Guarding Against Gunsby Christopher Pak In the past few months, school shootings have been major areas of concern for thousands of people across the United States. The most recent and devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementa-ry School has made that fact even more eminent. These incidents have caused many educational administrators to reconsider their policy on whether schools should implement school guards with concealed firearms to counter any possible future shootings. According to the National Center for Educa-tion Statistics, approximately 68% of all public high schools in the U.S. have armed security staff on campus. This per-centage is currently growing in light of recent events. Due to recent events, many are under the notion that gun policies

can have strict boundaries over-night. Despite the voices of many who are against the utilization of guns, such as the Coalition for Gun Control, there are also those who immensely support the freedom to bear arms, such as the National Rifle Association. As a result of the clash of distinct viewpoints and perspectives, many Americans agree they, as a nation, have yet to actually come to an effective solution. One side of the gun issue consists of activists who support the implementation of school guards with concealed firearms. “I understand why some people would support school guards hav-ing firearms. These people want to make schools a safe place for us

students,” said Nithin Sunilkumar. On the contrary, there are those other activists who are against the idea of having school guards carry concealed firearms. Many people with this perspective believe that there is not really a need for a school to have firearm protection. “Why would we even need guns in the first place? In our neighborhood, there has never been anything that is even close to a shooting,” said junior Anson Varughese. However, the number of

people who support arms in school outweighs the number of people who are against the idea. Thus, Americans’ rising desire for defensive arms in schools places a further burden on security guards, many of whom are not trained in the use of firearms. “If we suddenly have guards with guns in the building, what would most likely happen is confusion and anxiety which is not needed. This may inhibit the productivity of the school environment instead of improving it,” said junior Dhaval Shah. Furthermore, the costs of firearms is unrealistic with our constant budget cuts. “Our budgets are already being slashed. Honestly, we do not even have the

proper funding for some of our clubs, and at this time, it seems highly unlikely that there would be enough financial support for this kind of policy.” said senior Diane Choi. Statistics also show that edu-cational facilities that had armed guards still had shootings. “Let’s look at the two major shootings in the past, Virginia Tech and Columbine High School. Both schools had armed security guards who were unable to protect the school, which showed that armed

guards aren’t always a guarantee of safety,” said senior Josh Johnikutty. Because there are no standards for a perfect solution to this gun conflict, many people say that this issue will always remain volatile. They also argue that the United States should quickly reach an agreement to reconcile the dis-

parity of two opposing arguments, and increase the protection of our school to some extent. “If we had actually more minor weapons such as tasers, then I would feel much more comfortable than if there were people with guns in the building,” said Math teacher Ms. Kurian. Others believe that arming security guards is an unneeded and unnecessary safety risk. “Many security guards don’t even have training in firearms. Arming them places the responsibility of school safety entirely on their backs, which is a dangerous situation to be in. And as Columbine and Vir-ginia Tech have shown us, it is not always an effective solution to arm guards,” said senior Aakash Japi.

Addiction At Its Worst

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Oscar Buzz Grows

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Hall of Fame Snubpg. 18

In This Issue

................... .............. ............. .......... ................. ...............................Staff

Editors-in-Chiefs:Diane Choi, Abin Thannickal

Web/Layout Designer:Tomasz Pietruszka

Copy Editors:Josh Johnikutty, Aakash Japi

News: Harvinder Bassi, Michael Lopez,

Haley Spielberg

Features:Christina Lorper, Rebecca Lewis,

Ryan Maharaj

Sports:Tim Foley, Qusai Thanawala

Entertainment:Renjini Antony, Zayneb Almiggabber,

Teresa Lo

Student Life: Allison Bauer, Fabiha Khalid,

Nithin Sunilkumar

Business Managers: Teena Thomas, Sabrina Mammen

Staff Photographers:Disha Mirchandani, Eamonn Lennon

Publicity Coordinators:Cinita Cyriac, Jane Thomas

Columnist:Andrew Valentin

Cartoonist:Priyanka Algu

Advisor:Mr. Stencel

Reporters:

Jerryl Abraham, Shawn Abraham, Ancy Alex-ander, Stacy Chirayath, Samip Dehliwala,

Charlie Hinz, Divia Joseph, Eve Kaczmarcyk, Sheikh Muizz, Chris Pak, Marissa Pino, Paige Senk, Nicholas Sieban, Sudeep Sureshbabu, Mathews Thankachan, Jenny Thomas, Shannon

Thomas, Teena Thomas

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News Editorials Student Life Inquiring Minds Features Entertainment Sports

PRESIDENT’S LETTERMy fellow gladiators, I hope everyone is having a great year so far and I hope that you are starting the New Year off with high expectations. I hope that the remainder of the school year continues to be a memorable experience for all. Winter Sports are coming to a close and signups for spring sports are already beginning. I hope that all of our winter athletes had great seasons and I know that you have all represented New Hyde Park with the utmost respect and pride while playing your sport. I’d like to wish all of the lacrosse, baseball, track, tennis and all other athletic teams playing in the spring good luck! On Wednesday February 27th, make sure to come to Carey High School and support your New Hyde Park Gladiators while they compete in District Sports Night! Your support is crucial to our victory. I would like to thank those of you who participated in the District music festival. It show-cased the brilliant talent that gladi-ators can display. It was a shining moment for the school and a memorable moment for all. In early January, the student council held a student congress meeting, where we discussed the problems the school faces and how we can solve them. Topics such as the time the lights go on outside, school lunch and the heat were brought up. Along with the track, sports fields and issues with the bathroom and gym. We also had a speaker who was from Island Har-vest, she discussed the problems many people on Long Island faced. We collected money to support their causes across the state. Later that week the Student Council along with the Presidents of the clubs and grades had a meeting with the superintendent. During this meeting we learned that by the end of the school year, our school will have wifi through-out the building and during

the summer, the school track is scheduled to be refurbished. These changes will hopefully please both the students and the staff. If you have any suggestions for the school or see any problems you can write it on a piece of paper and put it in the suggestion box in room 150 or mention it to any members of the student coun-cil. We are happy to listen to your concerns and will try to a great extent to make it happen. Senior year has been fantas-tic and we have all grown closer together, however we still have an entire semester before graduation. We also still have many great things left to do in school, like trips and prom. These last five months together will go by fast, so let’s enjoy the time we have left to-gether at this great school. I hope that these last few months will be the most memorable of your lives. Senior week truly showed the creativity of the senior class. With so many diverse costumes, a day of seeing double, a day of rest, and teacher day, it was a truly memorable experience that I hope all the seniors will carry with them as they prepare for college. It is these memories that will keep us together no matter what path in life we may take. Upcoming events that I hope all students participate in include the ICC night, in March. During ICC night, the Red Cross Club will be holding a bone marrow drive. Participants must be 18 or older. It is a perfect opportunity to give back while enjoying a night of culture. The Spring blood drive is approaching quickly as well, so please come out to support the school. The blood drive will go to benefit local blood banks and hospitals. On a final note, I hope that you all have a great winter break. We are halfway to the end of the school year. Keep up the great work!

Your President,

Jonathan Chambers

by Rebecca Lewis“I was afraid going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict ban-ning all girls from attending schools.” Malala Yousafzai If the Taliban had told you that you were banned from attending school because of your race or gender, what would you do? Would you stand and fight for your education, putting your life on the line, or would you just let things be? 15 year old Malala Yousafzai chose to fight, and risked her life in the process. Malala is a schoolgirl and activist in Mingora, a town in the Swat District of Pakistan, a region that is largely controlled by the Taliban and home to much vio-lence. In 2008, the Taliban banned girls in Swat from attending school. While many dropped out in fear or moved, Malala stayed because she believed in her right to an education, even speaking publicly about education rights for girls. She cites her father, Ziaud-din Yousafzai, as her inspiration. An education advocate himself, Yousafzai has always been support-ive of what his daughter does. In early 2009, at the age of 11, Malala began to publish a blog called “The Diary of a Pakistani Girl” with the BBC. Doing so was incredibly brave, especially since she chose to write it after all of the female teachers at her father’s schools were too afraid to. They all feared the ramifications from the Taliban if they found out who was writing the diary. So to protect her identity, Malala wrote under the pseudonym “Gul Makai.” The dairy was published online on BBC Urdu and also appeared in print in Pakistani newspapers. In her diary, Malala chroni-cled her everyday life in the Swat Valley. It revealed a lot into what was going on in the area at the time and provided insight into the mind of a girl forced to grow up too fast. She wrote about how many schools closed or were

destroyed, how she felt let down by her government and army, how she was afraid every day. But in many ways, the diary showed that, as former editor of the BBC Urdu Mirza Waheed puts it, “She was just the girl who wanted to go to school.” In 2011, Malala was nominat-ed for the International Children’s Peace Prize by South African Civil Rights activist Desmond Tutu. Her identity as the BBC blogger became widely known since Tutu

mentioned that she had used international media. Later that year, she was awarded the first National Youth Peace Prize, now renamed the Malala Youth Peace Prize in her honor, by the Pakistan government. Although Malala had been featured in few New York Times videos, this award was what truly brought her to prominence in Pakistan. It was also what put her on the Taliban’s radar. After winning the award, Malala began to receive interna-tional attention, meeting with President Obama’s special envoy to speak to local politicians about children’s rights. She continued publicly advocating for girls’ education under her own name through Facebook and speeches. She also expressed her desire to

become a politician to help bring change. The Taliban threatened Malala several times, and the Taliban is not known for idle threats. Over four years, they had destroyed hundreds of schools and used acid attacks that disfigured their victims to discourage girls from attending school, not to mention all the other violence that they are responsible for and that Malala witnessed. But Malala was not fazed; she continued to speak

