INSIDEthis issueof Verve:

Newspaper of Summit High School

Whats up?12/8 Hanukkah Begins

12/16 Hanukkah Ends

12/21 Winter Solstice

12/25 Christmas

December 2012 Volume 13 Issue 3

Opine..............2

Turf.................3

Gift Guide.........4&5

S&S.................6

Buzz................7

Globe..............8

Bluemercury is the nation’s largest and leading luxury beauty products and spa retail chain. Bluemercury presented its grand open-ing in Summit on Novem-ber 17th at 374 Springfield Avenue. The shop itself is lovely with very clean design,warm tones, and nice lighting. They even had some gorgeous and delicious strawberries and chocolate for customers. The chain is bustling at all hours with people trying on makeup and raving about new products. Their staff is attentive and plentiful so there will never be a wait to

Bluemercury Opens in Summit

By GWEN ROGERS

Continued on page 2

At the October 18 Summit Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nathan Parker supported a proposal that JV and Var-sity athletes be exempt from gym once a week during the normal season. No decision is imminent, but the issue resurfaced at the subsequent November 15 Board meeting. In October, and with the support of BOE President Mr. George Lucaci, Parker stated, "it would be a good idea, because this time it would apply to 800 stu-dents, not just the 30 who are currently using it." The exemption as-is, which states that seniors and ju-niors who are 2-year, 3-sea-son athletes can be assigned a once-a-week study hall, is found on page 37 of the SHS student handbook. The move to broaden the exemption sparked contro-versy among athletes, non-athletes, and parents, some of whom were unaware of the existing exemption. Given a chance to speak dur-ing the open public discus-sion, Mr. Dave Field, SHS Gym teacher and cross-coun-try coach, opposed the gym exemption, explaining what the students do in gym and how it expands on key so-cial skills and the trust factor. “In class students are in-volved in Project Adventure. This is a program in which students have to work to-gether and trust one another in order to reach the common goal,” said Fields. He went on to explain how this class-room experience is uniquely necessary, and how it dif-fers from a team experience. A high-key moment at the meeting occurred when a concerned par-ent, stated “I wasn't aware of this exemption; my kids were all-season athletes

Board of Education Talks PE Exemptions

By ALEX ARIAS

Holiday Gift Guide!

Seniors vs Juniors: Powder Puff Pictures

By MAX MACPHERSON

See pages 7-8

and taking AP classes.” Lucaci then added, “The PE experience in Sum-mit is not a good one.”

Round Two At the November 15 meet-ing, the Board continued discussion about the is-sue and seemed to indicate the ball was still in play. During open discussion, the Summit Education As-sociation representative, Mr. Dan Miller, read a prepared statement in defense of the teaching staff, said that the board president’s October comments were, “entirely inappropriate and unaccept-able” in that the aim of such rhetoric was “to publicly den-igrate” PE. He added, “Com-ments of this type are very damaging to the morale of staff and unjustly undermine the community’s confidence in a given program.” He said that, to the teaching staff and SEA membership, comments like this “are simply irrespon-sible and are not tolerable.” Ms. Katherine Kalin, chair of the BOE’s policy committee, said, “The policy committee has met and has come to the conclusion that more analysis and further study is needed to make a solid decision.” Concerned citizen Mr. Ed-gar Mokuvos broadened the discussion to include non-athletic exemptions for students involved in time-consuming extracur-ricular clubs and activities. When a question was asked about the drama kids hav-ing the same privilege as the athletes, Kalin stated, “If we did have the options to have students opt out from gym if they’re athletes, then we can open plan B as well." Mockuvos responded, “We’re only trying to tack-le one issue at a time.”

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beauty questions demysti-fied. Today, Bluemercury is widely recognized as the nation's fastest grow-ing beauty products and spa retail chain. They offer the world’s most innova-tive beauty products in a truly unique shopping ex-perience. The store carries over 100 brands, in over 26 locations. The shop features fragrances, sun care, hair care, bath and body, and makeup. “Blue-mercury” carries the best when it comes to brands, including Laura Mercier, Nars, and Bobbi Brown.

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Discuss! The Summit Board of Education at work.

Juniors attempt a comeback... Katie Chase carries the ball downfield in hopes of beating the Seniors.

Go big or go home... Seniors Bonnie Nedvidek, Al-exandra Mueller, Marissa Jennings, Cici Flanagan, Sade Tyndall,and Taylor Madden pose after their big win over the Juniors.

Winning... Juniors Blackout themed hallway wins the hallway decora tion contest.

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Verve Editorial Policy: Verve is a publication open to opinions of its readers. Please submit all letters to shsletters2editor@gmail.com. Letters must be signed and will be subject to editing for space, grammar, and factual accuracy. However, all efforts will be made to preserve the writer's intent. Libelous and inappropriate writ-ing will not be published in the Verve.

