Newspaper: June 2017

Volume LI

June 2017

Eastern Regional High School

1401 Laurel Oak Road

Seventh Edition

Voorhees, NJ 08043

ETV pivots for comeback

By HANA HANCOCK ’18 Voyager Staff Reporter

Seniors Who Make Disney Plans. Page 3

Big Nights for Les Mis and Dr. Mo Pages 3&5

Every Eastern student is familiar with Hall and Oates’ “Private Eyes”. That’s because it was played almost every day in homeroom, before the daily ETV announcements and entertainment. Student-created content like short films, spirit week videos, and material created in TV media classes were often shown and enjoyed school-wide on the campus channel.

But with the new bell schedule implemented this year, ETV had to undergo some drastic changes. As homeroom was cut, so too was ETV’s airtime, or so it seemed. The news program that once had captivated audiences quickly became a sideshow--something to be Photo By Hana Hancock ‘18 glanced at when passing in the hallways, but ETV’s News team works on a new segment in the studio. nothing too crucial to stop in your tracks on with that. While he originally hoped that the to Alex Mackle, ETV news anchor and cafeteria monitors would be a sufficient home correspondent, the administration encouraged the way to lunch.

The changes made to ETV and how it was for ETV, it became apparent that there were teachers to play ETV during the lunch and lab broadcasted clearly did not work out as well certain factors restricting ETV from getting periods. So what is the fate of ETV in the next school year? as previously planned. Mr. Smart, TV Media the appreciation it deserved.

“There’s difficulty with volume and if the A proposal for a new schedule created by supervisor, is in agreement TV’s are not synced, plus the rumbling Smart is now pending approval from Mr. Tull, of people eating...I was really hoping the school principal. Smart thinks that it is with the TV monitors that we would likely that the schedule will pass in time for be able to show ETV news there,” he next year. While the block schedule stays, the said. new schedule would contain a buffer period Not to mention, some teachers disliked which Smart calls an “extension of period 2” the disruption of the TV monitors that in which 7 minutes would be allotted for the had been placed in the hallways and called Pledge of Allegiance and ETV news. When it a disturbance to their lessons. According SEE ETV. Page 2

Music department concerned with trends

There may more to the issues than meets the eye

By ALEX MACKLE ‘18 Managing Editor

Mr. Crozier Retires Page 4

Springfest!!!!

Pages 16 and 17 SPECIAL REPORTS English Majors. Pg 10 Technolgy in Schools. Pg 11 Drug Abuse in SJ. Pg 12-13 EPA and Trump. Pg 14 Recycling at Eastern. Pg 15 Obamacare. Pg 24 Anti-Semitism in SJ. Pg 24 Funding NASA. Pg 25 Making It in Film. Pg 27 Steroids & Baseball. Pg 31

Worry is beginning to fester within Eastern’s Music Department.

No, there are no sudden changes in personnel or concerns about the quality of the program – rather, students and staff are feeling concerned over the total number of students enrolled in the instrumental music program.

According to one music department teacher, there is a trend. “We’ve been seeing less and less involvement,” he said.

But what is the root cause? There has, in fact, been a downward trend in instrumental music participation. The number of students enrolled in instrumental music is down almost ten percent since 2001.

While this may not seem like a particularly significant figure, in a department of under one-hundred and fifty students, this is a decent chunk of the population.

Students have noted this downward trend as well. Senior David Sung said the numbers seem to be “going down.”

David Sung indicated that a few other factors may also be contributing to decline in the music programs. Citing changing tastes, “there may be a lack of interest in [instrumental] music” within the youth population.

Upon students noticing a curtailed student presence within the program, it is clear that people begin to speculate on why these issues may be occurring.

According to Cherry Hill East music teacher Mr. Tim Keleher, Eastern may be “ecoun-

Photo By Alex Mackle ‘18 Wind ensemble rehearses for an upcoming concert. tering challenges with the regional [school Eastern has been taking steps to improve district] system.” Having a township district the networking between high school and in Cherry Hill has allowed for a much more sending district music programs, such as homogenous program, as staff and students middle school visitations to the highs chool can easily move between schools. Addition“I think we’ve been very fortunate with the ally, programs such as an All Cherry Hill support we’ve gotten [from the sending dishonors band program that takes in students tricts],” said Mr. Young, Music Department from the town from all grade levels, creating supervisor. a sense of community at an earlier level, and Just this year, a number of Voorhees Midpotentially increasing interest in younger dle School music students came to Eastern students. in for a tour of the music facilities and even Additionally, music staff and students from to perform alongside the high school’s enCherry Hill’s high schools make trips to the semble. This move aims at increasing interthree middle schools, like Eastern.

SEE MUSIC. Page 7

News

2 The Voyager

June 2017

Student directors get a chance to call shots in One Acts

By CRYSTAL OSUJI ‘18 Voyager Staff Reporter

The Eastern Theater Club held its annual One Acts on May 25th, where students direct, manage, and act in their own plays. Each grade produces their own with students in their grade.

Director of the Freshman class, TJ Rickey directed The Rehearsal, which was about high school students getting ready for their own school musical… how ironic. Rickey said he found his play through a website that contains One Act plays. “I searched for One Acts plays and I read through the scripts until I found the show that was appropriate,” said Rickey.

The process of picking each director is the first step of One Acts. The students have to come present a pack of information that has two copies of the show they want to do, a rehearsal schedule, and a set design. The packet also has a letter the desired director has written that states the vision they have for their show and why they want to be director.

The students present all of this information to the One Act club advisors. The advisor, Dr. Molotsky, a physics and environmental science teacher, chooses each director from the information packet.

After the directors are picked, it is time for casting.

Each director picks students from their grade and decides who would fit each role the best. However, there can be some nerves when picking among your classmates. “It can be really stressful, especially since it’s a lot harder to get people to respect you because you are directing your peers,” said Rickey.

It can be heartbreaking to tell your friends that they were not what you were looking for, but sophomore director Gabbie Bourla was not scared to pick between her friends for the roles. “I thought it would be hard, but most of my cast is very understanding,” said Gabbie.

Bourla’s play, The Customer is Always Right, was about the trials and tribulations of having your first job and not having it go as planned.

The students only received three weeks to prepare for opening night. Actor and sophomore Gabby Kuper wished that they were granted an extra week to prepare properly for opening night. Kuper also described what opening night is like for that everyone involved in the

Kayla Kantakusin triumphs after killing her cheer coach, Robert Sundstrom, in the Junior One Act. show. “We had to be there at 5:30 pm for mic checks.

After that, we hung around in the dressing room doing makeup and then we had a little meeting and then we started the show.”

All four plays from each grade were very comical to the audience. Almost every show had the audience gasping for air between jokes. In the past, most One Act shows are known for being amusing but comedic elements are not the sole reason why a play may be picked over another. “The audience enjoyment is a part, but it’s like cooking stew: everything is included,” said Dr. Molotsky.

The senior show, The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza (Iliad! Iliad! Iliad!), was a comedic hit with the audience.

The play was about two students giving a presentation on the history of Greece. The show was directed by senior Jen Glass. Glass, unlike the other directors, has had directing experience as this was her second year.

Since she has had experience, it was not hard for her to pick a cast. “It is easier with one acts, because it’s just your grade, so we normally have just enough people to fill all the roles.”

It is not easy being the director two years in a row, but Glass has learned to be more organized. “If I’m disorganized for One Acts, then it affects not just me but 15 other people in my show.”

One acts can be stressful for the students, but overall

ETV to keep everyone informed during new schedule

Proposed, modified schedule for next year

Photo by Julia Dodd ‘19

they are glad to be a part of it. Junior director Lindsay Cohen was thrilled to have her vision seen on stage. “It’s amazing, this is what I’ve been dreaming to do since my freshman year,” said Cohen.

The junior class play was Miss Beth, a teen parody of the William Shakespeare play, MacBeth. Most One Act plays are skits but Cohen had a dream for how she wanted her play to be broadcasted. “I wanted to pick a show that had an overall plot, and most of these shows are like skits and that’s not what I wanted to do.”

One Acts can be a great way for students who are not involved in theatre to finally get their feet wet. Actor of the junior show, Nicole Wood, is not involved with fall play or the spring musical but she does involve herself with One Acts every school year. “When I was a freshman, I saw people auditioning for One Acts and it looked cool so I joined.”

Dr. Molotsky also sees One Acts as a great way to get students involved with theatre. “One Acts is a great way to get new people involved because you can only pick from people in your class. Now kids that were having a hard time getting casted during the spring musical are now the leads in One Acts.”

Although each One Act Show is a little over thirty minutes, the audience was able to feel for the actors and connect to each story line. Some would say that One Acts is

ETV FROM PAGE 1 study halls, plus tardiness, it seemed fitting to insert this time slot into second period and not first. Once the seven minutes are up, students would proceed to their third period class.

In addition, all classes would contain 52 minutes of teaching time. This is a change from this year’s varying class times, which are anywhere from 51-54 minutes. Smart cited complaints that teachers had voiced with the differing class times, as many teachers had said that it was difficult to plan lessons around morning and afternoon announcements.

Fear not students-- school will still start and end at the same time as this year’s first and last bell (7:30 and 2:15 respectively), and lunch will still be one hour long.

In theory, “the 9:20 AM bell will indicate the time for the ETV news period. Teachers will then turn on Campus TV for the twominute pledge. ETV news will have a five minute segment. Then the 9:27 bell rings to dismiss to period 3,” said Smart.

Alex Mackle approves of this new proposal saying, “I think it’s nice. We won’t have homeroom but people will be able to watch the announcements.”

Ryan Baker, also an anchor, is excited for the changes and commended Mr. Smart’s collaboration with ETV as well.

“I think it’s fantastic. Anyone I’ve talked to has been on board with it,” he said, “...

Mr. Smart’s been really great with the news. He’s the new supervisor. He’s been very accommodating and anything Mr. Holmes has asked for, he gave,” he said.

Baker was disappointed, like others, with the reception ETV had been receiving, or lack thereof, and said that “people were joking about it at this point.”

“It takes hours and hours for independent

studies and the seniors to edit,” he said.

And yet, people were still not watching.

Alex Mackle, too, recognized the problems ETV was having in regards to viewership. A new political segment on the program went virtually unnoticed this year.

Hopefully, that will change with some new upgrades.

The District will, additionally, fund some props for the studio. Some new updates have already been installed, but audiences, according to Mr. Holmes, TV/Media teacher and advisor for ETV, haven’t really noticed them. Updates to fiberglass graphics and new furniture are all in the works. This, combined with the proposed schedule, makes Mr. Holmes feel optimistic about ETV’s future.

“I feel great about it. We’ve done a lot of advancements,” he said.

While this year’s ETV is mostly volunteer based, next year’s advanced film students will work on the news everyday and will help transition everything to get it running smoothly.

For the most part, the current anchors and segments will stay consistent. But some content changes are in the foreseeable future as well.

“There’s Alex {Mackle}, and Jacob {Goldstein} who do political stuff...we need a sports guy and more long location stuff for sports coverage. Hopefully there’ll be more coverage of events,” Holmes said.

ETV will still continue to utilize twitter to circulate information, but the school will just have to wait and see how well the new system works for next year.

“We think it is an effective way to minimize disruption but also disseminate info. And if it doesn’t work, we’ll think of something more,” said Smart.

June 2017

News

The Voyager 3

Some seniors make private arrangements for Disney

BY NANCY BOWNE ‘19 Copy Editor

T

he trip to Disney has become an important memory for many seniors. They enjoy the independence while immersed in school spirit and friends.

Yet, due to an array of reasons, as well as money concerns, more Eastern students are deciding to attend Disney on their own terms - without the school.

Senior Bridgette Burton did not want the school controlling her vacation. As an adult, she decided to go with a group of friends due to rules such as the suggested schedules, curfews of 10 pm, and the inability to go back to rooms during the day.

“It was my own trip,” she said. While she is experienced when it comes to travelling on planes and planning, Burton can see how Disney is beneficial for students who don’t often travel. “I travel all the time and it would have annoyed me to deal with kids who have never flown,” she said.

She added how she could pick her own flight time, in comparison to the early 2 am wake up time for certain flights.

Anuska Ball, a senior who went on the trip with Eastern, said, “It was a lot of time just standing around and doing nothing.”

Mr. Phil Smart, a Vice Principal and Director of Activities and Technology, believes that this time of waiting around only adds to the memories of going with the school.

“On my senior trip, I started hanging out with new friends, due to similar ride preferences and schedules,” he said. “The senior trip is a great bonding experience between chaperones and students alike.”

Memories of waiting in lines for rides and sharing hotel rooms cannot easily be made in math class, “even waking up at 3 am together,” he said.

Smart also expresses that there has not been a significant number of students

who choose to 90% of area high schools use World Class Vacations go alone.

High School Cost (approximate) Length Senior Megan Graben- Camden Catholic $1400 5 days stein, a huge $1200 5 days Disney fan, Cherry Hill East was enthu$1300 4 ½ days siastic about Cherry Hill West her senior Eastern $1300 5 days trip to Dis$1383 4 days ney with her Haddon Township family, who $1200 5 days belongs to a Paul VI Disney Va- Shawnee $1600 5 days cation Club.

After the trip, However, they can choose to relax by the as including Universal Studios to the trip she does admit she felt a bit sad from pool. Ms. Forvour said, “The students and transportation affect the process and missing out on “some of the inside jokes are always up and out, in the park when the budget. “I would like to see more stuand such [her friends] had from sleeping it opens until when it closes.” They are dents fundraise, even at the start of freshin the same room together.” But she was man year,” she said. exhausted, but it is “‘totally worth it.’” still able to coordinate park time with She further explains how around fifthem and had a great time. teen students would sell concessions at “Since I went separately,” she said, “I the Football games to raise money. “Each was also able to reserve fast passes in adgame took off $50 of the payment,” she vanced and I got fast passes the other sesaid. niors couldn’t because they were all gone Forvour also believes that this payment at that point.” should be condensed and more spaced Students such as Grabenstein are able to out. easily coordinate trips to Disney, because These payments can come with a higher they are experienced in Disney strategies cost of a similar trip, as senior Mitchell and have special memberships.

Rothstein found out through his experiMany students, like Burton and Graence. Rothstein went with his dad and a benstein, get enthusiastic about the plangroup of friends to Disney, with a little ning. Mr. Smart mentioned that they have bit more number of days and nights, meal already signed a contract for the class of plans, no curfew, and ‘hopper’ passes for 2018’s trip to Disney, 12 to 14 months in around $300 less. advance.

“We also stayed in the same hotel so “We coordinate everything,” he said. we met up in common areas but it is very “Students just need to make the paystrict that you aren’t allowed in their ments.” rooms and vice versa,” he said.

Through planning the senior trip two Rothstein also explains how he did not years in advance, 2017 Class Advisor, alert administration about his choice to go Ms. Corinne Forvour, can see the difto Disney independently. “I feel we may ference in how many students attend. “I have gotten some Eastern backlash,” he would like to see more kids go,” Fervour said. “But because I never told anyone, I said. “We had about 252 students this didn’t experience any guilting.” year.”

Rothstein knows of at least two other Ms. Forvour has been a class advisor for groups that decided to go to Disney withPhoto supplied 2005, 2011, and 2017. “The largest trip out the school.

Eastern graduate Dara Lomowas 2011, in the 400s.”

Eastern trip students are not able to naco and senior Megan GrabenEverything costs money. Decisions such go back to their rooms during the day. stein in Disney World

Regional productions honored at annual Cappies Gala

T

By ALEX MACKLE ‘18 Managing Editor

here are only few days more exciting to a theatrical student than an awards ceremony– as such, the Cappies Gala. The awards ceremony of awards ceremonies.

Billed as a celebration of students in all aspects of high school theatre, the Cappies Gala marks the official end to the annual Cappies season. The sparkling season in which student critics from Philadelphia and surrounding areas (such as Upper Darby, Bryn Mawr, and even Voorhees) traveled to other schools in order to both watch and review their respective plays and musicals for publishing in various newspapers.

The Cappies Gala is the ultimate send off for the theatre program.

After critics voted at Cardinal O’Hara High School, results were compiled for a Tony’s-style award program where vast numbers of students are nominated across all areas of a theatrical production. Ultimately, schools who are nominated for Best Play, Best Musical, and Best Song are invited to perform onstage at the Gala, held for its second year at Unionville High School in Unionville, Pennsylvania.

Photo by Alex Mackle ‘18 A significant portion of Eastern’s Les Miserables cast Eastern’s cast of Les Mis performs “One Day More” at the Cappies Gala.

As a result, students had to make the decision to skip ended up making the hour-and-a-half drive to Unionville Eastern won two Cappies awards. The Sound and Lighting High School to perform One Day More as a best musical post-prom festivities.

“It was very nice to see other productions and to see the Club won for Best Lighting for the second year in a row, nominee.

Many students were clearly disappointed that this talent that other schools had,” said Eastern junior Cyrena and senior Gary Bowman won Best Male Vocalist for his Kokolis, a nominee best set design. That is the point of portrayal of Jean Valjean.

Sunday-evening event Photo by Robert Sundstrom ‘18 the Cappies program, to bring students together through The point of the program, as described in its mission, is not was not held at Eastern to dole out awards and prove who is the best. The purpose as it had been in 2014 and 2015. Students were responsible theatre.

Students from across the region mingled and truly got a is to celebrate high school theatre and the achievements of for attending rehearsals in Unionville on Saturday May 20 students from all around. flavor of other productions in the process. for the performance and on May 21 the Gala.

News

4 The Voyager

June 2017

Adios, Sra. Allen y Sra. Hudak

By NANCY BOWNE ‘19 Copy Editor

Classroom posters can change lives.

Sra. Sue Allen’s story is no exception.

She found her inspiration to teach Spanish through a poster in her high school Spanish classroom. “It was a travel abroad in Spain summer program that I convinced my father to let me go,” she said, glancing at her blackboard of homework assignments, imagining the poster on her own wall. “Spanish became my passion.”

After thirty-six years of Sra. Allen teaching at her third school, Sra. Allen decided to retire. But it is with much gratitude and joy that she departs, knowing all the love and support given to her in the walls of Eastern and beyond.

When she came to her interview at Eastern, the superintendent at the time, Ms. Gongal, carried on a lively and personal intro to the school.

Later that afternoon, she received a job offer.

“I was really impressed that the top administrator was a woman,” said Sra. Allen. After coming from two different kinds of schools, Cumberland and Abington Friends, she wanted a “different atmosphere. And this was the place.”

“I felt like Goldilocks,” she said, “choosing between all these schools. But I know what I want. I know variety.” She said that this has enabled her to appreciate all that Eastern has to offer, opposed to being polarized to one school’s knowledge.

Sra. Allen has brought many of her passions to the forefront of teaching, including past studying abroad trips and Spanish AP. “Travel has broadened my interest, “ she said. “It makes students become proficient in the language.” She recalled a time flying home from Spain, and the student next to her was freaking out with glee over holding a conversation in Spanish with a complete stranger.

“Some of my favorite memories are on those trips. . . It engages students in the language,” she said. Due to stricter times

By NANCY BOWNE ‘19 Copy Editor

Photo by Nancy Bowne ‘19

of security and terrorism threats, Sra. Allen is sad to say that she cannot take her students to foreign countries as easily.

But she is still enthusiastic as ever.

Through teaching Spanish 2, 3, and AP, Sra. Allen has enjoyed teaching a variety of levels and students throughout their Spanish experience. A little known fact: Allen has also taught German, in addition to Spanish, here at Eastern.

“Due to changes in Voorhees Middle School, the foreign language program decreased in number of students for a little bit. But we ran class anyway. I had six Spanish AP students,” she said.

Considering scheduling a class with so few students, Allen further stresses how the Eastern community is a great one.

Sra. Allen wants students to “develop competency in the language. Kids should see it’s really beneficial. It’s a big world out there.”

Since there is a big world out there, Sra. Allen believes it is time to retire. “Time is right for a change,” she said, “It is hard to say goodbye, but it is time.”

Ms. Allen plans to “sit back, relax, reflect, pursue art interests, reading, and writing.” She mentioned getting involved in community and service for Spanish as well.

“I am very grateful for the colleagues, students, and memories” she said, as she gazes fondly over her desks. She has even taught children of her past students.

“It sounds corny, but it’s true,” she said.

“Eastern is a great place to work.”

Sra. Dee Hudak found her calling in Biology 101: Spanish.

Even after teaching 33 years at Eastern, Sra. Hudak is still so enthusiastic. As she closes her final year and retires soon, she reflects upon Eastern’s growth, diversity, and acceptance.

And she still emerges with a bright smile on her face.

“When I first came to the interview at Eastern, the school was one building surrounded by farmland with a Gibbsboro Sra. Hudak Photo by Julia Dodd ‘19 address,” Sra. Hudak said.

She expresses how technology offers She did not always anticipate pursuing so much power, but students feel this teaching. She enjoyed everything in the “true apathy to learning and holding medical field. But after several classes, onto education. It is a little disturbing,” she decided to follow her love of literaSra. Hudak said. ture.

Hudak firmly believes the wonderful “Back then, teachers weren’t scarce, support system at Eastern with the techso they were not hiring,” she said. “I fignology, AP classes, and sports fields, ured my knowledge of Spanish would be should be acknowledged. “Value the my greatest chance in being hired.” education that Eastern can afford,” she Hudak has learned that through Spansaid. ish, she could teach many subjects, such She never expected fluency from her as history and English. Her Spanish 4 students, but she knows that her teachclass focuses on reading and translating ings and lessons have impacted students, stories, which usually revolve around the even through an email or a visit. In parthemes of art and heroism. ticular, a student was so happy to inform “They show cultural traits,” she said. a professor that they already knew about “They are stories as a vehicle to talk a topic. The professor was awaiting to about history, culture: who Spaniards open eyes. But the student’s “eyes were and Latinos really are.” already opened.” “I’m here, doing my As Hudak returns a textbook, she job” said Sra. Hudak, “those who want glances at novels once read by her classto take advantage can.” es. She has reached a ‘short story class Sra. Hudak plans on moving to Georsize’ and has not been able to do as much. gia, where her mom lives. She hopes Her smaller classes could read novels to “explore online English as a Second more intimately without so many quesLanguage teaching, cooking, and more tions and interruptions. However, she time to true reading.” She highly stresses notes that her larger classes have become the importance to travel, as she gazes more educationally diverse. across the classroom with illustrated “I have always taught a mixture of levhands, creating mountains and pathways els and years. I like that split, that fresh at her fingertips. mind,” she said.

“I can travel whenever I want,” she Hudak has seen the gradual expansaid, “not when I just have the time dursion of technology in the classroom: “A ing winter break. I can visit those places move,” she said, “that has made students at the peak. The places in the textbook more dependent. They are taking picwhere they can finally come to life.” tures, not notes.”

Carpenter, musician, photographer, Mr. Crozier sets to retire

By DIYA GOYAL ‘17 Editor-in-Chief

A

fter twenty six years of service, Mr. William Crozier says goodbye to Eastern.

A beloved Chemistry and Physics teacher, his students, past and present, will miss him and his creative teaching style.

Former AP Chemistry student of Mr. Crozier’s, senior Renee Le, will miss “the creative ways he taught us concepts.”

Students will miss not only his teaching, but also his personality.

Former AP Chemistry students, senior Priyanki Joshi will “miss giving him a hug everyday.”

But Mr. Crozier also shares the sentiment. He said that his favorite part about teaching was “successfully explaining some concept that may be difficult to understand.” After he explains the concept to them, they understand and “it makes [Mr. Crozier] happy.”

Mr. Crozier said that some students are scared at the beginning of the year, especially in AP Chemistry, but after experiencing his teaching methods they are no

longer scared, which is satisfying for him.

“They say that I’ve taken something scary from them,” said Mr. Crozier. “And turned it into something fun.”

While sad about retiring, Mr. Crozier is glad that he will now have time for doing other things that he enjoys.

“I’m a carpenter and a musician and a photographer and a gardener,” said Mr. Crozier. “In fact, I’ve wanted to write a book about when I was in A swarm of seniors descend upon every siting of Mr. Crozier at the prom. Photo by Alex Mackle ‘18 the Peace Corps, about “Are there moments in class that I can Mr. Crozier values the environment he my experiences.” He has cultivated while teaching. recall as my favorite moment?

