Vol. 26 No.2 October 2009

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ancient Greek Ephebic Oath to thefreshmen and incoming sophomoreswill also continue this year.

"I love to see the freshmen standup and recite the Ephebic Oath. It'ssilly, but I really get a big thrill outof that. There's something aboutthem being so new and young, andat the beginning of their high schoolcareer," said Ms. Getting."Ihope theyunderstand the meaning of it. The ideathat young people are committing tomaking a difference just makes mefeel good because it gives me hope,gives me encouragement, and makesme think the future will be better," shecontinued.

Mr. Bonamo, who also enjoys 'theadministration of the Ephebic Oath,said "Founders' Day is one of myfavorite events. It's one of the onlytimes, ifnot the only one, that the wholeschool comes together in one room,"adding that the day also "bridges manyyears" between the founding and there-founding of the school.

Harris originally opened in1 904,but was closed by Mayor FiorelloLaGuardia in 1942 because of budgetcuts. The school was reopened in 1984,due to the efforts of the alumni.

Founders' Day "is a tribute toalumni, first principal [MalcolmLargmann], and teachers for buildingthe school we now enjoy. We can'tforget all the work they did," said Mr.Bonamo.

Additional reporting by PearlBhatnagar and Esther Whang.

Turn to page 3 to learn about the new restrictions on the sale of junk food inschool (Chancellor 's Regulation A-8l2).

-149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367

Founders' Day to honortwenty-fifth anniversary

aSSlC

recommendthatpeople agedsixmonthsto 24 years, those with compromised by Sarah Mahmoodimmune systems, and pregnant women To celebrate the school's 25thget the vaccine. Those allergic to eggs anniversary on Founders' Day,should not get either vaccine. October 30, the administration chose

The vaccines have been approved former social studies teacher Myronby the Food and Drug Administration Moscowitz as this year's key-note(FDA), which reports only minor side . speaker.effects, including soreness, redness and Mr. Moscowitz, who was "muchswelling at the injection site, low fever, beloved by the students," according toaches, and nausea, with runny nose Principal Kenneth Bonamo, was partand headache as additional side effects of the founding faculty of the school.from the nasal spray vaccine. "Hands"down, he was the most

Some are worried about additional popular teacher in the school," saidside effects, but according to the CDC history teacher Maureen Lonergan.website, "The 2009 HlNl infuenza Caroline Cross, English teachervaccines are expected to have similar and a Harris alumna who had Mr.safety profiles as seasonal flu vaccines, Moscowitz as a teacher, said, "He waswhich have very good safety records." really interesting and funny. He's going

Preventing the catching of seasonal '. to be a great speaker. He has been partor HlNl flu is not limited to getting of this school' s history."vaccinated. Hand washing and general Many of the Founders' Dayhygiene are critical. The DOHMH traditions that are also part of therecommends washing hands with school's history will be continued thissoap and water for about 20 seconds' year.,you can sing "Happy Birthday" twice Before marching to Coldento gauge the time. Alcohol-based hand Center, where the cetemony will besanitizers are effective as well. It is also held, students will fill boxes with non­recommended that people cover their perishable canned foods that will bemouths and noses with a tissue or their donated to the poor.sleeves when coughing or sneezing. Sophomore Elwin Ng is looking

Students should not come to forward to the seniors' skit, anotherschool when they're sick. "If students annual feature of Founders' Day.are"sick, with a fever of 100 or greater "This year's Founder 's Day Seniorplus a cough or sore throat, they should Skit is about thejourney from freshmanstay home, and not return until 24 to senior and all the crazy things thathours after the fever has gone down," happen in between," said senior Kelliesaid Ms. Carter. Gergoudis, who is in charge of the

Symptoms of HlNl include fever, skit.cough, sore throat, headache, runny The tradition of administering the

nose, nausea and diarrhea.Sources:Cohen, Elizabeth. "What to Know About

Getting HlNI Flu Vaccine." CNNHealth.com, 1 October 2009.

New York City Department of Health and"Mental Hygiene. "First Shipments ofHlNl VaccineArrive in New York City."6 October 2009.

---. "HINI Vaccination in New York CitySchools: What Parents Need to Know." 15October 2009.

New York State Department of Health."HIN I Flu Frequently Asked Questionsand Answers." 1 October 2009.

Pan American Health Organization."Influenza A (HIN l) Surveillance." 12October 2009.

Trex, Ethan. "What Does it Matter if I' mAllergic to Eggs?: A Flu Shot FAQ."Mentalfloss.com, 8 October 2009.

"Vaccine Safety." 2009 HINI Flu. Centersfor Disease Control & Prevention. 19 Oct.2009. Online.

Townsend Harris High School at Queens College

As vaccine becomes available,city moves to stem H1 N1 fluby Daniel Pecoraro

After a summer of 2738 confirmedcases and 266 deaths due to the HlNlinfluenza virus in New York, the NewYork Department of Health and MentalHygiene (DOHMH) is stepping upmeasures to keep New Yorkers. safefrom both the seasonal and HlNl flu.

According to school nurse LindaCarter, the easiest and most effectiveway to prevent contraction of the fluis to receive both the seasonal andHl Nl vaccines, the latter ofwhich wasreleased at the beginning of October.The seasonal vaccine prevents the threedifferent strains of influenza predictedto be the most prevalent this year.

There are two different types ofinoculation for the HlNl vaccine:intramuscular injections, which havedead cells of the viruses, and a nasalspray, known as "FluMist," which ismade up of weakened cells.

The DOH recommends gettingthe vaccine at one's regular healthcareprovider, but the vaccine will also beavailable at special weekend clinics inearly November for five weeks.

"The vaccine will be available toall students, but not to all schools,"Ms. Carter said. "Only elementaryand private schools will be giving thevaccines at schools."

Middle and high school studentsin the public school system can also goto the "Points of Distribution" (PODs)to get vaccinated. The PODs will givethe vaccines on weekends starting inNovember. They will be located inschool buildings; there will be onePOD in each borough. The locationswill change each weekend to ensurewider access. Brookyn and Queenswill host two PODs each during the "first two weekends of vaccination.

The Health Department will,providemiddleandhighschoolstudentswith information booklets about theHlNl influenza and vaccine the weekof October 26. The packets will alsocontain a consent form that parntsshould sign allowing their children toget the vaccine. Students getting thevaccines should bring the form to theweekend vaccination centers.

