VALEDICTORIAN SALUTATORIAN

Ritesh Ragavender was named Valedictorian at the Senior Recognition
Ceremony on Friday June 6. Principal
Varela announced some of his many
accomplishments including a 4.598
GPA, membership in the Lehigh Valley
ARML Fire Team, and his recognition
as a 10th grade qualifier or the USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad.
RR: I was thrilled when I was named. It
is an honor to be the valedictorian of a
class with so many talented individuals.
Principal Varela said, “This student’s
hard work, perserverance, passion, talent, and desire to help others grasp concepts and problem solve will no doube
ensure that he will be a most successful
student and dedicated member of the
community.”
VV: Where do you see yourself in 10
years?
RR: I hope to work in a field that uses
my interests to study ideas that can contribute to society; for instance, bioinformatics and big data. I also want to continue helping young students to develop
their problem-solving skills.
Ritesh took the time to share some of
his thoughts with the Vibe following the
ceremony and his prestigious title.
Viking Vibe: What challenges did you
face on your way to achieving this title?
Ritesh Ragavender: One of my biggest
challenges was adjusting to different
kinds of classes; some involved very
comprehensive material, while others
stressed synthesis and application.
VV: What’s ahead of you in college and
beyond?
RR:I’ll be studying math and computer
science in college.
VV: What was your reaction when you
were named? Did you expect it?
Page 7
Ritesh
Ragavender
VV: What do you think is the meaning
of life?
RR: I think all of us can do something
meaningful by helping others in our pursuits.
VA L E D I C T O R I A N
VV:Do you have a catchphrase?
RR: “Boom!”
VV: What’s your biggest accomplishment as a student?
RR: I’m proud of successfully conducting research; it feels wonderful to solve
novel problems and push the frontiers
of mathematics even further.
VV: Who is your biggest inspiration?
RR: Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize
Laureate in physics. He was a great scientist who valued simplicity and thinking differently, with a healthy disrespect
for authority. At the same time, he also
loved picking locks and art; I highly
recommend his autobiography Surely
You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman for any aspiring scientists.
VV: What’s something most people don’t
know about you?
RR: I still have a teddy-bear shaped bottle
filled with blue liquid and glitter made in
preschool. I also enjoy dissecting toys and
creating scavenger hunts with their parts.
Cynthia Lo was named the Salutatorian at
Friday’s Recognition Ceremony. She received a warm introduction and thunderous
applause from the audience, many of whom
know her through her active involvement in
many musical ensembles such as marching
band and clubs including Isaac Newton Club
and Biomedical Futures Club. In addition to
her extracurricular activities, Cynthia maintained a 4.562 GPA during her high school
career.
fulfilled my middle school goal of taking as
much science as possible and four years of
music, and tried to learn as much as I could
from my other classes because you never
know when you’ll need to know things. If
anything, the challenge I faced was trying to
keep my own goals clear and trying not to
get caught up in the GPA/college admissions
race- or as my middle school literature teacher says, not to “let immediate needs interfere
with what is essential in life”.
Principal Varela said, “She focuses diligently
on academics and works hard to achieve excellence, yet still makes time to involve herself in purposeful extracurricular activities
and community service initiatives.”
VV: What’s ahead of you in college and beyond?
CL: To be quite frank, I don’t know. I’m
thinking of getting a degree in mechanical engineering with a biomedical engineering minor (Course 2A at MIT), but I guess it mostly
depends on what I find most fascinating and
what sparks my interest the most at college.
There’s a lot of research projects going on
at MIT, and a lot to get involved with after
MIT, that I think that being flexible would be
the best approach to the future.
The Viking Vibe was lucky enough to ask
Cynthia a few questions about her thoughts
as she prepares to leave high school as the
second in her class of 747 students.
Viking Vibe: What challenges did you face
on your way to achieving this title?
Cynthia Lo: I never really was aiming for this VV: What was your reaction when you were
title, so I guess you could say I never had any named? Did you expect it?
challenges. I took the classes I wanted to,
Cynthia
Lo
S A LU TAT O R IA N
VV: Last words to the class of 2014?
RR: Go Vikings!
VV: What is your advice to underclassmen?
RR: Do not view your education as a means
to an end; rather, find a topic that means a
lot to you and study it to no end. In addition, start college applications early.