It’s more said that he may even write a musical. like the big picture of teaching,” said Mr. “Twenty years is a long time for me to Mr. Crozier also reminisces. He said be teaching,” said Mr. Crozier. “But I will Crozier. that he will really miss the Tri-M performiss the relationships that I’ve made with Senior Janki Patel, a former AP Chemismances. my students and the teachers I’ve been try student of Mr. Crozier’s, said that she “[Tri-M] recitals are a really nice way to working with.” will definitely “miss how much love he end the day,” said Mr. Crozier. “It always puts into teaching his students.” makes me happy.” He also enjoys the muA big part of the science department, sicals, and of course teaching.

The Voyager 5 News Best Director, Best Lead Actor, and Best Musical in New Jersey

June 2017

Paper Mill awards go to Dr. Molotsky, Gary Bowman, and the cast and crew of “Les Miserables”

The cast, crew, and directors of Les Miserables pose for a photo to celebrate winning the award of the night: Best High School Musical

Eastern’s annual talent show

Photo courtesy of Dr. Molotsky

Students showcased many talents, including singing, dancing, and more.

By RUTHIE DOUGLASS ‘19 Photography Editor

O

n the night of May 11th, students, parents, and faculty gathered in the Performing Arts Center to view the annual display of Eastern’s most talented. The Talent Show featured an amazing line-up of students showcasing mostly singing and dancing.

Between every few numbers, student government officials walked up to the podium and announced the upcoming acts, so the show also showcased many of the students working behind the scenes.

Some performers utilized different instruments to enhance their numbers, like sophomores Dana Ramadan and Mia Sundstrom, who performed a mash-up of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space and Style. They were accompanied by junior Vincent Melara on drums

Kaya McIver ‘19 and Fernanda Merino ‘19 perform a dance.

and freshman Jake Fritz on guitar.

“It was really enjoyable to be a part of such a talented group of primarily singing performers,” said Ramadan, who also sang a song on her own, “It was also another good opportunity to perform solo in front of a diverse audience.”

Sophomores Caleb Schneider and Bobby Weil performed a piano medley of songs from Spongebob Squarepants. The performance also featured a prominent pineapple, resting on top of the piano.

Caleb Schneider ‘19 and Bobby Weil ‘19 perform a Weil said, “It was a great experiSpongebob mashup. ence. Both the rehearsal process said Kahn. She is very active and the show itself was tons of in Eastern Theater and, again, fun.” mentioned the diversity of the The Talent Show was also an crowd. “It was great to see peoopportunity for different clubs ple sing and perform who don’t to put forth their talent and pronormally do the musical or cabmote themselves. Eastern Choirs aret and all that.” performed their rendition of My Overall, the Talent Show Shot from the popular musical, showed a large turnout and the Hamilton. audience really seemed to enjoy Sophomore Olivia Kahn sang themselves.

Whether singing, with the group, “Being in the taldancing, or playing instruments, ent show was a lot of fun, and I Eastern’s most talented were definitely think that it was such a certainly well showcased. great environment to perform in,”

Kayla Kantakusin ‘18 sings “On My Own” from Les Miserables.

Eastern’s choirs sing the popular Hamilton tune, “My Shot.”

Photos by Ruthie Douglass ‘19

6 The Voyager

Features

June 2017

Private or public: there is no superior

By JEN GLASS ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

One year ago, my junior friends and I were researching colleges, desperately thumbing through books and websites trying to find the perfect fit. There are so many factors to consider: size, cost, majors offered, prestige, extracurriculars... trying to piece together an application list may seem nearly impossible to the average junior.

Some of us turned to College Confidential, a website dominated by forums for college-bound students and, more frequently, mothers of collegebound students.

Here was a place to discuss college woes and garner advice completely anonymously! For stressed students, it can seem like a haven.

However, those frequenting the website may fall victim to a common theme: public college stigma. In an increasingly competitive college application process, private colleges are often seen as superior to state schools. Many students view a competitive school with a lower acceptance rate as superior to a bigger state school.

“Prestige does matter,” said user “grayscale” on one particular post. “Don’t let anyone here tell you otherwise. It’s not the whole story, certainly, but it’s definitely a big chunk of the narrative of your academic life.” “...After the shock value of [Harvard] wears off, you have to prove yourself,” countered user carachel2. “The name will only go so far.”

Even cofounder David Hawsey sees the hypercompetitive, anxiety-ridden nature that has persisted on the site, bought by Hobsons in 2008.

“When I look at it today, I think, My God, what a monster,” Hawsey said to the Chronicle of Higher Education. “There’s all this ‘mine is better than yours’ stuff.”

Though public universities may be seen a weaker alternative to private universities, this rule proves anything but steadfast. The cost of college continues to skyrocket, causing talented students to often seek out cheaper alternatives.

According to a report by Collegeboard, the average tuition cost for an in-state, public college (four-year) in the 20162017 school year was $9,650. For a fouryear, public, out-of-state option, the number rose to $24,930. Private, nonprofit,

four-year colleges were most expensive, at $33,480. For some colleges, that number can climb to higher than $45,000.

These numbers do not include other costs, like books, room and board, and dining plans.

Twenty-three year old Andy Glass, a graduate of the Eastern’s Class of 2012, is a rising sophomore in University of Pennsylvania’s graduate program for chemistry. A graduate of The College of New Jersey, Andy’s story perfectly mirrors an example of choosing the cheaper alternative. I watched his journey growing up as his little sister.

For undergraduate school, Andy was faced with a choice between Washington University in St. Louis and the much more affordable The College of New Jersey. Though he received continual commentary from others on the benefits of choosing prestige, he decided to choose the more affordable option.

“TCNJ might not have the same reputation as Wash U on the national level,” said Andy, “but it still provided me with a high quality education and gave me the skills needed for graduate school at [The University of Pennsylvania] without saddling me with hundreds of thousands of

dollars in debt.”

A report by BusinessInsider corroborates Andy’s assertions. College graduates with a bachelor’s degree steadily held an unemployment rate between 3.7% and 4.1%. Only having a high school degree doubles this number. Merely having an alma mater helps increase job prospects: the name does not matter. 57% of public four-year college students graduated with student loans, averaging $23,800. Meanwhile, 66% of private students had debt, averaging $30,000. Though job prospects were equal, more private students were fighting off higher average amounts of debt.

Students shouldn’t feel discouraged entirely from applying to private schools.

Many private schools offer weighty scholarships. I will be attending Syracuse University, a private school, but scholarships made the school my most affordable option. It is worth exploring all options when beginning the college process.

When considering college choices, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works.

Rather, a student needs to weigh all the combining factors to make the best choice for them. This may be a public or a private school.

Doodling helps the mind to concentrate

By JULIA DODD ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

Teacher: Stop doodling in class, I know you’re not paying attention.

Student: But I am paying attent-Teacher: No you’re not! Detention!

Many believe that doodling is bad for the mind and it does not help you study.

Students such as Bobby Weil, sophomore; Diya Goya, senior; Myles ArlineJohnson, sophomore; and Brandon Goldstein, sophomore, said that they believe that “doodling does not help them focus in class.”

However, In a recent study done by Professor Jackie Andrade, there was proof that doodling actually helps one focus.

Stephanie Smith, a sophomore at Eastern, said that “sometimes [doodling] helps me focus; it keeps me awake in class.”

The study included forty people who were taken from another experiment that had just been completed, so the people would want to hurry (less likely to pay attention). Twenty of the people were given sheets of paper with triangles on it and were encouraged to doodle. The other half of the people were just given a piece of paper to record.

All of the participants listened to a dull, monotone phone call and were told to write down the names and places mentioned. Later, they were asked who the people and places were. The people who were doodling got a total memory score of 7.5 out of 8.0. The people who were not allowed to doodle only got a 5.8 out of 8.0.

Professor Andrade said she decided to research the topic because she “was interested in daydreaming and what people are doing in moments of boredom.”

Doodling is becoming more of a habitual way of processing what the brain does when it is not specifically being called upon.

Instead of daydreaming, doodling helps to get through a tough class while still paying attention. It doesn’t matter what you doodle, just the fact that your art can be helpful.

“It’s about cognitive processing and how we can alter its course, not doodling per se,” she said.

Bobby Weil, a sophomore, said, “I doodle whatever I happen to see is in the classroom.”

A great adventure for freshmen

Photo by Julia Dodd ‘19

By AYESHA RAHMAN ’20 Voyager Staff Reporter

about anything.” Around 5:30 pm, it began to rain, causing the big rides to shut down, around that time everyone began to walk back to the buses to head back to school. On the bus ride home, all was quiet, many of the students fell asleep from the tiring day.

Giana Ottavio said, “it was a great day, I liked that we were given freedom to do whatever.” The bus arrived at school around 7 pm, everyone got off the buses and waited for their rides home.

On May 6th, the freshmen class of 2020 took its trip to Six Flags. All throughout the week, the weather was forecasted as rain and thunderstorms. When the day came, the weather was chilly with heavy clouds. There were 6 buses and the students were assigned based on last names, the bus list was sent out Wednesday of that week. The lobby Saturday morning was filled with freshmen wearing their 2020 shirts ready for the trip. The students were advised to arrive at school around 8:45 am, around 9:00 am the buses took off for Jackson, New Jersey.

Pulling up to Six Flags, the students were content with excitement for a fun filled day. When they arrived at Six Flags, the weather cleared up, the chaperones gave the students their tickets and they were free to do whatever they wanted, but had to be back to the buses at 6 pm to make it back to school around 7 pm.

After the students got off the busses, they looked for their friends and rushed to the entrance to start the day. The lines were nonexistent, which gave all the students the ability to ride the roller coasters as many times as they wished. The chaperones were around the eating areas if they needed anything; they also enjoyed their time by going on a few rides themselves. Although Kingda Ka experienced a few technical difficulties throughout the day, all the other rides were open for everyone. At around 1 pm a lot of the students stopped to eat lunch and talk.

Kierstin Clem, Zoe Mckay, Gracie Hunger, and Abby 9th grader Kalyani Modi said, “due to the trip being super or- Brocco (from left to right) pose with Tweety Bird. ganized, I was able to enjoy my day with friends, and not worry

Photo by Ayesha Rahman ‘20

June 2017

Features

The Voyager 7

2017 Spring and Summer Fashion Trends

Take a look into the trends that will be popular this spring as you hit the runway of Eastern’s halls.

By Lauren Casole ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

T

he classic spring slogan “out with the old and in with the new” can be applicable as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer. Winter clothes go into hibernation and spring clothes are in full bloom.

The runways of 2017 Fashion Weeks were covered with stripes, ruffles, pinks and yellows. All of these trends have an 80’s and 90’s vibe and they can be accessorised with sassy sunglasses, bottomless bags, and elaborate earrings.

Seaside stripes will be surfing their way into stores, along with banker stripes. The more stripes the better, right? Whether they are vertical or horizontal, stripes can add a well needed flair to your outfit.

Mrs. Heyers, the fashion teacher, said, “I saw a lot of thick horizontal stripes and blue or white pin stripes with a sailor influence. Horizontal stripes make you look shorter and vertical stripes make you look taller and thinner.” It all depends on your body type as to what style of stripes works for you. The stripes can cover the entire outfit or just

be incorporated into the top or bottom.

White out is another simplistic and casual look that will keep you cool in the spring and summer months. All white tshirt dresses are easy to throw on when you are at school and can be dressed up with heels and fun jewelry if you plan to go out at night or on the weekends. Accent colors can be added with fun shoes, earrings or a handbag.

Pinks and yellows are the new black this spring. Pink can be worn everyday of the week and not just on Wednesday, for all my Mean Girls fans. Even yellow, is shining through. Unfortunately, according to Heyers, yellow is one of the hardest colors to pull off so this may not work with everyone’s skin tone.

Keeping it cool in the spring can be easily achieved by an off the shoulder or “cold shoulder” top. These tops look great with jeans or shorts and can be accessorized with chokers or another type of necklace. Off the shoulder shirts come in all different patterns and colors. Heyers said, “last year some people were wearing off the shoulder shirts and this year it is going to be bigger, but it is with one shoulder cut out.” Floral patterns, stripes and solids are all popular

individual style, but there is nothing wrong with keeping up with the trends.

Mrs. Heyers said that,“throughout history fashion repeats itself, but it should never be the same way again.”

and trendy patterns for these shirts. “I think they are very fun,” said Heyers.

Patchwork and patterns can be added to embellish any look. Patches can be bought already on jeans or a jeans jacket. However, you can buy them yourself and design your own pattern or place the patches anywhere you want. This way your individual style can unfold and you can express your individuality.

Strong statement accessories are taking over outfits and making them unique to this generation. Bottomless bags and crossbodies are convenient and easily accessible. Sunglasses are also being used to make a statement rather than block out the sun’s rays. Heyers also said that changing your shoes or adding jewelry can spice up any outfit to make it less casual and more fancy.

All of these trends are unique to 2017, but have roots from other generations.

They work for some people and not for others. It is important to stay true to your

Earrings and rompers are perfect for going out to dinner or going shopping with friends. They can be used for multiple looks such as fancy or dressed down.

Sunglasses can spice up any look by adding your own unique sense of style. A shoulder top is a great way to keep cool

Music Department

whole [student body] population, it is in a significant decline, but I do not see the same decline in the music program.”

Dr. Young explained that any drops in CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1, are “pulled out” of classes in order to at- the music program have simply been in tend music lessons a few days a week, Music accord with general district population and are then subjugated to an after-school loss, and that there is no noticeable drop rehearsal. This system is also used in the est and involvement for these younger from one grade to another. significantly smaller feeder districts of students down the road.

“At one time,” Dr. Young pointed out, Berlin Boro and Gibbsboro.

Regardless of communication between “[the district] could not hire enough “There is a drop off between sixth programs, the primary culprit in the eyes teachers,” but now, the district has been and seventh grades because of changing of some music students seems to be the taking measures such as not replacing teachers,” said one source who wishes actual music program at Voorhees Middle retirees. This occurred in the Voorhees to be kept anonymous. Interestingly, Dr. School, the largest feeder district to the Middle School health program, which has Diane Young (Assistant Superintendent Eastern Camden County Regional School gone from four to three full time instrucand former Voorhees Middle School PrinDistrict. “It is not a good program,” said tors. cipal from 2012-2014, no relation to Mr. junior Sean Hewlett, citing a negative exIt is possible that the district is starting to Young) says that this claim may be someperience in the middle school. However, catch up to this stagnation of population. what unfounded. Dr. Young and the VoorJunior Anrew Kumar said that it was a Voorhees township has gone from nearly hees Township administration has looked fine program. “They did a good job,” he doubling its population from the 1980 to into population trends within the K-8 dissaid.

1990 census, to only growing about four trict’s instrumental music program.

Also important to mention is the nature percent from 2000 to 2010.

“I have looked at the numbers,” Dr. of the pullout program, in which students It is these population issues that seem Young said, “And if you look at our to be contributing to the higher level concerns over the music departments. “We Total Numbers of Eastern Students since 2006 have a thriving program here,” Dr. Young said about the middle school’s department, “[and] it is important that we dispel these rumors.”

Eastern’s population itself has declined steadily in the past ten or so years, with the average number of students being down from by two hundred students since student population peaks in 2005-2006.

According to the data, it seems that the problem with the music program may not be with participation itself; rather the issue may simply be decreasing populations showing themselves. In a smaller department like music, it is clear that the loss of a few students has a significantly Infromation from Eastern Guidance Department greater impact.

Photos by Lauren Casole ‘19

Administrators, like Music Department supervisor Mr. Young, have stressed pride in the quality of work that the instrumental music program has put forth in recent years. “We are very happy with our [mu-

Photo By Alex Mackle ‘18

Ms. Fernandes conducts a music ensemble

sic] programs,” Mr. Young said. “That is a direct result of the preparation they are getting, and really the cooperation between us and our sending districts.”

Mr. Young, in noting the new schedule implemented in 2016-2017, said we’re going to have to wait to see how students use their extra elective. “Certainly we are excited to see what the new schedule brings,” he said, “not only with our ensembles but with our entire music program.”

Features

8 The Voyager

June 2017

Travel like it’s your first and last time

By RASHI SANGHAVI ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

One hundred and ninety-six.

That’s how many countries our world contains. There’s a number of places to visit and such little time to explore. Traveling is an essential part to your life; it’s an experience you’re not likely to forget and my experience is one that I’ll never forget.

From April 5th to 24th, I was on vacation visiting Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Greece. For 19 days, I experienced foreign culture to the point I’m addicted and cannot wait to go back.

Make traveling worthwhile with just a couple of points to keep in mind.

Talk to local people from where you’re visiting, whether it’s that man who’s sitting beside you on the couch of your hotel lobby or the woman who’s taking your order in that Italian restaurant. Don’t be shy. What’s the point of traveling if you can’t communicate and connect with people who live in an area foreign to you.

In Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland there’s a village called Stechelberg in which there was a family who owned a barn. With

the sole purpose of buying fresh milk we went into their barn and thirty minutes later we’d known that the family had been living there for generations, the children still went to school, and how they made cow milk without preservatives.

Live in the adrenaline rush you get when you walk off that plane.

Chances are you’re never going back to the same place again, so why not do things you normally wouldn’t just because. Be the version of yourself that’s outside your comfort zone because only you are going to remember your memories, literally draw attention to yourself.

From the little Italian I learned prior to my trip, I made sure to be bold enough to say phrases to locals. Yes, I was the crazy tourist that probably said good berry instead of good morning with a strong American accent.

If you’re going on vacation for so many days, go to that town’s grocery store. You won’t be eating out for every meal. The most interesting thing I found

in the grocery stores was that the food was labeled and packaged in many different languages: Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Great Britain (English).

Since I’ve been raised a vegetarian, I’d have to look through all the packaged food to see what it contained. It was easy to decipher some French when the

The countdown to summer

By JESSICA BONAMASSA ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

It’s pretty common for us to stay up till 12:00 in the morning doing endless pages of homework and studying for those ridiculously hard tests just hoping to pass because if we didn’t, our parents would kill us.

Year round, we work so hard to ace our classes and manage our sports and extracurricular activities. We always find ourselves pulling the weight on group projects because our partners are too occupied on their phones or being obnoxious.

Long hours are wasted completing homework that ends up not getting graded.

And not to mention that most of us couldn’t possibly think about making it through the school day running on five hours of sleep without our fix of coffee. We work until we’re physically and emotionally drained and become dependent on those random days off just to get us through the week.

School days seem to be less drawn-out and painful as the countdown to summercbeing occupied binge watching movies and shows on Netflix. We get to hang out with our friends more often, and the summer vibes begin to kick in. The weather gets hotter as the end of school approaches and before you know it, you’re taking drives to the beach.

The overall atmosphere of Eastern becomes much friendlier. Although most of us are

counting down the hours and can’t wait to get out of school, the last day of is always a bittersweet goodbye. Seniors move on to bigger and better things, some of our favorite teachers retire, and we leave lots of amazing memories behind. School is finally out and it’s time to get the relaxation we’ve been waiting for all year.

In the first few weeks of summer, everybody wants to take advantage of their newfound freedom and try to do everything that comes to mind. Lots of our nights are spent out with friends and at parties and bonfires, but what do you do when that becomes boring?

Concerts are always a safe go-to and leave you with an unforgettable experience. Hundreds of artists are coming to Philadelphia this summer, such as Kendrick Lamar, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, and many others. Most of the concerts have either general admission or lawn seats priced at $25 and up. However, if concerts aren’t your style and you’re willing to take a road trip, there are many different festivals and fairs in New Jersey from June to August. June 22-July 9 is the State Fair Meadowlands in East Rutherford, June 23–25 is the Annual North Wildwood Italian Festival in North Wildwood, and June 24 is the popular Margate Beachstock.

For more adventures, you can take walk by a local lake, fish, walk through an old town, shop at the outlets, try out a new restaurant or a new coffee shop. If you get bored this summer, make sure to keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to try something different.

Artwork by Sophia Thai ‘19

ingredients weren’t in English, thanks to my french teachers Mesdames Youse and Goldthorp.

Don’t forget that there is a world of opportunities outside the world you’ve created for yourself. Go explore and make sure to take back something from it!

Atsion Lake photo by Anthony Murphy ‘17

Attention All Fishers:

It’s fishing season

By Ayesha Rahman’ 20 Voyager Staff Reporter

The summer sun is already shining and so is the fishing season. As the weather is starting to clear up the ponds are clogged with fishes ready to be caught.

The fishing rods at Bass Pro are selling at $29.95 and up, and all their other fishing needs are for sale too.

Great Egg Harbor River in the Berlin Park is a good spot for fishing, it›s never overcrowded and the lake is filled with all kinds of fish. The park is in Berlin, between the White Horse Pike, New Freedom Road, and Park Drive. Also, the Berlin Park is hosting a Youth Fishing Derbies program for kids ages of 8-15 to teach them how to fish.

The Striper Cup is a fishing competition that starts from New Jersey and extends up to Maine.

The way to win this competition is to catch the largest fish. Other years the contestants received boats and kayaks, this year the grand prize is a brand new Cobia boat. Just by participating, you win prizes and money, and you can team up to win the race.

The competition starts late September and is 5 months long

so get your bate ready for the fishes.

Throughout the next couple months there are many fishing workshops for more experienced fisherman. August 5th, there is a Sedge Island Sampler workshop, which includes many activities such as crabbing and clamming. The workshop takes place in Sedge Island, Seaside Park, Ocean County, and it only costs $25 for each person.

Registration is a first come, first serve basis so register quickly while there’s a spot left.

The Skillful Angler Recognition Program is a program that recognizes the talented fishermen right here in New Jersey. The way to win is to catch the fish they are looking for and it matters on size. It is a competitive program, but very fun filled. This is for everyone who has a fishing license, and this program is for all ages.

The lakes right now are filled with Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, White Catfish, Bluegill, Sunfish, and much more. New Jersey is a densely populated state but and its waters are filled with fish culture and never ending fishing. Happy fishing.

Features

June 2017

The Voyager 9

Photo of the Month

Freshman Samantha Sari enjoys the peace and solitude of reading after school hours

The Importance of Mamava

By SOPHIA TROCCOLI ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

Breastfeeding in public is controversial, which seems ludicrous when considering its importance in a baby’s natural diet. A mother should breastfeed exclusively for about 6 months; and continue breastfeeding, in addition to other primary sources of nutrition, for 1 year or longer, The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended as of 2012.

Mother’s milk is a vital source of nutrition, ensuring that the baby receives important vitamins, proteins, and fat. Breast milk also contains antibodies that defend the immune system from viruses and bacteria; resulting in fewer ear infections, respiratory illnesses, like asthma or allergies, bouts of diarrhea and other digestive issues.

Research is also linked to higher IQ scores in later childhood, a decrease in the risk of childhood obesity and diabetes, and a role in the prevention of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

These health benefits are not limited to the infant, but extend to the mother as well. The weight gained during pregnancy can be oppressive to a woman’s health, yet breastfeeding allows the body to burn extra calories faster. Breastfeeding also releases the hormone oxytocin, which helps the uterus return to its pre-pregnancy size and may reduce uterine bleeding after birth.

Studies show that breastfeeding also lowers the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, in addition to osteoporosis.

However, the public often makes women who breastfeed while trying to accomplish their everyday routines feel uncomfortable. New mothers often feel like they must hide in bathroom stalls while breastfeeding or pumping, which is both unsanitary and degrading. This stigma is inherently dangerous to women’s sense of motherhood and body image, portraying this natural act of nurturing as inappropriate.

This is why starting in 2006, mothers Christine Dodson and Sascha Mayer came up with the revolutionary idea to establish Mamava, a safe and private place for women to breastfeed

What to do in the area in June Sakshi Sehrawat’18 & Mei Liu’20 Voyager Staff Reporters

Boathouse Row: 1 Boathouse Row, Phila-

delphia, PA 19130. It’s an artsy, historic site located in Philadelphia for blooming photographers. Capturing the glowing lights coming from the houses at night onto their lenses is worth the time spent there.

