December 2017

THE STINGER December 2017 Volume 43

@stinger.ehs @stingerehs

Issue 3

@StingerEHS

Lunch Buddies

Football scores new teammates in the cafeteria Tabitha Nowak and Katie Taranto News Editors After an Emmaus High School Special Olympics flag football game in 2016, coach Harold Fairclough found himself moved and motivated, so much so that he decided he wanted to do more for the special education community.

“I left there [wondering]...what else can we do?” Fairclough says.

In the midst of his inspiration, Fairclough thought of an idea that would not only benefit the special education kids, but also serve as a positive learning opportunity for his football players. His idea: “Lunch Buddies.”

Every Friday during football season, the seats of Cafeteria 2 are filled with football players and special education students, joined together by a unique bond.

Fairclough says that students in the same lunch period were paired up by “likes and dislikes.”

The program gives the special education students someone to make connections with, as well as providing an experience for the football players and giving them a deeper insight into the lives of special needs students.

Junior and outside linebacker Samuel Goodge recognizes the importance of “Lunch Buddies,” and has a personal connection to it. His cousin, John, is part of the special education program.

“To be able to sit with John, my family, and talk to him and learn more about him and his personality and what he likes and what he doesn’t like… it makes me happy that I get to do that,” Goodge says. “He’s a great kid, he has lots of great qualities that I love to learn about him. So it’s been awesome for me. I’ve been very lucky to be able to sit with him and talk to him every single Friday.”

Fairclough believes the program is successful, and he can discern the impact it has on the special education students.

“They’re just so excited to interact with their peers and have people to talk to,” Fairclough says.

In spending time with these students over the course of football season, he notices his team becoming better, more educated people.

4

2018-19 courses approved

“Our players have benefited a lot more than they thought they would… such a small gesture goes such a long way,” Fairclough says. “I think [the program] puts a lot of things in perspective for [the players], knowing...that you can impact somebody else.”

Fridays have given Goodge the ability to get to know the special education students much better, and understand them on a deeper level.

“Just like us they have their favorite things, they are funny, they tell jokes,” Goodge says.

“They have favorite things they do on the weekend, they laugh, they have their favorite foods just like us...they’re really a great friend.

They’re not much different.”

Goodge’s favorite memory with his buddy, Top: Junior Cameron Brooks (left) and his buddy, Billy, eat together Garrett, was during the EHS Special Olympics on Fridays as part of the football team’s Lunch Buddies program. last year, when he walked with Garrett to help Photo by Arianna Werner. Inset: Sophomore Alex Kleinschmidt and him score a touchdown. his buddy, Adam, eat lunch together often. Photo by Emma Brashear.

“I saw him smiling, and it meant a lot to me,” Goodge says. “I walked with him back, I saw his buddy, Adam, sat all alone at lunch due to other kids’ dad smiling and clapping and I could tell it made him feel judgement. Now, Adam feels invited to sit with Kleinreally good--him and his father, so I’m so lucky to have a schmidt any day of the week, not just on Fridays. buddy like him.”

“He would try and sit a table with about six other peoOther players, such as junior quarterback Cameron ple, and he would just sit there reading and not bothering Brooks, also feels impacted by the lunch buddies system. anybody, and [the students] would just all move over to Brooks admits that at first he felt nervous about meeting another table,” Kleinschmidt says. “I felt bad, so I said he his buddy, Billy; he was unsure of how it would go. As could come sit over at my table if he needs to.” time went on, Brooks was able to establish a friendship Adam feels comforted, knowing he has a buddy he can with Billy and felt privileged to have the opportunity to depend on. meet with him every Friday.

“It feels good just to have someone to sit with who I “It’s just a humbling experience. Getting to know can talk with sometimes,” Adam says. them, what their life is like, and their backgrounds, and Senior linebacker Ben Maehrer appreciates the impact everything that they have to deal with everyday,” Brooks of Lunch Buddies because he knows what it’s like to says. “A disability- it’s a tough thing to have to deal with have a family member with special needs. This fall, he every single day. We take life for granted, but these kids was able to bond with his buddy, Robert. make it special.” “[The program is] great,” Maehrer says. “You get betLikewise, sophomore tight end Alex Kleinschmidt ter around kids like this and you learn a lot about them. I was able to reflect on his takeaways of the buddy system. have a cousin with Down syndrome, so I’m used to being Kleinschmidt says he witnessed firsthand the struggles around these kids. But it’s nice to help other people.” that special education kids go through at lunch. His

12-13

Students share holiday traditions

17

Student YouTuber reaches 6k subs

News 2

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

EHS teachers EHS student helps local politicians receive innovator grants Izzy Wegner Online Editor On Oct. 20, the EPSD Education Foundation announced the winners of its Innovator Grant, including Emmaus High School teachers Beth Stoudt, Lisa Caruso, and Katie Pfenninger.

The foundation gives one grant of $3,000 and $2,000, two grants of $1,000, and six grants of $500. In order to qualify, educators must provide a project completion summary, where they explain their project in detail. The project must also be related to STEAM, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) although it does not need to include every one of the components.

Stoudt, who teaches computer science, applied for the grant for the first time this year and received $1,000 for her project, the most out of any of the EHS teachers.

Stoudt teaches several computer science classes including Computer Science Foundations, which Cynthia Brashear teaches as well. Their grant money will be used for purchasing Makey Makey and Arduinos. Stoudt learned about these programs at a STEM camp she attended over the summer. “[Makey Makey] will make for more exciting projects like creating a controller for Pac Man and the game Simon,” Stoudt said. “There are so many ideas out there to explore the use of this device.

“The [software] Arduino will be used to light up LED screens,” she said.

“Students will program different patterns.

That is more fun than just seeing text on a screen.”

While Stoudt has ordered the materials, she is still waiting to receive and install them. She hopes to officially begin the program for the spring semester.

“I think it is important for students to be excited about computer science and the use of these devices should make it more interesting,” she said.

With Pfenninger’s grant of $500, she is teaching students about metal casting using wax through a technique called lost wax casting. Students create pendants which they sculpt out of wax. They then send these pieces to a third-party casting company, which creates a mold using the wax and creates the pieces out of metal.

“The grants are a really great way for getting funds to purchase tools, materials, or services that we normally would not normally be able to access or get for our classes,” Pfenninger said. “I also thought it was a really great idea to be able to do something a little out of the box.”

Pfenninger’s idea to begin this project in her Ceramics 3 course came about because of her love for casting in college that she hoped to share with her students.

“Those things that I love doing, I always like to share with my students,” she said. “Especially these processes that are a little harder to do in a school setting.

Being able to access this with our kids, having these funds to help us do that, makes it more interesting for them.”

Art teacher Lisa Caruso also received a grant for $500 to go towards a ceramics store for her students. Ceramics 2 and 3 students sell their artwork, allowing for people outside of friends and family to enjoy their creations.

Learn more about Caruso’s ceramics store on stingerehs.com

Katie Taranto “I would like to keep News Editor Aidan working with me Dean Graham in any way possible I News Contributor can,” Armstrong says.

On election night, as “I look at Aidan as many students practiced the future governor of sports or completed Pennsylvania--no doubt. homework, junior Aidan He was excellent [and] Levinson stood in the conscientious.” rain and solicited votes In addition to workfor local politicians. ing with Armstrong, An active member of Levinson aided in the the Democratic commuelection of Joyce Moore nity, he spends his free to Upper Milford Towntime campaigning for ship supervisor. To her, the Democratic Party, his skills in identifyand working the polls ing voters to contact was part of his committhrough mailers and ment. telephone was essential.

Levinson stands outside of Zion Lehigh Lutheran Church on Nov. 9th, handing Levinson says that “He was really quite his inspiration came instrumental in helpout pamphlets to voters on election day. Photo by Rylan Bassett. after the 2016 national ing me organize what his candidate’s names out to neighborelection. He began to volunteer for area I needed to do in order to get elected,” hoods. political clubs.

Moore says.

“I organize phone banks, make lists “Almost immediately, I became staLevinson’s passion for local politics for candidacy, make lists for mailers,” he keeps him motivated to continue voluntistical director for the East Penn Dems, and now I am the data and digital director says. “For digital, I make websites and teering. He loves to see his work pay off, manage social media pages.” for the Lehigh Valley Democrats, which and receives a lot of support from the One of Levinson’s many jobs for the [contains] Northampton and Lehigh East Penn Democratic Club. most recent campaign was digital and Counties,” Levinson says.

“The biggest reward is seeing every data director to Phillips Armstrong, who Once involved in those organizations, candidate that I work for win,” Levinson ran for Lehigh County executive. ArmLevinson proceeded to become more says. “Naomi Winch and the state party involved within Pennsylvania state party strong met Levinson through the East have been congratulating me.”

Penn Democratic Club and noticed his jobs. He first managed Alisa Bowman’s He also recalls the excitement that he persistence from the start. school board campaign. experienced on election night, when all “When I decided to run, I made sure I “I volunteered for Alisa first, and then but one of the candidates he worked for went to as many different functions [as after that, a lot of people heard about won their elections. me,” Levinson says. “That’s how I started I could],” Armstrong says. “And when I “Tuesday, I was up til 1 a.m., and all getting calls from all these people, it just went to the East Penn Democratic Club, the results came in,” Levinson says. “I kept growing and growing and growing.” Aidan was there working the computer was really, really proud of what we did. systems, and I sort of hit it off with him Levinson’s job as technology and East Penn Dems just formed this year, from the very beginning. I was a teacher and with what we did, we had the biggest data director of the East Penn Democratic Club has many responsibilities that for 40 years, so when I see a student that victory that [Lehigh and Northampton require technical dexterity. The club uses I think is really on the ball, I want to counties] have ever seen.” make sure I connect with that student.”

Votebuilder, a system that retains and As for the future, Levinson considers From there, Levinson helped manage analyzes voter info in the area to apply it pursuing some field of politics.

Armstrong’s social media accounts. Armto campaigning.

“I might be running [for a public ofstrong believes that without Levinson’s Levinson utilizes Votebuilder to effice] one day,” he says. “I don’t know yet expertise in technology, he would not fectively publicize his candidates to the right now, I really love consulting and have won his Lehigh County executive Lehigh Valley. He organizes various helping people win.” post. methods of communication to help get

Students create new mural in EHS hallway Lily Day News Editor Emmaus High School’s science hallway is known for its colorful murals lining the walls, and currently another work is in progress outside of room 418.

Junior Kyla Glenville, who is enrolled in environmental science with teacher Kristin Susens this year, volunteered to transform the white wall into a new mural. Glenville’s mural, inspired by the Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, depicts a scenic park.

“Ms. Susens mentioned she had a blank space outside of her room and paint, and so I just had an idea for it,” Glenville said.

Once she planned the design, Glenville recruited other students to work on the mural. She began by reaching out to junior Brianna Friend, who shares Glenville’s interest in art.

“At first it was just the two of us, but then we asked some of our other friends to help once in awhile,” Friend said.

Junior Alex Mauro became close with Friend during their Drawing 2 class this school year. After he heard Friend and Glenville talking about wanting more help for the mural, Mauro “thought that it would be fun” and began to work with them.

“It was exciting knowing that you were working on something that would stay up on the walls for a while even after you graduate,” Mauro said. “It’s enjoyable to walk down the halls and see it and think of how much fun it is.”

Junior Lindsay Neeb, who started taking art classes at EHS this school year, is also involved in painting the mural.

“It feels really awesome and good to contribute to the school community, but at the same time there is some pressure to make sure it comes out the best it can,” Neeb said.

The students meet after school to paint the mural, which has been in progress for about two months.

“We usually do Mondays and Fridays after school,” Glenville said. “Sometimes it’s just one or two of us working on it at a time, but it usually works out. We pretty much all have the same idea of what it’s going to look like.”

Glenville, who is taking Crafts 1 and Painting 2/3 this year, had been interested in art long before she came to the high school and is happy for the opportunity to share that interest with the EHS community through her mural.

“I think it’s pretty cool to have something that’s going to last in the school,” Glenville said. “Since seventh grade when I visited the high school and was really involved with art, I figured it would be really cool to have a painted school, so it’s something I’ve thought about for a long time and finally doing it is just pretty exciting.”

When this mural is completed, Glenville’s work won’t be over. Her next plan is to turn her attention to her environmental science classroom.

“We’re going to start with ceiling tiles as leaves and branches on a tree, and then

make the trunk on the wall,” Glenville said. “We also talked about doing a couple field guide kind of things on the wall, kind of like a butterfly or insect identification.”

Friend looks forward to the final product of their mural.

“I’m glad I get to display what I love to do on a wall in the school for everyone to see,” she said. “It’s a work in progress, but it will look great in the end.”

Juniors Kyla Glenville (front) and Brianna Friend work on the mural. Photo

by Rylan Bassett.

NEWS

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

3

District sees increase in economic diversity Andrea Klick Editor-in-Chief The day after her 16th birthday, Alexis Trauger started searching for her first parttime job.

But, unlike other teenagers, she wasn’t trying to earn extra spending money on the weekends. Trauger wanted to work as much as possible to support her family, who she said have lived “paycheck to paycheck” since her parents divorced about 10 years ago.

“Since my parents got divorced, my mom has always struggled,” Trauger said.

“Now it’s worse because I’m 18, so we don’t get child support anymore. We basically don’t have anything in our house.

We run low on everything, we try to make everything last as long as possible.”

Trauger, a senior, works five days a week at Bon-Ton in four to eight hour shifts to help her mother pay for various expenses. She said her father, stepfather and grandparents also try to provide money for bills or costs for taking care of Trauger’s eight-month-old sister, but sometimes the family still lacks funds to pay the bills or do various household tasks.

“It’s definitely a struggle because right now we can’t do any laundry. We’re out of stuff for laundry,” Trauger said. “We’re out of basic things, and it is a struggle because you have to scrounge around and try and use everything the best you can.”

Several weeks ago, Trauger said she applied for and began receiving free lunches through the school to cut down on costs for her family. Government-funded free and reduced lunch programs are available in all public schools to provide meals for lowincome students.

According to the district website, the percentage of students like Trauger who use this program at Emmaus High School has consistently increased from 8.2 percent in the 2005-06 school year to 25.5 percent in 2015-16. The amount of students relying on free and reduced lunch programs is also seen as an indicator of economic disadvantage in schools. Similarly, the School Performance Profile, which the state uses to assess its schools, shows that 25 percent of EHS students and about 26 percent of students district-wide are economically disadvantaged.

School board director Ziad Munson thinks these statistics show an increase in the district’s economic diversity and economic inequality over the years.

“Our diversity comes particularly in economic terms, so we have very very wealthy families living in our community, and we have families that are struggling who live in our community,” Munson said. “They all come into one school district, and we need to figure out ways to provide all of those families with equal opportunities in education.”

The district has proposed or implemented several programs that could help lessen the inequality. In July 2016, the school board approved Pre-K Counts, a program that provides a prekindergarten experience to 20 low-income students in the district.

Also the 1-to-1 program, which aims to give students in all grade levels laptops or iPads by 2020, would give students of all economic backgrounds access to technology, Munson said.

When his children attended Lincoln Elementary School, Munson said he remembers they did various class activities on their devices from home. Students who didn’t have electronics would have to watch the activity on a classmate’s screen rather than participate directly.

“That’s not fair,” Munson said. “It reinforces that there’s haves and have nots in the school. It means one person gets the hands-on thing and gets to be the leader, and the other is just watching passively.”

According to superintendent Michael Schilder and assistant superintendent Kristen Campbell, there are faculty members who serve all students but can benefit economically disadvantaged students, as well. A representative from Communities in Schools, a program implemented this school year to help students with issues like addiction or suicide ideations, helps connect students to outside services in the community, Schilder said.

The district also has a student services director as well as a home and school visitor who help connect families to services in and outside of the district. Campbell said the home and school visitor can help economically disadvantaged families in the short and long term by connecting them to counseling services, parenting resources or organizations that could assist them in paying bills and managing finances.

While Schilder thinks the district has a number of programs and services for economically disadvantaged families, he believes it should always be open to improvements.

“You can always hire more people,” Schilder said. “You can always put more money into that. And we should always keep that in mind, that there’s always more we can do.”

The EHS Angel Network, a volunteer organization that aims to give all students equal opportunities, also plays a role in helping economically disadvantaged students. According to Angel Network president Lisa Baltz, the counseling office provides the organization with an anonymous list of families in need who want various services.

Baltz said the Angel Network provides a number of services, including donations of school supplies, clothing, hygiene products and holiday food baskets throughout the year. The organization also helps students afford prom preparations and partners with a local YMCA that hosts a free prom dress event.

Baltz said the Angel Network talked with Wesley Works Photography and DiMattia Photography to provide a package for low-income students to have their senior portraits in the yearbook and can help pay for expenses, such as field trips.

If a student’s family is going through an unexpected crisis, such as a house fire or a parent losing a job, Baltz said the

The Angel Network hosts holiday food basket drives three times a year in fall, winter and spring, where students and community members donate supplies and pack bags for families in need. Photo by Rachel Reed.

Angel Network can give them gift cards to through the Angel Network or the free and grocery stores, so they can put their money reduced lunch program. toward other expenses.

In middle school, Woomer’s father “Our goal is always to make the stuasked him to find a way to reduce the cost dents’ school life as normal as possible,” of his school lunch, so he could set aside Baltz said. “We want to do whatever we more money to pay for rent and other can to help with that, whether it be a new expenses. Woomer said he found out about pair of sneakers to fit in or a hoodie that and signed up for the free lunch program they need to be warm in the winter. Or if easily, and it has aided his family ever they don’t have food that week, we can since. give them a gift card so they can eat.”

“It does help them exponentially, not The Angel Network also tries to help having to put money in my account each students once they graduate from Emmaus. and every month for a lunch,” Woomer Each year, guidance counselors select a said. “They’ve helped my parents a lot handful of economically disadvantaged over the years, so they don’t have to worry students to receive Angel Education about me not having a lunch at school Grants, which help cover the costs of because I have that option.” books or other fees in the student’s post Still, Carolla said she feels more can be secondary education, Baltz said. When done to educate families on opportunities Baltz first joined the Angel Network in for financial assistance.

