The Stinger October 2016

THE STINGER October 2016

Volume 42

stingerehs.com @stingerehs @stingerehs

Issue 2

A BREAKTHROUGH TO SUCCESS EMMAUS FOOTBALL: CHARGING TO NEW LEVELS

Photo by Rachel Reed / See more photos on page 21.

New coach inspires hard work, clear focus

William Newbegin Culture Editor For the first time since the EPC’s inception, the Emmaus Hornets rank at first place within the conference.

For the first time since 2008, the Emmaus Hornets football team has started 6-0, now moving to a record of 7-1.

For the first time since 2008, the Emmaus Hornets football team is going back to the district playoffs.

It’s been a season of firsts for the EHS Hornets. Under the direction of new head coach Harold Fairclough, the team has undergone a sharp turnaround from last year’s 5-5 regular season finish. Despite its absence from many preseason playoff predictions, the team has continued to excel, turning in a season marked by unprecedented and even unfamiliar success.

As of week eight, the Hornets sit at 18 in Pennsylvania state rankings.

But for some, like senior strong safety and team captain Ryan Fritz, the 2016 football season represents the achievement of a long-standing goal.

“At the beginning of the year, me and the seniors knew we wanted to make districts,” Fritz said. “We knew we had something special at the start though, and it’s shown.”

Fritz isn’t wrong. It’s been eight years since the Hornets have found themselves competing in the district’s postseason, a stretch which saw the team led by three

5

different coaches. Yet despite the new coaching staff, the team feels more focused than ever. “[Coach Fairclough] has increased the work ethic of the team significantly,” said sophomore running back Lubens Myers.

“We are the most prepared we’ve ever been.”

Under Fairclough, Myers has flourished as a player, having posted 797 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in his first year as a varsity starter. This year, he has teamed up with fellow running back sophomore Sone Ntoh to power one of the EPC’s most dynamic rushing attacks, producing over 1,000 combined yards and over 30 touchdowns in tandem.

Senior quarterback Derek Shaeffer has appreciated Fairclough’s tutelage as well, as the new staff has helped the secondyear starter to open up the passing game and lead the Hornets’ offense.

“We’ve got new guys stepping up in the passing game...both they and the coaching staff are helping me throw the ball better,” Shaeffer said. “I already have twice as many yards as last year.”

Yet the team knows that success is made by more than stats. The Hornets firmly assert that their newfound success derives itself not just from what transpires on the field, but from their off-the-field grit as well. Since his offseason arrival, Fairclough has made it a priority to instill an unrelenting drive in his players. While

Spirit week photo story

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initially a “culture shock,” this newfound motivation stands as a characteristic by which the Hornets believe they are defined. “[The team needed] an overall sense of urgency to get things

“We’re a definite brotherhood,” Ntoh said, whose aforementioned chemistry with Myers has helped drive the team’s offense. “That focus translates to the field on Fridays.”

“When it comes to our team, I just think

We are the most prepared we’ve ever been.

Lubens Myers, sophomore done the right way,” Fairclough said.

That urgency was felt by one such junior linebacker Noah Breidinger: “Our work ethic has definitely improved. It’s really easy to see how much our hard work in practice has translated into games.”

Shaeffer agrees.

“During the workouts, he would always...make sure we were always giving 100 percent, because if we didn’t, we’d be letting ourselves down,” Shaeffer said.

This determined mantra has stuck with the Emmaus squad throughout their eightgame ride. In their seven wins, twice have the Hornets seen themselves battle back from deficits of 11 points or greater to win. Such resilience is not the mark of only a talented team, but a resolutely harmonious one as well.

Sleep Deprivation

of unity. All of us function as one unit,” said Aaron Corces-Figueroa, a senior and team captain.

When the season eventually draws to a close, the Hornets can look back on a successful season of excitement, hard work and an overall unforgettable run. But the time for rest is not now -- Emmaus finishes the year against tough competition, and the team knows they must give their all if they wish to remain atop the conference standings -- or perhaps, go even further.

“We made [districts], and now it’s time for us to shoot for a new goal,” Fritz said.

“Personally, I know everyone on the team wants to win it all.”

And in a season of surprising firsts, the Hornets may just continue to defy the odds.

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Army v.

Navy

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Rachel-ly Diverse

THE STINGER October 2016 Editor-in-chief Rachel McQuiston @rachelmcqq

Associate Editor Andrea Klick @aklick2000

News Editor Lily Day @lilyyyy_d

Assistant News Editor Chloe Gerhard

Opinion Editor Angie Stein

Features Editor Izzy Wegner @wegnerisabella

Assistant Opinion Editor Anuj Arora @Anuj_Arora_

Assistant Features Editor Bibi Correa @_bibi_correaa

Assistant Opinion Editor Ronnie Rohlsen

Assistant Features Editor Marley Wait @Marleywait

The Bare Truth

Let’s talk locker room talk.

Okay, let me rephrase that. Let’s talk about locker room talk. I mean, after all, we aren’t Donald Trump.

I am sure that nearly all of America has read, or at least heard, about Donald Trump’s most recently leaked video. You know, that one where he makes derogatory and just plain disgusting remarks about women.

If you are unaware of these recent events, or you live under a rock, I will summarize it for you. A 2005 video was released, with Trump blatantly stating “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…” The video continues with a far more vulgar statement -- one that I will not even type on to this document. After the leaking, Trump responded to the conflict with a simple explanation: it was just “locker room talk.”

“I don’t think you understood what this was — this was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it,” Trump said.

Oh, I think America understands exactly what that was, and nearly everyone can agree that those remarks are far too obscene to be dismissed as “locker room talk.”

In fact, many athletes are voicing their opinions and personal experiences with locker room talk on Twitter.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Doolittle tweeted, “As an athlete, I’ve been in locker rooms my entire adult life and uh, that’s not locker room talk.” Other athletes, like professional soccer player Robbie Rogers, are even insulted. “I’m offended as an athlete that @realDonaldTrump keeps using this ‘locker room talk’ as an excuse,” Rogers tweeted.

More stories have surfaced, causing Trump’s “locker room talk” to look like more than just talk. According to Buzzfeed, five 1997 Miss Teen USA beauty pageant contestants have claimed to remember Trump walking in on them as they were getting dressed. According to Mariah Billado, the 1997 Miss Vermont Teen USA, Trump told the ladies not to fret, for he had “seen it all before.”

As if that occurrence isn’t vile enough, there are more stories unraveling. During the first presidential debate, Hillary Clinton brought to voters’ attention Trump’s derogatory and racist statements toward women. More specifically, a woman named Alicia Machado. Machado, who won the 1996 Miss Universe competition, was called “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” due to her Latina ethnicity, according to Clinton.

In addition, there have been several allegations of Trump sexually harassing women. A woman named Jessica Leeds claims that nearly three decades ago, she was groped by Donald Trump on an airplane. Former Trump Tower secretary Rachel Crooks has a similar story. Crooks claims that in 2005, she introduced herself to Trump, who then proceeded to kiss her cheek and lips without her consent. Trump has refuted both of these accusations, leaving it to the discretion of the people to decide which side is telling the truth.

Whether you believe these allegations or not, Trump’s nasty comments cannot be forgotten. In fact, many of these situations seem as if they are something Trump could dismiss as “locker room talk.”

I know that many of you reading this column will immediately come to Trump’s defense, or say something cliche, such as “boys will be boys.” But truthfully, boys can be boys without being disgusting, sexist pigs. Just saying.

Although my political stance may be apparent to you after reading this article, my anger for this situation has nothing to do with the fact that he is Donald Trump.

Whether a 13-year old boy made these comments or, you know, our presidential candidate, I can assure you that I would be equally offended by both.

“I’m not proud of my locker room talk. But this world has serious problems. We need serious leaders,” Trump tweeted on Oct. 9.

Actually Trump, harassment and the degradation of women is a serious problem. But, clearly, we can’t expect you to call it anything other than “locker room talk.”

Culture Editor William Newbegin @Free_willy98

Sports Editor Kyle Carraher

Assistant Culture Editor Brian Mantone @Brianatone

Assistant Sports Editor James Marler

Online Editor Cathryn Seibert @athryncay

Head Copy Editor Eddie Coleman

Photo Editor Rachel Reed @Rachel_Reed19

Convergence Editor Bradley Klemick

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Make it Klick

The Resumé Complex As I prepared to write this column by spinning round and round in my wheeled desk chair, I had somewhat of an epiphany.

I am a junior in high school.

Yes, I’m fully aware this is no mind-blowing, life-changing discovery, but it seems difficult to believe that in a little over two years I’ll be a legal adult hauling my bags into a dorm room hours away from my family, friends and cat.

Like most high school students, the idea of filling out college applications makes me shudder, but it’s almost impossible to forget the burdenous stress when people babble endlessly about college. It feels as though everyone, myself included, is constantly busy trekking to college visits or joining clubs to bulk up their resumé and make a first-rose-worthy impression on the school of their dreams.

I’ve never understood why students put this immense pressure on themselves to impress some suits in an admissions office far, far away.

This summer, I spent a weekend at Villanova University for a leadership conference, not knowing what to expect. When my dad parked the car, a pair of counselors wearing blue wigs and face paint sprinted to our car and greeted us. We passed several other counselors on our way to the check-in line who seemed filled with spirit and joy for the weekend to come. Seeing their ever-present smiles made my excitement grow further. I couldn’t wait for the conference to begin.

After putting my clothes away and making my dorm room bed, I rushed down the stairs to meet the nine other teens I’d spend the weekend with along with our counselor, Peter, who described all of the activities we would participate in and speakers we would hear.

To my surprise, the kids in my group complained about all of the exciting events planned for us. They nearly dozed off while inspiring speakers told us their stories. The stories included a man who started an international nonprofit in honor of his brother to raise money for cancer research, as well as a woman who grew up homeless but became a renowned lawyer. During cheers and the scavenger hunt, they sported frowns and constantly rolled their eyes. When we went to an urban garden to pick fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables, for families in Philadelphia, they whined through the entire two hours of so-called labor.

Attempting to pinpoint the cause of their misery was a more arduous task than trying to solve a complex physics problem with no knowledge of algebra.

Maybe they were having a bad day. Maybe they were homesick. Or maybe the cafeteria food made them sick. All of these ideas seemed like plausible hypotheses, but it wasn’t until a conversation at lunch with two of the girls in my group that I understood their moodiness.

Our discussion went a little something like this: Girl 1: “I love my summer job at Temple. I get to assist researchers in the labs there.”

Me: “That’s really cool! Do you want to go to school there?”

Girl 1: “No I don’t want to go there. My brother had the same job, and he goes to UPenn now. I’m really only looking at Ivies and maybe MIT.” At this point, I stuffed my mouth with a meatball to refrain from blurting out some sarcastic comment about her blatant pretension. And just when I thought we were finished talking about high-falutin colleges, Girl 2 chimed in with, “Oh really?

My sister goes to Yale, and I want to go there, too. I went to a camp there last summer that was a lot nicer than this one but sometimes you have to do stuff like this because colleges like to see ‘leadership potential.’”

Now I knew why they seemed so annoyed the entire conference; they never wanted to come. For them, this weekend was not an eye-opening experience or an opportunity to learn but rather another line of meaningless text on their already overflowing resumés. They travelled to Villanova not because they hope to be leaders in this world, but because they’re aspiring to receive a coveted fat envelope from a top-tier school. It seemed their lives were so consumed with cracking the code of college admissions gatekeepers that they never found time to do what they wanted.

As much as their behavior disgusted me in the moment, I can’t help but feel some ounce of pity for them and anyone else who feels this innate need to concoct the “perfect” resumé that could make any admissions counselor fall in love with them. I also can’t lie and say that I’ve never skipped a family dinner or party in order to study for a biology test or write a DBQ. But now that I’m almost one quarter into my junior year of high school, I realize that the time I spent freaking out over grades and college admissions was a bigger waste of time than the entire last season of Pretty Little Liars. After all, I only have two years before I move away and ramen noodles and cafeteria food become staple pieces in my diet. So I might as well relax with my friends, eat some home-cooked meals and pet my cat as much as possible before it’s all over, and I suggest you do the same.

IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON TOPICS THAT MATTER TO YOU

Docs Disaster

CHLOE GERHARD

Chloe’s Conundrums

EHS implements Reading Workshop Lily Day News Editor This school year, English classes throughout Emmaus High School are implementing Reading Workshop.

Reading Workshop is a way to encourage students to do independent reading and explore books that they are interested in.

One English class period every week--or one every two weeks, if the class is an honors level course--is reserved for students to read a book of their choice. Journal entries, short lessons on different aspects of reading analysis and out-of-school reading are also components of Reading Workshop.

Laura Witman, Supervisor of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, believes that independent reading can have many positive effects on students. One of these benefits is the ability to achieve higher scores on tests such as the Keystones and SATs. Independent reading also builds “reading stamina,” which will help students prepare for college as well as develop lifelong reading habits, according to Witman.

“Decades of research shows that independent reading, when students have a choice and engage with books they value, leads to growth in vocabulary, reading comprehension, verbal fluency and general knowledge,” Witman said.

Freshman R.J. Mahar thinks that “it’s a shame that people aren’t reading as much as they used to” and believes that Reading Workshop is “a good idea, to get students reading again.” He recognizes that with busy schedules, many students do not have the time to do independent reading, himself included. He believes that Reading Workshop will force students to change their reading habits.

“Reading is going to have to increase because of this... this is a mandatory thing,” Mahar said.

However, Mahar thinks the journal responses will be “boring if it’s the same old copy and paste response questions we’ve had since we were younger.” Although he understands that reading is important, he also raises concerns that Reading Workshop “disrupts what we are working on in class.”

English teacher Susan Carville is “really happy” about the addition of Reading Workshop, and believes independent reading is a good focus for the English Department to have.

“I think reading is probably the most important thing that we can have students get better at, for anything in their future,” Carville said.

Reading Workshop is running smoothly in Carville’s classes, and her students also seem to be excited about the program.

“My students are really on board, they really like it,” Carville said. “I had a student in a class who asked me who came up with the idea because he wanted to write that person a letter, a thank you note. So that

was pretty cool.” day” and views the program as “a good idea EHS Librarian Kelly Bower has seen overall.” However, she raises concerns over the effects of Reading Workshop in terms the mandatory hour of out-of-class reading of circulation at the library. According per week. to Bower, before the implementation of “Some weeks I simply don’t or won’t Reading Workshop, about 36 percent of the have the time to sit and read for ‘pleasure,’ library’s total circulation was fiction books. if you will, when I should be doing other With Reading Workshop, that figure has things,” Underwood said. increased to 51 percent.

In the past, Underwood has not been an For students’ first Reading Workshop avid reader, but she predicts that Reading book, the library allowed a six-week Workshop will change her reading habits. check-out period. Normally, students need “Over the summer I only read the few to return or renew their books at the library books I needed to read for school, and after three weeks, or face a fine. maybe one other book that I chose to read,” Many students have asked Bower for Underwood said. “I do think that will suggestions in their quest to select a book change, and hopefully I will learn to enjoy that will interest them. For those students reading, as opposed to finding it boring.” who may be shy or afraid to ask, Bower Witman hopes that “students will emcreated a “Reading Workshop support brace the change because they have a voice document,” which she sent to every English and choice in what they are reading.” teacher. The document contains information The decision to implement Reading about online resources, which are available Workshop not only allows students to through the EHS Library website, to help pursue works that they are interested in, but students decide on a book to read. also helps the English department ensure “I have made several trips to Barnes and that their curriculum aligns with PA Core Noble in an attempt standards, which are based to satisfy speon national standards. cific book requests,” “District and building Bower said. “It is leadership recognized important to me that the need for a revision to students read what English curriculum based they like.” on past years’ student data Bower is supportand performance,” Witman ive of the Reading said. “What we know, Workshop initiative. and what is reinforced by “As a librarian and our teachers’ professional former high school organization, is that there English teacher, I needs to be a balance certainly support any between teacher selected program that encourtexts and student choice ages reading,” Bower to deepen comprehension said. “Research and engagement.” clearly indicates that According to Witman, students who read English teachers have more are more succollaborated to “choose cessful in school and what teacher selected texts life. For example, would be cut from the curJunior Rachael Miller browses for a according to a riculum and replaced with Reading Workshop book. study done by standards-aligned Reading Nagy and Herman, a Workshop time. student who reads at least 20 minutes a day “The addition of Reading Workshop is a will be in the 90th percentile as opposed to first step for our teachers to transition from the 50th percentile, or lower, for one reada curriculum that made a focus on skills and ing five minutes or less per day.” state standards difficult due to the demand Furthermore, Bower believes that “havof content included in the curriculum,” Witing students come to the library further faman said. miliarizes them with its set-up and encourSummer reading will be undergoing ages a comfort with it.” She hopes that by changes in the future as well. According coming to the library and learning how to to Witman, these revisions are “based on select books that interest them, students will the fact that we know kids should not be “become confident and independent during independently reading difficult, complex their post-high school years. literature unsupported in the summer.”

“Creating independent, lifelong learnSummer reading assignments for the next ers and readers is an important mission at school year will be altered “to reflect stuEHS,” Bower said. dent choice and inquiry.”

Sophomore Maddie Underwood believes that having Reading Workshop during English class is “a nice break during the Photo by Rachel Reed.

October, the time of year when students and teachers alike have acclimated to school life again and when teachers begin to pile on heftier assignments, like essays and short writing assignments.