It is also suitable place for adventurers.

Chinese Lantern Festival at Franklin and pump while out-and-about.

Mamava are freestanding lactation suites which provide “privacy, cleanliness, and all you need to use a breast pump or nurse an infant — while simultaneously reminding passersby that breastfeeding should be supported and celebrated by all of us, because of the good it does for babies, women, families, and society in general.

Mamava lactation suites are American made food-servicegrade Fiberglass and Corian®, pod-like enclosures that offer mothers a clean private location to relax and breastfeed.

Though small, these suites feature one fold down table, suited to support a breast pump, and two benches for mom, dad, and stroller/baggage. Mamava suites include multi-functional mechanical SmartLock with Bluetooth; ensuring the lock on the door will sync with the Mamava mobile app to provide security and usage data. The suites are also equipped with an AC and USB power outlet, which allow breast pumps or electronic devices to charge.

Mamava has since sprouted up in many locations, ranging all across the U.S. The pods can be found in airports, arenas/convention centers/stadiums, educational buildings and schools, government and military buildings, healthcare centers, private businesses, retail stores/grocery stores, malls, zoos, museums, and community centers.

Two Mamava suites can be found in New Jersey, at the Newark Liberty International Airport and the 305 Aerial Squadron located on the McGuire-DixLakehurst Air Force Base.

Though the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in public may never dissolve from our society, Mamava is at least one step closer to celebrating the bond between mother and child.

Photo by Nancy Bowne ‘19

Square: What’s more mesmerizing than Philadelphia’s Franklin Square filled with handcrafted lanterns that illuminate the place when the sun sets.

A perfect event to share this beautiful culture with family and friends.

Alice in the Wonderland Statue:

76th street and 5th Avenue, near Conservatory Lake, New York City, NY 10021; if anyone is an “Alice in Wonderland” fan, this is just for you. You can take a tour around this park and see all the Alice and Wonderland statues. Artist and photographer can be spotted at every inch of the park.

Escape the Room Philly: 1528 Walnut

St. 10 Philadelphia, PA 19102; this is for anyone who is up for a challenge. This place is great for brainiacs or people who like puzzles. Come with your group of friends and try to Escape the Room.

Freddy Hill Farms: 1440 Sumneytown Pike Lansdale, PA 19446; in this place you can get fresh ice cream, and play mini golf.

Speed Raceway: 200 Blair Mill Rd Horsham, PA 19044; anyone who is interested in speed and cars, this is the place for you to be this summer.

Mine by Design Art Studio: 609 West

Ave Jenkintown, PA 19046; artistic people come to this place! This place is filled with warmth and happiness. Even if you just want to relax, this is a great place to be.

Linvilla Orchards: 137 Knowlton Rd Me-

dia, PA 19063; the food is fresh there. If anyone is interested in the open market and shopping for fresh groceries, this is the perfect place to be during your summer vacation.

Philadelphia Museum of Art: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. There is no better place for art lovers than the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It’s the third largest Museum in the country located at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philly. It has a vast collection of must see artworks of various artists and a display of the city’s culture. You can buy the tickets online at its website, plus one tickets gives you entry for two consecutive days.

Broadway Philadelphia: Don’t miss out on Motown The Musical, a hit broadway coming to Philadelphia this month and many more.

What’s Frank Eating?

Senior Frank Ziegler enjoys a turkey and cheese sandwich with mayo. The mayo surprised him, Usually he doesn’t have mayo. His sides included red grades and a Belvita protein bar.

“I’m trying to lose weight,” he said. “I’ve lost eight pounds. It’s hard when you work at Five Guys.” The best thing, he said, about lunch, was eating with my friends, “like Dave here.”

10 The Voyager

Special Reports

June 2017

Debunking the myth of majoring in English Students who major in English often face the ‘reality’ that it is a meaningless degree, leaving them either jobless or working in education or journalism. However, get ready for this myth to be busted.

By DIYA GOYAL ‘17 AND KAITLIN MCGEE ‘17 Editor-in-Chief and Voyager Staff Reporter

JOB OPPORTUNITIES ASIDE FROM TEACHING It is true, according to a survey by George Mason University of their English graduates, a large percentage of the English majors, 22.6 &, went into Education, Training, and Library. However, that leaves the remaining 77.4% of their English graduates getting careers in a wide variety of fields, from Computers and Mathematics to Arts, Designs, Entertainment, and Sports.

Famous English majors include politician Mitt Romney, author Veronica Roth, and journalist Bob Woodward.

An achievable job position for English majors lies in Marketing The head of marketing for a brokerage firm in New York, Rebecca Holloway, received an English Degree from Rutgers-Camden.

“Every slogan on every sign, every radio, every commercial you hear. Everything’s that written on there had somebody to write it,” said Holloway. Rather than the stereotypical writer who is an author or poet, Holloway works on “a different type of writing.”

“I took my writing skills and used it to connect with people and figure out what it is that they want,” said Holloway. “It takes someone who can connect with people and understand what makes them tick and what they need, then communicate it in a way that demonstrates value.”

Another available route is to go into law, like Eric Chapman, who graduated with an undergraduate English degree.

He said that “a modern English or literature degree in this day in age is not going to solely be limited to studying the dead-white-man authors.” There is much more that is pertinent to the English field than just studying Beatniks and The Great Gatsby.

“Regardless of what type of legal work I’m doing, communicating clearly and effectively, whether it’s written or oral communication, is extremely important,” said Chapman. “In order to communicate a part effectively, you have to tell a story about why what you’re telling the judge or telling the client or telling the jury is important.”

The who, what, where, when, and why is still very much an important of the storytelling process at court.

“Who’s involved, what are we talking about, when did it occur, where did it occur, and why should the outcome be whatever I’m asking them to decide. Why should my client win? Why should this person not go to jail?

Why should this regulatory statute or rule be revised?” said Chapman. His English Degree allows him to “frame those arguments so that [he] can draw the audience’s attention to the most important facts.”

University of Pennsylvania graduate and AP English Literature teacher Mrs. Pomerantz also suggests publishing as a possible route for those pursuing a career in English.

USING ENGLISH AS AN EVERYDAY ASSET English degrees provide critical life skills for graduates.

According to the Huffington Post, a 2012 survey found that employers prefer hiring liberal arts graduates.

Holloway says that when she is hiring, she pays special attention to the resumes of English graduates because she finds that are good thinkers, good writers, and have analytical minds.

Chapman said that his English degree helped him learn valuable skills.

“I think that’s a great benefit of an English degree, that it allows you to step into stories that are not your own, and to try to understand those stories through the perspective of the persona or the author or the person who’s telling the story,” said Chapman. “And the ability to understand and empathize is the first step to learning to be tolerant and learning to communicate.”

Assistant Dean of the Rutgers-Camden Honors college, Erin Lucas, who earned her English degree from RutgersCamden, finds that she has grown because of her English skills, not only as a communicator but also as a person.

“My English degree taught me empathy,” said Lucas.

“Which I think is the most essential skill for interacting

with not only students, but with other humans in general.”

Applying the term ‘useful’ to an English degree is something that is often taboo. Holloway however, shows that a degree in English is anything but useless, getting a job two weeks after graduating.

“What you do with your degree is often a reflection of your choices, your work ethic, and your abilities,” said Lucas. “I landed my first ‘real’ job about two weeks after I graduated with my B.A. in English and have been employed ever since. I won’t say that it has always been easy, but I have no regrets.”

Heather Stohler, a fundraiser for a non-profit organization and an Eastern graduate said, “Being an English major taught me more than how to read---I learned how to be well-spoken, how to write eloquently, how to research effectively, as well as think critically. These are skills sets that are foundational to a multitude of fields.”

English degrees proved a lot more than just a greater insight from a rhetorical point of view.

“Your first impression is often your job application materials, and you are judged by them at face value,” said Stohler. “You are sending fifty-some emails a day to network or build constituent relationships. If you can’t write, you can’t succeed in any field.”

In fact, writers “are in high demand in any field,” according to Stohler, and “especially in fundraising. You are only as attractive as your writers make you out to be.

Vivid programmatic descriptions about organizational impact are critical components of any successful fundraising plan.”

Professor Ricardo Ortiz, the chair of the English department at Georgetown University, which was ranked one of the top ten schools for English in the United States

by U.S. today, said that the general set of skills learned through an English degree can apply to different types of work.

“Whether or not you become a writer, you will always draw back on that [degree] in your life,” said Ortiz.

English is often viewed as a limited degree, but Ortiz says that it’s not a question of limitations but of the possibility of opportunity. Many different English majors agree that English is more than what they have learned, but how they apply what they have learned.

According to Lucas, what people do with their degree is a reflection of their work ethic, choices, and abilities.

Chapman concurs.

“It’s really like any other study, it’s what you put into it and how you apply the skills you get out of it,” he said.

To be successful with any degree, whether it be physics or creative writing, students need to take what they have learned and apply to their career. According to both Stohler and Holloway, most of the learning graduates do is not in the classroom but on the job. The reason college is there is to lay the foundation for future success in any field.

TIPS FOR THOSE WISHING TO PURSUE AN ENGLISH DEGREE Professor Joe McGee, author and professor of Creative Writing at Rowan University, said that “experimenting with different styles of writing” is important. Writing is not only limited to being an author or poet, and can attributed to many other fields as well, as long as you are open minded about it.

“At the end of the day any writing helps you write better. Take every possible varied course to build experience because you don’t know where it will take you,” said McGee. “Study widely and be open to taking risks.”

For those considering pursuing an English or Creative Writing degree, the most important thing is to pursue a degree not because of the money, but because it’s something you love, according to McGee. “If you don’t take the risk, you have zero chance of success,” said McGee. “It’s better to fail than to think in what-ifs.”

For potential English majors, a piece of advice would be to use the degree in order to hone in your own skills.

“Part of using this degree to your own benefit is to learn to recognize good writing, clear writing, and apply it, whether you’re writing emails or twitter posts,” said Chapman. “How many stories can you tell in 140 characters? Although you are absorbing the stuff you’re reading, you also need to learn to turn that material around and boil it down and communicate it effectively, whether you’re talking about material or what you had for dinner

last night.”

Pursuing an English degree takes a lot of work as well, requiring “a ton of research on potential career paths before you start college so that you can find a program that fits your needs and identify mentors who can guide you along the way,” said Holloway. “You’ll also want to find an English program that feels like it is progressing with the times, not stuck in the past: such programs should have built-in opportunities for students to study digital communications and ‘new media’ as well as the classics.”

Another important aspect of pursuing English is to start building a digital portfolio of all your writings. A great way is to start a personal blog.

“You’ll eventually find your way if you pursue English,” said Mrs. Pomerantz. “Whether it be in law, publishing, or even teaching.”

The main argument for those who call English degrees ‘useless’ being that English majors don’t make much money upon graduation. “[They think] it’s all about talking about Shakespeare, commas, and dead poets, and that’s not practical,” said Chapman. “If you step back and consider the power of narrative in the world, whether it’s political, whether there’s marketing or whether you’re just trying to convince someone that English isn’t a useless degree, it’s doing a disservice to a skill and an entire field to call it a useless degree.”

Special Reports

June 2017

The Voyager 11

The Growing Trend of Technology in Schools Studies have shown that the growing technology in school is not a vital part of student’s education experience

By ISABEL BEGELMAN ‘17 and JEN GLASS ‘17 Editor-in-Chief and Voyager Staff Reporter

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stimulation. Student focus is diminishing, and teachers are taking notice. 90% of teachers believe technology is creating shorter attention spans and more distractions, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

The same research survey found that 76% of teachers think the internet primes students to want instant answers. Students no longer feel obligated to dig deeper than a page or two for answers. This lack of motivation is defined in the education sector as the “Wikipedia Problem.”

Indeed, a different Pew Research Center survey finds 94% of teachers say students are “very likely” to use Google Photo by Isabel Begelman ‘17 or search engines for research, with “Wikipedia or other online Sophomore Owen Soler uses his school iPad to scroll through Twitter during study hall encyclopedias” landing in secthat technology breeds benefits, the next teaching as a vital piece of the experience. ond with 75%. Though the tools paragraph describes the “small” positive The school has reaped benefits, with 94% could be harvested in a productive manbenefits as “probable that more effective of students attending college institutions, ner to increase student research effectiveschools and teachers are more likely to many of which are prestigious. ness, the expectation of instant gratificause digital technologies more effectively However, contrarians will cry out that tion hinders the innate desire to learn. than other schools.” Thus a link cannot be technology is the future. They will say Teenagers attending wealthy, highlyfound and technology is declared as quesstudents need to be exposed. ranked, suburbanite schools may find tionable in terms of making a difference.

If technology must be used in schools, these findings strange. After all, their eduCountries abroad are consistently found changes must be used to improve its efcational experience may seem improved to use less technology than American fectiveness. The National Educational by the use of technology. And indeed, classrooms, even countries with more roAssociation policy brief reported that their schools may be implementing posibust education systems.

A group of 202 only four out of forty-eight states with tive changes using technology. exchange students from 15 countries to technology standards for students test the However, this is not due to the technolothe US showed near-unanimous agreestudents on their technology knowledge. gy alone: it is due to the school’s existing ment that the United States has more techThe organization recommends more prostrengths. This is what Dr. Kentaro Toyanology. 70% of United States exchange fessional development in technology; this ma, an associate professor at the Universtudents saw less technology in their trips belief solves a popular criticism of techsity of Michigan’s overseas. The highnology in schools: School of Inforly-ranked South Kotechnology in mation, calls the rean classrooms come schools reinforc“Law of Ampliequipped with utilitares pre-existing fication.” When ian-style classrooms teaching methods education is thrivand students that only rather than adding ing, technology use computers for nine a new layer. One can add benefits. minutes a day. new layer is the However, if eduDespite America’s idea of “flipped” cation is average fancy gadgets, the classrooms, havor poor, technolcountry lags behind ing students take ogy can have little countries like techonline courses at to no effect or free Finland, whose home and then even harm the exschools routinely prousing school as a isting school system. vide up to four “outplace to do homeThis is why even pro-technology in door free-play breaks work. This metheducation proposals, such as the Eduper day,” according to od still allows cation Endowment Foundation, come Kardaras’s findings. student-teacher with an asterisk. After initially opening Despite successful interaction and their report on “The Impact of Digital schools abroad without utilizes technolTechnology on Learning” with a claim an abundance ogy in a new and of screens, American schools concomplex way. The US Department of tinue to divert funds to fund techEducation is currently using this method nological advances. One such disin a trial session. trict in Arizona, the Kyrene school Is there perhaps a use for technology district, served as a case study for in the classroom? Perhaps, when used in this idea, with classrooms loaded innovative ways that may take years to with laptops, interactive screens perfect. Right now? Technology is inunthat act as chalkboards and online dated the youth with distraction, laziness drills. While the rest of Arizona’s and excess. If the United States wants test scores rose, Kyrene’s scores its PISA scores--and general quality of stayed stagnant. Meanwhile, education--to raise, looking to improve funds were diverted from music, other areas of the school is the place to art, and physical education, and look before throwing an iPad cart into a class sizes increased. computer lab.

Case studies, other countries, and lack of legitimate positive data all point to the lack of necessity of technology in schools. Some schools have already incorporated Jen Glass will be pursuing a dethis philosophy, like the private gree in policy studies at Syracuse Waldorf School. These schools next year with an eye towards a embrace basic-style classrooms concentration in education. and highly engaging activitiesIsabel Begelman will be pursuing Photo by Alex Mackle ‘18 -knitting, physical activities, reca degree in communications at Junior Madison Ewing uses her iPad to take notes on Microsoft Word during her hisitations--as well as focusing on American University next year. tory class

he iPad initiative has given the Classes of 2020, 2019, and 2018 a gadget always in hand.

The Learning Center (once a library) comes equipped with an iPad charging cart for mid-day boosts.

Media centers and computer labs (also, once a library) are stocked with highgrade Apple computers.

Eastern is but one example in a sea of schools beginning to overflow with technology. The education technology sector is projected to be a $60 billion industry by 2018 according to a Research and Markets report. Perhaps this booming industry, not paralleled in many other countries, accounts for the high rate spent per student: America lands fifth globally in average spending per student, bested only

by Austria, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.

The U.S. spends an average of $115,000 per student only to produce mediocre results: on the globally-administered Programme for International Student Assessment (or PISA) test, Americans scored mediocre results in science and reading and struggled in math, falling below average. The test, often correlated to a prediction of economic growth as test scores increase, does not indicate that increased spending equals increased performance.

Much of the United State’s lavish budget goes to technology, a growingly common staple in the American classroom despite little evidence of positive benefits and an abundance of negatives.

Though many argue that technology can be used to excite bored children in the classroom, the effects of technology can swing the other way. “It’s easier to not pay attention,” said sophomore Sophie Sable about using her school iPad, and, according to studies, she’s not the only one having trouble focusing in class.

Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, an addiction expert trained in neuropsychology and rehabilitation, points out rapidly rising ADHD rates in his writings about technology in schools. The use of technology has been directly correlated to the 50% increase of ADHD in the last decade due to excess

The U.S. spends an average of $115,000 per student only to produce mediocre results.

“It’s easier to not pay attention,” said sophomore Sophie Sable about using her school-issued iPad.

12 The Voyager

Special Reports

June 2017

Heroin hits home An in-depth look at the new epidemic and how it has impacted the Garden State

BY SAMUEL COSTANZO ‘17 Sports Editor

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ld ruins of a dam deep in the woods of the Berlin Park, a great area for local teenagers to explore and express their inner amatuer photographer, has now a more dubious distinction.

One question countless residents are asking: How is this happening in my town?

“I’ve seen a lot of needles in the streets and in the parks in our town,” said Ryan Andjel, who has lived in Berlin for 17 years now. Andjel is a senior at Eastern Regional High School. “It’s scary when you see it. But at the same time, the more you see it, it reminds you to just stay away from it.”

Back in February, a Berlin man was arrested on drug charges on possession of heroin. Last year, two women were arrested in Berlin for selling heroin and cocaine.

The two women were found in possession of 93 bags of heroin, 35 containers of both crack and powder cocaine, 10 ecstasy pills and 5 Xanax pills.

The narcotics were being held in a motel room at the Red Carpet Inn in Berlin. The motel is only a seven minute drive away from Berlin Community School, which is where 800+ students from grades K-8 go to receive their education And, according to The Berlin Sun, there were 143 narcotic arrests in 2016.

“As of March 7, there have already been 22 narcotics arrests, and the police department doesn’t see the number dropping anytime soon,” the Sun reported.

But it’s not just Berlin.

On May 31st, 2017, two Cherry Hill police officers were rushed to Cooper University Hospital after exposure to heroin. The two officers were responding to a call about a possible heroin overdose on the 200 block of Heritage Road. The mass exposure caused the two officers to be hospitalized.

They have since been released.

“I’ve been here since the mid-90s, and this is totally out of character for this neighborhood,” said Cherry Hill resident David Thorn.

In Sussex County on April 21st, 2017, 12 heroin overdoses caused 3 deaths; all within a week. .In Voorhees on June 23rd, 2016, 37 baggies of heroin were found in a red Chevrolet sedan. That’s an estimated $8,140 worth of the narcotic. The owner was charged with 3rd degree possession of heroin.

Voorhees resident and a member of Eastern Regional High School’s football team, Wasam Mehmood, said he had “no idea” heroin was even in South Jersey.

“I think it’s dumb,” said Mehmood. “It’s

Information from philly.com

The Berlin Park sits quiet and alone with no children in sight. Students have reported seeing needles in the park.

Photo by Sam Costanzo ‘17

just pointless. What do you need to do heroin for? You’re ruining your life.”

According to New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino, overdoses on heroin has increased 214% since 2010, that’s roughly a 30.2% increase per year.

In September of 2012, former Temple University student and Eastern Regional High School graduate Justin Wolfe died from an overdose of heroin. He was 21 years old.

Justin’s father, Gregg Wolfe, started a website (www.justinforjustice.org), attempting to bring awareness about changing HIPAA laws, which he believes is one of the reasons his son is no longer with him.

HIPAA laws prevent disclosure to patients families about their conditions and addictions. Mr. Wolfe fully believes that if he and his family had known about Justin’s addiction, he would still be alive today.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) establishes, for the first time, a set of national standards for the protection of certain health information.

The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information—called “protected health information” by organizations subject to the Privacy Rule — called “covered entities,” as well as standards for individuals’ privacy rights to understand

and control how their health information is used.

A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well being. The Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information, while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing.

Given that the health care marketplace is diverse, the Rule is designed to be “flexible and comprehensive to cover the variety of uses and disclosures that need to be addressed.”

Disclosure and patient privacy in situations like Justin’s is a very serious and controversial topic. It may personally make the patient feel better knowing that his/her addiction has been swept under the mat and out of sight to his or her family, but that isn’t good. Addicts are good at hiding their addictions; it’s just what addicts do.

New Jersey has now tripled the national average in deaths per 100,000 via heroin, with a staggering 8.3/100,000.

Some believe that heroin isn’t the sole issue, but the issue and disease of addiction is what’s skyrocketing the epidemic.

According to journalist Ruth Bichsel, addictions are “mental health issues.”

“Substance abuse disorders are clearly listed in the manuals used to diagnose mental health disorders. Research from the National Institutes of Health as well as the U.S. Surgeon General includes addictions and substance abuse in the definition of mental health, and have done so for decades,” said Bichsel.

Camden County, one of NJ’s leading counties in terms of heroin and drug issues, has been taking serious notes on the issue of addiction over the past few years.

County officials have now opened the Office of Mental Health and Addiction in attempt to fix the issue at hand.

“The Freeholder Board has been proactively combating the opioid crisis and developing policies

to educate, treat and preserve sobriety amongst the thousands of our residents dealing with the disease of addiction,” said County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli. “Mental health resources also play a pivotal role in ensuring the health and welfare of our residents and many times both conditions are concurring and services are severely underfunded.”

In January of 2017, New Jersey Govenor Chris Christie said that he plans on spending his final year in office cracking down on the state’s drug issues while also now having doctors strictly limit the amount of opioid drugs prescribed to patients. Christie has also been seeking legislation to have insurers pay for at least six months of drug treatment.

Not a whole lot of action had taken place until about two years ago. The issue hasn’t been Republicans against Democrats disagreeing on policy; just like addicts, New Jersey state government simply swept the issue under the mat and acted as if it didn’t even exist. “I will not have the blood of addicted New Jerseyans on my hands because we waited to act. I will not willingly watch another 1,600 of our citizens die and watch their families mourn and suffer,” said Christie.

Christie has also said he wants expanded drug courts. “It can happen to anyone.

And so we need to start treating people in this country, not jailing them.”

Christie has proposed the use of the overdose-prevention drug naloxone to be utilized better, along with having a stronger, better prescription-monitoring program.

New Jersey’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services has said they plan on requiring all providers of OTC and prescription drugs to complete a new transition in safety protocol by July 2017, while the Division of Developmental Disabilities is transitioning providers at a faster pace. (Via [the] Lacey Patch.)

The fact that the situation is even in its current predicament is both crazy and frightening. South Jersey should be known for Mack and Manco’s Pizza down the sandy shore, not for its issue with a highly addictive analgesic drug originated from morphine that is often used illicitly as a narcotic producing euphoria.

June 2017

Special Reports

The Voyager 13

Forget Doomsday or Aliens or Terrorists Drugs are the true menance to American society

By SHREYA GOWDA ‘19 Managing Editor

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ost people fear some sort of doomsday: an impending alien invasion, the zombie apocalypse. That day might be sooner rather with the rate of drug use increasing and stealing parts of society.

In this century, drug use has increased sufficiently despite the efforts of legislation and law enforcement. The worldwide rate of drug use has remained steady over the past four years, but in America the rates have severely risen.

Since 2007, heroin use has increased 145% in the United States, with 918 deaths in New Jersey in 2015, the highest it has ever been.

Last year in Philadelphia, there were 900 drug overdoses, over triple the amount of homicides, and heroin/morphine deaths have increased 214% since 2010 in New Jersey.

