Dec. 21, 2018

Lynbrook High School

Vol. XLVII No. 2

Friday, December 21, 2018

In This Issue: Apartment Complex Proposal The proposal for a new five-story apartment building was voted down by the Lynbrook Board of Trustees.

News / pg. 3

Owl Adventure

Farewell, Nick Kardasis!

Hear about the challenging and exciting Owl Adventure class taught by Teacher Brian Hetrick.

Features / pg. 6

Beloved Custodian Nick Kardasis is retiring after 20 years of service.

Lynbrook Soccer Players Take Home Awards Check out the recognition recieved by Lynbrook Soccer this season.

Centerfold / pg. 10-11

Sports / pg. 16

NEWS Horizon

Friday, December 21, 2018

Voting: Convenience Is a Want, But Safety Is a Need For students attending LHS, primary elections mean a day off from school, but for some smaller elections, school remains in session as gymnasiums and other rooms district-wide, all the way down to the elementary schools, are taken over by voters.

However, administrators, parents, and teachers have been advocating for the end of voting in school buildings due to an executive order that re-enfranchised parolee sex offenders, consequently giving them the right to step on school grounds to vote.

Voting currently takes place in schools because it is a convenient location for community members to make their voice heard in local, state, and national elections. Schools are government buildings with a sufficient amount of parking space and easy access for people with disabilities. However, the issue of safety for students and voters has come into question for Lynbrook residents and Board of Education members.

Opposers to voting in school buildings argue that it compromises

By Emma Ward Contributor the safety of teachers and students present during voting hours. This concern has been intensified with the recent surge of mass school shootings, along with the passing of Governor Cuomo’s recent bill allowing sex offenders out on parole to vote, meaning that these criminals and potential dangers to the community are legally allowed on school grounds during the voting period. Unlike the normal school day, where all entrances are locked and visitors are not permitted access without a scheduled appointment, anyone can enter and exit the school as they please, which has many students worried. “I don’t feel safe when voting is taking place during school because while there may be some basic security measures taken, there aren’t enough,” said freshman Emme Paladino. Contrastingly, History Teacher Olga Zisel commented that “everything worked well in the past, so I’m not worried.”

The BOE has been pushing to

remove voting from its schools for many years but has yet to succeed.

Superintendent Melissa Burak, one of the leaders of the movement, has been pushing to remove voting from schools within the district since she first became superintendent during the 2012-2013 school year. Dr. Burak agrees that voting in schools jeopardizes the safety of students: “The primary reason [to have voting removed from taking place in schools] is safety…every time an unfortunate attack occurs, it just brings the issue back to the surface.” Dr. Burak has met with the attorneys from both the Republican and Democratic sides of the Board of Elections to discuss the removal of voting from the schools, but her opposition in unwilling to concede.

The debate over the removal of voting from schools has been ongoing for many years, only gaining momentum over time with heightened concerns over school shootings. The New

York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) Bill, which is part of the election laws, provides districts the ability to remove voting from taking place in school buildings, but clearly, the districts do not act alone is this area; otherwise, there would be no voting in any Lynbrook schools.

So far, Dr. Burak has managed to remove the voting polls in Marion Street, keeping voting exclusively at Lynbrook North and South Middle Schools. “This was a giant step forward, and I believe that if the district keeps fighting to have voting removed from schools, it eventually will be,” commented Burak. “We [The District of Lynbrook] has hired security…because safety is our number one priority.” Dr. Burak ensures that the safety of students has and will always be the school board’s and administration’s top priority. She is confident that with time, voting will cease to take place inside Lynbrook schools.

Reduce, Reuse, and Refuse: Marine Club’s Attempt at Making LHS Eco-Friendlier The pollution of Earth’s waters has been a major concern of environmentalists and ordinary citizens for decades, which has led to increased efforts for preservation of nature and marine species. Right here in Lynbrook, students have taken their own initiative by founding the Marine Club.

To combat the plastic pollution crisis sweeping the planet, club representatives Kai Beattie, Sam Cohen, and Danny Neri spoke in front of the Board of Education (BOE) on Nov. 14. The club pitched a campaign to upgrade LHS’s water fountains, allowing them to function as a hands-free bottle refilling station with a tracker used to calculate the number of plastic water bottles saved by those refilling reusable bottles with the fountain. They argued that having new, filtered fountains would incentivize more students to carry reusable water bottles as opposed to buying plastic ones, reducing Lynbrook’s contribution to plastic pollution.

Beattie spoke to the BOE about the harmful effects of the community’s plastic waste footprint: “It is estimated that by 2050 the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish, and much of the plastic will not break down for hundreds of years to follow.”

Several club members have expressed their concerns that LHS could be doing more to fight against this already deadly endeavor. “It needs to get better, and using less plastic is not at all difficult to do,” stated Sam Cohen.

As he further explained at the Nov. 14 BOE meeting, between failing to have already installed these bottle-refilling fountains and only having recycling bins located in the cafeteria, only a fraction of the likely hundreds of water bottles disposed of each day at the school are currently being recycled, which puts Lynbrook lagging behind other local districts like Hewlett, Valley Stream, East Rockaway, and Rockville Centre, who have already made use of these fountains. The club has used this

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By Jane Hoeflinger Editor

The proposed fountains, much like the one pictured here, show users how many water bottles have been conserved by opting to make a more eco-friendly choice. ~Photo Courtesy of Google Images

information to further its opinion that Lynbrook must do more, and soon.

Club members also spoke with a representative from ELKAY, the manufacturers of the water fountains currently used at LHS and the majority of high schools in the area, who suggested purchasing a retrofit kit, which attaches to existing fountains and adds the same filtering and functionality of a new fountain at a fraction of the cost; the kits would cost around $460 each. The Marine Club has offered to fund the purchases for

the first fountain, which will hopefully be located in the cafeteria, where the school sees the most traffic on a daily basis, and it plans to initially donate $580 to the cause. The degree of success of the first “new” fountain will likely determine whether the BOE decides to install the fountains throughout the district.

Despite their persistent efforts to improve the high school’s efforts to prevent excessive water pollution, the club’s wishes to extend its reach much further. “We would like to see the

remaining fountains at the high school converted and to eventually have every school building in the district replaced with bottle-filling fountains. Our hope is that underclassmen will recognize our efforts and continue to advocate for the implementation of these fountains after Danny [Neri], Sam [Cohen], and I graduate,” commented Beattie.

Board President Billy Belmont commended the members for their well-thought-out demonstration and motivation to self-advocate change, stating that he found the club’s pitch “… so convincing that [he] is going to ask Dr. Burak to begin to phase it in, maybe even at Marion Street [Elementary School].” Dr. Burak, too, admired the proposal, joking, “It was so good that in the time we were sitting here, two may have already been installed at Marion… and we have a lot more to do.”

However, Marine Club was not quite content, according to Cohen: “After our success at the BOE meeting, we wanted to make sure that the idea would actually be put into action. We met with Mr. Rainis, and he explained to us the complexity of the process, but we are very grateful that he was willing to support our mission and handle some of the administrative requirements we are unable to do ourselves.

In the end, he told us that the BOE is going to finance the purchase of the new fountains for the entire district.

We are extremely grateful to the BOE for recognizing our cause, and we still plan to donate our $580 towards funding the fountains.”

Members are excited that this long-anticipated and largely overdue change will finally be implemented at the high school. Beattie, Cohen, Neri, and the entire Marine Club would like to remind students of the importance of making use of reusable bottles at LHS and encourages everyone to lend a hand in reducing our community’s consumption and waste of single-use plastic items.

Horizon

NEWS

Friday, December 21, 2018

A Complicated Apartment Complex Proposal After much debate on whether Lynbrook would or would not benefit from the construction of a new five-story apartment building, the pitch to create this said apartment complex delivered

by Farmingdale-based Terwilliger & Bartone Properties was unanimously voted down by Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach and the board of trustees on Nov. 19.

The 200-unit apartment complex would have been located on the southwest corner of Earle Avenue and St. James Place. If granted permission to build the $75 million complex, the developer had also planned to construct and fund a $10 million, 400-space parking garage on top of what is currently a commuter parking lot at Broadway and Langdon Place and had hoped to establish a 9,000-square-foot park on Broadway.

This proposed complex, named the Cornerstone at Lynbrook, would have featured a mix of two-bedroom, one-bedroom, and studio apartments.

The luxury apartment complex was expected to generate $500,000 in property taxes each year along with 239 construction jobs. Despite this, some residents expressed concerns that the complex would change the entire nature of Lynbrook, overcrowding schools and increasing what they described as already poor traffic conditions.

Residents had even started a petition, asking officials to reject Terwilliger & Bartone’s proposal. The same residents who had opposed the construction of a gun range in Lynbrook had spearheaded this enmity, basing much of their information off of a similar project that was completed in Rockville Centre (the Avalon). Thir-

By Jane Hoeflinger Editor

building and the local businesses. It would boost consumer confidence and Lynbrook’s local economy would surely improve,” said junior president Ethan Renz.

Another issue long debated was the size of the building. Those opposing the construction argued five-stories is far too tall for a town like Lynbrook and would look aesthetically unappealing.

Village officials as well believed the proposed building was too large in scope and had asked Bartone to redesign his plan; however, Bartone refused. Resident and history/psychology teacher, John Cornicello, however, wished Barton had reconsidered, “I think Bartone should have redesigned his original pitch. A complex like this could revitalize Lynbrook, but I don’t think that specific one did the job.”

As Bartone recognized the growing opposition to the plans, meetings about the complex were Residents protesting the possible construction of a new apartment complex. repeatedly postponed, and the pro~Photo Courtesy of the Lynbrook Herald posal itself was eventually cancelled. ty-seven students from the Avalon had ments that would have been built Residents argued the plans were “not enrolled in Rockville Centre’s schools to pose much of a threat in terms of transparent” and they were not proafter the opening of the complex and increased enrollment to Lynbrook vided enough information. Residents 18 possible other students contribute Schools. Additionally, some do not had rallied outside the village hall in to the tax caps. Adversaries of the view an increase in enrollment at the Lynbrook on the afternoon of Nov. 19, Cornerstone complex, argued Lynlocal schools as much of a threat. “I and the application was rejected later brook would follow a similar pattern, would hope the school district would that night. overcrowding the district’s schools, respond appropriately. Rather than While Cornerstone was not well “My main concern is the massive inincreasing class size, I am hopeful they accepted with its initial pitch, it can flux of students that would have came would hire more teachers, if need be,” possibly be revised and return some[if the construction was approved]... said resident and Physical Education time in the future.

