October 2015

The Stinger October 2015

Volume 41

stingerehs.com @stingerehs @stingerehs

Issue 2

Remembering

Abby:

4 months later, EHS holds purple out in Girl’s memory Colleen Grablick Editor in Chief

A

Junior Kendelle Conrad poses with senior Tyler Kish, who painted his entire body for the Purple Out. Photo courtesy of Tyler Kish.

n hour doesn’t mean much to most teenagers. An hour is a class period at school or an episode of a Netflix binge. But to one Emmaus High School student, one hour made the difference between two worlds.

Around 4:30 p.m. on May 18, a car struck and killed fifth grader Abby Zukowski at the intersection of Sixth and Chestnut in Emmaus as she crossed the street with her friend. At the same time, her older sister, senior Gabbie Zukowski, was taking a routine, before-work nap until 5:30. That’s when her older brother’s girlfriend awoke her, telling her: “There’s been an accident. We need to go to the hospital.”

These 60 minutes left a gap between her real world and a world without her little sister.

“There was that hour when everything was still okay for me,” Gabbie said. “That’s just so weird to me.”

Since that day, Gabbie knew her life would never be the same. And a recent Friday night football game proved that to be true.

For most high school students, a Friday game means getting dressed up, standing in the packed bleachers, and leaving the stadium with a voice hoarse from cheering.

But to the Zukowski family, one football game meant much more than that.

On Sept. 25, the Emmaus community commemorated the loss of this young daughter, sister, friend, soccer player. The student section became a sea of purple as Emmaus sported Abby’s favorite color. Although the Hornets fell to Nazareth, it didn’t seem to matter much to the stadium filled with friends and family focusing on the memory of a girl. Amongst those in the crowd were Abby’s sisters, Gabbie and junior Maddie.

Since that fatal day, which also left Abby’s friend Mya Walrath in critical condition, the Zukowski sisters found a support system in their school and community, as friends and family gather at events--such as the Purple Out--to remember a little girl known for her smile and bubbly attitude.

“She was probably the most kind person I’ve known in my entire life,” Gabbie Zukowski said of her little sister.

Please continue to page 4.

Emmaus students, teachers react to Common Core controversy Andrea Klick News Editor

In recent GOP debates, many Republican presidential hopefuls, including Marco Rubio, spoke out against Common Core State Standards. Ted Cruz, another right-wing candidate, abhors Common Core, and condemned the standards numerous times. Although these controversial educational standards directly affect students, a majority of Emmaus High School teenagers don’t seem to know what the term means.

In fact, surveying students about the Common Core, a set of state-regulated education standards, revealed that roughly 26 percent know that they are goals for

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knowledge and skills so that students are prepared to succeed at different grade levels.

Out of 50 students surveyed, some students’ guesses ranged from Common Core being a plan to have “standardized abs” to a simple “I don’t know.” A total of 13 students knew the basics of Common Core.

Students who knew about Common Core generally had negative opinions toward it. Some felt it doesn’t allow students to “explore” lessons outside of textbooks, and that students should be able to learn topics interesting to them.

Some teachers at Emmaus agree that certain lessons cannot be taught with a textbook.

HOPE hosts heroin abuse assembly

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This year, ninth grade biology teacher Brent Landrum asked his students a simple question: “Can science be done poorly?”

Many of the students believed science was “infallible,” and Landrum had a typical lesson planned for the next day regarding the scientific method to show his students how science can be flawed.

However, while driving to work that morning, Landrum heard a story on the radio regarding a Marine study that tested whether or not women could be combatants. The story detailed how the poorlydesigned tests led to incorrect results and conclusions. After hearing this, Landrum scrapped his lesson plan and focused solely on showing students the effects

Sex Ed: Do we need it?

of poorly performed experiments in the real world through a controversial current event.

In Landrum’s opinion, it was his most effective lesson this year, but he feels the opportunity to teach these lessons is “minimized” by a set of state educational standards known as the Common Core State Standards.

In 2009 political leaders began forming Common Core standards to create a uniform education for students across the country in math and English. At the time, there was a bipartisan push for standardized learning, but now people from all political parties are questioning the effectiveness of Common Core.

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Please continue on page 5.

Totally Kyle: Kevin White update

The Stinger

Colleen’s Corner

Five things you should know

In my opinion, the 610 receives a bad rep. Granted, it’s not the 212, there’s quite a large amount of farmland, and during the spring most of the Lehigh Valley smells like manure at one point or another, but it’s not as bad as some people make it out to be.

Social media these days seems to be dominated by middle class white kids complaining about close to anything (guilty as charged.) I can’t count the number of tweets I’ve seen condemning the 610 for having “zero moves” or being so “beat.” (For those of you reading this that are fortunate enough to not have fallen victim to social media slang, a move is another word for plans, while beat is used to described something that is essentially not fun.) Like I said, we don’t live in New York City, there aren’t clubs around every corner or famous people walking down Cedar Crest, but I think a lot of the beauty in the Lehigh Valley goes unnoticed.

For example, there are plenty of places to go hiking around our hometown, some of which are only a minutes drive away. Not to sound like some sort of real estate agent, but Bear Creek, only about 10 minutes away from home near Main Street in Macungie, has nice trails with amazing caves, not to mention an expansive mountain for skiing and snowboarding. In Emmaus, the South Mountain trails are a favorite of mine to visit as well. My cross country team even runs there for practice, and the view at the top of the trails is definitely worth the walk. One night this past summer, a few of my friends and I walked to the top to watch the sunset. It sounds cheesy, and it always reminds me of that one episode of Spongebob with the pies (if you understood the reference, we can be friends) but it was one of the most memorable nights of my summer, and it happened right in Emmaus.

My favorite gem of the Valley however, is found in Bethlehem. As many people know, the Bethlehem star is a famous landmark that sits atop the South Mountain near Lehigh University, and can be seen in most parts of the town. One night this summer, my friends and I had absolutely zero “moves,” and had heard about the star on social media. We decided to make the trek to Bethlehem for the star, and I was actually amazed at the view. As I stood out looking at the skyline, I started to feel a sort of warm and fuzzy appreciation for the LV. From the top of the mountain, I could see our area’s little versions of skyscrapers, the PPL building and Martin Tower. Off in the distance, we saw fireworks shooting into the night sky, and watched them silently pop. It was like looking down at our own little world.

One which, come September, I’ll be leaving.

Next year, I’ll be in a new state with a new group of people walking new streets I’ve never seen before. I won’t be able to drive down Willow Lane and see EHS parking permits hanging on car mirrors, or walk into the nearby WaWa and be guaranteed to see at least one familiar face. High schoolers whine and moan about how much they can’t wait to leave this place, how boring it is, how they have no freedom. I agree in the sense that yes, I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life, meet new people, and make new memories. But I can’t say that I’m not going to miss my daily drives to school on Sauerkraut, listening to my “school morning” playlist and looking out over the cornfields as the sun rises. I think there’s beauty to be found everywhere if you look for it, and I’m glad that I’ve found it in my home, the 610.

News Editor Lily Day @lilyyyy_d

Assistant News Editor Andrea Klick @aklick2000

Opinion Editor Sophia Wertz

Assistant Opinion Editor Angie Stein

Features Editor Rania Draklellis @ou_rania

Assistant Features Editor Izzy Wegner @wegnerisabella

Culture Editor Will Newbegin @free_willy98

Assistant Culture Editor Rachel McQuiston @rachelmcqq

Sports Editor Katie Mest @katiemest

Assistant Sports Editor Abby Moore

Sports Columnist Kyle Carraher

Convergence Editor Darsh Patel

Head Copy Editor Olivia Riccio @Liv120497

Photo Editor Lindsay Harner @lindsayharner

Adviser Denise Reaman

2015 Keystone Press Awards Second Place General News Second Place Public Service Package First Place Sports Story Fisrt, Second Place Column Honorable Mention Review Second Place Graphic Illustration Second Place Layout and Design 2014 NSPA Third Place News Story of the Year Superior Ratings in Newswriting Superior Ratings in Cartooning

A photo I took of the sunset over South Mountain this past summer.

Associate Editor Cathryn Seibert @athryncay

Editor-in-chief Colleen Grablick @collllsss

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 students interested in print media studies.

2014 Keystone Press Awards Second Place Ongoing News Coverage Honorable Mention News Story First, Second, Honorable Mention Public Service Package First Place Feature Story First, Second Place Personality Profile Honorable Mention Column Writing Second Place Review Writing First Place Photo Story Honorable Mention Website

Courtesy of Cathryn

Just My Cup of Tea When I was a toddler, I disappeared. My parents still tell me stories of how they searched frantically for me around the house and the yard, hoping I was safe and alive. And I was, but I wasn’t at home. Apparently, I had dawdled across my backyard, over to my neighbor Joanne’s house to indulge in some lovely toast and tea.

Eventually, it became routine for me to wander off in the middle of the day, always headed to the same place for my favorite afternoon snack and beverage.

My parents caught on after a while, and knew if they couldn’t find me, that’s where I’d be.

Ever since then, tea has continued to play a major role in my life, considering I drink it up to four or five times per day (on a good day). Some may say that’s excessive, and I actually agree with those people. But you can’t blame me for turning to tea as my constant throughout the twists and turns everyday life brings.

As soon as I get home from school, if I have time before work, I’ll boil some water, get the honey and cream ready, and prepare a mug for myself. This is very therapeutic, especially if it’s been a hard day.

When I’m sad, I drink tea. When I’m doing homework, I drink tea. When I’m watching a movie, I drink tea. Even as I’m writing this, I have a cup of Irish Breakfast next to me. You get it. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, tea manages to ground me, make me feel safe, comfortable, and at home.

Over the summer, I went with my friend on a weeklong vacation to Maryland. I had never been away from my family for that long, and I started feeling homesick even before I left. But my trusty teas helped to lessen that effect; every night, I heated up the kettle, and brewed tea for myself and my friend. This simple routine leveled out the stress I would have had otherwise, and left me feeling peaceful and relaxed. It was tea-riffic.

There are some downsides to this habit of mine, though. Wherever I go, I leave a trail of mugs behind me. At any given time, I have 15 or more scattered about my room, and I have often found small ecosystems thriving in some of them, which can’t be good for the air quality.

When my parents went away this month, my grandmother came to stay with us overnight. She’s one of those people who cleans her house weekly and actually washes her windows regularly, a crazy clean person in general, and I knew she would be appalled to see my collection of soiled cups. So instead of doing the walk of shame to the kitchen, my arms overflowing with mucky mugs, I hid all of them behind bags in the corner, just so she wouldn’t witness my semi-squalid living conditions. But hey, at least I was resourceful.

The other drawback to my love of tea is when I’m unable to have it. I used to drink Lipton K-Cups every single day, and they contained the most tea-lightful chai I had ever tasted. Spicy, bold, and sweet. So good, and my mom bought a new 16-pack for me at least twice a month. But then, the place where she bought them from stopped carrying them, and we couldn’t find the cups anywhere else for a reasonable price.

I’m pretty sure I went through a mild form of withdrawal.

A couple months ago, long after my stash had been depleted and all hope had been lost, I found a lone chai K-Cup in my family’s tea jar. I felt like I had struck gold, and I contemplated for a good while whether I should drink it right then and there, or save it for a better time. I wish I had saved it so I could drink it now.

Nevertheless, the moment brought me great joy. No matter what, I know tea will always play a big role in my life, and I have Joanne to thank for that.

IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON TOPICS THAT MATTER TO YOU

News

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NEWS EDITOR LILY DAY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR ANDREA KLICK

Engineering curriculum proposed for EHS next year Lily Day Andrea Klick News Editors Earlier this month several East Penn staff members presented a possible engineering curriculum to the school board, which was receptive to the idea.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a nonprofit organization, offers a STEM curriculum model that features engineering courses, which Emmaus hopes to implement next school year. Over 8,000 schools in the nation use the PLTW curriculum, including local school districts such as Parkland, Bethlehem, Saucon Valley, Quakertown and Easton, according to the presentation.

The two teachers who will instruct the introductory PLTW courses for next year, Steven Braglio and Eric Smith, underwent specialized training at Bucknell University over the summer.

Currently, Smith and Braglio are trained to teach Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering, respectively. After a trial year, proponents of the program hope to add higher level courses that will build off of skills gained in these foundational courses.

The presenters outlined a plan for the growth of PLTW curriculum at Emmaus.

They hope to implement the two introductory courses next school year, and one “specialization course” over each of the next two years. These could include Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering and Architecture, and Digital Electronics, among several other options. With each additional course that is added, a new teacher will need to go through “that two-week intensive training at Bucknell,” Smith said.

Eventually, a “capstone course,” Engineering Design and Development, will be added. In this course, students will apply all previously learned skills through a project where they “identify an issue and then research, design, and test a solution, ultimately presenting their solution to a panel of engineers,” according to the presentation.

Laura Witman, the district’s Supervisor of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction, spearheaded the effort to implement PLTW at Emmaus.

Presenting at the meeting, Witman believes the PLTW curriculum would ben-

efit Emmaus students by providing them with real-world experiences that other STEM classes are not able to offer.

“PLTW offers engineering courses that integrate content and skills from their math and science classes,” Witman said.

“The technology and materials will allow s t u dents to explore n e w ideas as well as collaborate, envision, d e sign, build and put them to test. The approach is hands on – students are working on solving real-life problems. Students are not just learning theory, they are actively discovering how things work... students learn to embrace solving authentic global challenges.”

Smith, a Technology Education teacher at EHS who also specializes in photography, spoke to the school directors.

He agrees with Witman’s evaluation of PLTW’s benefits.

“It will benefit students because currently the educational system is comprised of students memorizing facts and regurgitating them on tests and repeating,” Smith said. “They don’t know what they learned, they don’t know why they learned it, and what Project Lead the Way is going to do is put purpose and meaning to content, so students get to develop ideas and see them through to the end product, rather than memorizing facts.”

Principal David Piperato also believes PLTW will be a rewarding program for Emmaus students because it allows “students [to have] opportunities to learn a skill or something that will translate to a career…”

Witman anticipates significant student interest for PLTW courses.

“I believe we will have many students who may consider a career in engineering or who simply want to engage in hands on learning, problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration with skills they are simultaneously acquiring in our other

math and science courses,” Witman said.

Smith also thinks PLTW courses will garner large student interest. Although he said “We have no idea how popular it’s going to be,” he believes “there’s a thirst for [engineering] and students don’t even really know what’s available out there, and I think this will really put engineering on the map.”

PLTW courses will teach more than the standard math and science classes at EHS. “There will be math and science taught,” Smith said, “but then there’s also the whole element of students getting to produce something and apply those terms, techniques and principles in math and science to actual projects.”

Implementing PLTW requires payment for new technologies, including a computer lab for Introduction to Engineering Design and Vex Robotics Kits for Principles of Engineering. According to the school board presentation, anticipated PLTW start-up costs total $52,600. While this is a one-time cost, the annual PLTW participation fee is $3,000, which covers the cost of software updates and curriculum, among other necessary expenses. This is constant, regardless of the number of PLTW courses that could be implemented in Emmaus over the years.

A l though the costs are high, t h e school board expressed interest in executing the program.

“Some of the technology is in place and the board appears to be committed to making this happen,” Piperato said.

Even though the PLTW curriculum shows similarities to some engineering courses offered at Lehigh Carbon Technical Institute (LCTI), which Emmaus students can enroll in, Witman thinks the two programs cater to different interests.

“Some LCTI coursework and PLTW coursework have similarities in terms of incorporating hands on learning with STEM education,” Witman said. “However, the PLTW courses we are introduc-

ing are focused on exposing students and preparing students for curriculum typically found in engineering courses in a four year college. These courses are not replicated at LCTI. Likewise, electing into a valuable LCTI program is career/skill focused, but nothing like the PLTW courses.

One clear objective we have is to clearly inform students regarding the difference.”

Piperato concurs that the two programs will attract different students, and that PLTW will not detract from LCTI enrollment.

“PLTW is designed for students who want to explore the possibilities and then determine if it is the path for college and the future,” Piperato said. “The LCTI engineering program appears more intensive and submerges students into that program of study.”

At the meeting, the presenters explained that PLTW is a program open to any student with an interest in STEM fields. Although students need to meet certain prerequisites in algebra classes to register for a PLTW course, they do not need to be on an honors or AP track to participate.

Smith is looking forward to seeing PLTW thrive at EHS. “Project Lead the Way has been around for about 15 years and many other Lehigh Valley schools are doing it, so it’s about time Emmaus does it,” Smith said. “I think it’s going to really benefit East Penn students, and Mr. Braglio and myself are super excited to kind of be the forefathers, if you will, and start this whole project here. I think it will be a huge success.”

Piperato is also hopeful for the future of PLTW at Emmaus.

“I do believe it will be successful at Emmaus, and I do believe students will benefit by its presence at Emmaus,” Piperato said.

Photos of students taking advantage of PLTW curriculum. Photos courtesy of PLTW.com

Drug epidemic in the Valley prompts parent meeting Photo by Andrea Klick

Andrea Klick Valley, many parents believe Assistant News Editor the problem will not reach their On Sept. 17 representatives child. However, the videos and from a heroin and opioid prevenstories Fiore shared were of stutative group came to Emmaus to dents from Parkland and East warn parents about the spike in Penn who experienced drug addrug overdoses in the Lehigh Valdiction or featured parents tellley, but the presentation generated ing the stories of children they little interest. lost.

About 20 parents came to hear Many of the stories featured speaker Lisa Fiore from the Heropeople from well-to-do famiin and Opioid Prevention Edulies who did well in school and Pamphlets handed out by HOPE presenters at the Sept. 17 cation Project (HOPE) discuss were involved in extracurricupresentation. the recent drug surge in the Vallars. Despite seeming fine, these ley, which has seen disheartening statistics. students began using gateway drugs such as marijuana, According to Fiore, a person dies every two to three which escalated to heroin abuse. days in the Lehigh County because of a drug overdose.

Although Fiore wanted to quash the idea that certain In recent years, Pennsylvania has become a “source” and students will not be tempted by drugs, Student Assistance “destination” state, meaning there is a large supply of Program (SAP) coordinator Danielle Walsh feels this drugs in the state and many people travel from different “mentality” is one reason why the presentation attracted states to obtain them, she said. few attendees.

This includes heroin, an illegal drug that is stronger “Sometimes, parents have a false sense that their child yet also cheaper than prescription opioids. Pennsylvania ‘would never do such things,’” Walsh said. “However, happens to have the purest heroin in the country, makgood kids sometimes participate in risky activity. They ing it even more desirable since the drug can be snorted, aren’t bad people, they’re just making bad choices.” smoked, or injected in its purer forms, she said.

Walsh explained that these ideas can also hurt the child Fiore’s main purpose was to inform parents that subbecause he or she is worried to speak with a parent restance abuse can affect any child in any area. She exgarding any drug or alcohol related issues. plained that, although there is a drug epidemic in the “Unfortunately, the ‘not my child’ mentality often

serves to work against teens in their time of need,” Walsh said. “Teens are afraid to talk to their parents about drug or alcohol issues because they don’t want to be judged.