out. In a T.V. interview, Malala once said of the Taliban: “Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are doing is wrong, that education is our basic right.” On October 9, 2012, the Taliban acted upon their threats. As Malala rode home that after-noon, two gunman stopped her bus and shot her twice, point-blank, once in the head and once in the neck for advocating women’s rights and promoting Western ideals and secularism. She survived the attack and was flown to Britain to receive intensive care. The response around the world was shock, outrage, and sadness. In Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari vowed that his government would continue to support education for

women, adding “she is the true face of Pakistan.” Now, Malala has a tita-nium plate in her skull and a cochlear implant, but aside from those, there is no longer serious, permanent damage. She is already walking and talking. Malala has since stated that she will continue her activism, despite the Taliban’s attempted assassination and its continued threats against her life. In a recent interview, she said “God has given me this new life… I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child, to be educated.” In that spirit, the Malala Fund was created by Vital Voices to help support girls’ education around the globe. Malala and her father are both board members for the fund and will play a large role in deciding where the money goes. In addition, Malala is a con-tender for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year and has been officially nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. The United Nations now recognizes November 10 as Malala day. Since the age of 11, Malala has been on the front lines, risking her life as an activist for girls’ edu-cation in Pakistan. She has been an inspiration to many children. One young girl wrote to her on Facebook saying, “please stay with us. We need girls like you for the betterment of Pakistan.” But in a country like the United States, the right to educa-tion is something that is often taken for granted. “I expect it [education] to be there every day, Monday through Friday,” said senior Brian Carbone. This view is what most students share. However, when the students were asked how they would react if their rights to education were taken away from them, they agreed that they did, in fact, appreciate their education, even if they did not always show it. “We’re lucky,” said senior Cressa Vidad.

Student Activist Speaks Out

by Mathews Thankachan Gun control advocates and others who support the disarma-ment of the civilian population of the United States often claim they do this to “keep our children safe.” Hopefully, they aren’t talk-ing to Melinda Herman, who used a 36 caliber handgun to protect her children from Paul Slater, a former convict. Slater broke into the home with a crowbar, prob-ably expecting it to be empty. He then attacked one of the nine year old twins who ran upstairs. The mother, hiding in the attic with her two kids, shot the man as he smashed through the attic. This is just one of the many times a law

Biting the Bulletby Harvinder Bassi We, the people of the United States of America, have certain un-alienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-ness. During the past few months particularly, these rights have been compromised by a lethal mental-ity toward guns in America. There is absolutely no denying that this epidemic has infected America to a point where America cannot recu-perate. What happens when a mad man enters an elementary school and strips the right to a peaceful childhood from innocent children? What happens when a troubled man enters a theater and unleashes a wrath of fury as the Joker? What happens when a disturbed man enters a Wisconsin temple and desecrates the Sikh religion? What happens when a sociopath con-spicuously shoots Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the face, in-flicting harm that will never wane away? These aren’t isolated cases of sporadic of gun violence, but rather consisstent cases of mass violence. We have let the mentality toward guns take control of the driver seat. We all talk about the second amendment and the right to bear arms. The second amendment was created in the late 18th century as a vehicle for protection because much of America was uncivilized, and the infant nation had to protect itself from the potential tyranny of the newly-formed government. Now, the infant nation is no longer. It has grown up, stronger, faster, and bigger than ever before. The ques-tion becomes: do you want to arm yourself with muskets or do you want to protect the livelihood of the American people? America is at a crossroad: Will we let people make a mockery out of the second amendment or respect its integrity? Furthermore, let’s take a coun-try that has applied a stringent gun control policy, the United King-dom, and see its progress in reduc-ing gun homicides. The United

Kingdom has one of the lowest rates of gun homicides in the world with 0.07 recorded intentional ho-micides committed with a firearm per 100,000 inhabitants. Thus, it would sacrilegious to assume that an assault rifle ban would be det-rimental to America. Who needs a fully automatic assault rifle that some military service men and women don’t even possess? If gun control legislation has worked well in the United Kingdom, what makes us think that it won’t work in the United States of America. Gun control won’t solve all the problems in America, but it is a step in the right direction. We, as a country, need to evaluate the DNA

of the virus that causes these socio-paths to commit rampages. A com-pany independent of a gun shop should conduct extensive back-ground checks on prospective gun buyers. This will eliminate the the direct sale of guns to the mentally ill. In addition, we must invest in research and identification of men-tal disorders that cause shooters to cause pandemonium in a heartbeat. Mental health is a serious issue in America that must be adressed in America. For far too long, we have swept mentally ill disorders under the rug because we believe the dis-orders are an archaeic phenomena. Sweeping it under the rug will only amplify the magnitude of shootings.It is imperative that we act immedi-ately because at the rate we’re going at right now, a mass rampage may occur while reading this article.

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abiding citizen, with the aid of a firearm, has been able to protect himself or herself from danger. Sarah McKinley, a single mother, used her late husband’s 12 gauge shotgun to protect her 3 month old infant from two intruders, one armed with a foot long hunt-ing knife. “When you go after a mother’s kids, she will do things she may otherwise be incapable of doing to protect them. Thank God those mothers were armed and were able to protect their kids” said Sheeba Mathai, the parent of a student at NHP Memorial. America does have a high number of gun deaths, around 10,000 and even if one subtracts the 80% which are suicides, that still leaves 2000; it is still very high.

The current “gun problem” is the government’s fault rather than the law abiding civilian popu-lation. Since 1968, there have been federal laws that prevent certain people from obtaining weapons. These people include but are not limited to: people under indict-ment for, or convicted of, any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding on year; fugi-tives from justice, unlawful users of, or addicted to, any controlled substance; people who have been declared by a court as mental de-fectives or have been committed to a mental institution; illegal aliens; people who have been dishonor-ably discharged from the Armed Forces; people subject to certain types of restraining orders; and people who have been convicted of domestic abuse. In addition, many states have laws regulating the amount of ammunition a person may own as well as laws mandating the proper storage of firearms. Do you know who is responsi-ble for many of the gun deaths in this nation? It is the government, which, in its failure to uphold and enforce the laws it has enacted, has placed us, our loved ones and our nation in harm’s way. Therefore it isn’t new laws that need to be passed, but rather it is old laws that need to be enforced. The government has turned a blind away when it comes to gun law enforcement. As almost all know, many of the major shootings recently have involved semi-automatic weapons, but what some may not know is that these people were not supposed to be in possession of these weapons. Once again, it is because our law enforcement and government has failed us by not enforcing the laws already in place and by preventing people such as Adam Lanza and James Holmes from acquiring the possession of firearms. Americans have proven that they are capable of responsi-bly using firearms, and thus they have the integrity to do so.

Insanity in Americaby Shannon Thomas No two people are exactly the same. Uniqueness has often been valued and appreciated however, it isn’t as common in the case of psy-chological problems. Much too often, individuals with psychological issues are treated as social outcasts, and don’t receive nearly as much respect as they should. According to psychiatrist Dr. Ryan Jacob, “We all have psy-chological problems and issues, but they only seem serious when they start to interfere in our daily rou-tines”. Though the conditions of the mentally ill have improved, many individuals with mental illnesses are currently left in the dark with-out any source of medical atten-tion. These illnesses may appear in-nocuous at first, but they can have detrimental effects later on. Illness-es such as postpartum psychosis, which usually can affect women af-ter childbirth, can result in horrific

tragedies as seen in 2001 in Texas by a woman named Andrea Yates. Yates began feeling depressed after the birth of her fourth child and her symptoms only worsened after that. She was hospitalized numer-

Transit Troublesby Sudeep Sureshbabu Fastrack has been reinitiated by the Metropolitan Transporta-tion Authority, and has already been restored along several subway lines and stations. A prevalence of smartphones and apps that are more intelligent than humans has provided a plethora of applications and software to make transporta-tion in New York easier, yet mil-lions of commuters still have im-mense difficulty getting from one place to another. The Metropolitan Transpor-tation Authority launched a new program, titled “Fastrack” last year. Fastrack is a subway maintenance and repair program that allows crew members to work efficiently and productively. In order to allow work on the tracks, subway lines are shut down so that repairs can be made to switches, traffic lights, track rails and water removal. Ac-cording to the MTA, the program

has reduced the number of train-related accidents, including the lost-time accident rate by over 1% per 100 employees. According to MTA, Fastrack has also reduced de-lays by as much as 4.4% in order to provide for people who rely on the subway system every day. The Fastrack program was only focused in Manhattan; this year, the MTA plans to expand the pro-gram to the other boroughs in New York State. However, the downside to the expansion of the program is that delays are caused so frequently that the program seems to have no benefit whatsoever. Mathews Thankachan, a sophomore student and a frequent commuter com-mented on the delays. “I am out-raged by the nonsense of Fastrack. It’s ironic how it’s meant to de-crease delays, yet it only increases delays and nothing is the same after the repairs are made.” Students like Mathews have

a lot less to worry about compared to people who rely on the subway every single day. Shanjida Chowd-hury, a New Hyde Park graduate who now studies at New York Uni-versity, uses public transportation every day to get to campus. “Col-lege was illustrated as four years full of surprises—in my case, the biggest surprises are the sudden delays I encounter during my commute. The MTA is my only way of get-ting to school, but the aggravation of constantly being delayed causes my loss of precious time and notes in class.” The Subway system is not the only problem that exists in the MTA’s many services. The bus sys-tem is just as messy and confusing. Even though schedules exist, they are inaccurate virtually all the time and rather than fill in the holes be-tween areas where the subway does not run, the buses arrive sporadi-cally, if at all—several people wait

for buses only to have the driver by-pass them without stopping. After New York City Bus drivers went on strike in late January, children were forced to use the bus and subway systems to get to their schools, and were thus subjected to delays. Transit troubles are not too foreign to those who may not com-mute. Seniors who applied to col-leges in the City University of New York may be receiving acceptance letters with victorious emotions, but the terror of relying on public transportation looms not too far away. “I didn’t apply to any schools in the city,” said senior Jamie Lopez. “I’ve used the subway trains and the buses to get to work for the past three years, and while I may not speak for all future city students, I definitely know that public transportation is the last thing I’d want to rely on for four years of my life.”