So far, the city has received 68thousand doses of the HlNl vaccine,with 1.2 million total vaccine dosesexpected by the end of the month,according to the DOH. The Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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'Junk food' policy ends hypocrisy Policy stifles decision-making

To the Editors:In The Classic, the college statistics were very informative and interesting

for me. I like how it showed how many people applied and...[how many were]accepted. Is this the general...[number] of students that can get in to that specificcollege? Also, most of the students who applied for Ivy League colleges wererejected. Why is that?

The Classic editors would like to caution readers that the statistics are onlyone factor that students should consider when applying to colleges. The numberofstudents that are accepted into a particular college varies year to year. Thestatistics should only be used to get a general idea ofwhere one stands in theadmissions process, based on SAT scores and grade point average.

l ariat Zaman, freshman

cartoon by Liz Kussman

Letters to the Editor

",:6'y Pear f'Bhatnagar ~ by Esther WhangPosters of celebrities with milk moustaches and bulletin boards with Chancellor Klein's policy, RegulationA-8I2, is meant to support an

"dancirli broccoli stalks line the -cafeteria walls . However, the food depicted important goal of decreasing obesity rates by prohibiting the sale ofjunk'on the walls provides a striking contrast to what one sees in the hands of food before 6 pm. (See pages 3.) Although the new policy does prevent'the students.within them. Instead oflow fat milk and vegetables, a junior is students from purchasing unhealthy snacks during the school day, it willspotted drinking 2% juice and snacking on the 'Hot Fries 'she bought from not better students' long-term eating habits .

.' t he vending machine on her way fromAerobics, Meanwhile, a sophomore Students are approaching adulthood and should learn how to regulateis waiting to buy a StrawberryS hortcake Ice Cream Bar from the SU store their own eating habits. Enforcing this policy mere ly sends a message

.while simultaneously reading hIS notes for an impending Health test. contradictory to one of the most important we learn in school- that weStudents are encourage d to eat healthy and stay fit through the lessons need to take responsibility for our actions. With this new policy, we are

taught in their health and physical education classes. Yet during the course " not being given the chance to exercise that. With this regulation, schoolsof the school day, these students are presented with a bounty of synthetic are not real istically mirroring the real world, where junk food is readilyfoods and artificially flavored, sugar-infused drinks. You cannot claim available to us. If we don't learn the skill of healthy decision-makingto be tackling such problems as childhood obesity, high cholesterol, and now, what will we do when we graduate and head off to college?diabetes if you are selling .the very foods that contribute to these life- There is no controlling what snacks students will bring to schoolthreatening diseases. or eat at home. And with so many clubs and teams needing food sales

Yes, salty pretzels, cream cheese-laden bagels, and baked goods raise for financial support, it doesn't make sense for this policy to be instatedmoney for the various activities students participate in. But is the expense during a time of budget cuts.of a student's health worth the price of a cupcake? The.new Chancellor's Although some might see the sale ofjunk food in schools asRegulation A-8I2 eliminates the sale of unhealthy foods during school hypocritical, it is in fact hypocritical of schools to tell students they arehours. (See page 3.) It's about time the hypocrisy ended. preparing them for the real world and then place them in an unrealistic

setting.'~ .".. . -.-'-_. I Although the intention behind Regulation A-8I2 is honorable, this

THHS BAKE SALESl rNAnO\\1ALECONCM~l ' policy is not an effective one. Rather than restricting students, the main, ... objective should be to continue educating them, so that they will make

healthy decisions on their own.

To the Editors:I think you did an awesome job with The Classic. I'm glad you included

articles on some of the teachers. I think it's important for 'students to know alittle bit about the people who educate them. I particularly enjoyed the one onMs. Herrera. She is my geometry teacher, and it was fascinating to learn abouther background. I had no idea that even though she teaches math, she is so inter­ested in different languages. That iPod with the baseball, basketball, and tennisball in the sports section was very creative. The college statistics were also anice feature in the newspaper. Even though I'm only a freshman, I'm sure I'll beapplying for college before I know it. It was interesting and useful to see wheregraduates from this school go. Can't wait for the next edition!

Sarah Rader, freshman

Schools in the Ivy League are very competitive and difficult to get into. Thou­sands ofqualified applicants are rejected every year from these colleges simplybecause there isn i enough room to take them. Therefore, while it may seem thatvery few people were accepted to these schools from Harris , given the context,applicants from our school were relatively successful.

The editors would also like to remind students that Ivy League colleges are onlysome ofthe schools that excel academically. It is important to remember that theprocess offinding a college shouldfocus more on fit than prestige. .

..To the Editors:

Congratulations on the first issue of The Classic this school year. I reallyenjoyed reading it, especially the article "Rally kicks off Election Simulation"by Esther Whang. Since underclassmen weren't allowed to attend the rally, itwas nice to learn about it. I particularly found it enjoyable to read about how theseniors tried to stand out.

COMING NEXT ISSUE:

Special section honoring theschool's 25th anniversary

Klaudia Garncarz, freshman

Sarah MaBmoodEditor-in-Chier

Eilin.PerezSports Editor

Feature Staff: Indira Abiskaroon, Emma Court, Abigail Kof-

L · v iler, Demetra PanagiotojlOulos, Katherine ValleslZ n..ussman

Art Editor Sports Staff: Oliver Lee, Daniel Pecoraro, BilinPerez, GraceShin, Arthur Tarley

Pearl Bha"a~ar EstherWhangNews Co-Edit&rs

Sharmin R.ashedPhotography Editor

Reeecca SeidelFeature Editor

NewsStaff:AllisonBennett,FrankCorazza, HayleyDeSmond,Caroline Egan, BU11ice Laa, Nicholas LnjlO, Freddy Millan Jr.,Lory Martinez, Kristina Rudolfo, Rnpeshi Shah, Grace Shin,Rebecca Suzuki, TraceyWang

'I&wnseml lilarris UitJll Sello&1at Queens College

149-11M:elhourne Avenue, FlushiDg,NY11367

The Classic is an 01'00 forum for the ex­pression of stud ent views. The oRinions ex­pressed therein should not be talflen to rep­reSeB,t those of the administration or fatmltyor student body as a whole.

Ali.za Altman Dipabali Chow6uryBuiness Mallagers

lil:sa Cowen Caroline CrossCo-Advisors

Kenneth DonamoPrillcipal

Art Staff: Richie Bonilla, FAiward Farquharson, Alice HU11g, Reaaer8 are invited to submit letters to the eai­KatherineValles, Amy Wang,Amy Yuan tor. Letters should be placed in Ms . Cowen's

mailbox or e-mailed to thhsclassic~gmail.