Parents are sometimes in denial that their kids are using [drugs] because it’s shocking and disappointing.”

Although East Penn is not equipped with the heroin antidote, naloxone, like Quakertown, Palisades, Bucks and several other school districts, it does offer assistance for students dealing with addiction. Walsh encourages parents to familiarize themselves with drug and alcoholrelated issues and trends through sources such as the SAP website, the monthly principal’s newsletter and/or by contacting an officer. Students dealing with mental health issues such as “anxiety, depression, dysfunctional relationships and grief issues,” can come to SAP for help.

“The SAP team is available to any student that may need our assistance,” Walsh said. “In the past, we have run groups for students struggling with AOD (alcohol and other drugs) issues.

“Currently, we are able to set students up with an assessor from Pyramid Healthcare. They discuss issues that a student may be having and link them to outside services which may better assist them. Often times, students are referred to counseling services which specialize in helping teens overcome addiction issues.”

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THE STINGER

October 2015

NEWS

Remembering Abby: Two sisters heal with community’s help that as time goes on her ters, loved soccer, pain has slowly eased. singing, American “I’m so used to talkGirl dolls, and making about it that it’s ing people smile, natural for me to talk left an impact on an about her,” said Gabentire community, bie. “It’s natural for as shown through me to talk about how it events such as the happened.”

Purple Out. She remembers in When the Zuvivid detail the afterkowski sisters saw noon when she lost their classmates and her sister, and it has peers buying purple become almost second gear at stores, the nature to speak of that event became surday. After her brother’s real for them. girlfriend woke her For these girls, from her nap, an ambuthis wasn’t just a Abby Zukowski lance took Gabbie from theme, it wasn’t just a her house to Lehigh Valgame. It was an entire ley Hospital, where she met her mother, school and town coming together to celfather, brother, and Maddie, as well as ebrate a life.

Abby’s elementary school teacher and the “It makes me really happy seeing all principal of Jefferson Elementary. Enter- these kids, especially ones I’ve never even ing the hospital, she heard someone say: met, wear purple and paint themselves in “She doesn’t know yet.” support of me and my family,” Maddie “My body felt like it was in shock,” said said.

Gabbie, reflecting back on the moment Those looking in on the situation could when she found out that she had lost her never understand what the family is goyoungest sister. “All of these people were ing through, but keeping Abby’s memory showing up, and me and [Maddie], we just alive allows the community to see what cried for a while. kind of girl Abby was, and what everyone “It was,” she said, “like a dream.” can learn from her.

A few hours later, someone asked if she “She was appreciative of her life and wanted to see Abby one last time. her family,” Gabbie said. “She would “I just remember taking one look at leave the room to go upstairs to get someAbby’s face, and I just walked out,” Gab- thing and say, ‘I’ll be right back, love you bie said. guys.’ I learned a lot from that.”

Now, five months later, life has transAnd most importantly, Gabbie learned formed drastically for the Zukowski fam- that life is short, a fact which those 60 ily. According to Gabbie, each family minutes on May 18, 2015, can corrobomember deals in his or her own way with rate. the loss, and she has grown immensely as “Be close to your family. Apprecian individual since the accident. ate your community,” said Gabbie. “You “It’s not fair, but this is my life now don’t know what you have until you lose and I have to accept that,” she said. “[The it.” family] is definitely different now, but we’re all just grieving in our own way.

“I’ve changed as a person because of this, I’m a stronger person now. [Abby’s] given me strength that I never thought I would’ve had in life.”

This little girl, who according to her sisPhoto courtesy of Gabbie Zukowski

balloon release there with one of the volunteer organizations they often help out.

Maddie and a few of her friends in The Emmaus Remembrance Garden the junior class thought of the idea for a also held a balloon release and dedicated purple-themed game, since The Hornet’s a brick to Abby’s memory. Over the sumNest, Emmaus’ very own “hype squad,” mer, children at Jefferson Elementary had not yet decided on a theme for the planted purple landscaping and dedicated game. According to Maddie, the girls ap- a tree and a bench at the school to their proached Principal David Piperato and re- classmate. Although the Emmaus police ceived approval before then suggesting it did not take action against the driver of the to The Hornet’s Nest, vehicle that who then officially struck the made it the theme of girls, the the football game. borough of “...I couldn’t be Emmaus did more grateful for my reduce the friends because they speed limit are constantly trying where the to do things for me accident ocand my family,” said curred in orMaddie. “It’s nice to der to make know that people still the stretch of care.” road safer.

Senior Sam Buck, More reone of the three main cently, over leaders of The Horthe weekend net’s Nest, felt the of Oct. 9, loving energy in the Upper Milcrowd that night. ford Youth “It felt like more Association of a community than held a twoa student section,” day soccer Buck said. tournament, The game brought named the AZ overwhelming emoTournament, tions for both girls, where they reas they saw the comtired her socmunity come together cer number. to remember their O v e r Abby and father Chris Zukowski on a family little sister. Going 900 players vacation. Photo courtesy of Gabbie Zukowski. signed up for into the game, Gabbie prepared herself the event. to be upset by the Purple Out, that it would With events such as these, the main goal rehash memories of the tragedy. However, is to keep Abby in the prayers and thoughts the game brought about exactly the oppo- of the community, according to Gabbie. site feeling. “[The events] keep my mom busy,” “It was joy,” Gabbie said of the stron- Gabbie said. “Her biggest fear is that gest emotion she felt that night. “Abby Abby will be forgotten. It brings joy to brings joy out of everything.” know that the community has remembered Various events such as the Purple Out her.” have been held in remembrance of Abby, Sometimes events such as the Purple keeping the Zukowski family busy. Origi- Out bring about difficult emotions, acnally from New York, the family held a cording to Gabbie. She says, however, Continued from page 1

National Merit Scholar semi-finalists honored

Zooey He

Katie Bacher

Darsh Patel

Katie Xue

Photo courtesy of Ying Zheng

Photo courtesy of Katie Xue

Photo courtesy of Darsh Patel

Photo courtesy of Xiang Luo

Xiang Luo

Photo courtesy of Zooey He

Photo courtesy of Katie Bacher

Stinger Staff On Monday, the East Penn Education Association honored six seniors for their performances on the PSAT during their junior year.

Each year, the teacher union hosts a dessert reception for National Merit Scholar semi-finalists and their families prior to the second October meeting of the school board.

Seniors feted this year are Katie Bacher, Zooey He, Xiang Luo, Darsh Patel, Katie Xue and Ying Zheng. During the event, students receive gift bags and cards from teachers congratulating them on their accomplishment for their academic performances.

In early September, nearly a third of the 50,000 high-scorers were notified that they earned the rank of semi-finalist. They were among the highest-scoring entrants in each state and advance to the requirements for competition for National Merit Scholarships.

Finalists are named in February.

Ying Zheng

NEWS

THE STINGER

October 2015

5

To Kill a Mockingbird actress visits Valley Photo by Cathryn Seibert

Cathryn Seibert about it in [her] English class.”

Associate Editor “I really like the book so I thought [the Mary Badham, who starred as Jean Louise “Scout” event] would be interesting,” she said.

Finch in the 1962 “To Kill A Mockingbird” film, spoke Sampson felt that, at the time of its release, at Lehigh Carbon Community College’s main campus on “Mockingbird” was a “strong political stateOct. 15. ment.”

The event, which was free and open to the public, “I like that [Badham] discussed the probdrew a standing-room only crowd, and took place dur- lems, that were discussed in the book, that we ing LCCC’s 50th anniversary celebration, as well as the still face today,” Sampson said.

American Library Association’s “Banned Books Week.”

Badham, who has two children and works Badham’s husband and Dean of Library and Education as an art restorer, also acted in “This Propsupport services at LCCC, Dr. Richard Wilt, introduced erty is Condemned” (1966), an episode of the her before she read sections from Harper Lee’s classic, Twilight Zone, and came out of retirement in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” She read portions of the highly- 2005 to appear in “Our Very Own.” anticipated “Go Set a Watchman,” which Lee published She discussed topics such as her childhood through HarperCollins in August. Following the readings, in Alabama, her relationship with fellow acvideo clips of Badham’s Academy Award- nominated tors, including Gregory Peck, who played performance in the 1962 film projected on large screens, Scout’s father Atticus Finch in the film, and Actress Mary Badham, who played Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in the 1962 and she spoke on the how “Mockingbird” affected her movie “To Kill A Mockingbird” spoke to fans at LCCC on Oct. 15. novel’s lasting imlife and those around her. theatrical rendition of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “had pact, later answering “Homes where I was welcomed in questions from the before, because I was General Badham’s the pleasure of meeting” Badham this spring when she audience. daugher, we were one of the founding attended one of the performances at Pennsylvania PlayLaura Segatti, a families of Alabama, now I was no longer house in Bethlehem.

“At the end of the performance, [Badham] lauded the professor of educawelcome in those homes,” Badham said tion at LCCC, felt to the audience. “Why? Partially because entire cast, but she made a point to say to me that ‘you that Lee’s novel was of the information in [To Kill a Mocking- nailed it,’” Shuler said. “I’ve been on cloud nine since then… Her encouragement certainly gave root to [my “groundbreaking” bird] that they didn’t agree with.” and that Badham’s Badham, who is now in the process of successes as an actor].”

Shuler recognized the novel’s effect on America’s prinvisit benefitted the writing a book about her own experienccommunity. es, spreads awareness of issues “Mock- ciples. “[To Kill a Mockingbird] was probably responsible for, “It’s a wonderful ingbird” addresses by speaking at high opportunity for a our schools and colleges around the country. at a minimum, prompting some dialogue, some reexamicommunity to be able Additionally, she has visited the White nation, some introspection, of our values, of our sense of to host [this discusHouse during both the Bush and Obama morality and equality,” Shuler said. sion],” Segatti said. administrations.

EHS sophomore Badham’s influence has spread from Caroline Sampson atthe screen and her life into the lives of evtended the event eryday people.

Badham as Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in the 1962 film “To Kill A because “[her Roy Shuler, an actor who played the Mockingbird.” teacher] talked role of Tom Robinson in Selkie Theatre’s Photo courtesy of mptvimages.com

Teachers react to Common Core systematically acquire knowledge in literature and other disciplines through reading, writing, speaking, Currently, 42 states, the District of Columbia and and listening.” Common Core’s website also states four territories follow Common Core State Stanthat for mathematics the standards prepare students dards, according to corestandards.org. Pennsylvania for college and future careers, “by demanding that is one of the majority of states that created its own students develop a depth of understanding K-12 standards for math and English as well as and ability to apply mathematics to science and history. novel situations...”

Teachers at Emmaus have The state also requires schools varying viewpoints regardto administer Keystone exams ing these standards. at various checkpoints: after the Math teacher Jason completion of biology, Algebra Geist sees both the positive 1 and 10th grade English. Stuand negative aspects of dents must obtain a score of proCommon Core State Stanficient or higher to pass the exam dards. and subsequently be able to graduate. If “...overall,[Common a student does not pass the exam, he must enroll Core has] made the conin a remedial course and retake the exam until tent more rigorous, which he passes.

I think is a good thing,” Geist thinks that standardized tests play too Geist said. “There is a folarge a role in students and teachers’ lives. cus on content more than “As for standardized testing, I would lessen there is necessarily on the impact that they have because in many skills. And the one negaways they force schools to teach the test,” tive is that it forces us Textbooks, like this Glencoe Geometry one, Geist said. “The stress of pass-toto teach too much in graduate doesn’t focus on what’s truly have been adapted to teach Common Core a short period of time important, which is what you learn Curriculum. rather than focusing and how you use it.” on allowing students to Landrum concurs and feels forced learn something in-depth.” to teach certain curriculum to ensure students will Landrum has “mostly poor” feelings toward Comperform well on Keystone exams. Rather than relatmon Core. ing lessons to current events, he must be “concerned “What the Common Core attempts to do is to about getting through the ABCs of the standards.” create these standards that exist within specific curHistory teachers, including Steven Yoder, do riculum...and I think that that’s a wrong type of renot administer standardized testing but still feel sponse,” Landrum said. “There should be standards that Common Core standards hinder the amount of in thinking processes. There should be standards in “teachable moments” a class can have. critical thinking skills... But those are sort of inde“It makes teachers robotic,” Yoder said. “It takes pendent of specific curriculum. away teachers’ ability to have teachable moments “So, instead of us having standards for all of these and limits the ability to dive into topics teachers and individual curriculums we should have standards students would enjoy.” in terms of what we want students to be able to do, Landrum understands that facts are a necessary what we think a public education should provide for part of education, however, he would like Common them,” Landrum said.

Core to redirect their standards and instead focus on Similarly to Geist, Landrum believes that Comcritical thinking and problem solving skills. mon Core standards focus more on teaching specific “I’m teaching biology, certainly there would be terms than giving students the proper “tools” to think facts that I’m teaching, but it’s [student’s] ability to and prosper in the real world. think and use those facts that I think is a more ComCommon Core creators refute the argument that mon Core skill that students should have,” Landrum Core standards only encompass factual information said. and disregard skills on their website, corestandards.

Photo by Lily Day and Andrea Klick org. The website argues that, in regards to English language arts, “the standards require that students Continued from page 1

Stinger editors receive national recognition

Stinger Staff Two editors from The Stinger staff learned last month that they earned a top 10 nomination in the nation for feature writing and cartooning from the National School Press Association.

Senior Colleen Grablick, editor-in-chief, was nominated for feature writing for “Missing Mom,” which told the story of a Lower Macungie Township woman who went missing for more than a year.

Junior Angie Stein, assistant editor of opinion, received a nomination for editorial cartooning for a drawing that appeared in last October’s issue on racist Halloween costumes.

Grablick and Stein are the only student-journalists who will represent the state of Pennsylvania in a contest that attracts thousands of entries from across the country as well as other countries. Their work will go head-to-head with 9 other entries before a panel of judges who determine if they are deemed top in the nation. They will head to Orlando next month for the National School Press Association/Journalism Educators Association annual convention along with several other editors for a ceremony where they will be honored. Additionally, they and other editors will compete in on-demand journalism contests.

“I felt really proud that my hard work paid off and that I could write a story that could have helped this family,” Grablick said.

Grablick earned a superior rating from the NSPA last year for writing; Stein earned superior for cartooning.

“This competition is so large I didn’t really expect to make it far enough to become a nominee so I think that was a really big surprise,” Stein said.

Competing in an on-demand art contest can be rather challenging, she said, as she has done several.

“Each one is different but one thing that is commonly difficult is formulating your idea directly on the spot and then finishing in time and making sure everything is executed well,” Stein said. “It’s easy for it to get very sloppy when you’re drawing very quickly or inking very quickly. Art really does take time and to do it on time and do it well is always really a challenge.”

Grablick and Stein

6

THE STINGER

October 2015

NEWS

East Penn to sell Lower Macungie Elementary School

Lily Day sis--right now it’s used for after care and dergarten center.

News Editor before care programs, which is allowed“There’s two main things I The East Penn School District plans to -but if we’re going to put children there remember about Lower Macsell Lower Macungie Elementary School, all day long... it would cost us millions of ungie Elementary: a really great which opened in 1950 and was most re- dollars, it just wouldn’t be worth it,” he hands-on education with tons of cently used by the district as a “kindergar- said. crafts and activities, and a lack ten center.”

Schilder also cites the small size of the of air conditioning,” Lang said.

The building was used to teach kinder- elementary school and the piece of prop- “The building was old but was garten through second grade students be- erty it is on as a reason that the district de- used to its full potential. My fafore it closed in June 2005. It reopened in cided they no longer find it necessary to vorite memory would have to 2006 as a kindergarten center after $1.1 own LMES. be putting on a stage act of The million worth of renovations. Lower Ma“You really couldn’t put many children Lion King in Miss O’Donnell’s cungie Elementary School (LMES) closed in there anyway,” he said, “so if you had to first grade class.” as a district school in 2010, following open, let’s say, another elementary school Lang also recalls leaving the opening of Willow Lane Elementary or another middle school, that would not LMES for second grade at School. be the place to do it because you couldn’t Shoemaker Elementary School.

In 2011, East Penn gave the private put enough children in there.”

“The transition from Lower Cambridge School permission to rent the According to Schilder, even if the out- Macungie Elementary to Shoeproperty. However, the district now made dated LMES was to be knocked down, and maker was very exciting,” he the decision that they will sell the old el- a new, modern school built in its place, said. “Shoemaker was a much A shirt and pencil from LMES. ementary school. “eight acres is not big enough to put a newer and bigger establishment.

Superintendent of Schools Michael school with playing fields and those types Although Lower Macungie ElShe said the beginning of the day was Schilder explains that the district is mov- of things.” ementary did its best, Shoemaker had always her favorite. ing toward the sale of LMES and its nearly “The district owns a piece of property [many] more activities and a greater extra“All we would see was a sea of five 8 acres to Signature Senior Living LLC. in Lower Macungie township that is about curricular activity pool to be involved in.” year old smiling faces flooding the hall“It’s under agreement right now, it’s not 80 acres, so if we were ever going to build Freshman Nick Toto attended LMES ways, their tiny heads bopping down the definite that it’s being sold, because they a school, that’s where we would build it,” during its first year of operation as a kinhalls,” she said. “So proud to be able to have what’s called a due diligence pe- he said. dergarten center, and recalls the facility find their room, walk in with friends, and riod,” Schilder said. “It’s a little over 200 LMES is located adjacent to Lower being relatively small. greet their teacher at the door. No matter days that they have to make sure that they Macungie Middle School, and they are “I remember that library and music what side of the bed you woke up on, that get all the permits, make sure that every- currently sharing an entrance road off of were in the same room,” Toto said. “I sight at the start of the day could always thing checks out, and if all of it does check Lower Macungie Road. also remember [the] gym was in the basemake you smile.” out, yes, we go through with the sale.”

“It’s something we have to work out ment.”

Current Wescosville Elementary Schilder names many factors that went with the new buyer,” Schilder said, “beHowever, he values the fact that his kinSchool Principal Tara Desiderio served as into the school board’s final decision that cause obviously we still need that road to dergarten experience was in a school with the principal of LMES from 2008-2010, it was no longer beneficial for the EPSD to get into Lower Macungie; they’re going that grade level only, instead of in a reguand taught there for two years before becontinue owning LMES. to need that road to get up that hill into lar K-5 elementary school. coming an administrator. Like Schueck, “First of all, we had a demographic re- their facility. We own part of that road... so “I did like it separate because it introshe looks back fondly on her time there. port that was commissioned by the Penn- what we are negotiating now is the possi- duced real public school,” Toto said.

