Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Sewanhaka Central High School

by
Another One; the Keys to
of DJ Khaled
Success
list of virtues. “You smart, you loyal, you
G
K
regory
Star Wars: The
Force Awakens
othesakis
“Another one” “Rise up, rise up, bless
up” “The key to success, water” “They
don’t want us to jet ski” Aren’t these all
solid ways to live your life? Who said these
outrageously true mantras? Was it Martin
Luther King Jr.? Was it Gandhi? Jesus?
The answer is no. These prophetic and
veritable sayings are those of the voice of
a generation, he who provides us all with
a way to live our lives and a way to deal
with the stresses of just being alive. This
man, this legend, this, dare I say, visionary,
is DJ Khaled.
If you haven’t yet been blessed by the
good word of DJ Khaled, quickly grab the
nearest phone and add the man on Snapchat(@djkhaled305). What you’ll probably first see is his lavish breakfast. Egg
whites, chicken sausage, turkey bacon, and
of course, the key to success, water. Now
this man isn’t exactly Chris Traeger, he’s at
least 200 pounds. But every day he gets up
out of his bed, takes an elevator ride down
to his kitchen, and tries to eat healthy.
Every day, despite his lavish lifestyle and
constant cash flow, DJ Khaled gets up and
makes a conscious effort to eat healthier, to
live a better life. Isn’t this, after all, the real
key to success? When Khaled says that water is the key to success, he’s clearly aware
of the health benefits that drinking more
water brings, and through social media he
endorses healthy eating and healthy living.
How many celebrities lead by example as
DJ Khaled does? My guess would be not
many, and definitely no other celebrity has
turned drinking water into a social phenomenon.
After DJ Khaled drinks his Nestle Pure
Life Water® he goes about his day doing
a number of extravagant things. One of
his most beloved things to do after breakfast at noon is to water his plants. Now,
even though he lives in Miami and his
plants are tropical I don’t think they need
as much watering as he gives them. But
anyway, he goes outside in his “Another
One” slip-ons, grabs a hose, and literally
flicks his wrist around. The highlight of
his plant watering experience is his lion
statue. He’ll often turn to his lion and
scream, “LIOOON. LION ORDER.”
Now, to get the deeper meaning of this
mantra we need to look at lions. Lions
are animals that travel in packs, or prides,
and staying together is the foundation of
a lion’s instincts. Now what’s DJ Khaled’s
message here? To stay loyal. In his music
video for Hold U Down, Khaled gives a
grateful. I appreciate that”. Just like lions,
Khaled says that we all need to relearn one
of our forgotten values in this cutthroat
world: loyalty.
What DJ Khaled does with his evenings is ever-changing. Sometimes, he’ll
take the time to go jet skiing around
Miami, where he’s been pulled over for
speeding three times. If you walked into
Khaled’s home you’d probably find him
showering with Dove Soap or moisturizing with cocoa butter. He’ll roam around
Miami going to Heat games, visiting his
Finga Licking franchises, and watching
Justin Bieber’s Snapchat stories. And all
throughout his journies DJ Khaled repeats
to us one important thing. “They don’t
want you to enjoy this”. Enjoy what,
you may ask? Well they don’t want you to
enjoy anything. Your egg-white omelets,
your jet skis, your red velvet cake, they
don’t even want you to enjoy your Nestle
Pure Life Water®. Now Khaled presents a
valid point here. To get to the level where
he’s at, Khaled’s had to jump over a lot
of hurdles and do a lot of introspective
thinking. In his rise to the top Khaled’s
probably had tons of people who would’ve
taken him down to get a shot at success.
But does our favorite DJ back away from
the haters? No, Khaled gets on his jet ski,
looks to the camera and says, “Another
One”. Another challenge? Another obstacle? Another hater? Doesn’t bother this
DJ, no no. Maybe Steve Aoki would back
down, maybe Dr. Dre would back down,
Drake would definitely back down, but
DJ Khaled? No, he enjoys his life to the
fullest, making every day the best day he’s
had so far. And if the haters think Khaled’s
going to eventually fall from his pedestal,
they’re mistaken; if today’s a great day for
DJ Khaled, tomorrow’s just going to be
another one.
DJ Khaled finishes every day the same
way: with a dip in his Jacuzzi. As we too
settle into the end of our days with Khaled
we remember all the valuable lessons he’s
taught us today. Stay smart, stay loyal,
don’t let anyone take your success away
from you. Take care of yourself, treat others with respect, give thanks for everything
you have. Khaled is the modern man’s philosopher; when we look at DJ Khaled we
see a reflection of ourselves, of the person
we all want to be. And if we follow his
mantras and work at our success, we too
can be like DJ Khaled.
Bless up.
Nicholas Lasko
May 19, 1999: there was a disturbance in the Force. Fans of a
galaxy far, far away flocked to midnight premieres in theaters to see
the next installment in arguably the
biggest movie franchise of all time.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom
Menace was being released, much
to the excitement of nerds around
the world. The excitement quickly turned to anger as the credits
by
dull performances, the follow-up
prequels did nothing to improve
on Episode I’s shortcomings. Fans
everywhere were disheartened.
How could George Lucas do this
to their beloved franchise? Despair
spread as Lucas was insistent on
not doing any more movies, stating in a 2008 interview, “The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and
when Luke saves the galaxy and re-
he created, his involvement in the
new film was minimal. J.J. Abrams,
co-creator of hit television series
Lost and director of popular films
like the Star Trek franchise, was
picked from many potential candidates to direct, co-produce, and
co-author Episode VII. Abrams is
a lifelong fan of the franchise and
with this movie is aspiring to carry
on the prestige of the universe that
he’s inherited. In an interview with
“We have now a mind-controlled Sabretooth and of course
Wolverine, imagine those two going against a robot Chewbacca”
- Garth Blundon, Parks and Recreation
rolled at the film’s end. Universally
panned by critics and fans alike for
its lack of a solid story, overuse of
CGI, and overly wacky comical
elements, The Phantom Menace
was a massive disappointment to
fans that were led to believe that
they would be viewing a first film
on par with the original Star Wars.
This first utter catastrophe was followed by two additional lackluster
additions to the storied franchise,
Star Wars Episode II: The Clone
Wars and Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith. Plagued by
terribly weak story elements and
deems his father, that’s where that
story ends.” The hopes that Star
Wars would be saved by a trilogy
of sequels to the original films were
dashed. After the train wreck that
was the prequel trilogy, could anyone restore the glory of the once
great Star Wars saga?
In 2012, Disney bought Lucasfilm and acquired the rights to
the Star Wars saga. A new hope
emerged when the media magnate
announced they’d be producing
three new films. Although Lucas
was present for early story meetings to advise about the universe
Wired magazine, Abrams said,
“We wanted to tell a story that had
its own self-contained beginning,
middle, and end but at the same
time, like A New Hope, implied
a history that preceded it and also
hinted at a future to follow.” Obviously, the director is putting a ton
of effort and time towards crafting
a worthy successor to the original
trilogy of films. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote The
Empire Strikes Back and Return of
the Jedi, crafted the story for The
Force Awakens.
(continued on page 8)
Anooja John
Each year, the Institute on Domestic and International Affairs, or IDIA,
hosts a Model UN conference in New
Brunswick, New Jersey known as the
Rutgers University Model United Nations, or RUMUN, which students
from New Hyde Park Memorial High
School attended. From December 3-5,
29 students stayed at the Hyatt Regency with advisers Mr. Laugen and
Mrs. Madigan, as well as
approximately 2,000 other
students from different
schools.
The students participated in committee sessions
where they gave speeches,
caucused, wrote papers,
and solved crises all while
learning about global issues. Students from New
Hyde Park either represented the nations of Tur-
key or India in their committees. Some
of these committees included the Disarmament and International Security
Committee (DISEC), the Legal Committee, United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the International Space
Agency Summit.
The schedules were very busy as
committee usually started at 9AM only
to end at a brutal 11:30 PM. Nevertheless, the students still enjoyed them-
selves. Delegates were given the opportunity to meet new people both in and
out of committee. After caucusing for
hours, there was a Model UN dance on
Saturday night where it gave everyone
a chance to get out of Western business
attire and have a little fun. First-timer
Zahra Gittham felt that “the dance was
so much fun and everyone got to spend
time with each other without worrying
about policies or speeches.”
Although RUMUN is known for
being a bit more difficult,
New Hyde Park managed
to win several awards.
Winners include Gregory
Kothesakis, Eleni Kothesakis, Mackenzie Griffin,
Danielle Schwartz, Mollie Zimmerman, Nick
Donatelli, Billy Zois, and
Vinay Maddula, most
whom are first-timers at
this conference.
Glads Win Four Awards at RUMUN
by
by
Park, Here’s a Challenge For You!
Christina Panouis
As I stood on the sidelines looking
at the Carey High School Football field
on Friday, November 6th, I couldn’t help
but feel a sense of disbelief. This wasn’t
my first time standing on the sidelines
during a football game in a cheer uniform; I had been doing that since the
seventh grade. It was the fact that I was
standing on the sidelines of my very first
varsity playoff game during my very last
football season as a Gladiator cheerleader. I turned around to call out our
very first cheer and all I could see was
blue and white. There is only one word
to describe it: electric.
My dad is a complete football fanatic, and from a young age it was either
learn the game or be completely lost. I
picked up the rules of football really
quickly and as I got older I came to enjoy watching the game more and more.
My die-hard Jets fans dad taught me
everything I needed to know about the
excitement of loving a team and watching every single game. He took me to
countless Jets games in the stadium and
eventually, when the jets acquired “The
Jets Flight Crew Cheerleaders”, I began
to watch them perform on the sidelines.
Cheerleading, well that was something I
knew I wanted to do from the early age
of four. I loved watching all those mov-
son; I couldn’t help but wonder if more
support in the stands would’ve helped
the teams in winning more games and
boosting the moral.
Flash forward to my senior year in
high school. I can’t help but credit my
entire senior class for pioneering this
new “Blue and White” attitude, nor can
I help but credit the 2015 Varsity Football team for making it an exciting season to watch. From the beginning of my
senior football season, I began to see a
trend. More people were showing up to
games, and that made the atmosphere
more exciting. During football games
the “Defense” and “NHP” chants were
louder and the new form of pride was
obvious and contagious. The reaction
of the crowd after the first Gladiator
touchdown was insane. The crowd went
wild, and even when the game took a
“The way we play tonight is what we leave behind!”
-Troy Bolton, High School Musical
ies with the crazy spirited student fan
base, the packed stands, and most importantly the cheer squad that was front
and center proudly displaying school
spirit on the sidelines.
My very first football game as an
eighth grader was both nerve wracking
and exciting. The only difference between my first eighth grade game and
my first playoff game was that at thirteen years old I was greeted with empty
stands. I quickly learned that although
New Hyde Park Memorial offered me a
great education and so many activities,
what it couldn’t offer me was the energy
that games in movies like High School
Musical brought with it. As I slowly
began to learn (and football began to
learn) the football stands weren’t the
only empty seats in school. I also learned
a lot of my peers were more excited for
the shortened periods it offered.
This lack of school spirit continued
throughout my entire high school career. I couldn’t figure out why people
didn’t want to show up to games and
show their school spirit. Throughout
my years not many teams had the opportunity to experience a winning sea-
bit of a turn the chanting and cheering
didn’t stop. The chants of, “Do it for
Dolan”, even started up. For the first
time, I saw both the student body and
the faculty come together as Gladiators
to support one team. Our team.
We might have not won that playoff
game, but I couldn’t help but smile on
the bus ride back to school. I saw my
entire senior class at that game, but I
also saw my seventh grade brother and
his friends there as well. I know it might
sound corny, but this seemed to be our
school turning for the better. Maybe
New Hyde Park Memorial could host
sports games, like the ones I saw in
movies.
The challenge to New Hyde
Park students going forward is to remember just how fun that Friday game
was. How excited everyone was to be
on Team Blue. Remember the cheering
and the excitement felt throughout the
school day. Remember this as you continue your time through Memorial.
When I think back to being a senior or
even an eighth grader, I wish upperclassmen would’ve encouraged me to come
to games and participate in Gladiator
activities. I was embarrassed to go to
sports games or wear blue in white in
fear of being scrutinized. As a senior
apart of this new Gladiator movement, I
say come to games, especially sports that
you enjoy watching. On days of pep
rally wear blue and white and support
performing groups and sports teams.
Join the seniors that are a part of the
Zoo this basketball season as they cheer
show their school pride at basketball
games and join in as I cheer our gladiators from the sidelines. Who says that
the football team can’t make the playoffs again next year, and make it even
further then they already did? Who
says any New Hyde Park team can’t be
successful? Sure the success of the team
starts with its players, but the experience
of a game comes from the supporters
who are there.
Now to my fellow seniors, our job is
to keep this new team attitude around.
For the rest of the year demonstrate
unity, and show up to every Gladiator
sports event. Sit through pep rally, and
enjoy the last time we wear blue and
white.
Athletes should support other athletes. The football team went to support
the boys’ varsity volleyball team during
their playoff game, causing a completely
new energy, which the volleyball team
returned by up to support the football
team during their playoff game against
Carey. Athletes setting this example sets
a whole new tone for the rest of the students.
As a cheerleader, I’ve gotten my fair
share of negative comments. “Cheer
isn’t a sport” and “What do you guys really do?” are two of the many that have
been thrown at me through the years.