However, drug use generally is not on the rise. Opioid use is. Opioid use has been steadily increasing, accounting for a large portion of drug use rates and overdose rates. It is the primary cause of drug overdoses in New Jersey.

There are several reasons as to why drug use rates are so high, some being age groups in use and some being simple changes in technology.

One key factor is social pressures. Jobs and daily struggles may lead some to look for stress relief. “There is a tremendous amount of pressure in society in perform--at work and school, socially and financially,” said Dr. Helen Buckland, a research professor at the University of Washington. “I believe a lot of the drug use is connected with people’s inability to find effective coping strategies for everyday stressors in their lives (poverty, illness, anxiety, depression, insecurity, relationship struggles, I could go on and on).”

A branch of this is peer pressure during adolescence. Teenagers and early adults are the largest demographic for drug users. In 2013, there were approximately 2.8 million new users, over half of which (54.1 percent) were under 18. Most of this is due to the social learning theory: people develop new habits and learn by observing and imitating others.

In other words, monkey see, monkey do.

Teenagers watch their friends enjoy themselves through drug use and believe that to enjoy themselves and be part of the group, they should also use drugs.

Dr. Susan Collins, an associate professor at the University of Washington said, “Early in life, you see mom and dad drinking/using drugs and you learn to do it too; in adolescence, the people you hang out with influence your behavior.”

Eventually, this can lead to substance abuse where one’s behavior will change

Photo supplied by pixnio.

dramatically, alienating previous social circles until all social circles are just addicts as well.

Most of this could be prevented with proper education about substance use.

Collins expanded how there was room for improvement. “I believe in more education versus less,” she said. “Right now, we tell students they shouldn’t use drugs. Here are all the bad things about them. That makes us not sound credible.

Of course there are real and valid reasons why people use drugs. Drugs aren’t all bad. I think people should understand what drugs are, how they work, what are the actual risks and side effects, how to use drugs responsibly—what are safer ways to use drugs should they choose to use them,” she said.

The problem is with the ineffectivity of drug use education programs. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, more commonly known as D.A.R.E., is a commonly used program and has been put in place in 75 percent of school districts in the country, including Voorhees, Gibbsboro, and Berlin middle schools, as well as 52 other countries.

However, research proves that D.A.R.E. has minimal effect on the likelihood of someone using drugs; the program is flawed and does not prevent future drug use. Collins furthered, “We don’t educate children (and the larger public) about the real pros and cons of substance use and how to make educated decisions about the relative risks of different ways to use substances.”

Another factor is that drug use has increased amongst people in their fifties and sixties, the generation of the baby boomers whose rates of illicit drug use have always been historically

Photo supplied by philly.com.

higher than previous generations.

Another reason why drug use is so high is that after people become frequent users, they do not seek the help they need. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2013, almost 22.7 million Americans (8.6 percent) needed treatment for a substance use problem, but only about 2.5 million people (0.9 percent) received treatment at a specialty facility.

Several reasons keep people from seeking help. According to Buckland one of the reasons is a “stigma related to mental health conditions that keeps individuals from seeking help when they are overwhelmed.”

Collins also explained how the way society views substance use affects people seeking help. “Most important I think: what constitutes positive or negative substance use depends on social constructions. Powerful people decide what are good or bad drugs, what is “acceptable” drug use, and what is a substance use disorder. That changes from culture to culture and era to era. We as a society all make this stuff up as we go along,” she said. Not only does this help people justify their substance use, but it also prevents them from seeking help as it allows them to be in denial about the severity of the problem.

Aside from people using drugs, there are many other major factors in the increase of drug use. One is the accessibility of drugs. With modern technology, the Internet serves as an international marketplace for drugs. Simply searching up “buy illegal drugs online” brings up a volley of options. With services similar to eBay and Amazon, people can leave user ratings, pushing sellers to have more pure, higher-quality drugs. Through this new online shopping center, illegal drugs can be easily bought, encouraging doubters to try with a tap of a button.

Another is the strict legislation against drugs and the criminalization of it.

“Prohibition hasn’t worked. It hasn’t worked with alcohol, it hasn’t worked with any substance. The best thing to do is legalize drugs. Make sure it’s regulated well and that people who want to use substances are informed well,” said Dr. G. Andrew H. Benjamin, a University of Washington professor who has worked in a rehabilitation and received an award for his work.

In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all its drugs. If someone is found with a less than ten-day supply of any drug, he or

she is sent to Commision for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction panel, usually made up of a lawyer, a doctor, and a social worker.

The commission recommends treatment, and sometimes the person has a minor fine but often there is no penalty.

Despite the preconception that Portugal would become overrun by drug addicts, Portugal has seen a decline in drug use.

The rate of overdose deaths decreased from 80 percent in 2001 to 16 in 2012, with 3 drug induced deaths for every million citizens which is more than five times less than the European Union average of 17.3 per million.

Furthermore, criminalization does little to reconcile the huge amounts of drug users and only isolates people of lower socioeconomic statuses. “Criminalizing drug use has devastating effects … it has widely been used as an excuse to incarcerate drug users, which disproportionately affects youth of color and people from lower SESs [socioeconomic statuses]. This has been a boon to the prison industry, but further marginalizes certain communities and has not been shown to be effective in reducing recidivism,” said Collins.

Chris Christie signed an anti-addiction bill a couple months back in order to aid addicts by opening doors for them and ensuring treatment. This mimics Portugal’s shift to a more health-centered view on addiction. True results are yet to be determined with a bill this new.

Finally, drug companies as well are a major culprit. Many physicians in the mid to late 90s wanted to cure chronic pain, so companies pushed opioids in order to make money. Unfortunately, opioids cause people to get hooked in a very short period of time. They are also expensive, which turns people desperate to resort to cheaper alternatives like heroin to feed their addiction. This cycle continues today with several prescriptions of opioids to solve chronic pain problems turning into an addiction while needles and bodies are discarded on the streets.

Every day more people are dying of pills and needles, more people overdosing on the streets with a high in their veins. Major reforms need to be made through this country in order to sustain it from an addicted society.

Whether it be bills like Governor Christie proposed or actions like the decriminalization Portugal has enacted, change needs to be made.

14 The Voyager

Special Reports

June 2017

Trump overhauls EPA environmental regulations in favor of business interests

sequences - water pollution. It is estimated that 663 million people globally do hroughout his campaign, not have access President Trump outlined his to clean drinking plans for environmental poliwater - a stagcy, especially ones in context gering sign of of the Environmental Protecthe global wation Agency. He cast significant doubt on ter crisis. Yet in the agency and regulation measurements this time of crifrom the Obama administration, and the sis, Trump’s roll start of his presidency has already seem backs open waterthese plans start to come to life. ways for further While president Obama’s term put abuse. an emphasis on the reversal of climate For one, the adchange such as through the Paris Agreeministration has ment, the Trump administration has demapproved and beonstrated that such reversal is low on its gun construction list of priorities (or rather, nonexistent). of the Keystone

Sitting as president, he has already XL pipeline and rolled back the Clean Power Plan, a key the Dakota Access piece of legislation that previously linked Pipeline, facilitating not just the transport America to the 2015 Paris agreement. The of oil, but possible fossil fuel emissions. international agreement, aimed at keepNot only that, the pipelines cause concern ing the earth from warming more than 3.6 for possible breaches, which would condegrees to prevent an inevitable cycle of taminate the water supplies they touch. “droughts, floods, rising sea levels and Almost immediately after coming into food shortages,” has been rejected. office, Trump also reversed the rule proInstead, Donald Trump has made efforts hibiting coal-mining companies from to counter the “war on coal” and therefore dumping waste into waterways, resulting lessen restrictions on fossil fuel emissions in obvious effects. and related companies - regulations that These actions don’t just go against enObama built up during his terms. vironmental concern - they also counter Trump has announced his “America public opinion.

First” energy plan as a counterweight to According to a Pew Research Center the international measure - promoting poll, 23% of Americans say that water jobs in the coal and oil industries that pollution is a “big problem” where they could otherwise be “threatened” by wind live, in addition to the 43% who report it turbines and clean energy implementato be a “small problem.” tion. His Energy Independence Order Moreso, a Gallup poll reveals that 63% even furthers the divide between his and of Americans fret “a great deal” about Obama’s administrations, as it seeks to drinking polluted water, while 57% are undo the recent Climate Action Plan. concerned about major water pollution - a As outlined in Trump’s campaign, he number that exceeds those of air polluhas taken specific measures to attempt to tion, global warming, and tropical defordisrupt the hiatus estation. Yet the Donald Trump also degrades on coal-mining administration environmental protection as he rolls over it. on federal and even tribal lands Donald Trump eliminates scientific integrity - a disruption of from organizations like the EPA, also degrades not just environenvironmental so they align more directly with protection as he mental, but moral his business interests. concern. eliminates sciContinually, he entific integrity has committed from organizahimself to reducing “automotive fuel eftions like the EPA, so they align more dificiency standards,” despite the fact that rectly with his business interests.

69% of adults would be willing to pay Under President Trump, scientists at more for automobiles if the automakers the Environmental Protection Agency are increase fuel efficiency, according to a expected to undergo an “internal vetting Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll. process” before they can present their Furthermore, Trump seeks to oppose the findings to the agency. This directly vioBureau of Land management’s hydraulates the scientific integrity policy of the lic fracturing rule, which puts standards EPA. It prevents “all EPA employees, on gas well construction, outlines proper including scientists, managers and other disposal of fracturing waste, and requires Agency leadership from suppressing, alreports of chemicals used in the process. tering, or otherwise impeding the timely Such measures taken and proposals release of scientific findings or conclumade by the current president are deepsions.” ening concern regarding pollution. MiAlso, the president made cuts from the chael Brune, executive director of the SiEPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors erra Club, an environmental organization, (BOSC), causing “great concern that obsays that Trump’s actions and proposals jective science is being marginalized,” “could only deepen our dependence on according to MSU economic environfuels that pollute our air. . . and make our mentalist Robert Richardson. Out of kids sicker.”

18 board members, 11 terms were not According to the World Bank and the renewed. Ken Kimmel, director of the Health Effects Institute, Trump’s roll Union of Concerned Scientists, says this backs will have dire consequences as a is a specific attack on environmentalist result of air pollution. It is estimated that agendas to “get science out of the way of there are between 91,000 and 100,000 a deregulation agenda.” deaths annually as a result of air polluHowever, according to Brian La Shier, tion - lives (such as the estimated 164,000 environmental scientist at the Environin 2010) that regulations in the Clean Air ment and Energy, the most threatening of Act protect. all Trump’s proposals is cutting the fundBut Trump’s actions have further coning to the EPA.

By JARED GANS ‘17 and HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18 Editor-in-Chief and Art Editor

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Art by Hayley Beluch ‘18

According to Brian, “if the cuts were to With the continuance of EPA deregulabe approved by Congress, they would setion, the US will not be able to maintain verely hinder EPA’s ability to conduct its the necessary standards needed to counter core mission of developing and enforcing this withdrawal. According to La Shier, environmental protections and regulathis would not only create environmental tions.” Therefore, such budget cuts would consequences, but diplomatic and ecoproduce a “long-term and far-reaching nomic ones as well. detrimental effect Overall, the on public health, the The recognition of the most damnenvironment, and impact of human activity on the ing evidence the country’s greenenvironment is the only way to of this mishouse gas emisinformed adaddress the sions.” Ultimately, ministration’s detrimental change this these plans would environmenhave a large impact current administration is causing. tal agenda is on lives within the the fact that nation and around both Pruitt and Trump regard human-actithe world. vated climate change to be a hoax.

As far-reaching as these plans’ effects Despite the fact that the Intergovernare, one of Trump’s actions spawns the mental Panel on Climate Change has asmost devastating consequences: the apsessed that “it is a greater than 90 percent pointment of Scott Pruitt as head of the certainty that emissions of heat-trapping EPA. Throughout his political career, gases from human activities” have caused Pruitt has opposed the EPA and even a majority of the global temperature inthreatened to dismantle it; now, as its crease since the 1950’s, Pruitt disagrees. head, he seeks to use his power to adSays he, “I think that measuring with vance Trump’s regulation roll backs and precision human activity on the climate to destroy the efficiency of national enviis something very challenging to do and ronmental protection. there’s tremendous disagreement about Suing the EPA 17 times and filing against the degree of impact, so no, I would not it another 9, Pruitt has challenged and atagree that it’s a primary contributor to the tempted to overturn the Endangerment global warming that we see.”

Finding (an EPA report that greenhouse In combination with Trump’s claims emissions and fossil fuels “may endanger that global warming was created by the public health and welfare”), the Transport Chinese government, Pruitt’s outlook Rule (a rule to ensure that upwind states has a direct impact on the legislation that do cause air quality of downwind areas to Obama built up within his term. A cliexceed federal limits), and the Regional mate change denier leading the EPA unHaze Rule (a rule to protect air around der a president who thinks climate change natural parks), among others. was invented by the Chinese ultimately He even tried to block the forced adophas consequences on environmental regution of mercury controls by power plants lation - ones that can, will, and have set - an effort that could prevent an estimated back the US decades since the recent ad11,000 deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and ministrative turnover.

130,000 asthma attacks each year, many According to Marjorie Kaplan, the Asof those of children. sociate Director at the Rutgers Climate Other suits of his include the attempt to Institute, to address climate change, attack legislation reducing ozone - what “we have to understand the sources, secthe American Lung Association deems tors, and practices that contribute to the “one of the most dangerous” pollutants. emissions and then develop acceptable These deregulation efforts will continue strategies for decarbonizing society. We within his term, as when interviewed, he need a suite of measures to address clicould not cite one EPA regulation that he mate change that includes preventing its supported. release through conservation, energy efHis limited knowledge of the EPA has ficiency, renewables, ways to reduce the also been evident. When asked if lead is carbon intensity of our fuels, and ways to or is not safe for kids, he could not anprevent the release of carbon from land swer, and when asked about asbestos, he clearing; we also need to sequester or claimed it was “inappropriate” to discuss store carbon in our forests and wetlands.” banning it completely.

Therefore, the recognition of the impact Continually, he said the Paris Climate of human activity on the environment is Change Agreement - an international efthe only way to address the detrimenfort to reduce emissions and national foottal change this current administration is prints - was a “bad deal.” Since, Trump causing. has pulled America out of the standards set in 2015.

June 2017

Special Reports

The Voyager 15

Yes, the school recycles, but contrary belief persists

Conventional wisdom around school states that the school does not recycle. However, several sources debunk the rumors and confirm that recycling is done.

Kara Fenton ‘18 is seen recycling her water bottle after class.

By HANA HANCOCK ‘18 and CRYSTAL OSUJI ‘18 Voyager Staff Reporters

T

rash cans--black. Recycling cans--blue. Eastern has both, yet the belief persists that the school does not recycle.

For years there has been speculation that the school does not recycle and that we just compile all the trash together.

Mrs. Roberts, advisor of Eastern’s environmental club, E.S.C.A.P.E., and recycling advocate, says that regardless of the image, Eastern does, in fact, recycle.

“At the end of the school day,” she said, “everything in the trash can is trash and everything in the blue, that goes to recycling.”

Lessismore.org states that 80% of school waste is recyclable. However, this does not mean that all waste is placed in the right can.

Large blue recycling cans are located outside the two main offices, in gyms during lunch, and in the hallways near classrooms, like the nearly brimming can just outside of Roberts’s room.

Is Eastern as efficient as it can be?

Eastern utilizes a mixed recycling system with materials like paper, aluminum, bottles, and cans all being combined into a collection truck instead of being sorted into individual commodities.

“By law, they do have to put that stuff in the recycling can outside,” said E.S.C.A.P.E. club officer and junior, Ryan Baker.

Eastern has a default ratio to meet when it comes to recycling. Taking into consideration how many people are contained within the school, Eastern legally must fulfill their set standard or risk being fined.

Both E.S.C.A.P.E.and Eastern’s maintenance are part of the recycling process, according to Roberts. Every classroom is supposed to have a trash can and a recycling can, courtesy of the

club. Students are supposed to dispose of their waste in the respective containers.

Special emphasis on “supposed to.”

While E.S.C.A.P.E. tries their best to encourage and facilitate recycling, many students take a lax approach towards the process that some would call an instinctive habit.

Often times it comes down to convenience.

Sophomore Miles Johnson said that when he needs to dispose of a recyclable material, such as a water bottle, the bottle will most likely end up in the trash can.

Only if a recycling can is in close proximity will Johnson dispose of the bottle in its rightful place.

Senior Ben Forsman similarly stated that he recycles “only half of the time, if it’s convenient. Only if it’s next to the trashcan.”

Still, some are more diligent than others.

Take senior Allana Beckman for example, who feels an obligation to recycle her water bottle caps.

“If I have a bottle cap and can’t find a bottle cap container to recycle, I find one and recycle it,” she said.

Even with dutiful students like Beckman recycling daily, it

Ms. Porrini seen recycling at her recycling station.

may still not be enough. Teachers like Ms. Porrini, the sociology teacher, like to go out their way to recycle at school.

“We go through a tremendous amount of paper here, and I think it is imperative that we are recycling it,” she said.

Her class even has a designated recycling corner .

Ryan Baker said there is a misconception that has come in with a lot of teachers that actually hurts where we are at with recycling. “We’re ranked by how well we do at the state comparatively, and we’re not at the maximum recycling capacity that we could be at, that the school could be at,” said Baker.

Baker said he has personally heard teachers claiming the school doesn’t recycle. Teachers will oftentimes say that they’ve seen the janitors mix the two cans and dispose the recyclables with the trash. This, however, is untrue, according to Baker. Maintenance will take both the trash and recyclables out at the same time, but will put each bag where it belongs.

What is in trash cans stays in trash cans.

Same goes for recyclables in recycling cans.

However, the problem, according to those interviewed, lies with the student body. It is not the job of the maintenance staff to sit and sort through the cans to make sure everything is where it should be. If the rumor persists that the school does not recycle, then the school has a dilemma.

To fix this issue, Baker thinks it starts with the teachers. If they set an example for the students by recycling, students will do it too.

Mrs. Roberts said she would love the school to be more green. “It’ll take a lot of effort on everyone’s part in order to do so,” she said.

In an attempt to achieve this goal, Eastern is attempting to implement and participate in a PepsiCo Challenge, through E.S.C.A.P.E. The challenge will set a “bottle goal” that the school would aim to reach or even surpass, which in turn, would hopefully enforce and encourage recycling.

According to the organization’s website, over 96 million plastic bottles and alumi-

Photos by Crystal Osuji ‘18

num cans have been recycled through the program to date. 3690 schools across the nation currently participate in the challenge.

In addition, the school belongs to TerraCycle, a company that converts trash into products. TerraCycle collects the trash, then gives it companies to recycle into new products. Currently, Eastern belongs to about ten companies located in Princeton, New Jersey that recycles the school’s trash.

“You sometime see students litter, which is disheartening because we do only have the one planet,” said Ms. Porrini. One way Ms. Porrini thinks we can continue good recycling habits at school is to have more of the blue recycling cans placed around the school. Also, it will help if we make greater efforts school-wide to participate in TerraCycle, which offers a range of free programs to help collect and recycle waste.

In previous years, E.S.C.A.P.E. had implemented a bottle cap collection initiative with Aveda. It was a big program, but after Aveda stopped collecting the caps for free, the club had to find another way to fund the initiative. What resulted were multiple fundraisers throughout the year that have now helped cover the costs.

“When you think about how much is being used and how it is being piled up each day, it is an exorbitant amount of reuses and recyclables that can be used for a greater cause,” said history teacher and boys track coach Mr. McAleer. He emphasized the importance of how recycling can affect the environment and how it can make trash disposal for the school cheaper.

The price of trash disposal is counted by the weight of much trash you have, according to McAleer. If students and teachers start to put the recycling in the proper can, ultimately trash disposal will be cheaper for the school and we can put that extra money elsewhere.

But could we be doing more? That seems to be the question we should all be asking ourselves.

“I don’t think we are all doing our part.

But to say that recycling doesn’t happen, no we do. I just think we can do more,” said Roberts.

16 June 2017

Spring

“Bruce represented joy, love, a Eastern. He was the symbol of t

Coach W shares t Springfe

“Bruce is one of my very good fr spirit alive, so I figured, let’s do so dents together bring the communit You know, to honor the type per back to the community, so I figure I know Bruce was shining down w weather. The kids respond very w Spring Festival. I think it been great.

I think we’re going to have a good opportunity to continue doing be a one-and-done. I think After this year we’ll tweak a few things. For instance, this year four scholarships.

I want to thank all the faculty staff the administration and especially the staff and my vo everything straight, and making everyting run smoothly.”

Recipients of the Bruce Jackson Memorial Scholarship Davis Schneider Jenna Carnival

gfest

Visit @EHSVoyager on Twitter to see the full picture

Remember “Bruce’s humor and dancing.”

olunteers that helped me out organizing, getting

“ZOOM! Full speed ahead!”

riends. I just wanted to keep this his memory and omething at the end of the year to bring the stuty together. We can to raise money. rson he was. To give back to him and to give ed, let’s do this. I think the first annual was great. with some some sun today; we had beautiful well with the activities and the organization of the . this year after year after year. I don’t want it to we have two scholarships, next year we’ll have

“Bruce was always smiling”

Worthington thoughts on est 2017

Members of Eastern’s football team wrote down their favorite memories of Bruce “He helped the team p ush on through the summer h eat.”

and spirit of the school.”

The Voyager 17

Photos by Alex Mackle and Ben Forsman Allana Beckman, Hayley Beluch, Gary Worthington, and Daniel Boguszewski contributed to this page

18 The Voyager

Opinion

June 2017

Voyager editorial staff divided on NJ marijuana legislation

In May, Senator Nicholas Scutari, a Democrat, proposed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in New Jersey. Under the bill, taxes on marijuana sales would begin at 7 percent and grow to 25 percent over the course of 5 years. Scutari’s bill would also enable individuals that are 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of cannabis, 16 ounces of solid products, (like edibles) 72 ounces in liquid form, or 7 grams of concentrate.

Although many Republican politicians are fighting back, Scutari believes legalization is the right thing to do for Jersey-ans. According to a survey conducted by The Voyager, 50 percent of students said they would support the bill with essential changes, while 28.6 percent said they would support it as is, and 14.3 percent expressed that they don’t believe New Jersey should legalize recreational marijuana.

One Voyager editorial member explained that one of the benefits of marijuana legalization would be that if weed were to be legalized, it might become more accessible to people who need it for medical reasons. Others compared weed to the likes of alcohol and cigarettes, therefore reasoning that it should be legal. Another said that there won’t be as many “criminals” because people won’t be hiding drug deals and won’t be sentenced to prison for harmless crimes.

However, some others believed that legalization would be damaging to the state in numerous ways. One student said that they are against legalization because “too many people will abuse the privilege and there will be too many people walking around stoned or dazed...the entire atmosphere of [New Jersey] would change.” Although many students said they would support it medically, they admitted that they would be hesitant to back its recreational use.

Driving under the influence of cannabis, lethargy in users, and health hazards also need to be accounted for.

While many feel that marijuana is a gateway drug, it is considered a medical revelation and provides relief to many with disorders and diseases such as epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and seizures, as well as many more. At first glance, the drawbacks of recreational marijuana are glaringly apparent compared to the benefits, but the latter solves some of our country’s most important issues today.

But perhaps many students are unaware of the positive effects of smoking marijuana for medical reasons. An overwhelming amount of the Voyager staff responded to the poll by saying that health classes here at Eastern do not cover the effects of smoking pot enough, instead putting a special emphasis on reproduction and diseases. Others said that the classes simply enforce the idea that using is bad without explaining why.

One conspicuous issue with non-legalization is the financial and social toll the prohibition of cannabis takes on our society. The majority of arrests for cannabis possession are low-level, nonviolent offenders. Marijuana enforcement is also inherently biased; “Marijuana use is roughly equal among Blacks and whites, yet Blacks are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession,” according to a report by the ACLU. Additionally, studies show that legalization in other states has not led to increased use among teens and minors, disproving the perception that teen drug usage will drastically increase if marijuana is legalized.

