May - South Brunswick School District

the v king vibe
INSIDE
THE
VIBE
NEWS:
District
Art Gallery
Amazes
SB
page 4
Volume 10 - Issue 8
May 2009
South Brunswick High School
750 Ridge Road
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
VIBE:
CULTURE:
I’m a Trekkie,
You’re a
Trekkie...
SPORTS:
Spring Sports
Capsule
Updates
page 10-11
entertainment 1
The Pirandello Players Present:
Oklahoma!
By Monika Nandi
2012
From May 7 through May
9, 7:30-10:30pm, SBHS’s Pirandello Players performed the
spring musical Oklahoma! in the
auditorium.
“This musical attracted some
of the biggest audiences [every]
night that I’ve ever seen,” said
Ms. Ginny Kraft, director of the
play and conductor of the orchestra.
Oklahoma! is a drama, written
by Rodgers and Hammerstiens,
set in the Midwest in the year
1906. It features farm girl Laurey Williams (played by senior
Cassie Guadaulpe), who is asked
to the Box social dance by cowboy Curly McLain (senior Matt
Wolf), but instead accepts obsessive farm hand Jud Fry’s (sophomore Chris Kenney) offer. When
Curly asks her to reconsider, she
teasingly rejects him, when in
truth she is too scared to reject
Jud.
“I was in shock when I found
out I was in the play, but I had a
great time being a part of a musical again,” said senior Cassie
Guadaulpe.
Meanwhile, cowboy Will Parker (senior Michael Roche) comes
back from Kansas City with 50
dollars, the amount of money
needed to gain permission from
his lover, Ado Annie’s (senior
Kim Gorman) father. However,
he spends the money on gifts for
her instead.
“I loved the play overall, especially, how at some scenes, they
would foreshadow things,” said
vibe:culture
Contribute to the entertainment section! Writers meet
on Tuesdays in A205 with Mr. Honig.
freshman Jordan Mesibov.
Ado Annie, though, grudgingly admits to Laurey that she has
been spending a lot of time with
peddler Ali Hakim (sophomore
Joe Lalumia). Ado’s father finds
Ado and Ali together and forces
him at gunpoint to marry Ado.
Desperate to be rid of Ado, Ali
helps Will Parker get the money
needed at a fair.
“I was laughing so much at
the comedy by the end of the
first part,” said freshman Megan
Hussey, “The play flowed really
well.”
At the social, Curly enters with
farm girl Gertie Cummings and
outbids Jud for Laurey’s boxed
lunch. Jud later confronts Laurey about his feelings for her and
Laurey outright rejects him. Angry, he threatens her to love him.
Scared by Jud, Laurey fires him
as her farm hand and tells him to
get off her property.
“I was just on the edge of my
seat the whole time, waiting for
the next scene,” said freshmen
Lindsay Gohd.
On the day of their wedding,
though, Jud stumbles in, drunk,
and gets in a knife fight with
Curly. While fighting, the drunken Jud falls on his own knife and
dies. Curly and Laurey finally get
married and leave for their honeymoon, while the rest of the town
sings “Oklahoma.”
“It was hard playing an antagonist, but once I got the hang of it, I
had a lot of fun,” said sophomore
Chris Kenney.
“The cast was really fun to
work with,” added Wolf, “ I had a
lot of fun singing with them.”
Check out the E-vibe!
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information/communications.php
2
The Viking Vibe
May 2009
2009
news
From the Editor’s Desk:
Letter
to
the
Editor:
re: What a Change!
The May issue of The Viking Vibe is the tangible manifestation of the figurative
torch that one Editor-in-Chief passes to the next—the issue that represents the
collaborative work of both old and new editors. This year, I had the honor of
passing the torch over to junior Samantha Orlan and sophomore Roshni Shah,
next year’s Co-Editors-in-Chief who primarily took charge of the content and
layout of this issue. Samantha and Roshni are equally dedicated to the continued
success of the Vibe, and hopefully, with the help of freshman Ektaa Sanghvi (the
Vibe’s new layout editor), South Brunswick High School will be privileged to
another year of home-spun news.
And as insignificant as such a small paper as the Vibe may seem in comparison
to The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal, one
cannot deny the importance of a paper catered exclusively to the interests of South
Brunswick’s own students, staff, community. One cannot deny the joy of seeing a
daughter’s picture on the front page of the May issue (in color, might I add), the
joy of seeing a friend’s quote add to the strength of an article, the joy of seeing
your own name on the byline of a double-truck. To an Editor-in-Chief, there is
nothing more magical that seeing stories told and issues unfold in crisp, clean
print. And there is nothing more gratifying than making it happen.
My good-luck wishes to Samantha, Roshni, and Ektaa, and my thanks to
everyone who has picked up a copy of the Vibe this year.
-Anita Modi (‘09)
I think one of the most amusing parts of my new position as a Board of
Education member is meeting my old teachers from elementary or middle school.
Some people actually don’t understand why this is fun at all, as, many times, the
teachers don’t recognize me and become very surprised when they learn about
the results of the election. However, seeing as I was an extremely quiet child, it’s
really understandable. In fact, I remember in kindergarten, I would be too shy to
ever ask to go to the restroom and in middle school, I would prefer to sit and read
by myself instead of participating in a large group.
However, if the most amusing perk is meeting my old teachers, a close second
would be seeing my current acquaintances’ surprise when they hear about what I
was like when I was younger. I have changed in so many ways since my childhood
that when I read old journal entries, I sometimes don’t even recognize myself.
And these changes have come about through the people I have met, as well as
through the knowledge and experience that has empowered me as an individual. As
a result, all I really want to say is that it’s never too late to make an improvement
in your life. Regardless of whether you want to change over the summer or
completely reinvent yourself in college, in a couple years, you’ll be wondering
how you could’ve ever functioned differently.
-Elizabeth Chang (‘09)
Signing Out
The Viking Vibe
2008-2009 Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Anita Modi
Managing Editor
Amy Rowe
Layout Editor
Jovelle Tomayo
Senior Editors
Zohrain Hassam, Natalie Twerdowsky, Hannah Green, Tom
Dunleavy, Amishi Desai
2009-2010 Staff
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Samantha Orlan and Roshni Shah
Editorial Staff
Saadia Ahmad, Tajah Ebram, Justin Berger, Ektaa Sanghvi
Staff
Corey Allen, Riya Arora, Matthew Brown, Alexis Bruno, Emily
Campisano, Tori Capps, Prerana Chatty, Jaya Chinnaya,
Alyssa Chrysafis, Zachary Cohen, Maxine Deines, Jennetta
Dellapa, Brooke DelGuercio, Mark Desmond, Kevin DeVito,
Timothy Doehler, Sukanya Dutta, Rachel Finklestein, Georgia
Foulds, Rosalia Gambino, Breona Garrison, Andrew Gong,
Joshua Gonzalez, Kristen Huang, Brandon James, Bhanupriya
Jayarangan, William Johnston, Cassandra Joiner, Cassandra
Kot, Melissa Katz, Aaron Lassin, Minna Liu, Catherine Lordi,
Gregory Madia, Ramsha Mahmood, David Mariano,Cody
McHugh, Gunjan Mehta, Alissa Mesibov, Mona Mostafa, Michael
Muha, Monika Nandi, Suman Naringrekar, Sidney Nelson, Kayla
Noll, Alexa Padovano, Ashna Pai, Dylan Parlow Jr., Tanvi Parmar,
Ellen Plocic, Elizabeth Puzio, Priya Shah, Kevin Shiraldi, Miranda
Sirimis, Jordan Smtih, Jacob Stern, Morgan Sturgeon, Nicole
Tyburczy, Jeffrey Veith, Jessica Warner, Michael Weber, Krystal
Wilson, Keith Zients.
Advisor
Andrew Loh
The Viking Vibe welcomes article submissions and
letters to the editors, which may be delivered to Mr. Loh or
dropped off in his mailbox. Submissions can also be sent to
The
reserves the right to edit,
shorten or comment on any material submitted to the
publication. The opinions expressed on the editorial page do
not necessarily represent the views of the advisor, editorial
staff, faculty, administrators
or the Board of Education.
Students interested in journalism are also encouraged to
join the Newspaper Club, held every Tuesday in room A204.
New Policy Affects AP Test-Takers
Hannah Green
2009
Since this was the first year that SBHS
students had to pay for their AP tests,
this was also the first year that taking
AP tests was not mandatory for students
enrolled in AP classes.
According to SBHS Assistant
Principal Mr. Leonard Santamaria, in
light of this new policy, 162 fewer AP
tests were ordered than would have
been if all students tooks all AP tests for
courses that they were enrolled in.
However, 485 SBHS students still
signed up to take a total of 1002 AP
tests. The number of students taking
AP tests has stayed roughly the same
from the past couple of years, though
the total number of AP tests ordered is
down slightly from 1080 tests ordered
in 2007.
SBHS Principal Mr. Timothy
Matheney said, “I think it was a very
good sign that we administered more
than 1000 tests this year. We have
consistently administered around that
same total for the past few years.
“I think it’s impressive that—when
given the choice for the first time in
recent years—about 90% of our AP
students chose to take their exams even
when they had to pay for it,” he pointed
out.
Mr. Santamaria said, “I think that
students chose not to take certain AP
tests because of the subject material. If
a student could not afford their tests, the
school would pay for them. That was
very well-known.”
According to Mr. Santamaria, the
school ended up paying $2,066 for 31
AP tests for students who were unable to
afford their exams. Last year, when the
school paid for all AP exams, the total
cost was just over $79,000.
Mr. Santamaria also said that the
courses where the most students chose
to opt-out of taking their AP tests were
French, Spanish, and Art History.
World Language Supervisor Mr.
Thomas Decker said, “I think it was
just a question of students prioritizing.
Since they had to pay, parents may have
asked their children to make choices
about what to take.
“Students probably also thought
about what their colleges would give
credit for and what their furture interests
are. The Spanish test was on the same
day as the Statisitics test, and students
may not have wanted to take two tests
into one day. These are just some factors
that might have played a role in students
decisions,” he explained.
On the other hand, there were large
increases in the number of students
taking the AP Statistics and AP Macro/
Microeconomics tests.
As usual,
numerous students chose to take the AP
Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry
exams.
Some students from other schools
also requested to take AP exams at
SBHS. The most requested exam of this
nature was AP Music Theory.
While this was the first year that
students did not have to take their
AP tests, students did not have this
information when making course
choices last year.
Senior Becca Dahl said, “There might
be changes in AP class enrollment next
year, now that students know they don’t
have to take the AP test for the class
ahead of time.”
news
Service Opportunities from
SBHS’s Senior Center
Prerana Chatty and
Gunjan Mehta
2012
Last month, this column described
volunteer opportunities at the library.
Another location in the community
where students can volunteer is the
South Brunswick Senior Center.
SBHS students are encouraged to
volunteer at the senior center over the
summer, and have many tasks to choose
from, depending on their interests.
GREETER
This is a person who welcomes individuals as they enter the center. Being a
greeter also involves helping those who
enter the building using the touch screen
base entry. The hours for this specific
volunteer opportunity are from 1:304:30pm, which is why students are only
eligible to volunteer for this position in
the summer.
YARD WORK
Something students can do year-round
as volunteers is yard work. This consists
of basic tasks such as raking leaves in
the fall, shoveling snow in the winter, or
watering the plants in the summer.
