Is Challenge Day worth the eff ort?

page 3

Fair gives students healthy options

page 4

Defending champs back on the fi eld

page 14

With tough times come tough decisions, and the current state of the economy and its impact on the school budget is proof of that. Two cutbacks in the district that will immediately be felt are the re-duction of staff members and the cancellation of summer school. The 2 percent tax cap imposed

on New York State’s school budget plan has made the Board of Educa-tion and Superintendant Dr. Hen-ry Kiernan carefully review and consider all alternatives and pos-sibilities for the district’s students. As these decisions aff ect stu-dents and teachers, the results of-ten have lasting eff ects. “A lot was considered in mak-ing these decisions, but there are no good choices,” Principal David

Seinfeld said. Over the last few years, Calhoun has seen the repercussions of bud-get cuts with the reduction of as-sistant coaches, staff members, and subject chairpeo-ple. Now the dis-trict’s cuts will go deeper, and more teachers will lose their jobs. Though spe-cifi c information concerning the actual number of cut staff members was not re-leased, Mr. Seinfeld said decisions involving someone’s livelihood are the toughest. “Cuts to faculty, administration, and staff are the most diffi cult to manage,” Mr. Seinfeld said. “All of these cuts have involved valuable and talented individuals, but the State’s imposition of the tax cap does not allow us many options.” The other tough decision was the elimination of the summer school program, a district staple for many years. For struggling students or those looking to take an extra class over the summer, this program has been an essential. This is now an area of concern for teachers and administrators. “I worry about the students who need to catch up and acquire the credits,” Mr. Seinfeld said. “How-ever, the requirements do leave room for some fl exibility, which is good.” For seniors, there is still the op-portunity to graduate with their class and on schedule. Certain se-nior level summer school classes will be available this summer, and

if they can make up all the credits, seniors will be allowed to walk at graduation in June. In the mean time, students who are struggling to pass the year may

look into other districts for assis-tance. “Other districts like Mineola may be available for students to relo-cate and fi nish up

the year,” Mr. Seinfeld said. Other cuts in sports were made carefully, as well. The aft er-school activities and junior varsity sports that had to be terminated were decided, “so that as few students were aff ected as possible,” accord-ing to Mr. Seinfeld. Teams with smaller rosters had already seen cuts to the assistant coach position. These decisions are made ac-cording to the number of people trying out for the team, and teams that usually have a large turnout of participants will not be aff ected. Regarding the rest of the student body, Mr. Seinfeld hopes that all students will work especially hard throughout the year to avoid run-ning into confl ict. He added that he also hopes that by next year, the budget will increase and the summer school program will be restored. Budget cuts are nothing new. This school year saw the reduc-tion in the number of supervisors throughout the district. Instead of each of the three high schools hav-ing a chairperson in the fi ve major subject areas, two district-wide chairs have served in each subject.

by Gabby SimonsonEditor-in-Chief

Going to lengths

Sophomore Carmen Ballon prepares to donate her hair as part of the St. Baldrick’s event. See page 2 for more.

(photo by Rebecca Spina)

Budget cuts deepDistrict trims faculty, summer school

“A lot was considered in making these decisions, but there are no good choices.”

- David SeinfeldPrincipal

2 Hoofbeats April 2013 NEWS

Hair is one of the universal forms of self-expression, especially every March at Calhoun. Calhoun hosted the 7th Annual St. Baldrick’s event, an event where countless students, teachers, and community members volunteered to shave their heads for charity. Dozens of girls and female teach-ers also participated by donating at least eight inches of their hair to Pantene’s “Locks of Love” to make wigs for children with cancer who have lost their own hair. “Over the course of seven years hosting St. Baldrick’s, we have raised a total of $365,000,” said Principal David Seinfeld. “That does not include this year’s amount, nearing just about $60,000, a truly inspiring amount of money.” One supportive junior, Kimber-ly Hardwicke, said, “It feels great to know that I’m donating my hair to help children with cancer.” Most people take their long locks for granted, not realizing how painful losing their hair could be. The sad truth is children with cancer frequently endure severe hair loss caused by chemotherapy, and can lose this part of them-selves along with their hair. It is with the support and drive of charitable organizations, like St. Baldrick’s, that bring hope to chil-dren and adults fi ghting relent-lessly against cancer. Founded in 1999, St. Baldrick’s a large foundation that encourages boys and men to raise money in re-

turn for shaving their heads. This raised money, of course, goes to cancer research and toward fi ghting this devastating disease. Calhoun happens to be a school with an enormous amount of par-ticipation every year, beginning the St. Baldrick’s event back in 2007 The fi nal tally of money donated this year is listed at over $64,000 on the St. Baldrick’s website. That surpassed the school’s initial goal of $50,000. This mind-blowing amount shows how dedicated the community is in the fi ght against childhood cancer. Many students in the commu-nity support St. Baldrick’s, and see it as a great cause. Senior Dean Brownsworth, cancer-survivor and true hero to his fellow peers, said, “I thought it was amazing considering how many people showed up and how much money was raised. It’s great that our school gets so involved.” Teachers also get extremely in-volved in St. Baldrick’s, whether it be shaving their heads, cutt ing their hair, or raising money. English teacher Saul Wiener has shaved his head a total of three times for St. Baldrick’s, and his wife also donated eight inches of her hair this year. “I think that it’s meant to be a sign of solidarity for kids with can-cer, but I also think it’s humbling because so many of us are so self-conscious about our appearances, especially regarding our hair,” Mr. Wiener said. “It’s really a small sacrifi ce.” St. Baldrick’s seems to be a uni-fying event at Calhoun, perhaps

more than any other event. The staff and students unite in the fi ght against childhood cancer, one bald head at a time. Over 200 boys and men shaved their head in total this year. This includes boys from

the middle schools, elementary schools, and parents of students. Last year, event organizers an-nounced that the school had sur-passed its expectations and col-lected $53,000.

Buzz for St. Baldrick’sby Ashley Gladkowski

Staff Writer

A hairdresser prepares to cut the hair of senior Sara Bey.(photo by Rebecca Spina)

Junior Zach Abrams was one of dozens of boys who got their heads shaved.(photo by Rebecca Spina)

Melissa Menna, junior, prepares to have her hair cut for charity.(photo by Rebecca Spina)

News April 2013 Hoofbeats 3

Is it worth the Challenge?

Though students who have experienced Challenge Day say they’ve left the gymnasium feeling empowered and self-aware, many are left questioning its ephemeral eff ects and fear their secrets have not been kept. The program’s essence is to grant people a look into the life be-hind students’ in-school persona. During the course of the day, par-ticipants gather in small groups and one by one, members share anything they want or need to get off their chests. Many students report having a good experience, even if they had preconceived notions about Chal-lenge Day. “At fi rst I wasn’t very open to the idea,” said sophomore Olivia Huckemeyer. “I didn’t feel like cry-

ing, and it felt like a waste of time. I was skeptical about it. I’m not re-ally comfortable with opening up in front of people but I took the risk. It was one of the greatest feel-ings in the world. Challenge Day helped me change myself.” There are other activities aside from the share circles, such as ice-breakers, dancing, and an open apology portion where anyone can be honest in front of every-one. In addition, the facilitators run a session called Cross the Line, where students respond to various prompts about life and dealing with confl icts. “When we did Cross the Line, I realized that so many people I knew have gone through problems I never expected. I still think about it,” said Maggie Kilada, a sopho-more who experienced Challenge

