Volume LII
Sixth Edition
May 2018
Sophomore Caesar Plays
Jack Herman Page 19
Page 2
Eastern Regional High School
1401 Laurel Oak Road
Voorhees, NJ 08043
Memorial planned to remember Joseph Lauer’s sacrifice By JESSICA BONAMASSA ‘19 News Editor e love our red, white, and blue and feel utmost respect for those in uniform who defend it, which is why members of the community have collaborated efforts to create a memorial in Eastern alumnus Joseph Lauer’s name. Joseph Lauer was a selfless man who died in the name of honor and ultimate sacrifice in 1968 during the Vietnam War. After being there for only 23 days, he died in an ambush in Quang Tri Province. He is Eastern’s only graduate to die in combat. Heavy controversy and protest coincided the Vietnam War, which made it even more of a bitter reality for the soldiers abroad. Despite the realities, 19 year old Joseph Lauer believed in the cause and enlisted in the US Marine Corps to fight for freedom. “When the war started, it really wasn’t
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a war,” said Courier Post reporter Carol Comegno. “The war generated much protest that started among college students. They turned their anger onto the soldiers when they returned home. The soldiers were told not to wear their uniforms when they came home so as to not create controversy,” she said. The war spanned over a period of 20 years, resulting in an estimated 58,000 deaths and roughly 150,000 wounded. “Because the Vietnam War left a sour taste in people’s mouths, soldiers were not recognized by name [on monuments],” said Carol. “Jay” or “Joey” as his friends and family call him, was in the first graduating class of Eastern in 1967. John Masso and Jack Ganfluff, also members of the Class of ‘67, were moved to create a memorial honoring their peer. John reflected on his time spent with Jay, saying “we called See LAUER on Page 3
New direction for Voorhees Town Center
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By ALEX MACKLE ‘18 Editor-in-Chief
he Mall at the Voorhees Town Center may be headed in a new direction, according to the Voorhees Township planning board, who unanimously approved a plan that could utilize eminent domain for some of the mall. The Township Committee unanimously approved the measure on May 15. In 1970, the Echelon Air Strip was developed into a brand new complex, now known as the Echelon Mall. Nestled in Voorhees between Ashland and Kirkwood, the mall was a major attraction during the first stage of its existence. The mall featured countless anchor stores, and even a movie theatre. Surrounded by apartments, there was constant foot traffic, with others traveling from around the area in order to shop.
With no direct access to major roads, competition from other area malls, and a general loss in interest, the Echelon Mall began to falter around the year 2000 with the departure of Sears, which only came to the mall two years prior. Soon after, JCPenney also closed its store. By 2007, there was a revitalization project that came in conjunction with a new restaurant district and apartments, rebranding the Echelon Mall as The Mall at the Voorhees Town Center. While things initially looked promising, with Voorhees Township even moving their municipal building to the mall, a decline occurred once again. The former Echelon Mall changed ownership in 2015, and the Macy’s, originally Strawbridges, closed. This left only one anchor store—Boscov’s. The mall, currently owned by Namdar Realty Group, has continued to decline commercially, with many once-bustling store fronts now occupied by either of-
The main hallway memorial case displaying awards and honors of the Photo by Staff Reporter late Joseph Lauer.
Athletic Hall of Fame
See ECHELON on Page 3
2018 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES ENGLISH GARDNER .... CLASS OF 2010 KELSEY MITCHELL .... CLASS OF 2010 GENEVIEVE OKORO .... CLASS OF 2010 LOGAN RYAN .............. CLASS OF 2009
The former facade of Macy’s lies dormant, reflecting many other areas of the former Echelon Mall, now the Mall at the Voorhees Town Center.
Photo by Alex Mackle ‘18
SPECIAL RECOGNITION VICKI FIBLEY ..... FORMER COACH/STAFF DR. JAMES TALARICO ..... FORMER ADMINISTRATOR Pictured: English Gardner and Mr. Fulton, English Gardner and Logan Ryan
2 The Voyager
News
May 2018
Students honored for academic achievements
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By RUTHIE DOUGLASS ‘19 News Editor
s late April rolled around, many students eagerly awaited receiving that letter, email, or in-person approach informing them that they have been accepted into an honor society. Honor societies are Eastern’s way of recognizing students for their achievements in not only grades, but also hard work, dedication, and good character in a multitude of different fields. These inductions serve as a way to formally welcome newly honored students, providing them with a certificate and/or pin for each society. However, it is more than a piece of paper and metal—it is a symbol of respect and recognition for those Eastern students who may not be recognized otherwise. The first induction of the year was for all of the World Language societies. Spanish, French, and Latin combined into one ceremony on April 11th to celebrate the students who have excelled academically in their own World Language classes. Latin teacher Mr. Mercurio said, “It is a great time for all the languages to come together and celebrate their
high achieving students.” On April 25th, both Tri-M and National Honor Society inductions took place. First was Tri-M, the society that honors the musical students of Eastern that participate in select band, orchestra, or choir classes. Tri-M stands for “Modern Music Masters,” designed to honor the classics of music, while remaining in the current era. To be admitted, students must have a high average grade in their music classes, as well as audition with a classic song during one of the Tri-M recitals throughout the year. Mrs. Akinskas, the choral director of the school, as well as the advisor for Tri-M, said about the inductions, “It’s a nice end to the school year to honor the students who have been working really hard all year both in their class ensembles, but also working privately on their personal recital pieces.” A number of students were inducted, ranging in grades from sophomores to seniors. Luke Magette, a sophomore in select chorale, inducted into Tri-M said, “It’s a really cool thing to be a part of, especially to be recognized for the hard work that I put into my grades and my music.” After the conclusion of Tri-M inductions, students pre-
pared for their inductions into the National Honor Society. Perhaps the most selective and honorable society, it is built on the principles of considerable service, leadership, character, and scholarship, making NHS a very lengthy application process. Students with a grade point average of at least 92 or higher are initially sent a letter inviting them to apply. From there, students must fill out and get multiple different forms signed to validate work in service and leadership, as well as write a personal essay speaking about their own character. After review, it was concluded that 45 Eastern juniors would be inducted into the National Honor Society this year. Reeya Vasisht, a junior inductee, said, “I am very proud of myself and my peers for this really cool accomplishment that we all worked really hard for.” This is the time for Eastern students to be proud of their hard work. These are only the honor society inductions that have occurred so far. Eastern is full of honorable students that deserve to be recognized through the multiple societies that exist for many different subjects.
Paul Stankard takes material from the past and sculpts the future By HANA HANCOCK ‘18 Opinion Editor
“I Indoor Drumline competes in Wildwood
Indoor Drumline competed at the Atlantic Coast Championships in Wildwood from May 3rd to May 6th. They placed 4th. 1st place went to Lower Dauphin High School. 27 students from Eastern participated. This is Matt Blood’s first year as director. Mylinn Batipps serves as Head of Battery with Jackie Wallowich in Visuals and Enoch Jeon as Head of Pit. Photo courtesy of Mylin Batipps.
’m sharing my golden m e m o r y. I’m at the end of my journey and you’re at the beginning of your journey.” This is how South Jersey glass artist Paul Stankard began Glass artist Paul Stankard shows Mr. Tull one of his Photo by Hana Hancock ‘18 his presentation to creations. Eastern art students they’re real and that’s a win. I have an on Friday, April 27th in the Recital attitude that my labor is my prayer. I Hall. Stankard, who is originally from think spirituality is a primary ingredient,” Massachusetts, showcased some of his Stankard said. intricate glass orbs and explained how he Whitman’s celebrated themes of the came to work in glass art over forty years appreciation of nature and the relationship ago. Over the years, he has made over between humans and the natural state 5,500 glass sculptures. are particularly apparent in Stankard’s Proudly donning a Salem Community Botanical Series, a series of human forms College sweatshirt, Stankard explained and flowers suspended in glass. Stankard how after graduating from his alma mater, began this project in order to “push he worked in the scientific glass industry experimentation and bring the same depth for nine years before switching over to of feeling in my work as Whitman brings glass art in 1972. in his poems.” “I loved the idea of melting glass and With all of the complexities in his manipulating it with my hands and work, Stankard said that he encounters making instruments,” he said. challenges all of the time when it comes The Millville Rose, a glass paperweight to the process of creating his art. which he considered a “lost art,” was an “Every step of the way. There is a lot object of his fascination in the early years of risk taking in my work. Meaning I’m of his career. constantly pushing the process, pushing Starting with small glass animals made the limits of the material,” Stankard said. in his spare time, Stankard switched “When I focus on sculpting a flower in over to glass flowers. Over time, he glass, I research it as much as possible and gradually began to introduce more visual look at illustrations. I prefer that because information into his glass orbs. it’s a human interpretation rather than a Stankard said that the intricate process of photograph, which is mechanical.” sculpting the glass flowers and other bits The actual glass sculpting consists of glass artistic media that go into his orbs of dipping the tiniest pieces of glass and paperweights takes about 100 hours, repeatedly into a flame. Stankard makes give or take. all of the components with a gas oxygen “It depends on the level of ambition. flame and encapsulates them in clear I’ve done large assemblages that mostly glass, which he drops onto the colored are in museums now. I’m represented in glass. Then he adds glass to the bottom about 100 museums around the world,” and heats the whole sculpture in a heating he said. Some of these museums include chamber. the Metropolitan in New York and the Currently, Stankard is crafting pieces Philadelphia Museum of Art. that retail from $6,000 to $10,000. Stankard cited Walt Whitman’s “Song For any young artists looking into glass of Myself,” Northwestern painter Morris art, Stankard said to “familiarize yourself Graves, and even contemporary work with the field. Identify 4 or 5 area colleges like Dave Chiluhly as having particular that offer glass. I’m a product of Salem influence or inspiration on his work. Community College. And you can go Emphasis was put particularly on online and survey contemporary glass.” Whitman, who “celebrates the common To see more of Stankard’s work locally, man” and “nurtured my artistic maturity.” visit Wheaton Arts in Millville, New “I’m interested in presenting the glass Jersey, where a retrospective collection in organic credibility. Even though my of 75 pieces will be on display until flowers can be imaginary, people believe December 31st.
May 2018
News
The Voyager 3
Sophomore students bring Julius Caesar to life
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By AVA HANCOCK ‘20 Staff Reporter
n 2018, English students found themselves on stage performing a play written in 1599. Lines of the famous The Tragedy of Julius Caesar echoed through the Performing Arts Center throughout April, as Mr. Fulton’s sophomore students presented their scenes they had so
Catherine Nguyen poses dressed as Julius Caesar.
carefully rehearsed. Why study a play so ancient that average students have to turn to the internet to decipher the old English? “It teaches you life lessons about loyalty and trust,” Cera Ong said. She thinks that the tragic story of Caesar is important for high schoolers to study because under all of the “thee”s and “shalt”s, the morals and themes presented within, like power and pride, are significant topics for teenagers to grasp. Besides the personal morals taught, Cera also credits her improved memorization skills to the project. “It helped me learn how to memorize things because I had to remember all of my lines in a short amount of time.” Though some may have stumbled into the theater expecting an awkward, poorly lit show filled with awkward pauses, the scenes were well-rehearsed and complete with props, lighting, and backgrounds. By the end of the performances, it was clear that the students had become more educated on the story of Julius Caesar and had possibly discovered some theatrical talents they didn’t know they had within themselves. Cera said, “We can all learn something from The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, no matter how old it is.”
Sophomore AH English students hold their dead Caesar while dressed to play their parts.
Photos by Val Lapinson ‘21
Check out more Caesar photos and an exclusive interview with Mr. Michael Fulton online at www.voyager-online.org!
Memorial to remember only Eastern alumni killed in action during war continued from page 1
Left to right: The conceptual drawing of the memorial site, a photo of Joseph Lauer. him Jay or Jaybird on the football field. He was on the field as a freshman. Jay was a handsome dude all the girls looked at and made a fuss over. He had a girl in school, Susan Kenn. They were inseparable. Having a small class of only around 125 students, everyone knew each other, which is why Lauer’s death was difficult to process. “It was surreal,” said John. “It was graduation night one year later, and he’s laying in his parents’ living room in a coffin. It’s been kind of difficult.” However, through collaborative efforts, Lauer’s sacrifice and honor are not to be forgotten. John and Jack went to the Board of Education back in June of 2016 and got initial approval to research the job. “It took quite a lot of research,” John said. “The big thing is the stone itself, and then the pavers. The paved project proposed was bigger than we had envisioned.” Cooperation and support for the project has flowed from all directions. Garrison Architecture, which is Eastern’s architect, composed a conceptual drawing of the site. The board meeting in December 2017 resulted in unanimous approval to proceed with the project. The American Legion in Gibbsboro has made significant donations as well. “The Legion has been very gracious to this program. Hats off to them,” said John. Even through some difficulties, mem-
bers of the community have continued to ensure that spirits remained upbeat for this project. Masso and Gangluff have received frequent inspirational notes from fellow graduates and people from other graduating classes. “They’re not long letters, just notes, but that’s helped prop us up a little bit on occasion,” said Masso. “It’s good to see that people support not only with checks, but with their hearts.” The memorial is to be constructed after school is recessed for the summer, thanks to donations made within the local communities.Within just two months of creating a GoFundMe, the Masso family saw $14,635 raised out of their $20,000 goal, which does not include money raised from separate donors. The memorial will be of substantial size, and the area surrounding it will be transformed with pavers, shrubbery, and landscaping. The memorial will be at the flagpole near the school’s main entrance, with benches on either side. While this memorial honors Joseph Lauer, it also shows appreciation and acknowledgment for other local veterans. It is appropriate that Eastern has shifted their attention away from sports and extracurricular activities and towards service and dedication, which are things of unfathomable importance. “We should be able to celebrate his sacrifice and a life that was cut short,” said Mr. Tull. This memorial serves “simply as re-
memberance for those who gave all for our country,” according to English teacher Mr. Fulton. “I also think it brings a sense of closeness to real world situations. This definitely brings pride to Eastern,” he said. Joseph Lauer has touched the lives of not only peers, family, and friends, but students and educators decades after him. Many students are inspired by Lauer’s sacrifice. “Students can learn the traits of hero-
ism,” said junior Keith Grous. “This memorial shows the sacrifices people in our small community have made to benefit a larger community: the United States,” he said. The community is defending Lauer’s honor just as he defended our country. We cannot forget the courage, fearlessness, and bravery of this marine, as we do many soldiers over time. This local marine’s legacy will not only inspire students, but future soldiers.