CL: I did not expect it at all, and got no
prior warning (aside from suspicions from
classmates), so my initial reaction was confusion over whether I was supposed to get
off the bleachers and “mild” alarm at the
thought of speaking at graduation.
VV: Who is your biggest inspiration?
CL: Ginny Kraft. She does so much
for the school, and does it largely unnoticed by a great number of people--guess
who was operating the lights/announcing
awards at the senior award ceremony--and
has accomplished such great things with
all the groups she runs, it’s very hard not
to admire her. If I can achieve that level
of accomplishment and service in the scientific and engineering fields, and juggle
doing that many things at once, I would
consider myself very satisfied with my existence.
VV: Your meaning of life?
CL:I think Carl Sagan first mentioned this,
but I find it funny that really, we’re just
bits of the universe assembled together to
observe... itself. So I guess the meaning of
life is to give the universe a slightly more
interesting existence, which of course includes making the world a better place,
not needlessly destroying the marvels of
life and creation, and figuring out how the VV: What’s something most people don’t
universe works.
know about you?
CL: I was born in New Haven, CT, and
VV: Where do you see yourself in 10 have never stepped foot in China. Reyears?
ally. I can’t even speak Chinese fluently
CL: If not toiling over getting another de- and never did. I don’t know why I have
gree, then probably either in a research a slight accent when I talk, although I suslaboratory discovering.. something, in pect the fact that my parents do speak acsome sort of company trying to invent cented English rather than plain Chinese
some technological gizmo to help im- at home has something to do with it.
prove the world, or trying to convince
others that said technological gizmo or VV: Last words to the class of 2014?
funding for said laboratory really will help CL: You only live once. So make let’s
make the world a better place.
make it a good one.
VV: Do you have a catchphrase?
CL: Well I used to have one, and it was
“Don’t be a wanna-be, be a gonna-be!”
but that was back in middle school. Now,
you’d have to ask Nitika Yadlapalli if I
have a catchphrase, she would know better than me.
VV: What’s your biggest accomplishment
as a student?
CL: This is a very ego-boosting question.
I guess, if anything, being a role model to
others has been my biggest accomplishment as a student. I know that role models of past seniors always pushed me to
try to stretch my limit, and it’s very heart
warming when others tell me that they
think I’m a role model to them, because
I still know what it’s like to admire others
and how much it motivated me.
VV: What is your advice to underclassmen?
CL: Don’t waste time resenting your life.
If you’re bored in a class you have to take,
stuck in a volunteering job you don’t want
to do, or just really don’t want to run in
gym class, and you don’t put any effort
into it, you’re wasting precious time. Pay
attention in class, you never know when
you’ll need that info to impress someone.
Do the job well, maybe someone will take
notice and offer you a paid position. And
run in gym class, your body will thank you
later. There are benefits to doing anything, and regrets for when you don’t. So
just do it.
Page 9
To
Barcelona
and
Back:
SBHS Seniors Experience European Culture
By Tina Agarwal (‘14) and Chental Song- Bembry (‘14)
After planning for a full year in advance, a handful of SBHS seniors had the
exciting privilege of spending their spring break on the opposite side of the world.
The “Barcelona To Paris Trip” was organized by art teacher Mrs. Betty Snediker, and such a trip takes place every spring break. Along with Ms. Snediker, art teacher
Mrs. Diane Belnay and four other chaperones departed from the Newark airport on
Friday, April 11 and traveled all the way to Barcelona, Spain, taking 36 students along
with them for the eight-hour flight.
Despite the cramped
and confined plane ride,
Mrs. Belnay could not have
been more ecstatic.
“I’ve never been to
Barcelona before,” she
said, “[and] traveling with a
group of kids [is like] one
big, happy family.”
The flight from Newark to Barcelona, however,
would not be the only new
“family’s” stop. From Barcelona, they traveled to
Provence in Southern France, and then took the fastest train in Europe, the Train à
Grande Vitesse (TGV), to Paris.
Among the places they visited in Barcelona were the famous architect Gaudi’s
Museum, Olympic Port, La Rambla street and shops, and Sagrada Familia, a church
known for its unusual architecture and tall height.
In Paris, they visited the walled cities of Carcassone, the largest Roman aqueduct, Pont du Gard, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and
the famous Eiffel Tower.
When the group was not spending the
week experiencing the beauty of Europe, they
were snoozing in the Hotel du Forum, a gorgeous
hotel located right in the heart of Provence, with
rooms of a variety of styles and colors.
