The Wessex Wire (April 2017)

The Wessex Wire The Student Newspaper of West Essex Regional High School

Vol. LVII No. 5

65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, N.J.

April 2017

TheWessexWire.com

Photo by Lauren Mannielo

Students wear pink in honor of Dr. Jan Huston-Pryor, who was a renowned breast cancer surgeon and well-known in the West Essex community.

West Essex honors Dr. Pryor in pink

By Daniella Ignacio ’17 and Megan Boeckel ’17 West Essex students and staff banded together to honor the memory of Dr. Jan Huston-Pryor on Wednesday, March 22.

They collectively wore pink to pay homage to the prominent breast cancer surgeon who impacted the lives of many. Patients, friends and family members alike said they are heartbroken about her death.

“Jan showed everyone around her what it meant to love unconditionally,” said senior Kelsey Witzel, who knew Huston-Pryor well from her involvement with the First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell. “From always participating in sandwich nights at the soup kitchen to hosting youth group events at her already hectic house, she was

always willing to lend a helping hand. Her optimistic outlook on life and welcoming personality was something that her church community and I loved most, and something we will never, ever forget.”

Huston-Pryor’s death came as a shock to many. On Tuesday, March 21, HustonPryor, 66, was struck by a vehicle in Essex Fells and killed. Hundreds of people attended her wake and funeral at the First Presbyterian Church the following Sunday.

Among those people were her husband, Jonathan, her children’s nanny and her close personal friend, Amy Kolb, and her 12 children: Lupita, Daniela, Andrew, Julia, Aleona, Timothy, Jessica, Elizabeth, Roy, Luke, Hayat and Maeruf. Many of them graduated from or are attending West Essex, and 10 of them were adopted from

Texas, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, China and Ethiopia.

Kolb said that Huston-Pryor taught her patience and perseverance, both in her words and in her actions.

“She helped anyone and everyone whenever she could,” Kolb said. “Every one of her kids who have done the Hero Essay at West Essex in seventh grade did their essay on their mom.”

“I will always remember Mom for giving me such an amazing life,” Lupita said.

“I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for her.”

Huston-Pryor’s family extends beyond her immediate relatives; it also includes anyone who ever felt changed for the better by her. One student from Essex Fells, who is close to Luke Pryor, came to the admin-

In This Issue:

4-6 Opinion

Why student writing fails the grade

See PRYOR on Page 2

Illustrations by Michael Sessa

Emotions. We’re all humans who are

constantly reminded of our thoughts and feelings that are triggered by an emotional state. In light of this, the Wire has created a special edition dedicated to the realities of our emotions and the possible side effects it has on our mental health.

Dr. Pryor

istration the day after her death and asked if everyone who wore pink could all gather in the gym and take a picture to show their support. What was Mr. Diliberto’s response? “Absolutely.”

“I thought it was an unbelievable show of

Inside this issue: * DIBY: Don’t normalize mental illness (page 6) * Sibling’s mental illness sparks personal awakening (page 11) * Art takes on a new form of expression (page 12) * Strong mentality makes players succeed (page 15)

8-9

Emotions

Student self reflect on lives

7 -11 Features

Learn how to cope with stress

April 2017

The Wessex Wire: News

Page 2

Climate change assembly sparks interest in green movement

By Melanie Montes ’18 Climate change is a global issue that Principal Diliberto hopes to combat with the students’ help, therefore speaker Brian Stilwell from the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) spoke to upper and lower classmen in an assembly on March 13.

Stilwell said there is not much time to fix our planet’s climate.

“You’re the generation that’s going to do it,” he said.

ACE is a climate change group that has a network of young people and leadership opportunities where members can make a difference one step at a time. The impacts of climate change are both local and global.

Science teacher and STEM Club adviser Ms. Wall said Stilwell’s message, while not new, is still important for students to hear.

“There’s one way we can fix the planet but I can’t even get the kids in my classroom to do this.” Ms. Wall said. “If we stopped eating red meat we could not only stop climate change, we could reverse it.

I’ve been saying this for 20 years.”

Ms. Wall reasons that it’s bad for the environment because cattle

gives off an enormous amount of methane and she compared it to filling up two garbage bags a day.

Senior Gianna Cielo said she wants people to take action. “Even if you just make small changes, it all adds up to make bigger changes,” Cielo said.“Eventually the small changes become big changes and positive effects on the environment will follow as a result.”

Although the event was important there was some disagreement. “I think it was important but people didn’t take it seriously,” Cielo said. “I feel like people are uneducated to believe that global climate change is not real because there are so many facts to support it and choosing to not believe it is not helping anyone.”

Whether people want to believe it or not, “Climate change is not just something you read about in a textbook. Climate change is happening in real life and to everyday people, ” Stilwell said. This generation can make a difference. Even though today’s generation didn’t start it, they can be the ones who impact the outcome.

On the other hand, there are some students who don’t share the same idea that the assemblies will

be able to make a major difference on students lives.

“We know that no one is going to do anything about it. We can have all these assemblies but nothing is going to change,” senior Michael Gonzalez said. “People that don’t think that it’s happening are ignorant. The help is nowhere in sight.”

People can take action by getting policies done with the legislature, working with a youth group like ACE, or becoming a member of the sustainable STEM club.

“We call ourselves the sustainable STEM club. We really try to promote sustainable living,” Ms. Wall said. Currently they’re building a greenhouse, vegetable garden, and are in the works of planting a native plant sanctuary.

Living large in America for instance is not something that individuals view as abnormal and this is why the effects seem unforeseen. But not everyone takes up the same amount of space.

The people who live larger take up more.

According to ACE, The U.S. uses three times more resources per person than the rest of the world.

Yet everything people buy, use and eventually throw away has to

common mental illnesses among people include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, dementia, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, schizophrenia, OCD, autism and PTSD. One in five adults has some form of a mental illness and one in twenty four has a serious mental illness according to the APA. Although mental illness is hard to recognize due to the lack of exterior symptoms, it holds equally as serious reparations on the human body as a physical injury and needs to be treated as so according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness .

The APA has conducted extensive research on what causes mental illnesses and whether or not they are genetic. According to these studies, mental illness is acquired through genetic makeup and environmental factors.

Mental illness is found to be more common in those who have blood relatives who have also battled the same condition.

For those who acquire a mental illness without the gene tend to be recipients due to a stressful job or home life or traumatic life events.

Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.

What exactly defines mental illness?

By Grace Irwin ’18

Mental illness refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders. Varying from minor to dangerously unsafe, mental illnesses can be managed with therapy and medication if recommended by a doctor.

A mental illness is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling or mood. Such conditions may affect someone’s ability to relate to others and function each day. How each person responds to these feelings ranges depending on the severity of the situation.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, the most

Clubs spread maker movement

photo Courtesy of Louise FredA

The STEM club, Robotics Club and WE Care hosted the Maker’s Day Event for young children held on March 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees learned to make LED light up greeting cards, create DIY projects, build robots and more. The activities gave students hands-on experiences in STEM field skills.

photo courtesy of Ms.Wall

Juniors Teresa Marinuzzi and Sophia Dasaro plant seedlings.

go somewhere. Most people today are born into this world in part

because of advertisements which enforce this mentality.

PRYOR | from Page 1 compassion, love and support by our kids,” Assistant Principal Ms. Hoebee said.

When they saw the picture of all the students and teachers wearing pink, the family and Kolb said they were overwhelmed with emotion but felt reassured that they weren’t alone in their grief.

“I was so impressed with the quickness you got it organized and so happy you got it done,” Kolb said. “I think it was a wonderful sign of love and caring from you all.”

“When I heard the school was wearing pink, it was really nice,” Luke said. “My mom would have loved to see a sea of pink. She loved what the pink stood for.”

The Pryors said they are grateful for the outpouring of love and support they have received from the community. They hope that Huston-Pryor’s memory will continue to live on.

How you can help The public is free to share condolences and honor Dr. Jan Huston-Pryor and her memory at www.codeyjones fh.com.

“I would like everyone to think about how they could affect the community like she did and then act out a kind gesture; all it takes is a smile at a stranger,” Lupita said.

“I know I’m going to do my best to live by her example.”

The Wessex Wire: News

April 2017

Page 3

How America has reacted to the ‘terror’ in terrorism News

around the world

By Grace Irwin ’18 Fear is what controls how people go about their daily lives, giving their conscience the power to change how they interact with one another and behave in society as a whole in everyday life.

According to NBC news, the number of terrorist attacks have increased sufficiently in America and around the world. As these acts have become more common, society has adapted, enforcing stronger safety precautions mentally and in means of security.

After 9/11, the nation underwent a shock that changed social attitudes forever. The fall of the Twin Towers signified a time of increased violence and threats of violence. According to a September article in the International Business Times, since 9/11, there have been over 30 million terrorist attacks around the world.

Any adult can speak to the shift in social attitudes since the rate of terrorism has risen today. Airport security, constant background checks, the growing need for personal identification and even subconscious precautionary actions have been taken while simply walking in the streets.

“Hearing stories from my parent’s childhood, I can definitely tell that the world we live in today is more paranoid about possible danger,” junior Nicole Kendall said.

“They used to be more carefree and not live in constant worry.”

By Jordan Flusser ’19

British PM starts Brexit exit process

Photo courtesy of US Navy

Marines assigned to Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company and participate in a unit-level training exercise Naval Station rotation.

“I think people are much more aware of their surroundings as terrorism increases. Today’s generation is growing up with this more on their minds whereas my generation was more relaxed,” AP U.S. History and AP Government teacher Ms. Vaknin said. “We are becoming more sort of numb to it and it is becoming more a part of a society normal.”

Today, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, better know as ISIS, is an organized group performing open acts of terrorism throughout the world. Incidents of different bombings, open fire and kidnappings have been reported over the course of the past 18 years.

According to the American Psychological Association, it is

the stereotyping of one group and the fear of possible terrorists, as they work undercover, that causes people to resort to extreme measures in order to ensure safety.

As a country, the people have become more aware of this increase in violence, debating what is the right choice in order to keep the country safe. President Trump has proposed a travel ban on Muslims, bringing about large controversy on whether this act breaks human rights or not.

Many argue that the controversial limitations on travel may be necessary out of fear of possible group members being admitted into society.

