“A Midsummer Night`s Dream” comes to Northside

Vol. 10 No. 8
Northside College Preparatory High School April 2009
Hoof Beat
The
News
pages 1-3
•NHS 3-on-3 basketball
scores big
• Verve2 receives
submissions for next year
Global Connections page 4
• Stem cell research
legislation signed by Obama
Diversions page 6
• Explore the Magnificent
Mile
Features page 7
• Personality Profile: Matt
Ramir
• Stevenson HS has first gay
dance
Arts & Entertainment page 8-9
• Kelly Clakson’s new album
“All I Ever Wanted”
Editorials page 10
• Editorial: Thank you for
listening, Mr. Rodgers
Sports page 11-12
•Women’s water polo team
starts new season
•Star athlete Eric Nelson
shines at NCP
Page 9
Page 2
Four stars for Tre
Latino Club hosts
Kronor
masquerade ball
A war for a good cause
Northside raises money for the construction of
hospitals in Tanzania
by Lyanne Alfaro
March 5, juniors stole first
non-profit organization
on Gaza’s medical needs.
“I spent the whole
After a two-week
place. In the first four days,
whose main concern is
The organization sent 15
winter break with her [my
fundraising battle, the
the progress had exceeded
Tanzania’s health care and
emergency kits, totaling to
aunt],” Negrete said. “I
senior class claimed victory 1,000 dollars worth of
care for orphan children.
around 20,000 treatments
decided that I really wanted
on Friday, March 13 in
donations.
The group works alongside
of essential medicines on
to help the organization.”
Piggy Bank Wars, hosted
The initiative was the
with The World Vision and
January 9 with help from
Upon his return to
by Operation Fly. For this
idea of one of Northside’s
Aviation without Borders
World Emergency Relief.
school from winter break,
fundraiser, each class,
own sophomores, Lucas
to provide needy areas
The organization also
Negrete informed several
including the faculty and
Negrete, Adv. 110, who
around the world with suphelped Zimbabwe, which
members in Operation Fly
staff as the fifth group,
received inspiration for the
plies. Among the areas that
was dealing with a cholera
about the organization.
competed against the
project from his aunt.
the International Health
epidemic. Although Zimba- Operation Fly then decided
others to raise the most
“She [my aunt] runs
Partners has aided are
bwe is still dealing with the
to sponsor Northside’s
points in order to win pizza an organization called The
Harare and Bulawayo. The
outbreak, the media has not Piggybank Wars. Every
for the whole grade. The
International Health Partorganization used much
reported on the disease as
morning, Operation Fly
school raised $2126 over
ners,” Negrete said.
of its donations to prove
much as it did in the past.
updated the rankings and
eight school days. The seThe International
cholera treatment kits and
The International Health
announced who was in first
niors arrived in first place.
Health Partners is a group
antibiotics from Ambe
Partners continues to send
place with the most points.
Freshmen took second
dedicated to the construcMedical, Baxter, Pfizer, and vital medical supplies over
The club hung fliers around
place in the wars, with
tion of new hospital faciliWochardt at cholera medito Zimbabwe. Negrete was
the school, spreading
faculty coming in third
ties and clinics as well as
cal centers. In January of
inspired by his aunt’s work
the word about the wars
place, juniors in fourth, and educating future doctors
this year, the International
and wanted to contribute to and International Health
sophomores came in last
about their career. It is a
Health Partners focused
these causes.
Partners.
place. The event began
on Monday, March 2.
Each group had its own
bucket at the security
desk for change. The
fundraiser was dedicated to raising money to
build hospitals in Tanzania. The proceeds of
the event were sent to
the International Health
Partners organization,
which would help build
these hospitals.
In the wars, a dollar
was worth 100 points
and a penny was worth
one point. However,
nickels, dimes, and
quarters deducted
points. Nickels deducted five points, dimes
deducted 10 points, and
quarters deducted 25
points each. Students
from one grade could
put these coins in another grade’s bucket to
make their opponents
lose points and help
their own class advance
in the daily rankings.
On Tuesday, March
3, the first day of
counting, sophomores
took first place. On
Wednesday, March 4,
sophomores stayed in
the lead with the most Members of Operation Fly count the change collected after school in the Business Manager’s office.
Photo courtesy of Lucas Negrete Rousseau.
points. On Thursday,
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” comes to
Northside
by Adira Levine
It is not every day that high
school students get the opportunity
to see a Shakespeare play professionally performed in their own
auditorium, but on Wednesday,
March 11, some Northsiders had
this experience when the Tony
Award-winning Chicago Shakespeare Theater performed “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” in
Northside’s Cedric L. Hampton
Theater. The performance was held
for freshmen during colloquium at
no cost to the students.
Mr. Randy Snow, Ms. Ebikepreye Porri, Ms. Karen Dana, and
Ms. Kyra Sitz, all of the English
department, began planning for
the production in early October.
They thought that viewing the
performance would supplement the
Survey of Literature curriculum,
which involves reading Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and
learning about the literary genre
of tragedy. The teachers felt that
viewing the comedy A Midsummer
Night’s Dream would be beneficial
to students because it would expose
them to literary comedy and show
them the importance of comedy
as a literary genre. The classes will
also build on the experience and
other activities in the freshman
culminating project, The Love and
Marriage Project.
“Ms. Porri, Ms. Dana, Ms.
Sitz and I wanted to complement
the freshman curriculum with an
exciting common experience for
the freshman class,” Mr. Snow
said. “We thought the Chicago
Shakespeare Theater’s production of ‘A Midsummer’ would
further acquaint students with the
language and major themes of a
Shakespeare play.”
“A Midsummer Night’s
Dream” follows two couples and
the confusion that ensues as meddling magical creatures make them
fall in love with the wrong people.
Meanwhile, it also comically
portrays a group of craftsmen and
their preparations for a production
of the play “Pyramus and Thisbe.”
Both plot lines intertwine, leaving
many mix-ups to be resolved by
the magical creatures that caused
them.
Freshmen attending the play
were impressed with the production.
“The play was really interesting,” Christine Eckert, Adv. 200,
said. “There were a lot of really
cool effects and sounds, which
was my favorite part. I was really
excited to have the opportunity.
The experience was just as great as
I hoped.”
Students also had the opportunity to ask the actors questions
following the performance. Many
questions focused on the company’s interpretation of the play. In
particular, many students found it
interesting that the company chose
to modernize the play by using
contemporary clothing and props.
“The performance showed
that Shakespeare can be engaging,
relevant, and challenging to today’s
young audience,” Mr. Snow said.
“I was told by a member of Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s team
that the audience was wonderful; I
concur.”
Students seemed to agree that
the performance made a positive
impression.
“The performance made me
more interested in reading Shakespeare because of how funny I saw
that it could be,” Carly Jackson,
Adv. 202, said.
The teacher coordinators of the
event were pleased that students
had the experience of viewing
a Shakespeare comedy live and
hoped that it gave them a new appreciation for Shakespeare’s work.
“The performance was beyond
expectations,” Mr. Snow said.
“Young readers often think of
Shakespeare as this dusty, stodgy
and boring writer. From the
reaction the play received from
students in the theatre, I think they
may have changed their minds.”
Page News
Final all-school dance set to the
theme of a masquerade ball
Northside’s Latino Club hosts the last dance
by Anna Cieslik Instead of hosting the
usual Valentine’s Day Dance
that Northside’s Latino Club
has hosted it the past, the club
chose to organize Northside’s
first Masquerade Ball on
March 20 in the school cafeteria. The theme of the dance
was formal, with a focus on
the colors red, silver, gold,
black, and white. The club
suggested that people attending the ball also wear masks,
but this was not mandatory.
However, many Northside
students took advantage of
this fun new dress code and
chose to wear masks that
ranged from classic to painted
on with face paint.
The masks as well as the
music and dancing made the
Masquerade Ball a great final
dance of the school year for
many Northside students.
There was an emphasis on
Latino music, which many
found fun and easy to dance
to. Students and guests also
seemed to enjoy the overall
mood set by black and silver
balloons and stars scattered
across the room, turning
the cafeteria into the perfect
dance floor.
Some students were
initially upset with the lack
of Valentine’s Day dance
this year. However, many students were very pleased with
the Masquerade Ball after the
dance had ended. The Latino
Club members also stand by
their decision to host the Masquerade Ball, and they saw
the dance as a success.
“[Latino Club] decided
to have a spring dance [because] we thought that it was
original and a new, fun idea
to have it be a Masquerade
Students dancing at the first Latino Club Masquerade Ball.
Photo courtesy of Stefanie Pinon
Ball,” Veronica Schwartz,
Adv. 203, said.
It was not just the freshmen that enjoyed the dance
either. The sophomores,
juniors, and seniors also had a
great time.
“I really enjoyed the
Masquerade Dance,” Martina
Bight, Adv. 103, said. “I had
lots of fun.”
Although many people
went to the dance to have
a good time with friends or
their significant other, the music played by the DJ seemed
to be an unexpected attraction
that a lot of the students were
excited by.
“They played more of a
variety of music at the dance
versus the other ones,” Bright
said, “so it made it more
interesting to dance to.”
Although the juniors and
seniors at Northside still have
their proms to look forward
to, the Masquerade Ball was
the last dance for the freshmen and sophomores. Many
of the underclassmen were
glad to end the Northside
dances of 2009 with the Masquerade Ball.
“A lot of people didn't
go because they thought it
would be lame,” Bright said,
“but I thought it was totally
worth it.”
The only problem some
students had with the dance
was the amount of people
there, or lack-there-of. There
were some Northsider
students that did not feel the
Masquerade theme would be
fun, since it was not a special
occasion like the Halloween
dance or Homecoming.
“I didn’t feel like going
because it didn’t seem like it
would be fun,” Mohammed
Khaja, Adv. 205, said. “I
would have gone if it were
something like a Valentine’s dance or the end of
the school dance. But a
Masquerade Ball sounds
boring.”
The Masquerade Ball
might not have been perfect, but many Northside
students who attended
the dance were pleasantly
surprised by this final
all-school dance. The ball
also left hopes high for the
Latino Club-sponsored
dances of the future.
Many of the students that
attended the Masquerade
Ball felt that the Latino
Club made a good decision in hosting the ball
this year.
Both Northside
students and Latino Club
members alike considered the Masquerade
Ball a successful dance to
end the 2009 Northside
dances, and many hope
that this new tradition
continues on for years
to come.
Students express themselves
Verve 2 accepts submissions for its next volume
by Zobia Chunara
Verve 2 is an online magazine that was founded by Nohemi
Fernandez, Adv. 016, in 2008. This club is composed of a
group of editors who look at individual fine art submissions by
Northside students and choose from a variety of art and written
pieces. Ms. Porri helped jump start the club when Fernandez
came to her with an idea for workshops with a creative atmosphere.
Teenagers find many ways to express themselves, whether
it is through poetry, art, music, theater, etc. Fernandez thought
that there should be an outlet for these aspiring artists to show
off their styles and what they are all about.
Although Verve 2 has only featured written and art pieces
to this date, musicians will soon be featured in the online
magazine as well. Students who play an instrument will be able
to submit their piece by uploading a video onto the website or
submitting it to Verve 2 via email at ncpverve2@gmail.com.
Currently, editors of the online magazine are working on
jump starting a website for students to view, share, and upload
works of art, music, and writing. The magazine also has a print
version separate from the online magazine, called Verve, which
is distributed yearly.
“Last meeting we talked to Ms. Pouri about the website,”
Sarah Jose, Adv. 051, said. “We had the website loaded on, but
last year nothing got put up. Right now, we hope to get the print
version out by end of the year. We definitely encourage people
to submit their art work. Verve is really interesting to be in,
because we always have new people.”
Last year, the editors were assigned to different sections,
but this year the publication is more of a collaborative effort,
as they work together on different sections like web, print,
art, writing, and music. When looking at submissions that the
magazine receives, Verve members sit down, and they read
the piece out loud to search for certain qualities or something
special that stands out.