Day this past February. Challenge Day promotes the idea of tolerance and the theory, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and for six hours spent in the gym, those ideas last. But for how long aft er? “The feelings lasted for about a week, then faded away,” said ju-nior Matt Vogel. Senior Meghan Haggerty agreed. “There was a lot of love for a few weeks aft er and everyone was pumped. That att itude among everyone died down a bit, but didn’t completely go away.” The current junior class has known the eff ects of Challenge Day the longest, having been the fi rst class to ever experience it. The school has hosted it three times since and the juniors are well-aware of the event’s ephemeral qualities. “People will still recognize the

other people in their group, but any emotional att achment they all have with each other will eventu-ally fade away,” said Vogel. The administration has taken steps toward keeping the idea of Challenge Day alive with the “Be The Change” team and a hand-ful of meetings, but senior Cas-sidy Del Orfano believes the key to keeping Challenge Day’s spirit alive and well is simply “being po-lite and kind to one another.” Several students suggested that the administration should consid-er organizing an opportunity for students to reunite and meet with their groups or have the Challenge Day facilitators return at the end of the year for a “refresh.” Among the few rules enforced during the event, Challenge Day expects participants to willingly

follow the idea what happens at Challenge Day, stays at Challenge Day. But it’s an event involving teenagers and one thing many teenagers love to do is gossip. With such a large amount of people att ending the event, it’s impossible to expect people not to talk. That said, future students that att end Challenge Day may be less inclined to open up with their groups if they know others might not be trustworthy. A percentage of students believe that whether or not the secrets are not kept depends on if the person took Challenge Day seriously. “I don’t think people shared to be malicious, but rather for some people to hear the severity of someone else’s story,” Huckemey-er said. Junior Christian Peralta added, “Kids talked about it literally right aft er they got out of the gym.” Mr. Eric Gomez, assistant prin-cipal, said, “It’s stated in Challenge Day by the facilitators that what is discussed inside should be kept in the gym.” “As a result of something that

does not adhere to the three con-ditions that were communicated initially, which are if a student says he or she was or is hurting themselves, if he or she stated that they were hurting others, and if he or she reported that someone was hurting them. Other than that, nothing should be discussed. If students are saying things to other students about what took place in-side the gym during that day, it’s something that would have to be addressed before we have our next Challenge Day,” Mr. Gomez said. As for students who revealed more extreme information about themselves, the guidance depart-ment is doing everything they can to help out. “We’re following up with stu-dents that were identifi ed as those that may require additional follow up,” said Gomez, “Every conver-sation we try to have with students has the overall themes that Chal-lenge Day presents to all of our students – respect, compassion. The guidance department tries to model these behaviors for students on a regular basis.”

Last year’s series of Challenge Days helped students connect on a new level.(photo by Vincent Ruvolo)

Students question costs, trust, & eff ectsby Rebecca Spina

Photo Editor

The Challenge Day facilitators run students through many diff erent activities.(photo by Vincent Ruvolo)

Students and teachers embrace through high-fi ves to celebrate a successful event.(photo by Vincent Ruvolo)

4 Hoofbeats April 2013 NEWS

Ever since 2006, Calhoun has hosted a Health Fair to show stu-dents all the diff erent ways to stay healthy and take care of their bod-ies. Now, in 2013, the Fair is still going strong. Organized by Ms. Keri Cinelli, health teacher, the Fair fi lls the gym with physical activities, healthy foods, and local businesses. “I was just trying to fi nd a way to bring health into our school,” Ms. Cinelli said, adding that she wants students to understand there are plenty of healthy food choices and ways of staying fi t. Working out is fi nding your way to bring health into your daily rou-tine, and the health fair is a way of proving that. Students could expe-rience diff erent cardio workouts like Insanity, cross fi t, and Zumba. The booths set up this year were really interesting. All through-out the day, music was blasting from a DJ and more and classes came down every period. Moola-la, Swirlz World, Souper Fry, and a whole buff et of hot food was served. Between frozen yogurt, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and Moe’s, there were healthy foods for everyone. Some of the booths focused on students using their in-tellect like the brain teaser booth, where you would have to do litt le exercises that seemed easy, but re-quired heavy thinking. Synergy was set up and there was a line for signing up for the gym. An awesome relaxation booth was set up by Calhoun’s prep classes, and right next to that was the Zumba instructor’s booth. The Zumba lessons went

on throughout the day on the set up stage in the middle of the gym. Also at the Zumba booth, raffl es were given out to win a gift certifi -cate, yoga mat, and a t-shirt. A look around the room saw quite the eclectic group of activities: cos-metology students were doing hair and make up. A wrestling mat was set up for self defense lessons. “Just Dance” was set up by some SADD members, as well as “Guitar Hero.” A professional weight lift er was also lift ing weights for every-one to watch. A booth was set up and lett ing students wear goggles that made your vision equivalent to being drunk, then had you try and walk in a straight line or play a car video game. Aft er the student did those two things, they had to

sign a banner against drinking and driving. Between making food and mak-ing posters, ordering supplies, and keeping in contact with so many businesses, Ms. Cinelli said this was her busiest year yet. The Health Fair takes her months and months of planning every year. This year she was most excited about all the booths set up show-

ing new examples of how to work out. The environment of the day was crazy, loud, and so much fun. At a point of the day, senior Tommy Murphy and Ms. Cinelli got up on stage and sang a Ke$ha song to-gether. The energy was all positive, and students were experiencing all these new ways to create a healthy lifestyle throughout the day.

Healthy choices at the Fair

(photo by Katie Hecker)

by Nicole Witt eStaff Writer

The Health Fair featured guests from local businesses and gyms, showing students what one can do with a healthy lifestyle.

(photo by Katie Hecker)

Juniors Geena Cantalupo and Jaclyn Schmitz participate in an aerobics exercise.(photo by Katie Hecker)

Nicole Basile has her hair done.(photo by Katie Hecker)

James Harrington works out his kicks.

News April 2013 Hoofbeats 5

Junior kicks her way into college

Since students were toddlers, sports have always been an inte-gral part of growing up and hav-ing fun. Soccer is no exception, as it is among the most popular sport of most kids and teens.

Some who dream of playing in college aft er graduating wait until their senior year to get the chance to prove their worth to colleges. But Kayla Cappuzzo defi es that standard, as she has recently com-mitt ed to play Division I soccer…as a junior in high school. Northeastern College in Boston,

Massachusett s will have a new soccer player in 2014. Kayla Cap-puzzo has joined the team, and will offi cially play for the college aft er graduating next June. She verbally committ ed to the school aft er visiting the campus. “I went for a visit and immedi-ately fell in love with the campus and everything Northeastern has to off er,” Cappuzzo said. Northeastern has approximate-ly 16,000 undergraduate students and only 35 percent of the annual applicants get admitt ed. While playing soccer in San Di-ego and being scouted by coaches, a soccer coach suggested for her to check out the college. “There was a soccer coach who saw me play in San Diego and asked that I come to meet her and look at the school,” Cappuzzo said. Centrally located in Boston, it wasn’t hard for Kayla to determine her fi nal choice. For her academic career, it was imperative that the school she chose had a physical therapy pro-

gram. Luckily, Northeastern was able to provide this for her. The competitiveness of the school has pushed her to focus on her studies now so she will be prepared for the rigorous college courses she will have to face. The school’s average SAT for every stu-dent is roughly an 1800. Part of her commitment deal was to achieve this. As for being accepted with one year left to go, Cappuzzo said she just needs to continue working hard. “I need to maintain my grades and get a high score on the SAT’s,” she said. Cappuzzo will have challenges in the classroom and on the fi eld. “I am committ ed to play on the NCAA Division I Northeastern women’s soccer team that com-petes in the NCAA conference,” Cappuzzo said. Cappuzzo has proven herself to be an incredibly talented player, and Northeastern will get a chance to see that for itself in two years.

Cappuzzo has committ ed to play Division I soccer at Northeastern College in Boston, though she’s still in the middle of her junior year.

(photo courtesy of Kayla Cappuzzo)

Absenteeism rose 7 percent dur-ing the school days taken away from the February break. According to school offi cials, on a normal school day only 3 to 4 percent of students are absent from school. Because Super-storm Sandy washed away three school days in October, the District de-cided to reinstate these days dur-ing the previously scheduled Feb-ruary vacation. Over the course of the three new school days during February break (February 20 to 22), 10 per-

cent of the student body was not present in school. This number may be abnormal, but not as high as expected. In fact, many teachers were expecting empty classes. Some teachers went ahead as scheduled, while others changed lessons, off ering extra credit work or using the days as review days. According to the District, and many other schools across New York State, it was important that these days were used, as it was supposed to be to help make up for lost time, especially for AP stu-dents. In Mrs. Lori Biscardi’s math classes, students were defi nitely

still learning, but absent students did not miss extreme amounts of work. “I taught for one of the three days, reviewed, and tested. It worked out because students only missed one lesson,” Mrs. Biscardi said. The students could easily make up their work, and only one 41 minute period was needed to make up her test. Mrs. Biscardi also helped by giving students notes and work in advance, providing answer keys and help before they went away. She especially made sure to ask her students, because some may not remember to ask for their

work. It was defi nitely easier to have instructional time, as her classes were still fi lled. Biscardi added, “The number of absences wasn’t what I expected.” Gaining these three days back was defi nitely eff ective, as learn-ing went on in most classes. Assistant Principal Nicole Hol-lings was happy to say that the days were average school days. “There were fewer students, but there was defi nitely instruction going on,” she said. While most students and teach-ers probably would rather have had their week off , these days at school were not wasted.

