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Volume 33, Issue 7 140 Brandeis Road Newton Centre, MA 02459

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · April 13, 2017

“CHIPPING AWAY”

FY18 budget entails cuts to chorus, Latin, library and more Chloe Frantzis, Sophie Lu & Eu Ro Wang News Contributor, Sr. News Editor, Sr. Opinions Editor

In an 8-0 vote with one abstention, the School Committee voted on April 6 to approve Superintendent David Fleishman’s budget for the 2017-18 academic year, Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18). The budget, introduced on March 22 but modified in subsequent weeks, will eliminate middle school Latin classes and fourth-grade chorus, as well as reduce library personnel districtwide.

“It was our goal to maintain our forward momentum, preserve the programs we have built over the past few years, and continue to provide a high quality of education for more than 13,000 students,” Fleishman said. “However, the budget for Fiscal Year 18 presented us with significant challenges.”

Entering FY18, the School Department’s budget fell over $2 million short of the amount required to sustain the same salaries and programs funded in FY17. Thus, Fleishman and his team were tasked with finding specific areas to withdraw funding from, a few of which sparked controversy from families and staff alike.

“If we could, we would put everything back that everybody wants, but we don’t have the funds to do that this year, and having to make some really hard choices is part of what our job is here,” School Committee member Margaret Albright said after the April 6 budget approval vote.

“We’re making adjustments and trade-offs all the time trying to figure out what’s best for the students and what will cause the least harm,” School Committee member Steven Siegel said.

The new budget sanctions cuts to library staff in elementary and high schools as well as the number of assistant principals and classroom aides in elementary schools. Fourthgrade chorus and the middle school Latin elective will no

ang

photos by Netta Dror

Community members gather inside the April 4 Public Hearing to discuss potential impacts of the NPS 2018 budget.

BUDGET, 3

Cuts on the rise as freshman participation increases Dorra Guermazi & Isabel Klein Sr. Sports Editor, Sports Contributor

Forty girls tried out for the girls tennis team this year, the most in a single season that head coach Bob Jampol said he can remember. The increased turnout is due in large part to freshmen; about half of them, Jampol said, were cut. The growing difficulty for first-year athletes to secure spots on South teams has prompted many to question the absence of separate freshman squads in some

programs.

Freshman volleyball player Skye Tausig said that a freshman team heightens the involvement and interest of athletes new to their sport.

“I think you get a lot more kids involved in sports earlier, and they get more experience,” she said.

Junior Catherine Patti, who plays volleyball and softball, agreed, adding that her freshman teams reassured her that she wasn’t alone when she first arrived at South.

“Coming in as a freshman, it’s really nice to know that there’s at least 20 freshman with you learning and developing their abilities with you,” she said. “It really reminds you that there are people at your level … and that you’re not alone.”

The opportunities that freshman teams offer athletes with minimal previous experience are essential for player growth, according to senior tennis and volleyball player Addie Masterson.

“It teaches kids how to play the sport if

they have never played [before],” she said. “It introduces them to the rules and the strategy to playing the game.”

Meanwhile, senior track and field and cross country captain Gal Fudim said that for his sports, the lack of a freshman team is beneficial, not only for the program to be unified but also for the new freshmen to be driven to continue pursuing the sport.

“We don’t separate between freshmen FRESHMAN, 20

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

SANCTUARY CITY

Newton’s new title of sanctuary city raises questions at South about open immigration.

2

Heteronormativity South students discuss the impact of the media’s misrepresentation of sexuality.

16

stick to the plan

The girls lacrosse team seeks its third straight tournament bid this season.

22

NEWS 2 EDITORIALS 6 OPINIONS 8 CENTERFOLD 12 FEATURES 15 FUn page 19 SPORTS 20

NEWS page 2|April 13, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

NEWS@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 7

this month in

Newton becomes a sanctuary city

review Asian Night On April 7, South held Asian Night, an annual event hosted by the Asian Student Organization that highlights both traditional and modern Asian cultures with dance, music, martial arts, fashion and cuisine.

After a glow-in-the dark talent show, a reception in the cafeteria concluded the night, including an allyou-can-eat buffet.

South wins MICCA On April 1, South Musical Arts recieved three major awards at the Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) competition. At Norwood High School, orchestra recieved gold and the Madrigals (sophomore, junior and senior chorus) won bronze. Band won silver at Lexington High School.

Speech and Debate Over the past month, both Speech and Debate concluded their seasons with a strong performance in the statewide tournament. Debate won third place on March 25 and Speech won second place on April 8. Both tournaments took place at Acton-Boxbourgh. These tournaments ended a year that featured a combined 18 total tournaments.

photo by Netta Dror

Peri Barest & Sophie Goodman

News Reporter, Sr. News Editor With a vote of 16 to one, the Newton City Council passed the “Welcoming City” ordinance on Feb. 21, making Newton a sanctuary city.

According to Councilor at Large Ruthanne Fuller, the ordinance ensures that Newton residents and workers will be judged solely by their actions.

“The police will focus on criminal behavior or whether someone is a terrorist, [but] not on their immigration status,” she said.

The recent presidential election prompted the Newton City Council’s discussion regarding the ordinance, Fuller added.

“As the federal government and the president started having a different philosophy and different set of policies about undocumented immigrants, it became imperative for Newton to be very clear about what our values are,” she said.

The Newton City Council considered the police department’s and public input when discussing the ordinance, Councilor at Large Susan Albright said.

“We sat with the Chief of Police, understood what his concerns were and made amendments based on that,” she said.

The Newton City Council worked with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) and others, to create a clearly worded law, according to history teacher Marcia Okun, who attended a public meeting regarding the language of the ordinance.

“They were presenting their positions and arguments ... for the language of the ordinance and why they felt the need for it,” Okun said.

“Former Mayor David Cohen was going over … the fact that we need to use the law to protect ourselves against being forced to do things we don’t want to do. [The] federal government cannot coerce us to do things that are against our best interests or against

our values.” she added.

The ordinance institutionalizes practices that Newton has already implemented, Councilor at Large Richard Lipof said.

“We already are a welcoming city,” he said. “We do not — when we pull someone over for a traffic stop — ask them if they are a citizen or not.”

Senior Miriam Glasgow said that she approves this ordinance.

“It is definitely a show of solidarity within Massachusetts that we are going to stand by immigrants who are already in the country and not turn them in to be deported,” she said.

“By making this announcement, the city is not just practically providing avenues to protect those human beings; the city is sending a message to the whole community, to the city, to the commonwealth and to the country that [immigrants] are part of our country,” Spanish teacher Riccardo Gessa added.

Junior Varun Deshpande agreed that immigrants benefit the community.

“Accepting people who are leaving their homes to search for a better future and for a better life [is] a good idea,” he said. “It will bring in new ideas, new histories, new stories and … make South a richer community.”

Freshman Jiawen Yu said the change may result in an increase in illegal immigrants at South.

“A lot of undocumented immigrants will come to our schools, and I think that is really not a good thing if too many people come to public schools,” Yu said. “[NPS] would not be as good as before if we become a sanctuary city.”

According to Fuller, however, Newton is not expecting an increase of immigrants.

“I don’t expect that more undocumented immigrants will move here, in part, because it is hard to find housing in Newton,” she said. “[Newton]’s a hard place to move into to begin with.”

The Newton City Council’s decision to pass the “Welcoming City” ordinance “was a decision based in emotion rather than practicality,” Lipof said.

“There were many people in our community that wanted to make a statement federally and to make a statement to the immigrants who live in Newton that we support them,” he added.

There have been concerns regarding President Donald Trump’s threat to cut federal funding for sanctuary cities as Newton receives approximately $12 million in federal funding annually, according to Okun.

“It will lose us some federal money, and given the current budget that’s being proposed, we’re going to be losing money anyway as a state and as a city,” Okun said. “[It will] be difficult financially for the school [and] for the city, [but] I don’t think that’s a good enough reason not to do it.”

Fuller disagreed, saying that a loss in funding would be a “serious concern” for the city. “I do not believe that the threat will be realized,” she said.

Gessa, however, said that an absence of tolerance is his main worry.

“I am more concerned with the lack of discourse, lack of empathy [and] the lack of common base to start a conversation between the people in the country that think differently than with the threat of illegal immigrants,” he said.

Sophomore Fernanda Luz, who recently immigrated from Brazil, said that she has seen communities be unwelcoming to outsiders, even to those who are legal.

“I lived in Florida, and I had a few friends [who] got deported. [Students there] had to leave everything behind and go back to their countries,” she said. “They weren’t welcoming me. I had my green card, but they were like, ‘No, you don’t deserve to be here because you’re foreign.’”

Newton, however, strives to create a welcoming space for all, history teacher Lily Eng-Shine said.

“All people should feel safe, whether they’re illegal or not,” she said. “We can’t have people not go to school or not do things because they’re afraid that they might come home to their parents being gone or they, themselves, and we can’t live in a place in which everyone’s afraid.”

April 13, 2017|page 3

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|News

School Committee approves FY18 budget BUDGET, from 1

longer be available. Class size is expected to increase across grades four to 12.

During the April 4 School Committee meeting, Fleishman announced that an additional $1.35 million in budgetary savings from bus parking and a two-week health insurance holiday scheduled for November 2017 allowed for changes in the budget.

Because Newton does not have a public site for bus parking like other districts do, the school system must pay for parking out of its own budget through its contract with Eastern Bus Company. This contract is up for renewal in FY18, and an initial bid indicated the bus company increased its overall rate by 21 percent for FY18, though the exact rate is presently being negotiated.

The city will give NPS money to cover parking costs over the next five years, but the city grant exceeds actual parking costs by about $150,000 annually, allowing that money to be put towards other parts of the NPS budget.

Due to lower-than-expected healthcare costs this year, the city’s health insurance reserve fund is predicted to reach a threshold that permits a health insurance holiday, during which neither the city nor employers need to contribute to the fund for two weeks, by November.

The $1.2 million of one-time savings from the health insurance holiday will spread across various expenses. $250,00 of the additional savings will be directed to the expansion of Newton Central High school, an investment School Committee member Angela Pitter-Wright said will grant all students a more equal opportunity to succeed. Central provides Newton students with “a small, highly structured, therapeutic setting” in addition to optional counseling services.

“Central has been getting the short stick for a couple of years now, and I’m happy that we’re finally able to kind of have a space for them, where they can actually operate,” PitterWright said. “Maybe over time, by FY19, FY20, we could actually expand that program and then make that in line with everything else that we’re doing for all of our other students [to ensure] equity and excellence for all. We want to make sure that we’re able to provide a budget that encompasses that.”

While one-time budgetary savings are typically spent on non-recurring expenses, like facility renovations and supplies purchases, the district decided to spend these savings on personnel due to the large budget

gap, Fleishman said.

Part of the additional budgetary savings will fund personnel, including high school teaching and elementary and middle school library staff, for the next two years. Fleishman’s initial proposal cut 2.7 high school teaching positions district-wide, but in his April 4 Superintendent’s Report, Fleishman recommended restoring those positions.

“At Newton South, we’ve had over a hundred new students in the last two years, and our budget has been going down in staff,” Fleishman said. “We don’t think that’s sustainable ... so we’re recommending [that] we add teachers [back].”

Despite the restoration, class size is still expected to increase across grades four to 12 as enrollment is projected to increase, but more classes exceeding 25 students, history teacher and Newton Teachers Association chief negotiator Jamie Rinaldi said, will impact teachers’ ability to connect with

away teachers who want to bring their classes to the library because the calendar is full.”

The library and its staffers foster a sense of community, English teacher Kelly Henderson added.

“The library represents the one truly public place [where] all kinds of kids go,” she said. “The librarians see them all, the librarians know them all and [the librarians] know all the teachers. They have an unbelievably important role in the schools.”

Aside from library cuts, Oak Hill seventh grader Erin Cunningham said Latin class has taught her more than the language, and she opposes that cut to middle school Latin.

“Every day that I take Latin, I not only learn more about the ancient language, but I also learn more and more about our language, English,” she said. “Latin helps us with our writing skills in the way that we form sentences and speak.”

The elimination of middle school Latin classes will impact students in high school,

I just don’t want us to go down the path of an assumption that our city believes that where our school system wants to go [is] down the pathway of chipping away at the things we value most.

Margie Ross Decter, School Committee member individual students.

“We’ve done tremendous work over the last decade of trying to make ... high-level classes available to students that traditionally would not enroll in those classes: students of color, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds,” he said. “The larger those class sizes are, the harder it is for teachers to serve those students in the classroom.”

