December 2014

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BuccaneerBulletin Oswego High School’s Student Voice

December 2014

Volume 3 Number 3

Editorial

2

Drawing Board

Buccaneer Bulletin Oswego High School’s Student Voice Editor-in-Chief Rachael Purtell Managing Editor Hannah Griffin Business Manager Courtney Osmun Webmaster Lisa Kanbur Chief Photographer Elizabeth Sincavage Art Director Nathan Greene Alumni Editor Amber Canbek Sports Editor Chase Pelton Clublicity Editor Morgan Haynes Layout Editor Mariya Hirna Entertainment Editor Taylor Montgomery Reporters Hannah Cali Victoria Armet Advisers Bill Reeser Heidi Conland Sheffield

The Buccaneer Bulletin, a member of the Empire State School Press Association, and The Quill and Scroll, is published periodically by the students of the Oswego High School, 2 Buccaneer Blvd.; Oswego, New York 13126; (315) 341-2200.

It is intended as a vehicle to inform, educate, and entertain the student body.

Opinions expressed are those of the students and do not necessarily reflect those of the administration or the advisers.

On the Cover: After spending a year in India as a foreign exchange student, senior Lauren Wallace is back home for the 2014 holiday season. This month’s cover photo was taken by Elizabeth Sincavage.

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CARTOON BY KAYLA VOLKOMER

. . . to the 162 people who participated in the Red Cross blood drive on November 10. 54 units of blood were collected! . . . to NYS championship swimmers Brenna Riley, Cailtlin Gorton, Mariah Metcalf, Elaina Rando, and Mayraliz Lopez. . . . to Courtney Osmun, Ryan Smith, Chris Vangorder, and Taylor Hamer for being chosen to sing with U.S. and European students in April in Rhode Island. www.buccaneerbulletin.com

December 2014

Editorial In Our View . . .

“Jingle, jingle, jangle” can you still hear his sleigh bells ring?

We all can remember trying hard to stay awake on Christmas Eve, hoping to hear reindeer pawing on roofs and, if we were really lucky, to see Santa himself. Then there were the lows when we got into trouble in December and thought that Santa was going to leave lumps of coal in our stocking because we had been so bad.

As we got older, we encountered many lifechanging moments along our unique journeys to adulthood. However, before college, before graduation, and probably even before entering middle school, a huge pivotal point in many of our childhoods was finding out that Santa Claus is not real.

There are a plethora of ways this horrible truth can be revealed to our happy and innocent minds, but no matter how it happens, we, at The Buccaneer Bulletin, feel that it is a truly crushing moment.

For those of us with older siblings, it is likely that they were the source of our demise.

They probably were around their friends and bluntly blurted out something like, “Come on, spill it.

You know

find that? I looked everywhere!” Everyone became silent and stared at you, knowing the secret had been blown.

Of course, there were the “cool” kids at school who tried their hardest to convince you that Santa was not real and ruined the magic for you. They always seemed to know everything cool, and you knew they would make fun of your ignorance about Santa’s existence.

The unfortunate few discovered the truth about Santa Claus at the mall waiting in line to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. Maybe his beard slipped down at the wrong moment, or he accidentally swore when you sat on his lap after eating a few too many Christmas cookies; either way, the magic was gone.

Finally, maybe you found out that Santa is not real by reading this editorial and if this is the case, we, at The Buccaneer Bulletin, are truly sorry for ruining your

What’s Your Opinion?

“How did you find out about Santa?”

Hayden Avery Senior

“There was a debate in lunch in first grade and it was decided that he wasn’t real.”

Sophie Horn Junior

“I lost my tooth and it was still there the next morning. I went to my mom’s room and said, ‘Santa? The tooth fairy? You’re a liar!’”

Sam Spaulding Sophomore

childhood!

However, we, at The Buccaneer Bulletin, want to make one thing very clear: Santa Claus is indeed Santa’s not real right?” very real.

At that point your mind went into The panic mode. You probably debated truth is, whether to say “yes” to seem cool or there is no “no” out of fear of getting in trouble one single for some reason, but either way, the Santa. doubt of Santa’s existence stuck in Santa is what lives in your head. our hearts and keeps Perhaps your older sibling(s) the Christmas spirit proved to you that Santa was not real. Maybe alive. Santa is our they woke you up late on Christmas Eve and parents putting presents led you downstairs to watch your parents quickly under the tree just like and quietly piling presents under the tree. Another their parents did for possibility is that they led you up to the attic or some them and we will do other hiding spot to discover all of your presents for our own children during the days ready and waiting. some day. That is how Maybe it was not your siblings at all, all those presents get GRAPHIC BY RACHAEL PURTELL but your parents themselves. For those in an down every chimney every unfortunate financial situation, they may have year; Santa has a great deal told you so you would understand why you might not of help from everyone he has filled with Christmas joy. get as many presents as other kids, even if you were As we get older and childhood magic begins to really good all year long. For those lucky enough fade, we need to develop own our capacity to believe in to not have gone through that situation, maybe your the things that we cannot objectively measure out. Santa parents just decided they were sick of putting on the is the love, hope, warmth, and family we have all year charade. long that we come together to celebrate at Christmas Then there were the relatives that make up our time. beloved extended families. Many of us have had an We, at The Buccaneer Bulletin, wish you happy experience where we opened the gift of all gifts and holidays, a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New our Uncle Charlie said to our parents, “Where did you Year!

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“Santa isn’t real?”

Brianna Bush Freshman

“My parents told me to put the presents under the tree. My mom was sick and my dad didn’t feel well.”

Ms. Graham

Substitute Teacher

“I stayed up until three in the moring when I was eight and nothing happened.”

Mr. TJ Bandla

Theatre Tech Director

“My relatives take the older siblings out to lunch and tell them about the real magic of Christmas.”

December 2014

4

Features

Use of the Internet takes away from student learning?

The Internet and primary resources such as the thousands of books in the Oswego school district butt heads when it comes to controlling the education scene.

One begins to ask, which is more valuable for students?

Every year it seems that there is a new device that everyone is dying to get their hands on.

Youth are immersed in technology. Many schools, including OHS, have policies that restrict cell phone use in school.

Even with the restrictions, students still find a way to check their phones whether it be in the restrooms or the busy cafeteria.

By Amber Canbek This age of Alumni Editor Six nooks, 30 iPads, three carts technology, using of laptops, a number of eBooks, and the Internet seems multiple computers. At Oswego High like a better source School, it seems that within the past of information few years, there’s been an influx of than an old, technology that is now at the fingertips musty textbook. of students. All of this brand new What people do technology has been ordered for not yet realize is educational purposes, but there are that technology people that ask, is technology a friend is hindering PHOTO BY AMBER CANBEK or foe when it comes to learning? our resourceful While there are plenty of books in the OHS library, it seems that technology dominates With all of the technology, there problem solving when it comes to research for school projects. Above senior Keeghan McSweeney stands are many books at OHS that can skills. So, people reading out of one of the many sources provided to OHS students through the library. be used for research. Students have begin to wonder, is taking notes, and research to find that they need.” His conclusion for the access to a variety of informational technology helping us answers to their homework questions. reason behind that is because older texts within the 17,000 books at the advance and survive in this century, With the Internet, students are not generations typically had to spend school and ordered among those that or is it limiting us from developing finding primary resources and what time researching in libraries as the can be from other libraries in the abilities to think on our own? they are reading can be false, whereas Internet was not an alternative district, but with technology it appears Today, some schools believe in textbooks that have been analyzed OHS, junior Olivia Flint stated, the use of books for studies has been submerging students completely in and fact checked are a more reliable “I do think that students should have dwindling. technology. Every project, homework resource.

Internet resources, to put it the basic knowledge of how to obtain Ms. Gina Iorio, OHS librarian, assignment, and essay is to be briefly, cannot take the place of bootsinformation from textbooks. I’m said that there is a large circulation of completed with the help of online on-the-ground research.

Students indifferent about the subject. The books. “We have books that students resources with no help from teachers today are now stuck in an “oh, I’ll just Internet is so accessible it’s taken less here want to read. There are multiple or textbooks.

Google it” mindset, where the majority seriously than books.

I mean, you can genres that students can choose from Other schools, like OHS, promote do not know the positive outcomes of still obtain accurate information through and young adult novels that they’d music, dance, and other artistic primary resource research. the Internet, it just might be harder.” enjoy,” Iorio stated. forms to promote a creative outlet Mr. Ryan Parkhurst, an OHS Katie Bradshaw, a junior at OHS, In the technology versus books and contribute to a larger capacity alumnus and current professor agreed with Flint. “The internet can be war, technology is challenged due to for intellect and emotion. A number at James Madison University in helpful if you know how and where how recent generations have lacked in of schools also have computers and Harrisonburg, Virginia, usually has to find credible sites. Books can be common skills that older generations other technology readily available at least two or three class sessions out of date, also.

It’s best to use both, perform with ease. Mrs. Renee but do not allow computers in class where he takes his students to the it depends on what subject you’re Warren, an English teacher at OHS, and do not promote their use outside library and assists them along with the researching.” stated, “Fewer students would describe of school. The older generations librarians in Every year, students at OHS and themselves research using around the world use the Internet and as a ‘reader’.

“With everything at their fingertips, young students textbooks.

He books alike for their studies. OHS I have seen claims that students have many opportunities for find it very frustrating when they can’t find something a significant with hours gaining knowledge, and it is up to increase in immediately.

I think that the older generation has a and hours them to use the resources provided. students who of research little more patience when looking for the things that Both books and the Internet are very struggle with and analysis helpful in studies when used the right reading on they need.” of the topic, way.

Students should know how to do grade level.

Ryan Parkhurst students, book research as well as find reliable It is not OHS Class of 1996 at the end, resources online. uncommon find it more Professor Parkhurst stated, “I to have an “valuable and think it’s very important for students eleventh fruitful” than simply hitting a few to learn the benefits of research outside grade student be reading at a fifth or find that engagement with people search links. of the Internet.