“We take into consideration whether the piece is creative
and original. For an art piece we appraise whether it looks nice
or not,” Fernandez said.
A variety of factors are evaluated; pieces may be chosen
on humor or how touching they are. The publication asks the
authors to come in to talk to them about their written submissions. Although the print version only comes out once a
year, Verve 2’s online edition will be updated more frequently
because there are many submissions.
Editors of Verve 2 visit the 20 Hour Art Show Northside
hosts every semester. They take pictures of pieces that they like,
and email the artist to ask if they would be interested in having
their work submitted to the magazine.
Verve 2’s main priority is currently to get its website up and
running. Verve 2 has hosted two workshops for potential writers so far this year. The time in the workshops is used to allow
students interested in writing or drawing to express themselves
through their work. Participants then read what they wrote to
others present, so the group can assess it and give feedback.
Last year, Faiza Ahmed, Adv. 906, a current editor, was
in charge of the art section and print version. She felt that the
workshops had been beneficial to Verve’s writers.
“The workshops are going really well,” Ahmed said. “This
time there were a lot more people and a lot of submissions, so
that’s good.”
The focus of these workshops is to build a creative energy
for people to come in and only be thinking about what they
want to do through their art. At their first workshop, Verve 2’s
editors called for all artists at Northside to come in and draw
what they wanted with their artistic abilities.
“Drawing was a memorable workshop early in the year,”
Sarah Jose, Adv. 051, said. “I was really happy at the turn out,
and more people came than we thought because of the theme
of the meeting.”
At the Verve 2 workshop on March 11, the writers had
pizza and worked on mad libs before presenting their pieces to
the group of students that came. They had many seniors and
sophomores, but editors look forward to pulling in more freshmen to the workshops. Next year, Verve will open up the editor
positions for new students to come in and join.
The Hoof Beat
Northside College
Prep High School
5501 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625
Tel: (773) 534-3954
Fax: (773) 534-3964
Principal: Mr. Barry Rodgers
Assistant Principal:
Dr. Margaret Murphy
Advisor: Mr. Chester Tylinski
Editors-In-Chief: Zlatana Alibegovic, Vasiliki Mitrakos
Managing Editor: Andrea Ljevar
Web Editor: Molly McAndrew,
Riaz Shaikh
News Editor: Zahra Lalani
Global Connections Editor: Olutoye Adegboro
Features Editor: Andrea Ljevar
Centerfold Editor: Evan Rogers
Diversions Editor: Sonya Dekhtyar
Editorial Editor: Yonas Zewdie
Arts and Entertainment Editor:
Matt Glodz
Sports Editor: Caitlin Swieca
Editorial Cartoonist: Gigi Lee
Photo Editors: Alejandro Vadivieso,
Adriana Garties
Photographer: Kevin Lee
Art Editor: Andriana Mitrakos
Reporters: Olutoye Adegboro,
Pooja Agarwal, Lyanne Alfaro,
Subhan Ali, Zlatana Alibegovic,
Derika Benton, Tessa Biskup, Sarah
Capungan, Zobia Chunara, Anna
Cieslik, Krystn Collins, Sonya
Dekhtyar, Olympia Eldorrado,
Melissa Espana, Adriana Garties,
Matt Glodz, Dan Graham, Sarish
Hassan, Adriana Inojosa, Carolyn
Jeon, Melissa Jordan, Jeffery
Joseph, Bushra Kabir, Sony Kassam,
Claire Kilpatrick, Zahra Lalani,
Adira Levine, Andrea Ljevar, Molly
McAndrew, Andriana Mitrakos,
Vasiliki Mitrakos, Faique Moqeet,
Dylan Nugent, Alessandra Powers,
Evan Rogers, Sarah Schoonhoven,
Riaz Shaikh, Diana Slaba, Timothy
Suh, Caitlin Swieca, Neda Tolooi,
Alejandro Valdivieso, Yonas Zewdie.
The Hoof Beat is a monthly publication
produced by the Northside Prep Journalism Class. As a student-run newspaper, your
opinions are important to us. If you have any
comments, corrections, critiques, or questions,
please e-mail Mr. Chester Tylinski at ctylinski@gmail.com or the editors in chief at
hoofbeat.thirddrafts@gmail.com.
April 2009
News
Page 3 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Scored Big
Annual NHS Basketball Tournament returns this year with a profit and
winning team
by Pooja Agarwal
He shoots, he scores. Team YourGuy,
one of the 24 teams that signed up for this
year’s 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, was
crowned the winner. On March 18, Northside’s National Honor Society (NHS) hosted
the annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament in
the gymnasium.
The tournament was an opportunity to
raise school spirit, while benefiting Kiva.
According to kiva.org, this organization “is
the world’s first person-to-person microlending website, empowering individuals to
lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the
developing world.”
“The tournament provides a fun outlet
for friends to come together and compete
against other teams in the tournament,”
Hannah Basil, president of NHS, Adv. 907,
said.
The tournament featured 24 competing
teams from all grade levels. The tournament
followed bracket-style tournament: two
teams competed against each other and the
winning teams advanced to the next round.
Two games took place on all of the four
courts during each of the five rounds.
During round one, sixteen of the
original twenty-four teams advanced to the
next round. In round two, eight teams of
the sixteen defeated their opponents and
moved on to round three. In round three,
four teams advanced to compete in the
semi finals. While each of the twenty-four
teams was very competitive, Team Bodybag,
Team YourGuy, the HotPocket Men, and
the Dirty Sowfff made it to the semifinals.
Team YourGuy, consisting of Ortseweyinmi
Jemine, Adv. 903, Albert Lin, Adv. 902, John
Byrne, Adv. 908, Shaheed Ghogha, Adv. 902,
and Spencer Rosenfeld, Adv. 909,
defeated Team Bodybag, winning the
basketball tournament.
Many teams planned and designed creative outfits. One of the
teams showed their spirit by wearing
a unique and colorful outfit.
“The games were safe and fun,
and teams showed their excitement by coming to play in creative
uniforms,” said Basil. “I think the
team with the most bizarre uniforms
was Team John Konow and Co., and
the team with the cutest uniform was
Team Katie, Maria, and Gayatri.”
The NHS organized three groups,
each responsible for a different aspect
of the 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.
There were advertising, lunch sales,
and game day teams. Each group
carried out their tasks and the whole
event went well.
Last year, however, NHS did not
receive enough lunch sales to carry
out the event, and, as a result, it was
cancelled. This year, they decided to
eliminate a few of the less popular
events so they could continue this
Northside tradition.
“This year we brought [the 3-on-3
Tournament] back to life,” Basil said. Team YourGuy heating up the court during the 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.
“We worked very hard this year to en- Photo by Pooja Agarwal
sure its success, so that it can continue
been more successful fundraisers than the 3
“I went because my friends were there,”
again next year.”
on 3 Tournament, which has been more of a
said June Murphy, Adv. 204. “I think it’s
This year’s tournament has been the
service to the school by raising school spirit.
great how everything at Northside serves a
first that has made a profit of a total of
The tournament was widely attended and double purpose, so the tournament was so
$37.00. The NHS hosts many other events at
greatly enjoyed by many of the spectators. It
much fun, while it served a good purpose,
Northside, including the Fall Frolic, Canned
was an afternoon to spend with friends and
supporting Kiva.”
Food Drive, and the Car Wash. All these
cheer
on
their
favorite
teams.
events also raise money for Kiva but have
HigHer education.
lower cost.
college should be accessible.
North Park University’s tuition is $7,500 below the cost of
most private colleges and universities, and we’re increasing
financial aid for incoming students in the fall of 2009. For
more information, please visit www.northpark.edu/focus.
Page Global News
Connections
The Hoof Beat
Senator Kennedy knighted for services in the U.S.
and Northern Ireland
by Adriana Garties
Massachusetts Senator
Edward “Ted” Kennedy now
has something in common
with Bill Gates, Steven
Spielberg and New York
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
On March 4, British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown
announced the British
government’s decision to
make Senator Kennedy an
honorary knight. Prime Minister Brown made the announcement while speaking
to Congress on the same day,
(www.number10.gov.uk.)
In his speech, Prime
Minister Brown recognized
Senator Kennedy’s services
in the United States and
abroad.
“Northern Ireland today
is at peace,” Prime Minister Brown said. “More
Americans have health care,
children around the world
are going to school, and for
all those things, we owe a
great debt to the life and
courage of Senator Edward
Kennedy.”
Although men from any
country can be knighted,
the knighting process for
recipients from outside of
the United Kingdom (U.K.)
is slightly different than the
process for those from the
U.K. All Knights of the British Empire receive a medal
and the right to include the
honorary rank in their official title. Only U.K. citizens
are dubbed with a sword,
and foreign recipients are not
referred to as “Sir.” Knights
from other countries, such as
Senator Kennedy, may however add the initials K.B.E.,
for “Knight of the British
Empire”, to the ends of their
names (www.nytimes.com).
Women can also be honored.
The process is essentially the
same, but the distinction is
known as damehood (www.
royal.gov.uk).
Senator Kennedy was
mainly awarded the honorary knighthood because
of his contributions to the
peace in Northern Ireland.
Tension between Nationalists—who want independence from the U.K.—and
Unionists—who want
Northern Ireland to remain
in the U.K.—increased in the
late 1960s, leading to guerilla
violence that continued until
the 1990s. Senator Kennedy
urged peace during the conflict, aiding in the creation of
the Irish Republican Army
cease-fire in 1994 and the
Good Friday peace agreement in 1998 (www.tedkennedy.com). Additionally,
Senator Kennedy founded
the Congressional Friends of
Ireland, a group that advocated peace in Ireland (www.
dailymail.co.uk).
The decision to knight
Senator Kennedy caused
controversy in Britain. Many
British politicians and citizens believe that the senator
was biased towards Ireland
and against England.
“Edward Kennedy may
never have said outwardly
[that] he supported the
IRA, but he certainly leaned
towards extreme Republicanism,” Lord Tebbit, a former
Cabinet minister, said. “He
was certainly no friend of
the U.K.”
Senator Kennedy also
faced criticism in 1999
when he compared Britain’s
involvement in Northern
Ireland to the United States’
involvement in Vietnam
during the Vietnam War and
called for military withdraw-
al from the region (www.
dailymail.co.uk).
Senator Kennedy was
not present to hear Prime
Minister Brown’s speech to
Congress, but Mr. Brown
had already informed the
senator of his knighthood
over the phone. So far, no
date has been set for the
official ceremony. Senator
Kennedy issued a short press
release after the announcement (www.kennedy.senate.
gov).
“I’m deeply grateful to
Her Majesty the Queen and
to Prime Minister Brown for
this extraordinary honor,”
Senator Kennedy said.
“I have always prized the
opportunity to work with
the British government and
strengthen and deepen the
role of our two countries as
leading beacons of democracy in the world.”
In May of 2008, Senator
Kennedy was diagnosed
with brain cancer, and he has
been receiving chemotherapy. He spent much of the
winter in a rented home in
Miami, but recently returned
to Washington D.C. (www.
nytimes.com). Senator Kennedy has represented Massachusetts as a Democratic
senator in Congress for 46
years and is the second-most
senior member of the Senate
(abcnews.go.com).
Though the United
States Constitution contains
a law against government
officials accepting titles of
nobility, Senator Kennedy’s
knighthood was made legal
with the approval of the Senate Ethics Committee.
Senator Kennedy will
now be known as, “Senator Edward M. Kennedy,
K.B.E.”
Changes in embryonic stem cell policies issued by
President Obama cause controversy
by Sarish Hassan
President Barack Obama signed
an executive order lifting the eight
year curb on embryonic stem cell
research, on March 9. The ban
on stem cell research was put into
place by former President George
W. Bush in 2001. The new legislation is intended to advance stem
cell research and allow the government to issue federal funds for the
creation of more embryonic stem
cells for research (www.nyt.com).