WII ASSISTANT
This is a unique and enjoyable volunteer opportunity for high school
students, who are to help the seniors
learn to play the Nintendo Wii System.
For this job, weekday hours span from
9:30am-1:30pm.
“I volunteered at the senior center as
a Wii Assistant last summer,” said freshman Neha Dutta, “And I really liked it.
It was a way for me to have fun while
helping the seniors.”
BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST
ASSISTANT
This job involves preparing breakfast for the seniors on the fourth Tuesday of every month, which is when the
monthly birthday breakfast is held. The
specific hours for this duty are from
7:00-10:00am.
“I volunteered as the birthday breakfast assistant at the senior center last
summer,” said junior Sanjana Proddutur, “It was really neat to be able to help
the seniors and make them happy while
having fun myself.”
SENIOR SOCIETY
During the weeks of the annual SBHS
Senior Society program, students can
spend their time at the South Brunswick
Senior Center, talking and relating to
seniors. Three to four students are accepted every year and they must apply
through the township’s human resources
department. Although the deadline for
senior society has passed this year, students can still apply for the senior center
next year. Those interested can contact
Bobbie at: 732-329-4000 x 7306.
OFFER TALENTS
Students can also offer their unique
talents to the senior center if they are
not interested in any of the opportunties
mentioned, or if they wish to contribute
in some other way alongside partaking
in one of the listed opportunties. The
center is interested in the abilities of its
volunteers and can often use these talents in a creative manner.
According to the senior center, there
are certain qualities that student volunteers should have, which would make
sure that both students and seniors benefit from the experience of volunteering.
Students should have good communication skills, both written and oral. They
should also have good organizational
skills.
In order to fully help the seniors, volunteers should be able to navigate the
Internet and independently solve problems. They should be patient, sympathetic, impartial, and reliable.
SBHS students are highly encouraged
to contribute their time to the senior center in order to benefit the older citizens
of South Brunswick and to benefit themselves with the experience, as well.
Students interested in volunteering at the senior center can contact: 732
-329-4000 x 7682 and ask for Christine.
The address for the senior center is:
May 2009
The Viking Vibe
JSA Students
Head to Spring State
Zach Cohen and
Aaron Lassin
2010, 2011
Debates, speeches, and voting! These
are just a few of the many activities that
students participated in at the Junior
Statesmen of America (JSA) Spring
State Convention from April 25 to April
26.
The South Brunswick chapter
journeyed up to Parsippany, New Jersey
to unite with their fellow Mid-Atlantic
State members, and this is where
students hung out, debated, and voted
for the future leaders of JSA.
Topics of debates varied from whether
the U.S. should transfer Guantanamo
Bay prisoners to American prisons,
to whether the Patriot Act should be
repealed, and included other issues
currently being debated by American
leaders.
“I thoroughly enjoyed all the debates,
and tried to get involved in every debate
I was in the room for,” said junior
Humza Haque.
Besides engaging in debates, students
spent time talking to candidates who
were running for the different elected
positions, which included the New
Jersey Region (NJR) Mayor, NJR Vice
Mayor, MAS Liutenent Governor, and
MAS Govenor.
Candidates who are from schools
all over the region took time to field
questions about their plans if they win.
When elected, they then picked their
cabinet and shape JSA to try and make it
better than last year’s organization.
“I felt a lot of emotions during
this convention. It brought up a lot of
good memories from my campaign for
Lieutenant Governor (LTG), and I was
really excited for all of the candidates
whether they won or lost,” said senior
and current Lieutenant Governor Manas
Kulkarni.
Candidates who won the elections
will be responsible for leading JSA in the
Mid-Atlantic or New Jersey regions—
both of which South Brunswick is part
of. Officers will also strive to help
all JSA chapters next year, and to be
responsible for planning and making
sure conventions such as this one are
successful.
In the JSA organization, the convention
campaigning and elections are similar
to those of U.S. presidential candidates
with regards to hype and purpose.
They have great impact on everybody
involved, especially students here in
South Brunswick, which hosts one of
the most well-respected chapters in the
nation.
“All the candidates were great, but
I feel like the ones who won really
deserved it, and will do a fantastic job,”
said junior Emil Chen.
Overall, students experienced an
emotional time saying goodbye to
some of their closest friends from other
chapters of the JSA organization. In the
process, countless tears were shed from
students realizing their time with their
own chapter had come to an end such
as current (LTG) Kulkarni, and current
Vice Mayor Antonia Hyman.
Club advisor Ms. Keisha Thom said,
“The JSA convention was a success,
but I believe that our JSA chapter could
have brought along more students, and
participated much more. Regardless,
this trip was a great learning experience
for everyone.
SBHS JSA currently is winding
down their year with elections as well,
along with other fun-filled debates. The
chapter meets every Friday after school
and encourages all students to come join
and debate.
540 Ridge Rd.
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
Check out the
Vibe Blog for
audio feeds,
photo reels, and
videos!
http://blogs.
sbschools.org/
vikingvibe/
Feel free to post
your comments and
thoughts on our latest
issue!
3
JSA members from across the region gather for debate./PHOTO
COURTESY OF Manas Kulkarni (‘09)
4
May 2009
2009
The Viking Vibe
Renaissance Plans for
June-a-Palooza
Samantha Orlan
2010
For the first time, the Renaissance club
is hosting a fair called “June-a-Palooza”
on Friday, June 5 from 2:30-8:00pm on
the SBHS soccer field.
Entrance is free, but bringing money
is encouraged to buy food and tickets for
games throughout the day.
Renaissance Co-Advisor Dr. Roberto
DeBari exclaimed, “It’s not a fundraiser;
it’s a FUN-raiser!”
As he explained, “We aren’t trying to
raise money or awareness, or promote
anything. We are merely trying to reward
our students for their excellent character
throughout the academic year.”
The Renaissance Club aims to “appreciate, celebrate, and reward student
achievement through the partnerships
built among administrators, faculty,
staff, parents, and local businesses,” according to the club’s page on the school
website.
The club does this through monthly
student and teacher of the month awards,
along with an annual appreciation luncheon for custodians and paraprofessionals.
The fair will consist of games, facepainting, caricatures, karaoke, psychic
and palm readings, raffles, food, “fabulous” prizes, and booths hosted by clubs
from the entire school, according to Dr.
DeBari. Students will have the opportunity to win goldfish and other prizes in
a raffle.
June-a-Palooza will feature Mr.
Shaun Ruymen’s band, the Break-Dance
club, the Step Team, and a concert by
the Amped Club featuring several bands
from the South Brunswick community.
Freshman Talia Togno said, “It really
sounds fun! It’s a good school activity
that students can bring their friends to
and have a good time.”
Plenty of food will be available both
for free and for sale by local shops and
school clubs.
Junior Jennifer Sperber said, “The
June-a-Palooza is a collaboration between staff, students, and local businesses to demonstrate all the wonderful
things South Brunswick has to offer.”
Co-Advisor Miss Janessa Pugner,
added, “The June-a-Palooza [will] recognize outstanding students who have
impressive academic or behavior records by celebrating with them and having a good time.”
Junior Cindy Lim added, “It’s going
to be a fun day filled with games, performances and food that appeals to all
students’ eclectic tastes.”
Every other week, club members
collaborate to come up with new ideas
aimed to bring excitement to the fair.
Every SBHS student and staff member
is invited and welcome to attend, as are
other members of the South Brunswick
community.
Sophomore Greg Herzog declared,
“It’s going to be awesome!”
Juniors Jessica Woisznies and Mahmoud Kharrubi predicted that this event
will integrate and bring together the “variety of clubs at SBHS” and celebrate
“students and teachers for their contributions throughout the year.”
news
FBLA and Key Club
Participate in March
of Dimes Walk
Chelsea McCook our national cause.”
Seniors and co-presidents of FBLA,
2010 Amanda Izzo and Rachel Holt were exOn Sunday, April 26, two teams from
South Brunswick along with some individual volunteers walked five miles in
the March for Babies walk at the Rutgers
Athletic Center. FBLA (Future Business
Leaders of America) and Key Club have
supported the organization for the past
few years.
March of Dimes helps mothers have
full-term pregnancies and healthy babies. If something goes wrong during
the preganancy, they offer information
and comfort to families by researching
the problems that threaten babies and
working to prevent them.
FBLA had a strong showing of 60
student participants—nearly half of the
club. The club created awareness by
selling March of Dimes bracelets and
starting a Facebook group earlier in the
year, while Key Club similarly got the
word out to their members, as well.
FBLA Advisor Mrs. Karen Hunte
brought her family along for the walk.
She said, “It’s really great to see how the
whole club can come together to support
a good cause. Miss Laura Dec and I were
happy to see our club so involved with
the FBLA community service as this is
Edison College Fair Provides
Opportunity for SBHS Juniors
Mark Desmond
2010
Members of the Renaissance Team, along with the club co-advisors, plan
and prepare for their first school-wide fair, the June-A-Palooza./PHOTOS
./
./PHOTOS
BY
Saadia Ahmad (‘10)
cited about the turnout. “We usually go
to the walk in Mercer County so this was
a new experience, but we all showed up
and got through the five miles just to
support the cause,” shared Izzo.
Despite the almost overwhelming 95°
weather, the walk included thousands
of participants from all over Middlesex
County.
Member of FBLA, junior Shivani
Patel said, “The walk was long and grueling, but it was worth it because it was
for a good cause.”
Even though the walk has passed,
there are still ways to get involved. Anyone interested can donate to the March
of Dimes at any time by going online to
http://www.marchofdimes.com/.
Participants can register, set up a
personal web page, compose e-mails,
keep track of donations, send thank-you
e-mails to donors, and keep a record of
their outreach for next year.
Sophomore David Li said he believes
in getting involved with these community service events. He added, “It’s always
good to help people and if all you have
to do is get a few sponsors and walk to
make a difference in the lives of others,
it’s definitely worth it.”
On April 28 and April 29, thousands
of high school students from the New
Jersey area, including many SBHS
students, attended the Edison National
College Fair. The fair offered students
the chance to speak with admissions
officers from colleges around the
country, and even around the world.
A total of 418 colleges had
booths set up to provide prospective
students with information about their
schools. Students took advantage
of the informative brochures, which
described everything from admissions
requirements to campus life at particular
schools.
Junior Frank Capraro stated, “The
event was really helpful for planning
out the college admissions process. I
got to ask all of the questions that I had
to admissions officers from each of the
schools I am looking at. I even had the
chance to schedule an interview with
the head of admissions at TCNJ.”
This event allowed students to get
real-life interactions with potential
colleges, and also allowed colleges to
recruit prospective students. Schools
well-known in the tri-state area such as
Rutgers and Penn State had dozens of
students eagerly lined up at their booths
to speak with admissions officers.
University of Delaware Assistant
Admissions Officer Ms. Jenna Wiltor
stated, “The process was really
strenuous for us. I think because we
are a large school and receive many
applications from students in this area.
I could not spend more than a minute
with each student.”
Smaller schools from distant areas,
such as St. Michael’s University in
Vermont, allowed more one-on-one
time for the select students looking
at the school to have long, in-depth
discussions with admissions officers.
Schools represented at the fair were
not organized alphabetically or by
region, but rather, were scattered across
the area. You could find a large state
school from California next to a small
private school from Vermont.