McCarthy stated, “A I’m just too concerned with how this Teacher Dorothy McCarthy. revised pitch would be a good thing. would affect class sizes at West End Those in favor of the complex Lynbrook is the greatest place to live, [elementary school].”, said English also acknowledged the undoubtable and if you give young professionals teacher and resident Carla Gentile. boost the apartments would give to more of an opportunity to live and “I’m all for enriching the town, but not the local economy. “I definitely think when compromising quality education they should have made [the complex]. work here, that would be a great start.

I don’t see how making this town more is the price we would have to pay,” It would increase the property valaccessible to enjoy could be a bad continued Gentile. ue and beautify the town. I can’t see thing. Lynbrook has it all. Attracting Contrastingly, some argue there why people were against it. It would new people can only help it. Lynbrook are too few multiple-bedroom apartbe great for all the residents of the is the ideal town.”

Empire State Scholastic Press Association Awards for Horizon 2018

Gold Awards

Best All-Around Publication - Horizon - 2017-2018 Horizon staff Best New Publication - Horizon Online - 2017-2018 Horizon staff Feature Writing - Brian Egan - “A Teacher Family” Picture Story Layout - Pooja Shah - “AP Art Gallery” centerfold News Writing - Emily Bergin - “Lynbrook Passes Bond” News Writing - Jane Hoeflinger - “Why Has This Flu Season Been So Deadly?”

Sports News - Helaina Rehs - “Ally Fitzgerald Proves Wrestling Isn’t Just for Boys” Sports Feature - Christian Sarlo - “The Life of a High School Hockey Star”

Silver Awards Bronze Awards News Writing - Josh Polansky - “Graphic Design Ad Campaign” In-Depth Coverage - Terence Deegan - “Bittersweet Bitcoin”

Sports Feature - Harrison Simon - “Athlete Spotlight: Tim Marski”

Senior Pooja Shah, sophomore Emily Bergin, senior Sam Cohen, and junior Jane Hoeflinger with their ESSPA awards ~Photo Courtesy of Jessica Sanders

Honorable Mentions

Feature Writing - Tess Rechtweg - “Life without a Phone” Front Page Design Portfolio - 2017-2018 Horizon Staff Picture Story Layout - Marti Candel, Djelza Pulitani, & Dustin Mandell (‘18) - “Golden Paddle Tournament” centerfold News Writing - Sam Cohen - “Tablet Rollout” Review Writing Portfolio - Lauren Hernandez (‘18)

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Friday, December 21, 2018

NEWS/FEATURES

Horizon

Home Is Not Where the Birth Is

By Arianna Paxinos Contributor Trump is widely known for his actions taken against illegal immigrants in the United States. He has recently discussed changing the 14th Amendment as further action.“I can do it just with an executive order,” said Donald Trump during an interview with Axios on his potential alteration of the constitution.

The 14th amendment proclaims the right to American citizenship through birth on the country’s soil.

This alteration to the Amendment would make the children of many illegal immigrants non-U.S. citizens, ending birthright citizenship. Trump would like to deport these children along with their parents.

It is more commonly believed that an Amendment would be necessary to strip the right of citizenship away from the children. Even Trump claims that is what he has always believed, but he is now saying that is not true. He claims not only can an act of Congress make the alteration he wants to, but he can do it with an executive order. When juniors Ethan Renz and Olivia Costanza were asked their thoughts on the subject they said “Trump would get shot down if he used an executive order.

Even if it was put through Congress he would get denied.” Costanza said, “I don’t think he even could, but if he could I wouldn’t want him to because I don’t like when the Amendment’s supporting my rights are changed.”

While Trump’s words have gotten positive support and attention from some Republicans, Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, believes

Trump is trying to draw focus away from the healthcare issues that many Democrats have pushed to be a focus throughout the midterms.

Many people thought this announcement was a way to help Trump in the midterms, but those involved

ship and they have not been working on any new immigration policies, including the alteration Trump says him and his team have been working on. Trump also falsely claimed that America is the only country to have the policy of citizenship upon birth in

ment. He claims, “it’s ridiculous” and decides this policy must end.

He does not believe that children of illegal immigrant parents should have claim to American rights and freedom that they have now, which sophomore Victoria Medina partially agrees with. “I think they should have basic human rights that every person alive deserves, but maybe not every right because their parents come to the country and don’t pay taxes like the other American parents. These children are anchor babies and were not brought into America by contributing American citizens.” Freshman Megan Minnick said, “These children should not necessarily have the rights of American citizens, and they should not be separated from their parents.” Stripping away these rights would make it easier to deport their parents without having to take the children away from them, whom there have been many arguments over the cruelty of.

These American citizen children are being separated from their parents and held in U.S. custody, causing much controversy over the animosity of separating a child and parent.

Although Trump’s executive order may not actually work, it is possible that he will try to amend the Consti~Photo Courtesy of Google Images tution, despite the lengthy process it takes. The results of this depends within the elections were never inthe country. Other countries such as on the support he will have from formed of a plan. Many White House Mexico, Canada, Barbados, Fiji, Peru, Congress and possibly the Supreme administrators also found their appar- and many more still function with Court if his attempts are taken there. ent plan for constitutional provisions birthright citizenship.

The future of many first generation to be new information. The Counsel Trump’s interview mainly consisted American children may be at stake.

Office is currently changing leaderof his disapproval of the 14th Amend-

50 People, One Question If you could travel anywhere right now, where would you go and why?

By Sydney Festa Contributor

Christopher Kozak, teacher “New Zealand. I want to see the location where they filmed The Lord of the Rings.”

Regan Murphy, teacher “Hawaii, I went on my honeymoon 15 years ago, and I want to go back!”

Hansel Co, senior “Thailand. I want to see what it is like there.”

Samantha Reuben, senior “The Bronx Zoo to see the animals, and I love it there.”

Quardir Grierson, junior “Jamaica, it’s where I’m from; it’s my roots.”

Shane Nembach, senior “Hawaii because I like the warm weather.”

Kelly Straub, junior “Japan because I love the weather and the scenery.

The way you can be busy in a city then travel 15 minutes out and have the nicest outdoor views. Another thing is that their food is amazing!”

Camilla Bahri, sophomore “Greece because it’s pretty, has nice beaches, and I want to learn about the cool ancient history.”

Megan Coogan, freshman “Iceland because I want to see the Northern Lights.”

Martin Lopez, freshman “Bora Bora because it’s beautiful there and has nice beaches.”

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Horizon

FEATURES

Friday, December 21, 2018

What Nationalism Means for the Nation

By Terence Deegan Editor In the past, politicians typically refrained from identifying as “nationalists” due to the supremacist connotations that recent history has associated with the word. At a rally in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 22, however, President Trump did so, hoping to unite his support base against the supposed “blue wave” destined for the November midterms.

With respect to the Democratic party, Trump told the crowd, “They have a word, it’s sort of became old-fashioned: it’s called a nationalist.

And I say, ‘Really, we’re not supposed to use that word.’ You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay?”

When asked the next day for the reasons behind his choice of words, especially given the link between nationalism and racist organizations within the US, President Trump swore ignorance, stating, “It’s a word that hasn’t been used too much. Some people use it, but I’m very proud. I think it should be brought back.”

As a rule, politicians stray from use of the term due to withstanding associations. Abroad, it is employed to address aggressive foreign entities.

At home, it carries a deeper connotation—either to describe reactionaries

or racist groups (such the phrase, “white nationalist”).

Nevertheless, an errant Trump has taken the path less traveled. In line with his record, the President embraced the extreme with a bundle of explanations and exceptions. According to Trump, “nationalist” simply describes his America First policy best, in a way which is not so different from the isolationist movement prior to the Second World War. Within hours of Trump’s speech, the opposition criticized his comments, particularly for implying that Democrats serve “corrupt, power-hungry globalists” at the expense of American interests. Some students at LHS shared in this disapproval. “It seems unfair that he can say he is a nationalist, then say he doesn’t know the word’s meaning without admitting he is ignorant,” junior David Castillo lamented.

Aware of the history of nationalism in other nations, junior Billy Wren noted the similarity of the situation to that of past regimes: “The President claims he is a nationalist, rejects the press, is friendly to foreign dictators, and wants to put his political rivals in prison,” he said, “It doesn’t take much

to put two-and-two together,” added Wren.

All this comes during an election season where the President has reverted to his populist edge, decrying liberals, immigrants, the press, and his own staff for hubris and disloyalty.

More than ever before, Trump has run on the anti-globalist bent, seemingly viewing globalism itself as an obstacle to America’s economic well-being.

Earlier this year, the President denied any such belief, affirming world leaders at the World Economic Forum: “America first does not mean America alone.”

While campaigning for Texas Governor Ted Cruz (Rep.), however, his stance seems to have switched once again, albeit sparing the equivocation. Globalists are the enemy once more; the ones hoping to compromise American prosperity, diminish our military and economic infrastructure, and open

the door to criminals, terrorists, and illegal immigrants.

“For years, you watched as your leaders apologized for America,” the President said at the rally in Houston. “They apologized. Now you have a president who is standing up for America.” Whether President Trump knows it or not, he may be the reason future leaders are apologizing for America yet again.

The Gift of Gender Stereotyping

A blonde-haired mother is seen picking out a Christmas tree; her husband rolls his eyes as she asks to see a different one. For this woman, nothing seems to go right; she is constantly falling, whether she is being knocked down by a Christmas tree or hit with a snowball thrown by her kids. She is then seen in a frantic rush to make dinner, decorate the house, and shop.

After pulling off what seems like the perfect holiday dinner, she hardly even gets to sit at the table. This Asda Christmas ad from 2012 has been scrutinized for its gender stereotypes and use of sexism for years.

Year round, gender stereotyping is evident in nearly every advertisement. These stereotypes, however, heighten around the holidays as a majority of advertisements stick to the outdated, traditional views of the American family. Holiday advertisements typically depict mothers in a fury trying to clean the house, cook for the family, and decorate perfectly.

This message sends the wrong ideas to young girls and even women, that they are/will amount to nothing more than life as a cooking and cleaning house wife.

Holiday advertisements geared towards men, however, typically show a man buying the perfect gift and managing to save the day and amaze everyone.

“Kids watch about 100 commercials a day. Each commercial is teaching the same lesson. By two or three years old, kids know the difference between a girl’s toy and a boy’s toy… From early on, before they even have words, kids are being taught what is right and wrong in terms of gender identi-

By Jane Hoeflinger Editor

ty,” said Guidance Counselor Laurie Mitchell.