Photogr~pby . Sta~; Aliza Altman, ~earl Bhatnagar, Rebecca com . The Cltl8sic reserves the right to eait allChu. Angle DYlgen, Alexander Sabatino letters . Letters must incluae name ana oFfioial

class. Names will be withheld upon request.

, The Classic

October 2009

Regulation restricts sale of snack food

In Brief:Antoinette Teague, College Coun­

selor, received the 2009 Yale EducatorAward last month. Given for excellence inthe field ofteaching or counseling, it wasawarded to 16 ofthe 175 nomi-nees from across the country. artwork by Katherine Valles

"It is particularly ex.citing toencourage capable students with limited resources tobelieve in their ability to be successful in challengingacademic environments," said Ms. Teague.

reporting by Nicholas Lupo

Science teacher Katherine Cooper was one ofseveneducators who were recently honored with the SloanAward of Excellence in Teaching Science and Math­ematics, given by the Fund for the City of New York(FCNY). The organization will give Harris $2,500 andMs. Cooper $5,000.

"I went into teaching because I knew its value fromthe example set by my family and I knew I loved it fromthe time I started teaching gymnastics when I was 15. Afriend told me to do something I loved, so I would neverwork a day in my life, and that is exact ly what I am do­ing," said Ms. Cooper.

reporting by Abigail Koffler

Hams was recently the recipien t of the School Part­nership Award from the United Federation of Teachers(UF!). This recognizes that the "union leadership andadministration collaborate on making decisions and set­ting policy," according to Principal Kenneth Bonamo.

Mr. Bonamo stresses the importance ofbeing "open.and collaborative" with the UFT. .

"[lfI] make them part ofdecisions," he said, "[thereis] a better policy at the end. We have a joint responsi­bility to provide an outstanding education for our stu­'dents."

reporting by Katherine 'Valles

~: \ . • • I • I " , . , " >A

lunch through school stores, reasons," he continued.fundraisers, or vending "I think people have tomachines. make wiser choices about

The intent ofthis provision food, but forcing people to dois to end competition with anything has never resultedschool lunches. Approved in anything good. It has to bebeverages may be sold an education," said Englishthroughout the day. teacher Caroline Cross.

However, the PTA is Health teacher Keithallowed to fundraise using Hanson, howeve r, supports thenon-approved food items restrictions. "I've been againstonce each month, provided the junk food in this schoolthe sale doesn't occur from from day one - even thoughthe beginning of the school the food is not much better inday until after the last lunch the cafeteria," he said.period. . He suggested that students

The new policy was follow his lead and bring theirspurred by state Comptroller own healthy lunches fromThomas DiNapoli's 2008 home.report to Chancellor Joel Some students expressedKlein on school nutrition in apathy or ambivalence towardsNew York City. The report the new regulation.found that although the "I don't really eatthe thingsschool lunches met nutritional from the vending machine,"guidelines, unhealthy food was said sophomore Tiffany Mak.available to students through "On one hand it's a goodvending machines, bake sales thing to do [because] it mightand school stores. . help us be healthier. But on

"I think [the policy] the other hand, we can alwaysmakes sense for some kids bring [junk] food from home,"who need strong guidance said sophomore Rache labout healthy eating or don't Lichtlman.see the connection between Many others, though,physical activity and caloric strongly criticized the policy.consumption," said principal "They're taking away ourKenneth Bonamo. rights - our food j ights. One

"Certainly, some students '.'way or 'another, : people are . 'would sooner drink a soda than going to find' a .way to bringmilk during lunch and miss out , in snacks. If they don't buy iton calcium, protein, and other from the school, they will buy

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important nutrients 'in milk . So' from some place else," saidit does make sense for those junior Ellen Mo.

by Tracey WangThe Student Union (SU)

store has ceased to sell foodand soon vending machineswill only sell snack food after6 pm each school day, dueto Chancellor's RegulationA-812, which limits the sale offood during school hours in anattempt to decrease obesity inNew York City schools.

The restrictions willsignificantly impact funds forstudent activities, which arepartially funded by the SUstore, according to Coordinatorof Student Activities (COSA)Aleeza Widman.

To make up for the loss,Ms. Widman has suggestedthat clubs and teams sell foodsduring school events that occurin the evening, after 6 PM,like the winter concert or theschool play. The school willstart implementing this ideaat Parent Teacher Conferenceson October 29.

"I believe it is the intentionof the Board of Educationfor all students to get propernutrition. However, it limitsstudents' choices and theability for teams and clubs toraise money," said chemistryteacher Thomas Sangiorgi,who is the advisor of ScienceOlympiad, which will nolonger be able to have pretze lsales.

Schools cannot sell anyfood during breakfast and

Special interest groups performed skitsduring the Special Interest Rally on October 24, as part of the Election Simulation. The groups hopedtto in-':form students and raise support for their causes. Here are photographs capturing some of the highlights of the performances:

all photos by Sharmin Rashed

Using costumes, music and lots of humor, seniors Christopher Wang, Vicky Papagermanos, Kellie Gergoudis, Yena Purmasir,Joey Spitaleri, Miranda Meyers, Marc Reisner, Arthur Tarley and Sherry Leung try it all in order to gain votes for their respective candidates.

The Classic

October 20094--

Before it was accepted as standard speech, "blizzard" was consid­ered slang for "a heavy snowstorm."

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artwork by Liz Kusman

s

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is all wrong - 'Cuz

Uh-nuh-tha bru-tha!

LIZA: [weeping]

'Cuz - 'Cuz - 'CU2

LIZA: Yo.

HIGGINS: Good,

good. "Farewell" is

now "Peace."

HIGGINS: Silly girl,

stop crying! Let's

start with the basics.

[He sighs deeply.]

"Hello" is now "Yo."

LIZA: Peace?

HIGGINS: Yes, and "How are you?" is "What's good?" For example, "Yo, what's

good?"

LIZA: Don't you mean "Yo, what's bad?" Wouldn't you want to know what nice things

are happening to a person? Since "bad" means "good," right?

HIGGINS: [irritated] No! You've got it all mixed up. Liza, you're killing the language!

LIZA: [pleased] Oh, thank you! [smiling sincerely] You're quite ridiculous yourself!

With apologies to George Bernard Shaw, who might have flailed his own arms and legs

(in frustration) upon reading this parody.

