Students take a walk on the Wyld side

page 9

Should tenure be renewable for teachers?

page 13

Challenger basketball shows spirit and skill

page 14

School’s on for summer The on again, off again plans for summer school are now on again. In light of the current economy, the district has to make some se-rious changes in order to remain on budget. Although lett ers were sent home alerting parents and students of the possibility that it would be cancelled, summer school will be kept in the budget for the 2010 summer - assuming the budget passes at the upcoming vote. The board is increasing the bud-get by about 3.5 percent at the mo-ment for the 2010-2011 school year, though no fi nal numbers have been set until the entire budget is “adopted” later this month. Principal David Seinfeld said, “Keeping summer school in the budget will add about $160,000 to the district’s budget, which

will have an eff ect on the budget of about .01-.02 percent,” he said. “It’s more of a question of how high or how low the budget needs to be and what should be cut from the budget.” If this recession continues, the possibility that the district will have to cut summer school in the 2011 budget will be “distinct,” since a lot of Calhoun’s budget is dependent on state aid and the economy as a whole. “There will be increases in 2011-2012 that the district will have to absorb, not within our ability to control,” Mr. Seinfeld said. On the positive side, if the eco-nomic standing of the country does improve, New York State will receive more revenue, leading to an inevitable economic reversal, which would further benefi t the Calhoun budget. It is actually board members

The school weight room appears to be the fi rst casualty of New York State’s economic problems. The weight room used to be open to students Monday to Friday for at least two hours aft er school, but with newly instituted reforms, the availability is being reduced sig-nifi cantly. Whereas the weight room was

open about 60 days per athletic season, it will only be open about 20 days, or one third of the time. The weight room will now be open on almost all Tuesdays and Thurs-days. This new schedule will con-tinue for the rest of the school year as well as into the next few years. “New York State is dealing with budget problems right now and is proposing to cut money to schools,” Principal David Seinfeld

St. Baldrick’s 2010

Ashley McGetrick and Samantha Baldauf proudly show off new haircuts at the St. Baldrick’s event. Mr. Michael Hughes (inset) is shaved by Natalie Simonett i.

(photos by Tatianna Flores)

(see SUMMER on page 4)

by Philippa BoyesManaging Editor

by Tessa Patt iSports Editor

Budget cuts weigh students down

(photo by Holly Lavelli)

The weight room will be open only about one third of the time.(see WEIGHT on page 5)

2 Hoofbeats April 2010 NEWS

Following the travelling foot-steps of one senior last year, this time around, two Senior Experi-ence students will get to pursue an experience of a lifetime in Uganda, Africa, this June.

Haley Lubow and Emily Bernstein will be visiting Kampala, Gulu, and Jinja, and seeing everything from American style shopping malls to Displacement Camps. Last summer, alumna Rachel Hendrix represented Calhoun as she spent 12 days in Uganda. Ber-nstein said she was inspired aft er hearing about Hendrix’s trip. “From Rachel’s story about last year’s trip, she said they did a lot of fun things like kayak down the Nile River, which I would love to do,” Bernstein said. Because of the timing of the trip, the sacrifi ce of their only high school prom and graduation truly shows how passionate and driven these ladies are. “I think it would be prett y cool to say I spent my prom in Ugan-da,” Lubow said. Out of the 50 senior “X” stu-dents, choosing one or two that de-serve this opportunity was left up to Mr. Jason Elias and Mrs. Kate Caporusso, the teachers of the program. Students were asked to

write a paper explaining their mo-tivation as to why we want to go to Uganda. The ultimate decision was based on that and their indi-vidual work thus far in the class. Visiting a country full of un-known creatures and tasks to overcome must be a litt le scary to anyone, no matt er how brave. But both girls said they were up for the challenge. “I don’t have any fears about going to Africa. I’m not a big fan of plane rides,” Lubow said, “but once we go to Africa, I know I will be able to withstand any ride and that will be a good thing to get past during my early years of life.” “I don’t have any fears,” said Bernstein,” but I’d hate to be bit by a snake or something.” Going on a trip so life chang-ing, both students thought of some goals they h ope to accomplish for the Ugandan people and for them-selves. “One goal I have is to complete-ly put myself in those students’ shoes.” Bernstein said. “I want to

make friends with these people, hear personal stories and just com-pletely hear them out.” Lubow added, “I know this trip will seriously test my mental and physical strength. I am destined to make the absolute most of my journey, to explore as much of the land as I can.” Invisible Children was brought to Calhoun and quickly grew into a phenomenon. Being teenagers and young adults in the “bubble” of a town, few think of countries and prob-lems bigger than forgett ing your cell phone at home. Senior Experience has raised over $50,000 over the last three years and will add this year’s prof-its to the total aft er the Invisible Children Fashion Show in April which is always a hit for the school and community “I know Emily and I will car-ry this beauty in our souls back to America, and tell the stories of those whose lives touched us, and us them,” Lubow said.

(photo by Maria DiMatt eo)

Seniors Hayley Lubow and Emily Bern-stein are on their way to Uganda.

St. Baldrick’s a success again

Boe!bxbz!uifz!hpTwo more students head to Uganda

by Maria DiMatt eoStaff Writer

It was that time of year again - when Calhoun comes together to shave heads and hopefully, save lives in the process.

Calhoun has been raising mon-ey for the St. Baldrick’s foundation for four years and with the total amount raised this year coming to an estimated $40,000, it brings Cal-houn to a total of $200,000 donated within four years.

The annual St. Baldrick’s event held had the gymnasium packed with students, faculty, and mem-bers of the Merrick community to show camaraderie in the fi ght against childhood cancer. Local hairstylists armed with

buzzers and shears chopped the hair off of guys and girls who showed sup-port by donating their money and hair. A whopping 178 boys were spon-sored to shave their heads and over 41 girls came to do-nate a minimum of eight inches of their locks to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths. First time dona-tor Kristi Tice was more than happy to give away her hair. “It makes me feel good knowing I can give something of mine to someone who really needs it! I’m just glad I can help,” she said. The students did

all they could to sup-

port this honorable fundraiser, but the teachers also became an active part of the charity. “Not only did the students come together for this great cause, but the faculty really helped make the night a success,“ said Mr. Peter Magnuson the event coordinator. The day aft er the shaving shin-dig, the bald participants proudly donned their new do’s throughout the hallways and the girl’s sported their short cuts.

by Tatianna FloresColture Editor

(photo by Tatianna Flores)

Romina Perino, Adam Earle, and Nadia DiSimone were among the many who att ended the charity event.

(photo by Tatianna Flores)

Junior Meg Talty shaves Mr. Franklin.

News April 2010 Hoofbeats 3

Aft er 30 years of working in the district, Mr. Gerald Swier is saying goodbye to Calhoun High School. Current assistant principal, Mr. Swier started off as a business ma-jor in college. He found that it sim-ply wasn’t his niche and his love of helping other people led him to his long and fulfi lling career. “The teachers here are more than my colleagues, they have become my family. I love how the people develop the kids’ talents, it really is special.” From a glance in his offi ce, it was clear what Mr. Swier meant. Teachers’ wedding photos and children’s pictures were aligned with his own family photos on his desk. His fi rst job as an educa-tor was at here as a guidance counselor. He transferred to Kennedy H.S. to work as the coordinator of guidance and then advanced to an assistant principal po-sition. Aft er gracing Ken-nedy with his presence he re-turned to Cal-houn. “Although I am biased, I enjoy working at Calhoun most because I started and ended here. It’s always home base, you never forget it,” he said. “When I think of Calhoun I think of the ‘friendly place’. The teachers and the kids care about what takes place here. “Everyone seems to join togeth-er, there are no divisions really and even though we don’t always agree, everyone always looks out for what’s important at Calhoun.” Mr. Swier supervises the Art, Music, Business and Cosmetology Departments. In talking about his job, it became quickly evident how proud he is of the departments he oversees, and many students feel the same way. “I loved when Mr. Swier cam in to watch! It was great having an audience”, said Arielle Bloom, a junior and member of the concert choir. As far as plans aft er retirement, Mr. Swier responded happily,

“Sailing in the summer and skiing in the winter.” To pass the time he also wants to volunteer at his local beach front and perhaps do some traveling.” However, the idea of leaving the school is a heavy thought to process. “The concept of retirement hasn’t actually hit me yet. I haven’t had time to refl ect, but I will miss the excitement and the activities that goes on here. No day is like the next and the thought of not be-ing in the middle of it all will be the biggest change. I’m going from being ‘Mr. Swier Assistant Princi-pal, to Mr. Swier Ski/Beach Bum.’” As he takes his fi nal bow at

Calhoun, Mr. Swier off ered these fi nal words of wisdom,: “Keep yourselves focused and look for the good in people and enjoy your lives.“

So long, Mr. Swier

Thirty-one years. That’s how long Mrs. Peggy Kurtz has been in the fi eld of education. Starting as a teacher, she later became a staff developer, an assis-tant principal, a dean, and, fi nally, the chairperson for the English de-partment at Calhoun for the last seven years. “There has been a tradition of teaching in my family. My father was a principal and my sister was an English teacher,” Mrs. Kurtz said, adding that she had always felt a deep love for literature. “I loved to read, I loved discuss-ing literature and wanted to impart my love of literature to students.” Teaching was always a passion for Mrs. Kurtz. “You get to be with kids every day. They’re young, enthusiastic. They teach me new things. They’re honest and they keep it real,” she said. As a child she grew up loving to read; her favorites include A Tree

Grow in Brooklyn, Litt le Women and Gone with the Wind. “I would read them over and over again,” she said. As for her move from the class-room to become an administrator, Mrs. Kurtz said, “I really liked working with student teachers and felt I had a knack with work-ing with teachers. “You also get to choose literature and implement curriculum. It was the job I always wanted.” Senior Travis Massett i called Mrs. Kurtz “an infl uential teach-er” and junior Michelle Strauss ex-pressed disappointment with the retirement of Mrs. Kurtz. “She was a good asset to our school. I am saddened by her re-tirement.” Although teaching has always been such a large part of Mrs. Kurtz’s life, she is excited to make a new chapter and do new things when she retires. “I have lots of things I’m think-ing about doing. I defi nitely want to tutor and maybe work as a stu-dent adviser,” she said.