ECHELON continued from page 1 fices or simple temporary walls. While Even Mike Friedman, the board’s only the other vacated anchor stores have been demolished, an empty Macy’s serves a grim reminder of what once was, a glass barricade covering the entrance. Under the plan, the township will be able to obtain parts of the empty mall and Macy’s, with the seemingly successful Boscov’s being exempted. The former Echelon Mall is the highest individual taxpayer in Voorhees Township, and the planning initiative has found the Macy’s building and surrounding area to be wasted space that could end up costing taxpayers. There appears to be some malice towards towards Namdar from members of the planning committee, with Deputy Mayor Jason Ravitz saying, “We feel like we’ve gotten a lot of lip service.”
Republican, said that he is willing to move away from his conservative views in this case, clearing the way for government intervention. Namdar purchased the property for over $13 million in 2015, but Township Director of Community and Economic Development Mario DiNatale said that “they are hoping it fails,” with the intention of demolishing it in order to build residences. Dinatale is also the chairman of the Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation, which has its headquarters in the mall. There is no consensus at this time. A full demolition of portions of the mall is unlikely, but the board has pursued having a third-party appraisal as a part of the process.
Features
4 The Voyager
May 2018
The upside to upcycling: make new from the old By EVELYN STEELE ‘21 and BRYCE DERSHEM ‘21 Staff Reporters
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he United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that more than sixteen million tons of clothing waste was produced in 2014, but only a small fraction of these clothes were recycled or reused. In response, a question about the actions one can take to depreciate their “textile footprint” has gradually arisen. One solution is upcycling. This new style of reusing one’s old clothes has recently come into vogue, receiving praise from the fashionistas and plebeians. Junior Nancy Bowne, a frequent upcycler, explained that “a lot of the dyes and a lot of the water that goes into clothing pieces really hurt the planet.” However, she said that upcycling acts as “a chance at a second life [for clothing].” Casey Nyman agreed. “I find it’s really easy to look past throwing perfectly good items away and wasting materials,” she said, “but upcycling takes trash to treasure. Not only is it just as exciting as buying a brand new item, but it’s even more eco friendly!” Upcycling can turn nearly any “trash” item into “treasure” clothing. Mia Cohen, a well-practiced upcycling artist, knows this better than anyone, having upcycled everything from dog clothes to Halloween costumes to skirts. Mia explained that ever since her grandmother took her shopping at thrift stores as a child, she has possessed a particular affinity for reusing clothes. “I enjoy seeing clothes being repurposed and not thrown away,” Mia said. Nancy Bowne experienced a similar passion for upcycling, but she found hers in that of an
old pair of leggings. After finding a video tutorial on Facebook, Nancy began upcycling her first pair of leggings, sparking a new fervor in her heart. From this, Nancy has upcycled everything from jeans to denim skirts to leg warmers. Casey Nyman’s advice is to take a look at the materials you have and the items that you use on an everyday basis and think about how you can DIY them yourself. “If you look around, you’ll start to notice how easy and simple it is,” Casey Nyman said. “Creativity is key!” Upcycling may seem like a lot of work, especially compared to going to American Eagle, but adding a creative flair to clothing can help develop confidence. As Nancy Bowne said, “Upcycling for me is finding my own style that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to find elsewhere in a store. It’s kind of my personality, and being able to create things on my own is pretty cool.” An old pair of jeans with a nail polish stain can turn into a paint splattered statement within minutes. An oversized shirt can fit perfectly with a knot tied in the bottom. Patches are always an easy way to go and give any piece of clothing life. Tie dying doesn’t only have to be a memory from summer camp. A white shirt can cost $1 at a thrift store and by tie-dying the shirt, it’s transformed. Thrift stores also have a ton of clothing, all of which have a ton of potential. Goodwill, Nifty Thrifties, Samaritan Thrift, and Village Thrift are just a few stores near Voorhees Township. Spending $100 on two shirts and a pair of jeans at Hollister is appealing to no one. With $50 and a little effort, a thrift store shopping spree can provide better clothing than any store in the Cherry Hill Mall. Overall, when people say, “I love your scrunchie! Where did you buy it?” would you rather say, “Oh, I think Forever 21,” or “This old thing? I made it!”?
Nancy Bowne shows off her collection of upcycled clothing.
Solid colors, baggy jeans, and straw bags are in and more ink for bold colors. This is great because it gives people options! If you don’t like to wear pastels, then you have the option of wearing a bold color or vise versa! Color denim is also making a comeback, which was popular in the early nineties. “Even walking through the mall, I saw a lot of pastel jeans,” said Heyers. Jeans are also transforming, becoming wider, oversized, and more comfortable. This trend is transpiring mainly because designers want to sell more products to people, therefore they need to make extremely different products. It goes from one extreme to the other. “If it is a trend and it’s subtle, people are not going in and buying it,” said Heyers. When you do such an extreme transformation, then people are more willing to buy the new items. This can also be seen with the new tiny matrix sunglasses. For so long, it was the giant sunglasses that basically covered your entire face. Now, it is “how small can you make then so they just cover your eye!” Some of them are so small, I don’t think you can consider them sunglasses! More of this extreme trend comes with swimwear. For so long, womens’ bathing suits have been bikini style and it was shameful to wear a one piece. The only time you wore one was if you were swimming on a team. Now, one pieces are hip with crazy cut-outs and patterns. “All one piece and a bunch of cutouts,” said Heyers. They are harder to buy, because you can’t mix match the sizes. But it is a huge shift from what we have seen. We have Miami fashion week to thank for this because they run resort wear! Not every trend was covered in this article and so many trends from last year can apply to this year as well. Overall, be true to your style, but keep a look out for what is happening in the ever-changing world of fashion!
: R A E W By LAUREN CASOLE ‘19 Features Editor
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old colors, fringing, ruffles and more. These are just a few of the trends that have been seen at Spring Fashion Week 2018. The catwalks in Paris, New York, and Madrid dictate what everyone wants to be seen wearing this spring and summer. Pastels are cooling things down with their soft and delicate appeal. Pale blues, yellows, pinks, and purples will be dominating the color wheel. “Along with the pastels, there are bold colors too,” said Eastern fashion teacher Mrs. Heyers. It may seem confusing at first, because why would pastels and bold colors both be popular at the same time? This just means “no to the neutrals,” said Heyers. Colors in pastels and colors in bold. No neons or neutrals like black, white, and khaki. The spring and summer looks will be dominated by saturated colors, with less ink for pastels
Nordstroms in Cherry Hill put all of their new summer clothes out on display.
Photos by Lauren Casole ‘19
Features
May 2018
The Voyager 5
Has the promposal craze lost its razzle dazzle?
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By HALEY ALLESBROOK ‘20 Staff Reporter
he general trend, it seems, is that prom proposals are becoming a thing of the past. The history of prom proposals has been a tradition since 2001 when the Dallas Morning News was the first newspaper to print a story using the phrase “prom proposal.” A student rep commented on that story the same year, “Our generation loves doing it bigger and better and prom is one event where you can get to really show off—your date, your clothes.” From 2002-2005 boys were leaving petals in girls’ driveways, building board signs, filling yards with balloons, and making announcements on the school loudspeaker and even on planes! In October 2005 a show called “Laguna Beach” aired an episode on a prom proposal where men had to woo their girlfriends with extreme proposals. Facebook and Twitter opened in 2006 along with Tumblr in 2007 and by 2011, YouTube had become a platform where over 20,000 prom proposal videos were uploaded within a one-month period. By 2012-2013 there became a period where singers, professional cheerleaders, and other celebrities were asked to prom by random students via messaging and emailing. Finally, in 2014, most claim we hit “the peak of proposals.” Although some still believe that this prom tradition will never die. “Not many people like them and some people don’t like being called out in front of everyone,” said one junior. “It makes it hard to make a decision.” Promposals, many think, are not seen as often anymore. Some people say this is because of social media. Social media showcases photos and experiences from around the world, so as a result, expectations have risen. Everyone wants the perfect proposal to tweet about or post on Snapchat or Instagram. It isn’t so much about the
moment of the proposal, but rather the amount of people who see it and like it afterwards. “Today, that is all teenagers care about. It’s that age where everybody cares about how they get asked or how nice their dress or suit is or how great the girl’s hair and makeup look,” said another junior. Many teenagers today don’t want to put in that much effort if it’s only for the likes. Many are choosing to either propose in a simple, nonextravagant way or to propose and not go public about it. Those students who choose not to go public with their proposal then decreases coverage on social media. However, when asked, students do have some recollection of prom proposals they have seen. “Spring of 2017, a girl got asked by her boyfriend to the spring formal. She got asked at home when her boyfriend showed her a sign that said ‘It would be sweet if you went to prom with me’ with a candy taped on the sign.” Another student said, “My one friend, she was asked to junior prom and he got her candy and a teddy bear.” But for Danielle Hoppenfeld, simplicity was the key. “I have been asked to prom but it was very relaxed, and I prefer it that way because I’m not an extremely public person.” One junior actually recalls his proposal he made to a girl this year for junior prom. “Yes, I made a poster with a corny line on it and I got her candy. GT student and Model UN delegate Ben Dias It was simple,” he said. He did not have it published. prom-poses to his prom date with a poster and candy. “I don’t believe asking people to prom in extravagant Photo supplied by Ben Dias ways is going to go away anytime soon. It was so big looking it’s appeal,” said Danielle Hoppenfeld. in the past few years and people were making a huge “I don’t believe this tradition is going anywhere,” she deal out of it, but recently the topic hasn’t been getting as said. much attention and that’s probably why some believe it’s
Going to the prom single By LISA TRACZYK ’19 Art Editor
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here is something magical about prom night. Perhaps it is the beautiful dresses and the tailored suits, or the carefully applied makeup and the perfectly combed hair. Whatever the possibility, prom leaves all who attend with a piece of the night to remember in the future. However, this single question has arisen time after time: “What if I don’t have anyone to go to prom with?” Surely, going single to prom can be quite daunting, especially when all of your friends have someone to go with. And to think about how single you are when dates begin to collect into the center and slow dance? How Artwork dreadful. No need to by Cynthia Meas ’21 worry, let this not be a problem. Going single to prom can actually turn into one of your best nights. As Beyoncé once said, “Me, myself, and I...that’s all I got…”. If you aren’t inspired to go to prom single yet, then imagine this: you’re dressed up, picture perfect from head to toe. Everything seems to be going right. Except for one major flaw: you hate your date. Nothing is going right because you two just don’t get each other. But maybe if you just shake away the fact that you hate your date, tonight will go by fine. Except it didn’t, because even past the hesitant smiles and constant selfies, your date was still, well, them. Your careful selection for the perfect prom date was going south in the worst way possible, and now you’re trying to avoid them the entire night. And let’s not mention that they are definitely not getting an Instagram post. How are you to explain yourself on the ride home? Awkward. Just go single and this problem won’t happen. Did you know that 53% of teenagers don’t attend prom? Most state going alone as one of the top reasons for not going to prom. If having a date is important to you, there is always the option of asking a close friend to go to prom with you. Besides, going with someone you are familiar with can be more rewarding when it comes to having fun prom night. Or, if you muster up enough courage, take a chance and ask your crush to the prom with you. Even if they say no, at least you took a chance and won’t regret not asking them. All in all, prom night is fun and a way to celebrate how far you have come before you graduate with the people you care about. Whether you have a date or not isn’t a big deal—what matters is enjoying the moment.
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Features
6 The Voyager
May 2018
Photo of the Month
The girls lacrosse team poses with Coach Heck (center with hat) after surprising her with cookie cake and balloons for her 50th birthday. Photo by Nancy Bowne ‘19
What to do in the area
Hike Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill off of Rt. 561 is a great spot to enjoy the aspects of nature.
Canoe the Batsto River
Spring is a great time to go down to the pine barrens and enjoy the beautiful lakes, scenery, and forests. People often drive to Batsto lakes to kayak and swim. The best of going to the pine barrens is that it is free, and only an hour drive from Voorhees. The options for having fun are endless here in the “natural world.”
Mini golf at Pleasant Valley
from May 24th to the 28th. There will be a parade from 3-5 on the 24th with ships coming from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Bermuda, and Portugal.
Visit park at Stoneleigh
Stoneleigh gardends opens to the public in Villanova. This 42 acre estate has been turned into a magestic garden for families to enjoy with its 10,000 plants, 350 trees, and mile long walking path.
Hang out at Spruce Street Harbor
Pleasant Valley is the spot. It’s cheap and fun and has excellent water ice. If you get a hole in one on the last hole, you get a free golf coupon.
Spruce Street Harbor Park opened up Friday, May 11 and will run through Sunday, September 30.
Browse Historic Smithville
Camden County Library’s Voorhees branch will be hosting a book sale on Friday June, 8th and Saturday, June 9th from 10am to 9pm. There will be over 50,000 items from books to CD’s and audiobooks. Check out the first day’s sales for the best selection.