“We live in the ISIS era. It’s all over the news and there is a con-

stant watch on their every move,” senior AJ Celentano said. “It’s crazy how one group of people can have such a big impact on the way we live.”

According to a January article in People magazine, there have been 26 major terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11. This number may seem low, however the extremity of each attack is great. Smaller scale attacks have taken place throughout the country as well, however did not leave as significant effects on the large-scale population.

“Terrorism is a real problem everywhere, and how we react can dictate the power each group has.

Fear drives us to behave in frantic ways politically,” sophomore Aidan Pero said.

Be Vocal speaks up for mental illness

By Ally Schachtel ’19

Be Vocal is a campaign run by a partnership between Demi Lovato and five leading mental health advocacy organizations and Sunovion Pharmaceutical company whose goal is to encourage those with mental illness to speak openly to their doctor, friends, and family about their mental illness.

They want people to realize that there is a big difference between emotions and mental illness, which can often be confused. The Be Vocal team released a 30 minute documentary called “Beyond Silence” in late February which revolves around three people’s lives who have been transformed after speaking about about their mental illness.

Be Vocal to on a mission to change that. According to Be Vocal about 44 million people are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Be Vocal wants people to take action and speak up so the negative stigma around mental illness can be changed.

The film provides a glimpse

into their lives and diagnoses which includes bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. The documentary aims to persuade viewers that speaking up is the key to living well. It celebrates the strength, perseverance and dedication of the courageous individuals who break through the hardships and silence often associated with speaking up about mental illness; and helping others along the way.

West Essex students said that the nonprofit organization’s mission was inspiring and made them want to help contribute to the effort.

“Be Vocal’s mission sounds great to me and I honestly do have a lot of interest in watching their documentary,” freshman Samantha Catano said.

“Mental health has such a negative connotation in America,” junior Nicole Kendall said, “so it’s great that a huge celebrity like Demi Lovato would put so much time into an mission like Be Vocal to try and turn that around.”

Be Vocal understands that speaking up about an experience

A digital visual of the human brain.

can be a challenging at times but do not think that is an excuse to not openly talk about their condition. By being vocal, you can develop more coping skills, stronger relationships and a better sense of yourself.

Be Vocal has created ten steps people can take to help raise aware-

ness. These steps are: help a friend in need, get screened, attend a support group, take a mental health training class, check in at an advocacy action center, sign a petition, conduct research, participate in a walk to raise awareness, support legislative action, and speak up in communities.

British Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter officially starting the process for Britain’s exit from the European Union, also known as “Brexit,” on March 28 in London, according to a New York Times report.

May’s letter invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, which would start negotiations for leaving the European Union, an economical and political partnership made up of 28 European countries. This separation means the United Kingdom would no longer be a part of the single market for trading of goods.

The U.K also was never part of the euro currency zone or the border free zone, which made travel and economic involvement difficult.

British citizens voted to leave the union in June by a vote of 52 percent to 48 percent. Withdrawing from the European Union is a permanent decision.

House GOP fails to repeal Obamacare

House Republican leaders pulled a controversial bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act on March 24, after weeks of uncertainty over whether the bill would have enough votes to pass.

According to an NBC News report, the failed attempt to repeal Obamacare, seen by many as a significant defeat for Trump’s presidency goals, revealed a divide within members of the Republican party that could not be mended by the recent election of a Republican president.

Trump has said the action could actually be good for the country, since another year with Obamacare will show the Democrats that the nation needs to work together to form a more effective healthcare plan.

House Republicans were 10 to 15 votes short of what was needed for them to pass the repeal bill, and ended up withdrawing the bill instead of watching its defeat in the House.

Opinion

April 2017 Issue 5

The Wessex Wire Page 4

Genesis fails stress test Having high or low GPAs does not eliminate school anxiety

Grades are undoubtedly one of the biggest stress factors in the lives of students, so the day that grades are released is always a cause for freaking many students to freak out. In an attempt to remediate this, students have been able to check their grades online with Genesis. However, this has led to additional stress for teenagers.

Most teachers and administrators aren’t fully aware of how the pull of a low grade on Genesis, even for completely excusable reasons such as absence, can create such intense pressure for students. A single subpar grade at the beginning of the marking period means that they spend the entire marking period stressing to bring them up. Students check Genesis multiple times every day, eagerly anticipating their grades.

Specifically, the ability for teachers to flag work that’s delayed due to absence as “missing,” which factors in as a zero, should be revisited. Many students who are sick end up missing tests, and school policy mandates that the tests must be entered as missing until they are made up by the students. This can be problematic, as it may cause the marking period grade to drop significantly, and appear as a grade that, in reality, it is not. This may lead to overstressing, angry student-teacher arguments and, for those with strict parents, excessive grounding. Other schools have similar online grading systems, but have more successful policies in place to prevent these issues.

For example, many schools enter grades that were missed while students were absent and excused, as incomplete rather than missing.

This way, it does not affect their grade until the grade is put in. Other schools, such as Milburn High School, have blocked their students from checking grades on the weekends, in an attempt to limit stress.

There are a variety of ways to alleviate the online grading issue, but there is no doubt that Genesis grades are an added stress.

Staff Editorial

The Wessex Wire The Official Student Newspaper of West Essex High School A Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist Paper 65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, New Jersey 07006 (973) 228-1200 ext. 258 2016-2017 STAFF: Managing Editor & Special Projects Editor Daniella Ignacio ’17 News Editors Melanie Montes ‘18 Junior Editor: Grace Irwin ‘18 Features Editors Micaela Weiss ‘17 Junior Editor: Maddie Galligan ‘18 Sports Editors Michael DeFranza ‘17 Dan Laible ’18 Mia Oyama ‘17

Editors-in-Chief Jessica Cunha ’17 Isabel Tabs ’17 Jake Wolf ‘17

Jules Moskowitz ’17

Junior Opinion Editors Michael DiGiacomo ‘18 Heath Kalb ‘18

Photography Editors Alexandra Codella ‘17 Alexa Dratch ‘18

Arts & Culture Editors Grace George ‘17 Olivia Ritter ‘17

Advertising & Social Media Editor Lizzy Cimilluca ’17

Online Editors Megan Boeckel ‘17

Illustrators Catherine Digangi ‘17 Joey Ploscowe ‘18

Faculty Adviser Mr. Hermosilla

Art Director

Contributing Staff Mike Bachmann ’17, Alyssa Cristobal ‘18, Sydney Fishman ‘20, Jordan Flusser ’19, Emily Johnston ’18, Caroline Quinn ’19, Michael Sessa ‘18, Zoe Stern ‘17 Danielle Tabatneck ‘18

The Wessex Wire Editorial Policy

The national-award winning Wessex Wire is published with supplemental updates to inform, educate and entertain the approximately 1,200 students of West Essex High School, faculty and community. Unsigned editorials are the consensus opinion of the editorial board and do not always reflect the views of the adviser, staff, administration and/or board of education. Signed editorials reflect the view of the person whose name appears in the byline.

The Wire serves as a forum for the expression of ideas and opinions of students, staff and community members. We urge readers to write letters to the editor on pertinent matters of concern. Letters must be signed; however, anonymity will be granted if necessary upon request. Members of the editorial board reserve the right to edit all letters to the editor for length or libelous content. Students, faculty or members of the community with an interesting experience or strong opinion on any subject are also encouraged to write or contact the Wire at thewessexwire@gmail.com.

Several photos in this issue are used under various Creative Commons licenses. For more info and full licensing details, visit creativecommons.org.

By Michael DiGiacomo ’18 Whether you’re the valedictorian of the graduating class or a student struggling to get by, one’s GPA could have a serious impact on his mental health.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress conducted a study in 2016 and found that only 32 percent of students have the luxury of saying their GPAs are “acceptable enough” for the colleges they want to apply to.

Whether this means teens have unrealistic standards or they just come really close to their goal, this statistic supports the idea that having a low or high grade point average can be very stressful on teens. For the students who are fortunate enough to do well in class, their GPAs still act like a daunting dark cloud over their heads.

Junior Zach Zerance prides himself on being able to achieve above average grades in his classes, but acknowledges how difficult it is to excel at this level.

“Maintaining almost all A’s in my classes can be very challenging, especially during football and track seasons. He said there are nights when I’m up until one o’clock in the morning doing my AP Language homework.”

Students who play sports and obtain a high GPA often have no choice but to finish their homework and study for tests at ridiculous hours at night. Participating in a sport is truly a major commitment, since it takes so much time and makes it even more challenging to do well in school.

Sophomore Cameron Marino explained how difficult juggling athletics and school work could be. “During soccer season, I notice my grades aren’t as high and usually try to make up ground academically in the offseason.

This doesn’t take away the stress and anger I feel when I’m not performing as well during the fall,” she said.

Another factor that contributes to a student’s inability to maintain the grades they want, are from taking too many advanced placement classes. The jump from honors to AP requires a lot more effort and time from students, so taking more than one could be overwhelming for many.

“Looking back on it, I regret taking so many AP classes because it became too much for me,” said Milad Mirghahari, who went from

Photo by jules moskowitz

Students are stressing over the grades going in for the third marking period.

taking 3 APs last year and now is enrolled in 6 this year. “My parents thought I should challenge myself even more with my success from last year. But now, I actually have a lower overall GPA than I did my junior year, so there really is no point.”

According to The National Ass essment of E duc at iona l Progress in 2015, approximately 50 percent of students say they took more AP classes than they should have. However only 10 percent of these students drop out, probably so they don’t lose AP credit from previous years and because it doesn’t look good for college. Students should not prioritize the amount of AP courses, since a cumulative marking period GPA does not apply for any future endeavours.

In addition, parents and teachers need to stop pressuring teens so much about their academic performances. USAToday.com conducted a survey in 2014 that said 65 percent of 1,000 students are worried over their grades during the school year. They also reported these teens experience various symptoms such as depression, anger and self doubt. Schools and families need to encourage their children, rather than pressuring them to perform better.

The study found that more than half of the students strained by their academics, is a result of their parents and teachers high expecta-

tions. Rather than belittling their children for doing poorly on a test, guardians of these teenagers need to give comfort and help, so they’ll be more successful going forward.

Despite all the added pressure from parents, teachers, sports and AP classes, there are many students who prove it’s still possible to maintain a good GPA. However, this does not mean their mental health isn’t compromised in the process. Students need to be reminded that there’s a college for them.