English Chair takes a seatby Nina Thomas

Staff Writer

by Julia MartinezStaff Writer

Mr. Doug Dale, a Calhoun teacher since 1992, has decided to say goodbye. His work has vastly impacted teachers and students for many years. Mr. Dale has been teaching for 35 years and has been in Calhoun for the past 17 years. He said he wasn’t sad because he felt comfort-able. To him, it is the right time to re-tire. What will he miss about Cal-houn? All the teachers and kids. Reminiscing about his favorite memories brought enjoyment to

his eyes. The kids have made Cal-houn like a home for him. He added that his all-time favor-ite memory was the eight years as the Boys’ JV lacrosse coach. As he retold a story of a great team win, he had chills and said, “Look at my arms. The hair stands up just when I speak of this day.” An avid traveller, Mr. Dale has plenty of plans for retirement.“Well, some volun-teer work. I’m building a house in Puerto Rico and becoming a farm-er.” He added that he bought a plot of land already and he and his wife are going there to start build-ing this summer.

As for his greatest achievement as a teacher, Mr. Dale said that hopefully, he made an impact on kids over his 35-year career and made kids laugh along the way.

by Gabriella LongContributing Writer

Dale calls it a day

(photo by Leah Sobel)

Joshua Chapdelain with Mrs. Kurtz during English class.(photo by Tatianna Flores)

(photo by Tatianna Flores)

4 Hoofbeats April 2010 NEWS

who decide how to balance the budget without negatively af-fecting kids. Mr. Seinfeld believes keeping Summer School seems to have been a wise decision. “Budgetarily, I think [keeping summer school] makes sense.” As the leader of an education-al institution, he hopes students won’t even have to use the pro-gram at all. “I would like for all kids to pass,” he said. Though many students work to the best of their ability, in a handful of cases students do not always pass every class. “I think to myself: ‘You should pass!’ Why do any kids fail? It’s a conundrum,” Mr. Seinfeld said. Summer School will provide the opportunity for most stu-dents to try their hardest to re-ceive all 22 credits and graduate with a Regents Diploma. Though the future of Cal-houn’s budget is still unforeseen, it is absolute that Summer School is in the budget for the 2010 sum-mer. Now, whether the budget is passed at all is in the hands of the taxpayers. Principal David Seinfeld ex-plained that what is cut, and when, is outside his realm of control. “I’m not part of those deliberations,” he said. As for complaints from stu-dents or parents, Mr. Seinfeld said, “I didn’t get any - just a couple of kids asking about it.”

Summer

Mr. Fred Harrison has been teaching at Calhoun for 35 years, clearly a man dedicated to his job, but his aspirations weren’t always set on being a high school teacher. “I never wanted to be a teach-er,” Mr. Harrison said, “I actually wanted to be a college professor, but it was clear in the mid-’70s that it was going to be hard to fi nd a college teaching job.” Aft er years invested in an un-foreseen but rewarding career, Harrison will be retiring at the end of this school year. Given the limited availability of jobs for college professors on Long Island, Mr. Harrison’s mother, a professor at CW Post University, advised him to look into teaching in high schools, as it would be eas-ier to fi nd employment. “I actually enrolled in a Catho-lic women’s college, and student taught there,” Mr. Harrison said about his fi rst encounter in the classroom. “It was a terrible experience—disastrous. My mom worried that I wouldn’t be able to fi nd a good job as a teacher, but she used her connections and got me a job in the Bellmore-Merrick district.”

While at Calhoun, Mr. Harri-son has become quite involved in Union work, seeking to improve the schooling system for both stu-dents and teachers. Although he has put in extraor-dinary eff ort in changing aspects of the system, there are still other changes he wishes he could have implemented at Calhoun. “It’s really hard to change in-stitutions,” Mr. Harrison said. “Like for the last two years, I’ve been helping some of the English teachers acquire small group writ-ing classes for 10th graders, so that they could have some one-on-one learning. But there are lots of other examples.” For years Mr. Harrison and Mr. Doug Smestad both have urged a diff erent approach for the senior year curriculum, but Mr. Harrison pointed out, “The idea really never got anywhere.” Aft er a while, Senior Experience was created with the aim of intro-ducing students to the work force, but Mr. Harrison still hopes for ad-ditional reforms to enable seniors to more easily transition to a col-lege environment. Mr. Harrison is pleased that he was able to make an impact on Calhoun’s student experience, especially in light of the limits he

sees in the standard high school education. “There are a lot of shortcom-ings in education. Big institutions don’t work for everyone, and un-fortunately many kids fall through the cracks. The school environ-ment just doesn’t work for some people,” Mr. Harrison said. “Like the people at the gates—they are some of the brightest kids I know, but school just doesn’t work for some of them. “As a teacher, it’s really hard pushing for these reforms and try-ing to motivate kids that just might not learn the way others do, that’s why so many young teachers get discouraged.” Given his deep convictions and drive to reform aspects of society that he fi nds fl awed, Mr. Harrison does not intend to rest quietly dur-ing his retirement years. “I’m not exactly sure what I’ll do when I leave,” Mr. Harrison said. “I plan to get more involved in politics—it’ll give me an opportu-nity to take more risks. I’ll be more active in anti-war protests and en-vironment.” It is evident that although Mr. Harrison never intended on becoming a high school teacher, he fi lled a special role during his time at Calhoun and became a real

mentor for many students and teachers. Mr. Harrison added that when he leaves, the things that he’ll miss most will be, “The students — the nice conversations I’ve had with them — and teachers, and just the interesting people that I’ve met.”

A teacher for the history books

(continued from page 1)

Though it’s hard to watch people go, Mrs. Connie Primavera, a spe-cial education teacher, is retiring aft er her 30th year. Since the start

of her career, she has given it her all to touch the hearts and minds of many students with her warm and welcoming smile. At the end of a long journey, she is ready to embark on another exciting chap-ter of her life.

A&S: How would you describe your teaching experience at Cal-houn?

Ms. P: It has been very rewarding and challenging experience that has given purpose and meaning to my life. It has also given me the ability to grow as a person.

A&S: What will you miss the most about Calhoun?

Ms. P: The special bonds I’ve de-veloped with the students and faculty members, and on a light-er scale, a reason to get up in the morning.

A&S: What advice would you give to future or current teachers?

Ms. P: To enjoy what they are do-ing because they’ll be doing it for a long time to come, and to do it to their best ability, and remember-smile.

A&S: What is your most memora-ble moment while teaching?

Ms. P: I’ve had so many, although one that comes to mind is taking a group of students to Europe and traveling during a spring break, and just opening their eyes to a world outside of the Bellmore-Merrick district. Also, having kids come back and visit and seeing how they have grown as a person aft er they have left Calhoun.

A&S: What are you looking for-ward to aft er you retire?

Ms. P: I’m planning to do quite a bit of traveling, and I would like to do some type of humanitarian work in a third- world country. And just enjoying life and taking a break to smell the roses!

Ms. Primavera springs forward

(photo by Kara Iskenderian)

Mr. Harrison turns the page on his long career by Emily Wrynn

Managing Editor

by Aeryal Davison & Sarika SinghStaff Writers

(photo by Leah Sobel)

Ms. Primavera, here with Frank Badala-menti, will be retiring aft er 30 years.

News April 2010 Hoofbeats 5

Weight room cutbacks

Here’s a terrifying thought: the America I know and love so dearly is having its self-reliance destroyed and the long slog to-ward Western European quasi-socialism has begun. The fi ght over the Obama administration’s warped vision of health care reform has taken well over a year, and while many will credit Barack Obama and his remarkable managerial skills for the passage of this atrocious bill, the eff orts of Clinton, Nixon, John-son, and Truman to nationalize health insurance were nowhere near as costly in terms of political capital, and none of their eff orts were the singular focus of their presidencies for over a year. This administration has paid lit-tle att ention to the more pressing issue of rebuilding our economy, and bringing closure to our situa-tion in Iraq, which is an enormous

source of debt and doing far more damage to the development of our nation than our greatly overblown health care “crisis.” Clearly the United States has an imperfect health care system; how-ever, healthcare as an industry is far less plagued less by the greedy

corporate sadists, but by enormous malpractice insurance costs for doc-

tors and the inability of indi-viduals to buy health care across state lines. A common argument against this is that all individuals would purchase the cheapest in-surance possible. This is an illogi-cal argument in that certain health insurance companies are tailored for families, while others are de-signed to cover individuals, or the elderly. Also there are diff er-ences in the type of coverage that possible plans will provide. The other major issue is that the cost of drugs is a severe burden on Amer-ican families and the most fl awed component of our health industry as a whole. We should either put

strict regulations on drug compa-nies as we have done to so many industries when it became neces-sary to prevent price gouging and abuses of an enormous scale, or allow Canadian drugs to be sold in the United States and watch the cost drop dramatically. This bill is funda-mentally fl awed in that it is based on the prem-ise that access to health insurance is a right. Nowhere in the constitution does it state we are entitled to health insurance; we are, however, entitled to the general term of life. Based on the premise of life as a right, the govern-ment cannot take away our right to life or alter the manner in which we handle our own health care and insurance. Instead, the

government should monitor and regulate the health industries, both pharmaceutical companies, and insurers as to prevent abuses and allow for greater competition and reduced prices. There has been a persistent ar-gument from the American left

wing that this bill will actually curb the federal defi cit.

