The Lion's Roar 34-2

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Volume 34, Issue 2 140 Brandeis Road Newton Centre, MA 02459

Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · September 8, 2017

Newton mayoral race garners limited teen interest, involvement Sophie Lu & Thomas Patti Sr. News Editor, Managing Editor

Though Newton’s primary mayoral election is fast approaching, students said they often find themselves on the periphery of local political discourse, uninformed and uninvolved.

“People should know who their mayor is, but also [the race is] not the most important thing in the world,” freshman Izzi Sander said.

Sophomore Alyson Sonnenberg added that even if students want to get involved, they often aren’t given the opportunity.

“Because we can’t vote, we’re not really directed towards at all,” she said. “My parents went to one of the mayoral candidates’ meet-and-greets. My [older] brothers were invited, but I personally wasn’t, so we’re not really included.”

With the primary on Sept. 12 and the general election on Nov. 7, only the small fraction of students who turn 18 before those dates will be able to vote.

Senior Jada Wong, who is 18, said she likely won’t vote.

Local elections’ lack of publicity has limited student interest in the results, she said.

“It definitely is a little bit harder [to follow the election] because there’s not as much news about it,” she said. “The only reason why I knew it was going on is because I saw signs in the yard, and I’ve had candidates come up to my house.”

Even though most students cannot vote, they can still be engaged and influential through voting family members, mayoral candidate Eli Katzoff said.

Candidates must reach across the age gap between candidates and students to hear student concerns, mayoral candidate Al Cecchinelli said.

“High schoolers need to still feel that they have a voice in the city that they live in,” mayoral candidate Scott Lennon agreed. “Just because they’re not of age to vote doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be involved.”

According to senior Michael Ryter, who campaigned

MaestroChef An interview by Emily Belt

Just walking down the aisle and seeing Chef Ramsay and Chef Tosi, I felt like it was a movie, ... and then I realized I’m really here. It was just absolutely the most incredible sensation. ... I was just starstruck.

Jason Wang, music teacher

photos courtesy of Masterchef and Jason Wang

LOCAL POLITICS, 2

MAESTROCHEF, 16

Athletes discuss South’s role in the Dual County League Jennifer Wang & Izzy Klein Sports Contributors

Every season, senior baseball captain Kevin Granfield leaves for school knowing he may not return home until after dark, thanks to long commutes from games at other schools in the Dual County League (DCL).

“I’ll get on the bus at 3 p.m., I won’t get there until 3:30 p.m. and if the game goes long, I won’t get home until 6:30 p.m. or later,” he said. “If there is traffic coming

back, I might get home at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., which is a long day.”

Girls basketball coach Joe Rodgers said he questions whether the demanding schedule Granfield described is good for athletes.

“It’s always important to evaluate and make sure the league we’re in and the schedules we’re putting together are providing South athletes with the best possible experience,” he said.

This time commitment, among other issues, has prompted many athletes and

coaches to doubt whether South belongs in the DCL, an athletic conference of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), along with 10 other high schools in the area.

Girls tennis coach Robert Jampol praised the competition the DCL offers.

“I enjoy our rivalries with the schools in our league. We face very few schools whose teams give us little or no competition,” he said. “Every match is a struggle.”

Senior cross country and track captain

Caroline Barry agreed that the DCL and its competitors have brought out the best in athletes. “[One] of the pros is that the DCL is probably one of the most — if not the most — competitive leagues,” she said. “We’re faced with some of the better, more equipped teams. ... We’re faced with more talented athletes, so it makes you want to be better.”

Barry added that this competitiveness DCL, 20

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

SAVORING SUMMER

READING

South students and teachers discuss the relevance of assigned versus personal reading.

12

Three seniors share their domestic and international travel experiences.

18

ELWELL TO MIT

Wellness teacher and volleyball coach Todd Elwell takes coaching job at MIT.

22

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

NEWS page 2|September 8, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

news@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2

Teens apathetic toward election September: a preview

L Bench Closing Following numerous noise complaints, the L Bench will convert into a green space this year. Though student behavior around the area caused issues last year, those incidents did not impact the administration’s decision, Principal Joel Stembridge said in an email.

Club Fairs Club fairs will be held in the cafeteria during all three lunches on Sept. 18, 19, 20 and 22.

POLITICS, from 1 for the proposed charter, students like him who try to follow local matters might find a lack of resources and information.

“The coverage isn’t there,” he said.

“That’s no one’s fault because it’s not profitable for that many people to cover Newton politics.”

For Wong, this missing coverage has kept her in the dark regarding local politics.

“I’m a little naive toward that stuff right now,” she said. “I don’t know where to get all that information from to learn more about it, so it would definitely be helpful for [candidates] to try and publicize a little more.”

While his friends show interest in local elections, senior Ben Timbers said, some candidates’ similar standpoints have rendered the results unimportant to him. “[My friends] put more stock in this election because … there are issues that they want to get pushed, whereas for me, … all the major candidates that I’ve seen — Amy Sangiolo, Ruthanne Fuller and Scott Lennon — all seem to be saying roughly the same thing, which is improve the schools, improve the infrastructure, keep everything financially sound,” he said. “And any of those three would be fine in doing that for me.”

Students should get involved in local elections because local government affects all aspects of life, mayoral candidate Ruthanne Fuller said.

the various elements of local government.

He added that even those not involved in a campaign can learn about important citywide issues by taking advantage of local news sources.

“The more you start connecting with what you see online and what you see in the news, the more you realize, ‘I can actually learn so much, and change at least within our own city can have a huge impact on my life,’” he said.

Both students and candidates share responsibility in reaching out to each other, Timbers added.

“If an election puts a lot of stress on issues like infrastructure or schools or things that will affect [students] in their day-to-day, even in the smallest way, ... then they should definitely pay attention,” he said. “But if the candidates are focusing on things that are only affecting more small, niche groups and not really affecting the general populus or even South to an extent, then I think that it’s on the candidates to try and reach out to people.”

“If you told me I was going to be working on a local election just one year ago, I would fully deny it because I didn’t really care,” Hu said. “But the more I understood that local politics means a lot to every single resident in the area, I wanted to become a lot more engaged, and it’s that type of connection that students need to develop to be more involved in the community.”

Meet the 2017 mayoral candidates Sophie Lu

News Sr. Section Editor

1S1Q On Sept. 29, students will discuss one of five books to explore the question: how can I make a difference?

“No matter what your passion is at this time in your life, whether it’s the arts, sports, science [or] literature, your local government, your school committee, your city council and your mayor make a difference, so speak up [and] make your voices heard,” she said.

According to mayoral candidate Rich Saunders, youth is an asset, not a hindrance, for high schoolers looking to make a difference.

“There’s just so much energy, enthusiasm and idealism at a young age,” he said.

“Harness that and envision the world you want to live in and do your small part to make it happen.”

After the national election last November, more students became interested in local politics, mayoral candidate Amy Sangiolo said, providing a boost to her campaign.

“I am grateful that I have kids from Newton North and Newton South ... volunteering on my campaign,” Sangiolo said.

“They understand that [on] issues like the environment … [and] course offerings in their schools, they can make a difference, depending on who you elect for the city. In terms of quality of life in parks and playgrounds and all the other amenities that we have in the city, those are all dependent on who you elect in your local government.”

Junior David Hu, who works on Sangiolo’s campaign, said volunteering in these elections has helped him gain insight into

photo courtesy of Al Cecchinelli

A

l Cecchinelli said he decided to run for mayor after Newton passed the Welcoming City Ordinance in Feburary.

At the age of 13, Cecchinelli became involved in politics by helping a friend’s parent’s campaign. Since then, he has been a part of both the Newton Republican City Committee and the Newton Taxpayer Association.

If elected, Cecchinelli said he wants to expand medical clinics to lower the cost of healthcare.

“We have an opportunity to provide for everyone at a local level. That’s hard to do nationally because of the costs,” he said.

“It costs $7000 a year for a patient to see a

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Parent’s Night Back to School Night will be held for parents on Sept.

28 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Parents will have the opportunity to speak with teachers and find out more about their children’s classes. photo courtesy of Ruthanne Fuller

uthanne Fuller has served for seven years on the City Council researching Newton’s retiree benefits, helping the department of utilities create a city investment plan for the water system and serving on various school building committees.

“I know how to look at the big picture and think about a comprehensive plan for the city as a whole so [that] we can have great schools, be a leader environmentally, reform public safety services and attract business here to Newton,” she said.

Fuller said she has a focus on helping the environment and protecting those who opt out of carbon-producing transportation.

“We should be promoting sustainability, preserving our parks and open spaces and cutting out greenhouse gas emissions,” she

doctor in a private practice. It costs $700 a year to see them in a clinic. The level of care isn’t any different. We could pass those savings, on not just to our taxpayers, but we could also open it up to anyone in the city of Newton who can’t afford health insurance.”

Concerning education, Cecchinelli said that he supports charter schools that meet public school standards.

“If charter schools can meet the standards we set for our schools, I don’t believe we should phase them out, especially if they’re going to specialize in STEAM programs,” he said. “People talk about the schools not being as inclusive, but I think if you’re not a fit for a STEAM school, it’s probably not the best idea to be included.” said. “I want to improve traffic congestion in part with smart traffic lights but also by making it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists so the number of people using single occupancy vehicles goes down.”

Fuller said she will seek funding to ensure small class sizes and maintain school building conditions to improve Newton’s learning environment.

“I’m committed to making sure we have the funding so that we can attract and retain the very best teachers and principals,” she said. “I will work with the superintendent, our school committee and all of our educators to continue progress narrowing the achievement gap [and] expanding learning opportunities beyond the traditional school day and school year.”

September 8, 2017|page 3

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|News

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photo courtesy of Eli Katzoff

li Katzoff ’s unorthodox approach to campaigning, he said, is designed to spark interest and preview his mayoral mindset.

Besides online outreach, Katzoff said he created a fun video to announce his campain.

“Just because you make a video to a younger audience and are more engaging doesn’t mean you aren’t running a serious campaign. I thought it would be really interesting to do things a little differently and hopefully ... get people involved.”

Strengthening the community is a priority for Katzoff. Expanding affordable housing and increasing in house density are two ways through which he said this goal

S

photo courtesy of Scott Lennon

cott Lennon is a lifelong Newton resident with 16 years of experience on the City Council, including eight years as president. If he were elected mayor, he said his background in finance would help him successfully manage Newton’s budget.

“We need someone who understands how to manage a budget and how to plan,” Lennon said. “We have a lot of plans here in the city moving forward in terms of where we’re fixing our roads, fixing our schools, fixing our buildings [and] adding money to different parts of our budget.”

Lennon added that he wants to preserve the aspects of the NPS that gave his daughter a positive experience in her first

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photo courtesy of Rich Saunders

ich Saunders decided to run for mayor, he said, after hearing former President Barack Obama encourage those unhappy with the 2016 election results to run for office themselves.

Though Saunders does not currently have a role in Newton’s government, he does have a background in social activism.

“Back in 2007, I sued Donald Trump in Boston Federal Court for age discrimination in an employment case,” he said. “I was advocating for protecting classes of older citizens and advocating for the hiring of older citizens who at times find themselves out of work at 50 years old or older. Sometimes [employers are] biased toward younger hires

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photo courtesy of Amy Sangiolo

my Sangiolo has served on the City Council for 20 years. She said she believes her experience in and passion for education, housing and the environment will make her an effective mayor.

As an environmental lawyer, Sangiolo said she wants Newton to become a zero waste community and shift to using renewable energy.

“I’ll be ... pilot[ing] a food waste program [at South] so that we can get food waste out of our regular trash system and compost it,” she said.