Historic Smithville is a fun-filled town in New Jersey with activities for kids, restaurants, and shops. The town is full of events year round and is never short of things to do. Smithville is great for a family day trip or a quiet weekend at a bed and breakfast!
Hoagie Nation
New Music, old music, the festival for all. Great new musicians and Hall & Oates run it. Train will be joining them. All day free hoagies, all day music. It is an awesome experience every year in Philly.
The Tall Ships are coming
Penn’s Landing for Memorial Day. Nearly a dozen ships will be in town
Library Book Sale
Franklin Institute
The new exhabit “Game Masters,” open now through September 3rd, showcases the work of over 30 innovative game designers and their creations. Attendees can test their skills and go for the high score on over 100 games! Learn how all of your favorite game characters came to be, by walking through the history of gameing open only Thursday through Saturday from 9:30 am- 5:00 pm. Be sure to check it out before it is too late!
By JOSH MEYERS ‘21 Staff Reporter Q: Should I load my resume with clubs and activities that I do not like, just to appear diverse for college? Or should I do what I love to do? A: Doing something that makes you happy is always the way to go. Yes, colleges like to see that you are in different clubs and activities besides school, but lying to them about activities that you don’t do is not the way to go. Try to perform in as many activities that you like before college, so you can pad your resume with truth and not lies. Colleges like to see that you do things outside of school. It could even affect if they accept you. Try to do as many activities you like before you write your resume. That way you can pad your resume with things you like, not dislike. Yeah, I’m only a freshman, but I’m smart enough to know that lying is wrong, especially when it’s to a college. Q: My parents cannot stop checking PowerSchool. I try to
tell them that they need to trust me with my own life. What advice do you have for them? A: At some point, your parents have to trust you. You need to show them that they can trust you. So, my advice is to tell them that you aren’t a little kid anymore and you can handle responsibility without parent supervision. In life, you have to stick up for yourself against anyone. Standing your ground is important. Make a good case of getting trust from your parents and show them you don’t need them to watch your every move because they won’t be able to do that when you get older. Tell them that it’s better for them to trust you now then to never trust you.
Q: I’m scared to ask my teacher for a recommendation What should I do?
letter.
A: I advise that you ask a teacher that you feel most comfortable with and that you feel would love to write you a recommendation letter. Also, ask students around the school about which teachers have written a recommendation letter for someone in the past.
Features
May 2018
The Voyager 7
“Pretty soon there will be nothing left” Human activity causes decline of species
T
By GABRIELLE GILHAM ‘18 Staff Reporter
he decline of animal species on Earth is becoming worse and worse each day. John Sutter from CNN writes that nearly one-third of the 27,600 land-based mammal, bird, amphibian, and reptile species studied are shrinking in terms of their numbers and territorial range. In the same article, Anthony Barnosky, who is the executive director of the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford University said, “...we’ve wiped out 50% of the Earth’s wildlife in the last 40 years. It doesn’t take complicated math to figure out that, if we keep cutting by half every 40 years, pretty soon there’s going to be nothing left.” The recent death of the last male Northern White Rhino has motivated people to speak out against the rapid extinction that is occuring in species. The 45 year old rhino named Sudan died on March 19, 2018 at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya due to an infection on his back right leg. The rhino was unable to mate with the two last remaining females, and now the sub-species faces the threat of complete extinction. National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale wrote, “Today, we are witnessing the extinction of a species that has survived for millions of years but could not survive mankind.” Rhinos in Africa, along with elephants, face extreme danger from poaching for their skin and horns. Trophy hunting, or individuals killing an animal so they can put it up on the wall or use it as a rug, also threatens species. Along with poaching and hunting, there are two main activities that increase rates of extinction. The biggest issue is loss of habitat. And the second is climate change that countries across the globe are slowly experiencing. Climate change plays a big role in the populations of animals experiencing extinction because it, “could be changing the food source,” and it, “can also cause migrations,” environmental and chemistry teacher Mrs. Praesel said. Some examples of these spectacular animals that are being threatened from extinction include the giant otter. The largest otter in the world has made it on the International Union for Conservation red list of threatened species, because their aquatic habitats are being destroyed. The Amur Leopard has also made it onto the list because it is one of the world’s most endangered wild cats, already extinct in China and Korea, and only 60 are left of the species in Eastern Russia. It is important to care about what is happening to these living beings because, “the loss of a single species can result in a death of an entire ecosystem… all animals on Earth are interconnected… if one crucial species is jeopardized, it may result in the collapse of the food chain and in turn, the life in that localized area,” senior Aakash Tripathi said. There are numerous negative effects humans roles are
playing that are impacting what is happening to the wildlife on Earth, from destroying habitats for homes and agriculture, to polluting the atmosphere, ground, and oceans with harmful greenhouse gases and waste. But there are many organizations and individuals who are taking action to preserve these species. A law called the Endangered Species Act, “designates their habitats” and enforces that “standards will be set to protect the most sensitive species in that designated area,” Mrs. Praesel said. In Hawaii, when a monk seal, sea turtle, or any other endangered marine life comes onto the beaches, the life guards are to call a local protection group that sends volunteers to block off the area and monitor the animal so no harm will come of them while they are enjoying their natural activities. Speaking out for animals that can not fight for themselves has been a growing movement in today’s day and age. “It’s become a more common practice for the average citizen to do something,” biology and environmental science teacher Mrs. Jacoby said. Normal citizens and students can aid in decreasing the amount of species suffering from the hands of extinction. “They can be an advocate and
“The recent death
Artwork by Hayley Beluch ‘18
spread the word about the issue in order to raise awareness and increase funding towards organizations working to solve this issue,” Tripathi said. Young individuals should especially be aware of this growing situation that the world faces, “Because they are our future, students are our citizens that can make a difference,” Mrs. Jacoby said.
Data from World Wide Fund for Nature
of the last male Northern White Rhino has motivated people to speak out against the rapid extinction that is occuring in species.”
Correlation between human activity and species decline
Graph by IFLScience
Drawing of Sudan, the Northern White Rhino who died, grazing on the grass. Artwork by Gabrielle Gilham ‘18
Check out other articles about the environment at www.voyager-online.org!
Opinion
8 The Voyager
Shortlived PARCC hopefully meets its deserved end
P
ARCC and standardized tests have long been a topic of contention and heated debate. With Governor Murphy’s new plan to remove PARCC, or Partnership for Assessment of Readiness For College and Careers, within the next year, the debate has been rekindled as to whether or not PARCC has a place in New Jersey schools. The PARCC assesses students based on English Language Literacy and Mathematics to determine what it takes for students “to succeed in entry-level, college courses and relevant technical courses” and “the knowledge, skills, and practices students performing at a given level are able to demonstrate at any grade,” according to PARCC’s official website. The test assesses students on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 indicating the greatest need for improvement in a student’s performance and 5 indicating the strongest performance. The test is transitioning towards being completely administered through technology, and in the 2015-2016 school year, the vast majority of students took the test on a computer. As of April 2018, the states that have active PARCC membership are the District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Mexico. New Jersey is the only state with intent to withdraw membership. At Eastern High School, many students do not take the test as seriously as they should, with a plethora of students “opting-out,” or “refusing.” An overwhelming amount of the Voyager staff had “refused” in past years. Some said that they thought it was a pointless test and didn’t feel the need to participate because it didn’t count against them, while others were able to automatically opt out because they fulfilled testing requirements just by being in AP English
classes or Pre-Calculus. Because passing the PARCC test is not a graduation requirement for students graduating in 2018 and 2019, students were also able to opt out with certain SAT scores. It’s almost as if PARCC had a foreseeable end as soon as it began. The technology aspect was a learning curve that never truly saw a resolution. While PARCC was busy attempting to incorporate new technologies to stay on top of trends, test creators never considered how students like their schooling to be separate from their technology. The time it takes to figure out how to insert a square root on an iPad is time wasted on answering another question. Many consider PARCC to be an outdated assessment that takes away from class time and forces curriculum to align with material covered on the PARCC test. Governor Murphy’s platform has been committed to ending reliance on PARCC testing and putting an end to the practice of standardized testing for graduation requirements. So far, the first steps towards ending PARCC testing have been made, with the state Department of Education soon forming a testing advisory committee to find a replacement. It is unclear what this replacement will be, and since the SAT seems to be an unpopular contender, the state has a lot of searching to do. Most of the staff has no issue with this change as it’s considered to be a waste of precious school time for everyone involved. Low test scores reflect badly on teachers, students, and the school district. Since it’s very likely that Eastern’s scores are skewed from so many refusals, it is a poor reflection on our excellent learning community that everyone involved in has worked tirelessly to accommodate and cultivate. A step away from PARCC means a step towards better learning.
“It’s almost as if PARCC had a foreseeable end as soon as it began.”
Eastern Regional High School 1401 Laurel Oak Road Voorhees, NJ 08043 856-784-4441 www.voyager-online.org
THE VOYAGER
Alex Mackle, Hayley Beluch: Editors-in-Chief Srishti Ramesh, Shreya Gowda, Julia Dodd: Managing Editors Hana Hancock, Maanasi Natarajan: Opinion Editors Ruthie Douglass, Jessica Bonamassa: News Editors Karina Madrid, Lauren Casole: Features Editors Jaimie McCormick: Entertainment Editor Crystal Osuji, Layla Turner: Assistant Entertainment Editors Anthony Cutrera, Eric Horn: Sports Editors Lisa Traczyk: Art Editor Nancy Bowne: Copy Editor Staff Reporters
Haley Allesbrook, Hayley Bricker, Paul Brown, Olivia Covington, Cameron Davis, Bryce Dershem, Aliyah El-Muhammad, Gabrielle Gilham, Ryan Ems, Ava Hancock, Tanner Koch, Val Lapinson, Jordan Lewis, Ryan Margolis, Cynthia Meas, Josh Meyers, Matthew Morante, Nick Ray, Dan Rinne, Jacob Saifer, Evelyn Steele, Matt Steinsaltz, Robert Sundstrom
Walter Bowne, Advisor: Room 605
Letters to the Editor
Submit signed letters to Room 605 or email ehsvoyager@gmail.com
Awards
The Garden State Press Association, “Overall Excellence” The American Scholastic Press Association “First Place with Special Merit”, “Overall Best Sports Coverage”
May 2018
Short-e-torials
Artwork by Sakshi Sehrawat ‘18
AP classes: the pros and cons AP classes are very popular among high school students across the country who plan on attending college, exposing them to the rigor of a university-style class. However, many feel that while students should be encouraged to challenge themselves and there is value in taking these higher-level courses, AP classes are often pushed on students who may not necessarily be ready for them. Generally, if a student is succeeding in a honors class, AP English Language and Composition students guidance counselors will encour- wait to take their AP test. age them to take an AP class, but while some students may be capable, they are more interested in working with their hands or in artistic endeavors. Meanwhile, students who are not ready to immerse themselves in AP courses may be struggling to keep their grades up. Nonetheless, AP classes give students more experience in preparation for college-level classes, and they give students more opportunities to be independent and responsible.
Bring Your Child to Work Day Bring Your Child to Work Day is an exciting day for children, allowing them to experience a day in their life of their parents. Originally called “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day,” this annual event, started in 1993 by Gloria Steinem, was meant to encourage young girls to join the workforce—but in 2003, the holiday was officially changed to include both boys and girls. The staff agreed that the day is important for bonding children and parents by allowing children to see their mothers and fathers outside of a home environment, and allows kids to be exposed early on to different careers to see what impact they want to make and in what field they want to make it. More than 37 million Americans at over 3.5 million workplaces participate in Bring Your Child to Work Day, and for good reason: it can provide children with a glimpse into adulthood.
Mrs. Akinskas with her two sons on “Bring Your Child to Work Day.”
Voorhees Town Center
After a long history of vacancy, the Voorhees Town Center is planned to be redeveloped. At the latest Voorhees Township Planning Board meeting, they approved a “report encouraging the township to designate certain areas of the Voorhees Town Center mall complex as areas in need of redevelopment,” which would mean the township would redevelop and sell the property. Although they are unsure of this timeline, the township has already reached out to organizations for these renovation plans. There will be a public hearing to figure out what to do with the space. In the past, they The Food Court in the Voorhees Town Center. have had short-lived success, but that ended after Exhilarama, J.C. Penny, and a movie theater were all vacated. The people that currently are living in apartments adjacent to the Voorhees town center have been notified that action or decision will take place before the end of June and they will be filled in accordingly. Some speculate that the closer buildings may be affected by construction.
