Starting Off With The Wrong Schedule

Vol. 7 No. 2
The
Northside College Preparatory High School
October 2005
HoofBeat
Page 5
News
pages 1-4
• Wedding Bells Ring
• The Best Hamburgers in
Chicago
• Launch Principal Lifts Off
Features
pages 6-7
• Amigos de Las Americas
Volunteers
• New Northside Teachers
Centerfold
pages 8-9
• Halloween: What’s Going
on in Chicago?
Editorial
pages 10-11
• Too Old for Halloween?
• Markowski: Northside’s
Big Cover-up
Arts & Entertainment pages 12-13
• Switchfoot’s CD Reviewed
• U2 Comes to Chicago
• Nipples, anyone?
Sports
pages 14-16
• Get Your Dose of Calcium
w/ the Lacrosse Team
• Kasten Breaks All Records
• Northside Eats Lane
Mr. Santiago’s
Big Celebration
Back Page
Northside’s
Big Victory
Starting Off With The Wrong Schedule
What Happened to Our Schedules
by Zenobia Gonsalves
As class orientations this
a scheduling tool called MSB.
summer brought NorthsidThis program has the ability
ers back to the reality of
to create classes automatically
returning to school, students
upon requests, determine and
looked forward to receivmodify teacher loads, and scheding and checking their
ule classes with teacher, room,
class schedules in hopes of
and meeting times.
finding enjoyable classes
“The counseling office was
with good friends and teachlike a mob scene when students
ers. These anticipations
wanted to change their schedwere soon crushed when
ules,” said Ms. Erin Kato. “I
many students realized the
was sympathetic to students, but
mistakes on their schedules.
I wasn’t mad because it did not
Errors were mainly due to
affect my schedule.”
technical difficulties caused
By the second week of
by a change in the schedulJuly, it became apparent that
ing program.
IMPACT would not live up to
“The blame cannot be
its expectations. The program
put solely on the program
would not save the modificaor on the creator of the protions that programmers made
gram, but on a combination
to schedules, and CPS had to
of both,” said Mr. Lim.
switch back to the SI program.
Prior to November 2004,
Mr. Lim had to start the schedMr. Leon Lim, Programmer,
ules over from scratch with only
used the SI program to coma little over a month left until
plete students’ schedules.
orientation and eight months
This program is about 30
of work to complete. This
years old and Unix system
delay was the major cause of
Adiba
Khan,
Adv.
701,
and
Erin
McMurtry,
Adv.
704,
discuss
their
schedule
based. It is not Windows
the mistakes in many students’
changes with Ms. Erin Kato.
friendly and therefore does
schedules.
Photo by Zenobia Gonsalves
not allow programmers to
The most common mistake
easily copy and paste the class into the schedprovide teachers with more instructional time with
was that students were put in the wrong class.
ule.
students.
Some freshmen were put into a class they had
“The schedules were really messed up,”
Teachers would be able to maintain daily atalready earned credit for in elementary or middle
said Riaz Shaik, Adv. 908. “There were too
tendance, record grades, create instructional lesson
school. Other students were put into their second
many problems with it, which made it confusplans, and communicate directly to the main office
choice classes when they were told at the end of
ing to follow. This is my third week at Northand to parents.
last school year that they were accepted into their
side and I’m finally getting it. They should
“It was difficult for me because I have four
first choice. Some faced the opposite problem and
have better means of presenting the schedules
freshman classes, so freshmen kept switching their
were put into their first choice class when they
to freshmen.”
schedules,” said Ms. Veronica Leljedal Hetler, Social were told that they hadn’t gotten into it. Still othNorthside switched to another program
Science teacher. “Due to all the schedule mistakes,
ers found that they did not have a lunch period.
called IMPACT (Instructional Management
all the freshmen were confused and stressed. This
“I was disappointed when I was not put into
Program and Academic Tool) because of a
shouldn’t have happened because it was their first
my first or second choice class,” said Patrick
new CPS policy that claimed SI was outdated
week in high school. Many of them asked me when O’Connor, Adv. 708.
and unable to perform certain functions.
their lunch was, but I couldn’t tell them because I’m
CPS is currently trying to fix the errors in IMIMPACT was perceived as an advanced
new.”
PACT and plans to deploy it again soon. Northsolution that would reduce paperwork, make
To use this new program, Mr. Lim was required siders can only hope that the scheduling procedure
student information more manageable, and
to go through a training process to learn how to use will go more smoothly next year.
Academic Decathlon Team Embarks In
Youth Movement
by Idrees Mohiuddin
The Academic Decathlon Team at Northside, also
known as ACADEC, has
a solid reputation as being
one of the most devoted academic teams in the school.
This school year presents
many new challenges to
the team, as many of their
veteran members have
graduated.
Every year, the expectations for the team are high,
and this year is no different.
The formula for success
has always been to develop
talent while competing at
a high level. But this year,
the team is going through a
change. With rookie Coach
Mr. Johan Tabora on board,
the team is looking forward
to continued success and
high-level competition.
“We have a good chance
to do well this year,” said
Mr. Tabora. “The team
Jonathan Wang, Adv. 901, studies for the next Academic Decathlon meeting.
is pretty young, and we’re
mostly focused on learning Photo by Shoaib Khan
together and getting along
well. And at the same time, we want 807, and Jason Lee, Adv. 709.
the team get along well,” said Reto compete to win.”
Co-captains Rebekah Kim and
bekah Kim. “We have a lot of new
The team consists of eleven
Cassie Boykin are the most experimembers, but at the same time we
students, many of whom are first
enced members on the team. Every
want to be able to be competitive
year team members. The team’s
year, the team’s coach appoints
and win state and possibly repeat
current members include: Rebekah
two captains, usually seniors who
2003.”
Kim, Adv. 600, Cassie Boykin,
have been a part of ACADEC long
In the past, the ACADEC
Adv. 603, Minhal Baig, Adv. 807,
enough to help run the team. Kim is Team has been very successful unJessica Galang, Adv. 708, Monica
entering her third year as a member
der the guidance of English teacher
Wojcik, Adv. 604, Puja Gopal, Adv.
of the ACADEC Team and Boykin
John Hahm. The team made it to
809, Evan Burrows, Adv. 605, Tom
is entering her second year.
the State Championships in 2003
Skawski, Adv. 805, Sarah Hanif,
“As co-captain of the team I
and won, qualifying the team for
Adv. 809, Alexandra Kriston, Adv.
want our main goal to be to have
the National Championships,
where it competed against 49
other high schools nationwide.
Recruitment began at
the end of last year’s season,
and, according to Mr. Tabora, many freshmen showed
interest during orientation at
the beginning of the school
year.
“We like having freshmen show interest in the
team,” said Rebekah Kim.
“If they join then, they can
learn to compete and be successful. Then next year they
can help the team out when
the seniors are gone.”
At this point, students
of all grades are welcome to
join the team, and there are
no requirements to do so.
Along with gaining an invaluable experience through
competition with other high
schools and through bonding
with teammates, ACADEC
team members also benefit
themselves by participating
in an extracurricular activity
that is very presentable to colleges
and universities come senior year.
The ACADEC Team meets every
Wednesday after Colloquium in
room 305 and on Saturdays between two o’clock and four o’clock.
ACADEC will begin competing
in January and the season will continue on into either March or April,
depending on whether the team
makes it to the State and National
Championships.
Page News
Reactions to Hurricane Katrina
Northside Responds to Relief Efforts
by Micah Tepora
It has been a few weeks since
Hurricane Katrina left a devastating imprint on New Orleans and
other areas of the southeast. For
days many people in New Orleans
had to endure harsh winds, intense
rain, and flooding; some of them
had to sit upon rooftops, awaiting
rescue. Although some were evacuated before the hurricane hit, there
were still those who stayed behind
awaiting rescue and action by the
federal government
“I don’t think they [the government] were well-prepared for it,”
said Clare Donnelly, Adv. 900.
It was days until the government was finally able to send help
over to New Orleans. Although
some argue that the necessary
supplies to rescue the citizens in
a completely flooded New Orleans, Elisabeth Graham, Adv. 704, reads up on the latest hurricane relief efforts.
Photo by Neha Alam
such as helicopters and trained
raising broadcast on NBC, Kanye West
relief efforts that was featured on several
personnel, were simply not available,
strayed from the script and stated that
channels including MTV and VH1
some believe that the Federal EmerAfrican Americans were incorrectly bewhich was broadcasted for hours.
gency Management Agency should not
ing portrayed as looters in New Orleans
“We shouldn’t have had to watch the
have allowed any delay.
and that President George W. Bush does concert in every single channel,” said
“They knew that this was coming,”
not care about African Americans.
Alyssa Sockol, Adv. 805. “If we wanted
said Sarah Ashcraft-Johnson, Adv. 903.
“I think that the problem was they
to donate, we would have done so.”
“They sort of stuck their fingers in their
[lower class New Orleanians] couldn’t
Hurricane Katrina has evidently hit
ears and said lalalala.”
get out of the city before the storm hit,”
a soft spot in a lot of students. Many of
Among such controversy Northsidsaid Andrew Wrobel, Adv. 802.
them have a great deal to say about the
ers definitely have many thoughts on
There are also those who are startslow reaction by the federal government.
the hurricane relief effort so far, the
ing to tire of the constant emphasis the
However, at the same time, they feel that
government’s actions when Hurricane
as much help as possible should be given
Katrina hit New Orleans and about pub- media puts on hurricane relief even
though they know it is for a good cause.
towards organizations which are helping
lic statements made since the tragedy,
An example of this was a concert held
the refugees and definitely show their
such as those by rapper Kanye West.
to support the Salvation Army hurricane interest in helping.
In a recent one-hour special fund-
Northside Heißt Willkommen die
Deutschen Umtauschestudenten:
Northside Welcomes German Exchange
Students from Bremen, Hamburg
by Elizabeth Jose
Many students took
sideways glances from
their computers and
books in the library on
September 19, when a
large group of German exchange students
gathered around the
newspapers eagerly
searching the papers
for information on the
German governmental
elections.
It is quite probable
that they were disappointed in their endeavors and were forced to
look elsewhere for their
information.
Throughout their
visit at Northside they
have been assisted by
Ms. Virginia Apel. She
is the German teacher
at Northside and has
been involved with
the German exchange
program for some years
now.
“I have to attend
German students explore many of Chicago’s great wonders.
many meetings with
Photo courtesy of Ms. Virginia Apel
other teachers” she
said.
The other 5 schools involved in the exchange program are
She, along with other teachers around Chicago, has been
Stephen Tyng Mather High School, St. Patrick’s High School,
organizing the visit for the German exchange students. Ms.
Amundsen High School, Lincoln Park High School, and Lane
Apel said that the students “were pleasantly surprised” upon
Technical High School. They have been spending time at each
their arrival in the U.S.
of the different schools so they can experience the different
“Everyone has an idea of what America is like” she said.
environments. It is a rule that the exchange program must
They were both surprised and enraptured by many of the
occur during the school year. Therefore, the students who will
sights particularly those that were different from their homes
be going to Germany from the U.S. will have to go during the
in Germany.
German school year.
Some of the things the German exchange students found
On October 2, 2005 the second of the two groups of Gerinteresting were the skyscrapers downtown and the sports
man exchange students will be returning to Germany. The first
program in CPS schools.
of the two groups was from Bremen, Germany. They were
“They might be able to take some of these ideas to Geryounger than the second group that came from Hamburg,
many and start something,” said Ms. Apel.
Germany.
This exchange program was created 8 years ago, and
The group from Hamburg, Germany was made up of 25
people that have been involved with it for a long time admit
students and 3 adults. The three teachers were Mr. Werner
that they have been able to see the subtle changes each year.
Lamp, who went to Mather, and Mr. Peter Dittmann and Ms.
During the first years the German students would dress differOrtrud Dittman, who both went to Lincoln Park. Northside
ently, but now they blend in much more.
hosted 11 students.
“I didn’t know they were here,” said Michelle Lopez, Adv.
They were Rebecca von Ghyzy, Annika Hollander, Lara
906.
Kasler, Marett Klahn, Jan Overbek, Julius Plenz, Catharina
This may be in part to the fact that Northside is not the
Schlosser, Martin Schunke, Helena Sommer, Vincent Wachter,
only school hosting the German exchange students.
and Franz Eckhardt. Their hosts were Stefanie Urian, Adv.602
The Hoof Beat
Northside College
Prep High School
5501 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625
Tel: (773) 534-3954
Fax: (773) 534-3964
Principal: Dr. James Lalley
Assistant Principal: Ms. Lisa Moreno
Advisor: Mr. Chester Tylinski
Editors-In-Chief: Ilya Chalik, Asrar Khan,
Anisa Isap, Monica Wojcik
Managing Editor: Priyanka Bhagat, Ajla
Sunje
News Editors: Ashraf Abbas, Natalia Emanuel, Rachel Ramir
Features Editors: Zainab Sozzer, Aisha Wahid
Editorial Editor: Aliy Markowski, Muamera
Hadzic
Centerfold Editors: Sanja Bajgoric, Anthe
Mitrakos, Amania Wahid
Arts and Entertainment Editors:
Damon Beres, Micah Tepora
Sports Editors: Geethi Abraham, Idrees Mohiuddin
Image Editors: Neha Alam, Zenobia Gonsalves, Shoaib Khan
Business Manager: Syyeda Ali
Satire: Ashraf Abbas, Damon Beres
Artist: Anthe Mitrakos, Sanja Bajgoric
Staff
Reporters: Shoaib Ali, Zainab Bilfaqi, Maxwell Brown, Sejla Dizdarevic, Elizabeth Jose,
Mohammad Khaleelulah, Amanda Perez,
Nadir Rashid, Elizebeth Sobenes, Abir Usman,
Kana Yoo, Michelle Zacarias.
Junior Reporters: Andrea Ljevar, Visiliki
Mitrakos
The Hoof Beat is a monthly publication
produced by the Northside Prep Journalism Class. As a student-run newspaper, your
opinions are important to us. If you have any
comments, corrections, critiques, or questions, please e-mail Mr. Chester Tylinski at
[email protected]. Also, if you
have any interest of joining the Hoof Beat,
please come speak with Mr. Tylinski in Room
204. Freshmen are more than welcome to
join; please see us for details.
, Lizzie O’Meara, Adv.601 , Caitlin Corcoran, Adv.606 ,
Cory Craig, Adv.606 , Wade Killman, Adv.702 , Mark Sullivan, Adv.607 , Teresa Guerrierio, Adv.604 , Marisol Najera,
Adv.702 , Sandy Guttman, Adv. 603 , Jasmine Hendriks,
Adv.708 , and Aubrey Cunat, Adv.706.
Renata Sebanagnic from Amundsen hosted Madeleine
Abeltshauser, Nick Smolen, Dan Vollman, Nick Niemiec,
and Steven Zachar of St. Patrick School hosted Maria Buck,
Elisabeth Fischer, Lorenz Carstensen, and Keno Harrihausen.
Patrick Leyland, Jorge Miranda, and Erik Kistler of Lane
Tech High School hosted Markus Ehm, Lukas Gable, and
Michael Kutscher.
Lincoln Park hosted 5 German students. They were Julia
Grille, Nicholas Lutherath, Jochen Martichewski, Josia
Nauck, and Jytte Christiansen. The hosts were Marguerite Korenblit, Ryan McElbaney, Manuel Silvetre, Ben Tupper, and
Daniel Hoppe. Max Goronzi was hosted by Antwaun Sargent
from Mather.
Ms. Apel said that during the time they were here they
not only went to different high schools in Chicago, but they
explored the various sights and took trips downtown. It was an
interesting experience for the German exchange students and
for the students that met them around the schools.
October 2005
New Start for Everyone
Back To School Night For Parents
by Vasiliki Mitrakos
On Tuesday, Septemnew.
ber 13th, parents filled the
“I have never expehallways playing the role of
rienced this before, the
their children, while happily
music was awesome,”
roaming the school and attendsaid Ilyas Ahmed. “It
ing mini-classes. “Mini-class
is more soothing than a
Night” is a Northside tradition
bell and helps with the
that allows parents to see what
transition through the
Northside students are really
classes.”
in for. They can meet teachers
In past years, the
and take their own notes on
parents of seniors atclasses. The parents started off
tended and participated
by attending advisory for ten
less on parent night.
minutes.
This year teachers were
“I think [advisory] is nice,
glad to see a greater
it’s a time to feel at home,”
number of their parents
said Mrs. Capapas, mother of a
attending parent’s
freshmen.
night. Even new teachParents then had four
ers had good views
minutes to arrive to their child's
about parent night.
Parents observe one of Northside’s mini science courses during
next class, which was also
“There was a good
ten minutes long. Most par- Parent Night.
turn out, and it was fun
ents enjoyed the idea of attend- Photo by Vasiliki Mitrakos
to meet the parents”,
ing class, while some decided
the teachers and classes their
Wojcik, mother of a freshsaid Ms. Lisa Price,
to skip classes and lounge in
children have.
man and senior. “I think it’s
English department teacher.
the atriums. Refreshments and
“I think the teachers are
perfect.”
