the PDF file.

page 3: IHS Helps Haiti
page 10:
BASEBALL
PREDICTIONS
page 5: Senioritis:
It’s Real
SENIOR
SUPPLEMENTS 2010
page 8
June 9, 2010 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 17 • No.8• Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com • Ithaca High School, 1401 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY, 14850 • FREE
By MADDIE HALPERT
ICSD Budget Cuts a Swath
PHOTO/PROVIDED
Departments throughout IHS have
been affected by budget cuts as given in the Ithaca City School District
(ICSD) 2010-11 budget proposed by
the ICSD Board of Education (BoE),
which was passed in a public vote on
Tuesday, May 18. Although the overall
budget involves a 2.3 percent increase
from the 2009-10, it has still included
cuts throughout the district.
According to English Department
Chair Shirley Kennedy, the English
Department will be losing 1.2 full-time
equivalents (FTEs). As she described,
each 0.2 loss represents the loss of
one class period, and 1.0 is a full-time
teacher.
The department will respond to
the cut by not hiring a new teacher
to replace Moira Lang, who currently
teaches Advanced Placement (AP)
English Literature and Woodlands Individualized Senior Experience (WISE)
wjo will be retiring at the end of the
school year. Instead, English teachers
Jean Amodeo and Christopher Byrne
will take AP training this summer and
teach AP English Literature starting in
2010-11.
Kennedy also explained that the
incoming freshman class will be small-
er than the last, so some sections will
naturally be cut. She said that the English department as a whole supports
cuts to electives over increasing class
sizes. “Students cannot write as many
papers and receive the necessary feedback nor can they have the ‘speaking’
time they need for assessment if the
classes get any larger,” she said.
In addition to these adjustments,
Kennedy added that another teaching
position might have to become parttime.
Math Department Chair Todd
Noyes said that the Math Department
will be losing at least one teacher due
to the budget cuts. However, he also
said that “the changes for next year
will be spread throughout the department,” leading to fewer sections of AP
classes, and larger class sizes.
The World Language Department was asked to cut four sections,
according to Department Chair Janet
Abowd. “The department agreed not
to support the elimination of any language,” Abowd said. The department
sought an approach that would guarantee French, German, and Spanish
through the AP level and offer Chinese
and Latin as elective languages.
Abowd explained that in order to
do so and to meet minimum enroll-
ment requirements, the department
recommended several adjustments to
the current system. The department
plans to increase enrollment in Honors Spanish 3 while reducing Latin
I by one section. French 4 Language
and French 4 Communication will be
combined into one course, as will Ger-
man 4 and German 5/AP. According to
Abowd, the combined German course
will be taught using an A/B course rotation which will be developed by IHS
German teachers over the summer.
Such a model has already been adopted
by other school districts, said Abowd.
She explained that “In year one, all stu-
Future Leaders for a Day Take Capital
By JADE FANG
walking them through the process of the creation
of a bill, to instill in them the idea that in the fuTwo students from IHS were chosen from ture they’ll be the ones making the difference.
thousands of applicants to participate in the 20th
Johanna Demey ‘10 and Dayanna del Rio ‘10
Annual Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic trained for many hours over a period of months
Youth Leadership Institute in Albany. Angelo Del to learn how to be legislators and to discuss topToro was an assemblyman from New York City ics such as multilingual labeling of prescription
and founder of the institute in 1991. One of his pill bottles. They spent a weekend in workshops,
missions was to empower the Latino youth by receptions, and of course the mock assembly session to debate the five bills, most of
which concerned education and language. One bill was about lottery profit and how it should be used toward
education (which is already the current law), another about multilingual
prescriptions, and another on a bill
for multilingual public professionals
to receive higher pay.
For many students, this experience was not only informative but inspirational as well. When asked what
she got out of the institute, Demey
replied, “The institution made me feel
that I’m not the only one, that I have
the opportunity to become something.
I love knowing that there’s a huge LaPHOTO/PROVIDED
tino community out there and we can
continued on p. 3
all help each other to achieve something. I met so
many people from so many different backgrounds
and the networking opened my eyes.” She added
that, “Before the conference I wasn’t sure about
my plans after graduating from high school because I got accepted to a couple different schools,
but this weekend really gave me a better understanding of where I wanted to go, and made me
[happy] with my decision of going to the State
University of New York at Buffalo.”
The institute was also a place for many who
grew up in Spanish-speaking households to get
over their fear of speaking English to an audience.
“It does make a difference in their lives, especially
as Latino students. If you don’t speak one language at least you understand the other; it’s a flow
of English and Spanish voice. And there’s also a
connection between students. Students from all
parts of the world - from South America, Central
America, so on. How empowering it was to have
all those students present, so many communities
represented, and so many voices coming together
and becoming one,” stated Maria Torres, who attended the institution herself 20 years ago when
it was just founded, and won a scholarship as a
senior.
continued on p. 4
June 9, 2010 Editorial:
It would be in the best interest of the country if the Deepwater Horizon oil spill lasted for as
2010-11
long as possible. In fact, if BP’s efforts went awry and oil gushed at
Editor-in-Chief
a much faster rate, that would be
Jade Fang ‘11
even better. History shows that
editor@ihstattler.com
only in the wake of large environNews Editor
mental disasters is environmental
Larry Ge ‘11
progress both in public awareness
news@ihstattler.com
and political action achieved. The
1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa
Features Editor
Barbara, California, is the main
Rehan Dadi ‘11
reason why offshore drilling in
features@ihstattler.com
the United States besides in the
Gulf of Mexico has been banned
Centerspread Editor
Ingrid Sydenstricker ever since. Opposition to nuclear
‘12
power similarly intensified after
spread@ihstattler.com
Three Mile Island in 1979.
If there is no big crisis, no imArts & Entertainment
mediate and visible consequence
Kyle Rothman ‘11
of its actions, the public collecarts@ihstattler.com
tively sees no need to change its
behavior. People are, by nature,
Sports Editor
procrastinators; negative effects
Geoff Preston ‘11
that are vague in both scope and
sports@ihstattler.com
date of reckoning tend to elicit
Penultimate and Back Page little response. Tell people someEditor
thing bad may happen in a hunKelsey Shang ‘12
dred years, and they will assume
backpage@ihstattler.com
no sacrifice needs to be made
now; tell people something bad
Copy Editor
Annelise Raymond ‘12 will happen soon, and they will
do everything they can to help
copy@ihstattler.com
Photography Editors
Christina Seung ‘12
Mansi Vohra ‘13
Anna Gill ‘11
layout@ihstattler.com
Webpage Editor and Fact
Checker
Yuqi Yang ‘11
webmaster@ihstattler.com
Business Manager
Jeff Setter ‘11
business@ihstattler.com
Advertising Manager
Jason Setter ‘11
ads@ihstattler.com
Distribution Manager
Jo Yang ‘11
distribution@ihstattler.com
Faculty Advisor
Deborah Lynn
advisor@ihstattler.com
e to say.
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Editorial:
For many years, the United States has been
the only major industrialized country without a universal healthcare system. American
healthcare is advanced, but very expensive and
wasteful in covering basic needs. Expensive
private sector-based medical treatment leaves
some 40 million people without any coverage,
as they cannot afford health insurance. These
high costs also work against many businesses.
For example, American car manufacturers
cannot compete with most foreign brands
because American firms have to pay higher
medical costs for their workers. The need for
reform to lower costs and more coverage has
long been recognized. President Truman proposed reforms at the end of WWII without success. President Clinton’s administration also
tried to pass reforms during the early 1990s
but failed. President Obama’s Health Care and
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which
has just been passed into law, is very complex.
It is a flawed result of too many concessions to
legislators and lobbyists for health insurance
corporations, pharmaceutical companies,
hospitals, religious groups, and other special
interests.
There are two differing approaches to
healthcare reform. One approach considers medical care as a public good; the costs
of which are covered by taxpayers but whose
services are offered to everyone such as the
Fire Department; Most industrialized countries have such a system. The other approach
is based on private-sector profit. It involves
continued private coverage and treatment,
.
d
n
o
p
s
re
edi
fend it off.
A small spill such as those
that have occurred in the past
would likely be seen, as have others before, as an unfortunate but
necessary result of our energy
needs. Since a small spill does
not produce millions of tar balls
on beaches or thousands of oilsoaked birds, it is not photogenic
and thus easily ignored by the
public or, at best, quickly forgotten. An oil spill of unprecedented
size will prompt legislators and
citizens to ‘get serious’ on the
issue of energy. Eyes cannot be
averted from an oil spill of unprecedented size, nor the contaminated ecosystems and their
economic impacts overlooked.
Only when the average person is
affected by the oil spill will sufficient interest be taken in the
dirty and unsustainable sources
that now quench the country’s
insatiable thirst for energy.
It is also to the benefit of the
country’s future that this spill has
occurred off the coast of several
of the most strongly Republican
states. Many Republicans who
support off-shore drilling justify
doing so by dismissing the risks
as insignificant. The present oil
spill proves this not the case.
Lawmakers should approve carbon-reduction plans such as the
one drafted by Senators Kerry,
Editor-in-Chief
Lieberman, and Graham, and Maddie Halpert ’10
editor@ihstattler.com
support measures that move the
US from dirtier sources of energy
News Editor
toward cleaner ones. The latter
Jade
Fang ’11
does not include offshore drilling
news@ihstattler.com
rigs or other sources of domestic oil: the shift needed is more
Features Editor
radical, such as widespread use
Colin Raymond ’10
of solar, wind, and hydroelectric
features@ihstattler.com
power.
This editorial does not conCenterspread Editor
Michael Migieldone the spill. Every day the oil
Schwartz ’10
gushing from the sunken drillcenterspread@ihstattler.com
ing rig adds to the damage to the
ocean ecosystem and to the people whose livelihood depends on Arts & Entertainment Editor
Lily Tagg ’10
it. But yet, every gallon of oil enarts@ihstattler.com
tering the waters of the Gulf adds
to the visibility of the problems
Sports Editor
stemming from the US consumAri Kaputkin ’10
ing 10,000 gallons of oil per secsports@ihstattler.com
ond, and to the impetus on our
leaders to more quickly develop Penultimate & Back Page
Editor
plans to wean the US from its oil
Lily
Sahn ’11
dependency. Great immediate
penultimate@ihstattler.com
damage, if it leads to a change
in energy policy, is much preferCopy Editor
able to the quest for oil leading to
Sam Przezdziecki ’10
disaster after disaster far into the
copy@ihstattler.com
future.
Photography Editors
Health Care Bill Suggests U.S. Political Process’s Ills
photo@ihstattler.com
Layout Editor
Oil Spill’s Black Cloudiness Has
Silver Lining
but expands coverage to include almost everyone. Due to Republican opposition, President
Obama’s plan adopts the second approach
only, having abandoned any “public” or government-based option. It will offer tax breaks
and subsidies for low-income Americans to
purchase private health insurance and it will
try to ensure that health insurance companies
and providers extend coverage and limit costs.
In return, these companies will get millions of
new, government-subsidized customers. But
as consumer advocate Ralph Nader recently
noted, “The 2,500 [pages-long bill] is full of
opportunities and ambiguities for the insurance companies to game the system and to
make it even worse.” Even with these compromises, it was not easy to pass (it took almost a
year of discussion) and in the end, not a single
Republican voted for it.
Other ways exist to offer affordable healthcare without increasing expenses, such as reappropriating the national budget. For example,
the US spends hundreds of billions fighting
costly wars in the Middle East, whose expenditures continue to go up. Better healthcare
could be affordable for all by reducing our military spending, but this was never questioned
by legislators. One hopes that this healthcare
bill will eventually benefit those who cannot
afford high healthcare costs. But the way this
plan was compromised, by removing any public or government-based plan and by not controlling military expenditure, shows that the
American political system is currently unable
to see public good as its main value.
Editor’s Note: All editorials published in The Tattler are not anonymous
and represent the views of the students on the editorial staff. Editorials are
written about topics the Tattler staff deems important. Such issues may be
global or specific to IHS.
Amy Li ’10
Rehan Dadi ’11
photo@ihstattler.com
Layout Editor
Woogeon Kim ’10
layout@ihstattler.com
Fact Checker and Webpage
Editor
Larry Ge ’11
fact@ihstattler.com
Business Manager
Hannah De Jong ’10
business@ihstattler.com
Advertising Managers
Jiyoung Won ’10
Kalila BookerCassano ’10
ads@ihstattler.com
Distribution Manager
Ben Kuder ’10
distribution@ihstattler.com
Faculty Advisor
Deborah Lynn
advisor@ihstattler.com
The Tattler is the studentrun newspaper of Ithaca
High School. The Tattler
was founded in 1892, and is
published monthly.
As an open forum,
The Tattler invites
submissions of
opinion pieces and
letters to the editor
from all members of
the community. Drop
off submissions in
H134, e-mail them to
editor@ihstattler.com.
Letters can be
mailed to
The IHS Tattler
1401 N. Cayuga St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
We reserve the right to edit
all submissions.
These submissions do not
necessarily reflect the views
of The Tattler editorial staff.
June 9, 2010 BUDGET
continued from p.1
dents will complete the ‘A’ curriculum, the following year the ‘B’ curriculum, and so on. The
curriculum is designed to strengthen the same
skills along a continuum using different materials for each year.
Abowd concluded that the changes to the
department “will provide challenges for both
students and teachers. Classes will be larger and
will be targeting
skill improvement along a
wider continuum. … We will
keep open lines
of communication between
students
and
teachers, teachers and administrators, as we
monitor
the
effects of these
changes
on
learning.”