Page 2 December 2012

I absolutely love this time of year. Everyone wears their grandmoth-ers' hand knitted sweaters and gin-gerbread men guard the entrances of every store, and - if you’re lucky - a teacher will flash a smile in your di-rection, a rare sight for some. But also girls, remember, even though it’s two months away, you can't forget to ask a boy to go to Semi with you! Yup, that's right. This is the time when a lot of girls start preparing for semi. We purchase expensive heels that we end up kicking off our feet after a long car ride and pre-party where our parents incessantly tell us to pose with each other. It is a time to choose the per-fect dress (not too short, not too long), a time for trendy makeup and salon styled hair. And finally, surprising our friends, crushes, and boyfriends with the most nerve-wracking question of the year: “Will you go to semi with me?” I came to the conclusion that we ask so early because nobody wants the guy they're after to be asked by someone else. However, I’ve written this column a month in advance, so if I am the person that starts this bloodbath, I apologize. Semi is a lot to deal with. It’s cost-ly, but it also is a fun experience. Re-gardless of the fact that we spend so

much time just wanting to look good in pictures, my favorite part is ask-ing – choosing your victim, (whether he be a stranger or a close friend), pondering how to ask, and finally, the most essential step and asking him. The only issue with being creative when asking your potential date is that it can become frustrating. I was thinking about baking cupcakes, but what if my target prefers chocolate over vanilla? Choosing the wrong flavor would end in instant rejection and a heartbroken Lina Mockute. But I also can't be too simple. Walking over to a friend and po-litely asking him to smile and look nice before a school event does not have the originality I desire. I could just make a phone call, but that’s too boring for my taste. Not to mention, I don’t want the way I ask my date to be the same way that other girls ask plan to ask. Honestly girls, signs with “SEMI?!?” written in garish letters are so cliché. Maybe my asking is a lost cause. Maybe I should just go without a date and take pictures with my friends who also plan on going solo. But I think that’s the easy way out, and I’m not one to take that road. So I figure I might as well do it now. Jack Le-goff, will you go to semi with me?

A Semi-Major ProblemBy LINA MOCKUTE

Now that November has come to an end I can finally comment on the vast array of facial hair that’s been flowing in the halls. I’m kind of dis-appointed that I can’t participate, be-cause if I did participate I know many of you would be questioning me. Anyway, while most people are only able to grow minor peach fuzz or a little stubble, there are a few mem-bers of the SHS community capable of growing the best facial hair in the tri-state area. One of these people is se-nior, Robert Chase. The last time Rob shaved was October 31st, and if you see him in the halls you can see a nice bit of facial hair growing. Robert com-mented on his beard by saying, “Girls don’t like them, but men want one, and now that I have a beard I am better then everyone!” Although Chase’s beard is more impressive than most, he shared “I have only one flaw with my beauti-ful facial hair. My mustache is a big issue because no one can even see it!”

RIP No Shave NovemberBy EMMA STANDING

Foreword: This article is NOT an en-dorsement to do any illegal activity, and it is not a recommendation to consume any substance, however the aim of this article is to inform, educate, and share a factual non-biased standpoint. On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, voters in the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize canabis, commonly known as marijuana with an astounding voter turnout on both sides. In Colorado, more votes went towards legalizing cannabis than Barrack Obama who won over the state in the presidential election! At this time, one may be asking themselves, “Will this come to my state?” Currently Maine and Rhode Island are putting legalization on the ballot. The United States spends an average of 15 billion dollars annually on the drug war, in which most of the money is spent on prohibiting mari-juana and sending the guilty to jail. Another question many Americans have is, “What exactly is happening and how will it affect me directly?” New liberties of Amendment 64 apply to people of twenty one years or older. Citizens of Colorado can grow up to three plants privately, legally possess up to one ounce, and give as a gift to other citizens twenty-one years of age or older. This however does not affect laws pertaining to driving under the in-fluence of marijuana, for this will still be considered a very serious offense. Additionally, you are not able to smoke in any public area, school, or restaurant with a no smoking sign. Basically, mar-ijuana smokers will have to abide by the same rules that tobacco smokers do. Neill Franklin, a veteran of 32 years on the Maryland State Police, be-lieves “the amount of money, effort, and blood spent on keeping people from smoking cannabis is not worth it, for it is a war no force can win.” Members of L.E.A.P. (Law Enforce-

ment Against Prohibition) believe that by regulating marijuana like alcohol, this would create a “White Market” in which the illegal drug trade would collapse and drug violence would fall significantly. When asked if he thought that marijuana was a gateway drug, Franklin stated, “It is a fallacy; ciga-rettes and alcohol are far more harm-ful and addictive and yet are legal." Recent studies generally support Franklin’s view point. For example, in 2011 the National Institute on Drug Abuse conducted 5 studies, in which alcohol consistently contained double the addictive potential as marijuana. Michigan State actually proved sugar to be more addictive than cannabis, as sugar releases high levels of dopa-mine in the brain, which triggers feel-ings of pleasure, and euphoria. History and facts disprove that marijuana is fatal is a baseless claim, the follow-ing shows the amount of annual deaths that result from abuse of different substances: tobacco- 430,700 killed,alcohol- 110,640 killed, prescription drugs- 32,000 and killed marijuana- 0 killed. Not one human has ever direct-ly died from cannabis use, which leads many Americans to question how much harm it actually causes. Only time will tell if legaliza-tion actually comes to New Jersey.