May 2018
Opinion
Great take on “broken families”
Love and hard work evident
RE: “Not all broken families are broken” Excellent! A positive way to look at an unfortunate common fact of today’s society. Becky Goldstein
As always, it is evident that a great deal of work and love went into this edition. It is packed with tons of great perspectives, informational pieces, and persuasive essays. I can especially appreciate your effort as I’ve spent multiple lunches the past two weeks in Bowne’s classroom, watching you work while I worked on my schoolwork. With this edition being as large as it is, it is understandable that some mistakes make it through the cracks, like how questions 5 and 25 of the college visit questions are essentially the same. However, it seems mistakes are actually less prevalent in this edition compared to prior ones. Your work does not go unnoticed and I look forward to the next edition. Sincerely, Connor Tracey
College Edition was a God-send You guys have completely changed what this newspaper stands for. This year you’ve made it personal to the students, staff, and the community, helping then anyway you can. The College Edition of “The Voyager” seemed like a Godsend to me. For a guy who hates talking about the future in terms of school, job, etc … , this made me feel as if I was home, reading my peers’ response. People like Justin Choi, Shreya Gowda, Maanasi Najaratan, Gabriela, etc … are people who I see in a day to day basis. Their advice seems the best because they know what an Eastern kid, like me, goes through when picking colleges. The board game was really funny and an amazing improvement. Photoshop could use work, and the art (electronically printed) was an “ehh.” The hand drawn artwork was amazing! This was by far one of your best editions! Thanks for making this possible! Hayder Khan
Photoshop skills need improving The picture of the life board on page 16 and 17, seemed a bit pointless to me. Although I thought the editing of it was cool, most of the writing is blurry and hard to read. Also the multiple “The Game of College” cards around the main board, were hard to differentiate because they all look so similar I didn’t even realize that they all had different words on them. One thing I did like was the “Guess the College” game on the back. I saw people at lunch trying to guess with their friends. Sincerely, Kealy Huder
Good mix of visuals There is a good mix of visuals, and I especially liked the advice given about colleges. It was also very helpful to include rejection and ways to go about applying. The Questions to Ask section was interesting as well because many times on college tours you are so overwhelmed you go blank, so it was nice to know key things to ask. Although the main focus was college, you did a good job ensuring there was a mix of topics and articles. Gemma Spina
The Voyager is stellar! Although a majority of this edition is almost perfect, there are definitely some points for revision. The pictures fit the articles very nicely but the colored photo on the front should be black and white like the rest of the selection. There are also only nine schools in the top ten schools list, a minor error but it exists. Most of the green screen images such as mine look stellar...yet some such as TJ’s look subpar. This edition is one of the best and I found the articles very interesting. Justin Choi’s article is humorous and attempts to shut down the “tiny hords.” Very nice job! Jack Lee
Honest, intelligent, genuine Wow. With some of the most honest, intelligent, and genuine articles, this edition was extremely helpful. One of my favorite articles was Justin Choi’s “One senior’s advice to all those tryhards.” It is almost refreshing to see how a student as smart as him gave advice that just tells people to live their life. Getting panicked about college is so easy, and throwing away your health and life to study is not what we should be doing. Rather, we should follow the helpful advice of students like Justin Choi. Ronak Thakur
College Edition helped the process I really enjoyed reading about the various aspects of applying to college. It brought up issues such as important questions I want the answers to before applying or committing to college. There was a lot of writing about not consuming yourself with school and appealing to college but not a lot on how to balance this with the inevitable stress of high school and pressure to be surrounded by people who care about things similarly to yourself. Emma Gubman
Vocational schools needed in coverage!
The Voyager 9
Outrage culture is not the answer
William Arthur Ward once wrote that “It is wise to direct your anger towards problems—not people; to focus your energies on answers—not excuses.” And while both sides of the aisle may argue that since the 2016 presidential election, they’ve been channeling their frustration into constructing feasible answers, the political divide is still prominent— and more vicious than ever before. This contention is not by virtue of just one thing, however—it is a result of the buildup of news stories and revolutions arising from both parties, although it is most commonly associated with liberals. The #MeToo movement, the March for Our Lives (not to be confused with the March for Life, a pro-life march held each year in Washington), and #NeverAgain have been hot-button issues, causing debate between all types of people, no matter their political party—and made way for what many are now calling “outrage culture.” Outrage culture, at least as I know it, is the ideology that we are supposed to get angry everything—one politically incorrect comment, one slip up on live television, one misunderstood accent. We are to post about it on Facebook, saying how we can’t believe that someone would ever dare to ask us to say something one more time, or make a funny comment about our appearance, or god forbid mispronounce By MAANASI our names. NATARAJAN ‘19 I first realized the severity Opinion Editor of outrage culture when I was scrolling through Facebook somewhere and I saw a family friend post about the white privilege her friends had while she, an Indian, was discriminated against. What she failed to add was that she lives in a very nice apartment complex in Brooklyn and sends her children to private school. This constant need to be angry arises out of one thing only: self pity. We, as humans, want to feel important and cared about, and when someone infringes upon that, there’s no letting it go. They must be “called out” for it. There must be backlash. Take, for example, the H&M scandal that happened in January. The African-American community lashed out at the clothing retail company after a black child model was photographed wearing a hoodie that said “Coolest monkey in the jungle” for the company’s website. People immediately turned to anger, vowing never to purchase clothing for H&M again, convinced that it was done on purpose—that they didn’t even stop to consider the possibility that the photograph was taken without any ulterior motive. While it is perfectly fine to get angry about things, it is not fine to get angry about everything. Anger is the least productive emotion— it wallows in self-pity and recklessness; it does not achieve anything without the help of ambition. The message that the left should be sending is willingness to change the things they cannot accept rather than simply getting angry about them and waiting for the next unbelievable event to happen. Until then, every time something we cannot stand for happens in society, it would do us well to sit down and think of a solution rather than lash out right away.
The Voyager earns 1st Place with Special Merit in national contest
I believe this edition could definitely have included an aspect on vocational and technical schools. I knew what major I wanted to be, along with several of my peers, since I was in eighth grade. Therefore, I attended Salem County Career and Technical High School. Through there, I gained exposure to the medical field and also gained experience (medical courses like medical terminology, hospital visits, meet potential employers, etc.) However, I also noticed that many students, by the end of freshman year, changed their program of study. I feel like this edition could have included this option of attending vocational schools if they already have decided on a career choice. Yumi Cho
Not all frats are dangerous
I see the fraternity piece in the paper, and I like how it defines the type of frats. Not all are dangerous with hazing. There is a ton of brotherhood and companionship baked into being in one. It truly went against stereotypes. Sydney Hegedus
The Voyager was one of only fifteen high school and college newspapers in the country to earn this distintcion from the American Scholastic Press Association. The Voyager garnered 960/1000 points. The Voyager also won Overall Best Sports Coverage in the nation.
10 May 2018
Reconstructing E
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If someone can go through four years of high school and still think that Eastern doesn’t recycle, there’s a problem. It goes beyond the logistics of separating plastics from food waste—it’s indicative of a careless school population in the wake of increased environmental detriment. According to Container Recycling Institute, in 2014, the U.S. sold over 100 billion plastic beverage bottles. That’s only bottles—not including plastic bags, straws, or other single use plastics. We at Eastern have contributed to that statistic. Every day, I see plastic forks and straws all over the floors and filling trash cans, when we should instead be taking motions to reduce and ultimately ban single use plastic at Eastern to contribute to a more sustainable earth.
The primary/secondary grading system needs to be changed. Another new modification was enacted last year—the primary and secondary grading system. This grading system sets students up for failure. If a student fails a primary assessment, like a test or a project, but gets 100’s on the next three secondary grades, like a quiz, their grade won’t budge. With this grading system, students aren’t given a fair chance to improve their grades because one type of assignment has more of an effect than the other.
Send ehsvo gmai
Create a more co sonal finance. Th solid one, but in r dents of how to ha entail. What high how to file taxes, a mortgage, etc. P and in a less mem that will help them
I have yet to meet a person who does not know the story Yet here we are in the second semester, and we’ve been exte day. Why are we allowing students to come in late while oth times posted in the student handbook? If we allow students not only does it disrupt teaching, but it sends a message to s for class don’t have to be followed. I have a handful of frien tion to the first bell anymore. Instead, they say, “If it’s going should I get up early?” Instead of enabling this behavior, Ea tougher on students who don’t pre-plan well enough to mak
Education
ddresses ways we the school system
d us an email: oyager@ il.com
In the spring of sophomore year, my basement looked like a scene straight out of Halloween. My hands were caked in crimson blood, as the paint dripped down my arms and pooled at my feet. Countless nights I transformed my basement into a host for the gory Julius Caesar stabbing to prepare for Mr. Michael Fulton’s Shakespeare play project. It was a provocative, albeit grisly, experience. But immediately after disrobing my Roman garments, I went into my next class and filled out the same scantron sheet that has been embedded in my mind since I entered the mundane educational system. How is it possible that one of my classes can incorporate such creativity into assignments, while I take objective tests in my other classes? Every teacher in this school should have the courage to incorporate these daring assignments into their classwork to engage their students in work that has more interdisciplinary connections.
omprehensive “life course” as opposed to perhe idea of personal finance on paper sounds like a reality, personal finance does little to inform stuandle finances and what adulthood may actually school students need is a course that teaches them how to invest, how to open a bank account, what’s Personal finance informs you, but only on the basics morable way. What students need are the life skills m during and after college.
y of the boy who cried wolf. ending attendance almost every hers follow the attendance s to come in late every day, students that the starting times nds who don’t even pay atteng to be extended anyway, why astern administration should be ke it to school on time.
Read The Voyager’s complete list of suggested changes on voyager-online.org
Pay our teachers fair compensation. When I used to co career, many peop nsider teaching as le would balk or te a ll me outright wha be (especially som t a mistake that wou e teachers themselv ld es). I remember th can’t do, teach.” Te e quote “Those who achers are a mixed bag, you have good each year of school ones and bad ones , and we often com plain about them al our own laziness. l just to scapegoat Teachers are meant to be inspirational, empathetic. We ne encouraging, and ed teachers in our nation who care ab have a tangible pa out students, who ssion for their mat er ial and are paid ac ing the next genera cordingly for educ tion of leaders. at-
and state uired o t g req rdin , acco es meet the y, then, s t n e d h let nt ath nis. W er t stude tball to ten s while oth o n g o o from f active seas class durin ym eir ass ing th etes from g undane cl m l , om th mpt a is pointless is time to c . h h t t uld e d from instead us E class wo ld aP ey cou areer than lc ationa
t are your estions?
The Voyager 11
Instead of having a real understanding of what they learn in courses, students often memorize information for an exam, then forget it immediately after. There are also many students who need entirely different teaching strategies than what is offered by teachers at Eastern. According to learningstyles-online.com, there are seven different learning styles: visual, aural, physical, social, solitary, verbal, logical. If a physical learner who learns best when performing the activity has a visual teacher who only writes notes on a board, that student will perform badly because they are unable to learn in that way. Schools tend to attribute poor test performance to laziness and poor studying habits, but the lack of variety in teaching is also a string factor.
Teachers need to be more understanding/accommodating. Though teachers use the old “I was a student once too” line all the time, it sometimes seems hard to believe with the amount of work they give. On average, a high school student spends three and a half hours on homework every night. On top of that, most students play sports, play an instrument, or are in a time-consuming club. Teachers often seem to forget that high schoolers have lives outside of school, and that seven hours of schoolwork inside the building is more than enough. With limited homework, students could have more time for extracurriculars, which are also extremely important for college, and would be able to do the work they’re assigned more diligently.
12 The Voyager
Opinion
May 2018
Single use plastics are the Earth’s present and future accounts of marine wildlife dying from suffocation from plastic bags and birds dying with plastic caps in their digestive tract. By 2050, according to the Plastic ake a moment to imagine your Pollution Coalition, there will be more daily routine, with emphasis plastic in the ocean by weight than fish. on how often you come across That’s why it’s more important than plastic. Think of the plastic bags ever to look to the UK for guidance on you use at the grocery store, the straws how to reduce plastic waste so as not to you get, often without asking, in most damage our oceans and land at the current diners and restaurants, the water bottles devastating rate. you bring to school or work, and even the Prime Minister of Great Britain Theresa coffee stirrers you use for your cup of joe May just announced a new part to the 25 every morning. Year Environmental Plan: the ban of all Each of these items has one thing in sales of single-use plastic. This includes common: they’re single-use plastic. plastic bags, Q-tips, and straws. We, as humans, have created a society This comes as a continuation of previous dependent on plastic because of our bans, including the attachment to fee on plastic bags convenience. that reduced plastic We’ve created a bag usage by 90% in detrimental cycle the UK. According that now, in a to Forbes, that’s perverted way, equivalent to 9 billion makes it easier to fewer plastic bags in concede to plastic circulation. than to utilize According to May, environmentally “Plastic waste is f r i e n d l y one of the greatest Use reusable bags like these when alternatives. We, environmental in summary, are grocery or store shopping. challenges facing the destroying our world,” which is why earth just because we are lazy. England has taken a full-frontal approach When someone drinks a bottle of water to decrease plastic usage. or soda and throws away their bottle, it England is providing a successful most likely ends up in the ocean, where example of how we as a society can reduce it will take over 450 years to decompose. our polluted footprint to protect native While it does, it releases toxins that species, while we—the United States— damage marine species to the point are moving backwards at high speed in that some marine wildlife are now born terms of environmental protection. predisposed to pollution. Here we are under a ignorant president In the oceans themselves (not including who supports fossil fuel industries and landfills or any land-based pollution), denies climate change and under a head there are 51 trillion microscopic pieces of the EPA that has a minimal background of plastic, according to Surfers Against in science and reduces research on Sewage. That’s more than 500 times the environmental damage every chance he number of stars estimated to be in our gets. galaxy. So where does that leave us? While we It goes beyond the heartbreaking should be working as a country to follow By HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18 Editor-in-Chief
T
in the footsteps of England, we can’t even come together to agree on the obvious fact that our actions have a negative impact on our earth and its species. So, instead of a holistic approach, we have fragmented efforts by states and cities to reduce plastic waste, without any support from the federal government. This ‘piecemeal’ approach has only contributed to six notable cities with bans on plastic bags and only six notable cities or counties with fees for plastic bags, according to the National Conference for State Legislation. It’s fallen to store owners to look for alternatives to single use plastic—if they’re so inclined. Store owners in Malibu have opted for edible, pasta straws and certain other companies have moved towards recycling programs to reduce their footprint. But it isn’t enough. We are supposed to be the leader of the free world, and here we are killing millions of animals and predisposing our children to plastic pollution before birth. So I urge you all to take action, beyond what’s necessary. Write to your local representative to move towards environmental protection. Just as importantly, stop using single-use plastic (or at least limit your usage). Opt for pasta straws or reusable straws you can buy
Artwork by Hayley Beluch ‘18
online. Use canvas bags at the grocery store. Replace all plastic in your life with a healthier alternative. It’s beyond saying lives depend on it. The fact that millions of animals die every year because of plastic pollution—that’s the established truth. So live your life as you would if you were worried that your children might suffocate on plastic bags they mistake for food, or that you might tear open your intestines from the bottle caps you ingested by error. Live like there’s a soda ring around your appendages, cutting off your circulation. If everyone lived like this, then maybe people would actually make a sizeable decrease in the use of plastic in our country and around the world. Then maybe we could start to atone our pollution and create a safer world for all species that inhabit this earth.