This bill is costly ineffi cient targets

the wrong seg-ments of the issue as a whole is opposed to the traditional morals and beliefs of our nation. It has been rammed

through in one of the most divisive decisions a

president has ever made, and is highly opposed by a

majority of the people. It is an abomination which

should never have seen the light of day and will (if there is any good in the world) be repealed.

The end of the world as we know it

News Analysis

by Michael FalboStaff Writer

(photo courtesy of MCT)

explained. “Nothing is defi nite, preliminary fi gures show our dis-trict gett ing about $2.5 million less.” Within those funds is some money used to fund intramural sports. The weight room falls un-der the category of intermurals. Supervisors are needed to run the weight room and now the money to pay these supervisors is much harder to come by. For those who may not partici-pate in sports but want to stay in shape, there is only one other op-tion: join a private gym. But unlike at Calhoun, these facilities are not

free. For members of the football team, Coach Joe Bianca was able to get a deal at Synergy Gym on Mer-rick Ave. with reduced prices for sign-up and monthly fees. In pre-vious summers, Calhoun would allow the football players to use the weight room. Now though, coaches do not know if the avail-ability will be there in the summer, so gett ing a gym membership was the only option for the team to stay in shape prior to the season. “I’ve been prett y upset over the whole situation,” said junior Jag-preet Ghuman. “The weight room was so convenient. We could just

walk downstairs aft er school. It’s basically just a huge inconvenience to most athletes and a waste of money at Synergy when we could be using a perfectly fi ne weight room in our school.” So why can’t the money stu-dents are paying for private gyms be used to pay for supervisors in the weight room? Mr. Seinfeld ex-plained that there are legal issues that have been denied by district lawyers. He added that parents have gone to Board of Education meetings, to fi ght for the reopening of the weight room. Their question: why not just hire a coach, similar to adding a sport, rather than pay diff erent people everyday? “Once again,” Seinfeld explained. “There are legal issues that go along with this as well.” Students who use the weight room on a leisurely basis, do not have the same opportuni-ties as those on sports. An outside gym, without the reduced prices, can cost up to two hundred dollars in activation fees, as well as up to forty-fi ve dollars per month. “It’s a bad situation,” Mr. Moeller, a football coach and teacher said. “There are students, not only boys, which used the weight room ev-eryday if it was available. With the growing problems of obesity, we’re trying to get rid of bad habits such

as snacks and sugary drinks in the cafeteria. Taking away the weight room is taking away a good habit for students trying to get healthy.” Students like junior Mike Lipari had similar thoughts. “There simply isn’t any inex-pensive alternative to Calhoun’s weight room. I feel cheated by a school that supposedly takes pride in athletics and health, but now forbids non-athletes from using our weight room more than two days a week.” The weight room will still be open for sports teams and coaches, as well as most all Tues-days and Thursdays. “We are trying to cut less essen-tial items,” Mr. Seinfeld explained. “Right now we need to be priori-tizing and keeping what the school needs in terms of education.”

(photo by Holly Lavelli)

(photo by Holly Lavelli)

(continued from page 1)

6 Hoofbeats April 2010 Colture

Pandora opens up a new music box

Society likes convenience, and condensing all of our technologi-cal needs into one device is an easy way for us to enjoy and use technology to our greatest advan-tage. For many of us, the best way to do this has been through mo-bile phones. One “smart phone,” known as the Blackberry, has revo-lutionized the way we talk, learn, and have fun through its various applications, known for short as apps, that can be downloaded to the phone itself. The Blackberry has a countless number of apps to use, some used strictly for communication. The phone comes with both Facebook and MySpace applica-tions that allow users to access these popular social-networking websites from the convenience of their phone. The applications al-low people to update our profi les, write messages to friends, and view our others’ profi les, posts, and pictures. It is a convenient way to stay in touch with friends and relatives, no matt er where you are in the world. There are other applications that also aid in helping people. AOL

Instant Messenger, or “AIM,” has its own Blackberry app, allowing users to log into their messenger accounts, view their buddy lists, and have instant message conver-sations with their friends. This app is similar to Blackberry Messenger or “BBM,” but BBM is unique only to Blackberry users, regardless of cell service provid-ers, while anyone with an AIM account is welcome to use the app titled with the same name. BBM messages are essentially Instant Message conversations, from one Blackberry user to another. Not all apps on the Blackberry are there solely for communica-tion purposes. There are various entertainment applications on the Blackberry. Sirius/XM Satellite Ra-dio has its own app, allowing us-ers to listen to over 120 channels of Satellite Radio right on their phone. There is of course a fee for this service, but for music lovers, it

is quite a convenient thing to have. There are services for music, as well. Pandora has its own downloadable application, allowing users to listen to music whenever they are inclined to do so. There are also a multi-tude of applications to aid in buying items online, for all those shopoholics who enjoy having purchasing power at their fi nger tips. One such application is the Amazon Shop-ping App, which allows users to shop on the popular website right from their phone. It allows you to track your orders and read reviews for the items you bought or are look-ing to buy. Many other companies, such as Babies ‘R Us, Godiva, and 1800-Flowers

also have their own downloadable apps, making it convenient to shop for one’s self, or purchase a last minute gift for a loved one. And for the disorganized, ap-plications such as “Shopper,” pro-vides a way to organize shopping lists. You can save your lists week to week, allowing for easy orga-nization each time you go to that

particular store. The number of applications are endless. Wheth-er you’d like to check the weather for tomorrow, or view movie show times, and pur-chase tickets, you can do it on the Blackberry. The convenience and ease of this tech-nology is a great thing to have. We are able to do virtually anything we want to from anywhere we want. We are gett ing to the point where we are unable to do anything

without our cell phones.

by Taylor ThomasStaff Writer

Blackberry off ers many choicesAppy days

Lily Allen to Metallica. Envy on the Coast to the cast of Glee. Pandora, revolutionary radio al-lows listeners to choose what they want to hear, and even provides the listener with suggestions. Pandora radio is a streaming music service that allows you to decide which of the millions of art-ists you want to listen to. Each in-dividual member creates their sta-tions on a private account based on a song, album, or band. The driving force behind the website, “the most comprehensive analysis of music ever,” as put by the founder Tim Westergren, is the Music Genome Project. Created in January of 2006, the new technol-

ogy takes the sound of each indi-vidual song and places them with others with corresponding “genes”, much like those in a human’s DNA. Each gene is a specifi c trait that links to-gether the music, rang-ing from the gender of the bass player to distortion levels on the lead guitar. The project focuses more on matching specifi c fundamental aspects of every individual piece

rather than corresponding genres the band may stereotypically be-

long to. Work never stops at Pandora. Each day new bands are passing through re-cording stu-dios, and the team makes it their personal obligation to analyze each note of new-comers. New albums also need to be

examined to identify which genes match up with which songs, as

well as the release of singles and EPs. The service has two subscrip-tion plans, one that is free, and an-other that costs 99 cents a month to perform the same without ad-vertising. Each station allows you to bookmark any song that plays, assuring that it will be heard more oft en. The listener can also hit the thumbs down butt on. Doing so will tell the station not to play the song again in the future. If a song is skipped, it will no longer be played on that particular station. Giving more variety to traveling music, Pandora has applications that are compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, Android mobile phones, and Blackberrys. Pandora is slowly broadening every user’s musical horizons.

by Rachel Saff ordStaff Writer

(photo courtesy of www.rim.com)

(photo courtesy of MCT)