The skills you learn sixth grade level.” Older generations such as teachers and spending time Parkhurst said, “With everything from cross referencing and finding find that students are struggling with researching with books is much more at their fingertips, young students find primary sources are invaluable to abilities in interpreting literature, meaningful than what a computer can it very frustrating when they can’t find young students.

Once you understand knowing how to look up information tell you. something immediately. I think that the basics of library research, it allows in books and even writing properly Before the Internet and Google, the older generation has a little more you to use the Internet for research in without using common texting slang students would oftentimes go to the patience when looking for the things a more meaningful way.” and abbreviations. library and spend hours reading,

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December 2014

Features

5

BUC school students succeed in new environment When the BUC school was closed due to budget cuts last spring, one of the many concerns was what would become of the students and teachers who had grown comfortable there? Many worried about students’ success during their transition to OHS.

By Hannah Griffin Managing Editor

Due to budget cuts made to the Oswego City School District last Spring, the BUC Junior/Senior High School was closed at the end of last year. As a result, teachers lost their jobs and students were forced to attend either the Oswego Middle School or Oswego High School.

The purpose of the BUC School was to provide a specialized learning environment for students who require more one-on-one work with teachers.

Class sizes were smaller than the other district schools and the goal was to make students feel more comfortable so they could be successful academically.

PHOTO BY HANNAH GRIFFIN Ms. Jay-Nel Steitz taught English to seventh OHS sophmore Conner McKean (left) works hard alongside fellow former BUC school student through eleventh graders at the BUC School and Alyson Conner (right) in English class. Alyson also goes to BOCES in the afternoon for culinary currently teaches English to freshmen at Oswego arts, taking advantage of one of the many opportunities BUC students were given to help ease their High School. transition to OHS. She said she was sad when she found out the BUC School would be closing because she thought just gave it its fair shot,” said Doshe. of the teachers at the BUC School had introduced she would be teaching the same students for five Grant had a similar experience. He said, “It’s us to that game and all of the students loved it.

I’m years and looked forward to that, but she understood been fantastic and fairly easy. I managed to develop finding the same here; all of the students loved that the district had to make decisions based on the a skillset from the BUC that has really helped me reviewing with that game.” student body in Oswego as a whole. “There are over here in the high school.”

Steitz described the atmosphere at OHS as other kids besides the 60 at the BUC School so we Steitz said the administration has already done very welcoming.

Steitz, along with three former have to look at everything,” she said. a lot to help the kids transitioning between schools.

BUC students Tyler Dohse, Brandon Grant and Steitz said the OHS class sizes are bigger but For example, a list was sent out to all teachers of the Connor Joyce, said OHS is stricter compared to not significantly. Sometimes, she said, one-on-one names of students from the BUC School to be sure the BUC School with more rules to follow.

Dohse, time with students is difficult to achieve. “There’s teachers were aware of those students so they can a freshman, said, “The high school definitely has more students,” Steitz said, “so you have to spread receive any help they might need. more rules.

It’s stricter but not in a bad way.”

Steitz yourself out among those students. Some really like “Another great thing is the BOCES program,” believes the structure and consistency is good for having the teacher’s help, and some students like to Steitz added, “because we did internships at the the students. do it on their own. But even still, with the ones who BUC, so I think for some of those kids that just Steiz said for her, the transition between schools really want you next to them all the time, it really really can’t function in the classroom, that’s just has been great because of the support from the makes it hard.” not their thing, so they’re trying to get them out administration and faculty but she’s still learning.

OHS junior Brandon Grant said, “It’s less of to BOCES so that they can start working on their As far as students go, Steitz believes it depends a hands-on experience over here. The teacher can career.”

on the student.

“I think some have adjusted very only get around to so many kids in the classroom so Some students, however, have not had as much well, and then I think others haven’t, but that could some are left out, maybe until the next class or the success.

One student who will remain anonymous is be because of a number of factors.

It could be class after that.” currently home schooled because of the stress and Grant had a anxiety the transition between schools has caused. word of advice “The BUC was a great experience that gave me Dohse advised kids who are having trouble for teachers, the chance to push myself and it really gave me an with the transition and said, “See their counselors.

“Just try to make If they don’t like their classes, they can work with time, and this advantage coming into high school, both academically their counselor to try to get the classes that they is not just for and mentally.” want.” the kids coming Doshe also stated, “I don’t think teachers are

Connor Voyce from the BUC, treating us differently as an aspect of, ‘Oh, you’re but for all kids OHS Freshman from the BUC School, I’m not gonna put in as much because I’ve effort.’

They put in effort to each kid as much as seen it happen they possibly can, so I don’t think there’s anything in the classroom. Just make more time for kids to they can do differently.” outside sources telling them how awful it is here come and talk throughout the day.”

“The BUC was a great experience that gave and that’s not the case, that’s not true. Being fed that One of the BUC School’s main goals was to be me the chance to push myself and it really gave over and over again, they start to believe that and very hands-on in terms of teaching style with less of me an advantage coming into high school, both start to look for the negative things.” a focus on lecturing and note-taking. academically and mentally. I can now look at Dohse said for him transitioning to OHS was Steitz said, “Some of the things I learned over everything in a different perspective than before,” easy.

“I didn’t expect it to be hard I didn’t come in there I’m pulling over here, like we played a game said OHS freshman Connor Voyce. telling myself that the high school was horrible; I today. The kids loved it, and we got to review. One

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December 2014

Features

6

How to thank America’s heroes during the holidays

By Rachael Purtell Editor-in-Chief

In America, we enjoy rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceful protest, but we rarely take the time to thank those who defend these rights every day.

Whether they are Marines with boots on the ground in combat overseas or National Guard members focusing on the problems at home, all of the United States servicemen and women play a part in protecting our freedom.

Interact Club advisor Mr. Warren Shaw said, “When students say the Pledge of Allegiance, every now and then they should take a second to think about all those people who are somewhere that they probably would rather not be representing us and making sure we can do what we want to do here.”

No military has been more widely deployed than ours with military personnel deployed in over 150 countries covering over 75 percent of the world’s nations. Between the years of 1950 and 2003, more than one fifth of servicemen were stationed on foreign soil according to vetfriends.com.

The Army protects the security of our country and its resources, the Navy

defends our rights to travel and trade freely on the world’s oceans, the Air Force protects American interests both at home and abroad with a focus on air power, the National Guard focuses on security at home and relief programs, the Coast Guard protects our waterways and deploys with the Navy during wartime, and finally the Marine Corps is the most elite fighting force in the world and is often first on the ground in combat situations.

To those of us who do not have loved ones in the military, we can only imagine what it is like to have a loved one deployed during the holiday season.

Programs like the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes (HMFH) empowers people to thank and support members of the armed forces, veterans, and their families for all the sacrifices they make to keep us safe.

The Interact Club at Oswego High School participates in a similar program called Operation Dear Abby, which began in 1967 and provides a list of many places to send cards.

Shaw said, “The Interact Club is a community service organization affiliated with Rotary International, so one of the things that we try to do is get involved in international level

types of service and by having the kids send cards to soldiers we accomplish a number of things, one of which is completing that requirement for international types of service projects.

The other is to support our soldiers and our armed forces who represent us.”

Holiday season deployment tends to be especially difficult for servicemen and women and their family members.

President of OHS Interact Club senior Rebecca Victory said, “They [soldiers] are not necessarily alone where they are, but they don’t have any family members with them and it’s a hard time to be without your family.”

The officers and advisor of Interact Club believe that it is important to let military personnel know how much people care during the holiday season. Victory stated, “I think they’re all amazing. It’s a hard thing to do, definitely. I wouldn’t be able to do it at all. They’re really brave and we appreciate them.”

This year the Interact Club will design their own cards to send to soldiers. Shaw said, “Every little bit of a bright part of a day can help. This year what we are going to do is make our own cards, and if we can make a up card and write something nice in it and

let someone know we appreciate what they’re doing that’s a very good thing.”

Victory said, “Even if you aren’t in Interact Club you can do this. It’s just through a program we found online, if you just Google search ‘sending letters to soldiers,’ you can find the address and send them your own cards.”

OHS Librarian Ms. Gina Iorio and English teachers Mrs. Lisa McPherson and Mrs. Sarah Williams participated in similar programs.

Williams said, “During the holidays when they [soldiers] are away from home and they can’t see their own families, it’s nice to receive something from the states to acknowledge their service and make them feel a little better for a few minutes. I would like to say thank you [to all the servicemen and women] because their service is what allows us to walk around this country and be free, become educated, even the students who don’t really want to become educated have the opportunity to because of someone else sacrificing for them, so that would be my message. Thank you and we appreciate everything that you do all year-round even though we might only celebrate it once or twice a year, it’s still important to say thank every time you see one [servicemen].”

Recent APUSH curriculum change pushes buttons

By Chase Pelton Sports Editor

The College Board faced criticism on a national scale after the release of the new Advanced Placement United States History (APUSH) course curriculum over the summer.

Across the nation, people spoke out against the curriculum without fully understanding it, which led to many false claims and confusion over what had really changed in the APUSH course.

Whether it was due to supposed emphasis on negative aspects of American history or the absence of American heroes, the unifying idea among critics is that the new course is anti-American. Former pediatric neurosurgeon and Republican Party member Ben Carson stated, “I mean I think most people when they finish that course, they’d be ready to sign up for ISIS.” On the other side of the argument, the College Board stated the new curriculum is more flexible and allows teachers to add more into the course than in years past. The College Board also stood in defense of their curriculum and refused to change it to fit the critics’ views. The only revision they made was to modify the instructions so that teachers could better understand that content not in the outline may be covered and students may disagree with content when answering questions on the test.

Regarding the new curriculum, the APUSH teacher at Oswego High School Joshua DeLorenzo, made sure to emphasize that the new framework is not strict and serves as more of a guideline to what he teaches in his class.

