Volume 35, No. 1: September 2018

Page 1

Music teacher and band conductor Peter Lustig retires after 25 years at Townsend Harris. Read the full story on page 2.

THE CLASSIC

TOWNSEND HARRIS HIGH SCHOOL AT QUEENS COLLEGE

thhsclassic.com

• September 2018 •

No. 01 | Vol. 35

Hollywood hits THHS

Actor Josh Dallas speaks to THHS students on the set of NBC’s new drama “Manifest.” Image from Episode 1 of “Classic TV.”

By Samantha Alzate and Victoria Kuzma, Managing Editor and A&E Editor

Television producers filmed scenes for the show Manifest on Queens College Campus and at THHS on September 7, marking the first appearance of Townsend Harris High School as a setting in a television drama. Director Félix Enríquez Alcalá spoke with The Classic, and encouraged students to never “give up telling stories about the campus, about your friends, about the world we live in, about nature.” Despite the challenges that may arise in this highly competitive field, Alcalá advised, “Don’t give up on your dreams;

whatever you guys want to do. New media is a great world to be in.” In terms of location, Queens College appeared to be a suitable option for filming. The college campus fit the location scout’s criteria for the setting of Manifest: a friendly and accessible site for actors and crewmen alike to transmit the humanistic message of the show. In prior years, episodes of various shows, including America’s Next Top Model and Saturday Night Live, had been shot on the campus. A member of the location department, Mike, grew up in Queens and was familiar with the accessible filming environ-

ment of QC beforehand. Filming was an intense four-day process, as every department had to make sure to meet even the smallest of details. The process of getting ready to film was quite elaborate, according to Assistant Director Pamela Giangreco, who remarked, “It really does take a village.” Her daily tasks revolve around coordinating and communicating with the cast and crew so that the filming process runs smoothly. Giangreco explained that managing the logistical aspects of the show is no easy job, saying, “The average film set films for twelve hours and the assistant directors are here before and after,

so we work usually around 14 hours a day.” It takes approximately eight days to film one 45-minute episode with many retakes in between. Despite the challenges, she admitted, “It’s long days; I will say, it is fun, [and] it beats a desk job for sure.” The cast and crew would not be complete without the help of onset nurse, Christi. Although her days are long and mostly involve a medical kit, Christi medically consults with the writers as the script comes into place. “If there’s a medical scene, they’ll say ‘Christi, can you help us with that scene with the actor or the actress?” She added, “I get to meet

everybody on set.” A nurse on set, especially for a show like Manifest, is essential. Accidents, ranging from fractures to fire stunts to explosions, commonly occur on set. Christi recommends joining the New York City Production Assistant School, a free five-week program for those interested in production. Don’t forget to tune in on September 24 at 10:00 PM on NBC for the debut of Manifest. You might find yourself getting lost in your new favorite television show. Mike, a member of the location department, and Christi, the on-set nurse, did not provide The Classic with their surnames.


2 | THE CLASSIC

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Block schedule replaces all bands meet schedule By Isabelle Guillaume, Editor-in-Chief

The block schedule has re-entered the halls of Townsend Harris after six school years. Rather than going through all nine 42-minute bands everyday, students, teachers, and staff members now experience eight 50-minute bands from Monday to Thursday and four 50-minute bands (14) every Friday. Differing from last year, the block schedule drops either band one, two, three, or four every day from Monday through Thursday. The logic behind skipping order, however, is not so obvious to all students. “I have no clue as to why, but for some reason on Tuesdays, the second day of the week, we don’t have third band. Then on Wednesdays, we have second off,” senior Matthew Cabrera explained. “It just doesn’t make sense to me. Follow the pattern of first off on Mondays, second on Tuesdays, third on Wednesdays, and fourth on Thursdays.” According to Assistant Principal Veronica York, there is a method to the madness. “Because humanities classes at Queens College alternate days and are blocked for two periods, we have to be careful about the order that classes drop in the mornings,” she

The new block schedule drops a period each day from Monday through Thursday and features a half day of classes on Friday. | Katrina Dydzuhn

said. “Seniors who are programmed for Monday/Wednesday classes might miss their Townsend Harris classes if we don’t drop classes in a specific order.” Specifically, some students have a band 2 class and a seminar at QC from 9:15-10:30 on Monday/Wednesday. If Band 2 dropped on Tuesday then this student would have a conflict on Wednesday when Band 2 would be happening at

9:15. As a result of the dropped bands, teachers and students have found themselves amidst confusion regarding which classes meet on a given day. Mathematics teacher Sarah Liu explained, “The first Monday morning, I noticed how many students went to the wrong class because when I went to my class, I saw students running out to go to other classes.”