Stem cells are pluripotent cells
that have the ability to be cultured
in a lab to take on a plethora of
functions in the human body, such
as a liver cell or white blood cell.
Embryonic stem cells are created
during the early stages of the development of an embryo. About four
to six days into the development
of the embryo, the stem cells are
extracted (www.stemcells.nih.gov).
When the embryonic stem cells
are extracted, it causes the destruction of the embryo. Many prolife
activists and law makers argue that
destroying an embryo is equivalent
to murder because an embryo can
become a human being (www.
times.com).
Those who support the extraction of embryonic cells argue that
an embryo is not a human, and
therefore the termination of an
embryo is not murder.
The new executive order will
require taxpayer money to fund
research and has created a stir
in Congress. Many conservative
members of Congress are already
working to persuade their fellow
Congressmen to keep some of
the restrictions put on stem cell
research by former President Bush.
“President Obama has chosen
to turn back the clock,” Representative Christopher Smith of New
Jersey said. “Human-embryo-destroying stem cell research is not
only unethical, unworkable and
unreliable, it is now demonstrably
unnecessary.”
Representative Smith was referring to the progress that scientists
have made with adult stem cells
derived from umbilical cord blood,
bone marrow, and skin.
Many congressmen feel that
advancing stem cell research is
equivalent to giving a new life to
the millions of cancer patients waiting for a cure (www.nyt.com).
“The current policy is eroding
our national advantage on stem cell
research,” Senator John Kerry of
Massachusetts said. “We’re tying
our scientists’ hands. We’re holding
back our doctors.”
Despite the moral controversy,
stem cell research is seen as new
venture in medicine, as many believe stem cells could help develop
new cures. Because stem cells have
in 2001 include Senator Gordon
Douglas Johnson, legislative directhe ability to be cultured into any
Smith of Ohio and Governor Artor for the National Right to Life
other kind of cell, they can be used
nold Schwarzenegger of California. Committee, Virginia Representative
in cancer patients to re-grow white
Prominent opponents of emEric Cantor, and Former President
blood cells. According to researchbryonic stem cell research include
Bush (www.nyt.com).
ers, stem cells
offer the possibility of treating numerous ailments,
including paralyzing spinal cord
injuries (www.nyt.
com).
Advocates
of advanced embryonic stem cell
research includes
Nancy Reagan,
whose husband,
former President
Ronald Reagan,
died of Alzheimer’s disease as
well as the late
actor Christopher
Reeve, who campaigned tirelessly
after a fall from
his horse in 1995
left him paralyzed
from the neck
down (www.
thehill.com).
Both Congress and the genral public have commented on the recent embryonic
Prominent
stem cell research legislation signed by President Barack Obama, with some
Republicans who stating stem cell research is a breach of morality while others believe the new
opposed President legislation will advance research in science and medicine.
Photo by Adriana Garties
Bush’s stance
cerns about taking the position of
Surgeon General was that he would
have to leave his current position at
Emory University School of Medicine and his other job as associate
chief of neurosurgery at Grady
Memorial Hospital.
“I work at a county hospital,”
Dr. Gupta said. “That’s the hospital
I’ve chosen to work at in Atlanta.
And I really enjoy that. I came to
grips with, ironically, that being
surgeon general, I probably would
not be able to continue to practice
surgery.” (www.mije.org)
Dr. Gupta also stated that the
decreased amount of time that he
would be able to spend with his
family as Surgeon General was also
a factor into his decision. With a
wife, two children, and another
child on the way, Dr. Gupta did
not want to miss any time with his
family, especially in the early years
of his children’s lives.
“I sort of came to grips with
the fact that I’d probably be away
at least the first several years…. of
their lives. And I just didn’t feel like
I should do that now,” Dr. Gupta
said (www.mije.org).
Critics have pointed out that
Dr. Gupta makes about $3 million
a year as a neurosurgeon, but the
Surgeon General’s salary is about
$190,000 (rediff.com). Some have
said that it was this pay cut that
kept him from taking the job. Other
critics have stated that Dr. Gupta
seems to be too much of a TV
personality.
Mark Leibovich, a New York
Times reporter, wrote an article
criticizing the president’s appointments titled “Obama’s Media
Cabinet.” This article compared
the choice of Dr. Gupta, who
hosts “House Call with Dr. Sanjay
Gupta” on CNN, for Surgeon General to an appointment of Martha
Stewart as Secretary of the Interior,
and TV personality Jared Fogle,
known from his appearance in various Subway commercials, as the
Secretary of Health and Human
Services.
Others were happy with the
possibility of Dr. Gupta becom-
Dr. Gupta withdraws his
name from consideration for Surgeon General
by Dan Graham
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief CNN
medical correspondent and an
assistant professor of neurosurgery
at Emory University School of
Medicine in Atlanta, announced
that he withdrew his name from
consideration for Surgeon General
on March 5, stating that he wanted
to care for his family and stay at his
current position (www.rediff.com),
(www.economictimes.com).
Dr. Gupta has been the subject
of recent political buzz, as the Surgeon General is an important figure
in combating current health issues,
such as smoking-related cancers
and AIDS. While Dr. Gupta was
never officially nominated for the
job, he did talk with high-ranking
administration officials about the
position.
“I was not nominated,” Dr.
Gupta said, “but I had conversations with the senior-most people
that would make an offer, and they
told me they wanted me to do this
job.” (www.mije.org)
One of Gupta’s major con-
ing the next Surgeon General,
including former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. Ms. Elders,
served under former President Bill
Clinton(www.cnn.com).
“The most important thing
— his communication skills — are
perhaps some of the best,” Elders
said. “In the past, we’ve looked a
lot at administrators as opposed
to public health communication
skills.” (www.mije.org).
CNN’s John King compared
the Surgeon General’s job to Dr.
Gupta’s current one, saying that
both spots are high-profile positions
that involve lots of communication
and television appearances.
“They [the Obama administration] have made the pitch to Dr.
Gupta that he could help with the
communications effort, travel the
country, go on television, [and]
try to explain the arcane nature of
health care policy to the American
people much like he does on our
network just about every day,”
King said (www.mije.org).
The administration was not
outraged at his choice to withdraw
his name from consideration for
the position, but admitted that he
was a top choice for the job. One
unnamed source from the administration spoke to www.rediff.com,
an Indian news website.
“He was certainly under very
serious consideration for the position,” the source said. “We wish
him all the very best and we know
he will continue to be an excellent
advocate in informing and educating the public through his work in
the media and also continuing his
work as a much-respected surgeon.”
Though Dr. Gupta could have
taken the position, he decided that
the change of jobs was just not
what he wanted to do. His father,
Subhash Gupta, confirmed this
point in an interview with www.
rediff.com.
“It was a tough decision and he
went through the process and came
out and said, ‘OK, it doesn’t make
sense for me to do it at this present
time,’” Subhash Gupta said.
Planning for prom?
Elvis Limousines will take you to prom in style. Your limo will
arrive with a complimentary fully stocked bar and you won’t
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Page Diversions
Around town
The Magnificent Mile
by Sonya Dekhtyar
Let’s start with my favorite genre: cinema. You
don’t even need to strain your imagination into the
realm of a fabulous new atmosphere and culture.
Everything is brought to you by the magical wand
of the creators: a twist of the plot, fascinating
characters, the beautiful setting of a previously
unknown place.
Popular more than ever before, the Chicago
Latino Film Festival (April 17-29), which was
launched in 1985 with 500 attendees and has grown
to more than 35,000 in 2006, is celebrating its
silver anniversary this year as the oldest and most
wide-ranging Latino film festival in the country.
Showing more than 100 films in the broad spectrum
of genres – fiction, animation, documentary, and
shorts – it reflects the great diversity of Latino culture in the United States, Latin America, Portugal,
and Spain; this year, the festival will take you to
18 different countries. I am not going to encourage you to attend a few special events, such as the
Opening and Closing Nights or the Night of Spain,
since these events are expensive and will be serving
alcohol unlimitedly. But as for the rest of the films
screenings, those that were picked for the special
events are going to be repeated at least twice – just
try not to miss them. Films are being screened at
the Landmark Century Centre Cinema (2828 N.
Clark Street) and Facets Cinémathèque (1517 W.
Fullerton Avenue). General admission for one film
is $10, students pay a buck less, but it’s only $5 for
students on Tuesdays. For complete information
about the Festival, venues, films listings, descriptions, and schedule go to www.latinoculturalcenter.
org/cinema-festival.
This next event is a must. One of the most
fascinating NPR hosts, Jerome McDonnell (of
“Worldview”), together with the Peace Connection
Group of Northeastern Illinois University, will host
the Global Activism Expo 2009, featuring guests
of Worldview’s “Global Activism Series.” For the
past five years, the Series has been broadcast each
Thursday, interviewing people with Chicago connections who are working tirelessly to improve the
world. The show has profiled hundreds of activists fighting against global troubles, from HIV to
animal’s rights to eliminating illiteracy. (Visit the
Global Series Archive, at www.chicagopublicradio.
org/Program_WV_Global.aspx, to get to know
some of them – there are really cool people there!).
This year, on Saturday, April 25th, there will be an
all-day celebration at the Physical Education Complex of Northeastern Illinois University at 3600
W. Foster Avenue (just a few blocks from Northside!), with doors opening at noon and staying open
until 6 p.m. Filled with presentations, performances, music, and food, the event is free – so bring you
friends and families and enjoy meeting new people
and putting the world’s problems just a bit closer to
your heart and soul. Go to http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Event_Detail.aspx?eventID=924
for more information.
The Hoof Beat
Chicago then and now
Internationalize!
Well, we all know the word. This scary, monstrous word: CRISIS. We hear it from everybody
who belongs to the adult world – from our parents
to news anchors to the President. Sometimes it gets
so tense that we feel it is almost too much. Chatting with my peers, I often heard them complaining
about somber moods at home: some were distressed
by the sudden cancelation of spring break plans;
many of them no longer find happiness in quiet,
simple, pointless chatter with their siblings; their
parents’ faces have assumed rather vacant looks;
and family meals have begun to look more like business lunches, at which stock prices are discussed
– just where recently there had been discussions of
Grandma’s old pie recipe… I understand the grief.
I, too, am one of many, if not most, teenagers who,
no matter how smart and reasonable, find themselves living with this sense of being at the center
of adults’ universes. I, too, sometimes feel that this
universe owes me – was I not born to be happy and
entertained? And when the world stops being entertaining and, if it does not demand serious responsibilities and repercussions, at least wants me to
look at its pain seriously, I experience this strange,
almost physical sensation of being constrained to
grow up too fast…
Lighten up. No one really wants us to become
adults instantaneously, and the time when we have
to be responsible not only for undone homework,
but for the worlds’ – and our loved ones’ – happiness is still far-off. The biggest sacrifice we are
expected to make is to remain optimistic always, to
ask parents for allowances rarely, to complain never.
Put all three together, mix them well, and you will
get a pretty normal teenage life – not much different
from the one you had before that big scary word.
And to emphasize this for yourself, you need to
not only think like you’re used to, but also live so
– and that means hanging out with friends, exploring new places, and even travelling. That’s why this
month I want to tell you about how easy it is for
your spring and summer to become international
– and you don’t even have to leave the city!
by Sarish Hassan
If you can’t go to Paris, let Paris come to you! Photo by Sonya Dekhtyar
What can be more interesting than meeting a
bunch of codgers from around the world who are
united by one eccentric passion? From April 30th
to May 3rd, pen collectors and notebooks enthusiasts from all over the world – as far as Japan,
even! – will get together for the second Chicago
Pen Show. With events as amusing as the “Pens
for Kids Seminar” or pen repair/identification
seminars (look at the full schedule at www.chicagopenshow.com), it’s definitely worth going as far
as Rosemont and dropping by the Westin-O’Hare
Hotel (6100 Des Plains River Road) at least once
during those four days. A Sunday visit will cost you
$5; other visits cost $25.