I am not here to change people’s perceptions or debate whether or not it’s a
sport. What I will say is that during my
competition last year when my entire
squad saw all our friends and family out
there supporting us, it made us want to
work a lot harder when it was time to
execute our routine. The energy and excitement I felt when I heard the crowd
rooting for us was a feeling I’ll never
forget. I imagine that’s how any athlete
feels when they walk out on a court or a
field, only to see hundreds of their classmates cheering them on.
I had to wait till my senior year, to
have my “movie moment”, and to see
our school come together to cheer on
one team, but that doesn’t mean underclassmen should have to. Be proud
to be a Gladiator, and don’t let other
people tell you that it’s “uncool” to show
some spirit. Moving forward, make sure
stands are full of blue and white, and
most importantly make everyday a good
day to be a Gladiator.
The Chariot
“Carries The News”
Staff
Editors-In-Chief-----------Gregory Kothesakis, Christina Panouis
Copy Editors---------------Grace Lee, Alishbah Saddiqui
News Editor----------------Shaheer Ilyas, Jordan Williams
Features Editors------------Emily Budhram, Fiona Kiernan
Sports Editors--------------Tyler Baron, Vishruth Girish
Entertainment Editors----Roby Daniel, Eleni Kothesakis
Student Life Editors-------Jana Cruz, Krupa Patel
Cartoonists------------------Priyanka Algu, Matthew Wong
Business Managers---------Sabrina Balducci, Michael Valentino,
Karina Wong
Publicity Coordinators----Margaret Cotter, Danielle Schwartz
Manager---------------------Millena Skugor
Advisers----------------------Michael Stencel, Ellen VanWie
Writers: Anas Abbas, Tahmid Bhuiyan, Tyler Cabrera, Sonam Delhiwala, Zahra Gittham, Frederick Grimshaw, Maya Guzman, Alora Hague, Sachin Jacob, Shane Jacob,
Abha Japi, Anooja John, Sharon John, Jeffin Kuriakose, Nicholas Lasko, Vinay Maddula, Alicia Manjila, Keshav Persaud, Abir Petiwala, Jena Poblete, Anush Shah, Yahya
Sheikh, Prathit Shukla, Vishwajit Sharma, Ashley Thomas, Logan Ward, Ronald Zekthi
by
Abir Petiwala and Yahya
Sheikh
Islamophobia- the notion that describes
the feelings of many people towards Muslims in this world, especially due to the
recent terrorist activity involving ISIL, or
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (formerly known as ISIS). Though islamophobia has existed for a long time, the 9/11
terrorist attacks and the advent of ISIL
have increased the bouts of hate towards
Muslims, and even the fear of them. After
the tragic attacks in Paris less than a month
ago, we have seen islamophobia rise to an
extent greater than ever before.
Since the tragic attacks in Paris on the
evening of November 13th, Europeans have
been struggling to remain united while
welcoming immigrants and refugees, who
are purportedly “invading” their countries.
This backlash has come at an inopportune
time, especially as Europe is facing an immense influx of Syrian refugees who are
fleeing their country’s brash and ongoing
civil war. The xenophobia in Europe has
become a gripping reality: Europeans are
debating closing off their countries for refugees, and vengeful attacks on Muslims and
ethnic minorities are becoming alarmingly
common. A viral video shows that in London, a bystander pushed a Muslim woman
into an oncoming train. The evidence from
surveillance cameras shows that the woman
Faith Under Fire
ed to initiate and enter the minds of many
Americans, evidenced through the many
hate crimes upon certain groups and minorities in the country. Although when former
President George W. Bush addressed the
nation after one of the biggest tragedies the
nation had ever endured, he made a strong
attempt in defending the name of Islam and
its values. In his speech that was broadcasted
across the nation, Bush said, “It’s practiced
viduals would be threatened because of their
faith or their choice in how to follow it.
Unfortunately, deleterious incidents such as
these have even hit the people we know personally. Just like many other Sikhs, Muslims,
and Jews around the world, senior Manpreet
Singh is one who “wears his religion.” Although he is a Sikh, he has also feared discrimination over the past month. Manpreet
said, “Going to school with a constant fear
ing that they were “…not what this party
stands for and, more importantly, [they
are] not what this country stands for.” In
a recent address, President Barack Obama
stated, “We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war
between America and Islam. That, too, is
what groups like ISIL want.” Islamophobia
plays right into the hands of groups like the
Islamic State. By creating a divide between
Muslims and their countries, ISIL wants
to create frustration amongst Muslims,
and then plead with them to fight in their
war against western democracy. President
Obama continued to state, “ISIL does not
speak for Islam… They account for a tiny
fraction of more than a billion Muslims
around the world — including millions of
patriotic Muslim Americans who reject
their hateful ideology.”
As Muslims, it seems that we are expected to openly condemn such violence, and
guarantee to others that we do not stand
with ISIS, al-Qaeda, or other extremist
groups. After every act of terrorism or violence, we brace ourselves for another round
of accusations against our faith. We know
that we will hear more absurdist claims
about Islam advocating murder or Muslims
becoming an imminent threat. As said by senior Tahmid Bhuiyan, “I constantly remind
myself that even if the nation accepts us a
whole, it takes just one trigger from any-
freely by many millions of Americans, and
by millions more in countries that America
counts as friends. Its teachings are good and
peaceful, and those who commit evil in the
name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah.
The terrorists are traitors to their own faith,
trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself.” If one
compares this statement made by President
Bush in 2001 with Donald Trump’s statements about Muslims in 2015, it is clear
that both men do not have the same view of
Islam. President Bush did what he felt was
best for his country, and that was creating a
social order in which everyone felt comfortable and worked together to achieve peace.
As of now, Republican candidate Donald
Trump is doing the total opposite. Instead
of creating peace and eliminating the concept of islamophobia or xenophobia from
the thought processes of many, he is contributing to their growths and also creating fear
in the minds of Muslims as well. Trump has
ignited more and more anger in the minds
of people and this has resulted in hate crimes
across the country. He has claimed that he
had seen thousands of Muslims in Jersey
City cheering in joy after seeing the World
Trade Center collapse, even though his claim
was never found to be true after extensive research. Comments similar to this can cause
mayhem and concern for many Muslims. In
fact, it seems that Muslims are targeted for
the sake of finding a scapegoat for the irrational attacks taking place in the world.
It’s difficult to comprehend why indi-
of being labeled something I am not, I have
become scared to live up to my true potential. When there are discussions about terrorism in, say, a social studies class, I become
self-aware and hope that no one equates me
to a terrorist. Even though I am of a different
faith I can say that I feel what Muslims are
going through today.”
However, the fact is that such hatred
has grown tremendously in past months.
Public speakers like Donald Trump, Ben
Carson, and Ann Coulter only perpetuate
such hatred. Ironically, esteemed politicians
and commentators such as these have only
spread hatred, rather than work to diminish fear. Trump has called for numerous
plans that target Muslims, including creating identity badges so people are aware that
an individual is Muslim, banning Muslims
from entering the country, and shutting
down mosques that appear suspicious. Political commentator Ann Coulter, known
for her extreme conservative views, tweeted,
“Don’t want terrorism in US? Stop importing Muslims!” Obviously, this is similar to
events throughout history that we have
learned about, including Hitler’s identification system for Jews and minorities during
the Holocaust and the United States’ creation of internment camps for the Japanese
during World War II.
Fortunately, we can see opposition to
these heinous accusations and suggestions.
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan
responded to such comments by claim-
where around the globe in order to offset the
public against us Muslims. It brought me to
the terrifying reality that it’s not the government who we should fear of persecution,
but the people.” It’s ridiculous to claim that
a religion of 1.6 billion followers around
the world encourages violence and a call
to arms, and even more ridiculous to have
to argue against such sentiments. Unfortunately, this happens all to often, and is never
called to question.
In order to end this cycle of discrimination, we must become more cognizant of
the situations around the world. It’s certainly
easier to ignore learning the truth about Islam for many people, but that is something
we Muslims will have to deal with no matter what. People will have their opinions and
will speak up, but it is our role in society
to reach out to as many people we can and
teach them about Islam and its values. While
this may be an issue of islamophobia, on a
larger scale, this is also an issue for humanity. Instilling hate and fear into others can
cause chaos not for only one certain group
but also for others. Maybe the only solution
to this issue is the Muslim community itself!
Maybe we Muslims have to start clearing up
the misconceptions that many people have.
At this point, whatever certain political figures say about us, whether it’s good or bad,
cannot define us as a whole. It is our time
to now show that Islam really means peace,
and hopefully time will erode these misconceptions.
“Don’t want terrorism in US? Stop importing Muslims!”
-Ann Coulter, conservative commentator
was wearing a headscarf, also known as the
hijab. According to social studies teacher
Thomas Galvin, the backlash towards Muslims is because “European countries are a
lot more homogeneous then we are; they
are not as diverse, both in ethnicity and religion. A ‘small’ refugee crisis coming into
their country has a bigger impact on them
than it would here in the United States. So
therefore, any changes that they see in their
societies would be seen more than here in
America, where we are used to a lot more
differences in our communities.”
However, despite America’s model ideals on tolerance and openness to change,
there have been numerous instances where
Muslims have been targeted in the United
States. This past Thanksgiving, a taxi driver
was shot in Pittsburgh by one of his passengers after being heavily interrogated about
his religion and ethnicity. Fortunately, the
taxi driver was able to drive away from the
shooter and received immediate assistance at
a nearby hospital. This is one of countless
instances in which an American is targeted
for their differences in faith and culture, a
situation that should not occur in a nation
revered for its diversity. In our country, there
should never be a fear of Muslims, people
who look different, or people who follow a
certain faith.
Society has come across many changes
socially in this aspect in the past decade or
so. After the terrifying terrorist attacks on
September 11th, 2001, xenophobia had start-
A little warm for
December, eh?
by
Emily Budhram
From November 30th to December 11th, the country of France hosted
and chaired the 21st Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Conventions on Climate Change, also known as
COP21 for short. There is a great deal
of pressure placed on this conference
due to the fact that the overall goal is
to create an agreement that corresponds
to the interests of all countries, while
of course halting the effects of global
warming and limiting temperatures to
below 2°C (3.6°F). Although this has
always been an issue, recently climate
change is becoming a much more prominent topic. Even though the United
Nations is paying more attention to
climate change, as well as responding
to the news and even social media, the
mounting question is- why?
Everyone learns the fundamentals of climate change in elementary
school. “Factories release greenhouse
gases which make the ozone layer disappear which lets the sun melt glaciers.”
However, that is only the beginning.
According to studies conducted by
NASA, global warming is primarily human-induced and has been increasing
at an unprecedented rate for over 1,000
years. This climate change, which is occuring on a massive scale has had many
far-reaching impacts in recent years. In
the last century, sea levels have risen
over six inches. Along with phenomenon, the global temperature is increasing, ice sheets are shrinking, glaciers are
retreating, and snow cover is decreasing.
Meanwhile, more extreme trends with
long-term effects are emerging, such as
the increase of tsunamis and other natural disasters, which ultimately can be
blamed on global warming.
In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) was adopted in Rio de Janeiro. It addressed the issue of anthropogenic climate change, whichlargely
happens to be due to the actions of
industrialized nations. It also attributed the majority of the responsibility
of combating global warming to developed countries, seeing as greenhouse gas
emission principally stems from factories in industrialized countries.
On December 8th, all of the countries’ views were layed out on the floor
and resolutions were in the making.
Much progress was achieved and by
Friday, December 11th, the Paris Agreement was adopted by all countries in the
United Nations. This document is to be
signed in early 2016, in a ceremony organized by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon.
Serving Up Change
Jordan Williams
Six pages of single-spaced, unabridged
student opinion- this was the final push
that urged the Sewanhaka Board of Education to take an unprecedented step
toward fixing a problem that’s long been
overlooked.
Echoing throughout the cafeterias of
New Hyde Park have been the same
complaints for years now. Students have
dragged on about the sogginess of the
sweet potato fries, the staleness of the
bagels, or perhaps the fact that mozzarella sticks have been served for the
fourth week in a month. But despite the
sustained dissatisfaction with the school
lunch, there hasn’t been a real response.
Attempts by students in the past to revamp the lunch service have fallen flat,
mainly due to a lack of organization,
guidance, and support.
But this long trend of inaction is being put to a stop thanks to the collaboration and joint effort of students, administration, and staff. Periodically over
the summer break, a group of student
representatives met with Dr. Faccio to
discuss an array of grievances and solutions pertaining to the lunch service.
Led by seniors Kyle Bangug, Roby Daniel, Vishruth Girish, Shaheer Ilyas, and
Jordan Williams, the group wasted no
time in making its voice heard. Outlinby
by
ing its ideas in a comprehensive position paper, it was determined to send a
clear and loud message: the quality of
the current service was simply unacceptable. Kyle Bangug, president of the student body, said, “I had a personal motivation to promote change because I eat
the lunch daily. I knew I had to try to
solve this problem.” But it’s important
to note that the overall purpose of the
Source: Whitsons Culinary Group
paper wasn’t to nitpick at the sogginess
and staleness of the food, but rather address the issue at large. Although certain
meals left most students craving tastier
alternatives, what dissatisfied them even
more were conditions that fell outside
the realm of taste. Restocking shelves,
displaying item prices, and distributing
equal portion sizes seemed to be reasonable expectations, yet they were often
disregarded, causing students to feel
confused and annoyed. These concerns
were highlighted in the paper as well.
