June 2019
voyager-online.org
Volume XLV
Eastern Regional High School
Sixth Edition
1401 Laurel Oak Road
Voorhees, NJ 08043
The Changing of the Guard Dr. Melleby reflects on his forty-five year career in education By MAANASI NATARAJAN ‘19 Editor-in-Chief
Meet the new superintendent Pg 2
Mrs. Gregory gets ready for her retirement Pg 3
Alumni Ashley Greenblatt talkes about health and fitness Pg 4
I
t all started with an accident. At first, Dr. Melleby’s primary interest growing up was in legal studies — he was certain he wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer. However, that all changed when he began substitute teaching while an undergraduate student at Saint Joseph’s University. His true passion, he learned, was in education. “From that moment on, I decided that I was going to be a teacher,” Dr. Melleby recalled. That passion has carried him through his 45 year career as a teacher, mentor, and administrator — a career that is coming to an end this upcoming July and will mark the beginning of Dr. Melleby’s retirement. He began his career in education
as an eighth grade social studies teacher at Brainerd Junior School, better known these days as Carusi Middle School on the west side of Cherry Hill. Having previously been a student teacher there during his senior year of college, Dr. Melleby received a job at the middle school — the very job that his cooperating teacher had before getting promoted — and his love for education was only heightened, as he worked there as a history teacher for six years before moving from the west to the east. “I moved over to the east side and was a social studies teacher and supervisor of the history department at Beck Middle School. From there, I became Vice Principal of Cherry Hill West.” As a history teacher at Beck, he recalled his vibrant classroom CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Dr. Melleby smiles for the camera.
Enrollment numbers fall, but prospects look bright By LAUREN CASOLE ‘19 and JACOB SAFIER ‘21 Editor-in-Chief and Features Editor
O
Is legal weed the right thing for New Jersey? Vote in 2020! Pg 15
ver the past several years, the enrollment numbers at Eastern have been declining. In 2014, the school enrolled 2,011 students. By 2018, the numbers had dropped to 1,971. Although this is not ideal for the district, Dr. Tull said it is just a cycle. More and more families are staying in their homes after their children graduate high school and they are not having more kids. “Their little brothers aren’t there,” Tull said. Once this happens, there is a period of time where enrollment is low because there are fewer children cycling through the schools. Dr. Tull said that the community has a lot of families that are becoming “empty nesters,” meaning they are staying in their Charts show enrollment numbers from the past six years. homes after their children graduate. When this happens, two While the numbers have been decreasing, enrollments at the situations could arise. Some families decide to sell their homes area elementary schools are increasing. and new families with children move in and begin to populate the schools again or they do not sell and people cannot move into town. Housing and living prices have been increasing while wages By MATT remain relatively stagnant. This causes people to stay in their STEINSALTZ ‘20 houses longer. It is cheaper to stay in their home instead of movFeatures Editor ing to a smaller housing situation. Dr. Tull said at the elementary school level there has been ational Honan expansion of enrollment. With the projected numbers of the ors Society is elementary schools and the overcrowding at Osage Elementary a high school School, in six or seven years the enrollment at Eastern should organization that begin to increase. recognizes stuAs of now, Eastern has 1,948 students and the school is steady dents who have in terms of enrollment. “We don’t need to hire anybody, and we excelled in leadership, service, can redistribute students to give them an opportunity to be their character, and scholarship, the very best,” said Tull. four characteristics of NHS. Next year, the school anticipates enrolling 496 eighth graders, For admittance into the socian increase from the current 463 freshman. Berlin Community ety, several things are required. School has 102 graduating 8th graders. At Gibbsboro, 33 will The process starts with a letter sent home graduate, but not all will be coming to Eastern. Some decide to if the student has maintained a 92 overall unweighted GPA throughout the first five semesters of high school. attend private schools, like St. Augustine. Then, an application packet has to be submitted, requiring leadBased on the number of students in each grade the school has to assess what teachers they have and how they can best suit the ership and continued service time. Next, all teachers are given a needs of the students, but the school has not seen a drop to this survey, where they rate the students on character, leadership, and service. A “0” means “do not recommend. “N/A” means no basis degree. for response. And then teachers can use a 1, 2, or 3 - with 3 being the highest recommendation. CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
The qualifications for NHS
When vapers don’t care about Bruce Pg 16
What’s Inside
Cappies Awards Announced - 2 A VP becomes a principal -2 Walton-Mills retires - 3 How to dunk a principal - 4 Anxiety on the rise - 5 Challenges to Roe v. Wade - 6 A look at Trump’s Cabinet - 7 Vaccination debate - 8 New law protects students - 9 Dr. Melleby - retrospect -10-11 No prom drama here - 12 School consolidation - 17 Endgame - 18 Spotify gives access to Hulu - 19 Billie Eilish’s new album - 19
N
2 The Voyager
News
June 2019
Mr. Cloutier named new superintendent of Eastern
Nideesh Phandis, Nick Vitale, Bobby Weil, and Jordan Edmonson seranade the 2019 Southern New Jersey Cappies audience before winning “Best Ensemble in a Musical.”
By BRYCE DERSHEM ‘21 News Editor
M
Photo by Lauren Casole ‘19
r. Cloutier has been selected as Eastern’s Superintendent following Dr. Melleby’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2018-19 school year. After receiving an undergraduate degree from Temple University, Mr. Cloutier continued his education at Temple’s Beasley School of Law. He also holds a master’s degree in management from Thomas Edison College and is pursuing Mr. Cloutier enjoys a chat with a a doctorate degree in shared leadership former Eastern VP who was visiting. through Arcadia University, pending engagement, and the administrative team completion of his dissertation. to continue the wonderful opportunities After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Mr. we have.” Cloutier assumed his first teaching role in Beginning this year, Mr. Cloutier worked the 1990-91 school year in Pennsylvania. with the District Advisory, a counsel of After a brief period teaching in northern nearly fifth community members, parents, New Jersey, he settled in Cherry Hill, students, teachers where he would teach “You never lose and administrators, to from 1992 to 2006 that joy of directly discuss the integration of for what would be the engaging with a strategic five year plan. majority of his teaching students and watching Through this committee, career. Mr. Cloutier aims to them succeed or In August of 2006, Mr. Cloutier began working at overcome struggles accomplish several goals for Eastern, including the Eastern as a Vice Principal and challenges,” revisement of Eastern’s with primary supervision Mr. Cloutier said. mission statement. of the English and Social His efforts align with Studies departments. his hope for increased community In professionally deciding to remain involvement and engagement. “I am a big at Eastern, Mr. Cloutier provided the believer in needing to include as many following reasons, “You have parents perspectives in the process as possible,” and students and the larger community said Mr. Cloutier. “Great ideas are out that wholeheartedly support this school. there. You are only going to be better There is tremendous leadership from the working as a team.” school board and administrators. It makes According to Mr. Cloutier, these values you want to come in to work every day.” are derived from his teaching experiences After his predecessor’s retirement in as well as his mentors and colleagues. 2014, he assumed his current position “There is no greater joy than watching as Eastern’s Director of Curriculum, students succeed. You never lose that Instruction, and Professional joy of directly engaging with students Development. and watching them succeed or overcome In his previously held positions struggles and challenges.” at Eastern, Mr. Cloutier focused in Mr. Cloutier possesses great pride developing academic programs for for Eastern, a school for which he can students and coordinating professional only describe as “the ideal educational workshops for staff. community.” His new position will encompass a He is honored that a school of broader scope of responsibilities and Eastern’s caliber has selected him as challenges. “I will be returning to a more Superintendent to continue its upward direct student oversight role,” said Mr. success. Mr. Cloutier said, “It’s going to Cloutier. “And so, I will rely on quality be wonderful.” coaches, parent involvement, student
Other winners include AJ, Dana Ramadan, Pit, and Hair and Makeup Crew Photo by Nancy Bowne ‘19
National Honor Society
See more pics online!
continued from page 1 Finally, a council of five teachers meets for an all day selection process where they factor in all the requirements on an 80 point scale. After the selection meeting, an acceptance or denied letter is sent to the students. There is an appeals process for those who do not agree with the decision made. While admittance into NHS is one thing, you still have to keep up the excellence. “They have to maintain the 92 GPA, along with 3 hours a month of community service,” said NHS advisor Mrs. Rubuni. But why use unweighted GPA? On the surface, it may appear to some that using a weighted GPA is more telling of a students academic achievement. After all, the whole point of weighted GPA is to balance the academic playing field. It allows students taking rigorous honors and advanced placement classes to be rewarded by adding points onto their GPA. But when it comes to NHS, the unweighted grade is used because, according to principal Dr. Robert Tull, there are more than just grades involved. “Just as important are leadership, service, character, and scholarship,” he said. “We want an opportunity for all students to a part of it. Not have it be this exclusive club for students in rigorous courses.” Dr. Tull is not concerned about unweighted GPAs negatively affecting students in honors and AP courses. “It is not just about the grade,” he said. “However, I still encourage students to challenge themselves in academics.” Despite a few unhappy students, there has been no thought about changing the grade requirement. “This has been the policy for the thirteen years I have been here and it is not changing. Overtime, we have moved the required grade up from a 90 to 92, but that has been the only change,” said Dr. Tull. The reason for bumping up the required minimum grade was rather simple. Administration wants students to strive to do better. The NHS policy is entirely up to the administration. Others schools do things differently. For example, Moorestown High School does not have a NHS. Instead they have a Students Honor Society, where every student with a certain grade is admitted. At Cherry Hill East, they have a Cum Laude Society. Other schools have done away with any type of academic honor society. There are a few changes that students would like to see. Senior Eric Horn suggests that if you are not admitted into NHS, then you should at least get a reason why. “I put a lot of work into filling out the application, so at the very least I want to know the reason for not being admitted,” said Horn. He also believes that in his experience, the leadership qualification was too restrictive. “Why is it that JV captain does not count? It seems that only presidents and vicepresidents of clubs fulfil the leadership qualification,” said Horn. His last suggestion is that if you do not get accepted into NHS, that you at also get your application fee back. “They give back your fee if you do not make a sports team, so why shouldn’t that apply here?” Horne said. For 2018-2019, there were 79 eligible candidates based on the criteria. 40 students were inducted on April 30th, 2019. When the dust settles, Dr. Tull reminds students, “You may be gifted, but there are other components.”
Mrs. Holloway-Taluy takes on new position at Westampton Middle School By JOSH MEYERS ‘21 Entertainment Editor
M
rs. Yashanta Holloway-Taluy knew that she wanted to be a principal after having three “amazing” school principals as a student. She loved how they made students feel successful, inspired others, and were great people to be around. Now, she finally gets to achieve that ten-year-old dream. Next year, she will be the new principal at Westampton Middle School. She is very excited. “It’s a smaller school, grades six to eight. I really enjoy working with the middle school population,” she said. Before coming to Eastern, Holloway-Taluy taught English from grades eight through twelve at an urban school in North Jersey. After that, she came to Eastern to become vice-principal. “I always wanted to be in educational administration and when the opportunity came up that it was time for change, Eastern was one of the schools that I applied to,” she said. She eventually became the Class of 2021 vice principal and a supervisor for the English department. Eastern has given her a great experience in the education department. “Eastern has taught me what it means to be an educational family,” she said, “and that the decisions need to be made with the students’ interests at heart.” Holloway-Taluy explained that the process to become
a principal was lengthy. She participated in three rounds of interviews where the school’s administration, teachers, parents, and board members asked questions that ranged from educational philosophy, student discipline, what it takes to be an amazing teacher, and what a normal student’s day looks like. “The questions were basically to get to know me better and what I could bring to the school,” she said. She was very excited to find out about her new role and wants to take many values from her life to Westampton. “Honesty is important,” she said. “It’s difficult to get anyone to believe in what you’re doing and the decisions you are making if they don’t trust you.” Holloway-Taluy believes that being genuine and caring is also important because she will dealing with people every day. Here at Eastern, her presence will be missed. English teacher Mrs. Cooper is happy for Holloway-Taluy, but she said she will miss her. However, she feels that the vice pricipal will do a good job in running the school the way she thinks is appropriate. “She will be dealing with younger students. I think she will be excellent in that capacity since she is very nurturing and caring and will be able to mold them to what she knows will be required for high school,” said Cooper. Cooper also believes that Holloway-Taluy is dedicated, responsible, and determined to succeed. “She will make it work,” she said. Dr. Tull also feels the same way. He is excited for
Mrs. Holloway-Taluy talks with fellow VP Mr. Young outside the General Office. Photo by Josh Meyers Holloway-Taluy’s new opportunity, and is confident that she will be successful based on her time at Eastern. His advice to her is to be committed to what she knows and for her to allow herself to see students be successful and help her make the changes necessary for Westampton. “We will miss her as a regular member of the Eastern family,” Tull said. “However, it is our belief that she will continue to make an impact based on the work she has done here.”
June 2019
News
The Voyager 3
Retirement is bittersweet for Mrs. Gregory By NANCY BOWNE ‘19 Copy Editor
B
efore Mrs. Gregory became a dedicated Eastern teacher for 27 years, she was inducted into the Eastern Hall of Fame “as a student for softball and field
hockey.” Mrs. Gregory has always treasured her time at Eastern. However, she is ready to retire. Mrs. Gregory knew she wanted to go into teaching. “It’s a good profession, especially when raising a family,” she said. She holds degrees in special education, physical and health education, and elementary education. She taught at Camden Catholic for four years before making the switch to Eastern, where she would teach for twenty-seven years. At this point, she works with freshmen in science and health classes. One challenge she sees with this age group is their “false
sense of security.” She said they still have their middle school expectations and need to learn that one needs the credits. One of the most rewarding parts of her job is being able to see her students grow for the remainder of high school after their freshman year. “They always come back as seniors and say where they are going to college,” she said. Focused in small groups of students, she mainly helps as in-class support. As a teacher working on the forefront of special education, Mrs. Gregory says that a common misconception is that other students “create a stigma.” There is no shame in admitting extra help in the classroom. Students need to speak out and ask for help to catch it early. Ms. DeCoursey, who co-teaches with Mrs. Gregory, said that “you wouldn’t be able to tell who actually needs the special help. Mrs. Gregory helps every student.” “Every student can benefit from multiple teachers in the class for help” said Gregory.