“Parents seemed excited and
cookies were provided for the
great,” said Mrs. Kakacek.
“I think it is wonderful,”
enthusiastic.”
parents during “lunch”.
“They are young and enersaid Mrs. Grigoropoulos. “It
Many parents thought the
Student volunteers were
getic.”
prepares the high school stunight was worthwhile because
available to answer any quesAlthough at first the block
dents for college.”
they were able to meet the
tion that parents had anddirect
scheduling may have seemed
Parents also liked the idea
teachers and experience a day
them to the right classes. They
confusing, some parents did
of having music during the
of their child’s complex high
also helped the parents underlike it.
time they switched classes.
school life. The night finally
stand the schedule and find
“I love it, you don’t have
“It’s far more creative to
ended at nine o’clock, and
their child’s advisory. Over
too many classes everyday, and have music instead of a bell,”
parents went home, happy that
the course of the night, the
you have more time toprepare
said Eunice Deane-Herren. For they didn’t have school the
parents were acquainted with
for the next day,” said Mrs.
some the music was entirely
next day.
A New LAUNCH Principal
by Nadir Rashid
There is a new principal-in-training on the Northside Staff - Mr.
Davoud Chitsaztehrani, Launch
Principal.
The Launch Principal program
trains future principals for the Illinois
School Districts. Mr. Chitsaztehrani
applied on November 2004 to the
“Kelloggs” company, known to help
people get their internship within
school job requirements.
“[The Launch] program has a
very rigorous selection process,” said
Mr. Chitsaztehrani.
To actually join this program,
one must fulfill the requirements as
an intern before becoming a fulltime Mr. Davoud Chitsaztegran is busy at work
school administrator. Mr. Chitsazteh- studying Northside’s curriculum.
rani has been working as a classtroom Photo by Shoaib Khan
teacher for about four years, and
returning to an elementary school for the
now wants to further his ability to
remainder of the year. Mr. Chitsaztehrani
become a future principal. He would like
trained at Northwestern University for four
to become a school administrator because
weeks before being selected for the Launch
he wants to help students and adults in a
internship in late May.
mature environment. The Launch learning
“It is a wonderful experience working
experience is an excellent indicator of what
with great principals such as Dr. LAlley,”
working as a principal will be like. He will
said Mr. Chitsaztehrani. “Truly Northside
be at Northside for three quarters before
is one of the best schools I have seen,
Excellent!”
Although there is an exceptional staff,
according to many students, Northside can
always use another helping hand. We have
many people helping to keep this school
organized and assisting with students’
problems. If a student were to be late for
school, they would probably go to the attendance office. If they needed help with
another social problem, they could always
go to their counselor. All in all, practicing
to become a new principal is tough work,
but it also has its benefits.
To be chosen for a Launch internship,
there are specific requirements. Being good
at communicating and working hard, with
a love for children and a knack for management are just a few. Mr. Chitsaztehrani
possesses all of these and was fortunate
enough to be selected for the internship.
Many teachers apply, but a few are chosen
for Launch internship training. Mr. Chitsaztehrani is still training, but seems to
have a promising future in teaching.
“This is an extremely great learning experience, and it will help me in the future
with my goals,” Mr. Chitsaztehrani said.
PSAE Testing at Northside
by Max Brown
as 20 out of the total 180 points. This
It seems during high school
could be a result of the more intimate
that one’s existence revolves
learning setting, or simply the fact that
entirely around test-taking. in order to be accepted into the school
The Prairie State Achievement
you are already assumed to be in the
Examination (PSAE) is no
top 95th percentile. exception to this feeling. As to what can be done about
What used to be called
improving test scores, there is not much
the ISAT (Illinois Standards
that can be said on the subject. Like
Achievement Test) in grade
most any test, the best way to prepare
school is now back as the
is to get a decent amount of sleep the
PSAE, a more advanced and
night before and to eat a healthy and
certainly tougher test than its
filling meal the morning of the exam. predecessor. This test will
Most of the review for this test is the
not directly help you get into
learning that you already do throughout
college, nor will it give you
the year. Although the cliche “teachAdvanced Placement credit
ing to the test” is considered to be bad,
when you get there, but it is
teachers will often cover the material
certainly useful in its own right. that will be on the test shortly before
It measures the relationship of
students take it.
students and schools to Illinois Northside students have exceeded standards for
The test is commonly only adminisLearning Standards, identifying three consecutive years.
tered to those in 11th grade, however a
what works and what still needs Image courtesy of Dr. J. Lalley.
retake is offered for seniors. Included in
work in state education.
the test is the ACT, a test used in college applications, because the
The test has many different aspects of evaluation. It covers
Board of Education wants the test to be individually valuable to
Reading, Mathematics, and Science, with Writing and Social
Science having been dropped over the course of the last year. As students to encourage their best work. In fact, an excellent job on
the test is rewarded. Prairie State Achievement Awards are given
always expected of NCPHS students, they score extremely well
in recognition of outstanding performance on the PSAE. Winners
on the exam. Over the past four years, the school has seen the
raw and percentile score averages increase steadily. These scores receive certificates during senior year for each subject in which
exceed those of District, State, and suburban schools by as many they scored excellently. News
Page Lecture
Series Invades
Northside
by Shoaib Khan
Northside is set to host a four lecture series
by four distinguished professors, two of whom
are world renowned Shakespeare Scholars. The
Northside English Department, in coordination
with Wright College, arranged for the four literary
scholars to discuss Shakespeare’s play, King Lear.
Mr. Snow advertises and answers questions
about the upcoming King Lear Lecture Series.
Photo by Shoaib Khan
All of the AP English Language and Composition students and AP Literature and Composition
students are being encouraged to attend at least two
of the four lecture series. Students who plan to attend the lecture series will receive a copy of the play
King Lear.
“It is understood that the primary attendees will
be high school students who are taking Advanced
Placement English,” said Mr. Snow. “The level of
intellectual engagement should be very high.”
“Even though I will be required to attend the
lecture series through AP Literature, I still wouldn’t
miss out on the opportunity to attend the lecture
series,” said Pablo Anaya, Adv. 600. “The lecture series will be a great way to learn about Shakespeare.”
Each lecture series is planned to last approximately one hour and will be followed by a question
and answer session between the lecturers and the
attendees. During this time students can share any
thoughts and ask questions they have regarding the
play.
“What a wonderful opportunity to bring together famous literary scholars,” said Mr. Randy Snow,
the AP English Literature and Composition teacher.
“Teachers, parents, and friends of Northside are
about to experience what is sure to be the Northside
intellectual event of the year [Lecture Series].”
Admission will be free and the event will be held
in the auditorium. All students who want to expand
their knowledge of the great Shakespearian work
are encouraged to attend. The lecture series will also
be open to parents and students from other CPS
schools that have the AP English program.
“All four of the lecturers will bring their own
unique understanding of Shakespeare and King
Lear to what will hopefully be a very diverse audience,” said Mr. Snow, the AP English Literature and
Composition teacher. “Those who are very familiar
with King Lear to those who have no previous experience with King Lear are welcome.”
The first of the four-lecture series will take place
on October 20th, and each lecture will last from 7:00
to 8:15 p.m. David Bevington, a Horton Distinguished Humanities Professor at the University of
Chicago, is expected to lecture on that day.
The second lecture is scheduled for October
27th, and will be conducted by Perry Buckley, a
Professor of English at the Wilbur Wright College.
The third is scheduled for November 3rd, and
Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished
Service Professor from Divinity School and the University of Chicago, will be leading this lecture.
The final lecture will be on November 10th.
Richard A. Strier, Sulzberger Professor from the
University of Chicago, will be wrapping up the Fall
Lecture Series.
Of the four lecture series, the two most interesting discussions will be of David Benington and
Richard A. Strier, the two world renowned scholars.
Both of the scholars do not agree on many issues.
“David Bevington and Richard Strier (from the
University of Chicago) are world renown Shakespeare scholars,” said Mr. Snow. “This becomes a
great opportunity for Northside students and our
extended Northside family to rub shoulders with the
best of the literary best.”
“I read King Lear last year in AP Language,”
said Daniel Kittakka, Adv. 603. “The opportunity to
synthesize some of the ideas of established scholars
would be extremely valuable though I don’t know if
I would have time to go.”
Students who attend at least three of the four
lectures will be receiving a “Certificate of Completion.” The English Department teachers are very
excited and anxious for this lecture series to take
place. Moreover, the idea of world renowned scholars coming to Northside has many teachers excited
to learn about their views on King Lear.
Page News
The Hoof Beat
A Summer’s Success in Latin
Northside Students Excell at NJCL Convention
by Natalia Emanuel
The microphone blared “Begin!” and students began to read and scribble answers. In
the first week of August, this summer, twenty
Northside students attended the National
Junior Classical League Convention (NJCL
Convention) at the University of Missouri.
This convention allows students to participate in all different types of competitions
concerning and related to Latin. Among these
competitions are Academic Contest, Certamen, Creative Arts, Graphic Arts, Olympika
and Ludi.
In the Academic Contests are written tests
on all sorts of Latin-related subjects, ranging
from Latin derivations of English words to
ancient Roman lifestyle. Certamen is game
played amongst three teams of four members
in which participants are asked questions
and the team who answers correctly first is
given a bonus question upon a similar topic
to answer.
Creative Arts include oratories as well as
essay and modern myth writing. The Graphic
Arts Contests consist of various forms of
visual arts such as sculpture, photography,
and jewelry. Swimming, Track and Marathon competitions fall under the category of
Olympika Contests, while group sports such
as basketball, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, and
soccer are included in the Ludi Competitions.
In each of these competitions Northside
students placed within the top five places.
Jordan Stacey, Adv. 600, Adam Swiatlowski,
Adv. 809, and Katherine Nunes, Adv. 704, all
took first place ribbons. Jordan won first place
in the talent show, which is often considered
to be of professional quality. Adam walked
away with a blue ribbon for 9th grade Latin
Oratory. Katherine took a first place ribbon
for her participation in the Latin 2 Open
Certamen Competitions.
Northside students also took second
places. Jennifer Toms, Adv. 701, won second
place for her jewelry in the 10th grade Jewelry
contest. Alex Poniecki, Adv. 804, won second
place on his Latin 1 Roman Life Test. Kelsey
Koon, Adv. 602, took second places for her
recitation in the Latin Dramatic Interpreta-
tion, Prose, and also in the
11th/12th grade Photography
contest. In the Junior Marathon, 9th grade essay contest,
and Latin 1 Latin Derivatives
test Harold Jaffe, Adv. 802,
won second places.
Harold Jaffe also took
third place in the 400 yd.
Junior Track competition.
Kavinda Wewegama, Adv
707, won third in Boy’s 10th
grade Sight Latin. Max Swiatlowski, Adv. 603, won third
in 50 yd. Butterfly Swimming
as well as in the 11th grade
Essay Contest. Kelsey Koon
also took third in 11th/12th
grade Decorative Stitching
and 11th grade Latin Oratory.
Adam Swiatlowski took third
in both Latin 1 Greek Derivatives Test and Level 1 Greek
Life and Literature. Michael
Pomeranz, a Northside
student who graduated last
year, won third in Advanced
Latin Mottoes Test, English
Oratory, and 12th grade Latin
Oratory.
Additionally, there were
individual honors that were
not ranked. For instance,
Michael Pomeranz gave the
NJCL Closing Speech, which
got a standing ovation.
“According to people
Alumnus Michael Pomeranz, recipient of the 2005 Susan
who have been there for
decades, this has never hap- and Dennis Webb Scholarship for excellence in Latin,
pened before,” reported Mr. gives a closing session speech at the National Jr. Classical
League Convention.
Tylinski, Northside’s Latin
Photo by Dominka Kozera
teacher.
Michael Pomeranz also
team prizes. Both Illinois’ Latin 1 and Latin
received the $2000 Susan and Dennis Webb
2 Competitive Certamen Teams took fifth
Scholarship for excellence in Latin at the conplace. At NJCL, each state competes against
vention. This was one of four Latin related
the other states. The majority of the Illinois
scholarships Michael received in 2005.
Certamen teams were composed of NorthNorthside students also walked away with side students. These state teams consisted
of Northside’s Adam Swiatlowski, Alex
Poniecki, and Harold Jaffe, all on the Latin
1 team, and Kavinda Wewegama, Andrew
Foertsch-Jans (Adv. 707), Erin McMurtrey
(Adv. 704), and David Velasco (Adv. 700),
respectively, on the Latin 2 team.
“The Latin one and Latin two Certamen
Teams were very impressive, [considering]
we have never gotten higher than 5th place,”
said Mark Spreitzer, a recently graduated
Latin student who participated at NJCL. “5th
place on a national level is quite good and
to get two teams scoring that high is excellent – it shows that they have been working
hard.”
Mr. Tylinski was also especially proud
of this.
“Illinois has come at the edge of becoming an elite state at Certamen,” he said
with pride. “This is quite an extraordinary
achievement since so many states support
their teams in preparation with summer
camps, funding, and multiple coaches, which
Illinois does not do.”
Despite the fact that it was under his tutelage that the Northside students did so well
at NJCL, Mr. Tylinski eschewed any credit
given to him, putting the emphasis upon his
students.
“The students, from the beginning, have
motivated each other and have developed the
Latin program,” said Mr. Tylinski.
Instead Mr. Tylinski focuses upon the
support that he has gotten for the school’s
Latin program.
“There are a lot of great things happening at Northside and all of these are part of
why it is doing so well and help account for
the successes of the Latin program,” noted
Mr. Tylinski. “Yet all of our successes are
due in part to the support and encouragement of Dr. Lalley.”
Even though Northside students have
done so well in the 2005 National Competitions, they are hardly allowing themselves to
relax. Within the first two weeks of school,
students had begun practicing for upcoming
Certamen competitions.
Wedding Bells Ring at Northside
by Monica Wojcik
A school gymnasium is
an uncommon venu e for
a wedding, but it was the
perfect place for one Northside teacher and his bride. On
August 6, Mr. Christopher
Santiago, of Northside’s Art
Department, married Ms.
Debra Rhee, with the reception held in Northside’s own
gymnasium.
After the ceremony
at Rockefeller Memorial
Chapel, the bridal party was
whisked away in a limousine
to Northside, where family
and friends eagerly waited.
The guests were greeted with
artfully arranged appetizers
in the cafeteria. Afterwards,
they made their way down
the hall to the gym, which
was transformed into a blue
and white wonderland.
The room evoked impressions of a starry summer
night under luminous white Mr. and Mrs. Santiago go down the aisle at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the
tents, rather than the maroon University of Chicago on August 6, 2005.
Photo by Katie Schuering
and silver décor usually
evident in the gym. White
gym, there were traditional Korean dishes, while on the South
holiday lights were strung across the room, held up by giant
side of the gym traditional Filipino dishes were served. The
white weather balloons, creating the illusion of floating stars
buffet was open throughout the night, until the sweet table was
and celestial bodies. Tables were accented with blue place
set up. Drinks included soda, as well as water, and were set up
settings, and illuminated with white floating candles. Excess
in iced coolers near the serving areas.
tablecloths draped elegantly over the bleachers and walls
Entertainment included a full eight piece band, After-Hours,
effectively camouflaged gym equipment, and completed the
who played a variety of modern and classic rock songs, as well
outdoor tent impression.
as some of the bride and groom’s old favorites. The bride and
The idea to use the school was first bandied about as a
groom actually shared a fun moment on the large dance floor
joke, but became more appealing as it fit Mr. and Mrs. Santiin the middle of the room when the band played Steve Miller’s
ago’s needs ideally. However, at first the room was somewhat
“Jungle Love.”
challenging to rent, but everything went smoothly afterwards.
“We were going to dance, and people cleared the floor for
A primary issue for them was cuisine, as they wanted to serve
us,” said Mr. Santiago.
both traditional Filipino and Korean fare.
“We were the only ones on the dance floor, and we went
“We thought it would be fun, something different,” said
all out. It was one of the most fun moments of the night.”
Mr. Santiago.
The older guests danced the night away, while the younger
“Food was very important to us, and no caterer could do
guests were entertained in the teacher’s lounge by the magiboth. So we needed to find a place where we could create our
cian and the balloon artist, brought in especially for the kids.
own cuisine.”
Family, however, was most important for the bride and
The food was provided by four different caterers. The
groom. Relatives even flew in from the Philippines and Korea
dinner was served buffet-style, and set up at serving stations at
for the wedding. There were over five-hundred-fifty guests
each of the four corners of the room. On the North side of the total.
“It was really nice to see all our friends, and our grandparents for the last time in the U.S.,” said Mr. Santiago. “And
they got to see their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and
even great-great grandchildren.”
One interesting event of the evening was the traditional
Korean ceremony Pyebeck. In this ceremony, the newlyweds
honor their parents by bowing, and in return, their parents
and relatives give marriage advice. The family throws dates
and chestnuts, which the bride and groom are supposed to
catch, and the number of each that they catch determines the
number of boy and girl children they will have. The newlyweds and family are all wearing traditional Korean garments
as well.
Mr. Santiago emphasized that a large part of the wedding was a team effort, as friends, family, and Northside staff
helped pull the night off.