Rise in absenteeism during breakby Jenna Rudolfsky

Colture Editor

by Dana ReillyNews Editor

Cappuzzo (right) said she fell in love with the Northeastern campus.(photo by Rebecca Spina)

6 Hoofbeats April 2013 Colture

What’s on your iPod? Have you ever wondered what kind of music your teachers listen to? We asked teachers to put on their iPod, hit shuffl e, and answer some questions about the fi rst few songs that came on. In this fi rst edition of “What’s on your iPod?” math teacher George Lessig is up fi rst. When asked to describe the kind of guy Mr. Lessig is, one of his students, Lauren Tew, said, “Can I go the cheesy route and say most likely to make you smile?” When we hit shuffl e on Mr. Les-sig’s iPod, the results were prett y interesting. The fi rst song that came on shuffl e was “Hey Girl” by O.A.R., a rock alternative song found on their album called Prince and Me. To Mr. Lessig, the song doesn’t

have a specifi c meaning, but it does remind him of the time when his wife was just his girlfriend and of the memories of them dating. The math teacher said he was proud to have this song pop up. “I think it’s a cool song with a great beat,” he said. The iPod shuffl ed and revealed the next tune, “Sunshine,” by G. Love. This track is from the album The Hustle, which is mainly alter-native indie crossover music. This song to Mr. Lessig reminds him of all the great memories he and his wife have had. “Sunshine” prominently features a harmonica in it, which is the main reason why Mr. Lessig is proud to have this song in his collection. Just when there seemed to be a patt ern of the style of music Mr. Lessig likes, his iPod decided to throw a curve ball. The pop tune “These Words,” from the album

Unwritt en, by Natasha Bedingfi eld, was playing, and Mr. Lessig was embarrassed. “I’m embarrassed because I ac-tually like the song. I don’t even know how it got on my iPod,” he said. “I only know one line to the song, so I don’t know what the song means.” Moving on to the fourth song, a breakcore/rock song began to play. Breakcore is a style of music heav-ily infl uenced by kick drums, and sampling sources played at a high tempo. “Portland” is from the de-but LP album Middle Brother, which is also the name of the band. Like many people, Mr. Lessig loves to discover new music. “It’s a new band I was intro-duced to last year. It kind of re-minds me that I love gett ing new music. I went a few years without gett ing new music. Now I feel like I’m back.” He was proud to say “I love this song.” Back to the folk rock genre, Mr. Lessig’s next song was “Sun-shine,” by Matt Costa. This song is from the album Songs We Sing released in 2005. Matt Costa made an appearance at the very famous Coachella music festival in 2006. It is an upbeat song and this refl ects Mr. Lessig simply because, as he says, an upbeat guy. He is proud to have this song in his col-lection because he believes not too many people know of Matt Costa. Flashback to the 80s when Mr. Lessig was in high school. Rock was in and Def Leppard, an Eng-lish rock band, was there to pro-vide cool sounds for all those itch-ing for rock n’ roll. In 1987 this band released the al-bum Hysteria. The song that came on shuffl e for Mr. Lessig was the third single from this album, also called “Hysteria.” Sticking with the rock/folk genre the next song that played was “House of the Rising Sun.” The Animals, also an English band, re-leased this song in 1964. This song

reminds Mr. Lessig of his favorite show “Sons of Anarchy.” Mr. Lessig said, “Honestly, this song puts me in a good mood ev-ery time I hear it. Makes me sing along to it too.” The last song in this edition of “What’s on your iPod?” featuring Mr. Lessig and his collection is “Going to Georgia” by The Moun-tain Goats, which also is a folk/rock track. This song is from the 1994 album Zopilote Machine. The special meaning in this song for Mr. Lessig comes from the four summers when he worked in Cali-fornia. To him, this song refl ects his “love for artists and songs that many others don’t like.” Mr. Lessig was asked to pick a song that could describe him or in other words “be his theme song.” He chose the song “Banana Pan-cakes” by Jack Johnson. He considers himself a home-body and this song refl ects that personality. Mr. Lessig added, “Jack Johnson is probably my fa-vorite artist.”

by Dana ReillyNews Editor

Shuffl ing someone’s iPod can tell you a lot about that person and his or her music taste.(illustration by Lauren Tew)

Colture April 2013 Hoofbeats 7

Heavy metal has been one of the most popular subgenres of rock music. Placing an emphasis on musicianship, loudness, and doom-and-gloom imagery, metal has captured the imaginations of devoted fans for over 40 years. There have been countless metal bands, but only a handful have stood the test of time and continue to sell records and sell out arenas.

5. Motley Crue: Motley Crue was at the forefront of the 1980s glam metal scene and by far the best and heaviest. Con-sisting of singer Vince Neil, guitar-ist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx, and drummer Tommy Lee, the Crue took the glam image, elabo-rate shows, the British glam scene of the 1970s, mixed with metal and punk to almost single-handedly invent hair metal. Aft er independently releas-ing their debut album, Too Fast for Love, the band signed with Elek-tra Records and released their breakthrough, 1983’s Shout at the Devil. The album was their heavi-est, darkest album and sold mil-lions of copies. With fame came the excesses of rock stardom, and Motley Crue jumped right in, but the group got clean and released Dr. Feelgood, which peaked at No. 1. However, hair metal eventu-ally became a thing of the past and Motley Crue struggled to stay rel-evant. Luckily, in the new millen-nium, Motley has come back big-ger than ever, releasing Saints of Los Angles in 2010 and toured with KISS over the summer.Essential Albums: Shout at the Devil, Dr. Feelgood

4. Iron Maiden The most infl uential band to come out of 1980s “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” was Iron Maiden. While their fi rst two al-bums with vocalist Paul Di’Anno are classic, it was aft er he left the band and Bruce Dickinson took his place that Maiden became a force to be reckoned with. Dickinson’s wide range, the band’s musicianship and fast, abrupt tempo changes, and bass-ist Steve Harris’ lyrics was a match made in heaven. Dickinson’s fi rst album with Maiden, The Number of The Beast, became an instant clas-sic. Maiden put out hugely suc-cessful and great albums such as Piece of Mind and Powerslave. Maid-

en is still active today, constantly releasing new music and touring.Essential Albums: Iron Maiden, The Number of The Beast

3. Van Halen For bett er or worse, Van Halen practically invented glam metal. Singer David Lee Roth’s fl amboy-ant stage persona and wardrobe, Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing, and a slight pop edge to their mu-sic are all the evidence one needs. When the band burst on to the scene in 1978, it was like nothing anyone had ever heard before. The songs were heavy, yet catchy, and Eddie Van Halen’s use of shredding during his solos (“Eruption” being the best exam-ple) amazed and infl uenced the next generation of guitarists and became a trademark technique of metal. The band was known for their energetic live shows. The group’s next fi ve albums (Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down, and 1984) were all successful. Roth left at the end of 1985 to pursue a solo career and his replacement was former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar.

