Homecoming Week Features New Ideas with Traditional New Hope Spirit

Katie Tangradi, Lauren Mangano, and Katie Steele

Staff Writers

 

The 2014 homecoming (hoco) week was full of new events and great participation from the New Hope-Solebury students this year.

 Although students had the Monday of homecoming week off, (thanks to Columbus for founding the greatest country in the world), the rest of the week was full of spirit. Tuesday brought friends together on “we go together day,” where students wore costume-like apparel that somehow matched with a friend. Wednesday was full of comfy and cozy students on pajama day. Thursday looked like a Vineyard Vines advertisement on preppy day. And finally, Friday pumped up the school spirit the most on Blue and Gold Day. Then, during eighth period on Friday, the school had the pep rally, outside for a change, where each sports team was represented,followed with delicious ice cream sandwiches for everyone.

 The excitement did not end at 2:30, though. Friday night had the crowd wearing their New Hope-Solebury apparel to support the football team. At half time the crowd was quite entertained with the announcement of the 2014 homecoming court. Additionally, throughout the game, seniors amped up the crowd by throwing flour in the air and covering the student section in a white cloud.

 Overall, Homecoming Week 2014 was a major success, full of new ideas and lots of spirit.

Middle School Learns the Importance of Farming

Heather Borochaner

Staff Writer  

  Representatives from the Delaware college, the Doylestown Food Co-op, and the Rolling Harvest Food Recovery spoke with New Hope-Solebury eighth grade students seeking some extra credit on the evening of Oct. 17, displaying the documentary Ingredients from a projector onto the outside of the New Hope-Solebury Middle School building. They provided information about American farmers, their struggles, and the benefits of eating fresh, raw foods without any chemical “bonuses.” The event was hosted by middle school English teacher Mrs. Jaeger with appearances by Mrs. O’Donnell and Mrs. Hamill. Students and parents laid out blankets or chairs for the occasion, and some just sat in the grass. After the movie, a small panel was held where the guests from their organizations answered any questions students, teachers, or parents had. Fresh fruits were offered as snacks, along with some great apple cider for drinking.

  One of the main points Ingredients made was the benefits of eating locally. This would ensure that the food you’re eating isn’t months old by the time it reaches your mouth. One middle schooler asked the question, “if everyone ate locally, would there be enough for everyone in the area?” The answer was no, only because so much land is used for housing and shops that there simply isn’t enough land to use for farming. However, a solution to this would be using lawns as gardens to provide fresh food. 

  Although the night was chilly and blankets and sweaters were definitely needed to sit through the movie and interview, not to mention the lone bat that spent a good fifteen minutes terrorizing unsuspecting middle schoolers, it was an enjoyable and knowledgeable experience about healthy foods and how to access them. The documentary Ingredients is a highly recommended watch for anyone interested in health and nutrition. 

BMW 20 Years- 3-Series- 10 Best List

Addison Hartmann

Staff Writer

BMW 20 years 3-series ten best list

The car manufacturer BMW advertises itself as building one thing: “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Given the remarkable run of the BMW--the BMW 3 series has won 10 best cars of the year for 20 years straight by Car and Driver--it may just be true. The 3 series has been included in the top ten list because it is “known around the world for its sporty looks superior handling and powerful engines, the 3 Series” Car and Driver magazine says.

The 3 series is known to be a sports sedan that is capable of driving the family around but also is luxurious and safe. The 3 series is also very popular because it is a decently priced car for what is included in the base model of the car. Although the 3 series isn't the ideal BMW but many consumers like how comfortable it rides and the power it has for the price. The ideal BMW with the same body style as the 335i would be the M3. The 3 series that is the closest to an M3 is the 335i. Some BMW drivers would rather buy the 335i because the mpgs are better than the M3’s mpgs, but who cares about that when you have all of that power. The 3 series averages around 25 mpg and the M3 averages around 17 mpgs.

