Northside Math Team Takes First in Division at CCML Budget Cuts

Volume 7 No. 3
The
Northside College Preparatory High School
November 2005
HoofBeat
Page 8
News
pages 1-5
• Bevington visits Northside
• Northside’s AP Scholars
• National Merit Semifinalists
Features
pages 7-9
• Jama’ah Club Ramadan
dinner
• Thanksgiving getaways
Centerfold
Jama'ah Club
Holds Ramadan
Dinner
Arts & Entertainment
page 15-17
• My Bloody Life Book Review
• Shakira’s Oral Fixation
Volume I
Sports
pages 18-20
• Women’s volleyball wins
Conference
• Go to Semi-finals with
Men’s Softball
The Saucy
Pasta Bowl
Northside Math Team Takes First in
Division at CCML
by Muamera Hadzic
As the new school year
gradually unfolds, the Northside Math Team takes no time
to slowly get back into their
habit. They have plunged,
head on, into their first City
of Chicago Math League
competition and have stolen
first place in their division.
A walk down the math wing
of the third floor will suffice
in depicting this exciting win
because Ms. Tomasiewicz and
Ms. Naughton, the coaches,
have put up pictures, results,
and inside jokes from the
competition.
The first big competition
of the year was the City of
Chicago Math League, CCML
contest at DeVry University. The CCML is a Chicago
Board of Education sponsored
competition that is held five
times each year. This includes
four divisional competitions
and one final competition for
the title of “City Champion.”
The contestants are given
a total of fifty minutes to complete a twenty question exam
in one of four topics: Algebra
I, Geometry, Algebra II, and
Pre-Calculus in Progress, as
assigned by their coaches
Ms. Tomasiewicz and her students attempt to solve one of the many practice problems as they prepare for a
based on both grade level and competition soon to come.
proficiency. First, the scores are Photo by Muamera Hadzic
ranked within each topic, and
High School, William H. Taft High
ton and Lane. However, Northside
placed second in the Pre-calculus
then the scores from each topic
School, Amundsen High School,
placed second within Division A in
in Progress topic area, “but the exare combined to give a compound
Marie Curie Metropolitan High
Geometry, with a score of 52 and
pectations were still high, so we are
score for the entire school.
School, Stephen T. Mather High
had the third overall highest score
very lucky to have gotten the results
“This year, Northside scored
School and Gurdon S. Hubbard
of all schools.
that we had strived for.”
246 points over all,” said Ilya
High School. Following behind
In Algebra II, Northside not
“I really enjoyed this last
Chalik, Adv. 603, “which is really
Northside was Lincoln Park, with a
only took second place within
CCML competition,” said Harold
encouraging since this was our first
score of 148, and Lane Tech with a
Division A, with a score of 52, but
Jaffee, Adv. 802. “It had a good vacompetition and the beginning of
score of 181.
also had the second highest score
riety of questions and the difficulty
the year.”
Compared to last year’s fourth
of all participating schools in the
level was varied as well. And these
The 246 point score places
place in overall scores at this very
city. Finally, they were able to place
competitions are always fun since
Northside in first place of its divicompetition, Northside has defifirst in Pre-Calculus with a score of
we can be with our friends and
sion, Division A.
nitely shown great improvement.
seventy one, giving Northside an
compete together.”
Division A consists of Whitney
In Algebra I, Northside took
eight point lead above Lincoln Park,
“Though this was the first comM. Young Magnet High School,
first place within its division with a
which placed second place.
petition of the year, it was not a first
Walter Payton College Preparatory
score of 71 and scored highest out
“This was a very exciting
experience for the majority of the
High School, Jones High School,
Continued as “Math Team
of all participating schools in the
competition since it was our first,”
Lincoln Park High School, Lane
Success” on pg. 5
city with one-point higher than Pay- said Paula Daniliuc, Adv. 701, who
Technical College Preparatory
Budget Cuts Still a Problem
pages 10-11
• Mark My Words: New SAT
essay
• Party college vs.
Intellectual university
Editorial
page 12-14
• Scholarship opportunities
• Pros and cons of the
Common Application
Page 16
This Year No Exception in Lack of Funding
by Max Brown
CPS, state, and schoolwide budget cuts pose an
intriguing argument about
whether or not a lack of
funding hinders the growth
of Northside as a school. For
a school located in Illinois,
the state which ranks next to
last in educational funding,
Northside does an outstanding
job at what Dr. James Lalley,
Northside’s Principal, would
call “making sure the students
don’t notice the budget cuts”.
After Chicago Public Schools
realized an approximately $175
million deficit last year and the
Governor, along with the State,
failed to provide additional
financial support, CPS schools
are steadily experiencing the
effects of budget cuts.
“I worry it’s not going to
get any better,” says Dr. Lalley. Dr. Lalley balances the budget at his desk, with the ever-present
problem of budget cuts on his mind.
“The cost of running the
school will be more, and there Photo by Max Brown
a $7,000 to $14,000 allowance this year in order
won’t be any more money.”
to improve and support the program. When
The budget cuts affect Northside in areas
this money did not come, it had to come from
ranging from staffing, to after-school tutoring, to
elsewhere in the budget, partially from funds that
curricular necessities such as textbooks. In the
would have otherwise been saved.
case of after-school tutoring, the school expected
“You think things are going to
be paid for, and then they change
the rules,” said Dr. Lalley, referring
to the unexpected expenses. “They
say things like ‘we don’t have that
money… you’re on your own.’”
Still, budget cuts are an issue far
beyond the scope of Northside Prep.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
appears to be struggling to fulfill his
responsibilities to the school system,
especially through the eyes of the
CPS CEO Arne Duncan. Duncan
said in March that “the governor’s
budget [for the coming year] provides
Chicago with only about $16 million
in additional funding — that’s far
short of the governor’s promise and
far short of our needs.”
This lack of funding causes many
shortcomings, including CPS’ own
administration layoffs this past June,
which included six resignations, nine
retirements, and 87 vacancies, for a
total reduction of 258 positions.
“He’s caught between his promise
to voters and his promise to kids—and
it’s hard to see how he can keep them
both,” explained Duncan in reference
Continued as “Budget Problems” on pg. 4
Page 2
News
The Hoof Beat
Northside students win
recognition as A.P. Scholars
by Natalia Emanuel and Kana Yoo
Around May there is often a hyped sense of
National Scholars and Scholars with Distinction
stress in the hallways. This tension eventually
is a strong testament to the growth in learning that
melts away into relaxation and relief after AP test- is taking place in these classes and in the classes
ing is over, only to rematerialize when AP results
that prepare students for A.P. programs,” said Dr.
are mailed to students. Nevertheless this year,
Lalley.
Northside as a school has done extraordinarily
Students also handed some of the credit to
well.
teachers.
AP Scholar Awards are presented by the Col“Teachers at Northside do a very good job
lege Board to students who perform at a high level
of preparation,” said National Scholar, alumnus
on their AP Exams. There are four different levels
Michael Pomeranz. “I owe a lot to Ms. Beris, Mr.
of merit: AP Scholar, AP Scholar
Devine, Ms. Woodward, Mr Tylinski and others.”
with Honor, AP Scholar
“Koreman did a great job [preparing the
with Distinction, and
students], and the tests show it,” said Mr. Nathan
National AP Scholar.
Harada, Northside’s current AP Physics teacher,
(See the box for
of his predecessor.
qualifications set
However, it also has to
by the College
do with the students bring
Board in order
to the class.
to receive these
“I think the students
awards).
are motivated,” Ms. Healy,
Last year, out
an AP Psychology teacher,
of the 415 students
commented. “They have
who took 905 tests
consistent work habits,
in May 2005, 166
and I help them to prepare
students, or 40%
AP Scholar— a student who has received a
themselves.”
of those taking the
score of 3 or higher on 3 or more exams.
Nancy Cheng, Adv.
test, were recogScholar with Honor— a student who has
601, an AP Scholar with
nized with such
received a score of 3 or higher on 4 or more AP
Distinction, reiterated
honors. Northside
exams and has an average score of 3.25 on all AP
this thought. “The classes
had 43 AP Scholars, Exams taken.
certainly help if you try
47 Scholars with
Scholar with Distinction— a student who has
to learn,” she said. “But
Honor, 57 Scholars
an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams
it is also about your own
with Distinction
taken and grades of 3 or above on 5 or more exams. preparation outside of
and 19 National
National Scholar— a student who has received
class. You have to be
Scholars. Last year,
a 4 or above on eight or more tests and has an avermotivated to do well.”
Northside had 64
age of 4 or higher on all exams taken.
Max Swiatlowski,
AP Scholars, 29
Adv 603, a National AP
Scholars with Honor, 55 Scholars with DistincScholar, played down the achievement, focusing
tion and 9 National Scholars. These data show a
on the attitude during the school year.
significant jump in the number of high ranking
“Honestly, it’s a matter of knowing when to
scholars from 2004 to 2005.
do work and how to do work,” he said. “If you
The 19 National Scholars of 2005 were as
know how to balance the workload instead of
follows: Gathi Abraham, Juan Arias, Cathlooking at it like ‘Oh, I’m taking five APs!’ it’s a
erine Cobb, Polina Dekhtyar, Thomas Graham,
lot easier.”
Moustafa Kharouta, Ian Lempke, Jacqueline
Michael Pomeranz looked towards the future.
Lewandowski, Emily Matthews, Andrew Miller,
“I really hope Northside uses this as something to
Timothy O’Connor, Edward O’Reilly, Harsh
build upon, not something to run away from.”
Pandya, Michael Pomeranz, Aidan Roche, Adam
Max Swiatlowski echoed a similar idea, “I
Rutstein, Max Swiatlowski, Sonam Velani, and
welcome the day when many more students acRandy Yang.
cept the challenges and take AP classes, and end
Principal Dr. James Lalley congratulated the
up receiving these awards. After all, these honors
AP Scholar Award recipients and their teachers.
give credit not only to them, but also to the teach“The phenomenal growth in the number of
ers and to Northside.”
A spooky night
Northside’s Halloween Dance 2005
by Vasiliki Mitrakos
Festively costumed students
blissfully attended the Halloween
Dance on Friday, October 28th
to enjoy yet another fun school
sponsored celebration. “Costumed out” students paid 5 dollars while the “downers” paid 7.
Tinkerbells, cow girls, bunnies,
fairies, cats, and pirates flooded
the dance floor.
“The costumes are the best
part of the Halloween Dance,”
said Jessamine Fitzpatrick, Adv.
603.
The Pep club put a great
amount of effort in making the
school spooky for the night and
even the teachers and chaperones
dressed up. Freshman packed
the dance floor, as usual, but this
year there was also an impressive
number of seniors attending.
The best costumes won
prizes at the end of the night, another incentive for all those who
dressed up. The Silent Pumpkin
Boy, Joe Kennedy, Adv. 809, won
the scariest costume award. Frida
Kahlo, Rachel Ramir, Adv. 701
won the best costume award for
the night. The winners for the
best group were The Scooby Doo
Gang.
“They (Scooby Doo Group)
deserved to win. They had the
mystery machine and everything,” said Enoch Abraham,
Adv. 607, “but I still think the
X-Men had the best looking
costumes.”
Others were disappointed
with the results of the costume
contests.
“It was great (the dance), but
I can’t believe I didn’t win,” said
Ryan Tobin, Adv. 709, dressed
as a girl in his blue fish net
tights, mini skirt, red tank top
shirt and long haired wig.
Some noteworthy and well
organized groups attending the
Halloween dance were our very
own Beatles, the Spice Girls,
and the X-Men. Other groupies
with the dance.”
Still, students enjoyed the
chance to get together with their
friends and go crazy dressing
up. Even though the DJ didn’t
have time to play every song
requested, he managed to play
My Humps by The Black-Eyed
Peas twice, and the students
(From left to right) Adolfo Luna, Adv. 603, Stella Martin,
Adv. 607, Joseph Terdik, Adv. 603, William Hagen, Adv.
604, and Anthe Mitrakos, Adv. 602, enjoy their last
Northside Halloween Dance.
Photo by Vasiliki Mitrakos
included the U.S army, the Justice league, and the characters
from The Wizard of Oz.
Many students claimed that
the music was not as good as
they expected, which is a usual
complaint at school dances.
“The DJ could have been
better,” said Ryan Keleher, Adv.
604, dressed as Wolverine from
X-Men, “…people were more
concerned with dressing up than
went wild dancing to this song,
which concluded the night.
The Halloween bash ended
at 10 o’clock, and while the last
song had just finished playing,
the seniors were traditionally
yelling out “06” as they left their
last Northside Halloween dance.
“This is Northside, I loved
[the dance],” said security guard
Mr. Edwin Munos, dressed as
Shrek. “We had a blast.”
Northside College Prep
High School
5501 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625
Tel: (773) 534-3954
Fax: (773) 534-3964
Principal: Dr. James Lalley
Assistant Principal: Ms. Lisa Moreno
Advisor: Mr. Chester Tylinski
Editors-In-Chief: Ilya Chalik, Anisa Isap, Asrar Khan,
Monica Wojcik,
Copy Editor: Maxwell Brown
Managing Editor: Priyanka Bhagat, Ajla Sunje, Kana Yoo
News Editors: Ashraf Abbas, Natalia Emanuel, Rachel Ramir
Features Editors: Zainab Sozzer, Aisha Wahid, Kana Yoo
Centerfold Editors: Sanja Bajgoric, Anthe Mitrakos,
Amania Wahid
Editorial Editor: Muamera Hadzic, Aliy Markowski
Polls: Syyeda Ali
Arts and Entertainment Editors: Damon Beres,
Micah Tepora
Sports Editors: Geethi Abraham, Idrees Mohiuddin
Image Editors: Neha Alam, Zenobia Gonsalves, Shoaib Khan
Business Manager: Syyeda Ali
Satire: Ashraf Abbas, Damon Beres
Art Editor: Anthe Mitrakos
Junior Art Editor: Vasiliki Mitrakos
Artists: Rebekah Kim
Reporters: Shoaib Ali, Zainab Bilfaqi, Sejla Dizdarevic,
Rachel Hautzinger, Elizabeth Jose, Mohammad Khaleelulah,
Salim Patel, Amanda Perez, Nadir Rashid, Elizebeth Sobenes,
Abir Usman, Michelle Zacarias,
Junior Reporters: Andrea Ljevar, Mohammad Rahman
The Hoof Beat is a monthly publication produced by the
Northside Prep Journalism Class. As a student-run newspaper, your opinions are important to us. If you have any
comments, corrections, critiques, or questions, please e-mail
Mr. Chester Tylinski at [email protected]. Also, if
you have any interest of joining the Hoof Beat, please come
speak with Mr. Tylinski in Room 204.
Letter to the Editor
My name is Anna Parks, and I’m on the cross country team. I read the
article [author’s name] wrote on cross country, and I am [upset]. Much of the information is faulty—for example he said the “team consists of well over 20 members”
and we really have 58. Also, the team was initially divided into SIX teams— not four
(boy’s and girl’s varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen-sophomore). But WAY before
the month of October, we stopped having a JV, and it was reduced to varsity and
freshmen-sophomore. It was just a bunch of little things, and I want him to get his
facts straight.
On top of that, [author’s name] was so lazy that he didn’t even bother to
jot down some decent, honest quotes. Out of the some 60 people on the team, he
had to pick me. I specifically told him to not to quote me, and then he just makes
up some random junk that never even came close to coming out of my mouth. As
for Joe Terdik’s quote, Joe said that he did not say that and that [author’s name] did
not even talk to Joe about it. I’m sorry, but I think it’s plain wrong, and I was hoping
that you could prevent it from happening again.
Anna Parks, Adv. 907.
P.S. The picture was [not satisfactory] too.
Editor’s Note: Thank you for your letter to the editor. According to Joe Terdik, Adv. 603,
he was interviewed for the article. There are 58 members on the cross country team, but sources
reported that about 20 consistently show up to practice. We apologize for any other mistakes
and any confusion.
Corrections
In the October 2005 issue, on page four, Mrs. Deborah Santiago’s name
was misspelled. Mr. and Mrs. Santiago did not arrive at Northside in limousines, but
in a two seat Mercedes SEL.
On page six, the debt for the Pig in the Sidewalk Café was erroneously
published as $3,500. The debt is actually $200.
We apologize for any confusion.
September 2005
News
Page 3
Dr. Lalley “talks shop” with Philadelphia principals
Visitors look to Northside for a new model of education
by Rachel Ramir
Most Northsiders are able to name at least one instance
when a group of adults, sometimes headed by Dr. Lalley,
have walked into their classroom unannounced. These times
usually call for the best behavior possible, as no student wants
to misbehave in front of the Principal. If you were in one of
the classrooms visited on October 14th, you had special cause
for such model behavior. The group touring
Northside on this date had not one principal in
it, but five, including Dr. Lalley, who was there
to “talk shop” with his peers.
These principals were all from Philadelphia high schools, and included Ms. Florence
Johnson, Mr. Joseph Starinieri, Ms. Gloria
Pelzer, and Ms. Sandra Ruffin Pearson. On
their two-day trip around Chicago they visited
several high schools, while examining the different models of education present in this city
that could possibly be adapted to their own.
This was the first year that parents were
asked to help Dr. Lalley on these tours. Robert
Solomon, a Northside parent and active
member of the Parent Network and Docent
Committee, was co-leading this tour. He used
comments he heard from his son, Steven Solomon, Adv. 810, and observations from his own
experience with Northside to answer questions
that the principals asked him from his unique,
insider perspective.
This tour was different from others, as the
Philadelphia principals are presently dealing
with some weighty and serious issues.
“Schools in Philadelphia are struggling
with problems CPS was dealing with ten years
ago,” Dr. Lalley said.
Problems like under-funding, dilapidated
school buildings, disparities between suburban and city-school
test scores, and teacher shortages are realities at these schools,
and are situations that Northside students have been lucky to
miss.
To Mr. Solomon, this meant increasing his awareness of
the situation the visitors were coming from and taking care
when presenting different parts of Northside.
“I am totally aware that in this particular group they’re
dealing with schools that are probably in really bad shape,”
said Mr. Solomon. “The perception is that we have everything,
well of course we don’t have everything.” He added, “It’s hard
to convey properly to someone who comes from a situation
where their resources are really lacking. So when I give a tour,
I try not to flaunt what we have.”
Indeed, the visiting principals were awestruck by the new
and fully functional facilities available to Northside students.
“What we have” includes many unique programs and facilities
that differ from the typical high school agenda. According to
Mr. Solomon, the visitors were especially impressed by the
pool, weight room, auditorium, and gymnasium, where the
Future Leaders helps the
community “never forget”
by Micah Tepora
In the study of genocide, one event comes to
mind for the majority of students: the Holocaust.
However, members of the Future Leaders colloquium have been trying to raise awareness for various
issues around the community and around the world.
“Future Leaders is a colloquium to develop leadership skills,” said Ms. Christine Olsen, Northside’s
Service Learning Director.
