Spotlight Volume 99, Issue 1

SPOTLIGHT South Hadley High School’s student-run newspaper since 1919

Volume 99, Issue 1 | Fall 2018

SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight, currently in its 99th year, is South Hadley High School’s student-run, open forum publication. Students create all content and make all editorial decisions.

Inside this issue Volume 99, Issue 1 | Fall 2018

3 Kavanaugh Appointment

4 Gladiator Fights

6 Humans of South Hadley

10 Tiger Sports

This issue’s editors Abby Broyles Jagdeesh Singh JJ Solzak

Reporters for this issue Abby Broyles Jagdeesh Singh JJ Solzak Matt O’Brien Morgan Flynn Victor Omojola Zoe Golden

Advisor Mr. B-G

A note from the staff Contact us Facebook: @spotlight153 Twitter: @spotlight153 Sports: @Jungleblogsh Instagram: @spotlight153 Snapchat: @spotlight1919 Email: spotlight153@gmail.com Web: spotlight153.com Phone: (413) 538-5063 Ext. 3512 Address: Spotlight Newspaper South Hadley High School 153 Newton Street South Hadley, MA 01075 2 ABOUT | Spotlight | Fall 2018

We are pleased to bring you the first edition of Spotlight for the 2018-2019 school year.

As always, you can get regular updates from the Spotlight social media, listed on the left. Our Snapchat account, @Spotlight1919, is our newest social media offering, and is updated with pictures from school events and sports games.

Spotlight would love to publish your work, so if you’re interested in working as a reporter or photographer, please let any Spotlight staff member or Mr. B-G know. We welcome opinion pieces, reviews, poetry, artwork, comics,

photography, videos - whatever your talent or interest is, we want to give it an audience.

We’re happy to help you write a news or feature story if you’d like to attend a sporting event, concert, or other performance. We also welcome reader feedback and editorial letters, which may be sent to spotlight153@ gmail.com.

A special thanks goes out to our sponsor Easthampton Savings Bank, our advertisers, and our high school’s administrative team for their ongoing support of scholastic journalism.

Brett Kavanaugh sworn in to Supreme Court President Trump’s pick survives assault accusation, FBI investigation

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I SOLEMNLY SWEAR: Kavanaugh became the 114th Supreme Court justice after the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm him.

Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosia

By JJ Solzak After surviving an FBI investigation into sexual assault claims dating back more than 35 years, Brett Kavanaugh was elected to the nation’s highest court.

The role call of 50-48 was the narrowest vote to confirm a justice in more than 100 years.

“While I am happy he was confirmed to the Supreme Court, I am concerned that our ‘advise and consent’ process in the senate has gone from checking qualifications to a purely political circus,” said history teacher Travis Chaput.

“Throughout most of our history it was common for nominees to get 90-plus votes for a nomination. I feel if I was in

the senate I would vote for a nominee if they were qualified.”

Allegations by psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh had attempted to rape her in the summer of 1982 when they were at a party embroiled President Donald Trump’s pick in controversy.

“This is a very emotionally charged issue on both sides of the argument,” said English teacher Heather Ellis. “I believe that there has to be a lot of courage for someone to be able to come forward and put their reputation and career at risk. I am disappointed that the FBI investigation was rushed.”

The FBI found no evidence corrob-

orating Ford’s testimony. Republicans pointed to the report as vindication, while Democrats called the investigation an insufficient farce.

This was ‘‘one of the least transparent, least fair, most biased processes in Senate history,” Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York told the press after Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, told the media that Kavanaugh’s confirmation proves that the senate is “a chamber in which the politics of intimidation and personal destruction do not win the day.’’

Fall 2018 | Spotlight | NEWS 3

Students become modern-day gladiators in new after-school combat activity

By Matthew O’Brien

4 NEWS | Spotlight | Fall 2018

Everyone who wants to be in the matches has to be trained first in stage and safety falling, then the basics of whatever style they choose.

Only when they have been fully trained and ap-

Photo by Matthew O’Brien

The crowd roars as the gladiator stands over his defeated opponent. He looks to the emperor for his next action. The emperor looks to the crowd, seeing what they want. Mercy? Or not?

While that sounds like something out of a movie, it could be coming to your next pep rally. Organized by Latin Club, an event where highly trained gladiators show off their skills in staged matches could make an appearance at the next pep rally. Created by senior Leo Couture and overseen by Latin teacher Phil Langevin, the matches would show off a rich and historically accurate display of what clashes were really like thousands of years ago. Inspired by Latin class, and fueled by a desire to see more interesting events at pep rallies, Couture set about the journey of creating his dream.

The matches are for now only 1v1, and the club already boasts an impressive number of 20 trainees.

That’s right, you can’t just show up and expect to start swinging swords around.