If you are in love with the Chicago Cultural
Center as much as I am, you should immediately go to www.patronmail.com/pmailweb/
PatronSetup?oid=144 and fill out the form to be
put on the Center’s mailing list. You will receive
the monthly e-newsletter and never again miss a
single event, which could be interesting and enlightening for you – and free, too (should I remind
you that, with extremely rare exceptions, all events
at the CCC are free?). The variety of the events
scheduled for the nearest future amazes me; the
variety of international events can astonish even a
person who does not know the word “culture.” On
Monday, April 27, at 7 p.m., in the magnificent
Preston Bradley Hall, twenty-seven-year-old Cape
Verdean singer Carmen Souza will present her latest album Verdade (Truth). Carmen Souza was born
in Lisbon, Portugal, but was always surrounded by
the tradition, music and costumes of Cape Verde,
and you will hear how much her songs have been
influenced by Portuguese, Caribbean, African, and
Brazilian roots.
From April 25 and for the next four months
there also will be a huge exhibition, The Big
World: Recent Art from China, at the Sidney R.
Yates Gallery. In addition to the general interest to
Chinese culture in America, the coordinators of
this exhibit and its related programs want to challenge the conventional misconceptions of China
being “a world away” and witness how contemporary Chinese artists have merged traditional art
with contemporary culture.
Haven’t been to Italy for a long time? From
April 29th till May 8th Chicago Cultural Center
will take you there! Entertain yourself with Farfalle (Butterflies). The fantastic children’s Teatro
di Piazza o d’Occasione (just say it aloud and you
are in Italy already!) returns to Chicago as part
of the Children’s Humanities Festival. The show
is definitely for a younger audience, but wouldn’t
going be a suitable reason to spend some quality
time with your siblings? Tickets are $10 for adults
and $5 for children. Visit www.iicbelgrado.esteri.
it/IIC_Chicago/webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=
258&citta=Chicago for more information.
And, of course, as the proverb goes, “If
Mohammed won’t come to the mountain, then
the mountain must come to Mohammed!” What
can be better than inviting a new guest to your
home, one that will bring him a new language, new
culture, new food, or new traditions? Go to the
home-page of the International Visitors Center of
Chicago (http://www.ivcc.org/), and you find this
appeal:
“The International Visitors Center is actively
seeking home-stay hosts for upcoming youth &
adult delegations this spring and summer. Join in
the fun by participating in these special intercultural exchange programs. Please find additional
information below in the “Home-stay Hosting
Opportunities” section of this newsletter; we look
forward to hearing from you!” all you have to do is
open your hearts and your doors!
For the duration of this article, I mentioned
multiple international events that would let you
travel the globe without leaving Chicago. Of
course, real travelling has its own advantages: you
get to try new food, visit world-renowned landmarks, and fly over oceans and mountains. But
agree, the travels I’ve advocated have even bigger
advantages: you can make your foreign guests cook
for you, you don’t have to deal with jetlag or be
humiliated by airplane maintenance and air traffic
control problems, and – the most important – you
can spend by an order less. So, crisis or not, life is
going on. Happy travelling!
Shopping, food, and entertainment,
all conveniently located in the heart of
Chicago, can only be defined by one
place: Michigan Avenue. Officially
dubbed the Magnificent Mile in 2001,
Michigan Avenue has a long history as
the center of fashion, entertainment,
and one of the most popular shopping
hubs in Chicago.
The Magnificent Mile was constructed in the early 1920s to replace
Pine Street as part of Daniel Burnham’s
Plan of Chicago, which aimed to beautify the factory- and warehouse-lined
streets of Chicago (www.themagnificentmile.com). After the opening of the
Michigan Avenue Bridge in 1920, a new
commercial district was created, which
kept a luxury shopping district close to
the business district.
The Magnificent Mile was developed into what it is today by William
Zeckendorf and Arthur Rubloff, who
controlled and owned most of the
property along the area and began
to develop it after World War II and
the Great Depression. Supported by
the Holabird & Root Company, they
worked to construct new buildings and
renovate old ones, making the area the
real estate hot spot that it is today.
Today the Magnificent Mile is occupied by some of the most prestigious
retailers in the world, including Neiman
Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom,
Barneys New York, Chanel, Vera
Wang, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Giorgio
Armani, Gianni Versace, Givenchy,
Marc Jacobs, Max Mara, Tiffany &
Co, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Hermes,
Prada, Kenneth Cole, Hugo Boss, and
many more. The Magnificent Mile also
houses critically acclaimed restaurants
such as the Grand Lux, Spiaggia, and
The Prime Rib.
Historical sites and landmark towers
over retail shops on the Magnificent
Mile remind Chicagoans of the area’s
rich history. A visit to the area is definitely worthwhile, and you are bound to
learn something new.
The Old Water Tower District,
at 806/821 N. Michigan Avenue, is
a historic district that includes the
Chicago Water Tower, Chicago Avenue
Pumping Station, and the Chicago Fire
Department. The Chicago Water Tower
is the second oldest water tower in the
world and gained prominence after the
Visit the Chicago Tribune Tower on
your trip to the Magnificent Mile!
Photo by Sonya Dekhtyar
Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The tower
has become a symbol of old Chicago
and of the city’s recovery from the fire
(www.nr.nps.gov). The Chicago Avenue
Pumping Station is located opposite
of the Chicago Water Tower and also
houses the Lookingglass Theatre. Both
buildings serve as popular tourist sites
and offer information about the Great
Chicago Fire of 1871.
The Michigan Avenue Bridge was
designated a Chicago landmark on October 1, 1991 and has become a popular
tourist spot since the opening of the
McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse and
Chicago River Museum in the southwest tower of the bridge. The museum
allows visitors to access the bridge gear
room during bridge lifts to allow small
boats to pass. The museum is operated
by the Friends of the Chicago River and
allows visitor access in the early spring
and fall. General admission tickets are
$3.00 and children under the age of five
are free. To arrange group visits please
call (312) 977-0227 or visit www.bridgehousemuseum.org/visit/tickets/.
The Magnificent Mile is internationally known for its shopping and
entertainment, but it also holds some
of Chicago’s oldest history through
its buildings, statues, and landmarks.
Anyone can come visit the area and
experience its living history.
Try your hand
at Sudoku!
www.dailysudoku.com/sudoku;
© Daily Sudoku Ltd, 2009
April 2009
A gay old time
Features
Stevenson High School has first gay
mixer dance
by Krystn Collins
Adlai E. Stevenson High
School had their first gay mixer
on February 20, with decorations, music, and of course, parent
chaperones, according to Chicago
Breaking News. Such a dance was
held in the effort of emphasizing tolerance of gay teenagers at
Stevenson.
According to Breaking News
Chicago, educators say that, in
general, gay students are vulnerable to harassment and are more
likely to be absent from school or
feel alienated from their classmates, which ultimately causes
problems in their academic performance. Stevenson High School
claims that this dance, along with
the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance
(GSA), is a way in which those
negative effects can be lessened for
gay students.
Northside has yet to host such
a dance.
“We haven’t had a gay dance
yet because it wasn’t planned and
there’s no need for one,” Rosie
Pahl Donaldson, Adv. 107, said.
“Last year, when we talked about
it, no dates for one were available,
and, besides that, people may be
awkward about the idea.”
A gay dance could be a good
opportunity for Northside students
to bring tolerance and acceptance
of homosexuality to the forefront.
However, the reaction of Northside students to the possibility of
such an event tends to be generally
positive.
“I wouldn’t mind [a gay
dance],” Emily Tran, Adv. 105,
said. “I can’t see anything wrong
with having one. It’s not like gay
people are really any different than
anybody else, so I think it might be
cool to have a whole dance just for
the gay students at Northside.”
Overall, acceptance seems to
be very little of a problem to the
students of Northside.
“I think it would be fun,”
Sopheap Phan, Adv. 901, said.
“I’m not gay, but I’d go just to
hang out with people.”
The topic of a gay dance is not
without controversy, according to
Breaking News Chicago. It is occasionally said that schools should
remain neutral on issues of homosexuality and that discrimination
of gay students can be properly
handled without clubs and dances
and instead with counseling and
adult supervision. However, the
statistics beg to differ.
According to an October report released by the Gay, Lesbian,
and Straight Education Network, 9 of every 10 gay students
claimed harassment by other
students in 2008. Additionally,
gay students were five times more
likely than the average student to
miss school because of feelings
of insecurity and a lack of safety.
In schools with Gay-Straight
Alliances, the number of students
who feel this way and consequently miss school was reduced
from 64 to 55 percent.
“That’s really good,” Tran
said. “That doesn’t seem like big
difference, but if the number of
gay teens that feel that way can go
down by any amount, it’s a good
thing.”
In any case, acceptance is not
an outstanding issue in the way of
getting a gay dance for Northside’s GSA, and neither, it seems,
are students feeling uncomfortable because of the idea.
“I don’t really care,” Lauren
Casapao, Adv.104, said. “It’s
just another kind of sexuality, so
what’s the big deal?”
If administrative issues and
controversy does not get in the
way, it is possible that Northside,
as Stevenson High School has,
could host a gay dance for students sometime in the future.
Page Ideal prom proposals
How to ask your date to
prom
by Olympia Eldorrado
It is that time at Northside
again. Spring is on its way, dresses
and tuxedos are being purchased,
and juniors and seniors are
searching for creative ways to ask
that one special person to prom.
Whether one already has a girlfriend, or if prom would be a first
date, the way that one is asked to
prom is an important aspect of the
entire ordeal.
In order to avoid turning prom
into a painful drama, one needs to
invest thought into how to ask the
object of one’s affection. In some
cases it is best to simply pop the
prom question.
“One of my guy friends asked
me how they should ask someone
to prom, and, in the end, he decided bluntness is the way to go,”
Grace Goo, Adv. 905, said.
Other students, however, feel
that creativity can help a lot when
asking somebody to prom.
“A little creativity never hurt
anyone,” Ted Kalaw, Adv. 900,
said. “When I was a sophomore,
a senior named Andy Hastings
spray painted a message onto the
patch of grass that’s visible from
the library.”
Northside students aren’t
the only ones being creative this
prom season, students at Whitney
Young are also finding dates in
unconventional ways.
Lane Tech has had an interesting pre-prom season as well.
“My friend asked another
friend by writing her a letter
that was sort of Shakespearean
themed,” Jackie White, a senior at
Lane Tech, said. “She accepted his
invitation by painting him something and sending him a response
letter.”
If a guy is already in a relationship with somebody, his girlfriend
will probably want to be asked to
prom in a special way too. He
should take her out and ask her
in a unique way. If one is not in a
relationship and is asking a friend,
he or she should find out whether
or not the person has already
been asked or is planning to ask
someone else. If that person has
not made plans with somebody
else yet, one should take that as
their opportunity to ask them.
Being bold is necessary in getting a
prom date. It requires boldness to
be creative. Without the ability to
come out of one’s comfort zone, it
can be very difficult to find a date
this prom season.
Matt Ramir, the Renaissance man
The one thing poetry and computer science have in common
by Melissa L. España
“It’s been long, but it was pretty fun," Matthew Ramir,
Adv. 900 said. “My first two years [at Northside] were kind
of boring though, but in junior and senior year I found where
I fit in, and it was a lot of fun for me.”
Those are the words of Matt Ramir, as he looks back on
his past four years at Northside. Ramir is one of Northside’s
many well known seniors. Ramir is involved in many activities around the school. Though, he is most passionate about
computer science and poetry.
Ramir has been involved in all things computer sciencerelated since his freshman year. Many times, he can be seen
around the school helping the computer science teachers fix
problems on the school’s computer systems.
“If you know anything about computers, you can go up
to room 314B and just help out in the mornings,” Ramir said.
“They’ll give you stuff to do and you just fix stuff or whatever. They’ll teach you stuff too.”
Although his computer skills are advanced now, it wasn’t
the case when he first came into the school. Ramir feels as
though the computer science department has really helped
develop his skills.
