Harrison High School, Harrison NY. 10528
www.harrisoncsd.org
March 2014
Volume XVIII Issue 2
Tech Team Wins Best in State
Ben Adler
Staff Writer
The next Steve Jobs may
very well be going to school right
here in Harrison. This past December, IB Technology students
James Murabito, Ben Adler, Daniel
Son, Rami Areikat, JD Barnett,
and John Vize worked as a team,
competing in the “Verizon Innovative App Design Challenge”.
Each year, Verizon hosts this
competition to give high school
students the opportunity to create
a smartphone application aimed
at benefiting communities through
the use of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) skills. For each team, the
process begins with identifying a
problem. From there, each team
must create a video presentation
and write an essay describing the
app. After being judged against
hundreds of other submissions
from across the country, the Harrison High School IB Technology
team won the “Best in State”
award.
The team of six began their
design process by brainstorming
a list of problems that existed in
the local community. According to
senior team member John Vize,
“We noticed the difficulties that
local businesses were having
competing against larger companies.” Fellow senior Rami Areikat
remembers noticing how technology was breaking apart the sense
Can You Hear Me Now? HHS Technology Team smiles for the camera after winning the Verizon Design App Challenge.
Pictured here are (front row, left to right), Daniel Son, JD Barnett, and Rami Areikat, (back row, left to right), adviser Mrs.
Frawley, James Murabito, Ben Adler and John Vize.
Courtesy of Mrs. Frawley
of community that once existed in
many towns, saying, “We felt that
technology was separating the
different members of the community. We wanted to create an
app to help form a more cohesive
community.” Ultimately, the team
decided that an app could be
created to bring together different
members of the community using
an interactive interface aimed at
promoting small businesses and
local sporting events, which would
also post announcements pertaining to the town.
Next, the team took their
ideas to the drawing board. Team
member Ben Adler recalls spending many class periods writing
down all ideas on the Smart Board;
“No ideas were ignored, everything was written down, and eventually all of the small pieces came
together.” Oddly enough, the team
agreed that one of the hardest
parts of the design challenge
was creating a catchy name for
the app. It was eventually agreed
that the app would be called “In
My Back Yard”, “IMBY” for short.
The app allows users to create
accounts and select from a list of
areas of interest for a customized
experience. IMBY users can view
local sports schedules, emergency
town bulletins, and special deals
posted by small local businesses.
The team chose to keep the app
as simple as possible in order accommodate the varying degrees
of tech savvy in the community.
After submitting the app
for judging in late December, the
wait to hear from Verizon began.
In late January, the team was
notified that they had won Best in
State recognition. Team member
Daniel Son was extremely proud
to be part of the team, explaining
“It felt great to win after putting in
so much time and effort. We knew
we had a chance at winning. It was
really exciting when we got the
notification.” The team wanted to
thank their teacher, Mrs. Frawley,
for finding the competition and
keeping the process on track by
offering support and motivation
the entire time.
Business Students Impress at DECA Conferences
Ariel Coonin
Editor-in-Chief
Harrison High School Students are all business. Over the
course of three days, March 5-7,
27 Harrison High School Business Education students actively
competed in a number of events
at the DECA State Championships in Rochester, NY. DECA
is an organization that has been
around for more
than 60 years.
Their mission is to
prepare emerging
leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing,
finance, hospitality
and management
in high schools and
colleges around the
globe. In the State
Championship, the
Harrison business
contingency repreAll Business: Members of Harrison’s Business Club beam with success at the DECA Regional sented themselves
Conference. Over one third of all first place prizes went to HHS.
In News...
Gone...
but not
forgotten
Page 5
Courtesy of Mr. Santo
in a professional manner both in
and outside of the competitions.
Harrison had six students place
in the top 10 of New York State in
their respective events, and three
students placed in the top three.
Two students, Sam Colangelo
and Michael Gaudreau, won first
place in New York State in their
respective events, and qualify
to compete at the International
Competition to be held Atlanta,
Georgia.
“I am excited to be heading to the international competition in Georgia,” junior Michael
Gaudreau said. “These DECA
competitions provide a chance for
me to mix my academic training
with the practicalities of marketing
in the real world.” Gaudrea won
his prize in Principles of Finance,
while senior Sam Colangelo won
his first place prize in Business
Finance Services.
The students who placed
in the top ten of their respective
events were: Amina Naddaschar
(in Principles of Business Management & Administration), Joseph Lagani (in Principles of
Marketing), Brett Saviano (in
Business Services Marketing),
Dan Quinn (in Restaurant and
Food Service Management),
Aaron Kaplan(in Sports and
Entertainment Marketing), and
Daniel Maldonado (in Sports
(Continued on Page 2)
In Sports...
Inside...
Basketball
team makes
history in
County Center
appearance.
Back Page
Debate wins and wins.....Page 3
Snow Days Forever.........Page 7
Books or Movies? ...........Page 11
The Most Interesting Student Lily Lindsay....................... Page 17
90-Second Interviews.... Page 18
2
March 2014
Husky Herald
Great DECA Showing
(Continued from Front Page)
and Entertainment Marketing). The three
who placed in the top three were: Junior
Cabrera (second place in Decision Making
Marketing), Ally Huhne (third place in Public Service Visual Advertising) and Teddy
Maguire (finalist in Job Interviews).
This statewide competition follows
a successful January trip by the Business
Club to the DECA Regional Championships at Rockland Community College in
Rockland, New York. This was the second
year that students from Harrison not only
participated, but excelled in DECA competitions. The number of student participants is quickly on the rise, with a 300 %
increase in the past year alone.
The team is made up of dedicated
students that either take business classes
at HHS or participate in the Business Club
after school. In the regional competition,
15 students took first place, six students
The Husky Herald
Volume XVIII, Issue 2
Quinn in Restaurant and Food Services
Management, Scott Bartman and Alexis Shannon in Business Law and Ethics,
and Aaron Kaplan and Dan Maldonado in
Sports and Entertainment Marketing.
Coming in second were students
Nick Nelson in Principles of Finance, John
Vize and Zach Rian in Marketing Communications, Teddy Maguire in Job Interview,
Scott Nielson in Wholesale Selling, and
Ally Huhne in Public Service Visual Advertising. Taking third place were students
Amaina Naddaschar in Principles of Business Management and Administration,
Eric Gutierrez in Hotel and Lodging Management, Jared Gaynes in Human Resources Management, Lily Sherwood in
Retail Merchandising, Jessica Sherwood
in Sports and Entertainment Marketing,
Junior Cabrera in Decision Making Marketing, Dylan Karofsky in Sales Demon-
Distribution: 900
www.harrisoncsd.org/index.php/school-publications/husky-herald
Harrison High School
255 Union Avenue
Harrison NY 10528
Students: 1044
Staff: 160
Principal: Dr. Steven Siciliano
Staff 2013-2014
Editor-in-Chief - Ariel Coonin
Managing Editor - Clarissa Karantzis
Sports Editor - Trent Lefkowitz
News Editors - Helina Dawit and Brittany Wolfe
Entertainment Editor -Rob Sperduto
Head Proofreader - Jenna Lefkowitz
Photography/Design Editor - Rula Samad
Staff Writers Ben Adler, Carol Ann Albanese, Michael Angarano, Harris Baker,Federica Balboni, Jared Bartman, Brian Barry, Mohammed
Bashir, Andrea Bolivar, Caitlyn Brown, Sarah Camillone, Andrew
Carton, Allie Coonin, Caitlin Cullen, Caroline DeCarlo, Callie Fried,
Amanda Friedman, Amna Haider, Lena Jacobson, Katie Kramer,
Caroline Lauro, Coby Lefkowitz, Kendall Lefkowitz, Kyle Lefkowitz,
Sam Mandell, Lauren Mehlman, Matthew Miles, Meghan Molloy,
Sydney Mueller, Alyssa Muto, Allison Platte, Santiago Poveda,
Isabella Prado, Julia Provino, Alexis Puccio, Sydney Rosenstein,
Matt Rube, Ben Rubin, Kyle Slater, Zack Smolev, Samantha Stein,
Rose Stokoe, Jasmine Tucker, Steven Vendola, Sydney Woolf,
Faculty Adviser - Mr. Gary Glauber
Special Thanks to Mr. Petrillo
Taking Care of Business: The Business Club stops for a photo opp while attending the State
Career Conference in Rochester.
Courtesy of Mr. Santo
took second, eight took third place, and
two took fourth place. Coming in first were
students Emma Smolev in the category
of Principles of Business Management
and Administration, Michael Gaudreau
in Principles of Finance, Tristan Karabinos-Votta in Principles of Hospitality and
Tourism, Joseph Lagani in Principles of
Marketing, Muhammed Ahmed in Principles of Marketing, Alex Corda in Accounting Applications, Sam Colangelo in Business Finance Principles, Brett Saviano in
Business Services Marketing, Erica Dattero in Food Marketing, Josh Kaidanow
in Human Resources Management, Dan
stration, and Marielle Sheck in Visual
Advertising. Rounding out the Regional
Awards were the fourth place winners,
Mike Suozzo in Automotive Services Marketing, and Joe Puccio in Decision Making
Human Resources.
In the regional competition, the
HHS DECA team won first place in over
one third of the competitive events at this
conference, which qualified the students
to attend the New York State conference
in Rochester. Now HHS has two students
who have qualified to compete at the
DECA International Conference Competition in Atlanta.
Printer: School Paper Express
Affiliations: Columbia Scholastic Press Association,
National Scholastic Press Association
Mission Statement
Our mission is to be the voice of all of Harrison High School by
professionally representing and informing our school with an
accurate and entertaining newspaper. Our newspaper strives to
uphold the tenets of journalistic integrity.
Editorial Policy
The Husky Herald is published by the journalism classes at Harrison High School, along with the volunteers who attend the weekly
meetings Editorial content of The Husky Herald is determined
by the editorial staff and reflects the opinions of the editors and
staff, not necessarily that of the Harrison High School faculty and
administration. The staff of The Husky Herald encourages students to get involved and have their opinions heard. If you have
any questions, comments, or would like to respond to an article,
please write to us. Letters containing the writer’s name (and that
are in good taste) will be printed. We reserve the right to edit such
responses for grammar usage, clarity, punctuation, and length.
Two Moving On: Junior Michael Gaudreau (left) and Senior Sam Colangelo (right) will represent
HHS in the upcoming International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Courtesy of Ariel Coonin
March 2014
Husky Herald
News & Features
3
Record Breaking Success
Not A Matter For Debate
Amy Geller and Ben Rubin
Staff Writers
The Harrison Debate team continues to
have record-breaking national success, with 15
wins thus far. Harrison
senior Danny DeBois recently won Glenbrook
North High School's national championship debate tournament in Chicago, his second national
title this month. The Glenbrooks (the tournament's
Trophy Time Again: Mr. Hertzig and the members of Harrison’s Debate Team collect some impressive hardware after making their mark upon Harvard.
official name) is widely
Courtesy of Mr. Hertzig
considered the most diffiwere Harrison sophomores Eldebaters, then the top 32 (douSophomore Bea Almeida reached
from across the region. Freshcult of the regular debate season
yssa Alfieri and Kathryn Kenny,
ble-octofinals), 16 (octofinals),
the top 56 round, where she was
man Sammi O’Reilly was named
tournaments, as the event only
each of whom had an excellent
eight (quarterfinals), four (semiunfortunately paired against Amy,
the tournament champion with an
accepts two or three debaters per
showing, knocking out several
finals), and two (finals). Eleven
who advanced over Bea based
undefeated record. Also with unschool, most of whom are chamolder competitors. This marks the
of the 15 competing Harrison stuon tournament seeding. In the
defeated records, freshman Raffi
pion-level debaters in their own
fourth consecutive tournament
dents reached elimination rounds
novice division, freshman Jack
Piliero received third place and
regions.
championship for Harrison's de(seven in the varsity division and
Wilson reached quarterfinals (top
sophomore Amr El-Azizi finished
This year's competitive
bate team, as well as Danny’s
four in novice), and not one stu8), freshman Kate Ryan reached
in seventh place. At the end of
field featured 145 varsity Linsixth consecutive appearance in
dent had a losing record. In varoctofinals (top 16), where she
the tournament, 12 of the 14 novcoln-Douglas debaters from
sity, three of the top 16 students
was paired against Jack (he adices had winning records and 10
around the counwere from Harrison.
vanced over Kate based on seedreceived awards.
try,
including
Senior Danny DeBois was
ing), and freshmen Matt Zinman
Grant
Muller,
another
Texas,
Iowa,
the tournament's varsity Linand Sammi O'Reilly reached doufreshman debate team member,
Alabama,
Calicoln-Douglas champion, reachble-octofinals (top 32). Also comsays, “The debate team is really
fornia,
Florida,
ing elimination rounds with a
peting at Princeton was sophofun and when we do well and win
and
Colorado,
perfect 6-0 record; he was the top
more Evan Burger in the varsity
all of the competitions, it just beamong
several
seed and second place speaker.
division, along with sophomore
comes even better.”
other states. The
Danny proceeded to win all of
Amr El-Azizi and freshmen Raffi
Harrison High School takes
tournament
behis elimination rounds on unanPiliero and Katie DeBois; all had
debating very seriously and evgan with four preimous decisions, and was devery respectable 3-3 records, and
eryone is doing an amazing job
liminary
rounds
clared the tournament champion
just missed elimination rounds by
throughout the season so far,
on Saturday and
without losing a single ballot. This
one ballot each. This was Harriwith many competitions still to
three on Sunday;
championship marks something
son's most impressive collective
come. Update: The team redebaters needed
of a homecoming for Danny, as
showing to date this season.
cently captured the NY state NFL
a record of at least
he won the novice LD division of
Danny DeBois currently
District Championship in early
5-2 to reach elimiPrinceton as a freshman in 2010.
ranks second in the nation and
March, with Amy Geller, Elyssa
nation rounds. On
This weekend was his third conwas named the top speaker at
Alfieri and Kathryn Kenny named
Sunday night, the
secutive tournament win (potenthe Dallas Texas Greenhill clasco-champions of the event. Amy
top 32 debaters
tially his fourth, depending on the
sic, which featured over 100 dewill represent Harrison and the
competed in the
final results of Hendrick Hudson's
baters from across the country.
NFL District at Nationals this year.
double-octofinal
Tournament, which will be comDanny has also retained the NaMeanwhile, senior Danny
round, and this
pleted next month). He is the first
tional Forensic League ranking,
DeBois continues his string of
morning, the ocdebater on record to have won
as he is the #1 Lincoln-Douglas
stellar achievements, having won
tofinal (top 16),
Apple Valley, the Glenbrooks,
debater in the country. Another
the varsity division of the Harvard
quarterfinal (top
and Princeton (of the 42 debate
tremendous honor that Danny
University National Champion8), semifinal (top
rounds on this particular topic, he
has achieved was being selected
ship for the second consecutive
4), and final (top
won 41).
by the National Forensic League
year. He became only the fourth
2) rounds took
Also in varsity, junior Amy
to represent Team USA at the
debater in Harvard’s 30-year hisplace.
Danny
Geller upheld her reputation as
World Schools Debating Chamtory to win the title twice. He also
was one of two
a name to watch out for; Amy
pionship (WSDC), which will take
won the Harvard Round Robin,
debaters with a Making History: Senior Danny DeBois is the only dereached the octofinal (top 16)
place in Bangkok, Thailand, this
an event featuring the top 14 debater
to
have
won
both
the
Harvard
Round
Robin
and
its
perfect 7-0 record
National Championship.
Courtesy of Mr. Hertzig
round, making this her third concoming August.
baters in the country. He is the
in the preliminary
secutive appearance in elimiEmma Abramson, a freshonly competitor to have won both
rounds, and went
nation rounds at major varsity
man who is also on the debate
of these tournaments.
on to win all five of his eliminaa final round thus far this season.
tournaments. Sophomore Ella
team said, “He is the best debater
The debate team will be
tion rounds to be named the tourThe Princeton Tournament,
Eisinger also reached octofinals,
I have ever seen.”
competing at the National Cathnament champion. He was also
a grueling three-day event that
a break-out achievement for such
Even the Junior Varsity
olic League’s national qualifier
named the tournament's third
began on a recent Friday aftera young debater. Fellow sophoteam is off to a great start. This
on March 15 and the New York
place speaker. noon and ended late Sunday,
mores Elyssa Alfieri, Kathryn Kenfall they had competitions at Yale
State Debate Coaches AssociaEarlier this month, Danny
had 110 varsity Lincoln-Dougny, and Sarah Ryan reached the
University and Monticello High
tion State Championship at the
won another national championlas debaters from 10 states, as
double-octofinal (top 32) round;
School, as well as the Vassar
end of March. The regular seaship at Apple Valley High School
well as 89 novice Lincoln-DougElyssa was named the tournaTournament in mid-November,
son ends in March, after which
in Minnesota. He is the first delas debaters. There were six
ment's seventh place speaker in
where 14 debaters competed in
some debaters will continue in
bater since 2005 to win both Appreliminary rounds, followed by
varsity, a particularly impressive
the novice class among a field
post-season State and National
ple Valley and the Glenbrooks.
elimination rounds for the top 56
achievement for a sophomore.
of 68 Lincoln-Douglas debaters
championships.
Also competing at the Glenbrooks
Mock Trial Team Heading to Statewide Competition
Brittany Wolfe
News Editor
The Harrison High School
Mock Trial Team is on its way to
the New York Statewide Mock
Trial Competition to participate
in a realistic courtroom trial and
take on the roles of attorneys and
witnesses. Members of the team
are expected to understand the
complex procedures of courtroom law, including matters of
courtroom etiquette, like when to
object and how to ask an acceptable question during cross examination. Students argue for either
the prosecution or the defense
and are judged by practicing New
York State attorneys and judges.
Mock Trial offers students
the opportunity to improve public speaking skills, learn about
the underlying aspects of the
court system, and gain a sense
of teamwork and leadership. Students engage in the “real world”
experience that Mock Trial provides and become more aware of
the judicial systeme. In the weeks
leading up to trial, students spend
countless hours reading through
the case in an effort to fully un-
derstand the background and expertise of each witness involved,
along with what led to the lawsuit.
While most find it easy to take
a side and argue an opinion on
who deserves to win the case, it
is important that Mock Trial members take on the role that they
are assigned, even if it is not the
one with which they agree. Junior
Ross Cowan said, “I’ve learned
that being a part of Mock Trial
is like being a part of any sports
team; you can’t achieve the goal
or win the case without teamwork.
Being a part of Mock Trial can be
hard work but with teamwork, it
can be accomplished.”
4
March 2014
Husky Herald
News & Features
MoCo Nabs 10 Awards at Princeton Conference
Marielle Sheck
Staff Writer
The Harrison High School
Model Congress Club successfully inspires an attitude of political reform and involved citizenship. Multiple times each year, 24
students travel around the East
Coast and debate current controversial political topics with other
high school students from around
the country.
Newcomers to the club
competed at Horace Mann, a
private school in New York City,
as a preliminary
event before the
larger
conferences sponsored
by Princeton University.
