the pioneer – april 2012

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2 | THE PIONEER | April 2012

Despite being only a few years old, Mr. Demon struck again with extremely positive feedback from those who attended. Male beauty pageants come few and far between, but those who saw this spectacle had nothing but support for each of the brave contestants onstage.

The Mr. Demon judges included Ms. Griewe, Mr. Reuhs, Mr. Wunderlich, and Ms. Sterenberg. The pageant began with a dance that showcased the contestants’ bodies along to the appropriately named song “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO. The night continued with the beachwear portion, the talent portion, pageant questions, and finally with audience participation.

However, this year also featured brand-new Minute to Win It segments interspersed between each segment. Members of the audience participated in hilarious tasks, including stacking

eggs on pencils and knocking over bottles with pantyhose.

The Senior Lyceum, along with Ms. Tyler, handled the finer details of this show, and the eight contestants performed their absolute best to enrapture the audience.

Kent Kim won the title of Mr. Demon 2012 and earned ten tickets to a Chicago Wolves hockey game.) The first runner-up was Lazar Georgiev, who received an MP3 player, and the second runner-up was George Jabbour.

Of course, let’s not lose sight of the real purpose of Mr. Demon. From tickets and concessions, the Senior Lyceum raised about $1,000.00 for two organizations: Midwest Palliative, specializing in end-of-life care, and HAVE Dreams, focusing on improving the lives of autistic children.

This just shows that a side-effect of having a buff body includes the ability to bring in money to help non-profit organizations.

Annual Mr. Demon pageant makes money for charity

By Ray Roman

What most people are aware of when it comes to autism is the one in one hundred ten statistic, recently rectified to one in eighty-eight.

That’s right, one in every eighty-eight children will be diagnosed with autism or an autism spectrum disorder. What is not spread along with this “alarming” statistic is how it includes people who function on the higher end of the spectrum, either with “High Functioning Autism” or “Asperger’s Syndrome,” and that the poster children for

autism are almost never on this end of the spectrum.

Autism is not synonymous with mental retardation, as shown by autistic adults such as Temple Grandin, a formerly low-functioning autistic woman who invented an efficient and humane cattle run after observing the herd behavior of cattle.

Autism is a neurological disorder connected with communication and overactive senses. People with autism process thought differently and express thought in ways that may not compute with the neurologically typical.

In some cases, this goes beyond the socially stigmatized and into self-injurious territory, such as head-banging or slapping oneself.

Carly Fleischmann, a severely autistic girl who learned to communicate through typing, wrote that she sometimes feels as if her skin is crawling or the floor is pulsing (the floor is not, but the lights are).

For safer behaviors, such as hand-flapping or rocking back and forth, she explained that autistic people’s senses are overloaded, and “they create output to block the input.”

It was a milestone in understanding autism, because it was a first-hand-account from

a girl with what most would consider low-functioning autism.

Despite the many barriers that disabled people have broken over the years, through hard work, there are still many barriers remaining due to the general public’s lack of understanding.

Adults and teens with low-functioning autism are sometimes pegged as “suspicious” when seen alone in public, and are sometimes wrongfully arrested without actually having committed a crime.

While there are job opportunities for people with lower-functioning autism, through

Autism myths and factsBy Lenny Ditkowsky

See AUTISMpage 3

April 2012 | THE PIONEER | 3

disability services, people with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism, can often blend into a crowd, but are much less likely to find full-time employment.

It is estimated that five out of six adults with Asperger’s have not been employed full time, as some typical Asperger’s traits, like not making eye contact or physically rocking back in forth, may come off as rude or socially awkward.

In addition to getting the short end of the stick when it comes to dealing with people, people with autism and other so-called cognitive disabilities are more likely than the non-disabled to be victims of violent crime like assault or rape.

They are more likely to be attacked by a weapon, are more likely to be attacked by someone they know, such as a neighbor, family friend, or parent, and are more likely to be hospitalized as a result, according to statistics from the Bureau of Justice.

It is not entirely uncommon to hear about mothers killing their autistic children after receiving a diagnosis. They hear ‘autism,’ they hear, ‘institution,’ and they hear, though it is rarely said, ‘no hope.’ Autism is sometimes compared to a kidnapper, snatching normal

children and replacing them with “non-functioning imposters.”

One mother, in the Autism Speaks-funded video “Autism Every Day”, said, “I had sat in the car for about fifteen minutes and actually contemplated putting Jody in the car and driving off of the George Washington bridge...It’s only because of Lauren, the fact that I had another child, that I probably didn’t do it.”