Mrs. WaltonMills retires By NANCY BOWNE ‘19 Copy Editor
A
s a student, Mrs. WaltonMills knew she wanted to be a teacher, enjoying the classroom atmosphere and Mrs. Walton-Mills discusses her learning process. After twentyexperiences at Eastern two years of teaching, she has deeply Photos by Nancy Bowne ‘19 touched multiple students, families, and a very good opportunity to help people.” professionals with the art of language and Teaching English, as well as French, communication. has granted Mrs. Walton-Mills a Mrs. Walton-Mills is ready to retire wide mindset of “a global society and from teaching French and English as a economy.” She realizes that many Second Language (ESL). Even though Eastern students do not realize what her she has mainly worked at Eastern, she job entails within the ESL department. has also taught French and ESL programs She explains how misconceptions follow at Camden County College and Rowan that “these students are slow” and cannot University. “I especially enjoyed working grasp information in classes. with adolescents and adults.” “Well, imagine if you had to take biology One of Walton-Mills’ favorite memories . . . in Russian.” involves her coincidentally teaching an Learning a language is difficult to begin entire family. “There was an electrical with, let alone learning different subjects engineer who came from China, seeking in a foreign language. Despite any more opportunity for her daughter here.” challenges these students initially face, After the her first year course, the student they always rise to the occasion, ready had greatly improved her English, even to devote their time to expanding their getting involved in band and pit. knowledge and tongue. “I taught at Eastern in “This is a trait that I the morning, then I would have noticed weaken in head to the Camden the full student body,” she program, where I had this “Well, imagine said. “They are much less student’s mother,” she said, if you had to willing to feel aim to get commenting on how she take biology . . . the gain.” truly got to know the family Respect has shifted and in Russian.” and make them comfortable negotiating that change in the United States. and keeping things relevant “I find it wonderful have been hardships Mrs. teaching them to adapt to Walton-Mills has faced across her career. American culture and education.” She However, she is eternally grateful for does warn all her ESL students: “Don’t the “wide diversity of students at Eastern. give up your first language. Languages I have had rich, varied experience. I am open up so many doors of business, very grateful for my business background medicine, etc.” and life experiences.” In fact, communicating across multiple When approached by retirement plans, tongues was what initially inspired Mrs. Mrs. Walton-Mills chuckled. “No more Walton-Mills to reenter the teaching ice.” profession. She took a break to run a She and her husband plan to live part family contracting company for ten years time in Florida, where her children and as president, a rarity for women at the grandchildren live. She is also looking time. Through this leadership, she was into volunteer activities and reading. She able to flex her communication skills peered around her room, reminiscent of and involve more people in the working the lessons and conversations those walls process. Her company mainly contracted contained. with gas stations, run by Russian speaking “It’s time to leave.” people. With real world application, she Her eyes smiled as she said that it felt realized the vitality of communication in truly bittersweet. “I won’t have to hear all walks of life. that alarm clock anymore.” She said about Eastern, “This might be
DeCoursey and Gregory have taught together for seven years. “Especially in labs, it is good to have multiple teachers working at once, answering questions.” Mrs. Gregory is pleased to see that special education has improved over the years and is much more approachable. She hopes to see Eastern continue to nourish its diversity and teamwork, and she hopes Eastern will implement more class inclusion programs. “I have no specific plans for retirement,” said Mrs. Gregory. “Except wear sweatpants,” interjected Mrs. DeCoursey. Both teachers laughed, as Mrs. Gregory began to blush. “I want to help out with my family. My Mrs. Gregory sits at her desk, enjoying daughter is having her third baby,” talking about her time at Eastern she said. “[Retirement] is very bittersweet, but a new transition. I’ve made good friends here.”
DR. MELLEBY Continued from page 1
environment and his initiatives to create an active curriculum. “When I taught the judicial branch, I was in a gown and banged the gavel!” he said emphatically. But Dr. Melleby did not move up the ranks from student to teacher to administrator without some hard work. After his years as Vice Principal, he pursued his Doctorate of Education at the University of Pennsylvania while Principal of the Malberg School’s Alternative High School. He left Cherry Hill after working in the district for 19 years, moving onto a position as Principal at Cinnaminson High School from 1990 to 1993 and then at Triton from 1996 to 2000. Dr. Melleby finally found a home at Eastern in 2000 as the Intermediate High School Principal along with his Senior High School counterpart Ms. Gongol (infamously the namesake for the Gongol Learning Center in the now combined Eastern Regional High School). As Ms. Gongol retired in 2005, Dr. Melleby began his career as Superintendent and has been at Eastern ever since. But even as an administrator, Dr. Melleby often took the lessons he learned from teaching with him (which he admitted he misses at times) and applied them to his district leadership role. “I’ve always been a strong student advocate,” Dr. Melleby said. “If I’m going to err, I’m always going to err on the side of the student.” Additionally, as the father of two sons, Dr. Melleby knows when to put his “parent hat” on when speaking to concerned mothers and fathers about their students. “I can see through a different lens,” he explained. Despite his 19 years in education at Eastern and countless others around the South Jersey area, Dr. Melleby admits that his retirement is bittersweet — he hasn’t been counting down the days or waiting for the end of the year; he knows he will miss his career. “I love my job,” he said fondly. “I don’t know how many people can work for 45 years and still look forward to coming here everyday.” While he will miss Eastern, he is looking forward to retirement, although his plans are not exactly what he had anticipated.
Dr. Melleby’s youngest son, a first year teacher in Cherry Hill, passed away in December of 2017. In his honor, the Melleby family formed the Dan Melleby Foundation. “My son loved children, and he was always for the disadvantaged,” Dr. Melleby explained, tearing up. The foundation is focused on helping the education and growth of local youth as well as mental health issues and suicide awareness. Dr. Melleby hopes that he will be able to assume a greater role in the nonprofit, taking much of the weight off of the shoulders of his older son. The events that he hopes to expand are a 5K Walk/Run at Cooper River (which had over 700 participants and raised over $30,000 this past spring) and a midOctober birthday bash, which will raise money for a Cherry Hill East scholarship fund, where his son was a star athlete. Alongside his leadership of the foundation, Dr. Melleby will be working closely with the New Jersey Department of Education as a mentor for new superintendents. “It keeps my hand in education — I’ll still be in schools,” Dr. Melleby said, beaming. “What’s nice is that I can control my schedule; I won’t have to be in everyday.” While Dr. Melleby is sad to be leaving, he is excited for the next superintendent, Mr. Cloutier, to assume the position and continue to improve the district. “I feel good walking away knowing that this district is going to be in great hands,” Dr. Melleby said. “He’s a wonderful educator and human being.” As for Dr. Melleby. his move onto the next chapter of his life has prompted him to think about his legacy as an educator — one that he knows he could not have without the help of others. “Quite honestly, much of what has been accomplished here — and this is a high performing school — is the result of a collaborative effort. The board of education, the teaching staff, the entire administrative team...I couldn’t have implemented any of the initiatives without the support of the community.” And as for that career in law? Dr. Melleby has no regrets — in fact, he’s thankful for the path that he’s taken. “In a career in education, you really have the opportunity to impact people’s lives for eternity. Nothing is more rewarding for me than receiving a note from a student that says ‘Thank you for believing in me.’ It’s an amazing feeling.”
Features
4 The Voyager
June 2019
Ashley Greenblatt’s advice to a healthy life
A
n avid reader of the Philadelphia Inquirer can probably recognize Ashley Greenblatt’s name from the fitness section. Bubbly and encouraging, her columns are full of tips and tricks from how to relieve joint pain to the art of meditation. But Greenblatt’s dream wasn’t always to write about workout regimens in the newspaper, though. Greenblatt graduated from Eastern in 2004. “I was a huge fan of high school,” she said. “I know not everyone loves it, but I did.” She remembers abandoning her lunch to greet students around the cafeteria and doing the morning news. Classes like journalism, English, and media convinced her that she wanted to be on television as a news anchor. The idea of fitness was still there in the back of her mind, though. As an avid field hockey and lacrosse player, the daughter of a calorie counter, and participant in exercise, it was probably no surprise to the people around her that Greenblatt ended up pursuing health as a career. After not getting accepted into Rutgers’ communications school, Greenblatt decided she would major in history and minor in journalism. In terms of health, she admits she really “blipped up,” confessing that she had never seen Cheese Wiz before, but once she started using it she couldn’t stop. “I put cheese on things that cheese should never go on,” she said. She then interned at NBC with the sports department, but got sidetracked in her personal life after meeting a professional hockey player. Once she got her professional drive back, Greenblatt said she learned a lot. “It’s a hard landing being 28 living with your parents,” she said. “I thought, ‘What have I done?’” Greenblatt got married just two years
ago (to someone different), making her a Singer. Her career took a turn when she started getting into fitness again by running. And by a twist of fate, the Philadelphia Inquirer had an opening for a fitness columnist, but Greenblatt wasn’t the typical candidate; she had no education in the fitness field or professional experience. Determined to secure the position, she got certified and got the column which went from an unpaid monthly gig to a paid weekly affair. Greenblatt has been at the Inquirer for seven years. She is very passionate about the health of teenagers, specifically. She encourages sleeping as much as you can while you can and eating as natural as possible before you see the repercussions. “When I played field hockey we did intense workouts and I felt fine.” She laughed. “Now that I’m in my 30s, I’m starting to feel it!” Ms. Greenblatt also says that mental health and physical health go hand-inhand, calling it a trickle-down effect. She believes that social media seriously harms your mental health, citing the Kardashians as a main reason why girls feel so insecure about themselves. Greenblatt even deleted her Instagram recently to clear her mind and even help her posture. She reminds us that everyone is under a filter. Not everything you see is how everything actually is. “Don’t compare yourself to anyone else because they have their insecurities, too,” she said. “That’s why they filter themselves!” Something she really doesn’t believe in, surprisingly enough, are diets. “I don’t like any extremist thinking. I just don’t think the human body was designed for that,” she said. Instead, Greenblatt advocates for healthy eating in general and to keep moving because “as long as you’re moving, you’re doing something good for your body.” For busy high school students, she suggests meal preps: get a couple of containers, some chicken, a box of quinoa, some veggies, and put it all together in the tupperware. Then, use the meals throughout the week to save time making lunch or dinner everyday. What she advocates for most, however, is kindness. Greenblatt says that she tries to be nice to everyone, whether she knows them or not. Sometimes she is met with irritation or annoyance, but it never stops her from trying. “My husband jokes with me and says, ‘It’s like you’re running for mayor, but there’s no election,’” she said. And her thoughts on vaping? “That is so lame!”
Ashley passionately emphasizes healthy eating habits to journalism students.
Ashley Greenblatt speaks to The Voyager staff about her career and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Greenblatt demonstrates some easy exercises to copy editor Nancy Bowne while filming a Voyager 360 segment. See the video on Youtube: EHS Voyager. Or go online to voyager-online.org
Q&A with the fitness coach
What is your job? I worked for Philadelphia.com as a writer, but I saw an ad for a column writer for The Inquirer on Health and Fitness and applied for it. I had been an athlete in high school and took some time to dive back into fitness. What purpose has exercise served in your life? I struggled with bad anxiety when I got out of high school but found an outlet through exercise. That was my inspiration to see that there was something that could make me feel better, so i kept doing it. Stress is like a glass of water. You continue to put more in and there is a certain threshold. Eventually it will overflow. Exercising helped me empty that glass What do you do when you first walk into a gym? Don’t feel intimidated. Be patient and find what you like in the gym. Seek out a personal trainer, and tell them your goals.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. How can I maintain health if I don’t like to exercise all the time? Being mindful meditation and practicing your breathing helps if you suffer from anxiety. When you have so much going on, it’s like a filing system. You need an outlet. Exercise is great but i would recommend finding ways to be mindful. Find someone to connect to. We tend to lose our connections with people through social media. Connect with yourself, it’s priceless. What is the best way to balance a healthy lifestyle? Turn off your phone. Balance your mental health, physical health, and sleep well. I think there’s a misconception you can’t eat well if you’re on a budget. Go into a market and go to the edges of the store, with all of the fruits and vegetables and lean protein. Buy some, for the same price you get a sandwhich at Chick-fil-A.
Bruce Jackson Day - May 24, 2019
How to dunk a principal in three easy steps
1. Buy three balls from senior Julia Dodd
2. Throw balls at red target
3. Shake hands with a wet Dr. Tull
Go online at voyager-online.org for many more photos
By AVA HANCOCK ‘20 Opinion Editor
The Voyager 5 Features With anxiety on the rise, resources are available for those who suffer
June 2019
By SASHA TUDDENHAM ‘20 Staff Reporter
Artwork by Jenna Preston ‘22
A
nxiety is like sitting at the top of a roller coaster . . . barreling towards the ground, all control lost, without the power to prevent the crash. On a daily basis, one third of teenagers suffer from severe anxiety, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. It impacts 18.1% of the US population, and yet only 36.9% seek treatmeant. One Eastern student described anxiety as if the heart was “beating out of my chest.” There is a sick and a sweaty feeling. “I get a lot of headaches,” the student said. “It can feel like a stomach bug.” Anxiety can incapacitate students. Anxiety’s prominence continues to increase. Authorities cite parental pressures, terrorism, media fears, and social media pressures. Critics also cite the overwhelming presence of today’s technology. School psychologist Dr. Pissalidis said symptoms include hyperventilation, headaches, and panic attacks. “It’s when your mind is constantly going and the worries just keep coming,” she said. Mr. Anderson, guidance counselor, said in speaking to different students, it used to be students only compared each other to peers in school, what they were wearing and who they were talking to. “Now you can’t escape it,” he said. “You go home you check Snapchat, you check your Twitter feed, it’s caused a lot of feelings of rejection.” In the past, if someone was left out, he said, you were unaware. “But now you have to watch it as it’s happening,” he said. Research demonstrates how students internalize anxiety until they are overpowered by rejection and overcome by worry. A member of the Child Studies Team, Mrs. Krul, described how a certain level of anxiety is typical. However, when the anxiety becomes debilitating – preventing someone from leaving the house, from attending school, or even from spending time with friends, it becomes an urgent problem. Junior Manal Desai said anxiety has increased in students, not only because of school, but from worrying about being accepted. “Anxiety can be caused by ideas like, ‘How many friends should I have’ or ‘no one will like me if I don’t do what everybody else is doing,” she said. If this trend continues, students will be unable to function in reality, for as they constantly feel the urge to stress about their online image. Similarly, junior Haley Allsebrook feels overwhelmed by the combined pressure instilled by the competitiveness among her peers and from her parents’ expectations to succeed in school, with the goal of filling up her college resume. Mr. Anderson agreed. He described the common practice of this intense pressure on students, explaining how a majority of students are becoming overloaded with activities and classes. One student wondered why he always felt anxious. “Sometimes I don’t know,” he said. “It just comes and goes. Sometimes you know. Sometimes you don’t.” Social media, the critics and professionals have said, has allowed anxiety to run rampant. Teenagers are no longer learning how to cope with their anxiety, only how to hide from it by the use of cell phones. “Teens will go places if they feel like they know everything that will happen, if they know everyone who will be there, if they can see who’s checked in online,” the clinical director of the NW Anxiety Institute, Kevin Ashworth, told The New York Times Magazine.
“But life doesn’t always come with that kind of certainty, and they’re never practicing the skill of rolling with the punches, of walking into an unknown or awkward social situation and learning that they can survive it.” Allsebrook described that she finds myself at some point every day using her phone as an escape when she feels anxious. “I plug in my earbuds after almost every class to close out all the noise,” she said. “Music calms me down so much, so in order to get through the whole day, I have to spare some time even if it’s only for two minutes to close out everything and jam to some 80’s music.” Anxiety seems inevitable for many students, but if repressed, it can eventually become chronic. However, Eastern offers resources to students suffering from anxiety. Mr. Anderson is the head of an anxiety support group for Eastern students. Staff members and faculty refer students to him to get the help they need. If students would like to join Mr. Anderson’s support group, they can speak with their counselor or directly to Mr. Anderson. Meeting times are confidential, and anyone is welcome to join. Some students are able to attend Eastern’s satellite campus, the Eastern Learning Academy (ELA), to experience a calmer school atmosphere when dealing with severe anxiety. An ELA student said the change in setting helped take the edge off of her anxiety. School is inevitably stressful, she said, but with less homework and having to stay in only a few classrooms during the day, it is a better learning environment. Furthermore, the guidance counselors always have an open door for any student having a stressful day. Students with incapacitating anxiety are able to receive special education services, resulting in the option to meet with Dr. Pissalidis or school social workers, who can all be found in the Special Services Office which neighbors the
Main Office. To decrease anxiety, Dr. Pissalidis believes in supported exposure to whatever it is that is making them anxious. If school is the thing that is making them anxious, then you can’t avoid it. You need to get your foot in the door, that’s step one. After that, you need to stay there for five minutes, ten minutes, one class, two classes. Systematic desensitization. You are exposed to it in manageable chunks.” Mrs. Krul also works with students, teaching them to utilize deep breathing,
guiding imagery, meditation, and journaling to further manage their daily stress. Although enrolling in classes online is available, Mrs. Krul said, “If you think long term, you can’t do life online. You want to go to college, you want to work.” Dr. Pissalidis concured. “Like any other technique,” she said, “it is good to get your foot in the door, but it is not a replacement for being fully there in person. The ultimate goal is to get you into school.”
