The North Current September 2013

North CurrentThe

SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1

celebrate the NC’s fifty-fifth birthday and read the interviews of five former editors (see pages 14-17)

health & fitness returns! (see pages 20-22)

interested in knowing what GN students and teachers really think about technology? (see pages 18-19)

EDITORIAL POLICYThe North Current is an open forum with no prior review or restraint. It is produced five times a year by staff members as an extracurricular activity. The editorial board has determined an editorial policy to maintain a responsible, ethical student newspaper. The following guidelines are taken from the editorial policy. Individuals wishing to examine the complete policy may request it from an advisor or read it in the staff manual.EDITORIALS: Editorials represent a consensus of opinion among members of the editorial board and will not be signed. Editorials express the opinions of the North Current editorial board and do not necessarily reflect the views of the advisor or administration.ADVERTISING POLICY: The North Current agrees to accept all ads meeting the guidelines of our advertising policy. No ad may be sexist, racist or poor in taste.CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES: The North Current will avoid sensational treatment of news but will never avoid a topic simply because it is controversial. The North Current reserves the right of fair interpretation on controversial stories.OBSCENITY/LIBEL: Stories or statements of a libelous or obscene nature will not be printed. Obscenity and libel are determined according to the legal guidelines. AWARDS: NISPA Golden Eagle ’93, ’95, ’96, ’97,’98, ’99, ’02; EIHSPA Best Overall Paper in State ’95,’99,’04; Best design paper ’02; NSPA Pacemaker Finalist ’94, ’97; NSPA All-American ’93, ’94, ’95, ’96; NSPA 1st place; ’02, ’03; NSPA 1st Place Quill and Scroll ’93, ’94, ’99, ’01, ’03; 1st place KEMPA,’97, ’02, ’03; All KEMPA ’94, ’95, ’04; Gallup Award ’95, ’96, ’02, ’04; ASPA 1st Place ’99, ’02; Gold medalist CSPA ’04AFFILIATIONS: JEA/NSPA, Northern Illinois Press Association, KEMPA, Quill and Scroll, East-ern Illinois High School Press Association, American Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press AssociationSPONSORS: Sponsors will be updated next issue. The North Current graciously thanks all of its magnanimous sponsors.

Chelsea Hammersmith | Co-Editor-in-Chief Joe Simkus | Co-Editor-in-Chief Chris Anders | Entertainment Editor Joe Simkus | Sports Editor Masooma Waseem | Asst. Sports Editor Marisa DiPaolo | Features Editor Sydnee Gee | Opinion Editor Karina Gandhi | Health & Fitness Editor Anisha Monga | News Briefs Editor Breanna Wishnow | Current Events Editor Nirav Virani | News Editor Kyle Berry | Photo Editor Cameron Kirk | Cartoon Editor Alex Wozniak | Business Manager Stephanie Prybycla | Asst. Business Manager Rebecca Gemkow | Advisor Carolyn Rehak | Advisor

2 Table of Contents 3 Editorial 4 Stu’pinions 5 News Briefs 6-7 News 8-10 Current Events 11-13 Opinion 14-17 Double Truck 18-19 Features 20-22 Health & Fitness 22-24 Entertainment 25-6 Sports 27-29 Advetisements

table of contents

editorial board

SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1North Currentth

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2 EDITORIAL 3

deep sixes

1. What Does a Fox Say: Shut up.

2. Elaborate Homecoming Proposals: It’s Homecoming not an engagement. We’re looking at you, Cameron Kirk.

3. Racists Who Hate (Ms.) America: Just because she’s not a blonde bombshell doesn’t mean shes

not beautiful.

4. The New Period Schedule: What.

5. Hashtags: #annoying

6. New Hand Dryers: Should have come with ear plugs.

1. Bill_Nye_Tho: “Hey don’t smoke cigarettes.” Timeless advice from a time-less man.

2. Tunak Tunak Tun: Da Da Da

3. Longer Lunches: We finally have

enough time to taste our food

4. Voyager 1: We made it into inter-stellar space. It was a pretty long ride.

5. Sienna & Bilal: Sitting in a tree.

high fives

OKAY, LET’S BE HONEST. THE new bell schedule is a little ri-diculous. Assigning forty-eight minutes to each class, the pilot-

ed system lets students and teachers out from their classes at laughably specific times: 8:18 to 8:23, 9:12 to 9:17, and so on. On Mondays, students clamber home at precisely 1:47. We knew education reform was going to be slow, but we did not know change would come in three-minute increments.

Of course, however absurd the new period times may seem, all this change is ascribed to a group of incredibly well intentioned admin-istrators. The reasoning behind this change is that the now forty-eight minute lunch pe-riod—previously twenty-five minutes—will be used partially as a mandatory study hall for failing students. This required twenty-four minute study hall (because twenty-five min-utes would be excessive) plans to assist GN’s struggling students. Still, it should be noted that the lunch-intervention system is in its be-ginning stages, and the results have yet to be observed. But the problem with the new bell schedule lies elsewhere; the peculiarity of the forty-eight minute class period is an apt meta-phor for the confusion and aimlessness of education reform as a whole, something that is completely out of the hands of the district.

The cry for change in the current public schooling system is national, but the reform that is taking place is complicated and sepa-rate within states, counties, and even within

communities. Because of the way Obama’s Race to the Top program is structured, the way education reform is occurring is incred-ibly backwards. Race to the Top, introduced in 2009, outlines incredibly vague “standards” students should be held to and the “rigorous interventions” that should be taking place in schools. It does not, incidentally, bother to say what students should be achieving and how schools should be changing. It has, though, awarded a total of four billion dollars to states that have created “robust plans” to address issues in the educational system.

With no true guidlines, how does a school or district determine what is or is not “ro-bust?” Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Educa-tion, remarks in defense of Race to the Top, “The best ideas in education frankly don’t come from me, don’t come from anyone else in Washington, they come from local teachers, we have to listen to them.” However attractive this idea is, it ignores the complexities of the situation at hand. While Duncan’s sentiment is totally valid, the level of disorganization among education reform is too high to hold such a loose policy. What’s more, if asked, any teacher here would assert that reform, in actuality, is happening from the top down, not from the bottom up, and that teachers are completely excluded from said discussions.

As of right now, schools are battling through reform independently, but all we’re asking for is a little more direction and a lot more consistency.

THE NORTH CURRENT | SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS


staff writersAriana Hammersmith, Catherine Kim, Alex Wozniak, Kiah Vanderbrink, Carla Kochis, Kristin Maglabe, Jerry James, Shelly Israni, Ateeq Syed, Anthony DiPaolo, Filasha Finley, Shruti Modi, Anand Desai, Cesar Avila, Alana Reynolds, Kassandra Zamora, Taylor Den-ning, Melinda Troyka, Biyanka Patel, Libby Simkus, Chris Allison, Cassandra Tu, Trisha Cordero, Asheena Siddiqui, Tony Jacob

cartoon credit:cameron kirk, ’14

photo creditsJohn De Leon | Front Cover, Back Cover

photo credit: kyle berry, ’14

Stu’pinions4


OPINION

alyssa satsatinstaff photographer

kyle berryphoto editor

“Finishing the year and going to college.”

-Vincent Popec, ’14

“Taking the AP test in May and recieving college credit.”

-Sarah Tolan, ’15

“My electives and meeting new people in my classes.”

-Sasha Illirianov, ’17

“The football games and superfanning.”

-Jose Retana, ’16

(Don’t worry. It’s just a contraction for student opinions.)

What are you looking forward to most this year?

NEWS BRIEFS 5

THE NORTH CURRENT| SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1

filasha finleystaff writer

September 25: National Comic Book DaySeptember 28: Ask a Stupid Question DayOctober 2: Name Your Car DayOctober 6: Mad Hatter DayOctober 14: Columbus DayOctober 16: Dictionary DayOctober 17: Wear Something Gaudy DayOctober 18: No Bread DayOctober 19: Evaluate Your Life DayOctober 21: National Pumpkin Cheese- cake DayOctober 24: National Bologna DayOctober 25: Nevada DayOctober 26: Make a Difference DayOctober 27: Navy DayOctober 28: Plush Animal DayOctober 31: Increase Your Psychic Powers DayNovember 2: Book Lover DayNovember 3: Sandwich DayNovember 5: Guy Fawkes Day

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS a new club at Glenbard North dedicated to raising aware-ness about protecting human

rights. Rushabh Shah, ’14, says that, “Am-nesty International is an organization at Glenbard North to raise awareness about realities around the world such as poverty, deportation, and torture. Am-nesty International aims to burst the high school bubble and focus on issues much larger than high school.” Amnesty Inter-national will participate in writing letters to abused and tortured Guantanamo Bay

Amnesty International

SPEECH TEAM IS A PLACE WHERE students can meet great new peo-ple and gain confidence in them-selves. Humorous duet acting,

dramatic interpretation, and radio com-mentary are only some of the different events in speech competitions. Speech team member Tia Collins, ’14, says, “It’s a good way to learn public speaking, make new friends, and be able to step out of your comfort zone.” Speech Team is an Illinois High School Association (IHSA) sport which means they compete against numerous schools and even have a chance to go to the state competition. Most of the time and commitment goes into preparing the speech for a competi-tion, and some speech competitions can last from six in the morning to six at night. The first competition is coming up at the end of October. Students must audition to be on speech team and, speech team meets in room 1415 every Friday after school for big group rehearsals. Individu-als meet once a week with their coach to improve his/her speech. Students can contact Julien Hansen the head coach, or Nicole Stadler, the assistant coach, for any more information regarding Speech Team.