“I’m not afraid to stand up to make sure Newton gets the best deals whether it’s regarding development [or] whether it’s

G photo courtesy of Geoffry Woodward

eoffrey Woodward said he hopes to apply his scientific background to govern the city of Newton. If he becomes mayor, Woodward said his goal would be “to improve and test to benefit society.”

To help older citizens in Newton obtain necessary care, Woodward plans to set up a volunteer group of visiting nurses run by the city if he is elected. After his mother failed to receive adequate healthcare, Woodward became committed to preventing others from having similar experiences.

Woodward said he plans to emphasize science in the NPS curriculum by providing

could be accomplished.

“We should look at different forms of housing like communal housing [or] co-op housing,” he said. “Homes [in Newton] are costing roughly $1.1 million on average.

We’re moving ... towards a society of people [with] only one kind of person instead of being an economically diverse [place].”

Katzoff said he also wants to promote more of a sense of community in NPS by relieving the pressure on high school students.

“We have some of the best schools, but the pressure on high school students is so exorbitantly high. ... We need to foster self-esteem in schools,” he said. “If we can build in purpose for every kid, at that point, we’re building self-esteem.” year at the schools.

“I believe that education is the reason why people come to Newton [and] why people stay in Newton,” he said. “I want to have a superior experience in the classroom to get our children ready for life beyond Newton and make them educated, wellrounded citizens.”

“My daughter just did kindergarten last year. She needed a little bit of extra assistance,” Lennon added. “I saw the care and attention that the system provided for her and I want to make sure every child has the same. ... Newton schools have always been top notch and I want to make sure we maintain that in a group format.” [because] they’re less expensive. I used that case to highlight the economic impacts and the way it hurts society.”

Saunders’s proposals reflect his commitment to Newton’s older residents, he said.

“Newton’s budget is facing a lot of strain with retiree benefits, health care benefits, the increased cost of pensions, ... so I’m proposing something called the Newton Fund, which is essentially creating an endowment of the city of Newton that would be funded and managed the same way colleges use endowment funds to try to help defray the cost of tuition room and board,” he said. “I want to set up an endowment fund to offset the need for an increase in property taxes.” pushing back on our nonprofits to contribute more to taxes or contributions to the city,” Sangiolo added. “I am somebody who has since and will continue to push for aggressive goals and targets on the environment.”

Regarding NPS, Sangiolo supports full-day kindergarten, later high school start times and fully-funded schools.

“I’m concerned about cuts [to classes] that educate the whole child, like art and music program cuts and language program cuts.” she said. “I see that our schools are not being funded enough given the enrollment increases we are seeing, particularly at South, so I am outspoken in terms of the need for an override to help fund our schools.” free tutoring in science and the opportunity to learn three languages of code for South students.

“People associate Newton and learning science [with] elitism, and it’s not that at all. It’s about picking yourself up by your bootstraps and living your life,” he said. “We need to get back to a sense of ingenuity. ... I think it’s being lost in our society” According to Woodward, “the most patriotic thing you can do as a citizen of Newton and the country is science [because] at the end of the day, it’s about individuals creating something out of nothing.”

Moving Forward

JULIA GELLER

Class of 2019

South Senate update Welcome back to school! This year, Senate will take all measures to consistently follow through on promises.

Last year, Senate removed unsanitary hand driers from restrooms, equipped all girls restrooms with feminine hygiene products, designated all vacation weeks as homework-free and began negotiating a policy to allow students to see their grades during the last month of each term. While Senate’s accomplishments aim to make student life easier, many students are not aware of senators’ work.

This year, Senate is excited about our legislative agenda and eager to re-establish regular communication with the student body.

Newly elected Senate President and senior Michael Ryter and Vice President and junior Hope Zhu will prioritize expanding Senate-student communication. As Secretary of Public Relations, I will update the Senate bulletin board, located outside of the library, with Senators’ contact information and Senate’s latest legislation to increase student awareness of policies designed to improve their high school experience.

In past years, Senate has successfully used social media to connect with students. Senate plans to revamp our Facebook page to include concise summaries of passed legislation and official documents. Finally, Senate plans to create an Instagram page (@ nshs.senate) to track Senate’s progress and make sure students can voice issues to senators.

In addition to Senate-student communication, Senate’s agenda includes adjusting grading policies, managing cafeteria food waste and reforming the freshman health curriculum. Senate hopes to institute school-wide grade rounding guidelines this year to ensure students know what letter grade to expect at the end of each term. We understand teachers have different philosophies, and we are eager to collaborate with the Faculty Council in this endeavor.

Senate hopes to reduce the amount of cafeteria waste, including food that could be composted or donated to local food banks and homeless shelters.

Lastly, the mental health portion of the freshman health curriculum should expand to focus on destigmatizing mental illness, providing tools to deal with anxiety and regarding mental illness as common and understandable. For two years, Senate has connected the school administration with mental health specialists with the goal of updating the curriculum to properly equip students with the necessary knowledge and resources to deal with everyday stress.

Senate will continue to voice the student body’s concerns. As the new school year begins, we look forward to working toward improving school policies. We meet during Thursday J blocks in the lecture hall. All are welcome!

NEWS|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

page 4|september 5, 2014

South welcomes newest faculty members

The Roar’s Sophie Lu spoke with some of South’s new teachers before the upcoming school year

Cara Shorey English teacher How and why did you start teaching?

“I went through a few marketing jobs, and [what] I liked were teaching my colleagues how to do new things. ...

That’s how I came to teaching and teaching high school students is just the best because [they] are refreshing and resilient.”

Daniela Ostreicher early childhood education teacher What are you looking forward to this year?

“I’m most excited to meet the kids. That’s always my favorite part. I feel like the first day of school for a preschooler could be very nerve-racking, but making it as exciting and welcoming as possible is what I’m looking forward to.”

Daniella Speziale

Mark Rice

math teacher Why did you choose to work at South this year?

Where did you teach before coming to South?

“I was a student teacher here all last year. ... I decided to ... teach at South because I really enjoyed the ... welcoming community, and I think that there is a lot going on to help prepare students for the world.”

math teacher

“I spent the last two years teaching back in Nantucket and before that I was in Shanghai for four years teaching there. ... All the classes I’m teaching this year, I have taught [before], so I don’t feel like a new teacher.”

Matt Wilson

Eliza Tyack

English teacher Why did you choose to teach in Newton?

English teacher What do you notice about the South environment?

“I have two children in the Newton school system. [They] started at Memorial-Spaulding. One went to Oak Hill and one went to Brown. Once I was at South for that short period of time [as a long-term sub], I knew that this was the only school that I wanted to teach at this year.”

Deven Antani English teacher What interaction with a teacher do you still remember?

“One day I came into school, and my history teacher said, ‘I was thinking about you driving to school. ... I was just thinking that you could do anything you wanted and you would be great at it.’ ... It was the first time I thought that a teacher would think of me outside of school.”

“I was actually at Brookline last year, and I was interviewing around when I came to Newton. South just seems like a place where everyone is trying to grow, to push themselves and to think more deeply about the world around them.”

Jens Vittoria science teacher Why did you decide to teach science?

“After work and a job in the biotech industry, I decided that I love biology, and I wanted to share my passion for the subject area. I felt teaching would be the best avenue for me to do that, so from there on I decided that teaching was the right thing for me.”

September 8, 2017|page 5

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|NEWS

with interim Vice Principal

Steven Rattendi

photo by Michelle Cheng

The Roar’s Michelle Cheng asked interim Vice Principal Steven Rattendi about his time at South and new position

How did you decide to become a math teacher?

When I was in college, I did a lot of tutoring. … I just decided that I liked talking about math with people and helping them. ... Teaching seemed like a natural way for me to do both of those things. … In graduate school, I went into a program for math education. From there, I became a student teacher at Newton South, and then I became a teacher at South, and then I became a department chair and now vice principal.

How is this year different for you?

I’m excited to do something different in the school this year because this is my 17th year here. I’m excited to do something from a bigger-school perspective for a year and see what that’s like.

How will you bring the perspective of a math department head into your new role?

All the experiences that I’ve had since I’ve been at South inform decisions I make. It will inform how I think about teacher schedules and assigning teacher duties. … I’m already thinking about what’s going to work best so that teachers and students can do what they need to be doing here productively.

Scheduling Committee to examine high school schedule Peri Barest & Sophie Lu News Reporter, Sr. News Editor

Following discussions about later start times, the School Committee established the joint North-South Scheduling Committee to explore new schedule formats and the possibility of reducing the length of the school day.

The Scheduling Committee will devise and recommend a high school schedule to the School Committee that is within a certain length of time, while also keeping the proposed schedule consistent between North and South for students who participate in programs at both schools, committee CoChair and Principal Joel Stembridge said in an email.

Committee Co-Chair and interim Vice Principal Steven Rattendi said the Scheduling Committee will examine block length, number and order in the high school schedule.

The process is just beginning, Rattendi added, so the Scheduling Committee is unsure

of how or even whether they want to change the schedule.

The School Committee began looking at high school start time as a way to help alleviate student stress, Goldrick Dean Marc Banks said. They later formed the Scheduling Committee to collectively examine the schedule.

“From what I understand, [the committee] came out of the high school start time [working group] and the fact that we weren’t able to do a different high school start time,” he said. “The Superintendent and the School Committee asked us to take a look at the schedule as a whole and see if any adjustments can be made to alleviate some stress.”

While the School Committee’s school start time discussion and the Scheduling Committee share a common goal of alleviating stress, the Scheduling Committee is not addressing the high school start time, Banks said.

“This committee has nothing to do with

high school start times, and we are actually explicitly told, ‘High school start times — let’s take that off the table,’” he said. “We are not looking at what time does the school day start. We’re just looking at what does our schedule emphasize, what does our schedule focus on and then what do we as a committee help focus on to help create a schedule that is more flexible.”

According to Rattendi, South has used the current schedule for over a decade, so it might no longer reflect South’s goals.

“We’ve got to look at what [our] goals and priorities are, and then hopefully ... a new schedule would help support those goals and priorities,” he said.

Senior Jake Levine said he is skeptical as to how much of a difference rearranging the schedule can bring. Adjusting advisory’s place in the schedule, however, could improve the school day.

Because her productivity level depends on the time of day, sophomore Emily Ochlis

said, changing the daily block order would help her.

Student input like Levine’s and Ochlis’s would allow the committee to better adjust to people’s needs, Rattendi said.

“I’m hoping that there will be quite a bit of back and forth between the committee and the community in terms of, ‘Here are our ideas at the moment. Here’s the committee’s thoughts. What do you think of those?’” he said. “And that goes for getting feedback from both faculty and students and even parents.”

Designing one schedule that satisfies the needs of all faculty and students is challenging, Banks said.

“It’s going to be hard because at some point people are used to this schedule, and in changing it, someone is going to be upset about it,” he said. “The question becomes at what point do the benefits outweigh the costs in terms of changing the schedule.”

Additional reporting by Michelle Cheng

EDITORIALS page 6|September 8, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

editorials@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2

the CAT’S

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

Brandeis faces destruction After weeks spent paving South’s streets and sidewalks, the city has decided to scrap the project and eliminate Brandeis Road altogether.

“The road didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped, and we have other things to do,” Dawn T. Morrow, president of Newton’s Road Safety Commission, said. “The roadkill situation on Blueberry Circle is a mess. Plus, fantasy football is coming up, and I need time to sort out my draft strategy.”

Mishaps during construction greatly irked the contractors, engineer Abby Thetic added.

“A few days ago, one of the guys threw up his hands and said, ‘I’m done. Let’s just burn this lousy road and move on.’ We all looked at each other and decided the idea wasn’t half bad.”

Officials have been noncommittal about the method of destruction but did not rule out explosives. They said parking lots will also be destroyed.