PupilPath goes live at THHS By Nefertari Elsheikh and Julianna Zitron, News Editors

This year, parents, teachers, and students were introduced to PupilPath as the new grading website, replacing eSchoolData, which had been in-use since the 2015-2016 school year. Students and teachers alike expressed their dismay with eSchooldata and many were vocal about the need for a new platform. Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee advocated for PupilPath because she had experienced it from both a parental and an administrative perspective. Senior Atia Ahmed expressed that she experienced “confusion and difficulty navigating eSchoolData due to its layout.” She continued on to recount times when she had

“issues viewing [her] grades on eSchooldata.” English teacher Christine Duffy added, “eSchoolData was very slow,” which made it difficult to input grades in a timely manner. PupilPath includes many features that eSchoolData lacked. Junior Nicole Wong explained, “When we used eSchool I’d always have trouble viewing my grades on my phone, but because I’ve used pupilpath before, I know that there’s an app you can use to view your grades and it won’t be a problem anymore.” Sophomore Vivian Mei added, “There’s a color coded schedule on the app, so it’s easy to find things.” Students have also noted the convenience in accessibility of PupilPath. Junior Vicki Ka-

nellopous explained, “What I didn’t like about eSchool was that I’d have to go into the Townsend website to open it. Now I can just go to the [PupilPath] website and log in.” Some teachers, such as Latin teacher Christopher Amanna, used to use Google Classroom as a way to share assignments. This year however, Mr. Amanna explained “Now with PupilPath I am going to try not to use Google Classroom because I can post stuff through PupilPath.” He continued, “Google Classroom is a little bit easier to use in terms of posting assignments, but the benefit of PupilPath is that everything is in one place and I don’t have to double post every time.” Continue reading at thhsclassic.com

Regardless, she remains hopeful that everything will become easier with time. “I can see that some students are also struggling with missing periods, but hopefully time will help us get more used to it.” Despite the need for students and teachers alike to become accustomed to the new schedule, modern language teacher Christian Castillo feels that the block schedule has de-

finitive benefits. “The idea that classes are a little longer is helpful for me,” Mr. Castillo said. “Especially for my AP courses, I can finish one topic instead of cutting the class in two.” Another feature that the block schedule produces is an early dismissal at 11:30 AM every Friday after bands 1-4, followed by an optional lunch period until 12:50 PM. During this time, teachers gather for meetings. Modern language teacher Paola Sierra explained, “On Fridays, there’s a lot of teacher time for planning, which we didn’t really have before. While it felt more rushed last year, now it doesn’t feel rushed. I can talk to everybody and finish my work.” While teachers stay behind for meetings, students have freedom to choose how they spend the remainder of their Fridays, seemingly benefiting them greatly. “With all the work and commitments that we students have inside and outside of school, it’s truly hard to find time to relax and simply hang out with people who are important to you,” said junior Kailey Van. “But the half days have given me an opportunity to enjoy life even in the midst of all that is happening at school.”

New testing schedule Assistant Principal Veronica York supports the change, saying, “If it alleviates the A new testing scheduamount of stress on students, le will be enforced starting the AP of guidance will suin mid-September to better pport it. I only want it bealign with the current block cause the stuschedule. dents like it.” Teachers are How e v e r, required to when asked administer if she would tests only in make any their subchanges to jects’ desigthe new tesnated week, ting schedueither A, B le, she resor C. Students at work. | Matthew Neil ponded, “I The testhink it is too early to tell. It ting schedule is designed to hasn’t even ran a full cycle of accommodate past issues weeks.” that students had, whether Student Union President it be the workload, stress, or Salima Ali said, “I think simply the inability to study this schedule will alleviate for five major exams in a the amount of stress on stuweek. dents.” By Esther Dai and Natalia Gierlackowksi, Staff Writers


THE CLASSIC | 3

SEPTEMBER 2018

Peter Lustig retires in summer surprise

Mr. Lustig conducts the band during graduation. He regularly conducted in Colden Auditorium for graduation and Founders’ Day each year. | Adam Sosnicki