“It was so fun, so many people helped us do it,” said Mr.
Santiago.
“Mr. Harada found the weather balloons, Mr. Koreman
provided the helium; the staff helped - Maureen, Teo, Edwin,
Nick, and Gerard.”
Students from Mr. Santiago’s advisory, Advisory 604, also
helped at the wedding as servers, and several recent alumni
were also photographers.
“I had a really good time working for them,” said Dao
Nguyen, Adv. 604.
“We had a sense of control, the eight of us, working for
five hundred people. The room looked really nice too.”
But it was the little moments and accents that personalized
the day. In keeping with the school theme, the hallways were
decorated with fliers advertising different clubs - and starring
the bride and groom themselves.
“Originally the plan was to use a school bus [instead of
a limousine],” said Mr. Santiago. “But we were afraid of the
heat, and we couldn’t find a bus with air conditioning in all of
Illinois.”
With any event there can often be mishaps; however, in
this case they were limited to the weather balloons, which kept
falling from the ceiling and bringing down the lights. After
they were refilled with helium, the problem was solved. Hallway music was also planned, but it didn’t go through.
The bride and groom were also so excited that they didn’t
have a chance to eat.
“We didn’t eat the whole day,” said Mr. Santiago. “When
we left at 12:30 a.m., Deb was still hungry.”
As the room slowly and reluctantly cleared out and began
to resemble the Northside gym once again, memories of a
lifetime were made.
“I was so happy. I was very excited about the whole day,”
said Mr. Santiago. “We had the biggest electric slide line
anyone’s ever seen in the history of weddings!”
Page 6 Features
The Hoof Beat
Two Worlds United by Amigos
Changes Impact
de las Americas Volunteers
Earnings in
Pig in the Sidewalk
Cafe
by Abir Usman
by Sanja Bajgoric
A more efficient and incentive-filled Pig in the Sidewalk Café
returns to Northside.
Many changes were made to the Café since last year. A major
modification undergone in the café was with the variety on its menu.
While the Pig in the Sidewalk Café no longer offers fresh bagels, it has
expanded the variety of drinks. Now the café offers costumers a variety
of teas, smoothies, coffees, and other specials. The biggest addition to
the menu has been ice cream.
Bagels were discontinued because the café incurred some problems as of last year. Mrs. Lisa
Moreno, vice-principal, stated
that the Department of Health
waved fines at Northside College Prep because the café was
not certified. The Department
of Health worried about the
sanitation of food sold at the
Café. Due to such qualms, a
$500 fine could have easily been
given to the Café, through violations in which some crumbs
might have been found or variDavid Velasco, Adv. 700, scoops able temperature of the foods.
ice cream for Pig in the Sidewalk In addition, food is no longer alcustomers.
lowed outside the cafeteria due
Photo by Shoaib Khan
to mouse droppings being found
last year, once again putting a red light on the health code.
However, the change in the menu seems to have had a positive
effect.
“Our profits have definitely gone up since last year,” said Head of
Operations, Kevin Kinnebrew, Adv. 709. “I think the main reasons are
that the workers have become more efficient, since more people work
during a lunch period, and the fact that bagels are no longer served has
speeded up the process in which the customers are served.”
The Pig in the Sidewalk Café is open mornings, afternoons, and
during all of the lunch periods. Two to three students work at every
shift and there is a designated manager for every lunch period. This
year, students can no longer get service hours for working at the café,
and instead they are paid $3 to $4 per hour, depending on how long
they have had their positions. As of now, there are a total of eighteen
students working at the Café. At the beginning of the year, the managers conducted interviews with students interested in working at the
café.
“I love managing the café,” said Head of Operations, Kevin Kinnebrew, Adv. 709. “It’s a good opportunity to learn about business from a
first hand perspective.”
The other students enjoy working at the café as well, because they
get to earn some money with a job that does not take much of their
time from their lives outside of school.
This modification is now producing $500 in profits. However, these
profits are still being used to pay off the $3,500 left in debt to the department who loaned the café money prior to its opening. This department would have already been paid off, if it was not for the $2,100 in
theft from last year. The managers at the café plan on donating future
profits to the school fundraiser as soon as the debts are paid off, which
should happen in the next couple of weeks. The student staff also
hopes to modify the café with better materials and machines.
The Pig in the Sidewalk Café is obviously a student-run business
with some involvement by the vice-principal, Ms. Moreno. Though the
business had a rocky start, it has truly evolved to become an efficient
business that will not only benefit the students’ interests but the overall
positive attitude of Northside College Prep.
Volunteers from Amigos de las
Americas, a non-profit organization
that coordinates cultural exchange
programs to Latin American
countries for high school and college students learning Spanish,
recently visited Northside with new
information about their programs
for 2005. Each year a group of
volunteers travel to either Costa
Rica, the Dominican Republic,
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, or Paraguay to work with
members of the community on different public health, education, and
environmental programs ranging
from latrine construction to youth
programs teaching dental hygiene.
This unique program pledges to
work with the communities on
projects rather than simply providing aid. The students have the opportunity to live with host families
and essentially become a part of the
community.
Mr. Robert Blease, a Spanish
teacher at Northside, first introduced the summer program to
students in 2003. Unfortunately,
there was not much interest among
the students and no one participated in the program. However, in
2004, when Mr. Blease reintroduced
Amigos de las Americas, it caught
the eye of two eager pupils. Katy
Hintzon, Adv. 603, and Miriam
ing exercises and the promotion of
healthy habits.
“I learned that the relationships
you build and experiences you have
are much more valuable and long
lasting than anything you can learn
in school or write on a test,” said
Katy, adding that the best part of
the trip were the people she met and
Katy Hintzen posing at a party with children she worked with in her
youth-to-youth project.
Photo courtesy of Katy Hintzen
the relationships she formed.
Miriam Dolnick, who also
participated in a youth to youth
program, but in a higher region in
Mexico in Michoacan, likewise
appreciated the bonds that were
formed during her 6 week stay.
“We were embraced by
everyone in our community,”
Katy Hintzen making tortillas with her host family in Guanajuato.
Photo courtesy of Katy Hintzen
Dolnick, Adv. 603, decided to take
on the challenge and traveled to
Mexico during the summer of 2005.
Katy participated in a 6 week
program in Guanajuato, Mexico,
where she worked on a youth to
youth teaching project that among
other things focused on social development and self esteem, which
included leadership and team build-
program was definitely a worthwhile way to spend my summer,”
said Miriam. “It was satisfying to
see the work and money spent to get
there actually benefiting people.”
Amigos de las Americas, which
has approximately 600 participants
from all over the country, has a well
established reputation and has been
said Miriam. “They opened their
arms without hesitation, giving us
everything from a home and food to
support in our work.”
Miriam, along with other
volunteers from Amigos chapters all
across the country, ran a day camp
for children where she educated
them about public health.
“Participating in the Amigos
in existence since 1965. However,
as noted by Mr. Blease, it has not
gained the public exposure it
deserves. In fact it is very likely that
many students who may be interested in this type of experience do not
know about the program. Therefore,
Mr. Blease and the World Languages Department at Northside have
been working hard to advertise it to
students and increase the number of
volunteers from Northside.
“If I knew about the program
when I was in high school, I would
have signed up immediately,” said
Mr. Blease. “I wouldn’t advocate
the program so much if I wasn’t
confident in how beneficial it is to
the students involved.”
Along with adding a special
touch to college applications and
the over 300 service learning hours
gained, everyone involved with
Amigos de las Americas agrees that
the benefits of the program reach
beyond the summer that the student
spends abroad.
“Amigos de las Americas was a
great opportunity to really step out
of my comfort zone and to explore
a new culture,” said Katy.
In order to participate in the
program, volunteers must be 16
years old by September 1, 2006,
have successfully completed their
sophomore year of high school, and
have taken at least two years of high
school Spanish.
The application materials,
which are due by April 14th, are
available on-line at www.amigoslink.org.
“You Are a Woman Who is Eight Northsiders
Months Pregnant”
Return to School
Mr. Snow Holds Auditions for the Fall Play
by Kana Yoo
Students clustered outside the theater doors on Monday,
September 19 and Tuesday, September 20 as they waited patiently for their turn to audition for this year’s Fall Production,
Our Town, by Thornton Wilder.
“I’m not worried because all you can do is your best,” said
Stella Martin, Adv. 607, before auditioning. “If you get in, you
get in. If you don’t, then you try out for the next one.”
In groups of five, hopeful students filed into the dark
auditorium towards the brightly lit stage. There, they stood
in a line in front of director, Mr. Randy Snow of the English
Department, and assistant teacher director, Ms. Lisa Price,
who sat hidden in the back rows of the theater.
One by one, those auditioning were asked to give their
name, previous theater experiences, and scheduling conflicts.
“I am looking for a diverse group of kids to work with,
students who are experienced and students who are inexperienced,” said Mr. Snow. “I think it will benefit everyone to have
different abilities.”
After covering the basic introductions, Mr. Snow instructed the students to walk around the stage between the red
curtains.
Gradually, he gave further commands: “It’s a lazy Sunday
afternoon…and you are 75 years old…it’s starting to rain.”
Other situations included being an eight-month pregnant
woman, and a kindergartener on the first day of school. As
the characters changed, students transformed their bodies
from leaning over walkers to holding their bulging bellies.
Mr. Snow looked for several factors in the students’ acting,
including how comfortable they were on stage, their presence, their imagination, and their ability to take on another
character that was not familiar.
“I am just looking at how they move their bodies on
stage,” said Mr. Snow.
The next step in the auditioning process was further questioning. Mr. Snow picked out students and asked questions
such as, “How would your enemies describe you?” (“Intimidating and loud,” responded Jane Fidman, Adv. 705),
and “Why are you auditioning for the play?” (“To test my
boundaries,” said Jasmine Hendricks, Adv. 708.)
From there, one or two students from the group were
asked to read a monologue excerpted from the play, Our
Town. Geoff Edwards, Adv. 707, read for the part of Mr.
Webb. After the audition, he felt “pretty decent” about his
performance but said, “I’m not going to assume anything; I
might jinx it.”
Mr. Snow does not want students with other activities to
overextend themselves because play rehearsals will be taking place three days a week for two hours each day. Actors
are also expected to devote individual practice outside of
school rehearsals. As the play dates, Thursday, November 17
through Saturday, November 18, approach, Saturday rehearsals will be added.
by Elizabeth Sobenes
The 2005-2006 school year marked a new beginning for
several students at Northside. The Chicago Public School
(CPS) year, once again, commenced after Labor Day in an
attempt to ensure the attendance of as many students as possible on the first day. The first day attendance rate rose from
91% last year to 92% this year within CPS. At Northside, the
attendance rate was not an issue, for 99.5% of students were
present. Out of 1,030 students, only 5 were absent. Not only
did a high percentage attend, but a few students that were
questioned expressed an optimistic view on their first day
impressions.
“I had a few mishaps, but it was an overall good day,”
said Chyei Vinluan, Adv. 908.
“The first day of school was very exciting for me because
I was able to see old friends, get back into the school routine,
and have fun,” said Isabel Yanes, Adv. 804.
“Returning back to school gave me a good feeling,” said
Bryant Valdez, Adv. 709. “I was able to see familiar faces and
have the notion that I would be able to hang out with my close
friends every day.”
For seniors, not only was it their first day as a senior class,
it was also their final first day as a high school student.
“As a senior, I thought everything would be the same as
usual,” said Kesha Butler, Adv. 605. “However, I was struck
by the number of people in the school. It was very crowded.”
While embarking upon a new academic year, Northside
students will continue to create their first impressions upon
their fellow teachers and peers and will strive to complete a
successful year at Northside.
October 2005
Northside Welcomes New Teachers
by Neha Alam and Amania Wahid
Along with many new students,
the 2005-2006 school year has
brought an array of new teachers
to the Northside community. All
the new teachers come with diverse
backgrounds and experiences but
with the same vision: enriching the
Northside community.
Mr. Steve Arnam
Mr. Steve
Arnam is a new
addition to the
science department and is currently teaching
Honors Chemistry First and Advanced Placement
Biology. However, he intends to
propose the addition of an Aquatic
Biology class to Northside’s curriculum and hopes to make the class
a reality for next year.
Mr. Arnam attended South
Hampton University where he
majored in Marine Biology. He has
also attended the University of Chicago, Northeastern University, and
National Lewis University, which
is where he received his masters in
Science Education.
Mr. Arnam formerly taught at
Theodore Roosevelt High School,
Calumet College, Edison Regional
Gifted Center, and John G. Shedd
Aquariam. He has also previously
coached swimming at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center,
Northside, and Roosevelt.
When asked what he likes the
best about Northside, Mr. Arnam
said it was the fact that much of
the teaching done at Northside is
student directed.
“The teachers have opportunities to teach outside the box and
there aren’t many strict guidelines
that we have to follow,” he said.
Mr. John Belcaster
Mr. JohnBelcaster has
previously taught
at Providence
St. Mel High
School. He has
a bachelor of
arts in history
and economics from Northwestern
University, a master of sciences in
history from Yale University and a
juris doctor (J.D.) degree from Yale
Law School.
“Mr. Belcaster makes world
studies fun,” said Mohammed
Ahmed, Adv. 907. “Sure he gives
a lot of homework, but he gets us
to think broader. We think about
topics from different points of view
which is something we all need to
do. Overall he is great World Studies teacher.”
Mr. Daniel Caldwell
Mr. Daniel
Caldwell is teaching four Honors
Physics classes
and one Honors
Environmental
Science class.
He has previously taught at the
University of Maryland, the University of Illinois, Kelly High School
and Lane Technical High School.
Mr. Caldwell has a Bachelor of
Arts from St. John’s College and a
Master in the Philosophy of Science
from the University of Illinois. He
is also a graduate of the Golden
Apple Teacher Education Program.
“My experience at Northside so
far has been challenging and exhilarating,” said Mr. Caldwell. “[One
thing I like about Northside] are the
students who enjoy their freedom
and take responsibility.”
Ms. Bhumika Gor
Ms. Bhumika Gor, who previously taught
at Crane High
School, is a new
English teacher.
She teaches
Multicultural
Literature, American Literature, as
well as Survey Literature. She is a
graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she majored
in English and Education.
Ms. Gor, a strong believer in the
importance of being socially aware,
hopes to teach her students to learn
from others in order to further understand themselves as well as the
rest of the world.
“I came to Northside to become
a better teacher,” said Ms. Gor.
“The students are great anywhere,
but this is a school with many opportunities from which teachers can
learn a lot from. I can't convince
my students to be life long learners
unless I practice it myself.”
Ms. Veronica Leljedal Hetler
Ms. Veronica Hetler
is covering two
courses in the
social science
department.
She has one
class of Honors
U.nited States
History and
four World Studies classes in addition to teaching the Consumer
Education Colloquium. This is
Ms. Helter’s first year of teaching; prior experience comes from
student teaching at Francis W.
Parker School and observing at
Senn High School. She completed
undergraduate and graduate studies
at Northwestern University, where
she received her Bachelor of Arts
in History and Anthropology and a
master of science in Education.
“So far my experiences have
been very good,” said Ms. Hetler. “I
am really enjoying getting to know
all the teachers, staff and students.
Everyone has such a positive attitude.”
Mr. Mike Myers
Mr. Mike
Meyers, also
an addition to
the Northside
Social Science
Department, has
previously taught
at Bowen High
School, Best
Practice High School, and Young
Women’s Leadership Charter
School. He has earned his bachelor
of arts in English from Kent State
University and a Master of Arts
in history from the University of
Illinois in Chicago.
Ms. Jill Naughton
Ms. Naughton is teaching five IMP
1 classes and
has a freshmen
advisory. She
has an Electrical
Engineering and
an English degree
from the University of Notre Dame,
which she attended on a full fouryear scholarship based on academic
performance and overall achievement in high school. She is currently working on a Masters degree
in teaching, in her case secondary
school mathematics. She previously
taught at Mather High School.
Hurricane Katrina Storms
Northside
by Zainab Sozzer
While Hurricane Katrina has impacted the nation as a
whole, it has also struck the lives of Northsiders. It has left
them in a position to not only grieve together, but to also help
the victims.
Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm, began stirring in
late August just north of Miami, Florida, and then sped towards New Orleans. There it inflicted the greatest damage and
continued to wreak havoc upon the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The official death toll from Hurricane
Katrina is estimated to be over 1,000 people. Approximately
one million people were displaced, while an estimated five
million people were left without power. The government has
contributed 200 billion dollars in relief funds, making Hurricane Katrina the most expensive natural disaster in United
States history.
“I thought Hurricane Katrina was very sad,” said Xiao
Luo, Adv. 803.
“When I first saw it, I thought it was one of those disasters
that really didn’t do much. But as the days went by, it was bad.
People should pay attention to news because it may turn into a
big piece of history.”
Northsiders jumped at the opportunity to respond to the
news of this tragedy and began by collecting funds for victims.