Sent to Dr. Ferrie in August to be
reviewed, the paper didn’t contain any
breaking news to the superintendent. It
reinforced a major issue that had been
established earlier this year at the regular Student Advisory Council meetings,
solidifying the fact that improvement
was absolutely necessary. Beginning in
September, as minor changes were set in
motion, the overall quality of customer
service increased.
January 4th marks the date of the
implementation of an entirely new food
provider. The switch extends beyond the
walls of New Hyde Park, as the Board
of Education voted to hire the Whitsons
Culinary Group to take over the kitchens of all five schools within the district.
Much is expected of the new provider,
as it will purchase the food, create the
menu, and potentially offer options that
have never been seen before, such as salad, taco, and pizza bars. This increased
variety is precisely what many students
want. Nonetheless, the change will be a
gradual process. Since the new company
will have to use the remaining inventory
of food before it can fully jumpstart
its own system, it likely won’t be until
February or March until noticeable differences emerge. Dr. Faccio encourages
students to keep an open mind, “You
need to try it. We won’t know if it’s
working if people don’t try it.”
Commonplace Casualties
Vinay Maddula
-“San Bernardino Shooting Kills at Least
14”
-“Oregon Gunman Smiled, Then Fired,
Student Says”
-“Nation Reels After Gunman Massacres
20 Children at School in Connecticut”
These New York Times headlines
serve to illustrate the new normal.
Shootings, killings, and deaths run
amok in the United States today, despite
the fact that the last five years have been
the most peaceful in recent decades.
Gun violence has supposedly erupted
in recent years and wrongful death accusations fuel debates and riots across
the country. “Gun violence has become
so common to the point that I question
whether the purpose is for self-defense
or simply a means of getting what someone wants,” as stated by senior Tahmid
Bhuiyan. But what lies at the heart of
this sharp increase in reports of incendiary and sustained violence?
Popularization and globalization of
media have made news more accessible
to more and more people, and these
outlets crave: more profits, more viewership, more attention. More. Yet, the
news networks don’t allow individuals
reprieve from the inundation of national occurrences. Networks such as
Fox News, NBC, and, especially, CNN,
harp on key issues that seem to persist, such as shootings, terrorism, and
plane disappearances. Occurrences that
would’ve warranted less than two days’
reporting require months of daily coverage, reports, interviews, and rehashes
of the same, old thing. These networks
seem not to care for the people they
infringe upon, but solely for the profit
that this infringement brings. They
don’t care for the people they hurt, nor
do they want to.
Of course, news has to happen.
Shootings and mass murders are terrible
and don’t have any justification to exist
in this so-called modern world. Society
deserves to know what is happening
in the world surrounding it. However,
according to senior Jerin Abraham,
“Media coverage on such issues has increased so much that you really can’t go
a few weeks without hearing about another one.”
With this flood of daily news of
mass murders, suspected terror plots, or
bombings, people have become obviously desensitized to this violence. Apa-
thy sets in rather quickly as news constantly displays the same phenomenon.
When presidential candidates can only
muster a “stuff happens” in response to
a college shooting, this phenomenon is
not limited to the general public. Jeb
Bush is not alone in his sentiments, as
even more popular candidates, such as
Donald Trump, refuse to even comment on policy. Teacher Mr. Sanossian
believes in “addressing mental health
care issues and keeping guns away from
people who shouldn’t have them.” He
continues to refute the current government that isn’t “enforcing already present laws. The government is not doing
enough.”
These events should have a greater impact than they actually do. Mass
murders are few and far between, so
much so that they stoke the flames of
news networks. Yet, as senior Nimi Patel proposed, “The fact that shootings
are becoming so commonplace that
we’ve simply conditioned ourselves to
just ignore them is beyond terrifying.”
As terrifying as this might be, this ideal
persists and remains in the American
public who would rather live undisturbed in a world of peace.
by
It’s Fifth Period - Do You Know Where Your
Children Are?
Jena Poblete
and
Millena Sku-
gor
Security has always been an essential component to any school setting.
New Hyde Park is no exception. However, questions still remain unanswered
regarding whether or not all measures
have been fulfilled to maximize student
safety. Is it due to the lack of responsibility in the students themselves? Do
we need to implement stricter security measures? Or is it all dependent on
those who enforce them?
It is no rare occurrence to see students simultaneously looking down
onto their phones, blasting music, and
casually roaming the halls. Picturing
this, many students often see no harm
in this portrayal. Unfortunately, the lack
of awareness as to why this is wrong, is
the reason why strict protocols are established. These actions can endanger
the students, especially during times of
emergency. This puts security guards in
a position where they have no choice
but to reprimand students in order to
create a safe environment.
“I wish the kids would understand
why we need certain measures. For example they shouldn’t wear a hood or
hat because we can’t see who they are or
they shouldn’t use headphones because
we need them to listen to directions if
there ever was an emergency. We don’t
do this to be mean, it is for everyone’s
safety”, said security guard Marla Macaluso.
One main concern regarding the security of the school surrounds underclassmen leaving the building. The privilege
of leaving the building is solely reserved
for seniors. However, it seems as though
this “privilege” is taken advantage of by
some underclassmen. Security guards
often fail to check IDs and question the
students leaving the building. The security guards’ lack of enforcement and the
students’ irresponsibility in not following security measures, are both factors
that could lead to a serious problem.
The failure of both parties to enforce
and follow the measures set forth by the
school is the reason why some question
the safety and security of the school.
“I think the security measures in our
school are pretty good as they are, although I think they should take more
precautions into letting kids out of the
school whether they are seniors or not
because the underclassmen aren’t really
supposed to leave,” said senior Steven
Cano.
There is no party held completely
in the wrong, but a joint effort between
students and faculty is required to uphold the standards needed for maximized security.
While the Republican Party is currently occupied with a civil war, the
Democrats focus on the issues at hand
and even support each other in heated
debates. A brilliant example of this is
during the first Democrat Presidential
Debate, in which Bernie Sanders stated
that the American people are “sick and
tired of hearing about” Clinton’s emails.
Along with the overwhelming majority of Americans, many people in
this school also believe that Democrats
will make this country better. Mr. Sime
stated, “The Democrat Party is generally more in favor of social services, historically, and more in favor of programs
that are beneficial on all economic levels
as opposed to some of them.”
Many people view the amalgamation
of Republicans running for president as
a negative thing. However, it’s obvious
that the Republicans have no shortage
of candidates, unlike the Democratic
Party. While the Republicans have an
array of personalities vying for office,
the Democrats really only have one.
This has created an overwhelming number of issues for the Democrats. They have one candidate, Hillary Clinton, who could win. Despite
his appeal to some, Bernie Sanders has
no chance of winning the general election, as he has the potential of winning
only the blue states (states that tend to
vote Democrat). Only Hillary has national prestige and occupies enough of
the middle ground to stand a chance in
the general election. And for those of
you who know who Martin O’Malley
is, you know why he can’t win: because
most of the people around you don’t
know who he is.
The Democratic Party has positioned
itself closer to the middle, not too far to
the left of the political center. Assuming
that Hillary can carry the left as well as
the middle, she has a very good chance
at gaining votes. But for the Democrats
to rely solely on Hillary to win can be
risky, as putting all their eggs in one basket may reduce their chances. Should
another scandal break loose about her,
she may not come out unscathed and
may in fact, lose the lead. Mr. Galvin
said, “By the Democrats limiting their
options, if one thing goes wrong, then
they will be in a very difficult spot to
get a candidate that stands a shot in the
election this late in the race.”
Even though Hillary came out of
the latest Benghazi and email scandal
panel looking seemingly strong, her image is nonethless tainted. Mr. Dolan has
offered his opinion on the status of Hillary as well. He said, “It’s a disaster. Just
looking for options we’re being cornered
into leftism. The front runner can’t decide if she’s a Republican or Democrat.
It takes a little bit of socialism to make
the government work, but the other two
candidates are a bit over the top for me.
And I consider myself a Democrat.”
Source: The Mississippi Press
Democratic Duality
by Frederick Grimshaw, Alishbah
Saddiqui, and Ronald Zekthi
After a few debates, it’s clear that
the Democrats have shown more
sophistication, knowledge, insight,
and zeal in their responses than their
Republican counterparts have shown.
Democratic ideals are also generally more in line with core American
values. The Democrats represent
minorities, women, the millennials, the
educated, and the working class— all
of which outnumber those who favor
the Republicans.
An issue the Democrats strongly
believe in resolving is the incessant drug
war that has been plaguing our country
for the last 40 years. Unlike the Republicans, the Democrats realize that the
incrimination of individuals who have
committed nonviolent actions is wrong,
especially since this incrimination
can devastate a person’s life, as it usually leads to unemployment and social
stigma. Presidential candidate Bernie
Sanders has said, “Although about the
same proportion of blacks and whites
use marijuana, a black person is almost
four times more likely to be arrested for
marijuana.” It’s precisely this bias treatment of people, this double standard,
that needs to be eliminated. The Democrats also support the abolition of big
banks, the rights of gays and minorities,
and the responsibility of Americans to
accept Syrian refugees.
2015 In Review
by
Tahmid Bhuiyan
The year 2015 has been filled with
numerous major events that not only
give birth to new facts, but also connect
to long-term issues and discussion topics around the globe.
An opposition party recently won a
crucial majority of the parliament over
the Socialist Party during elections in
Venezuela. There now lays the possibility that Socialist Leader Nicolas Maduro
may be recalled from office, followed by
major movements to resolve their current economic crisis.
In terms of the global environment, negotiators from 195 countries discussed and settled on a deal to reduce
overall carbon emission at a climate
change conference in Paris. The principal objective of the agreement was to
establish a concrete plan to fight global
warming,.
During the month of May, the
United States took Cuba off of its list of
states sponsors of terrorism. Although
the government has had crucial concerns and various disagreements with a
variety of Cuba’s policies and decision,
the United States have decided to look
past it all in an effort to resume full diplomatic relations.
Heat waves are generally common
in the summer, but this past summer
of 2015 had been a fatal one for India.
Temperatures have hit as high as 118
degrees Fahrenheit, and reports say that
more than 2500 people had died from
the severe heat wave. It was labeled as
India’s worst heat wave yet.
China still, however, intends to continue in their commitment to investing
in Africa. Chinese President Xi Jinping
recently announced that the country
will pledge to fund support for Africa’s
overall development, equal to $60 billion.
The head of the Catholic Church has
opened the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy Doors are only opened
on special years labeled Jubilee Years,
with this iteration being the Jubilee of
Mercy. Those who walk through the
Holy Door will receive an indulgence,
lessening their sins.
These issues have generally shown a
connection between the present and the
past. Providing much room for concern,
they affect people not only on a personal level, but a daily basis. cknowledging the fact that the actions taken now
impact the future will help the global
society progress and avoid the path
of self-destruction. The bar of expectations is set high for the upcoming years,
and with collaboration, it just might be
achieved.
by
Cha Town Cops
Shot
Down Teen
S
I
haheer
lyas
The federal government has launched two parallel
investigations on police brutality in Chicago amid the
release of recent evidence from the Laquan McDonald
killing and Chicago’s police misconduct complaints,
which may have been dealt with inappropriately for
years.
The Department of Justice, which is leading the investigations, is looking particularly into the 2005 murder of Laquan McDonald by police officer Jason Van
Dyke, who fired 16 shots into the 17 year old. One of
the main concerns in the case is the video evidence of
Van Dyke firing on McDonald within a few seconds
after vacating his vehicle, as well as the inconsistencies between the video and the police reports in which
several officers state McDonald swung a knife at the
officers with the intent to harm or kill them. The dashcam video negates these police statements, indicating
a cover up by the officers or the department. Jason Van
Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has taken a very
transparent and public role throughout the investigation process so far. On Tuesday December 1st, he asked
for the resignation of Chicago’s Police Chief. Emanuel
welcomed the federal investigation and launched a
new task force that would investigate problems within
the Chicago Police Dept. The Justice Department will
investigate policing practices as well as violations of
the Constitution and federal law.
The second investigation is to check how high up
the chain of corruption leads and whether or not city
hall is involved in any of these cover ups in police brutality/misconduct cases. It’s important to remember
that the acts of some officers doesn’t define all officers,
however it does hinder their ability to do protect and
serve, as the trust between the public and officers has
nose-dived due to several isolated cases and movements in 2015.
Christmas in Kobanî: The Case for a Free Kurdistan
Gregory Kothesakis
This winter season, the most prominent thing on peoples’ minds
has been ISIL. Through the Paris attacks, San Bernardino shootings,
and Syrian refugee crisis, many countries, politicians, and ordinary
people have been captivated with the conflict in the Levant. The
West isn’t the only group to have its eye on the Islamic State, though.
In northern Iraq and Syria there exists a group of freedom fighters
who oppose Islamic fundamentalism, actively fight ISIL soldiers,
promote the empowerment of
women, and protect religious
and cultural minorities. This
group is an island of modernity
in a sea of archaism. This group
is the Kurds, and their campaign
for a free Kurdistan is the most
valiant cause in the modern era.
Earlier this fall, the organization known as Rojava conquered
the northern Syrian city of Kobanî from ISIL. Pushed against
the Turkish border of Syria, Kobanî was ISIL’s bridge into Turkey, and served as a way for European recruits to sneak into Syria.