Speech Team

catherine kimstaff writer

Scholatic Bowl

anthony dipaolostaff writer

SCHOLASTIC BOWL IS A COM-PEtition between two teams of students from different schools in subjects like history, math,

popular culture, and more. Similar to the television show Jeopardy, a moderator asks questions and students buzz in to answer. When a question is answered correctly, the team not only gets points, but is also asked three more bonus ques-tions in an attempt to get more points. The team with the most points wins. Scholastic Bowl is affiliated with IHSA, and therefore teams are ranked, awarded with trophies, and can even go to the state championship. GN history teacher Christopher Fridlund says that Scholastic Bowl is, “a really good activity for people who are good at academics, are com-petitive, and want to be on a team.” The junior varsity team meets after school on Tuesdays, and the varsity team meets af-ter school on Thursdays.

prisoners, car washes for LGBTQ rights, and hunger strikes throughout the year. Their goal is to inform students of is-sues that are negatively affecting people around the world and try to help solve the problems. Amnesty International is in search for new members and anyone can join at any time during the year. Sarah Noureldin and Scott Meyers are currently the advisors of the club, which meets every Friday afterschool in room 1107. If you are interested in joining, contact Joe Simkus, Sydnee Gee, or Rushabh Shah for more information.

korinne gonzalezstaff photographer

LAST YEAR, DISTRICT 87 RELEAS -ed plans to improve several as-pects of GN. There were three revolutionary plans that were in-

troduced. These programs included the new technological plan to use iPads in place of textbooks and printed materials in class, increasing lunch periods to al-low for academic intervention for failing students, and a major plan to refresh GN.

Ten-Year Master Plan:

When students entered GN for the first time after summer, many noticed the gleaming new bathrooms in the blue hall-way, the new flooring in the field house, and the new stage floor in the Little The-ater. This is all a part of District 87’s ten-year master facility plan that has been im-plemented in all four Glenbard schools. According to the multi-million dollar plan, sections of each school will be pe-riodically renovated to create four fully functioning twenty-first century schools in ten years. Although, a more immediate change has affected the school this year: the new bell schedule.

New Bell Schedule and Lunch:

Loved by students for the extended lunch period and hated by teachers for the two minutes cut from their class, the new bell schedule reduces the total periods from fifteen to eight by joining two twenty-five minute periods into one forty-eight minute period. The added benefit: a forty-eight minute lunch pe-riod. While students may be filled with glee at the idea of having more time to finish their homework, spend time with friends, or eat, GN administrators and teachers feel that this time will prove vi-tal in enabling failing students to catch up and “make it harder to fail,” as Dr. John Mensik, GN Principal, puts it. Ac-

cording to the new policy, if students are failing a certain class or simply need to reorganize themselves, they will be told to go to an intervention during lunch for twenty-five minutes in which they will be able to complete their homework or get assistance. Dr. Mensik added that “When the intervention program was applied to students in study halls, where they were told to go to a teacher for more assistance if students were failing their class, GN saw a shocking thirty-six per-cent drop in failure rates. Imagine how much lower that number could get if it was applied on a larger scale, say dur-ing lunch.” Still, this does not mean that students who are not failing their classes

will have to twiddle their thumbs for the extra twenty-five minutes. The adminis-trators and teachers are in the introduc-tory phases of planning study groups during the students’ lunch hour, includ-ing AP Test study groups, to increase test scores. The administrators plan to gather the students of a certain course and hold a twenty-five minute long session, at the students’ discretion. As of now, it will be a highly student-led activity.

In the past, teachers have employed several different review strategies for AP Tests after much collaboration be-tween teachers and students to create

review programs which would maximize students’ AP scores. Therefore, as John Mensik further explains, “even though our number of AP Test takers rose from 444 to 1053, the percent of students who succeeded on their AP Tests rose from 81.5% to 82.2% due to the new teaching strategies applied during the 2005-2012 period, such as PLC Day. This program allows teachers to share efficient and unique strategies for teaching topics in their subject by allowing for a scheduled conference between the teachers of a specific class every week.”

New Technology:

The district and school has not decided a specific plan for the rollout; however, they are sure the iPads will be given to at least one class next year. There are several ideas for the rollout, ranging from giving them to all the classes next year, or periodically giving them to a new class each year. The lat-ter plan may work better because not all the textbooks are available electronically, and administrators do not want to force parents to pay both the textbook and iPad rental fees.

This year has jumpstarted a mas-sive revitalization program for GN, rang-ing from physical structure to technologi-cal progress. With more features to come to GN over the next ten years, the school will be an established twenty-first centu-ry institution after some long due renova-tion. While many programs and concepts are yet to be determined, one thing is for sure: GN will have evolved into a com-pletely different environment geared to-wards the improvement of both faculty and student experience.

Glenbard North: Redefinednirav virani news editor

6 NEWS


jerry jamesstaff writer

WITH THE SCHOOL YEAR and football season in full swing, students are anx-iously awaiting homecom-

ing. This year, Student Council has decid-ed to change things up in order to make homecoming a more memorable event for students in every grade. The plan-ning started off with choosing this year’s theme: “A Night at the Oscars.” On Octo-ber 5, GN will be throwing a dance that will make the night unforgettable.

One way this year’s homecoming will be improved is that Student Council hired a new DJ. The renowned radio sta-tion, B96, will be providing GN with DJs to play popular songs all night long. As suggested by several students, getting a new DJ was top priority during this year’s homecoming planning. Rushi Amin, ’14, student body Vice President, promises, “This year’s homecoming is going to be

one unforgettable night, it’s unique from the rest and one that will last forever.”

To start off homecoming week (Sep-tember 30 to October 4), there will be many decorations that fit with the Holly-wood theme. The hallways will be deco-rated by members of each grade, with seniors in the music hallway, juniors in the red hallway, sophomores in the green hallway, and freshmen in the blue hall-way. Each hall will have its own theme as well: history for seniors, romance for juniors, sci-fi for sophomores, and com-edy for freshmen. Everyone is invited to come decorate, so come help out on the Monday before homecoming. Different clubs and organizations will also help decorate the hallways and various parts of the school.

After much consideration, school spirit days to go along with the homecoming theme have been decided. Some spirit

days include pajama day, class color day, jersey day, and dress-like-a-celebri-ty day. According to Sammy Dayon, ’14, student body President, “Date or no date, I feel that all people will be able to have an awesome experience at this year’s homecoming. This is something new to GN and should be one of the best North has ever had!” Tickets are going to be sold starting approximately two weeks before homecoming for twenty dollars, and for twenty-five dollars anytime af-ter the pep rally on Friday. According to Matthew Guglielmi, advisor of Student Council, “This year’s homecoming is go-ing to be awesome. We’re really chang-ing things up and trying new things to make this year’s dance a big event.” With a well-known DJ, an amazing theme, and a night that’s bound to surpass any ex-pectations, GN’s Homecoming 2013 will be an unforgettable night.

Our Night at the Oscars

7NEWS


shruti modistaff writer

THIS YEAR, GN IS PUTTING ON two must-see productions: Tell-Tale Heart and Arabian Nights. The Tell-Tale Heart was origi-

nally written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1843. Edgar Allen Poe was known for his heavy drinking and drug abuse, and as such, his stories are out of the ordinary. In The Tell Tale Heart, the main character, in an act of pure violence, commits murder and struggles to overcome his guilt. Poe believed that a story should be readable in one sitting and should be relatable to the audience to keep the audience’s at-tention, which is embodied in GN’s pro-duction. The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story and will therefore be performed as a studio and will be played by an all-fe-male cast. The Tell-Tale Heart is coming to the GN Theater on October 3 and 4.

Arabian Nights, GN’s fall play, is adapt-

ed from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of folklore dating back to the thirteenth century. These stories most likely originated from India and Persia, written by different authors and col-lected into three volumes over time. In Arabian Nights, a king kills his wife who has been unfaithful to him. Every night after that, the king takes a virgin girl and kills her. One girl, Shahrzad, understands this pattern and entertains the king for 1,001 nights. During this time, she builds up his trust once more, and they marry.

Director Donna Burke chose to re-lay this story through playwright Mary Zimmerman’s version of the play, Ara-bian Nights. This play is different from the original play One Thousand and One Nights because it was written in response to the reactions people had about Mus-lims after 9/11. Arabian Nights aims to unveil the true principles of Islam and counter the false notions people have

regarding the religion. The play empha-sizes that religion is the center of society for some Muslims and aims to erase the preconceived notion that religious im-portance in Islam signifies violence and terror. Burke, the director of GN’s pro-duction of Arabian Nights, explained, “I intentionally chose Arabian Nights as my final play at GN because it emphasizes a moral and story that is relevant to today, unlike other plays. I think Zimmerman’s take on One Thousand and One Nights has a meaningful message that needs to be relayed to everyone.” In addition to the meaningful message, Zimmerman’s ap-proach to writing the play was unique in that she allowed her actors to improvise the play during the day and then edited the script at night. This unique story will play between November 21 and 23 at GN and tickets will sell for seven dollars.

Coming to a Theater Near Younirav virani news editorkiah vandenbrinkstaff writer

cartoon credit: sabrina audouin, ’16

Hurricane of Homicide Hits Chicago anand desaistaff writer

IN A CITY WITH SOME OF THE MOST restrictive gun laws in the country, it is ironic that Chicago continues to hold the record for the most murders

in the United States and the most general violence present in its streets. On Sep-tember 9, 2013, the yearly homicide total reached 300, with 16 Chicagoans shot in the preceding weekend alone. The growing epidemic of city violence has spread across the nation, but Chicago re-mains especially violent. Satirist and TV personality Stephen Colbert even used Chicago in a punch line, noting that the US involvement in Syria is mainly due to chemical warfare, because “if America cared about [shootings], we’d be invad-ing Chicago.”

Statistically speaking, Chicago had more homicides than any major city in the country last year; its murder rate, relative to population, was higher than three times the rate of New York City and more than double that of Los Angeles. And while this year’s rate is slightly lower than that of previous years, safety con-cerns continue to rise.

In addition, the massive amount of ca-sualties this year has had a major impact on nearby hospitals. Dr. James Doherty, of Advocate Christ Medical Center, adds with a dismal sense of humor, “On a good night, you could maybe get through the whole alphabet” when ordering blood types for the incoming victims. In recent years, workers at the hospital claim that they have seen more children and inno-cent bystanders caught in the crossfire than ever before. Also, more victims are entering the hospital with multiple gun-shot wounds, slimming their chances of survival and making the already improb-able tasks for the doctors even more dif-ficult. The hospital has partnered with Cure Violence, allowing counselors to speak with victims, their friends, and

family in the hopes that gang related vio-lence will decline and possibly be elimi-nated.