ous times and eventually stopped taking the medication for her psy-chosis. Unfortunately, her illness drove her to drowning her five chil-dren in the bathtub while her hus-band was away at work. Yates was

referred to as psychopath by many but this was definitely not the case. According to criminal psychology researcher Dr. Robert Hare, “Psy-chopaths are not disoriented or out of touch with reality, nor do they

experience the delusions, hallucina-tions, or intense subjective distress that characterize most other mental disorders. Unlike psychotic individ-uals, psychopaths are rational and aware of what they are doing and

why. Their behavior is the result of choice, freely exercised." The Mental Hygiene Legal Ser-vice, an agency of the New York State Supreme Court, is inclusive of a staff of lawyers and social workers who help patients understand their rights. In addition, the lawyers pro-tect the rights of patients. School social worker Mrs. Sanzone said, “Everyone deserves their rights. One of the main problems with treating people with psychological problems is that once they feel okay they stop taking their medication, not realizing their not receiving the full treatment.” Sometimes all society needs is a change in perspective; one that does not limit them from empa-thizing with individuals that may think or act differently from the way they do. Once that changed is achieved, we can all look forward to a more optimistic future in which acceptance and tolerance are innate within societal norms.

by Andrew Valentin As a member of the media on a smaller, yet relatable, scale, I am constantly reminded of those pesky little “sentence enhancers” known as the facts. I am constant-ly reminded of their importance, and how, contrary to popular belief, they actually separate the reader’s ability to differentiate between a real story and a fabri-cated fairy tale. I say ‘contrary to popular belief’ because it seems as though, through the lens of the mainstream media, this sentiment has become lost, or distorted, and this is due in part to how fast-paced our society has become. Coverage of the Newtown shooting last month in Connecti-cut left much to be desired, espe-cially during the initial “findings” of the story. For example, until a final, clear-cut understanding of the situation took place, stories regarding the shooting ranged anywhere from “there were two shooters!” to “the shooter killed his mother while she was teaching at the school!” Although now we know the official story, I remem-bered wondering to myself, “Where is everyone getting this news from? One event can’t have so many dif-ferent stories.” Variations of stories spread as quickly as one would expect a high school rumor to spread, but no one had the story right. However, in the case of a high school rumor, fault is to be placed usually on a person who is acting maliciously or is simply misinformed, and as a result spreads misinformation, lies, and there is ultimately a victim. Although elementary, we can understand this kind of behavior amongst our generation. But when you have professional news outlets, focused on reporting the truth, with paid journalists, intelligence departments, sources, and plenty of experience in investigative journalism indulging in the same practices generally attributed to clueless teenagers, it adds a new perspective to today’s unscrupu-

lous journalistic behavior. The American people should have a zero-tolerance policy for frivolous reporting, especially when it comes to the deliberate spreading of misinformation. Especially with excessive sensation-alism, we become the true victims. Although the intentions of a high school students when it comes to spreading rumors about a particular person or topic are not personal, but simply for the entertainment of gossip and conversation, the intentions of the media when it came to the Newtown massacre should have been to inform, educate, and

make aware to the general public the concerns and crises that are facing our country. But taking this naïve perspective requires us to overlook the fact that media outlets are, in fact, large corpora-tions in constant competition with for the next big story, coverage of a scandal, or that incriminating or embarrassing quote. They are in a constant war for the “facts;” or what is now assumed to be fact. But the truth isn’t a commodity, and it shouldn’t be treated as one. Sensationalist reporting makes a mockery out of the truth, the one thing we are all entitled to, and is an affront to the American people. We deserve better. As a civilized society, we’ve

moved beyond demanding the ba-sic necessities such as food, water, and shelter; and this smaller, more globalized world, the truth, in the flood of information that is avail-able to us, becomes a necessity. The information revolution has connected people to more sources of knowledge than ever before; but it has also facilitated the rise of misinformation, and sensational-ism. As stated before, the truth has become a commodity, and what used to be an effective press has become nothing other than sensationalism. Furthermore, our society has become almost Kafkaesque, seeing

as we’ve become overwhelmed and accustomed to receiving so much information at our fingertips and accepting it all as gospel. Much like gospel, we find ourselves in a predicament of ambiguity, espe-cially with the media, because as seen with any breaking story, only some aspects of the story are true, leaving the other parts to be either entirely fabricated, misunderstood, or completely figurative. One thing I will commend the media on during the initial coverage of the Newtown massacre is the fact that they got the gender of the shooter correctly. Moreover, I find it entirely possible that if there were not as much criticisms placed on the media this time around,

the American people would have accepted a few missing facts and details here and there just the price of doing business and accept this level of journalism as the status quo. While the American citizen demanded the truth during the Newtown shooting, profit-driven media outlets provided half-truths, inferences, and an overall enticing story. I’m reminded of the increas-ing “innovation” that companies such as Apple and Microsoft bring to their customer year after year, when in reality, for the sake of increased profit margins and to ap-pease shareholders, they’re simply spoon-feeding the masses a slightly more refined version of what’s already been produced for years to come. However, Apple and Micro-soft are in no way, shape, or form being duplicitous or immoral in their actions because higher-level technology is not a human right in the 21st century, whereas informa-tion, and better yet, the truth, is. The media, or as it should be known in socially responsible terms as, “The fourth estate” or “The fourth branch of govern-ment,” is responsible for quality, and much like how the American people hold the entire govern-ment responsible for its actions, should be held responsible for its shortcomings. Whether it be increased re-strictions on how exactly reporters could attribute their sources when coming up with such outrageous claims, as seen with early reports of the Newtown shooting, or a long-term change in the ethical culture of journalism that reverts back to an era where accuracy superseded timeliness and sales, it is up to the American people to demand professionalism from a product that is literally bought and sold on shelves-the truth. I am demanding that the full story in its accuracy be published before reporters are told by their editors after obtaining just a mor-sel of a fact to just, “run with it.”

Modern Media Misinforms the Masses

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by Eve Kaczmarczyk Have you ever wondered what life would be like with a twin? Someone who looks exactly like you? Someone who never leaves your side and is always there to spend time with you? With approximately 100 mil-lion twins worldwide, how many are in New Hyde Park? “It’s always nice to have someone by your side. However, he drives me nuts 99% of the time and I get sick of seeing him all the time especially since we have the same friends!” said senior Gabriella Tomasini Twin brothers Bradley and Bailey Choy may have different personalities but they certainly look alike. “It’s funny seeing people’s reactions when they get our names correct. It’s like they won the lottery,” said Bradley. Bailey compares having a twin as a reflection in a mirror by stating, “Look in a mirror, imagine a name

for that person, then have every-one call you by that name.” However, the pros of having a twin seem to outweigh the cons. “One time in second grade, we had the same clothes on and switched classes, confusing everyone,” said Bailey and Bradley. An-other plus of having a twin involves having the same curriculum is the issue of textbooks. Bradley and Bailey leave one textbook in school and one at home, so they don’t have to bring them back and forth. Unlike common notions about twins Bradley revealed that he and

his twin usually don’t finish each other’s sentences. Some of the most famous celebrity twins either worked better

together or apart. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were simultane-ously cast on the T. V. show, Full House. These ac-tresses took turns play-ing the role of Michelle Tanner.

Due to different personalities, Ash-ley played the more serious role of Michelle while Mary-Kate played the more comedic role. While these sets of twins have the same career choice and looks, there are some famous twins you

may not have known about. Actor Ashton Kutcher has a twin brother, Michael, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age, and never surfaced as an actor. Although they have different lifestyles, Ashton and Michael formed an unbreakable bond. Michael helps raise money towards cerebral palsy research with the full support of Ashton. Jon Heder, the main actor in the cult classic movie Napoleon Dy-namite, has a twin brother named Dan. He worked behind the scenes creating visual effects while Jon acted. While some of these celeb-rity twins stayed hidden, others can always be seen together! The world of twins appears to be a mystery to most people. However, in actuality having a twin is not all that different than having a sibling or a best friend. Twins are just like you and me, the only difference being that they look exactly the same.

