The Wessex Wire (April 2018)

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

Vol. LVIII No. 4

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

TheWessexWire.com

April 2018

Students organize walkout to honor Parkland victims

By Michael Sessa ’18 Students at the high school held a walkout and day of action on Wednesday, March 14, to show their support for the victims of the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Fla., and to call for legislative action regarding school safety.

Before leaving the building at about 9:15 a.m., students manned numerous stations throughout the school’s cafeteria and hallways where students could buy T-shirts and bracelets, send letters to their senators and representatives and even register to vote. A town hallstyle assembly organized by students featured congressional candidates Martin Hewitt (R), Tamara Harris (D) and Mitchell Cobert (D), as well as former New Jersey governor and state senator Richard Codey. Representatives from Moms Demand Action and the League of Women Voters were also present.

The day-long display marked the one month anniversary of the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 14 students and three staff members were killed. It was part of a nationwide, student-led memorial and protest.

About 400 students who chose to participate in the walkout met in one of the school’s parking lots and stayed outside for 17 minutes—60 seconds for each of the Parkland victims. The names of victims were read over a megaphone; sophomore Gillian Wolf presented a poem written by a Parkland survivor.

Photo by Alexa Dratch

Students stand in solidarity on March 14 in the main parking lot, honoring the victims of the February school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Sophomore Evie Klein, one of the students who helped organize the day with about 30 others, said students worked hard to make sure the day allowed for constructive dialogue and the opportunity to participate in visible change.

“It’s about taking action more than just walking out,” she said.

Senior Celia White said she was impressed with how extensive the demonstrations were and how powerful student voices have become since the shooting in Florida.

“I feel like most people actually believe in what we are doing,” she said.

Christine McGrath, the Essex County co-leader for Moms

FIND MORE ONLINE Visit thewessexwire.com for video of the walkout and student voices from the March for Our Lives on March 24.

Demand Action, manned a table outside the auditorium and spoke to students about how they can become advocates.

“We’re so excited that students are so involved in this issue,” she said. “Their advocacy will make a difference.”

Students met with the three congressional candidates in the auditorium at 11 a.m. All three, though competing for the chance to claim the same seat in the 11th congressional district, encouraged

students to hold their legislators to account and to fight for change.

“Each of you is a change agent,” Harris said.

“You, as a voice, united, can make a difference today,” Cobert said.

“The future belongs to you—not us,” Hewitt told students.

Codey, who served as governor from 2004 to 2006, debated audience members about gun ownership as well as mental health and violence. Some of the exchanges, especially those dealing with mental

illness, became contentious.

School administration was uninvolved in the activism of the walkout and town hall but worked with students to coordinate the logistics of the day’s events to ensure the safety of those participating. Students agreed to walk out at a time designated by administrators, and police from the sending districts closed the campus while the protest took place.

Students thanked police officers who were stationed around the campus and throughout the building for their service.

West Essex students were among thousands of American students who participated in similar demonstrations across the country on March 14.

Generation Z: everyone born between 1995 and 2010. We’re the youngest generation on the planet, but one of the most talked about, one of the most complex and the one with the highest set of expectations. We’ve been called entitled, uncultured, absorbed by technology. But who is Generation Z? What are we actually interested in? What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind? We’ll try to get to the bottom of it in this special edition of The Wessex Wire.

Inside this issue:

* How technology is increasing social anxiety in teens (pg 3) * Fear of judgement causes teens to hide online (pg 6) * Today’s generation: the guinea pigs of the future (pg 8 & 9) * How the film industry has changed over the years (pg 11) * Former athletes return for coaching positions (pg 14)

illustration by Grace Irwin

In This Issue:

4-6 Opinion

Stop talking down trade school

7 & 10 Features

Prom expenses add up

14-16 Sports

Seniors commit to college athletics

The Wessex Wire: News

April 2018

Page 2

Mr. WE meets Ms. WE in 2018 pageant Modern politics has strong young voices

By Olivia Ranucci ’18

The 10th annual Mr. West Essex pageant took on a new twist by including females in the mix of contestants. Teams of boy and girl pairs competed in the typical Mr. West Essex events on March 22 in the auditorium. The winners of the first ever Mr. and Ms. West Essex were Ant Sangillo and Alexa Artale.

Seniors Chris Tsakonas and Devyn Aschenbach hosted the show. “I think it really forced people to come out of their shells and be comfortable with people that they normally would never be comfortable with,” Aschenbach said.

The show ran similar to past years with an opening number, catwalk, talents and teacher impersonations. The opening number of the show was influenced by current world issues, as the girls ran on stage in a women’s march for equality, leading into the introduction of the “Ms. West Essex” aspect of the show.

“I thought the opening number was relevant to today’s society, but it really wasn’t as comical as past years,” senior Joey Ploscowe said.

The catwalk consisted of Who Wore It Best and a “Barbie and Ken” catwalk segment. Contestants poked fun at fellow peers by imitating seniors Nick Silvestro and Tommasino Tortorello.

Talent highlights included Sangillo and Artale’s original song about Fairfield as well as Alex Apito and Mike DiGiacomo’s trivia game. The trivia game consisted of a series of difficult questions.

When DiGiacomo’s mother answered a question incorrectly, a part of his body got waxed.

By Maddie Galligan ’18

Photos courtesy of Alexa Artale

Seniors Frankie Pineta, Michael Richardella, Justin Maestoso, Vin Salvatoriello and Vin Scaglia perform as backup for Artale and Sangillo.

The teacher impressions included imitations of Mr. Johnson and Mr. Llauget by the Ruvo brothers and Ms. Lazarro and Mr. Ferrara

by Apito and Digiacomo. “One of my favorite parts of the show was the impressions when Paige Wasserman and Heath Kalb imitat-

ed Ms. Josefcyzk and Mr. Humes,” Sophomore Tommy Drago said.

Participants worked on the show for four weeks. “We practiced a lot so I wasn’t too nervous,” Artale said. “I just hoped that everything would work out right and I would remember my parts in the show.”

Whether it’s the latest trending hashtag on Twitter or a protest in front of the White House, there are signs of activism everywhere.

It’s not just commonplace to find young adults and teenagers participating in political efforts—sometimes, they’re the ones pushing ahead of adults and taking the lead.

Today’s youth is more educated about current events and more involved in politics than past generations. “They are the best-educated generation of Americans yet, and they have nearly infinite information available at their fingertips: almost all use a smart phone,” according to a 2015 PBS article by Connie Cass.

Students directly affected by the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., teens such as Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, have spoken at marches and directly engaged with important political figures and representatives from the NRA. Their greater involvement in politics is probably due to the fact that today’s youth is way more connected via technology and social media. This makes them more in the know about important events going on around the world.

This decade is also considered by some to be the golden age of college student activism. UC Berkeley students protested a scheduled speech by Milo Yiannopoulos, a critic of Islam, political correctness and social justice, in February. A long-running study by the college found that one in 10 students expected to be involved in some kind of protest during their college

years. This statistic is the highest that the survey has ever recorded.

Social media is used as a platform for many teens to voice their political opinions. Emma Gonzalez turned to Twitter after the Parkland shooting to update her followers on forthcoming events and movements related to the shooting. She now has more followers on the site than the NRA does at 1.4 million.

The Parkland shooting has inspired high school students from the area to get involved in politics because they feel it is the only way to be heard.

West Essex held a walkout organized by more than 20 students in remembrance of the victims of the Parkland shooting on March 14.

“The students who organized it did a good job about keeping it about remembering the victims rather than making any polarizing political statements,” senior Sam Adams said.

Young people who participate politically in their community from early on are more likely to become engaged citizens and voters according to the worldwide activist organization Global Young Voices. But young people’s role in society begins long before they can cast a ballot. Many young people contribute to their communities and society in ways that are different from voting. And such activity is developmentally important to teens.

This helps young people feel a sense of purpose and connectedness. Civic activity also allows teens to develop communication and critical thinking skills.

Seniors earn top academic titles for outstanding work

By Ally Schachtel ’19 This year’s 2018 valedictorian and salutatorian awards recognize seniors Max Knopping and Kaan Avci respectvely for their top GPAs. Knopping has a cumulative 4.78 GPA. Over the course of his time in high school, he has taken 14 AP courses and 12 honors classes.

Outside of academics, Knopping has been part of the cross country and golf teams all four years. He founded the Investors’ Club with Mr. Woodworth and junior Josh Kupferberg and is also a part of the FBLA and Spanish Club. Over this past summer he was a counselor in training at a summer camp, completed a three-week business and engineering program at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at a startup that makes cauliflower pizza crusts.

photo courtesy of Marjorie Jameson

Valedictorian Max Knopping (left) and Salutatorian Kaan Avci have taken a combined 27 AP classes.

“My biggest challenge has been managing my time well,” Knopping said. “It has been difficult to balance extracurriculars, school work and my social life.

During junior year, I was regularly getting four hours of sleep each night. Sometimes I am forced to do

things at the last minute because I am so busy during the day.”

Reviewing notes, watching YouTube videos and rereading the textbook helped Knopping earn high grades, he said.

“Pay attention in class, do the homework and try to actually learn

the material instead of memorizing it,” Knopping said. “Sometimes, it can be difficult to keep up in every class, so not procrastinating can help a lot. I am very guilty of this.

Also, don’t forget to enjoy yourself.

Find activities and things that you are passionate about. This can help relieve stress and make the grind more enjoyable.”

“I will definitely use college to explore my career options. My goal is to find a career that I love and that I enjoy each day,” Knopping said. “If you genuinely enjoy your work, it isn’t work at all.”

Salutatorian, Kaan Avci has also worked hard, obtaining a cumulative 4.72 GPA. Taking a total of 13 AP classes and 10 honors classes, Avci has been able to balance his workload over the past four years.

He is also a member of both the National Spanish Honor Society and President of National English.

He has helped organize different service projects and activities, such as the Fall and Spring Showcases.

Avci is a staff writer for the literary magazine, the Roundtable, while also devoting his time tutoring students at the Bethany Church in West Orange. He won the academic ShopRite star award the first marking period and the Rensselaer Medal, a $100,000 scholarship award to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute if he chooses to attend for college.

He also was admitted to Rutgers Honors Colleges for Business, Arts and Sciences and Engineering with a full scholarship.

“Both Max and Kaan are not only amazing students, but amazing people,” AP English teacher Ms. Dunphy said. “Each considers himself to be the proverbial science/math guy, but they are both so much more.”

The Wessex Wire: News

April 2018

Page 3

Is technology ruining youth social skills? Kids hit catwalk for WEFE fundraiser

By Grace Irwin ’18

As technology has evolved, so have the ways kids act and think.

The widespread common use of texting and different social media platforms has brought about a new approach to social interaction, forcing kids to behave differently.

In the past, kids didn’t have cell phones to be in constant communication with each other. They were forced to call each other on landlines, meet up to make plans, go on dates to get to know each other or speak one-on-one to make social connections. Technology advancements have allowed kids to put on a “cyber-mask,” leading to a decline in social skills for newer generations as a whole.

