Teen drinking might be linked to genetics

by Kerry Caher

Many parents are shocked at the idea of their teenage year old son/daughter trying alcohol, but what most don’t know is that they could be part of the reason.

Dealing with the many stresses of high school can cause frustration for teenagers, which in some cases leads them to believe that drinking will help them deal with it. Some feel pressure from their friends drinking, or sometimes are even influenced by celebrities. But it has been proven that those aren’t the only reasons for teens wanting to try alcohol. Recent studies suggest that genetics could play a role in teen drinking as well.

Researchers recently collected the DNA of over 200 teenagers who have had alcohol at least once in their lives. According to http://www.ivillage.com/genetics-could-play-role-teen-drinking/4-a-315186, after examining the DNA samples it was found that alcohol related problems with teens “were strongly associated with drinking to cope” meaning to deal with rough situations going on in their lives.

Children born from alcoholic parents may not show defects at birth, but later on when they become teenagers they could follow in their parent’s footsteps and begin to start heavily drinking. It is stated on http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/genetics-and-alcoholism.html that children born from alcoholic parents should stay away from alcohol all together, and get help as soon as possible if they do start to drink.

A day in the life without Facebook, week 3

by Cassandra Goldman

March 23, 2011

I am on the 3rd week of my life without Facebook and I am still going strong. As time goes on the challenge starts to show itself as tougher then I thought it would be.

Friends, forgetting my sacrifice, are continuously reminding me of what I’m missing out on. I hear all around, “Did you see that picture of her on Facebook?” and “Oh I’ll post it on your wall.”

Although not having Facebook may put a stop in my virtual social life, I have had a lot more time on my hands for homework and extra-curricular activities. Teens and adults do not realize how much time they spend on Facebook in a week, or even a day. Facebook is a main cause for procrastination when you’re on the computer, iPod, or even phone.

Drama is unfolding on Facebook that everyone gossiping about it. When my friends talk about it, I don’t know what it is because I can’t go on the website.

Although it seems to be getting harder, I am still up for the challenge and I only have 32 days to go.

Kegs and Eggs

by Lauren Silberstein, Christie Reid, Devin Robbins

Kegs and eggs led to the arrest of several local college students on Saturday, March 12. Before the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, students started drinking and partying as early as 6:00 A.M. This led to serious actions.

 Videos posted on YouTube and Facebook show young adults damaging property, cars, and throwing furniture from roofs. Multiple physical altercations occurred early Saturday as well.

 Thirty-seven students were given appearance tickets (a fine) and many others were charged with felonies. Among them Samantha Cohen (20), Carol Petrucelli (21), Joseph Alazon (21), and Patrick Fries (22) were charged with crimes ranging from assault, riot, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon.

 Shenendehowa Junior, Nabilia Ismail said, “People drink so much because they want to seem cool and popular for getting so drunk. I feel like binge drinking is irresponsible and don’t know why anybody does it.”

 Although not supportive of this event, Ismail says its believable people would do such things.

 “I know a lot of kids who would do something like this, it’s hard to count. I would never risk my life for something like that,” Ismail said.

 Shenendehowa HSE Math teacher, Sean Hunter, thinks this situation isn’t far from imagination at all.

 “This stuff happens and you can’t control it. It’s just the nature of how people blow off steam and have a good time. They need to control themselves in these situations,” said Hunter.

Would you steal to eat?

by Sara Macaluso

When disaster strikes in an area, people tend to go into survival mode, doing whatever it takes to keep themselves and their families alive. In some cases they lose a sense of civilization and humanity. It is questionable what people will do for food when they are starving and when it seems civilization around them is crumbling to pieces. Most people turn into wild animals and react barbarically; they steal and loot food, ignoring any sense of order which is trying to be reestablished.

This has been proven to be true in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina, and in Haiti following the earthquake. Japan however, is a different story; in this time of chaos and calamity the people of Japan are still keeping their discipline and morals.

If catastrophe were to strike here what would happen? Many have the mindset that they would not loot or steal because it is wrong. Junior Erin Burns said she would be like the Japanese and wait in line calmly for food. “I probably would wait in line because it would help other people out. The relief workers are stressed out, it would help keep things more calm.”

According to Burns, even if she was starving, she believed she would still refuse to steal. “I would probably get frustrated and hope everything would move quicker, but I don’t think I would revolt.”

Junior Haylie Sullivan said, “I don’t think I would know [whether I would loot or not] unless I was in that situation.”