“Parking?” a nearby man fidgeting with a lighter said. “Who needs parking?”

Teachers await supply lists In a letter to The Lion’s Roar, 23 teachers voiced frustration over students’ failure to distribute teacher supply lists in a timely manner.

“It’s unfair and disrespectful, frankly,” math teacher Adam Upp wrote. “We’re three days in now and have no idea how many calculators we’ll need for students who forget them on test day.”

“When kids run out of lined paper, it’s up to us to supply it,” history teacher Alice Brinkley added. “But we at least need some advance warning from those problem students.”

“Staples runs out of backup highlighters fast,” English teacher Reed Wright concluded.

“We need more time to stock up.”

Search party for freshmen The Newton Police Department has sent a search party to locate eight freshmen who have been missing since Tuesday. Police chief Kent Findum said the search will begin in South’s 9000s.

“We’ve lost a few kids in the 9000s over the years,” he said. “It’s a good place to start.”

Sophomore Juan Durin said he has lost his bearings in the 9000s before.

“On the first day last year a senior told me there was a swimming pool on the fourth floor,” he said. “I found the 9000s instead — and no pool.”

A custodian reportedly saw three dazed freshmen at 8 p.m. on Wednesday but could not confirm himself where this occurred.

“I have no clue where I was,” he admitted. “I just hope they find their class before long.”

School-assigned reading curtails students’ passion for literature

The benefits of reading for young, growing minds are profound and undeniable. Schools are therefore correct in encouraging students to frequently engage with literature; however, translating these good intentions into actual results is a much trickier endeavor.

Regular reading pays dividends both in and out of the classroom. Constant contact with a variety of texts improves students’ writing abilities, a crucial skill in high school and beyond. Exposure to many forms of language also builds communication skills, equipping students to thrive socially.

Many students, however, find reading more effective as an extracurricular pastime than as an imposed assignment. The pressures of required school reading, from quizzes to active reading notes, can limit students’ ability to interact with the text in ways most meaningful to them. School-assigned books can also fail to captivate high

school students. This forced brand of reading crafts a negative perception of literature for many students, especially for those with little time or interest to read independently.

Granted, these drawbacks to required reading might be unavoidable. Teachers are rightfully skeptical that every student would treat independent reading assignments

dents to discuss a variety of books and their major themes without the pressure of typical class units. While the 1S1Q selections rarely achieve thematic cohesion as intended, this variety is a major step forward in increasing student enthusiasm.

Many associate the distractions of personal technology with a decline in reading, but these

The pressures of required reading can limit students’ ability to interact with the text in ways most meaningful to them. seriously. While such assignments might help already-enthusiastic readers, reluctant students might ignore them entirely and miss out on all of reading’s benefits. Catering to both of these types of students poses a challenge with no clear solutions.

One School, One Question addresses many of these concerns.

With five book choices instead of one, 1S1Q creates a forum for stu-

devices can also mean quick access to reading opportunities. Regardless, cell phones are no replacement for books; no Instagram caption can inspire thought and feeling as can Hawthorne, Hurston, Whitman and Woolf. By taking measures such as allocating class time for independent reading, the school can best ensure that every student reaps the benefits of refined literature.

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Editorial Policy

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.

The Lion’s Roar’s right to freedom of expression is protected by the Massachusetts Student Free Expression Law (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch.

71, Section 82). All content decisions are made by student editors, and the content of The Lion’s Roar in no way reflects the official policy of Newton South, its faculty or its administration. Editorials are the official opinion of The Lion’s Roar, while opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lion’s Roar. The Lion’s Roar reserves the right to edit all submitted content, to reject advertising copy for resubmission of new copy that is deemed acceptable by student editors and to make decisions regarding the submission of letters to the editors, which are welcomed.

The Lion’s Roar is printed by Seacoast Newspapers and published every four weeks by Newton South students. All funding comes from advertisers and subscriptions.

In-school distribution of The Lion’s Roar is free, but each copy of the paper shall cost one dollar for each copy more than ten (10) that is taken by any individual or by many individuals on behalf of a single individual. Violation of this policy shall constitute theft.

September 8, 2017|page 7

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|DESK

How would I describe myself in EDITOR’S three words? I. Don’t. Know.

DESK from the

Michelle Cheng Editor-in-Chief

The most-visited websites on my laptop for the last few years have been Schoology, Facebook and Buzzfeed. While Schoology, and arguably Facebook, are necessary, Buzzfeed seems less so.

Typing www.buzzfeed.com/quizzes is a reflex for me; I’ve taken every personality quiz on the website. I downloaded the Buzzfeed app last year, and I never missed a quiz.

I enjoyed taking personality quizzes and finding out what my dominant personality trait is, according to Buzzfeed.

Whatever result I got, I would think, “I didn’t know that about myself, but I guess I do now” — as if an anonymous online quiz knows me better than I know myself.

But as I took more quizzes, I realized I couldn’t do something as seemingly simple as that: name one of my personality traits.

Multiple times this summer, I confronted my inability to describe myself. At a workshop I attended, I had to name and exhibit a personal strength followed by a weakness. At an internship, my mentors asked me what strengths I had. When preparing for college applications, I had to (and still have to) think about who I am. On questionnaires for new classes this

week, I had to describe myself. And I can’t answer incorrectly, can I? I’m describing the only person with whom I have spent every second of my life.

Thus, the difficulty with which I found myself answering these questions worried me. I would mentally shuffle through every personality trait to see if it accurately described me. And for every adjective, I found some reason why or example when I did not exhibit that trait.

Am I attentive? I pay attention and

Am I efficient? I do keep an organized planner and backpack, so I never have to waste time finding certain pieces of paper. It’s important that I save those few seconds because later, I spend an average of two and a half hours reading and taking notes on five pages from a history textbook.

Am I patient? I don’t have Spotify Premium, so I have no choice but to patiently wait through countless ads between songs. Waiting for a test grade, however,

mature and open-minded despite instances when I’ve been lazy, immature and opinionated?

Over the summer, when I thought about these questions and did more selfreflection than I had in 17 years, I started to accept that I’m never going to fully embody one quality or strength. I had always known it impossible to exhibit a trait 100 percent of the time, but I don’t like being hypocritical — I don’t want to say that I’m reliable when I have forgotten to do things I get asked to do. The notion that I exhibit inconsistency and hypocrisy is difficult for me to completely grasp.

I wish I could decisively and confidently identify a quality that I wholly possess. I wish my personality was either fully this or fully that, with no gray area, but I’ve recognized and started appreciating that we can’t always exhibit any certain strength.

That said, if I describe myself a certain way, I have set a standard to which I hold myself, a goal for my ideal behavior.

If I describe myself as helpful, then I’m going to try and be helpful (and no, I did not take a Buzzfeed quiz to come to this conclusion).

Am I self-aware? I just wrote 800 words about my hesitency to describe myself and my qualities — at least I’m aware of that.

Is it fair if I say that I’m hard-working, mature and open-minded despite instances when I’ve been lazy, immature and opinionated? take notes during classes. I listen during conversations, and I always look where I’m going. Sometimes, however, I zone out while I’m reading and have to go back and reread the page, or the chapter, or the whole book.

Am I decisive? I never have trouble deciding what I’m going to eat for a meal or what movie I’m going to watch. Every March, however, I spend so long thinking, rethinking and overthinking course selection. I’m still debating whether or not I chose the right classes to take sophomore year.

frustrates me to no end.

I went through each of these words and many more in my head each time I was asked, “How would you describe yourself in three words?”

The difficulty in answering this question stems from the reality that I don’t constantly exhibit one personality trait.

I questioned if I could justly say I possessed a certain strength or trait if I easily thought of so many examples of times I went against that quality.

“Describe yourself in three words.”

Is it fair if I say that I’m hard-working,

Volume XXXIV The Lion’s Roar Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper 140 Brandeis Road Newton, MA 02459 srstaff@thelionsroar.com

Editors-in-Chief Carina Ramos

Michelle Cheng

Managing Editors Thomas Patti

Celine Yung

Section Editors Opinions

Features

Emily Belt Dina Zeldin

Aviva Gershman

News

Sophie Lu Sebastian Tsao

Cam Miller Ilan Rotberg Eu Ro Wang

Sophie Goodman

Sports

Centerfold

Rachel Gu Kimia Tabatabaei

Graphics Managers Ellen Deng Eunice Kim

Business Manager Gaby Smith

Catherine Granfield Dorra Guermazi

Content Manager Emily Belt

Faculty Advisers Ashley Elpern

Photo Managers Adam Baker Netta Dror

Local Government Correspondent Michael Ryter

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

opinions@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2

perspectives: SHOULD ALL STUDENTS BE REQUIRED TO FULFILL FOUR YEAR PHYSICAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS? graphic by Josh Finkel

C

THEY SHOULD

THEY SHOULDN'T

CAM MILLER

HANNAH HEPNER

ompared to subjects like math and science, physical education seems to carry less weight than its core class counterparts. Yet physical education remains incredibly important because it provides kids the exercise necessary to maintain physical and mental health during the long school day, most of which is spent sedentary.

South has a diversity of wellness courses. While some focus on physical activity, others focus on mental health, which is equally as important as the physical component. According to the Centers for Disease Control, regular physical activity in teenagers reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. Schools have the responsibility to care for their students by trying to relieve the stress perpetrated by the schools themselves. If physical education courses are one tool for reducing student mental health issues, they should absolutely be a South curriculum requirement.

The Livestrong Foundation website, an online resource that promotes healthy living, suggests that those who advocate against physical education mainly do so to increase academic focus. Studies, however, show that an increase in daily physical activity actually improves students’ academic performances, as “regular activity during the school day is strongly associated with higher concentration levels as well as more directed, composed behavior.”

All in all, the wide range of offerings at South grants students freedom of choice in their wellness classes, allowing for a personalized balance between physical and mental health foci in a regular school day.

Few other schools in the country offer this variety, and students should take advantage of the many courses offered.

Furthermore, the wellness department also teaches important lessons in the classroom as well, including nutrition education, which is key both in high school

and later in life. Learning about good nutrition can prevent complications like high cholesterol and heart disease.

Additionally, physical education provides a time for students to engage with one another outside of a typical classroom.

Students interacting and bonding with each other beyond an academic setting allows students to gain confidence socially.

There are excellent opportunities to foster relationships, create camaraderie and build trust among classmates through activities in physical education, like climbing.

Lastly, physical education, in the more traditional gym class sense, gives students the crucial opportunity to exercise during school, ensuring that they receive healthy levels of physical activity. Although it isn’t a panacea solution, gym class can slow the rate of childhood obesity nationally.

At this point in teenagers’ lives, healthy lifestyles are extremely important because they develop habits that young people will use for the rest of their lives.

Instilling these habits at a young age will be exponentially more valuable than the routine-building any other class can provide. If we do not learn habits that allow us to be healthier at a young age, we will never truly grasp the value of physical and mental well-being. South has many classes that help them explore the different facets of a healthy life.

Physical education, in all its various forms, should be a four-year requirement. so students can pursue overall well-being beyond academic success.

If students could opt-out of physical education, students would lose not only time to exercise, but also knowledge about how to take care of themselves. There is more to a strong, healthy community than people who can solve equations and explicate poems, and wellness effectively fills that need.

If students could opt-out of physical education, students would lose not only time to exercise, but also knowledge about how to take care of themselves.