Hall decorations were almost as successful as the Romney campaign. Time to sit shiva for this tradition. Two of the hallways were decent, but there are so few of you participating it hardly seems worth it. And speaking of lack: admin-istration outnumbers the student spectators, it’s time for this tradition to take a dirt nap also. Seniors, props for handing the juniors their lunch in what was re-ally a trouncing in spite of the close score, 12-8. Kind of cool really, one point for each student spectator! Logic takes a vacation this week in Verve. Note to drama students who want a one day a week PE exemption. Help me understand something. Why wouldn’t you come out of your theater class one day a week instead of miss-ing PE one day a week? All the extra time you put in is drama related, correct? The other mind bender was the legalization of marijuana issue. Marijuana isn’t a gateway drug? Really? There are many strong reasons to legalize marijuana, (quality control, the end of organized crime’s stronghold, enormous tax rev-enue) but when you ask people to believe it isn’t a gateway drug you lose all credibility. Do you honestly believe the thousands of people who die each year from drug overdoses started out on heroin? Blast from the past. Read Claude Brown’s iconic Manchild In the Promised Land if you don’t think pot is a gate-way drug. Yes I did say read, and yes it is a book. Gift idea. Think of the best present you ever received. (Baby Jesus - Swag T-Shirt) Write a hand written letter to the person who gave you the gift, telling him why you loved the gift and what it meant to you. For those of you who celebrate Festivus, consider writing a letter to the person who gave you the worst gift ever. (25 sheets of lined notebook paper)

Peace Love and The Woodstock Nation.

Akey Responds

A Look Into LegalizationBy WILL LYCAN

Another impressive beard grower is fellow senior, Matt Casagrande. He’s been growing inches of facial hair since his sophomore year, and is al-ways very loyal to his beard. There is rarely a point in the year when you will see Mr. Casagrande without his com-panion. Matt and Will Beckett might have won best friends, but his beard comes a close second. When asked about No Shave November, Matt’s re-sponse was exciting and assertive. “I think I’ve easily got the best beard at SHS.” Although this month is no dif-ferent for Matt and his facial hair, it’s fun to participate and show the other student’s what he is able to grow. For those of you incapable of grow-ing some sort of beard, mustache, soul patch, whatever you want to call it, don’t worry because most of us girls can’t either! Hope everyone enjoys the rest of this year and stays safe and happy during the holiday season. Peace and blessins’, Jemma.

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Controversy. Legalizing mari-juana is being heavily debated.

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Whose facial hair catches your attention? Seniors Ian Drum-mond, Robert Chase, Conor O'Malley, Andrew Oristanio, and

Tyler Carbone show off their impressive facial hair.

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December 2012 Page 3

Although the Football season is com-ing to an end, a talented group of 16 girls from the Varsity cheer squad are still working hard drilling cheers and perfecting basket tosses. For the first time ever, Head Coach Mrs. Velez has entered the Summit High school Varsity Cheerleading team into a competition for the upcoming month.Coach Velez is considering several op-tions for the event. On January thir-teenth, there will be two contests, one in Lyndhurst, New Jersey and one in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. The girls wait for the big day with much anxiety since, for some, this is their first time cheering in a competition. The squad hopes to make a good first impression in the world of competitive cheering. The cheerleading team anticipates fierce opponents and has put in the time and dedication to prepare. Sophomore, Imogen Terrett explains, “We have been work-

After last year’s amazing season, which ended with an unbelievable overtime victory at the Prudential Center, Liam McLaughlin is looking to help the Mens’ Varsity Ice Hockey team win another title. As the first Ju-nior voted captain in Summit Hockey history, Liam has been catapulted into a new leadership role. He described last year’s surreal experience, “It was the most fun I have ever had, and want to relive the glory this year!” Liam has been playing hockey ever since he was four years old and has always looked up to the former Dev-ils player Zach Parise, one day hop-ing to be like him. Hockey is his favorite activity, and in addition to playing for Summit, Liam plays on the U16 New Jersey Devils Junior team. With nine players graduating last year, Liam thinks new, young-er talent will have to step up and many of the sophomores and juniors are definitely capable of doing so. As a crowd favorite, Liam has re-ally lived up to his position on the team. Last year he led the team with 57 points making his high school career a whopping 91 total points. Liam is shooting for a staggering 70 points this year. He is anticipat-

ing playing most of every game this year and contributing to every game. Liam says, “Knowing the game really well, Head Coach Nixon really relates to all the players and gets every one of us to perform our best every game!” Since ice time is costly, the team has dry land practices that include running out-side in the cold and lifting in the weight room. Liam has many goals for the sea-son that include most importantly win-ning the Union County Championship and winning the CRON tournament. Chatham, Morristown, and Randolph are expected to be difficult opponents and the games will be at the Union Sports Arena or Warinanco park. A team tradition Liam likes is the “Bucket” , where everyone puts a dol-lar in a bucket and talks about their feelings and goals for the team. Then the seniors figure out a way to utilize the money such as buying team shirts. Liam may not be the biggest on the ice, but he posses the biggest threat and isn’t afraid to be tough against opponents. Nothing is more fun to watch than hock-ey and especially the hockey team’s su-perstar Liam McLaughlin shredding up the competition. With his fantastic stats and confident mindset Liam McLaugh-lin is this month’s Monthly Sports Star.