Even with young children, sexism in ads is prevalent. A United Kingdom Gap Kids’ advertisement sent out in Aug. 2016 received major scrutiny on social media as it features children’s clothing and refers to the boys as “scholars” and the girls as “social butterflies.” Even at clothing stores, upon arrival, shoppers can see that even clothing, as harmless as Christmas pajamas, is highly gendered. In addition, in the toy aisle, were often

stereotypes are overtly evident. In the Toys R Us “Book of Awwwwesome” boys are predominantly seen playing with innovative toys and electronics, while girls were typically seen with dolls and princesses.

“Gender stereotypes are harmful to both genders. It makes women seem as if they cannot amount to much and promotes toxic masculinity for young boys. Something as simple as the toys a girl is playing with versus the toys a boy is playing with can permanently affect children viewing that ad. This is

~Photo Courtesy of Google Images

what causes young boys to be turned away from girls’ toys and the same for young girls and boys’ toys. We have to stop teaching gender stereotypes to little kids if we ever want those stereotypes to disappear as they become adults,” said sophomore Jillian Swanson.

In an attempt to combat this issue, in June 2016, some of the world’s largest consumer and advertising companies announced a new initiative to eliminate gender stereotypes from advertisements. This list included the following companies and ad agencies: Johnson & Johnson, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and major ad agencies: Wire and Plastic Products and Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. In addition, the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has vowed to crack down on gender stereotypes in ads and enforce stricter regulations in relation to gender stereotypes, arguing that that they are harmful, to society.

With ASA ads promoting gender stereotypes such as women cleaning after a messy family, men failing to do basic household chores, or children barred from an activity because it was “inappropriate” to their gender will be banned. Junior CJ Sollitto agrees that gender stereotypical advertisements are detrimental: “The sexism in these ads is harmful and it should be stopped. If people only ever see people like them in the media in a negative way, they will only ever see themselves in the same negative ways and will then be limited by this in the future.”

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FEATURES

Friday, December 21, 2018

Horizon

Owl Adventure: Teaching Life Skills and Teambuilding It may be the challenge, the opportunity for teamwork, or just the positive atmosphere, but it is undeniable that Owl Adventure holds a special place in the hearts and minds of students who take it. Physical Education Teacher Brian Hetrick teaches an extraordinary class that is as much about building strong working relationships as it is about physical fitness. The three main tenets of Owl Adventure are teamwork, cooperation, and trust.

These three points each represent aspects of relationship building that are often neglected in a society so focused on either academic or physical prowess at any cost. Owl Adventure is different. It offers a physical challenge as well as a mental challenge.

Owl Adventure newcomer and sophomore Carl Zou said, “Normal gym incorporates sports and activities that focus on physical and athletic prowess, while Owl Adventure demonstrates teamwork and cooperation through many team building exercises.” Many incoming students like Zou wonder if they will be able to climb the wall, trust their peers, and succeed in such an unfamiliar environment. They question if they should choose Owl Adventure over other P.E. classes, but to these people, Hetrick always says, “Go for it!

You will not believe what you are capable of!”

Owl Adventure offers many unique physical challenges.

The postman’s walk, the sloth crawl, and the giant ladder are just some of the trials that will face students in Owl Adventure. Each activity, or element, as it is referred to by Hetrick, requires different strengths and provides a special sense of satisfaction that can only be achieved by the hard work and teamwork of the determined Owl students.

Owl Adventure sophomore Leonardo Sola weighed in on the thrill of overcoming one of Owl Adventure’s many challenges, saying, “You get to see the world from a new perspective, and that’s not something you get anywhere else.” Owl

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By Jason Huffine Staff

classmates in order to conquer a challenge. The bonds formed by overcoming a challenge help develop a bond Adventure does not only require physi- team-building exercises. Hetrick inthat allows Owl Adventure students to cal exertion; it also requires teamwork. corporates this concept in every one of maneuver any obstacle in their lives Owl Adventure student and sophomore his classes. He said on the subject, “I that can not be overcome by a single Alicia Viladiego stated, “It’s also great use the core goals to make up all of the person. for learning how to work together as a lessons and am always thinking about The relationships established team.” how to incorporate these into lessons.” in Owl Adventure last beyond the Teamwork is an important life skill This idea coalesces into reality in the activities and elements within Owl that cannot really be learned in a class- form of challenges like “minefield” and Adventure and continues into life room. Owl Adventure’s philosophy is the “spider-web.” Both activities rely in LHS. Owl Adventure sophomore that it is best learned through several on communication and trust between Sarah Denker said, “It’s a good way to become friends with people who you usually don’t see in classes, especially people from other grades.” Owl Adventure has a way of bringing together students of all walks of life and sparking friendships that remain for years to come. Sola believes that in Owl Adventure “you have to trust each other, and that forms a very special bond.” Trust is a quality most people do not bestow quickly, but Owl Adventure proves that this rule is not absolute. In Owl Adventure, students learn not only to believe in each other but to trust them enough to put their wellbeing in their hands.

Owl Adventure is many things. It is a physical workout in a way that no other P.E. class offers, it is an opportunity to make friends you ~Photos courtesy of Christian Squitieri normally would not ever meet, and it is an important teacher of life lessons in teamwork, cooperation, and trust. But most importantly, it is a case study in real-life relationships that everyone will experience with co-workers, friends, and loved ones. Hetrick said that the most important lesson he would like to impart in his students is “just to care about other people.” Owl Adventure offers an experience rarely seen in life, let-alone in a high school P.E. setting. Its goals are not to simply keep students physically fit but also to teach students lessons they will use in their everyday lives.

Hetrick himself said it best when he stated, “The bottom goal is to have kids understand where these goals fit into their lives.”

Horizon

FEATURES

Friday, December 21, 2018

Restoring Photos for Lynbrook Library’s 90th Anniversary

The Lynbrook Public Library will reach its 90th anniversary in 2019, and in honor of this milestone, the Photo Illustration class took a trip to the library to restore some of its historic photos and learned a bit about the library’s history in the process.

The first plans to open a library in Lynbrook began in 1906; however, it was postponed due to a financial crisis in the following year. Then, in 1913, a Founders Committee of 12 women, led by Orrell Hancock, obtained contributions of five-hundred books and opened a library on Blake Avenue, consisting of only two rooms.

This became known as the Lynbrook Free Library in 1914. In 1915, the library rented larger quarters, half of a double store on Atlantic Avenue owned by a Mr. Talfor. Finally, by 1916, the Village Board had voted to subsidize the library’s expenses at $600 annually after realizing the civic value of a library, which was renamed from the Lynbrook Free Library to the Lynbrook Public Library.

The library remained in Talfor’s building until 1921, when he needed space for business expansion. In order to raise money for another building, the founders organized fund raising drives such as card parties, cake sales, and donations. They purchased half of a small building on Broadway, which they would occupy from 1921 to 1929.

The building stood at the west corner of Broadway and Merrick Road. The founders all volunteered to organize

By Carl Zou Staff

~Photo Courtesy of Google Images the library for the first 10 years of its existence. They worked in pairs, and each member devoted two months a year in a monthly rotation to keep the library functioning. Finally, in 1929, the Lynbrook Public Library that people know today was opened on Eldert Street, on land donated by Thomas F. O’Conner and Tredwell Carpenter.

This fully equipped modern library cost $60,000, $20,000 of which was spent on books and equipment.

The goal of the field trip to the Lynbrook Public Library was to delve deeper into its’ rich history and illustrate that history through photos and pictures. The library wanted to put restored and enlarged pictures up around the library to celebrate its 90th anniversary and present its colorful history. To meet its goal,

the library entrusted its photos to be restored by the students of the Photo Illustration class. The class has been studying the many tools that assist in the restoration process. Art Teacher Jennifer Turner taught students the necessary steps of restoring a photo.

Students practiced and honed their skills on personal photos that required restoring. They became familiar with the different techniques and were ready to move on to restoring the library’s photos.

The first step to restoring the photos was to take the pictures from the library and scan them, making the pictures appear online. This allowed students to start editing the photos.

Students then used filters on Adobe Photoshop to brighten and clear up the photos. This made the photos

more saturated and vibrant. Next, students had to clear up scratches and small imperfections within the photos. They used tools such as the spot healing brush and the patch tool to do this.

These tools filled in missing spaces by using pixels from another part of the image. After the small imperfections were cleared up, students went on to restore larger missing parts of the image. Some of the photos given by the library had many pieces of the photo missing, such as an entire library shelf or a person’s face. These were the most challenging parts of the restoration process, since students did not have a reference of what the missing areas looked like.

Students had to assume what was missing and what to replace it with.

A trick most students would use was to copy an area of the image that was similar to the missing area and paste back onto the missing area. This created a foundation in which they could work from. They then had to make the photos look as natural as possible, by adding effects such as shadows and highlights. When they were done, the photos were posted on the students’ individual Photo Illustration websites so Turner can access them and print them for the library.

The pictures will be enlarged to poster size so they can be hung up.

The library will then receive the enlarged and restored photos and arrange them around the library to commemorate its 90th anniversary.

50 People, One Question If you could, how would you change the world?

By Meghan McMahon Contributor

Emily Heinrich, senior “I would want equal rights for everyone around the world regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.”

Marissa Abatantuno, freshman “I would find a way to cure cancer and any diseases that are life-threatening.”

Mary Kirby, teacher “My first attempt would be to change the world today. Parents need to understand that kids are kids, and they make mistakes.”

Djellza Pulatani, junior I would try to make all the pain in the world go away, take all the suffering away and try to make everyone genuinely happy.”

Melissa Bugora, junior “I would try to save the environment and all the animals.”

Victoria Morales, teacher aid “I would help the less fortunate have the same opportunities and necessities as everyone should be entitled to.”

Vincent Sullivan, freshman “I would end world hunger, poverty, terrorism, as well add conservation for animals.”

Maureen Bertolini, librarian “I would change people’s tolerance for one another.

I want a more respectful world.”

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Friday, December 21, 2018

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Horizon

NAHS Spreads Holiday Spirit

By Ambiya Hussain Editor This holiday season, the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) was busy spreading cheer throughout the community. Through numerous projects, members gave back to the less fortunate while creating masterful works of art.

In an annual tradition, NAHS hosted two holiday fundraisers.

First, select students got the opportunity to paint gift cards, which were then auctioned online around Thanksgiving.

The artists were put up to the challenge to recreate a famous painting on a small gift card.

This year artist and sophomore Ursula Ratkiewicz tested her artistic abilities by recreating the famous painting The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali on her card. Ratkiewicz shared, “I think it’s important to participate in these NAHS fundraisers because a few hours of work can be used to make another person/ family in our community have a happier holiday.” Proceeds from this event all donated to Lynbrook families in need.