“My favorite part[s] were the hotel and
surroundings of Provence,” said senior Leah Mulvey, “Our hotel was very old-timey; we
had to use keys to get into the room. Each room overlook[ed] the square, [and] we were
sleeping in the same square [where] Van Gogh painted Cafe Terrace at Night!”
There was a surprising lack of tourists, which the students unanimously loved
about the city. The part they loved most, however, was engrossing themselves in the culture.
“Every night we went to a different restaurant and tried a new three-course
meal,” said senior Casey Loftus, “In Barcelona, we tried
paella, which is seasoned rice
and seafood. In Paris, I tried
a fish with the skin on for the
first time. Every dish we had
was delicious!”
Along with the delicious cuisine, the travelers
watched traditional flamenco
dancing in Barcelona, enjoyed
riding on the native white
horses of Avignon in France,
and even visited various other
churches and art museums.
“My favorite piece of art to view at the Louvre Museum, besides the Mona Lisa
or the statue Venus,” Mrs. Belnay later remarked, “is Psyche Revived by Nuclear Kiss.
It is such a romantic piece and so beautifully carved. There is nothing like seeing the
masterpiece before you that you’ve only seen in textbooks.”
The trip was a knowledgeable and informative experience for both the chaperones and students, who all returned to the United States with a lesson in European history, artwork, and culture. As for Mrs. Belnay, she is very eager for the spring break of
2015.
“This is my thirteenth [Spring Break] trip,
[and] it’s still as exciting,” she said with a smile,
“When [the students, chaperones, and I] come
back, we all have this trip in common.”
Seniors on the trip enjoyed landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre,
and Parque Guell.
A New Beginning at the Finish Line:
By Sam Reilly (‘14)
Vikings Break 4x800 County Record at Penn Relays
The South Brunswick Boys Track 4x800 team
broke the Middlesex county record not once, but twice, in
two days of competition at the annual Penn Relays on April
25 and 26.
Seniors Matt Tamasi, and Morgan Murray and juniors Nick Neville and Matt Zamorski composed the four
legs of the 4x800 relay in the trials on April 25. Their time
was 7:44.56, placing the Vikings in third place for the trials.
“It was so many emotions and so much excitement
that I can’t even remember the first lap of the race,” said
Zamorski on his first time competing at Penn.
The top 12 teams in the trials advanced to the finals
the next day. Taking home the gold was Calabar of Jamaica
with a time of 7:37.36, but the Vikings were honored to qualify for not only the Penn Relays event itself, but also for the
finals.
“We were really excited to have qualified in the first
place,” said Coach Wilfredo Rivera, “we had the opportunity to race in the Championships of America and we just
had to be our best.”
Christian Garrido replaced Zamorski in the finals
on April 26, in which the team placed 5th with a time of
7:43.46.
The Vikings’ time in the trials beat the Middlesex
County record of 39 years, according to Coach Wilfredo Rivera. The Vikings achieved a record breaking result yet again
with their improved time on Saturday.
“The boys did great. I was really proud. It was a big
goal of theirs to race at Penn Relays and they were able to do
that,” said Rivera.
Morgan Murray hands the baton to Matt
Zamorski at the Penn Relays. Photo Courtesy of
mycentraljersey.
The Penn Relays, officially the Penn Relay Carnival, at
the University of Pennsylvania began in April 1895 and has continued annually since. The event also includes carnival activities
surrounding the actual race.
“There’s a lot of history, I mean it’s [nearly] 120 years
old, it’s people from all over the globe,” said Tamasi. “To be
able to go there and compete on that level is pretty amazing.”
The event, unlike regular-season track meets, hosts races
for not only high schools, but also for collegiate and international teams. Its spectator numbers reach well past 100,000 people
each year.
“It’s kind of just an unbelievable feeling,” said Zamorski,
“You can’t get it at any high school track meet, because it is not
a high school track meet.”
South Brunswick also sent other athletes to compete at
the relays in addition to the 4x800 team. In past years, the boys
raced in the 4x400 meter, which is an open entry. To enter the
4x800 race at Penn Relays, the boys had to submit an official
time, which was compared to that of other schools and then
selected as one of the top scores to compete in the trials.
“The first year that I went we went for a 4x400 relay
which is kind of, everybody does it,” said Tamasi, “but to make
it for the 4x800, it’s kind of a higher standard.”