Sullivan commented on what she believed other people would do for food in a tragedy. “I think people would be greedy, I don’t think anyone here would be prepared for it, no one would have enough food in their houses.”

Maybe if a catastrophe like the tsunami in Japan struck here some people would be able to keep themselves humane, but it is inevitable in our nation’s civilization that some people would become panicked and greedy and go to extreme lengths to get food. Different people may have hopes for different behaviors of themselves and of others, but there is no way to be sure, unless it happens.

Principally Speaking

by Natalia Murdock

Principal Flynt recentlystarted his own blog, Principally Speaking, in order to report “the great things Shen students and staff are doing,” with assistance from Ms. Tsao (10th grade Class Assistant Principal) and with cooperation from the District’s Public Information Office and Kelly Defeciani. 

So far Mr. Flynt’s two posts have highlighted the nominations and awards of multiple Shen high school seniors, as well as a Shen high school administrator.  In addition to those, Mr. Flynt sent out his “thanks to the Shenendehowa Dollars for Scholars program,” and encouraged all current qualified seniors to take advantage of their most recent scholarship in honor of Robert Patrick Stewart, a 2010 Shenedehowa graduate, who passed away last summer from complications stemming from a life-long illness. 

Principal Flynt seems very eager to make known all of the good things happening at our school, and has invited all to inform him of any favorable news they have about Shenedehowa High School which might further enhance and promote his blog.  This is an opportunity that can only serve to better our school, as it will bring to light the many good things going on in our community that would have otherwise gone comparatively unnoticed.

Babes in Arms review

by Katie Greenberg

After forty years directing Shenendehowa musicals, Mrs. Meyers is retiring. Her final hurrah is the 1937 musical, Babes in Arms. The production had its ups and downs, but in the end, the talent the actors showed on stage stole the show.

Like Mrs. Meyers’ past shows, Babes in Arms was beautifully cast. The two leads in the show were portrayed by Tommy Swimm and Devon Poniatowski. Both performances were emotional and honest. The blend of their voices in songs like “Where or When” and “All at Once” was perfect.

Poniatowski’s portrayal of self-assured Billie was completely believable and breathtaking. Her voice was perfect for the sweet ballad “My Funny Valentine” as well as the upbeat dance number “The Lady is a Tramp.” Her performance was one of the reasons the show was such a success.

Another positive aspect of the show was the performances given by both Carolyn Krupski and Kevin Orlando, who played two of the more comedic characters in the show. In their two numbers, “I Wish I Were in Love Again” and “You are so Fair,” Krupski and Orlando sang, dance, and made the audience laugh. While both actors’ singing was good, the dance numbers were slightly awkward because of the height difference of the actors and the different levels of dancing ability.

Other notable performances were given by Drew D’Amelia, Nick Padula, Molly Poniatowski, Joe Davila, Sarah Koniszewski, Rachel Tyson, and Lola Adewunmi.

However, every show has its rough patches. The main rough patch in the Shenendehowa production of Babes in Arms was the quality of the sound. Although the sound was good throughout most of the performance, at times the cast could barely be heard. This was especially true during the performance of the male quartet.

Although the acting in the show was excellent, the show itself was hard to follow. Because the show is so old, there were a number of people and events mentioned in lyrics and lines throughout the show that may have been commonly understood in the ‘30s but are no longer relevant to audiences today.  Also, the plot line of the story was a little dull and hard to follow.

Overall, Mrs. Meyers’ final production was a success. The cast’s wonderful performance made the show fun to watch and worth seeing.

The musicians in the pit orchestra get ready to play their instruments.

  

 

Carolyn Krupski and Kevin Orlando in their big dance number.

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

Devon Poniatowski and Tommy Swimm playing leads Billie and Val.

 

Devon Poniatowski singing "The Lady is a Tramp."

     

It is easy being green

by Julia Krupski

It is now easy to be ‘green’ at Shenendehowa High School because of the school’s use of single stream recycling.  Mrs. Coons, an Environmental Science teacher at Shen and the advisor of the SCARCE and Fruits of Our Labor clubs, explained  that, “Single stream recycling is where all recycled materials are put into one container here and then delivered to a facility to be separated.”