So, a word to the wise: be careful what you name your Google documents.

Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way.

Back when I was a freshman, my biology teacher assigned a short essay. I, the ever diligent student, completed it without much fuss and turned it in without event, like any other assignment. My plight began a few weeks later when he handed back our grades for the assignment.

The assignment wasn’t even worth a lot of points, a mere 20 if I remember correctly, but it’s safe to say I was a bit miffed with my grade. My teacher graded them pretty harshly so that we could develop our writing skills and reassigned the essay with different context.

Thoroughly peeved with the entire situation, I decided it would be a great idea to be passive-aggressive.

Spoiler alert: it was not a good idea.

I got on the bus, irritation still brewing inside me. I glowered out the window, sending hateful glances towards the scenery. Then it hit me.

I had an absolutely perfect idea to get back at my teacher.

I walked home from my stop, pep in my step and a smirk firmly fixed to my face, basking in the sheer glory of my rebellious plot.

I strutted through the door, set down my bag, flew up the stairs and plucked my iPad from where it lay on my bed.

I opened up the Google docs app.

Created a new document.

And promptly titled it “Stupid Bio Essay.”

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking. I went through all of that and the best revenge I could come up with was insulting the assignment with a name even kindergarteners would find lackluster.

What you might not understand is that I am basically a certified Good Child. I had never received so much as a warning for acting out at school.

To me, this was an act of defiance equal to the Boston Tea Party.

Of course, “Stupid Bio Essay” wasn’t the title I would turn in my essay with; I just wanted a devious little joke for myself, after all. I was going to change the title to something more acceptable beforehand and no one would be the wiser to my rebellious act.

Until I forgot to change the title and turned in my essay. And didn’t realize it.

The next day, I walked into my biology class, blissfully unaware of my mistake, and my teacher calls my name as I go to take my seat. As I approach, he has his arms held out at his sides as if to say “What the heck, Chloe?” I am completely baffled.

“Stupid Bio Essay?” Oh. Oh no.

Needless to say, I was instantly mortified. However, my teacher had a good sense of humor and laughed it off. But to this day, I still cringe whenever I think about my little act of rebellion.

Long story short, don’t make the same mistake I did, no matter how tempting.

Do not, under any circumstances, give your Google docs assignments stupid titles.

News

3 NEWS EDITOR LILY DAY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR CHLOE GERHARD

New learning lab is a resource for students Andrea Klick Associate Editor This year, Emmaus High School unveiled the learning lab, a room where students can go to receive tutoring throughout the day in the core subjects and make up tests.

Located in the old bank near the cafeteria, its main objective is to provide students with teacher assistance in English, history, math and science. Cyber students will also be able to visit the learning lab during certain periods to receive help from core subject teachers.

Assistant Principal of Academic Affairs Todd Breiner was one of the main proponents for a “one-stop” tutoring room where students “can come and get academic help based on the availability of the teacher’s content area that is there,” Breiner said.

In the past, Emmaus offered math and science help in alternating rooms throughout the day. According to Breiner, few students attended the tutoring sessions because

they did not know what room to go in. One purpose of the learning lab is to eliminate this student confusion regarding when and where tutoring occurs.

“Really, the purpose of the learning lab is to provide that one-stop place where students always know where it is and where they can go for help on their different academic content areas,” Breiner said. “But what we found in the past, when we just had math help and science help, students didn’t necessarily know what period was in what room, and we tried to remedy that by giving a one-stop shop.”

Although the learning lab cannot provide assistance for students in “every period of the day in every content area,” Breiner feels the tutoring periods still provide flexibility for students to receive extra help in their free periods.

“But what we’ve tried to do is provide a number of periods for students in all content areas throughout the six day cycle where

they would have the option to or the ability to go down and get help if they needed it,” Breiner said.

If students cannot find space in their schedules to come to the learning lab or need ongoing help, Breiner suggests they take advantage of individual tutoring provided by the National Honor Society.

“Let’s say a student needs help in English and the time frames in their schedule just don’t match up to the time frames where there’s a teacher available to help them in the learning lab,” he said. “The tutoring provided by NHS is still a great resource for them to use and still available for them to use.”

“The learning lab is really for students to come down and get help with specific content they’re struggling with while the NHS tutoring is a more ongoing process,” he said.

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THE STINGER

OC TOBER 2016

NEWS

Engineering curriculum off to strong start “applications of math and science.”

“PLTW courses really have me take things learned from my other math and science classes and apply them to real-world problems and other issues,” Levinson said.

“These courses actually demonstrate how I may use this information later.”

Sophomore Nicholas Toto appreciates the amount of projects that PLTW implements in its curriculum.

“The Project Lead the Way curriculum is very nice because it really plans activities for us to do and helps us a lot,” Toto said.

“It might be a little fast-paced, but it’s so fun.”

Levinson also points out how the amount of hands-on learning in the curriculum is beneficial to himself and his peers.

“Every day in [Introduction to Engineering Design] we are given scenarios in which we have to figure out ways to solve problems, to make products more efficient, or to invent something original,” Levinson said. “We are always learning about how real engineers do their jobs and what techniques they use to figure out issues they are presented with.”

Smith believes students enjoy the foundational engineering courses because they serve a different purpose than traditional math and science classes. “[At EHS, in] the math and science courses, basically you learn all the content and the reason is for the test,” Smith said. “And then you take the test to determine proficiency and then you move on to the next unit.

“PLTW takes it a step farther and will teach the students math and science, not at an in-depth level, but then we’re actually going to apply those math and science principles and actuStudents complete work in their engineering ally do something with it,” he said. class.

“So it shows kids why you need to

know what you need to know.”

Last year, Smith, Braglio, and Laura Witman, the district’s Supervisor of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, Smith teaches Introduction to Engineering Design. presented the new walk them through the engineering method courses to the school board in hopes of im- and the various steps that engineers take to plementing more and more PLTW courses approach and solve a problem.” each year, including “Digital Electronics, Levinson’s favorite project involved Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Envi- creating a small cable car using limited ronmental Sustainability, Civil Engineering materials because he feels that “learning to and Architecture, Aerospace Engineering, work with limited resources helps to foster and Engineering Design and Development, brainstorming and innovation.” Toto ena capstone course,” according to Witman. joyed an activity where his class “designed She plans to present new courses and cur- a plastic cup appealing to customers and riculum to the school board in late October. presented it to the class.”

According to Witman, East Penn has Both students anticipate using more “been very supportive” of the new changes advanced technology, such as 3D printers, and purchased a 3D printer and Laser En- later in the year. graver for the foundations courses. To fur“I am most excited for the technology ther the curriculum they are also “seeking that we will have access to when we get outside funding to support the implementa- to do more in-depth design projects as the tion and equipment for a robust program course progresses,” Levinson said. for our students,” Witman said.

Smith is also excited for his students to So far, students have worked on various experiment with new technology. projects to learn the basics of the engineer“Students will design parts and solutions ing method. to problems on a program called AutoCAD “We’ve done a few simple projects from Inventor and they will get to rapid protoa cable car to an aerodynamics distance type it out on a 3D printer and then test it challenge,” Smith said. “And students are to see if it meets or exceeds their requirenext going to build a simple paper bridge ments. But it should be pretty exciting for with certain criteria and constraints that them to actually hold in their hands somewill make it a little bit more challenging. thing that they designed and created.”

But those activities are more designed to Photos by Rachel Reed.

Andrea Klick Associate Editor For Introduction to Engineering Design teacher Eric Smith, there is no such thing as a “regular class day.”

While some days he might “be giving a boring PowerPoint slide on how to do something,” another day may involve his students forming groups and “sketching in their engineering notebooks trying to figure out how they can solve a problem and then actually build [the solution] and develop it.”

Smith’s course is a new addition to the EHS curriculum, along with Principles of Engineering, a class taught by Steven Braglio.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a nonprofit organization, designed both engineering courses and numerous other classes as part of a STEM curriculum model. This PLTW curriculum is used in over 8,000 schools nationwide and locally in districts such as Parkland, Quakertown, Bethlehem and Easton.

An aspiring engineer, sophomore Aidan Levinson decided to take Smith’s Introduction to Engineering Design class and has enjoyed it so far because they teach him

East Penn aims to establish 1:1 program Rachel McQuiston Editor-in-Chief By 2020, the East Penn School District Technology Committee plans to begin a strong 1:1 program -- one that “empowers teachers and students to harness the power of technology to collaborate, communicate, create, think critically, and solve relevant problems in the 21st century,” according to a proposal released by Superintendent Michael Schilder.

In other words, East Penn plans to implement a program where each student receives an electronic device, in hopes that doing so will give students more academic opportunities.

On Oct. 10, the committee gave a presentation at the school board meeting. The committee, consisting of 26 members, includes a variety of East Penn staff and students.

Senior committee member Declan Schoen, who was involved with brainstorming ideas for the program, expects that the 1:1 plan will prove to be advantageous for East

Penn students. He believes that “health benefits, organizational benefits and experience-based benefits” will be evident through the implementation of this program. Schoen proves the health benefit aspect by bringing up a problem that nearly all students can relate to: a heavy backpack.

“We all know about ‘freshman backpacks,’ but a lot of students don’t realize that carrying around a heavy bag like that can cause long term health problems,” Schoen said. “ … this year I’ve started bringing my computer with BYOD and using online textbooks, and since this change my backpack has gotten significantly lighter.”

Junior Jessica Harnett, also a committee member, believes that “this program is a great idea, especially for students who don’t have access to laptops or computers.”

Harnett also acknowledges that this plan will be a quicker way for students to get their work done in class.

“I feel productivity will increase in the classroom and students will do better in school,” Harnett said. “It’s ridiculous, the laptops they give us [now], that take a whole period to log onto. I find this to be a good start to modern-

National Merit Scholar semifinalists announced Lily Day News Editor Eleven Emmaus High School seniors have been recognized as semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for their performances on the PSAT during their junior year.

These students are Julia Bezems, Jason Bowen, Jereme Chien, Eric Cichocki, Ben Luo, Jie Luo, Tara Maake, Lasair Ni Chochlain, Kelley Yang, Bowen Yao and Daniel Yu. Founded in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) aims to recognize high school students with outstanding academic accomplishments. About 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/ NMSQT are recognized annually. The top one-third of these high scorers are notified in September that they are semifinalists in the program.

The district honored the semifinalists at a reception at the school board meeting on Monday, Oct. 24.

The Class of 2017 has 11 semifinalists, which is above average in comparison to the previous two years.

The Class of 2016 had six semifinalists, and the Class of 2015 had seven.

While semifinalists are selected solely on PSAT/NMSQT scores, to be considered by the NMSC for advancement to a finalist standing, semifinalists must submit a résumé containing information such as extracurricular activities as well as a copy of their transcripts. Essays submitted by the semifinalists and written recommendations from teachers or administrators are also key in determining which of these students go on to become finalists. Finalists are named in February.

“The number of students achieving status of semifinalist is a testament to the great many outstanding students we have at EHS and their dedicated teachers,” Principal David Piperato said. “We are all very proud of their accomplishments.”

izing the East Penn School District.”

Junior committee member Leah Tannous cites the environmental benefits that the program will produce.

“One major benefit would be saving trees by using less paper,” Tannous said.

However, Tannous, like many others, understands that there could be negative effects “such as problems with technology and the ability of our teacher[s] to get into it and understand the tech…”

According to Schilder’s plan, the 1:1 program has been in the works since July 2015, when an EPSD Comprehensive Plan was created. Also listed in the school board presentation is a chart of cost estimates of the devices for the 2016-17 year, as well as phase one, phase two and phase three of the implementation.

“Technology is all around us,” Schoen said. “ … It would almost be irresponsible of our school to not include it as part of our high school education.”

East Penn updates technology in schools Chloe Gerhard Assistant News Editor As the East Penn School District welcomes the new school year, it also welcomes changes and additions to its technology, including a few at Emmaus High School.

Changes at Emmaus include an extension of the wireless coverage in the school and remodeled equipment and infrastructure in the Technology Education department. EHS also added two courses to the Technology Education department, Intro to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering. New laptops were added to accommodate these classes, and a 3D printer was also added to the Technology Education area.

LED lighting was also installed in EHS, as well as in Macungie, Shoemaker and Lincoln Elementary schools to help reduce energy consumption.

EHS, Eyer Middle School, Lower Macungie Middle School and Lincoln Elementary schools also installed digital cameras. The addition of the cameras

aims to improve safety and security within the schools. The district also implemented a new emergency email notification system that delivers information to parents much faster than the previous system.

The district has also purchased 14 new Chromebook laptop carts and outfitted each kindergarten class with 10 iPad minis to aid in instruction.

“So far as Chromebooks are concerned, we keep expanding our adaptation of Chromebooks in the district,” said Michael Mohn, the director of Technology for the East Penn School District.

“These lightweight computers offer access to online materials, the modern way of accessing digital information, a battery that lasts practically all school day, [at] almost one-third the cost of a traditional laptop and [with] seamless integration with Google applications.”

Chromebooks also have fewer functioning parts than laptops, so there are fewer parts to fail, and fewer parts that need to be fixed.

NEWS

THE STINGER

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OC TOBER 2016

Spirit week

‘ Merica Monday

Emmaus High School held its annual Spirit Week from Oct. 3 through 7, the days leading up to the homecoming dance on Saturday. EHS students and teachers showed their school spirit every day of the week by dressing up according to themes decided by the Student Government Association (SGA).

Photos by Rachel Reed. ‘Merica Monday photo courtesy of Emily Yen.

Tie-Dye Tuesday

College & sports Wednesday

Pink-out Thursday

Green & Gold Friday On Friday, Oct. 7, students came to school decked out in green and gold. During periods 8 and 9, students went to the football stadium to attend SGA’s pep rally, the first one in several years.

At the pep rally, fall sports teams were recognized. There were also performances by the dance team (pictured right), the cheerleaders and the marching band.

Later, the announcers and mascots (pictured far right) called students from the audience to participate in relays and contests.

THE STINGER

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OCTOBER 2016

OPINION

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

MANAGING EDITOR ANGIE STEIN A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R A N U J A R O R A A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R R O N A L D R O H L S E N

TRIGGERED! If you laughed at that, read this Angie Stein Opinion Editor

I literally cannot believe I have to do this.

Of course, I’m not using “literally” literally.

I’m just trying to convey how utterly annoyed I am. I can believe I have to do this, because no matter what, high school -- and the world -- will always be populated by ignorant people who need to be informed or insensitive cretins who definitely don’t want to be informed, so I’m just screaming and stomping my feet for my own relief, I guess. But to satisfy all the English teachers reading this: I am LITERALLY so angry at this whole “triggered” meme I just might fill a spray bottle with water and use it on everyone I hear partaking in it, shouting “BAD! BAD!” as if they are a bunch of disobedient cats.

If you’ve been on social media and/or around a greasy 13-year-old boy recently, you’ve no doubt seen or heard about this whole “triggered!” thing. At its simplest and stupidest, the “joke” is simply the use of the word “trigger.” Those who use this term in a joking way often think it means “to get upset,” especially an overblown reaction to something minorly offensive. People often use this joke to dismiss and detract from feminists and other civil rights activists. For instance, a feminist might call out someone on a sexist joke, to which that someone would respond “Stop getting triggered!” Other times, people use the word amongst themselves to exaggerate their feelings on something (much like “literally,” as seen above). If something, such as a celebrity, a sport, etc. gets mentioned in a conversation and someone is not fond of said thing, they might say “Triggered!”, referring to themselves. Cue “ba-dum tssh” and/or soulless laugh track.

So, to put it in a way the imbeciles who use this joke will understand, why am I so “triggered” over all this? Well, let’s set some things straight first. Triggers and trigger warnings have garnered a lot of controversy over the years, especially concerning their place in the education system. Many schools, especially colleges, use or have considered using trigger warnings in their classes. Those against these decrees claim such a system would

cripple students’ education. But what is a trigger warning? More importantly, what is a trigger? Spoiler alert: the hordes of teenagers and “edgy” Tweeters joking about triggers have no idea what they actually are.

“Trigger” is shorthand for “trauma trigger.” This means something that causes a traumatic past event to come back into a person’s memory. It could be anything from a picture or other visual aid to sounds or even scents. The concept of triggering was first coined in the early 1900s (sorry, no “newfangled Tumblr BS” here). The term is most commonly applied to people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When someone is triggered, their reaction can vary from sudden and violent to slow and suffocating. Regardless of someone’s symptoms, being triggered is

them. Getting triggered is an extremely upsetting experience that trauma victims unfortunately have to deal with. How would you like to live life not knowing when something will bring you back to the death of a loved one, a terrorist attack, or even your own rape, and then have everyone around you saying “Triggered!” and giggling to each other?

I sure hope some of the people reading this have started to question themselves by now, whether they joke about triggers or they let others do so. It’s hard to keep seeing something as funny when, y’know, it’s something incredibly real for people whose lives

a horrible experience, often including distressing flashbacks. Rape and abuse victims, war veterans, and other traumatized people can all be triggered by reminders of their trauma, no matter how small.

Thus, “trigger warnings” came about in the ‘90s, when the Internet first blossomed. Suddenly, anyone online could be reached, and anything online could reach anyone. Out of consideration for trauma victims, feminist and other social justice groups began putting trigger warnings before potentially triggering content. This action was not and is not meant to censor, as modern critics often think. Trigger warnings are simply that: considerate warnings for trauma victims, so they can prepare themselves to see potentially upsetting content. Trigger warnings actually worked against censorship. They enabled people to openly write and talk about difficult topics (e.g. sexual assault) and make sure no one gets hurt at the same time.