The weekend was full of accomplishments for the Vikings, from their qualification to their record-breaking finale.
The team forged a new path for themselves by breaking record
and competing nationally. As they approach the remainder of
their competitive season, it is safe to say that they found a promising beginning at a victorious finish line at Penn Relays.
Post-graduation
Dickinson College
Allison Boni
Meg Moran
Monmouth University
Russell Cerminaro
Hannah Martin
Melissa Zwiren
The Pennsylvania State
University--College Park
Shahinaz Abdelhamid
Becca Arroyo
Ally Berger
Shannon DelPiano
Julie Foeldes
Jacqlyn Siva-Harrison
Sabrina Hecht
Astha Joshi
Monica Joshi
Raj Kumar
Matt Peletier
Katrina Plotkin
Haley Ryan
Leo Tang
Stephanie Travers
Abby York
Class of 2018
We Are!
The University of
Delaware
Gina Berkery
Maya Bryant
Delaney Donnellan
Nicole Lefkowitz
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cynthia Lo
Ritesh Ragavender
The College of New Jersey
Noah Brown
Marissa Crespo
Hitesh Gowda
Morgan Johnston
Elysia Jones
Julia Lekht
Stephanie Machilis
Suma Mallepeddi
Leah Mulvey
Nina Paranjpe
Nisha Sanghani
Pooja Shah
Thamara Thayalan
Saisuma Veerapaneni
Duke University
Northeastern University
Connor Jew
Samuel Kim
Lakshmi Modugu
Preema Patel
Ty Robinson
Ithaca College
Surya Prabhakar
Rutgers University
Dhanish Abrar
Shiv Advani
Akosua Ako-addo
Emily Alicea
Sumra Alvi
Suzanne Ayoubi
Sreedhar Ayyala
Monika Bagle
Dhanashree Bahulekar
Anchal Batra
Nicole Belenky
Shivani Bhavsar
Danielle Brooks
Elisa Buono
Jeffrey Chan
Michael Copeland
Dan Cruz
Ankita Dasmunshi
Ashita Debnath
Harsh Desai
Gabrielle Deseranleau
Akila Devi
Hemapriya Dhanasekaran
Nishan Dhatt
Rutgers University
Ali Asghar Diwan
Pierson Gillespie
Cathy Glinski
Rishabh Goel
Tommy Gorman
Sandra Graise
Mark Hanna
Nada Ismail
Ashvathi Kaimal
Samir Kamat
Sneha Karla
Chetan Kini
Yusra Lakhani
Sam Leavy
Casey Loftus
Jennifer Malvagna
Jenna Mastronardi
Victoria Melchisky
Divya Murali
Morgan Murray
Aakash Muthu
Akhila Narayan
Yaser Ourpali
Siddarth Padki
Phani Paladugu
Riddhish Pandya
Rahul Parelch
Hyebina Park
Hemal Patel
Milan Patel
Rutvi Patel
Carina Petrillo
Yash Phansalkar
Kristina Poon
Maithili Purandare
Ashvathi Raghavakamal
Jeremy Rodriguez
Emily Ryan
Kartik Saddi
Sehrish Saeed
Rahul Santhebenner
Tyler Schwarz
Malhan Shariff
Danielle Siegel
Anya Singh-Varma
Shruthi Suresh
Anushree Sikchi
Pragathi Sudheer
Matt Tamasi
Arvinth Thangavelan
Nidhi Thomas
Alison Tiao
Rashi Tripathi
Patricia Tuquero
Rachel VanDemark
Neel Velani
Daryl VonHerbert
Nitika Yadlapalli
Corey Yelo
Garrett Chin
Emily Grossi
Will Russell
Samantha Gordon—Albright College • Joey Cosgrave, Charvi Radia—American University• Mia Busch—Art Center• Mike Lagunovich—Belmont• Jess Zimmerman—Bentley• Jared Cohen, Sarah Cooper—Binghamton• Vivian Li—Bishops University• Justin Costello, Lauren Torres—Bloomsburg• Suraj Khasnavess—Boston College• Neel Doshi, Nayan Sanjiv—Boston University• Mary Sweeney—Bryn Mawr• Amber Hunter—California State• Palak Bajaj, Kevin
Wainczak—Carnegie Mellon• Jason Chiu, Rohan Sinha—Case Western Reserve• Anthony Toma—CUNY• Alex Klein—Columbia College• Anna Joselle Lomboy, Krishnan Thiyagarajan—Cooper Union• Kooshul Jhaveri—Dartmouth• Rashaan Baker—Delaware Valley• Johnnathan Valverde—Devry• Nick Kleber—E. Carolina• Casey Savoth—E. Stroudsburg• Monica Feldman, Jenani Srijeyanthan—Emory• J Delabandera—Fairly Dickinson• Brianna Daniel, Josh