The second event, which all members participated in, was an ornament sale. Each artist received a wooden ornament, which was then be transformed into

This year’s NAHS ornaments that were sold at Waverly Park’s Winter Concert. ~Photo Courtesy of Michael Kunz

miniature masterpieces depicting holiday scenes. In the words of NAHS Advisor Michael Kunz, the works must be of “finest, finest” quality to live up to the clubs’ high standards. The ornaments were showcased on a mini Christmas tree and sold at Waverly Park's winter concert. Sophomore member Madison Crofts shared, “I really enjoy being a part of NAHS because it allows me to exercise my artistic side for great causes.”

Another cause the NAHS recently participated in was the Memory Project. Each student received a photo of a child from a Colombian orphanage. The task was to create a portrait of the child, which would later be sent back to him/her as a gift. For many of the children, the portrait would be one of his/her only possessions. NAHS Treasurer and senior Angelina Chirchella was one of the students who participated in this project. She stated, "NAHS during the holiday season is a very special place. I really do enjoy giving back to people, and all the projects allow us to do that.” She continued, expressing her pride in the work NAHS has been doing: “ This season really allows us to create artwork for really good causes."

Fantastic Beasts: A “Fan”-tastic Sequal

By Josh Blankstein Editor

After a lengthy cinematic hiatus, J.K Rowling is back with the next installment in the Harry Potter series: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. After Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them, a prequel to the Harry Potter books, came out last year, Rowling is back at it again, delving deeper into the magical world of wizarding.

This new addition to the already world-renowned Harry Potter Universe follows Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) on various adventures throughout the U.S. and Europe.

The movie begins in 1927 at the American Ministry of Magic where the infamous Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) is being held captive. With a dramatic escape, Grindelwald sets out on a mission to garner followers to create a new world order ruling over muggles (non-magical people). Newt, the protagonist, happens to be at the British Ministry of Magic to uplift his travel ban that was put in place due to his actions in New York from the previous movie. He is granted his wish at a price: to find and seize Credence (Ezra Miller), a powerful teen with a seemingly dark and mysterious power. However, Newt is not the only one looking for him.

Grindelwald is also trying to find Credence as well. To Newt’s surprise, he is assisted by his former professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). Joining Newt on his second

8

journey are his co-stars from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. At this point, the story evolves into a complex and entertaining series of action-packed events. David Yates, the director, is not afraid to take a turn to the dark side.

In this rendition of the series, the movie takes a drastic turn in plot and style. The movie explores the backstory of Dumbledore, specifically as a young professor. Yates’ inclusion of Hogwarts will make every Potter fan feel warm inside. Guest appearances including Professor McGonagall and Nagini form a great link to the beloved Harry Potter series. Despite its deep complexity, which can make it a little hard to follow, I recommend the movie to all Potter fans. To those who have never read or seen Harry Potter, this movie may be confusing. For example, Jordan Zornberg, a junior who has never seen any the original Harry Potter movies stated, “The movie was hard to follow, but I liked the action and intensity of it.” On the other hand, seasoned fans were not all that impressed. Terrence Deegan, a junior, stated, “The movie was rather simple. I expected more complexity from the Harry Potter series.”

Following this adequate sequel, Rowling has plans in place for a total of five movies in the Fantastic Beasts series, meaning there are still three more opportunities for Rowling’s genius storytelling to come alive.

~Photos courtesy of Google Images

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Stan Lee, the comic book icon who began the widely impactful franchise Marvel, passed away Nov. 12. The successful pop culture influencer died of breathing difficulties and heart failure after being taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Originally named Stanley Martin Lieber, Lee was born Dec. 28, 1922.

He later changed his name in the ‘70s to Stan Lee. Lee’s parents were immigrants from Romania who moved to New York. According to The New York Times (“Stan Lee Dead at 95; Superhero of Marvel Comics”), “Stanley began reading Shakespeare at 10, while also devouring pulp magazines, the novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Mark Twain, and the swashbuckler movies of Errol Flynn.” After years of appreciating and admiring the work of others, Lee started his career in the ‘30s working at Timely Comics, owned by Martin Goodman.

Lee started low on the food chain at Timely Comics, but eventually he was editing and writing. Lee was named chief editor when Jack Kirby (artist) and Joe Simon (writer) left the company.

From 1942 to 1945, Lee served in the army. He was a World War II veteran who acted as a “playwright,” writing training scripts and manuals for the Signal Corps. Only nine people in the army were given this designation. After his time spent in the military, Lee went back to Timely Comics and would soon have a large impact on the type of heroes that were being released to the world.

During the golden age of comics (the early ‘50s), there was turmoil over the social acceptance of comic book content. People argued against comic book content, believing it was lewd, indecent, and too gory. Parents worried the content would give youth

Friday, December 21, 2018

A Tribute to Stan Lee

By Victoria Medina Editor

the wrong idea, and in response to the demand for censorship, the Comics Code Authority was founded. The Comics Code Authority filtered and refined the content that could be published.

Entertaining humor and plot points concerning social topics were no longer tolerated. The comics published after the Comics Code Authority were bland and boring to read.

DC Comics’ popular characters in The Flash and the Justice League were reinvented near

ters that could compete and dominate the market. Straying from the clean-cut perfection of superheroes during the time, Lee gave his characters flaws and relatable obstacles of everyday life. His characters felt jealousy and anger, and his comics touched on social issues like the Vietnam War and political elections.

Lee

the

helped develop the Fantastic start of the comic book silver age (starting by the late ‘50s), which also encompasses artistic developments and marketing milestones.

Timely Comics eventually morphed into Atlas Comics, then grew into the well-known Marvel. During the beginning of the Silver Age, DC and Marvel were rising competitors fighting for the top spot on the market.

To compete with the newfound popularity of DC’s characters, Lee was nudged to create well- rounded charac-

building.

Aside from thoroughly developed storylines, Lee incorporated humor in his comics. Character rivalries and bickering were opportunities for humor to shine through and add depth to his comics.

Lee founded Pow Entertainment to develop Superhero movies, but he received no royalties and later sued Marvel. Three years after the settlement, President George Bush gave Lee the American National Medal of the Arts in 2008. The following year Marvel Entertainment was bought by Disney for $4 billion. Since the Disney buyout, Marvel has released several hit movies including Black Panther, The Avengers Infinity War, and Guardians of the Galaxy. The movies let fans connect to and see their favorite characters come to life on the big screen and have smashed box office records, becoming widely popular with a broad spectrum of fans. Lee’s leadership role and involvement in the comic book industry helped validate the legitimacy of comic book entertainment.

While Lee was one of the most iconic superhero masterminds, many of the people who worked with him blame him for not properly crediting them for their collaborative work.

According to artists who worked with Lee in the past, they were not given full credit for their artistic contributions.

Lee was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is survived by his daughter, Joan. Lee’s incomparable work in the comic industry not only led to the massive Marvel movie industry but brought cherished characters to life and formed a widespread and growing community of fans and enthusiasts.

Four, showcasing characters that had moral, emotional, and financial issues. The appeal of imperfect characters guided Marvel to the top of the market and beat DC in sales.

Along with the realism Lee brought to the comic world, his characters were established in the real world, unlike previous characters that existed in fictional settings. The popular comic Iron Man was set in the middle of the bustling city of Manhattan, New York,where Tony Stark managed his company in a fictional ~Photos courtesy of Google Images

Unconventional Fashion Trends of 2018

By Ambiya Hussain Editor As 2018 nears its end, it is interesting to look back at some of the trends of the year. Some popular fashions surprised many people.

Fanny Packs: A few years ago, wearing a fanny pack would solicit quite a few looks and some people questioning one’s fashion choices. Within the past year, fanny packs, now renamed belt bags, made a huge comeback. They are now considered fashion statements and trendy accessories. Countless brands hopped onto the bandwagon, creating their own belt bags. The rise of the fanny pack can be blamed on the relatively new way of wearing it. People now have the option to wear it across their body, almost like a messenger bag, but with the bag on their torsos. Some notable brands that have recently designed belt bags are Champion, Adidas, Supreme, and a handful of high-end brands like Gucci, Prada, Chanel, and

Louis Vuitton. There are many variations of the belt bag, some with multiple straps or uniquely shaped. Many celebrities and public figures rocked this trend this year. The rebirth of the fanny pack shocked many and even made its way into the high fashion industry, and by the look of it, it seems as if this trend is here to stay!

Long Shorts vs.

Biker Shorts: A notable part of the summer is being able to whip out a favorite pair of shorts. They’re comfy, match all your outfits, and are very versatile. When the sun is out, they keep you nice and cool. But most people stick to the basic denim, mid-thigh shorts. This year, an increasingly popular shorts style is

the long shorts. They end just above your knee and come in varying styles.

A common style of this is the bike shorts, which are made from a tight material. Basically, matching with everything, like hoodies, t-shirts and tanks. If you want to switch up your summer style, opting for a longer pair of shorts may be the move.

Untraditionally Shaped Bags: This year, many people decided to ditch the conventional rectangular purse or tote bag and instead rock an untraditional shaped bag.

This can be seen in new designs of many popular bag brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and countless others. The bucket bag is a well-liked form of this trend, gaining popularity due to its versatility and functionality. Another popular form

is the cylinder and round shaped bag.

The uniqueness of the accessory makes an outfit stand out. An untraditional purse or bag is a trendy swap for the typical shape.

Sophomore Faith Koobial weighed in on her favorite trend, sharing, “My favorite trend that you have mentioned is definitely the untraditional shaped bag. I noticed it a lot this year also and in many stores. I even bought myself a cylinder-shaped purse.”

Wrap Up: 2018 was filled with surprises for everyone, especially in the fashion and clothing industry. As 2019 passes, we can begin to see which of these trends are here to stay.

~Photos courtesy of Google Images

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Farewel

Nick Kardasis, beloved custodian at LHS, is for 20 years, and Dec. 29, 2018, will be his las Kardasis’ positive attitude and energy is ad Joseph Rainis commented, “He has an overall of sunshine with him wherever he goes. He ha things, he does with a smile, and things alway Studies Teacher Koren Pena agreed, “I’ll really energy and friendliness towards everyone.” Cu and hard-working man. He has a big heart and py-go-lucky person who can always make you Education Teacher Tara Bridges added, “My fa something I admire greatly. He sincerely smile You can feel his happiness. I will miss the soun he meets.”