“As we worked together to reopen sylvania Economic League...” Schilder bility of giving them what’s called a right Megan Schueck, who is currently the li‘The Kindergarten Center’ I do not think said. “Their conclusion was that over the of way easement... we would still own brary media specialist at Wescosville and any of us could have predicted the amaznext 10 years, district enrollments, student that, but we would grant them the right of Alburtis elementary schools, taught kining things that the next four years would enrollments, were going to decline... Now, way to use it. What we have to work out is dergarteners at LMES while it functioned hold,” Desiderio said. “We would have things may change, the demographic re- who’s going to maintain it, who’s going to as a kindergarten center. the opportunity to educate over 1,000 fabport could be wrong... but all of the indica- plow it in the winter, those types of things, “I really enjoyed Lower Macungie beulous students and at the same time learn tions right now is that enrollment will kind and that’s all under discussion.” ing used as a K facility,” Schueck said. what being part of a school family was all of level off and then actually go down over Senior Kevin Lang attended LMES “Everything was geared towards our about. I truly would not give back one day the next 10 years. So that’s one thing that from 2003-2005 for kindergarten and first youngest learners who can often be lost in of my time at LMES and I feel that I left tells us that we will not need that particu- grade, before the school reopened as a kin- the shuffle of a larger elementary school.” there with so many lar school and that outstanding memoparticular piece of ries.” land.”

Desiderio said Furthermore, the confidently that building itself is “if you talk to any outdated, even with teacher who had the the upgrade that the pleasure of workdistrict invested in ing at LMES... to be able to open they would echo LMES as a kinderthe same message. garten center.

“It was four “The other probamazing years lem is that the filled with nothing building was built other than a love of [to be opened in learning and plenty 1950], has not been of laughter,” she updated very much said. over the years, and to get that... up to the proper buildThe former Lower Macungie Elementary School, currently being used by Cambridge School. ing code to put Photos courtesy of Lily Day. children in it again on an all day ba-

School Board nixes Student Resource Officer Lily Day News Editor A Student Resource Officer for Emmaus High School did not make it into the budget for this school year, but the idea of hiring one in the future is not completely out of the question.

Last year, The Stinger reported plans for the East Penn School District to employ a Student Resource Officer (SRO).

An SRO is a certified law enforcement officer who is typically assigned to a particular school. A number of Lehigh Valley school districts, including Allentown, Parkland, Whitehall, Southern Lehigh and Salisbury, already enlist the services of one or more SROs. The primary objective of an SRO is to deal with disciplinary issues, but research has also shown them to be effective as teacher and counselor figures in a school, as well.

The East Penn School Board heard pro-

posals for hiring an SRO last school year, and it set aside $100,000 for an SRO in the preliminary budget for the current school year. The proposed SRO would be an active member of the Emmaus Police Department.

Principal David Piperato, who believes that an SRO would be a positive addition to the high school, cites the school board budgeting process as why an SRO ultimately did not make it past the discussion phase.

“When it was brought forward to the board last year there was a pretty extensive discussion about A, the need for an SRO, and B, the cost of the SRO,” Piperato said.

“The discussion was never elevated to the level of a formal vote because it came around the same time as the budget process... the board had decided at that time to no longer pursue an SRO, because of the budget.”

However, Piperato would welcome the idea of hiring an SRO to the EHS staff in the future.

“Those conversations [about hiring an SRO], if they are going to happen again, will only happen in a different economic climate,” Piperato said. “From the high school administrator perspective, absolutely [we would consider having an SRO in the future]. We are in full favor of an SRO, but of course that’s a decision that is beyond us.”

Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder was a strong proponent of an SRO last year, and continues to stand behind the importance of such an officer.

“It’s something that I want to continue to talk to [the board] about,” Schilder said. “I think it’s important and I think we have a good board who understands the pros and the cons of it--there are always two sides to every issue. I still think it’s a

very worthwhile position to have... I think we are a safe high school, but I think we can be safer with an SRO. I don’t think an SRO is intrusive; I think an SRO can actually work very well with the current administration.”

Like Piperato, Schilder is in favor of reopening the possibility of hiring an SRO in the future if financial situations improve and the district budget would allow for it.

“The budget for this year is already settled, we could not afford it,” Schilder said. “Could we afford it next year? I don’t know yet because it’s too early in the budget process... if possible I would like to have another conversation with the board and the public about an SRO.”

NEWS

THE STINGER

October 2015

7

Emmaus, Freedom students rally for Gold Out ing the funds we raised organized,” Comfort said. “I think working with another school is certainly something we would try again in the future.”

As a member of SGA, Comfort was involved in many aspects of the fundraiser.

“My role as an SGA member was to

quickly we raised such a large amount of money,” Piperato said. “I was also very proud that it was done in conjunction with Freedom High School, because in what is typically a competitive environment, that is, two Lehigh Valley schools going head to head, we found the ability and the time to cooperate and raise money for such a great cause...

I’d love to see it happen again.”

S u p e r intendent of Schools Members of SGA sport their Gold Out T-shirts.

Michael help sell the Gold Out T-shirts to the high Schilder also applauded the efforts of stuschool, to the middle schools, and at the dents who take the time to raise money football game. The sophomores in SGA and awareness for charitable causes. were also in charge of advertising, by “In general, I’ve been very impressed hanging posters, creating an announcesince I’ve been here, a little over a year, ment for ETV, and making a banner by as to how many quality fundraising the cafeteria,” Comfort said. events for really worthwhile causes [EHS Principal David Piperato expressed his participates in],” Schilder said. “Every appreciation for everyone who made this time I walk over into the cafeteria to get year’s Gold Out successful. my salad, there’s somebody in the hall“First of all, I think we should recogway there selling little bracelets or raising nize the efforts of many people who parmoney for some worthwhile cause, and ticipated in not just the Gold Out but in I’ve just been very impressed with that... the planning leading up to the Gold Out,” and I think it’s coming from the heart, I he said. know it’s not coming because you’re beOverall, Piperato was impressed with ing forced to do it by anybody. the results of the fundraiser, especially “So I’ve been very impressed with the fact that Emmaus and Freedom high that, I think it’s a very giving student schools were able to work together for a body,” he said. worthy cause.

“It was a very proud moment for me, because I got to stand on the football field at halftime and help present the cardboard cutout check, and I was amazed at how Photo courtesy of SGA

Photo courtesy of SGA

Lily Day High School was motivated in this fundNews Editor raiser to support the family of Freedom On Sept. 18, through the combined High School physical education teacher efforts of Emmaus and Freedom high Mike Cleffi, whose 2-year-old daughter school students, representatives from was recently diagnosed with leukemia. both schools presented the Pediatric Can“It was kinda impersonal from the Emcer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley with maus side,” FitzMaurice said, “[it was] a check for $20,000. just us supporting the family and just the In recognition of September as Pediatgeneral effort for the Pediatric Cancer ric Cancer Month, Freedom reached out Foundation awareness.” to Emmaus with the proposal of a joint FitzMaurice was impressed with the Gold Out event. Students and staff from result of the Gold Out. both schools wore the same gold T-shirts “This is probably the most successful with black lettering, bearing the names of T-shirt sale we’ve ever done,” FitzMauboth Freedom and Emmaus, along with rice said. “There is some talk about it next the slogan “Together We Fight.” These year too, so hopefully it will happen.” shirts were sold in order to raise money Iobst agrees with FitzMaurice’s assessand awareness for pediatric cancer. ment of September’s Gold Out. The EHS Student Government Associ“We’re looking forward for this hapation (SGA) sold T-shirts for $10 during pening in the next couple of years, for as lunch periods the week of Sept. 14. They long as we can,” she said. were also sold at both Lower Macungie Sophomore Alex Comfort, another and Eyer middle schools by SGA memmember of SGA, views the event as bers, and during the Friday night Gold “highly successful” and believes that Out football game itself. “having this event in conjunction with By the end of the week, Emmaus Freedom was a great idea.” and Freedom were able to take the field “While working with their mini-thon during halftime at the Bethlehem Area group, we were easily able to organize a School District stadium to present the common T-shirt to sell, as well as makmoney they raised.

According to senior Matt FitzMaurice, vice president of SGA, and junior Brooke Iobst, a member of SGA, Emmaus sold 800 T-shirts.

This was the first time SGA had attempted a fundraiser in conjunction with another high school. “[Freedom] brought the idea” for a combined Gold Out, said Poster announcing the Gold Out football game on Sept. 18.

Iobst.

Freedom

8

THE STINGER

OPINION

October 2015

OPINION

Y O U R T H O U G H T S , O U R S . . . I N O N E B I T E - S I Z E PA C K A G E

Practically perfect high school advice from a college freshman Micah Gilley

Hello students of Emmaus High School!

I hope you all had a fabulous homecoming. My name is Micah Gilley. I graduated last year, and I’m currently getting a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree at Oklahoma City University.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you guys about how college is a whole new world and how it’s a whole new level of responsibility and independence. It’s cliche but that is all very true. There are some things that high school just can’t prepare you for. Let’s talk about them.

I’ll start with the boring academic stuff first. Writing in college is very different writing in high school. Here is something new: a professor who will value a good idea over the stipulations of an assignment.

In college you aren’t bogged down with timed writings, because no one is creating assignments in preparation for the SAT, ACT, and AP essay writing.

College professors want you to use your research to come up with new ideas and new perspectives on your topic, not to just regurgitate words from your sources.

The way we were taught can be a double edged sword. It can be hard to re-learn how to write and come up with ideas, but our generation is also very good at attacking assignments without question. In my composition class we learned about invention techniques which are basically different techniques to brainstorm before you write a paper. I would have liked to be familiar with them before college, so if I were you I would Google some of them.

One thing Emmaus did prepare me for, however, was how to have a tolerance for people of different backgrounds, religions, and races. I’m not saying everyone at Emmaus was tolerant, but I think clubs like No Place for Hate and Gay Straight Alliance did a lot to prepare me for the diverse array of people I would meet in college. Let me tell you something right now. Looking back, I think one of the coolest things I ever experienced in high school was the assembly Dr. Mikey Fowlin. Yeah, that guy who came in and did that performance piece about tolerance for No Place for Hate. I don’t care who you are; a girl in the musical, a guy on the football team, someone in student government, someone on homecoming court, whoever you are, that talk, whether you liked it or not may have been one of the truest expressions of what college is like.

You will have to not only have to tolerate but you will have to work with and cooperate with people of every religion, sexual orientation, upbringing, and race you can think of in college. You may have been the jerk that just sat in the auditorium and laughed while Dr. Fowlin was speaking, but you will be in for a rude awakening when you walk into your first English class and get paired up with a transgendered Muslim feminist and have to write a paper with them. Those people exist and they deserve just as much respect as you do. That lesson is more important than anything I learned in class at Emmaus. Tolerance for everyone is of the utmost importance.

OPINION EDITOR SOPHIA WERTZ A S S I S TA N T O P I N I O N E D I T O R A N G I E S T E I N

Parties in peril: 2016 and hopes for moderation

Sophia Wertz Opinion Editor If you don’t live under a rock, you’re probably aware that 2016 is a presidential election year.

You’re also probably familiar with the party debates, comedy skits, and endless memes focused on the struggles between candidates and their lofty, rather unrealistic, and in the case of Trump’s Mexican wall, nonsensical ideas.

Spending a few hours doing “election research,” I found some pretty great websites focused on every political stance every candidate made every year, plus the definitive listing of every scandal involving Hillary Clinton. This was slightly concerning for me, until I realized that scandals are relatively normal for politicians.

The media loves them, and it’s not like Bill was ever immune.

Hello, Monica Lewinsky.

In the midst of “research,” I somehow ended up on YouTube, so I watched alI of the suggested videos for “election 2016.” With the realization that my election research ventures were anything but educational, I switched the focus of my YouTube search to “election 2016- funny” and found some highly entertaining material.

Back on Google, I discovered that Donald Trump gets into Twitter fights on a daily basis, that he will fix the economy simply by being rich, and that his hair is a topic of common inquiry.

(Who styles it? How does it stay in place?

What product does he use?)

Carly Fiorina is the only female GOP candidate, but it doesn’t stop her from hating Clinton with a passion.

And finally, Ben Carson never badmouths the other candidates, only Muslims.

While wasting my time reading a plethora of pointless websites, I came to a conclusion about the 2016 election, and largely, politics in general.

The crazies get all the coverage.

I understand that politics is a highly personal matter.

If you’re a die-hard Sanders/Clinton/ Trump/Half of the GOP fan, I advise you to stop reading now.

I took numerous quizzes in an attempt to find out who I should vote for in 2016.

On each one I was matched with a differ-

ent candidate. In reality, I would never vote for any of them. My “ideal” candidate doesn’t exist.

It bothers me that I can either support progressive values on Sander’s socialist ship, or hop over to the GOP which now thinks immigrants are rapists and doubts the authenticity of Barack Obama’s citizenship. If I support Sanders on the principle of a greater understanding of human equality, why do I inadvertently support free college for every single student? If I think the idea of greater economic equality sounds dangerous in a capitalistic society, why am I obligated to also denounce

its successor, that may or may not occur, over a little something called Planned Parenthood. In a state where political parties already create an insurmountable divide in Washington, adding inter-party divisions will only lead the United States to regress.

We could elect a completely independent candidate to free ourselves of party alliances. But when has a third party candidate ever been President?

Never.

I understand that it would be completely revolutionary and possibly foolish to abolish parties altogether, but I see a lot of reason in the simple request to understand the role of moderation in politics.

Once upon a time, we were warned of the dangers of political parties.

In his Farewell Address, Geroge Wa s h i n g t o n spoke of “continual mischiefs of the spirit of party,” thus justifying the “interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”

It’s a very real issue.

A 2014 study by the Pew Research Study confirms the obvious. “...This shift represents both Democrats moving to the left and Republicans moving to the right, with less and less overlap between the parties. Today, 92% of Republicans are to the right of the median (middle) Democrat, compared with 64% twenty years ago. And 94% of Democrats are to the left of the median Republican, up from 70% in 1994.”

With the full realization that I, a high school student, have a relatively small impact on the political process, I’d like to take a minute to encourage you to vote in ways that will transcend the chains of party alliances, even if marginally.

Please understand that candidates touting truly radical platforms are hard to work with as passion gives way to stubbornness.

And if there’s one thing the U.S. needs less of, it’s uncompromising politicians.

You’re also probably familiar with... the struggles between candidates and their lofty, rather unrealistic, and in the case of Trump’s Mexican wall, nonsensical ideas. global warming?

Why are all the SNL skits about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? Why isn’t anyone making fun of Jeb Bush? The media doesn’t handle moderation in politics.

Because, honestly, Jeb Bush impressions wouldn’t be funny.

It’s easy to make fun of candidates with extreme views because they create enough extremely angry haters to fuel the fire of clever Internet jokes. The media, catering toward the public’s opinions in the interest of profit generation, publishes a lot more coverage on the Trumps than the Bushes for a reason.

Perhaps no mainstream candidate is truly moderate, but some are less polarizing than others.

The problem with polarization in politics is that nothing gets done. If you want to talk about dysfunctional governments, let’s recall the government shutdown, plus

Illustration by Angie Stein

THE STINGER

October 2015

By The Numbers:

9

Homecoming Week 2015 Tickets sold:

Number of powderpuff teams:

1,050

6

Number of clubs in homecoming parade:

Number of audio cut buzzkills at the dance:

7 Number of dance chaperones:

5

3 (who could not attend the dance due to the Emmaus Halloween Parade):

Winning EHS football score:

28-21

Photos by Konnor Durante John & Jenny photo courtesy of Sydney Ott

Number of marching band kids

83 Number of times siblings won homecoming queen and king (prior to 2015):

0

Assistant Opinion Editor

10

THE STINGER

SJW: Social Justice Weariness Angie Stein Assistant Opinion Editor First, a disclaimer. I have nothing against social justice. I have nothing against “political correctness” (though I hate the term), and I do not believe it can “go too far.” I have nothing against activism in its modern incarnation, the widespread social media-heavy movement baby boomers love to complain about. In fact, I consider myself a huge advocate for all these things. Anyone who’s read my previous pieces would know that. Trust me, I’d love to churn out another pumped-up, hard-hitting column about systematic oppression or “problematic” things or the racism, sexism, and other vices plaguing our society. God, just writing that sentence made me tired.

That’s the truth. I’m tired.

I first joined The Stinger as a wide-eyed freshman with all the fire and ferocity that comes with discovering social justice for the first time. At the tender age of 14, I already identified as a feminist, an anti-racism activist, and an advocate for LGBT rights. Armed with a sword of truth and a hammer of knowledge, I prepared to fight for my causes, whether by publishing my word in the paper, going against wrongdoings in my daily life, or taking to social media with other newly enlightened teenagers. The whiny and generally infant-like critics of societal progression have a word for people like me: social justice warriors, or SJWs, for short. Going by their horrible opinions and absurd logic, and the fact that “warrior” is one of the most badasssounding monikers they could choose for people they hate so much, these ignorant cynics only proved the need for social justice, and people to spread it around. I proudly took this as my mission for the next two years.

So how did that go? Well, not ideally. I got into a lot of fights. I made a lot of enemies. I gained a reputation as “that girl,” the one who flipped out on so-and-so for cracking a racist joke or wouldn’t shut up about women’s rights.

At the time, none of this diminished my passion for my causes. Every time someone shoved me down, I got right back up, ready to shout louder and fight harder. After all, this was about the rights of me, my friends,

OPINION

October 2015

my family, anyone and everyone who suffers under the barbaric oppression of society. What could be more important? Certainly not friendships, or conservation of energy, or my own mental health. Regardless, I don’t regret my roaring 9th and 10th grade years. In a life of passive conformity and timidity, it was my first time standing up for something, and despite my naive methods, I must have changed a couple minds. Breaking into social justice gave me values and beliefs that remain just as important to me today, if not even more so.

But if that’s true, why has it been so long since I’ve felt that fire? When was the last time I wrote a scathing SJ-centric editorial, debated with an ignorant classmate, or took to social media with all the hashtags and cybernetic cries for change I could muster? As summer passed and my junior year dawned, I became worried, racking my brain for the cause of my decline. Maybe as I furthered my high school career, other things found their way onto my plate, giving me only enough time to roll my eyes at bigots. Maybe under the bravado, my self-confidence really had taken hits, especially in the 899990 of a couple traumatic incidents, where my outspokenness earned me humiliation in front of my peers. Maybe I had grown resentful towards social justice itself, a thought that confused and scared me. Was my “cooling down” a sign that I was a bad activist, disillusioned with my causes, as complacent as those I tried to educate, or just a natural waning of fervor that comes with time?