The group’s fi rst album with Hagar, 5150, debuted at #1, some-thing that would continue for the rest of Hagar’s tenure. Aft er Hagar’s departure, Ex-treme singer Gary Cherone was brought in for what would be the band’s biggest commercial and creative disappointment, Van Halen III. He left the band aft er a year. Roth eventually returned to Van Halen and the band released A Diff erent Kind of Truth in Febru-ary 2012 to positive reviews and sold 188,000 copies in its fi rst six days of release.Essential Albums: Van Halen, 5150

2. Metallica Formed in October of 1981 by Lars Ulrich and James Hetfi eld, Metallica rose to the top of the thrash metal scene of the mid-late 1980’s and for many is the band that defi nes heavy metal. Metallica caught the att ention of record store owner Jon Zazula, who had the band come to New York to record their debut album, Kill ‘Em All. Their fast tempos, musicianship, and instrumentals drew the att en-tion of the metal underground. Aft er the release of Ride the Light-

ing in 1984, Metallica signed with Elektra Records and put out what many consider to be their master-piece, Master of Puppets. The album showed a tremendous growth and brought them commercial success. Aft er Burton’s tragic death, he was replaced by Jason Newsted and the band released ...And Justice for All in 1988. It featured the band’s most complex arrangements yet and took them on their fi rst head-lining tour. Following the tour, Metallica recorded their biggest al-bum yet, 1991’s Metallica. It thrust Metallica into the mainstream, selling millions of copies world-wide. Metallica has remained a force to be reckoned with and one of metal’s most beloved bands.Essential albums: Master of Pup-pets, …And Justice for All

1. Black Sabbath Without a doubt, Black Sabbath invented metal. The fi rst song off of their debut album, Black Sabbath, has the trademarks of metal: dark lyrics, heavy drumming from Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne’s howling vocals, Geezer Butler’s bass play-ing, and Tony Iommi’s riff s. The album was immediately a success. The band’s breakthrough was their follow-up, Paranoid. Aft er Master of Reality, Sabbath became bored of straightforward metal and started experimenting. While initially this resulted in great al-bums like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, by the end of the decade, the ef-fects of the experimentation and the rock-star lifestyle began to take its toll on the band and the quality of their music suff ered. Ozzy Osbourne was fi red in 1978 due to his heavy substance abuse. Ronnie James Dio then came into the fold, releasing Heaven and Hell in 1980. With Dio’s powerful vo-cals, Sabbath was back on top. However, Dio left the band fol-lowing confl icts with the mixing of the live album, Live Evil. Aft er a revolving lineup with Iommi be-ing the only constant member and dwindling record sales and con-cert att endance, Sabbath reunited with Ozzy in 1995 and played on and off together until 2006. In 2011, Black Sabbath an-nounced that they were gett ing back together for their fi rst album with Ozzy since 1978 and a tour. They have hit several setbacks but Sabbath has recently confi rmed their new album, 13, is set for re-lease in June.Essential albums: Paranoid, Master of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

by Michael TrageserStaff Writer

The best metal bands

Motley Crue was at the forefront of the 1980s glam metal scene,(photo courtesy of motley.com)

8 Hoofbeats April 2013 Colture

Not many people can say that they played The Bamboozle festi-val in East Rutherford, New Jersey, before they were even 18 – unless they are one of the four members of Long Island-bred band Here’s To You. In the winter of 2011, the band competed in and won “The Break Contest,” allowing them to play the Bamboozle Break Stage on the second day of the festival. That year, Bamboozle featured bands like 30 Seconds to Mars, A Day to Remember, Plain White T’s, Bruno Mars, and Taking Back Sunday. “We had no idea what to ex-pect. It was probably the best and biggest crowd we’ve ever had, the reaction was so positive. It was crazy,” said drummer Stephan Stanzione. “It’s defi nitely one of our biggest accomplishments,” added lead singer and rhythm guitarist Char-lie Giovanniello. Stanzione approached Giovan-niello about forming a band in April 2009. Within a few months, lead guitarist Greg Almeida and bassist Vinny Pannullo joined and they became the pop-rock quartet Here’s To You. “I think each of us had a strong desire to create,” shared Stanzi-one. “Picking up our instruments - all at diff erent times - gave us an outlet to do so.” Since then, the band has had opportunities to play shows along-side All-star Weekend, Honor Soci-ety, The Click Five, Big Time Rush, The Dangerous Summer, Aaron Carter, and Long Island royalty, Patent Pending. Here’s To You has made a home at Revolution, in Amityville, but is currently working on branch-

ing out to places like The Loft , in Poughkeepsie, various venues in New York City, and, someday, the rest of America. Just last month, the band was invited to play at the Gramercy Theater in the city with The Secret State and Off City Lim-its, but the show was cancelled last minute. When asked to describe a typical Here’s To You set, Stanzione joked, “Some Irish jigging and some hot sauce.” “Only Frank’s red-hot though,” Almeida joined in. But in all seriousness, the band agrees its shows are energetic and fun. Musicians have a habit of say-ing they feed off of the crowd’s en-

ergy but even more so, the crowd feeds off of the musicians. When those four walk on stage, the amount of energy they put into a performance is off the charts, and the crowd absorbs it all. There is an unavoidable lively atmosphere, to the point where even if it is your fi rst Here’s To You experience, you are dancing along. If you fi nd me one person who’s heard Here’s To You songs and hasn’t had them stuck in their head, I will fi nd you a liar. Their music has an infectious quality to it that imbeds it in your brain long aft er the show ends. It’s an exaggeration to say they have a song for everything but, without a doubt, they eventually will. Here’s To You has writt en songs concerning a wide range of topics from cheating girlfriends (“With No Consideration”) to making the best out of every day (“Live It Up”). Almeida said, “We want to make sounds and melodies with these instruments that’ll blow your mind.” The individual members of Here’s To You are infl uenced by a variety of musical acts, however, the band’s music is very much af-fected by the works of The Beatles, Led Zepplin, The Black Keys, Fall

Out Boy, and every artist in be-tween. Here’s To You released their fi rst single this past Valentine’s Day, fi t-tingly called, “Love At Its Finest.” It was an old song writt en in the early years of the band when they wanted to write some “good pop jams.” “It’s prett y cool, I’ve never actu-

ally heard the term ‘love at its fi nest’ in any other song be-fore,” said Stan-zione. Aft er revamp-ing it, they felt it was perfect for

their debut – and it is. The instru-mentals sound familiar to early Forever The Sickest Kids - fortu-nately with less auto-tune – and, overall, it stays true to the idea that Here’s To You songs are impossible to forget. The song is upbeat and its chorus is simple and repeti-tive, making it easy for fans to sing along. “Love At Its Finest” is up for free download on their Bandcamp (herestoyouband.bandcamp.com). Unfortunately, “Love At Its Finest” is currently their only song up for download. For now, the only way to truly get an understanding of the quartet as musicians is to at-tend their shows. For more info: herestoyouband herestoyouband herestoyouband

The best band you never heard ofby Rebecca Spina

Photo Editor

Bassist Vinny Pannullo at a performance at Revolution in Amityville.(photo by Rebecca Spina)

(photo courtesy of Here’s To You) The band played the Bamboozle Festival in 2011 alongside Bruno Mars, A Day To Remember, and more.

“When those four walk on stage, the amount of energy they put into a performance is off the charts, and the crowd absorbs it all.”

Colture April 2013 Hoofbeats 9

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece will hit the big screen once again in May.(photo courtesy of thegreatgatsby.warnerbros.com)

From book to big screen

Ever since Fall Out Boy an-nounced their indefi nite hiatus in November 2009, their fans have waited patiently for their return to music. Over the past four years, there have been countless rumors of the hiatus’ end (undoubtedly leading to trust issues forming between fans and music news sites), but that’s all they were – rumors. Then, on a seemingly dull and unimportant Monday – February 4 this year to be exact – Fall Out Boy announced the earnestly hoped for end of their hiatus, a new album, two tours, a new single, and a music video all before nine in the morning. Fall Out Boy’s reunion album, Save Rock and Roll, musically is dif-ferent from the band’s previous work. The entire album is split be-tween a classic Fall Out Boy style and Top 40s music. Despite the contrast, every song fl ows into each other and that might be because of the fact that each one individually has its own infectious hook. People who aren’t even Fall Out Boy fans will be picking up their own copy of Save Rock and Roll when it hits stores or is available for download. It has everything necessary for the fi rst batch of songs released aft er a four year absence, with a made-for-summer anthem that could easily be confused for a song by The Summer Set (“Young Vol-canoes”), a keyboard solo that con-

tinues throughout an entire song leaving reminisce of 1980’s music (“Miss Missing You”), a song fea-turing a constant kick drum beat almost identical to Adele’s “Roll-ing In The Deep” (“Just One Yes-terday”), and an inspirational exit song and title track featuring Elton John – an arguably random pair-ing but perfect for the fi nal prod-uct (“Save Rock and Roll”). The album makes it impossible not to start dancing in your seat with songs like “Where Did The Party Go,” whose bass line and kick drum paired introduction is as almost as memorable as the previously released single “Dance, Dance.” Don’t fear, though, that because Save Rock and Roll dabbles more on the pop side of music that the band has lost their touch. Lyrically, the album has all of the tongue in cheek comments that make peo-ple love their music – “you’re the antidote to everything except for me,” (“My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)”), “baby we should have left our love in the gutt er where we found it,” (“The Mighty Fall”). There is not one uninteresting moment on even the slowest song, and it has such a feel good aura that listeners will never truly get sick of it. It’s the kind of album that ev-ery band wishes to make at one point in their career – full of hits that make people want to dance around the room regardless of how unprofessional or embarrass-ing it could be.