Features
6 The Voyager
June 2019
Alabama’s new abortion law, following the trend of ‘heart-beat bills,’ may finally challenge Roe vs. Wade to choose whether or not to have an abortion. “Until now, there was no prospect of reversing Roe,” said Eric Johnston, ast week, Kay Ivey, the Refounder of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalipublican Governor of Alabama tion, “Given the current leanings of the signed the most restrictive antiSupreme Court, making such a measure abortion law in recent history. which does not directly challenge Roe the The law bans abortions at every subject of the court’s next major abortion stage of pregnancy without the typical excase would be a wasted opportunity.” ceptions -– rape and incest – and penalUnder the “The Alabama Human Life izes doctors convicted of providing these Protection Act,” performing an aborservices for up to 99 years. tion in the state would be a felony. The The Alabama law comes at a time when law defines a fetus as a legal person “for other states are considering equally rehomicide purposes” and compares aborstrictive measures. Several states, includtion to the Holocaust and other genocides. ing Missouri, Ohio and Georgia, are deThe woman who rebating “heartbeat” ceives the abortion bills – legislation that would ban “I believe that the law restricts would not be held to criminal charges, but legal abortions too much. abortion as soon as there would be only a doctor is able to The unnecessary restrictions two reasons she could detect a fetal hearton rape and incest don’t have an abortion – if beat. represent the Republican the fetus has a “leCritics and comor Conservative community.” thal anomaly” which mentators have said would cause death that it is no coinsoon after birth, or if it cidence that these would “prevent serious health risk” to the states are attempting to restrict abortions mother, but excludes mental illness from at the same time. After the Supreme Court consideration of a health risk. Governor turned more conservative over the past Ivey admitted that the Alabama bill is year with the appointments of Justices likely unenforceable thanks to the Roe v. Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, politicians view Wade decision, but she is hoping that this this as the perfect time to challenge the law helps overturn that ruling. landmark Roe v. Wade decision. This While the outcome of the proposed law landmark decision in 1973 ruled that the was never really in question, there was Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth some heated debate in the lead up to final Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provote. Several Republicans wanted to keep vided a fundamental “right to privacy” the rape and incest exceptions in the bill. that protected a pregnant woman’s liberty By LAURA FRANTZ ‘20 Staff Reporter
L
However, Senator Clyde Chambliss, a Republican and sponsor of the bill defended the omission of those exceptions. “When God creates the miracle of life inside a woman’s womb,” he said, “it is not our place as human beings to extinguish that life.” On the other side, Democrats, including the four women in the state senate, voiced their concerns about the impact this law would have on the women of Alabama. In addition to voicing the fear that this law would push abortions underground and make them more dangerous and disproportionately affect the poor and minority population, many spoke of how the state doesn’t care for suffering women and children. “The sin to me is bringing a child into this world and not taking care of them,” said Senator Linda Coleman. “The sin for me is that this state does not provide adequate care. We don’t provide education. And then when the child is born and we know that mother is indigent and she cannot take care of that child, we don’t provide any support systems for that mother.” Mirroring Alabama, the passage of this law has launched a national debate on the issue, with younger Americans – who the law would impact the most – weighing in. “I’m a millennial. My fear is that the women of my generation won’t be spurred to action because the idea of having an illegal abortion is such a foreign concept that it doesn’t seem realistic. The problem, of course, is that unsafe, illegal abortions could very well become a reality now.” Or another, who succinctly put in into perspective, “I wonder if the Gen-Xers and Millennials really get what’s at stake. They’ve never had to use wire hangers.” Even at Eastern, the topic has spurred discussion. One pro-life conservative who asked to remain anonymous, voiced concern about the Alabama law. “I believe that the law restricts legal abortions too much,” the student said. “The unneces-
sary restrictions on rape and incest don’t represent the Republican or Conservative community.” However, there was support for some of the other legislation moving through the state houses. “I strongly support the Fetal Heartbeat law. I do not believe that a fetus is part of the mother’s body, I believe that it is a separate human and should be endowed with the rights of a separate human.” A pro-choice woman had the opposite view. “Whether you are pro-life or pro choice, I think most of us can agree that these 25 men shouldn’t be deciding what women should be allowed to do with their bodies,” she said. “Regardless of your stance on abortion, anyone should be able to determine the fate of their own bodies without government intervention,” she said. Another student said that women’s bodies are being disregarded and being simply used as pawns in a grand, political scheme in which we cannot own ourselves. “In this grand debate,” she said, “pro-life politicians are not pro-fetus; they are pro-control. They enjoy the manipulation behind using women’s bodies as marionettes, with every choice being dictated by the hands of government.” Based on the new laws it seems like the Supreme Court will once again have to decide the fate of abortion in America. Graphics by Laura Frantz ‘20
Recent decisions at the Supreme Court Apple V Pepper
Cochise v. United States
Art by Laura Frantz
On Monday, May 13th, the United States Supreme Court and four brave iPhone owners prepared to make an apple pie out of one of the highest companies on the Fortune 500— Apple Inc. These Apple customers believe that Apple is unfairly taking advantage of Apple Store users. They claim that the Apple Store is a monopoly that charges both app developers and consumers too much money. Developers must pay a membership fee while consumers are streamlined into one purchasing platform and overcharging. Apple rebuked, saying that because developers decide the cost of the app, sans the Apple-decreed rule that all prices end with “0.99”, they should not be at fault. However, the Supreme Court voted against Apple, shutting down their objection and allowing the case to proceed. Carried out by a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court denied Apple’s request for the eight year-old case to be dropped . - Sophie Ferguson, Mike Mazzoitta, Laura Frantz, and Nichole Hall
The search for the truth behind the Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt case began when the United States pledged $60 million to the Department of Defense (DOD) to begin to rebuild Iraq. The DOD hired the Parsons Corporation to begin the clean-up project. The Parsons Corporation hired a subtractor, the Cochise Consultancy Inc, at the urging of the Army Corps of Engineers officer, Wayne Shaw, then stationed in Iraq. Cochise bribed Shaw for the contract, being paid over $1 million per month. Private individuals, called realtors, are legally allowed to come forward to report fraud. Realtors are allowed to come forward to file a claim three years after the individual uncovers a fraud, but no more than ten years after the discovery. One such individual, Billy Joe Hunt, who worked for the Parsons Corporation at the time when the company was hired to help rebuild Iraq, reported his observation of Shaw’s bribery. He filed a False Claims Act (FCA) against both Parsons and Cochise. The district court first ignored Hunt’s claims, arguing that he waited too long to file his complaint. However, the Supreme Court agreed to look into the case. Once the case reached the Supreme Court, the underlying debate became apparent: the decision of whether the realtor who came forward is granted the same protections when the realtor’s claims are not supported by the United States itself. In a unanimous vote, the supreme court concluding that an individual, not backed by the United States, aiding a prosecution may be subject to the same punishment as those on trial. - Jake Fritz, Sasha Tuddenham, Sami Frankel
Thacker vs. TVA
In 2013, Alabama resident Gary Thacker was boating down the Tennessee River, when tragedy struck. At the time, a work crew from the Tennessee Valley Authority was performing maintenance on an electrical wire near the riverbank. While traveling at a very high speed, Thacker’s boat collided with the low-hanging wire, seriously injuring him and killing his passenger. Following the incident, Thacker sued for negligence. On April 29th, Thacker was aided by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the TVA can be sued for its commercial activities. The TVA, which provides electrical services to millions of Americans, is operated by the government therefore lower courts argued that it has legal immunity in court cases. Up on the high court, the final ruling was that the utility corporation can be sued, but only in cases dealing with its commercial activities. This Supreme Court case provides a needed level of protection for the working people of America. - Lelah Tekhna, Ahmed Abdou, and Andrew Shinkle
June 2019
What’s happening in Trump’s cabinet?
EPA - Andrew Wheeler Under Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the Green New Deal, which calls for expanding the use of renewable energy, lowering transportation pollution, and reforming labor and education, was dismissed as unfeasible, with Wheeler stating it would reduce the reliability of the electrical grid and thus inhibit the restoration of drinking water systems after natural disasters. Proponents of wind energy have shot back at Wheeler, citing a post from the Energy Department’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, which states that “power grid operators have always had to deal with variability.” Senator Ed Markey refuted the claims of Wheeler, stating that Wheeler has never read the National Climate Assessment, and he should “pick it up and learn about how climate change is public health emergency.” - MAANASI NATARAJAN ‘19
State Department: Mike Pompeo Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo is involved in numerous issues. Pompeo has been one of Trump’s most loyal appointees. Pompeo is staying loyal and being criticized for blindly defending the president. When asked about Trump’s claims that Russia was looking for something positive in Venezuela, Pompeo acted as if he never heard the President say that. Instead Pompeo reiterated that the US has told Cuba and Russia not to interfere with Venezuela. However, one thing that Pompeo isn’t clueless about is the Iran-backed militia. According to Pompeo, Iranbacked militias have moved their missiles closer to US military bases in Iraq. Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed this was not a military confrontation, and there will be no war. Pompeo recently made a visit to Sochi, Russia, to hold consultations with Vladimir Putin. Putin told Pompeo he wants to end the mistrust between Russia and the US. Both parties are aware of the numerous allegations posed against them, but Putin is ready to put it all aside and work together if the US is willing to do the same. Pompeo lives a hectic life being associated with different conflicts in the span of a few days. - ANTHONY CUTRERA ‘19
Secretary of Energy: Rick Perry Before being appointed by Donald Trump as the Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry served many other positions, such as the Governor of Texas, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and the Texas House of Representatives. He also ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016. Perry began his tenure with ordering an in-depth study of the country’s electric grid with the purpose of exploring the “critical issues central to protecting the long-term reliability of the electric grid.” A large focus of the department is to keep the electric grid efficient and sustainable. - JACOB SAFIER ‘20
Secretary of Transportation: Elaine Chao Elaine L Chao came to America at age eight and gained citizenship at age 19. She is the current Secretary of Transportation and the former secretary of labor from 2001 to 2009. She was the first Asian American to be a part of the President’s cabinet. She previously worked on the finances for transportation in private sectors. She is currently an advocate for safety, as well as the infrastructural and innovational importance for economic growth in the United States. - JULIA DODD ‘19
Secretary of Agriculture: Sonny Perdue Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, comes from a farm family and worked through business and elected office. Perdue plans to expand the agricultural workforce, provide a safe and secure food supply, and protect the land’s resources. Today, he is facing issues with foreign nations and agricultural trade, as well as trying to help American farmers in the trade war with China. - VICTORIA LAPINSON ‘20
Attorney General: William Barr After the high profile resignation of Jeff Sessions, William Barr was appointed by President Trump as Attorney General in mid-February. Notably, Barr concluded that, after the Mueller report, the special counsel did not find enough evidence to charge President Trump regarding allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Barr also said Mueller did not conclude that the president committed a crime, but he did not fully exonerate him either. For this reason, many Democrats claimed that Barr’s response was an attempt to spin the report in President Trump’s favor. Additionally, President Trump recently issued a directive that gave Barr significantly more authority in conducting reviews on how the ties between Trump and Russia were investigated. - SRISHTI RAMESH ‘19
The Voyager 7
Interior - David Bernhardt In the last days of 2018 Ryan Zinke stepped down as Secretary of The Interior and was quickly replaced by his deputy David Bernhardt. In the financial disclosure report released on Bernhardt, it was revealed that he is deeply intertwined with the oil and gas industry. Environmentalists have rejected Bernhardt, fearing he works on behalf of the energy conglomerates he represented at a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. These fears played out last month when Bernhardt pushed through Executive Order No. 3360 which brought down four regulations in relation to climate change. The four orders declared null and void were “Preparing the United States For The Impact of Climate Change,” “Power Sector Carbon Pollution Standards,” “Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment” and “Climate Change and National Security.” While Bernhardt’s position on the environment is controversial, the Department of Interior reported $1.1 billion in oil and gas revenues using the least amount of acreage in history. You can contact the Department of the Interior by emailing feedback@ios.doi.gov. CAMERON DAVIS ‘19
Education: Betsy DeVos The U.S. Secretary of Education, Elizabeth “Betsy” Prince DeVos, made it her mission to make reforms that will “help underserved children gain access to a quality education.” Since entering the position, the department awarded funds to Marshall County School District in Kentucky following a shooting that took place in January 2019. In addition, DeVos has helped expand charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools. She has also come under extreme scrutiny for her lack of experience in the education field and cuts to the Special Olympics. - AVA HANCOCK ‘20
Management and Budget - Mick Mulvaney Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, plays a crucial role in many aspects of our government, from Trump’s involvement with the press, the budget, healthcare, and different legislation passed. The duties of the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is to assist the President in meeting his policy, budget, management and regulatory objectives “to fulfill the agency’s statutory responsibilities.” Many laws or budgets wishing to be passed by Trump is coordinated with Mulvaney. A wellknown issue facing Mulvaney is border security. Border security has been the center of discussion for many months, and the federal budget is crucial to the passing of any border-related legislation. The budget plans invest in border infrastructure, increased capacity to detain illegal and criminal aliens, border security technology and equipment, and shelter capacity and care for Unaccompanied Alien Children. According to CNN, critics of Mulvaney say that thus far, he has failed to perform what past chiefs have done, such as focusing on the President’s crucial issues, and serving as a “guardrail against an unpredictable president’s most self-defeating instincts.” Mick Mulvaney claims that his and President Trump’s communication and press strategy is one they discuss daily and aim to continue improving. “We’ll spend a little more time being proactive, and a little less time being reactive,” Mulvaney states in an interview with POLITICO. “We’ve got a great message to sell. We want to talk about the economy. We want to talk about health care. We want to talk about trade, so if we can try to drive the narrative a little bit more, we think that would be a valuable improvement.” - JESSICA BONAMASSA ‘19
Treasury - Steven Mnuchin
The United States and China are currently discussing ongoing trade negotiations, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said talks with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He were “constructive” at their session’s conclusion on May 10th. Investors are concerned the stock market could undergo losses, but it can be avoided as long as the two countries do not enter a full fledged trade war. According to CNBC, “Traders are concerned about the uncertainty of how China might respond to U.S. tariffs over the weekend, and says markets could be volatile around that on Monday.” President Trump is also willing to take a hit to the market because of its previous success. He feels that his policy goals will be worth the risk and is hoping for a longterm solution. The upcoming G20 conference in Japan will be a very important summit to further discuss tensions. - LAUREN CASOLE ‘19
Labor - Alex Acosta There has been a shakeup in the office of Alex Acosta, the Secretary of Labor. Amid concerns of his professional conduct, the Chief of Staff to Acosta, Nick Geale, has been fired. People in the office grew uncomfortable with the language that was being used by Geale. He created a poor culture within the Department of Labor headquarters. He often talked with profanity and belittled subordinates. The search for a replacement is ongoing. Contact the Department of Labor: Webmaster@dol.gov. - MATTHEW STEINSALTZ ‘20
