Cougar Crier - September 2020

The Cougar Cr ier TheStudent NewsSourceof John F. Kennedy High School cougarcrier.org

September 2020

"If anyone can open schools, we can..."

BY JAKE ARLIA Editor in chief

(9/ 8 ? 9/ 11), students with last names starting On August 7, with ?A?through Governor Andrew ?L?(Group A) Cuomo announced attended in-person that our state??a classes on Tuesday former epicenter of and Thursday. the COVID-19 Students with last outbreak??would names beginning permit in-person with ?M?through instruction in schools NY DAILY NEW S ?Z?(Group B) from the start of the New York Governor Cuomoat a July 13 pressconference. attended classes new academic year. remotely via Touting our low wrote, ?W ith Governor Google Meet.

On infection rate, the governor Cuomo?s decision, the district Wednesday and Friday, assured New Yorkers that ?[i]f now has the approval to move Group B was in school anyone can open schools, we towards [our goal of full-time while Group A logged on can open schools." in-person learning], but from home.

BMCHSD has made the As per Cuomo?s orders, The second week of school thoughtful decision to do so in Kennedy will hold classes in (9/ 14 ? 9/ 18) follows the the safest and smartest way person so long as the daily rate regular blended learning possible for students, parents, of new COVID cases in model, in which Group A and staff.

Nothing we do is Nassau County remains below attends school in person on more important than that, and five percent over a Mondays and Thursdays our ability to create the safest, fourteen-day average. and learns remotely on healthiest environment for all Most BMCHSD parents were Tuesdays and Fridays; who enter our buildings is pleased with this news. conversely, Group B attends paramount in our reopening According to a districtwide school in person on decisions.?As such, the first survey, 81%were in favor of Tuesdays and Fridays and two weeks of our school year full-time in-person learning learns remotely on have begun with a variation of for their children.

Mondays and Thursdays. the district?s state-approved For Wednesday, Mr. hybrid model, which features Superintendent John DeTommaso explained, a combination of remote and DeTommaso acknowledged ?[All students] will attend in-person learning. The students?and parents? live classes remotely from capacity of students in each eagerness for a full return home as per the hybrid plan building has been cut in half while also expressing the need schedule. This will give by an alphabet divide. to prioritize everyone?s safety and well-being in the BMCHSD community. He

For the first week of school

REOPENING | Page 2

Featur e Voters prepare for presidential election amid pandemic

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former VicePresident JoeBiden leadsPresident Trump in polling asthenation preparesfor the2020 Election. Biden isseeking the presidency for thethird timeasTrump lookstowin reelection after narrowly winning in 2016. Readmoreon page6.

Issue 1

Tesser finds new ways to earn college commitment

BY SARAH KLEIN Staff writer Juggling sports and academics may be challenging for many students, but not for scholar and athlete Morgan Tesser.

Morgan is a senior at Kennedy High School. In addition to being a dedicated student, Morgan is an outstanding softball player. She has been playing softball for eight years.

Morgan?s hard work and dedication, and the support from her family, have led to her desire to play softball in college. Morgan plays 2nd and 3rd base, and she has had to work hard to get to where she

is now.

W hen Morgan was asked if it is hard to take on school and sports all at once, she said, ?No, because I have been doing it for so long. I can manage my time well and traveling to many places has also helped me. My parents have assisted me along the way, which I know will be a big advantage for college.?

Morgan has been played on Kennedy?s varsity softball team since she was in 8th grade. In addition to her TESSER | Page 15

FILE PHOTO

Morgan Tesser at bat in a travel team gamein Irvine, California last summer.

The Cougar Cr ier | New s | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

Staff Jak e Ar l ia Editor inchief Andr ew Soel Managingeditor Gabby Onesto Newseditor Jul ia Levine Featureseditor Nicol e Star chevsk iy Opinionseditor Isabel l a Josl in Artseditor Samantha Schneider Sportseditor Nicol e Rosen Graphics Social media Ben Dubs Max Fr eifel d Ben Gr eco Ben Hyman Rebecca Nozhnitsk y Sar ah Kl ein Rebecca Kussin Sam Luck man Nik ita Rodov Al ana Voncina Staf f Mr . Br ad Seidman Dr . Dennis Ur ban Faculty advisors

The Cougar Cr ier ispublished by thestudentsat John F. Kennedy High School. Our mission istoserveasthevoicefor thestudent body by accurately representing thediverseviews and concernsof each of the students.

The Cougar Cr ier welcomes all student and guest contributions, including articles, artwork, commentary, and letters. Thestaff reservestheright toreject or edit any submissions that discriminateon thebasisof ability, age, color, creed, gender, gender identity/ expression, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.

Correctionsshould beaddressed tocougarcrier@bmchsd.org Twitter: @jfkcougarcrier Instagram: @jfkcougarcrier Facebook: @TheCougarCrier

John F. Kennedy HS 3000 Bellmore Avenue Bellmore, NY 11710 (516) 992-1400 Mr. Gerard Owenburg Pr incipal Volume 54 No. 1 September 2020

students and staff the opportunity to familiarize themselves with full class, live remote lessons, which may be necessary for the future. The administrative team will meet on this day to discuss our plans to either move forward with full in-person or to remain in the hybrid model.

Parents will be notified of that decision on or before September 16th.?

Mr. Joe Innaco, Director of Administrative & Instructional Technology, is confident in our district?s ability to transition to different learning models in emergencies. ?[There exist] external factors that may affect our BMCHSD educational community, such as COVID infection rates.

Our district Instructional Technology vision of the Digital Age Learning environment is one that provides increased opportunities for students to take a more active role in their education regardless of the setting,?said Innaco.

Enter ing & Exiting the Buil ding All individuals must wear face coverings over their mouths and noses when they enter the building. The administrators have made it clear that refusal to wear a mask will not be tolerated.

Students received Kennedy-themed cloth masks on their first day of in-person instruction, and those who forget to bring face coverings in the following days will be provided with disposable surgical masks. Gaiters and masks with breathing valves are not permitted forms of face coverings.

Students and staff enter the building in the same locations as usual, though everyone is expected to comply with new safety procedures at the arrival checkpoints. School officials have posted informational signs and physical distancing markers at these entrances.

Before the day begins, students and faculty must fill out an online health form on a district-controlled website.

In addition to showing their ID cards to security, students and faculty must also display their smartphones with a completed questionnaire.

There is a ?color of the day? displayed on the site after the form is submitted successfully. Students who do not have smartphones are given a paper version to complete before entry.

All individuals who enter the building must take their

temperatures at these arrival checkpoints as well. The utilization of wall-mounted thermometers makes this process quick and easy, and it requires no direct contact. If students arrive with self-reported COVID symptoms and/ or a confirmed temperature above 100ยบF, the school will contact their parents or guardians.

Students will wait in a room on the first floor for their parents or guardians to pick them up.

Students who arrive and pass the safety checks before 7:20 A.M. proceed to the boys?side of the gym, the girl?s side of the gym, or the auditorium.

After waiting at these distancing centers, students head over to their first period classes.

Regular dismissal of students at the end of the day does not require any specific safety precautions. Everyone is expected to exit the building in an orderly fashion.

Cl assr ooms, Hal l w ays, & Bathr ooms Desks in all classrooms are positioned four to six feet apart from each other, with each desk encased in a transparent barrier.

Though custodians clean each classroom regularly, they do not do so between each period, as it takes approximately fifteen minutes to complete the sanitizing process. Depending on their comfort levels, students are welcome to clean their hands and desk area before taking their seats.

Custodians have stocked all rooms with hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and disposable gloves.

To minimize hallway traffic,

students one row or section at a time. Ultimately, the period lengths and time between classes remain the same, but no bell sounds to signify the beginning and end of classes.

District officials have placed directional arrows in all hallways and stairwells to keep traffic moving smoothly between periods. Restrooms are monitored consistently throughout the day to ensure that only two students are in a given bathroom at once.

One boys?restroom and one girls?restroom is available on every floor at all times.

Gym, Lunch, & Mask Br eak s All physical education classes now follow an individualized fitness curriculum designed to limit person-to-person contact. Students do not have access to the locker room, and they do not have to change into gym clothes. Students have the opportunity to take off their face coverings during outdoor gym activities.

For lunch, students can still bring their food and order from outside vendors, and there is a grab-and-go cold lunch service for students who purchase food in school.

To avoid exchanging coins and paper money, the school has invested in scanners for students to pay with their coded ID cards.

Both cafeterias are open to students during lunch periods, and the auxiliary gym is being used as a third lunchroom. All seats in these locations are distanced and guarded. Students are not required to wear masks as they are sitting and eating, and they may also have the chance to eat outdoors.

MAX FREIFELD/ The Cougar Crier

Mr. Holton and Mr. Plotnick preparetoclean thestudent bathrooms.

students will not use lockers this year. W ith new staggered release times in place, students in physical education classes can leave one minute before the period ends.

Students in lunchrooms are allowed to leave one and a half minutes before the period ends. In regular classrooms, teachers dismiss

Juniors and seniors are permitted to leave campus for lunch. Their temperatures are rechecked upon their return.

Adults in the building are aware of the discomfort and distress some students may feel about having their faces covered for hours. As a result, there are supervised ?mask breaks?in locations such as

the courtyard and wellness center.

If Someone Tests Positive The Nassau Department of Health will alert our administrators if someone in our building has tested positive for COVID-19. The school will shut down for forty-eight hours, and there will be an immediate transition to the remote learning schedule. Students who came in contact with the COVID-positive individual will be notified as soon as possible. Keeping track of assigned seating and attendance will aid in the contact tracing process.

Cautious Optimism fr om Distr ict Administr ator s Members of our district?s administrative team have acknowledged the difficulties associated with the reopening process, but they hold a positive, hopeful outlook amid the controversy and uncertainty.

Ms. Cheryl Fontana, Director of Fine & Performing Arts and Adult Education, has a similar philosophy concerning our learning community?s adaptability, specifically, as it applies to art and music. ?The beauty of art and music courses is that they are based on creativity!