The practice of trigger warnings continues into internet use today. I mean, unless you exclusively browse Reddit, 4chan, iamacompletenincompoop.com, or other sites frequented by people who think triggers and trigger warnings are things to make fun of. Which they aren’t, in case you didn’t realize that yet. People don’t get triggered by something they don’t like, or even something that offends

have been nearly ruined, and to joke about it is to kick them while they’re down. If, after learning the truth, you still think triggers are no big deal and everyone is being “too sensitive,” then congratulations on your serial killer-esque lack of empathy. I must say that you are truly an asshat of the highest degree and stature, the King of All Asshats, even.

Wear your Hat of Ass proudly and shout “Triggered!” from your splendored throne atop Turd Mountain, and rain your might down upon us, the lowly social justice warriors and “too sensitive” peasants, and we shall surely bow in the face of your obtuse, insensitive glory.

Just kidding. To quote the Emperor from Mulan, “No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.”

And, to quote late 2000s-era rap duo New Boyz, “You’re a jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk, jerk.”

“But still, it’s just a joke!” some of you will inevitably say. Yes, being knowingly offensive is very popular among the youth, I know. If you’re really not willing to give up on the super-original side-splitting comedic genius that is “Triggered!”, let’s play pretend for a minute. Let’s pretend it really is all “just a joke.” Now, you might want to sit down for this one: it’s still not funny. Even discounting the

to the century-old, industrial-age factory model of education.”

The factory model of education is a nickname for the way schools have been run for centuries. The factory model derives from the Prussians in the early 1800s and came to America in the 1840s by way of Horace Mann. Essentially, the factory model includes age-based cohorts, whole-class instruction, and standardization. “The factory model of education is the wrong model for the 21st century,” said Duncan.

Aged-based cohorts are a style of schooling that forces specific ages to learn in specific grade levels. Whole class instruction is when a teacher gives a lecture and refers to the whole class as one entity.

The problem with whole class instruction is that it leads to one-size-fits-all teaching.

This means that a group of students will all be taught in one way.

One-size-fits-all teaching simply does not work. It causes students to lose their individuality and creativity. Students learn to memorize, not think, with this method.

The only thing this style of teaching works for is making students into robots, all with the same thoughts and same approach to problems. Thirty years from now, when the robots, or students, have to apply what they learned in school to real life, they will all have the same approach to problems and therefore not solve anything.

What would happen if engineers, doctors, or lawyers all approached a problem in one way?

Chaos.

But these are the long-term results. The effects of our schooling system won’t take its toll till many years down the road, right?

“Everybody is a genius. But if you

The madness of educational malpractice Anuj Arora Assistant Opinion Editor Out of all the world’s nations, the United States of America ranks 20th in reading, 23rd in science, and 30th in math.

The reason behind this is modern-day schooling. Schools in America have fundamentally been run the same way for over 100 years.

“What do I mean when I talk about transformational productivity reforms that can also boost student outcomes?” said Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education.

“Our K–12 system largely still adheres

fact that you’re making fun of trauma victims, saying “Triggered!” over and over like the world’s most annoying broken record is the lowest form of humor this side of Adam Sandler movies and typing “5318008” into your calculator.

I could probably find funnier, more clever jokes in Highlights magazine. For people whose sense of humor still hasn’t risen above an 8th grade level, please just go back to armpit farting and watching Let’s Players on YouTube. For once, you’ll be doing everyone a favor.

Joking about triggers is like saying you’re “OCD” because you keep your bookshelf organized or calling women “feminazis”: you can do it, but only people just as uninformed and/or jerkish as you will laugh, and everyone else will make a mental note to never do anything nice for you, ever. For those of you who will eventually accost me in the hallway and impart the great, mind-blowing proverb of enlightenment that is “Hahaha why so triggered LOL don’t tell me what to do it’s a free country,” just know that the First Amendment means the government can’t tell you to shut up, not that I can’t tell you to shut up. So I say this with all the sincerity in my cold, black, bitter, “triggered” heart: shut up.

Also, Happy Halloween.

Illustration by Angie Stein

judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid,” Albert Einstein said.

Our school system makes students feel useless and stupid, which can lead to them feeling depressed.

In 2015, 17.7 percent of high school students in America considered committing suicide. The teen suicide rate has increased drastically over the past several years. As a result, an overwhelming amount of suicide-prevention programs have been established. However, these programs, such as the Youth Suicide Prevention Program, fail to identify the root cause of these tragedies.

The problem has been right in front of us the entire time. It is, indeed, our school system.

OPINION

THE STINGER

Locker Room: The Sequel Angie Stein Opinion Editor

I try not to be a cynic. I really do. Much like watching the news without a certain orange affront to humanity assaulting your eyes, keeping a sunny outlook on life is difficult these days. Doing it without totally ignoring the issues that surround our country, our people, and our world -- that’s even harder, to say the least.

I try not to be a cynic, but hey, I’m an opinion writer. It’s practically my job to search for reasons to be upset, and I often don’t have to search long. No matter how much I try to ignore the sizzling of my corneas and look on the bright side, some things still send me into a pessimistic, doom-and-gloom scoffing fit. Anything combining transgender people and high school students is one. From hearing a girl in my 9th grade English class call someone “it” to the transphobic remarks thrown at me and my friends to the crowds of kids giggling and jeering at the new genderneutral bathroom, pretty much every interaction between these two groups either enrages or disgusts me. Both, more often than not. So you can only imagine how far my stomach dropped when I heard about this whole locker room fiasco. “This is it,” I thought. “This is how I’m going to start my senior year. Wading through the putrid septic tank that is high schoolers’ opinions on transgender rights, dodging awkward classroom conversations, trying my best not to lose it on every single close-minded, snot-nosed brat spouting slurs until this disaster dies out, if it ever does.”

Did it die out? Not really. And to be honest, I have no problem with that.

A SparkNote of the story, if you will: on Aug. 22, EHS student Sigourney Coyle voiced a concern of hers to the East Penn School Board. The then-incoming fresh-

man was uncomfortable with changing indeed. for gym class in potentially the same Not only did a transgender student locker room as transgender girls, who are speak up for himself and the trans com“physically male,” as she put it. Citing religious reasons, Coyle and her mother claimed that allowing transgender students to change in the locker room of their gender violated Coyle’s “bodily privacy.” Their concerns garnered national media attention.

At a second Ari Bowman shakes hands with superintendent Dr. Michael Schilder. school board Photo by Rachel Reed. meeting on Sept. 12, transgender Lower Macungie munity, backed by his mother and a host Middle School student Ari Bowman, his of other supporters, but the school board mother, Alisa Bowman, and 15 others and the public reacted, and they reacted spoke to the board regarding transgender well. The bravery, maturity, and eloquence rights. in which Ari Bowman shared his story Now, this second meeting was already a was already well-deserving of any and surprise to me in itself. I think if this story all attention the meeting garnered. It was happened three years ago, when I was a this attention I’d been formerly afraid of freshman, there would have been no such -- afraid that the bigger this story blew up, follow-up. The best we could hope for the longer it would take for it go away, was a tiny meeting to address the issue, just go away and let me go back to prefull of throat-clearing and confused stares, tending transphobes aren’t passing me in no one quite sure what to do. Perhaps the hallway or sitting with me at lunch, or I’m wrong, but I’ve been intimate with even presiding over my education. the transgender community since middle But indeed, I let myself get jaded. Cynischool -- when my best friend at the time cal, even. Ari and Alisa Bowman’s incredcame out to me -- and it seems that every ible courage led to an overwhelmingly time the topic pops up, at the school, at positive meeting, in which professionthe dinner table, or anywhere, the worst als from the community and the school happens. district showed compassion and underSo naturally, I came to expect the worst. standing regarding transgender students.

My expectations this time were no difSuperintendent Michael Schilder promferent. But the outcome? Very different, ised to uphold the rights of trans students

A factual defense of Donald Trump Kira Koehler Opinion Contributor

I have always had a conservative political outlook... and no, that is not because of what my parents have instilled upon me nor because of the Fox News emblem that is burned into the bottom lefthand corner of my television screen. I am a Republican because I hold traditional values to the utmost importance; however, I, like many others, have recognized that progression is necessary. That is why Mr. Donald J. Trump was able to surpass 21 able-handed candidates in the primary election and is now standing on the national pedestal as a symbol of ‘hope’ in Washington D.C. for many Americans. It is inarguable that the 2016 election between the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump has been excitingly capricious in nature, with scandals being dropped almost daily on each of the two candidates. Mud has been slung and insults have been thrown by both parties, though I find it absolutely impossible to find any reasoning to support anyone besides Donald Trump.

His stellar tax plan appeals to both parties with differing rates according to incomes, not a flat tax. Trump’s tax plan taxes the upper class at a rate of 33 percent, which allows them to “pay their fair share” but also ensures that they continue to prosper and create jobs. Trump openly caters to the fact that all money flows down from the top through job

creation and industrial expansion which Hillary, at the first presidential debate all-too-rehearsed, labeled “Trumped-Up Trickle-Down” economics. Trump also promises to repeal Obamacare, one of the largest legislative failures in America’s history, which has taken $716 billion from Medicare and forced millions of Americans to change their insurance plans, costing them billions.

The basis of Trump’s platform rests in the perpetually unsolved issue of immigration. Anyone who turns on a news station will surely see Trump’s supporters forwardly chanting his message, “Build the wall,” which echoes off any convention center holding a Trump-Pence rally.

The controversy behind his philosophy cannot be overstated. The wall would effectively repel the half million illegal immigrants that journey across the Rio Grande each year, totaling 11.5 million in total today. Through the benefits that the government provides to these aliens, benefits which Trump has vowed to repeal, the taxpayers are spending $113 billion per year on their existence in this country, averaging $1,117 per taxpaying household. This wall that Donald Trump has proposed does not make him a “racist bigot,” nor a “deplorable.” Conversely, it makes him intelligent. How could anyone possibly justify spending hundreds of billions of dollars on criminals who enter the country illegally to reap the benefits of United States liberality? I simply cannot comprehend the opposing argument. These people are welcome to come to our country, but need to follow the rules and protocols necessary and mandated by our government.

To stay on the topic of his “racist” political plans, let’s look to Trump’s ban on Muslims from entering the U.S. Many

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OCTOBER 2016

argue the constitutionality against his statement, “suspend immigration from areas of the world when there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe, or our allies.” This is a reference to areas with large Muslim populations. Trump is being neither ignorant nor Islamophobic in this outlook, but smart. There are an estimated 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, five percent (75 million) of which are actively involved in some form of violent Jihad through radical Islamism. If the statistics indicate that the United States’ national security is being jeopardized through the immigration of large number of inadequately vetted Syrians, then it is the responsibility of the President of the U.S. to further secure America’s borders. Until proper measures to provide stronger, more comprehensive background checks can be implemented on a routine basis, the refugee insurge must be reduced, or in high risk instances, it should be halted completely.

Aside from his brilliant plans to bring jobs back to America and regulate trade with China, who’s taking advantage of America’s oblivious politicians, he is extremely familiar with economics, a characteristic that is rarely found in the District of Columbia. He has built a $10 billion business from a loan of $14 million from his father. A man who is capable of constructing such an empire is necessary if the U.S. has any chance of retracting itself from the $19 trillion hole it has dug. America needs to be run from a business perspective.

Trump also proves to be the better character in the election. His uncompromising demeanor which is often shown through his assiduous children is hard to compare to Clinton who is basking in an

and support them in their journeys, making perfectly clear his competence and integrity as a school official. Attendants of the meeting expressed pleasant surprise at how everything turned out. I, too, am pleasantly surprised, but more than that, I have to admit I’m… proud. The bravery and grace shown by our community that turned this potential controversy into an opportunity for growth and change has made me, a 17-year-old girl who is about as peppy and optimistic as a funeral procession in the rain, proud of my school district. Unless you’re a hypnotist or you can somehow get “All Black” to be a dressup day for Spirit Week, that’s pretty damn hard to do.

I won’t go overboard with the optimism, now. Both Sigourney Coyle and her mother and Ari Bowman and his have received appalling hate in the midst of the situation, and that saddens me greatly.

But a step forward is a step forward -- I may be picky about what I get happy over, and cautious about exactly how happy, but a huge display of courage that led to healthy conversation about transgender rights? Not even I can argue with that.

It’s my most sincere hope that both of these families find comfort and accommodation for themselves within this school district, and outside of it, as well. And I also hope this story never truly dies out -- not only has it taught our community a lesson in acceptance, it’s taught me a few things, too. Who knows - maybe next time something like this rears its ugly head, I’ll look past it and find the beauty underneath. Oh, God, I might’ve gagged typing that. Someone fetch me some Poe and a gothic orchestra record. And wipe this stupid smile off my face!

Ah, forget it. This opinion writer’s just gonna have to grin and bear it.

overflow of lies and corruption. Whether it’s sending and distributing classified emails, causing unnecessary deaths of American soldiers in Benghazi, posing threats to rape-victims, or rigging the entire Democratic National Convention, one thing is for certain, Hillary has no problem looking Uncle Sam in the eyes and lying to his face. Lying comes easily to a woman who dreams of the day her designer pant suit will get a home in the Oval Office.

Now, before you start to bring up the video of Trump’s disgusting comments, merely words spewed in a private conversation with a friend, regarding inappropriate behavior with women, I ask you to remember the three women that Bill Clinton allegedy raped and the 12-year-old rape victim whose rapist was defended by Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump’s words will forever be inexcusable, but when compared to the actions of Bill Clinton and the protection of these actions by his wife, their significance is meaningless. Actions should speak louder than words, and should be punished accordingly.

So I urge you, whether you’re a Republican, Independent, or Democrat, to consider Donald Trump as an educated choice for president, despite the cartoonish character painted by the media. This election has been rigged and distorted to ensure that yet another unproductive career politician is running the country, but the people will have their vote. As for this election, I can proudly say that I am confidently standing in Trump’s “basket of deplorables.”

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THE STINGER

OPINION

OCTOBER 2016

My love of streaking

self I was never Jenna Fritzinger Opinion Contributor going to use it.

My, has that This generation changed. can be defined Now here I by a single app: am -- a senior Snapchat. with a snap It seems that streak that’s many teenagers are 400-plus addicted to the app, days long and myself included. counting with Yet many adults fellow student don’t quite understand it. In fact, I can’t and peer Kate even count the amount of times adults McPhillips. We have asked me what Snapchat is, how to take our snap use it, and what the point of it is. They streaks very almost always end the conversation with, seriously, and “Why would you send a picture if it’s I know many just going to disappear anyway?” That’s others do, too. when I come in with the usual teenager I have sevresponse: “You just don’t get it!” eral streaks, but Of course, most millennials and Genours is the lonXers do get it. The first Presidential debate gest. Typically, proves it, as Snapchat sprung to life as I wake up in the soon as the withered faces of Trump and morning and Clinton hit TV screens across the nation. snap a picture Soon, Snapchat app users were using to someone to filters on both candidates and posting keep the streak them to their story for everyone to see. going. In some Almost every snapchat story was full of people’s eyes, a pictures of Clinton as a dog and Trump streak can show wearing a flower crown. It diminishes the someone’s seriousness of the debate doesn’t it? Well, dedication to a Jenna’s Snapchat streaks. at least viewers got a laugh -- I know I friendship. did when I saw the face swap effect being You lose a used on them both. There are more users streak with someone? Friendship over. on Snapchat than Twitter, leading to more OK, maybe not to that extreme, but I Snapchat stories of the debate than tweets know I get very angry (read: annoyed) about it. The candidates are even trying when someone breaks a streak with me. to reach out to the younger generation by Recently, I’ve heard that many people using the app. are starting streaks with themselves.

Still, for the older generation? I can’t Personally, I think that is cheating in the blame those adults for not understandSnapchat world. It doesn’t count, so don’t ing at all. I felt the same way when I first do it. Go ahead, start a streak with your heard of Snapchat in the eighth grade. mom, but don’t you dare start one with How bizarre, I remember. I swore to myyourself.

But ending a streak with someone else? It’s like going through a breakup. Thoughts of: “Wow, am I not good enough?” or “I guess I’m too boring for you” run through your head.

Extreme? Maybe.

But the beauty of Snapchat is that it lets you see into other people’s lives. Teenagers love to see what their peers are up to. On the weekend, I like to check out everybody’s Snapchat stories and look at what everyone is doing.

I like to see all the parties happening that I wasn’t invited to. Heck, it almost feels like I’m at the party when I see everybody’s Snapchats. However, in reality, I’m laying in my bed with my dog. What’s better than that? I admit that sometimes I’m on the other side of the spectrum. For example: I’m in New York City? Let me quick take a snapchat with a New York filter to let everyone in the LV know that I’m walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

All of which makes me wonder: I’m not sure which is more odd, the fact that teenagers want to share where they are or why others seem to care.

Yep, Snapchat is very entertaining. The filters and effects are an added bonus to it all. With the effects, you can become an angel when really you’re far from it, a police officer when you’re actually a troublemaker, a rainbow-spitting human, or the very much hated dog. The effects make snapping even more fun.

By the time you read this, my snap streaks will increase and I’ll continue to keep the streaks going strong, way past my one-year anniversary. And if you don’t see the point of Snapchat or streaking, try starting a streak with someone, other than yourself. You may find that you don’t want the streak to end.