Junior Gary Colson stated, “The
layout was very confusing. It would
take me 15 minutes to get from one
booth to the next. Luckily, they gave
out maps to the fair, so it was a little
less confusing, but even with the maps,
the fair was really overwhelming.”
Despite the layout and the crowds,
students
gained
an
invaluable
opportunity to partake in an important
part of their college admissions
process.
Students filled out forms for every
separate booth they visited to show to
the colleges they were interested in;
and although it seems like a simple
task, colleges find it very helpful to the
admissions process.
Speaking with a representative from
a particular college at the fair shows
that the student has a genuine interest
in the school, and serves as the first
step in building a relationship with the
school before applying there.
And just as attending this fair was
the first step in finding a college for
many students, it was also the first
step in evaluating future students for
admissions counselors able to interact
with the prospective students that day.
news
District Student Art Gallery
Amazes SB Community
Miranda Sirimis
2012
On Wednesday, April 22, artwork by
students in grades K-12 was on display
at the South Brunswick District Student
Art Gallery. The event took place in the
Annex Gym from 6:00-9:00pm, and
families from across the district came to
view the collection.
The exceptional pieces of artwork put
on display were selected by art teachers
from South Brunswick.
“I think that the variety and the quality of the artwork was dazzling. It’s wonderful to see the development of artwork
from kindergarten to twelfth grade,” said
SBHS art teacher Ms. Priscilla Algava.
There were many different types of
artwork varying from sculptures to
paintings and pastels by students of all
different ages.
One unique painting, done by junior
Jessica Jang, depicted a melted hand
reaching out over a partially-cracked
egg with a chain locked over it.
“I liked it because it looked scary
but it has deep insight,” said freshman
Kristin Tran.
SBHS senior Andrew Wang contributed a pencil drawing of a girl with
flowers in her hair looking down to the
event.
“I think that the drawing really shows
her emotions,” said freshman Tierra
Johnson.
Freshman Rebecca Lane also liked
the life-like features of the drawing, adding, “I think that it looks really realistic.
I like the intensity of the eyes.”
Senior Michael Ungano took a different approach for his painting, which
featured two men facing each other on
opposite sides of a guitar--as opposed to
opposite sides of a canvas.
“I like the way he painted it on a
guitar,” said freshman Tulika Sen, “It’s
unique and different.”
Senior Ashwini Dhokte contributed
a pencil drawing of a piece of cloth to
the gallery.
“It took me about a month or so to
finish, and I was relatively satisfied with
it,” she said.
Dhotke described how art gallery attendees could write messages to the artists, commenting on their work.
“My teacher, Ms. Cooper, wrote me
a note about my drawing. It was really
sweet,” she said.
Junior Ruhi Srinivasan contributed a
painting of tomatoes to the gallery. The
idea for the painting came from a picture
that art portfolio teacher Ms. Betty Ann
Snediker offered her on returning from a
trip to Thailand.
“I thought it was interesting and different for me; this is my first year in art
portfolio and it’s great.”
Overall, the event seems to be a wonderful opportunity for students and their
families to see different types of artwork
representing all different age groups.
Srinivasan also mentioned that the
gallery served as a preview for the art
portfolio students’ own galley, an event
expected to be held later this year. Srinivasan hopes to contribute both a painting of scissors and a chalk drawing of
her friend to the event.
Congratulations to Ariel Halpern
(’10), Gregory Nowachek (’10), Catherine Recklehoff (’10), Heather Rosen
(’10), Joshua Walker (’12), Betty Wang
(’10), and Cassandra Weeden (’12)
whose artwork will be a part of next
year’s district calendar!
Ilustration by Ashwini Dhokte (‘09)
May 2009
The Viking Vibe
5
Red Cross Dance-a-Thon Raises
Money and Awareness
Amishi Desai
2009
On Saturday, April 18, the New Jersey Red Cross Youth Council hosted its
fourth annual Dance-a-Thon, “Insomnia,” from 6:00-10:00pm to raise money
for both the American Red Cross and the
Measles Initiative.
High school students volunteered to
participate in the event by either coming
to the Heightstown High School to participate in the event, or by fundraising in
local neighborhoods and businesses for
sponsors.
“South Brunswick had the most
people [who attended],” said Red Cross
Club President, Priya Sharma.
Sophomore Kaamya Bhandari said,
“There were definitely more people last
year compared to this year. We wanted
to try something new and it didn’t result
in the way we expected but we can learn
from this year’s Dance-a-thon and improve next year.”
Sponsors included individuals as well
as companies desiring advertisement
via the Red Cross items, such as the
“Imsomnia” t-shirts and journals. A.J.
Worldwide Services, Dunkin’ Donuts of
Sayreville, and OHM International, Inc.
were among the sponsors.
The actual Dance-a-Thon took place
in the red cafeteria, where the D.J., a
Montgomery High School student, supplied the volunteer dancers with music
continuously for four hours.
“It started at 6:00pm and then we
served food as people got in. The D.J.
had the music playing the whole time.
We didn’t really have a schedule since
we had the cafeteria split up between the
dance floor and the food area so people
could eat and dance whenever they
wanted to. It ended at 10:00pm at which
time we announced the prizes,” summarized Sharma.
The food was offered buffet-style,
allowing volunteers to take time to eat
when they preferred. Options included
both sub sandwiches and pasta provided
by the Americana Diner and Olive Garden.
Prizes were given according to the
fundraising amounts of the volunteers
and consisted primarily of gift cards. An
iPod Shuffle was reserved for the volunteer contributing the most money to the
event.
Volunteers also had the opportunity
to earn door prizes if they contributed at
least 50 dollars and the opportunity to
receive the grand prize if they contributed at least 100 dollars.
In the midst of dancing, listening to
music and taking advantage of the event
to have fun with friends, the volunteers
were directly supporting the Measles
Initiative and Red Cross organizations.
The Measles Initiative donations served
to provide money for one-dollar measles
vaccinations in third-world countries
while remaining donations served to develop revenue for the numerous American Red Cross endeavors.
In total, the event raised 8,000 dollars.
Though the amount was significantly
less than that of last year, no less than
12,000 dollars, the fundraiser did meet
expectations and was successful considering this year’s economic circumstances and the event’s change in location.
Bhandari said, “The trip was worth
it. Although it was held at an unknown
place, we still got a large turnout and I
had an amazing time hanging out with
my friends and dancing.”
“It was relatively successful, considering the state of the economy; we
were happy to raise 8,000 dollars,” said
Sharma.
6
The Viking Vibe
May 2009
2009
SBHS Remembers
Mrs. JoAnn Christian
Saadia Ahmad
2010
After fighting a battle with cancer that
returned after seven years Mrs. JoAnn
Elizabeth Cammarata Christian passed
away at the Raritan Bay Medical Center
on Monday, May 4.
Mrs. Christian dedicated herself to two
different career paths. Prior to coming to
South Brunswick, Mrs. Christian worked
at the Princeton Healthcare System. She
came to work in the district over 25
years ago to be closer with her children
when they began attending school, and
she stayed through the graduation of one
of her grandchildren last year.
Mrs. Christian began working
as a paraprofessional at Constable
Elementary School, and also filled
the roles of lunch aid, secretary, and
classroom aide as needed, before joining
the high school staff.
“Mrs. Christian just wanted to be in
the schools and do whatever job was
needed,” said Mrs. Patricia Abitabilo,
the Assistant Principal for the Class of
2012, who worked with her beginning in
1994 when she came to the high school.
“She loved to help people, especially
kids. She was pleasant to all who came
in and was very helpful,” she said.
Math teacher Mr. Larry Witlen taught
a class called the “Math Lab” with
Mrs. Christian for two years in the late
1980s.
“She admitted that she wasn’t great
at math,” Mr. Witlen said, “but she still
tried to help whenever she could. She
wasn’t making a six-figure salary here,
but she did whatever she could, and
you really couldn’t ask more from a
person.”
Almost every year, she gave Mr.
Witlen a check for the fundraiser he runs
yearly, Pedals for Progress. If he was
teaching when someone donated a bike,
she would keep the bikes safe until he
could come down.
“She was among only two or three
people who thought my sense of humor
was more than just an annoyance,” he
added.
Mr. Witlen explained that there are
people in the school who are trying
to deal with and overcome physical
ailments and adversity, and it helps to
see people who can rise to the occasion
and not bring people down, but to be
a good example for others to follow
through their own challenges.
Through all the medical problems
Mrs. Christian endured, she didn’t seem
to dwell on it.
“If someone is always complaining,
it affects people. But she dealt with what
was given to her,” he said.
When the annex was added to the
building, Mrs. Christian mainly worked
as the receptionist in the freshman
office. There, she organized collections
of metal tabs for the Ronald McDonald
House.
According to the organization’s
website, the Ronald McDonald House
“offers families a way to stay together,
in proximity to the treatment hospital,
be comfortable and cared for during
their stay... and communicate better with
their child’s medical team and keep up
with complicated treatment plans when
needed.”
The organization received money
in proportion to the number of tabs
collected that aided ill children and their
families, whether by providing shelter,
financial support, or counseling.
Throughout this school year, Mrs.
Christian participated in clinical trials for
cancer research and treatments that were
based in Florida and the University of
Boston. The discovery of new, possible
treatments required human testing.
Mrs. Christian volunteered to take
experimental medications and travel to
the research facilities to determine if the
treatments were effective.
“She was willing to put herself through
[treatments] so others could benefit from
cancer research,” said Mrs. Abitabilo.
According to Mrs. Abitabilo, she
was known for bringing “a smile, a
willingness to help, and to never let
problems interfere with what needed to
be done.”
Mrs. Christian will be remembered most
for her unselfishness and willingness to
help-- despite dealing with the problems
that arise with a terminal disease, she
didn’t want to burden others even as the
situation worsened.
“She wanted to go on, no matter
how sick she was, and [remained] ready
to help. And I think that in a way, that
helped her with her own problems.”
Mrs. Abitabilo believes that Mrs.
Christian would want the SBHS
community to keep in mind that even
as they endure bad days and encounter
problems, it’s still conceivable to be
kind to others. And it’s very possible,
she said, that someone in the same room
may have it worse.
Similarly, Mr. Witlen believes that her
message would be to “give what you can
to make the world better and try to be as
positive as you can be, no matter your
circumstances.”
Mrs. Christian leaves behind her
husband of 39 years, John, her three
daughters, several grandchildren, her
mother, and other relatives.
“She wanted to go on, no matter how sick she
was, and [remained] ready to help. I think that in
a way, that helped her with her own problems.”
-Mrs. Patricia Abitabilo
news
Vendor Night Helps Fund
Project Graduation
Monika Nandi
2012
On Friday, April 24, Project Graduation hosted its third annual Ladies Shopping Night (also called Vendor Night)
in the blue cafeteria from 7:00-10:00pm
and raised around 2,500 dollars in the
process.
“It was cool to just walk around shopping. You could take your time looking
at things, too,” said sophomore Kelsey
Anderson.
Project Graduation is an organization
that collects money through fundraisers and parent donations to host an allnight, alcohol- and drug-free party for
the graduating seniors. Project Graduation is funded by the Municipal Alliance
Against Substance Abuse.