[Thinking] outside of the box is the norm? and what makes the courses so much fun. Our teachers and I have been working all summer to explore various curricular opportunities [in a virtual learning environment, and we hope] to maintain the integrity of as much of what will be taking place in the physical classroom as possible but also recognizing that it may be completed in an alternate, innovative manner,?said Fontana.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Mr. Michael Harrington said, ?There have been so many challenges over the last five months, but I could not be more fortunate to be part of such a wonderful school district. We have worked together to develop plans, prepare our buildings, train our teachers and staff, and now it is time to bring students back. W hether students return in person or learn remotely, we want to make sure that we provide them with the best quality education and meet not only their academic needs but also their social and emotional needs as well. And most importantly, keep the health and safety of our students and staff as our top priority.?

The Cougar Cr ier | New s | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

Mr. Owenburg shares insight into new school year

BY JAKE ARLIA Editor in chief On Friday, September 4, Cougar Crier Managing Editor Andrew Soel interviewed Principal Gerard Owenburg via Instagram Live. In the thirty-minute-long discussion, Mr. Owenburg described the new procedures, guided viewers on a tour of the building, and gave students advice on how to adjust to the new

environment.

At the start of the interview, Andrew asked about the changes students will notice when they arrive on their first day. Mr. Owenburg said, ?The building is going to feel really different when [students] come from outside.?He urged students to prepare themselves for the new safety measures as they approach the school. One of the most critical suggestions

BMCHSD offers virtual academy for students who wish to remain at home

BY REBECCA KUSSIN Staff writer W ith the hybrid educational model in full swing during the first two weeks, some students have opted for the Alternate Virtual Learning program for students who want to learn from home for this school year.

Each class is using Google Classroom as its primary platform. On the homepage of each Google Classroom is a link to a Google Meet "live stream" of the in-person lesson. Full-time remote students will be logging on from home every day??unlike hybrid students who do so every other day. At-home learners still follow individual schedules, as well as a regular school day with nine periods.

Those who choose this model will be able to talk, see, and hear as these classes proceed in the building.

According to Mr. Michael Harrington, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, ?Currently around 400 students [in the district] will start the school year virtually. Those numbers may increase slightly if we decide to transition to a full in-person model.?Having access to your personal Google Account is essential because Google Classroom and Google Meet will be used every day.

Classwork, homework, and other information can be found under each teacher?s tab on Google Classroom.

The Alternate Virtual Learning Model has very few differences from the Hybrid Model. Students will still be expected to attend classes on time, do homework, and participate. Grades are still essential, and at-home learners get graded in the

same way as Hybrid students do. Students can track their progress on Infinite Campus.

Also, Alternate virtual learners will have support from guidance counselors, social workers, and other staff.

Each teacher has his or her extra-help policy, and remote learners will still get to take advantage of the opportunities that come from attending.

Many students feel that this model works great: ?[I]n such a time of uncertainty the last thing I want to worry about is being exposed to the virus at school. I feel like if I were to go, I would constantly be worried about touching things or being too close to people, which would distract from my learning experience. I?m confident enough in the online learning system that I know I will be more focused if I am learning from home. I think my parents just want to be cautious about being around other people, and if we have the option to avoid being put in the situation then we would rather do that,?said Liliana Davis, a Kennedy senior who opted for full-time remote learning. Online etiquette is important, as well.

Remote students are expected to pay attention and to keep their cameras on when they join a class.

Overall, the Alternate Virtual Learning model is a good way for students to learn during times of uncertainty and fear.

This program helps preserve daily interaction during the pandemic while protecting students who choose not to return. The 2020-21 school year will be more challenging than those in the past, but if everyone stays patient and understanding, there will be a success for each person in the Cougar Nation.

the principal gave students was to fill out the online health questionnaire before arriving at the building.

Because students are not using lockers this year, Mr. Owenburg encouraged students to carry a backpack and bring only one binder to and from school. He also welcomed them to bring their own smart devices if they prefer to go paperless.

Concerning fall events like Spirit Week and Homecoming, the principal revealed that much is still unknown, but he emphasized that JFK is a ?student-centered? community above all else. He is open to hearing students? ideas about creative ways to have fun while staying safe.

One of Mr. Owenburg?s priorities is to ensure a memorable senior year for

the class of 2021.

For the last half of the IG Live, Mr. Owenburg took viewers around the building?s first floor. He showed them the arrows and physical distancing markers on the ground and the new ?up?and ?down?signs on the stairwells. Mr. Owenburg tested out one of the no-contact, wall-mounted OW ENBURG | Page 4

COVID-19 keeps people out of hotels and brings them outdoors

BY ANDREW SOEL Managing editor More than 35%of travelers said they had canceled a trip with no intention of rescheduling, according to a June 2020 survey from AAA. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered everyone?s lives, and many were reminded of this when booking summer travel.

in purchasing an RV. This ?new?form of travel may be the start of a new lifestyle.

W ith many jobs and schools going remote, the #vanlife is looking more promising to many, especially with the ease of booking a campsite.

Tentrr, an online booking platform with over 800 sites in the US, has seen a 900% growth this quarter. Tentrr

but still wish to reconnect with nature, glamping, a luxury version of camping, might be a great alternative.

Glamping Hub, an online booking platform for yurts, cabins, treehouses, and more, saw record-setting months in May, June, and July.

Co-founder Ruben Martinez said he saw ?huge spikes?in people looking for brief

Creative Commons image by JLSPhotography - Alaska

A couplestand outsidetheir trailer whileon a road trip. RV companieslikeCruiseAmerica haveseen a boomthissummer.

W ith government-mandated quarantines and travel restrictions in place, the RV and camping business has boomed as the virus continues to take lives across the country.

Experts say the lower risks of transmission have opened up many outdoor activities.

Many companies, like REI, an outdoor recreation services corporation, have reported higher earnings compared to the same time last year. ?The inability to access our normal modes of travel has turned people?s attention starkly towards camping,?said an REI employee.

The May 2020 North American Camping Report, which examined the effects of COVID-19, found that 46%of all leisure travelers said they considered camping the safest way to travel. And more than 50%of campers are interested

reported the most massive increase was in locations within a two-hour radius drive from cities. ?Due to COVID, people are looking for near home outlets to get a break, rather than hop on a plane or go on a cruise,?said Anand Subramanian, CEO of Tentrr. ?Everybody wants to get outside. They?re pretty much racing to get out there,?said Mike Gast, VP of Communications at Kampgrounds of America (KOA). He added, ?Camping is just a really low barrier-to-entry activity. If you?ve got a $40 tent from W almart, you?re in business.?

W ith about 20%of this year's KOA campers being first-timers, many believe this will lead to larger crowds in the coming years.

For those who don?t want an average camping experience,

weekend getaways.

Other leaders in this sector believe that this is to be ?Summer of the RV.?Cruise America, an RV rental and dealership company, has reported domestic operations are booming, especially with families and millennials. ?Summer camps are shut down for children, so parents are cooped up and losing their minds, so to speak, and they just want to get outside,?said Randall Smalley II, assistant vice-president of global marketing for Cruise America.

The National Park Service has also opened 330 of its 419 parks and sites. However, the NPS has limited services and facilities for campers.

Additionally, it encourages visitors to ?recreate safely? and follow the Centers for Disease Control?s COVID-19 guidelines.

The Cougar Cr ier | New s | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

OW ENBURG from page 3 thermometers, which took his temperature in seconds after holding up his wrist.

The principal also brought viewers into a classroom and a lunchroom. All desks and tables in these locations are

positioned six feet apart with transparent barriers atop each one. Health experts maintain that these precautions are crucial in preventing the transmission and spread of the virus in school.

Mr. Owenburg then went out into the courtyard. Though the courtyard was not a popular spot for students in years past, Mr. Owenburg anticipated it would become a "well-utilized space" for them now.

@JFKCOUGARCRIER

Andrew Soel interviewsMr. Owenburg on September 4.

The principal recognized that this year would be a challenge, especially because of mask-wearing and physical distancing requirements.

Despite these new rules, Mr. Owenburg was confident that being back in school after six months would contribute to the ?sense of normalcy? everyone in the school community has long desired.

Kennedy welcomes new staff to W orld Languages, PPSstaff

BY NICOLE ROSEN Staff Writer This year we have the pleasure of welcoming two new teachers to the Cougar family: Courtney W aller, Guidance Counselor, and Yingshan Hu, W orld Language Teacher. Both have said that they are incredibly excited for the year ahead and are quite impressed with the students. Hu loved speaking Mandarin with her students on the first day, and W aller said students were ?able to articulate their goals and plans, respectful, and really diligent and willing to work.?

Courtney W aller is a Plainedge High School alumna who continued her education at the University of Delaware, where she obtained her bachelor?s degree, and later LIU Post, where she earned her Master?s degree. Beginning her work experience in the Bellmore Merrick High School District, W aller interned at Mepham High School and even worked as a temporary leave replacement.

As a high school student, W aller was a varsity cheerleader, a softball player, and a student council member. W hen she got to UD, she joined the club

college. To kick off her time here at Kennedy, W aller identified the school community as one ?where the staff enjoys working and creating a welcoming, inviting community.?As this year is certainly different from all others, W aller?s concerns for the seniors applying for college are centered around facing this new reality. ?I think the biggest, overarching challenge through all of this for seniors might just be the uncertainty. In a variety of aspects. Plans might be changing for kids and families based on health and safety; options such as home-vs-away could be flipped on their head now.?

found that her love of learning languages from high school continued, and through meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures, she realized her passion for foreign language teaching. Being from China, Hu is a native Mandarin speaker; however, she also speaks Spanish, English, and some Japanese. Hu also speaks two other Chinese dialects, as well!

MAX FREIFELD/ The Cougar Crier

Thenewest Mandarin teacher, Ms. Yingshan Hu. The Bellmore Merrick W hen not in school, you can High School District has find Hu watching movies or emphasized mental health and enjoying fresh air activities. wellness in recent years.