The Future Leaders colloquium works with
had wanted to create a utopian society and attempted to do so with “race cleansing.”
Those who held high power positions in Cambodian society were exterminated by members of
the Khmer Rouge through mass killings or were
imprisoned in the infamous S-21 prison. In this
prison people were typically taken, along with their
families, to be tortured for information about those
against the Khmer Rouge.
Future Leaders
aims to distribute
the information
they have gathered
to schools by the
end of this year.
They also want to
raise awareness
for the Cambodian American
Heritage Museum,
located in Chicago,
through presentations.
With the help
of Mr. Tim Devine
of the Social Science Department,
and the research
done by his World
Studies class,
Future Leaders
is planning to
present their cur(From left to right) Adolfo Luna, Adv. 603, Ms. Christine Olsen, and Rhianna
Jones, Adv. 810, discuss recent developments in Cambodian Genocide
riculum centered
awareness.
on the Cambodian
Photo by Shoaib Khan
Genocide to the
community members and special needs students
National Service Learning Convention in Philadelfrom the Northside Learning Center and Vaughn
phia from March 22nd to the 25th in 2006.
Occupational High School to improve an aspect of
Although Ms. Christine Olsen is in charge of the
the community.
colloquium, the Future Leaders colloquium is run by
For instance, one year the project consisted of
the students. The students involved pick the projects
raising $30,000 and building a library for Vaughn
themselves so that they can appreciate the project.
Occupational High School. Last year, members of
Mr. Devine, Mr. Leon Lim, and Mrs. Margaret MurFuture Leaders worked to hold a benefit dinner to
phy have also taken an active role in this colloquium.
raise money for the Adopt-a-Minefield Foundation,
“How much effort [the students] choose to put
a charity organization helping to rid Bosnia and
into it really determines the outcome of the project,”
Cambodia of landmines.
said Jessica Galang, Adv. 708. “Ms. Olsen provides
This year, the Future Leaders colloquium is
great guidance, does her best to spread the word
working on another project: raising awareness of the
about our projects, and provides us with opportuniCambodian Genocide of the 1970s and other occurties to share our ideas with others.”
rences of genocide around the world.
“Service Learning involves the community, and
The Cambodian genocide occurred under the
Northside is our community,” said Jessica Galang.
Khmer Rouge regime, a name given to the left wing
“So inevitably, Northside as a whole plays a signifiof the Cambodian government. The Khmer Rouge
cant role in achieving our main goals.”
climbing wall widened a few eyes.
“They were intrigued by the crazy things,” said Dr. Lalley,
citing our lack of bells as another one of those quirks.
Mr. Solomon had the same reaction from the visitors, who
were interested in things like the student artwork and posters
that fill Northside’s walls and hallways.
“I encourage visitors to ‘read the walls’,” said Mr.
Solomon, which includes viewing “the signs people
make, and the birthday greetings, and the messages put
on lockers.”
A not-so-obvious stop on these tours was the bathrooms.
“I think the condition of a school’s washrooms says
volumes about the atmosphere of the school and the level of responsibility the people have,” said Mr. Solomon.
After touring the entire school, the visitors noted
the responsible nature of the students, who are allotted
more freedom than students of other schools. Antuan
Johnson, Adv. 710, a new junior at Northside, has experienced the other side of the coin. His former school,
Jones College Prep., was much different from Northside
in terms of student freedom.
“[Instead of] having to swipe in ID to show that
you are in school, Northside trusts me enough to know
that I am going to go to class and learn,” said Antuan
Johnson.
Dr. Lalley noted how significant this is in his fellow
principals’ eyes. The fact that students are allowed to
do things like sit in the hallways, unsupervised, or walk
to the bathroom without a hall pass, demonstrates how
responsible they are.
“In a lot of schools, unfortunately, many teachers
spend a lot of time on discipline problems,” said Mr.
Solomon. “Here at Northside it is pretty rare, and this
must be obvious to a visitor.”
After attending Northside for long enough, these kinds
of things tend to become a part of the background for most
students, faculty, and parents. When viewed for the first time,
however, Northside’s merits are better appreciated. Understandably, Northside’s program could not work at every
school, but the Philadelphia principals left Chicago with an
idea of where to go with their own schools.
Is Our Princpal
leaving?
by Salim Patel
No, Dr. Lalley is not leaving, but
on Thursday, October 27th, Northside
hosted three members of the Chicago
community as acting "Principals
for a Day." The guests, Jerry Fuller,
Executive Director of The Associated
Colleges of Illinois, R. Craig Sautter,
Author, and Joyce Shanahan, Execu-
classroom we visited," said Mrs. Joyce
Shanahan, one of the Principal for a
Day.
The great experience of the Principal for a Day was also shared by the
students who played an important role
in the tour.
"I really enjoyed talking to the
Principals for a
Day. They were
very interested
in learning about
Northside and really gave us some
good advice," said
Asma Ahmed.
During
the tour the
guests also
asked numerous
questions about
what needed
improvement at
Northside. Topics
such as better lab
(from left to right) Mr. Jerry Fuller, Asma Ahmed,
equipment and
Adv. 601, Thoth Gunter, Adv. 900, Karianne Szlufik,
computer software
Adv. 803, Paul Balik, Adv. 604, Dr. James Lalley, Ms.
were brought up.
Lisa Moreno, Mr. R. Craig Sautter, and Ms. Joyce
Due to
Shanahan participate in a discussion regarding
the
increasing
current issues at Northside College Prep.
civic interest in the
Photo by Shoaib Khan
Chicago Public
tive Director of Industrial Council of
Schools (CPS) system, Chicago Mayor
Northwest Chicago spent their day
Richard Daley developed the "Printouring the halls of Northside, getting
cipal for a Day" program eight years
a taste of the school’s atmosphere, and
ago to further involve and integrate
seeing what Northside has to offer to
the Chicagoland community into the
its student body.
public schools.
The three visitors to Northside
Many businesses and civic leaders
were given a tour by Northside’s
broadened their understanding of the
Principal, Dr. Lalley, and several of
accomplishments and challenges of
Northside’s own students and were
schools and their occupants through
able to observe Northside’s daily
this program. In doing so, these
routines. During the first lunch period,
businesses and civic leaders have
two seniors, Asma Ahmed, Adv. 601,
proclaimed their commitment to CPS
and Paul Balik, Adv. 604, along with
by providing materials and financial
Karianne Szlufik, Adv. 803, and Thoth resources to support schools.
Gunter, Adv. 900, explained the vari"Everyone seemed so upbeat and
ous courses offered at Northside as
seemed to be quite excited about
well as the entire Northside atmowhatever it is they were doing - what
sphere.
could be better either in the classroom
"What was most amazing was
or the workplace," said Mrs. Joyce
the great time the students and
Shanahan. "The feeling was catchy. I
teachers seemed to be having in each
kept wishing I was a student again."
Page 4
News
The Hoof Beat
On your mark... get set... go!
National Honor Society kicks off a new year
by Neha Alam
National Honor Society is ready to kick-off the school
year with full force and dedication. In previous years, members of NHS, through their dedication and commitment, have
displayed excellent citizenship. Northside witnessed many of
NHS’s successful events such as Participation Walks, Winter
Wonderland and volunteering at Chicago Children’s Museum.
The new NHS community hopes to maintain the four “pillars” of NHS: character, leadership, scholarship, and service.
However, one significant change this year are the sponsors
of the club. Ms. Linda Ortiz, of the Science Department, and
Ms. Anna Lisa Searcy, of the Social Sciences Department,
will be teaming up to advise the club this year.
“This year, NHS is going through a transition period,”
said Kevin Kilgallon, Adv. 606. “Our previous sponsor, Mrs.
[Sandra] Beris, left Northside at the end of last year, and
everyone is trying to adapt to working without her help. Our
new sponsors, Ms. Searcy and Ms. Ortiz, are doing an excellent job picking up where she left off, and this year NHS hopes
to exceed last year’s accomplishments.”
The new members of NHS were elected in May of last
year. The members democratically voted for the new officers.
The two new presidents are Nancy Cheng, Adv. 601, and
Kevin Kilgallon. The vice president is Ilya Chalik, Adv. 603,
the secretary is Madeline Roche, Adv. 602, and Kesha Butler,
Adv. 605, is the treasurer.
NHS holds many expectations for its members. It hopes to
remain an active part of the Northside and Chicago community through various service projects and activities.
“National Honor Society's goal is to cultivate more young
leaders and we certainly hope that more students will participate in NHS activities as a way of giving,” said Nancy Cheng,
Adv. 601.
“NHS is very important for Northside’s community
because it offers so many opportunities for students to get
involved in helping the community,” said Kevin Kilgallon.
“Every month there are one or more service projects that NHS
members can participate in. NHS is also important for North-
side, because when NHS
takes part in service projects,
the school’s reputation grows.
More and more people want
to work with Northsiders
once they see them in action.”
NHS has many changes
in mind which, in the long
run, are hoped to enrich the
community. NHS hopes to
reach out to more students
and have the school as a
whole more involved in
service projects. NHS involvement in projects declined this
year partly because NHS is
no longer in charge of the
school store; the Northside
apparel is now sold through
the Athletics Department.
However, other classic NHS
activities are still on its
agenda such as the Operation
From left to right: Nancy Cheng, Adv. 601, and Jennifer Noinaj, Adv. 600, read up
Day’s Work, which is this year’s on an upcoming project.
major project. Many different
Photo by Ashraf Abbas
organizations around the coun3 Basketball tournament, and 3 on 3 Volleyball tournament,”
try are involved in this project along with Northside’s NHS.
NHS continues to operate under the same structure of be- said Kevin Kilgallon
“We have organized, along with Key Club and Student
ing divided into four teams: the leadership team, in which the
officers provide guidance, the service team, which searches for Council, many events that help students give back to the commeaningful volunteering activities, the Operation Day’s Work munity such as the 3-on-3 Basketball, canned food collected
for the Chicago Food Depository,” said Nancy Cheng.
team, which is in charge of ODW, writing a proposal for the
The new members of NHS started this year with full force
fund raiser, and the school team, which is in charge of decoraand enthusiasm, picking up where the former members and
tions for dances, publicizing school events, etc.
“This year, NHS also plans to continue some of its biggest sponsor had left off. They hope to exceed last year’s accomsuccesses of the past, including Hustle Up the Hancock, 3 on plishments and improve NHS.
David Bevington’s Mid-Autumn’s night lecture
by Rachel Ramir
did establish the broader context of the play.”
possessed only a base understanding of the
Most of the students that were gathered
“This lecture was not really for people
play, with heady specifics, he gave a general
in Northside’s auditorium on October 20th
very familiar with [King Lear],” said Mr.
but very informative overview of the characprobably did not sense the oratory skills of
Snow.
ters and their different situations.
the man approaching the podium until he
To his credit, there was quiet a cumber“I think it speaks to [Mr. Bevington’s]
actually began to speak. As he was introduced
some generation gap between Mr. Bevington
brilliance,” said Mr. Snow. “He understood
to the audience by Edward Mogul, an enthuand his audience.
siastic representative from Wright
Though the maCollege, some may have noticed
jority of his audihis casual attire, specifically his
ence was a full
brown tennis shoes. Granted,
60 years younger
they did appear a bit awkward in
than he, he still
conjunction with his blue sports
managed to toss
coat, but it could be that David
in a few jokes and
Bevington, famed Shakespearto put things in
ean Historian, recognized the
a more modern
importance of being comfortable
context.
on stage.
Mr. Snow
Mr. Bevington’s lecture was
noted this later
the first of four lectures at Northand appreciated
side regarding Shakespeare’s
“the fact that
King Lear. Teachers in the English
[Mr. Bevington]
Department geared up their AP
was so concerned
Literature and Composition and
with audience
AP Language and Composition
and made himself
classes by supplying all students
accessible to the
with a free copy of the play. The
audience,” suglecture series was encouraged for
gesting that this
all students, partially due to the
further showed
celebrity of the guest speakers,
his oratory abiliand partially for personal student
ties.
growth.
Mr. Beving“These lectures will open
ton’s presence
windows to Shakespeare and his
on stage during
plays,” said Mr. Snow, AP Lithis lecture was
erature teacher, after Bevington’s
so strong that it
lecture.
seemed to allude
“It is important [for students]
to some level of
to attend the lectures to get an
theatrical trainintroduction to the types of
ing. His gestures,
lecturing they will be exposed
facial expressions,
to in college,” said Ms. Malueg,
and voice were
one of Northside’s AP Language
expressive, his
teachers.
Mr. David Bevington leans comfortably against his podium while speaking to
manner calm but
As David Bevington apNorthside students about Shakespeare’s King Lear .
mesmerizing, and
proached the podium, the audito- Photo by Rachel Ramir
his presence very
rium sat in an anticipated silence.
the audience [consisted of] students who had
solid. Aubrey Cunat, Adv. 706, is a Northside
Would this be another boring English lecture
read Lear and [Bevington’s] introduction, and
student with extensive theater experience
produced by some dry old man in a red bowtailored his lecture to those students. Clearly
in and out of Northside’s auditorium. She
tie? Mr. Bevington placed his copy of King
here was a man who could have showed
agreed that Mr. Bevington seemed very comLear on the podium, and instead of standing
off….”
fortable onstage, but suggested that this may
behind it stiffly, he walked around to the side
This lack of specifics, however, was
not be due to any theater training.
and leaned against it in a very relaxed and
disappointing to some in the audience who
“He came across as knowing how to read
nonchalant way. This calm demeanor would
attended to hear Mr. Bevington display his
the lines,” Aubrey said. “He’d obviously studset the tone for the rest of the night.
famed knowledge and insight into the play.
ied King Lear enough to know their meaning
“[Mr. Bevington’s] presentation was
Beyond the basics, he discussed the historical
and what to put behind them.”
non-threatening,” said Mr. Snow. “It was
context of the play, including a bit of English
As it is sometimes performed onstage,
formal but informal. It is important to young
Mr. Bevington applauded the play’s strengths
students to see that lectures can be interesting, geography. He also described the relationship
between Lear and Cordelia in Freudian terms. and pointed out its many unique aspects. He
engaging, and pleasant.”
“I recognize that some students felt [Mr.
said that this play is usually done on a mostly
The content of his lecture seemed to
Bevington’s] lecture lacked specificity and
bare stage, as it is the costumes and draw of
speak appropriately to his audience. Instead
insight into the play,” said Ms. Malueg. “He
the characters that sets the mood and makes it
of bombarding the students, most of whom
successful. He also said that Edmund’s character (the cunning, bravado “bastard son”) is
usually played by a “very handsome actor,”
which he finds appropriate.
The passion Mr. Bevington displayed
for Shakespeare throughout his lecture was
inspiring and infectious. Though very familiar
with the play, he seemed completely engrossed with the plotline as he spoke of it. At
times he smiled or chuckled at some strange
twist or quirk in the story as though realizing
it for the first time, and the audience always
joined in.
“Budget
problems”
Continued from pg.1
to Gov. Blagojevich.
So what can be done about these
budget cuts? Fortunately, in a school like
Northside, it is not as much of a problem
as in schools without the same plethora
of resources. Fundraisers such as Cubby
Walk pay for sports equipment, computer
technology, and other things which may or
may not be taken for granted. Orientation
fees, which some schools do not have,
pay for many department necessities and
luxuries. Also, the Friends of Northside
Parent Network fundraising is incredibly
helpful in filling gaps in the budget. Also,
as much as Colloquium is praised for the
experience it provides, it also allows for
four extra faculty positions and the ability
to reduce class sizes. This is because the
CPS formula, used to calculate staff size,
considers Colloquium an extra class. And
just as important is the extra effort from
the teachers themselves.
"They work extra hours," said Lalley.
"They all teach a Colloquium, and they
help create a community with an emphasis
on respect for one another, all without
taking home a bigger paycheck."
Budget cuts are and will become a
more and more challenging problem at the
State, Local, and School level, especially in
an attempt to diminish the whopping $175
million CPS deficit.
Regardless, Dr. Lalley makes it
clear that “here at Northside we foster
imagination”, and instead of wallowing in
the budget cuts, “we like to think of how
we can make things work.”
September 2005
News
“Math Team
Success”
continued from pg. 1
team,” said Ms. Tomasiewicz. “The returning students
had experience from last year or the year before that, so
it was more so a new experience for the freshman, who
did really well regardless.”
While the scores and expectations may indicate
great amounts of studying, the preparation for these
competitions is not as stressful as it may seem.
“When preparing for a competition you do everything you can by studying at home and practicing at
school,” said Daniliuc, Adv. 701. “From that respect,
you can go into the competition just as calm but still do
well, although after the test is over we all feel anxious as
we await the results.”
Having placed first in their Division, Northside
anticipates that the next three competitions until the
City Finals will determine whether they will move on
to compete at the state level. In the meantime, however,
there are many remaining competitions the team needs
to prepare for. The regional and state competitions
hosted by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM), the Illinois Math League (IML), and
the slightly more prestigious American Math Competition are all coming up.
This past Tuesday, October 25th, 2005, the worksheets for the IML competition were administered
to students in Ms. Tomasiewicz’s room as the largest
student turn-out for such a competition scuffled around
moving desks, borrowing pencils, and checking for
calculators.
The atmosphere seemed to be a melting pot of
emotions as some students anxiously conversed, others
giggled, and some sat at the edge of their seats ready
to complete the administered worksheets. One could
be put in the same stage of fervor and anticipation by
simply observing.
However, this competition in particular is not favored by the students, since the worksheets are sent out,
and students complete them at their home schools. The
ICTM competition, seems to be the most enjoyable of
all the competitions in which the students participate.
“The ICTM is definitely most fun,” said Ilya Chalik,
Adv. 603, “mainly because we have a variety of sizes of
teams, and we travel together as a team to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It allows for
more bonding and general interaction with each other
since we can have up to eight person teams, because
[otherwise] we spend most of the time working on tests
alone.”
Whether working alone, in pairs, or in eight person
teams, the Northside Math Team shows great enthusiasm for any competition at hand and, much like
any other team, values the bonding and interaction at
competitions and practices. Hoping for good individual
scores as well as high team scores throughout the year,
the Math Team prepares and meets two or more times a
week with their fellow teammates. But due to the scoring processes of the IML competition, these anxious
math magicians will have to wait a whole month for
another set of highly anticipated scores from Tuesday’s
competition.
Page 5
Students gain recognition as
National Merit semi-finalists
by Zenobia Gonsalves
Last year the current seniors of
students have achieved. The minimum
Michael Burke, Adv. 601, Christopher
Northside College Prep spent a Satselection index score students need to
Field, Adv. 606, Jessamyn Fitzpatrick,
urday morning in October taking the
qualify for recognition in the National
Adv. 603, William Hagen, Adv. 604,
PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Standard- Merit Scholarship Program changes
Susanna Hostetter, Adv. 607, Avi-Yona
ized Achievement Test/National Merit
annually because it is developed from
Israel, Adv. 604, Michael Kharouta,
Scholarship Qualifying Test). Some stu- the PSAT scores of juniors from the
Adv. 605, Daniel Lenzen, Adv. 601,
dents managed to surpass expectations
previous year. The minimum selection
Megan Marquez, Adv. 605, Adrian
and receive national recognition. Out of index for this year’s recognized students Marshall, Adv. 600, Jonathan Nagatani,
many Northside students commended
was 202 out of 240, the highest possible Adv. 605, Seth Neill, Adv. 601, Michael
by NMSC (National Merit Scholarship
selection index score. The national aver- Palma, Adv. 602, Sarah Shier, Adv. 600,
Corporation), eight have been named
age score was 146.