In terms of
the budget for
the music, IHS Orchestra Director George Myers stated that the main area affected will be extracurricular activities. He wrote in an e-mail,
“For IHS, it means that the following groups
will not be supported: Jazz Band, Pep Band, the
musical, Chamber (Concerto) Orchestra, Vocal
Jazz, and Madrigals.” The Band, Orchestra, and
Choir, which meet as classes during the school
day, would be the sole components of the music
program. According to Myers, “When the cuts
were proposed and voted upon, the ‘challenge’
presented to the music department was to
raise the money to support them on our own,
by fundraising,” a suggestion which Myers believed led to many questions and complications.
IHS Principal Donald Mills commented on the
BoE’s decision to cut extracurricular
stipends from
the
budget
saying “They
decided literally at the last
hour, probably.”
Myers also noted
that the Bond
Project Construction on
Kulp will be
completed dePHOTO/PROVIDED
spite these cuts.
“It will really be a first rate facility, with the capability for more theater and dance as well. It
is an irony that many activities that would take
place in that space, and that would make it a vibrant and active building, have been cut in the
2010-2011 budget,” he said.
Representatives for other departments
were unavailable for comment.
“The Commander” Rules
By LARRY GE
For six weeks this winter, forty Ithaca High School
students and several teachers, alumni, and mentors
participating in Code Red Robotics embarked on
the process of creating a multi-skilled robot from
scratch. These students and advisors spent a total
of over 10,000 hours working in their home away
from home, room E16.
What exactly is Code Red Robotics? Team number 639, Code Red is one of thousands of teams
across the globe that is part of the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”
robotics program and competition, or FIRST for
short. A competitive sport in the field of science
and technology, every year a new game is introduced and invariably challenges participants to
push their limits and to innovate new robot designs and applications, while still retaining the
“fun” factor for both participants and audience.
This year’s game, named Breakaway, is played
by two alliances of three robots each on a 27’ x 54’
carpeted field divided into three sections by two
one-foot high bumps. The objective of the game is
for the robots to navigate the field over the bumps
in order to collect and score points with twelve standard soccer balls. Points are earned for each soccer
ball scored, with bonus points awarded to robots
that manage to lift themselves off the ground during
the end game using two towers placed on the game
field.
For four hours a day, five days a week, Code Red
members were hard at work tackling the challenges
of this year’s game; their efforts were definitely aided by having an incredible team. “The team this year
has been exceptional,” said IHS technology teacher
and team advisor, Ian Krywe. “The level of creativity
and cooperation among the students and mentors
this year is a great thing to see, especially among the
new members.”
In those six weeks, Code Red was able to complete and compete with their finished robot, dubbed
PHOTO/PROVIDED
“The Commander”. The Commander was the result of labor and dedication, in combination with
a detailed designing and planning phase. The team
spent the first part of the season working on effective strategies and designs before moving into the
actual prototyping and building phases of the season. Every member of the club was actively encouraged to participate in each step of the process - Jeff
Setter ’11 commented, “There are always so many
things that need to be done; everyone works on the
robot in one way or another.”
Code Red’s 120 pound robot was built with maneuverability and speed in mind, capable of being
both offensive and defensive. The robot was driven
by two tank treads and featured a pneumatically
controlled, spinning ball kicker for scoring goals.
A special feature of The Commander was its ability
to hoist itself up onto a seven foot tall bar using a
powerful winch, which earned the team two bonus
points in each match it was used.
“It’s really quite remarkable to see everything
come together so superbly in the final robot.
We’ve all grown as individuals and as a team, and
at the end of the day, it’s a great feeling to step back
and look at the finished robot, knowing you had a
hand in its completion,” commented veteran team
member Anthony McNicoll ‘11.
This year, Code Red Robotics competed with
the completed robot in two separate regional competitions, one at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, and the other at Drexel
University in Philadelphia, and was successful in
both competitions. At RIT, Code Red not only advanced past the elimination rounds to the quarter
finals, but also won the Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award for their exceptionally
performing kicker.
At the Philadelphia Regional, The Commander
qualified for the semi-finals, finishing eighth out
of forty-four teams. And for the second year in a
row, Code Red was awarded the prestigious Johnson
& Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award, one of
the top honors at the regional. Code Red was awarded this award due to their sportsmanship both on
and off the field. “I’m extremely happy with what we
accomplished this season,” commented team President Ben Krish ’11, “we had a strong robot, and an
even stronger team.”
Even though the season has ended, the team is
still going strong and recently completed two fundraisers, a car wash and a LAN Party in the IHS cafeteria. “I think the real goal of Code Red is to not
only build a strong, functional robot and team, but
a culture of excellence as well,” stated Qasim Saad
’11.
News Brief
SchoolTool Goes Rogue Calculating Averages
Shortly before the end of the first semester of this school year, IHS teachers and administrators discovered
that IHS’s new Administrative Computer System, SchoolTool, calculates final course grade averages inconsistently with the system that IHS has used in the past. The problem arises because the chart used in the past has
been based on a 13-point system, with each number from 0 to 12 representing a letter value from ‘F’ to ‘A+’.
SchoolTool by default uses a 100-point system, but the intervals represented by each letter are unequal, thus
averages are sometimes skewed.
The most glaring problem is that the SchoolTool value for ‘F’ is higher than it should be. Therefore, many students who are failing classes would have a passing final average grade on their transcript according to SchoolTool.
However, due to the inequality of other intervals, grades throughout the A through F scale can be averaged
incorrectly. One IHS department calculated their students’ grades both ways and found that SchoolTool raised
average grades between 20 and 25 percent of the time, and never lowered them.
According to IHS Principal Mills and Tim Moon, the Ithaca City School District Director of Education Data
and Assessment, administrators are currently trying to communicate with SchoolTool to figure out if there is
a way to override the algorithm in SchoolTool and replace it with a 13-point system for IHS. Both Mills and
Moon have said that even if they are unable to find such a solution before final grades must be reported, they
will be sure that the grades reported on final report cards are all consistent with how they would be calculated
according to the 13-point system and the chart shown in the student handbook, even if that means calculating
all the grades by hand and overriding them individually in SchoolTool.
--from Staff Reports
June 9, 2010 LEADERS
write
email editor@ihstattler.com
continued from p.1
“It was an amazing opportunity for
me also, 20 years ago. I came here from
Puerto Rico in 1988 and attended the
institute in 1991. Like many other students, I was very shy of the language and
afraid to even contemplate going up to
a mic and discussing the bills. Never in
a million years did I think I would do
that, but I did.
I remember vividly the discussion of
“English only” and getting rid of English
as a Second Language (ESL) programs,
and how angry I was.” Torres went on to
explain how her passion over the issue
led her to take the mic and just begin
speaking Spanish. “I asked them, ‘How
would you understand what I’m saying
right now if you didn’t know the language?’ I realized that, wow, I can make
a difference and give back to the community. In reality, looking back, politics
was never my thing, though many students who experienced this institute do
end up going into political science.”
Torres concluded that the highlight
of the institute was the sense of empowerment it gave her. “I know many students out there can benefit from this
experience as well; that’s why we’re advocating for the expansion of the institution and more involvement from the
Latino students,” she said.
IHS Helps Haiti
By LARRY GE
In the weeks following the catastrophic 7.0 Mw earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, several IHS
students reached out and took action to provide aid and
support to the people of Haiti. IHS for Haiti was started
by Daniela Bizzell ’11
and Chenga Drury ’11 as
a way for IHS students to
meet and to learn about
how to best aid the rescue and relief efforts
in the aftermath of the
earthquake.
When asked about
his reason for joining,
Alexi Bouvet-Boisclair
’11 replied, “You sit here
and realize how good
you have it … you really can’t just do nothing.” Alexi joined IHS for
Haiti along with fellow
classmates Kelvin Kim
’11 and Marcel Gremaud
’11 after planning their
own fundraising concert
to benefit Haiti.
IHS for Haiti has implemented several fundraisers at IHS and around the community; for example, in
February, collection buckets were placed in nearly all
classrooms at IHS. Through these buckets alone, the
club has collected over $500, over half of their goal of
$1000, which they plan to send to Haiti through the
International Rescue Committee in one donation. “It’s
been a really easy way to contribute, just put in some
spare change,” commented James Hermanson ’11, who
was quick to stress teacher involvement. “One week
we collected over $60 from one teacher alone [Severin
Drix] just because he made a point of passing the bucket
around before class.”
IHS
for
Haiti also
participated in fundraising at
the annual
Ithaca
Chili Festival
in
February,
braving the
weather
to collect
donations
and raise
awareness.
“There are
a lot of caring, generPHOTO / REHAN DADI
ous people
out there,
you just have to find them,” commented NAME. The
club raised a total of $400 through the chili fest alone.
The money raised by IHS for Haiti is being donated
through the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The
IRC was chosen based on its commitment to long term
relief as well as immediate help, along with their efficient use of financial support.
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AVID Builds Reputation
By JADE FANG
PHOTO/PROVIDED
AVID, short for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college prep program designed to
increase the number of students enrolled in four-year
colleges, with those in the academic middle in mind.
“It’s a program for students who are sure they want
to go to college, who are individually determined to
get there and to do the work it takes, and want to be a
part of a class that’s very much like a team and family
in which we all work together to make sure everyone
accomplishes his or her goals,” said Caline Khavarani.
According to MaiAn Rumney, another AVID teacher,
“Students in the middle tend to get left out; we have
AP and honors courses for our high flyers, and we
have IAP programs, At Risk programs, and Special
Ed for the other students. AVID is a program that
reaches out to students who are perhaps from families where people have not traditionally gone to college, or students in a group that’s underrepresented in
four-year colleges.”
Students in the program take a specialized class
everyday, focusing on organizational and study skills,
critical thinking, motivation, tutoring, as well as enrollment in higher-level courses. On Tuesdays and
Thursdays they have what they call “tutorial days,”
when students come in with questions that they have
prepared in advance for their weaker areas so they
can build on them and have success in their classes.
Selection of students for AVID is a big process.
Each year, the eighth grade class coming to IHS is
filtered and screened for potential candidates. Only
students who meet the GPA requirement and a mix of
other factors are accepted to ensure they are the right
fit and that they are not already getting help from other programs. Essentially, students are accepted based
on their grades, background, and potential.
A rigorous system is in place for AVID teachers
as well - they have to go through a certification process with the headquarters to show data of how their
students are doing and examples of their lesson plans.
Then there’s the summer institute for teachers to go
through the initial training or advance to the next
round of workshops in which they develop some of
the best-loved teaching methods, including the fourcorners game used in social studies classes.
Founded 30 years ago in California, there are already more than 2,000 secondary schools involved
with the program internationally. “AVID is a huge…
I’ve met teachers from Japan who are part of the program, it’s definitely spreading and becoming common
in many public schools,” said Rumney. However, with
only four years of experience here at IHS, AVID is
still a baby of a program with many negative misconceptions from students. According to Khavarani, “It’s
not a support class; it’s more like: I really want to go
to college, and I want to be in a class with other kids
who want to go to college and together we’ll have fun
and build a family and all go to college, and celebrate
that. I don’t think anyone should look negatively at
math or English lab, but AVID is not a support class.
It’s more on the students’ end.”
“I think it’s very unfortunate that just because
it’s new people have misconceptions about it at this
school. One person might say ‘oh in ten years people will know how great it is,’ but we can also try to
spread the word right now that the negative ideas are
not true and it’s a really a great program,” said Khavarani, who had extensive experience with AVID in her
school back in California, “It’s something that’s been
very hard for me to deal with here because at my old
school I’d have kids begging me to let them join but
I’d have to say no because it’s always full, and the second there was a kid who misbehaved, we’d drop them
out and add the new kid. Students were begging to be
in AVID and I would love to see it be that way here.
It’s really a shame that at this school the reputation
hasn’t had enough time to build and be as positive as
it should be.”
SENIORITIS: IT’S REAL
By MICHAEL MIGIEL-SCHWARTZ
As I stare into my [insert any of my classes] teacher’s eyes, a small voice in my head says “I hate high
school. I hate high school. I hate high school.” I’m here
to try and explain why that, in some regards, is a valid
statement that some little man is making.
Some folks get into college as early as December
15 (early decision I). A select few, like I did this year,
hear February 15 (early decision II). The rest typically receive their acceptance letters in the beginning
of April. After that, it all heads downhill.
Once people figure out what they’re doing over
the next couple of years, the senior class’s net ability to do work takes a stunning nose dive. Once Advanced Placement (AP) Exams are over in early May,
the situation only gets worse.
Now why is this? For one, after being in this
place for four years in a row, people are itching to
get out. For the most part, you’re not meeting new
people, and, for the most part, people don’t feel like
they’re learning new things. Brain development from
ages 14-18 is rapid. Seniors are exponentially smarter
than they were when they entered high school. After
four years of learning, some of which, depending on
people’s interests and strengths, can feel like “forced
learning,” a lot of people’s brains just want to say, “f***
it.”
I mean that. I swear on my life that I am not using an expletive there just to be funny. I was watching pandas on Animal Planet the other day, and those
brothers—those brothers—just sit around eating bam-
boo 24/7, munching away, doing his or her thing. I
swear on my life, I found myself envying that Panda.
Envying a panda, for crying out loud. I’m a human
being and I wish I were a panda?! You know why?
Not because I enjoy eating bamboo, though that’s a
whole other story, but because sometimes I just want
to choose to be brain dead.
Now, that’s a little immature when I begin to think
about it. I don’t want to be brain dead. Not at all. But,
personally, I don’t enjoy math or science courses; I
am just one of those people who have more interest
in analyzing how the world works socially, politically,
and morally, rather than physically and empirically.
I know other students who feel the same way about
humanities and social science courses. People take
advanced courses in fields that they won’t pursue at
the university level because they’re trying to convey
to colleges that they are a “renaissance (wo)man.”
And so we sit there in those classes and say, “Well,
this is what it is.”