Most of Kobanî’s residents belong to an ethnic group known as the
Kurds. A Persian people, Kurds have been denied the right to have
their own state since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Rojava is a
newly-formed government of Kurds in northern Syria, and through
a secular view Rojava hopes to create the first Syrian-Kurdish state.
Throughout history, however, there has been a disproportionate
opposition to the creation of a free Kurdistan, mostly due to the
Republic of Turkey. Turkey, an American ally and longstanding
member of NATO, pretended nothing had happened as over 300
civilians had died in the span of a few days along its southern border
in Kobanî. Similarly, Turkey refuses to allow NATO aid to Iraqi
Kurdistan, which has succeeded in protecting the minority population of Yazidis and Syriac Christians in Iraq’s Nineveh Governorate.
The United States has verbally supported the campaign waged by
Iraqi Kurdistan and their paramilitary group, the Peshmerga, but
has failed to send meaningful support to the struggling liberators.
This atmosphere of bureaucratic gridlock and political maneuvering is the backdrop to which over one thousand Kurds are dying in
Syria and Iraq.
If the United States, or indeed any Western nation, wants to
create a lasting peace in the Middle East and end ISIL-backed terrorism, there must be an increased tangible support for Rojava Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan. Since the United States’ invasion of Iraq in
2003, the government’s policy has been to uphold the weak central
government in Baghdad and leave the Kurds to their own devices.
There’s been a startlingly similar approach used in Syria, where the
United States provides arms, airstrikes, and international recogniby
tion to a decentralized rebel group. If our failures in creating stability
in Iraq provide any lesson to us today, it is this: support Kurdistan.
Iraqi Kurdistan has not only managed to create a democratic autonomous government in a tumultuous part of the world, but has
also opened up combat positions to women, protected the Yazidi,
Syriac Christian, and Shi’ite religious minorities, and responsibly
used and maintained the northern Iraqi oil reserves. The Peshmerga,
Iraqi Kurdistan’s military force, has also been shown to be effective
through combat with the Islamic
State. All these reasons and more
have sown Iraqi Kurdistan to be a
moderate, responsible, and progressive member of the modern
world, and all of their actions
reflect those of a free state. For
example, this fall Kurds retook
the mountain of Sinjar from the
Islamic State. In keeping with its
values of religious tolerance and
secularism, the Peshmerga relocated Yazidis to the mountain,
Source: The Times of Israel
which they consider sacred. Iraqi
Kurdistan is a moderate force in a radical world, and it needs to be
given the sovereignty it deserves.
Syrian Kurdistan is a new player on the world stage. It didn’t
exist until the Syrian Civil War broke out, and Kurds do not even
represent a plurality in many of the places that they now control.
Along with their Iraqi counterparts, however, Rojava has been
shown to be an effective international player in Syria, especially with
their miniscule time of existence. Starting near the Iraqi border with
Syria, Rojava carved out a piece of territory for itself out of the decaying regime of Bashar al-Assad. Sweeping westward through the
Syrian desert, Rojava protected citizens from slaughtering of ISIL
and the oppression of the Syrian government. Like Iraqi Kurdistan,
Rojava allows women to fight in combat and protects the minorities
of Syria. In reality, most of the people under Rojava’s governance
are not Kurds. Instead, many are Sunni Arabs who don’t identify
with or speak the same language as the Kurds. Rojava’s secular and
democratic ideals, however, are attractive to the thousands of people
who fear the oppression of al-Assad, the brutality of ISIL, and the
chaos of the Free Syrian Army.
Kurdistan has existed for thousands of years under many rulers. Under the Persians they survived, under the Arabs they were
stifled, under the Turks they were silenced, and under the Iraqis
they suffered. The modern age is not one of any of these attributes.
Instead this era in history will be the one of a free Kurdistan; free
of ethnic cleansing, free of linguistic constrictions, free of Islamic
oppression. Out of the smoldering ruin of Mesopotamia will arise a
liberated Kurdistan, with shackles thrown off and a future as bright
as a 21-rayed sun.
N
E
W
S
Source: Marine Corps Gazette
Source: UandiStar
Chennai, India - Rescue workers move past a government
hospital in southern India as torrential downpours drenched the
region in the worst flood in over a hundred years.The area was
deluged in 14 inches of rain ­last Wednesday, December 2nd, as the
death toll nears 300. Over 3,000 people have been rescued by the
over 30 teams of National Disaster Response Force mobilized by
the government. The rain is part of the regular monsoon season
that is expected to last till the end of December.
-S.Ilyas
I
N
P
I
C
T
U
R
E
S
al-Anbar,
Iraq - Women service-members group together
outside al-Anbar Air Base after Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced, on Thursday, December 3rd, that all combat positions are
being opened to women. The historic announcement opens over
220,000 roles, including Special Forces units that were formerly
limited to males. The move remains controversial within the military, as many higher ranking personnel disagree with the its role in
increasing combat effectiveness.
-S.Ilyas
Coldplay Goes Up and Up Say Hello to the Top of Charts
by
Ashley Thomas
Coldplay’s seventh album A Head
Full of Dreams is the most accurate
example of the expression “Light after Darkness.” Ghost Stories was not a
complete let down but it did not give
the talent of Chris Martin and company
complete justice. Contrarily, A Head
Full of Dreams shows the skill and talent of Martin and company, which allowed them to create an evolutionary
alternative album with lasting melodies
and impactful beats.
The decision to work with Stargate
was a clever one. This production duo
is best known for blending flavors of
R&B and pop. A Head Full of Dreams
sounds like a complete pop record and
Coldplay has never been catchier. Tempos are brisk and the ringing guitars and
thumping bass is a definite fan pleaser.
Although there are many new aspects
of the album, Coldplay still manages to
keep the layered guitar effect with crescendos that are comparable to tracks
from the 2008 album Viva la Vida or
Death and All His Friends.
In many interviews, Martin admitted how he wanted to make an uplifting
album that would prompt fans to “shuffle their feet.” As I listened, that is exactly what I did. The album successfully
achieved this uplifting nature through
the collaborations. Collaborators included Tove Lo, Noel Gallagher, Beyoncé, and well, President Obama whose
sampled rendition of “Amazing Grace”
can be heard amidst a wash of the piano
in the track Kaleidoscope. A personal favorite is the collaboration with “Queen
B” better known as Beyoncé. The best
and most innovative track of the album,
Hymn for the Weekend, sounds a lot like
Coldplay’s answer to Drunk in Love.
These collaborations are especially great
because it shows how Coldplay is the
only rock band that could create flawless tracks with so many different artists
of different genres.
Martin hinted that this may be Coldplay’s last album and if it is, I think it is
safe to say that this satisfied the Coldplay fans. The record closes with Up and
Up which has a hip-hop beat infused
with gospel-like choruses to bring in
full circle the pep-talk evident throughout the album: “When you think you’ve
had enough, don’t give up.” Although
it isn’t the newest or best advice heard,
it’s a message many people want to hear.
The best part is that we can dance to.
A Head Full of Dreams is an album
that does not disappoint Coldplay fans.
by
Diya Shroff
“Hello, it’s me.” With these three
powerfully sung words, Adele kicked
off her comeback to the music industry. Adele’s 2011 hit, 21, was a powerfully sung collection from the point of
view of a heavy-hearted woman and
was packed with an immense amount
of nostalgia. Four years later, she’s done
it again with 25. This mind blowing album is currently number one in almost
every country in the world.
While there was an immeasurable
amount of excitement for 25, there was
an equal amount of worry that the new
album wouldn’t live up to 21 or might
be a little bit too similar to 21. Adele
demolished these claims in the bud by
explaining “my last record was a breakup record and if I had to label this one
I would call it a make-up record. I’m
making up with myself. I’m making up
for lost time.” Adele quickly proved that
even after almost four years away her
voice was just as, if not, more entrancing than ever before.
Prior to releasing her album, Adele
released the first track Hello. The beautifully sung track about regret and loss
has had the biggest YouTube debut of
any video this year. This song describes
trying to make amends for “breaking
someone’s heart” only to be rejected.
Hello was everything listeners desired
from Adele and more, as it manifested
both beauty and misery.
While Hello was apologetic, the next
hit, Send My Love is much more fun and
upbeat and less about saying sorry and
more about a massive “screw you” to an
ex-lover.
The subsequent hit When We Were
Young sung from the point of view of
an elderly woman reminiscing on her
life. This song demonstrates immense
nostalgia for younger, happier and more
carefree days. Hitting both high and low
notes, this song shows off Adele’s powerful voice.
The final song on the magnanimous
album is perhaps the most beautiful.
Adele has confirmed that she wrote
Sweetest Devotion about her son for
whom she took so much time away
from the music industry for. This song
had the actual voice of her son Angelo
and after listening listeners begin to understand more about the “motherhood
period of her life.”
Adele is and always will be a musical
legend with a voice filled with authenticity and emotion.
Chris Brown’s New Mixtape is All You Need
by
Shane Jacob
Black Friday 2015 should be officially renamed Brown Friday. On November 27th, Chris Brown dropped his
mixtape Before the Party, much to the
delight of fans who are awaiting his seventh album. Named after his newborn
daughter, Royalty will finally release on
December 18th after many delays. However, a 34 track mixtape is enough for
me to forget about those delays. Whether you hate him or love him as a person,
there is no denying that Chris Brown is
only getting better as a musician. With
a beautiful balance between R&B and
rap, this mixtape is nothing short of
amazing.
The star studded mixtape features Wiz
Khalifa, French Montana, Wale, Tyga,
Fetty Wap, and even Rihanna. Rihanna,
Brown, and Wiz team up for the first
and arguably, the best song of the mixtape, Counterfeit which conveys Brown’s
struggle to distinguish between fact and
fiction because of the number of people
that have used him. Many of the lyrics
of the other songs have beats for any
type of person. If you are in a mellow
mood, the bongo beat in Text Message
helps calm you down even more. If you
are on a date with that special someone,
All I Need is an upbeat song to show
him or her your love. And if you are still
not over that former special someone,
The Breakup is a tear jerker riddled with
an electric guitar riff that you will surely
need tons of tissues for. With so many
options, Before the Party will have you
listening for hours.
Holy Angel is one of the most thought
provoking songs of the mixtape and is
able to give listeners an actual look into
the hardships Chris had to endure over
the past couple of years. Starting with
his abuse towards Rihanna around
2008, Brown’s personal life has taken
a tour downhill. Drug possession and
multiple assaults have been the cause
of numerous arrests, but he wants to
change that. He sings about trying to let
go of the past that drags him down and
look towards a hopeful future. With the
birth of his daughter, Royalty, Brown
has assumed a lot more responsibility
and maturity. He wants to be a good father to this new child so that she won’t
have to endure any of the problems he
put himself through.
This mixtape truly shows Brown’s
growth and progression since his debut
at 16. It has been 10 years since he released his self-entitled debut but he still
continues to impress with this new music. It’s also highly impressive to release a
mixtape with twice the amount of songs
than the average. It goes to show patient
fans that Breezy has been putting in a
lot of work on his new stuff. Brown has
already released 5 songs from new album and all of them seem like top 100
hits.
This is definitely a must listen to
mixtape if you are waiting for his next
album and will get everyone, whether
you’re a fan or not, hyped for Royalty.
Fans everywhere are excited about both
Abrams’ dedication to crafting a worthy successor to some of the most well-known and
well-loved films ever made. His commitment to keeping the original trilogy’s sprit
intact in the new one while blending in new
but faithful elements has helped immensely
to get people hyped for the new entry.
In terms of production, it was confirmed
early on that Episode VII would be produced
almost entirely in the United Kingdom. In
April 2014, the full cast was announced.
The new cast features originals Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Peter
Mayhew alongside newcomers John Boyega,
Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver. Filming started in early May 2014, and
principal photography ended in November
2014. In terms of post-production and special effects, J.J. Abrams aspired to use as little
CGI as possible and focus more on practical effects. This decision is another way that
Abrams is attempting to carry on the spirit
of the originals and distance his movie from
the prequels, which generated criticism because of its reliance on computer imagery.
Another treat for fans of the originals is that
John Williams, composer for the original
films, is returning for The Force Awakens.
J.J. Abrams is known for keeping the plots
and elements of his films close to his chest,
so we aren’t aware of all of what we’re going
to see when we flock to movie theaters, but
by
Anush Shah
The world of entertainment has
changed drastically throughout the
years. Specific periods in times have had
specific genres of entertainment that defined their time. The world of entertainment today has entered a new era, the
era of superheroes.
Superhero movies have been the
main source of income for Hollywood
and have become the social norm nowadays. Back then no one expected to see
Batman on the big screen, or the Avengers fighting villains in the movies. However, most of the movies the general
audience watches nowadays are exactly
that. Movies such as The Avengers and
Guardians of the Galaxy are bothhighly
rated movies and they both are movies based on superheroes. Now there
are new movies that show the superhero genre has no sign of slowing down,
but what about the small screen? Even
though everyone loves to go to the movies and watch big superhero flicks with
their friends, many people also enjoy
watching entertainment at the comfort
of their home and love television. With
superhero movies dominating the big
screen, has this carried over to the television industry? The answer is yes.