If Scutari’s bill passes, it would allow the state’s five medical marijuana dispensaries to apply for retail recreational licenses. Scutari has said that he wants the bill to be ready for the next governor, and Democratic front-runners for governor are pushing for legalization while Republicans are open to decriminalization.

Among the states that have already legalized marijuana are Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

So far, the future looks bright for Scutari’s bill, and recreational weed may be legal in New Jersey sooner than we think.

Eastern Regional High School 1401 Laurel Oak Road Voorhees, NJ 08043 Editorial Staff Isabel Begelman, Jared Gans, Diya Goyal: Editors-in-Chief Alex Mackle: Managing Editor Shreya Gowda: News Editor Srishti Ramesh: Features Editor Sam Costanzo: Sports Editor Jen Le: Entertainment Editor Hayley Beluch: Art Editor Ruthie Douglass: Photography Editor Nancy Bowne: Copy Editor Lauren Casole, Karina Madrid, Sakshi Sehrawat, Jamie McCormick: Layout Editors VOYAGER STAFF Jessica Bonamassa, Dan Brown-Russo, Anthony Cutrera, Jen Glass, Aaric Hawkes, Eric Horn, Mei Liu, Daniel Merkh, Anthony Murphy, Maanasi Natarajan, Ayesha Rahman, Rashi Sanghavi, Sakshi Sehrawat, Sydney Snyderman, Lisa Traczyk, Sophia Troccoli, Layla Turner, Bob Werner, Allana Beckman, Kaylee Braidwood, Jordan Dahan, Julia Dodd, Ben Forsman, Hana Hancock, Myles Johnson-Arline, Anuska Lahiri, Kaitlin McGee, Crystal Osuji, Alexa Sanchez Walter Bowne, Advisor: Room 605

Trump’s predictable 100 days spells uncertainty for the future

By JARED GANS ‘17 Editor-in-Chief

For Donald Trump, one thing is certain: there have been many surprises for the young Trump administration. Sort of.

There is a vast difference in how much Trump has attempted to achieve and what he has actually achieved in upholding his campaign promises. It is best to break it down by timeline, showing accomplishments and shortfalls.

After spending over a month on his “Victory Tour,” where Trump visited the states he won to thank them for their votes (which was very useful), many Cabinet and other executive positions remained vacant and without any person set to take the positions.

According to The Washington Post, there are 443 positions requiring Senate confirmation that have yet to have a nominee for as of May 27. This is more than any of his recent predecessors at this point.

Trump made many promises for his first 100 days. Of course, when he could not deliver on them, he began attacking the idea of 100 days being a milestone in an administration, nevertheless saying he has accomplished more in 100 days than any modern president in their respective 100 days. Let’s take a look at that…

Despite the many goals Trump said would be complete on Day 1, the first significant accomplishment was on January 23. As part of his “America First” policy, the United States left the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

This was along the lines of what Trump has been saying during his campaign about trade deals. Although there is no current negotiation with those Pacific countries for trade, Trump did come through on his promise. The next day, Trump issued executive orders reopening work on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. In spite of complete disregard for environmental effects, this has long been a campaign promise.

The next day, another executive order was issued to begin work on Trump’s initial campaign promise, the border wall across the Mexican border. Later in the day, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto reiterated that Mexico will not pay for any wall. As a result, Trump was forced to make a slight change in his plans.

Trump now has planned money in the U.S. budget to be provided for the wall. The budget is still yet to be approved by Congress. He states Mexico will eventually pay by raising a 20% tariff on all Mexican goods. He fails to realize the harmful effects of this choice. If a wall is eventually constructed in some form, we’d face a major debt increase (at best) or a trade war with Mexico.

On January 27, Trump issued his somewhat less unconstitutional version of temporarily banning all Muslim immigration. This suspended the refugee program for 120 days, suspended Syrian refugees indefinitely, and suspended immigration from seven countries for 90 days. This order and its replacement were ruled unconstitutional.

Trump’s biggest accomplishment as of yet is the successful confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to replace Antonin Scalia.

Gorsuch is a strict constructionist like Scalia, and his confirmation was an important issue to many Trump voters.

However, along with these promises are many broken promises.

Trump’s budget includes wide cuts to Medicare to make room for his increase in military spending, despite saying he would not cut its funding.

The Iran Nuclear Deal was to be declared void on Day 1, but the deal is still ongoing.

In an interview, Trump said he wants to have everyone in the country be covered by health insurance, but he supported a plan which would cost 20 million people healthcare which would not be lost by the Affordable Care Act. The plan also allows costs to be raised for “high-risk” people who can not afford care and permits states to opt out of not denying people with pre-existing conditions to have care. And this only is part of Trump’s changes of tune. We’re still waiting on Trump’s big plan to defeat ISIS...

With Trump’s accomplishments, there are plenty of promises Trump broke because he had no real intention of fulfilling them or could not fulfill them.

A common criticism of the “lying media” is they only focus on the bad sides of Trump and not any of the good he has done. However, his progress as a whole is limited, and good is entirely based on perspective. Sorry to say what Fox News thinks is good is different than what MSNBC thinks is good.

As a whole, Trump’s 100 days have not been that surprising. It was not hard to know what he actually wanted to do and what he can do. But Trump’s lack of ability to carry through on his stated ideas (which are few) will only lead to a more surprising remainder of his term.

Impeachment being mentioned for his Russian relations is a major statement. Even if nothing comes of it, a question this big to challenge his administration this early is a major threat to his ability to fully execute anything for his time as president.

President Eisenhower once said, “Accomplishment will prove to be a journey, not a destination.” That journey has just begun, and it is on course to be a short one, even if Trump does not join the club currently exclusive to Nixon.

June 2017

@TheVoyager

Opinion

Submit letters to The Voyager ehsvoyager@gmail.com or Mr. Bowne, Room 605

The Voyager 19

Special needs kids deserve an equal amount of respect as regular kids

By BRIANNA KNOWLES ‘18 Special to The Voyager

Yeah to Teacher Voices

I hope that better communication would be a goal for next year.

Dear Voyager, I love how you are getting more teacher input in the Voyager!!! This is awesome!

Sincerely, Brian Gillespie ‘17

Ms. Teresa Porrini, Social Studies Teacher

Adventure is Out There Dear Voyager, Always enjoy Anthony Murphy’s adventure articles. Great student, person and writer.

Mr. Greg Sipp, Physical Education Teacher

Better Communication Needed Dear Editors, Teachers often criticize students for not being able to communicate. I find this ironic since the school is failing to communicate with the students regarding so many things, like senior banquet ticket sales, Naviance survey, Replay It App, baby pictures for Yearbook, and Picture Day information. Due dates are often pushed back because so few actually turned material in one time.

Suggestion: Homeroom was a line of communication. Either go back to HR or find a new route for communication. Announcements, Remind 101, and the school’s website are fine, but they all need to be used. All three can work.

Announcements in shop classes are often not heard. Not everyone sign’s up for Remind 101.

And the website is just not updated enough and no checked too often.

The Lunch Crunch Dear Editors, As a parent of a current freshman, a 2013 graduate and a future 2029 graduate I have great concerns about lunchtime at Eastern.

I appreciate the article bringing to light the situations in the gyms but my question is “What is the school going to do going forward to make sure students do not continue eating on the floor?”

Of course I agree that students should clean up their places but I cannot believe the possibility of a huge mess in a large area with so many students wasn’t a consideration when deciding to make the change at lunchtime.

While the article was well written it upsets me greatly that administrators did not discuss a clear plan to alleviate the unsanitary conditions. All we found out is that there is no disciplinary action unless you are caught. And we all know some kids are great at not getting caught. Aren’t there video cameras in the gym that can be utilized in some way?

This issue and the few videoed lunchtime brawls have been a concern of mine all year.

Perhaps you can reach out to the local papers or the school wide phone system or remind texts to alert parents to remind their students to clean. Or better yet remind texts daily during lunch to clean up.

I sincerely hope to see some resolutions.

Thanks, Dominique Danielle

Meet the new editors for next year!

Hana Hancock ‘18 Opinion Editor

Crystal Osuji ‘18 Asst. Entertainment

Lauren Casole ‘18 Features Editor

Hayley Beluch ‘18 Editor-in-Chief

Ruthie Douglass ‘19 News Editor

Nancy Bowne ‘19 Copy Editor

Shreya Gowda ‘19 Managing Editor

Srishti Ramesh ‘19 Managing Editor

Alex Mackle ‘18 Editor-in-Chief

Julia Dodd ‘19 Managing Editor

Eric Horn ‘19 Sports Editor

Anthony Cutrera ‘19 Sports Editor

Lisa Traczyk ‘19 Art Editor

Layla Turner ‘18 Entertainment Editor

Karina Madrid‘18 Features Editor

Jaimie McCormick ‘18 Entertainment Editor

Jessica Bonamassa ‘18 Maanasi Natarajan ‘19 Features Editor Opinion Editor

Just imagine a world filled with no judgment. No discrimination.

Imagine a world where people just like you and I can be free, and live our lives the way we want to. Just imagine.

When we’re born, we aren’t born to hate or to judge, but we learn how to do those things from our society, friends, and even family.

When I was in kindergarten, I remember everyone use to play with everyone, no matter how different we may have been. We all played blocks together. We played in the plastic kitchen set together and we all loved being together. We weren’t judging Sally’s shoes, or how Joe couldn’t read as well as everyone else, but somehow that all changed.

We grew up, we started to judge Sally based on her shoes and her outfits, and we started to laugh at Joe when he would read out loud in class and mess up on a couple words. We all changed. We don’t consider the feelings of those who may be a little different than us.

We laugh at them, we see them in the halls and we don’t say hi to them, we make fun of them behind their backs just because they were having a bad day and maybe they were throwing a tantrum.

We aren’t those same kids who were in kindergarten years ago, who would play with these kids, and make sure that they had someone to sit with during snack time. No, we grew up, and society corrupted us into thinking that just because we are different, it means that we can’t be friends with anyone who is not like us.

Our country was brought up on the idea that “all men were created equal” but for some reason we aren’t practicing that famous saying.

Special needs kids deserve the equal amount of respect as we do.

They deserve a good education, they deserve to be able to drive, and they deserve to be waved to in the halls by people who they consider their “peers” or for some of you their “friends.”

I’ve always said hi to these kids whenever I saw them, even if I didn’t know their names. It doesn’t take much effort to give them a wave, or to compliment them. Children who are in special programs should be given every opportunity to participate in educational, nonacademic, and extracurricular activities with children who are not disabled.

All of us love to be complimented on our outfits; all of us love to be included in things. Like all of us, children with special needs need social acceptance, they need to be waved to in the halls, they need to be included in things that do, otherwise it brings their self-esteem down, it makes them feel like they are left out, and no one likes to feel that way, not even you all.

The most positive thing that I found was that 8 out of 10 people agree that children with disabilities are just as smart as you and me.

8 out of 10. Now yes, they learn different things than us, but that doesn’t make them any less intelligent than we are. We are in control of our bodies and the way we think and sometimes these kids are not.

So, making fun of them having a tantrum in the halls is not the way to go about a situation like that.

Some of us don’t understand why they act the way they do sometimes, and some of us don’t want to do or say anything because our egos are too big, or we are too scared to do the right thing. There are many organizations out there that help disabled children. The National Youth Leadership Network is an organization led by young citizens that help build relationships, and strengths among the children. We all want to be good at something; especially for most people playing sports would be one of them. Most of you play a sport that you love so much, and that you could never live without.

Well, thankfully, to the Disabled Sports USA, they use sports as rehabilitation and it gives the kids confidence, new friendships, and dignity. It makes us realize that we take advantage of sports and things, because most of these kids might not be able to play basketball, or baseball due to health conditions, or other reasons. God didn’t want us to judge, and neither do our parents. We were raised to love and to not judge a book by it’s cover, but too only judge by their heart.

My great grandfather served in WWII. He always had a mental illness, and because of that his one side of the family never talked to him. They thought he was too hard to handle, they thought that he was embarrassing to bring out in public, and he wasn’t their version of “normal.” I hope that schools start to teach special needs kids and even us about social skills, and the respect that we need to give to one another, Don’t let society, friends, or anyone make you feel bad for giving a simple wave to these kids, or talking to them in the hallways. It’s time that we are the example to other people whose egos are too big, and who talk behind these kids backs, and it’s time for YOU to be the change.

20 The Voyager

Commentary

June 2017

Adventuring for a Cause:

The People’s Climate Change March in Philly

By ANTHONY MURPHY ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

“It’s on,” I told fellow seniors and Voyager reporters Jen Glass and Isabel Begelman.

“Wait, a website says it’s cancelled. Wait, never mind, it is still on. Hold on, the train schedule might be different because of the draft. Nevermind, we’re good to go, come to the train station!”

It was the morning of April 29th, the day of the Peoples’ Climate Change March.

The main march was taking place in D.C., which amounted to a crowd of around 200,000 activists, marching in our capital for an issue of which we all share a common fear: climate change, the disastrous change in the global climate that’s threatening all life on Earth.

A sister march in Philly seemed like a more reasonable bet. Staff members and friends, Jen Glass and Isabel Begelman, accompanied me to the City of Brotherly love to spread our motherly love for Mother Earth.

Equipped with signs expressing our elemental care and fear for our home planet, we joined the mass of tree huggers and green panthers orbiting City Hall.

After a few speakers had shouted their feelings and desires to rally up the crowd, one even being a native from Standing Rock, the march began.

With signs up and voices raised, we flooded the street. An older woman made her way from the front of the crowd to the back, screaming chants that made the whole march roar. Her: “Show me what democracy looks like!” Everyone: “This is what democracy looks like!”

Our common interest made the movement indescribably strong.

“Hey hey, ho ho, Scott Pruitt has got to go! Hey hey, ho ho!”

“Hey, hey, save the EPA!” It just so happened that the march fell on Donald Trump’s 100th day of presidency.

A wall was built these first 100 days, a wall between all Americans: Pro-Trump vs Anti-Trump. While many feel that it’s been 100 days too many, others feel that it has been the best 100 days this country has seen in a long time.

With the main march in D.C., and around 370 sister marches nationwide, there was a loud collective voice scattering across the country, warning of Trump’s dangerous environmental agenda.

We marched from Dilworth Park towards the river, increasing in number and strength. Crowds formed on sidewalks talking pictures and videos, many consisted of people attending the draft. Some cheered us on, others expressed dirty faces and laughed as we passed.

With attendees ranging from young children to elders, the passion for this issue was immense. It could be felt in the air.

We weren’t there for violence, we weren’t just looking for a reason to attack our administration; our voices needed to be heard.

This country and this world as a whole must start working together to conquer this issue. It isn’t one country’s policy versus another’s. This issue can only be resolved with the collective work of all countries and humans alike.

Take a look at our hottest neighbor in the solar system, Venus. It’s a prime example of the dangers of global warming and greenhouse gases. The planet has a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere 92 times more dense than that of our own and has a blistering surface temperature of around 864 degrees Fahrenheit. This hellish environment is the direct result of greenhouse gases flooding the atmosphere. It is thought that large sums of water vapor coupled up in the atmosphere of the planet, forcing carbon in the rock and sediment to channel into the atmosphere and mix with oxygen to continuously create more and more carbon dioxide.

With a frightening increase in greenhouse gas emissions and climate change on the rise, we can see a possible future for Earth by looking at what is happening on Venus.

Climate change is the only worldwide issue that, in a way, forces humans to work together as one species with a common problem. Marching for climate change were people of different races, religions, genders, sexual preferences, political views, et al. We had no differences here.

We were all humans bringing to light a cause that is threatening our safety, our health, our lives, and the lives of all other living organisms on Earth.

We are crossing into dangerous territory, causing damage that is reaching a point of permanency. We do not have any more time for climate deniers, for we ourselves are now becoming our own biggest threat.

As the march came to a close and ended with a grouping and some discussion, I can speak for Jen, Isabel, and myself when I say that participating in the march was eye-opening, necessary, and relieving in the sense that we were surrounded by people rising up for a common cause.

Isabel Begelman, Jen Glass, and Anthony Murphy show protest signs.

Photos by Anthony Murphy ‘17

People must be informed of the dangers of climate change and at this day and age, deregulation and denial cannot be an option.

Developed countries worldwide are making efforts to combat the dangers we are putting on ourselves but it won’t be until a collaborative effort is reached that we will truly begin to see progress.

Renewable energy is the future. Green technology will become the norm.

It’s just a matter of when.

When will we decide that enough is enough? When we will realize that we must work to stop the irreversibility of our economic-focused actions? One can only hope that it won’t be too late by the time the need for change is transformed into a planet-wide initiative.

Signs raised as the march commenced.

June 2017

Editorials

The Voyager 21

Understanding and questioning the Syrian crisis

By KAITLIN McGEE ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

W

ith talks of World War III looming on the horizon after President Trump’s bombing of Syria, it’s time to question whether or not U.S. involvement in the war-torn country is even worth it, or if anything, is our involvement prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people?

We watch on the news different tragedies occurring as a result of the conflict in Syria, with three-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shores of Turkey after his family tried to escape by sea, and the picture of 5 year-old Omran Daqneesh sitting bloody in the back of an ambulance after an airstrike attack on Aleppo. We see images like these and we want to help out, but what if our help is only making this worse for the Syrian children still alive?

Many consider President Trump’s airstrike on Syria the beginning of U.S. military involvement, but the U.S. has intervened before. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the U.S.-led coalition, Combined Joint Task Force, has killed 6,295 people, with 1 in 10 being civilians, in 5,616 airstrikes in 2 years, as of October 25, 2016.

The U.S. involvement in Syria has two goals: remove Syrian president Bashar alAssad and stop ISIS. But on September 17, 2016, U.S., British, Danish, and Australian warplanes attacked a Syrian military base in Deir Ezzor which had been holding out against ISIS for months, according to the Huffington Post.

The coalition’s airstrikes killed at least 62 Syrian troops before a Russian officer called U.S. officials to tell them they were hitting the Syrian military instead of ISIS. Several minutes after they called off the attack, ISIS fighters launched an assault

and seized the base.

As the U.S. hurts the civilians it claims to be helping, some Syrians have begun to criticize foreign involvement in the first place. In a joint statement, released in September, 2016, 157 Syrian writers, artists, journalists, and thinkers denounced Russian and U.S. intervention in Syria: “These two powers have been working to co-opt the Syrian liberaPhoto Supplied tion struggle un- what happened in 2003 when representawants to protect their only Mediterranean der the rubric of the tives of the U.S. showed in the Security base for its Black Sea fleet in Tartous. ‘war against terror.’ This is a war that has Council what was supposed to be chemiThe international community has agreed failed to score a single success since its cal weapons found in Iraq. A military that the only way to end the conflict in outset, and has led instead to the destruccampaign in Iraq ensued, and it ended Syria is with a political solution. Yet, in tion of a number of countries.” in devastation of the country, growth of April 2017, President Trump launched an The Syrian crisis only began as an upthe terror threat and emergence of [ISIS] attack against Syrian military bases in rerising after President Assad arrested and on the international scene,” said Russian sponse to Assad’s chemical attack, which tortured teenagers who vandalized their president Vladimir Putin in response to is not as helpful as it sounds. school with revolutionary slogans. 6 Trump’s actions.

There was a chemical attack in Syria in years later, the Syrian crisis has drawn in With so many players involved in the 2013, which the U.S. did not respond to, countries from around the globe who each Syrian crisis, U.S. involvement guaranand again this year, in 2017. The attack have their own stake in the small Middle tees the start of World War III. Instead in 2013 was attributed to Assad, but the Eastern country. of bombing civilians to help the Syrian investigation was inconclusive. With the Besides the U.S., other major players people, perhaps the U.S. should instead chemical attack in 2017, some think PresSaudi Arabia and Turkey are also involved open it’s doors to those same people lookident Trump acted too quickly with the in removing Assad and taking down ISIS, ing for sanctuary and provide more aid for results of the UN investigation into who which are involved to stop the advance those still residing in the war-torn councaused it still pending. In his defense, of ISIS and remove Assad, Iran, which try. Maybe then little boys like Aylan KurTrump cited a 4 page document by the wants to protect its closest Arab ally and di won’t need drown needlessly on their U.S. National Security Council which had keep the route open to Lebanon where way to freedom. declassified information on the attack. it is backing the Lebanese Shia Islamist “To my mind, this strongly resembles movement. There is also Russia, which

We need to acknowledge our responsibility to the Earth

By RUTHIE DOUGLASS ‘19 Photography Editor

G

lobal warming, climate change, the greenhouse effect: the term is largely semantic. The fact is that it’s real. It’s happening.

Our ecosystem is deteriorat-

ing rapidly.

The “greenhouse effect” is used to describe the warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating toward space from earth. Certain gases like methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere keep the earth’s heat from escaping. This is more commonly known as global warming. This effect causes extreme weather like increased floods, earthquakes, and droughts, as well as extreme high and low temperatures.

Did you notice the snowstorm at the end of March?

How about the 75 degree weather one day, and 30 degrees the next?

When global warming is talked about on the news, we think about hurricanes in third world countries and polar bears drifting off to sea without an iceberg. But weather changes affect us, too, and we are the ones largely to blame.

Human impact on the ecosystem constantly debated. Skeptics of the global phenomenon say that similar situations have happened in the past, before the Industrial Revolution in the 1700’s, like the Ice Age. These people claim that global warming is a natural process. There is nothing to be done about it.

Some even claim that climate change is a hoax made up by the government to raise illegal funds. Even President Trump has stated, “Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee - I’m in Los Angeles and it’s

freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!”

However, this serious global issue is anything but a hoax, with direct human impact spearheading changes to the ozone. The greenhouse effect is caused by the production of greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons. Carbon dioxide is released through natural processes, like respiration or volcanic eruptions, but also human activities like deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by more than a third since the Industrial Revolution, which was the first time burning fossil fuels became a major part of industry.

One of the biggest human impacts is the use of chlorofluorocarbons. These are human-made gases in refrigerants and aerosol products. When chlorofluorocarbons are released into the air, they react with ultraviolet light in the ozone. This causes the chemicals to break down and release chlorine near the ozone, therefore increasing the amount of ultraviolet light that the earth is exposed to.

Have you lathered up on sunscreen at the beach lately? Because exposure to ultraviolet light causes an increased risk of skin cancer, sunburn, color fading, and damage to your eyes.

All of these factors alone may not point a finger toward the human race when discussing climate change, but together it creates an undeniable fact. If we continue not to take care of the earth, the amount of precipitation will increase between three to five percent, the sea level will rise between 20 and 50 centimeters, and there will be a higher chance of the most destructive storms. The impact that climate change has and will have on our daily lives is drastic.

So, is it hot enough for you yet?

The government has always tried to play a part in controlling climate change.

Most recently, the Obama administration devised a Clean Power Plan, an important step toward reducing carbon emissions from power plants. However, President Trump has already signed an executive order rolling back the plan. The Trump administration refuses to recognize the health risks, global impact, and humanity’s role in climate change.

However, progress for climate change will occur with or without help from America’s Executive branch. Major companies like Apple and Walmart have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions and cities are trying to become greener by expanding mass transit, increasing energy efficiency in buildings, or even just planting trees. The country cares about climate change; whether a state is blue or red does not change that fact.

The question arises: What can we, the young people of America, do to change

By Lisa Traczyk ‘19

something so vast? Well, anything and everything can help. Turn the lights off when leaving a room, shut the water off while brushing your teeth. These seemingly simple actions can actually preserve a lot of energy. Make your commute a little greener by riding a bike or walking instead of driving. You can contact your local representatives and tell them that you want action concerning climate change. The best way to have your voice heard is through the government, and, thanks to our democracy, we choose representatives that want to hear what we have to say.

Don’t we want our children and grandchildren to grow up in the same world of blue skies and white clouds that we do?

We are responsible for the generations after us; we are the future. That is why the human race has a responsibility to take care of the earth. If not for us, then for the people of years ahead.

Commentary

22 The Voyager

June 2017

Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Jersey Shore, Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Reasons why we love Reality TV

BY JEN GLASS ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

M

y best friend Lily’s home is my home. The tan walls, the chocolate brown L-shaped couch, the dueling silver sinks to keep kosher: it’s a familiar environment.

It’s warm.