Jeremy Sorkin, Adv. 602, and Carolina
Semi-finalists.
“If I have any secret at all, it’s
Vargas, Adv. 607.
The eight semi-fiSemi-finalists need to
nalists are Ilya Chalik,
advance to the Finalist
Adv. 603, Mitchell Isostanding to be considered
da, Adv. 607, Michael
for a National Merit ScholKennedy, Adv.600,
arship. They complete an
Rebekah Kim, Adv.
application process that is
600, Matthew Law,
evaluated by NMSC. Their
formerly of Adv. 604,
SAT scores, extracurricular
Simon Swartzman,
activities, and academic
Adv. 605, Maximiliano
performance from grades
Swiatlowski, Adv. 603,
nine through 12 are conand Monica Wojcik,
sidered when they vie for a
Adv. 604.
Finalist position. Finalists
“There’s not much
compete for $2500 scholardifference in feeling
ships, which are granted
between being National
on a state representational
Merit Commended and
basis.
being a Semi-finalist,”
“The entire college
said Rebekah Kim. “I
application process is very
don’t feel proud or anyunnerving,” said Michael
thing. I just took a test
Kennedy. “Knowing that I
and did well on it.”
have an award that might
The National Merit
put me ‘over the hump’
Scholarship Program is
when it comes to being
an academic competiaccepted at a tough school
Max Swiatlowski, Adv. 603, looks over the statistics from last
tion that awards scholar- year’s National Merit Finalists.
is reassuring.”
ships based on students’ Photo by Shoaib Khan
In February, about
PSAT/NMSQT scores.
15,000 students are inStudents in their junior
that I constantly check over all of my
formed by mail that they have advanced
year in high school are automatically
answers,” said Michael Kennedy. “If I
to the Finalist standing. 8,200 Finalists
entered into the program when they
have time, I check once, if I have more
will be notified that they have been
have completed the PSAT and fulfilled
time, I check again.”
selected to win National Merit Awards
all the requirements. Students entered
In the April following the PSAT,
between March and June of next year.
into the program must be enrolled as full high-scoring entrants from every state
Similar to the National Merit
time students who are planning to enroll are asked to name two colleges or
Program is the National Achievement
in college by the fall semester following
universities to which they would like
Scholarship Program, which is an acatheir high school graduation. They also
to be recommended by NMSC. These
demic competition that provides recognineed to be citizens or permanent lawful
high scorers are informed through their tion for outstanding African American
residents of the United States. Only
schools if they have qualified as a Com- high school students. Northside’s Naabout 50,000 students, or roughly 3.8%
mended Student or a Semifinalist.
tional Achievement Scholarship Semiof the approximately 1.3 million particiIn late September, about 34,000 of
finalist is Avi-Yona Israel, Adv. 604.
pants, qualify for recognition each year.
the approximately 50,000 high scorHispanic students who did extremely
“To be a National Merit Semi-finalers on the PSAT/NMSQT received
well on the PSAT also receive acknowlist feels like owning a Victorian war ma- letters of commendation in recognition
edgment. Northside’s National Hischine: useless except in impressing and
of their remarkable academic abilities.
panic Scholar Semi-finalists are Michael
scaring others,” said Simon Swartzman, Commended students do not advance
Kharouta, Adv. 605, Megan Marquez,
a National Merit Semi-finalist.
in the competition for National Merit
Adv. 605, Michael Palma, Adv. 602, and
The semi-finalists and commended
Scholarship awards, but some of them
Carolina Vargas, Adv. 607.
students are chosen based on their selec- become candidates for Special Scholar“When driving, we are lead by small
tion index number. The selection score
ships sponsored by corporations and
flames, hidden, controlled,” said Simon
index is a sum of the critical reading,
businesses.
Swartzman. “I hope that others can see
math, and writing skills scores that
This year’s commended students are mine and I hope that mine is still there.”
This one time at band camp. . .
Northside’s student orchestra retreat
by Aliy Markowski
On Friday, October 7th, twenty-eight
members of Northside’s student orchestra,
instruments in hand, packed onto a bus and
headed off to a weekend retreat of music and
bonding. Two hours later the group arrived
at Conference Point Center in Williams Bay,
Lake Geneva, where they stayed in a large
riverside mansion. The purpose of the weekend was two-fold: ample time for practicing
music and plenty of opportunities for orchestra members to bond.
“The retreat is one way of bringing us all
together in more of a social environment,”
said Leo Park, Northside’s Orchestra Instructor. “I truly believe that the social connectedness and cohesion of an ensemble affects the
musical connectedness and cohesion of an
ensemble.”
Spending a weekend together, the orchestra members had a lot of time to devote to
their music. The long hours they spent practicing led to considerable improvement.
“With the academic rigor Northside
imposes upon its students, many are forced
to go without practicing over the weekends,”
said Mr. Park. “This retreat was an opportunity to make certain that a substantial
amount of weekend practice time would be
had.”
The students also had the opportunity to
play new songs that differed from their usual
concert pieces.
Orchestra students have their fun around the fire.
Photo by Aliy Markowski
“Last year we worked on music
that was what we had been practicing
for an upcoming concert,” said Trevor
Woodland, Adv. 709. “But this year
we played new and random music that
was different from what we would
usually play in a performance. The
pieces weren’t very difficult and it was
more fun because it wasn’t nearly as
stressful.”
Apart from just practicing, the students that went on the retreat had the
time to participate in activities with
their classmates. Though the orchestra
classes meet daily, the size and structure of the class prevents students from
bonding with each other. The retreat
was a special occasion for members
of the orchestra to get to know each
other.
“It’s a great opportunity to get to
know everyone better,” said Richard
Paulius, Adv. 705. “We’re all friends
after the retreat.”
Camila Youniss, Adv. 700, and
Jenna Witkowski, Adv. 705, served as
the event organizers for the weekend.
They began brainstorming weeks before the retreat and ultimately planned
a host of games and activities that
kept students entertained the entire
weekend.
“Last year was fun, but unorganized,” said Camila Youniss. “So
this year we started planning early
to make sure that the weekend went
smoothly and fun for everyone.”
“We tried to incorporate bonding activities that would bring the
orchestra together as a whole,” said
Jenna Witkowski. “We broke the ice
right away, so the rest of the retreat
was a lot more fun.”
The activities the orchestra
members engaged in ranged from
pumpkin carving to nighttime
capture the flag games to ping-pong
tournaments. Mr. Park, with the help
of his student organizers, ensured
that the orchestra members enjoyed
themselves throughout the weekend.
“It is very important to me that
orchestra be more than just a class,”
said Mr. Park. “I stress the educational values of the experience and,
at the same time, isn’t having fun
value or purpose enough?”
Northside’s Orchestra members
were more than satisfied with the
trip this year, and are already looking
forward to the next retreat.
“I wish I could go again next
year!” said Stefanie Uriam, Adv.
602.
November 2005
Features Page 7
The Stinking Onion “Memory House” baked right
Because We All Love
Chicago
by Rachel Ramir
Traveling in the downtown
area always makes for a great time,
whether the aim is business or
pleasure (hopefully pleasure in the
normal high school experience).
Four seasons, all weather, night
and day, there is always something
to do. Even strolling idly down
Michigan Avenue, past bustling
business people and hustling street
performers, is an interesting excursion that one can take part in any
time.
Confessedly, the city can be
overbearing even for the most seasoned Chicagoan, and with all of
the pleasing sights and city sounds,
it becomes far too easy to miss out
on some new experience. How
often do we brush carelessly past
some person or place that piques
our interest for only a moment
before another grabs our attention?
Well, think of this column as a
snapshot of Chicago. For the rest
of the school year, I will be documenting fun places to go, people to
meet, and will touch on some of
the very touchy issues that affect
every Northsider.
As an introduction, what is
Chicago? Most of us are able
to define the word “Chicago”
from kindergarten as dubbed by
its original inhabitants (Stinking
Onion). Ask someone from another
country, and they’ll say it’s a city
of mobsters, or a city with shady
voting practices. With all there is
to do, I’d like to think that there
is more than (seemingly) ancient
history to go by. It may be a city
of art, music or culture, or a city
of sports. Really, it is up to you to
decide. Is it a city of increasingly
expensive public transport? A city
of overpriced downtown parks? Of
endless beaches? Of clean tap water? Maybe it’s a city of peddlers,
swindlers and homeless? A city of
free music events? Of museums?
Of schools? Of politicians?
Granted, this place isn’t
perfect. Crime is
so high that some flee to our quiet
(or boring, depending on how you
look at it) suburbs. Segregation
and racism are practiced in a de
facto manner that is only ignorable
when you’re on the favorable end.
Politics are chaotic and indefinable,
and a bumper sticker is able to sum
up your beliefs for everyone stuck
with you in that lovely expressway
traffic jam. The one thing that is
truly amazing is the presence and
celebration of so many ethnic
groups. Poles, Italians, Puerto Ricans, Indians, Pakistanis, Japanese,
Chinese, Koreans, Mexicans, Irish,
Swedish, Africans (sorry to lump the
40-odd countries into one), South
Americans (Again…), we’re all represented. There is neither shortage
of Ethiopian, Colombian, or Thai
cuisine, nor any shortage of parades
and festivals to show us what their
places are all about. Here, it helps
to be able to say “Hello” in as many
languages as you can learn. Trust
me: those old disgruntled Russian
ladies love to hear it. Here, it helps
to be as open-minded as possible
about all kinds of religions, cultures,
personalities, sexual orientations,
economic backgrounds, educations,
etc. Of course, there is always new
land development going on in the
suburbs for those who can’t stomach
it all.
You probably didn’t need me to
remind you of all of this, or maybe
you did. I’ve called all of these
things to your attention because they
are some of the reasons that define
my love of Chicago. These are also
the reasons why I have dedicated
myself to writing about and finding
out new things regarding this place.
There is something out there for you,
for your little sibling, mom, dad,
great-aunt. Take advantage of what
this city has to offer- it will only
be what you make of it. After all,
Chicago doesn’t smell too badly of
stinking onions anymore.
by Kana Yoo
Procrastination, the worst
enemy of any high school student
with a deadline, reared its ugly head
once again in “Memory House”,
a play performed at the Victory
Gardens Theatre on Thursday,
October 13.
College essay writing was the
night’s theme, which began with
a pre-show seminar presented by
Associate Director of Admissions
at the University of Chicago, Jenny
Connell. Several Northside students
were in attendance, including
Later on in the evening, Taylor
Miller, a mother of two Northside
students, and Cassandra Bissell
starred as mother and daughter in
Kathleen Tolan’s “Memory House”.
With the clock ticking towards the
midnight deadline on New Year’s
Eve, daughter Katia struggled to
complete her college essay in three
hours, while her mother, Maggie,
baked a pie.
Though Katia originally appeared to be a typical teenager
distressed over schoolwork, the
with humor, and sentimental lines
delivered by Maggie were answered
with quick accusations from Katia
of being “corny”.
Both characters’ imperfections
became loveable. Much of the
play’s humor came from Maggie’s
clumsy attempts to make a pie and
her general confusion about baking.
One moment of lightheartedness
that stood out amongst the heavier
emotional issues was when Maggie
exclaimed giddily over her revelation that the “oven people” had put
Memory House lights up the stage at Victory Gardens Theatre.
Photo by Kana Yoo
juniors Liza Tullis, Adv. 704, Annie
Lesser, Adv. 709, and Katie McKelvey, Adv. 708.
Connell provided college hopefuls with advice about essay writing:
be specific and accurate, make it
personal, don’t procrastinate, and
always proofread. Connell especially emphasized finding the right
voice, and being truthful, because
the purpose of college applications
is to find a match between the student and the school.
“I felt that in some ways it was
really helpful because it showed the
freedom I could have when writing my college essay,” said Annie
Lesser. “But I also felt that it wasn’t
as helpful because it discussed a lot
of things that people would already
know.”
play gradually revealed deeper
issues behind the mother-daughter
relationship. Katia was adopted
from a Russian refugee family and,
throughout the course of the play,
she battled unanswered questions
and conflicting opinions about
America’s political bullying.
Katia’s shift from anger to
vulnerability brought a tender, tearjerker moment between mother and
daughter. In the scene, Maggie held
her weeping daughter and expressed
how she fell in love with her after
the adoption. The characters were
sympathetic and their relationship
felt real because of the many layers
that each character had.
Like the shifting characters,
the play never stayed in one mood.
Moments of rage were touched
a light inside the oven for her to see
her pie.
In the end, Katia was able to
successfully mail in her essay, after
showing her completed work to
her mother. The essay talked about
Katia’s memory house and her inability to belong.
“The play was really good because it showed how personal one’s
essay should be and how it’s part of
you and part of your voice,” said
Annie Lesser.
The delightful performance was
topped off, for some lucky winners in the audience, with pieces
of blueberry pie, made during the
play by Maggie herself. For anyone
who has ever written a college essay,
or fears writing one in the future,
“Memory House” is the play to see.
A misunderstood Puerto Rican tradition
Teacher extends cultural lessons beyond the classroom
by Rachel Ramir
The first sight to greet Northside students as they entered
found it barbaric and wrong. The scene is depicted truthfully,
the school during Halloween was a flowery display, filled with
complete with a joyous mother wearing a traditional white
icons of angels and… a dead baby.
head-cloth, but in a way that makes it appear sinister. As Ms.
This display was an extension of Spanish teacher Ms.
Villodas has explained to her Spanish classes, this is because
Wanda Villodas’s “Day of the Dead” festivities, though the
he just did not understand the culture of the Puerto Rican
two ideas are from different countries.
When Ms. Villodas began her position at
Northside’s World Language Department
last year, she brought with her a love for
Latino culture and a passion for educating
others about it. This love has manifested
itself conspicuously in the school’s hallways ever since, especially in the first floor
atrium. For the second year, students in her
Spanish classes have adorned tables with
decorations made in class and appropriate items brought from home. This artistic
approach was combined with lessons about
Latin American traditions.
“The way I see it, there are two uneducated audiences at Northside,” said Ms.
Villodas. “One [is] in my classroom, which
is my responsibility. The other is the Northside community, and I welcome them to use
this display to educate themselves.”
The “dead baby” was actually a doll
belonging to one of Ms. Villodas’ daughters, and a part of an elaborate reproduction
of El Baquiné. El Baquiné, or El Velorio
(literally, “the wake”) was a Puerto Rican
tradition practiced by the “peasants” of
the country. When a baby died, all of the
A doll representing a dead infant rests on display in Northside’s first floor
atrium.
friends and family of the parents would
gather for a large party, where no mourning Photo by Rachel Ramir
for the dead child was to take place. The
peasants. This was a peasant tradition, and he was from the
belief was that the baby became an angel and ascended to
upper class.
heaven.
At the sight of a doll representing a dead baby, many in
The inspiration for Ms. Villodas’ display came from a
the Northside community reacted just as Oller did. Members
painting by a treasured Puerto Rican artist, Francisco Oller.
of the faculty have told Ms. Villodas that they find the display
Oller painted his “El Baquine” in the mid-19th century, not
“freaky” and “sick.” Though offended, she has a ready explaas recognition of the beauty of this custom, but because he
nation for this:
“Even though some people at Northside are of Latino
descent, they are unaware of this custom, and in general uneducated on this area of my culture,” said Ms. Villodas. “They
lack understanding.”
Though she has shown a calm acceptance of this general
reaction, she was still shaken by what she viewed to be a negative reaction to her culture.
“It hurts me that people are so ignorant, you know?
¡Caramba!” said Ms. Villodas. “I realize that they are totally
ignorant, and I make it my duty to educate them, not because
it’s my culture, but because we’re so afraid of what is different.
It is easy to disrespect it rather than value it.”
There was also a bit of misunderstanding on the part of
Ms. Villodas’ students, at least at first. When assembling the
display, many in her Period 7 Spanish 3 class were confused as
to the significance of all of the angelic symbols, and reacted
much like the teachers did. This did not last very long, however.
“At first I thought this tradition was odd, and it made me
uncomfortable,” said Julie Bujnowski, Adv. 710, a student of
the 7th Period class. “I mean, making a wake for a dead baby?
But over the last two weeks, Ms. Villodas has really opened my
eyes. Some cultures may be strange, but they’re not wrong.”
Magdalena Cassel, Adv. 801, had a similar initial reaction.
“At first it seemed strange, but I think [El Baquiné] is a
healthy way to deal with [death] compared to the morbid
thinking [in America].”
Having Ms. Villodas for a few months as a teacher has
made some students in the same period realize the importance
of culture to their foreign language education.
“There are so many teachers that think learning a language is just about learning the words – but culture is a very
important part,” said Mary Claire Schmit, Adv. 703.
“I didn’t know about [El Baquiné] before Spanish class,”
said Delilah Santiago, Adv. 704. “Now that I do, I don’t see
anything wrong with it. It’s a Puerto Rican tradition, and I
think we should leave it alone and respect it.”
Angie Nizio, Adv. 710, summed up Ms. Villodas’ intent
clearly:
“This is important to us. We are really immersing ourselves in the culture.”
Page 8
Features
A memorable fast break:
The Hoof Beat
Northside Jama’ah Club holds Annual Ramadan Dinner
by Mohammad Khaleelullah
opening their fasts, it was time for
the 4th of 5 daily prayers for Muslims. The prayer, called “Magrib”,
was conducted in the gym while
guests either watched or stayed behind in the cafeteria looking over
some of the posters the club made
about the Islamic religion.
When returning from prayer,
the guests had a chance to sample
one of the dinner’s features: the
actual food. The club arranged
dinner for guests by serving a variety of Indian and Arab cuisine.
The courses covered everything
from appetizers to desert.
“The food was yummy,” said
Claire Swisher, Adv. 802. “I don’t
know exactly what it was, but it
was delicious.”
Guests were urged to try some
of the food that was prepared in
order for them to get a feel for the
ethnic background of many of the
club members.
After everyone choose the
food items they wanted, the
program continued. Irfan Hussain
stepped up to the microphone and
explained the clubs purpose and
activities. Then the next speaker,
Mr. Tylinski, the club’s sponsor,
expressed some words on the club.
Next came Salim Patel, Adv. 800,
who spoke about the religion of
Islam and what this month means
to Muslims.
“I hoped they would get an
understanding of what Ramadan is,” said Salim Patel. “What
Ramadan is and why we do it.