Mainly
underclassmen
attended
this
conference, but
were extremely
successful, especially considering
the fact that Harrison was one of
the only public
schools in attendance. Freshman
Spencer Korek received an honorable mention in full session
and sophomore Dillon Bogart received a gavel in his committee.
Junior Harrison Steins, a
Model Congress board member
who once attended Horace Mann,
commented on the success of the
underclassmen at their first conference.
“I was so impressed with
the awards that the underclassmen received at the conference,”
he said. “At my first conference I
did not have nearly as much confidence as they possessed.”
He voiced his relief that the
club could count on underclassmen to continue to give Harrison
High School a good name, but to
also help expand and improve the
club. The underclassmen were
put to the test at the next Model Congress conference, held in
Washington D.C., and sponsored
by Princeton University. Princeton University chose to hold the
conference not
at their university, but in our
nation’s capital at a hotel
within walking
distance from
Union
Station and many
other D.C. attractions. Delegates
were
encouraged to
visit landmarks
such as the
United States
Capitol Building, the White House, the Smithsonian Museums, and the United
States Supreme Court. Because
of this location, the Princeton
Model Congress also has the
ability to easily attract keynote
speakers from high levels of
American government.
It was an interesting experience for delegates to be able to
debate topics, and then have the
opportunity to speak to people
who are essential in determining
them. Recent keynote speakers
...Harrison
remains one of
the most competitive schools
at every conference...
have
included
politicians such
as Paul Wolfowitz
and Ralph Nader.
Harrison
High school students took advantage of the
conference’s
location and visited Georgetown
University,
the
National
Zoo,
the
Newseum
and even toured
many
national
monuments.
The location was not the
only noteworthy
aspect of Princeton Model ConCapitol Gains: The Model Congress Club had a successful visit to Washington D.C. for the
gress. The size Princeton sponsored event.
Courtesy of Ms. Orban
of the conference
was exceptionalteam brought home 10 awards
according to Co-President Ben
ly large. Over 900 students from
this past fall at Princeton.
Adler.
New York to Alaska come to comCo-President Sam Colan“I was very proud to see
pete. A majority of the schools
gelo and freshman Raffi Piliero
some of the youngest members
competing were private schools,
both received gavels, the highest
of the team win awards,” he said.
and most have entire classes
award given at the conference.
Not only did Harrison rededicated to Model Congress,
Raffi has a lot of potential, and is
ceive 10 awards, but 20 out of
where students practice debating
the first freshman to gavel in full
23 Harrison delegates’ bills were
and writing bills.
session in Harrison High School
passed in committee, six were
In spite of the fact that Harhistory.
debated in full sessions, and
rison High School was one of the
Ben Adler, Daniel Maldeone was sent to the president for
only public schools competing
nado, Harrison Steins, Marielle
consideration, but was pocket
AND does not have a class dedSheck, Erica LaManna, Matt
vetoed.
icated to Model Congress, their
Druckman, Dillon Bogart, and
All in all, it was a very imreputation at the conferences
Harry Barnwell also received
pressive conference for Harrison
was in no way compromised.
honorable mentions in their redelegates and definitely a reason
Harrison remains one of the most
spective committees.
to be proud moving forward.
competitive schools at every
Superb young talent seems
conference, and this one was no
to be a common theme for the
exception. Our Model Congress
Model Congress team this year,
Suspensions - A Learning Opportunity
Alexis Puccio
Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered how the
faculty and staff here at Harrison High
School handle the suspension of students? Some kids may think their punishments are fair, while others believe
they have been wronged. When examining students’ perspectives about their
suspensions and detentions, some acknowledge that what they did was wrong
and accept their punishments, but others
think the exact opposite.
Sophomore
Justin Ferraro said,
“I was accused of
stealing a phone.
I don’t think it was
fair because I didn’t
do anything.”
Junior Nathan Trost also felt he
had not been treated fairly:
“I was suspended because I was
late to class a few times and violated the
dress code because my pants were sagging. I don’t think it was fair that I got a
day of in-school suspension.”
Junior Luiz Guimaraes believes he
was punished “for cursing and rapping in
class.”
“I got three-day lunch detention,”
he said. “I don’t think it was fair because
it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
When following up with Assistant Principal Mr. Mastrota, he clarified
the procedure for suspending students.
“All disciplinary matters are a learn-
ing opportunity for the student whether or
not suspension or detentions are a small
part of the incident,” he explained. “We
want students to own their actions and
understand why they need to be held
accountable. The other part of a disciplinary incident is to ensure that the student knows why they did what they did.
The school is responsible for support by
consulting with parents, guidance counselors, social
workers, or
any
other
people who
they think will
help to keep
the student
from further incidents.”
Do students get a chance to explain themselves and their actions prior
to being assigned a detention or suspension?
“Of course we listen to student perspectives,” Mr. Mastrota said. “If a teacher is involved, we listen to the teacher’s
perspective too. If there is video, we look
at the video. We attempt to collect all evidence prior to determining disciplinary
consequences, if any at all. We also
have to take past student disciplinary history into account when determining the
consequences for each student. These
consequences are appropriate, fair, and
just.”
Courtesy of Gilda’s Club
Gilda’s Club Teen Essay Contest
Ally Platte
Staff Writer
Being supportive is the best way to
help someone get through a difficult time,
so why not help by writing an essay? Gilda’s Club is holding its sixth annual “It’s
Always Something” Teen Essay Contest.
This contest is for all middle school and
high school students who are willing to
share their stories about how cancer has
impacted their life. Being diagnosed with
cancer can bring on a lot of mixed emotions that can affect the person with cancer and their families and friends as well.
Writing an essay about how cancer or how
knowing someone with cancer has impacted your life can be vital in helping yourself
recuperate.
By winning first, second, or third
place in the Gilda’s Club Essay contest,
you become liable to win amazing prizes!
In order to submit an essay, you must be
in at least sixth grade and no older than
twelfth grade and the essay must be 5002000 words long. When writing your essay,
make sure you tell your story! The judges
of the competition are looking for honest,
detailed writers who have the authentic
ability to move readers with their experi-
ences dealing with cancer. Do you have a
family member or a friend living with cancer? Are you a cancer survivor? Has someone in your life died from cancer? How did
this time in your life make you feel?
The Husky Herald was fortunate
enough to interview students from Harrison High School about how cancer has
affected their lives. Sarah Camillone said,
“My grandpa died from cancer so it is a
good idea to support people that are going through the same thing.” In hard times
like these, it is good to support people if
you know how they feel. Feeling connected
and working together is the most important
part of getting through a hard time.
Please submit your essay by March
21, 2014 online at the Gilda’s Club Westchester website (www.gildasclubwestchester.org). Entry forms are found on their
website as well. If you are an entrant, a
reception will be held on May 8 at Gilda’s
Club Westchester.
Write an essay—everyone is in this
together and they are ready to hear your
story.
4
March 2014
Herald
News Husky
& Features
In Memoriam
March 2014
Husky Herald
5
Brianna Belmont (1995-2013)
Cassidy Donohue
Guest Writer
Brianna Belmont spent
every moment of her life making others happy. She was
always laughing, always cracking a joke, and always able to
make others smile along with
her. She was a crucial part of
HHS’s Friends of Rachel club,
where she was the co-president her senior year along with
Christina Della Rocca, and
had been an active member
since she was a freshman.
In May of 2013, she was
diagnosed with leukemia. She
put up a tough fight, and was
even able to leave the hospital
over the summer. Unfortunately, the cancer did get worse in
the last few months, and she
lost her battle on November
26, 2013. She wasn’t the type
of person to ever put her problems and suffering on others,
so her passing was something
of a surprise to everyone.
Even while in the hospital, Brianna was able to graduate officially from Harrison
High School, joining her peers
in the class of 2013. She had
a positive impact on everyone
she knew,
especially
those who
knew her the
best. Christina Della
Rocca, one
of her closest friends
and recent
alum of Harrison High
School’s
class of
2013 had
plenty to
say about
Brianna.
“She
was my
best friend,
my sister,”
explained
Christina.
“We did everything together and
t o l d e a c h Brianna always was smiling.
other evCourtesy of Yearbook staff
erything. Bri
and when she walked into a
knew how to
brighten up someone’s day room, she lightened it up. She well.
lived every day to the fullest
and had no regrets on
what she accomplished
and how she did it. Brianna loved everyone and
we all loved her back.”
Fellow class of
2013 alumna and close
f r i e n d o f B r i a n n a ’s ,
Kayla Garritano agreed
with that summation.
“Brianna was an
incredibly sweet girl, and
I know I could go to her
for anything,” she said.
“Her laugh was contagious and her heart was
full of care and love. The
memories I have with her
will always live on and
I’m never going to forget
how she helped me to
become a better person.
She’s always going to
be in my heart, smiling like she always did.”
Not only did Brianna make an incredible impression on her
friends, but she was able
to make her mark on
the staff here at HHS as
Mrs. Rogers-Ganns, the
Friends of Rachel adviser and
ninth grade literacy coach, was
also moved by her character
and attitude towards others.
“Brianna was a beautiful
person,” Rogers-Ganns said.
“She loved to laugh and she
enjoyed making others laugh.
Whether the Friends of Rachel
had many members or was
surviving with a faithful few,
Brianna always was an integral
part of the group. She truly
believed that our actions could
make HHS, a kinder, gentler,
more welcoming place for all.
As co-president of the club, Brianna was tireless in her efforts,
whether working on the Wall
of Kindness, the holiday toy
drive, or a bake sale fundraiser. This young lady lived her
life for others. So if you want
to honor Brianna, do as she
did: smile at someone, invite
someone to sit at your lunch
table, or be kind to a person
who is hurting. I am grateful for
the life of Brianna Belmont...
she truly made our school
and this world a better place.”
Francis Micheli (1990-2013)
Joey Lagani
Guest Writer
Harrison lost an
incredible person on Sunday,
November 24, when former
student Francis Micheli was
struck and killed by a car while
walking in Met Life Sports
Complex after watching the
Giants football game with a
friend.
Although his passing is a
very sad moment in Harrison,
it is better to celebrate what
this amazing young man
achieved and what he stood
for. Most notably, this was not
Francis’s first car accident.
On June 6, 2009, at the young
age of 22, he was in another
major car crash that left him in
a coma for four months.
On that day he “began a
new life,” a life of challenges
and eventual insights. He
suffered from a serious brain
injury that left him physically
disabled. Doctors thought
that he would never recover.
However, he took the accident
in a much different light than
most people.
According to his writings
after, he said, “I wondered –
what did I do to deserve this?
Not the challenge, but the
second chance. Yes, a second
chance at life is how I choose
to look at it.”
Francis, unlike millions
of others that had suffered
the same injury, was given
another chance at life. He was
left with his mind intact but his
body broken; however, he was
determined to change that.
At the time of the
accident, Francis had just
finished his freshman year at
St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia. He
had been planning a transfer to
Life University in Georgia to
study Chiropractic and Sports
Roanoke Memorial Hospital
with major injuries to his head
and torso: traumatic brain
injury, a diffused axon injury,
collapsed lungs, a broken
collar bone and scapula, and
his jaw broken in four places.
After four months in a
coma, Francis awoke with
no memory of the accident or
his trip to Georgia.
According to Mahler,
his once 190 pound
athletic frame had
shrunk to a mere
120 pounds and was
being held together
by a series of metal
plates and screws
interspersed with
tubes, wires and
other monitors to
keep him alive.
He
went
to
rigorous
rehabilitation for
years to relearn
how to walk, talk,
eat, essentially
Francis was an inspiration to others.
how to assimilate
Courtesy of ProPlayerInsider
back into society as
a completely new
Medicine. Apparently, Francis person. He had always been
fell asleep at the wheel and hit a huge advocate of a healthy
a tree on the median of I-81, diet and physical fitness even
15 miles south of where he before the accident, but after,
had booked a hotel room in he used what he had learned
Roanoke, Virginia for the night. from studying Chiropractic
According to Melissa and Sports Medicine at St.
Mahler of ProPlayerInsiders. Joseph’s college and became
com, Francis was admitted to a fitness trainer at Westchester
Country Club.
He created a motto of,
“quit complaining and start
training,” which he told all of
those he helped to train and
encouraged them to push that
extra mile with everything they
both in and out of the gym. He
became an advocate for TBI
(traumatic brain injury) and
helped those who had also
suffered the injury.
Renowned television
journalist Bob Woodruff was
someone that helped Francis
believe in himself and was
motivated to help others with
TBI. While reporting on the war
in Iraq, Bob nearly died from a
roadside bomb. He survived,
but suffered a TBI from the
blast.
Francis wrote, “I was
fortunate enough to meet
and become good friends
with a well-known news
correspondent and TBI
survivor, Bob Woodruff. The
time with Bob, coupled with
the extensive physical therapy
I received, motivated me to
become a certified personal
trainer so I can help others.”
“Francis was a shining
light that was getting
brighter week by week. He
(like many others) was an
important participant in our TBI
programs and was adopted
as a family member,” said
Dr. Mark Gordon, Medical
Director of Millennium Health
Centers for Traumatic Brain
Injury in Encino, California,
via an email. “His energy and
determination will be missed
but never forgotten.”
Millennium-TBI is naming
their annual recognition award
the Francis Micheli Joy of
Life Award, which will be given
to any organization or individual
who excels in dealing with
Traumatic Brain Injury.
Francis also became
heavily involved with the
“Wounded Warriors Project”
and he helped former
servicemen get over PTSD
and other physical and
psychological injuries that
occurred from war.
He
had a monthly column for
ProPlayerInsiders, where he
offered advice on how to train
like a professional athlete in
a way that encouraged, not
intimidated.
Francis Micheli truly was
an inspiration to everybody
that he came into contact with
and brought out the best in
everyone he met. He will truly
be missed, however, he would
not want us to mourn his death,
instead he would want us to
learn from his life to enjoy
every moment of our own.
As Francis once wrote, “This
journey is not over. My losses
were temporary. My gains are
permanent.” 6
March 2014
Husky Herald
Better Communication Needed
Staff Editorial
There has been much buzz
about the recent transition of a
formerly staff-only bathroom for
gender-neutral student use. At
first, this seemed unnecessary
and unfairly emotionally fueled.
The school altered the bathroom,
previously only usable by faculty
members, to provide a more comfortable environment for a diversity of students at the high school.
Although we acknowledge the
obligation of the school to provide
an environment in which all of its
students feel comfortable and
safe, we believe this new bathroom has pointed out communication issues that exist between
students and the administration.
Sixteen states and Washington D.C. have adapted laws
and policies that protect against
discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identification, but currently there is no state
law in New York State mandating
unisex bathrooms in high schools.
However, laws to implement unisex bathrooms in high schools
are not far off, and this was a proactive move by the school. This
expedited installment of a gender
neutral bathroom appears ahead
of current needs. The staff of the
Husky Herald is not unhappy
with this addition to the building;
our issue lies with the way this
change appears to have been
executed. While it would seem
both more reasonable and logistically sound to implement such a
change over a summer between
academic sessions, this change
was executed in a rapid fashion
in the middle of this school year.
Members of the Gay
Straight Alliance (GSA) believe
that this bathroom is good for
students who are uncomfortable
using public restrooms. Although
the school made this change specifically to make these and other
students feel more comfortable,
no students were notified about
its creation beforehand.
Several teachers were also
up in arms over this change. It
was one of the few staff-only
bathrooms in the school that was
converted to the gender-neutral
student restroom. Since there
is only a limited amount of time
to access restrooms in between
classes, some teachers are upset that they lost what once was
a conveniently located faculty-only restroom, again without much
prior consultation. The faculty
was notified about the switch,
but many were caught off guard
by the speed with which it happened.
While it is apparent that the
administration had the best interests of every student in mind,
in their attempt to be proactive,
there was no prior consultation
with the students. Shouldn’t the
people for whom these changes
were being made be part of the
decision process? Perhaps there
needs to be better avenues of
communication here at the high
school.
Regular input from the students might result in decisions
that garner greater support overall. A possible solution to this
lack of communication could be
an enhanced relationship between the school’s administration
and the student government. Our
fault in this process is not entire-
ly blameless either. While the
student government was all over
rumors of a “yoga pants” crackdown, they have not regularly
communicated with the administration since.
We suggest that the administration hold regular meetings with G.O. members to better
inform them of changes being
considered that will affect the students. Perhaps there can even
be an exchange of ideas and
opinions. In this way, the administration could take the pulse of
the student body without asking
every individual student for his or
her own opinion.
While we realize that there
are some decisions about which
students would not and should
not be consulted, it would seem
that this current change might
have benefited from being more
of a community decision.
We agree with the idea of
creating a single-stall restroom
for students that may be uncomfortable using the public bathrooms for any number of reasons.
We respect and support such a
decision. Our problem lies with
the real lack of communication
that seems to exist currently between the students and the administration. We’d like to know
about state or federal regulations
that are pending, particularly if
they are likely to affect our students. While this restroom alteration may seem minor in and of
itself, it is emblematic of the fact
that the administration needs to
establish better and more regular
avenues of communication with
its students. It is admirable that
our school continues to lead the
way in issues regarding access,
equity, adaptability, and rigor, and
we support reforms that make our
high school a safer, more comforting environment for all, even
ahead of pending legal requirements. Our point is that, whenever feasible, students should
be notified of changes within the
school, no matter how trivial, because ultimately, students are the
ones affected by such changes.
An Argument for School Uniforms
Lauren Mehlman
Staff Writer
For the past decade,
schools, parents, and students
have clashed over the issue of
regulating student attire. While
school uniforms are typically
found in private schools, the use
of uniforms in public schools is
rapidly growing across the nation. The debate of what students
should wear to school has provoked strong feelings on both
sides. Harrison High School does
not require school uniforms and
while many students are content
with these rules, there are several students who want a change.
In my opinion, school uniforms have many advantages and
benefits. According to the National Center for Education Statistics,
more than half of public schools
enforce some sort of dress code.
About 57% of schools now have
a "strict dress code," researchers
found, up from just more than 47
% a decade earlier. Studies have
proved that uniforms often help
students resist peer pressure to
buy trendy and popular clothes
that are often expensive and too
costly for many. Therefore, more
value is placed on character and
behavior instead of one’s economic and social status.
In addition, I believe that
school uniforms improve feelings
of community and belonging because people cannot be judged
or criticized based on their attire. It is evident that regulated
school attire reduces non-academic distractions. Even in our
own school, designer symbols
and brand names become more
and more important to teenagers
today as they try to fit in with their
peers. Children are bullied much
too often if they do not have the
trendy designer jeans or brand
name shoes. By removing the option for different types of clothing,
...school
uniforms
improve
feelings
of community
and
belonging...
socioeconomic barriers are minimized between students. Lastly,
school uniforms allow for a safe
and secure environment in which
strangers or intruders would stick
out and could be identified immediately. With the recent importance placed on safety in schools,
uniforms can be very beneficial to
keep children protected and secure.
While many believe that
school uniforms violate a student’s right to express themselves through clothing, I think
that a strict dress code would
enable students to find ways to
express themselves creatively,
such as the arts, music, sports,
and academic achievement. Additionally, it is a common belief
that uniforms can be a financial
burden for families who cannot
afford to buy the required clothing. However, there are many
brands of school uniforms that
are cost-effective and are less
expensive than other types of
clothing. There are also certain
brands that have financial aid for
those who cannot afford the mandatory clothing.