The answer, put simply, is “neither.” The full answer, because I still love making things complicated, is that I’ve become tired and unfocused and yes, a bit disillusioned, but not for no reason. As I’ve matured, growing into my social justice battle armor, so to speak, I’ve realized that feminism, racial discourse, everything I upheld as word of God is not quite so perfect. Of course I expected debate, controversy, everything that comes with the push for social change. But from my experience, there’s more conformity and parroting in social justice circles than anything, and more “screaming at each

other till it devolves into name-calling” than “debate.” For youth, maybe this isn’t a surprise, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. From the wrong-and-right, black-and-white mentality to the witch hunt-esque treatment of less educated people, it’s not the ideas that disenchanted me from social justice, but the attitudes. It’s hard to get as excited as I did freshman year when many of my allies annoy me just as much as my opponents. I didn’t want to be ashamed of what I believed in, cringing at buzzwords and manic activists the same way “anti-SJWs” did, but my transition from a bright-eyed, fearless fighter to a subdued, somewhat cranky vet was unavoidable.

Recently, I read the editorial I wrote last October about racist Halloween costumes, and my feelings were conflicting, to say the least. On one hand, I felt proud to spread the information and ideals I was so passionate about, and I envied the courage my past self possessed. On the other hand, I sighed at my heavy-handed statements of oft-regurgitated information, and the resurfacing memories of petty arguments and embarrassments. Also, I used the word “problematic,” which is now between “lippie” and “bromance” on my list of least favorite words.

But above all, it reminded me of how I’ve changed, and how that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just like I changed from an average girl into a full-blown social justice warrior, what’s wrong with changing into a more mature, selfaware advocate with the ability to prioritize, think freely, and sometimes just seriously, like, chill out? I’m not complacent. I’m not giving up. I’m not crossing over to that coddling “real justice” crap. I’ve simply learned to keep my social justice sword in its sheath - after all, what good is a warrior who learns nothing from previous battles?

In a life of passive conformity and timidity, it was my first time standing up for something, and despite my naive methods, I must have changed a couple minds.

The Last Laugh: Boyardee is the real celebrity Luke Maake Opinion Columnist Chef Boyardee is a shining example of the American Dream and what it means to be a hero. Not many people look at Chef Boyardee this way, but with everyone celebrating World Pasta Day on Oct. 25, I think it’s about time we examine those who really gave meaning to pasta and dedicated their entire lives to it.

In this case, we’ll talk about Chef Boyardee, and essentially just how fantastic he was.

You might think I’m kidding, but I’m not. His product may taste like dog food, or cat food, or a hybrid of the two (patent pending), but the guy really did some cool stuff in his life. Cool, as in, cooler than the conventional celebrity or superstar. Did Nicki Minaj win a Gold Star order of excellence from the United States War Department for supplying the Allies with rations during World War II? No, she didn’t, but Chef Boyardee did.

Minaj may not have been alive during the time, but that’s no excuse. Did Miley Cyrus ever make a bottle of fantastic spaghetti sauce? I don’t think so… I mean, it’s possible, but you get my point.

Unlike other frauds such as Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker, and Uncle Ben, Chef Boyardee was a real person named Ettore “Hector” Boiardi. By the time he was seventeen and living in America, he already had a position in the kitchen of Plaza Hotel in New York. But enough with that boring information, all you really need to know about Chef Boyardee is that he is the original Italian master of

America. The guy’s first restaurant was literally named “The Garden of Italy.” One might compare it to the Garden of Eden, or any other sort of cool garden with significance.

With the help of Maurice and Eva Weiner (don’t you dare laugh), Boyardee, who used this name so ignorant Americans would be able to pronounce it, became a huge hit and had his spaghetti sauces and whatever else he made in markets across America. His canned, processed dog fo- I mean spaghetti was extremely popular with people everywhere, as is still true today.

Oh, and remember how he won an award from the U.S. war department? Well, he also allegedly won an Order of Lenin for outstanding service to Russia by making a particular cuisine for the Russian Army. Then the Cold War came knocking at the door and told him he couldn’t accept his hard-earned prize. To me, this is the biggest calamity to come of the Cold War, although some scholars might disagree.

All of this sounds madeup and fake, and I must say it sounded fake to me as well. But after double checking Wikipedia, I can confirm that all of this is true - probably. Not only could Chef Boyardee cook a mean ravioli, he could also win awards for, well, cooking ravioli. Chef Boyardee wasn’t exactly a jack of all trades, but he was a master of one. As Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who

“Not only could Chef Boyardee cook a mean ravioli, he could also win awards for, well, cooking ravioli.”

has pract i c e d one kick 10,000 times.”

Just replace kicks w i t h r a v i oli or spaghetti and you have Chef Boyardee, a man even Bruce Lee would fear.

Sadly, Hector Boiardi passed away in 1985 at the respectable age of 87. Chef Boyardee pasta products have gone on without him, but personally I think all of the Italian magic must’ve died with Boiardi, because this stuff is completely nasty. I had it for dinner the other day and was tempted to feed it to my dog, but I didn’t, because I respect my dog and think she deserves better. Eventually I just fed it to the fish, but I don’t think they enjoyed it either, because two of them have died since. Maybe meat ravioli isn’t good to put in a fish tank. As the ravioli rained down upon them from the heavens, one of them tried to jump out of the tank, although at the time I thought it was just excited.

The moral of the story is, you should disregard all of your current idols and role models and accept Chef Boyardee as the one true celebrity of America. If not, that’s okay too, I guess. But on this upcoming World Pasta Day, think very carefully about this - think about the delectable ravioli that Chef Boyardee provided in his time, the waterfalls of superbly scrumptious spaghetti sauce that originated from Boyardee’s humble and heroic arms (think about that nice alliteration, too). Think, and be grateful, and Chef Boyardee will smile down upon you from pasta heaven.

F E AT U R E S

THE STINGER

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F E AT U R E E D I T O R R A N I A D R A K L E L L I S A S S I S TA N T F E AT U R E E D I T O R I S A B E L L A W E G N E R

NOW FEATURING Keepin’ busy with Izzy Penmanship Problems

As I was debating what to write about for my first column, I started to take notes on a standard piece of lined notebook paper. I found myself erasing and erasing, eventually leaving tears in the paper. The assault on my scrap paper was not however, due to my ideas, but more me, just trying to fix my script. Maybe the letter wasn’t exactly on a line, or maybe two words were indistinguishable from one another. Either way, I knew what I must write about.

Almost anyone who has ever been in a class with me knows how terrible my penmanship is.

People only ask to copy my notes once, because by the second time, they know that decoding my calligraphy is similar to reading in a foreign language for the first time.

The first time I truly realized how atrocious my penmanship is was in second grade. I specifically remember my teacher telling both me and my mother that my handwriting would not be tolerated once I hit the third grade. I spent the following months trying to make it better, always practicing my chicken scratch.

It didn’t work. I was terrified that my third grade teacher would start failing me. But instead, to my surprise, she said my handwriting would not be tolerated in fourth grade.

From that year on, until my last year of middle school, a teacher told me that my handwriting would not be tolerated the next year. Needless to say, I stopped caring midway through elementary school.

Since then, I have accepted my illegible script. I accepted that students will cringe when they see my writing, or ask me how I can read it. My personal favorite is when people say “Wait, I thought girls are supposed to have good handwriting?!”

Although I realize I will never be good at calligraphy, and will always be anxious about writing a sentence on the board, I am not ashamed of the way that I write. I cannot change it. Am I embarrassed? Yes. A day never goes by without a comment about what are seemingly scribbles on my paper. But I am not ashamed.

The worst part, however, about my style is not the rude comments and the dread. Instead, it is simply that I cannot always read what I write, and that it takes me 10 times longer than other people to write something. Let me explain.

I am able to read my handwriting much better than other people can, but that does not mean I avoid being confused sometimes. I am often unable to tell the difference between an A and an O, I and L, T with J and many more.

I can guess, but it is hard, so I have great difficulty even using my notes to study.

Not only do my peers and I have difficulty reading my scrawl, but teachers do as well. Arguing with teachers about what letter I put on a matching section, or if I used proper subjects and conjugation is a regular part of school. It (usually) gets worked out in the end, but only after much explaining, time-wasting, and arguing over whether your answer is correct, and it is, is one of the most frustrating parts of school.

It is not their fault, but that of genetics and my kindergarten teacher, who taught me the intricate art of forming letters.

The truth is, I take a long time to write. Not only am I slow, but also a tad bit of a perfectionist. This means, if my words are not exactly on the line, you may catch me erasing it. If a letter doesn’t look as good as I want it to, sometimes I will rewrite it a surplus of times until it looks as I desire. As a result, outlining takes much too long, and I always fall behind when taking notes. If I write at a speed in which I can finish in a reasonable amount of time, my handwriting becomes 100 percent illegible.

My goal in writing this column is not to make you feel bad, or to give myself a chance to vent. I simply hope that those blessed with impeccable penmanship will now understand a little better how lucky they are.

Freshman tours southern cities Isabella Wegner cased a musical act.

Section Editor of Features One of the grandest highlights of Emmaus High School freshman Ben their stay in Nashville was the Grand Ole Brown, his father, and his sister always Opry, at the Ryman theater. wanted to go on a cross-country road trip.

“It was really fun. We took a guided Earlier this year, they finally decided tour, then a self-guided tour,” Brown to fulfill their dream. said. “They turned it into a museum, baOne day in March, Brown’s family sically. Like, you could go into the dressbegan discussing their dream trips. They ing rooms of all of the stars. They had agreed that after years of discussing the Johnny Cash there, Elvis played there. adventure, it was time to make their fan- Pretty much every big country or pop star tasy a reality. [played there].” “[The trip] was really a spontaneous Next, the Brown family took on New thing,” Brown said. “We were just talking Orleans, Ben’s pick, which was an eightabout fantasy road hour drive from trips at dinner one Nashville.

They night... We figspent most of their ured, why not?” time in the French The family emQuarter, but also barked on a 10ventured into the day trip toward Business District. the end of July.

The travelers began Each member of their New Orleans the family had a experience by getmajor destination ting a taste of the on the trip specity’s signature Cacific to their injun food. The major terests. However, part of their twobefore they hit day stay, however, their major stops, was a trip to see the Ben Brown and his sister Julia. the Brown famPreservation Hall Image courtesy of Ben Brown ily drove for nine Jazz Band, which hours to Asheville, was the highlight of N.C. for a day, where they explored the the trip for Brown. He was in the jazz downtown area. band at Lower Macungie Middle School, The Brown family decided to gift Julia, and wishes to join at the high school in Ben’s sister, with a trip to Nashville, TN, the upcoming years. a four and a half hour drive from AsheNext up for the family was the Hurville and the first major stop on their trip. ricane Katrina and Mardi Gras museums, The day that the family arrived, they went as well as cathedrals, a farmers’ market to The Listening Room. and a horse-drawn carriage ride.

“It was basically a dinner and a show, “It was like Nashville,” Brown said. but focusing more on the show,” Brown “Except for with Jazz. [New Orleans] was said. “They always have smaller artists, definitely one of my favorite stops...It sort people that are just trying to get their shot of turned into something like [a music there… It was really fun.” stop].”

The Listening Room was not the only The jazz was not the only memorable restaurant with music. In fact, every loca- part of the trip, however. tion the Brown family went to eat show“One other thing that I really remem-

The signature beignet and coffee from Cafe du Monde. Image courtesy of Ben Brown ber is this place called Cafe du Monde,” Brown said. “That was a really interesting place. They had this huge patio, larger than their indoor space. But they only sold five things. They had water, orange juice, café au lait, frozen coffee, or something like that, and beignets.”

The final major stop on the Brown family road trip was Destin, Florida. The drive from New Orleans to Destin was about a seven-hour drive. Although they endured a long drive, the family was able to enjoy a hotel on the beach. In addition to lounging on the beach for hours, they decided to take a boat tour. “[The tour] was a dolphin and shelling cruise,” Brown said. “So basically, we went to see dolphins for an hour, then they took us to a cove area where we got to look for shells and hermit crabs.”

That night, they packed for the journey home. Along the way, they stopped at Raleigh, N.C. and met up with family friends who gave them a quick tour of the city.

Although the trip was not intended to be educational, Brown learned from it.

“I think we did learn a little bit about the really diverse cultures that were around,” Brown said. “I think you could really learn a lot about culture at these really special places.”

The pumpkin epidemic has landed Why pumpkin spice is overdone.

Bibi Correa Features Contributor With roots as old as the Pilgrims, pumpkin spice has long been a culinary staple, and since 2003, it has clearly set the tone for fall.

That’s because 12 years ago Starbucks decided to include more seasonal drinks after the company witnessed success with the Peppermint Mocha and Eggnog Latte winter beverages. Why not add fall into the mix? And so they came up with the idea of pumpkin spice After all, pumpkin was largely limited to pies and rolls. Starbucks test-marketed their new product drink and thanks to an overwhelming popular response, Pumpkin Spice was born.

Since then, pumpkin spice has not only filled our coffee, but (for some) our hearts. However, recently pumpkin spice has been making Americans go ballistic.

Now it seems to be around every corner: pumpkin spice comes in many product: dog treats, kale chips, gum, men’s shaving oils, chicken sausage, salmon, and even burgers. There seems to be no end to this pumpkin spice trend.

But the real question is not how pumpkin spice came to be, but why? How come whenever fall rolls around everyone wants to shoot up pumpkin spice in their veins?

In a survey of 30 Emmaus students, nearly 33 percent said that they hate pumpkin spice because of its flavor, and how it’s a “white girl” drink and “basic.”

About 67 percent said that they loved it because “it’s fall in a cup,” “it fits the autumn weather,” and to state the obvious, “it’s limited edition.”

On average Starbucks sells about 20 million beverages annually, and at $4 for a 12-ounce tall, pumpkin spice brings in at least $80 million in revenue for just this fall. Imagine if it were available year-round. Perhaps sales wouldn’t go through the roof because consumers would have constant availability to the flavor But by making it limited edition, people will either stock up or stuff up on whatever pumpkin-based treats they can get their hands on.

According to the Huffington Post, people had espresso-ed a concern about a pumpkin spice shortage, which is ironic because all you need to even make it isn’t even pumpkin; it’s just a blend of ground spices.

This year, Starbucks announced that they would use

real pumpkins in their lattes, which makes one wonder: what was in them before: The answer: caramel coloring. And that’s not all, Starbucks has released a list of all the ingredients they used before: milk, pumpkin spice flavored sauce (sugar, condensed skim milk, pumpkin puree, fruit and vegetable juice and annatto for color, potassium sorbate (preservative), salt), whipped cream (light whipping cream [cream, mono and diglycerides, carrageenan]), whatever that is, Starbucks vanilla syrup ( sugar, water, potassium sorbate, citric acid), and pumpkin spice topping (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove) This is a good rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably not the best thing for your body.

Whether you agree with pumpkin spice or not, it will always be a part of our lives. In lattes or salmon, this spice is adding millions of dollars into business’s pockets.

But hey, at least we know what we’re drinking -right?

Rania Draklellis Features Editor The Claim: Abstinenceonly programs provide accurate, unbiased information about reproductive health.

The Fact: Many of the curricula commonly used in “I feel that [sex education] should be taught to abstinence-only programs younger kids, like middle schoolers, because the twist information about the efaverage kid having sex is like 12 years old, I’m fectiveness of contraceptives, pretty sure. It’s better that they know at a younger blur religion and science, and age than make a mistake. It’s just teaching you treat gender stereotypes as how to be safe if they’re actually going to do those scientific fact, according to kinds of things.” -Christian Beltran, Senior a published report from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The report evaluated the most commonly taught curricula and deduced that two out of the 13 most widely taught were accurate, and the 11 others (used by almost 70 organizations and 25 states) contained falsehoods concerning reproductive health, gender traits, and when life begins.

Included in the distortions cited by the GRC: a 43-day-old fetus is a “thinking person,” HIV is spreadable through sweat and tears, women who have an abortion are “more prone to suicide,” and as many as 10 percent of women who have abortions become sterile.

Right now, the nation witnesses a political battle as hopeful presidential candidates near the primaries. Currently, the GOP-dominated Congress has threatened to defund Planned Parenthood, which offers low-cost sex education services to young “They say abstinence is a good contraceptive, but adults, including high schoolers. the fact is not everyone’s gonna practice that. So Advocates say that if Planned Parentthey also need to practice and teach other ways.” hood shuts down, a lot of clients would lose -Olivia Talmadge, Senior low-cost and free services and would have to rely on other sources, such as the education provided by their schools for more information. However, some schools offer just abstinence-only education.

Abstinence-untilmarriage is a tenet of sex education that focuses on saving sex for marriage.

And while some say there is nothing wrong with waiting, others believe abstinence-only education should not be the only method taught, because statistics show most people will have more than one sexual partner within their lifetime, according to the Centers of Disease Control.

Senior Madeline Muth disagrees with abstinence“[Sex education] should be taught in schools so people don’t make dumb decisions. Everyone needs to have that knowledge. If you don’t, you could make a mistake in life.”

-Drew Schwindenhammer, Junior

only education programs.

“I feel like abstinence-only education sort of makes people feel bad about themselves for being sexually active,” Muth said. “Also if abstinence-only education is taught, kids who do get into sexual situations won’t know what to do to protect themselves.”

A survey conducted by the CDC in 2013 showed that 47 percent of U.S. high school students have had sex. Of those, 34 percent had sex within three months of the survey.

Of those who had sex, 41 percent did not use a condom the last time they had sex.

Abstinence-only education often shows negative impacts on teenagers’ willingness to use contraceptives. These preventatives, such as condoms, avoid negative sexual health outcomes like sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.

Opponents of sex education in school often claim that it is an everlasting endorsement of sexual activity and that abstinence delays sexual initiation and reduces teen pregnancies.

Currently, 22 of the 50 states have a standard for sex education. And of that 22, only 19 mandate that what is taught must be medically accurate, although the definition of what is in fact medically accurate varies per state.

East Penn’s supervisor of secondary curriculum and instruction, Laura Witman, said the district revised the curriculum over the past few years and school directors approved it last spring. The middle school level purchased new texts and added online resources, she said.

“It is important that young people are educated about their health and body systems,” Witman said. “The East Penn School District health, wellness, and fitness curriculum meets state standards as well as the goal that students will be able to make decisions in the best interest of their own health and wellbeing.”

Muth believes there should be a standard for every state.

“Okay, so I think it’s totally ridiculous that comprehensive sex education isn’t required by law,” Muth said.

“It’s been proven that

states with comprehe have the lowest teen p In early August, th Tonight,” John Oliver of sex education in the “You wouldn’t a not being historicall joked. “There is no other academic progra to prepare students for human sexuality, unli thing you actually nee the rest of your life.”

Pennsylvania has cause of this, the de school boards whethe ed, which subjects this er and the grade leve introduced.

“Teenagers are going to do, no matter what important to make sur it’s okay to have sex, a long as it’s protected consent.”