Monthly Sports Star: Liam McLaughlinBy TOMMY DISIBIO

ing all season. By the time competition comes around, it will be about seven months! I’m really excited because we really click and work well as a team.” Her teammate, Sophomore Emily Hurley adds, “Training has not been easy; sometimes we have practice for four hours a day and we have had to work through some serious injuries along the way. Cheer competitions are a lot different and more intense than just typical cheering at football games.” Natasha Smith, one of the senior captains, reveals her enthusiasm for the big day. “I am excited for us to do well so we can prove that we can perform on a competitive level.” With the cheer event approaching fast, Coach Velez doesn’t seem ner-vous, “This is a good and enthusias-tic team. This is the team to try some-thing new with. They are a focused group and I think we will do well.”

Summit Cheerleaders Commence Competition Season

By MADDIE SIMKO

Is a sport once meant for the tough-est men in society turning into a game for the fragile and weak? With the many unnecessary rules and fines, the NFL might not the bruis-ing league it was before. Many new rules have been passed by NFL Com-missioner Roger Goodell that pretty much prevent any ball carrier from doing his job. The game we all know and love could get ruined forever ifthese new rules keep coming. Take Ray Lewis, for example. Three years ago, he hit Chad Ochocinco’s helmet off on a tackle, but, neverthe-less, it was a completely clean hit. Despite Ochocinco telling Goodell directly that he thought Ray Lewis should not be penalized, Lewis still lost 25,000 dollars to the NFL. This is a perfect example for one solution to this penalty problem, e.g. the vic-tim of the “penalty” should decide if the other player should be fined. One of the most heated bashing against Goodell was one made by James Harrison, a Pittsburgh Steel-ers’ linebacker. He has been fined numorous time for hits againts play-ers such as Colt McCoy, Vince Young, and others. Harrison stated, “If [Roger

Goodell] was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn’t do it. I hate him and will never respect him.” Most adherents of Goodell will say that head injuries are very lethal and that they should be prevented, but as Harrison said, “Non-guaranteed contracts make players more likely to hit high because (in the NFL) a torn ligament would be worse than a concussion.” Goodell should change some of the league’s policies on things like contracts instead of penalizing players with new rules. Although Goodell is trying to save the sport of football by protecting his players, he is actually ruining it. Not only are some of America’s top sci-entists and doctors are inventing new helmets that can prevent head inju-ries, but also when these rules are being created, it prevents defenders from doing their job. Now-a-days defenders have to hit the ball carrier with precise timing and placement. Lastly, when players are entering the NFL and playing against some of the most feared men in the world, they should know what they are getting in to. All of these problems will go away if Goodell takes these tips that could potentially save the sport of football.

Excessive Rules Ruining an Otherwise Perfect Game

By MATTEO DIMAYORCA

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Watch out! Monthly Sports Star, Liam McLaughlin, takes the ice for his shift.

Cristina Tsanas, a senior, feels that being a theater kid shouldn’t exclude her or her peers from any possible ex-emption. “I understand that the ath-letes should get a study hall instead of gym, but … time-wise we (theater kids) are here much later than athletes, and we’re here all year long; we don’t have a break between seasons and some of us don’t even have study halls to do homework,” explained Tsanas. Kristy Gargulio, one of the Captains in the Cross Country Girls team, feels that the sports exemption should be passed. “I think we shouldn’t be do-ing gym because we get enough ex-ercise with our sport,” adds Gargulio. In addition to Field, other Physi-cal Education teachers vocally op-posed the proposal. “I’ve always have great pride that Summit values the Physical Education program and

that’s why I came to here in the first place. Mr. Sears has commented on the value of the brain and that the more fit you are the better you do aca-demically,” comments Ms. Bohan. She continued, “Being physically active is a stress reliever. All here in PE love our job and love what we do--that’s why we take the time to do Proj-ect Adventure so that different groups of people, male or female, can inter-act--a program no other school has.” Varsity Football head coach Mr. John Liberato added, “As a teacher, parent, and coach I believe all students should be involved in Physical Education and, besides, I'm guessing 90% of student (athletes) already have a study hall.” Field summed up the status quo point of view, saying, “I love what I do and believe in what I do, and I believe that all students should be in PE class.”

Summit Board of Education continued from Front Page...

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Cheer! Summit's Varsity Cheerleading Squad suits up to prepare for their cheer competition later in January.

The Verve Holiday Gift Guide 2012Awesome Presents for All!

Page 4 December 2012

Virtual Keyboard by Ben HenningIf you have a loved one who is a techie, you will be the hero of their holi-day season if you hand them this. The Virtual Keyboard is something out of the future. Plug in the square projector into your iPad, iPod, or com-puter, and you now have a much cooler keyboard. This is a fun gift for someone on your list who is difficult to shop for. The pricing is at $99.99 but there may be holiday sales. It can be found at www.brookstone.com or at any Brookstone store such as the one at the Short Hills Mall.