Although I can understand
both sides of the argument, I
strongly believe that school uniforms would be effective and
beneficial for all schools. With
less value placed on a student’s
socioeconomic status, uniforms
allow students to be seen for
what their personality is like, rather than the wardrobes they can
afford. By removing the importance of clothing from the school
environment, each student would
feel more accepted for who they
are, not what they own.
March 2014
Husky Herald
Opinions & Editorials
7
Do You Want to
Build a Snowman?
Snow Thank You!
Rose Stokoe
Staff Writer
Ariel Coonin
Let’s drop some knowledge: snow
is snow and, contrary to popular belief in
HHS, not a white form of lava. Another myth
about snow is that if it is snowing students
cannot be in school. MYTH, MYTH, MYTH.
Every single time there is a chance
of snow, or even a flurry, students in the
high school take to social media with their
outrage that they are in school. Apparently
a two-hour delay or an early dismissal, but
complaining isn’t going to get that. Taking to
Twitter and moaning about how there is going
to be ten inches of snow and how every other school is out doesn’t let you leave. What
makes it all the funnier is that Harrison High
School is never the only school that is open.
A personal favorite tweet
was, “We are literally the only school
The Winter That Refused To Leave: Snow was a regular part of the landscape at HHS this past
quarter, much to the chagrine of all.
Courtesy of Ariel Coonin
it’s hazardous to have children in a school
building while it is snowing, and it would
actually be better to send them home
mid-snow. Flawless logic, guys. Turns
out—and this may shock you—that, in fact,
you can be in school while it is snowing.
The times that need to be worried
about are when students are coming
into school and when they are leaving. If the roads are clear at both those
times, then students can go to school.
Now that the facts are out of the way,
let’s talk about how complaining endlessly
about being in school won’t get you out of
it. You know what is worse than sitting in
school for eight hours? Sitting in school for
eight hours and not being able to actually
learn anything because all you can hear
is Susie Noonecares whine about how
she is SOOOO going to die because of
the snow and then she is going to sue the
school. It would almost be better if they DID
cancel school because it seems no one is
able to learn when there is snow falling.
“I’d rather have a longer
spring break than random days
off,” senior Zoe Rheingold says.
That’s probably the most annoying
part; hey, everyone wants a snow day or
in the east coast that is in today.”
1. Learn what literally means
2. So Florida has a snow day too?
3. Not even all of Westchester County has a snow day
4. You know what the East Coast is, right?
Snow brings hysteria because everyone wants out of school anyway and
snow is the perfect excuse to not be there.
Regardless of how many snow days the
high school gets, students will still go in
the same number of days that they are
supposed to, because that’s the law.
“Who wants a snow day anyway?
You have to make it up— I’ll take all the
two hour delays and early dismissals, thank
you,” Tara D’Antona, HHS junior, shares.
To conclude, don’t complain that
you’re in school when you have to be
there. Don’t complain about the snow.
Don’t like snow? Move to California.
Don’t complain that the school is making you go because the law is what’s
making you go. Don’t like school? Drop
out; your stupidity is contagious anyway.
Editor-in-Chief
When all the other schools in the
a snow day lowers morale and reduces
area are shutting their doors because of
the number of active participants in class.
inclement weather conditions, the only thing
Open school on days with snowy
that goes through the heads of students of
weather not only lowers the number of
Harrison High School is the possible chance
active participants in class, but it actually
of the same happening for us. One school
lowers the number of people in class. Due
closes, another has a delay, and then anothto days of what many parents would deem
er closes. At this point my thoughts start to
“inclement weather,” many students end up
dwindle. Should I do my homework and just
skipping school even if school is still open.
assume that school will be cancelled for toThis makes teachers either slow down their
morrow? How could they send us to school
curriculum or forces them to catch up a large
in this weather? Can’t they see there is snow
number of students in the next few days
on the ground? That’s rule number one for
when the weather becomes more harmless.
school closings…snow equals snow day.
A study by Harvard’s Kennedy School
Now I’m not one to complain about
of Government found that not only do snow
having to go to school on just any day; I’m
days not affect student learning, but actually
a firm believer that school is necessary for
keeping schools open during bad weather
people of all ages to learn and grow socially
proves to be more detrimental than beneficial.
and academically. However, I am the first
Assistant Professor of Public Policy at
to argue the importance of snow days.
the John F. Kennedy School of Government
Most of the time a snow day is necJoshua Goodman states, “With slack time in
essary for the simple, but serious matter of
the schedule, the time lost to closure can be
safety. For not such a big school, we have
regained. Student absences, however, force
a very spacious
teachers to extown. This
pend time getmeans that we
ting students
have students
on the same
that have to
page as their
travel almost
classmates.”
ten miles to
In Goodget to school
m a n ’s s t u d y
every morning
it was proven
and another
that because
ten miles to
school districts
get home after
build in exschool. In times
tra days over
of bad weather,
the mandatothis transporry amount of
tation is even
school days, it
more difficult,
is easy to catch
time-consumup on schooling, and hazwork with really
ardous. Now
not much time
that’s just
lost. However,
thinking of the
schools do not
students. Many
build in extra
of our teachers
days for stuand staff have
dent absences,
to travel over
thus making it
A big pile of yuck: When the snow falls, it’s pretty; weeks
thirty miles to later, not so much.
harder to have
Courtesy of Ariel Coonin students make
get to work everyday. Keepup missed work
ing school open on days with inclement
if they miss for a weather related reason.
weather forces students and faculty to face
So what really is the difference in
risky road conditions, making the travel
having or cancelling school when it’s a snow
to and from work uncertain and unsafe.
day? The difference is really minimal. The
The real question at hand is how
amount of work that gets completed whether
much of a difference it makes if students
at school or at home on a snowy day is about
are in school on snowy days or at home.
the same because students don’t want to
Just on the surface level, students
have to work when they can see snow outare less motivated to be at school when
side. At least by giving the day off when it
they know that their peers in neighborsnows, it allows overworked, overstressed,
ing towns are not at school. Who would
and overtired students and teachers to
want to be sitting in a classroom taking a
catch up on their sleep and schoolwork.
stressful test when they know that other
In this sense it’s really more beneficial to
teenagers are at home sledding, sleeping,
have a snow day than have school on a day
and drinking hot chocolate? Not a high
when it’s clearly inclement weather outside.
percentage of people. Having school during
HEY HUSKIES!
How do you feel about snow days?
“We’ve had too many snowdays this year. All they do is
force us to make up work.”
Julia Soltz, Junior
“I like snow days because I
get a chance to catch up on
my TV shows and bake.”
Maya Coben, Freshman
“I like snow days because I
get to sleep in.”
Christina Midollo, Senior
“I don’t like snow days because
they increase the amount of
homework.”
Dylan Manley, Junior
8
March 2014
Husky Herald
Opinions & Editorials
If Everybody Wins, Who Even Cares?
The Proliferation of Award Shows - When Too Much is Too Much
Andrew Carton
Staff Writer
Within the past four decades, the number of televised
award shows and the publicity
surrounding them have escalated to an all-time high. Traditionally, the average T.V. viewer paid
attention to only three award
shows: the Grammys, given for
music, the Oscars, given for
film, and the Emmys, given for
achievement and excellence in
television. But with an excessive
number of award shows, now,
T.V. viewers feel generally overwhelmed.
It used to be that while everyone wanted to place a miniature, golden statuette on their
mantelpiece, there was exclusivity to winning one of these prestigious awards. To win an Oscar,
a Grammy, or an Emmy for any
performance was a timeless
achievement to cherish for the
rest of one’s life.
Now, however, as identified
by ABC News, there were 564
different entertainment industry
award shows in 2012 alone. 564!
What happened to the exclusivity
of only three award shows?
Having only three award
shows in one calendar year created an undeniable anticipation,
a significant buzz leading up to
each event. But when you have
564 of them, more award shows
than you have days in a year and
a half, they lose a bit of their significance. While I’m not claiming
that the “Big Three” don’t matter
as much as they did twenty years
ago, I am hinting at the fact that
an excessive amount of award
shows dilutes the cache that
for their jobs, jobs which in truth,
excessive number. Not only do
these awards once carried.
they’re getting paid pretty well to
networks make a healthy profit
So, why so many award
perform. Why, then, do we honor
through advertisements, but they
shows, you may ask? In my opinthem with gold disks and miniaalso benefit from the television
ion, there are two theories beture gold people? The rest of soratings and popularity that these
hind the sheer number of award
ciety continues to work diligently
award shows bring.
shows, many of which we’ve
in their own professions, without
As Tom O’Neil of Golddernever heard of, including the Film
needing a trivial piece of metal
by.com, a site that tracks 100
Independent Spirit Awards and
to signify their accomplishments
entertainment industry award
the Saturn Awards (which I just
and contributions.
shows, said, “The networks love
learned are nicknamed the GoldNow, I may be too harsh on
them because they're cheap to
en Scroll).
the entertainment industry. While
produce. They get all that star
First of all, actors
power and they
and members of the endon't have to pay
tertainment industry have
anybody.”
fragile egos. Some pout
A w a r d
on stage when they don’t
shows are a
draw crowds up to their
dream for broadstandards, others feel the
casting channels
need to dress up in meat
and advertisers.
or dress down with kittens
After
securing
to draw attention to themthe rights to air
selves, and others simply
award shows like
put on an unconvincing
the
Primetime
“poker face” when they
Emmys,
netdon’t win an award.
works such as
Awards boast or reNBC and CBS
inforce these egos. The
constantly proundaunted support and Trophy atrophy: When there are more award shows than days in mote the event
adoration of fans fuels the year, something is terribly wrong.
itself, as well
these inflated egos. Once
as the VIP, high
upon a time, failure at one of the
I’m generalizing all of these premaintenance celebrities that the
major award shows provided moconceived ideas and prejudices, I
award show will boast.
tivation for artists and actors to
still frequently attend the movies,
Pre-parties and traditions
improve their craft. Now, howevlisten to and love music, and tune
such as the walking of the red
er, if they don’t win at one of the
in to my favorite television shows.
carpet serve only to increase
major award shows, they can
All of these forms of entertaintelevision ratings and enable netinevitably revel in their success
ment generate pleasure and tarworks to sell more commercial
from the less publicized ones.
get the interests of the general
spots for the night, significantly
That brings me to another
public.
increasing the profit that they will
point, which lies in the essence of
The entertainment value
make from the award show.
entertainment award shows. We,
and economic opportunities that
After contemplating both
as a society, watch actors and
award shows present for netsides of the argument, are there
singers and directors honored
works further contribute to their
truly too many award shows,
or has the line between diversity and exorbitance yet to be
crossed? Personally, I believe
that once you exceed a certain
limit, a limit far surpassed by the
startling number of 564, events
that once iconized the American
entertainment industry lose some
of the sparkle that made them so
memorable.
Author and theorist Malcolm Gladwell teaches the “lesson of the inverted U-curve,”
which applies ideally in this scenario. His research shows that
“more” is only better up to a point,
at which “more” contributes to
worse results.
As the number of entertainment award shows increases, the public initially welcomes
and encourages these changes,
because of their affinity for the
“Big Three.” However, once the
number of award shows exceeds
some undefined limit, the public
reaction gradually changes. Now,
people (like myself) feel overwhelmed by the excess of award
shows, which inadvertently draw
attention away from the Oscars,
Emmys, and Grammys.
We as a society have become jaded by all the glitz, the
glamour, and the sight of yet another actor or singer thanking his
entire team of supporters. The
cameras pan to the faces of those
who didn’t win and truthfully,
some of us may feel sympathetic. But don’t worry; they have 563
more chances this year. Enough
is enough!
Favorite sites not currently accessible
Callie Fried
Staff Writer
Have you ever clicked on a
website link before and had the
URL come up as a series of numbers with a blue home screen?
This most likely means that the
website was blocked by the
school. Most of the time it claims
to be due to “adult content” found
on the website, which is not permitted in school. Other times
the website might never load or
merely state that it failed to open,
which leads some to believe that
site might be blocked as well.
Some of the most popular
websites currently banned here
at Harrison High School, include
BuzzFeed, FaceBook, Tumblr,
and Huffington Post, although
curiously, the popular social media website Twitter still remains
available for student use. Currently, the use of Twitter seems to
almost make up for the rest.
Some of these websites
do little harm, and many could
provide useful information to students. The only caveat would
be in cases where the searcher
is seeking the wrong kind of information: otherwise, such information could truly prove valid and
very useful. While some of these
websites occasionally appear
to have adult content or curse
words, this does not justify the
whole site being blocked. Unless
a student specifically is using
a website for that purpose (not
likely), then there is no reason to
block it.
Students feel that our generation gets its information from
the Internet and social media
websites. Since that is the case
at home and elsewhere, many
feel that they should be allowed
the same opportunity to visit
such websites without restrictions
while at school too.
For example, the website
BuzzFeed is very helpful when
searching for interesting topics
for the school’s newspaper. It
provides many articles on current
events, things going on inside the
web, like social media networks,
and other articles just for entertainment and humor. It is very
rare that the website features articles that truly could be marked
as “adult” content. Remember,
this is coming from someone who
visits the website very often.
FaceBook is a different
story. FaceBook is all about so-
cial profiles filled with status updates, pictures, videos, website
links, etc. People can basically
post whatever they want on their
walls. This could be a valid reason for the school blocking it,
because there is no way to mon-
is all about. People may use it to
keep in touch for group projects
or school clubs. Currently, they
cannot do so while they are in
school.
The Huffington Post is a
great internet news source. It is
Buzzfeed Buzzkill: Some popular and useful sites are being blocked from
HHS students are wondering why.
itor what is going to be posted
throughout the day on a person’s
private page. Still, that does not
mean that the rest of the student
body won’t see it anyway. While
there are such negative postings,
that’s not really what FaceBook
a compendium of news and interesting articles, and divides its
postings into a diverse assortment of news sections, including
Tech, Finance, Politics, Entertainment, and Life. Easy-to-access
webpages provide links to oth-
er blogs, webpages, and news
websites as well. The original
articles contain valid information
and have garnered national recognition with prestigious journalistic awards and status rankings.
Many well known web browsers
such as Yahoo, Bing, and
Google, all of which have
their own news pages,
have pages that link with
The Huffington Post and
share similar knowledge
and ideas on specific
topics. Banning this website cuts off many students’ abilities to learn
about what is going on
in the outside world and
what is going on right in
front of them.
These
websites
use, and could also prove helpful
to teachers planning lessons that revolve around
the teaching moments to
be found in current events.
It is time to ease the current
website block, for the sake of our
school community.
March 2014
Husky Herald
9
Anne Frank and Me
Matthew Miles and Ally Platte
Staff Writers
On November 15-17, students at Harrison High School
performed the play Anne Frank
and Me by Cherie Bennett. This
moving play was set in modern day times with a girl named
Nicole (played by junior Roma
Scarano). Nicole is chasing after
a guy named Jack (junior Troy
Tripicchio). In school, Nicole is
assigned to read The Diary of
Anne Frank. However, she cannot find time to read it because
she is preparing for an upcoming
dance recital. While in class, a
debate ensues as to whether the
holocaust really happened. No
one knows what to believe, and
some even question the truth
of the diary of Anne Frank. The
dance recital comes and Nicole
tries to impress Jack, but after
dancing she is pulled aside by
Jack. She hopes Jack is going
to confess his love, but instead,
he tells her he is in love with her
best friend. An agitated Nicole
Jewish household with a Jewish
family and she doesn’t understand what is going on. However, she soon realizes she has a
boyfriend named Jacque and
she still has her best friends Suzanne (played by freshman Alicia
Pascual-Pena) and Mimi (played
by senior Tori Lovallo). She also
has her sister Liz Bette (played
by sophomore Samantha Miles).
For the rest of the story Nicole realizes how hard it is to be a Jew
during this time period. While she
can’t quite fathom what is going
on around her at first, she finds
she has to rely on her family and
friends to keep her alive. Her father (played by freshman Timothy
Morris) is trying to kill any Nazi
posts and in doing so, he kills innocent people. Nicole’s boyfriend
Jacque sees this and exposes
Nicole’s family and that gets her
father killed, along with some of
her friends. Nicole is put on a
train to the nearest concentra-
is surprised when Nicole can tell
Anne about Anne’s diary. They
are then put in a shower and the
audience is left with them singing
a touching piece in Hebrew, then
they are killed. In the end, Nicole
winds up back in the present,
where she tries to tell her friends
that the Holocaust is real. Anne
Frank’s spirit comes in
and it brings
Nicole back
and
she
never thinks
the
same
way about
life again.
D i rector Nina
Mansfield
explained
in her director’s statement in the
play’s program, “I be- At the School Dance:
telling the truth with great detail
was the only way to get the point
across, and in the end, they succeeded. This play was motivational, revealing the painful truth
of the past, rife with effective details.
The cast put on an outstanding performance, mesmer-
Troy Trippicchio and Alex Ostro convene nearby the school’s Principal (Timothy Morris).
Courtesy of Ms. Mansfield
lieve that great theatre
should move us out of
our comfort zones. Although this play was
written for young audiences, there are many
aspects that make me
uncomfortable…
My
students helped me to
find clarity. My students
spoke up. They told me,
in candid discussion,
that we need to presNicole voyages into the past: Nicole (Roma Scarano) surrounded by her new family, ent the truth--humans
sister Liz Bette (Samantha Miles), mom (Claudia Marino) and dad (Timothy Morris).
need to be reminded
Courtesy of Ms. Mansfield
of the horrors of the
runs outside and is hit by a car
tion camp and, on that train, she
past, even at the risk of offending
meets Anne Frank. They conand sent to the hospital.
some. I realized they were right.”
nect as friends and Anne Frank
Nicole then wakes up in a
The cast believed that
izing at times. It was impressive
that high school students could
do such a good and emotional job
with a time period and events that
might prove uncomfortable for
most people to watch. The play
really connected to the audience
and made the audience remember what a horrible time that was.
Sophomore
Samantha
Miles said, “I liked putting on a
drama because it made the audience think, versus past experiences where we tried to make
the audience laugh. I also liked
how deep the message was and
the emotion that all the actors
brought to the play. I can’t wait for
future performances.”
Noah Platte, a senior at
Harrison High School was the
lighting director, stage manager,
and sound manager of the performance. “The hardest part of
the lighting, stage directions and
working in the sound booth was
putting it all together and going to
each rehearsal,” he said. “Also,
since it was a play based on the
language and cultures of Judaism, it was difficult to find the right
music and make it appealing to
the audience.”
Every scene was filled with
appropriate music and lighting
which was appealing and demonstrated how put together the
show was.
Junior Alex Ostro
played Eddie, Jack’s best friend,
in the show. She was cast as a
boy in the play.
“The hardest part of the
play was pretending to be a boy,”
Alex said. “With hard work, I was
able to fool the people who don’t
actually know who I am. I love
acting because I can take on a
totally different persona.”