In 2013, 19 perce high school students control pills, accordin A sample survey gi dents at Emmaus show control, one percent h study. Of the five E veyed that do take bi

Many assume that sex education is j are all the components of sex ed th avert.org. Image by Rania Draklelli

ensive sex education pregnancy rates.” he host of “Last Week r, joked about the lack e country. accept a history class ly accurate,” Oliver way we’d allow any am to consistently fail r life after school, and ike calculus, is someed to know about for

no standard. And beecision is up to local er or not to teach sex s education must covels the information is

g to do what they want t,” Muth said. “So it’s re that they know that and it’s totally okay as and being done with

ent of sexually active reported using birth ng to childtrends.org. iven to 25 female stuws that five take birth higher than the 2013 Emmaus students surirth control, only one

said that she took birth control as a contraceptive. The others said they took the pill to regular their menstrual cycle.

The Emmaus health curriculum includes various components of sex education, but students say they receive different information from different educators. Others say they learn more in 9th grade history class from guest speakers than they did in middle school.

Health teacher Jeannine Martini recalls her high school teacher’s awkwardness while teaching this specific subject matter.

“Nothing about abstinence, nothing about contraceptive options or use,” Martini said.

“I almost felt as though my middleaged male teacher was more uncomfortable teaching us about it, than we were to listen to him,” she said.

Government teacher Eric Luckenbill explained the push for abstinence-only education in Pennsylvania.

“For several years, [schools] basically only spoke of abstinence because the national government told us to,” Luckenbill said.

In 2010, Pennsylvania received over $1.5 million in federal funds for abstinence-only programs. Teaching about abstinence or contraceptives such as condoms or birth control is not illegal, but it’s also not required.

When she was in high school, Martini admits she received very basic information about sex education.

“For me, high school sex ed between 1994 and 1998 consisted of filling out diagrams of the male and female reproductive system.... then straight to the development of a fetus once the egg and sperm meet,” Martini said. “Everything in between was MIA. No decision-making process for a teenager to decide if this is a responsibility they are ready for, no information regarding our choices when we did then feel mature enough to make then.”

Unlike that specific sex education, students at Emmaus receive information about contraceptives in

just condom demonstrations. Above hat go unnoticed. Information from is.

health classes, according to Martini.

“In our health curriculum we emphasize decision-making steps, that abstinence is the only way to remain 100 percent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease or infection free,” Martini said. “I think that’s really what should be taught, how “However, if someone deter- to prevent the spread of STDs and STIs. A lot of mines they are ready to be kids aren’t 100 percent clear on what consent is sexually active, we also dis- and I think that that is the really important thing. cuss contraceptives that can Teaching girls about their bodies and that it’s okay be used to reduce the risk of to be sexually active and that it doesn’t make you pregnancy and STD’s and a terrible, dirty person if you have sex outside of marriage.” -Madeline Muth, Senior STI’s.”

While the topic of sex education can be considered controversial to many, Witman said there are not risks or concerns to teaching the topic to students.

“Our curriculum is board approved and posted for all parents to review,” Witman said. “Teachers follow that curriculum.”

Those that attend Catholic school, however, receive a different message.

Senior Olivia Talmadge attended St. Thomas More until coming to public school at Emmaus her freshman year.

“In eighth grade, we were doing a unit on reproduction,” Talmadge said. “Before we started it, everyone had to get permission slips signed by our parents that said that they were okay with us learning about [sex] and [the slips] ensured that it would be taught in a Christian way.”

Witman also said that a few parents have requested to take their child out of sex ed in the past.

“Sex ed is a necessary evil. Nobody wants to teach “Typically, parents who opt their chilsex ed, but it’s necessary to teach it so that kids dren out articulate personal or philosophiknow how to [prevent pregnancy.] Maybe if the cal reasons for doing so,” Witman said.

Republicans would pay for Planned Parenthood, According to Talmadge, only abstinence we wouldn’t have to talk about sex ed.” -Joel Shimwas spoken of and emphasized. er, Junior “I think the Christian part of it was that they would constantly remind us that abstinence was the only contraceptive,” Talmadge said.

In fact, she said, she did not know what a condom was until she entered public high school.

“Teenagers should receive [sex education.] If parents are not going to talk about it at home, when are they going to learn what’s right and what’s wrong? I don’t think everyone’s going to stay abstinent. And if they do decide to have sex, they should know about birth control and condoms, not only abstinence.” -Bella Maturana, Freshman

14

Kindness takes a new form

October 2015

Compliments Twitter account runs from an anonymous source.

Isabella Wegner Section Editor of Feautres The Twitter account Emmaus Compliments recently increased in popularity for posting kind comments, submitted by other students, about their peers.

An older Twitter account named Sweet Tweet EHS inspired the current admin, who chose to remain anonymous. Emmaus High School students send positive messages via Ask.fm or direct message the account, and if the comment is deemed positive and appropriate, the admin, an EHS senior, posts it to @EHSCompliments. The mystery regarding the account’s management, as well as the positivity, attracts their abundance of supporters.

“If it’s a compliment, I accept it,” the admin said. “If it’s not a compliment, I don’t.”

The admin also removes parts of comments, if it is has both positive and negative remarks.

Although only one person controls the account currently, the admin has reached out for help in the past three years.

“For a period of time, I gave the account to someone else because I knew I wouldn’t be able to run it actively,” the admin said. “But it’s pretty much just me.”

The admin feels the account’s purpose is “to just [make] people happy.”

“It was freshman year, and I just wanted to see smiles spread through Emmaus, and have some happiness spread around,” the admin said.

Other EHS students support the account, especially junior Robert Lynn and senior Olivia Talmadge.

Lynn runs a popular Twitter account with 801 follows, and tweets avidly. He discovered Emmaus Compliments about a year ago, and has rallied behind it since then. Lynn likes the account, because it is a nice change to see positivity.

“Normally, Twitter accounts that are Emmaus relat-

ed… are mean, but this one, the person monitors what’s going out,” Lynn said. “They don’t just copy and paste, and makes sure nice stuff is going out to people who deserve it. It’s not a joke, they are not making a joke out of this account.”

Talmadge, who began following the account when it appeared, also uses Twitter often, and thought highly of the account from the start.

“I thought it was a really great idea,” Talmadge said.

“I like it because it’s always nice to see a compliment in your notifications. Even if you don’t know who sent it, it’s nice to get one.”

Although she supported the initial nature of the account, Talmadge feels that it has changed.

“I think a lot a lot of people have stopped taking it seriously and have been sending in ridiculous things that aren’t compliments,” she said. “I don’t know, I just think a lot of people take it as a joke now.”

Senior Matt Grispo is another supporter of the account.

“It’s a great way for people to see compliments about them and feel good about themselves without knowing who said it about them,” Grispo said.

His favorite parts of the account are “that it is anonymous… and that it is a good way to encourage people.”

The admin of the account wishes for its legacy to continue, but realizes that it may not happen.

“I think the legacy of the account will be [an] uplifting one, which brought Emmaus closer,” the admin said. “I’d like to say that the account will be remembered for quite a while, but odds are that it’ll be forgotten quickly.

The admin did not decide whether the account will coontinue next year.

“I want to keep the integrety of what it’s supposed to be, and the tweets that are posted, to the level I have kept them...We’ll see what happens, but regardless, I’m glad to have had the time with the account that I did.”

October 2015

Going Bach to classical music

15

Classical music has a mixed rep among students.

Emily Zimmerman Features Contributor Most high school students consider classical music boring, but to a rare few it’s their first choice when they want to focus or relax.

The emotions in Beethoven’s works and the quirks of Mozart’s tend to not be appreciated so much by the younger crowd. The typical teenager would rather put on rap or pop and get lost in the heavy beats and powerful words, but what about something calm or soothing? Or a song that expresses emotion without words? Or perhaps just something different than what they’re used to?

Classical music may not be listened to widely, but a select few find it enjoyable and beneficial.

Emmaus High School history teacher Mike Flynn thinks that classical music has a positive effect in general.

“If I have a lot going on, it calms me and slows me down,” Flynn said.

Researchers from Helsinki University Central Hospital in Finland conducted tests earlier this year to understand how the brain reacts to certain music. The results showed that listening to classical music increased the feel-good hormone, dopamine. So, doesn’t this beg the question of why very few people listen to Brahms and Tchaikovsky on

a regular basis?

Thomas Riley, a junior in orchestra and Chorale, says, “It’s never interested me or given me the same feelings my preferred music does.”

However, he does think that listening to music has a positive effect on how he does in school. He prefers to listen to EDM or House Music, which is electronic and has a strong beat but doesn’t contain any words.

“Music helps me focus,” Riley said. “If you’re allowed to listen to music while studying or doing classwork, you will become a better student.”

Classical music is proven to have a positive effect on how a person works and studies. Research done by Northumbria University showed that test subjects that listened to classical music, specifically “Spring” in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” were able to respond faster and more accurately to their tasks than the subjects who did not listen to any music at all.

According to this study, classical music must have a positive effect on people’s productivity and the way they work.

Junior Kira Koehler doesn’t listen to classical music often, but when she does, she enjoys Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

“I listen while I’m doing homework or studying because the lack of words makes it easier to listen to without getting distracted,” she said.

Junior Mike Gallagher listens to classical music “at least once a day” while he does his homework. His favorite composers include Mahler, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, and Bartok.

“It challenges your brain,” he said. “It can help you focus.”

He doesn’t believe that all classical music can have this effect. He also thinks that it isn’t the only genre of music to have this kind of power.

“Modern classical would be terrible for studying,” Gallagher said. “There’s loud classical and soft classical, there’s loud rap and soft rap that can help you study.”

So it seems that even though most teenagers don’t listen to classical music, some students find it to be very beneficial when it comes to excelling in school. Students should challenge themselves to find what helps them focus, calm down, and get things done, and who knows? Maybe their holy grail study tool will be a symphony written by some obscure composer.

Left: History teacher Michael Flynn enjoys listeing to classical while preparing for class. Right: Instead of using YouTube, Flynn will sometimes use a record player or an old radio. Photos by Lindsay Harner.

5 4

Wolfgang Amadeus Nose-Art

Urffer serenades passerbys with his tunes in a different way-- with his nose.

Rachel McQuiston Section Editor of Culture Playing the harmonica requires a musician to learn certain breathing techniques to master such a tiny instrument and hold a note.

In fact, the further you can place the harmonica between your lips without losing your note, the better.

But what if you’re not using your mouth?

Well, just look at Emmaus freshman Austin Urffer.

Urffer doesn’t worry about holding a note between his lips. In fact, Urffer has brought music to the hallways with his harmonica -- only he uses his nose.

Urffer, 14, began playing the harmonica with his nose in 6th grade. Since then he has played for himself and the purpose of entertaining others, and plays on numerous occasions throughout the school day.

Urffer enjoys playing this instrument the alternative way.

“It’s just interesting to me because most people play instruments the normal way,” said Urffer. “If I am able to play them a different way, then there’s nothing that says I can’t.”

Typically, the average harmonica player learns to rely on using his or her diaphragm to force air through the lips to hold a note. Of course, Urffer can do this. But holding a note through the nostrils? It’s a bit tricky.

Urffer received his first harmonica in the 4th grade. He played that first one so often that he wore out the reeds.

So in 7th grade, his family bought him a new one from Sharper Image for Christmas. Still, he’s played that one so much that he wore the logo off the metal plate.

Freshman Dylan Keenan agrees Urffer’s talent is unusual.

“I find it unique because it’s not common to see a high school student with this skill,” said Keenan. “It’s really cool.”

Junior Makenna Newcomer also recognizes this unconventional and noteworthy ability.

“I think it’s pretty awesome to play the harmonica with your nose. I could never do that,” said Newcomer. “The talent that boy has is insane.”

Urffer entertains the students of EHS at various points throughout the day.

“Depending on the teacher, I will sometimes play at the end of class,” said Urffer. “I also play in the hallways or lunch if people ask.”

Junior Jason Kushy, a classmate of Urffer’s, states that the harmonica is played at the end of their engineering technology class.

“Sometimes when he walks out of the class he takes out the harmonica,” said Kushy. “He plays it as we leave.”

He said he never washes his harmonica, but it ended up in the washing machine once. He panicked, but all was good. At night, he keeps his harmonica on his bedroom dresser, and in the morning, it’s one of the first things he grabs before he leaves the house.

“I get asked to play usually three to four times a day at school,” he said. “Usually during lunch, sometimes in the hallway. I don’t play at home too much.”

His first foray into music started at Lincoln Elementary when he took drum lessons. Harmonica just followed next.

If he could play another instrument, it would be a stringed instrument.

He doesn’t have a favorite song to perform, but one genre that has eluded him? The blues.

“It’s one of the few things that I’ve tried,” he said, “but I can’t get it to work.”

Freshman Austin Urffer carries his harmonica with him wherever he goes. Top photos by Rachel McQuiston. Lower photo by Cathryn Seibert.

16

The Art of Planning

Ta k e ins v i t am

Get yourself organized by keeping a personal planner.

Passion Planners were created to help people clearly define their personal goals and put them at the forefront of their attention. Top photo from passionplanner.com. Bottom photo from iambookish.blogspot.com.

October 2015 G ET ORGAN IZED

Liz Kleppinger Features Contributor I wake up at 6 o’clock each morning, giving me exactly 37 minutes to brush my teeth, do my daily makeup routine, throw on the clothes I laid out the night before and make a cup of coffee.

In the morning I have just over a half hour to get ready, but nearly every day when I check my phone, and it shines 6:35 at the top of my home screen, I am barely dressed. The next two minutes are filled with sheer panic as I run around my closet trying to find a shirt that matches my pants, the other sneaker to go with the one I already have on my foot, and me yelling downstairs to my mom to start a cup of coffee in the Keurig.

I know you’ve been in a similar situation before. We have all been there. The first week in October marks national Get Organized Week, so let’s try to make our mess more manageable.

In a survey of 30 Emmaus High School students, 70 percent of them said they used some sort of planner whether it be for school or personal life.

Sophomore Hannah Danubio is one of those students who uses a planner.

“I use a planner and set reminders on my phone. I want to stay organized so I’m not late to things, I know important dates, and times for things,” Danubio said..

Other than using a planner, people said they stayed organized by: keeping a clean environment, setting reminders on their phone, writing things down, and having different colored class folders to keep papers in order.

On the survey the majority of students recorded that they generally like to stay organized, and senior Ezra Creedon was one of them.

“I stay organized by keeping things in folders, having a place for things, and writing down what I need,” said Creedon. “[Staying organized] makes things easier to find, lets me know when events are coming up, and keep track of school work.”

In the survey, people said they wanted to stay organized to know where things are, to be on time for events, and to have less stress in general.

As students, we need to stay organized to stay on top of

t o do: o om c le a n r

school work, but professionals such as Emmaus’ athletic director are required to stay organized for their jobs.

“College taught me time management, and it is the most critical part of my job and personal life,” said Dennis Ramella. “I use a checklist that’s daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.

I use a schedule book that is color-coded and a schedule on the computer that is linked to alarms on my phone to tell me when things have to be done.

“I have to be organized and when you do it every day, it becomes a part of you,” said Ramella.

Another job that requires a good deal of planning is the life of a Youtuber.

Popular Youtube personalities such as Marissa Lace, Polina Berevoga (Pbbunny97), and Elle Fowler (AllThatGlitters21) upload videos that feature their planners on a regular basis.

The majority of these videos include them discussing the process of customizing their Eric Condren planners and what they use to design the pages with accessories. (Yes, there are accessories for planners.)

Eric Condren and Passion Planner are growing in popularity, and planning is becoming an art form. Eric Condren sells everything you would need to get organized from teacher plan books, address books, office supplies, and their infamous customizable Lifeplanner.

The Lifeplanner’s price starts around $50 and ranges up to $75 for the rose gold edition. To make the planner your own, you first pick a base color, choose the months you want to include and pick either horizontal or vertical page layout.

Lifeplanners are literally what their name says: a full year of pages tied together by a spiral spine that lays out your entire year on paper.

World studies and government/economics teacher Brian Pum believes staying organized benefits students.

“One hundred percent of the kids that stay organized get better grades,” said Pum. “Kids that procrastinate don’t get good grades in the long run.”

“I stay organized so I can help students more, and if they need work ahead of time I can give it to them,” Pum said. “It is easier to make adjustments. Planning ahead is the biggest key.”

Freshman makes and sells fursuits online Costumes require imagination, long hours, and craftmanship.

Olivia Riccio Features Contributor What if dressing up and taking on a new persona for Halloween was a year-round practice?

In junior Lydia Ugolev and freshman Lily Mohr’s world, it is.

Lydia Ugolev has been creating fursuits for this community since 2011, when she was only in 7th grade. Inspired by her interest of animals including her pet cat and the Disney movie “Robin Hood,” Ugolev began creating her own fursuits. After receiving compliments and requests for her craft, Ugolev decided to put pictures of her fursuits online and sell them.

Ugolev has many types of animals and species that she makes, ranging from regular animals such as cats and dogs, to hybrid species of her own creation.

A hybrid species can be a combination of two or more animals, such as the species Ugolev is currently creating one for Halloween.

“My favorite is the one I’m currently working on, the gizak, a hybrid species of an alligator and dog,” said Ugolev.

Ugolev’s website has over 6,000 followers, and she has sold a total of 24 out of the 28 fursuits she has made. She sells her fursuits in pieces or full suits, prices ranging from $600 to $1,200 dollars. Ugolev gains new clients through her website, and runs it by accepting personal commissions.

So who are the people purchasing Ugolev’s fursuits?

They are people involved a community known as “Furries.” Furries are people interested in animals with anthropromorphic qualities, or human-like qualities. They design characters and take on whole new personas or “fursonas” in the Furry community. The characters all have unique qualities and personalities, some reflecting their creator.

Aside from fursuit-making, Furries offer a variety of other skills such as drawing, writing, to even making their own music involving their characters.

Ugolev specializes in the fursuit making, but doesn’t plan on pursuing a career in costume making or fashion, she considers this just a hobby. But she does plan on turning this hobby into a business.

“I hope to make a business. I just like seeing how happy people get when they receive their fursuit. It’s a community,” said Ugolev.

This community has grown large enough to have a convention in Pittsburgh known as Anthrocon, which raised $35,000 this year to benefit charities such as the Western PA Humane Society.

Lily Mohr is also a part of the furry community and makes fursuits.

Mohr got involved in 6th grade, when she saw pictures of other Furries’ characters on a site called DeviantArt, where she put her own drawings online and

bringing joy to others, and to let imaginations run wild.

The Furry community allows individuals to be unique, create new ideas, and to take on new personalities in every shape and form.

received praise for them.

Ugolev holding up the fursuit head that she hand“I saw pictures online and thought, ‘I could do that,’ sewed and double stitched. so I bought the fur and started making them,” said Mohr.

Mohr finds fursuit-making to just be a hobby as well, and has made and sold a total of four species on her website.

Mohr also draws and writes backstories for not only her characters, but for other Furries’ characters.

“I’ll take what the person wants the backstory to be, and I’ll create it,” said Mohr.

The idea behind the hobby is making personal connections to the characters that Furries create. Mohr’s character is named ‘Bella’, who is a Dutch angel dragon that she designed. She plans on visiting a children’s hospital once she’s done with her fursuit for the character.