Her autistic daughter was in the room. Murder-suicides on disabled people are not under the same stigma as murder-suicides on the neurologically typical.

For example, earlier this year in California, a 22-year-old man with Autism was murdered by his mother. The story got plenty of media attention, but most of it sympathized with the mother, and the autistic man was effectively “written out of his own murder.”

Prompted by this, and similar situations in which people with disabilities of some kind were harmed or murdered, the Autism Self Advocacy Network held a vigil.

Often, families are more able to get funding for drugs such as ritalin, which can cause seizures in autistic children, teens, and adults. Some young children placed on medication have strokes as a result of long-term use, a side-effect that most don’t realize until it’s too late.

Meanwhile, it is increasingly hard for families to get their children into appropriate therapies, such as ABA, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy, because insurance companies don’t cover them. Insurance companies in Illinois were eventually obligated by law to cover these therapies, after the Illinois branch of Autism Society of America’s vehement protests.

The most well-known Autism organization is Autism Speaks, but autistic individuals have never had so much as a token presence on Autism Speaks’ board of directors, and are often told that they are “too high-functioning” to understand “real” autism.

Most organizations prefer to prevent autism, create medications to – as some will tell their families – “cure” autism, or generate sympathy towards the families of autistic people. While the families certainly deserve support, so do the autistic children.

There is an Autism Self Advocacy Network largely due to other organizations only seeking a cure rather than actually helping autistic children learn to function.

But this is only in America. Europe can treat those on the spectrum much worse. In the French film Le Mur, a reporter exposes the outdated practices employed in France by close-

minded psychologists who still believe that autism is caused by “refrigerator mothers” or mothers who are aloof to their newborn children, and that autism is merely “Juvenile Schizophrenia.”

They use humiliating practices such as packing, in which a child is stripped near-naked or naked and wrapped in cold or wet blankets for several hours. Mothers fear refusing this treatment, as social services can take children away if mothers refuse this “treatment”.

In Sweden, after a girl with Asperger’s syndrome was raped, judges dismissed the case on the grounds that a girl with a communication disorder couldn’t effectively say “no”, even though the rapist’s story showed inconsistencies but the girl’s story did not.

Maybe Autism Awareness Month should be dedicated to hearing the stories of autistic people, rather than the secondhand accounts from detached relatives or psychologists.

Remember primary and secondary sources, and how some teachers require that we use them? Primary sources are vital to raising awareness, and when it comes to autism, not enough are seen or heard.

AUTISM,from page 2

HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR 2012 LENS YEARBOOK?

Limited quantities are available.

Stop by the bookstore and place your order before they sell out!

$35 per book

Maine East Fine Arts presents

The Curious Savage

A heartwarming play about money, greed, and the quaintness of life

May 10, 11, and 12


We live in a time where clothes, food, comfort, and almost everything are abundant. Rarely do we focus on what we don’t have.

We can go inside a department store and find whatever we need: clothes, shoes, toys... all of it is there. Modern shoes are so comfortable and so easily accessible we don’t ever worry about having to go barefoot, unless we want to, on the beach or by a pool.

But millions of people around the world do go barefoot, and not by choice.

Most people don't realize how many children in developing countries grow up barefooted, increasing their risk of infection and disease. For many, the lack of shoes also makes it much harder to go to school and get an education.

That’s right. Kids can’t even get to school because they don’t have shoes.

According to Partners in Health, an advocacy group for the world’s poor, during the rainy season, some African villages are cut off from their local school, and crossing barefoot over the terrain and rivers makes it easier to contract soil-transmitted infections, like hookworm. Because of this, school attendance and self-esteem can be very low among children in the community because of the health risks.

“New shoes give children a sense of self, a feeling of pride, and the universal satisfaction that comes from feeling taken care of and provided for.”

The TOMS Shoe company started its “One Day Without Shoes” campaign in 2009 with this

in mind. The idea is for people who are fortunate enough to have shoes every day to go barefoot for one day.

You might ask, “How will my going barefoot help a shoeless child?”

By raising awareness about the problem. Walking around barefoot will spike curiosity in those who don’t already know about the cause. Curiosity sparks conversation, which sparks action, which creates change.