2011, she said it offered $500 grants to five “I think that maybe we do need to adverstudents. Last year, the organization gave tise [these programs and services] a little nine students $1000 each towards their bit more,” Carolla said. “It’s not supposed undergraduate or trade school educations, to be an underground system where people Baltz said. don’t know that it’s out there.”

Guidance counselor Jennifer Carolla While Baltz said the Angel Network said there are a number of services students tries to promote its programs and sercan ask about in the counseling office, such vices at school events and fundraisers and as the free and reduced lunch program, fee through flyers, she also thinks more can be waivers for standardized testing and coldone to inform students of the organizalege applications and the Angel Network. tion.

While she has seen an increase in the num“We just want to make sure that people ber of students using these services, she is are aware that we are here and these are the still concerned for the number of students situations where we can help them,” Baltz who don’t ask for financial assistance or said. “I think there might be some gaps are unaware of the programs available. where people aren’t aware or are maybe “I think as faculty and administration scared to ask for help.” we need to continue to keep our eyes open Trauger believes the school could do to students that we work with on a regular more to inform low-income students of basis,” Carolla said. “I think we need to opportunities like SAT fee waivers or field be comfortable starting the conversation trips paid for by the Angel Network, as she with students because sometimes I find that couldn’t attend a chorus field trip earlier when I start the conversation with students this year because of the price tag. they’re more apt to ask for something as “We have all these bulletins around the opposed to them coming in cold and asking school but half the time I only see things me. I also think that we need to make sure that are just like ‘vote for this’ or ‘vote for students understand that everybody needs that,’” Trauger said. “You don’t see anyhelp at some point in their life... and it’s thing that says ‘get help here’ or something nothing to be ashamed of.” like that. I feel like they should put stuff Senior Joseph Woomer said he has never like that on the bulletins to make people had a problem learning about opportunities aware.”

Superintendent Schilder announces retirement

Superintendent Michael Schilder.

Photo by Arianna Werner.

Lily Day News Editor Dr. Michael Schilder, superintendent of the East Penn School District for the past four years, has announced his plans to retire at the end of the school year.

In his letter to the board, Schilder thanked East Penn’s Board of Directors, administrators, teachers and support staff “for their constant hard work and devotion to the students of East Penn.”

Schilder became East Penn’s superintendent in the 2014-15 school year after the retirement of former superintendent Dr. Thomas Seidenberger.

Schilder’s career in education began in the Central Bucks School District, where he served as a fifth grade teacher and guidance counselor. He went on to become the principal of Hopewell Elementary School in

New Jersey. From there, he served as assistant superintendent at two New Jersey school districts. His experience as a superintendent began at the Clinton Public School District, where he stayed for eight years, followed by seven years at the Bridgewater-Raritan School District.

Schilder’s open letter to the East Penn community when he became superintendent shared his educational philosophy, which revolves around the ideas that “the relationship between teacher and student is the most important component of public education, districts must hire the very best teachers and administrators available, [and] delivering quality education is a team effort and must include teachers, administrators, students, parents, and the community.”

The formal announcement of Schilder’s intention to retire occurred at the Dec. 11

board meeting.

“Together, we have made much progress and I know East Penn School District will continue its quest to provide the very best education possible to its students,” Schilder said in his letter to the board. “Finally, it has been my distinct pleasure to work with all the wonderful students and parents in EPSD, and I wish them nothing but the best.”

School board president Alan Earnshaw has worked with closely with Schilder for the past four years.

“Dr. Schilder has done an outstanding job as Superintendent, and he has provided strong educational leadership, a clear vision for the district, and excellent fiscal discipline,” Earnshaw said. “I will miss him, both personally and professionally, but I am happy for him as he moves into the next phase of his life.”

4

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

NEWS

Course changes for 2018-19 school year Lily Day News Editor On Nov. 13, Emmaus High School Principal Kate Kieres and Supervisor of Curriculum Laura Witman presented adjustments to the Program of Studies and proposed new courses for next school year to the school board.

These changes were approved at the Dec. 11 board meeting. The process of amending the Program of Studies each year involves many teachers and administrators. According to Kieres, a set of meetings in the fall were held, in which she, Witman, Assistant Principal for Academic Affairs Todd Breiner, Counseling Department chair Jennifer Carolla, and Special Education Department chair Kevin Remaly meet with academic department heads. “[The department chairs] typically bring recommendations to us,” Kieres said. “That’s most often how these kinds of things happen. And sometimes they’re simple, they’re just sort of ‘we want to change the course description because we made some adjustments to what we’re doing,’ but when you’re talking about the big changes as far as adding a course or making a significant adjustment... they’re based on feedback that they’ve gotten from students, sometimes they’re based on enrollment.”

Kieres acknowledges that Breiner deserves a “big shoutout because he does really 95 percent of the work here along with the department chairs; he really coordinates the whole process.”

The art department is implementing a structural change next school year--combining Drawing and Painting into year-long courses rather than separate, semester-long courses. This integration will occur at all three levels of these classes.

In the business department, a new course will be introduced: Marketing 2. This class will replace and combine the Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Fashion Marketing and Hospitality & Tourism Marketing classes that students can currently choose to take after they complete the introductory marketing class.

The math department is expanding Probability and Statistics CP from a semester to a full-year course.

A number of courses have been proposed for the 2018-19 school year, including new Project Lead the Way courses.

Photo by Arianna Werner.

“No matter what you’re going to do with your life, having an understanding of statistics is really helpful, and it has so many applications in your real life,” Kieres said. “But the other piece of it is that statistics is often a requirement for a lot of undergraduate majors... so giving students some exposure to that is great, and [the full-year course] will give us more opportunity to do it than just what we have in the semester class right now.”

Also in the math department, Algebra 3/Trigonometry will be renamed to “Precalculus,” which Kieres said “is really a better reflection of what the students are actually doing.”

Additionally, the science department is undergoing some changes. Applied Environmental Science will be removed from the Program of Studies, but Environmental Science at the CP and AP levels will still be offered. Two Project Lead the Way (PLTW) classes, Environmental Sustainability and STEM Physics Honors, will count toward fulfilling students’ science requirements starting next school year. Additionally, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, another Project Lead the Way class, will

EHS band buys new sousaphone Destiny Swan News Contributor It’s Friday Night Lights at the East Penn Football Stadium, and at halftime, the marching band takes the field.

Often, the crowd watches all of the popular instruments perform. But band director Ryan Harrington knows which one stands out with special pride--the sousaphone.

Recently the band acquired a new sousaphone. Sousaphones, which weigh up to 30 pounds with an average cost of $3000, are similar to the tuba but differ in shape.

The band doesn’t buy sousaphones often since they age well.

“If they are well-maintained, [a sousaphone] usually lasts up to 20 or 30 years if they’re decent,” Harrington said. “When the valves go out you know it’s time [to move on].”

This instrument attracted three students early in their educational careers.

Junior Ben Lewis’s interest for the sou-

saphone started in seventh grade.

“I played trumpet and wanted to play something big and low,” Lewis said.

Senior Nehemiah Smith’s musical journey led him to the same place as Lewis’.

“I started tuba in eighth grade, then marching band [in high school],” Smith said. “The equivalent of a tuba is a sousaphone,” making it ideal for Smith to upgrade.

Seniority and skill are the deciding factors for receiving a new sousaphone, but everyone has an opportunity to try it out.

Senior Max McAllister, who received the new sousaphone this season, knows the responsibility that comes with having it.

“It really depends on skill or trustworthiness; it’s a lot of responsibility,” McAllister said. “You have to know your music and be able to lead the low brass.”

The variety and range of the instrument draws students in. A 30 pound instrument can’t go unseen among the crowd, which is what McAllister finds unique about it.

make its debut next school year. It will be taught by science teacher Edward Anthony. The courses’ implementation costs will be $42,850, which includes both training and resources.

In addition to the introduction of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, the technology education department will separate Visual Communications into two semester courses, Print Media and Digital Media, to allow students to concentrate on their areas of interest.

In the social studies department, there will be a requirement for students to take a course that provides instruction in the area of civics starting with the class of 2022. The Comprehensive School Climate Inventory survey that was conducted last school year revealed that students, parents, and teachers all rated “Social and Civic Learning” relatively low. To fulfill this requirement, students will need to take a government class, AP U.S. History, or Humanities Honors.

“We felt that it was really important that students get a strong background in civics and government, just to be responsible citizens of the world, to understand your voting rights, to understand how government works,” Kieres said.

The Government and Economics CP class will be split into separate semester courses “to give students more choice,” according to Kieres. For example, a student will be able to take Government CP for a semester to satisfy the civics requirement, and then have a choice between taking economics, psychology or sociology for another semester to complete a full year of social studies classes.

For the first time next year, the social studies department will also be offering AP World History. According to Witman, “EHS students have been asking for the opportunity to take the course.”

Kieres hopes that these changes will allow students greater freedom when selecting their courses.

“We do really try to keep our Program of Studies very flexible and student-centered, and we try to really take a fresh look at it every year and make sure that we’re meeting students’ needs,” Kieres said.

“It’s noticeable, [the sound and size],” McAllister said. “The sound itself is unique. It’s the figurehead of the marching band.”

Lewis agrees with McAllister.

“It builds a foundation for anything that you play,” Lewis said.

The marching band has about 14 “stand tunes” that they play during football games, as well as four songs in the halftime show. Of this year’s setlist, Smith and McAllister agree that “Dionysus” best showcased the sousaphones.

“We played the rhythm and melody. We don’t usually get to play melody,” McAllister said.

Several stand tunes, such as arrangements of “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson are built around the sousaphone.

Knowing that they provide a foundation for these songs, the players believe that there is a certain reputation they have to uphold.

“We try to be the life of the band, help people have fun,” Lewis said. “We get to play the best parts of the songs.”

Seniors Nehemiah Smith and Max McAllister and Junior Ben Lewis pose with the marching band’s new sousaphone. Photo by Emma Brashear.

Voters elect two new board members

Joshua Orendach News Contributor On Nov. 7 in the East Penn School District, members of the community voted for school board members to fill four open seats.

Two incumbent members, Alan Earnshaw and Ziad Munson, were reelected. They will be joined by Alisa Bowman and Adam Smith.

Earnshaw, who has served on the board for 16 years and spent the last six years as its president, plans to use his experience to move the district forward.

Munson has been on the board since 2013, and hopes to continue to advocate for the community.

“I find it rewarding to not simply complain about our schools, but roll up my sleeves and help find practical solutions to the challenges we face,” Munson said in an open letter to the community.

For Smith, this term will be his first as a school board director.

“My vision for the East Penn School District is to continue the district’s proud tradition of excellence, serving as a voice for our students

as they work to become responsible, self-directed citizens who can compete in the increasingly challenging and changing global landscape,” Smith said on his website.

Bowman decided to run because she felt the time had come for her to provide help to the school district and community with her decision making, leadership and communication skills.

Although she has never been interested in politics in the past, she has consciously tried to give back to the community.

“In my 20s, I tutored youth at a Boys’ Club and taught people to read as a literacy tutor,” Bowman said. “In my 30s, I was involved in the Sierra Club, serving as the chair of the Lehigh Valley group for several years.

In my 40s, I’ve become involved in social justice and equality causes.”

She registered to run by asking people to sign a petition to get her name on the ballot and then got it notarized and turned into the county elections office. Once Bowman was approved for the ballot, she purchased around 100 signs and asked people to display them.

“I went door to door and talked to people about the educational issues that mattered to them,” Bowman said.

“I attended countless events, and I purchased Facebook ads.”

Andrea Ziegler helped create the design which displays Bowman’s name, and shows two people shaking hands. Ziegler was inspired by Bowman when she mentioned how she wanted to help build bridges and bring people together.

Last year, Bowman addressed the school board with her transgender son in response to another EHS student who previously voiced concerns about sharing a locker room with a transgender student.

As a school board member, Bowman would like to start introducing a few changes.

“Primarily, I’d like to bridge the gap between parents, students, and the administration so that we can all work to make the district stronger,” Bowman said. “I’d like to study whether current dress codes are equitable or whether they unfairly target girls.” She also hopes to keep antibullying issues front and center.

Alisa Bowman.

Alan Earnshaw.

Photo courtesy of Bowman. Photo courtesy of Earnshaw.

Ziad Munson.

Photo courtesy of Munson.

Adam Smith.

Photo courtesy of Smith.

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

5

6

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

Opinion THE STINGER

Emmaus High School 500 Macungie Ave. Emmaus, PA 18049 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andrea Klick ASSOCIATE EDITOR Marley Wait MANAGING NEWS EDITOR Lily Day ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS Tabitha Nowak, Katie Taranto MANAGING OPINION EDITOR Erica Love ASSISTANT OPINION EDITORS Luke Maake, Kaylee Ruiz MANAGING FEATURES EDITOR Bibi Correa ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITORS Chloe Gerhard, Emma-Lin Moyer MANAGING CULTURE EDITOR Joe Eckstein ASSISTANT CULTURE EDITORS Rylan Bassett, Renee Martin MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR James Marler ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS Caroline Bond, Adrianna Tomasello BUSINESS MANAGER Abby Perkins PHOTO EDITORS Emma Brashear, Arianna Werner MANAGING ONLINE EDITOR Izzy Wegner ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITOR Makayla Frazier CONVERGENCE EDITOR Bradley Klemick

Editorial Policy The Stinger is a student-run newspaper published six times per year. Its content, which is the responsibility of the student staff, is not subject to direct administrative approval. The newspaper, which is designed as an open forum, serves to inform and entertain its readers as well as enrich students interested in print media studies.

Business For advertising, contact business manager Abby Perkins.

Have an opinion and want to be heard?

Submit an editorial to stingerehs@gmail.com 2.5 page maximum, double-spaced Letters to the Editor are also welcome.

Find us on social media! stingerehs.com @stinger.ehs @stingerehs

@StingerEHS

Illustration by Kaylee Ruiz.

1-1 will modernize district, prepare students Editorial Board As the school year advances toward 2018, Emmaus High School is gearing up to implement its 1-1 technology program for students, putting the school on par with many other districts across the state who found success in personal, educational technology.

According to the district’s Director of Technology Michael Mohn, the program, which will begin after the current technological infrastructure is updated in EHS, is set to be completed by 2020.

This is an ambitious goal that will likely be accompanied by hikes in the East Penn School District’s technology budget.

Despite high anticipated costs for the initiative, implementing a modern 1-1 program in Emmaus High School will be inarguably beneficial to all students.

EHS, with its diverse student body comprised of people from various income brackets, could allow students who previously did not have

access to their own technology at home to learn and grow in their knowledge of computers and modern ways of communication and work, giving kids opportunities they may not have had before.

Learning to adapt to current technologies is a skill that could easily develop in students who will inevitably be thrust into a work or higher education environment where computers are used in many tasks they will engage in.

An increase in technological literacy of the school district also means an increase in the possibilities of expanding student learning environments, and in turn, a higher exposure to the problems and situations that arise in everyday life.

Since the goal of high school education is to prepare students for the future, it makes sense to increase the scope of technology used in the school day to acclimate kids to a world of ever-changing devices and programs.

Despite the benefits of 1-1

programs, there are some drawbacks to increased exposure to technology. Once students are ensured to get their own laptops, for example, many teens and younger children may find that they will begin to spend an excessive amount of time in front of the screen. This problem could be exacerbated during the school day, as teachers would likely utilize the 1-1 technology as often as possible.

This prospect brings up a whole new problem in itself.

What happens when technology goes wrong? Total dependence on the internet and machines-- a realistic possibility for the future of education-erases important and traditional skills that have been taught in schools for decades.

Hands-on activities like note taking, handwriting, and creating posters simply are not the same when they are worked on with a keyboard and screen.

Each student has their own learning style, so auditory and dexterous teaching may easily

fall to the wayside in the midst of a technology-centered academic environment.

Success can best be found if educators in the school district can find a happy medium in the balance of utilizing modern technology and typical pencil-to-paper activities, instead of moving all work and material to internet platforms.

Although the move toward a full 1-1 program has been discussed in the district since 2006, it is now a priority for the technology department to place East Penn students into an environment where personal technology is available.

Technological literacy is an important skill that will have worthwhile and far-reaching impacts. 1-1 can expand the educational opportunities for everyone, and undoubtedly will help ready the student body for whatever future occupations or engagements they will come across.

Students will reap benefits of full-day kindergarten Compiled by Staff The East Penn School Board had the choice in October when school directors voted on adopting a full-day curriculum for kindergarten students in the school district. With four open seats looming on the school board-- and some of the new candidates favoring the idea of all-day K-the board turned it down with a 5-4 split.

However, new board members Adam Smith and Alisa Bowman helped turn the idea into reality on Dec. 11 in a 6-3 vote.

Some still question the merits of full-day kindergarten, but the only question there should be is why didn’t it come sooner?

Currently in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, full-day kindergarten is not mandatory. However, the minimum requirement for kindergarten attendance is 180 days, 2 ½ hours each, per school year.

According to a 2015 study by Education Week Research Center, three-fourths of the United States’ kindergarteners are enrolled in full-day programs.

Studies suggest that full-day kinder-

garten can offer social, emotional and intellectual benefits to students. Students attending full-day programs do better in reading than their half-day counterparts, according to the National Association of School Psychologists.

By allowing teachers more time to work with students in a school day, they will be able to form a better understanding of the learning capabilities of their students.

This extra time will help in the long term to create a better learning environment for both the students and the teacher. If students are already enrolled in a full-day program, they may have an easier transition into first grade because of their prior experiences of being in school for the same length of time.

Those against full-day kindergarten often claim that it is too expensive because taxpayers would have to pay more for the teachers to be at school the full day. But a half-day in the East Penn School District for kindergarten is two hours and 45 minutes and a full day is six hours. Since there

is a morning and afternoon kindergarten program, the teachers would be there for about the same amount of time whether it was a half-day or full-day program.

By investing time in the students now, taxpayers and schools can save money on future expenses, such as programs dedicated to help students who fall behind.

Additionally, according to the National Education Association, investments in “quality early childhood programs” put out returns of 3-to-1, or at least $3 for every $1 spent. Clearly, spending money to develop key skills in childhood translates to long-term social and economic benefits.

The advantages a child gains in a fullday kindergarten program are not as easily available in half-day programs. This simple change can help them in their future academic careers as educators steer them towards success. Full-day kindergarten is a win-win deal-- and it’s better late than never.