'Get With It': Modern Fai:r Lady Catches Onby Kristina Rodulfo

Ltza is sitting beside the ever-ftustrated Higgins, whose crossed arms andfUrrowed

eyebrows reveal his disappointment. He hasjust removed the needle from the

gramophone, which had been playing "Soulja Boy. "

LIZA: Ah-ah-es-ah-ew-ew-eol

HIGGINS: To become a lady, you must acquire the skill of dancing. This is the music

that will be played at aU sooial events and every proper lady of this generation is well

aware of this dance. Now put yeur arms like so. Oh, come now! How can we ever teach

you to be bad?

LIZA: Bad? I'm a good girl, I am!

HIGGINS: No, no. "Bad" now means "good!" [Liza throws her arms up and hops on

one foot.] You look terrible!

LIZA: Thank you!

HIGGINS: No, no, that is not a compliment. Mrs. Pearce, please demonstrate the proper

way to kill it.

LlZA: Kill? Ah-ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-oo! I'm a good girl, I am, and -­

HIGGINS: Lisa, "kiU" means "do well"!

MRS. PEARCE: He's not encouraging you to do anything foolish! Just watch my lead.

[Mrs. Pearce proceeds to do the firs: steps ofthe Soulja Boy with a series ofhopping,

snapping, and arm motions. Liza clumsily follows suit.]

HIGGINS: Why Mrs. Pearce, your dancing is quite ridiculous!

LIZA: How rude!

HIGGINS: "Ridiculous" is a compliment!

MRS. PEARCE: Thank you, sir. [Liza continues her uncoordinated series offlafting

arms and legs.]

LIZA: Ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-oo!

BIGGINS: What is all this fuss about? I suppose dancing lessons can be postponed

until after her speech lessons. Now, for today's lesson we will work on common social

discourse.

LIZA: I've got no interest in social discourse. I'm here to get - what was that word?

HIGGINS: Pimped.

LIZA: Yes! I want to get pimped.

BIGGINS: Then begin by learning the words ofBeyonce - a prime example ofa

pimped out lady. [He starts playing 'Single Ladies'on the gramophone] Repeat after me:

"Decidedto dip and now you wanna trip cuz anotha' brotha' noticed me."

LIZA: Decided to dip and now you want to -

HIGGINS: No! Wan-na

LIZA: Wan-na trip because - ••HIGGINS: 'euz!

LIZA: 'Cus another

brother

HIGGINS: No! This

'Nuffsaid.

California is considered "SurfTalk" and includes wordssuch as gnarly (awesome) ordude (a word used to addresssomeone} A'ight]

The verb google (searchfor something on the Internet),based on the online searchengine Google, is nowconsidered standard English.Also, the terms podcast (refersto downloading) and phishing(Internet fraud) have beenadded to the dope (nice, good)Oxford English Dictionary.

Most agree that slang is notappropriate in a formal setting.Maria Assante, Health andPhysical Education teacher,says, "There's a time and .aplace for it [slang]."

Urban Dictionary, awicked(great)online dictionaryofslang, has over three milliondefinitions. It was created in1999 and ended up becomingone of TIME Magazine's 50Best Websites in 2008.

Anyone with an e-mailaddress can add to thedictionary. However, editorsdo check the definitions.

Junior Rifat Ismail says,"Yo! Urban Dictionary islike my Bible!" The websitereleased a book in 2005 entitledUrban Dictionary and anotherone in 2007 entitledMo 'UrbanDictionary: Ridonkulous StreetSlang.

Marianthe Colakis, foreignlanguage teacher, considersslang to be "like ketchup. Itadds spice but you wouldn'twant to make a whole meal ofit."

Various slang terms areused in different parts of theworld. In the U.K., A rightCharlie means 'an idiot.' Ayaar (friend, buddy) is used inIndia.

Aspeakermayusedifferentslang terms based on wherehe or she lives in the UnitedStates. Slang in Southern

by Rupeshi Shah"Dawg, I'm gonna hafta

stay up mad late to work onthat wack collateral tonight!"

Sound familiar? It totallyshould!

To communicate with eachother, teens, and even adultsoften use slang terms. Theseinformal and nonstandard

words evolve with time,meaning they don't usuallystickaround as long as standardEnglish words.~v\)lr:b~vi.~,otigiiJ.ijte within

societies through influencesincluding television, popularmusic, and even existingstandard English terms.

Once people begin touse the non-standard wordsfrequently, they are consideredslang. Sometimes, the termsmay become accepted asstandard speech, as wasblizzard (a heavy snowstorm).Fa'shizzle (for real).

Adel Kadamani, scienceteacher, feels that students whouse slang "should work harderto improve their learningskills."

However, Alice Kim,junior, believes "slang can beused, but it shouldn't infect theEnglish language."

Sometimes, slang is usedto give names to objects oractions, an example beingwalkie-talkie, which isconsidered standard Englishnow.

Slang isalsoused toexpresscertain emotions, such as yay,an expression of happiness.It can be synonymous withordinary English languagewords for parts of the body,food, and more.

Original English wordscan also gain a new meaning,as in hot (attractive), or becomeshortened, as in mike (frommicrophone). Wig, a word nowconsidered standard English,is the shortened version of theword 'periwig.'

Yo, slang infiltratesdaily conversations

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vampll'es4fyfe: OMG huge newstwil:ight_luver:omg what???vampires4lyfe: new pies r up 4 newmoonll!twilighC luver:OMGGGGGG"!vampires4fyf-e: IK!twilight_klver:omg edward looks 50000

euteee omg omg loltlvampires4lyfe: j Juvvvv himmtwllightjiuve;r: brb,g2g do humanitiespaper

AIM CHAT SESSION -DX

taking notes during school,"said Ashley Lecaro, junior.

David Crystal, a research­er on English language stud­ies, doesn't believe that chat­speak will damage the Englishlanguage. He also claims thatchildren writing instant mes­sages all day aren't in dangerof becoming illiterates.

Stephanie Harris, junior,believes that chat speak.doesdo harm. "I think that usingtext messaging lingo has aharmful effect on our writingin school and the English lan­guage. Insteadoftfyih~nb·~t1~..hance our vocabulary, 'we usemeaninglessabbreviations thatwon't help us on the SAT's,"she explained. '

The argumentover wheth­er the English language is be-

The Classic

October 2009

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hundted million people usinginstant-messaging throughoutthe world, it won't be goingaway any time soon.

Sources:BBC NEWSIUK,"Is textmightier

than the word?" 4 Mar" 2003,Online.