Seated around the high tan stools of the marble kitchen island, I smiled at the faces surrounding me. Lily sat two seats down, long blonde hair occasionally blown with an exasperated breath out of her face; next to her was her red-headed twin brother, Alan, who cracked a crooked smile every time he got under my skin. Seated on the couch was their mother, Rebecca, a brunette with a commanding vibrato and a motherly complex.

I turned to Lily. “Did you watch the Bachelor’s season opener last night?”

That night, Rebecca became the new shot heard ‘round the world.

She turned to me, a rush of whipped hair and hooded anger in her eyes. “Did you just say the Bachelor?”

I pressed my back into the island, hands up in surrender. “Yes?” “Get out of this house. Don’t talk about that garbage in here again.” The joke is cloaked in a level of truth.

I try to explain to her how I feel. Despite my best intentions, she doesn’t understand

me.

But maybe you will. Because, as ludicrous as it sounds, I believe reality TV is a microcosm for the human experience.

Wait! Wait! Before you change my channel, hear me out. I’ve thought long and hard about the appeal of reality television. The promise of drama, overarching personalities, catfights, and even (in my case) romance keeps viewers hooked on their favorite shows: Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Jersey Shore, Keeping Up With The Kardashians; even competition-based reality TV shows like Big Brother or Survivor or even Rupaul’s Drag Race have the ingredients above.

It is easy to write those who watch them off as fools, as idiots; it is easy to write those who watch them off as craving mindless entertainment; it is so easy to explain the obsession away.

However, when you look at it in the right light, reality television reveals itself to be a collection of three essential prongs of the human experience.

Prong 1: Shared interests.

Reality television is classic water cooler conversation. Real television is interesting, sure, but there’s an element of disconnect. There is the awareness that everything is fabricated; though viewers may be made angry at poor writing decisions, the idea that the show is fake

permeates its discussion.

Though much of reality TV can be attested to editing or help from producers, there is still the element of connection we feel to the real humans on the screen.

When the news is spread, it’s spread like gossip. We finally have something to relate to others, or fellow watchers, at least. Reality television is the perfect bridge on which to form connection.

9-5 as we are fed exciting tales of people supposedly just like us. It speaks to our core fears and keeps us hooked.

Prong 3: Superiority.

Prong 2 was about craving what was on our screen. This is in direct contradiction to Prong 3: feeling better than what you are watching. But we feel both: humans are complex and a web of contradictions, and it is precisely this sweet spot that makes reality television so fascinating.

Though we crave what is on the screen, we simultaneously feel superior to what is onscreen. “Thank god I’m more together than that,” we say as we watch poorly make-upped women throw glasses of water on one another. This counteracts the jealousy we felt before. It settles us.

Rarely in any other section of life can we feel jealous and superior in the same breath.

In a fast-paced, competitive world, we feel calmed by the ability to turn on our television and be assured we’re doing just fine for an hour or two.

Think what you will about reality television and its watchers. You may think it is the low point of America. But there’s a reason millions are hooked on dozens and dozens of different iterations.

It speaks to the core of the human experience as a microcosm. It is a mainstay in culture: and may just reveal to us something about ourselves.

Prong 2: Escapism.

Reality television has the title of “reality,” but we’re all aware it is not exactly that. Real people are there, sure, but they are thrown in challenging/ uncomfortable/unpredictable/unlikely situations the rest of us merely observe from our suburban, 2-story brick homes.

In the age of social media, there is a constant gnawing worry in the minds of us all that everyone else is having more fun. Just check out Snapchat or Instagram to see the evidence, after all.

When we watch reality television, it plays to our greatest fantasies. We all crave excitement, pressure, zazz; we crave sweeping romantic love in the case of The Bachelor; we crave fame and attention in the case of The Kardashians; we crave lavish lifestyles for little work in the case of Real Housewives.

We sit at home munching popcorn and worrying about the mundaneness of our

Be thankful for the little things . . . like your bus driver

BY SHREYA GOWDA ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

E

very day I run to the bus, backpack unzipped, books nearly falling out. Regardless of whether it’s in the morning where I’m barely awake or in the afternoon where I’m still barely awake, I always run. And whenever I run, I never miss the bus.

I have two bus drivers, and every day I say thank you to both of them as I descend down the steps to the curb. It’s always been a principle of mine to always say thank you to anyone who has done something for you, no matter how small it was, no matter how things turn out, no matter who the person is.

Most people remember to say thank you to the waiter bringing them food or the sales clerk telling them about a sale next week. But busy teenagers, with headphones plugged in, blasting music to block out the rest of the world, hoodies pulled up and phones pulled out, often forget. They don’t say thank you.

My morning bus driver is a cheery guy who is a bit of a stickler for not eating on the bus, but otherwise is completely friendly. I would say almost twice a week he will be at the bus stop at my street corner, and I’ll be running down the street hoping he sees me in the dark of the morning.

And every time he does.

I’ll apologize and he’ll say don’t worry about it and greet me with a good morning. How he can be so cheery in the morning when I can barely get out of bed, I’ll never know. Along with a good morning to every passenger, every time the bus moves he tells us to buckle up (no one does) and every time we arrive at school, he says farewell with a long speech how we should conquer the day and always try to improve (maybe some do).

My afternoon bus driver is a bit quieter. He watches out for my hobbling self, barely balancing my backpack, and always slows down when he sees me running out from the entrance doors. Just like my morning driver. Whenever I go up the stairs, he always asks me “Hey. How you’re doing?” and whenever I go down, “Have a good day.”

One day I remember, back in freshman year, that wasn’t the only thing he said. My friend was pushing me around playfully on the bus. She barely touched me and her stop was first, so she got off and I thought nothing of it. When it was my turn to get off, he asked me if everything was okay, if she wasn’t being playful. I was surprised that he had noticed. I quickly told him no. I probably came off rude, like the idea of me getting pushed around was unthinkable and he was absurd for thinking it. But like teenagers are known for, I didn’t think about my tone and left it at that.

To most this might not seem like much.

But to me, it shows. They care. They don’t know anything about me, probably couldn’t recognize me without a backpack, but they care. Everyday one tells me to buckle up because what if this is the one day we get into an accident. Everyday one tells me to succeed, like he really believes I can.

Everyday to every person one greets them with a good morning even though I can’t recall anyone ever saying it back.

Everyday one tells me to have a good day even though all I’m going to do when I go home is sleep and do homework. Everyday both care and smile, even if they aren’t happy.

Both of them drive me safely to and from school. Both are polite and have never been rude to me. Both deserve a lot of gratitude. But sadly, I don’t even know their names, and I doubt majority of my bus does.

A student naviagtes through the maze of busses on the way to his car.

Bus drivers are underrated. So are the fast food servers that hand us our burgers and the janitors that clean our hallways. So are the garbage men who take away our trash and the cashiers who check us out.

So are the truckers who haul our goods across hundreds of miles and the mailmen who deliver our packages across a couple of miles. So are the people behind the scenes that we don’t see.

So are the people that spend five minutes

Photo by Shreya Gowda. ‘19

in our lives. The people we don’t give a second thought to after we’ve met them.

The people that do the little things that we don’t see the impact of. The people that most people don’t say thank you to.

Say thank you, even to the bus driver who you only see five minutes a day. It’s a practice in kindness. It’s a practice in compassion. It’s a practice in gratitude.

Say thank you, even to the bus driver who you only see five minutes a day. It doesn’t take much to just say two words.

Commentary

June 2017

The Voyager 23

Uncle Sam as the World’s Cop?

A reconsideration of the role of the United States in world diplomacy ERIC HORN ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

S

hould America be the “World’s Police?” With the Syrian Civil War fiasco and the recent bombings of military bases belonging to the Syrian dictatorship, citizens of the United States have been forced to ask themselves that question. Such a question is, has been, and always will be controversial. The answer lies in a grey area; the United States should do what it can to improve the overall quality of life for all the people on Earth, but should not sacrifice its own peace and stability to do so. If that means foreign intervention into other countries’ conflict, it becomes the United States’ responsibility to assist the forces of good.

Some people have lost faith in the United States’ ability to effectively handle foreign intervention, but history directly contradicts these irrational fears. Others believe that foreign atrocities such as the

events in Syria and the human rights violations in North Korea are not the United States’ problems. This negative nationalism is counterintuitive to the basic theory of human rights; it is impossible to deny the countless innocent people being killed in the Syrian Civil War, or rotting away in a North Korean concentration camp.

Even the most red-blooded patriots agree: we are humans first, and Americans second. Letting imaginary borders define which humans should be allowed to have rights is not only primitive, but unacceptable in modern times.

The Geneva Convention dictates what modern warfare consists of in 2017.

Though the Syrian Civil War is very complicated, it should still abide by it.

Assad’s forces have violated the Geneva Convention multiple times, most notably in the recent chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Shaykhun, in which innocent women and children were attacked with the nerve agent sarin, killing 74 and injuring 557. It is inconceivable that the United States, and moreso the rest

of world, should sit back and allow this to occur. President Trump’s missile strike on the military base from which the attack originated was met with a considerable amount of backlash, and would trigger a response from Russia. The Russian government warned that further attacks on Syria would lead to Russian retaliation. Some call such an act the start of the Third World War; others believe Russia is not fully committed to a full blown military campaign.

A war with Russia is certainly in neither side’s best interest, but it is no surprise that Russia is standing in the way of the advancement of worldwide unity. The Russian government is allowing the region of Chechnya to put gay people into the first European concentration camps since the Second World War. Should the United States decide to ignore Russia’s warnings, it should begin to fight for the liberation of those people being wrongfully imprisoned and stripped of their rights in Chechnya. Currently, there are rumors of American military preparation

for a major offensive into North Korea to combat the atrocities being c a r ried out by their government.

It is becoming very clear what the United States’ stance on foreign intervention is, and it seems to be that of a freedom fighter.

There are always two sides of history.

Which one will we be re- m e m bered on?

Art by Hayley Beluch ‘18

Support the American economy, not illegal immigrants JESSICA BONAMASSA ‘19 News Editor

I

mmigration has been the forefront of discussion since the inception of America, but more particularly since the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaigns. The ropes on immigration are being tightened due to new legislation under President Trump.

America was founded on the basic principal of immigration. Our country is one of freedom, opportunity, and new chances, which is why so much attention has been brought to this topic. At one end of the debate lie predominantly Democrats or Libertarians who favor expansionism and open borders; the other side of the spectrum are the opposing republicans and conservatives who favor closed borders and a limit on immigration.

Where do you stand?

Immigration policies in our country serve several purposes and have particular goals. Immigration unites families by enabling those living in foreign countries to join their family members that reside in the United States.

Immigration also serves as a refuge for those facing any kind political or religious persecution in their land of origin, as well as a way to increase diversity.

Laws passed in 1885 and 1887 were among the first to restrict immigration based on economic concerns.

Legal admissions were 8.5 million in the United States, which was almost double the total immigrants in the 1970s. Our current immigration numbers are the highest they’ve ever been since World War I. As of 2014, government data reported that 11.3 million people present in the United States are illegal immigrants, which is 3.5% of the American population.

Restricted immigration policies and a crackdown on migration policies are unwelcoming and prejudiced. illegal immigrants would pose much needed benefits to People that wish to restrict immigration are not against the United States. Our country needs Donald Trump’s immigrants, but rather illegal ones that set an economic immigration plan so that border security increases and burden to legal U.S. residents. There isn’t a prejudice so there is a stricter enforcement on current immigration against immigrants, but rather a prejudice over those laws, which essentially will eliminate many illegals. who don’t work, break the law, and suck money from the A prevalent problem we are facing is the foreign laborpockets of Americans. ers negatively affecting the employment and pay rates Our country was founded on legal immigration. Imfor native laborers. Noticeably many immigrants are migrants came over, abided by the laws, and contributed hard workers because they’re to society. Illegals receive given the chance at a new life government assistance proThere isn’t a prejudice and have strong work ethics. grams and get federal aid. against immigrants, but However, inexperienced illeHowever, a hard-working rather a prejudice over gal immigrants without proper family of 5 struggling to work ethics are hired over exmake ends meet doesn’t those who don’t work, perienced American workers. get assistance because they break the law, and suck In many cases, illegal immidon’t meet the poverty line. grants accept jobs for minimal In most cases, illegals are money from the pockets pay, which is why they get able to stay in this country of Americans. hired over U.S. citizens. in exchange for cheap labor.

When they have medical They cross the border and needs and need to go to the bring their children, grandhospital, they can’t be turned away, which leaves peochildren, and aunts and uncles in search for a better life. ple of the working class to pay for their care. Physician However, they make such little money that it forces them Praveen Arla has seen poor, and long-uninsured patients to be on government programs, leaving countless middle receiving Medicaid through Obamacare, and also sees class families to pay for it and causing their insurance the middle class patients increasingly staying away. premiums to skyrocket.

Patients are turned off by such high deductibles and are What puts an illegal immigrant over a law-abiding citiclaiming to go to the doctor’s office as little as possible zen? because of it. American’s health insurance premiums inIllegal immigration has countless impacts on differcrease in order to help pay for the people that are unable ent things like daily American life, job rates, income, to do so themselves. increased taxes, welfare programs, and poverty rates.

With soaring immigration numbers, this takes a direct Today, the middle-class carries the burden of not only toll on the middle class in particular. supporting their family, but hundreds of other ones A commonly misunderstood perception is that supportacross the country, including illegal immigrants. ers of legislations like the travel ban and restrictive imWe need to bring the jobs back to legal Americans.

Animal testing affects humans more than we thought

By JAIMIE MCCORMICK ‘18 Voyager Staff Reporter

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nimal testing has been debated for many years. Some say animal testing doesn’t harm the animals, so animal testing is beneficial.

Others say that certain substances harm the animals and their skin, even killing them after the test finished. Commonly used are mice, bunnies, and rats.

The Draize Test was invented by John H. Draize who was a toxicologist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The test puts the product on an animal’s skin or eyes and sees how it affects them.

A protest campaign rose in the 1980s and raised awareness on how cruel the Draize Test is to animals and the effects it has on them. One of the main reasons

fects on humans. In 2006, six volunteers people continue animal testing is that were injected with TGN 1412, created by there are no alternate life forms to test TeGenero and meant to dampen immune products on. response, but instead charged it up. The Using animals is their next best opvolunteers were in extreme amounts of tion to see how the products would affect pain, were hospitalized, and some even humans. Instead of testing on animals, suffered from permanent organ damage. companies can use in vitro testing which This drug was can produce more relevant results. tested in mice, rabCompanies can also bits, even monkeys; Animal testing can ultiuse artificial human which received five mately be very misleading skin to test their hundred times the and cause more harm to products. amount that the humans that doctors and More alternatives humans got, and it scientists were trying to are continuously didn’t affect them. coming out that Testing the drug avoid. work just as well as, on human based cell cultures could have or even better than prevented the test from happening. Anianimal testing does without the animal mal testing can have different effects on cruelty. animals than on humans.

In some past cases, a drug that was fine This uncertainty could cause cures to be with animals ended up having horrible ef-

thrown out. Gleevec, a drug used to fight leukemia, was almost thrown out because it caused liver toxicity in dogs. The only reason it was kept was because it had looked promising in human culture cells.

Animal testing can ultimately be very misleading and cause more harm to humans that doctors and scientists were trying to avoid.

Lastly, huge amounts of money are poured into the animal testing industry.

Some companies spend almost half of its funding for animal testing.

With more alternatives coming out and animals not being reliable, the money should be used for other programs. The money could go to programs in order to improve in vitro testing and artificial skin.

While there used to be a heavy reliance on animal testing, it has worn out its stay.

With better methods and results, the need for animal testing is almost non-existent.

Special Reports

24 The Voyager

June 2017

Obamacare? Trumpcare? Who Cares?

An analysis of U.S. health care, and why it matters to students and staff

By BEN FORSMAN ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

O

ne issue that is constantly prevalent in the eyes of the average American is healthcare and conservative promises to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, more commonly know as Obamacare.

When the American Health Care Act failed to pass in late March, many felt that the debate was settled for the time being. Even President Trump said it was time to move on. However, with the most recent health care proposal by New Jersey representative Tom MacArthur, many facets of Obamacare could be amended pending Senate approval.

For many in New Jersey, this is a life and death situation. As recent as 2015, over 750,000 New Jersey citizens were living without healthcare. That is about 1 in every 12 people. If that was an average Eastern classroom, 2 students would be living without healthcare.

As students, you do not have to worry about healthcare. Before the introduction of Obamacare in 2010, young adults were cut off of their parents health care at the age of 22. Now if your parents have health care you do not have to worry until you are 26 years old. This allows many Americans to not have to think about healthcare as they pursue advanced degrees.

The Democrats and Republicans are facing each other down on this issue, both sides refusing to back down even an inch.

Tom Perez, the head of the Democratic National Committee, in a statement regarding this change in healthcare said, “Trump and Republicans will own every

preventable death, every untreated illness and every bankruptcy that American families will be forced to bear if this bill becomes law and millions lose access to affordable care.”

Perez continued by saying,“The 24 million that lose access to healthcare is not just a number.”

This is simply unacceptable as, by 2026, an estimated 24 more million Americans will be uninsured causing 52 million total Americans to be uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

While this may not affect many students directly, the issue of healthcare is very important to many teachers and other education staff. Vice President of the Teacher’s Union, Mr. Colton, said, “For full time staff members at Eastern, part of our compensation is healthcare for us and for our family.” However over recent years since the passing of Obamacare, healthcare has become increasingly more expensive.

“Although not part of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), New Jersey passed a law in 2010 that mandated that school and public employees would pay a percentage of their premiums. So for most employees at Eastern it’s between 20 and 30%,” Colton said.

This increase has hurt educators the most. Although a teacher’s salary may increase, the rising cost of health insurance is steadily outweighing the increase,

leaving teachers with less and less money in their pockets year after year.

The cost for healthcare is not a lump sum but a percentage of total income based on how much is earned. This can cause some teachers to pay as much as 35% of their pre-tax income for healthcare. This again hurts teachers as they could be paying more money because they are near the threshold of two monetary groupings that are used to determine cost of healthcare.

One large issue that is seen with the Representative MacArthur’s proposed health care amendments is previous conditions. “Something that was beloved by those who supported Obamacare was the fact that they could no longer be denied for preexisting conditions. Any kind of compromise is probably going to address in a meaningful way this issue,” said Mr. Colton.

Under Obamacare, many Americans who had previous medical conditions were allowed health insurance at the same cost as someone without a condition. This is in peril as those with previous health conditions will still be provid-

ed coverage under the new proposal but will have to pay a greater cost for the same coverage.

Something that may come back to hurt the Republicans in the House of Representatives is the fact that many of those who voted for the bill to pass have not actually read the bill.

This is the opposite of what Speaker Paul Ryan advised during the passage of Obamacare in 2009, saying, “I don’t think we should pass bills that we haven’t read that we don’t know what they cost.”

However, it is clear that there is need for a change from Obamacare.

With many insurance providers leaving or threatening to leave Obamacare, it is obvious some type of change is required. Mr. Colton echoed this saying, “Obamacare was collapsing, it was clear to anyone who was paying attention that Obamacare needed revisions.”

Although Republicans are attempting to repair the obvious issues in Obamacare, their amendments will not salvage the situation. It will remove too many people from healthcare too quickly.

“I don’t really know what the fix is,” Mr. Colton said, “Having multiple providers seems like a good thing but there are many people in government who frankly wanted the entire system to collapse because they were interested in a single payer model. They want the government to be the insurer. What we like about our healthcare is the standard of care is really high and you have choices.”

Overall, we need to follow what is beloved about our healthcare system. Keep choices open for citizens and for insurance providers to compete to keep lower costs and higher quality of care.

Jewish community galvanizes strength against bomb threats: A resurgence of anti-Semitism, and how we can combat hate

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BY RUTHIE DOUGLASS ‘19 Photography Editor

he morning of February 27th was a normal Monday for the people of the Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill. Parents had dropped their kids off at preschool, people were finishing up their morning workouts, and staff members were preparing for a long day at work.

Little did they know they would soon be evacuating the building on account of a bomb threat.

Since January, there have been over 90 bomb threats to JCC’s across the country. Everyday people, going about their everyday business have been forced to stop everything that they were doing and evacuate, fearing for their lives.

Fear is not something that should ever be felt in one’s Jewish community.

Les Cohen, the executive director of JCC, said that the recent bomb threats agianst the Center were primarily disruptive and frightened many people.

“We had to evacuate infants and frail elderly because of the uncertainty of the threat being real,” he said.

Fortunately, these threats did not turn out to be real.

However, for many people, especially those living in Israel along the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights, the threat is real. We must realize how lucky we are to live in a world where there are so many resources working to combat anti-Semitism.

“The JCC is the central address for the Jewish community where all are welcome,” said Mr. Cohen. “If you spent a day in our lobby you would see a wonderful diversity that we are very proud of.”

Joanne Lieberman, current acting director of the AJC, American Jewish Committee, has a similar feeling about the importance of a common Jewish community.

She has been with the AJC for about seven years, working in the National Leadership Development Apartment.

“The AJC’s priority issues really resonated with me and I was fortunate that there was an opportunity that became available and, as they say, the rest is history!” she said.

The AJC works on many different levels to combat anti-Semitism in America, and the rest of the world. “AJC has been instrumental in the bi-partisan house task force on combatting anti-Semitism, and representative Chris Smith of New Jersey is one of the leaders of that task force.” Lieberman said.

The AJC has also created a high school program called LFT, Leaders for Tomorrow, which brings together students to talk about how to combat anti-semitism on campus. The program is currently based, and only available, in Manhattan, but they are working to branch out.

Another primary issue that the AJC works on is education. “The first step for somebody who wants to make a difference is educating themselves and organizations like the AJC is a great resource for that,” said Lieberman.

This committee has plenty of great resources and you can look at their website for more information on any of their programs or initiatives.

Bomb threats, in addition to recent destruction of Jewish cemeteries, has created an air of anti-Semitism across the country. Anti-semitic sentiment is something that many people thought to have fizzled out by the 21st century, but it is more present than ever today.

Why is this?

Well, if there was one simple answer, we wouldn’t have such a problem to begin with. Is it anti-Israel sentiment?

Is it a lack of education for students? Is it just plain and simple prejudice?

Mr. Cohen said, “I believe much of it is historical institutional anti-Semitism…coming from misunderstanding, separation of cultures, old ways of thinking and issue of power and control” This is a reasonable answer, for anti-Semitic views go back thousands of years. Stories have been told and retold, through the generations, each person adding their own heart-wrenching twist as they pass the words down.

We’ve come a long way since the times when propaganda and overheard whispers were enough to change someone’s mind on an entire culture of people.

However, there are a cornucopia of other factors.

There have been serious questions on whether the current U.S. president, Donald Trump, holds anti-Semitic feelings. While there is no hard proof to this, the question in itself is irrelevant.

As Mr. Cohen said, “I think it’s easy to blame public leaders but in the end it is within each of us to stop the hate. And that extends beyond the Jewish Community to all groups that are not as accepted as they should be.”

The solution to most problems begins with a conversation between different cultures. “AJC just launched our Muslim-Jewish advisory council which brings together prominent Muslims and prominent Jews to advocate together on issues of concern,” said Ms. Lieberman.

The tension between the Muslim and Jewish faiths could be a contributor to anti-semitism. But if everyone comes in with that frame of mind, the discussion between religions will never occur and no progress will be made.

Along the same lines, anti-Israel sentiment has skyrocketed along with anti-semitism. The question appears: Are the two directly related?

As Joanne Lieberman said, “Too often, we find, and especially on college campuses and especially recently, we found trends that anti-Israel sentiment is turning into anti-semitism, even though they don’t necessarily need to be connected, but sadly sometimes we find that they are.”

This, unfortunately, rings true, especially among uneducated young people. However, there are so many resources like the AJC or JCC that helps to inform communities about properly advocating for Israel and Judaism.

It starts with us to make a change, to end the prejudice and anti-Semitism in our world.

“It’s also about having a sense of pride in one’s Jewish identity,” said Lieberman, “and a connection to the idea of jewish peoplehood and a desire to work on behalf of one’s own community and a sense of connectivity.”