E

very spring, when students have Other than taking up space on to sign up for next year’s courses, students’ schedules, physical education they face many difficult decisions. requirements include classes that may not With so many elective options and a benefit the majority of students. limited number of free blocks, students are Many of the skills taught in rerestricted to only a few courses outside the quired wellness courses are ones that most core subjects. students will likely never use again. Units Of the seven blocks in our schedule, like rock climbing, square dancing and most students spend five on core classes, badminton may be more enjoyable than limiting electives to just two blocks — part our academic classes, but they are not vital of which must satisfy the school’s wellness to our education and therefore should not requirements. Given the inflexibility that be required. they create in students’ schedules, these Even though physical activity is physical education wellness courses should important to human health and is the main not be required. reason why physical education classes are Although physical education classes required, the amount of physical activity in can fit into most underclassmen’s schedour physical education classes is insuffiules, they are inconveniences for juniors cient if not supplemented. and seniors. As a rising junior, many of Our classes meet twice a week, which my classmates and I are taking six fullmeans that each wellness class meets for year core classes that meet four times approximately two hours a week for half each week. of a year.

Although the physical education This leaves Even then, us with exstudents are requirement may seem small, it actly one free only active block, half of either prohibits students from taking for a part of which must this time, electives they are interested in or be filled with as many of overbooks students’ already-packed our lessons a physical education in physical schedules. course for education one semester. classes require listening, sitting down and This means that to take even one taking turns. Some of our wellness units twice-a-week, full-year elective course like CPR certification involve no physical would leave us with no free blocks for one activity at all. semester and two during another. Since I For a large part of what is supposrefuse to compromise the elective subjects edly our important physical activity, we are I have been passionate about since freshactually being completely inactive, wasting man year, I will have no free blocks for precious time that could be allocated half of the year. elsewhere.

Other students, however, have Although the physical education decided to stop taking electives altogether classes offered at South have some bento avoid a schedule with no free blocks. efits, they should not be required for all This means dropping some of the only four years of our time in high school; classes in which students have vetted inter- they should be open to students who are est. Many upperclassmen ultimately stop interested in taking a wellness course as an pursuing activities or courses that interest elective. them.

Even though the purpose of physical Although the physical education education courses is to keep students active requirement may seem small, it either pro- and healthy, they mainly waste space in hibits students from taking electives they students’ already busy schedules and lives, are interested in or overbooks students’ stripping many of opportunities to pursue already-packed schedules. their true passions.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017|page 9

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions

SM OKY

T

PERCEPTIONS

eenagers constantly seek ways to counteract school stress. Hanging out with friends or activities like sports can fill that role in a healthy manner, protecting students’ happiness and well-being.

Massachusetts’ culture has long been moving toward a more casual dialogue about marijuana, but now that recreational use is legal, retail shops can open for business beginning in July 2018. Adam Fine, a Mass. attorney specializing in marijuana law, estimates the Commonwealth will see approximately 10 to 12 shops appear by that date. As a result, the casual narrative regarding marijuana will take a huge step forward; the establishment of these shops will legitimize the use of recreational marijuana as a part of everyday culture.

Now, children will regularly see shops that their parents and grandparents would have never seen as children.

The upcoming legislation explicitly states that only those over 21 have the right to legally purchase, own and use recreational marijuana. Teen excitement, however, is building at an alarming rate despite the age restriction. Without questioning the legitimacy of the new law, young people cannot simply perceive that just because marijuana is more accessible, it is safe. In other words, just because its use is now legal in the Commonwealth, teens shouldn’t rush to smoke it.

It is obvious that opioids are completely different from mainstream recreational marijuana, but the nationwide opioid crisis has forced Americans to accept the gravity of the discussion surrounding drug abuse. Of course, the opioids mainly responsible for this crisis are much stronger than cannabis. Teenage marijuana use, however, increases the likelihood that young people will use more harmful narcotics in the future, as explained by a study from Columbia University.

Moreover, the study has found a positive correlation between marijuana use and the use of alcohol, cigarettes and other illicit drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, habitual marijuana users are three times more likely to develop an

addiction to heroin, the most problematic drug in the U.S. opioid crisis. This estimate is higher among teens due to adolescents’ underdeveloped ability to resist an urge for more potent substances.

According to Robert L. DuPont, the president of the Institute for Behavior and Health and the first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “this does not mean that everyone who uses marijuana will transition to using heroin or other drugs, but it does mean that people who use marijuana also consume more, not less, legal and illegal drugs than do people who do not use marijuana.”

The effects of marijuana use on a teen’s developing brain are well-documented. A study published in the journal Clinical EEG and Neuroscience found that teenage cannabis use can negatively affect brain structure, quality of white matter and cognitive function. Marijuana can diminish an adolescent’s ability to progress emotionally, academically and socially.

Finally, cannabis doubles the risk of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as triples the likelihood of having suicidal thoughts.

Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that marijuana is a teenage health hazard, the rhetoric sur-

Teens need to exercise caution as marijuana use becomes increasingly casual

rounding the drug’s supposed harmlessness is on the rise. NPR reports that upwards of 60 percent of high school seniors believe marijuana is “safe,” and 23 percent reported that they had used marijuana in the past month.

Times are changing. The people of Massachusetts made a decision that even a decade ago would have been unthinkable.

While we have made an unprecedented amount of progress, we still must step up and take responsibility. The conversation surrounding marijuana is becoming increasingly casual. Moving forward, adults in the Commonwealth can legally choose whether or not they use cannabis products, but the Washington Post explains that communities need to help “teens see the dangers of marijuana and to continually point out that just because a drug seems innocent, or is legal, doesn’t mean it is safe — especially for the developing teenage brain.”

There are certainly intelligent, long-term solutions to ensure that teens in their communities can remain safe and keep their distance from all drugs.

Most

By Ilan Rotberg

prominently, smart drug education must come from the family. Parents can teach their children from a very young age that the use of marijuana is simply unhealthy for a young body. Adults will have more luck communicating and engaging in an educated dialogue with teens if they are open-minded and willing to participate in the discussion, rather than fostering an environment of silence and secrecy regarding marijuana and other drug use.

It is understandable that teens need an outlet to escape from the competitive and stressful environment of high school.

Outlets are absolutely necessary, but the casual temperament with which young people discuss marijuana makes the drug seem deceivingly benign. As we begin to usher in the legal use of marijuana into Massachusetts, it is the responsibility of our communities to stay informed and educated about how teens can remain safe, happy and healthy.

graphic by Eric Troung

page 10|September 8, 2017

Opinions|THELIONROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Democracy Under Threat By benjamin anderson-krim “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise,” the great British statesman Winston Churchill once said. “Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” This sentiment remains pertinent today, both domestically and internationally. The real-world application of democracy is by no means an ideal form of government, but it at least allows for discussion of its faults and a peaceful avenue through which people can express their beliefs and frustrations.

In the decades since the end of World War II, a concept known as democratic consolidation became increasingly popular with political scientists. It theorizes that once a country develops stable democratic institutions, a vigorous civil society and a certain degree of wealth, that country will remain a democracy. The events of the post-war world seem to confirm that theory: according to the American Sociological Review, the percentage of the world population that lives in a democracy skyrocketed from 13 percent in 1945 to 59 percent in 2005. Democratization was perhaps the most successful political process of the 1900s, but data since the turn of the century suggest that its continuation is in jeopardy.

Over the past decade, the percentage of the world’s population under democratic systems has dropped slightly. Freedom House, an organization that monitors de-

mocracy and freedom around the world, has seen a decline in its global freedom index every year since 2005. Alarming recent world events, from the failure of the Arab Spring revolutions against the autocracies of the Arabic world in 2011 to the destruction of the once-thriving Venezuelan democracy and the undermining of democratic institutions in countries like Poland, Hungary and Turkey corroborate this trend.

These troubling events have led to the new theory of democratic deconsolidation, which postulates that even robust democracies can slowly be undermined by shifting sentiment among the public,

a worrying conclusion: the United States and other democracies in Europe and the Western world are actively undergoing democratic deconsolidation at a shocking pace. In perhaps the most terrifying twist, younger generations of Americans are those most likely to denounce the democratic system and instead support alternative forms of government.

The World Values Survey has found that while 72 percent of Americans born in the 1930s say it is essential to live in a democracy, only 30 percent of Americans born in the 1980s believe the same thing.

At the same time, Americans who say that military rule is a “good” or “very good”

tice for schools; if South can spend time teaching every student the basics of square dancing, we certainly have enough time to teach students how to be responsible citizens of a republic.

Second, we should promote political thinking among students to ensure they become active members in our republic.

For example, South’s history department organized a commendable series of events and debates ahead of the 2016 election.

Third, we should put pressure on our elected officials to work together in a bipartisan manner, rather than rely on purely partisan solutions that only heighten already stifling levels of hyper-partisanship.

Cooperation will restore confidence in the ability of our system to tackle issues facing us today and prevent more people from being radicalized.

Finally, we must continue to lead on the world stage and actively promote thing rose from 1 in 16 in 1995 to 1 in 6 democracy and civil liberties in other in 2014, an increase driven primarily by countries. new generations. The first two warning We cannot take this threat lightly. signals of democratic deconsolidation in Living in a democracy benefits us not only the United States are already going off. politically, but also socially and economiThe 2016 election has shown ample evically. As a society, we must recognize and dence of the third, as candidates from the react to this potential for a slow, yet masRepublican and Democratic parties talked sive catastrophe. Robert Hutchins, the forof “draining the swamp” and “political mer president of the University of Chicago, revolution.” summed up this danger most concisely.

So what can be done? To start, we “The death of democracy is not likely to be need to ensure that students learn the an assassination from ambush,” he said. “It importance of our representative system. will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifCivic education should be standard prac- ference and undernourishment.”

As a society, we must recognize and react to this potential for a slow, yet massive catastrophe. giving rise to power-hungry groups that actively seek to undermine a nation’s democratic system. According to joint research done at Harvard University and University of Melbourne, there are three warning signs that can signal this process: a decrease in public support of the democratic system, a growing openness to nondemocratic forms of government and rising support for “antisystem parties and movements,” whose philosophies center around criticism of the current political system.

The research on this issue leads to

Islamophobia, Our Civil Rights Fight

by Eu Ro Wang In contemporary America, the public too frequently misconstrues domestic acts of homegrown hatred, carelessly attributing alarming moments of tragedy to the faith that’s wrongly become synonymous with terrorism: Islam. While terrorist groups like the Islamic State (ISIS), Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban self-identify as Muslim, they practice a violent, extremist version of Islam denounced by the 1.8 billion peaceful Muslims worldwide. American political leaders and media reluctant to make this distinction are largely responsible for the high level of Islamophobia that persists in America, ultimately harming American security interests.

The vast majority of Muslims vehemently reject the actions of modern terrorist groups. A 2015 Pew Research Center poll surveying 11 countries found that Muslims worldwide hold overwhelmingly unfavorable views of ISIS; for example, only one percent of Lebanese Sunni Muslims, four percent of Israeli Arabs and six percent of Palestinians view ISIS favorably. An August 2017 poll also by the Pew Research Center indicates that American Muslims share these views: 82 percent of American Muslims are “concerned about global extremism in the name of Islam,” a 10 percent increase since 2011.

In fact, compared to the American public, Muslims more frequently believe that “targeting [and] killing civilians is never justifiable.” So when we synonymize

Islam and terrorism, we reject truth for Donald Trump declared, “I watched when simplicity’s sake. the World Trade Center [was] tumbling Islamophobia stems from this false down. And I watched in Jersey City, New misunderstanding, and applying it to Jersey, where thousands and thousands of American Muslims aggravates the probpeople were cheering as that building was lem further. Innocent American Muslims coming down.” Objectively false claims like are subject to hate crime in their native these increase Islamophobia among much country. In January, two Texas of the American electorate in a petty mosques were burned to attempt to score political support. the ground. This summer, But these claims affect two men were killed while American Muslims’ lives evdefending Muslims from ery day; as a 2010 Gallup poll Islamophobic comments. explains, “Muslims (48 percent) General ostracization of the are more likely than Americans American Muslim commuof other major religious groups nity is more widespread. to say they, personally, have While these hate experienced racial or relicrimes have occurred in gious discrimination in small (albeit quickly the past year — on par increasing) numbers, with African Amerimore subtle Islamocans (45 percent).” phobic bias exists in While rhetothe Amercan public: ric can cause harm, a 2015 Gallup survey Islamophobic foreign found that 38 percent policy ironically of Americans would not increases radicalization g e Tan t it ig vote for a well-qualified and threatens our national y Br hic b grap Muslim candidate, viewing security. The Trump adminisMuslims as a threat to our liberal tration’s temporary travel ban from six democracy.