“I came here only knowing only how to take apart a computer,” Ramir said, “but I learned how to program here and
how to put stuff together and how a computer works.”
Ramir plans to take his interest in computers into
his college plans. Ramir says that he will most likely be going
to the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and plans to
major in Computer Science. He’s already decided that he will
use his future degree to go into a career in either computer
security or digital programming.
Ramir took advantage of many, if not most, of Northside’s computer science courses. When asked which teacher
inspired him the most, Ramir quickly responded with Mr.
Jeff Solin, computer science department..
“He’s impressed us,” Mr. Solin said, “[because] it’s not
just a technology literacy thing where he’s just good at typing
things up quickly or checking email or something like that.
He knows how to take the technology and apply it to do
some really cool stuff. He’s practically become a member of
our [computer] department over the years.”
With help from Mr. Solin, Ramir has been able to get jobs
that allowed him to apply his technology skills.
“He’s done some independent consulting work with me
outside of school,” Solin said. “I’ve hired him for a couple
jobs, and he’s been writing software for a tattoo convention
that I help run. His software has had a big impact on our
operations. He’s written all the judging software for it. It’s all
been custom made by Matt with me driving the requirements
and analysis. He’s been great and it’s been a lot of fun working with him.”
Aside from computers, Ramir discovered his hidden
talent, which is poetry, with help from Ms. Nora Flanagan,
English department, the sponsor of the Poetry Slam Team.
This year was Ramir’s first year on Northside’s Slam
Team. He had never been on a poetry team before, but he
brought in a piece of his work to tryouts, performed it, and
made it onto the team.
“I knew right away that I wanted him on the team,” Ms.
Flanagan said. “He had such a vivid voice as a poet and an
unmissable sense of humor.”
The Slam Team focuses on not just writing out poetry,
but they take their writing and make
a performance out of it.
“It’s performance poetry,” Ramir
said. “So a lot of the writing part of
it, you have to take into account how
you’re going to say it on stage. [And]
you have to put a lot of yourself into
what you’re writing.”
Although this was only his
first year, Ramir had been writing
poetry since eighth grade. He has
also proven to himself and his fellow
teammates that he is gifted at performance poetry. His performance
at this year’s Louder than a Bomb
Competition (LTAB),which is a
poetry competition for poets around
Chicago, blew away the judges and
took him to the national competition.
“His piece was literary genius,”
Nina Coomes, Adv. 109, a member
of the Slam Team, said, “but to see
it performed is such a life-changing
experience. It was obvious to me
that everyone in the audience really
got a sense of hope from his poem,
which makes Matt unique. He’s not
just talking about the hardships of
his life; he offers hope and life to all
the people in the audience.”
His performances can be seen
online on the video sharing website,
YouTube. Many students that have
seen Ramir’s performances have
stated that they were very impressed.
“Amazing,” Tasha VietsVanLear, Adv. 101, a member of
the Slam Team, said. “He did an
absolute brilliant job. There wasn’t
a performance he did where he
didn’t get at least one 10. The second
he started talking, the audience
would just get so quiet. He grabbed
Matt Ramir, Adv. 900, performs his solo piece at Louder Than a Bomb.
everyone’s attention from the very
Photo courtesy of Rachel Jackson
beginning.”
Although his audience and teamAlthough his hobbies of poetry
mates commemorated him on his astonishing performances,
and computers may not have much in common, Ramir beRamir admits to getting nervous the first few times he got up
lieves that the two mix well together.
to perform.
“If you wanted to tie together poetry and computers,
This being his last year of high school, Ramir looks back
one
way of looking at it is that when I write code I feel like a
wishing that he had done Poetry Slam since his freshman
poet, creating a world through words,” Ramir said.
year.
Matt Ramir will continue to make his teachers and fellow
“It really helped my writing,” Ramir said. “It’s a lot of
classmates proud even after he graduates from Northside
fun, too.”
Prep.
When he’s not writing poetry or furthering his computer
“Anybody who knows Matt knows he’s into about a
skills, Ramir spends his time practicing with the school’s
million
things,” Ms. Flanagan said. “and he’s good at all of
chess team. Ramir started learning how to play chess when
he was ten years old. He has been on the team since his fresh- them. I hope he takes poetry with him and adds it to the list,
along with biking, computer tech, lighting and sound, animal
man year and has had first board since then. First board is a
rights activism, and everything else. Matt is a Renaissance
chess term that describes the one player on the team who is
man.”
chosen to face the opposing team’s strongest player.
Page Arts and Entertainment The Hoof Beat
From the dance floor to the guitars
“Dancing with the Stars” contestants release debut album, “BHB”
by Bushra Kabir
Ballas Hough Band, consisting
of Mark Ballas and Derek Hough
from “Dancing with the Stars” as
the co-guitarists, released its debut
album, “BHB,” on Hollywood
Records on March 3. The new disc
will add some excellent songs to
alternative-rock listeners’ playlists.
The band was originally formed as
“Almost Amy” in London in the
year of 2005, but changed its name
after the band moved to Los Angeles in 2007. Also featured in the
Ballas Hough Band are keyboardist
Emily Grace, bassist Sam Marder,
and drummer Harry Sullivan. This
album is an excellent mix of pop,
dance and alternative rock. Ballas
and Hough are recognized for their
killer dancing skills, and this new
album will make them well-known
for their singing skills as well.
The first song of the album,
“Do You Love Me,” starts out with
a computerized, creative tune accompanied by Sullivan’s drumbeats
in the background. The singers
speed up to go along with the
imaginative melody, singing, “Well
if you love then you love me baby
let me know / And if you don't
why don't you leave me baby let me
go.” The song shows passion in a
firm way when they sing, “Girl you
know I feel like I’ve been waiting
for a lifetime.” Around the part of
the chorus the song switches to a
more dance-pop genre, making it
an exciting song to listen to.
The song “Devastated” has an
alternative-rock touch. One can
hear electric guitar in this song as
it starts out with some short strums
along with a dramatic tune created
by the bassist Sam Marder. There
are constant short and smooth
string instrument tunes throughout
the song. The electric guitar strums
get heavier and stronger when it
comes to the chorus. It carries a
tone of devastation but to show
fondness of this devastation, it
maintains a friendly rhythm.
“Closer” is the sweetest-sounding song on this album, starting
out with a pleasant acoustic guitar
strum that is continued throughout
the song. The singing is a lot softer
than that in “Devastated,” yet it
follows a cheery beat. Right before
singing the chorus, a short part of
the song creates a soft dance beat.
This song could easily make one
smile because of the way it sounds,
and the added rock tunes make it
a little less “lovey dovey.” Towards
the end, there is a short, energetic
electric guitar solo moving towards
the last lyrics of the song making it
memorable.
A pleasant acoustic guitar
strum is utilized again in “Longing For,” which is sung slowly and
softly until the singer suddenly hits
a high note, adding a little more
energy to this mellow song. Grace’s
feminine voice brings a much more
peaceful sound to this song, which
makes it stronger. Together, the
soft guitar strums, passionate lyrics
sung by a girl and a boy, and the
slowly energizing drumbeats in
the background create an excellent
song of the alternative genre.
“Do It For You” starts with a
techno beat along with a group of
choirgirls slowing singing, “Oooh,
Aaah.” The techno beat soon transforms into a beat to create a blend
R&B and alternative since it still
includes the sounds of the electric
Mark Ballas and Derek Hough from “Dancing with the Stars” take a shot at the music industry with
the Ballas Hough Band’s new album, “BHB.”
Image courtesy of Amazon.com
guitar. The group sings, “I'll be that
shoulder you can lean on, (lean
on) / Wanna be the body that you
breathe on... (breathe on)”. The
rhyming lyrics add a catchy beat
to this song that would make the
listeners put their hands up in the
air and move side-to-side.
Overall, “BHB” is an excellent
collection of delightful love songs
with a mixture of rock, dance, and
alternative genre for listeners who
look for songs with pleasant beats
and enjoy the drumbeats and guitar
strums. It made it to the Billboard
200 charts and Billboard Compre-
hensive Albums chart, according
to www.billboard.com. The genre,
dance-rock, they chose to work
within this new album definitely
suits their voice. This album surely
reflects on their great singing skills,
which are just as impressive as their
dancing skills.
“All I Ever Wanted” is Kelly Clarkson’s new album
Clarkson gets over the blues with an upbeat, energetic sound
Clarkson takes a different approach on her fourth studio album
than she has in the past. Her new
songs are fast-paced and upbeat,
giving them more energy than the
gloomy tracks on her previous album,
“My December.” The 14 tracks
contained in her new album are
from a variety of genres, including
rock songs like “Whyyawannabringmedown,” club songs such as “If I
Can’t Have You,” and slow ballads
like “Cry.” This selection of various
genres provides likeable choices for
fans of different music styles.
Clarkson spoke about the intentional use of different genres that
were incorporated into her album
(kellyclarkson.com).
"I never want to make just one
sound," Clarkson said. "The worst
thing to me is when all the songs on
an album sound the same. If you
have that choice, why wouldn't you
want to bring out all the different
sides and colors of your personality?"
Her first single, “My Life Would
Suck Without You,” is definitely one
of the best tracks on the album. Its
fast-paced enjoyable beat and catchy
lyrics are a great way to start off the
album. This track never seems to
get annoying and one can listen to it
multiple times without getting sick of
it. Clarkson’s loud voice belts out a
perfect song to dance to and listen to.
“I Do Not Hook Up,” originally
recorded by Katy Perry for her album
“One of the Boys,” is another great
Kelly Clarkson’s new album “All I Ever Wanted” features fast-paced and upbeat songs that
song that keeps up the liveliness
are a departure from the music on her previous releases.
tempo of the album. “Oh, no / I do
Image courtesy of Amazon.com
not hook up, up / I go slow / So if
you want me / I don’t come cheap,”
by Sony Kassam
Without a doubt, her new album is
she sings. With attention-grabbing guitar riffs
"I just want to be able to look back at
indeed awesome.
and a memorable chorus, it sounds similar in
this album and be proud, and to think, 'Man,
From the beginning of the first track to
style to Perry’s hit song “Hot N Cold.” Nevthat was awesome,'" Kelly Clarkson, 2002
the ending of the last, ”All I Ever Wanted,”
American Idol winner, said regarding her
which was released on March 9, will hold the ertheless, Clarkson’s voice creates a crowdpleasing track.
latest album, “All I Ever Wanted,” according
attention span of many fans of her music,
With its fast-paced techno beats, relatable
to kellyclarkson.com.
old and new alike.
lyrics, and Clarkson’s nicely altered voice,
“If I Can’t Have You” is a terrific dance club
song. “Haven’t seen the best that love has had
to offer / They say perfection’s always right
around the corner / Could be true / But if
I can’t have you,” Clarkson sings. Concerning a desire for a crush, this track provides a
well-written and musically catchy song.
An even better song is the album’s
namesake, “All I Ever Wanted,” which is
about trying to get over an ex-lover. This
pop song was co-written and originally
recorded by a band called Aranda. Although
Aranda relased the original version of this
song (which can be found at www.myspace.
com/Aranda), Clarkson does a far better job
at making this track a hit due to her versatile
feminnine voice.
“Whyyawannabringmedown,” is a great
track for those who prefer edgier songs, since
it sounds like a punk-rock anthem. It is no
surprise that the rock band Aranda recorded
the original version of this song as well
(www.myspace.com/Aranda). Clarkson puts
intense energy into this enjoyable head-banging track.
“Cry,” a sappy heartbroken ballad in
which Clarkson whines about crying over
a break up and how it “feels like to really cry,” is the worst song on the album.
Unfortunately, Clarkson’s well-pitched voice
drones on and on about crying. The irritating lengthiness of the way she belts out the
word “cryyyyyyy” makes the song even more
unbearable. This belting, combined with the
song’s theme, will prompt anyone to turn off
the radio. One could relate to this track if he
or she is truly heartbroken, but the only thing
that this track seems to accomplish is making
an already-happy person burst into tears due
to its lethargic, dragging whining.