DeLorenzo also talked about how the new APUSH mostly changed the structure of the test and course more than the information that will be included. He said, “The biggest change for me is the format of the test and the way they’re actually writing it and presenting it. It is more of a mechanical change than a factual change.”

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The change in curriculum is mainly in response to the complaints from teachers that said the course focused too much on individual facts on a broad scale. This meant teachers could not delve into one individual topic in depth but instead had to take a small dip into everything.

The former structure of the course also led to low multiple choice test grades as the questions covered such a broad area of history and could still ask about any random fact from the section of history. With the pool of possible questions being so large students were left unable to prepare well enough for the test. The College Board came out with a system focusing more on ideas than information so that the same information will still work but students do not need to memorize everything and can still answer the questions.

A senior at OHS Paul Oleyourryk who took APUSH last year sat in on the current APUSH class and talked about what he saw and how it compared to last year. Oleyourryk explained that from what he saw the class had more or less the same structure and information as last year, including a quiz that the class was given which he decided to take as well.

Oleyourryk also mentioned that the only difference he really saw was the time the class spent on an activity involving 18th century American reformists. He talked about how his class spent more time on each individual while this class was briefer and mostly talked about a few people. When asked about the anti-American accusations he stated “The course is about the greats of American history but it still touches on our blunders.”

On this change Delorenzo stated “It acknowledges these aren’t the kinds of things you need to memorize anymore books, dates, names, and people as opposed to 25 years ago.” The change in this sense conceded that with nearly all information a few button clicks away every detail is no longer as important to learn.

When asked about the criticism, Delorenzo said that he does not believe the course leads to an antiwww.buccaneerbulletin.wordpress.com

American viewpoint of history, but he did admit it does tone down American exceptionalism.

American exceptionalism is the idea that America is simply different than other countries and cannot be compared to European countries, but it also has been taken to refer to superiority of American culture and history.

Delorenzo said that he believed the course prompts a more balanced view of American history presenting the pros and cons. He stated, “History is complex and has many points of view and the American point of view may not be the right point of view in the long run.”

During the controversy over the new curriculum that took place at the beginning of the school year and over the summer, there was a lack of student opinion on the course. However, now that the school year is a quarter of the way through, OHS APUSH students have been able to form their own opinions on the course.

The general opinion seems to be that the course is not anti-American and that they felt they are receiving a fair view of U.S. history. After being asked about anti-American views in APUSH OHS junior Roman Madlangbayan stated, “It doesn’t at all; it shows both sides of the argument. It glorifies parts of the American culture but it also shows it’s not a perfect country.”

When talking about the idea of the curriculum focusing more on negative parts of U.S. history OHS junior Justin Semione had this to say “I don’t think we should paint the picture of America as a perfect country. We should still look at the negatives” While the national criticism of the new APUSH curriculum moves on, it is important to remember that there are students and teachers who do appreciate the new system and are content with the new course. It is also safe to say that none of the APUSH students appear to be on the road to join ISIS.

December 2014

Point/Counter-Point

7

Can the meaning of a holiday change over time?

In the end Christmas will always remain a religious holiday

Christmas has evolved away from religion into a family tradition

By Nathan Greene

By Taylor Montgomery

This is the time of year we all look forward to, Christmas. It is full of presents and decorations and time with the family, but, in the end, the holiday is built around religious beliefs, and you cannot change that without changing the holiday itself.

A holiday is defined as a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done. Christmas is defined as the Christian festival celebrating Christ’s birth.

Christmas is a Christian holiday. No matter who celebrates on December 25 or what they say they are celebrating it for, Christmas is by definition a religious holiday and by saying it’s not is politically incorrect.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the Christian messiah Jesus Christ, and it will forever remain that.

Taking that theme away would make it a different holiday all together.

A holiday has a basic theme and changing it or stripping it away will take away from the celebration itself.

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Christmas on December 25? It is not because that is when Jesus was born.

Studies show he might have actually been born in the spring due to shepherds being around to witness his birth.

Christmas is celebrated in December because when Rome decided to make Christianity its official religion to keep winter celebrations going, it declared December 25 the birth date of Jesus Christ.

Many pagan holidays happened in the winter to celebrate the crops being taken in and a new year; one such celebration was Saturnalia, kind of a pagan Mardi Gras.

Instead of just keeping the holiday and changing what it is about, the church made a new one on a similar date because people were no longer celebrating the same theme. Regardless of how people celebrate the date, it will always be a Christian holiday. For it to be regarded as a family holiday would make it an entirely different holiday.

Even though there is the possibility Jesus was not even born in December, it does not change the theme of Christmas. In other words, it is still the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

People who hold a different belief system and celebrate on December 25 are not celebrating Christmas for what the holiday truly is but a different celebration similar to but not the same as the almost 2000 year old Christian tradition.

Around the world, various nations celebrate Christmas differently.

Some people make it a three day celebration of the happiness and joy in the church. Others add a second date called little Christmas when the three wise men delivered Jesus his gifts. All of these celebrations have religious ties and meanings.

Many people might say they celebrate it as a family holiday but implement religious themes without even being aware, families who never or rarely go to church now go and family’s that never say grace now say it.

There is also Santa Claus. The modern Santa Claus we know and love today is a combination of Saint Nicholas and the Dutch Sinterklaas by two New Yorkers, Clement Clarke Moore and Thomas Nast, according to http://www.history. com/topics/christmas but the original Saint Nicholas was a real man. He was a fourth century bishop famous for putting gifts in stockings.

Christianity has molded the holiday into what we know it as today and to take away that key element is to make a different holiday entirely.

In December, Christians celebrate the birth of a religious idol and that is what Christmas is truly about.

Each year after the pumpkins have been carved and the Thanksgiving feasts have been eaten, people’s thoughts quickly jump to Christmas. The snow starts to fall on your face, the jingling tunes tickle your ears, and the Christmas spirit arises warming your heart on cold winter days.

While Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks and cherishing others, what is Christmas for? Is Christmas a time for family, or is it a time to focus on religion?

Christmas time, whether you are religious or not, is a time to be spent with family. One does not have to be religious to celebrate families being together, holiday music and decorations, or special foods and carols. It is a time to appreciate and enjoy those you care about.

We celebrate Christmas because it is a tradition and it is customary to us. We live in a world filled with customs and traditions, but many people never wonder how they originated.

It is becoming more and more common that people don’t even know why Christmas is celebrated or which religion it originated from, yet they enjoy the holiday just the same. We all enjoy spending time with family, special dinners, and offering gifts to show how much we appreciate and love one another, so why question it?

Although Christmas once focused on religion, that is not the case anymore. Over time, the connection between Christmas and religion has been broken. It has evolved to fit the lives of people from all walks of life. It has become more about family time, parties and gift giving.

There are no longer any religious constraints holding one back from celebrating this beloved holiday. Many religions celebrate Christmas. In fact even those that aren’t affiliated with a religion at all still celebrate this holiday.

Houses are decorated with lights and trees. Gifts are wrapped in festive papers and bows. People cook special meals and desserts. This shows that there is no requirement to practice a certain religion, or any religion at all for that matter, to celebrate and enjoy this favorite time of year.

One of the most popular aspects of this holiday is the Christmas music. Even people who are not big on Christmas still enjoy listening to the music. Most music artists have their own Christmas albums that are released around this time of year. The fact that a majority of singers release a Christmas album or sing along with others also displays that one does not have to be affiliated with a certain religion to celebrate this jingling holiday.

People love to celebrate Christmas. It is one of the happiest times of the year! Who cannot resist all the wonderful things there are to enjoy at Christmas time?

Each year people become even more creative with gift giving than the previous year. Secret Santa is a common way to exchange gifts. Names of people who wish to participate are placed in a hat and each person draws the name of who they will buy a gift for.

The participants decide on a price limit for each gift. On Christmas Day or any agreed upon date, all the participants meet and give the gift to the person whose name they drew from the hat. Sometimes they choose themes, some comical, some serious but always fun.

Another common Christmas tradition is cookie exchanges. People love sharing special recipes, baking favorite cookies, and sharing them with others.

People bake dozens upon dozens of cookies and other baked goods and assemble assorted platters. They give these to their friends and families as gifts.

There are many different things to appreciate and many ways to celebrate Christmas. Some people love the family aspect of it where families come together, love one another, bake treats, eat homemade food, and celebrate the season as a family, while others enjoy the gift giving, shopping, and retail side of Christmas. Many people simply like Christmas because of the joyous feeling it brings and all the little things that come out around Christmas time.

No matter what the reason is that people celebrate Christmas, it is no one else’s business but their own. There is not a wrong reason to celebrate this holiday. Everyone has their own special reason for doing so, and there is no reason to judge them for it. After all, it is the happiest time of the year.

Art Director

Entertainment Editor

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHASE PELTON

Buccaneer Bulletin

www.buccaneerbulletin.com

December 2014

Merry Chris

8

З РІЗДВОМ As Christmas quickly approaches, OHS foreign exchange student Mariya Hirna reflected on Christmas time in the Ukraine as well as her first American Christmas.

Hirna said, “Christmas is always something exciting and magical for me. I really like celebrating Christmas in Ukraine, and I am happy that I have an opportunity to experience Christmas here.”

Ukrainians celebrate Christmas a bit differently than we do. Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, is an annual public holiday across Ukraine and falls on January 7. The week of January 7 to the 14 is a festive week where many Ukrainians dress up, visit homes, sing Christmas songs, and wish each other good blessings.

For the Ukrainian people, Christmas is the most important family holiday of the whole year. Ukrainian Christmas festivities begin on Christmas Eve which is January 6 and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany. The Holy Supper brings the family together to eat special foods and begin the holiday with many customs and traditions.

With the appearance of the first star, which is believed to be the Star of Bethlehem, the family gathers to eat. The supper has twelve courses because, according to the Christian tradition, each course is dedicated to one of Christ’s Apostles. According to ancient pagan belief, each course represented every full moon throughout the course of the year.