Fortunately, other solutions have been implemented in Chicago’s South and West Sides. One of the best known ac-tivists is Michael Pfleger, a priest whose church, St Sabina’s, has been the center of an intense effort to provide activities and mentorship to young African-Amer-ican Chicagoans. Meanwhile, Stomping out Drugs and Gangs, founded in 2003 by a Chicago police officer, focuses on inte-gration and acceptance of police officers by the Chicago community at a young age. Additionally, CeaseFire aims its pro-gram around the statistics of homicide, holding weekly meetings to discuss ways to prevent violence before it breaks out. So while politicians argue over the effi-ciency of the stringent gun control laws, private organizations continue to do their best to contribute to the wellbeing of the city.

Thus far, lawmakers have been unable to address the gun violence problems, leaving Chicagoans to wonder just when the casualties will truly come to an end.

9CURRENT EVENTS

THE NORTH CURRENT | SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1THE NORTH CURRENT | SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55| ISSUE 1

Medical Marijuana Legalization in Illiniois

Looking for more informa-tion?

Chicago Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/22436350-761/1-dead-14-wounded-in-week-end-gun-violence.html

+XQJWRQ�3RVW:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/27/urban-vio-lence-summit-chi_n_3663941.html

NBCNews:http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/10/19969326-2-dead-9-wounded-as-chica-go-gun-violence-continues?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/19/20026619-no-rules-any-more-chicago-vi-olence-hits-hard-at-suburban-hospital?lite

Cure Violence:http://cureviolence.org/

ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 1,

Governor Pat Quinn signed “The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pi-

lot Program Act,” legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes to provide much needed relief for patients in the state of Il-linois. After nearly a de-cade of hard work from The Marijuana Policy Project, many doctors, and thousands of other supporters, the law was finally brought to exis-tence. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2014 and shall be imple-mented in the first four months by the executive branch of the state leg-islature.

The act is a pilot pro-gram, meaning that if the legislature does not renew the program or create a new law, the program shall cease to operate four years from the date it goes into ef-fect. To qualify for the program, the patient must be recommended by their physicians for at least one of the thirty-three qualifying medical conditions. Some such conditions include can-cer, HIV/AIDS, Parkin-son’s disease, and Tourette’s syndrome. These patients will be protected under this law from facing criminal penalties for the use of marijuana. The patients are also protected from discrimination against their medical care, disallowing the refusal of rent from landlords simply because of their medical treatment. Pa-

tients under the treatment are authorized to obtain up to two-and-a-half ounces of medical marijuana every two weeks. Patients may apply for a waiver for the use of more marijuana if their physicians

explain that this amount is insufficient for the patient. Although prices are set by in-dividual medical marijuana dispensaries, it is subject to a seven percent excise tax, as well as a one percent sales tax.

Now the question on everyone’s mind is, what do people have to say about this? Army veteran Jim Champion, who suffers

from a progressive form of multiple scle-rosis, told Sophia Tareen of the Huffing-ton Post that Cannabis has helped him re-duce the number of pills he takes. At one time he was taking nearly sixty pills a day,

but he said that medi-cal marijuana eases his pain. The greatest con-cern in most people’s minds is that the legal-ization of medical mari-juana will encourage the use of it illegally as a recreational substance, especially among teen-agers. Representative Lou Lang, the bill’s sponsor, has dismissed those concerns, saying the measure was de-signed to be one of the strictest in the country. “I feel that this is some-thing, whatever faith we practice, we all believe that helping those who are sick, helping them recover and also help-ing them deal with pain, that’s a tenet in every faith and every religion,” Governor Pat Quinn said Thursday, “so we’re re-ally, I think, doing the right thing in Illinois.” Medicinal marijuana is legal in nineteen other states, making Illinois the twentieth in our country. Only time will

tell how it affects the state, but so far the state is looking forward to helping the very ill patients of Illinois.

cesar avilastaff writer

CURRENT EVENTS

cartoon credit:kyle schultz, ’14

8

Statistics on Chicago Vio-lence:

Yearly Homicide total: 300

13th in the nation in overall crime rate

One of the highest murder rates relative to popula-tion with 15.9 murders per 100,000 people

HUMAN RIGHTS ARE A SET OF fundamental, inalienable rights to which every human being is entitled. This idea of a basic

level of respect, that all human beings deserve, regardless of race, religion, or country, has become the cornerstone of the international discussion that has ris-en over the rapidly escalating situation in Syria.

Syria has been in a state of turmoil for nearly two years after a series of civil-ian protests that began in March of 2011 erupted into a full blown nationwide civ-il war the following April. The civil war, fought between those loyal to and those who seek to depose President Bashar al-Assad, was meant to overthrow the op-pressive and internationally condemned “Ba’ath” regime that has held total po-litical power in Syria since 1963. Despite numerous reports of human rights abus-es and an increasingly alarming death toll (recently estimated to be around 100,000), according to international law, civil war alone does not expressly al-low for any direct intervention from the United Nations or other countries. How-ever, the situation radically changed on August 21 of this year, following reports that al-Assad’s regime allegedly used chemical warfare against its own citizens to quell a protest. Approximately 1,429 Syrian civilians, including hundreds of children living in a suburb outside of Damascus, were killed. An investigation conducted by the UN analyzed soil and cloth samples from the area in ques-tion, and strongly suggest that Bashar al-Assad’s forces indeed used chemical weapons on its citizens. The use of toxic gas is a direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Chemi-cal warfare, among other human rights violations such as torture, slavery, and genocide, has been outlawed as a war crime for its horrific and indiscriminately murderous effects. In response, there has been an international outcry, in many

cases calling for a direct military inter-vention on Syria. A joint statement from the United States as well as Canada, Aus-tralia, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey, The Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia and the UK was issued, calling for a “strong international response” towards Syria, strongly implying the use of allied mili-taristic force.

The call for a missile strike against Syria was immediately taken up and staunchly supported by President Obama, as well as French President, Francois Hollande, Turkish Prime Minister, Recap Erdogan, and UK Prime Minister, David Cameron. All agreed that a limited long-distance missile strike against Syria, meant to de-

bilitate the al-Assad regime by targeting remaining stores of chemical weaponry, would be the most probable course of action. Russian President, Vladmir Pu-tin, however, remains one of the most prominent opponents to a strike on Syria. Backed by China, Putin has firmly argued that the use of chemical warfare was not an act of the Bashar regime, but was in fact “a provocation on the part of mili-tants who are expecting to get support from the outside,” a statement which

instead places the blame for the chemi-cal strike firmly on the part of the rebels. Following this reasoning, Putin instead called for the surrender of Syria’s remain-ing chemical weaponry to international custody and President Bashar al-Assad agreed. In a recent speech, President Obama agreed to consider this more diplomatic route, but firmly insisted that if diplomatic negotiations with Syria fail, strict action will still be taken against the al-Assad regime. In response, American, French, and British officials met with their Russian counterparts to discuss the idea of a Syrian surrender of weap-ons, but once again ran into conflict after President Putin claimed that he would only support a Syrian turnover if Presi-dent Obama swore he would not use force even if negotiations failed. Obama, backed by French and British supporters declined, saying that this would encour-age Syria to back out of the turnover if no direct consequences for resisting were in place. Obama also stated that while he acknowledges the American public’s resistance towards further involving it-self with Middle-Eastern affairs, allowing the use of chemical weapons greatly un-dermines other existing prohibitions on weapons of mass destruction. He even encouraged those who are unsure about why such firm action is being taken in Syria to review the videos and pictures taken of the incident in question and posted on the US government homep-age, particularly those of the hundreds of dead and dying children devastated by the toxic gas.

In the end, whether or not a military re-sponse against Syria is the best response to the situation is arguable; however, it can be widely agreed that regardless of country, party, or culture, the indiscrimi-nate murder of thousands of human be-ings at the hand of any regime deserves the attention and intense scrutiny of the outside world.

Strike on Syria?alana reynolds staff writer

CURRENT EVENTS


cartoon credit:eric nguyen, ’15

10School Spending Transparency

kassandra zamora staff writer

GLENDBARD NORTH SPENDS money on new things every year, from the bathrooms in the downstairs blue hallway

to the vending machines. Unfortunately, oftentimes students do not really know where else GN’s money goes. Many stu-dents think more transparency is neces-sary in these decisions.

A primary example of this is Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., where $160 million was spent on remodeling the building. Aaron Morrissey stated, “The school has been in the news quite a bit recently for negative reasons and has been a bit of an eyesore for some time—but many are pinning their hopes on a redesign of the school as the way of turning that reputation around.” The stu-dents had no idea the construction was going to take place until the mayor, Vin-cent C. Gray, announced in November

2011 that the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization had given the school a grant. Although students were not upset over the renovations, they did not like how the announcement was so last minute.

Here in Illinois, Batavia High School plans on getting all new athletic fields. The cost is about $13 million, and ac-cording to Rick Nagel, “The plan also calls for 2,500-seat bleachers, a press box, an eight-lane track, a competition baseball field, a competition softball field, and practice baseball, soccer and softball fields.” Many are opposed to dedicating money towards the new fields and be-lieve it is better spent elsewhere. In ad-dition, Batavia’s funding focuses solely on athletics, leaving many students in-volved with the arts, music, and language departments feeling as if their opinions have been put on the backburner.

Often, GN students do not question how GN spends money, but the informa-tion of where money is spent should be accessible. Assistant Principal for Stu-dent Services, Debra Cartwright says, “Depending on the school population, GN receives between $12,000-$14,000 every year. This money goes directly to the students. When clubs need funds, we supply them with it, but the money is not distributed evenly.” Administra-tors try their best to include all clubs in the budget, but sometimes there are groups that still feel they need more. In order to gain student input, the adminis-tration could put out a student opinion survey about prospective projects in or-der to elicit students’ opinions. After all, a healthy relationship requires communi-cation from all parties—no matter if they are students, teachers or administrators.