Warner—Florida State• Bryan Colhoun—Furman• Rushali Manchanda—George Mason• Anushka Kannan, Ashish Pandya—Georgetown• Isha Markale—
Georgia Tech• Brianna Crossen—Gwyn Mercy•Chelsea Richardson—Haverford•Emilie Beck--Hofstra•Rebecca Kilcoyne--JMU•Kirsten Verney—Johnson and
Wales•Aidan Burnett, Sam Stojanovski--Kean•Jake Daniel—Kings College•Deepshika Das, Ashwini Parachure--Lehigh•Ashley Rose, Ruth Rosario--Liberty
Post-graduation
Rider University
Villanova University
Drexel University
Radnyee Joshi
Bhavya Kanuga
Nithya Mitta
Janki Patel
Chandini Ramaih
Vivek Subramani
Manav Vora
Montclair State University
Anny Asrak
Joe Bianco
Shannon Cassidy
Brian Courtney
Brittany Errico
Chelsea Gottfried
Alexis Graham
Lexie Hohmeier
Amanda Lupo
Anthony Milicevic
Austin Morse
Parita Patel
Jay Rajadhyaksha
Rose Sierra
Sydney Sookerman
Kabria Wimbush
Danielle Batra
Anthony Certo
Mandy Fleishman
Brielle Goldstein
Nada Nasareddin
Raj Shah
Tiffany Chang
Matt DiIusto
Scott Dunleavy
Nicholas Gorski
Ricky Patil
Juhi Vazirani
Seton Hall University
Patrick Hurley
Keilah Marville
Alexis Robinson
Naman Singh
Kaitlin Swierczek
The University of Maryland-College Park
Cornell University
Rohan Bajaj
Jake Britton
Alicia Chunta
Kelly Hillen
Larry Liu
Sam Reilly
Aditya Shajil
Ben Zimmitti
Chirag Bharadwaj
Rohit Curucundhi
Anna Huang
Neel Kapse
Manali Mahajan
Manvith Narahara
Class of 2018
Go Big Red!
Syracuse University
Stevens Institute of
Technology
Tommy Dorsay
Alex Kainer
Ashna Manhas
Karan Shah
Matt Gehring
Ben Gibbard
Allie Wahl
New York University
The George Washington
University
Prakriti Luthra
Meenu Mathews
Sabrina Porcelli
Priyanka Toddywala
Greg Toma
Virginia Tech
Joey Grzelak
Mike Valosin
Ryan Wahl
David Khaselev
Pawan Mehta
Jackie Pan
Suman Shastry
Krishna Sridharan
University of Pittsburgh
Darlene D’Souza
Jennifer Elil
Joephil Ilangoraja
Jared Man
Cassy Slover
Kelly Ciabattone--Marywood•Zahra Bukhari, Shreya Choudhury—Mason Gross•Rory Hudec--Mercer•Christina Checo, Rashaad Wallace—Mercy College•Nygel
Bush—Merry College•Alec Cerminaro, Alicia Robinson--MICA• Francine Ashun, Camrey Baker, Amanda Cannon, Kaitlin Csaky, Mark DeFreitas, Taylor Kenny,
Thomas Presti, Davon Porter, Sheyla Ramos-Marin, Pranabesh Sanval, Caroline Shutt--Middlesex•Brianna Font--Misericordia•Even Perkiss--Muhlenberg•Pooja
Kale—NJ City University•Rola Atehehs, Vishal Dhandhukia, Irvin Khan, Keerthi Venkataramanu, Merna Zekery--NJIT•Debbie Medina—NC State•Yash Kothari-Norwich•Pallave Velagapudi—Nova•Genesis Mora--ORU•Mike Hardy—Ocean County Community•Milauni Mehta, Jason Wang—Ohio State•Ruba Rizvi, Erica Beige Smith--Pace•Kristophe Anglin—PSU: Berks•Priya Patel, Julia Strange—Phil U•Sita Sadia—Pillar College•Cristina Castro--Pratt• Jeremy Steiner-Otoo,
Christine Simon--Purdue•Angad Bhogal--Ramapo•Aishwarya Lanka—Randolph-Macon•Wenley Shen--RISD•Vandan Patel, Mirian Shao--RPI•Kristin Cavorley—Richard Stockton•Nick Carbone--RIT•Cagnie Antczak—Roger Williams•Nick Klimkiewicz, Wyatt Landrieu, Craig Leeming, Khadija McDonald, Nicole
Oksman--Rowan•Matt Cooney—Sacred Heart•Zahra Dhanerawala--Simmons•Adita Balasubramanian—Smith College• Teja Meganti—SUNY Buffalo•Rohit
