November - South Brunswick School District

the v king vibe
INSIDE
THE
VIBE
FROM THE
EDITOR’S
DESK
GIRL
POWER!
page 2
page 10
World AIDS
Day 2008
an interview
with Georgia
Foulds
Volume 10 - Issue 2
November 2008
South Brunswick High School
750 Ridge Road
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852
SBHS SOCCER
wins third
straight red
division title
page 12
“LEONARDO DREAMS” TAKE FLIGHT
Alissa Messibov
2009
Glimpses of the SBHS Marching Band./PHOTOS
COURTESY OF Bill Gaze, www.bgsportshots.com
vibe:culture
Coming soon! Look for our new
entertainment section in future issues.
Writers meet on Tuesdays
in A205 with Mr. Honig!
On November 1, the Marching
Band traveled to Allentown, PA,
where it competed and won the
United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) Northern States
Championships.
The road to victory required a
great amount of work from both
students and teachers. While Mrs.
Ginny Kraft designed the visual aspect of this year’s show, Mr. Brian
Toth designed the vocals. A collaborator in North Carolina, Mr. Walter
Moore, created the percussion.
“With the effort of our staff and
band members, we created a beautiful show that told an amazing story,”
said drum major, senior Michael
Roche.
The show is entitled Leonardo
Dreams, based on a choral piece performed last year.
“Leonardo DaVinci was an artist,
inventor, musician,” said Mr. Mark
Kraft, “but the show focuses on
his desire to fly.”
The marching band enjoyed
many first place scores in
Piscataway and Edison.
Though the band received the highest score at
the Tournament of Champions, the annual show at
SBHS, its score did not count
due to host status.
At the USSBA Championship, the marching band
received first place in colorguard, visual performance,
and individual music, in addition to their overall win.
“I couldn’t be any more
proud of this band,” said
Roche.
http://www.sbschools.org/
schools/sbhs/school_information/
communications.php
2
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
news
From the
Editor’s
Desk:
World
Aids
Day
2008
The Viking Vibe
2008-2009 Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Anita Modi
E-vibe Editor
Hannah Green
Visual Coordinator
Jovelle Tamayo
Managing Editor
Amy Rowe
Sports Editor
Tom Dunleavy
Illustrator
Amishi Desai
Editorial Staff
Zohrain Hassam, Natalie Twerdowsky,
Saadia Ahmad, Samantha Orlan, Roshni Shah
Staff
Corey Allen, Riya Arora, Justin Berger, 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,
Tajah Ebram, 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, Danilyn Parlow
Tanvi Parmar, Ellen Plocic, Ektaa Sanghvi, 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
Aloh@sbschools.org. The Vibe 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.
When the AIDS outbreak first occured in the United States, as early as 1981,
the condition was quickly classifed as a ‘GRID’ (Gay-Related ImmunoDeficiency)
virus, and even more quickly dismissed by the American public as an irrelevant,
taboo problem plaguing the ‘social outcasts’ of San Francisco. But as the condition spread amongst homosexual men and, yes, even heterosexuals--finding new
victims in hemophiliacs and Haitians--awareness spread as well. The ‘GRID’ virus
was eventually reclassified as ‘AIDS’ (Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome), as
we know it today, and the government soon began to invest in the research of the
condition that would kill over 25 million people to date, as tallied by USAID, an
organization involved in various global issues.
In the time it took for this country to open up to the condition, comfortably
address the social issues surrounding it, and acknowledge December 1st as World
AIDS Day--a full seven years--the disease had spread to all parts of the world and
affected at least eight million people. And though admirable progress has been
made in the development of medicines for AIDS patients since the first World
AIDS Day in 1988, we must remember that as of yet, AIDS has no cure.
On World AIDS Day 2008, HiTOPS will be collecting money for AIDS treatment and research, to be donated to a local HIV/AIDS organization (the Hyacinth
Foundation) based in New Brunswick. As a member of HiTOPS, I might be slightly
biased in directing your participation in World AIDS Day to our fundraiser. If nothing else, though, this December 1st, take time to reflect on those who have died of
and those who are still affected by AIDS--a condition that has stumped the seemingly-invincible human race.
Anita Modi (‘09), Editor-in-Chief
Letter to the Editor
re: Paranoia?
Many freshmen find it easy to comply with school guidelines on many security
issues. However for those seniors who have been around for a full four years, it is
remarkable to see how much has changed – and I’m not talking about personal character.
The security measures in our school have changed drastically in these last four
years, and sometimes it is debatable if all these security measures are necessary.
Those who entered South Brunswick High School in 2005 may remember the
privilege of traveling from the old building to the annex via the school entrance near
C stairs and the main doors of the annex. Following freshman year these exits were
presumably locked due to safety reasons.
It is true that this exit allows for the chance to cut class, but yet there are other exits
by which to leave the school. Therefore the only logical rationale for blocking this
passage is to prevent strangers from entering the school.
Many of us wonder who would even want to arbitrarily infiltrate South Brunswick
High School in order to, knock on wood, hurt those who attend here. Does closing this
entrance really protect us, or does it simply give the image of safety? Also due to the
crowding of hallways, does it make sense to keep a valuable passage closed? We pride
our administration’s policy that keeps us safe, but does it err on the side of paranoia?
Couldn’t the doors simply be opened for passing time and then shut?
The decision remains up to the administration, but we may wonder if safety is a
worthy trade off for convenience.
Shaun Pande (‘09)
news
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
3
America’s Youth Helps Bring Change to America
Amishi Desai
2009
The youth vote of the 2008 presidential election has remained an omnipresent entity in the media for over a year.
In fact, analyses of the youth vote and
its importance have repeatedly permeated the newspapers and television news
broadcasts with the insistence that a new
“youth movement” or a growth in youth
political interest has commenced.
At a time as early as the state primaries, the significance of younger voters, defined as those from age 18-29 by
CNN, remained apparent as their prevalent involvement helped certain candidates, most notably President-Elect
Barack Obama, gain instrumental wins.
According to the TIME article, “The
Year of the Youth Vote” published on
January 31 , “[Obama’s] campaign has
been the first in decades, maybe in history, to be carried so far on the backs of
the young. His crushing margin of victory in Iowa came almost entirely from
voters under 25 years old.” Numerous
other state primary results, such as New
Hampshire, and South Carolina, similarly exemplified the impact of the youth
vote in determining the parties’ presidential nominees.
Moreover, the number of young
people who participated in the state primaries appreciably rose according to
the Washington Post article, “This Time
We Mean It: The Youth Vote Matters,”
which noted, “the number of young people voting quadrupled in Tennessee and
tripled in states such as Iowa, Missouri
and Texas.”
An October Gallop Poll originally
indicated that the amount of young voters who would vote in the 2008 election
would not be significant relative to the
number of young voters of the 2004
presidential election. It acknowledged
that the young voter turnout would still
be large (“Update: Little Evidence of
Surge in Youth Vote”).
Specifically, the poll displayed that
in comparison to the 80% of potential
young voters with a high possibility of
voting in the 2004 presidential election,
the percentage of 2008 potential young
voters who insisted on a great possibility of them voting was almost the same,
78%. The poll did, however, stress that
the percentages could change prior to
the presidential election.
On election day, young voters represented approximately 20% of the total voters, 66% of which voted for the
winning candidate--a percentage “much
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higher than in any previous election,”
according to BBC‘s analysis, “Who Voted for Obama.”
In terms of the battleground states,
such as Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina, the percentages of young voters, illustrated that the youth vote had a noticeable impact on the election outcome. In
the battleground states for which Obama
won, the majority of young voters voted
for Obama while the state percentage results were close for each candidate.