Kardasis’ kindness and caring shines throu elevator, which he has furnished with seasona Custodian Bob Lovergine said, “Nick has been and he’s going to be missed a lot. He’s helped ed. He was really fantastic on that elevator. He nice for the kids. He really loves the kids, and said, “My favorite part has been helping the pe know. Sometimes, kids will come up to me in enough money for lunch; I need 50 cents,’ and me back tomorrow, but I say no, I’m happy to things that Kardasis does out of kindness and Camilla Bahri commented, “I’m going to miss and always has a smile on his face. I admire hi about all of the kids and their accomplishmen miss everything about him. He’s one of the ver Anything you need, he’ll do it for you, at any g the best part, he’s always smiling. He treats ev walked in, and I was in so much pain, and he a back was killing me. Later, he came in, and he said, ‘Here, try this, it’s great, my wife uses it.’ really a generous man.”

Kardasis can often be found singing in the h he works. Pena said, “I’m saddened to know I’ building again.” The joy he takes in his work c When asked about his plans after retiring, K clean the house. I’ll have to paint my house an Lynbrook because there’s too much taxes in L his wallet of him as a young man in his militar to put this in the paper.”

Kardasis will be greatly missed by those wh the best in his retirement by many.

"I'm really going to miss Nick. He's brought me countless smiles (and sweets) over the years. He is solely responsible for making sure I had fresh chocolate chip cookies from the cafeteria every day for each of my pregnancies. He truly is a special person who has always shown concern for my well being as well as that of my family. Nick has a heart of gold, and I'm going to miss his visits each day to check up on my family and me. My children can't wait to take him out to lunch to celebrate his retirement; they ask about him all the time when I talk about LHS." - Jessica Sanders

ll, Nick!

s retiring. Kardasis has been working at LHS st day. dmired and will be missed by many. Principal l happy demeanor, and he brings a little bit as a tremendous work ethic. Even the hardest ys get done. I’m going to miss him.” Social y miss his positive attitude and his positive ustodian Sal Grillo said, “Nick is a dedicated d truly loves working at LHS. He is a haplaugh and put a smile on your face.” Special avorite thing about working with Nick is es and greets every single person he meets. nd of Nick calling out ‘Hey Boy!’ to everyone

ugh in all he does. Kardasis has worked the al decorations and photos over the years. Head n one of my best workers through the years, everyone in the past for whatever they neede decorated it and always made it festive and he has a great heart.” With a smile, Kardasis eople, and the teachers, and the kids, you the cafeteria and they’ll say, ‘Oh, I don’t have d I give it to them, and they say they’ll pay give it to you.” This is just one of the many love for LHS and the people in it. Sophomore how he says hello to every kid in the hallway is investment in the school and how he cares nts.” English Teacher Carla Gentile said, “I’ll ry hardest working people in our building. given time, and he does it with a smile. That’s verybody like a family member. One day I asked me what was wrong, and I told him my e had bought me a bottle of Biofreeze, and he ’ So, I used it, and it made me better. He’s

hallways or whistling and doing bird calls as ’ll never hear a bird call being done in this can be felt and heard by all.

Kardasis said, “I’m going to stay home and nd look for places to move to, to move out of Lynbrook.” Excitedly showing a picture from ry uniform, he said, “That’s me. They’re going

ho have known him at LHS, and he is wished

“I will miss the love that Nick gives to people.

He is special and full of love and warmth. Nick met my mother one time, and he told her that I was a very good and very nice girl. My mother beamed from ear to ear! He knows that she likes to garden, so for many years, he has given my mother seeds to plant in her garden.” - Ellen Restivo

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Friday, December 21, 2018

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Horizon

By Brian Egan Managing Editor

Baby, it’s cold outside! When it snows during the holiday season, most people enjoy making a snowman in their front yards. Personally, I prefer baking them. With this recipe, you’ll be able to fight off the cold with Christmas cheer with these warm, delicious sugar cookies.

Kitchen Supplies Needed: • Snowman cookie cutter • Christmas tree cookie cutter • Mitten cookie cutter

These cookies can come in many different shapes and sizes and go great with other cookies for a Christmas present! ~Photos courtesy of Brian Egan "These cookies put my grandma's to shame"- Gianna Curra, senior

Cookie Ingredients: • 1 cup butter • 1½ cups sugar • 3 eggs • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 3½ cups all-purpose flour • 1 teaspoon baking soda • ½ teaspoon salt Cookie Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. In a small mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla.

4. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture.

6. Chill dough thoroughly for 3-4 hours.

7. On well-floured surface, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter.

8. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 7-9 minutes.

Frosting Ingredients: • 1 cup powdered sugar • 2 teaspoons milk • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or ¼ teaspoon almond extract • Food coloring

"One of the best Christmas cookies I have ever had"- Jeremy Callahan, sophomore

Frosting Directions: 1. Stir the powdered sugar and the milk until smooth.

2. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

You can also using some frosting to decorate your Christmas trees with festive lights and ornaments ~Photos courtesy of Google Images "I love these cookies!"- Sophia Sullivan, freshman

"Best cookies of the holiday season!"- Josh Levine, junior "Why are these so good?!"Dan Beck, sophomore

3. Stir in food coloring.

Stay cozy and warm with these yummy mittens! ~Photos courtesy of Google Images

"Perfect for any Christmas or holiday party"- Luke Maroney, sophomore

With M&Ms, you can add some cute buttons onto your snowman for an extra chocolate taste and sophistification ~Photos courtesy of Brian Egan "Delicious and delectable!"- Emily Silberger, senior

Make your trees sparkle with ornaments and candy canes! ~Photos courtesy of Google Images

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"Frosty can step aside. These are the best snowmen around!"- Xavier Callahan, senior

In addition to M&Ms, you can use candy corns for the carrot nose and candy canes for arms ~Photos courtesy of Google Images

Horizon

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Friday, December 21, 2018

Five Feet Apart Review

By Julia Swerdin Contributor

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a nerd for sappy teenage star-crossed love novels, with an affinity for John Green. So naturally, when I read the synopsis for Five Feet Apart

by Rachael Lippincott, I was instantly hooked. This book follows the lives of two 17-year-old kids with cystic fibrosis. Living temporarily in the hospital, Stella and Will begin to fall for each other: but at what price?

Their deadly disease prohibits them from coming within six feet of each other in order to prevent the spread of infection.

However, as they get closer, it becomes harder to stay apart.

Let me just begin by saying I love this book. With varying perspectives, switching back and forth between Stella and Will, the reader truly becomes attached to the characters, feeling herself a part of the story.

I ordered this book on November 20, the day it was released, and finished reading it the next night: I was totally and completely enamored. Because the story is told from the perspective of teenagers, it is so painfully relatable that it makes the reader want to laugh, cry, and everything in between.

Before reading this book, I knew little to nothing about cystic fibrosis. In sum, it is a genetic disorder that causes the buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other vital organs. Living with cystic fibrosis demands constant care, including a vibrating vest to clear the mucus, tons of medicine to fight infection, and many other treatments.

Stella, a 17-year-old girl who desperately wants to go on her senior spring break trip, yet remains trapped in her hospital room, makes YouTube videos about her life, but she must devote much of her time to a strict medical regimen. Will, the dangerous, nihilistic rule breaker, encourages Stella to see life from a different point of view.

Together, they balance each other out, truly proving that opposites do attract.

There are so many important lessons to learn from this book and so many eye-opening mo-

ments. Because Stella and Will are so different when they meet, they show each other what it means to really live, finding the balance between caution and adventure. One of Stella’s great quotations states, “This whole time I’ve been living for my treatment, instead of doing my treatment so that I can live, and I want to live.” This represents the struggle that many patients of terminal diseases live with every day.

Another aspect of this novel that I adored was the raw beauty and pain expressed in all of the characters’ relationships.

Five Feet Apart does not deny the presence of tension within family during a period of struggle, rather it embraces it and portrays our idiosyncrasies in the most human way possible.

As the story progressed, I fell further and further off the edge of my seat. In addition to a blossoming love story, the plot includes the ever imminent question: how much time do Stella and Will have left together? Since both of them have an extremely unpredictable illness, they become more and more aware of their time ticking away. Death is a common theme throughout the story, not only amidst the characters themselves but also interwoven in the small subplots.

The only criticism I have of this novel is its innate unoriginality. To be quite blunt, it follows a very basic and worn plot line that we have read time and time again: troubled boy meets troubled girl; they fall in love; they are divided by some inevitable force of nature, but SPOILER ALERT they eventually find their way back to one another. In defense of these characters, (despite their evident cliché), they create a love story that will stay with me for some time. The movie adaptation is out in theaters on Mar. 22, 2019, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson. It is definitely a must-read and must-see for teenagers everywhere.

~Photos courtesy of Google Images

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Friday, December 21, 2018

OP-ED

Horizon

When Is It Too Early for Christmas?

From the looks of malls, retail stores, and pretty much everywhere around, the beloved holiday known as Christmas now makes an appearance earlier than ever before. This year, even before Halloween had ended, Santa’s deadline got cut short, and Christmas started about two months early. The holiday season is no longer beginning the day after Thanksgiving, like it has in years prior. Instead, it is now as though Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all celebrated the same month due to store shelves stocked with Christmas merchandise during the typical Halloween or Thanksgiving season. Most people see the start of December as being the most acceptable time to start preparing, but why not start earlier? Christmas is one of the biggest holidays celebrated worldwide, and it is highly anticipated by most people who wait all year long for that sense of holiday cheer.

These days, stores tend to be marketing Christmas earlier and earlier, but is it really necessary? Junior Jordan Lunati states, “When stores are filled with Christmas decorations and gifts earlier, it helps people get some of their shopping done earlier before the Christmas chaos hits.” Sure, Christmas sales used to start on Black Friday, but having all the discounts and sales advertised earlier gives people even more time to buy presents for their loved ones in advance. In a way, being reminded of Christmas prepares people for the holiday season even more. If you are a gift crammer and always catch yourself running to stores at the last minute, you now have extended

By Alex Sylvia Contributor

time to do so. If a person plans accordingly, he/she can get inexpensive gifts for their his/her ones.

More time alloted to organization and preparation will limit the stress surrounding the holiday season and make it even more enjoyable when December finally rolls around.

Seeing the Christmas spirit infiltrate stores and media sooner than usual gives people that joyous feeling they get when the holiday comes around.