Sarah Hanif, Adv. 809, serves a plate of Indian and Pakistani delicacies to (left to right) Zahra Lalani, Adv. 905, and Sara Nasser, Adv. 800.
That is why I tried to connect with
Photo by Kana Yoo
them. Even if they learned the
smallest thing from my speech. I’m
As the cafeteria buzzed with balloons and streamers, an
ees at the dinner have always been diverse, bringing those of
glad they at least learned something.”
aura of excitement, and hungry students, the Northside Jamdifferent religions and different cultures to the event. The club
Near the end of the dinner, Aisha Wahid, Adv. 704, spoke
mah Club’s Ramadan Dinner was about to begin. On Friday
invites the entire Northside student body and staff to attend
of the recent tragedy in Pakistan and how the earthquake has
October 21, 2005, the 7th annual dinner took place at 6 p.m. at
the event.
affected those abroad. She explained what the club was doing
Northside’s cafeteria. The Ramadan Dinner is one of the two
“I heard about the dinner from a friend,” said Joseph
for the disaster and how those at the dinner could help.
dinners Jammah Club hosts every year. The Ramadan dinner,
Kanikunnel, Adv. 807. “I came to check out what the whole
As the dinner came to an end, the members of the club
held during the Islamic month of Ramadan, is held every year
event was about. I was surprised to see how many different
were pleased with the turnout and reaction they got from the
to help others gain knowledge about the religion of Islam, the
types of people there were, so that was cool.”
crowd. They were also satisfied that the goals of the dinner
meaning behind the holy month, and how it affects those who
The program began as Irfan Hussain, Adv. 806, introduced were successful, as in spreading the knowledge of the religion.
observe it. Every year, the event has many returning attendmembers of the club, who recited the Islamic prayer, with
“I got to learn a lot about a new religion and culture,” said
ees, as well as newcomers who come to enjoy the food and
which the fast is opened, followed by a translation into EngClaire Swisher. “That doesn’t happen very often. They were
program.
lish. The fast is opened at sunset, traditionally with a date and
very informative and event was fun. [I] got to meet some new
The turnout for the event has always been high. Attendsome water. Both were passed out to the guests. Right after
people as well. It was nice to experience something like that.”
Ghouls at school for a Halloween scream
by Michelle Zacarias
For the first time in two years
Northside has once again held the
much loved Halloween holiday during a school day.
Although many don’t celebrate
the typical Halloween ritual of trick
or treating and converting their
homes into haunted houses, there
were a number of students who
took the opportunity to dress in a
festive occasion.
“Halloween is okay,” said Ona
Wang. “But I like dressing up better; it’s a way of wearing short skirts
without being yelled at.”
Some students were a little
worried about appearing silly when
dressing up to school for Halloween.
“I was so scared,” said Jennifer
Gonzalez, Adv. 705. “When I first
came to school, I thought no one
had on a costume, but then I saw a
clown. Man, I was so relieved.”
Without taking peer pressure
into account there were many
students who chose to dress up,
from a muscular Batman outfit to a
fussy life-size Scooby Doo costume.
Characters from shows and movies
flew down the hall in a race to get
to class on time. Some of the more
popular costumes this year were
school girls, anime characters, Marvel comics and Pimps.
“I would dress up as a pimp,”
said Julian Martin, Adv. 707. “But
I’m a pimp anyways.”
Northside displays students’
abilities to revive older trends; many
students brought back old school
costumes such as the Blues Brothers
and Flavor Flav. Stella Martin, Adv.
607, and Susanna Hostetter, Adv.
607, came dressed as the Wayne’s
World Garth and Wayne.
“Wayne’s world, Wayne’s
World, party time, excellent,”
they jammed out to the lyrics of
the short, but well-known, song
from the movie. All day students
struggled to fill in their character
roles. Princesses gracefully glided to
advisory with a tiara on their heads
as Tiggers bounded down the hall
as bouncing orange blurs.
Regardless of how popular it
was to dress up during school this
year, there were many that chose
not to come in any type of Halloween costume.
“I don’t know, I just didn’t feel
like it,” said Ben Sword, Adv. 703.
Many students didn’t necessarily feel any emotional attachment
to the holiday and therefore came
to school on Halloween dressed as
any other day; without a costume.
However there were cases where
students chose not to celebrate Halloween for personal reasons.
“I hate Halloween,” said Bonnie
Mark, Adv. 804. “It’s influencing
children to take candy from strangers.”
Halloween has been known to
cause safety concerns for younger
children trick or treating, but Northside provides a safe and festive
environment where teenagers can
show off their costumes without the
constant worry of being cautious
towards strangers.
Students are not the only ones
who have approached Halloween
dressed in a variety of costumes and to celebrate, just as they would have
in a festive and joyous manner.
blended in with the excitement of
in second grade. Whether people
Teachers have taken the holiday
Halloween spirit.
agree or not to this year’s Hallowinto account as well. Some of the
more original costumes
belonged to Ms. Janet
Walcoe and Mr. Robert
Albritton, who creatively came up with the
idea to dress as the well
loved Betty and Al who
can also be found in the
IMP 1 math book.
“I don’t know how
we came up with it,”
states Mr. Albritton.
“We were just sitting at
the table, like us math
teachers do, and it just
dawned on me. I’m that
much of a nerd.”
Not all teachers
related back to their text
for ideas. Mr. Jeff Solin
dressed as Hulk Hogan
and added character
by shaving his mustache on top of dying it
blonde. He tied in first
place for the best staff
costume, which would
make it his second
year in a row winning
this prize. Mr. Marcos
Riscarte Bayon, Adv.606, dressed as a muscular Batman, fights crime with
Alcozer, a member of
his much-loved sidekick Scooby Doo, also known as Peter Vroustouris, Adv.
the Northside technol600.
ogy staff, tied with Mr.
Photo by Michelle Zacarias
Solin, ironically winning
his first place prize by
Halloween has become a part
een success, one thing is undenidressing as Mr. Solin. Marco wore
of their Northside’s holiday routine, able: whether you are six or sixteen
a paste-on beard and had tattoos
regardless of age. Students continue
pulling off a Power Ranger costume
up and down his arms. Teachers
to arrive at school dressed and ready takes a lot of work.
November 2005
Features Page 9
Stress free into college
Tips for a smoother college application process
by Sanja Bajgoric
The college application process is a stressful time for many
a teacher to write a recommendation for him, he should give
Some students might have kept the Choices handout given
seniors. Just the thought of meeting deadlines, writing essays,
the teacher early notice. This will give the teachers ample time
at the beginning of the year to most Northside juniors and
deciding what schools to apply to, and getting recommendato write a well-assessed recommendation despite their busy
seniors, while others might have misplaced it. Many students
tions is too demanding for many students.
schedules. If students wait until the last minute, the teacher
remember receiving the paper. They just forget how it landed
“I don’t think people prepare over the summer as they
does have the right to refuse to write the recommendation
in the garbage. So to refresh the memories of those who
should,” said Northside Guidence Counsler Patrick Tassoni.
or in other cases, it just might not be as good as the student
unfortunately misplaced the Choices Planner handout, it is
“In order to make their senior year a less stressful one, they
would like it to be.
a student portfolio in which a student discusses their plans,
need to begin planning as early as
Essays are another important
the spring of their junior year.”
factor in the college process. ColThe first early step for juniors
leges will usually ask students
is to attend a college informato write a short essay, or group
tion night where each counselor
of essays, ranging anywhere
has the opportunity to meet with
from 200 to 500 words. Though
their advisory students to give an
students think that such an essay
overview of how to do things and
can be written the night before
what will be expected as they go
the deadline, this is simply not
into their senior year. Following
the case. These essays have to be
the information night students
so succinct that it may become a
should ask their parents to call the
disadvantage to some students,
counselor and arrange a meeting
and it then becomes important to
in which they would be able to
carefully make language choices
discuss the college planning proand write a well developed essay.
cess specifically for that individual
So what is the obvious solution?
student. To avoid anxiety over lastStart looking at college applicaminute test taking, it is always best
tions and essay requirements
to take SATs and ACTs as early as
the summer before senior year,
possible, preferably in the spring
and even begin writing up drafts,
of junior year.
because in most cases when
It is important that a student
students apply to more than one
takes the initiative upon himself
college, they will also have more
in this process and not be overly
than one essay to write.
dependent on counselors or wait
At the end of the day, howuntil the last minute. Computers
ever, even if the student is able
in the counseling office provide
to complete the process with as
students with the tools to research
little stress as possible, he will
some colleges on their own and
never completely have the load
look over the applications. Curlifted from his shoulders until
rently most colleges have switched
he actually opened up those enover to online applications, though
velopes from colleges and truly
PDF and paper applications are
knows if he got into the schools
still available for a lot of colleges.
he applied for.
Applying over the internet might
“The biggest stress factor of
be much easier for some people
the whole process is wondering
because sometimes complicaif you will be accepted to the coltions might come from traditional
lege of your dreams,” said Dao
mailing of the application, such as Northside Student, To Dang, Adv. 603, starts college process early in order to avoid a stressful rush later
Nguyen, Adv.604.
the mail getting lost or not arriving on.
Though stress can’t be
Photo by Sanja Bajgoric
on time. This year, Mr. Tassoni
completely eliminated, it can be
reports that due to the new online
reduced. So remember, that it is
methods of applying this year,
interests, and courses they have taken. This portfolio can be
never too early to begin preparing for college. Many who have
some students have gotten replies from colleges like University accessed at http://www.portfolio.bridges.com, where besides
gone through this process highly recommend starting the colof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as early as October.
the portfolio, one will be able to explore over 1,200 different
lege process as early as junior year, if not earlier.
Another simple task that can be done is accessing the
careers and learn about different programs, courses, and scholThere are many benefits of getting a head start that will
student e-mail as much as possible. Most counselors comarships available. This site is highly recommended by counselshow when one reaches senior year, and the process is nothmunicate to students through e-mail in which they send them
ors, as it is the one of the ways counselors will be able to write
ing more than a breeze. The college process doesn’t have to
important application information and scholarship opportunigood recommendations for individual students, besides the
be a horrific story that one will recite to grandchildren in the
ties.
mandatory Northside Self-Assessment Form that students fill
future; instead it can be a very intriguing experience as one
“Begin to utilize the Choices program,” stressed Ms. Maout at the end of junior year.
indulges in the variety of opportunities available to capable
rina Medina, head counselor.
It is also important to remember that when a student asks
students.
Staying home or getting away
for Thanksgiving
by Aisha Wahid
“Thanksgiving is a time for family,” said Stephanie Yang, Adv. 700.
“We gather at my house, combine
our food and eat.”
While a clichéd Thanksgiving
weekend may include a luscious
turkey meal with family and
friends, followed by a
game of American
football, there are
various other ways
people like to spend
the holidays. Fall
vacations can be
quite advantageous,
since kids aren’t in
school, autumn
prices are low,
and crowds
are smaller. In
addition to this,
the weather in
early autumn is
still nice in many
places.
Autumn may be a great time to
visit the outdoors, especially when
resorts are offering some of their
best packages and deals.
For those who enjoy out-of-state
traveling, New Hampshire’s White
Mountains offer many outdoors
activities, including hiking, backpacking, paddling, cycling, and
fishing. Packages offered include
lodging, meals, activities, and gear,
starting at a base price of $64. This
makes it easier for busy families to
get outdoors without much advance
preparation and planning.
Fall in New England can mean
an incredible annual show of
color. Maine,
New Hampshire, and Vermont may be great
for visitors on the looks for leaf
peeping. One can enjoy the autumn
foliage while visiting various family
resorts in the area and planning
recreational activities for kids.
Autumn rates for Caribbean resorts are at a bargain when it comes
to Thanksgiving. They offer a great
chance to sample a resort’s ameni-
ties, fancy swimming pools, and the
beach. In addition, by September
the hurricane season has already
passed its peak.
While many may enjoy
traveling, others like staying
near home and visiting areas
around Chicago.
Visiting a family farm,
an orchard, or zoo may be
some of the activities
families look forward.
Siegal Cottonwood
Farms in Crest
Hill, IL offers
pony rides,
pumpkin picking, touring
a corn maze, and
a petting zoo all
in one. Many other
places do the same,
and it doesn’t require
much research or
planning to find a
spot that suits one’s
interests.
Thanksgiving can
also be a traditional night
in front of the television, or it can
be an adventurous outing for those
stressed over work and school.
“Usually we get together with
grandparents and enjoy a home
cooked meal, instead of going out,”
said Amanda Mantilla, Adv. 801.
Depending on one’s appeal,
various places offer good deals during the season.
What can we offer
you?
Northside provides
volunteer opportunities for
students
by Shoaib Ali
Service opportunities at Northside strive to lead the school to a new
world of growth and opportunity. Various clubs, such as Key Club, and
summer internships, such as the Amigos de las Americas program, focus
on volunteering. The counseling department provides information about
programs outside of school, and Northside’s website and e-mail system
inform students about upcoming events. Ms. Christine Olsen is service
learning coordinator at Northside, and she can suggest service projects for
any student interested in getting involved.
Service projects play such an important role in the school that the Hoof
Beat is considering reserving a section for service learning. This segment
would list service opportunities that students can volunteer for.
“I think it's a great idea,” said Editor in Chief of the Hoof Beat, Asrar
Khan, Adv. 603. “Northside’s students need to get more involved with the
numerous opportunities created by the Service Learning Department, and a
section in the newspaper devoted to this topic will certainly aid in that.”
This project has the potential to be the ultimate source for announcing
the service learning opportunities being offered by Northside.
One familiar service that Northside sponsors is volunteering at the
school library. Students can earn service learning hours for doing such
librarian activities as re-shelving books and checking books in and out to
students, teachers, and other faculty.
“I have heard around school about working as a volunteer, said Subhan
Ali, Adv. 908. “I even plan to ask about volunteering to Ms. Murray tomorrow.”
Service learning projects are all around the city, and the school. It is
already known that 40 hours of community service are required in order
to graduate; however, a new requirement of 20 hours before completion of
sophomore year is obliging students to earn their hours sooner rather than
later in order to proceed to the next grade level. Northside’s services are
there to help students in accomplishing the district wide goal, and to make
available opportunities that will enhance students’ experiences in any field
they desire.
Page 10
Centerfold
The Hoof Beat
The End of the Beginning... or the Beginn
Preparing for the College Application Process
Start earning for college without a job
Scholarship opportunities
by Elizabeth Jose
Scholarships should be a topic of
concern for freshman and sophomores as
much as it is for juniors and seniors. The
sooner a person starts applying for scholarships, the more money and amount of
awards he can accumulate by the time he
looks at colleges.
Although many scholarships are
intended for particular groups of people
and have certain requirements, there are
many scholarships out there, and it is
possible to find one that suits the individual needs of each person. Essay and
art competitions are an excellent way to
earn money that can be put into funding
for the future.
At Northside, students can obtain
a great deal of information by simply
checking their school email. Ms. Erin
Kato, a guidance counselor at Northside,
sends out information regarding scholarships on a regular basis.
“There are even scholarships out
there for people who are left-handed,”
said Elizabeth Todd, a graduate student
at the University of Chicago who gave
a lecture that was attended by some
students from Northside.
There are many scholarships that
satisfy people of all types, as in the case
of the scholarship for left-handed people.
An excellent source for personalized
scholarships is www.fastweb.com. This
site is free and by simply entering basic
information, one can receive emails
about scholarships especially applicable
to them. There is a listing of other
websites like Fastweb in the Counseling
Department’s section under Student Life
on the Northside website.
Many scholarships are created and
funded by different companies. Even parents can assist in the search for scholarships; often, companies offer scholarships
to offspring of employees.
The Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) offers many scholarships for students who are interested in engineering
and related sciences. Although there is a
processing fee and some of the scholarships are university specific, there are
many scholarships that have few restrictions and they are open to all people. Applications are available at www.sae.org/
students/engschlr.htm. The deadline is
December 1, 2005.
The Posse Foundation offers a very
interesting program and scholarship. Stu-
dents have, in the past, been able to receive scholarships that have amounted
to over $112 million from universities
that are partnered with the foundation. This foundation recruits students
from around the U.S. and put them
into groups called posses. There they
do a lot of rigorous work that prepares
them for top-tier universities. More
information about this can be found at
www.possefoundation.org.
The AXA Achievement scholarship
group is associated with US
News and World Report,
and it awards fifty-two
$10,000 scholarships and
ten $15,000 scholarships. The requirements
for this scholarship are
that a student must be
doing well in school,
they must be determined
to do their personal best, and they
must have demonstrated achievement at a job, sport, or extracurricular activity. Applications are available at www.axa-achievement.com.
The deadline for this is December
15, 2005.
The Emma L. Bowen Foundation offers internships and scholarships. These are open to students
who have completed their junior
year, have a cumulative grade
point average of at least 3.0, are
interested in pursuing a career in
the media/communications industry, and plan to attend a four-year
accredited college or university. Students who participate in the program
receive an hourly wage during summers
and school breaks and they will receive
a matching compensation to help pay
for college tuition.
Applications are available in the
Counseling Office and the deadline for
the summer 2006 opportunities is January 6, 2006.
Another group is the Joseph Blazek
Foundation which awards renewable
scholarships to students who want to
major in engineering, mathematics,
chemistry, physics, or related scientific
fields. The applications are available in
the Counseling Office, and the deadline
is March 15, 2006.
Scholarships are not the only way
to make money to put towards future
endeavors. Another way to do this is to
enter essay contests. The following are
essay contests which are not too difficult
and yield great profits.
The Distinguished Citizens Society
International of Greater Chicago, Inc.
is offering an essay contest for high
school students. The topic of the essay is
“My Most Inspirational Teacher”, and
the essays should run
between 1,000 and
1,500 words. Prizes
range
between
$100 and
$500. Specific
information on
how the essay is to be sent to The
Distinguished Citizens Society can be
found on www.dcsiofillinois.com. The
deadline for this essay is December 31,
2005.
The Ayn Rand Institute offers essay
contests annually. The Fountainhead
essay contest is open to 11th and 12th
graders and the only requirement is that
you must read The Fountainhead by
Ayn Rand and write an essay, which is
800 to 1600 words in length, in response
to certain questions. The top prize is
$10,000. The deadline is April 25, 2006.
The Anthem essay contest was also
formed by the Ayn Rand Institute. This
contest is open to 9th and 10th graders
and, as with The Fountainhead contest,
the only requirement is that you must
read Anthem by Ayn Rand and write
an essay, which is 600 to 1,200 words in
length, in response to certain questions.
The top prize is $2,000. The deadline is
March 20, 2006. More information on
either of these competitions can be found
at www.aynrand.org/contests.
The Humanist essay contest is open
to anybody under the age of 25 who has
thoughts on the topic of humanity. First
prize is $1,000. For more information or
for questions that may be addressed visit
www.americanhumanist.org/events/
essaycontest. The deadline for this
contest is December 1, 2005.
A World Connected essay contest
is open to all high school students,
but the topic for the year of 2006 is
not yet decided. First prize is $2,000.