By Nataniela Zavlun and Kristen Zhou, Copy Editor and Staff Writer

Band director Peter Lustig quietly retired from his position at the end of the 20172018 school year. Students received an unexpected email from him mid-summer informing them of his decision. Mr. Lustig began teaching at Townsend Harris 25 years ago and has since brought the jazz band, beginning band, intermediate band, and concert band to new heights. “He only had one [time to rehearse with each class] a day, but even through this disadvantage in terms of working with students, he made students really good from beginner band to intermediate to concert to jazz band...that was very impressive,” said chorus

teacher Mariko Sato. to adequate is actually remarMany of his students also kable. Music is what makes admired his teaching style as Mr. Lustig, Mr. Lustig,” added well as his ability to make his sophomore Kristine Kong. class an enjoyaWhile some ble experience. students were Sophomore taken aback Kevin Baijoo by this ancommented, nouncement, “He was probaothers were bly one of the not as surprifunniest teased. Senior chers that I had Nathan Frelast year. Mr. dere recalled Lustig’s class that he was “a was always fun little surprised to go to and at first” but he did an ex“not completremely good Mr. Lustig in concert. | Renaenia Pangan tely shocked.” job at making R e pl a c i ng everyone laugh and have a him this year is Kevin Heagood time.” “It’s clear that he thwood, who previously tauenjoys teaching because seeing ght at MS 180 in the Bronx students go from lousy players and is currently in his tenth

The Classic EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Danielle Amster Isabelle Guillaume

OPINION EDITORS Amberly Khan Aresha Parjohn

SPORTS EDITORS Hritamber Chakraborty Kunchaka Fonseka

MANAGING EDITORS Ilma Aamir Samantha Alzate

A&E EDITORS Victoria Kuzma Crystal Ngan

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Ryla Pasaoa

NEWS EDITORS Nefertari Elshiekh Julianna Zitron

ART EDITOR Amanda Renzi

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS Katrina Dydzuhn Matthew Neil

VIDEO EDITOR Ava Nabatkhoran

COPY EDITORS Daniela Zavlun Nataniela Zavlun

FEATURES EDITORS Jessica Brite Alyssa Nepomuceno

year of teaching. Using what Mr. Lustig left behind as a foundation, he plans to increase the performance count for each band and increase their exposure by traveling out of state to play at bigger events such as NYSSMA. He admitted, “I was timid walking in because sometimes you walk into a new place, and you want to do all this stuff, and there is a lot of resistance, but I’m not getting that from this group, these bands.” He made it evident that he feels comfortable, stating, “It’s been a very warm welcome for me so far.” While Mr. Lustig will be missed by many, Mr. Heathwood’s plans suggest a promising future for THHS bands.

EST. 1984

Keepers’ Day By Jennifer Mendez and Rhea Singh, Staff Writers

Townsend Harris’ second annual Keepers’ Day ended the 2018 school year by giving students and faculty a chance to enjoy Beach/Paradise/Luau festivities. The hallway leading to the festivities was decorated with beach balls, inflatable surfboards, a giant “ALOHA” sign, and a large assortment of Hawaiian leis. Intended to be a contrast from the “formal qualities” of Founder’s Day, which takes place every October, Keepers’ Day was created to invoke a relaxed atmosphere where students can celebrate another completed school year. Senior Chloe Chan described Keepers’ Day as a “nice time to relax after the end of a hectic semester.” Junior Jacqueline Cho said, “I enjoyed the food options a lot, especially the Greek food because it provided an actual meal for a reasonable price...the hot dog cart was smart to bring back because a lot of people wanted a free food option.” SU President Salima Ali reflected on the hard work of putting this day together, saying, “There were many committees... Many people came together to make Keepers Day a memorable experience.”

Keepers’ Day 2018 | Ms. Brandeis

The Classic is an open forum for the expression of student views. The opinions expressed therein should not be taken to represent those of the administration or faculty, or of the student body as a whole.

LAYOUT EDITOR Jacqueline Woo ADVISOR Brian Sweeney

We welcome letters to the editor. Townsend Harris High School 149-11 Melbourne Avenue Flushing, NY 11367 thhsclassic@gmail.com

This issue contains additional reporting by the following staff writers: Nejra Barakovic, Afifa Ibnat, Kelly Jiang, Nikki Ng, Victoria Oei, Edison Park, Rafal Szczerba, Min Hyeok The Classic reserves the Shin, Sohail Sookram, Ariana Vernon, Joshua right to edit letters for clarity and concision. Vieira, and Daniela Zavlun