Sephora Color Daze Blockbuster by Katie MalteseTeenage girls are constantly on the prowl for good make-up deals, and Sephora has one of the best this holiday season. Make-up has become such an expensive item, with many stores charging extreme prices for de-signer make-up. At any local Sephora stores you can purchase the Color Daze Blockbuster make-up kit, which has over 148 different eye shad-ows, lip-glosses, eyeliners, and what they call “different formulas, finish-es, and textures.” With semi formal right around the corner, any teenage girl would love having such a wied variety of colors that she can mix and match with any outfit! This gift is a $370 value, sold at the special price of $49.50. It’s a fabulous bargain.

Edible Arrangements by Erin LeGoffThe Edible Arrangements store in town has a great, unique gift idea to give to a friend or loved one. Edible Arrangements puts a creative spin on the classic gift of a bouquet of flowers; Instead of flowers in the vase, it it has carved fruit and chocolates in it! Anyone would love this present be-cause is it both beautiful and delicious. The store is located downtown at 84 Summit Avenue across from Village Trattoria. There, you can choose which exquisite bouquet of fruit you desire (a simple holiday-themed arrangement sells for around $47). This gift would be perfect for one’s parents, friends, or relatives. They can even deliver to whomever you would like to send them to! This means that there is virtually no work for you to do! Anyone would be thrilled to find an Edible Arrangement creation at their doorstep.

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Lifeproof iPhone Case by Sam Griffith Is your iPhone constantly being dropped and broken? Do you really need a new and foolproof way to protect your phone? Once in a while the inevitable happens. Someone throws your iPhone into a lake as a joke, or someone accidently drops it into the Hudson River. Maybe someone wants to take epic underwater photographs with their iPhone, but they just cant do it because their phone would break. Well now, we’re all saved, thanks to the LifeProof iphone case. With lifeproof, your phone is indestructible in almost any situation. It can still be waterproof in up to six feet of water! These cases are great for any outdoorsmen who love great pictures, while still keeping their iphone and everything on it safe. They are also perfect for that clumsy kid who drops his phone three times a day. These cases can be bought at around $70 from http://www.lifeproof.com. Even better, it comes in a variety of colors! You don’t need to always go with boring black, or white. These cases are perfect for the stylist, too. LifeProof cases are usually $80 but if they are bought soon with the pre-holiday sale, they are just 69.99 plus tax!

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Zip-it Pencil Case by Emily GaoThe best gift recommended for the people you love this holiday season is a monster Zipit pencil case. This pencil case is made from one long zipper (it can be fully zipped and unzipped) and is accessorized with eyes and teeth to look like a cute monster. It is extremely sturdy and a lot of fun, perfect for a friend or a younger sister. They can be bought during any time of the year. Monster Zipit pencil cases can be found at a Zipit store for $9.99, but they are sold at Office Depot for $5.99, available in five colors (red, green, blue, red, and pink). It serves as the perfect pencil case gift for beloved children of all ages.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II by Tristan CortHave a sibling who is into video games? Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 landed in stores on November 11. This game will primarily appeal to anyone who likes war video games. This game has a consistency of being an adrenaline pumping joy ride. Many “gamers” nowadays are into ac-tion and war games so Call Of Duty is more than perfect. Because of the strong notoriety of the game, it can be purchased at many stores and on-line retailers such as GameStop, Toys R Us, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Best buy, and other retailers. It can be purchased for $60 plus tax.

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December 2012 Page 5

 

         

   

Holiday Polls Conducted By Lindsay Leiter

   

   

   

   

   

   

     

 

 Holiday Gift Guide continued from page 7

Total SHS students surveyed: 166

Need a gift for mom, dad, or a friend with an iPhone? The Mophie Juice Pack Plus Case for iPhone 4 and 4s is perfect. This phone case charges your phone when it is run-ning out of battery. Hate that “20% left” notification on your phone? Just switch the case on and it will start recharging! All you need to do is plug it in at night, when you plug your phone in, and it can al-most double the life of your phone! You can find it at the Apple Store in the Short Hills Mall or at www.apple.com for $99.99, or on sale on www.amazon.com for $55.34.

Anthropologie Hidden Book Charger by Emily DrakeDon’t know what to get for your favorite book-worm? What about a smart and subtle new way to charge an iphone? The innovative charger was created by Rich Neely Design, at $68 a pop these beautifully fashioned book chargers are definitely one of a kinds! This gem can be found online at Anthropologie.com.

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Ever-lasting Phone Battery by Ethan Mandelbaum

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Page 6 December 2012

Swift’s new Grammy worthy al-bum “Red” hit iTunes on October 22nd, racing to the top of U.S. al-bum charts immediately, and didn’t budge for three consecutive weeks selling 1.74 million copies, win-ning the title of best selling album of the year. Generally critics love the new sound, New York Times critic James Lachno deemed “Red” an “eloquently written transition album for the maturing starlet”. Also Summit High School’s very own country music lover senior Abby Rasweiler praised the al-bum as well “I absolutely love “Red”, it’s a perfect combination of Swift’s old sound with a new Pop sound that adds a vibrant twist”. The album has 16 tracks, fea-turing the most well-known “We Are Never Ever Getting Back To-gether”, and six other upbeat Pop songs including “Starlight”, “Stay, Stay, Stay”, “22”, “ I Knew You

Taylor Swift Debuts New Album By FELISA DELLI SANI

25 Days of ChristmasBy JACKSON SIDEBOTTOM

Going Medieval: When Will March 31st Arrive?

