Find out where the Class of ‘09 is headed

pages 4-5

What ever happened to the family dinner?

page 6

Teachers and students walk the fashion runway

page 8

Think your pre-prom plan in-cludes drinking? Think again, or sit in the audience and watch the rest of your class graduate. To combat the possibility of teens drinking before the prom, Calhoun has joined the thousands of high schools implementing breathalyz-ers for school functions. According to Principal David Seinfeld, the Board of Education adopted a rule about three years ago, giving each high school in the district a breathalyzer - initiating

them especially for prom. He clarifi ed that the breatha-lyzer will only be used on students or any other person who appears drunk, not on everybody. But add-ed he will have his with him on June 25 at the prom. “I hope it is more of a deterrent for kids not to drink than for actual testing kids for being drunk. I al-ways plan to not use it; I don’t want to have to,” Mr. Seinfeld said. The breathalyzer may be a deter-rent, but the consequences of being caught are a reality. Mr. Seinfeld warned that if students are caught drinking at prom, and the breatha-

lyzer proves it, they will not be allowed to a end graduation - no exceptions. Calhoun has al-ready set a precedent as students have been caught in the past. Mr. Seinfeld recalled one student that failed the breathalyzer and could not a end graduation - a penalty that really upset the family. The student’s grandmoth-er called begging the school to reconsider be-cause she had travelled just to go to the gradu-ation. Mr. Seinfeld said he cannot make excep-tions, and the “rules are the rules.” If a non-Cal-houn student is caught drinking, they will be asked to leave. Though some stu-dents might not agree

Don’t blow it!

(continued on page 3)

Morning jam(photo by Kimberly Brower)

Cars coming off a side street o en have trouble ge ing into the parking lot.

by Sara MaciasStaff Writer

The congestion of early morn-ing traffi c has concerned students and faculty, some even fearing for their safety. “Anyone who drives a motor vehicle needs to drive safely,” Principal David Seinfeld emphasized when asked about Calhoun’s car-safety situation. However, if this cardinal rule is broken, many are endangered. “Teachers have raised many concerns not only about the drop-off problem, but about the whole parking lot situation,” social stud-ies teacher Mr. Fred Harrison said. Though Mr. Seinfeld said “no one has been seriously injured” by the current situation, junior Mar-tin Abrams said that he has seen

someone hurt and many “near accidents” as a re-sult of careless driving. Mr. Harrison sug-gested making streets one-way. “I’m not sure

if this is the answer,

but there are traffi c fl ow experts. It would probably make sense to call someone in from either the town or county to evaluate the options and make recommendations,” Mr. Harrison said. Mr. Seinfeld proposed reducing the congestion of the morning traffi c by having all

drivers try to arrive earlier, stating that, “7:20 a.m. to 7:30

a.m. is bedlam. There’s a prob-lem if everyone drives unsafely” regardless of the number of cars on the road, Mr. Seinfeld said. The back parking lot, in particular, is a topic of concern. Mr. Seinfeld admi ed that the back parking lot needs to be looked at to be made safer. Mr. Brian Moeller, social studies teacher, agreed, say-ing, “I can tell you that in [the back] lot, it is not uncommon to fi nd cars illegally parked all throughout the lot. Whether students are parking by the dumpsters where there are no spots, or at the end of a line of

by Naomi VolkEditor-in-Chief

Admins to seniors:

Breathalyzer awaits prom goers who drink

Senior Nicole Parascandola hits the runway during the 3rd Annual Senior Experience Fashion Show. See page 8 for the full story.

(photo by Emily Begin)

Quite the ExperienceQuite the Experience

(continued on page 13)

2 Hoofbeats June 2009 NEWS

Calhoun’s student newspaper, Hoo eats, has been named the “Most Outstanding Newspaper for 2008” by the American Scho-lastic Press Association. The paper was called the best high school newspaper in the country among papers that serve student populations of 1001-1700. Hoo eats also received a “First Place with Special Merit” award in the ASPA’s annual competi-tion, receiving a score of 970 out of 1000. “You have an excellent school newspaper, which shows the talent of your editors, report-ers, writers, photographers, lay-out designers, and adviser,” the newspaper judge commented. First place with special merit was given to a publication that

scored over 900 points and, in the opinion of the judge, was an out-standing example of a scholastic publication in format, content, and presentation. Junior Rebecca Rood-Gold-man fi nished in fi rst place for editorial cartooning in Newsday’s School Journalism Contest for her November 2008 cartoon about Sarah Palin. Also in the Newsday contest, editors Naomi Volk and Kelsey Lee won third place for commentary for their editorial, “Students fan the fl ames of hate,” a er the Calhoun/Kennedy foot-ball game earlier this school year. Senior Ava Yergo fi nished in third in the feature writing category for “Calhoun Ink,” an article about students with ta oos. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association presented senior Avneet Ghuman with a Certifi cate of Merit in the fi rst-person experi-ence category at the Gold Circle Awards for her piece that con-trasts the U.S. and Far East. Ear-lier this year, Columbia awarded Hoo eats with a gold medal. For her piece on the passing of guidance counselor Steven Fisher, editor emeritus Julie Mansmann (Class of ‘08) won two awards. She placed second in the “News Story” competition in the New York Press Association’s Be er Newspaper Contest. In the News-day contest, Mansmann fi nished in third place for newswriting.

Freshman year. The changes, the uncertainty, the backpacks. And of course, Freshman Seminar. According to Department Chair Peggy Kurtz, Freshman Seminar, a

required class, is designed to be a multi-faceted learning experience to enhance a freshman’s English education - a guidance component, an academic component focused on extra-English work, and a char-acter-building component. When current juniors and seniors

were asked about their experiences in freshman seminar, most were ei-ther indiff erent or negative. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about freshman seminar since my freshman year,” said senior Patrick O’Sullivan. “Its impact on me has been pre y non-existent.” The opinion of those in the class now seems to be a li le more posi-tive. In a poll of 37 freshmen cur-rently enrolled in the class, 62 per-cent said they enjoyed the class. Mrs. Dawn Boland, a teacher of Seminar for six years, said it “pro-vides students the opportunity to voice their own ideas and opinions while allowing a teacher to assess both writing and speaking.” Despite the fact that a major-ity of the students questioned said that they enjoyed Seminar, many also gave the impression that they saw the class as li le more than an extension of English. To combat this problem, Mrs. Tanya DiMambro-Peters suggest-ed the class “should be used as a

writing workshop class; each day teachers should meet with small groups of students to practice writ-ing, similar to the original model.” Senior Cody Moy thinks that Seminar should be replaced with Health. “Health is something that is required either way, and it can be annoying to try and fi t into your schedule,” Moy said. “Seniors al-ready know half the things that they teach in Health, and exposing freshmen to that right away would probably be much more eff ective in helping them to understand the changes in high school.” However, Mrs. Kurtz said she feels that “Freshman Seminar is living up to its potential, but in a diff erent way than we fi rst envi-sioned it.” Mrs. Boland, who revised the cur-riculum three times, said changes are made with students in mind. “If student feedback, the climate of the school, or curricular concerns suggest a need for change, then a change should be made,” she said.

Does Seminar need a fresh look?by Ben Lovell

Staff Writer

Hoo eats tops in nation(photo by Jessica Velazquez)

Hoo eats, April 2008

Freshmen hard at work in Mr. Kevin Nolan’s seminar class.

For the second consecutive year, Student Government has been awarded a National Gold Coun-cil of Excellence Award by the National Association of Student Councils. Almost 140 high schools were named National Councils of Excel-lence, but Calhoun is one of only 118 high schools nationwide to re-ceive the highly-esteemed honor of being named a National Gold Council of Excellence. Sharing in the excitement of this award are the offi cers of Calhoun’s Student Government: President Emily Garfi nkel, Vice President Jen Gutsin, Treasurer Stephanie Frasca, Secretary Lau-ren Lucke, and Histo-rian Jessica Arnone, as well as the group’s adviser, Mr. Jason Bo-land. To meet the require-ments for the award, a student council must display that it meets a variety of demand-ing criteria. Among other things, a win-ning student council must demonstrate ef-fective leadership in organizing school and community service projects, develop ac-

tivities to inspire school spirit, and show business acumen in goal set-ting and fi nancial planning. Historian Jessica Arnone noted two satisfying accomplishments in particular: “We worked really hard on ‘Hats On’ for kids with cancer, and we really had to step up our game for Calhoun’s 50th anniver-sary, so we really put our eff ort in all year,” Arnone said. “Receiving an NASC National Gold Council of Excellence Award indicated a dedication on the part of the local school to providing a strong, well-rounded student council program,” said Jeff Sher-rill, associate director of NASC.

Government is goldenby Emily Wrynn

Editorial Editor

(photo by Philippa Boyes)

Sophomores Arnone and Lucke display the NASC award.

News June 2009 Hoofbeats 3

Breathalyzer awaits prom drinkerswith the breathalyzer being used, senior Chelsey Lehmann thinks it’s a sign of the times. “Students shouldn’t have to be breathalyzed, but because of our generation’s obsession with alco-hol, it may be necessary,” she said. “There is absolutely no reason for kids to be drinking be-fore a school event. What we do not understand is that although we may be going to college, we are still just kids.” Calhoun is just one of the many high schools implementing breatha-lyzers at prom or other school events. According to USA Today, high school orders for breathalyzers have risen 120 percent in each of the past four years. “In most cases, the reason teenagers drink is because they think that they need to have a good time. If you want to support your school and have a few laughs with your friends, you don’t need to be drink-ing,” Lehmann said. Drinking before prom has become a major na-tional issue. One reason, according to USA Today,

is with such a special occasion, par-ents may be more likely to serve alcohol at their pre-prom parties - especially since most prom-goers travel in limos, not driving in their own cars. Senior Lindsay Gliwa doesn’t see a reason to drink before prom,

especially when the consequence is

not walking in graduation, but she does believe that “kids will go drunk either way.” Lehmann, how-ever, thinks that breathalyzers may make students think about the consequences of their actions. “If kids decide to drink any-way, then that is their risk, but if the chance of be-ing caught by a school breatha-lyzer test gets their conscience talking, then it may be worth it,” Lehmann said.