THE STINGER

OPINION

DECEMBER 2017

7

Centrism brings rationality to politics

Luke Maake Opinion Editor Here’s a quick experiment -- if you’ve ever thought that there isn’t anything the political left and right agree on, simply pronounce yourself a centrist.

You’ll receive criticism from seemingly everywhere and quickly realize that the left and right can unite to disparage centrism.

The word “centrist” probably conjures up an image of an indecisive, weak-willed individual who does nothing but complain about political extremes while not putting forward any valid political ideas of his or her own.

To some extent this may be true, and I’m not here to defend this form of centrism, but rather propose my personal definition of centrism and how it applies to politics.

In terms of winning seats in Congress, the center may not be the way to go. I won’t advocate

for centrism as an optimal political strategy. Instead, I see it as a general philosophical guideline for how one should go about evaluating policy.

Above all, centrism entails the encouragement of healthy political debate without one side immediately assaulting the moral integrity of the other. Not all conservatives are racists, and not all liberals are snowflakes; name-calling without any basis has no place in political discussion.

To write off what another person has to say simply under the pretense of moral superiority is intellectually dishonest and only serves to further polarize the two sides of the spectrum.

When one utters the word “racist,” or “libtard,” it’s nothing more than a dismissal, a tactic employed to end discussion.

Clearly, proper discourse cannot be held with one who’s so morally bankrupt or deluded.

Both sides walk away bitter, and no ground is gained. What’s the point of political discussion if it’s more about gaining the moral high ground over your opponents than actually debating policy?

If there’s one thing that can’t

be questioned, it’s the very idea that everything should be questioned. Public debate cannot end when one side feels the other side has crossed the line -- if anything, that’s where it should begin. Casting an idea in a holy light and vilifying those who question it is a dangerous road to take when attempting to discern the truth.

Centrism only exists be-

cause political extremes exist.

When doctrine and blind party allegiance arise, so too must a rejection of this dogma. A middle ground precludes moral absolutes from dictating policy, and attempts to keep in check the silencing of spirited discourse.

Politics are not a black-andwhite issue, and the goal of the centrist is to prevent it from being treated as such.

This isn’t to say, however, that compromise is always the answer - nor does the answer always lie in the center. Positioning yourself in the exact middle of every issue is just as nonsensical as unwaveringly supporting every move your political party makes. The core of centrism is not that you always strike a balance, but that you reach conclusions based on evidence and facts, rather than knee-jerk reactions and news headlines.

So while professing yourself as a liberal-leaning or conserva-

tive-leaning centrist may seem contradictory, it’s quite the opposite. In reality, no one can truly describe himself or herself as a “pure centrist” -- we all have leanings to the left or right on certain issues, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

These left and right leanings only become problematic when they bloom into something greater, or when bias prevents one from engaging in reasonable discussion with the other side.

It may seem that my topic trends more towards common sense than towards a distinct political opinion, and this is exactly what I desire. It’s absurd that an article should have to be written about the merits of open discussion, and yet many absurdities are manifest in the current political climate. The way to deal with these absurdities, however, is not through derision of the other side -- civil discussion is the only proper route.

Illustration by Otavio Santos de Albuquerque.

What heritage are we celebrating?

Stefania Schoen Opinion Contributor On Oct. 19, I received a truly horrifying text message from my younger sister, Pandora, an Emmaus High School freshman.

The message contained photographs of an EHS student wearing a Confederate flag as a cape as he walked through our school’s hallway and cafeteria. Disgusted by this incident, my sister asked me, hopefully, if this was an isolated occurrence.

Ashamed for my school, I had to tell her how frequently I have seen the Confederate flag at EHS. I find the frequency with which I see the Confederate flag at EHS astonishing, even though (the last time I checked) Emmaus is in Pennsylvania-- one of the first states to abolish slavery in 1780, a staunch supporter of the Union in the Civil War, and home to one of the most significant battles in defense of that Union. Nevertheless, I have been subjected to an endless barrage of dubious arguments suggesting that somehow the battle flag of the Confederate Army of Virginia represents our “heritage” or “culture.” What “heritage” are EHS students celebrating if not a heritage of racial oppression?

Throughout history, each time the Confederate battle flag has made a resurgence -- KKK rallies in the 1920s, the Dixiecrats in the 1950s, Charlottesville this past summer-- it has accompanied an outpouring of white anger. In fact, an Alabama news outlet reported that Confederate flag

sales surged in the weeks following the Charlottesville rally. There seems to be a lot of racial antagonism attached to this symbol of “heritage” and “culture.” On Nov. 20, I witnessed a student flaunting a T-shirt with the Confederate flag above the words “Confederate Lives Matter.”

The explicit reference to the Black Lives Matter movement raises the question: Are we celebrating heritage or promoting intolerance?

According to Principal Kate Kieres, EHS does not have “an official policy on the Confederate Flag as a symbol...” She cites the U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines which “established that rights are not shed at the schoolhouse gate...unless the speech creates a substantial disruption to the learning environment.” But she allows that “draping...or displaying” the flag is a “disruption.”

District Superintendent Michael Schilder agrees.

“A student bringing the flag is different from wearing it... it has no place here... it’s not educational,” Schilder said.

He explains that “a T-shirt... with the Confederate flag” is protected speech, but if a student were to flaunt the T-shirt at an African-American student, for example, the school would have the responsibility to say “no more.”

AP Government and Politics teacher John Gallagher asserts that in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court ruled that school administrators can

limit student expression for pedagogical concerns, but Kieres notes that students and faculty must report these disruptions so the administration can address them, suggesting that “to hear something and not stop it sends a very strong message.”

“Every individual student who feels like you do and like I do has to do their part,” Schilder said.

To that end he recommends talking about any incident of intolerance, making it clear that it is not acceptable, not by fighting, but by keeping the “conversation alive,” even if it’s in a math class.

“It has to be proven intolerable,” Schilder said.

Yet polls reveal Americans are clearly divided about the Confederate flag. Gallup reported in 2015 that 54 percent of Americans still viewed the flag primarily as "a symbol of Southern pride," down from 71 percent in 1992. However, a similar poll by CNN went beyond these numbers, reporting that while 66 percent of white Americans viewed the flag as a symbol of pride, only 17 percent of African-Americans shared that view. Alternatively, the poll revealed that 77 percent of African Americans equated the flag with racism, while only 25 percent of whites agreed.

Given this disparity, public schools must determine how best to create a safe and supportive educational environment for all students. When asked which right he deems more crucial and more constitutionally sound, protecting students’ free

speech or protecting students who may feel intimidated by the Confederate flag, Gallagher said “most definitely the latter.”

“I am not a Southerner, so I can’t truly understand what it’s like to be proud [of the Confederate flag]....It doesn’t represent something positive about the South.

It promotes treason,” Gallagher said.

Treason, indeed. Just a short walk from EHS, between Third and Fourth on North Street, is a small patch of grass with a stone monument holding a copper-colored plaque. On it are the names of some of the Emmaus residents who served in the Union Army, including the entire Emmaus and Macungie bands.

On Aug. 30, 1861, Tilghman H. Reinsmith, an aspiring Emmaus cabinetmaker, just 18, enlisted as a private in the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B. Over the next four years, Tilghman served in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Florida, and South Carolina. During the Red River Campaign in Louisiana, Tilghman was injured in battle and promoted to Corporal. After the war, he returned to Emmaus, opened a cabinetmaking shop, and eventually founded one of Emmaus’ most respected funeral homes which still serves our community today. Tilghman risked his life in a war that would end slavery and bring freedom to millions of AfricanAmericans. Why can’t we, as a community, take pride in that heritage?

8

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

OPINION

Take hold of Scout integration invokes mixed response your education Aman Malik Opinion Contributor At this time one year ago, I was probably dealing with the most stressful time in any college-bound high school student’s career: the SAT. Yup, that three or four hour exam that can make or break students’ academic futures.

The College Board defines the SAT as an exam that “builds skill over time.”

As a test taker, I give them credit. They filled my junior year with countless hours of memorizing grammar rules, understanding reading techniques, and attempting to ace the exam.

Overtime, I realized how the test fails to measure an individual’s pure intelligence and creativity. Don’t get me wrong, the components of the SAT are crucial to our future careers. But how can one individual test determine our worth? Nowhere on the test does the College Board ask the next great inventor for his ideas. It silences the musician, blanks the artist, and injures the athletes.

Public schools have come a long way. Originally, many schools tested the fundamentals and did not challenge students to apply themselves. Grades were usually decided by test scores and prevented the students from expressing their interest in subjects in other ways.

Schooling has evolved into a multi-faceted experience. Public school systems discovered ways for students to further their educations through practical lessons with projects and research, which reap innumerable benefits.

As great as this growth is in the public education system, flaws still exist. Schools fail to provide educational experiences outside the classroom.

Field trips merely expose us. Magnet schools worldwide continue to introduce research techniques and innovation to students. But why only them? One may argue that funding is the issue, but the allocation of our resources is where we are at fault. Three years ago, the East Penn School District’s middle schools stopped requiring the science fair competition and stripped students of the opportunity to explore, discover, and compete. With a younger sibling in middle school, I can see the negative impact of removing invaluable experiences like science fairs.

Outside of the classroom, I have taken my passions into my own hands, making sure to further my learning no matter what our schools aims to do. In 2015, with an interest in entrepreneurship I founded Cleat For Feet, a charitable non-profit organization with the aim to provide opportunity and ensure health and safety to young athletes in thirdworld countries.

During my summers, I pursued my passion for medicine and engineering through research. During my sophomore year, I researched on CTC chips that had the capability to predict locations of metastasizing cancers by analyzing circulating tumor cells. The following year I worked on understanding the physical principles of red blood cells. Such experiences helped me find my passions, express myself through my talents, and learn outside the classroom. They have demonstrated the importance of practical education and how necessary it is in the current scape of education systems nationwide.

As passionate students, it’s our responsibility to take our education into our own hands. Forget the tests, forget the grades, and forget the expectations.

Go out and explore. Test the waters and find your niche. No matter the interest, pursue it. No matter the barrier, break it.

No matter the feat, accomplish it.

Kaylee Ruiz The integration Opinion Editor of girls into Boy On Oct. 11, Scouts is a temNational Womporary solution en's Day, the for the arguably Boy Scouts of demeaning America anconnotation that nounced its plans Girl Scouts has. to let girls join However, several the 107-yearmembers argue old nonprofit that the solution organization and should be found earn other club within the Girl advancements Scouts organizastarting in 2018. tion. A popular By 2019, girls alternative is will have the integrating more opportunity to wilderness and rise through the survival activities ranks toward the and making the Eagle Scout proachievements of gram, the highest Girl Scouts relevel of Scout ceive equivalent achievement. recognition.

While the purpose In October, the Boy Scouts announced its plan to integrate girls into the organization. Photo by “It’s underof this change in Rachel Reed. standable that regulation was they would want knowledge of the wilderness, Scouts was founded. The issue, to promote inclusivity and to receive an Eagle Scout survival skills, and real-life however, comes from the conend gender separation, the award,” Arti Schmidt, a Boy orienteering experiences, notation that surrounds each announcement has been met Scout and EHS sophomore, provide positive male leadergroup’s yearly activities. Boy with a wave of criticism and ship to over 2.4 million Scouts. Scouts are known for venturing said.“It’s impressive both on a controversy. scholarship and as an achieveIt encourages young boys to into the woods for rugged surBoy Scouts of America has strive for maturity and good vival experiences, whereas Girl ment. They might have a girl already ventured into the world character, an ideology that, equivalent in Girl Scouts, but Scouts are known for sewing of co-ed programs and has it’s not as well known.” while not gender specific, has and baking pastries. While the previously offered STEM sciControversy was expected successfully trained boy scouts opportunities offered in these ence opportunities, Sea Scouts, to benefit the community and in response to the Boy Scout clubs aren’t limited to only Venturing, and Exploring to those around them for over a these, many Girl Scouts feel as announcement. However, the both genders. Initiating young hundred years. though the Gold Award doesn’t difficulties in merging the girls into Boy Scout troops is clubs will be worth it. Allow“Boy Scouts is important to receive the same recognition a long-awaited extension of my brother,” Brooke Seislove, as the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout ing girls to join the club is these activities that can be seen a Girl Scout and sophomore at a worthwhile advancement, Award. as both a step forwad in gender Emmaus High School said. enabling young girls to pursue “You could get much equality and the end of a great essential life skills. There is an “He has no male figures in more from Boy Scouts solely tradition. inherent lack of women in high his life. It’s a space for him because of the Eagle Scout,” Many view this as a negranking leadership positions to have positive masculine Addison Holtzhafer, a Boy ative modification to an and a negative connotation surinfluence, and if girls are there Scout and EHS sophomore, organization founded on the rounding stereotypical female the club is given a different said. “If you put on your rephilosophy of male-dominated dynamic.” sume that you have your Eagle roles, and co-ed activities are and female-dominated spaces. a strong first step to end an Some argue that sexism then you’re looked at highly.

The Boy Scouts of America, unfortunate stigma. within this organization comes It’s one of the best things you whose members are known for from gender segregation, could have, and every college dauntlessly pursuing a greater the principle on which Boy knows how significant it is.”

Repealing net neutrality hurts everyone Ronnie Rohlsen Staff Writer In 2015 during the Obama administration, a set of rules were put in place to protect companies and consumers alike from the monopolistic practices of cable giants like Comcast and Time Warner. Last week, however, the Federal Communications Commission decided in a 3-to-2 vote to repeal these protections.

The aforementioned regulations put in place to prohibit the anti-consumer practices of large cable companies came to be known as “net neutrality.” To describe a very complex topic in very simple terms, these rules stopped cable and internet providers from slowing down access to certain websites.

For example, if Verizon, who owns the unpopular search engine Yahoo, wanted to supercharge customer connection speeds to their search engine while throttling, or slowing, speeds to other engines like Google or Bing, net neutrality laws prevented them from doing so. Net neutrality laws quite literally create a neutral internet, as providers cannot make one website operate faster than any other in an attempt to force consumers into using certain websites.

Furthermore, net neutrality prevented companies from locking high-speed access to specific websites behind a paywall.

While this would seem like common sense legislation that is fair to everyone from your average internet users to owners of websites, the Trump administration succeeded in taking an axe to the neutrality laws.

Considering the fact that everyone

benefits from net neutrality, one cannot help but wonder why such protections would ever be put in jeopardy. The answer to that question is simple: money. Cable companies like Comcast and Verizon have lobbied millions of dollars into Congress to make sure their “needs” are heard by those in power.

In addition to excessive lobbying, the head of the FCC, the organization in charge of overseeing communication and the organization that fought to implement and protect net neutrality three years ago, is now run by a man named Ajit Pai, who boasts an ironic fact on his resume: he was a lawyer for Verizon, the very company that filed a lawsuit against the FCC when it tried to implement net neutrality back in 2014.

Of course, those who pushed to repeal net neutrality-- a group in conflict with the 76 percent of Americans who support neutrality-- will not admit that money is the driving force behind their legislation.

They claim that regulations on cable companies lead to a system in which companies remain stagnant, unable to reach their true potential, inhibited by the chains of regulation.

If certain companies go too far and are blatantly anti-consumer, they claim, the people will simply refuse to buy their product. This, however, is idealistic thinking at its finest, and ignores the largest problem in the American cable market. In a 2015 study intended to rank how much Americans trust 293 different companies, Time Warner placed 289th, not too far above Comcast, who ranked dead last on

the list. Despite a lack of trust, Time Warner and Comcast continue to make money.

Any logical person would wonder how that makes sense, and they would be right to wonder. The answer is rather unfortunate, as America is lagging behind the rest of the modern world in the cable department. People continue to buy service from companies they despise because they have no other option, as 46 million households in America have access to only one highspeed internet provider. The people will not choose a different provider when their current provider slows down access to websites they love like Google and Netflix because they are unable to choose; they only have one company to subscribe to.

The death of net neutrality is one of the most anti-consumer events in recent memory. Despite the fact that only cable companies benefit from ending net neutrality, despite the fact that every other major corporation can have their businesses hindered, despite the fact that millions and millions of American citizens could quite feasibly be subject to predatory business practices as a result, it seems as though net neutrality is on its last legs. Only legistlation or rulings from Congress and the courts stand in the way of the FCC getting what it wants.

Once again, corporations have used dollar signs to cover the mouths of the people, and as a result our voices will go unheard.

Cable companies have monopolies in towns and cities across the country, and if net neutrality goes away, there is very little in place to stop them from wreaking havoc on their consumers.

OPINION

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

9

Why your Christmas spirit is disappearing Makayla Frazier Online Editor Each year as Black Friday rolls around, holiday lights go up and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey graces every store, my subconscious becomes more and more effective at blurring out the presence of the holiday season in my life.

The holiday season has become a much less exciting time of year. I’ve grown out of trips to the mall to see Santa, Christmas Advent calendars and creating my wish list based on the contents of the Toys ‘R’ Us December magazine.

Even if there is an appeal to revive childhood traditions, the anticipation of the 25th is practically non-existent in my life until the day comes that my siblings wake me up at the crack of dawn claiming that Santa Claus came. Though they may believe that Santa and his elves decked out our living room floor with gifts, I do not. I found out when I was 12 that Santa is only a ploy parents use to control their children’s behavior in December. Since then, Christmas hasn’t brought me the same joy that it once did, and my parents feel the same.

When I was growing up, my mom was filled to the brim with Christmas spirit.

She started the season with “Christmas in July,” as we hung the lights and wrote lists for Santa while she searched for the perfect Christmas pajamas. Though in past years, since she discovered that jolly old Saint Nick no longer held a special place

in our hearts, she’s been far less merry.

Our festivities now include hunting for a Christmas tree the weekend before the 25th and locking ourselves in our rooms on Christmas Eve.

Superficial resolutions won’t make you cool

Sydney Lilly Staff Writer The new year is coming up, and with it are everyone’s favorite social media posts about promising to change a bad habit for views. It seems like New Year’s resolutions are more of a popularity contest than actual goals to better yourself.

Scroll: selfie of a girl next to a dog shelter poster. “I’m gonna help the homeless every Saturday night and stop partying.”

Scroll: mirror selfie of a boy holding a 5-pound dumbbell in his parent’s bathroom. “I’m going to work out everyday and get ripped #grindneverstops.”