By OWEN CROWL

Were Trouble”, “Holy Ground”, and “Red”. Swift’s new album also features a song called “Everything has Changed” a first ever collabo-ration with British singer and song writer Ed Sheeran, and “The Last Time” featuring Gary Lightbody, unlike her other albums which were all written and sung solo. Another stand out song is “The Lucky One”, where Swift ex-plains the details of fame, and how it doesn’t always offer an ideal life as most perceive. All stick to Swift’s classic country style with a new and refreshing flare. All and all Swift’s new CD is a hit, incorporating a new and improved sound, yet keeping the classic make up/ break up theme which has girls across the country hooked; another great accomplish-ment for the young singer and songwriter.

December is now upon us and that means the return of ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas T.V. special. This year’s 25 Days features over seventy different titles, while not all are full-length films. Mediocre straight to DVD/TV movies are a staple of ABC and 25 Days of Christmas has them in abundance. However, nostalgia is guaranteed when viewing such classics as Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, Little Drummer Boy, The Santa Claus, Elf, and The Family Man. Similar to last year’s special there are many beloved hol-iday classics excluded in favor of more family oriented films. I was very disappointed to find that Ru-dolph, Charlie Brown Christmas,

Frosty the Snowman, the original A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, and even A Christmas Story were all cut from the viewing list. I understand that not all classics can be included but when time slots are consumed by the likes of Willy Wonka and Harry Potter while holiday icons are sidelined; 25 Days of Christmas becomes more about viewership numbers and less about holiday cheer. It’s quite dis-turbing that ABC has strayed from the majesty of the winter holidays in favor of movies certain to reach a larger audience. If you love watching obscure holiday movies, fifty reruns of Home Alone, and every movie not even related to the holidays, then 25 Days of Christ-mas is for you.

Although the Game of Thrones countdown website displays only 118 days until the return of the show, it seems that March 31st is only receding farther and farther away each day. There is no feel-ing comparable to the anguish felt during the monotonous period be-tween the season finale and season premier of a show. No such period feels quite as extensive as the 284-day break between the Season 2 fi-nale and Season 3 premier of Game of Thrones. Since March 31st, over 3 million viewers have been left wondering what will become of the show in the third season after the second season left numerous un-answered questions and suspense. While others might argue such a

solution would be futile due to the lengthy production process as well as the producers needing extra time to make each episode captivating, the show has room to space out and nothing would become less of the show’s quality. Other top HBO shows such as Entourage were able to space out their episodes main-taining high ratings and ultimately reducing the gap between finale and premier to about 8 months. However long a break still, En-tourage showed that there is room to reduce the gap between premier and finale while maintaining the quality of the show. Based off of Entourage’s success as one of the top shows on television for nu-merous years, it is apparent that

this solution can be executed. With over 3 million viewers watching the Game of Thrones countdown website seeming to get farther and farther away in days each day, the extensive period of anticipation must be eliminated. It

is futile to think a show would air only ten episodes in 76 days of the year. In order to amend this crisis, episodes must simply be spaced out over a longer time, or more episodes must be produced.

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A perfect tune!... Check out Taylor Swift's newly released song “Red”!

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The coundown begins!.. Be sure to check out ABC families holiday favorites!

Showtime!..The new season of Games of thrones premiers on March 31st.

Page 7December 2012

Buzz

Because of New Jersey’s 180-day school year requirement, Boards of Educationacross the state are now faced with the problem of when to add on these lost days. When asked if New Jersey would waive the 180 day requirement the New Jersey Board of Education hedged, “Our number one focus right now is helping schools get back online and helping students return to the classroom. We will share more information as we address this question.” Summit schools missed a total of six days but got three back when the NJEA cancelled its convention and the administration cancelled a professional development day scheduled for teachers. Now schools are only left with one free snow day. Accuweather.com predicts a “brutally

cold and snowy winter for the large part of the country,” including New Jersey. Lawrence Feinsid, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association, suggests “making up the days on weekends and vacations.” However, this is unpopular with most people. Emily Chin, a sophomore at SHS, comments, “Everyone is so stressed and school six days out of the week would just be way too much.” Summit calendars always have four snow days built into the school calendar. However,if five or more school days are used, then days will be taken away from April break.As of now students shouldn’t have to worry about losing spring break but we’ll have to wait to see what this winter has in store!