Muslim majority countries only empowers Tragically, some American leaders ISIS. Former Director of National Inteldo not dispel false beliefs about Ameriligence James Clapper argues that refugees can Muslim radicalization and further struggling under inhumane living condiIslamophobic attitudes by perpetuating tions have difficulty resisting ISIS’s alluring these myths. In 2015, then-candidate food and humanitarian aid.

The Trump administration has further increased domestic radicalization.

As a 2007 Brown University study explains, many Muslims feel alienated from US society, leaving a void ISIS can fill with propaganda. In fact, since 2001, major terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombing and Orlando nightclub shooting have been perpetrated by radicalized US residents.

This alienation also makes American Muslims more susceptible to online recruitment from terrorist groups trying to recruit fighters to Middle East battlefields.

We must actively fight the stigmatization of Islam and defend the peace that Islam teaches; we must clarify that American Muslims are neither terrorists, nor public dangers. While Islamophobic comments largely retain First Amendment protection, we must drown out intolerance with loud voices of love, acceptance and solidarity. Even that, however, is not enough; we must elect leaders who take the morally and practically correct approach to Islamophobia.

After President George W. Bush’s fierce initial response to the 9/11 attacks, hate crimes against Muslims increased until he later emphasized tolerance toward Muslims.

The time for action to reduce dangerous and destructive Islamophobia is now. Our government’s commitment to protecting Americans’ rights, security and prosperity leave us no other option.

campus chatter September 8, 2017|page 11

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|opinions

UPGRADE

9 Return of the NFL Fall sports

The Lion’s Roar asked ...

What are you most excited about this school year?

“I’m entering senior year, so it is going to be largely college-focused, but really I just want to have fun at school, have fun with my friends, just have another great year.”

Mr. Wang still on MasterChef

- Varun Mann, Class of 2018

Fantasy football Autumn leaves Rosh Hashanah

“I want to improve in everything that I do, whether it’s soccer or academics.”

- Becks Edelstein, Class of 2019

Celtics getting Kyrie

“I definitely want to branch out more than I did last year and do well in my classes.”

Sweater weather New classes New Taylor Swift

9

DOWNGRADE

- Amanda Lookner, Class of 2020

“To understand myself better and make some good friends.”

- Akshay Ramana, Class of 2021 photos by Eu Ro Wang

Movie Review: Baby Driver by allie riklin

Back to school The Common Application Julian Edelman injury Colder weather Waking up early Post-camp blues Daily routine Losing Isaiah Thomas New Taylor Swift

Have you ever listened to a song and thought that it would perfectly match a certain mood? “Baby Driver” feeds off the same idea. The film incorporates action, romance, violence and, of course, good music.

Set in Atlanta, “Baby Driver” focuses on a getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgort). The movie has quite an impressive cast, including Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Lily James (of the live-action “Cinderella”).

While, Elgort is relatively new to the movie scene, “Baby Driver” proves that he can be much more than a heartthrob in a John Green story.

Baby is the getaway driver for a group of bank robbers, led by Kevin Spacey’s character, Doc. While the other members in the gang are stone-cold killers, Baby is just a good kid caught in the wrong place at the wrong time who now has to pay his debt by driving.

Soundtracks are often the most important part of a movie, as they can add a mood or feeling to any scene. As we learn from Baby’s background story early in the film, Baby was in a car accident that killed both of his parents when he was very

young, leaving him with a constant ringing in his ears that can only be cancelled out by listening to music. For Baby, music is an incredibly important aspect of life, and there are only a few scenes in which the character is not wearing his headphones.

“Baby Driver” resembles the 2014 classic “Guardians of the Galaxy” with both films focusing heavily on their soundtracks. Every song in the film reflects the mood of its respective scene.

The songs play from iPods or car radios, and lyrics constantly appear in the graffiti on the streets. Even seemingly unrelated elements like gunshots are synced with beats from songs. Music is integral to every scene, and the characters frequently break the fourth wall by acknowledging its presence.

“Baby Driver” incorporates the good-versus-evil theme, complete with car chases, violence and interpersonal struggles along the way.

While unexpected, the ending will leave you smiling and, of course, humming the tunes. Just remember to drive cautiously after watching.

“Baby Driver”

page 14|september 8, 2017 Continued, from previous page be empathetic towards a character and their situation through a book.”

Recent research corroborates Lezhnin’s observation. According to a 2006 study by psychologist Keith Oatley of the University of Toronto, readers’ tendency to become absorbed in a story and to “mentalize” the thoughts and feelings of various characters explains the positive correlation between exposure to narrative stories and empathy.

“When you look at something on a screen, it’s definite; it’s been defined,” Lezhnin said. “But when you look at words on a book that explain what the world looks like but not every single detail, you can make it your own; you can sort of mold it. It’s an artwork to read.”

Horan said she shares this appreciation for the powerful imagination that books promote. “[Reading] makes you more emotionally intelligent and more sympathetic and understanding because books can expose you to things that you wouldn’t be exposed to in your regular life,” she said, “[that] is really important especially in Newton because we’ve got the bubble effect in our community,” she said.

Freshman Marie Lee noted that books have a greater impact on readers than electronics because of their clearer and more interesting themes. This said, fewer people are reading for pleasure than ever before.

The English Department designed One School, One Book in 2008 to address the issue and encourage students to approach books the way that adults would — with a curious mind and a critical lens. As more research revealed that having choice is integral to developing children’s love for reading, the program evolved into One School, One Question (1S1Q).

Baron hoped that 1S1Q would allow students to approach one broad question from various angles depending on which book of five available options they chose to read.

While providing more options was a good first step, some students said that they want to read from a wider selection of genres.

“I don’t really like reading fiction books,” Dandliker said. “I do believe in having discussions, but it’s difficult when it’s a book that somebody made up, and it’s not a

centerfold|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR real thing that happened that we can discuss the implications of.”

“I think that we can do better as a department in being well-versed in books that kids like to read,” Baron said. “I don’t always know what books are out there that will be exciting for kids. We need to get over that hump.”

A student survey evaluating 1S1Q, however, revealed students’ concerns that increasing the number of book choices might make it more difficult to have unified conversations, Baron said.

According to Sridhar, a possible tactic to keep the books organized would be to categorize the books more broadly.

“You can break it up into books about racial diversity, books about gender diversity or books about economic status,” she said.

“If you just categorize books rather than give specific books, you can still have the same level of unity.”

Horan said that having a unifying theme remains essential.

“I would stress the importance of themes and thematic curriculums, where all the books fit into a theme and that theme is explored thoroughly so that students are getting the most that they can out of reading and out of school,” she said.

Students can maximize the benefits of reading, scholar Sheridan Blau said, by engaging in “intellectual generosity,” the process of sustaining attention, considering multiple possibilities and critically analyzing a work.

“I think that the lifeblood of a high school English class or college English class is discussion to really try to figure out what’s going on in the literature you’re reading,” Baron added. “That’s a lot easier to do if everyone’s on the same page, if everyone’s read the same book.”

From designating time for in-class reading, providing choices for summer books and promoting leisurely reading, Baron said the English department continues to experiment with new techniques in an effort to encourage students to enjoy reading.

While reading is crucial to students’ intellectual and emotional development, Baron concluded, these benefits can only be realized when students read for pleasure.

“I think it’s incredibly important to have kids at the end of their four years that like to read, that see reading as a part of a habit of life because it’s going to be relaxing.”

Appoximately 40 percent of high school seniors who took the ACT exam in 2016 did not demonstrate the reading skills necessary to succeed in college courses

In a survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 28 percent had not read a single book in the past year

45 percent of 17-year-olds report reading for pleasure no more than once or twice a year Teens spend nearly 9 hours every day consuming media through their phone, computer or TV

sources of information: Center for Longitudinal Studies, University of Sussex, Kingston University in London, Reading Research Quarterly, PBS, Huffpost and Common Sense Media

FEATURES page 15|SEPTEMBER 8, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

FEATURES@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2

THE

COMMONAPPLICATION

The Roar follows 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 Dina Zeldin

J

ulian* plans to enter a STEM program, his interests lying in biology and innovation.

“I think that there are a lot of changes that can be made through STEM,” he said. “I’m hoping to combine math and science, but not in the conventional way.”

In order to get there, Julian has used skills developed on the debate team to approach his application.

“There are a lot of similarities,” he said. “They’re both analytical and very strategic.”

Although Julian is tentative about joining a debate team in college, he said he hopes to continue debating at least informally.

“I love hearing people’s political views on different issues [because] it’s an easy way to learn about issues,” he said.

“That’s the kind of environment I want to have in college, a diverse place of ideas,” he added. “College is very important because you make a lot of connections there, and those can have big implications for your career.”

Julian said he is applying to schools around Massachusetts for convenience.

“You get a feel for a different environment, but you aren’t completely distant from where you came from,” he said.

Although Julian said he is looking forward to college, he hopes to savor his senior year.

“I think the greatest thing about senior year is that you gain a lot of familiarity with yourself and who you are.”

C

aroline* is applying to several university theater programs in hope of making her dream of becoming an actress a reality.

“There’s nothing that makes me happier than theater,” she said. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

In order to attend a university’s theater program, Caroline said she must be accepted to the school both academically and artistically. Although she is satisfied with her SAT scores, Caroline said she is nervous for her auditions, which she prepared for during the summer.

“Five minutes in the audition room makes or breaks you,” she said. “I’m just going to do my best, and I really hope it all goes well.”

Auditioning before slots fill is important, she said, which is why she is applying Early Action.

Caroline said she is excited for a different environment regardless of where she ends up.

“I like being able to meet new people and see new things, ... but I also like familiarity,” she said.

For now, Caroline is focused on completing the Common App. She advised her fellow seniors to empathize with each other during this difficult process.

“Not everyone will be experiencing this the same way,” she said. “Keep in mind that different people have different realities. ... Use this time right now to feel excited and look at this college process as a new beginning rather than stress.”

C

harlie* is fascinated by the prospect of studying politics in college, but said he is torn between his interests in math and liberal arts.

“It’s tough,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep all of my options open.”

Charlie has toured several schools in the Massachusetts area, but hopes to settle in Washington, D.C. “That would be good if I ever want to get an internship at some sort of political thing,” he said. “It’s weird to stay [too] close to home. I want to get out and branch out and be on my own a bit.”

This summer, Charlie finished taking his SATs and began writing his Common App essays and supplements, which proved more difficult than he anticipated.

“I fell behind because I’m struggling finding a good topic,” he said.

Taking his older brother’s advice, Charlie is working on the supplemental questions first.

“Knock out all of the easy supplements right out the gate; just get those over with,” he said.

Charlie said he hopes to stay positive during the process by focusing on the good parts of senior year.

“Instead of just devoting all of my time to the college process and having a really stressful senior year, it’s about finding a balance between school and being with your friends and having fun,” he said.

“Senior year, there’s a lot to look forward to, like prom. ... I’m [also] excited to see how everybody turns out.”