Blogger and author Mark Manson comments on how the increase of media in everyday life has led to social anxieties, especially in teens, in his 2016 book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***” .

“This flood of extreme information has conditioned us to believe that exceptionalism is the new normal,” he writes. “And because we’re all quite average most of the time, the deluge of exceptional information drives us to feel pretty damn insecure and desperate, because clearly we are somehow not good enough.”

Technology allows kids to connect with people without the pressure of a face-to-face conversation, which causes them to rely on this communication method rather than participate in in-person discussion. Instead of dealing with this anxiety and progressing toward a solution, social media has made it possible to sustain relationships solely through the Internet.

While not all teens show signs of social anxiety, social media has become a prevalent part of all relationships, dictating how people analyze social stature. The

By Danielle Schwartz ’20

Photo by Ally Schachtel

Students sit with their eyes glued to their iPhones in the cafeteria. Some scroll through Instagram, others take selfies on Snapchat and still others text furiously. Many fear overuse of technology has stunted students’ social skills.

News Commentary amount of likes a post receives or how many followers one has begins to define how others view people on a social standard.

“If you can’t be together all the time, a huge part of the relationship happens online and over text,” senior Evin Lathrop said. “It’s very important.”

Most kids would rather argue over text when dealing with a problem, and are even afraid to order a pizza for delivery over the phone.

“I get nervous because I’m scared I’m going to sound dumb and say something wrong,” senior Danielle Farina said.

Kids are often afraid to confront people in uncomfortable situations.

How many times have you sent a screenshot of a text to your best friend? Probably a hundred times.

It’s because technology has allowed people to hold conversations while being in different places, creating a disconnect in conversation and in relationships as a whole.

According to an October 2016 Newsweek article, Andrew Doan, M.D., a recognized expert in technology and video-game addiction, calls video games and screen technologies “digital drugs.” Many technologies are so stimulating, Doan says, that they raise levels of dopamine—the feel-good neurotransmitter most commonly linked to addiction. Research, he says, shows that long amounts of time focused on a screen can affect the brain’s frontal cortex the same way that cocaine does.

“Over the years kids have become accustomed to relying on technology for communication,” AP Computer Science Principles and Math teacher Dean Ratajczak said. “They have lost valuable social skills required for interact-

ing with other people and other individuals face to face. When I was growing up, tech was restricted to a certain extent; now its not restricted at all. I learned how to use it responsibly, and I don’t believe many kids today know how to use it responsibly.”

Different apps such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat have led to an obsession over media profiles. Like the amount of likes a post receives or the number of days of a Snapchat streak, media profile statistics have begun to take a toll on how a person is viewed by the rest of society. In reality does it really matter how many comments you recieve on a post? Probably not, but for some, it defines who one is socially.

While the continous growth and innovation in technology is crucial to the development of society, it is important to keep in mind how constant exposure to it affects people mentally.

Senior Service trip helps needy kids in Florida

By Lauren Czachor ’20 A group of seniors will travel to Kissimmee, Fla., to volunteer with children facing life-threatening diseases and their families. The Give Kids the World trip, planned by the National Honor Society as a Senior Service project, will be at the Give Kids the World village, an 84-acre nonprofit resort that provides cost-free vacations for families in need.

Accompanied by math teacher Timothy Walsh and science teacher Daniela Colabelli, students on the week-long trip, which is partnered with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, will work four days in the village from early hours

FIND MORE ONLINE Visit gofundme.com/ WEGiveKidsTheWorld to donate to this project. to late at night. The seniors are expected to work hands-on with the children, including serving in the kitchen, working in the amusement park, delivering complimentary pizzas to families in the village and more.

The advisers said they hope the volunteers consider the difficulties that the children face and see a sense of gratitude implemented into their own lives.

“I am hoping that when they

return back to West Essex they will be grateful for the life they live and recognize how fortunate they are,” Mr. Walsh said. “The volunteers will see smiles of children who haven’t smiled in months.”

According to Mr. Walsh, who visited the Give Kids the World village in high school, the fun and relaxed environment will give volunteering a new meaning for the seniors.

“I think it will be a humbling experience,” senior Dylan Gallion said. “These kids remain optimistic and it puts it into perspective that our problems most likely aren’t that serious.”

Upon return, the students will make a promotional video to

encourage next year’s seniors to attend the trip. When they get to the village in June, they will document their service as a video diary and be able to show viewers the impact their service will have on these families.

“We hope to spark curiosity in this service project for future years with their video and expand our horizons on helping families less fortunate than ours,” Ms. Colabelli said.

To help fund the transportation to the Give Kids the World village, the National Honor Society has created a GoFundMe page, as well as SaveAround Coupon Books, $25 each with an overall value of $5,000.

The West Essex Foundation for Education (WEFE) will host the senior fashion show at The Grove in Cedar Grove on May 2. 56 seniors will model clothing on loan from Lord & Taylor.

The evening’s events include a tricky tray, dinner and cocktails.

The community event is a night for students, teachers, parents and administrators to support West Essex. All of the profits will go to directly to WEFE. WEFE provides financial support for the West Essex School District’s innovative programs.

The organization is nonprofit and completely parent-run.

“It is the goal of the foundation to enhance the quality of education within the West Essex Regional School district by providing financial support for innovation and improvement to help our extraordinary school,” WEFE president Michielle Kupferberg said.

The proceeds WEFE raises are used to fund grants requested by teachers and departments.

Teachers can apply for grants individually or in collaboration with others.

“WEFE is truly an example of the rewards of volunteerism,” Supervisor of Social Studies and World Languages Laura Drago said. “Last year, WEFE moms Cari Moskowitz and Kim Codella, with the help of Marla Kearney and Class of 2017 seniors, wanted to plan a ‘fun’ fundraiser. Thus the WEFE Senior Fashion Show was organized and has continued to develop into a special senior activity and a very well-attended fundraiser. Last year we had over 200 in attendance and expect this year to be as successful.”

The 2017 Senior Fashion Show raised $33,000. Grants issued by WEFE in 2017 funded high school and middle school initiatives, including a Mac computer lab, a homework software program and equipment for the Lip Dub. “We look forward to a night with great gifts to win and an amazing runway that will be a memorable event for seniors and their families and another successful fundraising event,” Ms. Drago said.

Susana Monaco, West Essex alumna and New York City fashion designer, has donated clothes for the volunteer committee to wear.

Admission is $60 for parents and $45 for teachers. For more information, visit westex.org/ Domain/45.

Opinion

April 2018 Issue 4

The Wessex Wire Page 4

We are all Schools need to stop disparaging trades snowflakes

By Michael Sessa ’18

Staff Editorial We are snowflakes. We are hypersensitive, we are fragile, we are coddled and we are way too easily offended.

But we care a lot about justice too. We care about equality and we care about the condition of our fellow man.

That’s why our snowflake status is a problem. “Snowflake” began as a light-hearted slight at millennials and us—their entitled descendants—but has since become a sort of rallying cry against a culture increasingly reliant on safe spaces and pampering.

It is hard to pinpoint the precise source of this newfound frailty, but its fallout is on full display nationally. College students are condemning oppositional speakers, tripping over triggers and crafting their own politically correct dictionaries.

The whole show comes across like insanity, but it is actually wellmeaning. These Gen Z-ers want a fairer, kinder America that nearly everyone supports—they just go about achieving it the wrong way.

The way we achieve justice, the way we achieve equality and the way we elevate those struggling up the socioeconomic ladder is through conversation.

When we shut down speech because it offends us, we lose. We need to talk to those we disagree with. We need to engage in debate.

We need to turn our passion for justice into advocacy.

“The snowflake generation” may indeed be a title that sticks, but that’s okay. When millions of snowflakes come together, it is called an avalanche.

Since the turn of the century, the non-college route has faced i n c re a s i n g c o nt e mp t f ro m educators who often view the pursuit of a career in the trades as an academic cop out. What was once a perfectly respectable path, even mainstream educational path came to be viewed as a remedial track res er ved for unfairly degraded students.

Schools commonly cite their obligat ion to convent iona l education as reason to favor nontrade student prospects—“What’s the harm in preparing kids for college?” they claim. “Won’t all students benefit from a rigorous academic program?”

As it turns out, not really. Students have an incredibly diverse range of skills and learning styles. Not every student excels at English or history or math or science. Some students are mechanical or artistic—they thrive in the workshop, in a studio or on the shop floor rather than in a classroom setting.

Rich Kurdek, a senior who has taken classes in plumbing, carpentry, electricity and even welding, said that trades provide an outlet for kids who tend to be more hands-on learners.

“It’s valuable to someone like me who’s struggled in school because learning with a book and paper is unbearable,” Kurdek said.

Senior Anthony Smith studies automotive technology at West Caldwell Tech and said that the opportunity to escape the confines of the conventional classroom will allow him to attain his Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification, a distinction that verifies Smith’s successful completion of hands-on work and several exams.

“Getting the proper training will benefit me for the rest of my life,” Smith said.

The Wessex Wire A Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist Paper The Official Student Newspaper of West Essex High School 65 West Greenbrook Road, North Caldwell, New Jersey 07006 (973) 228-1200The ext. 258 Wessex Wire:

Illustration by Michael Sessa

Industrial Arts teacher Lee Oberg agreed that experience in the trades can open doors and expanded his support of providing students with a background in manual skill beyond just those who are looking to pursue a career in the trades.

“We’re in the business of creating well-rounded individuals,” Mr. Oberg said of educators. “Everyone is going to own a home or have to change a tire.”

FIGHTING STIGMAS Smith, despite his success in the vocational program, said he has not received much support from the school in pursuing that education. “I feel like they sent me and my buddies who’ve graduated from Vo-Tech there because they saw us as kids who weren’t as smart as the rest,” Smith said.

Mr. Oberg said that attitudes at West Essex have definitely become friendlier to students like Smith, but he acknowledges that there have been instances where students were dissuaded from pursuing an industrial art or a trade. “There was definitely a season during which that did exist,” he said.

Mr. Oberg noted that there is often a stigma attached to nonacademic pursuits, especially at schools with the socioeconomic makeup of West Essex Regional

High School.

“If you don’t get your name on that panel of good colleges, you’re supposed to be a failure,” Mr. Oberg said. “The reality is that someone who is really skilled is going to succeed whether they’re a lawyer or a doctor or a tradesperson.”

S m it h s a i d t h at , t h o u g h their paths may deviate from the standard educational route, students learning a trade are not the “morons” that outdated stereotypes frequently make them out to be.

“You give those ‘morons’ a set of tools instead of a pencil and you’d be surprised at the kind of miracles they can perform,” Smith said. “It’s not a cop out at all. Our jobs are just as hard as desk jobs.”

MODERN TRADES Director of Guidance Lisa Hulse said that trades are not being discussed or pushed largely due to increasing focus on STEM education. She noted, however, that students uninterested in the conventional educational track can still pursue the education and career they want.