Luke Maake Opinion Contributor Today, my friends, I come bearing bad news: we are being forced to read.

Despite our best efforts, the school has finally caught on to the reality that the majority of the student body is, in fact, entirely illiterate. The Stinger has been attempting to remedy this situation for years, but the powers-that-be have suddenly decided to kick it into high gear; apparently, one’s ability to read is something that matters now. Thus, as yet another injustice in a long line of injustices (such as the recent ban on bottle-flipping), Reading Workshop was born.

What exactly is Reading Workshop, might you ask? Well, that’s a mediocre question, because it should be fairly obvious by this point what it is, but hey, maybe this is why they instituted it. Reading Workshop takes the place of English class (once every week for CP and once every two weeks for Honors) and provides time for students to read books of their choosing. Sounds nice, right? Let’s go over an informative sheet that I received to go more in depth.

As I read the title, “Reading Workshop!” the exclamation point on the end really had me enthusiastic for a moment, before I remembered what the sheet was about. I’ve come to the revolutionary understanding that exclamation points are typically placed in order to generate excitement for something that doesn’t really merit excitement (See: Jeb!). Trickery aside, however, it was the actual structure of the Reading Workshop that troubled me.

The reading fiesta is kicked off with an intriguing and enticing “mini lesson,” whatever that means. I have a deep-seated dislike for lessons to begin with, so if my dislike scales proportionally to the size of

of necessity).

By now, you might be asking what the positives to Reading Workshop are. Again, you’ve displayed your complete lack of comprehension and understanding of this column. There are no positives. This is the beginning of the end.

All jokes aside, I genuinely value the chance to be able to read for a class period, because reading is something that I like doing anyway, so no harm no foul.

And we aren’t being forced to read disgusting classics, either - we can read books that we actually enjoy. Personally, I’ll be reading Land Snails and Slugs of Russia and Adjacent Countries.

I’ve already memorized the snails and slugs of Russia, but those of the adjacent countries remain an enigma to me. Any reading material that is deemed pro-Communist, however, will be confiscated, and justice will be enacted swiftly and harshly upon the reader.

The end goal of the Reading Workshop is likely to eliminate summer reading, and this I have no complaints about. If this were to happen, the school would effectively be switching books that no one actually reads over the summer to books that we might actually read and enjoy during the school year. Don’t get me wrong, this system is still easy to manipulate and cheat, which is preferable, but not quite as easy as reading the Sparknotes summaries of classics over the summer. Which I would never do, by the way. I would rather sleep in the clown-infested streets at night than not read my summer reading books.

Overall, there are both positives and negatives to the Reading Workshop, but because I am an inherently pessimistic person I like to hone in on the negatives.

Whichever way you look at it, we students

will need to endure a year of schoolmandated reading and reading responses.

Evidently, the administration is trying its hardest to break our spirits and beat us into submission, but we must not let it happen. In the words of Kenneth Bone, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

Or maybe that was Winston Churchill.

Reading workshop: a death sentence the lesson, I can expect to be mildly irked by mini-lessons. Not a good start. Then comes the allotted 30 minutes for students to relax and read - or, in the case of the illiterates, to stare blankly at their books.

The reading itself I don’t have a problem with, because I enjoy reading. After this, however, we must write down a paragraph about our books in a reading journal, which honestly just revolts me, because

“Generally, at this point in our

lives, if we aren’t avid readers (or readers at all), we aren’t going to magically become book fanatics because of one ‘Reading Workshop!’ every week or two.”

I hate writing. In fact, I was blackmailed into writing this article, but that’s beside the point. Lastly, we must keep “reading logs” to make sure that we are reading one or more hours outside of the Workshop.

I’m not sure what the consequence is if the reading requirement isn’t met, but I’ve heard the words “death penalty” floating around, so better safe than sorry.

Now, I’ve complained about and criticized the Workshop thus far, but I feel I should articulate what I truly find perturbing about the idea. Generally, at this point in our lives, if we aren’t avid readers (or readers at all), we aren’t going to magically become book fanatics because of one “Reading Workshop!” every week or two. For those disinterested in reading, this will only be a waste of time. For those who enjoy reading, it will be nice to be able to read, but what’s the purpose?

This is taking the place of an actual period of English class, where our time would certainly be spent more valuably (please understand that it pains me to use the word valuable in conjunction with “class,” and that I only resort to such measures out

Editorial Policy The Stinger is a student-run newspaper published six times per year.

Its content, which is the responsibility of the student staff, is not subject to direct administrative approval.

The newspaper, which is designed as an open forum, serves to inform and entertain its readers as well as enrich students interested in print media studies.

Have an opinion & want to be heard?

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

What do YOU think?

We asked EHS students, “How do you feel about Reading Workshop?”

Love it!

10% Like it.

15% Tolerate it.

20% Let’s not!

55%

Source: Twitter poll of 180 EHS students

THE STINGER | OC TOBER 2016

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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

featuring

F E AT U R E E D I T O R I Z Z Y W E G N E R A S S T. F E AT U R E E D I T O R S B I B I C O R R E A & M A R L E Y WA I T

Brashear hugging a student. Photo courtesy of Emma Breashear

Y Signing away selfish behavior Y

Bibi Correa Assistant Features Editor At this point in American society irrelevant things become the center of attention, whether or not Brad and Angelina are together, whether we have headphones or not for study hall, or even whether Kylie Jenner’s lip kits remain in stock.

Yet we never stop and ask: what’s going on in other parts of the world? For some, it doesn’t seem to exist if it doesn’t appear on their social media timeline. It’s truly amazing what can be discovered once more people turn away from modern day problems.

It’s students such as Emmaus High School freshman Emma Brashear who hope to turn away from selfish habits.

Last year, Brashear went on a mission trip with Bethany United Methodist Church to help the Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf. On the trip, members help construct classrooms, paint walls and teach the children.

Fascinated by sign language since the age of four, Brashear became interested in the trip once her cousin talked about her own visit to the island.

“My cousin described it as a lifechanging experience,” she said. “You go

down thinking one thing, and when you get there, it entirely changes your perspective on how life is here compared to that of Third World countries.”

During Brashear’s first trip, a boy got sunscreen in his eye. What seemed to be a minor issue led to a bigger discovery.

At the school there was no running water.

In order for them to get water, they had to walk a mile downhill. Shocked missionaries wondered what they could do. When volunteers found out they could easily afford the $500 cost of pump, they were more than happy to help.

Her cousin, Caitlin, and uncle were the first members of the Brashear family who went on the trip. They went two years in a row, and when they returned, always told stories of their adventures. However, last year Brashear’s uncle passed away. The news devastated the family, but still Emma Brashear’s cousin became determined to keep the legacy going. In memory of Caitlin’s father, Brashear and her father came along.

Brashear wasn’t the only EHS student to go to the Jamaica School. Freshman Laurel Widdoss learned of the trip in the beginning of last year and thought the concept of learning sign language seemed interesting. In May, she went on her first mission trip.

“It’s such a nice environment down there at that school,” Widdoss said. “We worked in a building sanding walls and painting. There were Bible studies, and we played soccer. At one point the teachers were at a meeting all day and we had to teach the classes.”

At the beginning of the trip Widdoss only knew how to communicate using the sign language alphabet. Throughout the trip she eventually built up her signing vocabulary.

During the time Widdoss spent at the world in which they live. This fact makes Jamaica School, she made a lot of friends, Cynthia Brashear very happy. both in the church and school.

“Anytime you see your child serving “I have their number and communiothers you can’t help it being proud,” cate with them,” Widdoss said. “It’s just Cynthia Brashear said. when they’re texting they move the words Emma Brashear and Laurel Widdoss around. They’re used to taking out words both strongly believe that Emmaus High when they’re signing, so it’s hard to piece School should implement sign language it together.” as a foreign language. Both state that the Both Brashear and Widdoss experideaf community is huge and only increasenced life-changing events through the ing. They note that now that they know course of the trip. Most memorable were, sign language, it’s amazing to see how the poor areas and parental treatment. many people use it in their everyday life.

EHS math teacher, and Emma’s mothLaurel Widdoss believes that while er, Cynthia Brashear, who didn’t go on the people may not encounter a deaf person trip, heard that sometimes students would now, later in their life they might. not get fed three meals a day because of “Sooner or later there will be a deaf the school’s inability to pay for it. person at our school,” Widdoss said. “It “Sometimes teachers wouldn’t take a would be cool to have a community that pay check to help pay for the students’ would accept them and talk to them, even meals,” Brashear said. outside of school it would be so helpful.

There were many students at the school It would also help people learn about deaf who were not loved by their parents culture.” because of their inability to hear, whether Brashear agrees with Widdoss, stating it be completely deaf or just hard of hearthat sign language is a very important skill ing. There were times when students were to help everyone feel included. thrown out of their own homes, forced to “Just because you can’t hear,” said come to the school as their only means Brashear, “doesn’t mean you can’t comof living. Many stay at the school while municate with everyone around you.” others leave to go home because they have no home.

Seeing this mistreatment strikes a chord in many people, Brashear included.

“I’ve heard about it and to see the children that people don’t want to love is sad,” Brashear said.

“I’ve never met someone who was never loved by their parents that they didn’t even want them in their Brashear with cousin Caitlin and some students from the house.”

Jamaica School. Photo courtesy of Emma Brashear Nevertheless, Brashear and Widdoss still hope to continue going on the mission trip in hopes of changing the

Hope for Hearts Marley Wait we found out that the surgery didn’t work, Assistant Features Editor so he needed an additional surgery to Heart defects found at birth are a realrepair the previous one,” Vlasics said. ity for thousands of families across the At four-months-old, Sam Vlasics had United States every year. his second open heart surgery, which was For Paul Vlasics, Emmaus High a success.

School’s food service director, that reality “He is an active and happy six year old became a part of his family’s life six years and might need a surgery down the road, ago when his son Sam was born but for now he is doing well,” Vlasics A congenital heart defect is an abnorsaid. mality in the heart that develops before Sam now has a healthy and well-operbirth, and nearly one out of every 100 ating heart, but this is not the case for all babies is born with one. Congenital heart babies born with congenital heart defects. defects are common and can be deadly, Vlasics and his wife did not stop once and unfortunately, research for this area of their son recovered from his heart defect. medicine is underfunded.

They founded the Sam Vlasics FoundaNo one wants to see their child face tion, a nonprofit organization named in a life-threatening problem right at birth, honor of their son, to provide awareness and no one ever expects it. This terrifying across the Lehigh Valley toward the issue situation struck of congenital the Vlasics heart defects. family. On The Sam VlasMay 25, 2010, ics Foundation Sam Vlasics hosts numerwas born; then ous fundraising the following events around the day his family Lehigh Valley learned he had a to support their life-threatening cause. Over the heart defect. past four years, Sam had his the foundafirst open-heart tion raised over surgery the fol$15,000 for the lowing week.

American Heart Paul Vlasics and family posing in front of “Four months later Organization. In March truck. Photo courtesy of Paul Vlasics.

Emmaus staff member creates nonprofit organization in honor of son

of 2016, the Sam Vlasics Foundation held their fourth annual Warm Hearts 5k/10k to raise money for the American Heart Association. Then in 2013, the organization decided to focus their money locally in the Lehigh Valley. The funding now goes toward special projects for St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children located in Philadelphia and the Ronald McDonald House on Front and Erie.

Perhaps the most influential measure the foundation has done is helped to pass a law in the state of Pennsylvania.

The Vlasics family lobbied for pulse oximetry testing on all newborns.

Pulse oximetry is a simple test that scans for heart defects in newborns.

The law was passed unanimously in the House and Senate. Pulse oximetry is now a requirement for all newborns before they leave the hospital.

The foundation’s main focus is creating a sense of community among families experiencing the same thing all across the Lehigh Valley.

“We started this foundation in honor of him, but it’s not just about him. We wanted to get the word out and help other families that go through the same thing,” Vlasics said.

The Sam Vlasics Foundation is always looking for donations and for people to help raise awareness towards the subject of congenital heart defects.

Donations can be sent to the Sam Vlas-

ics Foundation P.O. Box 51, Nazareth, PA 18064. Sam is just one case out of the thousands in America every year. Every child born with a heart defect is in need of support, and every person has a chance to provide that support.

For more information, visit their website: www.hopeforheartdefects.org.

Paul Vlasics son, Sam. Photo courtesy of Paul Vlasics

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THE STINGER

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OCTOBER 2016

Y the L not join Young Life?

Emmaus Students find faith through friendship Kristina Streit Features Contributor

Teens all over the world, including Emmaus High School students, help their communities grow in faith by joining the club Young Life.

Young Life is a religious-based club whose mission centers around spreading the word of God, while members also reach out to others and help out in the community. Club members are given the opportunity to make new friendships, while supporting each other and having fun. Primarily aimed at high school and college students, Young Life states that its goal is to spread Christianity through fun experiences, all while creating relationships with each other and God. Emmaus junior Gretchen Eugster, who frequently attends YL, sees the club as a great way to make friendships and spread Christianity.

“A lot of people do it to grow in their faith, and its more of a Christian-oriented thing,” Eugster said. “If you go to club meetings, it’s to have fun and to meet new people and see if you have common interests.”

According to Young Life’s website, the club started in 1933 by Clara Frasher, Jim Rayburn and Clyde Kennedy, who were worried that teens were losing their faith in God and in the church. The idea was to bring kids together to bond over their faith and have fun. By 1944, Young Life started trending across the country, and went international in the 1950s.

2016 EHS graduates Matt Grispo and Sam Buck founded the EHS Young Life chapter a few years ago.

Four leaders now run the chapter: Sam Wilhide, Brittany Zane, Chris Bongo and John Lim. Juniors Lexi Smith and Chrissy Lambert went to a club meeting when Grispo encouraged them -- and have loved it ever since.

Meetings are held on Monday nights at 7:37. After the meetings end, the members go to McDonald’s, which has become a club tradition.

Yet these teens don’t just go for the fun activities and food. They say YL brings people together and introduces everyone to a variety of people who are more than willing to form new friendships. They bond over each other’s struggles and experiences, which is one of the ways members make such strong relationships with each other.

Lambert describes the atmosphere of the club as a “safe environment with no judgement.”

For most teens, it may just seem like another club with yet another meeting that they will have to attend. However, for one EHS student, it means so much more. It is an opportunity to be around people who are all about supporting each other and making friends. And for that one student that may feel a little too lonely, this club could be the one thing that keeps them feeling like they belong.

YL is also filled with people ready to listen. For anyone feeling like they may not be heard, joining this club would prove to be a great choice.

Smith, now a YL regular, appreciates the variety of people she has met through the club.

“Young life is an amazing opportunity to establish relationships amongst those in our school that we don’t see on a regular basis,” Smith said. “I have met some amazing people that I most likely wouldn’t have met if I didn’t join.”

To many people’s surprise, Young Life is not just for Christians. Anyone can come, and members encourage anyone who wants to have fun and be surrounded by good company to attend a meeting.

If one chooses to be an active member, they have the opportunity to attend a camp towards the end of the school year to Lake Champion in New York. The 370-

acre camp gives teens a break from the pleasures that every day life brings, and campers get an appreciation for the little things and for each other’s company.

Lambert, who attended the camp, loved the experience and is excited for the next opportunity to go.

“It was really fun,,” Lambert said. “It was easily the best week of my life and I want to go again.”

This retreat teaches teens to appreciate their priveleges For example, some teens fundraise to go to the camp, and every offering counts towards their goal.

Smith credits the trip as the best part of Young Life due to the various activities they are able to participate in.

“My favorite experience from Young Life was camp in the summer,” Smith said. “It was basically like what we do at club meetings thrown into one week, with 500 people instead of 50.”

Young Life participants after their annual paint war.

Photo courtesy by Reilly McGinnis.

Teacher Talk

Cassidy Klingman Features Contributor Emmaus social studies teachers Melissa Moxley and Brian Pum share quite a few similarities, which have helped make them become good friends as well as colleagues.

They like the same sports teams, have a common interest in politics and share similar perspectives as educators.

“I think we have the same outlook on our roles as teachers,” Moxley said. “We are firm but fair, and both hope for our students to improve upon themselves.”

Moxley, a Penn State and Cedar Crest graduate, has two children. She enjoys reading, watching movies, and cooking. She also likes physical activities, such as hiking with her family.

Pum, a graduate of Moravian College, has one child.

He also enjoys outdoor activities, including landscaping.

Throughout the past several years, Moxley and Pum have played pranks on each other. Other teachers and students have become involved in the pranks, too. Some include taping an air horn underneath a chair, Moxley’s class dressing as Pum for twin day, and even things as minor as rearranging items on desks and tabletops to simply annoy one another.

One of the most eventful pranks involved kidnapping Pum’s podium.

“One year we stole his podium and made a decoy one, destroyed it, and put it outside his window,” Moxley said.

The 2012 podium theft was successful, and they hid the evidence in various locations.

“They made me beg on E-TV, but instead I put up a ransom, the winning homeroom got donuts,” Pum said. “Moxley put it on eBay for $45.”

Since their rooms are right across the hall from each other, their students also joined in on the shenanigans.

“We’d have shouting matches across the hall,” Pum said.

Aside from the fun and games, both teachers definitely value the

importance of good teaching and helping students.

In a positive school environment, it’s important for teachers to get along and communicate, and even better when they become friends.