The craze of superhero television all
started with the bold move by The CW
to pick up a series by the name of Arrow. Arrow is a television show that is all
about the origins, adventures, and obstacles of the Emerald Archer all comic
book fans love, Green Arrow. Arrow was
Star Wars: The Force Awakens(cont.)
here’s what we know about the characters so
far. Most of this is fan speculation based on
the trailers and what we’ve been told in press
conferences, but if you’re trying to keep
yourself closed off to all things Star Wars
so you’ll be surprised when you sit down in
the theater, stop reading here! John Boyega,
Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac portray our
new three protagonists. Boyega plays Finn,
a stormtrooper from the First Order who
is reformed and will learn the ways of the
Jedi. Finn will receive Luke Skywalker’s blue
lightsaber from the original trilogy, which
was also shown in the prequels as belonging to Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker. Ridley plays Rey, a self-sufficient scavenger on
Jakku, a desert planet. Not much is known
about who she is or the role she’ll play, but
she’s a significant part of the adventure that
will unfold. Rey is the owner of the adorable
new featured droid, BB-8, a cute spherical
droid who will join R2-D2 and C3PO as the
protagonists’ companions. Isaac plays rebel
pilot Poe Dameron, the best pilot in the galaxy who meets Finn and becomes involved
with the new Jedi’s journey. Adam Driver
plays Kylo Ren, a dark warrior strong with
the force. Kylo Ren was originally a member
of an order known as the Knights of Ren,
and when we meet him he is a commander
of the First Order. Andy Serkis will portray
Supreme Leader Snoke, a powerful agent
of the Dark Side who serves as Kylo Ren’s
master. While we do know a good amount
about the characters, most of the plot is
still shrouded in mystery. The Force Awakens takes place around 30 years after the
events of Return of the Jedi. The remnants of
the Rebel Alliance have become the “Resistance” and the remnants of the Empire have
become the “First Order”. The Empire, being the power structure that had control of
the entire galaxy before their defeat at the
hands of the Rebel Alliance in Episode VI,
has used their propaganda network to spin
the events that occurred in the original trilogy so that the Rebels seem like the bad guys
and the Jedi seem like myths. We will see the
main characters, especially Finn, “awaken”
to the truth about the Jedi, the Sith, and
the truth about the reality of the original
conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the
Empire. One question that many fans have
been clamoring to find out the answer to
is why the marketing materials and trailers
have featured a near complete absence of
Luke Skywalker. When asked about this,
Abrams confirmed to fans that Luke’s omission was completely purposeful, stating, “It’s
no accident. These are good questions to be
extremely well received by both fans and
critics as it portrayed the usually comedic and silly Oliver Queen in a darker
and more serious tone. With an amazing first season, filled with action, stellar
acting, heartbreaking drama, and pulse
pounding suspense, everyone knew that
this show would be an instant classic,
but no one knew the effect this show
would have on the TV industry.
The second season featured even more
superheroes such as The Black Canary,
Arsenal, and Deathstroke. Both comic
book fans and regular TV watchers were
pleased, however all that would change.
In the 8th and 9th episode of the Arrow,
a man by the name of Barry Allen was
introduced. A regular person may not
know who he is, but a comic book fan
would burst in excitement by the sound
of his name. Barry Allen is the Flash.
Knowing that the Flash was introduced
in Arrow completely changed the show
and The CW channel itself. The character was so well received by fans and critics that the executive producers and The
CW decided to make a spinoff show
focusing solely on the Scarlet Speedster,
called The Flash.
Arrow may have started the superhero craze, but The Flash solidified the
superhero genre in the TV world. By
introducing even more superheroes in
both shows, and having crossover episodes where both shows would connect
the Arrowverse was created. This universe meant that The CW had done
something no other television channel
or show had ever done. It created a universe of characters featuring the Arrow,
Flash, and countless other superheroes
and characters for fans to watch. People
Legendary Success for CW
asking. I can’t wait for you to find out the
answers.” We’ve seen glimpses of Han Solo
and glimpses of Princess Leia so we’re aware
of what they’ll potentially be up to in Episode
VII, but the lack of confirmation as to what’s
going on with Luke has led to numerous fan
theories. One is that, as a result of the Empire having controlled propaganda to spin
Luke into the villain of the original trilogy,
Luke is viewed by everyone in the galaxy as
a villain and has to hide away. Another idea
that many people are excited to see unfold is
that Luke has turned to the Dark Side and
this is being hidden in advertisements and
trailers so not to spoil the surprise. Although
this may seem far-fetched being that Luke
was the hero of the first three films, fans are
citing evidence from those first films to show
why the theory would make sense. Firstly,
George Lucas has stated that the original
trilogy and the prequel trilogy match each
other “rhyme like poetry”. Luke turning to
the Dark Side would rhyme perfectly with
the fact that Luke’s father Anakin was a Jedi
who turned to the Dark Side. More evidence
can be found in Yoda’s warnings in The Empire Strikes Back about Luke starting a path
to the Dark Side in leaving his training to
save his friends in Cloud City. In all, we
should take all of this with a grain of salt and
look forward to when we’ll finally receive a
worthy successor to one of the greatest film
franchises of all time. Punch it, Chewy.
instantly fell in love with both shows
and both became mainstream television
for all. However what is next for this Arrowverse?
The producers and executives are
showing no signs of stopping with The
Flash. Instead, they plan on expanding the universe to greater and more
legendary lengths. In the first week of
December both Arrow and The Flash
had a special, annual crossover episode
and it received overwhelmingly positive responses. This year the producers
and writers had something different in
mind. Instead of the regular crossover
from last year they introduced the beginning of a new TV show by the name
of Legends of Tomorrow. DC’s Legends of
Tomorrow is basically every nerd’s fantasy in a TV show. Legends of Tomorrow
focuses on a group of heroes traveling
through time trying to stop a villain. It
stars characters from both Arrow and
The Flash, such as The Atom and Firestorm, while introducing new characters. The show will premiere on January
21st and will mark the third superhero
show on The CW.
The CW has done something incredible. It has created two TV shows, with
a third on the way that are all connected
and are all hits. Arrow and The Flash have
made the superhero genre in television
the social norm. The one thing that all
of us can be certain about, is that these
superhero TV shows will dominate the
market of television and every network
will want to be a part of it.
Beliebers Have A Purpose
by
Eleni Kothesakis
After a two year hiatus, Justin Bieber
finally released his new album on November 13th. His new album title Purpose is unlike any of his previous albums. His last album, Journals, was
clearly based off of his failed romance
with Selena Gomez, and although his
new album references it, it is mostly on
his rehabilitation through faith. Since
his last album Bieber has been on a
rollercoaster filled with ups and downs.
Purpose is just one way that he is showing fans and the rest of the world that he
has changed and that this is his time for
redemption. His album is comprised of
18 songs that have stayed in Billboards
Top 100 for over a month. This makes
Purpose his sixth number one album.
Purpose starts off with the song
Mark My Words, and although it was
the shortest on the album it is one of his
songs that truly shows listeners his journey from a broken heart to redemption
through Christianity. Following that
song is I’ll Show You which was released
early and pumped up Beliebers for his
album. It starts off with lyrics showing
his journey such as, “My life is a movie/
And everyone’s watchin/ So let’s get to
the good part/ And pass all the nonsense.” This is one of the many songs
that features Justin’s new music-making
partner in crime, Skrillex. Other songs
featuring Skrillex include Where are Ü
Now, The Feeling, Sorry, Children, and
Hit the Ground.
Unlike the last highly anticipated
album that Bieber had, Purpose contains a lot more slow paced songs. New
songs like Life is Worth Living and Purpose compared to Beauty and a Beat and
All Around the World represent a new
change in Justin’s music that is definitely welcomed and promoted from fans.
Belieber Amanda Kahn said, “I think
Purpose sounds so mature and one of
his greatest albums yet (although I love
them all). I think with this album he is
really redeeming himself for the kind
of hardworking and talented person he
truly is ad what he is capable of.” Although his meet and greet tickets cost
about $2000 his huge fanbase of Beliebers were able to buy them out within
minutes.
Justin was not able to showcase his
struggles in life without some of his
friends in the music industry. Other
than Skrillex, Justin had help from artists like Halsey, Ed Sheeran, Diplo, Big
Sean, Nas, and Travi$ Scott. The Feeling
featuring Halsey and Love Yourself featuring Ed Sheeran are fan favorites that
are all over the radio.
Bieber’s new album, although on the
top of the charts, worried many people.
Some thought it would be his way of
crying over Selena, yet again, and others just didn’t know what to expect from
Justin after his reputation had changed
so much since Believe. After his album
was released, however, people who never
liked Justin began to become big fans
and started to support him even when
they didn’t before this album. New
fan Kristen Bamberger said, “I used to
think Justin Bieber was really annoying
but now with all these amazing songs
coming out I’ve pretty much have become a Belieber.”
Even though there are songs in Purpose such as Sorry that are not-so-secretly referring to his ex-girlfriend, people
are not complaining. In the first week
that Sorry was released Bieber had over
277,000 downloads sold and on its
release day Sorry was number two on
Billboard’s Top 100. Sorry was not only
popular for its infectious lyrics but for
its entertaining music video. This one
music video alone has over 250 million
views and with the added views from
Justin’s other videos, all compiled under
the title of Purpose the Movement, he
has racked up billions of views.
Justin Bieber has gone through a lot
in the last two years that have made
people question him as a person and an
artist. Purpose was his way of redeeming himself and showing people that he
has changed. Through faith Bieber has
found a way to move on from his past
failures in life and romance and create
a successful album that surely gives fans
new and old a purpose.
One Direction Goes in a New Direction
By Sonam Delhiwala and Abha Japi
One Direction’s fifth studio album,
Made in the A.M., has quickly become a
sensation. It is already the fastest selling
album of 2015, beating Justin Bieber’s
top spot in the charts.
In this release, the band continues
the rock vibe that began in their third
album while also incorporating influences from the 70s and 80s and still
staying true to their pop roots. Overall, it encompasses a sound that is on
a higher level of maturity compared to
past albums.
The track list starts off with Hey
Angel, which definitely has a strong
80s feel. The synth, strong verses, and
chorus create an intense opening song,
setting the tone for the rest of the record. It is followed by Drag Me Down,
their typical pop single, which features
impressive riffs by Harry Styles. This
track shows that the group is just as
strong even without Zayn Malik, who
had usually taken the job of singing the
high notes. After the pop anthem-esque
song, Perfect, the boys slow it down with
Infinity, a song about love and loss with
an interlude reminiscent of Coldplay.
The album continues with another upbeat yet mature song, End of the Day,
and then two slower songs that play
with any fan’s heartstrings, If I Could Fly
and Long Way Down.
The album then changes gears to a
more upbeat style with pop tunes, starting with Never Enough. The acapella
vocals in the beginning add to the laid
back vibe of the song and create a memorable feature for the album as a whole.
The catchy tune is very suggestive of
the band’s 2011-2013 infectious pop
sound, while certain aspects, such as
the live horns, keep it different and refreshing. The next song Olivia, screams
influence from The Beatles, especially
since it was recorded at Abbey Road.
With an appealing beat, brassy sound, a
catchy chorus, and a stellar bridge, Olivia is certainly one of the band’s most
popular songs from the album.
What A Feeling epitomizes the influences carried throughout the entire al-
bum. With impeccable harmonies and
a sound traced back to Fleetwood Mac,
the song leads into Love You Goodbye,
which sets the stage for another ballad
about heartbreak. This song is made up
of perfectly blended harmonies and an
impressive high note from Louis, adding an unusual but fascinating twist to
their standard musical routes.
Next is I Want to Write You A Song,
a cute, folk-style song that could make
any girl’s heart melt. With lyrics like “I
want to lend you my coat / One that’s as
soft as your cheek,” the boys’ sweetness
definitely shines through in this track.
The simplicity of this song is its strong
point, having only an acoustic guitar
and the scratching of a pen in the background. Following this is History, the
last song on the standard album. This
song is about the fans, talking about
the history the band and the fans have
together, and that this bond can “live
forever” even though the boys are taking a break. The folksy vibe is continued
but has a lighter mood than the previous song.
On the deluxe version, there are
four more tracks: Temporary Fix, Walking in the Wind, Wolves, and A.M. The
last song on the deluxe version of the
album, A.M., is exceptionately fitting,
as it summarizes the overall tone and
message of the album. With a simple
acoustic guitar and enchanting piano
chords, the song creates a calmer and
memorable mood. Using simple but
enchanting lyrics such as “All my favorite conversations/ Always made in the
A.M.,” it talks about appreciating the
time you have with someone you care
about. This was our personal favorite on
the album, despite the fact that it is only
on the deluxe version.
Although this may be One Direction’s
last album for the next year or so, Made
in the A.M. definitely leaves an impression on its listeners. It ends the band’s
successful streak of recording number
one albums annually with one that
proved to be truly phenomenal. The
band has proved once again that truly,
nobody can “drag them down.”
by
Amusement Park or Abusement Park?
Sonam delhiwala
In light of the recent decision of
the California Coastal Commission to
approve the San Diego SeaWorld’s expansion of orca tanks, restriction on
the importation and exportation of the
animals, and banning of the breeding of
captive orcas, the drive to set an end to
SeaWorld once and for all has sparked
again.