“We are right on track and might
have even more money [for Project
Graduation] than last year because of all
the successful events including Vendor
Night,” said Ms. Dawn Chromey, a cochair of Project Graduation, “So far, we
have raised about 25,000 dollars.”
The organization put advertisements
in the paper, asking for vendors from retail and home-based businesses to open
their booths for Vendor Night.
“I’m so proud that so many women
have started their own businesses. There
were also a lot of kids helping out their
parents,” said SBHS Head Librarian Ms.
Nancy Geiger.
Some kiosks included jewelry, chocolate, purses, headbands, home based
recipes, and cosmetics.
“I loved the chocolate booth. They
gave you free samples,” said sophomore
Maggie Boyle.
Some of the most popular vendors
were Avon, Tupperware, Purely Gourmet, Dove Chocolate Discoveries, Pampered Chef, and Designer Diva. The
prices ranged from as low as eight dollars to as high as in the hundreds of dollars, depending on the object.
“One of the most popular vendors
was the National State Jewelry Buyers,”
said Ms. Mariann Long, also a co-chair
of Project Graduation, “But there was a
crowd at almost every vendor.
LAMP Club Hands Out Easter
Happiness In A Basket
Bhanu Jayarangan
2011
The members of LAMP, the Leadership
and Mentoring Program, collected items
to create Easter baskets and gift bags for
the women and children of the Battered
Women’s Shelter in New Brunswick.
“We created 15 Easter baskets and
12 gift bags filled with soap, shampoos
and other things like that,” said LAMP
Advisor Ms. Nicole Sanyigo, “We
also donated five dozen eggs to dye
and plastic eggs for the children’s egg
hunt.”
The Mary Kay Cosmetics Company,
many SBHS clubs, and about 20 staff
members helped support this fundraising
event. The fundraising got off to a good
start with a “generous donation of
stuffed animals” from one staff member,
according to Ms. Sanyigo.
“I really enjoy doing things that make
a difference in the community,” said
sophomore Nicole Ruggiero, “It makes
me feel like I am important and it also
makes me feel satisfied that I could
make someone else’s life better in some
way.”
The Battered Women’s Shelter is run
by the Women Aware agency, established
in 1979 to offer free services to women
affected by domestic abuse. Currently,
Women Aware can fully provide for up
to ten families.
Ms. Sanyigo also stated that it is
very important to make people aware
of domestic violence. She mentioned
how the shelter not only takes women
in, but also helps them get out in about
a month. The shelter encourages women
to take charge of their own lives and get
back on their feet.
“What people need to know about
domestic violence is that it is a much
bigger problem than society is willing to
accept,” noted Ruggiero, “Most people
don’t realize that abuse affects its victim
mentally as well as physically. It breaks
down a person’s dignity, making her feel
worthless.”
LAMP also held a fundraiser for
Mother’s Day gifts, and plans to hold
self-defense classes next October.
The proceeds of the classes will go to
sponsoring a Christmas project.
Alex Kuhn
2009
culture
and introduce just the right amount of cheesiness to an
otherwise very serious score.
Abrams built every possible set, keeping with his
strict no greenscreen rule, and everything else was
added in with the tireless work of more than ten special effects companies. With ILM in the captain’s
chair, you knew that this was going to drop some jaws.
The ships, the explosions, and everything else were
amazing.
The astonishing part is that so much of the original series has been kept intact. You will find all of the
characters, the phases, the pointy ears, the “beam me
up,” and even Captain Kirk’s ability to seduce green
women. The attention to detail was never an Abrams
staple in any media, but if any film was going to elevate him to the critical status he deserves, it’s going
to be this movie.
Not often do we see a film that so effortlessly blends
action, adventure, skillful writing, masterful directing,
emotional acting, a stirring score, and special effects
as Star Trek does. J.J. Abrams has revitalized a very
diluted story, and by using his trademark time traveling ploy, has made Star Trek all his own. Only he
knows where the series will boldly go now, and with
old Trekkies and new fans alike joining the crew of
the Enterprise every day, Star Trek will undoubtedly
spawn at least a trilogy, if not more.
Illustration by Alex Kuhn (‘09)
The Viking Vibe
Entertainment Section
Only a week after the critically disappointing X-Men: Origins Wolverine, J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias & LOST, director of Mission Impossible III and Cloverfield) brought to the
big screen a prequel worthy of opening the summer movie
season. Star Trek opens with the Romulan villain Nero attacking the U.S.S. Kelvin, which is only saved when George
Kirk sacrifices himself to save his wife. She gives birth soon
after to James Tiberius Kirk. For a few minutes, the film follows young Spock and Kirk as they mature, then focuses in
on their joining of the Federation. After about three years
(very reminiscent of recent LOST episodes), the future crew
of the enterprise is called to action to stop Nero once again.
Through an emotional conflict with Spock, Kirk is stranded
on an ice planet where he meets a future Spock who explains
how and why he and Nero are there. From the moment Nero
appeared and attacked the Kelvin, the old Star Trek is no
more, and a completely new timeline is created. Kirk meets
with the crew of the Enterprise, and heads to Earth for one
last round with Nero; winner take all.
How do you recast Star Trek with no William Shatner.
no Leonard Nimoy (okay, maybe a little Nimoy), no George
Takei, and obviously no James Doohan? Well that’s not Star
Trek. At least, not anymore it isn’t. The new breakdown is as
follows: Chris Pine is James Kirk, Zachary Quinto is Spock,
Karl Urban is Dr. McCoy, John Cho is Hikaru Sulu, Simon
Pegg is Scotty, Zoe Saldana is Uhura, Anton Yelchin is Pavel
Chekov, and Leonard Nimoy returns as a future Spock (Eric
Bana also fills the alien villain shoes as Nero). Pine, Quinto,
Pegg, Urban, and Yelchin are the standouts; each took their
predecessor’s work into consideration, but also skillfully reinvented their characters, taking them in new, deeper directions. Cho and Saldana could have used some work in the
beginning, but improved greatly by the conclusion. And of
course, you’ve got to appreciate the return of the first Spock
in Nimoy who, after more than 20 years with human ears,
donned his bowl cut and slipped perfectly back into his
trademark role.
Abram’s musical go-to guy Michael Giacchino, who has
created the scores for LOST, Cloverfield, The Incredibles,
The Call of Duty game series, and Speed Racer, fills the
composer slot once again. Being called to come up with
music for something that’s already been scored hundreds
of times over seemed very unimpressive and uninspiring,
but what Giacchino did for the film was amazing. He took
Star Trek’s original music, mixed it with LOST’s and some
new material, put it on a grander scale ten times over, and
proceeded to turn it up to 11. Just when you expect a somber John Locke to walk on screen, the classic tunes kick in
vibe:culture
I’m a Trekkie, you’re a Trekkie, and we’re all
going to be Trekkies
Wolverine Gets Summer Movies off to a Slow Start
vibe:
vibe
ception is made worse by clichéd dialogue for every
single actor.
The action is noticeably over-the-top, even for a
superhero film. Many of the fight scenes are shot and
edited poorly, making them simply boring to watch.
Now, if you are a nitpicker at all, this movie is only
worse for you. There are a few unrealistic scenes that
never seem to make sense at all. For examples, there is
no blood at all in any of the action sequences that involve a guy slicing people into pieces! Worst of all is
the horrendous scene in which Wolverine has to box a
morbidly obese blob of a man who used to be a major
commando agent when he could just stab him in the
gut to get information. Man, I miss Brian Singer in the
director’s seat for this franchise.
Then again, it is not all bad. Even though at first
I disagreed with Liev Schreiber being cast as Sabretooth, I actually grew to like him as the character. I
disliked how Sabretooth was shown in the original XMen as being a stupid, wild animal with no personality to speak of. At least here he is exhibited as a person
Alex Kuhn (‘09)
who is tough but not too menacing. Also, unlike the
rest of the action sequences, there was a decent final
battle at the end that shows Wolverine actually putting
his claws to good use.
Other than these small, redeeming qualities, Origins is everything you don’t want in a comic-book
movie combined into one film. You get a lousy script,
poorly-inserted supporting characters, lame acting,
bad special effects, boring action sequences, and the
list goes on!
The typical Hollywood ending does nothing but
tie up loose ends. And do not bother to stay for the
scene after the credits. I’m not going to spoil anything,
but you basically get nothing out of it at all and waste
your time. If you are a casual movie-goer, you aren’t
going to like the film, but if it’s tons of mindless action
you want, you will be getting it.
However, a hard-core fan of the comics will end
up angry and disappointed watching the movie ravage
the background story of this shady character.
Mike Ungano (‘09)Alex
Kuhn (‘09)
The summer movie season is on, and what better way to
start it off than with a good old-fashioned superhero movie?
Last year started off with a bang with the release of Iron Man
grossing at almost 320 million dollars in the domestic box
office, and receiving the praise of critics everywhere. Now
we have an X-Men prequel based on everybody’s favorite
mutant on the team, Wolverine. As mentioned in senior Alex
Kuhn’s article last month, there was an online illegal leak
for this film a while ago that didn’t include any of the recent re-shoots and featured many unfinished special effects.
However, even without the leak, this rushed, incomplete superhero flick would not have done much better critically or
financially.
The X-Men franchise used to be one of Marvel’s top projects, but that ended like any other big Hollywood series, at
the number three. Fortunately, making a prequel about the
guy who is best at what he does seems like a step in the
right direction. X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells Wolverine’s
(Hugh Jackman) life story, including his turbulent childhood,
the wars he has been through, the woman he loves, and most
importantly, how he got those fancy adamantium claws.
The writers had a great potential plot, considering the
movie’s focused on the most popular X-Man. It starts off
with a good opening, but it does not take too long before you
notice that the whole script is very choppy and doesn’t show
enough of the events or characters on screen.
Other than Wolverine and his brother/arch enemy Sabretooth (played by Liev Schreiber), most of the characters are
underdeveloped and don’t get enough screen time. I understand that the movie is called Wolverine, but there are a lot
of other important characters hanging around that only get a
couple minutes of fame. To be quite honest, the script feels
lifeless.
Most of the acting is pretty weak. Hugh Jackman re-cast
as Wolverine may have seemed like the obvious choice, but
he is seriously off his A-game. Once in a while, he delivers
on a few good lines, but most of the time, he is just yelling a
lot of cringe-worthy “Victor!” and “No!” lines.
Danny Huston as General Stryker often sounds dull—as
if most of the time he’s thinking, “Whatever, I’m just starring
in a comic-book flick, no one cares how I act!” This per-
Kyle Self
2012
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vibe:culture
How Chili Peppers
Peppers’ Fans are
Waiting Out the Hiatus
Emily Gabriele
2009
Anthony Kiedis’ lyrics read “scar
tissue that I wish you saw,” and his
wish is about to come true. Kiedis
wrote an autobiography entitled
Scar Tissue, which was published
in 2004.
His compelling story takes you
through all of the twists and turns of
his rock star life, beginning from a
young age. The book does a wonderful job of painting a picture of
how his life has unfolded. It did
such a great job in doing so that it
made the New York Times Bestseller
list. But Kiedis didn’t stop there.