Although the 335i isn’t as fast as the M3,  many consumers like how the 335i handles on the same lines as an M3, it has power and takes turns without a problem. Both the 335i and the M3 can be driven as daily drivers although some enthusiasts wouldn't want to drive an M3 everyday, instead some consumers might like to keep it for a weekend drive. What makes a good daily driver is when the car is comfortable and fuel efficient. Although the M3 is comfortable, it struggles when trying to be fuel efficient. BMW has sold around 500,214 3 series in 2013. Many consumers also like how safe and reliable the 3 series is. BMW has sold many cars and this is what they are most proud of, the sales of the car show how popular it is.

Homecoming Week Closes with a Memorable Night

Victoria Siano & Claudia Kolinchak

Staff Writers & Publishers

  On Saturday, October 18th, New Hope-Solebury High School students dressed up for a masquerade themed night to remember. Homecoming 2014 was a great success and the perfect way to kick off a great school year! Student DJs got the crowd dancing and singing. The loud music and energy in the air was enough to get students excited. For ten dollars, students could go to this three hour dance, have access to free food, and could walk out to the beautifully decorated courtyard at anytime.

  This year’s homecoming court nominees were announced at the friday night homecoming football game, and the winners were announced Saturday night at the dance, located in the middle school gym. These winners were widely congratulated by their peers, who voted them into the court. Emily Madara and Dylan Smith won freshman Lord and Lady. The sophomore winners for Duke and Duchess were Katie Steele and Andrew Wheelan. For Junior Prince and Princess, Maddie Pitel and Abbiel Zuniga won. Olivia Knable and Avery Jones were crowned Queen and King. After the winners were announced, the nominees danced to a slow song in the middle of the gym.

  The students came dressed in formal attire. Girls wore dresses and high heels or flats, though most took their shoes off. The guys showed up in collared shirts and dress pants. Everyone spent time to look their best for that night, and it definitely payed off.

  Homecoming, and the week leading up to it, were a fun, spirited  way to start off the year. The credit for a great night goes to the DJs, chaperones, and everyone who attended the dance with a positive attitude.

Psychological Warfare Analysis of ISIS

Summer Robert
Staff Writer

Since the beheading of British aid worker David Haines and American journalists James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, was posted and available for streaming cameraman , Raad Muhammad Al- Azzawi was taken captive by ISIS. On Sept.  7, Al- Azzawi  along with 20 other residents of Al- Samara were taken hostage, for not agreeing to be employed by the terrorist organization. Even more recently, a French tourist on a hiking trip in Algeria was also captured by the newly identified british “executioner”, known as Jihadi John (recently speculated to be Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary). This a-typical behavior of beheading random victims may be an early sign of ISIS becoming more ruthless and less objective.  

While the intent of the beheading and kidnapping is clear, to stop the resistance the West has shown towards the creation of the Islamic State in Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria using fear mongering, Jeff Jacoby, blogger on the Boston Globe asks why beheading? 

The brutal technique used to gain the attention of the public by ISIS, was used by Al- Qaeda to butcher Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg, and construction contractors Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong (all of the victims mentioned were Americans). This seems parallel to Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi background in Al-Qaeda before establishing the splinter group ISIS. 

Shashank Joshi, a senior researcher at  Royal United Services Institute in London, speculates the horrific beheadings are used as a weapon of psychological warfare.

Asymmetrical warfare is when the military forces of one side of a conflict are larger than the other, forcing the “underdog” of the war to use unconventional methods to compete. This tactic is used in Israel, where Palestinians (the minority) use strategies based on terror to combat the Israelis’ superior, organised war machine. The Palestinians were armed with homemade rockets, while the US supplied the Israelis with F- 16 fighter jets, DIME bombs, helicopters, etc. Similar to Palestinians’ tactic, during the early 60’s the Viet Cong practiced “guerilla tactics,” such as using punji sticks (a booby trap stake made from wood or bamboo) and cutting off the hands of war prisoners along the Ho Chi MInh Trail.  Both asymmetrical warfare and guerrilla tactics would be appropriate to describe the atrocities performed by ISIS, but there is a silver lining. ISIS must feel outmatched by the United States to defy such human decency. Only the feeling of inferiority would inspire such drastic measures.   

Remembering Joan Rivers

Savannah Herring and Claire Dougherty

Staff Writers

  After a fifty plus year career in Hollywood, Joan Rivers passed away in The New York medical clinic of Manhattan while receiving a surgery on her vocal cords at the age of 81.