Although this controversial debate
has been going on for years, it rekindled
its fire on October 8th because of the
CCC’s decisions. Animal rights activists
believe that this is a step to completely
eradicating the park’s existence, but they
have also argued that the expansion of
tanks would lead to an increase in the
number of orcas in captivity. “Captivity is still captivity no matter how gentle
the jailer,” said John Hargrove, former
SeaWorld trainer and strong critic of the
park. Unfortunately, hundreds of others
still stand firm in their support towards
SeaWorld’s parks and “conservational”
ideology.
Numerous environmental programs
strongly oppose SeaWorld and the captivity of orcas. The Oceanic Preservation
Society, creator of the award-winning
documentary, The Cove, released a letter
highlighting the truths about the park.
The letter involves the park’s cruel and
inhumane breeding process and other
horrifying activities that take place in
the park. In response to SeaWorld’s
ban from breeding their animals, the
park said, “Breeding is a natural…and
important part of an animal’s life and
depriving a social animal of the right to
reproduce is inhumane.” This is just another argument made by SeaWorld that
completely contradicts their actions.
While it is true that breeding is an essential part of an animal’s life, there is a
strong difference between “depriving a
social animal of that right” and banning
a park from incestually breeding two
animals against their will.
by
Alora Hague
Wattpad.com is a website that offers
a free and easy way to read and write
stories. Its interesting name represents
a lightbulb going off in your head! You
can create your own account, customize your own profile, and write and read
stories. Wattpad has the modern-day
social media appeal to it, as you can
send private messages and follow other
accounts.
There are many different ways that
people like to read. Wattpad enables
you to change the font of the story you
are reading and the color of the page to
black, white, or beige. When wanting
One of the most horrifying aspects
about SeaWorld is the size of their
tanks. These miniscule tanks don’t even
begin to mimic an orca’s natural habitat.
While orcas can travel an average of 60
miles in one day, the size of their tanks
forces them to swim in tight, continuous circles. Could you imagine a life in
which you are caged in a space relative
to that of a bathtub with the ability to
communicate stripped away from you?
Although SeaWorld has made various attempts in emphasizing the “incredible” life spans of their whales, their
efforts have only proven to be futile.
It has been confirmed that more orcas
have died in their hold than are currently alive in all their parks combined,
and that the average lifespan of captive
orcas are 1/3 of the average life span of
orcas in the wild. Most of the animals
in SeaWorld’s care die in their teens or
twenties, and that’s if they are lucky
enough to survive infancy. The mortality rate is incredibly high, recognized to
be three times the average rate in the
wild, while the infant mortality rate is
a raging 50%.
SeaWorld has been on the receiving
end of a lot of criticism for a long time,
but year after year they fight this disparagement with ignorant excuses. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration banned the park from placing
their trainers in the water with the orcas
to prevent further injuries or deaths, but
the park and its officials fought against
the ban, claiming that this interaction
is a crucial part of their business of putting on shows. The fact that SeaWorld
risks the health and safety of both their
animals and trainers for money and the
success of their business, demonstrates
how heartless the park truly is. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture has also cited the park for numerous violations of
the Animal Welfare Act. This included
the park’s use of expired surgical tools
which were almost a decade old. Is Sea
World really the caring and compas-
Wattpad: Creativity in Words
to express your artistic side, you can
upload your drawings and photos to illustrate specific chapters. You can add
your favorite books to your infinite library, ensuring that you will never run
out of space. Many of my classmantes
and I have our own accounts and we
absolutely love writing on them. For
example, Nasheed said “[I love Wattpad because] everyone can share their
stories that they have written. You ca n
read and write whatever you want and
people can read my stories, and leave me
comments and messages about them.”
Another seventh grader, Malika, says
“[On Wattpad] I can read good stories
and be inspired to write my own. I love
that others can read and vote for each of
my stories.”
Fanfictions have become extremely
popular on Wattpad throughout 2015.
Whether it’s Harry Potter, The Hunger
Games, or Divergent, Wattpad holds it
all. You don’t need to write books to
have an account; you can just use it
for reading. There are many genres to
choose from, such as nonfiction, adventure, paranormal, vampire, science
fiction, etc. When you write a story,
you can either “publish” a chapter right
away, or save it as a draft. Publishing
means that your readers will be able to
sionate facility they claim to be?
Around the time of the release of
Blackfish, a film regarding a famous
orca named Tilikum and the destructive
actions of Sea World, Fred Jacobs, who
is Vice President of Communications,
agreed to answer a few quesitions from
CNN regarding the “benefits” of keeping orcas in captivity. He said “killer
whales living in our parks adapt very
well to life in a zoological setting.” If
the animals adapt well to this kind of
lifestyle, how come there are so many
accounts of stress, psuchosis, premature
death, self-inflicted physical injuries of
the orcas, and deaths of park trainers?
While SeaWorld makes around $1.5
billion a year and claims to be a “charitable organization,” they have ironically
only given back $9 million for conservation and scientific research in the
past decade. Though they are seemingly
large numbers, these values are equal to
the park giving back less than one cent
for every $100 it makes. in addition to
these obvious lies, SeaWorld claims to
be actively involved in the scientific research of orcas. However, the park has
not released any new scientific descoveries in decades, so their need for the orcas
for “research” is extremely unnecessary.
SeaWorld possesses the money to
build coastal sanctuaries and facilities
with larger tanks in which the animals
can have a more natural habitat, but instead they choose to stick with the inhumane business of exploiting these intelligent animals as a show. As a company
that has popularity and a large impact
on younger generations, SeaWorld has
the ability to teach people about orcas
and their fascinating lives to create a
more environmentally aware society.
Unfortunately, the park utilizes both
money and fame unfairly and incorrectly. Orcas don’t exist to perform tricks to
entertain people, and it is about time
that SeaWorld’s business comes to end.
see it. Only you will be able to see your
chapter when saving it as a draft, which
you can edit until ready to publish. If
your book gets a lot of votes, it could be
entered in the Watty’s; Wattpad’s way of
awarding the best story of the year (for
example, Watt’s 2015 is coming up) to
be published in real life. You can find
those books on Amazon.com. A book
that I read has over 18,000 votes and
over two million reads. Votes are a little
bit similar to likes, as the reader can like
the chapter they are reading.
Wattpad is an interesting and exciting
way for others to discover your creativity in writing and a good way to read.
by
Changing Christmas
Sharon John and Zahra Gittham
A massive evergreen is adorned in
brilliant glistening lights and shimmering ornaments with a glorious star towering down on the land from its rightful place at the top of the tree. The jolly
fat man descends down from the sky to
slide into your chimney. Presents for all!
This is the rendition of Christmas that
many of us are familiar with.
At every different phase of your life,
the way Christmas is viewed changes.
An eleven year old fantasizes about the
presents that they are going to receive,
while a sixteen year old focuses more on
how they can aid others and give back
to their communities. On the opposite
end of the spectrum, adults and parents
focus on making the holidays special for
their children and families.
When asked what Christmas signifies, Dario Gimenez, an eighth grade
student of NHP Memorial, responded,
“I freaking love bells! But really, the reunion between my family is the most
important because we get to spend time
with each other and eat desserts and
by
orable and special for their families.
“Christmas reminds us that there are
more important things than the commercialization of the holiday,” said Mr.
Colvin. Many people enjoy carrying
on family traditions that coincide with
the holiday. For Mr. Colvin, it’s cutting
down a tree with his family and bringing it back home to put up in the living room. Some traditions he partakes
in are things that his own parents did
for him. He scrapes two lines into his
driveway, fills them with gasoline and
lights them on fire. Then he woke his
daughter up and told her that Santa’s
sleigh had just been there. Mr. Colvin
stated, “Christmas has changed from
being more carefree and about presents,
to more about creating memories with
my family.”
Christmas will always remain a big
part of the lives of many people regardless of what age they are. Whether it be
about presents or giving back to others,
Christmas is a time to share in the jubilation, gather in a warm cozy house and
give thanks for the blessings in our lives.
well. Love Me Like You Do accompanied
the notorious 50 Shades of Grey, and
“See You Again” paid homage to Paul
Walker in Furious 7. Favorites among
children (and adults alike!) included
Minions, Inside Out, and The Avengers:
Age of Ultron. Inside Out was the third
highest grossing film of 2015 (#1 being
Jurassic World) and received a colossal
amount of positive reviews. Other fan
favorites that had us all rushing to the
movie theater included Ant-Man, Mission Impossible, Spectre, Star Wars: The
Force Awakens, and The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay Part 2. At the Academy
Awards, Best Picture was awarded to
Birdman, with its director, Alejandro
González Iñárritui, receiving the award
for Best Director. Best Actor was bestowed upon Eddie Redmayne from The
Theory of Everything and Julianne Moore
of Still Alive received Best Actress.
This year, the increasing influence
of social media helped bring awareness
to events around the world such as the
Syrian Refugee Crisis, the devastating
earthquakes in Nepal, Hurricane Patricia, the shooting at Charlie Hebdo,
and the bombing in Paris. Support and
interest in international affairs was expressed through Twitter, Instagram, and
the use of hashtags. Furthermore, American culture began to demonstrate a
deepened interest in politics as the 2016
elections race and debates began. Over
8.5 billion people tuned in to watch the
first Democratic debate, breaking previous records. Politics and modern issues
have crept into social media trends,
vines, hashtags, gifs, and memes; specifically, Donald Trump. Who can forget all those hilarious memes about his
2015 Throwbacks: Let’s “Just Do It”
Nicole Joseph
Sharma
other good foods,” Then there are also
the more festive aspects to the season
such as “the lights, classic Christmas
movies, and the music,” some of Caitlin Young’s, a seventh grader, seasonal
favorites.
As students grow, their attitudes and
emotions towards the holiday season
do as well. For instance, they begin to
show more gratitude and they begin to
prioritize others over themselves. “It’s
not just about the presents anymore,
it’s more about appreciating spending
time with friends and family and giving back to the community.” This is one
of the many things that a tenth grader
enjoys. As people age and mature, their
opinions do as well, which is what is
seen in the older students of the school
and their individual perspectives on the
holiday season. Senior, Jennifer Joseph,
describes the season as “cozy because everything is warm, the mood, and how
everyone is ready for break. It’s a really
nice time,” A nice time indeed. For adults, their main concern around
the holiday season is to make it mem-
and
Vishwajit
From hearing “What’re those?!” hollered across the hallways, to snapping
selfies on the iPhone 6, to humming
one of Taylor Swift’s recent hit singles,
2015 has truly blessed America with
many new aspects of American pop culture and society. Outbreaks in Hollywood, music, television, sports, politics,
technology, and social media have all
shaped this year and left us wondering
what new trends will hurtle towards us
in 2016.
The music industry boomed and
brought us memorable hits such as Uptown Funk, Hotline Bling, Stitches, See
You Again, Hello, Cheerleader, Worth It,
and Sugar. Singers such as Fetty Wap
and Shawn Mendes made their debut
in the world of pop radio music. Other
artists made a comeback; some obvious
examples are Adele and Justin Bieber.
On the other hand, some artists like
Taylor Swift sustained their popularity
by making numerous songs that spent
weeks as number 1 on the charts. At the
Billboard Awards, Artist of the Year was
awarded to Taylor Swift, and the title of
Top Group was allotted to none other
than One Direction. One of the main
influences of music this year had to do
with supplying teenagers with fresh new
dance moves. Watch Me will definitely
join classics, like the Cupid Shuffle at
teen parties for years to come.
Music affected major motion films as
hair and contentious behavior? As the
year comes to an end, we can also look
back on technology and sports of 2015.
People were definitely not holding back
purchasing the year’s new iPhone 6s and
6s Plus.
Although these are all great, there
were a few events that truly “broke” the
internet this year. Along with this, earlier this year the transition of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner not only shocked
America, but received mixed opinions.
Although it was seen as controversial at
first, she continues to be an inspirational role model for many. Along with this,
Zayn Malik made the decision to leave
One Direction, crushing the hopes and
dreams of many love-stricken fangirls.
Surprisingly, Kanye West announced
that he would be running for president
in 2020 as well. And who can forget the
infamous black and blue/white and gold
dress that stirred up loads of havoc and
discussion on the science behind it. Major social media upgrades from this year
include Instagram allowing photos of
any size to be uploaded, and the intriguing new Snapchat filters. Furthermore,
many were ecstatic to see the new emoji
updates that implemented characters
of different races. However, the peak
of American culture this year was truly
when the Supreme Court declared gay
marriage legal on June 26th, leading to
loads of celebration everywhere.
2015 was such a great year, who
knows what 2016 will bring?
by
Anas Abbas
Your Mom’s Sauce is ra-Zoo
Three, two, one… the buzzer goes
off, and The Zoo stands up. As the players take the court, one name is called
and the crowd erupts. Repeat this another four times for the five starting
players. This is just the beginning of a
clash between not only two rival teams,
but also between the Zoo and the opposing team and fans.
Sweat dripping, heavy breathing,
heart pounding, voice cracking. This is
what one has to go through for 32 minutes in order to be a successful member
of the Zoo. If one hasn’t experienced
all or most of these symptoms, then it
hasn’t been a successful day. For 32 minutes, winning or losing, a student not
only has to deal with the constant noise
of the fellow fans, but also has to join
in it at all times. Anyone can join in,
Gladiator or not, but the students have
to harmonize in their endless chants
and yells. Yelling these chants in order
to divert the enemy’s attention from the
game, the Zoo has achieved the highest goal of every student section. These
by
trademark characteristics have earned
the NHP Zoo the title of one of the
top student sections in the conference.