Too often, there are teenagers complaining and worrying about how their GPA’s aren’t acceptable for the college of their dreams.

Whether they have a low, high or average GPA, students need to believe they can find success later in life.

Teachers, classmates, family members and other people should make any effort to encourage these students with words of wisdom and motivation. Even though a student’s overall GPA may be the most important factor colleges look at, there are still clubs, community service, sports and other extracurricular activities that could help students get into better universities.

There’s more to a student than just their low or high GPA, therefore they should not be suffering from mental illness because of a number that “determines” their overall intelligence.

April 2017

Page 5

The Wessex Wire: Opinion

How could schools improve their writing curriculum to help students write well?

“I think schools should teach more English to help us with real world situations.”

Melissa Hulley ’20

Illustration By Michael Sessa

Schools are destroying writing standards and hurting students’ writing abilities.

Why Americans can’t write good well

By Michael Sessa ’18

Despite an ambush of standards meant to regulate student proficiency in English, the overwhelming majority of American high schoolers are horrible writers. Worse than the essence of this pandemic linguistic incapacity itself, however, is the reality that neither students, nor their teachers, are fully to blame for it. They are—in a global society where effective communication is critical—the byproducts of an illconceived American system that guts rudimentary skill sets and fosters resentment toward feigned educational progress.

The most recent perpetuation of the increasingly standardized approach to education, the Common Core, is largely to blame for this failure, acting as an accessory to the plague of often misguided English classes. The standards, targeted toward critical thinking and testability, are in many ways characteristic of a new approach to teaching language arts.

Since the introduction of Common Core Standards in 2009, 42 American states and the District of Columbia have fully adopted the guidelines and, in the process, condemned their students to an unequivocally subpar education in writing.

Like national educational initiatives that preceded the Common Core—take the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind, for example— current standards similarly miscalculate existing student proficiency and provide little opportunity for

teachers to promote student growth.

In a 2011 report authored by the National Center for Education Statistics, the most comprehensive study conducted in the last decade, only 24 percent of 12th graders were proficient in writing, and just three percent were labeled as “advanced proficient.” While it has become standard to blame texting or social media for the deterioration of the American lexicon, the truth is that students are not taught the basic constructs of proper English nor the lucidity and power that defines quality writing.

Long gone are the days when students would diagram sentences or identify parts of speech. Stamping such practices as unnecessarily elemental and juvenile, standards shifted toward evidencebased analysis meant to target problem s olving, yet simultaneously o v e rlooked the value of rote comprehension.

While analytical skills are undeniably essential components of well-rounded writing, students lack the fundamental tools necessary to effectively express their ideas.

A student has to be taught how to add before he can do algebra, yet students are being asked to write college-level arguments without

even a basic understanding of sentence structure and style.

Rather than focus on the manual skill inherent to effective communication—the ultimate goal of writing—standards have forced teachers to steer students toward multi-step questions with dubious answer choices and formulaic writing that bores young writers and smacks the principles of literature in the face.

Inundated with students unprepared for the rigor and expectation of their English classes, teachers are limited in reparative scope. Faced with years of educational malpractice, it is impossible for them to reverse years-old habits and promote grammatical understanding while still preparing students for assessments used to rate, fund and study public education. This mechanical regurgitation of tired and baseless English expectations has—predictably—birthed a newfound contempt for literature.

The rinseand-repeat ad nauseum of assigned readings and corresponding questions is not just horribly dull, but also an inhibitor of the creative and thoughtful humanities that good writing relies on.

Never in the history of quality literature has an author referenced the ideologies of standardized education as a motivating or remotely

“” Writing is not about profits or formulas; it is about understanding and communicating the complexity of the human condition.

advantageous factor in the pursuit of literary prowess. A love for reading and writing and an unwavering conviction in the power of language serve as the true index of linguistic mastery.

Test questions, passionless monotony and the dissociation of basic English from analytical thought hold the power to eviscerate writing.

Propagating a system that relies on highly-contested assessments and misguided expectations does not just rob students of literary fervor and competency—it robs them of their voice.

That is morally repugnant and it begs action. Although analytics and depth steer effective writing, students need to be taught the basic tenets of the English language first if America wants to reverse this distressing diversion to incompetence.

The forces governing ill-conceived English curriculums must bend to the expertise and experience of the people actually doing the work. Engaging in conversation with teachers (the professionals who understand the problem’s origins best) and with students (the people most familiar with the patronizing fallout of this malpractice) is an essential precursor to revitalization.Writing is not about profits or formulas; it is about understanding and communicating the complexity of the human condition.

It is the lifeline of the silent and the megaphone of the vociferous. It is not something to warp to the perverted whims of those who exploit academia for feigned prestige and destructive prominence.

“Schools should spend more time helping us with either the ACT or SAT.” Mike Cuozzo ’19

“The curriculum should encourage us to write about what interests us more often.”

Aferdita Vrenezi ’19

“More creative writing tasks and less analytical tasks.”

Corey Saccente ’17

April 2017

Page 6

The Wessex Wire: Opinion

There’s a way to get out of unhealthy relationships

By Emily Johnston ’18

There are always those couples, the ones that constantly fight, bringing everyone into their spats and then those couples that only talk to each other, never leaving their partner’s side. Whereas on the outside they seem happy, these are two different prime examples of unhealthy relationships.

Spending time with a partner is usually good, but if one has not seen their friends in a month due to always being busy with their significant other, the relationships they have with their friends become strained.

People need to make time for everyone in their life, not only one person. Friendships lose connections after not talking, resulting in less friends if someone only wants to be around their boy-

friend. Creating a healthy balance between dating and friends is what a relationship needs to be healthy.

Alternatively, if a significant other hates their own partner’s friends and does not want them seeing them, an even bigger issue arises. Distancing oneself from those who know one best can cause one to be in a harmful situation where one only has themself significant other to turn to in a time of need.

A separated partner is a prime candidate for emotional abuse, as according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, most abusers isolate their victim from anyone who is supportive of them.

If one finds herself in this situation, try to reach out to friends and keep them close, as it could save them from future pain. Some forc-

es join, others repel. Relationships that fight all the time are also blatantly unhealthy. Fighting takes a toll on a person and can change how they act.

People become tired, restless and it can affect schoolwork as well. Research from Brigham Young University found that that couples who do not argue live longer, supporting the idea that arguing is literally bad for a person’s physical health. This information prompts a question: What should one do to stop the arguments?

A s t u d y d on e by B ay l or University in 2013 suggests that relationship conflicts are about relinquishing power.

The study’s finding of the two root causes of arguments come down to two stems: perceived threats and perceived neglect.

They concluded their study with

Don’t trivialize mental illness

By Olivia Ritter ’17 Does it bother you how often the phrases “I want to kill myself ” or “I have OCD” are thrown around in casual conversation? It’s hard to ignore the constant use of these expressions, which have become go-to responses in times of stress or frustration. The problem with saying things like “I’m gonna kill myself ” so loosely is: you don’t know who is in earshot of you. To you, you’re just expressing aggravation or you’re “100 percent done.”

But to someone with depression, you’re normalizing the feelings that they may have on a regular basis, feelings that they struggle with every day.

The same goes for throwing around “I have such OCD” when you’re talking about how neat your Precalculus binder is. People who are afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder are not simply “neat freaks.” According to Psychology Today, OCD is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated obsessions and engage in behaviors or mental acts in response to these thoughts or obsessions.

So, in reality, when you’re saying “I want to kill myself ” or “I’m going to kill myself,” all you really mean is you don’t want to take that Anatomy test or you have a bad grade in English. Yeah, that stuff sucks but depression is definitely worse and I think that should be obvious. Just because your papers are in order, doesn’t mean you

researching the most common solutions to arguments: investing time in the relationship, stopping adversal behavior, communicating more, giving affection and making apologies.

Attempting at least one of these problem-solvers can potentially fix the argument issues in a relationship and keep relationships happy.

With the tools above one might think herself finally have their biggest desire: the ideal high school romance. This is depicted in romcom movies, Nicholas Sparks novels and every teen’s imaginations.

It consists of dates to a myriad of places where everything is perfect and nothing goes wrong.

A relationship where there are little problems, and if any form, they are squashed due to the magnitude of the love. While this relationship may not exist in the

People should not feel embarrassed to show other people their tears

By Samantha Manuzza ’17

Photo By Isabel Tabs

More DIBY on thewessexwire.com: Read about the great annoyance of college questions to seniors. have a condition that can debilitate people.

Most people would be lying if they said they had never uttered the words “I just wanna die” after a particularly tough day. I understand that they mean no harm.

They might just be the first things that come to mind when you’re a bit too stressed or just overcome with frustration.

But even though the expressions mean no harm, the facts still remain; 2.8 million teenagers experience depression in the U.S., according to adolescent advice source, Teen Help, and 3.3 million people have OCD, according to Understanding OCD, a website dedicated to OCD awareness.

The real issue is when people

with depression hear someone complain that they “want to kill themselves” is that it delegitimizes their illness. When someone declares that they would rather commit suicide than take a math test, it takes away the seriousness and true struggle actual people with depression deal with. These are the people who may feel this kind of sadness or frustration on a daily basis and could have intensive psychotherapy to control it.

Like I said, I know these phrases have no deeper meaning than to convey annoyance at a teacher or a class. However, there’s no way of knowing if there’s someone around who may be thinking the exact same thing, but, the difference is, they’re not kidding.

So next time you’re complaining about a major test you forgot to study for or a teacher that’s just rubbing you the wrong way, think about those numbers of people who struggle with OCD and depression every day.

real world, the tools described above can make relationships come close to ideal and in turn make one happier all around. Bad relationships can make one feel like they’re stuck in a tornado, but if one looks around, they can see that an escape is viable. In a day and age when couples talk every day, rather than just have weekly dates, it may seem like there is no option to leave.

However, with support from friends, trusted adults and family, getting out of these relationships will be easier than it seems. If the situation is able to be repaired, keep it healthy with communication abound, rather than falling into a pit of unhappiness.

If one sees herself relationship heading into an unhealthy area, be careful and try to bring it out of the danger zone, before it is too late.

There are endless reasons for a person to cry: a breakup, a movie, a song, a memory, even just out of pure frustration.