by Rebecca SpinaPhoto Editor

Fall back inThe return on Fall Out Boy

It seems almost every movie that has been recently released is based off a book. Book adaptations can either be glorious or absolutely disastrous, and it is extremely dif-fi cult for fi lmmakers to cater to every reader’s vision of the story, while including all the nuances that readers have come to know and love. That being said, 2013 is already shaping up to be a year full of book to fi lm adaptations, mostly adap-tations of young adult novels and fantasy/science fi ction novels. This year’s upcoming book adaptations have such a large spectrum of top-ics: ranging from alien att acks, the jazz age, a zombie apocalypse and a high school horror story. These are just a select few so you can get a head start and read it before you watch them. The Great Gatsby - The classic American novel, published in 1925, is being brought to the screen again for the fi rst time since 1974. Known for his lavish and eccen-tric fi lms, director Baz Luhrmann has cast Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey McGuire as Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. Luhrmann stated that he chose to return the iconic story to cinemas again because he felt the novel’s criticism of the wealthy was relevant to today’s society. Although the story does take place in the 1920s, Jay-Z has produced the music for the fi lm, and the movie soundtrack features

artists like Beyoncè, Florence + the Machine, Jack White, and Gotye. The Great Gatsby is set to hit the-aters on May 10. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - The popular young adult fantasy series, The Mortal Instru-ments, by Cassandra Clare, has be-come a phenomenon with a large fanbase. Set in New York City, the story follows Clary Fray, a teen-age girl who witnesses a murder by a group of teens at a nightclub, but, much to her confusion, no one else can see the killers. Clary has discovered an elite group called the Shadowhunters, who protect the world from a slew of danger-ous creatures: demons, vampires, werewolves, etc. When Clary’s mother goes missing she must en-list the help of the Shadowhunters before it is too late. The movie stars Lily Collins as Clary Fray, Jamie Campbell Bower, as the brooding Jace, a Shadowhunter, and Rob-ert Sheehan as Simon, Clary’s best friend. The movie will be released August 23. World War Z - Max Brooks’ 2006 post-apocalyptic horror novel World War Z: An Oral His-tory of the Zombie War, a follow-up to his book, The Zombie Survival Guide, is jumping on the newly rekindled zombie fascination and is coming to the big screen. The story takes place during a zombie pandemic and the main charac-ter, Gerry Lane, a United Nations worker, is searching the world for any information that can stop the zombie virus before it completely

by Brianna PaoliStaff Writer

(see BOOK on page 14)Patrick Stump is the lead singer of Fall Out Boy, a band reuniting once again.(photo courtesy of falloutboy.com)

10 Hoofbeats April 2013 COLTURE

Time for this test to sit one outAs freshmen begin review-

ing in classes for fi nal ex-ams, sophomores fi nish up

their fi rst formal thesis papers, and seniors are preparing themselves to fi ght off urges of Senioritis, there is one grade that is still being pushed to the edge: juniors. Though in truth, junior year can easily rival freshmen year as the “most diffi cult,” there are certain factors that make junior year stand out as most challenging year of high school. This, of course, being the dreaded SATs. Though they’ve been tortur-ing students for years, taking the SAT examination is nothing new. Now, more than ever, an enor-mous amount of weight is placed upon one test. But with the recent decisions to eliminate certain Re-gents exams due to state budget cuts, one must wonder if the SATs should be the next to go. The importance of the SATs is

quite overwhelming. Almost every college insists on having a grade for it, and in the higher-tiered schools, the results hold even more weight in the admissions decision. This is one of the many problems associated with the SAT test. If you’re that student in class who’s always dili-gently working, but has diffi culty with test taking, the SAT is defi nitely not in your favor. Unfortunately, this test is purely based off of understand-ing and applying one’s knowledge and skill, answering trigonomet-ric-based questions and reading comprehension. That is one rea-son why the ACTs have become so popular in recent years; that test does not solely judge one’s performance in math and critical reading, but rather in a suffi cient amount of diff erent subjects. The SATs are literally one

day’s work. In three hours, your academic fate is determined. What if you wake up and have a bad day? It’s incredibly unfair for stu-dents who may have worked hard all four years of high school to be aff ected by one single test.

Another huge fl aw of the test is the unfair advan-tage off ered to

certain students through extensive tutoring. Though slowly improv-ing, the economy is still not in great shape. Not to mention, with the recent destruction of super-storm Sandy, it’s rare to fi nd a person with extra pocket money to spend on tutors. If one tutor charges $50 for an hour for a session once a week, and you need three months of tutoring, that’s $600. And that’s just for one tutor at a highly cheap rate. Considering the SAT can be mastered with the theory “practice makes perfect,” a student with the

ability to be tutored has a much bett er understanding of the test it-self, and has a wider access to pre-vious tests. The SATs have become more of a high school ritual rather than a proper measure of students’ suc-cess. It’s become quite outdated to judge a student on a single test they’ve taken, especially when at-tention to anxiety problems has been made in more recent years. The SATs may have shown college that a student was good at math or critical reading, but says very litt le about the student otherwise. Colleges should want only well-rounded students, who are able to balance grades with activities and commitment to their community. The SAT examination is only a stressful experience that provides litt le insight on the legitimacy of a student’s grades, sociability, and overall achievement as a high school student.

Staff Editorial

Staff Members: Erum Ahmed, Vanessa Betancur, David Braunstein, Julianna Casella, Julie Ciccone, Paulina Fein, Jeremy Frank, Ashley Gladkowski, Katie Hecker, Arooj Iqbal, Sarah Johnson, Xander Lent, Mary Mazzie, Robby Mutarelli, Brianna Paoli, Paula Pecego, Chris Reyes, Carter Simonson, Michael Trageser, Adam Wilkes, Nicole Witt e, Jocelyn Yu

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

Editors-in-Chief Maddy Gott lieb Gabby Simonson Managing Editor Sarah Steil News Editor Dana Reilly Colture Editor Jenna Rudolfsky Photography Editor Rebecca Spina Faculty Adviser Jason Boland

Hoofb eatsSanford H. Calhoun High School

1786 State StreetMerrick, NY 11566

(516) 992-1300E-mail: hoofb eatseditor@yahoo.com

Twitt er: @hoofb eatspaper

Volume 55 No. 4 April 2013

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

Ever heard the names Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, or Ada Yonath? Probably not, but you know Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift , and Beyoncè. The truth is, any of the fi rst three females have accom-plished far more than the latt er three combined. A Nobel Prize is surely more no-table than a Grammy or an Oscar. Too bad girls in this day and age are hardly informed of the feats females have accomplished out-side of the golden gates of super stardom. It is time to stop and ask “Where have the true role models gone?” Take a step back from the “per-fection” that permeates through Hollywood and notice that there is a whole world of females who do what they love to do and make historical progress along the way. Take Carol Greider for example. Greider is an American molecu-lar biologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2009 for her break-throughs. Believe it or not, scien-tists were once admired more than they are today. Madame Marie Cu-rie, a scientist, was considered to be the biggest celebrity in her time. Why is it that girls tend to only look at celebrities as role models when in reality, they aren’t the best people to hold up as examples of empowering females. When we compare Taylor Swift to women

who have accomplished far more on an intellectual level, we have to ask the question: why do so many girls love Taylor Swift ? Sure, she writes a majority of her music, plays instruments, and has many awards but, these awards and rec-ognition come at a price. Some of her self-writt en lyrics are hurtful and target people who made deci-sions that she didn’t like. We should probably look at women who go unnoticed, yet have accomplished way more than Swift and celebrities like her. Did you hear about that nurse who helped save a life? No? Oh, right, she doesn’t have an agent to plaster her face on magazines. Hear about the teacher, that wom-an who helped a classroom of chil-dren learn to read, write, and tie their shoes? Doctor? Heard about her? She’s the one who made a breakthrough that might save your life, and you have no idea who she even is. If you look past social media, it’s possible to fi nd meaningful web-sites that show women are achiev-ing true success. Young girls need to realize that the female gender will never progress until it recog-nizes the traps it falls into. Take a look around, girls. There are more people to inspire you. There is a whole world of women outside of Hollywood who de-serve to have a following. For all of the things that may happen, a new passion might come from a new role model.