Mrs. Christine Olsen sent an email to Northside students and
staff informing them of relief efforts that needed volunteers to
aid the evacuees. Likewise Jennifer Toms, Adv.701, Charisse Eschmann, Adv.700, and Emily Hohenstein, Adv.700,
informed the student body and faculty of a community coffee
house. This took place on Saturday, September, 24th at Edgebrook Convent Church, where home baked goods, coffee and
pop were sold and the proceeds given to the Hurricane Katrina
relief effort.
Meanwhile, Alexia Willis, Adv. 606, approached this
trauma with another perspective.
“There are many things we can do to help relieve the
victims of Katrina,” said Willis. “There are donation boxes for
clothes, water, food, etc., all over the city. We are all contributing so much, and it's wonderful. However, there is something
else we can do for the victims of Katrina and that is pray.”
She kindly asked the student body to unite under the flagpole outside of the school at 7:00 a.m. on September 21, 2005
to gather together and pray for the victims.
“I think it’s good that Northside is showing support, and
it’s something that most high schools should do,” said Jose
Choto, Adv. 804.
“It was so sad,” said Sarah Hanif, Adv. 809. “I felt miserable for the victims of the hurricane. I’m proud of Northside
for trying to help out in the tragedy.”
Since the disaster occurred hundreds of miles away, it is
hard to imagine that it directly affected many students and
staff of Northside; Mr. Vincent Nguyen, a computer teacher,
had a mother residing in Louisiana before the storm began
stirring.
Mrs. Thu Nguyen and her business partner, John Vu, lived
in Buras, located in the southern tip of Louisiana, where they
successfully ran a business. Although they were not physically
harmed, they lost all material items they owned, and their
business was wrecked.
“Everything she worked for 20 years,” said Mr. Nguyen,
“everything was wiped out.”
A day before the hurricane hit, Mrs. Nguyen and Mr. Vu
traveled up to Baton Rouge. They stayed there in safety for 3
to 4 days and drove to Chicago once it was safe. Mr. Nguyen
doubts that she will be able to go back to her state. As she
approaches an elderly age, it is difficult to restart and rebuild
her whole life, especially because she plans to retire soon. Mr.
Nguyen claims that the Louisiana government is not helping
the residents as much as they should. Many people, including
his mother, did not have flood insurance, and thus starting
afresh will be difficult.
“I can support my mom because I am working here [at
Northside],” said Mr.Nguyen. “We didn’t ask anything from
Northside. Northside has been doing a pretty good job. I hope
we continue to help victims.”
He plans to go back with his mother in a few days to see if
it is possible to salvage any of his mother’s possessions. He is
worried about his mother’s mental health and hopes that she
will recover soon.
Not only were the teachers affected directly, but so were
some students. Antuan Johnson, Adv. 710, explained how his
uncle’s family of four managed to escape this tragedy physically unharmed.
His relatives resided in Pascagoula, Mississippi, 30 minutes from the Gulf Coast. They did not know if the hurricane
was going to hit or not, and they wanted to come upstate.
They were on the highway, but by then it was too late. Hurricane Katrina left 75% damage, and the family lost everything.
Everything materialist they owned was destroyed. The gulf
coast area in which they were living in became very dangerous, as the alligators were released into the city. This caused a
widespread of disease and contamination.
“They’re trying to rebuild stuff,” said Johnson. “He’s
homeless. He has to work two jobs. He lost a lot of materialistic items. He has to tear down his house and rebuild it.”
The family is currently staying with friends in a house that
has 3 families living together. The Red Cross is providing them
with insurance money, and the couple is trying to rebuild their
lives all over again. Church groups have been visiting and trying to help the victims.
“The government went down there too late, many people
died,” said Johnson. “It’s not fair for people. For government to worry about oil and wars. It’s like the government
cares more about fighting people than taking care of its own
people.”
Despite what other organizations may or may not be doing, Northside wishes to aid such people in any way possible.
Features Page 7
“I’ve really enjoyed all the
people, teachers and students [at
Northside],” said Ms. Naughton.
“I feel lucky to be here. I suppose
I’m a little concerned that some
students are trying to ‘fast-forward’
their lives to get to the next level
instead of enjoying their time here.”
Ms. Daisy Simbulan
Ms. Daisy
Simbulan, a new
Weight Training and Physical
Education II
teacher, is also
the replacement
for Mr. Dave
Vanoni as the athletic director.
“I came to Northside because
one of my loves is athletics,” said
Ms. Simbulan. “The high school I
came from had a very small athletic
program and I was attracted to the
opportunity of being the athletic
director at a larger school.”
The idea of teaching her former
students from Alexander Graham
Bell Elementary, who spoke so
highly about the school, also attracted her to Northside. Along
with teaching at Bell Elementary for
five years, Ms. Simbulan has also
taught at Chicago Academy High
School. She graduated from DePaul
University and is currently working
on her Master.
Northside is different in many
aspects, but Ms. Simbulan finds
that the independence given to the
students transcends the others.
“The teachers treat students
as young adults and students are
also respectful and do not take
advantage of the freedoms given to
them,” she said.
Photos by Neha Alam, Zenobia
Gonzales, and Anisa Isap
Pansee-Goree,
Picos-Tanos?
Mr. Lucero’s Mystery
Boxes Challenge
by Kana Yoo
What do peppers have to do with a blue dinosaur?
Pansee-Goree and Picos-Tanos of course! On the first day of
school, September 6, students entered Northside to find barren
concrete walls throughout the art wing. This would soon all
change during Mr. Jorge Lucero’s first period art class.
The assignment: draw the objects inside two mystery
boxes. The smaller box, about the size of a brick, was dubbed
“Pansee-Goree”, while the larger box, about the size of
a microwave, was called “Picos-Tanos”. With only three
minutes per drawing, students scribbled down their guesses.
Progressively more information was given about the objects.
Pansee-Goree contains a pattern. Picos-Tanos is wooden and
has a handle, but it is not a door. The result: six drawings per
student ranging from magical creatures, to super-sized buttons.
“The point was to examine how much more variety you
can get out of not actually knowing what you are doing,” said
Mr. Lucero of his assignment, “variety from confusion.”
Students then covered the once empty walls with their
drawings.
“It was a good way to get it out of the classroom and onto
the walls,” said Mr. Lucero, “so that the students could see the
range of ideas that could come from people being oblivious to
what was in the box.”
Once back inside the classroom, Mr. Lucero prepared for
the grand reveal. So what are Pansee-Goree and Picos-Tanos?
Perhaps it is better left unsaid.
“I think that the ambiguity in his direction allows a more
interesting product—if you give too specific guidelines, you
get 36 of the same thing,” said Adrian Marshall, Adv. 600, a
student of Mr. Lucero for several years.
As a final touch, strings, which once hung like webs
throughout the hallway, were attached to connect related
drawings.
These new pieces joined the existing sculptures in the
wing. At one point or another, every student has wondered,
“Why is there a chicken in a blue jump suit running on the
wall?” Or what about that giant spider clinging to the pole?
Both pieces are from Ms. Joanne Minyo’s sculpture classes of
previous years.
“He [the Chicken Man] used to be chased by Mullet Man,
but Mullet Man fell down,” explains Ms. Minyo.
The assignment, which had been to study lifestyle figurative sculptures, has left a fantastical installation in the art wing.
Claes Oldenburg, an artist who placed giant objects in settings, is responsible for inspiring the wire spider. The size and
placement of a piece influence its content and meaning.
The art department plans to add more displays. Mr. Chris
Santiago warns Northsiders to look for a “bonanza” to come.
Page Centerfold
The Hoof Beat
Halloween 2005:
What’s hot and what’s not?
by Zainab Bilfaqi
From Madonna to Medusa, and Harry
Potter to pumpkins, the clothing worn on Halloween can be your biggest fashion statement
of the year if you know what’s in style this
year.
An excellent idea for costumes that don’t
cost a fortune is looking for what you already
have in your own closet and seeing what you
can make of that.
Some very popular outfits this year will be Uma
Thurman’s “The Bride”
yellow motorcycle outfit
from “Kill Bill” and Harry Potter outfits. The Bride outfit is pretty simple if
you can find yourself a yellow jacket or longsleeved shirt and then a long pair of paints. If
they are cheap and you don’t plan on wearing
them again, then take a black marker and run
two lines down either side of the pants. However, if you like these yellow pants get some
black tape and the just tape down the sides of
the legs, that way at the end of the night you
can just remove it without any damage. Again
if you don’t plan on wearing this outfit after
Halloween then blotch your face with ketchup
and mess up your hair for that “I just killed
my arch enemy, but I feel great!” look. If not,
then just stick with the pre-bloodfest look.
The Harry Potter look is a little simpler.
All you need is a black or red cloak and
construction paper for the Hogwarts sign.
You can also look online to purchase Harry
Potter masks if you wish to be someone
whose appearance is difficult to resemble with
make-up.
New, original costumes are always very
popular. Disney costumes are always really
well-known, and they are made for adult sizes
as well. Tinkerbelle, Snow White, Jasmine,
Mickey, Aladdin, there’s an infinite selection.
You can always try to dress up as your favorite celebrity too. Paris Hilton, Madonna, Tom
Cruise, 50 cent and so many other celebrities
are most definitely going to be big this year.
From last year’s Mario group at the Halloween dance many people got the idea to
dress up as groups.
“My friends and I are going as the group
of girls from the movie ,Coyote Ugly”, said
Gabrielle Gulledge Adv. 809.
If you have a creative imagination
and knowledge of how to use a
sewing machine, design your own
costume, but don’t make it
look tacky or look like
you sewed it in the
dark. Of course classic
costumes are going
to be worn, but if you
choose to wear one,
wear it with a little
pizzazz. For example,
in a witch’s costume,
a traditional long dress
becomes a little shorter or
redesigned Another option
is wearing tights and gloves
or carrying around a fake
black cat.
“I am going wear the classic
witch costume”, said De’Monika
Burton Adv 804.
Accessorizing can
always improve your
costume. Accessories
such as tiaras, jewelry,
makeup,
etc., are
always a
plus when
getting ready
for Halloween.
For all the couples
out there, there is a
great selection of costumes
that will help you coordinate, including, but not
limited to, Romeo and Juliet,
Cinderella and Prince Charming, and also Fred and Wilma.
Furthermore, have a creative
imagination when coming up
with your costume. Halloween isn’t a time to be dull
and dreary; it’s a time to
have fun!
Autumn Pumpkin Pie
A delicious pumpkin pie, spiced with ginger and cinnamon.
Courtesy of southernfood.about.com
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
3/4 cup sugar 1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 unbaked pastry shell (9-inch)
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt,
spices, and flour in a medium
mixing bowl. Add eggs; mix well.
Add evaporated milk, water, and
vanilla; mix well. Pour into pastrylined pie pan. Bake at 400° for 15
minutes; reduce heat to 350° and
bake about 35 minutes longer, or
until center is set.
Halloween – A Spoo
by Anthe Mitrakos
As one of the oldest and most creative
holidays, it is not surprising that Halloween is
still celebrated in several countries around the
world today. Also known as All Souls’ Day, it
was first celebrated in the ninth century and
was established out of concern for those souls
still in purgatory.
Halloween is most popular in the United
States and Canada. This holiday exceeds in
total sales of candy and decorations only
by Christmas. Every year, most Americans
enjoy decorating their homes festively with
the original jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, and
graveyards. The highlights of Halloween
night include trick-or-treating for the younger
population, and wild costume parties for the
older individuals.
Originally, Halloween was quite different than the merry American tradition it has
evolved into over the years. But who can
give up the magnificent costume variety, the
creepy festive décor, and most of all, the load
of candy hoarded back home after trick-ortreating? It is remarkable that Halloween has
been accepted as a very special American tra-
dition. Where else can millions of children go
around at night, dressed in costumes, knock
on people’s doors, and expect to receive so
much candy that they will regret having eaten
the next morning?
Although the festive Halloween spirit in
the Unites States is greater than in any other
country, other cultures around the world also
celebrate Halloween, or a similar festivity.
Celebrated in Mexico, Latin America,
and Spain is El Dia De Los Muertos, meaning The Day of the Dead. El Dia De Los
Muertos is a cheerful holiday when the living
remember friends and family who have died.
The three day celebration begins the evening
of October 31 and lasts until November 2.
During this time, the dead are believed to return to their homes to visit their families. It is
traditional to assemble an altar, and embellish
it with flowers, candy, candles, photographs,
and the deceased’s favorite foods.
In Asia people have various traditions
when remembering the dead. In Japan the
Bon Festival, which takes place July13th to
the 16th, is a day to celebrate the homecom-
October 2005
Centerfold
Page 9
Spending Halloween
in Chicago
by Sanja Bajgoric
As October 31 approaches, many people
may not have plans for Halloween. Traditionally, this spooky holiday is celebrated
by trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, or
attending some lame costume party with bad
pumpkin pie. So for a change why not get
out of the house and enjoy Halloween in the
great Windy City of Chicago? With many
festivities stirring up throughout the month of
October, it is impossible not to enjoy yourself.
There is no better way to celebrate Halloween than by attending a parade where
people can get together and celebrate the
festivities of the holiday. The Halloween
Happening Parade, held on October 22 at
State and Randolph streets, is a chance to
kill two birds with one stone. For those who
do not want to give up trick-or-treating, this
parade allows one to enjoy the sugar high
after the hay rides, marching bands, strolling performers, and 1,000 kids dressed in
costumes. Following the parade, there will
be a performance by Midnight Circus and a
costume contest at Daley Plaza.
Speaking of Daley Center Plaza, a series
of activities will be held throughout October,
including the Haunted Village and the Pumpkin Plaza where any one of any age can
enjoy spooky storytelling, pumpkin decorating, fortune tellers, and more trick-or-treating.
For those who choose to celebrate and attend
a parade the actual night of Halloween, you
are in luck. The North Halsted Parade is another exciting parade that will take place on
the evening of October 31st. This parade will
also have a costume contest in which adults,
children, and even pets can participate. Prizes
will be awarded for the costumes which win
in categories of the scariest, funniest, and
most original.
Another interesting event that will be
sweeping up Chicago is the Haunted River
Tours. All throughout the month of October, Seadog Cruises will be offering nightly
cruises devoted to the tales of the ghosts of
Chicago. Over an hour of the cruise will
be dedicated to ghostly legends through
performances of actors in costume.
The Chicago Cultural Center will be
offering Haunted El Rides in which tickets
for all rides will be free and will be given on
a first-come-first-served basis. This haunted
tour of the Chicago’s Loop will have characters in costume telling only Chicago’s finest
scary tales. In addition to the spooky stories,
people will be able to enjoy seeing some of the
famous sites of Chicago on this free ride.
There is nothing harder than trying to find
a good haunted house for Halloween. The
Chicago Park Districts Sanitarium at Theater
on the Lake offers ten distinct rooms in one
asylum, which are sure to scare a person out
of their wits throughout October. What will
make your night even more frightening is
when you realize that this building was in fact
an actual sanitarium through the 1920s and
1930s. How about that for an intense Halloween?
Halloween does not only need to be
celebrated on the 31st of October, for it can
be celebrated throughout the whole month.
These various activities offer an inexpensive
way to celebrate the “oh so scary” holiday in
the Windy City. Have yourself a scary Chicago Halloween!
Frightening Films and
Stomach-Turning Stories
by Amanda Perez
oktacular Tradition
ing of ancestors’ spirits. Japanese folk dances
are performed to welcome ancestors’ spirits,
while lit paper lanterns are placed in rivers at
the end of the festival to send the spirits back
on their way to their afterlife.
In Korea, the Chusok festival takes place.
During this festival, families return to the
tombs of their ancestors, thank them for their
hard work, and offer them food. In China, the
Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh.
Families light up lanterns to light the paths
of the spirits as they travel to earth during the
night.
In Hong Kong, the Halloween celebration
is known as Yue Lan or the festival of hungry
ghosts. Spirits are believed to roam the earth
for twenty four hours. During this time, pictures of fruit and money are burned in hope
that the images can reach the spirit world and
cheer up the ghosts.
In Europe, crazy superstition prevails.
Many people used to believe that owls would
swoop down and prey on the souls of the
dying. In Czechoslovakia, chairs for spirits
are placed near fireplaces. In Belgium, the
superstition of the association with the black
cat and bad luck left many “unlucky”. In Germany, people put away their knives on Halloween night, so the spirits won’t get harmed,
even though they are already dead.
In Sweden, Halloween, known as Alla
Helgons Dag, is a national holiday when
students get a day off from school.
Halloween originated in Ireland and
England. English children used to carve
“punkies” out of beet roots, similar to today’s
jack-o-lanterns. They would carry the “punkies” around their villages and sing a “Punkie
Night Song” while going from door to door
and receiving money. In Ireland large bonfires
are lit at parties. Children dress up similiar
to how they do in the United States and go
around trick or treating for candy.
Festivals and celebrations dedicated to the
dead exist across the globe throughout many
different cultures, dating back to ancient
times. Over the years, however, the spiritual
and religious concept of the dead has given
way to the popular American tradition of
Halloween.
October… there was never a more
perfect month than this to go out with
friends to watch scary movies, or to have
a sleepover while reading scary books.