“Hearing a good Michael Buble song on the radio

son, and it is hard to squeeze them all in during the 25 days of December before Christmas!” Whether it is deccan only make your day better,” says junior James Trigo. These orating the tree, building gingerbread houses, or even just kicking back and commercials, advertisements, and radio stations binging a Christmas movie marathon will help people realize with friends, there are many festivities everyone should get to experience that that they have somego along with the cheerful holiday. thing to look forward to. The anticipation There is nothing wrong with packing some of these activities in before Deof Christmas will cember comes around. push people to According to a Confused.com poll work harder in (confused.com) entitled “Is Novemdaily activities ber Too Early for Christmas Decoraand work. Junior Kaylin Te- tions?”, over 86% of people believe phly agrees: November is too early for Christmas decorations and festivities to be occur“There are ring. Unless Ebenezer Scrooge or the so many Grinch participated in the poll, these things to enjoy during people surveyed are simply being cynical and attempt to prevent people the Christ- from participating in something that brings them joy. Junior Ethan Renz mas stated, “Christmas is the best time seaof year, and it is never too early to celebrate!” Christmas lifts spirits and puts people into better moods while also bringing people closer together every year. Christmas is a time of love, cheer, and an opportunity to create everlasting memories to forever cherish. Being reminded that Christmas is around the corner will only make people more prepared for the season and feel that great excitement they get when visualizing people coming together to give gifts to family and friends.

~Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Pittsburgh Shooting Rocks the Country Sitting in synagogue on a Saturday

By Emma Ward morning with my family, I received Contributor news that shook my world. At a synagain. I, a fourteen year old living on answer. Fight the guns with…even agogue in an East Coast suburb, just Long Island, have to live in fear that more guns? The guns are the problem, like the one I was currently in, there someone is going to come up behind the hate is the problem, it is all a probhad been a shooting. I can honestly me and shoot me.

Irrational, some lem that needs to be handled by all of say this news brought tears to my eyes. may say, but the hate and easy access us, before it can be handled on a globAs I sat in synagogue--- my peaceful to guns scares me, and at this point, al scale. The stem of this issue is hate. place, my place of worship--- with tears brimming my eyes, I thought, "What’s next?” What "safe" place that we all go to in order to feel content, at home and at peace, is next?

Robert Bowers, age 46, came into The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh at around 9:54 A.M. on Saturday, October 27, killing eleven men and women and injuring even more.

The oldest person to be killed was 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, a woman who had lived through the time of the Holocaust, yet could not survive the violence in her own country today.

The number of traumatic, violent events that have taken place in our country in the past year are hard to think about. The sad thing is that there is no definitive solution, no way to stop the weapons and hate; they will always ~Photo Courtesy of Google Images be out there. At this point, many of us sit at home and pray and hope that It is frustrating for me to see the anger there is something we can do to make it feels as though there is truly no safe place. and malice on a small scale throughit all end, to make our safe havens safe We want to say that security is the out my day-to-day life, when there is

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so much dangerous hate surrounding us all. I see kids being mean to others on the daily, without even realizing the hate that they are spreading. Naturally, these kids also want a safe country, yet they do not realize that the meanness they are spreading may one day lead to a bigger issue. This is extreme, yes, but may also be true.

So what can we do? We can all be nice, be empathetic, include others, and make sure we raise our children and teach the people we are around to accept and not hate. As high schoolers, we must begin to keep the peace within our own communities, and if we want to make a change, we must continue to do this.

How much is it going to take to make people open their eyes? A shooting in their hometown school, movie theater, or place of worship?

We all pray we will not be next, but we must also begin to take action.

Gun violence, hate crimes, and violence in general: it is all a nationwide issue that we must begin to fight. We must unite because democrat, republican, or in between, we all ultimately want the same outcome: a safe and peaceful country. So, if you want to make a change, start by spreading love in your homes and communities, no matter what.

OP-ED

Horizon Since its establishment nearly ten years ago, Uber has become an overwhelmingly popular mode of transportation that has garnered international success. In many cases, Uber has become people’s go-to transportation method when in need of a cheap, quick ride, whether it be an alternative to the expensive taxi while in New York City or a local option of travel when one’s ride suddenly becomes unavailable.

However, while Uber has maintained a reputation as a dependable company, any avenue that confines strangers to a small space like a car can be potentially dangerous for the parties involved.

In attempt to alleviate potentially dangerous interactions with drivers and passengers, Uber has allowed drivers to install video cameras to record exchanges in the case something inappropriate occurs. While this rule is put in place to ensure the safety of Uber drivers and passengers alike, many people, uncomfortable with being recorded, feel that it is a violation of privacy. Often a car ride is an opportunity for people to engage in private conversations, and many feel uneasy having these interactions on video.

However, when considering the vulnerability a person may have when entering a stranger’s car, passengers should treat Uber rides with more professionalism than an ordinary car ride, which means people may have to forsake their sacred gossiping time. Junior Arpie Bakhshian states, “I understand the point that recording people is an invasion of privacy, but you should not have to worry about how you are being viewed on camera as long as you are acting like a respectful human being.”

The Ottawa Senators, a profession-

Friday, December 21, 2018

Uber Is a Public Place

By Andie Glanzer Editor

Often, if a passenger makes an accusation against his/her Uber driver, the resulting legal case comes down to one franchise in a public setting. Ultial ice hockey franchise recently saw person’s word against another’s. The mately, Ubers should be viewed as a themselves entrenched in controverdashboard camera eliminates the risk public venue, like trains, buses, and sy over this debate after a video was planes alike to ensure both drivers and of innocent parties being wrongfully released showcasing seven of their passengers maintain a level of profes- prosecuted. This occurrence is importplayers in an Uber having a private ant not just in the incident that befalls, sionalism and respect. conversation, which expressed negaUber drivers are recording passen- but also on a larger scale, as decreastive comments about their assistant gers not to be creepy but for their own ing the frequency of false allegations coach and derided their team overall. of assault will increase the likelihood protection. In the event that verbal Many were quick to condemn the that real victims are believed and their or physical assault ensues, or even a Uber driver for recording the players perpetrator be jailed. without their consent; however, in the potentially more dangerous incident, And while often not considered, video recording devices increases the safety of the passenger as well.

Junior Rachel Campanile states, “Why would an Uber driver act inappropriately when he is knowingly recording himself?” There have been a myriad of incidents leaving passengers subjected to abusive behavior by their Uber driver. According to a CNN article (money. cnn.com) article entitled, “CNN Investigation: 103 Uber Drivers Accused of Sexual Assault or Abuse,” over the past four years, at least 31 Uber drives have been convicted of crimes relating to sexual assault.

Dashboard cameras can only help mitigate this alarming issue and provide the passenger with a sense of confidence when entering the car of a stranger.

Thus, with the realm of danger that Uber can bring, privacy must ~Photo Courtesy of Google Images be sacrificed to ensure the safety of each customer. In fact, even entering a the driver has indisputable evidence state of Arizona, where the incident stranger’s car strips one of all the “priof the occurrence. Additionally, a occurred, the Uber driver was unvacy” he/she can practice. Simply put, doubtedly in the realm of his rights to dashboard camera can serve as a dashboard cameras do nothing more record his passengers. In fact, criticiz- witness in the case of an accident and than hold people to a standard of deing the Uber driver is a mere deterrent allows the driver to reach an accurate cency that should already be expected settlement based on the liability of that prevents people from acknowlof them in this chaotic world. the incident. Explicit evidence can edging the players’ wrongdoings by also protect against false allegations. unfavorably commenting about their

Is There a Healthy Balance Between Technology and Reality?

Phones are everywhere. Technology is everywhere. This is a reality that is inescapable, and it dominates society.

An increasingly noticeable trend is that as technological use increases, overall anxiety and stress increase as well.

In this society, it is hard for people to strengthen their self-esteem and avoid comparing themselves to others.

While technology provides the obvious benefits of “easy access” and a “vast expanse of information,” it takes a toll on people’s health both physically and mentally.

Some days, students stare at their tablets for six to seven hours at school alone. This alarmingly long amount of time is time not spent absorbing the information that only a human teacher can convey, and prevents students from truly acknowledging the presence of those around them. Therefore, social skills have progressively diminished since the introduction of the tablets.

However, with a healthy balance between technology and reality, one can overcome the expected pressures of comparing yourself and not focusing on the importance of human communication. Junior Mikayla O’Hagan agreed saying, “I feel obligated to constantly check my phone and keep Snapchat streaks, and it takes the fun out of social media.”

So, how do we find this healthy bal-

By Sara Bahri Editor

Junior Djellza Pulatani scrolling through social media. ~Photo Courtesy of Andie Glanzer

ance between technology and reality?

Apple recently came out with a new feature called “Screen Time” that allows you to know how long you are on

your Apps each day. Just being aware of the time you spend on your phone can help you better manage your time and potentially decrease your need to

constantly check it. Junior Madeline Doyle said, “Screen Time has helped me by making me more conscious of the time I spend on social media.”

Junior Kaylin Tephly also explained that “another way to create a balance is to be mindful of the environment you are in.” Talking to your friends at lunch instead of scrolling through miles of Instagram feed or putting your phone in a drawer for an hour to be productive after school can help ease the daily stresses of high-school expectations. Thinking about why you are reaching for your phone before getting it could help you reevaluate your reasoning for grabbing your phone.

Some people even take on the seemingly impossible “no-phone” challenge to see what life would be like on one extreme without phones. Knowing both extremes can help you better understand the times that are necessary to use phones. Junior Ami Carey says, “I try to stay off my phone when doing homework, so I can be more productive, have more time to relax, and spend time with the people I love.”

Overall, becoming more self-aware of the time spent aimlessly disappearing in the black hole of technology can help to reduce the pressure and stress technology brings on.

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Friday, December 21, 2018

SPORTS

Horizon

Caitlin McElwee-Buchala Leads XC to a Strong Season The Lady Owls of Lynbrook High School’s cross country team wrapped up a successful season last October, finishing as the fifth best team in the county, an honor that has not been achieved by LHS since 1984. Juniors Caitlin McElwee-Buchala and Elizabeth Murphy led the team, with each runner managing to earn All-County spots. Buchala stood out especially, placing fourth in the county with a time of 20:23 in the 5k.

The team was also invited to run at Goddard Park, in Rhode Island, where college running teams such as Brown University compete. This long-lived tradition survived yet another year as coaches Pete McNally and Joseph Beyrer took 19 girls and 20 boys to compete at the prestigious event.

Buchala shined here as well, running an impressive time of 19:42 in the 5k, ranking 14th out of over 150 varsity runners.

Buchala officially began her running career on the middle school cross country team in eighth grade and has stood out ever since. She has only continued to improve as a runner, earning All-County honors in both cross country and track and field her freshman, sophomore, and junior years. Buchala has time and time again proven how dedicated she is to the sport, constantly improving her times and competing at high-end events like Nike Cross Regionals, which she ran at on Nov. 24.

For Buchala, there is more to the sport than just running endless laps.

Notwithstanding her record-breaking times and abundance of successes,

By Jane Hoeflinger Editor

~Photo Courtesy of Caitlin Buchala

she recognizes the memories and time spent with her teammates as the most memorable part of her running experience. “I enjoyed bonding with my teammates and making some new friends that I have become very close to. I want to thank my teammates for the support and for helping make new memories every season that I will cherish forever,” said Buchala.