Two Heads are Better Than One

amount of snow. At this point, we abandoned all thoughts that there might be a chance to show off the knowledge we got through our research. “I felt frustrated and disappointed that all my research and work had gone to waste. This was my last conference before I graduated and I wanted to let it be a good experience.” says senior Aakash Japi. However, during our second night there, we got the news from our advisors that the conference was back on. We also found out that due to the fact that half of the delegates from other schools around the world would not be able to make it, groups that were supposed to debate on completely differ-ent topics were merged together which caused many in our group to debate on topics we’ve never researched before. Because of this, NHP put all their efforts into re-searching on these brand new top-ics the day before our shortened

by Chris Pak In February, the New Hyde Park Memorial High School Model United Nations Club went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a confer-ence to debate about contemporary world issues. Such issues included the controversy of genetically modified foods and women in science. After our group’s arrival to Cambridge, we were soon revealed to sudden news that the confer-ence would be canceled due to the devastating snowstorm known as “Nemo”. “Nemo” caused 24.9 inches of snow and was labeled as the fifth largest snowstorm ever recorded in Boston. The confer-ence that was initially supposed to have hundreds of delegates from all over the world was abruptly canceled. So after the disappoint-ing news, we believed that the rest of the weekend was to be spent trapped in Boston due to the crazy

conference would start. “It was definitely stressful to study these things the day before we would debate about them but I believe that when we got together to help each other with our research, we overcame this obstacle.” says senior Natalie Bracco. Finally the conference started and New Hyde Park started to work towards our goal which was to win. Committee sessions that would stretch on for three hours at a time would consist of knowledge-able students from all over the world including students from South Korea, San Francisco, India, and New York. Our group certainly made an impact in these committee sessions when we led the debate and became leaders in making so-lutions to these current problems including the crisis in Syria. We definitely showed our strong will through our late-night research sessions, going through routes of

snow and the underground tunnels of M.I.T. for Subway, and debating for a total of about twelve hours. The efforts of all those in our group and our hard-working advisors were soon rewarded when New Hyde Park made their pres-ence known as a result of winning the majority of the awards during the award ceremony. It was truly a conference worth remembering. It was a moment where we all truly felt like a family. “This was not the conference that we expected, but I’m happy it worked out this way, and I can honestly say that of all my confer-ences, this was my favorite and a perfect way to end our MUN Career as seniors. I loved the city, I loved the intense debates, but more importantly I loved being in Bos-ton to share the time with all of the delegates who attended. You’ve made me so proud and happy to call us all a team and I am never more proud of any of us !

MUN in a Stormy Situation

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by Allison Bauer, Fabiha Khalid, and Marissa Pino Many students during their senior year come across this pivotal question: to dorm or not to dorm? The answer to this ques-tion, which will determine their next four years of life, depends on many different factors. By going away to college, many seniors long to experience new possibilities and set new goals for their entry into adulthood. Usually, going away forces students to mature and take care of them-selves. “I want to dorm in college for many reasons. I want to gain my independence and if my sister could do it, then I can too,” said senior Hajira Chaudhary. By dorming at a college, students get to have the real college experience. The new environment that they are faced with when they enter college gives them the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and cultures. “I look forward to going away to college because I want to have the full college experience and learn how to live on my own. I am very outgoing and love meeting new people and by going away, I look forward to creating new friend-ships that will last a lifetime,” said senior Gina Marrano. Sometimes, it is not up to the student to decide whether they go away or not. If their parents are paying for them to go to college, it may ultimately be the parents’ decision. Some parents also may

not want their children to leave home because they will miss them too much and may not like the fact that they won’t know what their children are up to at all times. “I, personally, want to go away from home, but not too far. But, my parents want me to stay close because they still see me as a child and they are very protective of me. So, I become very jealous when I see other people, such as my friends, go away to college

without any parental restrictions,” said senior Diane Choi. On the other hand, some parents trust of their children and encourage them children to go away in order to experience a new and different place and to gain a new perspective on life. “I trust my son and I want him to become independent, mature, and learn to take care of himself and handle the problems that life throws at him,” said Orchestra teacher Ms. Tomkiw. Moreover, if students go away

to college, they will miss the friends that they made in high school. “I want to go away to college, so that I can learn to do things on my own and take care of myself. But, I will truly miss my friends back home. However, I look forward to making new friendships and I can always come home, such as on the weekends, if I don’t go too far from where I live. Also, by going away, I will always be on campus and be able

to attend any events that are taking place,” said Senior Marissa Pino. If students choose to dorm, they may also become homesick. Depending on how far away their school is, they may not be able to come home whenever they want to. Also, if the students suddenly put themselves into dangerous situations and their school is many hours away from home, it will make it difficult for their parents to get to them. This distance between the students and their parents can sometimes be problem-

atic, especially if they are in dire situations. Therefore, there are many benefits to staying home. By staying home, students will be able to save a lot of money. By not having to pay for living and food expenses, students will save quite a bit of money, which will help cut their tuition costs. Students will also be able to stay closer to their families and still hang out with their friends from high school. They will not have to adapt to a completely new environment. These students also will not have to share a room and bathroom with other people or deal with uncooperative roommates. If students do not get along well with their roommates, their college lives can be very stressful and uncom-fortable. However, most students do not have a preference over going away or staying home. “I never wanted to go away to college, but my future decisions may lead me to a path other than what I originally assumed,” said senior Abin Thannickal. Depending on whether or not a school feels like the right fit or depending on how much scholarship money a school gives to a student could determine whether they go away or not. “I am indifferent to going away or staying home. I just want to go to a school that has the best program for what I am interested in and that is the best fit for me,” said senior Susan Daily.

Dilemma: Going Away or Commuting?

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What do you think of online dating?

“It has to be a thorough pro-cess and you have to be care-ful of which website you use.”

-Signora Maniscalchi

“To me all the nuances built into the love relationship should start face to face.”

-Mr. Basil

“I’m old school. Back in the day, you met somebody in

person.”-Mr. Ferrara

“As long as you have mutual friends and actually know the

person, then it’s okay.”-Surbhi Kumar

“I wouldn’t date someone I met online. It’s hard to con-vey emotion from behind a

computer screen.”-Christa Alexander

“Personally, I would never do it. I think it’s risky be-cause you just don’t know

what you’re getting”.-Brendan Parnell

by Paige Senk and Andrew Valentin Aren’t photographs usu-ally taken to make a moment in time last forever? A popular new smartphone app named ‘Snapchat’ shows that this is not always true. This app is the newest way for people to communicate with one another. It allows users to take photos and add some optional drawings or text on them. Then, they can choose the number of seconds they want their pictures to show up on their receivers’ screens. When the pictures are sent to the receivers, the pictures disappear from their screens after a selected amount of time has gone by. The users are then unable to save or reopen the image. Snapchat is commonly used to send silly faces between friends and this usage takes out the risk of the photos being shared around.Some have found the app to be an addicting contest between friends

by Sheikh Muizz Fun Run, the multiplayer game for smart phones, is one of the most popular apps out there. Similar to Nintendo’s Mario Kart, the concept of this app is simple: reach the finish line before the other players. But, there is a twist- there are power-ups that can cause you to either win by a mile or go from first to last place in an instant. Getting a speed burst can push you into first place in a mat-ter of seconds. On the other hand, if someone drops a bear trap or shoots you with lightening, there is a good chance you won’t be able to recover your place. What makes Fun Run so en-tertaining? “It’s a true multiplayer game that can be played anywhere at any time. The thrill of competi-tion is what makes it so addict-ing,” said junior Jerryl Abraham. Although this game requires a data plan to play with other people, it’s

free to download. The greatest appeal of the game is that you have the option to play with almost anyone. “Its fun to be competitive with teachers as well as students,” said Principal

Dr. Faccio. Funrun also not only appeals to competitive people, but also attracts players who like to play in style. “I like it because it’s fast paced and you can buy prizes by earning coins,” said senior Stacy

Chirayath. The amount of coins is determined by the place that you come in. This ranges from a total of 15 coins for first place to a minimum of one coin for fourth place. Coins can be used to cus-

tomize your character with a wide variety of things such as different types of hats to riding a skateboard or hover board. Inevitably, Fun Run will lose its hype. After some time, the game becomes repetitive and boring. In

recent months, Fun Run has shot higher up in ranking of popular games, but what goes up must eventually come down. "It's an addicting game mainly because you can compete with friends. This is only going to last for a short amount of time because just like any other game, it's going to get boring," said junior Samip Dehliwala. Although Fun run is quite addicting; the ability for more than four people to play in one given game is not enough to let the game thrive. Changing and adding maps as well creating new power ups are the only alterations that could possibly elongate the life span of the app, beyond the standard of most mobile games. If Fun Run is expected to last any long than it already has, there should be con-sistent changes made to the game to keep it interesting and maintain the players’ attention.

Can You Picture This?to “out-unattractive” one another. “I like showing off how funny I can be with these pictures and knowing they will never come back to haunt me,” said senior Michael

Fink. If people simply text mes-saged photos of themselves to their friends, they would never really know where it would end

up. Snapchat made it possible that the photo will never be in the hands of another person. “With Snapchat, I don’t have to worry about not-so-flattering pictures of

myself that I send. After just a few seconds of pure ridiculousness, those pictures are never to be seen again,” said senior Cressa Vidad. One could call Snapchat the

polar opposite of other popular smartphone apps like Instagram, where people add pretty effects to enhance the photo. The main focus of those apps is however vanity, which is not what Snapchat is about at all. “Whenever I get a notification from Snapchat, I get so excited to see what kind of whacky pictures and funny faces will be revealed in those short seconds. It is extremely common to find me gasping for breath, in tears, laughing from practically any Snapchat I get from my friends,” said senior Justin Rezin. Snapchat has just recently become one of the most popular apps. Now, approximately fifteen million snaps are sent everyday. But with more and more people using it, this number will surely increase. Snapchat is an interesting take on social networking, and it’ll be fun to see the path it takes in the future.