A New York Times article pointed out that there is no insurance that a

student who is at a school event drunk does not have every inten-tion of ge ing behind the wheel. So besides the moral reasons for Mr. Seinfeld not wanting students to drink, there are liability issues, as well. The school is liable for anything that happens to a student during a school event. Mr. Seinfeld ex-plained it that “if a kid fell down the stairs in the hallway, I am lia-ble. I didn’t push the student, but I am still respon-sible.” For that rea-son, he and the administration are concerned for the safety and well-being of all stu-dents, especially those who may drink and put their safety at risk. New Media America reported a high school in Albany implemented breathalyzers when a 14-year-old student collapsed at a homecom-ing dance with a blood alcohol lev-el of .09. The school implemented the breathalyzers for the students’ safety, because if they are drinking they need to be sent home where they can be monitored. Mr. Seinfeld said Calhoun’s breathalyzer is “in the offi ce all the time.” This means that it is just down the hall at every school function. Like prom, if a person

appears drunk, he will bring them to his offi ce and test them. He only does this if he is almost 100 per-cent sure and just wants to prove his point. He’s only “used it two or three times and the people had not been just drinking, they were extremely intoxicated.” Recently, DUI News focused on two high schools that imple-

mented breatha-lyzers. However, they test the kids when they are leaving. Seymour High School in Connecticut ad-ministers a breath test before the stu-dents leave their

senior prom, if they are driving. Pequannock School District in New Jersey doesn’t “limit it to just prom.” Pequannock doesn’t want their students ever leaving a school event and driving home drunk. A er each school event, kids who seem anything but nor-mal are asked to take a breath test before entering their cars. Even colleges are implementing breathalyzers. USA Today reported that many colleges are cracking down, the University of Wisconsin intro-duced a “show and blow” policy at football games: any student ejected from a previous game for drinking must take a test to a end.

(continued from page 1)

(with permission from www.bactrack.com)

Breathalyzers such as this one will be ready for use at prom.

“Students shouldn’t have to be breathalyzed, but because of our generation’s obsession with alcohol, it may be necessary.”

- Chelsey LehmanSenior

(continued on page 12)

Before taking the world by storm, Amanda Arnone, class of 2009 valedictorian, and Emily Gar-fi nkel, class salutatorian, answered some questions for Hoo eats. Both top scholars are headed to the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Hoo eats: Did you ever expect that one day you would be vale-dictorian? Arnone: When I fi rst entered high school, I defi nitely did not expect to be valedictorian. While it was always a personal goal of mine to do the best I could when it came to academics, I knew that there were so many intelligent people in the grade, and the idea of being vale-dictorian always seemed out of reach for me. Hoo eats: Who was your inspira-tion as you were growing up?Garfi nkel: I guess a lot of people have inspired me growing up,

most importantly all the women in my family. They’re all really pas-sionate people and celebrated my accomplishments when I was too modest to. I think we all push each other to do great things and not hold back - it has sort of trickled down through the generations.Arnone: My parents defi nitely in-spired me to never give up and to simply be happy with myself. As I was growing up they never set certain standards for me or told me I had to be a certain way. In-stead, they always supported me in whatever I decided to do and allowed me to come into my own. They also never put any pressure on me.Hoo eats: What color describes your personality?Garfi nkel: Yellow. It can be cheer-ful and vivid or so and mellow. It also brightens up all the other colors when you mix it into them; that’s what I like to do - add a li le something exciting into everything I do. Such an artist’s response, but I

can’t help it.Hoo eats: What was your favor-ite activity in high school?Arnone: It’s really tough to pick a favorite activity, as I really enjoyed both Deca and badminton. Pre-senting my manual at Nationals in Anaheim was such an amazing ex-perience. I loved being able to com-pete at both a state and a national level, as it allowed me to become

more confi dent and to experience several aspects of the business world. I also loved the competition that came along with playing bad-minton. My doubles partner and I became individual county cham-pions, an accomplishment that we were aspiring to achieve for two years. Playing badminton has taught me the importance of team-

by Nina ThomasStaff Writer

Heads of class

(photo by Emily Begin)

Garfi nkel and Arnone are both headed to the University of Pennsylvania.

Q & A with Garfi nkel and Arnone

4 Hoofbeats June 2009 NEWS

Congratulations to

Gi y Abraham - University of DelawareAlexa Abrams - SUNY BinghamtonEkta Ahluwalia - UndecidedJennifer Alongi - SUNY CortlandStefany Alzate - UndecidedNectarios Aristidou - UndecidedAnthony Armao - SUNY AlbanyDomenic Armienti - SUNY Old WestburyChristopher Arnold - UndecidedAmanda Arnone - University of Pennsylvania

Shawn Asman - UndecidedJoseph Azzato - UndecidedNusheg Babikian - SUNY AlbanyLindsey Bachmann - SUNY Buff aloGeorge Baker - Nassau CommunityAlyssa Baldauf - Sacred Heart UniversityMa hew Baldyga - Nassau CommunityKristy Baumer - EmploymentThomas Bay - Nassau Community CollegeMichael Behnke - Adelphi UniversityGina Bellafi ore - EmploymentMarisa Bellantuono - Northeastern UniversityAngie Benavides - UndecidedRobert Berhardt - U.S. Marine CorpsMichael Bernstein - SUNY New PaltzRachel Bernstein - Hartford UniversityAlyssa Berusch - SUNY AlbanyNatalie Block-Levin - SUNY CortlandElana Bloom - St. Leo UniversityEdward Bochynski - SUNY Stony BrookNicole Bonne’ - Adelphi UniversityKevin Breen - SUNY Buff aloStephen Brenker - University of Pi sburgh

Sco Briones - UndecidedKenneth Brio e - Lafaye e CollegeDanielle Brown - UndecidedJaclyn Brown - UndecidedTimothy Brucato - Fashion Institute of TechSharon Bryan - Molloy CollegeConor Buckley - Towson UniversityKristen Buckley - SUNY PurchaseMichael Butera - SUNY OswegoRyan Byrns - UNC WilmingtonAndrie a Calderone - EmploymentCourtney Calo - University of MarylandPeter Campbell - Cornell UniversityLisa Capone - Iona CollegeJessica Carapella - Fashion Institute of TechAndrew Cardona - Nassau CommunityAmy Carlson - University of the ArtsJustin Carlson - SUNY CortlandKate Cartagena - Adelphi UniversityKatie Caruana - SUNY FarmingdaleMichael Celauro - UndecidedJessica Celenza-Salvatore - SUNY Buff aloJonathan Chan - Boston CollegeEmily Chen - Fashion Institute of TechMadelyn Ciccarelli - Fashion Institute of TechBenny Cilio a - SUNY AlbanyBrandon Cilio a - Nassau CommunityGina Cillo - James Madison UniversityMegan Clahane - SUNY Pla sburghJaclyn Claude - SUNY Buff aloConor Closs - Nassau CommunityRicky Cohen - SUNY DelhiDiana Collins - SUNY CortlandMa hew Condon - Providence CollegeKelly Conklin - University of DelawareJennifer Connelly - Molloy CollegeJulianne Copozzi - Nassau CommunityJames Costabile - Villanova UniversitySean Co y - Ithaca CollegeMichelle Coveny - SUNY OswegoAran Coyne - SUNY AlbanyJames Crichton- Marymount Manha an College

Jesse Dalton- UndecidedKenneth Danielsen - Nassau CommunityKenneth Darlington - UndecidedAmy Davidowitz - Penn StateAlexandria Davis - Hofstra UniversityRichelle Davis - SUNY Stony BrookAmanda Delbove - Boston CollegeAmy Delloiacono - Nova SoutheasternAlexa DePalma - New York UniversityPatricia D’eredita - UndecidedChelsea Diamond - Penn State UniversityAndrea Dicocco - SUNY OneontaLuke Dicola - SUNY New PaltzJeff rey Dileo - New York UniversityAnnalisa Dilorenzo - Nassau CommunityDanielle Director - University of Rhode IslandLauren Director - University of Rhode IslandReid Douce e - Franklin and Marshall CollegeSteven Downey - UndecidedTimothy Downey - SUNY CortlandWilliam Driscoll - UndecidedShannon Droge - Providence CollegeJennifer Dunne - UndecidedTravis Dwyer - Nassau CommunityAdi Dzen - New York UniversityBrian Edwards - EmploymentEmanuel Eicholz - University of VermontMichael Eiger - SUNY New PaltzJohn Emme - St. Joseph’s UniversityDavid Etringer - SUNY AlbanyShane E er - University of Rhode IslandSusan Fallon - Johns Hopkins UniversityEric Feldman - SUNY New PaltzNicholas Felicione - SUNY GeneseoJason Figueredo - SUNY New PaltzBrian Fitzgerald - Nassau CommunityAllison Flaherty - Nassau CommunityChelsea Fleming - Nassau CommunityEvan Flores - Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteSean Foy - University of ConnecticutGabrielle Fry - UndecidedNicole Furman - University of ScrantonJessica Furnari - UndecidedDaniel Fuschillo - SUNY BinghamtonJulianne Galla - SUNY OswegoChristopher Gambino - UndecidedNicole Gandolfo - SUNY BinghamtonEmily Garfi nkel - University of PennsylvaniaJonathan Gartner - Cornell UniversityKaterina Georgas - Boston UniversityAvneet Ghuman - Hunter CollegeRyan Gillen - Lycoming CollegeSpencer Glass - The Boston ConservatoryMax Glider - Point Park UniversityLindsay Gliwa - SUNY BrockportJordyn Goldberg - SUNY BinghamtonAndrea Gonzalez - Nassau CommunitySteven Gooler - UndecidedStephanie Gorish - SUNY PotsdamDaniel Grab - University of New Haven

Jessica-Lynn Grasso - EmploymentColleen Gregory - EmploymentAlexander Groskinsky - SUNY New PaltzTyler Groskinsky - SUNY BinghamtonThomas Gruber - UndecidedMarc Gunzenhauser - UndecidedJennifer Gutsin - University of WisconsinNicholas Haff ey - EmploymentKristina Hanson - EmploymentMichael Harold - University of Rhode IslandRyan Hastings - SUNY Pla sburghKyle Healy - Nassau CommunityKaitlin Hendricks - UndecidedRachel Hendrix - SUNY CortlandAmy Hershkowitz - SUNY AlbanyMegan Heverin - Hofstra UniversityRyan Hillery - York College