Coaches and teammates alike recognize Buchala’s intense work ethic. “Caitlin is very hard-working and a great team captain who pushes the whole team to do their best. Most respectfully, she is a good friend to everyone. I’m glad to share the track with someone like her,” mentioned

sophomore teammate Jillian Swanson. “The girl is a machine. She does more in a single race than I’ve seen some people do in years,” commented Beyrer.

Buchala has always been thankful that she has a knack for running, but her talent and work ethic have not been the sole driving forces behind her immense success. “I would like to thank my parents for the amazing support they have given me whether it was cheering me on at a meet or driving me to a

meet that was over three hours away,” commented Buchala. I also would like to thank my teammates for supporting me, and my coach for giving me advice and bending over backwards whenever I needed.” For Buchala, running is something that has defined her life thus far. “If it wasn’t for running, I think I would be a completely different person. I guess you could say running is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Running has helped shape me as a person. I’ll always be appreciative for all it has done for me.”

Buchala is currently training for her winter and spring track seasons as well as for next year’s cross-country season, and she hopes to continue her career at the collegiate level. “I hope to make All-County for these upcoming seasons and would be ecstatic if I could make states [championships] as well,” said Buchala. “The best thing I can hope for though is continuing my cross country/track career in college. That would be a dream come true.” If her teammates and coaches are any indicator of her potential future success, big things may lay ahead for the Lady Owls’ running sensation.

Lynbrook Soccer Players Take Home Awards The Lynbrook girls’ and boys’ varsity soccer teams took home multiple awards this year for their efforts on the field. For the boys, juniors Alex Schachinger and Ben Krcic and seniors Peter Hristodoulou, Brandon Pekale, and Rylan Blondo all received recognition. Schachinger, the team’s leading goal scorer, took home All-County honors, while Pekale, a center back, received an All-County honorable mention. Krcic, Hristodoulou and Blondo were all named All-Conference athletes.

For the girls, seniors Jessica Woll, Katie Bamman, and Jade Fixon-Owoo, as well as sophomores Kayla Schwizer and Alyssa Campos were recognized as award winners.

Woll earned All-County; Campos was named All-Conference; and Bamman, Fixon-Owoo, and Schwizer took home All-Class.

The boys’ soccer team ended the year with a 4-5-2 record. “[Winning the award] means everything to me. It is a symbol of all the work I have put in in the last year and my whole life,” commented Schachinger. Blondo, who played goal in his first soccer season since middle school, also had a spectacular year for the Owls, registering 61 saves. “For my first year playing varsity soccer, getting All-Conference just boosts my confidence as an athlete and makes me wonder how good I could be now if I had started as a freshman,”commented,Blondo “It feels good to celebrate with my teammates and watch them get awarded for their hard work,” added Blondo.

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Dylan Burfield Editor

Ben Krcic, Brandon Pekale, Rylan Blondo, Alex Schachinger, and Peter Hristodulu with their respective awards. ~Photo Courtesy of Alex Schachinger

Jessica Woll, Jade Fixon-Owoo, and Katie Bamman with their respective awards. ~Photo Courtesy of Jessica Woll

Head Coach Josh Berlin acknowledged all the hard work the players put in throughout the season, stating, “Each of the award recipients was deserving of recognition, and the award is a fitting tribute to the dedication and hard work everyone put in during the season. Having multiple award recipients recognized by the opposing coaches in the conference shows a mutual respect and recognition of the success our team had as a whole.”

The girls’ soccer team had multiple award winners as well. Woll, leading the way with four goals this season,earned All-County honors.

“It meant a lot to me to be named All County because I worked extremely hard with the help of my teammates and coaches to get to where I am now, and getting the All-County award means my hard work paid off,” commented Woll. Woll added, “I was so proud of all my teammates who received awards; they all deserve it.

I am also proud of my whole team because we were awarded the sportsmanship award, which is one of the most important aspects of sports. It was the perfect way to end my last soccer season in high school.” Woll, as well as other seniors Bamman and Fixon-Owoo are leaving LHS as award winners for their efforts on the soccer field.

The honors each players received are awards all players strive for. All the award winners for both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams truly show the extent of talent and leadership that Lynbrook continues to produce each year.

Horizon

SPORTS

Friday, December 21, 2018

Strike! Let's Go Bowling

By Harrison Simon Managing Editor

After more than three months of rivalry games, overtime thrillers, and endless hours of debating, it’s finally time for college football bowl season.

Any team who finished the season with at least a .500 record (six wins usually gets a team there) is eligible to play in a bowl game. For the best of the best, and most of the fans at home, their eyes are on the New Year’s Six, the most highly coveted and respected bowl games in college football. Teams playing in these games usually were in the running, at one point or another, for the national title, meaning New Year’s Day should bring us some of the best football of the year.

CFP National Championship Game: #1 Alabama vs. #3 Notre Dame

If these teams don’t both win, this prediction is meaningless. But to heck with it, let’s give it a go anyway. The Tide are hands down the best team in the country. Their offense this season has scored enough points to give any pigskin purist their fair share of fits, while the Irish look to show everyone that they’re here to stay. It should be an incredible game, and it really could go either way. For me, the Tide have given me every reason that they are going to win their sixth title in ten years (which would give head coach Nick Saban sole possession of the record for most titles by one coach in Alabama history, passing the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant). But I always love an underdog, and I’ve just got a feeling. Get mad if you want, but I’m the one writing the article, and we’ll see who’s right come January 9. Gimme the Irish in an upset for all time.

My Prediction: 31-30, Notre Dame

~Photos Courtesy of Google Images

Rose Bowl: #6 Ohio State vs. #9 Washington

For the second straight year, Ohio State got blown out by a heavy underdog conference opponent (Purdue this year, Iowa last year), but, nevertheless, managed to completely overwhelm and dominate a talented Michigan team in The Game, one of the best rivalries in college sports, winning this year’s installment by a score of 62-27, the most ever in the Michigan-Ohio State series. After falling to eventual champion Alabama in the CFP semifinals, Jake Browning and company underperformed this year, as they were never really in contention for a spot in the playoff.

However, an upset victory in the Apple Cup over crosstown rival Washington State propelled the Huskies to a top-ten ranking and an end-of-year matchup with a perennial powerhouse in the form of the Buckeyes.

My Prediction: 21-17, Washington

CFP SemifInal at the Orange Bowl: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Oklahoma

In most people’s minds, the Tide are unbeatable, and they’ve certainly given their supporters a strong case. Led by Heisman runner-up and last year’s title game hero Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, the Tide are simply just better than anyone team in the country. They have two pro-ready offensive tackles, and dynamic sophomore receiver Jerry Jeudy leads an Alabama offensive corps that is averaging more points in the first half than every other team in the SEC is averaging per game (except for Georgia). A rematch of last year’s semi final, the Sooners and Heisman trophy winner Kyler Murray are ready to shock the nation and take down the title favorites. The biggest question about this game is whether or not Murray will play football next year (he was drafted ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the MLB Draft last year). If the Sooners can match the Tide’s historic scoring pace, they might have a chance, but I don’t see that happening.

My Prediction: 45-31, Alabama

Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia vs. #15 Texas

The Bulldogs nearly shocked the nation by upsetting the top-ranked Crimson Tide, but they fell just short, leaving them only one spot shy of the College Football Playoff. For Texas, an opening season loss to a troubled Maryland team left them in an early hole, but they managed to escape that hole and make it to the Big 12 championship game. Behind the dual-threat talent of quarterback Sam Ehlinger, the Longhorns look to end the season on a high note and take home the Sugar Bowl trophy. The big question will be whether the ‘Horns can lock down the dynamic Georgia running back tandem of Elijah Holyfield (yes, that Holyfield) and De’Andre Swift.

My Prediction: 34-28, Georgia

CFP SemifInal at the Cotton Bowl: #2 Clemson vs. #3 Notre Dame

Now this is the matchup most people will have their eye on come New Year’s Day. The Tigers virtually dominated every single opponent they played this year; considering they played only two ranked teams all year, and they faced #24 Pitt in the ACC championship game, it’s no surprise to see Clemson back where they were last year. The real surprise here is Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are having something of a renaissance, and with Coach of the Year winner Brian Kelly at the helm, the Irish have made statement after statement to put them in the playoff on the back of an undefeated season. Because Notre Dame is an independent, their shot at the playoff with a mere one loss is dire, meaning they will want to make the most of this opportunity. If they can manage to upset Clemson, it will stir more controversy over whether or not the Irish should join a Power 5 conference.

My Prediction: 33-28, Notre Dame

Fiesta Bowl: #8 UCF vs. #11 LSU

What an incredible season for the UCF Knights. After feeling robbed of a shot at the CFP last year despite their undefeated record, the Knights, led by McKenzie Milton, who leads the FBS in total touchdowns (74) in the past seasons, managed to avoid multiple upset attempts by fellow AAC member Memphis to repeat as the highest-ranked team in the Group of 5 conferences. Ed Orgeron and the Tigers had one goal on their minds going into this season: beat Alabama.

As you might know, that plan didn’t go so well, as the Tigers, ranked #3 at the time, were beaten down by a superior Alabama team (more on them later), en route to a championship hope-crushing shutout loss in Death Valley. Nevertheless, the stingy Tigers defense, led by two potential top-ten picks in next year’s NFL Draft (cornerback Greedy Williams and linebacker Devin White), will look to overwhelm UCF, who lost Milton to a devastating knee injury two weeks ago. Without him, I don’t see the Knights doing much damage to a battle-tested LSU team.

My Prediction: 42-21, LSU

Peach Bowl: #7 Michigan vs. #10 Florida

The Wolverines, for the majority of the season, were poised to make a legitimate run at their first championship during the Jim Harbaugh era, but a clobbering via Ohio State (see above) left them on the outside looking in.

Now, they have to face a hard-nosed Florida team that has quality wins over Mississippi State and LSU. Harbaugh has already assured fans he will be in Ann Arbor next season, but two losses in a row to end what has been a disappointing season certainly wouldn’t have the blue and gold optimistic about their team’s future. Look for Michigan to come out firing early and often.

My Prediction: 38-16, Michigan

17

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SPORTS

Horizon

Friday, December 21, 2018

Owls Upset Lawrence but Fall Short of County Title

By Charlie Ben-Ami Editor With their backs against the wall, clinging to a 2-point lead, the varsity Football team held on for dear life as senior captain Jonathan Cabral-Martin knocked away what would have been a game-tying Lawrence twopoint conversion pass attempt, preserving a thrilling win for the Owls.