Like W aller, Hu loves to W hen asked what challenges travel and immerse herself in in that area do high school different cultures. She has kids face these days?W aller been to five continents and, responded, ?I think it's so when she has time, plans to great to see a school put the visit more countries. As for emphasis that Hu?s impression of Kennedy, Bellmore-Merrick does on she said, ?We have a lovely mental health and wellness. community here!! People in Even in today's age, it?s rare to the building were sharing see the importance placed on their experience of learning these areas in the way that we Chinese with me or even do here. And ultimately it's speaking Chinese with me on the students and young people my first day here. This is who benefit from it, now impressive!? and through the rest of their life.?W aller seems Hu hopes her students will to be already a great fit in ?become lifelong learners in the Kennedy community, languages by seeing language and her message to all of as a tool, window, and you is as follows: ?I want mirror.?To Hu, languages are all my students to know magic that brings us to new that my door is always people, food, lifestyles, and MAX FREIFELD/ The Cougar Crier open and I hope that you leads to self-reflection, having Ms. Courtney Waller joinsour counseling staff. all make the best use of us understand ourselves gymnastics program and has your school counselor better! Hu would also like to been the varsity cheerleading throughout your high school start a Chinese Club at coach at Island Trees High career!?

Kennedy high school. She School for the past six years. said, ?If [students] have We are also welcoming Asked why she became a anything [they] would like to Yingshan Hu, who was born guidance counselor, W aller know about the language and and raised in China. Hu said, ?I found more comfort culture, or if [they] have some attended the University of and excitement just getting to great ideas for the club, please Nottingham, England, and know the kids, talking to feel free to email me at later New York University, them about their days, seeing yhu@bmchsd.org anytime. I majoring in Foreign Language how things were going, appreciate it.?Ms. Hu teaches Education and Bilingual learning about what they in the afternoon at Mepham Education. Hu began teaching wanted to do with their High School. as a student-teacher at Bronx futures, etc. This brought me High School of Science, to consider the role of We are so fortunate to be P.S.94, and Brooklyn Arbor. welcoming such amazing counselor instead! I always She worked at the New York women into our school had a great relationship with University East Asian community and cannot wait my counselors in middle and Department as a language high school, and this also to see what lies ahead. If you tutor, and she worked as a helped to shape my path.? see them in the halls behind Mandarin teacher at China their face mask, make sure W hen she?s not in school, Institute. In high school, Hu you wave hello and offer a W aller enjoys running, was an active participant in welcome to Kennedy High kickboxing, hiking, and the astronomy club, School so we can make sure traveling to places like Spain, psychology club, debating they feel just as comfortable France, and California. She club, and the badminton team. here as the rest of us at even lived in Panama while in W hen Hu was in college, she Cougar Nation.

Opinion

SUBMIT TO: Room 228/ Room 329 John F. Kennedy High School Bellmore, NY cougarcrier@bmchsd.org

Unsigned editorials and cartoons are the views of the staff; personal commentaries reflect the views of the writers. Submissions and letters are edited for accuracy, clarity, and fairness.

September 2020

Let's hear it for the ladies, Cougars

BY RACHEL NOSSEN t?s time for the Kennedy community to stop using the term ?Lady Cougars.?It is completely degrading and inappropriate. Kennedy High School is one of many schools that use the word ?Lady?in front of their team name when referring to female sports teams and their athletes. From the fans who post on social media to the editors in the town newspaper, this title has become established and widespread, and while it may be done innocently, it is demeaning.

I

My whole life I have been surrounded by sports. I started playing travel soccer and basketball in 3rd grade.

I?ve attended Knicks, Mets, and Jets games since I was young. I loved watching the competition and how professional athletes dominated the game. In a way, I was inspired to be like them. W hen I was asked what I wanted to do when I was older, I always said that I want to be a professional soccer player. In elementary school, I was the only girl to ever play basketball with the boys during recess time. The boy captains never picked me last, they knew I could keep up with them and score

against them. Still today when boys or older men see me on the court they say, ?W ow, you don?t shoot like a girl!?or ?You?re very physical?. W hat does that mean I think to myself?Do they not know that there are thousands upon thousands of talented female athletes who can outperform men?Several males are even surprised that I know so much about professional sports. Through my experience, sports have become so stereotypically male dominated that when females have an ounce of skill or knowledge about the game, our counterparts are shocked.

The media and production companies do not even slightly help dissolve this issue of gender marking. On the T.V, viewers will read ?W omen?s Final Four?or ?W omen?s FIFA W orld Cup?.

The reality is that people see this on their screens and do not think anything of it, they think it is normal. The other small percent of viewers question this labeling. W hy is it that the W omen?s Final Four is labeled but the men?s game is simply titled ?Final Four??The majority of people do not get that that mark in front of female events is gender bias. It indicates and assumes that male events are the accepted ones and do not need anymore qualification. It makes it sound as though the

female competitions are the ?other?category. Imagine if we started to call the NBA, the Men?s National Basketball Association.

Sports broadcasters also portray female athletes and competitors very stereotypically. They talk about the player?s looks and appearance rather than their ability and talent.

Many will use the phrase, ?She?s a strong girl.?They take both a positive and negative adjective and place them together. W hile the broadcaster might think they are giving the athlete a compliment, they are actually undermining hard work and talent. The word girl connotes someone that is gentle, delicate, and (of course) ?feminine?. Think about it: W ould an announcer ever describe a male football player as ?a strong boy??That is why saying she is ?a strong girl?is contradictory and useless.

Kids are raised and brought up with the traditional ideas that females do not belong in sports or male dominated fields. This is why, still to this day, we have a biased media.

Not only do female athletes have to break the barrier of gender marking, but they also are fighting unequal pay. The U.S W omen?s National Soccer Team has verbally come out about this issue. The team has

NICOLE ROSEN/ The Cougar Crier

even sued U.S Soccer for its gender discrimination. Many players in the W NBA have also taken a stand. A'ja W ilson who was the first round pick of the W NBA in 2018 earned about 50,000 dollars in her rookie season.

W hile the first round pick of the NBA in the same year (Deandre Ayton) was expected to earn just under 7 million dollars. According to the New York Times, the highest paid females are paid eight times less than the lowest earning NBA players.

This is a troubling statistic because they play the same amount of games and have similar training routines. And yes, I understand the women?s leagues draw less revenue; however, the Jacksonville

Jaguars draw less revenue than the New York Giants.

Do the players in Jacksonville have salaries comparable to the Giants?Yes. For these reasons, it is pivotal that Kennedy stops using the term ?Lady Cougars?when speaking on behalf of the female teams. Kennedy must initiate this step so it can be the model for other high schools and even colleges to change as well. If we are not saying ?Boy Cougars?, then we sure do not need to say ?Lady Cougars?. This task is easy, simple and not daunting whatsoever.

Rachel Nossen isan All-County basketball player and student government activism coordinator.

Re-opening brings significant risk and an opportunity to reflect Crier editor reflectson her return toschool assheentersher senior year

BY GABRIELLA ONESTO Newseditor For months we?ve been facing the challenge of living in a pandemic-affected world. For me, that?s meant cleaning every surface, staying home for months, not seeing family or friends, and having to finish up my junior year online. It?s been frustrating for everyone. I realized how much I missed being around people. I missed seeing my friends and teachers at school.

I missed going to the movies and sitting at a restaurant. If you told me a year ago that I?d be missing these things, I?d politely deny it and remark that I?d rather order some takeout and stay in. But

regardless, these are the small pleasures I?ve sacrificed in my everyday life to stay healthy and safe and keep my family healthy and safe.

worth it?It feels like a problem with no solution. I want to enjoy my last year in high school, but I realize that this is a decision that is more complex than it seems at first glance. I feel concerned for students that relied on a

completely is the right answer.

There are many risks involved, and I?m not entirely sure our society is equipped to Going back to school should deal with the challenge that feel exciting, and it does. I could arise if everything goes can?t wait to see wrong. And my friends, and that?s if every ''Therearemany risksinvolved, andI?m not entirely single person speak to my teachers, and just sureour society isequipped todeal with thechallenge abides by sit in a classroom every single that couldariseif everything goeswrong.'' again. It?s my rule of going senior year, and I back to school environment, for the feel like I?m in the final school. W hat about that health of students and faculty stretch. I am excited to return percentage of human error? going back, and the social to drama rehearsals and mock The people who aren?t going implications remote or trial competitions. But at to wear masks or will be in-school learning has. I what cost am I finishing this careless and come back to know there?s a lot to this race?After spending so much school. Frankly, I don?t think problem that I don?t time in quarantine to protect we have enough of a safety understand, but I?m not sure myself, is going back to school net to fall back on if things do if going back to school

go wrong. Even though it?s my final year of high school, and I want to make the best of it, is it worth it to just throw out those months of quarantine and risk my family?s health to go back to school?Even if you?re careful, you have to rely on others to do their part as well. It?s a difficult decision to make, and it?s a difficult situation to put school faculty in. I see this as an opportunity to improve American education. As unfortunate as this era has been, there is plenty to learn from it. It?s the wake-up call we didn?t see coming, and as a result, we need to improve and adapt, for the sake of students and faculty, and our future society.

The Cougar Cr ier | Opinions | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

W hy I protested Stafferssharetheir experiencesmarching in local BLM protest

BY JULIA LEVINE

BY NICOLE STARCHEVSKIY

BY ISABELLA JOSLIN

Featureseditor

Opinionseditor

Artseditor

Just a few years ago, I had no idea how to be involved in my community or how politics were affecting it. After the March for Our Lives Movement, I started to become interested in activism, but when the protests against systemic racism broke out, I knew I had to take a stand and help initiate change.

The Black Lives Matter movement had been gaining traction for a few days now, but any attempt at talking to my parents about going to a protest was shot down instantly. They worried for my safety and told me as long as I was under their roof, I wouldn?t be attending. As one could imagine, this caused a great deal of conflict in my household, but I abided by my parents?rules regardless.

I woke up the morning of June 4th to learn that Merrick was trending on social media. Normally this would be a pretty cool thing for our small town, but not in this instance. On the evening of June 3rd, a small group of Black Lives Matter protesters marched down Merrick Road to highlight racial injustice, when they were met by a large group of counter-protesters. The Black Lives Matter group was peaceful and united, surrounded by local police, whereas some of the counter-protesters were extremely loud, angry, and threatening. This is why Merrick garnered bad publicity on that day. I had always intended to join one of the marches in our area, but the disgusting behavior by a few of our community?s counter-protesters further fueled my desire to show my support for BLM.