Denuclearization hides more sinister motives for North Korea By HANA HANCOCK ‘18 Opinion Editor
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n April 29th, Kim Jong Un announced his plan to shut down a nuclear test site in May as well as invite experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States to ensure “transparency” surrounding the site’s closing. The announcement comes soon after a historic meeting between the North Korean leader and South Korean president Moon Jae-In. On the surface, it’s a historic step towards peace. Many Koreans, along with the rest of the world, have hoped for this since the peninsula split, a result of the Korean War. However, this move on Kim Jong Un’s part that has seemingly emerged out of the blue is merely serving as a distraction to Kim’s more sinister intentions. The nuclear test site posed for closing is the very one that recently suffered from a collapse that reportedly killed over 200 North Koreans working in the site, rendering it obsolete and damaged beyond repair. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the North using nuclear weapons as a bargaining chip against the Western world. The inception of North Korea’s nuclear program, began by Kim Il Sung, was mounted after the Korean War. It had led the North Korean leader to believe that arming the state with nuclear weapons was a way to protect the regime from Western threats. Fast forward to 2001 when then President George W. Bush named North Korea as an “Axis of Evil” power following the 9/11 attacks. A report was issued soon after discussing possible pre-emptive attacks on countries in possession of mass destruction weapons (North Korea included in that repertoire). North Korea quickly felt the heat and began to resume work on inactive nuclear reactors. Only then did the United States re-enter negotiations. It seems that Kim is following in the steps of his
Artwork by Hayley Beluch ‘18
predecessors to bargain not for peace but for decreased Western intervention. Over time, Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program has only expanded as he sought to build exponentially on the base provided for him by his grandfather. His taunts and threats have only grown as the Trump administration was usheredin ; belittling remarks have been traded between the two leaders and only served to worsen the state of relations between the two countries. If Kim has poured such an exorbitant amount of resources and effort into his nuclear arsenal, then why does he seek peace now, of all times? Put aside all of the usual polite gestures of handshakes and tree-planting and see beyond all of the ceremonial mechanics. Kim Jong Un has made it clear that American intervention
or interference with the unification of the two Koreas is the last thing he wants. While he desires to build up his nuclear state, he also desires the withdrawal of American troops from the peninsula, so that we no longer stand as an obstacle to his agenda. How his nuclear weapons fit into his plan is a bit of a conundrum, since the North loves to flex its arsenal and considers it a part of their identity when it comes to dealing with outside bodies. Both the North and the South need to come forward with detailed plans on dismantling the nuclear program that North Korea so proudly boasts. There has been a long history of mistrust and strained tensions with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It is hard to foresee a future where reunification and peace can ultimately be achieved.
May 2018
Commentary
The Voyager 13
Contemplations on Facebook’s recent data breach The Voyager Staff was asked to respond to the recent allegations against Mark Zuckerberg and his company, Facebook, regarding the data breach surrounding the 2016 election. Here are the responses.
Facebook is not a friend
“S
imply ‘Unfriending’ wasn’t enough.” To Sara Ashley O’Brien, she spent 10 minutes downloading over 14 years of her Facebook data and was shocked to see Facebook had much of the information that she thought she had trashed. Facebook had saved her grandmother’s phone number who didn’t have Facebook nor an email to start with, conversations from her ex of seven years which brought painful memories of when she looked through the conversations, and places and websites that had her contact information that she didn’t even know existed. It even went as far as having every contact she has ever put down in her phone, even ones she didn’t add to her most recent phone. I don’t have Facebook currently and never had one but just to see what websites have my information and how public it really is, I googled my name. The things that came up were shocking and sort of creepy. It had tons of pictures of a guy I liked in the seventh grade, baby pictures of me, pictures of me and my grandmother, pictures of my brother, everything I saved on Pinterest, and probably the most creepy of all every picture of the Voyager staff (including all the articles I wrote, some of them I don’t ever remember). With the Russian meddling exposing 126 million Americans to content generated by the Russian Government and with the Cambridge Analytica scandal where 87 million users’ data was shared with political consulting firms linking to Donald Trump, I believe that Facebook needs to be regulated as soon as possible. With more and more pushes on social media and finding many ways to connect with your friends, sharing your location has been pushed and can be used on literally every social media platform nowadays. A new Snapchat feature allows you to share your location, and if you minimize the camera screen that pops up when you first open the app, it gives you a map of where you are located for friends to see. I’ve used this at night and it even shows the avatars sleeping when someone is not using Snapchat at night acting as if they’ve “gone to sleep.” As well as
Snapchat, Instagram is also tricking their users into turning on their location to receive icons that can appear on pictures. Some icons have different filters and stickers you can place on photos you take. Snapchat limits the amount of face filters you have if you don’t have your location turned on. I think this should be eliminated and should be listed as an option (not a wall) where you can’t receive the cool filters others have if they have their location turned on. Location sharing should be an option. Along with location, things such as
By VICTORIA LAPINSON ‘21 Staff Reporter
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ext to their bed, on the nightstand, millions of adults and teens have smartphones. More than likely, these owners wake up to multiple notifications, Facebook being among the source of many. Today, users are questioning the safety of Facebook. It is open in the public domain that allows users, without credibility, to share their thoughts and opinions as fact. It is evident, now more than ever, that
Artwork by Hayley Beluch ‘18
By HALEY ALLSEBROOK ‘20 Staff Reporter
An obstruction of democracy?
allowing comments and messages from strangers, emails from websites you recently visited, and pop-up ads should all be optional to protect the privacy of any user. Facebook has been known to lean conservatives into conservative feed and liberals into liberal feed on their home screens. Facebook is only showing them what they want to see. This can lead, and has already, to defensive and hateful speech posted on Facebook from people outraged when someone that doesn’t agree with their views comes across inflammatory posts which only get attention and create a domino effect. Because this issue doesn’t seem to have an end in sight as things operate as is and because Facebook is affecting our elections and our personal privacy, I support the claim that Facebook should be regulated.
Facebook needs regulation. Creator Mark Zuckerberg is under fire for the lack of security around what and who is permitted on Facebook. As it is social media, it’s difficult to control who is on it and if they are who they say they are. With people spreading rumors and creating or spreading propaganda during election time, it is imperative that influential sites like Facebook are aware of what is real and what isn’t for the sake of the public. Facebook is currently cooperating with both the Senate and the House of Representatives to discuss their security measures. The House of Representatives was more pressed on Zuckerberg to give concrete answers. The creator, only 33, deflected many questions and downplayed the severity of the situation. Imagine this: foreign operatives in dark scary caves with dimly lit laptops, posing as forty-three year old Nancy Jones, an
Alabama mother. “She” shares extreme alt-right articles and memes that convince others to vote a certain way. Facebook currently has no way to stop this from happening. And it does happen. This means that it can potentially sway elections. Also, Facebook has access to many of its users’ contact information and data. This can be sold or given away at any time. Recently many profiles have fallen into the hands of Cambridge Analytica. This is a group based in London that collects data to use and sell for profit. Basically, because of Facebook, a bunch of British guys read your texts, see photos, and and control parts of your digital life. All those ads that make you think that your phone is reading your mind? Nope. Most of the time it’s just some people who bought your information figuring out what ads they can feed you. Zuckerberg began his testimony with the Senate by stating that Facebook is built on the premise that it will be used to make connections with loved ones and to be an optimistic company. He stated that Facebook has also been used for positives, such as publicizing public issues like the #MeToo movement, as well as raising funds for Hurricane Harvey. However, he adds that Facebook is not perfect. It’s a powerful network. Zuckerberg says “we didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility and that was a big mistake.” Social media is a huge influencer on many people’s daily lives. A lot of people get their news from it. If what they are seeing is not real or is tampered with, it is an obstruction of their right to hear the pure facts. On the future of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg believes that “making sure that all of the members in our community are using these tools in a way that’s going to be good and healthy” is the key to a safer Facebook and safer internet. So should people be deleting their accounts? Well that’s debatable. For a lot of people it’s already too late, as they probably have your information. It would be incredibly difficult for an entire nation to give up a commodity like Facebook that has become part of their daily lives. It’s obvious that Facebook needs to make changes so that democracy in this nation and around the world can take place without interruption.
Facebook the social media connecter turned publisher By ROBERT SUNDSTROM ‘18 Staff Reporter
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or several months social media has been a subject of conversation across the country. The latest developments in this conversation have landed on Mark Zuckerberg in Congress to testify. After two days of questioning it has become clear that Congress’ main concerns about Facebook’s behavior can be classified into two categories: privacy and news engineering. The problem that is most prevalent and at the forefront of the conversation is privacy. Facebook has been found to be using data about its users to generate profits from third parties. These third parties receive user data relating to everything from your
political party, to who you know, to what you search for. This problem has been occurring since as far back as 2008 when President Obama was celebrated for using what they called “Big Data” to promote his ads on the internet. Why now is this method of advertising and data mining being scrutinized? The answer is simple. As the 2016 Presidential Election seems to have polarized the political hemisphere even more than it previously was, both sides are becoming more concerned with how they are communicating with the public online. Which leads to the second problem, news engineering. It is important to remember that before the internet, people had to rely on the “old media” for all of
their news. The cable stations and the major newspapers were the only sources available for major news and so in a sense, they had a sort of monopoly on what people knew and were exposed to. Though the “old media” of the past was likely more responsible than the current media in maintaining unbiased news, there’s no doubt they were acting as gatekeepers of the information. That being said, their monopoly was blown up when the internet was introduced to the news scene. No longer did people have only a few sources to choose from for their news, they had thousands of sites with instant updates on information they wanted to hear about. A great example of a platform which was allowing anyone to post updates about anything was Facebook. Facebook
became a platform which allowed all viewpoints to be spread and heard, and for that matter, listened to or ignored. It was a brave new world of unfiltered instant information. The problem occured when Facebook decided that they would no longer be a platform but rather chose to become a publisher. They would decide what viewpoints they thought should be heard and what ideas they would promote. They would use private data about you to determine what ideas you ‘needed’ to be exposed to. Facebook has forgotten what it is that made it great. If they are still the company they once were, they will abandon practices like news engineering. They will reverse this dangerous precedent or risk losing all credibility.
14 The Voyager
Entertainment
Oxford Commas Matter By HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18 Editor-in-Chief
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eople often claim that English scholars, especially those interested in preserving proper grammar, are fanatical tyrants, often emphasized by labels like “Grammar Police” (or even, the not very political correct label “Grammar Nazi”). But for what profit do these “officers” point out problematic punctuation or shady subject-verb agreement? I correct improper usage in my head, though I rarely make a habit of correcting someone out loud (that is, unless errors are egregious). But it all circles back to— why correct anyone at all? Quite simply, to preserve the English language. Why? A radical fringe movement has called for the elimination of the single most important piece of punctuation that exists: the Oxford Comma. Now, there are those who don’t know this serial comma, although it’s shown up in recent headlines and even in a somewhat Photo by Kylie Easterday ‘18 popular Vampire Weekend song. It’s one of those issues that one cares deeply for one side or the other. The Oxford Comma is an optional (and I write optional while grinding my teeth) comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items. It’s what changes “Fitzgerald, Shakespeare and Dumas” to “Fitzgerald, Shakespeare, and Dumas.” It reduces confusion arising from ambiguity for lists that don’t pair certain items together. This fringe group has convinced AP and other styles guides to cut ties with the comma, even going so far as to argue that commas themselves, if eliminated completely, would not change the meaning of a work substantially. But, besides the fact that I do—and every person who has ever read a book should—reject that statement, I plead with readers to play along. Suppose you wanted to go to a club with your friends on the weekend, and you noticed the following headline in the news: Club invites famous strippers, Trump and Putin. If the first thing that probably comes to your mind are two world leaders in pasties, I’d say the meaning of the sentence changed quite a bit. Club invites famous strippers, Trump, and Putin sounds a lot better and certainly creates a less horrific image. Let’s play again. Suppose I tell you some people of meaning in my life. I love my parents, Benedict Cumberbatch and Adele. I can tell you with certainty that I’m not born of the Sherlock star and famous singer. But if I tell you that I love my parents, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Adele, it doesn’t sound like false genealogy anymore. But enough of these hypothetical statements. Let’s take the time to look at some real headlines and published sentences that made people double-take. On a dedication page, one unfortunate writer said she wanted to thank her parents, Ayn Rand and God. In a London times story about a documentary, the following sentence was published: highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and . . . collector. Sky News published the following news brief: World leaders at Mandela tribute, Obama-Castro handshake and same-sex marriage date set . . . There are countless other examples, though they aren’t just amusing statements that make people laugh. They can contribute to legal debates and carry subsequent consequences. Just this past year, a dairy company from Maine settled a $5 million lawsuit for truck drivers who claimed they were denied overtime pay. What caused this dispute? A lacking oxford comma in Maine law for exemptions to overtime pay. It denied overtime pay for ‘The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of products.’ Due to the missing Oxford Comma after ‘shipment,’ it was unclear if overtime was denied to workers who distributed the products, or those who packed for the distribution of the products. The Maine law for overtime pay has since fixed their punctuation, but not after costing this dairy company a big buck. And yet some people say commas are both useless and worthless. I don’t think— though I could be crazy— that a $5 million dollar comma is worthless. Oh, and imagine being denied your fair share of inheritance because your parents screwed up their will. If they say “I bequeath unto my children Bucky, Steve, Peter and Wanda my property,” their wealth would be split into three shares. 1/3 would go to Bucky, 1/3 would go to Steve, and 1/3 would be split into 1/6 for both Peter and Wanda. However, if they had included an Oxford Comma, each child would’ve received 1/4 of their parents’ wealth, instead of cheating out Peter and Wanda. Again—to me—that makes the comma worth something, not worthless. So here we are. Radicals are calling for the extinction of this punctuation, while grammar fanatics are spearheading movements like Oxford Commas Matter. Where should that leave you? According to guidebooks, the Oxford Comma is optional (despite my vocal resistance). So I leave you with a choice. You can choose to identify our POTUS as a stripper or call Benedict Cumberbatch your father or pay out millions of dollars to overtime workers. Or, you can utilize a piece of punctuation that establishes clarity and keeps you from misidentifying Obama and Castro as lovers or Nelson Mandela as a demigod. But no matter what you choose, I leave you with this: you can take my Oxford Comma from my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.