Running’s Never Been So Fun

by Ancy Alexander During this auspicious season of love, we all enjoy spending time with that “special” someone. But what really makes us stay with our boyfriends or girlfriends? Is it be-cause they’re popular, hot, goofy, or just an excuse for you not to be single? Are we bound by things, as Renee Harrison suggests, like “mar-rying rich”? Is there ever a relation-ship in which the sole reason that a couple together is because both partners truly like one another? Usually relationships start off by becoming joined at the hip. Texting, calling, and being together all the time. These acts are the sweet parts, with all the compli-ments and hanging out. But what happens when you actually need to start forming a base for the relationship and begin getting to know one another or even worse, realizing that the person you’re with isn’t really who you thought

he or she was? Usually, we break off the relationship with some lame excuse like, “it isn’t you, it’s me.” But what about those people who are too scared to break a rela-tionship? Are you one of them? Also, how about those lucky couples who actually get along and are in a blissful relationship? Most of us envy them and sometimes, we don’t know if we are having the right thoughts, because we’re too busy trying to be like those couples. But, a lasting relationship says much more about a person than an innumerable number of hookups. But what’s that? What is a meaningful relationship? Maybe it’s when both people want something real and not transitory. It also could be that little tingly feeling you get inside when you know that the other person on the other end of the line is someone who’s not going to end up giving

up on you. However, relationships take time and whole load of effort. “The willingness to compromise is the true test to any relationship," said Ambia Azeez. In other words, it’s not always going to be easy. But let’s face it: high school relationships usually don’t last. And the truth is that there’s noth-ing wrong with unsteady relation-ships. “Most of them don’t last because they’re more of a trend and are ‘fashionable,’” said Ms. Rafiq. Some of us get so dejected by a breakup, but this is high school. We’re not getting married and we definitely aren’t planning our whole life ahead of us. At least we shouldn’t be. Relationships are great, whether they succeed or end in heartbreak, but where do the best friends go now? Are they supposed to wander off into their own little corner until their best friend real-

izes they’ve had enough and it’s time to be single again? Are they supposed to just be that shoulder to cry on when the inevitable breakup occurs? After all, friend-ships last just as long, and often longer than, romantic relation-ships. “When my best friend got a girlfriend, he threw me away like an old Hot Wheels toy car. Despite all of this, even after his breakup, we are still brothers,” said senior Aakash Japi. So let’s keep this light. It’s Valentine’s Day. So if you haven’t realized it by now, you love some-one and someone loves you just as much. Whether it’s your girlfriend, boyfriend, or even your grandma, you got somebody. So with all this love in the air, make sure you tell your best friend that they’re still your best friend and maybe it’s time for some of us to stop mop-ing around about being single and enjoy it!

by Jenny Thomas Is she an alien or is she just naturally talented? Meet a one of a kind sophomore, Jaclyn (Jackie) Williams. She is an amaz-ing student who currently holds New Hyde Park Memorial High School’s record for winter shot-put (30 feet 1 inch) and spring shot-put (34 feet 7 inches) as well as New Hyde Park Memorial’s record for spring discus (95 feet 2 inches). Jackie has set all three school records when she was a freshman. She also balances being on the track and field team with being part of the school’s kick-line team, the Romanettes. Most people join the track and field team to run either long or short distances. Likewise, Wil-liams joined track and field to run, but later found something else which she grew to love. “I never liked running, but I liked the idea of being a track and field athlete.

The Season of Love?

Super-Williams

exceed her shot -put record and throw at least 35 feet. Jackie expectations of herself are truly setting the bar high, as she wants to throw over 100 feet in discus, not just to qualify for champion-ships. Also a Romanette,

And so when I discovered shot-put, I realized I could actually use my strength for it. Once I realized I was actually good at it, it seemed like the right thing to do was to join the varsity track and field team,”” said Williams. In addition to being an amazing shot-putter, she is incredibly kind and helps out others if they need

it. “When I started shot-put for the first time, she made me feel welcome and broke the ice with ev-eryone! I look up to her physically

and emotionally,” said sophomore Kyra Siton. Jackie plans to make it to Counties this winter season, and

Jackie always consistently pushes herself to do her best. “She’s fun to be around, and always has a smile on her face. She has made so

much progress since the beginning of the year. I could not be more proud,” said Romanette co-captain and senior Samantha Verdecchia. Jackie is a humble individual who doesn’t flaunt what she has achieved. If you go and ask anyone on the track and field team or the Romanettes team about Jackie, the team members first would say how crazy she is, but they’ll also say what a good and humble person she is. She tells only a few amount of people about all the success she has achieved. Normal students can’t handle being on a sport team and main-taining a good grade, but Jackie is no normal girl. Jackie, a track athlete for both seasons and a Romanettes year round, taking an AP class, maintaining a black belt in mixed martial arts (MMA), and still keeping an overall average of above a 90, is truly an individual we should all look up to.

by Haley Spielberg By mid-January, seniors begin sending in the last of their college applications, finally finishing the college process; the completion of this feat alone is enough for a senior to project early symptoms of the disease. Loss of motivation, lack of enthusiasm, procrasti-nation—these symptoms appear in the minds of those holding a college acceptance letter in their hands; senioritis infects the mind slowly, but it soon spreads to con-sume a senior’s entire body and eventually, the entire school year. What can be seen as a sort of Holy Grail to higher educa-tion, the College Board even provides teachers and counselors with advice on “recognizing and combatting senioritis.” Posted on the College Board website, some of its remedies for curing senioritis include “maintaining a challeng-ing course load, committing to an internship, and keeping a calendar of important dates and deadlines.” Senioritis is treated as a sickness rather than what it is: a mindset—a shift in perspective. Organizations that put a negative connotation on the term senioritis only examine the out-ward effects of the “disease”; they see the lackluster efforts made in the cafeterias to finish assignments that are due the next period and the laid-back attitudes of students during class. Those who associate senioritis with laziness fail to see the big picture: senioritis occurs because a student finally real-ized that high school is not the pinnacle of one’s existence; high school is a waiting room for the future stages of life—a buffer zone. Catching senioritis can be considered a right of passage. To those who’ve worked hard their four years to get good grades, to get into a good college, to get a good job, senior year is about en-joying the last months of carefree youth. Senior year consists of the final block of months for a teen-ager to relish in “being a teenager”

before one is forced to “be an adult.” “Having been accepted into college, I now feel a great sense of relief that all my efforts over the years have paid off. With my final days of high school drawing closer, I feel compelled to enjoy these last few months as much as possible. You only get to live through high school once, and I'd like my last memories of it to be good ones,” said senior and AP student Adam Jung. Senior students of both

advanced and regular are affected by the mindset, but they are most certainly not the only ones who notice the predicament. Teachers and faculty notice the change in attitude, too. Attendance records become increasingly tainted, “I understand what it means to ‘be a senior’ but [seniors] have to watch their attendance. If they’re going to exceed the amount of allowed absences, they should just come to school.” Senioritis is a mindset with consequences, many of which are unbeknownst to seniors until it is too late. Participation in class may be up to par at the beginning of the year, but by the second semester, motivation for school-work plummets to rock bottom.

Grades decrease not necessarily because seniors do poorly on tests; on the contrary, the detriment is rooted in lackluster participation and failure to complete homework assignments. The true danger of being a senior with a bad case of senioritis is having all the work put into ap-plications go to waste. If a senior’s grades drop significantly each marking period, colleges have the option to rescind that student’s acceptance. Even though this

action is rare and mostly occurs under special circumstances, educa-tors still threaten lackadaisical atmosphere of senior year with the “what if” of rescission. “There’s no such thing as senioritis anymore because collleges place a lot of em-phasis on senior year grades that are sent out in February. However, because there are so many things going on during senior year that it is very hard for the students to stay focused,” said Guidance Counselor Mrs. Laudenslager. But, senioritis is nothing new to students in schools. On the contrary, senioritis is known and felt by virtually all seniors in the United States, whether it shows or not. Senioritis may also have

consequences, but organizations like CollegeBoard try to help seniors treat senioritis by giving them various tips and advice. In addition, on the same website page that has those tips, there is a list of a few colleges that have used rescis-sion, or the unmaking of a college admission. However, despite these helpful features, CollegeBoard unfortunately does not or cannot explain what senioritis exactly is and the reason why it exists. Mrs. Ziegler, one of the two advisors for the Class of 2013, has known and worked with the senior class since the students entered New Hyde Park Memorial nearly six years ago. She has guided and led them through class events, homecoming float victories and of course, served as some of the students’ English teachers over the past five years. “The seniors didn’t start at New Hyde Park in ninth grade like most high schools do. They started in seventh grade, and the two extra years change their experience a lot. Senioritis comes earlier and is more prominent especially here because the comfort level is higher in their classes,” said Ziegler. Many of the teachers in her department also agree: students feel comfort-able enough that the classroom is no longer a setting where they need to devote themselves to work one hundred percent. Some may also say that senioritis is merely an excuse for apathy. Regardless of the source, everyone who has ever been a high school student has felt it—teachers included. “We’ve watched the students grow from seventh grade adolescents into senior young adults. We want to treat them like adults—we were seniors too, once. The school knows about senioritis, and rather than make an attempt to punish it, we try to combat it with high-interest electives like Mass Media and Modern Novels, classes that allow them to keep them as motivated as possible,” said Mrs. Ziegler.