Remember that movie Saw that
came out in 2004? Well, get ready for the
sequel: Saw 2 comes out October 28th,
2005, starring Donnie Wahlberg and Tobin Bell. In the sequel, a notorious killer,
known only as Jigsaw, kidnaps and
locks eight people in one room and
forces them to play a game to
escape. This trap challenges
their wits to figure out the
most unthinkable way to
break out of the room.
Another movie
guaranteed to make
your spine chill is The
Fog. It premieres on
October 14th, 2005,
starring Tom Welling and Maggie
Grace. The movie
focuses on an
ominous fog
that pervades
a coastal town.
As the story
goes, a hundred
years earlier,
a similar fog
had wrecked
a ship causing
all men aboard
to drown. In
memory of the fog, the dead sailors come
back to life and are out to kill whatever
and whomever they may find.
The thriller film Stay is so scary that
it is going to make you want to stay away
from it. Starring Naomi Watts and Ewan
McGregor. This motion picture is scheduled to premiere on October 21st, 2005. It
is about a psychologist who has a suicidal
patient who makes unusual predictions
that actually end up coming true. The patient makes a prediction about the psychologist, who then has to hurry to try to save
everything he loves before it disappears.
If movies aren’t your thing, how about a
book loaded with suspense? Coming October 10th, 2005, is A Consent to Kill, a book
by Vince Flynn. The book centers around a
CIA antiterrorist named
Mitch Rapp, who has
hunted and killed
so many criminals
that now he’s
being hunted in
return. There’s a
$20 million dollar contract out
for Mitch who
has to locate and
fight deadly assassins along with
dealing with his
pregnant wife, all
the while trying to
keep alive. This is a
suspenseful story
certain to keep
you on the edge of
your seat.
Another thriller
book being released on October 4th, 2005 is The Colorado Kid by
Stephen King. It’s a mystery about a man
found dead on an island off the coast of
Maine and how no one can seem to figure
out who he is, where he came from, or how
he died. The more they seem to uncover and
understand about this man, the more they
become confused. They don’t know where
to look or what to find. Read this intriguing
tale to find out more about The Colorado
Kid.
There are many books and movies coming out this month that are sure to make you
jump and scream. Be sure to go and judge
them all for yourself.
Page 10
Editorial
The Hoof Beat
A Student Newspaper
Katrina Through
Our Eyes
It is difficult to make sense of such a sorrowful event as Hurricane Katrina. Tragedy strikes, we hear mourning and uproar, but
often miss the underlying significance. There is no simple answer to
any human tragedy, but as with every tragedy, the valuable lessons
should affect the way we deal with disaster.
First of all, disasters have always plagued the cities of mankind.
No need to mention the Chicago Fire, the San Francisco Earthquake, or the World Trade Center Attack in New York. People
recover and rebuild, forming better structures and plans to prevent
any future disastrous strikes. There should be no questions as to
whether New Orleans will pull through; it will likely even become
a better city than it was before. Victims are being commemorated,
and life is returning to the city.
Yet in light of this, two priorities are of concern: the attitude
toward nature and the attitude toward common human beings. We
should not fight nature, but adapt to it; not ignore it, but preserve it.
It makes no sense to develop areas of land in disaster-prone areas,
hope that nothing happens, and then merely rebuild should disaster
strikes. If a city is located in an area prone to disasters, then all the
proper authorities should coordinate plans to deal with disaster.
Rescue plans seem good on paper, but they need to be consistently
tested and revised. No place or group of people should be left in a
potentially dangerous situation. Investments made in cities and real
estate should be earnest investments that truly protect the occupants
of the land.
Such measures are costly, but as a society we must ask, what
is more important than human lives? That means planning for the
well being of future generations, rather than the temporary profits
for this one. It is hard to get out of the “as long as I’m fine, everything will be fine” mentality, but such tragedies remind us that we
cannot afford to be so nearsighted. Sure, we are not adults yet, and
there are fewer possibilities to act upon tragedy, but very soon we
will be out in the real world. All intelligent human beings should
be thinking about making a difference, rather than pretending that,
if we close our ears and eyes, everything will bring itself into line.
Safe at school, the real world is distant to the indifferent Northsider,
absorbed in classes, friends and family.
We rely on the fact that after disaster strikes we are always able
to collect some money to pay for the damage and distribute among
the victims. Yet, somehow, does it not make more sense to put our
resources instead in trying to lessen a tragedy’s impact beforehand?
It is easy to say now that in hindsight the terrible impact of Katrina
could have been prevented, but are we willing to apply ourselves to
preventing all kinds of future tragedies?
Hurricane Katrina should remind our generation that we will
have to deal with such issues as we grow up and try to change the
world.
The previous article is an editorial written by a member of the
Hoof Beat staff. Letters to the editor are welcome. Please e-mail
questions and comments to [email protected].
Mark My Words
The Hoof Beat
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
by Aliy Markowski
As the new school year begins, we all are forced to
switch ourselves back into “school-mode” – waking up
early, doing homework, meeting new teachers, and getting re-accustomed to one hundred minute classes on the
block schedule. This year we have one more item to add
to that list: making sure your wardrobe fits the school’s
newly-revised dress code.
In the past Northside’s student handbook has expressed the dress code as follows:
“Students at all times should be dressed in a manner
that is conducive to and appropriate for a scholastic environment. An individual’s dress, appearance, cleanliness,
and behavior demonstrate sensitivity to and respect for
others. Per Board of Education Policy, the wearing
of hats, caps, or clothing with
obscene or suggestive lettering or pictures is prohibited.
Additionally, excessiely
short skirts, dresses, and
short pants are not permitted.”
This year, you will
find the same description on page ten of your
student planner followed
by a list of Items of Attire
Not Permitted. Included in
this list of banned clothing, applicable to girls, are
spaghetti strap, tube, and
halter tops, as well as low
cut or cropped shirts, and
short skirts, dresses, and
shorts. For boys, muscle
shirts and tank tops are
not allowed.
Northside’s female
population are likely
to be more affected by
these new restrictions in
the dress code since many
girls regularly wear spaghetti strap tops, skirts, and
shorts, acceptable as recent
as last year. However, when
looking over the dress code, I
also found alarming the more
subtle restriction that tank
tops are now considered unacceptable for male students, although they are permitted
for girls. A sleeveless shirt is a versatile item of clothing
that is hardly revealing, and prohibiting boys from wearing tank tops seems like a social gender stereotype of style
preference rather than a measure taken to ensure respect
for the scholastic environment.
Looking beyond specifics of the dress code revision,
the addtion of prohibited clothing to the student hand-
“Trick or Treat”
Give Me a Break
by Damon Beres
With the exalted Halloween season
rapidly approaching, plucky youth across
Chicago are preparing to commence in
the rather distasteful cultural event known
as “trick-or-treating.” It seems that our
society celebrates an annual event in which
adolescents dress as violent derelicts,
trespass on various residential areas across
the city, and demand candy for protection
against illegal acts towards one’s person or
property. God bless America and its nation
of costumed beggars. Are children really
so desperate for candy that they’ll knock
on a stranger’s door, completely aware of
the risks of sexual harassment and violent
misconduct, and demand that they hand
over some savory treats? It seems a bit
distressing to me that our American youth,
particularly the lame high school students
who continue the immature tradition, are
dim-witted enough to actively participate
in a holiday that is typically the center of
violent horror films. Really, isn’t the trick
on you if a disgruntled old man decides to
feed you rusty razorblades as opposed to
warm, gooey caramels?
Personally, when people knock at my
door on Halloween, I’m tempted to bludgeon them with various forms of medieval
weaponry instead of placing Twix bars or
alfalfa-coated nougat into their candy bags.
There’s nothing more infuriating than sitting down to a nice dinner of beef stew and
couscous after a long day than to have a
pimply-faced, rotund teenager knock at my
door demanding treats that I would darn
well like to ingest after my meal. Seriously,
you’re in high school; buy your own damn
book is likely a step in a new direction for the school.
Northside has prided itself over the past six years on
having relatively few rules compared to other Chicago
Public High Schools, while maintaining a safe, calm, and
composed campus. This success has generally been attributed to Northside students’ own sense of responsibility for
themselves and for the school. The first part of the dress
code, which served as the only guideline until this year,
called on students to make self-guided clothing choices.
This followed the age-old theory that giving adolescents
more freedom will help them better handle responsibility.
As Northsiders, we have always been treated as bright individuals that can make decisions for ourselves, especially
those as trivial as what we wear
and how our clothing may
reflect our character.
The school has, until
now, credited us with this l
intelligence. The question
I ask, then, is what has
changed in the past year
or two that makes
this new dress code
a necessary evil?
I have seen no
drastic change in
the way students
are dressing over
the past two years
that would necessitate
new dress code restrictions. The skirts and
shirts girls were wearing
a few years ago were no
shorter or longer than
those worn last year. And,
if nothing has changed,
what need is there to create
and impose new rules to
fix a system that may
have been occasionally
imperfect, but that was
far from broken? The
real issue then may be
that the dress code is an
indication that Northside
is gradually moving away
from its reputation as an
accepting campus, allowing
responsible students many freedoms,
towards a more controlled institution limiting student
liberties. And if the school can no longer grant students
even the freedom to choose their own clothes in the
morning, what everyday liberty will be the next to go? Is
Northside changing for the better, or is it taking a step
backward from the rich social and academic reputation it
has worked so hard to create?
The Trick to Treating
Halloween Isn’t So Bad
by Ashraf Abbas
candy. What business does
anyone between the ages of 14
and 18 have demanding that
old men and women sequester sugary goodness
to them on Halloween?
Where did the tradition
even come from? I’ll
tell you where: from
“Hallows Eve,” the day
before the Catholicallyobserved “All Saints Day.” I
bet teenagers didn’t celebrate Hallows
Eve by knocking on their neighbors’
doors chanting “Trick or saint!” Yet
somewhere down the line, some
buffoon decided to convert the once
barely-religious holiday into a
fiesta of candy and goblins. The
logic is astounding.
Regardless of the inane
progression of the holiday or
the general immaturity of it all,
high school students and young
children alike still insist upon
going out to “trick-or-treat”
on Halloween. There are
perhaps a lot of reasons for
certain countries to look down
upon America, but I bet the number
one reason across all of their lists is
our cherished Halloween traditions.
So ask yourself this Halloween: is
the candy worth the hatred of the
countries across the world that wisely
choose not to celebrate the ludicrous
holiday? The answer, my friends, is
no. No it is not.
It's a tendency for us to
think that we should stop
going out to trick-or-treat
the Halloween after our
13th birthday (and some
have these thoughts on
their 12th birthdays), but
what you need to know
is that there is a lot that
can come out of trick-ortreating at 16, 17, or
even 18! This doesn't
mean you go
trick-or-treating
for your own
enjoyment; it's
more of you
going trick-ortreating with a
purpose.
For example,
going trick-ortreating with little Timmy might
not be as bad as
you think. The
scenario is this:
mom and dad can't
go out with him this
year, and you have so much
homework it makes you cry.
However, your being a good
sibling makes you stand up for
little Timmy's rights and makes
you say, Mom, Dad, Io going
to take Timmy trick-or-treating
tonight! Oh how surprised they'll
be! Now all you'll have to do is
make sure he has his fun, his spooks, and his
fill of candy.
When you come home, Timmy will be
so happy that he'll keep mom and dad up
all night telling them about what fun he just
had. Mom and dad, after hearing what you
just did for little Timmy will be so touched
and so proud that the next morning, when
you wake up and start getting dressed to go
to school, BOOM! You find a few extra bills
on your dresser from good old mom and
dad.
Now isn't that something worth taking
one night of your life? Isn't that something
worth dressing up in Batman tights so tight
that they - um... we'll just leave it at Batman
tights. Not to mention the loads and loads
of candy! If you stayed home, you could
not even imagine the amounts of candy
that the trick-or-treaters would be bringing
home. They'll get stomachaches so big they
won't be able to come to school for at least a
weekend that is a tempting time span. Isn't
it better to ache than to try to determine the
chemical formula for something that isn't
even edible?
The point is that Halloween was
intended to be a fun occasion for the entire
populace-rom little Timmy to wrinkly
grandpa- and there's no point in stopping
the custom we have come to know and enjoy called trick-or-treating. It could be that
that'll just how we think and that we would
rather be cool than prove that trick-or-treating is actually fun. But that seems highly
unbelievable in our current day and age. We
are people of thought, and when we think,
let it be of the virtues.
October 2005
Editorial Page 11
Chalik on the Sidewalk
A Defining Year at Northside
by Ilya Chalik
It has been about a month since school began, and things
should be going back to normal. Most of the lockers have
found their proper owners, and students are back to balancing
their packed and often heavily revised schedules. Freshmen
are still getting acquainted with Northside, hopefully trying
out extracurricular activities, and aiming to succeed in
their classes.
Seniors, on the other hand, are busy exploring options
in what to do after Northside. With college application
deadlines approaching us like bullets, seniors like me
are scrambling to write those outstanding college
essays, and keep track of all the crazy minutiae we
have to do, in order to have a chance of getting into
the “Northsides” of colleges.
And just what are the sophomores and juniors
doing? Besides taking the PSAT, they should be
having the time of their lives, as Northside is not
just there for juggling A.P. classes. Sure, students
can groan and complain about how their homework is overbearing, but who wants to have their
only memories of high school be typing away
papers at wee hours of the night? Studying is
important, but making memories for a lifetime
and making a difference at Northside should also
count. And unlike the seniors who are weighed
down by college applications, it is really up to
the juniors, sophomores, and even freshmen
to now dedicate themselves to improving the
school.
But why dedicate time to being active
at Northside, when there is so much other
stuff going on in our lives? The answer
is that there is a vital necessity that
students take up the reins of those that
have graduated. Students have a responsibility to fill leadership roles with
the kind of finesse and fortitude that
extracurricular activities require,
the kind that was lost with the vigorous personalities of the graduated
class of 2005. There is no more
Andrew Miller as know-it-all
captain of ACADEC, no more
Robert Eschmann valorously
bringing pseudo-NBA glory to
the basketball team, no more bubbly Randy Yang or Kiyomi Tran
taking Asian Club to new heights,
no more Emily Matthews setting up
libraries for the underprivileged,
none of them, or any other flashy
Class of 2005ers coming back to
champion for Northside. And as
the role-models and close friends of
the present senior class, the departure of the
class of 2005 has impacted inter-class bonding, as it
seems that each class sticks to themselves.
It is the classes of the past who have done so much for
Northside, adding many fancy pillars to the Northside temple
of excellence. And now that they’ve moved on, there is a very
palpable feeling of loss, a void that yearns to be filled, filled
with new faces, hearts, and minds.
There has also been a major turnover in the teachers and
staff since last year, which has inevitably resulted in an even
greater deficit of familiarity and a gain of incongruity. Adroit administrators like
Mr. Cedric Hampton
or Mr. Alan Mather,
who every-day
toiled endlessly for
Northside with
open
hearts and friendly smiles, are
no longer
at Northside. Teachers, like
Mr. Neil
Koreman and Mrs. Sandra
Beris, who have championed
the Northside cause have
suddenly left, and those that
have come in have yet to fully
find their niches. They have
yet to emulate the level of
enthusiasm and school spirit of
those departed.
It takes time to adjust to
the rhythms of such a dynamic
school as Northside, but I plead
for every single newcomer to vivaciously partake in not only their
primary academic roles, but seize
opportunities in sponsoring clubs
and teams, creating cool Colloquia, and doing anything else
original to make the Northside
environment ever more vibrant
and colorful. This does not refer
only to staff and teachers, but
more importantly to the students. Low attendance at sports
games, even senior games, is not
a sign of good spirit, and neither
is the tendency of every class to associate with only themselves.
C This is the atmosphere that we
were excited to
be part of as
freshmen, the
atmosphere
that goes
hand-in-hand
with the incredible reputation
that Northside
has acquired.
Our number one
priority now should be to
maintain this atmosphere. We
have countless bright minds and
talents, especially among the new freshmen, teachers and staff.
The major challenge, however, is to cultivate and apply these
talents to a high capacity.
Yet I am not forgetting to address the seniors. Among
them there has been a trend of gloominess and lethargy. The
“Defeats Lane”
Continued from Back Page
side to score a point at 24-23.
Northside won the second
game with their next point, 25-23.
“After the team won the second game, everyone was pumped
up,” said team manager, Felix
Lukose, Adv. 600. “After that, we
were confident that we could win
and so we had momentum on our
side.”
The third game went even
more intensely and competitively
than both its predecessors. Northside scored the first point off of a
block made by Konow.
The game carried on closely;
although Northside maintained
aggression, they slipped behind
Lane’s lead. After an impressive
back row kill by Nizio, bringing
the team to 6-10, Coach Flores
called a timeout, and Captains
Massiel Gracia, Adv. 605, and
Nizio came back with a stunning
block.
An amazing play with Garcia,
Ables, Nizio, and Walthers tied
the game back up at 11-11. The
Mustangs then captured the
lead with a series of three aces
by Ables and two kills by Nizio.
The lead was not theirs for long,
however, as a set of questionable
calls brought the team a few points
behind. Yet they quickly recovered
with a tactical tip by Eschmann
and a left handed kill by Walther.