Despite this mishap, “All I Ever Wanted”
is by far Clarkson’s best album. The mixture of different genres, upbeat tempos,
and Clarkson’s versatile voice that is used
in a variety of pitches and styles, achieve a
remarkable CD to rock out to. “All I Ever
Wanted” is an album that one should not
“Walk Away” from.
April 2009
Arts and Entertainment
Waiting for more fun
“Waiting for Dublin” delivers just a few laughs
by Melissa Jordan
“Waiting for Dublin”
a limited release film that
played for one week in New
York, Chicago and Boston,
is worth a ten dollar ticket
simply because of its riveting
plot. The film opens with a
scene in a Chicago nightclub
in 1944. Lt. Mike Clarke
(Andrew Keegan) celebrates
before he is sent to Europe
the next day as a fighter pilot
in the Army Air Corps. In his
drunken frivolity, he makes
a deal with a man named
Vito Massucci, betting $1,000
that he can become an “ace”
gunner by shooting down at
least five planes. What Clarke
learns later is that Massucci is
Al Capone’s cousin and that
the contract has been changed
to $10,000.
The film cuts to a scene
that takes place only a few
days before the war is over,
when Clarke’s pilot, Twickers
(Hugh O’Conor), is forced to
make an emergency landing during a rainstorm just
outside of a rural Irish town.
They are met by two Irishmen, and Clarke asks if they
speak English. The two new
flyboys are quickly shown
hospitality. Early in the film
a few stereotypical brawls
between the American and
another stranded, German
pilot (Jenne Decleir), as well
as a row between an Irish
villager and Twickers, a “land
grubbing” British pilot break
out. These fights seem out of
character for the pilots and
the hospitable Irishman and
do not add to the plot. After
many pints of stout friendships are formed and the
entire village seems to unani-
mously decide
to work towards helping
Clarke win his
bet. In order
to win this bet,
Clarke needs
an enemy aircraft and a new
pilot, so he
turns to Dinky,
a fetching
young woman
(Jade Yourell),
a narcoleptic
priest (Des
Braiden), and
a blind WWI
veteran (Don
Foley).
While the
film seems
Andrew Keegan stars as Lt. Mike Clarke in “Waiting for Dublin,” a
drawn out at
movie about Clarke’s last night before being sent to to battle in Europe.
points with few Image courtesy of waitingfordublinmovie.com
laughs, it has
been recognized
this was enhanced by the
Belgium. The set and props
at the Moondance Internawell-written and eccentric
lend a hearty and livable qualtional Film Festival, where the characters.
ity to the film that engages
film won two well deserved
“Waiting for Dublin”
the viewer in spite of the few
awards, The Audience Award
is redeemed by the sets and
moments of shoddy acting.
and The Seahorse Award.
costumes that illustrate the
The music of Ireland is
The film was also chosen as
attention to detail and history
one of the foremost characpart of the official selection
that went into the making of
teristics of the country, and
at the Shanghai International
this film. Nothing about the
this was portrayed perfectly
Film Festival. This movie is
Irish town is too perfect. No
in the film. Not only does the
appropriate for both teens
character’s house is too clean,
soundtrack have characteristic
and adults and is characterwhich adds to the genuine
Irish music that fits the scenes,
ized by its perfectly structured
feeling of the film, and props
but villagers are also frequentplot, well thought-out punch
were chosen with considly depicted playing music or
lines, and genuine characters
eration towards both the
Irish step dancing.
that are eccentric, but not
screenplay and the characters’
“Waiting for Dublin”
stereotypes. However, for a
personalities. Everything was
would have been a perfect film
movie marketed as a comedy,
kept as accurate as possible,
if there were more jokes and
it lacked the amount of jokes
and the WWII planes used
if the acting had been believneeded to keep the audience
in the film were two of only
able throughout. However,
in stitches.
a few existing originals that
the perfect execution of the
While jokes were not
can still be flown. “Waiting
plot as well as other characbountiful, the story was
for Dublin” was filmed on
teristics of this film engross
entertaining. The plot alone
site in Dublin and Galway,
the viewer and leaves the audikept the viewer wondering
Ireland as well as in Antwerp,
ence feeling satisfied.
what would happen next and
Page The exception
and the rule
“He’s Just Not That
Into You” provides
life lessons
a connection between the
audience and the film.
“Girls are taught a
However, in the end, all
lot of stuff growing up.
plotlines and characters
If a guy punches you, he
work toward the idea that
likes you. Never try to
“He’s Just Not That Into
trim your own bangs and
You.” Through the combisomeday you will meet
nation of the multiple plot
a wonderful guy and get
lines it is shown that no
your very own happy
one should waste his time
ending. Every movie we
on someone who’s just not
see, every story we're told,
that into him. It would be
implores us to wait for
very difficult to accomit, the third act twist, the
plish this feat without a
unexpected declaration of
cast of Hollywood stars,
love, the exception to the
and the cast of “He’s Just
rule.”
Not That Into You” fits
“He’s Just Not That
that description to a tee.
Into You,” the latest
romantic comedy of 2009, The characters truly fulfill
their roles in the film,
opens with these words.
whether it is to disgust
The film has a rare starthe viewer on the basis
studded cast, featuring
of moral ignorance, pity
Gennifer Goodwin, Ben
them based on the fact
Affleck, Jennifer Anisthat they cannot recognize
ton, Scarlett Johansson,
the truth, or to make the
Bradley Cooper, Kevin
viewer hope for happily
Connelly, Jennifer Conever after. Standing out
nelly, Justin Long, and
Drew Barrymore. This all- are Jennifer Aniston and
star cast takes you through Ben Affleck; not only are
their characters Beth and
scenarios, such as he’s not
Neel the source of the
calling, he doesn’t want to
most appealing storyline,
come back to your place,
but both truly connect to
he only wants to meet you
the audience and provide
alone, or he doesn’t want
a source of great onscreen
to get married, which are
chemistry.
surprisingly relatable to
Overall, “He’s Just
the average viewer. The
Not That Into You”
viewer comes to realize
provides the perfect social
that the average guy in
commentary in a time
question does any of the
in which women believe
aforementioned without
that a man is into them,
regret, then “He’s Just
despite being in a situation
Not That Into You,” and
in which obvious neglihe is not the exception to
gence and cruelty. The
the rule. If he were the
film forces viewers to realexception then despite not
ize that not only is “He
calling or not getting married, he would change; the Just Not That Into You,”
but that they deserve more
viewer and the guy would
than just a mediocre relalive happily ever after.
tionship, they deserve true
“He’s Just Not That Into
love. Perhaps, it is better to
You”
does
an
excellent
job
which tasted completely different from
end with the words of the
the Swedish meatballs many Americans in relating to the average
girl who truly learned how
girl
that
she
is
worth
it,
may be used to. They were served with a
to tell when he just wasn’t
side of pickled cucumbers, mashed pota- that she does deserve to
that into her, “and maybe
have
a
love
interest
that
is
toes, and cranberry sauce. The dish was
a happy ending doesn't
into her.
well presented and incorporated a wide
include a guy, maybe... it's
Although
seeming
range of flavors from the sweet to the
you, on your own, picking
sporadic and disjointed at
sour, which complemented each other
up the pieces and starting
first,
“He’s
Just
Not
That
well. The meatballs were well sized,
over, freeing yourself up
Into You” results in a very
tender, and topped with a thick, savory
for something better in the
balanced
and
complete
brown sauce that added a lot to the
future. Maybe the happy
flavor of the dish. The picked cucumbers film. This original feeling
ending is... just... moving
of
disjointedness
is
due
to
tasted different than expected but in a
on. Or maybe the happy
the fact that several differgood way; the pickling process helped
ending is this, knowing
ent
plot
lines
are
followed
to bring out the flavor of the cucumbers
after all the unreturned
throughout the film and
and added a different, interesting flavor
phone calls, broken-hearts,
scenes
are
interrupted
to the dish. The tuna salad at Tre Kronor
through the blunders and
with grapes and almonds was served on by shots in New York
The Melonsallad is a refreshing dish consisting of sweet melons, crisp lettuce,
misread signals, through
of
regular
people.
This
whole grain limpa toast. The tuna salad
strawberries, and a sprinkling of blue cheese.
all the pain and embarcould be considered as the
was
both
sweet
and
crunchy,
serving
as
a
Photo by Jeffrey Joseph
rassment you never gave
production
company
trygood appetizer.
up hope.”
ing too hard to establish
Tre
Kronor
also
serves
pickled
herby Jeffrey Joseph
Some of Tre Kronor’s many appering, which is standard Scandinavian fare.
Someone not familiar with Swedtizers include crab cakes, or Krabbakor,
The dish was made better by the addiish food may not know what to expect
and melon salad. Their crab cakes were
tion of basil to making it green for Saint
from Tre Kronor (which is Swedish for
served with a bell pepper sauce and
Patrick’s Day. The pickled herring dish
three crowns), but if they give the food a
topped with a lemon slice. The crab cakes
is cured or pickled in a bath of sugar and
chance, they will be in for a good time.
by themselves were a little too salty, but
vinegar for days at a time, to give it its disThe restaurant was relatively small in size
when paired with the sauce, they tasted
tinctive flavor. The waiting staff warned
and was dimly lit, giving it a comfortable,
fine. The crab cakes went well with their
that pickled herring is not for everyone,
homey feel. The waiting staff was friendtraditional Krystal soda, which was light
and that some people might find its
ly; they were eager and willing to make
and refreshing and came in several differstrong flavor unappealing. It is definitely
suggestions and answer questions about
ent varieties from common varieties such
a dish that people who go to the Kronor
the different foods that they served. The
as apple and pear to more unusual kinds
should try for themselves. The waitress
restaurant was well furnished with classy
like black currant and lingonberry. Other
mentioned that the dish is so popular that
tablecloths and place settings. It was also
appetizers that Tre Kronor serves include
around the holidays they have ten differwell decorated with a rustic mural of a
Gravix (Aquavit cured salmon) and their
ent varieties of it.
scenic country landscape, producing a
Toast Skagen, which is a Swedish sandIn the search a nice restaurant with
warm atmosphere.
wich of arctic shrimp with served dill.
good food and a taste of Swedish culture,
Wasa crackers and multi-grain bread,
Tre Kronor also offers a variety of soups
Tre Kronor at 3258 W. Foster Ave will
both Swedish staples, were served as
and salads to choose from, such as their
definitely fit the bill. The restaurant is
The average girl will be able to relate to “He’s
appetizers. The crackers were tasty and
losoppa or onion soup and their Ostallad
open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Just Not That Into You,” a romantic comedy that
there were different kinds that were made
or mixed green salad with goat cheese
aims to show girls they are worthy of guys who
seven days a week. Visit www.trekronorof various different grains such as rye
and bacon.
are truly into them.
restaurant.com
for
more
information
and
and wheat. Although it is not a fast food
The restaurant’s Swedish specialties
Image courtesy of Amazon.com
to preview the menu.
restaurant, the food is prepared quickly.
include Swedish meatballs, or Kottbular,
Tak så mycket
Thank you very much, Tre Kronor
by Claire Kilpatrick
Page 10
Editorials
Editorial:
Thank you for listening to our concerns, Mr. Rodgers
True leadership is marked by an ability
to listen and be led by the people whom you
must lead. This invisible form of leadership
requires a rare form of human: “strong, but not
rude; kind, but not weak; bold, but not a bully;
thoughtful, but not lazy; humble, but not timid;
and proud, but not arrogant,” according to
author Jim Rohn.
During Northside’s early years, everyone
enjoyed that type of leadership. Dr. James
Lalley, Northside’s founding principal, was
not made of complex chemicals, like other
humans; there was only one element in him:
leadership. His retirement, as you’d imagine,
brought many to tears, but also made way for
Mr. Barry Rodgers, Northside’s current principal, to sweep in and woo us all.