With hard work, creative
input, and a true sense of clarity,
the cast and crew of Anne Frank
and Me was able to perform and
represent the true meaning and
importance of the horrors of the
past. The cast and crew did a
wonderful job. This play revealed
that we should always remember
the terrors that happened in the
past, but not live in trepidation.
While it’s going to be hard to top
this play, everybody is looking forward to the spring musical.
Preview of “A Chorus Line”
Allie Coonin
Staff Writer
Save the date for March 20,
2014, when Harrison High School
presents the opening night of the
spring musical “A Chorus Line.”
The musical opens during a
Broadway audition where dancers are striving to make the cut
for a dance chorus in an upcoming production directed by Zach
(played by Tim Morris). There
is room for four girls and four
boys and after the first round of
auditions, only seventeen hopefuls remain. The show follows
these seventeen dancers
through
the
challenges
of the audition with its
high stakes.
The leading
roles are Don
Kerr
(Matt
Novak), Maggie Winslow
(Sarah Curtis),
Mike Costa (Lucas Pettinato),
Connie Mackenzie (Andi Rella), Greg Gardner (Max Tem-
kin), Cassie Ferguson
(Halle Mastroberardino),
Sheila Bryant (Rachel
Stagg), Bobbi Mills (Alex
Ostroumoff), Bebe Benzenheimer (Emma Camillone), Judy Turner (Olivia
Pagano), Ricki Walters
(Cassidy Donohue), Al
DeLuca (Alex Tosto),
Kristine DeLuca (Sarah
Crozier), Valerie Clark
(Tori Lovallo), Mark Anthony (John Crozier), Paul San Mar-
co (Troy Tripicchio), and Diana
Morales (Roma Scarano). As the
story progresses and auditions
continue, the audience gets to
know the characters and the final eight are chosen. The show
has a variety of complex dances
and musical numbers that has
allowed it to remain popular on
Broadway for many years after it
originally opened. Mark your calendars!
10
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
Flappy Bird Flies Away (tap,tap,tap)
Alyssa Muto
Staff Writer
Just recently, the popular
gaming app known as Flappy
Bird has rapidly swept the nation
and become part of every gamer’s daily routine, whether they
wanted it to be or not. The inventor, Don Nguyen, had a simple
idea, which was to turn a rather
simple game that doesn’t require
much skill into something that
requires a lot of strategy pertaining to perfect timing. The game
easily becomes stressful and has
caused many to play for hours on
end in attempts to beat their personal high scores and the high
scores of others.
“Although many say it’s addicting, I personally didn’t enjoy
the game nor find it as addicting
as I had heard,” says junior Zoe
Mittman. “In fact, I was able to put
my phone down after doing horribly at the game, and quickly realized the stupidity of all the commotion the game brought on.”
The game introduces a tiny
yellow bird that must navigate
through a series of pipes without
touching them in the slightest. If
you dare to tap your gaming device’s screen at the wrong time,
the tiny bird hits the pipes, putting
a dramatic end to the game. To
earn points, you must success-
fully pass each pipe; each pipe
passed efficiently earns one point
to your score. Although it sounds
simple and manageable, there is
something extremely challenging
and irritating about Flappy Bird.
“The game seems to be
rigged!” says sophomore Omar
Nesheiwat. “It’s almost as if the
purpose was to make it extremely
difficult to do well, which is almost
asking for worldwide anger to
break out over this game.”
In fact, according to Tech
Crunch, the game quickly topped
the app store charts and rapidly
became as popular as Temple
Run, Candy Crush and Angry
Birds. Nguyen later proceeded to
emphasize the idea that he never
intended for the game to be such
a hit, and certainly never wanted
it to cause problems. The game
grew so addictive that players
would frantically tap their screens
with high hopes of beating their
scores at every waking moment,
and unfortunately a situation allegedly resulting in a death was
the byproduct of another individual beating a high score.
“I never expected such a
simple game to be blown out of
proportion and taken to such
extreme measures, although I
must
admit it might
be one of
the
most
addicting
g a m e s
I’ve
ever
played,”
admitted
sophomore
Gabby Garcia.
“Regardless of
its addictiveness,
a
solution
was
needed
to remind
people that Will Patience Fly Away? Prepare for a frustrating experience, if you’re lucky enough to have downloaded
Flappy Bird when it was still available.
it’s only a
game and
cancelation are still able to play
Nguyen attempted to make in orto really put it in perspective.”
the game. Due to the fact that the
der to avoid serious issues with
According to BGR, regretgame was in such high demand,
the game wasn’t completely sucting its creation and the effect it
a person with the game still
cessful, it’s important to rememhad on players, Nguyen decided
synced to their iPhone was able
ber that he tried to make a differto remove the game entirely from
to sell their phone for $20,000 to
ence for the better. He did what
the app store shortly after its popa desperate player that was unhe felt was best in order to put
ularity struck. Although he deletable to download the game beall the anger and violence sured the game, leaving those who
cause of its removal. Even after
rounding this game to a dramatic
didn’t have the opportunity to try
its shocking removal, the game
halt, and it’s that effort that made
the game while it was available
continues to take players to crazy
people begin to realize the game
unable to get a feel for the “Flapextremes, even though Nguyen
might’ve been taken too far.
py Bird experience,” those who
tried to avoid exactly that.
downloaded the game before its
Although
the
solution
Catching Fire Now Out on DVD
Lauren Mehlman
Staff Writer
Way back when it debuted
in theaters this past November, moviegoers could not get
enough of the new Lionsgate
movie, Catching Fire. The movie now is available for purchase
or rental on Blu-Ray DVD. The
action-packed film is the sequel to The Hunger Games and
the second book of the Hunger
Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins. The movie kept
all viewers on the edge of their
seats throughout the whole 146
Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson,
and Liam Hemsworth. However,
the film introduced several new
characters such as Sam Claflin
as Finnick, Lynn Cohen as Mags,
and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee.
“The cast of Catching Fire
truly made the film what it was,”
says sophomore Gabby Garcia.
“The actors met my high expectations for the movie and it was
exactly what I envisioned when
reading the book. I definitely recommend seeing this
if you haven’t already
because it had several plot twists that you
would never see coming- unless you’ve read
the book, of course!”
Catching
Fire
once again follows
the lives of Katniss
Everdeen and Peeta
Mellark, the previous
winners of the Hunger Games in the first
movie. Katniss and
Peeta were the first
tributes to ever win the
Games as a pair and
President Snow was
infuriated by their actions. Their defiance
in the seventy-fourth
Hunger Games and
the hope Katniss gave
Katniss Again: Jennifer Lawrence reprises her
the oppressed society
role for Catching Fire, now out on DVD.
Courtesy of Lionsgate Entertainment fueled rebellions in
all districts of Panem.
minutes, as most people were
Snow decides to enact what is
already emotionally attached to
known as the Quarter Quell, the
the main characters, Katniss and
right to make a change to the
Peeta. Similar to the first movie,
Hunger Games, which he is alCatching Fire starred Jennifer
lowed to do every 25 years. He
decides to hold a version of the
creasing popularity of the film and
allowing the film to go more into
Hunger Games in which previous
the books over the past two years
detail of the book, to better bring
winners will compete again. For
or possibly because of the time
the vision of Suzanne Collins’
a second time, Katniss and Peeperiod in which it was released to
novel to life, and earn twice the
ta are forced to battle 22 other
theaters. Due to its release over
amount of money than it would
young tributes and fight for their
Thanksgiving weekend, movie
receive from one film. This will
lives as the rest of the country
theaters were a major attraction
be essential to the final movie
watches. However, to the viewfor many families and friends. Acbecause both Catching Fire and
ers’ surprise, these games have a
cording to The LA Times, CatchHunger Games were missing key
very different outcome than in the
ing Fire was given high ratings
components of the books, even
first movie and the cliffhanger left
by critics, and outscored Hunger
with the long running times of apeveryone in the theater wanting
Games mainly because it was
proximately two and a half hours
to know what will happen next.
better directed, scripted, and acteach. The idea of two parts for the
“I had never read the book
ed. Most importantly, the film capfinal movie of a series is somebefore, which made the movie
tures the vision of Suzanne Colwhat common in book-to-movie
even more interesting to me,”
lins’ novels more faithfully than its
adaptations, after being used in
says senior Danielle Mehlman.
tepid predecessor.
both the Harry Potter series and
“After the first movie, I was atUnfortunately, fans of the
the Twilight Saga. According to
tached to the Katniss
and Peeta characters, and couldn’t
wait to see what
came next. I believe
that the plot was even
more interesting than
the first because it
had more plot twists
and surprises that
made it extremely
suspenseful.”
By early December,
Catching
Fire had brought
in more than $673
million globally, according to distributor
Lionsgate Entertainment Corp, making it Taking a breather Three of the stars of the sequel take a break from filming the movie. This
Courtesy of Lionsgate Entertainment
the year’s third-high- time the Hunger Games takes a surprising turn.
est grossing film. According to Entertainment Weekly,
movie will have to wait until NoIMDB, the third installment of the
the sequel has nearly eclipsed
vember of 2014 for Mockingjay,
saga has already begun filming in
the $691.2 million earned by the
the third book of the trilogy, to be
Atlanta, Georgia and will apparfirst Hunger Games and has alreleased to theaters. However,
ently be starring Julianne Moore
ready earned more internationalunlike the first two movies, Mockand Lily Rabe, along with many
ly. This may be because of the iningjay will be filmed in two parts,
new characters.
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
11
Books or Movies: What’s Your Preference?
Callie Fried
Staff Writer
The ongoing debate about
and sound.
the part when they…” or “They
can’t do. Movies are a way to
encing anything without limits. A
whether the book is better than
“Even though I haven’t
don’t…in the book.” The writers
escape and see the pages of a
movie may be an escape from rethe movie continues. In many
been able to do a lot of reading
are required to adjust the script
book come to life without all of the
ality, but books are an escape to a
cases, the book is better, but
outside school, I would prefer to
so it flows like a normal movie
text. It provides a visual chance
whole new world where there are
this isn’t always true. This can
read a book before I see the movwould. Most books aren’t all dito observe stories up close and
no limitations and one is free of
be judged by content and quality.
ie,” says Gabby Garcia, sophoalogue, and when the book is
personally.
all things that stop one from getIt all depends on what the book
more. “I like seeing how things
transferred into the medium of
“I love movies that have inting one’s dreams fulfilled (which
is, and how producers transfer it
appear in the movie in contrast
film, there needs to be changes
teresting plots and a lot of action,”
may be why many writers tend
into a movie. There have been
to what I thought they were like
so that it doesn’t sound as if the
says Presley Yarom, sophomore.
to portray themselves in some of
a few rare cases where a book
when I read the book.”
character is talking to him or her“Sometimes you just can’t get
their characters).
came out after the movie, but that
Another thing about books
self or talking in the background
that kind of anticipation or exciteUltimately, it all depends
doesn’t
happen
on one’ s prefvery often.
erences.
When peoWould
you
ple read books,
rather read
they create pica book first
tures in their
or watch the
minds
about
movie first?
what each charSome people
acter looks like
never
read
and sounds like,
the book beas well as imagcause
they
ine the settings
don’t have the
where the story
patience for
takes place. But
reading and
when a person
would rathreads a book after
er enjoy the
a movie version is
convenience
released, these
of seeing the
pictures are influmovie. Many
enced and taken
people hold a
over by the peopersonal conple who created Old School: Traditionalists still enjoy reading the Newberry New School: Jeff Bridges, Taylor Swift, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and more comprise a star-stud- nection with
ded adaptation of the novel for film lovers, debuting this August.
the movie. This Award winning novel by Lois Lowry.
their books
Courtesy of The Weinstein Co.
Courtesy of TopTeenFiction
could be viewed
as some peofrom two different perspectives. It
becoming movies is that many
ple do with
could be seen as bad, because
times there are parts of the book
while continuing daily life.
ment when you read a book, you
records and vinyl. Movie tapes
it ruins how one pictures everythat are left out in the movie, and
Movies add extreme sushave to see it to feel it.”
can’t offer that kind of connection.
thing and even if one still was
new parts may be added in. It is
pense and emotion. Some of the
On the flip side, books alAccording to The Guardian
right about imagining some of the
very difficult to transfer every litkey elements in making a movie
low one to enter into the minds
online, “Films can bring whole
parts, it usually is disappointing
tle bit of information from book
are the lighting and the sound.
of the characters, to read their
worlds to life before our eyes,
in comparison. Conversely, one
to movie, which is why many
What would a movie really be
innermost thoughts, feel what
make characters into living,
could be excited to see if such
movies are divided into multiple
without them? A movie can make
they feel, see what they see, do
breathing flesh and blood, but
imaginings were right and how
parts. Still, it can be very annoyyou cry, laugh, scream and many
what they do. When reading, one
books let you LIVE everything.”
everything is meant to appear
ing to watch and think, “Where is
other things that a lot of books
becomes part of the story, experi-
Books to Read Before They Hit Theaters
Callie Fried
Staff Writer
In early January, BuzzFeed made a list of 16 books
to read before they hit theaters.
The books span various genres,
lengths, and even publishing
dates. What they all have in common is their devoted fan bases,
who hope that the movies will live
up to their original storylines.
The books are listed in order of release date:
1. Labor Day by Joyce
Maynard
2. The Monuments Men by
Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter
3. Winter’s Tale by Mark
Helprin
4. Vampire Academy by
Richelle Mead
5. A Long Way Down by
Nick Hornby
6. Divergent by Veronica
Roth
7. The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
8. The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
9. The Giver by Lois Lowry
10. Dark Places by Gillian
Flynn
11. This Is Where I Leave
You by Jonathan Tropper
12. The Maze Runner by
James Dashner
13. Gone Girl by Gillian
Flynn
14. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
15. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
16. Serena by Ron Rash
One of these books is Disuffering from stage IV cancer.
vergent, written by number one
She has been bought a few years
New York Times Bestselling Auby a tumor-shrinking medical mirthor Veronica Roth. It is set in a
acle, but is unaware of how little
dystopian Chicago where society
time she has left. Upon attending
is split into five factions, each
a support group for her illness,
based on a specific personality
Hazel meets fellow cancer surtrait (Dauntless, Amity, Erudite,
vivor Augustus Waters. The two
Abnegation, and Candor). When
share a similar sense of humor
main character Tris Prior realizand an obsession for the novel
es that she does not fit
into just one category
she is declared Divergent, a status that
she must keep secret
in order to survive.
Upon the time of the
Choosing Ceremony,
Tris must choose between staying with her
family in the faction
that she grew up in,
Abnegation, or joining a new one and
forging her own path.
The movie is expected to be released on
March 21, 2014. It
stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and
Kate Winslet.
Another book
for the best: John Green’s bestseller The
on the list, which is Hoping
Fault in Our Stars hits the big screen in early June.
featured as a New
Courtesy of Temple Hill Entertainment
York Times Bestseller, is The Fault In Our Stars
An Imperial Affliction, and despite
by John Green. Many people
their unfortunate fates they fall in
may know John Green from his
love. The book is definitely heavy
crash courses on Youtube for
on the emotional side and there
World History, or by the other
is no doubt that the movie will be
popular books he has written.
just the same. The movie, also
The story follows Hazel, a girl
starring Shailene Woodley as
well as Ansel Elgort, will come to
theaters on June 6, 2014.
Sophomore Gabby Garcia says, “The Fault In Our Stars
is one of my favorite books and
I would recommend it to high
school students who need a good
read. There isn’t a trailer out yet,
but just by looking at the poster
I can tell that it is going to be a
good movie.”
The Giver by Lois Lowry is
a book that is very well known in
the school environment. It tells
the story of a perfect, futuristic
world where there are no diseases and society is controlled so
that everybody is the same. At
the age of twelve, each person is
assigned a position by their Community, and Jonas has been given the role of “Receiver of Memories”. “The Giver” is the only
person who knows the truth of
the past, and he must pass these
memories on to Jonas. This is
known to be the first “YA dystopian novel” and it shows that there
are downsides in a utopian society. The movie comes out August
15, 2014, so expect to see Jeff
Bridges, Meryl Streep, Alexander
Skarsgård and Taylor Swift up on
the big screen then.
Gillian Flynn, another New
York Times Bestselling Author,
makes the list with her novel entitled Gone Girl. On Nick and Amy
Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary, Amy mysteriously disappears;
as more evidence builds up, it
seems to incriminate Nick, but
did he really kill her? The novel
is packed full of suspense, plot
twists, and lots of emotion. The
thrill of the book turns into the
movie on October 3, 2014. Some
names to look for are Ben Affleck
and Rosamund Pike, so be prepared.
Ron Rash’s Serena completes the list, with a release date
yet to be announced. The book
is the thrilling story of newlyweds
George and Serena Pemberton
as they journey to create a timber
empire and kill those who dare to
favor anything else. After Serena
finds out that she cannot bear
children, she learns that George
fathered an illegitimate child. She
sets out to kill the child out of
anger for the fact that he is only
George’s child, not hers. Jennifer
Lawrence and Bradley Cooper
must really enjoy each other’s
company, because this will be
their third consecutive movie together in just two years. Clearly
they have great chemistry, so it is
expected for them to play strong
roles as a married couple.
Junior Sam Stein says, “I
have seen ‘Silver Lining Playbook’ and I have seen ‘American
Hustle’. In both movies you can
not only see, but feel the connection between Bradley Cooper and
Jennifer Lawrence. They are both
outstanding actors and one can
only hope that their next film together will continue to prove that.”
12
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
Senior Teacher Day
Every year at Harrison High School students and teachers alike look forward to Senior Teacher Day, where seniors dress up as their favorite teachers and teach
classes for them. On December 20, seniors enjoyed donning iconic outfits and accessories to emulate their teachers as they led activities ranging from mock lessons
loosely inspired by the curriculum to quizzes asking trivia questions about teachers’ favorite colors or middle names. The teachers, for their part, were excited to kick
back and relax, watching their doppelgangers delight younger students with the plans they had prepared. During free periods, the seniors even got to eat lunch with their
teachers on the hallowed second floor of the library. This time-honored tradition was just as successful in 2013 as it had been in years past—and both aspiring underclassmen and the teachers they plan to portray have already started looking forward to next year!
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
13
Winter Formal
January 24 was an exciting night for Harrison High School students—the Winter Formal! Although this “Snow Ball” had to be rescheduled several times, the
students remained undeterred and ready to hit the dance floor. Dressed in their finest attire, they enjoyed dancing to popular hits and taking pictures with friends. The
formal, which lasted from seven o’clock to ten o’clock, left students with tired feet and smiles on the faces. For many, it was just the night of fun that they needed before
the advent of midterm week, which began on the following Monday. No matter how hard they studied during the day, the Winter Formal was the perfect opportunity for
students to forget their worries and dance the night away.
14
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
Technology in Our Lives
Andrew Carton
Staff Writer
Enter Grand Central Station, walk along the ChampsElysées, or take an airplane to almost any destination in the world;
wherever you might be, people
will always be moving around,
hardly ever content doing only
one thing at a time. Regardless of
your location or age, one thing inevitably remains the same. That
something, so prevalent and essential in our daily lives, is technology, in all of its various (and
sometimes awe inspiring) forms.