A

graphics by Celine Yung

nnabelle* will be applying to Canadian universities, attractive by their lower tuition for Canadian citizens like herself.

According to Annabelle, she is excited to gain independence by moving away from her family.

“I want to live my own life and see how I do by myself,” she said.

After touring several schools, Annabelle said she hopes to settle in a city.

“I like the livelihood of city campuses,” she said. “Not only is it a campus, but it’s also a city [with] a lot of resources.”

In addition to touring, Annabelle said, starting her Common App over the summer has prepared her for senior year.

Writing a personal essay, however, has proven challenging.

“Common Apps are another whole course,” Annabelle said. “You have to write in a way that makes you stand out, but if everybody is writing that way, then how are you going to stand out?”

Annabelle recommends that underclassmen follow in her footsteps and avoid stressing over the college process prematurely. Even as a senior, Annabelle said that she is unsure of her future.

“Freshmen [should] focus on making friends [and trying] new clubs because clubs [are] what helps you stand out, as well as volunteer work,” she said. “Don’t worry about it, ... you can be whoever you want to be.” *Names changed to protect students’ identities

maestrochef

page 16|SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

FEATURES|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

The Roar’s Emily Belt asks music teacher Jason Wang about his experience as a competitor on MasterChef How do you think music and cooking intersect?

Music to me is working with all these different sound components. In orchestra, you have clarinets, you have violins, you have viola — all these instruments, and they each have a different sound sensation to them. To me, it’s almost like you’re making a cake or dessert, and you really want to have all the right amount of different ingredients in there. When I am in the kitchen, I am thinking “I want a little more of this, I want a little more of that,” and it’s just like conducting. At times you’ll hear too much bassoon, or I need some more flute here. It’s basically the same idea [or] same principle [but] just using a slightly different medium.

What influences your cooking style?

Both my ... grandmothers were big influences in my cooking. My paternal grandmother was from Beijing originally, so she did northern style Chinese food, and then my maternal grandmother was from Shanghai, so she did a slightly different type of cuisine. ... I would also say growing up in Newton, [a city with] a very diverse group of people and families and culture, and then getting to go to different friends’ houses [influenced my cooking]. I had a friend who was Sri Lankan, and my other friend was Ukrainian, and I had another friend who was Cantonese. Just going to [these friends’] houses and getting to try all these different types of foods ... was an important reason why I have different flavor influences in my foods.

Those were the memories and tastes that I’ve stored in my head for when I cook.

How did you react to meeting the MasterChef judges?

If you watch the first episode, and you see me ... walking into the MasterChef kitchen with my mouth wide open, that’s because I literally was thinking I cannot believe I am here. Just walking down the aisle and seeing Chef Ramsay and Chef Tosi, I felt like it was a movie, and I was watching a movie, and then I realized I’m really here. It was just absolutely the most incredible sensation of “where am I, what have I gotten myself into, [and] shoot, I have to cook now.” I was just starstruck.

How was cooking in the MasterChef kitchen different from cooking in your kitchen at home?

There is a very set time limit. If they say 30 minutes to get something done, it is literally 30 minutes and not a second more. So at home, you can take a phone call, you can go to the bathroom, [and] you can stop and check for mail outside, ... but in the MasterChef kitchen, you have a set time limit, and you feel the pressure. ... Every second that you are not doing something is a second that you’ve lost. I think what was amazing was that they have amazing equipment there [and] different and unusual ingredients right at our fingertips.

Oftentimes, I might not necessarily purchase [the equipment at MasterChef] for myself because I find it too expensive. ... Some of the seafood mystery box items I couldn’t get here fresh in Boston. So having everything set up for us to succeed in terms of equipment and ingredients ... is so nice.

Of which dish are you most proud?

The coconut challenge was the first time that I had to make a sweet dish in the MasterChef kitchen. ... A lot of the time, some of the Asian contestants fall down when they have to do something dessert-related because they don’t have that knowledge base. I think Cate was hoping to trick me by giving me a sweet basket to work with, [but] I actually love making sweets. ... I made a coconut créme brûlée with passionfruit curd, and then I made a caramelized pineapple and coconut macaroon crumble, and then I served it with a papaya, lime, honey ballad. I was really proud of that [dish] because I was like, “Yep, I’m a contender. I can do sweet and savory as well.”

What was the biggest lesson you took away from your time on MasterChef?

This [advice] is something Newton students should hear for sure, and that’s follow your passion and ... do things that make you feel excited and joyful and happy. I think at Newton South and at a lot of other high pressure schools, everyone is thinking “I need to do this, I need to do that, [and] I need to take a million AP courses because I need to go to college and be a doctor, and I need to be a lawyer.” A lot of times, those are other people’s expectations for you, and that’s not necessarily going to make you happy. You only get to live one life, and my advice to students — and also myself having gone through this experience — is you need to do something that brings you joy because when you do that, it allows you to shine as who you should be.

photos courtesy of MasterChef and Jason Wang

september 8, 2017|page 17

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|Features Photos courtesy of MasterChef and Jason Wang

There’s so many amazing things that he does, and he does them all because he’s passionate about it, and he loves what he does, and that is a really inspiring thing for me and for all his students to see.

Joanna Marcus, Class of 2018

It’s really surreal. I knew he can cook [because] he brought in food for orchestra, and it was incredible, but I never thought it would be to this caliber.

Kaleigh Yee, Class of 2019

I especially remember a seafood challenge. … He started crying when he was presenting his dish to the judges because he wanted to give the ingredients the showing they deserve. It was ... something he would definitely say in real life.

Then he won, and I was very proud of him.

Caleb Fried, Class of 2018

[As] a freshman, it was a surprise walking into orchestra and not having the teacher that was on my schedule.

People ... were talking about MasterChef, so I found out about his appearance on the show before I met him. … I was really anticipating meeting him [after I found out].

Lucy Chae, Class of 2020

Additional photos

by Dina Zeldin from Aug. 30 at Union Street Restaurant

Every moment he’s [on MasterChef], he’s enjoying it, and that’s amazing. Some of the other contestants will get grumpy or snipe about other people, but he’s so nice and just really happy to be there.

Claire Deng, Class of 2018

page 18|september 8, 2017

features|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Savoring Summer Shiga,

Japan

By Risako Mizuyama

photos courtesy of Risako Mizuyama

This summer, I trained every day for 12 hours at various high schools and universities in Japan in preparation for two karuta competitions.

Unfamiliar to most, karuta is a traditional Japanese sport using cards featuring ancient Japanese poems from the Hyakunin Isshu anthology. Two opponents face each other on a tatami mat.

They lay 50 cards in front of them and 25 cards on each of their sides. The players’ cards contain only the latter half of the poems. The “reader” reads from a deck containing all 100 cards, each containing the full poem. Upon hearing the first half of the poem, the players must find and swipe the card with the latter half. As soon as the reader begins to say the first word, the room erupts with chaos as the players lunge for the card and deftly swipe it off the mat, making the card cut through

Three seniors reflect on their final summer as high school students

the air with jaw-dropping speed. The first player to clear their side of cards wins.

My first competition this summer was the National Inter-High School Competitive Karuta Competition, in which teams consisting of the top high school players in the country compete, representing their respective high schools.

I had been recruiting members for and instructing the Boston team since December, and finally, in July, the six of us traveled to Shiga, Japan to compete. The second competition was a smaller one in the countryside. I placed first in the latter competition and finally received a “rank,” for which I have been training the past three years. I was elated that all my hard work, especially intense over the summer, had paid off. Yet, I did hesitate a bit to communicate my joy: I’ve been playing this sport for three years now, and while it

is the most integral part of my life, a lot of my friends don’t know enough about it to really care. Amidst the buzz around classic sports, I hope the population of players of this obscure sport continues to grow, spreading the notion that it’s much more than just a card game.

Washington, USA

By Lizy Szanton This summer, I flew across the U.S. to live with total strangers in the remote wilderness of Washington state for 12 days of no deodorant and intense wonder at the natural world.

As a “nature person,” I was bummed to discover just how firmly stuck I am in the 21st century. At first, I felt completely off-kilter. I thought about home comforts constantly — watermelon, a real mattress and the Great British Baking Show.

Only after six days did I feel sure I’d been delivered from the womb to hike the dusty trails of the Pacific Crest and plunge into glacial rivers bluer than the ocean.

After 12 stormless days in the wilderness, I’m not qualified to decry the sins of modern civilization and tell everyone to go live in the woods. But without iPhones and air conditioning units to make life

speedy and impersonal, our group slipped into routines to favor the essential.

Authenticity is essential. In the backcountry, there is no one to lie to but yourself. So many sins of society no longer apply. You are stripped of the material things that help you to be liked and allow you to be cruel.

Play is essential. Thinking about sunrise wake-ups and long hikes, I expected a trip full of serious people. Not so! For a group of 16-to-18-year-olds, we spent a lot of time telling knock-knock jokes, playing Spit and singing “Down by the Bay.” For 12 days, I was a high-functioning six-year-old! This is progress. We should all just be nice to each other and call each other on banana phones.

Finally, survival is essential. Our patient trip leaders accordingly told us

to eat, sleep and avoid Giardia, a parasite that sits in crystalline streams of water and then ambushes you with lifelong norovirus. But beyond the basics, living (briefly) in the wild made it easy to distinguish true self-care — drinking two Nalgenes a day, sleeping eight hours, bathing in the

creek — from less legitimate self-care, like watching TV and shopping. There’s no huge moral flaw with the second course of action, but it felt powerful to discover what my body truly needs. Will selfknowledge lead to change? Only the dark wilderness of senior fall will tell.

East

This summer, I spent two weeks in Kenya and Rwanda. While I was there, I surveyed residents of local slums and refugee camps to gather information about their use of cookstoves. Developed countries have largely abandoned wood as a heat source for food, but in many impoverished areas, cookstoves remain quite common — and can have dire effects on public health. In these regions, the use of polluted fuel for cooking is one of the biggest contributors to respiratory illnesses in women and children, who inhale toxic

particles and smoke. Furthermore, women, especially those in refugee camps, face an alarming risk of gender-based violence on their long trips to collect firewood for these stoves.

As one can probably expect, life isn’t exactly comfortable in slum conditions.

Extreme poverty limits most people to homes about the size of your dining room on streets buried in trash and reeking of burnt plastic. But while the circumstances are far from ideal, I found that the people who live there always make the most of

their surroundings. The main street was flooding with business, crammed with shops for miles in both directions. People looking to provide for their families would sell anything from clean clothes and shined shoes to recycled computers and revised electronics. No matter where you were, people were making business.

And with this business, the slums were bustling. People were living their everyday lives: buying groceries, talking with neighbors, debating over politics, laughing with friends and building their occupations.

People were just that — people. Though it may seem obvious, many often fail to realize what that really means.

When the very idea of a slum is mentioned, people wind up conjuring images of poor, malnourished individuals living in squalor with nothing but sadness surrounding them. We end up shortchanging the many who live in these conditions by making them out to be “poor” first and “people” second. By going on this trip and conducting research in these areas, I gained greater insight into the difficult yet vibrant life that many of these people lead and the inaccuracies of our society’s perception of poverty.

Africa

By Janam Shankar

photo courtesy of Lizy Szanton

photos courtesy of Janam Shankar

September 8, 2017|page 19

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

Fasten Your Seatbelts

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

graphic by Sophie Galowitz

MURDER Aug. 27, Newton Centre Authorities grew suspicious when The Old Taylor, 22, went dark. Upon calling her house, an unidentified voice informed them she can’t come to the phone right now because she’s dead.

THEFT Aug. 27, Cutler Bathroom 10 million dollars’ worth of diamonds were found lying in an eerie porcelain bathtub. While most remained in mint condition, tooth marks indicated that some jewels had been gnawed on.