Senioritis is Spreading

by: D

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emotionally showcases Lincoln's motivations behind passing the 13th Amendment and ending the Civil War. Rather than focusing on the bloody war, he focuses on Lincoln. An interesting feature was that he took everyone's opin-ion into consideration. Daniel Day-Lewis was certainly the right person to portray Lin-coln. He embraced the president's wit and confidence to act in the best nature for all Americans, portraying the shift in Lincoln's enthusiasm of telling heart-felt stories to his cabinet and tending to his wife's depression due to the deaths of their sons’ deaths. Lincoln provides an intriguing glimpse into the personal motiva-tions that caused the president to stand up for what he believed in. It is not simply a historical drama based on a leader's actions, but a film that allows viewers to see the true emotions of such a significant period of American history.

by Shawn Abraham Steven Spielberg directed a remarkable movie which precisely describes the turmoil President Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) had when he had the goal of ending the Civil War. The setting of the film as well as the costume design allow the viewer to visualize society in the mid 1800's. Lincoln focuses on the last years of the president's life, when he sought to unite the na-tion by ending the Civil War and pushing for the end of slavery with the 13th Amendment, along with a resistant congress. Not only does Lincoln have to deal with the struggle of passing the 13th Amendment, but must also cope with his wife Mary (Sally Field), as she struggles with the deaths of several of their sons. Addition-ally, his older son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) returns home to fight for the Union. Screenwriter Tony Kushner

(Bryan Cranston) worked on creating a solid background to le-gitimize Mendez’s role in Iran. He teamed up with John Chambers (John Goodman), a famous makeup artist, and Lester Siegel (Alan Ar-kin), an expert movie producer, to create a fake $20 million movie. Affleck does a great job of in-corporating humor into his movie while keeping the audience capti-vated and in suspense throughout the entire movie. Lines such as “If I’m doing a fake movie, it’s going to be a fake hit,” will keep you laugh-ing despite the overall serious tone of the movie. Despite the humor, the movie includes many scenes filled with suspense that will keep you guessing what will be the outcome of the Americans. Argo is overall a fantastic and highly recommended movie not only for people who enjoy learning about history and major events, but for anyone who likes a great movie.

by Ryan Maharaj Argo is one of the few mov-ies where the director is also the main actor. Ben Affleck portrays the events of the Iranian Hostage Situation in such depth, shocking the audience. It’s no wonder that Affleck’s performance resulted in Argo winning many awards and receiving seven Oscar nominations. Argo tells the true story of a CIA life or death mission to save six American Embassy workers when the Embassy in Tehran was overrun by Iranian revolutionaries. The story focuses specifically on how Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) concocted a genius plan to retrieve the six Americans who sought refuge at a Canadian ambassa-dor’s house. His plan was to lead himself and the Americans out of Iran in plain sight by posing as a Canadian film crew that traveled to Iran to scout locations for a sci-ence fiction movie called “Argo”. Back at home, Jack O’Donnell

Un-Presidented

Big Ben Does It Again

by Paige Senk and Andrew Valentin “Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly,” says screenwriter Matthew Quick. Aside from the obvious romantic aspect of the movie, Silver Linings Playbook takes an unconventional approach to the typical theme of love at first sight. The director demonstrates his emotional expertise in eliciting a response from the audience that does not overshadow the romance with humor, and ensures the seriousness of the romantic aspect of the movie while making it relat-able to an individual or couple. By mirroring the ups and downs of romantic relationships through the inner and external conflict that the characters are met with, the director captures the essence of a romance, fulfilling half of the genre’s title, and fulfills the other half of the genre’s title with subtle digs, gags, and situational humor. Although the humor tends to be dry at some points, it seems to be intentional, so as not to detract from the true purpose of the film--which is mostly centered on the trials and tribulations of unrequited love. The humor was appreciated; it made what could have otherwise been considered a dramatic tragedy, a lighthearted and feel-good film with an obvious conflict in plot.

Bradley Cooper demonstrates emotional appeal that is unprec-edented and takes on a role that is not only foreign from his usual roles, but performs well as a man with dynamic change and charisma in doing so. While his funny one-liners were more subtle and relatable than in The Hangover, he still kept the audience laughing from start to finish. While each character ap-pealingly had its own distinctive personality, Jennifer Lawrence’s character was uniquely dark and original. This role was the perfect fit for her to not only as an extremely talented actress, but also play an empowered female role that isn’t typically “cookie cutter.” The initial introduction to the multifaceted and daringly specific story lines and their complications were overwhelming for several moments. However, this concern evapo-rated as the movie flowed fluidly, leaving the audience with no time to think about anything but the next scene. What was most enjoy-able about the film was how the emotional landscape of the novel ceased to fail. Seldom was there a scene in which it was entirely known as to what the characters were thinking, contributing to both their complex nature, and mirroring the nature of relation-ships and human feelings as a whole. Each scene was more charming, clever, and heart-warm-ing than the next.

Finding the Silver Lining

A Guide to the Stars

Go “Big”elow, or Go Homeby Mathews Thankachan Zero Dark Thirty is a chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, following into his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May of 2011. Zero Dark Thirty is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who also wrote and directed The Hurt Locker which won several Oscars in 2010, includ-ing ones for Best Director and Best Picture. It stars an exceptionally talented cast of actors, including Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke and Reda Kateb. The acting was terrific, and Chastain, Clarke, and Kateb played their characters perfectly. The settings were beauti-ful, appropriate and well made, and the filming and special effects were excellent. The movie is very suspenseful. During some scenes your heart may nearly stop. The latter half of the movie

by Stacy Chirayath As Awards Season comes to an end, fans of music and film await for the biggest night of all: Febru-ary 24th, The Academy Awards. This time around, histori-cal films and remakes are in the starlight as talented actors, directors, screenwriters and more come to Hollywood to experience yet another night of elegance, accomplishment, and recognition. Several of the year’s best films have received Oscar nods. Ben Affleck takes on the Oscars as the director of Argo. Though, he didn’t receive a nomi-nation for Best Director, his criti-cally acclaimed film is sure to win several awards, as it is nominated for seven categories. Daniel Day-Lewis’s master-piece performance in Lincoln re-ceived applause for his interpreta-tion of Abraham Lincoln. Leading the Academy Awards with twelve nominations, Lincoln is sure to win

quite a few awards. One of the most anticipated yet controversial films this year is Zero Dark Thirty. Overall, it has re-ceived rave reviews for its suspense-ful and adrenaline kicking scenes and has five award nominations. Life of Pi, the film adapta-tion of the eponymous novel has received an amazing eleven award nominations, director Ang Lee set to win the category of Best Direc-tor. Additionally, Nominated for five awards is Silver Linings Play-book, which stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, who are both nominated for Best Actor and Actress. And not only can Hugh Jackman get ripped as Wol-verine but he proves he can sing pretty well alongside the beautiful Catwoman. Both are nominated for their remarkable roles in Les Miserables, and have continued to receive positive reviews in the adapted French musical film. Ready! Set! Shine!

is action packed, suspenseful and not very much like the earlier half of the movie. The earlier half of the movie is more detective-like, in which it consists of all the events that lead up to the climax of the film. It involves a certain degree of thought as it necessarily isn’t part of the Bin Laden story that many may have expected, but the latter half is definitely worth get-ting through the earlier half for. Although the first half is a little slower, it complemented the sec-ond half well, and it wouldn’t have been as great as it was without the earlier suspense. Zero Dark Thirty is rated R for strong violence, as it includes bru-tally disturbing images and foul language. Throughout the movie, the CIA deploys many gruesome and horrific--and perhaps ques-tionable--interrogation methods including waterboarding and other forms of torture. It’s an interesting

insight as to what may or may not have occurred during this process in reality, and what can truly occur behind closed doors. The movie additionally features many atrocious acts of vio-lence, the most horrific ones being towards women and children. In one scene the members of S.E.A.L. Team 6 needlessly shoot men and women repeatedly, despite them lying still on the ground. This may have been done intentionally, perhaps to portray the horrors that are typically present in dur-ing times of war. This movie is definitely not for everyone, and it’s not recommended for those who may be a bit light-hearted. The film is extreme and straight-forward, perhaps needfully so, and doesn’t really have much censor-ship in the sense of violence. Zero Dark Thirty is an excellent movie. Although the audience is aware of most of the main points

Unchained and Unleashedby Teena Thomas Django Unchained, released this past December, is an epic American-Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Taking place in 1858, five slaves are chained and transported after being purchased. Among the slaves were Django (Jamie Foxx), who was sold away from his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). On their path, they encounter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) who freed Django and asked him to accompany him, revealing himself to be a bounty hunter who could help him find his wife. Their search for his wife takes them to the plantation of Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), where Dr. Schultz and Django devise a plan, hiding their true identity and mo-tive in order to free Broomhilda. The four main actors, played by Foxx, Waltz, DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson stay true to their characters and play their

parts exceptionally well, even when their characters seem a little ridiculous. Despite this, the film did have its extremes. There was explicit language and exaggerated vio-lence, but considering Tarantino’s past films, the hyperbolic effects were no surprise. However, the characters were clever and witty in their dialogue and disturbingly brilliant, as per usual when it comes to Tarantino’s screenplays. It seemed that the director was purposely trying to take a serious, straight-forward topic and twist it with humor, directing it towards an older audience. The film itself is nominated for five Oscars, with Christoph Waltz nominated for Best Support-ing Actor—an award he won three years ago for a role in another Tarantino film, Inglourious Basterds. The film is highly recommended for those who are into original, creative films.

of the movie and its ending, somehow the movie will still man-age to keep you on your toes. The music was great, not too loud and only playing at the right times, the background noise wasn’t distract-ing and only aided in making the viewing experience better. The act-ing was award worthy, the special effects weren’t overdone, and the individual scenes were almost flawless. Although the ending is far from flawless, and by far the lowest point of this movie, Zero Dark Thirty is still an excellent movie that is worth watching and definitely worthy of receiving a solid 7 out of 10. Considering how great the near last scenes were, the ending could have been a lot better and will leave you feeling incomplete. There were many different ap-proaches that could have been taken and this was a low point in an otherwise great movie.