“Kristen Bell, Matisyahu, Morgan Spurlock, and Heather Graham are participating... so are my parents, kindergarten teachers, 750+ college campuses, lawyers, and senators,” says Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS. “We even have people participating virtually by blogging barefoot, using a One Day avatar for Twitter, or switching out their Facebook profile pic to help spread awareness.”

By Aneta Karkut

Apparently, minor offenses are all the warrant police need to search under your clothes. The Supreme Court Justices - which are appointed, not elected, so these aren’t our or our parents’ faults - ruled in a 5:4 decision that police can strip search people for minor offenses.

The plaintiff said he wouldn’t pay a fine that he had already paid seven years ago, was arrested, taken into custody, strip searched, and then apologized to and released. He had presented the police with a receipt, but was subjected to this process anyways.

We’re giving police the power to strip search people for jaywalking and bad parking?

Nevermind that the police aren’t always the most reliable bunch, with sporadic cases of

brutality, unwarranted arrests, sexual harassment, corruption, and racial profiling. Of course, the simple solution to this is to not get arrested, but any policeman can develop a mild case of OCD given a bad day and an easy target.

Supreme court Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing-voter, claimed a link between minor offenses and terrorism. While it’s true that several terrorists have been initially detained for misdemeaors such as speeding or driving without a seatbelt before subsequent arrests on terrorist charges, do we really think that if police had checked their undergarments, they would have noticed explosive-laden vans up their butts?

All of this has me wondering: does Canada still want people to move there, because Canada is starting to look pretty good right about now.

Should police be allowed to strip-search?By Lenny Ditkowsky

Ask the SBHCWhy do people feel sore after they exercise?

During exercise, the body is working really hard and quickly to fuel the muscles with energy. When there is a decrease in oxygen and the demand for energy is so high, the body uses a faster process that makes both energy and lactic acid. The lactic acid can build up and get stored in your muscles. The best way to avoid the soreness is to do plenty of stretching before and after the exercise. It is also important to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise. The hydration helps the body repair itself faster. Getting enough sleep every night and listening to the body when it says to slow down or stop is important too!

What should I do if I can’t sleep at night? How long should I sleep?

Most teenagers need 8-9 hours of sleep every night to restore their bodies and be able to function at their highest level the next day. As important as sleep is to a growing teenager, it can often be difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep at night. The best ways to help your body get ready for bed is to have good sleep hygiene. This includes having a sleep routine. Try to go to bed at the same time every night. Do the same activities in the same order every night. This will tell your body that when you do these things, it means it is bed time. Turn off all your electronics before going to bed, inlcuding phones, computers and televisions. Stopping the affitional stimulation will help calm the brain and body to be ready for sleep. Use your bed only for sleep so your body knows that when you lay down, it means sleep, not reading or watching TV. Be active during the day! It is much easier to fall asleep if you are worn out from exercise or other activities during the day.

What do you do if you think your friend is depressed?

If you notice a friend is sad or is talking about suicide, ask him or her about it. Don’t wait and see what will happen. It can be a difficult conversation but just starting the conversation and listening can help. You may not have all the answers, but it will be reassuring to your friend to have someone who will listen. Even if it seems too personal, it is important to tell a responsible adult, such as a doctor, school counselor or teacher. Getting your friend help gives him or her additional resources to combat depression.


No, it’s not the type of Word Art you might find on Microsoft Word as you desperately try to extend your too-short essay to the required length with a title that looms over the rest of the page.

Instead, this Word Art can be found in the English hallway, as the previously banal walls were reclaimed by the literary staff and student artists of Maine East, who took a list of 24 words, all qualified as character strengths in the book Character Strengths and Virtues, and created art from their interpretations.

These words were scientifically found to embody the attributes of successful people, finding that those who had an open-minded, curious, and gracious attitude towards life were

the happiest and most fruitful in their pursuits.

While the attendants of the prestigious ‘English Hallway Gala’ sipped language-associated drinks and dined on academic ambrosia, they could listen to artists of the verbal kind recite poetry they wrote or found concerning the words around them.

Mr. Lundberg spearheaded the efforts to revitalize the hallway, and this collaboration of teachers and students is likely only the first of many efforts for the English wing to display their innovations.

You might find some Zest above one English teacher’s room while Presence hangs prominently over another’s, alongside insights on Creativity, Grit, Humor, and others. Don’t forget to look up above the lockers the next time you’re dashing into class as the bells ring; the writing’s on the wall.