Despite my parents?concerns about the spread of COVID-19, on June 1st I attended one of the first peaceful protests on Long Island, which my friend had organized. I knew that it was important for me, as an individual, to protest. I could contribute to the crowd of thousands making local news headlines and spreading the message about the systemic racial injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement. The inspirational speeches and the feeling of unity within the crowd inspired me to do more than protest. The next step is to make lasting change happen.

I attended several other protests, but I also worked with a local organization called Young Long Island for Justice to put out resources for activists of all ages. We organized using in many ways.

It?s important that as a generation we work together to be part of the change. If you think about it, when something affects one of us, it eventually affects all of us. I know that even though I am only one person, I am one person who can make a difference. Maybe you?ve already found a way to take action, but if not, now is still a great time to start.

That changed when I woke up one morning and checked my phone, scrolling through dozens of messages telling me to check Twitter. Our town, Merrick, was trending for a video of adults screaming insults at peaceful protesters.

My friends and I were humiliated. They told me there was a protest being organized this afternoon and that they wanted to go. I told them to pick me up on the way.

My dad tried talking me out of it, but I told him I had made up my mind. As an individual, I am allowed to be passionate about a topic that not only affects our town, but the lives of every Black person in our country. He begrudgingly told me to be home by 7.

I protested because that Twitter video showed me just how immense the hidden racism is in communities, and showed me exactly why we need protests. I protested because I couldn?t live with myself knowing an entire group of human beings needed my voice, especially because I am privileged enough to live so comfortably, and I wasn?t speaking out. I'm proud to say I marched.

I joined the June 4 march with a group of friends and was astonished to see thousands of people gathering and chanting on Sunrise Highway. It was such a powerful display of solidarity, and it created an overwhelming feeling of empowerment. W hile marching through the residential areas of Merrick and Bellmore, I was proud of our community because I saw many people come out of their homes to cheer the protesters and hand out water and snacks. This was an example of how a peaceful gathering could be a profound, effective way of broadcasting a message of racial justice.

LONG ISLAND HERALD

Thousandsmarched through thestreetsof Merrick following themurder of GeorgeFloyd in support of Black LivesMatter.

It is up to us to stop the rise of anti-Semitism

BY BEN HYMAN & SAM LUCKMAN Staff writers An issue persisting for millennia, anti-Semitism, the prejudice against Jewish people, is still prevalent.

Dating back to the existence of the Jewish religion, ?the oldest hatred?has been present in numerous settings and taken different forms. To escape persecution, Jews fled their home countries in search of better lives countless times throughout history. An example of this is the pogroms, organized attacks on Jews, in the Russian Empire during the 19th and 20th centuries. The ?diaspora," as the aforementioned dispersion is called, brought Jews, and elements of their culture, to most of the world. The fact that Jews have been considered outsiders in many circumstances fed into stereotypes and scapegoating.

We are taught history in order to prevent hatred and atrocities. However, hatred of

and then concentration camps, and eventually having them endure the worst.

Countless innocent people saw their entire families murdered in front of them.

Today, Jewish people have a safe haven in case of emergency, Israel, unlike during the Holocaust. It might come as a surprise, especially coming from a town with a considerable Jewish population, that the religion only makes up about two-tenths of one percent of the world. Anti-Semitic attacks have been increasing as of late, which is alarming.

Innocent Jews practicing religion have been physically attacked, mirroring treatment of Jews prior to the Holocaust.

Recent examples include attacks at places of worship, like at the Tree of Life Synagogue in October of 2018, and attacks during Jewish holidays. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, ?Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.?The strong

"''Despitedif f erencesinbackground, whichmake eachother, wecan all unite...Wecan prevent hatred..."''

Jews still remains in many countries, even a developed and diverse nation like ours.

Accounts of stereotypes being used against Jewish people are present in the Bible. In the Roman Empire, through the middle ages, during the 1800s, in the Nazi-controlled German Empire, and in today?s world, Jews have been persecuted, despised, and treated beyond unfairly. The most well-known example of anti-Semitism is the Holocaust, in which more than a third of all Jews were murdered systematically. The use of Jews as scapegoats furthered this hatred in Europe. Soon Jews faced unjustified boycotts and violence. During Kristallnacht, Jewish businesses and livelihoods were destroyed. Laws were passed restricting businesses, forcing Jews to live in ghettos

feelings against anti-Semitism were shown at an organized march on our Nassau County court in January, where thousands came together to speak against hatred.

BMCHSD takes part in ?No Place for Hate,?defined by ADL as a program in which members ?take the lead on improving and maintaining school climate so all students can thrive.?Despite differences in background, which make each other, we can all unite against hate of any demographic. We can prevent hatred by sharing our stories, especially during these years, because the last Holocaust survivors are passing. Dehumanization of any group is disgraceful to society and one that can hopefully be cured through education of history and morals. We need to do better, and together we can.

CREATIVE COMMONSIMAGE by governortomwolf

Mournersafter thetragicshooting in theTreeof LifeSynagoguein Pittsburgh.

Featur es September 2020

Biden & Trump head to November showdown

BY ALANA VONCINA Staff writer The 2020 presidential election will be one of the most critical elections in American history.

This election falls in the same year as the Covid-19 pandemic. The current president of the United States is Donald J. Trump. He is the 45th president of the United States and is the Republican nominee for the 2020 presidential election.

President Trump was raised in Queens, New York. He received a bachelor's degree in economics and went to Fordham University and The W harton School of the

University of Pennsylvania.

W hen he graduated, he had become the president of his father?s real-estate business.

In 2016 he ran for the presidency and defeated Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump's opponent for the 2020 election is Joe Biden. Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election.

Biden was the 47th Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama. He was also the United States senator for Delaware for 36 years. Biden went to the University of Delaware and

went to the Syracuse University, where he received his law degree.

Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican Party?s nomination in late August. Some key moments of Donald Trump's nomination speech were the promise of a Covid-19 vaccine. Trump promised that a Covid-19 vaccine would be produced before the end of the year. He said that after the production of the vaccine that The United States ?would emerge stronger than ever before.?

Trump also mentioned some of the things that Joe Biden

Social media changing the way candidates connect with voters

BY JULIA LEVINE Featureseditor

times as long as falsehood to reach 1,500 people.

unreliable information on social media, however, causes misinformation on candidates and their viewpoints to be spread easily.

Social media is an essential Many smaller campaigns rely part of modern elections. heavily on social media to Candidates can promote their connect with their campaigns and reach out to communities but are not local voters through free apps immune to misinformation.

Just after the 2016 election, a like Facebook, Instagram, and Douglas Tuman, a local Pew Research Center study Twitter. These apps are also a candidate running for found that 64%of adults hub for people to express Representative of New York?s believe fake news stories political opinions without a 4th Congressional District, cause a great deal of significant risk of pushback, explained his view on social confusion, and 23%said they making it easy for candidates media: ?Social media is a had shared fabricated to gain political support by "''Whileit may beeasier todiscover political storiesthrough stories frequently themselves social media, not all inf ormationonlineisreliable.'' posting about sometimes issues and by mistake megaphone. It amplifies engaging with people online. and sometimes intentionally. information and, New York State Assembly unfortunately, misinformation According to a 2016 Pew candidate Kevin Gorman too.?Other candidates have Research study, about 62%of said, ?Some of the positive[s] agreed on the issue, stating adults get their news from - at any time - are the ability social media. W hile it may be that there are positives and to communicate your ideas easier to discover political negatives to a social media and positions to more presence when it comes to stories through social media, people, to allow [others] to elections. not all information online is ask you questions and use it reliable. A 2018 Massachusetts Especially during the to advance causes and ideas.

Institute of Technology study pandemic, when candidates ? . Some of the negative[s] on the popular app Twitter cannot conduct normal voter are its use by some to spread found that false political news outreach operations such as misinformation, lies, and diffused significantly farther, door-to-door canvassing, falsehoods--specifically faster, deeper, and more social media has become a key about issues, about broadly than the truth in all tool to contact voters and other information categories. promote campaigns both Additionally, the study found SOCIAL MEDIA | Page 10 locally and nationally. The that the truth took about six unfortunate presence of

might do if he were to become president. He said that Biden would defund the police force, which would lower law enforcement across all states. He also said that Biden would stop the production of American oil.

Trump said that this would not be good for some states' economies, jobs would be lost, and energy prices would go up.

Former Vice President Joe Biden also accepted his party?s nomination in August. In his acceptance speech, Biden said that the first thing he would do as president of the United States is take control over the

Covid-19 virus. He mentioned the production of rapid tests with quick results.

He also said that the country would have all the necessary supplies to deal with the virus, and he will make sure all schools are safe and have the supplies required to keep everybody safe. Something else Biden mentioned was a national mask mandate. W hat Biden wants is to build up our country with modern roads, bridges, and airports. He says that there will also be more jobs being offered to people.

Joe Biden wants to lower health care premiums, deductibles, and drug prices.

Pandemic response central issue of 2020

BY NIKITA RODOV Staff writer On March 11, 2020, the W orld Health Organization (W HO) declared the COVID-19 coronavirus a global pandemic. Just two days later, on March 13, the United States government issued a state of national emergency. W ith that, schools and public areas were shut down, flying was restricted, and people were subjected to quarantine.

For some time, most of us were in a state of confusion, panic, and dismay. Though there had been many changes and guidelines released, specific issues such as quarantining were not mandated. After adjusting to these new circumstances, we were left to put our trust in them to lead us through the pandemic, seeing how the realization of its severity was kicking in.

President Donald Trump cut ties with the W HO during this time and decided to tackle this issue internally. His frequent claims that the virus was under control or

disappearing had proved inaccurate, as other countries prioritized people?s safety. In addition to some inappropriate rhetoric, there was also much misinformation released by the government, with imprecise statistics on deaths, cases, and treatments.

Currently, the United States has had over six million cases and more than 190,000 related deaths since March. Despite these alarming numbers, there continues to be a rise in contractions across the nation.