At least in the British system, and most European
systems for that matter, they don’t pester students by
forcing them to take courses they don’t want to after
age 16. That is, at age 17, you begin to specialize. Listen: if it’s good enough for people going to Oxford
and Cambridge, it’s good enough for me. But that
problem in the educational system is a whole other
level of B.S. that I don’t want to go into right now.
The point is, why shouldn’t I feel like school
should be over? It feels like summer outside and my
courses even seem like jokes. Let’s get real, AP teachers either a) have the students watch movies, b) assign
a project that, while fun, may not help the students to
learn material, c) assign a project that, while helping
to the students to learn material, cannot be done to
the student’s best ability because he/she is too busy
enjoying his/herself before leaving home to go off to
college, work, or military service.
Part of the problem is that APs do not jive with
our school calendar. Really, schools in New York State
should start earlier so that there is less of an awkward
time between APs and the end of the year. But it’s not
clear whether or not that will ever change and, again,
that’s a whole other level of B.S. which I don’t want to
get into.
Moreover, our grades are in at colleges and, basically, it’s pretty hard to land oneself on probation or,
even worse, get one’s admission withdrawn based off
fourth-quarter grades. (Pretty much for all you juniors out there, a slip of -1.00 in your GPA or more
is going to look pretty suspicious/annoying to colleges.)
If there is a point to this rant, I would say it is as
follows: Teachers, understand that your students are
effectively brain-fried and, for the first time in their
lives, are seeing the light at the end of a very, very
dark tunnel. Students, I mean you future seniors, understand that you’ve been doing this for the past four
years, and all you need to do is show up, put on a
fake smile, and continue to do that basic grunt work
you’ve been doing all these years.
Could we change it to make things better? Maybe. Does any senior really have the energy right now
to voice concerns? Not really.
Defective Detective
By COLIN RAYMOND
Editor’s note: The Defective Detective is a serial fictional publication. All characters, situations, and
information regarding IHS are the
product of the creative genius of the
author for your entertainment.
On Saturday I was driving
leisurely downtown to windowshop when I received a phone
call. It was an official from College Board, calmly informing me
that Ithaca High School’s Advanced Placement exam scores
had been unilaterally cancelled
due to a video of several exams
prominently posted on an IHS
student’s Facebook page. She told
me confidentially that the video
may not even have been taken
at IHS, but the College Board’s
stringent test policies demand
that a punishment be quickly
doled out after such an egregious
breach of security. Anything else
would be widely seen as lily-livered.
I immediately pulled over
to the side of the road, nearly
killing a bicyclist, and speed-dialed Mr. Mills. Frantically I told
him of the catastrophe, going to
great lengths to fully explain how
damaging this episode would be
to IHS’s reputation; he briefly
responded that he had already
heard the news. He politely requested that I visit his office so
we could discuss a course of action. I inquired as to the situation involving the contract of the
“other” detective, and Mr. Mills
hurriedly responded that the
district had firmly recommitted
itself to the principles of affirmative action - since I was in the
minority as an able-bodied white
male, I had been reinstated.
His tone was resigned and
his manner weary as I spoke privately with him. He secretly admitted that outrage would ensue
in the community as soon as people knew of the cancelled scores,
and that there would probably
be calls for him to resign. (On
the positive side, having no AP
scores would mean students’
resumés would be more equal,
so that overall more students’
dreams would be achieved). Mr.
Mills extensively detailed for me
the facts regarding the incident,
which are as follows:
On Saturday morning, May
15, videos of four AP exams were
unexpectedly found by an IHS
staff member surfing students’
Facebook pages to ensure school
safety. These videos had post
dates of May 5, 6, 10, and 14,
and widely varied in length from
12.37 minutes to 153.09 minutes.
The long video, much to officials’
embarrassment, covered nearly
the whole three-hour exam.
Mr. Mills had thoroughly
questioned all those who proctored for those four dates, though
I (needlessly, it turned out) insisted on a cross-examination.
They all fervently assured me
that no cell phones, walk-men,
portable video-cassettes, or any
such fancy electronics had found
their way into the testing room,
and furthermore that they had
been constantly surveying the
diligent students and had no reason to believe anything out of the
ordinary was occurring.
On top of testimonials of
good-faith procedures, a College Board enforcement officer
had confidentially visited IHS
on May 6 and found practices
in keeping with those of College
Board.
The only real clue was that
there were six students who
were present in each testing
room where the videos had been
somehow made. Even with enhanced interrogation techniques,
however, none admitted to any
wrongdoing, and in fact each
had a plausible alibi. Additionally, it was cursorily noted by a
student trolling the internet that
each morning a crime was committed the recorded temperature
at Game Farm Rd. at 8:00 a.m.
was below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, though what possible bearing this could have on the case I
have not the slightest idea.
Breaking news! Just as I sat
here slowly sipping my coffee
I received an email from the library sadly reporting the theft of
video equipment on May 4. But
is that a coincidence? How was
it used to record the exams? How
was it slipped past the unceasing
gaze of the proctors? Why did
no one notice until today? How
were hour-long videos made, yet
kept secret? Questions are constant, flashes of inspiration fleeting.
As you all know, my number
is always on, and my office is always open. Please don’t hesitate
to contact me if you have any
pertinent information.
See Page 7 for solution.
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March Defective
Detective Solution
By COLIN RAYMOND
Yet another unexpected development occurred in a
case that was mine (though I admit I had been stumped
for several weeks), allowing a certain unnamed competitor of mine to secure the coveted county police
department contract this year. I intend, however, to
do such a fine job of publicizing the case I wrote of in
March that the county legislature will award me back
my rightful position. After all, is it not more important
to communicate well with the public than to do all the
work yourself? Even the FBI, in broadcasting criminals’
information on its electronic billboards, now recognizes the need to engage the public to effectively solve
crimes.
But I digress. Is anyone still reading? For you, treasured reader, I present the sordid details of the case that
was solved only after a tip that provided the critical
piece of information: that all the illnesses first occurred
on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Suddenly the green liquid made sense—it was green milk, the kind that can
be purchased only on that date and a staple in elementary school cafeterias nationwide. A large fraction of
the affected students were Asian because they were lactose-intolerant, and drank the stuff, unaware that it was
milk. My conclusion that the disease was contagious
was completely incorrect. Nothing had been poisoned
or improperly prepared, not even the bananas or Oreos. What an unfortunate conclusion – poisonings are
always more exciting.
Remember, kids, if you report crime data, you’ll get
a chance to win an iPad Beta at drawings every third
Tuesday at the fire station.
June 9, 2010 EAT THIS! The Finale: Taste of Thai Express
By MATT SILICIANO and
MICHAEL MIGIEL-SCHWARTZ
Seeing as we’re getting out of this
hell hole, this will be the last installment of EAT THIS!. For this final
meal, we decided to bring along 11
young men, for a total of 13, in line
with the Last Supper tradition.
In the beginning, there were
three: Michael arrived along with
James Steinberg ’10 and met Matt
in the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot.
James shared a few wise cracks about
an old Jewish man and his wife, eliciting no laughter from Matt or Michael, before they all slouched down
on the base of a streetlight and Matt
started singing a blues song, to the
accompanying snaps of Michael and
James.
Just as Matt got to the second
verse of “My Lady Done Run Me
Over Like a Train” and the sweet
melodies of Ke$ha floated (read:
roared) down Meadow St., Chris
Tien ’10 and Nathan “Baby Face”
Greene ’10 pulled into the parking
lot.
And then there were nine: Sammy Przdiezjfixi Przdziecki ’10, David Kaminsky ’10, Sam Knewstub
’10, and Ethan Getz ’10 arrived, and
those of us present took our seats in
the restaurant. At this point we were
missing none other than two of the
original core four: Alex “The Mail
Man” Doliner ’10 and Ben “The
Kuder Kaboose” Kuder ’10.
(Our Last Supper theme had
been ruined when Michael Walsh
’10 [the Lord] and his puppy, Patrick Walsh ’10 [the Betrayer], bailed
at the last moment. While engaging
in their pre-prandial Walsh-snack,
one of the two implied that he could
eat an apple faster and more effectively than the other. Soon after, the
race was on. The Walsh brothers
consumed a whopping total of 132
apples each, unable to conclude who
was digestively superior.)
On one end of the table, Ethan
and Sam K. argued over whether they
would rather be lost in the jungles
of Panama or the tundra of Alaska.
Sam, fearing the diversity of microbial life in Panama’s water, and be-
ing highly attracted to the possibility
of constructing an igloo, argued for
Alaska. Ethan pointed out that Alaska has bears, the Knewstub family’s
greatest enemy; the argument ended
in a stalemate, and David continued
to shove the stem of a flower into
Sam’s nose.
Conversely, on the other end
of the table James and Chris talked
about recent adventures in the World
of Warcraft. Matt, Michael, and Sammy, sitting at midpoint, wondered if
Nathan proclaimed, “This article
should feature me!”; the other eight
present members turned their heads
from the babbling child to Chris, his
partner in crime quietly shook his
head and covered his eyes, cursing
under his breath.
Then, something unimaginable happened. Alex arrived, walked
through the pair of doors, and sat
down. Then Elaine Abdulky ’10
walked into the restaurant with Ben
not too far behind. Seeing as we had
this was the peak of high school intellect.
Our waitress took our order after spending a few minutes flirting
with James. James, Matt, and Michael made a trilateral, communitarian decision to order family style and
split up the check evenly. Our dinner
contained one of each of the following dishes: Cashew Chicken, Panang
Curry, Green Curry, Massaman Curry, Pad Thai, Pineapple Fried Rice,
Spicy Basil Stir Fry, and Spicy Rad
Nah Noodle. Note: when we actually received our food, we piled each
item onto our plates willy-nilly (each
of us quietly giggling at the hilarity
of the phrase willy-nilly); none of us
could distinguish them from one another.
not included a Mary Magdalene in
our Last Supper, the group was indignant at Ben’s invitation of a nonY chromosome carrier to our holy
table. Ben, in a Machiavellian coup
de grâce, quietly implied that it
would be better if he and Elaine left.
So, in the end, there were 10.
The group sat in shocked silence, allowing Ben’s dinner-based
man-foul to sink in. James broke
the silence with another excellent
joke, “Well, we gained Malex, and
his hyper-masculine chin, so now I
can crack these walnuts I have here.”
There were many cheers of hoorah
as The Moody Mail Man settled in
and began to play with a few of the
party’s napkins.
Once more, our little ego-cen-
Describing IHS in Six Words
By CHRISTINA SEUNG
When I surveyed around school this month,
here are some of the responses I received:
-Extremely poor but fun and cool.
-It’s an oven—hot and toasty.
-The best in the whole world!
-Old, rusty buildings but very diverse.
-A happy place that I love!
-Needs more money and AP classes.
-Stressful with homework but very nice.
-Students are clique-y, teachers are welcoming.
-Ithaca High School is over-the-top gorges.
-Loud, crowded, big, noisy, and red.
-A lot of happy, diverse people.
-Needs cash, but full of love.
While some students complimented IHS for
its diversity, others had criticisms of the recent
budget cut - the most frequently used word was
“poor.” Anna Fu ’13 said, “It’s really bad, because
they’re forcing people who want to take two science AP classes to take only one!” Daniel Park
’12 commented, “One word for IHS—crap. It’s
broke and teachers are getting cut.” In response
to the lack of money, Lucy Duan ’12 wondered,
“How come we have money to buy smart boards
but not enough money to have summer school?
We should sell our smart boards.”
On the other hand, a countless number of
people raved about IHS’s great academics and
diverse population. Sunita Christensen ’13 said,
“Oh my gosh! I love IHS! It’s the awesomest, bestest school ever!” Anying Li ’12 reported, “IHS
has really good teachers and great, challenging
classes that college administrators love. Lots of
students from IHS go to Ivy League universities
such as Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.
Our mean for AP exam scores is significantly
higher than the national one.” Like many other
students, Sunny Joo ’12 observed, “IHS is really
diverse. You see people from so many different
countries!”
To further improve IHS, Lauren Hellwitz ’10
remarked, “Our school definitely has cliques because everyone knew each other from elementary school. Link Crew helps a lot with the transition for new students and freshmen, but making
friends seems to be the hard part for most of
them.”
trist Nathan chimed in, this time to
ask “Hey guys, how far do you think
I could throw this plate?” and Chris,
once more, had to shake his head in
shame.
The food arrived, and within
10 minutes, it was effectively gone.
Listen, we don’t actually know anything about food, but this place is
darn scrumptious, easily making the
EAT THIS! top three. Chris, master
of all (Asian) food, gave it a wide
smile and two anime references. Our
conclusion on the culinary delights
of Taste of Thai Express is this: the
place serves darn good Thai food,
and is very affordable for its quality.
Including tip (we ended up paying
$11 per person). Go there and order
something adventurous, something
other than Pad Thai. Go there and
order anything we ordered, and we’ll
bet you (Nathan’s) money you’ll love
it.
As Michael droned on about
some stupid metaphorical story that
Jesus may or may not have recounted at the Last Supper (having something to do with love, some vines,
and three or four hungry hippos),
Matt and one other party member
promptly began discussing the film,
The NeverEnding Story, based off of
the 1979 German fantasy novel by
Michael Ende.
By this point, Michael’s sheet
of note paper had made its way to
the other end of the party where it
learned that Ethan, unfortunately,
“had but meager pickings on his end
of the table.” Sammy quietly occupied himself with creating a Les Paul
guitar out of his fork and napkin.
And so that’s high school—right?
Sometimes you sit around eating
Thai food, talking about (or with)
Jesus, singing the blues about your
lady and her similarities to a train,
or maybe analyzing The NeverEnding Story while someone doodles
prurient things on scraps of paper.
Then you get up from the table, go
to college, and bump into some new
folk so you can start the whole merry-go-round again. To that, to the
handsome Walsh family, and to you,
dear reader, we raise our glasses and
bid you farewell.