8 The Voyager
Features
June 2019
Measles Outbreak
As vaccination debate continues, new cases arise would be autistic or not,” former antivaxer Kashana Cauley remembered. Parents and families merely hope for something to blame in the face of plit second pain for a lifetime uncertainty. Parents need to be reassured of immunity against the most that their fears are understood. “Each common diseases is nothing case is different. Some people believe short of a miracle. Vaccines, incorrect things such as vaccines are the most influential scientific linked to autism. Others are worried about development in recent decades, put an multiple shots. Addressing each concern end to a parent’s worry about common is the key,” Dr. Falk of Atrium Pediatrics diseases such as smallpox, polio, and stated. even tetanus. When doctors take the time to explain Early developers of vaccines became the necessity and safety of vaccines, heroes to parents and children alike. the patient’s health benefits. “I was Edward Jenner and Jonas Salk went down very ignorant at the time when in history for saving millions of lives by I started my research and didn’t creating the smallpox and polio vaccines even know where to begin, or what respectivly. questions to ask, as my doctors and The heroes who created vaccines were nurses for many years had never soon questioned. Dr. Andrew Wakefield properly informed me of the risks when published a study in the journal, Lancet, I was Vaccinating my own children and linking autism to the Measles, Mumps, myself in the 80’s and 90’s.” said a post and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. For years, from an anti-vaxxer on Facebook. “It was mothers had speculated about the safety then that I learned Vaccine ingredients of vaccines when about a month after were extremely dangerous and had receiving the MMR vaccine, some never been studied for such basic things children began exhibiting developmental as carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, and delays, a known sign of autism. impairment of fertility even though they Wakefield’s study proved the mothers’ contained all of these things” However, fears correct, causing the fear of few to the CDC ensures vaccines are safe for the become the fear of many. majority, requiring countless regulations In 2010, the paper was retracted and testings before a vaccine is brought as epidemiological studies proved to market. Wakefield’s research to be false. The The U.S. Food and Drug Administration National Institutes of Health explains (FDA) begins testing before the vaccine how autism develops is sent to the when a child is around manufacturer. If one, the same time Currently, those most approved, the the the child receives at risk of getting the vaccine is sent to the MMR vaccine. disease are unable trial. When the trial The link between the demonstrates that to receive certain vaccine and autism the vaccine is safe was fabricated vaccinations. for humans, the by the specific vaccines are tested circumstances of the in volunteer groups. test subjects. Testing ceases immediately if the vaccine Although Wakefield’s study was proven is proven dangerous or unviable. “Only if false, the fear of vaccines as “dangerous,” a vaccine’s benefits are found to outweigh still spread. In response, about 1.3% of its potential risks does the FDA grant a children in the United States in 2015, did license for the vaccine, allowing it to be not receive the recommended vaccines, used by the public,” the CDC reported. the Centers for Disease Control and Following extensive tests, the FDA Prevention (CDC) reported. grants a license for a vaccine. Even when “Yet instead of feeling relieved that I the vaccine is sent to doctors to be put into could rule vaccines out as a potential use on patients, the vaccine is carefully cause of autism, I felt cheated. I couldn’t monitored for any further side effects. If accept the truth: In the 15 years since my a side effect is presented, the Advisory brother’s diagnosis, no one had figured out Committee on Immunization Practices what caused autism, so there was nothing (ACIP), made up of practicing health I could do to prevent having an autistic professionals, choose how to proceed in child. I held on to my opposition, figuring recommending the use of the vaccine in I should avoid vaccinating my future kid question. ‘just in case.’ I wanted to believe that I The amount of testing and constant could control whether my future kid By SASHA TUDDENHAM ‘20 Staff Reporter
S
Artwork by Jenna Preston ‘22
surveillance required on a vaccine ensures no unnecessary risks are being taken by any member of the population. The increase of unvaccinated children and the commonality of seemingly “eradicated” diseases is correlated, leading to outbreaks of diseases doctors have not seen in years. Proven since the beginning of vaccine creation, when people begin to refuse vaccines, an outbreak is inevitable. “Vaccines can sometimes eliminate an infection (smallpox) but usually the pathogen is in the environment and you can only protect people with vaccines” Dr. Falk said. In 1873, Stockholm experienced a smallpox outbreak in the wake of citizens fighting for individual rights, stated the Immunization Coalition of Delaware (ICD). The ICD also found that in 1980, Sweden deemed the whooping cough eradicated, deciding to no longer require the vaccine. This caused 60% of children to contract the disease. As more of the population refuse the MMR vaccine, measles has entered the world stage once again. Measles has began to make a comeback, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. The CDC now warns of measle outbreaks in Japan, Canada, and Israel. Currently, those most at risk of getting the disease are unable to receive certain vaccinations. “Many individuals have weakened immune systems and are at high risk of serious complications from infectious diseases, including organ transplant recipients, individuals with HIV, and those receiving chemotherapy. Even having diabetes, cancer or chronic liver or kidney disease weakens your immune system,” conveys Dr. Michael of Marlton
The chart above shows the number of cases of measles outbreaks. It’s only June, and already the number of cases for 2019 has skyrocketed. Why? It’s complicated, but it’s worth knowing what is happening.
Nephrology. She explained how when one receives an organ transplant, the body tries to reject the organ. The body thinks of the organ as a “foreign entity,” sort of like a disease. The body’s automatic response to reject, to fight, the organ requires suppression, causing the body to be more susceptible to diseases, such as the measles or mumps. Because MMR is considered a “live vaccine,” immunosuppressed patients, particularly transplant patients, are unable to receive that specific vaccine. If one is able to get the vaccine, but chooses not to, it puts immunosuppressed patients at further risk of contracting the measles, the mumps, or rubella. Before a transplant occurs, all patients are tested to prove that they received the necessary vaccinations, Dr. Michael portrayed; “Some transplant centers may not transplant a patient that refuses vaccination and does not have antibodies to serious infections like measles.” Furthermore, schools require vaccination histories before a student is able to enroll. One of Eastern’s school nurses, Mrs. Westervelt, explained how the only vaccination exemption one receives is a religious exemption from a child’s parents or a health exemption from a doctor’s note, but there are very specific requirements of how the letter is written. Having two young children and working with high schoolers daily, French teacher Madame Goldthorpe realizes that, “As a teacher, vaccinations are for the protection of the other students and even the teachers themselves because everyone is then put at risk if one isn’t vaccinated. But especially the nurse because she had to deal with the kids who are sick.” Currently, the measles outbreak has been confirmed in 23 states, including New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the CDC reported. With 14 cases in New Jersey alone, the outbreak is associated with unvaccinated travelers carrying the disease back from another country experiencing an outbreak. The person may be unaware they are infectious, as Mrs. Westerfield explained, “A person is contagious for two days before symptoms appear.” The CDC confirmed that 82 people carried the measles back to the United States. Although the measles was dubbed eradicated from the United States in 2000, the outbreak has caused 839 reported cases in 2019 alone. If action is not taken to protect those susceptible to the measles, the outbreak will only continue to get worse. As Mrs. Westerfield explained, “We try to educate all parents why we want kids to be vaccinated for the health of their own child and for the protection of other children.”
June 2019
Features
The Voyager 9
What do you REALLY know about climate change? effects of eating meat, they release methane, one of the 6 By CYNTHIA MEAS ‘21 major heat trapping gases, which leads to global warmArt Editor ing and climate change. ou are dying. One thing you can do is go vegan. Extreme, yes, No, not by a tumor nor a hitman. It’s more of but it’s a good way to stop supporting these industries the polluted air, green gas emissions and plasinstead, switch to more organic and healthy veggies or tics in our water. Animals and trees are dying fruits. On the other hand, if you really can’t survive withand soon, so will the rest of the world. out meat, focus on farms who take care of their animals Scientists say that by 2030 humans will become extinct. like free range, or grass/soybean fed. Meats are one of Do you know why? Americans make 5% of populations the #1 leading ways that we are ruining our planet. but make 30% of the waste and use up 25% of the natural Reusable energy is KEY to avoid more greenhouse resources. The air we breathe is more than contaminated gas emissions. Solar panels, wind mills, water mills are and it’s gotten to the point where planting trees can no all helpful options (not that one would expect you to longer help us. have the last two in your backyard). According to Energy A lot of people are aware about global warming and Sage, the average price per watt for solar panels ranges climate change. Some think it’s some kind of myth that it from $2.67 to $3.43, and solar panel costs for an averageis natural and happens every couple millions of years, or sized installation in the U.S. usually range from $11,214 “a few degrees isn’t a big deal.” to $14,406 after solar tax credits. Now that’s not very By definition, global warming is a long-term rise in convincing however, it’s better than losing an entire the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system, an planet, right? aspect of climate change shown by temperature measureThe most dangerous arch nemesis to our Earth ments and by multiple effects of the warming. For cliis plastics. According to the Natumate change, it is the difference in the David Orr, a professor in enviral History Museum, between 4.8 Earth’s global climate or in regional ronmental science and politics and 12.7 million tonnes of plasclimates over time. from Oberlin College, said that tic enter the ocean each year, acNow, let’s go into the reality of what we should stop eating meat and cording to figures published in the this means. There are different types start using solar panels and biojournal Science in 2015. That could of areas that get affected by the damdegradable substances to combat be from 19.2 to 50.8 million tonnes age that we as humans are solely rethe unsettling fate. of plastics added to our oceans since sponsible for. Marine pollution, air 2015. 1 metric ton is 2204.62 pounds. pollution, you name it, it’s probably Convert 50.8 metric tons and now polluted. Masks are needed just to puit’s 111994.8 pounds ADDED to the ocean. The Naturify the air we breathe. Our North and South poles are ral Geographic website insists that there was 18 billion completely melting to the point where seals, polar bears tons of plastics in the ocean in 2018. To put that into perand walruses are doing two things: Migration or suicide. spective, The Empire State Building is about 7 million So, what can we as humans do to protect our one and pounds. Why aren’t you screaming yet? only home? This endangers millions of sea life. A million of sea David Orr, a professor in environmental science and life die to digestion of plastics or harm like suffocation. politics from Oberlin College, said that we should stop One way to avoid this is the good old fashion recycle and eating meat and start using solar panels and biodegradreuse your household items! Brita filters instead of plasable substances to combat the unsettling fate. tic bottles, metal straws instead of plastic straws, bring Stop eating meat? Why? How? “Mass production of your own bag instead of buying grocery bags. Little meats costs us a lot. Confinement of hogs, cows, chickthings matter and at this point something is way better ens, that’s more of a moral issue.” said Professor Orr. “If than nothing. you’re going to eat the flesh of an animal, do it in a way Yes, this is an environmental issue. However, it’s also a that’s better for the animal.” political issue. “Climate change is a fundamentally politThese meat factories can contribute to land and water ical issue. We will have to solve it as political issue. Clidegradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degmate change is a part of larger set of issues and requires radation and deforestation. From these farm practices a much larger transition to a sustainable society. People alone, it makes up 18% of greenhouse gas emissionsare seeing that climate change is related to issues such as more than ships and cars combined. Adding to the list of
Y
Artwork by Cynthia Meas
justice and law and society,” said Professor Orr. Allowing these products to advance as far as they have, endangering humans and animals, is a violation of our constitutional rights. Air pollution is a global health crisis that really needs to be addressed. Air pollution violates the rights to lead a healthy life life, to health, the rights of the child, and also violates the right to live in a healthy and sustainable environment. This is ILLEGAL. It takes our right to LIVE safely in the United States, and we have to do something about it. It doesn’t just take the simple changes in life to make a difference, but to make a stand in the political world as well. Make an effort to make the citizens who aren’t aware… aware. Signing petitions, making environmental societies all matter as long as you are making a voice to stop our Earth to getting to a point it can’t come back from.
In wake of sex abuse scandals, new law makes it harder for New Jersey teachers accused of misconduct to secure new positions sistance is predominant as humanity is often inclined to believe what it knows best. The church is so ingrained into the lives of many devout Catholics that to even suggest its n Spotlight, a group of four investigative journal- involvement in abuse is preposterous, but the issue is not ists worked diligently to uncover the truth about solely prevalent in the church; it can happen anywhere and sexual misconduct within the Boston church sys- everywhere . . . and it does. In October of 2018, Brantley Cesnak, a Latin teacher at tem. Walter Robinson, Michael Rezendes, Sacha Cherokee High School, was taken into Pfeiffer, and Matt Carroll discovered priests listed as being on “sick leave” In October of 2018, police custody after accusations that he had assaulted a former student in his or “absent on leave” or “unassigned” in Brantley Cesnak, own home when she was between the church directories, a sign they had been a Latin teacher ages of 16 and 17. Cherokee suspended directed to church-run facilities for treatat Cherokee High Cesnak and banned him from stepping ment after sexually abusing children. foot on district property or attending The directories suggested that the numSchool, was taken ber of priests involved in the scandal surinto police custody school-sanctioned events. In May of 2019, Kimberly Pinkham passed 87 in Boston alone, approximately after accusations worked as a media specialist within the 6% of Catholic priests in that area. that he had assaulted Kingsway Regional School District, but The rise of sexual assault cases in the a former student in had been caught in allegations of sexual church is causing a domino effect; as more abuse with and more victims reveal the truth of how his own home when they were sexually abused by the church, she was between the a teenage student in more and more victims shed a light on the ages of 16 and 17. the school. extent of the church’s power. In October She had of 2018, Justice Department prosecutors been charged with engaging served subpoenas to seven of the eight Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania: Allentown, Altoona-Johnstown, Erie, in sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old both during and Greensburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton. A report acknowledged that there were legitimate allega- after school. The district sustions against more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania who pended her pay during Febabused upwards of 1,000 children including cases that ruary after police received reports of possible inapprodated back to the 1940s. Abuse is reported to restore the balance between the priate behavior. In April 2018, Governor omnipotent and the survivors. It’s important for newspaPhil Murphy signed the “pass pers to concentrate on the issue of abuse to expose that the trash” measure of a projust because something happens behind closed doors. That posed bill into law, which doesn’t mean people should also turn the other way. Re-
I
By JULIA KIRK ‘19 Staff Reporter
imposes more challenges for teachers engaging in sexual misconduct to move from job to job. Oftentimes, schools sweep allegations of child abuse under the rug and send teachers off to another school where they pose the same danger to other students. Rather than allow for school districts to send the problem to a different area, the law requires an investigation into the employment history of applicants with regular contact among students. Students can be protected by keeping them informed. Keeping them informed of any alleged instances of sexual abuse in their proximity, keeping them informed of any options if they find themselves in the situation, and keeping them informed on the threats posed by members of society and the importance of being aware. Schools need to accurately report any cases of child assault so that students have full faith in the morality of their teachers and can learn about mythological Roman figures without the fear of being sexually assaulted.