Except for the federal government?s general guidelines and rules, states could act on their terms. This proved to be an issue as Florida, for one, witnessed surges of cases as their governor was unable to strictly enforce safety regulations across the area.

Even with people still not conforming to safety regulations, the federal government remained on RESPONSE | Page 10

The Cougar Cr ier | Featur es | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

Campaigns remain focused on opponent

BY BEN GRECO Staff writer The upcoming Presidential Election looks to be one of the most polarizing and important elections in recent history.

Vital issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare, abortion rights, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and education are all on the line this year.

Specifically, the BLM movement and the pandemic are at the heart of Bellmore-Merrick, with protests passing through our neighborhoods and local businesses struggling to stay open through the COVID shutdown. So, it has become very important for both parties to win and have an advantage in pushing their agendas when it comes to these issues. The Republicans are relying on the advantage they get from President Trump?s incumbency and hoping that his supporters will turn out on Election Day and win swing states such as Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Alongside their agenda, the Democrats are

focusing on the dangers of a Trump reelection and pushing for a broad coalition of voters to support Biden. Overall, both campaigns have a lot to lose and the strategies they implement will be crucial to winning the election.

In terms of public speaking, both Trump and Biden have had their share of gaffes, and they have said things that can potentially hurt their campaigns. For example, Biden has been quoted saying, ?Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't Black.?

Biden?s statement risks hurting his chances with the Black people, who have been a reliable Democratic base for the past 50 years. In terms of COVID-19, Trump has said, ?W hen you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that?s a pretty good job we?ve done.?Trump has made many misleading statements concerning the pandemic. In the United States, COVID has infected over 5.5 million and killed

more than 175,000 people.

According to Michael Steele, former chairperson of the Republican Party and senior policy and communications advisor for the Jeb Bush campaign of the 2016 GOP primary, the strategy for both campaigns have largely tried to let the other candidate lose the election for themselves. And so far, it seems that Biden has done a better job than Trump at that. As of writing this article, Biden is up 8.6 points in polling according to FiveThirtyEight Polling, and he doesn?t seem to be slowing down. W hile many argue that polling is not always indicative of winning an election, as Hillary Clinton was up about 8 points at this time in 2016, it?s still good for generally looking at who is favored in an election.

To understand the campaign strategy of the Trump campaign, it is important to look at how he won the 2016 STRATEGY | Page 10

2020 U.SSenate For ecast COMPLIED BY GABBY ONESTO NewsEditor In November, 35 seats in the U.S. Senate will be up for election. Currently, Republicans hold a majority with 53 seats. The Democrats need up to four seats to gain control of the Senate with the focus being on 9 contested seats. The forecast for those races is below: State: Alabama Incumbent: Doug Jones (D) Jones won a special election in a deep red state. He faces former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville.

For ecast: Lik el y Republ ican

State: Georgia Incumbent: David Perdue (R) Perdue seeks a second term facing Jon Ossoff, a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Ossoff is a young media executive with solid funding.

For ecast: Leans Republ ican

State: Montana Incumbent: Steve Daines (R) Daines faces Governor Steve Bullock. Bullock is widely popular in this red state.

Daines is seeking his second term. Polling is difficult in MT. For ecast: Toss-up

State: Arizona Incumbent: Martha McSally (R) McSally was appointed to the seat once occupied by John McCain. She faces former astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Gabby Giffords.

For ecast: Leans Democr at

State: Iowa Incumbent: Joni Ernst (R) Ernst faces businesswoman Theresa Greenfield in a race that may sway the balance in the US Senate. Ernst is seeking a second term.

For ecast: Toss-up

State: N. Carolina Incumbent: Thom Tillis (R) Tillis has seen a shift in this state since winning his primary. He faces State Senator Cal Cunningham in a bid for a second term.

For ecast: Leans Democr at

State: Colorado Incumbent: Cory Gardner (R) Gardner faces former Governor John Hickenlooper in a bid for a second term. He seeks re-election in a state Trump lost in 2016. For ecast: Leans Democr at

State: Maine Incumbent: Susan Collins (R) Collins is one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate. She faces Speaker of the Maine House Sarah Gideon in a bid for a fifth term. For ecast: Toss-up

State: S. Carolina Incumbent: Lindsey Graham (R) Once an outspoken critic of President Trump, Graham faces a formidable challenge from Jaime Harrison in a bid for a fourth term. For ecast: Leans Republ ican

Sources: 270towin.com, Cook Political Report, SabatoCrystal Ball

VILLAGE SOUP

MaineHouseSpeaker Sara Gideon (left) lookstounseat incumbent Susan Collins.

Eyes on Iowa, Maine as Democrats look to take U.S. Senate

BY GABBY ONESTO Newseditor After Democratic presidential nominee Joseph Biden announced his running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, people turned their attention towards the 2020 Senate elections. Many states have Republican Senators running for reelection, which gives the Democratic Party a chance to win more seats in the United States Senate. In light of the COVID pandemic, the ongoing recession, and the nail-biting Presidential election, both parties are trying to get ahead in the Senate. The Republican Party currently has a six-seat lead over the Democrats in the Senate, so these elections are important in determining which party will lead Congress in the next presidential term.

Although some states tend to lean towards one political party more than the other reliably, this election has some wildcards in the running. In this election, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Iowa could be deciding seats.

In Arizona, Democratic Candidate Mark Kelly leads in the polls and will be facing incumbent Senator Martha McSally in a series of debates in healthcare and economic reform. The Senate forecast in Colorado initially indicated a Republican victory, but candidate John Hickenlooper seems to be gaining popularity. This could end up being a decisive seat for the Republican Party

if Cory Gardner is victorious.

In Maine, candidate Sara Gideon is gaining popularity with voters over Senator Susan Collins. This is being seen in many states, but Maine is a primary example of how voters are looking for a more moderate candidate who will appeal a little bit to both conservative and liberal voters, rather than a specific audience. The race in Iowa is nearly tied in the polls with Republican Candidate Joni Ernst slightly ahead.

Along with Colorado, Iowa is a vital state to win a seat because it?s a swing state. It really could go either way last minute, so both parties are competing to win. Unlike states like New York, which has a history of being a blue state, swing states like Iowa or Colorado can be deciding seats in who leads the Senate and, in turn, Congress.

Senate elections are vital to the democratic ideals we uphold and respect in this country. They are one of the singular instances in which we can directly vote for officials representing our beliefs and ideals. The modern Senate was established and reformed to the way it is now to avoid corruption in the federal government and to check and balance the federal government justly. This is the election in which the average American?s vote matters the most. It?s essential to vote in the Senate elections, taking place on Tuesday, November 3. In a democracy like ours, change begins with a vote.

The Cougar Cr ier | Featur es | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

OPINION | The most crucial election of our lifetime

BY BEN HYMAN & SAM LUCKMAN Staff writers The presidential election that takes place in the United States every four years is almost as old as our country itself. The point of these elections is to include as many citizens as possible in national and local elections. In our nation, citizens at least eighteen years old hold suffrage or the right to vote.

Under our nation?s political system, each state has electoral votes, and a candidate must win 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. W hen it comes to voting in the upcoming election, many options are available, depending on the state. These include early voting, in-person voting, mail-in ballots, and absentee voting. On November 3rd, the major contenders are President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden. This election is critical,

so we must understand where the candidates stand on their issues.

Trump has already built.

Biden favors keeping our borders open to welcome in all immigrants, as this is how our country evolved. Biden is a known globalist who believes that the United States should not have advantages

militarily. President Trump jump-started America?s economy into record growth, which created jobs and Joe Biden has supported many increased take-home pay for policies that align with that of working Americans. In the majority of Democratic foreign policy, he promoted politicians. He has recently fair and reciprocal trade by condemned some recent putting radical America violence as he ''Nowmorethan ever aretheelectionscrucial tothe first. Trump took a trip to b e tte rme nt o f o ur c o untry, as we are re c o ve ring f ro m a ended Kenosha to unnecessary pandemicandeconomiccrisis...'' support regulations healing and over other countries. that stifled economic growth unity. Joe Biden supports the Relating to the Covid-19 and prosperity. He has increase of taxes; he also pandemic, Biden opposed confronted enemy nations supports keeping schools Trump?s ban on foreigners and reversed years of policies closed due to the continued entering our country in that locked up American fear of the spread of January. Biden labeled Trump energy, restricting our ability Covid-19. Biden favors as being Xenophobic or to sell to other countries. He ending fossil fuel usage and detesting foreigners when is also a supporter of fracking. offshore drilling to protect Trump issued his ban.

Trump has supported the the environment. Biden is However, Biden wants to expansion of school choice. against the possibility of make Covid-19 tests freer and President Trump has loudly charter schools as a choice for more accessible to everyone. condemned rioters, looters, education as he supports Biden welcomed the and politicians who have not teachers?unions and their endorsement of Bernie confronted those who view on charter schools. Also, Sanders. threaten citizens. Finally, Biden does not support the Trump wants strong border Donald Trump will continue building of the southern walls to prevent the influx of to focus on strengthening the border wall and has stated illegal immigrants, who U.S. economically and that he will dismantle what

account for a large percentage of crime and take away jobs from U.S. citizens, coming into our country.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have distinct philosophies about how our country should move forward. Now more than ever are the elections crucial to the betterment of our country, as we are recovering from a pandemic and economic crisis, as well as both domestic and foreign issues.

W ashington D.C. remains a divisive due to partisan politics, lobbying groups, and a litany of backstabbing. We believe that re-electing President Donald Trump would continue to move our country in the right direction.

The problems we are witnessing right now are ones he can correct. He has proclaimed himself as the law and order candidate, and he has been a man of his word.

He believes in promises made and promises kept.

Electoral college flaws may rise again in November as pollsters predict tight vote in swing states

BY NIKITA RODOV Staff writer Donald Trump has something in common with John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and George W . Bush. All of these presidents lost the national popular vote but still won the election because of the Electoral College.

W ith the presidential election season in full swing, people are eager to vote for their candidate. As a primarily modern two-party system, America?s vote is usually between the candidates elected by the Democratic Party and Republican Party.