Colture April 2010 Hoofbeats 7

Hmm, let’s see what’s on this week’s schedule. Two tests on Monday, one report on the Ho-locaust on Tuesday. Wednesday there’s a track meet. Thursday af-ternoon you have a dentist’s ap-pointment aft er several club meet-ings, and of course on Friday the midnight premiere of that steamy movie starring R-Patt z. It seems like the only thing missing in your jam-packed week is sleep. According to Daily News Cen-tral, 80 percent of teens are sleep deprived. Not to worry though, catch up on these tips and you’ll get that beauty sleep you’ve been dreaming of.Keep your clock constant As much as you want to stay up a couple nights every week to watch the new episode of “Glee” or upload pictures from the play to Facebook, you need to keep your sleep clock on schedule. By waking up and going to sleep at the same time every day, you’ll be able to fall asleep easier when your head hits the pillow. Your internal rhythm will be back to normal and waking up on time will be easier

than hitt ing the snooze butt on. No more midnight snacks Don’t be seduced by the Oreos on your kitchen table. Even though they seem like your best friend, they will send you heavy doses of hate when it’s time to hit the hay. Avoid eating any later than two hours before bed time. Instead of your stomach churning and di-gesting into the wee hours of the night, it will be sett led and in tune with the rest of your body. Curb your caff eine intake Students seem to be subject to the wonderful world of caff eine. This addicting drug is practically pulsing through the veins of ev-ery teenager walking the hallways. The warm smell of Starbucks waft -ing through the air and a fi zzy Red Bull electrifying your system isn’t exactly the ideal potion for a good night’s sleep. Because caff eine is a stimulant people usually have it in the morning, but as the body with-drawals from it you start to feel ill. Caff eine can’t replace sleep even if it makes you feel more alert and on your toes. Comfort is key Waking up with a crick in your neck and a sore back is surely no way to start your day. Of course

you’re a growing being that needs plenty of space to roll around twist and turn so maybe it’s time to ditch the twin sized bed. Experimenting with diff erent pillows and foam toppers can help you determine which level of fi rmness suits you best. Make sure that pillow you’ve been sleeping with since you were in pre-school is still comfortable. It may be time to get a new pillow that suits the way you fall asleep depending on whether you sleep on your stomach, back or side. Quiet time If your bedroom window faces a busy street and your older brother has his Metallica raging, sleep is far from a possibility. Despite the fact that you cannot change the

location of your room, it doesn’t mean you can’t cancel out the dis-rupting noise. Putt ing on soothing white noise like the sound of rain or the lapping of the ocean on the shore can help relax you. Even if you don’t have the soothing music, try turning on a fan or air condi-tioner during the summer. If nei-ther of those things do the trick, a last resort can be a pair of earplugs to leave you in peace and quiet. Soothing shower Instead of taking a shower in the morning, taking a warm shower or bath before bed time will re-lax your muscles. Increasing your temperature before bed will allow it to cool down as you drift into sleep.

Sweet dreamsby Tatt ianna Flores

Colture Editor

Tips for a bett er night’s sleep

(photo by Tatianna Flores)

Six power outages, fallen trees, and torrential rainfall. We all know the eff ects of last month’s rain storm, but some of us felt it a litt le bit more. Here’s my story: The storm, of course, was all over the television. Channel 4’s Storm Watch even mentioned Merrick on the 11 o’clock news. All they had

were numbers - how many houses continued to be without power each day. What they failed to men-tion was how certain people had to deal with the conditions. On that aft ernoon, my mother and I sat in the living room watch-ing “Freedom Writers” on the DVR. Randomly, the glow of the digital green clock on the oven and microwave vanished, along with the picture of the schoolyard

fi ght on the television with a quick blink. Aft er a nap, I was ruthless-ly awoken by a crash outside the window. It was a giant branch, detached from its own home and knocking into mine, taking the power cables with it. It was going to be a long week. We stayed in the house for that night, eerie as it was. Traumatical-ly, my phone lost batt ery life and I was without it for a good 20 hours (a truly horrifying experience for any teenager), and was then forced to play the large array of board games with my mother. It would be the last night we would stay there for many, many days. Sunday night was the fi rst of three spent in a hotel room dealing with an uncomfortable pillow and my father’s Serenade of Snores. Even though I had an actual bed this time, I didn’t get to sleep until one in the morning and was still forced to head to school the next day. It was the Holiday Inn of West-bury on a Wednesday night in March. Otherwise known as the all-night middle aged disco, the

place I would hang my hat for the night. Who knew old people still went out and danced, especially those guys who smacked Chap-stick on their lips before entering. This would be hotel number three for my family in the past three nights, due to the tragic loss of power that lasted for the longest fi ve days of my entire life. Loud music pumping through the walls and stilett o heels pound-ing on the wooden dance fl oor prevent even the heaviest sleep-ers from gett ing rest. With midriff bearing blouses and other scanty clothes, you would imagine any night club on a typical Saturday, however it was sadly anything but. Homework was a pain to deal with. Almost every teacher I told my situation to didn’t understand. My mother took extra precaution by alerting my guidance counselor of our family’s dilemma with the electricity, but it was still a strug-gle. The entire experience killed my childhood aspirations of stay-ing in a hotel “just for fun,” and forced me to be entirely sick of ho-tel life in general.

by Rachel Saff ordStaff Writer

Merricks rocked like a hurricane

Alice Avenue was one of many Merrick streets that suff ered damage aft er the storm.(photo by Tatianna Flores)

8 Hoofbeats April 2010 Colture

James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar is being regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, receiving Oscar wins across the board, and nominations for nu-merous other awards. Cameron spent over a decade perfecting Avatar, but why spend so much time on a movie alleged to be cop-ied from Disney’s “Pocahontas”? Should it be receiving recognition when it clearly copied an esteemed Disney classics? Most movie-goers were taken aback while watching Avatar. The computer animated scenery was incredible, and the native people, known as the Na’avi, were out of this world- literally. Add on the 3D graphics- wow. Avatar takes place during the year 2154, as humans travel to the planet of Pandora, in search of a valuable mineral. Similarly in Pocahontas, the Europeans are in search of gold mines. Avatar’s protagonist, a handi-capped ex-solider, Jake Sully, ex-plores Pandora in his avatar form and becomes close with the Na’vi people, especially the female, Neytiri. Likewise, in Pocahontas, British Captain John Smith (same initials…how ironic?) teams up with the Native Americans as he searches for gold, and begins to develop feelings for Pocahontas. As the story of Avatar pro-gresses, Sully is instructed to defy the Na’vi and engage in plot to

destroy the Tree of Souls, a large source of minerals, and a place of worship for Na’vi. Neytiri seeks guidance in the Tree of Souls in times of trouble, like Pocahontas confi des in Grandmother Willow. At the climax of Avatar, Jake tries to convince the humans that it’s unjust to destroy Na’vi culture, but his dedication to the human cause is questioned, and he is for-bidden from reentering his avatar. However, Jake manages to sneak back into his avatar and rejoins the Na’vi, helping them fi ght a war against his own people. Compa-rable to Pocahontas, John tries to convince the governor that Poca-hontas’ land is free of gold, lead-

ing to confl ict between the tribe and Europeans. Pocahontas saves Smith, who joins the tribe in fi ght-ing against the Europeans. Could these similarities be more obvious? Avatar is essentially Poca-hontas in space. So why all this hype over some-thing we’ve seen before? As beau-tifully craft ed and successful as the movie was, with the story line so similar to Pocahontas and countless other movies, it is astonishing that people are praising it for its plot. There are even fan pages, websites, and blogs of supporters- some contemplating suicide in hopes of waking up in Pandora as a Na’vi! The Avatar addiction has clearly

spiraled out of control. It’s com-pletely understandable that the plots of some movies may repeat occasionally. But when the main characters even share the same ini-tials, it’s hard not to point fi ngers at Cameron and wonder where this “brilliant” idea sprouted from. Classic movies like Pocahontas and other Disney fi lms are nos-talgic to some people. These sen-timental movies are hard to out-do, even when fancy visual eff ects are added. Avatar was just one of many fi lms that tried to outdo an original movie. So James Camer-on, keep your outstanding visual graphics, but next time think up your own plot.

by Rachel TysonSports Editor

Been there, scene thatIs Avatar too familiar?

(photos by Tatianna Flores)

No hair, but plenty of smiles at St. Baldrick’s

Sophomore Kristi Tice, teachers Peter Magnuson and Jeff Haruthunian, and senior Dan D’Ott one do their part.

(photo courtesy of MCT)Jake Sully and Neytiri from Avatar mimic the relationship of John Smith and Pocahontas in the Disney movie.

Colture April 2010 Hoofbeats 9

Where the wyld things areMerrick’s “Wyld Chyld” is more than a tatt oo parlor If you have ever driven on Sun-rise Highway in Merrick, you’d probably think that Wyld Chyld is just your typical tatt oo parlor, but rest assured, there is much more. Owner Billy DeLuso has been a tatt oo artist for 20 years and aft er having too much clientele at his previous parlor, he opened what is now know as Wyld Chyld. Af-ter opening up the tatt oo shop fi ve years ago, DeLuso felt that a Cafe would be the perfect addition to his store which just opened this October. And yes, you’ve read cor-rectly. Wyld Chyld is part tatt oo shop, part cafe. Due to it’s increasing popular-ity, teenagers have been traveling down to Wyld Chyld but some adults might view it to be contro-versial. Its appearance can be quite in-timidating to kids and question-able to parents. But don’t let that fool you, once you walk into Wyld Chyld you instantly feel a warm and friendly environment.