Technology is constantly
changing, altering the framework
of our daily lives and the foundation of numerous industries.
From an economic perspective,
technology has revolutionized
business practices, enabling
transactions and meetings to be
carried across unimaginable distances.
The formation of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has brought
us closer to the world and people around us. The impact of
these developments extends
to the realm of politics in recent
years. Technology served as a
common means of communication between revolutionaries in
the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
Activists used channels such as
Twitter to organize protests, draw
attention to their efforts, and narrate the daily events occurring
in Egypt. As one Egyptian activist accurately stated in a CBS
report, “We use Facebook to
schedule the protests, Twitter to
coordinate, and YouTube to tell
the world.” Technology also gives
men like Julian Assange the ability to release confidential government information to the general
public and men like infamous politician Anthony Weiner the ability
to leak something more to the
public than just beliefs.
Moreover, technology has
restructured the modern entertainment industry. It seems like
centuries ago that film was bereft
of both color and sound. Now-
adays, with the introduction of
modern technology, movies are
almost always filmed in high definition and certain producers even
film their movies using cameras
with three-dimensional capabilities.
Similarly, the education
system has also adapted to
changing societal norms. With
Smartboards widely in effect, the
usage of chalkboards to give lessons now appears archaic. Some
schools are even beginning to
phase out the usage of textbooks, opting instead to provide
their students with tablets.
In short, technology impacts every aspect of modern
living. Through the click of a button, an individual harnesses the
power to search the web and find
answers to constant inquiries.
With another click of a button,
that same individual can wish a
relative a happy birthday from
thousands of miles away.
The debate over modern
technology has shifted over the
past few centuries. It began by
questioning the usefulness and
possible applications of technology in daily living, and expanded
to questioning the limits of our
imagination. People claim that
technology has brought us closer together as a community and
as a society. However, how much
truth exists in that statement?
While there is no uncertainty as
to the power and influence of
technology around us, there exists a gray cloud over modern
technology. This figurative cloud
represents the hesitation of some
to become dependent on technology, as they fear the irreversible
effects that such a dependency
could have on the future. People
of both the “new” generation and
“older” generation alike believe
that constant connection to technology is imperative. However, I
believe that it is in our best interest to take a step back from the
world of technology at times and
“unplug.”
When entering the cafe-
teria (or the Student Union, as
some refer to it), take considerable notice of the number of
friends sitting at a table together,
doing everything but talking. Is it
that our peers maintain false relationships or is there a larger issue
at hand? In truth, the cafeteria
serves as a prime example of our
over-dependence on technology. Rather than socializing with
the people around us by having
meaningful conversations, we
too often decide to surf the Internet or play games on our iPhones
instead.
Now how about texting
or messaging a friend on Facebook? Obviously that would be
considered authentic interaction
with others, right? Well, not exactly. Although social media sites
and texting have provided us with
a multitude of outlets for “socializing” with friends, they are all
superficial means of communication. How often do you read a text
or a post on Facebook and think,
that person would never say such
a thing in person, or, what was
he/she thinking? Technology has
given teens the ability to hide behind a keyboard, providing them
with a false sense of confidence
and comfort. This illusion has
subsequently led to a heightened
number of incidences involving
cyber bullying over the past few
years.
In addition, how many of us
fear speaking in front of the class
or in front of a crowd of people?
Obviously public speaking isn’t
for everyone, but something must
have contributed to such widespread apprehension. Once upon
a time, people had face-to-face
conversations with one another
and solved their conflicts without
resorting to their smartphones
for solace. Now I’m not saying
that there is a direct correlation
between the prevalence of technology and the willingness to
speak in front of others; however,
I am claiming that if we were to
put technology aside and actually
talk to one another, this particular
skill that many dread would become much more effortless.
Would it be easy to “unplug” for a while and put our gadgets and constant connection to
technology aside? Probably not.
Furthermore, would it even be realistic to envision a world where
technology didn’t have an overarching impact on our lives? Even
less likely. But what we can do,
in order to maintain the slightest
hope of genuine continuity with
the people around us, is take a
step back. At some point in your
day, put away your smartphones,
laptops, and tablets, and enjoy a
real speaking conversation with
someone around you. Maintain
a real conversation without the
interruption of texts, Facebook
messages, and Tweets. Maintain
a real conversation in which you
actually connect with the person
opposite you and it will make all
of the difference in the world.
Can We Just Unplug and Relate? Technology has become a debilitating constant in our lives.
Courtesy of Samantha Stein
Are Smartphones Making Us Dumb?
Clarissa Karantzis
Managing Editor
Walk anywhere — the
streets, the mall, even the school
cafeteria—and you can be sure
that most people you see will
either have their phones in their
hands or their eyes glued to the
screen. Most of these phones will
be smartphones , the most popular technology for our generation. These phones have become
not only a status symbol, but for
many, a necessity. Of course
having a smartphone has its benefits; people use them like mini
computers at their fingertips, for
organization, entertainment, and
information. Despite these advantages, though, smartphones
have a large negative impact on
society as well, causing us harm
without us even knowing it.
First of all, there is the matter of communication. Communicating with friends may seem
like a simple task to many, but
unfortunately smartphones are
taking away such simple skills.
Instead of talking face to face
with friends, texting has taken
over. Direct communication has
been replaced with typing in incomplete sentences. Whether
you’re in a restaurant or a movie
theater, you can always see people’s faces lit up by the reflection
of their screens instead of the
pleasure of a real conversation.
Even when you walk around the
school’s cafeteria you will find
students sitting together at the
same table, but with no conversation taking place. Instead, games
and social networking sites are
displayed on their screens, keeping people focused on anything
but talking with each other. It’s
frightening how fast we have
come to replace human interaction with our smartphones.
Besides nullifying major communication skills, these
smartphones are also distracting students when they’re doing homework and studying,
which can have a major impact
on their grades. For many, it’s
too tempting to resist looking at
their phones when they receive
a notification, text message or
update. And of course once you
open up Instagram or Facebook,
one thing leads to another and
you can end up sitting there distracted for hours. This time for
studying and homework has now
been wasted on the mindless
flicking of a screen. Because of
the autocorrect feature on many
smartphones, students have also
developed incorrect grammar
and spelling skills that show up
in their writing. With autocorrect,
people don’t have to worry about
adding apostrophes for contractions. Words such as “wanna”
and “gonna” have even been added into the autocorrect dictionary,
allowing smartphones to correct
the spelling of words that don’t
even exist. You don’t have to worry too much about spelling a word
correctly anymore— chances are
high that if you get most of the
letters right, the phone will know
what you’re trying to say and fix
it for you itself. Thinking is not required.
Lastly, smartphones have
made their way into the lives of
the younger generations as well.
With so many apps available that
are made for little kids, parents
are more willing to allow their
children to entertain themselves
with smartphones. According to a
survey done by Common Sense
Media, 38 percent of children under the age of two have used a
smartphone or device of the sort.
However, being exposed to these
devices can have negative impacts on their development. The
nature of smartphones is very
addictive, so if kids begin to use
these devices at an early age, it
can hurt them in the future. Instead of going outside and partaking in physical activity, they will
sit on a chair and look through images on a screen. For this reason
smartphones have directly been
linked to obesity, which is now affecting the younger generations.
So what can we do
about this? For starters, keep
your phone in your bag when
you’re sitting with other people
during social situations like meals.
This way, you won’t be tempted to
search through your phone and
will be able to focus on the conversations that are happening directly in front of you. Secondly, try
to lessen the time that you spend
on your phone overall. There are
many apps available that can lock
your phone for a set time—these
are helpful when you’re trying to
focus on homework or studying
so you don’t get distracted. Whatever you do, remember: choose
people over your phone.
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
15
The Watch Phone is Now a Reality
Alyssa Muto
Staff Writer
The next big thing in the
technological world has been
introduced by Samsung, and it
goes by the name “Galaxy Gear.”
Samsung has recently designed
a new Galaxy phone, which
closely resembles a watch. The
new device comes in several different colors and offers the luxurious ability to be worn around the
wrist.
Samsung has worked hard
to produce such a device that is
small, accessible and efficient. In
order to purchase effective Galaxy Gear, it is necessary to have
a corresponding Galaxy phone.
The Galaxy phone serves as a
control center, and the Galaxy
Gear is a device that works cohesively with the actual phone,
but contains slightly fewer features. Although the Galaxy Gear
doesn’t contain as many features
as a phone, it still has many useful attributes, including a camera,
voice activation, apps and more.
“I find the Galaxy Gear to
be an extremely interesting new
wristband, you'll see the frame
invention for those who already
have a Galaxy phone or are interand metal clasp, the latter of
ested in purchasing one,” says juwhich contains a tiny speaker.
In terms of resolution, it's a 1.63nior Zoe Mittman. “The wearable
inch panel with 320 x 320 resoludevice would ensure easy access
and comfortable portability, plus
tions, so HD quality shouldn’t be
expected for such a tiny device.
the device has a classy design.”
With a 1.6-inch AMOLED
After you power up the
Gear for the first time, you'll be
screen, upcoming third-party
encouraged to take advantage of
support and even a camera, this
promises to be unlike any smart
the watch's built-in NFC tag, and
tap it to your Note 3. Once the
watch seen before. The watch
face is constructed with stainless
two devices connect, the phone
steel, whose contoured shape
immediately begins downloadhelps it wrap around
the wrist. Along the
sides of the 36.8 x
56.6 x 11.1mm watch,
you'll find the only
physical button, the
home key, with one
microphone on each
side.
Underneath,
there are charging
connectors, a Samsung logo and the
obligatory identifying
information. Continuing down the ridged The future is now: Samsung’s Galaxy Gear.
Courtesy of CNET
ing the Gear Manager, activating Bluetooth and pairing itself
to your phone. Once connected,
the device works similarly to the
phone, all on the comfort of your
own wrist. Due to the fact that it
is significantly smaller compared
to the Galaxy phone, opportunity
is limited. As of now, the Gear is
only capable of holding about 70
apps, which is a considerable difference in the technology world.
“The Galaxy Gear was definitely a shock to the technological world, and I’m sure some will
find value in this invention,” says
sophomore Omar Nesheiwat. “I,
however, find the watch unnecessary if a phone is also needed to
access its features.”
As for apps, the Gear puts
an especially big focus on fitness
apps. A pedometer is included
as one of the native apps, which
tracks not only the total number
of steps you've walked on average, but also calculates your total mileage and kcal burned.
Along with fitness apps, the
Gear also offers basic social media apps including FaceBook and
Twitter, however they’re limited to
‘read-only’ versions, meaning the
ability to post and create statuses
does not exist on the Gear.
“The fact that the phone
encourages consumers to be
aware of their fitness is definitely
a key aspect of the device,” says
college freshman and HHS alumna Nicole Muto. “For those generally unmotivated to stay fit, the
constant reminders on this device
can definitely aid in motivation.”
In conclusion, the Galaxy
Gear is a solid effort from Samsung, but just as with any new
device, it will need time to potentially grow and develop. Its several features appear to be beneficial and logical, and it's certainly
more feature-rich and involved
than any other smart watch seen
before.
Shiver Me Gamers: Assassin’s Creed Goes Piratey
Rob Sperduto
Entertainment Editor
Ubisoft concluded protagonist Desmond Miles’ main story
arc in last year’s underwhelming
Assassin’s Creed 3; however,
by no means does this mean
the end of the Assassin’s Creed
universe. What was originally intended to be a trilogy, Black Flag
is now Ubisoft’s sixth entry to this
part science fiction, part historical franchise. Despite the company’s impressive open-world
recreation of the West Indies,
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
is weighed down by a frustrating and repetitive campaign that
feels exhausting toward the end.
this entry; however, each island
“Whether I’m looking at land, sky
and Ubisoft; however, it also puts
protagonist of the 1700s, Edward
has its own unique appearance
or water, it’s all beautifully done.”
into question whether the compaKenway, isn’t even truly an asthat makes it a joy and a motivany is truly confident in the game
sassin; more of a swashbuckling
tion to explore every depth (land,
Gameplay:
that they’re trying to sell. Perhaps
pirate tangled in the web that is
sea, or underwater) of the game’s
each individual game should take
the ongoing conflict between the
world. Major cities such as NasThe gameplay of Assaslonger than an annual release to
Assassins and Templars. Kensau, Tortuga, and Florida also
sin’s Creed: Black Flag is where
be produced.
way proves to be a likable hero;
recover where Assassin’s Creed
it starts to disappoint. Of course,
Navigating the open seas
but is more irrelevant to the over3 fell short: there are more buildfighting mechanics are always
with Kenway’s ship, the Jackdaw,
all narrative than any other game
ings, large and small, to navigate
improved with each entry, so
is where Black Flag shines. Saildespite being closely related to
that encourage the player
Haytham and Connor of Asto be more creative in the
sassin’s Creed 3.
way that they choose. AddThe modern world story
ing more emphasis on the
places you as an unnamed,
responsibility of the player
first person character that
makes stealth missions a
works as an employee for Abtad more open-ended and
stergo Entertainment. It’s an
independent.
Climbing
enjoyable and cheeky nod to
Presentation:
enormous buildings and
Ubisoft Montreal’s own work
discovering viewpoints was
as a video game company.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black
also something that was
Though, towards the end of
Flag made the transition from
lost in Assassin’s Creed
the game it becomes apparcurrent-gen to next-gen consoles
3, and it’s satisfying to see
ent that the modern world
with little to no disappointment.
them make a return.
story could have done more
Facial expressions and character
Perhaps the most imto progress the series’ story
models show more detail than any
pressive next-gen quality of
rather than repeatedly write
of its predecessors. Assassin’s
Black Flag is travelling by
self-referential nods for the
Creed always had a problem with
sea. The ocean looks stunsake of a meta story.
their close-up sequences during
ningly realistic; and, more Revenge on the high seas: Blackbeard’s wrath is unleashed in Black Flag
Courtesy of Ubisoft
fights with enemies in which the
often than not; I found myAssassin’s Creed IV:
protagonist’s weapon would nevself pausing whatever I was
Black Flag should be consider look as if it went through the
doing just to stare at the waves,
there’s no problem there. Howing around the West Indies feels
ered from a few different points
AI’s body.
open skies,
ever, Ubisoft falls into the same
much more controllable than that
of view. Judging the game based
However,
and distant
trap as always with Black Flag:
of the mechanics in Assassin’s
on the story’s narrative, most
Ubisoft
islands
tedious follow/stealth missions.
Creed 3 and you can lose hours
fans loyal to the series from the
fixed this
from the
Whether by land or by ship, Black
exploring the open world while
beginning will be disappointed
in the latship.
To
Flag is plagued by tailing misnot even touching the campaign.
that it does little to move forward
est entry
top it all off,
sions where, for the first five to
Along with exploring, Ubisoft addfollowing the events of its predeto
look
weather
ten minutes of the mission; the
ed an entire upgradeable system
cessor. It makes one think that
more remechanics
player is forced to eavesdrop on
for the Jackdaw. It may initially
Ubisoft should hold off on releasalistic
such
as
the enemy that is about to be
seem like a daunting task to face
ing the games annually and take
and fluwind, rain,
eliminated. These missions alother ships in battle; however, the
more time to tighten the story in
id. While
and
ways proved to be the low point
more progressed the Jackdaw
order to ultimately decide on an
this ad- Coming ashore: Edward Kenway leaves the Jackdaw. thunof the series; and to be forced to
becomes, the more rewarding it
endgame for the franchise. Six
Courtesy of Ubisoft
justment
derplay the majority of the game like
feels to take down an enormous,
entries in, it’s best to send off the
by no means hinders the game
storms add more realism when
this only shows a lack of variety
level 36 Man O’ War.
series with a satisfying concluin any way whatsoever, it’s the
travelling by sea in the Jackdaw
and creativity on Ubisoft’s part.
sion for the sake of its reputation
minor visual improvements and
and make it more exciting and
Of course, stealth is an importStory:
(but monetary reasons may beg
tweaks that go a long way when
during a frantic ship battle. The
ant aspect of an assassin game;
to differ on that front). Howevcreating a detailed and impresweather of Black Flag truly showhowever, it’d be satisfying and
Following the death of the
er, as a pure pirate game, Black
sive video game.
cases the capabilities of the PS4
more enjoyable to play more mismodern world protagonist, DesFlag succeeds on many levels,
The open world of the West
and Xbox One and is best experisions that require hand-to-hand
mond Miles, in Black Flag’s prebeing one of the most engaging,
Indies is a sight to behold, and
enced on these consoles.
combat. The addition of being
decessor, I feared for the future
unique, and time consuming, of
definitely an improvement from
“Black Flag is the best
able to rank each mission out of
of the series’ main narrative. Unthe series. Despite its repetitive
Assassin’s Creed 3. Forests and
all-inclusive game I’ve ever
five stars is nice for feedback and
fortunately, Black Flag did little
story missions, exploration alone
climbing trees are still included in
seen,” said senior JD Barnett.
communication between the fans
to put these fears to rest. Our
is worth the purchase.
16
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
Night of the Dazzling Oscars
Clarissa Karantzis
Managing Editor
Torrential downpours and unfitting weather threatened to ruin
it, but on March 2nd stars and
viewers alike around the world
celebrated Hollywood’s biggest
night for the 86th annual Academy Awards. On this night known
for its glitz and glamour, a tenyear high of 43.7 million people
around the world watched some
of the best films of 2013 get recognized for their prestige.
Organizers faced some difficulties in the preparation of the
Oscars due to the much-needed
heavy rain after the drought that
California had been experiencing. However, right before the
Red Carpet was rolled out, the
sun emerged and the stars began
to arrive. Coverage of the night
began as early as 4:30 pm, and
fans watched as the Red Carpet started to bustle at the Dolby
Theater in Los Angeles, where
the Oscars were held. Celebrities
stunned the audiences in their
glamorous gowns and jewels and
soon everyone had filed into the
Theater, anxiously waiting for the
night to begin.
Ellen Degeneres hosted this
year’s Oscars for the second
time, and like on her talk show,
she didn’t hold back. “It’s been
a rough couple of days for us
here— it has been raining. We’re
fine. Thank you for your prayers,”
was how she started the show.
That quip set the stage for how
she was going to host the Oscars – by making lighthearted fun
of the celebrities. She teased
Jennifer Lawrence by saying “If
you win tonight, I think we should
bring you the Oscar,” addressing
Lawrence’s fall at last year’s Oscars while accepting her award
for “Best Actress in a Leading
Role” in Silver Linings Playbook,
as well as the tumble she took
this year on the Red Carpet when
she tripped over a cone. She
also jokingly pretended that June
Squibb, the 84-year-old nominee
for Nebraska, was hard of hearing, speaking to her slowly and
loudly.
Anne Hathaway presented
the first Oscar for “Best Actor in
a Supporting Role” which went
to Jared Leto for his outstanding performance in
Dallas Buyers Club,
depicting Rayon, an
HIV-positive transgender woman. The
night
proceeded
with the statues being handed out to
deserving films in
various categories.
The Disney animated film Frozen won
two awards, one for
Best Animated Feature and another
for “Let It Go”, the
“Best Original Song.”