Snow Days and Sandy Make Up

Tween’s Thanksgiving Ring Goes Viral “Oh, oh, oh, It’s Thanksgiving”, the new auto-tuned song seems to resemble the infamous “It’s Friday, Friday” Jam by Rebecca Black. Twelve-year-old Nicole Westbrook has replaced the notorious “Friday” hit with the cheesy “It’s Thanksgiving” song which is a little less catchy and extremely cliche. Is it much of a surprise that turkey legs and mashed potatoes aren’t the ingredient for a hit song? YouTube certainly is fawning over the new single, but the video has quadruple the ‘dislikes’ than the ‘likes’, 120,000 vs. 15,000. Though it is unclear whether this holiday anthem will don as much publicity and attention as “Friday”. Nonetheless, the odds are in its favor. The Thanksgiving jingle is gaining nearly a millions views each days, now at XXXXX number of views. Similar to “Friday” the tune spends chorus after chorus singing about the calendar, “December was Christmas, January was New Year’s, April was Easter and the Fourth of July but now it’s Thanksgiving.” ARK CEO Patrice Wilson who wrote and produced “Friday,” also produced “

It’s Thanksgiving.” Key techniques that are repeated in nearly all of his songs include lots of repetition, references to the calendar, an embarrassing rap, and an appearance by the CEO himself. Wilson is seen in a Turkey costume in the video, and a rapper in Friday. The ‘rap’ homage in the tune is possibly the worst part of the song, “Gotta be thankful, can’t be hateful.” A highlight of the video includes Westbrook grabbing a nearby turkey leg as a microphone. Yes. A microphone. It seems as if these kids are signing themselves up for embarrassment. As in both cases, Rebecca Black and Nicole Westbrook are being laughed at, rather than laughed with. ARK Music Company has produced dozens of these singles but has failed to produce actual talent. It seems the music scam just uses tweens’ money to make them the laughing stock of the country. Sophomore, Grace Totman explains, “These videos are just a waste of time, and yeah, the’re funny, but I really just feel bad for the singers.” Hopefully this is the last Internet music sensation and a month from now every computer isn’t playing “It’s New Year’s.”

Summit High School’s Key Club has successfully planned yet another fun event to raise money and awareness for a cause. The Key Club invites Summit’s mothers and daughters to come support a good cause in a classic style. On January 18th, Key Club will be holding an event called The Little Black Dress Party. It will be hosted at the Junior Fort Nightly Club to honor the iconic Audrey Hepburn who was a global ambassador for The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. Money will be raised through ticket sales as well as an exciting silent auction. Some of the prizes include a 30-day membership to Bar Method, a three-month membership to the new Equinox and

even a four-person massage and facial at Skin Deep Spa in New Providence. The Key Club’s Vice President, senior Gillian Dukoff, is chairing the event. She hopes “to raise a lot of money and educate people on what UNICEF is all about. Ofcourse we want to have a great time doing so as well as create an opportunity for mothers and daughters to spend some time together.” Tickets go sale early December for $25 dollars each. Drinks and h’orderves willbe served and accompanied by live music. So mothers and daughters of Summit, dig up your little black dress and come out for Key Club’s Little Black Dress Party this January.

Mother and Daughter Bonding in Style: The Little Black Dress Party

New club, Kids Helping Kids, founded by sophomores SamanthaTheriot and Claudia Hanley is aimed towards working with special needs children, educating people about these conditions, and raising money. This club, aligned with TryCAN, is hoping to gather more volunteersfor the special-needs programs. Claudia describes TryCAN as, “a local organization that provides these kids with fun, educational opportunities to grow and learn.” Claudia and Samantha are excited to get more people involved with these great children and to raise awareness. Theycreated this club because no other community service club in SummitHigh School directly addresses working with special-needs kids. The meetings will generally be in the morning, and students are encouraged to join the Facebook group, Kids

By CARLY NYMAN

Kids Helping Kids: New SHS Club Emerges BY EMME HARRIS

It’s Friday....NOT... It’s Thankgiving!BY MEGAN SHAW

BY SARINA MUSALLAM

Mother earth strikes again! Sandy’s aftermath takes it’s toll on Summit. Ph

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Helping Kids, for more information. The volunteer work one can participate in for TryCAN canrange from sports to the performing arts and beyond. This organization was created in 2007 by a Summit mother of a child with special-needs, and in 2009 joined with New Providence and Berkley Heights to offer these opportunities in all three towns. They are in great need of volunteers to peer mentor kids in these activities and Claudia and many others want more people to participate in this opportunity,“Samantha and I have both worked with TryCAN for a really long timeand share a common passion in helping these kids. These children are so sweet and it is heartbreaking when there aren’t enough volunteers to help them.” So please attend a meeting and volunteer for TryCAN. Small actions can make a great change in a child’s day.

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Mmm...this turkey leg tastes great! Westbrook gleefully sings in her new music video.

December 2012Page 8

Summit High School 125 Kent Place Blvd.

Summit, NJ 07901

Principal: Mr. Paul Sears

Assistant Principals: Mr. Tony Akey Mrs. Stacy GrimaldiEnglish Supervisor: Mr. Corey Walsh

Advisor: Mrs. Anne Weisgerber

EDITORS-IN-CHIEFMiriam Meller & Carly NymanFRONT PAGESection Editor: Jamie Macpherson

GLOBESection Editor: Alex Arias

OPINESection Editor: Lindsay Leiter

SCREEN AND SOUND Section Editor: Gwen Rogers

BUZZ Section Editor: Tommy DiSibio & Felisa Delli Santi

TURFSection Editor:Stephanie Ollom

Puerto Rico’s Push for StatehoodBy DAVID MEYERS

Verve Views:What AreYou Going To Do The Night Before The World Ends?By MIRIAM MELLER

Jack LeGoff ('14) "watch all of the Harry Potter movies in or-der with all of my friends"

Rachel Schwartz ('16) "I'm go-ing to go bungee jumping!