Despite the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s current hiatus, Kiedis is teaming up with HBO and turning his life
story into a television show, which
is tentatively going to be entitled
Scar Tissue, as well. The television
show is said to be on the air in 2010,
at earliest, and aims to take Kieidis’
wish of having everyone see his scar
tissue to a new level; this time they
won’t be hearing his troubles in a
song, or imagining them from the
words in a book—viewers will actually be able to see the troubles that
he has went through and view the
scars they have left behind.
Kieidis isn’t the only one who is
making good use of his time during
the group’s hiatus; Flea continues to
vibe:culture
staff
pursue his own musical ideas, Chad
Smith has been playing for a jazz
band, and John Frusciante has continued to work on his solo career.
As a fan of the Chili Peppers, it’s
bittersweet to know that all of the
band members are pursuing their
own, individual projects. It’s delightful that all of them are finding
something to continue their growth
in performing, yet there is always
the concern of whether the hiatus
will ever come to an end, or if their
hiatus is indefinite.
After the release of their brilliant
album Stadium Arcadium, in 2005,
the duel disk was a foreshadowing
to a long break for them. It has been
an enjoyable ride to follow the band
through their constant recreation of
style, however it’s certain that many
fans out their can relate to the idea
of only being able to listen to an album for so long.
Luckily, there are plenty of
songs to fulfill a yen for the Red Hot
Chili Peppers, with a body of work
consisting of two great hits albums
and nearly 200 songs. Who knows
if we will be seeing more to come
from the Red Hot Chili Peppers as
a band? However, we will be seeing
Anthony Kiedis lay out his life for
us in the near future.
editors
alex kuhn, 2009
craig maltese, 2009
tina saienni, 2009
zach cohen, 2010
elena georgopoulos, 2011
alissa mesibov, 2009
conner o’reilly, 2010
john parrinello, jr., 2009
mark ruf, 2009
kyle self, 2012
layout editor
jovelle tamayo, 2009
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special thanks to
anita
nita modi, 2009
mr.r.r andy loh
mr. frank manfre
mr
advisor
mr. peter honig
Vibe:Culture welcomes article submissions and letters to the editors, which
may be delivered to Mr. Honig or dropped off in his mailbox. Submissions
can also be sent to peter.honig@sbschools.org. Vibe:Culture reserves the right
to edit, shorten or comment on any material submitted to the publication.
Students interested in journalism are also encouraged to join the Vibe:Culture
staff, which meets every other Wednesday in room A205.
We’ve been Bamboozled
Craig Maltese
2009
I’m going to assume a lot of
you went to Bamboozle this year.
Personally, I see the lineup for this
year’s Bamboozle and Warped tours
as the end of these two tours. Or at
least what should be the end. They
really need to quit while they are
ahead, or behind as they are now…
well, just quit.
Warped tour started off in 1995
with a whopping 16 bands and
meager intentions. One stage, one
day…that’s it. In 1998, warped tour
started picking up steam and bigger named bands; Kid Rock, Bad
Religion, Deftones, Incubus, and
Stained, to name a few.
The tour also began going international. With bigger-name bands
came a bit more advertising and
hype surrounding the shows. Attendance was up, and they added some
more stops onto their list.
The tour continued gaining more
and more popularity through the
late 90s. From 2000 to 2005 Warped
tour was definitely in its prime.
Best bands, high attendance, nearly a hundred stops, the epitome of
Warped tour.
The beauty of the Warped
tour was they could book a solid
four-to-six headliners a year, bands
like Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Flogging Molly, Coheed and Cambria, The Early November, and NoFx (2004 lineup).
With all of these bands in one day,
you could possibly see six amazing headliners. Since there were so
many big names, there was almost
always a big name on a stage to see,
so you were never waiting around
for your band to come on.
All great things come to a end
though, and Warped tour has definitely died.
For the past three years, Warped
tour has had trouble booking a
lineup that can even come close to
the 2004 lineup. With an overabundance of cleverly-named stages
filled with bands that come from local ‘Battle for Warped tour’ shows,
Warped tour is now nothing more
then a platform for new bands to get
a start now.
As for Bamboozle, it started in
2005 with My Chemical Romance,
The Starting Line, and Thrice headlining. (Brand New was supposed to
headline, but had to pull out).
There’s been a pretty solid lineup
of bands that play bamboozle every
year, including Silverstein, Billy Talent, and Taking Back Sunday, all of
which are a lot of fun to see.
The headliners for this
year, No Doubt and Fallout Boy,
didn’t excite me too much. I still
bought the 70 dollar ticket and
drove an hour to get there. It rained,
I didn’t care.
When I finally got over the excitement about finding my way to the
Meadowlands without directions, I
looked at the schedule for the day.
They had about five bands playing
that I wanted to see, none of which
I REALLY wanted to see, but none
the less, I was there.
Four of the five bands went on
within the first three hours I was
there. Two of them overlapped. Between those three hours and the last
band I wanted to see, there was a
gap of four hours.
That is the issue: four
hours. There was nothing to watch
between the first bands I watched
and the one I wanted to see in the
end. This was the first time I ever
attended an outdoor concert which
had nothing to do to fill the void before the closing band.
I could have saved my 70 dollars and bought two tickets to shows
at Starland Ballroom, and then I
wouldn’t have to sit out in the rain
waiting all day for a closing performance that was terrible.
Bamboozle and Warped
tour used to have the ability to keep
me interested for the entirety of the
time I was there. That is what made
these shows worth going to, especially at the cost. I mean, honestly,
Demi Lovato playing on the same
stage as 3Oh!3? That’s not how I
roll.
Alissa Mesibov
2009
When Hair opened in 1968, it was the most controversial piece of
musical theater to ever play a Broadway stage. The musical, with book
and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, with a score by Galt McDermot, is astounding.
Hair is different from any other musical in that it is not so much about
a plot as it is about a theme. The musical depicts a group of young hippies in New York City. Unlike previous productions, this tribe has taken
over the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 45th street, where the show plays. We
meet a very conflicted and confused Claude, a young hippie who wants
to be part of the anti-war movement, but he is also tired of letting his parents down. He decides to not burn his draft card. His other more personal
conflict surrounds his two closest friends, as well as romantic interests,
Sheila and Berger.
This show covers every controversial topic possible. There is expletive-laced and blatantly sexual language, full nudity, drug use, both
male-female and same-sex relationships, and audience interaction that
has frightened off some audience members. Anyone who plans on seeing
the show needs to be ready for anything, whether it is having an actor
sit on their laps or being pulled out of your chair to dance on stage. This
interaction only enhances the experience.
The music is legendary. Artists ranging from the Fifth Dimension to
Diana Ross have recorded covers of the show’s stream of chart-toppers.
Hair was the first rock musical, which means that many of today’s most
popular shows, like Rent and Wicked, never could have happened if Hair
didn’t pave the way for less conventional styles in musical theater. The
show covers a wide variety of styles, ranging from pop, evident in songs,
like “Donna,” to folk-infused songs, like “Frank Mills,” to the pure R&B
sound of “Easy to Be Hard.”
Gavin Creel earned his second Tony nomination for his boyish and
innocent portrayal of Claude, and he stands a good chance of winning.
He brings his flawless voice to the role of Claude, who must grow up
and face the reality that the counterculture lifestyle has so long protected
him from. From the moment Will Swenson, also a Tony nominee for his
role of Berger, swaggers down the steps and into the audience, wearing
barely more than a brown vest, it becomes easy to fall in love with his
carefree, anti-authoritarian personality. Even when he neglects Sheila
for his primary love, himself, you just can’t help but to love the guy.
Other standouts include Kacie Sheik as the spacey and pregnant Jeanie,
an adorable Allison Case as Chrissy, Bryce Ryness as Woof, and Andrew
Kober in several roles.
When most people think of Hair, they think of the world-renowned
music or hippie characters. However, the dancing in this show, choreographed by Tony award nominee Karole Armitage, is far from neglectful.
The pogo, hair-shaking dance of the title song is great fun. My favorite
piece of choreography was during a scene in which an LSD-influenced
Claude envisions what being in Vietnam may be like. He along with two
or three actors, clearly are flying out of a plane with parachutes, though
you never see an actual parachute, thanks to the choreographic brilliance
of Ms. Armitage.
The lighting is incredible during the LSD trip scene. Lights flash during some parts, inducing jolts of terror for the audience, while just the
actors’ faces are lit during the slower part of the excellent sequence. Yellow-orange suns and seagreen swirls of light adorn the mezzanine walls
throughout the show, which only contributes to the idea that the audience
is part of this exquisite tribe of peace-loving, war-protesting hippies.
Of course, the material is relatable to today’s times. We, as a nation,
are in an unpopular war. The youth are more politically aware than they
have been in the past 20 years. While none of this may be at the level it
was at in 1967, when Hair takes place, this is probably the most appropriate time since the show started for Hair to be playing.
vibe:culture
The Sun Shines in Again
The Chuck Palahniuk Teenage Hype Continues...
Tina Saienni
2009
As you enter your teenage years, it is almost inevitable to stumble upon
Tyler Durden. You will find him, whether it be in that kid from English
class’ older brother’s movie collection or Chuck Palahniuk’s first novel
Fight Club (1996). Yes, Chuck Palahniuk is the true genius behind the
hero of that particular story, an abiding favorite of many. Fight Club’s
dynamic character Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt in the 1999 film)
provides relief for many middlemen who seek the habitual satisfaction of
secret evening boxing matches outside buildings and in the basements of
bars. Although it was his first novel, it was certainly not a one-hit wonder
considering he now has a large cult following.
The same year Fight Club premiered on the big screen, Palahniuk
released his second novel, Survivor (1999). Although this is about a surviving member of a death cult telling his autobiography on an airplane
that has reached terminal velocity, the author seems to have alternate
meanings. What the novel really expresses is the stubborn education system that allows room for teaching the best way to be the best in the best
corporate job as a good employee. It seems that everyone forgets that
they can make the big bucks by starting their own company and running
their own life.
Invisible Monsters, also the product of 1999, was actually Palahniuk’s
first written book, but it was rejected by his publisher for being too disturbing. The novel is definitely quite disturbing, but that publisher obviously had no idea what this man was capable of. Invisible Monsters is a
high-speed story of a seemingly-lifeless Shannon who decides to become
a model as her only source of attention. However she doesn’t expect her
brother to be a victim of gonorrhea, have her best friend steal her man,
or have her jaw shot off by a drive-by shooting. Readers are expected to
keep up with this non-linear series of events, so if you decide to pick it
up try not to put it down too often until you have finished.
When truly embedding yourself in Palahniuk’s mind via the pages of
his novel, you find that more often than not you get lost in his thought
process. It’s as if his mind remains on a separate clock than his fingers.
There are times I understand a concept or a vital detail from the story
and am told otherwise by a fellow reader. For instance, when reading his
2001 novel Choke, I wasn’t always clear on the fact that the character of
Victor Mancini was given up to foster parents because his mother was
too crazy to care for him. After reading the novel a while back and even
after seeing the indolent film just released in 2008, I thought that Victor
was kidnapped by some outlandish woman whose true identity remained
ambiguous.
After reading Choke I broke from Palahniuk’s clutches and skipped
four novels until Haunted (2005) fell into my possession. Palahniuk did
something different here. He wrote a horrifying collection of 23 short
stories and actually claimed its disturbing contents to be classified as
‘horror.’ Although most his work extracts some uncomforting feelings
within readers some of these stories are truly mind-blowing.