Certain situations can draw tears as long as the person allows themselves to succumb to their own emotions. Unfortunately, our society has labeled crying as a sign of weakness, and therefore made the act of crying taboo for both men and women.

For most people, when they picture a person crying, the first image to come to mind is a girl enveloped in tissues and dripping mascara, sobbing over a boy or a broken high heel. As sexist as this sounds, this truly is the portrait of crying in society.

Where this is the scene people are used to, this hypothetical girl’s tears are not fair to associate with the female image or the purpose of tears in general.

Crying allows a person to literally and figuratively let their emotions out. According to clinical psychologist Stephen Sideroff at UCLA, crying activates the body, allowing a person to relieve stress and it can actually stabilize their mental health. Every time a person chokes back their tears, it can further builds up toxins in the body and accumulates high stress levels.

“Teenagers and adults that have issues with crying results directly from the parenting they received,” P.E. and Health teacher, Mr. Markey said, “Some kids are told to suck it up so they don’t appear

weak and that’s not fair.”

Tears do not represent weakness, but rather indicate good health.

When you break a bone or get hit in a game, your body’s physical reaction is to cry. This is not different from the feeling you get when you are emotional wounded.

When something upsetting or defeating happens, your body’s first reaction is still to cry, yet some people hold in their feelings out of fear of appearing frail and soft.

Because of society’s biased and discriminatory view of tears, men feel the need to follow the “boys don’t cry” stereotype.

“You shouldn’t let your emotions get pent up and hidden under the surface,” Mr. Markey said, “if you hold it in for too long, it’ll come out the side of your neck.” It is important to recognize the fact that crying doesn’t have to be a result of strictly sadness. Crying is simply a reaction the body has to a sudden influx of emotions.

Extreme excitement can bring tears to someone’s eyes.“Sometimes you can’t help it,” senior Naomi Pidgeon said, “You just feel so much at one time and have to let it all out.

It’s honestly relaxing.”

“People have to understand how crucial it is to cry. Let your emotions out!”

Feel everything the world has to offer you and accept the heartache and pain it throws at you. The memories where your eyes couldn’t help but well up with tears have significant and sentimental value to you. Crying doesn’t mean you’re weak; it means you’re human.

Features

April 2017 Issue 5

The Wessex Wire Page 7

Quick and easy ways to relieve stress

By Jessica Cunha ’17 Photo illustrations

by Alexandra Codella and Jules Moskowitz

With the pressures that come along with academics, athletics and extracurriculars, it is not that shocking that stress is the most overriding emotion many students experience on a daily basis. Hopefully, these tips can help alleviate that pressure.

Listen to music

Adult coloring books

This may seem obvious, but that’s because it’s super effective. Artists like Ed Sheeran, Adele and Leona Lewis provide listeners with calming, meaningful music that creates a relaxed vibe. You need to add “Shape of You”

by Ed Sheeran and “Happy” by Leona Lewis to your playlist right now.

It may sound silly at first, but this trend engages an individual’s creativity, allocating time for peace and quiet. There is a variety of coloring books available at any Barnes & Noble near you, selling books like The Calm Coloring Book and “Hamilton,” with prices ranging from $7 to $20.

Treat yourself

Try yoga Exercise has been proven to be an effective method to eliminate stress due to the endorphins that are released during physical activity. Yoga is especially helpful because it combines a workout with overall mental wellness, including poses, like the Eagle Pose, that specifically target anxiety. Go to Younique Yoga in West Caldwell or Transform Yoga in Fairfield to get started.

Just like in “Parks and Recreation,” whether it be a day of shopping or a massage, sometimes the best medicine is some tender loving care. Some great local places in Caldwell to get this special treatment are the Harmony Day Spa, Allure Day Spa & Salon and Speranzi Facial Spa.

Change up your diet

Talk it out

Food plays a key role in overall mood, and improving what you eat positively impacts other aspects of your life. Chronic stress often worsens the body’s ability to fight off disease, so incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet can strengthen the immune system. Go to Zest in Fairfield and Pure Pita in Montclair for somehealthy eats.

Pent up feelings of anxiety can create a toxic environment and if you find yourself experiencing this more often than not, it may be best to talk to a friend or family member. Simply vocalizing your worries out loud is cathartic in itself. Ask those around you how they deal with stress because it’s likely that they have experienced the same emotions themselves.

Hunger and anger are causing ‘food swings’

By Alyssa Cristobal ’18 According to the online version of Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “hangry” is a jocular adjective to describe acting irritable as a result of feeling hungry. While the word may be considered a joke, it certainly is not very funny when experienced.

Ever yone has experienced feeling hangry sometimes, an amalgam of angr y and hung r y. T he qu e st i on re mai ns as to whether it is a physical state of being, or rather a joke to describe irritability.

While the idea of “hangriness” may be a way to excuse your pettiness on account of an empty stomach, studies show that being hangry has a scientific justification to it. The brain needs calories and nutrients in order to function correctly. The brain is dependent on glucose and when glucose-levels fall, the brain has trouble func-

tioning, concentrating and even performing social tasks. Speech can become slurred and emotions may go haywire.

According to a study published in a journal from the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences, there is in fact a correlation between anger and a lack of calories consumed.

The study had two groups of students drink lemonade, one with calories and the other without. The groups then had the opportunity to blast loud music in the subjects’ ears. The study concluded that those who drank the non-caloric lemonade were more aggressive, proving that a lack of calories correlates directly to the brain’s ability to process emotions and control aggression.

Students who play sports need to make sure they eat enough, due to burning excessive calories during practice or a game.

“Any time your body is not

functioning at optimal levels, you will feel it psychologically,” physical education teacher Mr. Markey said. “When my wrestlers are losing weight, I need to make sure their blood sugar levels are steady so there aren’t any dangerous drops.”

If you want to know how to deal with “hanger,” you have to learn how to prevent it or tame it. Take snacks around with you wherever you go. Of course, you want these snacks to be nutrient-based as well as practical for on-the-go purposes, just to tide you over before your next meal.

“The period right before lunch is the worst because you know that lunch is soon, but you still have to go through an entire period before eating food,” junior Lauren Moskal said. “I try not to give in, but sometimes I’ll go and buy a warm muffin.”

Students of West Essex especially like protein bars, including

Image created with Bitmoji

Nutri-Grain, Nature Valley and Kind bars. The school cafeteria is open most of the school day, as well as before and after school, so feel free to stop by and pick up a snack in between classes for an energy boost.

Being hangry is a serious condition and should be treated immediately and with caution. When ap-

proaching someone who appears to be hangry, try holding out a Snickers bar and reciting the phrase “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” If you ever experience symptoms such as stomach growling and irritability, you are likely experiencing “hanger” yourself, and you should consult your local fridge or pantry.

April 2017

The Wessex Wire: Emotions

Page 8

Daily glimpses into the lives of stud

Inspired by the Humans of New York project that highlights stories of strangers on the streets of New York, the Wire making it our own calling it “Exposure.” Through words or personal anecdotes, students reflect on their day or week

By Isabel Tabs ’17 and Alexa Dratch ’18 “I am enthused because the school year is almost over.”

—Giacomo Palescandolo ’18

Q:Do you think happiness is contagious?

A: “Happiness is 100 percent. I think laughter is the best cure for just about anything.”

—Brianna Convertino ’18

“I have so much money, I don’t flex with it. I help the community and the elders.”

—Rami Abdulaziz ’20

What wo your em mo

Q: What is your go-to stress reliever?

A: “Rewatching the Captain America movies.”

—Grace Pagano ’18 “Everyone should be entergetic because why not? It makes life better.”

—Reem Aly ’20

Q: What is something people don’t know about you?

A: “I’m not fully fluent, but I speak Spanish with my parents all the time, and I hope to learn more.”

— Delilah Cruz ’20

April 2017

The Wessex Wire: Emotions

Page 9

dents around the halls of West Essex

e has adopted this idea to help teens express themselves. We have branded our own take on this famous account by k with emotions and feelings that they want to share with the rest of the student body.

“Everything is going OK right now. Life is good.”

—Chris Duthie ’19

“I am relieved because I finally have enough pieces to submit for my AP Art Portfolio.”

—Stephanie Lombardo ’17

“I got my allowance this week.I’m going to buy more basketball clothes.”

—David Germain ’19

ord captures motions in this oment?

Q: What makes you happy?

A: “Food.Cats. Dogs. No school. You know… the usuals.”

— Jimmy Lynch ’19

“I’m relieved because I’m getting senior service.”

—Tommy Marano ’17

Q: What is a memorable moment from this month?

A: “I won a game in the only sport I’ve ever played in high school. My volleyball team has finally won so that was cool.”

— Azdren Lajci ’17

Visit thewessexwire.com or @we_exposure on Instagram for more comments and pictures of student spotlight features! If you’re interested in being featured, contact exposurewe@gmail.com.

Page 10

The Wessex Wire: Features

April 2017

Intermittent fasting: The new dieting trend

By Lizzy Cimilluca ’17

“11:29” by Larry and Teddy Page (https://www.flickr.com/photos/igboo/3041923556/) “Bunting Plate” By tiffany terry (https://www.flickr.com/ photos/35168673@N03/7481311036/)

photo illustration by Micaela weiss

With today’s societal standards, people are constantly trying to change their bodies.

With all the media coverage on body image and how to get fit, the way people see themselves is significant.

Over the years, a vast amount of diet strategies and weight loss plans have surfaced. Recently, celebrities have been introducing a new type of dieting trend known as intermittent fasting.

The way intermittent fasting works is a person chooses a 12 to 16 hour span of time to specifically fast. Once those hours are up, they can eat whatever they feel like.

The reason so many people have trouble sticking to this diet is the lack of food during the day. Those who stick to the schedule religiously say they feel energized and not hungry throughout the day.

Senior Nick Vassallo, who has been practicing intermittent fasting for several years, says that adjusting his eating patterns had positive, healthy results.

“I started it up the end of sophomore year and got pretty

serious with it my junior year,” Vassallo said. “It took a lot of discipline, but I definitely saw improvements and changes in my body.”

The benefits of healthy intermittent fasting go beyond visible changes in your body. Periodic fasting is linked to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and aging, according to a June 2016 article on CNN.com. During the fasting phase, many cells die and stem cells turn on, which starts a regeneration process and gives rise to new, younger cells.

The diet itself requires an immense amount of self control.