Particularly, in Ohio, with an overall
51% to 47% victory for Obama, the percentage of young voters was 17% with
61% of them voting for Obama, while
the other age groups of 30-44, 45-64
and 65+, showed percentages of 51%
vs. 47%, 53% vs. 46% and 44% vs. 55%
for Obama vs. McCain, respectively.
In North Carolina, 74% of the younger
voters voted for Obama while the overall percentages were 50% vs. 49% for
Obama and McCain, respectively.
“I think [the youth vote] had a big
impact on the election. A lot of people
were really apathetic towards the election and they did not really want have
anything to do with it, but this time it
was history in the making,” said senior
Yasmeen Ragi.
Even without considering the impact of the youth vote, the election was
definitely different this year, which encouraged younger voters to be actively
involved. According to the Washington
Post, among the reasons for greater
youth interest was the economy, which
college students were focused on for
their futures.
“I think it was the economic situation [that inspired youth involvement]
because college students would be
in debt and, because of interest rates,
would have to pay more. Celebrity endorsements were important in the voter
turnout too,” said senior Catherine Rojivrivat.
“I think [America’s youth was interested] because Obama was really young,
appealed to the middle class, and was a
minority. He made history by running
and I think that motivated a lot of young
people,” said Ragi.
While the youth vote had an impact
on the election, the election also had an
impact on youth.
“I just thought it was very interesting
because you saw a lot of people really
into the election in comparison to the
past,” said Rojvirat.
4
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
news
SBHS Hosts Election Day Dinner 2008
Anita Modi
2009
On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, over
fifty SBHS students and teachers gathered in the red cafeteria to witness history in the making. Why?
“It’s epic,” senior Dan Velez summarized, to which senior Jen Luck added,
“This is a big era of change. It’s going
to determine a lot of things, and we’re
going to be affected by it now.”
Senior Corey Webb described why she
decided to attend the event, as opposed
to watching the election coverage with
her family, saying, “There are people
your age here, and a mix of ideas. In my
house, everyone has the same views.”
While some came sporting Obama
’08 buttons and others were decked in
McCain-Palin attire, the majority of the
crowd—primarily the juniors and seniors of IPLE I, IPLE II, and AP U.S.
Government and Politics classes—did
not publicly display their candidate preferences and instead remained content to
simply wait and watch.
And watch they did. CNN blared on
the TV suspended from the ceiling of the
cafeteria, while a projector flashed stateby-state predictions from a variety of
stations onto a central whiteboard.
The participants of the event, organized by social studies teachers Mr.
Sean Cannon and Mr. Marc Lifland,
were treated to pizza and soda as they
saw each state commit to red or blue.
For extra credit, students contributed to
the food stash with brownies, ice cream,
and elaborate cakes.
Liz Butera, a senior in Mr. Cannon’s
IPLE II class, brought in a cake featuring
a map of the United States outlined in
blue, as well as red and blue icing tubes.
As each state was projected either red or
blue, Butera filled in her map. Because
Above: Cakes featuring symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties joined more traditional
popcorn, pretzels, and pizza on the food tables at SBHS’s Election Day Dinner./PHOTO BY Saadia
Ahmad (‘10)
the event ended at around 10:30pm,
though, the map was left partially unfilled as the race hadn’t yet finished.
Each state’s projected outcome had a
much larger meaning for the students of
Mr. Cannon’s AP U.S. Government and
Politics class, who made their own projections a week prior to election night.
Correctly-predicted states resulted in
extra credit points.
Apart from staring at the T.V. screen
with the intensity of people waiting
for their lottery numbers to be called,
the students engaged in heated debates
about the candidates and their running
mates— with President-Elect Barack
Obama and former VP candidate Sarah
Palin being hot topics of discussion.
Above: Juniors and
seniors of IPLE I,
IPLE II, and AP U.S.
Government and
Politics classes listen
to Mr. Sean Cannon’s
interpretations of
election projections;
Left: Students
decorate a special
cake for election night,
coloring each state
based on the projected
winner./PHOTOS BY
Saadia Ahmad (‘10)
“Sarah Palin invigorated the Republican ticket,” senior Aly Azhar pointed
out to Palin-bashers nearby, “After McCain added her to the ticket, they started
holding huge rallies together.”
Senior Stephanie Klarer, a supporter
of McCain, said, “I personally don’t
agree with [Sarah Palin’s] views, but
she’s on the ticket, so we’ll just have to
deal with it.”
Of Palin’s questionable experience as
a politician, senior Craig Maltese noted,
“I don’t think Obama’s any more experienced than Palin—and Obama’s the one
running for the top position.”
He acknowledged that any disparities
in the two candidates’ experience levels
were greatly exaggerated by Saturday
Night Live and other media.
“It’s biased,” he said, “SNL is clearly
a democratic network.”
Senior Brian Sichta argued that even
before Tina Fey’s latest parodies of Sarah Palin aired, “Voters had already made
up their minds.”
Senior Bria Walton countered, “[The
skits] may affect younger voters who
watch SNL and think ‘Oh, she’s dumb.’
They’re totally more likely to be influenced by SNL than older voters.”
“SNL had a great effect on this
election,” Mr. Cannon agreed, “The
media’s stereotyping of Palin solidified
the public’s hunch about her character,
her intelligence, everything. And once
that image was set, it was very hard to
change. You have to have control over
your public persona.”
Barack Obama maintained, as The
Washington Times reported on August
8, 2008, a “carefully choreographed persona as an unassailable agent of hope”
throughout his entire campaign—a
persona that yielded positive effects in
comparison to Palin’s negative ones.
“Barack Obama is just genuine,” junior Michelle Salim said of the Democratic candidate.
SBHS Principal Mr. Timothy Matheney, also an Obama-supporter, told of
how he stood in line in his hometown of
Montgomery on Election Day at 5:55am
to vote.
“Why am I so enthused? I have enormous respect for Barack Obama,” he
said.
Though the students attending the
event couldn’t share their voting stories
alongside their principal’s—not one
of the students had voted on that day-SBHS’s Election Day dinner proved
successful, serving as a casual place to
eat, talk, wear, and share politics.
news
Press Conference Addresses
Teen Driving Safety
Brandon James and
Jeff Veith
2010
South Brunswick High School and
the Middlesex County Association of
Chiefs of Police held a press conference at SBHS on October 21 discussing
the major concerns of teen safety. The
purpose of the press conference was to
make people aware that teen deaths in
car accidents are significant, and that
measures need to be taken for prevention.
The conference was a part of Teen
Violence Prevention Week, which ran
from October 20 to October 24.
The meeting covered a variety of
important points. Various speakers and
county leaders were at the meeting, including Middlesex County Freeholders
Mr. Christopher Rafano and Mr. Ronald
Rios. Topics that were also covered included teen motor vehicle crashes, drugs
and alcohol, abusive relationships, and
the GDL Program.
Junior David Harry said, “Teen
deaths in car crashes are a huge problem, I think. The sad thing is some teens
act like they just don’t care.”
Middlesex County Chief of Police
Mr. Raymond Hayducka said, “I believe
alcohol and drugs play a role in teen fatalities and the best way we can prevent
that is to educate teens about the dangers
of drugs and alcohol. I also think that the
last of experience plays into it, which is
why we have the Graduated Driver License (GDL) Program.”
Junior Brendan Fitzpatrick said, “I
think that teen violence and deaths on
the road is very serious. I always worry
someone I know will get hurt.”
Freeholder Rios said, “Teen deaths on
the road are very sad and happen mostly
at happy times like prom weekend, football games, and parties. We, as a government, are establishing many programs
geared toward solving these fatalities.”
