ESTABLISHED 2015 NOVEMBER 4, 2015 BYFIELD, MA

FLIGHT MH17KEN MINAMOTO ‘18

The Russia/Ukraine relationship, which has been relatively quiet for a while, is making headlines again after the Dutch Safety Board released an investigation regarding MH17, one of the two Malaysian Airlines planes that crashed in 2014. MH17 departed Amsterdam Airport on July 14, 2014 for Kuala Lumpur Airport. The plane crashed mid-flight, about 25 miles from the Ukraine/Russia border. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members were killed. The Dutch investi-gation stated that a Russian state owned company, BUK, creates the kind of surface-to-air missile that was the cause of the crash. This special type of missile, instead of exploding upon impact, detonates extremely close to the aircraft. In this case, the BUK missile exploded about a foot from the left side of the cockpit. But the question is: Who fired the missile? Although the Netherlands requested full cooperation of the Russian government, Russia responded that the investigation was “biased and political.” The Russian government told the media

On Sunday, November 8th, the an-nual Special Olympics of Massachusetts State Soccer Tournament will take place at Govs. It is an event that’s highly anticipated each year by athletes and volunteers alike. This event represents the long standing relationship between Governor’s and SOMA, one that has produced many fantastic tournaments.The Special Olympics of Massachusetts State Soccer Tournament is just one of thousands of events associated with the Special Olym-pics organization that take place each year. The Special Olympics organization serves over 4.4 million people in over 170 countries. Over 32 Olympic-style winter and summer sports are offered. Eunice Shriver was born July 10th, 1921 in Brookline, Massachusetts to Joseph P Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy. She was the fifth of nine children, one of whom was John F Kennedy. Eunice Shriver received a bach-elors of science in sociology from Stanford University and began working in the prison system specifically as a social worker for women. Unbeknownst to much of the public, Eunice Shriver had an older sister, Rosemary, who was born with developmental disabili-ties. What started out as an occasional gath-ering of her sister and other developmentally disabled individuals at her house in Potomac, Maryland for exercise and games eventually transformed into an annual event known as Camp Shriver. Concurrently, Dr. Frank Hayden, a Canadian researcher, was investigating the effects of intellectual disabilities on health and fitness. He found that most disabled individuals had only half the fitness levels of their non-disabled peers. After conducting research experiments, he found that intellec-

tually disabled people could improve their physical fitness and acquire the skills necessary to compete in sports. Dr. Hayden believed that everyone should have access to fitness programs and organizations that support and foster competition and healthy activity. He joined forces with the Kennedy Foundation and Eunice Shriver to officially begin the Special Olympics. The first International Special Olympics was held at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1968. Around 1,500 athletes participated in over 200 events over the course of the one-day event. Since then, the Special Olympics has been established as a biennial competition. In December 1971, the U.S Olympic Commit-tee gave permission to Special Olympics to be one of two organizations in the United States to be able to use the word “Olympic” in its title. In 1988, the International Olympic Committee officially recognized Special Olympics. A year later, the Unified Partners initiative, which brings together teams of disabled and non-disabled athletes, began. In 1997, the Healthy Partners program was initiated in response to research that intellectually disabled people were less likely to get screened for common health care concerns. The first International Special Olympics to be held outside of the United States occured in Dublin, Ireland in 2003. The progression of the movement for inclusion and acceptance of those with intellectual disabil-ities has been rapid due to the valiant work of Eunice Shriver and the organizations with which she was involved. The Best Buddies program, founded by Andrew Shriver, Eunice Shriver’s son, has grown into an organization of over 1,900 chapters, one of which is located here at The Governor’s Academy. With each event that is supported and organized, a marginalized part of society is given their rightful chance to compete and have fun with others in a respectful and supportive environment. The approaching weekend tournament is an excellent reminder that it is the sum total of acts of selflessness and kindness that are able to truly carry on the mission of Eunice Shriver and create a positive and accepting world.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS: A BRIEF HISTORYLILY BAILEY ‘16

ISSUE FOCUS: DONATE

In the United States, someone is in need of blood every two seconds. Over 41,000 blood donations are needed every single day. Each year, approximately 15.7 million blood donations are made by 9.2 million different donors. Blood donations are critical for the well being of our coun-try because every day more and more people are diagnosed with illnesses such as cancer, sickle cell disease, kidney disease, liver disease and many more. Consequently, every day the need for blood donations increases because the donations are essential in treating all of these diseases. Do-nating blood is a harmless, relatively easy endeavor. Though it is not the most enjoyable process, a

single blood donation can go a long way. When you go to donate blood, you will follow a four-step procedure. First you will register. Then you will go over your personal medical history and a mini-physical will be done to ensure that you are qualified to donate blood. Next, you give the actual donation. Finally there are refreshments to end the process. The majority of people do not donate blood for fun, but it is not something that anyone should be afraid of. Just one pint of blood can save up to three lives; one donation really does make a big difference in the world. Blood drives occur frequently all across America. At Govs we have a blood drive twice a year, once in No-vember and another in February. Each year there are different student heads who work with Mrs. Gold to organize the blood drive. The student heads are responsible for promoting the event, re-cruiting volunteers and making sure that everything runs smoothly on the actual day of the event. This year the heads are Charlotte Hulseman and Tobey Eveleth with the assistance of Jackson Wotton.