Nalmada—St. Bonaventure•Danielle Oakes—St. Francis•Danny Giampetro, Erika Moritz—St. Peter’s•Jessica Himmel, Jenna Mariano--Stockton•Arjun Chopra—Stony Brook•Jess Quinones--Temple•Jackie Kuper--Towson•Rishahb Kohli, Christian Nowachek—U.S. Marine Corps•Jess Rosen—U of Alabama•Jon
DiBartolo—U of Albany•Tom O’Toole—U of Arizona•Alex Yao—UC Berkely•Rahael Varughese—UC San Diego•Tori Aspir--UConn•Vaishali Rajan—U of
Houston•Namitha Somayaji, Elijah Yao—U of Illinois•Mirian Khanani, Carly McConville--UMass•Nishma Jain—U of Miami•Rahul Narayanan, Nirmal Patel, Sita Subramanian--UMich•Ben Atwater, Samantha Orokos—U of New Haven•Shivam Patel, Shreya Rajgandhi—U Sciences•Noelle Cordova, Chandler
Fisher--URI•Nick Martucci—U of Rochester•Jodi Hansen—U of Tampa•Juwon Brown--UTJ•Dean Burns—U of Vermont•Sarika Pawar--UVA•Siddharth
Vanamamalai—Uwash: St. Louis•Varun Khurana--Vanderbilt•Adam Dere--Wagner•Sam Reichbart--Westchester•Elizabeth Jasabe--WVU•Zahra Azhar-Widener•Dan Tesser—William and Mary•Ryan Choy, Georgina Keller, Vanessa Owusu—William Patterson•Paul Fortin, Stephen Kwong—York College of PA
Page 12
S e n i o r
Prom
By Mahathi Ayyagari (‘15)
On Saturday June 7, students dressed up to
the nines to attend the senior prom held at the East
Brunswick Hilton.
Upon entering the hotel, students were met
with a grand lobby and an escalator that carried them
up to the ballroom that would host a night of music
and dancing.
Around the ballroom were 1920’s decorations like beads, hats, and feathers, as per the theme of
this year’s prom, “The Roaring Twenties”. They also
had saxophone- shaped balloons in art deco style to
emphasize the jazz music and architecture of the era.
Senior Rithvik Shankar said, “They really
stuck to the theme with the decorations that created
an ambience. It felt like the 20’s.”
Senior class advisors Ms. Anastasia Marcella
and Mr. Alex Witkowski began planning for senior
prom in the fall since they had to find a venue, choose
a theme, and a “bunch of other things”, as Ms. Marcella said.
“When you’re talking about 600 students and
40 plus teachers, you need a place big enough to accommodate,” said Ms. Marcella.
Furthermore, Ms. Marcella had to take into
account the dietary restrictions of certain students,
which made the planning more challenging. Creating
the seating charts was also complicated since a student
could have been requested by multiple students.
But in the end it was worth it because, “Working with the class council and working as a team and
everyone pitching in [made] the whole night a success”
as Ms. Marcella said.
Many students had a memorable evening, including senior Jackie Pan who said, “It was nice to see
[all my friends] have a good time. It was a great end to
the year.”
Shankar agreed, commenting “My favorite
part was just getting together with friends, dressing up,
and dancing the night away.”
promposals
worth the
There was music, food, and dancing all night
long. The DJ played popular radio songs that students
could dance to.
Senior Christina Zhang added that if she
could, she would go to prom again because “It was the
only time of the year when [she and her friends] could
get together on one night and just have a good time.”
Of course prom would not be over without
the announcement of prom king and queen. After
the candidates for prom king and queen were called
out, seniors Benjamin Zimmitti and Allie Wahl were
crowned prom king and queen.