“After Alyssa’s [Walther] kill
during the end the thrid game, I
was on the tip of my seat.” said
Jessica Park, Adv. 705. “Even
though I was just one person in
a huge crowd of screaming fans,
I felt as though I was part of the
team, hoping more than anything
for the win.”
The lead went back and forth
between the teams until finally
Nizio ended it off with her five
consecutive kills. Both the team
and the crowd rejoiced at the
team’s well deserved victory over
Lane.
“The victory our Lane was
awesome,” said Hena Ali, Adv.
701. “The game was so tight towards the end, it made the victory
even more meaningful.”
The game demonstrated a
variety of the team’s strengths.
Co-captain Angie Nizio made
a remarkable seventeen kills,
fourteen digs, and two blocks.
Outside hitter, Alyssa Walther,
had seven kills, eleven digs, and
two blocks. Kim Ables had four
aces, Courtney Konow had three
blocks, and Reese Eschmann had
an astonishing 32 assists. Seeing
as how Northside has handily
dealt with their opponents thus
far, many feel that this game will
serve as a preview for the conference championships.
mentality has been “classes are hard, applications are hard,
everything is hard.” Many try to reminisce on “the good old
days” when school was stimulating, fun and endurable, and
"Our goal should be for creativity and
zest to permeate all aspects of Northside,
rather than nostalgia and passiveness.”
college application deadlines were nowhere in sight. However, we have no excuse to cower behind our new challenges,
and need to continue contributing to keep Northside’s greatness intact. We can not abandon our soon-to-be alma mater,
when she needs us most, and blame college applications for
us not having time for Northside. Another major problem
that we have is the school system we are a part of. Last year’s
budget fiasco brought to our eyes the fact that politicians
aren’t terribly concerned over the fate of the students in the
city of Chicago. They patched up a problem temporarily,
but did not fix any major issues. Per-pupil spending is still
twice-as-high in many suburbs than in the Chicago Public
Schools. In the suburbs, teachers have many more incentives,
from higher salaries, insurance benefits, better pensions, and
a general lack of a befuddled bureaucracy.
Many of us are aware of these problems, but perhaps
we have not thought about how they are affecting Northside.
They have been to a great extent, with eminent teachers like
Mr. Koreman and Mrs. Antoinette Geraghty leaving Northside to teach in suburban schools. And the main effect of this
situation is that the brightest students and teachers simply
have better conditions in the suburbs, than even at an excellent, higher-scoring school like Northside.No one can deny
that Northside has changed since past years. There is more
crowding in the school with bigger class sizes, numerous
glitches with our technology, and a lack of former students’,
teachers’, and administrators’ know-how. Yet we cannot live
by past successes and conditions. If Northside is to sharpen
its cutting edge and keep above the rest, everyone in the
school needs to be working actively against the entropy of
the system. We can never rest, and expect that someone else
will take care of things. Our goal should be for creativity
and zest to permeate all aspects of Northside, rather than
nostalgia and passiveness. Everyone should feel like he has
an active stake in the school that we wanted so desperately to
come into.
Now I’m not saying that the Northside ship is sinking,
although I have definitely heard many pessimistic comments
from students and alumni. Neither am I pointing the finger
to blame any person within the school. What I am trying to
say is that we’ve had a loss of personality and capability, and
that we should be working to fill that gap. I have confidence
in Northside’s future, but only if we stop sweeping our
shortcomings under the rug, and work on our deficiencies.
If we concentrate on creating new accomplishments, rather
than mourning bygone achievements, then we can keep the
unique and wonderful spirit of this school alive despite any
external pressures and internal malfunctions. It is this year
that compassion, team spirit and determination must prevail,
so that we can continue our trek down the “road less taken”,
and redefine Northside’s stature as a true model school.
Page 12
Arts and Entertainment
Beresilicious
Nipples – A Larger Threat
than Chemical Warfare
by Damon Beres
It is a scientific fact that humans, regardless of their gender, have nipples. Cleanly
people who bathe on a regular basis see them
everyday, and walking around outside on a
hot summer day often exposes one to tons of
them on shirtless men, which are considered
normal in our culture. One might infer from
this knowledge that the average American
does not bear any large amount of resentment towards the occasional nipple.
Several hot-headed, ignorant politicians
do not feel the same way. An immensely
popular video game, Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas, recently caused a huge stir
in the media when it was revealed that it
contained a mini-game dubbed “Hot Coffee”
that allowed users to engage in laughably
un-detailed, consensual sexual intercourse
with female characters in-game. The content
itself could not even be accessed in solely the
game, but several hackers were able to tweak
San Andreas to allow people to play the hotcoffee game. Despite this, Hillary Clinton
launched a massive campaign against Grand
Theft Auto publisher Rockstar Games in
reaction to the sexual developments.
Modern America’s phobia revolving
around nudity and sexuality is completely
ridiculous. Ironically, violence, including
brutal gore fests, seems to be acceptable in
our culture’s entertainment mediums. For
instance, before the discovery of the “Hot
Coffee” modification, San Andreas had an
“M” rating from the Entertainment Software
Rating Board (which recommends the game
for ages 17 and up, though younger children
are still often able to purchase the games),
but it has since been given an “Adults Only”
rating. Sure, allow our youth to slice people
up in chainsaws, behead them with sniper
rifles, steal cars, and beat up meandering
prostitutes, but don’t allow them to see the
occasional nipple or be exposed to caricatured sexual intercourse. In fact, maybe we
should shatter their mirrors and blindfold
them whilst bathing just to make sure they
don’t accidentally see their eye-scathing, mindshattering naked bodies while spending any
extended amount of time in the bathroom.
The nudity paranoia extends its reach far
beyond the realm of video games, however.
R-rated movies on network television are often
edited for nudity, but large amounts of violence
are often left intact. During a screening of The
Shining, a vital scene involving a nude woman
was cut out, but most of the film’s violence
remained in the film. It’s of great consequence
that such a scene was cut, however, as it served
as a major turning point for the main character.
Really though, it seems in America we care far
more about stabbings and explosions than any
sort of characterization.
It’s a purely nonsensical cultural quirk
of the U.S. that we have an infatuation with
violence and an intense loathing of nudity,
but it’s also traceable. America was founded
on very religious sentiments, and as such our
country has a very conservative soul, whether
contemporary thinkers wish to believe so or
not. Despite the fact that most religions do
seem to look down upon both violence and
promiscuous nudity or sexuality, the environment that humans surround themselves in
tends to dictate otherwise. Our culture is one
very much drowning in violence: gangs roam
our streets, the news fills our head with disturbingly brutal images, and Pokemon pound each
other to cute little pulps on kid’s TV.
If you ask me, censorship in all forms
is completely ridiculous and there need not
be entire companies that decide what is appropriate viewing material for the average
American. Unfortunately, we do not live in a
perfect society, and I respect that fact. It is not
realistic to call for the removal of all censorship
in our society. If all else fails, I merely wish
that those who blindfold our eyes, whether
they be those who rule the censorship boards
or our own parents, would be more lenient on
their policies towards nudity. Our bodies are
perfectly natural: eviscerating old women in
video games is not.
The Hoof Beat
Half-Way Crazy for
Crazy Horse
by Rachel Hautzinger
The Journey of Crazy
was inspired by the author’s
Horse in this book is wise,
Horse, a novel written by
childhood stories. The stories
humble, has great leadership
Joseph Marshall III, is the
blend together creatively, tyskills, and is a fierce warrior.
legendary narrative of the
ing into one big story through The author also brings out
classic hero Crazy Horse told
the chapters, and only until
the more realistic side of
through the author’s point of
you finish the book can you
Crazy Horse, the part were
view. Crazy Horse’s, or his
decipher where each story
he gave up his desires in life
juvenile name Jihi, world is
might stop or end. The auto become the prominent
turned upside down when
thor writes as if Crazy Horse
leader and warrior
the white soldiers that
Unfortunately, the
reside in the Lakota
story is flawed when
land turn hostile, killthe author decides to
ing a prominent Native
express his opinions on
American leader.
Crazy Horse and the
Relationships
Lakota life. At the end
between the Whites
of each chapter, the auand Native Americans
thor unwisely decides
turn sour and the
to put in a mini-essay
soldiers wreck havoc in
expressing his own
a nearby camp, leaving
wisdom. Many of the
the young Crazy Horse
mini-essays relate to
to deal with the impact
Crazy Horse, but only
of a massacre alone.
skim the surface of the
The haunting imchapters that you just
age of the mutilated
finished. It would have
bodies leads Crazy
been a better choice if
Horse to reveal a
the author created a
prophecy to his tribe,
different composition
one that would shape
for the essays.
the rest of his life. In
All in all, I found
this vision, he pictured
that The Journey of
an Indian on a horse,
Crazy Horse was a worriding out of a still lake
thy read. The stories
into a bullet stricken
are transmitted into
atmosphere, but avoidwriting perfectly and
ing death until he is
give the book a very
The jacket cover of The Journey of Crazy comfy but wise feeling
brought down by his
own people. The dream Horse
to it, just as if you had
Photo courtesy of www.amazon.com
impacts his life as a
a grandparent telling
leader and he evades
was just another Lakota
you a story about a legend of
the white reservations, saves
Indian: only in the end does
your heritage. The mini-eshis people from death in the
the true impact of his legend
says do draw away from that
middle of a harsh winter, and hit you.
atmosphere, but if you are
defeats the white soldiers in
The Crazy Horse in the
looking for a good curl up
one of the battles we hold
story is more Crazy Horse as
in the corner book that also
in our own vocabulary: The
a leader, not as the ruthless
gives you a clearly stated inBattle of Little Bighorn.
warrior who killed General
sight to the author’s thoughts,
The Journey of Crazy Horse Cluster’s Troops. The Crazy
this is your book.
U2 Brings Love, Electric Curtains to Chicago
by Rachel Ramir
After one-and-a-half hours of
sitting through opening bands and
roadie routines, 20,000 fans erupted
into a frenzy of cheering as the
stadium fell dark. The rim of the
circular stage lit up in a suspenseful
red as the band took its platform.
Suddenly the stage was brightened
brilliantly with white spotlights and
backdrops, and the deafening roar
of the crowd drowned out the first
few notes of a well-known tune. -U2
conquered another stadium.
Performing for 30 years would
make any band rusty and a bit tiresome: just look at any baby-boomer
favorite. U2 has transcended this
harsh fact of life again and again,
producing new albums embraced
by every generation, religion,
gender, and country in the world.
Selling out the United Center for
two consecutive shows in Chicago
is only one small part of the tour.
Soon the band will be heading out
east for five New York shows. The
“Vertigo” tour is named after their
latest hit, and every date is sold out
through the end.
These guys don’t hold back
when it comes to stagemanship.
Bono, their lead singer, is constantly
the future, from another galaxy in
another universe,” Bono said of his
bandmate, laughing.
How will
the future be,
according
to the Edge?
“The Future
will be better.”
Bono is
well-known
for being U2’s
political and
musical voice,
and there was
no shortage
of political or
social activism at this
Promotional photo of the members of U2 (from left to show. At one
right): guitarist The Edge, lead vocalist Bono, bassist point, curtains
Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
of lights
Photo courtesy of www.wikipedia.org
were lowered
leaping around, reaching out to the
behind the stage where graphics
audience, encouraging clapping and
showing Africa and different Afsinging, and having mock battles
rican flags were displayed. Above,
with the Edge, U2’s infamous
a screen reading the UN’s “The
guitarist.
Universal Declaration of Human
“The Edge is actually from
Rights,” banned slavery “in all of
its forms,” poverty, class and drug
warfare, and religious persecution,
just to name a few. For a complete
listing of these rights, visit http://
www.un.org.
One would think that this part
of the show would be the most
solemn and down-beat. However,
U2 balanced their serious messages
with great and meaningful classics,
including “Where the Streets Have
No Name” and “Sunday, Bloody Sunday.” The entire crowd was on its
feet, dancing and singing along.
In all, the set was excellent.
Much of it was filled with new
music, which didn’t get the stadium
going nearly as well as the old favorites did. Included were “Vertigo,”
“With or Without You,” “Beautiful
Day,” “Elevation,” and “All That
You Can’t Leave Behind.” There was
much improvising, vocally and
instrumentally, and many fans captured moments for themselves using
cell phones and cameras. Indeed,
for all of the show blue lights from
phone screens glinted throughout
the crowd.
U2 concerts always have a
certain stage setup which allows
band members to walk out on a
circular (or heart-shaped) track into
the audience, where fans reach out
in hopes of touching Bono’s leather
jacket, or perhaps a bit of the Edge’s
Chucks. They are known for their
innovative lighting and image sequences, which, even to those of us
in the back of the audience, make
for a beautiful show.
If there was one thing U2
wanted their audience to take away
that night, it was a good experience
with a real rock band. Ubuntu, Bono
said, is the most important character trait in a person. Ubuntu is a
South African word that describes a
person who is “open and available
to others, affirming to others… and
knows that he or she belongs to a
greater whole and is diminished
when others are humiliated or
diminished.”
It is a very hopeful sign when
a band as popular as U2 takes the
time to realize the world outside of
superstardom.
A Blast of Reading During the Summer
by Aisha Wahid
While incoming freshmen and returning
students may anticipate years of hard work
and learning at Northside, they must also
include the load of summer reading assignments to their lists. Most departments require
summer assignments for students to complete
in preparation for topics that will be covered
during the school year, therefore the Northside
English Department adds on a movie and
novel for fun.
“Whether the intent of summer reading
is to encourage it for enjoyment or study is
debatable,” said Mr. Giovanni Benincasa, the
English Department head.
The summer texts and films are chosen
by the teachers who are teaching that particular course. They hold a meeting and update
their assignment yearly to either add variety
or keep it the same. Teachers decide based on
their courses whether the texts are intended
as entertainment or as supplements to the
curriculum. Teachers may also choose a text
they do not plan on covering in class but feel
is important for students to study. It may be a
confusing issue because if it is only for the sake
of reading, then students should be allowed to
read their choice of books and then report on
those. Some students may feel it is an intrusion to their summer break and the question of
legitimacy remains debatable.
Mr. Benincasa adopted Utopia, the British
Literature text, as a place to start his course by
comparing utopia to dystopia. He then builds
thematic connections with other books such
as 1984 and Animal Farm. He gears his efforts
more toward preparing the students for what
is in store for them as well as an interesting
assignment for the summer.
While teachers may have their opinions on
giving summer reading assignments, students
have their personal views as well, some positive and some negative.
“I didn’t read All the Pretty Horses because it
seemed boring,” said Rebekah Ward, Adv 903.
“I’m grateful that my teacher didn’t enjoy reading it and therefore didn’t mind that I hadn’t.”
“Maus I and II were good books for Survey
Literature because they were in comic form,
which made them more interesting,” said
Simon Vecchioni, Adv 905.
Mr. Benincasa accredits Northside to being
very open to students’ concerns and encourages students to voice their opinions about the
texts.
Bianca Cuyun, Adv. 804, reminisces over
summer days as she rereads her English
assignment.
Photo by Zenobia Gonsalves
October 2005
Just Like Heaven Transcends Its
“Chick Flick” Premise
by Anisa Isap
On the surface, Reese Witherspoon and Mark
Ruffalo seem like a fatally mismatched duo
to hang a big studio romantic comedy on, but
their chemistry and differing characters are
actually what makes Just Like Heaven work.
Witherspoon plays Elizabeth Masterson,
a young doctor who is so absorbed in her
work that the rest of the world practically
doesn’t exist. One night on her way home, she
gets into a devastating car accident, and her
almost nonexistent life is cut short.
Several months later, her family is subletting her furnished apartment to a widowed
and depressed landscaper named David Abbott, played by Ruffalo, who shows a knack
for physical comedy: among other stunts, he
nails a backwards fall across furniture like a
seasoned slapstick pro. Everything about the
apartment is great, except that David starts
seeing apparitions of Elizabeth in and around
it. At first, he thinks that he is going crazy, but
he soon learns that she was a real person.
Witherspoon sheds her typecast mock
ditziness in movies such as Legally Blonde, and
in early scenes of the movie she even rediscovers the chipper steeliness of Tracey Filck
in Election, which is often considered her first
great comic role. In some ways, Elizabeth is
a greater challenge, but Witherspoon handles
the role well. And Ruffalo, an ideal foil, turns
passivity into an unlikely form of charm with
his stoner drawl. After a while, predictably
but winningly, their oil and water coexistence
evolves into love and a truce between the
real world and the spiritual realm. They join
forces to figure out just what happened to
Elizabeth, whose memory of her physical life
is conveniently cloudy.