Just before Haunted was Stranger Than Fiction (2004) a collection of
true stories, essays and interviews. More recent than that, the following
novels were released: Dairy (2003), Misty Marie Wilmont’s account of
her husband’s senseless suicide attempt; Fugitives & Refugees (2003),
his first non-fiction work and borderline autobiography; and Lullaby
(2002) about Carl Streator and his discovery of a deadly verbal virus,
his unintentional murders, and his plan to stop the virus from wiping out
human life.
It seems only the diehard Chuck Palahniuk readers would anticipate
and certainly read each novel as he pumped them out every year or so.
When Rant came to the shelves in 2007, it was of course reviewed by
those fans, however it did not create such hype as Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, Choke, Lullaby, or Haunted had amongst the occasional
Palahniuk readers. All those kids that wait for their friends to tell them
how cool these book are and then get slightly addicted cannot stop reading Palahniuk books until they have read at least those five.
This past week Chuck Palahniuk has ventured into five cities for
the release of his new novel Pygmy
Pygm ! Everyone most likely pre-ordered
the book knowing that they could get it signed by Palahniuk at one of
the signings over here on the east coast. The Philadelphia free library
just hosted a signing on May 8, where there were tons of fanatic cult
members. We can expect that Pygmy! is yet another tale that will exhibit
Palahniuk’s unique way of opposing authority and just simply going
against the grain.
E
3
Zach Cohen
2010
With the television season wrapping up, stations are looking for what
shows to keep or cut, and every year one unfortunate great show gets the
axe. Whether it is for ratings, expenses involving production, or sometimes even the lack of quality, many shows get cut short before they have
the time to develop. So in honor of these falling shows such as Chuck,
My Name is Earl, and Dollhouse, I took a second to think about great
shows that have gotten cancelled unrightfully. Obviously, cult classics
such as Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, and Twin Peaks come
to mind when thinking about TV shows that left us to early, but one fantastic unknown show takes the cake of cancelled-too-early shows.
Anyone who has talked to me for more than 30 minutes probably
has heard me reference possibly the greatest cancelled TV show, Clone
High. This show, from creator Bill Lawrence (Scrub and Spin City), revolves around the lives of teenagers in a high school; only the teens are
clones of historic figures. The clones they follow are a socially awkward Abe Lincoln, emo Joan of Arc, slutty Cleopatra, popular John F.
Kennedy, and ADHD. plagued Gandhi, with other hilarious versions of
clones sprinkled in. Whether it is Abe worrying about how to get Cleo to
like him, or how to beat JFK in the school election, episodes are never
short on laughs. Especially when voices from big name actors such as
Michael J. Fox and Jack Black, to character actors like Neil Flynn (the
janitor from Scrubs), Michael McDonald (Stuart in Mad TV), Will Forte
(SNL), Donald Faison (Turk from Scrubs), and many more contribute
to the show. Also, while the show does have a running plot, like Scrubs,
each episode has a different story within that plot.
For example, who can forget the classic episode “Homecoming:
A Shot in D’Ark” when Joan of Arc disguises her self as John D’ark
to play on the boys basketball team in the homecoming game against
Genetically Engineered Superhuman High, a.k.a. GESH? When asked
what the person she is cloned from did, she tells the story of Planet of the
Apes. While this story flourishes, we also follow Gandhi and his forbidden friendship with Geshy the mascot of GESH which he stole in order
to prank GESH. Then there is the classic “Litter Kills: Literally” when
Juan Ponce de Leon was introduced only to get killed off. On a side bar,
Gandhi is mistakenly taken to prison in a mishap involving litter, and an
orange jump suit.
While Clone High is a hilarious show, it is not for the easily of-
fended. In fact the reason it was cancelled stems from a group of Indians
threatening hunger strike until it was cancelled, due to the portrayal of
Gandhi. In numerous episodes Gandhi finds himself in awkward predicaments that some may consider offensive, whether it is when Gandhi
becomes a rapper and sings about rocking something that rhymes with
the me-spot, which happened to be his name as well, or when the entire
school makes fun of him for having A.D.D..This, along with almost all
of Gandhi’s crazy exploits, caused the hunger strike which took place on
the 55th anniversary of the real Gandhi’s assasination. MTV eventually
buckled under the pressure and gave into the demands and cancelled the
show before the situation got worse. Gandhi, however, is not the only
character who the show pokes fun at. JFK and Lincoln are also the butt
end to many historical jokes, the hang out is coincidentally named The
Grassy Knoll. On top of the normal humor of an average comedy, any
fan of history will be rolling off their seat in even more laughter. With the
show now off the air in America, fans can view the show’s one season
(13 episodes) on Google video, or the complete series DVD’s. Any fan of
Scrubs, history, Mad TV, SNL, or just comedy in general should see this
show immediately. Now as I look at some of my favorite shows that are
floating on the bubble, I hope they don’t end up as my old favorites like
vibe:culture
Clone High: An Underrated Show
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: The Newest Misogynist Chick Flick
Elena Georgopoulos
2011
It is said that people keep watching the latest romantic comedies with the
hope that one day there will be one that that is genuinely funny and leaves
us tingly with the overall happy message of everlasting love. I realized that
we are going to have to wait a while longer, after I saw the newest movie to
disgrace the genre. Ghost of Girlfriends Past is misogynistic in not only its attitude towards women for the majority of the film but also for subjecting itself
to a genre of film that mainly women see.
This movie supposedly puts a new twist on the A Christmas Carol storyline,
the twist due to the fact that the movie does not happen around Christmas. This
time the story relates to anti-marriage womanizer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) and his path to relationship-redemption over the weekend of his
younger brother’s wedding. He is busy simultaneously destroying the wedding
with his cynical attitude towards monogamous love and making his childhood
sweetheart (Jennifer Gardner) suffer at the sight of him, all the while being
visited by the ghosts of his “girlfriends” past, present, and future.
All of them try to convince him that his playboy ways are going to end up
leaving him all alone. All night, Connor discovers that his inner man-angst
(due to his parents dying and his fear of being left) is the reason why he has
been so closed off to love for so long. Fortunately, he wakes up to reality in
time to give a semi-heartwarming, yet too-long-to-be-spontaneous speech in
order to save the wedding that he thought he’d ruined.
It is hard to say where the mistakes begin: the plot holes, the redundancy, the
way this classic Charles Dickens story is abused. The ghosts were confusing,
seeing as the one that was his “past” girlfriend was just his high school girlfriend and we don’t even know if she is actually dead. The present girlfriend
was his assistant, since there is no other consistent woman in his life, and who
somehow switches between being a ghost to Connor and then being back in
the real world. The future girlfriend was just some mute girl who showed him
his eventual grave.
And how about how Connor didn’t remember anything about his first crush
on Jenny, yet at the very end managed to pull out the photograph that proved
he was always in love with her? Or how about the utter lack of respect for any
of the female roles? The supposed female lead did virtually nothing interesting
except cry and all the other (numerous) girls were tramps void of personality.
The movie did have its sweet moments and its one-liners might make
you laugh. The main reason this made me smile at all, is because the previews beforehand were depressing and I was glad to see something remotely
light-hearted. Or maybe I was just glad for the scenes where Matthew McConaughey does or says something incredibly stupid, making us all feel better
about ourselves as people.
E
4
features
May 2009
The Viking Vibe
7
SBHS Alum Brings RDB to NJ
Anita Modi and
Roshni Shah
2009, 2011
On Friday, April 24, Manj Singh and
Nindy Kaur of the England-based group
RDB (Rhythm Dhol Bass) made an appearance at the Holiday Inn in Edison
for a press conference organized by
their international publicist, Ms. Tirusha
Dave.
Ms. Dave, a South Brunswick alumna
of 2002, originally went to Massachusettes College of Pharmacy to pursue a
career in pharmacy. Yet, she was always
interested in writing. Graduating in 2007
with a BA in English, Ms. Dave started
taking steps to fulfill her ultimate goal:
creating her own magazine.
In 2008, she officially launched Bravura (“Exceptional”) Artist, an online
South-Asian publication featuring stories from movies to music; style to fashion, all geared toward a target audience
of Indian-American young adults.
“Bravura helps Indian-Americans,
the South Asians of our generation, to
be comfortable with who they are,” Ms.
Dave said, noting that there isn’t really
a comprehensive outlet for South Asian
entertainment news that includes the
range of topics Bravura provides. Thus,
Indian-Americans have no comprehensive outlet to learn about, and take an
interest in, their culture.
The publication’s stories are written
primarily by college students majoring
in different fields from political science
to pre-med, who are rewarded with up
to four college credits per semester or
an internship position for their contributions.
All in all, though Ms. Dave may not
have pursued the career her parents expected of her (“I didn’t fit the Indian stereotype—doctor, lawyer, pharmacist,”
she admitted), she ultimately made both
her parents and herself proud in pursing
the career she was passionate about.
“If you’re passionate about something,” she advised, “don’t let anyone
stop you. Be persistent.”
Not only is she the Editor-in-Chief
of Bravura Artist, which receives over
35,000 hits a week from readers hailing
from India to Brazil, but Ms. Dave is
also a published author in seven different countries. She’s been able to interview such stars of the South Asian world
as Jay Sean and Raghav, with whom she
has now become good friends.
“I don’t get star-struck,” Ms. Dave
confided, adding that she regularly gets
calls or texts from Jay Sean, “but at the
same time, you have to maintain a level
of professionalism. Some PRs try too
hard to be friends with the artists; I get
work done, even though I can joke.”
It was through her work with Bravura
that Ms. Dave came across the opportunity to meet RDB, the only one of her
interviewees that she was actually starstruck by.
And who wouldn’t be?
Though only two of RDB’s four members—Manj and Nindy, as aforementioned—were able to attend the group’s
pre-album launch press conference and
concert, their presence was enough to
awe their audiences.
RDB was first established by three
brothers growing up in Bradford, England in 2000—Kuly, Manj, and Surj. The
group of three very quickly became renowned all throughout England for their
ability to create modern, lively beats
that still stayed true to their traditional
Punjabi upbringing. In a few short years,
RDB has become a household name for
many Indian families living not only in
England, but also in the United States,
Canada, Australia, and India itself. Performing with both Indian and American
celebrities and stars, including Akshay
Kumar and Snoop Dogg, RDB has traveled to countries across the globe.
But, as Manj pointed out, “It’s not
about connections; it’s about bringing
your ideas forward. Use the internet, and
your music will speak for itself.”
The group’s work includes such
popular favorites as “Sadi Gali,” “Aaja
Mahi,” and “Aloo Chaat,” the latter of
which was written as the title song to
the 2008 Hindi movie of the same name
starring Akshay Kumar.
In 2008, RDB expanded to include
Manj’s wife, Nindy Kaur, a singer in her
own right. Nindy will release her self-titled debut album this summer, alongside
RDB’s album entitled “Worldwide.”
As Manj described at the press conference, which hosted representatives from
numerous Indian television stations (including AVS, ARY & Sahara TV) and
a few radio stations (including Dhoom
FM), “the album features a mixture of
Hindi, Punjabi, even some rock.”
Though RDB is making broad strides
toward integrating modern, “Western”
styles into their work—“tapping into the
gorah market,” as Manj clarified—the
musicians recognize the importance of
their roots. All of their songs are written
primarily in Punjabi, and incorporate instruments such as the dhol and the tabla
to establish their core sound. The result?