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June 9, 2010 June Defective Detective Solution
By COLIN RAYMOND
I finally did it! I was able to walk into Mr. Mills’s office and proudly say,
“Case closed.” My contract with the district is sealed, and it’s not likely to be
terminated. Mystery-solving is an essential function of any respectable school
district.
This is how I unraveled the mystery: several days after the crime, a library
staff member discovered that a video camera was missing from the top-secret
storage room. Apparently no one had noticed the absence before, because the
library’s electronic equipment of that sort is so infrequently used. Which is inexplicable, because the stolen camera, I deduced, must have been wireless, and
thus relatively new. As any time a cord is plugged into an outlet, the Central
Database records the voltage used, the duration, and the outlet location. Such
an unauthorized use of electricity in York during an AP exam would have immediately aroused suspicion.
I decided I would likely find the perpetrator via the camera, so I put up post-
HELP WANTED
The Tattler needs
cartoonists,
columnists,
ers around town asking if anyone had seen an IHS-marked camera. A few days
later a woman called to say she had seen a high-schooler and several friends
with a camera that had black writing that may have read “IHS.” I called my buddy who lives in the neighborhood and asked him to track down the suspects.
After a manhunt too lengthy to describe for lay readers, he caught them, with
intimidation provided by a water gun. “IHS” had indeed been scrawled on the
side, but they swore the camera was borrowed from a friend, whose name they
eventually grudgingly provided. Using my always-handy IHS Directory I determined the new suspect’s address and ambushed him there as he arrived home
from school. Just one look and I knew how the camera had been hidden—he
had an afro at least four inches tall! As soon as he realized I was unstoppable in
my quest for truth, he revealed to me how he operated a wireless device without
the school’s permission—he knew the wireless-network password.
There it is, friends. That’s why they pay me. But don’t look for this column
next year. In the interest of security, the district has decided that detectives
should tell no tales.
photographers,
and most of all,
email editor@ihstattler.com
for more information
writers.
Mehak Restaurant Review
By ANNELISE RAYMOND
Mehak, my next monthly restaurant review,
Is an Indian restaurant that is brand new
Near Sangam on Eddy Street
The two restaurants now compete
Thus competitiveness does ensue
Erin Rieger ’12 joined my rendezvous
Soon Lucy Lagoze ’12 joined us too
It was a blustery day
Hair blowing every which way
We met outside the Collegetown venue
The friendly maître d’ at the door
Showed us to a table: what he was for
Colors were crimson and white
Lamps there were modern and bright
With swirly red patterns on the décor
There hung paintings with an Indian theme
One mural portrayed fields, pastures, a stream
Reasons for this must be that
It’s India’s habitat
From colonial days, it would seem
Flowers in the restaurant did abound
Everything was clean and neat, we found
From the curtains to each chair
All was arranged with care
Fancy decorations were all around
Service was prompt, waiters were many
Of dishes we had, I’d suggest any
’Twas a rotating menu
For last time at the venue
There’d been different foods; Erin had had many
We took some of everything at first
In Indian food we were immersed
But there’s American food
For those in the mood
Aside from the main bar, not interspersed
We helped ourselves to fresh Naan bread and rice
And Vegi Pakora—we restocked twice
There were onions and peas
The sauces were sure to please
And Tandoori Chicken was worth the price
One dish was particularly hot
With sauce still bubbling from the cooking pot
Also in the sense of spice
Erin’s valid advice
Was ‘peas are spicy,’ a very wise thought
While cutting chicken, a fail Erin had
She sprayed Lucy and me with rice, a tad
I dropped my knife on the floor
But then I stole one more
From a close table, so it wasn’t that bad
We took our second course after a time
The restaurant was full—lunch-hour prime
Then an explosion took place
And rice flew through space
Lucy’d put her plate down hard this time
I took some mac and cheese just to try it
Indian food’s their forte, by a bit
For those sensitive to spice
You needn’t think twice
The food didn’t have excess heat in it
A bowl of rice pudding wrapped up our meal
It gave off a nice Christmas-y feel
Eggnog flavor, Erin thought
Flavors of which we knew almost naught
The cinnamon really had an appeal
Waiters were punctual, service was great
Not once late to take away our old plate
Buffet refilled constantly
More food set ASAP
For the crowd, refills did accommodate
’Twas $10 each for the lunch buffet
For dinner, it’s near twelve for an entrée
Mehak’s sure to delight
There’s more than thought on first sight
The food’s more filling than mere sight would say
We’d come early and missed the crowd there
There were long lines—reader beware
With a festival downtown
There still was no slowdown
Mehak filled up, you should be aware
After feasting at Mehak’s lunch buffet
Erin, Lucy, and I called it a day
We’d picked a great spot, we thought
Good value for what we got
We reflected: ’twas a fine new buffet
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Senior Supplements 2010
Name: Robby Ainslie
Nickname (s): Robs
Secret Ambition: Marry Alex LoPinto
Favorite IHS Class: Gym w/ Ms. Maddren
Favorite IHS Memory: Football
At IHS, I will most miss: my friends
Plans for next year: Cornell!
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Cheryl and Linda, the
bestest lunch ladies ever!
Shoutouts: To the librarians, for putting up with all
of our noise
Name: Ebolutalese Airewele
Nickname (s): OT, Otis, general.mcotis
Motto: We’re big kids, so we do big things
Secret Ambition: one piece body suit --> yowza!
Favorite IHS Class: ap environmental science
global with Mrs. PB
Favorite IHS Memory: Taryn absolutely busting her
butt on the steeple chase, everything Tyrell Latimore
ever said
At IHS, I will most miss: Coach Hunter’s pep talk,
running from Boone, Ithaca Relays!
Plans for next year: Cornell 2014
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Absolutely nothing but
2010’s legacy. We’re like MC Hammer- can’t touch
it.
Shoutouts: Girls Track and Field & Brianna Pettaway,
and Ms. Hess and Ms. Maddren of course.
Name: Jenna Babbitt
Nickname (s): Gran
Motto: “Are you living or are you existing?”
Secret Ambition: Own a business
Favorite IHS Class: 12th grade English with Ms.
Lord
Favorite IHS Memory: “Whose BIRTHDAY?!”
At IHS, I will most miss: Seeing my best friends every day, 12th grade lunch that we all had together
(minus Serena), pretty much everything
Plans for next year: TC3, working a lot
To the Class of 2011, I leave: advice: Do NOT get
behind senior year, you’ll regret it!
Shoutouts: My mom, gram gram, my dogs, my favorite pen. . . And maybe Serena. . .
Name: Eric Bae
Nickname (s): ebay (?)
Favorite IHS Class: AP Geography
Favorite IHS Memory: Geopardy
At IHS, I will most miss: My high school life
Plans for next year: Go to college, liva a new life
To the Class of 2011, I leave: (see above)
To the Class of 2011, I leave: You know what, you
know where. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
Shoutouts: Less than three to you all! Raise the metaphorical roof IHS!
Name: Kyle Bechert
Nickname (s): Kyfly
Motto: Push it to the limit
Secret Ambition: to be #44
Favorite IHS Class: Government with Mr. Borthwick. AP Human Geo. 0 period English w/ Mr.
Armstrong
Favorite IHS Memory: Hockey/Football games
Plans for next year: UCONN
To the Class of 2011, I leave: We’re perfect 10
Shoutouts: To my soccer and lax girls- and my
lunch
table
Name: Taylor Becker
Nickname (s): T-$, Twiddle
Secret Ambition: It’s not a secret if I write it
Favorite IHS Class: English Media 2009
Favorite IHS Memory: Teaching Mr. Brown the
Charleston
At IHS, I will most miss: President with JT, Theo,
Cherney, etc.
Plans for next year: Going to IC for Athletic Training
Shoutouts: Rachel, Matt, you know what? I don’t
have room to write them all, love you guys!
Name: Jacqueline Elizabeth Booth
Nickname (s): Jackie
Motto: “It’s better to light a candle than curse the
dark” - K’naan
Secret Ambition: To own a restaurant in the south
Favorite IHS Class: Mr. Brown’s US History Class
Favorite IHS Memory: Mr. Brown trying to learn the
Charleston
Making ice cream in chemistry
Playing cards in H-Courtyard
When Mr. Noyes caught Derrick sleeping in class
and he had to buy donuts for everyone
At IHS, I will most miss: Ms. Gluck’s Economics
class
Hanging out in the Quad on sunny days
Plans for next year: Hitting up the city for college at
the University of Toronto
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Legends
Shoutouts: Eternal gratitude to the Class of 2010 for
kindness, friendship, and inspiration!
Name: Derrick Barrett
Nickname (s): Two-Piece
Motto: live your life!
Favorite IHS Class: Mr. Noyes Pre-Calc
Favorite IHS Memory: Football Senior year and
winning our first game
At IHS, I will most miss: Class color day but I’ve
been missing that :(
Plans for next year: TC3 for a year, then Ithaca College
To the Class of 2011, I leave:
Shoutouts: To my sister Felicia, do you and keep up
Name: Michelle Bax
Nickname (s): Shelly, Chilly, The “Ohai!” Giraffe of
Over-Friendliness
Motto: All penguins are black and white. Some
movies are black and white. Therefore, some penguins are old movies.
Secret Ambition: To say “Bless You” before someone
sneezes and distract them into not sneexing
Favorite IHS Class: WISE English wooooo!
Favorite IHS Memory: Random dancing in the hallway (Especially the Bugaloo!)
At IHS, I will most miss: My fabulous peeps: the
lunch ladies, the library ladies, and all the wonderful
teachers who’ve taught me. Rock on!
Plans for next year: TO DA WURL
PHOTO / AMY LI
Name: Xavier Bourne
Nickname (s): Brother X
Motto: “Bring down that Giant”
Secret Ambition: Airline Pilot
Favorite IHS Class: Economics- Hopkins
Favorite IHS Memory: Battleship- econ Boom!
At IHS, I will most miss: Pre-Calc Noyes
Plans for next year: Cornell Class of 2014
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Have fun
Shoutouts: Free Form Funk Brothas!
Name: Ulys Brewer
Nickname (s): UT
Motto: Fat chicks
Secret Ambition: Don’t have one
Favorite IHS Class: Econ
Favorite IHS Memory: Football season last year
At IHS, I will most miss: Chicken strips
To the Class of 2011, I leave: nothing
Shoutouts: Scott’s car with the street glow sticker
Name: Triana Brown
Nickname (s): T-hood!
Motto: Don’t stop get it, get in!!
Favorite IHS Class: New visions ‘10
At IHS, I will most miss: Everyone
Plans for next year: Franklin & Marshall College w/
Lizzy
Shoutouts: To my Jennyppoo!!!!!
Name: Laura Chamberlain
Favorite IHS Class: Fractals and Chaos, Math
Favorite IHS Memory: Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus Day
Plans for next year: Electrical Engineering at UB
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The new, fancy, improved Kulp
Name: Brittany Clark
Nickname (s): Jellybean
Favorite IHS Class: Choir
At IHS, I will most miss: Kim Caforio
Plans for next year: College TC3
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Choir, Mr. Loomis
Shoutouts: You rule Mr. Loomis
Name: Courtney Collinger
Nickname (s): C-Love, Coat-knee, Courtknocker
Motto: “I’m over it” Bitte!
Secret Ambition: Punch a gypsy kid (ala Mr. Byrne)
Favorite IHS Class: English Media 2009
Favorite IHS Memory: E/K saga (T$ you know what
I’m talking about)
At IHS, I will most miss: G-hallway. . . Just kidding
:)
Plans for next year: TC3; spending wayyy too much
time at tacobell with Taylor and Shawn. :)
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Nothin’
Shoutouts: Gunnar: Keep on chuggin’
Brandon: . . . Good luck :)
Name: Jeff Cook
Nickname (s): JHOOD
Motto: “Its me?” “Sarah?!?”
Secret Ambition: To find the clock from activities
Favorite IHS Class: Pre-Calc with Noyes or Physics
with Rosen
Favorite IHS Memory: Jeff Dumont’s Golden 8
At IHS, I will most miss: Scott Boettger’s car
Plans for next year: Monroe Community College is
Rochester/Soccer
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Heath Duncan’s whistle
Shoutouts: Ben Kuder; “Good game”
“lil” Nick Bellisario
Name: Caitlyn Cowan
Nickname (s): Katie
Motto: “Whatever’s meant to be will work out perfectly.”
Secret Ambition: To become a writer
At IHS, I will most miss: Choir class
Plans for next year: Staying in Ithaca and taking a
year off
To the Class of 2011, I leave: H-Courtyard
Name: Audrey Cullen
Nickname (s): Audge, Audge-Podge, “Big Gretch”
Motto: Keep your memories close, for you cannot
relive them
Secret Ambition: pursue burger flipping @ McDonalds
Favorite IHS Class: Photography
Favorite IHS Memory: Singing Christmas songs in
darkroom, Anthony’s birthday lap dances, falling
June 9, 2010 face first in the hallway, Kiara tackling me at Winter
Formal and falling, senior night for volleyball, bus
rides with the basketball team, singing in the locker
room before basketball, racing Ayanda and Y-nasia
with Keisha
At IHS, I will most miss: Anthony’s seagull call,
weather confused girls (boots + shorts), Heath’s “par
ty foul” whistle
Plans for next year: TC3 for Hotel/Restaurant + playing volleyball/basketball
To the Class of 2011, I leave: nothing b/c we have
nothing to leave. The Class of ‘09 didn’t leave us anything!
Shoutouts: to the ‘09-’10 basketball team, all my
friends. . . + Serena. . .
Name: Hannah De Jong
Motto: 3.141592653589793. . .
Secret Ambition: Recite pi at the top of a mountain
Favorite IHS Class: Computer science, Biology,
Chemistry, Fractals and Chaos
Favorite IHS Memory: The Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus
Plans for next year: Computational Biology at Cornell
PHOTO/KALILA BOOKER-CASSANO
Name: Jamar Dillard
Nickname (s): Afro thunder, Jammer
Motto: Yeah buddy!