Jenna Hochman - Muhlenberg CollegeJesse Holland - UndecidedAndrea Honig - Brandeis UniversityMichael Hunter - Molloy CollegeAlex Ilch - Nassau CommunityHikaru Inuzuka - UndecidedTravis Japngie - Nassau CommunityJessica Johnsen - UndecidedVanessa Kassimatis - Hunter CollegeJustin Katzman - UndecidedJoshua Kaufman - Buff alo StateRandall Kaufman - UndecidedMichael Kavanagh - Nassau Community

(photo by Alex Lucks)

(photo by Leah Sobel) (photo by Emily Begin)

(photo by Chelsea Lawrence)

“Education is the most pow-erful weapon which you can use to change the world”

- Nelson Mandela

News June 2009 Hoofbeats 5

Victoria Kearn - Alvernia UniversityMonique Kearney - Philadelphia UniversityJesse Kemerson - New York Institute of TechBonnie Kennovin - SUNY New PaltzEric Kerzner - UndecidedRoshaan Khilji - SUNY Stony BrookRyan King - University of Massachuse sSarah Klima - UndecidedHeidi Kohler - Hofstra UniversityStephanie Kornobis - Fashion Inst. of Design William Koster - SUNY Stony Brook Daniel Krawciw - Towson UniversityDaniel Krol - Ithaca CollegeEric Kudler - SUNY Stony BrookKevin Lake - Providence CollegeVincent Lane - UndecidedStephanie Lascano - Baruch College

Alexa Lauri - Rider UniversityChelsea Lawrence - Ithaca CollegeAmanda Lechner - SUNY CobleskillCaitlin Lechner - UndecidedChelsey Lehmann - SUNY Pla sburghAlexander Leich - Clarkson UniversityZachary Lerner - Arizona St. UniversityDana Lewis - Hofstra UniversityJesse Lewis - UndecidedZachary Lewis - University of ConnecticutTzvi Lewisohn - UndecidedJessica Lifman - Iona CollegeMelissa Lindahl - SUNY Binghamton

Francesca Lobascio - University of DelawareRobert Loff redo - UndecidedAlexandria Lopez - St. John’s UniversityPatrick Losee - St. John’s UniversityBenjamin Lovell - University of RochesterBrendan Lowe - SUNY CortlandFrank Lowe - Nassau CommunityNoelle Luciano - Undecided Alexander Lucks - Adelphi UniversityErin MacBride - Mount St. VincentSara Macias - Arizona State UniversityChristine Maher - SUNY CortlandMichael Mancusi - UndecidedJenna Mannion - UndecidedPatricia Mantlo - American UniversityBrian Manusama - SUNY CortlandDavid Marafi no - UndecidedJared Marden - UndecidedJimmy Marin - Nassau CommunityMorgan Markbreiter- University of Buff aloMichael Marti - University of Rhode IslandJamie Ma hews - UndecidedKelly Mazza - Bentley UniversityPatrick Mazzella - Ithaca CollegeVivien McDowell - Southern MaineLuis Medrano - Lincoln TechJulia Mehlman - University of DelawareJacob Meier - Wagner CollegeAnthony Menna - SUNY AlbanyDaniyah Menna - Virginia CommonwealthBri any Mento - University of HartfordAmanda Milano - Hofstra UniversityPatrick Mills - Furman UniversityYelena Mirsakova - SUNY Stony BrookShannon Moran - SUNY CortlandDominique Mosca - C.W. PostCody Moy - Cooper UnionJessica Murillo - UndecidedAllison Murphy - SUNY PurchaseKevin Murphy - UndecidedTyler Mutarelli - SUNY AlbanyToby Nelson - University of DelawareMonica Norniella - Nassau CommunityElyssa Nucero - Queens CollegeLiam O’Connor - UndecidedMa hew Oestreich - Buff alo StateLindsey Ohland - Delhi UniversityShana O’Reilly - UndecidedPatrick Orlando - UndecidedPatrick O’Sullivan - U.S. Naval AcademyKatelyn Panchyn - Nassau CommunityJoseph Pane a - SUNY CortlandDrew Papa - UndecidedAnthony Papadopoulos - UndecidedNicole Parascondola - Iona CollegeArielle Parisi - Nassau CommunityAnthony Pa i - SUNY MaritimeMa hew Pechman - Franklin and MarshallDenise Pezzulo - Parsons School of DesignFalysha Pierre-Lys - Undecided

Nicole Pitone - Nassau CommunitySamantha Player - SUNY BinghamtonBrian Pollack - UndecidedCharles Porazzo - NYITRyan Powell - Marymount Manha an CollegeJonathan Preiser - UndecidedSara Prochilo - UndecidedBrian Przybylowski - NYITKathleen Purick - SUNY OneontaDanielle Quigley - Nassau CommunityLindsay Radow - SUNY AlbanyPaige Raia - University of ScrantonAmervir Rana - UndecidedAlexander Ratner - Fairleigh DickinsonChristopher Reilly - Ithaca CollegeMegan Reilly - Quinnipiac UniversityAlyssa Retmanski - University of Rhode IslandMichael Rodgers - SUNY FarmingdaleBrandon Roggio - University of Rhode IslandManuel Rosales - UndecidedKrista Rosati - UndecidedNicole Roth - Nassau CommunityPatricia Rothenberg - Cornell UniversityStephanie Ruano - St. John’s UniversitySco Rubin - SUNY New PaltzJeff rey Sachs - Northwestern UniversityJoseph Saff ord - Cobleskill UniversityStephanie Samarzij a - UndecidedJason Sanders - Eastern Conn. StateCecia Saravia - Seton Hall UniversityAlex Schlowinski - Nassau CommunityAlexa Schulman - University of North CarolinaAlexa Schwab - Adelphi UniversityDaniel Schwab - Nassau CommunityBenjamin Seidenstein - UndecidedTina Seidita - SUNY CortlandRobert Serpico - University of DelawareBryan Sicurelli - SUNY OswegoMichael Silverman - WyotechSadana Singh - SUNY Stony BrookRobert Spampinato - SUNY Environmental ScienceTaylor Stevens - Undecided

Ma hew Sucher - Rutgers UniversityJoseph Sudano - UndecidedZunira Sumra - UndecidedCasey Sweeney - Cornell UniversityMelissa Sweeney - SUNY FarmingdaleElizabeth Tasch - Adelphi UniversityMelissa Teemsma - Johnson & Wales UniversityMichael Tice - Providence CollegeDaniel Ti erton - SUNY CortlandAlexander Todd - SUNY Maritime

Alexander Traum - SUNY AlbanyMa hew Trepel - Ge ysburg CollegeJoseph Tucker - SUNY MaritimePatrick Tully - Adelphi UniversityMa hew Valentino - SUNY New PaltzMegan Vasquez - Yale UniversityKristin Velazquez - University of Rhode IslandMarlon Washington - UndecidedJonathan Weber - SUNY Stony BrookKarin Weidlein - University of DelawareJacqueline Weiss- Marist CollegeLauren Weiss - Penn StateMa hew Weiss - Nassau CommunityErica Wilders - Nassau CommunityBrian Winterfeldt - SUNY AlbanyAva Yergo - Hunter CollegeTomer Yoff e - UndecidedChristopher Young - SUNY New PaltzShannon Young - Fordham UniversityBenjamin Yu - SUNY Stony BrookAmira Zaid - Nassau CommunityFeng Zheng - UndecidedJeane e Zubizarreta - Undecided

(photo by Dave Etringer)

(photo by Chelsea Lawrence) (photo by Amanda Breivogel)

the Class of 2009

(photo by Courtney Hartne )

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let’s travel back to a time where family ma ers, ma ered. Where your house was your favorite place to be, where the woman of the house would cook extravagant dinners full of veg-etables, protein, and lots of fat. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly part of our lifetime, but in genera-tions past this is the way the family would act. If we look at today’s family, it’s a li le diff erent than that picture- perfect ‘50s mom. Does anyone know a lady named Donna Reed? She’s the iconic ‘50s mom who baked 24/7, cleaned up her house for her family and all with a big smile on her face. Now let’s think about today’s family. Think about your mom and dad. Could you picture your mom with a dress and apron stay-ing home and cooking for hours on

end; or your dad with an apron on, cleaning up the house? Now we are lucky to eat dinner together, let alone get a home-cooked meal. It seems the values of what’s impor-tant have changed a lot. How many of us wish we could turn in our T.V. dinners for a baked ham with mashed potatoes and gravy (eaten at the actual dinner table)? We’re living in a world where only 28 percent of American fami-lies eat together each night and 24 percent of families eat together less than three times a week together. According to USA Today, 25 per-cent of families spend no more than 31 minutes together at the dinner table on weeknights. The dinner table was once the place where the action of eating to-gether would shape our childhood, fi lling it with positive memories. Emotionally, the dinner table was the place where strong bonds were created and cherished. The meals

didn’t have to be seven courses long, fi lled with salads, roast beef, or chocolate cake, but just good conversation and the foundation of life-long connections. Today, however, we could sit down to a home-cooked meal but no words come out. It might go something like: Mother: “What did you do in school today?” Child: “Nothing.” I do the same thing sometimes, but if we are not able to communi-cate, the family bonds that are so important are going to become a thing of the past. We can’t blame it all on ourselves, though; our gen-eration has grown up with nothing but “wants” and “needs” (T.V.s, iP-ods, Playstations, Wiis). In today’s society 40 percent of families watch T.V. while eating dinner. And that’s not okay, espe-cially when 1 out of 10 people ad-mit that watching T.V. is the only time they spend together as a fam-ily. That means they watch T.V. instead of talking, cu ing out the communication completely. Once upon a time kids cared about ge ing good grades, but now things like education are be-ing thrown out the window. And

you wouldn’t have guessed it, but eating together as a family can contribute to be er grades. Teens that eat together with their fami-lies fi ve times a week are twice as likely to get A’s in school. Ask Re-ese Witherspoon, when she played Jennifer in “Pleasantville.” She and her brother David (Toby Maguire) get to go back in time to the fi ies, and Reese, who starts off as a “bad girl,” learns the love she has for studying and how important it is. I know this might not sound important to many of you. Most American teens want to hang out with their friends, smoking and drinking. Teens that have family dinners only twice a week are 85 percent more likely to try a ciga-re e, 68 percent are more likely to have tried alcohol, and 88 percent are more likely to smoke pot. Think about that and make a change. Talk to your parents - you never what will happen and it will change you only for the be er. So I give you a challenge: let’s raise awareness, 40 minutes a night, and if you’re really daring, help cook dinner. These are going to be memories you will never forget. So turn off the T.V. and let’s eat.

by Emily FreemanStaff Writer

Family Matters

(photo by Emily Freeman)

Gone are the days when families sat down for formal dinners every night.