For updates on this contest and more
information about the requirements
visit www.aworldconnected.org/
subcategory.php/311.
Creative Communication is a
program that offers essay and poetry
contests. There are different requirements for each contest, but the information on it and how to enter is available
at www.poeticpower.com. Work that
is entered in these competitions may
be published and there are many cash
rewards.
There are also scholarships that are
quite popular among Northside students,
one being the National Merit scholarship. When students take the PSAT in
their junior year, their scores are sent to
the National Merit Board, and they are
entered into the competition. This allows
each participant the opportunity to be
commended by the National Merit group
or for them to become National Merit
Semifinalists or Scholars.
There are many scholarships that are
available to students that have not been
included on this list. Resources such
as the internet are accessible to most
people. Scholarships can be accumulated
and used when they are needed, and it
is possible to start at any point in life.
Freshmen and sophomores can begin
applying for scholarships and competing
in contests now.
At the same time juniors and seniors
can busy themselves with such things
because the time is drawing near for them
to apply to universities. Scholarships
may be accumulated after you have been
accepted or after you have applied to a
university or college.
Perfecting college applications
by Sejla Dizdarevic
There are seven months left until the seniors
graduate and begin to go off to college. As exciting as
it sounds, college application deadlines are happening right now, which means that college essays are
also due. There are numerous topics to write about,
but it is up to the writer to pick the right one.
When writing an essay, one of the
most important things a student can
do is to express themselves and their
personality.
When a writer focuses on one topic or event in depth, it will make the
essay more interesting and focused.
An essay can be even more unique if
one chooses to write about an uncommon topic, a path that many students
tend not to follow. Many students also
have problems when writing a thesis. It
is necessary that a thesis be understandable and informs the reader of the essay’s
purpose. There is a tremendous difference in
an essay where the writer is revealing himself and expresses his own
opinions, as opposed to an essay in
which a writer is merely trying to
please the reader.
Thus, having a clear and candid introduction
tends to produce better results. Using the same essay
for all college applications is not recommended.
Essays are designed to be written individually, with
each prompt in mind, so it is implied that one has put
thought into them. It is also a bad idea to write about
one’s life history. Some biographical information is
acceptable, but it should not be in excess. Although it
is a good idea to get each essay reviewed and edited
by a few reliable people, avoid getting feedback
from too many people
because that might take
away some originality
from the initial piece.
Another tip is to
proofread the essay. An
essay should not look
as if it were written in
thirty minutes. Also, a
key point to remember
is that an essay is assessed
on its quality, not on the
way it looks or the quantity.
Thus, more time should be
spent on thinking about the
prompt, organizing, and
proofreading the essay,
than writing a very
lengthy essay.
There are many
different essays to be written for colleges, especially
for different applications; therefore, a distinctive essay
for each is needed.
“There are too many essays to write,” said Saad
Ahsan, Adv. 606, “and the deadlines are pretty tight.”
All the application deadlines are different and
they come one after the other. This makes it difficult
to write good essays. Starting to write essays during
junior year, or during the summer is always a good
idea, though during senior year, when most students
are writing essays it is recommended to space out
writing each essay, so as to ensure that you will not be
stuck with writers block on deadline day.
“It’s challenging,” said Jade Ibrahim, Adv. 600,
“to express everything you want in less than 400
words. The deadlines are OK, but it is very important
to remember when all of them are.”
It is important not to put fluff in an essay. Instead
take the space you have to write the important parts
that need to be expressed. Sometimes it is better to
write less than is necessary than it is to write about a
lot of unnecessary ideas. Make the 400 words worth a
lot more, if the prompt calls for 400 words.
The Writing Center at Northside is more than
happy to help perfect the essays of those applying for
college.
“An essay should be read out loud before it
is turned in, and someone else should go over the
essay,” said Jill Swanson, Adv. 702, Writing Center
member. “Also, when reviewing someone else’s essay,
a writer can get ideas on what he should write about
in his own essay.”
Remember: proofread, be original, be unique, and
don’t procrastinate. Those who take these tips into
consideration are bound to write an essay that says
quality and perfection.
Not wor
Cons of com
by Amania Wahid
As college application deadlines are
approaching, seniors
are beginning to stress
out about writing their
essays. Some, however,
have put off writing
until the end, thinking
that they will have to
write only one essay for
the common application and send it to all
the universities and colleges they are applying
to. The advantage to
the common application is that there is only
one application and
only one essay, which
can be used for multiple
colleges, reducing some
of the stress of applications.
However, this
prevents students from
November 2005
Centerfold
ning of the End?
Page 11
One step to success
and less stress
The benefits of the common
application
by Monica Wojcik
The fall of senior year has been known to cause spikes in stress levels, as homework and extracurricular commitments are compounded with college applications.
The application process for most schools is lengthy, requiring multiple essays, short
answer statements, and recommendations in addition to filling out dozens of general
information forms. As college admission becomes more competitive and students
apply to more schools, the work builds up and so does stress. Students find themselves at the end of their patience, and then they discover the soothing balm of the
Common Application.
The Common Application allows students to fill out their information only once
and write one essay that can be sent to multiple schools. It is also helpful for teachers and counselors, who can write single letters of recommendation for multiple
schools. Copies of these materials are then either submitted electronically or sent by
post to the various schools. Thus this one step process relieves some of the hassle of
completing multiple applications.
“Most [of the counselor portions] are similar,” said Mr. Patrick Tassoni, of
Northside’s Guidance Office. “This [the Common Application] just makes them the
same.”
The personal essay section for applications is often the biggest worry for students. Writing multiple
essays can divert effort and diminish the quality
of the essays; if there is one personal statement, a
student’s efforts can be better channeled toward a
single stronger essay.
One common complaint about the Common
Application is that it generalizes the students’ applications and decreases individuality. With
different schools looking for particular
strengths in the students they accept,
the Common Application’s one-sizefits-all process presents students as
good fits for many schools instead
of great fits for a particular school.
However, that is not the case with
many of the colleges accepting the
Common Application. Several of these colleges request a school-specific supplement in
addition to the Common Application.
Mr. Tassoni also highlighted that
the supplements decrease the homogeneity of the Common Application
questions. If colleges expect elaborate
additional information, which provides an
opportunity for students to show why they are
interested in particular schools.
The Yale College Supplement gives applicants the opportunity to write an
optional essay providing additional information they state students “are unable
to convey in the Common Application’s Short Answer and Personal Essay.” The
supplements also ask for more detailed school-specific information, such as alumni
connections, interest in the school, and possible majors. While still allowing room
for expression, the Common Application provides a simpler way of applying to
colleges.while students can still express specific personal qualities to particular selective schools.
According to the Common Application website, 227 colleges and universities accept the Common Application, including prestigious schools like Harvard, Yale, and
Dartmouth. Slightly less competitive schools, large universities, and smaller liberal
arts colleges also accept the Common Application. Although the Common Application is not used in the majority of U.S. colleges, as there are over 4,000 colleges
in the country, the decision to use the Common Application is up to the individual
colleges, and not the decision of the Common Application Board.
The Common Application was created with students in mind. The application
process is still very challenging, but the Common Application, for the schools that
utilize it, allows students to focus on the more important aspects of the application,
instead of doing piles of paperwork.
“It is efficient for the counselors as well as the students,” said Mr. Tassoni, “and
if it wasn’t efficient for the schools [colleges], they wouldn’t do it.”
rth it
mmon applications
doing their research.
Filling out the common
application may save
time, but it may also
prevent a student from
noticing that the college
has a required supplement, or it doesn’t offer
the major.
“You still have to do
your research,” said Ms.
Erin Kato, a receptionist in the counseling
department at Northside. “It’s tempting to
just send the application
to a number of schools,
because it’s easy to do.
But before you send the
application, you have to
know something about
the school, and don’t
send in an application
unless you want to attend.”
Another drawback to
the Common Application
is its limited acceptance.
About 276 colleges and
universities currently
accept the application,
but that is still a fraction
of the 4,000+ institutions
around the country. Some
of the 276 colleges have
their own application,
and will accept either
their specific application
or the Common Application equally, and the
applications are functionally equivalent. However,
many will admit that
submitting a Common
Application for these institutions does not allow
students to personalize
their essays and effectively stand out from the
other applications.
Avoid a last minute rush
by Anisa Isap
Unfortunately for
seniors, the deadline for
college applications is
not merely a date subject
to further negotiations.
Rather, the deadline
should be considered a
brick wall that students
cannot smash through
and it is very important
to get applications done,
and done on time.
The counseling
department requests that
the counselor portion
of the application,
which usually includes a
recommendation form,
a transcript request
form, and an addressed
enveloped stamped with
the appropriate postage
be submitted to Ms.
Kato approximately
one month prior to
the official
deadline of
the college.
Therefore,
applications
due on
January 1
should be
submitted to
the counseling
department
on or before
November 22.
Applications
with January
10 or 15
deadlines
should be
submitted by
November
29, and
applications due
on February 1 and
February 15 should be
submitted by January
9 and January 13,
respectively. Since
the staff will be using
November 23 and
December 12 to 16
to process applications
prior to the holidays,
they will not be able
to accommodate for
students submissions
on these days. It should
also be noted that the
guidance department is
closed during all holiday
breaks.
Many teachers
have advised students
to give them at least
one month prior to the
deadline also in order
to have sufficient time
to thoughtfully write a
recommendation.
In general, taking
into account comments
from alumni, teachers,
and counselors,
there appears to be a
consensus: don’t be
the students that are
trudging through the
snow to the post office at
11:30 pm in order to get
applications postmarked
by the deadline.
Page 12
Editorial
The Hoof Beat
Mark My Words
The new SAT:
Will we pay for the College Board’s mistake?
by Aliy Markowski
For students across the nation, junior year of high school
is marked by the stress of seemingly endless tests that are
proclaimed to determine the rest of our lives. College admission is getting tougher and tougher, and scores on the ACT,
PSAT, SAT, and in many cases the SAT II Subject Tests are
crucial factors for acceptance at most schools. At Northside,
where 100% of students went on to college last year, we
feel particularly pressured to score high on these tests. The
SAT, which a large percentage of college-bound students
take every year, now has even more cause to cause student
nightmares: a twenty-five minute essay, part of a brand new
writing section that will be scored at the mercy of partial
human judges.
Setting aside the issue of the new essay momentarily,
historically there have been many critics of classic standardized tests who question to what extent a three or four hour
multiple choice exam can legitimately measure a student’s
intelligence. How is it possible to put a single number on an
individual’s intellect based on arbitrary questions in a fewhour time span? Each version of a test is unique, although
supposedly equivalent in difficulty, causing test-takers
anxiety over which questions may happen to appear on their
test. Whether they’ll be asked a recent vocabulary word
from English class or an equally challenging word they’ve
never before seen is entirely random. Beyond the hit and
miss nature of standardized tests, there are also those
students who simply are unable to perform to their highest ability in an intimidating test setting. Who wouldn’t be
overwhelmed by nerves before taking a test that is said to
determine where you’ll end up for the next four years,
which may in turn have consequential effects on the rest
of your life?
But although the standardized testing system may
be overtly flawed, at the end of the day, students
with a wide breadth of knowledge are likely to score
well. These tests may be an imperfect method of
assessing intelligence, but they are a necessary evil that
has stemmed from the demand by colleges across the
United States to have a consistent basis for comparison
among their thousands of diverse applicants. Colleges
and universities consider it necessary to be able to gauge students with at least one measure that is undoubtedly objective,
even if there may be imperfections in the system.
So, if the strength of standardized testing lies in its
objectivity, then what happens now that the College Board
has decided to add a written essay onto the SAT, a compo-
nent that will inevitably be graded subjectively? As of March
2005, students are now required to write a twenty-five minute
essay as a part of the SAT. The essay was added in an effort to
create a more complete assessment of students’ abilities, and
it was also a response to the criticisms the College Board has
received for racial and economic biases within the
test. However, it seems to me that in addressing
the first and main issue of constructing a fuller
measure of aptitude, the newly-improved
SAT falls short. The essay
question requires
test-takers to define and support
their position
on an issue,
based on their own experiences, and
to organize and produce an essay in only
twenty-five minutes. The short time span
seems to be one of the most glaringly obvious issues with
the new essay. How can a composition reasonably reflect a
student’s greatest writing abilities when the process of organization and writing is crammed into less than a half hour?
Partying too hard
by Ashraf Abbas
College is supposed to be the place where
you build your future. The place where you
choose a major and go on to become one of
society’s most respected people. With that
being our train of thought, we can only
guess at why people opt not to take
a college seriously, and give higher
preference to a “party” school as
opposed to a good school.
“I need a break every now
and then” is what you hear
them say. “I get to take my
mind off the classes and
what essay I have to turn in
next.” Yeah, right. You go
to the party, have a few beers,
smoke a few whatevers, and
call it a night. Wow, you’re
definitely building a future for
yourself.
What’s even funnier is
how obvious your future is going to be after attending a party school. Druggies are bound
to be at the party, and they
are bound to put something
in someone’s drink—anything
really. That someone could
be you. You. Imagine that.
You sip your beer and taste
something weird—your
life will never be the
same. You might
get addicted to the
drug—whatever it
was—and spend the rest
of your life searching for the
drug, doing whatever it is you have
to do to get it. And to say you went
to college to become a doctor?
Just the idea of an on-campus
party is repulsive to me. What if
someone is working on something
that’s bound to make or break his
future and the blaring music
and satanic screams coming
from the party make him lose
his train of thought? Would you
want that to be on your conscience for the
rest of your life? What if that person were to
go on to find a cure for one of our worst dis-
eases? All of that down the drain just because
of some stupid party.
This isn’t saying that others will fall
because of your foolish choice. No, not at
all—it affects you too. Parties are what we
call ‘addicting’. The first is okay, the second
is cool, and the third is usually ‘WOW!!’ The
average human being follows this basic
pattern. Once you’re hooked, it’s
hard to become unhooked, even
with emotional support. And
so, you go to party after party
without ever thinking of your
academics. In fact, you actually
try to schedule your academics so that they fit your party
schedule. Now that’s just sad.
To care more about going
to an event in which
people just smoke,
drink, and move
around like zombies than about
your academics is
something no one
should go through—
and yet, people do it, giving a ‘reason’ for it every
time.
Deciding whether or not to
go to a party school is a decision
that almost everyone comes
face-to-face with. And there are
some people who go to college
not knowing that their school is
a
party school—and I’m not necessarily blaming them. However,
those who know the college and
still choose to go to it, they are the
morally repulsive. They are running the risk of becoming addicted
to drugs, of
losing their
sense of responsibility, and of
possibly destroying human kind’s
future as we know
(or don’t know) it.
Think about it.
It simply cannot, and for students taking a test as significant
as the SAT where the results determine college admissions,
sending the score of an unrepresentative writing sample to
their dream schools could be hazardous.
Beyond the impractical time allowance, the largest
problem by far with the new essay is plainly that there is
no objective way to grade a piece of written work.
Consider the scoring guide provided by the College
Board that the essay judges will follow in grading
the SAT essays on a scale from one to six. The
guide defines an essay receiving a score of six
as one that “demonstrates clear and consistent
mastery,” while an essay given a score of three
should demonstrate “developing mastery.”
This vague language largely leaves the scoring
process to the judge’s prerogative. Who’s to say how
much more likely a judge will be to dole out scores of
sixes to the first essays he reads than after hours of reading through hundreds of similar mundane and rushed
compositions? Furthermore, with the evaluators ranging
from high school to college teachers, who determines
to which standard each essay is held? One judge’s
idea of clear and consistent mastery may be considered only adequate mastery by someone else. We
know something is wrong when we hope for the
mercy of the grader to give us a higher score on a
standardized test.
Until now, the SAT’s strongest defense as a
quality assessment was the test’s objective nature. The
objectivity provided a method of comparison among
students nationwide, even if the exam might not have
painted the perfect picture of a student’s intelligence. With the addition of the essay, the impartiality of scoring was essentially thrown in the garbage.
It will be impossible for thousands upon thousands
of essays, all graded by different judges, to be graded
identically. Furthermore, with the addition of the essay
adding weak subjectivity to the scoring process, the essay provides little to no counterbalancing improvement
in the test’s ability to measure student aptitude. Something
written hurriedly in under a half an hour is unlikely to show
a student’s best efforts; and, with an unreliable method of assessing the essay, it is doubtful that the score will provide any
deeper a glimpse into a student’s abilities. The College Board
has made a mistake in adding the essay to the SAT - one that
we, as students, may pay for in our college admissions.
Major in Partying!
by Damon Beres
College is supposed to be a place where
you build your future. The place where you
choose the friends that you’ll keep for the
rest of your life, whether they are loud oafs
or intellectually supreme beings. While the
daunting rigors of everyday college classes
are understandably important to
any developing young person
in today’s society, academics can only go so far in
developing a real education. The proper way
to round out any
college student’s
diet is nightly
partying, which
may or may not
include excessive
drinking (only of
fruit punch and
Coca-Cola if the
student is under 21,
of course).
Suffice it to
say, getting an
education at
a school like
Harvard or Yale is
actually putting one
at a severe disadvantage when entering the
real world. Stone cold,
humorless people are the
only products of those
types of schools, and
given the choice, a high
school student would
be wise to select a
school such as the University of Wisconsin or
University of Colorado
over them. After all,
you can major in any
of the normal subjects
in every college, but
only certain schools
will provide you with
the social curriculum
you need as a human
being in our world today.
For instance, imagine you’re fresh out of
college and at a zesty mixer with a group of
co-workers. Suddenly, Suzy from accounting starts “juking” all up in your business
(pun fully intended) and you’re at a complete
loss as to how to function. The beverage in
your left hand begins to tremble under the
compounding pressure of the situation, and
Suzy’s posterior begins to grow weary of
gyrating without the warm
presence of a friend.
Round and
round it
goes (and
boy how it
goes), yet it
finds no company and eventually ceases its sultry
spinning. You are
left alone on the
dance floor, frozen and
with a quivering soda.
If only you hadn’t gone to
that exceptional economics
school.
Even in a setting that isn’t
strictly social, not getting a party
school education can lead to trouble.
Imagine that you’re sitting in a highpressure meeting with another firm that
wishes to do business with you. Your
boss turns to you and says, “Why don’t
you tell a joke?” Unfortunately, being
fresh out of the University of SociallyAwkward Machines, so you merely
stutter and fail to tell even the simplest
of anecdotes. You receive notice the
next day to clear out your office and
ship out.
There is not a single person on the
face of this planet that would wish such
an intensely morbid fate upon himself.
Yet, the lack of true informative education on the subject of college leads us to
believe that the Ivy League will give us
the best learning experience money can
buy. However, that’s simply not the case.
Don’t be the person to give Suzy the cold
shoulder: get a real education.