“I would suggest that students always see their counselors to discuss interests, hopes and aspirations for the future,” Hulse said. “Counselors can provide options and information of

2017-2018 STAFF: Managing Editor & Special Projects Editor Chris Tsakonas ’18

Editors-in-Chief Daniel Laible ’18 Michael Sessa ’18

The Wessex Wire Editorial Policy

Art Director

Alexa Dratch ’18

News Editors Maddie Galligan ‘18 Grace Irwin ‘18

Opinion Editors Emily Johnston ‘18 Danielle Tabatneck ‘18

Photography Editor Ally Schachtel ‘19

Features Editors Opinion Alyssa Cristobal ’18

Arts & Culture Editors Sara Amil ‘18 Dylan Lepre ‘19 Junior Editor Hayley Brener ’19

Online & Social Media Editor Shaun Goodman ’19

Contributing Staff Guiliana Calix ’20, Lauren Czachor ‘20, Lara Delvecchio ‘20, Amy Grunther ‘20, Gabrielle Kesh ’20, Hannah McCrone ’19, Megan Osborne ‘19, Frankie Rizzo ’19, Alex Rosenfeld ’20, Danielle Schwartz ’20

Jordan Flusser ’19 Caroline Quinn ’19 Sports Editors Michael DiGiacomo ‘18 Heath Kalb ’18 Quinn Delehanty ‘19

Faculty Adviser Mr. Hermosilla

opportunities available for all interests.”

The demise of high school vocational education is not just a problem for marginalized students, though—it presents a major economic deficiency at the peak of a rapidly modernizing manufacturing sector. America might indeed possess the material wealth and prestige to lead upand-coming industries, but it is a willing victim in its alarming practical skills shortage.

“We still need mechanics,” Mr. Oberg said. “We still need tradetrained individuals. We just have to find the right marriage of manual skill and today’s technology.”

Unlike most industrialized countries, the United States has pushed the blue-collar training agenda into an educational corner and virtually assured that anyone who ventures there will be tarred by stigma. That grossly disparaging approach to what are noble professions breeds intense resentment toward the American education system—and it prevents legions of bright, creative students from contributing to American ingenuity.

The “college-for-everyone” approach to education is misguided and morally disingenuous. It prioritizes the interests of prestige and school rankings—which are largely dependent on college acceptance rates—over a common American good.

America needs men and women who can build, who can fix and who can invent.

So to all the students who want to take shop, who want to go to vocational school, who want to enter the workforce right after high school: Do it. There will be doubters, there will be nonbelievers and then there will be you proving them wrong. And there will be me—and the American economy—thanking you for it.

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.

Page 6

Illustrators Alyssa Cristobal ‘18 Hailey DeVita ’19 Grace Irwin ’18 Grace Pagano ’18 Michael Sessa ‘18

Several photos in this issue are used under various Creative Commons licenses.

For more info and full licensing details, visit creativecommons.org.

April 2018

Page 5

The Wessex Wire: Opinion

Impact of technology depends on usage How do

you define Gen. Z ?

By Dan Laible ’18 The world of technology has taken over and it is starting to impact younger generations more and more in the way we learn and handle social situations. The industry and use of technology has evolved into a whole new animal with the grown dependence that our society has on it.

Almost every high schooler has at least one personal device of their own, and now many elementary school children can be seen with a cell phone as well. When I was in elementary school, I did not get my phone until the end of sixth grade, and this was a rule for both myself and many of my friends.

As I have gotten older, it is easy to notice that text messaging and Snapchatting has led to a decrease in socialization among teens.

“Society has lost personal conversation and interacting with other people without the help of technology,” senior Vin Nemchick said. “You can now see people glued to their phones sitting right next to each other.”

Even our schools have evolved.

Students utilize laptops and even their phones to help them with their school work. Going back even 10 years, computers were rarely used in the classroom.

Today, our generation is moving in the right direction as classrooms began to incorporate iPhones. The students of today and tomorrow are impacted by technology and schools need to begin to prepare students for the skills they need in the real world.

“Technology has completely changed how we learn because I

By Danielle Tabatneck ’18 and Alexa Dratch ’18

Students gave three words to describe who our generation is.

Photo by chris hermosilla

Journalism teacher and Wessex Wire adviser Chris Hermosilla’s daughter, Rowan, holding an iPad. Children are starting to use technology at a younger age than ever before.

use my Chromebook all day and I get a lot more done with it,” senior Anthony Bellomo said.

In the past, our parents had to write everything by hand and the thought of “sharing” an assignment or a Google Doc was nowhere to be found. The amount of resources and media outlets that we can now access with Internet on any device is an extremely valuable asset. People used to have to go to libraries and search through other materials to find an answer they were looking for, but now all we have to do is put something into Google and out pops the answer.

Despite there being many posi-

tive affects from technology, many negatives come from excessive use of it.

Parenting has transformed by the plethora of devices that their children have access to. You can regularly see 3-year-olds glued to their iPads either watching their favorite TV show or playing a favorite game.

Parents who give their kids a tablet just for the sake of keeping them busy, however, is not useful. Rather, we need to keep them occupied with either interactive learning apps or TV shows that provide some form of educational benefit. Giving students a cell

phone or iPad just to keep them busy or entertained is unproductive and an inefficient use of the capabilities that technology provides us.

I grew up with a computer and as phones were becoming a greater commodity, and everything technology provides our generation with will only continue to get more advanced in the future. It is just the beginning of this blossoming industry and we will be here to experience the whole ride. With the rapidly increasing net that technology has cast, society will have to adapt to the good and bad that comes from it.

Activity fees are not the only price to play Excessive sports costs add up to be more than originally expected.

By Gabrielle Kesh ’20 Hundreds of students every year are on the fields, courts or mats playing for West Essex sports teams. They practice after school, travel long distances for games and simultaneously manage their schoolwork. Some athletes have dreams of making Varsity while others are simply participating for fun. Regardless of the sport, each student has to pay a $100 activity fee every time they join a team.

The only problem with the $100 cost: it’s fabricated. The reality is that athletes end up paying a substantially higher price by the end of their seasons.

While it is valid to say that the only mandatory cost is $100 to be on a sports team, what’s easy to lose

sight of are the supplementary costs that arise once on a team. Between team dinners, fan shirts and equipment, the relatively small $100 cost can suddenly balloon to multiple times that.

“I play two sports and I paid the activity fee,” sophomore Francesca Apito said. “I knew that I would have to spend some extra money, yet I was taken aback by the amount of additional expenditures.”

While these kinds of outside costs are not technically mandatory, paying them makes one a “team player.” For some students, this could mean paying secondary costs for one, two or even three sports. Many coaches feel that the extra costs are necessary to raise money which provides teams with more opportunities throughout the season. While West Essex does help financially support teams, the teams also have the responsibility of financially supporting themselves.

“We do various fundraisers to raise money for our golf program,”

Photo by Alexa Dratch

Sports are fun until they cost too much money.

Junior Varsity Golf Coach Dean Ratajczak said. “If students contribute, it benefits our program.”

Since these expenses are not explicitly stated upfront, many students and parents are astounded by the sum of money they ultimately spend over the course of a season or a school year. At first, some athletes fail to notice the amount of money they are spending. Once the expenses pile up, it becomes clear that

they have paid far over the starting price. This adds additional and unnecessary stress to students’ lives.

The lack of forewarning that West Essex gives athletes about these expenses needs to change. It is especially problematic for families who have multiple children playing sports at West Essex. Those families will have to pay these secondary costs multiple times.

Athletes should be notified about the multiple fundraising efforts they will be asked to participate in that will far outweigh the initial payment fee– directly and clearly by the school in advance of the season. Whether this notification is located on forms, sent in an email or made over the announcements, it should be conveyed to athletes in some manner.

Each student at West Essex who plays a sport should be excited for the opportunity to make new friends and become a better athlete–not worried about spending money on unforseen expenses.

“We are social, impatient and restless.”

Neci Lac ’18

“We are soft, impatient and stubborn.”

Brandon Reo ’19

“We are crazy, very social and dependable.”

Alia Saldana ’21

“We are very social, dependent on our phones and greedy.”

Alexa Pontoriero ’19

April 2018

Page 6

The Wessex Wire: Opinion

Social media instills insecurity and fear in teens Constant online posts lead to judgement and loss of privacy.

Edited pictures online create an unrealistic beauty standard.

By Danielle Tabatneck ’18

By Emily Johnston ’18

The Internet is full of judgement and uncertainty. People only need to search a name to find addresses, Instagram pictures or even current locations. This easy access to anyone’s personal life allows others to quickly judge how one spends his/her time. All of these sources of information create inaccurate assumptions of who an individual is as a person. Online, people easily hide behind devices to judge others without needing to face them directly.

Despite the judgement, information about ourselves online is unsafe as public knowledge—yet we choose to post so frequently anyway. Even fear towards hackers exists because of their capability to look through our phone or laptop cameras, which leads to many students putting tape over the cameras. Teens are aware that there are dangerous people who can easily use the Internet to get information on anyone, but we still continue to document our lives.

“It makes me nervous knowing that people are capable of seeing through our cameras,” senior Nicole DeCeglie said. “Our generation needs to be careful.”

We know that students are aware of online safety, however, keeping up with social statuses takes away from privacy. This is simply the way we live today, and there are no signs of a change.

We live in a society with limited privacy and the Internet creates the first understanding of an individual. Yes, there are those who choose not to involve themselves with social media, but the majority are for it.

Days of browsing magazines are long gone, as teens now find themselves going online for their beauty regimens and goals. Despite the fact that barriers between higher ups in fashion and the masses have been broken down, insecurity still runs rampant.

Amand a Ste ele, a b e aut y YouTuber-turned-Instagram model, shared her thoughts on the pressure to be perfect online.

“People edit themselves so much on Instagram,” Steele said on Twitter. “It’s sad that people can’t just appreciate natural beauty.”

She followed up saying unrealistic images of oneself are unfair to followers, and she has a point.

Followers will believe their idol looks perfect in every photo, when in reality, it is just editing.

Many people look at pictures online and can’t help but compare themselves. It is ingrained in youth’s minds that the more followers someone has, the more ideal their lifestyle is.

This came from the splurge of online attention. Whether it be from likes on Instagram or real life interactions, humans crave attention. This is why one sees an account with more followers as ideal. It means there will always be people giving attention.

On Instagram, unless a photo is flawless, as a result of editing, it won’t garner attention.

“I wish I looked like Instagram models,” senior Victoria Johnson said. “I sometimes feel insecure when looking at them.”

The idolization of blurred beauties leaves non-PhotoShopped people feeling inadequate. Most

Photo illustration by alexa dratch

Senior Danielle Tabatneck editing a picture for her online posts. She spends 14 hours a week on Instagram.