Not everyone can go that many hours without eating. Most wrestlers, for example, need to diet in order to maintain their weight class. Even they can’t bear the idea of trying intermittent fasting.

“I have to diet during wrestling to make weight for wrestling.

I usually cut carbs, fatty foods and any empty calories,” junior Giacomo Palescandolo said. “I have heard of intermittent fasting, but I wouldn’t do it because I like food too much to give it up until 2 in the afternoon.”

Many celebrities find intermittent fasting beneficial for them because of their busy schedules, which limit their time for eating throughout the day.

Ex-NFL player Terry Crews swears by this diet and says that it keeps him in shape both physically and mentally. Crews eats his first meal at 2 p.m. and can eat until 10 p.m. He works out around 5 a.m. and still doesn’t feel hungry.

“I can feel the difference,” Crews said in a Business Insider interview on March 1. “I literally can put pictures of myself now versus pictures of myself at 22 years old, and I look and feel much better right now.”

The idea of the diet is quite simple, just don’t eat when you wake up. It is the self-discipline to follow the strict eating schedule that drives so many people away. The biggest barrier with intermittent fasting is your mind.

Is a teen clinically depressed or just moody?

By Maddie Galligan ’18 One of the most difficult subjects for people to talk about on the topic of emotional wellness is depression and suicide. Many times, depression in teens goes unnoticed or unrecognized because most people with depression don’t want to shout it from the rooftops. It is important, however, to recognize the difference between clinical depression and “moodiness” in teens.

Teenagers are stigmatized as being moody and hormonal, so when they start acting up at home or doing poorly in school, it’s easy to label them as such. Sometimes, the reasoning behind their actions is more serious than just a mood swing. If depression in teens goes undetected, it could lead to horrible consequences, and knowing if someone has depression can help him to get treatment and maybe even save his life.

“Up to 20 percent of all teens experience depression at some point—that’s one in five!” guidance counselor Ms. Van Syckle said.

She and other professionals like her use tools to try to detect these problems in students every day.

“Professionals pay attention to certain symptoms and three key areas,” Ms. Van Syckle said. “The

areas are severity, meaning that the more pronounced the symptom, the more likely the problem is depression, not moodiness; duration, meaning that any symptom that lasts two weeks or longer may indicate depression; and daily living, or any pronounced change in functioning at home, in school, or with friends, may indicate depression.”

Signs of teenage depression include mood changes, like persistent sadness or irritability, and changes in level of functioning, such as school failure, according to material from Virginia psychiatric hospital I Need a Lighthouse.

They also include withdrawal from friends and family, a loss of interest in activities that had been important and changes in eating and sleeping patterns, as well as some pretty nonspecific signs like a lack of energy, trouble concentrating and unexplained aches and pains.

Needless to say, just because a teenager starts behaving differently doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is having severe emotional difficulties. Normal teenagers are often moody due to hormones and stress, so many times different behavior can be credited to this.

“I sometimes take out my anger on my family,” senior Margaret Ribardo said. “I feel really bad

about it afterwards, but in the heat of the moment I just need an outlet for my stress.”

Te e nage rs may b e shor t tempered and get angry easily, especially when they begin to naturally separate from their families due to feeling like they do not have enough privacy. If they are using their phones or computers a lot in their rooms rather than socializing with family all day, this is normal as well. Teens should start gaining independence one way or another from parents in order to do well on their own later in life.

“My parents always yell at me for not being home or just sitting around in my room. They don’t get that I just need some space sometimes,” sophomore Aidan Pero said.

Depression has also been linked to the consumption of drugs and alcohol, as those who report depression are more likely to have used substances. The prevalence of depression cannot be explained fully by substance abuse, but the two definitely go hand-in-hand for most adolescents.

“One of the most potentially destructive attempts at coping is to engage in use of drugs and/or alcohol as a form of self-medication,” Student Assistance Counselor Mr.

Photo by Jules moskowitz

It’s hard to tell whether a student is facing a temporary or permanent problem with just a quick glance in the hallway.

Emering said. “This almost always exacerbates the current symptoms and can lead to risky and destructive decision making.”

The answer of whether someone is experiencing depression or just moodiness lies in the person in question. If the sad or angry feelings are fleeting and temporary, it’s probably just typical moodiness and experiencing the inevitable lows that come with the highs of life. But if they have a constant, inescapable sadness and feeling of dejection, there is a likelihood

that they have depression and should seek professional help from a counselor or therapist.

Identifying depression, of course, does not solve the problem, and it is not an issue that can just be a quick fix, even with caring and supportive friends and family members. Dealing with clinical depression can be a long and hard journey for teenagers and their families, but the message to those around them is that they have to maintain a positive attitude and keep asking the right questions.

Page 11

The Wessex Wire: Features

April 2017

Sibling’s mental illness sparks personal awakening in writer

By Zoe Stern ’17

photo illustration by Alexa Dratch

How are you? I’m fine.

By Alexa Dratch ’18 When asked “How are you?”, even in passing, a person’s gut response is almost unfailingly “Good,” and then the conversation is over. This all-too familiar exchange could be just a way to fill silence or start a conversation, but it could also be an attempt to connect with a friend or loved one on a serious level.

Expressing emotions, especially negative ones, is something a lot of people struggle with. Shutting down after a rough day or snapping at your innocent friends after a stressful one are just two side effects of emotions being held in.

It’s understandable. I’m not going to sit here and say that it’s fun talking about feelings, but sometimes a little outside input could really help a situation.

Keeping your emotions in could be disastrous and knowing the consequences could be beneficial.

According to Lisa Rene Reynolds, Ph.D., the stress from holding in emotions can weaken your immune system and bring on headaches, cold sores and flare ups of preexisting conditions such as backaches and fibromyalgia. Not only that, but it can also lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease (caused by emotional eating).

The million dollar question is: Why is it so hard to talk about our feelings? Even with our closest friends and family, there seems to be a perpetual block prohibiting

us from expressing exactly how we feel.

One explanation is the fear of conflict. Being afraid to start a fight is one of the main reasons people keep their feelings to themselves.

Thinking that a bigger problem can arise from seemingly small emotions causes many people to keep quiet about the things that bother them.

“I hate fighting with my friends,” junior Erin Schweighardt said. “If keeping quiet about something will make them happy, I’ll do it.”

Another explanation is insecurity. The need to be strong and capable is something many people struggle with. Men in particular, according to Gregg Henriques Ph.D., struggle the most. Sometimes, making expectations are easier than keeping them.

“I never want people to think I’m weak, so most of the times I just don’t say anything,” freshman Joey DeCeglie said.

While expressing your emotions may never be easy, there are ways to work toward opening up.

Knowing who to talk to and when is especially important. One of the biggest problems people have is not knowing who to turn to in the face of distress. Sometimes it’s hard to talk to family, and that’s okay.

Friends, guidance counselors and even teachers are all options for you to talk to. Keeping quiet will do nothing but hurt you, so figuring out when, how and whom to talk to can benefit you immensely.

“You’re so bipolar.”

It’s an expression that might not sound out of the ordinary in a casual conversation between friends.

It’s the kind of thing you’d say to someone who’s a little moody or seems extraordinarily happy or sad. I even said things like this when I was younger, but now, as someone who knows the effects mental illness has on a person, I realize it relays a different message.

In a world where mental illnesses are considered taboo, I never thought that I would experience them first hand.

My brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in February 2011 and was self-diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It all happened so suddenly during his senior year of high school, which was my last year in elementary school. He began to go to school for half a day, then go to group meetings and structured learning sessions. Soon after he was visiting doctors to help both my brother and my parents better understand what was “wrong” with him.

Understanding mental illnesses is a lot more than saying, “I have

OCD, so I always have my pens lined the same.” It is a dark subject and because the world is uneducated on how to treat someone experiencing a mental illness, people may feel uncomfortable talking about it.

Having someone in my direct family made me want to understand what was so wrong with having a mental illness. If, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, 48.3 million people in the United States experience a mental illness, then why does it seem so wrong to talk about it?

Understanding what was wrong was the hardest part for my brother.

At first, he just felt like something was off about him, nothing too out of the ordinary, but he noticed something different in November of 2010 when he missed two weeks of school because he felt no motivation or desire to go. The illness not only affected my brother’s mental state, but also his social life and hobbies when he had to miss out on the basketball season.

“I struggled to sleep, I didn’t feel.

It felt like nothing. I didn’t have any emotions,” my brother said.

“Some days I would have too many and some none at all. I don’t know which is worse.”

Si nc e I w a s on ly 11 ye ars old, I never really understood what was wrong with my brother.

I was sheltered by my parents who never explicitly told me what was happening with him, and although they are some of the most accepting people I know, they were hesitant for the world to know my brother was struggling with an inner demon. I slowly started to catch on but was too afraid to ask my brother or my parents. I was too afraid to ask the wrong thing, say the wrong thing or cause my parents to burst out into tears.

I worked to learn how to help and further understand my brother, but to this day, I still struggle with understanding what he has to go through. And to this day, I will continue to work to understand the struggle my brother has to go through.

“” I struggled to sleep, I didn’t feel.

It felt like nothing.

I didn’t have any emotions.

Spring fever is running high

By Caroline Quinn ’18 West Essex students are finally thawing out from the winter and get ready for the warmer weather months. The next few weeks have a lot in store, and kids are starting to feel the excitement while escaping from their cold weather fog.

Winter can feel like a lifetime.

It’s cold, students have loads of work and after Christmas break there is not much to look forward to. Many find themselves wishing for warmer weather and others go crazy holed up inside. Winter is dark and overall boring which is why, as we start to see the beginning signs of spring, students are starting to lighten up.

“I am very excited because I hate winter,” sophomore Sam Spero said. “I hate being cold and spring just shows that summer is coming.”

One way students have kickstarted their spring fever is through spring sports. Track, lacrosse, boys tennis and boys volleyball are well into their seasons, and athletes are enjoying being back with their teams.

Many have trained all winter for

their spring activities and are glad to be back outside getting in some physical activity.

“The team has really come together and I am excited to see what we can do,” sophomore Michael Mathios said about the boys’ volleyball team. “We are definitely going to have fun and I’m ready to play our first game.”

Students enjoyed a relaxing spring break because they got the week off to relax with friends and family, take a vacation or just catch up on sleep.