KATE WHITTIER ‘17

BLOOD DRIVE

When I spoke with them about the im-portance of the blood drive it was clear that the three of them truly care about the success of our blood drive. Charlotte described the blood drive as “an active way to have your own role in helping a community.” It is a great opportunity for Govs to impact other communities in a meaningful way. Mrs. Gold has been in charge of the Governor’s successful blood drives for the last five years. She says that “One of the things I love about the blood drive is that quite often donating at Govs is the beginning of a life-long commitment to donating blood.” Students who start donating blood in high school are more likely to continue donating blood as they grow older. Another piece of interesting insight that Mrs. Gold was able to offer was about sponsorship of the blood drive. “Many people don’t know that Bob’s Furniture sponsors scholarships to students involved with the Red Cross blood drives. Our school usually receives three scholarships of $250 for students

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GOVERNORTHE

Since 1959. Join our Press Club, Mondays from 6:00-7:30 PM in the Cobb Room

OCTOBER 29, 2015

-Possible Class Apparel rewards, setup in the school bookstore, elected class artist from each

grade to design the clothing

The Byfield BRIEF

FLIGHT MH17; Cont.that the missile fired was “too old to belong to Russia,” and denied the allegation that they had the type of missiles that were used in the attack. BUK released a separate report that stated that the missile must have been fired from Ukrainian territory. The media questioned Ukrainian officials as to why the country didn’t close the already dangerous airspace. They knew that dangerous combat was in progress; however, the Ukrainian government decided to allow commercial aircraft to fly through the airspace if it was over a certain altitude. Three days prior to the MH17 crash, Ukrainian Antonov 26 was shot down from an altitude of 22,000 feet by “a Russian missile,” Ukraine claims. But was that not enough evidence that they should’ve closed the airspace? The Ukrainian government blames Russia for the tragedy, and required a proper Criminal Investigation that is unbiased. Ukraine just passed a law that bans Russian airlines from flying into the country, which the Russians called the law an “act of insanity,” according to CNN. The tension was already building up. Will this conflict cause more injuries and deaths in both countries?

OCTOBER 22, 2015

-Suggestions for electronic bulletin: Sports schedules, dining hall menus, project on PAC

TV-TV on in the dining hall

-MLK day improvement discussions: Ms. Struck’s Room, all welcome.

STUDENT COUNCIL MEETING EVERY THURSDAY NEXT STUDENT COUNCIL MEETING:

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

PERIODIC UPDATES ON STUDENT GOVERNMENTCorrection: Issue No.1 2015 of The Governor Featured the Article “SYRIA: WHERE IS

THE HUMANITY?” The correct author of this article was Jade Fiorilla.