May 2018
What’s on Your Nightstand?
WORLD LANGUAGE EDITION I am currently reading (well, actually listening to) After You by Jojo Moyes. It’s the sequel to the novel Me Before You and continues the story of Louisa Clark after the death of the person who had brought her out of her shell and encouraged her to begin living her life. The story tells of her recovery, moving on, and ultimately learning to live again after a loved one’s death. So far, I am enjoying it less than the first book. It may accurately describe a person going through the stages of loss but the main character is portrayed differently than the previous novel and her actions often leave the reader questioning her decisions and motives. I will however finish it since it’s not unreadable! Madame Youse I am on the last few pages of “A Higher Loyalty” by James Comey. For the most part, it is his autobiography and it is
very interesting to learn how he and his career were shaped. He only addresses the Trump phenomenon in about the last third of the book. I am both appalled and intrigued by his recollections. I feel it is important to be aware of as many points of view as possible in our current political climate. Next on tap? I need to re-read Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” but first Mary Alice Monroe’s “Beach House for Rent” is waiting to help me kick off summer. Señora Meyers I’m currently reading My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, which is a story about Alexander Hamilton’s wife and revolutionary war events from her perspective. I’m a fan of historical fiction and I am really enjoying it so far! Señora Koutroulis
Everyone is showing love to “The Hate U Give” By CRYSTAL OSUJI ‘18 Entertainment Editor
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hen you think about the phrase “THUG LIFE,” the first thing that comes to mind are gangsters and street rats. However, THUG LIFE to the late rapper Tupac was an acronym meaning: The Hate U Give Little Infants F**k’s Everybody. Author Angie Thomas uses Tupac’s acronym as the title of her Young Adult fictional novel, The Hate U Give, the heart-wrenching story of what happens to sixteen year old Starr Carter after she witnessed her childhood friend, Khalil, get murdered by the police. Not only is Starr struggling to find the courage to testify about Khalil’s murder, she is struggles to find a common ground in the two lives she is living: white private school Starr and ghetto Garden Heights Starr. When in school, she censors her personality as to not be seen as the “ghetto black girl.” However, when she is around her neighborhood friends, they see her as too good for them because she doesn’t go to school with them. The internal conflict Starr has hinders her voice when trying speak for her late friend Khalil while testifying. She doesn’t want to let her friends know that she was there when he was murdered, but she wants to make sure that justice is served. To top off Starr’s insecurities with her school persona, she also has insecurities about her safety in Garden Heights. With Garden Heights being heavily gang monopolized, as well as her father being a former notorious gangbanger, gang tensions rise with Khalil’s murder. The Hate U Give is a reflection of the larger racial tension and police brutality today in America. With recent rises of movements like the #BLACKLIVESMATTER, The Hate U Give is a book that helps others understand racial tensions.
Angie Thomas pays homage to most of the lives that were taken from police brutality, especially against young teens from troubled neighborhoods: Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and Tamir Rice. She even echos Eric Garner’s infamous line he said right before he died, “They finally put a sheet over Khalil. He can’t breathe under it. I can’t breathe.” Although the book is centered around the heavy topic of brutality, her light hearted and comedic writing style was able to bring light to the story. Thomas referencing popular internet memes and common black stereotypes makes the story relatable and it is able to capture the reader. The Hate U Give is Angie Thomas’ first book and it was #1 on The New York Times’ Best Seller List for four consecutive weeks. It is also being turned into a movie which is being directed by George Tillman Jr, who also directed The Longest Ride and Notorious. The cinematic adaptation has an all star cast: Issa Rae from Insecure on HBO, Amandla Stenberg from The Hunger Games and Everything Everything, and Regina Hall who just came off the summer hit Girls Trip. The book makes a real effort to describe the real meaning of THUG LIFE for readers everywhere.
May 2018
Entertainment
The Voyager 15
Infinity War boasts infinite spoilers
franchise. Underneath the superficial (and entertaining) aspects of the film, there are two things that throw audiences off, somewhat understandably. Below all n the tenth anniversary of its the humor sits two elements that Marvel formation, the Marvel Cinematic relies heavily on in this film: action and Universe (MCU) has made death. history. With the April 27 release of The movie is not of the same mold as Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel Films other Avengers or Marvel movies. There has raked in the highest box office is no backstory or long periods of isolated opening in history both internationally character development—that’s been and domestically. Earning $640 million done, through previous films and endinternationally, without the help of China, credit scenes. This gave the film free the latest Avengers installment nudged range to explore the reactions to Thanos out The Fate of the Furious, the keeper on an enormous scale—again a testament of the previous $541 million record. to how smoothly Marvel was able to Domestically, it beat out Star Wars: The establish the enormity of Thanos as an Force Awakens by over $10 million. opponent. With that, Marvel is riding high on a Every moment of the movie is action. movie ten years in the making. When There is no one fight scene that defines Iron Man opened the Marvel Films the movie. Each character grouping cinematic universe in 2008, it paved the takes the stage for a pivoted battle with way for Captain America, Black Widow, Thanos or his minions. It gives each actor Vision, Scarlet Witch (and plenty more). his or her due screen time (except for a It planted the seed for this film—the few who deserved ultimate crossover a bit more), culmination event that They created success from while providing superhero fanatics have the most ambitious crossover a platform for been craving. event in history, to the point intense CGI Keeping with that audiences should only that rivals the the interconnected be focusing on what comes c o m p a n y ’s storyline that is the next for the earth’s mightiest previous films. MCU, Avengers: It was a risky heroes. Infinity War follows choice, but it paid the storyline of off tenfold as it provided the successful earth’s mightiest heroes as they band foundations on which to highlight the together against the universal foe, cast-list this film righteously boasts, while Thanos. Bringing together more than 23 staying true to this plot as a “battle of all characters from the past 18 Marvel films, battles to save the universe”type story. It writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Or maybe it was Wanda killing her certainly avoided repetition. Markus created a foe that captured the boyfriend so that Thanos couldn’t take his Death was an established force from enormity of this plotline. As Thanos goes infinity stone (whoops—forgot about the the first few minutes of the movie, when on a mission to hunt down all six infinity Time Stone, did we?). Asgardian corpses floated around (with stones to wipe out half the universe, all of Although some critics have called the newly deceased Loki). A studio that so the heroes fight to stop him before he can Marvel’s choice ending to be deflated, it’s (seemingly) recklessly killed off one of its achieve mass genocide. anything but that. They created the one original cast members in the first moments When Marvel released the cast list for ending that could elicit the most outcry, of the movie isn’t going to hold back for this film, it created worries. Incorporating by unraveling the universe they’ve taken the rest of the film. For moviegoers that two dozen superheroes (that have all the past ten years to painstakingly create. went into the film with money in a deaththrived in their own movies) into two Every viewer with a favorite hero was pool (if you’re punny, you may have hours and thirty six minutes doesn’t give met with heartbreak. (Or maybe they just called it a dead-pool) to bet on which each a fair share of screen time. But focused on their main character Marvel’s approach to incorporating the feelings of surprise was going to be heroes was beyond ingenious. Rather Although Marvel filled the when Red Skull killed off, the tone than having Captain America say movie to the brim with popped in out of was a complete, “Avengers Assemble” and following the That’s heartbreak, they succeeded by nowhere. morbid surprise. same large group of heroes in very similar reasonable too.) balancing it out with humorous Expectations befell looking battles, the writers sectioned But Marvel likes to one-liners and exchanges to Robert Downey Jr them off into groups who worked towards joke around, and for help soften the blow. and Chris Evans, the same goal, separately. It gave each those reasonable to among other hero the opportunity to shine in his or see past their heavy characters whose contracts are about to her designated screen-time battles, while heart, it’s pretty obvious this ending isn’t end. But to kill off new members of the keeping each major fight scene relatively sticking. For one, most of the characters MCU (the ones that have been introduced fresh. ‘removed’ from the film have sequels in to replace those who are retiring)—that’s Beyond that, it provided an abundance the making (ie Black Panther, Doctor an unforeseen move. of comedy. Pairing unlikely crews Strange, Spider-man) and many other Thanos’s snap that disintegrated half together, although for grave reasons, gave characters haven’t fulfilled their contracts the universe certainly didn’t spare the audiences a reprieve from the constant with Marvel (like Tom Hiddleston as Loki superheroes. Killing (killing is a bit death throughout the film. Pairings like and Sebastian Stan as Bucky, who still permanent of a word; perhaps we should Dr. Strange with Iron Man practically have quite a few movies left before they use removing) characters like Black cried for the making of their own crossover leave). Then, on top of that, there’s the Panther, the White Wolf, Vision (most movies (though the cries deafened when cryptic words of Loki (“the sun will shine reasonable people would’ve seen this disintegration split up most of these duos on us again”) and the fact that Doctor one coming considering he derives his as fast as they were formed). Chris Pratt Strange saw the one possible victory for intelligence and emotions from an infinity and Chris Hemsworth, playing Star Lord the Avengers out of the fourteen million stone—what Thanos is after), and many and Thor, respectively, provided the most possible ones. So, obviously, him giving notable others, the writers created an memorable respite with Quill’s wounded Thanos the Time Stone wasn’t a foolish unprecedented cliffhanger that was just as ego scene. action, but a calculated one to ensure they trippy as the CGI in Doctor Strange. Although Marvel filled the movie to the stay on the path of possible victory. It leaves audiences with withdrawal and brim (and then some) with heartbreak, So again, Marvel accomplishes a new the confusion that arises from questions they succeeded by balancing it out with feat in record heaviness and heartbreak, like “What part of this will actually be humorous one-liners and exchanges to while still keeping ties with comedy and permanent, and what part will be changed help soften the blow. It’s not often that a lighter, hopeful future that could bring in the next film?” For many, the deaths of a movie can elicit tears, screams, and back the universe. favorite characters created a sense of loss copious laughter within a ten-minute And for those viewers who appreciate so strong. Maybe it was Peter pleading turnover. Though, a lot of the humor is symbolism, Marvel (as always) left a with Mr. Stark that he didn’t want to die. owed to actors veering off script, like bunch, the most notable of which being Or maybe it was the fact that Steve was the Chris beard exchange between Thor that the characters that survived the snap the last word on Bucky’s lips before he and Captain. Again, it comes down to (other than a few minor heroes) were disappeared with billions of others. the marvelous actors that feed into the the original core of superheroes in the By HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18 Editor-in-Chief CONTAINS SPOILERS
© Marvel Entertainment
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Avengers. Hmmmm. . . if only that meant something. Of all the enumerable successes Marvel attained through this film—comedy, heartbreak, intricate action sequences, a fresh take on the some would say overused theme of saving the universe— this film only fell flat in two places. For one, a few of the characters deserved a bit more fuss in their reunion. Black Widow barely said a word, but the most notable was the fact that, after having been separated, best friends Steve and Bucky barely had any screen time when they reunited. Now, yes, it’s certainly a bit nit-picky, especially considering they could’ve met after Bucky woke up on Wakanda before this movie, but it still grates. Secondly, the gauntlet scene. As Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and Spider-man work with Quill and Mantis to subdue Thanos and remove his gauntlet and therefore take away the infinity stones, it was too easy. A ragtag team of a few neglected sidekicks and one hero shouldn’t have come so close to removing a universedestroying gauntlet as they did. Quill’s petulant (though justified) emotions shouldn’t have been what the entire fate of the universe hinged upon. Let’s be honest—if a universal enemy had the ability to bend minds, time, and matter to his will, he wouldn’t be stopped by a five minute action sequence with only one veteran hero. But for all this film’s laurels, these two caveats are negligible. In this film, Marvel was able to reinvent itself after the past 10 years, creating a film that brought together all the heroes in a fight that goes beyond the scale seen in previous movies, with prolific humor and death, reunion and separation. They created success from the most ambitious crossover event in history, to the point that audiences should only be focusing on what comes next for the Earth’s mightiest heroes. Until then, we wait for Captain Marvel (and it seems they do, too).
16 The Voyager
Ten Top LPs
Entertainment
Voyager music critic picks for her all-time favorite albums By NANCY BOWNE ‘19 Copy Editor A trend began on Facebook to post an inspirational album each day for ten days. I was recently nominated and found it a unique opportunity to reflect on the music that has guided me throughout my life. Since I’m all about that inspiration, here are my top ten:
Day 1: “Help” by The Beatles
Okay, so it is not their most ‘critically acclaimed’ album or a ‘masterpiece,’ (I am prepared to argue) but frankly, this album supplies such a warm feeling and closeness to some of my first favorite songs from The Beatles. The rhythms and storylines of the songs are friendly and innocent, yet display early sounds and an introduction to one of my favorite bands. Also, it has its own movie. This ‘movie’ proves The Beatles’ old soul and quirkiness.