The courses are meatless because there is a period of fasting required by the church until Christmas Day. After holy supper on Christmas Eve, children go from house to house and sing Christmas carols. The children usually receive candy, donuts, or money for their caroling. Hirna said, “It is something like on Halloween here.”

Sometimes children perform Christmas plays in public places and in people’s homes.

On Christmas Day in the Ukraine, people do not typically exchange presents like we do in America. This is because they have St. Nicholas Day on December 19. St. Nicholas is like our Santa Claus. He brings presents to children at night.

Hirna does not have plans for Christmas yet, but she said she may arrange a Ukrainian traditional Christmas for her host family and friends. She is patiently waiting for Christmas to arrive and said, “This year I’m double excited as I will have two Christmases.”

С РОЖДЕСТВОМ Aziret Nazaraliev is from Kyrgyzstan and his Christmas is different from our holiday celebrations. Instead of celebrating Christmas on December 25, he celebrates the coming of the new year.

Nazaraliev celebrates with his friends and family by having a party where they enjoy a big dinner and wait for midnight to come to wish one another a Happy New Year, exchange gifts, and watch fireworks.

Christmas is not celebrated on the same day as ours and is not called Christmas, but citizens of Kyrgyzstan still have a version of Santa Claus. Their Santa Claus is called Ded Moroz.

Snegurochka or snow maidens travel with Ded Moroz. They travel on foot or by a sleigh pulled by three horses and like Santa, they deliver presents to all the boys and girls. Ded Moroz shows up during the fireworks to personally give the boys and girls their presents.

Kids in Kyrgyzstan write letters to Ded Moroz telling him what they would like or not like to receive.

At home Nazaraliev and his family put up a yolka which is a Christmas tree and decorate it with lights and ornaments.

“I’m going to miss my friends and family,” Nazaraliev stated.“Our new year is the same as your Christmas just on different days.”

FROHE WEIHNACHTEN Christmas in Germany, surprisingly, is not much different from Christmas here in the U.S. Jana MacKenstedt, OHS foreign exchange student from Germany, gave us some insight on how Christmas rolls in her country.

MacKenstedt said, “We celebrate it on the 24, unlike here in America, where most people celebrate the holiday on the 25. We go to the church service called Gottesdienst during the day, a service specifically for Christmas. Usually we see family and friends. It’s a very family oriented holiday.”

One of the most celebrated traditions during the holiday is Advent. Different varieties of Advent calendars are found in most German homes. Young children and adults alike get excited when a day is subtracted from the calendar knowing that they are one more day closer to the fun and thrilling holiday.

“Like in America,” MacKenstedt said, “There are some television programs, movies and carols on the radio, but it’s not as big. We have ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.’”

There is some disagreement when it comes to the German Santa Claus. Some say Santa is the Christ Child, known as Christkind, a young girl with blonde hair and angelic characteristics. Others say that the one who leaves children presents is Father Christmas or der Weihnachtsmann.

In Germany, Father Christmas has a whole holiday called St. Nicholas Day. This holiday is celebrated between December 5 and 6. During this time, children are presented with small gifts like candy.

“It will be different, I won’t be with my family, but it’s all very similar. My host family has their own traditions and it’ll be fun to participate,” MacKenstedt said about celebrating in Oswego this year.

MacKenstedt said, “The younger kids enjoy Santa Claus, but he’s not as popular in Germany as he is in the U.S. Mostly though, it’s all friends and family. We have people over and we all sit down, enjoy food, exchange gifts, and play the occasional party game and talk.”

All in all, Christmas in Germany is very similar to the holiday celebrated in the U.S. In both countries, the holiday is looked upon with cheer and noted as a joyful holiday usually spent with family.

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PHOTO ILLUST GRAPHICS BY AND RACHA

Editor’s N contributing to these pages in Montgomery, R Amber Canb Haynes, Hanna Courtney Osmun and photo illus done by Mariy Rachael Purtell

Visit us on the web at www.b

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TRATIONS AND MARIYA HIRNA EL PURTELL

Note: Students the stories on nclude Taylor achael Purtell, b e k , M o rg a n ah Griffin, and n. The graphics strations were ya Hirna and l.

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9

BOUN NATALE

Gabriele Malossi joins us this holiday season from Italy where Christmas tradition is based heavily on Christianity. The celebration begins eight days before Christmas with a series of prayers and church services called Novenas and ends with the Feast of Epiphany.

The traditional Christmas Eve dinner is followed by a 24 hour fast and consists of many dishes including spaghetti and anchovies, fish, broccoli, salad, fruits, and sweets. During the meal, a yule log is burned, toasts with wine and wishes for the future are shared.

Malossi described his typical Christmas Eve as filled with family and fish. Nowadays the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve is a common tradition for families with Italian roots. Seafood consumed during the feast includes salted cod, clams, calamari, cardines, and eel.

One of the most celebrated traditions in Italy is a display of the Nativity scene, which is not surprising since Naples, Italy is world famous for its crib making. Some families have a Creppo or Yule Log which is burnt throughout the season.

On December 25, Malossi attends church with his family, returns home to open presents, and then leaves to celebrate with his friends. This year, however, he will be spending Christmas with his host family and his new American friends.

Malossi claimed Christmas is not his favorite holiday, but he is excited about the fact that he will not have to be in school for twelve days. Although he is not entirely sure what to expect, he is anticipating an extravagant meal at his host family’s house.

Malossi is also excited for a trip to New York City with his host family. He really enjoys shopping, so New York City appeals to him.

Although Malossi will miss his friends and family this holiday season, he has enjoyed his time here in Central New York and does not regret his decision to spend a year abroad.

MAIRĪ KRISAMASA Could you imagine being away from your family during the holiday season? Oswego High School senior Lauren Wallace lived in India as part of a foreign exchange program last year and had to do just that.

People in India mainly practice Hinduism and Islam so Christmas is not commonly celebrated. Instead, they celebrate Diwali, a festival that takes place for 5 days. According to Wallace, “Diwali is like a time of giving and it is the new year according to the Hindu calendar.” The date of the main festival, the Festival of Lights, coincides with the new moon.

During Diwali, Wallace said, “People light up their houses with lights and do fireworks all night long.

There’s lots of food and family. Often times, people go on vacation as well.”

When asked what it was like being away from home during Christmas, which is the holiday Wallace and her family typically celebrate, she stated, “It was awful because Christmas is my favorite holiday and my family always gets together, it’s just a memorable time. Instead, in India, I woke up to two gifts next to my head from my host family and that made the day special. But I did cry, watched ‘The Grinch,’ and drank cocoa.”

Although she missed out on the celebration she normally enjoys, Wallace did have a wonderful experience in India. The best part of Diwali to her was being together and enjoying each other’s company. She said, “It brought a sense of home to me.”

GOD JUL Have you ever wondered how Christmas is celebrated in Norway? Thanks to foreign exchange student Mats Refsdal, we have a sneak peek into Norwegian Christmas celebrations.

Norway is northeast of the United Kingdom and shares a long eastern border with Sweden. Refsdal lives in Bergen, Norway, which is a coastal city on the west coast of Norway located on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen.

Much like Oswego, New York, Bergen experiences all four seasons.

Refsdal celebrates Christmas but they celebrate on December 24. In Norway, it is celebrated more as a family holiday than a religious holiday. “I think most people celebrate it as a family holiday, my family does at least,” stated Refsdal.

Similar to the United States, families in Norway celebrate the holiday together. “In the morning, the kids get their stockings filled with candy then some families go to church at noon after a nice breakfast, usually well dressed, then later we have a big dinner. In the end, we open gifts together,” Refsdal said.

Refsdal has his own family traditions for the holiday. “For dinner, we steam smoked lamb ribs and we have mashed rutabaga and potatoes. For dessert, we have rice pudding with a hidden almond in it. Whoever gets the almond wins a bag of candy. We decorate a Christmas tree where we put the presents, and we bake a lot of pastries,” said Refsdal.

Like kids in the U.S., children in Norway grow up believing in Santa Claus and found out he does not exist around nine or ten years old.

In Norway, kids receive both big, expensive gifts and small gifts from family much like the U.S. “Christmas gifts are usually big between family members who live in the same house but presents from cousins or uncles or aunties are usually smaller,” said Refsdal.

Christmas in Norway is not too much different from Christmas in the United States.

December 2014

10

Artist of the Month

Multitalented student leaps with passion for art

with Miss Lisa and her fellow dancers.

Trapasso’s favorite style of dance is One of the things that Oswego contemporary, which is a style of dance High School sophomore Mikayla that draws from classical, modern, and Trapasso is known for is her artistic jazz styles. ability. A common sight to see is her Contemporary dance focuses on doodling something in her notebook technique and is influenced by ballet and receiving many compliments on it. and other modern styles of dance, Sophomore Emily Purce which can be observed through the commented on Trapasso’s artwork. emphasis on controlled, precise “It’s so detailed and I love legwork and the use of the looking at it and watching her torso. draw,” said Purce. “She’s very It also involves a lot of talented.” floor work and sometimes Trapasso first became improvisation. Other elements involved in art as a young include unpredictable changes girl. It was always her favorite in rhythm, speed, and direction. class in school and she loved This year, Trapasso is not to draw outside of the art taking any art classes as she classroom as well. This love does not have the extra time for art was encouraged by in her schedule. She said, her aunt, whom Trapasso “Sophomore year has been said influenced her passion pretty good so far. I like most for art. “She introduced me of my teachers and classes, to different styles of art and but I do wish I had time in my has always supported me,” schedule to take an art class.”

Trapasso stated.

Trapasso stated that she Trapasso shared that she plans on taking an art class next has an appreciation for all year, and she is determined to styles of art and does not succeed in whatever class she really have a favorite artist. winds up in.