Fusion.
“Fusion music is huge,” Manj said,
“Fusion is the way forward. The heavy
desi beat is always in; the desi stuff we
have to do.”
And with their desi beat, RDB aims
to not only appeal to Indians in England
and across the world, but they also aim
to send a message specifically to the
Indian-English and Indian-American
youth.
In fact, Nindy described the youth
as their primary audience, saying, “We
write our music so that youngsters don’t
go astray and become ‘Westernized;’
that they still retain a part of their Indian
culture and actually be proud of it!”
“Right,” Manj agreed, “Our message
is really that you can still be cool, even
if you wear a turban,” briefly recalling
the teasing that he and his brothers faced
as the only Indians students at his school
in Bradford.
“Youngsters need a connection to
their roots,” he added, “Hindi programs,
Hindi music really only cater to the older generation. If we want youngsters to
watch Indian programs, we need to give
them something to watch.”
Members of RDB at the press
conference ./
Introducing...
Ko the Timeless
Koushik Chatterjee
Appears Alongside RDB
Although a student at the University of Maryland studying Economics, Koushik “Ko the Timeless” Chatterjee is
becoming acclaimed for his internationally influenced music. Driven by his love of music, Ko the Timeless has put
out more than three mixtapes this year alone and hopes to
appeal to larger audiences in the coming years. The following is an exclusive interview with The Viking Vibe.
Viking Vibe (VV): Where did “Ko the Timeless” originate
from? What about you makes you so timeless?
Koushik the Timeless (KO): Well, Ko is a nickname I
have, being short for my first name, Koushik. And ‘timeless’ is to let people know that I’m here to stay. No time for
falling short or getting washed up. I want to make hits that
will shake the world forever.
moves like that. So for now, get as much attention and
make everyone have a good time. When the time comes
for politics, I’ll be there.
VV: What are your goals for the future with regards to your
music? And future plans with regards to your studies?
KO: Oh, the question that haunts me. Well I’m graduating this summer with my financial economics degree. Job
hunting is next. That’s no fun to talk about though in this
economy. Back to the music, I’m working my way up.
Milestones need to be reached to gain respect for the
next level. I got played by BBC Radio 1, and opened for
RDB! I am working with some big artists in the South
Asian market; not at the top yet but we are steady on our
way. I’m putting out my fourth mixtape this summer with
another couple features from the acclaimed Raja Wilco and
Kaly.
Check out my man Panama too, he was an actor on the
Wire, got on BET and MTV, the kid is blowing up crazy.
He’s been my mentor through the last few years. And of
course beat-makers, Fifty-Grand Sureet
Sandhu of Digital Desi Productions. DJ Desiplaya from
Xplicit Desi Vibes.
VV: What group constitutes your primary audience? Who
would be most interested in your music?
KO: Well, that’s the thing. I hang out with a huge variety of different crowds, so I like to make songs that will
satisfy them all. I have collaboration requests from local
rock bands, R&B artists, and even jazz musicians. For the
Indian side, bhangra artists and dance groups. In my mixtapes I like to show variety, that I can make music to touch
all people--everything from club bangers to deep poetry.
VV: What advice would you give other up-and-coming artists of this day and age? Do you have specific advice for
VV: What message do you try to get across with your lyr- Indian-American up-and-comings?
ics?
KO: Oh, man. Just know your place. Some kids think talkKO: Universal love. Haha, do I sound like a hippie? It’s ing overconfidently will get you respect. The thing is, if
cool though because it’s the truth. You know what every- you talk more than you can show, you’ll get found out.
one says, unite the world, blah blah blah. I mean I’m for I’ve seen respectable people get washed up that way. Just
it too. I just think not enough people actually try to do it. I be patient. Seriously though, just have fun. That’s all you
realize that I must gain respect before I can pull any bold can really do.
8
May 2009
2009
The Viking Vibe
features
Turn the Musi
Music
c up
Audacity
Amy Rowe
2009
Audacity started out like any other
local band at South Brunswick High
School – they performed at Battle of the
Bands.
However, something about them sets
them apart from the rest. After losing
the competition they were determined
to perfect their sound and head towards
bigger and better things; and that they
did.
The band started in October 2008
and has covered an impressive amount
of ground for being so young. On May
16, the boys of Audacity competed in the
regional finals of Jersey Shows Battle of
the Bands at Cagney’s in Parlin, New
Jersey. The boys were in the running to
win a grand prize of 20,000 dollars.
Audacity is made up of lead vocalist
and bassist, junior Mike Martino, lead
guitarist and vocalist, junior Drew
Weinstein, guitarist, senior Aaron
Ketofsky, and drummer, junior Dan
Claps.
The boys pride themselves on not
being genre-specific.
“Most of us are huge fans of Avenged
Sevenfold, and we by no means consider
ourselves better than them. But we
wouldn’t call them our biggest influence
because we don’t sound like them – we
don’t sound like anything but us,” said
Claps.
A rough recording of the bands’
single “I Can’t Help It” is available
on their Myspace site (www.myspace.
com/audacitynj). The band will be in
the studio at Rockin’ Records on May
23 and 24, and an actual release will be
soon to follow.
The band strongly encourages
interested listeners to come see them in
their upcoming shows.
“We would rather people come listen
to us before they dismiss us. If you like
us, we’re happy; if you don’t, well, at
least you tried,” said Martino.
Opportunities to see Audacity are
readily available in the upcoming weeks.
Other than their regional finals show on
May 16, the band will perform at Junea-palooza on June 5. The following day,
Audacity will participate in the War for
Warped Tour at the Starland Ballroom in
Sayreville, NJ.
“I never thought we’d be playing
at the Starland Ballroom when [my
bandmates] asked me to join them. It’s a
really big deal for us,” said Ketofsky.
“Audacity means boldness,” said
Claps. “We will continue to strive to live
up to our name.”
Have You Ever
Samantha Orlan and
Natalie Twerdowsk
Twerdowsky
2010, 2009
Sporcle.com: mentally stimulating diversions. Although it began as a website that
students frequented behind teachers’ backs, Sporcle is now being integrated into some
classes as means of getting students to participate.
For those students living in a cave, Sporcle.com is a website updated every day with
new trivia games, testing players’ knowledge of sports, music, movies, history, and many
other subjects under a time constraint which varies with the difficulty of the game. It’s an
addition to the list of ways to get distracted, but also a fundamental diversion.
Many teachers credit their students with introducing them to the site.
English teacher Mr. Andrew Loh said, “I discovered Sporcle when I caught Tim Doehler and Corey Allen playing it in class.”
Though the trend is undoubtedly circulating around SBHS, teachers and students often
find themselves debating whether or not the site is actually valuable.
Senior Gary Goldsmith said, “The reason the school has yet to block Sporcle is because
it’s educational. Its trivial, like Jeopardy, except it’s free!”
Social studies teacher Mr. Sean Cannon disagreed, “[Sporcle doesn’t have any merit];
it’s just a huge waste of your time, except it’s fun. It’s just useless information that will
never earn you a dime unless you go on Jeopardy.”
Conversely, Mr. Loh said, “It’s a great site and it’s educational. There are worse things
kids could be doing on the Internet, but I don’t think it should be done in class.”
Sporcle’s addictive quality is often what drags its player in.
Social studies teacher Mr. Marc Lifland said, “Sporcle has an ‘it’ factor, and people
like to know that they know things.”
Favorites for Mr. Cannon include any history-related games.
Junior Nick Cuevas and senior Edmond Jasabe concluded that naiming 151 Pokemon
is their favorite Sporcle game and that the site is so perfect that “before [they] started
Sporcle-ing [they] didn’t know anything, now [they] know everything.”
Cuevas said, “We’re learning while we’re playing, it’s the ultimate gaming device.”
Kristen Huang (‘12) also contributed to this article.
Members of Audacity – perform./PHOTO BY Amy Rowe (‘09)
d?
Experience Sporcle for Yourself!
Can you name all the U.S. Presidents? To play, enter a name (full
name or just last name) in the box. If you correctly name a President,
it will get filled in to the proper year below. The colored years
represent special circumstances, described at the bottom. You’ve
got 10 minutes when you hit the button.
sports
Lady Vikings Shine at
Penn Relays
Kayla Noll
2012
The South Brunswick girls track team
made history on Thursday, April 23,
2009. The Vikings traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they competed in the Penn Relays, one of the biggest
track meets in the country. Teams come
from all around the United States, (and
even some teams from Jamaica showed
up) to compete in this huge event.
“It’s really exciting because the track
and the atmosphere is so different than
what we are used to. It gives us a good
adrenaline rush,” said junior Jamielyn
Samper.
There were only a certain amount of
Distance Medley Relay (DMR) teams
that qualified in the nation, and South
Brunswick’s was one of them. This is
the first time in school history it has
happened. The DMR consists of a 1200,
400, 800, and a 1600. The Vikings DMR
finished fourth at the Penn Relays Championship of America race, also lowering
its own county record to 12:09.77 in the
process. The team of freshman Cayla
Del Piano (3:35.5 1200), sophomore
Janae Baker (59.8 400), junior Jenni
Smilgis (2:27.3 800), and junior Sophia
Ginez (5:06.9 1600) ran an impressive
race and came out on top.
“As a freshman, it’s a really great
experience to be going to the Penn Relays, because most freshman don’t get a
chance to be a part of a team as good as
our DMR,” Del Piano said.
The Vikings also had another qualifier out on the field events. Sophomore
Mariah Browne qualified for the Long
Jump. Finishing 15, Browne jumped 159.75.
For the 4X100 and the 4X400 many
more teams are accepted, but there is
a qualifying game to determine which
teams compete. The 4X100 team of
junior Rachel Johnson, freshman Alicia Osley, junior Melissa Dardani, and
Browne took first in their heat, with a
season best time of 49.71 seconds. They
qualified as an alternate for the finals the
following day.
The 4X400 finished sixth in their heat,
running a time of 4:11.20. The team consisted of sophomore Jamie Thompson
(63.3), Samper (63.0), sophomore Joy
Spriggs (64.7), and Osley (60.0)
Overall, the girls had a great night at
Penn, representing the SB track team in
a outstanding way at one of the biggest
meets in the nation.
“For teams like our DMR and Mariah
(Long Jump) it’s a big deal,” Samper
states. “Because they got chosen out of
people all throughout the country. It’s a
huge honor.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF Smilgis and Bill Gaze, www.bgsportshots.com
May 2009
The Viking Vibe
9
Girls Lacrosse Team Collects
Bottle Caps for Kidney Patient
SBHS V
Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team./PHOTO COURTESY OF Bill Gaze,
www.bgsportshots.com
Melissa Katz and kidney transplant, and the team wanted
Jessica Warner to help. We found an organization that
2011 for every 1,000 bottle caps we collected
Despite all the success the girls lacrosse team has had on the field this
season, the Lady Vikings never imagined their collection of water bottle caps
would be just as successful.
For three weeks the freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity teams collected
water bottle caps to help families paying
for dialysis for their sick family members. At the end of the collection, the
three teams collected over 26,000 bottle
caps in total.
Sophomore goalie Blair Nathanson
said, “I really enjoyed this collection. It
was a fun team bonding experience, and
we helped others in the process. I would
love to do this again.”