11OPINION

#SolidarityisforWhiteWomensydnee geeopinion editor

ON AUGUST 12, 2013, THE emergence of the worldwide trending hashtag #Solidari-tyisforWhiteWomen sparked

much needed discussions that exposed the tendency of feminism to exclude the experiences and narratives of women of color. This hashtag was originally created by blogger, Mikki Kendall, in response to the now-retired male feminist, Hugo Schwyzer, admitting to being “awful” to women of color because they “got in the way.” The media uproar that ensued criti-cized the lack of nonwhite women in ac-ademic debates related to female issues. The voices and beliefs of women of color are too often heard only when they align with the beliefs of white feminists. How-ever, many white feminists cannot under-stand the experiences of women of color because of their refusal to acknowledge the discrimination faced by other minori-ties. “There is a history of race not exactly trumping gender,” explained Kendall on HuffPost Live. “There is a pretense that

women of color are on equal footing with white women—but it’s only insofar as it benefits white women.” As clearly seen by the popularity of the trend, thousands of people agree and strongly believe that ethnic minorities are being excluded from mainstream feminism. The brand of solidarity that mainstream feminism encourages often ignores both the con-tributions and the grievances of people of color.

Furthermore, many white feminists only use the experiences of women of color to benefit their own cause. For ex-ample, Lady Gaga’s new song, “Burqa,” attempts to empower Muslim women; however, the sexualized portrayals of women who wear the burqa, niqab, hi-jab, or any covering for that matter, come off as extremely offensive, perpetuating the image of Muslim women being voice-less and needing a white woman of status to speak for them. In an opinion piece for the :DVKLQJWRQ�3RVW, Mount Holyoke Col-lege student, Umema Aimen, responds,

“you lost me when you proceeded to turn such a sacred symbol of my religion into an exotic costume. It is not some-thing you can wear to your Halloween party.” This is yet another example of white women assuming that the experi-ences and opinions of women of color match their own. Kendall created her hashtag to draw attention to this very is-sue, stating, “#Solidarityisforwhitewom-en [is] when WOC [women of color] are treated as teaching tools & resources, not actual people by Big Name Femi-nism.” This outlines not only the offenses of white feminism, but also the tendency of all progressive circles to center de-bates around the beliefs of a singular, more influential power instead of calling for true solidarity across multiple race and gender identities. Social media had enabled the discussion to commence; now the only question is whether or not “Big Name Feminism” will be receptive to the critiques and work with people of color to resolve this issue.

12

kristin maglabestaff writer


mance was not her skimpy, nude-col-ored outfit, but rather the fact that she was promoting the over-sexualization of women. Once women come across as objects used to satisfy men, the theatri-cality loses its merit. Because of increas-ing number of acts in which women are presented as props, the media has be-gun to place women into stereotypes. Britney Spears’ performance at the 2000 VMAs was similar to Cyrus’ in that it was certainly provocative; however, the act itself did not suggest the objectification of women. Spears did not allow herself

to be used, and instead she displayed her independence by not relying on a man nor letting herself be used by a man. In this case, the media’s overreaction to a young woman growing into a more ma-ture style led to the negative interpreta-tion of the performance, influencing the viewers to deem it inappropriate. Ear-lier this year, Cyrus spoke with Billboard saying, “Right now, when people go to iTunes and listen to my old music, it’s so irritating to me because I can’t just erase that stuff and start over.” Young singers often come across issues with the gen-eral public accepting the fact that they mature and are not perfect. That being said, the media bears some of the blame for the over-sexualization. They harshly criticize the actions of young women

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Staying Out of Syriaateequddin syedstaff writer

who are trying to develop into unique individuals.The media and the general public often

scrutinize women, even outside of per-formances. Women in the media’s eye are labeled and unjustly given bad repu-tations. Taylor Swift is a perfect example of a victim of the media’s judgment. She may have dated more men than what can be counted on one hand, but that is no reason to label her as a “slut” or “whore.” It is a wonder that men can date as many women as they want without anyone bat-ting an eye, but when a woman is seen

dating several men, she loses the respect of the public. John Mayer, for example, is known for his many relationships in the past. He is given the name “la-dies man,” which has a positive connotation in society. Men are high-fived and patted on the back when they “score,” while women are looked down on and shamed if they do the same. The way the media presents men and women shows a stark contrast between the ways their roles in society are viewed. Men can be as flashy as they want without consequence, while women are expected to just smile and be pretty.

Women who have the public’s attention, like Cyrus, are given a chance to change the way society sees them and to break the boundaries that are set up by tradi-tion and media. Rather than take part in a sexist performance, Cyrus could have used her fame to break down the social norms. If women use the spotlight as a soapbox, the stereotypes separating men and women could disappear. Women could be seen as equals if more of the people who influence younger crowds encourage equality. To overcome these obstacles, women and men must work together to spread the idea of equality to create a society that has unbiased views on gender.

Modern Imperialismariana hammersmithstaff writer

Coming of Age

TAKE UP THE WHITE MAN’S Burden-- / Send forth the best ye breed-- / To serve your cap-tives’ need / Your new-caught,

sullen peoples, / Half-devil and half-child,” writes Rudyard Kipling in his 1899 poem “The White Man’s Burden.” This poem details the belief that Western civi-lization is responsible for the “improve-ment” of non-Western culture. Today, Kipling’s supremacist remarks are almost comical. However, this philosophy per-sists in American foreign policy, espe-cially evident in American actions in the Middle East.

In addition to the white man’s burden, the notion of “manifest destiny” also continues to present itself in American foreign policy. This is the belief that be-cause the white American settlers were supposedly superior to the natives, Americans should move west at whatev-er cost. Without a doubt, this was Ameri-can exceptionalism run amok. While it is generally agreed upon that this nine-

teenth century imperialism is unjust, we tend to not realize that America is still an imperialistic nation.

While some may not regard American involvement in the Middle East as impe-rialism, our influence over the conflicted region can certainly be characterized as such. The American invasion of Iraq, for instance, was motivated by accusations of weapons of mass destruction, but America still stayed long after those accu-sations were disproved. Quite obviously, Iraq did need a new governmental struc-ture after Saddam Hussein, but the as-sumption that Iraq should have adopted an American-style government is simply arrogant. In Syria, America feels motivat-ed to stop human rights violations (and for good cause), but what if America did get involved? Would America not feel obligated to stay after chemical weapons attacks ended, and possibly attempt to influence Syria’s governmental structure as well? And when these other cultures have different beliefs, how can America

ever expect such governments to take seed? The idea of American exceptional-ism must be put by the wayside, under-standing that the Middle Eastern coun-tries themselves should have control. Perhaps, though, America can handle these issues in a more limited capacity, like donating the knowledge and experi-ence necessary to bolster Syria’s military and intelligence agencies.

In short, imperialism takes more indi-rect forms today, like the influence of a country’s governmental structure. It should be noted, however, that America can make an effort to involve itself in for-eign affairs in a limited scope, so long as it is sure to respect the sovereignty and independence of other nations. This drive to directly influence and control the Middle East demonstrates the persis-tence of the American belief in the white man’s burden. This drive to reform other cultures simply because they are “other,” even in the present day, shows how little American foreign policy has changed.

THE 2013 MTV VIDEO MUSIC Awards (VMAs) can rightfully claim the title “most notorious show” of the year. The VMAs

are known mostly for flashy performanc-es rather than music, or even the awards themselves. This year some of the per-formances were entertaining without so much of the off-color qualities that usu-ally go with the show. However, there was one act that could not be ignored. By now it may be obvious that this was Miley Cyrus’s performance. Her overtly sexualized choreogra-phy and duet with Robin Thicke encouraged the degradation of women and the belief that women are nothing more than objects of sexual desire.

Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” has already stirred up controversy for its perverse lyrics and the themes it estab-lishes. Chauvinist ideas about women bleed through the lyr-ics of the song (the premise of the song is about how men treat drunk women). One part of the song talks about the “blurred lines” that men supposedly have to decipher when they are ap-proached by an intoxicated woman. The song goes on to say, “The way you grab me, must wanna get nasty.” This implies that the correct decision for someone to make if a drunken person is clinging onto them is to take advantage of them. These lyrics shamelessly encourage sex without consent, in other words: rape. This song was not the only issue in Miley Cyrus’ performance at the VMAs. The biggest issue was that Cyrus was in the media’s spotlight and decided to sing a sexist song with Thicke. Anyone who partici-pates in a performance that demeans someone based on gender sends out a negative message to society. In previous VMA shows, artists have

worn outlandish and outrageous cos-tumes. The problem with Cyrus’ perfor-

THE US AND OTHER NATIONS, such as Japan and Italy, have shown interest in a military strike against the Syrian gov-

ernment. Even though it is not a domes-tic problem, the US is concerned about chemical weapons used by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime against rebels during the Syrian civil war. This civil war has persisted for two years. Chemical weapons have clearly been used, but when questioned about them, the Syrian government denies their use. Accord-ing to Christa Chase Bryant, President Obama is trying persuade Congress to give permission to attack Syria. Accord-ing to CBS News, Russia has proposed that Syria hand over its chemical weap-ons to the international community. Be-ing one of the permanent members of United Nation, Russia wants to solve this international problem as peacefully as possible because Russia and Syria long

have been allies. Vladimir Putin stated at the G8 Summit, “Russia does not support the superiority of America and its idea about the war.” Russia does not like the hasty decisions that America is subject to take or its superior attitude in foreign policy.

Soon, it will be the US’ turn to take ac-tion on this international issue. Looking at the nation’s history, it seems as if the US has only two options, either to take military action or to diplomatically push Syria to stop using chemical weapons. According to the Chicago Tribune, Ameri-cans largely do not support involvement in Syria because the population does not want more taxes. The US has already suffered from almost ten years of war with other Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, which has sunk the country into $16 trillion of debt. If the U.S goes to war with Syria, the na-tion might have to borrow even more

money from China, meaning more taxes, and more money going towards the mili-tary. American citizens want the military protecting their borders, but according to globalissues.org, the US has already spent 826 billion dollars on the military alone. The US should only take action when Syria directly threatens the US or asks for help. Otherwise, more American lives will be unnecessarily lost.

Both the US population and its politi-cians have seen the stunning videos of the negative effect of chemical weapons on the human body. Being human, it just does not feel right not to help the suffer-ing Syrians. However, an alternative way by which America could help the Syr-ian civilians is by sending an elite group of doctors to give assistance as well as sending shelters, and food. The US even could give visas to war victim to come to America, rather than risk another costly and unnecessary war.