Secret Ambition: 7 figure salary
Favorite IHS Class: PE with Ms. M, English with Ms.
Lord, Math with Todd Noyes
Favorite IHS Memory: Class color day
At IHS, I will most miss: GYM. Scott’s tint job
Plans for next year: College and making CA$H
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The legacy of having the
freshest Afro
Shoutouts: Heath- Get meh with the whistle. BobGood times this year, still ballin’
Name: Jessica Dreiling
Nickname (s): Billy, Simpato, Tomato
Motto: Always lend a helping hand, cuz you never
know when you’re gonna need one
Secret Ambition: To be an author
Favorite IHS Class: 2010! AP Chem with Mr. Tuori!
Favorite IHS Memory: The mornings I can hang out
with my friends.
At IHS, I will most miss: My friends.
Plans for next year: College: Houghton College.
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Mr. Loomis’ sanity. Take
good care of it.
Shoutouts: Rock on Mr. Tuori! To all my peeps!
Name: Heath Duncan
Nickname (s): Cool Breeze
Motto: Sarah. Your Home! Mayo!
Secret Ambition: Find clock for Activities
Favorite IHS Class: Lunch
Favorite IHS Memory: Too many
At IHS, I will most miss: The fights
Plans for next year: College
To the Class of 2011, I leave: My Whistle
Shoutouts: Keag and Eli- “Run it”
Mr. Powers
Name: Mary Eloundou
Nickname (s): Tyna, Flo
Motto: Imagination is more important than knowledge, Common sense is not so common.
Secret Ambition: To keep my secret ambition secret
Favorite IHS Class: AP Stats with Mr. Kirk tied with
AP French with Madame Bowman
Plans for next year: Travel to Italy, Cornell University
Name: Taylor Engstrom
Favorite IHS Class: Honors English 10 with Mr. Asklar
Plans for next year: Cornell University to study finance & play football
Name: Maddie Halpert
Nicknames: Maddlepert, Mads
Motto: That’s what friends are for
Secret Ambition: Be on a boat with the KGBC and Morgan Freeman or become a certified ninja
Favorite IHS Class: Combined, Orchestra, F&C, Programming/Comp Sci.
Favorite IHS Memory: Cheesecakes, 8th per. Junior
year
At IHS I will most miss: The Tattler Office, The Cello
Room, The Garden Behind K
To the Class of 2011 I leave: A clean Tattler office, a
new and improved Kulp, the joys of brainshift, and
my entire collection of Mustang Convertibles
Name: Benjamin Harned
Nickname (s): Ben, Barned, Ben 2, Paco
Motto: Who dares wins
Secret Ambition: Become Hegemon of the earth by
age 25, clone my brain to create an AI
Favorite IHS Class: Combined with PB/Bach
Favorite IHS Memory: Competing in Code Red Robotics competitions
At IHS, I will most miss: My friends, my teachers, the
librarians and the cafeteria staff!
Plans for next year: Study International Relations at
SUNY Geneso
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Some toxic assets, whatever is at the bottom of my locker, & H-Courtyard
Shoutouts: “What else do we burn?” “More witches!”
“Rejection papers!”
Name: Nathan Hilgartner
Nickname (s): Big Boss, Ody$$eu$
Motto: What happens in the basement stays in the
basement
Secret Ambition: Some how, some day, to marry Ms.
Hess
Favorite IHS Class: AP Lang with Mr. Anderson
Favorite IHS Memory: Watching Grizzly Man in
Mr. Nelson’s APES class; “chaos, hostility and murder;” playing guitars really badly in Kulp with Pletter;
Beauty and the Beast and Into the Woods
At IHS, I will most miss: Major Major; arguing politics with Mr. Powers
Plans for next year: Harvard
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Take Fractals and Chaos
and get your mind blown
Shoutouts: Kevin “Megalon” Hilgartner, my archnemesis; Lorenzo. . . McClellan, my most trusted advisor;
Gabe, Jake and Sam, kickin’ it since 1st grade; all the
members of all the casts of all the shows I’ve been in
during high school
Name: Kim Howe
Motto: Everything’s better when you have a geek
squad
Secret Ambition: Someday brass players will rule the
world. The end.
Favorite IHS Class: Band. +-=iii+<()
Favorite IHS Memory: Pep Band. Best stuff. EVER.
At IHS, I will most miss: Mr. Drix’s jokes, Ms. Craig’s
antics, and Mr. Myer’s singing
Plans for next year: Fredonia School of Music
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Next year have sugar on
hand at all times
Shoutouts: John- I love you! Keaton- Need any sun
block? Ms. Zawel- What am I going to do without you
next year?!?
Name: Chris Hudson
Nickname (s): Huddy, Hoodie
Motto: “Started with nothing. . . Still have most of it
left”
Secret Ambition: US History with Mrs. Kruger 11th
grade
Favorite IHS Memory: Jewle Fisher, ‘nuff said
At IHS, I will most miss: school food
Plans for next year: San Diego State University
To the Class of 2011, I leave: nothing
Shoutouts: Cheryl, Linda, and the rest of the lunch
ladies
Name: Valerie Kilmer
Nickname (s): Val/Kiki
Motto: Never eat yellow snow
Secret Ambition: To write a Western romance novel
about an insomniac cowboy called “Sleepless in a
Saddle”
Favorite IHS Class: Spanish III
Favorite IHS Memory: “What are we going to do with
our lives?”
At IHS, I will most miss: Ms. Craig’s humor
Plans for next year: Livin’ the dream.
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Peace, love, and Senioritis
Shoutouts: Stay human
Name: Mitch Kippola
Nickname (s): Kip
Motto: Come on, we’re in a recession
Secret Ambition: To make more money than Bernie
Madoff
Favorite IHS Class: Econ with Mr. Lockett
Favorite IHS Memory: Watching the hockey team
win States in ‘07
At IHS, I will most miss: The party bus
Plans for next year: Alfred State
To the Class of 2011, I leave: potential
Shoutouts: Not at the table, Lockett
Name: Phoebe Koenig
Nickname (s): Phoebster
Motto: There’s no rush to a red light.
Secret Ambition: To be the best female white Tupac
impersonator within a 200 mile radius
Favorite IHS Class: English Media with Mr. Byrne
Plans for next year: To get knocked up by Peter
Thompson and have a 3 headed baby
To the Class of 2011, I leave: My baby
Shoutouts: Cindy Margolis and Emilee
Name: Ambria Latham
Nickname (s): Amb
Motto: “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about
creating yourself.”
Favorite IHS Class: Pre-Calc with Mr. Noyes
At IHS, I will most miss: All of my favorite teachers
Plans for next year: Elmira College Class of 2014
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Have fun, don’t regret
anything
Name: Christian Leonard
Nickname (s): Jolley Green Giant
Motto: You’re welcome
Secret Ambition: To spread world confusion >A*>
current
Favorite IHS Class: philosophy
Favorite IHS Memory: That time in which I was debatably in school, alive, learning, half asleep, possessed, insane, or existant
At IHS, I will most miss: The gloomy suicidal atmosphere. . . Oh yeah, they have that in college too.
Plans for next year:
To the Class of 2011, I leave: My soul, it’s useless in
college anyways. That is if I haven’t lost it yet.
Shoutouts: By changing one’s perception of the world,
one changes the world’s percetion of one’s self.
Name: Dawei Lin
Nickname (s): Dawezy
Motto: Yo chillll!
Secret Ambition: Duno
Favorite IHS Class: Pre-Calc
Favorite IHS Memory: Color day
At IHS, I will most miss: food fight
Plans for next year: college
To the Class of 2011, I leave: nothing
Name: Alex LoPinto
Nickname (s): AL*
Motto: “Never eat paint”
Secret Ambition: To be Jane Fonda and wear long
johns in public.
Favorite IHS Class: Whenever Mr. Bowen subs is my
favorite IHS Class. He’s such a softy.
Favorite IHS Memory: Watching the librarians film
the end of the year “unplanned” food fights.
At IHS, I will most miss: Wegman’s trips with Cameron and BWU.
Plans for next year: HOFSTRA PRIDE!
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Some obscene grafitti in
the girls bathroom. Just Kiddin.
Shoutouts: To my future husband, you better be hawt.
Word.
Name: Kiara Love
Nickname (s): Kiki, Gran, Ki
Motto: “I ask not for a lighter load, but for broader
shoulders”
Secret Ambition: Open a coffee shop in downtown
Ithaca :)
10
June 9, 2010 Favorite IHS Class: Photography 12th grade with
Judy
Favorite IHS Memory: FAILING COMPLETELY
at singing the National Anthem at a home volleyball game. And Anthony Wade giving lap dances to
birthday girls. “WHOSE BIRTHDAY?!” Anthony’s
seagull call
At IHS, I will most miss: Judy Cogan and her photo
classes. Anyone who had her is a lucky individual :)
Plans for next year: TC3, work, travel as much as possible
To the Class of 2011, I leave: No money, because we
took it all! 2010!
Shoutouts: M@ gurl sh@niiqu@ and. . . Serena. . .
Name: Sarena Lynch
Nickname (s): Siggs, Siggbear
Secret Ambition: Be a go-go dancer
Favorite IHS Class: Hopkins/Lockett Economics
Favorite IHS Memory: Pep rallies
At IHS, I will most miss: My friends
Plans for next year: University of Virginia
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Advice: Apply to a rolling college early
Shoutouts: Audrey and Brittany- stay outta trouble,
Annelise- you ma girl, stay fly
my car.
Plans for next year: College
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Stay focused! Have fun!
Shoutouts: Kim, Drea, Regine, Nana, Nasia!
Name: Matt Millard
Nickname (s): None
Motto: Be yourself
Favorite IHS Class: 12th grade pre calc
Plans for next year: College
Senior Supplements 2010
Name: Marcus Moss
Nickname (s): Swag/Snus
Motto: Go hard or go home, It’s a recession, Fe Fe’s
Magic Mix
Secret Ambition: To be world famous
Favorite IHS Class: First period first semester econ/
Junior yr. chem class
Favorite IHS Memory: Having a great senior football
season, Taylor Engstrom finally has his wish come
true. . . And it ain’t football (K.B.)
At IHS, I will most miss: Parking tickets, the library,
my crew
Plans for next year: Playing football at Alfred State
To the Class of 2011, I leave: A legacy that you can
never compete with
Shoutouts: Mr. Redmond, Norm, Cheryl, my family,
my dogs Tyson and Coper “We made it”
Name: Sarah Lynott
Favorite IHS Class: Chemistry with Mr. Tuori
Favorite IHS Memory: F.T.C. Day
At IHS, I will most miss: Gimme runs & Tiddlywinks
Plans for next year: Northwestern University
Name: Mikey Manuel
Nickname (s): Michelle
Motto: “Yo wassup Ma”
Favorite IHS Class: Econ w. Lockett
Favorite IHS Memory: Food fight sophomore year
At IHS, I will most miss: The lunch ladies
Plans for next year: Play a little lax at Oneonta
Name: Ramish McBride
Motto: “The next step is the best step” and “If success
was guaranteed and failure was not an option, what
would you desire to do?”
Plans for next year: Attend Tompkins County Community College to study psychology
To the Class of 2011, I leave: This advice “There’s a
time to play and a time to work.”
Shoutouts: To everybody- Good Luck + Enjoy. See
you on the other side!
Name: Kelsey McCall
Nickname (s): Chels
Motto: “Have Fun” Yay!
Secret Ambition: Be the best!
Favorite IHS Class: 2010!! :)
Favorite IHS Memory: The Winter Formal, “best
night of my life”
At IHS, I will most miss: My teachers and my friends
Plans for next year: Go to TC3
To the Class of 2011, I leave: A piece of advice: Be
positive, don’t give up, and just have fun! :)
Shoutouts: I give a shoutout to my sister Katy McCall
“I love ya sis!” “Keep looking cool”
Name: Lorenzo McClellan
Nickname (s): LO, Renz, Zo, Woppard
Motto: “Today is my last year of high school” - overheard in J-Hallway
Secret Ambition: To wed Emma Woodhouse
Favorite IHS Class: History with Mrs. PB/AP Lang
with Mr. Anderson
Favorite IHS Memory: Constitutionals between APES
periods with N. Hilgartner
At IHS, I will most miss: The way the light streams
through the K Bathroom windows.
Classes with Misters Jordan, Nelson, Anderson, Myers and Mrs. PB
Plans for next year: Princeton University
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Best wishes in the face
of cuts and a chest of ingots, buried somewhere on
campus.
Name: Caleigh McCutcheon
Motto: Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted- John
Lennon
Favorite IHS Class: How Foods Changed History
Favorite IHS Memory: Class Color Day! (Even though
we didn’t really have one this year)
At IHS, I will most miss: The giant cookies
Plans for next year: Stonehill College
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Only one more year!
Shoutouts: Colleen- I love you, but plz don’t destroy
PHOTO/AMY LI
Name: Alex Mwaka
Nickname (s): Mwaka
Motto: Listening gets you places.
Favorite IHS Class: AP Chem.
Favorite IHS Memory: None stand out, but that’s obviously b/c there are too many to list.
At IHS, I will most miss: The people I’ve come to
know during my pre-college academic career.
Plans for next year: College.
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Nothing.
Shoutouts: I don’t do shoutouts.
Name: Rebecca Myers
Nickname (s): Becca
Motto: You’re only as tall as you feel
Secret Ambition: To move to Germany
Favorite IHS Class: US History with Mr. Brown
Plans for next year: Rutgers University
To the Class of 2011, I leave: “The Common App is
now your best friend.”
Name: Mikhail Nikulin
Nickname (s): Mishka, Kirby
Motto: Yea buddy, Rolling like a big shot. Greaaaaat.
