November 2018
voyager-online.org
Eastern Regional High School
Volume XLV
1401 Laurel Oak Road
Second Edition
Voorhees, NJ 08043
Memorial service erected for Pvt. Joseph E. Lauer By JESSICA BONAMASSA ‘19 Opinion Editor
O
A Few Good Men Page 3
Anti-Semitism in NJ
Page 8
On November 12th, aligned to commemorate Veterans Day, over 150 people, including Joseph Lauer’s classmates, family members, Board of Education members, students, administration, and political officials gathered outside of the newly-erected Joseph E. Lauer Memorial to honor his selfless sacrifice and dedication to the United States. “Jay” Lauer of Gibbsboro died in Vietnam, just shy of a month of his deployment. He is the only known Eastern alumni to have died while in combat. Seats that rest in front of the stone pavers that lead to Joseph Lauer’s remembrance stone begin to fill and the clouds ever so slowly clear from the sky. Underneath the towering flagpole, veterans and high school classmates shake the hands of their peers whom they haven’t seen in years. Special guest Arline Lauer, one of the last remaining family members of Joe Lauer, adjusted from the warm Florida temperatures and to the colder, unfamiliar temperatures of New Jersey. The project that John Masso and
John Masso presents marine dedication wreath to sister Arline Lauer to place on her brother’s rememberance stone (top). Rho Kappa President Alexa Grabelle (‘19) and VP Lauren Casole (‘19) talk at the Memorial (bottom).
Continued on page 2
Arline Lauer spoke movingly about her brother’s memory and service to his country. Photos by Jake Fritz ‘20
New Jersey decreases funding for the district By SRISHTI RAMESH ‘19 Online Editor-in-Chief
Asian Americans vs Harvard Pages 10-11
Ali Karpousis commits Page 18
INSIDE Marching Vikings Season - 4 How to Survive AP classes - 5 Early Action/Early Decision - 6 Royal Farms Invades - 7 Stage crew reflections - 9 OP/ED: Tips for Education - 12 The men of #MeToo - 13 Miniskirt, not the problem - 14 Mean Girls on Broadway - 15 Freddie Mercury Rocks - 16 ‘Atypical’ is just typical - 17 Stezzi heads to Rochester - 18 Soccer and Field hockey - 20
S
tate funding for many schools in New Jersey was slashed for the 2018-2019 school year. Eastern was no exception. Due to the decline of enrollment of over 200 students within the past ten years, New Jersey redistributed $221,354 from Eastern’s funding to other school districts in the state whose enrollment had increased. Mrs. Diane Schiraldi said that these reductions in state aid will continue over the next seven years as the state phases in the total reduction calculated for our district. She serves as the Business Administrator for the Eastern Camden County Regional School District. “Once the phase is over,” she said, “total state aid for Eastern will have reduced an estimated 1.9 million dollars.” To determine how much funding is allocated to each area in the school, the district completes a budget development process with input from many sources, including teachers, administrators, public comment, and the Board of Education Finance Committee. Fortunately for students, no programs had to be cut in order to account for the loss. “It was accomplished by reductions in four areas,” Mrs. Schiraldi said, “including salaries, energy, health benefits, and technology supplies.” Budget cuts from the state are infrequent, but when they do happen, they are usually drastic. Under 2008’s School Funding Re-
form Act, New Jersey attempted to keep cal schools is typically the largest part of the funding stable throughout the state’s school bill. With the funding cuts, more pressure districts, but that effort created an issue for could possibly be placed on taxpayers in the schools whose enrollment increased without Voorhees, Berlin, and Gibbsboro areas. their state aid increasing in turn. Under S-2, This year, several districts in Camden the first major revision to the County also had their state School Funding Reform Act, New Jersey redistrib- aid reduced, along with these problems sought to be uted $221,354 from the Voorhees Township Eleliminated. Eastern’s funding to ementary District, receiving In the entirety of the state, other school districts reductions similar to East391 districts will get more aid, in the state whose ern’s own. 14 will see no change and 172, enrollment had in“These reductions will be including Eastern, will see a creased. a fiscal challenge for us,” reduction, according to the Mrs. Schiraldi concluded, North Jersey Media Group. “but we are committed to New Jersey’s taxes are among the highest in ensuring that the reductions impact our inthe nation, and the portion that goes to lostruction programs as little as possible.