South is set to lose one part-time librarian next school year, a loss which Rinaldi said he opposes.

“As we talk about civil discourse and reliable sources — about the dangers of fake news — our librarians are the first line of defense in teaching students to really think about the integrity of a source,” he said.

According to librarian Jennifer Dimmick, reducing the number of librarians will limit the library’s ability to host classes for research projects.

“Cutting down to two librarians per high school will result in a 33 percent reduction in possible library classes per week to co-teach with our faculty and eliminate our ability to ever host classes in the library at the same time,” she said. “Faculty request access to the library for research classes is on the rise such that we’re already faced with turning

as well, junior Abi Spingarn said.

“Latin in middle school sets people up for success in high school because ... it gives them a better work ethic,” she said. “[It’s] cutting off a huge opportunity for them to figure out if they like that language or not.“ Music teacher Lisa Linde agreed that cutting opportunities in lower schools will impact students’ exploration of what South has to offer.

“You will see smaller choral numbers up here [if fourth grade chorus is cut],” she said.

“It keeps making our high school less vibrant and rich.”

Despite agreeing with the budget’s general framework, School Committee member Margie Ross Decter said that she abstained from the vote in fear of the precedent being set by cutting valuable arts programs from schools.

“The music program that we have, the arts program that we have, the many many languages — dead and alive — that we have and certainly the library [are] the heart and soul of our schools, but also all of the other supports are really critical,” she said. “I just don’t want us to go down the path of an assumption that our city believes that where our school system wants to go [is] down the

pathway of chipping away at the things that we value most.”

Declining elective enrollment would also negatively impact students’ experiences at South, senior class president Bhavik Nagda said.

“We’re going to see an increase in student stress if we put all the focus on academic core classes and take all the money away from extracurriculars or classes that enhance a student’s experience,” he said. “There are two major parts to a high school experience and what the school can offer: extracurricular and nonacademic [activities] and the core classes.”

After the April 6 approval vote, School Committee member Ellen Gibson said the plan is the district’s best available option given the current constraints.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it — this is difficult,” she said. “I think we’ve landed in a really exceptional place under the circumstances, which isn’t to say there aren’t some casualties to this, and I don’t mean to treat those lightly ... I am quite comfortable with voting to support this.”

“If we could, we would put everything back that everybody wants, but we don’t have the funds to do that this year,” Albright added. “And having to make some really hard choices is part of what our job is here.”

The next step is to ensure that similar decisions do not have to be made in the future, School Committee member Diana Fisher Gomberg said that same night.

“We’ve been very fortunate the last five years ... that we haven’t had to make these kinds of cuts, and that’s in large part due to the override that passed in 2013,” she said.

“This is something that’s not just an issue this year, but [also for] future years, and we’re all going to have to be paying attention to that to make sure that we do have enough funding for our schools.”

“The important thing is that we monitor to see how we’re doing over the course of months — what’s working, what’s not working — collaboratively with the committee, listening to teachers and principals and to David’s staff, making adjustments,” Mayor Setti Warren, an ex officio member of the School Committee, said after the vote.

According to Fleishman, the School Department’s ultimate goal is to maintain a balance between cost and education.

“Our job is to deliver the best education possible to our over 13,000 Pre-K to [grade] 12 students at the Newton Public Schools,” he said. “At the same time, we have a fiduciary responsibility to produce a balanced budget and live within our means.”

photos by Netta Dror

Community members gather outside (L) and inside (R) the April 4 Public Hearing for the Newton Public Schools 2018 budget to speak on behalf of programs threataened by the proposal.

page 4|APRIL 13, 2017

Addressing Concerns DANIEL ABDULAH

NEWS|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Streaming restrictions modified

Class of 2018

SOuth Senate Update At a recent joint meeting, the Senate discussed a wave of new initiatives, important updates on budget changes and their effects on the student body with Superintendent David Fleishman and members of the School Committee.

First, regarding the ban on certain streaming services, many students were still concerned by the lack of warning or consultation beforehand. Currently, music services such as Pandora and Spotify remain banned, but the Senate is working to lift the ban completely or propose a more brief ban on test days only.

A growing issue in recent years has been the scarcity and costliness of parking passes. The Senate is trying to make parking more convenient, inexpensive and available for all. One solution would be the construction of more parking spaces on grassy areas. The School Committee expressed concerns, citing the onslaught of traffic around the school if too many students begin to drive.

To offset the extremely high traffic levels, the School Committee must raise bus fare and parking pass prices, and due to budget cuts, the costs of both are set to increase in the near future. In order to cope with this expected hike in prices, we recommend carpooling when possible.

In addition to alleviating the traffic problem, driving in groups also cuts down on the cost of parking, as the price can be split between more people. Other incentives for carpooling may eventually include carpool-specific spots or a reduction in parking costs.

The Senate then discussed some crucial changes that our school must adopt regarding its mental health curriculum.

The recent Signs of Suicide lessons suggest an approach far too reactive, encouraging students to step in only once a friend is already depressed or suicidal rather than preventing those feelings in the first place.

The curriculum should instead adopt proactive methods for combatting depression like stress management techniques. In addition, the Senate addressed the sex-ed curriculum’s current lack of sensitivity for people of different identities, to whom generic paradigms may not apply.

Potential solutions include teacher training and modifications to certain lessons.

Finally, the Senate examined the wellness requirement, specifically the possibility of exempting underclassmen athletes from wellness. Although that option is not currently feasible because the wellness curriculum isn’t composed entirely of sports and students must receive 990 hours of education in a given school year, a potential upcoming change to the wellness curriculum might alleviate many concerns.

Be on the lookout for Facebook surveys regarding possible improvements to student parking and our wellness curriculum, and we also recommend that students attend the L.I.S.T.E.N. event at Newton North on April 26th. There, students will lead workshops to find common ground between our peers, encourage local action and important conversations.

If you have any other ideas, you can mention them to a Senator or in Senate meetings during Thursday J Blocks. All are welcome!

photo illustration by Netta Dror

Sophie Lu

Sr. News Editor On March 21, websites including Facebook, Spotify, Amazon Prime and Netflix became temporarily unavailable on the NPS wireless network to decrease bandwidth usage during MCAS testing.

As of April 3, Pandora and Spotify remain the only sites with restrictions, according to Director of Informational Technology & Library Services Eileen Keane, and restrictions will be lifted by May 19.

Some of the originally restricted websites, English teacher David Weintraub said, are integral to some teachers' classrooms and lesson plans.

“As a film studies teacher, it would be quite obtrusive to not have access to Amazon Prime and Netflix,” he said. “As someone who really likes to incorporate music into the classroom, it would have been obtrusive

to not have the Spotify connection.”

History teacher Michael Kozuch added that the restriction impacted students completing independent work as well.

“One of my students was using SoundCloud to do a project in my class, so then he couldn't work on it in class,” Kozuch said.

“I had to view it at home, so that was also a challenge.”

According to junior Jack Sinclair, the administration did not clearly inform students of the restriction.

“They only told students one or two days ... before implementing it,” he said. “This is the reason we have a school Senate, and it really had to go through that Senate, or at least be mentioned, before it passed.”

Sophomore Kiran Maypole agreed and said the sudden change resulted in distrust.

“We need a little bit more than ‘tomorrow, no social media,’” Maypole said. “People [will] jump to conclusions, and that creates

photo illustration by Netta Dror

a lot of distrust from the student body with the administration, which is not good for either party.”

Students deserved to have prior warning, freshman Michael Lezhnin added.

“It would be worth it to mention [the restrictions] in advisory, at the very least,” Lezhnin said. “That would be an easy way to communicate [the information to] students.”

Administrators also should have consulted with those potentially impacted, Kozuch said.

“We need to get the stake holders to give information about how we use the technology here, what it’s used for and if there are things we can eliminate without having an impact on the academic environment,” he said.

There was no time, however, to receive feedback and input, Keane said, as she worked with a network team and among contributors to develop the restriction over a period of two days.

According to Weintraub, Keane and the technology department responded quickly to concerns. “[Keane] was incredibly responsive and sensitive to [my classroom’s] needs, so I've been incredibly impressed with how responsive the district policy-makers have been in regards to this,” he said.

Some students have used virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions, adding that this will only increase bandwidth usage across the school, sophomore Joel Metcalf said.

“VPNs will slow down the internet even more and take even more bandwidth than a normal connection,” Metcalf said. “If people use VPNs, which they're obviously going to, that’s going to get them around the social media ban [and] hurt the problem even more.”

Weintraub said the time students devoted to circumventing administrative policies could be put to better use.

“If we could mobilize the creativity students have to get around firewalls, we would be a better school," he said. "If we could harness that mischievous energy and intellect, our classes would be very different places.”

APRIL 13, 2017|page 5

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EDITORIALS page 6|April 13, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 7

the CAT’S

MEOW All the news that’s fit to print ... and then some!

Soda covers Goldrick stairs When Goldrick Dean Park Tanks arrived at school Monday, he said he noticed a brown, bubbly liquid running down the stairs.

“It was sticky and smelled sweet,” Tanks said.

Senior Koca Qola said he arrived at school at 6:30 a.m. in order to cover the Goldrick stairs with a cocktail of different sodas.

“When I saw the cupcakes on the stairs a couple of weeks ago, I thought, ‘That’s not a prank; everyone can just eat cupcakes afterwards,’” Qola said. “Soda is sticky and messy, and no one can drink it afterward — it’s the perfect prank.”

Junior Clumb Zee disagreed.

“It was horrible,” he said. “When I was rushing to get to APUSH, I slipped and rolled down the stairs. It was not funny.”

South replaces all technology In order to save money and brace for 2018 budget cuts, South will soon make major technology changes, according to Principal Stole Jembridge.

Jembridge said South will remove all computer lab desktops and auction them off.

“Next year, the computer labs will be used as teachers’ lounges,” he said.

Sophomore Tek Gnawlogee said this news upset him.

“I do not think this could be any worse,” she said. “Do I have to hand-write in-class essays now?

55 minutes is not enough time to hand-write five paragraphs.”

Freshman Alec Tronicks said he does not mind the cuts.

“If they are also getting rid of the language lab, then great,” he said. “No more Dill Client oral exams. Those kill my grade.”

AP pre-administration fraud Duing one of last week’s AP pre-administration sessions, students were caught filling out preliminary information on other students’ answer sheets.

Junior Penny Cil said that she filled out the information in place of her friend, Lay Zee, who paid her $175.

“I’m a fast bubbler,” Cil said.

“I sent her all of my personal information including my social security number and five top colleges ahead of time,” Zee said. “I can’t fill out all those bubbles myself — my hand will cramp.”

Dispel the belief that higher-level classes are required for success

South allows students to challenge themselves in subjects of their choices by offering advanced levels for almost all academic classes. Hypothetically, students take honors-level courses in subjects that interest them.

An existing stigma at South, however, says that students are not high-achieving if they do not take “enough” honors classes, causing students to take classes for which they are not prepared or have no interest.

The stigma says that “smart” students should be able to handle honors, which causes students to overload on higher-level classes.

Schedule-packing due to this notion can be dangerous, as it leads to extra stress and overexpended students.

The dangerous belief that honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes are more “respectable” than Advanced College Prep (ACP) or College Prep (CP) classes stems

from our education system rewarding the rigor of one’s overall schedule rather than a student’s effort in an individual class.

Typically, honors and AP-level courses entail heavier workloads than their ACP or CP counterparts.

If students take AP-level classes with the sole purpose of “looking good” on transcripts, they unneces-

cussions and foster an environment of curiosity.

Students who adhere to the stigma that honors classes are more “respectable” than ACP or CP courses, but have no interest in the class itself, can hinder those who want to explore the topics.

Without the belief that honors classes are more “respect-

The stigma says that “smart” students should be able to handle honors, which causes students to overload on higher-level classes. sarily sacrifice their time and energy that could be spent on something they enjoy.

It is unfair, however, to generalize all students who take honors classes as students who only wish to avoid the stigma. Some students do want to push themselves in a subject that interests them. Ideally, students who take honors-level courses want to actively contribute to class dis-

able,” course level names would be arbitrary as, theoretically, students would choose to take classes at certain levels depending on how much time they are willing to spend. This would vary based on their interest in the subject — a preferable alternative to students taking honors classes to look “smart,” which impedes students who are genuinely interested in a subject.