OPINION OPINION


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15


Over the Hill: The North Current Turns 55chelsea hammersmitheditor-in-chief

The North Current is home to a staff of nearly two dozen loyal writers and editors. Advised by veteran Caro-

lyn Rehak, the Current nests in the fluo-rescent seclusion of the upstairs Mac lab, replete with a full wall of windows (windows!) and more than one crumpled Jimmy John’s menu. It is a place filled with words, ideas, and Rehak’s choice .H\��3HHOH sketches of the issue. Sure, at times, there is the stray student on the morning of distribution with a confused, distrusting stare that says, “We have a newspaper?” Still, we at the North Cur-rent are beginning the fifty-fifth edition of the paper, and it seems incredibly appro-priate to celebrate our fifty-fifth birthday with a throwback to some of our former contributors.

The North Current had the privilege of interviewing former editors of the paper Ameet Sachdev, ’89, Laura Yuen, ’95, Todd Martens, ’96, Zaki Hasan, ’97, and Jungsun Moon, ‘99. Not included in the interview, unfortunately, is former fea-tures editor and lead singer of the Smash-LQJ�3XPSNLQV, Billy Corgan, ’85. We tried.

Sachdev, editor-in-chief of the paper in 1999, went on to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern Univer-sity and earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in journalism. Today, Sachdev works as a business reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

Yuen, also a Medill graduate, served as co-editor-in-chief of the paper in 1995, alongside Chris LaFortune, ‘95. She is currently working as a reporter for Min-nesota Public Radio.

Martens, entertainment editor in 1995 and 1996, majored in print journalism at the University of Southern California and now writes about music and gaming for the LA Times.

Hasan served as art editor in 1996 and succeeded Martens as entertainment edi-

tor in 1997. He first attended the College of DuPage and later transferred to Co-lombia College Chicago where he earned his Bachelors in film and video produc-tion. Today, he resides in the San Fran-sisco Bay area. Hasan is the co-founder of Mr. Boy Productions, the creator of an award-winning blog, a regular contribu-tor to +XQJWRQ�3RVW, and a contributing author to Geek Wisdom: The Secret Teach-ings of Nerd Culture.

Moon, editor-in-chief in 1998, had his face actually graffitied onto the door of the newspaper office (it rests hap-pily beneath Mrs. Burgoni’s face). Moon also went to the College of DuPage for a time and then transferred to UIC where he earned his Bachelor’s in English. He recently completed his Master’s of Edu-cation in Curriculum and Instruction for English and Journalism Education from the University of Missouri-Colombia. He is a Chicago high school English and jour-nalism teacher and has won the Golden Apple award for teaching.

NC: Did you find work right after college?

Yuen: Immediately after college, I did find a job–but not as a journalist. I decid-ed I wanted to travel, so I went to Taiwan to teach English. I also studied Chinese and got to know my mother’s side of the family. After about a year, I moved back to the States and started my first journal-ism job, working as a reporter at the Lex-ington Herald-Leader in Kentucky.

Sachdev: Yes. After I graduated from Northwestern in 1993, I started working as a business reporter at the 3RXJKNHHS-sie Journal in Poughkeepsie, New York. I worked in Poughkeepsie for about a year. I was then hired as a business reporter at Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY). I worked there for until March 1997 when I moved to the St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg, Florida. I worked in St. Pete for three years.

Martens: In 2005, I enrolled in the gradu-ated program at Medill, where I intended to study magazine publishing. Halfway through the program I was offered a job at Billboard Magazine and quit Medill to move back to Los Angeles.

NC: Can you explain in more detail the projects you have worked on in

the past and today?

Hasan: Mr. Boy Productions is a coopera-tive venture I started with Sean Coyle (a fellow GN alum) and Brian Hall, who I’ve known since my COD days. It serves as an umbrella label under which to stick the various projects we work on togeth-er. While we have several things in vari-ous stages of development at present, we currently collaborate on the Mov-ieFilm Podcast, a bi-weekly discussion show on current events in the world of pop culture, featuring news, reviews, and interviews. In the past year, we’ve featured guests such as Roman Coppolla, Seth Rogen, and Ashton Kutcher.

My blog ZakisCorner.com started in fall of 2004 simply as a vehicle to scratch my itch to get some writing done. By then it had been several years since I’d been writing regularly, and I was starting to feel those particular muscles atrophying, so I decided that I’d just stake out a cor-ner of the web for myself and see what happened (I owe some thanks to Rich Nelson, News Editor of the Current dur-ing my time there, for inspiring me with his own blog back then). That was nearly ten years ago, and the personal and pro-fessional rewards I’ve reaped simply by maintaining the blog and posting regular-ly are as plain as day (ironically, the bulk of my posting is entertainment news/commentary of the kind I started out do-ing for the Current!).

Moon: I’ve been teaching at King College Prep High School, one of the selective enrollment schools in the Chicago Pub-lic Schools system. This is my eleventh

year (man, how long has Giaquinta been teaching?), and I teach junior English, journalism, and AP English Literature. As for my Golden Apple award, I’m most definitely not a Golden Apple award winning teacher on most days.

Most days I realize I’m not nearly as good as I need to be, but I sup-pose that’s half the fun. If I had this figured out, I’d probably go find something else to mess up. In all earnestness, though, if I won the award for anything, it was because I’m always trying to do things bet-ter. Occasionally, I do.

Sachdev: I joined the Chicago Tri-bune in 2000 as a business reporter. I started covering the food industry beat, which means I wrote about companies such as McDonald’s, Sara Lee and Kraft. I’ve also covered other business beats, such as ac-counting, law and aerospace. Cur-rently I’m a senior business reporter focusing on features and investiga-tions. I celebrated my 13th anniver-sary with the paper in June.

Yuen: I started working [at Minne-sota Public Radio] as a reporter in 2008. This was a big transition for me because I had experience only with daily newspapers until then. I have gravitated toward reporting on immigrant communities, including our Somali-American community in Minnesota, which is the largest in the nation.

NC: Zaki, how does it feel to have a real, published book?

Do you ever stop in Barnes & Nobles just to see your book on

the shelf?

Hasan: It was thanks to my site that I was asked to be one of five contributing au-thors to the book Geek Wisdom, which collects several memorable quotes from across the canons of pop culture and re-flects on their significance. Working on that book was actually harder than writ-ing my Master’s Thesis, but it’s something I remain inordinately proud of. And in an-

swer to your question, it’s absolutely sur-real to have my name listed on Amazon, and knowing that I’ve got a published book to my name. Surreal!

NC: Did you know what you wanted to do with your life when you were a senior in high school? Have you

ended up at all where you expected?

Moon: I was a bit of a dark, moody, in-ternal drama king my junior and senior years. In retrospect, it was a difficult part of my life. I was pretty full of myself then

in a way only introspective people can be. All that to say, I wanted to be an ele-mentary school teacher because I felt like I related to kids a whole lot better than I did my own age group. Kids and animals.

Sachdev: I fell in love with journal-ism in high school. The newspaper adviser at the time, Sharon Huck, also inspired me to consider jour-nalism as a career. Northwestern was the only journalism school I applied to. If I hadn’t attended Northwestern, I wonder if I would have selected a different career. I grew up reading the Chicago Tri-bune. When I started my journal-ism career, it was a dream to one day return to Chicago and work for my hometown newspaper. I’m very proud that I achieved that goal.

Yuen: No. I think I wanted to either become an English teacher (like Mr. Giaquinta!) or become a journal-ist. I don’t view myself as particu-larly articulate, so I never imagined I would be working in radio. But I do like the medium of radio and the ability to take listeners to places they may have never experienced on their own.

Martens: Once I started writing music reviews at the Current I be-came pretty stubborn and decid-ed I wanted to be a music critic. I emailed Greg Kot at the Chicago Tri-bune and we had lunch. I emailed Jim Derogatis, who was then at the Sun-Times, and got to know him as well. The two of them gave me advice throughout my career that has proved to be invaluable. Today, they are both good friends of mine, and I reached out to them as a 15

year-old kid just wanting to be a music critic.

Hasan: I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do in life during senior year. I think I just wanted to get through senior year, and I’d figure out the rest when-ever! My expectations for myself keep changing, so I’d say while I’m happy with

16


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where I am and what I’ve accomplished, I keep traipsing over the rise hoping the grass will be greener.

NC: What was your funniest memory working on the NC?

Hasan: Probably my funniest memory from working on the newspaper is the wheelchair we had sitting in the office—I believe someone had done a “What’s it like?” article about students with disabilities—and I tended to sit in that chair when I was working. For whatever reason, I couldn’t tell you why, but our Sports Editor, Tommy Cicero, was angry at the world that day, and he duct taped me to the chair and pushed it out in the hallway during passing period. Yep, good stuff.

Martens: I loved working at the Cur-rent—and the Daily Trojan at USC—be-cause there was camaraderie amid the journalism. It’s a difficult, transitioning industry right now, and offices every-where are stressed and tense. Everyone is looking over their shoulder and news-rooms are much smaller. I miss the days of staying late into the night working on a story or a review or putting together the paper. I don’t know if I have a fun-

niest memory, per se, but the Current in my senior gave me a column, and I was basically just allowed to write about songs and how I couldn’t get dates, which is hindsight was a ridiculous thing to be doing.

Yuen: The Current staff was like my tribe in high school. We spent so many hours together during production week in what was usually a pressure-cooker situ-ation. I still remember Todd wanted to change his byline to say, “Todd Martens, Rock Critic,” instead of “Todd Martens, Staff Reporter.” I think Mr. G vetoed that. It’s been really gratifying to see both his and Zaki’s careers take off. Still, there was some occasional downtime, and I remember of one of our writers, Alma Calimlim, trying to put my co-editor, Chris LaFortune, into a sleeper hold. And this was many years before mixed martial arts became popular. I don’t recall if Chris entirely passed out, but he did turn beet red, and I wondered if Alma was going to inadvertently kill him.

Sachdev: I have a lot of great memories of high school and some of my favorite times were spent working on the news-paper. We traveled to some high school journalism conferences. I remember

staying up late in a hotel and having a water fight in the hallway.

NC: Today, the North Current is cre-ated entirely on a Mac using Adobe

InDesign. When you were on the paper, did you really use paper and

paste to do the lay-out? Did they have paste back then?

Sachdev: Did they have paste back then? I recall the layout pag-es would already be sticky.

Hasan: Man, you’re making me feel old. Yep, we were old school! Cutting, past-ing, mock-ups, the whole thing! We went through a whole lot of glue sticks!