Scroll: selfie of a girl with the heart eyes filter on Snapchat.

“This year I’m going to get a boyfriend so boysss if you’re single HMU.” Scroll: picture of two porcupines canoodling. “My News Year’s resolution is to have my first kiss.” All posted, all looked at, all commented on.

Will it ever end? Do we really make New Year’s resolutions for ourselves or just for likes on social media?

Yes, some people actually make goals for themselves to benefit their lives and follow through with it, such as getting good grades or helping mom around the house. I’ve seen countless students hitting up Corelife instead of Smashburger for a healthier lunch. If you are one of those people who make resolutions for yourself, congratulations; that’s amazing, and I hope you succeed.

But on the other hand, if you’re one of those people who sets a fake objective to be noticed, expect to be unfollowed.

Most of the resolutions I see are pictures and comments written only for attention, and it’s really upsetting. I get that maybe you’re lonely and you want a few pals, but lying about yourself isn’t the way to go. By all means, please keep posting the image of two porcupines kissing; it’s adorable.

I’m not trying to offend those who use social media for popularity, but I personally don’t see the point. Why would someone lie for attention? Why would someone feel the need to be popular? Most importantly, why would someone share everything on the internet about you? A New Year’s resolution should be personal and planned for a meaningful outcome.

Here are a few goals for the new year you may want to try out: join a club or a sport at school to socialize with new people or to have something to do every week. Stop procrastinating and finish homework the day it’s handed out. When you get a little bit hungry, snack on nutritional foods such as carrots and dip or celery and peanut butter instead of Doritos.

It can even be something as simple as going on the treadmill or elliptical while watching Netflix instead of sitting on the couch.

Pretending to be someone you’re not to be cool is stupid; don’t share on social media if you’re going to make up something for likes. Make a New Year’s resolution for yourself and not for your followers.

There are no cookies for Santa, no family event to decorate the tree and no Elf on the Shelf sneaking around throughout the 23 days leading up to Christmas Eve. So, where has the holiday spirit gone?

A study by the U.S. National Institute for Mental Health concluded that as you age, your dopamine system is less active when perceiving rewards-- and let’s face it, the holiday season is centered around receiving gifts.

It found that areas of the brain involved in processing rewards become more active in younger people when they receive a prize than older participants. This study could explain the lack of Christmas joy during the holidays. When an object of interest was shown to younger participants, the frontal and parietal cortex of their brains became active; this response was much weaker in older participants.

As a child you are under the false assumption that Santa will come down the chimney while making his rounds on Christmas Eve. Many kids stayed up counting down the hours as they thought of the perfectly wrapped presents Santa’s elves prepared for them. However, since the thrill of receiving gifts lessens with age, you may find yourself becoming less festive or prone to “get up and go.”

As your brain matures and you come to understand that you will not be getting a visit from Santa this Christmas, your perception of the holiday is warped.

So, no matter how many lights you string or how many cookies you bake this season, the holidays will lose their magic.

And there is nothing you can do to stop it.

You may not have even noticed.

The day Santa was spoiled Noah Speight Opinion Contributor Before you read any further, please be aware that the following story may contain spoilers.

Unfortunately, the white-bearded and big-bellied man best known as Santa Claus isn’t real.

Reality hit you hard just now, but at least you know who’s really been eating those cookies that you’ve been leaving out for Santa all these years. While some people came across the truth early in their lives and had no issue accepting it, others experienced a rather rude awakening and possibly their very first heartbreak.

Everyone uncovers the truth in a different way.

Matt De Leon, an Emmaus High School senior, had an interesting experience when he encountered ‘Santa.’

“I knew Santa was fake when my dad thought it was a good idea to step in dust and ash from the chimney in his work boots, so he could walk around the house making footprints so it really looked like Santa walked around in the house,” De Leon said. “He forgot he left his boots downstairs and I saw they were covered in all that dust and stuff and I put it all together. I told him I saw his boots and I knew it was him, because I mean, it’s not like Santa just forgot his boots and went all the way back to the North Pole without them.”

Lack of execution on Santa’s behalf.

Kayla Canedy, another EHS senior, caught her parents in similar scene.

“I found out when I stayed up late one night to catch Santa, but instead I saw my parents putting the presents under the tree,” Canedy said. “I didn’t say anything about it, but I was pretty upset.”

Of course, with the anticipated arrival of Santa during Christmas Day, some households leave him cookies and milk so he can stay refreshed after he drops off his load of presents.

“We left cookies out every year,” Canedy said.

Illustrations by Kaylee Ruiz.

Leaving cookies on the table is a common tradition in America, but not everyone chooses to do it.

Senior Bryan Duques says that it’s unnecessary.

“I figured [Santa] was going to a lot of houses who probably already left out cookies, so he’s good,” Duques said.

Believing in Santa is common for children, but should parents consider telling their kids early on that Santa isn’t real?

“They should find out themselves; it’s an experience for everybody,” Duques said.

De Leon begs to differ.

“They [parents] should,” De Leon said. “They’ll find out eventually anyways. When your parents can’t get you that 50-inch flat screen TV that you asked for, they should really just tell you that they can’t or don’t want to get it for you instead of saying Santa’s sleigh broke down or something. It’s good to have realistic expectations.”

10

Features CORREA’S corner A special thanks Bibi Correa Features Editor As I look at the glowing screen in front of me, scanning to make sure each period is perfectly placed and triple checking that every piece of information is “accurate according to my knowledge,” I realize that it’s almost over.

High school seemed like it would be ages away, and now it seems like seconds from being gone. Each day goes faster than the next, months fly by and before I know it, I’ve submitted my final college application.

My time at Emmaus High School is ending.

And while it’s exciting to go on and do something with my life, it’s scary to think that all of the people I have met throughout these last couple of years may end up being nameless faces left behind in my memory.

So I won’t go off and type about every single person I’ve met and how they’ve influenced me, because I probably won’t remember. But I will say that at 18 I know my current friends most likely won’t be the same ones who I invite to my wedding or whatever large endeavor life has to offer me.

Yet, these people whom I’ve met changed my life. They’ve made me forget about past insecurities and focus on who I am now. Four years ago I was a shy, awkward, quiet girl who only spoke when spoken to and went along with what everybody else said.

I was too afraid to be me, so I chose not to.

Now I’ve become this loud outgoing person who quite frankly never stops talking. To be honest, the only reason for that is because I surround myself more than ever with equally eccentric people. They’ve taught me to learn that I am unique and that I matter.

My friends have supported me through my toughest moments.

Whether it be family issues or stressing about college, I know that I can come to them without judgement.

They are there for me when I need to rant about work or school, and they listen. They care.

Without them I don’t know what my life would consist of. They’ve given me some incredible memories.

Weekly trips to WholeFoods, skateboarding at midnight, late night phone calls and trips to Texas will never be the same.

They’ve dealt with my sass, my bluntness, my neediness and just about everything in between.

The love and care they show for me is something I don’t know how to give back. Sure, they don’t all get my Vine references, but I still love them.

While I’ve lost some friends over the years, even their friendship will not be forgotten. They allowed me to self-reflect, whether it was something I did or something I need to learn to get over, they made me into a better person.

I just hope that I can be as good a friend as they are.

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

STUDENTS LAND INTERESTS IN AVIATION

Adrianna Tomasello Sports Editor In his sophomore year, Noah Fairhurst began taking extra steps to pursue a career in flying and enrolled in classes in the aviation program at Lehigh Carbon Community College.

This May the Emmaus High School senior will earn an associate’s degree in aviation and business management.

However, his interest in flying began when he visited family across the country, specifically his great uncle Marty.

“He’s the oldest living pilot in Oregon; he’s like 87 and still flying,” Fairhurst said. “So he was flying all the way back in the 40s and 50s in the early stages of aviation. I flew with him and I really, really liked it and, so my mom and I were looking at what I want to do as a career in life and I really like flying so I started taking lessons.”

Each year more students around the country work to obtain their student flying license. This means that they put in a minimum of 40 hours of training and take a solo flight, similar to a driver’s test. Last year, the number of licenses issued rose to 128,501, as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.

From there, a license holder can move on to other advanced certifications such as private, commercial, and recreational.

Beforehand, students must master the skills of taking off, landing, banking and in air training.

Unlike Fairhurst, family influence played a limited role in junior Ben Sheaffer’s interest in flying. At four months old, he took his first trip on a plane, but was too young to understand it. Yet the second time he flew a Boeing 747, he loved it.

“I loved the idea that we could get something that big and that heavy off of the ground that fast,” Sheaffer said. “That’s when I first started looking into the field of aviation.”

This hobby takes a lot of time and practice to perfect. Each week, junior Nick Toto spends around five hours improving his flight techniques.

“Not every flight is from point A to point B,” Toto said. “Most flights when I am training is just practicing in the air doing banks, climbs, descends, take offs, landings. Not many are from one airport to the another. But when you are doing landings or take offs, they are usually from the same airport.”

These students not only take lessons to learn to fly, but also to learn the physics and mechanics behind such large vehicles. Their classroom knowledge is integrated into their flights with the help of their instructors to enforce constant application. For example, they learn diverse sets of maneuvers to accommodate for specific instances, such as how to recover the plane if the engine stalls.

All of this is similar to what a high school student learns in driver’s ed.

“You just have to be careful,” Sheaffer said. “Both in the car and in the plane you have to be very well aware of surroundings and in a plane you have a lot of extra things to watch which would be your altitude, your airspeed, pitch and roll, whereas in a car you kind of just have to watch your speed.”

After graduation, senior Eddie Palmer plans to attend

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and earn his private pilot’s license. Unlike a driver’s test, Palmer sees how the knowledge test for a pilot’s license is more difficult.

“It’s more complicated than the DMV test,” Palmer said.

“You have to know the physics about how it flies, the parts of the airplanes, [and] a bunch of rules about flight.”

In comparison to driving, Fairhurst relates the two to a “2D vs. 3D” concept. It’s as if driving is like a circle, simple, while flying is like a sphere, complex. Toto also recognizes the comparison between the two vehicles.

“The big difference is even if your instructor is not there, there is still someone always telling you what to do to keep you and others safe,” Toto said. “You always have a checklist that you are following for every move you make from moving on the ground, to taking off, to landing, to straight flight, you are always following something. I guess that worries you less. Getting in a plane for me is just like getting in a car.”

Checklists relay the instructions from ground control to the pilot.

“I have a preflight checklist, a before take off checklist, you have a checklist for everything in aviation,” Fairhurst said.

Each of the pilots plan on furthering their passion for flying in continued education after high school by pursuing a commercial pilot’s license to become part of an airline.

“To become a commercial pilot for an airline you have to have some kind of degree,” Sheaffer said. “It can be as simple as you know how to fix a toilet or I am hoping to get an aerospace engineering [degree] so that at least I get an idea what goes into making the aircraft that I am flying so I better understand the aircraft and how it is working for me.”

Deciding to pursue a career like flying at an early age can be intimidating, but it is what these students devote themselves to.

“Every time when you take off or push the throttle up it gets your adrenaline going which is one of the best feelings,” Toto said. “You feel so old and grown up because of the fact that you are the one controlling it. It’s what I love.”

Top left: Senior Noah Fairhurst on his plane, ready for take off. Photo by Arianna Werner. Above: A view from one of junior Nick Toto’s flights. Photo courtesy of Toto. Bottom: Fairhurst pulls his plane out in preparation for a flight. Photo

by Werner.

F E AT U R E S

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

& Meditation Teachers adopt mindfulness in the classroom

11

Education

Makenzie Christman Features Contributor Rylan Bassett Culture Editor A sense of calm enters Room 581 as English teacher Tim O’Connor announces to his students that their mindful moment will begin.

Silence washes over the fourth period class of freshmen. The room, dark to match the serene atmosphere, gives students a minute to reflect and decompress. This is mindfulness, a tool used by large corporations, and now schools to improve mental health.

Recently, companies such as Google, Target, General Mills and Intel have taken up the practice of mindfulness to help increase productivity and mental health in their employees.

Google offers many programs on mindfulness to their employees, with its most popular one being “Search Inside Yourself,” according to Harvard Students participate in a mindful moment, gathering their thoughts and focusing on the present.

Business Review in 2015. Participants Photo by Rylan Bassett. claimed they felt their mental health inform students about mindfulness, hopawareness-type thing,” Buchman said. improved overall. ing they will use the therapeutic method to “Everyone should be aware about it, and Educational professionals noticed the improve their lifestyles. not just certain classes are doing it. I think growth of mindfulness programs in the “I think it’s a great positive thing for it could benefit everybody in the school.” corporate world and determined these students today because their lives are Healthcare company Aetna integrated techniques could help students whose booked with constant activities--high mindfulness into their corporation and lives are defined by stress, anxiety or stress,” O’Connor said. “Taking 60 secreported seeing a 35 percent decrease in depression. onds is not a big deal if it helps.” stress among employees in 2011.

Several teachers from Emmaus recogHe continues to notice more students Like O’Connor, other teachers realize nized the movement as well, including who value the minute with their thoughts the importance mindfulness can serve in a O’Connor. at the beginning of his classes. high school setting.

The goal of mindfulness is to better Freshmen Janan Hassanali and Bella Science teacher Kimberly Kneller mental health by acknowledging the Buchman enjoy mindful moments as a agrees that mindfulness is a good tactic present condition in a reflective manner. part of their English class. for lowering stress levels.

It gives people an opportunity to put aside “It helps me kind of gather all my “It definitely helps with stress regulaextraneous thoughts or feelings and focus thoughts and gets me ready for the day,” tion,” Kneller said. “Any time you have on the present moment.

Hassanali said. “I can think about what I emotions that take over, it’s a way to reign Keeping these benefits in mind, O’Congotta do and how I can achieve my day.” it in.” nor decided to implement mindfulness in While Hassanali looks forward to startShe believes stress reduction needs to his classes this year by taking one minute ing her day with 60 seconds of silence and be a priority in educational environments, out of the beginning of the period to relaxation, Buchman utilizes the time to especially in advanced courses. Kneller reflect or meditate. manage her stress. understands that mindfulness encompasses “It’s like a reset button for some of “I have testing anxiety, so to have those more than scheduled time to turn off the these students before they enter into my couple seconds to just clear my thoughts lights and allow students to decompress. class,” O’Connor said. “Whatever is going and recollect it really helps calm me She thinks that teachers inadvertently use on or happened prior to you coming into down,” Buchman said. mindfulness by asking how students are this class, that’s okay, and it’s okay to kind Both say mindfulness should be pracdoing, causing them to think about their of let it go and let’s start fresh.” ticed throughout the school to aid more present condition.

Allowing this time for students to medstudents.

Though these fleeting moments of itate and reflect alleviates stress from their “I think it should be a schoolwide reflection are useful, Kneller feels there is busy schedules. O’Connor aims to further

still room for more structured practices in the classroom.

“It would be awesome to have more [teachers] formally trained in mindfulness,” said Kneller, who believes in implementing formal mindfulness across the school because “there’s really no place to go and just be with your thoughts.”

While students would benefit from widescale use of mindfulness, there are some technical hurdles to overcome.

Health teacher Lori Miller recognizes the need for stress relief in the student body, but notes the limited time to meditate in class.

“Taking a few minutes to reset between each period sounds great,” Miller said. “Every time we turn around, there’s something new to do.”

She expresses the concern that some students may see designated mindfulness time as an opportunity to text or fool around.

Recognizing that possibility himself, freshman Zeke Castro thinks that the importance of mindfulness can be passed on by leading through example.

“You can practice mindfulness and take it seriously, then prove that it really does help,” Castro said.

Psychology teacher Brian Parish shares the concern that few students would use a mindfulness moment appropriately.

“If we did it in the beginning of class or every class, my fear would be that it wouldn’t be taken seriously,” Parish said.

“Maybe adding it to the beginning of the day routine, there’s the national anthem, the pledge, then a built in mindfulness moment.”

Parish supports the idea, feeling that it would benefit many students with mental illnesses, diagnosed or not. He understands that mindfulness would assist teenagers that use social media, which has been found to deteriorate mental health.

“Anything that can help with the stress of the modern world, which seems to get more and more worse, I see it as beneficial,” Parish said. “At the same time, I don’t think it’s going to solve all of our problems, but anything can help.”

Saying “czec”: How language formed a friendship Chloe Gerhard Features Editor Junior Patrick Kuzdzal walks into his fifth period AP Language and Composition class and greets fellow junior Adam Rokicki with a simple “czec.”

Rokicki responds easily with “czec.”

“Czec” is a common Polish greeting that translates to “hello” in English, languages that both Kuzdzal and Rokicki speak fluently. Exchanges like these are common between the two friends and are often followed by conversations that their classmates and teachers cannot understand. Kuzdzal and Rokicki have known each other since they were young and played on the same soccer team, but they did not realize that the other spoke Polish until their mothers met.

“I think it was like parent-teacher conferences, and my mom talked to his mom,” Kuzdzal said. “And then she was like ‘hey, they speak Polish, too.’”

Kuzdzal’s parents lived in Poland, but his grandfather at the time worked in America. Similarly, his father came to America in order to make extra money to support his family. Returning to Poland, his father decided to move his family, including Kuzdzal’s mother and older sister, to America, where Kuzdzal was born in 2001.

Both of Rokicki’s parents lived in the city of Toruń located in Northern Poland. In 1984, his father immigrated to America by ship while his mother came by plane in 2000. Like Kuzdzal, Rokicki was born in America.

Kuzdzal’s first language is Polish, speaking it exclusively at home. He attended a preschool in New York that had a large Polish population. Kuzdzal did not begin to learn English until his family moved to Pennsylvania,

where he was enrolled in the English as a Second Language program in kindergarten.

“I was put in ESL when we moved to Pennsylvania because I knew, like, no English at all,” Kuzdzal said. “I got [the hang of] it by, like, second grade though.”

Unlike Kuzdzal, Rokicki learned English and Polish simultaneously. Despite learning English at different times in their lives, both Rokicki and Kuzdzal agree that Polish is a more difficult language overall. They believe that the pronunciation is harder, especially since all the ‘s’ sounds are difficult. Rokicki also thinks writing in Polish is harder.

Both often speak Polish in front of their friends, which causes mixed reactions.