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The Lion’s Roar, founded in 1984, is the student newspaper of Newton South High School, acting as a public forum for student views and attitudes.

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April 13, 2017|page 7

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|DESK

Reminiscing about the good times: EDITOR’S baseball mitts and Roar fever DESK from the

Noah Shelton Managing Editor

Carpe diem. Tempus fugit.

Those are the remains of my lackluster seventh and eighth grade Latin classes.

The first phrase is more common; teachers use it regularly to motivate students to complete their assignments or to convince them that opportunities are constantly surrounding them, right within their grasp.

As a freshman, I made the decision not to run cross country at South. Mostly, out of fear, but coupled with the fact that a couple of my friends weren't going to be running. Plus, I was just plain lazy.

After middle school cross country, I had the irrational conception that I would not be able to compete on a longer course. (A middle school cross country race is only two miles long but a high school race is a 5k or 3.1 miles.) I was so sure that I would let South down — yes, I realize that's weird — and that I would be known as the kid who couldn’t run as fast as he used to at Brown. The truth is, I was scared of letting myself down. I assumed that I would realize I wasn't good enough and quit before the next season. I was being rash, and I let my fears get in the way of my interests. Basically, I wasn't Carpe diem-ing.

Although I never conquered my

trepidation, I did succumb to the desperate pleas of former Senior Sports Editor Jack McElduff and Chief Copy Editor Darren Trementozzi and join The Roar.

I was first tasked with covering the boys volleyball team — I got extremely lucky, as that was the year the team went undefeated and won the state championship. I soon fell in love with reporting, pouncing on every assignment that came my way.

Once, I almost blew a story because

tor’s transition issue desk if I did not get a little sappy.

I don’t consider myself a story-teller; I have just been lucky enough to work with two incredible staffs. I guess a few people deserve a thank you: Mrs. Chapman, thank you for staying up late on send-up to deal with our mental breakdowns and last-minute shenanigans.

Mr. Baron, thank you for trying to maintain peace between the four (oh wait, five?) publications.

Mr. Normandin, thank you for always being there for us at paste-up, even though we did not capitalize on your abilities often enough.

Volume 32 Senior Staff, thank you for helping Volume 33 Senior Staff blossom into a rose bouquet.

Volume 33 Senior Staff, thank you guys for being the thorns in that bouquet and allowing me to be the brilliant flower.

Thank you for being so hard-working and devoted to always putting out the best paper, even when I was lazy and wanted to just send it to the printer.

Volume 33 Staff, thank you guys for putting up with our passive-aggressive messages and feisty behavior as send-up approached.

Volume 34, forget about my sentimental side and print a paper that makes you happy.

drifted back, a big baseball no-no. Just as I was about to camp under it, my cleat got caught on the lip between on outfield grass and the base path dirt. I fell on my butt and watched the ball land five inches to my right.

I had just wiped out in front of the entire varsity team, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. I thought the world was about to come crashing down. As fate would have it, I lived, surviving a practiceworth of heckling the next day (probably

I was scared of letting myself down. ... I was being rash, and I let my fears get in the way of my interests.

Basically, I wasn't Carpe diem-ing.

I botched the interview request, but I begged Jack to allow me to stick with it, not because it was vital to the paper, but simply because I had caught Roar fever.

During the same stretch, I was playing on the freshman baseball team. One home game, we played on South's field (a pretty special moment for any freshman), and the varsity team came to watch. It was a back-and-forth game against LincolnSudbury, a baseball powerhouse.

In the fourth inning, I was playing shortstop. There was a pop-up about 12 feet behind me and seven to my right. I

because the JV coach was a no nonsense type of guy).

As my four years at South wrap up, I have learned a few life skills: 1) If you are going to be late to a class, having a coffee with you with the teacher’s name on it never hurts. 2) Talking with your teachers, inside or outside of class, will make the school year infinitely smoother. 3) Find a comedy show that makes you laugh and watch it religiously. 4) Carpe Diem.

*** This would not be a Managing Edi-

Volume XXXIII The Lion’s Roar

Volume XXXIV The Lion’s Roar

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper

140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

Editor-in-Chief

Editors-in-Chief

Mona Baloch

Carina Ramos

Managing Editors Andrea Lirio

Carina Ramos

Managing Editors

Noah Shelton

Thomas Patti

Editors Features

Celine Yung Aviva Gershman

Centerfold Emily Belt Sophie Lu

Graphics Managers Karina Aguilar Josh Finkel Eunice Kim

News

Opinions

Cassandra Luca Clare Martin

Rachel Gu Kimia Tabatabaei

Aidan Bassett

Faculty Advisers Ashley Chapman Ryan Normandin

Suzie Na

Sports

Catherine Granfield Cam Miller Thomas Patti

Business Managers Distribution Manager Nikolas Lazar Timmy Leong

Celine Yung

Editors

Michelle Cheng

Copy Editor

Michelle Cheng

Opinions

Features

Aviva Gershman Dina Zeldin

Centerfold

News Sophie Lu Sebastian Tsao Sophie Goodman

Cam Miller Ilan Rotberg Eu Ro Wang

Sports

Catherine Granfield Dorra Guermazi

Kimia Tabatabaei Rachel Gu

Photo Managers

Graphics Managers

Faculty Advisers

Photo Managers

Webmaster

Business Manager

Content Manager

Local Government Correspondent

Bailey Kroner Kiana Lee

Katie Collins

Eunice Kim Ellen Deng

Gaby Smith

Ashley Chapman Ryan Normandin

Emily Belt

Adam Baker Netta Dror

Michael Ryter

OPINIONS page 8|APRIL 13, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 7

perspectives: DO SANCTUARY CITIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEFY THE WHITE HOUSE? graphic by Phoebe Blumberg

P

THEY DO

THEY DO NOT

AIDAN BASSETT

ILAN ROTBERG

erhaps one of the most jarringly inhumane and startling assertions then-candidate Donald Trump made on the campaign trail was that all undocumented immigrants living in the United States – an 11 million-strong community of mothers, fathers and children, all in varying states of togetherness and separation – would be summarily deported, by force if necessary. For proponents of harsh immigration policies and wholesale deportation, the immigrants they seek to expunge are not members of families, nor of coherent, meaningful communities; indeed, often they hardly even appear human. This conspicuous lack of empathy is vital context for President Trump’s vendetta against immigrants: for him, they are cancers on our society whose elimination is politically advantageous.

The burgeoning ranks of President Trump’s opponents have not, however, taken his executive actions lying down. Localities across the country ranging from major metropolitan areas to small towns have passed resolutions or taken actions to declare themselves “sanctuary cities,” places where local law enforcement will be barred from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and will treat immigrants not as criminals, but as members of the community.

These sanctuary cities have chosen to defy new federal rulings that order all police departments to report undocumented immigrants and remove them where possible. ICE raids on many homes and businesses throughout the country have already sparked backlash. President Trump’s vision for America was always bound to be rebuffed; sanctuary cities are only one example of how communities across America will use nonviolent legal means to inhibit a callous and violent agenda.

A wealth of empirical data points provide an answer in immigrants’ favor:

not only are their crime rates lower than non-immigrants, they also tend to hold jobs which most Americans would not want. Immigrants hardly displace others from high-earning positions requiring higher education; in fact, they often meet the needs of some of America’s flagship corporations. In any case, immigrants are supplementing the demands of their local economy, irrespective of their place on the pay scale. Sanctuary cities would be lucky to reap the rewards of their immigrant members’ contributions. In protecting their own interests, sanctuary cities have both the right and the obligation to their citizens to protect immigrants and resist President Trump’s deportation agenda.

On legal grounds, sanctuary cities are arguably meeting constitutional equal protection stipulations: if, for example, an undocumented immigrant fearful of deportation is being abused by their spouse, they will likely choose not to go to the authorities. Cities’ unequal protection of their inhabitants, diminishes the access of immigrants to the protection of law enforcement. Having passed ordinances of their own ensuring the safety of immigrants, sanctuary cities have every reason to challenge wanton deportations and other federal intrusions.

Above all, Americans have every reason to believe their conscience is a stronger and more righteous guide than the law. The latter deserves to be challenged with civic engagement and a legal bulwark affirming the rights of immigrants to America’s greatest blessings: security, opportunity, dignity and compassion.

Sanctuary cities are the leading examples, representing the front line of a righteous fight. Americans who resist President Trump’s edicts are merely the custodians of a proud tradition – recognizing the humanity in those huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Americans have every reason to believe that their consciences are stronger and more righteous guides than the law.

I

ran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. These six countries share two distinguishing features, both pertinent to the current global political climate: they are all majority Muslim countries, and their citizens, thanks to President Trump’s notorious travel ban, are temporarily unable to enter the United States. Arguably Trump’s most polarizing action so far as Commander-in-Chief, the ban has sparked outrage from countless liberals and moderates who say it exclusively targets Muslims and is an abuse of the power of the nation’s highest office.

The Economist writes that, while lacking a formal definition, the term sanctuary city is “widely used to refer to American cities [or] counties ... that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation by limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”

On Feb. 21, the Newton City Council passed an ordinance that declared Newton a sanctuary city. Sadly, sanctuary cities present a tremendous problem for not just the sake of security, law and order in our communities, but in our country as a whole. These problems stem from a lack of communication and an abrasion of trust.

Sanctuary cities are, in fact, illegal.

James Walsh, former associate general counsel of Immigration and Naturalization Services, explained that U.S.C. 8 Section 1324 deals with the consequences of “those persons who knowingly conceal, harbor or shield undocumented aliens and could apply to officials in sanctuary cities and states.”

By imposing laws locally to accept and protect illegal immigrants, sanctuary cities interfere with everyday cooperation between law enforcement agencies. When local officers are barred from sharing information and cooperating with federal law enforcement, they threaten the average citizen’s public safety and limit the effi-

ciency of local and federal law enforcement agencies.

Many sanctuary cities across America have seen an increase in crime. Jeff Landry, Louisiana’s attorney general, noted that since New Orleans became a sanctuary city, law enforcement’s job has become more tedious. Citing statistics from a separate sanctuary city, Landry stated that “Los Angeles saw all crime rise in 2015: violent crime up 19.9 percent, homicides up 10.2 percent, shooting victims up 12.6 percent, rapes up 8.6 percent, robberies up 12.3 percent, and aggravated assault up 27.5 percent … [sanctuary cities] encourage further illegal immigration.”

It’s incredibly difficult for citizens to feel safe in their home city knowing that there is a lack of communication between government agencies; as such, we shouldn’t be encouraging our city to stop adequately communicating with larger law enforcement agencies because we simply disagree with the law of the land.

Furthermore, this is a long term issue. Imagine if we begin the normalization of “sanctuary city-like” policies — policies basically stating that if we disagree with the law, we don’t have to enforce it. The hinges of the law would come loose, becoming impossible to repair. Americans shouldn’t ignore controversial laws; rather, we should embrace them.

So while many in our community vehemently oppose the President’s actions, we set a dangerous precedent when we abandon unfavorable laws.

Sanctuary cities undermine the institutions of our country. While we always have the right to disagree with those in government, the formation of sanctuary cities only makes the situation more toxic. Ultimately, in times of political heat and turmoil, we only endanger ourselves when we turn to lawless recklessness as the answer.

In times of political heat and turmoil, we only endanger ourselves when we turn to lawless recklessness as the answer.

April 13, 2017|page 9

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|Opinions

TOXIC FEMINISM M

y views toward and interactions with feminism slowly changed in the aftermath of last year’s presidential election: once the shock had subsided, people began to speculate that Secretary Hillary Clinton lost because she was a woman. I disagreed, mostly. An extremely small minority still hold the outdated notion that a woman should not be president and its members cast their ballots accordingly. Yet it seemed absurd to me that Clinton lost solely because of her gender.

Among my friends, my belief was in the minority. Having an unpopular opinion didn’t bother me as much as the fact that people seemed to look at me differently because I refused to interpret the results of the election in the way they had. As a woman, how could I not think Clinton’s loss had everything to do with her gender and nothing to do with her message or past experience?

This judgement troubled me because most of my friends, both male and female, identify as feminists. As a simple comic on Upworthy explained, feminism benefits people of all sexualities, abilities, races, cultures and ethnicities.

Yet I’ve experienced pushback from other women — women who are supposed to embrace diversity — when my opinions differ from theirs, driving me to questions that I’ve asked myself more than once: shouldn’t feminism embrace women and men who believe in equality but whose opinions cannot be collectivized into one common message? Doesn’t feminism emphasize the acceptance of those differences, provided that women and men are both allowed to express their views? Why do I feel as though I am not feminist enough?