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Meet the other freshmen: retirements, depa new hires By Ilma Aamir, Samantha Alzate, Nataniela Zavlun, Daniela Zavlun, Kunchaka Fonseka, and Aresha Parjohn, Classic Editors

With the new year beginning, numerous new faculty members have joined the Townsend Harris Community. Joanna Beer is Townsend Harris’ new English teacher who will be taking over Ms. Stillman’s English classes. Ms. Beer grew up in Brooklyn and taught high school English classes there before coming to THHS. She earned her undergraduate degree studying English at Northwestern University, and her master’s degree at Barnard College. Ms. Beer fell in love with teaching in college when she volunteered as a peer tutor at the NYC public library. It was the first time she realized that guiding and instructing others was the path for her. With no surprise, Ms. Beer thoroughly enjoys reading and writing, and her favorite text about which to teach is Antigone. She believes that Harrisites and THHS faculty are committed individuals with whom she can’t wait to work. Ms. Beer sends the best of luck and “hope[s] that [her] students will find that they love reading and writing, regardless of whether or not they feel that right now.” She added, “I hope I can instill that in them.”

New Instructional Support Services [ISS] and English teacher Kevin Schwab is joining the faculty at THHS as well, teaching freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School and Queens College, ultimately earning his master’s degree at Pace University. Before working at THHS, Mr. Schwab taught theatre classes at Queens College for several years and, more recently, he also taught at Forest Hills High School. Prior to pursuing a career in teaching, Mr. Schwab worked as an actor and now runs an independent film company with his family. Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Schwab is a published author of a textbook for beginning actors and is working on a sequel. Given his theatrical background, Mr. Schwab likes to integrate creativity and drama into his lessons as well. He is eager to get involved in some of the clubs and extracurriculars that THHS offers and hopes to introduce a few theatrical or “geeky” organizations of his own into the Townsend Harris community. Previously, he led Comic Book Club, Playwriting, and Shakespearean society.

From left to right Matthew Morello (English), Kevin Schwab (English/ISS), Joanna Beer (English), and Kevin Heathwood (band). | Katrina Dydzuhn

New faces in the guidance office

Coming soon...

With the departure of Ms. Meyer and Ms. Magnan, Townsend Harris welcomes two new guidance counselors to assist students in grades 9-12. Jessica Graf will be a new guidance counselor, supporting students who previously had Ms. Magnan. With over four years of experience as a counselor in New York City, she loves building supportive and trusting relationships with students. Prior to coming to Townsend Harris, Ms. Graf had experience working as a counselor in a middle school and with a community organization at a high school. In the coming weeks, Ms. Graf will be meeting with seniors to

This year, Ian Morzan will be joining the Townsend Harris Instructional Support Services [ISS] department as a social studies teacher. In his early years of teaching, he was mentored by Assistant Principal of World Languages and ISS Georgia Brandeis, thus developing a close working relationship with her. Before becoming a social studies teacher, Mr. Morzan used to teach science and, according to Ms. Brandeis, “went out of his way to take classes, learn the science, and teach it at his school.” Previously, he worked at Richmond High School. In his time there, he became involved in many of the clubs such as the horticulture club and the LGBTQ club, “Anything that anybody nee-

Jessica Graf | Joshua Viera

get to know them better. She wants students to “look out for others” through working in the community, tutoring, and volunteering. Kathleen Blakeley will be supporting students who previously had Ms. Myers. Ms. Blakeley has been a counselor for six years, working with kids with special needs in the South Bronx for four of those years. She grew up in Long Island and attended Fordham University. She is also a Zumba instructor and does CrossFit. While she says her previous school was much different from THHS, she said “I am excited to meet new people, visit classrooms, and make myself present in order to have a positive year.” Kathleen Blakeley | NikkiNg

ded, he made sure that he was there and available,” said Ms. Brandeis. On joining THHS, he said “I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate and learn with the students, faculty and entire THHS family.” Mr. Morzan is currently on paternity leave.