STINGER: What do you have in common?

MOXLEY: I think we have the same outlook on our roles as teachers, we are both firm but fair and both hope for our students to improve upon themselves. We both like football, both like politics, similar sense of humor.

PUM: We have a similar sense of humor and attitude and approach towards teaching.

STINGER: What is your favorite thing about teaching?

MOXLEY: I love the content and really enjoy trying to make it interesting to students who don’t find it interesting.

PUM: The fact that you can have a lasting impact on a student and mentor them.

STINGER: What are three words to describe your colleague?

MOXLEY: Rule follower, mentor, and slightly neurotic.

PUM: Funny, a mom, authentic.

STINGER: If you weren’t a teacher, what job would you like to have and why?

MOXLEY: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I am fascinated by the Constitution and would love to make decisions based off of it.

PUM: Either a farmer or real estate. I would like to be a farmer. Not livestock, like corn or wheat.

STINGER: What is your favorite movie, and why?

MOXLEY: My favorite movie would have to be either “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” or “The Princess Bride.” Both are movies that I grew up watching. Rocky Horror is a lot of fun (especially live), and I love the humor and storyline of “The Princess Bride”.

PUM: Godfather 1 & 2. Excellent story and acting. I always liked mob movies and they are the best.

STINGER: Who is your favorite historical figure, and why?

MOXLEY: My favorite historical figure is Alexander Hamilton (and it was even before the musical) because he was the first Secretary of the Treasury, and I’m a huge economics geek. Also, his backstory is fascinating.

PUM: To be honest, I don’t have a “favorite” historical figure. I thought about this quite a bit and could not pin down one person. I appreciate people who in the past were ahead of their time, treated others fairly for their time period and made a difference.

STINGER: If you could invite three famous people to your house for dinner, who would you choose? What would you serve them?

MOXLEY: Kurt Vonnegut, Tina Fey and Joel McHale. I find them to be the three funniest people, and I think it would be a lot of fun to talk with them. I’d probably have a make your own pizza station and let everyone create their own dinner.

PUM: George Washington, Jackie Robinson, Aristotle. Steaks, asparagus, potatoes.

Photo courtesy of Rachel Reed.

Late

E

to Bed,

Emmaus students strug Andrea Klick Izzy Wegner Editors Tossing and turning. Scrolling through social media. Cramming for that 100-point geometry test. Finishing (or sometimes starting) your essay due the next day.

What do all of these activities have in common? They keep students from obtaining those precious eight to 10 hours of sleep each night.

Senior Jason Bowen, who sleeps for about four to five hours each school night, faces this problem often. He stays up until 1:30 nearly every night for a variety of reasons ranging from homework to Netflix. With hours of school work, rehearsals and club meetings nightly, Bowen has trouble fitting sleep into his busy schedule.

“I’m involved in eight or nine different clubs this year, and I’m also one of the leads in the show, so I’m here until 5:30 every day for that,” Bowen said. “If I don’t have rehearsal [for the show], I have rehearsal for select choir or some other club. I’m always here for something.

“Usually I get home at 5:30 and I take a nap until 6:00. And then I have to eat dinner and do dishes until 7. And then I usually take 10 minutes to sit, so I usually get my homework started at 7:15 or 7:30,” Bowen said. “But I never really just sit down and do my homework because I can’t. I like do my homework while I’m on my phone, so it goes a lot slower than it probably should.”

Bowen isn’t the only Emmaus High School student struggling to find time for sleep. In a Twitter poll of nearly 200 students, one-third said they receive between four and six hours of sleep on an average school night. Another 55 percent said they get six to eight hours of sleep each school night, while only seven percent say they sleep for more than eight hours on a school night.

Students stay awake into the late hours of the night for a number of reasons.

Oftentimes, freshman Giovanni D’Alessandro finishes his homework in study halls but receives between five to six hours of sleep on school nights because he stays up “watching videos on YouTube or just trying to sleep.

“I can go to bed early, it’s just kind of a choice,” D’Alessandro said.

Even though junior Tori Talarico gets to bed at 10, she sleeps for about six hours each school night because she wakes up at 4 a.m. to start homework before heading to school.

This routine has worked well for her so far.

“I work best under pressure,” Talarico said. “I, like, work really fast. It just kind of works out for me.”

In her health class, teacher Jeannine Martini notices students’ lack of sleep.

“We talk about [sleep] as one of six things in improving quality of life,” Martini said. “During our first unit we talk, and we ask about how many of them get 8 to 10 hours of sleep, which is what’s recommended for your age, and I’d say maybe two or three hands go up in a class of about 27.”

Sleep deprivation can cause issues for students in all aspects of their lives.

“If they are letting their hours on social media or doing schoolwork or things like that get in the way of them getting actual quality sleep then they are going to be less alert on the roads, in the classroom, on the fields,” Martini said.

English teacher Aaron Gavin agrees with Martini, and believes that sleep is more important than people make it out to be.

“I think that [sleep] probably just affects [students’] lives in general,” Gavin said. “We don’t talk about it because it is such a natural part of our lives, but sleep is necessary to make our life work. I don’t think it probably just affects your school work, it adds extra stress to everything [students are] trying to do.”

Start School Later, a national movement based in Maryland, pushes for schools to open their doors later, allowing students to sleep longer. Students, teachers, doctors and parents who understand the consequences of sleep deprivation on teens become members of the movement.

Among these volunteers is administrative director Melissa Stanton, who joined the cause after witnessing the repercussions sleep deprivation had on her son.

“In my own house, my son would get home from school maybe at 3:30,” Stanton said, “and think that he would be able to get his homework done right after sports and activities, but he was so exhausted that he would fall asleep while doing his homework.”

Senior Drew

“

Schwindenhammer finds it difficult to stay focused during the school day on his regular six hours of sleep.

“I’m a lot more tired, and I sleep in a few of my classes,” Schwindenhammer said.

D’Alessandro also has a hard time paying attention at the beginning of the school day.

“When I come to school, after first or second period I usually get more energy,” D’Alessandro said. “But if I did go to bed earlier it would probably put an effect on how I focused in class.”

To avoid the negative impacts of sleep deprivation, Martini helps some students form a plan to get more rest.

“We just did our health behavior goal and there are a bunch of students that took into consideration that they weren’t getting 8-10 hours so they set up plans for themselves that 10:00 would be their time to get to bed by,” Martini said. “Then they made sure they took the steps to make sure they got their schoolwork was done after school rather than procrastinating and waiting until 9:55 to start it.”

Gavin thinks most students participate in more classes, clubs and activities than they can handle.

In order to lead happier and healthier lives, he says students must learn to “prioritize” sleep and other activities in their daily schedules.

“Figure out what are those things that are good for me in both my short and long term life,” Gavin said, “and realize that though today we have a lot of opportunities to do a lot of cool things, no person can do all of those cool things. And you have to think about what’s necessary, what’s going to make my life enjoyable, what’s going to make my life rewarding.”

In order to save time for students who understand the class material, Bowen suggests that teachers make homework optional.

“If you’re doing well in a class and you understand what you’re doing in class, you shouldn’t have to do homework because it is pretty repetitive,” Bowen said. “If you need the help, you’ll do the homework to get a better grade. I don’t think forcing students to do the homework benefits them in the long run.”

Proponents of the Start School Later movement recognize the positive impact sleep can have on students.

“It’s better for the students,” Stanton said “There have been reports, studies, and data showing that attendance is better, and graduation rates are better and academic achievement is better when school starts later in the morning.”

While Martini supports the idea of delaying high school start times, she doubts the change will ever take effect in East Penn.

“It would be great if we were starting school later,” Martini said.

“They look at studies and it’s been talked about numerous times in articles about how teenage brains are not exactly at [their] full alertness until later versus elementary students who tend to be alert earlier in the day and switching the schedules as far as start times. So the studies are there but I don’t know of any districts, not around here anyways, that have put that in place.”

Schwindenhammer believes pushing back the school start time would have a positive impact on his academic performance.

“I think if we started school at 9 o’clock, we would get a lot more rest,” Schwindenhammer said. “And the school day would go a lot easier...I would have a lot more energy throughout the day.”

D’Alessandro would rather start the school day earlier, so he can find time for other activities after school.

“I kind of like [the schedule] how it is because you just get school out of the way,” D’Alessandro said. “And if you were to have [school start] later, then you’d have to get it done and the day would be over.”

Some critics claim that starting school later would be counteractive because students would push back the times they go to sleep. However, Stanton states that starting school later would allow students to have the amount of sleep they need.

“People assume that if you start school later in the morning, that kids are just going to stay up later,” Stanton said.

“The reality is that right now schools are

We don’t talk about it because it is such a natural part of our lives, but sleep is necessary to make our life work.”

English teacher Aaron Gavin

“

I th of sl

Early

to Rise

ggle to get enough sleep

Sleepy Stats 8-10

Hours of sleep teens should get each night.

2 3 out of

high school

students get less than hours of sleep a night

8

Teen sleep deprivation can lead to... poor performance in school.

hink I’m pretty well-adjusted to the amount leep [I get].”

Senior Jason Bowen starting at 7:30 in the morning. High schoolers not only need to be in bed by 8:30 or 9:00, but asleep in order to get the eight to 10 hours of sleep they need. However, the brain and body rhythms don’t work that way. So even if they get in bed by 9, and their phone is nowhere nearby, they are likely not falling asleep until 11.”

However, Bowen claims he typically does not feel these consequences because he has learned how to make it through the day on several hours of sleep.

“To some extent if I ever pull an all-nighter then the next day is pretty bad,” Bowen said, “but for the most part I think I’m pretty well adjusted to the little amount of sleep because then I just sleep a lot on the weekend if I don’t have work. So it balances out, so I tend to be alright with my sleep schedule.”

Photos by Rachel Reed.

Layout by Andrea Klick and Izzy Wegner.

Statistics courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and The Huffington Post.

high risk of obesity. drug and substance abuse. depression.

F E AT U R E S

THE STINGER

OCTOBER 2016

14

national parks Mihalik: the American traveler

Hunter Gerhardt Features Contributor Each break from school, Emmaus High School teacher Michael Mihalik visits various national parks, including 17 this year alone.

Mihalik first visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, while on a family vacation in college. However, this is not what started his interests in parks. That began when he went to visit Mt. Rainier and Mt. Olympic.

“I was amazed by them, it was awesome,” Mihalik said “It was my first time seeing a real, legit mountain.”

Mihalik did not begin traveling until college, where he majored in Geology. Once he began, however, he could not stop.

“It’s a goal of mine to visit all of them, to see what they all offer,” Mihalik said. “There ar places that are unspoiled and not ruined by human beings yet and it’s

neat to see Earth and nature the way it’s suppose to be.

“The national parks in our country are so diverse,” he said. “Every park... has something cool to offer.”

Mihalik has been to 41 out of the 58 national parks.

Although he does not have a favorite, he thinks the most complete park is Yosemite.

“Every park is different in its own way,” Mihalik said. “Some are breathtakingly beautiful and others are just insane.”

Every summer since 2007 Mihalik takes students to Alaska, including 14 this summer.

“I offered as an optional add if kids wanted to go to Katmai national park as a day trip,” Mihalik said. “It was unbelievable.

“Katmai national park was one of the most insane, crazy, wild places that I have ever been to,” he said.

“When we were there we saw over 30 grizzly bears... in just a five-hour time span. It was insane.”

Although not everyone got to see that, Mihalik believes that it was neat getting to see something rare happen while they were all in Denali.

“We got to see a mom with two of her cubs,” Mihalik said. “They walked right out on the road in front of us, while we were hiking which was pretty awesome.”

The first time he went to Alaska was in 2006. He remembers coming home and thinking that more people need to see this.

“It was mind-boggling how cool it was,” Mihalik said. “I put together a group of students the next year for 2007.”

Just a week ago Mihalik took students to Utah to. In five days they went to five national parks.

The first day they hit Arches, the second day they did Canyonlands and Arches, then Capital Reef and Bryce Canyons and Zion last.

“Everyday we did hiking,” Mihalik said. “The hikes to Angels Landing and The Narrows were the highlights for everyone.”

This summer, Mihalik drove from Emmaus to Seattle. While he

The Quest For the

was on the other side of the country, he added a few more parks to his list. His wife then flew out to Seattle and together they then road tripped through Canada.

“She flew home when we were done,” Mihalik said.

“Then I drove back from there.”

Mihalik drove across the country, up through Canada and back to Emmaus in three weeks. There was one night in those crazy three weeks that he will never forget. “ I was camping at a park and coyotes were surrounding me, howling,” Mihalik said. “ It was so cool, it was a night that I will never forget, it was ridiculous.”

Photos by Mike Mihalik.

Perfect Fountain

Charlie Norelli Yoachim has a fair share of criticism. He Features Contribuitor believes that fountains shoot too low and Have any of the school water fountains finds litter on or around them. trickled your fancy? Come on, spill the Yoachim has ideas for resolving some truth. With the increase in water bottle use of these problems. among Emmaus High School students, “I think if someone litters on a water you’d think that having 38 water fountains fountain, they shouldn’t be able to use it to choose from to refill your empty bottles for a while,” Yoachim said. “We could or take a water break would be a blessing. also paint our water fountains, so that they Unfortunately, not all water fountains aren’t such a dull gray. I often find that are created equal.

Differences in water pressure, temperature and clarity make it a hard Kristen Susens, science teacher decision for high school students to find that perfect fountain.

Health concerns regarding school water people are turned of by just the sight of fountains often deter students from using them.”. them. According to Aquasana, school Contrary to Yoachim, senior Malik water fountains tend to have more bacteria Lewis doesn’t have a favorite water than school toilets because they aren’t fountain. The amount of trash left in regularly flushed. The most common of fountains forced Lewis to stop using them these bacteria is coliform bacteria usualtogether. ally found in feces. Additionally, schools “People leave disgusting things by and aren’t required to report on the quality of near them. They just get too filthy for their water, but if they have a public water me to consider using them again,” Lewis supplier like Emmaus, one can still find said. “I’d definitely drink from them more water reports from that supplier. if kids didn’t litter so much. Instead, I Despite this, junior Blake Yoachim usually bring three to five filled bottles to drinks from the school’s fountain once school.” a week. While he does have a favorite, Freshman Sam Walker noticed each

fountain’s different characteristics. Some have low pressure, while others have higher and more consistent water pressure. Walker thinks the water fountains caused the disease spread earlier this year.

However, Walker believes that their is an easy fix to this problem.

“I think a water refiller would greatly reduce all the flus and colds. It’d also reduce the amount of empty water bottles scattered around the school,” Walker said.

Science and Environmental teacher Kristin Susens also supports this idea.

“It’s something the environmental classes have been trying to get the school to do for years,” Susens said. “It’s the sustainable thing to do. If the school wants students to make responsible decisions then this is the way to do it.”

Susens dislikes the amount of plastic water bottles littering the school.

“It’s probably the largest waste in the school,” Susens says. “Most end up in the trash. It costs maybe $5 to $10 to buy a reusable bottle you can use hundreds of times. It’s the right thing to do.”

She also acknowledges the stigma around drinking from the school fountains.

“Even if all the water fountains get a

Even if all the water fountains get a major face-lift people still won’t drink from them.”

Photo by Rachel McQuiston. major face-lift people still won’t drink from them,” Susens said. “They gross a lot of people out. Though they are well filtrated by the Bureau of Emmaus.”

Regardless of that stigma, several students were willing to taste test water samples from various fountains around the school. The testers reported that the best water came from the fountain adjacent to the nurse’s office. Contrary to that, the worst water came from the fountain outside room 521.

THE STINGER

OC TOBER 2016

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THE STINGER | OCTOBER 2016 CULTURE EDITOR WILLIAM NEWBEGIN ASSISTANT EDITOR BRIAN MANTONE

Regular Ramblings

Part Two: Apathy Aversion

By Will Newbegin Culture Editor It’s a Tuesday morning. I walk from the junior lot towards the athletic circle, leading into the school. It’s a seemingly average morning. I have my coffee in one hand, calculus book in the other, and after tripping on the curb, a near-face-full of cement. But it is not the stumble that makes this Tuesday morning irregular; it is Sept. 27, the morning after the first presidential debate.

I won’t lie. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump put on quite the spectacle that night. At numerous times, particularly in the first 30 minutes of the program, I wasn’t sure if I had accidentally tuned into Access Hollywood. By that, I mean that at some points, the discourse between the two seemed entertaining, but not in a way that I felt better about myself from watching. It was more like the satisfaction that would come from watching two bickering toddlers duke it out over a toy. Or even worse, it was like watching two adults castigate each other about which of them has a better temperament.

Oh, wait. That happened.

Had I never watched a presidential debate before, I might not know that what transpired on that stage was unprecedented within the scope of American politics.

And for many, I believe that was the case.

After my unexpected rendezvous with a cement walkway, I continued into the school. Usual conversation filled the air, consisting of complaints about teachers, comments on wardrobe choices, and laughs at the kid who just face-planted outside. Yet one comment happened to catch my attention. As I passed a group of seniors, I caught wind of a frightening grievance.

“Yeah, I’m 18, but there’s no way I’m gonna vote this year.”