When I say “enough,” I mean that suddenly, it wasn’t enough to be pro-choice and to believe that a woman deserves equal pay for equal work. Feminism is more complicated now; if I choose to interpret a situation differently from other feminists, there’s silent judgment because I haven’t

aligned with what is now “mainstream feminism.”

This frustration has only grown in my senior year. In the weeks after the L bench was closed, I went to a club meeting in which white men were demonized for the sexism that occurs at South and in the United States. This notion is largely rooted in precedent, but I don’t find it helpful to tell white men that they are the source of an insidious problem when many are not.

Rather than alienating the very demographic that feminists claim is a problem, shouldn’t we try a discussion before we accuse them of crimes against women?

This paradox has always baffled me, since the feminist movement largely thrives on discussion and sharing experiences. I’ve now realized that these conversations are not open to everyone: they are solely for women who have defined “true” feminism to belittle those who disagree even slightly.

Last week, I came across an article detailing the controversy surrounding Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a darling of the feminist movement and author of "We Should All Be Feminists." Adichie came under fire for saying that transgender women — and therefore women who have lived a part of their lives as men — do not have the same experiences as women who were born female.

Whether or not one agrees with her, the controversy represents a greater issue: for a woman who has written multiple books about feminism and who is, by all accounts, following a path available to her thanks to tireless champions of equality, Adichie has faced staggering amounts of criticism from feminists who believe her words are not feminist enough.

Feminism is supposed to allow women to make their own choices and voice their own beliefs. If we get caught up in what Adichie calls “lan-

Feminism shouldn't be a vehicle for judgement and discrimination

By Cassandra Luca

guage orthodoxy” in order to be the purest feminist, then we are not actually abiding by the definition we supposedly hold dear.

As Adichie explains, when women disagree with other women, “there’s a kind of backlash that gets very personal and very hostile and very closed to debate.” My perception of feminism has always been that women can do whatever they want: learn code, wear heels or flats, disagree with others and make their own choices.

A large part of that is ignoring set norms. At six years old, I never once worried about whether being good at math was for girls or not. I also had Barbie dolls, which have since come under fire for teaching young girls impossible beauty standards; yet, as a kid, I wasn’t analyzing Barbie’s bodily proportions.

Nonetheless, some disagree with Barbie’s size and shape, and that’s fine: the whole point of feminism is to articulate one’s own beliefs. So why has a society that supposedly calls for women to have the right to speak their truth started policing opinions?

Instead of opening up discourse for all women, 21st century feminism has become closed to people who disagree — even to those who call themselves feminists and align with its core ideas.

Adichie touches upon this in a clari-

fication she made about the uproar: “It was unpleasant, and I think it was unpleasant not because of the sort of criticism and vitriol and hostility, ... but in this case, it came from my tribe, my tribe being women who believe in equality.”

I’ve only begun to understand that this is the source of my frustration: judgment wasn’t coming from people who hold sexist viewpoints. People who I had once thought were open to debate suddenly weren’t. I would be the odd one out if I said that maybe crop tops aren’t always suitable for school or if I was puzzled as to how my English class could dismiss male rape as sexual assault when, if the character was a woman, a lengthy discussion would have ensued. Sometimes I don’t want to make every slight a woman experiences into an attack against all womanhood: sometimes a slight is just that and nothing more.

That’s my choice. As a woman and as a feminist, I have the right to make that choice. My peers have the right to disagree, and I am always up for a debate. My views might change and I welcome that.

I just wish that fellow feminists would realize that policing others’ language and judging them for divergent opinions directly contradicts the values they hold so dear.

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page 10|APRIL 13, 2017

Opinions|THELIONROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Tools of the Trade

by Mitch Gamburg Our educational careers seem predetermined by the time we reach high school: attend a university within certain parameters — maybe it’s the city, maybe it’s the state, maybe it’s the size, maybe it’s a specific major. Perhaps you wish to follow in your parents’ footsteps and prepare for law school or a PhD. Regardless of the circumstances, what appears to be a diverse array of options narrows in front of our eyes as we approach the next stage of our lives. I am going to college. I am going to college and getting this degree in this place. These are the steps I must take.

And yet this process seems selfdefeating. Some choose to pursue the humanities but end up cornered after four years of hard work, forced into a Master’s Degree they never really wanted in order to compete for a meager job at a high school or community college. If this is the path for you, then stick with the humanities.

But maybe you would prefer a straightforward job in an established industry like engineering over crippling debt. If this sounds like a better option for you, then why are you taking classes on multivariable calculus when you just want

to fix things? ​Our narrowed perspective has taken one essential option off the table for students: vocational education. Contrary to the traditional path, vocational schools focus on building students’ skills as laborers; rather than studying math theory, you’re sitting in a workshop understanding machines. Vocational education is a step beyond the typical classroom; students are directly prepared for work.

These skills are far more valuable to an employer in these fields.

In mechanical and software engineering, who seems more likely to contribute immediately? The Master’s Degree student who understands code or the graduate with a full portfolio illustrating their expertise and labor skills actually necessary to complete the task? The choice appears to be simple.

The necessity for these jobs is increasingly important. As we depend more on technology and manufactured products, more workers are required to

construct and maintain them. Book smarts becomes less important every day as technology becomes an ever-growing facet of our lives. The jobs that matter tomorrow won’t need a full Ivy League curriculum or irrelevant problem set work; what is more important now is an understanding of how the technology works.

Vocational education isn’t restricted to technology and engineering; business, medicine, family and consumer sciences and public and protective services are all growing fields in the job sector that depend on hands-on experience.

Job preparation is incredibly valuable for a degree-holder; the high demand for labor results in a 5-6 figure salary right off the bat. With lower costs than the typical private institution and greater initial return on investment, vocational education looks like a dream come true.

The predetermined course of our education has stunted vocational expertise.

Past generations benefited from college

Our narrowed perspective has taken one essential option off the table for students: vocational education.

education when institutions were cheaper and a higher level of knowledge was more important in selecting an employee. Now, those job markets have been filled to the brim, whereas today’s job growth prioritizes labor skills over smarts.

Students who elect to take this less traditional path, however, must keep in mind that while incomes may be high initially, long term growth in salary is more difficult after a vocational degree compared to a bachelor’s degree, and the difference is even greater when compared to an advanced degree. Vocational education prepares you for a particular job, but students’ skill sets are narrowed as a result, making it difficult to advance past mechanical engineering.

As a vocational student, you won’t jump from machinery repairman to CEO anytime soon, but the higher-level skills gained at a traditional college means more social mobility in the long run. When mapping out the next steps of your education, the right answer will always depend on you, and there will always be reasons behind every decision. But people at least need the option to make that choice in the first place.

Combatting Climate Change in Africa By muhammed sabally While other continents and countries continue to address the ever-growing problem of climate change, Africa has largely been left behind. The continent’s lack of industrial growth like that in North America and Europe has limited its participation in worldwide efforts to reduce the effects of global warming. Estimations attribute Africa to less than 7 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions; however, Africa is the most susceptible continent to change stemming from the global environmental crisis.

The impact of climate change is evident in all parts of Africa; yet, the continent’s overall incapability of solving and adapting to this issue, combined with inadequate financial support from global environmental organizations and a general lack of resources, is creating a disastrous outcome for Africa and its inhabitants.

The rapid rise of climate change in the continent threatens its agriculture industry, which currently accounts for nearly 30 percent of Africa’s GDP. As global warming increases, severe droughts and famine are more likely to threaten food security. As recently as July 2011, reports indicated that nearly 4 million people in Somalia faced the risk of starvation.

Although the political conflicts in Somalia exacerbated the people’s devastation, the changing weather patterns and shortage of rainfall carried much of the blame. In countries consisting mainly of subsistence farmers, an irregular climate can prove disastrous, as seen in Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and, more recently, South Sudan.

Climate change also contributes to the spread of deadly diseases such as malaria. In Malawi, the effects of climate change, namely rising temperatures, are

expected to increase the prevalence of this mosquito-borne illness.

These realities are lasting reminders that there is an absolute need to prioritize tackling the effects of climate change in Africa. An Al Jazeera article stated that out of the 10 countries most affected by global warming, six of them are in Africa.

Although the impact of global warming on Africa is clear, merely 5 percent of available global funds to fight climate change are allocated to African countries, revealing a massive disparity between available resources and the gravitas of the problem at hand on the African continent.

Africa is not receiving adequate support to innovate new technologies that can foster the creation of new sources of renewable energy to tackle climate change. According to Al Jazeera, talks to include agriculture in the climate negotiations have failed.

Agriculture is a very graphic by Isabella Xie

important sector for African economies, and as such, it urgently requires financial support to innovate new climate-friendly approaches or methods.

Therefore, the exclusion of agriculture in a plan dedicated to climate change in Africa is extremely detrimental to the already-vulnerable continent. In fact, innovation techniques and policies are already in place. As claimed

by Al Jazeera, all African countries have included agriculture in their climate change strategies submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change, but the insufficient funding makes it hard for these policies to be implemented.

Furthermore, the adaptation process to disasters and risk management has suffered a major setback. Africa mostly consists of developing countries and hence there are not enough resources for the inhabitants of the continent to adapt to this growing issue. This worsens the effects of disasters caused by

climate change. According to CNN, one in four Africans still live in extreme poverty, which puts much of Africa’s population at severe risk of not being able to adequately adapt to climate change. In contrast, while people from more industrialized or developed countries have been largely responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, they have schemas to adapt to.

Ultimately, the underlying issue of tackling climate change in Africa is the lack of investment. African governments, in collaboration with international environmental committees, should double down on their efforts to invest more in Africa. Investing in new climate-friendly and more efficient agricultural methods will significantly boost food production, eventually translating to economic prosperity throughout the continent. Investing in renewable energy projects in the continent will also prove to be a very vital means of increasing the rate of industrialization. Thus, investment is key for tackling climate change. African governments should also take charge in making sure these funds are well-managed by sectors responsible for environmental programs.

In addition, the adaptation process needs to be implemented efficiently; it must take into account Africa’s poverty levels, health, energy and food sources.

This would help to further increase the effectiveness of environmental programs and minimize the threat posed by climate change. Climate change in Africa should be dealt with as thoroughly and efficiently as possible, as its destructive effects will only be amplified in a continent that is most vulnerable to its consequences but least responsible for its rapid growth.

campus chatter APRIL 13, 2017|page 11

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions

UPGRADE

9 Warmer weather Spring sports

The Lion’s Roar asked ...

What is the most exciting part of spring?

Red Sox opening day East-over (Easter and Passover) Celtics on the rise April break

“I usually look forward to the spring because volleyball season starts then.”

- Timmy Hwang, Class of 2017

“Spring is my favorite time of year because everything comes back to life, and it’s just all-around great to be outside again!”

- Hannah Gonzalez, Class of 2018

End of Term 3

“I enjoy spring because you can go outside without a jacket, and it’s still comfortable.”

Bruins in the playoffs Tertulia

- Tess Gordon, Class of 2019

“I enjoy spring mostly because of all the rain we get. It can be frustrating sometimes, but most of the time, it’s enjoyable.”

- Alexander Atalla, Class of 2020

9

DOWNGRADE

Semi/Prom proposal stress Studying for APs Loss of spots on Brandeis Only a few more months with seniors Pre-break test stress Senior slump grades Pollen

photos by AJ Kret

Movie Review: Logan by ben reinstein With the exception of Deadpool, most of the recent Marvel movies were busts, so I had low expectations for Logan. For too long, Marvel has been giving us the same “light-beamin-the-sky” mumbo jumbo, and until now, I resented the studio for it.

Logan may be one of the most brutal and disturbingly savage films I have ever seen — even more violent than most Tarantino films.

Yet, I loved almost every second of it.

Logan is one of the most intellectually stimulating comic-book movies since The Dark Knight, mainly because of its protagonists’ complexity. Virtually all of the characters in Logan have lost hope for a brighter future, casting a depressing aura onto the movie, and forcing the audience to ask themselves: do we want the protagonists to succeed or not?

Played by Hugh Jackman, Logan is a tired drunk attempting to build a relationship with his biological daughter, Laura, who shares her father’s lethal ability to produce claws from her knuckles. Simultaneously, Logan tries to take care of his mentor, Charles Xavier — played

by Patrick Stewart — who is struggling with a neurodegenerative disease. The villain of the story is a man with a deadly metal arm who wants Laura’s DNA to create artificial mutants.