Gravity, the intense
science-fiction thriller starring Sandra
Bullock and directed
by Alfonso Cuarón,
grabbed the most
Oscars (seven in
total) for categories
such as “Best Cinematography”, “Best
Directing”, and “Best
Visual Effects”. The
film Her picked up
one award, as did 12
Years a Slave. When
the time came to announce the award
for “Best Actress in
a Supporting Role”,
audience members
held their breath as the award
was presented to Lupita Nyong’o
for her moving portrayal of Patsey in 12 Years a Slave.
As the time drew nearer, the
audience waited for the three final, most coveted awards to be
announced. Daniel Day-Lewis
presented the award for “Best
Actress in a Leading Role,” which
was given to Cate Blanchett for
her portrayal of Jasmine in the
film Blue Jasmine, about a Manhattan socialite who finds herself
falling into a life of poverty. The
astounded actress gratefully accepted the award, saying “And
to the audiences who went to
for his role in Dallas Buyers
Club as Ron Woodroof, a rodeo
cowboy who is diagnosed with
AIDS. It was the second award
for this film. Finally the audience
listened as Will Smith presented
the award for “Best Film”, and
see it. And perhaps those of us
in the industry that are still foolishly clinging to the idea that
female films with women at the
center are niche experiences.
They are not. Audiences want to
see them, and in fact, they earn
money.” Jennifer Lawrence then
announced the award for “Best
Actor in a Leading Role”, which
went to Matthew McConaughey
the crowd erupted with cheers
when 12 Years a Slave was announced. The cast, along with director Steve McQueen, excitedly
accepted the prestigious award
and graciously thanked the audience for their support of the film.
Of course, the show didn’t
go on without some blunders.
Presenters stumbled over their
words while reading the tele-
prompter; perhaps the biggest
mistake was made by John Travolta. Responsible for announcing Idina Menzel on stage before
she sang “Let it Go” from Disney’s animated film Frozen, he
mispronounced her name, saying something along the lines of
“Adele Dazeem”. There was also
some controversy over why Cory
Monteith, the former star of Glee,
wasn’t mentioned alongside stars
such as Paul Walker, Philip Seymour-Hoffman, and Shirley Temple during the “In Memoriam”
slideshow. Still, the night went on
with many exciting moments. Performances by Pink, Idina Menzel,
Pharrell Williams, U2, Bette Midler and Karen O entertained the
audience throughout the night.
Ellen Degeneres decided to take
an “epic selfie” with a bunch of
celebrities, which succeeded in
shutting down Twitter due to its
crazy amount of reposts. She
also ordered three pizza pies
in the middle of the show and
brought them, along with the pizza delivery man, down to hand
out to the audience. The celebrities gladly passed around plates
and napkins to eat what was possibly the first meal of the day for
some. After handing a hat around
to the celebrities to collect money
to pay for the pizza, Ellen ended
up with about $600. On her talk
show the next day, she gave the
pizza delivery man the money
with an additional $1000 tip.
Once again, the 86th Academy
Awards proved to be successful.
Although it went thirty minutes
over its allotted time slot, the audience remained entertained by
its funny jokes, outstanding performances, and great fun. With a
new year expected to bring more
great movies and performances,
we can only begin to pick out favorites, speculate, and wait for
what the 87th Academy Awards
will bring in 2015.
Frozen Appeals to Young and Old Alike
Jasmine Tucker
Staff Writer
On November 27, 2013,
Disney released a movie called
Frozen, the fifty-third animated
feature in its Walt Disney animated series. The movie included
characters voiced by well-known
actors like Idina Menzel, Kristen
Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan
Groff. These high-profile names
helped contribute to its major
success—according to Time.
com, the movie made $864.4 million dollars worldwide while it was
in theatres. The Huffington Post
reports that it became the “second-highest grossing, non-sequel
animated movie, passing The
Lion King”.
“It’s not hard to believe that
Frozen did so well in sales,” said
junior Zoe Mittman. “It was a really good movie, one of the best
I’ve seen from Disney. “
Frozen is the story of two
princesses raised in the same
kingdom, but under very different conditions. Elsa is able to
turn objects that she touches into
ice, but cannot seem to control
this power. Her parents locked
her up because of this ominous
Her sister Anna, meanwhile, is
curious about the world and wishes to find out about adventure,
to save Elsa when a spell is
cast upon her by the evil Snow
Queen. On her journey, assisted
by mountain man Kristoff, Anna encounters
whimsical and vibrant
characters like a snowman named Olaf.
"The concept of
saving a princess and a
kingdom from the Snow
Queen and her spell is
really cute," said sophomore Taylor Fabiani.
"Kids can really enjoy
it and they can feel like
they're on the mission
as well."
In addition to the
movie, Disney released
Frozen’s soundtrack on
November 25, 2013.
According to Time.
com,
“The
Frozen
Elsa makes the magic happen: Disney’s Frozen is one of their best efforts in years.
Soundtrack”
was
the
Courtesy of Disney
first album since “High
ability, raising her as a prisoner
love and friendship. She fulfills
School Musical” to be number
one on the Billboard charts for
in the castle in which she lived.
this wish by taking on a mission
three weeks or more.
"The soundtrack is actually
really popular and catchy," said
freshman Taylor Kelly.
The soundtrack, which includes artists like Demi Lovato,
features 32 tracks and is just over
one hour in length. Along with the
box-office sales, the soundtrack
was an important factor in the
success of the film, which also
came out on DVD on March 18.
Frozen was nominated for
two Golden Globe Awards and
won for "Best Animated Feature."
It was the first Disney movie to
win an award in that category at
the Academy Awards. The film
also won five Annie Awards, two
Critics Choice Awards and other awards outside of the United
States.
"It's really nice to see a
children’s movie become so successful,” said junior Emily Coash.
"It's been a while since Disney
has made a movie that the whole
family can really enjoy."
March 2014
Husky Herald
Arts & Entertainment
17
Sydney Mueller
Staff Writer
Our latest column explores a few of the Most
Interesting Students at Harrison
High School. This time the spotlight falls on senior Lily Lindsay, a national rowing celebrity
who is taking her competitive
drive to Yale University next fall.
Husky Herald (HH): Out of all
the sports you could have chosen, how did you pick rowing?
Lily Lindsay (LL): I actually didn’t
pick rowing, it kind of just hap-
LL: The biggest challenges I have
faced in rowing are the limitations
I place on myself. I started at a
really small club and we lost every
race so I was convinced I was
pretty bad. When I switched clubs
going into high school, it was hard
for me to change that mentality. So
much of your success in rowing,
and I guess in many other sports
as well, comes from what you
believe you are capable of doing.
I still find it hard to remember
that I’m not from that small club
anymore, and to not
limit myself based on
my own preconceptions of my abilities.
HH: How difficult
has it been to manage school work
with rowing over
the past few years?
LL: The biggest
problem is the
Hangin’ with my crew: Lily Lindsay on the water,
amount of school
training for the Worlds at Princeton.
Courtesy of Lily Lindsay I have to miss. In
the fall and spring,
pened. My sister’s friend decided
many of my races require me to
to start and asked my sister to go
miss either Fridays or Mondays,
with her. My mom didn’t want me
which makes it hard to keep up
to stay home alone after school
with assignments and lessons.
because I was only 11, so she
I have to be very organized and
made me go too. I was really
often ask for my work in advance
bad at the other sports I played,
in order to get everything done
and loved rowing instantly, so it
and to stay caught up. At the end
really wasn’t much of a choice.
of the year, I wind up missing a lot
of finals due to Nationals and the
HH: What was the bigJunior National Team Selection
gest challenge you faced?
Camp, which has also been diffi-
cult to balance in the past.
The support system I have
in the school has made it
possible for me to manage
all of my absences and not
get behind, so I am very
grateful for the Harrison
High School administration
being so understanding
of my athletic endeavors.
HH: Who was been your
greatest supporter?
LL: My family has definitely been my greatest
support system throughout
my rowing career. I don’t
come from a family that
has ever emphasized ath- A victory: Lily sharing the impressive trophy with
a teammate after a victorious race last Spring.
letics, so when I became
Courtesy of Lily Lindsay
very competitive in rowing
ed rowing, how do you think
it took a lot of adjusting of family
your life would be different?
priorities. I am very grateful for
how flexible my parents have been
LL: I’m not an innately athletic perin realizing how important rowing
son, so if I had never found rowing
is to me and supporting me in evI don’t think I would have been
ery way possible. My parents are
particularly active. There have
great, but my biggest supporter
been some things in my life that I
has always been my sister. She
had to put aside in order to pursue
has unwavering faith in me and
rowing at a high level, so perhaps
her famous saying is always,
if I had never found rowing I would
“I never bet against my sister.”
have pursued music or art instead.
HH: Will you be continuing
your rowing career in college?
LL: Yes, I plan on continuing to row throughout college
and it was a big factor when
I was looking at schools.
HH: If you had never start-
HH: Is there anything that you’ve
regretted with regards to rowing?
LL: Most of my regrets come
and go on a daily basis. I’ll regret
taking one too many “off” strokes
during a piece, or not being able
to hold my pace for a steady-state,
or one of the many strokes
during practice that weren’t
just so. Rowing is a sport that
is all about chasing perfection
and establishing discipline, so
I always regret the things that
don’t meet my expectations. I
regret becoming so preoccupied by my failures, because it
comes at a cost of other areas
of my life. The greatest thing
I’ve heard in my career though
was that the oar doesn’t know
your past, which is basically
just a fancy way of saying don’t
dwell on your failures because
each stroke and each piece
is another chance to improve.
HH: Would you ever
consider coaching rowing when you’re older?
LL: I have spent a lot of time with
my current coach in helping out
with some of the novice practices
over the years, and I have seen
how much goes into coaching
a successful crew. Coaching is
definitely harder than it looks,
as it requires an understanding
of the physics of rowing, the
theory behind various rowing
techniques, and the mentality
of young athletes. I’m not sure
how successful I would be as a
head coach of a program, but
assistant coaching has always
been a part of my future plans in
addition to whatever career path
I choose to pursue after college.
Former HHS Students: Where are they now?
Dominique Cuce, NBC Page
Ariel Coonin
Editor-in-Chief
The Husky Herald sat
down with our former Editor-in-Chief, Dominique Cuce,
to learn more about her current work as a page for NBC.
HH: When did you graduate
from Harrison High School?
DC: I graduated Harrison High
School in 2009. At HHS, I was the
co-editor in chief of the newspaper and a member of the Varsity
tennis team. I also participated
with the Harrison Majorettes.
HH: Where did you go to college? What was your major?
DC: I attended The University of
Maryland (go Terps!). I majored
in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations.
I was able to experience and
learn so much during my four
years at UMD. I interned at The
National Geographic Society,
Showtime Networks and CNN
before I graduated last May. I
then entered the NBC Universal Page Program last June.
HH: What did your
job as a page entail?
DC: The NBC Universal Page Program is a wonderful opportunity.
Roughly 2% of 16,000 applicants
are selected for the program
each year. Participants work for
three-month periods in different
departments throughout the company. Thus far, my assignments
have included All in With Chris
Hayes and NBC News public
relations. Pages also are able to
help out with audience coordination on shows such as Saturday
Night Live (SNL) and Late Night
with Jimmy Fallon. It’s incredible
to see the wonder of live TV.
HH: Did you get to
watch every show live?
HH: What was your
favorite part of the job?
DC: The NBC Universal
Page Program is an experience like no other. Being
able to interact and assist
with various news and entertainment programs is a professional dream come true.
I love working in a building
where American broadcasting history was made. “30
Rock” has been home to The
Tonight Show, NBC Nightly
News with Brian Williams and
Football Night in America.
HH: What do you aspire to
do as a career in the future?
Live from New York! Dominique Cuce work- DC: I would love to continue
ing as a page for NBC’s Saturday Night Live. to work within the field of public/
when Jimmy Fallon hosted musical guest
talent relations. I could also see
Justin Timberlake.
myself working in production.
Courtesy of Dominique Cuce
HH: How has working on the
Husky Herald helped you
DC: Pages rotate shows; I’ve been
able to help out when Miley Cyrus
and Jimmy Fallon hosted on SNL.
for other things in your life?
DC: Some of my fondest memories from HHS include working
on The Husky Herald. I was able
to see how much hard and honest work goes into making each
edition. It was a really great team
atmosphere. I was able to score
exclusive interviews with NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell
and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice while working on the paper.
HH: What is one piece
of advice you have for
high school students?
DC: Do what you love, and love
what you do. Once you figure out
what that may be, use all the resources you can, and get working!
There will be several bumps in the
road but for those who are able to
move past them, they will succeed.
For seniors about to start college,enjoy the experience… it will fly by.!
18
March 2014
Husky Herald
What was your childhood nickname? Kel
What did you want to be when growing up?
A doctor
Favorite color? Green
Most valuable possession? Hank, my dog
Celebrity crush? Matthew McConaughey
Favorite board game? Monopoly
Favorite musical? Don’t have one
Favorite book? The Great Gatsby
Hidden talent? Running – I ran track and cross
country in high school
Favorite vacation spot? Buffalo
Favorite word? Unbequem (uncomfortable in German)
First love? Tom, my fiance
Least favorite subject? Social Studies
Peanut butter or Nutella? Peanut butter
Favorite TV game show? Jeopardy
Best high school memory? Being a part of the
student government
Catchphrase? “Fabulous”
Favorite meal? Scallops and asparagus
Pet peeve? Laziness
Biggest fear? The dark
Cold or hot? Hot
If you could be an animal, which would you be?
A bird
Favorite state license plate? Connecticut
“90 Second Interviews” is a feature
wherein we sit down with two teachers and
see how many random questions they can
answer in only 90 seconds.This issue we sat
down with Math teachers, Kelly Fahmer and
Marc Schapiro..
Schapiro
Fahmer
90- Second
Interviews
Arts & Entertainment
What was your childhood nickname? Grease
Monkey
What did you want to be when growing up?
A fireman
Favorite color? Red
Most valuable possession? My family
Celebrity crush? None
Favorite board game? Snoopy chess
Favorite musical? None
Favorite book? The Martian Chronicles
Hidden talent? Paddleball
Favorite vacation spot? The Caribbean
Favorite word? Retirement
First love? Lisa Nessea
Least favorite subject? English
Peanut butter or Nutella? Peanut butter
Favorite TV game show? Wheel of Fortune
Best high school memory? The American Dream
trip-the rural part of New York
Catchphrase? “Okey dokey”
Favorite meal? Spaghetti and meatballs
Pet peeve? Annoying sounds
Biggest fear? Children
Cold or hot? Hot
If you could be an animal, which would you be?
A gorilla
Favorite state license plate? Hawaii
March 2014
Husky Herald
19
Titans Build on Last Year’s Success
Zack Smolev
Staff Writer
The 2013-2014 Ice Hockey season was full of triumphant
victories and unfortunate defeats
for the Rye Town/Harrison Titans
hockey team. Building on their
campaign for a Section title
in ’12-’13, the Titans claimed
a 5-1 league record, which
earned them the Conference
III league title. Moving from Division I to Division II was part
of new realignment within Section I, which created an uneven
distribution of talent between
the divisions while also bringing
the Titans new opponents and
rivalries.
With new coaches Peter
Thomas and Thomas Bailey
at the helm, the Titans took on
new challenges and opportunities as they traveled upstate for
tough competition. The team
went 0-3 in the highly-competitive Thousand Islands Tournament over Christmas break,
and traveled upstate again for
a game against Mohawk Valley over Martin Luther King Jr.
weekend. “The addition of a
strong schedule against powerhouse opponents like Mamaroneck, White Plains, Rye,
Horace Greeley, Fordham Prep
and Iona Prep helped to bolster
our team. It prepared us for the
playoffs and showed us that we
could compete with the best,”
says head coach Peter Thomas,
who earned Coach of the Year for
Conference III.
ey savvy, and the improvements
he has helped bring about in
such a small amount of time.
Smolev, Mitchell Milbauer, Brian
Ketchabaw and Brian Kelly, was
selected to the All-Section Team
team. “We all contributed that
game, everyone was playing well
and we all complemented each
other,” says Junior Goaltender
Brian Ketchabaw, whose outstanding play was well documented throughout the season
by the various local journalists.
Sadly, the Titans season
ended with a 5-2 loss to the
defending Section I Division
II champions, John Jay Cross
River. Although Senior Captain
Brian Jacobs was upset that
the team was defeated so early in the playoffs, he was still
proud of his time on the team.
“Overall I think all of us
had a great 4 years playing for
this team,” he said. “Every year
we proved people wrong and
turned things around these last
2 years especially. I am proud
to say that I played for the RTH
Goaltending and a sense of comfort with each other were paramount for the Rye Town/Harrison Titans, pictured above. “I think Titans and I wish the best of
our chemistry is undoubtedly our biggest advantage. Only losing one senior from last year’s squad made it easier to transition luck to the rest of the team in
into Coach Thomas’s style of play. All good teams need strong goaltending and we have that in Ketchy [Goalkeeper Brian Ketch- the future.”
abew],” said a sophomore defenseman on the team.
Although the season did
Courtesy of Zack Smolev
not end with the Section title
the team had aspired for, the
“His intelligence and awareness
for his performance this year.
strides that were made are promCoach Thomas is not new
of the game made it easy for us
After earning the fifth seed
ising enough to believe that such
to success, having won a state
to translate what he was saying
in the Section I playoffs, the Titans
an accomplishment is possible in
title as a player and two as an
into actually doing it in games,”
were in good position to make a
the near future.
assistant coach at Rye High
says senior forward and Captain
long run to the finals. A first round
School, where he spent the past
Ian Bass. Bass, along with fellow
10-2 blowout win against Byram
ten years. Members of the team
teammates Brian Jacobs, Ryan
Hills was made possible by trerecognize Coach Thomas’ hockMorningstar, Jake Picker, Zack
mendous efforts from the whole
Wrestling Team is Ready to Rumble!
Santiago Poveda
Staff Writer
Harrison High School’s
wrestling team has been hard at
work both physically and mentally throughout their season.
Team members started their
season early by going to the
Fitness Center after school to
get into shape and work on becoming better athletes. Coach
Pellet, who organized workouts
in the Fitness Center, has seen
great improvements in the wrestlers since the beginning of the
year. “The athletes have asked
for advice during the preseason
and improved drastically,” he
noted. This inspiring optimism is
only augmented by Coach Pellet’s motto: “The Fitness Center:
where amazing happens.”
The rising stars of the wrestling team demonstrated their
readiness to start the season and
proved to the school how successful they would be this year. “I
was really excited for the season
to start,” enthused sophomore
Mohamed Bashir. “I couldn’t wait
to test my new abilities in action,
and was happy to see that all the
time I spent practicing pay off.”
Part of the team’s success
can be attributed to the comfort
the relative inexperience of the
by weight class winners Frankie
the coaches and athletes had
new wrestlers.