Day 2: “Putumayo Kids World Playground”
So when I was younger, I did not listen to much ‘kid music’ (raised on classic rock!). However, these albums were the exception. Putumayo has continued to inspire me to listen to music of other cultures, languages, and sounds. Now, I am eager to scour Billboard international charts to see trends that reach the US a few months later. It is not just for kids, but for the ‘world travelers,’ cultivating all sounds. Check out right now: Manu Chao: Bongo Bong.
Day 3: “Elephant” by The White Stripes
All of their albums are works of art through my eyes (and ears). This album (even the cover) in particular possesses an angst and drive that is oh so thought provoking. It can drive you to dance or to stand completely still. . . always with a running mind. I have grown up with this band and will continue to love their raw heart and beat.
Day 4: “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen
Springsteen captivates a romantic, working class persona to his songs. His music, especially in this album is . . . an experience. One must listen to it in its entirety, as it flows beautifully.
Day 5: “The Out of Africa Soundtrack”
Ever since I watched the movie during spring break of freshman year, the cinematic beauty and sound has guided and calmed me down no matter the stress, decisions, or calamities. The score quenches such rich power and inspiration that personally has helped me continue forward. Out of Africa also opened my deeper interest into other movie scores and their art of storytelling.
Day 6: I’m Wide Awake it’s Morning” by Bright Eyes
When I first heard this album as a young’n, I thought it sounded ‘depressing.’ But as I’ve gotten older and wiser, Conor Oberst’s voice and words resonate and progress in a provoking way. Bright Eyes continues to make me think deeply when a song plays about how our perceptions and emotions change over time.
Day 7: “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd
Their sound can only be appreciated through its entirety of an album. Dark Side of the Moon offers such rich sounds and light chemistry as well. (Fun fact: I have their album, The Wall, on record, hanging up on a wall of my bedroom!) I look forward to discovering more of their music.
Day 8: “Picaresque” by The Decemberists
I have always especially enjoyed the booklet of the lyrics and pictures in the CD case, as they coordinated to the mood of these fanciful songs. They have a sincere voice, so distinct with a bright lift. This album has actually taught me about storytelling and the power of an ensemble. When I experienced this band live last summer, it instilled even more of the camaraderie and beauty that music can contain.
Day 9: “Godspell” by Stephen Schwartz
This musical is a down to earth and dynamic experience. It is still one of my favorite shows that I have had the honor to perform in. It has deepened my faith as well as sense of community. The music is not cliché ‘musical theatrey’ (as I find most modern musicals are . . .) and ties well into folk and vaudeville.
Day 10: “BBVD” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
This is a swing band from the 90’s that still tours. But this band was the early soundtrack of all my dance parties. This album, the band name, charts what music is all about: having an insanely fun time. It is impossible to be angry while listening to the raucous swifts and jives of the brass section. THis debut alumb from 1994 still rocks.
May 2018
Cult classic musical “Hair” hits half century milestone
By VICTORIA LAPINSON ‘21 Staff Reporter
“F
low it, show it, long as God can grow it,” lyrics to the musical’s title song pay homage to some of the staples of the counterculture movement, this being the lack of clean cut people involved. “Hair” is the image of a torn generation. The scene is the late sixties, while tensions ran high because of the Vietnam War. ‘Hippies’ and protesters voiced their opinions on the controversial war, and soon a subculture had been created. The premise of this production was to bring light to the youth of this movement and their lifestyle. The play has many satirical elements, as the writers wanted the audience to have a good time watching. The inspiration for the show was stemmed from what they saw around them, specifically the scene in Greenwich Village streets. “Hair”premiered in October 1967 at a small theater, and by next spring, it was shifted to a Broadway stage. The production made a Broadway debut on April 29, 1968. It had won over the financial backing and the support of the people, which was surprising considering the nature of the show. The play did extremely well on Broadway, attracting people from around the country and getting picked up at other theaters. It would later be turned into a major motion picture. The show was controversial because of how it felt about the Vietnam War, but it then explored
http://www.stageandcinema.com/2011/01/12/hair-tour/
things that hadn’t before been shown on a professional level. The show talked about sex and drugs and even had a nude scene. At the time, this was revolutionary. This performance grew so popular and became the first mainstream rock musical to be a success. The music of “Hair” which was written by a Grammy award-winning songwriter, had gained such momentum by itself that it hit the top of the charts. Some of the highlight numbers were “Age of Aquarius,” “Easy to Be Hard,” “Hair,” “I Got Life,” and “Good Morning Starshine.” In 1969, the original Broadway cast recording won the Grammy for “Best Score from an Original Cast Show Album” and reached number one on the Billboard two hundred. The monumental, prolific, and revolutionary show is really just the world of four kooky countercultures and a farm boy awaiting the date on his draft card. To fans, however, it’s seen more as “Claude, Berger, and the tribe take on the world.” April 29th 2018 was the fifty year anniversary of “Hair” going to Broadway, and to celebrate: it’s recommended to skip the haircut, check out the movie, kick back, and let the sunshine in.
High Expectations for Expectations By SRISHTI RAMESH ‘19 Managing Editor
S
inger, songwriter, dancer, actress: Hayley Kiyoko is many things, and her talents culminated in her debut album Expectations, which was released on March 30th. Prior to the album, singles such as “Curious,” “Sleepover,” and “Feelings” were released with complex music videos that demonstrated the overall concept of the album. However, the theme behind Expectations is unlike other pop albums that are popular today. Kiyoko, who identifies as lesbian, wrote the album to narrate her experiences as a member of the LGBT community. As one of the few openly (and unabashedly) gay artists in the music industry, she has become a role model to many, to the point that her fans have coined her the “Lesbian Jesus.” Additionally, Kiyoko created the hashtag #20GAYTEEN, which was used on one of her tweets at the beginning of the year. “It’s our year, it’s our time,” Kiyoko said, and the hashtag aims to express that 2018 will be a year in which the LGBT community gains support and strength. Expectations has received many positive reviews as her message promotes acceptance and helps normalize LGBT relationships, which still have much stigma against them. Some critics have also called the album “sparklingly refreshing” and praised its polished production.
https://www.daddykool.com/tickets/hayley-kiyoko/
The purpose and emotion behind Expectations is expressed beautifully within its songs. “Palm Dreams” has a summery vibe to reflect its lyrics, contrasting with “Molecules” and “Let It Be,” which close out the album with a more somber tone. “What I Need,” a collaboration with R&B singer Kehlani, is one of the smoothest songs on the album, with Kehlani’s unique vocals and Kiyoko’s tone flowing together into a cohesive melody. Expectations is a well balanced combination of everything that makes Kiyoko’s artistry special, and the addictiveness and fluidity of her music deserves more spotlight in the mainstream music industry.
May 2018
Entertainment
The Voyager 17
Maniac for Panic!: fans await album By VICTORIA LAPINSON ‘21 Staff Reporter
F
ans have fainted. They’ve cried and screamed. A couple have probably gone completely off the rails. To some fans, this announcement sounds like divine intervention. On March 21, Panic! At The Disco, which is run by Brendon Urie, took to Twitter for the announcement of a sixth album. With the announcement, there were also two new songs released that are found on YouTube, with a music video for the track “Say Amen (Saturday Night).” The video only scratches the surface of what’s in store for fans anticipating the new album entitled “Pray for the Wicked.” “Say Amen” is an Alternative Pop Rock track that perfectly fits into Urie’s writing style. The video itself is quite entertaining, as it features Urie gruesomely fighting off ninja-like hitmen coming after a stolen artifact. Fair warning, it’s not for the faint of heart. The other song, entitled “(F*** A) Silver Lining” is a more electrified sound. Urie describes it saying it sounds as though “you could be in a 70s roller rink.” It does however, run entirely on a chorus containing more than an avoidable amount of graphic language. But that’s not all the exciting news for the cult followers of the musician: there is a tour coming. So an album, tour, two new songs, and a music video are all part of Panic! At The Disco’s future, and it looks like they are moving strong. “Pray for the Wicked” is a follow up to “Death
Zoo © Panic! at the Disco
Of A Bachelor,” a Number 1 selling and Grammynominated album. So far, the presales alone look like they may surpass the predecessor. SPOILER ALERT: One thing caught the eye of fans very quickly: the new single is part of the “I Write Sins Not Tragedies/Emperor’s New Clothes” continuation as a prequel. The video for “Say Amen” closes out with the the beginning of “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” which then leads to “Emperor’s New Clothes.” The story, which has been told through these videos, has ultimately been going on for five years since the first part was released. “Pray for the Wicked” is due to release June 22nd, and is available to preorder now, along with concert tickets.
Rocketman launches final flight
Beauty and the Beast
This 4 season television show is a definite binge watch. The storyline follows a detective named Catherine Chandler, who years earlier witnessed the murder of her mother before being saved by what she described as a ‘beast.’ While investigating a recent murder, she finds Vincent Keller, an ex-soldier that is supposedly dead. As the two grow close working together, she learns he was part of a top-secret military program to alter his DNA for heightened performance on the battlefield. As the two fall in love and fight crime, they try and take down the government agency that is out to kill them both. This show is corny, beyond repetitive (just get together, please!), and absurd— but absolutely perfect as a late-night guilty pleasure. HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18
Santa Clarita Diet
This show is as hilarious as it is absurd. Following married couple Sheila and Joel and their angsty, teenage daughter, this show starts as Sheila vomits up an organ and discovers herself to be a zombie. As Sheila’s new id-driven actions (like murder and cannibalism) threaten the family’s status quo, Sheila and Joel work together to adapt to a new lifestyle. This show is a laugh-out loud comedy that is short to watch (only 25 minute episodes) and guaranteed to make you fall in love with Drew Barrymore, in a way you would’ve never imagined. HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18
By VICTORIA LAPINSON ‘21 Staff Reporter
I
t’s safe to say Sir Elton John is one of the most successful individuals of this era. He has over 250 million records sold for his own music, he has countless Grammys, he wrote the score for the award-winning Broadway show Billy Elliot and the soundtrack to the Lion King and Gnomeo and Juliet, and he earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was awarded knighthood in 1998. After more than half a century of composing and traveling, the legend has announced he will be retiring from his touring career after a three-year long farewell expedition. John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight), who had been playing and studying the piano since a young age, had an interest in music for as long as he can remember. His career took off in the late 60’s and early 70’s when he teamed up with songwriter Bernie Taupin and the two became a songwriting force to be reckoned with. However, it wasn’t until the 1970 hit “Your Song” was released that he rocketed into stardom. Countless number one tracks were to follow including: “Crocodile Rock,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Bennie and the Jets,” and “Philadelphia Freedom” all before the halfway point of the seventies. This was only the beginning. His musical career was flourishing, but personally, he struggled. Elton John publicly came out as bisexual in 1976 (he would later come out as gay), which led to ceaseless ridicule and pain for the artist. Fortunately, John was able to overcome the oppression and focus on his music. One staple of Elton John’s career was his ability to collaborate and create music with other artists. In fact, he was the first person to get the then exbeatle John Lennon to perform live again. They collaborated on many projects and remained close friends until Lennon’s death in 1980. He dedicated the song “Empty Garden” to him. Other artists involved with John in his early career were Kiki Dee, Wham!, Neil Sedaka, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Wonder. He was also close friends with Freddie Mercury, Princess Diana, and Gianni Versace, among others.
This show, loosely based off the novel of the same name by James Patterson, follows a zoologist, a reporter, a safari tour guide, a pathologist, and a French intelligence officer as they investigate abnormal animal attacks around the world. As they further investigate, they uncover that animals have developed a biological imperative to attack humans (from lions to household pets). It’s a far-fetched story-line with decent special effects, but it succeeds in both suspense and originality. HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18
On My Block
© Elton John
His relationship with Princess Diana prompted him to perform an altered version of “Candle in the Wind” referred to as “Goodbye England’s Rose” at her funeral. He performed “Bohemian Rhapsody” at Freddie Mercury’s tribute concert. A live collaboration with the since deceased George Michael singing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Goodbye England’s Rose” both turned into Billboard number ones. Elton’s life ever since has simply been a string of accomplishments, such as founding the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and starting a family with his partner, David Furnish. Due to the wonderful changes in his life, including his sons Zachary and Elijah, Elton has determined that now is the time to end his touring. The upcoming “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” will be his last, and will serve as a goodbye to fans who’ve know him for decades. The world tour has over three hundred dates, from September 2018 until 2021. It begins in nearby Pennsylvania, and hits many local venues. Fans can see him in Allentown, Philadelphia, Newark, or hike to another city, as there are eighty five U.S. shows. Larger than life, flamboyant and fabulous, royal and gifted, Sir Elton John is ending his stage life with a “BANG” and fans are no less than ready for the Rocketman to take flight one last time.
