he said.

Despite challenges in practice and with team bonding, McElduff said she is happy with the season overall. “I think [the season has] been really great,” she photo by Olivia Kennis said. “Everyone’s been improving a lot and Swimmers face overcrowding in the pool during swim practice due to the size of the team. everyone’s done their best.”

january 27, 2011 The road to redeption

sports

31

New trainer provides advice, efficiency

Michael Duggan Senior Column

…And we’re officially spoiled.

Thanks to Billy Cundiff ’s Ray Finkle-esque (although the laces were out) missed field goal with fifteen seconds left in last Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, the New England Patriots advanced to their fifth Super Bowl in the last 10 seasons.

Only six other teams have done that in NFL history. Everyone should go home right now and thank their parents for choosing to live a marathon’s distance away from the home field of the Pats. Do you know what kids living in Cleveland, Buffalo or Jacksonville would do to witness the success we’ve had?

Better yet, the New York Giants did their part too, defeating host San Francisco 49ers (bad day to be a Harbaugh) in the NFC Championship Game a few hours after Brady took a knee.

If redemption is even possible, it will be achieved by beating the Giants. photo by Jay Sobel

Why did the Giants need to win?

Well, remember when the Red Sox won the World Series back in ‘04? Do you remember why it felt so good?

Well, besides ending an 86-year-old World Series drought, the Sox won after beating the Yankees, who had ended our season the year before on Aaron Boone’s home run (I still remember waking up the next morning and asking my dad why there was a hole in the wall next to the TV).

For those of you who are unaware, the Patriots lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, due to a whatever-you-wantto-call-it (fu**ing bu**sh*t) catch by David Tyree on his helmet.

Of course, his catch came only after every defensive player on the Patriots had tugged on Eli Manning’s jersey but for some reason had decided not to bring him down.

And I don’t have to remind you that thirty seconds later the Giants scored a touchdown, winning the Super Bowl and ruining the Patriots’ perfect record.

If redemption is even possible, it will be achieved by beating the Giants in the Super Bowl.

That’s not to say that beating the Giants is guaranteed. Despite the Giants’ 9-7 regular season record (the worst of all NFC playoff teams), the Patriots actually lost to the Giants 24-20 at home this year, falling to yet another Eli Manning game-winning touchdown drive in the closing seconds.

Manning, who has a league-leading seven fourth quarter comebacks this year — including this past Sunday — could be a huge problem for the Patriots secondary, ranked second-to-last in passing defense (luckily for us, the Giants’ is fourth worst).

With two of the best receiving cores in the NFL, and two of the worst secondaries, expect big plays, late game heroics and a Super Bowl to remember.

P.J. Quern asseses an athlete’s injury. The training room is used for the prevention, care and rehabilitation of sports-related injuries.

Jack McElduff & Darren Trementozzi Sports Contributors

After a rough day at school last year, senior and assitant athletic trainer Amanda Magier visited the office of the then-athletic trainer, Andrew Ray, and was reminded that someone was there to cheer her up. “I came in practically near tears, and he was like, ‘Who do I have to beat up for you today?’” she said. “We were just so close like that.”

The athletic trainer is acknowledged as a source of comfort, in addition to a source of medical help, by several student athletes. The school hired a new head athletic trainer this year, P.J. Quern, who has recommended himself to many athletes and whose presence in the athletic training room has induced a different atmosphere.

According to Quern, the athletic training room is used mainly for “the prevention, care and rehabilitation of athleticrelated injuries.”

He said, however, that rehabilitation is just one of the room’s uses. “Prior to practice, the room is used for athletic preparation,” he said, “whether it be preventative measures such as taping and wrapping injuries, or warming up muscles through a moist heat pack.”

As an assistant athletic trainer under Ray, senior Sonja Halvorsen said she learned that a successful physical therapist must remember several key skills. “Knowledge of the human body is probably one of the most important parts,” Halvorsen said. “[One has to know] that not only the body can get hurt, but also how it heals, to better know how to improve and increase the healing rate.”

According to Halvorsen, Quern is a good fit for the job, and he also keeps the

assistants practicing what they learned from Ray. “He definitely knows what he’s doing,” Halvorsen said. “He knows how to run the office.”

Senior and football player Stephen Okren said the crowds that gather in the training room prior to practices require a smooth system of organization, a system that has been lacking in previous years.

“Now, you go in there and talk to [Quern], and it gets done right away,” Okren said.

“It’s understood [that] you’re going in there to get help. You’re not going in there to lie down and chill with friends.”

Senior and football player Aaron Weinstein agreed that in the past, problems have arisen regarding the number of people in the room. “Kids would go into the train-

[Quern is] not going to just push you away. He’s going to look at the injury ... and make sure you get on the field ... quickly and safely.

- Stephen Okren, Class of 2012 ing room just as a social area,” he said.

Although students sometimes still crowd the office, both Okren and Magier said that Quern has increased the efficiency of the office while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere.

Okren said that when he had to seek help from Quern for a knee injury, he noticed Quern’s efficiency and organization. “He got right down to it,” Okren said.

“He’s not going to just push you away. He’s going to look at the injury, see if it’s bad or good and make sure you get on the field as

quickly and safely as possible.”

Halvorsen said that this efficiency is characteristic of Quern. “[He lets] people that actually need help come forward and not be left in the crowd,” she said.

Much of the attractiveness of the training room comes from the personalities that inhabit it, Magier said. “If there were an old, nasty athletic trainer that nobody liked, it wouldn’t be the same environment,” she said. “Kids probably wouldn’t be as comfortable going in there to seek out help with injuries.”

Magier said that organization, along with a degree of open-mindedness, is necessary to establish both a comfortable and an orderly environment in the training room. “Kids are actually going to come and talk,” she said. “Kids go in there to say hi to P.J., not just for injuries.”

Quern said that he also feels a deeper connection to South because of his longtime residence in Newton, both as a child and as an adult. Quern is an ‘06 graduate of North and has worked as a trainer at Lasell College. “I heard of the position opening up for NSHS and was interested in reconnecting with the Newton community,” he said.

Okren said that he and other athletes appreciate Quern’s ties to the town.

“He knows about the whole North-South rivalry,” Okren said. “He knows lots of South sports and North sports so he can relate to a lot of the kids because he’s gone through the whole experience.”

Because of the combination of Quern’s knowledge and affability, Okren said that for him, visiting the training room has become an easy way to get help. “[Quern’s] personality dictates the attitude of the trainer’s office,” Okren said. “It makes it more enjoyable going in, because he’s easy to talk to and a cool person.”

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