6 Hoofbeats June 2009 Colture

The lost tradition of the family dinner

What would Donna Reed say?• Forty-fi ve percent of families say the TV is on during meals.

• The odds of being overweight were 15 percent lower among those who ate dinner with their family on “most days” or “every day” compared to those who ate with their family “never” or on “some days.”

•Seventy-fi ve percent of Americans are eating their din-ners at home, nearly half those meals are fast food, deliv-ery, or takeout from restaurants or grocery delis..

• Kentucky Fried Chicken reported that take-out food was used by more than a quarter (28 percent) of families for the evening meal once a week. 20 percent said they used carry out twice a week and 12 percent said three times a week. Sources: h p://www.time.com h p://www.gather.com

Colture June 2009 Hoofbeats 7

The newest trend has once again been set by the celebrities in Hol-lywood, and everyone from Miley Cyrus to Samantha Ronson is do-ing it. What is it? A messaging service that’s rapidly gaining popularity, called Twi er. Though many have heard of it, most people are unsure of what it is. To the technologically savvy, Twi er can be described as the Facebook’s status’ child. It pro-vides a place for one to describe exactly what they’re doing, won-dering, thinking, or anything else that pops into one’s head. It’s a social networking site where mil-lions of people can send “tweets” or messages out to their “follow-ers” to let them know what’s go-ing on. For example, if one person tweets “in New York and needs a Mexican place for dinner” one of their followers would see it, and then could tweet back “try Yum-my Taco on Church Ave and Bev-

erly.” How does this interaction happen? Twi er is mobile. To break it down further, each person who has an account on Twi er has their own username which they use to follow anyone they want (most people use their full names as their usernames). Some people may not care what the rest of the world is doing at any given moment, but the draw, for most, is the ability to follow their favorite celebrities and know what they’re up to. It’s like living vicariously through someone’s dream life. For those who are more addict-ed to the blogosphere instead of sites like Twi er, Twi er is more concise and updated much more frequently. Stars love Twi er because it gives them a chance to connect with their fans, and talk to them without tabloids exaggerating stories as the middleman. P. Did-dy, an avid Twi erer, told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show that it allows him to “take the power back [from gossip magazines].”

Like Diddy, stars as big as Ashton Kutcher and Kim Kardashian are twi ering away, saying things like “going to a HUGE meeting! Need good twi er vibrations! I hope it goes well so I can tell u all about it!” (Kardashian) and “I want to meet the guy who invented the orange cone. He prob-ably hangs out with the guy who invented vinyl siding” (Kutcher). All in all, the point of Twit-ter? There really isn’t one, except to have a full under-standing of what each of your friends, family members, or chosen celebrities are doing. Of course it’ll naturally ap-peal to all those Facebook stalkers out there-you know who you are- but it can also appeal to concerned parents wanting to know if their child made it to the dorm alright, or anxious friends wonder-ing if their friend got that big promotion. Twi er, basi-cally, is one’s own personal tabloid, where they person-

ally control all headlines and an-nounce whatever they want the world to know. So go ahead, follow Holly-wood’s lead and learn about the endless universe that is everyone else’s lives. Happy Tweeting!

by Philippa BoyesColture Editor

Jumping the shark. A term com-monly used by television fans and critics, identifying the moment that a show has turned bad. What-ever the reason, the eff ect is usu-ally the same: fans stop watching and ratings will decrease until the show is taken off of the air. Most of these shows started out on top or worked their way there, but have ei-ther started to or are now plummet-ing downhill. “Brothers and Sis-ters” is advertised as a dramedy that focuses on the ups and down of a large California family. Made up of three brothers and two sisters, the all have their own problems: the Iraq War veteran who’s addicted to hard drugs; the only Republican of the family; the gay brother who dated a minister, the list goes on and on. Soon the dad dies, then the fam-ily fi nds out he has a secret daugh-ter, but- here’s the T.V. twist - it turns out that it’s actually not his

kid. Eventually that not-daugh-ter dates one of his real kids, and then viewers learn that in reality, he does have a secret kid who is actually his kid. Confusing? Com-pletely. Realistic? No way. “One Tree Hill” has also jumped

the shark, sunk the ship, and its life boats have holes. The show didn’t start out on

top, but it worked its way there.

Now in its sixth season, it is going down fast. In the beginning, viewers felt bad for Lucas and hated Dan, but they also felt for Nathan once they saw how messed up his home life was. Once the audience was intro-duced to Peyton and Brooke, they were able to fi nd part of them-

selves in the show and not only relate mildly to the things happen-ing inside the Tree Hill universe, but they were also able to fi nd it entertaining. So far, seven people have been in car crashes, six people have been in comas, fi ve people have been kidnapped, three people have been killed, two kids have been born, and one is on the way. Besides the repeating story lines, the dialogue has become too cheesy. Chad Michael Murray,

who plays Lucas Sco in the show, de-scribed “One Tree

Hill” as the “li le engine that could” in

the fi rst season’s DVD commentary. He explained that he didn’t want the show to start out on

top. If it ever did reach the top, it’s defi nitely fallen and is not there anymore. “The O.C.” was supposed to be a teen drama about a kid who comes from the wrong side of the tracks and some-how ends up on the right side, thanks to his lawyer taking him in. Once living the good life, he meets the girl next door (literally) and they end up

having a Romeo-and-Juliet-type romance. The viewer numbers weren’t astonishingly high, but they were decent. To pull in more people, Josh Schwartz, the series creator, decide to kill Marissa in a brutal car crash. No. Cardinal rule: if the fans have fallen in love with a charac-ter, you don’t kill them off , and if, for whatever stupid reason you do, you don’t put someone else in to try to replace them! That’s like Juliet dying and Romeo going “Oh

well, now where’s Rosaline?” Shows like “Brothers and Sisters,” “One Tree Hill,” and “The O.C.” are ad-dicting to some and like a car crash to others. While

you ‘re des-perate to look away,

something pulls you in

anyway and makes you look

- like an invisible hook, forc-ing you to watch

something so horrible you want to gouge your eyes out. Alas, you can’t, because then you wouldn’t be able to watch the next episode.

TV has jumped the sharkby Carly Paris

Staff Writer

(illustrations by Carly Paris)

(photo by Philippa Boyes)

Twi er follows celebs in the palm of your hand.

Hollywood’s a’Twi ering

8 Hoofbeats June 2009 Colture

Lights, camera, fashion. And what’s new in fashion? Giving back. At least, according to Senior Experience students. Once again, Senior Experi-ence - with the help of their teachers, Mr. Jason Elias and Mrs. Kate Caparusso - put on its third annual fashion show, which was not only fun but successful for the community and Invisible Children. Clothes were do-nated from compa-nies in Merrick, raffl es were given, and both money and awareness were raised. Students and teachers showed off the latest fashion and some old school threads, all in the name of charity. Senior Morgan Markbreiter played an important role. She assigned the jobs, set up the majority of the pro-grams, and helped reach out to the stores to participate in the event. “It connects the commu-nity to something bigger: a major global issue. And to bring something that Long Islanders are interested in like fashion, it is infor-mative without being boring,” Markbreiter said. “It’s a few months of your time for something so big and life-changing to the people in Uganda and peo-ple here,” she said. Senior Experi-ence has raised over $50,000 in the past three years for Invis-ible Children. “This cause stood out among the many that are in the world because everything is interconnected; what happens in the world, even if it is not necessar-ily in our country, it has an eff ect directly to us,” said Mr. Elias. ”The order for us is Invisible Children, Senior Experience, then Fashion Show,

and we wanted it to be dictated by the kids. It’s all the kids, they’re so passionate.” The experience showed the stu-dents that the fun and activities

they set up is second to the eye opening un-derstanding they gain from that. One diff erence this year was that the

Calhoun com-munity had a fi rst-hand expe-

rience talking with the Resident Dis-

trict Commission-er of Gulu, Walter Ochura. He came to honor the school as a “banner school” and also chose to come on his own and represent his nation of Gulu in Uganda, Africa.

Calhoun was one of the 10 legacy schools around the country to receive such an honor.

Mr. Elias stated, “It was a mo-ment for all who were involved.” Another star senior that

stood out is senior Rachel Hen-drix, who will be traveling to Northern Uganda to the Acholi tribe from July 21 to July 6 to

represent Calhoun and have a hands on experience.

“My sole purpose when I arrive in

Africa is to see to where and

to what the money

that Cal-houn donated

goes, to meet the people, and raise

awareness about the war. A lot of people think I would be ner-vous, but I’m really

not. I’m more excited then nervous,” Hendrix said. This one in a million opportunity is something she will never forget. “The day I realized I couldn’t just sit by and watch was

when I watched the fi rst video that introduced Invisible Children to the

school, ‘Invisible Children: The Rough Cut.’ It made me realize that America takes things for granted

and we needed to do something to help,” she said. “This is not just a resume build-er, it’s a life builder. This can never be taken away from her,” Mr. Elias said of Hendrix’s soon-to-be ad-venture. Also, her fellow senior and friend Chelsea Lawrence was a large fac-

tor to this year’s success in money raising and brought the creative-ness to the charity. She made post-ers and movies, and organized the fi rst Senior Sleep-In. “This changed my outlook on life. I realized how fortunate we are and to be happy for what we have,” Lawrence said.

Charity’s in fashionby Maria DiMa eo

Staff Writer

Senior Tina Seidita on the runway.

Mr. Elias, Morgan Markbreiter, and Mrs. Caparusso all contributed to the event.

Seniors, teachers dazzle again on the runway for 3rd annual show

Senior Amervir Rana shines as she shows off the latest fashion.