Eisenberg, Anne. "What's Next;Pooh-Poohing the Purists, aScholar Revels in Netspeak.New York Times. Techreview.13" Dec. 2001. Online.

Emms, Karrie. "How to UseAbbreviations: Five BasicRules of Abbreviation Use for

u .Homesch<m1ut:8i.1LHomeS"choolCurricula @ SuitelOl.com. 26May, 2008.0nline.

Toprani, Kaushal. "Instantmessaging . facilitates casual"professional' ·~;"dei~ors. ' ;··TheTriangle. Drexel Universtiy.21 Jan. 2005. Online.

The Tell-Tale Rlnglo,neby Carelne Itgm..

True! Nervous - dreadfullynervous - I had been and am, DUet how can you say that I am mad? I possess hearing and senses acute. Hearken and hear howcalmly, how healtWty J te~l yoUe the story.

I can't say when the idea enteredmy head, llut when it did I couldnot hope to try and cast it back to the depths i10mwhich it came. Object there was none.Passion ther<6 was none. I loved nnglish class. I loved·the teacher. Neither had wronged me, and yet I felt the unendlag compulsionthat drove me to my witsena - thecotnpUlsion t'0 text. "

Y0U should.have seenme. Youshould.have seen .h@w cautiously andwisely I proceedet. How cleverly1hid my cell phone :B:'Om the teacher,with what cau­tion. with w'hat foresigilt I went to work!And every aay, I hie my tiny cell phone :from her, andwhen I texted, I would slowly pull it out from my pocke~ - oaso gently - slower than a slothl Oh you wouldhave smiled and laughed to see how slowly I move€l:! Once I had the phone in my hand., I would text with speedgreater than that ofthe secondhand of any dock.

The eighth time I texted in nnglisn class;however, I made a near fatal error. I left the volume - the accursedvolume - on! Rig!ltas I, with flingers as nimbleas a thrush weaving its nest, was sending a message to my friend, it rang. As quick as a mouse fleeingi10mits feline nemesis, I turned off the volume,hid myphone under the f()lds of my sweater, an<i threw it un<ier my desk.

I'was safe. The teacher had indeed hear<1 a nOlse, Butshe had been una"bre to discern :from whence the noise had come. Ifyou still think me mad, listen tothe wise precaations I took.Afteriveminates !ladpassed, I ran to the "bathroom, carrying the sweaterwhich .hid my phone. In the bathroom, I worked hastily,bat in sHence, separatingthe phone ftom its Battery. I w()Ul1<i reconnect it later, bat there was no way it could maae a sound..

When I reac.hed the end of these lallors,I proceededto return to class. I entered the classroomwith grace indescribable, as if I floated from heaven i<tself. Ithen slid into my sea.t. The teacher,however, felt the need to discuss with the class the hatred she had for people who ~arry cell pnones to class. I smiled, £brwhat had [to fear? I raisedmy hand and addr<6ssed her. I told her, at great length, I agreedwith her whole heartedly. She smiledbrightly, happy to find in me acompatriot, while I myself shook wildly ftom the audacity and clevernessofmy action and placed a hand on the sweaterthat hid my cell phone.

She was satist'ied. My manner averted any suspicionsofhers that I might be theculprit, the t'ien<i whose cell phone had gone ()f:fearlier. But, ere long, I feltmyself grow cold and I desperatelywished the class woulti end. My hands quivered and I began to hear a slight buzzing noise in my ears. I raised my handagain,and began talkingwilely, trying to eispel my fears.The noise grew more and more distinct. I spake louder to try and drown it out. Surely the rest of theclass must hear it!

Then, with horr{)r, I realized it was not my ears; it was my phone vibratingfrom underneath my sweater!I carefully watched the teacher. Perhaps she suspected?I shifted in my seat, and the noise grew steadily louder - louder and louder! God, no! Sm@ly, by now

everyone could hear it! And yet the teacher kept smiling. Was she deaf? No, no, she knew! Her smirk seared my saul. Smely, I thought, the most onerOll8 ofbmdens wouldbe more endurable than that mocking gaze. Oh, Godl What could I do? I felt I woald most certainly explode l>enaeath that gl1astJy stare, thosediabolical eyes. And stilt, my .phone! Louder! Louder! Louder! Anti still, her eyesl They were upon me, burning like t'ire.

"Monstert" I shrieked. "It's me. It's me! It's my phone! I admit it! Here, here take it. Here is the accursed phone. Now leave me alone!"With apologiesto EdgarA.llan Poe.

:. )f "

The Classic

October 20096', .- .-- I. - "", • .•_' ,,, , - - ,' j

Glee combines comedywith musical numbers

artwork by Richie Bonilla

to storytelling.Students of English

teacher Raquel Chung'sMonsters and Maniacs classstudy vampires' presence inculture, especially throughoutfilm history, ranging from the

1922 film Nosferatuto HBO's True

Blood."Every

generationhas [its] own

vampire, andthe vampirechanges as a

new generationcomes along,"said Jessica, -astudent in the

class. "Back then they werenot appealing at all, but nowyou have Edward who is supersexy."

"Vampires used to becruel, ugly and isolated. Nowwe see them living among the

. rest of society, trying to blendin. Our modem stories showtheir good nature, making themseem more human," explainedIsabella, who is another studentin the class.

Removing the terror fromvampire stories may be onereason for their new popularity,particularly among teenagers.

Also, the . PG-13 ratingof Twilight' changed thedemographic target forvampire stories by increasingits availability and appeal to awider and younger audience.The 1994 popular . filmInterview with a Vampire wasrated R.

"I didn't concentrate onanything 'vampire' beforeTwilight," said freshman 'Rebecca Ahmed.

Some wonder how longthese stories of flawlessappearances and riskyromances will hold theirviewers.

"People are always goingto be fascinated by them[vampires]," said junior KeishaPilos.

"Vampires have alwaysbeen there and always willbe," said Isabella.

romance. They're willing todo anything for love," saidfreshman Nandine Hemraj.

"The 'forbidden love'aspect of the story is whatmakes it so appealing tome," agreed senior IsabellaOledzka, a fan ofTwilight.

Other fansenjoy thefantasy

vampires contribute to astory. ,"They [vampires] aremysterious .in nature , andthey're part ofthe supernatural.I guess it's a chance to get outof the ordinary," said juniorJessica Antudillo .

"I like that they areportrayed in a fresh light, aspeople you could be living nextdoor to, rather than the clichedcloaked beings who tum intobats ," said senior Max Lin, aTrue Blood fan.