November 2005
The Hoof
Beat Student
Newspaper
Student e-mail:
more is less
The number of student e-mails swamping our inboxes via
the mass student address list has already led to widespread
frustration this year. Northside student e-mail accounts were
set up two years ago to increase and encourage communication between students, teachers, the administration, and the
counseling department. However, students are misusing
the server, sending out message after message of personal
concerns to every student in the school. As a result, many
students choose not to check their Northside e-mail accounts
at all, not wanting to sort through countless messages about
lost calculators, binders, or even misplaced coupon books.
The line between appropriate and unacceptable student
e-mail usage has recently been crossed. During the past two
years, we received the occasional student message announcing a lost belonging. These messages were largely ignored by
most students, but some desperate to find their math binder
would choose to send out an ineffective e-mail from time to
time regardless. These e-mails seemed to be an annoyance,
but a harmless burden that we would simply have to delete
every once in a while. This year it has been a different story.
This year students have been sending a greater number of emails announcing their most recent lost treasures than school
announcements. We hear more about beloved key chains than
key club meetings.
Around the time of the World Series, Sox and Cubs fans
battled out their differences, cluttering our inboxes repeatedly
with pointless e-mails. With the hassle of deleting pointless
e-mail after e-mail, many discouraged Northsiders disregard
their e-mail accounts altogether. What good is an e-mail
server if students are not checking their e-mail? The purpose
of the accounts is to enhance communication, yet by selfishly
abusing the network with trivial mass e-mails students are at
fault for degenerating the system.
Perhaps we should be grateful that our inappropriate student e-mails do not reach a level of severe impropriety, but at
Northside we expect more than just decency. We expect students to practice common sense. We expect students to think
not only about their own missing hat, but of the 1000 other
students whose inboxes they will fill, none of whom have any
interest in their favorite hat whatsoever. How many of the lost
belonging e-mails have begun, “I swore I’d never do this, but I
lost my…” Yet students still choose to send the same fruitless
messages. Some students have responded to the influx of useless e-mails with more e-mails, pointing out the stupidity of
sending out messages to every single student each time a pen
is lost. These e-mails accurately point out that we have a lost
and found, and it isn’t the responsibility of the entire school
to look after an individual’s belongings. Yet while correct in
their evaluation of the uselessness of lost item e-mails, the
students who are sending out these critical messages are just
icing on the cake, further cluttering student inboxes. If the
missing item e-mails are SPAM, the e-mails attacking them
are just as worthy of that title.
We live in the 21st Century; we’ve all grown dependent
on AOL Instant Messenger and text messages to talk to each
other outside of school, means of communication that are
foreign to our parents. We use technology because it’s fast and
it’s convenient. On top of living in a technologically progressive era, we go to Northside, one of the most unique and innovative schools in the state. We are lucky to have the means
to incorporate technology into our school and education—
our student e-mail accounts are one of the most advantageous
examples of this. But if we, as students, choose to misuse the
advantages we are given, we are the ones at fault.
Student e-mail has the potential to enhance communication and aid Northside’s entire community. It is neither a
pointless nor overrated device, simply each individual student
must take the responsibility to use our e-mail accounts properly so we can all reap the benefits. So next time you lose your
favorite pen, do us all a favor: go look in the lost and found.
The previous article is an editorial written by a
member of the Hoof Beat staff. Letters to the editor
are welcome. Please e-mail questions or comments to
[email protected].
Arts and Entertainment
Chalik on the Sidewalk
Page 13
Prepping for the Northsides of colleges
by Ilya Chalik
What do the CSS Profile and Mid-Year Report, Graham’s Law of Effusion, and the Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus have in common? At Northside, they are a few of
the words inundating seniors who are trying to balance too
much at the same time. These words are familiar to seniors,
like me, juggling the college application process among a
multitude of AP courses and participation in athletic and
academic extracurricular activities.
Just stating that last sentence makes me shudder; imagine actually accomplishing these objectives. Clearly, seniors
have a lot of goals on their plate – trying to ensure their
near future, while balancing their present as full-functioning
people and students. And if you aren’t a senior, chances are,
you’re dreaming about senior year at Northside, not entirely
aware of the obstacles you will have to overcome. But students should be dreaming about senior year because it is an
exciting time, which culminates the momentous experience
that is Northside. However, dreaming will only get you so
far. Putting dreams into reality is partly what senior year at
Northside is about.
The fact that the seniors feel a lot of anxiety about college is part of what makes us Northsiders. Because we go
to a college preparatory high school, our stated goal is to
go beyond the regular high school experience to learn the
skills needed for college. A college prep curriculum is thus
supposed to make us ready to go to college, with a
more rigorous preparation than a regular high
school can offer.
However, just because Northside is a
college preparatory high school, it
does not necessarily mean that the
formal education we receive
here prepares us entirely for
either the college application process or for college
itself. This fact hit me on a
recent college visit. The kind
of learning that happens at
Northside often provides us
with the tools with which to
learn, but certainly not the full
body of truth available on any
subject. Learning everything
about Physics, US History or
Calculus in one or two years is
an impossible task. Therefore,
no Northsider should delude
himself into thinking that such
a feat is possible, even at an
intellectually exciting high
school like Northside. A
good Northside education
gives us the ability to impartially interpret and analyze, but
also stimulates the mind to unravel and deal with multiple
intricate, challenging problems simultaneously.
Such an intricate and challenging problem is the college
application process. There are so many details to keep track
of, so many deadlines to meet, and all without any class
periods to prepare. One might call the college application
process a mandatory extracurricular activity for seniors,
one that habitually requires a great deal of effort outside of
school, except that there is no sponsor and there aren’t any
teammates to work with. However, this activity is not something to panic over, but something to approach with careful
forethought, as opposed to regretful afterthought.
Seeking easy answers, many students strive to learn everything they can about the process through outside sources
of information like handbooks, college representatives, or
friends that have already completed the task. However, until
you actually sit down and do the applications, chances are
you will not be fully prepared.
The list of requirements for the applications can be
slightly erratic if you’re not organized and expensive if you
don’t have a fee waiver. Checking off points on the list, as
early as junior or even sophomore year, is definitely the
better option, though a lot of students wait until senior year.
First, sit through multiple grueling sessions of the ACT, the
SAT, and often the SAT II, while paying from $20 to $50
a test, and often from $5 to $30 for each report you later
decide to send to colleges. Then, to make sure your grades
stay afloat and to try to score well on AP exams, which cost
over $80 apiece. You also have to take the enormous list of
colleges and reduce it down to five to fifteen possibilities
that would best fit you, a task easier said than done. College
visits are useful, but may end up costing you or your parents a
sizeable lump of change, mainly for transportation and food,
depending on where you visit.
Finally, after you attend all those information sessions,
there is still a matter of filling out the application and paying a
hefty application fee, which often ranges from $20 to $75 dollars for each school. Besides the mundane paperwork, a slightly above-average application requires from one to four concise
essays, one to three teacher recommendations, a counselor’s
portion with transcript, official test score reports, mid-year
grade report, financial aid profiles (which, like the CSS, can
actually cost over $18 per school to file), an interview, scholarship forms, and often other frustrating components. All that
creates a drain on your brain and your wallet that makes one
want to point fingers at the College Board, which charges all
that money for many of those grueling tests and document.
Yet, being aware of the application hodgepodge can save
some time and effort. Imagine sitting down and doing all that
work the week before a college application is due and you
come to the realization that a good application takes much
more time. Few of these things actually come knocking at
your doorstep. You have to take the initiative to seek them out,
and coordinate all the pieces of the college application puzzle.
But the worries aren’t over once applications are sent in
– there’s the matter of waiting from one to three months to
know
if you got in, and once those fat envelopes
arrive, you’re left with the task of actually
picking the college that fits you best. Some
students know exactly where they want to go
and utilize the binding Early Decision or the
non-binding Early Action programs offered
at some colleges. However, most of us wait
until March and April, when we receive acceptance (or rejection) letters and financial
aid packages. Finally, we have a few weeks
until May 1 to shop around. But how does
a Northsider pick a suitable institution of
higher learning?
Going back to my college visit,
which to the curious, was to Washington
University in St. Louis, I have realized
that it is an incredibly fun, though tiring,
experience, especially if you do it with
friends. To get any real insight on the
college, however, the visit should probably span more than 24 hours, and
include audits of multiple classes,
as well as a stay in one of the dorms.
There is also the question of when to do
the visit, from before applying to
immediately after acceptance, or
even both. The benefit of visiting early
exists for schools that aren’t at the very
top of one’s list, like Washington University
was for me. I had only heard some vague statements about the
college, and I had received a few letters from them. Although
I’m a very skeptical person, my visit there was incredibly productive. I realized that it would be a decent match for me, if I
decided to go there. However, in order to fully weigh Washington University as an option, I still have to be accepted there.
And getting accepted is not easy. No matter what people
say, there is no one formula for getting into college, except
maybe doing your absolute conscious best in high school and
with the applications. Yet what I want to emphasize is that
no senior year teacher will give you a big break in homework
during college application season, and no counselor will fill
the application out for you. The applications are your own
responsibility, and though there is help and advice, I don’t
know anyone who has escaped the anguish of doing them
altogether.
Many Northsiders are concerned about education;
otherwise, they would not be applying themselves in such an
educationally challenging environment. Naturally, we want
to go to an outstanding college and utilize the foundation
we received in high school. The kind of critical thinking and
strategic planning that one should learn at Northside should
be applied when choosing the right college, and during life at
college as well.
The volume and deadlines are harsh, but feasible, as demonstrated by the millions of students applying to college each
year. So when it comes to college applications treat them like
the biggest project of your high school career, yet with a much
greater reward than an A on your report card.
Page 14 Polls
The Hoof Beat
Combining junior and senior prom is a good idea.
8.69% 1.93%
45.54%
13.61%
Strongly
Disagree
45.54%
Disagree
Neutral
13.61%
30.23%
Agree
8.69%
Strongly
Agree
1.93%
30.23%
I’m satisfied with the current classes offered this year.
0.96% 8.73%
22.50%
14.47%
Strongly
Disagree
53.38%
0.96%
Disagree
8.73%
Neutral
14.42%
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
53.38%
22.50%
There should be stricter enforcement of the dress
code policy.
3.85% 4.81%
49.58%
12.73%
Strongly
Disagree
49.58%
Disagree
Neutral
29.04%
12.73%
Agree
4.81%
Strongly
Agree
3.85%
29.04%
The Bears will end the season with a winning record.
12.73%
4.81%
26.42%
Strongly
Disagree
35.70%
26.42%
22.27%
Disagree
22.27%
Neutral
35.70%
Agree
12.73%
Strongly
Agree
4.81%
November 2005
Arts and Entertainment
Page 15
I like it, I love it, I want some more of it
The Like releases their debut album
by Michelle Zacarias
Three girls are on fire; no, it’s not the start
of a really lame joke, but rather a metaphor
for the new up and coming girl band, “The
Like.” The group is made up of three teenage
girls, all of them tall, beautiful and slender,
which means nothing if they don’t know
how to entertain. Lucky for them they’ve
composed a series of incredibly captivating
songs on their new album Are You Thinking
What I’m Thinking?
Each band member significantly contributes to the CD. Tennessee Thomas, for example, is an extraordinary back up drummer;
she displays a remarkable amount of energy
through an intense ritual of striking sounds
that bounce off the walls in every fashion and
form.
Tennessee’s style of percussion is very
traditional in the sense that it reminds you
of the early 90s style of drumming; yet, it is
distinctly unique in its own way. The drum
solos, which appear often, are the best part of
the songs: they draw the audience in by creating an appealing rhythm and a catchy beat.
Tennessee has come a long way since her all
girl high school band, where she first started
playing the drums. Recently, her mode of
drumming has acquired a more sophisticated
taste.
The bass player, Charlotte Froom, has a
distinctive fashion of playing. Although the
bass is very low key, it completes the music
and the appealing string tunes allow their
songs to posses a classic sound. Charlotte
allows the other instruments to flow over her
sounds, and thus by supporting the rest of the
song holds her audience. Her role is to serve
as the backbone of the band and one hardly
ever realizes the significance of the bass until
its absence.
However, Charlotte does not allow herself
to be forgotten as she takes matters into her
own hands, tuning herself up with the rest
of the band to create numerous impressive
harmonies.
Z Berg is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and
also functions as the band’s songwriter. Her
singing is probably the most mediocre part
of their music. However, her simple vocal
presentation is a relief to a certain extent;
her straightforward approach fits excellently
with the rest of the group because it doesn’t
distract from the superb instrumental sounds.
The same goes with her lyrics: they are simple
and understandable, and they transcend a
message to an audience with no expectations. This allows listeners to just enjoy the
undemanding lyrics without having to worry
about horrendous blood curling, screaming,
and other unbearable sound effects that many
rockers seem to portray nowadays. The guitar,
Angelo Bennet, Adv. 705, and Tommy Albano, Adv. 704, jam out to The Like’s newest CD, Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?
Photo by Michelle Zacarias
on the contrary, is emphasized within their
songs. Z seems to have quite a hand with the
guitar and her technique oddly resembles
that of Kurt Cobain. The tunes she produces
are absolutely captivating and, they confine
the listener through a range of slow and fast
rhythmic tunes.
There were a few songs that stood out in
“The Like’s” new album Are You Thinking
What I’m Thinking, such as What I Say and
What I Mean and Too Late. Both display an
excellent use of instruments, while Z manages
to diversify her voice by controlling certain
Findings of Oral Fixation
aspects of volume. The drumming, on the
other hand, continuously improves until it
finally peaks in Too Late, where the song
starts off with an outstanding quick paced
beat and then moves into a captivating slower
tune. The guitar also creates a fantastic swift
melody that rises and falls with Z through her
vocals.
The band’s overall performance on this
album is definitely above average, but not top
notch. The group needs that one song that
will emphasize their talent and make them
known to the world, that song just may be
Too Late. Yet it will take a lot more than one
song for “The Like” to be successful in the
music business. Their style is so conservative
that it’s hard for them to expose themselves in
a way that is appealing to a diverse audience.
The instruments, however, are put to excellent
use, and the unique sounds bring the audience
in. Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking is
highly recommended if you like similar bands
like Maroon 5 or Phantom Planet. Despite
these flaws, they are generally a good band
and many listeners will walk away saying “I
like the Like.”
Shakira spices it up in new album
by Elizabeth Sobenes
Colombian and Lebanese
artist, Shakira, released
her latest album, Fijacion
Oral Volumen I, or Oral
Fixation Volume I, on June
7, 2005 in the United States.
The entire package, from
the photography on the
cover to the last notes of
the final track, provides an
entertaining and exquisite
experience for the listener.
The front cover captures
Shakira holding a child,
which in actuality is her infant nephew. Shakira’s cover
reflects the album’s title Oral
Fixation which is a reference
to the first stage of infantile
development according to
Sigmund Freud. Originally,
Shakira wished that the cover
portray herself breast-feeding
the baby in order to better
illustrate the meaning behind
the CD’s title.
However, when WalMart refused to sell the CD
due to the controversial
cover-art, the selected cover
was changed to something
more suitable.
The album clamored attention before its release owing to several other factors as
well. Previous to the album’s
release, one of the songs, “La
Tortura” aired on the radio
and received a great response.
Within the first month, “La
Tortura” made its debut
as the ninth most popular
video on MTV’s TRL and as
the first ever Spanish music
video to be included in the
countdown.
This song was a lively
duet with another great
Latin artist, Alejandro Sanz.
Shakira’s strong and recognizable voice complimented
Sanz’s thick and masculine
voice pleasantly. Shakira’s
ability to change vocal ranges
attributes largely to her success for she does not sound
like any other Latin female
vocal artist and has her own
individual style.
Being a Colombian and
Lebanese artist allows Shakira to include sounds from
both parts of her heritage and
this contributes to the diverse
sound of her music. For example, in one of her previous
songs, “Suerte” which was
included in the 2001 album
Laundry Service, incorporated Andean instruments
that added to the musical
uniqueness of the song.
Shakira’s wide vocal
range abilities are displayed
in Oral Fixation and the
CD satisfies several different
tastes in music. The English version of a few of
her songs will be included
in Oral Fixation Volume
II that is anticipated to be
released in on November
29th.
Most of the songs,
however, are completely
different than those
included in Volume I. If
Volume II consists of any
of the strong vocal talent
Shakira exerts within
the first volume, it will
undoubtedly be another
success.
Shakira’s unique style
is ever present in various
songs on Oral Fixation,
attracting people of all
kinds of musical tastes.
Some songs, such as
“En Tus Pupilas” and
“Un Dia De Enero”
have a melancholic tone.
However, in compliance
with today’s well known
reggaeton style dominating Latin music, there is
a “Shaketon” mix of “La
Tortura” as well allowing
to express herself in a variety of tones. All of these
approaches together make
The new version of Shakira’s Fijacion Oral Volumen I album after Walmart refused to sell
for a great combination
her original cover art, which depicted her breast-feeding an infant.
that leaves the listener
Photo courtesy of www.shakira.com
more than satisfied.
Page 16
Arts and Entertainment
The Hoof Beat
Pussycats belong with the kitty litter
The Pussycat Dolls release debut album
by Michelle Zacarias
The Pussycat Dolls, an up and coming
pop girl group, has made a struggling attempt
to touch everyone’s hearts with the remake
of their chart topping song featuring Busta
Rhymes, “Don’t Cha,” which was originally
released by Tori Alamaze in March 2005.
It is arguable that their number one
song has only been successful because of the
strikingly beautiful physical appearance of all
six members. Each of the group members is
unique and sexy in her own way. The girls’
personalities vary: the group displays punk
rocker styles, sexier conservative styles, and
even the typical “ghetto” couture. The diverse
personalities of the each member bring a
mixture of sounds to their music.
“Don’t Cha” was a standout song when
it was originally released, but now that it is
continuously heard on the radio, MTV, in
nightclubs, in restaurants, and just about
everywhere else, it has lost its novelty.
It is impossible not to get “Don’t Cha”
stuck in your head after listening to it over a
hundred times, which makes it easy to mistake it for a “catchy” song. Nice try, but most
will put “Don’t Cha” in the same category
as “The Macarena” and “YMCA,” both of
which are one-hit-wonders. And it is highly
probable that in a few months, many will
have a difficult time even remembering who
The Pussycat Dolls were.
The lyrics, however, do have some appealingly strong and seductive aspects. The
song, engaging mostly to the female population, has lyrics such as “Don’t Cha wish your
girlfriend was hot like me, don’t ya wish your
girlfriend was a freak like me.” One can’t
deny that they want to say those very lyrics
to a long time crush themselves.
However, the one alluring part of the
song, the lyrics, cannot even be credited to
The Pussycat Dolls because the song is a
remix of the original with little or no changes
to the verses.
However, if The Pussycat Dolls can prove
their critics wrong, most are open-minded
enough to consider the possibility that the
group may actually have talents that
are currently being overlooked.
The music industry is a
battle field and The Pussycat
Dolls are struggling soldiers
hoping to get out alive,
but if they don’t put
their heads together
to develop an
amazing song, but
begin exploiting
themselves instead, the chances
are that The
Pussycat Dolls are
not tough enough to
flourish. They, and
their inferior version
of “Don’t Cha,” will be
history and The Pussycat
Dolls will be sent to the
pound.