What a Sound! Show Worth Followingby Nicholas Sieban Soundgarden is back and better than ever! After lineup changes, multiple tours and six albums, and a break, Soundgarden is back in the music scene. In early November, Sound-garden released King Animal, their sixth album and their first studio album since Down on the Upside (1996). King Animal displays Soundgarden’s original sound mixed with some new and old aspects of grunge music. King Animal has a lot of expectations to exceed. Because Soundgarden hasn’t released any albums in sixteen years, their fans are expect-ing a lot. So far, they have done a good job with this album. This album is a beauti-ful rendi-tion of music that fans have

by Divia Joseph The Silence of the Lambs meets primetime television in “The Fol-lowing”, a new Fox drama starring Hollywood regular, Kevin Bacon. As one of the most recognized actors in show-business, Bacon has played roles in iconic, award-winning films such as Mystic River, Apollo 13 and A Few Good Men. Though probably best known for his role in Footloose in his youth, Bacon puts away his dancing shoes in exchange for an FBI badge in this latest television crime series. Just having premeired on January 21st, the show follows Ryan Harding, played by Bacon, a former detective who returns to the FBI to assist in locating the es-caped serial killer he put on Death Row several years before. The villainous Joe Carroll, played by James Purefoy, is a former college professor who taught the works of notorious literary geniuses, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and more significantly, Edgar Allen Poe. Inspired by the twisted dark-ness present in the works of Poe, this charismatic professor-turned-serial killer proceeded to murder young, innocent women in the author’s honor. He continued to do so until he was caught by Agent Harding. Carroll was isolated, and left alone to scheme in prison. He crafted a network of murderers that are now in at his beck and call. This cult is called “The Fol-lowing”, as given credit to in the series title, and commits crimes in

honor and respect to Carroll, and leaves behind Poe-related clues in trials of blood.The show picks up with Harding and the entire FBI facing a system of self-professed serial killers, all of whom are at the whim of the captivating killer, Carroll. “The Following” takes stride in its horror-film vibe, making it acceptable for its various cult fol-lowers to slash each other’s arms in rage. Bear in mind, this show is not for the light of heart. How-ever, for those gore loving fanatics, this show is the perfect solution to satisfy those slasher-film cravings. In this cutting drama, Carroll’s cult following will keep you in suspense, with various unsuspected “gotcha!” moments interspersed throughout an hour long episode. It possesses all the thirll of a de-mented crime story, and a unique, brilliant sickliness that keeps viewers constantly on edge, waiting to see what happens next, or how Bacon’s character will react. Action-packed with violence, “The Following” is very reminis-cent of a successful Fox series from the past, “24”, that has compelled audiences for eight beloved seasons. For those missing their fearless hero, Jack Bauer, they can now find solace in Ryan Harding. The show possesses a similar atmo-sphere to that of “24”. Nevethe-less, this thriller plays on a more spooky, suspenseful level that will without a doubt keep you gripping your seat, and perhaps it may just turn you into a loyal follower.

been missing for so many years. Soundgarden’s new album continues to expresses each member’s individual musical brilliance. Vocalist and guitarist Chris Cornell can still belt out those glass breaking high notes. His lyrical genius continues to impress Soundgarden fans and new-found fans of the band. Lead guitarist Kim Thayil’s guitar skills are still high caliber. His riffs, his solos, and his guitar tones remind the listener of the band’s capabil-ity and the beauty of their music. Drummer Matt Cameron’s solid beats and his simple but original rhythms and fills all helps to tie Soundgarden’s music together. Bassist Ben Shepherd’s understand-ing of the bass guitar and his collaboration with Thayil brings Soundgarden to new levels as seen with the song “Rowing”. After King Animal’s release, Soundgarden started their tour

with multiple shows all over the country. Recently, Soundgarden played three shows in New York: one at Terminal Five and two at The Hammerstein Ballroom. Attending Soundgarden’s concert their second night at Ham-merstein brings a Soundgarden fan to bliss. The crowd was primed and ready to see Soundgarden. After a half-hour wait, Soundgar-den came out to please the crowd for the next two and a half hours. Soundgarden started their set-list off strong with “Searching with my Good Eye Closed” from their 1991 album Badmotorfinger. As the night progressed, they kept the crowd

guessing by play-ing songs from ev-ery single album they have recorded since 1988. Sound-garden even

played their new single “Live to Rise” which was featured on The Avengers soundtrack. Soundgarden is magnifi-cent whenever they are playing live. Chris Cornell’s voice hasn’t faltered since their last tour and throughout the whole show, he kept a great tone. Kim Thayil was solid the whole night as his solos showed his skill and his passion for the guitar. Ben Shepherd was grooving on the bass guitar all night. Shepherd showed his ingenuity on the bass guitar with an intense bass solo before the song “Rowing” and he was keeping the crowd going all night. Matt Cameron was keeping the band in line with his solid percussion and understanding of the band’s music. Together these musicians made this concert a beautiful musi-cal collaboration of all that Sound-garden is and all that Soundgarden stands for.

by Mathews Thankachan and Shawn Abraham The BBWA didn’t induct anyone into the baseball hall of fame this year. While this in itself is not unusual, a new controversy has risen because most of the Hall of Fame hopefuls were suspected of using Performance Enhancing Drugs. It is no surprise that Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds failed to enter the Hall of Fame due to their prior involvement with PEDs. Although Clemens was ac-quitted of his charges in the court. In 2011, Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice for lying to the grand jury about using PEDs. Sammy Sosa tested positive in 2003 for using PEDs as well. What is more surprising is

by Jenny Thomas Daniele Roca, a standout junior, shares her passion for bowling with her family. Her father, Jose Roca, started to play recreationally in Bellrose, inspiring his children to pursue Bowling. “One summer, I saw she was not doing anything other than sitting around and hanging out, so I had to give her something to do. I gave her bowling,” said Jose Roca. She started in sixth grade and by seventh grade, she had averaged a game of 160. She practiced, and perfected her skill, allowing her to play with the top female bowlers in Nas-sau, ranging from grades 7-12. As she continued her passion in high school, she has made it into counties ever since. She plays all year round, and practices vigorously. Daniele has reached an average of 279 in a game while using a 14

that Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza were not inducted into the Hall of Fame even though they were never convicted of using PEDs. Biggio, a seven time all-star and a four time gold glove winner, received the highest percentage of votes this year at 68.2%. Piazza was arguably the best hitting catcher of all time. He won ten silver slugger awards and had a .308 career batting aver-age, making his exclusion from the Hall of Fame even more conspicu-ous. Many people suspected that Piazza used PEDs even though his name was absent from the Mitchell report, which was the result of former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell’s 21-month investigation into the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone

Piazza Couldn’t Catch a Breakin Major League Baseball. Even Bobby Valentine, Piazza’s manager from 1998-2002, said Piazza’s PED use “wasn’t an issue.” But, because of the influx of PEDs into baseball, the cloud of suspicion hanging over prospective induct-ees isn’t based on just numbers alone. In the case of Mike Piazza, it wasn’t proven PED usage, but it was the voters’ assumptions and lingering rumors. So is it fair that Mike Piazza is withheld entry into the Hall of Fame without any evidence against him? “It’s unfair. It wasn’t proven that he was on PEDs” said Michael Thornton, an avid Mets fan. In agreement “I’m a Yankees fan and from the outside looking in, I always saw something bad happening to the Mets like the infamous collapses of 2007 and

2008, and now misfortune has hit them again because one of their best players and Mike Piazza falls short of making the Hall of Fame which is just sad,” said senior Anoop Thomas. It’s not just Mets fans that feel this way. “I think that it isn’t fair to him because he is one of the best hitting catchers in history, and just because he played in the ‘Steroid Era,’ there is doubt in the minds of the voters,” said Kyle Cajigas, a devoted Yankees fan. In a nation where one is innocent until proven guilty, it is unacceptable that deserving players such as Piazza and Biggio are with-held entry to the Hall of Fame, not due to evidence of their crime, but the legacy of a polluted era.

pound ball. When asked about her father/coach, Daniele explained, “I think he is a good coach. He understands all of my flaws and constantly gives me criticism and advice that motivates me to keep going. Although it’s been really tough with my dad, now that I’ve grown to have more experience, my skills have improved. It’s always a lot of pressure under his surveillance, and when his expectations are not achieved, it’s kind of a heart breaker.” On the other hand, Jose Roca is very appreciative of all of Daniele’s efforts. “I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments. She is so talented, but I am very hard on her when it comes to bowling. I base practices off of what the professionals have done. Your parents will say things that you have to hear,” said Jose Roca. Bowling has taken up most of Daniele’s time. Last

year she was able to balance school work, spring varsity track, and bowling. Due to the fact that she is a junior, there is more pressure to think of the future and deciding on a career. “I would like to pursue this career [bowling] in college. I’d like to stay local and I believe that if I do, it’ll give me advantages like having my dad around,” said Daniele. “Hard work beats talent,” has been her favorite quote because she remembers how she has improved since she started. Her dedication to the sport of bowling is remark-able. She puts everything she has into it. Daniele humbly stated, “I was never really good. My mechan-ics were terrible, but since the first day I practiced, I improved.” With her work ethic, she will surely continue to improve in the future.C