Unlike anything else on Netflix, this inter-city dramedy follows four teenage best friends as they enter high school and deal with all the according problems. The show starts off with the four reuniting the summer before freshman year, with Cesar, one of the four, finally joining the gang his family has been affiliated with for years. The remaining three, Monse, Ruby, and Jamal, fight to save him from this life while still dealing with the pressures of joining the football team, chasing the girl of your dreams, and making sure no one finds out about that fling last summer. Despite touching upon harder topics such as gang violence and inter-city neighborhoods, the show still contains the relatableness and romance of navigating high school life and the mystery of a Goonies-style neighborhood myth. With half-hour episodes, this show is an easy way to laugh until your stomach hurts while immersing yourself in a show unique to anything else on television. SHREYA GOWDA ‘19
Lost in Space
Set years in the future, the Robinson family (John, the ex-military father, Maureen, the astrophysicist mother and head of the family, Judy, barely an adult and the doctor on board, Penny, the teenage aspiring writer, and Will, the prepubescent genius) are heading to an alternate life-sustaining planet after Earth’s prospects seem dire. However, in a predictable turn of events, something causes them and several other families to crash into another planet where they must survive until they are rescued by their ship. With natural predation and an alien robot, this show is action packed with great special effects. Although the logic and the plotlines can be lacking, this show is family-oriented, setting it aside from other sci-fi shows, and making it an easy binge for a rainy day. SHREYA GOWDA ‘19
White Collar
This show is a must-watch for any crime show fanatic. The storyline follows Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), a con artist working as a criminal consultant for Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), an FBI agent. The plot begins when Caffrey escapes from a maximum-security prison and Burke catches him, as he had done many times before. This time, however, Caffrey offers a different agreement—for his freedom, he will wear an anklet and help Burke in his pursuits of criminals. White Collar is a definite binge for anyone who loves a good FBI watch. MAANASI NATARAJAN ‘19
18 The Voyager
Sports
May 2018
Manny Azuonwu: Setting Records Philly Sports Update By ANTHONY CUTRERA ‘19 Sports Editor
By ANTHONY CUTRERA ‘19 Sports Editor
M
anny Azuonwu shined on the football field last fall and now he is showcasing his talent on the track. Azuonwu started doing track just to work on his speed and strength for football, but he soon fell in love with the sport. Azuonwu runs the 100 meter, 200 meter, 110 meter hurdles and also throws shotput and javelin. “My favorite event is the shotput throw because I love lifting so throwing weights is pretty fun for me to do,” said Azuonwu. Although he has faced some injuries this season, Azuonwu recorded his best 100 meter time: 11.4 seconds. He also set a personal record in shot put ,throwing 50 feet 3 inches. Azuonwu’s outstanding performance has resulted in interest from a few Ivy Tirrel Biddle (left) and Manny Azuonwu League Schools. If nothing else, track has certainly helped Azu- (right) sprint for the finish line. Photo Supplied onwu become a better athlete. “Track has helped me think we’re pretty strong. We just need to bring it all tremendously in football. I went from a 230 lb freshtogether and work hard.” man running a 12.9 100 meter to a 192 lb junior runWith little time left in track season, Azuonwu is ning a 11.4 100 meter,” he said. hoping to sets some new personal records and help Azuonwu is still eager to get better and sees a lead his team to victory. bright future for his team as he said “As a team I
Cheston Bulgin: throwing discus and dropping tracks By HAYLEY BRICKER ‘18 Staff Reporter
F
rom music to sports, senior Cheston Bulgin does it all. Cheston participates in football during the fall and track and field in the spring, competing in Shotput and Discus
Throw. Cheston participates in sports because of his competitive family, who has inspired him to be an athlete. As for achievement, Cheston was all conference for football and went to States his sophomore year for track and field, with a personal record of throwing 51 feet. But the road was not always so smooth. During his Emmanuel Azuonwu (left) and Cheston Bulgin Photo supplied junior year, an injury took him out of football as well (right) pose with their medals. as track and field. Because sports are such a large spare time, he writes poetry and makes his own mupart of his life, watching from the sidelines took an sic. With influence from his grandfather, Cheston emotional toll on him. was inspired to be creative and to always write music As for being at Eastern, Cheston will miss all the and poetry that he’s proud of. lifelong friendships he has made and all of the peoTo all the underclassman wanting to be involved ple he has come to know. As he closes the last chapin any aspect of Eastern athletics, he said “work beter of his high school sport career, he’ll reminisce the cause if you don’t work someone will work harder friends who supported him throughout his time here. than you and take your spot.” But Cheston is more than just an athlete. In his
Drawing Aces By ERIC HORN ‘19 Sports Editor
I
n a difficult conference, Eastern Boys Tennis is finding its stride and hopes to bring a trophy back to Eastern. After a 7-2 opening to the season, the general feeling around the locker room is one of optimism. The captains of the team are seniors Ben Dias and Yinin Li, who have taken roles as the true team leaders. “Our main goal is to keep up the team’s morale,” said Dias, “and we also handle team planning and logistics off the court.” Dias and Li also enjoy the responsibility of being in a position of high importance on the court as well. “It’s always gratifying to win, and have the team depend on you.” Of course, the captains are not the only important players on the team. Though unable to recruit freshmen, the team did add 10 new players from the sophomore and junior classes. The team is somewhat lacking in varsity experience, but what they lack in experience they make up for in talent. Some impact players that have broken out this year are singles player Pranay Jaggi and the doubles team of Jaisal Khatiwala and Adrian Condes. Coach Kemery says it all begins on the practice courts: “I try to find out what shot each player is most comfortable with, and then I base their game around it.” Most players that play tennis at the high school level have good mechanics, so Coach Kemery focus-
Adrian Condes prepares to serve the ball. Photo By Nancy Bowne
es on “getting them acclimated to the game. Many players do not have much competitive experience, so we try to focus on that aspect of the game.” To win a team tennis match, a team must win 4 of 7 matchups. Even if the team loses its first three matchups, the team can rally and still win the match as a whole. For this reason, it’s important for everyone to be playing 100% all the time. Though the boys suffered a heartbreaking playoff loss, the season can be viewed as a success because of their improvement, building of chemistry, and overall growth as people.
What a time it is to be a Philly sports fan. The Flyers had a strong season, the Phillies look promising, the Sixers are making a playoff run, Villanova just won a National Championship, and who could forget that the Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions? As we enter the month of June, it looks as if the city of Philadelphia is on top of the sports world. The Flyers recently concluded an impressive season that ended in a first round playoff loss to the defending champion, Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers surprised many by making the playoffs this season as the 3rd seed in the Metropolitan Division. The Broad Street Bullies posted an impressive record of 42-26-14. Captain Claude Giroux led the team with a total of 105 points followed by Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier whom racked up 88 points and 85 points this season. Hopefully, the front office will make some moves this offseason in order to ensure that the Flyers will be a contender again next season. The Phillies are off to a great start with a record of 16-11 which puts them only one and a half games out of first place in the NL East. Not many had high expectations for the Phillies before the season, but they are now proving themselves as a legitimate playoff contender. Rhys Hoskins is building off his fantastic rookie campaign in 2017 as he has already notched 6 home runs in 2018. Center Fielder Odubel Herrera and second baseman Cesar Hernandez have also been getting it done for the Phils at the plate racking up hit after hit. Rookie Scott Kingery is also hitting very well and making a name for himself in the MLB, and star pitcher Jake Arrieta is gaining the support of Philadelphia fans as he has started the season with a record of 3-2. Its early in the season, but things are looking good for the Phillies. As far as it goes for football in Philadelphia: it’s May and the Eagles are still Super Bowl Champions. There always room for improvement, however, and the front office is Rhys Hoskins is building working hard to make off his fantastic rookie some additions to the campaign in 2017 as he squad. In the NFL draft, has already notched 4 the Eagles traded away home runs in 2018. Center their first round pick and fielder Odubel Herrera and second round pick to the second baseman Cesar Ravens in exchange for Hernandez have also been Baltimore’s second round getting it done for the pick, fourth round pick, and Phils at the plate racking 2019 second round pick. In up hit after hit. the draft, the Eagles got tight end Dallas Goedert, cornerback Avonte Maddox, defensive end Josh Sweat, offensive tackle Matt Pryor, and an Australian rugby player Jordan Mailata. The Eagles selected Mailata in the last round and hope to convert him into an offensive tackle despite the fact that he has never played football in his life. The Eagles also signed some key free agents so far this offseason including wide receivers Mike Wallace and Richard Rodgers along with linebacker Paul Worrilow. Many predicted the 76ers to finish somewhere around .500 this season and hopefully sneak in the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed. However, the Sixers had other plans and finished the 2017-2018 regular season 52-30 as a 3 seed. They also soundly defeated the Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals the Sixers were soundly defeated 4 games to 1 by the Boston Celtics. The Sixers made some key mistakes late in the games against the Celtics, which proved their youth and lack of experience. Despite the loss, the Sixers still exceeded expectations and have a bright future ahead of them.Young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid were incredible for the Sixers this season. Simmons stuffed the stat sheet each night as he nearly averaged a triple double, making himself the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award. Embiid averaged 22.9 points per game along with 11 rebounds per game this season which puts his name in the All-NBA Team conversation. Sharpshooters JJ Redick and Marco Belinelli also were key to the Sixers success this season as the two repeatedly knocked down clutch three pointers. It seems that just a few years ago there wasn’t much hope for sports fans in Philadelphia. But now, the City of Brotherly Love is on the verge of having a sports dynasty.
Look online to read about the Eagles’ offseason, Phillies Rookie Scott Kingery, and Tanner Koch’s expert NBA Award Predictions!
May 2018
Sports
The Voyager 19
Girls lacrosse ends the regular season with a 15-1 record By AVA HANCOCK ‘20 Staff Reporter
B
efore the game even starts, Eastern Girls Lacrosse team is full of fire and it is very evident. With a team warm-up that is full of dancing, stick checks roaring with applause, and a sideline complete with cheering, the varsity players are amped up before their cleats even hit the turf. After their underdog season last year, Eastern Girls Lacrosse is determined to do it all over again—and they’re off to a great start. Ending the regular season 151, the varsity team is hoping to maintain their near-perfect record and make it back to the finals like they did last year. It’s no surprise that the team is having such a strong season, but the expectations are certainly high after becoming Group IV sectional champs last spring. “I do feel pressure to uphold the team’s reputation because this team means so much to me and I don’t want to do anything to spoil it,” said senior Savannah Slack. Slack, a Virginia Commonwealth
University Commit, is one of two team captains, the other being senior Amanda Farnsworth. Slack said “I love being a team leader; it’s such an amazing experience to be close to every single girl on the team.” When it comes to maintaining the team prestige, sophomore Marissa Robbins is also feeling the heat and she sees her team as her support system. “I know my teammates will always have each other’s backs no matter what the outcome is.” Robbins was moved up from the JV team to the intense varsity program this year and is a starting attacker. Eastern’s fairytale season came to a tragic end last June when, during the Group IV finals against Bridgewater Raritan, they lost 4-16, a foreign feeling to the team. People had their doubts after the major loss, but when Eastern faced Bridgewater Raritan in their first scrimmage of the pre-season, they got their revenge and dominated. And though the team has been up against the same teams they were defeated by last year during the regular season, like
Jack Herman etches name in the Eastern diamond
Savannah Slack drives toward the goal. Lenape and Cherokee, they have managed to pull through almost every time and in overtime, as they did against Clearview in late April. Though Slack leads the team with over 200 career goals, other players like Kara Heck and Dani Mlkvy also have racked up many points through the years. The team’s strong individual performances may be due to the prominent team bond. The team has pasta parties the night before games, hosts dance parties in the locker
Photo by Nikkita Hovell
room, and hangs out outside of lacrosse to make sure they have great communication on and off the field. For now, Slack and the rest of the team have their eyes on the prize. “I hope to win the conference and to be Group IV sectional champs again and to make it to states and TOCS,” Slack said. After making school history last year, Eastern is proving themselves to be anything but a fluke. They are a force to be reckoned with.
Girls Track: Olympic Conference Champions
By MATT STEINSALTZ ‘20 Staff Reporter Eastern is one of the two best baseball teams in New Jersey, and the undoubted leader of the team is center fielder, Jack Herman. Herman has played his entire high school career at the varsity level and is the captain of this year’s team, holding a 20-5 record. When Herman steps to the plate he looks to drive and lift a fastball to right center field. This simple approach at the plate has attributed to a .550 average with 4 homeruns so far this year. Not only has this approach gotten Herman off to a hot start, it has also helped him to write his name in the record books. During his sophomore year, he Jack Herman delivers a fastball. Photo supplied broke the sophomore hits and homerun record with 41 hits I play for the family,” said Herman. His and 4 home runs. Now he is chasing the other driving factor is his dream of playall-time Eastern hits record in a career. ing at the next level. He needs only 3 more hits to pass DaHerman models his game off of some vis Schneider as the Eastern king of hits. MVPs in the big leagues, such as 2-time Schneider was drafted in the 28th round American League MVP Mike Trout and of the 2017 MLB draft by the Toronto 2013 National League MVP Andrew McBlue Jays. Herman also has 33 RBIs. Cutchen. He likes Trout because he is a In June, Herman hopes to hear his own local kid, from Vineland, and because of name called in the 2018 MLB draft. the way he plays the game. “He just plays However, if the draft does not work out, the game right,” said Herman. And he then he will play ball at the University of loves the swagger that McCutchen plays Maryland. with. As much as Herman does for Eastern In June, Herman will run off the Eastern Baseball, the team’s camaraderie is a vibaseball field for the final time. But that tal part of their success. “This is the closwill not be his biggest takeaway from his est team I’ve been on since my freshman four years of Eastern Baseball. Herman year,” said Herman. They hang out towill remember its friendship and how the gether off the diamond and love practicteam played together. In the waning days ing as a team. of his high school career, To be good in any sport, you need to be Herman wants to do one more thing to motivated, and Herman is just that. “I’m leave a legacy. Herman said, “As a senior, motivated by all the time and effort that I want to take the younger kids on the my parents put into me playing baseball. team and bring them under my wing.”
Want more Eastern Sports coverage? Check out voyager-online.org!
Dariyah Corbet-Collier runs the hurdles.
Photo by Bryanna Choi ‘19
Kristileen Quinones, Kristen Clem, Morgan, Sammie Tighe sprinting for the finish line. Photo by Bryanna Choi ‘19
Angelina Travaglini participates in the pole-vaults. Photo by Bryanna Choi ‘19
20 The Voyager
Junior Prom
Check out more junior prom
May 2018
Photos by Evelyn Steele ‘20
pictures at voyager-online.org!