Ian Morzan | Photo Courtesy of Ms. Brandeis


THE CLASSIC | 5

SEPTEMBER 2018

artures yield large class of

Brandeis now AP of ISS, World Languages By Yuri Choi and Shabab Ahmed, Staff Writers

Georgia Brandeis, Creative Expressions and special education teacher, was recently promoted to the position of interim acting assistant principal of the World Languages department and Instructional Support Services (ISS). For several years, this position remained unoccupied by an official administrator. In 2013, Dr. Lisa Mars occupied the position of Assistant Principal of Languages, Art, and Music, until she abruptly left to become the principal of Laguardia High School. Last year, these tasks were carried out by Ms. Brandeis. The new title became official

Mr. Schwab expressed his overall goal for his time here, saying, “I hope my students will produce works that they’d never quite considered before by expanding their own creativity.” Matthew Morello will be joining the THHS faculty as a new English teacher. He will be teaching the AP Literature and Composition classes. Mr. Morello grew up just outside of Queens, in Valley Stream, Long Island. Mr. Morello states that he took an interest in teaching because “education is a two way street….I tell my students I learn from them too and learn from their ideas.” Specifically, Mr. Morello chose to teach English because he looks forward to “sharing ideas about literature and about writing… which makes all of us become smarter about the world.” Additionally since Mr. Morello will be teaching an AP course he says that he will

“present students with challenging work.” He is “going to make sure to cover the breadth of the material while showing that literature written a few years ago has the same themes as something written 400 years ago.” Mr. Morello concludes that he is “looking forward to teaching literature [he] never taught before and learning together with students.” Replacing long time band director Peter Lustig is Kevin Heathwood. The Long Island native grew up in East Islip, NY. From a young age Mr. Heathwood was continually exposed to music from his mother who played in an Irish pipe band that Mr. Heathwood would eventually play in himself. Mr. Heathwood started his musical journey in third grade on the trumpet, and since then he has learned to play guitar, piano, bass, drums, in addition to all wind and orchestra instruments. In 2009, Mr. Heathwood atten-

ded Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he majored in trumpet and music education. His first two jobs were at Hamptons Middle School and Bronx Middle School 180. At M.S. 180, Mr. Heathwood managed to grow its music program from thirty students to over one hundred and fifty. In conjunction with teaching, he completed a Masters program at Columbia University. During this upcoming school cycle, Mr. Heathwood has set a goal to raise the level of professionalism and expectations of the band program at Townsend Harris. This includes performing gigs on top of the usual school concerts at outside locations. Mr. Heathwood is teaching all the band classes from beginner band to intermediate band to jazz and concert band. He hopes to evoke a true love of music within Townsend Harris students, and he vows to not stop until it is reached.

ISS department involves “making sure that every student that requires extra assistance gets it [by communicating with teachers and] giving them the different strategies and ideas on how to serve students.” Furthermore, regarding Ms. Brandeis’ role in the world languages department, Spanish teacher Beatriz Ezquerra said, “She communicates with other administrators what we, as teachers, are doing.” French and Spanish teacher Paola Sierra explains that as the assistant principal, Ms. Brandeis has become, “someone you can count on for resources, and not only material resources, but also [for] information and knowledge.”

Ms. Brandeis at work in her office on the fifth floor. | Katrina Dydzuhn

this year by principal Brian Condon. As a new administrator, Ms. Brandeis’ work centers around two aspects. Concerning the world languages department, she guides the languages faculty. The instructional support services department, or ISS, focuses on making sure that Townsend Harris meets the needs of every student. Whether it be through programming or learning environments, Ms. Brandeis heads this aspect of our school community. Explaining the importance of her role concerning ISS and her transition into World Languages, Ms. Brandeis comments, “The work of the instructional support services department...[is] a huge workload, and it, as well as World Languages, needed more attention and time.” Ms. Brandeis’ work in the

After several years of being part of the world languages department while it lacked an official assistant principal, Ms. Ezquerra mentioned that she “always had the impression that there was something that was missing.” As a new administrator, Ms. Brandeis intends to “listen, pay attention, and learn from everybody.” Junior Betty Jin said, “She likes to look out for people’s mental health.” Sophomore Jessie Ye also stated, “She seems pretty passionate about creativity... She’s kinda nerdy about meditation and letting go of stress,” ending with, “She seems really nice.” “She’s very competent,” Ms. Ezquerra adds. “I personally, sensibly and spontaneously, have to say that I am very happy that she is assistant principal and is our assistant principal.”