Despite being a much lower seed than Lawrence (the Owls were ranked seventh heading on the road to play the second-seeded Golden Tornadoes), Lynbrook came out with a win and advanced to the second round of the Nassau County Conference III football playoffs.

As a team, the Owls put up more than 500 total yards on offense, with upwards of 400 coming on the ground. Cabral-Martin led the team with 250 rushing yards on the day to go along with three trips to the endzone. It helped that the offense dominated the line of scrimmage for the vast majority of the contest.

Junior wide receiver Jake Belmont commented, “We were able to win as an underdog because we didn’t act like it. We decided to win despite what might normally be expected of us in that game.”

The opening frame of the contest was marked by ineffectiveness on behalf of both offenses, as both teams struggled to put points on the board early. From the first snap, however, the Lynbrook defense was locked in.

Junior Dominick Barbuto led the way with 18 tackles and a sack, with junior Kyle Serro recording a sack as well as recovering a fumble. Senior Tyler Heaney also recorded a sack to accompany the outstanding defensive efforts of Jonathan Cabral-Martin, and fellow senior Jordan Camilo. The Owls’ defensive display during the first half gave the offense momentum, enabling them to finally reach the endzone. According to junior linebacker Danny Dalrymple, the defense knew it needed to make a statement if the Owls wanted to have a chance, as getting into a shootout with a talented

~Photo Courtesy of Christian Squitieri

Lawrence receiving corps would likely have spelled defeat. Dalrymple explained, “We realized how important it was to get ahead against Lawrence and not let their playmakers beat us; it was a great team effort.”

The Owls burst out of the gate in the second quarter, exploding with three touchdowns (one more than they scored during their previous meeting with Lawrence) and breaking the game wide open. Heaney, who also plays running back for the Owls, started the scoring bonanza off with a 12-yard run. The continued efforts of the Owls defenders kept the

offense rolling on the field. This led to offensive success for the Owls, as Jonathan Cabral-Martin scored two of his three touchdowns during the quarter: the first a 28-yard score, and the second a four-yarder, which was capped by a Heaney run to convert the 2-point attempt.

The Lynbrook offense picked up right from where it left off at the start of the second half, with Lawrence unable to hinder the rushing tandem of Heaney and Cabral-Martin. Cabral-Martin rushed for a four-yard score followed by yet another successful 2-point conversion

run by Heaney. Up 29 with all the momentum in the corner, it looked as if the Owls had all but locked this game up. However, Lawrence had no intention of going down without a fight.

Led by the arm of senior quarterback Christian Fredericks, the Tornadoes threw for two quick scores, with Fredericks using his legs to bring the score to 29-21, a one possession game. Late in the fourth quarter, a 3-yard Lawrence rushing touchdown brought the score to 29-27, but Cabral-Martin made arguably the game’s biggest play with his aforementioned pass deflection on the Tornado two-point conversion attempt.

While the win seemed like a major upset victory for the Owls, Head Coach Stephen LoCicero knew his team could pull out the win. “We played a great game: disciplined and aggressive...I knew if we did that, we would have a real chance,” commented LoCicero. LoCicero gave rightfully earned praise to top performers such as Cabral-Martin and Barbuto, but also to members of the scout team who were vital in preparation for the contest. “[Cabral-Martin and Barbuto] have both been playing great...Our scout team has prepared the team well, and they need to be recognized for their efforts getting the team ready....without them, we would not be successful.”

Unfortunately for the Owls, the magic ran out against top-seeded Plainedge in the county quarterfinals at James M. Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University, but LoCicero knows that his team did everything it could, and this season was incredibly successful: “We played our best football in November thanks to the hard work and effort of the entire team. Everyday, every player gave undeniable effort. Great job by every player and coach!”

Horizon ‘18-’19 News Jane Hoeflinger, Editor Emily Bergin, Asst. Editor Victoria Medina, Asst. Editor Nya Grant, Asst. Editor Features Jimmy Parco, Editor Terrence Deegan, Asst. Editor Arts & Entertainment Josh Blankstein, Editor Ambiya Hussein, Asst. Editor Opinions Sara Bahri, Editor Andie Glanzer, Editor

Editor-in-Chief Sam Cohen Managing Editors Brian Egan (Layout) Elizabeth Ratkiewicz (Features, Op-Ed, and A&E) Harrison Simon (News and Sports) Ryan Denker (Online) Layout Department Isljam Purisic Pooja Shah Izzy Weiss Online Content Manager Faith Singh-Koobial

Sports Dylan Burfield, Editor Charlie Ben-Ami, Asst. Editor David Schaffer, Asst. Editor Photos & Graphics Josh Polansky, Photo Editor Tess Rechtweg, Photographer Christian Squiteri, Photographer Business Department Lance Ezratty, Business Manager Matt Geller, Business Manager Jesse Candel, Asst. Business Manager

Advisor Jessica Sanders

Horizon is planned, written, edited, typeset and laid out by students of Lynbrook HS as a non-profit extra-curricular activity. PhoHorizon • Lynbrook High tographs and artwork (unless noted) are students’ original work.

School Opinions expressed are of the writers or the majority of the Editorial Board and do not represent the opinions of the School Board, administration, or adviser. The Editor-in-Chief was elected by the Editorial Board at the close of the previous school year. Addi- • Room 311a • Lynbrook, NY 11563 • tional members on the Editorial Board are by invitation from the Board.

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Circulation: Average circulation of the Horizon is 1,000. Horizon is published sporadically from Sept. to June.

19

OWL SPORTS

By Harrison Simon and Dylan Burfield Managing Editor, Editor ~Photo Courtesy of Christian Squitieri, Edits by Josh Polansky

By Dylan Burfield Editor ~Photo Courtesy of Christian Squitieri. Edits by Josh Polansky

With winter sports underway, the Lynbrook varsity girls’ basketball season has begun. With this season comes the final moment in senior Kerin Bartels’ basketball career. Bartels, a three-year varsity player for the Owls and the captain of this year’s team, has proven a great leader and role model for the young team, which has a large amount of juniors and some sophomores this year.

To go along with her success on the court, Coach Steve Locicero is also impressed with the leadership she brings to the team: “Kerin Bartels is a great leader who puts the team before self.” LoCicero also added, “She is a pleasure to coach, and I value her leadership. She plays the game with great effort and is a three-point shooter who also has an inside game.”

Bartels commented on what she does to be a team leader: “The most important thing I can do as a senior leader on the team is to instill energy into our team and to always encourage my teammates to do their best.”

Her defense and three-point shooting has gotten the attention of her teammates. “She is such an aggressive defensive player and is able to shoot the 3 in critical parts of the game to keep us in it,” said junior teammate Kayleigh Stalter. Something else that stands out about Bartels is her relationship with her teammates. “Playing with Kerin is very fun; she is such a good teammate and player, but she

20

also knows when to take things seriously and stop joking around,” stated Stalter.

Bartels knows what it takes to win with Lynbrook, as the Owls won the conference in her sophomore year.

She and the rest of the team hope to get to that spot once again, but they value the journey just as much. “My expectation for myself this year is to just keep on being a team player and be a leader for my teammates,” commented Bartels. The Owls have started the season 3-1, with the one loss being to undefeated Mineola, but it is a start that could lead Bartels back to where her Lynbrook basketball career began: a conference championship.

With her Lynbrook basketball career ending, Bartels looked back on some of her favorite moments on the team and what it was like playing on this team for the past three years: “My favorite memory has to be winning our conference when I was a sophomore. It brought intensity to the playoffs, and we won two rounds.”

Bartels added, “Playing on this team has been the highlight of my time here at LHS. I have always had the best teammates who make playing for this team so fun.” As Bartels’ time with the Owls comes to an end, there is no doubt, that her impact as a player and leader will be remembered by the Lynbrook girls’ basketball team for years to come.

If you are a LHS student and you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you may not have heard about Rylan Blondo. But for pretty much everyone else, you are aware that Blondo is one of the most talented athletes Lynbrook has ever seen.

After an unfortunate first-round loss in the Nassau County playoffs to Floral Park High School last season, the boys’ varsity basketball team is looking to redeem itself and make a lot of noise in the postseason. For the team, its success begins and ends with Blondo. Through four games, Blondo is averaging 32 points per game, the second-highest total in Nassau, to go along with 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

To open the season, Blondo scored 27 points against Kings Park, one of the top teams in Suffolk County. Then, just two days later, Blondo exploded to the tune of 41 points to lead the team to its second straight win, a career high for him, and just 9 points shy of the Owls’ all-time single-game scoring record.

In spite of the high praise Blondo receives from fellow students and opposing teams alike, he remains humble through it all, concerning himself more with how he can act as the team’s leader. “We just move on, try to go 1-0 every game. I just gotta keep my guys with energy. I’m the energy guy. If I see them upset, I gotta pick them up and get them going,” he said.

Blondo’s leadership for the Owls is also a big plus, as he does everything in his power to make players around him better. Head Coach Jamie Adams stated, “Rylan is a natural leader. He leads both by example and by encouraging his teammates and wanting the best for them and the team.” Assistant Coach Brian Donaldson added,

“Rylan is the first in the gym and has that Kevin Garnett effect, where he is already working up a sweat before the practice/game.” Sophomore teammate Mike Frank added, “I am a sophomore on varsity, and Rylan is a great role model. He always works extra hard in practice and is always going the extra mile to make sure he is doing whatever he can do to get better and make everyone around him better.” Senior teammate James Montgomery added, “Rylan’s leadership impacts the rest of the team because he stays positive and makes everyone else stay positive.”

Blondo’s leadership and playmaking has paid dividends for the Owls this season, as they have started the season 4-0, with wins over Kings Park, Hewlett, Sewanhaka, and Roslyn. Blondo’s style of play has made Lynbrook into a powerhouse, as the team looks to take home a title this season. “Rylan’s style of play has a huge effect on our emotions during games. Rylan is able to finish at the rim through contact and hit contested outside shots like no one else,” commented Frank. When asked what about Blondo impresses him the most, Donaldson stated, “How easy it is for Rylan to break past double teams. If you watch the film from our game against Hewlett, he had plays where he made a double team look like he was not even being guarded.

When you have a ball handler who can do that, it makes everyone better.” Adams stated, “The part of his game that impresses me the most is his work ethic and never-quit attitude. Rylan is a tremendously talented player, but the reason why is how much time he spends working on his game. Rylan’s dedication speaks volumes about the person he is, not just the basketball player.” Blondo’s playmaking ability and leadership will be key, as Lynbrook looks to go far in the playoffs this year.