NC: The newspaper office has kind of fallen into disuse. Other than oc-

casional Christmas party, it stays empty. What did you use the office

for when you were an NC-er?

Hasan: The newspaper office wasn’t just the place where we worked. It was where we hung out. It was a sanctuary. My se-nior year, I had two study halls back to back, so I’d spend a good chunk of my day there. During production week, we’d be bouncing back and forth between there and the Mac lab. It really was a home away from home. It formed my at-tachments, and in many ways shaped my identity.

NC: Was the dark room still used when you were at the NC?

Martens: We did indeed use the dark-room. Occasionally Zaki may or may not have been locked in it. I think my senior year was when we started transitioning a little out of the newspaper room, but I dug it. It was cozy and we rotated CDs

and did nightly food runs. I met some of my closest friends there and my first girlfriend, so it was a tight-knit group. Oddly, I know Zaki is out in California, but I haven’t seen him since high school. The Bay Area is a bit of a hike from Los Angeles.

Moon: Yeah—we used the dark room. Digital photography didn’t exist—at least not in our insular little world. Same goes for the office. I lived in there. I think I can say now that I spent most of gym class and all of lunch in that office. We had a nasty old couch in there, too, that was, well, a nasty old couch.

NC: What’s your opinion on the state of print media? How do you feel about the rise in importance of tech-

nology in journalism?

Yuen: My biggest concern is that in this rush to publish, we in the media have been known to get the story wrong time and time again. We shouldn’t throw out all of our journalistic integrity just be-cause the medium has evolved.

Martens: I think journalism outlets whose strength is reporting are healthier than

they may be given credit. I think there’s a real danger in emphasizing unreported blog content on web sites, as trends shift and it’s too easy to get lost chasing hot topics on Google. It’s great to have some personalities online—just as newspa-pers had columnists back in the days of yore—but I worry sometimes there’s too much emphasis on getting something up fast, quick and unsubstantiated. When Miley Cyrus acts crazy at the MTV VMAs and your outlet has 15-20 blog posts the next day on it (and none of them contain any reporting or thoughtful positions), then everyone should be embarrassed.

Hasan: For me, as a media instructor who’s watched the speed of technology work its mojo just in the past five years, I’ve sort of steeled myself for the end of print as we know it today. I’m okay with that as an inevitable outgrowth of the times, but what worries me is the poten-tial loss of the journalistic standards that are a necessity of print, but which don’t always transfer over to the web. A part of me is sad that we may soon see the end of the kind of “rumpled trenchcoat” journalism that we see in movies like All WKH� 3UHVLGHQW¶V�0HQ, but the optimist in me says that even if the delivery method

is different, what’s being delivered will hopefully remain the same. Regardless, change is inevitable. There’s no getting around it, there’s only anticipating it and preparing for it.

Moon: I think print media will eventually become niche product/market. As for technology, it’s shaping journalism, and like any field, it has its benefits and draw-backs. My students’ paper, for example, has been exclusively online for the last few years. It’s not very good, admittedly, but there you have it.

Sachdev: Technology has given anyone with a computer the opportunity to be a publisher. Bloggers are everywhere. But technology to me always takes a back seat to great storytelling.

photo credit, pages 15-17:kyle berry, ’14

Note: Interviews have been edited for content and clarity.

A New Generation of Education

THE NORTH CURRENT INTE-rviewed students and teachers at Glenbard North to find out what people think of the tech-

nology policy changes that began this year. GN implemented the “Bring Your Own Technology” policy, which allows students to bring their electronic devices to school and use them upon the ap-proval of their teachers. This new policy allows students to access programs like Schoology, First Class and PowerSchool while they are in class. The benefits of this program are limited, however, to students who have the means to have a smart phone or tablet with them at school. Still, allowing the use of elec-tronic devices in class this year is a step towards further incorporation of tech-nology in the classroom, as the plan for next year is for each student to have their own iPad for educational purposes.

As the world is transformed by in-novation, it is natural for education to move along with society toward a more technologically-driven system. However, technology, of course, poses a whole new set of problems to navigate and resolve; therefore, many students and teachers have varying opinions about the

new policy.

Do you think expnding the use of technology in the

classroom is a good idea?

“I see how it would be easy for people to misuse technology. Maybe restricting time on technology would aid in this.”-Matthew Ballas, ’17

“It is a good idea, if it is limited to strict-ly to educational purposes. If it is not abused to the point where kids do not

pay attention in class, students can great-ly benefit from it. Educational communi-cation is innovative.” -Thomas Joseph, ’14 “No, I don’t. If they keep on using tech-nology the value of books will go down drastically. Also, kids often abuse the op-portunity of technology with texting, so-cial media, etc.” -Rebecca Ellers, ’17

family and friends quickly.”-Alex Briggs, ’17

“It could make it easier for students to cheat through the use of texting and so-cial media, but the benefits that technol-ogy brings to education are worth the draw backs.” -Alan Hanna, ’17

“I haven’t had any problems so far, but I am concerned that it could be more of a distraction than a help.”-Joseph McKewon, English Teacher

Does allowing students to use their electronic devices

during class do more to help or hurt education?

“It is more to help. There is always the argument that technology will be a dis-traction. However, no matter what, tech-nology will always be prevalent among students. Why not integrate that same technology into the classroom with a positive purpose?” -Amanda Kim, ’14

“I think technology helps because it opens up new opportunities for learn-ing.”-Priya Rajan, ’15

“Allowing students to use electronic devices during class hurts education. Sometimes people get distracted. Then, they end up with a bad grade in class.”-Ravi Gondalia, ’14

“Class can be more interactive, but some-times it’s distracting.”-Stephanie Nemeth, ’15

“If technology is used by people who un-derstand it as a tool and not as the solu-tion, it can be beneficial.”-Meggan Burgoni, English Teacher

marisa dipaolofeatures editor

taylor denning staff writer

melinda troyka staff writer

What is your opinion of this year’s new technology

policy?

“Teachers have used programs like Scho-ology, and Socrative during class, and it is good that they have incorporated new ways to learn into instruction.” -Shannon Kliephan, ’17

“It’s not that different because the teach-ers who were really against letting you use cell phones before still are.”-Kim May, ’14

“I think it’s cool. It helps if you don’t have a calculator or need to look something up. But people might take advantage of being able to use their phones more.”-Scott Cibic, ’16

“I don’t think that it is that beneficial be-cause there aren’t that many resources for all subjects of school.”-Taya Cole, ’17

“A new policy had to be made because what had been in place was becoming difficult to work with, but it is hard to say how the new system is going to play out. For the most part, it seems to be working out and there is potential that technology could be helpful to learning.”

-Matt Carey, Social Studies Teacher

What can teachers do to bet-ter utilize technology in the

classroom?

“Technology is only used when a teacher wants it to be used so it can only help so much. They should find ways for it to be more incorporated into class, like having more books available online.”-Emily Kulinowski, ’17

“Teachers could start assigning elec-

“Giving iPads to every student is not a good idea because books are more re-liable than technology, there is always a risk of technology not working, plus it could cause distractions in the class-room.” -Coble Yates, ’16

“No, it distracts from the point of school. It makes people think they can just take out their phone whenever they want. And what if they don’t have a smart phone? That’s so sad!”-Dipali Patel, ’14

Have you experienced any negative effects of the in-creased use of technology

at school?

“No, I have not. It has actually helped people. Not having to go to the comput-er lab for everything is really convenient. Also, having technology on hand is nice so people can communicate with their

cartoon credit: eric nguyen, ’15

THE NORTH CURRENT | SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1 THE NORTH CURRENT | SEPTEMBER 2013 | VOLUME 55 | ISSUE 1

tronic homework, utilize email more fre-quently, and move towards a paperless classroom.”-Kristina Roberts, ’17

“Teachers should make the use of tech-nology more relevant to what students are learning in class instead of using it just for the sake of using it. Having access to iPads or laptops during class instead of just phones would be much more ben-eficial.”-Monica Del Ciello, ’14

What do you think of the prospect of each student having their own iPad next

year?

“For each student to receive their own iPad is not only super expensive, but also extremely risky. I am unsure how people will treat the opportunity.”-Becca Curtis, ’14

“Having textbooks on iPads would be helpful, but for a lot of students it is eas-ier to understand material and take notes when a tangible paper book is in front of you, instead of a screen.” -Jackie Dziewior, ’15

“I think it’s a good idea because we won’t have to carry books around anymore.”-Mackenzie Gregg, ’17

“Through the use of iPads in the class-room, particularly for English classes, there are apps that can help teachers to monitor a student’s reading progress, and others that can make class more en-gaging so that students interact with each other or their teacher while they read. Teaching writing will be more flexible for students to be able to type without hav-ing to go to the lab.”-Melanie Elfers, English Teacher

FEATURES FEATURES 18 19


2120

IN A WORLD WHERE OBESITY IS AN ever-growing problem, many people are turning to different types of ex-ercise to maintain their health. Some

people prefer to exercise independent-ly, while others prefer to exercise in a group. However, personal training is pre-dicted to be the most preferred form of exercise in the years to come. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the de-mand for personal training is expected to increase by twenty-four percent in the next six years, while the average job is only expected to increase by fourteen

percent. Personal training is in high demand be-

cause it yields significant results for its clients. When asked why personal train-ing is more beneficial than group train-ing, Dominic Raymond, a certified per-sonal trainer and nutritionist, responded, “Personal training holds you accountable for things that you typically would not do on your own and it pushes you past limitations that you thought could never be crossed. Whether it is with weight loss accomplishments or sports specific

carla kochisstaff writer

goals, it brings your ability capacity to the next level.” Many personal trainer clients express how much they like hav-ing someone else there to hold them ac-countable for exercising and eating right, however; personal trainers do more than just motivate people. Personal trainers also teach their trainees how to properly use gym equipment and good body form to prevent injury and to maximize the benefits of the workout. They can also conduct routine fitness tests that evalu-ate a client’s flexibility, muscle endur-ance, muscle strength, and body compo-

sition to track their progress. One of the key benefits of personal

training is that the clients receive person-alized workouts. According to the IDEA Health and Fitness Association, fifty per-cent of personal trainer clients have spe-cial medical concerns such as arthritis, diabetes, asthma, or obesity. Personal trainers take into mind the specific health concerns of their clients and ensure that their workouts are safe, yet also pro-duce results. Trainers can also specialize workouts for sports specific clients, so

HEALTH & FITNESS

Success with Personal Training

NOWADAYS, PEOPLE ARE SEE- mingly more involved in “fla-vor of the month” workouts, or fads that come and go. Al-

though they are just as effective at keep-ing people healthy and assisting with weight loss, it is easier, and can be more beneficial, to just go back to a simple run-ning routine. Running is actually one of the most recommended cardiovascular workouts. Running can keep the body in shape and boost performance in various sports. Other benefits include building stronger bones, increasing muscle mass and burning a high amount of calories. So instead of looking for trendy workouts, try running!