Although Furries often have some misconceptions said about them, the community’s Ugolev posing in one of her handmade fursuits. Photos by Lindsay Harner. existence is purely based on

THE STINGER | October 2015

Culture

CULTURE Rachel-ly Diverse Perks of Being Petite

By Rachel McQuiston

Being 5-foot-3 (on a good day) is something in which I take pride, and hold my head high--and on those good days, that makes me 5-foot-3 and ¼.

I’ve been short my entire life, but it hasn’t been until recently that I fully accepted, and appreciated, the perks of my height. Throughout my years in middle school, I was always one of the shortest in my class, and it used to be one of my biggest insecurities. Now, as a junior in high school, I am 5-foot-3 and have never been more proud to say so.

To many, being short may sound like an aggravating disadvantage. When being short comes to mind, most people picture a constant struggle of never reaching the top shelf or rolling up too-long jeans an infinite amount of times.

However, being petite is not a misfortune at all, but instead a beneficial advantage. Being short has an abundance of obvious, yet overlooked, benefits that are convenient on a day-to-day basis.

Being just a few inches over five foot, I haven’t grown much in the past few years. Now that may sound a tad depressing, but I gain much more than I’ve lost in this situation. Thanks to my situation, I am able to fit in a good amount of my clothing from years past. Yes, my style has changed drastically, but there are certain pieces in my closet that I have worn since eighth grade. So yes, that periwinkle shift dress I wore once at only 14 years old? It’s still a practical piece in my wardrobe--and chances are it still will be when I’m 18. Heck, it may just go to college with me.

In fact, being means you can shop in the kids’ section of clothing stores. And yes, the kid’s section is always cheaper.

This really comes in handy with stores that are somewhat pricey. For example, I usually get my jeans at Abercrombie Kids, as opposed to Abercrombie and Fitch, because they look identical and are at least $20 to $30 cheaper. Not only do I have more money for Wawa bagels, but I am no longer forced to roll my jeans again and again because the length of these pants are actually measured for the height of 12-year-olds.

Being shorter than, well, everyone is not only advantageous for my wardrobe, but also shoes. Now, I don’t mean just any shoes, I’m talking about mankind’s most beautiful, and most painful, shoe… high heels. Living life at a mere 5-foot3 has given me the opportunity to wear whatever kind of heels I desire, regardless if they are two inches or six inches. I have this advantage, opposed to someone of taller (ok, average) nature, because I can wear any size heel and still be noticeably shorter than everyone else.

Another advantage (although I admit it can be mildly humiliating) is getting handed the kid’s menu at nearly every restaurant. Once over the initial sting that I’m literally thought to be 12, I won’t hesitate to order off the rather inexpensive and perfectly portioned children’s menu.

Yes, being short does has its shortcomings -- literally. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives in my eyes. So for everyone out there reading this that is sub 5-foot-5, you are perfect, and you make up for your lack of height is so many other ways. I know that it is tempting to see the absence of height as an insecurity or disadvantage, but in reality, being short is truly a blessing in disguise. Yep, these are the perks of being petite.

17

C U LT U R E E D I T O R W I L L I A M N E W B E G I N A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R R A C H E L M C Q U I S T O N

EHS students enter national filmmaking contest Sophia Wertz Opinion Editor For Emmaus High School juniors Ryan Zimmerman, Leah Gaydos, Carmen Chan, and Brock McElhenney, filmmaking is a way of life.

So when the team received news of the All American High School Film Festival last year, they immediately worked to create a film to enter it. After much work, their short movie was featured in the national film competition Oct. 9-11, 2015, in New York City.

Zimmerman took charge of the group, serving as director and screenwriter.

Chan worked as an assistant director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and graphic designer. Gaydos produced the film and McElhenney acted and directed the music.

Zimmerman and Chan began brainstorming film topics before deciding upon the the basis for “Allegory,” a short film detailing the interactions and dialogue between an author and the protagonist of her story produced via the independent student film company Airborne Productions.

The duo wrote the film with a cast in mind, constructing the script around the actors they wanted to use. The piece features main actor Evan Billman, a former Emmaus student, and main actress Aubree Williams, a Parkland student. “Allegory” pays tribute to Billman, a friend of the team who was moving to Florida at the time of production.

“As a result of this, the characters were written specifically for the actors

and actresses portraying them... We didn’t exactly have any difficulties with actor and actress selection,” Zimmerman said.

However, the process of creating personalities for the characters proved to be complex. Much editing was necessary to create realistic characters with rational motives. After a few revisions, Zimmerman handed the work over to Chan, who changed and developed the characters further.

“I remember reading the first draft and both of the main characters were radically different from what we have for the finished product. In fact, the entire script and plot was radically different from the finished product,” said Chan.

Shooting began mid-May, with the team finishing the film the last week of July to meet the Aug. 3 deadline.

Producer Gaydos oversaw production of the film, working with casting, gathering the crew, scheduling meetings, and approving content to ensure the quality of the movie.

“My responsibilities... are sort of complicated... There are two main departments, the business side and the creative side,” she said.

McElhenney scored and recorded the music for the film, adjusting it to fit the progress of the plot.

“It was difficult at times in the sense that I had to set the mood for whatever scene we were doing. Some scenes were easy and some were a bit more challenging,” he said.

Over two months after completing the film, the team attended the All American

High School Film Festival. Hundreds of young filmmakers from across the country entered the competition, bringing with them an eclectic mix of short movies ranging from documentaries to comedies. The weekend kicked off with a mocktail party at Planet Hollywood followed by screenings in the Times Square AMC, a college fair, and an awards show.

“Allegory” earned the title “Official Selection.” The team was thrilled.

“Even though we did not become finalists for any of the categories, just being in a room filled with people who share the same passion as we (Airborne Productions) do, is great by itself,” Chan said. “Our film being an Official Selection was surreal moment for all of us.

We’ve met lots of other great student filmmakers and it just reminds us that it’s only the beginning.”

Zimmerman, Chan, Gaydos, and McElhenney all hope to continue working in the film industry in the future.

“It’s our passion to write and make our own short films while we still have the freedom to in high school to make them. Eventually we all hope to be making films in Hollywood as a career together. This is something that we really love to do and we hope to never stop,” Zimmerman said.

With film collaborations prepared and scripts in-the-making, the team plans on another successful year.

“Let me tell you, it’s going to be a heck of a year for Airborne Productions,” Gaydos said.

‘Romeo and Juliet’ comes to EHS Rachel McQuiston Culture Editor Emmaus High School’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Jill Kuebler, will premiere Nov. 5 through 7.

The beloved play, written by William Shakespeare, tells the story of a sincere yet utterly tragic love between two teenagers, ultimately leading to their demise at the conclusion of the play.

Junior Julia Bezems plays the role of Juliet, the passionate female lead in the play, and appreciates the classic story.

“Shakespeare was a genius, and every day I fall more and more in love with the story,” says Bezems. “Shakespeare crafted a beautifully shaped storyline, beginning with the seed of love that blossoms and takes over the worlds of the two feuding families. He wrote it in such a way that the intensity of the story and emotions builds and builds until it ends with the protagonist’s’ tragic finale.”

Bezems, having put countless hours into forming her character, truly understands

Poster for the play.

Photo by Lindsay Harner Juliet’s mannerisms and virtues.

“Juliet is very clever and she knows how to control her circumstances,” says

Bezems. “Though the play takes place over the course of less than a week, Juliet clearly grows from a naive girl to a woman who has experienced the hardships of death, love, and oppression. Her emotional journey displays a vast array of feelings.”

Junior Jason Bowen takes on the role of the lovesick Romeo Montague.

“It is incredible to play this character,” says Bowen. “The character is very different from myself in a lot of aspects. Trying to take on his personality and mannerisms is such a challenge, but when you love the people you work with, all of the struggle is worth it.”

Bowen shares his slight concerns in how the difference in vernacular during the time of the play and current times will translate, but is confident that their powerful acting will prevail.

“I think the production is going to go very well,” says Bowen. “I am a little nervous to see how an audience will react to Shakespearean language, especially from high school students. But at the same time, I am confident that our acting will be strong enough to connect with the audience, even with a slight language barrier.”

Senior Nick Quinn plays the role of Mercutio in the production.

“Mercutio adds some sort of comic relief to the otherwise tragic show,” says Quinn.

“He is very didactic in both his movements and the way he speaks. The audience gets a glimpse inside him during his monologue, and I really hope to do it justice and bring him to life.”

Quinn said the actors have increased the amount of rehearsal time as opening day nears.

“We rehearse every week for about three hours a day, as well as on some Saturdays,” says Quinn. “As we get closer, we basically live in the auditorium, but so is the life of a thespian.”

Communications and drama teacher Jill Kuebler is proud of the effort being put in

by the students.

“The actors have exhibited incredible

Actress Julia Bezems and actor Jason Bowen practice their scenes.

Photo by Lindsay Harner work ethic in their analysis of the text,” says Kuebler. “They are all committed to making this the best possible production.”

Kuebler, admitting that “Romeo and Juliet” is one of her favorite plays, acknowledges its many stellar features.

“Romeo and Juliet is a beautiful story with universal themes that have contributed to its timelessness,” says Kuebler. “The plot is accessible and easy to understand, the characters are layered and interesting, and Shakespeare’s language is exquisite.”

Tickets for the three shows went on sale earlier this October, priced at $8 for students and seniors, $10 for adults, free for gold-card tickets.

Actor Jason Bowen on stage.

Photo by Lindsay Harner

THE STINGER | October 2015

18

Culture

NEW MUSIC REVIEWS: What’s Hot and What’s Not? Negative Feedback Resistor resists negative feedback Elias Dreisbach Culture Contributor Noisy, psychotic, ugly, ridiculous, sludgy, loud: all of these adjectives could be used to describe Arizona psychpunkers Destruction Unit’s latest album, Negative Feedback Resistor.

Since their inception in 2000, the band has released 7 full length LPs to date, though they did not grab much attention until 2013’s release Deep Trip. Since then, the band’s popularity has skyrocketed, leading to a much-hyped release on label Sacred Bones (also known for distributing releases by artists as varied as Zola Jesus and Blank Dogs).

The album opens with “Disinfect,” an effective four-minute opening that sets the tone for the rest of the album. By the two minute mark, the track has already descended into the noisy chaos Destruction Unit is loved (as well as hated) for. This chaotic sound is persistent throughout the rest of the album, and does not let up.

Later highlights include “Chemical Reaction/Chemical Delight” (an overdriven 8-minute psychedelic jam),

“Animal Instinct” (a slower dirge with growling bass), and “If Death Ever Slept” (the lead single off the album, as well as a solid sludge rocker). All of these tracks show the band at the top of their game.

As enjoyable as their sound is, listening to the whole release in one sitting can be a tiring experience. There is not much variation in sound sans the aforementioned highlights, and it starts to seem repetitive after a while.

Despite being 40 minutes long, it starts to seem much, much longer after the third or fourth track. They don’t seem to make an effort to change up their sound from previous releases, either, as the album could easily be mistaken for another one of their efforts.

Despite the lack of variety and change-up in sound, anyone who has enjoyed the band’s previous work will undoubtedly enjoy this record. If not, then they most likely wouldn’t be listening in the first place. Where do you stand?

“Negative Feedback Resistor” album cover.

Image courtesy of sacredbonesrecords.com

RATING: 3/4

Notes

The Front Bottoms: back on top...of what?

Emma Noreika Culture Contributer For those in search of a perfectly apathetic, whiny, and

“Back on Top” album cover.

Image courtesy of youdontknowjersey.com horribe indie album from a band featuring an obviously emotionally ravaged singer, it’s time you are introduced to The Front Bottoms.

The Front Bottoms consists of lead singer Brian Sella, drummer Mathew Uychich, bassist Tom Warren, and guitarist, trumpeter, and keyboardist Ciaran O’Donnell. The

previously self-managed and rather unknown New Jersey based band has been active since August of 2007, releasing albums such as I Hate My Friends, and Brothers Can’t Be Friends. Admittedly, these albums were quite jamworthy, and I still listen to their good old tunes now and again. When I heard of their new album Back On Top I was decently excited to take a listen.

I was, however, slightly disappointed.

In comparison to their older releases, Back On Top is disgustingly commercial and mainstream. This could potentially coincide with their signing to a new record label, fueled by Ramen, famous for producing albums for more mainstream acts such as Panic! At The Disco and Paramore. Don’t get me wrong, a few songs on this album are catchy at best, but the majority of this record is just monotonous and boring.

Of course, as a band grows and “sells out,” their sound will become more refined and less “we recorded this in a basement after drinking a lot of beer and crying over girls who will never love me.” And frankly, that was the sound I enjoyed the most. But, I digress.

Back On Top begins with the track “Motorcycle.” The guitar intro is reminiscent of something by Weezer; it’s also the only good part of it. The tune isn’t even close to being incredibly contagious, and the lyrics are mediocre.

I had high hopes for “Summer Shandy” after hearing the intro, but I was quickly let down. The guitar solo near the end is what makes this song worth listening to.

There is a recurring theme of amateur lyrics throughout this whole album; like they ran out of things to say, along with a lack of the raw and genuine emotion they once possessed.

“Cough It Out” is, quite simply, dull. I once loved the

emotion in lead singer Brian Sella’s voice, but frankly, this album is lacking any feeling.

“HELP” is just as saddening as the rest. All of the songs on this album just seem to muddle together into one heap of repetitive guitar riffs and plain and simply lyrics.

“Laugh Till I Cry” is the one of the only songs I found myself enjoying. Not because it sounds like old Front Bottoms, but because it has a contagiously enjoyable chorus.

“Historic Cemetery” is yawn worthy. I have no other words for it.

I found myself tapping my toes to “The Plan (F***, Jobs)”. The minimalist instrument choices were a nice change from the rest of the overly produced album.

“Ginger” is extremely reminiscent of a tacky pop-punk band circa early 2000s. Hence, it’s not very good.

“2YL” contains probably the cheesiest lyrics of all time, along with a trombone in what seems like an ode to ska music, which ultimately doesn’t fit. Weird, I’m aware.

I enjoyed “West Virginia” for the first few seconds, but then it just turns into the same four minutes of tedious guitar playing as all the other songs on this album.

“Plastic Flowers” may have been their try at the big finale song, the last hurrah, however it’s just as boring and lame as the previous songs.

The Front Bottoms, you used to be pretty cool. Sadly, you let the man take over your sound.

Your album may be Back On Top, but you most certainly are not.

RATING: An astounding

1/4 notes

Jay Rock goes a new way with 90059 William Newbegin Culture Editor This past September, Watts, California’s very own Jay Rock released his sophomore full-length LP, “90059.”

It’s been four years since the West-Coast rapper dropped a new solo project. Ever since 2011’s “Follow Me Home,” Jay Rock stayed quiet on the LP front, instead contributing on such hit tracks with fellow Top Dawg Entertainment rappers Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, and ScHoolboy Q. Hot features on songs like “Money Trees” by Lamar and “Los Awesome” by Q, kept fans interested and waiting for what the Watts native had in store.

Yet in September 2014, their prayers were answered.

Rock announced he would release his sophomore album the following September, which had been in the works since 2012. Though he intended to release the album earlier, he blamed its numerous delays on “business and politics” of the industry. Nevertheless, 90059 was on its way -- and so was its hype train.

Jay Rock claimed he was going for a new “sonic direction” with his new LP, and did so by working with such up-and-coming producers as Dae One (SZA, El Prez), J. LBS (Kendrick Lamar), and Tae Beast. Rock, however, did a good job of mixing his new sound along with the his gangsta rap-influenced west-coast sound that garnered him attention in the first place. To do so, he worked with established producers like Black Metaphor (Meek Mill, Rick Ross).

The work with a wide variety of producers payed off -- the album’s instrumentals are its strongest point by far.

From the erratic energy of “Necessary” (the album’s opening track) to the smooth soul of “Fly on the Wall,” the

album creates an array of moods without being choppy in the slightest.

As previously stated, the album kicks off with “Necessary” -- ironically titled, because the first part of the song doesn’t seem so in the slightest. I quickly get tired of Jay repeating “90059 be the zip” over and over on a bouncy 90’s-style beat, but thankfully, this ends quickly.

The song does a 180 and picks up with Jay Rock energetically delivering some solid bars over what I think is one of the album’s best beats. Apart from an unexciting refrain, I really liked this song.

The album’s next song, however, I was torn on.

Entitled “Easy Bake,” it features the masterful melodies of Kendrick Lamar as well as R&B singer SZA. The first part of the song is rather forgettable, and though Jay Rock raps with a lot of energy, the lyricism is lackluster. Thankfully, he is is helped out by a solid feature from Lamar. This song also turns on its head too, as the beat and pace change to welcome some more thoughtful wordplay and delivery, as well as a poor feature. My biggest disappointment with the tune was its failure to live up to its potential, despite the array of artists contributing.

“Gumbo” was more of the same as “Necessary,” and was another track I happened to like. The song was one of the album’s lead singles, and worked wonderfully as such.

After “Gumbo” comes “Wanna Ride,” which sounded like a very promising piece of music when I heard about it. After all, it does feature up-and-coming TDE-signee Isaiah Rashad. While I thought Jay Rock’s performance wasn’t bad, I was disappointed with his contribution in the song.

He only comes on the song for each refrain, which is a forgettable one indeed.

The title track, “90059,” is a fun one indeed. I love Jay

Rock’s ferocity with which he delivers his verses a b o u t struggles in his h o m e t o w n , making it one of the most potent tunes on the al“90059” album cover. bum.

Image courtesy of consequenceofsound.net I was disappointed by “Vice City,” the collaborative track from the Black Hippy collective (Rock, Q, Lamar, and Ab-Soul). It lacked the wordplay, energy, and cohesiveness the group can come through with. Thankfully, the cuts “Fly On The Wall” and “Money Trees Deuce” lifted my spirits a lot.

If you’re looking for a West-Coast gangsta rap influenced LP that pushes the envelope with memorable instrumentals, “90059” is for you. Despite some shaky lyricism at some points, I like the energy and storytelling ability that Jay Rock brings with the table in his admirable sophomore effort.

RATING: 3/4 notes

THE STINGER | October 2015

Culture

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“Heart Like a Hand Grenade” bursts onto the scene 10 years later Renee Martin Culture Contributor

If you listened to music at all in 2004, you’ve probably heard songs from Green Day’s American Idiot. Now, the band this month released a documentary on the making of this historic album.

The members of Green Day -- Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool -- revealed their never-beforeseen documentary, “Heart Like a Hand Grenade,” which was shot and directed by John Roecker, after 10 years of keeping the film secret.

American Idiot marked the band’s seventh studio album that won many awards, including a Grammy for Best Rock Album. Later, American Idiot was adapted into its own Broadway musical, also winning multiple awards.