EN GARDE!: High school students practicing the new moves Leo Couture has taught them.

proved by Couture and Langevin can a trainee participate in matches. This is done to ensure the safety of the participants in the matches, which was a very important necessity in the eyes of administration.

Each day of training consists of a warm up,

safety practice, weapons practice, and finishes with a group clean up. Practices are run from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. in order to work around sports schedules, and are run everyday after school in the back gym.

Along with safety training, the “weapons” are made of foam, cardboard, and PVC piping. Each gladiator is also equipped with a lacrosse helmet and gloves.

Even with the precautions, there is always the possibility for injury.

Although the gladiator matches are just in their infancy, Couture has high hopes for the future of the program. “Right now they’re [the matches] are still 1v1, although we’d like to make them 2v2 and free for all.

We’d like to get everyone their own set of armour, and to increase the intensity,” Couture said. When asked if he would like to add anything else, Leo stressed that “Anyone can join; this isn’t just for a small group of people. Guys, girls, anyone can join.”

Meet the high school’s new teachers and staff Throughout the year, Spotlight will profile teachers and staff new to our school.

See below to learn about the staff interviewed for this issue.

Paraprofessional Kathleen Lebrie

By JJ Solzak

What do you think of South Hadley High School?

“I like how supportive the students and faculty is of one another.”

What made you want to come work at the high school?

“At first I was already coaching the cross country team so it made sense to work here.”

What schools did you go to?

“For high school I went to Hampshire Regional and for undergrad I went to Mount Holyoke College and for my masters I went to AIC” What’s your favorite hobby?

“Crocheting”

Paraprofessional James Pappas

By Abby Broyles

What do you think of South Hadley High School?

“I think SHHS is a close-knit school and I am impressed with how nice the staff here is.”

What did you do before you were a teacher?

“I’ve been a student studying in grad school lately, but I have taught in China in the past and hope to teach ESL again in America.”

What’s your favorite hobby?

“My favorite hobby is playing basketball (although I am not too good I love the game) and watching movies.”

What’s something we should know about you?

“You should know that I am a sports fanatic and love to travel. I have seen a lot of Asia for work and leisure.”

Science teacher Julie Hammond

By Abby Broyles What’s something we should know about you?

“I have a severe peanut allergy, to the extent that if I’m in an enclosed space for a long period of time my voice will become hoarse because my throat starts to close up. Everyone at SHHS has been AMAZING about my allergy, which I really appreciate.”

What’s your favorite hobby?

“Playing fetch with my puppy dog, Shadow. He’s a 14 lb hypoallergenic shih-poo, and he loves squeaky toys” What school did you go to for your education?

“Boston University - Go Terriers!”

Fall 2018|Spotlight|PROFILES 5

Humans of South Hadley Staff Edition Humans of South Hadley is a series written to help members of the South Hadley community learn more about their fellow citizens, and connect with one another through relatability.

The journalist for this edition, Jagdeesh Singh, selected the following questions to ask some of his favorite staff members to help students and parents learn a little more about them.

Singh asked the following:

1. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

2. What are your goals in life? What do you want to achieve?

3. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

4. What is your most embarrassing moment?

Principal Diana Bonneville

Photo by Jj Solzak

1: “I have a PhD” 2: “I would like to be the best principal I can be until I retire, which isn't until 10 years from now.”

3: “Fly. To travel and get out of a sticky situation if I needed to.”

4: “I started a food fight in third grade and didn't own up to it. Everybody got in trouble and the whole grade was mad at me.”

Math teacher Josh Finkel 1: “Raising my daughter.”

2: “Achieve inner peace.”

3: “Running like a dog. A fast dog. So fast. Freedom.”

4: “Messing up my lines during my wedding.”

Photo by Jj Solzak

English teacher Neil Bergstrom 1: “Becoming a teacher and learning how to fly a plane.”

2: “I would like to finish my master’s degree and live a happy, healthy life.”

3: “Power of flight. Go anywhere, anytime, with no traffic.”

4: “Failing driver’s test the first time because I forgot to put down the emergency brake.”

Photo by Jj Solzak 6 HUMANS|Spotlight|Fall 2018

Crazy Rich Asians makes important contributions to Hollywood’s representation revolution

By: Victor Omojola

It is not very often that a movie so seemingly ordinary can have an extraordinary effect on its viewers.

Crazy Rich Asians manages to accomplish this in a two-hour masterpiece.

The film follows law professor Rachel Chu and her trials as she travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family. Currently boasting a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the summer blockbuster has pulled in a remarkable $230 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the last ten years, and the sixth highest of all time.

Perhaps what made Crazy Rich Asians so successful was the wide-ranging audience it was able to attract. The film of course drew a large interest from the Asian population and fans of “romcoms,” but it also brought in lots of people who are simply desperate for more diversity in Hollywood.