Generation Z teens have social media accounts on various apps— checking our feeds is an hourly routine. Social media profiles allow us to assume an individual’s character based off of pictures they post, captions used and how many likes they receive. These aspects of social media make people self-reflect, as everyone is worried about the way they will be percieved by others online.

“I put some thought into what I post because I want to make sure that I appear as a good person, since your first impression of somebody is their Instagram page,” junior Calista Manuzza said.

When posting, photos are always carefully selected for hours in order to make sure that we look our best. Being guilty of it, teens know that this is considered necessary to a certain extent. The ideal profile would be one that is appealing to others, while it captures the individual’s specific personality.

Since information about everyone is easily available online, anyone can be a detective. People today have close to no privacy, as the impact of social media profile pages creates worry about judgement. Knowing that one’s social life is online tends to be stressful, but being caught-up in the feedback loop allows teens to continue

posting without even considering the affects.

The Internet has the power to show who we are to the world based on the way our posts come across to others. As everything stays on the internet, our photos and information will stay documented forever, both during and after our lives.

Colleges and future employers have access to viewing online profiles, along with everyone else in the world. With one wrong post, the future of an individual could be impacted because of what is “necessary” to post online as a teen.

“I agree that it will be harder to get jobs or into schools because everything you’ve done and everything about you is online,” Manuzza said. “You can’t hide anything.”

The obsession with keeping up with one’s online social life, and feeling judged otherwise, goes along with feeling a need to post on social media looking good.

However, as privacy vanishes and we make it a necessity to continue posting frequently, we need to understand that anything on the Internet will stay there forever. It makes sense for teens to think before posting because the outcome of the posts may change lives.

selfie takers cannot compare to an edited selfie, especially when considering that usually no one admits to editing. This silent-shopping creates an endless loop of insecurity, which then leads to more people editing their photos to catch up to everyone else.

According to a 2014 survey done by the Renfrew Center Foundation, half of the respondents admitted to retouching photos before putting it online. It may be a small fix, but the number is staggering. No one should feel the need to edit a photo.

“I have never edited a photo but I see how insecurity can make some people want to edit them,” Johnson said. “Everyone wants to look perfect, even if perfection is unrealistic.”

Pre-instant film photo editors worked on pieces of plastic with inverted colors (negatives) to add or subtract from photos. This meant that retouching was done by experts, not typical individuals. The increased access to photo editing tools allows people who would otherwise not be able to edit to retouch.

It is sad that in our current culture people feel more comfortable posting an edited version of themselves rather than unedited.

And sometimes, people don’t even post themselves–they pretend to be other people.

The current state in society where one views himself or herself as not good enough is depressing.

Movements such as body positivity (the idea that all bodies are beautiful) try to help, but the majority of people are still insecure. In an ideal world, posting one’s natural face online will be normal.

In the meantime, people should start complimenting those around them in real life, so when they go online, they will not feel the need to be someone else. Spreading positivity can change the world.

And when it comes to insecurity, every compliment matters.

Untalented people should stop gaining fame online

By Sara Amil ’18 At some point in everyone’s life, they have thought of being famous.

Fame used to be something difficult to obtain. However, in today’s society it seems much less exclusive with the standard famous person being less-than-average.

A classic example of talentless fame is seen with the Kardashian and Jenner family. None of the family members have a talent, unless you count walking as “talent,” yet somehow they created a massive empire. It is puzzling as to why they became so famous.

Other examples include Danielle

Bregoli, otherwise known as Bhad Bhabie, Woah Vicky and Logan Paul, who are all famous from videos posted online, but none of their videos display any form of talent. Bregoli is literally famous for acting like a rotten brat on live TV, and all three of these people mentioned are highly controversial on social media. Bregoli does rap, but according to the majority of the world, it is awful.

One would expect these people to be famous for only 15 minutes, but their fame has lasted way longer than that.

This poses a big question: Why are these people in the spotlight when those with talent remain

undiscovered? There are constantly videos of singers on accounts like @singers who can legitimately sing, and there’s always that one viral video of an amazing singer, yet they are rarely recognized.

Instead, people like Bregoli make Photos by the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, with Alexa Dratch mediocre-at-best remixes.

On the top The root of the problem stems picutre, Sara from today’s society. Figures that Amil is repreare amusing to the public take priority over those with actual tal- senting people ent, and for that reason they gain who get famous for nothing. followings while famous singers are one in a million. This generation On the bottom, often vows to make a change in she is posing as the future, so please stop making someone whose talent goes problematic teenagers become unrecognized. famous without talent.

April 2018 Issue 4

Features

The Wessex Wire Page 7

Generation Z breaks stereotypes with charity Students choose to volunteer and better their communities.

By Caroline Quinn ’19 and Jordan Flusser ’19

Many things have been said about Generation Z that portray them as unmotivated and reliant on others, but despite this stereotype, many young adults today harbor a strong desire to give back to their communities and those around them. All over the country, they’ve been using their voice and getting involved in order to lend a helping hand.

Here at West Essex, students have demonstrated philanthropy in numerous ways. Whether they are urgently rushing to tend to the nearest injury in the back of an ambulance, or spending their free hours with special needs kids, students at West Essex have contradicted the reputation of laziness assumed of the modernday teens.

Junior Julia Reif has dedicated her time since her freshman year to helping kids and young adults with special needs. She volunteers almost every week at the Friendship Circle, where she has recently become president of the West Essex chapter. The Friendship Circle is an organization that allows teen volunteers to create friendships with special needs children.

“It’s a magical experience,” Reif said. “I play basketball and do all kinds of activities and I love getting to see them have fun. It is

Photos Courtesy of Julia Reif, Sam rosenberg and mac Farrell

Julia Reif (far left) spends time with friends at a Friendship Circle field trip; Sam Rosenberg and Mac Farrell show off their EMT uniforms before they ride.

really rewarding.”

“There are times when everything like my school work and sports are stressing me out and I don’t think I have the time to go and volunteer, but as soon as I get there I am always glad I went,” Reif said. “It’s so important to be there and say hi to the kids even if it’s just for 15 minutes.”

Many West Essex students are also members of the West Essex First Aid Squad and have gone through training to volunteer and spend their nights and weekends responding to emergency calls.

Juniors Sam Rosenberg and Mac Farrell have been members of the squad for almost six months.

Sometimes their calls are for common injuries and accidents, and other times they are rushing to the scene of a car crash.

“It feels good to give back to the community,” Sam said. “I like knowing that I’m doing all I can to keep everyone safe.”

Sophomore Amelia Gendel gives back through the local Teen Buddy program. Once a week, Amelia, along with a few other students, travels to West

Orange where she works with a group of underprivileged kids.

The student volunteers serve as mentors and “buddies” to children in kindergarten through the second grade. The program is open to students in ninth through eleventh grade and is run by Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex along with The Valley Settlement House of Orange, New Jersey. Amelia helps children out with their homework, gives them advice and spends free time with them. She says that these children have opened up her eyes to the

By Hannah McCrone ’19

students make is they spend all “I know it’s a lot but I think that money for only one night— it’s definitely worth it,” junior sometimes for only a few hours.

Samantha Hiel said. “It’s prom.”

“We have to spend hundreds to While they understand it’s a lot basically take a few pictures,” ju- of money, some West Essex stunior Marisa DeFranza said. Some dents believe prom is a milestone students skip the entire event, that can’t be missed. However, besides taking a few pictures, there are still some who disagree and head down with the expectathe shore for the tions and costs weekend, citing FIND MORE ONLINE of prom. Junior boredom as their Denise Domerstad reason for ditch- Visit thewessexwire.com has decided not to for more student reactions attend at all. ing the event.

A few students “Prom is not and video on prom! have other opinworth the stress ions on the rising that girls expericosts of the eveence for it, so I’m ning and can overlook the prices. just not going,” Domerstad said.

“I can’t wait,” junior Ellie Decker Prom is definitely a controversaid. “It will definitely be a night sial topic, but one thing can be to remember.” agreed on: It’s expensive.

conditions of communities outside of West Essex.

“Sometimes I forget that there are kids who are not as lucky as us here at school,” Gendel said. “West Essex is a really fortunate school district and it’s weird to think that there are towns so close that are not the same.”

The students at West Essex have upheld the charitable standard set by this new generation and proven those who say otherwise wrong.

“I think the older generations have us all wrong,” Reif said. “We aren’t just lazy teenagers.”

Students question if prom is worth the cost

photo by ally schachtel

Bloomingdales of Willowbrook mall is filled with prom dresses. The average dress cost ranges from $200 to $500 which girls spend months shopping for.

Every year, juniors at West Essex High School spend months planning and hundreds of dollars for one special night. For any girls attending prom, the combined prices of a dress, nails, tanning costs, makeup, hair, shoes, the actual prom ticket, the prom bus, the hotel for the weekend, gas costs to drive back home, promposals, gym memberships and eyebrow waxing adds up.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” junior Mairead Bardho said. “I’m blowing all this money for just one night when I could be spending it on something better.”

The costs of prom continue to rise and students and their parents alike are fed up. One point that

April 2018

The Wessex Wire: Generation Z

Page 8

Millennials better watch out: he Teens today face consequences as society’s favorite guinea pigs

By Alyssa Cristobal ’18 Children growing up with advancing technology can be described as the guinea pigs of society. In order for technology to improve, someone needs to test out the kinks, and that job seemingly falls upon the growing youth.

Generation Z is tagged as the most tech-savvy because of the major push of technology and new ideas on them.

“We are very technology-based,” senior Ava Lopez said. “You don’t know what is going on if you don’t have social media.”

Social media empires feed off of the fluctuating interest from members of Generation Z. Apps constantly come up with new updates to keep their members active.

Products are also targeted towards specific demographics. Companies are looking to get kids from Generation Z hooked on their products. Big tobacco companies claim they do not advertise toward youth but their range of fruity products can be seen as targeting youth.

Ashley Gould, the chief administrative officer of Juul Labs, said in an April 9 New York Times article that the uproar their product has created among the youth is completely unintentional and unwanted.

“We do not want underage kids using our products,” Gould said. “Our marketing is directed toward adults, tested with adults. All of the things you see on social media, we have absolutely nothing to do with.” And yet the company frequently releases new appealing flavors such as Mango, Cool Mint, Fruit Medley and Cool Cucumber.

Companies such as Imperial Brands and Philip Morris International release ads warning the public about the dangers of smoking, followed by “new and alternative” ways to smoke, not to mention more flavorful, appealing ways.

Advertisements promoting vaping products are peppered through accounts on different social media platforms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2014, “73 percent of high school students and 56 percent of middle school students who used tobacco products in the past 30 days reported using a flavored tobacco product during that time.”

Hooking teenagers on “safer” options gives the companies a new wave of customers for years to come. Of course, because everything is fairly new, there aren’t concrete studies showing how these products may affect their health later on in life.