Senior Mike Behnke

(photos by Maria DiMa eo)

Colture June 2009 Hoofbeats 9

It’s not enough for clothes to just look good, they ought to give back, as well. The latest trend in stores is the concept of “Green” clothing. With the environmental crisis becom-ing increasingly more in the pub-lic eye, many designers have taken the initiative to “Go green,” using sustain-able fabrics and even giving donations to eco-friendly charities when their clothes are purchased. Though few de-signers went as far as to make their collections fully out of recycled ma-terials (like the recycled cups, magazines, and boxes adorning the an-nual “Haute Trash” fashion show), they have certainly made other admirable advances. Mimicking the growing popu-larity of the breast cancer dona-tions for other clothing, the eco-friendly option is just another way which clothing is striving to do more than just look good. Lesportsac, a popular hand-bag company, is using more eco-friendly fabrics in their bags, like Nylon and old fabric scraps, as opposed to animal products or en-vironmentally harmful materials. The chemicals used in pesticides for co on fi elds are severely dam-aging to the ozone layer and the atmosphere. With summer on the way, loose and comfortable cloth-ing is necessary for a light, breezy summer style, thus the increasing popularity of organic co on as op-posed to the chemical-ridden old standby. Companies like Urban Out-fi ers, American Apparel, and American Eagle have stocked up

on organic co on tees and sweat-shirts, all in the same popular cuts and designs. Material girls of tomorrow will likely be able to deal with even more innovative fabrics, like the use of hemp and bamboo, both more renewable resources which can be used for clothing with the proper machinery. A Japanese designer was the

fi rst to master the bam-boo trend, with the new

label United Bamboo, by Miho Aoki and Thuy Pham The line uses a number of other organic fi bers, and the result is a chic under-ground sort of style. But the shopping rev-olution doesn’t end in just clothes. It contin-ues on to the check-out counter, where the latest fad is giving

out recyclable shop-ping bags. The trend

is facilitated by various green companies creating stylish and eco-friendly bags for shopping and toting. Topshop provides an edgy tote to their customers, with the bold print demanding “Use me.” The bags are made from al-ready recycled material, and can be reused frequently, until they’re ready to be recycled again. Some companies have popped up devoting all their products to the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mantra, exhibit A being “Get Hip, Get Green,” a line popular with ce-lebrities that features various eco-friendly products, including shop-ping bags, metal water bo les, and even lunch boxes. These all strive to reduce waste from commonly used products, like plastic water bo les and paper bags. Though most manufacturers of water bo les have switched to recyclable plastics, there’s not al-ways a guarantee that they will be recycled again.

by Ava YergoStaff Writer

(image by Ava Yergo)

Green is the new black

As gas prices rise alongside the growing hole in our ozone layer, it seems like more big name compa-nies are jumping on the bandwag-on and “going green.” This phrasing has taken on a plethora of meanings amongst largely diff ering industries, sym-bolizing the switch to recycled cof-fee cup slips like Starbucks in an eff ort to conserve trees, or the pro-duction of hybrid cars to conserve gas, like Honda. But is anyone do-ing this for the right reasons, or are companies simply innovating to preserve the green in their wallets rather than the green on our trees? While companies switch over to more environmentally friendly procedures and products, the cost is coming at the expense of the consumer. It may be nice to receive a $3,000 cash back reward for buy-ing a hybrid vehicle, a plan which has been recently instituted by Bank of America, but for the aver-age buyer who is feeling the eff ects of the economy at home this may not be enough of a compensation. More o en than not hybrid cars cost several thousand dollars more than regular gas cars, and recent studies done by Consumer Reports show the sticker miles per gallon (mpg) may not always be accurate. According to MSN’s “ Green Cen-tral” highlight on hybrid vehicles, “even if a driver maximizes his or her fuel savings and gets the full 17-mpg benefi t in the Hybrid, he or she would need more than a dozen years of 15,000-mile annual

travel before the gasoline savings,” to make up the diff erence. Unfor-tunately as corporate America has convinced the public these eco-friendly cars will save them money in the long run, while aiding in en-vironmental recovery a brand new target market has emerged. The “green” market. This new market is perfect for opportunistic companies just wait-ing to expand the longevity of their industry by focusing products and public relations on be ering our environmental position, while actually making money off their consumers. As much of today’s economic issues can be a ributed back to corporate interests, it hard-ly seems fair that their a empts to make more money should come at the expense of people who are feel-ing this situation the most.

Go green or go home

Rise of the green marketby Kimberly Brower

Staff Writer

Going green without going broke• take shorter showers to reduce water use• walk or bike to school• skip the bo led water• borrow instead of buying• buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging. • keep electronics out of the trash

(source: www.worldwatch.org)

Nature is taken into consideration more than ever, with companies going green.

(photo by Kimberly Brower)

(photo by Kimberly Brower)

10 Hoofbeats June 2009 Editorial

Staff Members: Gi y Abraham, Emily Begin, Amanda Breivogel, Kimberly Brower, Ma Calo, Maria DiMa eo, Tatianna Flores, Bria Forbes, Emily Freeman, Avneet Ghuman, Chelsea Lawrence, Ben Lovell, Sara Macias, Rebecca Rood-Goldman, Carly Paris, Sadana Singh, Leah Sobel, Lyla Stern, Nina Thomas, Jessica Velazquez, Deanna Werthauer, Ava Yergo

Masthead Designer: Mario DiLorenzo

Hoo eats is the offi cial student newspaper of Calhoun High School. Hoof-beats serves to inform its readers of news and events, and as a forum for the students of Calhoun to express their ideas and opinions. Hoo eats accepts le ers to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or refuse the publication of submissions. Le ers should be sent to the school or placed in the Hoo eats mailbox. All le ers must be signed and include a contact number for the writer. The paper also accepts advertisements for a fee, but reserves the right to refuse advertisements for any or no reason. The views expressed in Hoof-beats do not necessarily refl ect the opinion of the administrators, teachers, editors, or faculty adviser.

Editors-in-Chief Kelsey Lee Naomi Volk Colture Editor Philippa Boyes Editorial Editor Emily Wrynn Copy Editor Caroline Davis Faculty Adviser Jason Boland

Never forget the wonder years

“Growing up happens in a heart-beat. One day you’re in diapers, the next day you’re gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house like a lot of other houses, a yard like a lot of other yards, on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, af-ter all these years, I still look back, with wonder.” That’s how the hit series “The Wonder Years” ended, and as I end high school and get ready to leave, I fully understand its meaning. When I think about my childhood, I realize the importance “The Won-der Years” had on my life and what everyone should learn from it. I stayed up much later than I should have growing up so I could watch “The Wonder Years” on Nick at Nite. I couldn’t wait to see what adventure Kevin Arnold would embark on. But now, when I look back, I can’t help but see how “The Wonder Years” and my high school years are parallel. By the time you are a senior, you have to decide if you are staying home for school or going away. To some kids, it’s a relief to get away from the same people, to others a tragedy. Either way, every-one is moving on and those same kids aren’t going to follow you to the next grade. There are kids like me, who are already counting the days until they’re far away from Merrick. And then there are those

I hear in class talking about how they never want to leave. For both ends of the spectrum, and those in between, the end of familiarity is approaching. When his sister leaves, Kevin learns that, “children leave. And parents stay behind. Still, some things are deeper than time and distance” and that’s a truth about leaving home - you don’t just leave the place, you leave the people.” Like “The Wonder Years” I grew up in a suburb with no a achment to the name of it, but a sense of comfort growing up in it. “Spanning the vast, almost infi -nite boundaries of your neighbor-hood, the place where you grew up, where you didn’t think twice about playing on someone else’s lawn, and the street was your terri-tory that occasionally got invaded by a passing car. It was where you didn’t get called home until a er it was dark. And all the people and all the houses that surrounded you were as familiar as the things in your own room.” When Kevin says this, it makes you think how your surroundings are quickly changing and how the grocery store you went to for 13 years has suddenly changed own-ers. How the playgrounds where you have so many memories are being renovated, favorite family-owned business are closing, and everything is turning into a mega chain. I am leaving Merrick in a few short months, but the Merrick I

by Sara MaciasStaff Writer

Hoo eatsSanford H. Calhoun High School

1786 State StreetMerrick, NY 11566

(516) 992-1300e-mail: hoo eatseditor@yahoo.com

Volume LI No. 5 June 2009

Recognized by Columbia University, ASPA, NYPA, LIPA, and Newsday for journalistic excellence

An unceremonious occasion?When graduation rolls

around, a student ex-pects to experience one

of the most memorable days of his or her life. So when you walk onto that platform, accept your diploma, and look out into the audience, you don’t want to see your fam-ily checking their watches and counting down the minutes until they can leave. Congratulations grads, you’ve earned this. Last year’s graduation was held outside, and while the grad-uates and the audience members melted in their seats, ominous storm clouds loomed overhead, threatening to ruin the ceremony at any moment. On one hand, those in a en-dance prayed for some rain to relieve the heat wave, but on the other hand, they hoped the rain would hold out until a er the ceremonies.

If it had rained, the entire grad-uation ceremony would have been moved into the auditorium, and half of the audience would have been shut out - each grad only gets a small number of tick-ets for use indoors. Thanks for fl ying out, Grandma, but there’s just no room for you. Outdoor grad-uations are some-times no be er. The platform placed on the so -ball fi eld for graduation was so low, that only the pushiest par-ents in the front rows were able to document this momentous oc-casion, or even see their child. The playing fi eld turned into a ba lefi eld, with parents stak-ing their claim into li le two by two plots of land, hoping to catch a quick picture of their child. Elbows fl ew, shoulders were shoved, and nasty things were said; basically, it was a bloodbath,

everyone trying to cram into that last tiny space. But if you can’t see the stu-dents, at least you can hear them, right? Wrong. The speeches made by last year’s valedictorian and salutatorian were excellent, in-spiring, and moving; too bad no one could hear them.