GRAVE DESECRATION Aug. 27, Senior Lot Much to the world’s dismay, the nauseating ghost of Taylor Swift’s Reputation emerged from the ground Sunday night, destroying her gravesite and terrifying people everywhere.

ARMED ROBBERY Aug. 27, Auburndale Five unwisely-dressed suspects broke into a highsecurity bank using only cat mascot heads and a single baseball bat. Authorities have literally no clue how they succeeded.

Overheard at SOUTH Yes, we heard you say that.

FBLA practice-squad hopeful: “How do I write a children’s story with a subtle capitalism critique?”

Self-conscious style-seeker: “Nice backpack, young man — your boyfriend buy that for you?”

Miserable mathematician (but promising chemist!): “Me and math this term are like water and oil. We just don’t mix.”

Reality-reminding, dream-crushing senior: “You’re too pure for reality TV.”

Embarrassing Roar Staff Photo Montage of the Month:

Miller never fails to turn heads with his one-of-a-kind taste in glasses, shirts, hats and haircuts.

COREY SAMUELS sr. fun editor

bffls & bad puns Dear Class of 2021, Congratulations on finishing the first week of high school! Granted, it was a tad hectic — figuring out exactly where the chorus room was, baring the frayed fibres of your heart with your fiftieth icebreaker in Spanish, spending an uncanny amount of mental energy deciphering the more sophisticated high school restroom graffiti — but the amazing moment this week will be the moment that you realize just how much has changed over the past seven days.

Seven days ago you were eager to line your now confoundingly abandoned locker with photographs of Zac Efron and some emergency deodorant; seven days ago, you also generally believed — incredibly — that water fountains produced some form of liquid when pressed.

But, what’s even more incredible is how much will change over the course of your four years wheezing up the stairs to the third floor of the 1000s here at Newton South.

The bad news is that no one knows how much will change, really. Four years ago, we thought Snapchat would be relegated to the margins of sexts and unsolicited pictures of … well, you know. Penises. We had no idea that buying a ticket to see “The Avengers” meant an implicit contract to also purchase tickets to God knows how many other superhero movies. We probably should have had hoverboards by now, and in no one’s wildest dreams was Tom DeLonge not still a member of Blink-182.

But here we are: somehow watching a second British Spiderman, mourning the deaths of Old Taylor Swift and Vine, fighting Nazis. My oh my. Sometimes, within the turbulence of the present, we have to hold faith that the future will lead us to greener pastures. Which brings us to the good news: The good news is that in the hallway between the 2000s and the 3000s, most likely before you leave, but probably not for many years after that, there will be a few plants and maybe a fish tank. Jury’s still out on that.

Love, Corey Samuels

SPORTS page 20|September 8, 2017|THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM

Sports@thelionsroar.com|VOLUME 34, ISSUE 2

A League of its Own

South athletes face strong competition and logistical challenges in the Dual County League

By Izzy Klein and Jennifer Wang

graphic by Eunice Kim

may also put weaker teams at a disadvantage.

“I can see how [this competition] would be kind of a struggle for some of the programs at [South] that are kind of playing catch-up, whereas others are already way ahead of the game,” she said.

Aiena said the baseball team recently discussed switching to the small DCL conference, a section of the DCL that plays more non-league games than its large counterpart, making six teams in the large conference and five in the small.

Ultimately, the team elected to remain in the large conference.

One benefit of South’s place in the large DCL conference is the range of healthy competition and the high level of player talent, according to baseball coach Mike Aiena.

“In the large [conference], most [schools] have three solid levels of teams,” he said. “It’s good for [South’s] JV and freshman teams to compete and grow each year with those opposing teams.”

On the other hand, Rodgers said one disadvantage of the large DCL conference is the long bus rides between schools.

“The geographical distance between South and most of the other schools in the [large DCL conference] makes for long bus trips and some late nights for our players, which can make getting their school work done a challenge,” he said.

“At times I wish that we faced teams whose schools lie closer to us,” Jampol said. “Traveling to compete against

Westford, for example, can mean leaving at 2:15 and returning at 8:15.”

To tackle the challenge, Rodgers said he discusses time management with players at the beginning of the season.

“Our players have done a good job of prioritizing getting their work done,” he said.

Football coach Ted Dalicandro said South could join the Bay State League, an athletic conference of the MIAA comprised of neighboring schools. “[Joining the Bay State League] will create better competition and good solid rivalries for the school and the athletes,” he said. “Plus the travel cost and travel time issues would be reduced because of the proximity. The majority of the Bay State League schools are close to South.”

Barry disagreed, arguing that the benefits of the DCL outweigh the cost of these traveling issues.

“I don’t think the cons are that detrimental to any athlete,” she said. “I would rather stay in the DCL because it’s a more competitive league.”

In addition to travel issues, Dalicandro said the DCL can be disorganized.

“The DCL has been in kind of shambles over the past 6-7 years, adding teams, losing teams [and] allowing league teams to not to compete against each other,” he said. “Teams pick and choose who they want to play and not play in almost every sport. The integrity of the league is not there anymore.”

Rodgers agreed about the illigitamacy of the

DCL rule enabling teams to choose their competition.

“The biggest con or DCL rule that concerns me is the ‘opt-out’ rule, which allows teams to opt-out of playing each other,” he said. “The rule is most often exercised by a small school that doesn’t want to play a big school.”

Dalicandro said this issue affects the entire league and state.

“The whole system needs an overhaul, but it will take a lot of courage to make the changes needed,” he said.

According to Rodgers, the athletic department owes it to South athletes to discuss the DCL. “A big part of our job as an athletic department is to provide the student athletes at South with the best possible experience,” he said.

“Sports are an extension of the classroom,” Delicandro added. “Many lifelong lessons are taught on the fields, in the gyms and in the rinks. Our studentathletes deserve the best.”

Ultimately, Rodgers said the benefits of a fair league would reach hundreds of student-athletes.

“Everyone involved in South athletics is not only a part of their teams and the South athletic community, but is also a part of a bigger team that is made up of all the schools in the DCL,” he said. “It’s a benefit to all South athletes for the DCL to be as strong and as healthy a league as possible.”

September 8, 2017|page 21

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts

Brandon Lee makes Hamill award history

photo courtesy of Wicked Local Staff

photo courtesy of Brandon Lee

Dorra Guermazi Sr. Sports Editor

On June 28, shortstop Brandon Lee became the first sophomore to win the Bill Hamill Award, an honor bestowed annually upon Newton’s best high school baseball player.

“I was super humbled to be up next to all these big names [from] the past 50 years,” Lee said.

Former captain Dylan Meehan, who graduated from the program last spring, said Lee’s relentless work ethic qualified him for the award.

“He was definitely one of our best players this year [because] he put in a lot of hard work,” he said. “He is always going the extra mile, [and] he’s always practicing just a little bit more than everyone else.”

Lee stood out from other top Newton players both on and off the field, according to head coach Mike Aiena.

“I thought about what the award was really all about, and while Brandon [was] only a sophomore, he definitely [had one] of the best years from a statistics standpoint,” he said. “He is [also] a well-rounded individual. He is able to handle and be very

successful in school [and] in the community with the things he volunteers for. He balances all of that in addition to baseball, and he succeeds in all of them.”

Junior teammate Brett Goldstein added that Lee’s leadership skills constantly motivated the team to improve.

“He has always been a team player, no matter what age he was playing,” he said. “He was on the varsity team as a freshman, and the older kids looked up to him because he is great on and off the field, [and] he’s always been there for his teammates.”

While the award had been presented exclusively to upperclassmen since its inception in 1970, Lee played far beyond his years, Meehan noted.

“He is the best player in Newton, despite being a sophomore,” he said. “I don’t think [age] really matters when it comes down to who went out there and performed, and Brandon definitely did [perform].”

“Usually people grow into their skills by senior year, but it’s really cool to see somebody as young as him getting this award,” Junior Luke Ito agreed. “Especially when he’s from a school where [there

aren’t] many award-winning baseball players.”

“This is a huge recognition for Brandon and a big stepping stone for him, even in his future as he looks toward college and other areas,” Aiena added. “It’s also something he’s got to live up to as well. If he wants to be considered next year, he has to step up his game a little bit and be better in all aspects and really shine and improve himself from last year.”

Lee said that he hopes that the recognition will translate to a competitive advantage on the field.

“A lot of people know your name, and then when your name gets out there, a lot of people get scared of you on the field,” he said. “That’s a good feeling to have.”

Moving forward, Meehan noted that Lee should continue to work hard despite his achievement.“He was recognized as one of the best players, and his hard work paid off,” Meehan said. “I think if he can use that as a launching point instead of as the finish line, he can definitely be a force to be reckoned with in his junior and senior years.”

While winning the award is a great, unprecented accomplishment, Aiena added, recipients deserve more attention

from the community than they receive.

Dick Lee, Brandon’s father, agreed. “[Players should be recognized] to show their hard work and dedication to the sport. Baseball is a game of failure, so when you receive an award like this, you are recognized for what you do on and off the field,” he said. “Your name is on that trophy along with all the great baseball players that have ever played in the city of Newton, so you literally become a part of history.”

According to Dick Lee, his son must continue to push himself and, most importantly, enjoy the sport.

“I’ve always said to just control what you can control, which is yourself,” he said.

“Push hard in school, and take care of your body. The game will come by itself as long as you have fun. Do the best you can do, work hard all season, learn other positions and get stronger.” “[You need to have] grit on the field, have confidence in yourself and have that mindset that you can do anything,” Brandon said. “If you have that mindset and that confidence in yourself, you can do anything as long as you work hard and do it. ... If you put your best effort out there, then it’s hard for someone to beat you.”

Joe Sangiolo added. “We have some pretty good freshmen that could even run varsity this year.”

South will turn to sophomores and juniors who ran junior varsity last year, including sophomores Danny Collins, Ben Giesser and Ethan Jacunski and juniors Daniel Lacayo, Jack Martin, Joe Sangiolo, Stevie Sheldon and Jared Stotsky, to step up this fall.

“Even if these guys aren’t necessarily top seven, having such a large elite group of runners will push the varsity group to be even faster and train harder,” Powdermaker said.

Jacunski said he hopes to contribute to the varsity team this year.

“At the end of the track season I ran a local 5K and [set a personal record] by almost a minute and a half from cross country last year,” he said. “I’m hoping I can continue to improve and become one of the faster guys on the team.”

With a younger team, Walensky said he wants to ensure that the freshmen, sophomores and juniors stepping up this year take the sport seriously and show

leadership.

“They will have a lot fewer upperclassmen to look up to in terms of speed and racing, and they have to be comfortable leading during races and workouts,” he said.

In addition to replacing last year’s seniors, one of cross country’s greatest annual challenges is starting strong after successful spring track seasons, according to Powdermaker.

“A lot of the guys going into cross country this year were fast during track but needed some time to warm up in cross country [last year],” Powdermaker explained. “If we can get back to that track level early in cross country, we’ll be looking strong.”

To prepare for the season, Walensky and Landrigan organized weekly summer captains practices.

Walensky said these practices help more than physical fitness. “[Captains’ practices] mainly serve to ensure that people come into the season in shape and doing their summer runs,” Walensky said, “but they are also a good

way to meet the incoming freshmen and build a team environment before the season starts.”

Like most other fall sports, Miller said, having a regular captains practice schedule over the summer is often tough, with many student-athletes on vacation or at work.

“While [the captains have] admittedly done a much better job at getting things going than the captains from years past, [captains’ practices are] still only once a week and not always consistent on the timing,” he said. “While the top guys on the team do run every day over the summer, not everyone does, so with the way that we are training during the school year, that results in a lot of injuries.”