Officials at the meeting stated that
forty-four percent of teen deaths are motor vehicle crashes, nineteen percent are
homicides, fourteen percent are suicides,
and twenty three percent are “other.”
Freeholder Rafano said, “I think the
most major factor of teen casualties on
the road is the lack of experience. Another problem is that teens think they are
invincible and take too many risks.”
Generally speaking, teens are inexperienced drivers and the main assumption
associated with young drivers is that
they drive too fast, too dangerously, and
flat out foolishly.
According to an article on cdc.gov, a
government funded website, posted by
John DeAnnzio on October 24, 2004, car
crashes are the leading death of American teens. Of these crashes, ten thousand
of these deaths are passengers.
Sixteen- year olds have higher crash
rates and they are more likely to die in
an automotive accident than any other
age group, according to the CDC.
This is because sixteen-year olds
are the newest drivers on the road, and
therefore will ultimately make the most
mistakes while driving. In 2007, 3500
motor vehicle deaths were of people
from ages fifteen to twenty.
Sophomore Zeeshan Syed stated, “I
believe that it is well known that teenage drivers are usually more reckless
than adult drivers because they are less
experienced.”
Due to these numbers, insurance rates
are extremely high for teenage drivers.
Policies for males are higher than those
of females because they have accounted
for a higher percentage of deaths on the
road, according to the aforementioned
article.
However, both males and females
between the ages of fifteen and twenty
cause thirteen percent of car-related
deaths.
Junior Brendan Fitzpatrick said,
“Sometimes I’m afraid of the strict laws
that they will eventually make for teenage drivers because teens drive so recklessly.”
According to another article on cdc.
gov, posted by Phil Mulhaley on June 3,
2007, more than twenty percent of new
drivers, aged sixteen to nineteen, do
not wear seat belts. This increases their
chances of a serious injury or even death
by four hundred percent.
Student Assistance Counselor Ms.
Pam Major said, “I believe that a lot of
teen fatalities and accidents occur because teens are inexperienced, overconfident, take too many risks, and imitate
other reckless drivers because it appears
cool to them. I also think that drugs and
alcohol play a huge role because people
think, ‘Oh, it will never happen to me,’
which is not the case.”
Indeed statistics state that alcohol can
play a huge role in car accidents and wild
driving. Of the drivers aged between fifteen to twenty who had died in a motor
vehicle accident last year, twenty three
percent of them had a blood alcohol
content of 0.08 g/dl or higher, which is
barely the legal limit. Drunk driving can
apply to those under the age of twentyone, not only those individuals who are
over the legal age, according to cdc.
gov.
Sophomore Kyle Aumack said, “I
know when I start to drive I’m going to
be careful and also aware of other teenage drivers because they are inexperienced.”
Many leaders in the state of New
Jersey feel that teen safety and violence
prevention is a top priority. They urge
teens to slow down, pay attention, and
be safe. If they do all these things, the
road will be a much safer place for teens
and everyone else.
The Viking Vibe
November 2008
5
Ici, on parle français!
We speak French here!
Above: Students sing traditional French songs at the French Breakfast./PHOTOS BY Jovelle
Tamayo (‘09)
Reshma Erukulla
2009
Upon entering the freshman cafeteria
at 7:30 am on Wednesday, November 5,
a stranger would find French students
from SBHS shouting French greetings
such as, “Bonjour” or “Salut.”
The French Breakfast, sponsored by
the French Honor Society and French
Club, allowed French students of all
levels to enjoy the French culture and
French food together.
After everyone settled down, F.H.S.
President Reshma Erukulla and F.H.S.
Vice President Alexandra Leonardo
gave welcome speeches in both French
and English to welcome the French students. Following the speeches, Mrs. Maria Economides called tables to go and
get the French food on either side of the
cafeteria.
The many French delicacies ranged
from croissants to Nutella and from
quiche to Madelines--just as the menu
featured last year. However, there was a
slight change this year with regards to
entertainment during the breakfast.
While the students sat at their tables
with their food and friends, a slideshow by French teacher, Mr. Eric Miele
played on the white screen. The slide-
show featured aspects of French culture,
portrayed through a series of fun facts.
The breakfast additionally had a special guest from Rutgers University, Mr.
Uri Eienzweig, who is a professor of
French and Comparative Literature.
Mr. Eienzweig joined the French
students towards the end of the French
breakfast, accordion in hand. With Mr.
Eienzwieg’s accompaniment, the French
students sang “Champs-Elysees” and
“La Marseillaise.”
Mr. Miele said, “ [It] was kind of
disappoint[ing] when not many students
came but there’s always next year.” Yet,
even though not as many students came
to the French breakfast as he had hoped,
the ones that did come enjoyed it to their
heart’s content. Attendees also received
the opportunity to earn extra credit in
their French classes by completing word
searches and puzzles provided at the end
of the breakfast.
Simply put by freshman Venkat Yenumandra, “I really loved the French
breakfast and I’m definitely going again
next year!”
Monika Nandi (‘12) also contributed to
this article.
Below: A prize is awarded at the French Breakfast; A musical performace with an SBHS teacher
and guest./PHOTOS BY Jovelle Tamayo (‘09)
6
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
South Brunswick
September 11 Memorial
in Need of Donations
Melissa Katz remembrance fountain, reflection pool,
and Ashna Pai a quiet seating area and garden. Three
2011 blocks of granite make up the fountain
In front of the municipal building
on Ridge Road in Monmouth Junction
stands a tranquil memorial in memory of
the September 11 attacks that took place
seven years ago.
Unfortunately, not many members
of the South Brunswick community are
aware that this memorial is in desperate
need of donations in order to maintain
it.
Three years ago, on September
11, 2005, this memorial in the form
of a running fountain was unveiled to
the public. The ceremony had notable
speakers, like the mayor and city
councilmen. There was a moment of
silence and a presentation from the
South Brunswick Police Department
Honor Guard.
The South Brunswick Arts Commission
held a state-wide competition to decide
the on the proper design for the memorial.
Out of twenty-eight designs submitted,
Amado Batour of Somerset conceived
the three granite blocks design.
The memorial consists of a
to represent the three South Brunswick
citizens who died.
In order to keep the memorial a
place that people can go to reflect, the
community finds it necessary to ask for
donations to maintain the fountain, and to
keep this memorial alive and proud.
Two donors in Middlesex County
bought two out of the three benches,
for $25,000. The last one is still up for
purchase. The township is also selling
paving blocks that encircle the memorial
for a cheaper price. Each of the paving
blocks is $100 with $25 to engrave a
message in to the brick.
Unlike most memorials, South
Brunswick does not use tax dollars to
fund the memorial. It relies solely on
donations. Even five dollars can make a
difference and help the South Brunswick
September 11 memorial live on.
For more information contact the South
Brunswick Township at 732-329-4000
ext. 7275 or by email at rschmalz@sbtnj.
org.
news
SBHS Hosts Violence
Prevention Week
Corey Allen
and Jordan Smith
2009
During the week of October 20, SBHS
hosted Violence Prevention Week, designated to make everyone aware of violence in schools.
Ms. Cleo Lowinger, Student Assistance Counselor, said “this week highlights different issues such as dating
abuse, bullying, and ways people assault
each other.”
The week’s goal was to make people
aware of how to effectively resolve conflicts with one another, while treating
each other respectfully. It is hoped that
the information throughout the week
will not only affect the high school students and faculty members, but the entire community as well.
“I believe in the domino theory,”
said Ms. Lowinger, “someone will learn
something and impact someone else,
and it will ultimately affect everybody.”
Most students had the same idea as
Ms. Lowinger.
“Violence Prevention should be promoted throughout the whole year. There
shouldn’t be a designated week,” said
senior Omer Saleh, “Violence is never
the answer.”