Mr. Rodgers came to Northside two years
ago and faced criticism, often harsh, from
many. Most policies that the new administration passed were scrutinized in unfavorable
ways from all sides. “Dr. Lalley wouldn’t have
done that,” echoed in the halls every time
the administration declared a new policy, no
matter how mild the issue, like a later colloquium start time and attempts at decreasing the
number of fliers around the school by offering
an eco-friendly bulletin.
Dr. Lalley left some big shoes to fill - shoes
that had been growing for decades, as his
administrative career grew. Surely, in his early
days, Dr. Lalley, too, had a thing or two to
learn about making policies, selling policies,
and interacting with students, teachers, and
parents. There is a tendency to understand Dr.
Lalley as he was in the last years of his career,
but he too probably had some “growing pains.”
We must bear in mind, that as we criticize
Mr. Rodgers (only directly named because he is
the face of the administration), it must not be
because Dr. Lalley would have done it differently. The Northside student population is a
compilation of thoughtful individuals who can
judge policies according to their own merits,
and not based on who passed them.
As such, it is also important to recognize
and uphold the administration when good
things happen. This year, there was a sequence
of events between the administration and The
Hoof Beat that caused backlash not only from
the young journalists that scour Northside’s
halls, but from the rest of the Northside community. The administration had censored an
editorial that The Hoof Beat wrote—this issue
went before the Local School Council, in hopes
of mediation, and when no compromise was
reached, the editorial was never published.
Soon after, Mr. Chester Tylinski, the journalism advisor, was removed from his position as
advisor and journalism was moved from being
a ninth period class to being held during the
eight-block school day.
At that time, the most important move The
Hoof Beat could make was to react to what
we perceived as censorship and an unfair treatment of a respected teacher. And it was important: we must always help our leaders lead
by setting boundaries for appropriate behavior,
offering constructive criticism, and working
cooperatively with them to make our school a
better place. When we have these discussions
as a community, it must not be interpreted
as unnecessary or emotional backlash, but as
what it is: a desire to work towards making our
community better suited to foster the brilliant
minds that it contains.
While it is Mr. Rodgers’s responsibility to
hear our concerns and make positive actions to
resolve them, it is our responsibility to acknowledge when Mr. Rodgers and the administration have done something well. We must
encourage and thank them.
Over the last two weeks, the administration has gone to great lengths to acknowledge
that it has heard our outcry, listened to our
constructive arguments and reacted accordingly. In the spirit of good journalism, they
have opened the gateway for discussion, offered
an explanation for the censoring of our initial
editorial and allowed us to publish an editorial
that denounced prior review. Additionally, they
have reinstituted Mr. Tylinski as the journalism
advisor and will continue to offer journalism as
an after-school class.
Moreover, over the last two years, Northside has continued to thrive as an academic
institution. Scores are hitting record highs, students are getting accepted to the best colleges in
the country, and Northsiders continue to enjoy
more freedom than many (if any) other high
schools in the city. The class roster is constantly
evolving, as more classes are added to the curriculum. That certainly isn’t indicative of an
ailing community.
Thank you for listening, Mr. Rodgers. It is
encouraging and sheds a positive light on the
progress you have made as a leader. This will
lend itself to better communication with both
the journalism class and the rest of the student
body. We look forward to watching you thrive
in the coming years.
Fun with Della and Señor Conejo
by Gigi Lee
The Hoof Beat
Mélange
Gun control
means hitting
your target
by Melissa Jordan
On March 10, an Alabama
man went on a shooting rampage
through two small towns that ended
in 11 deaths.
On March 8, an Illinois man
shot and killed a pastor during a
church service and opened fire on
members of the congregation. He
carried enough ammunition to kill
30 people (cnn.com).
Gun violence is prevalent in the
United States as shooting sprees
seem to be occurring more frequently. Shooting rampages are nothing
new to the people who followed
the news stories of Eric Harris and
Dylan Klebold, from Columbine
High School, or that of Seung-Hui
Cho, from Virginia Tech. There are
also the rampages that do not take
place at a school or on campus,
killings done by people such as
Benjamin Smith, who killed Illinois
and Indiana residents during one
rampage in the summer of 1999.
The losses caused by this
violence arouse emotion from even
the most detached person. It is
easy to think that the answer to this
problem lies in passing legislation
banning all guns, but continuing
gun violence in Chicago despite
legislating a ban on registering
handguns, effectively banning them,
has shown that these types of laws
will not make guns disappear.
If little old Alabama ladies and
Illinois church-going moms and
dads were “packin’ heat,” perhaps
these rampages would not have
ended with such a large amount of
lost lives. While they would end
with some lives lost, the immediate
witnesses would be able to defend
themselves, and others, and reduce
the total death toll.
There is a joke that states that
the reason why Texans are so polite
to one another is because they all
know that everyone has a gun. This
joke represents a kind of small-scale
mutually assured destruction: in
this scenario, no one would point a
gun at a fellow Texan because they
know that Texan would have one of
their own guns to point back.
If local legislation allows everyday citizens to carry a sidearm, then
in cases of extreme gun violence, an
attacker would have a significantly
lower chance of a prolonged shooting rampage, and therefore a significantly lower death toll would result.
The mutually assured destruction in
this case would be a citizen’s ability
to incapacitate a criminal after it has
become apparent that the criminal
intends to continue.
Allowing handguns for citizens
would not increase gun violence.
With appropriate measures, such
as background checks and a mental
health check, the widespread carrying of firearms would create a
safer society. The ability to protect
oneself is a clear and immediate
defense from attackers. We will not
discover what in our society drives
people to commit such horrible
acts overnight, nor will we be able
to instill the morals and character within our society to stop gun
violence—but as citizens we require
the immediate ability to protect
ourselves.
Allowing handguns would
not make it easier for criminals to
attain weapons—let’s face it, with
the number of shootings of CPS
students this school year, 29 as of
March 25 (suntimes.com) and the
high number of crimes involving
handguns in Chicago, it is clear that
criminals in Chicago obtain guns
despite the City’s legislation. Criminals have the capacity to kill with
illegal weapons, and they are killing.
Is it not just to allow citizens to have
the capacity to protect themselves?
April 2009
Sharks in the water
Sports
Page 11
Water polo kicks off its new season
by Jeffrey Joseph
Northside’s water polo teams have begun
their seasons, and expectations are high for
both the men’s and the women’s teams. Last
year, the women’s team did well, winning third
place at the city championships and also placing second in their sectional competition. Last
year’s men’s team made it to the quarter finals
in their section and also made it to the city
championships.
The two teams have been practicing for
about 2 to 3 hours every day after school in
order to get prepared for the season, but going
into their first games they have only had about
twelve practices.
“This year is going to be a rebuilding year
for the women’s team,” Coach Carlos Ceja,
Head Coach, said. “Plus, we have a pretty good
turnout for the team.” The team’s newer members will be adjusting to playing the game, while also trying to
contribute to their team’s success. The women’s
team, unlike the men’s team, is well equipped,
having about 23 players on the team, most of
whom are new to the game.
“The freshman on the team are doing well
and learning [the game] quickly,” women’s
water polo player Evelyn Roback-Navarro,
Adv. 102, said.
One obstacle facing the men’s team this
season is the low turnout for the team. Despite
the lack of players, the team is confident that it
can overcome this challenge.
“We had a small team last year and we still
did really well, so I am not discouraged by the
turnout,” Meyer said. “I am looking forward to
playing.”
The low number of players on the men’s
team will probably affect their game play this
season, Coach Ceja commented, because in the game
of water polo most players
become worn out by the
fourth quarter, so the coach
makes many substitutions.
With the season just
having started, the women’s
water polo team won its first
game against the team from
Von Steuben Metropolitan
Science Center but lost their
second game against Whitney Young High School. In
its first two of the season, the
men’s team suffered losses
against the teams from both
Von Steuben and Whitney
Young.
“The season is going
pretty well considering that
we have less than 10 people,”
Rowan Quinain, Adv.109,
said. “Right now, we are
mostly getting adjusted to
playing.” In terms of players, the
men’s team hopes to get
more players to join soon,
which should help the team
later on in the season. Since
the women’s team has sufCourtney Quigley, Adv. 010, practices with the Women’s Varsity Water Polo Team in the pool.
ficient membership, it can
Photo by Jeffrey Joseph
focus on training for games.
season and hope to do well, getting stronger as
cessful season.”
“There’s a good group for
the season progresses.
“We want to be a threat to other teams this
the women’s team, and I am excited for the up“We have a strong team with many skilled
season and also to get better as a team,” Sarah
coming season,” Vera Iwankiw, Adv.109, said.
players,” Caeleigh Renkosiak, Adv. 105, said.
Ashcraft Johnson, Adv. 903, said.
On the women’s team mostly all of the
“With teamwork, I think that it will be a sucthe players are looking forward to playing this
An impressive track record
Senior Eric Nelson shines among
Northside’s athletic stars
by Sarah Schoonhoven
In track and field, he reached a 6’6” high jump, a 40’4”
triple jump, a 43‘5”shot put, and a 126’ discus throw.
Nelson went to the State level competition last year for
track and field. In basketball, he helped his team tie for
fifth place at the Bruce Slovitt Invitational Competition
and ninth place at the Redbird Invitational.
Nelson has received many school athletic awards
throughout his high school career, such as Outstanding
Athletic Achievement for
Basketball in freshman and
sophomore years; Track and
Field in freshman, sophomore, and junior years; and
Golf for sophomore, junior,
and senior years. Nelson
helped the golf team become
city champions this year. He
also placed first in the City in
the High Jump competition
during his in freshman and
junior years.
Playing sports, however,
is not merely about winning
awards. Nelson said that he
enjoys the sports for numerous other reasons as well.
“[I enjoy] the competition,” Nelson said. “I like
working hard and getting better, and working to improve.”
Aside from the games
themselves, Nelson says that
merely being a member of a
team is rewarding.
“[The basketball team] is
like a brotherhood,” Nelson
said.
As a member of the basketball “brotherhood,” Craig
Melhuse, Adv. 908, had only
positive things to say about
his teammate.
“He is well-rounded,”
Melhuse said, “and a great
guy.”
Nelson plans on attending the University of Illinois
at Champagne-Urbana in
the fall of 2009, as well as attending business school, and
possibly going on to become
a golf instructor. As for the
future, Nelson wants to wait
and see what happens.
“I enjoy [my athletic
experience at Northside],”
Eric Nelson, Adv. 905, one of Northside’s top athletes, participates in a
Nelson said. “It gives me
Slam Dunk Contest at Northside’s Homecoming Pep Rally.
something to do. It’s fun.”
Photo by Kevin Lee
Eric Nelson, Adv. 905, goes above and beyond the
common definition of an athlete. A participant in three
Northside teams; golf, basketball, and track and field;
Nelson excels in each sport to which he endeavors.
In golf, he shot 76 in the City Championships and
won on the first hole in the playoffs. Northside’s Men’s
Golf Team also won the City Championship this year.
Men’s volleyball
back to defend its
city crown
by Sarah Capungan
Spring brings the start of a new season for Northside Men’s
Varsity Volleyball Team. The team’s first game took place on
Monday, March 23 against Whitney Young, followed by a game at
Lincoln Park on March 24. The players’ first tournament will be
the City Suburban Showdown at Glenbrook South. These games
should give a good indication of where it is at this year’s volleyball
season.
The boys are coached by Coach Nicole Flores and her assistant, Coach Lisa Volesky.
“We have small term goals for each match we play,” Coach
Flores said, “One of the main approaches is to work hard at each
practice and make the most out of every moment we’re in the
gym.”
The team consists of mostly seniors and juniors that have been
playing on the team for a while. Included are some juniors and
sophomores who have played on the sophomore team last year, as
well as one freshman.
“Some of the returning seniors have shown immense leadership last year as juniors, so I am hopeful that this will continue on
to this season,” Coach Flores said.