Word Art takes over English wingBy Jasmina Basic

Annual Maine East Art Show

Prat Moshy

Marie Moon

Saba Zikaria

Sagar Patel

Hugo Cruz

Fidel Escarez


Entertainment

The Pioneer StaffApril 2012 ISSUE

THE PIONEERMaine East High School • Park Ridge, Illinois

The Pioneer reports on news, entertainment, and sports events for Maine East High School and the surrounding community. The Pioneer is distributed to students, staff, and a limited mailing list. Submit story suggestions, photos, letters to the editor, or comments to sponsor Matt Miller or assistant sponsor Dave Hessert via email:

[email protected] [email protected]

The Pioneer does not accept outside advertising.

REPORTERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

EDITOR IN CHIEFYogi Patel

EDITORS Aneta KarkutRyann Lynn

Jasmina BasicLenny Ditkowsky

Michelle GonzalezFatima Rogaria

Ray RomanRafaela Stoyanova

PiTunes

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TOP 10 Songs

Billboard® TOP 5 Album

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Wild OnesFlo Rida

Somebody that I used to KnowGotye

PayphoneMaroon 5

We are YoungFun.

What Makes You BeautifulOne Direction

BoyfriendJustin Bieber

Call Me MaybeCarly Rae Jepsen

Glad You CameThe Wanted

StarshipsNicki Minaj

Roman

ReloadedNicki Minaj

21Adele

ChangedRascal Flats

TuskegeeLoinel Richie

Up All NightOne Direction

VISIT THE PIONEER WEBSITE: bit.ly/ThePioneerFOLLOW THE PIONEER ON TWITTER: @mehspioneer

SCAN THIS QR CODE to read this issue in COLOR on a phone, tablet,

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_>_


EntertainmentMovie Review

OVERALL:A-

The movie The Hunger Games made $152.5 million during its opening weekend, continuing the explosion of popularity over the past several months about Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, which has spread like wildfire.

These futuristic young adult novels have crossed barriers of age and sex, generating an eclectic audience. In case you have not made your way onto the bandwagon, The Hunger Games is a story of post-apocalyptic North America where a strict government, called the Capitol, has split the country into thirteen districts.

When District 13 rebels, it is destroyed in war. In order for the Capitol to remind citizens of its authority, the Hunger Games are hosted annually. One male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen as “tributes” to compete against each other in a televised bloodbath in which only one person comes out alive. Survival means victory.

The books have been praised for holding a mirror up to our current world. While the government is not making us kill each other for glory, the story touches on relevant issues like reality television and an increased insensitivity towards violence. Of course there is a little romance sprinkled in as well, but the brutal conditions of this new world and the story of a brave young woman who challenges them is central to the movie’s themes, staying true to the central focus in the book.

Due to the popularity of the book series, there was a significant amount of pressure behind making the movie. Director Gary Ross stated that the biggest challenge of the film was conveying the vicious violence while retaining a PG-13 rating.

There is no doubt that having Collins co-write the script was a clever move. Collins was the first to point out that not every aspect of the book could be included; changes needed to be made. Ross and Collins covered their tracks brilliantly.

All the changes made sense so that nonreaders watching the movie still understood exactly what was happening. Independent from the book, however, The Hunger Games was a strong film. Tension slowly built in some scenes to hold the viewers’ interest, then fast-paced action sequences made the audience cringe and cheer simultaneously.

The book and the movie both hold their own so whether you want to know the why from reading or see the how from watching, there is something for everyone.

If you have yet to take the trip to a movie theater, you now have plans after school!

The Hunger GamesBy Ryann Lynn

OUT ON DVD

TOP BOX OFFICE HITS

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TheHunger GamesLionsgate

2The Three Stooges20th Century Fox

3The Cabin in the WoodsLionsgate

4TitanicParamount

5American ReunionUniversal

Born to be Wild

The Darkest Hour

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The Iron Lady

We Bought a Zoo


On March 17th, Maine East presented its 22nd annual International Celebration in the ABCD gym.

This unique celebration continues every year due to the hard work of Maine East students and staff. International Celebration is a time to explore and discover different countries’ foods and traditions.

The cultures of countries such as India, Mexico, Poland, China and many others were presented at various booths. Not only was the food delicious, ranging from Indian Samosas to Polish Perogies, the performances were also very entertaining!

Maine East is such a diverse school, bringing several distinct talents to the stage. Performances varied from cultural dancing to playing an instrument to singing.

Twenty-two students modeled in a fashion show, which showcased different clothing from the students’ cultures. International Celebration is a great way to experience a variety of different cultures in a matter of several hours!