Secret Ambition: Food fight
Favorite IHS Class: Pre-Calc with Noyes, Econ with
Lockett, Physics with Rosen
Favorite IHS Memory: Scott’s pranks, Food fight 08,
Tree vandalism
At IHS, I will most miss: Powers’ speeches at lunch
Plans for next year: MCC
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Some love
Shoutouts: l8r IHS
Name: Lizzy Noonan-Pomada
Favorite IHS Class: APES w. Mrs. Bronson
Favorite IHS Memory: The Boonemobile
At IHS, I will most miss: My friends
Plans for next year: Franklin & Marshall College
Name: Ayanda Ntombela
Nickname (s): Ya-Ya
Motto: “Don’t sweat the small stuff ”
Favorite IHS Class: Pre-calc- Mr. Noyes
Favorite IHS Memory: Derrick’s “Richness & Evenness” speech
At IHS, I will most miss: Racing Audrey Cullen
Varsity Girls’ Basketball
Name: Angela Ochoa
Favorite IHS Class: AP French
Favorite IHS Memory: Food at International Club
At IHS, I will most miss: Crowded hallways :)
Plans for next year: College (UVM)
Name: Regina Penepent
Nickname (s): Gina
Favorite IHS Class: Health Class 10th grade (Peta!)
Favorite IHS Memory: Great football season this
year!
At IHS, I will most miss: The lunch ladies <3
Plans for next year: Attend St. Bonaventure University and cheer for the basketball teams
Shoutouts: Anthony Wade, The Health Class crew,
my sister, and the Lunch Ladies
Name: Kaitlin Perez
Nickname (s): Kait, Twitch, Yoteko, Rabbit Girl, Pony
Perez, Perezident
Motto: the more you know, the more you can laugh
at
Secret Ambition: To rule the world, obviously
Favorite IHS Class: Zoology
Favorite IHS Memory: Winning student of the quarter
At IHS, I will most miss: The library. The staff work
hard to maintain it. They are also so polite and helpful. Thank you for ordering the books we really wanted.
Plans for next year: Study at Binghamton University
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The tattered remains of
the Senior Budget
Shoutouts: I love you my faithful friends!!!
Name: Maria Pia
Nickname (s): Pia
Motto: “just. . . let it be”
Secret Ambition: Work for human rights
Favorite IHS Class: French and American History
Favorite IHS Memory: My afternoons laughing in International Club
At IHS, I will most miss: Some interesting people and
teachers
Plans for next year: Study in my home country: Argentina
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Enjoy a lot with your
friends
Shoutouts: Thank you Ithaca for being my home this
year
Name: Benika Pinch
Nickname (s): Benni
Favorite IHS Class: Chemistry with Mr. Tuori
Favorite IHS Memory: F.T.C. Day
At IHS, I will most miss: Walks to Gimme/farmer’s
market. And Tiddlywinks!
Plans for next year: University of Pennsylvania
Name: Tasha Roberts
Nickname (s): Tushy
Motto: EHP for life
Secret Ambition: To be half as cool as Jeff Cook
Favorite IHS Class: AP Human Geography, all of Mr.
Borthwick’s classes
Favorite IHS Memory: Hockey games, senior events
At IHS, I will most miss: my friends
Plans for next year: going to college somewhere tbd
To the Class of 2011, I leave: good luck trying to top
our perfect 10 :)
Shoutouts: To the soccer and lax girls: do it big next
year.
Name: Michael Robinson
Nickname (s): Otto
Motto: Don’t stop Believin!
Secret Ambition: To be great at golf
Favorite IHS Class: 11th grade art
Favorite IHS Memory: Winning the homecoming
football game. Listening to Chicken Frie with Robbie
Ainslie
At IHS, I will most miss: My football team, all my
friends
Plans for next year: TC3 then transfer to Buffalo
State
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Not a damn thing
Shoutouts: Mr. Powers, Reggie Feaster, Get it Done
next year in Football
Name: Maeve Russell
Secret Ambition: Working at a non-profit or NGO
11
June 9, 2010 Favorite IHS Class: AP Human Geo (w/ Mr. Powers
last year- the man)
Favorite IHS Memory: Leaving
At IHS, I will most miss: My friends!
Plans for next year: WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY!!
To the Class of 2011, I leave: “Guys- survive the 1st semester and it’s all good- high school’s overrated anyway”
Shoutouts: Mrs. P-B- get better real soon! No teacher
could ever match your brilliance. When I’m bored w/
college, I’ll just come back to be your #1 groupie!
Name: Caitlin Savino
Nickname (s): Cait, Pickle, Badger
Motto: Never drink soda updside down
Secret Ambition: Drop a water balloon filled with mis
Shoutouts: Bring the metaphorical house down IHS!
Name: Nikko Schaff
Nickname (s): Sunlight
Motto: Anybody need equity management?
Secret Ambition: Make tons of money in the stock
market and use it to start a multitude of large successful businesses
Favorite IHS Class: Philosophy
Favorite IHS Memory: English Media Class of ‘09
At IHS, I will most miss: Watching the Auditorium being slowly rebuilt
Plans for next year: Computer Science Major at RIT,
managing a hedge fund
To the Class of 2011, I leave: An apology of having to
continue public school in such a bad period of economic history
Name: Kasia Sendek
Nickname (s): Kash, Sa, Kiwi
Motto: Love, love, love, all the time, every day!
Secret Ambition: To be married on Mt. Kilimanjaro,
with 4 foreign boys signing to us during the ceremony.
Also, to save the world, and to sing in Times Square
Favorite IHS Class: honors and AP Chemistry
Favorite IHS Memory: Every story. . .
At IHS, I will most miss: The people. The beautiful,
crazy, smart, slightly inappropriate, life-changing people I call my friends
Plans for next year: Go to Stonybrook so that I can save
some money for med school!
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The lovely new and improved Kulp. . . If you’ll be able to make use of it with
the budget cuts
Shoutouts: To the theatre kids; fight hard guys, and everything will be so good!
in International Club
At IHS, I will most miss: my friends
Plans for next year: Going to college
To the Class of 2011, I leave: H-Courtyard, & the Cafeteria
Shoutouts: Thanks to everyone who supported me
throughout my four years of high school
Name: Andrew Sternglass
Motto: If at first you fail call in air support
Secret Ambition: Professional PC Gamer
Favorite IHS Class: AP Computer Science
IED
At IHS, I will most miss: Code Red Robotics Club
Class Color Day
Plans for next year: Attending the Rochester Institute
of Technology for Computer Engineering Technology
Shoutouts: @simon bohn: keep pwhing, and BC2 >
TF2
Name: Lily Tagg
Nickname (s): Lils
Motto: Sometimes you have to scrap it and start again
Secret Ambition: become the next Lady GaGa
Favorite IHS Class: Foods that changed history, Ceramics
Favorite IHS Memory: Cheese field trip with PB and
the Foods Crew
At IHS, I will most miss: Mr. Anderson and his mug
Plans for next year: NYU Silver School of Social
Work!!!
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Jocelyn, her laughter, and
my art cupboard
Shoutouts: My hubby Robs, G. Wang and my Beyonce,
Jocey
Name: Chancery Talcott
Nickname (s): Chance, Chanchan, Evato, The OhNoes,
Hippo
Motto: In the words of Little Kuriboh: “Never leave
your beaver exposed”
Secret Ambition: It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you!
Ok, I’ll tell you. . . for $20. . .
Favorite IHS Class: Chem with Mr. Lesser was the
greatest! I will forever be sad that I can’t make anymore
liquid nitrogen ice cream!
Favorite IHS Memory: Chillin under the staircase next
to H-Courtyard with my creepy friends! <3
At IHS, I will most miss: Being with all of my friends
together in one school.
Plans for next year: Rock TC3, Woot!!
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The food.. .
Shoutouts: I less than three you Mrs. Fast! I’ll miss
you!
Name: Hannah Tashman
Nickname (s): Dimbo (thank you Sarah Lynott)
Favorite IHS Class: AP Chemistry with Mr. Tuori
Favorite IHS Memory: Watching The Waterboy in
Chemistry and seeing Mr. T’s face
At IHS, I will most miss: Gimme runs and Tiddlywinks
Plans for next year: SUNY Geneseo
Shoutouts: Enjoy high school Katie!!
PHOTO/JI-YOUNG WON
Name: Matt Siliciano
Nickname (s): Matty, Mattycakes, (Mr.) Silly
Motto: They may kill you, but the legalities of eating
you are quite dicier
Secret Ambition: To marry Beyonce
Favorite IHS Class: The ones with PB, Cragi, Anderson, Tuori, and Jordan
Favorite IHS Memory: The Food Review, the Foods
Crew
At IHS, I will most miss: The flourescent lights and the
teenage angst.
Plans for next year: Deep Springs College ‘10
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The cruelty of the college application process and the sweet sweet release of
senioritis
Shoutouts: The next Lady GaGa, Regents Econ, Waffle
Frolic, Princess MiMi
Name: Maria-Gratias Sinon
Nickname (s): Keimi
Motto: Work hard; play hard
Secret Ambition: being a pop & R ‘n’ B star
Favorite IHS Class: Afro-American History through
film
Favorite IHS Memory: Having a blast with my friends
Name: Justin Tate
Nickname (s): Link, Green Guy, Tate, Tatju Gib, Drifting Shrubbery, Peaton, Green-beard
Motto: When in doubt, girlfriend knows best
That tree is NOT following you. . .
Secret Ambition: Build a light saber
Favorite IHS Class: Lunch, Chem with Lesser, DDP,
CIM
Favorite IHS Memory: Robotics build season and
competitions
At IHS, I will most miss: My friends
Plans for next year: Digital Arts and Sciences
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Awesome Robotics Team
Shoutouts: Hi to the people I know that want to say
“Hi” back
Name: Anthony Wade
Nickname (s): Ant, Kaotic Pr1nc3, K-OS
Motto: Can’t stop, won’t stop. . .
Secret Ambition: Exotic dancer at Kumas. . . Just Playing.
Favorite IHS Class: Mr. Asklar’s class
Favorite IHS Memory: Breakdancing in the Gym Area.
..
At IHS, I will most miss: Class color day, food fights
Plans for next year: SUNY Purchase for graphic design
To the Class of 2011, I leave: I leave my brother Kelvin
Kim. . . Enjoy
Shoutouts: To GCF, NewKidz, Dom’s
Name: Rebecca Waldrop
Nickname (s): Bedda
Secret Ambition: To work with Zahi Hawass
Favorite IHS Class: Combined/Foods that Changed
History
Favorite IHS Memory: Eighth period free Junior year
“What are we gonna do with our lives?”
At IHS, I will most miss: Ben and Jenna, my muskateers
Plans for next year: William Smith Class of 2014
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The new and improved
Kulp
Shoutouts: Good Luck next year, Everyone!
PHOTO/AMY LI
Name: Alex Walters
Secret Ambition: If I told you it wouldn’t be secret...
Favorite IHS Class: US History- Kruger
Favorite IHS Memory: Going to Ziffy’s all Jr. year
At IHS, I will most miss: Class color day
Plans for next year: RIT Class of 2014
To the Class of 2011, I leave: Fight for Class Color
Day, but don’t mess it up
Shoutouts: Mr. Byrne- you’re the man, keep doing
what you’re doing
Name: John Ward
Nickname (s): JWard
Secret Ambition: No secrets
Favorite IHS Class: AP Bio
Favorite IHS Memory: Everything that isn’t wrestling season
At IHS, I will most miss: Mint mondays
Plans for next year: IC Cycle
To the Class of 2011, I leave: The Cycle
Name: Peter Westin
Nickname (s): Peter Emmanuel, Upbeat Hit
Secret Ambition: Mrs. Swartz is special to me and
is my hero.
Favorite IHS Class: Music Theory
Favorite IHS Memory: Hanging out with Ms. Metzler on Field Day. Talking with Mrs. Swartz as well
as joking.
At IHS, I will most miss: Seeing Mrs. Swartz, my
special friend. Also, seeing the new Kulp Building.
Plans for next year: Working seasonally, moving
in with college girls downstate. Also seeing Mrs.
Swartz somewhere else.
To the Class of 2011, I leave: A lowered budget for
certain classes.
Shoutouts: Thanks for my education, everyone. All
14 years have made me motivated in my work.
Name: Cameron Younger
Nickname (s): Cami, Killa Cam
Motto: “I have a dream that black people, white
people, and even Chinese people can gamble together without getting different colored chips.”
Secret Ambition: You already know what it is.
Favorite IHS Class: French w/ Mr. Holl
Favorite IHS Memory: Even though he’s already
moved on, Ken Clarke, you were my big brother and
helped me make it through this. And my favorite
memory is probably every moment spent with Ms.
Maddren and Ms. Hess
At IHS, I will most miss: Wegmans with Bobby Ww
and A-Lo. And of course the girl who means the
world to me!
Plans for next year: Cornell, I don’t need to say anything else.
To the Class of 2011, I leave: To Dana + Reggie, I
leave IHS for you to completely own. And to Eisah,
carry your class to greatness.
Shoutouts: Wayne (my partner in trying to be successful), Tito Jackson, Master P (King Philip), Engstrom, and my Asian Persuasion
Under the Radar: Music You Most Likely Didn’t Hear From 2009
By KYLE ROTHMAN
The year 2009 definitely brought a great decade
to its end with some great pieces of music, but
from what I have experienced, the best music to
be heard is that which is so hard to find. Musicians
that work outside major labels and for themselves
work by no quota other than their own, and
only survive through support. Bands that start
up on their own are playing the music they feel
passionate about and feel proud of, and release
work or tour to gain a fan base and play their
music. Underground music is forever growing, and
thanks to the internet, it is so much easier to listen
to bands that you find unbelievably unique, even
though they may never tour outside their state. I’ve
compiled a list of three 2009 albums from bands
that are growing in popularity in underground
communities, and that deserve great notice.