Along with the unknown physical fallout, many worry about the unknown mental effect on kids. Scientists concerned over children’s dependence on technology and how it will affect their behavioral and educational skills later on in life. According to a study done by Common Media in 2013, 38 percent of children surveyed under the age of two used tablets or some type of screen before learning to speak. There are kids who already know how to navigate an iPad and surf the web by themselves but struggle to hold a full conversation or write in cursive.

“It’s hard for people to make eye contact now and it’s very hard to have a conversation with someone and not have technology interrupt,” Lopez said.

This generation is going through a trial period for new forms of entertainment. Their lives are broadcasted through social media and wached, making note of how these changes affect their mood, speech and overall mannerisms.Of course, every generation experiences changes; the Baby Boomers took political stands in response to the Vietnam War, Generation X welcomed grunge and hip-hop music into the world of MTV—it will be interesting to see in a few years what characterizes Generation Z. Information from CMO.com

#WIREMEMES: The Wire staffers recreate their favor WHEN YOU GET A 90 ON A TEST

BUT YOUR GRADE GOES DOWN TO AN 88

WHEN SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO DO THE TIDE POD CHALLENGE

April 2018

Page 9

The Wessex Wire: Generation Z

ere comes the new Generation Z As people grow old, so do their names

By Megan Osbourne ’19 Have you ever noticed that each generation has a different set of super-common names?

Your name may be completely different to those that your parents have or even your grandparents have.

Older generations like the baby boomers and Gen X have simpler names, whereas millenials and Gen Z are branching out.

“There are so many celebrities and movies out there that have such beautiful names that everyone wants to copy,” junior Isabelle Rombough said. This trend is leading people to change the names of their own kids. Everyone wants to be original like they are in Hollywood.

Millenials especially are the ones giving their kids more unique names. They embrace change and because of that they are shifting away from the more basic names used in the past.

Some people like their name because it is common and not too out there. Two popular names, Sarah and Michael, are prominent in West Essex.

“I like it because it’s not weird,” senior Michael Richardella said. “It is a pretty generic and common name.”

“I do like my name because I feel like I wouldn’t be who I am without the name Sarah,” junior Sarah Malone said.

Celebrity names such as North West, Blue Ivy and even Apple cause people to question what is trendy and what goes too far.

infographic by Jordan Flusser

rite memes KIDS CAN’T HOLD A FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION

BUT THAT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS Photos by Alexa Dratch, jORDAN FLUSSER AND CAROLINE QUINN

Most Popular Names Across Generations

Baby Boomers: Baby Boomers: Linda William Barbara Richard Donna Edward Cheryl Stephen Gen X: Gen X: Karen Michael Kimberly David Linda John Michelle Robert Gen Z: Gen Z: Owen Emma Ethan Mia Olivia Oliver Sophia Liam

Every generation is unique in their own way, and therefore every generation has their own popular baby names. Whether the parents choose to go simple or decide on something uncommon, a name completes a person and makes them who they are.

Technology has closed the door on playing outside

By Alyssa Cristobal ’18 and Lara Delvecchio ’20

It seems having the world in the palm of your hand has given people reason to never step outside their doors. As iPhones update and Netflix adds new seasons, people are more inclined to board up their windows and watch movies alone than play a friendly game of basketball with some buddies.

“I get so caught up online that sometimes hours go by without me noticing,” sophomore Rachel Quinn said. “When I just put my phone down, I get so much more done and feel better about myself too.”

Generation Z was born directly in the age of technology and laziness. They had no other choice but to grow up with these smart devices and allow them to take up all aspects of their everyday life.

Even West Essex has entirely transformed their curriculum digitally, encouraging students to have an online learning experience and spend even more time in front of the screen.

Kids are so used to their devices that nature is turning into a foreign concept. Today’s kids stare at their screens all day and don’t take a moment to look up and appreciate the world in front of them.

“Inside I can play video games for hours with my friends but when I’m outside I have to put in effort and I get bored quickly,” sophomore Christian Hiel said. “You don’t get sweaty when you play video games.”

While many parents tell their kids they need more fresh air, that statement has never been more true for Generation Z. According to a study conducted by Common Sense Media, teenagers between the ages of 8 and 12 spend on average of 12 hours a day in front of screens.

Students prefer to explore the digitized green fields of Fortnite rather than the beautiful open space of the Fairfield park.

“I can’t even remember the last time I chose to be outside rather than play video games,” sophomore Alex Maxwell said.

“My friends and I used to go to the turf all the time,” freshman Ryan Cristobal said. “Now all we do is play Fortnite.”

Getting off of social media and video games is extremely important both physically and mentally. Technology has become an addiction, which takes time away from other essential things such as face to face communication, school work and physical activity. Gaming, scrolling and typing have taken over and forced this generation into forgetting the one of a kind sensation of being outside.

April 2018

Page 10

The Wessex Wire: Features

Competition leaves today’s teens more stressed than ever

By Hayley Brener ’19

Illustration by hailey devita

Apps have allowed people to gain popularity and show off their talents in the public eye. Justin Bieber, “Boonk Gang” and Shawn Mendes are represented as the “kings” of their respective social media platforms.

Social media offers chance at fame Regular people use social media to build platforms and achieve fame and a fanbase.

By Shaun Goodman ’19 Unlike in the past, almost everyone today has access to social media on their smartphones. While most people only use platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook to connect with friends or scroll through their news feeds, there are individuals who have used social media as a platform to become famous.

Singer-songwriter Justin Bieber was only 12 years old when his homemade singing videos got him discovered on YouTube by a talent manager in 2008. Just a year later, Bieber was signed to record label Island Def Jam Recordings and came out with several hit songs as part of his debut EP, My World.

Bieber’s story is just one of many that demonstrate the opportunity available to the most recent generations. Generation Z has grown up in an age where individuals can showcase their unique abilities and passions to the world through social media. By garnering likes, shares and follows, that person can rise to fame and popularity for what they like to do, whether it’s singing, dancing, comedy or anything else.

When Generation X was growing up, however, people were forced to achieve fame the more traditional way. An aspiring actor, for example, would have to move to either Hollywood or New York City in

order to pursue a career in the film industry; rarely an agent or company will seek out their next movie star with an invitation. If lucky, the individual might be placed in a small role in a film or TV production and from there work their way to the top. Although this arduous path to fame is still realistic today, more people are taking the social media route instead.

What makes achieving fame through social media easier is that there are more modern and unconventional titles for fame.

On Instagram, 21-year-old John Robert Hill Jr., more commonly known as “Boonk Gang,” is a self-proclaimed public figure who films himself breaking the rules. His reckless behavior is shown through various stunts and pranks that sometimes get him arrested. Although much of his activity is somewhat frowned upon, his shenanigans have been a great money making tool so far and have made him relevant enough to start a rapping career.

Some argue that people who call themselves “social media personalities” have no real talent or ability.

Unlike movie stars or singers, they were not born with any special feature they rely on for fame. Instead, they rely on their hunger for fame and their personalities to achieve their status. Regardless of their actual skills, this generation of social media stars has a significant influence on today’s youth.

Kids today are growing up with

social media in their developmental years and are exposed to whatever is posted online by these social media celebrities. They are given instant and unlimited access to see the everyday lives of their idols on their phones and tablets and are sometimes able to interact with them online and meet them in person.

Famous media stars such as Logan Paul, Liza Koshy and the Dolan Twins are in the driving seat to either positively or negatively impact millions of kids. They are able to engage the youth for their entertaining and relatable content, but sometimes are also prone to making mistakes.

Logan Paul, for example, has been scrutinized for several of his actions, including a time where he vlogged a dead body in a Japanese forest known for its suicide rate. Although he came out and apologized, it still created serious backlash and affected his following.

Whenever a social media star does something controversial, everyone has the ability to see it.

Young children are constantly watching these celebrities, so they have a strong influence over the actions of their fans. Unlike a teacher or guardian, kids might be more receptive to the actions and advice of these beloved stars, which makes it even more crucial that these influencers do the right thing, or at least spread the right messages. Social media stars are the modern day role models of the younger generations.

“” There are more modern and unconventional titles for fame.

While teen stress has always been apparent, teens today are experiencing increased pressure and competition among classmates.

This generation is expected to meet higher standards, especially in high school and college.

“There’s literally never a day I’m not stressed,” junior Hayley Scheer said. “My school work keeps compounding and I feel like I can’t escape it.”

According to a Washington Post study conducted in 2014 of 1,018 teens for the 83 percent of teens said school was a significant source of stress. Students face the immense pressure of needing to be involved in everything while keeping up good grades. Some are giving up extracurriculars and enjoyable activities to solely focus on their school work. According to USA Today, children and teens in Generation Z spend half as much time playing outdoors than they did in the 1980s.

“Its really difficult to balance field hockey and lacrosse and my schoolwork,” sophomore Cameron Kinsella said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m falling behind because I get home late from practices and still have to start my homework and start studying and I’m exhausted.”

Kinsella has been on both the varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams, and has been since freshman year.

While these sports can also serve as a stress reliever for her, she said she’s still overwhelmed by the amount of work she has to come home to after long practices.

Competing against one another becomes a huge stress factor among classmates. Students worry that if they do not pack their schedules with AP classes they will fall behind their high achieving classmates. According to U.S. News, in 1998, just under a million AP exams were administered. In May 2017, 4.9 million exams were administered to the College Board.

More students today are taking challenging classes than they were 20 years ago in school.

“I keep seeing all these juniors and seniors in really difficult classes,” freshman Joe Lombardo said. “They seem like they are really stressed out.”

Generation Z students are expected to perform at a much higher level than past generations.

According to Business Insider in 2017, the students admitted to Harvard in 1997 faced a 12.5 percent acceptance rate while students today are challenged by a 5.2 percent acceptance rate. While this school is very challenging to get into, higher standards are also present in a majority of colleges in the U.S. Since the No Child Left Behind act was passed in 2002, public schools increased the amount of standardized tests and made them mandatory. Although the act was replaced with the Every Child Succeeds act in 2015, standardized testing is still mandatory.

“Standardized tests are a horrible way to see how smart a person is,” junior Brooke Ivler said. “They just add to my every day stress and do not reflect students’ efforts.”

Photo by HAYLEY BRENER

Sports Editor Quinn Delehanty struggles to balance all of her textbooks.

Students of Generation Z are expected to juggle a very heavy workload.

&

Arts Arts

Culture Streams, franchises rule modern Hollywood April 2018 Issue 4

The Wessex Wire Page 11

By Dylan Lepre ’19

Bottom: “Chris rock we 2012 shankbone 3” by david shankbone (flickr.com/photos/shankbone)

A revolution is brewing in the film industry. For the past 20 years, Hollywood has found itself in the middle of a major shift in how people view movies. The history of film has been wrought with changes, whether it be the rise of the “talkie,” which were films that utilized sound for the first time, or the fall of the studio system. However, the takeover of streaming services and the digital age has been one of the largest changes in film history and one that will have widespread effects on the industry as a whole.

This isn’t the first time digital tech has commanded control over what fills up movie theater seats: During the 1990s, Hollywood fell in love with the idea of computergenerated imagery.

