opinion
2 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Students should stay on campus At the beginning of the school year, the cafeteria was a bland, empty space with sub-par food that usually got thrown away and inconsistent service that could take a while. It wasn’t the kind of place you could quickly stop into to pick up a drink or snack.
editorial Since January, the overall quality of the cafeteria has strengthened. It started with Whitsons School Nutrition takeover of food services. Then the snack bar went in, stocked with Seattle’s Best coffee, Starbucks beverages, slushy drinks, ice cream and other snacks. Around the same time, an extra pin pad was put in at all the cash registers, speeding up checkouts. And the long-anticipated Moobella ice cream that was recently installed is open throughout the whole school day, as is the snack bar. All of these new installments should encourage students to stay on campus during lunch and free blocks. Freshmen and first semester sophomores are not
permitted to leave campus during these times, but that doesn’t seem to stop many kids. Newtonville is an evertempting place for students. The most desirable place in Newtonville seems to be Starbucks––a caffeinedriven underclassman can’t be stopped by a weakly enforced rule. But, students shouldn’t feel they need to leave campus to get good coffee, food and service. It used to be that when a student found out he had a cancelled class, he would immediately think to go to Newtonville. There wasn’t much to stick around for at school, and it’s only a quick walk down Walnut Street. But now, students should consider staying on campus to enjoy the food that’s offered at this school. There are plenty of options, most of them cheaper than in Newtonville. Students should look at the food selection here before deciding to go to Newtonville. Next time you’re thinking of walking down to Newtonville during lunch or a free block to get food, consider the benefits of staying on campus.
Gabe Dreyer
Brick by brick: The old school sat in its final stages of demolition, Wednesday, May 11.
Military service is rewarding experience for many TO THE EDITOR: The last issue of the Newtonite published an article entitled “Military poses option after high school.” I was very surprised to see letter the article and I thank the student newspaper for running it. However, the article failed to cover the Army, and as the Army Recruiter to this school, I feel a need to correct this. Service in any branch of the United States Military is one of the most honorable and rewarding things anyone can do. The Army is the largest of all the
services, offering over 150 skill sets and education opportunities granted nowhere else. The Army can take a four year college graduate and make him or her (after proper training) an officer. Or it can give a high school graduate the opportunity to be an X-Ray Tech, Paratrooper or Helicopter Mechanic, at Army expense. Each day as a recruiter, I fight prejudice, ignorance, arrogance and outright hostility towards my profession. Being a soldier means up-
Newtonite The Newtonite, founded in 1922, is the newspaper of Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460. Circulation managers — Phil Rubin, Michela Salvucci Online Editor — Henry DeGroot Adviser — Kate Shaughnessy Production adviser — Tom Donnellan News staff — Emmett Greenberg, Jared Perlo Features staff — Anna Clements, Jared Freedman Sports staff — Jesse Metzger, Infiniti Thomas-Waheed Arts staff — Ned Martenis, Noah Thompson News analysis staff — Kellynette Gomez Art staff — Arielle Conti, Rin Rogers Photography staff — Judith Gibson-Okunieff, Emma Hanselman, Jenny Lewis, Solomon Mercurio, Ivan McGovern, Teddy Wenneker Circulation staff — Irene Betts-O’Rourke, Eyob Gizachew, Sam Jones, Phillipine Kugener, Matthew Soloman Production staff — Charles Attisano The Newtonite staff does all the reporting, production work and photography to produce 16 issues a year for a circulation of 2,000. To place an ad in the Newtonite or contact us by phone, please call 617-559-6273. Yearly subscriptions cost $20. Readers can also reach us at thenewtonite@gmail.com. To find the Newtonite online go to www.thenewtonite.com.