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by Jerryl Abraham and Samip Dehliwala As the weather gets warmer, we come to the realization that spring is coming. With that comes the most wonderful time of the year, in terms of NBA basketball. With the passing of the all-star break, the second-half of the season has been ushered in, result-ing in four possible scenarios for teams. You have your Miami Heat working on their tans in South Beach until the NBA playoffs ar-rive. Then, you have the mediocre teams frantically pushing for that 8th and final playoff spot. Addi-tionally, you have the Wizards and Bobcats who gave up in the first week of the season and are prob-ably wondering what is for dinner, while deciding on who their next draft pick will be. Finally, you have the teams trying to claw at the elite teams while holding on to those middle 3rd to 6th playoff spots. Who would have expected the Knicks to start off like this? Right before the start of the season, they were the laughingstock of the NBA because of their acquisitions of very old veterans. Oh, there’s a 35 year old rookie involved too. Yes, the Knicks set the record for having the highest average aged team in NBA history. They signed former Knicks players Kurt Thomas and Marcus Camby, took Rasheed Wallace out of retire-ment, signed an Argentinian 35 year old rookie in Pablo Prigioni, and signed veteran and future hall of fame guard, Jason Kidd. Additional acquisitions were James White and Ronnie Brewer. They also signed rookie Chris Copeland, who has shown a very promising offensive ability. He may lack on the defensive end, but he scored 29 points once when starting for an injured Carmelo Anthony. Speaking of Carmelo Anthony, he is having a monster season so far. Averaging over 29 points a game, he has already-

reached career highs in 3 point shooting. If that isn’t enough, he has heard occasional MVP chants at the free throw line this season, which takes us to the MVP race. Yes, LeBron James has been having an outstanding season as well, but Melo is also competing for that MVP award. Paired with outstanding team chemistry and Mike Woodson’s great coaching, Melo led the Knicks to jump out to an 18-6 start. They even managed to defeat the Miami Heat twice, winning both games by 20 points (one of

them without Melo). Although the team eventually cooled down in a rough January, it has proven itself to be a dangerous title contender, along with the Heat, Thunder, and Clippers. The subpar January was mainly due to Raymond Felton’s extended absence with a fractured finger. There was also a stretch of games where Carmelo struggled with his shot. However, the Knicks have gotten back key injured players that can highly contribute to this championship run. After having a great rookie campaign in the regular season, Iman Shumpert tore his ACL in the playoffs. He has finally returned and has played as expected. He’s been phenomenal on his perimeter defense and you can also rely on him to knock down a couple of threes in a game as well. The big story was Amar’e Stoudemire’s anticipated return

on New Year’s Day. Everyone was unsure whether he would be a starter or come off the bench, but it was eventually confirmed that he would start his season coming off of the bench with limited minutes. He received an emotional standing ovation when he first stepped onto the court and he has been doing well compared to his expectations, but it will still take some time for him to gain his former superstar form back. “Stoudemire will definitely need time to get back into his old self. The thing is, will he ever go back to his old self?

He’s struggled when on the court with Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, so this question will al-ways linger throughout the season. I just hope the trio proves that it can function together, and that Amar’e regains his vintage form,” said junior Chris Pak. This is a dangerous team, and many predict that it has a great shot at winning 50 games or more in this season and going deep into the playoffs. The other hometown team also had an eventful and dynamic first half. The Nets quickly got off to a hot start, taking a spot at the top of the standings. Head coach Avery Johnson also won Coach of the Month for November. How-ever, a sour December later and the former coach of the month was unemployed, the Nets were under .500, and fans felt like the New Jersey Nets were back. Since

then, Nets have bounced back significantly, keeping pace even with the Knicks and Heat at the top of the conference. Assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo took over as interim coach and was greeted with great success. After slow and disap-pointing starts by Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, the players have stepped up to develop a stronger chemistry. Johnson has greatly improved, coming clutch as well late in games. Brook Lopez has been phenomenal for most of the season as well. Well, time to switch gears to a not-so-good performing team. At this point, who wouldn’twant to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers? The dysfunctional Lakers at this point are full of drama, high tensions, and unansweredquestions. Fans may argue that the Lakers can easily bounce back and capture a spot in the playoffs. “The question here is not about whether or not the Lakerscan make the playoffs. Why is there even doubt about a team of all-stars making the playoffs?” said junior Justin Varghese. The Lakers came into this season with high expectations. The first half of the season may seem mediocre butconsidering the pre-season hype and the line of all-stars acquired over the summer, the Lakers firsthalf was an absolute disaster. A full training camp session with Coach Mike D’antoni is necessary for proper chemistry. The Knicks, Nets and Lakers were the big stories of the NBA for the first half. Will the Lakers continue their run of medioc-rity? Or will they put together a dominant second-half so they can be back on the fast track for the championship everyone expected them to win? Which hometown team will represent New York in the Finals? Things are uncer-tain but it will be an exciting second-half and a playoffs for the ages because of all the intrigue surrounding all these teams.

NBA Midseason Review

by Tim Foley Over the past three years, the term “lockout” has become synonymous with American sports culture. Millions of sports enthusiasts have sulked in front of the television upon hearing that their favorite pastime may not be played the following season. This has occurred three years in a row now, first with the NFL, then with the NBA, and most recently with the NHL, and it has left fans in the utmost panic. A lockout, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the withholding of employment by an employer and the whole or partial closing of the business establish-ment in order to gain concessions from or resist demands of employ-ees. “Lockout” is traditionally a term used with regards to business. The first lockouts occurred in the latter half of the 17th century, when unions began to take efforts to protect the rights of workers. Reluctant to meet the demands of unions, business owners would literally lock the doors of facto-ries and places of work so that employees could no longer earn wages. When applied to sports, this means that the owners and the players have reached an impasse,

and the owners’ method of trying to get what they want is to suspend the season until the players finally give in. It seems like a pretty good way to get under the skin of the players, right? But in reality, it is simply a Hail Mary pass, heaved by the owners in hopes that the players will back down. The emer-gence of players unions has made this extremely difficult. Speaking of the Union, let’s take a trip back in time to the Civil War era in American history. The nation was at the brink of catastrophe, due to a fundamental disagreement. The South wanted to preserve slavery, the North wanted to abolish it, and neither side would budge, even if it meant an internal crisis. The adamantly stubborn viewpoints of both entities allowed no room for progress. Sound familiar? Think of the lockout as a Civil War within a league. The disagreement between the persistent players and the overbearing owners only leads to an inalterable polarization. Furthermore, when the Constitu-tion was composed in 1787, the writers could not agree over the issue of slavery. Fearing that any delay in the ratification of the Constitution would render the

nation a lawless wasteland, they chose to exclude the word slavery from the document entirely, and let the differences be settled in the future. Similarly, when owners and players attempt to create a collec-tive bargaining agreement, they set a deadline for some distant date and keep their fingers crossed. If we have learned anything from his-tory, it is that attempting to settle disputes by pushing them further into the future will inevitably lead to an explosion of some sort when the issue comes to a head. Unfortunately, it appears as if this lesson has yet to be grasped by the government (just look at the fiscal cliff), and in recent years by the owners and players, with their reluctance to make a firm decision. The tragedy of the whole situation is that while the leagues and the players’ associations lock themselves in rooms and undergo months of debate, the American public is forced to deal with the consequences. Hardworking sports fans that are passionate about their teams must sit and watch as representatives from both sides step into the ring for a seemingly endless death match, in which the loser will have to make ends meet with only five million dollars, as

opposed to six. If the NFL, NBA, and NHL are really that concerned about making money, here’s an idea: let the players play. Then the 300 million some odd “customers” will have something to invest their dollars in. It’s ironic, when you think about it. League executives and players are so obsessed with their yearly incomes that their desperate attempt to make more money, in essence, alienates their greatest source of funding. A satis-fied fan base equals more money invested in sports, which in turn equals higher wages for owners and players alike. Fans are far more satisfied by Carmelo Anthony’s game-winning three pointers, and Eli Manning’s storybook passes, than by footage of Commissioner Roger Goodell getting out of his car to attend the 8:00 AM meeting with the Player’s Association, as captivating as that might be. One thing is for sure, the loss of a sport for an entire year would lead to outrage among the Ameri-can public. If in fact a full season is ever cancelled, it is quite pos-sible that we could see an army of sports fanatics, wielding muskets and swords, willing to do whatever is necessary to restore the existence of their favorite pastimes.

The Lockout: Rich Man’s War, Poor Man’s Fight

by Shawn Abraham and Charlie Hinz Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, a linebacker who single hand-edly returned his school’s football program back to glory while enduring personal tragedies, has made the news again; but not for his football prowess; this time it is for his perceived gullibility. His grandmother died on September 12th when a couple of hours later his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua died from Leukemia. The only problem is that his girlfriend never existed. This story inspired Manti to lead his team to the BCS champi-onship, plastering him as the face

of the Notre Dame Football team. Kekua and Manti developed an online relationship in the winter of 2009. After the relationship started to become more intimate, Manti planned to meet Lennay on April 2012. Then he received a call from her brother Noa saying that she was involved in a car accident and was in the hospital. Manti did not visit her in the hospital. In June, Kekua informs Te’o that she has leukemia. H did not visit her in the hospital then either. Only in December did Manti realize that she is not dead, and it was all a hoax. January 16th was when the Deadspin (online blog) story

broke revealing the scam. Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the “mastermind” of this hoax, took photos from Diane O’ Meara and gave it to Manti leading him to believe that was Lennay. Tuiasosopo’s hoax actually mir-rored his own reality. One startling similarity is that his father posted on the social networking site Face-book that Ronaiah and his band survived a horrific car accident last March. Even more startling is that at the same time that the fake Len-nay got diagnosed with leukemia, Rohiah’s cousin got diagnosed with a disease. Te’o made a statement regard-

ing this situation. “To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone’s sick joke is painful and humiliating.” Many people question if Manti was a part of the hoax or not. We’ll never know the whole story; all we can do is make assumptions. Before this story, Manti was considered to be all that was right and good for college football. Jack Swarbick, Notre Dame’s athletic director said “That the single most trusting human being I’ve ever met will never be able to trust in the same way again in his life. That’s an incredible tragedy.”

Te’o Takes a Tumble