School Calendar
Monday
Dr. Mell Tuesday
Wedne
Dr. Melleby Moments
“I will miss D because he avid suppo arts and the activities at E School.” - M
“No one memory sticks out of Dr. Melleby, but what I’ll miss is his ability to be a boss and, at the same time, a compassionate human being. His sense of humor was hilarious as well.” -Mrs. Pappas
“I think the one thing I always think of when I think of Dr. Melleby is that he always says, “The teachers are what make Eastern great.” That’s how he opens meetings and what he says to us constantly.” - Mr. Berezansky
“He volunteered to be a judge for Chopped the first year I did it, which I thought was really special because he was superintendent and my own supervisor didn’t even want to.” - Mrs. Samaha
“We joined about the sa when I think I think of D - Mrs. W
leby Month
esday
Thursday
Friday
“The most significant memory I have of Dr. Melleby is the day I got hired. He made me feel welcomed and important. He made it seem like the staff and administration was happy to have me along as a teacher and a coach. Right off the bat, I felt involved in something special just by the way he approached my hire.” - Mr. McSweeney
Dr. Melleby e is such an orter of the e marching Eastern High Mr. Stanz
d Eastern at ame time so k of Eastern, Dr. Melleby.” Walker
June 2019
Dr. Melleby Moments contributed by Andrew Shinkle ‘22, Ava Hancock ’20, Jonathan Costa ‘19, Julia Kirk ‘19, Lauren Casole ‘19, Olivia Covington ’19, Sasha Tuddenham ‘20, Shreya Gowda ’19
“I remember, when Dr. Melleby was principal, he would always pick up trash in the hallway and he started off staff meetings with a joke.” - Mrs. Palmer
“He was the one who hired me. He was the principal at the time. He asked me a question that startled me, it caught me off guard. “What about your students you are leaving behind?” And I thought about it and took a moment to recollect my emotions. I said, “I’m gonna miss them more than I can express.” The question told me as much about him as it did about myself, because it showed he knew what education was about, the relationship with the students. It showed me he was a very sympathetic and empathetic person.” - Mrs. Pomerantz
12 The Voyager
Features
June 2019
Going solo to senior prom doesn’t mean you’re going alone BY NICHOLE HALL ‘19 Staff Reporter
ONE MONTH UNTIL PROM “You’re going solo to prom? That’s pathetic.” A chill in the April evening air caused me to momentarily stop brushing the horse beside me. It had been so warm and pleasant just an hour ago. Now, with the oncoming twilight sparkling through the forest beyond, the night-winds had brought with them a stark change. “It’s not,” I replied, resuming to groom my neighbor’s horse. “At the very least I’m going, you know? I’ve never gone to a school dance before.” My neighbor chuckled. Despite only being in middle school, he towered over both his black-and-white equine and myself. Unseen to the eye, he also stood high over me in relationship experiences, platonic or otherwise. “Pathetic.” he repeated.
TWO WEEKS UNTIL PROM “I’ll buy you a corsage,” Mom said, speaking over both K-Love radio station’s talkshow and the hum of her minivan. “Is that okay? Isn’t that against etiquette?” I replied, weakly swinging one of my earbuds by its fraying wire. “‘Cause, like, I thought the boy buys his date a corsage.” The side of my mother’s lips dipped into a frown. We came to a red light, so she took the opportunity to face me. “Look it up,” she said. There was a sense of hopeful urgency in her voice. I sighed, paused my music, and sluggishly typed into Google’s search bar. I read about three articles before I found a somewhat clear answer to my question. Traditionally, yes, dates buy each other fancy, overpriced flowers exalted with formal French names. In the modern age, it was acceptable to buy your own corsage if you were a party of one. “I can live without one, Mom. Don’t bother. You’ve done so much already.” I glanced back at the dress I’d picked out,
sitting in the backseat like a real person, hidden in two oversized bags. “But it’s prom!” My mother continued to protest. “You should have flowers.” “It’s fine,” I said, a bit of an edge in my voice as I went back to listening to music. Flowers would look much better in the ground than around my wrist.
ONE WEEK UNTIL PROM “Oh, right! Are you going in the limo?” I hurriedly swallowed a bite of my sandwich to give my reply. I had meant to bring the subject up to Denise in Programming the period earlier, but our individual struggles with the last exercise had distracted me. “I don’t think so,” I told her, trying to be as polite as I could. “It’s too much money for a ride. I’m spending enough money on prom as it is.” Denise nodded in agreement. “I’ll still probably go though,” she said as she rested her elbow beside her laptop. “We’re taking the pictures at my house, so it would be rude of me not to.” “Makes sense.” As I continued eating, I tried to summarize just how much money my parents and I had coughed up for a few hours of loud music and ecstatic peers. The shoes, the dress, the alterations, the ticket...even though the coupons we’d threw at the cashiers like desperate housewives on a budget had brought down the overall costs, they were still quite high. The guilt festered within me as well as I sat there, eating my Pringles. My mother was paying for so much. It was her treat, she’d say. Don’t worry about it, she’d say.
TWENTY MINUTES TO PROM Everyone in the limo waved goodbye to their parents. Among them, sitting in a leather seat, was me. Apparently, someone paid for the limo but decided to bail last second. The music was horrendously loud, but at least the entire vehicle wasn’t vibrating as aggressively as it had been. The blue
lights, dotted over our heads like glowing freckles, dyed my mostly-white dress in an entirely new shade. I didn’t talk much during the ride. I was too busy staring out the tinted window, thinking about the rest of the night.
ONE HOUR INTO PROM It had been fine. I had been happily dancing with my friends. But now I was alone. I would’ve been fine if it hadn’t been a slow dance. The announcement for a Nichole Hall walks outside her house on the way to slow song, the immediate prom. reaching for dates, the THREE HOURS AFTER low light, and the separation of my friends PROM and I as we attempted to leave the floor spiked my heart rate. “So, did you have fun?” Now I was stuck. A stagnant lighthouse The minivan was quiet. But, at nearly against clashing waves. I physically one in the morning, such a considerable couldn’t leave the spot I’d sandwiched change was welcome. myself into. There were too many couples “Yeah. Didn’t really like the music, swaying at different speeds for me to but everything else was fine. Oh, and find an opening to scurry away without Detective Pikachu was cliched, but it was disrupting anyone. entertaining,” I said as we pulled out of My large dress kept people from the Regal Cinemas, despite my weariness getting too close, but even so, I was and the noticeable husk in my voice. getting claustrophobic and anxietyBoth my parents seemed content with ridden; the waves were taking a toll on my answer. the lighthouse. I waved, once again, to my friends that The lighthouse sent out an emergency had joined me in our late night theater signal, and thankfully, a ship appeared. escapade. They couldn’t have seen me, Denise was too far away from me to sail but I still felt the need to wave them safely, but our mutual isolation gave the goodbye. lighthouse keepers hope. The rhythmic It’s a funny feeling, buying only one rage of Hurricane Slow Dance came to a ticket to senior prom. But even though close with hugs and kisses. The lighthouse you’re technically going solo, you’re was free, able to reunite with the other really not. You can always count on your ships within the ocean. friends to make it worth the while.
The trick to prom: just stay calm By LAURA FRANTZ ‘20 Staff reporter
T
he inner turmoil that happens during prom season is exhausting. “I’m not going. I’m going to look fat and ugly and I don’t want to do it.” “Do you really not want to go? You look so gorgeous in that dress!” Yes, I want to go. But there’s too much to do! How do I make sure my hair, makeup, nails, body, dress, shoes, jewelry, and everything else looks perfect? The process of prom is one of the most stressful in the world. Some would argue that AP tests or finals are much more difficult, but I think trying to look like a Barbie or princess is nearly impossible. At Cotillion I looked like Snooki— not quite what I was going for. She is my idol and inspiration, but I didn’t necessarily need her signature hair poof. My hoop earrings didn’t help the look either. I looked like Miss New Jersey 2018. This year at junior prom I was determined to upgrade the look, and I don’t mean going from Snooki to JWoww. I wanted to look like a fairy princess, or at the very least a cute elf. The only thing was: how would I achieve it? Phase 1: the dress. The dress is the foundation of every prom look, however
attaining the perfect dress is an almost impossible task. The day I went dress shopping I had a plan— get in and get out. I had my game face on as I entered Jay West with my mom. Then I saw it. The first dress in the window. It had to be mine. “That one,” I said to my mom as I ran around the store trying to find a worker. I put on the dress and the heavens opened. It truly was love at first sight. My dress is light purple, slightly cupcake shaped, and simple. There is nothing that describes my style more than this dress. With my dress secured, I was ready to enter the next phase.
Phase 2: shoes and accessories. This step seems easy, but oh it is not. Accessories were actually a piece of cake. The worker who helped me enter the avalanche of toole in my dress picked out elegant earrings and a bracelet— a nice contrast to the gaudy hoop earrings (that I begged for) from the previous year. Shoes on the other hand were a nightmare. Who knew that a size 6 can mean so many different things? I have ordered around 20 pairs of shoes from DSW all in the same size, but they all fit differently. Who made the shoe sizing system? I want to speak to them. I don’t know why I even bothered searching for the perfect shoes, I know I’m going to end up in socks by the end of the night. But, nonetheless, I found my
true size 6 heels and we are good to go.
Phase 3: date. No, a girl does not need a date (but I really really want one). I have a couple options, but who do I choose? I ended up asking the same boy I went to cotillion with, because he is one of my best friends and I knew it would be fun. But now how do I explain to my mom that we aren’t dating? And how do I explain that you don’t need to go with your boyfriend? I get it— in olden days you HAD to go with a date and said date HAD to be your boyfriend. But times are changing, mom! I can spend a night dancing with a boy to songs from 2008 without dating him! Now all I have to do is figure out what color bow-tie he should wear. Phase 4: hair. I have one goal— no Snooki poof. I want my hair to look classy, not New Jersey trashy. But what do I do? Do I follow every girl who has ever gone to prom and get 4 different types of braids in my hair? Do I get bouncy curls or tight curls? Do I wear it the way I do everyday? Too many choices! Too many hours spent on Pinterest! I’ll just make my hairdresser decide. Phase 5: makeup. As an aspiring makeup artist, this is easily my favorite phase. I did my own makeup for cotillion and
have done makeup for my friend’s prom, so I feel good about this step. I’ll just play around the night before, get a rough draft of my look, and everything will work out..hopefully.
Phase 6: to tan or not to tan. I can’t decide between looking like a ghost or an orange. Both will look bad, but what will look better? I tanned for cotillion and I looked more like a cantaloupe than an orange. I guess tanning it is. Phase 7: don’t panic. I have made all my decisions, I feel good about them, and I am happy. Now all I have to do is stay calm. Easier said than done. The entire week of prom is a catastrophe. My skin is breaking out, I’m panicking about my dress not fitting, I can’t stop stress eating, the only thing I’ve had to drink is coffee— BREATHE. I need to breathe. I need to stop worrying. Nothing can change now. I need to get all these doubts out of my head and just be happy. As they say, fake it till you make it. Phase 8: love yourself. I look good. Like...really good. My hair is elegant, my makeup is snatched, my tan is glowing, my dress is perfect, and I have never looked better. Maybe all the stress I went through was worth it. I should’ve just trusted myself.
Features
June 2019
The Voyager 13
Jonathan Perlmutter, Sophia Sloves and Jenna Shmuckler Katrina Pino and Josh Katilus Jordon Cefaratti and Mr. Isshak
Kayla Yap Tanner Koch and Lauren Casole
Stephanie Smith
Ryan Antrilli and Hillary Diana
PROM 2019
Haley Allsebrook and Tom Barkan
Maddy Murphy and Ethan Shacket Deklin Parker and Nikki Belperio
Michael Belko, Sophie Ferguson and Alexa Grabelle Marisa Tate and Jake Bogardus P R O M
Jade Kenny and Julia Kirk
Nancy Bowne and Darren Frankel
Alyssa Capriotti, Kena Patel, Julia Kirk, and Vanessa Bein
Katelyn Shinkle
2 0 1 9
Rocco Tursi and date
Tammy and Ashawn
Donny Miller and Mia A.
Julia Dodd
Jon Wasdick and Jacob Goldsburough
Nichole Hall, Denise Dacanay, Deja Hicks and others
Taylor Ruiz, Olivia Kitlas, and Cera Ong
Go online for more photos in color. Voyager-online.org
Kena Patel and Hailey and Photos by Evelyn Steele Shaina Rosenblum
Opinion
14 The Voyager
June 2019
Spirit at school needs to be rekindled to enhance academic and social environment
E
ast High in “High School That was until the infamous and haunted Musical” was filled with Spirit Week of 2011. Students turned what basketball games, red was supposed to be a fun-filled five days Wildcats apparel, and crazy into an utter disaster: paint on freshmen, homecomings. For a lucky few paint on cars, paint on the parking lot. schools, even locally, this is the received Some paint still lingers. reality. All you need to do is attend Cherry After the incident, administrators, Hill’s “Mr. East” contest or stand with the logically, tightened their grip on Spirit fans at a basketball game. Week. Now we have “Spirit Week” lite. But what do you do when your high Let the student body not be school has virtually no school spirit? misunderstood: students still want spiritEastern is infamous for its lack of spirit. they just want it in a different way. Every With low participation for Spirit Week high schooler wants to look back on their and even lower turnout for sports games, four years and think, “wow, that was so the student body isn’t exactly boasting much fun.” No one wants to remember with pride. school as bleak and boring, though this is School spirit means something different often the way it is. to everyone. For Students have some, it’s all about suggested the supporting teams, administration clubs, and programs. loose to allow It’ll take a village to get let For others, it’s just the student body Eastern’s spirit back putting in an effort to show spirit for a school that you up, but the process can the way they respect. want. Rather than The lack of spirit start with a few. Be one having the school isn’t a problem initiate of the first to break the itself throughout the area. events, which cycle! The school will This isn’t a Cherry are sometimes thank you for it. Hill East problem regarded as lame, or a Haddonfield let the student problem or a organizations Marlton problem— plan activities. this is solely an Eastern problem. When the students are engaged, they’re Most students in Eastern would not more likely to get their friends involved. consider themselves spirited. Some In addition, the events will come students flat-out dislike high school across as more geared toward their and would rather not spend their time demographic rather than being a “schoolsupporting it. organized” event by veteran teachers and This dislike can stem from a lot of things; administrators. students often find Eastern tedious, with Making a bigger deal out of home games its ID policy and strict rules and exams. and hyping up smaller clubs is a simple People would rather hang out with friends yet effective way to electrify the school outside of school rather than voluntarily climate. Eastern should continue to use sitting on the home benches for a lacrosse ETV and the end-of-day announcements, game, coming to the Talent Show, or which reaches the entire school at the buying a ticket for “The Music Man.” same time, to its advantage. Eastern used to be spirited, though (at Teachers have more of an impact than least from what we heard from former they think, too. It seems as though lots students and teachers who attended of teachers seem like they, too, aren’t Eastern). Spirit week was once an exactly thrilled to be a part of the Eastern explosion of fun, wild outfits, crazy family. How many teachers attend events? hallways, and competitions. Unlike other schools, Eastern actually
Eastern Regional High School 1401 Laurel Oak Road Voorhees, NJ 08043 856-784-4441 www.voyager-online.org YouTube: ehs voyager Twitter: @ehsvoyager
THE VOYAGER
Lauren Casole and Maanasi Natarajan: Editors-in-Chief Srishti Ramesh and Julia Dodd: Online Editors-in-Chief Shreya Gowda: Managing Editor Ava Hancock and Jessica Bonamassa: Opinion Editors Bryce Dershem and Haley Allsebrook: News Editors Matthew Steinsaltz, Jacob Safier, and Olivia Covington: Features Editors Victoria Lapinson and Josh Meyers: Entertainment Editors Anthony Cutrera and Andrew Shinkle: Sports Editors Cynthia Meas: Art Editor Evelyn Steele and Nancy Bowne: Photography Editors Nancy Bowne: Copy Editor Staff Reporters
Jenna Preston, Nichole Hall, Jonathan Costa, Laura Frantz, Julia Kirk, Sophie Ferguson, Jake Fritz, Ahmed Abdou, Lelah Tekhna, Sasha Tuddenham, Samantha Frankel, Cameron Davis, Michael Mazziotta
Walter Bowne, Advisor: Room 605
Letters to the Editor Submit signed letters to Room 605 or email ehsvoyager@gmail.com
Awards The Garden State Press Association, “Overall Excellence” The American Scholastic Press Association
encourages attendance through free tickets to staff members to most events. There are exceptions, of course, as there are many teachers who get extremely involved in activities and encourage students to get involved. (We know who you are). If all teachers throughout Eastern showed pride and excitement, it might bolster the student body, as well. The students also have equal responsibility and opportunity to make the school more spirited. Get a group of friends together to go watch a basketball game or help decorate with Student Council or start your own small activities that don’t need to be approved by the administration. Try to get excited about the smaller things, even if it may seem cheesy. It can be hard to do with the busy schedules that most high schoolers have, but you are only in high school for so long. Do you want to look back with regret, thinking that you could have done more? School spirit is a lot more than apparel and painting your face maroon and navy. Spirit can really transform a school’s atmosphere and make what is typically
Staff Editorial mundane enjoyable. It’ll take a village to get Eastern’s spirit back up, but the process can start with a few. Be one of the first to break the cycle! The school will thank you for it. Maybe, just maybe, activities like Mr. Eastern, Spring Luau, Walk-a-Thon, and outside field events can return.