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THE CLASSIC | 7

SEPTEMBER 2018

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A look at Fall Sports as THHS athletes adjust to the new schedule By Barry Hui and Jack Li, Staff Writers

As the fall sports season kicks off, student athletes are looking forward to success. However, in the process of transitioning into the school year, they have to work around new schedules and face new competition. This year, a frequent topic of discussion has been the new school schedule and how the chaotic timetables interfere with practice, especially on Fridays. Angelica Rahaman, a senior on the girls soccer team, voices her complaints about this. “The new schedule does make it more difficult for the team to travel to the games because no one wants to spend an extra three hours at Townsend before carpooling. Most PSAL games start at 4 pm, which is an issue because it is pointless for most of us to go home,” she says. This leaves athletes with too much time to spare. She is not alone in this sentiment, nor is the soccer team’s routine the only one disturbed. The swim team, which commutes regularly to Franklin K. Lane High School for practice, has also encountered numerous problems with the schedule. Sophomore Kristen Zhou says, “Fridays can be challen-

ging because we try to get done with our practice before Lane [High School] dismisses their students, so we are forced to leave from Townsend

to be a teacher in the building, then they could potentially start their practice as early as 1 o’clock,” she says. This would be beneficial

those players will have to wait until their coach arrives from their other job.” Additionally, the changes pose a problem for student at-

Varsity girls volleyball team practicing afterschool in the gym. | Matthew Neil

directly after school.” Yet in this case, athletes have too little time to prepare and deal with basic needs like hunger. Athletic director Ms. Caiaccia’s sums up the situation well. “If [the team’s] coach happens

for all parties involved as they would be able to finish their practice earlier than usual, freeing up time for leisure and personal activities. “However,” she stresses, “if their coach comes from another school, unfortunately,

tendance to any home games that will be held during the Friday shortened schedule. The early dismissal at 11:30 AM contrasts greatly to the start of most sports games which usually start around 4:00 PM.

Along with the new year comes new competition for our sports teams. The boys bowling team moved up from Division III to Division I. When asked about what they can anticipate for the future, captain Daniel Singh replied, “This means we expect to be facing harder teams, better bowlers with new techniques, and have more competition… We have a couple of juniors who are dedicated and will step up,” he said. “I expect a really good year and hopefully we make playoffs again.” Additionally, the boys soccer team is confronting a new opponent, Maspeth High School. There is some suspense surrounding the team, as their abilities are unknown. According to senior Alex Pljakic, “We have never seen them play so we don’t know what to expect. “They are definitely one of our biggest competitors this season and we are looking forward to play our first game against them in these upcoming weeks.” If you’re overwhelmed by what the future holds, take volleyball’s Rosa Caputo’s words to heart: “From here we can only get better and work together to have a successful season. I can’t wait to see what is in store.”

2026 World Cup: USMNT and Fantasy football fans American soccer on the rise By Kunchaka Fonseka, Sports Editor

By Hritamber Chakraborty, Sports Editor

As the world continues to reflect on arguably the greatest Men’s World Cup in history, it is important for Americans to take something away from this experience. Although France, the World Cup champion, along with the rest of the world celebrates their remarkable achievements in enduring this long haul, Americans should not have their heads cowered down. Even though it is true that not qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup tarnished the reputation of our country, we have no time to fret. The United States of America will host the majority of the 2026 World Cup and that will make all the

difference. With the 2026 World Cup site going to the US, Mexico, and Canada, the significance of this event is far greater than we think. The USMNT has never achieved any remarkable feat in their World Cup history as its best finish was in 1930, when the US finished in third during its first ever appearance. The men’s team has faced numerous setbacks in its attempted rise to victory, only to reach as far as the quarter-finals in 2002. Even though we don’t know what the future holds, the USMNT is looking to at least qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Qatar. However, its true aspirations are set

in the year 2026, where they can finally prove to millions of Americans that soccer is only growing and thriving, despite the disappointing past. For the US, all these things are vital to the World Cup experience, but its paramount impact lies in the future of American soccer. This amazing opportunity will serve as a means for the national team to showcase their new young talent. The roster has completely changed to include stars like Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah and Tyler Adams. The new roster can proudly play for its country and provide a sense of redemption, something long overdue.

For six months of the year, from early September to the first week of February, Sunday becomes “Football Sun-

Noah Pearlstein| Katrina Dydzuhn

day.” The professional sport of football often is referred to as America’s game and features thirty-two teams from all over the country. The NFL possesses a lot of influence over a large number of fans. In fact, many believe foot-

ball is almost unmatched when it comes to the level of fan interaction it ignites. The majority of this can be traced to fantasy football, a cohort of virtual games that earn people points based on players’ statistical outputs. “I’ve been playing fantasy football for around 6 years, playing in my first league when I was 10 years old with friends from sleepaway camp,” junior Noah Pearlstein said. Fantasy Football is “the game inside the game.” It’s a way to peak a person’s interest into football and the NFL.

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