I suppose it’s not THAT uncommon of a sentiment, when I really think about it. After all, only 42 percent of able Americans voted in the last presidential election. And as I said, the current state of presidential politics IS a little...well, frightening. Enough so, in fact, that I could wholly understand why a newly-registered adult might feel a little tepid towards visiting the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

In the same vein, however, this sort of political indifference simply has no place within the scope of American democracy. One must keep in mind the importance the next president will have in domestic, foreign, and environmental affairs. While there are factors separating decisions made by the president and the everyday lives of Americans, whoever sits in the Oval Office next will affect every one of us in some fashion.

I fully accept the idea that the two main candidates may seem unappealing to many voters, considering Trump’s comments and Hillary’s e-mails. Yet, these presidential hopefuls are the result of a two-party system that has kept the country stable for 240 years, even through the presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Warren G. Harding, or James Buchanan. Chances are, either candidate will have views that align with your own -- a little research can help determine that.

Moreover, not voting to protest the U.S. election system seems counterproductive, at best. If you’ve a grievance with the way government is run, not expressing that grievance will accomplish little, if anything. Conversely, voting for candidates at local, state and federal levels who will best represent your interests serves as a suitable way to express your views, even if either presidential candidate isn’t your ideal preference.

Despite all the talk of crookedness, tax returns, and for whatever reason, stamina, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton are the presidential candidates for a reason.

Love them or not, it is our collective responsibility to determine which of them can best lead (or perhaps, not totally destroy) our country for the next four to eight years. While I will be voting for Hillary Clinton in this upcoming election, I’m not going to finish off this column describing why Donald Trump is supposedly the Antichrist. No, that’s for you to decide. All I’ll say is that if you’ll be 18 by Nov. 8, it’s your job to vote. So uh... get out there and Pokemon-GO to the polls.

Screw you, Hillary. You know that joke wasn’t funny.

CULTURE

CULTURE

Heartless peers though the looking glass Cathryn Seibert will she fall subject to what her family Online Editor wants for her and what she feels she In “Heartless,” bestselling author must do?

Marissa Meyer takes readers into Judging by the known outcome, Wonderland to tell the story of how the answer is pretty obvious, but the the Queen of Hearts transforms from appeal of Meyer’s story derives from a sweet, young girl how Catherine into the tyrannical turns into the monarch of Lewis Queen of Hearts.

Carroll’s tale.

The novel opens Upon the story’s with Catherine, opening, Cathan innocent girl erine Pinkerton, the who has hopes beautiful daughter of and dreams she Wonderland nobles, truly believes in, is content devoting and ends with the her days to bakQueen of Hearts, a ing pastries, taking hateful, merciless meticulous care with woman. each and every detail.

Not to mention Her greatest wish is the work’s key to open a bakery of selling-point: its her own with her best classification as a friend, Mary Ann. fairy tale spinoff.

Although CathMore than a few erine has her heart novels, television set on following her shows, movies, dreams, life has difand Broadway ferent plans for her. musicals have Courtesy of marissameyer.com.

During the story’s first found their home in royal ball, she is almost certain that that category. Spin-offs take classic the dimwitted, childish king is going stories and give them a unique twist, to ask for her hand in marriage. This giving them a wide audience and is contrary to her wishes, but is as heightened popularity. Think, “Doroher mother desires. Right before the thy Must Die” by Danielle Paige, dreaded moment, Catherine manages ABC’s “Once Upon A Time,” and to sneak away into the gardens. There, Broadway’s “Wicked.” she meets the mysterious new court This is a genre Meyer is familiar joker, Jest, who becomes, you guessed with, as she has authored the New it, her love interest.

York Times-bestselling five-book seThe conflict then ensues: will ries “The Lunar Chronicles.” In each Catherine reach her happily ever after, novel, Meyer spins a fairy-tale maiden complete with Jest by her side? Or a new story, giving new life to the nar-

A farewell to analytics

Brian Mantone Culture Editor For some time, I really enjoyed poring over and reviewing albums with a critical ear. However, my promiscuous relationship with pieces of music has sadly led me to retire from writing about how I feel towards albums in that format.

A few weeks ago, I sat down to listen to the new Mac Miller album, “The Divine Feminine,” a project consisting entirely of love songs. As I thoroughly enjoy love songs, I was rather excited to hear what the Pittsburgh MC had in store.

However, when I listened to it for the first couple of times, I felt rather indifferent. I could tell the album possessed some worthwhile aspects, but for some odd reason nothing in particular stood out to me.

I was planning on writing a review, but it was hard for me to develop a concrete opinion on it, which makes

for a very bland analysis.

Because of this, I put the album on the shelf for a little while. It wasn’t until a few days later that I started listening to it again. But when I did, it was amazing. I finally could feel and relate to the emotion in the music. I soon realized this was because I could associate it with an emotion that I had felt recently.

Long story short, I realized that to me, the allure of music derives itself from my current state of mind. When a pre-existing emotion in my life matches up with a song or album, it makes for a much more powerful effect. This means that a song or album could mean very little to me for quite some time before it becomes extremely enjoyable at the snap of a finger.

Even after that, the context in which I enjoy songs changes frequently.

Because of this, my opinions on albums change on a week-to-week, or even day-to-day basis. I have an open, fluid relationship with music, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. However, my inability to form consistent opinions makes it quite unfair to write poignant reviews. For one, my impression of an album can easily change shortly

ratives of Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White, to name a few.

Meyer brings her fairy-tale expertise into “Heartless.” Although the “girl meets boy” aspect of the novel is one seen too often, it is integral to the story and results in an overall solid read.

Familiar characters play into “Heartless,” including the Cheshire Cat, the Blue Caterpillar, and the White Rabbit. Not only does the inclusion of familiar characters help Meyer seamlessly extend Carroll’s Wonderland into her own, but her descriptions of the enchanting landscapes, castles, and villages also create unity between the two.

In addition to the melding of worlds, Meyer creates her own original characters that give new life to the original story, weaving together the past Wonderland with the present, and developing complex character relationships that add interest and anticipation.

The mouthwatering descriptions of Catherine’s pastries add another exciting facet to the novel. Meyer perfects the narrative of baking, from Catherine’s glorious inception of new baked goods to the final, long-awaited bite.

Although the work’s plot isn’t anything unheard of (a girl has a dream then stumbles upon a charming, mysterious boy), Meyer successfully crafts an enticing, well-written novel. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the “Alice in Wonderland” world popularized by Disney, adapted by Tim Burton and countless others.

after I publish a review.

Had I reviewed ScHoolboy Q’s “Blank Face” days after it released, it would have made for a rather average depiction of the album, and I would have regretted that judgment just after I finished writing it. While I was indifferent at first, after about a week I really started to enjoy the album. Also, although I love that record and listen to it on a daily basis, I would feel awkward trying to describe such a particular sound. To be quite honest I don’t know how to define something like that, nor do I care to try.

I find it inappropriate for me to put labels on the music that I listen to. Placing my own final verdict on someone else’s art feels out of place to me. I thoroughly enjoy talking about music and discussing it, but there is something different between that and an in-depth criticism of a work.

Now, the beauty of all of this is that I believe all art, including music, can be whatever the listener chooses it to be. To me, I like to interpret music as straight emotion, which could be my own emotion or someone else’s. The enchanting power of music is something that I have yet to comprehend. There is no

other art form in the world that can consistently provoke a powerful response, as music does. Despite my view, I also love seeing how other people view music.

Some of my peers see it in a more methodic, analytical way. They can break down an album to every last kick and high hat. While our approaches to music couldn’t be any more different, I respect their well-versed manner of listening and critiquing and enjoy hearing their opinions on albums, and that is the beauty of the versatility of music.

My simplistic, laidback approach to music is very enjoyable to me, and I don’t wish to change a thing. However, my loose, flexible, and ever-changing opinions make for either a wishy-washy analysis, or an inaccurate depiction of my opinion. So I bid you farewell, my dear friend album-reviewing. My lack of commitment does not allow me to settle down long enough with any album to critically analyze it. Maybe one day, when I grow older, I will finally be able to drop anchor with a great record and I’ll be able see you again. Until then, goodbye.

CULTURE

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THE STINGER | OCTOBER 2016

Brown displays methodical madness on Atrocity Exhibition Will Newbegin pressed with all three teaser singles, the first being “When Culture Editor It Rain,” a frenetically glitchy track with a formidable In popular culture, everyone loves an outsider with an rapid-fire flow. Next came “Pneumonia,” in which Brown underdog story. Rocky. J.K. Rowling. A certain presibrags with his typical to-the-max swagger over a grimy, dential candidate who started with a small loan of one minimalist beat. Uncredited is a background vocal performillion dollars (kind of). For better or for worse, society mance from West Coast cohort ScHoolboy Q, who slides possesses a distinct tendency to sensationalize successful in and out of the chorus with his “Yawk yawk” ad-libs. outsiders.

Yet none of the singles Perhaps this is to what beguiled me the way Daniel Sewell, more com“Really Doe,” released monly known as Danny Sept. 20, did. On the Brown, can attribute his whole, “Atrocity Exhibiintriguing rise to stardom. tion” carries few feaAfter finishing an eighttures. However, three out month prison sentence of six of them appear on in 2007, Brown began to the aforementioned song, commit to his rap career and a posse banger penned by improve his situation against the likes of Brown, Kenall odds. Just about four drick Lamar, Ab-Soul years later, Brown released and Earl Sweatshirt. All his breakthrough LP “XXX” four MCs compete fierceon Fool’s Gold Records. ly with clever punchAn ubiquitous critical suclines, densely packed cess, the sophomore project rhymes and adversarial showcased Brown’s lyrical bravado. prowess, a strong conceptual Just one week backing and wildly unprelater, Brown released dictable (yet impressive) his eagerly-awaited beat selections. A stout album. While most declination of uninspired hip pundits expected “Atrochop cliches, “XXX” spent ity Exhibition” to be an half of its track length sati- Courtesy of passionweiss.com extraordinary work, even rizing hedonistic fame to an I found myself routinely exaggerated extent, whereas its second half reflected on dazzled by the musical aptitude Mr. Daniel Brown disthe repercussions and cyclical nature of such lifestyles. played throughout the LP’s 15-song duration. All within This same duality carried over into Brown’s third album, 46-and-a-half minutes, “Atrocity Exhibition” befuddles, “Old.” Released two years later, its hectic aesthetic frightens, entrances, and most importantly, captivates one-upped that of “XXX,” and the disparity between its listeners with its delicate balance of pensiveness and its coked-highs and withdrawn lows grew more drastic. pandemonium. Throughout the record, Brown walks a Despite clocking in at the age of 32, Brown’s refreshingly wire-thin tightrope between the two emotions, lending off-kilter persona and sound established him as one of the himself as either a contemplative casualty of party culture most refreshing and exciting figures in music. or one of its keen participants.

Like fine wine, it seems Danny Brown has only gotten Regardless of which personality he adopts, however, better with age. On Sept. 29, Brown released his third the album’s overall aesthetic remains consistently hellish, record, titled “Atrocity Exhibition.” I was thoroughly im- unsettling and experimental. On the whole, “Atrocity

Exhibition” evokes the chaotic feelings of heavy cocaine usage in a grungy nightclub, a likeness augmented by the generally tumultuous and frenzied production. More specifically, Brown continues his instrumental work with such producers as Paul White, who has been responsible for some of the most off-kilter tracks in the Detroit rapper’s discography (“Wonderbread,” “Fields,” “Adderall Admiral”). Also credited for instrumentals are Playa Haze, Alchemist, Evian Christ, and Black Milk.

“Atrocity Exhibition” blasts off with “The Downward Spiral,” an ominous opener where Brown welcomes us to his world of paranoia out of sheer excess. The tune’s disturbingly industrial beat likely derives itself from a distinctly evident Nine Inch Nails influence, as Brown’s work shares the name of one of the group’s albums and songs.

Next comes “Tell Me What I Don’t Know” and “Rolling Stone,” where Brown vicariously reflects on his journey and his seemingly vagabond status within the rap community. Through these first three tracks, he fires on all cylinders to create sounds that push the often-onedimensional hip hop envelope while still engaging his listeners.

After the aforementioned “Really Doe,” Brown embarks on “Lost,” a laughably satirical piece where Brown pronounces himself as the best artist around, likening himself to prolific movie directors and musicians to bolster his stance. After this comes the best track on the album, “Ain’t It Funny.” An all-out barrage of low-brass horns and a hectic sax, Brown kicks his flow into fourth gear as he swiftly delivers his bars in malevolent fashion.

The beat is highly cinematic, and conjures images of Brown as an action movie character laying waste to his musical adversaries as he goes.

The rest of the record remains similarly outstanding, closing with the solemn and enrapturing proclamation “Hell for It.” A sobering dose of reality, the song sees Danny Brown reaffirm truly how far he has come, as both a rapper and a human being. From dope-dealing bail-jumper to revered rhymer, his ascent to reside among the most esteemed of MCs has been an intriguing and rewarding tale. Without a doubt, “Atrocity Exhibition” establishes Brown not only as one of the most talented rappers of our generation, but of all time as well.

Don Juan provides authentic Mexican experience Stephen Liriano Culture Contributor I had greatly anticipated my visit to Don Juan, an independent Mexican restaurant along Chestnut Street in Emmaus. Located in a strip mall next to the East Penn Diner, the restaurant stood out from the shopping center’s other constituents with its colorful sign and new, fresh look. I visited during lunchtime to test how the business runs during their most crowded hours. With suitable parking, convenience already seemed to be a strong suit of the eatery.

As I walked in, my expectations were completely met.

Mariachi music was playing throughout the restaurant, giving an authentic feeling of Mexican culture. As for the menu, it was full of diverse options. It offered what seemed like every type of delicious Mexican food ever prepared. That included different types of meats, rices, burritos, bowls, quesadillas, nachos and more. At Don Juan, you can customize your own meal any way you would like it, with a variety of choices at your disposal.

After what seemed like an eternity of looking at the vast amount of combinations, I ordered the chicken burrito, which according to the staff, is one of their most popular dishes. Certainly, the burrito compared favorably to other

Mexican options in the area.

Additionally, the staff were some of the nicest employees I’ve ever encountered at a restaurant. They were exceptionally polite and demonstrated wonderful manners while waiting for me to select my order. The food took approximately five minutes to be prepared and served. Overall, the meal was great. It came with free tortilla chips and guacamole, but you could also choose from a wide selection of salsas including options ranging from mild to extra hot. The cost was cheap in comparison to other Mexican restaurants in the Lehigh Valley such as Chipotle or Cali Burrito. When I dine at those restaurants my bill usually ends up a little above $8. At Don Juan, a chicken burrito with a refillable fountain drink cost just a little over $6. As for the other options, everything I saw was reasonably priced. The tacos and empanadas, both $3.25, also seemed like great options.

Outside of the salads, the restaurant did not include any type of gluten free food, but it did include a select variety of vegetarian food options such as tofu and Mexican vegetarian salads. The restaurant also includes smoothies for dessert, and they even allow you to add protein to it. Regrettably, my full stomach persuaded me against purchasing one, despite my interest. If the restaurant’s quality was any indication, I can only imagine the smoothies were delicious.

Ultimately, I think what distinctly makes Don Juan an enjoyable experience is its genuine atmosphere. This, however, is is not to overshadow the delicious food, excellent service and overall great experience.

Those who enjoy quick, authentic

Mexican cuisine and a taste of Mexican culture will thoroughly enjoy this restaurant. On the whole, I must say that Don Juan is worth the visit.

The skinny on Don Juan: •Delicious, genuine, Mexican food •Convenient location •Polite, speedy service Photos by Will Newbegin.

•Authentic atmosphere

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CULTURE

THE STINGER | OCTOBER 2016

Emoji Madness

The texting craze sweeps Emmaus

Rachel McQuiston Editor-in-Chief Once upon a time, texting consisted of abbreviated words, atrocious punctuation and the occasional smiley face created from a colon and parenthesis. However, it is 2016, and today’s tech-savvy society has replaced those aged practices with small images depicting emotions, common objects, animals and more, commonly known as emojis.

According to Emojipedia.org, there are a total of 1,851 emoji characters up to and including Unicode 9.0. Although it may seem overwhelming to those unfamiliar with the trend, the countless options make emojis the obvious choice for avid-texters.

Most people enjoy the innumerable expressions, foods, objects and more that they are able to choose from when selecting the perfect emoji for their text, including senior Joe Capri.

“Sometimes you can’t find the right words to describe your feelings, but you can use emojis,” Capri said.

Due to their tremendous popularity, emojis will continue to appear in texts and tweets from your peers, and sometimes, even your parents. However, how parents, or even all adults in general, interpret emojis differs from how teenagers depict the meanings and apply them to everyday text conversations. It can be assured that a math teacher will use the “one hundred” emoji in a much different way than a 14-year-old boy would.

Whether you insert about seven different emojis in each of your texts or avoid them at all costs, it is unlikely that the trend will just simply fade from existence.

It can be assured that heart eyes and different hand gesture emojis will continue to sculpt our texts and tweets for years to come.

Student: [I use it] when I’m trying to be real. - Robert Lynn, senior

Student: I use that emoji when I’m laughing at something but trying to hide my laughter. - Rebecca Lozowsky, junior

Teacher: First off, I would never use it. It looks like bashful or embarrassed. - Brian Pum

Student: Guys use this emoji all the time when they are checking out girls. Kaetie Kalbfell, senior

Teacher: I always thought it was just the number 100. - Diane DiDona, English teacher

Student: It means [that] I’m dying on the inside. - Adam Lang, junior

Teacher: I think that I would use it on those days when you’re really stressed out but want to keep a happy face on. - Rachel Kramer, science teacher

Teacher: I think that [the eyes] are a little creepy. - Tom Warnke, Social Studies Department Chair Images courtesy of emojipedia.com.