Arts and Entertainment
Adapted from the novel “If Only It Were
have been a lonely, home wrecking whore,
True” by the French spiritual writer Marc
but I saved lives” with such natural finesse,
Levy, Just Like Heaven takes a conservative
it takes a beat for your laughter to catch up
stance in the crossfire
with her.
of an American culThe supporting cast,
ture war. Although
which includes Donal Logue,
some may believe
who plays David’s friend and
that the movie turns
therapist, and the ridiculous
the issues surroundhero of Napoleon Dynamite
ing the life and death
Jon Heder, who plays David’s
of Terri Schiavo into
spiritual adviser, perform
the stuff of mockery,
with a liveliness that keeps
it stirred much less
the more sappy elements of
controversy than Milthe story at bay, though these
lion Dollar Baby did
inevitably assert themselves
last year.
in the last, very cheesy 20
That aside, Just
minutes, when the camera
Like Heaven is a really
lens seems to be submerged
sweet film: it pushes
in corn syrup, and lumps rise,
all the right buttons
on cue, in throats. It’s not
for a romantic comheaven, exactly, but after the
edy. There’s nothing
suffering of the lax of good
terribly original about
films during the late summer
this film, and it’s
movie season, it may be close
pretty predictable.
enough.
We’ve seen similar
Just Like Heaven transupernatural love stoscends the “chick flick” label
ries before in movies
that it could have had. The
like Ghost and City of Reese Witherspoon and Mike Ruffalo strengths and abilities of its
Angels. What counts star in Dreamworks’ Just Like Heaven. stars and director raise this
in a romantic come- Photo courtesy of movies.yahoo.com
film well above what it should
dy is the execution of
be with Witherspoon and
the formula. As he did with Freaky Friday and
Ruffalo managing to keep it real. (Or at least
Mean Girls, director Mark Waters occasionally as real as any boy-meets-ghost movie can be.)
gives a kiss of originality to the formulaic maThis is a true date flick where the guys will be
terial of the film and gets many laughs from
every bit as amused as the gals, even if it does
the audience in the process. Witherspoon, in
have an expected sappy, romantic ending.
particular, tosses out observations like “I may
Emma Roberts – Not so “Unfabulous.”
by Damon Beres
Believe it or not, bubbly pop music
that targets adolescent girls is actually
a fairly large market in the industry
these days. It should come as no
surprise to legions of music-listeners
worldwide that major companies are
attempting to milk the overflowing
udders of this major cash cow. Therefore, when Emma Roberts’ sampler
CD was released, it was likely written
off due to the “Nickelodeon” logo
sprawled across the top of the album
title. Imagine the surprise, then, when
it was discovered that the sampler disc
presented a functional, if not overwhelmingly pleasant, array of songs.
Emma Roberts clearly has a
defined target audience: adolescents
interested in the popular music scene.
People who don’t fill that role will likely want to pass on this album, as it is
not incredibly diverse based upon the
sampler. The lyrics in the four songs
released are almost embarrassingly
CD cover of Unfabulous and More: Emma
Roberts (Soundtrack Sony Released September
2005)
Photo courtesy of www.emmaroberts.net
generic, and won’t pull at many heartstrings
in older audiences, considering that the most
thoughtful song is “Say Goodbye To Junior
High.” The musical composition is also not
particularly innovative or interesting, nor is
Emma’s vocal work.
The key word when it comes to this
album, then, is competency. Emma Roberts
fills a very solid comfort zone, and she doesn’t
falter and descend into the typical pop hell all
too often exemplified in today’s music industry. Her challenge, then, is to move beyond
her niche and establish a unique style for
herself. As it stands, her music sounds a bit
too similar to several other artists’ in the same
genre; there’s absolutely nothing distinctly
recognizable in any facet of her work. Still,
it’s certainly shaping up to be a solid first
album, and hopefully she’ll earn marginal
success upon its September 27th release so that
she might have a future opportunity to mature
as an artist.
Open that Mic UP!
First Open Mic Showcases Talent
by Ashraf Abbas
One of Northside’s oldest
and most creative programs
that has kept many on the
edge of their seats is Open
Mic.This event has been
around for six years and is
now entering its seventh with
a very optimistic attitude.
This wonderful event is the
brainchild of Mr. Barry
McRaith, an English teacher
at Northside.
Open Mic encourages
participants to read their
poetry, fiction, non-fiction,
and dramatic sketches—basically any piece of literature.
This event occurs four times
a year, in Northside’s auditorium, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30
p.m. (The next Open Mic at
Northside is on October 27,
2005.)
Participation is not
restricted only to students
from Northside and students
from any and every Chicago
Public School are welcome
to participate. There is,
however, a request for adults
to not participate, as that can
potentially bring up more
mature themes than those
appropriate for a high school
audience.
On any given Open Mic,
students are usually very
eager to read their latest piece
of literature, and some even
have the energy to act it out.
Generally, uniqueness is one
of the qualities to look for in
an Open Mic.
“Mostly, it’s poetry,” said
Mr. McRaith. “We’re getting
more fictional sketches, some
non-fiction. We are getting
more songs, so that in a
single Open Mic, we might
have two or three people who
sing songs.”
The atmosphere is always
very positive during Open
Mics. Many of those who
come in with unique pieces,
such as a song or a play/skit,
have found the audience very
accepting and always at their
utmost level of enthusiasm.
In other words, there is no
wrong piece to perform at
Open Mic.
“I’ve taken a wide range
of pieces,” said David
Fitzgerald, Adv. 607.
“I’ve tried to be humorous in some, I’ve tried
to be very serious
and get points
across in some,
and some border
on post-mortem
depression because
it’s just ‘I’ll write
depressing today’.”
The staff of the
Open Mic, surprisingly,
is comprised of students.
They are students of Mr.
McRaith’s Creative Writing
class and they take on the
responsibility of advertising
the event and setting up the
event itself.
Mr. McRaith is still
there for support, but
for the most part, the
students handle
everything.
“I like to have one
male and one female
master of ceremony,
which is usually good
energy and chemistry,”
said Mr. McRaith.
The future of Open
Mic looks promising.
In the past Northside
has held up to eight
Open Mic nights a year,
which obviously seems
like a lot.
However, in recent
years, the number of
Open Mic nights has
come down to four, in
order for there to be
more active student
participation.
“I’m not interested
necessarily in more
Open Mic nights,”
said Mr. McRaith.
“I’m interested in
good energy and
good participation from
those who
are there.”
Page 13
Switchfoot
With A
Political
Switch
by Micah Tepora
The San Diego Christian rock group
Switchfoot has done it again and released a
brand new album. On September 13th, they
released their brand new album entitled
Nothing is Sound.
Nothing is Sound is compiled of twelve
songs written by two of the band members,
Jonathan and Tim Foreman. The band
consists of five members: guitarist and
vocalist Jonathan Foreman, bassist Tim
Foreman, drummer Chad Butler, guitarist
and keyboard player Jerome Fontamillas,
and guitarist Drew Shirley.
Unlike many of their past albums like
Legend of Chin, New Way to be Human, Learning to Breathe, and The Beautiful Letdown,
their new album seems to have more of a
political tone to it.
This album certainly sticks to Switchfoot’s ability to compose catchy beats and
writes worthy lyrics such as the opening
to the album “Lonely Nation” where the
lead vocalist belts out the lyrics, “Singing
without tongues, screaming without lungs/
I want more than my lonely nation, I want
more than my lonely nation.” They even
title songs in ways that can make anyone
want to listen to them and know if the
songs themselves are as interesting as their
names are with titles such as “Happy is a
Yuppie Word.” Many of their songs are
definitely thoughtful, creative, and sometimes abstract. This is apparent when songs
like “The Shadow Proves the Sunshine”
include lyrics like “Sunshine won’t you be
my mother?/Sunshine come and help me
sing.”
Switchfoot’s Nothing is Sound (2005)
Photo courtesy of www.switchfoot.com
At the same time, Switchfoot raises their
music up a notch and adds a more hardcore
sound in the song entitled “Politicians.” It
starts off with a very strong, loud sound,
reminiscent of heavy metal and continues
on throughout the rest of the song which
adds on to almost accusatory and angry lyrics. It definitely shows some kind of statement to the world and the current events.
However, there may be some downsides
to this album, and once one sets aside the
interesting lyrics and music, the album isn’t
really filled with variety. A lot of the songs
sound alike and stick to a similar theme:
the world and current events. There are the
occasional soft ballads such as “The Blues”
and “Daisy” that sometimes don’t make
any sense and make you wonder how in the
world those songs ever got into the compilation. Furthermore, while listening to the
album, some trends can be spotted such as
the fact that in the majority of the songs,
the same phrases are continuously repeated
over and over again and raise the question
of “Why must they say ‘Happy is a Yuppie
Word’ ten thousand times?”
With the current release of Nothing is
Sound, all local Switchfoot fans can get the
chance to see them soon. Switchfoot has
arranged a list of tour dates this coming
fall to promote their new album and will be
coming to Chicago this October 27th at the
Vic Theater.
For extreme Switchfoot fans and those
who enjoy listening to Christian rock music
this album will be another amazing accomplishment. However, others might want to
think twice before really committing themselves to listening to the entire album. It
lacks the originality of their previous album
The Beautiful Letdown and the songs don’t
completely match up to the power of “Dare
You to Move” or “Meant to Live.”
Page 14
Sports
Breaking Records at Northside, Again
The Hoof Beat
Corey Kasten Holds all Women’s Swimming Records
by Muamera Hadzic
In a school where great achievement, excelling and coming out on
top seem to be key qualities, Corey
Kasten, Adv. 708, sets the bar high
for many as she both excels academically and holds all of the records for
women’s swimming events at Northside Prep.
She has broken the 200 yard
Medley Relay, 200m Freestyle, 200
yard IM, 100 yard Freestyle, 50 yard
Freestyle, 100 yard Butterfly, 500 yard
Freestyle , 200 yard Free Relay, 100
yard Backstroke, 100 yard Breaststroke
and the 400 yard Free Relay. Three of
the aforementioned events, 200 yard
Medley Relay, 200 yard Free Relay
and the 400 yard Free Relay are relay
events that she set the record for with
a group of swimmers, collectively.
However, this is not the first time
that a student-athlete has accomplished such a feat with Northside’s
swimming teams.
“Greg Schmucker, who graduated in 2003, broke all of the school
records for the boy’s team, so it’s not
a first experience for me,” said Coach Corey Kasten, Adv. 708, sharpens her form during daily
swimming practice.
Carlos Ceja.
Photo by Shoaib Khan
And despite the fact that this is
not the first occasion of its kind at
Northside, the coach and the team
greatly value Kasten’s accomplishments.
“I am really proud of her accomplishments.” said Coach Ceja, “and
right now she’s having a lot of fun
and taking advantage of opportunities, but I am making sure that as of
now she focuses on her performances
at city and state sectionals.”
The Northside swim team has
the opportunity to practice and
compete in the excellent swimming
facilities unique to the school. However the team is fairly large and when
students like Kasten excel, the coach
feels they are not accommodated to
properly.
“We really cannot accommodate
her as we should,” said Coach Ceja.
“She really should be swimming
in her own lane at her own time
intervals, but we really do not have
the pool capacity for something like
that.”
It is now ‘Kasten’ that will appear all over on the record board
down in the natatorium, or swimming pool.
Despite issues of accommodation and
pool space, the team more importantly supports Corey and applauds her achievements.
“We support her as a team,” said teammate Sarah Wicklin, Adv 701, “and we hope
that she will make state this year because
she’s worked so hard and she deserves it.”
When informed of Kasten’s achievements,
Jai Garg, Adv. 703, exclaimed, “Incredible….
All of them?”
“She’s an amazing swimmer,” said Maggie O’Connell, Adv. 807. “We are so lucky to
have her compete in our school’s name.”
“As a friend, I am really proud of her,
but as a student at Northside I am more so
honored to have such a competitive and accomplished athlete represent our school,” said
Jason Strohmayer, Adv. 705.
Corey Kasten has joined the ranks of
record setter Greg Schmucker, outstanding
athletes like Michael and Chris Keenan, Robert Eschman and Laura Litton. One can only
guess what else Corey Kasten, and athletes
like herself at Northside, will astound us with
next.
“I can only imagine where she [Kasten]
might end up in couple of years from now,”
said John Holler, Adv. 705. “With all that talent and hard work, I wouldn’t be surprised by
any accomplishment.”
Men’s Varsity Soccer in the Midst of Rebuilding
by Aliy Markowski
Northside’s Men’s Varsity Soccer Team has had a rebuilding year
after losing eleven players from the
graduated class of 2005. With only
three seniors this year, the team
has struggled to recover without
experienced team leaders. Last year
the team dominated in their conference. This year the Mustangs have
managed a somewhat mediocre
4-7-3 record.
“Overall it’s been a year of
gradual improvement,” said Coach
Robert Albritton. “We’ve had a
hard time without many seniors on
the team.”
The team began preparing for
the season with practices everyday
in August, several weeks before
school started. The season started
out decently with wins against
Nazareth, Gordon Tech, and Jones
High Schools. The second half
of the season, however, found the
Mustangs enduring frequent losses.
The team lost all conference games
during the regular season, with the
exception of Foreman High School,
whose team has also had a disap-
pointing season after holding the
title of City Champions for the last
two years.
“Jason Strohmayer has been the
one guy kind of holding the team
together this season,” said Coach
Mike Keane.
Despite efforts by Jason Strohmayer, Adv. 705, as sweeper, Northside’s defense has been especially
strained throughout this year. The
players were frequently unable to
form a strong defending line.
“Our defense last year was
called ‘the W’,” said John Holler,
Adv. 705. “And without ‘the W’ this
year I feel lost.”
The team’s offense struggled
as well after losing last year’s top
scorers Andy Costello and Anthony
Cecchinni. Senior Michael Burke,
Adv. 601, however, stepped up scoring the majority of the goals this
season. Mark Sullivan, Adv. 607,
and sophomore Cole Frankel, Adv.
808, were also among this year’s
leading scorers.
“We definitely had a hard time
this year,” said goalie Tom Dyke,
Adv. 705. “But as a
team we’ve slowly been
coming together.”
Despite their record, the Mustangs are
pleased with the level
of team bonding, which
they recognize to be a
noticeable improvement
from last year.
“Our team bonding
has been amazing,” said
Jason Strohmayer. “It
helps dealing with the
losses when we’re all
there for each other on
and off the field.”
Although the Mustangs may have fallen
short of their own expectations this season,
strong underclassmen
on the team provide
hope for a better season
next year.
“I think the fact that
we’ll have many return- Tom Dyke, Adv. 705, prepares for a goal kick during
ing players with varsity soccer practice.
Photo by Muamera Hadzic
experience will give us
a good basis to improve
upon,” said Coach Keane.
This year’s varsity soccer team consisted mostly
of sophomores and
juniors. As upperclassmen, these players will be
expected to step up next
season. Captains John
Holler, Jason Strohmayer,
and Tom Dyke are all
members of the junior
class who should continue
to be strong leaders on
the team next season as
seniors.
“I’m looking forward
to next season because I
feel like we’re going to be
starting with a good core
team,” said Jorge Saldarriagga, Adv. 811.
“We’re really optimistic,” said Jason Strohmayer. “We’ve got some great
players who will still be
here next year and we’re
hoping to have a drastically better season.”
Putting their Way to Victory
The Women’s Golf Team Launches a New Season
by Elizabeth Jose
It appears that the Northside Women’s
Golf Team is going to be one of the top teams
in the city once again.
“I can guarantee that they will take away
the city championships again this
year,” said Coach
Nick Demitropolous.
Tanya Nagatani, Adv.802, was
named the top player among high school
women golfers in the city of Chicago, and
Kaytlin Hack, Adv. 703, was the second
best golfer. They have returned this year
along with the rest of the team, Elizabeth
R. Hausheer, Adv. 802, Kristie Hack,
Adv. 800, and Kathleen Pettinato, Adv.
709.
The team has had a good start this
year and practices regularly at the Robert A. Black Golf Course in Warren Park.
Unfortunately, they were not able to compete
in many matches at first because many of
their opposing teams were ineligible to
play because they had not completed
their physicals. Nonetheless, they play
with a great deal of determination.
They were the winners in the game
against King High School on September
14, 2005. Since then they have won all
their matches against other schools and
are heading towards a great victory.
These golfers are coached by Mr.
Nick Demitropolous, a history teacher at Stephen Tyng Mather High School. He has been
teaching at Mather for four years. He agreed
to be the team’s coach when he
met Mike Heavey, then the
athletics director at Northside
College Prep High School, at
one of their meets the previous year.
When Mr. Heavey told
him that the golf team lacked
a coach, he decided that he
would be able to work things
out and coach the team.
“It was the best thing I
ever did,” said Mr. Demitropolous about coaching for
Northside’s golf team. “The
team is phenomenal.”
Mr. Demitropolous
coaches the golf teams of
both Northside and Mather
with Mr. Jim Dusvak, the
primary coach for Mather’s
team.
Together they were able to
start the women’s golf teams
among the Chicago Public
Schools. The number of teams
has increased to 6 teams
across Chicago since the
two original from Mather
and Northside. Mr. Demitropolous said that
they focus on understanding the game and
learning all the strategies because that is key
in playing the game. He especially likes the
fact that the team is so motivated and hardworking.
Mr. Demitropolous said that although
he tells them to enjoy their weekends, they
schedule their own times during which to
practice.
“I definitely want to be their coach in the
future,” said Mr. Demitropolous, “hopefully
until they graduate.”