Regarding her own art, Dancers are known for Trapasso usually draws with having particularly rigorous pencil or charcoal, which schedules, and with that, comes artists use in three forms. many hours of practice almost Vine charcoal is made every day and weekend after PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKAYLA TRAPASSO weekend of competitions, and by burning sticks of wood into soft, medium, and hard they even compete at national Pictured above and below are only a small number of Mikayla Trapassos’ drawing pieces consistencies. Powdered competitions all over the she has done over the years. She prefers to draw with pencil or charcoal and creates drawings that display whatever she is thinking or feeling at the time. charcoal is used to tone or United States. cover large areas of a drawing As students progress surface. Compressed charcoal can myself as a person,” Trapasso stated. an important person in Trapasso’s life. through high school, the workload be fashioned into circular or square However, art is not the only thing “She has always pushed me to be the increases more and more, so balancing shaped sticks when combined with that Trapasso is involved in. She dances best person I can be, and to always all these activities can become difficult. gum binder and is used in charcoal at The Next Jennaration studio, where put in 110 percent effort towards “Between dancing and everything else pencils. she has the pleasure of learning from everything I do,” Trapasso said. She I’m doing this year, it is really hard Drawing with pencils and charcoal one of her role models. also loves the long talks that she shares to balance my schedule, but keeping is not the only organized and thing Trapasso managing my does. She has time well helps,” received awards Trapasso said. for clay pieces Many people and paintings she are uncertain about produced in the what they would past showing she like to pursue after has aptitude for high school and various forms of college while and art. others have an Trapasso is idea and will do inspired by her anything to make own thoughts and it come true. As for emotions, much Trapasso, she wants like many other her future career artists. “I usually to have something draw whatever I am to do with art but thinking or feeling is not sure exactly at that time,” she what she wants to said. do in the art field Her favorite yet. piece she created Multitalented is not one of her Mikayla Trapasso many drawing is bound to succeed pieces, but it is a in the future due piece she made out These pieces show Trapasso’s attention to detail in her drawings. As a result, they draw the attention of many to her strong work students and teachers. of a broken mirror ethic.

By Lisa Kanbur Webmaster

Buccaneer Bulletin

when she was younger. Instead of throwing the mirror away, Trapasso used the broken glass to make a whole new art piece. “I painted a background on a canvas, and then made an angel out of the pieces of glass,” Trapasso said.

Her favorite thing about art is she is able to express her ideas and emotions. “It enables me to find

The studio teaches both dance and cheer, with locations in Oswego and Lansing. The owner, Jenna Rae Sickel, has led her dancers to various national titles and was named Choreographer of the year in 2011. The studio trains students in the dance forms of ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, partnering, hip hop and tumbling.

Her dance teacher, Miss Lisa, is

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December 2014

Walking the Plank

11

Principal walks into life at Oswego High School

By Hannah Cali Reporter

Buccaneer Bulletin: Why did you come to this OHS? EN: I was very excited when this position became available because, I knew that it would be a great fit for me! I am an Oswego County native and am familiar with the area. I am aware of all of the positives in the area and its struggles. Since I was already an Assistant Principal at a different Oswego County school, my professional network within the county had already been established. I think my wide range of instructional and leadership experiences, combined with my knowledge of the community have made my transition into this position a lot easier.

BB: What is your opinion on the dress code?

EN: The OHS dress code is pretty consistent with many school dress codes. Dress codes are always board policy, so it is our job as administrators, teachers, and support staff, to abide by the request of the school board. OHS school dress code is written clearly and can be found on page 33 in your agenda. My motto has always been, “When in doubt, don’t go out.” I know that some students were upset about the restrictions that were outlined for costumes on Halloween, but those requests were made in accordance to the OHS dress code.

BB: What are the rumors kids are spreading about you and are any of them true? Let’s get the facts straight.

EN: Rumors that I have heard? The one that I find particularly amusing is that I suspended 25 girls in one day for violating the dress code when I was at Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square. This rumor is completely untrue. I pride myself on being fair, reasonable, approachable, and consistent, so if any other rumors start floating around, feel free to stop in and ask for clarification!

BB: What are positives you’ve seen at the high school so far?

EN: I have been so impressed with how nice all of the students have been so far. It’s refreshing to have students say “good morning” or “good afternoon” with a smile on their face as they see me in the hallways. I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is to me.

BB: What are negatives you have seen at the high school so far?

EN: I haven’t really seen any negatives so far. A lot of things are different, and it’s going to take me some time to get used to, but, so far, I am happy with what I have observed thus far from both the students and the faculty.

BB: What can be improved?

EN: I am hoping that we can all work together to improve our academic achievement. This means we will need to focus on getting to school, behaving appropriately, and contributing positively. I know that if we work together, buckle down, and remember why we are here, we can achieve academic success.

BB: Do you ever see or hear bullying, and what do you think about it?

EN: Bullying has been at the forefront of most schools across the country. Fortunately, OHS has a solid bullying process/procedure set in place and takes non-transient incidences seriously. I am happy with how OHS handles bullying incidences and hope these measures assist in curbing bullying all together.

Buccaneer Bulletin

PHOTO BY RACHAEL PURTELL

Shortly after accepting her new position, Ms. Erin Noto did a walk around where she made a brief appearance in every English class to introduce herself to students. Above center, she posed with Mrs. Sarah Williams’ eighth period AP World Literature and Composition class.

BB: Where did you go to college?

EN: I went to college at SUNY-Fredonia. I majored in education and minored in history. I went on to further my education and also have a degree in educational leadership.

BB: What did you do before you were a principal?

EN: Prior to being a principal, I was a history teacher. I taught world history, civics and economics, college prep and cultural anthropology. I also have middle school experience, as I taught seventh and eighth grade social studies and sixth grade English. I also spent a little time at the elementary level in kindergarten. High school has definitely been my niche, though, and I am very excited to be here at OHS. BB: What’s your favorite food?

EN: I tend to lean towards the salty rather than the sweet. If I could do it without feeling guilty, I could, without a shadow of a doubt, eat an entire bag of Dorritos in one sitting!

BB: What’s your favorite sports team?

EN: My favorite sports team is hands down the Boston Red Sox. I have been obsessed with all things Bostonian since high school and Fenway Park is a magical and happy place. GO SOX!!

BB: What’s your favorite book?

EN: Gosh, I am a very avid reader so picking just one is tough. A few of my favorites? A Walk in the Woods, Water for Elephants, The Secret Life of Bees, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lovely Bones, The Historian, The Pillars of the Earth, Outlander, The Poisonwood Bible, Night....and absolutely anything

by Jane Austen.

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BB: If you could describe yourself in three words what would they be and why?

EN: I’m determined. Once I set my mind to something I make sure I get it done well. I wouldn’t say I’m a perfectionist, but I don’t like to do things halfway. I’m fun, I have a good sense of humor, I don’t take things too seriously because you can’t. I think that makes life a lot better to have a little bit of humor and see the humor in it, even when things are serious. Third one, let’s see... I would say reliable. If I say I’m gonna do it, I’ll do it. I would never make anyone do anything I wouldn’t do myself. If you ask me to get something done, I will get it done in a timely fashion. I’m pretty consistent in terms of this is what it is and that’s how it’s gonna be, which I think is good especially being in charge of a school because you know what to expect.

BB: If you could have any super power what would it be and why?

EN: I would be invisible. Especially working in a high school, I would just like to get all the ins and outs of what’s going on and get the inside scoop on all the drama. I would definitely be invisible if I could have a super power.

BB: What is your biggest accomplishment?

EN: Recently, I have had a lot of students that were actually in my classroom reach out to me through Facebook or social media and just have told that “you have really made a difference in my life.” They have said, “I’m a police officer, I’m gonna be a sports lawyer,” so some kids that were really struggling in school have reached out to me.

Editor’s note: “Walking the Plank” is a regular questionand-answer feauture of the Buccaneer Bulletin. If you know a student or staff member who you would like to see walk the plank, contact Rachael Purtell at rpurtell@oswego.org. This edition of “Walking the Plank” was written by Hannah Cali.

December 2014

Entertainment

12

Swift snaps back at recent gossip with new album 1989 “The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, baby I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it off!” are the lyrics Taylor Swift belts out in her hit song, “Shake It Off” from her new, highly anticipated album 1989. The lyrics are appropriate since Swift received much backlash from “haters” and fans alike when she announced her album would consist entirely of pop tunes and not her usual soft, acoustic mix. But, as Swift made clear, she just “shakes it off.”

Coming from an avid Taylor Swift fan who has been there through it all from “Teardrops On My Guitar” and “Our Song” to “Innocent” and “22,” I was a bit disappointed when I discovered there were indeed no slow songs on her new album. That being said, I sucked it up and got over it so I could simply listen to the album for what it was, a great T-Swizzle masterpiece.

Yes, this album is a masterpiece.

Despite the lack of acoustic guitar or simple piano chords, this album still has everything Taylor Swift fans love.

Her raw emotion and meaningful lyrics that are a huge part of her music are still present. And, of course, most of the songs are about loving and hating boys. What would a Taylor Swift album be without that?

The album kicks off with “Welcome To New York,” a perfect start to, “a new soundtrack,” as Swift says in the song.

There is no doubt that the inspiration for writing this was Swift’s move to New York City last spring.

She really captured the feel of the big city with her lyrics, “Walking through a crowd, the village is aglow, kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats” and uses this imagery to place the listener in NYC with her. Swift’s chorus said, “I could dance to this beat forevermore,” so it is safe to assume she is in New York to stay.

Swift’s newest song on the radio is “Blank Space,” and it is everything a good radio hit should be-- catchy, very pleasing to the ear, and relatable. But what I love about this song isn’t the catchy lyrics, it’s the satire regarding Swift’s reputation surrounding her relationships.

It’s no secret that Swift has had many boyfriends; the majority of them are famous too. Since her first album, paparazzi and celebrity fanatics have been obsessed with her relationships, saying she must have high standards because she can’t seem to keep a boyfriend.