Through campaigning, Americans take their sides and endorse it with their votes. But how are their votes counted?

According to NBC Los Angeles, 43%of Americans lack an understanding of the Electoral College. The Electoral College was ratified in the original United States Constitution and modified by the 12th Amendment in 1804.

During the convention, delegates considered several different ways of electing the

president but could not agree.

The issue was sent to the Committee of Eleven on Postponed Matters, which was developed to work on difficult issues facing the Convention. The committee proposed a system of selecting representatives called Electors. For example, New York is home to 29 Electoral College members, including Rachel Gold, Hazel Ingram, and Ruben Diaz Jr. Initially, the electors would each cast two votes for president, and the candidate with the greatest number of votes would become the president.

The candidate who came in second would become the vice president. Since then, most states have assigned electors based on the results of the states' general elections, and each casts a separate vote for president and vice president.

Many political analysts, politicians, and voters have found that candidates often focus their time, money, and effort on only a few ?swing states,?which generally have supporters for both major political parties. Meanwhile, the candidates pay little

attention to those states that to Republican George W .

In the 2016 Election, have a history of always Bush. Florida's votes pushed President Trump lost the supporting the Democratic or Bush's total electoral votes to popular vote to Democratic Republican candidate, which 271, enough to win the candidate Hillary Clinton by ignores the individual presidency. Democratic approximately 3,000,000 interests of many voters. candidate Al Gore won the votes, but won the electoral Although, there have been national popular vote by vote and, as a result, the instances in which the 543,895 but lost the electoral election. The Electoral assignment of electors has vote by just five electors. He College is far from perfect, created controversy in lost the popular vote in and it will likely spur debates contested elections. For Florida by an estimated 537 about democracy and example, in 2000, a dispute votes, which was less than representation for years to over the results of the popular 0.01 percent. come. vote in Florida continued for a month after the general election and ultimately reached the US Supreme Court. The Court's ruling halted an ongoing recount in the state. It allowed Florida's secretary of state to certify the election results, which awarded 25 @NateSilver538 NateSilver of FiveThirtyEight breaksdown Biden'schancesof winning theelectoral vote. electoral votes

The Cougar Cr ier | Featur es | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

RESPONSE from page 7 their intervention level. As a result, the death rate in many states in the U.S. was higher than other nations.

W ith so many under quarantine, the U.S. economy took its biggest hit in history, finishing the second fiscal quarter of the year with a 33% shrinkage. Furthermore, the near 30 million lost jobs nationwide left 22 million Americans filing for

SOCIAL MEDIA from page 7 candidates, and their positions."

W hen using social media, it is important to check the reliability of news and political-related information.

If the news source typically leans towards a particular political side in other discussions, they are more likely to show the positives of that side and vice versa.

Both sides have criticized social media platforms like Facebook for their use of censorship. The social media platform has been the center

STRATEGY from page 8 election. According to Steele, Trump had the perception behind him that he was a good businessman, and that helped him to win. The argument was that Trump?s success with businesses would make it so that he could lead the U.S. to economic prosperity. It is plausible that he did do this for a majority of his time in office, so one key strategy the Trump campaign will use is to highlight how well the economy was doing before the pandemic, which, according to the campaign and Trump himself, he could not have prevented. Another major strategy it seems the Trump campaign has been using is to highlight the negatives of Biden. Biden has increasingly supported the BLM movement and embraced the idea that there needs to be reforming of the police, which the Trump campaign argues will make America unsafe under Biden.

Biden has also endorsed the idea of cutting back on carbon emissions, which the Trump campaign argues will take away jobs in industrial cities such as Detroit. Michigan is an important swing state crucial to both campaigns.

The Biden campaign seems to be embracing the strategy of

unemployment benefits. But taking into account the difficulty of keeping track of all the applicants and technical glitches, millions were left suffering without financial aid. The federal government was soon left with no choice but to promote issuing plans to start rebuilding and returning to how things were before COVID-19.

New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling the shots.

Though New York was considered the epicenter of the pandemic earlier in the year, the infection rate has dramatically decreased since April. As the cases slowly declined, Cuomo worked to reopen public areas and schools and put people back to work.

Being that most states were impacted differently from the virus, it was left up to each governor to make decisions on their reopening plans. For

As voters fill out their ballot, the federal response may turn out to be the central issue of the 2020 election.

of the Russian disinformation campaign that has been verified by intelligence agencies.

Concerning elections, the best way to get information on candidates and campaigns is through an unbiased and reliable source, or through contacting the candidates themselves to ask their views on specific issues.

RockTheVote.org is a great non-partisan site that provides information on statewide and federal elections, in addition to voting deadlines and important information on voting in general for voters in all states letting Trump lose the election for himself and talk about the negatives of Trump. Biden?s campaign has continually highlighted Trump?s response to the pandemic and the president?s disregard for social distancing and face masks.

According to Brian Nienaber, a Vice President of The Tarrance Group, which is one of the most successful Republican research and strategy firms in American politics today, it?s also vitally important for Biden to get moderate Republicans to vote for him. To do this, he needs to make sure he pushes modest economic changes.

So far, he has secured endorsements from dozens of prominent Republicans, including Colin Powell and former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake. His choice of California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate will help Biden secure votes from Black people and women, which are important Democratic voting blocs.

It seems that the strategy both campaigns use to draw voters will be vital in winning the election. If Trump can highlight the country?s economic success before the pandemic, he may be able to win reelection. If Biden can remind voters of this pandemic, he might be

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaksduring a pressbriefing with thecoronavirustask force.

Local representatives seek re-election in state and federal levels of government

BY JULIA LEVINE Featureseditor Voting in local elections has never been as popular as it should be. Unlike extensively covered national elections, local elections garner little media attention, but they significantly impact people?s lives.

were able to vote in the 2019 election while away at college by requesting and mailing in an absentee ballot.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York State enacted legislation on August 20th, allowing voters to request an absentee ballot if they are concerned about in-person voting. W hile this had not previously been an acceptable reason for requesting an absentee ballot, it was added to address the needs of high-risk residents who are concerned about the

over the past 30 years, whereas people aged 45 and up maxed at 71%turnout. As high school students, we can educate ourselves on candidates and policy issues, so we build the political knowledge needed to cast an informed vote when we turn 18.

In this year?s local election for Historically, voter turnout is NYS Senate and Assembly, higher during a presidential there are two races for election year. According to representatives of the the New York State Board of Bellmore-Merrick area. John Elections, in 2019, only 22.7% Brooks is the Democratic of eligible voters went to the incumbent, running for New polls on Election Day. The study also stated that the United States is behind most highly developed, democratic peers for voter turnout (placing 26th out of 32 nations in 2016).

W hile many local candidates in 2019 were passionate about serving the community, voters sometimes don?t even realize that an election is happening. We can NY DAILY NEW S improve our StateSenator John Brooksisrunning unopposed for re-election after hisopponent wasdisqualified. communities by virus. This means New York York Senate District 8, and is knowing more about could see a dramatic increase currently running unopposed. elections and how to get the in mail-in absentee ballots Additionally, David information we need to pick a this year, adding an easier McDonough (Republican candidate to vote for. way to vote, especially during incumbent), Kevin Gorman In January 2019, New York the pandemic. The US Postal (Democrat), and Jake State enacted legislation to Service has advised States to Gutowitz (Libertarian) are allow for increased voter allow for enough time for running for New York State turnout. Instead of one single mail-in ballots to be Assembly District 14. ?Election Day?on November delivered: first-class mail The best way to realize the 3, 2020, the legislation now takes between two and five importance of local elections provides nine days of Early days to be received, while is to participate in them Voting before Election Day. marketing mail takes between yourself and learn about This makes voting more three and ten days. candidates from reliable accessible for everyday people New or inexperienced voters sources as much as possible. with busy schedules or are less likely to turn out to Vote.org and Ballotpedia.com personal conflicts on Election vote when it's hard to find provide unbiased information Day. Additionally, people out resources to learn about on local and national politics of state, away at college, or candidates.

A recent study and allow for a quick and easy unable to come to the polls from the United States way to discover your local due to illness or other specific Elections Project stated that candidates, register to vote, or reasons can request an people aged 18-29 ranged request an absentee ballot absentee ballot to vote. Many from 18-50% voter turnout online. recent Kennedy graduates

Ar ts September 2020

Top shows in quarantine filled with twists, romance, and laughs

BY REBECCA NOZHNITSKY

Staff writer Due to COVID-19, many students were forced to stay home, not leaving their houses for weeks in a row.

Quarantine led to absolute boredom. Families began to bicker. But there was one thing saving us from strangling our siblings: television. We searched for shows to keep us busy, and these were some of our favorites.

Euphoria came out last year; however, it became popular over the summer. Euphoria is set in today?s day and age where our teenage worlds of drugs, trauma, and social media collide. Zendaya plays the leading role Rue, a girl who has just come out of rehab without any intention of getting sober, who meets and falls in love with the new girl: Jules. However, Rue is also dealing with her father?s death and bipolar disorder, which complicates things as Jules also has her own dilemmas. Other characters like Nate, Maddy, and Cassie that are introduced later in the series bring awareness to

issues that occur every day, such as emotional and physical abuse in teenage relationships, unhealthy relationships with parents, alcohol abuse, gender identities, and blackmail. This show is so interesting because it showcases our generation.

It?s us in a TV show; the good and the bad. This was my favorite TV show on HBO, and I would recommend it.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madnesscame out on Netflix around the time quarantine first started and stirred a lot of controversy in the process. Joe Exotic, also known as the Tiger King, owned the G.W . Zoo in Oklahoma and bred tigers for other zoos, a horror story for many animal rights activists like Carol Baskin. This documentary not only shows Exotic?s power-hungry visions of becoming a reality TV star. At the same time, he runs the zoo but showcases his workers?twisted life, his two husbands, and his zoo-owning colleague Bhagavan Antle. All these people seem to have secrets surrounding their tiger world.