Senior Armando Vitan said, “I think it
makes our town a safer place.”
There were different types of violence focused on each day of the week.
To promote awareness, there were announcements made on VTN and posters
with tips on how to deal with violence
posted around the school. One of the
posters was shaped as a stop sign and
read, “Stop Violence.”
The main activity was two tables,
located in the cafeteria alcove and outside of the freshmen cafeteria, with materials and information about preventing
violence. Here, people had the chance
to sign a pledge to not insult and hurt
others. After signing a pledge, students’
names were put into a lottery to win
various prizes, including t-shirts, New
Jersey Nets tickets and discounts to local stores.
Not all students were in support of
Violence Prevention week.
“It makes violent students want to be
more violent by knowing that people are
trying to prevent it,” said senior Jeremy
Zadek.
Ms. Lowinger countered, “Over the
past few years, statistics have shown
that discussing these issues makes kids
aware of them, and not want to commit
acts of violence.”
Ms. Lowinger said that Violence Prevention Week was successful in opening
up many eyes to the dangers of violence
and the importance of preventing it.
Next year, Ms. Lowinger hopes to organize a speaker to make a presentation
on violence prevention to the school.
Vikings Await Thanksgiving Day Game
Keith Zients
and David Mariano
2010
South Brunswick is playing visitor to
another Gobble day rivalry game. North
Brunswick hosts South Brunswick on
November 27 at 10:00am for the annual
exhibition game, hoping for a repeat
victory.
There is a long-standing rivalry
between these schools as they played
regular season games against each other
prior to division splits, after which South
Brunswick moved to the larger Red
Division because of the rapid increase
in the populatin of students. Always a
heated contest, the exhibition game at
the end of every season recreates the
rivalry between the two schools.
Junior Jeff Goldhagen said, “Last
year we lost because we came out flat
and didn’t play our game. Ending the
season with a loss motivated us this offseason to work hard so that it doesn’t
happen again. We have been waiting for
revenge.”
South Brunswick is expected to win
this year, despite its crushing loss last
year. The Vikings stand 7-1 hoping and
planning to take down the 6-2 Raiders.
Quarterbacks senior Tim Doehler
and junior Mike Muha lead the Viking
attack. The rushing crew consists
of seniors Thomas Dunleavy, Justin
McLendon, and Cody Shelcusky. The
receiving staff is led by seniors Danny
“Ace” Acevado, Jimmy Mikedes, and
Mike “Icey” Ferrara.
“We prepare for this rivalry game
all year. It’s the seniors last game, and
we want them to end their careers with a
win,” said junior linebacker Will Osley.
“The coaching staff and the kids
have been working hard all year and we
just need to execute,” Coach Mr. Peter
Jankowicz said.
Defense will be key for a South
Brunswick victory. In order to win,
they will need to stop the run, and put
pressure on the Raiders’ quarterback.
Senior linebacker Devin Young leads
the Vikings’ defense, with a lot of help
from shut-down corners senior Justin
McLendon and Dunleavy.
“I cant wait for this game,” said
sophomore Patrick Roy, “Every year I
go to this game. It’s always fun to watch
the seniors enjoy their last game.”
With luck, the Vikings’ hard work
this season will pay off as they face
their Thanksgiving Day game against
the Raiders.
Football players on the field./PHOTOS COURTESY OF Bill Gaze.
features
The Viking Vibe
November 2008
Turn the Music Up!
Less Paper...
More Keys
The New AMPED Club
Amy Rowe
2009
This year’s AMPED club has an
entirely new feel to it, as noted by
some of its members. In previous
years, the club served as an open
forum for students to play their
instruments, but most of the time the
meetings were loosely structured
around music appreciation and
topics related to music.
Now with social studies
teacher Mr. Justin Negraval as its
new advisor, the club has been
reformatted and pointed in a new
direction.
Mr. Negraval said, “I want
AMPED to be the center for music
in this community. I want it to be
concerned with everything related
to music, and really serve as practice
space for student musicians who
don’t always have access to such
space at home. I also think AMPED
could potentially be a place for
people to learn about the ins and
outs of the music industry.”
The club has held a few meetings
this year, and club members seem
to be reacting positively.
Club member and senior Adrianne
Gold said, “I really like the new
direction AMPED is going in. I also
hope Mr. Negraval lets me play his
key-tar when he brings it in!”
The old AMPED seemed to only
attract guitar players interested in
playing some form of rock, but this
year the club is trying to bring in
an eclectic array of instrumentalists
to its meetings, as well as students
who listen to various genres.
Social coordinator and senior
Devin Sanclemente said, “I feel that
AMPED this year has the potential
to become a beacon for all aspiring
musicians and music enthusiasts.
[We have] an enthusiastic group of
members this year, and meetings
have been a lot more promising, so
I think that this can be achieved.”
AMPED plans to hold its annual
acoustic concert in early 2009, with
a new spin- a coffee house acoustic
night. A second concert is possibly
in the works for the end of the
school year, which will resemble a
festival-like atmosphere.
For anyone interested in joining
AMPED, meetings are held every
other Thursday in room A209.
7
Aaron Lassin
2011
As newer technology begins to settle
around the world, newspapers are becoming less utilized and are not a number one news priority. Almost everyone
is one click away from getting all the
news they may need.
Once the norm for every family in
the United States, newspapers have taken the back seat to the twenty first century. Newspaper companies all around,
from this area to the New York Times
are looking for something to save their
traditional business.
As almost every household owns at
least one computer, just about every one
has learned how to navigate himself or
herself through the World Wide Web.
They no longer have the restrictions of
the same newspaper, that may be found
outside on the driveway every morning, they can now read newspapers from
Texas, India, Jamaica and even Dubai.
Sophomore Zachary Crowley says,
“Whenever I wake up in the morning, I
must read the newspaper. Since I may
get tired of the local ones, I can just surf
the web and learn about other things
concerning the world.”
Almost everyone’s voice is heard
regarding various subjects, so as each
newspaper continues to put more and
more of their written information on
their websites, more people will want to
read what others have to say.
When the paper is delivered to a household, a subscription is usually mandated.
For example, a weekly subscription to
The Star Ledger costs $4.95 a week.
The New York Times cost $5.30.
Junior Ben Waller said “Why should
anyone pay to read the news? At anytime of the day anyone could be reading
the newspaper in seconds and paying
nothing for it.”
Especially because people are begin-
ning to think more and more about what
they’re really spending their money on,
if they can find a way to get it for less or
practically free, they will take it.
Speed also plays a part into the evolution of newspapers. The majority of
people dislike waking up as it is, and to
go outside to find the same exact thing
that is right in their household, just does
not bode well. Speed is now an essential
for finding innovation. It increases the
ability for everyone to do things faster,
especially reading the news.
When people read online newspapers
or news websites, they can find various
information regarding similar topics.
Some may be true and others may sound
very farfetched.
On the other hand, a big problem
with the shift from printed papers to
online papers is that they can be easily
fabricated. With technology becoming
easier and easier to tap into, people can
write false things, regarding the news or
world events.
Sophomore Aubrienne Tuskey said,
“When I go on news websites to find
information, I look in several places at
once, because at times I am skeptical
with what people may write or say, and
I may have trouble finding who’s right
or wrong.”
Also as it becomes a more web generation, the younger generation could
possibly thrive. Since people now a days
are better with computers, there could be
more demand for online articles.
In conclusion it is becoming more
and more apparent that you no longer
will be eating breakfast with a newspaper in front of you, but rather a keyboard. With South Brunswick High
School already jumping on technologies
bandwagon, you can now begin reading
the new and improved online version of
the VIBE, right in your household. The
newspaper had a long run, but technology just does not care.