Regardless of whether the team majority is underclassmen or upperclassmen, Powdermaker said the team has high hopes for the upcoming season.

“We don’t necessarily have the top, top guy the way we have had in the past, but overall, our team average time should be much better, as we won’t have any weak links.”

Boys cross country team looks to rebuild Jake Freudberg Sports Reporter

After graduating several varsity runners last year, including Gal Fudim and Bhavik Nagda, the boys cross country team has big shoes to fill this fall.

This year’s varsity squad stars only four runners from last year’s team: senior captains Seth Walensky and Jack Landrigan and juniors Ben Powdermaker and Shaw Miller, leaving three spots for upand-coming runners.

“Even though we had a lot of really good seniors leave last year, the younger guys are looking promising,” Miller said. “I think the varsity team this year is going to be a lot of sophomores and juniors.”

Walensky agreed, adding that he was not initially confident about the current team’s potential.

“At first look, we all thought it was going to be a rebuilding year,” he said. “But we have a strong rising sophomore and junior class, which has made me rather optimistic.”

“We’re looking pretty good,” junior

page 22|september 8, 2017

Kaepernick v. The Shield JAKE FREUDBERG & THOMAS PATTI

S

Sports|THELIONsROAR.com|THE LION’S ROAR

Elwell to coach MIT men’s team

The Penalty Box

ometimes, the best antidote to headscratching behavior is a time-out for self-evaluation. Every issue, we’ll give one member of the sports world a chance to do just that. First to the Penalty Box: the NFL. In August 2016, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick elected to sit during the national anthem before a preseason game. Kaepernick, born to a white mother and African-American father, cited racially-charged police brutality as the reason for his protest. “When there’s significant change and I feel that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, ... I’ll stand,” he said. Kaepernick also reaffirmed his respect for the armed forces amid criticism that his demonstrations were anti-military.

As his protests continued into the regular season, however, public contempt for the quarterback only grew, leaving him unemployed a year later.

Last month, ESPN reported that the Baltimore Ravens considered signing Kaepernick, dismissing the possibility that he simply doesn’t cut it talent-wise. Both the head coach and the general manager reportedly supported the acquisition but met resistance from owner Steve Bisciotti.

Instead of the six-year veteran, Baltimore opted for David Olson, whose three total pass attempts at Clemson had never before earned him a spot on an NFL roster. Clearly, Kaepernick’s unemployment rests on factors far beyond the field; Olson, the inferior talent, has an edge in just one regard — he’s not controversial. This explanation, however, makes a mockery of the league’s integrity.

Granted, the NFL is a business dependent upon public approval. At first glance, it seems unwise for the league to risk losing its Sunday stronghold over Kaepernick’s antics. But examine team rosters over the years and you’ll find that the league has dealt with far worse.

The Ravens themselves rebounded from a double murder charge against star linebacker Ray Lewis in 2000 to claim a Super Bowl title the next season under his lead. Greg Hardy’s 2014 arrest for allegedly strangling his ex-girlfriend didn’t deter the Cowboys from taking a flyer on him just a year later. And Joe Mixon, the Sooner running back charged with misdemeanor assault in 2014, is on to Cincinnati following a second-round selection in this year’s draft.

Whatever public relations stunts NFL squads have orchestrated in the past to rebrand felons should surely work just as well with social activists.

Moreover, this very conversation that associates Kaepernick’s name with convicted criminals’ should be a reason in itself for the league to reassess. Kaepernick’s staunchest opponents, the ones scolding him for disloyalty, should know more than any that the First Amendment protects his demonstrations. The apparent implication that the league would rather see a domestic violence charge than a civil rights protest on a player’s resume is absurd. As long as Kaepernick remains jobless, the NFL will continue to serve as the laughing stock of professional sports on all social matters.

photos by Netta Dror Under Elwell’s lead, the boys volleyball team finished 19-2 last season, ultimat ely losing to Needham in the MIAA South Sectional

Catherine Granfield Sr. Sports Editor

After 18 years at South, wellness teacher and head volleyball coach Todd Elwell is heading to college.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hired Elwell as head coach for its men’s NCAA Division III volleyball team.

His hiring follows a historic 19-2 season with the South boys volleyball team.

Elwell will not return to coach South boys volleyball this spring due to overlapping seasons, but he will coach the girls team in the fall and continue teaching wellness.

MIT’s past success informed his decision to switch, Elwell said. The team placed 15th in the country last year.

“If I was going to make a move from [the] South boys [team], which is always a top contender in the state of Massachusetts, I would want to make sure that I made a parallel move to something that was going to be competitive,” he said. “You don’t want to just jump ship and start a program somewhere where [success] might not be viable.”

Elwell succeeds MIT’s Paul Dill, who will continue to coach the MIT women’s team in the fall.

“Dill has been there for 15 years, and both the mens and womens programs are top-notch,” Elwell said. “I’m going in to fill a role for somebody who’s already done a wonderful job.”

Because he runs college-style practices with the South teams, Elwell said the transition will be smooth.

Senior volleyball captain Catherine Patti said that Elwell’s attitude will benefit MIT’s players.

“He’s positive all the time, but still intense, which really keeps us pushing to get ourselves better,” she said. “He has such great skills working with us — it should be a good transition.”

Senior captain Stella Owings added that his ability to run practices with routine drills will help organize the MIT team.

Elwell said he hopes to implement a coaching technique that focuses on collecting individual player statistics and holistically analyzing them.

“You can sit down and do some amazing assessments about your sport to figure out how to win,” he said. “[The technique is] based on science, and it’s based on numbers. That certainly fits right in with MIT.” According to junior volleyball player Mark Khrapko, Elwell’s analysis of statistics and depth of commitment define him as a coach, Elwell will begin coaching MIT’s team full-time in January, with 10 additional practices in November or December. The NCAA regular season lasts three months, and championships take place in April. He said the long practice season will aid his transition.

“At the college level, there’s more competition, but you also get some more time to practice,” he said. “One of the benefits of being at the college level is the ability to be really thorough and to cover things. You can track a lot more improvement.”

He added that coaching fewer athletes will improve his focus. “[At MIT,] I’ve basically got 16 guys that I’m keeping track of,” he said. “When you’re head coach in high school, you’ve got JV, freshmen and varsity. By the time you get done with the whole program, you’ve got 50 or 60 kids.”

Owings said the large numbers at South, however, did not deter his success in bringing the team together.

“It’s a very united team,” she said.

“I’ve found a home in volleyball that I don’t think I would have found if he hadn’t created it for me.”

“He can help everyone so much that we use all of our skills and ability levels to form a really cohesive team at all the levels. His experience brings us together,” Patti agreed.

In addition to 32 years of coaching, including a stint at Wheaton College coaching track and field, Elwell’s teaching experience also made him an attractive

coach, Elwell said, noting that he would value balance and education above the sport. “[MIT] knew I’d have my priorities straight when it came to how I would approach [coaching] and what I would do with the student-athletes,” he said. “There’s an appeal to knowing that there’s going to be some team-building going on, [and] there’s going to be character development going on. They know there’s going to be more than just the Xs and Os of volleyball.”

While Elwell heads to MIT, the South boys program will work to fill the loss of 10 seniors and the head coach, Khrapko said.

“It’s going to be a bit harder without Coach Elwell, but I think that the program and legacy he’s left behind allows us to build on our own from the foundation that he gave us,” he said. “He’s set up something that’s hard to break down. We have a bunch of players who have been through what he’s coached and who play at a higher level.”

The athletic department has not yet named a new boys coach, according to Elwell.

“A lot of people [will] want to jump at this,” he said. “The boys program has been one of the top in New England and has even been ranked in the top 25 in the country at one point. Attracting good coaches will not be hard.”

“No matter who the coach is, we’re going to be working as hard as we can to come back stronger than last year,” senior captain Joshua Kos said.

Junior player Alon Stein agreed, saying that the team will adapt to the new coach.

“We just want someone to help us win,” he said.

Kos said the boys team will not let its recent losses deter them from success.

“We want to win the state tournament. Since we lost 10 seniors, a lot of people don’t think it’s possible,” he said. “With the right effort [and] the right mindset, we can absolutely go out and take the state by surprise.”

September 8, 2017|page 23

THE LION’S ROAR|THELIONSROAR.COM|SPorts

Coach’s Corner The Roar’s Catherine Granfield asked boys golf coach Mike Fleming for a season preview

Mike Fleming golf coach

Q A Q A Q A

What are the team’s goals for this season?

The goals every season are to perform to our best ability, which is obvious. Our daily goals are to work as hard as we possibly can to improve.

The focus of the team is to put as many points up as possible. In golf, generally the lowest score wins, but the format that we use in competition for the DCL is a stableford format, where we apply points for birdies or pars.

What is the team’s biggest strength?

The team’s biggest strength would be the returning players. We have four senior players returning, and the upperclassmen who played very well last year. We also have some very promising freshmen coming in, which is very exciting. I’m a golf professional, and I’m very familiar with many of the junior players in the area, so I know who’s coming up to play on the team.

How does the team hope to build on last season?

Last year, we made it to States, which is a goal every year when we start the season. We’re hoping to return to States this year. Our ultimate goal as a team would be to qualify for the state tournament and proceed from there.

South Scoreboard

***All information is as of 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6, 2017***

Team

Next Game/ Meet

Football

September 9 vs Winchester

0-0

Girls Volleyball Boys Soccer Girls Soccer

September 8 vs C-C September 8 at Boston Latin

1-0

September 8 vs Boston Latin

Boys Cross Country September 20 at Wayland Girls Cross Country September 20 at Wayland

Record (W/L/T) 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Golf

September 13 at A-B

0-0

Field Hockey

September 8 vs Ursuline

0-0

Sticking Together KERRY YANG

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.

One of the most memorable moments from last fall’s field hockey season came from our second game against Brookline.

We had lost the first matchup 4-2 at home and were looking to avenge the defeat on their turf.

Everyone was dreading game day.

It was freezing, and our vibrating sticks stung our hands whenever we tried to drive the ball.

It was also Brookline’s senior night, meaning all their players were more fired up than we were during warm ups. You could tell that they were hungry for the win and believed they’d beat us, but their confidence only motivated us to prove them wrong.

Most of the game was evenly matched; we were able to contain them for so long, which both surprised Brookline and gave us the extra mental push we needed.

We realized that even though we had previously lost to them, we could still win the game.

At halftime, the score was still 0-0, and you could tell Brookline was starting to get frustrated.

When their star player started to make mistakes, we were able to capitalize and get a few very dangerous scoring chances, but their goalie was focused.

With five minutes left in the game, one of Brookline’s players smacked the ball all the way from their defensive circle to ours, and a Brookline player who was behind all of our defenders was able to get a one-on-one with our goalie and score.

We were really upset they had scored — not only upset at Brookline, but with ourselves. We started to blame each other for somehow letting an opposing play sneak behind the defense unnoticed, but we realized we weren’t going to get anywhere arguing, and five minutes still gave us a lot of time to come back.

In the last ten seconds, we drew an offensive corner after a Brookline player kicked the ball within the shooting circle, committing a foul. In a corner, the other team can use only four defenders and a goalie, but the offensive team can bring in as many players as they want.

If a corner occurs at the end of the game and can affect the outcome of the game (i.e. the game going from 4-3 to 4-4), the team is allowed to play it out, even if time expires. We had to score in this corner.

When we sent the ball into play, the entire circle was jam-packed with bodies and sticks, but somehow in all the confusion we managed to flick the ball into the net with two seconds remaining.

Of course, we would’ve preferred winning to tying. But the 1-1 result made us realize that no matter how confident our opponents are, we can capitalize on that and surprise them if we actually work together.