To start off, running can be benefi-cial to a healthy lifestyle. It reduces the

risk of having a stroke and can prevent hypertension; running can even reverse hypertension. Also, it works all the large muscle groups such as the legs, abdomi-nals, and the heart. Running strengthens the heart, which reduces the time it takes to get back to a normal heart rate.

Next, when in need of a workout to help in losing weight, running can be very valuable. A lot of calories are burnt when running, which is key to weight loss. It is also important to run regularly in order to see results, so it should be done at least three times a week.

Although running is sometimes not possible because of time commitment, it can be very stress relieving. Also, running does not need to be performed at a spe-cific time; it can be done at any time dur-

are trying to lose weight, this is an amaz-ing addition because of its high dietary fiber. Fruit fiber has also been known to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer as well. The reason figs are dif-

ferent from most fruits is because of the types of antioxidants they contain. The antioxidants in figs help remove toxins in the blood that may aid to the develop-ment of cancer and heart disease. Even the leaves of fig trees are beneficial. The

photo credit:john deleon, ’14

libby simkusstaff writer

Raving about Running

HEALTH & FITNESS

Healthy Recipe of the Month:Homemade Granola Bars Ingredients:•¼ c sugar-free maple syrup•¼ c honey•½ c Splenda brown sugar•½ c natural, reduced-fat peanut but-ter (or almond butter)•2 c oats•1 c Rice Krispies cereal•2 c of add-ins (coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries, apricots, dark chocolate, unsalted nuts)Directions:1.Heat the maple syrup, honey, and brown sugar on low heat on the stove for approximately five minutes2.Once it is warm, stir in the peanut butter until the mixture is smooth3.Add in the oats, Rice Krispies, and any additional dried fruits, nuts, etc4.If desired, add in chocolate chips once the mixture cools5.Press into a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate for twenty minutes6.Take out of the fridge, cut into squares, and store in airtight con-tainer

they offer training that targets the skills an athlete needs for a certain sport.

Personal training helps clients train safely and efficiently and also makes them aware of their health. The focus that a trainer gives to a client’s specific medi-cal concerns makes personal training an ideal way to exercise. Hiring a personal trainer has many benefits and is a useful step towards a healthier lifestyle.

ALMOST EVERY DAY, PEOPLE, tend to forget or skip meals and instead grab a snack sometime during their day, and

often they do not think about proper nu-trition. This leads to a deficiency in the most common nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. The minute the word “healthy” is mentioned, a picture of a salad im-mediately pops into mind. Yes, a salad is good and healthy choice, but it is not the only health food out there. There are other alternatives that taste great and are healthier that are not taken into consider-ation, such as figs.

Figs are native to the temperate cli-mates of West Asia and the Middle East. Figs range dramatically in color and subtly in texture, depending on the variety. They are the only fruit with the greatest amount of calcium, counting for sixteen percent of the daily-recom-mended amount in 100 grams of figs. Figs are great for people who do not get enough calcium or are allergic to dairy products. Furthermore, for people who

ing the day that is convenient. Plus, there is no need to go to a gym to run, which can save money.

In conclusion, running is a great workout when trying to become physi-cally active. Many athletes find great joy when running. World-renowned cross-country runner, Steve Prefontaine, once said, “You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” Running can boost self-esteem, which in return makes them feel better about themselves. Ultimately, staying in shape and preventing disease is the main goal, and running is a great way to achieve it.

leaves of the fig have repeatedly shown to have to have anti-diabetic properties that reduce the amount of insulin needed by diabetics. Furthermore, research stud-ies suggest that chlorogenic acid in these berries help lower blood sugar levels and control blood-glucose levels in type two diabetes. If eaten in the right amounts, figs can greatly improve your health. An-other great advantage is that mashed figs can act as a wonderful face cleanser and helps prevent and cure acne.

Figs are deliciously sweet with a tex-ture that combines the chewiness of their flesh, the smoothness of their skin, and the crunchiness of their seeds. One fig a day significantly improves your health, whether it is the satisfaction of the body’s need of vitamins and minerals, reducing the risks of diseases and intake of insu-lin, or cleaning skin and preventing of acne. A fig is a delicious, beneficial fruit,

biyanka patel staff writer

Exotic, Delectable and Healthy: Figs

cartoon credit:hanna siddiqua, ’16

Fast Fitness

A STRONG CARDIOVASCULAR system is an essential compo-nent of overall health. Many people run or play sports like

soccer or basketball to train their car-diovascular systems, but technology has modernized the health world, and new types of exercises are as easy as ever to do. Stop-watch apps and others like Gymboss easily mix into your workout regime right on your smart phone or iPod.

Interval training involves the use of a stop watch to time periods of work and rest during a workout. A specific type of interval training, called Tabata, has be-come very popular for its many fitness benefits. The training system targets your cardiovascular system and gets the heart pumping fast while building lean muscle. One full set of Tabata is four minutes long, and although four minutes seems

short, it truly packs a punch and fatigue can set in quickly.

Tabata consists of eight twenty-second rounds of intense work with ten-second intervals of rest between each round. The exercises are usually based around the body’s own weight and popular ones include push-ups, planks, lunges, sit-ups, sprints, pull-ups, Russian twists, squats, shoulder raises, and any variations of these. The great thing about Tabata train-ing is that it is versatile and can be manip-ulated to target certain areas in the body. It allows the user the choice to complete exercises that focus on one area of the body, or many exercise can be complet-ed with a cross-fit focus.

GN physical education teacher Doro-thy O’Malley is a huge advocate for in-terval training and uses Tabata as part of her cardiovascular training program. She

describes it as “super-effective” and says that it helped her “get back into shape and work [her] core after having four chil-dren.” Belly fat and loose skin are some of the more difficult health components for people to tackle, and Tabata “works wonders for the core,” claims O’Malley. “Don’t forget the weights,” stresses O’Malley, after explaining that adding a bit of weight can go a long way in toning muscles and burning fat.

Tabata is appreciated for its versatility and amazing benefits, and training with this program is extremely easy to start by utilizing downloadable apps like Tabata Pro. Although tough at first, the system will help tone the body with lean muscle, improve thecardiovascular system and provide for a healthier heart and lifestyle.

alex wozniakstaff writer

HEALTH & FITNESS/ENT.22

ONE DIRECTION, A WORLD famous British-Irish boy-band, has had a lot of recent success. A big portion of that

success is their new self-titled movie One Direction: This Is Us. It premiered on Au-gust 26 in New York City and was official-ly released the following Friday, August 30. A fan-cut version of the movie that extended twenty minutes and included four extra songs was released Friday, September 13. Both versions of the mov-ie were released nationwide.

In the movie, the teenage stars are shown performing in the London 02 Are-na, which is four times the size of Madi-son Square Garden. The arena sold out in a record breaking six minutes. Viewers also got a behind the scenes look at the lives of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Zayn Ma-

lik, their families, friends, and even a few fans as they travel around the world on their 2013 Take Me Home tour. Included in the movie soundtrack are songs from Take Me Home and 8S� $OO� 1LJKW, their first album which they toured for in 2012, and a newly released single “Best Song Ever,” as well as a special performance of “Teenage Dirtbag” originally by Wheatus.

In an interview with Glamour, Zayn ex-plained, “We didn’t want to just follow the boy-band formula. We didn’t want to do any dancing. We just wanted to be five dudes in a band.” Liam added, “We look stupid dancing. That’s what I think.” Glamour also noted that One Direction does not present themselves as “perfect.” Harry states, “The thing is, when you’re playing a part, eventually it goes wrong. Eventually someone’s going to see that that’s not who you are. So it’s best to be

yourself from the get-go.” It is a quote the band truly seems to live by. Madeleine Manas, ’17, stated, “I found it funny at most parts, though people will have dif-ferent perspectives on them. They are all really down to earth boys who pull pranks and mess around with each oth-er. There were some parts of the movie where the effects were really cool and it felt like you were actually at one of their concerts!”

The movie also includes the boys’ 2010 X-Factor auditions, a glimpse at Liam’s 2008 audition, and a blooper reel. The movie was released in both 3D and 2D. They are currently working on their third album Midnight Memories. The album is available for pre-order and comes out November 25, and is already number one in forty-four countries.

One Directioncassandra tustaff writernoelle mcrobertsstaff writer


ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 23


IN THIS DAY AND AGE, IT SEEMS everyone has an Instagram account. As a portrait, special event, fine art, and music photographer for over five

years, I endorse the use of this program for teens to be exposed to photography. However, I can’t help but cringe at the sight of countless “self-ies” as I scroll down my feed. The iPhone cam-era is so simple, and there are absolutely no technical functions to enhance your pictures. There are ways to make your Instagram photos look amazing without having to change any-thing with the camera. It’s all about composi-tion. In other words, just changing the way you place things in the view-finder can make your photos look extremely impressive. With the iPhone’s portability and convenience, it’s obvi-ous why people now, more than ever, are us-ing smartphones for their photography.

1) Try HDR mode. Just go to your iPhone’s camera and tap “op-tions”. Then turn HDR on. HDR is when the camera silently snaps three photographs. One underexposed (dark), one perfectly exposed, and one overexposed (bright). The result is a photograph with shining colors, and a photograph in which the detail most represents what the human eye sees. HDR is best for landscapes, or any photo where the sky is present.

2) Try shooting without using a filter.

Sometimes a plain and simple snapshot is more visually appealing than an over-done photo.

3) Shoot at different angles. Create a visually interesting photograph by going lower, or higher. Don’t overdo it, though!

4) Use the technique “Leading Lines.” The whole concept of “Leading Lines” is to have one or more lines that lead the viewer’s eye to the subject. Good lines are fences and trees.