Others, like Andrew,find the charac ter of "the 'good vampire" - typicallya character who refrainsfrom killing humans - mostappealing. "He wants to behuman but has to face his alterego. The good vampire resiststemptation," he said.

Some . students, likejunior Tommie Sperrazza, areunmoved. "Every channel hasa show about vampires. It'spretty dumb how everyone is

. trying capitalize on it in theindustry," he said.

"I think that the wayvampires are portrayed inmodem media is basically amockery of all they represent.These stories suck all themeaning out of the vampirelegend and insert sex, popculture, and whitened teeth,"said senior Frankie Spitaleri.

Whether one is or isn' ta fan of vampires in popularculture, they are nothing new

channel's history. Tickets toNew M oon, an installment ofthe Twilight series, ;,' Startedselling out in September, whilethe movie won't be releaseduntil November. '

What is it that givesvampires an edge in the mediaand leaves fans thirsting formore?

Advertisements for theseshows displaying strikinglyhandsome men posing withbeautiful women suggest thatthe blood-sucking ' isn 't whatdraws audiences most.

"Every vampire is alwaysreally attractive, and all thegirls go crazy because he'smysterious and a bad boy,"said senior Andrew Gumbs, aVampireDiaries fan.

Junior Ezra Ok believesthese shows are "all about thesex appeal."

Sophomore Lois Parkagreed, professing heradmiration of Twilight's maincharacter, Edward Cullen. "Ilove Edward Cullen.. ..hisvoice, the 'way they describehim .. .. and the way he looks ata girl ," she said.

Whether it is Twilight 'sBella Swan and EdwardCullen or True Blood'sSookie Stackhouse and BillCompton, vampire and humanrelationships seem to beanother reason vampire storiesare popular with audiences.

"I watch it because of

llampire$:Vampires sink teeth into pop cultureby Kristina Rodulfo

"Why vampires? Why notunicorns?" asked freshmanYoona Chung, addressingthe recent vamp ire crazedominating movies andtelevision.

The television series TrueBlood on HBO ,pulledin about 2 millionviewers in its firstseason . CWll 'sVampireDiarieshad the .larges tpremierein the

and returned, and the membersalready think that they 're betterthan their competition despitetheir lack of experience.

Glee loses momentumduring its dramatic moments.Some ofthe drama feels forced.It seems superficial whenthe resolutions to everyone'sproblems are compressed intothe last five minutes of theepisode.

Overall, Glee is a funnyshow with great musical

· numbers that set it apart fromother comedies. However, theintricate storylines should beput on hold until the charactersare more fleshed out.

talented, Rachel tends to leadthe numbers, leaving the otherglee club members stuck asbackup singers.

When the other membersdo sing, their performancesare usually better and morememorable than Rachel's.Kurt's use of the football teamduring the dance sequence ofBeyonce's "Single Ladies"was pure hilarity.

Arguably best of all· was Mercedes' rendition of

Jasmine Sullivan's "Bust YourWindows," during which sheproved that she has talent andpersonality that is criminallyunderused in the show.

While the musicalnumbers are excellent, thewriting could be improved.Less than 10 episodes into the

· series, the show already hasa complex web of outrageousrelationships and secrets.Football coach Ken Tanaka isengaged to guidance counselorEmma Pillbury, who isactually in love with Will, whois married to Terri Schuester,who is faking pregnancybecause she fears that Willplans to leave her. "

The plot lines are movingvery fast, maybe too fast.With'ihvthefe:w"episouts 'airedso far, new members havejoined, Sue has become theco-director of glee club, Kurthas' started to conieoutof'thecloset, Rachelhas quit the club

by Freddy Millan Jr.A mixture of a sitcomand a Broadway musical,

with some soap operaelements

• • thrown in,

• • Glee is aunique newshow on TV.

• • While thiscombination

odd, it worksmight seemwell.

The story centers onSpanish teacher William (Will)Schuester's attempt to restore ahigh school's failing glee clubto its former glory. His effortsmeet constant opposition fromthe . egotistical and over-the­top cheer squad director SueSylvester, who delivers theshow's funniest lines.

The glee club is made up ofcharacters who represent highschool stereotypes. Superstarwannabe Rachel Berry getsup and runs away wheneverthings don 't go her way. KurtHummel, the gay kid, walksto the girls ' group when Willdivides the club by gender fora competition. Diva MercedesJones, the black girl, gets intofights with everyone.

Other members includej6~k"Fi riii 'HUasoii: paraplegicnerd Artie Abrams, stutteringGoth girl Tina Cohen-Chang,bully Noah "Puck" Puckerman,and .pregnant .. cheerleaderQuilliiFibr~y: . ,

However,the show ' is 'aware thai .:it uses theses t e r e o t y p e sand frequentlymakes fun ofthem. Kurtcalls a bad song"really gay";'M e r c e d e squestions Willwhen he putsher in the whitegang for WestSide Story; andArtie remarks The Glee logo from http://www.bscreview.com/wp-

h R h 1, content/uploads/2009/09/Glee logo.jpg -ow ac e s -

outbursts arelosing their impact.

Each episode of Gleecontains a musical number.Unlike Broadway musicalsin which people randomlybreak out into song however,these songs are usually donein the context of a rehearsal,performance, audition, ordream sequence, During thesenumbers, the cast will eithersing a Broadway show-tune or,more commonly, a song thatis popular, such as Rihanna's"Take a Bow." The musicalnumbers are almost alwayssuperb and usually make upthe best parts of each episode.

Though the entire cast is

.~ "

:' ~e28'O ~)(ff. .The.Claaslc

October 2009

As lialloween apprOat~e$t t~eJJ litrJfamQJiJJ:us

artwork by LizKussman

Sources:BBC Home ' Page. "Vampires.". Online. 25 Oct. 2009. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A273566>.

"The Vampiresin Different Cultures."1994-2009. Online. Internet. 25Oct. 2009. <http://www.vampyres.ca/portaI/20070524/vampyre-his­kith-and-kin/vampire- different­cultures>.:

artwork by Liz Kussman

use themes from the BramStoker novel to assist in

Sources:Richardson, Beverley. Vampires in

Myth and History. 9 December2008.

Knight, India. A VampireObsession.27 September 2009.