The World Health Organization recently published a report linking processed and red meats to cancer. But before you go home and throw out all your bacon, here’s what you need to know. The facts that the public is focused on are as follows:• Red meat was classified as Group 2A, which the WHO interprets as “probably car-cinogenic to humans.”• Processed meat was classified as Group 1, which the WHO calls “carcinogenic to humans.”• Smoking tobacco is also classified by the WHO as a Group 1 practice.• Colorectal cancer is the type of cancer that the WHO declares is linked to the con-sumption of both processed and red meats. However, I wanted to delve further into this dilemma, partly because I really love ba-con and I don’t want to feel more guilty than I already do about eating it. I looked to the official website of the World Health Organization and I found a Q&A that provided some clarification. Many people are panicking about the severity of processed meats classification as Group 1. Does this mean that eating processed meat is as likely to cause cancer as smoking tobacco? No. The WHO clarifies that the group designations demonstrate the strength of evi-dence they have that a specific entity causes cancer, but not specifically the level of risk of cancer. Therefore, beef jerky fans don’t have to consider themselves equally as unhealthy as cigarette smokers. Red meat was classified as Group 2A, which the WHO described as “based on limited evidence.” This means that they have found a positive association between consumption of red meat and cancer, but other explanations couldn’t be ruled out quite yet. As for specific definitions, the WHO defined processed meat as “meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation.” Pretty broad. They gave hot dogs as an example, which wasn’t surprising. And as for red meat, they gave the definition “mammalian muscle meat” and then basically listed every meat besides poultry and fish. The WHO website provided some helpful specifics about their report, but they skirted a few important pieces to the puzzle. When the questions get past definitions about the language used in their report, the term “insufficient evidence” comes up a lot. For example, one question was on the topic of meat preparation: Are certain ways of cooking meat better or worse from a cancer standpoint? Their answer was a cop-out if I’ve ever heard one. Basically, they said that there wasn’t enough data to reach a conclusion. For most of the following ques-tions, which include “Should I stop eating meat altogether?” (Whoa.) and “Is the risk higher in elderly people, in women or in men?” the WHO basically copied and pasted a claim about how the available data did not allow them to make conclusions of this nature. My final question for the WHO would be: Why would you publish such an inconclu-sive report? Like most cancer studies, all it’s doing is freaking people out and providing people with another reason to be skeptical about the legitimacy of any cancer study. They have only the noblest intentions, but many organizations that choose to study the causes of cancer become the doctors who cried wolf to the general public. Yeah, yeah, we get it. Sun exposure causes cancer. But wait! Sunscreen causes different types of cancer! Where will it end? Apparently, not with bacon. I have a lot of respect for the World Health Organization and the research that it does. As humans, we have a right to know as much as possible about the long-term health effects of what we consume, and thats what the WHO is trying to provide for us. However, the WHO has a long way to go in their research on red and processed meats, and their recent report left many people with more questions than answers. In the meantime, I give you permission to enjoy your pancakes and bacon on a Saturday morning with a relatively low level of guilt.

BLOOD DRIVE; Cont.who have held leadership positions or are “frequent donors”. Last year, Mikayla Greely, Katie Hanlon and Garth Robinson received the scholarships because of their consis-tent participation in the school’s blood drives.” People recognize that blood donations are highly beneficial and are appreciative of all of those who donate. Another important fact that Mrs. Gold raised was that, “There are times when blood banks are really low. Last winter the blood banks really suffered because so many blood drives were cancelled due to the bad weather.” Blood drives help to provide necessities for the well being of others so it is crucial that blood banks are constantly supplied. Mrs. Gold mentioned that there are many people in the community who are consistent blood donors like Chris Robinson, Wotty, Mr. Brace, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Hemphill and Mrs Hamovit. Mrs. Hamovit says that the reason she loves the blood drive is because, “it is so easy and it is the only way of giving back to people where you get to lie down, you don’t have to do anything, it doesn’t hurt and you get snacks.” If you are considering donating blood this year, I hope those words help persuade you to participate in the blood drive. As Mrs. Hamovit said, it is not a difficult process and it is a very easy way to give to those who are in need. In the past Govs has had very successful blood drives. Since 2006 we have collected 871 units/pints of blood. Each pint helped to save up to 3 lives. So in the past nine years our school has helped save over 2613 lives! The next blood drive is Thurs-day, November 12th. In order to donate blood you must be 17 years old or you can donate at age 16 with parental consent. You must weigh at least 110 pounds and you must be in good general health. Charlotte and Tobey will help you decide if you are el-igible by asking if you’ve travelled outside of the country or have a recent tattoo! Most importantly, on the day of the blood drive, drink plenty of water, eat prior to your appointment and bring identification! Just a half hour of your time can save lives!

RED MEAT:

CANCER’S

MOST RECENT

SCAPEGOATLYDIA FANNING ‘16

A CATERED CROWDCHLOE QUIGLEY ‘17

Kids convene in the corners of campusWhere we creep and crawl to keep connected,

Carrying combinations of crap and work to be collected.But before coming to classes, what do we do?

Create works of art, chat or conjoin with our crew.Indeed, conversations vary from clique to clique

but there are certain contentions that we all seem to kick.So let’s call on a few that nearly everyone comes by,

Perhaps you’ve cried them yourself or heard them cried nearby.“I just can’t do this anymore.”

Byfield’s cloudy days have carved at our cores.“I have too much work and I’m so confused”

Words like “can’t and contempt” become overused. Too many couples in the field house and freshmen in the student center.

“You look first. I’m afraid to enter!”“My teacher’s an idiot. My coach is a jerk.”

No one really cares; we’re all just trying to work.“I hate this school and everyone in it.”

We run on cramped schedules. We all want to quit.Indeed, our common cheer has fallen through the cracksand it’s about time we change it up and close these tracks.

So let’s quit complaining. Let’s catch ourselves and call out our friends.Let’s think about what we say and the message it sends.