“I encourage parents to come on down to Wyld Chyld to have something to drink, sit, relax, chat and to see what really goes on here,” DeLuso said.. People are more than welcome to hang out all day and get a chance to talk to the artists and educate themselves. Of course, with kids below the age of 18 in a tatt oo par-lor, the obvious question is if kids are asking for tatt oos

“Yes, we get lots of kids coming in with fake IDs, but we have a very strict policy.” Wyld Chyld is diff erent than other shops, not only by be-ing the very fi rst tatt oo/cafe shop, but also because they aren’t afraid to turn away ev-ery underaged kid who walks in hoping to de-ceive the artists. Amir Leveque, the Director of Marketing at Wyld Chyld says, “we try to make sure you understand the implications of having a tatt oo for life, espe-cially when you’re not already hired and established. They look at you diff erently when hiring if you

have a tatt oo on your wrists or arms. And it’s not just putt ing something on your body, it’s art.” “Kids are gett ing tatt oos and pierc-ings for all the wrong reasons, they need to understand that health comes fi rst,” said Jade Hernan-dez, the Wyld Chyld body piercer. As an alternative for mi-nors, the parlor off ers free virgin tatt oos for those who are eager for one but simply are too young. All who work at Wyld Chyld stress the im-

portance of waiting until one can make an educated deci-

sion about gett ing a tatt oo on what they truly want. When approaching the shop there are two doors to choose from: one that says “Tatt oo” and one “Cafe.” Whether it’s gett ing a tiger on your arm or gett ing a cof-fee and a pastry, you’re bound to have an excellent time. “Regard the shop as a Starbucks with a shot of ultra cool level,” joked Leveque. “Everything but

the green aprons.” Similar to the mega chain, Wyld Chyld even serves delicious spe-ciality drinks such as the “Wyld Chai” as well as handmade ice cream. Let’s face it: kids can only go to the movies and the mall so many times without suff ering from constant bore-dom. But don’t fret, Wyld Chyld holds Karaoke on Mondays and Fridays. Wednes-days, it’s poetry/ comedy. This gives the chance for new comedians to give themselves a head start before hitt ing the big leagues and poets a chance to ex-press themselves in front of others in a public domain. Teenagers have

the opportunity to come and do schoolwork (they have wifi !), learn about tatt oos, and to sit down and draw with the artists to improve on their ideas for the future. “When kids come here they should really come to get to know

us! We love talk-ing with the kids, we have a great time. Its like a party every night here,” Leveque said. Wyld Chyld is currently in the process of ex-panding to Fort

Lauderdale, Manhatt an, and even in Las Vegas. And to think, it all started out here in the litt le town of Merrick. So, if you’re looking to have a fabulous time, Wyld Chyld tatt oo/cafe shop is the place to be.

by Julia MartinezStaff Writer

(photo by Julia Martinez)

Located on Sunrise Highway in Merrick, Wyld Chyld off ers Karaoke nights and comedy nights.

(photo by Karina Rotella)

Chris Mackin, Leah Edwards, Tommy Mackin, and Ben Ross sing Karaoke at Wyld Chyld.

(photo by Julia Martinez)Wyld Chyld off ers many specialty drinks like smoothies, as well as ice cream.

“Kids are gett ing tatt oos and piercings for all the wrong reasons. They need to understand that health comes fi rst.”

- Jade HernandezWyld Chyld piercer

10 Hoofbeats April 2010 Editorial

Cyber bullying springs up In March, a 17-year-old girl in West Islip, Alexis Pilkington, committ ed suicide. Although the sources of her pain can never real-ly be verifi ed, Alexis was, for sure, a victim of cyber bullying. Her att ackers sent cruel and hurtful messages through Face-book and Formspring, but the messages didn’t stop with her death. The att ackers continued to post messages on her memorial page and her Facebook profi le, ei-ther because they didn’t see the ramifi cations or they didn’t care. How is this allowed? How can we let this to continue? Cyber bullying isn’t a direct cause of death. However, it can be an infl uencing factor in suicides, and it makes the tragedy all the more painful and disturbing. With the advancements in mod-ern technology, we can now hide behind computer screens and key-boards without facing any con-

sequences. We can say things to people that we would never say to their face, because they can’t see us, talk to us, or even know who we are. This is cowardly of the per-petrator and harmful to the victim. Teenagers are old enough to know bett er. At this age, kids should be able to empathize or at least show some sort of compas-sion. Still, teenag-ers channel their angst into mak-ing others more miserable than they already are. Bullies can now continue their evil behavior aft er the school bell ends and quiet vic-tims can never hide. This is where teenagers need a litt le direction. Where are the awareness assemblies at Calhoun? Let’s be honest, a lot of assemblies at Calhoun are seen as an ineff ec-tive waste of time (hello, welcome-back-this-is-an-important-year-for-you assembly.) Wouldn’t it be

more benefi cial to inform students of the dangers of real-life issues? And not in the aft er-school special way, either. We need to sit down, and talk out the hard, cold facts of the consequences of cyber bul-lying. We need to make people aware. There are laws in the works to

prevent cyber bullying and to protect those

who are victims of it, but are these laws truly enough? How can these laws be adequate, when cyber bul-lying still occurs on a large scale? Whether an individual will be prosecuted depends on the type of threat, the frequency of the threat, the source of the threat, and the na-ture of the threat. With all of these stipulations in the law, it’s diffi cult to protect those who really need it, and many are left behind. In eff ort to combat cyber bully-ing, some schools have been devel-

oping youth leadership programs to develop a safer school environ-ment. This is a great idea to raise awareness in the high school com-munities and put an end to bully-ing of all varieties. High school students seem to have this invincibility complex, believing that cyber bullying couldn’t happen where they are, or that it couldn’t aff ect them. This just isn’t true. The reality is that people everywhere can be aff ected by cyber bullying, and seminars or assemblies can help make people conscious of that fact. Opinions should not be stated anonymously through Formspring like a coward. Technology should not be used as a shield for personal problems. And anger should not be re-leased on other people; every ac-tion has an equal or opposite reac-tion, so think about yours before you act.

Staff Editorial

Staff Members: Emily Begin, Amanda Breivogel, Kimberly Brower, Ashley Cohen, Maria DiMatt eo, John Eyerman, Michael Falbo, Emily Freeman, Jenee Gaccione, Lauren Herschbein, Arooj Iqbal, Julia Martinez, Shannon Matzen, Michelle Prussen, Rebecca Rood-Goldman, Rachel Saff ord, Nicole Simmons, Kushhali Singh, Sarika Singh, Nina Thomas, Taylor Thomas, Alex Topper, Meghan Walsh

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

Editors-in-Chief Kelsey Lee Naomi Volk Managing Editors Philippa Boyes Emily Wrynn Editorial Editor Leah Sobel Colture Editor Tatianna Flores Sports Editors Rachel Tyson Tessa Patt i News Editor Kara Iskenderian Faculty Adviser Jason Boland

Hoofb eatsSanford H. Calhoun High School

1786 State StreetMerrick, NY 11566

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

Volume 52 No. 4 April 2010

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

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a new social agenda taking over, and that is “to protect our country and the Constitution upon which we were founded!” Now this may sound great, and who could argue with a name as patriotic as the “tea party?” The only problem is their idea of “protecting the country” is actu-ally a systematic destruction of all that is good in America. You have to hand it to them; they’re clever. The very name of their movement invokes a sort of patriotism in Americans. The Boston Tea Party was a signifi -cant event in American history, and naming a movement aft er it deceives people into thinking that this particular movement is also fi ghting for liberty and freedom. Unfortunately, this is a lie. By gaining the support of infl u-ential leaders such as Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, they’ve been able to spread their movement all over the country, and make it look good. Beck has about 3 million viewers every night. Imagine how many people his message can reach, and how much infl uence he really has. This is terrifying. I, for one, am scared of a group with a far right wing agenda tak-ing over politics, especially if that “party” has no idea what they’re talking about. At a recent rally in Washington D.C., tea party pro-

testers were asked what percent-age of the gross domestic product does the government get in taxes. The average answer was 42 per-cent. The correct answer was 6.2 percent. The Tea Party protesters are a bunch of crabby, petulant children, complaining for the sake of complaining, and using no facts to support their opinions. One of these viruses has already affl icted Merrick; in August 2009, a tea par-ty protest was held under the Mer-rick train station. Yes, boys and girls, we have been hit. They tried to spread their noxious message to the inno-cent people of Merrick, and even brought in a professional lunatic to “speak” (I put this word in quotes because really, all she did was en-fl ame the crowd and produce an “angry mob” mentality). She sang, she danced, and she made a direct comparison between Obama and Hitler. And the crowd ate it up. And they’re so classy too. Repre-sentative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was heckled with anti-gay slurs, Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) was spit on as he entered the Capitol, and he was called the “n” word by several protesters as well. This is the same party that Sarah Palin referred to as “the fu-ture of politics” (TIME). The Tea Party Movement, a pop-ulist movement, must be stopped. They’re looking for “one-size-fi ts-all policy response” (Forbes), but what they don’t understand is, well, everything.