CGI allowed filmmakers to create incredible landscapes or creatures that never used to be possible, such as in 1993’s “Jurassic Park” (and the maligned “Star Wars” prequels).

CGI exploded onto the scene and quickly took over the industry, and in the ‘90s, every movie had to have CGI in some way or it was not worth the price of admission.

The film industry slowly began to change into more effectsbased than ever before. Story became less important as films with multi-million dollar effects took over.

The idea of the movie-star was also at its height during the ‘90s.

Movies starring massive names like Pierce Brosnan and Arnold

Illustration by Grace Pagano

The 1990s and 2000s have brought a multitude of changes to the film industry, including the rise of CGI.

Arts Commentary Schwarzenegger were almost always box-office successes, and big actors usually led to big box office draws.

All of this and more defined the ‘90s in film. It was a time of fantastic movies and groundbreaking advances in the medium. Cheesy action movies were the norm, while superhero movies were practically nonexistent. However, the era set the benchmark by releasing some of the greatest films of all time.

Classics such as “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Titanic” and more were released during this era.

The film industry, compared to the ‘90s, is in a flux. In the mid2000s, the superhero genre has exploded into the most popular market in Hollywood.

Marvel Studios brought the concept of their own “cinematic universe” (which crosses over characters from many different properties into one) into mainstream acceptance, and DC Studios quickly followed suit.

Before long, an obscene amount of competition has emerged.

This is further coupled with the end of the movie star era.

No longer can actors alone draw crowds. Instead, they must be coupled with profitable franchises or have fantastic reviews.

Movie stars like Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp are no longer as marketable if their films don’t have good reviews, and people are not as willing to spend money on films because of the high price of movie tickets. Depp’s sequel to “Alice in Wonderland”, for example, made almost $800 million less than the original, despite his presence.

This desire to only see movies with good reviews is tied to the idea of the “online reviewer.” In the ’90s, most people could only read reviews in the newspaper

or watch them on TV. However, with the rise of the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, many base their opinions on the site’s scores. Now that audiences can quickly see these scores from the site, it makes the decision on what to watch far easier.

“It’s less likely that I would see it, but it also depends on what type of movie it is,” junior Ben Bachrach said.

This represents a fundamental shift in what drives people to see movies because it allows lesser known indie movies to become sleeper hits due to recieving good reviews rather than marketing.

All these advances come with criticism as well. Critics argue that assigning an arbitrary score to films negates the artistic value of the film. Furthermore, with the popularity of superhero films, some assert that the artistic quality of these movies is being replaced by soulless, cash-driven products of massive companies.

The film industry will continue to grow and change as technology improves and it's clear from these basic differences that the medium of film will continue to be altered for years to come.

In the coming years, more successful franchises and less movie stars will be the norm as films continue to try and cater toward a changing audience.

The film industry must adapt in order to survive in a changing world. As theater attendance declines, the industry must begin a revolution for survival in the decades to come.

‘Diversity’ in movies isn’t shades of black and white Diversity in films has come a long way, but has continued to falter for other minorities.

By Alexander Rosenfeld ’20 Ever notice Asians in Hollywood often play losers? Indians play a lot of doctors and nearly every Arab has played a terrorist. And Latinos are often cast as gang members, criminals and drug dealers.

But it seems like whenever racism in Hollywood comes into the spotlight, the media is focused on a select group of minorities, and the rest become a forgotten punchline.

In 2016, the Oscars was embroiled in a controversy when the media observed a lack of diversity

Arts Commentary in the nominations. Desperate to deflect the scandal, black comedian Chris Rock was hired to host the Oscars. After the show, countless media outlets praised Rock for making light of the social issues.

But nobody really seemed to care when Rock completely stepped on another minority group: AsianAmericans. He dragged three Asian children onto the stage (with no speaking lines), made them the butt of two awful racial jokes and then herded them off.

To complain about a lack of diversity and then turn another race into a segue for cheap laughs is not only hypocritical, but is also

Photo courtesy of David Shankbone (CC By 2.0)

Chris Rock has made jokes that target Asian-Americans and minorities.

undeniable proof that some races take priority over others.

With the Me Too movement currently in the spotlight, it’s easy to believe that sexism in Hollywood has now been “solved.”

But replacing one problem with

another one does not fix anything.

Take it from Korean actor Steve Park, a guest star from the cult sitcom “Friends.” His experience on the set of “Friends,” however, wasn’t so friendly; according to a 2011 article from film website

rogerebert.com, the assistant director called for another Asian actor with “Where’s Hoshi, Toshi or whatever the f*ck his name is. Get the Oriental guy.” That may appear funny to some people, and that’s the point; if the assistant director said something similar while referring to an African American actor, there certainly would be national outrage. Park’s mission statement on the treatment he witnessed while on the set of “Friends,” entitled “Struggling For Dignity,” has since played an important role in Asian-American empowerment.

In light of both the Me Too movement and the #OscarsSoWhite scandal, there are still other races struggling to get recognition. And stepping on them to get ahead in the name of “equality” turns an otherwise noble pursuit backwards and away from its original purpose.

April 2018

The Wessex Wire: Arts & Culture

Page 12

New, young actors enter the entertainment spotlight

By Sara Amil ’18 Flashing lights. No privacy.

Every move you make scrutinized.

None of these factors sound too appealing, but they’re things actors and actresses have to deal with on a daily basis. For many, the transition into the spotlight is doable, but imagine the difficulty faced when the targets of all of this focus have barely even hit puberty yet.

Being in the spotlight means having strangers critiquing every move you make. This must be mentally tolling, especially when growing up with all that ridicule.

Childhood is supposed to be a time to enjoy oneself and develop one’s individuality. Instead, young actors become influenced by ideas they are “supposed” to follow and how others believe they should live their life. Everyone has opinions on how others should present themselves, but they seem to forget that young actors are not yet adults.

This generation of actors and actresses definitely have to deal with more attention due to the development of social media.

They deal with constant paparazzi, critiquing on social media and rumors spreading around the Internet. Despite all of this attention, most seem to be making the most of it. There have clearly been child stars before—Ryan

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore (CC by-SA 2.0)

Finn Wolfhard (left) and Millie Bobby Brown are young actors breaking into the entertainment world.

Arts Commentary Gosling, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The difference between the two generations is the amount of press that the kids of today receive; technology allows people to be much more invasive than ever before.

Two popular child actors who are in the spotlight now are

“Stranger Things” stars Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard.

Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the intense attention on them, they use it to their advantage.

Brown has been able to use this exposure to secure herself a role in the fashion world. She attended both New York and Milan fashion weeks and has been talked about as a style icon in Vogue Paris.

She “twinned” with Karlie Kloss at NYFW and has quickly befriended many celebrities such as Drake. She even has an estimated net worth of $3 million. “I have

chosen to act and I know what comes with acting is fame and photographers and paparazzi and interviews all the time, and I love it because it’s my favorite thing,” Brown said in an interview with Vogue Australia.

Wolfhard is equally as successful, with a net worth of around $2 million. He recently starred in the horror movie “It,” an adaption of Stephen King’s novel, and was featured on the top 100 with his band Calpurnia.

“I’m just a person,” Wolfhard said in an interview with Teen

Vogue when asked about his newfound success.

But how were these two able to turn scrutiny into a career?

There’s no sure answer for why this is, but I definitely have some ideas. Brown comes across as very mature for being 14, and I believe that her maturity is how she learned to handle the success, and why she gets along so well with older stars.

I also think that their ability to handle the pressure is because of the era they grew up in.

Technology was not a new concept to them, as they were raised with it all around them, so the idea of being filmed and critiqued online was not a foreign concept when they rose to fame. They were used to the constant attention and the social media aspect of being a famous celebrity.

Both actors have quickly risen to fame in the span of two years; Wolfhard’s followers have grown to more than 9 million and Brown’s to more than 15 million. Despite the difficulties celebrities face that arise with this invasiveness, Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard have made the most of their situations and used the fame to skyrocket their success.

These young actors have adapted to the fame with few problems and are clearly on path for very successful careers.

By Danielle Scharwtz ’20 Two of the biggest names in modern musicals have collaborated to support the March for Our Lives youth movement. On March 19, Tony-award winning Broadway sensations Ben Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda released “Found/Tonight,” a mashup of the songs “You Will be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Story of Tonight” from “Hamilton,” and a portion of the song’s proceeds will go to support the March for Our Lives campaign.

The new single has fans of both productions raving, but Platt and Miranda did not combine their talents simply for the purpose of good music.

Both singers commented on the inspiration they felt by students taking action.

“In the wake of Parkland, I was awestruck by the strength and leadership of the students and their ability to speak truth to power,” Miranda said in a March 23 Forbes article. “In the midst of their grief, they mobilized the youth of our nation and created a

movement. This is their moment.

Not just for themselves, but for all of us. This song is my way of helping to raise funds and awareness for their efforts, and to say thank you, and that we are with you so let’s keep fighting, together.”

“When Lin called me to be a part of this mashup, I couldn’t say no,” Platt said. “Better gun control is something that all Americans should be passionate about. These students are paving the way for future generations and it is so inspiring to see young people standing up for what is probably the most important cause right now in this country, and demanding action. I hope that this song can play some small part in bringing about real change.”

Platt and Miranda marched in Washington D.C. on March 24, along with more than 800,000 protesters who joined the March for Our Lives. Among the hundreds of thousands who attended, many West Essex students joined the march, including sophomore Gillian Wolf.

“I am so glad I went to the march in D.C. and was able to

see Platt and Miranda perform ‘Found/Tonight,’” Wolf said. “I am the biggest Ben Platt fan, and to see him perform for such a great cause was amazing. It almost felt unreal. It’s crazy to me that students can have such a big impact on celebrities because at the end of the day we need the support from them too. I am truly so proud of what everyone is doing to make an impact, including Ben Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.”

Platt and Miranda’s song is a success, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart, as of March 31 and No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Found/ Tonight” had 61,000 downloads and 2.1 million streams in the United States within one week of its release.

“Found/Tonight” was Miranda’s second time earning Digital Song Sales No. 1. His single “Almost Like Praying,” got the title after making its debut on Oct. 28. The song, which Miranda wrote in response to Hurricane Maria, was recorded by him and other celebrities under the collective name, “Artists for Puerto Rico.”

Photo courtesy of Steve Jurvetson (CC by 2.0)

Lin-Manuel Miranda teamed up with Ben Platt for a new song that combined two of their past hits.

From Top: “Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown” by gage skidmore (flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/25945250053) ; “Hamilton, live in ny” by Steve jurvetson (flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/25945250053)

‘Found/Tonight’ mashup supports gun control

April 2018

The Wessex Wire: Arts & Culture

Page 13

‘Seussical’ thrills audience 5 out of 5 stars

By Alexa Dratch ’18

Photo by Ally Schachtel

Teen girls wear similar Adidas superstar sneakers because they are considered “trendy” and are in style throughout the West Essex community.