5) Use environmental frames. In other words, use trees, gaps in between things, etc. to frame your subject.

6) For sports and action, pan with the subject for a sharp subject and motion blur in the background.

7) Shoot during the “magic hours”. This time is the first hour of day-light and the last hour of daylight. The sun is lower in the sky, so the light casts less shadows and the color of the sun is golden and flattering on the face.

8) Use the grid func-tion to better compose your subject. This is great for producing a clean and symmetrical photograph.

9) Use “The Rule of Thirds.” This concept in-volves taking advantage of the grid discussed above. Place the subject at one of the intersecting lines at the end of the grid. You can also place the subject more off to the left or right.

10) Shoot in black and white. This can add “class” and drama to your photos, especially portraits.

chris allison staff writer

Instatips

cartoon credit:john calaunan, ’16

24 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF fans waiting anxiously for her new music, Lady Gaga recently made a comeback. Having to

cancel her tour due to hip surgery, her recent comeback was at the Video Mu-sic Awards hosted at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York where she kicked off the show with the opening perfor-mance. At first, she received loud boos but they quickly transformed into cheers when she began to sing her new single, “Applause.” Turns out that was actually part of the performance. To top it all off, she unexpectedly changed her outfits during the song several times while she lip synced.

Lady Gaga’s new single, “Applause,” released on August 19, was rush released due to aleak on the internet. Her much awaited new album $57323 debuts on November 11. As manyof her devoted fans say, “Applause” ventures away from

her traditional style. There are no big moments where you want to sing along and there is no pre chorus as in “Edge of Glory”. However, the song does stick to her traditional formula, when it comes to production and has the same energy as her previous songs, keeping in line with the dance pop genre.

Along with the release of her new single, her new music video debuted on the same day. The video was very Gaga-esque, with the same craziness as was seen in many of her other videos and style choices. At one point in the video viewers see a swan with the head of none other than Lady Gaga herself. The video is filled with choreographed danc-ing and imagery.

According to her producer, DJ White Shadow, “she has a complete and total adoration for her fans. I’ve never seen anyone in my entire life work as hard or do as much for her fans. It’s a back and-

Going GooGoo for Gaga

forth thing. She does so much for them that they naturally want to do stuff for her. The reason why those kids are so into Lady Gaga is because Lady Gaga is so into them.” Gaga really emphasizes being different and staying true to who you are, but Kyle Allison, ’16, disagrees and says “I think it is ironic how she is trying to prove her worth as an artist, ac-cording to the lyrics, but in my eyes, her value as an artist has dropped because of the song.” On the other hand, Angelica Hernandez ’15, says “ the song was very enjoyable and I really like it. It provides a good beat and the song is perfect for dancing.”

The much-awaited return of Lady Gaga has received the praise of some, but oth-ers believe that it doesn’t follow through with her usual standards. Nonetheless, many will be waiting for her November 11 debut�$57323.

trisha corderostaff writer


Instatips (cont.)

Photos below were taken on an iPhone using Instagram.

photo credit:chris allison, ’16

asheena siddiquistaff writer

SPORTS 25

THE GLENBARD NORTH BOYS soccer team has had a resound-ing start to its season. The varsi-ty soccer team attended a tour-

nament at Addison Trail High School, winning two of the three games. They fin-ished second overall in the Addison Trail Tournament, losing the championship game to Maine West (1-0). The boys also defeated Addison Trail and Curie High School, while securing a draw with Fen-ton at the tournament. For the boys’ first home game, they played the Naperville North Huskies on September 10 and had a close game, ending with a loss of 1 to 0.

The boys’ had some amazing defense in both halves, with Panther goalie, Na-than Chalus, ’16, saving the ball seven times in the first half, and four times in the second half. Panther defensive play-er, Mahmood Akif, ’15, had three kicks that went straight to the goal, which cre-ated scoring chances for the Panthers.

Danny Ramirez, ’16, and Christian Rome-ro, ’15, both came close to making shots at the goal. Eleke Bonsi, ’15, mid-fielder, played some great defense against the Huskies by denying possession of the

ball, which helped the offense go hard against Naperville North. Varsity Coach, Gregg Koeller, states, “Our kids worked very hard all night against a very tough

shelly israni staff writer

opponent, and I was very proud of their effort.” There are ten seniors, five juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen on the varsity soccer team. Coach Koeller also foresees a great season ahead as the younger players gain more experience. Both sides went hard at the goal and the field, with some amazing saves by Na-than Chalus and an incredible defense.

Support the Panthers as they go head to head with West Aurora on September 24th, and in October against Naperville Central on the 1st (away), South Elgin on the 3rd (away), Glenbard West on the 5th (away), and Wheaton Warrenville South on the 8th (home). Don’t forget to up-coming games to show Panther spirit!


THE GLENBARD NORTH VOL-leyball team is a group of hard-working girls that show a lot of courage in their play. The girls

volleyball team won second place at the Willowbrook Invitational during the weekend of September 7, beating West Chicago and Coal City. This is a very big achievement for the girls, and they have done well and will continue to show their skills at Glenbard North.

The starters for the varsity team in-clude: Gianna Chesrow, ’14, Angela Ra-vanesi, ’14, Marissa Bettinger, ’14, Sarah Peters, ’15, Maria Perino, ’16, Sarah Pet-zold, ’15, Lauren Gramann, ’14, Nicole Tobison, ’15, Stephanie Tobison, ’14, Stephanie Cole, ’16, Renee Cole, ’14, and Emily krohn, ’16. These talented players have what it takes to lead the volleyball team. Coach Jenny Farinella says she is “extremely excited about Glenbard North

volleyball program as a whole. Our teams seem to work together well and are a hardworking group of girls.” The coach

believes in her team and looks forward to coaching them. The girls continue to work hard to win and achieve their goals.

On September 10, 2013, the girls played against Naperville and suffered

a tough loss. The girls lost both the first and second matches, with the scores of 15-25 and 14-25.

The girls varsity volleyball team beat the Lake Park Lancers in their first confer-ence match of the season on Thursday, September 12, with scores of 25-20, 25-20. Stephanie Tobison led the offense with thirteen kills, Marissa Bettinger had eighteen sets, and Trish Torres set the pace for the defense with ten digs.

The girls will continue to work hard on their skills to build up the team. The next upcoming Volleyball game is on October 8 against Lake Park. The girls will rock this one for sure, so come and cheer them on.

masooma waseemassistant sports editor

Girls Volleyball

Boys Soccer

photo credit:kyle berry, ’14


ADVERTISEMENTS 27


26 SPORTStony jacobstaff writer

WITH THE NEW SCHOOL year underway, GN has had a kick-start to its 2013-14 football season. The

team endured the summer heat in order to prepare for yet another season of pain, gain, and an insane amount of Gatorade.

Since last year’s senior players have graduated, this year, players (both old and new) will have to step up and show the other high schools the unstoppable force known as “The Fighting Panthers of North.” And, now that the teams are back in action, everyone wants to know how they are going to top last year’s per-formance.

Fortunately for the Panthers, their en-tourage, the Super Fans, are also back to raise some hell. The Super Fans have been very supportive of the Panther foot-ball team, from the rumbling of hundreds of stomping feet, to the runners coated in body paint sprinting with colored flags. According to David Wengert, the Super Fans have been known to create many different T-shirts with themes such as black and gold, earth day, a tiger print, the living dead, camouflage, whiteout,

September 11 and so on. He claims that, “This shirt has more versions than Power Rangers.” However, no matter what the theme, the Super Fans will give it their all to make sure that the Panthers give just as much on the field.

The season began with a surprisingly

rocky start for the teams. The JV team began their run with crushing defeats handed by Wheaton North (0-26) and Glenbard East (0-28). The odds later shifted in their favor when they won against Naperville North (22-19) and Homewood-Flossmoor (12-0). And the Varsity team, led by Coach Ryan Wilkens, also lost their first game against Batavia (26-29), but they made their comeback

against Carmel Catholic with a score of (35-14) and Naperville North (37-28).

The next few games for JV are sched-uled for 9/28 against Glenbard East (home), 10/5 against West Aurora (away), 10/12 against Naperville Central (home), and 10/19 against Wheaton Warrenville South (away). Also, the games in October for Varsity are scheduled on 10/4 against West Aurora (home), 10/11 against Na-perville Central (away), 10/18 against Wheaton Warrenville South (home), and 10/25 against Wheaton North (away).

In just a few short weeks, the Panthers have proven themselves to be a formida-ble team that cannot be brought down so easily. Varsity player, Connor Dombrows-ki commented that, “The team has done good so far this year, but we still have a lot of things we need to improve on.” No doubt that the rest of the Panthers are already thinking the same thing, and are working hard, determined to bring home the gold to compliment the black.

THIS YEAR THE GN GIRLS CROSS country team has gotten off to a running start. Through miles of grass, mud, and trails, these girls

have shown the grit and determination it takes to be a Panther. Whether in rain or shine, the team has dedicated its time for the sake of the sport. To run like them takes a certain mentality and tolerance for pain uncommon in this day and age.

The girls and their coaches Eric Day, Gary Heilers, and Allison Schewe put a lot of effort and thought into their train-ing routines. To improve their times fur-ther and further, the girls often implement heart-rate monitors and various different exercises. One such exercise is the “tempo run,” where the girls run at a higher rate than normal in order to improve their en-

durance. The girls’ devotion to running will not only improve their race times,

but it also serves to keep them in prime physical condition. In the words of run-

ner Katie Chamberlain, ’14, “Our work-outs are hard, but they’ll make us better in the long run.”

The cross country team is lead by the likes Jaclyn Dziewior, ’15, Simone Carr, ’14, and Roshelle Rodriguez, ’15. Despite all the hard work put in at training, it hasn’t been easy going at many of their meets. Regardless of how many ribbons or trophies the girls receive, they hold their heads high and keep on pushing. The cross country season goes through October into early November. Through autumn leaves and brisk, damp air, the girls will trudge along for the sake of the sport.

joe simkussports editor

Girls Cross Country

Football


photo credit:john de leon, ’14

cartoon credit:hanna siddiqua, ’16

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“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell youdifferent.”

-Kurt Vonnegut

The North Current September 2013

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