To the delight of Green Day fans in Emmaus and everywhere else, “Heart Like A Hand Grenade” came out in cities across the U.S. on Oct. 15-16. Fans like junior Alec Marchek had highly anticipated the film’s release.

“I’m excited to possibly see how they put each song together and the lyrics behind them,” Marchek says. “ ‘Wake

Me Up When September Ends’ is one of my favorite songs on the album because it talks about how Billie Joe lost his dad. It’s a very moving song.”

Green Day was filmed in the whole process of recording for the first time over the period of nine months. The film focuses on the making and meaning behind the songs in American Idiot rather than most rockumentaries that focus on drama such as Metallica’s film “Some Kind of Monster.” Despite the difference in style, fans remained psyched for the film.

Other students such as freshman Ethan Flanagan were excited to see the movie come together as a whole unit.

“I really like the style, they’re very talented people,” says Flanagan, whose favorite Green Day track is “Basket Case.”

“I think it’s pretty cool that it might be split up into interviews with band members, and then everything about them,” he said.

The movie will be available to buy for $12.99, similar to what the band did with their concert CD, “Bullet in a Bible.” The film was only released in certain theaters, the nearest was in Philadelphia. Still, its direct release to DVD

makes Green Day’s story able to be heard even more. The decision to make the film only available in certain parts of the state is pretty bold and may not be the best idea fro point of view -- especially considering how many people will not be able to see the movie .

Director John Roecker described the film on the band’s website, www. greenday.com.

“It became a lost film -- an urban legend in some ways,” Roecker says. “Some fans thought it was not real and that it was some sort of prank that the band and I created. Now, finally, the little film that could is being released.”

Image by Lindsay Harner

Halo returns with new installment Charlie Norelli Culture Contributor On Oct. 27, combat will once again evolve with the upand-coming release of 343 Industries’s latest installment in the Halo franchise, “Halo 5: Guardians.”

Microsoft’s Mjolnir-clad soldiers return to “finish the fight” this month on their new home platform, the Xbox One. This $60 first-person shooter will finally feature the legendary Blue Team of which the Master Chief lead in the early through mid-26th century before the fall of planet Reach at the hands of the religious alien cult, the Covenant, in the campaign portion of the game.

Master Chief, along with his war-hardened, childhood

Photo from “Halo 5:Guardians” Image courtesy of eldojogamer.com friends Kelly, Linda, and Fred take an unexcused leave from the U.N.S.C. (United Nations Space Corps) after their long awaited reunion. Agent Locke of Oni Naval Intelligence and his Spartan team, Osiris, consisting of everyone’s favorite former orbital drop shock trooper, Buck (voiced by Nathan Fillion) also return. They, along with Tanaka, the engineer specialist, and Vale, a former U.N.S.C. intelligence officer are tasked with tracking

down Blue Team to bring them in for questioning.

The campaign will put the player in control of Spartans on both Osiris and Blue Team in order to show both perspectives of the over-arching narrative, which can be played online cooperatively with up to 4 players in a game lobby, and unlike other Halo games, it will have a “drop in, drop out” feature.

As the combat evolves, so too will the rating of the game.

Those who have not been able to purchase a Halo game prior to this installment, may now be able to due to the rating being “T” for teens instead of “M” for mature like previous titles in the franchise. The Halo series has always in the past been a questionably “M” rated gaming series.

The idea of fighting as a marine using a first-person perspective spawned from such famous tiles such as Doom and Wolfenstein has spawned an entire genre of games, most of which are rated “M.” Despite Halo having you play out the life of a marine life like in other games in the genre, the games take place in the far future in which the marines you fight as combat aliens and possibly other heavily armored marines if you choose to use the multiplayer functionalities of the games.

The lack of empathy created between the player and the hordes of aliens slaughtered is a big reason why developer 343’s decision to lower the rating of Halo 5.

The rating however, is far from the only new thing to be added or changed in the gun-slinging sequel to Halo 4.

Halo 4 is regarded by many fans as a “low point” in the franchise’s history, but 343 made an effort to ‘tweak’ the overall gameplay and quality of the narrative. The first step in doing so was to remove Armor Abilities (abilities that change depending with the chosen loadout) present first in Halo Reach and later Halo 4 and replace them with Spartan Abilities, which are permanent abilities that all players have access to. The second step was to bring Halo back to it’s “Halo: Combat Evolved” roots with a focus on a strong narrative and arena-style multiplayer with balanced starts in which every player starts each match with the same weapons as one another opposed to choosing from a selection of weapons at their dispos-

al. Another step was to introduce a new type of multiplayer in the form of Warzone, which is a gamemode in which there are two opposing player-controlled teams that are also pitted against artificially intelligent enemies spawned across the map will be given a plethora of options as to how to achieve victory for their teams. On top of that, a new “revive” feature in the campaign will allow players to assist downed players, alleviating the often-frustrating situation of safe-area spawn-ins from “Halo 4.”

Senior Andrew Law is ready to get his Spartan boots dirty once he gets a hold on his own copy of “Halo 5.”

“I’m very excited for the release of ‘Halo 5,’ ” said Law. “My dad showed me the original ‘Halo’ on his computer. Ever since then I have played each of them on their hardest difficulty (legendary). I dislike the fact that you can aim down your sights. It’s not a Halo game if you can aim down your sights. I feel like this is the ‘make it or break it’ game in the franchise. If this game sinks, then no future installments will sell.”

Sophomore Nick George had a similar introduction with his father to the series as Law in 2003.

“It looks extremely advanced for the time and looks like a great game for the season,” said George. “I think I dislike the revive feature solely because it is unrealistic, despite it being a science-fiction game. It will be revolutionary beyond belief.”

Sophomore Chris Wainwright is currently prepping his trigger finger for the new title.

“This is probably one of my most anticipated games of the year,” said Wainwright. “I dislike the lack of Firefight.

I think with 343’s track record, it may fall short, but I still think it will be a good game.”

Prep your assault rifles. The Master Chief is back in action.

“This is probably one of my most anticipated games of the year.”

20

THE STINGER | October 2015

CULTURE

It’s National Pizza Month and Switchback Pizza is worth a stop Cathryn Seibert Associate Editor Switchback Pizza Company, a business run by wood oven, farm-to-table pizza makers, opened this September in a renovated train station in Emmaus, and in celebration of National Pizza Month this October, I decided to grab a slice.

Switchback’s pizza-making process. Photo by Lindsay Harner The business, started by couple Marguerite Viola and Andrew Foreman, has been up and running since 2012, and operated from a mobile wood oven at local farmer’s markets. Now, the pair has traded in their oven-on-wheels for something a bit more stationary, but just as quaint and interesting. The restaurant, situated right next to the line of

train tracks running through Emmaus, suits its history and location. Switchback’s logo resembles a train, an obvious homage to the building the business occupies, and the narrow space is decorated with elements related back to the heritage of the building as well, such as a railroad crossing sign. Additional design elements include metal and wood, which strike a nice balance between an industrial and rustic feeling. Two wooden-slab bars -- one right next to a glass enclosed area where one can watch the pizza makers at work, and another looking out onto the main street -- afford diners the chance to watch the artistry in the kitchen or happenings in town. Overall, Switchback fosters an enjoyable and tastefully themed environment in which the real star, the pizza, can shine.

The menu, although relatively limited, features salads, drinks, and desserts, in addition to the standard pizzas. My family and I ordered the Happy Pig ($13) pizza, which highlights local sausage and bacon atop melty mozzarella cheese and fresh tomato sauce, along with the classic cheese pizza, the Margherita ($8.50). At a mere 10 inches each, the pizzas left our pockets drained, and we still wanted more. Rightfully so, as they were delicious.

As I savored the tiny slices, I could taste each ingredient individually, the smoky bacon, the zesty sausage, the creamy cheese, and the flavorful tomato sauce, then they all came together in a blissful crescendo of flavor.

Not only were the toppings delectable, so was the foundation of the pizza: the crust. I am a firm believer that no pizza can be truly first-class without a grade A crust, and Switchback did not let me down on this one. The crust, pleasantly charred by the wood fire, puffed up around the

toppings, cradling them in the middle of its cloud-like edges. A truly heavenly experience.

Despite the fact One of Switchback’s delicious pizzas. that the Photo by Lindsay Harner pizzas are smaller than average, and cost more than a pizza of 10 inches should, I would shell out that money in a heartbeat to have another one. If I had to describe the pizza in one word, that word would be: craftsman. It is so obvious that Switchback values each individual ingredient that ends up on their pizza, and that they look at the seemingly “easy” task of making a pizza as an art form, using only the highest quality ingredients. Switchback’s pizza makers craft their pies with natural meats and cheeses, and 75 percent of the ingredients are sourced from local farms during the peak of summer produce season. Additionally, throughout the season, the pies feature some homemade cheeses made using local milk. The simple aspect of quality sets Switchback apart from any other pizza place I’ve ever visited; when the ingredients are better, the pizza is better.

“The Martian” lands in friendly territory with moviegoers Edward Coleman Culture Contributor On Oct. 2, “The Martian” debuted to theaters nationwide for millions of moviegoers lining up to see an unlikely tale of survival.

Directed by Ridley Scott (“Alien,” “Gladiator”) follows the adventures and challenges of an abandoned NASA astronaut stranded on planet Mars, as well his quest for rescue. The film is a sci-fi/drama combo packed with an abundance of excitement and comic relief throughout, and runs for about two-and-a-half hours. In fact, I was on the edge of my seat for so long that my back hurt by the end of the movie. “The Martian” stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney, Jessica Chastain as Melissa Lewis, Kristen Wiig as Annie Montrose, Kate Mara as Beth Johanssen, and Jeff Daniels as Teddy Sanders.

“The Martian,” taking place in the year 2030, surrounds an astronaut named Mark Watney and his team as they journey to planet Mars. On Sol 18 (Day 18) of their mission, a sandstorm strikes, hitting Watney with debris and he is presumed dead. Due to his disappearance and supposed death, the crew embark on their trip back to Earth.

The following day, Mark Watney wakes up from being unconscious and soon realizes that his team was gone.

Realizing that it would take years for NASA to launch

another trip to Mars, he construes a plan to survive on this vacant planet by planting potatoes and creating water by burning hydrogen with oxygen.

While abandoned on the uninhabited planet, Watney faces extreme struggles with food, water, and other essentials. Adding to these already severe conditions, the record Watney has to listen to consists almost entirely of disco music. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Watney’s team realizes that he could possibly be alive and begin to concoct a plan to save him. Mark, desperate for saving, sets out a rover to determine the spot on where the next mission will land and continuously tries to make contact with NASA. Eventually Watney is successful with his plan and NASA starts to get a mission ready.

“The Martian” contained a phenomenal script due to the bountiful amount of scenes both heartwarming and exciting. Viewers will definitely be pleased with the unexpected and surprising results of the film -- I know I enjoyed it very much. The actors portrayed their characters beautifully. The director figured out a creative way to keep the movie interesting, even though a considerable portion of the plot focused on just one person. Furthermore, the cinematography of the movie was spectacular, making me feel like I was actually on Mars.

The film has received mostly positive reviews from critics, and currently holds a 93 percent rating on Rot-

tentomatoes.com, 81 percent on MetaCritic.com, and an 8.4/10 on IMDb.com. As a very pleased viewer, I would highly recommend “The Martian” due to its action-packed storyline, stellar acting, and unique premise. For anyone venturing out to the nearest movie theater, I strongly suggest you give “The Martian” a chance.

Photo from “The Martian.”

Image courtesy of comingsoon.net

“Scorch Trials” sets theaters ablaze Hunter Gerhardt Culture Contributor

by O’Brien), and his fellow Gladers as they search for clues to take down the organization that rules the world, known as WCKD (or WICKED in the books). This adven“Maze Runner: Scorch Trials,” released on Sept.18, fea- ture leads them to the Scorch, a landscape filled with dantures the second segment to the the Maze Runner trilogy. gerous obstacles. The Gladers try to take down WCKD’s The movie, directed by Wes Bell, who also directed forces while along the way uncovering secrets that shock the first “Maze Runner” film, is based on the best-selling them all. novel written by James Dashner. The first film in the series Amidst the action present in the movie, there is also was notable for the performance of Dylan O’Brien, who a love triangle that takes place. Thomas finds himself won several MTV Movie choosing between two girls: Awards for his role. “Scorch Teresa, played by Kaya ScodeTrials” is currently nomilario, and Brenda, played by nated for two awards: ColoRosa Salazar. In the first film rado Blue Spruce Young Thomas felt a connection beAdult Book Award and tween him and Teresa and was the Young Adult Services sure that he liked her, but now Division, School Library that Brenda is in the picture Journal Author Award. The Thomas is unsure of what his movie sold $63.3 million true feelings are for both of his in the first week, outselling friends. In the end of the movie the first film in the trilogy Thomas’s choice between the by $25.2 million. As of two girls is evident, but the acOct.20, the domestic total Dylan O’Brien and others in “Maze Runner: Scorch tion that leads up to this is cruincome is over $75 million Trials.” Image courtesy of foxmovies.com cial to the film. and the worldwide total is Dylan O’Brien, portraying nearing $260 million. The movie runs approximately two Thomas, is also in the first film of the trilogy. However, hours long and is rated PG-13 for violence, sexual activi- he is most known for his role in the MTV show, “Teen ties, and profanities.

Wolf,” where O’Brien plays the role of a young teenage The movie follows the main character, Thomas (played boy, Stiles Stilinski who finds himself in the middle of the

supernatural world.

Kaya Scodelario is an English actress who made her breakthrough by playing the role of Effy Stonem in the film “E4 Teen Drama Skins.” Now she is most well-known for her role as Teresa in the “Maze Runner” series. Rosa Salazar, Brenda, is a Canadian actress who is known for her role as Nurse Maria in the NBC series “American Horror Story: Murder House,” as well as Lynn in “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.”

The unpredictable nature of “Maze Runner: Scorch Trials” makes it a must-see for those who seek adventure and action. The movie will keep you on your seat, wanting more and waiting to see what’s going to happen next.

The movie received mostly mediocre reviews from critics. IMDb.com gave the film a seven out of 10 stars and Rottentomatoes.com granted the movie a 50 percent rating. The reason being is because some say that the movie is “too fast paced.” There’s never a dull moment present in the movie, and some say that there is too much action throughout the film. Critics from metacritic.com also say that there is no character and plot development throughout the series.

Personally, I would give this movie an eight out of 10 stars. In the movie, some parts were a bit confusing, you had to see the first movie or read the books to understand what was happening. Parts of the movie were a bit gruesome, but that made the film more enjoyable. The movie comes out on DVD in January of 2016.

21

Sports Editor Katie Mest Assistant Sports Editor Abby Moore

Totally Kyle White Out Kyle Carraher

Kevin White, picked seventh overall by the Chicago Bears in the spring, is ready to make an instant impact on the field -- only it’ll have to be next year.

White played wide receiver at Emmaus High School before finding success at Lackawanna College and then transferring to West Virginia University where he earned the rank of AllAmerican. He was then drafted in the NFL’s first round last April and was expected to help the Bears. He was expected to energize an offense that desperately needed a playmaker.

But quarterback Jay Cutler, who has the ability to be one of the top QB’s in the NFL, might have to wait another year to have a top-of-theline receiver on his side.

White suffered an injury that ended up being a stress fracture in his shin, according to CBS Sports. At first, White was optimistic that he could get back on the field, early this season.

But that hope changed when the coaching and training staff of the Bears decided that it would be best for White to get surgery on his shin.

This decision was made to prolong White’s career.

According to the Bears’ Twitter account, White will miss at least the first six games of the NFL regular season. However, according to the Bears general manager Kevin Pace, it is possible that White could miss the entire 2015 season.

I think that this is a good decision for the long-term health and success of White. Many are concerned that White might join the list of first-round draft picks who never make an impact in the NFL. However, I’m not concerned about this. White has too much talent and raw determination to let this affect him in a negative fashion. This will only make White more determined when he gets back onto the field.

Surgeons inserted a rod that will stabilize his left tibia, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The procedure will hopefully prevent future injury and keep White healthy for many seasons of football ahead of him.

White seems to have remained positive throughout this difficult and unexpected process. When talking to an ESPN reporter, White said: “But just following through. If they want me out there, then I’ll try my best to get out there. I want to come back as soon as possible.... If it’s this season, then great. If it’s next season then I’ll just have to wait.”

Hopefully the surgery will allow White to stay healthy and perform like he did in his senior year of college when he led Division I football in receiving yards. But one of the best and worst things about football is that nothing is guaranteed. You have to play every play like it is your last, because it very well could be.

I am doubtful that we have seen the last of White or even his best. He will only improve after this injury and be faster and stronger than ever. The Bears organization has in mind only the long-term success of their organization and of White. They are confident that he will be an outstanding part of the football team.

According to ESPN, Pace says,”I know he sincerely cares about this organization, about his teammates, about coach [John] Fox. It’s from the bottom of his heart, and that’s why, to me -- and I know, this is kind of a weird time to say this -- but man, I’m telling you, that guy, it’s confirmed to me the type of person he is, through this process.”

Everyone in the organization has the utmost confidence in White. If his body holds up, he will have a long and successful career ahead of him. Meanwhile, everyone in Emmaus will anxiously await his national debut.

SPORTS

For Sixers fans, it’s a revolutionary struggle

James Marler Sports Contributor

Philadelphia sports teams are struggling to say the least, and the Sixers will not be helping the situation.

The 76ers are young, almost too young to put up a fight in a stronger Eastern Conference, which will be very competitive.

The Sixers’ upper management has called it a “rebuilding process,” which will take time, enough time to develop young players picked up from the draft and the free agency market. However, since they began to rebuild, they have not seen a conference final game or Atlantic division title since 2001. The likelihood of them finally breaking the curse and winning the division are as likely as a lightning bolt directly hitting Emmaus High School during the winter.

Jake Caverly, a sophomore at Emmaus, denounces the young Sixers and their coaching staff.

“Their coaching is bad,” Caverly said when asked what has gone wrong with the former champion franchise.

“They don’t have a good leadership core of veterans to help the younger players.”

Part of the Sixers’ struggles has been the lack of fans at their games. Attendance records have been woeful in the past couple years. The Wells Fargo Center has a capacity of 21,500 people for games. The average for the last three seasons has been at or around the 13,500 mark. That is only 62.8 percent of the arena being filled, on average. An Emmaus bowling team would get a better turnout. That means Philly has the worst

fan support for home games in the entire league, worse than that of the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks, who have significantly smaller markets.

This is a bigger issue than many fans might have originally thought. When you don’t sell tickets, you don’t make money. When you don’t make money, you have less money to spend. When you have less money to spend, you have to pay players less than they deserve.

When players are underpaid, they tend to leave, which the Sixers can’t afford.

The only thing keeping them afloat are draft picks.