by Kelsey LeeEditor-in-Chief

Growing insani-tea

Editorial April 2010 Hoofbeats 11

When I turned 18 this year, my brother left a joke on my Face-book wall to celebrate the occa-sion, telling all non-feminists to beware since I could now vote. While he was joking, it’s not the fi rst time the term “feminist” has been used to jokingly insult me. And I still don’t understand why. Feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Where, in that, lies the insult? People have this distorted view that all feminists are man-bashing women who don’t wear make-up and want to turn the table in favor of women. But equating all femi-nists with this extreme view is the same as saying all animal lovers throw red paint on celebrities that wear fur coats. The extreme isn’t the same as the mean. On the website Answerbag, a question was posted asking why men use feminism as an insult. “Antonio” responded that it was because, “feminists are known for their bias against, disdain for, and oft en downright hatred of men and things they want and/or are interested in.” This ignorant response is at the heart of the problem. Where in the defi nition of feminism does it say anything about taking power away from men? It simply speaks of leveling the playing fi eld. And while this question focus-es solely on men, sadly men aren’t the only ones with a distorted

view. While playing a huge game of “Apples to Apples” with my friends, my friend shocked me when she chose feminists as those that most closely resembled her adjective of annoying. In fact, according to a CBS News poll, women are wary of the word feminism – 25 percent con-sider themselves a feminist while 70 percent don’t. In comparison, when the question was changed to include the defi nition of a feminist, 65 percent of women con-sidered them-selves a femi-nist. Some may say that we already have equality and that women, now, are just trying to push the balance in power in their favor. However, a Newsday article reports, “Nu-merous studies show that women have much more trouble than men building for a secure retire-ment… All told, women earn about one-third less than men make during their working lives – and that means they generate smaller contributions to Social Security, pensions, and 401(k) ac-counts. And fewer women have access to workplace retirement savings plans than men.” While we, as a society, have come a long way in 50 or so years, we are in no way near where fem-

Volk TalesFemin-insult

by Naomi VolkEditor-in-Chief

I’m a writer. That’s what I do. I’m not an actor or a math whiz, and anyone who’s ever had gym with me could tell you I’m nowhere near an athlete. But I’ll write any-thing and everything. I love voicing my opinion in an essay, apologizing to my friends in a lett er, making sarcastic jokes in a Colture piece for the paper. I don’t know if I’m going to continue writ-ing for the rest of my life, but I do know why I started to love it in the fi rst place. I’m a stutt erer. It’s that speech disorder people don’t oft en think about. Whenever I start to stutt er in class - especially for the fi rst time that year - I know it’s on everyone’s mind, making them uncomfort-able. It’s more than the nervous tick someone has while public speaking, or that boy-caused prob-lem Miley Cyrus whines about. It’s my embarrassingly red face, that repeated syllable I want to curse to hell, the fact that despite my cre-dentials as an AP student, I still have trouble reading words like “become” and “thought.” Some-times I can’t even get out my own name. My stutt er-ing is the 30,000 pound elephant stomping around as loud as it can in the middle of the classroom. When I was litt le, I had to deal with it all, repeating the “th” of “the” over and over until the teacher said patronizingly, “Would you like [insert another 1st grader with a smug-I-can-pronounce-it-and-you-can’t-smile here] to help out, Philippa?” As hard as I tried a word simply would not come out - not even the fi rst lett er. As you could imagine, it was prett y dam-aging to my elementary school self-esteem. Still, I knew I was bright. I knew I was funny. I knew I had answers to my teachers’ questions even when my hand wouldn’t dare go up. My savior was that pencil (ac-tually, erasable pen. I never liked pencils). When I had my litt le jour-nal, I could say whatever I wanted and, even bett er, all at one time. I could be myself. No one to mock me when they thought I couldn’t see, no one to give me pity, and not a teacher on standby to con-tact the speech department. I chose to write because I didn’t stutt er. I chose to write because I could be like everybody else. In spite of

the humiliation and unwanted at-tention, there’s one thing about it I’ve always loved. The one thing that didn’t make me completely regret it. My dad stutt ered too. Until about high school, he said. We bonded over that. He gave me advice on how to handle it, keep it under control, keep on feeling good about myself, and deal with any fi ckle friends who might tease me because of it. My dad was my complete rock. He was just true awesomeness, my stutt ering God in human form. And the one good

thing about my stutt ering meant that I was just like him. More than just the “You look just like your dad” that every adult

would squeal at me - which, by the way, I never appreciated. As a 10-year-old, I did not like being told that I bear physical resem-blance to a bald man with a beard. I could write about my stutt er-ing for hours and hours. I could tell anecdotes about telling a boy in front of my entire sixth grade class that I stutt ered - the fi rst time I ever said it to anyone in my new school in Merrick. I could tell my plan of researching it this sum-mer for my ASR project. I could describe my shock, annoyance, and then, of course, the just-my-luck att itude when I learn that 80 percent of stutt erers grow out of it by age 3, and 75 percent of stut-terers are boys (nice odds for me, the 16-year-old female stutt erer, right?). I feel like there are so many aspects to stutt ering, as many as there are start and stops when I ever I att empt to say words begin-ning with “C,” “F,” and “L.” My stutt ering is slowly dimin-ishing with age, but I still consider myself a life-long stutt erer, I know that it’s never going to go away. I

love fi nding kinship with other stutt erers, and I love learning of people who’ve made it as stut-terers in the real world. I actually have a running mental list: Mari-lyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, Emily Blunt, Tiger Woods (yeah, he kind of ruined our reputation a bit) and my personal favorite, Mo-ses (I used to tell kids in Hebrew school I was related to him on ac-count of the fact that we both stut-tered). It’s cheesy and irritating, and if anyone else said it I’d roll my eyes, but it’s an unfortunate truth: Stutt ering’s a part of me. But I’ve learned that it is not who I am in my entirety. I’m not Philippa Boy-es, stutt erer. I’m Philippa Boyes, writer, friend, daughter, sister, stu-dent, person.

Stutt ering, not stumblingby Philippa Boyes

Managing Editor

“It’s more than the nervous tick someone has while public speaking, or that boy-caused problem Miley Cyrus whines about.”

(photo by Leah Sobel)

(see INSULT on page 14)

12 Hoofbeats April 2010 Editorial

When asked about politics, a typical Calhoun student will re-spond with the anthem of “who cares?” Well, to tell you the truth, welfare mothers care. Marines stationed in Afghanistan care. A working fa-ther with cancer whose health in-surance won’t cover his treatment defi nitely cares. Residents of Dar-fur care. So do those of Pakistan, Chile, Haiti, Nigeria, Ireland and the rest of the world. They pay at-tention to our politics, they care. But why should you? I know you just want to watch your reality T.V. and argue over who should have been booted off of “American Idol” last night. You, my selfi sh friend, have the power to change that. It’s called voting, a right guaran-teed in that icky Constitution stuff you studied in some boring history class. Voting is how a democracy functions and educated voters are a key to a functional democracy. Please, please, please don’t throw it away because the “old people” can handle it. It is your job, your duty, your constitutionally granted right to vote. This rant is not some random whim that has popped into my mind. Sitt ing in my A.P. Language class I was astounded to listen to

my fellow students struggle with political cartoon analysis. At fi rst I blamed their ignorance on my knowing way too much about politics. But aft er sitt ing there try-ing to tune out the “Who is Nancy Pelosi?” and “What does the el-ephant mean?” for a few minutes I realized that that’s not the case. My generation just doesn’t care. They were born too sheltered, too apa-thetic, and too lazy. It’s as if this generation is sitt ing around lett ing everyone else take care of our issues. No more will I sit around. It’s time to change, it’s time to take action: vote, debate, get involved, do anything to stem the fl ow of our political oblivion. I want to hear about health re-form, troop surges, and defi cit spending. Let’s fi ll this school with debate, true two-sided arguments, not just all liberal opinions. I want to see students get angry about in-terrogation techniques, at least an-gry means you care. I’ve heard so many excuses about not paying att ention to news or politics. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been told to “stop caring” by a smirking class-mate. What’s happening in the world outside of your sheltered bubble is important, whether you like it or not. If every eligible student voted, or ensured that everyone in their family voted, then we could sin-

gle-handedly change local politics. If more people got on board, state and national politics could change. We have the power to do some-thing. It’s about time we use the power. It all comes back to education, not the molecular science type, the true, current events kind of education. Our school system has failed to inform us on the history of “now,” so instead of turning your back and receding into your litt le bubble, learn something.

Turn CNN, Fox or MSNBC on for 5 minutes. Read the daily copy of the New York Times as you’re leav-ing your house in the morning. It will take you all of a few seconds to scan the Daily News. It’s about time this generation gets off our lazy butt s and starts playing our role. Now is the time to care, not tomorrow and not it fi ve years. Maybe our generation will be the ones who will take care of this Earth. Maybe, if we just cared a litt le more.