“I didn’t go away, but I’m still just glad that I had a week just to relax and forget about all the work and tests I have coming up,” sophomore Julia Reif said.

No matter what it is that infects them, once a student catches spring fever, their shift in attitude is automatically noticeable. Instead of dreary and blue, students are lively and genuinely happy as soon as they start to feel the warmer weather and can sense that summer is right around the corner. Spring symbolizes the final stretch of the year and is jam packed with fun privileges both in and out of school that give people the opportunity

illustration by Micaela weiss

to enjoy themselves.

“Spr i ng is my f avor ite,” freshman Nat Carnovale said.

“Everything is better when it’s warm, and I am definitely ready for winter to end and spring to start. I think everybody else is ready too.”

&

Arts Arts

Culture

April 2017 Issue 5

The Wessex Wire Page 12

Art takes on a new form of expression

By Alexandra Codella ’17

Therapy is known as a treatment to help express and deal with mental or psychological disorders, but why do people underestimate the power of art therapy?

Art therapy is a method using painting, drawing or modeling to help encourage self-expression through their work. A huge misconception about art therapy is that it is only for kids and that you need to be a good artist. According to art therapist Catherine Codella and art teacher Ms. Rizzi, this is not the case.

“Art therapy is unique due to its way of communicating thoughts and feelings without using words.

It helps people express how they feel without having to talk,” art therapist Catherine Codella said. “I work with all different ages, from children to the elderly.”

It comes in forms such as painting, clay sculpture and drawing.

This form of therapy allows people who may feel uncomfortable opening up to someone tell their story through art. This allows someone to open up without even talking but by just simply expressing themselves through their art.

With the many different types of therapy methods you can choose from such as counselling therapy, family therapy, dance therapy, music therapy and clay therapy, sometimes art therapy gets lost in the mix.

“Art therapy is known to be very beneficial in also helping people just stay relaxed,” Ms. Rizzi said.

“It also helps focus people which can quiet their mind without using medication.”

As a more natural way to deal with depression, anxiety and other mental illness, art therapy leaves patients feeling more confident about themselves without the use of medication.

Whether it be doodling or a well

Photo By jules moskowitz

thought out project, art therapy lets people show how they are feeling without even realizing it. “Art therapy can lead many who are not comfortable talking about their feelings use painting or drawing help tell their stories better,” Ms. Rizzi said.

Using art can also help people

Spotify has revolutionized the way users deal with emotions

By Michael Bachmann ’17

In today’s day in age, music has become an important part of life.

Whether it’s used as a pastime or a remedy, music comes with endless possibilities.

Spotify is today’s online music library, holding millions of songs in its cloud. You have access to virtually any song you could imagine, browsing them based on the artist, the album, the genre or a playlist created by a user. Spotify has created a new way of listening to music with its “moods” playlists, designed to capture whatever emotion you may be feeling and enhance it with the music.

A 2013 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that people that listen to upbeat music can improve their moods within two weeks. Spotify does not restrict itself to just happy tunes though, they’ve got everything.

Need some ambience while you’re doing homework? Check out the Brain Food playlist. It feeds the mind with soft beat. Hitting the Jersey Shore this summer?

Check out the Soak Up the Sun playlist, with summertime jams including “Californication” and “Riptide.” One playlist that is unlike any other is the Songs to Sing in the Shower playlist. It truly captures your inner Cher, with the best tunes to including “Ignition (Remix)” to “September” While these playlists are fun, sad

pour out their emotions that they have been hiding or bottling up.

By putting a paint brush and a pen in one’s hand, someone struggling with anxiety or depression can drift to a place where they feel relaxed and that they are just drawing to draw. The pressure in thinking of the right answer is then

lifted off their shoulders when they can focus on art.

Art therapy is a great strategy that everyone should use to express themselves and to heal mentally. “I never tried art therapy but when I love art and when I draw it makes me feel relaxed,” said senior Jovanna Bartelloni.

What you think

Do you watch sad movies to cry?

We all have our most favorite movie genres, whether it’saction, comedy or horror. One of the most popular is sad movies. However, some people admit that they watch sad movies exclusively to cry and feel sad.

111 students polled

Yes

44% playlists compiled by Grace George and olivia ritter

Some playlists that pump you up or get you through a rough time.

music seems to capture emotion the most. According to Psychology Today, there are four reasons why people grativate towards sad music: connection with the lyrics, the message of those lyrics, high aesthetic value and the triggering online memories. The meloncholy setting of the music is often times the most beautiful and attractive to listeners.

“Music can harm just as much as help. It depends on the artist’s intent,” senior Steven Collini said.

Whether it’s the beat, the melody or the harmony, music is an emotive subject that can easily connect with students.

The Spotify mood playlists are perfect for dealing with emotions.

So, next time you’re feeling any emotion, turn to Spotify.

No

56%

Poll compiled by sara amil

April 2017

The Wessex Wire: Arts & Culture

Comedy: A mask for mental illness?

Contrary to popular belief, comedians tend to be some of the saddest people. This phenomenon has been evident in some of our favorite comics.

By Grace George ’17 On stage, comedians appear to be the happiest people with senses of humor that run deep.

They love to make people laugh so, naturally, it would be assumed that they love to laugh as well. But research, and confessions from comedians themselves, have proven otherwise.

While the suicide of beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams only brought this issue to the public eye in 2014, it had been going on for years prior to that.

Famous comedians such as Woody Allen, Louis C.K., Wayne Brady and Ellen DeGeneres have all admitted to experiencing depression either currently or in the past.

While it may be hard to understand how our favorite comedians struggle with depression, the answer as to why is simple: Comedy is a form of escape for those who are depressed.

It can be relaxing—and distracting—and take away from the seriousness of life’s problems.

In 2011, Alex Lickerman, M.D., posted an article on Psychology Today where he said, “If we can joke about a traumatic event, we’ll often

find ourselves feeling that what’s Comedians have the tendency to allow happened to us isn’t so bad and that themselves to have higher hopes which we’ll be able to get through it.” helps in the short term, but in the Even some West Essex students long term it can be destructive. “High are aware of this generally unhopes can lead to even higher levels derground problem. of disappointment,” Margiolas said.

“It is a weapon against sad“By constantly believing everything ness and grief,” said senior is alright, no issue is ever being adAmanda Margiolas, who dressed or solved.” wrote a research paper on comeSince depression is such a heavy dians dealing with deprestopic, most people are not open to sion in her AP Language talking about it. As a result, they and Composition class. will hide their depression as if it “When something goes were a flaw to be ashamed of. wrong, it is essential to “The social laugh does not necesthink about the positive sarily mean that one is feeling eiand move on.” ther amusement or pleasure,” John Comedy, for some peoBailey said in his novel, “The Intent ple, is a coping mechanism. of Laughter.” “It is merely a sign of It helps with pain or loss self-assurance. It is a signal that one and provides comfort when is successful and not depressed.” we feel alone, but sometimes While this isn’t an issue that can be laughter is resolved, it is important not the best for people to realmedicine. ize that jokes some While cotimes have deeper medians who me anings and t he mask their depeople who are trying pression with their best to make othhumor may apers smile, can have illustration by Joey Ploscowe trouble getting thempear stoic, they are only hurting themselves to do the same. selves. Those who hide their issues instead of Next time your friend cracks a joke or your confronting them allow their problems to grow favorite comedian makes you laugh, consider without recognition. what his or her laughter might be masking.

Thank you, Evan Hansen. Sincerely, me.

By Daniella Ignacio ’17

Musical theater has the power to tell stories that otherwise might not be told. “Dear Evan Hansen” champions those who are on the outside, who struggle with anxiety and who feel grief for their lost loved ones.

With a book by Steven Levenson and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (lyricists of the Oscarwinning musical movie “La La Land” and composers of musicals such as “Dogfight” and “A Christmas Story”), “Dear Evan Hansen” brings ideas of deep concern for millennials to the forefront and gives new hope for the future of musical theater.

“Dear Evan Hansen” tells the story of high school senior Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), who struggles with intense social anxiety. When his classmate, Connor Murphy (Mike Faist), commits suicide, Connor’s family comes to Evan for consolation under the impression that Evan is Connor’s best friend, though he is not. As he helps the Murphys through their process of grief, he finds the family he always wished he could have had and gets tangled up in a web of lies that escalates as he begins an online movement in Connor’s memory with two fellow classmates.

“Dear Evan Hansen” is a wholly original and realistic contemporary musical that has the power to

Photo obtained from dearevanhansen.com

evoke deep emotions. The show is an honest depiction of anxiety and a family’s grief and it uses a set design of projections to exhibit the firm hold that social media has on our generation. Never before has there been one show that has evoked such a collective reaction of catharsis and tears within the entire audience, across several different generations.

The pop/rock-infused music

contributes immensely to the tear factor. The song used most widely in radio ads for this show, “Waving Through A Window,” is even more incredible live as audiences see Evan struggling to find a place to belong. The closing song to the first act, “You Will Be Found,” is chill-inducing, from Evan’s opening solo, to the full ensemble sharing the message that no one is alone, to the final moment as

the orchestra swells and ends the act with a powerful chord. During Evan’s mom’s lullaby to soothe her distraught son when it all comes crashing down, “So Big/So Small,” audible tears could be heard from the audience. The genuine, complex performances by all actors in this show, particularly Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones, contributed to my absolute love for these musical moments.

There were very few aspects of this musical one might find fault with. “Good For You” was the only song that fell flat, as it depicted Heidi as a little too unhinged and even immature as she sings in a rock style for the first and only time in the show, and one would wish the audience could have closure with Evan’s classmates Jared and Alana, who had interesting stories of their own that were dropped halfway through the second act.

However, as a whole, the show allowed for a very enjoyable and empowering night at the theater.

This is a show for anyone who has ever felt like they were on the outside looking in. With the perfect mix of gravitas and humor, “Dear Evan Hansen” is a work of art that has touched the lives of many. If more musicals continue to reach out to the younger generation in the way that “Dear Evan Hansen” has, it’s safe to say that the future of musical theater looks bright.

Page 13

5 TV EPISODES THAT MAKE YOU CRY EVERYTIME 1. “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept”

Season 3 Episode 16 of “One Tree Hill” is the saddest episode of the drama TV series.