But, Swift doesn’t take these insults to heart. Instead, she wrote a song about it using the criticism of others to give herself a number one hit. Amidst the chorus of the song Swift sing,s “Got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane.”

This attitude is reinforced in the music video for the song featuring Swift dropping her boyfriend’s phone into a pool, taking a golf club to his vintage Shelby AC Cobra (according to co-star Andrea Denver, no cars were harmed in the making of the video), and even poisoning him with an apple.

My personal favorite on the album is “Wildest Dreams” because of the Lana

Del Rey feel it has to it. The verses are sung are in her lower register while she opens up more in the choruses, very similar to how most of Lana Del Rey’s songs are performed. Even the ambiguous lyrics are similar to Lana Del Rey’s such as, “No one has to know what we do.”

Throughout the entire album Swift makes references to “bad boys” and she seems to be using her good girl appearance to do so. That is just another example of how Swift takes what is supposed to be mean criticism and turns it into something positive.

The most obvious example of this is in her song “Style” when she says, “You’ve got that long hair slicked back, white t-shirt, and I got that good girl thing in a tight little skirt” and “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye and I got that red lip classic thing that you like.”

“This Love” and “Clean” are the closest any songs on this album get to Swift’s usual sound. They’re softer than the rest and are not stereotypical “pop” songs.

“This Love” begins with just a guitar playing, which is unlike any other song on the album. Both songs are refreshing compared to the album as a whole and will give the listeners who missed Swift’s old sound some peace of mind.

The song “Clean” features Swift’s favorite lyric on the album, as she said in an interview with Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, “When I was drowning that’s when I could finally breathe.”

Track number five, “All You Had To Do Was Stay,” features many Taylor Swift lyric clichés that her fans know and love. A few include, “Had me in the palm of your hand,”, “I’ve been picking

up the pieces of the mess you made,” and “Why’d you have to go and lock me out when I let you in.”

“Out of the Woods” is arguably the most pop song on the album and it comes closest to the 80s vibe Swift was going for, although, according to my dad, “This is not 80s music,” so I wouldn’t purchase Swift’s album for any parents thinking it might bring them back to their younger years.

“I Know Places” is one of the most dynamic songs on the album because of the wide range of emotions it displayed in the three minute and 15 second duration.

It begins very darkly with Swift whisper singing as a piano slowly played in the background. As the song unraveled, it is obvious it is about the obsession people have with Swift’s relationships I mentioned earlier. She put it better than anyone and stated, “See the vultures circling in dark clouds….They are the hunters, we are the foxes.”

As the song reaches the chorus, however, it becomes more hopeful and happy. Swift sings, “Baby, I know places we won’t be found and they’ll be chasing their tails trying to track us down, ‘cause I know places we can hide.” There is no doubt those lyrics are already taunting the media. As I type there is probably a search team sent out by E! News trying to find Swift’s secret hideaway.

Overall, Swift’s album hit the nail on the head for me. Prior to the album release, she had said it would be strictly pop music. When that information is taken into account and the album is listened to without making a comparison to her old music, but simply as a Taylor Swift album, it is undeniably perfect in every way, shape, and form.

Preppy Piper pipes up about prison pandemonium

Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to be in prison? Well, now you can find out. Netflix’s original series Orange is the New Black, based on the memoir

by Piper Kerman, is a true story of a woman who unexpectedly gets thrown into a women’s prison.

The comedy-drama series launched in July, 2013 as one of Netflix’s first original series. Unlike regular television series, which air a new episode at a certain time and day each week, Netflix releases all of the episodes in each season at one time, so you are free to watch at your leisure.

Many people, however, take advantage of this by binge-watching an entire season within a couple of weeks, including me! Watching five episodes at a time is not particularly difficult because this is the kind of television series you just don’t want to stop watching.

Ever.

The show closely follows the main character, Piper Chapman, played by Taylor Schilling, who is living a life of luxury with her fiancé, Larry (played by Jason Biggs, best known for his role in American Pie). She has the ideal life of a 33 year old until she is sentenced

Buccaneer Bulletin

to 15 months at Litchfield Penitentiary in New York for smuggling drugs with her then-girlfriend ten years prior. Piper is suddenly taken from her comfortable life of organic foods, silk robes and red wine and forced to live in prison among hundreds of other women, some with crime records much worse than hers.

Although Chapman is the main character the show does a great job of exploring each character on the show, and there are many. Throughout the two seasons currently on Netflix, viewers come to understand every character’s unique personality and back story. One of the most interesting parts of the show is finding out why the characters are in prison. The show does such a good job of explaining each character that people will have a hard time deciding which one is their favorite.

There are many curveballs thrown at the audience.

For example, a character you may have loved in one episode will do something unexpected in the next making you dislike them. I loved Piper’s quirky personality and felt for her throughout all of her struggles, but after a while, she got on my nerves. I understand that prison is hard, and I certainly couldn’t survive it, but the “woe is me” act got old fast.

My absolute favorite character is Taystee. She’s full of life and one of the most fun characters on the show. I love how she can take any situation, even in prison, and make it into something worthwhile.

Throughout the show, Taystee, who came from a rough background, talks about how when she gets out of prison, she will make something of her life. Because of www.buccaneerbulletin.com

this, I find her very admirable.

She’s hilarious, but wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if it weren’t for her BFF Poussey. Their friendship is inspiring to me because no matter how many times they have a falling out, they always have each other’s backs. As I said, picking a favorite is difficult, because even as I’m writing this I can think of a reason to love every character!

When watching a show about a prison, you might assume it’s very serious. There are some serious moments as the show is partially a drama, but I personally love the show for its perfect balance of comedic moments as well as dramatic ones. Often, after a tense scene, there will be moments of comic relief so as to not make the show seem so dark.

And if you’ve heard anything about Orange is the New Black, you might have heard it’s quite risqué. The show is rated M for mature, but contrary to popular belief, once you actually start watching the series, you’ll find there aren’t as many inappropriate scenes as people say there are.

Overall, Orange is the New Black is a must see among mature teens and adults. With the variety of dynamic characters, you will find yourself relating to someone in some way or another, sometimes unexpectedly. If you don’t already have a Netflix account, I highly recommend signing up for one because this show is certainly worth it. Season three of Orange is the New Black is set to return in summer of 2015.

December 2014

Entertainment

13

Taylor Swift shakes off her country music style

The Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee opened its doors in 1982, but it was not until 2004 that Taylor Swift walked through them.

At the age of fifteen, Swift secured and left a development deal with RCA Records. She was searching for a record deal that would allow her to sing her own songs and to produce an album before she was eighteen unlike RCA Records.

Luckily for Swift, Scott Borchetta happened to be at The Bluebird Café that night. He offered her a record deal with a catch; he did not have a label, but he had a dream. Swift took a leap of faith and decided to trust Borchetta. She became the first of many artists signed to Big Machine.

In June of 2006, at the age of sixteen, Swift released her first single, “Tim McGraw,” and in October of 2006, she released her first self titled album, Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift is exactly what most people expect when they think of country music. The album includes the popular songs “Our Song,” “Picture to Burn,” and “Teardrops On My Guitar.” I think this album was the perfect start for Swift as a country artist.

Swift has released four more albums since Taylor Swift, including: Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and her newest album released in October, 1889.

Swift’s second album, Fearless, deals with first love, first heartbreak, and making it through high

school alongside her best friend, Abigail. I find that most teenage girls can relate to at least one song from this album at some point in their life. This album hooked many teenage fans for Swift.

Speak Now brought more maturity to Swift’s music. Swift sings about wishing she had never had to grow up, wanting to change the past but realizing that she can’t, and blaming herself for getting burned at the end of a relationship, saying she “should’ve known,” versus her singing about a boy that she has a crush on. While the music is definitely more mature, her music is still upbeat, fun, and relatable.

When I first heard “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” my mind was completely blown.

It was completely different from what I was expecting to hear from Swift. At first, I didn’t like it at all.

However, Swift surprised me. Red is my favorite album. The album is completely different than anything she had ever done before; it shows a completely different side of Swift that no one had ever really heard. While her music is still a little country, she is definitely headed in the “pop” direction. There is a perfect mix between acoustic and upbeat songs. The songs on Red are each like their own little story, something only an amazing artist can pull off.

I was lucky enough to see Swift live during her Red Tour, and I realized how much Swift had changed. She no longer wore curly hair and her cowboy boots were nowhere to be found. Now, her hair is pin straight and her lips are bright red.

I had hoped Swift would sing more from previous albums, but she performed just one song from Fearless. It was obvious Swift was trying to break away from her country roots and try something

new.

Despite my disappointment in her change in genre of music, Swift is an amazing performer and a great role model. She puts on so much more than just a show. Anyone that has gone to one of her concerts can tell you that she always introduces herself to the audience saying “Hi, I’m Taylor!” every time.

She is one of the most humble performers.

Leading into almost every song, Swift gives background about the song and gives advice in hopes that other girls are able to learn from it.

When I first heard that Swift made the official switch to pop, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. I think many fans saw that coming. I was curious what her new album would sound like especially after hearing “Shake It Off.” I was completely surprised when I first heard 1989. It did not leave a good first impression on me; I decided I didn’t really like it. Where are the acoustics? One of the things I’ve always loved about Swift is that she wasn’t into electronic pop.

After 1989 was released, her new music started to grow on me. After I was able to get over the fact that there were no acoustics, I was able to enjoy her new album. Maybe a little change was a good thing, after all.

Every artist changes but very few can successfully change genres. I wouldn’t consider Swift’s change in genres a complete jump from country to pop, it was more of an evolution that began with Speak Now and developed into 1989.

No matter what genre Swift decides on, I will always be a “Swiftee.” She is an excellent song writer and an outstanding role model for young girls everywhere something many famous singers will never achieve.

Irena’s Vow plays with history, emotion, and choice

Have you ever had to make a choice between life and death? Not many people have and it is hard to imagine making such a dire decision. One brave woman, though, had to do just that.