According to the National Kidney
Foundation, dialysis is used when the
kidneys fail to prevent waste, salt, and
extra water from building up in the
body. Dialysis also keeps a safe level
of certain chemicals in the blood, such
as potassium, sodium bicarbonate, and
helps to keep the blood pressure under
control.
The dialysis machine works as an
artificial kidney that clears out the waste
and extra chemicals from the patient’s
blood. In order to access the blood, the
doctor makes incisions into the patient’s
blood vessels.
Dialysis is a long, tedious process
throughout which the patient needs to
stay as still as possible.
“One of our players’ sister found
out about a child who was in need of a
would pay for one hour of dialysis,”
girls lacrosse Coach Mr. John Coppola
said, “The girls took to it very quickly,
and collected over 26,000 bottle caps.”
The girls were split into four teams,
and each team was lead by one of the
varsity captains. After each week the
girls counted up to see which team had
collected the most, and by the end of the
collection it had turned in to a competition.
“It was great to see the girls get really
into it. We were having a friendly competition, while helping make a difference in people’s lives at the same time,”
Mr. Coppola said.
As for whether or not the team would
collect bottle caps again in the future,
Coach Coppola said they would in a
second, because the girls really got involved in this collection.
“The bottle caps were easy to collect,
and the cause was something everyone
could immerse themselves into. Everyone became really competitive, and
I enjoyed doing this. It was for a great
cause,” sophomore Kristen Cooney
said.
“I am very proud of the girls. We all
learned a valuable lesson. They exceeded all of my expectations. When you’re
a part of a team, you help each other out
in tough times; we used our team work
from on the field to help someone else
out. I give all the credit to the girls; the
coaches just monitored their progress.
They really did a great job, and I couldn’t
be prouder,” Mr. Coppola said.
10
May 2009
sports
The Viking Vibe
SPRING SPORTS CAPSULE
Tom Dunleavy
2009
PHOTOS COURTESY OF Bill Gaze, www.
bgsportshots.com.
Boys Lacrosse
The Vikings’ season recently ended after they
lost in a battle against East Brunswick 12-10. Senior
captains Eric Lorber and Cody McHugh did their
best to compete in the GMC with a very young team.
They did a great job preparing the underclassmen for
next season, so look out for this young team to take it
up a notch.
Boys Tennis
Congratulations to the tennis team (11-3)
who were crowned the 2009 GMC Tournament
Team Champions after they edged East Brunswick by 1 point. The team was led by junior
Ed Rodinov, who became the GMC Champion
in the third Singles and freshman Rohan Bhatia
who placed third in the second Singles.
Boys Volleyball
The Vikings are currently 15-6 and are eager
to begin the GMC Tournament which begins on Saturday. The team enters the GMCT as the third seed. According to co-captain Sean Monaghan, the team is led
by the “Power Trio” consisting of seniors Monaghan,
Kazuki Yamada, and Kyle Mariano as well as the “Dynamic Duo” consisting of sophomore Jean Paul and senior James Kugel. A big highlight from the season was
when “The General” senior Steve Zhang had the first
ever “sploosh lunch” (three blocks in a row). “We’re
totally awesome!” said Monaghan.
Girls Lacrosse
On Wednesday night in East Brunswick, the girls
lacrosse team defeated rival Old Bridge in the GMC
Championship Game in a thrilling victory. Trailing for
most of the game, the Lady Vikes scored three goals in
the final three minutes to tie the game at 12-12. Then in
the overtime period, freshman Kelly O’Brien scored the
winning goal. The girls have compiled an amazing 11-2
record, won the GMC Red-division, and won the GMC
Tournament. Senior Lisa Buongiovanni said, “We played
hard and didn’t give up even when we were down. But
the most important thing is that we did it together.”
Track
The girls track team has successfully won its
fourth straight GMC Relay Championship. The team
now looks forward to winning several events at the
GMC individual Championship and the team Group
IV State Championship. On the boys’ side, the Vikings
recently placed third in the GMC Relays. They have
had big wins in dual meets this season against Old
Bridge and Piscataway. Senior Jon Bellizio said, “We
have a strong team, we just need to come together and
perform our best at the championship meets.”
sports
11
The Viking Vibe
May 2009
Girls Golf
The girls golf team has had a great season so far as they have
placed second in two tournaments (Montgomery and Rutgers), losing both tournaments by one stroke to Hunterdon Central. The team,
led by seniors Sam Chromey (40), Autum Young (39), and Tatiana
Kim (42), are ready for the GMC and State Tournaments and want to
prove that they are better than Hunterdon Central in the states.
Boys Golf
The boys golf team (14-2) recently has had big wins over Old
Bridge and Piscataway. The best scores of the season have come from
seniors Tyler Zenda (35), Corey Berrios (36), and Mike Namjoo (37).
The Vikings plan to compete in the GMC Tournament with their biggest competition coming from East Brunswick. “We are the better
team, we just have to play aggressively and consistently to accomplish our goals,” said Namjoo.
Baseball
After an emotional 5-4 win over Spotswood in the first round
of the GMC Tournament, the Vikings recently had a heart-breaking
loss in the Quarterfinals to Bishop Ahr. The team is currently 11-5,
and looks to redeem itself by making a run in the Group IV State
Tournament. Junior Mike Muha and senior Jordan Smith dominate
opposing hitters and senior DJ Roche is leading the offense.
Softball
The softball team is having a great season and is currently
12-5 and excited for the upcoming GMC Tournament which begins this Saturday. They have earned the seventh seed and will take
on Carteret in the first round. The girls’ state tournament begins
on Tuesday. Seniors Jess Pietrefessa, Krissy Mischke, junior Katie
Janssen, and sophomores Jill Blaine, and Rachel Vogel continue to
play big roles for the team.
sunday
monday
June 2009
tuesday wednesday thursday
PEER RETREAT
HiTOPS RETREAT
1
7
5:00pm Music
Department
Awards Dinner
8
2
9
3
7:00pm Spring
Varsity Awards
Night
10
4
Early Release
Day
friday
saturday
June - a - Palooza
2:30-8:00pm
5
6
SATs
Senior Prom
7:00pm-12:00am
P4P Drop-Off
12:00-3:00pm
RELAY FOR LIFE
AT SB YMCA
11
12
13
FINAL EXAMS/ EARLY RELEASE DAYS
7:00pm Senior
Scholarship
Awards
10:00am-1:00pm
Senior Picnic
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
FINAL EXAMS/
EARLY RELEASE
9:00am Graduation
Practice
SBHS Graduation
3:00pm Sovereign
Bank Arena
Last Day of School
Make-up Exams
Natalie
Twerdowsky’s
Birthday!
12
Elizabeth
Chang
Believes
in...
A glimpse the first high school student Board of Education member
Alissa Mesibov and
Anita Modi
2009
For many SBHS seniors, the Board
of Education election held on April 21
was the first election in which they voted. For one senior, Elizabeth Chang, it
was the first election in which she was
a candidate. Chang ran for a position of
membership on the Board of Education,
which she then went on to win.
“I never thought of getting involved
in politics myself,” Chang said; it was
changes that she saw occurring at
SBHS during the past four years that
inspired her to run.
She listed the changing of two-block
Advanced Placement (AP) science
schedules and the halt in funding for
AP exams as two of the biggest issues
that influenced her decision.
“Sometimes, I think it takes someone
who has been a student in the school
recently to bring about important and
necessary changes,” said Chang’s longtime friend, senior Nikhita Ganji, “and
that is just what Liz is doing.”
Dr. Gary McCartney, Superintendent
of South Brunswick schools, agreed.
“It’s really interesting and neat to
have an active consumer on the board
to make sure the receivers’ needs are
met,” he explained, emphasizing the
importance of a direct connection between the board
and the students that the policies actually impact.
Since her election to the Board of
Education, Chang has been the center
of a small media frenzy. She was interviewed by and featured in the StarLedger, the Home News Tribune, and
the Sentinel, in
PHOTO BY Alex Kuhn (‘09)
addition to several Chinese newspapers,
which all highlighted the fact that Chang
is the first Asian board member elected
in South Brunswick.
“It never gets boring, though. I get
to talk about myself! The best conversationalist is the one that talks about you,”
Chang said, complimenting her interviewers.
Chang was sworn in during the Board
of Education meeting on April 27, after attending her first board meeting on
April 18.
Her campaigning endeavors started
weeks before—almost as soon as she
turned 18 on March 1—and included
flyers, phone calls, and house visits.
“The first house was pretty unnerving,” Chang admitted, “During door-todoor campaigning, I met a lot of closed
doors. However, for each rude person I
met, there was a really nice person in the
next house.
“I thought no adults would be supportive at all and that they would think
I was just another teen looking to add
something to her resume,” she said, noting that her campaigning presented her
with a pleasant surprise.
Most South Brunswick adults were
more than willing to talk to Chang about
what her positions were and even asked
serious, insightful questions.
Chang’s positions, which she summarized on the half-page flyers she distributed to members of the community,
were developed from hours of research.
Chang not only looked into what the
Board of Education does and what its
duties include, but also looked to Facebook groups for insights on what South
Brunswick students were most concerned about.
SB Coalition, a Facebook group that
Chang tapped into regularly, offered “a
lot of complaints,” from which Chang
chose the most relevant and well-founded ones to represent as a candidate.
Her use of Facebook and other networking sites online to formulate her
position and reach out to members of the
community directly testifies to an asset
that other board members appreciate in
her: “a fresh prospective.”
“The other board members are really
nice,” Chang said, noting that at first,
she similarly suspected them to not take
her seriously, either, “They called to
congratulate me and to let me know that
they were there if I needed anything.”
As Chang soon realized, far from underestimating her, the board is respectful
of and confident in its new addition.
“She impresses me as being very astute,” Dr. McCartney said, “You can size
up how people will fulfill their roles by
how they behave, and I think she’ll earn
her stripes in the first year—a year of
learning and listening.”
The board’s new cycle began just as
elections ended on the twenty-first, and
the nine members have started to sign up
for specific committees to lead. Chang
hopes to work on the Curriculum and
Policy Committee, which will structure
the budget for the 2010-2011 school
year.
The next four years will not be the
easiest for Elizabeth Chang. In addition
to her position on the Board of Education,
Chang will be a full-time business major
and education minor at New York University. She will commute back to South
Brunswick every two weeks for the board
meetings, held at Crossroads North Middle
School.
Dr. McCartney identified two challenges
that Chang will have to face in the upcoming year: acquiring the base of knowledge
that other board members have and managing her rigorous college schedule and budget trainings.
“The piece that she doesn’t have is what
her college schedule will be like, but I have
no reason to believe that she won’t be able
to overcome her challenges,” he assured.
“As she becomes more comfortable on
the Board,” Vice President of the Board of
Education, Mr. Martin Abschutz, added,
“I anticipate Ms. Chang will share her
thoughts on the many policy issues and
challenges the Board of Education is confronted with.”
Chang listed her biggest goals for the
next four years as to “maintain, or possibly,
increase the teacher-to-student ratio, and to
improve technology in the schools by upgrading the server or by
replacing faulty computers.”
Chang has made history as one of only
four teenagers to be placed on a New Jersey Board of Education in the past decade.
“Try not to get discouraged. A lot of
people may not take you as seriously, because you’re not as old,” she said to other
students who may consider running for an
official position in the future.