Seidman, Robert. "The VampireDiaries" grows week to week intarget demo. 2 October 2009.

profiling their vampires.They are generally

portrayed as very sexualsre~rures, of!.~HJ}}~ying bat-li~~qualities, with an aversion tocrucifixes and garlic.

blood to give her life."During the 18th century,

many more allegations' ledto a large vampire scare thatexpanded throughout EasternEurope. There was a suddenoutbreak ofallegedvampireattacks under the HabsburgMonarchy, leading to masshysteria.

After decadesofcontroversy,Gerhard vanSwieten, (thepersonalphysician ofEmpress MariaTheresa ofAustria),was sent to conducthis own researchregarding thesituation.

Hethere was no evidencethat vampires existed.Nevertheless, the Empressprohibited the opening ofgraves and desecration ofbodies.

Influenced by thecontroversy, authors beganto write about vampires. Thestorybook _.vampirei.becameincreasingly popular as thecenturies passed.

Earlier poems includeLord Byron's The Giaour, andSamuel Taylor Coleridge'sChristabel.

One of the most famousexamples of vampires . inliterature is Bram Stoker'sDracula. Filmmakers often

These characteristics were histori­cally attributed (0 vampires:

Vampire Checklist

the youngest of seven siblings ofthe same sexthe child of a woman who was thevictim of the evil eye or an evil com­ment while she was pregnant with ita person who borrowed money prom­ising to pay it back, but never didsomeone who died unbaptized and wasburied in unholy groundsomeone who committed suicide

by Indira Ablskaroon andEuniceLau

The vampire we knowtoday has a long history datingback to Slavic folklore.

Conflicts betweenpaganism and Christianity inthe 9th century produced thefirst visions of vampires.

As . Christianity becamemore widespread, vampirismwas one pagan belief thatsurvivied as a legend.

"Vampires are showndifferently in differentlegends," says Claire .Bromberg, a junior in Englishteacher Raquel Chung'sMonsters and Maniacs class."[But] basically a vampire issomeone who died, camebackto life, and drinks blood."

It was thought that peoplewho committed suicide,those that died without beingbaptised, and those who werenever buried, were the oneswho became vampires.

Throughout the years,there have . been ' manyinstances where people wereaccused ofbeing vampires.

One such woman, theCountess Elizabeth Bathory,believed that rubbing bloodon her face would make herbeautiful.

"[The Countess] orderedgirls to come to her bed. Thenshewould bite them and tearoff their flesh," accordingto JP Amato, a junior. "Shewould kill women for their

This list was taken from the notes ofastudent in the Monsters and Maniacs class.

The following scenarios were believed to be signs that a vampirewas in the community:

a dead person's family faces disaster (for example, more deaths, acci­dents, or economic loss)things go missingthe family is visited by a stranger who is unrecogn izabledisturbed graves

Vampire belief perslststhrouqhout time

today might be a physicallyattractive, pale, mysteriousmale or female, there are manydifferent versions in all partsof the world.

Next time you think of avampire, don't automaticallythink of Twilight's EdwardCullen. Instead, consider thatvampires could also have greenskin, black teeth, and holes intheir necks!

either died unnaturally or inchildbirth, .However, unlikethe Penanggalan, she sucks theblood out of sleeping men bysending a magic thread downthe chimney.

European vampires aresimilar to vampires that wesee in the modem media, butthey also differ dependingon the country of origin. InAlbania, the vampire is calledSampiro. It is compelled togo out at night in a cloak andhigh heels to spread death anddestruction.

In contrast, the Bosnian.vampire called Balutsauger is .a hairy vampire that does nothave a skeleton. It is able tochange forms into a rat or awolf, and tries to make peopleeat dirt from its tomb so thatthey will become vampires.

The Romanian .vampire,called Strigoiu, is able to takethe form of dogs, cats, frogs,

. and insects. It is also capableof draining all of the energyout of people.

While the "stereotypical"view of a vampire

Bloodsucking beastsleave trail across globeby Rebecca Suzuki

Vampires might be thecraze in the United States,but have you ever thoughtabout their existence in othercountries? Although popularculture mainly focuses onWestern vampires, vampiresare present in cultures all overthe world, with their ownunique powers and physicalfeatures.

There is no doubt that themultiple movies and televisionshows that feature vampires

.have had some influenceon ourperception of these creatures.

Senior Sherry Leungsaid she envisions a"pale long face, visible fangsand the red and black cape,"when picturing a vampire.

With penetrating red eyes,long curved nails, long hair,and green skin, the Chinesevampire, called Ching Shih isdrastically different from thestereotypical vampire.

Vampiremyths alsoexist inSouth America. Lobishomenis a 'Brazilian vampire that isdescribed to be small, stumpy,and hunch-backed withbloodless . lips, yellowskin, black teeth, anda bushy beard. Italso resemblesa monkey andlikes to suck onfemale blood.

In somecultures,vampires areportrayed asbaby-killers.

In Mexico,there are legendsabout a vampire named

.Cihuateteo. This is amonster which was eithera stillborn baby or a motherwho died in childbirth andattacks and paralyzes babies.It has the ability to fly and hasvery white hands, arms, andface.

Although it attacks babies,if one offers bread, Cihuateteowill eat it and will becometoo stuffed to attack humans.If one does not have bread,meteorites work just as well.

The Malaysian vampire,Penanggalan, is portrayed asa baby killer who died duringchildbirth, and therefore feedson infants' blood. She haslong fingernails, wears a greenrobe, and has a hole in herneck, which acts as her mouthto suck blood.

Similarly · the Indianvampire, named Punyaiama,is depicted as a woman who

)< l' ''

Fedus also spoke about the pros­pect of the playoffs, saying, "All myyears with the Hawks, and I hadn'tmade the playoffs. I'm ecstatic anddetermined to do my best and lead theteam."

A key part of the Hawks' defense,senior defensive midfielder IsaacTeboul was excited about the win.After the game, he said, "I'm reallyhappy about the way we played todayand the way we were able to take ad­vantage of our scoring opportunities."Teboul added, "The _defense playedgreat and I can't wait to compete inthe playoffs."

Coach Raymond Adamkiewiczhopes to lead his team to the playoffsafter a three-year postseason drought."I'm proud of the guys and the waythey've played this season, especiallytoday," he said. He added, "I think wecan do well if the team plays to its po­tential."

race, including Klaudia Garncarz,Maria Diaz Gonzalez, Lily Pan andJudith Suzuki.

Gamcarz was the first Harrisfreshman to finish the 1.5- mile race.She came in sixth place with a time of11 minutes and 42 seconds, a personalbest.