Beware the politically unaware

(photo by Emily Wrynn)

My life in under 140 characters

by Kara IskenderianNews Editor

They say the fi rst step to recov-ery is admitt ing you have a prob-lem. And thus, I will. To those who don’t know me, my name is Lind-sey Solomon. And I am a Twitt er addict. I am a living example of one who is under the spell of tell-ing my life’s story in under 140 characters. And yes, it has taken control of my life. Aft er being through AIM, Face-book, and unlimited texting, you would think that I couldn’t get any more att ached to electronic devices. But like most teens of our generation, I couldn’t help but be further tethered to my cell phone and computer. Based off the idea of communi-cating with a small group of peo-ple through text messages, Twitt er enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts displayed on

the author’s profi le page and de-livered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Send-ers can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends by requesting that all who would want “to fol-low” one’s tweets to ask permis-sion, or, by default, allow open access. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitt er website, Short Message Service (SMS) as text messages or ex-ternal applica-tions on Blackberries or iPhones. Once my profi le was made, over the course of one night, everything changed. I saw the light. I saw what everyone was so crazy about. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. Within minutes, people start-ed to “follow” me, subscribing to my tweets, and I returned the fa-vor. I did the same to not only my friends, but celebrities. I remember

telling myself that this would keep me more in touch in the world. All of a sudden, it was if I was entan-gled in hundreds of people’s lives at once. At fi rst, it really meant nothing. I would look forward to reading all the tweets on my rides home from school. It gave me in-

sight on what people were feel-ing and why, re-vealing all of life’s mysteries. It was clear that once I start-ed, I thrived on people reading

my thoughts. Seeing people in the halls brought compliments my way on my thoughts on an assignment or what I was doing for entertain-ment. As each fl att ering re-mark arrived, my ego grew just a litt le bit bigger. It was almost as if I was a famous author or television personality. Like a kid in a candy store, I

stocked on people to follow. With-in an hour period, I could get 200 to 300 texts with no problem. Without actually having a real conversation with them, I knew everything about people’s lives. During the school day, I would se-cretly tweet during class as if I was a kid going to the gates to smoke. The number of text messages I had each month went up astronomi-cally into the tens of thousands. As of today, I am trying to cut it down a litt le bit. While I am at about 1,700 tweets in six months, cutt ing back has defi nitely oc-curred. Do I still enjoy gett ing 20 texts in the morning about Ander-son Cooper’s dinner with famous

world leaders? Of course. But I have learned to control myself and my litt le fi ngers to not let my

life become enthralled by an outside force. That and

the phone company threat-ening my parents that they would turn off my phone if I didn’t stop hitt ing 15,000 texts a month.

by Lindsey SolomonContributing Writer

“Like a kid in a candy store, I stocked up on people to follow. Within an hour, I could get 200 to 300 texts with no problem.”

Editorial April 2010 Hoofbeats 13

Pt./Counterpoint: Teachers and renewable tenureChecks and balances needed for education

Good teachers are not like renewable books

If someone gives you a gift , something you treasure and know you will keep forever, how would you feel if it were taken away? There have always been staples of the classic teacher: the chalk-board, the shiny apple given by the suck-up student, the red pen, and, of course, tenure. And although chalkboards may be updated to fancy new budget-bending Smart-Boards, old-time values like job se-curity should not be updated. If a teacher has jumped through hoops and proved their talent enough to be deemed tenure-wor-thy, they should maintain their tenure for the rest of their career. Once it is received, is a right, not a privilege. Tenure for approved teachers is a necessity to ensure

the sanctity of education - it stops teaching from becoming too politi-cal, too tainted with favoritism. It helps push all the focus to be on students and on enlightening them to the best of a teacher’s ability. Look, every person has had teachers that were average at most. They lack the empathy to relate to students, they couldn’t convey their ideas. But is that every tenured teacher across the nation? Obviously not. Most truly great teachers are tenured, and thank goodness. Because everyone know why they’re the great ones. They tell you how it is with honest

opinion. They teach you the way they want to teach you, whether it be a straight lecture for 41 minutes or a workshop-based class where the students run it democratically. A great teacher aims all of his/her energy on educating the students. Imagine: educating. Strange, isn’t it? Where a teacher doesn’t have to spend time worrying about net-working with the right people and staying on an administrator’s good side to keep a job so much so that they can focus on inspiring the next generation of America? Ten-ure does have a nice litt le ring to it. If there were renewable tenure, social studies teacher Mr. Neal Madnick doesn’t believe his teach-ing methods would change. What would change, however, would be his actions outside the classroom. “My behavior outside the class-room would be radically diff er-ent. I would be in constant fear of speaking out, questioning the administration, of even fi ghting for educational goals I felt were needed,” he said. “Knowing that I could be fi red, not because I wasn’t a good teacher, but because I was viewed as a nuisance or a trouble-maker would have a chilling eff ect on everything I did outside the class.” Putt ing it bluntly, Mr. Mad-nick proclaimed teaching without tenure “would be like living under a totalitarian government.” It’s easy to blame the fact that there are some boring teachers in the world on the lack of incentive- renewable tenure. But is that what students should focus on? What’s easy? Not being challenged? Without tenure, teachers couldn’t lobby for students when we needed it, they couldn’t fi ght on our behalf - as athletes, artists, performers - without being in risk of losing their entire career and reputation as an educator. No one is expecting every

teacher to be ex-ceptional. This myth that ten-ure guarantees a poorly-equipped or worn-out edu-cator a job is ri-diculous. Putt ing a teacher in that same, uncom-

fortable position of being judged on everything they do every three to fi ve years will not create bett er educators (or students), it will cre-ate more fear, and in turn, create robots.

(photo by Philippa Boyes)

by Philippa BoyesManaging Editor

The profession of teaching ex-ists to educate students. A simple idea, but it is oft en overlooked by the school community. A measure of job security for teachers, tenure has the poten-tial to keep inadequate teachers in schools. As a means of check-ing on these teachers, re-newable tenure should be put into eff ect. Tenure does not guarantee a lifetime of em-ployment, but it makes fi ring bad teachers a challenging and expen-sive process. According to USA To-day, this process can cost districts up to $100,000 and waste days of valuable time. A tenured teacher cannot be dismissed without eval-uations involving everyone from the school board to the judicial system. On top of expenses, the school district must also supply substitute teachers and paid leave. The wastes of the tenure system are absolutely ridiculous. In Connecticut, a teacher who helped students cheat on a stan-dardized test received a mere 30 day suspension. While in Florida, a teacher was not fi red for over a year aft er she threw books at her students and demanded they call her Ms. God. These horror stories, though extreme, highlight a dys-functional system. Why couldn’t these people be fi red on the spot? Even in more common cases, it is diffi cult to fi re a teacher who changes their style or eff ort aft er receiving tenure, or stops work-ing to their potential. For teachers that may lack passion (we all know they exist), tenure can become a security blanket to cover up their lackluster eff ort. Why keep trying if you have a guaranteed job? We’ve all seen it happen. It’s horribly unmotivating to sit in class with a teacher who doesn’t care. Though many of us are lucky at Calhoun to have teachers of all ages with passion and dedica-tion, can we say the same for every teacher nationwide? The solution is to create a sys-tem of renewable tenure where teachers are granted security for a period of three years, at the end of which their job will be reassessed. Politicians such as former Gov-

ernor of Massachusett s William Weld have proposed such an idea. He created the “anti-slob” system where teachers took competency tests every fi ve years to assess their abilities. In Oregon, tenure was abol-ished, and replaced with a two-year renewable contract. They also instated a rehabilitation process

for underachiev-ing teachers. This ensures top notch education for ev-ery student, not just the ones lucky enough to get the good

teacher. Even teachers have realized that tenure keeps their incompetent colleagues around. In a 2008 poll by the Education Sector, more than half of teachers agreed that it’s too

diffi cult to fi re ineff ective teachers and nearly half admitt ed to per-sonally knowing such a teacher. Though gaining tenure ranges in diffi culty depending on the school system, at Calhoun it is an extremely challenging experi-ence. According to Social Studies department chair, Mrs. Lorraine Lipinski-Huvane, “Tenure is not an easy thing to accomplish.” She mentioned the exhausting and rig-orous process that teachers must follow to be granted job security here. In her opinion, the process drastically improves teachers’ skills in the classroom. If tenure is such a great process, why not make it renewable? Why not keep our teachers on a path of improvement while challenging their skills?

by Kara IskenderianNews Editor

“ If a teacher has jumped through hoops and proved their talent enough to be deemed tenure-worthy, they should maintain their tenure for the rest of their career. ”

“We’ve all seen it happen. It’s horribly unmotivating to sit in a class with a teacher that just doesn’t care. ”

14 Hoofbeats April 2010 Sports

Up to the challenge

I have been a proud member of the Challenger basketball team since it came into existence in 2008. And since then, I have learned much more than just basketball skills. The Challenger basketball league is a league for special education students who would like to repre-sent their schools in a team sport. There are eight teams in the league and it is co-ed. The Calhoun Chal-lenger basketball team has not lost a game since the league began. However, that is not what this ar-ticle or the team is about. What the team is about goes way beyond the record, winning, and the fi nal score. This team defi nes the words heart, hustle, respect, and most im-portantly, sportsmanship. My teammates and I care for one another both on and off the court. “This team is a lot of fun and it’s cool!” said Maria Mazzeo, a mem-

ber of the team. “We get to hang out with friends and we had a good season be-cause we were 10-0.” During one game, we were trailing on the scoreboard but no one seemed nervous. There was no sense of panic, only a very calm de-meanor through-out our bench. That is because we realized that we are not just here to go out and win games;

we are here to represent our school in the

best way possible. If you went up to every player on our team and asked how would you want the students, faculty and administra-tors to remember your team, not one person would say as the team that went undefeated. They would say without hesitation, I want to be remembered as the team that never gave up and as the team that always showed respect for our op-ponents. There are 25 kids currently on our team and everyone plays each and every game. Every one of them has made an impact in their own way. One thing I believe our fans will appreciate is that our games are not just about putt ing in the best players and lett ing them win the game for us, because we do not have any players that are bett er than others. That is because skill level does not matt er as much as the size of your heart. During our basketball games we may be just a group of

high school students having fun, but on the inside I can tell you my teammates are much more than that. They have a positive impact on everyone who walks through the Calhoun doors. One thing that we learn is that no one is perfect, but when we are all together as a team we feel we can do anything. Whatever disability each of us possesses that makes us special education students disap-pears, and we feel like and become students who feel special. No one on our team sees themselves as

having a disability that one can use as an excuse. Besides, you would not even be able to tell that they are disabled by the way my team-mates carry themselves on and off the court. I may not be a member of the var-sity basketball team, but I am just as honored to say that I got the opportunity to play with not just great athletes, but great people. Now I know the real reason why we are called special education students and that is because each one of us really is special in our own unique way. One day when I get older I hope to tell every one that I was not only a member of the Challenger Basketball team, but I had the opportunity to play along side some very special people. I must give credit to two people who had a very positive impact on the whole team. They are the

special education chairperson Ms. Paluseo and our head coach and teacher Ms. Lauren Miele. We have learned a great deal from them both as they possess great charac-ter. I am proud and honored to say that I had the opportunity to learn from them and know them. When you want a role model all you need to do is learn from them and they can teach you great things. Whether we are on the court, in the classroom, or simply in school we will always be one big happy family.