Will Kaplan ('13) "Throw bricks in windows!"

Sarah Runo ('13) "I won't do my homework and I am going to do something fun that's always been on my bucket list with my friends"

Picture: An American flag with 51 stars. Sound strange? The com-monwealth of Puerto Rico has a very good chance at becoming the 51st state in the United States of Ameri-ca. Puerto Rico is a small Caribbean island located eleven hundred and fifty miles from the state of Florida and has been a US territory since the Spanish-American War in 1898.However, they have no representation in Congress and no electoral votes in the presidential election. This means that Puerto Ricans are governed by the United States, but they do not have any say on who will be governing them. When Puerto Ricans have voted in the past regarding whether or not they de-sire statehood, the majority of citizens were opposed to the idea. However, in the most recent presidential election, over half of Puerto Rican citizens vot-ed for statehood in the United States. According to a Huffington Post ar-ticle published on November 7th, by Ben Fox and Danica Coto, approxi-mately 61% of people who voted said that they were in favor of statehood.Just like the procedure with all states being annexed into the United States, the job of annexation now falls into the hands of Congress by the law of the Constitution. In order to become a state, legislation would need to pass through both the House of Represen-tatives and the Senate and the Presi-dent would then have to sign the bill. When asked about the issue, President

Obama said that he “would support the will of the Puerto Rican people” regarding their feelings on statehood. The only problem now is that Con-gress is notorious for moving at a slow speed and accomplishing little. A bill for Puerto Rican statehood might take a while to appear on the floor of ei-ther the House or the Senate. In ad-dition, the ominous “fiscal cliff” that has been the talk of the nation is a very pressing matter and another rea-son why a bill for Puerto Rican state-hood might be ignored for a while. Despite this, with the recent vote by the people of Puerto Rico and a sup-portive President with the interests of the citizens in mind, a 51st star may appear sooner than most people think.

In addition to skincare, makeup, hair care, and fragrance products; the experts can pamper clients in the many on-location spas. The spas are home to the ultimate results-oriented treatments, including their world-renowned oxygen facials, glycolic peels, waxing and microdermabra-sion. In a recent interview for the magazine American Spa, “Bluemer-cury” was asked about the key behind their success. It’s “because we deliver a new, creative, and innovative expe-rience, we have been fortunate to see growth.” The Summit location will be featuring a spa sometime in the near future. “Bluemercury” clients receive

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Summit residents and students want changes in the electric grid. The majority of homes in Summit were without power, during the storm some homes not receiving electric-ity and heat for almost two weeks after the storm.Many citizens took to Facebook and joined the group “Power-Up Summit, NJ” where they discussed the need for im-provements. Though there was a significant amount of anger towards JCP&L (Jersey Central Power & Light), Claudia Hanley, a sopho-more, states, “I know there has been much disappointment over JCP&L’s performance during this disaster, but I think it is important to remember how wide-spread the power outages were…. Hopefully, this instance

will prepare them for similar events in the future.”At a local council on Monday, November 12th, attendees and council members discussed pos-sible reforms that could be made to ensure that a disastrous blackout like this never occurs again. One sugges-tion included firing JCP&L and cre-ating our own power utility. A few towns in the area have already put something similar in place. Madison Electric Utility has been Madison Borough’s power source since 1950. During and after the storm, Madison residents lost power for a maximum of six days. Compared to the 12 to 14 days without power in Summit, Madi-son had a very successful restoration process. Another option to improve power restoration is to bury the power lines. A drive through Summit dur-ing the week after the storm showed there was a multitude of broken poles and wires scraping the ground. Not only is this a hazard, but also JCP&L was working on limited supplies and was unable to replace many poles in a time effective manner. Burying lines would help prevent issues like these but is incredibly costly for the city. Bloomberg.com estimates that, for the average suburban town, the cost of burying lines is $723,692 a mile. The entire project would cost over four million dollars. Hopefully, a freak Oc-tober storm will not become a regular occurrence, as some worry. Regard-less, Summit should consider making decisions on how to better deal with storms that come its way.

unparalleled technical product knowl-edge, expert advice and friendly ser-vice. “Our teams would rather have clients leave the store with handfuls of samples, so that they can be sure to find products that work for them, rather than ever buy anything that is less than 100% right,” stated “Bluemercury”. The store has received rave reviews and mentions in New Beauty, Marie Claire, More, and Allure magazines. The store has great features, a wonder-ful staff, and a gift certificate to the store would make a great gift for anyone!

Summit Residents Want Changes After SandyBy JULIA HECKELMAN

Bluemercury Continuation from Front Page

Reporters:Emily Harris, Julia Heckelman, Nic Lalicato, Carly Leiter, William Lycan, Max Macpherson, David Meyers, Sarina Musallam, Meredith Robertson, Elizabeth Schaffer, Megan Shaw, Jackson Sidebottom, Madeline Simko, Emma Standing, Xiaoying Yu

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDESection Editors: Miriam Meller and Carly Nyman