Barchella and Max McMullen,
the team placed sixth overall and
with each other. Head Coach
Although wrestling is a
Nicita and Assistant Coach Faore
largely individual sport, meets
capped off the school’s most sucspent the preseason preparing
are scored by whichever school
cessful regular season ever.
the team for the regular season
accrues the most points. The
Head Coach Nicita was
and were ready to go when it fivarsity team’s intense motivation
also asked about the team’s overall skills and record-breaking seanally arrived in December. While
and preparation paid off, with the
getting ready for practice at the
team racking up a 17-8 record
son. “All the young talent will help
us going into the future, giving us
middle school gymnasium, Coach
and setting the school record
Faore was encouraged by the
for most wins in a season in the
a big opportunity to develop,” he
magnitude of freshmen joining
process. One of the team’s most
said. On the difficulties the wresthe team this year—and their talimpressive
accomplishments
tlers had getting ready for the
new season, Coach Nicita had
ent. He gave his opinions based
was its showing at the Super Sixthis to say: “I am sure some kids
on observations of the new playteen Tournament in Yonkers. Led
ers, saying
have been
“We were
working in
a
realthe Fitness
ly young
Center before the seateam, but
my expecson started.”
tations for
He also addthe
year
ed, “The Fitwere pretness Center
used to be
ty
high.”
C o a c h
our
place
Faore’s
to train, but
confidence
now the high
in the team
school took
was
unit away from
wavering, Taking it to the mat: This year’s wrestling squad set a record for the most wins in
us.” Natueven with a season.
rally, Coach
Courtesy of Harrison Wrestling
Nicita was not pleased about
having to adapt to a new environment, but he made the best of
a difficult situation and used the
gym in the middle school as efficiently as possible.
Riding their success from
the Divisional Tournament, four
wrestlers qualified for the Sectional Tournament: freshman
Jay Martins in the 99lb. class,
junior Frankie Barchella in the
106 lb class, senior Max Lukaswitz in the 132 lb. class, and Max
McMullen in the 286 lb. class.
Although none of the wrestlers
emerged victorious and qualified
for States, they set the bar high
for future wrestlers.
\This year’s wrestling team
had a great mixture of young talent and experienced veterans to
lead the way. This combination
led to the program’s most successful results ever, and set the
standard for wrestling at Harrison
High School. As the new wrestlers gain skill and progress with
their technique, the sky is the limit
for the team next year!
20
March 2014
Husky Herald
Sports
Trent’s Take: What’s Really A Sport?
Trent Lefkowitz
Sports Editor
This quarter the school has
enacted a Physical Education
“opt-out” program, whereby juniors and seniors that participate
in Varsity sports can substitute
their PE class with a study hall
period. With this new program,
students have been buzzing
about what does and does not
actually constitute a sport.
Bowling is one school activity that does not deserve to be
classified as a sport. The bowling team, which is part of the
school’s winter athletics program,
only practices three days a week.
Although the school does not
have the funds necessary for the
bowling team to practice more
than three times, one of the core
principles of the opt-out program
is that the sport must meet at
least five times a week. Although
the bowlers cannot be blamed
for their lack of practice time, the
reason the opt-out program was
instituted was to give students
with hectic after-school schedules time to do homework. Since
they practice only a few times a
week and not every athlete even
attends the meets, students who
bowl have ample time to get their
homework done without needing an extra free period during
school.
from being designated athletes?
activity involves great levels of
Another core aspect of the
As the old adage goes, if you can
physical fitness, a specific set of
opt-out program is that the sport
eat chili-cheese fries while particskills, and they spend more time
you are participating in must proipating in your activity, it is not a
practicing at the school than any
vide information on physical edsport.
other group of students. Although
ucation that is taught
the
cheerleading
in PE class. Which
squad’s winter comaspects of physical
petitions meet all of
fitness can be taught
the requirements for
by bowling? Walking
a sport, they do not
back and forth from
deserve the desthe lane to the ball
ignation of being
rack? Going to the
called athletes while
snack bar to buy a
screaming “Let’s Go
soda? Not only are
Huskies!” at the halfbowlers
practicing
time of other sporting
less than every other
events. Even though
day during the week,
it is disputed whether
but they are missing
or not cheerleaders
out on knowledge
should be classified
they could have
as athletes, they are
learned in physical
justified with being
education classes.
able to participate in
Although there are
the opt-out program
some incredibly taldue to their intense
ented and motivattime
requirements
ed members of the Striking Out: In Trent’s opinion, bowling is not a sport, nor should and incredible talent.
bowling team, many team members qualify for the current opt-out program.
Another group
of its participants
of students who are
play the sport for fun.
athletes that do not
If every moderately physical hobAnother activity whose
play a legitimate sport are dancby students participated in was
claim to being designated a sport
ers. Much like cheerleaders,
classified as a sport, what preis questionable is the cheerleaddancers must be physically fit
vents marching band members
ing team. Cheerleaders are fierce
and incredibly talented. Howevand the Harrison Husky mascot
competitors and athletes, whose
er, dance is more of an art form
than a sport. Dancers can do
things with their bodies that are
impossible for most of the population, but they do not take part in
competitions through the school.
Although dance should not be
classified as a sport, students
that study dance in school and
are members of the dance team
should qualify for the opt-out
program. They are learning the
dynamics of their body and are
physically exerting themselves
in dance class, and thus do not
need to further supplement their
studies with a physical education
class.
Although there is inherent
bias in what people individually
classify as sports, in my opinion
bowling, dancing, and cheerleading do not constitute athletic events. In my mind the word
“sport” evokes competitions like
field hockey, football, or soccer
which consist of gladiator-esque
battles between opposing forces.
It is great that students participating in non-sporting activities are
becoming part of the Harrison
High School community, but the
clubs they partake in fall short of
being designated “sports.”
Opting In For Opting Out
Caitlyn Brown
Staff Writer
In a controversial move, the
athletics department has decided
that varsity athletes can forego
their physical education classes
for a study hall period. Known
as the “Opt-Out” program, any
upperclassman participating in
a varsity sport with one or fewer
free periods a day can substitute
their gym class for a period where
they can work on homework they
might not have time for otherwise.
One critique of the program
is that junior varsity athletes and
underclassmen taking part in
varsity sports are unable to optout in the way their older teammates can. Sophomore Shannon
Callagy, a member of the varsity
cheerleading team, said, “I think
it’s unfair since I’m at the same
level and doing the same things
at practice as my teammates.
However, I understand that it’s
an upperclassmen privilege, and
I am excited to do it next year.”
Some athletes on junior
varsity teams argue that they do
not need to participate in physical education because they are
working hard enough during their
respective sports. Freshman JV
Soccer player Krissy Moschetta said, “I practiced very hard in
soccer every day, and was much
more physically active there than
in gym class. Soccer practice
was very intense, so I think they
should open up the program to
any student that plays a sport.”
The reason underclassmen
are not able to participate in the
opt-out program is that there are
a very limited number of freshmen or sophomores that make
varsity teams. The talented athletes that do join varsity squads
are not subject to the rigorous
coursework upperclassmen are
exposed to, and thus do not
necessarily need another period
to get work done. Based on the
magnitude of students that participate in school sports, if every
one of them that qualified regardless of grade was accepted into
the program, there might be very
few students left in physical education programs.
Another criticism that the
“Opt-Out” program is facing is the
practice that students can only
opt out of the program during the
second and fourth quarters. This
is the case because students
need to attend physical education classes in order to meet the
requirements of four full credits of
PE to graduate. However, some
feel that they should be able to
opt-out for the duration of their
sport’s season. Spring sports
began before progress reports
even came out third quarter, so
students that still maintained a
difficult course load were unable to ease their burdens with a
study hall period. Since many of
the athletes eligible for the “OptOut” program are also IB Diplo-
ma candidates, they will remain
stretched thin throughout the second semester of school.
Although there are some
kinks to be worked out, the “OptOut” Program will be more beneficial than harmful for students
who participate. Students may be
lacking the physical education requirement in their curriculum, but
for those who are IB Candidates
this may be a necessary evil. Students will finally be able to get
more work done during school,
and their after-school lives will
not be as hectic.
Masters 2014 - Quest for the Green Jacket
Matt Miles
Staff Writer
One of the biggest golf tournaments is rapidly approaching
and this year anybody could take
the green jacket. Tiger Woods is
always looked at as the favorite,
but due to recent struggles, he
is not considered a top five contender for this year’s prestigious
title. Phil Mickelson, the crown favorite, hasn’t done well this year,
but always has great finishes at
the Masters. As reigning British
Open Champion, he has shown
everybody around the world that
he can handle the pressure of
winning a major title.
The course at Augusta is
very demanding and has a stretch
that can make or break a golfer’s round. The tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth holes, also known as
Amen Corner, are some of the
toughest holes in all of golf. Back
when Rory McIlroy was leading
the tournament in 2011, he had
a large lead heading in to those
three. A triple bogey on the tenth
hole ended up costing him the
chance to wear the green jacket.
Still, there are a couple of players
who could cope with this pressure and win the tournament.
One of those players is
Dustin Johnson. According to
ESPN, he is in the top five in
driving distance and has really
developed his short game in the
last couple of years. He has the
ability to win at Augusta and has
been hot of late. He is second in
the FedEx Cup standings and
has had a lot of top ten finishes
this year.
Rickie Fowler is another
player who could surprise a lot
of people. He just had a top four
The Masters: The tournament at Augusta always is great, but this year it seems
like anybody’s chance to gain the coveted
green jacket.
Courtesy of Golf Vacations
finish at WGC Accenture Match
Play Championship and has the
ability to put up good scores. He
has won once before at the Wells
Fargo Championship. He is a
streaky player, but when his putter is rolling there is nothing getting in the way of Fowler bringing home the title.
Sergio Garcia of Spain
has the ability to finally win his
first major title. He hasn’t had
the greatest results at Augusta before, but he could easily
put up good scores due to his
consistency with his irons and
his long drives. It all depends
on his putter, which has been a
streaky stroke these past couple of years.
The Masters is always
an exciting tournament to watch
when April comes around. It is
such an incredible tournament
with such great tradition. It will
always be known as the greatest
tournament in golf. Junior Frankie Arturi said, “The Masters is an
honored tournament and is one of
the most exciting things to watch.
I can’t wait to see who will win.”
This year’s Masters should
be one of the greats due to the
fact that there is no definitive favorite -- any player could take the
crown. Everyone will be glued to
their seats come April 10-13.
March 2014
Husky Herald
Sports
21
Bullying In Sports
Andrew Carton
Staff Writer
If someone were to turn on
the news or look to the front page
of a major newspaper in the past
couple months, they would inevitably learn about the situation
between two Miami Dolphins;
Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Martin left the team,
accusing Incognito of constantly
bullying him both within team facilities and at home, in the form of
racist, hate-laden voicemails and
persistent taunting.
When analyzing the situation, current and former players,
broadcasters, and nonathletes
have expressed a wide range
of perspectives. According to
ESPN, Martin stands at a staggering six feet, five inches and
312 pounds, a mass of a man
receiving fervent support from
many and severe criticism from
others. In the minds of some,
Martin, as a professional football
player, violated the locker room
code of brotherhood by speaking
out. Those same people believe
that Martin should have exhibited
more toughness and resiliency
in handling the cruel treatment.
However, others have come to
Martin’s defense, claiming that no
man, regardless of his size or the
nature of his profession, should
have to endure such malice.
Sophomore Omar Nesheiwat states, “I don’t blame Martin
for leaving the team. Although
some people believe that he
should have been tougher, I believe that he made the right deci-
sion by seeking help and escaping that harmful environment.”
In retrospect, this most
recent scenario sheds light on
a greater issue in the culture of
professional sports; bullying. According to StopBullying.gov,
a government run website
dedicated to addressing and
erasing this prevalent issue,
bullying is defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior
among school-aged children
that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
How ironic is it that a government agency defines bullying
solely in terms of children in
school? However, bullying
has clearly expanded beyond
the classroom and the playground and into the area of professional sports.
At a young age, children are
taught not to fight back, to face
their aggressor with words rather
than fists. How is it, then, morally
justified for society to encourage
grown men like Martin to confront
bullies with violence in order to
get a point across? This proves
to be a major contradiction in our
society, teaching children to act in
a certain way while encouraging
and expecting the opposite once
they reach adulthood.
Over the past few years,
multiple incidences have arisen which mandate that professional sports address the issue
of bullying. In February 2013,
Robbie Rogers, a member of
the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer
team, became the first active,
openly gay professional athlete
in a prominent North American
sports league. With his decision
to “come out” and be open about
ya destroyed the entire field of
competitors at the World Athletic
Championships in Berlin (not to
mention setting a world record),
reporters targeted her sexuality, rather than her record setting
often occurs in locker rooms and
on social media sites. Unlike other professionals, athletes often
exhibit larger than life personalities. The combination of money,
fame, and large personalities too
often causes bullying to
be swept under the rug.
As Harrison’s Joe
Santo, coach of both
freshman basketball and
J.V. baseball, explained,
“The fine line between
bullying and being part
of a team is constantly changing. There’s no
yes or no, true or false
answer that can immediately be placed on each
situation. Only through a
formal education in anti-bullying, can we begin to lessen
the problem in our society.”
Although it may be difficult
to change the culture of sports,
necessary steps must be taken in
order to protect all athletes from
the spiteful behavior of others,
regardless of their race, gender,
sexuality, or any other defining
characteristic. Though an article
or an interview can’t change the
way everyone views the world
around them, it is the collective
hope of many that through advocacy and awareness, people
will better understand the consequences of their actions, both
within the sports environment
and within society in general.
...At a young age, children are taught not
to fight back, to face their aggressor with
words rather than fists. How is it, then, morally justified for society to encourage grown
men like Martin to confront bullies with violence in order to get a point across?...
his sexual orientation, Rogers,
similar to Jonathan Martin, received varying degrees of both
support and criticism. As reported
by The New York Times, Rogers
received some inspirational fan
mail from closeted athletes, telling him that his difficult decision
served as inspiration in their own
lives. Contrarily, others faulted Roger’s decision and that of
the MLS to let him play, leaving
emails and posts on social media
sites, brimming with homophobic
slurs and bigoted phrases.
Similarly, elite female athletes, often those with undeniable
talent, face scrutiny and bullying
from a large sector of society.
Back in 2009, when South African sprinter Caster Semen-
time. As first reported by CBS,
because of her athletic, muscular
build, critics taunted Semenya,
and called for the disclosure of
hormone testing, before allowing
her to run in the Olympics. More
recently, former Baylor basketball
player, Brittney Griner, faced ongoing speculation that she was a
man. Only after her coach pleaded with reporters, did the taunting
and verbal abuse finally cease.
Now, in truth, it would be
easy to say that bullying is simply a part of growing up, and especially in a highly competitive
sports environment, bullying is
commonplace. However, there
is a fine line between that competitive edge needed to succeed
on the court or field and what too
David Stern Retires as NBA Commissioner
Ben Rubin
Staff Writer
On February 1 Adam Silver
follow their favorite players more
was named the new commissioneasily and whenever they wanted.
er of the NBA, replacing David
Another one of Stern’s great triStern after his thirty-year tenure.
umphs was expanding the league
David Stern is considered by
by adding seven teams and many
many to be the greatest commisnew cities. In 1988 and 1989, the
sioner of any major sport and is
NBA added the Charlotte Horknown for his many accomplishments. One
of Stern’s major successes was the creation of the WNBA,
which was launched
by him fifteen years
ago and is still thriving
today.
Jen Leighton, a
freshman at the high
school and an avid
WNBA fan, said, “I
didn’t know that David Stern created the
Three Decades and Done: David Stern accomWNBA and now that I plished a lot in his lengthy tenure at the helm of the
know that I would love National Baskbetball Association.
Courtesy of NY Daily News
to thank him because
the WNBA is practically my life.”
nets, Miami Heat, Minnesota TimDavid Stern also promoted
berwolves, and Orlando Magic to
the NBA through an expansion of
its ranks, expanded again in 1995
television, cable and multimedia
with the Toronto Raptors and
to reach fans though new mediVancouver Grizzlies, and did so
ums. Access to highlights and
once more in 2004 with the Charbox scores online allowed fans to
lotte Bobcats. Although Seattle
(Dikembo
Mutombo),
South
Supersonic fans still lament that
American (Manu Ginobili, Luis
their franchise was “stolen away”
Scola, Anderson Varejao, and
to Oklahoma City by Stern, the
Nene) and Asian (Yao Ming) playchanges the commissioner made
not only gave the owners more
ers after Stern opened to NBA’s
borders. This exposed basketball
opportunities for increased revenue but also exposed
to the global
the league to a new
community
audience of basketand
made
ball-crazy fans.
passionate
The most perfans out of
manent aspect of Dacitizens from
vid Stern’s legacy will
Brazil to Chibe the globalization
na.
of the NBA during his
Change
reign as commissionis constant in
er. The United States
the NBA, according to Ed
promoted global basketball by allowing
Molina of the
professional basketLatino Post.
ball players to play in
With only two
international competi- The New Commish: Adam Sil- teams sporttion, leading to an en- ver is taking over the reigns now. ing records
think there are big changes
hanced international Many
above .500
ahead for the NBA.
product and events
Courtesy of WNC in the Eastlike the 1992 Olymern Conferpic Dream Team. Acence, incoming NBA Commissioner Adam
cording to Bleacher Report, the
league saw an influx of eastern
Silver will have his hands full
European players (Drazen Petrokeeping the league competitive
vic, Toni Kukoc, Vlade Divac,
and intriguing. In an interview on
Arvydas Sabonis and Zydrunas
Sirius XM Radio's NBA channel,
Ilgauskas), followed by African
Silver said, "Historically, based
on geography in terms of ways
to schedule and convenience of
travel, the goal was to enhance
rivalries and I'm not sure if that's
still what's happening. That's
something I'm sure I'm sure the
competition committee, when
they next meet, will be taking a
fresh look at."
Adam Alper, a freshman at
Harrison high School, agrees that
Silver will be a successful commissioner. “With a fresh new face
as commissioner there will be a
lot of new things in the NBA that
I’m excited for. I also totally agree
with Adam Silver about taking
out divisions within conferences
because it will help the NBA in a
new way”.
Although taking over from
a titan in the basketball industry,
Adam Silver will have his hands
full taking control of the NBA.
However, if he can be successful in his initiatives and doesn’t
worry about following in Stern’s
footsteps, Adam Silver will have
a long and prosperous term as
NBA commissioner.
22
March 2014
Husky Herald
Jared Bartman and Matt Miles
Sports
March Madness!