“A lot of the time they get mad because they don’t know the context,” Kuzdzal said.

However, Rokicki recalls more positive reactions.

“Typically, our friends think its funny,” he said. “[They] try to figure out what we’re talking about.”

Junior Matt Gertner, a friend of Rokicki and Kuzdzal since middle school, believes that their ability to speak two languages is “cool.”

“It’s funny [because] you hear names [and subtext] in the middle of the Polish,” Gertner said. “so you know who they’re talking about but not necessarily what.”

Because they speak Polish so often to each other in school, they have found themselves in some interesting situations with teachers.

“Every time a teacher asks us what we’re saying, we have to make something up because we were talking about something that wasn’t related to school,” Kuzdzal said.

Juniors Patrick Kuzdzal (left) and Adam Rokicki (right) are fluent in English and Polish. Photo by Arianna Werner.

Gertner recalls a specific situation involving a teacher.

“I remember in geometry freshman year when they were speaking Polish a lot and Mr. Ritter looked up how to say ‘shut up’ in Polish and played it over the [computer] speaker.” Gertner said. “They got quiet really quick[ly] after that.”

Both plan to continue learning other languages at Emmaus. However, they are not learning the same third language. Rokicki takes Spanish classes and Kuzdzal takes German.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to speak anything else as good as Polish [or English] just because I was so young,” Kuzdzal said. “But, like I can understand German.”

The Most Wonderful Time of

Students share their w Bibi Correa Features Editor The holiday season stirs images of sugar plums, pickles or epic dance battles, depending on who you ask.

With a student body of over 2,000, it is certain that Emmaus High School would house some students that fall outside the norm of winter celebrations.

There are a variety of holidays across the globe during the month of December, with many people observing more than one at a time. Yet each tradition is unique to those practicing it. Whether these holiday traditions are filled with festive treats or holiday songs, each symbolizes the importance of family ties.

Rummaging through countless ornaments and lights, senior Liz Kleppinger frantically goes looking for her pickle amongst the branches of her Christmas tree. Her dad stands behind her, gloating about how he had found it so easily, and asking her why she can’t find it faster. Her family waits for the game to be over in order for them to start breakfast.

Frustrated, Kleppinger quickly scrambles to

Senior Kara Burkholder hugs her dog, Molly, at Beck’s Christmas Tree Farm. Photo courtesy of Burkholder.

find the gag pickle, holding it up in an attempt to sneak around having to find the true ornament. As it begins singing, her aunt simply glares and tells her to try again.

This, and many other traditions, frequent Kleppinger’s house during the holidays. Alongside the pickle, her family serves a buffet-style brunch, involving typical breakfast foods such as potatoes, pancakes, eggs and breakfast casseroles.

Then each member gets a Christmas popper, containing a paper crown, novelty toy and a joke.

Wearing their crowns, her family goes around sharing their gifts and jokes with one another.

Kleppinger prefers this breakfast get together, as she sees it’s fitting for her family’s personality.

“My family has never been formal or traditional,” she said. “So breakfast is the least formal, and we get to chit-chat and start the morning with people you love.”

Then the family does a white elephant, a game where the most unwanted items from around the house are elegantly wrapped and re-gifted. Numbers are handed out, and after the first person picks the first gift, other family members can either steal a present or take from the pile. Once all the presents have been chosen, the family goes in order to see everyone’s reaction to their newfound presents.

Kleppinger has specific memories of different gifts she’s gotten over the years, from old Chuckie dolls to a broken lamp. But no white elephant will be more memorable than the one with the red box, even though she does not remember what it contained.

“I remember one year we fought for the longest time for this little red box,” Kleppinger said. “I was six and I started crying because I just wanted to open my normal presents because normally after the white elephant we open them.”

Although the gifts aren’t lavish or specially picked out, for Kleppinger it’s about the quality time spent with her family.

“It’s more about the game because it’s hilarious,” she said. “You know you’re going to get something stupid but you keep fighting for it.”

Freshman Samantha Mercedes and her family host a party on Christmas Eve. Relatives from Puerto Rico to New York pull into the driveway, lugging pots and pans filled with everything from Rice Krispie treats to sancocho. They all stay up until 5 a.m. playing Secret Santa and having a dance battle between the adults and the kids.

At midnight the family gets together and puts on their favorite baseball team’s hat, the Yankees, and give out presents. The couple hosting the party, which in many cases is Mercedes’ parents, announce who got what gift.

“It’s kind of like Thanksgiving 2.0,” Mercedes said. “But here we listen to music nonstop, and we never sit down. I like it because I love dressing up and the process of getting everything ready.”

Senior Sarah Dapper fills her house with all of her relatives from Ecuador to New York. Dapper and her family set up a table dedicated to the Nativity scene-the special exhibition of art objects put out during Christmas that detail the birth of Jesus. It’s lined up with different fruits and vegetables, each meant to represent life, and since in the Catholic faith it is believed that Jesus gave eternal life, the decoration serves as a way to pay their respects to him.

On Christmas Eve, Dapper holds a family dinner at her house, with all of her family members going around the table giving thanks to Jesus and talking about what they are excited for this Christmas.

Throughout the night a variety of music plays, ranging from Spanish music to Peter Gabriel. The family spends the night talking and Dapper enjoys it.

“It’s nice because I get to see people I don’t usually see since they all live in New York,“ Dapper said.

WWWWW As the Christmas music begins to fill up the radio with songs of friends and family, and as the latkes begin to sizzle in the frying pan, freshman Pandora Schoen knows it’s time for the holiday season.

Every night her family lights a candle on the menorah, a Jewish tradition meant to symbolize the number of days that the Temple lantern blazed with eight candles and having the ninth one, the shamash, as the helper candle used to light the others. Depending on the family’s preference that year, either the first or last day of the holiday is spent making Hanukkah cookies and preparing an elegant feast. While the cookies aren’t of any particular recipe, they are decorated to represent dreidels, a pointed four-sided top meant to be spun on the base.

Of all the holiday memories Schoen has, none will be more hilarious than that of her sister and the cookie.

“One year my sister Stefania was making cookies and she had this big container of sprinkles,” Schoen said. “She didn’t realize that the top was loose so she jokingly went to dump all the sprinkles on the cookie, and they all fell onto that one cookie.”

Additionally, her family plays with the dreidel -- in the game, players have a certain amount of gelt, or chocolate coins, and each player chooses one coin and puts it in the center pot. The dreidel is marked with four different Hebrew letters that create the saying, “Nes gadol haya sham,” which means “A great miracle occurred there.” Each mark allows players to either take all the candy from the center, take half of it, put one in, or do nothing.

Schoen also celebrates Christmas, and although she isn’t Christian, she enjoys Christmas music as it puts everyone into the holiday spirit. But most notably, she believes the holidays are a fun time.

“I love the food and how every aspect of it is unique,” Schoen said. “While people think we get more presents because we celebrate longer, that’s not true, It’s the same amount, just distributed more evenly and it gives for more time with my family.”

Along with Schoen, senior Kara Bur-

f the Year

winter holiday traditions

kholder enjoys her fair share of traditions, some popularly celebrated, while others are unique to her family.

On Dec. 6, Burkholder celebrates Saint Nicholas Day, a holiday commemorating a Christian bishop who helped the needy. Over the years, his stories of helping the poor spread to different parts of the world. The night before, Saint Nick fills up Burkholder’s stocking, bringing ornaments, fruit, juice boxes and animal crackers. She enjoys this little celebration because “it’s a preview to Christmas.”

Every year she and her brother get a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve for them to wear the next morning. That same night, Burkholder’s dad reads The Night Before Christmas and even though nobody in her family believes in Santa, they still leave him milk and cookies.

Because of her love of Christmas, Burkholder continuously looks forward to these traditions and believes they are important.

“I’ve always done these traditions or they were passed down, and they sort of fell into place,” Burkholder said. “I’m so particular, they mean a lot, I don’t like change so it’s nice that every year I can come back to the same tradition and bring back good memories because I know it’s something that won’t change.”

WWWWW Filling up her aunt’s house, sophomore Sarah Rabenold and her family await the perfect time, when the temperature outside has low levels of humidity, to make their traditional candy, divinity.

As one family member whips up the egg whites and the sugar, another boils the corn syrup, careful to not burn it. Once it looks almost hair-like, it’s ready to be mixed in. Having two others hold the bowl down, Rabenold carefully combines the egg whites and the corn syrup. She focuses on mixing in the same direction, getting harder the more it’s mixed.

Everyone around her holds their breath; one mistake and they’ll have to start over again. Because of the difficult process, Rabenold’s family has a lot of energy and focus, but things happen.

“It happens a lot that we have to restart it completely,” Rabenold said. “When we do, there is usually a lot of groaning and frustration, but we get over it.”

Yet Rabenold’s family is very close-knit, so spending the time to make divinity brings them closer as they get to discuss family matters while waiting.

Likewise, junior Zach McNamara and his family celebrate Hanukkah by making traditional latkes.

McNamara’s father makes them by using a mixture of shredded potatoes, onions and other spices, and serving them as sweet or savory with applesauce or sour cream.

Though Hanukkah spans eight days, McNamara and his family usually pick one day where everyone is free. Then they invite family and friends over to their house to have a small party. As they eat their latkes, guests spend the majority of the time talking and getting caught up with one another.

McNamara also celebrates Christmas in the same manner. The family goes to his grandfather’s house, usually a week before Christmas Day. Yet, he’s noticed that as the years pass and everyone starts growing up, it’s harder to get the entire family together, but his family always finds a way.

“In the end we always go to my grandfather’s, with or without the rest of the family,” McNamara said.

“We each get one present for him and then we have a smaller dinner.”

Of the two holidays he celebrates, McNamara prefers Christmas due to its lasting impact.

“I like Christmas more because of the feeling you get at that time of the year,” he said. “The music just makes me feel all happy inside because I like how it describes nature and how family and friends come together to celebrate the holidays.”

Top left: Each year, senior Sarah Dapper gets together with her extended family to open presents at midnight on Christmas Eve. Photo courtesy of Dapper.

Top right: Junior Zach McNamara celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah with his family every year.

Photo courtesy of McNamara. Bottom: Senior Kara Burkholder picks out two trees from Beck’s Christmas Tree Farm. Photo courtesy of Burkholder.

14

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

15

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

Culture

Rap ’n’ roll: How hip-hop streamed its way to the top

Joe Eckstein Culture Editor John Lennon. Joan Jett. Kurt Cobain.

Post Malone.

Four artists. Four styles. Four rock stars.

Many would argue that Post Malone has no right to be mentioned amongst some of music’s most prolific figures, but the 22-year-old New York rapper has changed what it means to be a rock star.

Earlier this year, hip-hop and R&B took the throne as the most consumed music genres by Americans, ending rock’s reign of 26 years. According to a report by Nielsen Music, hip-hop and R&B consisted of 25.1 percent of music consumption. Rock came in second, with 23 percent.

The reason? The growth of digital streaming, a field that has been pioneered by artists like Malone.

While rock still dominates physical media, making up 40 percent of sales, CDs continue to follow a dying trend, thanks to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Rap takes in a leading 29 percent of all streams, nearly double to rock.

For Joel Shimer, a 2017 EHS graduate and the morning show producer and onair personality for 99.9 The Hawk, rock and physical consumption go together perfectly.

“I think physical media is pretty much it,” Shimer said. “A lot of people that like rock music collect vinyl or collect CDs. The thing that’s hard for kids to get is that back in the ‘70s, if you bought an album, you could sit there and flip through the pages of this album and there would be a book there, there would be bios about everybody in the band.”

According to Nielsen, nearly 9.35 million vinyls were sold in 2017, with The Beatles’ classic, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” accounting for over 40,000 sales, putting the record in the top position.

Christopher Andrew, the radio program director of WXLV, The X, views hip-hop as a more relevant genre.

“I think be it rap or hip-hop it’s relat-

Along with Malone is Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert. Much like the former, Uzi’s stardom grows by the day both in music and fashion. Whether it be a chart-topping track, like his summer hit “XO TOUR Llif3,” or pushing the boundaries for men’s fashion, Uzi takes being a rock star to a whole new level.

Reaching that level requires a spark of influence.

Ronan believes that this influence derives from some of rock’s most polarizing figures.

“Post Malone and Lil Uzi specifically have cited their inspiration comes from rock stars like Jim Morrison or in Lil Uzi’s case Marilyn Manson,” Ronan said.

“And they try to emulate the rock star lifestyle.”

With a lack of a Mick Jagger or Jimi Hendrix for this generation, Lil Uzi and Post Malone stepped up to fill the gap and fully embrace the life of a rock star.

While the future looks bleak, there are still up-and-coming bands that serve as a savior to rock.

Michigan band Greta Van Fleet takes on this challenge by returning to rock’s hardcore roots. Giving off a Zeppelin-esque vibe with their style, the group looks to be the knight in shining armour for rock.

Shimer thinks very highly of the group.

“I kind of always liked [Greta Van Fleet], and now they’re starting to be mainstream, and people are calling it the ‘modern-classic rock,’” Shimer said.

Looking to the future shows uncertainty as to what style will take the throne as music’s most consumed genre.

Ronan believes that it could be a genre yet to be created.

“Hip-hop will eventually come to its end of its time, just as rock’s reign is ending. Before that swing had its time,” Ronan said. “I think eventually hip-hop will come to an end, but I do not know what will replace it. Honestly, it will probably be something that isn’t popular or doesn’t even exist right now.”

From John Lennon to Post Malone, the image of a rock star has changed over the years. Photo illustration by Rylan Bassett. able,” Andrew said. “It’s relatable for what’s been going on the last 15 to 20 years.”

Ever since “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five hit the scene, hip-hop became a platform for artists to express their beliefs and viewpoints.

On the contrary, junior Thomas Ronan feels that rock doesn’t appeal to the new style of streaming that’s popularity increases by the day.

“Not many rock stars promote their work online as efficiently or widely as hip-hop artists do,” Ronan said. “And since streaming is a newer platform for listening to music compared to CDs or downloading music. I think the new platform and new genre go hand and hand.

Like two sides of the same coin.”

Going on top of that, Andrew believes

that for a genre to increase in popularity, it has to have, “some sort of hype, catch, current topic that’s hot, now.

Something that gives the song a listening chance.”

This plays perfectly to Malone’s strengths, when he took streaming to a whole new level with his latest hit, “rockstar” featuring 21 Savage. The track made history right away, racking up over 25 million streams on Apple Music, setting the record for most streams in a week for the service.

Despite being one of the genre’s biggest names, Malone doesn’t consider himself a rapper.

In an interview with DJBooth, Malone said, “I might rap, but I don’t make rap music.”

Many new wave hip-hop artists prefer the term rock star, rather than rapper.

Shame on your music choice: How shaming has become acceptable in society Ava Gelsomini Culture Contributor Walk through the halls of Emmaus High School and you’ll undoubtedly see students with ear buds dangling from their ears.

Although what many of these students are doing is similar, what they’re listening to is not.

Many students at Emmaus find themselves victims of music shaming, feeling judged and labeled based on their preferred taste in music. While their peers jump to assumptions, they continue to listen to their favorite songs in secret.

To junior Elijah Stark, a country music fan, ‘hick’ and ‘redneck’ are words that he notices are often associated with the genre. He believes

many people assume, “to like country music you have to live on a farm.”

But unlike most students, Stark grew up on country music. His parents kept him around country music and culture.

On a Stinger Twitter poll, 67 percent of voters chose country as the genre that faces the harshest criticism. But even though country is perhaps one of the most hated music genres among teenagers, Stark doesn’t have a hard time finding others who do enjoy it.

“You have to listen to the sound of keys jingling, people holding sweet tea, the stomping boots,” Stark says.

Junior Ashlee Davies, who listens to Christian music,

believes students have misconceptions about the genre.

“A lot of people hear Christian music and think of old hymns, it sounds like the music everyone else listens to but it’s clean and has a positive message,” Davies says.

Davies’ family has been an influence in her decision to listen to Christian music. While driving they listen to WORDFM, a Christian radio station.

“I would hear a song and listen to it on YouTube and then find the artist,” Davies says.

Outside of school, Davies participates in a Christian drama group, where she meets other Christian music fans her age.

Davies thinks the main reason people don’t explore other

genres is because of fear that they’ll be judged.

“People shame you for having your own beliefs,” she says.

“We all want to fit in and not get judged.”

Freshman Gabby Kreiner believes more students should listen to older music as well as modern music.

“They think it’s old people music,” Kreiner says. “That’s what their parents and grandparents listen to.”

There are also many different subgenres within a genre.

“Try different songs within the genre,” Stark says.

Kreiner recommends people “listen to more music they normally wouldn’t, just to see if they would like it or not.”

Nickelback remains as a prime candidate for music shaming.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.

Nickelback

Three unimportant facts about the music industry’s punching bag In 2011, users of a dating site voted the foursome as the number one musical turnoff with Justin Bieber as the runner-up -which isn’t surprising seeing as they made rock of the 2000s unattractive.

They are considered to be eight different genres: grunge, post-grunge, hard rock, pop-rock, alternative, heavy metal, alternative metal and nu metal.

Quantity over quality, right?

Coldplay’s Chris Martin actually called them “great.” Go figure.

Who respects Coldplay anyway?

Roasts by Joe Eckstein and Rylan Bassett.

16

CULTURE

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

Dancer reaches for the barre Csordas seeks balance of technique, artistry

Julia Popule Culture Contributor

T

he room at the bottom of the steps in Miss Jeanne’s School of Dance buzzes with lighthearted chatter as one class comes to a close with a final runthrough of their dance routine. Amongst a sea of girls in black tights and pulled back hair floats a single boy. He dons a green shirt and athletic shorts, but his colored wear quickly proves a lesser factor of his presence.

The music is hesitant as the volume stills and everyone falls into place, the bustling of bare feet against the hardwood of the Bethelehem studio like a precursory whisper of the movement to come. The chatter dissipates and is replaced with an emotional musical accompaniment for the group of dancers, whose moves are precise and practiced.

They break briefly for water.

Minutes later, the next class begins with a different teacher and the same kids. The teacher starts the music--an upbeat Jason Derulo song with a pop genre beat, repetitive but effective nonetheless--and takes her place at the center of the room. The music thumps through the speaker, and the boy in the green shirt embraces it like a worn blanket.