Artwork by Srishti Ramesh ‘19
Short-e-torials
Kentucky Derby winner rightfully disqualified The 145th Kentucky Derby did not go as expected on May 4th. Twenty-two minutes after Gary West’s horse, Maximum Security, passed the finish line along with jockey Luis Saez, the horse was disqualified from the race for veering off course and causing a domino effect that impeded the front-running horses. As the owners of the second-place horse, Country House, accepted their prize, the crowd erupted into boos that overtook the track. However, Maximum Security’s disqualification
makes sense. Had the other horses, specifically War Of Will, who was affected most, reacted differently to the aggressive cluster, another tragedy to the likes of Eight Belles or Barbaro could’ve happened. Unfortunately though, this means no potential Triple Crown winner - neither horse ran the Preakness after Maximum Security’s owner decided not to race and Country House fell ill with a virus. -NICHOLE HALL ‘19
James Charles deserves to lose followers Just a few months ago, YouTube beauty personality James Charles was seemingly on top of the world. After some recent drama and sexual misconduct allegations, his career is taking a turn for the worst. On May 10th, Charles’ former friend and fellow beauty guru Tati Westbrook posted a video titled “BYE SISTER…”, in which she explains that she doesn’t wish to be associated with him anymore. Previously, Charles had advertised a brand of sleeping pills on his Instagram story. Westbrook took that as a shot towards her own brand of pills, which was in direct competition with the one Charles
promoted. Additionally, Charles has been accused of sexual misconduct, as screenshots of inappropriate text conversations have been released on social media. In response to the ongoing drama, he released an apology video titled “tati”, which attempted to de-escalate the situation. But this video has only fanned the flames, with it garnering over 2.2 million dislikes. Over the past few days, the disgraced Charles has lost over 3.1 million subscribers on YouTube, which is one of the sharpest drops in followers in the site’s history. - ANDREW SHINKLE ‘22
Opinion
June 2019
The Voyager 15
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation. It also ranks 2nd in the nation for education. In order to decrease the pain of property taxes, Senate leader Steve Sweeney, in his “Path to Progress” Task Force, has recommended consolidating smaller districts with larger districts, creating more K-12 schools.
Debate: Would combining Berlin, Gibbsboro, and Voorhees into a K-12 make sense?
NO
Possible short-term gains would not counter long-term problems
By MAYA DAVE ‘20 Special to The Voyager
Yes
as a result of a highly controversial law passed in Maine in 2007, local school districts were forced to merge with others. If not, they were slammed with penalties. Though the law has been amended (mostly due to criticism) to remove said penalties, it’s still in place today. A lot of schools don’t want to merge with others not only because of the costs, but also because they would rather be on their own. Imagine a law being set into place that made Eastern High School merge with Lindenwold. That means that all of the kids from that school would be coming here, along with their staff and the maintenance that comes with them, including double the amount of disciplinary enforcements. Schools that are anti-consolidation are completely justified in their weariness. Let’s imagine, for a moment, that a law requiring the merging of school was passed in New Jersey. Think of a small school district, such as Bass River Township, a district with only 102 students enrolled, merged with Newark Public School District, a district with over 38,000 students enrolled. Bass River Township be swallowed by Newark not only population-wise, but representation wise. Administration from the smaller district would have virtually no say in board decisions due to a lack of staff, and Newark would be the only ones who made any real change. The only benefit of school consolidation is money for a short period of time. Merging schools does more harm than good, and many schools are aware of this.
the smaller schools have would be overshadowed by those of the larger schools. This loss of autonomy is a reasonable concern, especially for the students and families who will be directly affected by this. However, because the plan still exists as a proposal, the report stated that New Jersey has the option of introducing either fully integrated countywide school districts or countywide administrative districts under which “school districts would maintain autonomy but share administrative and support operations.” The schools in the countywide administrative districts would be independent from one another but would still be able to afford niche subject teachers. Therefore, if the state senate decides to pass the latter option, schools do not need to give up their independence in order for the community to receive financial benefits. The financial aspect is a bonus that comes with the better education opportunities. According to “Sweeney Says It’s Time to Get Serious About Consolidating Schools in New Jersey,” a 1993 study by Rutgers Professor Ernest Reock found that if New Jersey followed through with a similar plan that would cut the number of districts in half, the state could save $32 million in administrative costs a year and $200 million overall. Although this would only be a fraction of the $40 billion that the state collects for education, any savings would be good enough. Opponents also argue that administrators would lose their jobs, but across the state, there are actually many vacant board positions. New Jersey School Boards Association reported that about 1.5 candidates competed per open seat over the past two decades, with many more districts having no candidates at all. With decreased seats there will be competition, and competition will bring forth the best of the best.
As a resident of Voorhees and a student at Eastern High School, I have first-hand experience in a K-8 district. When I came to high school, I realized there was no cohesion in the materials that my peers and I had learned. We were all honors students, but depending on which district we came from, some of us were more advanced than the others. This was most evident in my geometry class when the teacher had to reteach basic Algebra I concepts because they were not drilled properly. Additionally, Voorhees was the only district that gave eighth graders the opportunity to take a foreign language, so when high school came around, we were always one level ahead of the Berlin and Gibbsboro kids. Property taxes, a portion of which funds the schools, are high in New Jersey, but they are especially exorbitant in Voorhees. It doesn’t help that we have to fund two different districts and two sets of administration. Any sort of tax decrease would be greatly appreciated amongst the property tax-paying citizens. Better schools and less taxes sounds great, right? Unfortunately, this is not the future of New Jersey communities unless there are major reforms. The consolidation of school districts will regulate education and lower taxes. For the sake of the taxpayers and the children, we need to pass the proposal.
Graphic by Jessica Bonamassa ‘19
Education is the backbone of every society. In order to ensure a nation’s prosperity, it is imperative to make sure that it is able to provide the best education possible to youth who will grow up and carry it. So why, in that instance, deprive those students of the highest quality of learning possible? By increasing expenses, taking away local choice, and not giving voices to smaller school districts, school consolidation will do just that. The best example of the dangers of school consolidation cost-wise can be found in Illinois. According to the Reference Desk, more than one hundred Illinois school districts have merged. Of the schools that merged, for four years the districts received general state aid, a grant to pay the difference in teacher salaries, a one-time grant to cover negative fund balances, and $4,000 per certified staff member. While these sums of money are very enticing, it’s important to keep in mind that they only received the benefits for four years. What was going to happen when that money ran out and the schools only received taxpayer dollars as per usual? While there was more money going into the conjoined schools, there was no surplus. They were making
the same money that the individual schools were making before merging, except now transportation costs were at a high due to students from other towns having to come to a new one. This was money that could have been spent on bettering the quality of the school. When I attended Orville-Wright Middle School, a school that was merged with one near Los Angeles, I experienced firsthand the negative effects of consolidation. OrvilleWright is a STEAM school that is supposed to provide good education for students who excel in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics,. When I attended, however, it lacked the funding that was needed to carry out many of the special programs. In my aviation class where we learned how to fly planes, there wasn’t enough money for the plane simulator that was promised in the course description, so we stuck to taking guided notes out of beat up textbooks. One of the biggest consequences of school consolidation is the fact that it takes away local choice. For instance,
Tax payers and students will benefit
By KAREN LE ‘20 Special to The Voyager In the summer of 2018, the New Jersey Economic & Fiscal Policy Workgroup released the Path To Progress report, a series of reforms intended to fix statewide issues. One such proposal called for the consolidation of nearly half of the state’s school districts. Certain districts categorized as K-4, K-5, K-6, K-8, and K-9 would be required to merge into regional K-12 districts. As a result, Eastern High School’s sending school districts, Berlin, Gibbsboro, and Voorhees would be affected by this. Senate President Steve Sweeney publicly endorsed the proposal, citing two main reasons: it could deliver better education at a lower cost while also easing a heavy burden on taxpayers. Critics argue that consolidating districts would be a waste of resources and could lead to the closing of schools and loss of autonomy, but in reality, these critics just lack a proper understanding of the proposition. The New Jersey Senate should adopt the proposal to consolidate school districts, such as Berlin, Gibbsboro, and Voorhees, because it will ultimately lead to higher quality education and a healthier local economy. This is not the first time New Jersey has attempted to consolidate schools; Governor Jon Corzine advocated for a similar plan in 2007 when he was in office. The response to this, much like the current situation, was unfavorable. According to Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene’s “Why Schools Resist Consolidating,” a merger would give too much power to the larger schools, leaving less representation for the smaller schools. Whatever concerns
For more essays on the topic, go to voyageronline.org Artwork by Nichole Hall ‘19
16 The Voyager
Opinion
June 2019
Vaping makes us fiends What I learned while attending an assembly to honor Bruce Jackson By BRIAN URBIETA ‘20 Special to The Voyager
“Bro, lemme get a hit,” said one boy behind me. “Just one hit. I’m fiending!” I’m about ready to cry at a school recently attended an assembly to commemorate function while my peers behind me a local superstar: Bruce Jackson. were vaping. My first time seeing him was at my first and What has my generation succumb only football practice. I was overcome with to? confusion that day. Why would an obviously Scenes like these, sadly, are seen disabled man in an electric wheelchair be watching boys in schools. It’s seen in bathrooms practice? stalls, in locker rooms, and even in Junior Brian Urbieta reflects on why more don’t follow Bruce’s lead. I had allowed the memory to fade until I saw that same classrooms. man appear on a video projector during the assembly. Photo by Matt Steinsaltz ‘20 Why can’t these children help themselves? flavors like menthol to stay. Bruce Jackson was a New Yorker who resided in the local Well, they are addicted. Are they really fiends? A wicked, The FDA reasons that eliminating “kid-friendly” flavors rehabilitation center. He had a passion for football. That cruel person? Or a demon? will cause younger people to yield from vaping while explained the attendance at practices. But that’s not all. Studies show that when nicotine is taken into the body, also letting past cigarette smokers use what they’re As the documentary continued, people told stories of receptors are activated causing dopamine to be released. accustomed to smoking. the local celebrity’s determination not just to attend all This chemical is responsible for the good More proposals for rules like this are necessary from of Eastern activities, but also to be the feeling or “buzz” felt after using nicotine. “Bro, lemme get large organizations to end vaping in schools. first one there. He rolled in a wheelchair The smoking causes the number of In fact, the incident in the auditorium was half the story. because he was a victim of cerebral palsy. a hit,” said one nicotine receptors in the brain to increase. One hour after the assembly, I walked into a bathroom This begged the question: how did Bruce boy behind me. Addicted smokers, therefore, have billions doorway. A thick cloud of fruit vapor greeted me. A Jackson arrive at away games? “Just one hit. I’m more of these receptors than nonsmokers. familiar face smiled at me, but it wasn’t a natural smile. A returning football team in their bus fiending!” Studies also show that vapers who use His drooping eyes and slight limp indicated an altered noticed Jackson flipped over in his the infamous JUUL spend about $2,160 state of mind. cumbersome wheelchair on the side of per year on flavored nicotine liquids referred to as It had only been one hour since his last session. What the highway. After being helped up, they asked him why “pods.” A working adult could pay off this fee, but what would Bruce Jackson think about this? In a selfish pursuit he was out there. “I was on my way back from the game,” about a high school teenager? Not all high schoolers of artificial happiness, the youth are harming themselves. he said. are employed, so it’s not hard to imagine teens stealing They may never reach the true feeling of happiness. They Think about it: a man who had such trouble getting money from their parents or going through other illegal may never place the needs of the players, the school, places still showed up all the time. How about all the or dangerous means to get their nicotine fix. the community, family and friends, above selfish, selfpeople who have no such troubles? Why don’t more Finally, nicotine is a problem. Action must be taken destructive needs. people show up? to prevent more people from falling into a dangerous Perhaps drugs do make us “fiends.” Almost brought to tears by this man’s story, I put my addiction. One organization actively taking action is the But I’m sure that Bruce felt that feeling tenfold at every head down. FDA, which proposed new rules to ban certain types of game he attended. And for that reason, I honor his legacy. Then I sensed something. Something fruity. Followed JUUL pods like mango and allowing other traditional by . . . the warm smell.