On November 7 and 8, the Oswego High School Drama Club put on the production Irena’s Vow written by Dan Gordon, directed by Robert Dumas and assisted by Hannah Strzelinski. It is a true story that takes place on the brink of the era known as the Holocaust.

The show opened up with an old woman speaking in a Polish accent addressing a high school audience.

From there, the play switches back and forth from Irena Gut, played by OHS sophomore Natalie Griffin, as an old woman speaking to the crowd and a young Irena Gut acting out the story as a flashback.

The play focuses on Irena Gut, a Polish woman who was captured by the Soviet Army, repatriated to Poland, rounded up by the Germans and taken

Buccaneer Bulletin

to a munitions factory to work as a seamstress.

It was there that she met 11 Jewish men and women portrayed by OHS students Megan Shafer, Rachel Leotta, Erik Neacosia, Keelan McGreevy, Leah Mullen, and Kyle Roy. She befriended them, learned their stories and about their lives.

Soon after, while shopping for vegetables in the market, Irena witnessed the murder of Jewish townspeople and learned of the plan to kill the friends she had just met. She knew she had to help them in some way.

It was then that a German Major, Rugemer, played by OHS senior Ryan Smith, made her his housekeeper after he commandeered a new villa. Irena took this as an opportunity to hide her friends right under the Major’s nose.

As the play goes on, Irena and her friends are met with many obstacles, including a pregnancy, and have many moments where their secret was nearly discovered, mainly due to a nosy neighbor played by Gabriela Castiglia and a suspicious officer played by Will Bandla.

Amidst the darkness, the show did have a few moments of comic relief.

One scene in particular featured OHS

sophomore Doug Schneider who played the Nazi officer Sturmbannfuhrer Rokita.

In the scene, Rokita and a secretary (Leah Mullen) were dangerously close to the hiding place of the Jews Irena was trying to protect, so in desperation, Irena went to distract them by bringing them hors d’oeuvres. She ended up disrupting a rather intimate moment which resulted in the tray of food being thrown into the air while Rokita and his secretary screamed and ran off stage.

OHS sophomore Rachel Leotta, who played Fanka Silberman, one of the Jewish workers Irena hides, said, “Performing in Irena’s Vow was a unique and fun experience as we were portraying events that actually happened. It was amazing that Mr. Dumas was able to set up a meeting with Irena’s daughter.”

Major Rugemer, although he seemingly despises Jews, has a moment where it is unclear what his motives are.

The character, Herr Schultz, played

by OHS freshman Nolan Callahan, was Irena’s only friend who was nice to her out of the goodness of his heart. The Jews needed Irena to hide them to save their lives. Major Rugemer had his own selfish intentions, but Herr Schultz did not want anything. He helped Irena by not turning her in even though he knew

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he was risking his own position and possibly his life.

Each character of the play was portrayed in depth and layered with emotions.It is clear the actors devoted a great deal of time and effort developing their roles.

Griffin did an outstanding job playing such an intense character and channeling Irena’s spirit through her performance. Griffin’s talent shined in one of the most intense parts of the play when Irena told of the murders she witnessed in the market. Emotion dripped from Griffin’s voice as she described in detail a baby’s head being bashed against the concrete by a Nazi soldier.

In that moment, the entire audience was captivated. The sudden sound of a gunshot as Griffin explained the shooting of the parents made the audience jump, chills running up their spines. It was as if we were in the market with Irena.

Griffin said, “It was a challenge and an incredible experience to play such a strong and inspiring character. But it really made me think more about life and the choices that we as humans have to make. I hope that if people got anything out of this play, it’s that one person can make the difference between life and death.”

December 2014

Sports

14

Home for the holidays. . . and everything else

Despite the fact that Christmas is written on our calendars as December 25, it has always been much more than just one day in my house. For 17 years I have had the luxury of being surrounded by the love and warmth of an entire season not just one day.

Although I am sure that I will come home for Christmas no matter where in the world I go to college next year, it will definitely never be the same holiday that I’ve grown up knowing my whole life.

Whether we go straight to work, a local college, or a college on the other side of the country, this is the last Christmas that my classmates and I will experience before we enter into the frightening concept called our future. Whether it is Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukah, or whatever we’re celebrating this season, it’s the last time we really get to feel like a kid before we begin our lives of independence and adulthood.

No childhood experience beats the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning, but it is the smaller moments that I have always known and grown

so used to that I have taken for granted. I still fully expect to wake up on Christmas morning at 19, 20, and 21 years old in the same room I always have and run down to a tree surrounded by presents from Santa for my brother and me, but I am sad to think about all the things that I will miss along the way.

Luckily for me, I was born shortly before Thanksgiving and every year it feels like the beginning of the holiday season for my family despite the fact that the event isn’t exactly marked on the rest of the world’s calendars.

I recently celebrated my eighteenth birthday with my family and although I was surrounded by the people who love me, great food and thoughtful gifts, it was kind of a sad day for everybody there.

I might not be able to come home next year for my birthday depending on where I go to school and I think that thought was really hard for many people in the room to handle, particularly my grandfather. I have a very loving family, but if there is one person in the world who loves me the most, it’s my grandpa.

My grandpa has devoted so much of the past 18 years of his life to watching me play sports, performing music in my earlier schooling, and just spoiling me in general. He even comes to the school parking lot on days it snows to brush off my car so I don’t

CELEBRITY LOOK ALIKE

have to; so the possibility of not being able to celebrate with me next year will be particularly difficult for him.

After my birthday and Thanksgiving, Black Friday arrives, and since we aren’t huge fans of crowds that is an experience that my family is very, very afraid of.

However, the following Saturday or Sunday is generally when we get our Christmas tree and for those of you who have seen National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the experience is remarkably similar. I honestly can’t count the number of Christmas tree farms we have explored of the course of my past 17 Christmases, but finding the perfect tree is never easy and is usually an experience that ends up being cold, miserable, and hilarious all at once.

Although I don’t really see myself missing the cold and tromping around critiquing trees for hours, I will definitely miss decorating the tree with my family. Although we have a million ornaments and it takes FOREVER, I will never forget how much I’ve laughed listening to my dad scream, “Feed me!” as he strings lights around the tree and my mom permanently damaging both my hearing and my soul with her horrible renditions of various Christmas carols.

Another thing I know for certain that I will miss is baking and frosting Christmas cookies with my family.

Typically, I eat way more than I help, but when I have an arsenal of colored frostings at my disposal, I can paint a better face on a Santa-shaped sugar cookie than Pablo Picasso. Meanwhile, my dad hides from the task, my mom has a scarily efficient assembly line going on, and my brother just piles frosting on the cookies to the point where he is the only one that would ever eat the sugar laden creations.

Rest assured, my loving family, I will return for our annual Christmas Eve gathering at my aunt’s house, opening presents and breakfast at my cousin’s house Christmas morning, a second present opening session at my grandma’s house later in the day, and the finale of Christmas dinner at the home I’ve grown up in as long as I can remember.

Although I will remain elusive, buried by stress and work from college while everyone is decking the halls and frosting cookies, I will be there for as many of the moments that I could never imagine missing as possible. At the end of the day, I hope my family knows how much I love them and that the love and warmth they give to me, not only at Christmas, but all year, every year, will be with me wherever I go. Finally, I am grateful for all the memories and love I have been given that have made these Christmases so special and I am excited for all the memories to come.

OHS PARADOX PHOTO CONTEST es z i r P

First Place $50

Second Place $20 Thrid Place ???

Jim Parsons or Isaac Annal?

Buccaneer Bulletin

Send in your three best photos to wshaw@ oswego. org by January 16 to enter! $3 per entry www.buccaneerbulletin.com

December 2014

Sports

Varsity volleyball teams kill their regular seasons and dig deeper

By Rachael Purtell Editor-in-Chief

Both the boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams rocketed past Central Square to earn the title of Section III Champions once again and the boys went on to win regionals and participate in the Division II state tournament. The Bucs and Lady Bucs posted final records of 13-3 and 17-2 respectively.

Girls’ volleyball Head Coach Mr. Ron Ahart said, “I am very proud of the consistency the girls in this program bring. To win 5 league titles and 4 sectional titles in the past 6 years demonstrates their commitment to our program.”

The girls’ team carried eight seniors this year including Marguerite Dillon, Reilly Patrick, Jessica Pfeifer, Alexis Sheridan, Allie Henderson, Carlie Stoebner, Kellie Gorman, and Shanell Meyers.

Senior captain Dillon said, “It was stressful to try to get everyone the playing time that they deserved because there are only six spots and there were eight of us and everyone worked hard to try and earn a starting spot, so it was hard to spread the time out for all of us.”

The girls, however, handled their roster and individual roles well and never lost sight of their goals as a team to win and be successful throughout the season. Ahart said, “I thought all the girls getting along as a team and accepting the roles into which I put them definitely helped us. Plus the team has worked hard year around.”

Although senior captains Dillon and Patrick both agreed that Central Square was an easy opponent to conquer, the competition they faced at regionals was more intimidating. Dillon said, “Burnt Hills has not lost a game in twenty years in their league with their coach.”

Ahart stated, “In the American Conference Tournament we faced 2 sectional champions and 2 runner-ups to win the tournament. So I would say we did well. In sectionals we faced a solid Central Square team which we had played earlier in the year and knew what we were facing. In Regional we faced 12 time Section 2 Champion Burnt Hills and they were very tough. All their team specializes in one sport: volleyball.”

Key players this season for the Lady Bucs included Patrick leading in aces and assists with 54 and 404 respectively, Dillon leading in kills with 240, sophomore Clara Culeton leading in blocks with 30, and Pfeifer leading in digs with 100.

Patrick said, “I will miss the feeling of being on a team.” Dillon agreed and stated, “I think what I’ll miss the most is the comradery that you have.

When you get a good kill and you look to your teammates and they’re all there for you, it’s really sad not having that and seeing them in school every day.”