  Born in Brooklyn in 1933,  Joan Molinsky, or Rivers, was destined for greatness. Her ability to make anybody laugh, her trademark raspy voice, and her lack of concern over other's opinions, got her to the top, and fast. She pursued her interest for performing at Barnard College but soon after graduation she abandoned this dream for a more practical career, as a buyer for a chain store.

  After her divorce from her first husband, she returned to performing. She was determined to find success, starred on a small television show only to find that acting was not a good fit for her. Instead, she switched to comedy. Years of struggling as a comedian and performer in coffeehouses and comedy clubs led her to her big break. In 1965, she was booked for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was “an instant hit.” She later claimed that Carson was, "The man who handed me my career.”

  Later in the sixties she settled into her own show known as, That Show or The Joan Rivers Show, which aired on FOX network. She continued to appear on talk shows and soon enough Joan Rivers became a household name. By 1983, Rivers had two best-selling books and a Grammy Award-nominated comedy album.

  This period of time was also when Rivers faced many setbacks, such as the cancellation of her show and the death of her producer and second husband of 22 years, Edgar Rosenberg, who committed suicide in 1987. Determined to rebuild her life and career, she moved back to New York and launched her own daytime talk show. She later won an Emmy Award, and a Tony for her television success. She then became the host of E! News and established herself as an entertainment critic or analyst. Rivers continued to flourish as she hosted new shows and wrote more books about her life and career.

  Throughout her entire life, no matter what profession she was pursuing, whether it was acting, show hosting, or stand up comedy, she always managed to be the star with her unique and edgy comedy. Although her sense of humor isn’t always favored by all audiences, everybody can admit, she was talented. She will always be remembered has a true pioneer for women in the entertainment world. She had the determination to prove herself, and has left a lasting mark on the world.

"Joan Rivers has died. What a sad ending to a brilliant and tragi-comic life; one of the bravest and funniest of all." -- Bette Midler

How to Choose the Right College

Nicholas Damarodis

Editor in Chief

 Right now can be a difficult time of the year for seniors. Trying to manage school-work, after-school activities, and other commitments adds up fast, so adding the college selection process onto everything else can seem daunting. Rather than stressing over finding the right school, use these tips to ease your navigation:

1. Location, Location, Location: Figure out how far you want to go for school, and try to set a proximity from your house when looking at schools. Don’t just think of states or wide areas, but see how many hours (by plane, car, or whatever transportation you will use) it will take to get to your destination. Having a rough idea of how far you will go will help slim your choices down quickly.
2. Check to see if the school offers your major: Even better, use search engines and college finders online to only see schools that offer the majors you want. You would be surprised how many schools do not offer certain majors. Also, some schools are better known for certain majors over others.
3. ALWAYS check the dorms: If you are particular about a certain type of living style, check to see what type of living options the school offers. Larger schools tend to have a wide variety of living arrangements, but smaller schools may have fewer options. Also, make sure you are looking at freshmen dorms. Many schools love to profile their renovated and newly built dorms, but those are usually for upperclassmen.
4. Look at the size of the school: Schools can be small, with only a few hundred students, to as large as tens of thousands of students. Seriously consider how small or large a place you feel comfortable living in. It may sound great to leave your small town for a large college, but you may feel left out. Conversely, going to a smaller school may mean fewer options for sports, academics, and other activities.
5. Financial aid: The sooner you learn about financial aid, the better. Every school has different types of aid programs and scholarships. Some expensive Ivy League and liberal arts programs may look impossible to afford, but many have great scholarship programs. This is an important piece of the college equation to keep in mind, but know that most schools will not present a financial package to you until you have been accepted.
6. Once you find your top places, visit them: Visiting the school is the best way to discover the true environment of it. Try to think of your most important questions before you get there, and don’t be afraid to ask them if the guide does not go over something you wanted to hear about. Take a few minutes to walk around by yourself too. See if you are comfortable at the school and can picture yourself being a part of it.

 Although it may seem impossible to get through all these steps, many of them come down to simple preference. There is no right or wrong in this process. It is all up to you and what you want. Make sure to reach out to friends, families, and teachers if you need some more ideas, but know that it is your path and your decisions. Good luck finding the right place for you!