Just as it has been for the out-door pep rallies,

the sound system is unaccept-able, cu ing short even the most resonant voices. And because of the inevitable thunderstorm last June, speeches were cut short, leaving more unsaid, and even more unheard. How can all of this be avoided? How can we make graduation a memorable event for all those in-volved? Rent a venue to hold gradu-ation. A venue that can hold all grads, invitees, and faculty,

where all speakers can be heard, and all students can be seen. This is not a foreign concept. In fact, it is quite common throughout Long Island high school graduations. Jericho High School and Roslyn High School are examples of schools while Hofstra’s gym and the Tilles Cen-ter are examples of viable loca-tions to hold a graduation cer-emony. If money is the issue, then fund-raise, do something. It’s impossible to believe that many would have a problem spending $5 if it meant ge ing a worth-while graduation. A er all, this is the moment students have been waiting for for their entire high school ca-reers - why not make it as special as possible? And special, pref-erably, would include audible speeches, air conditioning, and an enjoyable day for all.

Staff Editorial

(continued on page 14)

Editorial June 2009 Hoofbeats 11

Le ers to the editor...Dangers of credit cards

Reading program a successDear Editor, Every year Mrs. Carolyn Fred-ericks has a fabulous reading con-test. It’s fun and those who par-ticipate fi nd it very exciting. All of the students really enjoy going beyond their capabilities to push themselves as much as they pos-sibly can. The students really en-joy reading a varied assortment of books. It makes you become a stronger reader. During the winter break, many of the students tried to stay ahead of the leaders in the competition. The students read books on their level and interest. All of the vol-

unteers help the students with the contest to reach their goals. We all gather at Applebee’s in Bellmore for the reading contest party and trophy award presenta-tion. Many of our teachers and par-ents are there to help us celebrate. The students really enjoy the dinner and spending time with all of my friends and family. When I fi rst participated in the contest, I had diffi culty in reading. A er years of practicing my read-ing skills, I now have the pleasure of reading for enjoyment.

Andrie a Calderone, ‘09

“Gangs on Long Island. Who would have ever thought that those two words would go hand in hand?” These are the words of former gang member Sergio Argueta in response to a Cablevision edito-rial. Long Island is seen as a bub-ble. A bubble where the realities of the “real world” just don’t af-fect us. While Merrick doesn’t have a large gang presence, it can be easy to forget that the real world is closer than one would think. Argueta, now the founder and president of S.T.R.O.N.G. Youth, an organization that provides alternatives to those susceptible to gangs, said in a Newsday ar-ticle that, “The number of gang members is alarming not only in its sharp increase despite law enforcement eff orts…but because Long Island gangs are beginning to take on generational legacies that once existed only in Ameri-can cities.” People assume that large cit-ies and “certain” areas will have gangs. Long Island - Merrick in particular - does not conjure up such images of gang violence. But there are no longer exceptions with respect to gang violence on Long Island. Gangs have become a part of life for a large population

on Long Island. What makes our area so special that it can’t be af-fected by gangs? Turns out, it isn’t so special. The violence once felt to be “other” is now a part of Long Is-land culture. Such violence that only ex-isted “out there” actual-ly exists right in our own backyard. According to Newsday, gang violence “has surfaced in affl uent commu-nities on Long Island,” as well as “working class neighborhoods such as Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt, Brentwood and Cen-tral Islip.” Uniondale and Roosevelt too far away to hit close to home? Merrick may seem safe, but walk fi ve minutes away, and you’re in the heart of gang territory. And what really separates Merrick from Freeport? A couple of miles of highway - an avenue for the gang violence to pass through. There is no tangible border, no fence, no wall. Nothing to stop the violence from overfl owing into our own town. Merrick may not be as safe as it seems. According to an NPR ar-

Volk TalesA violent reality

by Naomi VolkEditor-in-Chief

(continued on page 14)

Pu ing an end to cheating

Dear Editor, Each year, the English teachers choose the books for their classes to read and a lot of the students don’t pass because they are so dis-interested in the books that they fail the quizzes and tests. Students should be allowed to choose their own books to read during the year. This can improve English reading grades and grades in this class overall. It can also prep them for the Regents later on. If they pick their own books, there are a few alternatives. For instance, a sophomore or junior should choose a book they are in-terested in, but the book must be more then 350 pages and must have a suffi cient amount of words on each page. This will help the overall outcome because when a student is given a test on the book they chose, they will be interested and will write the answers in more detail rather then having to fail

each test because they were not into the book they were mandated to read. A er each chapter or two, the teacher should prepare quizzes that ask general questions about the se ing, plot, and quotes that can relate to writing an essay. During Regents time, the stu-dents will be prepared to write es-says because they will remember the curriculum from the books that they chose. Although the Regents is important, the overall grade for the English class is quite vital. Pu ing your mind and opin-ion into the work that you do will keep you interested as well as educate your mind as you must pass to go to college. I believe this change from the teachers choosing of books to the students choosing their own books is essential and infl uential in the success of a stu-dent’s educational career.

Lisa LoBalsamo, ‘10

More book choices for students

Dear Editor, I am writing in response to the article “Are you a cheater?” [News, February 2009]. Being a part of the classes in Calhoun, I witness many people cheating. More than half the students in my classes cheat everyday, wheth-er it’s on a test or homework. They take advantage of other students and their abil-ity of not being able to say no. They also take advantage of the teachers when they are busy doing other things. Students ask each other for home-work, and someone might give it to them because they might need the homework a diff erent day. As I read this article, I agreed with it a lot. It is true that good grades and college pressure a lot of kids and that might lead up to cheating. Some kids might not

think they are capable of ge ing good grades on their own so they depend on others, or some are just too lazy to try. Speaking for myself, I know that I try, but there are just those days when the temptation to cheat seems to be overwhelming. But one thing I can say is that my parents have

never helped me cheat. They have never done my homework for me. They made it very clear from when I was a li le that cheating is

not acceptable to them. Saying cheating should be per-manently eliminated would be im-possible. So the next best thing is trying not to cheat as much as pos-sible. Life would be more fair for everyone and you would get what you deserve.

Navdeep Hayer, ‘10

“Some kids might not think they are capable of ge ing good grades on their own, so they depend on others, or are just too lazy to try.”

To submit a le er to the editor or inquire about advertising, e-mail hoo eatseditor@yahoo.com.

Dear Editor, The article “Priceless Plastic” [Editorial, February 2009] was a well-wri en article about credit cards and the understanding of the eff ects of using one. A perfect example the writer gave was about the MTV show “My Super Sweet Sixteen” and how these girls just spend money like it’s their job - not realizing that it’s not like that for the normal 16-year-old girl. Showing this on television doesn’t help young teenagers to understand the real use of a cred-

it card. I found it interesting that American Express provided com-panies “Family and Credit Cards” so that if parents are willing to give their teenagers a credit card, they can sit them down and explain what to do and what not to do. This also gives them a sense of responsibility, but this is a respon-sibility that can have a major eff ect later on in life. As Ayn Rand said, “You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.”

Gabby Long, ‘10

12 Hoofbeats June 2009 Editorial

It seems like everyone wants this year’s prom to be perfect. A er all, it seems the seniors of 2009 have all started their relentless a acks upon the incessant tummy fat that guards our stomachs. They’ll plan their a ack careful-ly, with the utmost skill and preci-sion demanded for the tough job. A er all, we can’t have a hair out of line, a sequin not as gli ery as the one before it, and an inch of tummy protruding out of the al-ready skin tight dress. No. We couldn’t have that, now could we? Everyone wants every-thing to be on schedule and done on time. No girl wants the stress of worrying where the heck their limo could possibly be a er wait-ing for the past half hour. And no

guy wants to be burdened by the worry that he might have just lost his money on that invisible limo that claims he’s just around the corner. Let’s face it. Perfection is a neces-sity on prom night. But when have we lost the sense of fun? Why is it that perfection seems to dominate the most “special” event in our high school lives? We should choose to dismiss perfection permanently from our desperate, taxed minds. We should fi nally kick back, relax, and enjoy. Why rock out in brand new stil-le os that you spent a fortune on (only fi nd them lined up along the dance fl oor)? If you’re going to go out, then follow one rule: go out in style. Instead of looking for the most expensive shoes possible, grab the converses and head out with your

identity, and not a mere plastic doll look-a-like. Skip the tanning. Who wants to get burned days before prom? Make workout plans, but don’t be-come a machine fi xed to routine. Don’t just focus on burning calo-ries. Have fun. Grab your friends and hit the gym together while staring at all the cute boys and girls checking you out from be-hind. You could even skip the gym and head outside under the sun for an intense game of football or tag. Prom isn’t about perfection. It’s is about mak-ing a choice and sticking to it with your friends, making it the most special and re-membered night of our lives. How-ever, with the weight of the day’s importance comes responsibility. Precautions will need to be taken. And the only ones who fi gure this out already are probably the more mature folks of the bundle. It is those few and rare respon-sible students that will be sure to have a contact number of the limo, have everything already taken care for a er-prom, and maintain con-trol of the situation. We either have the time of our lives or we screw up like many have before us. Big time. There is a time

when fun and play can get risky. Statistics show that prom night can be one of the most dangerous nights. Here’s a few of them. “Seventy percent of teens killed on prom weekends are not wear-ing seat belts,” according to paren-tingteens.suite101.com. According to the National High-way Traffi c Safety Administration, in 2005 and 2006, fi ve New Jersey teenagers were killed in alcohol-

related traffi c ac-cidents in prom and graduation season. The Century Council in Wash-ington reported that in 2006, 714

youths under 21 died nationally in alcohol-related traffi c fatalities in April, May and June. “Among male high school stu-dents, 39 percent say it is accept-able for a boy to force sex with a girl who is drunk or high,” reported a survey taken from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Basic rules of safety more than apply on prom night. There is a way to have fun, without making unnecessary risks. There are ways to keep prom night safe and secure without too much stress. Foot loose and fancy free is the way to be on prom night.

romPrecautionsby Sadana Singh

Contributing Writer

“We either have the time of our lives or we screw up like many have before us. Big time. There is a time when fun and play can get risky.”

work and of just working hard to overcome obstacles.Garfi nkel: Cheerleading. It’s been such a huge chunk of my high school life - September through February for the past four years, so I fell in love with it and with all the girls (and boy!) on the team. We’re a very under-rated sport in this school, and it’s always been fun trying to prove everyone wrong and do great things. Hoo eats: How did you manage to balance school work with you extracurricular activities? Garfi nkel: Time management. And a lot of will-power to get yourself off Facebook and into a book for school instead! It’s go en stressful at times because I do take on a lot, but I’ve always told myself that if you enjoy what you’re doing, no ma er how much work it is or how many headaches it gives you, it’s all a labor of love.Hoo eats: What year of high school did you fi nd most diffi cult?Arnone: Junior year was the most diffi cult year for me because I took some challenging AP courses. While it was diffi cult, it was also the most rewarding year. When I fi nished junior year I felt so accom-

plished.Garfi nkel: I’ll go with a year of my life instead of keeping it to a school year: December of junior year to December of senior year. It includes SAT prep and all of the testing that goes along with it, the fi rst heavy dose of AP classes and testing, and that beginning stress of “Oh my God, how do I choose a college? And how do I get in?” And, sorry to say it, juniors, but those fi rst few months of senior year aren’t really any easier. Be-tween applications and actually having leadership positions on a sport or club, it gets a li le hairy. Thankfully it calms down.Hoo eats: What part of high school do you think you will miss the most? Arnone: I think I will miss being able to see my friends and the same people everyday. High school is one big comfort zone. So many people know you and respect you for who you are and that’s such a nice feeling. I’m also going to miss many of my teachers, who I have come to know and admire. Garfi nkel: I’ll miss the li le things the most. The runs to Boswells for iced tea on your off period, the 10 minutes si ing with my friends

before 1st period in the same spot in the same hallway every day, that fi rst-day-of-school excitement. Hoo eats: What aspects of col-lege are you most excited to expe-rience?Arnone: I am most excited to take classes geared toward my inter-ests. I also can’t wait to meet new people and to just be on my own, fending for myself, doing my own laundry. It’s going to be great!