New role modelsby Dana Reilly

News Editor

Editorial April 2013 Hoofbeats 11

Science or English - which would you consider most important? Students are required to take English and Social Studies for all four years of high school, whereas science and math classes become optional aft er the required Regents credits are taken. Are all those years of English and Social Studies really necessary? Skills learned from math and science classes are used daily; however, when are we supposed to use the dates and events we learn in history in our daily lives? Practically never. No matt er how oft en certain teachers may argue, science and math outweigh social studies and English hands down. From buying groceries to cooking, science and math can be found everywhere in daily life. Simple calculations are necessary for shopping and even greater calculations are necessary for rechecking bills. Insurance companies, mortgages, and credit card bills all use mathematical and scientifi c tactics for success. Our courses during high school should be directed toward achiev-ing the best careers — preferably those that have suffi cient pay and are enjoyable. Science and math

are the gateways to such careers. Everyone falls ill once in a while, and we need doctors to take care of us. Engineers are the reason our lives are easy today. Bridges, tun-nels, televisions, computers, cell phones, and airplanes were all cre-ated by engineers. A high school graduation rich in science and math courses is essen-tial to success. Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Earth Science are not just the foundation of science, but also the foundation of life and ev-erything in it. Breathing, eating, exercising, and walking all incorporate biol-ogy. Cooking, cleaning, building, and driving all incorporate chem-istry. The speedometer, door, elec-tricity, and light all follow the prin-ciples of physics. Weather reports, minerals, nat-ural disasters, and climate change all relate to Earth Science. A student lacking knowledge in physics is oblivious to the laws of motion, laws of refl ection, and oth-er principles used in our daily life. Physics gives the ability to think critically and not accept anything at face value. Everything is hap-pening for a reason. Similar is the case with any of the other sciences; each has a role in everyday life that cannot be overlooked. The curriculum for English is

not synchronized with the needs of highs school students. Analyz-ing literary elements in uninterest-ing novels will have litt le impact on a student’s ability to write let-ters, contracts, or even to speak English. Instead of reading arid novels, we should direct English classes to perfect our skills as a writer. Advertising companies al-ways need a perfect punch line to att ract customers, which can only easily be conjured through years of excellence in writing. Courses should be solely fo-cused on providing one-on-one help for students and should pro-

vide appeal toward each student’s individual fl air and creativity. Reading helps one improve his or her vocabulary, and develop a personal style. Writing more of-ten will force students to practice these learned skills. Surely Shake-speare and other works are crucial to an English class, but developing skills students will use throughout their lives is also vital. The job market is loaded with ca-reers involving science and math, precisely why students should be required to take as many science and math classes as English and social studies classes.

by Erum AhmedStaff Writer

English not an exact Science

¿Con qué frecuencia se encuen-tra hablando una lengua diferente cada día? For those of you who don’t take Spanish, the question is: How of-ten do you fi nd yourself speaking a diff erent language on a daily ba-sis? The truth is, students spend a period a day for a majority of their high school, middle school, and even elementary school careers on Languages Other Than Eng-lish (LOTE). But how pertinent is taking a class for a language other than English? Language classes are designed for students to experience a new culture and language of a diff ering country. The concept sounds great; most Americans are too caught up in their ethnocentrism to even begin considering another nation. Yet, along the way, LOTE classes have proven to be disappointing compared to the other core classes. Now, this is not the teachers’ faults at all. Like all of the teach-

ers, LOTE teachers are successful at presenting creative lessons, and teaching the material. The prob-lem with LOTE classes is the lack of focus on culture and real world application. Tests and expectations of the education department force these potentially limitlessly fasci-nated classes to become weighed down with responsibilities of speaking the languages. Language classes are so purely focused on grammar and mechan-ics of speaking and writing, there is litt le time to gain a true appre-ciation for the culture, when all of the students’ main priority is being able to speak three lines of dialogue. In English classes, there is time spent toward learning the language, but the classes are most-ly designed around applying what is learned in analyzing literature. Language classes off er litt le expo-sure to native pieces of literature, magazines, etc. With the recent cancelation of language Regents, one would as-sume the curriculum could fi nally have more leeway toward culture

studies. However, LOTE classes are still completely devoted to at-tempting to teach students an en-tirely diff erent language. Learning a new language is challenging and exciting, and it is a great opportunity for students who are interested in linguistics. However, LOTE classes could potentially obtain the highest in-terest of students if there was at-tention paid to the bigger picture to the origin of the language being learned. For many students, know-ing how to speak another language may not entirely aid them in any-way in their future. It is defi nitely a bonus to be able to speak Spanish, French, or Ital-

ian, but it is not a skill that is need-ed for every kind of future job. If it was possible, schools should consider opening two separate LOTE classes: one for learning the language, and one for learning the culture. Even though LOTE classes should remain mandatory, they need drastic changes. It’s impor-tant for the youth of America to open their minds to a subject that is much diff erent than the typical Math and Science classes. Perhaps in the future, classes could be run in a manner that al-lows students to encounter the var-ious aspects of a culture, whether it be through literature or history.

Foreign concept

Beauty & the Beast

Seniors Julia Tolchin and Ian Silverman in their roles as Belle and The Beast for On Tour’s tea party.

(photo by Paulina Fein)

by Maddy Gott liebEditor-in-Chief

12 Hoofbeats April 2013 Editorial

Should teenagers be allowed to diet?Healthy choices, healthy bodies

Too many take dieting too far

Fitt ing a perfect image has be-come practically a necessity for our society. People of every age put their focus on losing weight to fi t the idea of “skinny.” However, this dieting oft en leads to disastrous situations, especially for teenagers. Teenagers oft en look to celebri-ties as role models. These celebri-ties oft en are pressured to diet to fi t into a certain size, thus indirect-ly pressuring teenagers into doing the same. Magazines oft en judge celebrities solely on appearance, and criticize them relentlessly if they gain weight. The message teenagers receive is “be skinny or be hated,” and that is what sticks in their minds. Dieting is the stress of our so-ciety, especially with health con-cerns regarding obesity. Besides being unhealthy, being obese or overweight is perceived as unat-tractive, and this leads many to be-gin dieting. However, having a healthy at-titude shares a fi ne line between being healthy and losing too

much weight. Teenagers tend to be extremely paranoid about their weight. They refer to themselves as fat and become extremely self-aware of what they eat. It’s one thing to watch what you eat; it’s another to starve yourself for weeks on end. Dieting is more than just eat-ing healthy. In theory, it’s good to know that teenagers care about their weight. However, can teen-agers be trusted not to take diet-ing to the extreme? This excessive dieting is most common among females ages 15 to 24. How quickly would it take for dieting to become something as severe as anorexia? Dieting isn’t a bad thing. If you are overweight or at risk of be-coming that way, it is defi nitely advised to watch the way you eat. However, the commitments and stress associated with dieting are not something that teenagers should be dealing with. It is simply a bett er idea to have a healthier snack opposed to diet-ing at a younger age. Dieting to the extreme could become risky and dangerous and should be reserved for older adults.