8
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
Nike-A Proven
High School Trend
features
Obesity Still a
Concern for Teens
Cody McHugh
2009
While walking through the hallways of South Brunswick High School, a very
peculiar trend can be noticed by just looking down- a large number of students sporting Nike Brand Sneakers.
“Nikes are the foundation of the sneaker culture,” says junior Jay Guo, “They’re
the most fashionable and comfortable sneakers, which is why I prefer them to other
brands.”
Nike has emerged as a huge and evident trend at South Brunswick, and worldwide
as well. Nike products such as Nike Dunks, Nike Skateboarding, and Air Jordans are
some of the well known and popular styles.
However many students don’t know the history of the sneaker that they wear on
their feet every day as they walk through the halls from class to class.
Nike started out as a small shoe importing company created by Bill Bowerman
and Phil Knight in 1963. It was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports and was based
in Portland, Oregon.
Now Nike is available in 110 countries and is endorsed by famous athletes like
Michael Jordan and Lebron James.
The Nike Swoosh logo, which was created for $35, is now almost universally
recognized.
The trend is very evident throughout South Brunswick, and it may not be going
anywhere anytime soon.
“Nike is my favorite brand of sneakers,” said senior Travis Hayes, “It’s the only
brand of sneakers I would even consider wearing.”
Guo agreed, “It’s Nikes all the way for me, I would never let another brand go
near my feet.”
“I wear Nikes because they’re comfortable,” said senior Ann Halmi, “I also like
the way they look, too.”
Style and comfort are two major qualities that a sneaker brand needs to be popular,
however Hayes thinks it may be something different.
“Nike has created a tradition of excellence,” he said, “Just hearing the name Nike
makes you think of a good shoe.”
Nike certainly has grown into a large school wide, nationwide, and even global
trend. This trend has hit South Brunswick hard, and by the looks of things, it is here
to stay.
Riya Arora
and Nicole Tyburczy
2011, 2010
According to Science Daily, the number-one health concern among teens is
obesity.
“The increase in the obesity rate in
teens is directly related to the fact that
more kids today live an inactive lifestyle, don’t have a nutritious diet, and
don’t get the recommended sleep on a
regular basis,” said physical education
teacher, Mr. John Coppola.
He said, “These factors increase the
potential weight gain and health issues
down the road.”
“I don’t think teens are doing enough
physical activity, because they’re getting lazier which is causing obesity,”
said sophomore Yara Ourfali.
In an article from the American Council on Exercise entitled “Teens, Fitness,
and You,” posted last December, 38 percent of teens get the exercise they need,
which means that the other 62 percent
could be setting themselves up for obesity or other types of health risks later
on in their lives, such as heart problems
or diabetes.
The American Council on Exercise
also stated that in order to prevent child
obesity, parents should begin encouraging exercise at a young age. Studies
show that teens that play sports or that
are involved in other physical activities
are less likely to have health problems
when they get older. Sports are a helpful way to get teens active because they
are not only physically involved, but socially involved as well.
According to www.USATODAY.
com, in an article posted on July 16, “As
kids get older, they drop the ball on exercise.” Specifically, American kids exercise less and less between the ages of
nine and 15, meaning that fewer than a
third of 15-year-olds get an hour of vigorous physical activity a day.
School nurse Mrs. Susan Paris suggested that teens are becoming less and
less active because of today’s technology.
“It’s easier to play computer games
than it is to go outside and shoot baskets,” she explained.
Junior Lindsey Perry-Rawls said,
“Teens don’t get enough exercise because they have found other types of
outlets that consume their time.”
If kids get enough exercise, it will
make them stronger academically as
well. However, this is not the only beneficial ‘side-effect’ of exercise. Other rewards include a better physical appearance, especially as aging sets in.
Experts say that teens should set
aside at least an hour a day for exercise
or physical activity, such as playing a
sport.
“I think that some teens are afraid
to tryout for sports because the competition in high school is at an all-time
high,” said junior Rheanna Sessa.
High school sports can sometimes
tend to exclude overweight kids and
lower their self-esteem. Some other
ideas to get teens more active include
riding bikes, jumping on trampolines,
swimming, running, playing soccer, or
even dancing.
“Exercise at any age is important because of the health benefits you obtain
through exercise and eating properly. It
helps you perform your daily tasks with
a greater energy level, as well as increasing your focus and enhancing your
overall performance,” said Mr. John
Coppola.
Overall, the message that needs to be
directed to teens is turn off the TV, get
off the computer, and get active because
in the long run, teens can only benefit.
features
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
9
Habitat for Humanity
Helps Rebuild Lives
Jaya Chinnaya
20??
Habitat for Humanity (H4H) is an
organization that houses in the fight to
eliminate poverty. SBHS played its part
by helping to build houses in an East
Trenton site.
Members sixteen or older participate
in the building itself, but younger members used fundraising for the organization and club as an alternative.
Fundraisers held included the Friendly’s Dinner, Hot Hands Sale at Powder
Puff, the Tool Drive, the Book Sale, the
Car Wash Tickets Sale, and the Pancake
Breakfast.
“H4H benefits students and their futures because it is a great opportunity
for students to be involved in community service,” said Ms. Alison Cooper,
the club’s co-advisor, along with librarian Ms. Kristin Mangino “[H4H] gives
students a sense of accomplishment and
satisfaction, knowing that they’re helping someone in need.”
Ms. Cooper believes this club gives
students the ability to learn the significance of giving back, and that this lesson will follow them into their college
careers and beyond.
Club membership has been a “snowball” effect, helping the club increase its
funds and ability to build.
“This is only my second year advising the club, but it seems as though the
membership numbers have increased as
well as the number of students at build
every month in Trenton,” Ms. Cooper
said.
Club members and officers have a
similar outlook on H4H. The club’s
president, senior Monica Agrawal, believes that joining the club was one of
the best decisions she ever made.
“Through the organization and club,
I’ve been able to volunteer and to help
people in a practical but valuable way”,
Agrawal said, “A home is one of the
most meaningful things one can have,
and helping people attain a home is precious.”
She has several responsibilities as a
club officer.
“As president, I have to oversee the
club and make sure everything runs
smoothly” she said, “This means doing work wherever needed, whenever
needed. All the officers in Habitat really
work together as a team; sometimes the
lines between our duties get blurred,”
Agrawal said.
“I joined because I think it is important to get involved with the community,” said freshman, Prachi Vyas. Since
the freshmen are new to the school, H4H
can be a way to dive into SBHS.
“I think that H4H is a great opportuni-
ty to help others and meet new people,”
said freshman, Jenny Shah, “I wish I
was old enough to build, but since I cant
I will still visit the site and try to help
with other activities.”
H4H has not seen any limitations or
funding problems for the club so far. Students provide their own transportation to
the Trenton site. All donations support
the club and organization directly.
Habitat for Humanity meets once
a month in room 211; for more details
about meeting dates and sign up information, contact Ms. Cooper or Ms.
Mangino at Alison.Cooper@sbschools.
org or Kristen.Mangino@sbschools.org.
New School Policies for
Cell phones and iPODs
Ashley Nelson
and Jake Stern
2011
This year a new rule has been
added to SBHS the student handbook in regards to Ipods in the
cafeteria. The new rule states that
students are able to use their ipods
during their lunch period, but not
during any other time in school.
The Administration stated the
rule after they received feedback
from multiple students that they
felt they should have the opportunity to listen to their music doing
their lunch period.
Assistant principal Peter Varela
said, “The administration encour-
ages students to
reach out whenever they have
questions regarding rules or decisions. Students
should utilize the
student senate,
administration
and faculty. We
need to keep the
line of communications open.”