June 2017

Special Reports

The Voyager 25

NASA needs to prevail with reasoning and research

By JEN LE ‘17 Entertainment Editor

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ature never ceases to wonder.

Black holes devour stars. Stars preserve a delicate equilibrium between gravity and its internal forces. On Earth, volcanoes explode into a dazzling display of red and orange while in the ionosphere, the auroras dance like ephemeral veils.

These are the phenomena that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeks to discover and record. NASA was founded during the Cold War, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in response to the Soviet’s launching of Sputnik. Its vision is “to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.”

The end, however, is closer than initially thought.

The Trump administration does not believe that NASA is a valuable asset to the country and has split the funds towards other, more “useful” programs. However, NASA is an integral part of American culture and has contributed many things towards scientific advancement.

Mark Hopkins, the CEO of the National Space Society said “it certainly played a huge role in winning the Cold War. We can use these technological abilities to get to the moon, and to build a missile defense system, called the star wars.”

Although NASA may be a government agency, it has developed every day inventions that everyday citizens use. The most well-known has to be Light-Emitted Diodes (LED). LEDs were intended to be utilized in WARP 10 “for the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, arthritis, stiffness, and muscle spasms.”

The WARP 10 is being used in the US Marines, with a newer version being used to relieve pain in bone marrow transplant patients.

Other examples include the development of baby food, derived from the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long-term space travel, or freeze drying technology, now used by the elderly who cannot use government eating programs like food stamps.

“In order to explore space over the years,” said Mr. Tapper, a physics teacher, “we pushed the forefront of technology.

Computers. Material science. Everything in all terms of tech.” Because of NASA, America would have never won the Space Race, innovate terrifying nuclear weapons, or the satellites that constantly orbit the Earth.

Troubling, the Republican’s party is waging a “War on Science,” more specifically on climate change as reported by the New Yorker. Vice President Mike Pence has called it a “myth;” President Trump has also called climate change a “hoax.” It claims that pursuing the question of climate change equates to the pursuit of politics. The Republican position on this issue centers around two beliefs: it is not a threat, or it is not caused by human activity.

Both beliefs are wrong, the latter to some extent.

The amount of carbon dioxide has also increased exponentially since the Industrial Revolution. If this global warming should continue, coastal cities will drown, the Arctic sea ice will melt, extreme weather will become more frequent, and the oceans will become more acidic.

Mr. Tapper said the denial of climate change is “disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful. I feel bad for the organizations that are under these doctrines.”

NASA stated that “most of it [global warming] is extremely likely (greater than 95 percent probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century.” Burning fossil fuels and coal seems to be the main culprit. Although the earth does experience climate cycles, most of the warming has been attributed and advanced by humans in the last 50 years.

Over the course of several decades, the agency has observed the changing face of the Earth. From 2002-2015, it observed with the German Aerospace Center the declining ice mass of Greenland; the average lost is 281 gigatons a year. Furthermore, through the use of ground-based observations and satellite data, NASA saw that the first six months of 2016 was the smallest extent of the polar ice caps since observation began in 1979.

Mrs. Praesel said NASA should “expand the work it does on Earth more than on other planets.” As an environmental science and chemistry teacher, she is concerned about the degenerative state that the Earth is transforming into; it necessitates change. However, humans have not changed and yet, they still expect to do the same things at the same rate if the future of global warming is further accelerated.

“People don’t realize that just because they don’t have direct contact with certain species, it will not affect their lives,” Mrs. Praesel said. “There should be more scientific research in what the actual reason [for global warming] is. Even if it’s not our fault doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do anything about it.”

Related to climate change is the problem of energy. At the current rate of consumption, oil will run out in 53 years, natural gas in 54 years, and coal in 110 years, according to Business Insider. Fossil fuels composes at least 80% of America’s energy sources, with the remaining 20% composed of a mix of nuclear and renewable energy. Fossil fuels are also a detriment to the atmosphere because of their CO2 emissions.

NASA is conducting research on alternative sources, specifically renewable energy like solar power, wind energy, hydroelectric, and geothermal to promote a sustainable future for earth.

Meanwhile, Trump has been gathering information to support cutting the Earth science budget. NASA’s m a i n

brand is space; after all, it’s in the name, but Earth science is equally as great. For now, this marbled blue sphere is the only definite known place where life exists and great lengths must be taken to protect it.

in the stars.

Senior Tim Smith wants to become an aerospace engineer, which is a job concerning the development of aircraft and spacecraft. His father, a pilot, influenced him to become one. Tim will attend Rowan University for mechanical engineering. He said, “you see what

When the time comes, f u t u r e Earthlings will have to move onto a new home, a home that is among the millions of candidates that NASA has detected as “habitable.”

Space exploration has made tangible differences in the world, starting with the next generation, stated Lauren Russell from CNN. The Apollo missions of the 1960s and ‘70s inspired a whole generation to reach for the stars as astroArtwork by Karen Le ‘20 nauts, scientists, and engineers. If man could reach the moon, surely it can reach NASA does and you say ‘wow - I wish the whole galaxy? The moon was just one I can do that.’ The idea that humans can step for man, part of a giant leap towards make something fly at three times the total exploration of the universe for manspeed of sound is amazing.” kind. NASA provides a host of opportu“Exploration of the unknown and scinities for students to immerse themselves ence is awesome,” said Mr. Tapper. “Just in its programs, such as workshops for us realizing that we are just a small part applying scientific concepts to space. of the universe… We think as ourselves Mr. Hopkins proposes to build a seas awesome. But once you go into space, ries of O’Neill cylinders that would be a you realize that you are not so awesome.” “thousand more times bigger than Earth.”

The Earth inhabits a nearly-lifeless An O’Neill cylinder is a space settlecorridor of the Milky Way, a dynamic ment design built from materials from the spherical ball of earth filled with beautiMoon and asteroids, proposed by Gerard ful phenomena that must be preserved for K. O’Neill. It would create a new frontier the future generations. Space is an awefor humankind. inspiring void sprinkled with clusters of NASA’s presence in American culture stars and gas that poses new adventures. is comparable to that of Coca-Cola or NASA observes both worlds with a careMcDonalds. It promoted its brand and ful eye, recording the activities and sharconvinced the government to spend 4% ing them with the world, as a warning of its budget to send twelve people to the and a testament to humanity. moon. Nearly all of America gripped their “Our main approach is to find a plan... armchairs in anticipation for the moon by using a pile of ideas,” said Mr. Hoplanding and now, a possible manned miskins. “If you don’t have resources, then sion to Mars will reignite that spark and all you have to do is to convince people encourage more people to see the future who have resources that your ideas are correct and we had a lot of success with that.”

26 The Voyager

Commentary

June 2017

PDA in school: keep your hands to yourself

By ANTHONY MURPHY ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

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oung love thrives in high school. Hormone levels are at an all time high, human affection is starting to peak, and it’s finally time to try new things.

Great for you. I’m happy you’ve found love. We’re all happy for you. But there’s a fine line between expressing some care for your significant other and expressing all of your love in a public setting.

This is school, not the couch in your basement. It’s not necessary to have tongues out before class and wandering hands for good luck before your next big test. Lockers are made for books and storage, not to be pressed up against in between periods.

A hug, a peck, and some hand holding will suffice until 2:15. Control yourselves.

It’s understandable - you’re happy and in love, but have some decency please.

When randomly asked in the hall whether or not they support PDA, or public display of affection, the overwhelming majority stated that small couple mannerisms were alright but many couples take things too far when they start to do closed door activities for everyone to see.

Results on a question site, Debate.org, reflected that of my findings here at Eastern.

When users were asked if they felt that PDA should be banned in school, a whopping 74% voted no to having it banned in school, so long that kids know their limits.

It’s all about limits and self control.

While Eastern may not cover PDA directly in the handbook, there are a few points that leave space for policy based on this type of behavior.

On page 25, number four under the Miscellaneous rules states, “Students are to display mature actions and meet the standards of proper behavior at after-school and evening functions as well as during the school day.” Yes, there is some space for open interpretation, but some indecent cases of PDA can most certainly fall into that area of guideline.

Also, if reported as misconduct by a staff member, consequences can range from a lunch detention to an after school detention.

Neither of which would be worth it just because one couldn’t control their urges.

Moral of the story: save it for when you’re home.

Whatever you want to do with your significant other can wait until after school.

It isn’t necessary, nobody wants or needs to see it, and if nothing else, have some decency. We’re in school, let’s at least act like it.

Artwork by Sophia Thai ‘19

Physical education redundant for school athletes

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By HAYLEY BELUCH ‘18 Art Editor

tudents are required to participate in 150 minutes of physical education or health a week, according to the NJ state curriculum a total that some have argued can be met by school-sponsored sports.

Student athletes in academically competitive schools such as Millburn, Chatham, and Watchung Hills have the option to “opt out” of physical education during active seasons of school sports, though the presence of such allowance in New Jersey high schools is rare in comparison to other states in the nation.

Students, teachers, administrators, and health officials argue over the benefits and drawbacks of allowing school sports to count towards state-mandated physical education criteria, begging the questions “do school sports apply to curriculum standards?”

Should alternative policies regarding school athletes be implemented?”

School varsity sports are rigorous and physically demanding, not to mention time-intensive. In schools with active sports teams, physical education should not be a requirement for student athletes for safety, time management, and redundancy. In such schools, in-season athletes should be given alternatives to P. E., including but not limited to study halls and electives.

Opponents to such policies argue that physical educaning), regardless of the sport, and proper care before and tion classes provide valuable lessons not learned on the after workouts in addressed in detail within training fields or courts after school. Many claim that class promore detail than the very limited in-class stretches. vides insight into dieting, nutrition, and proper methods Lastly, the same in-class leadership mentioned can easof exercise. Even more, it gives a rounded approach that ily be matched with leadership on a sports team, especialworks out muscles some sports neglect. Lastly, physical ly for captains and upperclassmen who are actively ineducation allows leadership opportunities for athletes volved with incoming players. when interacting with less That being said, the benefits of competitive, non-athletic stuphysical education classes are dents. met and often exceeded in force In schools with active However, these approaches with after school athletics. sports teams, physical are naive and represent a misAlternative programs to exunderstanding of high school education should not be a empt active student athletes athletics and physical educafrom gym provide beneficial requirement for student tion classes. With sports such alternatives to class time, as exas wrestling, players learn athletes for safety, time plained and supported by Sumand maintain proper dieting mit Board President George management, and and workout scheduling from Lucaci. redundancy. the outset, with oversight by First, it takes the more comcoaches. petitive students out of gym Classes touch upon proper class. In many schools, it is eating habits and exercise less than does sport training. difficult to set standards, such as time for running, that Regarding understanding of muscles, even sports catered are applicable to athletes and non-athletes alike. With reto specific sets of muscles give insight into the workings moval of student athletes from physical education, it alof the body. lows teachers to be more active in improving the fitness Specific exercises are always included (especially run-

Artwork by Kylie Easterday ‘18

of non-athletes on a less deviated scale.

It also allows student athletes to avoid non-team related injuries that could affect their school season. Student athlete injuries in gym class have increased by 150% in the decade of 1997-2007. Therefore, tied with the fact that gym classes for athletes are incredibly redundant (practices after school are often hours long each day), they can be dangerous to student athlete careers.

Considering many varsity athletes seek scholarship money, injuries can pose threats to college scholarships and recruitment offers.

Lastly, student athletes put in hours of work each day, causing sleep deprivation and often poorer performance on school work. With the exempted period of gym, student athletes would have the chance to improve their academic life while contributing to better, healthier time management and sleep schedules.

Student athletes, therefore, during their in-season, should be exempt from physical education. With vigorous time and exercise commitments, student athletes both meet state criteria and surpass the exercise time requirement that state set forth.

Alternative programs are important for students for health, safety, and redundancy reasons, and as such, these should be implemented.

June 2017

Entertainment

The Voyager 27

Can you really make it in film?

By BOBBY WERNER ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter

V

iewing Hollywood and all of its glimmering stars is enough to make some hopeful people say, “One day, that’s going to be me up there.” Some people want to be on the silver screen, the next Will Smith or Scarlett Johansson. Others want to work behind the camera, to become the next Spielberg or Scorsese. It’s normal to hope you’ll achieve your wildest dreams, but is the dream of becoming the next rising star in Hollywood way too unrealistic?

If you’re looking to become the next sensation, you’re going to have to wish on a couple shooting stars. In this business, fame mostly comes from being lucky. Whether you’re an actor that happened to walk into the right casting room that day, or you’re an independent filmmaker whose film was seen by someone high up at a Network somewhere, making it to the top so quickly is accredited to luck.

Don’t get me wrong, talent is important but being in the right place at the right time could potentially make your career.

End Crawl, an online website that features articles related to the topic, has an article called, 7 Ways to Make Your Own Luck in the Film Industry, written by John “Pliny” Eremic. He said, “People who rocket to the top are usually fantastically talented, but immediate success will conceal at least one essential truth: your career is 90% luck. Quick success will convince you that your career is actually 90% talent.” And for others that don’t get so lucky, Eremic says, “we’re gonna have to make our own.”

People working in the film industry can tell you themselves, that you need to lower your expectations. Evan Luzi from theblackandblue.com wrote an article that talks about this called, The 7 Unrealistic Expectations of Film Industry Jobs. He goes on to say, “Thousands of people filter through the film industry each year in a variety of disciplines and yet there is only a very small

percentage at the top who are well known.”

For filmmakers specifically, becoming known to the people high up is going to require a lot of hard, relentless work on their end, for something that may not even end up happening. That also means taking any available job on a movie set that you can.

When a young and optimistic individual decides that their goal in life is to work in the film industry, there are realities that have to be kept in mind. This doesn’t mean you throw away your hopes and dreams of becoming a world famous actor/actress - it’s just not going to happen overnight. The jobs you might find yourself doing during your first years in the film industry might seem unimportant and useless, but everyone in the industry has been there at one point or another.

Just by watching the credits after a movie, anyone can see that it takes a great deal of creatively skilled people to create what is seen on screen. And even though there might be 500 people listed in the credits of a movie, every one of them had a job, no matter how small, that highly contributed to the on-set movie chemistry.

On-set chemistry is the state of the cast and crew while creating the film. If the cast and crew are in a good, positive, and happy mood, then a movie is likely to be easier to make and have a better outcome. But if everyone on set is in a negative and crummy mood, there would be less motivation in performances and efforts on the film, leading to a flop. So when someone comes on set and has a negative outlook, whether it be a lighting guy or someone as low as the coffee runner, the director of the project does everything in their power to fire that person.

Barbara Freedman Doyle from IndieWire.com wrote a great piece about Six Things You Must Know to Make it in the F i l m Industry. One of those six things is attitude as she explains, “If you’re in a business where the tensions run high, you want to be able to count on ‘your’ people to handle things well, efficiently, and with a lack of bad attitude.”

All these small jobs and internships in the first couple years of your career are for you to put your name out there as being reliable and trustworthy. That way, you start to build up a reputation and more people will get to know

you. In the film industry, your reputation is one of the most important things you have.

Doyle goes on in her article to express the importance of keeping a good reputation. “In a business where much of the deal-making and negotiations are verbal, your word and your reputation are EVERYTHING.” Another aspect of the film industry is that the work isn’t very reliable. In the beginning working and interning at jobs, you probably won’t even get paid. Even when you work your way up you may start to make a small amount of money, but there’s never a guarantee of a steady income.

Elliot Grove has an article on raindance.org called, How Film Rookies Get Work Without Experience, that explains this concern. “Even today, after over 30 years working in the film industry, I still get people saying to me: Show me your resume. Can I see what you have done.... And in today’s shrinking markets, established professionals like myself also face this on a daily basis.

Whether it is to be laid off, or to be replaced by someone cheaper or simply made redundant by one of the new digital production technologies, older and younger film workers everywhere are constantly battling to make themselves marketable in a changing landscape.”

Having all of this negative information fed to you might change your mind about pursuing this unpredictable career path. But in the end, all that these different sources are really trying to get across is that it’s not physically impossible to make your way up on the food chain, but it’s darn near impossible.

Does that mean don’t try and chase your dreams? Absolutely not. It means that you have to work harder than the person next to you, keep your hopes up, and every time you get knocked down, keep picking yourself back up.

Phil Breman of thebalance.com has a great piece of advice in his article titled, How to Get Started in a Film or Television Career. “Don’t worry if the ‘big break’ doesn’t come during your first day, month or even year. Remember the three P’s of just about any film or television career: stay passionate, persistent, and patient and you will dramatically increase your odds of succeeding in the entertainment industry.”

Poetry Out Loud carves out a niche for the soul

By KAYLEE BRAIDWOOD ‘18 Voyager Staff Reporter

A

place where creativity is noticed, embraced, and praised. Where students are pushed to their innovative limits and a comfortable environment for people to share what’s on their minds, stanza by stanza.

Poetry Out Loud is a club run by Mrs. Pomerantz and Mr. Bryan. The students in the club learn and memorize three poems during the fall and then participate in a school wide poetry competition during winter.

Besides these activities, the students also spend a few days sitting around and reading poetry.

But this club is more than just a few students analyzing different poems as if they were in English class. It’s a community for the kids who love reading and writing poems.

Not only is it free of judgment, but it’s a place for students to thrive in their writing talent.

Mrs. Pomerantz said that a key asset to the program is giving “the students more confidence.”

That’s what the club is truly about. The students lift each other up and build self-confidence in their own work, while still gaining the valuable learning experience. Some students might discover unknown talent in writing or maybe gain a new skill in public speaking. Even if you go into the club already confident in your writing and speaking skills, you’ll leave knowing something new about a few poems.

You could even learn something new about the students in the club based on the poems they chose to read and write.

Each student can take something away with them after

joining the club. Senior Kaitlin McGee said, “I’ve always been on the shy side, but the club helped me gain confidence in public speaking.”

Poetry and writing are also known to be a stress relief for many people.

After a traumatizing experience or even just a bad day, a good way to alleviate some of the tension or bad vibes from your mind is to write out your thoughts. Poetry Out Loud gives students a perfect chance to release their emotions in a beautiful way, and not feel pressured or scared to share it.

Mr. Bryan said, “The club is all about creating an atmosphere where Shown, left to right: students feel comfortable.”

When these students are comfort- Ceyda Baysal (12), Danielle Jackson (11), Padmini Rao (9), Lelah Photo courtesy of Mrs. Pomerantz able sharing their work with other Tekhna (9), Kaitlin McGee (12) people, they are bound to feel better about their problems, sitting in a comfortable environment about whatever is going on inside their minds. Recovering from an emotional time in a group and discussing different poems can take a student’s mind of people you trust is so much better than healing by your- to a different place. McGee said, “Hearing the different poems people chose shows you something that’s personal self, even if that’s what seems like the best thing to do.

According to Harvard Health Publications, “Writing to a person even though it isn’t theirs.”

Poetry Out Loud is club designed for learning, experiabout thoughts and feelings that arise from a traumatic or encing, and improving all while surrounding yourself with stressful life experience - called expressive writing - may people who have the same passion as you. Mrs. Pomerantz help some people cope with the emotional fallout of such said.

“When you have something inside of you, like a creevents.” ative impulse, the club takes that thing inside of you and Even if the students cannot find stress relief in writing puts it out into the world.”

28 The Voyager

Entertainment

June 2017

What’s on your Nightstand?

We asked staff and faculty members what they were reading. The response was overwhelming! This may be a recurring feature in 2017-2018. Thank you to all who responded!

Mr. Kevin D’Antonio Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey

The Picture of Dorian Grey is one of those books that I read over and over again. Oscar Wilde’s style of writing is just as dramatic as he was, and I love it. The Picture of Dorian Grey is something of a psychological thriller, set in Victorian London and following the increasingly sinister life of a wealthy nobleman, Dorian Grey.

It’s an interesting study on the bounds of morality, and what money and good looks can allow a person to get away with.

Mr. Terry McSweeney William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Rereading parts of William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Shirer’s recollection of the rise of the Nazi party in Germany and World War II the authoritative text on events inside of Germany from 1919 to 1945. He lost favor with historic revisionists who denounced his support of the Soderheim, or special path the Germany took, but aside from his opinion on that issue the rest of the book is thoroughly researched and of immense importance.

Mr. Alec Sherman Gumption by Nick Offerman

Nick Offerman is an actor, humorist and woodworker more widely known for his role as Ron Swanson, on the NBC Show, Parks and Recreation. As much as I enjoy his acting, the humor in his writing keeps me laughing throughout each chapter. Gumption highlights twenty-one figures from our nation’s history, from Benjamin Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt to Willie Nelson and Conan O’Brien. It combines history with humor and covers such topics as, religion, politics, woodworking and handcrafting, agriculture, creativity, music, philosophy and fashion. Each chapter tells a story of an individual’s display of gumption which is meant to influence you to examine your own gumption and react accordingly, so that we may all end up with a little more decency.

Mr. Casey Christy

I’ve recently gone back to the classics, finishing To Kill a Mockingbird and nearly completed Catcher in the Rye.

Ms. Sheri Lattimer Finding Alaska by John Greene

One of my students suggested it. The story is set at a boarding school in Alabama. The main character is a junior in high school, who is looking to find himself. His new surroundings make his life very different and it changes him in a variety of ways. I don’t want to give the plot away, so enjoy the read…. P.S. Alaska is a girl not the state.

Happy reading! Ms. Lattimer

Mr. Paul Bryan Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Description: This is a short novel about a web designer who leaves the field due to the recession to work in a bookstore. He soon learns that this is no ordinary bookstore as the only customers come to borrow strange cryptic texts filled with garbled nonsense. He along with his partner in a budding relationship attempt to unravel the mystery using

all of the resources available in modern times.

Mrs. Liz O’Keefe Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice by Adam Benforado Whether you think “Black Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter” or both, this book will change the way you look at justice in America. It turns out that some prosecutors break the law, eyewitnesses can be wrong, and what you look like has more to do with whether or not you are found guilty than the facts. Benforado has science to back up all of his claims, and presents common sense solutions.

The book is fascinating, but I can only read a chapter at a time, because the facts are so frustrating.

Mrs. Susan Pomerantz Glimmer Train and The Long Story

I’ve been reading literary magazines lately to see what’s out there that my students might like, and to gauge the field because I am trying to get more of my own stories published. Right now, I have a copy of the latest issue of Glimmer Train and the latest issue of The Long Story, the publication in which I am first-time published! These magazines and journals publish stories that are written in a wide range of styles and topics.

Ms. Amy Cooey Bert and John Jacob’s Life is Good. The Book. How to Live with Purpose & Enjoy the Ride.

This book was given to me as a gift. It focuses on optimism and shares personal life experiences.

Mrs. Jackie Mancinelli Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial by Rabia Chaudry.

This is a true-crime book. It’s about the court case of Adnan Syed, a 17 year-old boy who was accused of murdering his high school ex-girlfriend.

He has been imprisoned since 1999 based on little to no evidence linking him to the crime. He has recently been granted a new trial because he is believed to be innocent.

Mr. Greg Sipp Outside Magazine

Ms. Iris Llewellyn “Rules of Civility”

(Women’s neighborhood book club book) and “Inspiralize It!” (cook book about how to make pasta, noodles out of zucchini, I’m trying to get skinny (!), hope springs eternal)

Kevin Crawford The Black Rose by Kevin Callahan

Kevin Callahan is a former writer for the Courier Post and wrote his first book which is available on Amazon. The story takes place down the Jersey Shore in Avalon and Sea Isle. It is about a young man’s experience playing pickup basketball and integrates life lessons, faith, and personal development. The book has been fun for me to read since I know the author, many of the locations the story encompasses, and it is relatable to many of my own life experiences.

Disney remakes are here to stay

By KAYLA GAGNON ‘17 Special to the Voyager Nowadays, it seems Disney just cranks out live action versions of their classic films.

In fact, they’re even planning up to eighteen more remakes, with movies like Lion King, Mulan, and even Winnie the Pooh. Remaking classic movies or TV shows isn’t a new trend; it’s the same nostalgia that has brought about another Ghostbusters movie, a sequel series to Full House, and a sequel/remake of Terminator.