Photo courtesy of sportsunbiased.com Tanking is controversial in the world of sports. To tank is to intentionally lose games for an eventual gain. Many teams use it to get better picks in the draft, therefore getting young talent to develop and become future stars. The Sixers seem to do this every year, which can be annoying to fans.

Sam Hinkie, the general manager of the 76ers, had an interesting statement in February 2015 on the Sixers strategy for the end of last season.

“What we look at is, how do we add

to what we’re doing in a way that gets us closer to our goal? We don’t think that it will necessarily be linear — that every year you will add five wins and after 10 years you will get to 50,” said Hinkie.

“That’s not the way we think about the world. We think that it comes at fits and starts, and you have to be prepared to put yourself in a position that you might be able to make big leaps.”

Last year was by far the worst year to be a Sixers fan. They started the season a record 0-17 and owned a horrific 18-64 record. They finished the year second to last in the Eastern Conference, and 42 games out of the playoffs.

This year looks to see more of the same.

Joel Embiid, last year’s third overall pick, had another surgery over the summer that will cause him to miss a big part of the 2015-16 NBA season.

Nik Stauskas, Philadelphia’s biggest signing, is out with a groin injury that could have him out for weeks upon months.

Even Sixers fan sophomore Jimmy McGeehan doesn’t like the Sixers chances without Embiid.

“I wouldn’t expect too much without Joel [Embiid],” McGeehan says. “I would say we could have another 20-win season.”

The Sixers have a long road to getting back in the playoffs, and only time can tell if the Philly basketball team can get back to the promised land. By all means, the Sixers have the same chances as the other 29 teams. It’s all a matter of if the team is willing to put in the work to become a solid young group of players

Jaindl and Paradise lead boys cross country

as friends, but when it comes down to the race they’re out there to compete and beat everyone, friends and competitors Emmaus High School’s cross country alike,” said Wessner. team experienced one of its best seasons Teammate Kyle Kleinberg, a junior at to date, and a lot of credit can be given Emmaus, notices the friendship between to two seniors whose primary sports are the two runners on and off the track. something other than running 3.1 miles.

“They have really good chemistry with This marks rookie years for seniors each other, obviously that helps them Ryan Paradise and Greg Jaindl -- and both in practice and races,” said Kleinthey both are the number one and two berg. “They’re both very encouraging to runners on the boys’ squad. Paradise the rest of the team.” also plays a second fall sport; he is a key Katrina Durrwachter, also a junior at starting defensive player on the soccer Emmaus, commends the boys on their team. Jaindl is known for running track impact on the team, other than just in the spring, primarily the 800m. their physical success.

Cross country head coach Dan Wess“They’re best friends, and they ner, who has led the Emmaus team for 16 build a friendly team atmosphere, years, credits this year’s success to the especially because they’re seniors and newest additions. interact with the underclassmen,” said “It is a huge success for the boys Durrwachter. [team] to have them on the team, they’re All in all, Paradise and Jaindl are our top two runners,” said Wessner. satisfied with the results of their first “That quality and caliber of runner obviyear and would encourage others to try ously matters to the team.” something new if it interests them.

Both Paradise and Jaindl run track in “I wish I would’ve started earlier the spring, and Jaindl partially attributes had I known I would’ve wanted to Seniors Greg Jaindl, Ryan Paradise, and Jake that experience to his success in cross run in college, because that would’ve Feiertag pose for a picture before a cross country. He ran in middle school but helped me run better throughout the country meet. Photo courtesy of Dana Bacher. never pursued cross country until his winter, but I’m content with my first success in track pushed him to focus on Paradise shared mutual feelings feelyear and I’m extremely happy that I derunning year round. ings toward his teammate. cided to run this year,” said Paradise.

“I really love the team, we’re like one “It’s so much fun being able to run Jaindl offers advice for anyone thinkbig family,” said Jaindl. with your best friend and push each other ing about joining the team next year.

Paradise just recently decided he want- to do your best. Usually in the start we’re “You definitely have to train and be ed to run cross country in college and running next to each other which gets us ready because you can’t really get in decided he should have at least a year of off to a good start,” said Paradise. shape once the season starts,” said Jaindl. experience before going off to school.

Coach Wessner encourages the compe- “Come ready to work everyday at prac“I actually really like it, it keeps me tition between the runners. tice and not be distracted.” busy and on task,” said Paradise about “They have a friendly sort of rivalry

Rachel Reed Sports Contributor

his busy schedule. “I’m not really wasting any time, it keeps me doing something productive all the time.”

Paradise and Jaindl are not only teammates but close friends, another interesting dynamic of the duo.

“It’s fun, but it is also competitive because we always just push each other, because I always know he’s there. We’re friends and we support each other but it’s competitive,” said Jaindl. “It’s a very healthy relationship between the two of us.”

Four

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jenny fritz

Katie Mest Sports Editor

Fast Facts Height: 5’7” Ice Cream: Chocolate TV Show: Spongebob Pre-Game Snack: Granola Bars

Senior soccer player Jenny Fritz wraps up her soccer career at Emmaus after giving four years to the program.

Fritz has been playing soccer for close to 14 years. She started because of her family’s influence.

“It’s a family thing,” said Fritz. “My grandparents are German, so it’s just kind of in the blood.”

Throughout the years, Fritz has gained leadership skills that she now exhibits both on and off the field. Since she’s played for a majority of her life, she’s learned a thing or two that she’s been able to apply to her life.

“It’s honestly taught me so many lessons, like to be a teammate and learn how to accommodate to other team-

mates, things like that,” said Fritz.

Junior teammate Reese Kober appreciated Fritz’s guidance and encouragement during the season.

“She’s a great offensive player,” said Kober. “She’s always making jokes, making people smile and laugh. She keeps our heads up when we’re upset and always congratulates and celebrates with the team even after she was hurt.”

During one of the last regular season games against Whitehall a bad ankle sprain sidelined Fritz for what seems like the rest of the season.

Though slightly discouraged in the moment, she tries to remain optimistic for the continuation of the season and the team’s success.

On Wednesday Oct. 14 the soccer team earned their spot in

the District XI playoffs after beating Central Catholic 3-2 in overtime.

“My favorite moment was definitely beating Central,” said Fritz, who tossed her crutches to meet her team in celebration on the field at the conclusion of the game.

“It was a good win and I’m proud of my team even though I didn’t get to play.”

Senior Emily Lambert admires her friend’s dedication to the team and the sport in general.

“She’s always very hardworking, and it shows others a great example,” said Lambert.

“She consistently encourages us all to put our best effort out on the field.”

Fritz’s teammates acknowledge her energy and support.

“She’s always the one to pump us up for games, and if

max harrington Katie Mest Sports Editor

Fast Facts Height: 5’9” Movie: Reservoir Dogs Color: Blue Subject: History

On Monday Oct. 12 senior Max Harrington and the golf team won their third straight PIAA District XI title, with Harrington landing his own individual title after he shot 1-over-73.

Harrington found the sport that he loves at age seven, thanks to his father. As a young boy, he would tag along when his dad would head out to the course.

This year he led the team with senior teammates Kevin Caverly and Matt Kermitz, who both joined him in the league championship.

Coach Mike Mihalik watched Harrington grow as a golfer over the years he’s been on the team.

“He’s matured a lot, both with his golf game and his attitude,” said Mihalik. “He really has grown a lot bigger and a

lot stronger, which has helped him a lot with golf. We knew he was going to be able to be good, and he’s been able to put everything together.”

Harrington worked hard to achieve his goal and push himself to be the best that he can be. He admires the individual aspect of the game.

“I like golf because it’s a lot of pressure on you, and I kind of like that pressure,” said Harrington. “It takes a lot of hard work.”

Senior teammate Matt Kermitz recognized his friend’s dedication to the sport and the team as a whole.

“His overall skill and talent as a golfer is pretty much unmatched,” said Kermitz. “He’s one of the most confident people I know, and that confidence has an impact on the whole team. And nothing is ever good enough, so he’s always pushing himself and the rest of us

Caroline Bond Rachel McQuiston Culture Editor

to be better.”

Harrington values the team aspect of the sport just as much as his individual performance.

Mihalik notes this as one of Harrington’s qualities of being a leading senior.

“Golf is an interesting sport, because it’s still an individual sport, but yet we play it as a team in our league,” said Mihalik. “He takes a lot of pride in the team victories.

“One of the neat things is that this year he, Kevin [Caverly], and [Matt] Kermitz led our team to another league championship, so for all of them it was four years in a row. Every year of his high school career he was able to go to the league championship.”

Senior Kevin Caverly, who joined his teammate at the PIAA Eastern Regional Championship, commends Harrington’s work ethic and devotion to the sport.

we are having a rough game or week, she always makes sure we know how hard we’ve been working and how proud she is of us,” said Kober. “She makes sure to support us all.”

Along with soccer, Fritz sprints on the track team in the spring and is a member of Earth Watch Club at the high school.

She hopes to attend the University of Pittsburgh, where she will study business.

“He’s committed to golf and practices a ton,” said Caverly.

“It’s an example to follow. He was the best player on the team this year and played really well in a couple of important matches, like when we played Nazareth in Districts.”

Photo courtesy of Scott Johnston Emmaussports.com

Dynamic

girls volleyball

Freshman Caroline Bond carries the characteristics of a tremendous volleyball player and a positive teammate, while bringing up the spirits of everyone on the team.

Bond has been vigorously playing volleyball for the past six years, and starts as a setter for junior varsity and varsity her freshman year. She enjoys all parts of the sport, particularly the team component.

“My favorite thing about volleyball is the whole team aspect,” said Bond. “They will always be there for you and back you up.”

Emmaus volleyball coach Gwen Millets shares her satisfaction with Bond’s skills and performance.

“Caroline’s job as a setter is to make the ball better and she has done just that during our practices/matches,” Millets said. “It is very difficult to come in to a new team and start immediately as the varsity setter. Caroline has done really well in that role and her teammates trust her.”

Bond’s teammates also acknowledge her contributions, including junior Alyson Bohman, who agrees that Bond is a valuable player.

“Caroline is such an amazing and talented player,” said Bohman. “We are so lucky to have her as our setter on the team. She brings so much energy to our team and she is one of our main key players.”

Bohman recognizes Bond’s encouraging attitude on

and off the court.

“Caroline’s best qualities as a teammate is she is always happy and she always finds a way to make all of us laugh,” said Bohman. “These are her best qualities because everyone needs someone on the team that can bring us up when we are down.”

In addition, junior Tiffany Hoppes agrees that Bond brings a positive and happy vibe to the team.

“I would describe her as a wonderful teammate to be around, because she’s good at what she does and is so much fun to be around,” said Hoppes.

Millets looks forward watching Caroline grow as a player and knows she has a lot ahead of her.

“I have no doubt Caroline will continue to improve as a volleyball player both at EHS and during club season,” said Millets. “I fully expect Caroline to lead her team well in the future.”

Faces

23

kyle boney

Abby Moore Assistant Sports Editor

Senior football player Kyle Boney came back stronger than ever for the 2015 football season after overcoming difficult injuries in the past year.

Boney came out on top this season and has shown to be a great leader on the Emmaus football team. He decided to choose football because of the high level of competition and the way that he can easily play with pres-

Ellie Lewis Sports Contributor Megan Forstburg has been dominating the volleyball court ever since she was six, and she has stuck with the sport ever since.

“My parents forced me into playing because they did volleyball,” said Forstburg. “I never thought that I would end up actually liking it.”

Forstburg not only enjoys the

sure. Boney is determined to be successful and work his hardest during every game he plays.

“My guidance counselor actually told me to start playing football because of my size,” Boney said. “I’m a very big competitor and once you start playing this sport you just don’t want to stop, it’s addictive.”

Boney is the only one in his family who plays football and he continues to play because of the passion that he has for the game.

“I don’t really even take after my parents, because they were never athletes,” Boney said. “My dad is just a big man, so that is where I get my size from.”

Boney has suffered through some injuries last year that caused him to sit out during the 2014 season.

“My injuries last year made

me want to succeed even more because I know it made me work even harder,” Boney said. “You have got to play every game like it’s your last and never take anything for granted.”

Head coach Randy Cuthbert admires Boney’s leadership and positivity that he brings to the rest of the team.

“Kyle has a great attitude, and he works hard,” Cuthbert said.

“He has a unique combination of size and speed that makes it tough to hold him down, and if he stays healthy then he will have a great year.”

Even though the Hornets have had a rough start to their season, it does not phase Boney, and he continues to stay positive.

“We just have to continue to work harder every day,” Boney said. “If we take each game week by week then we’ll be fine.”

Senior teammate Sal Pagano enjoys the time he gets to play on

the field next to Boney.

“Kyle is a great teammate, and he brings tons of energy and life to our offense,” Pagano said. “I have the most fun when the two of us are leading the backfield.”

Boney’s determination and positive energy are what helps bring leadership to the team on and off of the field.

“His physicality and his strength are his greatest qualities, the kid never goes down and he can run anyone over,” Pagano said. “He has a knack for finding the endzone.”

Boney does not take any game for granted and he thinks positive everytime he goes out onto the field.

“Before every game I write ‘Be Great or Be Forgotten’ on my wrist,” Boney said. “I don’t really ever get nervous, I know exactly what I have to do. It’s all about going out on that field and executing it.”

FAST FACTS Height: 6’1” Color: Red Movie: The Great Gatsby Food: Mac & Cheese

megan forstburg

sport; she also enjoys the people and friends that she since has made along the way.

Emmaus junior Molly Kuchta looks up to Megan as a mentor.

“We’ve known each other for awhile now,” said Kuchta.

“I met her during volleyball when I was in seventh grade, and we have so many memories since then.”

Senior teammate Rebecca Houghton appreciates the sense of camaraderie Forstburg adds to the team’s dynamic.

“She brings a lot of fun to the team,” said Houghton. “She definitely does a lot of quirky things that make long practices bearable.

She’s really good at being an allaround player.”

Throughout the years, Megan has experienced some ups and downs. Once during a game, she got ejected from the court.

“I yelled at the ref and it got

Duo Rachel McQuiston Culture Editor Junior Stephen Groh possesses the ideal elements of a great soccer player and the ambitions of a dedicated athlete.

Groh, who plays the position of center forward, has been engaging in soccer for the past 12 years. His whole family plays soccer, which has encouraged him to become extremely devoted to the team, which has done exceptionally well this season.

His teammates credit him as a strong asset to the effort.

Groh enjoys the victories that he and his team work hard for, as well as having a good time with the team.

“My favorite part of soccer is winning games and having fun with my teammates,” said Groh.

Emmaus soccer coach John Cari notes Groh’s stellar performance this season.

pretty intense,” said Forstburg.

Some memories you can brush off, and other memories you will continue to look back upon.

“Making the all-state team last year was the coolest feeling ever,” said Forstburg.

Her decision to stick with the sport and work hard to improve paid off with the skills and relationships she gained.

“My favorite part about volleyball is that it is a team sport. I’ve made so many friends throughout the years and I’ve become so close with them. I love my team,” said Forstburg.

Recently, she verbally committed to play volleyball and study biology at the University of Albany.

Some of her friends and teammates have mixed emotions about Forstburg’s commitment.

“I’m so happy for her, but I don’t know what I will do without her in school and at volleyball.

Megan lifts everyone up when

they are down. I’m really going to miss her,” said Kuchta.

As a senior Forstburg leads by example for the rest of the team through her actions and behavior in games and practices.

“Whenever someone makes a mistake on the court, she doesn’t get mad,” said Houghton on her teammate’s leadership skills.

“She says, ‘It’s okay, you’ll get it next time.’ If she makes a mistake herself, she doesn’t make a big deal about it and shows that you can get over a mistake.”

Forstburg believes she’s grown a decent amount since she stepped on the court as a freshman.

“I’ve become more of a voice on the court leading the team,” said Forstburg. “I’m a lot more confident in myself than I was before. I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person too in general over the past four years.”

FAST FACTS Height: 5’6” Food: Bacon Movie: Southpaw Color: Purple

Stephen Groh boys soccer “Stephen is having a great season, he has been very successful in finding goals,” said Cari. “He is a creative player who is willing to take chances. “ Junior teammate Evan Charlesworth recognizes Groh as a strong and hard-working leader.

“His best qualities are his work ethic and his ability to help the team win games,” said Charlesworth. “He always has a positive attitude and is a great team leader.”

Junior Dylan Sosnow agrees that Stephen’s talent and motivation helps the team as a whole.

“He brings high energy on the field and is our number one free kick taker when taking shots,”

said Sosnow. “I would say as a teammate he build ups our confidence and always tells us when we do well.”

Cari expects a very promising future in soccer for Stephen.

“I know Stephen wants to continue soccer and play in college,” said Cari. “I have all the confidence in the world that he will continue to find success.”

Last week Groh was named to the East Penn Conference second team all-stars.

24

Boys Soccer: Finishing What They Started

Lindsay Harner Photo Editor Emmaus High School’s boys soccer team’s near perfect record proves they will not stop until they claim the title of district champions.

So far this season the team won 17 games, lost two games, and tied one more.

Last year, boys soccer made it to districts and played against Southern Lehigh High School. In a close game, the boys were devastated when they lost two to one.

Boys soccer coach John Cari is serving his 11th year as head coach. He feels the Senior Jordan London prepares to boys are on the right path, but throw the ball back into the game. that they still have their work cut out for them.

“We try to get better everyday and we’re putting ourselves in a pretty good position where we are right now but we still have more games to go to get ourselves ready for leagues before we can go to districts,” said Cari. “We really want them so it’s going to be a step-by-step process, and we’re getting there, little Forward Cory Ross fights off by little.” a player from Northampton for

control of the ball.

Boys soccer waves to the crowd before their game.

The team has been working hard since pre-season, which began in July. It takes a lot of preparation and dedication in order to make it to districts.

Senior John Waring, captain and defensive player, sees his teammates hard work paying off.

“Going through pre-season was awful, but looking back on it we’re more fit than any other team out there, so it was worth it. It’s nice to see,” Waring said.

Boys soccer has been going to districts for a while, but they haven’t won districts since 2011. The second captain and also defensive player, Ryan Paradise, feels this is their year.

“I think we’re very prepared for districts,” said Paradise. “We’re really starting to focus on getting our fitness back up and just getting focused mentally to play those big games at the end of the season.”

Senior Noah Hislop runs away with the ball.

Captain Ryan Paradise kicks the ball away from the opposing team’s goal while goalie Sam Cho looks on.

On the boys soccer practice uniforms is the word “finish.” The word relates back to last year’s district final champs.

“Finish to us is our new culture that we’ve adopted that Coach Cari and Grim brought to us at the beginning of the year, and we all bought in. We decided that our theme is that we’re going to finish everything, whether it’s a drill, a practice, a game, we’re going to do our best to complete each task to the fullest,” said Paradise.

The district championship game will be held on October 30th. After the loss at districts last year, boys soccer is ready to “finish” what they started.

Regional All-American Athlete John Fritz attempts to score on Northampton.

The team leaves their huddle and gametime begins.