by Tracy GoldmanStaff Writer

When people hear teenagers are dieting, they immediately make the assumption that this means teens aren’t eating enough, or are cutt ing out nutrients their bodies need. While there are those who unfortunately take dieting too far, that does not mean that others should be judged for wanting to make healthier choices. In the United States, obesity is rising among adults and teenag-ers. In the past 50 years, child-hood obesity has nearly tripled. The American Heart Association (AHA) has dubbed that approxi-mately one out of every three teen-agers is considered overweight or obese. The sad truth is there are not too many people who aren’t considered overweight. So for these teens who want to lose a few pounds to get health-ier, there shouldn’t be a problem. Teenagers take health classes that promote bal-ancing healthy diets with exer-cise. Teachers are always encourag-ing their students to take something away from their classes, to use something learned in their daily lives. And that is ex-actly what teenagers are doing by dieting; they are applying their school work while fi ghting against the obesity sweeping the nation. Being a teenager can be rough, and with pressure coming from school, friends, parents, teens are very likely to put more consider-ation into their physical image. For many teenagers, they believe that looking fi tt er and thinner will make them feel bett er about them-selves. Let’s be honest: even “it’s what’s inside that matt ers” should be the way people assess their self-value, in today’s times, self-esteem is heavily measured based off of aes-thetic beauty. Yes, it’s awful that society has forced that idea among us. But, it is part of how we live, and for those who want to do the best they can for themselves, try-ing to lose some weight is neither a bad nor dangerous thing. Another positive aspect of diet-ing is the moral lesson it can teach teens. Dieting can be a struggle, and sticking to a diet proves deter-

mination and devotion. It is truly a feat to work hard, and lose excess weight as a result. Just like adults of all kinds con-stantly instruct teenagers to “never give up” and “try your best,” diet-ing is a perfect way to put their will-power to test. Indulging in junk food is a desire, just like put-ting off studying to watch TV. So just like parents would encourage their kids to focus on their study-ing, adolescents should be allowed to focus on their dieting habits. The idea of teenagers working hard to achieve a result should be cheered, not frowned upon. The main problem with dieting is the association with eating dis-orders. It is impossible to say that there won’t be certain teens who take their diets to an extreme, and create an unhealthy lifestyle from themselves. In the United States, however, only approximately 3 percent of teenagers are plagued with diagnosed eating disor-

ders. Though that number, of course, is still too high, it eradicates the belief that all dieting teens are prone to have an eating disorder.

That is why it is the school’s and parents’ responsibilities to suc-cessfully teach teens how dieting should go. Health classes and gym classes like Fitness for Life truly put great focus on the subject of proper di-eting. They teach students tips for cutt ing out unnecessary fats and sugars, and how to exercise for re-sults. Calhoun students are lucky to have these kinds of programs to teach them the best way to lose weight. In just a few months, several hundred seniors will be packing up and moving into their college dorms. With this newfound free-dom will also come the responsi-bilities of living alone, including when to study, when to do laun-dry, and yes, when (and what) to eat. Making healthy eating choices will be a part of the process, espe-cially for those teenagers that are used to a parent monitoring their eating habits. We trust teenagers to drive themselves to and from school, to hold down jobs, and to grow into adults. They are old enough to take control of their bodies.

“Health classes and gym classes like Fitness for Life truly put great focus on the subject of proper dieting.”

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(photo by Isabella Feldman)Teenage girls oft en fi nd themselves competing with society’s expectations.

by Maddy Gott liebEditor-in-Chief

Editorial April 2013 Hoofbeats 13

Time to break up the group

Two teenage football players in Ohio were recently found guilty of raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl in a case that has left many with more questions than answers. Why did it take social media out-lets for the case to be brought into the light? And, sadly, why didn’t news reporters denounce the boys and their actions once they were found guilty? We have devolved into a culture where this horrendous act was common, defensible. The popularity of football in the town of Steu-benville, Ohio, almost created a culture where sports are more important than crime victims. Rape culture is one that transforms the absence of a “no” into consent; is one that dis-misses a crime in favor of a wag of a fi nger at an oh-so-naive victim; is one that takes the perpetrator and says, well, it was an accident or a litt le mistake. The acceptance of rape in society and the media as something com-monplace has led to the dangerous habit of dismissing it entirely, of

questioning the raped and pitying the rapist. The actions of the two rapists are crimes enough, but a society that condones these actions should feel just as guilty. Rape culture is one where there are witnesses, over 50 of the vic-tim’s own friends and classmates, who watch and do not say a word. Rape culture is one where the me-dia sits back and watches as the guilty verdict is passed against these criminals and says, oh, what a shame. Trent Mays and Ma’lik Rich-mond were found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl, who later could not recount the tale.

While the girl was passed out drunk, the boys raped her and took pictures and videos, and were found in the lat-ter to be jokingly

referring to the victim as the “dead girl,” and “like a dead body.” The girl was knowingly unconscious and abused despite of, and even because of, this fact. Even worse, if not for the at-tention given to the case by on-line blogs and the hacking group, Anonymous, you have to wonder if we would even know about it. We should be embarrassed and

disgusted by a society where these crimes happen. And more embar-rassed at the media. Namely, on CNN, correspon-dents grieved for the convicted rapists. The case was covered with a disgusting sympathy for the rap-ists and complete dismissal of the victim. Correspondent on CNN, Poppy Harlow, reported from out-side the court room that it was “in-credibly diffi cult to watch as these two young men who had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, liter-ally watched as they believed their life fell apart.” Correspondent Candy Crowley added to the downpour of pity, “I cannot imagine how emotional the sentencing must have been... a 16-year-old, sobbing in court, re-gardless of what big football play-ers they are, they still sound like 16-year-olds. What is the lasting eff ect on two young men being guilty in juvenile court of rape?” Instead of taking this case from the point of view of the victim and asking, “what is the lasting eff ect on a young woman aft er being brutally raped?” we instead worry

about the convicted criminals. When our media begins to de-scribe the plight of these poor con-victed rapists, instead of question-ing how the victim will be scarred for the rest of her life, the stigmas of rape culture will be propagated throughout the public. Instead of asking, “Why did they do it? How could they think that was okay?” we say, “What was she wearing?” Instead of ask-ing of the victim how will she re-cover from this trauma, we turn to the criminals and ask, “What will happen to them? How will the poor things suff er from being pun-ished for a crime they knowingly committ ed?” A petition with about 300,000 signatures is going around the in-ternet, requesting CNN to apolo-gize for its comments. CNN’s dis-respect, though appalling, holds a vital lesson: that we, the US, should not allow our society to tolerate rape in our own values, in matt ers of speech, in the media. The horrendous acts of the boys in Steubenville, Ohio, should serve as wake up calls: that the using of another being is not something we will ever tolerate or defend. Ever.

For most teenagers, there are several chilling phrases teachers may shout out to a class, But the words “this is a group project” are as frustrating as it comes.

The concept of group projects is great. It’s supposed to teach stu-dents to be responsible, to enforce working collectively, and to pro-mote social interaction. But let’s be real: most of the time, none of those aspects occur. We all can look back to previ-

ous group projects and analyze the dynamic of said group. There’s the one kid who takes on the dictator role, the infamous slack-off , the lackey, and, my personal favorite, the person who has no idea what’s going on. With a bunch like that, are group projects helpful or hurt-ful to student environments? Group projects just cause stress. For the grade-concerned students, it can be intimidating to be graded on the performance of an entire group when you’re the only one doing work. It’s unfair to be giv-en the burden of being in charge. Even when the students who care are not dumped with the entire as-signment, they have to carefully watch over the students who are looking to do the bare minimum. This puts students in a position of power, when really, they should be at the same level as everyone else. Then there are the times when you’re in a group project, and there is that one really overbearing per-son who has been counting down the moments until they would be put in charge to boss everyone around. Since that person abuses their “power,” they try to make all of the decisions, leaving the rest of the group to blindly follow what

he or she prefers. The truth is, the grading policy is the worst part about group proj-ects. Most teachers decide to give the entire group a single grade that will count for each individual. How is that fair when only one person did the work? Teachers should re-alize the struggle students are nat-urally put in when they are forced to work with their peers. Instead of giving one grade for all, teach-ers should take the time to prop-erly examine how well the contri-bution was from each member of the group, and should be given a grade accordingly. That way, when one student does a lousy job, only that student receives the grade to refl ect the poor work done. It can be tough to fi x a prob-lem when you’re the student who feels neglected or overwhelmed. The most obvious choice, talking to the teacher, may seem like it’s not a proper way to handle the situation, but it’s a good approach. Instead of telling your teacher that you hate your group and you want to be switched out, mention to your teacher that the responsibil-ity for most of the work has fallen on to you, and ask the teacher for advice on how to fi x it.