Logan, however, focuses not on this conflict, but focuses on its characters’ interactions and

humanity despite their supernatural abilities.

Logan is an unconventional take on the stereotypical superhero movie. Too often, bigbudget superhero movies try to create storylines that are complex to the point of being distracting and ultimately detract from the movie’s central message. The script for Logan, however, was very simple: Logan said only what was necessary. While the pace of the story was slow, I found the speed an effective approach to telling a tired, aching and — at times — sad tale.

Jackman and Stewart’s powerful performances only added to the film’s success. Through their performances, they made me feel their characters’ pain, something I’ve never felt before while watching a superhero film.

The filmography of Logan, however, is inconsistent. The film cuts directly from a decapitation scene to a serious conversation about whether life as a mutant is really worth it. Despite its minor inconsistencies, I adored Logan and consider it to be one of the great comicbook movies. Originally, the X-Men series only reached fans of the comic books, but the films have now broken into the mainstream market, and as a result, reach a more diverse audience.

If you have the stomach for it — since some of the more violent scenes are extremely gory — definitely watch Logan when it becomes available on the small screen.

Photos courtesy of “Logan”

PIECED TOGETHER Despite recent xenophobic federal policies, first generation students feel welcomed at South

By Rachel Gu and Kimia Tabatabaei

America is based on immigration. I don’t understand the people who don’t like immigrants because [they] themselves are in some way immigrants.

e

photos by Netta Dror, Bailey Kroner, Kiana Lee & Kimia Tabatabaei

teachers helped her transition to Newton. surrounded by a small group of people with whom he shared “My world history teacher ... wants to know everything similar experiences. about me,” she said. “For example, [my teacher] asked me to “They were experiencing the same thing,” he said. “It share more about our first day of spring New Year. ... [My class] wasn’t like they were native English speakers who’d lived here listened to me when I told them about our Nowruz and our their entire life. They were also trying to make friends and traditions.” trying to get used to the new language and the new culture.”

Because South’s ELL program helps integrate foreign Even though other students did not understand the students into mainstream classes, the program indirectly language and cultural barriers that she faced during her first helps Americanfew months in born students gain a Newton, junior better understanding Gabrielle Pellegrin of the immigrant said that ELL experience, connected her sophomore Fernanda to a network of Luz said. immigrants who Gabrielle Pellegrin, Class of 2018 “People in Newton eased her transition are very welcoming because of this ELL program,” she said. from France to the United States.

“When I came here, my English was really bad. I couldn’t “They know a lot of people are immigrants.”

Before moving to Newton in 2016, Luz, originally from really speak [English], and people didn’t really make an effort Brazil, lived in Florida for a year, where she said she did not to talk to me,” Pellegrin said. “But my friends from ELL really feel welcomed. helped me, and it’s nice to be helped by people who have the “[On] my first day of school in Florida, I sat at a table, same experience as you.” and a lot of girls came up to me and were like, ‘You’re Brazilian.

Freshman Pegah Mirkhani added that the support from e

“O

ur exceptional public educational system,” South’s online school profile states, “attracts families from all over the world.” According to the 2015 US Census, more than 19,600 of Newton’s nearly 88,900 residents were born outside the United States.

Junior Luca Hensch’s family moved to Newton from Tokyo, Japan to pursue a job opportunity. When he first arrived, Hensch said, he was fluent in Japanese and Italian, but could not speak English. After three years, with assistance from teachers in the English Language Learning (ELL) program, Hensch said that he became more comfortable with the language.

According to Newton Public School’s ELL Overview, Newton developed an ELL program that extends to each of the city’s 21 schools, helping foreign students adjust to a new environment by teaching them English. ELL instructors address students’ individual needs by helping them embrace their culture, while also developing appropriate academic and social skills, giving them the confidence to interact with fluent English speakers.

While ELL did help him learn English, senior Jeff Vardi said, the most important part of his ELL experience was being

... You’re a slut. You’re Latina. ... We don’t want you here. Go back to your country. You’re not American,’” Luz said. “I used to feel so sad and so bad.”

Luz said that the discrimination she experienced in Florida made her regret leaving Brazil.

“There were some days that I was crying all day, saying, ‘I hate here, I hate Americans,’” Luz said. “I used to say that a lot, and I was scared when my mom said we were moving to Boston.”

According to Luz, however, her new welcoming home has changed her view.

While South prides itself on its accepting environment, immigrant students, such as Hensch, said that they continue to be the target of racist hate speech. “[Germany, Italy and Japan] aren’t exactly highly revered in America,” Hensch said. “Even just the little kidding stuff you do with your friends does affect every single person differently.

For me, coming from a whole different country [and] being completely immersed in American culture was really a shock.

So, just getting made fun of for something as small as me being Japanese or being German definitely was not exactly pleasant.”

Continued on next page

page 14|April 13, 2017

Continued from previous page Junior Lucy Kim, an immigrant from South Korea, said that racial profiling influences how she is treated.

“I guess there was always that little small aspect that I am Korean, and that’s the first thing people see, is that I am AsianAmerican, not just American,” Kim said. “The way people treat you is just a little different when people directly … ask you, ‘Where are you from? Where are you really from?’”

Consequently, Kim said she struggles with finding her own identity and learning to accept herself.

“I always feel self-conscious when I’m with a group of Asians,” she said. “I’m still trying to learn how to be just more okay with who I am. … I’m Asian, I’m KoreanAmerican and that’s okay. When I sometimes say a sentence, and it’s grammatically incorrect, it’s okay because [English is] not my first language.”

As an immigrant from Iran, junior Nika Faraji said that students have directed Islamophobic jokes at her. While people might not intend to be hurtful, hearing Muslims falsely generalized is painful according to Faraji.

Contrary, Mirkhani said that she has never been the target of any derogatory comments relating to her ethnicity or religion.

“If people weren’t as nice to me in Newton, then I really don’t think I could’ve made any friends,” she said.

According to Mirkhani, maintaining her cultural identity has been challenging since immigrating to the United States.

“I think that I have [lost part of my culture]. For example, in Iran, when it’s the Persian New Year, everywhere everyone has joy. ... Everywhere people are playing happy songs. Everything is good,” she said.

centerfold|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

“But here, we [celebrate] ourselves. It’s as if someone needs to tell us, ‘It’s the New Year, now you have to celebrate, now you have to be happy.”

Kim shared a similar experience to Mirkhani.

“I thought that I could relate more [in Korea], because of what I look like. But when I went to Korea over the summer, I felt so uncomfortable,” Kim said. “I speak Korean fluently, but Koreans know that that’s not my language because I have that slight accent. ... I look different from the classic Koreans who live in Korea. And so that was surprising for me, that I felt like I couldn’t belong in my own country because I haven’t been there for so long.”

According to Mirkhani, the immigration process has recently become more challenging. Five months ago, after 13 years of waiting to receive her visa, Mirkhani said that she and her mother moved to Newton from Tehran, Iran in hopes of a better life.

Her father, however, was not allowed to join them because President Donald Trump’s immigration ban has further delayed the process of obtaining a visa.

According to CNN, Trump’s original executive order, issued on Jan. 27, banned entry into the United States for citizens from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and indefinitely halted refugees from Syria.

Though the original ban was soon blocked, the impact still affects Mirkhani’s father’s visa process.

“There was only one week left for that two month waiting time [for his visa] to expire,” Mirkhani said. “One week later, if [Trump] hadn’t made that ban, my dad could’ve come.”

Despite the United States being founded by immigrants, at various points in history, anti-immigrant sentiment has

risen. According to the New York Times, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, anti-immigration sentiment initially targeted Irish and German immigrants and later Italian, Chinese and Japanese immigrants.

Now, students like Hensch and Pellegrin said that they have observed the renewal of anti-immigrant sentiment.

“America is based on immigration,” Pellegrin said. “I don’t understand the people who don’t like immigrants because [they] themselves are in some way immigrants.”

“These are human lives you’re talking about — not just statistics and numbers,” Hensch agreed. “America is a land of immigrants. These are real people ... trying to make a new life for themselves.”

Luz said that several of her friends who illegally immigrated have been deported due to Trump’s order to deport undocumented immigrants. “[My friends] had to give up everything they constructed here in the United States. … They had to sell everything and go back to their country,” Luz said.

Mirkhani said that she hopes Trump reevaluates his orders.

“Your mom was an immigrant. Your wife is an immigrant,” she said. “Why are you doing this to us?”

According to the Newton Tab, in response to Trump’s policy the Newton City Council voted 16 to one on Feb. 21 to become a sanctuary city.

Vardi said that Newton becoming a sanctuary city will further its commitment to being a welcoming and safe community.

“Part of the culture shock I had here is everyone is so accepting, so welcoming,” Vardi said. “[Becoming a Sanctuary City] is good, especially now that ... there’s a sense of xenophobia. So, I do think that it’s important that Newton is very welcoming.”

Immigration Presence by the Numbers

22

percent

of Newton’s population is foreign-born

14

percent of the United States’ population is foreign-born

61

percent of Americans support illegal immigrants staying in the country sources of information from the 2015 and 2013 U.S Census and The Atlantic

FEATURES page 15|April 13, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

FEATURES@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 7

Changing

aces

Facebook serves different purposes across generations but remains relevant at any age

By Ella Biggs, Sara Modiano and Nora Swidey

S

enior Lauren Miller turns on her computer and logs onto her Facebook to message her clubs and sports team. Meanwhile, English teacher Deborah Bernhard scrolls through her feed with a different purpose.

“I see a lot of news on there,” Bernhard said. “People post current events. I see what my friends are up to.”

Over a decade after Facebook’s release, the social media platform remains relevant across multiple generations of users, members of the South community said.

"I think Facebook does a good job of being universal. It does everything," sophomore Jack Martin said.

According to ski coach Jeff Riklin, Facebook’s original target audience of people over 18 are still frequent visitors of the site. “[Facebook] appeals to [older people] because they have learned how to use it­— they are comfortable using it,” he said. “It is harder to teach old dogs new tricks — it is harder for them to use Snapchat or Twitter.”

According to sophomore Kareahna Randolph, the rise in popularity of other social media platforms has caused a decline in the use of Facebook among younger people. “[Facebook is declining] because of new apps like Snapchat and Instagram.

They do things that Facebook doesn't,” she said.

Miller added that Facebook serves

the news sharing has increased dramatically.”

Miller said Facebook is not very reliable source for in-depth news stories, but is for quick updates.

“I guess you can get some form of news on [Facebook],” she said. “I wouldn’t rely on it for my news, but it’s interesting to get those quick updates.”

Unlike adults, teenagers use Face-

Facebook does a good job of being universal. It does everything.

-Jack Martin, Class of 2019 different purposes for different generations.

“My mom just posts a lot of pictures of her kids, whereas I use it to get in touch with people and to figure out what’s going on when,” she said. “My grandma uses it, but she’ll just comment on things.”

Bernhard said that Facebook has evolved into a news source for her “News sharing has risen in why we use Facebook,” she said. “I still think that sharing personal stuff like photos and status updates is still a primary purpose, but

book as a method of communication, according to junior Juliet Cable.

“My mother relies almost entirely on email for communicating with the people she works with,” she said. “I rely mostly on Facebook for that same purpose.”

Miller, a cross country captain, said that Facebook Messenger is an invaluable tool for communicating with teammates.

“It was helpful to post ‘All right, team dinner here’ and also just to have a group chat with the other captains to coordinate,” she said. “It was all in one

place rather than going back and forth ... between text and [Facebook].”

Cable agreed, adding that Facebook is now her primary source of communication.

"By my freshman year, Facebook was the way that most of my friends and clubs communicated," she said.

Freshman Alana Borer said that while she does not have Facebook, she sees how it can be helpful when it comes to school activities.

“I feel like the only thing I’m missing is [that] I know a lot of people work on group projects on Facebook, [and] there are school announcements on Facebook,” she said.

Concerning the future of Facebook, Martin said that the site will remain popular for all generations.

“Facebook has staying power. I don’t think it will go away,” Martin said. “I think it will probably just stay the same, [being] used for the same thing forever. It seems like something that’s just really solid, and there’s no reason why people would want to stop using it.”

photo illustration by Netta Dror

heteronorma TV ty page 16|April 13, 2017

Features|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Media can misrepresent sexuality and gender, harming students as they seek affirmance of their identity.