Some students
think that south
Brunswick High
School is contradicting itself.
Sophomore
Utsarga Sikder
argued, “I don’t
understand why
ipods are allowed to be in the cafeteria but
cell phones aren’t”
According to Mr. Varela, cell
phones bring up an entirely different issues than iPods. IPods
are not able to take pictures record video or send text messages
to other students in class. Cell
phones are a bigger distraction
than a student quietly listening to
music. Ipods are not allowed in
hap classes because they create an
issue by distracting students who
are trying to utilize their time by
doing work.
Other students feel that the high
school is being hypocritical, this
year the staff is becoming stricter
with ipods in the classroom and
in the halls.
“The administration is contradicting itself they should either
allow ipods to be used during free
time or not at all” Said Freshman
Mike Lordi
According to Mr. Varela When
the administration asked students
why Cell Phones should be allowed in the cafeteria, the students could not give them a valid
answer.
Students will always be trying to come up with convincing
reasons why the administration
should allow cell phones in school
but the outcome looks very unlikely. The staff is always trying
to prevent the use of cell phones
and iPods in class because of the
potential distractions they cause.
10
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
sports
Run, Vikes, Run!
Fourth Annual Race Successful
Maxine Deines
2012
On November 2, over three hundred
runners participated in the fourth annual
Run with the Vikings 5K (RWTV5K) at
the high school, with proceeds benefiting the Vikings Athletic Club (VAC).
Through the 5K, the VAC raised
over $8000, thanks to the efforts of the
race directors, Mr. Robert and Mrs. Ro
Tona.
“This year was the most successful [race] out of the four years,” said Mr.
Tona.
The money raised will help fund
awards that are given to exceptional athletes, the annual senior awards banquet,
college scholarships for senior athletes,
and the needs of the marching band and
sports teams.
The 5K began at 10:00 on the Sunday morning, with the 1 Mile Fun Run
beginning half an hour earlier at 9:30.
Later at 11:00 was a Kiddie Race for
children twelve and under.
In the 5K, the racers followed a police car around the streets of the neighborhoods in Monmouth Junction as they
ran for 3.1 miles, starting and finishing
in the high school’s parking lot.
Volunteers, including students from
the high school, helped organize the
events and cheer the runners on. They
also helped time the racers in to get accurate times. Many people from both the
community and the school participated
in the race, and helped benefit the VAC.
SBHS’s own Matt Boley, a senior,
won the 5K with a time of 17:38. He,
Dan, and Bill Boley also won the Fittest Family Award. First place female
finisher in the 5K was Amy Buhoski
from North Brunswick, with a time of
20:01. Kristen Cooney and Senior Kevin
O’Laughlin won the 1 Mile Fun Run
Winner of the fittest teacher award
was Mr. Stefan Morehead and Mrs.
Nicole Furyk. Results were calculated
with help from www.bestrace.com, and
results can be found there.
Mrs. Furyk said that she was excited
about winning an award. “[I ran in the
5K] because I teach here, so I wanted to
support the Vikings,” she also said.
Freshman Ian Mortiz, president of
his class, also enjoyed running in the
race to help the school. He jokes, “I’ve
been training for years to dominate in
this race.”
O’Laughlin said that it felt good to
get a good place, adding, “I wanted to
Above: Participants of the fourth annual Run with the Vikings event stretch on the pavement./
PHOTOS BY Jovelle Tamayo (‘09)
get a good time, [and] I care more about
the time than the place.”
All of the racers received “goodie
bags,” as Mr. Tona referred to them.
They contained pamphlets, prizes, and
coupons donated by many of the sponsors, which included the Rehabilitation
Center, Princeton Sports Center, AwardPros of Princeton, Halter’s Bicycle
Shop, and Brunswick Urgent Care. They
also received a T-shirt custom-made for
the race.
After the race, the runners enjoyed
refreshments also donated from sponsors such as Dunkin Donuts. Many of
the sponsors also donated prizes to the
raffle held after the race, which runners
from all races were entered in. Panasonic Toughbook, another of the race’s
sponsors, donated a flat screen TV to the
raffle.
“We would not be able to put up such
a good event if it wasn’t for the sponsors,” Mr. Tona said.
The 5K has proven to be very popular, as 314 runners ran in the 5K this
year compared to the 178 from last year.
Mr. Tona said that the race is getting
bigger with the addition of new awards,
such as the fittest teacher award. He still,
however, wants to continue with his success.
“My goal is to get over 500 runners
into the 5K, and we’re getting there,” he
said.
SBHS Gymnastics Team:
Perfection in Every Performance
The SBHS Gymnastics team gathers for recognition at the GMCs; Left: A stellar performance on
the balance beam./PHOTOS COURTESY OF Bill Gaze, www.bgsportshots.com
Breona Garrison
2010
The SBHS gymnastics team began
the 2008-2009 school year by finishing fourth at Sectionals and second at
GMCs, due to their hard work and perseverance throughout the season.
After struggling last year, the team
was able to pick up the broken pieces
this year and work together towards
one common goal. Even though it was
a tough road, they achieved success as a
whole team, and not just as individuals.
Senior and Captain Marissa Liptak was injured over the summer and
couldn’t contribute any more records,
allowing other team members to step up
for the challenge.
Junior Jess Macay, for example, was
the only player who took first place in
an event.
As Coach Mrs. Mindy Verdarami
said, “the gymnasts worked together,
broke records, and even broke some of
Marissa’s too.”
According to Coach Verdarami, their
season “was almost bittersweet” because
of their wins throughout the season. This
year differed from last year because a lot
more focus was placed on completing each
event with utter perfection.
“We won ten dual meets and lost one.
We finished at sectionals in fourth place,”
junior Ilana Berger said of this season. The
team was again able to qualify for the state
championship due to their admirable season.
“As a team, we became a lot stronger and
we really got along well,” junior Rebekah
Clavin said about how close the team grew
this season.
Their season isn’t quite over because
their current standing gives them the opportunity to participate, and, hopefully, to
win at the state tournament.
Coach Verdarami confidently concluded, “there’s nothing I would do differently
[about this season] because we were near
perfect.”
sports
SBHS
Fall Sports Capsule
Tom Dunleavy
2009
Football (7-1) - For the first time in
school history, the Vikings have won the
GMC Red Division (Co-champions),
and are the #1 seed in the Central Group
IV State Playoffs. Last Friday, the Vikings defeated (#8 seed) Pennsauken
21-12. This Friday, they will face Brick
Memorial in the semi-finals at home.
Boys Soccer (15-3-2) – The Vikings
ended their season after losing in the
GMC semi-fianls and the first round of
the state playoffs. Although they had an
abrupt ending, they had a great season
and won the GMC Red Division for the
3rd straight year. Seniors Sean Tyree,
Kazuki Yamada, and Kevin Gramata
led the way for this extremely balanced
team.
November 2008
Girls Cross Country – The Lady Vikings
continued their successful season last
week when they won the Central Jersey Group IV sectionals at Jamesburg’s
Thompson Park. Freshmen Cayla Del
Piano played a huge role with her 6th
place finish. Seven SBHS runners now
move onto Saturday’s State Group Meet
in Holmdel where the top three finishing
teams advanced to the Nov. 22 Meet of
Champions. Look out for more news in
the December issue.
Gymnastics – The gymnastics team has
a lot to be proud of after they advanced
as a team to the NJSIAA state tournament. The Vikings compiled a score of
111.425 to finish fourth in the Section 2
meet and 7th among all sectional teams
in the state. The score was enough to
earn SBHS an at-large berth as one of
the 10 teams in Friday’s state championship at Hunterdon Central. Freshman
Lindsay Carbone and juniors Jess Macay
and Shannon Martin have also advanced
to the all-around competition.