For whatever reason
“Don’t Cha” has reached the
96.3 B96 “Nine Most Wanted,” and topped the billboard
charts, received a following
from high school teenagers
that seem to enjoy the song,
regardless of how many times
it is played.
The song, although not
completely degrading to the
original, is also not unrivaled
in its quality. The girls are
each captivating in their own
way, the lyrics are exciting but
not their original lyrics, and the
song looks as though its will land
The Pussy Cat Dolls in the kitty
litter.
“You will not be disappointed…” or will you?
“The Pasta Bowl” in all of its saucy glory
by Abir Usman
Hustle and bustle, overflowing conversations, and an aroma of marinara sauce and
basil. These are the little things that make up
the ambiance at “The Pasta Bowl”, located
in Chicago’s north side on Clark Street, specializing in Italian cuisine with various types
of pastas, meats, and sauces.
The ambiance of “The Pasta Bowl” fits
right in with the hustle and bustle of Clark
Street. However, before one can experience
the joys of “The Pasta Bowl”, the first mission is to find parking. It’s close to impossible and therefore, the trip must be planned
accordingly.
Fortunately, if one is parked somewhat
far away, Clark Street has a lot to offer, so a
nice stroll along the various novelty shops
and viewing the busy late night atmosphere
isn’t such a bad thing.
Once inside the restaurant, the next
mission is to find a place to sit, because this
is one small restaurant. The owners, Greg
Staeck and Chris McDermott call it “cozy”
on their webpage. Sure, it’s a cozy place,
especially if people like to dine with random
strangers because there is not enough room
for a table of their own. It’s a tight area, but
it’s not the type of area that would make
people who have claustrophobia break out
into a panic attack.
Popular restaurants can be busy, and if
it’s a good restaurant, a little claustrophobia
isn’t bad every once in a while. However,
when there isn’t any elbow room, there is a
problem.
Once people have found a place to sit, it’s
smooth sailing. All there is to worry about
is not having the ability to hear the person
A teasing Fettucine Alfredo, one of many dishes offered at The Pasta Bowl.
Photo by Abir Usman
right next to them over
the noise of the numerous
televisions, with small
screens but unnaturally
loud volumes, and the diverse, awkward conversations others are having.
The Capellini Pomodoro, which is an angel
hair pasta dish with fresh
tomato marinara, basil,
and fresh mozzarella, is
by far one of the restaurant’s best pastas. That,
however, cannot be said
for their Penne Puttanesca
which consists of pasta
tubes with fresh tomato
marinara sauce, calamata
The sweet-tasting Penne Puttanesca served with bread
olives, capers,
and mozzarella cheese.
white wine, and
Photo by Abir Usman
oregano. The
Puttanesca was
sweet tasting, which is a quality no
The average cost for an order of Capellini
pasta should ever have. Another dish Pomodoro and a drink is around $7.50. Orthat stood out as above average is the dering one dish for two people is a good idea,
Ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese
especially if one does not like to waste food.
and served with a fresh tomato mari- Otherwise, take the rest home for lunch on
nara sauce.
Thursday. Sorry Sloppy Joes.
It actually ranked higher than
One of the resturant’s best features was its
the usual cheese ravioli from a
excellent service. The waiting staff was there
Chef Boyardee can. The Fettucine
whenever needed, and had impeccable timing.
Alfredo, however, was average. There They did not mind answering questions about
was pasta, creamy sauce, and an
the dishes and were very gracious. Another
overwhelming heap of mozzarella
unique and new aspect of the restaurant was
cheese.
that everyone could plainly see the preparaIt tasted as if it had come from
tion of the dishes.
the Olive Garden, where garnish was
The chefs create the dishes in the open
in short supply and it was decided
and people can watch their tasty Ravioli with
on the whim to load the dish with
marinara sauce being created right in front of
mozzarella cheese. Did they run out
them.
of garnish which led some genius to
All in all, “The Pasta Bowl” is a great deal
believe that cheese would work just
for the price, but the food could be better. If
as well as oregano? Please people,
people cannot decide on what to do for dindon’t abuse the dairy products.
ner, they should try out “The Pasta Bowl” on
The portions served are enor2434 North Clark Street and decide if “dining
mous and come for a great price.
with random people” works for them.
The Hoof Beat will be having a contest to revamp the current Mustang seal (the image that is located on the bottom left hand corner of the
front page). Look for details about submission guidlines in the next issue.
November 2005
Arts and Entertainment
Beresilicious:
From the streets
of Chicago: My
Bloody Life
Savoring the sweet nectar of film
by Damon Beres
Everyone has a favorite film, or at the very least an ever
increasing list of movies worthy of such a title. Personally, I
stick to my guns that Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke
is the finest film ever produced, animated or otherwise, but
Wayne’s World could be held in such high esteem by any
number of my fellow peers. Why is this? Any film critic
worth his weight in salt contends that there are distinct differences between a well-made film, and a shoddily made one
regardless of one’s personal taste, yet, that doesn’t mean that
there is going to be unanimous love even for a film like The
Godfather. The difference, then, is how well an individual is
able to relate with a movie.
It’s an easy generalization to make, but what really
speaks to us in a film? How is it that a single two-hour
movie can resonate so fiercely within a viewer, a fleshand-blood human, whose consciousness is a yarn ball of
memories and experiences? There is certainly not just one
reason. Unlike our typical daily lives, movies are comprised
of refined soundtracks, perfect camera angles, characters
that never sneeze, and elegant dénouements. In other words,
no matter how true a film feels or how deeply familiar a
character seems, a trip to the cinema is not at all a parallel to
looking in a mirror.
Yet we see ourselves in movies from time to time. Not
on a literal level, of course: a young girl could see shards of
herself in The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Jack Skellington
in the same way that a lonely old man could see himself
as Scarlett Johansson’s character in Lost in Translation.
However, these characters, as aforementioned, are clearly not
exemplary of the average human living on planet Earth. A
movie character is a wretched abomination, a creature that
some script writer has birthed to convey an idea, entertain
audiences, or force the story onward. We love them anyway.
It is through their perfections
that we acknowledge our imperfections, or through their
actions that we reflect on our
own. Characters are integral
to the audience’s ability to
connect to and have a dialogue with the film, and are thus
a huge persuasive factor pertaining to the degree in which
a person enjoys a film. After all, without characters, there
would be no movie. Despite their importance, characters
are not everything. The three other factors that will vie for
the audience’s favor are soundtrack, direction, and plot.
A soundtrack can truly make or break a film for a person,
but it is perhaps the most difficult component to define and
mold. Direction is a bit more clear-cut, though good directing is rather rare in the Hollywood drivel most people are
subjected to on a regular basis. A camera is a potent tool in
sparking enlightenment within the audience, but it is often
misused by the director, leading the film down a bland path
laden with cliché and boredom. Plot very much speaks for
itself as a vital device for a person’s connection to the film:
an audience needs a driving story to experience and relate
to; otherwise the film is hollow and worthless.
No matter how amazingly zesty a critic or friend claims
a film is, their praise fails to matter unless one can form
some sort of a connection to the movie through a character,
the music, direction, or plot. Therein lays the subjectivity of
this art form: because of the highly personal experience of
the cinema, it is rather hard to define a movie as “good” or
“bad.” As such, there are favorites but no bests in the realm
of film. So just remember the next time you’re ferociously
debating a film’s merit with your fellow man: one person’s
Alien Versus Predator is another’s Chariots of Fire.
Page 17
by Zainab Bilfaqi
Reymundo Sanchez’s suspenseful autobiography My
Bloody Life portrays the everyday hardships of being abandoned by negligent parents and having to endure a life of
gang violence. This remarkable novel takes place in Chicago’s
very own Humboldt Park area in the late 1980s. The universal
theme of this incredible novel includes the main character’s
most noted saying: “Be a leader not a Follower!” The main
character Reymundo, nicknamed Lil’ Loco, experiences the
devastating misery of growing up with no parents, drugs, gang
violence, and ultimately the turning point of his life—jail.
Reymundo joins his gang “brothers” in the dangerous gang
wars in the Kedzie and Armitage area allied with or against
the constantly changing gangs: the Outsiders, the Gaylord’s,
the Latin Disciples, and the Spanish Cobras.
Batman Begins: On DVD
An action-packed thriller
by Nadir Rashid
Once again the classic Batman is
back, and with 2005, there’s a new twist.
This movie, which has been recently
released on DVD, is the must have collectors’ item for those die-hard Batman
fans. The whole story revolves around
Bruce Wayne, (Christian Bale) and his
attempt to make the city of Gotham
cleaner from criminals. Gotham is wellknown for being infested with vandals
and criminals literally crawling through
the streets, and to this, there are mendacious political figures that are in on
these criminal acts. The richest of these
political leaders can easily climb their
way to the top and can finish anything
with the power of their cash.
As the story unfolds, it is shown that
Bruce Wayne had been scared for life
since his childhood, when he fell in a
well near his house and was swarmed by
a pack of bats. This event torments him
for the rest of his life, but it also helps
him reveal his true inner powers. Bruce
Wayne is also scarred by the traumatic
death of his parents.
Bruce went to a play with his parents and is suddenly reminded of the
bats and asked to leave. As soon as the
Wayne family left the auditorium, they
encountered a street thug with a gun
that not only robbed them but took the
lives of Bruce Wayne’s parents.
Bruce Wayne is thus the rightful heir
The box office hit Batman Begins looks to add to its $205 million gross in
theatres by the release of its DVD version.
Photo courtesy of www.warnerbros.com
to the family fortune and is left with a
close member outside of the family, the
butler. Bruce’s butler, Alfred, (Michael
Caine) is the only person who Bruce
feels can understand what he is going
through.
When Bruce remembers what happened to his parents, he is overcome
with the idea to free the city of crime.
He invests money into a weapons base,
which is already officially his, and gets
all of his weapons and armors. As soon
as this idea of freeing the city of crime
is implanted into his head, he becomes
Batman. Some of Batman’s qualities
include being slick, stealthy, and intelligent.
The fighting scenes in this
movie are really ones to wait for
and they truly deliver a lot of
action. There is one in particular
that stands out: a drug deal is
going down and Batman makes
a big entrance and dispatches the
criminals. This is just one of the
many amazing scenes which show
how far we have come, from the
classic Wild West gun fights, to the
contemporary special effect fights.
The special effects are some
of the best effects in any current
movie. These special effects are
best seen in all of the fighting
scenes and show how Hollywood
has improved over the years. In
one specific scene, Batman turns
the tables on the villain Scarecrow
by injecting him with the Scarecrow’s own fear: toxin. Scarecrow
hallucinates and Batman is thus
portrayed as a dark and violent
monster. This scene is one of
those you have to see to believe.
The best movie of the year also
is the best DVD of the year. This
DVD includes many things such
as 5.1 Dolby surround sound. The
main thing that this DVD has to
offer is the second disk provided,
because it contains behind-thescene features which show the base
of the special features. This behind-the-scene feature is known as
“Batman - The Journey Begins.”
The special features in this DVD
are astounding and truly remarkable.
Other than this, the commentary in this movie provides tons of
information on how the actors felt
working on this, and the type of
environment they had to do it in.
Overall, this movie DVD is
great, and many people who have
seen it have complimented its special effects and its fantastic action.
Cover of Reymundo Sanchez’s autobiography My
Bloody Life, which takes place in Chicago’s own
Humboldt Park area in the late 1980s.
Photo courtesy of www.amazon.com
This engrossing page turner is so profoundly written that
the reader feels he is actually experiencing the events with
Reymundo. This suspense-filled book appeals to younger readers, but the older generation may view it as a chilling reality.
The parts of the book that will most appeal to readers are
those that apply directly to teenage pressure points: sex, drugs,
violence, gangs, etc. When analyzed critically, it is horrifying to realize the accuracy of the events that take place in the
book.
Love, honor, and loyalty are all important principles in
Reymundo’s life. These principles brought him and his “brothers” together. The strength of this bond is expected to surpass
all; they should be willing to die for one another. Reymundo’s
boys all say “I have your back,” but when he really needs their
help and support, he is left alone. The irony is that Reymundo
is punished when he’s not there for his “brothers,” but when it
is their turn to support him; nobody seems to mind the lack of
assistance.
An aspect of the book that I found distasteful was the
graphic description of the sexual scenes. With the authors’
awareness of the intended audience being of such youthful
age it was absurd that he would include every detail of himself
engaging in sexual relations. It is reasonable that the author
included this in the book, but such description was not necessary.
An important aspect of the book is that it addresses the
idea of greed. Everyone wants something and the gangs are
usually fighting over territory, girls, drugs, or money. They are
so driven to fulfill these desires that they actually commit murder. This can be analogous to the desires of members living
in contemporary society; people kill each other over the most
irrelevant and materialistic things.
Some objectors of the book view the book a promotion for
and sympathy for gang violence. However, the author clearly
states in the first few pages that My Bloody Life is “by no
means a justification for gang involvement or gang crime. My
Bloody Life is the story of a lifestyle and the destruction it creates.” This verifies the fact that the intention of the author was
not to promote gang membership, but rather as a cautionary
tale to the youth of America. The author hits on exactly the
topics that influence teens today and does an impressive job of
composing very pessimistic topics into a positive outlook for
his readers.
Though the author is, at times, unbelievably blunt in My
Bloody Life, the subsequent emotional impact on people’s
lives is enormous. Although the author was very graphic in
certain scenes, the reality of his tragic life was clearly portrayed. Indeed, the overarching themes of love, honor, and
loyalty, as well as the price one must pay for them, resonates
deeply within My Bloody Life.
Page 18
Sports
Spirit, attitude, and determination
The Hoof Beat
Potential in new cheerleaders
by Andrea Ljevar and Vasiliki Mitrakos
It’s a whole new year for the varsity cheerleaders, and choosing
new cheerleaders is a tough task. Tryouts for the new season were
held on October 20th, in Northside’s gymnasium. With practices
three times a week, a new routine and goals, the new cheerleaders
should be ready for a grueling season.
There were an equal proportion of freshmen and sophomore
girls with the exception of some juniors and one senior. Before the
tryouts, girls interested in trying out had to attend mandatory clinic
meetings on Monday, October 17th, and Tuesday October 18th in
the third floor atrium. Throughout the clinics, the girls were taught
a new cheer, a dance, jump, and a stunt, all of which were to be
performed during try-outs.
The new cheerleaders should expect to learn more complex
routines that are more gymnastics oriented. Cheerleaders on the
team already went to a camp this summer, where they worked on
their routines.
“Camp was a bonding experience for us, we grew closer,” said
Barbara Battaglia, Adv. 805. “But it was very grueling. We cheered
for more than 12 hours, from waking up at 6 a.m. and not getting
back in our beds till well after 10 p.m.”
The girls trying out showed instant potential. Both Coach Mendoza and the cheerleaders on the team noted this fact.
“We are looking for attitude and spirit,” said Coach Mendoza.
“We saw potential skill and strength in a good portion of the girls.”
“I can see a lot of potential in the girls,” said Jenna Witkowski,
Adv. 705. “It may take them time to adjust but they seem willing to
make it.”
Aside from cheering for the varsity basketball team, the squad
will participate in multiple competitions. This will be their second
year entering the city competition and the team hopes to enter Regionals, where they can compete with suburban schools. The squad
will benefit if they obtain more competitive experiences.
The members on the squad have formed tight bonds, which can
be evident from the friendly aura given off during tryouts.
“We are accepting and easy to get along with,” said Jenna Witkowski. “We will form strong friendships with them.”
Standing outside the gymnasium the girls anxiously perfected
their routines. The cheerleaders previously on the team were a helping hand. As the new girls practiced their routines, the cheerleaders
were eager to help them perfect the position of their arms, where
their hands were suppose to be, and other small fixes to make their
performance better.
“It was nerve wrecking,” said Katie Fuentes, Adv. 905. “I felt
a sense of relief when it was over
because I felt confidence in myself.”
Three girls at a time were lead
into a room and had to perform
what they learned at the clinics to
the coach and the judges, who all
had previous cheerleading experience.
As girls performed the routines,
they were taught in clinics. They
appeared upbeat and confident.
They were also asked to display
their strength by holding up a fellow
cheerleader. After the girls finished,
they left with a look of daunting
anxiety present on their faces.
The judges deliberated, with
input from the two team captains,
Chelli Zantoni, Adv. 602, and Katherine Thomas, Adv. 606, on which
girls to choose for the squad. The
try-outs paid off even though the
turnout out wasn’t large. Either way,
the judges and cheerleaders were
pleasantly surprised by the talent
these girls seemed to possess.
“Northside has been improving
from year to year, and it can only
get better from here,” said Coach
Mendoza.
Although the tryouts went well,
the lack of boys disappointed the
squad.
“Boys have a stereotypical view
of cheerleading that they aren’t prepared to grow out of,” said Coach
Mendoza. “Plus many of the boys
The cheerleaders practice their stunts as bases Rhianna Jones, Adv. 810, and
worry more about academics that
Tatiana Karpouzian, Adv. 801 lift flyers Jill Swanson, Adv. 701, while Ben Ortiz,
they wouldn’t be able to commit to
Adv. 701, spots from behind.
our schedule.”
Photo by Kano Yoo
The try outs left the judges considering many potential cheerleaders.
Northside’s cheerleading squad will no doubt grow competiEven with the lack of the opposite sex present on the team,
tively and bring home some crucial and prestigous victories.
Back-to-back—how ‘bout that?
Women’s Golf Team repeats
by Ashraf Abbas
They’ve done it again; the Northside
Women’s Golf team played hard this year and
reigned as City Champions.
“I felt that the girls really gave it their best
shot,” said Coach Nick Demitropoulos. “It
has been such an honor for us to win the City
Championships in back to back years, but this
year was twice as nice.”
so that they could take a good look at their
strengths and weaknesses. Having won the
City Championship last year, the team’s players were in their prime and needed nothing
more than to polish a few strokes and refresh
their memory of the game plan.
“Preparing for the competition was nothing out of the ordinary from
what I usually practice,” said
Kaytlin Hack, Adv. 703, who
currently holds the number
two spot for top high school
women’s golf players. “I was
just putting, working on long
iron shots and was driving at
the range.”
The players’ practice
regimen paid off well. The
team easily advanced to the
Regional Championships and
played against tough suburban
high schools like Maine West,
Glenbrook South, and Evanston Township. Considering
the fact that suburban schools
have more advanced golf
programs, and that this was the
team’s first regional competition, Northide’s Women’s Golf
did very well. The players took
these schools on one by one to
the best of their abilities and
finished tenth out of seventeen.
As for their future ambitions,
the team is looking to set the
bar much higher than it had
been set for this year. Coach
Demitropoulos hopes to finish
seventh in the Regional Championships next year. He also
hopes that Tanya Nagatani,
Adv. 802, will be able to move
The driver poses no problems for Kate Pettinato, Adv. up to sectionals.