Teens brainwashed into liking new trends

By Amy Grunther ’20

A few years back, when Converse sneakers first started coming into fashion, I did not like them at all.

I thought they looked preppy and weird, and did not even think to buy them. But after a month or two of seeing many different people sporting them, they grew on me.

I suddenly needed them.

Did I actually come to like them or was I brainwashed by my friends and the media?

After this happened several other times with trends such as Birkenstocks and hoop earrings, I came to the realization that it’s not that I actually liked the trend, it’s more that I was made to think that if I didn’t have it, I wasn’t “cool.”

I, and I’m sure others, have come

to use fashion as a way to show that we are “normal” based on high school standards. Students believe that if they do not wear chokers or white platform sneakers, others will not want to be friends with them. After being exposed to this harsh reality since elementary school, people do not realize that they really are wearing something just to be “cool.”

Walking down the hallway in high school, you see 20 girls wearing Adidas Superstars. If everyone is an individual with unique interests and character traits, it is highly unlikely that everyone actually likes the same shoes. When a “popular” kid wears something, many find that it becomes trendy.

“When I see someone wear something, I want to get it even if

I don’t really like it because I think I will look trendy,” sophomore Francesca Apito said.

Students feel that wearing a trendy necklace or jacket will make them more stylish, and therefore, others will like them more.

But is it even worth being trendy if you don’t like what you’re wearing?

“I don’t really like how wearing a lot of rings looks, but it’s trendy so I do it anyway,” sophomore Ashley Thomas said. “I like how the stuff I wear looks, but I also will not wear something that I like if I think it’ll make me look like a slob. I want to look presentable.”

Fashion is looked at as a means of expression, but if someone is just following a trend and not wearing what they actually like, it is not

really expressive anymore. Sure, there are other ways for a person to express him/herself (art, music or writing), but fashion is an easy and effective way to show one’s true personality.

People should decide whether they’d rather be “cool” or express themselves and wear what they actually like.

When students all wear the same thing, fashion no longer reflects individuality, but instead shows the way students will wear anything to please those around them.

Whether they are afraid of being judged or feel more comfortable wearing similar clothing as their friends, students lack the confidence to make their own fashion choice based off what they like, rather they wear what’s popular.

New Snapchat update leads to angry users

By Giuliana Calix ’20

Famous social media platform, Snapchat, recently came out with a new update that drastically changed the layout of the app. The redesign has upset fans and they are now struggling to find and use their favorite features. The goal of Snapchat’s redesign was to make it easier for users, but it ended up making some delete the app completely.

Many users are upset over the number of redesign changes, such as an all “Friends” page, difficulties with rewatching stories and a new huge discover page. The app, which is very popular with teens, previously featured content with publishers and celebrities on one page.

Now, there’s a designated page for publishers and one for your friends. The app has also come out with its own page for group snapchats that you would usually post stories on.

On Twitter, teens were longing for the old design of Snapchat back.

“Ever since the update came out, I deleted the app,” sophomore Julia Adamowicz said. “It

was very frustrating to find my friend’s stories and Snapchat them back.”

Snapchat stood by their update and didn't let raging teens convince them to change their new design. This did not stop users, however. Some found out a way to get the old version back up.

They deleted and redownloaded the app and changed their passwords to recover the old Snapchat.

This update would work for some iPhones users, but the new update would eventually come back up. Snapchat’s value has dropped $1.3 billion since the new update.

Many users consider the 2018 Snapchat update a mess. Snapchat is trying to stay relevant in a time when many apps are competing for teen’s attention and they have to improve their service in a way that pleases users and increases their revenue.

Illustration by Alyssa Cristobal

The new Snapchat update has upset many users due to a poor interface.

Between bright and colorful stage design, fun costumes, catchy songs and a heartwarming story, Masquers of West Essex’s latest spring musical, “Seussical,” was one to remember.

The lead figure, The Cat in the Hat (senior Paige Wasserman) owned the stage and took the audience along on the journeys of Horton the Elephant (sophomore Nick Stampone) and Jojo (freshman Grant King). The three main characters touched the hearts of those watching with emotional ballads, and induced tears of laughter with great one-liners, hilarious facial expressions and an (unscripted) tumble into the pit on opening night.

By introducing fun renditions of classic character stories everyone grew up reading about, “Seussical” was a hit for all ages.

The musical was widely different than past Masquers’ productions with bigger, better and brighter sets.

The show gave cast and crew the opportunity to be kids again, which showed on stage in nothing but amazing ways.

Hair and makeup was outstanding, as always, led by both sophomore Rebecca Klein, who created all the looks, and senior Isabella Mastrangelo, who carried out the looks for Jojo and a majority of the ensemble.

The show as a whole was highenergy, easy to follow and super fun to watch. Overall, it gave Masquers another show to remember.

Wasserman’s portrayal of the iconic Cat in the Hat, left the audience in stitches and classmates enamored. Sharing the stage with Wasserman for most of the show and matching her energy perfectly, it was extremely hard to believe that King is just a freshman.

Another underclassmen with an exceptional performance was Stampone, who tugged at the heartstrings of the audience with the skill of a professional.

Each performance left audience members wondering how else the show could improve. Although there were three main leads, the ensemble shined in just as many impressive ways.

With impressive set designs, a touching and amusing story and a cast full of talented students, Seussical is a hit and sets a new bar for Masquers.

Page 14

The Wessex Wire: Sports

April 2018

Baseball looks to cap off another successful run The Knights are feeling confident and determined to go all the way this season.

By Michael DiGiacomo ’18 and Dan Laible ’18 The baseball team is looking to build off their leadership and the promise of their younger players going into Spring season. Coach Johnson’s goal is to build off the team’s success last year, when they beat a highly ranked Old Tappan team, going in as underdogs.

They have a lot of returning starters this year, as well as many new talents gaining a role on the team. With the team they have this year they are looking improve thier record after last year.

“We are looking to make it even further this year. We acquired a lot of talented freshmen who will play critical roles to our success this season.” Johnson said. “I can’t wait to see how our team performs this season. I expect a lot of energy and intensity from all the players.”

Last year the Knights finished with a record of 14-11 and advanced to the NJSIAA North 1, Group 3 tournament quarterfinal

always been a guy who leads by example,” Johnson said. “His work ethic can never be questioned and how much he cares about the team and his performance is never hidden. He won the game on the mound and hit a walk-off base hit against the conference champs, East Side.”

Another player that stood out for Coach Johnson was senior Max Ruvo for his outstanding play last season.

“Last year, Max hit .460 on the year,” he said. “He consistently stayed our best hitter all year. He hit home runs against Nutley and in the second round of the state tournament against Roxbury.”

Coach Johnson wasn’t the only one excited to watch the young players contribute to the team this season. Ruvo described the talent Freshmen Vin Panzarino showed during the pre-season.

“He’s by far one of our most talented assets,” Ruvo said. “It’s crazy because he’s only a freshman and he’s already batting fourth in our lineup. Vin has great potential going forward.”

The team finished a scrimmage

against one of the best teams in the state, Don Bosco Prep.

Even though it was only a preseason game, the Knights only lost 3-1 and seemed very pleased by their performance, considering the talent they matched up with.

Senior pitcher Anthony Vassallo commented on the team’s tough play after the scrimmage and what he expects for the team’s prospects going forward.

“I t h o u g ht we played great against some tough competition. I think our season is looking bright, but we can’t get too overconfident,” he said.

The team has four players committed to continuing their careers in college.

Three of whom, the Ruvos and Ant Vassallo, will all be attending Washington College in Maryland. Matt Cesare will be attending Salem State University in Massachusetts.

The Knights feel the entire team has talent all over the field with contributors from the seniors to their freshman. With a promising start to the season, they want to keep the momentum going strong.

“” I expect a lot of energy and intensity from all the players.

—Coach Johnson

Photo courtesy of Glenn clark from the progress

Senior Matt Cesare attempting to turn a double play late in the game against Bloomfield. West Essex went on to win 5-2, to stretch its record to 3-0.

round before losing to fifth-seeded Roxbury. As the 13 seed, they defeated the four seed Old Tappan in the opening round.

Lone team captain Ian McLaughlin will attempt to lead the team to states this year.

“Ian McLaughlin is and has

Past players return to coach at alma mater Generations of coaches lead their respective teams towards successful seasons.

By Quinn Delehanty ’19 As a student athlete, you look up to your coach and you listen to what they have to say. Some teachers in West Essex had their coworkers as coaches when they attended as a high school student.

Coach Jill Cosse once coached Coach Bettina Plesnitzer. Coach Ryan Logan played under Coach Chris Benacquista. Now, they are coaching alongside each other, in the process creating close bonds.

Years before Coach Plesnitzer returned to WE, she was a field hockey and lacrosse player under Coach Cosse.

“What’s really great is the consistency of expectations for your athletes,” Cosse said. “She was my captain in both field hockey and lacrosse here and went on to play in college so she knows the devotion and passion it takes to be a West Essex athlete.”

Ms. Plesnitzer was a beloved player on and off the field. Cosse said she trusted her to do as she

said and knew she would exceed expectations.

“I wear my expectations on my sleeve and in my heart,” Cosse said.

They have chemistry and history, making their relationship coaching their team stronger than if a new coach was brought in.

They know their differences and similarities as coaches and people, helping them get the best out of each other and their team.

“I think they really understand each other and are comfortable enough with each other to still say how they feel, even if they disagree, which is really good,” senior captain Devyn Aschenbach said. “Their relationship helps us succeed.”

The girls appreciate how close their coaches are and love hearing stories from when Cosse coached Plesnitzer.

Throughout the years of coaching at West Essex, Cosse’s coaching habits have stayed the same. She continues to grow and adapt to the type of team she has, but stays consistent.

“I still feel the same values hold true and as female athletes where there is no professional level to get to, I still try and instill the value of hard work, discipline, love and care of your teammates and pas-

Photo courtesy of Mary Wojtowicz

Coach Cosse and Coach Plesnitzer giving their team a constructive speech during halftime.

sion through play,” Cosse said.

There is a similar situation between Coach Benacquista and Coach Logan. Benacquista was Logan’s football coach when he was in high school.

“It’s a great part of this job to see players you helped mentor grow up and follow in your footsteps as a coach,” Benacquista said.

The two have been able to work off of each other since Logan was in high school, and they understand each others coaching style more than anyone else.

“So much of what I have learned about coaching comes from my time with Coach Benacquista,” Logan said.

Going from coaching a player to

working side by side with them has made both of these relationships stronger and have benefitted their teams greatly.

The students here at West Essex look up to their coaches as role models. Seeing coaches unite and share a bond inspires a team to want to do the same thing: creating a friendship just as strong.

April 2018

Page 15

The Wessex Wire: Sports

Richards: Fastest girl in the U.S. Senior track star sets national No. 1 time for 400m hurdles.