Volleyball (8-16) – After finishing in the
top 5 in the GMC a year ago, and graduating eight seniors, the girl’s volleyball
team was in the rebuilding stage this
year. The team did its best to stay afloat
in the highly competitive GMC. Seniors
Jess Pietrefessa, Katie Rolwood, Jess
Strincoski, and Emily Gabriele were
great leaders for this team.
11
Girls Volleyball Team Spikes
Competition
Zach Cohen and Aaron Lassin
2010, 2011
While the football team and soccer teams
have soaked up most of the South Brunswick
glory, one team went under the radar as a
solid team. The girl’s varsity volleyball team
reflects on a year of up and downs, finally
ending their season after winning one round
of the GMC tournament, and finishing 8-16.
After last season’s stellar performance
both regular and post season, this years’ Vikings had a lot to prove for this upcoming
season. The team ended last season at a record of 14-12 and made it into the GMC’S.
Having to replace key players and leaders, the
team had big shoes to come in and fill.
Head coach and VTN teacher Shaun Ruy-
men said, “I feel like this season we came in with a lot of good players, but a lot of
young ones. I knew we had the talent to win, we just had to put it together.”
As the grueling season began in August, practices and the preseason started.
The players were more than ready to show the coaches what they were made of as
individuals and as a team.
Sophomore varsity player Jessica Sesma said, “August was a hectic time due
to practice and preseason games, but we all came in feeling confident and ready to
face the opposition.”
As the season began, the team got off to a strong start with convincing wins
against Piscataway and Edison High School. Since then it has been a roller coastar
of wins and losses. As the GMC’S began the team took on a tough team of Edison.
They held their own winning 2-1 and moving on to the next round. The next round
would bring a harder opponent in Mother Seton High School. The girl would lose
2-0, and their GMC’S ended.
Sophomore varsity player Rachel Vogel said, “We had some tough breaks here
and there, but I feel like our team became one, although in a losing effort.
The season may have come to an end, but this team, young and experienced
now, is ready to win in the upcoming years. The GMC final is on their radar for
next year.
Boys Cross Country – Senior Matt Boley had a clutch 7th-place finish in the
Cross Country sectionals and was the
only member of the team to compete in
the State Group IV. Matt completed a
very successful season last weekend and
is now preparing for Winter Track.
Girls Soccer (13-7) – The lady Vikings
accomplished a lot this year as they
reached the semi-finals of the GMCT. A
huge win over Monroe in the first round
of the state tournament kept their exciting season alive. Their season ended after a loss to #2 seeded East Brunswick in
the 2nd round of the state tournament.
The Viking Vibe
Team photographs of SBHS Girl’s Volleyball./PHOTOS
COURTESY OF Bill Gaze, www.bgsportshots.com
12
November 2008
The Viking Vibe
sports
GIRL POWER!
An Interview with Georgia Foulds
Samantha Orlan
2010
Georgia Foulds is #10 and defensive player on SBHS’s Varsity Ice Hockey team as well as its only girl. While
hockey is a major part of her life, as she
plays with both the school team and an
all-girls travel team, friends are also important to her. The following is an interview with Foulds in reference to being
a female player participating in a maledominated sport.
The Viking Vibe (VV): When did you
start ice hockey and how did you get interested?
Georgia Foulds (GF): I started ice-skating in fourth grade and I started my first
year of travel in fifth grade for the Princeton Tigers. My mother used to play ice
hockey so she brought me into the rink
to try skating and I liked it.
VV: Did it being a male-dominated sport
impact your decision to play?
GF: Not at all, it was either play hockey or do ballet on ice really. I hadn’t
thought about how it was mainly guys
who played at the time, I just wanted to
play some sport and figure skating didn’t
count to me.
VV: What’s the difference in terms of
how you are perceived as a girl by your
teammates, from grade to grade?
GF: My teammates become more and
more judgmental, like when I was
younger and at the same height and
weight, I was always captain or assistant.
I like hitting kids and I was able to take
them out because we were more even.
Now it’s like I don’t stand a chance, and
the guys don’t expect so much from me
because I’m so much smaller now. They
see me on the ice and kind of judge me
like, “She’s a girl, she’s gonna suck.” Or
it’s like I’m like the ‘rep’ for all girls.
It depends what team I’m playing on
and how I compare to them of course.
In travel, with my own age, I’m one
of the better players and they’re all respectful and nice. Varsity freshman year
though was hard because I was one of
the weaker players. How good you are
compared to the other players has everything to do with how they are with you,
so sophomore year was easier because
I was better, and I’m guessing this year
will be better too because the guys coming up will be the only ones judging me.
The guys already in high school already
know what I can do and won’t bother
me.
VV: Is the school team the only team
you play on?
GF: Nah, I’ve been playing travel hockey since fifth grade, Princeton Tigers
in fifth grade, then sixth through ninth
grade Pro-Skate Stars, then I switched
to girls travel last year and continue to
play girls travel. High school is much
tougher and serious. Travel, I love travel, because it’s all girls, so it’s not like
you’re the outcast girl and you make
good friends with the kids on the team.
The guys are mean, they have a different
mindset. Girls are like, “Let’s go win!”
and guys are like “Let’s [mess] ‘em all
Hockey players move swiftly on the ice./PHOTOS
BY Georgia Foulds (‘10)
up!”
VV: What is your favorite part about
playing ice hockey?
GF: It depends if its girls or guys hockey. I love hitting kids, sometimes it
doesn’t work out of course, but I’ve always loved it. Then also I like the whole
team thing that goes with all sports. You
get close with a bunch of players and
work together to win a game. I love how
there’s no running. I hate running and its
gotta be the only sport where you don’t
have to run. I don’t know, there’s a lot of
things I like about it I guess.
VV: How do you feel being known as
“the girl who plays ice hockey?”
GF: Eh, I don’t know. Like Mr. Noble
refers to me as ‘hockey girl,’ and I don’t
know, I’m just like whatever. It’s not
bad or good, I don’t care. I’m just hoping they know that by seeing me play in
a game…where I played well.
VV: Was your coach surprised freshman
year when you tried out, or have other
girls tried out in the past too?
GF: No, I’m pretty sure I’m the only
girl, and yeah, the guys were giving me
funny looks. I’m friends with Connor
Scharff, and he said the first thing his
brother (Tyler, previous captain of the
team) said when he came home from the
pre season meeting was “There’s a girl
trying out.”
Her tough exterior does not describe the
entirety of her character, but it does help
on the ice. Foulds anticipates this upcoming season and continues to measure
up despite facing negative stereotypes as
the only girl on the SBHS team.
sports
13
The Viking Vibe
November 2008
TEEN STEROID USE
A GROWING CONCERN
Tom Dunleavy
2009
In recent history, the public witnessed the problems and controversies
with anabolic steroids in sports. From
professional baseball and football players, to weightlifters, and track and field
athletes, there has been a great amount
of steroid users breaking the rules to get
an edge.
The issue with steroids nowadays is
that not only are professional athletes
using steroids, but teenagers are experimenting with steroids for a variety
of different reasons. Kids are using steroids to get an edge in athletics, to make
their high school teams, or to just simply
have a better-looking body.
Junior Raghav Ahuja said, “Steroids
are not only harmful, but they give the
wrong impression to the young generation of athletes coming up.”
According to the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP),
steroids are synthetic substances similar
to the male sex hormone testosterone.
Although they are perceived as a drug
to get bigger muscles and get stronger,
they do have legitimate medical uses.