Fandom

Frenzy spreads through EHS

Makayla Frazier Culture Contributor Fandom: The community that surrounds a television show, movie, book, music, etc.

One may religiously sit down with a bag of chips in hand on a Friday night to watch their favorite TV show, while another sits on their front doorstep everyday waiting for a pre-ordered, signed, copy of the next installment of their favorite book series to finally come in the mail. And hey, if you're a fan of a sloppily prepared Big Mac from McDonalds, you can join many other Americans as well. No matter someone’s age, gender, religion, race -- you name it -- they possess a passionate fandom of something. Now, as you subconsciously list all your fandoms, consider this: your peers, teachers, parents and co-workers may belong to the same fandom, particularly those of a musical nature.

Williams Montepeque, a Spanish teacher at Emmaus High School, proclaims himself a “die hard fan” of rock music. Now, if you're the type to run away upon unexpectedly seeing a teacher picking up some milk in a grocery store, finding out that a teacher shares the same taste in music as you might cause you to feel a tad squeamish.

“There were so many bands I'd listen to, Guns and Roses, Metallica and some of those ‘90s bands,” Montepeque said. “We [students] would constantly be on those old CD players, the Walkmans. I [would always] go to the school with headphones.”

Yet, it makes sense that our teachers share the same auditory passions as we do. One may listen to music to relieve stress, during busy work or simply for entertainment.

Like Montepeque, Beartooth on Oct. 28.”

Ian Hertzog, a junior at While some may indulge themselves in their Emmaus, spends up to music when having nothing to do, Eric Smith, phofive or more hours every tography teacher at Emmaus, finds time to enjoy single day dedicated to his favorite artists even during his daily routine at music. school. His classroom is filled with music, making “I’m literally always it a very vibrant atmosphere. listening. I listen to a lot “There are a few bands that have followed me of music, most consisthroughout my life. Led Zeppelin is my jam, obvitently Neck Deep, Blink ously Pearl Jam and Nirvana also,” Smith said. “In 182, All Time Low and high school I listened to classic rock. I also listen Dance Gavin Dance,” to Green Day, Weezer and that kinda morphed into Hertzog said. “ I can't Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers.” list them all really.”

Many students at Emmaus and people in genDespite the often eral all enjoy different music. However, while in high costs of tickets, Smith’s classroom, students may find themselves many fans enjoy seeing jamming to indie rock -- and seriously enjoying their favorite artists in it. Smith expresses that some students thoroughly concert, and will attend revel in and even relate to his taste in music, and a show by any means they always ask him to turn it up.

Ian Hertzog, a very passionate fan of necessary.

“I feel the choices I've made in my life have Junior Carly Valdivia, a punk rock. aligned with how I think and feel,” Smith said.

Photo by Will Newbegin. passionate concert-goer, is “and it’s represented in the music I listen to.” one such fan.

Fanatic: One who has an excessive amount of “I’ve paid four times the original price of tickets [for enthusiasm and often intense devotion to something or an All Time Low concert],” Valdivia said. “I always look someone. If we as fans talk too much, so be it. We can all for new concerts.” be in a frenzy together.

Hertzog agrees with this statement profoundly seeing that he also admits he is always keeping an eye peeled for tickets.

“I check everyday because I have nothing better to do with my day,” Hertzog said. “I’m seeing the band

THE STINGER | OC TOBER 2016

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SPORTS

Sports Editor Kyle Carraher Assistant Sports Editor James Marler

Kyle’s Corner

Kyle Carraher Managing Sports Editor

Fantasy Frustrations

After yet another frustrating start to the fantasy football season, I once again began thinking about why I participate year after year.

Every year I have such high hopes for my team on draft day, selecting the best players I can. But it never fails: no matter what, one of my key players gets hurt or someone doesn’t put up the numbers that I expect at all. (For an example this year, take Adrian Peterson and Russell Wilson) One week, your team will be firing on all cylinders, and the next, your team puts up half the points that it did the week before.

The frustrations are endless. Recently I dropped Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi, who proceeded to run for 204 rushing yards and two touchdowns, equalling 34 points in my league. If that wasn’t enough, Terrance West put up 87 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns on my bench as well (that’s 23 points). Basically I threw 56 points completely out the window for Devonta Freeman and Matt Forte, who put up a combined 6 points. The latter duo is undeniably more talented, but that doesn’t always account for much in fantasy.

I also traded Tom Brady to acquire Freeman, Greg Olsen, and Derek Carr. I was reluctant to do this, but I thought there was no way that Brady could outperform the trio -- I was wrong. I know Brady is the most proven quarterback in the NFL right now and probably the greatest to ever play the game. It hurt deeply to get rid of him, but I thought I was doing this for the best interest of my team. Nah, Brady put up 30+ points for the second week in a row, again proving me wrong. The saddest part is that Brady is probably the best drafting decision in my fantasy drafting history, picking him up in the sixth round of my draft due to his four-game suspension from the “Deflategate.”

I probably spend a couple hours each NFL season focusing on my fantasy football roster and I realized that I really have no good reason to do so.

I don’t really get that much enjoyment out of the game at all. I mean it is friendly competition but I get enough of this in a day. Every year I tell myself that I’m done with this and won’t play it again, but every year when it rolls around I end up in a league.

I think my biggest problem with the game is it doesn’t really account for a player’s full impact on a game. A certain player could’ve played horrendously but still put up decent statistics and vice versa. It sometimes bothers me how someone can reduce the game I love to simple numbers that many times don’t accurately portray a player’s performance.

When I really think about it, fantasty football isn’t about football at all. That’s why the likes of Will Newbegin (who hasn’t played a sport since sixth grade, by the way) can be undefeated in a league full of lifetime football players.

Fantasy football is the equalizer between a group of friends who consistently compete. It has all aspects of an athletic competition without requiring actual athletic prowess. It is the comeback for many backyard football or basketball games.

Fantasy football is the staple of many friendships between American males.

There is nothing like the feeling of crushing your opponent 115 to 65, and then the following week your team only puts up only 59 points. Then followed by a week where you put up the second most points in the league but still find a way to lose by three points.

You know though, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is nothing more humbling than talking smack for days about your team and then watching them suffer a beatdown directly after. Fantasy truly does seem unreal sometimes. Third string running backs that you’ve never heard can score three touchdowns in a week, then never have a touchdown again in his career. Unfailingly, this happens week after week, season after season.

In reality, I think fantasy football is good for me. Whenever I begin to cocky about my team, it knocks me down a peg. It’s always there like that one slightly off relative that you dearly love, but sometimes you just want nothing to do with them for awhile. But when push comes to shove, you’d do anything for that relative, just like fantasy football.

SPORTS

THE STINGER | OCTOBER 2016

ARMY v. NAVY

McGinnis, Kushy aim for West Point, Naval Academy

McGinnis credits coaches, sister as influences in soccer career

By Kyle Carraher Sports Editor Reilly McGinnis began playing soccer when she was four years old. Sports have always been a large part of her life.

Growing up, she danced and played basketball and soccer, always looking up to her older sister, Shannon.

“Shannon has always been a huge role model to me,” McGinnis said.

Her sister, a 2015 graduate who played defender for Emmaus, was team captain. Shannon was selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s All-East Region Team, only the 7th player in Hornet history. Shannon now plays for Saint Francis University.

“All my life,” Reilly McGinnis said, “I’ve always sort of followed in her footsteps in a way.”

While Shannon has been a great role model, many others have helped sculpt McGinnis’ life as well.

In fact, her coaches have influenced McGinnis, both on and off the field.

“Chris Bleam was the first coach that really had a big impact on me; he is awesome, and now he’s a coach at Whitehall,” McGinnis said.

She had other mentors throughout her athletic career, including former Emmaus High School head coach Robert Rooney. Coach Craig Reed was instrumental in the college recruiting process with McGinnis. “[Reed] was a huge help with the college [recruiting] process,” McGinnis said. “He always had good advice.”

Throughout McGinnis’ high school and club soccer career,

she drew interest from several colleges including Duquesne, Drexel, Saint Joseph and Saint Francis universities. Originally, West Point was not really on her radar of potential future schools. That all changed after a camp she attended during the winter of her sophomore year, due to her interest in Duquesne and St. Joseph. After the camp, West Point coaches were attempting to contact McGinnis.

“At first, honestly I wasn’t really that interested in Army, I couldn’t see myself realistically going to school there and I didn’t think much of it,” McGinnis said.

She decided to look into the school after her coach said that it may be a good idea for her to check it out.

“After a ton of talking with my parents I convinced them to let me look at Army,” she said. “They weren’t too sure at first, but I contacted the coaches and attended a camp at West Point the summer going into junior year.

“I immediately fell in love with the campus,” McGinnis said. “It was beautiful, and everything about the school [convinced me.]”

After the camp, McGinnis never really had any doubt of where she wanted to go to school -- West Point was the place for her.

“I think one of the coolest things about West Point is that you don’t have to pick a major until the end of freshman year,” she said. “ Originally I thought that I’d do something in the medical field. Whenever I go there, I fall in love with [the idea of a new potential major].”

Gymnast Kushy known for “hard work, dedication”

By Joe Eckstein Sports Contributor Emmaus High School is the home to many impressive athletes, including gymnast Jason Kushy.

Kushy, a senior, has had a successful run in the sport, and hopes to continue it for years to come as he plans to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Kushy first showed interest in the sport as a pre-teen and with great persistence, found success.

“I was on vacation when I was about 11 or 12 years old, and I was watching an acrobatic performance, and I was like, ‘Hey mom and dad, I want to do that someday,’” Kushy said. “And they sort of just blew it off at first and so I just kept bugging them, looking up how to do different stuff and then I actually went up and signed myself [up] for Parkettes Gymnastics all by myself and sort of just stuck with it.”

Since then, Kushy has emerged as on one of the top gymnasts in the Lehigh Valley, despite starting out late in the sport.

His coach, Joe Stallone, feels that Kushy’s hard work has enabled him to reach the competitive level he has attained.

“It was challenging at first, because he started late,” Stallone said. “The first three years were a struggle… but he pushed through.”

With his team at Parkettes, Kushy went on to win the regional championship, competing against teams all

across the East Coast.

Kushy says that was the zenith of his gymnastics career.

“Last year, our team was the regional champions, so not just the best team in the state, but the best team out of all seven states in our division,” Kushy said. “So like Maryland, Delaware, every state pretty much in the East -- and we were the champions.”

With a sport consisting of many different events, Kushy excels at two events in particular.

“His best events are the pommel horse, which he developed the basics of and excelled at a fast rate, and he got stronger so he became skilled at the still ring, which requires a tremendous amount of upper body strength,” Stallone said. “He excels at two of the hardest events.”

The big picture for Kushy revolves around attending the Naval Academy and competing in both of those events.

“Hopefully I get accepted into the Naval Academy for gymnastics and I will be competing on their team for hopefully four or five years depending on how it goes,” Kushy said.

Coming from a family with a military background, Kushy feels that “ I owe a service to our country.”

He has always been interested in joining the academy, but last year made Kushy want it more than ever.

“About junior year my father ex-

posed me to the Naval Academy and really told me about these different academies, and I wanted to serve my country since I was really little,” Kushy said. “I always wanted to do the Navy. I never thought my interest in anything else… So up until this day,I have been working really hard trying to get my grades up to their standards and put my hard work in the gym and eventually make it there.”

Joining the Naval Academy is no easy task, and head Athletic Director Dennis Ramella knows that.

“In order to be accepted into any of the services academies, you have to be an outstanding student, an outstanding person, a person who is physically fit and a person of high morals,” Ramella said. “So to answer it simply, extremely hard. If he’s being considered for admission then that tells me he has the qualities in all those important areas.”

Stallone, Kushy’s coach, feels that his best qualities are his “hard work and dedication.”

During the school year Kushy is in the gym six days a week and stays there almost five hours per day. In the summer, he practices every day for seven hours and coaches for another four after that.

After he is finished with schooling completely, Kushy says, “I’ll be finished with my career.”

SPORTS

STINGER OCTOBER

21

Golf team doesn’t let coaching change put them in the rough James Marler Assistant Sports Editor The Emmaus golf team went through a coaching change, but that did not differ them from a long streak of success in the EPC and state.

Mo Bryan, new head coach of the golf team, took the reins after Coach Mike Mihalik left the position at the conclusion of last season after the Hornets claimed their third straight district title.

Bryan had served as assistant coach for Mihalik before assuming the position this year. It would find a tough task to repeat the successes of last year, with the losses of Max Harrington, Kevin Caverly and Matt Kermitz to graduation.

Senior Eric Cichocki.

Athletic director Dennis Ramella was full of praise for Bryan’s first year as head coach.

“Coach Bryan had big shoes to fill, Mihalik was incredible,” Ramella said, “and she hasn’t skipped a beat, she has done an outstanding job, and the kids have played very well.”

Senior Eric Cihocki says that the change had very little effect on the team’s performance, because of Bryan’s past experience as the assistant coach.

“In the beginning, it took some time, [Bryan] was our assistant last year,” Cihocki said, “so many of the things we have been working on are the same.”

Junior Jake Caverly, another varsity golfer, had a very similar opinion on the changes that came with the new coach.

“There were very little to no changes,” Caverly said, “she has continued the strong precedent of success that

Coach Mihalik had set before her.” ter than people expected In the season opener on August 23, Emmaus fell us to do,” Fritzinger said, to Nazareth by 30 strokes, but would go on to win 10 “and we have people gostraight, ending the regular season 10-1, continuing ing to states.” their dominance in the EPC, but unfortunately fell to When the seniors the team who gave them their only loss at the district leave, the team will hope tournament in Locust Valley. to push on and return to “As a whole I would consider this year a success, dedistrict glory, led by respite the disappointing EPC and district losses to a talturning players Connor ented Nazareth team,” Caverly said. “We had multiple Wambold, Daniel Cagreat individual seasons, namely Eric, Sam [Fritzingpri, Mitch Machuski and er], and Belle [Keopraseut] who are all states bound.”

Caverly, who looks forAnd some great individual seasons they had. ward to the future.

Sam Fritzinger, who enters her final season at Em“It’ll be a massive maus, has competed to the highest level in women’s loss,” said Caverly, “[the high school golf, and consistently shows success on the seniors] are great leaders, course. obviously through their “Sam’s been a big part of the program,” Ramella consistent low scores, as said. “It will be a big loss for us, she is probably the Senior Samantha Fritzinger. well as the way they carry most accomplished women’s golfer in Emmaus history, themselves on the course.” and she sets a great example for future players, both boys Emmaus Golf has a hisand girls.” tory of being the prominent team in the valley, and there Fritzinger, like many other athletes, always knows is no doubt that they will soon return to their district-winthere is room to improve, no matter how good you may ning ways. be.

“I haven’t had to improve anything major,” Fritzinger said, “but I have most improved my consistency, my round to round play and my short game.”

Fritzinger will join Keopraseut and Cichocki at the PIAA Individual Championships on October 24 and 25, in York, Pennsylvania, after advancing from their specific divisions at the Eastern Regional Championships on Oct. 20.

Cichocki, who has committed to Lehigh to play baseball and study business and engineering, was pleased with how the team played during the season.

“Overall, the season was a success, we were disapGolf 2016-2017 team. pointed to not defend our district title,” Cihocki said, “but Individual photos courtesy of Robert Thompson of we were happy with how the season played out.” emmaussports.com, team photo courtesy of Andy Fritzinger, a Wingate University commit, shared CiMoxey. hocki’s perspective on the season, taking in preseason expectations.

“I would consider it a success because we did a lot bet-

Friday Night Lights The Emmaus football team has excelled so far this season, going 7-1 with two games left to go: one at Easton and a home game against Parkland. Pictured are some shots from games against Freedom and Pocono Mountain West, both victories at EPSD Stadium. Highlighted are the running back tandem of sophomores Sone Ntoh (8) and Lubens Myers (25). Ntoh tallied four touchdowns against Pocono Mountain West, while Myers scored two against Freedom.

Photos by Rachel Reed.

Four

22

Brenna Skekel

Fast Facts Height: 5’ 6” Favorite Season: Fall Favorite TV Show: The Office Favorite Color: Blue

Rachel McQuiston Editor-in-Chief Senior Brenna Skekel left a lasting impression on her teammates and peers on and off the soccer field, a place where she has spent much of her high school career.

Skekel has been involved with soccer since her early years of elementary school and has loved the sport ever since. According to Skekel, soccer “just clicked.”

“I’ve always been athletic so I just decided to try soccer when I was younger,” Skekel said. “I always seem to find my closest friends on the soccer team.”

Soccer coach Sarah Oswald recognizes Skekel’s talents as both a player and a teammate.

“One of the best qualities Brenna contributes on the field is her versatility. She can play several different positions on the field and excel at all of them,” Oswald said. “Brenna is also a fantastic teammate. She is the first to say positive words to the other girls and congratulate successes.”

Teammate senior Mackenzie McCann has been playing with Skekel since the start, and feels that is why she, Skekel and the rest of the team enjoy the sport as much as they do.

“Brenna and I and all of the other gsoc seniors have been playing together since before elementary school, how close we all are is what makes it so fun for us,” McCann said. “I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Friendship with her fellow teammates is something that Skekel sees as significant, and she believes that “it makes playing worthwhile.”