However, Carol Baskin

NY TIMES

You, starring Penn Badgley asa former bookstoremanager with an obsession for an aspiring writer, highlighted Netflix selections.

aligned with PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) to bring Joe and his tiger breeding zoo down. Joe begins to hate her, threatening to expose that she killed her ex-husband (the world will never know) and to kill her himself. Through focusing on their petty, twisted relationship, the documentary exposes a true-crime story in the

process. This documentary is not for everybody, but it was intriguing during the quarantine.

district twelve. Later in the story, we learn more about Lucy Gray, and Collins gradually develops Lucy Gray?s character through conversations with Coyro about her past. Throughout Coriolanus?s mentorship, he becomes more attached to her, and he is forced to watch from the sidelines and hope that Lucy Gray defends herself during the games. His attachment is revealed through the risks he takes to keep Lucy Gray alive. The only one who seems detached from the games is Sejanus, a friend of Coriolanus. Sejanus believes that the games are ethically wrong and wants nothing to do with them, and he bears no resemblance to any other character that Collins has written so far.

Sejanus?s rebellious behavior during the games has a deeper meaning and foreshadows

actions in the later chapters of the book.

W ithout giving away too much, Collins leaves the ending open to interpretation.

(But I would have liked to know exactly what happened to some of the main characters.) Overall this book was great! If you are a Hunger Gamesfan you will love having some history on Panem and President Snow that you didn't have in the beginning.

Ballad Of Song Birds and Snakes is a great and suspenseful read for the fall.

Outerbanksfollows a group of teenagers in the outer banks of North Carolina, where there is a clear social hierarchy. The ?Pogues?live on the wrong side of the trail tracks meaning that they?re poor and live at the Cut. However, the ?Kooks?are

these preppy, rich kids who live extravagantly, partying daily, not having any sense of responsibility. John B is the main character, and he?s a Pogue, and he doesn?t have it easy. His father had gone missing, and he and his friends were determined to find out where he went.

However, along the way, he QUARANTINE | Page 12

Book r eview "Bal l ad of Song Bir ds and Snak es" Coriolanus tries to hold it all

By SuzanneCollins together but it is becoming SCHOLASTIC increasingly difficult.

Quarantine gave me a lot of free time to read. One of the books I picked up was The Hunger Gamestrilogy prequel, Ballad Of Song Birdsand Snakes. The story follows the main antagonist of the original Hunger Gamestrilogy, Coriolanus Snow, or Coyro, who seems to have it all. He is a student at a prestigious academy and belongs to a powerful family. But, as we know, author Suzanne Collins has trained us to expect the unexpected. The author reveals that the Snow family fell under crippling debt after Coyro lost his parents during the first war between the districts and the capital. Now, all Coyro has is a delusional grandmother, a self-sacrificial cousin, and a facade of wealth.

However, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for Coyro and his family.

As the tenth Hunger Games approaches, students of the academy are responsible for mentoring the twelve new tributes. The prize is a full scholarship to the university, this is the only way Coriolanus will be able to attend the university after his family?s debt worsens. W hile the original trilogy gave readers the perspective of tributes, the prequel focuses on the mentors.

Later in the book, Coyro receives news that he will mentor a female tribute from district twelve named Lucy Gray, which is a nod to the original trilogy since Katniss Everdeen, was also from

- Kiera Matulich

SCHOLASTIC

The Cougar Cr ier | Ar ts | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

QUARANTINE from page 11 meets his love interest, Sarah Cameron (A Kook), who complicates the situation. He learns his father was searching for the legendary treasure, which he later finds.

Outerbanks came out on Netflix during quarantine and instantly became a hit, with reason. This show is a mixture of adventures, mystery, romance, and comedy. This show was one of the best during the quarantine.

You is a story that follows a bookshop manager, Joe Goldberg, a narcissistic, sociopathic killer who falls in love with his first victim Beck in Season 1. Even though he

is terrible, this TV show creates this new outlook on sociopaths. Joe somehow becomes more human. He feels like we feel until he doesn?t, and this movie examines this physiological inquiry with grace as Penn Badgley (the actor) becomes Joe Goldberg. Joe creates these intricately planned kidnappings and killings to make Beck fall in love with him while being kind and compassionate. Season 2 has come out, and all I can say is that this season is even more gory and shocking than the last season. I loved watching this psychological thriller during quarantine, as many others did, and I would endorse this for anybody into thrillers.

I hope some of these shows

intrigued you as much as they intrigued me. My personal favorite was You, but the other shows were incredible as well. So, even though the new school year has started and quarantine is over, whenever you have the time to watch a show, these are great shows to keep in mind.

Other favor ites Grey'sAnatomy (Netflix) TheMarvelousMrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime) TheMorning Show (Apple TV+) LoveisBlind (Netflix) TheGreat British Baking Show (Netflix) Lucifer (Netflix)

The Cougar Cr ier | Ar ts | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

MTV awards show distanced, entertaining as Lady Gaga wins big

BY ISABELLA JOSLIN Artseditor During the COVID pandemic, the first awards show broadcast was the MTV Video Music Awards, a celebration of the year?s best songs and artists. The annual ceremony, which is famous for its viral performances, adhered to social distancing guidelines as singers and songwriters gathered outdoors and performed many songs and presented awards.

Centered primarily in New York City with host Keke Palmer, many performances, red carpet events, and acceptance speeches were pre-recorded and held before the show?s premiere. People at the live premiere were required to quarantine and get tested for the virus before attending. Awards like ?Song of The Year?and ?Best New Artist?were handed out to performers like BTS, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande.

Lady Gaga came out on top this year, winning five awards out of her nine nominations.

Lady Gaga took to Instagram to thank her fans for ?...always

sticking by me.?The international superstar wore stylish masks upon the receipt of each award and, in doing so, asked viewers to wear a mask and be safe. The masks were of typical Lady Gaga style that you would expect from an artist who wore a meat dress to this event ten years ago.

have already promoted that the broadcast will feature 138 stars from 114 locations.

Jimmy Kimmel will host that program. It is likely the VMA's served as an example

for the producers. The Tony Awards have not set a date or host as of publication.

In addition to the annual awards, three new categories highlighted the importance of safety guidelines and quarantine, such as ?Best Quarantine Performance,? which went to CNCO, ?Best Music Video at Home,?which was won by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, and lastly, ?Everyday Heroes,?which went to many first responders during the COVID breakout.

Although the VMA?s were held under very different circumstances this year, the show went on fabulously and safely. We can expect similar from other awards shows this fall when both the Emmy Awards and the Tony Awards will be broadcast. The Emmy Awards, which will be broadcast on September 20,

DIGITAL SPY

Lady Gaga wearing oneof her many fashionablemaskswhileaccepting an award at MTV'sVideoMusicAwards.

The Cougar Cr ier | Spor ts | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

POSTPONE

during quarantine, the better your transition from being quarantined to playing sports will be!

suggested that face coverings should only not be worn when from page 16 participating in water activities, if it could cause a Some ways to help stay in heat illness, if the face The American Academy of shape and prepare for the covering could get caught or Pediatrics (AAP), in their postponed season while being impair vision, and for children official statement on students stuck at home are running under 2 years old. For athletes participating in school sports around the neighborhood, who test positive for during the pandemic said, workouts that don?t require COVID-19, the AAP ?Ultimately, the decision falls equipment, weightlifting, recommends a minimum on parents/ guardians to swimming in a pool,going for two-week resting period with daily walks, or going for a bike decide whether they will allow no exercise, a visit to their their children to participate in ride. Some coaches even doctor, and a parent/ guardian sports.?The AAP also advises hosted practices through to notify the coach. That way, face coverings to be worn by Zoom calls and sent messages the whole team and anyone coaches, officials, volunteers, through the Remind app to else exposed to the sick athlete and spectators when arriving stay in contact with their can safely quarantine for two at and departing from an athletes. The more you weeks before returning to athletic facility. They practice and stay in shape playing. Some ways to reduce the risk of even contracting the virus according to their guidelines are: reminding athletes to wear their face coverings, avoiding travel to other communities and regions, playing in highly ventilated areas or outdoors, and staying in small consistent pods of athletes during the season.

If all of Kennedy?s athletes take these guidelines and recommendations seriously, it is possible that high school athletes in Nassau County will be able @JFKSPORTSBOOSTERS to play three seasons next Kennedy athletesat a "Let Them Play" protest in Massapequa on August 31. year.

Empty stadiums, distanced dugouts highlight 2020 MLB season

BY BEN DUBS Staff writer Baseball used to be a sport people watched while sitting on the edges of their seats for each pitch. Spectators would wait in long lines and pay premium prices for the best seats in their favorite team's stadium. The excitement of each pitch exhilarated fans.

Currently, baseball fans have to hope anxiously that the game will not be postponed.

So many aspects of baseball have changed due to COVID-19.

Since March 12, when the MLB announced the cancellation of 2020 Spring Training games, the season has looked much different from what fans expected. On March 16, ESPN confirmed the MLB start would be pushed back to early May. Even when the season finally started in July, fans had learned they would not be allowed to attend the games.

This statement deeply saddened many MLB fans looking forward to cheering the teams. The MLB decided they would expand the playoffs to 14 teams, which upset many fans because it

Tom Seaver, the leader of the 'Miracle Mets', left a mark on a generation

BY BEN GRECO Staff writer On August 31, 2020, Tom Seaver, a Hall of Fame pitcher who played for the New York Mets, passed away. He was 75 years old and played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball, 12 of which were with the New York Mets.

Tom Seaver had a stellar baseball career in baseball.

Seaver won 311 games on four different teams across his career. He led the Mets to a W orld Series Championship in 1969, bringing them from last place to first place in just three years.

Seaver was a leader on and off the field. He is top 10 in career strikeouts of all time in the MLB and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992. Off the field, Seaver?s high standards and expectations for the team forced everyone to work harder and play better baseball. He helped bring the Mets back from 10 games back in August to defeat the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 W orld Series. Seaver is quoted to have said, ?There are only two places in the league, first place and no place,?highlighting his work ethic and the mindset he brought to a losing Mets team.

According to Fred Greco, a retiree born in 1939 and who lived in New York his whole life, ?Tom Seaver was beautiful to watch. He looked like he was so in command when he pitched. He was really the face of the franchise.?His impact on the

Mets was so profound that the darkest day in Mets history is considered the day he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, June 15, 1977.