By Heath Kalb ’18 Senior Reanda Richards ran the fastest time recorded this season

of any high school girl in the United States in the 400m hurdles, with a time of 59.21 seconds on April 14 at The College of New Jersey High School Open.

“This is a truly amazing accomplishment, given the very adverse weather conditions in the Northeast this spring,” Coach Anthony Emering said.

Richards was second in the New Jersey Meet of Champions last spring to Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic High School in the 400m hurdles. McLaughlin was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 2016 as a high school junior. Richards will run for Rutgers University in the Big 10 Conference next year.

In addition to Richards’ accomplishments, senior Celia White threw a season best 114’3” to qualify for nationals in the javelin for the third straight season. On top of that, sophomore Jenna Chan and freshman Arianna Lee each triple-jumped 32’3.75” to set the sophomore and freshman class triple-jump records, respectively.

After tough years, volleyball looks to bounce back Boys aim to establish winning culture and ride momentum of early season success.

By Chris Tsakonas ’18 West Essex Boys Volleyball kicked off their season with consecutive wins—beginning with an away win against Barringer on Monday and followed by a home win against Montclair Immaculate on Wednesday. An away loss to Dover gives them a 2-1 record to begin the year.

This has been their strongest start in years, and it has created a sense of optimism in what this team can accomplish.

“I think the team started the season so well because we have worked hard in practice to develop our skills, which only adds to the talent we already have on the team,” junior Pat Sansone said.

This year’s burst out of the gate has brought new life and energy to a team that has struggled in recent seasons, finishing 2016 and 2017 with records of 5-13 and 2-15, respectively. In fact, their last conference title was in 2012. However, they begin this season with a very talented roster, led by team captains Oakley Sturrock and Mike Mathios.

“It’s been fun to win and play with a team that is goofy and has potential to be really good,” Sturrock said.

“We have a mixture of talent and experience on the team, which we haven’t always had.”

In addition to veteran presences like Sturrock and Mathios, the team has benefitted immensely from an influx of newcomers who may not have grown up with volleyball, but still add value to the team. Two key additions have been varsity basketball players Heath Kalb and Pat Sansone, who both bring their height and athleticism to a sport where those attributes are coveted.

“It’s his first year, but he hits the ball really well,” Coach Caitlyn Josefczyk said about Sansone. “He’s a great server.”

Early results would confirm that this team has no shortage of talent and natural ability. For Coach Josefczyk, the challenge is to take that raw talent and turn it into a cohesive unit on the court.

“I think the hardest thing is that when you have guys come out in their junior and senior year, we have to basically start from the beginning and literally teach them the basics of volleyball,” she said.

Sturrock echoed his coaches’ sentiments, asserting that there is room for improvement in every aspect of the game, including “passing, hitting and learning how to play and win together.”

Photo courtesy of Ben Chelnitsky

Senior Heath Kalb goes up to get a kill agianst the opposing team.

While the Knights are encouraged by their promising start, there’s still a long season ahead of them.

Nevertheless, they remain focused on the task at hand, and have high

expectations for themselves.

“We want to win our conference,” Sansone said. “We want to qualify for the state tournament and make a good run in that too.”

No, LeBron shouldn’t ‘shut up and dribble’

By Heath Kalb ’18 On the February 16 episode of The Ingraham Angle, Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized NBA superstar LeBron James and his criticism of Donald Trump, telling him to “shut up and dribble.” This attitude is ludicrous and downright arrogant.

As athletes have become more outspoken in politics, the mantra of “stick to sports” has become more prevalent among some commentators. Athletes like LeBron have worked tirelessly their whole lives to get to the highest level.

Basketball is his platform, and he is going to use it to positively influence the world and his fans.

Sports Commentary Ingraham has a history of making insensitive statements—and whether or not the “shut up and dribble” rant had racial intent—it was still unacceptable. After all, Ingraham is the same woman who mocked a student activist who survived the Parkland shooting.

LeBron is one of, if not the most, prominent and celebrated athletes in America. With tens of millions of kids looking up to him, it’s simply wrong to tell him to stay quiet on political issues. He is a

well spoken, smart and charitable role model and it is his right, like every other American, to speak out about anything he wants to.

While many athletes already do speak their minds on issues outside of sports, even more should open up. As topics like gun control, race and a controversial president increase in prominence, I applaud anyone who communicates their opinion. Athletes should be encouraged to take advantage of their voice in America and it should be made clear to them that they could make a real difference.

Just in the last few years athletes from all sports have spurred conversation in America and I hope it continues. Movements

such as Black Lives Matter have been furthered through sports and those who are speaking out or raising their fists or wearing a particular shirt to convey their message are courageous. Athletes are finding their voice reminiscent of the ‘60s and this is why sports is so important.

Many fans believe and see sports as solely an escape from real life and they’re wrong. Athletes and those involved with sports have been and will be sticking up for what they believe is right. Each and every athlete has a right to and should speak out no matter how controversial the issue, and never should they be told to “shut up and dribble.”

NCAA brackets were busted once again Historical tournament ends with many upsets and typical outcome.

By Frankie Rizzo ’19 There’s a reason the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is nicknamed March Madness, and this year is no exception. The national championship may have gone to tournament favorite Villanova, but don’t let that fool you. If anything, this year’s tournament contains more madness than years prior due to all of the improbable upsets.

There’s been an 11-seed in Loyola-Chicago make it to the Final Four, and 16-seed UMBC trouncing top seed UVa. in the second round was historic for multiple reasons. These upsets make good Cinderella stories, but hurt tremendously for people trying to predict a perfect bracket.

If anyone made a bracket this year, odds are they couldn’t predict the craziness happening, especially in the unpredictable south region.

After the first two rounds, the south region saw the fall of their top four seeded teams, including No. 1 Virginia, a heavy favorite to win the whole tournament.

No bracket predicted a perfect Elite Eight this year, which featured one 11-seed, two 9-seeds, two 3-seeds, one 2-seed and two 1-seeds.

Even diehard college basketball fans couldn’t get this one right.

Junior Drew Donohue joined a 60-plus person group for the tournament, where first place would go to the person who was the most accurate with their picks in the tournament.

“This is just so unfair,” Donohue said. “I spend my whole year watching and studying college basketball just for it to go to waste in March.”

A majority of the people who gave up on their brackets found themselves just looking for an underdog story to follow. Junior David Germain said he would love to see Loyola-Chicago cutting down the nets at the end of the year.

“I want to see Loyola-Chicago win not just to complete their Cinderella story, but to spite everyone else who has a high seed winning the whole thing,” Germain said.

March might be the month of stress and madness, but that’s what makes good basketball. Even if brackets are ruined, this year’s tournament will go down as one of the most interesting, unpredictable tournaments in history full of excitement and underdog stories.

April 2018 Issue 4

The Wessex Wire Page 16

Seniors pursuing athletic dreams next year 20 students have the honor of continuing their sports careers at different universities.

By Michael DiGiacomo ’18 and Heath Kalb ’18 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, 20 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 20, accumulating the most commitments at West Essex this year. Four of those are heading to a Division I school.

Julia Russo committed to UPenn on the Division I level. UPenn is known for being academically challenging and has a competitive field hockey team.

All 20 athletes have put in a tremendous amount of training and dedication so deciding to continue their athletic careers was an easy one.

There are three sets of twins who are committed to play sports at the same college. Ashley and Sarah Iannuzzi will be playing Division I field hockey at the University of Delaware. Lauren and Christina Cammarata will also be playing field hockey at The College of New Jersey. Max and Ben Ruvo are playing Division III baseball together at Washington College.

B a s e b a l l p l ay e r A nt h ony Vassallo will be continuing his career with his high school teammates at Washington College.

“It’s awesome that I’ll be able to play with the Ruvos for the next four years,” Vassallo said.

“I’m great friends with them and hopefully we’ll be able to carry our success into college.”

Vin Scaglia has enjoyed being recruited for football and he will be playing football next year at Moravian College.

“It was an honor for me to be recognized from colleges to play football next year,” Scaglia said.

Class of 2018 Commitments Student Dana Andreaggi Sara Amil Devyn Aschenbach Emma Bossaert Christina Cammarata Lauren Cammarata Matthew Cesare Patrick Coyle Ashley Iannuzzi Sarah Iannuzzi Lillian James Gabriella Karch Frank Lagreca Eamon Morrissey Gerard Onorata Thomas Pescatore Reanda Richards Julia Russo Ben Ruvo Max Ruvo Anthony Sangillo Vin Scaglia Amanda Schwartz Anthony Vassallo

School Clarkson University Washington and Lee University Villanova University The College of Wooster The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey Salem State University The College of New Jersey University of Delaware University of Delaware Stockton University Millersville University Moravion College Gettysburg College The College of New Jersey Moravian College Rutgers University University of Pennsylvania Washington College Washington College Fairleigh Dickinson Moravian College Carnegie Mellon University Washington College

“Meeting the coaches and visiting the school was an exciting process for me.”

This year, all of the captains

Sport Division Soccer D3 Field Hockey D3 Field Hockey D1 Swimming D3 Field Hockey D3 Field Hockey D3 Baseball D3 Hockey D2 Field Hockey D1 Field Hockey D1 Softball D3 Track and Field D3 Baseball D3 Football D3 Football D3 Lacrosse D3 Track D1 Field Hockey D1 Baseball D3 Baseball D3 Football D3 Football D3 Softball D3 Baseball D3

from the football team decided to continue their careers.

Ant Sangillo will be playing at Fairleigh Dickinson University,

Eamon Morrissey will play at Gettysburg College and Gerard Onorata will be playing at The College of New Jersey.

Spring athletes look to shine this season Anthony Vassallo ’18 Baseball

College: “Yes, I want to pitch.”

Stand Out: “I throw fast balls that are hard to hit.”

Pat Sansone ’19 Volleyball

Favorite Part: “I like to spike the ball.”

Excited To: “Meet new people.”

Alexa Liggieri ’20 Softball

Favorite Part: “Being friends with people on the team.”

Excited To: “Hopefully win a lot of games.”

Matt Chung ’18 Boys Track

Goals: “To run 50 seconds in the 400 and make nationals.”

Excited To: “Complete my last season so I want to go out with a bang.”

Michael Richardella’18 Golf

Stand Out: “My jokes and how funny I am because I’m not very good.”

Goals: “To hit one good shot.”

Vivian Onnembo ’21 Girls Track

Stand Out: “My age because I am the youngest on the team.”

College: “Yes, if I can.”

Kylie O’Connor ’21 Girls Lacrosse

Favorite Part: “Playing with my friends and the intensity of winning.”

College:” Yes, if I have the chance.”

Evan Katz ’18 Boys Tennis

Favorite Part: “The exhilarating thrill of winning a big point.”

Goals: “To make it back to the state tournament.”

Jack Wohlgemuth ’20 Boys Lacrosse

Goals: “To score a lot.”

Excited To: “Be a part of a new team.”

Wise Words: Coach Schwindel “Whether you’re learning from mistakes or building on success, you can’t dwell too much on the past.”