The group engages in a stylistic game of Simon says, but every shake of the boy’s hips is a little different, every sashay flows with a different cadence, and each time his expression exhumes a different atmosphere. He keeps his head up the entire time, and moves like he’s alone in the room.

For some people, venturing onstage is their biggest fear, but to senior Luke Csordas, it’s like a second home.

Emmaus students most likely know him as a student choreographer for the school’s annual musical productions, but his journey started long before.

Before his high school career Csordas was already involved in the theater scene.

He knew that he wanted to be what he called a “mover,” but hadn’t known about dance until a friend introduced him to it. He started taking classes at That’s Dancin’ in Trexlertown as an eager young fourth grader. During a brief phase in which Csordas wanted to be an actor, he started dance as a hobby.

But it quickly manifested into some-

thing much grander.

Surrounding himself with the culture of dance, Csordas valiantly took the plunge into a new world. He pushed himself to new limits and all the while, a monumental love of dance bloomed in his heart. Even now, he constantly urges himself to improve each day, and guides himself towards and past the edges of any boundaries and obstacles.

Csordas specializes in contemporary dance, but he also performs modern, jazz, tap, hip-hop and partner routines.

“When I started, I originally hated ballet,” Csordas admitted with a warm chuckle. The genre requires refined technique that not everyone may take immediate notice of, though “a trained eye would see there are so many technical aspects you have to incorporate.”

But after years of practice, Csordas has come to love the genre he once detested for the same reasons: its complexity and its technical intricacy.

He has since learned the importance of ballet and is able to view it in a different light. Despite this, there is a special place in Csordas’s heart for contemporary dance. It entrances him in a focus that can only be evoked in accordance with the level of passion possessed by a subject, and in this case, Csordas has passion in surplus. So much so that he needs to, as he advised, “find a balance between technique and artistry.”

Csordas’ confidence stems not only from his love for dance, but from the potpourri of influence that surrounds him, as well. He finds strength not only in his parents, who attend his every performance and signed him up for his first jazz class eight years ago, but with the kids he met in theater during each musical season, the friends that show up for his performances, and the people he’s found a home with at his studio.

“They all encourage me to be unique to who I am,” Csordas says. “[They] encourage me to explore my own artistry.”

Not only do his friends encourage him, but they more importantly accompany him on his journey. Duo partner, 13-year experienced dancer and close classmate Natalie Glasgow showcases a playful warmth of camaraderie.

“He always wants to put himself out there and take opportunities,” Glasgow says. “I thought he [was] really likeable.

Csordas on set with Holiday Dance Shoot during a New York City Dance Alliance competition. Photo courtesy of Cody Green.

Everybody likes him.”

Csordas often mentioned his occasional insecurity, but his friends think otherwise.

“Luke influences me a lot,” Glasgow says. “First of all, he never gives up.

Second of all, he’s motivational...and his dancing is so good I just try to be as good as him.”

But it wasn’t always so easy for Csordas to express himself. His movements and expression, the comfort he finds onstage and the rush of adrenaline in every pair of eyes trained on him needed to develop along with his self-confidence.

From the timid kid who cried his first day at his new studio because he was so nervous, into the unapologetic dancer at home in his own skin, Csordas’ feelings of intimidation transformed into pure excitement. When he strutted onstage, he no longer shivered with fear. He no longer looked at the ground. He no longer hid himself.

“When I let that fear go away,” Csordas says. “It’s kind of, like, liberating. Now as I’ve grown up it’s like...I don’t care anymore what anyone thinks about me.”

Csordas’ teacher Sarah Hirsch, an assistant director at Miss Jeanne’s, has taught at the studio for the past eight years.

“Luke came to the studio four years ago,” she says.

“When [he] came [he was] very intimidated and then I think [he] kinda got onboard

Senior Luke Csordas has been dancing since the fourth grade and hopes to pursue his passion as a career once he graduates from college. Photo by Arianna Werner.

and began to trust us. And [he was] in it to win it.”

Over the span of those four years, Hirsch watched Csordas find himself and improve as a dancer and a person.

“My first impression of Luke was I thought he had a lot of potential,” Hirsch says. “[I] was excited to see how he grew. He’s definitely more confident, and he has taken advantage of every opportunity that has come his way.”

After graduation, Csordas strives to advance to a school for dance, and emerge with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in hand. And while he desires to partake in professional-tier productions on Broadway, companies and films, he also hopes to one day teach dance to other aspiring artists.

Ever since the Emmaus production of Mary Poppins in his freshman year, Csordas has steadily accumulated more responsibility as a group leader for musical choreography, which provides a beneficial precursor to a possible future in dance education.

“Dance is not a sport,” Csordas says.

“It’s an art. If you do it wrong, it’s a sport.”

He explains that the dancers that participate solely to win a trophy or an award are not dancing for the right reasons. Dance to him is not a sport, nor a hobby, nor a lifestyle, even.

Dance to Luke Csordas is love, it is art, and most importantly, it is home.

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

CULTURE

17

World-class yo-yoer at Emmaus Cassidy Klingman Culture Contributor Senior Hunter Wellen has dedicated his time to yo-yoing for the past six years, since being introduced to the sport by his father.

Practicing constantly for the days leading up to a competition, bouncing ideas off of team members, and preparing to go up on stage in front of a crowd of people are all part of what it’s like to be a professional yo-yoer.

His first public performance was in a talent show in seventh grade. Since then, he’s competed in seven competitions, and hopes to continue in the future. Among the competitions he’s attended are two world-level contests.

Wellen is part of a team called Bombsquad SF, the company that sponsors him. He was an apprentice for a few years before getting a sponsorship last year. Although there are several members within the team and they all represent the sponsor, they compete independently.

“We create tricks together sometimes or bounce ideas off of each other, but we don’t go up on stage at the same time,” Wellen says.

Junior Ben Brown also started yo-yoing in about sixth grade, but he didn’t meet Wellen until ninth grade.

“He’s kind of been my mentor, I learn a lot of things from him about competing,

and in general,” Brown says. “He is very good and significantly better than I am at the moment.”

Wellen works to perfect certain tricks, but also adds a twist to make it his own.

“I can do like 500 tricks, probably more,” Wellen says.

Since competitive yo-yoing is unfamiliar to many, some people don’t consider how much time and effort is needed before and during the contests. Competitions have different levels, starting off with Wild Card, which determines if a participant is good enough to continue.

Contestants who are sponsored, however, are able to pass through this stage of the competition. Then there are preliminary, semi-final and final rounds.

Smaller contests usually take place in a public place such as a park or a mall, but larger ones are held in stadiums or auditoriums. The crowds at these events can range from 300 to 7,000 people. Competitions are hectic and it is intimidating to be up on stage in front of hundreds of people with cameras pointed at you from every angle.

“It’s really nerve-wracking too, anyone can come,” Wellen says. “National or world competitions are huge, in an auditorium, so anyone can come in.”

There is no age restriction to be qualified to compete, but participants usually consist of teens and adults.

Within each of the contest levels, contenders are evaluated by four judges.

Each judge has two clickers with different colors. If someone executes a trick successfully, they get a good click, but if they mess up they get a bad click. By the end, all of the clicks get added up to determine the final score.

By watching a fast-moving yo-yo performance, it’s easy to see that it takes lots of practice to perfect so many complicated tricks. Wellen spends about 15 hours weekly practicing and preparing extensively in the days leading up to a competition.

“Before I leave, I go like five days straight like after school,” Wellen says.

Tricks can be categorized into three groups - speed, flow, and tech. Speed tricks are usually simple, but done with an emphasis on dexterity. Flow tricks are “flowy”and smooth, and tech tricks are more complicated.

A key piece to a yoyo performance is the inclusion of background music. The use of intense music amplifies the tricks and makes them seem even more impressive.

“It’s usually techno or pop,” Wellen says.

There are many different brands and styles of yo-yos, but brand names don’t make much of a difference when it comes to competing, unless you’re being sponsored. However, different materials (like wood, plastic, metal, or 24 karat gold,) different shapes (classic, Senior Hunter Wellen has competed in seven yo-yo compebutterfly, or modified) titions, including two internatioanl ones. Photo by Arianna Werner. and even the type of axle may impact the performance or make it easier for the performer.

“A wooden yo-yo has something called a fixed axle, so it’s a piece of To watch a video of senior Hunter wood glued in between, so you can’t Wellen’s yo-yo tricks go to really compete with that,” Wellen says.

“Then plastic v. metal is just up to stingerehs.com personal preference.”

Senior Hunter Wellen owns over 400 yoyos. Photo by Arianna Werner.

Manns broadcasts her interests to 6K subscribers Tabitha Nowak News Editor Three years ago, Emmaus High School junior Marisa Manns propped up an old Samsung Galaxy tablet, sat down with a smile and began to mold what would become a platform reaching a few thousand people.

A YouTube fan herself, Manns found herself entranced by the “look and aesthetic” of other videos, primarily finding enjoyment in the beauty, lifestyle and fashion communities of the website. She decided to try it because it seemed fun.

Junior Marisa Manns posts lifestyle videos on her self-titled YouTube channel. Photo by Arianna Werner.

When she first clicked “upload,” it was not with the expectation of thousands of views. YouTube became a hobby.

Now, after hard work and dedication, various five-minute bits, outfit-of-the-days, travel video blogs, and the occasional makeup tutorial, Manns sports a monochromatic-themed YouTube channel with over 6,000 subscribers, a total of 77 videos, and more than 400,000 views overall.

“My content reflects off of [my interests],” Manns says. “I’m into fashion; I incorporate [my video content] into daily life.”

Her subscriber count grew slowly when she first created her channel, but with the Mann’s most popular video, “School Morning Routine 2016!” with over upload of her “School Morning Routine 2016!” video came a spike in interest and 360,000 views. Photo courtesy of Manns. new viewers.

The agency assisted her in creating her marble channel To Manns, posting the video was a banner, which displays her name in big, bold letters, and surreal experience. Just over three minutes, the video is gives her an income for her work. exactly what the name entails: Manns takes her viewManns pursues her passions in school as well. She parers through what she does in preparation for a standard ticipates in Buzz Magazine, whose blog and print edition school day. Currently, it is her most watched video, focus on fashion, beauty, lifestyle and art. Manns directs amassing over 300,000 views. the fashion section, edits articles, coordinates fashion “It was crazy,” Manns says. “In the first day or two it shows and leads those in her group. went up to 3,000 [views] already. It was insane.”

Robin Molnar, the adviser of the magazine, notices On the negative side, a video that reaches such a large Manns’ tremendous ambition. amount of people is a catalyst for hate, but Manns is “Marisa has a great work ethic. She is very passionnever fazed. ate about fashion,” Molnar says. “[Her passion] comes “I laughed at all the hate comments that were on that through with everything she does.” video,” Manns says. “They’re helping [my channel] by Molnar recognizes the importance of expressing artiswatching it.” tic flare, as in the case of Manns’ YouTube channel.

Some fellow EHS students act the same way, with the “There’s so much creativity in this world, and when mindset that a high schooler with a YouTube channel there’s no outlet for it it’s a shame,” Molnar says. strays from the ordinary. Despite an occasional unsupManns intends to continue exploring her creativity portive comment, Manns perseveres with passion. This through her videos, appreciating the enjoyment and fun determination opened a new window of opportunity for it brings her. It may have taken three years, but she could her. not be happier with how her YouTube journey continues StyleHaul, a company partnered with a few thousand to develop.

YouTube channels, contacted Manns two years ago.

18

CULTURE

THE STINGER | DECEMBER 2017

Justice League falls short of “super” Rylan Bassett Culture Editor DC Comics’ cinematic projects have long resided in the shadow of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Fans of DC hoped the Superman reboot in 2013 would change that. It didn’t. They hoped that the movie adaptation of the popular comic, “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” would breathe life into the franchise, but “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” kicked it while it was down. “Wonder Woman” managed to revive some faith in the company, but even so, DC films still cower in the corner of the average movie-goer’s mind as the MCU dominates the spotlight.

“Justice League,” the third installment of Zach Snyder’s DC Comics trilogy, hit theaters on Nov. 17. As the intended culmination of “Man of Steel” and “Dawn of Justice,” the movie should have seamlessly tied into the elements of both precursors.

The movie’s exposition includes global displays of grief after Superman’s death in the preceding story.

While this sequence is set up wonderfully, it completely ignores the turbulent debate over whether Superman should be loved or feared that was so prevalent in “Man of Steel.” This series of shots also features images of a silver Superman emblem on a black backdrop, which is similar to Superman’s suit design in the comics after he comes back from the dead.

There was a lot of speculation prior to the movie’s release about how they would incorporate his resurrection.

They opted to spend all of 20 minutes on the issue and completely gloss over the mental side effects of coming

back from the dead.

The big-bad of “Justice League” is Steppenwolf, a general of Darkseid’s army on Apokolips, whose position is barely touched in the movie. Steppenwolf’s design is fairly comic-accurate, aside from his face looking like one big acid burn of CGI. DC seems to have taken some tips from Marvel in the overall tone of the movie. In lieu of the dark imagery in “Dawn of Justice,” they took a lighter approach, landing them somewhere between there and “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Ditching all the miserable undertones of its predecessor, “Justice League” had room for fun moments and jokes among the team members, which is fortunate for the sake of quick bonding. In one sequence, Aquaman accidentally touches Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth and pours his heart out to the group, offering a comedic break from his macho demeanor.

While these little gags are definitely appreciated, they do not come close to developing the characters individually or as a team. This is where Marvel really takes the cake. They took the time to fully extrapolate individual characters before staging a big team-up in the first Avengers film. DC tried to cut corners by leaving Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg untouched until “Justice League.” They paid the price in character depth.

The fact that the MCU was built step-by-step with an endgame in mind gives Marvel the distinctive upper hand. DC’s failure to do the same ensures that they will always be outperformed and overshadowed by Marvel.

Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

Stranger Things 2 worth the binge

Renee Martin Culture Editor The hype for Stranger Things 2 was real -- and how could it not have been?

With Netflix putting out teaser trailers that generated more than 300,000 mentions on Twitter, and the actual show garnering a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and being named MTV’s 2017 Show of the Year, season two was bound to be a hit.

With a group of outcast pre-teens, a telekinetic, and an underworld of Demogorgons, the formula could only be a success.

With the continuation of the series, many people were a bit concerned that Stranger Things 2 would fall victim to the fate of other good shows and movies: unnecessary sequels. However, that is not the case for Mike and his crew. The show manages to pull off what so many others cannot -- a quality follow-up that gives off the same vibe that made people fall in love with the show in the first place. The continuation of the plot clears up misconceptions from the previous year.

If you don’t want anything to be spoiled about this season, it’s best if you stop

3 TOP

WEEZER ALBUMS

Maladroit ‘02 Weezer ‘94

Pinkerton ‘96

Ranking: Consequence of Sound

reading and turn on Netflix. well as an MTV Movie & TV Award for A multitude of fans wanted the writBest Actor in a Show won by Millie Bobers to finally bring justice for Barb. In

by Brown. With a new season also brings the first season her death was grossly forth new characters: Sadie Sink as Max overlooked and given hardly any screen Hargrove, Dacre Montgomery as Billy time. So when a resolution comes about, Hargrove, and Sean Astin as Bob Newviewers are not disappointed. by. These characters bring out Nancy and Jonathan (Natalia a sense of being an outsider Dyer and Charlie Heaton), looking into the small town who uncover evidence that of Hawkins. They struggle brings down the feds who to grasp what exactly is are responsible for Barb’s going on around them. death, finally get together.

The Hargroves also And that was definitely a bring new conflicts much needed storyline. for the kids to face. If The most intriguing part you felt Will wasn’t a of the show by far is the big part of the gang last dynamic performances put on season don’t worry, by the young actors. The Noah Schnapp talent in the cast is delivers what evident from their the audience Screen Actors didn’t get to Guild Award see last year. for OutstandSchnapp’s ing Perfortremenmance by an dous acting Ensemble Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) looks to be the only hope of performance in a Drama defeating The Shadow Monster. Photo courtesy of Vulture. captivates Series as viewers

along with fellow co-stars Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin.

Good things seem to come in pairs this season with Eleven and Hopper (Brown and David Harbour) as well as Dustin and Steve joining forces (Gaten Matarazzo and Joe Keery). These duos both start out shaky but learn to get along. Seeing them figure out how to work together is great comic relief at times, but it can also make the viewer upset when they go through hardships together.

While viewing the 12 episodes, I was floored by how much the directors cared for the show. The Duffer Brothers give nods to similar horror franchises such as “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Beetlejuice” and “Ghostbusters,” throwing in Easter eggs for fans of the show. With the highly believable acting throughout the 12 episodes, it’s easy to forget that nothing on screen is real. You feel so compelled by the characters’ story that reality seems to fade away and they are indeed in grave danger. Watching one episode at a time is nearly impossible with the sheer addictiveness of Stranger Things 2.

“Pacific Daydreams” a disappointing project

Noel Santichen Culture Contributor Over the years, Weezer has been known to take chances with their music and mix things up, but nothing they’ve produced has been as risky as their newest album “Pacific Daydreams,” released Oct. 27 under Atlantic.

Always unique, Weezer’s sound marries often alternative rock with soft melodic undertones. But let’s not forget the group’s signature abrasive, twangy guitar that’s always been a fan favorite.

Yet the new album is shocking. It doesn’t sound like anything anyone would expect from the LA-rooted group. Where did the abrasive “I’m never coming home” biting sound go?

Not to be misunderstood, it’s well-known that bands evolve. It’d be boring to always produce the same sound, but there’s nothing tying them to their original on this LP, which seems bland and a bit boring. And that iconic Weezer guitar is gone.

Lead singer Rivers Cuomo talked to the Los Angeles Times about the new sound.

“To me this is the most different-sounding Weezer record ever,” Cuomo told the Times.

“I’m so excited because we finally broke away from the downstroke eighth-note power-chord thing.”

The album kicks off with “Mexican Fender,” which is how we’d expect a Weezer album to start. The guitar riff sounds like Weezer, and it’s a perfect way to lead. The chorus and bridge sounds like an alternative dream pop style (a little unusual, but nothing to be bothered by as it still is a quality song). Still, it just isn’t normal Weezer.