by Tzvi LewisohnContributing Writer

The Challenger team is undefeated since the league began in’08. (photo by Maria DiMatt eo)

inists want to be – an equal society. People praise Martin Luther King, Jr. for preaching for equal rights for the Black Community. Then why is Gloria Steinem so unknown for doing relatively the same thing for women? Do today’s women even know who Steinem is? Hillary Clinton was, during the election, brought down as be-ing too “man-ish” and yet the only other prominent female politician of the time, Sarah Palin, was de-nounced as not knowing enough at the time. But it was okay that Palin had no intellect on anything political, because she was prett y. Why is it that intellect and ”man-ishness” have to go together and a woman can’t be prett y and smart? You go ahead and call me a fem-inist – I don’t care. I wear it proud-ly. Those who use it as an insult can go back to the 1950s and 1960s when women had three choices in

life: schoolteacher, secretary, and housewife. You can’t tell me I can’t do something just because I’m a woman. If I can’t do a job, I want it be because I’m not qualifi ed, not because I’m not a man. To understand how bad it used to be, let me paint a picture from the TV show, Mad Men, which takes place in the 1960s. Bett y Draper, the wife of an advertising executive, fi ghts with her husband when she wants to model a few times a week, leaving the children with a babysitt er. The fi ght is fur-ther egged on when Bett y allows a salesman to get a glass of water when her husband isn’t home – her only crime being that she’s a wife home alone. The new neighbor, a divorced woman, is shunned be-cause she doesn’t have a husband. Is this really the standard we want to uphold? Women are en-titled to the same opportunities as men and we can do whatever we want. And yes, I wear make-up and shave my legs. Just so you know.

Frank Badalamenti goes up for a lay-up, while Erin Murphy waits for the rebound.(photo by Maria DiMatt eo)

Insult(continued from page 11)

Many team members said the score of the game is not as important as the experience.(photo by Maria DiMatt eo)

Sports April 2010 Hoofbeats 15

The girl’s varsity lacrosse team is headed for a successful season, with a lot of young talent, as well as experience on the fi eld. With three wins in their fi rst fi ve Conference I games, the Lady Colts are proving themselves as a major threat to their competitors. The lineup for the Colts this sea-son is very diverse in age. While the girls are primarily a young team, the older players are rich in experience. Erin Green, a senior, is returning to the team for her

fourth year and her second year as captain. Her leadership on the fi eld is an important force in mak-ing the players as cohesive as they are. With eight goals in her fi rst fi ve starts, Green is a key compo-nent to the off ense of this team. “We have underclassmen who are starters and we have un-derclassmen with the potential, knowledge, and skill to become starters,” Green said. “We also lost a great group of seniors last year. Losing our goalie was tough but we’ve adjusted and our goalies this year are working really hard.” Haylee Solomon, a freshman, is already learning and fi lling in some of the gap the team lost last year. With 24 saves in goal, she has been working back and forth with the team’s other goalie, Kacey So-lotoff , a junior. Other players including Ava Fitzgerald, a junior, and Dani-elle Kirby, a senior, are stepping up within the Calhoun off ense. Fitzgerald has eight goals and six assists already this season and Kirby is close behind her with four goals and two assists. Dian-dra Hanna, a junior, returned to the Calhoun lineup for her fourth varsity season, leads the team in goals scored with already 21 in the fi rst fi ve games. Hanna had 6 goals

alone in an away game against Ma-carthur. The Colts defensive line is equally as important to the girls on off ense. Senior Kelly Cummings, as well as juniors Ellie Rosenblum and Michaela Buckley, and sopho-more Talia Charidah worked with both goalies in games like Syosset, where they kept the opponent to only three goals. While Conference I may seem intimidating, the Colts are up for the challenge, and with a spot at the top, the girls automatically get

a chance to compete in playoff s. “Depending on the way our sea-son goes, our goal is to get a good seed in the playoff s,” explained junior Meghan O’Sullivan. “From there we will take it one game at a time and play as best as we can. We will grow and develop as a team in every game and improve our skills so when it comes time for playoff s our level should bring us far.” O’Sullivan, a three year player has eight goals and three assists this season.

No re LAXing for this team

Freshman Lea Sanders in the team’s pre-game ritual.

Based on the eff ortless games of badminton many students play in during gym class, you may have gott en the wrong impression about the sport. But don’t be mistaken, the girls’ varsity badminton team is an in-tense team. And they have mul-tiple County championship titles to prove it. With Musc, practice begins and the girls are quick to start working hard. Although badminton isn’t as physical as sports like soccer and lacrosse, it doesn’t mean the fi erce competition doesn’t remain. “Honestly, when people doubt how intense badminton is, it hurts,” said senior captain, Kaitlin Gallo. “We practice just as much as any other Calhoun team and some-times for longer hours and more intense practices. But, it shows how intense we are because we bring home the championships!” The badminton team is no stranger to being champions. One of the best teams in Calhoun his-tory, they’ve earned themselves fi ve county championships over the past seven years. The team is coached by Muscarella, who has

been coaching for over a decade and has obtained a clear under-standing of the sport. Assistant Coach Litwin has also put in a great deal of her time and energy into the program. “I believe that every single girl in the gym wants the title more than anything else for the season.” captain Christina Strezenec said. “We hold each other accountable

and we all know that the title is defi nitely number one of our list of things to do for the season. I be-lieve aft er witnessing what it takes to win it, we deserve it. We work hard for it.” As their season carries on, us-ing the confi dence they’ve earned from previous victories, including a 7-0 shut out over cross town rival Kennedy, the badminton players

will continue to strive to achieve their goals. “For the Calhoun Girls Badminton, I believe anything is possible,” captain Alyssa DeMonte noted. “I expect the team to grow even stronger than we already have and continue to practice like its game day. I’d love to take home the Nassau County Title and there is no doubt in my mind the team can do it.”

by Tessa Patt i Sports Editor

by Rachel Tyson Sports Editor

Junior Erica Roman(photo by Lauren Marinello) (photo by Lauren Marinello)

the competitionSMASHING

Senior captain Kaitlin Gallo is one of the team’s stars, practicing for an upcoming doubles match.(photo by Kimberly Brower)

Junior Dan Sullivan, the Colts’ starting centerfi elder, drives the ball to the outfi eld in the fi rst home game of the season.(photo by Maria Di Matt eo)

Starting the season off with a younger team, but maintaining the experienced coaching, the baseball team is moving forward with con-fi dence and high expectations. This year’s team, consisting of fi ve underclassmen, is exceptional-ly talented. Many players have had prior experience playing with one another, allowing for the team dy-namics and communication skills to be far beyond expectations as they batt le tough competitor in Di-vision I-A. However, their dreams don’t stop at conference champs, as thoughts of winning playoff s and even advancing into the states are in mind.

“I believe we have enough tal-ent to go very far this year, and even win a state championship,” returning sophomore Mike Gros-sane said. At the rate these Colts are going, their dreams could very possibly become a reality. As the boys work their way into the season, they have already gained a 3-0 record in scrimmages against schools in-cluding Chaminade, Kellenberg, and Valley Stream South. Excep-tional pitching is consistently be-ing provided by junior Joey Chris-topher and senior Mike Simon. Also, assistance in the outfi eld from junior Dan Sullivan has made it possible for the team to have a strong starting lineup. From the off ensive viewpoint, junior cap-

tain, Jake Thomas and sophomore Robbie Rosen are expected to pro-vide the Colts with the power and key plays that they will need in order to come out on top this sea-son. Although the teams returning players cover most of the starting positions, there is strong competi-tion within the team to earn them. Sophomore Frank Trimarco, who was pulled up late last season to play in the playoff s, noted that he “feel[s] the need to compete be-cause that is how you make your-self and your team mates bett er, by pushing them to [the] point where they meet their greatest potential and help the team in the best way they can.” Trimarco, along with the other sophomores, Mike Gros-sane, Thomas Viverito, Zachary

Goldstein, and Rosen, make up the young team. In order to advance to states, Cal-houn will have to win the Nassau County and Long Island champi-onships. Thankfully, the team has one component which many other teams lack: strong leadership. On the fi eld, teammates are guided by captains Thomas and Ryan Kass, senior. Along with these two captains, the team is coached by Coach Joe Corea, a veteran of the boys’ var-sity team for over 40 years, as well as Coach Michael Marino who, as Thomas explained, “do a good job as coaches gett ing us ready for the season while at the same time, making sure we have a good time and enjoy [the season].”

Baseball’s in full swingBaseball’s in full swingBoys start season with playoff anticipationBoys start season with playoff anticipation

by Rachel TysonSports Editor