Despite coming in second place toCardozo, Coach Connor believed thatthis meet was an indication of "a goodfuture."

The Girls' Track team rounds outits season with the PSAL Freshman!Sophomore City Championshipson November 7, and the PSAL CityChampionships on November 14.

..

straightaway, I thought about passingthe girl in front ofme and about runningas hard as I could," said Paz .

Coach Timothy Connor thoughtthat the girls did an exceptional job. "Alot of sophomores improved from lastyear as a group of freshmen," he said.

"A year ago, we were destroyedby Cardozo. This year, the margin wasonly five points," he added.

The Harris girls had five runnersin the top 15 in the freshman 1.5-mile

by Arthur TarleyThe Boys ' Soccer team (6-6-1)

defeated the Richmond Hill Bulldogs(3-11) with a score of 6-1 on October16, gaining a much-needed victory andbecoming a step closer to a long-await­ed playoff berth.

At the very beginning of the game,they brought their hard-nosed defenseonto the field and suffocated the Rich­mond Hill attack. Along with staunchdefense, the Hawks showed offensiveprowess, scoring two goals in the firsthalf and four in the second.

Senior midfielder and captain Ni­colas Fedus led the offense with twogoals . Fedus scored his first goal whenhe curled the ball around a charginggoalkeeper and his second on a penaltykick.

When asked how he felt about hisperformance he said, "I think I madegood decisions when I had the ball andfelt dialed in."

top 10 in the 2.5-mile race, includingsophomores Marta Tomaszewski,Andia Paz, Jennifer Gersten, and LoisPark.",-':'.Tomaszewski ' finished in second

place in the 2.5-mile contest with atime of 18 minutes and 24 seconds."The track meet brought us togetheras a team. It was a great day and I feltgood after finishing," she commented.

Paz finished in seventh place in the2.5- mile race with a time of 19 minutesand 32 seconds. She came within threeseconds of passing a runner fromFrancis Lewis in the final straightawayof the race.

"Running through the

by Eilin PerezThe Girls' Track team showcased

its underclassmen at the QueensFreshman-Sophomore BoroughChampionships on October 14 atCunningham Park. .The girls .came insecond to Benjamin N. Cardozo HighSchool in both the freshman 1.5-milerace and the sophomore 2.5-mile race.Francis Lewis rounded out the top threein both events .

The Hawks had four runners in the

Sophomores Andia Paz and Lois Park(front), and freshman Judith Suzuki and sophomoreKerry McEnerney run at the Queens Freshman-Sophomore Borough Championships.

I

Hawks kick past Richmond Hill

Lady Hawks place secondat Queens Championships

"el'...-=~.~;-=V1~..c.se-=' 1:1.

and the boys do the same," coachMichlewitz said.

Michlewitz said, "Every matchis important; every bout is important;every touch is important."

The Hawks start ' the secondhalf of their season at home againstJamaica High School (0-2) on October19, rounding out the regular seasonwith matches against Cardozo, RobertF. Kennedy, and Francis Lewis HighSchools, along with a second matchagainst the Queens High School ofTeaching.

f

said, "Even without our best setter, westill did really well in the second game.We just have to work on direction andcontrol."

The Classic

October 2009

~oy~~ .,.en~~l1g lmproves to 5-'Qby DanielPecoraro > • and inspirethem to work hard."

The Boys'Fencing team triumphed Improvement within the bout isover the Queens High School of also important. "Time outs are just aTeaching (1-3) by a score of 8.5 to 0.5 way for the fencer to find out what he ison October 14 in the gymnasium. The doing wrong and fix it," Suwada said.win keeps the Hawks undefeated at 5-0 Another important factor is theirat the season's midpoint. synergy with the Girls' Fencing squad.

In Game A, seniors Paul Suwada "We have a culture that the girls areand Christopher Quach swept four to supporters of and fence with the boys,nothing, allowing onlytwo touches from theopposition. After startingslowly in the first bout,senior Isaiah Yim andjunior Sean Casey wonGame B, three to zero.Teaching earned itsonly points in Game C,squandering the game1.5 to 0.5, with seniorsDevon Delatour, AlexisChavez, and ChristopherZhang earning thevictory.

Suwada said the Th e Boys' Fencing team remains undefeated at 5-0.matches are just anexercise toward the larger task; winningin the playoffs. "The fencing team asa whole is getting prepared to win inthe playoffs. [Fencing] against many ofthese teams [in Queens] is just a warm­up. The [other] top schools in Queensare Francis Lewis and Cardozo. Theseare the teams we have to do betteragainst," he said.

Coach Debra Michlewitz creditsthe team's success to their experience."It -is very much the team leadingitself; they're very seasoned," she said,adding that her main job "is to instruct

This sentimentwas echoed by manyof the girls, includ­ing freshman JoannJeong, who said,"First of all, we haveto have all the play­ers come to practice.Then we can get bet­ter."

"There was a lotmore control in thesecond game," saidcoach a 'Donoghue.

The J unior Vars ity Volleyball team still smiles after its first loss. "And I think theyhave a lot more talent

than John Bowne."Rhea Prabhu, freshman, agreed,

stating, "We lost because it was ourfault; it wasn't that they [John Bowne]were good. We were really nervous be­cause most of the people [had] neverplayed before."

"It's less intense right now becauseit was the first game," said Christiana."And [O'Donoghue] is new, and so ishalf of the team." Like the other mem­bers, she reasoned, "we need to prac-tice; that's all." .

O'Donoghue said that he wants tohelp the girls be more prepared .and tohelp them improve' their performance."I want to get the extra work in for fu­ture games," he said, adding,"My mainfocus is to get the girls on Varsity."

School on October 15 against the JohnBowne Wildcats. The Hawks were -de­feated in two matches, 25-16 and 26­24.

"I blame it on myself because Idon' t think I prepared them enough,"said new coach Brendan O'Donoghue.O'Donoghue came into his positionrecently after being recommended toathletic director and varsity volleyballcoach Wanda Nix. He added, "The girlswere really nervous ."

"A lot of us are beginners," ex­plained sophomore Christiana Michel­li, who'was 'not present at the game .

The team's only setter, sophomoreJennifer Yoo, was not at the game ei­ther, which took a toll on the girls.However, Kiiyee Cheung, s(S~li(stt1ljr~,

by Grace ShinThe Girls' Junior Varsity Volley­

ball team competed in its first game ofthe season at Benjamin Cardozo High

8Junior Varsity Volleyball teamloses first match to Bowne

~~~£~1.