Garfi nkel: Everything! I’m excited to live in a dorm and meet people who are there for the same reasons I am. I’m excited to not wake up at 6:30 a.m. every morning and to be a li le more independent. Just be-ing in a new city with new faces; there are so many more possibili-ties than I’m used to. I’m sure I’ll get a li le shell-shocked when I fi rst get there and that’s scary, but it’s an exciting nervousness.

Seniors say so long

Senior track members, Susan Fallon and Shannon Mo-ran (centered) enjoy their last practice with their team.

(photo by Courtney Hartne )

Heads of class(continued from page 3)

Editorial June 2009 Hoofbeats 13

Clean up, everybody do your share

Rood Awakenings by Rebecca Rood-GoldmanMorning traffi c woes

The position of Environmental Protection Agency administra-tive assistant has as much security clearance as the vice president of the United States and is usually one of the most highly debated hearings in Washington, and I got to witness as Mathy Stanislaus and two others were sworn in. Mathy Stanislaus was up for the position as Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response for the EPA. President Obama handpicked Mr. Stanislaus, who started his career as Assistant Re-gional Counsel for the EPA. Obama’s EPA appointments have promised to clean up super-funds and protect America from toxic waste, which is a fi rst for this county in eight long years. Under President Bush, clean-ups of these waste sites and super-funds decreased by 50 percent and he neglected to fi ne those compa-nies polluting the earth, as dictated by law. It seems states are becoming more and more “green.” Minne-sota is one of the highest recycling

states - all manufacturers of video products, products which seem to have a reoccurring presence in the landfi lls, must register and re-cycle or face the risk of deep fi nes. Rhode Island has a greenhouse gas emission commi ee to measure the amount they release. As I sat in awe of Mr. Stanislaus’ accomplishments, I couldn’t help but think about how outland-ish the notion was in “WALL-E” but how quickly our planet could perish without citizens taking re-sponsibility for all of their waste. I thought, here is a man that will throw his passion into his work and hold off an environmental apocalypse. Mr. Stanislaus then called upon another student reporter and my-self to be recognized by the House Senate commi ee. So with a title like that, comes a huge responsibility. Mr. Stanislaus has sworn to the core value needed for this position -“follow the rule of law and scientifi c inquiry,” as the president deemed a manda-tory requirement to fulfi ll this po-sition. It’s a race against time to clean up what has already been so damaged.

This new administration is tak-ing the environment seriously, and so should you. Campaign for solar panels, recycle your water bo les, and for god’s sake, throw out that

piece of trash. So listen up Cal-houn; you can make a diff erence. Your future, and the future of this planet, lies in your hands. What are you going to do about it?

(continued from page 1)

cars where there are no spots, cars are consistently illegally parked.” Mr. Seinfeld insists, however, that the parking lot monitors keep a good eye and that the adminis-tration knows of those who don’t comply with the parking lot rules. On April 29, a sign was placed in the front semi-circle, instructing drivers to pull all the way up and not to pass other cars for safety reasons. By the next day, though, the sign was taken down. Parents, however, are also a problem. Consistent passing and

refusal to pull up all the way so their child will be closer to the doors, increases the threat the ve-hicles posses. “The ma er of the school park-ing lot is also a problem. Teachers

complain about the lack of parking and speeding cars. We are plan-ning some meetings with Mr Sein-feld to review both problems,” Mr. Harrison said. Sophomores Jessica Livingston and Bria Forbes agreed that the system was a problem and that their safety has been in jeopardy in the morning rush to school. They both agreed that a pos-sible solution to the danger was to implement a system of crossing guards. Livingston proposed ad-ministrators go outside and direct the morning traffi c. So what can be done to resolve the situation? According to the Fort Morgan Times, Fort Morgan High School, in Colorado, proposed eliminating their vehicle-problem through parking tickets and fi nes. The fi nes were suggested there

following two accidents during one school year - one involving a pedestrian student in a crosswalk and the other a student in a car. Whether such extreme mea-sures are needed has yet to be seen. Forbes feels the administra-tion should protect the students by “limit[ing] the amount of vehicles that can enter the drop off area at a time, so that it gives kids the opportunity to safely get inside school without having to worry about ge ing run over.” At the beginning of the year, the administration sent a le er home to students asking parents to use busing in an a empt to reduce the “congestion.” In the le er, parents were asked to drive carefully if busing couldn’t be arranged - wait-ing for students to be dropped off without passing.

by Kelsey LeeEditor-in-Chief

“Teachers complain about the lack of parking and speeding cars,” Mr. Harrison said.(photo by Emily Begin)

Junior Christina Strezenec and sophomore Melissa Dileo organized a walk in memory of Lyla Stern on May 16. Donations will go to a teen suicide preventionorganization.

(photo by Alyssa Kurtzberg)

A day to remember

14 Hoofbeats June 2009 Editorial

The infl uence of a teacher’s opinion Forty-one minutes a day, 180 days a year. Are those 7,380 min-utes every school year enough for a teacher to truly make a diff erence in a student’s views and opinions? The search for the appropri-ate level of a teacher’s personal involvement in the classroom is a quest that has been contested throughout time. Even before the momentous days of the 1962 Su-preme Court case, Engel v. Vitale, where school-led prayer in public schools was deemed unconstitu-tional, the fi ne line of the presenta-tion of educational values has long been blurred by the opinions of the decades. The 2008-2009 school year has been special in that it was time yet again to elect a new president. As the heated Obama v. McCain presi-dential race stirred up the nation, similar tense feelings reverberated throughout our school. Social Studies teacher Mr. Neal Madnick has no problem extending his take on history to his students. Mr. Madnick is more inclined to off er his opinions within a class-room se ing. When speaking with Mr. Madnick, he made it clear that he “understands some teachers are not comfortable with expressing their opinions,” and he respects that; however, he is “very comfort-able in expressing his opinions,” while making sure students know the diff erence between his views of the events and the actual docu-mented historical facts. “Whether teachers are conscious

or unconscious of the situation, they are always presenting their views or opinions. History tends to be presented through some sort of lens,” he said. Mr. Madnick’s department col-league, Mr. Ryan Clark, agrees with the premise of Mr. Madnick’s argument, that yes, “it is hard to divorce your opinions from the content that you teach if you’re passionate about it, and if you’re not passionate about it, why would you be teaching it? But, at the same time it is important to remain as neutral as possible.” Mr. Clark recalled how a bad experience with an overly opinion-ated college professor has shaped the way he teaches today. “As a teacher you need to ex-press your opinions in a safe space so you can allow students to of-fer dissent and ul-timately form their own opinions,” Mr. Clark said. When discuss-ing both sides of the issue with junior Amanda McLough-lin, she off ered that when presented in the appropriate manner “bias can actually help you learn your own opinions.” As both teach-ers agreed that there really is no true objective tell-ing of history, Mr. Madnick and Mr. Clark illustrate the

two ends of the spectrum when it comes to a teacher’s interjection within the classroom. While Mr. Madnick claims he is “sometimes subtle, and sometimes obvious and overt,” he is “just up front in admi ing that I am expressing my opinion on certain things.” Mr. Clark disagrees and argued that it’s “important for the students to learn about the bias by present-ing both sides.” Mr. Clark also admi ed to fre-quently playing devil’s advocate, for a lesser-supported classroom opinion, in an eff ort to encourage stimulating conversation. Mr. Madnick, on the other hand, off ered jokingly “I could play devil’s advocate, but then I would have to change how I decorate my room.” The real question is how many,

if any, students are actually being infl uenced? Junior Melissa Nuzzi put the question into perspective: “Teachers have more than enough time to infl uence us. I’m more likely to spend more time with my teachers than my family.” According to Mr. Madnick, “Someone who has been molded and shaped for 17 years by parents and the media already has some deeply-seeded beliefs previously instilled and 41 minutes a day is not going to be able to alter that.

by Kimberly BrowerStaff Writer

Mr. Clark takes a question from his social studies class.(photo by Emily Begin)

will miss changed long before I fi lled out my college applica-tions. Kevin and Paul were best friends since they were li le, just like me and my best friend. Since middle school, I went through many groups and “besties” but through them all, I’ve always had the same best friend. Like Kevin and Paul, there have been rough patches, and long periods of time where we just haven’t hung out, but when we do, noth-ing is diff erent. Kevin takes you through ev-ery detail of school. He talks about the awkward 15 minutes before the morning bell rings, how you’ll hang out with just about anyone if it means looking like you have more friends. He covers the dreaded SATs and ev-ery other awful experience that comes with junior year. He talks about teachers: “And, you never really knew them, any more than they knew you. Still, for awhile, you believed in them. And, if you were lucky, maybe there was one who believed in you.” Having experienced it all, I understand what he means, and all his les-sons have greater value. “Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what’s to come.” Whether you are leaving high school or leaving town, the un-expected is inevitable and you have to face it head on. For the class of 2009 and class-es behind, “you start out life with a clean slate. Then you begin to make your mark. You face deci-sions, make choices. You keep moving forward. But sooner or later there comes a time where you look back over where you have been... and wonder who you really are.” May you never forget your “Wonder Years.”