The girls had a very close bond with each other, which played a huge part in their success this year.

Ahart said, “Usually we only have about 4 seniors on the team. But the entire team made it work so we could be successful. They were all good teammates to each other.”

Their counterpart, the boys’ volleyball team carried six seniors this past season including Captain Josh Carney, Patrick Dillon, Mike

Buccaneer Bulletin

Edwards, Captain Zach Gillard, Emmett O’Brien, and Matt Samson. They also played under a new head coach this year; Mr. Eric McCrobie, a sixth grade teacher at Riley Elementary.

McCrobie stated, “It was slightly nerve racking to come in as a first year head coach for a varsity team. Luckily, I have spent the past two seasons working with the varsity team, and most of the same guys that comprised our squad. This allowed me to feel comfortable with the team I had my first year and focus on the behind the scenes tasks such as paperwork, post-game press reports, submitting statistical information, etc.”

Carney agreed that McCrobie fit into his coaching role very well. He said, “It seemed as if Coach wasn’t even a new coach. He was the assistant for the past two years, so there was no awkward period of getting to know a new coach.

He brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the team, which we fed off of. I know he will do great things in the coming years as the volleyball coach here.”

The boys also beat Central Square easily at sectionals and swept past Burnt Hills and Elmira Free Academy to earn their spot in the Division II state tournament. Unfortunately, the boys finally fell and went winless during the tournament losing twice to Eastport South Manor and once to Victor.

McCrobie said, “Unfortunately, we did not play our best volleyball once we reached states, but we absolutely deserved to be there, and had a chance to take home the title. Victor ended the tournament with the crown, and they had a very talented team this season that gave us a run for our money every time we faced them.”

Key players for the Bucs included Gillard leading in aces, kills, and blocks with 39, 369, and 31 respectively, Carney leading assists with 471 and recording 27 blocks, junior Trevor Bradshaw leading in digs with 113 and recording 24 aces, Edwards with 31 aces, and O’Brien with 20 blocks.

McCrobie, however, believes that the key to the team’s success was the leadership shown not only by captains or key players but by other teammates on and off the court. He said, “There were times when we got off to a slightly slower start that we anticipated, and certain individuals stepped up and made something happen when we needed it. It wasn’t always the same guy, there were always a few different people who could put a spark into the team at any moment.”

Carney said that he will miss playing a sport he loves every single day with teammates who he has become so close to over the years. He stated, “I would like to thank every teammate I have ever had on the volleyball court for the great memories that will stay with me forever.”

McCrobie added that he was proud of the boys’ accomplishments this year and expects the team to go on and continue to do great things for OHS. He said, “This season both the varsity (17-0) and junior varsity (16-0) teams went undefeated. This is the second time since the revival of the program that has happened. The last time was when Josh Carney, Zach Gillard, Mike Edwards, Pat Dillon, Matt Samson, and Emmett O’Brien were freshman... I sure hope history continues to repeat itself.” www.buccaneerbulletin.com

15

Buc Sports Flashback 1 year ago… * Erica Atkins won All League, All CNY Section 3, and Fourth Team All State for Volleyball. * The boys Volleyball team had won a total of 17 games out of 20.

5 years ago… * Michaela Auer placed 38th in the 100 yard backstroke. * She broke a school record and qualified for the New York State championship.

10 years ago… * Hillary Callen finished her season of swim with 500 freestyle and a trip to state championship * She placed 1st in 500 freestyle

15 years ago… * Aaron Taylor Austin earned a bronze medal in the noviance dance event at the 2000 North Atlantic Regional figure skating club * He qualified to compete at Eastern Sectional Championship 20 years ago… * Melissa Ryan placed 1st at the 19 team Phoenix Coed Relays for Track and Field. * She ranked among the section leaders in 400 meter hurdles.

25 years ago… * Girls track finished with a record of 9-2 * They won four league titles, two sectional titles, and two New York State Championships.

Editor’s Note: Buc Sports Flashback is a monthly feature of the Buccaneer Bulletin.

If you have any events that you would like to see included in future Buc Sports Flashbacks please contact Chase Pelton at cpelton@oswego.org. This month’s Buc Sports Flashback was compiled by Morgan Haynes.

December 2014

Buccaneer Bulletin Sports Volume 3 Number 3

Oswego High School’s Student Voice

December 2014

ATHLETES OF THE MONTH CHRISTIAN DAVIS MAYRALIZ LOPEZ

By Courtney Osmun Business Manager

By Elizabeth Sincavage Chief Photographer

Junior Christian Davis plays a crucial role for both the boy’s varsity swim and Senior Mayraliz Lopez has been swimming since she was just five years old cross country teams. After dabbling with football in middle school and freshman year, with her sister when they were looking for an after school activity.

Davis decided cross country and swimming were the sports in which he could excel.

Lopez began swimming for the Oswego Laker Swim Club. Throughout her Davis began running cross country sophomore year and has become a key player swim career, she has swum on both the modified and the varsity swim teams. for the team. Cross country is a race for teams and individuals in which they run over Swimming is a great way for Lopez to get away from all of the stress she natural terrain in a 3.1 mile race. Since it is held outdoors, weather conditions can encounters throughout the school day. The team helps with this, as it has become vary. During practice, the team runs up to ten miles. a great support system she has been able to become dependent on.

This season, the cross country team went 2-6 which was an Lopez’s favorite memory of the swim team is going to sectionals every year improvement upon previous years. The Oswego High School and seeing how well the team performs. cross country team is the smallest in its section which can Girl’s varsity swimming coach, Josh Lerch, has helped Lopez tremendously prove to be a challenge when competing against larger teams. when it comes to swim. He has coached her since she and some of “We’re a very small team and it’s hard to compete with her teammates first started swimming about 12 teams with twenty plus guys, but we were able to win against years ago.

ESM and Mexico,” stated Davis.

“Mayra really excelled in several swimming Davis’ favorite cross country memory was running a half events, which helped the team out a lot at our marathon during the season for practice, which he completed meets this season,” said Lerch. “ Her speed in in a hour and 35 minutes. “I planned on running a hour the 50 freestyle helped to earn our 200 freestyle and 45 minutes and surprised myself a lot. It was pretty relay team a Sectional Championship and then awesome.” allowed us to go on to State’s to compete, but Davis’ best time was 18:35 at the McQuaid she brings so much more to the team than Invitational in Rochester. “Next year, I hope to get just times. Mayra brings an incredible work down to a low eighteen, so around an eighteen flat ethic and positive attitude to her team. Her for next year.” smile can light up the room and she is Davis has high hopes for next year, “This team always willing to swim anything I want was strong and next year looks strong as well and her to, even if it is an event she doesn’t hopefully we’ll get a few more wins.” particularly enjoy or a difficult set that With his cross country season coming to a close, she definitely will not enjoy.”

Davis is back in the pool. Davis began swimming in Although Lerch is sad thinking eighth grade without previous swimming experience. about the team without Lopez next year However, Davis has grown to love the sport during he knows this team is tough and will be his four year experience in the water. able to pull through without her, despite “I like the competitive spirit. I like how you race there being a “big hole to fill.” yourself and race for better times. I like how it’s a really Lopez says that she met her goals difficult sport and works your whole body, muscular and for this season by going to states mental endurance,” said Davis. along with breaking the pool record Davis swims the 100 yard breaststroke. His best at Mexico for the 200 free relay with time is 1:05:27. He placed seventh in state qualifiers for fellow teammates Caitlin Gorton, Mariah breaststroke his sophomore year. Davis was voted swim Metcalf, and Elaina Rando. team captain as a junior. “It could have gone to one of the Lopez said, “The team did awesome this older kids but I was glad to become one of the captains,” year, despite losing a lot of seniors last year.” stated Davis.

OHS Junior Elaina Rando has been Davis has already set goals to accomplish this season. swimming with Lopez for years and stated, “This year, I’m hoping to make states in the 100 breaststroke “Mayra is the hardest worker on the team, she and sectionals for 100 free and 200 individual medley.” The pushes all of us, and inspires the team to work individual medley is a combination of butterfly, backstroke, harder. I will miss her leadership and work ethic. She breaststroke, and freestyle. always pushes me to be a better swimmer.”

Davis is also hoping to place in state qualifiers for the medley “She never gives up and always gives every swim relay and make it to state competition. Last year’s swim team went her all. She’s also positive and encouraging during 9-2, only losing to Liverpool and Auburn. They placed fourth at tough sets to everyone.” said varsity swim captain and sectionals for class A, and fourth for state qualifiers which included OHS senior Angie Rookey. every swim team in section three.

Not only does Lopez play a major role on the Fellow swim team captain and OHS senior Ben McCrobie swim team, she also maintains a highest honor stated, “He is always the hardest working person in the pool. roll status and is also a part of National Honor He takes every part of every practice seriously. As one of the Society. top swimmers on the team, he was integral to our success Lopez is not yet sure if she would like last season, and will continue to be a major player both this to swim during college. She plans to major in season and next year. Everyone on the team can look up to biochemistry next year.

Christian as a leader.”

As this past season was Lopez’s last season On top of competing in cross country and swim, Davis is swimming as a Buccaneer, she will miss going to swim PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY COURTNEY OSMUN the secretary for the OHS Student Council and a member of meets and having fun with her teammates. the school’s Tech Club.

Davis plans to swim in college. “I like LeMoyne but would prefer to go out of state. My brother swims at LeMoyne and it looks like a good team and a good Editor’s note: “Athlete of the Month” is a regular feature of The school.” Davis plans to study criminology and would like to have a career in law Buccaneer Bulletin to showcase some of the top athletes here at OHS. enforcement.

If you know a student who you think would deserve to be an athlete Davis is a promising student and athlete and will undoubtedly take the lessons of the month, contact Chase Pelton at cpelton@oswego.org. learned participating in these sports and apply them throughout life. With the goals he has set and the attitude of a dedicated athlete, Davis has a bright future ahead.