Wahl said, “It felt amazing being crowned
prom queen! And getting to be queen next to Ben,
who is one of my best friends made me so happy.”
Zimmitti was “completely surprised” when
they named him prom king.
“I thought for sure someone else on the court
would win. I just remember everyone was staring at
me and it was pretty nervous to be up there getting
crowned and everything. I think the thing I enjoyed
most about prom was the fact that our whole class got
one final big blowout before graduation!” he said.
He just wanted to thank, however, everyone
who voted for him and made prom “amazing and
memorable for all of us.”
Party-goers were also called to the lobby
throughout the night for a photo-taking opportunity
by a professional photographer and all throughout the
night students were snapping pictures of their memories and taking photos with present teachers, as well.
It was a final chance for the senior class to create a
few more wonderful memories together and with staff
before heading out in the next part of their lives.
“Whatever choice [the seniors] make, I just
want everybody to be happy with what they are pursuing,” said Ms. Marcella.
Debbie added a surprise ending to an SBVE
show: a promposal to Joey, complete with
hidden balloons and background music!
“YES!”
iled
Comp
illy
m Re
a
S
y
b
(‘14)
Chirag won Nisha over by helping
her win a real life version of 2048!
Sabrina sent Ben on a scavenger hunt to find all the letters of
PROM? in places where they’ve had some of their best memories!
Page 13
UNDER PRESSURE:
The Prom Phenomenon That Never Should
Have Been
By Sam Reilly (‘14)
This past February, overwhelmed by the newly redefined
height of prom season, which oddly
enough is over three months before
prom, I was overwhelmed and it
showed. I was frustrated and pressured to find a dress, and that frustration was getting the best of me,
exacerbated by the judgmental stares
of an entire boutique’s worth of staff.
After a several-hour-ordeal of
waiting lists and samples, color preferences, and the struggle of describing “when the dress does that tight,
but flowy thing”, I was listening to the
harsh sound of a zipper pushed up
against my back.
The stylist had shoved my
4-sized body into a size 2 dress. Now,
I have no issues with being a size 4,
but that doesn’t mean that the stylists
didn’t.
Despite my discomfort and a
team the size of the cast of Modern
Family trying to win their battle with
this zipper, they persisted, and the
next thing I knew I was being shoved
into a corset in order to “keep it all
in”. Let me tell you, there is a reason
some traditions are put to rest and
should stay there.
This could easily turn into a
full-fledged rant about body size and
the constraints of the fashion world,
which deserves at least 500 words
devoted to itself as a topic, but it isn’t.
It’s about why I was letting myself be
the kind of person who is told that
her body isn’t correct, like I failed
some sort of test. It’s about why I
was so reluctant to just walk away.
It’s about how prom has become an
endless checklist of errands and pressures, how it drives girls to beg their
parents for $500 dresses, plus another $70 for the limo and another $200
for the beach house. Don’t forget the
$125 for the ticket itself.
Prom has transformed into a
cultural phenomenon that consumes
high school juniors and seniors
nationwide for the better part of their
academic year. This is not to say that
some do not let the idea of creating
a perfect night get the best of them.
Rather, this is to say that some let it
take over completely.
When I look at the situation,
fact by fact, I don’t see myself trying on that dress. I don’t see myself
listening submissively to the snide
remarks of the size-nothing saleswomen. But then again, I don’t
see the pressures of prom latching
themselves onto my independent and
confident mind. I don’t see them, but
I know they were there.
It should have been so easy
to walk away from that store. But I
had to find a prom dress because it
was February and I was clearly running out of time. Luckily enough for
me, I already had a date, so I was
privileged enough to watch as other
girls scramble to find that guy from
whatever class and those old elemen-
tary school buddies with whom they
haven’t spoken in years. Because they
didn’t have dates, and it was February: prom blasphemy.
So, how did we get here?
When did prom become prom?
Technically speaking, the thriving
economy following the end of WWI
allowed for this metamorphosis of
sorts. Around 1950, high schools began ditching school gymnasiums for
country clubs and hotel ballrooms,
eventually leading to the extravaganza
that we teenage Americans submit
to year after year, as described by
TIME in a May 2010 article about
the origins of prom.