Senior forward and team captain, James
Messina, has acknowledged the influence of the student section. “Bro, I’m
telling you, we have the best zoo on the
island. We really do have home court
advantage.” Head Coach Rizzutti of the
girl’s varsity basketball team has also acknowledged the impact of the students
during the games and has become envious. “The Zoo needs to come to the
girls’ games too. The Zoo was actually
created from girl’s basketball.” As the se-
niors in the Zoo are approaching their
last, everyone is trying their best to be at
the team’s away games and recreate that
home court atmosphere for the players. They’re also making their best effort
to go to the girls’ games, don’t worry,
Coach Pickett.
The “best student section on the island,” the Zoo acquired its peculiar
name from of a unique tradition that
was passed down from the ancient Spartans to NHP Memorial High Schooleach year, someone would come to a few
games in an animal costume. The gorilla
costume quickly became a fan-favorite
Jeffin Kuriakose and Sachin Jacob
Walking through their daily schedule in October of the 2014-2015 school
year, many students at New Hyde Park
Memorial felt as if a part of their day
was missing. They could not pinpoint
what exactly it was that was missing,
but they were missing a touch of humor
in their day. After this feeling loomed
around the school for about a week,
students of the Class of 2016 realized
that their fellow classmate, Ryan Hugh,
seemed to have disappeared. That’s
when many people began to realize the
feelings they experienced were a result
of Ryan’s absence. His daily jokes, conversations, and presence were missing
from the lives of his classmates, and
nobody realized the value of his companionship until it wasn’t there. “Ryan
is a quiet kid in a large crowd, but
when he is speaking to a single person
or a small group of friends, he isn’t the
least bit reluctant to project himself and
leave his presence,” said Kyle Bangug, a
close friend of Ryan’s. Nobody was able
to get into contact with Ryan, despite
the many phone calls, texts, and emails
from his friends and teachers. The topic
of Ryan’s absence and the question of
what happened to him began spreading
like wildfire.
As the school year progressed, students
of New Hyde Park did not stop trying
to find out what had happened to Ryan.
It seemed as though nobody could find
any trace of him. Just as thoughts and
rumors that Ryan might have moved
away or never be seen again began to
Ryan’s Return
arise, the truth was found. News began
spreading
among
the community that
Ryan had responded to a few of his
friends and teachers that were trying
to contact him. The
reason behind Ryan’s vanishing from
school left most of
the Gladiator family
in shock and awe.
Ryan had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of cancer, and had to be taken out of school
in order to receive treatment and rest.
Daniella Lujambio, a classmate of Ryan,
was dumbfounded when she heard the
news. “Falling to a disease such as cancer is something one doesn’t expect to
happen to oneself or somebody they
know and are close with, but the reality is that it can happen to anyone at
any time. When it does happen, it feels
unreal, and when I heard of Ryan’s diagnosis, I was speechless”.
Ryan was unable to attend school
for a year after being diagnosed with
lymphoma in October of 2014. This
was during Ryan’s junior year, which
is considered the most challenging and
important year of high school. Ryan was
also forced to miss the entire first mark-
ing period of his senior year, a crucial
and vital time for
college applications.
Fortunately, he was
motivated to make
the best of his situation and took a proactive approach to
tasks such as preparing for his Regents
Exams and getting
into his top colleges,
tasks that would be
easier if he was in
the classroom. Although Ryan wasn’t
always feeling too well, he still powered
through his school work, not allowing
his grades and future to be defeated by
lymphoma. He had help from his teachers, who came to his house for a 2-hour
session every week to teach him all the
curriculum, his family members, who
always motivated him to not give up,
as well as many friends and classmates,
who always offered Ryan help in understanding and making up his schoolwork.
“I can’t put any one person over another
in terms of importance throughout my
endeavor. I value everyone that was
there by my side throughout the past
year equally, and I couldn’t have made it
through without them” said Ryan.
Being home schooled was a new
experience for Ryan, and it had its ups
and the epitome of the Zoo. Although
wearing costumes shows intense passion for the game, there is no true heart
and soul of the rowdy crowd. Everyone’s souls amalgamate into one and try
to achieve one goal - distract the other
team at all times.
For many seasons, this school has
been pessimistic when it comes to athletics. Basketball has not been a specialty for this school in a while and many
were carrying their doubts into this season. Although the Zoo has always been
an exciting group, newfound optimism
is rejuvenating the students’ and team’s
hopes. Coming off of a great fall season
for all sports in the school, there are high
hopes for this team to make the playoffs. These high expectations have led to
the emergence of a new and improved
Zoo. With a 2-1 start, the students have
a reason to keep up the exuberant atmosphere in the gymnasium. As the season
progresses, supervisors should be cautious of the infamous Zoo, because it
will gain more and more support as the
team continues to defy the odds.
and downs. Although he wasn’t able to
see his classmates and friends, Ryan was
able to receive more individualized attention and learn at a faster pace. When
he wasn’t making up what he missed in
his classes or receiving treatment, Ryan
spent his time efficiently by preparing
for college, which was not that far away.
“I go to my guidance counselor, Mr.
Barbieri, for college related questions.
We meet every now and again, and if I
ever need anything I can just give him a
call. My English teacher, Mrs. Kaspar,
helps me out with my college essays and
any necessary supplements. Outside of
school, my cousins are my go-to people
when I need college help”. All of Ryan’s
peers and supporters helped him to stay
on track and make it seem as if he had
not missed anything in his academics,
and Ryan is very grateful for that. When
he came back to school in December,
Ryan was very joyful that he was able
to see his friends and classmates that he
missed, but there was a feeling of sorrow
lingering within him. When asked what
was wrong, Ryan said “I lost many opportunities to make memories with my
friends. I have had many good times at
NHP, and losing a year’s worth of time
with my peers was very disappointing,
because it is something I will never get
back.” Although this thought lingers in
Ryan’s mind, he nevertheless holds his
head high, as he is grateful to be able to
recover from his diagnosis and return to
his normal life, an opportunity not a lot
of people in the same situation as Ryan
are given.
A cappella App is a (Dub)Smash
by
Sonam Delhiwala
Remember those moments of intense
singing in which you tried to perform
every part of the song you were listening to? With the immensely popular
app called “A cappella” circulating all
throughout social media, you can now
sing your favorite Destiny’s Child song
while being able to successfully achieve
every harmony simultaneously without
needing a Kelly Rowland to accompany
you.
The prevalent app is much more
complex than the “DubSmash” app,
which reached its height of popularity
during the summer of 2015. A cappella
sustains the same concept, but it revolves around actual singing rather than
lip-syncing. The app allows you to create up to 9 different screens, with each
screen being recorded separately. While
maneuvering the app and recording
each screen is fairly simple, the musical
technicalities make the process of creating the final video a feat that requires
competence and numerous determined
attempts. Coming from someone who
has attempted to make at least 5 different videos, recording each part of
the song, whether it is the background
vocals or the instrumentation, requires
great skill and continuous effort to
perfect the timing of the part being
recording. “One of the most difficult
parts about making these videos is that
to achieve the different harmonies, you
have to wait for long periods of time until you actually start singing, and when
you do, it can be off count,” said sophomore Eleni Kothesakis. The difficulties
you choose.”
It didn’t take long for these videos
to consume almost every popular social
media platform to the point where they
were all that people’s newsfeed encompassed. A cappella videos are truly a sensational trend that has led to millions
may vary by person, but overall, the
process initially is not as simple.
The most gratifying aspect of a cappella videos is the triviality of the quality of singing. Although it would make
the videos more impressive, it is not imperative that you have to qualify to be
the 6th member of Pentatonix. “The best
part about them is that you don’t actually have to be good at singing to make
these videos,” Eleni agreed. “All you
need is a funny approach to any song
of people finding a way to display their
personality. “…People are using them
as a way of expression…some are using [them] to make funny videos,” said
junior Camy Dluginski. The concept of
the A cappella app has allowed people to
depict their personality through means
of entertainment and even revealing
their hidden performing talents. When
asked why she enjoys creating a cappella
videos, Camy said, “I enjoyed making
them because…I made them to make
Proudly supports the New
Hyde Park Chariot
my friends laugh.” Not only do these
videos provide a means of expression,
but they also enable a heartening and
uplifting aspect to someone’s day.
After seeing just a few of these videos, it isn’t difficult to understand why
the majority of the population regarded
them as entertaining. “A cappella videos are extremely ridiculous,” said senior Michael Valentino, “which is what
makes them so funny.” Although it is
mere vocals, the idea of singing background vocals or instrumentation can
be a somewhat embarrassing concept
if surrounded by others. However, others may see it as an amusing and crucial
part of the process. “The entire process
is humorous because you have to create
weird noises for long periods of time,
then the actual singing part doesn’t even
have to be good,” said Michael. Generally, the purpose of the videos is more to
make people laugh rather than expose
the talent behind them.
The a cappella app has been flourishing all throughout social media, and
it seems to be a trend that will continue
for months to come. If you have yet to
create an a cappella video, give it a try.
After all, with enough experience and
practice, perhaps even you can become
the 6th member of Pentatonix or anyother a cappella group you want.
Paying Off With Playoffs
Hall of Lame
by
Tyler Baron
Once again, the Baseball Writers
Association of America has released the
2016 Hall of Fame ballot, and once
again, fans were reminded of the bias
that always keeps their favorite players out of Cooperstown. While smaller
subcommittees are pining over legacy
inductions of players born before the
Civil War, legends are being denied entry or barely squeaking in.
The Baseball Writers Association of
America is a committee of 700 writers
who cover baseball in major news publications, 549 of whom voted. These 549
sports journalism snobs (and that isn’t
meant as an insult) all have their own
biases, and when a player needs 75% of
their votes to be enshrined, great players
always get denied.
Let’s look at Craig Biggio as a case
study. Seven-time All-Star, member of
the 3,000 hit club, Gold Glove winner,
Craig Biggio. Often regarded as one of
the all-time best second-basemen in the
history of the game, Biggio took three
years to finally garner enough votes to
be inducted.
Now let’s take a look at Frank Thomas, designated hitter for the Chicago
White Sox. He had less hits and less AllStar appearances in his career, and obviously did not display any defensive skill
as a DH. Yet, he was elected in his first
year of eligibility. Of course, he fully deserved his induction, but what exactly
gave him that edge over Biggio?
The system by which players are inducted into the Hall of Fame is outdated and riddled with bias. Sports journalists can by nature be critics and elitists,
and formulate very strong opinions, and
that’s fine, it makes for interesting reads,
and everyone is entitled to think what
they want. The problem arises when
these few hundred egos are entrusted in
determining the legacy of players who
are beloved by millions of fans.
Shouldn’t the fans be deciding who
gets into the Hall? Or at least, a wider
representative group that isn’t made up
of people whose career is to rip these
players apart in print? Fans definitely
have bias too, it would be foolish to
deny that. But look at All-Star voting,
where talent is acknowledged beyond
team loyalties, and fans of baseball celebrate players for their skill, much more
so than the BBWAA does when they
elect people to the Hall. Because when
Craig Biggio needs to wait three ballot
cycles before he can finally receive the
recognition he deserves, it’s almost a fact
that it’s not just because of the number
of hits he had, or the batting average he
held.
by
Sabrina Balducci
For the first time since 2011, our
very own varsity football team made it
to playoffs; and what an exciting ride it
was! With hard work and dedication,
the NHP Varsity Football Team made our
school proud with a series of wins. The bleachers full of fans, friends,
faculty, and family, the
football team brought
home its first victory of
the season at our own
homecoming game. The
excitement was never
ending as the team
continued to win game
after game. Each game
and each victory gave Source: Jim Carrick
the team more confidence as they came
together and began to work as a unit.
“The way we were able to succeed is that
we played for the name on the front of
the jersey rather than the one on the
back. By putting all effort toward the
team and working for our teammates
rather than ourselves, we were able to
go far together,” said starting defensive
lineman Nicholas Lasko. Pretty soon,
the team, who started the season as un-
by
Alicia Manjila
derdogs, became a force to be reckoned
with. The fans got in on the excitement
as well, traveling to away games and
packing extra blankets for cold nights,
all to cheer on the Gladiators. As a spec-
tator myself, I would have to say one of
the most exciting games I witnessed was
against Westbury at their homecoming. The whole game was close, and towards the end of the fourth quarter, we
were losing. But with a sudden turn of
events, our team scored in the last few
seconds, ending the game with a victory
of 13-12. When the team made it to
playoffs our school couldn’t have been
more excited, greeting the team with
posters hung in the halls, dressing in
all blue to the game, holding up signs,
chanting our loudest, and encouraging
the team. Although the game concluded
with a defeat, the pride our school had
for this football season
is everlasting. Not only
did the team have a
great season, but they
will inspire future teams
to come.
“I knew this team
would be a hard working team that would
compete week in and
week out They helped
put New Hyde Park
back on the map. It was
great for our players to
get a taste of playoff
football but our players know that’s not
the ultimate goal. We want to take the
next step as a program next season. This
team was an absolute pleasure to coach.
They came to practice every day ready
to work and get better,” said coach Ron
Pickett.
It appears New Hyde Park has even
more greatness to look forward to in the
future, thanks to the hard work of this
year’s team.
Serving Up Success
Despite the many challenges the
Boys’ Varsity Volleyball team encountered this fall, they achieved unprecedented success.