This episode includes school shooters, teen suicides, brother betrayal and the untimely death of Keith Scott. This episode was the foundation for everyone’s hate towards Dan Scott and the first TV show to ever make me cry like a baby.

—Grace George ’17

2. “How to Save a Life”

Season 11 Episode 21 of “Grey’s Anatomy” is the heartbreaking episode where Derek Shepherd dies. McDreamy’s death left a painful mark on every person that has watched the show from the beginning.

Nothing is more sad than Meredith Grey crying for her husband to wake up. This episode has the potential to ruin your life.

—Olivia Ritter ’17

3. “The Quarterback”

Gleeks were still mourning the loss of Corey Monteith when Ryan Murphy aired what would become one of the most iconic episodes of ‘Glee’ ever; Season 5 Episode 3. As many of the characters, including Lea Michele, Monteith’s girlfriend, performed with raw emotion, making it feel less like a TV show and more like real life.

—Jessica Cunha ’17

4. “The Animals”

Season 4 Episode 11 of “Orange is the New Black” is the heart-crushing episode when our innocent Poussey is killed by accident. Even if you are not a fan of Poussey, Taystee’s helpless cry and the fade out scene where she is coddling Poussey’s dead body is sure to get those tears flowing.

—Grace George ’17

5. “I’ll Always Remember You”

Season 4 Episode 9 of “Hannah Montana,” when Miley Cyrus reveals her double life, is nothing short of heartbreaking. No one can argue the emotional turmoil that followed this episode. This episode is easily one of the most tear-jerking things to be shown on television.

—Olivia Ritter ’17 FIND MORE FROM ARTS AND CULTURE ON

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April 2017

WE Masquers blow show out of the water

By Sydney Fishman ’20

Did students go ¨Under the Sea¨ with the cast of “The Little Mermaid?” The weekend of March 9 to 11, the Masquers of West Essex performed a Disney classic that impressed everyone, Disney fans or not.

Senior Caroline Lanfrank shined as lead mermaid Ariel and senior Kira Shabbab wowed with “Poor Unfortunate Souls” as evil aunt Ursula.

Behind the scenes, costume designers worked tirelessly and stage crew, under direction of shop teacher Mr. Oberg, constructed a functioning boat and King Triton’s throne.

By the look of the packed auditorium, it’s safe to say that the musical was a huge success this year.

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The Wessex Wire: Arts & Culture

Page 14

New obsession causes cringes

By Jules Moskowitz ’17

Why do people enjoy watching disgusting, pimple-popping videos? The famous Instagram account, @drpimplepopper has 2.3 million followers and currently contains 3,140 video posts of Sandra Lee (the pimple popper herself) popping clients’ pimples, cysts, blackheads and any other peculiar lump.

Lee, who works out of her office in California, specializes in general and cosmetic dermatology.

Her work has made her become a social sensation. Not only have her Instagram videos topped 750 million views, but she also has 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube.

If you have not seen one of the infamous @drpimplepopper’s videos, all you need to know is that they have footage of puss and blood oozing out of pimples, blackheads and cysts.

“Watching her pop the pimples is just so satisfying,” senior Gloria Hussain said. “I know it’s gross but at the same time it’s relieving.”

Personally, I think the videos are grotesque and make me squeamish, but based on her viewings

and popularity, people worldwide and even here at West Essex are obsessed with watching her videos.

“Dr. Pimple Popper teaches me different techniques on how to keep my skin healthy,” avid viewer junior Julia Farese said. “I get so intrigued by the different strategies Dr. Lee uses to extract some of the worst pimples.”

On the contrary, some people cannot even glance at the sight of pimples being popped.

“The videos are disgusting. Who would want to see gross, pus-filled pimples being popped?” senior Matt Stout said.

I, for one, wouldn’t want to scroll through my feed seeing these queasy videos, though a large sum of people would disagree.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m a huge fan,” freshman Brooke Schatz said.

According to an online article published by Medical Daily, “repulsion is a trait that humans evolved to keep themselves safe from the dangers of contagious disease or infection.”

Why? What makes people attracted to these clips?

In a November 2016 article,

Photo by jules Moskowitz

Friend groups stand divided between the popaholics and the queasy.

author Deanna Pai said, “These videos present a problem and the solution for it, all in a five or six minute clip.”

People are so intrigued by repulsion because, in some way, it is exciting. Human beings crave oddities like pimple-popping videos for no rhyme or reason other than it being a guilty pleasure.

Disgust is an emotion that one feels when they see or do something repulsive. This so-called

“craving” isn’t often noticed or talked about because it is disgusting. But we are able to cope with this feeling through mediums such as social media.

“I don’t find Dr. Pimple Popper’s channel ‘disgusting,’ I genuinely enjoy these types of clips,” junior Frankie Pinetta said.

Dr. Sandra Lee’s Instagram page is proof of how many people need a little bit of disgust in their lives; and how many enjoy it.

Our favorite cartoons have mental illnesses, too

By Olivia Ritter ’17 Through favorite cartoon characters, people learn how to fend off bullies and shoot for the stars.

But, while becoming teenagers and dealing with self-esteem and mental stability, we can reflect on these characters and see more than their arbitrary conflicts; we can see their own battles with mental disorders.

Some of life’s greatest lessons are threaded in the plotlines of beloved cartoons. These same cartoons are, supposedly, characterized to portray patients of mental illness, whether we notice or not.

One of these cartoons that is theorized to have a mental disorder is none other than every little girl’s favorite princess, Cinderella. It’s been proposed that the character has DPD, or dependent personality disorder: desperate for approval.

When Buzzfeed asked people with mental disorders if any cartoon characters helped them understand their illness, a reader, referring to SpongeBob, responded with, “I was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome as a teenager and felt wildly out of control and utterly failed by my brain...bizarrely that flamboyant yellow square helped me on my way to realising, ‘Huh, so I can be a bit weird and people will still like me.’”

The most recognizable characters believed to have mental disorders are the people from the 100 Acre Wood, better known as,

DYSPHORIA?

DPD?

PTSD?

AGORAPHOBIA?

ANXIETY? DEPRESSION?

Illustration by Catherine Di gangi

Under a microscope, symptoms mental illnesses can be seen in some of our favorite cartoons.

Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit and Eeyore. Winnie the Pooh is incessantly eating honey while Piglet is rubbing his hands together, crying out in worry. Rabbit obsessively cleans his home while Eeyore remains gloomy after his tail falls off.

Mental disorders take shape beyond our TVs, but also in the heroes of all little girls; Disney princesses. To the 9-year-old in all of us, we see princesses like Ariel struggling to be with her love on shore. But, her yearning to be a human, giving up her voice—and possibly her soul—to a known sea

witch and detesting of her father, the king, indicates that it’s much more than love. Ariel, potentially, has dysphoria; the inability to accept herself as a mermaid.

This issue is comparable to the struggles of transgender youth or even a sexually confused teenager.

Even the newest of Disney princesses, or queens, are conveying to younger generations that having a mental disorder is okay. Queen Elsa from “Frozen” holds, possibly, the most potent example of mental illness in a Disney character, according to Nadia Ali, a psychologist and writer for the Washington

Post, as well as a mother to a young, princess-loving daughter.

Ali believes that Elsa displays how people with mental illness are feared and that no one would accept their differences.“Elsa’s song, ‘Let It Go,’ is itself a powerful metaphor for understanding our society’s stigma around mental illness,” Ali said. “Her words, ‘A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I’m the Queen,’ describe in one poignant lyric how so many people dealing with mental illness feel in their lives.”

On the day of her coronation, Elsa is hesitant to let the people

in the gates, terrified that her one peculiarity would be revealed. This seems to be the worry of most patients of mental illness; worry that people will know.

Students at West Essex agree that it can be beneficial to portray cartoon characters with mental illnesses. “I think it’s really important for people to see all kinds of human life, not just what we expect,” senior Koji Lewis said. “It has the potential to bring awareness to mental illness while also providing entertainment for children.”

In Mr. Woodworth’s Social Psychology course, the subject of mental abnormality is examined in detail, as well as mental disorders in characters.

“If characters with mental illness are introduced in a manner designed to present a general lesson that all people are susceptible to mental illness and that we should accept all people for who they are, then there can be a benefit,” Mr. Woodworth said.

The concept of introducing characters with mental abnormalities to children makes a strong statement about what a child should be able to recognize in the earliest stages of his development. Mental illness is all around us and it goes beyond sad antidepressant commercials. It delves deep into these characters that everyone knows for struggling to find love, like Ariel, or being constantly energetic, like SpongeBob.

April 2017

The Wessex Wire: Sports

Strong mentality makes players succeed

By Mia Oyama ’17

There is more to the game than physical play and all of the top athletes know that. The mental aspect of sports separates the top athletes from average ones.

People believe that in order to be successful in sports you need to have outstanding skills, however, that is not the only thing that makes an athlete.

In order to succeed, it is important to be strong physically and mentally. To be strong mentally, athletes need to be able to set a bar for themselves to train hard, handle pressure from spectators and be able to perform in the hardest situations. They have to obtain a good mentality to keep performing at a high level.

“The mental aspect of sports is half the battle,” senior Noah Struss said. “Many people lose matches and games prior to even stepping on the mat or the field. If people get in your head during a match it’s basically all over.”

The pressure that goes into sports is something that many people do not take into consideration. Great athletes are able to perform under immense amounts

said. “If you don’t meet those expectations, you are disappointing your team and your coaches, so the pressure to do that makes you focus a lot more on something you wouldn’t care about.”

To prepare for games, it is vital to do more than practice skills, they need to prepare themselves for the pressure and criticism they will receive based on their performance. Athletes need to envision success in order to do

well, not just practice. “The night before my match I always have to envision myself winning as well as think about what moves will work,” Struss said.

“Sports take a lot of mental toughness in order to keep playing when your team is losing or when you aren’t playing well,” junior Ryan Murphy said. “If I let people get in my head I forget about the game and end up only worrying about going against that player.

Players and coaches may expect certain things from you during a game and if you mess up it can get in your head and make you play worse.”

High standards force athletes to push themselves to keep going in times where they want to give up most of the time. “People who don’t play sports may not realize how important sports really are to those who do,” McCrone said.

“They might see sports as just a game instead of understanding the mental toughness you need to push through when your body is trying to give up.”