International Celebration showsM.E. diversityBy Julie Joseph

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Across3. Shoe company who started shoe-donation program8. Required test for juniors: _____10. Boys and Girls spring sports12. Group working to clear away the buckthorn13. Boys and Girls spring sports14. Boys spring sport16. Girls spring sport17. Maine East _____ Show18. Maine East pageant competition: Mr. _____19. Boys spring sport21. Area of school being cleared out: Oak _____22. Sponsors of Mr. Demon Pageant: Senior _____

Down1. New decor in the English wing: _____ Art2. Popular book and movie: The _____ Games4. Girls spring sport5. Maine East spring play: The _____ Savage6. Maine East boys tennis coach7. Controversial police practice: Strip-______9. International _____11. Boys spring sport15. One of 8 children are diagnosed with _____.20. Resource at M.E.: School _____ Health Center

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SPRING FLOWERS

PUZZLE ANSWERS: (Scan with a QR Code Reader)


Testing Our Patience by Lenny D.


What's happening in the Oak Savannah? It looks... different, right?

The Maine East Ecology Club has completed the first step in a series of planned landscaping restoration make-overs. The European Buckthorn – the invasive shrub that has plagued the Chicago Forest Preserves for decades – has been completely wiped out from Maine East’s nature preserve.

The European Buckthorn shrub was brought to the U.S. by early settlers but has become a relentless invasive plant, affecting woodland areas in Northeastern Illinois. It tends to crowd out the native grasses, flowers, and trees, hogging all of the sunlight and competing for resources in the soil. It is also notoriously difficult to remove without the help of loppers or chain-saws, chippers and herbicide.

For the last 25 years or so, students and staff at Maine East have labored with cutting and prescribed burning to remove the nuisance each fall, but the buckthorn always seems to win, unless consistently and heavily managed.

The Club’s annual fall buckthorn removal days have always been fun and rewarding. Members learn how to identify the invaders so as to hopefully avoid cutting down juvenile oak trees - yikes!

We familiarize ourselves with the species found in this ecosystem, we clear out trash and tennis balls, and some years we even stay motivated to the beats Maine East Rhythm Project.

However, even with a turnout of 75 students and huge piles of buckthorn stacked up outside the fence, we only get to a fraction of what's there and the resprouts can be very aggressive. Realization finally struck - we needed to call in

see SAVANNAH,next page

CLEARINGTHE WAY


the pros. After a freshman Tree Project fundraiser and some help from the District, a crew of professionals has gone in and removed it ALL recently.

This complete clearing has several benefits. You can now see the ephemeral pond from all sides of the preserve! The dormant native seeds now have ample sunlight in order to flourish and support native critters. The young Oak and Shagbark Hickory trees are free to grow and produce mast (acorns & hickory nuts) for wildlife. The nesting pair of kestrel hawks may have more visibility and clearance to catch prey. Basically, our 3/4-acre Oak Savannah, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, now has another chance to rebound.

This is all very exciting and definitely cause for some celebration. However, we're not out of the buckthorn woods yet. The herbicide should penetrate into the roots and kill most, but there will be resprouts and there are countless seeds in the soil just waiting to emerge. Maintenance is key and we will work each fall to keep them at bay but this is definitely a more manageable task.

Future plans include fundraising for a new fence, path, trail signs, and deck with seating around the pond to complete our nature-lover's respite. The Ecology Club's goal is to renew this valuable resource for the benefit our students, staff, community and native critters. Imagine a place to go and learn about poetry in your English class, or capture images in Photo, count species in Biology, or analyze water quality in Geology, Environmental Science, or Chemistry.

We are on our way :)! We just might need a money tree, donations

and/or fundraisers. And we might need to expand our Oak Savannah planning committee. So if you'd like to be a part of this transformation, contact Mrs. Riha, Ms. Lee, or Mrs. Gallagher about getting your department, club, or just you involved.

Text and photos: Maine East Ecology Club. Follow the club’s blog here:http://maineeastecology.blogspot.com

SAVANNAH, cont. from previous page

Maine East’s Varsity Softball Team earned an IHSA Sportsmanship Award for its commendable sportsmanship during a game last week against Maine West.

Although the girls were losing the game, they powered through with positive attitudes and showed Maine West that the East girls were not going to just hand them a victory. The next day at practice, the girls worked hard to prepare for a game against Niles North, in which they played their hearts out.