It’s followed by “Beach Boys” and “Feels Like Summer.” This pair may make longtime fans question the release. They don’t have a lot of depth lyrically or instrumentally. The pop undertones they’ve always had really come out in this album, and this is where it’s first noticeable.

Weezer has always done these kinds of things. They put out experimental albums with a little change in their sound and try new things. Their albums sometimes come out with

a different sound, so it’s not a huge shock that this album is so unusual, but they still could have done better.

“Happy Hour” is groovy and rhythmic -- an overall fun song to listen to. In another track, Weezer does a turnaround with a sweet-sounding dreamy and powerful single, “Sweet Mary” that makes fans remember why they fell in love with Cuomo and crew in the first place: “When I am all on my own / One foot is in the grave / My Sweet Mary comes / To help me to find my way,” Cuomo croons.

The foursome wraps it up with “Any Friend of Diane’s” -- a casual groove that’s the opposite of what we’ve come to expect. Usually Weezer ends with something more upbeat. The track, a tribute piece to someone who died, is powerful and with purpose.

Overall, “Pacific Daydreams” is one album that isn’t the best nor the worst from Weezer, with Cuomo delivering some meaningful tracks worthy of spin, but nothing that rises far above the surface level.

THE STINGER

DECEMBER 2017

Want to have your local business advertised in The Stinger?

Email us at Stingerehs@gmail.com.

19

20

Sports

Give Kap a Chance

Boys basketball seeks repeat states

James Marler Victoria Rivera ers have a chance Sports Editor Sports Contributor to step up to the It seemed like yesterday when I watched my BaltiThe Emmaus boys basketball plate and showcase more Ravens line up against the San Francisco 49ers team faces one of its biggest hurdles: their abilities for in Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. the team. Sabol The 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, fresh out attempting to live up to the groundbreaking standards the most recent feels that these of college, arrived with a lot of talent. It was only his team set. open spots will second year in the league, and he scored two touchWith the help of twins David and “allow other people downs in their defeat over Baltimore.

Matthew Kachelries, last year’s to open up their Things were looking up for Kaepernick. However, seniors, the team made history by game.” when a new head coach came to the Bay, everything reaching the state quarterfinals for All of the preschanged. He struggled and lost his starting job in the first time in program history. sure from last year, 2015.

The Kachelries era was filled with however, hangs Then in 2016, he made national headlines when record-breaking games and countless close by in the fans’ The Emmaus boys basketball team prepares for a new he chose to kneel during the national anthem before season after losing key players to graduation. Photo by iconic victories. Zach Sabol, a junior minds. The big a preseason game. His protest began a firestorm of on the team, calls the group the “best question is whether Arianna Werner. similar demonstrations and activist rituals, including team to ever go through Emmaus.” or not this year’s the Black Panther salute. and Central Catholic are the teams to Head coach Steve Yoder thinks he team can successfully fill the shoes of At first, I didn’t think too much about the probeat for Emmaus. fully prepares his boys for the season. the four seniors that left. tests. This was during a hot and tumultuous time in “I’m not sure about wins and losses “[I want to] push them further than However, senior Corey Riegel America. Naturally, I figured that someone had to say but we’ll have some fun,” Riegel says they ever thought they could,” Yoder says the team isn’t focused on these something, and there it was. All of a sudden, a wave about the record for the upcoming says. “Physically, mentally, emotionoutside worries. of copycat protests and hate began circulating in the season. ally… games are easy then.”

“We don’t really care what people world of sports, something a lot of people hold dear.

The chemistry between the teamWith four seniors from last year outside the locker room think,” Riegel mates and the overall drive and To see something that is supposed to unite turn into gone, there is a huge opportunity for says. something that divides was disheartening, to say the determination pushes the team to new talent to shine. The younger playWith this confidence, the team feels work harder. Whether that’s making it least. During an election year, the sports world went ready for any challenges. haywire, venturing into a world of political statements further than last year or maintaining a They look forward to the and arguments of whether or not someone is right. strong record during regular season, highs of this winter as well For a couple months, ESPN and CNN were indiscernEmmaus fans have a lot of opportunias the lows. ible. Kaepernick’s protests tanked NFL’s viewership ties to see the Hornets take the court.

“It feels maybe more exand hurt the industry. Why? Fans want football, not On Dec. 13 the team lost their season citing than last year,” Yoder politics. Watching football on Sundays is to escape the opener 58-44 against Pocono Mounsays. “A lot of people are volatile world of our political climate, not to embody tain West, but fans can catch the team gonna have a shot.” it. against Central Catholic at 7 p.m.

Although the team is After the election, we learned that Kaepernick Dec. 22 at Rockne Hall in Allentown, “grinding to try and win a had not voted, despite his vocal pleas for change. a popular venue for high school comdistrict championship,” acWhy didn’t he? He told the media that he would “be petition. cording to Sabol, they must hypocritical to take part in a system he opposes.” To “This group wants to distinguish first focus on their regular be honest, this seems like a hollow excuse. The Sacthemselves from the groups in the season. So far, Bethlehem ramento Bee uncovered that Kaepernick wasn’t even past,” Yoder says. “They want people The team practices in preparation for the Catholic, Nazareth, Parkland registered to vote. Nevertheless, I moved on, hoping talking about this year, not last year.”

2017-18 season. Photo by Arianna Werner. this wouldn’t be an issue.

Unfortunately, it did, because Kaepernick was awarded GQ’s “Citizen of the Year” in November, which makes absolutely no sense. I understand he has Eddie Coleman in eighth grade become a catalyst for many hopeful minds for change, Sports Contributor and then played but how can someone who did not vote win citizen of The girls basketball team finished varsity her the year? Suffrage has been a major issue in America, last year’s season with a record of 10- freshman year. and many people fought and died for that right. For 11, largely because of the prominence “I love the someone like Kaepernick, who takes that right for of seniors Zoe Stein and Kiyae White. sport and the granted, to not vote and win this award is very ironic.

With the loss of such strong playgirls were all It’s offensive as I personally know people who serve ers, this year’s team has found new my friends,” or have served for the right for everyone to voice their hope -- this time with the appointment Wippel said. opinion -- and to do it during the national anthem was of first-year coach Kelsey GallaghSophomore frustrating and disrespectful. Fortunately, Kaepernick er, an East Stroudsburg South High Alyssa Burhas raised money towards his cause off the field, School graduate who earned the khart has been which is something I can support. I can’t, however, on Mountain Valley Conference MVP playing basketthe field. award twice. Gallagher is also a ball since third To make matters more interesting, Kaepernick reBloomsburg University graduate, grade when her ceived the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award from Sports where she was voted team captain dad signed her The Emmaus girls basketball team hopes for a good season under new head coach Kelsey Gallagher. Photo by Arianna Illustrated in December. three times and was an MVP. up. She began Werner.

Listen, I’m all for social change. There is a serious Inducted into the Lehigh Valley to work with racial problem in our country that needs to be fixed, looked good with the new coach. So, Sports Hall of Fame for earning the her teammates but for Sports Illustrated, a major sports news outlet, hopefully, we get there.” third most points in Bloomsburg throughout her years playing, and unto give this award to someone who has been haunting Wippel has also been working on school history, Gallagher brings an derstands the necessity of teamwork. sports fans for years, is once again disappointing. improvements for herself. impressive resume. Before she signed “We need to play more as a team After we all thought we were done reading about him, on to lead the Lady Hornets, she “I’ve been working more on my and get closer together,” Burkhart they just threw him back into the spotlight. skill set,” Wippel said, “Now that served as the coach for Stroudsburg said. “ We need to work on some There were more deserving candidates. J.J. Watt I’m a senior, I’m the person everyone High School for two seasons. basic skills.” raised $34 million for Hurricane Harvey relief and has looks up to. I’m hoping to help teach This year, the team is looking to They both agreed that “they had been very active in the community. Russell Westbrook improve on a multitude of levels on them how to get better. Our offense their ups and downs” last year and and his Why Not? Foundation have raised thousands and defense looks a lot better.” and off the court. how they wanted to do better, but just of dollars for children and has built numerous pubBurkhart watches her favorite girls’ Senior Ciara Wippel has been on could not find the spark to reach their lic education facilities. The LeBron James Family college basketball team, South Carothe court since seventh grade. She full potential.

Foundation raises millions of dollars for kids who lack played for the high school starting lina, and incorporates their skills into This year, the team is looking to the means to get a well rounded education. The point her game. improve their is: Kaepernick has received this award for kneeling “I watch them a lot and try to do record. during the national anthem. Yes, he has raised money what they do. They have very good “I think we’ll but other than that he just talks. Meanwhile, there are be really good this court awareness and they pass the ball athletes making real change with their own hands. year and get really as a team really well,” Burkhart said.

Do I support Colin Kaepernick’s message?

The team has already started off far. We are workYes. with a couple of injuries such as ing on improving Do I support how he is delivering this message? their star senior point guard, Cayley our shooting Absolutely not.

Grabowski, who tore her ACL in a skills,” Burkhart Should he get a second chance in the NFL? recent tournament and Wippel who said.

Without a doubt. recently had her first game back after Wippel is Kaepernick is a talented player. He showed that eara broken fibula in the summer. confident for the ly in his career. Unfortunately his play took a turn that Nevertheless, Emmaus’ resiliency upcoming season was arguably out of his control. His protests forced will be key in their pursuit of a Disand plans to be him out of a league that is seemingly blackballing competitive within trict XI title, and maybe even a state him. I am trying to see this from a sports fan’s point playoff berth. the league. of view, and it’s unfair to cheat a good player out of “I hope to get to salary because of his protests, and he should be given Girls basketball scrimmages in preparation for the new sea- districts,” she said. another chance based on what he can do on the field. son. Photo by Arianna Werner.

“Practices have

Girls basketball hopeful under new coach

THE STINGER

SPORTS

DECEMBER 2017

21

McAllister returns to pool for senior season

Caroline Bond Sports Editor The rigors of balancing academics and athletics can often be troublesome for high school athletes. Swimmers have one of the hardest paths, having to juggle morning practices, post-school workouts, meets and the daily workload that comes along with being a student. At times, anguish and disappointment can outweigh one’s love for the sport.

Senior Patrick McAllister can relate to this lifestyle.

During his sophomore year, he let frustration overcome him after not meeting up to his own highly ambitious standards. McAllister placed second at the 2016 District XI swimming championships. While he was happy about the team’s district title, he felt disappointed about the way he personally finished. Because of this bittersweet outcome, he proceeded to scrape the back of his district medal off on a set of bleachers and hurl it into the grass before returning home on the bus--a decision McAllister immediately regretted.

“I’m not proud of that at all, and I felt really guilty later,” McAllister said. “It’s just that everything I did and worked for ended in not the way I wanted it to. I decided to refocus, I didn’t want to be ‘that person,’ I didn’t want to be known for that.”

After McAllister’s sophomore year, he decided to take a year off from Emmaus swimming and made the transition to swim for a club team called Parkland Area Aquatic Club (PAAC).

“Taking a year off and going to PAAC really helped me regain my focus,” McAllister said. “And I was with my other friends, which just reminded me that swimming is fun.”

McAllister emphasized how tough swimming can be not only physically, but also mentally.

“Your mental state is probably more important [than your physical] in swimming,” McAllister said.

“At the district meet, I kind of psyched myself McAllister swimming backstroke in out before the the 200 yard medley relay at a meet at race.”

Emmaus High School. Photo courtesy Recognizing The Morning Call. the effects that

swimming can have on mental health, Head Coach Tim O’Connor brought in a sports psychologist for the team to educate them on the importance of mental health, as well as provide an outlet for the swimmers.

“It’s important for kids to communicate, and I think especially in this day and age where we talk so much about mental health overall.” O’Connor said. “I’ve tried to bring that into the aquatic area...even more so in the past couple years.”

While swimming is a team sport, racing against your teammates is inevitable.

“That’s the hard part about swimming, it’s more individual even though it’s a team sport,” McAllister said. “I knew [the race] would be tough...but I was still hoping to win.”

Because of the competitiveness within the squad, O’Connor strives to keep the swimmers as much of a team as possible, and believes the swimmers do this on their own by cheering each other on during practices and holding each other accountable while they train.

“We start off every year focussing on the team aspect,” O’Connor said. “I think it can become troublesome when athletes see other athletes who have standards that might be a little bit different.”

Elite swimming can come with an incredible amount of pressure. In the span of seconds, you can make it or break it. Because the races can be so close, one bad start, one bad turn, or even one bad stroke can cost you the race.

O’Connor pushes his swimmers to reach their highest potential, which has helped the boys team win 12 consecutive District XI titles.

However, O’Connor does not put much verbal pressure on the team to continue the streak, primarily because he simply aspires to see his team give 100 percent whenever they are in the pool.

“If you give 100 percent mentally and physically and you come up short in your goal, we know what areas to go to,” O’Connor said. “But if you backed off that 100 percent level, now we’ve a whole bunch of questions we have to ask ourselves.”

While some may think the pressure to continue this trend could be immense, McAllister thinks most of the pressure to continue the legacy comes from himself. “[The pressure is] probably more from within, not really from coaches or the team,” McAllister said. “Coach O’ is pretty decorated, so I don’t really know why I wouldn’t trust him.”

O’Connor is extremely pleased with McAllister’s maturity and how he handled moving on from his mistakes.

He appreciates the fact that McAllister owned up to his actions, and used it as a learning experience instead of

Senior Pat McAllister returns to Emmaus swim team.

Photo by Arianna Werner. letting it define his swimming career.

“He owned it, and when you decide to own something, good, bad or neutral, you’re making a positive movement,” O’Connor said. “And that’s where change happens, and that’s where learning happens.”

When McAllister told Coach O’Connor he intended to return to the Emmaus swim team for his senior year, O’Connor told him he had to regain the trust and respect from his teammates.

“I think when all of the other athletes who may have been skeptical in the beginning saw that, that he was walking the walk, not talking the talk, and didn’t try to do anything with his words and did things with his actions... great things started to happen,” O’Connor said.

While reflecting on his actions at the district meet his sophomore year, McAllister strongly emphasizes how much he learned throughout the process.

“Honestly, from the whole situation I learned a lot, it wasn’t even about swimming. I just became a better person,” McAllister said.

This year, McAllister is excited about being able to swim for the Hornets again, and he accredits much of his success to Coach O’Connor. McAllister plans to attend Monmouth University next fall to continue his swimming career and study biology in hopes of conducting cancer research in the future.

Over the course of the past two years, McAllister has set new goals that he plans to work hard to achieve this season.

“This year, I want to try to not focus on winning and be more incorporated with the team,” McAllister said. “It’s pretty important to be a leader since I’m a senior, I should be setting an example for all the younger kids. But, of course, winning would be nice.”

D YNAMI C D UO : Underclassmen to watch Karrat takes the mat for his seventh year Heilenman trains for state performance

Preveena Joseph Sports Contributor It’s just him, his opponent and the mat. Every step and every movement he makes has to be impeccable. One move can make the difference between pinning the opponent and getting pinned.

Junior Jackson Karrat has been exposed to this kind of pressure since he started wrestling in fourth grade.

He is truly passionate about the sport.

“For me wrestling isn’t a sport; it’s a lifestyle,” Karrat said.

Music is a significant part of Karrat’s training.

He uses it to prepare before his matches or whenever he is stressed. He listens to a lot of Kanye West, Tupac, Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill.

Karrat is grateful for the many people who have helped him throughout his career. However, his mom has been his biggest supporter, attending every match to cheer him on. He says that she has high standards because she knows what he is capable of, so she pushes him to do his very best.

Karrat has many memories from his years on the Emmaus wrestling team.

His most memorable match was at Whitehall last year. He was already having a stressful week leading up to the match. The team was not doing so well; they began with getting pinned three times in a row. He still remembers what Junior Jackson Karrat (left) wrestling an opponent at Saucon Valley High School his coach told him before it was Photo courtesy of Stephanie Wright. his time to step Karrat says that the new up to the mat. coach, Nick LaFevre, is “Do what I know you very young and energetic, can. Get me points,” Jeff which will benefit his style.

Arbushites said.

LaFevre sees Karrat as a That’s exactly what he very hardworking, condid. He pinned the opponent sistent and likable person. and earned the win for the A wrestler stands out to team. He changed the whole him when they’re mentally match around. That night tough and have a great work when they won, they earned ethic both in the classroom their spot in districts. and on the mat. LaFevre beWith the start of the lieves that Jackson fits this 2017-18 season, new memdescription quite well. bers have joined the team “He’s a very good including sophomore Ethan wrestler already,” LaFevre Macik. Macik believes said. “But I think he could Karrat is a key player. definitely become some“He’s very dedicated thing great.” and pushes himself to the extremes,” Macik said.

“He’s the type of guy that will encourage you and push you to do better, too,” Macik said.

Emma-Lin Moyer Sports Contributor Junior Abby Heilenman excels athletically and academically, but like everyone, she experiences periods of self-doubt.

Heilenman is a threesport athlete. Whether running on the track, swimming her last lap, or sprinting to the finish line, Heilenman puts forth her best effort. Long practices, late nights, early mornings and endless meets makeup Heilenman’s everyday life. As well as balancing three sports, Heilenman shows an interest and strong drive in the classroom.

She takes all high-level classes, participates in Student Government Association, orchestra, envirothon and church.

She also teaches swim lessons at Steel Fitness through Emmaus Aquatics Club.

“I always knew Abby was a very driven person, both in and out of the classroom,” says swim coach Tim O’Connor.

But this drive comes with challenges.

With her schedule constantly filled, obstacles and pressure sometimes stand in her way. Often

finding herself exhausted discomfort. and overwhelmed, she “When I got back, I still thinks it’s all worth it. definitely lost all of my Heilenman often looks mileage and running to her parents for support strength. I only ran three and tries outweighing the races which was upsetting negatives with positives. as well,” she says.

Her parents are her bigAlong with running, gest supporters.

Heilenman swims for the “They want to see me Emmaus swim team. Nine try my hardest and see me times a week swimmers doing something I love, are in the pool as early they always support me,” as 6 a.m. On top of that, she says. gym days and meets occur Heilenman has had suc- during the week. cessful seasons all around.