In his personal life, Tom Seaver was a multi-sport athlete in high school, where he played both basketball and baseball but did not even make the varsity baseball team until his senior year. He won the Cy Young Award, given annually to the MLB?s best pitcher, three times. Tom worked very hard after high school to make a living and was even in the marine reserves before finding a career playing professional baseball. He was the definition of a late bloomer who showed that the path is different for every athlete.

Seaver also used his fame to express his political views about the United States and Vietnam. He said, ?If the Mets can win the W orld Series, the United States can get out of Vietnam.?Like athletes today, Seaver took a public stance on national and global issues.

For Long Islanders, the impact that Seaver had is even more noticeable. W ithout him, it?s possible the Mets would have never won the W orld Series when they did. Many of us are Mets fans, and the stories of the 1969 Mets are legendary and have defined this ball club.

Tom Seaver was arguably the most significant factor in that early success. For that, we all owe a debt of gratitude to one of the greatest pitchers, and greatest Mets of all-time, Tom Seaver.

GETTY IMAGES

JakeDiekman of theOakland A'swearshismask during summer workouts.

made it much easier for teams to clinch a playoff spot. This would be less exciting for your team to make the playoffs.

Many changes also occurred in the dugouts for all MLB teams. Teams are no longer allowed to eat sunflower seeds, and players have to stand 6 feet apart from another or wear a mask. But players, coaches, and staff have gotten COVID. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has implemented changes since succeeding Bud Selig in 2015. He has limited the number of visits to the mound and instituted a pitching clock to shorten the length of the games. This

season, though, thanks to Manfred, the game looks very different.

COVID has affected many people in many different ways. W hile the numbers of COVID patients have decreased in New York State, there is still a significant risk of a second wave. Everyone has had to change their way of life, including baseball players and spectators.

Unlike the other sports leagues, MLB history is built on a strong tradition changes like shortened double-headers and revised extra innings destroy that.

These modifications leave fans wondering whether the alterations are worth it.

BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

Seaver using hisiconicdrop-and-drivedelivery in a gameduring the'70 season.

The Cougar Cr ier | Spor ts | September 2020 | cougarcrier.org

Colleges face challenging decision as COVID impacts campuses

BY MAX FREIFELD Staff writer W hen students are big sports fans, they might look to attend a college that has one of America?s national pastimes, football. However, this year sports have been suspended in some colleges, and unfortunately, football was one of them.

COVID-19 has been an ongoing problem in the United States for the past six months, and it has caused many Division I, II, and III sports to be canceled. This

affects not only the colleges but also television networks, organizations, and the athletes who play football.

Mac-American conferences, all postponing fall football.

On August 11, the Big Ten Conference--which includes schools such as Ohio State, Nebraska, and Michigan--became the first major conference to postpone football. This came as a shock to a lot of football players and fans. Soon after, other conferences followed, such as the Pac-12 and four other FBS conferences, including the Mountain West and

The decision was made despite the #WeAreUnited and #WeW antToPlay movements led by Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State QB Justin Fields.

The movements, which have been a part of a summer when college players have strengthened their power, successfully called on university officials to implement universal safety protocols and extensions for eligibility extensions for players who wish to opt out of the season.

DESERET NEW S

Saturdays have become synonymous with college football every fall for many Americans, but this year will be different.

According to Deseret News, many conferences and organizations have tried to improvise schedules starting in late September. Still, these schedules have been shortened in

BYU running back Lopini Katoa runsfor a touchdown in a fanlessgameat Navy-MarineMemoral Stadium on September 7.

TESSER from page 1 school team, she also plays for a national travel team with girls from all over the U.S. For many athletes, so there isn't much downtime between sports and school. But since Morgan's National team has athletes from all over the country, they don't practice together. This allows for Morgan to make her own schedule. ?There is no offseason for softball since my whole team is from all over, but that means that I have to practice and train on my own.

This gives me more downtime than normally expected, so I have time to hang out with my friends and play softball,?said Tesser.

W hen questioned about whether it is hard to keep up her grades while playing so much softball, Morgan replied, ?It's not easy, and it is time-consuming, but if you love what you're doing, it's not impossible.?Morgan is off eighth and ninth periods in school, giving her time to catch up on work and study for tests. She can also go home and eat lunch or grab a snack in between school and softball.

Due to the pandemic, it has been difficult for many coaches and colleges to look

for recruits this year.

Morgan has been visiting colleges since she was in eighth grade.

Many of these colleges wanted to see her in person, but because of COVID-19, everything is virtual.

Morgan expressed that the recruiting process is stressful, but it will all be worth it in the end. She has a massive @MORGANTESSER following on Twitter, and Tesser in a demonstration videoposted on her Twitter account. that is where she gets bring her down. She has recruited during this time. She been working harder than is, as many would say, ever and is pushing herself ?Twitter Famous.?Her games to the limit. are live-streamed so that On September 10, Morgan coaches can watch virtually. committed to Bryant Her efforts were highlighted University where she will in a Newsday article on March play softball next year.

24. As she stated in that Tesser explained, "I visited article, college players have the school on September 5. contacted her after watching As soon as I stepped on the videos. She posts on the campus I knew this was the platform multiple times a school for me. The athletic week. She even documented facilities were off the charts, her recent injury. the softball field was This past summer, Morgan beautiful...they take great tore her quad, but that didn't care of their athletes."

half, and most do not contain outer-conference match-ups.

Before the new plans were implemented, many schools started to host voluntary practices on June 1.

However, the ongoing pandemic was not recognized as a significant threat to each player?s health and safety, and from this unpreparedness to combat the virus, COVID outbreaks began. Dozens of players from Louisiana State and Clemson tested positive for COVID and had to be quarantined.

Officially, the NCAA has made a public announcement saying that all Division I championships will be postponed and hope to restart the seasons in the spring.

Following this, Division II and III both postponed their games and tried to improvise to play. The schools that have decided to play this fall will not have fans in attendance.

The University of Georgia and UCF have faced player opt-outs, while schools like the University of Oklahoma require masks on campus.

The President of the United

States, Donald Trump, has even weighed in, calling the Big Ten commission to encourage them to play.

W hen asked about the status of college football, Kennedy High School Athletic Coordinator Craig Papach said, ?It was really weird watching Navy and Brigham Young play in a stadium with no fans. I?ve been a fan of college football for forty-five years and have coached high school football for thirty-five years, and this not only affects the players in college who opted out compared to the ones that could be evaluated.?

Coach Papach continued, ?Some of the best high school prospects are now unable to play and this hurts their chances of belonging on a team. However, the conferences that are playing are at a major risk at the high school and collegiate levels, and even though I love football, I want it to be safe.?

W hatever the future of college football is, he and others would like to see it done safely.

As of deadline, the Big Ten season still remains in limbo.

Spor ts September 2020

MAX FREIFELD/ The Cougar Crier

Kennedy'sturf football field, usually used by thefootball and soccer teamsduring thefall season, remainsempty asNassau sportswill wait until 2021 toresume.

Sports postponed in Nassau until '21

BY SAM SCHNEIDER Sportseditor As summer vacation comes to an end, the 2020-21 school year begins. This normally would be the start of learning, reuniting with classmates, and playing on school sports teams. Due to COVID-19, many precautions had to be taken in order to prevent the spread of the virus and to keep all of Kennedy?s staff, teachers, and students safe.

W ith that being said, school sports are being delayed. The fall season usually begins on August 24 to start tryouts and help prepare for the upcoming season. According to Governor Cuomo at one of his latest press briefings, ?low risk?Interscholastic Sports have been approved to begin practices and play games on September 21. Cuomo also said ?higher risk?sports can have practices but no competitions. The superintendents of Nassau County didn?t agree with

Cuomo and announced that all sports seasons will be postponed until January 2021.

They felt the current conditions weren?t safe enough to begin playing sports. "We understand it's tough right now to understand, but we feel that it's the best interest and health and safety of our student-athletes," said Section VIII Executive Director Patrick Pizzarelli The administration in Bellmore-Merrick did not play a role in the decision. ?The weight of a decision of this magnitude is no doubt difficult. Balancing the health and safety of faculty, students and staff, while also taking into account the benefits of interscholastic athletics is no easy task. That being said, we have received many questions asking if we voted in favor of the decision. In response, no individual in the BMCHSD serves on the committee that made this decision and

therefore, we did not have a vote. We were as disappointed as everyone else when we learned of the decision. It certainly was a sad day for Nassau County High School sports,?said Athletic Director Eric Caballero.

In Nassau County, the plan is to play all three reasons between January and June.

Caballero believes that is feasible. ?I think 8-10 week seasons are realistic.

However, there would be no post-season competition at the state level but local post-season competition would be something that I would push for. Every athlete should have that opportunity to feel what it is like to win a championship,?he stated.

Bellmore-Merrick is considering an intramural program this fall for low-risk sports.

Cuomo's idea of lower risk sports are ones that can be played while social distancing

and not sharing equipment.

These include: swimming, cross country, soccer and weightlifting. All of these sports are considered the safest sports to play during the pandemic. His idea of moderate risk sports are sports that can be played with intermittent close contact or equipment that can?t be cleaned between participants.

These include: ice hockey, tennis, badminton and volleyball. These are not the most ideal sports to play during the pandemic but aren?t the worst either.

Finally, Cuomo?s idea of the highest risk sports are sports that involve the most contact with others. These include: football, cheerleading, and kickline. All of these are considered to be the worst sports to play during the pandemic due to the lack of being socially distant with opponents and teammates.

Football and cheerleading, along with volleyball, won't

be played until at least March.

The decision is especially hard for all of the seniors who want to represent their high school on the field, court, or track for the very last time.

All regional and state championships have also been canceled, which is a big part of high school sports.

According to NYSPHSAA president Paul Harrica, ?The priority will continue to be on the educational process and return to learning in the safest way possible.?The main priority of schools right now is education, not sports.

Many people were upset about this news and have been protesting with signs and petitions to try to convince the superintendents to change their minds.

Unfortunately, they stand with their decision to delay the season.

POSTPONE | Page 14