Nostalgia has garnered a pile of money for these Disney remakes.

2010’s Alice in Wonderland brought in $1.025 billion in from the box office. Maleficent made $758.5 million, Jungle Book made $966.6 million, Pete’s Dragon made 143.7 million, and Cinderella made $543.5 million. More recently, Beauty and the Beast has made $400 million worldwide at the time this article was written.

From a marketing perspective, targeting nostalgic viewers has paid off, and based on the number of remakes in the works, Disney intends to ride out this wave until people get completely sick of them.

When Disney first dropped the teaser trailer for Beauty and the Beast remake, many noted that it had many similarities to the trailer for the original 1991 film. This, of course, was done on purpose. Based on past trends with their other reWhat makes makes, the nostalgia-infused marDisney so special keting has been successful in attracting audiences to theaters. is how they take Thankfully, Disney has made the material they some small changes to some asfind and make pects of the classic film to interest a new set of people. For example, changes to it.

Belle is an inventor, instead of her father. And LeFou is gay. Even with these small changes, many of the film’s classic moments, like the ballroom scene, are kept. It’s great to see them go back to the movies that solidified Disney in popular culture, but there are others who still want them to do what they do best: make original stories that take its audience on a journey alongside their main protagonist.

Old and new Disney fans have mixed opinions on the live action remakes. Some enjoy the nostalgia and fond memories that come from seeing beloved moments come to life, while others claim that this is a sign that Disney is losing its originality.

That’s not true.

In fact, Disney has released plenty of original movies with their remakes, like Frozen, Moana, Wreck-It-Ralph, Big Hero 6, and this year’s Oscar winner Zootopia. But are these original movies really “original,” and is the source material the remakes come from “original”?

The classic Disney movies everyone knows and loves comes from fairy tales, like Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. To use more recent examples, Frozen, is loosely based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson (the author who wrote The Little Mermaid).

Wreck-It-Ralph is heavily inspired by classic video games, and Moana has its origins in Polynesian mythology.

What makes Disney so special is how they take the material they find and make changes to it. They create original characters and form a compelling story. This is what makes them “classics. ” So by making remakes, Disney isn’t exactly losing their original formula. Based on their success at the box office combined with the overwhelming positive response to Beauty and the Beast, it looks like these remakes will be around for a long time, or until audiences are no longer interested in them.

June 2017

Entertainment

The Voyager 29

Everything to know about “Everything, Everything”

BY JAIMIE MCCORMICK ‘18

Voyager Staff Reporter

The book “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon revolves about a seventeen-year-old girl named Madeline Whittier who was diagnosed with SCID, or severe combined immune deficiency. She’s not allowed to leave her house because her body can’t fight the bacteria in the world.

Maddy had accepted her life until Olly and his family moved into the house next to her. They exchange emails through the window and start to get to know each other. They get so close that Maddy wants to talk to Olly in person and eventually Maddy’s nurse, Carla, allows Olly into the house. Then Maddy and Olly start to fall for each other. They both learn that sometimes falling in love is the biggest risk of all.

Books being turned into movies can either mean two things: it’s great or it’s a disaster. The movies often don’t live up to fans’ expectations.

Everything, Everything was surprisingly pleasant. The cast was diverse, and Maddy, played by Amandla Stenberg, was easily the best character to watch on screen. She was able to show a variety of emotions, being joyful and serious when needed.

The movie had minor changes from the book. Carla’s daughter, Rosa, had a part in the movie. In the book, Rosa is a minor character and is only mentioned a few times.

Maddy and Rosa are actually friends in the movie and Rosa actually comes over to Maddy’s house.

Another difference in the movie is Maddy and Olly don’t stop at Carla’s house before they go to Hawaii. In the book, stopping at Carla’s house helped show the trust

and friendship that her and Maddy had.

One major difference: the portrayal of when Olly and Maddy first started texting. In the book, they text back and forth, trying to get to know each other. The movie put its own twist on them getting to know each other by making it appear as if they were talking face to face. They would talk in one of the many buildings that Maddy would make for her architecture class, first at a diner and then a library. The edges of the scene were out of focus so it was easy for those that didn’t read the book to know that it wasn’t real.

Maddy also put a little astronaut into the buildings she would make, so he was also brought to life in the scenes.

Anyone who didn’t read the book would think that the astronaut being there was a mistake, but it added humor to what otherwise would have been boring scenes.

The movie also included a scene where Olly covered the window in Maddy’s sunroom with pictures of the ocean.

This scene had me grabbing my friends arm because it was such a good scene to add to the movie, even if it never happened in book. In the middle of all the pictures Olly put a note that said, “Maddy, every ocean deserves to be seen by you.” It made viewers fall even more in love with Ollys character and wish they had someone like him.

The movie was a good representation of the book, while also adding in little twists. It’s not the type of movie that would be watched over and over but a good one to watch with friends, or late at night when you want something different to watch.

No shame in watching “Shameless”

BY BOBBY WERNER ‘17 Voyager Staff Reporter Who knew a TV show could focus on the hardships of alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual identity, family troubles, and growing up in the slums, and still keep its viewers laughing all the way through.

“Shameless,” the Showtime television series, is a difficult show to describe, because the series doesn’t follow just one character’s story. Throughout the series, you’re introduced to a variety of different, interesting characters who all have their own goals and unique narratives.

Created by Paul Abbott, “Shameless” focuses on the daily struggles of the Gallagher family, living in the run-down streets of Chicago. Calling this family dysfunctional would be an understatement.

Most of the series focuses on the drunken antics of Frank Gallagher (played by William H. Macy), the father of six children who basically live in a house by themselves. The oldest of the family, Fiona (played by Emmy Rossum), looks after her siblings and works to support them. In her pursuit to raise her brothers and sisters, the family runs into crazy situations and unthinkable scenarios that no family could even imagine.

Watching the first season of this show was extremely entertaining, because each episode, the family faced a completely new, wacky task.

For instance, one of the first episodes focuses on Fiona’s little sister Debbie when she steals a local baby. Then, while the entire town is searching for the baby, the Gallagher’s have to find a way to return the baby without getting caught.

Another episode from the first season focuses on the Gallagher kids attempting to help their father hide from shady men that are trying to kill him. Throughout the show, Frank always manages to get his family into trouble for something he’s done.

All these situations that they find themselves in sound awful and intense, and under different circumstances, filmed and directed a different way, they could seem to be very grim. But this show is the epitome of dark comedy.

It’s written in a way where tragic events are made fun of, which makes the show refreshing and keeps the audience coming back for more laughs.

Although it’s a comedic show, the season does have its realistic, heartbreaking moments. For instance, in the first season, a character is introduced in the middle of the show,

and the presence of that character affects the entire family emotionally, and you really feel bad about the situation they’re faced with.

Every character in this show, no matter how immoral or shameless they are, is a fun presence to watch. Whoever is on screen at the moment steals the show, which is a huge accomplishment for a show like this with such an abundance of diverse characters.

None of these characters are innocent.

Everyone of them has their flaws, but that makes them more relatable.

Take Frank Gallagher: a horrible person who does awful thing after awful thing, but in the end, you still end up rooting for him. Macy plays the antihero role masterfully, causing most of the conflict through the show, he’s a man that is not easily humiliated. He loses a lot throughout the show, so you feel bad for that, but on the other hand, he definitely deserves most of it.

Other standout characters include Lip (played by Jeremy Allen White) and Ian (played by Cameron Monaghan) who are two of Fiona’s younger brothers that both go through amazing story arches. Lip is a genius, stuck in the ghetto. He doesn’t always use his brains for good, and many think he’s wasting his potential. He’s a hothead who doesn’t always think things through, which always gets him into trouble. Ian, on the other hand, wants to be in the army but isn’t old enough to sign up. A lot of Ian’s story focuses on his being gay and the relationships that he’s involved in.

Another great character in the show is Fiona’s boyfriend, Steve (played by Jimmy Lishman). Steve comes off as a nice guy, but as the series progresses, he proves himself to be a slimeball. But slimeball or not, he’s such an interesting and mysterious character that you love every scene he’s in.

This show isn’t for everyone. Living in this harsh environment, the show does a good job of not censoring anything. And when I say anything, I mean NOTHING IS CENSORED. More conservative viewers might want to stay away from this.

This mix of comedy throughout, sprinkled with truly tragic moments makes for outstanding television, but the aspect that really puts this show above others, are the colorful characters and the actors that portray them.

Production just started this May on season 8 of the series, so it will hopefully air on TV sometime in the next year.

The first six seasons of “Shameless” are all on Netflix for you to watch on your own time, so go give it a watch.

Fuller House

Popular shows from our parents childhood often resonate and are so popular that they inspire a spinoff. Full House is one of those shows, with iconic characters, great life lessons and heartfelt episodes.

“Fuller House” takes place after the beloved DJ and her three children Max, Jackson, and Tommy return to her childhood home to start a new life after the death of DJ’s husband. This show will make you laugh, cry and appreciate the value of family. Beloved characters from the original show, such as John Stamos and Bob Saget, make guest appearances and add a whole new level of funny. There are two seasons on Netflix now and a third season is on the way. If you missed the Tanner family as much as I did, then “Fuller House” will make you want to watch “Full House” all over again.

-Lauren Casole ‘19

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds, a long existing show that follows the endeavours of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI, is a reliably entertaining show to watch on Netflix. It boasts twelve seasons, all of which are available to be streamed on Netflix. Anyone who is interested in psychological evaluation, law enforcement, forensics, criminology, or just plain and unadulterated gore, would enjoy the show.

Each episode features the BAU team investigating and subsequently profiling a different criminal.

While its members change as the show progresses, the team is consistently tight-knit and provides for a warmer storyline to complement the crime storyline.

Moreover, characters have relationships outside of their jobs that add elements of surprise to the plot.

For someone who is looking for an unrelenting roster of quality television episodes to binge watch, Criminal Minds is a great pick. It is not for the weak of stomach, but it possesses a nice balance between heinous crimes and sentimental relationships. At the very least, it is a forty five minute escape from the mundanity of daily life.

-Anuska Lahiri ‘17

The Office

If you’re looking for a new comedy to watch on Netflix, The Office is for you. The show is 9 seasons with about 25 episodes per season (with exception of the first season); most of the episodes are 22 minutes, but some are 45 minutes. The characters are welldeveloped and make you feel like you work at Dunder Mifflin with them. Along with the laugh-out-loud comedy, the show also has a suspenseful storyline with several surprises. The Office, which stars Steve Carell, is an uplifting show that will constantly have you laughing. If you give The Office a try, you won’t want to stop watching it.

-Anthony Cutrera ‘19

Gilmore Girls

Looking for a show with the perfect mix of comedy, wit, and sentimental moments? Well then, Gilmore Girls is the series to watch. The story follows the lives of single-mom, Lorelai, and teenage daughter, Rory, as they navigate school, parenting, and complicated love-lives in the town of Stars Hollow.

The two women are constantly engaged in quickwitted banter, making this show one to keep up with.

Including crazy grandparents, hilarious best friends, and lots of small-town charm, Gilmore Girls is full of funny one-liners, tear-jerking scenes, and endless life lessons, making it the perfect series to binge on Netflix.

-Ruthie Douglass ‘19

Sports June 2017 Girls lacrosse wins South Jersey Group IV Sectional Championship 30 The Voyager

By Anthony Cutrera ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

The Eastern Girls Lacrosse team finished with a record of 14-6 and made a run to the Group IV State Championship.

The girls are coached by Katie Lee, who has been the head coach at Eastern for 4 years now. Coach Lee says the team success was due to “Leadership, team chemistry and commitment.” She also added, “The girls have a positive outlook everyday when they come to practice.

They want to be better than they were the day before and it shows on the field.”

The team was led by seniors, Brittany Geis, Kaela Sierra, Jenna Carnival, and Cooper Cowdin, who all have committed to continue their lacrosse careers at the college level. Coach Lee remembers meeting the seniors for the first time. “I ran a lacrosse camp for the youth program in Voorhees. At that camp, I met several players for the first time including our four seniors: Brittany Geis, Kaela Sierra, Jenna Carnival, and Cooper Cowdin. I knew at that moment they were a special group and I am so thankful to have coached them during

their high school careers” said Coach Lee. With only four seniors the team was young this year, but the upperclassmen made sure to lead and guide the younger players. “I think all of the seniors, not only me, have taken the role of teaching and being a big sister. Our seniors have helped teach and continue to encourage the girls to get where we are now,” said Geis.

There aren’t many teams that share a bond like the Eastern Girls Lacrosse team does. “Our team chemistry is really good. We have become such a bonded team off the field that it comes into play on the field in such a positive way” said Junior Savannah Slack. Geis added that the team’s chemistry this year was a lot different than other years. “We have pasta parties before every game, pregame jams in the locker room, and all kinds of things.

It makes our team so much closer, and we work better on the field,” said Geis.

Several of the girls plan to continue their careers in college. Along with the seniors, Savannah Slack, Amanda Farnsworth, Madison Cowdin, Tori Accardo, and Dani Mlkvy have also committed to play college lacrosse.

“Having so many players who

The girls celebrate after scoring a goal against Clearview. are committed to play lacrosse in college has helped increase our drive to get better,” said Coach Lee. The girls’ talent and hard work paid off as they won the South Jersey Group IV Sectional Championship for the first

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time in Eastern history and advanced to the Group IV State Championship before falling to Bridewater-Raritan.

Despite the loss, the girls had a great run and put together one of their most successful seasons to date.

Boys lacrosse has finished Boys volleyball records an impressive season another 20 win season

BY ANTHONY CUTRERA ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

The team poses for photo at a team pig roast.

By ERIC HORN ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter Even if you’re not quite sure how lacrosse is played, you’ve probably met a few people who have fallen in love with the game. “The area of lacrosse that people don’t know are the rules,” remarked head coach Steven Picot. “In addition, people who are athletes don’t know how easy it is to pick up and learn the sport.”

Lacrosse is almost a mix of soccer and hockey: two teams of 10 attempt to score more goals than the other by using their sticks to shoot a small rubber ball into the net. One of the most important aspects of lacrosse is the physical one, as lacrosse is a full-contact sport in which body checks are a necessity. Even though there are several complicated sideline rules and fouls, these are the basic guidelines for a game of lacrosse.

Lacrosse is a physically grueling sport no matter what position one plays. Anyone who steps onto the field should be prepared to take a hard shoulder a few times during the game, and hope to leave a few as well. Players also have to master their shot, handling the ball, passing, and defending attackers to become elite. It is a sport which demands hard work from its participants, and hard work is something you will find in spades on Eastern’s squad.

Senior Captain Matt Wilson can personally attest to this. When asked about his duties as captain, Wilson said, “As captain I’m supposed to be a guy that’s there to help motivate the team and just bust my butt to do whatever it takes to win.” It is clear that if the team takes their cues from their cap-

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tain, they will all stand to benefit from it.

Coach Picot said something similar when asked about which players he loves to coach: “I love to coach players are are hungry to learn, that are athletic, players with great work ethics, and are all around good guys.”

Essential components of any successful team are camaraderie and teamwork between the individuals of the team. Wilson said, “We as a team are constantly playing music and always hooting and hollering. My favorite part of playing lacrosse is the team atmosphere. I love playing on a team and winning with that team.”

The team had clearly become more than just teammates throughout this season, thanks in part to team-building exercises such as a team pig roast. Coach Picot, when asked about his favorite part of coaching, addressed teamwork as well: “My favorite part of coaching is developing the players to become better lacrosse players. And also teaching young men how to work together as a team.”

The lacrosse team was rightfully optimistic about their season. Wilson said, “This season should be a good one, we lost some key seniors but kids are going to step up into big time roles. We also hope to finally get into the Group IV South Championship this year and bring home a title.”

This was a goal shared by all the players and coaches, and quite a lofty one at that.

Eastern boys lacrosse was eliminated in the Group IV South playoffs by Monroe High School, but this does not detract from an otherwise successful season both on and off the field for these dedicated athletes.

The Eastern boys volleyball team finished another successful season with a record of 20-7.

Thomas Armour has coached the team for 23 years. Coach Armour couldn’t pick out his single favorite volleyball memory from over the years, but really enjoys looking back on “all of the players that have made our program what it is-- successful.”

Seniors Anthony Luliano, Josh Gershenfeld, Andy Thomas, Sahil Patel, and Eddie Taufer did a fantastic job of leading and teaching the younger players.

“I do my best to keep everyone’s head up no matter what. If someone makes a mistake, I tell them to forget about it and make up for it with the next play.

If someone does something good I support them and tell them to keep it up.

I just think that keeping positivity on the court is one of the most important things in any sport really,” said Luliano.

Luliano had what many consider a great season with 294 kills. “I had

worked my hardest all year and to see it finally pay off meant a lot to me,” said Luliano on the experience.

Along with the five seniors, juniors Dylan Quinn, Isaac Sklar, and Gur Jinder Singh have helped the team to success this year. Two of the team’s starters, Jacob O’Connell and Tyler Morgan, were in their first year of volleyball. The two are basketball players, who stepped up and performed well on the volleyball court. “They’re both very athletic, quick learners, and our coaching staff and senior leadership has done a great job accelerating their progress,” said Gershenfeld.

Strong chemistry guided the team.

“We’ve been playing together for a while and have great chemistry...As well as playing for the school team, a bunch of us play club volleyball together in the winter so that helps a lot,” said Gershenfeld.

Coach Armour added that the team hasd“mutual respect” for eachother and was “able to bond together under stress.”

This year the team made it to the South Jersey Semi-finals, where they fell to number one seeded Southern.

Senior Josh Gershenfeld prepares to serve the ball as senior Eddie Taufer looks on.

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Sports

June 2017

The Truth Behind Steroids

An example of anabolic steroids used to improve athletic performance.

By ERIC HORN ‘19 and ANTHONY CUTRERA ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporters

What if we told you that the legacy of America’s Pastime has been tainted by something that could ruin your legacy just the same?

In his book, Juiced, former MLB star Jose Canseco approximates that 85% of players during his career, from the mid 80s to early 2000s, were using anabolic steroids to improve their performance.

Some players from this time period could have been considered all time greats, like Barry Bonds or Mark Maguire, but will never be respected by true fans for one reason alone: they cheated. Seth Victor, writing for Bleacher Report, remarked: “Being able to get a daily boost… would have a clear impact on a hitter’s performance.” The achievements of athletes such as Bonds or Maguire only diminish those of others who worked hard to master their craft, and for that reason, the MLB has taken a stronger stance against steroids in recent years, though the problem is far from eradication. The same is true of steroid use throughout the general population.

According to the website Stronger By Science, 4% of high school students have admitted to using steroids, though the figure of students who use steroids is likely much higher. It also stated that, “If we assume that the people using steroids are actually working out, that means that be-

Bonds before steroids

Photo supplied.

tween 1 in 6 to 1 in 20 people you see in the gym are on, or have at least tried, steroids.”

These people are putting their livelihoods and health at stake. According to WebMD, possession of prescribed steroids can lead to large fines and possibly even prison time. It is not worth risking your future to use steroids, as they are not a viable solution to slow progress in the gym. Drugabuse.com lists some of the short term effects of steroid use, such as mood swings, decreased appetite, and impotence. Far more dangerous are the potential long term effects, including stroke, kidney failure, and liver tumors. And everyone has heard of the most textbook detriment of steroid use- the infamous “roid rage.”

According to a report published by the

The Voyager 31

Photo Supplied.

Governor’s Task Force on Steroid Use and Prevention, appointed by former Governor of New Jersey Richard Cody, “Numerous studies have shown the use of steroids and steroid precursors to be on the upswing.” Fortunately, steroids are not a large problem here at Eastern, but it is important to educate people of the risks.

Athletes in Eastern’s sports programs should be especially wary of the consequences of steroid use. Vice Principal of Athletics Jason Hill was available for comment regarding Eastern’s substance abuse policy. “I haven’t had to deal with any athletes testing positive for a banned substance yet, but we follow the NJSIAA Protocol here at Eastern.” According to the NJSIAA, “It shall be considered a violation of the NJSIAA sportsmanship rule for any student athlete to possess, ingest or otherwise use any substance on the list of banned substances, without written prescription by a fully-licensed physician as recognized by the American Medical Association, to treat a medical condition.”

The NJSIAA is very strict in its enforcement of policy. It even tests for caffeine, as it is a stimulant that is used to improve performance. “Using any substance belonging to a banned class violates the rules of sportsmanship, can be detrimental to the student’s health, and is considered cheating.” If an athlete is found to have tested positive for a banned substance, they will be banned from competition in any NJSIAA sporting event for one year and be required to produce a negative test before returning.

Mr. Hill went on to discuss sports that are the most susceptible to steroid use. “Often times, runners which have qualified for state championships for track will be tested. The NJSIAA will randomly select runners to submit a urine test immediately after their heats.” The NJSIAA officially states that “sixty percent of the tests will be from football, wrestling, track and field, swimming, laBonds after steroids crosse and baseball.

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The remaining 40% of the tests will be from any of the other NJSIAA sports.”

Whether steroids are being used for muscle gain in the gym or to gain an edge in a sport, the negatives greatly outweigh the positives. If an individual decides to use steroids, they face consequences that can range anywhere from minor physical inconveniences to major health complications. Should an athlete decide to cheat the system through steroid use, they risk their health and any legacy that they leave behind. Take Barry Bonds for example; ask any baseball fan what their mind first rushes to when they hear his name, and it won’t be “home run king,” but “cheater.”

Davis Schneider continues his consistency for the Vikings, ripping yet another pitch.

Photo supplied.

An interview with the Eastern Baseball All Time Hit Leader, Davis Schneider.

By ANTHONY CUTRERA ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter

AC: As a freshman, did you set any individual goals to achieve doing your high school career?

On May 18th Schneider recorded his 129th career hit, breaking Eastern’s hit record. He has recorded multiple hits since and it is only adding up.

DS: I just wanted to start as a freshman.

That was my first goal, and as my career moved forward, my all time goal was to break the most hits record. That was my number one.

AC: How does it feel to be the all time hit leader at Eastern?

DS: It’s humbling. Nick Tierno (‘13) had the record before, and I couldn’t be more grateful that it was him who had the record. He was a great player.

AC: When did you realize that you could possibly break the hit record?

DS: I realized I could break it in the beginning of the season, but I didn’t really think about it until I tied it to be honest.

AC: What has made you so successful?

DS: Hard work, and I just love baseball.

I worked at it each and every day in the offseason whether it was lifting or hitting in the cage.

AC: What are your goals for your baseball career beyond high school?

DS: Well I wish to get drafted and play professional baseball, but if that doesn’t work out, I still have a scholarship to play at Rutgers. I could get drafted out of there if I play well enough.

Girls track has a strong showing at Woodbury Relays

By MYLES JOHNSON-ARLINE ‘19 Voyager Staff Reporter The Eastern girls track and field team had a very successful experience at The Woodbury Relays. Coached by Edward Malone, the team managed to claim little event first place victories as well as other events that led to receiving medals in their efforts.

These were the events that ended successfully at the Woodbury Relays by the team.

The team won first place in the 4 x 100 meter relay, ran in the order of: Jen Civatte, Olivia Covington, Jewel Ash, and My’Yonna Boyd. First place was

also won in the 4 x 400 meter relay ran by: Jen Civatte, Amiyah Ali, Tamika Voltaire, and Jewel Ash. In the sprint medley relay: Jen Civatte, Amirah Ali, Dariyah Corbett-Collier, and My’Yonna Boyd. And lastly in the high jump, Tamika Voltaire claimed first place, the best of all groups competing in the relays.

The following events were taken second place by the team. The 4 x 200 meters, ran by: My’Yonna Boyd, Olivia Covington, Amirah Ali, and Jewel Ash. Second place was also taken in the shuttle hurdles by: Dariyah Corbett Collier, Abby Brocco, Andrea McBryde, and Jireh Davis. Also, Noelle Scott placed fourth in the Triple Jump out of all groups.

Students who took the poll conducted by The Voyager determined that the Sixers should select Josh Jackson, a small forward from Kansas with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, airing on June 22nd.

32 The Voyager

Senior Prom

June 2017

All Photos by Alex Mackle ‘18