A standout performance from Crazy Rich Asians is easily that of Constance Wu, who played protagonist Rachel Chu. Previously known

Crazy Rich Asians screen capture by Warner Bros

from her role as Jessica Huang in ABC’s “Fresh off the Boat,” Wu expertly presented Chu as a relatable individual struggling to adapt to a new environment and the brashness of the insanely rich family of her boyfriend, Nick Young (played by Henry Golding).

She must do this while also asserting her own identity as an Asian American woman. During her stay in Singapore, Rachel’s underprivileged background is challenged by the Young family matriarch, who is very firm in her traditional values.

One of the most underappreciated aspects of Crazy Rich Asians is the cinematography. If anything, this movie is a pleasure to look at.

The film is exceptionally vibrant and filled with bright colors. The costume and set design on its own is quite a spectacle.

One scene in particular that has been drawing a great amount of attention is that of the wedding that takes place late in the movie. The ceremony is easily the most beautiful sequence in the work. This largely due to the visual masterpiece

that it is. In short, cinematographer Vanja Cernjul does a terrific job of capturing the beauty of Chinese culture, one breathtaking shot at a time.

By the end of “Crazy Rich Asians,” not only has the audience been presented with comedy and an emotional rollercoaster, but it’s also exposed to profound themes concerning class and family. In a strange way, race is almost an afterthought.

After further examination of the movie, one begins to see that the intention of “Asians” was not to make a movie about race, but rather show the movie and television industry that stories like this one have no racial or cultural boundaries. This is not to say that recent cultural phenomenons such as Black Panther or Black-ish (these are both great works) are wrong in having great impetus on race. What’s unique about “Asians” is its ability to offer an alternative method in working to resolve the issue of underrepresentation in media.

Rating: 4 Paws - Pounce on It Fall 2018|Spotlight|REVIEWS 7

‘BlacKkKlansman’ uses past to teach lessons for the present

STAKEOUT: Detective Stallworth (John David Washington) surveys the scene while infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan organization.

BlacKkKlansman screenshot from Focus Features

By: Zoe Golden Pertinent to both past and current struggles with racism, “BlacKkKlansman” is a movie set in the early 1970s about the first African-American detective in the City Springs Police Department, Ron Stallworth, whose job leads to him infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan with the help of fellow officer Flip Zimmerman.

After premiering at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival last spring, the movie opened to theatres on August 10, the date, notably, having been selected for its correlation with the 2017 Charlottesville rally. Certainly a financial success, BlacKkKlansman grossed $85.8 million dollars worldwide against its budget of $15 million. While this kind of success doesn’t necessarily make a movie a good one, it was also praised by critics and audience members alike to give it a Rotten Tomatoes score of a whopping 95%.

Directed by Spike Lee, a master at capturing snapshots of the black experience to juxtapose past and present, this movie attempts to grapple with a beast far more recent than the Klu Klux Klan in the 70s. It doesn’t attempt to soften any blows with its satirical yet biting commentary that’s designed to be applied to current events, and often to make its audience uncomfortable.

“BlacKkKlansman” takes a critical, yet sympathetic look at the police in an era where they are distrusted, for good reason, in the black community that's meant to mirror a similar distrust today. But this film doesn’t ignore the police departments part in the history of racism and oppression. With lines like “right or wrong, we stick together,” on why they can’t expose another officer for their behavior, the movie paints a perfect picture of the protection of bad cops, even by using good ones, ones that we like, ones that are working with our hero against the KKK to illustrate it. This line is followed up 8 REVIEWS | Spotlight | Fall 2018

by a striking comment made by Ron comparing that ideology with the very people they’re fighting against.

That being said, the KKK members themselves aren’t the complicated part of the discussion. I have no doubt that every audience member can draw the intended parallel from the movie’s end credit footage of Charlottesville and its hooded actors screaming “white power,” however uncomfortable that might make them. The real discussion comes in the form of what it means that we can draw these parallels, and what it means to fight a broken system that seems to persist when challenged, both from the outside and within.

Patrice, the movie’s resident dissenter and a champion for combating the system of racial prejudice independent from it says, “you can’t fight the system from the inside.” While this conflicts with the main plot line of the film, from infiltrating the KKK themselves to just being a cop in general, the movie never actually makes the implication that she's completely wrong. It leaves you with that lingering question - can you fight the system from the inside? At one point, it seems like you can. Then later, it’s revealed that it’s not that easy. Even so, the movie doesn’t really answer that one for you. Maybe it’s one that can’t be answered, even by a film as masterful as this one, or a director as brilliant as Spike Lee. The leads, John David Washington and Adam Driver, command their roles with ease and believability. Led by Lee, in arguably his best - and certainly most consistent - film since “Do The Right Thing,” the whole cast manages to deliver remarkably impactful performances.