Justice Reed, Adv. 206, is a freshman on the Men’s Varsity
Volleyball Team. He notes that his transition to the varsity level has
been aided by the team’s leaders.
“They [senior players] are good at teaching the younger players,” Reed said. “In general they provide a good, solid example
both in terms of the physical aspects of the sport as well as individuals.”
Last year, the team won the 2008 city championships and had
four players nominated to Chicago’s All-City Team. The players
hope to repeat that victory this season through a series of matches
and tournaments.
“Each player will have their own individual goals that they will
be working towards throughout the season,” Coach Flores said.
“We’ll try to have fun while competing and learn from mistakes to
make them successes the second time around.”
To play in the City Championships the boys must win their
Invitational match on May 2 at St. Benjamin as well as the Red
North Conference. Both of these games ultimately lead to the City
Championship game.
This year the players have discussed repeating their victories
from last year.
“We just want to do well this season and possibly win another
city title,” said Luke Sobieraj, Adv. 100, said.
The team also plans on playing better during its Regional playoffs than it did last year; last year, the team lost their first game a
game. The team is also working on advancing to Sectionals.
The boys plan on achieving these goals by working hard in
practice, learning from the mistakes they make while competing,
and making the most out of every moment they are playing in the
gym.
“We are working on working together as a whole unit for each
match and during each practice,” Coach Flores said.
It can be assumed the boys are working hard this year, especially after a city-wide win. Although the boys have done well in
their previous season, it is unknown if the boys will win another
city title. Despite this all can remain hopeful about another possible
championship.
Page 12
A bonus not
with Yonas
Sports
The Hoof Beat
Extravaganza at University High
Men’s Track and Field Team sets new records in
March madness or third place finish at U-High
nonsense?
personal best, he
On March 6, Northside’s
was not comVarsity Men’s Track and Field
pletely satisfied
by Caitlin Swieca
took
part
in
a
very
successful
with his perforI hate to disappoint the loyal readers of Bonus
mance.
with Yonas, but I will be filling in for Yonas as he re- track meet at Henry Crown
Stadium
at
the
University
“After I ran
covers from illness. No worries, he will be back again
of Chicago. The team broke
a race earlier,
in May to dispense his endless words of wisdom.
a new school record while
I did not have
The beginning of the spring is one of the most
placing third with a score of
time to measure
exciting times of the year for sports fans in Chicago.
65.70
behind
Mather
and
St.
out my steps for
As the weather gets warmer, the Cubs and White Sox
Ignatius with scores 116.20 and the triple, but I
make their way from spring training to their respec84.70, respectively. The event
was able to put
tive sides of town, while the Bulls and Blackhawks
was coordinated by University
together a good
look for strong finishes that will earn playoff spots.
High
Coach
Bud
James.
At
the
enough run up
Despite all of the pro sports around town, it seems
meet, Northside competed with to manage 39'
that everyone’s eyes are on the National College
Mather, Wheaton Academy,
10,” Nelson said.
Athletic Assiciation (NCAA) March Madness tour“Also, I would
nament. By now, we are all familiar with the system: University High, F.W. Parker,
North
Shore
Country
Day,
have jumped
65 qualifying teams are ranked into four brackets
Jones College Prep, and St.
farther, but I was
and compete over five rounds, looking to be the last
Ignatius.
distracted beteam standing. It seems that everyone, regardless of
The varsity team took
cause John Byrne
basketball knowledge, loves predicting the outcome
home
many
titles
in
the
[Adv. 908] was
of the tournament, hoping to pick the upsets that no
individual and relay races. In
watching me and Members of the Varsity Men’s Track and Field Team run in preparation
one else will foresee and even make some cash in an
the
long
jump,
all
of
the
nine
it crept me out.”
for a March 6 meet at University High.
office pool. However, when I opened up this year’s
Northsiders that participated in
The major
Photo by Adriana Garties
bracket, I could not help but notice a fundamental
the event broke their previous
highlight of the
flaw in the structure of the tourney: why were there
Coach Jon Gordon, who is a
were awarded pineapples and
records, each setting a new permeet was the 4x200 meter
so many no-name teams wasting spots?
former
track
runner
himself
watermelons. Some members
Relay “A.” Northside’s team
Each year, the NCAA grants an automatic bid to sonal best. Of the nine, Martin
and has coached Northsides
of the team found this to be
Melto,
Adv.
909,
finished
sixth
broke
new
school
records
and
the tournament champion of each of the 31 confertrack
team
since
2003.
The
amusing.
came in third place. The relay
ences. Sure, there are the traditional power conferenc- overall and first among Northmembers of the track team are
“At the event, the team
siders
with
his
jump
of
18’2”.
was
collaborated
by
three
es: the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East,
often
seen
running
through
came
in third, but they broke
“Despite my brother’s laziseniors and a junior. The race
to name a few. Then you have the Horizon League,
the halls or practicing for their
a major school record,” said
ness,
he
is
still
a
great
part
of
began
with
Byrne,
running
200
Ohio Valley Conference, and Summit Conference,
events.
Jusuf Skelse, Adv. 200. “They
Northside’s track team,” Mac
meters in 24.92 seconds. Next
which send teams like Cleveland State, Morehead
The team has a lot in front
did a good job and got a few
Melto,
Adv.
209,
said.
“Hopewas
Steven
Burke,
Adv.
014,
State, and North Dakota State, respectively. These
of
it,
with
many
meets
and
pineapples and watermelons
fully, we will be able to find
who ran another 200 meters
teams add nothing to the madness, except maybe an
expectations ahead.
for doing so.”
someone
as
good
as
Martin
in
26.06
seconds.
Burke
made
easy win for a powerhouse team with a high seed.
“My
expectations
are
that
Most of the runners are
when he leaves.”
a transition to Nelson, who
While everyone loves an underdog, what are the
we are going to kick every
happy with the outcome of
Another
section
of
the
ran
in
25.26
seconds
finally
chances that the University of Tennessee at Chattaother school’s butt and will
the event and in general happy
meet was the triple jump. In
passing to Wemi Jemine, Adv.
nooga will defeat the perennially successful Unidominate and be supreme,”
with their experience at track.
this
part
of
the
event,
Eric
Nel903.
Jemine
finished
the
race
versity of Connecticut? How does Radford plan to
Richard
Do,
Adv.
200,
said.
“I
“Track is a great sport
son, Adv. 905, was Northside’s
in 24.96 making the total time
take down North Carolina? There are always upsets,
hope everyone at the end of
which keeps you in shape and
top
scorer,
coming
in
third
for
the
team
a
record
breaking
but the first round becomes boring when half of the
track season has had a good
motivated at all times,” Moplace overall. He managed to
1:40.20.
games are blowouts. With the exception of George
time, has had fun and comes
hammed Hossein, Adv. 110,
jump
a
distance
of
39’
10”,
The
team
has
been
practicMason University making the Final Four in 2006,
out
a
winner.”
said. “They award you with
slightly below his all time
ing ever since January, after
low seeds rarely make it past the second round. This
The students broke a new
shirts and fruits for breaking
record
of
40’
4”.
Although
students
returned
from
winter
year, only two teams ranked below a four seed made
school
record,
and
for
this
they
records and doing well.”
break. It has been lead by
it that far. Smaller conferences simply do not have the Nelson almost reached his
recruiting power and resources of a major program,
and therefore cannot keep up with its level of play.
Instead of wasting both teams’ time with a meaningless pick, why not give a ‘bubble’ team that fell just
short of the tournament from a major conference a
shot to upset a top team? For example, Northwestern
University upset teams such as Minnesota, Michigan
first coach we’ve had for more then a year,
The regular season will end on WednesState, and Purdue, yet it was confined to the National by Dylan Nugent
Playing its first game on March 23,
so now we’re able to focus on improvday, May 13th, with a game against Von
Invitational Tournament (NIT). Several other teams
Northside’s Women’s Varsity Softball Team ing the team instead of bringing the team
Steuben, though the team may advance to
in top conferences were snubbed in favor of small
has jumped into its brand new season.
together.”
the city or even state championships, which
schools. By giving these teams at-large bids, the
After school, the team has been hard at
Last year, the team managed to make it
could extend their season as far as the end
NCAA could at least make some early games more
work conditioning and practicing for the
two games into the city playoffs, although it of May.
exciting and give a real possibility for an upset.
fell short of winning the city championsip.
“We all want to win, but at the same
Tournaments introduce another flaw to the cham- upcoming season.
“This is the second year that we’ve
The team hopes to change that this season.
time, these girls want to have fun,” Coach
pionship system. The 65 teams picked are not neceshad [Coach Drake] as our coach,” Allison
“I was very impressed [with our team’s
Drake said. “I’m very proud of them and
sarily the best 65 teams in the nation. A team can
Neubauer, Adv. 015, said, “and she’s the
performance last year],” Coach Dora
to work with them and excited about [the
gain momentum during its conference tournament
Drake, team coach,
upcoming season].”
and earn a trip to the dance, regardless of its regular
said. “My expectaThe team is confident of its abilities to
season record. By this logic, any lowly team could
tions for this year are
work together this year and is hopeful for a
earn a bid by playing well in its tournament. Why
very high.”
city championship victory. The current vartake away a bid from a deserving team just because a
Players on the
sity team is made up of many of the same
certain team was hot at the right time? Teams should
team overall have a
members who won the Junior Varsity City
be rewarded for their success in the grueling season,
confident attitude
Championship in 2007, which has helped
not a silly tournament that takes a weekend.
regarding the previous
to add to their confidence and predictions
While an NCAA tournament bid helps a small
and upcoming season.
of success.
school financially, it ignores the people that college
“We did well last
“We’re the same team we were two
basketball should truly serve: the fan and the athlete.
season, but we didn’t
years ago,” Melanie Couchman, Adv. 015,
As a fan of a small school, would you rather watch
make it to any chamsaid. “We won City Championships then,
your team’s two-hour stay in the NCAA tourney as
pionships,” Neubauer
and we’ve been practicing and improving
it gets crushed by a powerhouse, or watch it enter a
said. “This year, we’re
since, so I’m confident that we can do it
NIT-like tournament as a high seed and play teams
expecting to do even
again this year, but we’ll just have to wait
of the same caliber in a competition it has a shot
better.”
and see.”
at winning? While a championship in a different
In its new season,
Of course, a lot of things can happen
tourney is not as satisfying as an NCAA title, it is
the softball team has
during a season, such as injuries and roster
much more realistic for small teams, and, as sports
the chance to display
changes, and the team hasn’t had a chance
have taught us, it is the journey that counts anyway.
how it have changed
to see any of the other school’s perforInstead of wasting precious tournament bids on the
its strategies and
mances this year, so the only way to be
Little Teams That Can’t, the NCAA should reform
otherwise improved.
certain of the outcome is to wait and see.
the NIT into a competitive tourney for smaller
The team has strong
Regardless, the members of the team mainconferences. A longer tenure in a smaller competition
feelings about the
tain a positive attitude as they continue
would be more fun for fans and athletes alike.
improvements for this
to condition for the upcoming tryouts,
year and is hopeful
practice, and ultimately, the games.
that they can make
“Our number one rival is definitely
it further in the city
Lane [Tech College Prep High School],”
championships than
Couchman said. “Last year, I don’t rethey did last year.
member exactly how we did against them,
“The one thing
but I know we came close to winning both
that was our Achilles
games.”
Heel last year was our
With a strong rivalry against Lane
hitting, so this year
Tech taking backseat to constant work on
we’ve been focusing
improving their weaknesses and expanding
on this and working a
their strengths, their upcoming season will
little longer,” Coach
be the opportunity for Northside’s Varsity
Chyei Vinluan, Adv. 908, participates in a hitting drill at
Drake said. “Every
Women’s Softball Team to show to other
softball practice.
little bit helps.”
schools their dedication to excellence.
Photo by Adriana Garties
by Faique Moqeet
Women’s softball comes out swinging
Team ready to make a championship run