Some doctors prescribe anabolic steroids to help people with certain kinds
of anemia and men who don’t produce
enough testosterone on their own. However, doctors never prescribe anabolic
steroids to young, healthy teens to help
them build muscle. So, without a prescription from a doctor, steroids are an
illegal drug.
According to the federal CDCP, in
2003, about 6% of U.S. high school stu-
dents (roughly 300,000 students) took
steroids without a doctor’s prescription.
SBHS Football Coach and gym
teacher, Mr. John Coppola, said, “Today, I think both athletes and non-athletes are using steroids. Teenagers are
either using steroids to help in athletics
or for physical appearance. Steroids are
definitely something you see more widespread than in years past.”
According to the article “Kids are
experimenting with steroids and HGH;
experts fear side effects on their health”
written by Brie Zeltner, Dr. Joe Congeni, sports medicine director at Akron
Children’s Hospital, estimates that about
8 or 10 percent of high school athletes in
our region use anabolic steroids.
Dr. Congeni said, “I think there’s a lot
of pressure on these kids to experiment.
They don’t care about the future; they
care about the now. That’s a natural trait
of teenagers.” (As quoted in the aforementioned article)
According to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse for Teens (NIDA for
teens), the problem with steroids is that
there are some very serious side effects
that can really threaten a teenager’s life
in the future. The typical side effects of
taking steroids for men are, acne, breast
development, shrinking of the testicles,
reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, and changes in behavior such as
increased irritability and aggression.
For women, growth of facial hair,
changes in or cessation of the menstrual
cycle, and a deepened voice may occur.
Also, if steroids are taken at too early of
an age, a teen could stunt his/her growth
by prematurely stopping the lengthening
of bones.
Sophomore David Harry said, “Student athletes should not use steroids because at the end of the day, it will just
destroy your athletic career and your
life.”
Some of the more serious consequences of steroid use (also according
to NIDA) are liver cancer, heart attacks,
and elevated cholesterol levels. Also,
if a person stops taking steroids, he or
she might experience a withdrawal with
symptoms such as mood swings, fatigue,
restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia,
reduced sex drive, and depression. This
depression is believed to have caused
several teen suicides over the past few
years.
Thankfully, the government has decided to step up and make changes. In
the fall of 2007, the New Jersey state
government created a plan to give random steroid testing to high school athletes who have qualified for team or individual state championships.
Mr. Coppola said, “The fact that the
state has instituted testing hopefully will
deter teenagers from steroids. It’s definitely a necessary thing to do.”
“I’m happy that New Jersey is the
first state to test high school athletes for
steroids. It’s about time the government
has stepped in to control steroid use,”
junior Jordan Smith added.
There is a one-year loss of eligibility
for those who test positive. The state and
the NJSIAA each gave $50,000 to fund
this project because each test costs about
$150-200. Looking back on the fall season and the first year of the random steroid testing, out of the 500 student ath-
letes who were tested, only one tested
positive. This was a great sign, but there
are still countless numbers of athletes
whose teams did not qualify for the state
championships that could have used steroids and not been caught. Also, only
about 2-3 players from each team were
randomly selected to take the test. The
problem is that if they truly do randomly
select players, they may pick players
who don’t even start in the games.
Other states are following the success
of New Jersey’s program and are creating their own plans to test athletes. Texas is about to begin the largest program
in the nation, and will spend $3 million
next school year to test 3.3 percent of
its student-athletes. This means about
25,000 student-athletes will be tested
during the regular season. That’s sixteen
times the number tested in New Jersey.
Although states are making the effort to get rid of steroids in high school
sports, the tests are very expensive. Unfortunately, no matter how hard the government works, this problem may never
go away.
SBHS’s Conflict Mediator, Ms. Pamela Major’s opinion on steroids sums
up a major problem involving steroids,
“I think we hear about it (steroids) a lot
in professional sports and in baseball in
particular. And I think that we wait until
we see results until we address the situation. Only when athletic performance
is great is when we actually start to
question if someone is using steroids or
not.”
DECEMBER 2008
sunday
monday
1
7
tuesday wednesday thursday
2
8
3
9
Senior Parents
Financial Aid
Night 7pm
Auditorium
Fall
Athletic
Varsity
Awards
10
friday
saturday
HALF DAY
4
5
6
11
12
13
SPIRIT WEEK!!!!!!
14
15
Winter
Concert
16
Winter
Concert
17
Winter
Begins
22
Winter
Concert
23
Pep Rally
24
NO SCHOOL! WINTER BREAK!
28
29
30
19
20
NO SCHOOL! WINTER BREAK!
SPIRIT WEEK!!!!!!
21
18
31
25
26
27
SATs
14
BOYS SOCCER
TEAM WINS
THIRD STRAIGHT
RED DIVISION
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tim Doehler and
Tom Dunleavy
2009
The SBHS boys’ soccer team
continued their dominance in the
Greater
Middlesex
Conference
(GMC) this year after a stellar regular
season. The Vikings’ biggest wins of
the season came against St. Joe’s of
Metuchen (twice) and against East
Brunswick.
The team finished the regular
season with a 13-2-2 record and were
ranked #1 in the GMC Tournament.
Also, for the third straight year in a
row, the Vikings won the GMC Red
Division, which is made up of all
Group 4 schools. The Red Division is
usually the most competitive division
in the GMC for all sports.
In the early rounds of the GMC
Tournament, the Vikings defeated
Woodbridge and Piscataway. Then in
the GMC semi-finals, they lost 2-1 in a
close battle to the eventual champions,
Monroe.
Following the disappointing GMC
loss, the Vikings entered the Central
Jersey Group IV State playoffs as the
#2 seed. In another close game, the
Vikings came up short 3-2, and the
season came to an abrupt end.
But as senior and captain Sean Tyree
said, “Win or lose, we will always be a
strong, devoted team.”
Even though the coaches and players
were very disappointed about the finish
to their season, they knew that they
accomplished a lot this year.
The team compiled a 153-2 record, the most
wins in the program
since 2002, when
they won
a State
Championship.
The team was
led predominantly by
seniors, such
as captains Kevin Gramata and Tyree.
Gramata compiled 128 saves and a .94
Goal Against Average while Tyree led
the team in goals (9) and assists (16).
Junior Nick Goswami said, “The
captains and seniors were great
leaders this year and showed us how
to practice and prepare the right way.”
As well as Gramata and Tyree,
seniors Kazuki Yamada, Walid Ahmed,
Tommy Hutchko, Brian Sichta,
Evan Beck, and Brian Haydon
WIN OR
LOSE,
WE WILL
ALWAYS BE
A STRONG,
DEVOTED
TEAM.
Sean Tyree ‘09
saying, “The seniors have done a lot
for this program. To win three Red
Division championships in a row is a big
accomplishment. They were a nice group
to work with and they played hard over
the last few years.”
Assistant Coach Mr. Jeff King
added, “It was a great regular season
accomplishment to win the GMC Red
division for the third straight year. The
season ended earlier than we wanted, but
the seniors were great leaders and will be
missed next season.”
Even though it will be hard replacing
this class, the SBHS soccer program
has a bright future ahead. The Vikings
had a 32-17-4 overall program record
this season, and several underclassmen
showed their potentials during Varsity
and JV games.
Coach Hayston added, “This year’s
finish was disappointing, but very few
teams end the season on a win. It is the
way it is. We have some good young
players coming up and the program will
move on.”
all played huge roles in the
success of this team.
Coach Mr. Chris
Hayston recognized
the importance
of his senior
class,
Above:Students play strong for SBHS’s boys soccer team. Inset: Brian Sichta (‘09)./PHOTOS
COURTESY OF Bill Gaze, www.bgsportshots.com