Culture shockby Sarah SteilManaging Editor

by Maddy Gott liebEditor-in-Chief

“Rape culture is one where there are witnesses, over 50 of the victim’s own friends and classmates, who watch and say nothing.”

Batt le of the Classes

Members of the junior class compete during the annual “Batt le of the Classes,” hosted by Student Government.

(photo by Katie Hecker)

14 Hoofbeats April 2013 Sports

The defending Nassau County Champion Colts fi nd themselves atop their conference once again. Aft er winning the counties last season, the Colts made it all the way to the state fi nals, ultimately losing to Kingston. However, the Colts stand at fi rst place in Confer-ence AA-III with a 9-3 record. The strength of the team’s start-ing pitching has been a big part of their season so far. Junior Zach Mastrangelo helped propel the Colts to a 6-0 win over Port Washington with a complete game, four-hit shutout. In that

same series, senior Tommy Mur-phy one-hit Port Washington and threw seven strikeouts in a 7-1 Cal-houn league win. The Colts are also a threat at the plate. In an early season match-up with Valley Stream Central, the boys came from behind to beat their opponent 13-8. Trailing by two runs in the fi ft h inning, senior Kevin Hiss hit a three-run home run to cap a nine run inning. Hiss was 2-for-5 on the day, driving in 4 RBIs in total. Senior Matt Pillott i was awarded the win. The previous day in the VSC series, Pillott i went 3-for-3, and Chris Melito was 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs.

Senior Tom Joannou drives the ball for an extra base hit.

by Rebecca SpinaPhoto Editor

Defending champs back at it

Junior Zach Mastrangelo warms up before a recent home game for the Colts.

(photo by Katie Hecker)

eliminates the human race. He in-terviews survivors of the zombie apocalypse, which has come to be known as World War Z. Brad Pitt stars as Gerry Lane and the movie is coming to theaters on June 21. Carrie - Stephen King’s horror novel, Carrie, made famous by the 1976 fi lm adaptation, is being re-made again into a fi lm that is said to follow the novel more closely. King’s chilling novel follows the story of Carrie White, a teenage girl who is continuously bullied by her peers and abused by her moth-er. When her peers push her too far, she decides to unleash her hor-rifying power of telekinesis in one of the most iconic book-and-movie

conclusions ever. It stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie White and Julianne Moore as Carrie’s mother, Margaret White. The movie pre-mieres October 18, just in time for Halloween. Ender’s Game - One of the most popular science fi ction books by Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game, is the fi rst installment of a saga that takes place in a world where the government breeds child geniuses. They train them as soldiers to fi ght against an alien species’ hostile att acks and fi nd a military leader to put an end to the ongoing war. Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is draft -ed into this military training and proves himself to be unusually gift ed. Ender soon becomes the source of hope as the leader who

may have the power to secure the future of the human race. The fi lm features Asa Butt erfi eld, Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld, and Har-rison Ford. The author of the book said the fi lm’s storyline will be a combination of Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow, which take place in the same time frame. The fi lm will hit theaters November 1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Possibly one of the most highly anticipated book-to-movie adapta-tions of 2013, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the action-packed, climactic sequel in The Hunger

Games trilogy. Katniss and Peeta are back in District 12, preparing for the Victory Tour while Panem inches closer to rebellion every day. The Quarter Quell marks the 75th Annual Hunger Games and the stakes are raised for everyone, including new characters such as the seemingly superfi cial Finnick Odair, played by Sam Clafl in, and the feisty and sarcastic Johanna Mason, played by Jena Malone. Catching Fire is scheduled to be released on November 22, while the next two movies will come out in 2014 and 2015.

Book to screen(continued from page 3)

Tommy Murphy, senior, runs to fi rst base aft er hitt ing a single.(photo by Katie Hecker)(photo by Katie Hecker)

Sports April 2013 Hoofbeats 15

The girls’ lacrosse team is mak-ing a name for themselves in Con-ference III, taking on new competi-tion and keeping a winning record. Though they moved down from Conference II, the team has kept the same fi re and dedication as ever before. In league play, the Lady Colts are 4-0 (with an overall record of 4-3). Junior Nora Charidah scores six goals in a recent 14-13 win over Island Trees in a game that came down to the last fi ve minutes. With the score tied, junior Jessica Foley scored for Calhoun, making that her third goal of the game. Goal scoring has not been a problem for the team this year, with diff erent players stepping up in each game. One star scorer is sophomore Natasha Treuman. Over three league games, Treuman scored 13 goals. In Calhoun’s 14-8 win against Clarke, Treuman scored fi ve goals. She scored four goals in each of the wins against Mineola and East Meadow. Of course, the team is focused on making the post-season and making a dent in the playoff s. “We have so much talent on this team that I can say with confi dence our team has a chance of gett ing a spot in the playoff s,” said junior Ally Marcello. “We have beaten teams in the conference above us, and we can do it again.” In goal, senior Haylee Solomon has been solid all season. In Cal-houn’s four victories, Solomon has 46 saves. The Lady Colts have also seen success on non-conference games. In a 16-8 non-conference game against Hewlett , senior Lea Sand-ers scored two goals and also had

four assists. The team’s overall record in non-conference games, though, is 1-3, with losses coming against Lyn-brook, Seaford, and South Side. However, the team uses those games to sharp-en their skills and prepare for games against teams in their conference. With only a small amount of games left in the season, the team is concentrating on making the playoff s. Junior Emily Dolan said, “We are working together as a team, and if

we continue doing that, we could fi nish in fi rst place. Practicing and playing games six days a week, the girls are focused on not only this season, but prov-

ing themselves to the rest of Nas-sau County for next season. Junior Marie Chen said mov-ing back up to Conference II is important for the players who will

be returning next season. “We work on basic skills every day, so we can compete at a higher level. Hopefully, next year we can move up a conference.”

by Maddy Gott liebEditor-in-Chief

Charidah (left ) takes a face-off .(photo by Katie Hecker)

From left to right, Emily Dolan, Devon Bayer, and Megan Keener defend against Seaford.(photo by Katie Hecker)

Eighth grader Devon Bayer (center) att acks the net, while junior Ally Marcello gets open for a pass.(photo by Katie Hecker)

At the top of their gameAt the top of their game

“We have beaten teams in the conference above us, and we can do it again.”

- Ally MarcelloJunior

Senior Amanda Berusch looks for a pass.(photo by Katie Hecker)

Aft er several seasons of making a name for themselves as a seri-ous competitor, the varsity soft ball

team is making a run at the play-off s with a record of 5-3 in Confer-ence AA-II. Leading the way for the Lady Colts are two aces on the mound: sophomore Lauren Trimarco and

freshman Nicole Imhof. Trimarco had not allowed an earned run in her fi rst three starts, while Im-hof has 24 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. In addition, Imhof is hit-ting .619 on the season. Senior captains Gianna Saladi-no and Marisa Marcigliano bring experience and leadership to the team. Having been on the varsity squad for four years, they were both part of the rebuilding of the program and are happy to see their hard work pay off . “I think this is going to be the season we make a bett er name for ourselves,” said Saladino, who is among the team leaders in RBIs and runs scored. “Every single player on this team has the fi ght to play as hard as they can.” And fi ght they have. Having beaten three of last year’s playoff teams (Farmingdale, Plainview, and Baldwin), the girls have been in every game, win or lose, down to their last at-bat. One of the big-ger wins of the season came in ex-tra innings against Baldwin. With two outs in the bott om of the 8th, senior Cassie Beccaris won the

game with an opposite fi eld single. The Lady Colts fi nd themselves on the precipice of the playoff s. With only a few games left , the girls need to play each game as if it’s their last. “We have never wanted playoff s as badly as we do this year,” Sala-dino said.

Playoff pushPlayoff push

Senior Cassie Beccaris jumps into the arms of Lauren Trimarco aft er winning a game in extra innings.

Spring in their steps

Senior McLee Emile att empts the long jump, while (at right) Joe Conway, senior, races in the hurdles for the track team.

(photo courtesy of David Seinfeld)

by Rebecca SpinaPhoto Editor

(photos by Katie Hecker)

The team celebrates a walk-off win against Baldwin High School.(photo courtesy of David Seinfeld)