“My favorite thing is the friendship and the team,” Skekel said. “Everyone is just really close and I get to have my best friends on the team with me.”

Skekel is seen by her teammates as a “hard worker” and someone who is “constantly pushing herself to be better.”

Teammate senior Madison Nader appreciates her positive attitude towards the sport, even when she isn’t playing.

Del Vierling

Kyle Carraher Sports Editor Unlike most people dedicated to their sport, Del Vierling didn’t begin cross country until his junior year of high school; however, the leading senior has excelled in just two seasons to become one of the top high school runners in the area.

Vierling will lead a strong group of teammates to the District XI meet where he hopes that the Hornets can place in the top five. Vierling landed an impressive showing in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference meet where he finished seventh overall Fast Facts individually, qualifying for districts with his performance.

Vierling began his distance Height: 5’6” running career freshman year he tried track and field for Favorite subject: Envi- when the first time. Coaches Kirsten Susens, Eileen Shovlin and Dan romental Science Wessner have all helped Vierling Favorite Teacher Ms. extend his career from running on the track to running a 3.1-mile Susens cross-country course.

Favorite food: Italian “Coach Shovlin and Susens were really awesome from the Photo Courtesy of Wesley Works. start with me when I began, like

they were just really helpful, and of course my head coach, Coach Wessner,” Vierling said.

“When I first started distance running, I took a liking to it right away, and I wasn’t that bad at it either,” Vierling said. “Before starting cross country, I wrestled in middle school and I enjoyed that, but I decided to stop wrestling after freshman year.”

Vierling had a few goals he set out to achieve this year and seems to have put in the necessary work to obtain all of them.

“For personal goals, what I really set out to accomplish this year was to P.R. (personal record) of below 17 minutes, which I did 16 minutes and 35 seconds,” said Vierling. “Personally, I really want to finish top-five in the district this season and qualify for states.”

He has high expectations for his teammates as well.

“This year for the team, we have a really good group of guys who run hard, and I think a good goal for us would be to finish topfive in the district,” Vierling said.

Cross country coach Dan

“She’s constantly lifting people up,” Nader said. “Even when she was off the field and injured, she was still cheering us on even though you could see that she wanted to be out there with us.”

Skekel, who is also involved in Kid-to-Kid, Key Club, Young Life and is a Latin Club ambassador, knows that during soccer season, time management is a key skill for success. She advises that others involved in sports work ahead on homework and studying, so that pulling all-nighters is not a frequent event.

“You just have to balance your time,” Skekel said. “If you know something is due, you have to do it a day before or something because if you wait until you have a game and you’re away all day, you’re gonna be up all night.”

As her senior soccer season comes to a close, Skekel is excited to continue intramural soccer in college, but does not intend to play for a college.

However, she is appreciative for this final high school season, and even credits it as her favorite.

“Not only is it my senior year, this is probably the best year of soccer because we’re a good team this year and all the girls get along really well, we’ve never gotten along this well,” Skekel said.

Wessner, who describes Vierling as “dedicated” “focused” and “spontaneous” credits Vierling’s success to all of his hard work and determination.

“He’s our best runner,” Wessner said. “Probably the biggest thing that he brings [to the team] is how he goes about training.

He’s spent the last year or so really being a consistent worker, and it has really shown up in the results he’s had this season.”

Vierling agrees that the hard work put in at practice shapes his preformance.

“I think, for a sport like cross country, practice is important.

You have to push yourself every day, just to get even a little bit faster” he said. “A normal day at practice we start with the warmup which is a ‘super-lap’ around the school then coach usually gives us some assigned distance that we have to run, and sometimes we finish with some type of core [exercise].”

Vierling’s senior teammates Sean McFarland and Andrew Gigler say that he is always willing to put in the extra work to suc-

ceed.

“Del is the hardest working guy on the team, he’s always doing something to try to improve,” McFarland said.

Gigler agreed: “Del is so motivated and dedicated to running, he trains harder than anyone I know. He runs every race with the confidence, mindset, and heart required to do well.”

There is no doubt that a work ethic like this is contagious for the other runners.

“A lot of people on the team look up to him because he does such a great job of leading by example; he shows all the freshmen what it takes to be successful,” McFarland said.

Overall, Wessner concludes that Vierling is the embodiment of a devoted distance runner “He exemplifies what you want in a runner,” Wessner said.

“You can’t ask him to do anything more than he’s [already] doing.”

Georgia Traynor

girls volleyball

Renee Martin Sports Contributor Junior Georgia Traynor has proven herself to be a dedicated teammate and vigorous competitor in volleyball -- helping her team win

a total of 12 games this season.

Traynor, who has been playing volleyball for six years, began the sport after watching her older sister’s volleyball games.

“My sister started playing in middle school,” Traynor said, “and I realized that I wanted to be on the court playing as well.”

Since freshman year, Traynor has focused her talents at Emmaus, where she serves as a key outside hitter on the

team.

“As an all-around player, I strive to be a leader on and off the court,” Traynor said. “I love the excitement and energy that our Emmaus team brings each game.”

Traynor credits much of the sport’s success to her volleyball coaches, who continually motivate the team by saying “when the going gets tough, you gotta get going.”

As the season progresses with a 12-4 record, she is proud of her team’s successes, and acknowledges that their losses were against difficult teams. Most importantly, Traynor has made some unforgettable memories, most notably “beating Central at our Spike Out Cancer event.”

“The energy and excitement levels in the gym that night were amazing,” Traynor said. “They’ve always been a big rival of ours, and it felt great to prove how far we’ve come as a team.”

Sophomore setter Caroline Bond has participated on Emmaus’ team with Traynor for two years and not only

Photo courtesy: Brenna Skekel

DYNAMIC over-the-top

admires her as a player, but also as a person.

“Georgia is such a versatile player,” Bond said. “She can play front and back row, and I can always trust her to do her job.

“I admire how she never gets down on the team and is always looking to get better,” Bond said. “I look up to her a lot off the court. She’s a great student athlete and manages her time really well.”

Teammate senior Tiffany Hoppes describes Traynor as “positive,” “a great teammate” and “a good leader.”

“Georgia brings a ton of positivity to the team, as well as a good game,” Hoppes said. “She’s always willing to play her hardest and is there to cheer anyone on when they need it.”

Photo courtesy of Georgia Traynor.

Faces

23

Kira Koehler

By Rachel McQuiston Editor-in-Chief

Kira Koehler has been a part of Emmaus girls to play my senior year with.” field hockey for her entire high school caOff the field, Koehler is also involved reer, winning three conference titles, four in Student Government, debate team, track district titles and one state title as a team. and field, and is president of Model UN. Now, Koehler is ready to take her talHer biggest inspiration is her SAT tuents to Dartmouth College, where she tor, Brig Boonswang, who she describes as plans to play field hockey for the next “goal-focused” and “always encourages her four years. to put academics before athletics.”

For Koehler, field hockey has been To teammate senior Morgan Tietz, an essential part of her life since Eyer Middle School, where she began player work ethic is what ining the sport in the seventh grade. spires me most about her.”

However, Emmaus field hockey is what many would consider to be a far more laborious commitment than the Morgan Tietz average middle school team.

Koehler described the typical practice as beginning “with sprints or a three-mile run and then we go through Koehler’s ability to balance field hockey stick drills,” Koehler said. “Then we go and school work is astonishing. through shooting and corner plays, and “She leaves practice and is at home we usually have a scrimmage. [And] then studying for hours, but she somehow still more sprints and weight training.” manages to have a social life. It’s crazy.”

However, the intensity of the sport does As Koehler prepares to leave Emmaus not deter Koehler or her fellow team- this June for new endeavors at Dartmouth, mates from playing, and she even cites teammate junior Leah Zellner knows that them as her favorite thing about the team. the team will not be the same without her.

“Every person on the team is really “I will most definitely miss Kira next different in the way that they act and their year,” Zellner said. “ … we work so well tocharacter,” Koehler said. “ We’re all best gether and she is a very encouraging teamfriends and I can’t ask for a better group of mate.”

“H

Photo Courtesy of Kira Koehler

DEREK SHEAFFER

By Renee Martin Sports Contributor Derek Sheaffer has been into sports since he was seven and started playing football.

Now as a senior, Sheaffer is quarterback of a successful Hornets football team.

“I train hard and watch a lot of films, so I'm prepared before the games,” Sheaffer said. “ I'm a lot more experienced than a junior or a freshman would be on the team. It's hard because I also play basketball and it's

Photo Courtesy of Timothy Patterson

Duo

hard to train for both at the same time. ” This season has shown how hardworking and dedicated Sheaffer is to his team and the sport.

Senior captain Ryan Fritz has been on a team with Sheaffer for two years and praises his work.

“He’s a leader and overall an awesome person,” Fritz said. “Our team has great chemistry and he’s a key part of that because he is a genuine guy and has an awesome sense of humor.

“On the field he commands the offense he's the guy that makes all the calls to the line and makes all the reads for the plays to be successful,” Fritz said. “He’s unimpeachably the best quarterback in the EPC. ” Whether he's on or off the field, Sheaffer has shown that he is a valuable teammate and friend to have, valuing a good family and team dynamic.

Sophomore running back Sone Ntoh admires Sheaffer is as a person and player.

“What makes Derek such a valuable asset on the field is that he's a very smart player and always puts us in positions to win,” Ntoh said.

“Off the field he puts the team first and is such a cool guy to be around, I wish I could play with him for a couple more years, and I

underclassmen

Christopher Solley Sports Contributor Junior Connor Wambold says he strives to be the best golfer that he can be in all aspects of competition.

In fact, Wambold’s determination and skill seem to follow him as he consistently proves to be a strong force on the fairways.

Wambold started playing golf just two years ago, but his talents have allowed him to make it on the varsity golf squad. Within those two years, however, Wambold has truly proven himself as a worthy member of the team.

Wambold says he works hard on his game in order to hone and sharpen his skills to be able to perform better at the game he loves. But despite his strong work

wish I would've met him earlier.”

Sheaffer works with the head coach, Harold Fairclough and quarterback coach, Matt Seneca.

This is Fairclough's first season coaching Sheaffer and he sings the praises for him and his poise and great work ethic.

“No matter what the situation Derek has the ability to focus on the task at hand and perform at a high level,” Fairclough said.

“He is constantly working on his craft and sets a great example for his teammates to follow.

“I look forward to seeing him play his best football coming down the home stretch of this season. He is constantly looking to improve his game,” he said.

Connor Wambold

ethic, Wambold added that he still faces some of the challenges that every athlete encounters.

“For work ethic would have to be motivated, dedicated, and procrastination,” Wambold said.“I am motivated to do well and get good grades, dedicated because I put effort into my work and make sure it is good.

“And procrastination because even though I motivated and dedicated to get stuff done I wait on it and don’t get it done right away,” Wambold said.

Emmaus golf coach Mo Bryan has a lot of praise for the golfer.

“Connor has a very strong work ethic and he has very expectations for himself,” Bryan said. “He knows he can play he can play well and is willing to put in the time

golf

to improve his golf game.”

Bryan also believes that Wambold’s presence brings a strong impact to the team, which helps them to perform better.

“Connor is a really great kid and an intense golfer. He always wants the whole team to play their best,” Bryan said.

Wambold has a bright future ahead of him and hopefully he keeps golfing which can lead to a long career on the fairways.

Fast Facts

Height: 5’7” Favorite Color: Red Favorite Movie: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Fast Facts

Height: 6’ Movie: Anchorman Musician: Drake Color: Green

24

THE STINGER | OCTOBER 2016

Meredith: Head and Sholder Above the Rest

SPORTS

4 Years 101 Games 205 Goals

James Marler Sports Editor Some might say that Meredith Sholder is just another player in the long and decorated dynasty of Emmaus field hockey, but her play on the field makes her anything but that.

Sholder, now a senior, has continued to help maintain Emmaus’ reputation as a national powerhouse, leading them to the number one slot in major field hockey rankings. In addition, she was named Eastern Pennsylvania Conference MVP four times in a row. Now, she aims to earn the Hornets’ 28th straight District XI Title, and capture its 12th state crown.

It all started when Sholder was three.

That’s when her family first introduced her to the game that she would grow to love.

“My cousin played field hockey and put the stick in my hand,” said the University of North Carolina commit. “I started playing league when I was in second grade.”

Sholder’s family has a history of playing at Emmaus. Her mom, Jane Sholder, also took the field for the Hornets alongside her aunt. Both were led by Sue Butz-Stavin, the nation’s winningest head coach, who surmounted a record 840 wins last year and continues to add to her total this year with this currently undefeated season.

Sholder said that her mother helped mold her over the years, teaching her strategies and giving her insight that put her at the top of the game. “[Mom] influenced me greatly. She was my youth league coach until the end of elementary school,” Sholder said, “so she has helped me develop into the player I am now.”

However, Sholder finds her greatest motivation from an unlikely place.

“My motivation, to be honest, is myself, I just love this game and being motivated and believing in myself has helped me improve,” Sholder said.

When Sholder entered her freshman year, she made her mark early, scoring 47 goals and totaling 18 assists. But her early work on the field was no surprise to the coaching staff. “[Butz-Stavin] has been coaching me since 5th grade. What makes her special is that when something doesn’t work, she knows exactly how to fix it,” Sholder said.

“She can be tough on us, but in the end, everyone can agree she is an amazing coach.”

Sholder continued her dominance in her sophomore and junior seasons. She began racking up her numbers, boosting her assist total to 90 by the end of the 2015 season, while scoring an impressive 159 goals. And even with those numbers, Butz-Stavin said her star player is all about the team.

“Everyone wants to play to her level, but she is a very unselfish player, one of the most unselfish I have ever coached,” Butz-Stavin said, “She wants her teammates to do just as well as her, and she doesn’t care who scores, as long as the team is successful.”

Sholder’s communal play style has made her historically one of the most decorated field hockey players in the nation, earning her a spot on the United States National Indoor Field Hockey team and U-19 Outdoor team. International competition has done

2015 2014 2016 2013 Goals: 46 Goals: 64 Goals: 46 Goals: 47 Assists: 33 Assists: 41 Assists: 31 Assists: 18 Games Games Games Games won: 27 won: 24 won: 26 won: 19

nothing but good things, according to Sholder.

“The [National Team] is a lot more challenging, and much more competitive,” Sholder said. “You can’t slack off in training, because selectors are there watching, while at the school I can get away with resting. Playing for the national team you find a way to stand out.”

Sholder trained with the U-17 United States in April 2016, and competed in the Four Nations Tournament in May, against Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Sholder and the other Americans finished third, but the experience was more important for Sholder, who wants to advance her career in international hockey.

In her sophomore year, she verbally committed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, much earlier than other athletes. Two years after, her freshman teammate, Madison Orobono, followed Sholder’s early-commit precedent, also to UNC, but for unrelated reasons.

“It was between North Carolina, Duke, and Princeton.

I visited all of them in one weekend, and it was my first time seeing them,” Sholder said, “I fell in love with North Carolina. The girls were so nice and they wanted me to come play with them, the coaching staff was also very keen on me joining them, so that’s what helped me make my decision.”

Coming into her senior year, Sholder wants to cap off an unbelievable high school career with back-to-back state championships, just another laurel in her already extensive list of achievements.

“Well, because of the modern-day changes to the game, going from grass to turf, the game has become faster,” Butz-Stavin said. “The nature of the game has produced more and more goals, and she could easily be the most decorated turf field hockey player in the Valley,” Head athletic director Dennis Ramella is also impressed with the magnitude of Sholder’s achievements.

“First, she is arguably the most accomplished field hockey player in Emmaus history. Because of her play on national team, she has brought a high level of success to the school,” Ramella said.

Now, in her final season at Emmaus, Sholder must keep up that same mentality that has won her three conference and district titles, along with a state championship in which she scored the winning goal. As of Oct. 19, Sholder has scored 46 goals, and has assisted 33, an already remarkable season to end a remarkable high school career. She holds all of our scoring records, and they are going to be hard to surpass,” Ramella said. “Hopefully she can leave with four straight conference and district titles, and back-to-back state titles.”

Butz-Stavin agrees that the season is far from over, but hopes that both she and Sholder can help further the legacy of Emmaus’ dominance in field hockey.

“I wish that we can continue our success this season, hopefully keep up the streak of district titles,” Butz Stavin said. “We want to be playing in November, so we have to keep working hard to get right back to the state final game.”

Sholder appreciates her time as a Hornet, but is excited about what the future holds as a Tar Heel. She will fit nicely in a team that barely missed the NCAA Championship last season, losing to Syracuse 4-2 in Michigan.

“I will miss the team more than anything. We are all really close on and off the field, which is unlike any other team. I want to keep improving by working with the coaching staff to make the U-21 [National] Team,” Sholder said. “I will bring my coachability and offensive push [to North Carolina]. I want to form a relationship with the coaches like I have with Sue.” Sholder will leave behind records that very few will come to in the near future, cementing her place into EHS field hockey history, joining the 100 goals 100 assists club, of which only four players have achieved. Overall, Sholder has scored 205 goals, 123 assists, and 533 points.

She does realize, though, that she could not have done it without her role models.

“I want to give thanks to my mom and Sue for always motivating me to try harder and keep pushing,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the two of them.”

Page design by Andrea Kick and Rachel McQuiston.

Headshot courtesy of Meredith Sholder.

Photo by Rachel Reed.

Statisics courtesy of Pennlive.com. Statistics as of Oct. 19.