Head Coach Hernandez and Assistant Coach Jennifer Genis accepted the Sportsmanship Award, given to the girls after the Niles North game commenting,

“I didn’t think they deserved it, but this game (Niles North) proves to me that [our team] actually [did] deserve such an award.”

Team captains Cara Debenedictis, Jowita Szczypka, and

Nicole Arias led and encouraged their team to play to the best of their abilities and finish the game with class.

“These softball girls have a lot of potential and show that they are very passionate about the sport,” said Klaudia Pajak, new to the varsity team. “It’s nice to play with girls who are passionate about a sport, [who] come to early practices [and] put this amount of effort into a game.”

Regarding what to expect of the team in their upcoming games, Bridget Murphy and Alyssa Matej both exclaimed, “Class!”. As far as specifics, “Megan and I pitching, Cara’s beast throws to second, Alyssa’s speediness, Nicole’s extendible arms, Klaudia’s plays at third, and the entire team’s new batting technique!”

Support the Maine East softball girls at their upcoming games and witness their award-winning “Sportsmanship Attitude” yourself!


Starting with a successful 6-1 victory over Wheeling in its first match of the season, the Maine East Boys Tennis Team was ready to show everyone what they’ve got right from the start. The boys started the season successfully and plan on getting even better.

Last year, under Coach John Schwan, the boys had a stellar 17-4 season. This year, they’ve set a team goal of making it into the Top Ten at State.

“Our team is one of the most dedicated teams at Maine East,” said senior Michael Plummer. “We were just one match away from State last year!” added senior Shaz Laliwala.

The team seems to have bonded well, too.

“We all love each other,” said junior Dustin Reisberg. Teammates joke that they are “brothers from another mother.” You can only find love like that in tennis, apparently.

The Blue Demons are off to a great start in 2012. The Varsity squad is 6-2 and the JV/Freshman teams are 4-1.

The varsity team lost last season’s first and second doubles team to graduation, but Michael Plummer and Kevin Medrano have stepped up to take over the #1 doubles position.

Peter Kloda, a freshman, has been performing well at doubles with his partner, senior Brian Vilchez. Other doubles starters include Junaid Ahmed, Monit Singh, Jay Patel, Syed, Haque, and S. Saha.

There are two players vying for the #1 singles position, senior Shaz Laliwala and sophomore Danny Choi. Both had exceptional seasons last year and should do well in the Conference tournament and hopefully at State.

Maine East wishes the 2012 team all the luck that they can get and we hope their goals will be achieved. Demon nation will be cheering them on in spirit!

Boys tennis team hopes for another run towards State

SPORTSSoccer Team’s excellent season

ends in an upset in IHSA Sectional Championship Game

The outstanding playoff run by our Demon soccer team came to an end Saturday night, as our boys battled New Trier in for the sectional title in Evanston.

The Blue Demons fought hard in a very emotional game, but lost 4-1. Rami Dajani scored the Demons’ lone goal in the very physical game, but although the team couldn’t pull out a victory, the game was a tribute to how hard our team fought and how well our captains led. The stands were filled with students, alumni and teachers all paying tribute to the fine work of the team.

The game was capstone to a season of success. The team had some trouble early in the season, winning only three of their first nine games, but after some adjust-ments, and the addition of sopho-more keeper David Patyk, who had 157 saves this season, the team managed to tighten its defense. The real strength of the team, however was its rapid fire attack. “Most high schools play a 2-4-4 align-ment,” said sophomore midfielder Marco Marin, but we play a 3-4- 3, an alignment that allows for more possession and high pressure. When the defense has the ball, the forwards pressure the ball.”

“The season has gone very well,” said head coach Mr. DiPrizio. “Junior Rami Dijani scored 30 goals so far and is ranked the number 1 player in the region.” Dijani is one of four team captains, along with Michal Walaszek, Tom Malitz, and Alexis Chavero. This year’s soccer team accomplished a great deal and was an outstanding example of suc-cess. Well done, Demons!

By Tom Schmidt and Pioneer Staff

16 | THE PIONEER | October 2011

By Michelle Gonzalez and Rafaela Stoyanova

Softball team gives its best, earns award

By Fatima Rogaria

Jowita Szczypka makes solid contact against Niles North.

Senior Shaz Laliwala prepares to serve.

the pioneer – april 2012

Documents

demon pageant

autism process

autism spectrum disorder

high functioning autism

demon judges

demon art page

lives of autistic children

autistic girl