1. Chin Up, Meriwether! – Fruition
From Olympia, WA comes one of the most defiant DIY outfits in years. This band consists of all gay
members playing intense and passionate hardcore
punk that breaks noses, jaws, barriers, and closets like it’s everybody’s business. I can easily say I
haven’t heard a band that embraced anti-homophobic attitudes with such experience, wit, and soulful
lyricism. With only three members (two guys, one
girl), Chin Up, Meriwether! is creating hard-edged
poetry that is not to be missed.
Their band name originates from the belief that
Meriwether Lewis (of the American adventuring
duo Lewis and Clark), had fallen for Clark and had
been rejected. Their name encourages Meriwether
and homosexuals everywhere to be out-of-the-closet and to be happy with themselves.
Their first release, Fruition, is a landmark debut.
Tracks like “Howling Underwater” combine fastpaced hardcore punk tempos and their angry attitudes towards dishonesty. Others like “We Do What
We Want” and “Too Soiled to be Uprooted” reveal
even more complex musical structures that range
from beautiful simplicity to raging experimentation.
The single most incendiary track would have
to be “Wally’s Hardcore”, a cynical tribute to the
tough-guys that would go to underground shows.
“Those kids, self-entitled to crime/because they
subvert the masculine paradigm/they broke your
face, they broke your jaw/ but clearly their plan was
flawed.” The opening chords and lyrics to this track
will forever embed my teenaged membrane. Chin
Up, Meriwether’s Fruition is the album of 2009 and
a necessity for those who love new and engaging
music. I can’t wait to see what this band comes out
with next.
2. O Pioneers!!! – Neon Creeps
Dubbed after the famous Walt Whitman poem of
the same name, O Pioneers!!! from Houston, TX is
not that new a band. However, after releasing their
second full-length LP, Neon Creeps, in February
2009, they are already becoming indie-punk stars
of the underground.
The unique power and sound embodied in this
record literally topples over your sense of genrelabeling, and leaves instead an intense, expressive,
easily relatable record. This release was the band’s
first with a bass player, and the new depth brought
to their sound has not gone unnoticed. O Pioneers!!!’ style resembles that of a dramatic punk going through some heavy changes. Each song’s lyrics
jump out at you with heavy howls and shouts, and
describe nostalgia, pressure, tension, and frustration, throughout all of their pieces.
Songs like “Chris Ryan Added Me On Facebook”
details not wanting to become Facebook friends
with acquaintances from High School. Neon Creeps’
opening track, “Saved By The Bell Was A Super
Good Show” describes critical teenaged drama
environments. “Why do I care, what you are becoming, its not like I know that you’re better than
this. You’re just becoming part of your surrounding, becoming what I expected. All of this Drama,
you know this is frustrating, all of this drama, you
know that it’s suffocating.” O Pioneers!!!’s music exemplifies the total honesty of their lyrics, without
distortion, without special effects, only loud, brutal
reality. These fine musicians have truly captured a
distinctive sound, and named their dastardly concoction Neon Creeps.
3. Andrew Jackson Jihad – Can’t Maintain
For those in the mood for music that aims to
disconnect you with everything you’ve known and
loved, check out Andrew Jackson Jihad. This melancholy militia from Phoenix, Arizona has been
around since 2005, and through their folk-punk,
Woody-Guthrie-obsessed music, they attempt to
criticize, corrupt, and crush the human spirit. Now,
don’t let this attitude dismiss you, dear readers;
their lyrics, while dark and intense, are absolutely
beautiful. Through their crazy depictions of tortured souls and terrible habits, they claim society to
be indecent and hopelessly incurable.
Prior to Can’t Maintain, the band was playing
mostly all acoustic songs with guitar, tub-bass, and
often loads of other folk instruments. Their latest
work however, opens with the pure electric punk of
“Heartilation”, a track about tearing out your heart
and giving it away to someone more deserving. Every track is unique and a big musical step for the
band. Songs like “Love In The Time Of Human Papilloma Virus” have a full string section, while others
like “You Don’t Deserve Yourself ” have a full horn
section, both of which bring a bright and beautiful
sound to accompany lyrics dark and depressing.
“We Didn’t Come Here to Rock” is another one
of their few electric pieces, and criticizes those that
are overtly critical of musicians, and can’t look beyond their pretentious opinions and make the music they want to hear. Of course, half of the song is
distorted noise that exemplifies artistic right.
For artists that harshly analyze and criticize others, including themselves, Andrew Jackson Jihad is a
conglomerate of different musicians that are forever
changing. For music that is miraculously melodic
and melancholy, check out AJJ’s Can’t Maintain.
Kick Ass Kicks Some Serious Ass
By ANNIE HENDERSON
Matthew Vaughn has done it again. The same man who sent Stardust
twinkling onto the big screen has successfully pulled Kick Ass off of its waxy, comic
book pages to allow us to follow underdog characters while they
weave their way through high school and big city crime.
Aaron Johnson and Dave Lizewski, a high school nobody
who spends his life taking what is given to him, fantasizing
about his English teacher and hanging around the comic-book
store with his friends, is played by the hilarious Even Peters and
Clark Duke (who recently appeared in Hot Tub Time Machine).
After several twists of fate, Dave decides to don the wetsuit costume of his crime fighting alter ego, Kick Ass. In his early days,
he spent more time finding lost pets than fighting bad guys. It
is only after a video of Kick Ass defending a man against three
attackers goes viral that he is shot into superhero stardom, and
his new status implicates him in an ex-cop’s vendetta against a
crack dealing crime boss that spins wildly out of control.
Watching Kick Ass feels like reading a comic book. The characters jump from one frame to the next in classic, cliché shots of
people flinging themselves across rooftops outlined by cityscape
horizons. The dramatic camera angles, punchy dialogue and a
soundtrack of remixed pumping songs (such as “Bad Reputation”) get your adrenaline running. All of these elements can be seen in the trailer,
which does not by any means do the movie justice. None of Kick Ass’s heavy under-
tones are felt in the 30-second clip. The tragic subplot revolving around Big Daddy
(Nicholas Cage) and his daughter, Mindy (AKA: Hit Girl), as they seek vengeance
on the crime boss, D’Amico, is completely ignored in the preview, but stand out in
this otherwise comedic story.
Ironically, the movie’s R rating isn’t just earned by the mobsters, but also by the cast’s youngest member, Hit Girl. The
carefully choreographed, cut throat fight scenes showcase the
12-year-old clad in a purple wig and prep school skirt. Her
knack for handling butterfly blades, evading bazooka fire and
delivering vulgar (and hilarious) one-liners earns her the rank
of Kick Ass’s most badass character. Nicolas Cage’s portrayal of
Big Daddy was surprisingly well done. He taps into the character’s twisted sense of justice with unexpected conviction. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (the infamous McLovin from Superbad)
amps up his customary sniveling to become D’Amico’s son,
Red Mist. Besides bringing in the laughs, he drives the movie’s
sweetest ride – the fire spurting Mist Mobile.
Kick Ass draws on all the characteristic superhero thrills to
rev up its audiences. Nonetheless, it’s exploration of the idea that
we become more than ourselves by donning a mask is refreshing. Laughing at Dave’s experience reassures the audience that
our attempts to help humanity are noble, however misguided
or insignificant they seem. This concoction of Snatch, Superbad, Quentin Tarantino style violence and spandex makes for a completely kick ass
movie.
13
June 9, 2010 By JIMMY EDWARDS
A&
Why Vinyl?
Today, a teenager could go to the store, dish out a few hundred dollars, and return
home with an iPod allowing him to hold 20,000 songs all in the palm of his hand. He
could then use quite basic computer skills to fill that iPod to its capacity with music that
he likes, completely free of charge. Although it’s entirely illegal (an issue which I will not
delve into) millions of people do it daily. The idea of paying $15 for a piece of plastic, with
some fancy graphics on one side seems illogical to many people when any song they
could ever desire is only a few clicks and keystrokes away.
The reason I point this out is to contrast it with the fact that I, along with a growing number of other people, can willingly and easily walk into a record store and spend
hours searching through stacks of dusty and moldy LPs, and without even trying, walk
out with a bag full of records and $50 fewer than I left home with. I’ll admit, this seems
illogical based on my previous statements about useless plastic. Why spend money on
records?
I should start out with an explanation about how CD players work. They shoot out
a laser beam at the surface of the CD and then relay the keyword digital signal back to
the electronics, which in turn send more electrical signals to speakers, causing them to
vibrate, which causes air to move. This movement is then picked up by our eardrums.
Records produce sound with the same basic principle, but instead of the shiny surface on
the back of a CD, records have grooves. Instead of shooting a laser beam, record players
use a needle that rides along the surface of the record in these grooves. The needle rides
along the record from the outside edge in, and transmits what sound the grooves make
back to an amplifier. Speakers are then connected to the amplifier and from that point
on the process is identical to that of a CD. After this crash course in sound production,
you’re probably still slightly confused. There is one important idea to keep in mind: CDs
are digital, while records are analog. In other words, a CD is like an electronic keyboard
and a record is like a real piano.
“But, Jimmy,” one might ask, “what difference does this make?” That key distinction between records and CDs is why so many record enthusiasts continue to spend
what little money they have on the devices, myself included. One might think we live in
a “digital world,” but in reality we don’t. Our eardrums are analog devices, the way we
speak is analog, and sound waves - no matter what produced them - are analog. So why
on earth would listening to music in a digital format make any sense? It simply doesn’t.
Upon digitizing sound (what you do when you import a CD into iTunes to listen to
on an iPod), you compress it. By “compress,” I mean that iTunes essentially takes each
song, cuts out what we supposedly don’t need to listen from it, and converts it to, for
example, an MP3 file. This way we can still retain all we need of the song to hear it wand
be able to fit more than 10 songs on our iPods. The problem is that, by its very nature,
compressing a song and transforming it into a digital file makes the song sound empty.
It’s as if you had a drawing that was too big for it’s frame, and proceeded to cut off outside edges of the drawing in order to make it fit. Sure, you still retain the majority of the
drawing. Plus, most people won’t even notice the edges are gone - but the picture is still
lacking those pieces that were cut off. CDs are like the drawing after the edges have been
cut off, and a record is the whole picture.
It’s hard to describe, but a record sounds different from a CD or an iPod. Records
have a warmer, richer, and, in my opinion, better sound. In my mind, the difference is
similar to the difference between music heard from a band right in front of me as opposed to a band playing in a room down the hall. What I find attractive about records
it that they are tangible objects. They are much more personal than a downloaded file.
Most of the records I buy are 30 to 40 years old, and have probably been owned by many
different people before me. Ask anyone who has bought a record - it’s a very personal
experience. I’m not just buying some piece of plastic, or downloading some digital file I
can’t even see. I’m buying something physical. In a way, the size of a record is what makes
it worth the money - it can’t be picked up with just one hand. Any slight touch to the
grooves could scratch them, because they are very delicate objects that, when handled
with proper care, will indefinitely produce good-quality music. Everyone should take
the time to go down to a record store and listen to an LP. Records will open up a whole
new dimension of music, and you’ll understand what it’s like to actually be able to listen
to music the way it was meant to be heard.
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Baseball Previews and Predictions
By GEOFF PRESTON
Spring: the season of life, rebirth, things becoming new again … wait, did you think I was talking
about all the flowers and stuff? Sorry, my attention is
entirely focused on a different kind of beauty: baseball diamonds. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it’s
time for opening day! Nothing excites me more than
the crisp voice of Jon Miller welcoming an entire nation to Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, or the roar of
crowds across the country who believe that no matter
what happened last season, this is the year. Much of
that attitude is overzealous energy that will quickly
pan out into an order we are all accustomed to.
The theme of the past decade in baseball was
parity. No team won back to back titles and only two
teams—the Red Sox and Yankees—won two championships in the whole decade. This is the same sport
that has seen by far the most dynasties in its history,
and is so lenient towards big-market clubs that all this
parity came as a surprise. But of course, with a new
decade comes new trends. Parity is not the name of
the game this year, as I expect very little in the way of
change and surprise. Of the eight playoff teams last
year, I have six repeating, and the other two are arbitrary.
PHOTO/PROVIDED
American League (AL) East: Yankees
I am a heavy subscriber to the idea that “If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it,” and I think the Yankees tried to fix
a team that wasn’t broken. Just once I would like to
see a team win a championship and make zero roster
moves. Maybe that is unrealistic, but I don’t see why
the Yankees traded away youth in Austin Jackson and
Miguel Cabrera for a powerful bat and a dwindling
arm. I don’t see how you let Johnny Damon go, and I
don’t see how you let the World Series MVP go. That
being said, the Yankees remain this division’s, and
this league’s, best team.
The only challenger will be the Red Sox, but I
just don’t know where the Red Sox runs are going to
come from. Until the Red Sox get in touch with a steroid guru, David Ortiz will not hit. Sorry, Red Sox
fans, but your lovable slugger has been over the hill
going on two years now. Mike Lowell moves like he
spent the offseason in Antarctica, and Dustin Padroia
cannot carry an offense. He won the MVP in 2007
because he had a line-up of guys you couldn’t pitch
around. He will not see as many hittable pitches this
year and is not about to carry the Red Sox offense.
AL Central: Twins
The Twins have by far the best lineup in this rela-
tively weak division. Mauer and Morneau give this
team immediate power that the Tigers, White Sox,
and Indians just don’t have. The concerns come when
you look at the pitching staff. The Twins lack an ace,
or so we think. Reports out of Fort Myers have Fransico Liriano throwing the ball in the mid nineties
and having a ton of break on his off-speed pitches.
(Remember Liriano? He was Cy Young and Walter
Johnson’s jacked son in 2006, then he blew out his elbow and got fat.) In this division, that is really all the
Twins need.