The items that students can recycle are:

• Paper- computer, computer, fax, copy, and colored ledger paper, newspaper, notebook paper, construction paper, kraft paper (brown grocery bags)
• Magazines, catalogs, telephone and paperback books,  soft covered workbooks
• Junk mail (including envelopes and coupons),
• Chipboard/box board, white paper egg cartons, juice boxes, milk cartons
• Aluminum cans, glass bottles (green, clear, brown), tin and bi-metallic containers (including Aerosol Cans), aseptic milk/juice cartons, aluminum foil, plastic containers (# 1-7) and frozen food cartons. 

Thrower succeeds despite all odds

By: Amanda Nyman

 When he’s not out on the football field, Mark Thomas is a full time Shen thrower. On Saturday, March 5^th at Cornell University, Thomas competed in States for shot put and placed 14^th in his division out of 28.

When the athletes arrived at the campus on Friday March 4^th, food was provided for the athletes to eat.  Unfortunately, Thomas ate something that made him sick. Despite feeling ill, Thomas still decided to throw. Seeing that this was his last chance to break his record at Indoor Sectionals, which also broke the schools record, he did not want to back down.

Knowing shot put requires precise technique, especially for a spinner, Thomas throws from just power. This resulted in him getting a decent mark of 47’8”.

Thomas has faced many different obstacles throughout his throwing career. Starting the sport as a freshman, Thomas quickly fell in love with it. Throwing consists of many different events including; shot put, weight throw, discus and hammer throw.

He started throwing shot put from the glide, but at the start of his sophomore year his throwing coach, Coach Dochat, switched him over to the spin.

“I love doing shot because of its combination of strength and technique,” Thomas said.  He went on to say, “It’s one of those things where if I really push myself, I can see real results and it makes me feel strong.” He is also active in all the other events in throwing.

“Hammer is definitely my favorite. It is by far the most empowering and challenging, and believe me, I enjoy a challenge. I also love discus because it’s so fun to just watch it sail off,” Thomas said.

Throwing is not a sport people usually consider as a challenge, but Thomas makes it clear that it “takes a lot of time and effort.”

To add on to throwing challenge alone, Thomas was diagnosed with Ramsey Hunt’s Disease during the start of his 10^th grade outdoor season. This causes swelling in his brain which resulted in certain nerves to shut down. This resulted in his sight, hearing and balance to be completely gone on his right side.

Incredibly enough he still shows up to his practices, but of course with caution.

Mark Thomas is a fighter and a great inspiration to not only his teammates, but also too many of his peers.

What draws the line?

By Veronica Gallego

Last week atNorthwestern University, a sexual demonstration was performed in front of more than 100 students. Psychology professor J. Michael Bailey, a sexuality researcher who has angered people in the past, is now in the middle of a wide spread controversy.

 Professor Bailey invited students to stay for a discussion of sexual fetishes. The students were warned about a half dozen times before it started that “what was about to happen would be graphic.” The discussion included a woman who stripped and allowed her partner to use a sex toy on her, as the students heard about issues such as safety and consent.

“It is probably something I will remember the rest of my life,” said senior Justin Smith, 21, one of the students who stuck around voluntarily after class when students were told about what they were about to see. The Daily Northwestern quoted Professor Bailey saying, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but watching naked people on stage doing pleasurable things will never hurt you.”

Northwestern spokesman Alan Cubbage said no one has filed a police complaint. “Northwestern University faculty members engage in teaching and research on a wide variety of topics, some of them controversial and some of at the leading edge of their respective disciplines,” Cubbage told the Sun-Times. “The University supports the efforts of its faculty to further the advancement of knowledge.”

Idolized for all the wrong reasons

by Jimmy Berg 

Actors, musicians and even just people who have gotten rich off of inherited money seem to do whatever they wish with out many consequences. They publicly smoke weed, drink excessively, and do other drugs and yet people still love them.

Whatever happened to Beaver Cleaver? It is as if people have no morals these days. It’s exciting, that’s all it is. It doesn’t matter what people do as long as we can watch them do it.

Lil’ Wayne, a popular rapper, is always on T.V. in music videos where he is smoking weed and partying. That is the new American dream, get rich and do drugs. That is not right.

A role model should be someone who does things to help others or improve his community; they should not doing illegal things and getting paid to do so. It seems that in today’s society money is everything.

Lindsay Lohan, who used to be a little Disney Channel child star, has lately gotten into hard drugs and alcoholism and yet she is still getting signed to movie deals.

When everyone grows up they will realize that it is childish to aspire to be like them. People should not be idolizing these people just because of their fame.

As these actors and musicians come more into main stream media it is becoming more and more acceptable to do the things they do. Illegal things should not be showcased, no matter the place.