Staff Writers
The college basketball
the regions. The top four teams
then compete in one location for
in recent memory. Creighton Uniin. According to espn.com he is
postseason, known as March
will be distributed among the four
the national championship.
versity Senior Doug McDermott
averaging 19 points per game
Madness, is a single elimina“I’m so happy the
regions, and each will receive a
has scored 3,011 points in his cain 30 minutes, and was named
tion tournament that includes
games are televised because
#1 rank within that region. The
reer as of March 12, which ranks
Freshman of the Year in the At68 teams. Each year, millions of
March Madness is so much fun
next four ranked teams will then
him seventh on the NCAA’s alllantic Coast Conference. He is an
people around the world fill out
to watch,” John Dossantos, a
be distributed among the four retime scoring list. He is the leadall-around athlete, and one of the
brackets and compete with
main reasons why Duke could
their peers to see whose
be a contender for a number
bracket was better.
one seed before the tournaAccording to NCAA.
ment starts.
com, The tournament teams
However, the most ininclude champions from 32
triguing storyline might be
Division I conferences (which
emerging from Wichita, Kanreceive automatic bids), and
sas. The Wichita State Shock36 teams which are awarded
ers, who reached the Final
at-large berths. These "atFour as a nine seed last year,
large" teams are chosen by
have completed the first undean NCAA selection commitfeated regular season since
tee, as detailed below. The
UNLV in 1991-1992. Led by
68 teams are divided into four
Senior Cleanthony Early and
regions and organized into a
a rabid fan base, the Shocksingle elimination "bracket",
ers are still not given the credit
which predetermines, when
they deserve due to their lowly
a team wins a game, which
ranked Strength of Schedule.
team it will face next. Each
Whether or not Wichita can
team is "seeded", or ranked,
disprove their naysayers and
within its region. After an inireach the Final Four again
tial four games between eight
promises to be one of the most
lower-ranked teams, the tourcompelling narratives of this
nament occurs during the
year’s tournament.
course of three weekends,
Kids can use the brackat pre-selected neutral sites
ets as a means of bragging
Students at the high school aren’t the only ones that get into March Madness. The President of the United States, Barack Obama, or just a great way to get into
around the United States.
fills out a bracket every year with Andy Katz of ESPN. Known fondly as “Baracketology”, the President has selected Michigan State,
Lower-ranked
teams
are
a sport because they have
Louisville, Florida, and Arizona for his Final Four, with Michigan State taking down Louisville in the title game.
placed in the bracket against
Courtesy of ESPN.com rooting interests. Either way,
higher ranked teams. Each
March promises to be as mad
freshman at Harrison High school
weekend eliminates three quargions, each receiving a #2 rank
as ever for casual and avid
ing candidate
said. Currently, it is televised on
ters of the teams, from a round
college basketball fans alike!
with their region, and the process
for the Naismith Award, awarded
TNT, TBS, CBS, and Tru TV. The
of 64, to a "Sweet Sixteen", and
continues down the line. Carto the best player in the country,
selection committee seeds the
for the last weekend of the Tourried to its logical conclusion, this
and has the potential to bring his
whole field of 68 teams from 1-68,
nament a Final Four; the Final
would give each region seventeam to its first Final Four. Freshbut did not make this information
Four is usually played during the
teen teams ranked 1-16.
man Jabari Parker of Duke is
public until 2012. The committee
first weekend of April. These four
This year’s tournament is
another athlete with the potential
then divides the teams amongst
teams, one from each region,
shaping up to be one of the best
to take over any game he plays
Derek Jeter Hanging Up His Cleats
Sydney Woolf
Staff Writer
The baseball world was
thrown a curveball on February
12 when the New York Yankees
pride and joy Derek Jeter announced that the 2014 season
would be his last. We all knew it
was coming, but nobody suspected it would be now.
“For the last 20 years, I've
been completely focused on two
goals: playing my best and helping the Yankees win,” Jeter stated
in his retirement letter posted on
his Facebook page, “That means
that for 365 days a year, my every
thought and action were geared
toward that goal.”
That was exactly what
Jeter did. It’s hard to say goodbye
to one of the classiest players to
ever step foot on the field. In all of
his years as a professional baseball player, he has stayed exactly
that. Even throughout the steroid
era and multiple injuries, Jeter
has stayed clean and composed,
never resorting to scandal or steroids as some of his teammates
did.
Jeter has put up some impressive statistics in his years
as a Bronx Bomber. According
to Bleacher Report, Derek Jeter
leads the Yankees in hits (3,136),
games (2,602), at-bats (10,614),
and stolen bases (348). His most
prestigious accomplishment in
his career was when he attained
3,000 hits, a feat most players
are not able to secure.
“I would have to say Jeter
is probably one of the greatest
Yankees of all time. He’s been a
great leader and a great player,
especially giving young baseball
fans an ideal role model to look
up to,” says sophomore Tyler
Gersten.
Even off the field, Jeter
remained a role model for kids
all around and continued to do
good for the community. In 1996,
healthy lifestyles and shy away
from drugs and alcohol, as it
reads on his website DerekJeter.
com. Since the organization has
started, they have raised over
$19 million to advocate healthy
lifestyles for children, specifically
in West Michigan, Tampa, Fla.,
and New York City.
...“Every professional athlete should try to live their
life as Derek Jeter did. Too many of them are focused on the money, but Jeter always made sure
to give back to his roots”...
Baseball players from around
the world will continue to model
their game and professionalism
after Derek Jeter. Number 2 on
the Yankees may be retiring, but
his legacy will last forever.
he created the
Turn 2 foundation, an organization geared toCourtesy of Forbes.com wards motivating
children to lead
“Every
professional athlete should try
to live their life as Derek
Jeter did. Too many of
them are focused on the
money, but Jeter always
made sure to give back
to his roots,” says freshman Megan Clow.
Jeter’s retirement this year
brings the Yankees Core Four
Era to a close, marking the end
of the powerhouse group made
up of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte,
Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. According to an article from
the NY Daily News, these four together have brought the Yankees
5 World Series rings since 1996,
a remarkable triumph for one
team. It’s going to be hard for the
Yankees to find another group of
guys that can play as cohesively
as these four did.
Derek Jeter is a prime example of how a baseball career
should play out. He somehow
managed to keep his private life
nearly completely confidential,
despite playing on one of the
most scrutinized teams in baseball. Jeter was always focused on
baseball and never let anything
deter him from doing what he
loved. It’s going to take a miracle to unearth another player that
can live up to the caliber that was
Derek Jeter.
March 2014
Husky Herald
Sports
23
Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team
Shows Marked Improvement
Kyle Lefkowitz
Staff Writer
As the brisk chill of winter flushed away the excitement
of football season, everybody
knew basketball season had arrived. The girls’ team relished
the opportunity to reestablish the
no-nonsense reputation they received last year after taking down
many powerhouse teams that
ranked top in the state, including
John F. Kennedy and Hamilton.
The motto for this year’s team
was “no holds barred”—for the
senior team members that were
on the varsity squad for three
and four years, it was the final
chance to prove that Harrison
is a force to be reckoned with.
The team, which is headed by
newly married Coach Kail, and
assistant Coach Clough, had a
lot to be excited about this sea-
classmen
and three
underclassmen.
Almost half of
the team’s
players had
been in the
program for
four years
or
more,
h a v i n g
joined the
JV
team
in
eighth
grade and
then
the
varsity team
in
either
freshman
or sophomore year.
This gave
the
girls
the special
advantage
of
having
ample experience
with
tight
games (like
their
epic
comeback
Solid in the clutch: Jessica Scazzero is the picture of concentraagainst
tion before taking an important free throw.
Courtesy of Yearbook Staff JFK last
y e a r )
son. Adding to this anticipation
against
was the higher quality teams the
top teams. Ossining, one of the
Huskies were able to book due to
Huskies’ competitors, was the
their successful season last year.
number one team in the country
Last year’s team was the most
with superstar Soniya Chong,
successful in years, and procured
who now is a strong seventh man
a number nine seed and a home
for the powerhouse that is UConn
game in the first round of the
women’s basketball.
Section I tournament. While the
As the Huskies moved into
Huskies fell short of their champithe 2014 season, they gained
onship hopes, losing to Hendrick
notoriety for being an “under the
Hudson, senior Paige Brabant arradar” yet tough team that could
gues that this only further fueled
pose a threat to many top teams
the team’s motivation to win.
as they got closer to playoff time.
Not to be ignored was the
Going into the Christmas break
unique ratio of veterans and
the girls were a strong 5-1, winning the Harrison Winter Classic
Dribbling before the drive: All-League nominated Paige Brabant takes the ball youths on the team, which boastdowncourt in a hurry.
ed a combination of ten upperfor the second year in a row and
Courtesy of Yearbook Staff
racking up some notable victories against teams like Croton
Harmon and Alexander Hamilton.
While the Huskies fell to 8-8 after
the break, their strength of schedule cannot be ignored, as some
of their losses were against second-ranked Ossining (in Class
AA), third-ranked Horace Greeley (in Class AA), second-ranked
Rye (in Class A), and fifth-ranked
Ardsley (in Class A). The Lady
Huskies only benefited from
back and forth games, especially
against Ardsley and Rye, which
helped them focus on their weak
spots, carrying them to what they
hoped would be their season’s
peak come playoffs in February.
With playoffs coming immediately after the end of the regular
season, the girls only had a matter of days to tighten up their execution, skills, and mindsets and
prepare for a home play-in game
and a potential away first-round
matchup. The Huskies hope that
they can go out of the season the
way that they came in: hungry,
determined, and willing to put in
the work to see the results.
The team, ranked twelfth
in Section 1, won its play-in
game against twenty-first seeded
Saunders High School 54-31 for
the right to play Ardsley again.
Although the Huskies fell 53-36,
the season was still an improvement over years prior. Senior
Kyle Lefkowitz was named to the
All-Section Team, while Paige
Brabant scored an All-League
Nomination. With these two and
fellow seniors Erica Dattero and
Jordan Riddle leaving the team,
girls basketball will have a difficult
time achieving the same results.
However, with a promising bunch
of incoming freshmen and sophomores, the program is prepared
to carry on the legacy of the departing team members.
MLB Expanding Use of Instant Replay
Sydney Woolf
Staff Writer
A perfect game in baseball
is an accomplishment that is difficult for most pitchers to manage
in their career. On June 2, 2010,
Armando Galarraga of the Detroit
Tigers was on the brink of becoming only the twenty-first pitcher in
Major League Baseball history
to achieve this feat. However,
his dreams were shattered by a
controversial call made on what
should have been the last out of
the game.
Umpire Jim Joyce called
the runner safe at first, when to
Galarraga, the Tigers, and the rest
of the nation watching the game,
that runner was clearly out. When
reviewed under instant replay by
Fox, it was unmistakable that the
runner was out. Had instant re-
play been available, Joyce would
have been able to see that the
runner was out and Galarraga’s
prestigious perfect game would
have been preserved.
This is only one of the many
instances as to why expanding
instant replay could be one of the
most beneficial things to happen
in baseball.
Plays such as this, along
with many others, have been the
Achilles heel of baseball players
and fans for years. Umpires are
required to make split second decisions in every game under any
situation. When a close call is on
the line, an Outside the Lines report found that 20% of close calls
are found to be incorrect. While
this number may seem insignifi-
cant, that one incorrect close call
could mean the difference between winning the big game and
suffering a heartbreaking loss.
In the 2014 season, Major
League Baseball will be implementing a new set of instant replay guidelines. According to an
article from MLB.com, teams will
now be allowed to display past
plays on their screen, whether or
not the play was reviewed. Home
run and other boundary calls will
also be considered reviewable.
The most notable addition
to the instant replay conditions is
the manager’s ability to challenge
a play, similar to in football. MLB.
com states that managers will
have at least one challenge to
use and may not challenge more
than two plays per game. Even if
a manager runs out of challenges, the Crew Chief is still able to
request instant replay on a reviewable call.
While many fans believe
that baseball should expand instant replay, many disagree for
a variety of reasons. Some feel
that it will slow down a game that
is already tedious at times. Others believe that the umpires do a
fine enough job as it is and that
instant replay will take away the
human element of the game.
Most feel that expanding
instant replay is just a sign of the
times. With all of the miraculous
technology surrounding us, especially in sports, it’s a wonder as to
why Major League Baseball has
not chosen to utilize it more often.
With these new additions,
managers, players, and fans will
be happier with the outcomes of
the games. There will be fewer
arguments outside of the game
and a feeling of satisfaction
knowing the right calls are made
will be felt by all.
It’s only a matter of time before we see expanded instant replay in action, as Opening Day is
right around the corner. Only then
will we be able to see the impact
it will have on the game. Based
on all of the benefits instant replay will bring, this should be a
worthwhile addition to America’s
favorite pastime.
Harrison High School, Harrison NY. 10528
www.harrisoncsd.org
March 2014
Volume XVIII
Issue 2
Varsity Basketball Makes History
Trent Lefkowitz
Sports Editor
Although the boys’ varsity
basketball team was encouraged
after a 10-10 record last season,
it could not have prepared for the
incredible success it achieved
this year. The team won two
playoff games and reached the
County Center with a 16-5 record, arriving at the pinnacle of
Westchester high school basketball after a 48-year drought. The
Harrison community showed up
in droves to support the Huskies
during their magical run, thanks
in part to Coach Chiarella’s email
chain with basketball alumni and
other notable members of the
community.
Led by senior captains
Coby Lefkowitz, Matt Stein, and
Nick Esposito, the Huskies broke
out to a 3-0 start, including wins
against Lakeland and Tuckahoe. Defense was imperative to
Harrison’s winning streak, which
didn’t allow more than 36 points
in any of the first three games.
The team’s most significant victory during the run came against
the despised Rye Garnets, who
were defeated by a score of
41-31.
After losing to Fox
Lane in the first round of the
Harrison Holiday Tournament, Harrison squared off
against the Peekskill Red
Devils, who were ranked
first in the section before the
season began. Anchored by
Coby Lefkowitz’s 17-20 free
throw attempts, the team
withstood a run by Peekskill
and won the game 67-65.
When asked about the victory, Assistant Coach Dan
Pesco said, “This is the best
win this school has had since
it reached the County Center
over forty years ago.”
The Huskies rode the
momentum from the Peekskill victory, winning their
next three games against
Ossining, Horace Greeley,
and Pearl River. The 58-47
victory over Pearl River was
particularly impressive, given the fact that the Huskies Historic: The Huskies celebrate one of their 16 victories on the season, a 59-35 victory against Mamaroneck in its annual
held the Pirates’ Division Martin Luther King Weekend Tournament. The MVP award went to senior Matt Stein, who paced the team with 15 points, three
rebounds, and two assists. This was one of four tournaments the Huskies participated in this year, who also came in third place
at the Harrison Holiday Classic and Dapper McDonald Memorial Tournament, and won its game in the Harry Jefferson Showcase at White Plains High School. Pictured here is (Back row left to right) Coby Lefkowitz, Trent Lefkowitz, Tyrell Brown, Omar
Nesheiwat, Kyle Davidoff, Dustin Hart, Zach Evans (front row left to right), Nick Esposito, Justin Stagg, Matt Baker, Matt Stein,
Joey Nannariello.
Courtesy of Trent Lefkowitz
Bringing the D: Senior Captain Coby Lefkowitz (44 in Maroon) blocking a shot towards the end of the Eastchester game. Although it appeared there was no contact, a foul was called on the play and Eastchester point guard Jack Daly (5 in white) was able to sink the free
throws necessary to win the game. Lefkowitz, along with fellow senior
captains Nick Esposito and Matt Stein, were honored with awards for
their contributions to the team. Nick Esposito was named to the All-Section team, while Matt Stein was named to the All-Conference team and
won the prestigious Con Edison award for achievement on and off the
basketball court. Coby Lefkowitz was named to the All-League team,
as well as the Section 1 Court of Honor for students who excel on the
court and in the classroom. Courtesy of Trent Lefkowitz
I-bound superstar Kevin Degnan
to ten points. The team continued
its winning streak well into the
New Year, with five victories in a
row to bring their record to 13-1.
The team brought its record
to 13-1 before suffering three setbacks in a row to Horace Greeley, Fox Lane, and Byram Hills
knocked it out of contention for
winning its first League title. Although nobody likes losing, these
defeats reminded the Huskies of
the adversity they would have to
face to reach the County Center,
and motivated the team to practice even harder than before.
Senior Captain Coby Lefkowitz
said, “I don’t think we would have
had the success we did without
losing those games. They forced
us to work harder in practice and
reminded us how difficult it is to
taste defeat.”
After closing out the regular season with a 14-4 record,
the basketball team was awarded the fourth seed in the Section
I Class A tournament and faced
the thirteenth seeded John Jay
Cross-River Indians in the first
round of the tournament. Although the Huskies were heavily favored in the matchup, they
faced a 15-14 deficit at the end of
the first quarter. However, buoyed
by Matt Stein’s 22 points and
Joey Nannariello’s 13 rebounds,
the Huskies emerged with a 6048 victory.
This victory set up a
matchup with the twelfth seeded
Somers Tuskers for a trip to the
County Center. The game was
an instant classic, with the teams
dueling back and forth throughout
the game. A three pointer by Senior Matt Stein put the Huskies up
59-56 with a little bit to go. The
shot cemented the victory for the
Huskies, who booked a trip to the
County Center for the first time
since 1966.
“I think the best win of
the year was our playoff game
against Somers,” says Coach Cihiarella. “That win took the basketball program to another level.
In years past, we had never won
a first round game, so to win two
playoff games was awesome”
The atmosphere for the
game against the Eastchester
Eagles was electric, with hundreds of students cheering on
the team from the balcony at the
Westchester County Center. The
game was another instant classic, with the team cutting a nine
point halftime lead to two with
fifteen seconds left in the game.
Although Eastchester went on to
win 56-51, the Huskies put up a
performance that made the entire
community proud.
The trip to the County
Center was especially sweet
for Coach Gary Chiarella, who
played varsity basketball at the
high school without reaching the
County Center. “Playing at the
County Center was a great experience for all of us that we will
never forget,” he said.” I was especially happy for the seniors on
the team, who set the tone for the
team from day one and deserve
most of the credit”.
Although the team reached
unprecedented levels of success
this year, next year is shaping up
to be just as promising. There will
be six players returning from this
year’s team, and the team will
be switching into a new conference consisting of solely Class
A teams: Byram Hills, Pelham,
Eastchester, Rye, and Port Chester. Coach Chiarella says the
team will be playing one of the
toughest schedules in Section
I in order to prepare for another
potential run to the County Center. With the experience of a trip
to the semifinals under their belt,
who is to say the Huskies cannot
win a Gold Ball (county championship) next year?
J.V. Hoops Has A Stellar Season
Trent Lefkowitz
Sports Editor
Although Harrison’s boys’
varsity basketball team has been
receiving praise for reaching the
County Center for the first time in
decades, it did not even have the
highest winning percentage of
any squad in the program. That
recognition would go to the JV
Boys’ Basketball Team, who finished with a 15-2 record to end
their season. The team, comprised of fourteen sophomores
that will all be trying out for the
varsity squad next year, gained
experience and skills under the
tutelage of Coach Neil Marino.
One of the most thrilling
moments of the team’s season
came on February 4, when they
defeated Horace Greeley by one
point in double overtime. Faced
with a four point deficit in the
waning minutes of regulation, the
Huskies stormed back to tie the
game, and won on a dazzling
buzzer-beater from sophomore point guard Jack Hochman.
Thrilling moments like
these will prepare the team for
the jump to varsity next year,
and bode well for the team’s
chances for a return to the
county semifinals.
Fast Break: Tyler
Gersten
dribbles
past a Westlake
competitor
with
Frank Fiorino looking on. The Huskies went on to win
that game as part of
their 15-2 season.
Courtesy of
Tyler Gersten