Wonder Years(continued from page 10)

Growing gang problem on Long Islandticle, retired Detective Wes Daily detailed the actions of two Suff olk County girls who found them-selves in trouble in October 2000. According to Daily, “The girls had all the things going for them that many inner-city gang initiates don’t have - a stable, middle-class home, good grades, church, and family.” Sound familiar? These characteristics could eas-ily apply to the majority of Mer-rick. NPR radio host Jacki Lyden was quoted as saying, “It outrages [Daily] that gangs have penetrated central Long Island, with its hous-ing developments and streets lined with split-level and ranch homes.” Gangs exist on Long Island and the longer we pretend like they don’t exist, the worse off we will be. MS-13 is Long Island’s largest gang

- and it’s based in Nassau County. In fact, the Assistant United States A orney, Andrew C. Hruska, said in a New York Times article, that there are more than 300 members of MS-13 in Nassau and Suff olk. Yes, that’s right.

That means that there are defi -nitely more than 300 gang mem-bers on Long Island. Meaning that the most prevalent gang is situated right in our county. The majority of gang members on Long Island, then, are centered around Nassau.And don’t think that just because

you aren’t involved in a gang, means that you can’t be aff ected in gang violence. We have got to stop sticking our head in the sand, chanting that it can’t happen to us. Because guess what? It can. According to the NPR article, “a recent study funded by the U.S. Justice Department, girls also join gangs because of ‘peer pressure, the desire for group affi liation, excitement… and money-making opportunities.’” You may say that this doesn’t aff ect you. And, maybe, for now it doesn’t. But we have to be proactive in preventing the spread of gangs into our neighborhood as well as helping end the violence in neigh-boring towns. It may not aff ect us yet, but if it comes, we won’t know what to do.

(continued from page 11)

“We have to be proactive in preventing the spread of gangs...as well as helping end the violence in neighboring towns.”

Sports June 2009 Hoofbeats 15

When a team comes off an 0-19 season, it’s hard to go anywhere but up. But the varsity so ball team did much more this year than get back on the winning trail. The tone was set early in the season for the Lady Colts, who defeated rival JFK-Bellmore in a non-league game. It marked the fi rst win for Calhoun against Kennedy in at least six years. Sophomore pitching ace Jes-sica Livingston struck out 101 bat-ters in just 72 in-nings. She fi nished the season with a 2.75 ERA. Livingston also led the team in hi ing with a .410 bat-ting average, 13 RBI, and an even more impressive .574 on-base percentage. For the second time in her ca-reer, Livingston was awarded an All-Conference honor. Though the team seems back on track a er last season’s diffi culties, Livingston believes there is more work yet to be done. “Our team did be er than last season, but there’s room for im-

provements, especially in our of-fense,” Livingston said. Led on and off the fi eld by senior captains Karin Weidlein and Chel-sea Lawrence, the team fi nished in fourth place with a 5-11 league re-cord (6-11 overall). Weidlein, a former All-Di-vision and All-Conference third-

baseman, ba ed .349 with a home run and 11 RBI. She was awarded another All-Di-

vision this season. “I’m so proud of our team,” Wei-

dlein said. “A er four years, I’ve really

seen the program prog-ress, and our fi nish to this

season, with all the im-provements we have made, has me leaving

Calhoun with a good taste in my mouth.”

Weidlein played all of those four years on varsity and

certainly leaves be-hind a legacy. “Karin Weidlein

is an excellent third basemen and defi nitely one of the leaders on the team. She’s a strong hi er and usually hits cleanup or third. Next year is going to be tough without her on the team,” Livingston said. If not for defensive miscues in several games, the Lady Colts could have fi nished with an even

be er record. However, the team lost four games in the sixth inning or lat-er with the lead against the top three teams in the conference. The last game of the year against Valley Stream was score-less entering the sixth ending. “All of the Valley Stream Central games were tough,” said Liv-ingston, who has pitched on varsity since eighth grade. “Both times we played them we were winning but then lost it at the end of the game. We should have beaten them both times.” The future looks bright for Calhoun so ball with a young nucleus coming back next spring, includ-ing sophomore middle infi elders Ashley Low-erre and Tara Bugden. Lowerre also won All-Division honors, as did freshman Danielle Losee. “I think with the team we’ve built, we will progress fast and get far,” said Lowerre, who led the team in runs scored. Losee pitched and played fi rst base; she fi nished the season with a .519 on-base percentage and was fi rst in walks with 18. Bugden, a

second-baseman, was second in walks with 15 and had a .516 on-base percentage. Livingston will be a junior next season, and Weidlein believes the team will be fi ne with the ace on the mound. “Jess Livingston is the future of Calhoun so ball. Her talent is tru-ly indescribable and she has really shown her team spirit this year,” Weidlein said.

Call it a comebackby Philippa Boyes

Colture Editor

Freshman Jenna Fennelly caught on as the varsity team’s catcher.

So ball team bounces back a er winless season

The girls’ badminton team has once again stepped it up. Reach-ing even greater heights, they once again hold the title of the Nassau County badminton champions. Under Coach Gregg Muscarel-la’s direction, the team has always been top notch. A competitive and vigorous spring sport, Badminton has been known for its perseverance and ex-cellence. Last year, the Lady Colts were undefeated almost the entire sea-son - they only lost against Me-pham in the team championship fi nal round, placing them second in the county. “I know that a er last year’s loss, the team was determined to get back our position,” said junior Christina Strezenec. Seniors Samantha Player, Aman-da DelBove, and Chelsea Diamond

led the winning team this year as captains. A true competitor this season was DelBove. Strezenec praised her captain, saying, “Amanda

DelBove is our fi rst singles for a reason. Not only is she a le y, but she’s got great skills and a good work ethic. Even when she’s down by a few points, she always fi nds a

way to fi ll the gap and win.” Strezenec continued, “There are defi nitely big shoes to fi ll a er the 2009 class leaves. They’ve been in our program for a few years, so they’ve defi nitely done a lot for the program. We all need to work hard to assume new positions.” Positions like fi rst doubles, fi rst singles, and third singles are ex-amples of some that will need to be fi lled, as they were played, this season, by captains Player, Del-Bove, and Diamond, respectively. “This season was extremely exciting, ending on winning the championship,” said sophomore Marissa Levy. “The future of our program will continue to be suc-cessful.” Though she is graduating in June, Diamond knows she’s leav-ing the team in good hands. “Our future’s looking strong. Although we are graduating six seniors, the underclassmen are ex-cellent,” she said.

(photo by Courtney Hartne )

(photos by Alexandria Lopez)

Livingston hit .410 and struck out 101 ba ers.

County champions againby Philippa Boyes

Colture Editor

Junior Kaitlin Gallo approaches the net during practice.

The varsity girls’ lacrosse team lost their fi rst-round playoff game, 13-4 to Southside, but still ended the season on a high note. The team fi nished in a tie for 7th place in Nassau’s top confer-ence with a 4-7 league record (6-7 overall). “It is impressive to be consid-ered a top-10 program in one of the most competitive sports on the is-land,” said Coach James Raucci. This year’s team, led by captains Megan Vasquez, Erin Green, and Dominique Mosca, was hoping to surpass last season, when they lost to the state champion, Garden City, in the semi-fi nals. “It was a great experience play-ing in Conference I against some of the best teams in the nation,” Mosca said. Vasquez led all scorers with over 50 total points and “earned the

right to be called one of the top 25 players in all of Nassau County,“ Coach Raucci said. She also led with the most touches per game. Eighth grader Lea Sanders was sec-ond to Vasquez on groundballs. “We are a very young team with only three senior starters. So we needed girls to step up,” Coach Raucci added. Sanders was able to jump into the varsity team and adjust to the increased pressures. Sophomore Ellie Rosenblum is enthusiastic about the team’s progress this season, saying, “We are up in Conference I and playing against top teams in the nation for the fi rst time – and we are fi erce competitors to all of the teams.” Coach Raucci agreed, recalling a specifi c game in which the team gave it their all. “The Manhasset game will for-ever be part of this team legacy. They played like warriors on the fi eld. We were the be er team;

Manhasset did what they had to do to rip the game from us.” While Coach Raucci is under-standably proud of this year’s ac-complishments, he anticipates an-other great season next year, with a number of “extremely young and talented” athletes who will be re-turning to the team. “Kelly Cummings was a stand-out defensively as a junior, along with Erin Green, and there are a group of tenth graders that will have a great future,” Coach Raucci said. And, he added, another star talent, Danielle Kirby, will be a se-nior next year. Since many of the team members are young, an important a ribute to the team will have to be fi lled once this year’s seniors have le . A er reaching the Final Four last season and making the playoff s this year, the girls want to keep the winning tradition alive. “The future is exciting,” Coach Raucci said. “We need girls to

step up. We have to replace some key positions. Losing Dominique Mosca in goal is going to be tough to recover from.” Coach Raucci stressed the im-portance of the sophomores in the team’s future, noting, “There is also tremendous amount of pressure on a group of current tenth graders. Ava Fitzgerald, Ellie Rosenblum, Meghan O’Sullivan, Sarah Shus-ter and Diandra Hanna need to be huge contributors next season. “Ellie Rosenblum also became a stand-out playing both defensive-ly and as a mid-fi elder. Erin Green did a great job all season playing against the best off ensive players in the county, including All-Amer-ican Ryan Wenk from Manhasset.” Rosenblum summed it up, say-ing, “Everyone has their role on the team whether it be performing in the game or challenging a start-er in practice. We are a relatively young team and we are really com-ing together.”

The Lady Colts lost their fi rst-round playoff game against Southside, one season a er reaching the Final Four.

by Emily WrynnEditorial Editor

(photos by Emily Begin)

“Warriors on the fi eld”“Warriors on the fi eld”Despite playoff loss, Lady Colts hang tough in top conferenceDespite playoff loss, Lady Colts hang tough in top conference

Badminton wins

Badminton wins

county title

county title

see page 15

see page 15