A good dark horse here would be the White Sox;
they bring two very good pitchers and a lineup that
has potential. The Tigers have less than people think
after Justin Verlander and seeing the way that their
bullpen pitched down the stretch, it is hard for me to
pick them.
AL West: Mariners
Not a lot of teams did more to help themselves
in the offseason than the Mariners did. They added
a solid leadoff guy in Chone Figgins, which is extra
sweet because he is away from the division rival Angels. This was a great move for them. Just ask any Yankees fan and they will tell you about how Figgins was
quite possibly the biggest pest on the Angels in the
2005 American League Division Series, and he was
the guy we were most scared of in the 2009 Championship Series. Having him in the leadoff spot does
great things for any offense, but not as much as adding Cliff Lee is going to do for that rotation. I know
he will probably miss the first month, but baseball is
a six-month-long sport. When he comes back, the
Mariners will have Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez, and
the long-forgotten Eric Bedard to throw. Do you want
to face those three pitchers in a playoff series, much
less a weekend series? That is as stacked a rotation
as this division has, which is another reason to jump
aboard the Mariners’ bandwagon.
This might be the weakest division in baseball,
or at least in the AL. The Angels somehow survived
losing the best pitcher in the franchise’s history last
year, but they just lost one of their best bats and their
ace John Lackey. I don’t care if Mike Scioscia is their
manager and that they have owned the division in the
past; the cards are too stacked against the Angels. I
will not miss seeing them in the playoffs.
AL Wildcard: Red Sox
The Red Sox might be the second-best team in the
American League. The AL East is just a gauntlet which
the Red Sox may or may not win, but the idea that any
other team is as good as them is absurd. I know they
won’t score the amount of runs we are used to, but
that staff is deep and talented. An October threat, although I hate to admit it.
National League (NL) East: Phillies
Listen to me when I say that this division will be
wrapped up by the end of August. Trading for Roy
Halladay will lead the Phillies to another pennant.
Roy Halladay is about to unload something biblical
on the NL East. Seriously--we are going to see numbers out of him that we haven’t seen since the deadball
era. He was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, and
he pitched in the AL East, which happens to be the
most slugger-happy division in all of baseball. If he
can win 19 games a year in that division for as long as
he has, how many do you think he will rack up while
in the NL? And don’t tell me there is no difference.
The NL does not have the offensive firepower the AL
does. C.C. Sabathia, as great a pitcher as he is, looked
like Christy Mathewson in the National League, as
did Cliff Lee. It is just easier to pitch in the NL.
Add the fact that this team has won the past two
pennants and they obviously have a solid foundation. Their core group of players is as good as any I’ve
seen, and they have quite the dynasty going. There is
no reason for them to be bounced from the NL East
throne as long as that core remains in tact.
On another note, Cole Hamels has added 10-12
mph to his fastball in spring training. He had a mental lapse in the past year, but if the Phillies have him
ready to go it could be a huge asset to that rotation.
NL Central: Cardinals
The Cards are really the only team that should be
able to challenge the Phillies. They have a one-two
punch in Carpenter and Wainwright that is decent-maybe a little overhyped, but decent nonetheless.
Re-signing Matt Holliday was possibly the smartest
thing the franchise has done yet; now that Pujols is
protected in the lineup and can absolutely tee off on
the good pitches you know he is going to get. This
is now an offense that is formidable enough to challenge for a pennant. The problems lie in that I’m not
sure how the back end of the rotation will perform,
and Kyle Lohse, the guy with the absurd mustache,
has not earned my vote of confidence. This team has
holes, but look at the rest of the division. The biggest
challenger might be Cincinnati, and when that happens, you know your division stinks.
NL West: Dodgers
I remember when the Dodgers were always that
team that had the talent to compete for the pennant,
but for some reason they never did win it. Then Joe
Torre came onto the scene and it all changed. You’re
welcome, Los Angeles. People say that managing in
baseball has been reduced to some fat guy chewing
seeds and taking up space. Let Joe Torre be the example that serves to change this perception. Besides the
manager, the Dodgers have a lineup that has carried
them to two straight NLCS’s. Yes, Manny continues to
annoy us with his presence on this earth, but the man
can still rake. Matt Kemp gives him protection, and in
a division that has teams of more wild card type quality, I can see the Dodgers taking the crown again this
year. If the Giants can score even a mediocre number
of runs, they will make the race interesting, because
Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain serve as the ultimate
one-two combo. I see them as a big wild-card threat.
N.L Wild Card: Giants
While the race should be exciting, it will eventually mean nothing. There are five or six teams that
can win the wild card, but none of them should make
too much of a ruckus in the pennant race. The Giants
should win because of the pitching, but they added
some decent bats that should give them just enough
to edge out teams like the Rockies, Braves, Reds, and
others.
ALCS: Yankees over Red Sox
NLCS: Phillies over Cardinals
World Series: Yankees over Phillies.
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15
June 9, 2010 Not at All Senseless: Blind Soccer
By KYLE ROTHMAN
Everyone has the aspiration to do what they love, but some may have to face
extra adversity or challenge themselves to feel truly accomplished. If you have
a disability, trying to play sports can be a challenge, but with the proper training and supervision, much can be achieved. Organizations that run sports for
the visually impaired have been around for decades, and are present on nearly
every continent.
Since 1981, the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSF) has run as
a non-profit organization in Paris. It has been encouraging those with visual
impairments to participate in sports. The United States Association for Blind
Athletes (USABA) has also been actively participating in enriching the lives of
the visually impaired. Readers are probably wondering what being blind and
playing sports must be like. Sight, while being a trait people use effectively,
is not something that is necessary to live a fulfilling life. These organizations
explore how to get beyond some disabilities in order to be productive through
athletic activity.
The IBSF and the USABA cover a wide range of athletic activities for the
blind. Needless to say, some can be easier to picture than others. Sports like
bowling, rowing, audio darts, and some basic athletics can be fairly easy to
understand, as long as you can play and have someone see for you. For other
games however, the challenge is much greater. Some examples of more challenging blind sports are archery, alpine skiing, beep baseball, beep hockey,
rock climbing, bell basketball, karate, judo, cycling, and soccer.
Of the blind sports, soccer is the most popular around the world. This
sport originated in Spain. The game mainly consists of two 25-minute halves,
with a 30-minute break at halftime. In five-side, there are five players per
side, and all players aside from the goalie are blind. The goalie and one other
in-game supervisor take on even more responsibility during the game by becoming the eyes of the team. The five field players must hear his instruction to
know where to head toward the goal. “But how would they ever know where
the ball was?” you ask? Well, dear reader, that’s a good question. The soccer
ball is equipped with a bell that will sound when in motion, so all of the players can sense it during the game.
The five players are usually chosen for teams based on the degree of their
visual impairment. For instance, B1 level athletes are completely to almost
totally blind. B2 athletes are partially sighted, but have a very small field of
vision, and B3 athletes are partially sighted, and have a somewhat larger field
of vision. This system for determining a player’s group is necessary to make
teams equal. Someone with even a slight field of vision will have the upper
hand against a player who is completely blind. Because of this, B1 teams can
only play B1 teams, but B2 and B3 athletes tend to mix together for competition.
Blind soccer is hardly an unpopular or unheard of sport. Since its creation, countries all over the world have been finding the best players to use to
compete with other nations. The largest competition takes place during the
Summer Paralympic Games, which has hosted the sport since 2004. Championships were held before that as well, with great success. The countries with
the most wins are Spain, Brazil, and Argentina.
Of the many things that blind soccer has brought to the world, it engages
those who were told they couldn’t play sports in a healthy athletic activity,
where they can find the ferocity and rigor they crave. Without these supportive organizations, men and women all over the world would feel trapped by
their disabilities, and hungry for athletic activity. Keep an eye out for some
blind sports, because you will be amazed what people can accomplish with
one fewer sense.
Why Sam Bradford Will Be an NFL Draft Bust
By GEOFF PRESTON
When Sam Bradford’s name
trickled from the mouth of NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell
on draft night, it was met with
stupendous applause by the 20
or so people who still root for
the Rams. With Bradford, those
fans could reminisce back to
the days of Kurt Warner and
Super Bowl runs in the glory
days. I hate to be the overzealous cop that breaks up a party,
but sorry, Rams fans, the party
is over. Consider me the voice
of reason in all of the Bradford
talk. The Rams just drafted the
next Ryan Leaf.
Realistically though, this
is not Bradford’s fault. If you
want to blame someone, blame
the Oklahoma Sooners and
Bob Stoops. Bradford has all
the right tools for NFL success:
height, weight, arm strength,
and accuracy. However, it was
playing in Stoops’ wide-open,
shotgun-oriented offense that
will ultimately spell doom for
this number-one pick.
Think about this: Bradford
has not had to make a decision
while backing up since before
his high school days. He had
the best offensive line in college
football history the one year we
saw him play, and when that offensive line began to falter, it
seemed like we saw him either
on the ground or being carted
off the field. The Rams are not
exactly world-famous for excellence in the offensive-line category. Bradford will be on the
ground with startling frequency.
And judging by his time on the
ground last year, this will not be
a good thing for the Rams.
There are many criteria
for a player to achieve “bust”
status. A combination of bad
organization, an overrated college career, and poor talent can
lead to the labeling of a player
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as a “bust.” Besides, Bradford
did not play in a pro-style offense. With this spread-offense
revolution that has overcome
college football, we are going
to see many more quarterbacks
who are ill equipped to handle
the ‘drop back, hand-it-off ’
style of a professional offense. A
well-known fact in NFL history
is that it evolves much slower
than college football. It does
not adapt to you, you adapt to
it. Bradford now must adapt,
and he is not alone. Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow will have
to do the same and frankly, I
don’t think they can. Bradford
has talent, but that only gets
you so far. How can he be expected to learn the complexities
of a pro-style offense? Although
that expectation will be there,
it will only heighten the disappointment when he turns into
the next Ryan Leaf. Good thing
no one cares about the Rams.
Taurus (April 20 to May 20) - The
number of times you walk into a door
this month will cause you to seek out
new ways of thinking. You might be
a little bit bruised, but you will get
help reading those books, and end up
somewhere in the south of France this
month.
Gemini (May 21 to June 20) - Don’t
let yourself get too neurotic. Follow
your instincts, but repress those strange
urges to bite people. It could get you
in trouble later… You should contact a
certain someone you haven’t talked to
recently. Your efforts will be rewarded.
You should also know that good hair
runs in your family, along with your
looks. Stellar, dude!
Cancer (June 21 to July 22) - You are
a lovely person with lots of energy. But
be nicer to those around you; they feel
under-appreciated. Brush up on your
Hungarian and Turkish; they will come
in handy. Be careful not to piss off those
fairies, you need them on your side. We
also see a nice surprise in your future.
Your friend found the light so thank
Horoscopes:
them with a nice cookie. You should
watch some Lord of The Rings; Gandalf
has something to tell you.
Leo (July 23 to Aug 22) - Eat your
veggies, and enjoy the weather. Dance
with yourself, and watch some Glee, because it will always brighten your day.
Virgo (Aug 23 to Sept 22) - Your innocence has been shattered. It may be
funny now, but hope you don’t regret it
later. Also, take a deep breath, hope for
the best, and your hair will look even
lovelier than it normally does.
Libra (Sept 23 to Oct 22) - Don’t pee
in public areas, even though that can
be hard for you. Stay off the roof this
month, because it will be windy.
Scorpio (Oct 23 to Nov 21) - Beware
of small insects this month. Have you
seen that episode of the Twilight Zone?
Yeah, enough said. You have been feeling spontaneous lately, so use that energy to go on an impromptu camping trip;
the nice fresh air will do you good.
Sagittarius (Nov 22 to Dec. 21) - The
moon and stars say buy a GPS because
you will get lost this weekend. Blow off
some steam and have some fun during
this stressful time of year, but just don’t
end up in a ditch. Love, be nice, and
don’t mess around.
Capricorn (Dec 22 to Jan 19) - Strange
things are happening. Don’t question
them; things will either make sense or
they won’t. Stuff happens.
Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18) - You may
get caught in a large drain. This is all
part of the plan the gnomes have for
you so don’t question it. But buy some
fish; they may be your only friends this
month.
Pisces (Feb 19-march 20) - You may
find the person you creep on creeps on
you just as much. Just don’t let them see
you while you are at their window. Also,
invest in some night vision goggles; you
will need them. Aries (Mar 21 to April 19) - The sun
will smile down on you this month!
A Poem
Hi
as if it held more weight than it does.
because we only ever want to say more
than our minds can conjour up
in the passing--when eyes meet.
and always we wish we could
mean more, in less words
to save our breaths.
So leave the rest to eyes
and say that simple word,
Co
ions to the IHS Class of
t
a
l
u
at
ng r
2010!
Check out the many ways you can be
part of the Kitchen Theatre this summer:
ÊUÊSee a wonderful comedy:
CHESAPEAKE (running June 23-July 18)
ÊUÊVolunteer to help with the
ÊUÊIntern in our marketing or
production departments
Contact Stephen@KitchenTheatre.org for more information
T I C K E T S : 607-273-4497 or 1-800-28-ITHACA
W E B : www.KitchenTheatre.org
T H E AT E R : 116 N. Cayuga St. Ithaca, NY 14850
HELP WANTED
The Tattler needs
cartoonists,
columnists,
Name-Swapping
Picnics
Birthdays
Defectiv Cat
The Cornell
Clock Tower
Yearbook Cover
Angry Birds
Spring Allergies
move into our new theater
whether you know why or why not, you do.
Hi.
Clean Tattler Office
Waving
By A. A. Talex
Don’t you love how we say the word:
SUMMER!!
photographers,
and most of all,
email editor@ihstattler.com
for more information
writers.
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