In the end, “BlacKkKlansman” is a movie that manages to be both poignant and witty, meaningful yet darkly amusing.

It’s funny, it’s deep, and most importantly, it’s shockingly relevant.

Tigers Football earns first undefeated league title since 2010

By Ethan Ortyl The South Hadley Tigers football team had a stellar 6-2 regular season, earning themselves the coveted title of undefeated league champions.

The Tigers’ dominant offense powered them to multiple high scoring wins. During the regular season, the Tigers were held to less than thirty points only three times, one of which was a league game. The electric backfield of Hunter Carey, Ben Watkins, Hunter Borowski, and Liam Dawson sparked this offense and allowed them

Staff photo by Makenzie Roman

to put up such great numbers. “Our guys work hard. Not only do they want to win because they’re determined, but each guy on that field wants to win for the person standing next to them,” said captain Liam Dawson. “We have great chemistry, and our brotherhood is very special.”

Following their championship regular season, the Tigers earned themselves the two seed in the playoffs. The boys will look to seek revenge for their first round exit last season against the Red Hawks of Frontier.

Seniors lead golf team to 17-1 record

By Ethan Ortyl

This was certainly a season to remember for the Tiger’s golf program. South Hadley’s golf squad scored their way to a stellar 17-1 record, earning a league championship along the way.

The team went undefeated in league play, thus earning themselves a 2019 banner in the gymnasium.

In addition to the banner to be hung, the Tigers placed third in the Western Mass Championship tournament following the regular season. Seniors Billy Scott, William Ortyl, and Tom O’Neill provided some veteran leadership

for a team who will be returning plenty of talented golfers who helped lead the team to victory this season. When asked what allowed this team to win more matches than the other three he’s been a part of, Captain Billy Scott said, “This team put in so much hard work this offseason. It was clear the team wanted to get better every match.”

South Hadley golf looks very promising going into next season, retaining a strong group of contributors in the Class of 2020.

Fall 2018|Spotlight|SPORTS 9

Offspring offers ‘aged punk’ with an edge 90s rockers give listeners a variety of emotional feels

By Abby Broyles The Offspring came to the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, CT on Aug. 21, 2018. The band has produced and performed aged punk rock music without sacrificing its edge, especially when playing the old songs that were hits in the ‘90s.

The first half of the set was filled with lesser hits, opening with a title track from its 1998 album “Americana, followed by “All I Want.” Halfway through the concert the bands switched to performing its more rock, greatest hits. This shift started with

Photo by Abby Broyles

the 1995 hit “Gotta Get Away,” then transitioned to “Gone Away,” which is a slower song.

This song was a particularly memorable and emotional moment from the concert as the stage was complete with rows of prayer candles wheeled behind

him.

The band then ended the show by performing their most popular songs including “Why Don’t You Get a Job?,” “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid,” “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “The Kids Aren’t Alright (Shattered Dreams),” and “Self Esteem.” The Offspring is one of those bands where, even if you don’t think you know much from them, by the time you realize you’ve been singing along to four songs in a row, you figure out just how big this band really is.

Beach Boys bring love, youthful vibes to Big E

By Abby Broyles The Big E had a record breaking attendance of 1,543,470 people this year. On the final night of the attraction, original Beach Boy member Mike Love along with added members to The Beach Boys, preformed a two-hour, 34-song set at the Xfinity Arena.

The group opened with many well known songs such as "Do It Again," "Surfin' Safari," and "Catch A Wave."

These iconic songs really set the summer vibes of the concert.

Love then took the opportunity to promote his latest solo album; "Unleash the Love," by performing three songs "Unleash the Love," "All the Love in Paris," and "Pisces Brothers."

The band closed out the set 10 REVIEWS |Fall 2018|Spotlight

with "Help Me Rhonda," "Kokomo," and "Good Vibrations." An encore after the set featured "Fun, Fun, Fun." Even though The Beach Boys are reaching their mid-seventies, these old men just about became their younger selves when they began singing these songs. Even with Brian Wilson and Al Jardine

Photos by Abby Broyles

currently absent from the set, the remaining members were still able to create the same vocals and harmonies that they had produced in their studio recordings of the songs.

Spotlight adheres to the MA Student Free Expression Law

“Freedom of expression shall include without limitation, the rights and responsibilities of students, collectively and individually, (a) to express their views through speech and symbols, (b) to write, publish, and disseminate their views, (c) to assemble peacefully on school property for the purpose of expressing their opinions. No expression made by students in the exercise of such rights shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy and no school officials shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by the students.�

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Contact us: spotlight153@gmail.com or 413-538-5063 x4512

Fall 2018 | Spotlight | 11

Photos by Leo Couture

Leo Club Blood Drive

Spotlight Volume 99, Issue 1 | Fall 2018