“There are some nights This past season, she was you don’t get home until the 16-year-old captain really late, and then you of the girl’s cross country have morning practice. team and loves the leader- Sometimes it doesn’t feel ship role she took on. As like it is worth it but when well as this accomplishyou finish a big accomment, she has received plishment you look back a total of seven varsity and it is,” says Heilenlettermans so far, made man. districts last swim season and was awarded the EPC title for running; but things are not always perfect.

This past fall, Heilenman suffered an injury that forced her to take off for three weeks.

Shin splints, pain due to the shin muscles pulling Heilenman in the pool after a race. away from the bone, caused her Photo courtesy of Abby Heilenman. severe pain and

22

Showcasing Emmaus’

Four

Artis focuses on basketball after football season

Abby Perkins Sports Contributor For his last year of playing Emmaus basketball, senior Joshua Artis looks to continue where he left off last season, leading his team in the PIAA state tournament as a strong forward.

Photo Courtesy Wesley Works.

Artis began playing organized basketball as a seventh grader at Lower Macungie Middle School, but was introduced to the sport in third grade after moving to East Penn from Hillside, N.J. He was first rostered on Emmaus’ freshman basketball team, but by his sophomore year, both junior varsity and varsity listed his name. Now a tri-varsity athlete for Emmaus, Artis also suits up for football and spring track.

Ending last season with personal improvement, Artis anticipates starting his final season with a strong team beside him. Despite losing two key teammates, Matthew and David Kachelries, to graduation, boys’ basketball expects to retain a high ranking within the East Penn Conference (EPC).

Emmaus basketball coaches Steve Yoder and John Dietrick watched Artis grow over the course of his high school career, on and off the basketball court. “[Artis has] developed a very good basketball IQ which allows him to move more freely on the court be-

cause he knows where he needs to be [in a game],” Yoder said. “There’s a sense of trust with Josh. We trust him to do what our program wants him to do.”

Four years of playing an organized sport leads to personal relationships between coach and player, especially in Artis’ case. Coach John Dietrick puts in extra effort to be an influential figure to Artis by keeping in touch with

his teachers, receiving a copy of his school schedule, and checking in with him to make sure he’s staying in line.

Both Artis and Dietrick feel the effects of their personal relationship.

“I never yell at him, I just talk with him, reminding him what his goal should be in case he forgets,” Dietrick said. “He sometimes needs someone to kick him in the butt.”

Dietrick even maintains a relationship with Josh’s older brother, Khaleel, who played football during his time at Emmaus. Dietrick visited him during his time at Lackawanna College, near Buffalo, N.Y. and now continues to look after Artis as he did with his brother. “[The brothers] are very similar other than Josh being six inches taller,” Dietrick said. “It’s nice to keep relationships with these kids, we try to keep in touch.”

With Artis leaving a remarkable essence on last year’s season, he has high hopes to play strong basketball this year. And he’s not the only one who noticed.

“He should be one of the best big men in the EPC,” Dietrick said. “Especially if he continues where he ended last year where he was playing in the state tournament.”

The relationships that Artis built with his coaches continue to grow, but Dietrick and Yoder now hold him to higher expectations off the court.

While managing three varsity sports over the course of one school year can consume time, Artis has adapted to managing his time after school. Though student athletes must often learn to use their time wisely for homework, sometimes their workload is inevitably overwhelming.

“It’s kind of hard sometimes, practice at night and homework and not getting home until like 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m.,” Artis said.

Basketball has become a large portion of Artis’ high school life, over the past six years of organized play. He loves the sport because a good game does not depend on how high the skill level is of the opposing team.

He has not yet determined his future in basketball, nor the other varsity sports he plays, but while his future in basketball remains undecide, he may Artis in dribbling in practice before lean more towards the team’s first game.Photo by Arifootball. However, ana Werener. playing both basketball and football in college would be an ideal solution for Artis.

Ziegler continues to shoot for success Laurel Widdoss and Gaby Sukop Sports Contributors Emmaus senior Amber Ziegler is an experienced member of Emmaus High School’s varsity rifle team, a sport often overlooked by many students.

Ziegler, a captain, Photo courtesy of Wesley Works. has been on the rifle team for four years and has competed on the varsity team for three of those years. The team competed at states last year, continuing thelegacy. Many of her teammates look to her for guidance and follow her example at practice and competitions.

Along with keeping the team and equipment in order, Ziegler helps her teammates aim during team relays.

“Amber takes charge of organizing and helping run the practices for the team,” coach Peter Chromiak says. “She helps the new competitors with their equipment and helps scope them during the relay.”

When Ziegler was younger, she became acquainted with guns by practicing gun safety and shooting with her grandpa. This helped spark her interest in rifle team.

She never felt threatened by guns because of her early training, and she feels that training helped greatly with

her shooting today.

Ziegler’s teammate Sam Rozanski, a sophomore at Emmaus, joined rifle team last year after Ziegler recommended the team to him. Like Ziegler, Rozanski started shooting at a young age with his father, where he learned basic gun safety and skills.

“Amber is out there, the way she interacts with people, Rozanski says. “She isn’t very serious, but she gets serious

when she picks up the gun.”

Last year, Zeigler helped the team achieve second place at states, leading the team with 196 points out of 200. The team has been to states four years in a row, and they often place in the top five.

“Amber is a pleasure to have on the team,” Chromiak says. “Amber is one of my top scoring competitors on the team, and I expect she will be consistently scoring in the top five this year.”

Ziegler, along with her team, believes that rifle team doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. After coming in second at states, the team was hardly recognized by the school, she said. The most recognition they received was a short congratulations on the morning announcements a week later.

“We’ve been in the top five at states for a bunch of years,” Ziegler says. “We had a perfect season last year. We were undefeated. We should be recognized.”

A normal practice for Ziegler and her team consists of

getting out all of the proper equipment, putting on their special padded jackets, deciding which eight members are shooting first, getting in prone position, and then taking aim. Chromiak then helps adjust their positioning. When all ammunition is used, the shooters place a flag on the gun to show it is safe.

“We all work together on the team,” junior teammate Sydney Jones says. “[Amber] does a good job of keeping everyone together and on track.”

Outside of rifle team, Ziegler runs track and cross country, and enjoys horseback riding. She also meets every Wednesday at the Guthsville Rod and Gun Club. There she practices with the Guthsville Jr. Rifle team, which educates on proper gun handling and shooting techniques.

The size of the team certainly doesn’t stop their big accomplishments at competitions and beyond.

The team has high hopes for the upcoming season, with Ziegler hoping to continue the tradition of going to states.

“We’re a smaller team,” Ziegler says. “We’re kind of a big family.”

Ziegler competes in a match on Dec. 12. Photo courtesy of Amber Ziegler.

Faces

23

Senior Athletes

Tannous works towards a winning senior season Abbey Baksa Sprots Contributor Seconds are counting down on the scoreboard and the game is tied. Coach calls you up to shoot, and you’re praying that you get the basket to win. The pressure from your team and everyone watching is on your shoulders.

You shoot and score. The crowd goes wild over a win for their team, and all you think about is getting closer to districts.

Senior Leah Tannous has been familiar with this type of situation since she began playing basketball in first grade.

“My whole family plays: my dad and two older brothers,” Tannous says. “And everyone was expecting me to be like my brothers.”

She began shooting when her dad taught her at the age of five. When she could, she joined the club team

Tannous defends fellow senior Ciara Wippel in practice.

Photo by Arianna Werner.

LMYA, then Macungie, and started her high school career on both junior varsity and varsity.

Last season, the team beat Central by one point at the historic Rockne Hall in Allentown for the first time in almost a decade. In this year’s preseason, her and the team have been 4-1, winning two weekends in a row.

But Tannous’ high school career has not been easy.

Her freshman and sophomore year coach left at the end of

her second season and the following coach had personal difficulties that made him unable to coach. On Nov. 9, the news was released that starting point guard senior Cayley Grabowski tore her ACL. “We can’t seem to catch a break,” Tannous says. “We are gonna continue to fight.”

Through thick and thin, Tannous has learned more about herself and her confidence has grown since the first day.

“I felt like I had big shoes to fill and had to start right away. I would sit down with my dad and he would critique me on what I could do better,” Tannous says.

“I realized that I needed to be my own player. I learned confidence in myself, on the court, in my shot to outside the court.”

Her confidence has shown on the court throughout the years and senior teammate Briana Hart has been there to witness her growth since fourth grade.

“She is hard on herself and she knows she can do better,” Hart says. “And if she makes a mistake she moves on and has a drive to get better.”

Tannous’ drive to get better helps her to push the team as much as she pushes herself.

The team yells in the fourth quarter at one another to get the extra drive to win. Tannous continuously reminds herself of not having been to districts in four years and wanting to end her high school basketball career at districts.

“She is the Photo courtesy of Wesley Works. loudest on the court, always cheering everyone on,” Grabowski says.

Being “the loudest on the court” gives Tannous a leadership role for others to look up to. She calls out others’ mistakes to correct them and move forward, but she is always positive about it.

“It is part of being a leader,” Hart says. “You need to be able to call someone out, making the team accountable.”

After having played for 12 years on club and school teams, Tannous will not be playing for a college team.

She will continue to love the sport, but will not be on the court hearing the crowd scream and shout when she gets a basket, instead she will be in the crowd shouting for her team.

Wigfield takes up challenge of ice hockey goalie Natalie Schadler Sports Contributor Senior Andrew Wigfield keeps his eye on the puck when he plays for the Emmaus High School ice hockey team as a goalie.

Wigfield began on the Emmaus team his freshman year and is carrying his experience with ice hockey to a close this year. Through the ups and downs, Wigfield appreciates the benefits and life skills that come along with being on the team. With an outstanding 10 years of experience playing on the ice, his journey with his teammates has impacted him greatly.

This season, Wigfield has a goalie record of 3-2, with a mere 4.4 goals allowed on average, with a total of 22

Senior Andrew Wigfield defends a shot at the PPL Center. Photo courtesy of Wigfield.

goals allowed on the season. Wigfield also has a save percentage of 87 percent, according to the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League.

“We’ve been playing a bunch of us together since

elementary school, so we all know each really well,” Wigfield said.

Because Wigfield’s connections with his teammates impacted his involvement in the sport, he would give future ice hockey players one piece of advice which is to make sure you create bonds with your teammates to make an overall better experience for any player.

As far as keeping up with school work, Wigfield ensured that just like any other sport, it’s not as easy as it seems.

“When there’s late practices, you don’t get a ton of sleep,” Wigfield said.

The season runs from October to February and practices are usually two hours long and three times a week.

However, the hours and lack of sleep pay off in the end.

Wigfield had nothing but positive outtakes from ice hockey that he may not have received by discarding the sport.

“All the places you get to travel. I’ve been anywhere from Maryland all the way up to Canada,” Wigfield said.

A teammate of Wigfield, junior Toshan Doodnauth, had amiable words to say about Wigfield himself. Doodnauth met Wigfield at the first practice of this season.

Doodnauth admires Wigfield’s qualities as a nice person

and learns from him as a goalie himself.

“He’s been playing a lot longer than I have, so I kind of pick up from him. He’s really athletic and he has a good vision when following the puck,” Doodnauth said.

Another teammate who is a close friend to Wigfield, junior Justin Hurlburt, described Wigfield as a “chill Photo courtesy of Wesley Works. guy.” Hurlburt has known Wigfield personally for four months and is continuing to grow their friendship on the ice.

“His knowledge of the game is really good. He’s a good leader once you kind of break him out of his shell,” Hurlburt said.

Wigfield will not be pursuing ice hockey after high school, but the memories with his teammates are forever unforgettable.

Under the Lights

OF THE PPL CENTER

Emmaus ice hockey shines on the big stage

James Marler Sports Editor Last Monday as he laced his skates, ice hockey alternate captain Shane Miller knew it would be the final time he would join his Emmaus teammates under the big lights.

With Elf playing on Locker Room 6’s TV, Miller soaked in his final high school game on professional ice.

He’s played on this stage since the PPL Center’s construction, and each time makes it more and more special.

Allentown’s PPL Center has hosted a plethora of great teams since it opened in 2014, including the Philadelphia Flyers, Villanova Wildcats, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Now, the arena hosts a new one: the Emmaus Hornets.

This season, Emmaus ice hockey took part in three games at the PPL Center, with games against Parkland, Northampton, and Central/Bethlehem Catholic.

On Oct. 2, the Hornets opened their season against the Northampton Konkrete Kids, under the lights of the PPL Center. The game came down to the last period, with Emmaus scraping out a 4-3 victory. Goalie Andrew Wigfield saved 23 shots in the Hornets’ victory and they began the season off the a great start.

“I’ve been playing on this ice for three years now, and it’s quite the experience. You feel like a professional coming out here,” Miller said. “Being third in the league, it’s pretty exciting to come out here and look like we know what we’re doing out there.”

Later that month, on the 23rd, Emmaus once again visited the Hamilton District to play Parkland in a frozen Cedar Crest Rivalry. Although Emmaus put up a good fight against the regional and state powerhouse Trojans, they couldn’t put one past their defense.

Zakk Foster, a senior alternate captain, recognized the importance of the first two PPL games.

“Parkland is always a tough matchup, but I felt we came out strong all three periods and gave it our all,” Foster said. “Northampton we had the same amount of shots, and was a great game, and today all the same.”

The Hornets played their third and final game at the PPL Center last Monday, against the Central/Bethlehem Catholic Saints.

Senior captain Joe Eckstein wasn’t happy with the team’s start, but he was glad to see them recover in the later periods.

“We started off sloppy, I think we got caught up in the fact that we beat them twice before, we probably got a little overconfident, they have some talented guys we took for granted,” Eckstein said. “We started to find our groove

towards the end and I think eventually we hit our base.”

After stalling in the first period, allowing a sloppy goal for a 2-1 lead at first intermission, Emmaus broke the huddle, wanting to take advantage of the shorthanded Saints, who only were able to field six players.

In the second period, Emmaus came out flying, scoring three goals, coming from juniors Anthony Cino, Justin Hurlburt, and Brenden Beck. The Saints were able to put another one past junior goalie Toshan Doodnauth, and the score was 5-2 following the second period of play.

The game truly opened up in the third period, where both teams combined for eight total goals, more than the first two combined. Within eight minutes of the third period face off, Emmaus tallied four more goals, from Beck, Hurlburt, Eckstein, and junior Kyle Lawrence. After Central/Becahi scored two in a row, Emmaus sealed a decisive victory with two goals from Lawrence and junior Alec Tomlins.

The final score was 11-4, and the Green Hornets improved to 6-3-1 and retained third in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL), only behind Parkland and Freedom. Justin Hurlburt led Emmaus in goals, and shared the top points total with Kyle Lawrence.

Overall, the Hornets controlled the ice and provided the statement win they had been used to, following similar routs the past two times these teams have met.

After the game, President of Emmaus Hockey and assistant coach, Joseph Eckstein took away several positives following the conclusion of Emmaus’ PPL games.

“I have to say [being 2-1] is positive, we beat Northampton by a goal, lost to a very, very talented Parkland team,” Coach Eckstein said. “Tonight we played well, showed a lot of class passing the puck around, and working it around the whole team.”

Since the team typically plays at the Lehigh Valley Rink in Whitehall, playing at the PPL Center provides a new dynamic to high school hockey.

“It’s a good advantage, because we’re able to get the fans out, and that’s always nice to have your boys supporting you,” Foster said. “It’s really a thrill to play at an actual arena for once, unlike [The Rink in Whitehall]” The atmosphere is not only felt from the stands, however, it’s in the way the players feel under the bright lights.

“Morale is boosted definitely, more on the professional ice,” Miller said. “We feel like we are higher than we usually are.”

Eckstein also identified that the team chemistry changes when playing in the big arena compared to the smaller Rink.

“It forces us to play more as a team, because the atmosphere is much different from a player standpoint, especially when more fans show up, and you prepare for it differently,” Eckstein said. “Warmups feel different, the whole game just feels different. It does give a whole different vibe to the game.”

Even the coaching staff has picked up on the change in players’ attitudes when on professional ice.

“There’s a little bit of difference because it’s the primetime atmosphere. I think they come out with more giddy up in their game,” Coach Eckstein said. “I think overall, it’s pretty even. We’re a fast

starting team in general no matter where we play.”

A multifunctional ice hockey arena in the Hamilton District of center city, the PPL Center features a wide range of events from basketball and hockey games to concerts and monster truck shows. But a new popular event at the arena has been the LVSHL. Since ice hockey is not a PIAA-sponsored sport, the LVSHL serves as one of several hockey leagues in the state. The league consists of six teams from across the Valley, including Parkland, Freedom, Northampton, Liberty, Central/Bethlehem Catholic, and Emmaus. Part of the LVSHL efforts to spread hockey culture around the Valley is hosting several games at the PPL Center.

The PPL Center provides high school hockey a chance to show itself off to the region, as the next wave of potential professional players. Since ice hockey is not affiliated with the PIAA, not many students and community members are familiar with the LVSHL and other hockey leagues in Pennsylvania.

“Absolutely [the PPL Center spreads the message for school affiliation with ice hockey]. Especially the televised games,” Coach Eckstein said. “I think hockey needs all the notoriety it can get, especially locally and getting more publicity. The PPL Center is an amazing venue, and I wish we got to play here a little more.”

The LVHSL is a loosely formed league, with teams coming in and out depending on participation within their respective associations. According to their website, nine programs are eligible to produce a varsity team, but only six have been able to field them this year.

“The sport would really benefit from a PIAA sponsorship. More teams could enter the league and more money with it,” Foster said. “Only playing five teams three times each can be kind of annoying.”

Foster shares this opinion in large part because recently, Emmaus’ youth hockey program has faced massive deficits because of high prices and lack of participation.

The Hornets’ middle school team has had to join forces with Freedom to get enough players. Foster hopes that playing at the PPL Center will help support the cause to get the PIAA on board.

Without school help, many associations are beginning to crumble under the weight of expenses. Youth participation is falling due to injury concerns with minors, which has drifted many young athletes away from the sport.

However, by using the PPL Center as a host to varsity ice hockey, including some being televised, the hope is that the Valley will once again turn its eyes to the kids under the bright lights.

Pictures: (Bottom) Emmaus warms up for their game against the Saints. (Left) Goalie-turned-skater Andrew Wigfield distracts his opposition. (Top) Joe Eckstein scrambles for a loose puck. Photos by Rylan Bassett.