By Shoshi Gordon and Lanie McLeod Around the time when Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian, North alumnus Michael Greenspan recalled, a conservative movement called for “H-ratings” to warn of homosexuality in [the] media, just “in case you found [LGBTQ people] objectionable.” At the time, Greenspan, who now visits freshman health classes to discuss his experiences as a transgender man, was a high school student. “[H-ratings] got shut down pretty quickly, fortunately, but it did for a few months sit there,” Greenspan said.

“There’s still a lot of heterosexism and heteronormativity. At least [now] there’s not a rating saying, ‘the scary gay people are here; shield your children.’”

GLAAD, an organization that works to increase LGBTQ representation in the media, conducted a study in 2015 that discovered 17.5 percent of characters in major motion picture releases that year identified as LGBTQ — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.

While progressive legislation and media have worked to legitimize and normalize LGBTQ identities, students said that heteronormativity is still present at South. The media’s pervasive stereotypes, they said, create norms that exclude positive representations of queer people and interfere with South students trying to embrace their diverse identities.

“There’s a general understanding that society, and the media as a reflection of society, centers [around] a heteronormative experience, ... with certain values and judgements attached to it,” Julie Blazar, the Director of Communication and Operations at OutMetroWest, a non-profit organization that runs several programs for LGBTQ and allied students in MetroWest Boston, said. “They center that [experience] as normal or typical, leaving everything outside of those bounds to seem abnormal, atypical or underappreciated.”

Senior Alana Bojar, president of South’s Gender and Sexuality Awareness (GSA) club, agreed, saying that LGBTQ representation in the media is limited.

“There isn’t really any representation, especially when I was younger and watching Disney Channel and Nickelodeon,” she said.

Junior Catherine O’Brien agreed, noting her personal struggles finding relatable content in the media.

“As a gay person, I really like finding other representations of characters, like two women in a relationship, in TV shows,” she said. “I found a lot of support through lesbian YouTubers. … It was comforting to find people who were like me because I didn’t always feel like I had that at first.”

Sophomore Jasmin Rotem said she found comfort in characters similar to herself.

“I did not realize a person like me could even exist,” Rotem said. “When I

did see a person that was similar to me in the media, which was Adam Lambert. …

He’s Jewish and gay, [and he] seemed like a mythological creature to me.”

“Now, there’s so many more [representations], which is a really good thing,” O’Brien said. “And I think that kind of goes with the fact that the LGBTQ community is becoming a lot more prominent in the news and is becoming more accepted.”

According to junior Samuel Ellis Komack, however, the media often sexualizes LGBTQ representation.

“It’s considered that an LGBTQ topic is inherently sexual somehow, and that it’s not okay for kids,” he said. “But that’s really harmful and damaging.”

couples,” Cicmil said. “It’s always one of them isn’t out yet, one of them’s got an abusive parent.”

Sophomore Naomi Liftman said these trends add to the general sentiment that LGBTQ characters have irresolute identities.

“There’s this running stigma that queer people don’t know who they are, that they’re just trying to figure themselves out,” Liftman said. “When I tell people that I’m bisexual, they [say] ‘Hm, so you’re either gay and trying to hide it, or straight and experimenting.’”

“There’s a stereotype for anyone in the LGBTQ community that they can’t be as pretty,” sophomore Alana AxelrodFreed offered. “If you’re a girl and you come out as gay, people [say] you’re too pretty to be gay, even more so if you’re trans.”

Freshman Dylan Arkowitz said that reading LGBTQ books helped him come out of the closet by helping him see what it would be like to be out.

Cicmil, however, said stereotypical

“There’s a general understanding that society, and the media as a reflection of society, centers [around] a heteronormative experience, .... leaving everything outside of those bounds to seem abnormal, atypical or underappreciated.”

Julie Blazer, OutMetroWest Director of Communication and Operation Komack mentioned queer-baiting, where media puts LGBTQ characters in the subtext of the plot for more views.

“They never have those relationships come through. Essentially, they grow an LGBTQ audience while also keeping their homophobic audience,” Komack said.

“They’re trying to get … maximum profit without actually making a brave political stand.”

Freshman Maiya Cicmil said that the queer narrative tends to only follow a character’s coming out story.

“It’s not about the same relationship drama as it would be with straight

coming out stories dominate the media and are proven inaccurate in real life.

“Quite a lot of the [shows] just have either complete acceptance or throwing out the house,” Cicmil said. “It doesn’t prepare you for that weird middle where your parents just give you that disappointed look.”

While shows might be making assumptions and stereotyping LGBTQ people, this representation is a step in the right direction, according to Arkowitz.

Cicmil said that limited representation can affect education as well, as the health curriculum often skips important

topics for LGBTQ students, including information on AIDS prevention and safe queer sex, posing dangers for queer students who then turn to potentially unreliable internet sources for information.

Students of varying orientations deserve the same respect outside the health classroom, history teacher Robert Parlin said.

“I just try to avoid [assuming a student’s orientation] and be neutral in the pronouns I use,” he said. “In class, it’s not necessarily appropriate to ask people about their sexual orientation or their gender identity unless they have given a clear message that they want to talk about it.”

“The whole idea of accepting someone else’s identity as normal — that is one of the most important things we can do to support each other,” history teacher Rebecca Ledig said.

Ledig and Parlin teach Race, Class and Gender, a senior humanities course based on social justice issues.

“Part of what we’re trying to do in many ways is about empathy and being able to understand that your experience isn’t the same as everybody else’s experience,” Ledig said.

With similar goals, GSA members and other South students participate in the Day of Silence, an annual LGBTQ bullying awareness day designed to highlight the importance of the LGBTQ community by silencing members and allies for 24 hours.

“What would happen if we really did all disappear? We’re being taken for granted. … If we disappeared, then they’d notice and then they’d care,” Greenspan said. “Being silent for a day, being physically present, but being silent, it makes you think about the voices you’re not hearing [and] the voices you’re not hearing even when they talk. How much noise do we have to make before people listen?”

Additional reporting

by Dina Zeldin

graphic by Alice Zilberberg

April 13, 2017|page 17

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|FEATURES

Weighing the Options Students find internal and external pressures eclipsing personal motivation to take high-level classes.

S

By Jessica Altman, Zoe Golub & Maggie Kenslea

outh offers a wide array of classes — 103 to freshmen alone —, most at multiple levels. Many academic classes run at College Preparatory (CP), Advanced College Preparatory (ACP), Honors (H) and Advanced Placement (AP) levels, which differ in workload, speed, difficulty and often, amount of student stress.

Spanish teacher Cynthia Manthei said that students in higher-level classes are not always more motivated than those in lower levels.

“I’ve had ACP classes where the students were very interested in learning and dedicated, and I’ve had ACP classes where the students were less interested in the topic and didn’t focus,” she said. “I’ve had [honors] students who have been very interested in the topic ... and other years where the honors students are taking it because they want to look good on their transcripts, ... but it doesn’t make for a fun learning experience.”

Some students said they take honors classes because they feel pressure from their peers, their parents and themselves to take challenging courses, sometimes regardless of personal interest in the subject.

According to sophomore Nikta Mozhgani, South’s reputation as a tough, rigorous school has pressured her to take more challenging classes.

“When choosing class levels, the reputation of South is so good, so I want to take as many honors or AP classes as I can,” she said.

Senior Ruslan Crosby said that expectations to take higher level classes stem from students’ urge to match — and even exceed — other students’ course loads.

“Students often talk ... about their classes and say, ‘Oh, I’m taking x amount of honors classes — how many are you?’” he said. “At that point, they do feel pressure to take a class that they may not be prepared for.”

English teacher Kelly Henderson said that she recognizes the competitive environment at South and the peer pressure some students feel to take high-level classes, but believes this student-based competitive environment extends beyond South’s walls.

“This is a big issue — not just at Newton South, but in society in general — the issue of competition and the idea that educational attainment is of more importance than it actually is,” she said. “I think the amount of social pressure to be in a higher-level class makes [students] who aren’t in those classes feel badly.”

This competitive environment also brings stereotypes about the class atmosphere and the students that take each level class, junior Brigitte Tang added.

“ACP is often considered the normal class, honors is thought of as kind of good and AP is thought of as the best,” she said.

“But CP has the stigma around it, ... and I

don’t think it should be like that.”

Manthei agreed, adding that this stigma especially affects the abilities of student athletes in the classroom.

“Often there is a misconception that kids who like sports will take ACP or CP classes, which isn’t true because we have athlete scholars in the school,” she said.

She also said that a misconception is that “kids who take the honors classes are ... super intelligent, but that’s not true because there are people who just work really hard because they want to learn.”

Individual teachers’ reputations among students have also led to generalizations and misconceptions about certain classes and their instructors, according to freshman Eadie Pitino.

“I have heard things like, ‘You shouldn’t be in an honors class because of this one teacher,’” she said.

Similarly, Mozhgani said she has received advice from upperclassmen that held her back from taking a risk and going outside her comfort zone.

“I [have] heard [that] ‘This class is way too hard,’ like, ‘Honors chem is way too hard, and you shouldn’t take it,’” she said. “That stresses me out more because I think, ‘I’m not good enough to take this class.’”

While choosing classes can be difficult with the expectations, pressure and misleading advice from others, Mozhgani said that students should be comfortable with their class selections and make sure to keep stress to a minimum, while also considering free blocks and extracurriculars.

“When choosing classes, I think about how many free blocks I have, and how much I can manage and how much time I have after school to do all the work,” she said. “So if I do a sport, I might not pick as many honors classes.”

School should be enjoyable, Manthei added, so students should consider what they actually enjoy before choosing courses based on level.

“Balance is really, really important,” she said. “There is a college for everybody, and I wish people would do what they love to learn, so this is a happy experience and aren’t just doing it because it’s supposed to be done. Learning should be joyful.”

South’s competitive setting has students focused more on the level, and less on the actual subject, according to Crosby.

“I would tell freshmen and sophomores to forget about the labels of honors and ACP because there is no inherent honor in taking an honors or ACP-level class, because all it means is you get certain credit,” he said. “An ACP or CP student can be an honorable student if they do their best — same as honors. So forget about the labeling of them. Just do what’s best for you and try your best, and if you can take honor in that, then no one can take that away from you.”

2016-17 Enrollment Breakdown: English:

Math:

41% in Honors 49% in ACP 5% in CP 5% in Unleveled World Language:

22% in Honors 71% in ACP 4% in CP 3% in Unleveled

32% in Honors 64% in ACP 3% in CP 1% in Unleveled

Science:

History:

28% in Honors 64% in ACP 8% in CP

38% in Honors 59% in ACP 3% in CP

594

students were recommended for 3 (or more) honors or AP classes for the 2017-18 school year.

information from Vice Principal Candice Beermann

page 18|April 13, 2017

THE

Features|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

COMMONAPPLICATION

The Roar followed four seniors with different interests as they navigate the college application process and will reveal their identities and college plans as they make their decisions

By Celine Yung

N

ate* was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania and to Cornell University’s 2018 transfer program. Nate said he must decide whether he wants to attend UPenn or one of his safety schools for a year before transferring to Cornell.

Even though both schools are equally strong in biomedical engineering, Nate said, UPenn’s flexible curriculum will allow him to explore more options within the field.

“Other colleges didn’t seem to offer any introduction programs, only course requirements, whereas UPenn allows you to search around a variety of classes, which appealed to me,” Nate said.

While Nate said he is not intimidated by UPenn’s rigorous academics, he has other reservations.

“If I were to choose UPenn, I think the distance between there and home will be an issue ... I would have to take a flight back, which is inconvenient,” he said.

However, after becoming more familiar with Cornell, Nate said he prefers Cornell over UPenn.

“I’ve spent more time there and I have a few friends that go there as well,” he said. “I’ve been able to talk to them about the campus atmosphere.”

According to Nate, he would be happy at either school and has advice for upcoming applicants.

“From what I could tell from College Confidential forums, everyone who applies to [Ivy Leagues] has high SAT scores and high GPAs,” he said. “What [my acceptance] came down to were my essays, where I tried to communicate to colleges my own experiences and who I am as a person.”

R

graphics by Celine Yung

ufus* was accepted to both Cornell University and Bowdoin University. Rufus committed to Bowdoin before receiving his acceptance to Cornell; however, because he was accepted to Bowdoin regular decision, he said he still has to choose between the two schools.

According to Rufus, his acceptance to Cornell was unexpected.

“I was pretty sure that I was going to go to Bowdoin based on the amount of financial aid they offered me,” he said. “Now, I just have to see how much money [Cornell] offers me, and I also have to tour both schools.”