But this prom fever has
infected so much more than venue,
and modern-day prom pressure piles
on quickly. I would be pushing my
word count by listing all the responsibilities of prom attendees. These
paired with the normal pressures of
SATs, proficiency assessments, final
exams, college applications, and all
the other normal daily duties of high
schoolers quickly create a dynamic
duo as well as a bit of a scheduling
issue. Students have to budget their
time to allot for proper prom planning and consequently, the infamous
“prama”.
The issue is that prom, now
so closely linked with high schoolers,
originally was celebrated by university
seniors, according to TIME. It was
literally never meant to be this way.
We, as a culture, pushed the tradition
onto high schoolers and created the
drama, the pressure, and the unnecessary stress.
It’s not the fault of those
who plan and spend hours collecting
ticket forms and arranging tables. In
fact, at South Brunswick, the proms
are gorgeous and senior prom, especially, embodies the over-the-top,
night-of-your-life feel that the seniors
hope for.
It’s our fault, the ones who
let prom get the best of them, the
girls who will do anything for the
dress. All of that seems to disappear
at prom itself, to the point where you
are sitting, writing an op-ed, and wondering why you freaked out so much
to begin with.
So take a breath and don’t
let pre-prom pressures get the best
of you. Be comfortable. Have fun.
Don’t kill your feet on sky-high platforms. Don’t empty your wallet and
your savings and your dug-up piggy
banks. Don’t beg for a date.
Find some friends to go with,
be yourself, and the having-the-timeof-your-life part will follow. At the
end, I walked away from that store
empty-handed. I shopped around
and found a dress that made me feel
classy and comfortable with eating my weight in the delicious hors
d’eouvres, and I let all the prom planning stress get lost somewhere on the
dance floor.
Viking Closet Holds Annual
Dress
Drive
By Anushka Desai (‘15)
On Thursday, March 20, the
SBHS Viking Closet hosted its 3rd
annual “Sisterhood of the Travelling
Prom Dress Event”, where SBHS
girls were invited to try on and take
prom dresses.
According to the advisors, the
dress drive had the best turnout yet.
There were 343 dresses donated for the event and over 140
dresses were taken. About 98 girls
attended and 21 staff and parent volunteers. The volunteers helped girls
choose and try on the dresses they
liked.
“In fact, we still have about
200 dresses left for girls who still want
to stop by and check them out,” said
Ms. Webb, one of the Viking Closet
advisors.
The Viking Closet worked
hard with the decorations, such as
balloons and streamers, to make the
experience as similar to a real boutique as possible.
While the girls were waiting
in line, the volunteers served them samosas and iced tea.
Chartwells provided cookies
and water for the volunteers. Also,
Cafe Colores, Krispy Krust, and
Dusal’s donated pizzas.
“I really liked the decorations
and there was a variety of dress options,” said senior Joephil Ilangoraja,
“I’m glad I went.”
A total of about 18 businesses
made contributions. According to
the advisors, there were many repeat
businesses, and some new ones as
well.
The South Brunswick Education Association (SBEA) lent banners, tablecloths and big equipment
that the Viking Closet previously
lacked. In total, the Association do-
nated about $6000 worth of equipment.
The SBEA consists of PRIDE
members, who are South Brunswick
teachers that conduct many projects
to build a strong partnership between
the South Brunswick teachers and
community.
“The South Brunswick Education Association really wants to be
a part of the community and a part
of what’s going on in the community,”
said Ms. Webb.
Another business that helped
for the second time, Kiki D’s, donated about $3500 worth of dresses.
“All I did was call them up
and they were happy and willing to
help,” said Ms. Webb.
Kiki D’s, a boutique for the
top-of-the-line dresses and accessories, is located in the New Village
Shopping Center on Route 206.
Yet another big helper was the Education Foundation of South Brunswick.
The organization provided many decorations for the dress drive.
The Foundation is also giving out five hundred dollars worth of
about $20 to $25 gift certificates to
help the boys who are going to prom.
“We wanted to do something
for the boys as well,” said Ms. Webb.
Many of the businesses were
salons, studios or boutiques that offered free gift certificates for their
goods and services, such as nails, hairdos, makeup, etc.
Other businesses that helped
were: the Nail Studio, Castle Couture, Tahiva’s Beauty Salon and Nail
Spa, Cosmo Bleu Salon, Regency
Cleaners and Tailors, Dollar Tree,
the Home Depot, BlackRock Inc.,
Party Fair, Krispy Krust, Rasoi, and
D’Bella Salon.