I
The disgraceful censorship of high school journalists or slanderous.’” In addition, the administration said that the story did not follow the “professional standards of English and journalism.” The faculty adviser at Bear Creek, Kathi Duffel, objected. Duffel said that the article hadn’t violated any of these. Still, the principal demanded to be given an advanced copy to be approved by him. The administration at the school then took it a step further, threatening “dismissal” of Duffel if she refused to comply. The editorial staff at Bear Creek is refusing to compromise the By AVA HANCOCK ‘20 story, which they believe is exOpinion Editor tremely important to destigmatize the senior who agreed to reating a newspaper is not have it told. easy. As teenagers, it’s not unThrough battles with comusual to feel powerless. You puter programs to formuput on a front for all your late flawless layout in InDesign, going teachers so you don’t get in through multiple editors for routine gramtrouble, you write a super mar checks, and emailing sources from positive, bubblegum, PG-13 all over the country: none of this matters essay for your English class nearly as much as getting the story. just to play it safe, and follow Even as a high school journalist, all any the protocols of administrators. of us wants to do is change the world. To Because you are the subordinate write an article that can tell the story of and they are the adults. Your job is someone else, that can impact even just to make the school look good while the community, that theirs, most of the time, can start a conver“If I told my adviser is to suppress any consation — that is the troversy. that I wanted to write ultimate goal for I remember visiting about the heroin crisis, any writer, no matthe Garden State SchoI think she would have lastic Press Association ter how young. The newspaper had an aneurysm,” I (GSSPA) conference in staff of The Voice recall one student the fall with the rest of at Bear Creek High the Voyager staff. Our saying to us. School in Stockton, adviser, Mr. Bowne, and California had this some of our top-tier edisame goal when tors, Maanasi Natarajan, they decided to Lauren Casole, Srishti Ramesh, Shreya cover a story on an 18-year old senior at Gowda, and Julia Dodd, were giving a their school who was working as a sex short seminar about how we run our paworker. Their profile, however, was met per, the stories we cover, and what our with pushback from school administrarole is in the school. The seminar was tors, claiming that the article violated “a called “Let’s Get Political.” There were state education code barring the publicawell over fifty in the room, including othtion of material that is ‘obscene, libelous,
er advisers. When I looked around the room filled with other high school journalists from other schools all throughout New Jersey, I saw wide eyes and dropped jaws when they heard some of t h e stories we’d cov-
Artwork by Laura Frantz ‘20
ered. From the juul “epidemic” to the effects of porn in America to the criticizing of our own school, we cover just about anything and everything. Our former political columnists, Jared Gans and Haley Beluch, have won 1st place in the state for their polarizing opinions and stories. However, this isn’t the way it is at other schools. In fact, this isn’t the way it is at most schools. Most high school newspaper staffs have to send their papers in for complete approval to the administration or are flat-out told what to write. “If I told my adviser that I wanted to write about the heroin crisis, I think she would have an aneurysm,” I recall one student saying to us.
The trouble lies in the obvious amount of doubt adults have in students. They think we’re too young to handle mature topics becuase we’re teenagers. In reality, all of these so-called “scandalous” issues are ones happening in our very schools. Why cover them up? Why suppress them? Is it just about image? Ignoring the problem does not make it go away. Not writing about vaping in school will not make vaping disappear into a cloud of aerosol. Censorship only suppresses the freedom of high school journalists and hinders the student body that needs to hear these important stories. I went home on the bus that afternoon thinking about how lucky I am to get to write whatever I want. I’m encouraged to stir the pot and start a conversation. We won’t be in high school forever. There will be a point where all of us go to college and get jobs, and I’ve heard enough stories to know that there is zero sugar-coating in the real world. What’s the point of censoring students now when it’ll only hinder us in the future? The brave journalists at The Voice are an inspiration to young writers everywhere. Fight for the story. Push for what’s right. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re too young to know what you want. The most brilliant journalists of today were teenagers once, too.
C
Opinion
June 2019
The Voyager 17
A glimpse behind the curtain of pharmaceutical lobbyists: Let’s compare illegal marijuana with other legal drugs
L
egalization is not just about smoking. If someone wants to smoke marijuana, and they’re not harming anybody else, then that is their own choice and they don’t deserve to be criminalized. The reality is, whether these substances are legal or not, people are going to continue to use them. Making them illegal is only putting the distribution of marijuana in the hands of unorganized criminals. Prohibition fills our jails with nonviolent people, which tears apart families, which causes a lot more harm than good. The weed isn’t killing anybody, the war on it is. The US spends $300 billion a decade on the war on drugs, more than what is spent ending world hunger. Studies show that it’s much easier for teens to readily access marijuana than alcohol. Abdicating the production and distribution of weed to the black market provides children with greater access to it because it leaves the decision of what an appropriate age is up to the drug dealer. If they are already committing a crime, they will likely have no problem selling it to kids. Every time a drug dealer is throw in jail, there are still ten more around the corner. Marijuana also provides a variety of safe medicinal purposes such as treatment for cancer, insomnia, nausea, pain, depression, loss of appetite, Crohn’s disease, seizure disorders, muscle spasms, HIV, and many other conditions all with no serious side effects.
“But people who smoke weed are lazy,” some say. If that were always true, how are some people who smoke three or four times a day still going to school and getting straight A’s or keeping a stable job? If people being lazy is enough reason to criminalize cannabis, mayge we should throw people who watch TV in jail while we’re at it. Not only is marijuana useful for medical purposes, but it’s also completely
harmless in comparison to alcohol and tobacco, both of which are completely legal. 443,000 people die year round from smoking tobacco while another 8.6 million live with a serious disease. 75,000 die yearly from alcohol abuse and nearly 15,000 from prescription painkiller overdoses. Even caffeine is estimated to cause 5,000 deaths per year. So where does marijuana
stand? Studies conducted over 30 years ago that claimed the link to marijuana to the loss of brain cells were incredibly inaccurate. Their experiment forced excessive amounts of pot smoke were forced into the lungs of monkeys without oxygen in between. It was the asphyxiation that killed their brain cells, not the marijuana. So how Artwork by Jenna Preston ‘22
By JENNA PRESTON ‘22 Staff Reporter
much harm is it actually doing to the human brain? Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is not addictive. When deprived of marijuana, the body does not go through withdrawals, which means you can quit whenever you want. And for those who say marijuana is a “gateway drug”, it’s not the cannabis that’s the gateway, but the prohibition of it. When you break the law and visit an
unethical market to consume cannabis, you have greater access to other drugs. You may visit a drug dealer who will try to offer something stronger. When you get access to cannabis and discover that it isn’t that dangerous, you feel decieved, and won’t believe the mostly factual information about hard drugs. So why is marijuana illegal? The government doesn’t actually believe their own propaganda. Richard Nixon declared the war on drugs in 1971 not because he was worried about the “health risks”, but because he didn’t want people thinking. The pot smokers, or the hippies, were the ones protesting the Vietnam war. Nixon thought that if a whole group of people were criminalized, he wouldn’t have people protesting the war. Marijuana has the power to break down belief systems, which makes people question things like the war and women’s rights. The country couldn’t have that. The government doesn’t want people to question the system; they want obedient members of society The pharmaceutical industry, the most profitable industry in the world, would never let marijuana take their place. Since cannabis is natural, it cannot be patented, so no profit can be made from it. The industry is greedy, and get their way, of course. Marijuana remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug (drug with no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse). The good news is that such an opinionated lie can only be told for so long.
Legalizing marijuana is the rational way to control the drug By JEREMY BENDER ‘20 Special to The Voyager
T
he stigma around marijuana portrays the drug as extremely dangerous and harmful. Marijuana is scheduled at the same level as heroin and higher than cocaine, though the side effects of using it pale in comparison to those of legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana provides unmistakable aid when used for medicinal purposes. It can help alleviate symptoms caused by chronic diseases and conditions. Illicit drug circles also benefit from marijuana’s state of illegality, as it provides an enormous market with large potential profits. If marijuana were legal, the government would be able to utilize the revenue in a much more productive manner, while also weakening illegal drug dealers. The legalization of marijuana is logical and essential due to its minimal side effects compared to other drugs, its pain-relieving medicinal properties, offer potentially vast economic benefits. Despite the negative discourse surrounding marijuana, its side effects are mild compared to other drugs. Tobacco and alcohol, both legal drugs, are responsible for millions of deaths each year. To overdose on alcohol, one only needs to take ten times the amount that one would use for the desired effect. Marijuana, on
the other hand, has never claimed a life from overdose. It would take approximately one thousand times the amount of marijuana that produces the desired effect for one to overdose, a staggering quantity that is impossible to achieve even intentionally. Though there are potential side effects from using marijuana, such as dizziness or anxiety, these do not compare to the medical benefits. One of the most compelling reasons for the legalization of marijuana is the medicinal properties it offers to those who are suffering. Even though marijuana-related medicine products are just beginning to stock the shelves of stores, their effects are already clear. THC and CBD, the two main cannabinoids found in marijuana, have been shown to decrease inflammation, reduce nausea, and help with muscle control problems. They are also able to reduce pain caused by conditions or diseases such as glaucoma, cancers, HIV, Crohn’s disease, and seizure disorders. Some studies suggest the use of marijuana may even help to slow down the spread of cancer cells in the body. The list of potential uses for cannabis-derived medical products is endless. From an economic standpoint, the legalization of marijuana provides notable
What’s going on in New Jersey? The weed debate in New Jersey has been ongoing and complicated. In 2017, the first marijuana legalization legislation was introduced. Things got serious when Phil Murphy was elected governor in 2018 and vowed to legalize weed within 100 days. State legislators decided mid-May of this year that the vote to legalize recreational marijuana
benefits. A tax on the selling of marijuana would generate billions in revenue. In 2015, for example, the state of Colorado brought in over $135 million in revenue related to cannabis. On a larger scale, the legalization of marijuana takes money out of the pockets of illicit drug circles and into those of the government, which can use the revenue for any number of productive and useful projects. Sales tax revenue is not the only form in which marijuana presents potential financial benefits, however. Legalizing marijuana would create a plethora of new jobs, reducing unemployment, generating more income tax, and shrinking the market for illegal drugs in the United States. The case for the legalization of cannabis is clear. Even with minimal side effects as
Artwork by Sophie Ferguson ‘19
compared to drugs that are already legal, marijuana has vast untapped potential for both medicinal benefits and economic growth. There have been no deaths caused by an overdose of marijuana, while there have been millions due to legal drugs, like tobacco and alcohol. On top of this, those drugs do not offer the remarkable medicinal properties exhibited by cannabis-related products. Lastly, legalizing marijuana would create jobs and increase tax revenue, while simultaneously weakening the grip of the illegal drug trade. The legalization of marijuana stands to aid those who are suffering while boosting the economy, and therefore is a rational course of action.
18 The Voyager
Entertainment
June 2019
The End of an Era:
Endgame’s epic finale of the heroes that shaped this generation Stormbreaker, and kills Thanos (finally going for his head), despite that it is too late. Five years later, viewers are shown the hanos, The Mad Titan, is reactions to the snap. Steve Rogers is inevitable. But the heroes, the encouraging people to move on, despite relentless men and women of not moving on himself. This is a reference incredible origins, are there to to his seventy years frozen, in which he avenge. Marvel’s latest epic lost out on a life with Peggy, his love and addition to the Marvel Cinematic interest. Meanwhile Tony Stark is at Universe, Avengers: Endgame, concludes peace, living with his wife, Pepper, and a storyline spanning over a decade young daughter, Morgan. and multiple films. There is no better Natasha is managing affairs for the conclusion to this era of Marvel than remaining active Avengers, and looking the three hour journey that Endgame for Barton, who they believe has become provides. a vigilante assassin. Thor, the mighty A heartbreaking scene of loss opens hero and likely strongest of the crew, has the film. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye is given in to a life of beer, pizza rolls, and featured in the emotional beginning. Fortnite as he feels he is a failure. His The father of three is having a laid back friend, Valkyrie, survived the snap and is afternoon, but the audience feels tension helping manage New Asgard. knowing Thanos is about to snap. The Everything changes when Ant Man joins silent background increases pressure, the scene. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scott until the eerie disappearance of the Lang got stuck in the Quantum Realm, superhero’s family. a sub-particle universe where time and The film continues with looks at the other space is flexible, because the Van Dyne heroes reacting to their loss in Infinity family didn’t survive the snap to pull him War, just a few weeks after the snap. Thor out. is motivated by rage. Tony Stark is filled When Lang escapes the realm, he finds with dissent and disappointment in the that he missed five years, but to him lack of unity among the group. Captain it was only five hours. He goes to the America is hopeful and ready to avenge Avengers headquarters to explain that their loss. the technology used for his trip to the Of course, half of all living things, Quantum Realm could be a means of time including heroes like Spider-Man, Doctor travel, thus they could go back in time and Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, reverse the snap. and most of This is where the Guardians the film picks up “Endgame was everything of the Galaxy, a solidified plot I ever asked for in a were turned to and idea. The dust as part of Marvel movie . . . group gets back Thanos’ plan to together, though Endgame is an amazing bring order to the Stark is reluctant universe. With conclusion to an amazing to leave his the arrival of daughter, Thor is franchise.” Captain Marvel a mess, Hawkeye -Josh Meyers ‘21 and the reunited was busy taking remaining out cartels and Avengers ready, murderers, and Bruce Banner has fused they leave to find Thanos, take back the with the Hulk. Rogers, Romanoff, Rocket, stones, use them to bring everyone back, Rhodey, Ant-Man, and Nebula get the and kill Thanos once and for all. hesitant characters on board with the Upon arrival to the Titan’s retirement plan, which is to obtain the stones from planet, the team finds Thanos has used the past and use them to bring everyone the stones to destroy the stones. This back. Once assembled, they carry it out. means they can’t reverse the snap, and The comedy within the film was well have failed to avenge those who they written, and placed at just the right lost. In rage, Thor wields times. After turning Lang into a his new axe, baby during a test run and struggling to get him back to normal, a half-Hulk excitedly says “Time travel!” as though he succeeds. Thor screams at a Fortnite player named “Noob Master69” as the child curses at Korg in the game. Needless to say, Stark’s snarky comments are present as per usual. Overall, the film is not short of comedic relief. The elephant in the room created by this movie was the “girl power” scene. Was it too forced? Is it sexist to say that? Well, it was too forced, and it’s not sexist to say that. It didn’t feel natural or realistic to the circumstances. During Infinity War, there was a similar scene in which Black Widow, Oyeke, and Scarlet Witch team up and take out a villain. It had great representation and empowerment, showing women as powerful, strong, By VICTORIA LAPINSON ‘20 Entainment Editor
T
Artwork by Julia Destra ‘21
and independent. The Endgame scene was overdone. Captain Marvel had gotten hold of the gauntlet, and had to cross a field of evil beings. Then, every single (living) female character in the MCU appeared from nowhere to back her up. Now, the chances are pretty slim that on a massive battlefield, every single female character, and not one male, are all close by. It’s not sexist that the probability of the occasion through off the message. On a positive note, both Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel had
the great scenes with Thanos. It took an entire hit from an infinity stone to get Captain Marvel away, and a full-blown airstrike to stop Scarlet Witch from killing Thanos. Valkyrie was also an extremely powerful and fun addition to the battle. When the film neared its end, it felt like a story with more than twenty films came to a close. The Avengers successfully went back in time, got the stones, used them to reverse the snap, then killed Thanos once and for all, turning him to dust as a taste of his own medicine. The casualties felt personal. After over a decade of watching these people grow, it was a massive loss to see Black Widow sacrifice herself for her newfound family. Iron Man died after using the stones to kill Thanos, a death even more complex due to his impact on the franchise. Marvel’s reign on superhero movies began with Iron Man in 2008. Ending this era of Marvel with his death was appropriate, but extremely upsetting. Stark, who battled anxiety, led the Avengers, just started a family, and created the technology for this plan, met his end. Pepper Potts, his wife, knew Stark couldn’t rest until the world was safe. While Tony died, Pepper told him he could now rest, exactly the final message the hero needed. His funeral was private, only featuring people close to him. Captain America, the boy who once couldn’t even serve his country, served
Artwork by Julia Destra ‘21
the universe for the last time. The “star spangled man with a plan” was a leader. He used Thor’s iconic hammer, Mjolnir, as it was revealed he was worthy. He fought valiantly throughout the film, and came within feet of Peggy at one point while traveling to the past, but overcame the urge in order to carry out his plan. Steve Rogers only knew moving on. Moving on from losing Bucky, moving on from Peggy when he was gone for seventy years, and moving on from half of his Avengers family taken by the snap. At the end of the movie, he decides to stop moving on. He finished his last mission, then stayed back in time to be with the love as his life. His story ends with a peaceful retirement. The next phase is a story with opportunities. Newer heroes like SpiderMan, Falcon (and his new shield), Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther will likely take the spotlight. New villains will emerge, perhaps Galactus or someone else from the comics. Stan Lee created Marvel, and thus inspired creativity, spread empowerment, and made millions of others around the globe smile. To Stan Lee, the cast, crew, producers, directors, writers, and everyone else involved in the production of this story, please know your fans “love you 3000.”