For Rufus, both schools have equally enticing characteristics.

“Bowdoin’s small classroom size will allow me to get close with faculty and have great relationships with everyone,” he said. “But you can’t beat Cornell’s post-grad opportunities. Its alumni network is so strong and is such powerful tool.”

In addition to Cornell’s many post-graduate opportunities, Rufus said Cornell has many undergraduate opportunities as well.

“I’m looking forward to the vast resources that Cornell provides for its students in terms of research and ability to go abroad and get startups going,” he said.

Rufus said that although Cornell has the prestige of an Ivy League school, he believes that it looks at its applicants holistically.

“As colleges get more competitive they start to look at each person and see what they have to offer you,” he said. “I definitely didn’t fit the stereotypical ‘Cornell mold.’ I think I was different, and [they] appreciated that.”

*Names changed to protect students’ identities

Students win awards at state art competition

By Dina Zeldin

When senior Celia Snyder first submitted her photography to the Scholastic Arts and Writing competition, she said that she was not expecting to win. She is headed to Carnegie Hall to recieve a gold medal.

“It’s mind-blowing that I won,” she said.

Snyder is one of many South students who participated in this year’s national Scholastic Arts and Writing competition. The contest, which is run by the Boston Globe on the state level, awards hundreds of gold and silver keys and honorable mentions to students from seventh to twelfth grade. Contestants awarded gold then have their work submitted to the national competition.

Photo teacher Laura Penney said that she pushed her junior and senior students to submit their work.

“It’s exciting to have your work validated,” she said, adding that she hoped her students would gain experience regardless of the competition’s outcome.

“Art contests are a great way to reward people for doing great work, but … it’s more about the process and being proud of something,” senior Sarah Alpert, who won an honorable mention for her photo, said. “[Art] keeps me focused on schoolwork,” senior Luke Witty, who won a gold key for his printmaking, said. “Without having art, I can’t do anything else.”

“Everyone has their own, different way of expressing themselves,” Snyder added. “[It] comes out through different types of art.”

On her trip to Norway, senior Celia Snyder took her gold-medal winning photo, “only the cows can tell.”

“As soon as I got my first camera, ... everything fell in place for me. I never put my camera down,” Snyder said, adding that she hopes to pursue photojournalism at the Scripps College at Ohio University.

“Art is such a unique human experience; it’s one that’s shared across cultures, and languages, and it connects us all and without art, without that outlet of expression, I can’t imagine life.”

“Big Me, Little Me,” by senior Jasmine Chan, won an honorable mention.

Chan, originally pushed towards art by her father, has taken a plethora of arts classes at South. Chan said she will continue making art at the Rhode Island School of Design. “[Art has] definitely made my high school experience better,” she said. “It allows you to see things with a different perspective.”

“where does my truth belong ?” is one of eight photos senior Caitlin Connell entered in the Scholastic competition.

“I would paint and mess with the pictures themselves when I got them printed,” she said of the process. The photos are part of a portolio titled “damaged goods,” for which Connell scanned her photos in plastic bags.

Ever since Connell signed up for the photography class her freshman year, she has enjoyed taking photo and seeing her peers’ work as well.

“There’s something very personal and beautiful about seeing what someone else decided to create,” she said. “Art creates a community at South … It adds spice.”

APRIL 13, 2017|page 19

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|fun page

South Crime Watch

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo of the Month:

Editors’ Note: Individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

FOUL PLAY March 8, Courtyard Students were caught playing Pin the Tail on Each Other. Game materials were promptly confiscated, and the students were sent home with their tails between their legs.

graphic by Sophie Galowitz

DISCRIMINATION March 13, Classrooms Following Saturday’s SAT testing, left-handed students arrived at school to find all left-handed desks replaced with right-handed desks. One angry lefty said, “In all my classes, my left arm was just hanging — completely unsupported!”

PLAGARISM March 31, 6100s Two students turned in burritos from Anna’s Tacqueria for their Spanish food project. Following this discovery, their teacher said, “If only they had cited ‘Anna’s’ on EasyBib, they wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE April 1, English Office On Friday morning, the English Department reportedly received a shipment of books from the “Twilight” series from an anonymous donor. A note on the top of the box read, “Romeo and Juliet got nothing on Bella and Edward.” The police have contacted all suspects.

PLAYING HOOKY April 7, Library Multiple students reported seeing a cancelled class list claiming every teacher at South was absent. Many students went home, citing the list as justification for their unexcused absences.

Half of the freshman class was spotted at Tango Mango.

Wang explores his wild side as a musician.

Overheard at SOUTH Yes, we heard you say that.

Biology-savvy teacher: “Genetically, all of us are 99.999% the same.”

Fruit-saavy student: “We are also 99% a banana.”

Curious relationship-seeker #1: “Is there such thing as an attractive chimpanzee?”

Curious relationship-seeker #2: “So polygamy is worth going to jail for the rest of your life?”

Overdressed student: “One of my pants is falling down.”

Philisophical Pixar lover: “If Nemo was a guy, I’d date him.”

Generous teacher: “Does anyone want a sun-dried tomato? It only has a little bit of mold on it...”’

Dessert-enthused student: “The pie is in the bathroom!”

216 Sumner St. Newton, MA 02459 Tel. 617 795 2022 Burgers, fries, special sauce, and more!

Lee’s Burger Place

SPORTS FIGHTING FOR SPACE page 20|April 13, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 33, ISSUE 7

South athletes evaluate the importance of freshman teams

FRESHMAN, from 1 and other grades because it lets freshmen know that they are a part of the team from their first day in high school,” he said. “It also motivates them to work hard because if they see guys who are older than them struggling like they are, then it motivates them to succeed at a higher level.”

Similarly, senior track and field captain Dan Epstein said that when he was on the freshman soccer team, he felt a lack of motivation from the players, causing the team to be unproductive.

“There was no real discipline; it was just a bunch of freshmen who were all playing the sport, and they weren’t the best at the sport,” Epstein said. “I thought there was really a lack of motivation, and it just wasn’t a great experience.”

Peter Janosky, a freshman on the track and field team, said that having teammates from different grades helped him meet athletes with differing experiences in the sport.

“One of the big benefits of having no freshman team is that it’s really great for bonding,” he said. “I got to meet some people that I would have never even talked to before.”

Jampol, however, said that freshman teams give younger athletes an opportunity to simply do something fun after school, all the while preparing to someday contribute at the program’s JV or varsity level. “[There are] kids [who] can’t quite make it to the junior varsity but want to learn, and are good enough to play,” he said. “It would be great for them to have an experience at school.”

According to Patti, not all sports offer a freshman graphic by Clara Boberg team because of insufficient participation. On her softball team, for example, she said that she found few players man teams, depending on an individual’s specific situa“And there are a lot of people [who] might not recognize who knew about the sport beforehand. tion. everyone immediately or know everybody’s name, which Masterson said that a freshman team is not feasible “If you’re a varsity athlete, you benefit by not havcan hurt the sense of community.” for some programs because of their budget and available ing freshmen on your team because then it just leaves “I don’t like that [freshman teams] separate the resources. you with committed upperclassman who are good at the freshmen from the rest of the team,” Fudim added. “I “I play volleyball [and] I learned how to play volsport,” he said. “However, if you are a freshman and you think it builds a division, not only unified within the grade leyball … on the freshman team, and I do think that are on the freshman team, it feels like you have a different but also competition to move up.” freshman programs are a very good thing,” she said. “But experience than the varsity [players].”

Epstein said that the cohesion of the track program I don’t think it’s very feasible to have a freshman program “I can see why [other sports] would need a freshacross all grades compelled him to pursue the captain role. for every team. For example, the [tennis] “Being on a team where all four Being on a team where all four grades are integrated every prac- grades are integrated every practice and team doesn’t have the courts, the money and the resources to have that freshman tice and every meet was motivating. ... I would just look right to ... every meet [was motivating],” he said. “I program.” was showing up every day to practice and all those role models I had every day at practice.

According to Fudim, because of I would be running alongside the senior the number of people trying out, it isn’t captains, … and whenever I needed help, logical to have a whole separate team for I would just look right to the senior captain Dan Epstein, Boy’s track and field captain so few people. or ... to all those role models I had every day “The tennis and golf teams are small teams, so I man team — to get middle schoolers ready for the high at practice.” don’t think having a freshman team would be beneficial,” school seasons,” Fudim agreed. “But on our team, we don’t “Track has always been one big community as a he said. “It would just be a few kids, and that’s not really a need a freshman team because it doesn’t change through- whole,” Janosky agreed. “I really like being with the older team.” out the years; it’s just the same mentality every year.” guys who are more experienced than me and faster than Fudim added that the absence of freshman teams According to Patti, having a lot of people on just me because it’s really beneficial to see what they are doing from both track and cross country is also due to the one or two teams can make it more difficult to bond with and see what they are running during practice so I can folstructure and logistics specific to the sport. teammates. low that and try to get better myself.”

“On my teams, everyone is on the same boat “With the bigger programs, it can be a lot harder to “Even people who were at the back of the pack because we’re all competing in the same events,” he said. bond. When there is anywhere from 60 to 80 people in the freshman year are still doing the sport because when you “And on other teams … they have different games, differ- program, it can be a lot if you want to make bonds early are a freshman, the upperclassmen include you, and it ent practice schedules and everything is different.” in the season and throughout because most people can’t kind of intimidates you, but it also gives you a sense of Epstein acknowledged the pros and cons of freshhouse 80 people or there just isn’t space for that,” she said. community, a sense of home and a sense of friendship,” Fudim said. “The integration between the grades is defi-

April 13, 2017|page 21

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts

The New Coach Approach

The softball and baseball programs each receive new varsity coaches this season Andrew Mei Sports Reporter

Last year, the softball team filled its head coaching vacancy with Ginny Walsh.

Just three weeks before this season’s start, however, Walsh announced that she would not be returning to coach for personal reasons, sending the program into another scramble to find a successor. For the committee of team captains and teachers, former JV coach Alexis Gonzalez emerged as the best option for the job, according to Ted Dalicandro, who served as interim athletic director in Patricia Gonzalez’s extended absence. As head coach, Gonzalez said she looks to build the program with her high intensity on and off the field.

The short notice of Walsh’s resignation forced the committee to review candidates’ resumes quickly, so a coach would be in place for tryouts and the start of the season. Dalicandro acknowledged that the hiring process was rushed due to the short notice of Walsh’s resignation and the fast-

approaching start of the season, but said it was ultimately effective nonetheless.

A Texas native, Gonzalez played four years of high school softball.

“The committee felt that Gonzalez was energetic, and I loved her passion for the sport,” Dalicandro said. “We as a committee thought that she was a strong role model for the student athletes, and she’s going to be able to take this program to the next level. We felt that she was the best fit for the South team.”

With less than a week to prepare for tryouts, Gonzalez worked hard to get on the same page as her team captains and coaching staff, according to senior captain and center fielder Courtney Pappas.

“We did a lot of planning, and [Gonzalez] was ready even a few days before the season started to get with us [and] get tryouts going so we wouldn’t be delayed even more than we already were,” she said.

After the team failed to secure a playoff berth last season, many returning players and coaches said they have set their sights on this year’s playoffs. While Gon-

BASEBALL Catherine Granfield & Brendon Locke

Sr. Sports Editor, Sports Reporter This spring, after four seasons as an assistant coach, Mike Aiena became baseball’s head coach. The self-described “baseball junkie” said he looks to improve the program after last season’s 3-17 record.

After catching for Boston College, Aiena coached a series of teams, includ-

ing Arlington Catholic High School and the Boston Park League’s Cannon Club.

According to Aiena, coaching a struggling program is not a new challenge. “[The Cannon Club] was terrible when I first took it over,” he said. “I rebuilt that into a championship team over the last couple years.” “[Aiena] really knows his stuff,” senior captain and outfielder Dylan Meehan said. “It’s good to have someone around who really knows what he’s talking about

SOFTBALL

photos by Netta Dror

zalez agreed that the postseason is a major objective, she added that team success can come in various forms.

“As well as winning games, [another] goal I have this year is to respect each other as players [and] try to have fun,” she said.

According to Gonzalez, her approach to both playing and coaching softball begins with mental resolve and awareness in practices and games.

“A great attitude creates a great player,” she said. “Just be ready to play and come out with your head on straight [and] then you’re going to have a good game.”

Sophomore catcher and third baseman Sabrina Clebnik said that Gonzalez’s familiarity with the program helped ease the sudden transition.