709, who hits a long shot down the fairway of the first
“Tanya Nagatani will have
tee.
a great shot if she works hard
Photo by Maxwell Brown
[in the off-season],” said Coach
Demitropoulos.
The hard work and dedication of Kaytlin
Fueled by their greatest ambitions, the
Hack, Adv. 703, Kristie Hack, Adv. 800,
players hope to push themselves up and out
Kathleen Pettinato, Adv. 709, Tanya Nato new heights. With their coach as their ally
gatani, Adv. 802, and Elizabeth Hausheer,
and each other as support, the players plan to
Adv. 802 contributed to this fantastic achievebring everything they’ve got together and put
ment.
In the days before the competition, the
it into their game. This recent accomplishplayers trained as hard as they played. Along
ment can act as their launching point, their
with their usual team practices, members
springboard into the Regional Championallowed themselves time to practice alone
ships, and maybe even something greater.
November 2005
Conference, region, does not guarantee city
Sports
Page 19
by Mohammad Rahman
Garcia, Adv. 605, had
The Northside Women’s
four blocks; Ashley
Varsity Volleyball Team had
Rivera had twelve digs.
a very successful season
There are four
this year, winning the Red
seniors on the team,
Conference ChampionMassiel Garcia, Lizzie
ship. The team narrowly
O’Meara, Adv. 601,
defeated Lane Tech to win
Cory Craig, Adv. 606,
the championship of the
and Kristen Byrne, Adv.
most competitive divisions
604, who will be graduin CPS sports. After going
ating from Northside.
undefeated in their confer“I am very sad these
ence throughout the regular
seniors will be unable
season, winning all ten
to play next year,” said
games, the Mustangs made
Katy Ceisel, Adv. 909.
it through the City Playoffs
“But I anticipate that
successfully. Unfortunately
the volleyball team will
they lost the City Champihave a great season
onship match to Whitney
next year and maybe by
Young, 22-25.
“Whitney Young played
practicing very hard we
their game,” said Maggie
might be able to grab
O’Connell, Adv. 807, who
the City Championplays the outside position on
ship title from Whitney
the team. “Northside ColYoung.”
lege Prep started off slow
“Very excited about
and by the time we were on
next season,” said Liz
the top of our games, it was
Kivel. “I expect great
already too late, but we did
things from Women’s
come in second place in the
Varsity Team on ’06.”
city.”
The volleyball team
The players have
is composed of many
positive feelings about their
athletes who aside from
performances this season.
being on the school
“After a tough loss in
team are also currently
game one, the team started
on club teams, such as
off strong in game two with
Powerhouse, Impact,
a strong lead, led by juniors Volleyball players, Angie Nizio, Adv. 710, Courtney Konow, Adv. 801, and Reese Eschmann, Adv. 700, back away as Kim
Edge and Adversity, to
Angie Nizio, Adv. 710, and Able, Adv. 709 dives in for the ball.
improve their gameeven
Alyssa Walther, Adv 710,”
in the off-season.
Photo by Shoaib Khan
said Coach Flores. “Ashley
With such dedicated
Rivera, Adv. 811, led our defense
ended in the sectional playoffs with
juniors that will be seniors next
give 120 percent every time they are
volleyball training all year round,
against a strong Whitney Young ofa loss to Niles North.
year, so we have high expectations.” on the court.”
the Women’s Varsity Volleyball
fense. Their offense came out strong
“We are the first volleyball team
The energy at the volleyball
Such players are Massiel Garteam should be more than ready to
in the end and our blocking couldn’t in Northside’s six year old history
games was beyond description, with cia, Adv. 605, Angie Nizio, Alyssa
launch a successful season next year
match it. We played strong through- to be the regional champion against
nearly deafening cheering ringing
Walther, Adv. 710, and Ashley
as well.
out the match. It was a great game
Von Steuben,” said Liz Kivel, Adv.
from the bleachers.
Rivera. For example, at the city
“One of things I love about fall
and season.”Subsequently, the
706, who plays the position of
“Every single player is a valuchampionships Angie Nizio, Adv.
is going to the women’s volleyball
varsity volleyball team defeated
middle on the team. “Our goal for
able asset to the team,” said Coach
710, had one block, two aces, and
games.” said Patricia Mazur, Adv.
Von Steuben to seize the Regional
next season is to represent the city
Ms. Nicole Flores, “but there are
four kills; Alyssa Walther, Adv. 710, 701. “I can’t wait to watch them
Championship title. Their season
and go down state. We have strong
some players who stand out and
had five kills and two block; Massiel dominate again next year!”
Defending against the rebuilding process
Improved division challenges Bulls’ Playoff aspirations
by Idrees Mohiuddin
At first it wasn’t too apparent that Bulls’
General Manager John Paxson was going
to alter a successful 2004-2005 roster that
narrowly lost in the first round of the playoffs
to the Washington Wizards. Many experts in
the sports media predicted minimal changes
to the roster, possibly one or two moves so
that the Bulls could maintain cap room for
the 2006-2007 season. Yet, it turned out that
this scenario was far from the case as six new
players have joined the Bulls’ roster via trade
and free agent acquisitions.
Last season, Paxson and Bulls’ Head
Coach Scott Skiles were very successful at
instilling a defensive-minded mentality in
their crop of young players. With the likes
of point guard Kirk Hinrich, shooting guard
Chris Duhon, small forward Luol Deng,
power forward Antonio Davis, and center
Eddy Curry, the Bulls were able to compile a
respectable record of 47-35, second best in the
Central Division and third best in the Eastern
Conference.
However, two-fifths of the starting lineup is no longer with the team as both Eddy
Curry and Antonio Davis were dealt to the
New York Knicks via trade in return for
forward Mike Sweetney, guard/forward Tim
Thomas, and guard Jermaine Jackson. Tyson
Chandler has replaced Curry at the center
position while newly acquired power forward
Darius Songaila, a member of the Sacramento Kings last season, replaces Davis at the
power forward position. In addition, small
forward Andres Nocioni continues to start at
the small forward position, after he filled in
for Loul Deng following Deng’s wrist injury
last season.
“Despite the loss of Eddy Curry, the Bulls
should have another strong season because of
their strong core of young talent,” said Ikram
Khan, Adv. 800. “They’ll be fine as long as
they follow Skiles’ defensive philosophies
and continue to hustle as they did last season.
Hopefully, the team shouldn’t have another
poor start to the season as they did last year.”
“They lack interior presence but still are
strong defensively,” said Saif Rahman, Adv.
803. “Re-signing Tyson Chandler was a good
move by the front office. He and Michael
Sweetney should bring a new and exciting frontcourt for years to come. Ben
Gordon and Kirk Hinrich should be
All-Stars this year.”
Last year’s squad began the season
in a major slump, starting out 0-9 and
winning only one of their first eleven
games during the month
of November. It appeared as though the
franchise would
never arise from
the depths of
the Central
Division and from the
bottom of the Eastern
Conference and would
continue to be in the
“rebuilding process” that
began from the 1999
lockout season. And
then the team began
to increase its defensive
pressure and contained
the opposition to less than
100 points for 25 consecutive games, which helped
propel the team into playoff
contention and atop the Eastern Conference standings.
“Their defense was amazing last year,”
said Geoffrey Wang, Adv. 700. “The fact that
they were able to make such an amazing re-
covery from that horrible
start was pretty impressive. This team is still
young though, and
they have lost a few
key pieces from last
year. I don’t think
they’ll outperform last
year’s success by a
lot, but they should be able to be competitive
in the playoff chase with the caliber defense
they have. I see them ending up in the middle
of the conference and in the lower end of the
playoffs.
Many NBA franchises would love to have
the level of talent the Bulls have considering the age of the team’s players collectively.
However, due to the inexperience of many of
the players, they lack a potent offensive threat
that the Bulls can rely on day in and day out.
Last season’s Sixth Man of the Year Award
went to guard Ben Gordon who was able to
contribute 15.1 points per game off the bench
in 24.4 minutes per game. His clutch shooting down the stretch earned him a reputation
as one of the NBA’s most fearless and clutch
offensive performers.
“Ben Gordon was big for the Bulls last
season,” said Darrel Johnson, Adv. 700.
“He’s clutch when it counts, but I think
the Bulls will struggle this year. They’re
a good defensive team, but the fact that
they don’t have a go-to guy like Tracy
McGrady will hurt them in the long-run. I
think they’ll suffer to catch-up at times and
will be unable to take control of games early
on.”
The Central Division in the Eastern Conference is surprisingly competitive this year.
Both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland
Cavaliers have added necessary components
to their respective squads, making each team
legit playoff contenders. The Indiana Pacers
have the 2003-2004 Defensive Player of the
Year back in Ron Artest, who was suspended
last season for 73 games following a brawl in
Detroit. His presence alone instills the Pacers
back into the elite of the NBA. And the Detroit Pistons are the reigning Eastern Conference Champions with one of the leagues
most balanced teams, automatically inserting
themselves into the elite of the NBA as well.
“The Central Division is just too tough
this year,” said Darrel Johnson. “I hate to
admit it but the Bulls might end up at the bottom of the division if they aren’t able to build
on what they had last year. I personally don’t
believe that they’ll make the playoffs.”
Page 20
Sports
Khan-Ya
Hear Me?
President
Chappelle?
by Asrar Khan
It takes a real man to admit his
mistakes. Climbing atop a mountain and
yelling to the world “all right folks, I was
wrong, I was stupid” is indeed difficult to
do (which I am finding out as I write this
column). But, nevertheless, it has to be
done, for the integrity of sports journalism.
Enough of this though. Let’s get it over
with.
In my first column ever—the one
released hot off the presses the first day of
school—I wrote the following: “I am sick
of Sox and Cubs fans who think their team
is always supreme and must unnecessarily
create arguments as to which team is better.
Though I’m a hardcore Cubs fan, I’m not
completely brain dead. Neither team will
win a championship until Dave Chappelle
becomes president.”
Now, as I’m sure you know by now,
the Cubs did not win the championship, or
even come close for that matter. However,
people tell me the other Chicago team,
which apparently preaches clean socks,
had a magnificent run to the World Series,
capped off by winning the title. All right
Sox fans, I’ll give your team the props. The
Sox are (or were—Reinsdorf hasn’t resigned
Captain Konerko yet) a damn good team,
and play the style of baseball that my beloved Cubbies ought to prioritize. And last
time I checked, no, Dave Chappelle hasn’t
submitted his name for the Democratic
ballot.
You may think I’m bitter, but I’m really
not. I may not be that happy for Sox fans,
but I’m happy for our city. Chicago was
put on the map this October, something
we’ve lacked since the infamous days of
MJ and his crew. The city was vibrant, as
evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of
fans that flooded the Sox parade. Northside
was buzzing too, especially over the student
email system. The annoying email arguments and little “GO SOX” messages were
a little lame, but demonstrated how hungry
Sox fans were for a title.
However, certain things, or more
specifically, certain people irked me of the
whole “I’ve always been a White Sox fan”
situation. Let me make it clear: I’ve lost
my respect for Bernie Mac. First of all,
he initiates the infamous NLCS collapse
with his "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
during Game Six. Instead of singing, "root,
root, root for the Cubbies," he sang "for the
champs'' or "champions," depending on
whose memory you tap. So, after acting so
giddy over the Cubs, why is Mac, in lieu of
the Sox Championship, now saying: "I ain't
never been no Cub fan. They hate us, and
we hate them."
Wow. What a joke. Mac is nothing but
a lame celebrity trying to get in five minutes
of limelight. It seems every year these mysterious celebrities come out of nowhere and
pledge their fake allegiance. It’s sickening
for not only Sox or Cubs fans, but sports in
general. Fake fans have no place in sports.
Next year, when the retooled Cubs, with
marquee Rafael Furcal leading off and batting .325, reach the World Series, Mac will
take off his Sox jacket, revealing a “Prior”
jersey underneath. Then he will proclaim
to the world, “When I said they hate us, I
wasn’t talking about the Cubs. I was only
referring to Cub fans. Go Cubs. Take my
picture, yo.”
But let’s digress from dissing Bernie
Mac here; he isn’t worth the limited print
space. Let me continue on my apology towards the Sox. The Sox were a great team.
They played the basics. They hit clutch; Joe
Crede hit .252 all season, but erupted to hit
like .700 in the playoffs (well it was actually
.289, but it felt like a lot more because of
the timeliness of those hits). There was
solid defense, as evidenced by the two
amazing plays Juan Uribe made to record
the final two outs of the World Series. If
that had been Derek Jeter, we would be
hearing so much about Jeter’s courage,
bravery, leadership, blah. But because it
was Uribe, the two plays have been quickly
forgotten outside of 40% of Chicago.
Look, the point I’m trying to make here
is that even though I don’t like the Sox, I respect them. They accomplished a lot. Dave
Chapelle didn’t have to become president
for them to win the World Series. Let’s all
thank God for that.
Batting Leadoff
\by Max Brown
The Hoof Beat
Men’s Softball at Semi-Finals
Reaching the semifinals for the first time in
the history of the sport
at Northside, the Men’s
Softball Team had a lot to
be proud of this year. The
team had a strong season
in the Blue North Division
with a record of seven
wins and three losses.
Their only defeats were
at the hands of Roosevelt
and Schurz high schools.
“Every game was
exciting,” said Elliot Rembert, Advisory 704, “even
when the team lost.”
After last year’s
sub-par season with an
inexperienced roster, the
team was moved from the
Red Division to the Blue
Division this year, where
it excelled without some
of its former competition, Lane Tech and Von
Steuben. The team placed
second in conference. In
fact, the team argued that
they were not content with The Mustangs support their teammates from the sidelines at one of their Winnemac Park games. From
the level of competition
left to right: Kevin Hom, Rory Staiger, Travis Boewadt, Sergio Mendoza, Wade Killman.
they faced.
Photo by Kana Yoo
“We should probably be back in the Red Division next year
the team in home runs, or even Billy Figueroa good as Hancock,” said Rory Staiger, Adviconsidering we were in the final four [of the
lending us support from the sidelines, I have
sory 710, “but it was an accomplishment to
City Tournament],” said Michael Florian,
been extremely glad to have joined the softball make it to semi-finals. Next year we should
Advisory 708. “We had a good season, better
team this year.”
come back and be even stronger.”
than anyone expected us to do.”
The last game of the season was on the
The team wishes a heartfelt goodbye to
Entering round three of the playoffs,
26th of October against Hancock High School
its two seniors, Sergio Mendoza and Ryan
Northside had no problems at quarter finals
at UIC. After scoring four runs early on, the
Powers, who contributed both offensively and
where they faced Lakeview, with an impresteam started the sixth inning leading four to
defensively to the year’s success.
sive win at a score of five to two. The win
two. Four runs were scored on the Mustangs
With an excess of confidence, the Musmade them the most successful Northside
in the bottom of the sixth, credited to fielding
tangs look forward to next year.
Men’s Softball Team, surpassing the 2003
errors, which included rarities in the regular
“We will have a team full of seniors,” said
team.
season such as bobbled grounders and missed
Michael Florian. “We’re going to have a lot
“Everyone played a vital part in making it
fly-balls.
of experience on the team; we should be able
that far,” said Elliot Rembert.
Neither would score again in the game,
to take city.”
Elliot was eager to point out the team efand the team finished with an unfortunate
The feeling is clearly shared throughout
fort involved, and not at all reserved about his
loss to Hancock by a score of six to four,
the team.
four home runs in only the ten regular season
eliminating them from the playoffs. Still,
“Eight of our ten starters will be coming
games.
though a depressing loss, the team got to
back next year,” said Elliot. “I feel confident
“Whether it was Tito [Garza] pitching
celebrate making it to semi-finals.
that we will bring home a long-awaited city
every game for us,” said Elliot, “my leading
“It’s heartbreaking to lose to a team as
championship."
Putting their way to regionals
Men’s golf team challenges
by Shoaib Khan
Although the Men’s Golf Team performed well at the Conference and City competitions, they were left in awe at the Regional
Competition by New Trier. Even though
some new members of the golf team were in
denial, some senior members knew what to
expect as they participated at the Regional
Competition.
“I knew that if four members of our team
shot the lowest they could realistically shoot
that day,” said Jonathon Nagatani, Adv. 605,
“then we would have a reasonable chance
of moving onto sectionals. However, taking
into account it was the first regional tournament for over half of
the team, I had a feeling
nerves might hinder the
performance of our new
players.”
The Men’s Golf
Team consists of eight
players in total. There
is one senior, Jonathon
Nagatani, Adv. 605. The
two juniors on the team
are Max Brown, Adv.
706, and Brian Lynch,
Adv. 706. Currently
there is only one sophomore, Charlie Benandi,
Adv. 804. The rest of
the team consists of four
freshmen: Eric Nelson,
Adv. 905, Eli Tullis,
Adv. 907, Corey Leher,
Adv. 906, and Marshall
Lesueur, Adv. 908.
During the golf
competition, six members from every school
compete against six
members of other teams.
In the end, the top four
scores from each team
count towards the final
score for each team.
The Regional Competition was held at the
Glenview Golf Club
on Thursday, October
6th, 2005. The six team
Eli Tullis, Advisory 907, sinks a long putt at Winnetka Golf
members that competed
Club, the team’s practice course.
in the Regional CompePhoto by Maxwell Brown
tition were Jonathon Nagatani, Max Brown,
Brian Lynch, Charlie Benandi, Eric Nelson,
and Eli Tullis.
At the Regional Competition the suburban teams dominated the scores. Northside
was in 12th place, trailing back with a score
of 366. New Trier, however, came out to be
victorious with a score of 298 followed by
Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South with
scores of 304 and 312 respectively.
Nonetheless, the Men’s Golf Team
deserves credit for qualifying for the Regional
Competition. In its Conference, Northside
placed third behind Walter Payton, who won
first, and Lincoln Park, who won second.
In the City Competition, Northside’s
Men’s Golf Team placed fourth trailing
Lincoln Park, Walter Payton, and Whitney
Young, who all were ranked first, second, and
third respectively. Over the past four years,
the Men’s Golf Team had four varsity golf
coaches. However, this year the Northside’s
Men’s Golf Coach is Chris Oehlerking, a professional golfer at the Winnetka Golf Club.
“I have experienced three of Northside’s
four varsity golf coaches,” said Jonathon Nagatani, Adv. 605. “This year’s coach, Coach
Oehlerking, is undoubtedly Northside’s
most organized and professional golf coach,
especially considering this being his first year
working as a CPS high school golf coach. He
is seriously considering coaching Northside’s
Men’s Golf Team for 2006, with an emphasis
on earlier and more efficient training for the
team.”
The golf team is holding high prospects
for next year and hopes to advance through
the Regional Competitions. Moreover, the
Men’s Golf Team is also looking forward for
the freshmen of this year to carry the team
through next year.
“The Men’s Golf Team will definitely improve next year,” said Brian Lynch, Adv. 702.
“The team this year had a lot of freshmen,
and with their improving skills, we can win
the City Championship next year.”