Entertainment
June 2019
The Voyager 19
Spotify entices new Premium members with free Hulu access
‘20
son
aL ap in
ori
Vi ct
by
“W
ant a break from the ads? If you tap now to watch a short video, you’ll receive thirty minutes of ad-free music.” This familiar voice has haunted many of us for a few years now, all because we haven’t yet bought Spotify’s expensive Premium membership. Ever since its October 2008 launch, Spotify has heavily marketed their paid subscription service, which boasts unlimited skips, the eradication of advertisements, offline streaming, and higher audio quality. A large portion of Spotify users do not think that Premium is worth the hefty price tag of $10/month. But with an intriguing recent promotion, the Swedish streaming service might see an uptick in paid memberships.
If you aren’t a member of Spotify Premium, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about the recent Spotify and Hulu deal. Up until June 10th, 2019, listeners can take advantage of an amazing package that includes a Spotify Premium membership along with a Hulu Plus membership. Eastern freshman Ethan Levy is captivated by the new Spotify offer. “I’m not a Spotify Premium member, because I use my family’s Amazon Music account. This offer makes Spotify way more intriguing even though I already have a Netflix account,” he said. Since the deal comes in at a price of $10/month (the same as a normal Premium membership), you essentially get a Hulu Plus account for free. Even though the included Hulu membership comes with ads, you would otherwise be paying $6/month for the same Hulu subscription on its own. If you are an avid movie and music fan, this deal is Ar tw ork
By ANDREW SHINKLE ‘22 Sports Editor
Billie Eilish’s new album won’t put you to sleep
B
By JENNA PRESTON ‘22 Staff Reporter illie Eilish’s debut album, “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO,” focuses on horror, darkness, grief, and loneliness. This creates a ghostly narrative.
intro: !!!!!!!
This intro is super hilarious. The 14-second track is full of laughter and random comments, most likely being recorded the moment when she finally finished the album. It shows exactly how Billie sprinkles bits and pieces of her personality across her album and the amount of fun that goes into it.
bad guy
The intro easily transitions to the hypnotizing beat of the second track - the best track on the album. The song has a fun feeling, and while the beat and rhythm are amazing, the lyrics aren’t as playful as it sounds. The combination of Eilish’s style of “talk-singing,” and the story being told will catch your attention. It’s easy to appreciate a song that accentuates how hardcore a woman can be.
xanny
The entire song can be summed up by this quote, “please don’t try to kiss me on the sidewalk on your cigarette break. I can’t afford to love someone who isn’t dying by mistake.” She doesn’t want her friends to die anymore, and if they are doing it right in front of her, that’s not something she wants to stay and watch.
you should see me in a crown
Out of all the songs in the album, this is my least favorite. Of course it was amazing while it was on the radio charts, but once the album was released, the song turned quite dull compared to the others. The intense build up in the beginning all the way to the beat drop is amazing. It just doesn’t have that much replay value. Once you hear it a few times, the surprise of the drop slowly fades away, and there isn’t much reason to keep replaying this song.
all good girls go to hell
This song is very reminiscent to “my boy” from Billie’s first EP, in terms of production. This is a very bouncy, soulful song, but the lyrics honestly lacked. The beginning of the song really grabs you in, but it doesn’t really pull you all the way through.
wish you were gay
This song is good. It’s interesting how Billie found a way to use numbers to tell a story, and it is mind blowing the amount of creativity that went into this in order to spark emotion and love. There is so many amazing little production aspects on each song, especially this one, as the music rotates from ear to ear. when the party’s over It is hard to fully enjoy this song unless you are in some type of emotional mood. If you aren’t, it comes across as somewhat drawn out, but it is simple to understand the meaning behind the song and why it was made.
8
It’s easiest just to imagine you are a possessed doll living in a haunted playhouse while listening to this song. It truly is eerie and unexplainable. This song is definitely not meant for everyone, considering it’s full of strange sounds and complicated lyrics, but it’s just good in its own way. It might be the song for you.
my strange addiction
Everyone loves the sample used from The Office in this song. There are many dialogues from this very popular tv show, and the lyrics speak along the lines of love in a very strange aspect, per usual. The whole song is about a girl being deeply in love without even realizing, and listeners are able to follow the singer through the ups and downs of unexplainable feelings she has developed.
bury a friend
The lyrics of this song are in the point of view of a monster under Billie’s bed which features random yells and growls. It’s full of dark beats and lyrics that have never really been produced by any mainstream artists today. The song describes a nightmare she is trying to escape from and it’s brings the listeners along with her. Strangely, the beat is nostalgic to your childhood, as it has a darker nursery rhyme sound.
ilomilo
Another song that follows a complicated story. This time the listeners follow along a girl and her relationship with a guy that gives her worrisome vibes, and how she learns to trust him. Songs near the end of the album seem to be more direct as they just let listeners understand her intent.
listen before I go
Billies has confirmed during a live tour show that this song was speaking about suicide, and continues to make her fans feel less alone as she shares her own thoughts about the topic. In the lyrics, Billie seems very sure about her decision to end her life, and the song has a much darker lyrical aspect and reality than most.
i love you
This is one of the best songs of the album as it is full of melodrama. You can spot love and darkness hiding in it. It’s such a beautiful song that connects with her fans and offers them hope and love in dark times. Billie continues to show how deeply she feels for the people who support her.
goodbye
This song wrapped up the entire album perfectly and Billie Eliish’s first full length album is an absolute masterpiece. She really showed her identity as an artist with her eerie, dark sound and the lyrics throughout the album, not to mention the stunning vocals too. At seventeen, her sound and lyrical content is already so mature. Overall, this album is incredible.
a no-brainer. Eastern freshman Gabe Robayo doesn’t think the package is a good decision for Spotify. Robayo said, “While Hulu is a strong presence in the video streaming market, it is largely overshadowed by Netflix as well as Disney’s upcoming streaming service, making it less effective for a deal with Spotify,”. On the other hand, Levy praises the recent offer. “Spotify made a really good decision with this move. They were able to make music and streaming more convenient and affordable. I do not think that Spotify can get any bigger than it already is. They are already dominating the music streaming industry,” he said. Regardless of how you look at it, Spotify and Hulu definitely turned a few heads with this promotion. Until June 10th, 2019, this excellent opportunity is just waiting to be taken advantage of. The music service is making themselves even more popular with this deal. Levy said, “When I think of music, the first word that comes into my head is Spotify,”.
Enrollment numbers
Continued from page 1 Due to this decline, the idea has been brought up to combine services with area schools. The idea of consolidating districts into K-12 has been around for awhile. In the past, towns in New Jersey were exempt from consolidation if they incorporated as “boroughs” rather than towns. Recently, Senate leader Steve Sweeney in his Task Force report propsed that smaller districts, like Gibbsboro, consolidate with larger districts, in order to save money. At an average of $8,780, New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the country. The average in Voorhees is $9,943.79. Gibbsboros average is $7,890.91. And in Berlin Borough the average is $7,323.80. The average tax in Berlin Township is $6,289.04 . Eastern currently has one superintendent. Critics argue that one superintendent could be in charge of local elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools - like Cherry Hill. The state has the ability to decide this and there are arguments about whether it is a positive or a negative. Dr. Tull said that he will allow politicians to worry about that. “Let’s focus on making sure we are doing what we need to do here,” he said. In the past, Eastern has shared a Spanish teacher with Berlin. Eastern could possibly share a French teacher with Gibbsboro. “Those are all options we are looking at as well,” said Tull. The best way to describe the problem with the drop in enrollment numbers is the industrial revolution. If you have machines that operate at capacity you can turn a profit, but for schools not reaching the numbers you eventually have to cut back on programs. Mrs. Palmer, the G/T teacher at Eastern, as well as a parent with one child currently enrolled in the school, moved to Voorhees for the integrity of the district. “Having worked with Eastern students in the past, I liked that it was a fully integrated school,” said Palmer. She has been a teacher for nineteen years and a resident of Voorhees for fifteen. The communities that feed into Eastern have socioeconomic variations in the community and the values of these communities are hard work, diversity, and spirit. Overall, Palmer is happy with her decision to move from Haddonfield to Voorhees and have both her children eventually complete their education in this district. What do people look for when buying a home? Mrs. Mary Ann Dodd, a realtor from Gibbsboro, said the community, the schools, and the location in general are the three most important things. According to Dodd, people always say, “location, location, location,”. Charts are from the NJ School Performace Report. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/SearchForSchool.aspx
Sports
20 The Voyager
June 2019
Eastern alumni down on the farm Schneider is living his dream life
“Davis is a self-motivated, hard working player. No one has to tell him what to do. He never had to be dragged to practice, because he looked forward to it,” said or Davis Schneider, being drafted Mrs. Schneider. in the 28th round of the 2017 MLB That mind set has been vital to Schneider’s Draft was the culmination of hard success. For an undersized player, who work that started when he was one doesn’t do anything particularly well, but years old. At age one he was throwing is good at most things, he has to work balls in his diaper and hitting ping pong harder than everybody else. He works balls with a pen or pencil. He loved hard and does the little things well. He is baseball so much that he slept with his bat successful because of his baseball IQ and and glove. strong mentality. As soon as Schneider was able to play Players like Schneider have to show real baseball, he was on the diamond. At something special to catch the eyes of age 6, he was playing on the 9U team, the coaches and organization. One way and at age 7 he was already playing travel Schneider does this is by never taking baseball. Playing with older kids was the a pitch off. “The biggest lesson that has norm. stuck with me has to be don’t take a pitch He routinely played with older kids, off. Whether it’s at the plate or in the field, but that did not stop him from being the the best players don’t take plays off. To be best player on the field. “His teams were successful, you have to be laser focused always successful. He won countless day in and day out. If I can do that, tournament MVPs and always played at a then I’m putting myself in a very good high level,” said his mom, Mrs. Schneider. position to be a big leaguer one day,” said Schneider was a rare starter on the Schneider. varsity team as a freshman. “I knew when Coach Christ believes in his potential he was a freshman that he was going to as well. “He is a legitimate prospect. If be drafted. His passion, work ethic, and he continues to work hard, the sky’s the attention to detail help him tremendously limit,” said Coach Christ. as an undersized player,” said Coach Minor league baseball isn’t always rosyChrist. -especially in extended spring training. Schneider has great power. He has They wake up at 6:30, eat breakfast, the ability to “crush the ball”. His great stretch, and then practice and play games hands and instincts lead to excellent in the blistering hot Florida sun until 4:30, defense. Schneider made the move from when they wrap it up for the day. What third base to second base this offseason. does Schneider do to wind down after Though for Schneider the transition has a long day? “After work, the rest of the not been difficult. “Second base hasn’t day is usually for sleeping and playing been as big of a challenge as I thought it Fortnite,” said Schneider. would be. Growing up I was a shortstop For Schneider, it is sometimes hard to so transitioning to second base isn’t that not fanboy. “The coolest experience I’ve big of a stretch,” said Schneider. had is getting to meet the big leaguers,” Schneider loves the game of baseball. said Schneider. “I have to remember that I am a coworker of theirs.” Schneider does benefit from seeing the big league players up close. “I like to talk to them and see them play up close.” He likes being around big leaguers because he likes to take things from them that make them successful for his own game. Playing professional baseball is a dream come true, and right now he is living in the moment. “It’s been awesome so far. The friendships I’ve made have been unbelievable. I’ve had this dream since I was a little kid and to go out there each and every day to try and fulfil my dream of becoming a big leaguer, it’s truly a blessing.” Davis takes a swing in a minor league game.
F
By Matt Steinsaltz ‘20 Features Editor
Spring Records
Herman has major league potential By Matt Steinsaltz ‘20 Features Editor
S
elected in the 30th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, Jack Herman was selected by the Pirates. Herman was the leader of the Vikings successful season. A four year varsity starter, Eastern baseball coach Mr. Christ knew from the beginning that Herman was a special talent. “I knew from his first at-bat as a Freshman, a double, he was clearly someone who would be special,” said Christ. For Herman he couldn’t be having more fun living his dream. “It’s pretty awesome. Being able to wake up every morning and do what you love and get paid doing it is great,” said Herman. It is not always easy playing in the minors, it is a grind, but Herman has grinded his whole life. Herman is a very competitive player. Christ had glowing praise for Herman steps to the plate for the Pirates in a Herman. “In my many minor league game. Photo supplied by Jack Herman years of coaching, he was year-old that is incredible. This year, after the only 5-tool player I spending sometime in extended spring have ever had,” said Coach Christ. Fivetraining, he will be playing with the tool players are very rare, even in the Pirates Single A affiliate. majors. A 5-tool player is a player who The key to his success: consistency. “I possesses plus skills in power, contact, feel like just being consistent and taking speed, fielding, and throwing. The every day one day at a time. Just going out combination of skills and mindset are a and putting your head down and working big part of why the Pirates are very high hard allows you to do that [succeed],” on him. said Herman. The minors are tough. Long road trips, Coach Christ is not at all surprised by hot summers, and poor conditions lead to Herman’s success. But the baseball world a tough life. Herman wakes up everyday at was surprised. Piratesprospect.com called 6:30am. He practices until 11am, and then Herman “a potential late round gem”. prepares for a noon game. It is a grind Prospect1500.com echoed the same idea. but he does not let one game get to him. “Herman could be an absolute steal after “The biggest thing I have learned is being being drafted in the 30th round.” able to separate baseball from outside life. Despite the early success, Herman kept After having a bad game, it’s easy to let it working on his game this offseason. ruin your whole mood and day and makes He worked on improving his power, it harder to come back the next day and alongwith maintaining his speed and perform,” said Herman. That mindset is strength. He also wanted to work on a lesson that he has carried with him his being consistent in the outfield. “Coming entire baseball career. into spring training, I wanted to show that After being drafted last year, he was I improved in one or two aspects of the assigned to the Gulf Coast League Pirates, game,” said Herman. where he tore it up. In 37 games he hit Herman’s potential is sky high. He is .340, .435 OBP, 2 HR, and 22 RBIs. His valued by the organization. He has a .340 average was good enough for third strong worth ethic. And he has production in the Gulf Coast League. That kind of to show. “I think he is to be a major league production led to Herman being named baseball player,” said Coach Christ. the only Pirates GCL all-star. For an 18
Photo by Mrs Schneider
Girl’s Trackwon Olympic Conference Boy’s Track- 2nd in conference Boys Lacrosse- 2-15 Girls Lacrosse*- 17-3 Baseball*- 21-8 Softball- 10-11 Boys Volleyball- 16-9 Golf- 4-10
Girls Golf coming to Eastern Boys baseball battles for title
Julia Dodd ‘19 interviews Olivia Arculeo. Sports editor Andrew Shinkle ‘22 covers the latest Check out video at EHS Voyager on YouTube or run for Boys Baseball. See the latest coverage on voyager-online.org voyager-online.org Check out more coverage online: track, girls softball, NBA Award Prediction, Stadium Review, Phillies are Fightin Again, LeBest of All-Time. * won group IV title