The team has a longstanding history of success, going nearly undefeated
many seasons, and winning their conference. This year their accumulated
success from the past allowed them to
advance and play in
conference one. Conference one teams proved
to be more challenging
than their previous opponents, and demanded
more on their own part.
Senior Sachin Jacob explains the wakeup call
they faced playing in
conference one for the
first time, “We were
going into the season
with high expectations, Source: Jim Carrick
but we started to realize
making it to playoffs would be a hard
feat.” This transition was a difficult obstacle that the boys evidently overcame
by making to the playoffs. However
this wasn’t their only obstacle. After the
first few weeks the boys were shocked
and dismayed that their coach, Coach
Eiserman, had to take time out due to
personal health issues. Shane Jacob ex-
plains how this impacted the team and
how they recovered, “We struggled at
first without our coach, but then we realized that he would want us to do our
best. Even through the adversity, we still
stayed together and got the job done.”
The boys displayed incredible resilience
and were able to adapt to whatever was
thrown their way both on and of the
court. This resilience is what allowed
them to succeed, as Austin Manjila explains saying “Our greatest attribute is
our ability to keep moving even when
we got knocked down. We had to deal
with injuries, our coach having surgery,
new players, and being underdogs in the
toughest conference, but we still managed to get some wins and have a great
season overall.”
A great season indeed! The team made
history as the first boys’ Varsity Volleyball team at New Hyde Park to win a
playoff game. They put it all on the line
for this game, as Sachin Jacob stated
“Coach wanted us to play without fear
and that’s the attitude that helped us
succeed.” This fearless attitude not only
got them to playoffs but also carried
them to victory in the first round. This
victory was well deserved considering all
the obstacles they faced
to get there. The boys
defeated Bethpage 3-1
in the first round playoff game, making them
the first New Hyde Park
boys’ Varsity Volleyball
team to do so. The victory was an affirmation
of all the time and energy the team put in this
season, as Sachin Jacob
expresses saying “It felt
great to win because it
was a testament to our hard work and
talent.”
Several players of the team also received recognition for their individual
achievements this past season. CJ Carrick was recognized as an all-county
player, and James Ronson and Ygor
Mononi as all-conference players. Cameron Pon received an “Unsung Hero”
award.
Boys’ Basketball
Source: James Messina
The recent Coaches vs. Cancer tournament proved to be big for the team, as
their loyal fanbase turned out in droves
to help cheer them on. As the regular
seaoson begins, seniors James Messina
and Ben Cradin are among those leaading the charge ahead. Senior Kyle Bangug said, “We’ve got great players. Once
we get in our grove, we’ll be a truly formidable team”
-T.Baron
Source: Sabrina Balducci
Girls’ Basketball
A new season is just around the corner
for the girls as they attempt to make a
push for the postseason. Team leaders,
Alex Bongiorno, Hanah Arkin, and
freshman star, Joanna Mauceri have
been working hard though the offseason to make sure that the team has a
memorable and winning season. Junior,
Nafia Ikram said, “I think we have the
potential to make the playoffs, and win
together as a team.”
-T.Baron
Winter Track & Field
Source: Susan Daily
The new season means more promise for
the team, fresh off a successful pair of
meets. After some hard preseason training, the team is ready to make its mark
on Section VIII. Senior, Joelle Wright
and junior, Daniel Diaz are among the
many standouts so far. Coach Buith
said, “We have a solid group of veterans
coming back to lead a lot of new talent.
I can’t wait to see what we do.”
-T. Baron
Source: Frankie Bachhuber
Riflery
Featuring the talents of New Hyde Park
students Krysta Sollecito, Megan Nguten, and Frank Bachhuber, who has
used his time on the team to grow as
a leader and prominent contributor, the
team is pushing for greatness. Under the
guidance of coach, Mr. Lein, they expect
to live up to their potential for sucess.
Senior Darren Bonura said, “We keep
moving forward because we can always
do better.”
-T.Baron
The Grey Mamba
Wrestling
Source: Mark Niewierowski
The Varsity Wrestling team has begun
what they hope will be a strong, winning season. New Hyde Park is being
represnted on the mat this year by sophomore, Ari Bazigos, and junior, Mark
Niewierowski, as the intradistrict team
beings to compete. Led by Coach Ian
McConnell, the boys hope to use their
experience with the sport to being home
a winning season
-T.Baron
Source: Sports Illustrated
by
Vishruth Girish
There’s no questioning it – Kobe
Bryant is one of the greatest basketball
players of all time. His legendary commitment to excellence, and his relentless drive to win led him to five championships, and when the time comes,
to the Hall of Fame. He’s also known
as one of the game’s greatest villains,
his with high level of commitment and
performance alienating teammates. He
embraced the role he was thrust into,
reveling in silencing the crowd with his
play.
Looking back, Kobe’s career will
be defined by his audacity on the court.
Kobe’s always had questionable shot
selection, but what separated him from
the rest was his ability to make ridiculous shots look routine. Dribble all the
way across court with time running
out and hit the game winner from the
right elbow? Check. Score 81 points
in a game for the second-highest total
in NBA history? Check. His game was
always iso-heavy and some would even
call it methodical, but it produced jawdropping highlight after highlight.
As late as the 2012-13 season, Kobe
was lighting up the NBA. As a 34 year
old, Kobe was proving that he could
still score on anybody in the league. Although his athleticism had waned from
what it was during his prime, he still
had the quickness to blow by defenders, and the body control to contort his
way around the rim. That season, he
was among the league leaders in scoring
with 27.3 points per game. He singlehandedly dragged the Lakers into playoff contention, but the weight of this
task proved to be too much for his aging body. After playing seven consecutive quarters, he suffered a torn Achilles
tendon and his season was over.
If Kobe’s career trajectory can be
represented as a mountain, his Achilles injury is the cliff that leads straight
down. His injury sapped what athleticism he had left. Post-Achilles Kobe
couldn’t create any separation from defenders, and as a result, his production
suffered. To add insult to injury, Kobe
suffered another injury just six games after returning from his torn Achilles. This
time it was his knee; a fracture would
keep him out the rest of the following
season as well. Coming back after two
catastrophic injuries, Kobe suffered yet
another one the next year – with a rotor cuff tear in his right shoulder that
would require season-ending surgery.
These three consecutive seasonending injuries set the stage for the disaster that is the 2015-16 season. The
statistics don’t lie – Kobe has been one
of the worst players in the entire league.
Out of 57 players who have attempted
at least 200 shots, Kobe ranks dead last
in effective field goal percentage. He’s
grown infatuated with the three-point
shot, jacking them to the tune of 7.6 attempts per game – which is nearly double his career average. At the same time,
he’s barely making 20% of his attempts.
Essentially, Kobe is hoisting up
threes like he’s Steph Curry, but he’s
clunking them like a seven-foot tall
center would. The game tape would
apologize if it could speak; there have
been games with multiple air balls and
shooting percentages in the single digits. The low point of this season (so far)
was a nationally televised game against
the league-leading Golden State Warriors, where Kobe shot a ghastly 1 for 14
against the very same players that grew
up wanting to be him.
A superstar for much of the 2000s,
Kobe was an idol for an entire generation of players. They grew up modeling
their game after his, practicing his signature fade away, and watching highlight
after highlight. It is truly a shame that all
we see today is a shell of vintage Kobe.
Watching a Laker game has turned into
a depressing affair; with thoughts that
perhaps the critics are right – perhaps
Kobe should have retired after the first
injury. But occasionally, ever so rarely,
there’s a flash of vintage Kobe that
shines through the mess, and leaves us
fans begging for more. Ultimately, the
air balls may be painful, but if there’s
anyone who can make us believe in the
impossible – it’s Kobe.
Godzingis Takes Over MSG
Keshav Persaud and Prathit
Shukla
The story of an underdog is an interesting one, where a person isn’t expected to be great, but against all odds,
makes the team and rises to complete
stardom. This can be seen all throughout the movies, but it has actually taken
place with Kristaps Porzingis, who was
the fourth pick in the first round of the
NBA draft pick for the struggling New
York Knicks.
On June 25th, 2015, the day of
the NBA draft finally arrived. Kristaps
Porzingis had spent the last month
intensely preparing and working out
with numerous teams, unsure of where
he was heading. Any pick would be
okay for him and he was predisposed to
go anywhere his 19 years of life would
take him in the world of the NBA,
from the tanking Lakers and Sixers to
the talented Thunder or Pistons, where
stars such as Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and many more Hall of Famers
had been made.
After the third pick in the draft,
Jahlil Okafor, many Knicks fans were
disappointed with the Sixers for pouncing on the young talent that the Knicks
desperately needed to inject into their
dying franchise. It didn’t help that in
the next pick, the Knicks surprised everyone, including the media analysts,
by taking the 19 year old Latvian-born
Kristaps Porzingis. Right after Adam
Silver announced the Knicks’ choice,
the fans erupted with despair and a
loud echo of boos filled the stadium.
Why in the world would they choose
someone like this? It didn’t help that
Stephen A. Smith, a reputable analyst,
had also shown great distaste for the
pick.
But then, Porzingis proved everyone
wrong. Currently, he is the second best
player on the New York Knicks, a far
cry from what fans had thought would
happen when his name was called at
the draft. In his first four games in November, he double-doubled in three of
them. Now, after some putback dunks
and impressive spin moves, Porzingis is
putting up numbers unseen for a rookie, averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds, and
2 blocks per game. He has also caught
Stephen A. Smith’s attention again,
forcing him to take back his previous
comments on Porzingis after a couple
of monster performances against the
Hornets and the Rockets. Even though
his main strength, the long range jump
improved throughout his high school
career, this was his finest season so far.
And with it being his last shot at cross
country in high school, he found additional motivation.
With the help of Coach William
Buith, constant encouragement a strong
sense of motivation, Julian was able to
beat the odds and become one of the
few New Hyde Park athletes to ever
go to States. Julian has been dedicated
member of the track team since he began high school. As a member of the
Cross Country, Winter Track & Field
and Spring Track & Field team, Julian
pretty much never stops running and
will never stop improving as he works
to reach all of his goals. After being on a
team will him, I can state firsthand that
Julian is always working hard and never
fails to try his best, while also encouraging others. He consistently attends
every practice and pushes himself to be
the best he can be at all times.
Despite his numerous personal accomplishments, he received just as
much joy out of watching his teammates succeed. He said, “I was winning
races in conference meets for my team,
and that mattered more than my personal record.”
For Julian, running was still a team
sport, even if all of the times were in-
dividual. When asked about how it felt
to be so successful, he says “As a runner, there’s no better feeling than seeing
yourself or your teammates have such a
huge improvement in one season. It just
goes to show that all the hard work over
the long season pays off.”
When asked about his star protégé,
Coach Buith said, “It’s always great as a
coach to see someone on the team step
up and work their way to the top. He
wasn’t the best runner when he joined
us, but his success now shows how you
get out of the sport what you put in.”
Julian progressed from a timid, unsure
tenth grader to a confident team leader, and watched his team grow just as
much, winning relays and making serious marks on their conference.
Qualifying and training for State
Championships is no easy feat, and Julian’s determination and ability to push
through the pain and keep working
to get better are inspiring and encourage others to work hard and follow in
his footsteps. Just as legends such as
Joe Morris had their names up on the
school records board for decades, Julian DePaz will be a standout for years
to come. The season exceeded his wildest dreams; he says, “I couldn’t ask for a
better way to end my high school cross
country career.”
by
Source: Wall Street Journal
It’s not every day that a New Hyde
Park athlete makes it to State Championships. While there are many talented
athletes on team sports, individual
sports, such as Cross Country, arguably
allow people to better showcase their
true potential. This fall season, Julian
DePaz capitalized on his years of hard
work and proved his skill by making it
to the Cross Country State Championships. His times have decreased drastically, and he has broken several school
records, with a very impressive 14:36.49
4K and a 17:02.93 5K time. Julian has
progressed impressively throughout the
season, training hard and cutting down
his times. On his improvement, he says
“I had improved phenomenally from
last year, when my best time was 18:59,
but still I just knew that it wasn’t good
enough.”
When asked about his journey, Julian
said, “At the start of the cross country
season, one of my goals was to be one
of the top 5K runners in the County,
but I honestly didn’t think I had a
great chance at qualifying for the State
Championships, knowing all the phenomenal athletes in the state class I’d
be competing against”. Although he
ran continuously well and constantly
Source: Javier DePaz
DePaz Strides To States
Danielle Schwartz and Logan
Ward
by
shot, has not arrived at NBA, it’s appearing slowly. Throughout November,
Porzingis was able to increase his field
goal percentage to 41% with a 31%
percent three point field goal percentage. If Porzingis continues his outstanding play, he has a lot in store for
himself in the future.
After Porzingis proved to Jackson
and his fan base that he could flat-out
ball, he became one of the most popular rookies in the NBA 2015-2016
season. Competing with the likes of
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, Porzingis is a solid contender for the
Rookie of the Year. No other rookie this
year has completed a rise to fame this
quickly from across the ocean.
Starting as a skinny, 10-year old
kid with cornrows arriving at his first
practice with minimal knowledge of
the game, he is now standing at the
doorstep of fame, where legends like
Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Wilt
Chamberlain reside. Porzingis has
made a huge impact in his first year on
the team, so hopefully this steam won’t
let out anytime soon, as his contributions to the Knicks are valuable. Only
time will tell if he will pan out, but the
future looks very bright for this rookie.