Editors in chief — Hilary Brumberg, Ben Hills, Perrin Stein Managing editors — Jay Feinstein, Jacob Schwartz Graphics manager — Gabe Dreyer News editors — Alex Feit, Samantha Libraty Sports editors — Gloria Li, Kristian Lundberg Arts editors — Malini Gandhi, Fatema Zaidi Features editors — Meredith Abrams, Julia Oran, Kayla Shore Freelance editors — Ryan Condon, Steven Michael News analysis editor — Amanda Hills Talk of the Tiger editor — Julia Moss Photography editors — Maliha Ali, Alec Mapes-Frances Production manager — Gabby Ginsberg Advertising managers —Tiphaine Kugener, Evan Nitkin Business manager — Alison Berkowitz
holding the Constitution, spending time away from family and friends and if needed, giving my life for this country. Nothing burns me more than hearing “you’re throwing your life away” or “you’re better than that.” These words generally come from the ignorant but also come from highly educated people that wave the flag at the fourth of July parade and praise returning soldiers for their service. But in private these same people say “not my kid” or “they shouldn’t be allowed in schools.”
They do all they can to stop the accomplishments and deeds of soldiers from reaching students. These people disgust me. For almost 236 years the Army has protected this country. Sons and daughters have come together, rich or poor, to keep the enemy at bay. The U.S. Army is not for everyone. Most people cannot meet the requirements to join or rise to the challenge needed to become a soldier. Ask questions, get answers. Become knowledgeable about the Army, then make a smart
decision. Never listen to people that tell you it’s for the poor or unsuccessful––they are to be avoided. I’m glad Tigers and Troops: Side by Side was started at Newton North. I will lend any assistance I can to the group. All anyone has is owed to a soldier, sailor, Airman or Marine. —SERGEANT FIRST CLASS WILLIAM MALDONADO U.S. ARMY RESERVE RECRUITER
Wu acknowledges criticism TO THE EDITOR: On behalf of all the student representatives of the Student Faculty Administration, I apologize for the attendance at the meeting on Wednesday, April 27. This incident was reported in the Friday, April 29 issue of the Newtonite.
letter Is it acceptable to have a meeting with four students? No, but the response of adult members escalated the situation. In past weeks, I have faced criticism of my leadership ability. I acknowledge that I have missed opportunities to improve SFA, and for that, I apologize. SFA has been inefficient this year. Veteran members and alumni attest to this. My goal as student co-chair was to make SFA a more efficient organization—one in which work was done outside of meetings too. Past SFA chairs have chaired many more meetings than I have. I have focused on organizing the students outside of meetings because in the position of student co-chair, I emphasize the student aspect. My
responsibility is to the student representatives more so than to the adult representatives. I have always been stronger at organizing people and ideas than at running meetings. I have undertaken initiatives deserving recognition, such as making and facilitating an online student representative group. I have also made mistakes, and I admit to and apologize for them if they are truly my mistakes. I do not claim to have all the answers—I am sixteen, and more importantly, I am human. To my critics: I know there are flaws in my leadership, and I thank the students who have provided helpful feedback. I cannot lead without the support of my peers, so I thank them for pledging their support not only for me but also for each other and for the student body we represent. We are all learning each day. In undermining my leadership through unconstructive criticism, you have not improved the conditions of student representation but have inhibited our ability to accomplish meaningful change. I cannot
lead if you dissuade others from following. What I need, what we all need, including all of you, is constructive feedback. So moving forward in the spirit of constructive feedback, we students have proposed restructuring SFA into a student senate: a format that allows us to best represent and engage the student body. I thank all four senior class representatives, Jared Kalow, Emma Leader, Ana Mijailovic and Dylan Wolff, for representing their peers exceptionally. Best of luck next year—you will be missed. —ALLISON WU JUNIOR
SFA STUDENT CO-CHAIR
Letters Readers are invited to submit guest articles and letters to the editor. Letters should be put in the Newtonite box in Beals House or emailed to thenewtonite@gmail.com. The Newtonite reserves the right to edit all letters, which must have the writer’s name, class and homeroom. The Newtonite serves as a forum for student opinion.