Athletes who are able to work under pressure and take negative criticism are athletes who will be the most successful.

were aging players that had a minimal chance of bringing them to a championship. At the time, all fans saw was their past prominence, and failed to realize that all the magic they provided for the Celtics was gone. Now the Nets don’t have a single exciting player for their fans to look forward to watching. Jeremy Lin is one of

the most exciting players on their team. Remember him? Yeah, neither do I. All the players on their team are either at the end of their careers or prospects with very little potential. It is not looking good for Nets fans and I feel truly sorry for anyone that has to deal with the struggle that comes with supporting these three teams.

Photo by Mia Oyama

Junior Julia Farese looks to what it will take to win her game and pictures what she needs to do to help her team.

of pressure.

Helping teammates and meeting expectations of teammates, coaches and fans, is one way to set the bar high for performance.

Athletes are also known to put pressure on themselves, by making sure they are doing their job, outcasting plays correctly and impressing the audience.

“There are certain expectations for every player on the team,” sophomore Hannah McCrone

Metro area’s most depressing teams

By Dan Laible ’18

New York is the center of sports in America. Though, many of their teams are mediocre at best.

Fans of these organizations have been deprived for years of winning seasons, playoffs and a championship. Each team in New York has an expectation of success, yet that has not been there in past years as shown by these teams: “bobnets” by B Wendell jones(CC by-sa 2.0)(flickr.com/photos/sportsdadof3/8547502704/in

New York Jets

The Jets consistently prove to be one of the most inconsistent and unwatchable teams in sports. They give their fans hope by playing well for one to two seasons (See 2009 and 2010) then play the worst football that I have ever watched on the planet for a few seasons.

Then that cycle starts again. They have also had some of the worst top picks in recent memory.

Drafting Vernon Gholston with the number six pick, Geno Smith and Christian Hackenberg in the second round and trading up to draft Mark Sanchez with the fifth pick. Any Jets fan has to deal with the cocky Giants fans who brag about the two Super Bowls they have won within the last decade, though it is earned. The Jets are one of my favorite teams, but with the questionable moves, signings and draft choices they have, I don’t know how much more I will be able to take.

Sports Commentary Rutgers Football

Rutgers is the only team that had a legitimate chance of being the center of college football in N.J. They have completely failed in coming close to being a good team.

They get blown out by the teams in their conference, the Big Ten. They lost this season to Michigan 78-0,SEVENTY-EIGHT! They allowed 600 yards, while only going for 39 themselves — and that is not a misprint. Rutgers football has been a disappointment to college football lately and needs to return 1`to its old form where they were at least winning a few games. It was a big mistake to enter the Big Ten conference as they haven’t been able to keep up with the competition.

Their alumni are for sure upset with how the team has played as it is unacceptable for the potential they have. They fail to draw top recruits from New Jersey, letting last year’s No. 1 recruit Rashan Gary go to Michigan. Rutgers needs to find a solution and fast or they will risk losing fans and loyal alumni.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets gave up their future when they traded away multiple picks for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. These

Photo courtesy of B. Wendell Jones (CC by-sa 2.0)

Brooklyn Nets player Reggie Evans gets dunked on, along with the rest of their season and their fans’ dreams.

Page 15

Losing a large lead has been the trend

By Michael DeFranza ’17 There is nothing worse than watching your team own a big lead and blow it at the end of the game.

Any fan of either the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Falcons or the Cleveland Indians can relate to this. Cleveland and Golden State both blew 3-1 game lead in their respective league championship series. The Falcons held a 28-3 lead at in the second half of the Super Bowl, then a man named Tom Brady decided to step up and give the Patriots one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports.

Sports fans call blowing these large leads what they actually are: a major-league choke. It is very common that as big moments happen, the moment can really get to the heads of the players. All it takes is the wrong mindset for a team to think they are ‘OK’ and the other team down to build up that underdog mentality that they can still win the championship or game.

Klay Thompson was unable to give the media his reaction after the Warriors blew a comfortable 3-1 lead in the NBA finals. “It’s hard for me to answer that right now. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through in my sports career,” Thompson said. “It’s just difficult to process right now.”

Losing in something of that magnitude and having that large of a lead can put a burden on someone for quite a long time.

ESPN writer Gregg Easterbrook says blowing big leads aren’t usually due to the team losing in the end. “Being ahead by a big margin certainly doesn’t mean you are the better team! The assumption seems to be that if a team jumps to a big lead, then it deserves to win. The team that plays the best overall deserves to win,” Easterbrook said.

With a quarter left down by 19 the Patriots did what nobody thought they could to make this year’s Super Bowl one for the ages.

“Tom Brady was just unreal and made it clear that blowing a big lead isn’t from the team originally winning. The outcome depends on the team that is playing better in the end,” sophomore Sam Zakkour said.

After losing the game, the thought of being so close can put a toll on a player. If you listen to the post game interviews then you will hear the tone of voice where these players are wildly disappointed in the game. Most of the time they respond with “I have no words for what just happened” or “still can’t believe we lost”.

Even though that the result of choking may be negative, it can bring out a few positives. Losing a game that should have been a victory can teach the team a couple of valuable lessons.

April 2017 Issue 5

The Wessex Wire Page 16

25 seniors set sights on playing in college

By Mia Oyama ’17 and Michael DeFranza ’17 For many athletes, their goal is to be able to play a sport as long as possible and go to college for it. Six percent of high school athletes are able to make this dream come true, according to NCAA.org. It is an incredible accomplishment to carry over playing competitively into college. This year, 25 student-athletes in the senior grade have committed to a college and decided to continue their athletic careers.

The field hockey team has committed seven out of those 25, accumulating the most commitments at West Essex this year. Four of those are heading to a Division I school.

Amanda Garofalo commited to MIT on the Division III level. MIT is known as not only hard to play for, but they also demand academic excellence from their students.

“Our senior class is very talented and full of very gifted athletes,” Coach Cosse said. “I think the variety of the schools they choose shows how diverse they were as a senior class. I am super excited for all of them. They are all going to amazing schools, each of their schools are unique for them, which makes it cool.”

A lot of work must be done in the offseason in order to lead to success during the regular season.

All 25 athletes put in a tremendous amount of training, so when receiving an offer to play in college it brings a great emotional reaction that is well deserved.

Brett Reo is the only one of the 25 to play two sports in college.

Reo plans on playing both football and basketball at Hope College.

He will be playing linebacker in football and forward in basketball. He will be balancing this while also majoring in mechanical engineering.

P.J. Scheer has enjoyed being recruited for football and felt that being a student-athlete in college is a honor and was very fortunate. He will be playing football next year at Moravian College, although he received other offers from schools such as Muhlenberg College, Franklin & Marshall and about seven other schools.

“It was really exciting and it was an honor for me to be recognized from other schools to play football next year,” Scheer said. “Meeting the coaches and visiting the schools was an exciting process for me.”

Each year the football team is able to have athletes move on and continue their career in college. This year, four from the team decided to continue their careers, Brian O’Neill will be the first in a while going DI for football.

“It was a great feeling, that all

Senior sports commitments Student Bridget Betley Jamie Chebuske Lizzy Cimilluca Pat Dingwell Gianna DiStasi Jake Evangelista Liam Fost Amanda Garofalo Madison Gemma Alyssa Gossett Sami Huetter Nicole Leone Marco Macrino Peter Mouskourie Brian O’Neill Brett Reo Rachel Rodriguez P.J. Scheer Daniel Searle Lia Sinisi Anthony Steets Noah Struss Jordyn Thies Alexa Vardiman Chris Zaccaria

School Post University Northeastern University University of Iowa Marywood University Montclair State University Dickinson University Emory University MIT Stevens Institute of Technology TCNJ Stockton University Montclair State University Bloomsburg University Fairleigh Dickinson University University of Pennsylvania Hope College Indiana University of Pennsylvania Moravian College Gettysburg College Michigan State University Georgia Tech University Gettysburg College University of Pennsylvania Arcadia University Sacred Heart University

their hard work and dedication for football has paid off,” Coach Benacquista said.

Bridget Betley’s recruitment process was interesting because of the mix of schools she got interests and offers from. She received most

Sport Division Softball D2 Field Hockey D1 Field Hockey D1 Lacrosse D3 Field Hockey D3 Lacrosse D3 Track and Field D3 Field Hockey D3 Softball D3 Field Hockey D3 Softball D3 Track and Field D3 Wrestling D3 Soccer D3 Football D1 Football/ Basketball D3 Softball D3 Football D3 Football D3 Field Hockey D1 Track and Field D1 Wrestling D3 Field Hockey D1 Softball D3 Wrestling D1

offers from DI and DII schools and had the option to go to a prestigious school or play right away and make a name for herself.

“Playing at Post was the better fit for me because it was closer to home and I will be getting more playing

time. It was a smarter choice for me financially,” she said.

The class of 2017 has produced a high number of outstanding athletes. An impressive number of student athletes prepare this year to compete at a higher level.

Knights bring new energy into spring season Girls Lacrosse Lindsay Fusco ’20

Baseball Frank Lagreca ’18

Boys Track Ryder Morrello ’18

Girls Track Sadye Boshak ’19

Boys Lacrosse Jack Cerza ’20

Excited to: “Be on the high school team and to be able to play with older kids.”

Favorite Part: “Being on a team and making friends.”

Goals: “To make it all of the way and win States.”

Excited to: “Get to play with many of the same players as last season.”

Goals: “To break the mile and two mile junior record.”

Stand Out: “I am always at the front of the pack.”

Goals: “I want to improve my mile time.”

Favorite Part: “When the coaches push you to work your hardest and improve.”

College: “I would love to play in college.”

Favorite Part: “I love the fast-paced play of the game.”

Boys Tennis Ross Fundler ’19

Softball Lilly James ’18

Golf Adam Scheckman ’17

Boys Volleyball Moustafa Ibrahim ’17

Wise Words: Coach Johnson

Goals: “To continuously improve and get better as the season goes on.”

Favorite Part: “The ability to rely on myself.”

Goals: “To keep the same level of intensity as we had last year.”

Favorite Part: “My teammates.”

Stand Out: “Consistent with my score.”

Favorite Part: “Taking a break outdoors and playing a relaxing round of golf.”

Goals: “To win the conference.”

Favorite Part: “The team camaraderie.”

“The mark of a true athlete is how he responds during adversity.”