Golf has often been considered a simple
and boring game, but the team can prove
otherwise.
“We carry around a 25 pound bag with
equipment,” said Kaytlin Hack. “Every situation in golf is different, and you
have to adapt to any changes that
occur.”
Golf is a difficult game in that
it requires a lot of concentration
and strategic thinking in addition
to skill.
It is a game that can be played
throughout your life, and in some
cases it can even be played if you
suffer from some disabilities.
“It’s like a sibling rivalry for
me,” said Tanya Nagatani about
her experiences with golf.
Although Tanya Nagatani is very skilled
in the game it was not always her plan to play
golf. She said that her parents forced her to
when she was small, but when she grew older
she quit. Then she began playing once again
when her brother began playing. The competition urged her to continue and it has caused
her a lot of success.
The team is lacking some players.
Although they are able to play without any
problems, the ideal number of players on
the team is six. As the current number of
players is five they are willing to recruit new
members. The team has high hopes and they
aim to get many honors, particularly the city
championship, as they have previously. Thus
far they have held fast to this dream and have
already accomplished a great deal.
October 2005
Sports
Page 15
Northside’s Lax Team Gets Its Dose of Calcium
Men’s Lacrosse Team Hosts Milk Chug Challenge
by Rachel Ramir
Esturian, Adv. 903; Mark Mirano, Adv. 906; and Mike Jao,
Jimmy Paulius, Adv. 909, stands on a sidewalk near
Adv. 805.
Northside on an overcast Friday, eleven full gallons of milk at
“Well, this is very exciting,” said Ewa Baska, Adv. 703,
his feet. In just a few moments, all the gallons will be makwho was among the spectators. ”There’s school spirit, puke,
ing their way down- and then up- the throats of eleven lucky
guys, and milk.”Within half an hour,
participants, but for the
the first freshman, Travis Boewadt, Adv.
moment all is quiet.
906, had already whipped his cookies
“Milk makes you
amidst the cheers and laughter of the
strong,” he says, without
crowd. He looks a bit nauseous, smiles,
much conviction. The
and keeps drinking.
“Milk-Gallon Chal“That hurt so bad!” he said as he
lenge” is one conducted
brought the gallon back to his lips.
almost everywhere
Aside from manly glory, there was more
by only the boldest of
incentive for the freshmen to hold their
youth. The aim is to
milk down. Before beginning to drink,
drink an entire gallon
Richard Paulius let everyone know that
of milk in one hour and
he had three lacrosse sticks sitting in the
then hold it down for
trunk of his car - prizes (at a reduced
another.
price) for those who hold out the longest
The catch is that this
and drink the most.
is a physical impossibilMost of the crowd managed to stick
ity for nearly everyone,
around through the entire mess, though
so most of the milk
some moved to higher ground to avoid
ends up vomited onto
splatters.
the ground rather than
Many were friends of participants,
strengthening bones. So
some were just morbidly curious Northwhy the Milk Gallon
siders, but all were there to see someChallenge?
thing you just don’t see everyday. Ted
“It’s scientifically
Kalaw, Adv. 900, made an especially
proven that it increases
impressive show: halfway through, he
your ‘man index’,” said
finished off three-quarters of his gallon.
Richard Paulius, Adv.
Eventually, however, keeping the milk
710, “Why not? All over
down became too much.
the world there’s the
“It’s coming up soon. I feel it,” he
Milk Gallon Challenge.”
said. “This milk tastes terrible.”
Richard was the coBefore long there was a lovely colcoordinator, with Mike
lection of vomit on the ground. Most
Palma, Adv. 602, of the
of it was made up of 2% milk, but some
event. And so it begins. Northside lacrosse players chug down milk during
was chocolate, the choice of the more
Before a group of thirty the “Milk-Gallon Challenge.”
Photo by Rachel Ramir
experienced Milk Galloners. The first
or forty spectators and
varsity player to go was Jai Garg, who
participants, Richard
and Jai Garg, Adv. 703, kick off the fun by cracking open their did it all with a hurt knee.
“I gotta go home and clean off my cast and my shoes,” he
gallons and beginning to drink. They’re the brave ones- the
said laughing and indicating the speckles of chocolate milk on
varsity lacrosse players.
his white brace.
Aside from Zack Pierce, Adv. 702, the other participants
“This is pretty funny, but it gets boring after seeing so
are all underclassmen looking to begin their lacrosse season
many people puking,” said one spectator, McKenzie Rivers,
the right way, including Fernando Castro, Adv. 908; Danny
Adv. 807.
The running joke and truth of the event was that of all
of the trouble a group of teenage boys could get into, they’ve
chosen to drink milk. It is true that the whole of the Milk Gallon Challenge is disgusting.
Who wants to see what you ate for lunch? But when
taken lightheartedly, one can see the humor in it and even the
positive element of male-bonding. Aside from a few ailing
stomachs afterwards, no one was hurt and everyone had a
good time. There is something to be said for good, (mostly)
clean fun.
“It’s an initiation of sorts,” said goalie Steve So, Adv.
705. “The whole lacrosse team gets together, except for a few
people. And it’s funny.”
Milk was served in two delicious flavors: chocolate and
plain.
Photo by Rachel Ramir
Finally, after the hour passed, there were only two left who
hadn’t tossed their milk up yet, and both were convinced that
they couldn’t finish their gallons. Richard Paulius and Zack
Pierce stood side by side, and in the “grand finale” of the afternoon, the two veterans gave one last, crowd-pleasing show.
You Got Served!
Women’s Tennis Starts Off the Season with Victory
by Kana Yoo
This fall, the Women’s Tennis Team is
serving, volleying, and swinging its way to the
City Championships.
On Tuesday, September 13, the team
played its first official match against Lincoln
Park. While waiting for the game to begin,
the girls prepared
by running laps
around the courts
and watching
their opponents
play. Finally,
before separating
into their matches, the girls joined
together for a
group huddle.
Holding their rackets out in the center, the
girls cheered “Go Mustangs!” This warm-up
and spirit building worked its charm as the
varsity team rode home with success.
The second game, taking place on Thursday, September 15, was a home game against
Taft. On the varsity team, Sara Harding,
Adv.606, Amanda Kaiser, Adv.706, and Rana
Marks, Adv. 810, played singles, while Annie
Lesser, Adv. 709, Erin Egan, Adv. 606, Paula
Daniluc, Adv. 701, and Nancy Cheng, Adv.
601, played doubles. The varsity team won
three out of the five games.
Paula Daniluc described one of her best
shots to be during a quick succession of volleys.
“I didn’t know the ball was coming at me,
but in an instant I realized my racket hit the
ball,” said Paula. “It was accidental, but we
scored the point!”
The junior varsity team won all five of its
matches. The varsity team played Whitney
Young, Morgan Park, and Walter Payton,
and won one game. They will play Lane Tech
and CHSAS before going to the Team City
Championships on October 7 and 8.
“That’s what my goal is: to be one of the
better teams in the city and then get hot when
that city tournament comes,” said Coach
Mark Harlan.
To prepare for the games, Coach Harlan
strategically plans his line-up, and also drills
the girls based on their suggestions and on
problems that they have had in matches.
Coach Darlene Horn sees the team’s main
strength to be in serving and “slamming”,
or volleying the ball. She also compliments
“That’s what my goal is: to be one of the
better teams in the city and then get hot
when that city tournament comes,” said
Coach Mark Harlan.”
Sara Harding, Adv. 601, follows through on a ball hit her way during a match.
Photo by Shoaib Khan
the doubles partners’ communication skills
on the court, as they work together as a
unit.
Both coaches are new to the team this
year. Ms. Catherine Woodward, a social
sciences teacher, who coached the team for
four years, is taking a break from tennis due
to her pregnancy.
Among the many seniors leaving the
team next year is Sara Harding, a top ranking singles player on the varsity team.
“It’s sad to know that I won’t be playing
anymore,” said Sara. “But it was fun to
work my way up over four years.”
Beginning as a freshman, Sara started
playing doubles and is now one of the best
players on the team.
“Definitely do it,” she says for all those
interested in playing tennis for the first time.
“It’s a lifelong sport that anyone can play.
You can always play for fun. It’s definitely
worthwhile.”
Whether the team wins or loses, the
girls will walk away in style. Sara Harding
and Amanda Kaiser designed the team
shirts this year. They are white with maroon
sleeves, and they have a tennis emblem on
the front.
The team will proudly wear their new
uniforms to the City Championships. They
hope to do well there, and then move onto
the State Championships.
Page 16
Sports Khan-Ya
Hear Me?
Come
Back,
Lance
by Asrar Khan
We all know him as the greatest cyclist
ever. We all know him as the man with
maybe the greatest sports story ever told:
battling back from testicular cancer, winning the Tour de France seven times. His
story is great, awe-inspiring, and has left
us Americans with hope for everyone who
faces a major illness in life and attempts
to battle back. Lance has made us proud,
folks.
But those French. Those French, with
their snotty attitudes and supercilious
mindsets, have taken it upon themselves to
add a shadow of doubt over the greatest
American sports story ever told. They accuse Armstrong of using steroids or other
performance enhancing substances, and
therefore adamantly deny the existence of
miracles. This time, they have gone too far.
Rather than losing a war, which history
indicates they know how to do quite well,
they have created one.
Armstrong is being accused by two
main agencies that are centered in France.
Both the International Cycling Federation
(who call themselves the UCI) and especially the World Anti-Doping Agency have
no hard basis in saying Armstrong “doped”
because they point to false information and
shoddy test results to make their claim.
Armstrong has been the most tested athlete
in sports for the past eight years; in this
time, he has not failed one drug test and
has come up clean in hundreds of different
tests performed on him. The argument that
Mr. Dick Pound (what were his parents
thinking naming him that?), the exotically
named president of the World Anti Doping
Agency, and others use against Lance is
that even though Lance passed all his tests
since his return to cycling, the UCI did not
test for EPO (erythropoietin) until 2001.
Supposedly, the lab for the UCI took a
sample of Armstorng’s urine from 1999,
which they mysteriously had easily on
hand, and discovered that it had “traces”
of EPO. Why was Armstrong’s urine from
1999 tested? Who authorized it? Dick
Pound (I can’t even imagine the number
of beatings this guy took in high school)
says that the tests were indeed done by his
labs, but can’t explain why the results were
leaked. Of course, this guy can’t really say
anything because he’s being influenced
by L'Equipe, a French tabloid much like
the US’s Star Magazine. L'Equipe is closely
linked to the Tour and has a history of
frequently raised questions about how
Armstrong could have made his spectacular comeback from testicular cancer without using performance enhancers. L'Equipe
is owned by the Amaury Group whose
subsidiary, Amaury Sport Organization,
organizes the Tour de France and other
sporting events.
This entire story is very complicated
in many degrees. The UCI and L'Equipe,
though they won’t admit it, do not like the
domination Lance has put on in the Tour
de France for the past seven years. They
believe he has hurt the popularity of the
Tour overall because most of the media’s
attention has been focused on him. However, I say that had it not been for Lance,
no one would give a crap about the Tour. I
really don’t care if some random bozos win
a marathon for cycling across a country;
it’s the story behind the competitors that
sparks interest. Lance, just by himself and
his amazing story, has created such strong
interest in the Tour de France that next
year the ratings will be drastically lower
because Lance has retired from the sport of
cycling.
So I say, Lance, come back. One more
time, just to tick off the French, to prove
you’re clean and play hardball. They don’t
like the fact that you won the Tour de
France for the seventh straight time—come
back again and win it for the eighth time.
Let us see again the greatest story ever told,
the story of persistence, hope, and strong
character. You owe this not only to your
fans, but also to yourself. And while you’re
at it, make the French, but especially Dick
Pound angry by blowing away the competition.
The Hoof Beat
Spiking Up the Points
Women’s Volleyball Team Narrowly Defeats Lane
by Geethi Abraham
During the heat of battle, the
Women’s Varsity Volleyball Team
charged back to snatch victory
from Lane Tech High School on
September 19, 2005. Urged by the
roaring Mustang crowd, Co-Captain
Angie Nizio, Adv. 710, delivered
five consecutive kills during the final
minutes of the decisive third game,
clinching a 26-24 lead. A unified
“SEE YOU LATER,” rang from
the bleachers on the bump, set, and
spike of the final point of the game,
securing the Mustang Victory.
“During the final minutes of
the game all I could think was don’t
mess up,” said Angie Nizio.
The team did not start the game
off as determined as they ended it
however. After the first three serves
were Aces from Lane, Couch Nicole
Flores called a timeout to regroup
the players. However the team was
not yet on point. Angie scored the
first point for Northside at 1-9, but
the team remained unsuccessful
with only occasional scores here and
there. Lane maintained the lead.
Finally at 14-23 Coach Flores called
a second timeout, and the team put
together some momentum. Outside
hitter, Alyssa Walther, Adv. 710,
made a kill followed by two consecutive blocks. Urged by the cheering
crowd, the team was finally scoring
points. Their efforts were too late
Courtney Konow, Adv. 801, #13, moves into block an upcoming spike from Lane Tech’s Varsity
for the game point however, and Lane Women’s Volleyball Team.
Photo by Shoaib Khan
won the first game, 18-25.
“Even though we started off
slow, we knew that we were the better
of the game. The game was close, but Northto a tie at 20-20. An amazing up by the first
team,” said side hitter, Kim Ables, Adv. 709,
side was maintaining the lead with a series of
librero (a defensive position) in Northside hisand setter, Reese Eschmann, Adv. 700. “That
exciting kills by Nizio and Walther. At 16-10,
tory, Ashley Rivera, Adv. 801, further tied the
motivated us to push ourselves, so that we
Lane called a timeout, but it wasn’t of much
score at 21-21.
could achieve our goal of beating Lane.”
assistance to them as the Mustangs kept up
The game remained tied until by middle,
Push themselves they did, so by the
both their defense and their lead. However,
Courtney Konow, Adv. 801, allowed North
second game the Lady Mustangs were back in Lane seized a break in the communication of
Continued as “Defeats Lane” pg. 11
the competition, scoring the first four points
the Northside defense and brought the game
Team Aims for New Heights
Cross Country Team Starts New Season with Attitude
by Mohammad Khaleelullah
After coming off a successful
season last year, the North Side
Cross-Country team hopes to not
only match but also exceed last
year’s team’s success. During past
seasons, the team proved to be
victorious at different levels. This
season, the team is once again
aiming for a good year, hoping
to compete at the city and state
levels.
The team is divided up
team has two stars of their own
this year, the men’s varsity captains, Daniel Kittakka, Adv. 603,
and Joe Terdik, Adv. 603.
“We lost Andrew this year,
but we still have two great runners in Daniel and Joe,” said
Irfan Hussain, Adv. 806. “We’re
hoping they can help us reach
a higher level in competition.
We also have a very supportive
coach, Coach Gordon, and we’re
team members view as a similar
sport, instead of cross-country.
Players are encouraged to join
both teams to stay fit throughout
the year.
Last year, only Daniel Kittaka
qualified for the state sectionals.
The team wants to make another
run for the state sectionals this
year.
By combining their speed and
stamina, the team can definitely
week from 3:45 to 5:30 p.m. They
stick to a schedule that benefits
the whole team. Practices for
the cross-country team started
about two weeks before school.
This was to ensure that the team
would be ready to run for their
first race.
“On a regular practice day we
usually run a one-mile warm up,
then anywhere from four to six
miles, and finally we do weight
training,” said Lena Guerrirro,
Adv. 810.
Cross-country runners compete in either a two or three mile
run and always aim to beat their
own record times. Team members keep a personal record (PR)
for themselves as a form of motivation so their next run can be
faster than their last. The top five
running times in the competition
are announced as the winners.
The team expects to beat
their top competitors this year.
The team’s main rivals include
Stephen Mather and Lane Tech
high schools.
“Lane is our biggest rival,”
said Lena Guerriro, Adv. 810.
“Last year we came second to
them in the team city races. This
year we hope to turn that around
and come on top.”
Cross-country is a popular
sport at Northside, as the team
consists of well over 20 members.
“We have a pretty big team.
There are also a lot of freshman
The Northside Cross County Team lines up at the beginning of a race during a workout session.
runners this year, so it looks like
Photo by Mohammad Khaleelullah
we have a good future,” said Irfan
Hussain.
into four divisions, varsity and
like a family here, so I think we’ll
make it to the next level.
The team this year has been
junior varsity for both men and
do well.”
“The team this year is considextra popular among the freshwomen. The team looks like it is
Coach Gordon is back for his
erably stronger because we have
men.
in good shape to give Northside
second year to coach the team.
about 14 more members,” said
“There are a lot of us freshanother exciting season. Even
The team is excited to have him
Joe Terdik. “There are also more
man,” said Anna Park, Adv. 907.
though they lost one of their star
back. Mr. Humberto Gutierrez,
runners that are running times
“We hope to help this team
members from last year, Andrew
who assisted Coach Gordon last
that will be able to qualify this
reach new heights for years to
Watson from the class of 2005,
year, will be coaching track and
year for the state sectionals.”
come.”
they are still aiming high. The
field, which a lot of cross-country
The team meets five times a