“We found out very abruptly that our coach [Walsh] left,” Clebnik said. “[But] the transition was easier since [Gonzalez] has

been here before and we all kind of know who she is.”

Gonzalez’s emphasis on intense preparation for games should push the team to increased success this season, junior third baseman Olyvia Salek added.

“She is really tough,” she said. “She is making us do a lot more drills. She is confident, present [and] everything you look for in a coach.”

“We do a lot of conditioning, [and] I think that she will really help the team technique-wise,” junior catcher Amanda Smith agreed.

According to Pappas, Gonzalez is fully prepared to take the program to new heights.

“She’s driven,” Pappas said. “She’s ready to go. [She’s] definitely pushing us to our hardest [and] setting goals for us that she will help us succeed.”

and can really help us out.”

Senior captain and second baseman Ben Alexander said that Aiena has welcomed suggestions to reform the team’s style of play.

“I hope we implement more smallball stuff — bunts, hit-and-runs and all the stuff that gets runs in a high school league, especially when you don’t have a team that hits home runs,” he said. “[We want to try] stealing more, working more with the pitcher on pick-off moves [and] just try to take outs from the other team.”

Aeina also hopes to experiment with the roster, senior pitcher Scott Goldstein said.

“Coach Aiena will give a much different perspective on who to play. It will be a different starting lineup just about every time,” he said. “There are some [positions] where we can put different guys in different places, and it’s time for different guys to try it out.”

Sophomore shortstop Brandon Lee added that Aiena entered the season with a responsive attitude.

“Coach Aiena is very open to having our players be open and talk to him about anything,” he said. “He likes suggestions and loves it when we talk baseball with him — how we played this game or how we should improve from that game. He definitely encourages us to talk to him about anything, even outside of baseball, which is good for our team chemistry.”

Senior outfielder Nathan Elbaum

agreed that the team chemistry has improved.

“Coach Aiena is much more understandable, more relaxed and understands that the best way to get the most out of the players is to have a little more fun than going hard 24/7,” he said. “He’s been trying to bring up the team camaraderie, which is something that [former head coach Ron] Jordan kind of left on the backburner.”

Aiena said he intends to guide and assist his players in their endeavors, whether they be on the diamond, in the classroom or at home.

“We’ve been working with the players as the season gets going to develop a kind of a player contract, where we can help them map out some baseball goals and personal goals and do what we can to help them accomplish those things,” he said.

Alexander said that his personal goal is to win the Dual County League.

“We didn’t do so well last year, but we play in a really competitive league and to win the league would be something in itself,” he said. “[The] ultimate goal for varsity is to make the postseason,” Aiena agreed.

“These kids really have the talent to do it.”

According to Goldstein, with a new coach and increased optimism across the program, the team seems destined to make great strides this season.

“There’s definitely a lot to look [forward] to,” he said. “It can only get better from what we did last year.”

page 22|April 13, 2017

World Baseball Classic NATHAN ELBAUM & NOAH SHELTON

T

Stealing Second

he World Baseball Classic (WBC), first played in 2006, should be a collection of national pride and grade-A athleticism — baseball’s version of the FIFA World Cup. The world, however, does not stop for the WBC like it does for the World Cup. We blame this difference on baseball’s almost non-existent European and African fan bases.

This March, eight second-round teams competed in the WBC: five from America (North or Latin), one from Asia (the two-time champion, Japan), one from Israel (made up almost exclusively of Americans) and only one from Europe (the Netherlands, whose best players came from Curaçao). Israel’s debut in the WBC was refreshing for those of us who have followed their achievements since their Boston Globe article five years ago.

The overwhelming concentration of baseball’s competitive power in the Americas, however, does not promote an international following.

The WBC also gains relatively low attention due to its timing. The players cannot compete during the middle of the MLB season, when they would be at their best, and are burned out in November, when they could feed off post-World Series excitement, so the tournament is held in March. Many players drop out to prepare for their regular seasons. The spotty attendance of top-tier players significantly compromises competition and diminishes fan interest.

Despite all its faults, we think the tournament was a success. It contained both the feel-good stories that make any tournament worthwhile — Israel making it to the second round after being written off as a joke, Loek Van Mil showing off his abilities as a 7-foot-1-inch pitcher for the Netherlands and Puerto Rico running out of hair dye while fans tried to join the “bleach bros.”

The tournament also had some of the best baseball plays we’ve ever seen, like Javier Baez avoiding a tag with a nasty slide and providing a no-look tag on a perfect throw from Yadier Molina, Marcus Stroman pitching six innings of no-hit ball in the final and many monster home runs.

The United States roster played well behind All-Star and Wellesley native, Nate Freiman. Of course, we’re kidding about the All-Star part, but he is a Wellesley native.

We liked that each round was played in a different city. Yes, it was confusing to figure out the air time for each game, but having games in these different cities showed baseball’s many cultures and generated popularity for the tournament at each host site.

The tournament ended on March 22, and since then, many people have suggested changes to ensure that baseball is no longer just America’s favorite pastime, but that it can someday become the world’s favorite game.

We think Buster Olney has the best solution. He advocates for an annual WBC tournament, with first and second round games in March, but semifinals and finals during the All-Star break. This idea alone could help Make Baseball Fun Again.

Sports|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

STICK TO THE PLAN

The girls lacrosse team looks for a third state tournament qualification

By Jake Freudberg and John Javaloyes

photos by Netta Dror

Lexington defeats South 7-6 in a preseason scrimmage on March 29. The teams will not face each other during the regular season.

Two years ago, the girls lacrosse team track and field runners, so we have a “We have a decent amount of new qualified for the state tournament for the lot of endurance,” Duggan said. “Ankids on varsity,” Blessington said. “It will first time in the program’s history, but just other strength is our competitiveness. In be interesting to see how they play and one season later, head coach Erica Shapiro practice, we sometimes have to tone it how they fit with the team. I think it’s goresigned, leaving previous JV coach Molly down a little because we get so into these ing to work out very well because they’re Widrick with the varsity job. little drills. That’s a strong suit in games all very talented.”

Under Widrick’s leadership, the team because we are always willing to win and Hackel said that upperclassmen qualified for the tournament again. put in work, even if we are down [by] five. like Riseberg serve as role models for the “[Widrick and assistant coach Britney We don’t give up.” newer players.

Wuorio] came in together last year. At first, Widrick said that the players also “[Riseberg] works really well with they were both taking in the team’s dynamic, show strong leadership. her stick, and it motivates me to practice but already they have … shown a lot of “[We have] some phenomenal indi- and make my stick skills better,” she said. leadership,” senior captain Emily Duggan vidual lacrosse players,” she said. “Having According to Briney, the new playsaid. “Their leadership and determination them work with some of the younger girls ers will provide depth for the team. to help us win will “A big bench really fuel our comthat will be able to We have all the skills you can’t teach — dedication, petitive spirit and come in and play communication and good team chemistry. We just help us go far.” and support the Widrick said team is very imporneed to really focus on perfecting the simple things. that with the same tant, and I think Chloe Frantzis, Class of 2018 coaching staff as we’ll be able to have last year, the girls that,” she said. “It’s a lacrosse team looks to continue their state to teach them ... is awesome.” very well-rounded team.” tournament streak this season.

According to Duggan, the team will Frantzis said the team is playing “They’re holding themselves to that rely on its returning players, including well so far, but needs to clean up some same standard of talent, probably better Briney, juniors Lily Riseberg and Maddy minor errors. talent than last year, overall, so we’re all Yorke and senior goalie Chase Blessing“We have all the skills you can’t expecting to do better,” she said. ton, to maintain team chemistry. teach — dedication, communication and Although the team graduated 12 “This team is special because a lot good team chemistry. We just need to reseniors last year, including captains Ava of us have been playing together since ally focus on perfecting the simple things, Shaevel and Anna Loar, junior Jordan Briney freshman and sophomore year,” Duggan like passing and catching smoothly,” said she is confident the team can fill the said. “That’s important for continuity and Frantzis said. “We also need some work void and advance to the state tournament. makes playing together much easier.” with transitions across the midfield, but “Obviously we have a new team, … so Blessington said the team is also overall, we are looking a lot better this we need to rearrange some of our strategy looking foward to playing with underyear than at the beginning of last year.” a little bit to work on skills that we didn’t classmen and first-year varsity players, “[We have] the heart and the desire have last year,” she said. “It’s nothing that including sophomores Olivia Hackel and to succeed and improve everyday,” Widwe can’t handle.”

Bella Ertel and juniors Chloe Frantzis and rick said. “We just have more talent across “Our [midfielders] are really strong Mara Mercurio. the board this year.”

April 13, 2017|page 23

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts

Coach’s Corner The Roar’s Dorra Guermazi asked girls track coach Steve McChesney for a winter season recap

Steve McChesney girls track coach

Q A Q A Q A

How do you feel about the winter season?

We won division champions and the DCL championship. We ended up third in All-States. In every regard it was a great success. I was absolutely thrilled by the eagerness to learn from the new kids and the mentoring of the older kids. It honestly seems like we had half the numbers because the kids took care of everything they had to do, and it was just a really easy season.

What was the highlight of the season?

One of the biggest highlights for me is when kids who have never done the sport before put on a uniform and compete for the first time, so all of the JV [runners and] new kids get to compete and say they were part of the team.

What was the team’s biggest challenge?

I think the biggest challenge was [staying] focused on our goals and, when we had setbacks, [understanding] that the immediate future isn’t as bright as you’d like, but the eventual long-term future always is.

South Scoreboard

***All information is as of 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April, 2017***

Team

Next Game/ Meet

Record (W/L/T)

Baseball

April 19 at North

0-0

Boys Lacrosse Girls Lacrosse Boys Track

April 18 at A-B

0-0

April 24 vs Weston April 21 vs L-S

0-0 0-0

Girls Track

April 21 vs L-S

0-0

Softball

April 21 at L-S

0-0

Girls Tennis

April 13 at Wayland

0-0

Boys Tennis Boys Volleyball

April 13 vs Wayland April 13 vs L-S

0-0 0-0

Mind Control SAMANTHA SMITH

sports contributor

Floating column EDITOR’S NOTE: Every issue, The Roar publishes a different athlete’s perspective from his or her position on a sports team.

Contact srstaff@thelionsroar.com if you are interested in writing this column.

In a world full of assignments and stress, tennis is one thing I can control.

In singles matches, I don’t have to worry about or depend on a teammate’s performance, so if I mess up, it’s on me. Every shot is my own. While tennis involves its own type of stress, it’s a stress that I can act upon instead of worrying about helplessly.

On the tennis team, a team victory doesn’t necessarily mean a win for everyone. Some of us could win our respective matches while the team loses, and vice versa, but everything we do, we do together. We win as a team and lose as a team. Oftentimes a team loss has its bright side, as some players may have won their matches, which is comforting.

Tennis is unlike any other sport. I spend half my time on the court fighting with myself internally. I fight my negative thoughts, my lack of confidence and my worries over my teammates’ matches.

Sometimes I have to chant the score in my head to stay in the moment. Fighting myself is exhausting, but those moments when my mind works in tandem with my body make the conflict worth it.

For the past two years, I’ve received the same draw in the state individual tournament. Last year, I played three matches before facing one of the best girls in the state. She had crushed me the year before, and she crushed me again, but this time, I played a much better match.

I kept the ball deep and tried to prevent her from slamming it in a corner. I was serving really well, and I was able to go for shots unafraid instead of babying the ball. I played only one more game than the previous year, but that match was one of the best I had played all season. While I won 18 matches out of 22, it wasn’t until that losing match that I finally played to my full potential.

North and South compete in a tournament every year. My opponent, a friend of mine, had beaten me in a match several years prior. I had always felt bitter about that loss, knowing that I could beat her, and — to be frank — believing that I should have. This match was my chance to prove I was correct. We maintained a friendly attitude throughout the match, knowing it was all for fun and we weren’t going to let things turn sour. I won the first set easily. Then, as I tend to do, I lost focus.

I got cocky. I thought I had the match in the bag and let myself relax.

The next set proved more difficult.

I had to fight harder than I was prepared to, as I had convinced myself that I had already won. The score was closer, but I managed to pull out a victory.

We ended up tying with North, but the day reminded me of the major mental battle that tennis requires, the internal struggle I had not faced in my easier matches. I often find myself struggling with the mental challenges of tennis rather than the physical ones. If the mental part was easy, everyone would play.

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